Hong Kong: More publicity on waste charging: CE

(To watch the full media session with sign language interpretation, click here.)

As Municipal Solid Waste Charging is set to be implemented on April 1, Chief Executive John Lee stressed that the charging details need to be clearly explained, spelt out and easily available to all citizens.

Under the waste charging scheme, people will need to follow a set of new rules, such as using designated bags, for waste disposal.

At a media session ahead of the Executive Council meeting today, Mr Lee described the move as an important policy to change human behaviour, noting that he is well aware of the challenges and uncertainties ahead.

I have asked the Secretary for Environment & Ecology to ensure that the action plan has its details worked out, and clearly explained to all relevant parties - whether they are in the estate management sector, in the catering sector, in the housing sector, and all members of public who need to buy all these designated bags.

He added that efforts will be stepped up in organising seminars, holding press conferences and explaining the policy to stakeholders, so that people can easily understand their own roles and legal responsibilities.

This story has been published on: 2024-01-16. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
S.Chinas Guangdong seeks opinions to issue regulations rewarding 1 million yuan to individuals sacrificing their lives while acting bravely

Global Times) 08:04, January 16, 2024

The Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department has recently released a notice seeking public opinions on the draft amendment of the regulations on the reward and protection of volunteer personnel who behave righteously in the province, in which the regulations stipulate that those sacrificed their lives will be awarded an additional one-million-yuan ($139,454) compensation for their righteousness.

South China's Guangdong Province aims to establish regulations that honor and protect the brave and righteous volunteer personnel, creating a more favorable environment for volunteer activities, according to the regulations. The public can submit feedback and suggestions to the provincial authorities before January 30.

In addition to receiving the corresponding awards given by the state and province for the individuals who have performed brave acts, the Guangdong provincial government will award a one-time bonus. For those who are completely unable to work will be awarded a bonus of 800,000 yuan, and those who win the title of national righteous and brave will be awarded a prize of 200,000 yuan, according to the regulations.

The act of bravery in the regulations refers to the actions of individuals who don't have legal responsibilities or obligations, but who, intervene in illegal and criminal activities or engage in rescue, emergency response and other actions, for protecting national and public interests, or others' life and property safety.

Citizens are encouraged to take appropriate and effective actions to carry out the acts of bravery, including stopping illegal and criminal activities that endanger national security, public safety, or disrupt social order, according to the regulations.

The regulations also stipulate county- or above-level governments within the province should reward those individuals who conduct acts of bravery such as releasing notification of commendation, awarding prizes and awarding the title of honor.

In order to ensure those individuals' legitimate rights, the regulations also stipulate that any organization or individual, who witnesses someone who is injured by performing a heroic act, should promptly inform the public security organs and medical institutions, and take measures to assist in treatment and provide aid. Medical institutions should prioritize treatment, and can not refuse or delay treatment.

The country has been making efforts to make sure the legitimate rights of those individuals who conduct brave acts are protected. In June 2023, a young deliveryman Peng Qinglin jumped off a high bridge to save a drowning woman in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province. Hangzhou authorities awarded Peng the title of honor and a cash prize as well.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
Earlier this month, the Pentagon made a statement regarding U.S. aid to Ukraine: It is out of money. Or, as Pentagon spokesman U.S. Air Force Major Gen. Pat Ryder put it: We have no more replenishment funds.

As Ryder was speaking, I was finishing a two-week reporting trip to Ukraine, where I visited three epicenters of the war against the Russians: Kherson, Kharkiv and Kyiv. These three cities are hundreds of miles from each other, but all of them are regularly bombed by Russia, which is a disturbing sign of the immense scale of this conflict.

In America, it might make short-term political sense to yolk border security, the war in Gaza and the war in Ukraine together. However, this war demands a long-term focus to defeat illegal Russian expansion and to help reduce war-related fissures in Ukrainian society.

Just as the U.S. military ran out of funds for Ukraine, the Ukrainians reported that Russia had launched the single largest aerial assault of the war. In the days that followed, Russia and Ukraine fiercely bombed each others territory.

The remains of the Kharkiv Palace Hotel in Kharkiv, Ukraine, after Russia fired missiles on the area on Dec. 30, 2023.

About 20 miles from Russia, Kharkiv is the second-largest city in Ukraine. There, I visited the Kharkiv Palace Hotel, which according to the Ukrainians, was hit by a Russian missile. The day after the attack, the five-star hotels exposed skeleton was reminiscent of the aftermath of 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Near the hotel, I spoke to Constantin Rudenko, 53, a Ukrainian business owner who didnt vote for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy but believes that the Russians are Hamas in snow. To Constantin, Hamas is (a) terrorist organization, and Russia is (a) terrorist state. We can put (an) equal sign between Hamas and Russia.

Constantin owns Frans.ua, a war-scarred cafe in Kharkiv, his hometown. He believes that Zelenskyy is a good actor but a bad leader. In Constantins opinion, Zelenskyy is responsible for the current war in Ukraine.

As an American, I found Constantins strident, wartime criticism of Zelenskyy surprising, but I shouldnt have. Although Zelenskyy won the April 2019 Ukrainian presidential election in a landslide, he lost about 30% of the vote.

Constantin Rudenko, 53, stands in front of his cafe, Frans.ua, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Dec. 31, 2023. Rudenko is critical of President Volodymyr Zelenskyys wartime actions.

Zelenskyy was elected with the support of Ukrainians in places such as Kharkiv, so I asked Olena Lennon, a professor of national security at the University of New Haven, for some context regarding Constantins opinions. She noted that some Ukrainians supported Zelenskyy because, during his presidential campaign, he promised de-oligarchization and to end the conflict with Russia in Eastern Ukraine. But some Ukrainians might feel that Zelenskyy broke his campaign promises.

According to Lennon, Zelenskyys de-oligarchization campaign was seen by some as a witch hunt of political opponents more than a genuine anti-corruption effort. Additionally, Lennon observed that after Zelenskyy grew increasingly convinced that negotiations with Russia would not work, he implemented an aggressive Russia policy that might have led Putin to amass troops at Ukraines border.

However, Lennon also notes, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, support for Zelenskyy among Ukrainians solidified. A December opinion survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology showed that Zelenskyy is still trusted by 77% of Ukrainians, but the survey also found that the share of Ukrainians who believe that things are developing in the right direction continues to decrease, falling from 68% in May 2022 to 54% in December 2023.

Zelenskyy has vowed to liberate all of Ukraines territory, but this could demand an increase in Ukrainian military conscription. A recent Institute for the Study of War analysis discussed how increased conscription could produce tension within Ukrainian society. In the 1960s, Americans experienced firsthand how destructive tension caused by a military draft can be.

Undoubtedly, to liberate all of Ukraine, volunteers and draftees will have to be willing to die for Ukrainians in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, some of whom have been under Russian rule for almost 10 years.

But Constantin fears whom Ukrainians in Donetsk and Luhansk might elect if they are given the right to vote too soon after their liberation. He thinks that these Ukrainians are brainwashed and they totally dont care whether they are ruled by Ukraine or Russia. In Constantins opinion, at minimum, they should be suspended from voting for a period of time equal to how long they spent under Russian occupation.

In this way, I believe that Putin, Constantin and many others share a domineering and paternal attitude about the citizens of Donetsk and Luhansk, that these people are kindred, but their rights must be abridged.

Both Ukraine and its democracy have to survive this war. America and Europe must help Ukraine defeat the Russians, but they also must help Ukraine avoid unnecessary conscription and reintegrate Donetsk and Luhansk without prejudice.

This requires not only resolve and money but also understanding and the addressing of the fears and concerns of Constantin and many other Ukrainians.

Yet, right now, the Pentagon is out of cash for Ukraine, and America is conflating war against an imperialist Russia with securing the Mexican border and helping Israel retaliate against Hamas.

After two weeks in Ukraine, it is clear to me that, absent Americas undivided attention, Russia will continue to have enough resources and motivation to raze Ukrainian cities and to undermine Ukrainian democracy.

Rob Cuthbert is a correspondent for the podcast Article One With Molly Hooper. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
A little more than 50 years after Illinois first recognized the Rev. Martin Luther Kings birthday as a holiday, nearly 1,000 people braved Chicagos bitter cold Monday to remember the fallen civil rights leader and insist that change is still needed across the nation.

Amid a backdrop of the Iowa caucuses where several GOP candidates for president have either called for or peeled back equity initiatives, Mondays Martin Luther King Jr. scholarship breakfast was themed Save Our Children. Organizers said it served in part as a reaction to recent attempts by state and local governments to eliminate diversity and equity efforts in schools.

The estimated 950 people who attended the breakfast and speaking events organized by the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition at the Apostolic Church of God in the South Sides Woodlawn neighborhood were joined by politicians such as Mayor Brandon Johnson and U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson. The two men spoke about the need for African American history and other cultural issues to be taught in public schools while also stressing that it remains important to continue fighting for racial equity in education.

King believed in the transformative power of education and organizing and the importance of not just our intellectual development, but the development of our character and our values, Johnson said. We dont have to negotiate our values. I know there are those who believe that the classroom is a place where this type of value system can be fostered.

Both Johnson and Jackson celebrated the work of King and Jacksons father, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who is 82 and in 1971 founded the organization that evolved into Rainbow/PUSH. The Rev. Jackson also spoke at the event.

His son Rep. Jackson referenced policies brought forth by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for president, as well as last years U.S. Supreme Court ruling that race-based admissions programs long used by universities to increase diversity were unlawful.

Rep. Jackson advocated for those in the audience to engage politically toward a more just future.

I know sometimes we get tired of having to always be charged with the hard work of pushing America in the right direction, Jackson said. Whether we like it or not, theres too much at stake for us to let this nation slide back into the bitter night of racial antipathy and degradation.  The blood, sweat and tears of Black people built this country, and we will refuse to allow our investment to come back without a return.

Illinois first recognized Kings birthday as a legal holiday when Gov. Dan Walker signed it into law on Sept. 17, 1973. It took another decade before the federal government designated the third Monday in January as a national holiday.

On Monday, organizers said the Rainbow/PUSH Coalitions PUSH for Excellence Initiative aims to support students in receiving a high-quality education in spite of personal, family, and community challenges that they might experience.

Seven-year-old Bradley Hope gives a rousing speech on I am an Exceptional Black boy during the 34th annual Rainbow/PUSH Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast at Apostolic Church of God on Jan. 15, 2024.

Mondays MLK scholarship breakfast included fundraising to sponsor tours of historically Black colleges and other initiatives, as well as to provide scholarships for students in need of financial support.

The PUSH for Excellence Initiative also provides students practice in public speaking, and student orators as young as seven presented about the importance of Black empowerment as well as the history behind the organization and its connections to King and the Rev. Jackson.

Speakers at the event underscored providing opportunities to Black students in Chicago as critical following a surge of state legislatures across the nation passing laws to ban or restrict teachings of historical and systematic oppression of people of color.

Christianna Gray emceed the student portion of the event and provided a strong example of the success fostered through the PUSH for Excellence Initiative.

At age 13, Gray has already earned a full scholarship to Tennessee State University, and she exuded an eloquence and comfort onstage far beyond her years.

I just love speaking in front of big crowds because I get to represent all African Americans around me, Gray said after the event. The eighth grader added that she hopes her oratorical work will help her reach her goal of becoming president of the United States someday.

ostevens@chicagotribune.com
Prominent anti-Trump conservatives chastised the Democratic National Committee Tuesday after the committee released a statement mocking former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson after he ended his longshot presidential bid.

This news comes as a shock to those of us who couldve sworn he had already dropped out, DNC spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said in the statement.

Several prominent conservatives complained on social media that the DNC should not go after the former Arkansas governor but rather welcome Republicans who are critical of former President Donald Trump.

Joe Walsh, a former Republican member of Congress and conservative talk show host, called it a shitty thing to say, writing that Hutchinson should be thanked by you all for running AGAINST Trump.

I mean  you do want all of us Never Trumpers to vote for Biden, dont you? Come on DNC, be better than this, Walsh continued.

Conservative commentator Bill Kristol echoed Walsh, addressing the DNC in a post on X, which was formerly known as Twitter: I assume you guys want the support in November of that slice of Republicans who admire Asa for being a decent and principled person, and for not bending the knee to Trump? Or is Biden so far ahead that you don't need every potential crossover vote?

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) also was critical of the DNC statement, which followed a similar release after former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie  another prominent Trump critic  suspended his campaign last week.

These are just stupid and dumb, Kinzinger said.
Within minutes of results starting to come in from the Iowa caucuses, it was clear Donald Trump would win the night.

Then by late Monday, it appeared he had won in all but one of 99 of Iowas counties, as multiple news organizations called the race for Trump minutes after returns started trickling in  and even as Iowans continued to mark their ballots in parts of the state.

Early returns showed Trump received over 51% of the votes, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis eking out a second place win with 21%, and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley coming in third with 19% of the votes.

Vivek Ramaswamy, who trailed behind with under 8% of the votes, announced in his speech Monday that he would suspend his campaign, saying I think it is true that we did not achieve the surprise that we wanted to deliver tonight.

Republican presidential candidates traveled across a frigid Iowa Monday, making their final arguments for why voters should support them to take on President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election.

Trump, the front-runner, appeared at a caucus site in Clive, Iowa, where he told caucus-goers, I think I deserve your vote. He is expected to win the caucuses by 20 points or more, far ahead of his main rivals, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley.

The early call in the race doesnt bode well for DeSantis or Haley.

The Associated Press projection came after less than 3,000 votes had been cast. Many of the nearly 2,000 precinct locations across the state had not yet cast or registered votes. The AP said it declared Trump the winner based on an analysis of early returns, as well as results of AP VoteCast, a survey conducted prior to the caucuses.

Supporters cheer before Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a caucus night party in Des Moines, Iowa, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. | Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Associated Press

During his victory speech, Trump tried to strike a conciliatory tone. He thanked his sons and other campaign surrogates for helping him win in Iowa. He also paid tribute to his wife Melanias mother, who recently passed away, saying she was a big help with his son Baron when they were in the White House.

I really think this is time now for everybody, our country, to come together, Trump said. We want to come together. Whether its Republican or Democrat, or liberal or conservative, it would be so nice if we could come together and straighten out the world and straighten out the problems and straighten out all of the death and destruction that were witnessing thats practically never been like this. Its just so important. And I want to make that a very big part of our message.

Trump also said he wanted to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a good time together. Were all having a good time together. I think they both actually did very well.

He said he was looking ahead to the vote in New Hampshire next week, a state he won in 2016 and 2020.

DeSantis gave a short speech Monday night, saying he would continue to fight for the nomination. He had focused all his efforts on Iowa, but while he finished far behind Trump, he seemed pleased that he managed to squeak out a second place finish ahead of Haley.

People want to have hope for this countrys future, and thats what we represent, he said. We represent a chance to reverse the madness that weve seen in this country, to reverse the decline of this country and to give this country a new birth of freedom and a restoration of sanity.

Haley also vowed to fight on, thanking her children and her husband, who is currently deployed. She said she was looking forward to competing in New Hampshire, where she is polling in second place, behind Trump.

In her speech, Haley said the race was now a two-person race, even though she came in third, just behind DeSantis. She hit Trump over spending and his age, comparing him to President Joe Biden.

I voted for Donald Trump twice, she said. I was proud to serve in his administration. But when I say more of the same, you know what Im talking about. Its both Donald Trump and Joe Biden. They have more in common than you think  70% of Americans dont want another Trump-Biden rematch.

Trump and Biden are both about 80 years old. Trump and Biden both put our country trillions of dollars deeper in debt, and our kids will never forgive them for it, she said. Trump and Biden both lack a vision for our countrys future because both are consumed by the past, by investigations, by vendettas, by grievances. America deserves better.
An Indian pilgrim who is embarked on a visit to the sacred Pashupatinath temple poses for a photograph in Kathmandu, Nepal, Jan. 12, 2024. The centuries-old temple is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Asia for Hindus.Nepal and India are the worlds two Hindu-majority nations and share a strong religious affinity. Every year, millions of Nepalese and Indians visit Hindu shrines in both countries to pray for success and the well-being of their loved ones. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP)  Thousands of Indian pilgrims arrive at daybreak at Pashupatinath, the most revered Hindu temple in Nepal, after traveling long distances in buses.

Hawkers greet them with hot tea on the cold wintry morning. Many worshippers hand the cups to their wives, mothers and children through the bus windows.

The devotees then enter the temple of Lord Shiva, the powerful Hindu god of destruction, on the Bagmati riverbanks in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu. Lord Shiva is also worshipped as a protector of animals, and is depicted with a serpent around his neck.

The worshippers recite prayers, fast, meditate and seek forgiveness. They also pray before "Shivalinga, a block of stone symbolizing the powerful deity.

Elderly men and women are helped by their families or tour guides. Street vendors are busy selling SIM cards, warm clothes and holy beads.

The centuries-old Pashupatinath temple is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Asia for Hindus. The temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has a pagoda-style roof and four silver-plated doors with intricate carvings of gods and goddesses.

Nepal and India are the worlds two Hindu-majority nations and share a strong religious affinity. Every year, millions of Nepalese and Indians visit Hindu shrines in both countries to pray for success and the well-being of their loved ones. They also pray for those who have died.

From mid-December through January, tens of thousands of pilgrims from India visit Pashupatinath to seek blessings. They include thousands of farmers who come at the end of harvesting season.

The influx of pilgrims continues daily until the major festival of "Mahashivratri," which commemorates the wedding of Shiva and his consort Parvati in February-March.

Religion is deeply important in India, a country of 1.4 billion people, and many Hindus travel on pilgrimages each year to ancient religious sites in Nepal.

Dinesh Patel, an Indian travel agent who organizes tours to Nepal, says that many pilgrims eat and sleep in buses, paying an average of 10,000 Indian rupees ($122) for a Nepalese tour.

Kamalesh Verma, a 31-year-old devotee from Indias eastern Chhattisgarh state, said: This is the first time Im here at Pashupatinath temple, but I dont know if its Gods will that I will return to receive his blessings.
A federal appeals court said Tuesday it wont re-hear a case concerning executive privilege and Twitter after special counsel investigators in the 2020 election interference case were allowed to access data from Donald Trumps account without telling him.

The case has centered around questions about protection of communication around the presidency, and if Trump should have been informed when the special counsels office got court approval for a search warrant for his Twitter data. Ultimately, the courts decided federal investigators could access Trumps account for its criminal probe, and Twitter could be forced to keep the search secret from Trump.

Both a trial-level judge and a three-judge panel in the Washington, DC, appeals court agreed that disclosing the Twitter search to Trump or his representatives could hurt the grand jury investigation. Eleven judges of the DC Circuit declined to look at the case again on Tuesday.

Twitter, now known as X, appealed the order that the social media company not disclose the investigative inquiry. Twitter had been fined $350,000 in court for delaying turning over data as it unsuccessfully tried to convince a judge to give Trump more information.

The investigation, which resulted in charges against Trump, ultimately obtained a few dozen direct messages Trump sent and other data connected to the @realDonaldTrump account.

Initially, Trump wasnt informed of the pursuit of information by the special counsel, but did learn of the search later, before the public knew.

Conservatives criticize special counsels secret pursuit of Trumps Twitter data

Four conservative-leaning judges on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals criticized Smiths secret pursuit of Trumps data from Twitter.

The four judges released a statement with the courts opinion, though it was not a dissent.

The subset of judges said in their statement that the former president should have had more of an opportunity to try to assert executive privilege over his private communications on the Twitter account he used while in office.

The four judges also warned that the court rulings in the Twitter search case could mean state, federal or congressional investigators could pursue private email and phone records of a sitting president in secret.

The judges statement comes at an extraordinary moment when Trump is in the Washington, DC, appeals courts on multiple fronts, challenging criminal charges he is facing, citing protections he believes he should have for his service as president and as a candidate in 2024.

The statement released Tuesday highlights how some of the judges in the powerful appeals court  including one currently weighing Trumps claim of presidential immunity from criminal prosecution over efforts to overturn the 2020 election  believe more deference should be shown a former president and the executive branch during criminal investigations.

The Special Counsels approach obscured and bypassed any assertion of executive privilege and dodged the careful balance Congress struck in the Presidential Records Act. The district court and this court permitted this arrangement without any consideration of the consequential executive privilege issues raised by this unprecedented search. We should not have endorsed this gambit, Judge Neomi Rao, who was appointed by Trump, wrote in the statement.

Judges Karen Henderson, Greg Katsas and Justin Walker joined the statement as the full court declined to re-hear the case. The judges noted they have never said they would have blocked the special counsels office from getting Trumps Twitter data.

Nothing in the foregoing precludes the possibility that, if the former President had asserted executive privilege, the Special Counsel could have surmounted it by demonstrating a specific need for evidence in a pending criminal trial, Rao added. But the Court and this circuit have always undertaken that balance with meticulous attention to the constitutional privilege protecting the President and his Office.

Henderson is currently sitting on the three-judge panel that is considering Trumps attempt to dismiss his criminal indictment accusing him of conspiracy and obstruction following the 2020 election.

Her vote and reasoning with Biden-appointed judges Florence Pan and Michelle Childs is hotly anticipated and will mark a pivotal moment in the case against Trump.

Pan wrote the initial DC Circuit opinion in August in the Twitter search case. In it, she sided with investigators and said Twitter could be blocked by the courts from telling Trump about the search warrant.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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A federal appeals court wont reconsider a ruling that allowed special counsel Jack Smith to access private communications from Donald Trumps Twitter account.

But even as the court declined to revisit the issue on Tuesday, the courts conservative judges united to scold their liberal colleagues and the lower-court judge who initially decided the case. Those prior rulings, the conservatives said, amounted to a significant, unjustified erosion of executive privilege.

Judicial disregard of executive privilege undermines the Presidency, not just the former President being investigated in this case, the judges wrote in an opinion authored by Trump appointee Neomi Rao.

All four Republican-appointed judges on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals extolled the virtues and importance of the presidents right to confidential communications and advice, even though they concluded that the underlying dispute over Smiths access to Trumps private Twitter messages was moot.

Last February, as part of Smiths investigation of Trumps bid to subvert the 2020 election, prosecutors obtained a voluminous trove of Trumps Twitter data after secret court proceedings. A district judge ordered the company, now known as X, to turn over the data without informing Trump, and a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit later upheld that decision.

That precedent, the D.C. Circuits Republican-appointed judges worried Tuesday, could lead federal and state prosecutors to invade a sitting presidents privileged materials  without advance notification  by simply accessing the materials via a third party like a social media or phone company.

The four conservatives ultimately agreed with seven Democratic-appointed judges on the court that the earlier decision of the three-judge panel  which upheld a $350,000 contempt fine against Twitter  should not be revisited by the full bench of the appeals court. Indeed, despite the lengthy exposition on the merits of executive privilege, no D.C. Circuit judge even called for a vote on rehearing the case by the full bench.

A spokesperson for Smith declined to comment. An attorney for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

X may appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, though the effect of any such appeal will be limited because Smith has already obtained Trumps data as a result of a court order last February from U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, who was then the chief federal judge in Washington, D.C. The company sought to delay the enforcement of Smiths search warrant in order to inform Trump of the prosecutors demands and potentially raise executive privilege claims, but Howell rejected the bid for delay.

Instead, Howell ruled that prosecutors could obtain Trumps account data without informing the former president because of genuine concerns that informing him could result in evidence being destroyed or danger to potential witnesses.

Howell held the company in contempt and fined it $350,000 for refusing to comply with deadlines set in the warrant. The judge openly wondered whether the companys CEO, Elon Musk, was seeking to curry favor with Trump.

In the unusual 12-page opinion Tuesday, the D.C. Circuits conservative wing said Trump should have had the opportunity to assert privilege before his account information was handed over to prosecutors. They said the other judges had too rashly dismissed the legal proceedings that ensued after Smith obtained a search warrant for messages in Trumps Twitter account.

Rao said the process the prosecutor used, issuing the warrant to the social media company and obtaining a gag order preventing the firm from telling Trump about the request, amounted to an end-run around executive privilege.

Rao said it was plausible Trump may have used his private Twitter account to conduct government business, considering the account had long been considered an official organ of the presidency. The data Smith obtained included a small volume of direct messages, though its unclear whom Trump may have corresponded with on the account.

Rao said Smith could have obtained the same information from the National Archives through the more traditional process under the Presidential Records Act, but elected not to do so.

The conservative judges also rejected Smiths arguments that concerns about witness safety or evidence destruction outweighed the need to inform a former president about the potential incursion of his executive privilege.

We should not have endorsed this gambit, Rao wrote.

Still, Rao conceded that even once Trump found out about the search warrant he didnt take legal steps to preserve the confidentiality he may have been entitled to.

Once informed of the search, President Trump could have intervened to protect claims of executive privilege, but did not, and so these issues are not properly before the en banc court, she wrote.

The case was shrouded in secrecy for months before POLITICO revealed some details of the fight last May when a prominent lawyer for Twitter and a lawyer detailed to Smiths team were seen at the courthouse ahead of oral arguments on the appeal.
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Apple has moved to avoid a U.S. import ban impacting the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 caused by a patent dispute with California firm Masimo.

A letter from Masimo to an appeals court judge dated January 15 said that the tech giant could avoid a recently instated import ban on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 by removing the blood oxygen app from these Apple Watches.

In the letter, Masimo says that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) decided that Apples redesign falls outside the scope of the International Trade Commissions (ITC) import ban on the two devices.

It added that Apple had explained that its redesigned Watch products definitively do not contain pulse oximetry functionality.

A decision from the U.S. Federal Appeals Court regarding Apples request to pause any U.S. ban on the two smartwatch models during the appeals process could come as early as Tuesday.

Masimo said in a widely reported statement on Monday that Apples decision to remove the tool from its smartwatches was a positive step toward accountability, adding: It is especially important that one of the worlds largest and most powerful companies respects the intellectual property rights of smaller companies and complies with ITC orders when it is caught infringing.

Apple has yet to comment publicly on Mondays development.

The watches were banned in the U.S. toward the end of last year after the ITC ruled that the blood oxygen sensors violated patents belonging to Masimo.

Apple removed the devices from stores shortly before the ban took effect on December 26, but almost immediately, it won an appeal to resume sales temporarily.

Apple tipster Mark Gurman claimed on Monday that Apple is preparing a software update that will adjust the blood oxygen apps algorithms in a bid to put some space between it and Masimos patented technology.

Gurman also said that Apple has already started shipping these modified Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches to Apple Stores, though its not certain when they will be available for purchase.

The blood oxygen feature, which measures the saturation of oxygen in the users red blood cells, is expected to continue functioning on Series 9 and Ultra 2 devices that have already been sold, and its likely to remain on watches sold outside of the U.S.

There are still many moving parts in the dispute between Apple and Masimo, suggesting that it still has some way to run.
Apple may have found a way to avoid a US import ban on two of its popular Watch devices , but the solution would require the tech giant to ditch a highly-touted and legally contentious blood oxygen feature to do so. The proposed changes could help bring an end to Apples years-long legal dispute with medical technology firm Masimo, which claims Apple copied its patented pulse oximeter blood oxygen sensors and included it in its Series 9 and Ultra 2 devices. Apple could still avoid dropping the blood oxygen tech if a US Appeals court grants it a continued stay to keep selling the disputed devices while the company tries to reverse the ban.

The US Customs and Border Protection agency reportedly agreed a redesigned Apple Watch without the patented blood oxygen monitoring tech falls outside of the scope of the International Trade Commissions (ITC) import and sales ban handed down last October, according to a January 15 court filing from Masimo. Apple reportedly said these reworked versions of the watch under consideration definitively do not include pulse oximetry functionality.

US Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to PopScis request for comment.

The news comes roughly three months after the ITC determined the two Apple Watch models violated Masimos patent protections . That ruling led to a shocking ban on the import and sales of those Apple devices in the US and weeks of dramatic legal pleas from Apple fervently fighting to stave off the ban, some reaching as high as the presidency . Apple managed to win an emergency interim stay which lets the company temporarily continue selling the disputed devices while the legal process played out.

Though its still unclear exactly how Apple intends to sell the devices without the blood oxygen feature, Bloomberg reports a fix may come shortly via a software workaround. That same report claims Apples operations team has already begun sending some of those updated Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches to Apple stores in the US. Workers at those locations, Bloomberg notes, were reportedly instructed not to sell the devices until they received approval from Apple's corporate office. Those versions of the device could make their way to consumers wrists within weeks if Apple loses their appeal.

Apple's claim that its redesigned watch does not contain pulse oximetry is a positive step toward accountability, Masimo said in a statement sent to PopSci. It is especially important that one of the world's largest and most powerful companies respects the intellectual property rights of smaller companies and complies with ITC orders when it is caught infringing."

There are some important caveats to the reported deal. Apple is still eagerly waiting to see whether or not a US Court of Appeals will grant it a permanent stay while it tries to reverse the ITC ban. If that stay is granted, Apple could continue to sell its devices with the blood oxygen tech during the remainder of the appeals process, which could take years. In other words, Apple isnt giving up its fight just yet .

Absent that continued stay, however, Apple would have to ditch the disputed feature in order to continue selling the Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches in the US. That outcome would represent a major win for Masimo and a setback for Apple, which touted the feature as a selling point for the devices . Apple did not immediately respond to PopScis request for comment.

ITCs import ban sent Apple scrambling

Apple dramatically paused all in-store sales of its Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches on Christmas Eve last year, three days after it paused sales of the devices online. Masimo alleged Apple copied its blood oxygen sensor hardware following collaborations with the company that started back in 2013. The medical tech company alleges Apple stole the technology from that meeting and poached several of its key employees. Apple reportedly began selling watches with the pulse oximeter back in 2020, starting with the Series 6. Apple has repeatedly denied copying the tech from Masimo in previous court filings.

A US judge ultimately sided with Masimo late last year following a grueling, lengthy legal battle. Apple quickly appealed the patent infringement ruling only to have the ITC uphold the judges original ruling. Apple even tried to petition President Joe Biden to veto the ITCs decision, but that plea went unanswered.

Apple pulled the devices from its shelves days before the ITC ban took effect on December 26. Not long after, a court agreed to place an emergency intern stay on the ban while the US Customs and Border Protection agency determined whether or not proposed changes to the devices would be enough to address the patent dispute. Now, its looking like Apple will get the opportunity to continue selling the two Watch models in question, albeit without the pulse oximeter.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson dropped his long-shot bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday, ending a candidacy that was a throwback to an earlier era of the GOP but ultimately failed to resonate in a party now dominated by Donald Trump.

Hutchinsons exit came a day after he finished sixth in Iowas leadoff caucuses, well behind Trump and other top rivals but also behind Ryan Binkley, a pastor who failed to qualify for any of the debates. Hutchinson was the last GOP candidate remaining in the race who was willing to directly take on Trump.

I congratulate Donald J. Trump for his win last night in Iowa and to the other candidates who competed and garnered delegate support, Hutchinson said in a statement. Today, I am suspending my campaign for President and driving back to Arkansas. My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front runner did not sell in Iowa.

Hutchinsons campaign manager, Alison Williams, said he wasnt issuing an endorsement at this time.

During the campaign, he failed to register beyond 1 percentage point in most polls and drew sparse crowds even as the Republican presidential field winnowed from more than a dozen candidates down to a handful. Another competitor, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, dropped out of the race Monday night after finishing fourth in Iowa, behind Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.

Hutchinson stayed in the race even as better-financed and well-known candidates such as former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott dropped out last year.

During the first debate, Hutchinson was booed by some audience members when he said he wouldnt support Trump if the former president was convicted in any of his four criminal cases, and he questioned whether Trump was disqualified from holding office because of his role in inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

I am not going to support somebody whos been convicted of a serious felony or who is disqualified under our Constitution, Hutchinson said.

He failed to meet the qualifications for the next four presidential debates, an unwelcome development that denied him needed exposure.

Before entering the race, he called another Trump White House run the worst scenario for the GOP and said the former presidents call to terminate parts of the Constitution hurt the country.

He objected to the Republican National Committees requirement that candidates support the eventual nominee to qualify for the debate stage, though he ultimately signed the pledge. He said the party should instead require hopefuls to vow to not run as third-party candidates.

Hutchinson, whose candidacy harked back to an earlier era of the Republican Party, preferred dry policy discussions or appearances on Sunday talk shows to boisterous rallies or social media fights. Although hes been a fixture in Arkansas politics going back decades, he was little known outside his home state.

He was crowded out by other better-known candidates who had competing appeals to GOP voters. His criticisms of Trump were overshadowed by similar comments from Chris Christie, the former governor from New Jersey.

After Christie dropped out of the race days before Iowas caucuses, Hutchinson commended him for speaking the hard truth and highlighting the risks of a Donald Trump presidency, noting the high political price he paid.

As for me, Hutchinson said in a statement before the caucuses, I am competing for votes in the Iowa caucuses and I plan to beat expectations here. I remain the only candidate who has not promised a pardon to Donald Trump and my voice continues to be critical in this race.

Hutchinson joins Ramaswamy, Christie, Pence, Scott, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, radio show host Larry Elder, businessman Perry Johnson, former Texas congressman Will Hurd and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez in suspending his bid for the GOP nomination.

He formally launched his campaign in April in Bentonville, the northwest Arkansas town where he got his start as an attorney and first ran unsuccessfully for elected office.

Hutchinson had used the city, which is also retail giant Walmarts home, to portray himself as a business-friendly conservative. He had contrasted that with DeSantis, who has been engaged in a bitter public feud with Disney in Florida.

Hutchinson, who finished his two terms as Arkansas governor in 2023, is also a former congressman who served as one of the House managers prosecuting the impeachment case against then-President Bill Clinton.

Previously, Hutchinson served in President George W. Bushs White House as the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration and as an undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security. He was also a federal prosecutor in Arkansas in the 1980s.

Hutchinson touted his law enforcement experience as unique, especially in addressing issues such as immigration and border security. He also cited it when talking about Trumps legal woes.

Hutchinson, who had led a task force for the National Rifle Association that called for armed and trained school personnel after the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, found a less than enthusiastic reception when he appeared before the groups annual convention after launching his bid. He drew at least one yelled obscenity from the Trump-friendly crowd after he suggested President Joe Biden was praying for a rematch with Trump in 2024 and declared, We dont need a rerun of 2020.

He had also pointed to his history of signing multiple abortion restrictions into law as governor, including a near-total ban that took effect when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. But Hutchinson stopped short of saying whether hed support a six- or 15-week ban as president before telling conservatives he would sign into law a federal restriction.

Hutchinson, who as governor had vetoed a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, had during the campaign highlighted other restrictions hed supported on transgender youth.
City of Austin officials plan to keep warming shelters open through Wednesday morning as dangerous, subfreezing temperatures will linger into midweek.

As residents hunkered down indoors Monday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas  which manages the state power grid  pleaded with Texans to conserve energy Tuesday morning. Although Austin Energy broke usage records Monday morning, officials said they didnt expect widespread outages related to the record-breaking cold weather.

Temperatures will drop to the mid-teens in Austin both Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, according to the National Weather Service, though it said chances of precipitation had disappeared Monday afternoon. A wind chill warning is in effect until 9 a.m. Tuesday and a wind chill advisory will be in effect Tuesday night until 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Antonella Chirboga takes a morning walk Monday in downtown Austin as a cold front swept through Central Texas. Temperatures are not expected to rise above freezing until Wednesday.

The thermometer at Camp Mabry registered a temperature of 16 degrees, which is colder than the previous daily record of 19 degrees, set in 1944, Mayor Kirk Watson said during a Monday news conference.

More: Austin live weather updates: ERCOT asks for energy conservation Tuesday morning

The risk for frostbite and hypothermia is high in weather like this, he said.

Please, please continue to avoid all nonessential travel and stay indoors, if at all possible, Watson said.

Record-breaking energy demand

Austin Energy broke a record for peak winter demand Monday morning, when customers used 2,760 megawatts, Austin Energy General Manager Bob Kahn said. The previous peak was 2,630 megawatts, he said.

Kahn emphasized that he doesn't expect widespread outages, such as those that in 2021 plunged millions of Texans statewide into powerlessness during a week of dangerously freezing temperatures.

Austin Energy General Manager Bob Kahn and other city and Travis County leaders discuss weather preparations Monday at the Combined Transportation, Emergency, and Communications Center.

The utility has experienced only minor outages, which in some cases have been caused by overloaded circuits.

A fuse will blow, Kahn said. We replace that within an hour.

High grid load

Residents should try to reduce energy use by turning the thermostat down a few degrees or using a fireplace to heat their home, Kahn said. People shouldnt use an oven to heat their home, he said.

In case of unexpected outages, the city has identified circuits that carry noncritical infrastructure, Watson said.

More: See live map of Texas road conditions, closures as state sees freezing temps, rain

We will try to roll those outages in a way that any one area would not have more than 40 minutes, Watson said. We right now do not anticipate thats going to happen.

As of midday Monday, utility companies in Austin, Travis County and surrounding areas had reported few power outages. Just over 99.9% of Austin Energy customers had power around 2:30 p.m., with 22 localized outages affecting about 100 customers, per the utility's outage map. In Travis County as a whole, about 99.9% had power.

Similar power outage percentages were reported in Williamson County to the north and Bastrop County to the east.

More: How to prepare your house, pantry, car, emergency plan before arctic blast hits Austin

As of 2 p.m., about 49 inbound and 57 outbound flights, less than 19% of flights, had been canceled at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, according to Flight Radar 24.

Icy conditions were reported on roads and highways across the region. In Georgetown, all southbound lanes of Texas 130 at the Interstate 35 entrance were closed due to a multivehicle wreck at Patriot Way.

Out in the cold

Frigid and overcast, the city was relatively sleepy on the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday Monday. Shoppers shivered as they climbed out of their steaming cars at the H-E-B on Riverside Drive.

Christina Castilleja loaded bags into her car.

Her family of nine in Manor lost power during a freeze last year, so this time they vowed to prepare for cold weather, she said. They brought their generator out just in case the power went out.

More: Track outages from arctic blast in Central Texas. See Texas power outage map.

We have to be sure that we have everything we need, Castilleja said while putting away eggs, juice and other essentials.

Castilleja spent the days before the freezing weather donating blankets to unhoused people and planned to take chili and hot cocoa to them this week, she said.

If we cant handle it, imagine being out there 24 hours for days on end trying to figure out how to stay warm, Castilleja said.

Steven Slavin, who was also getting essentials Monday morning, had spent the morning driving for a ride-hailing app.

Im making good money, and theres not a lot of traffic, Slavin said. Its been working out for me.

He had made the trip to H-E-B to stock up in case road conditions became too bad to drive.

Kornel Rady and Rebecca Knott take a morning walk as a cold front sweeps across downtown Austin on Monday. A sudden drop in temperature and a brisk wind foreshadow the challenges they will face throughout the day.

Roads and shelter

Austin and Travis County had treated several elevated roads and bridges  which are more likely to accumulate ice  with a material that reduces ice.

The city has been operating six shelters  up from the normal three  to accommodate the increased demand for indoor shelters, Watson said.

City shelters and temporary warming centers housed about 400 people and seven dogs Sunday night into Monday morning, Watson said.

City officials announced Monday that they plan to keep the shelters open through Wednesday.

I anticipate that we will have more people that will sign up, Watson said.

People who want to seek shelter must register at One Texas Center, 505 Barton Springs Road, between 5 and 8 p.m. each day. City staffers will provide transportation from the center to shelters.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson talks about the weather and energy use Monday.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Arctic blast breaks energy, temperature records in Austin
The Arizona Humane Society is working with lawmakers and Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell to strengthen the state's animal cruelty laws with the introduction of a new bill.

The Humane Society said 2023 was a hard year for animal abuse cases. The group responded to 15,000 calls for service and opened nearly 10,000 animal abuse cases  a 21% increase from 2022, according to a news release from the organization.

Arizonas pets have been victims of a weak statewide animal cruelty law for far too long, said Dr. Steven Hansen, president and CEO of the Arizona Humane Society said. While some cities have passed ordinances to provide additional protections for pets, the time has come for the whole state of Arizona to stand against animal cruelty.

Senate Bill 1047, sponsored by Sen. T.J. Shope, will define cruelty to companion animals as the failure to provide necessary medical attention, ensure safe shelter and provide protection during extreme weather conditions. This legislation will also define food and water that are fit for animal consumption.

The pressing need to bolster laws against animal cruelty has become more evident in the face of cases involving abandonment, lack of essential food or water, and insufficient shelter during extreme weather conditions, Shope said in a news release. I am proud to stand alongside the Arizona Humane Society as we push for a better quality of life for all the pets in our state.

The statewide bill will be a way for lawmakers to fill holes in current animal cruelty legislation. Tracey Miiller, director of field operations at the Humane Society, said that many pets in rural communities are left without protection under the law without an overarching ordinance.

"There's so many rural communities that need this type of bill because they don't have a county ordinance or city ordinance or anything at all relating to animal cruelty," Miller said. "It needs to be more specific for a lot of those outlying communities."

Humane Society sends abused dogs to California rescue group

In September, the Arizona Humane Society aided the Chandler Police Department in seizing 55 special needs dogs from the home of Sydney McKinley, who is also known as April McLaughlin. It recently gained legal custody of the remaining 13 dogs in the case.

The group united the last five of them with the rescue group the Animal Pad on Tuesday. Lauren Botticelli, the executive director of the California-based organization, said the dogs would continue to receive care for their individualized needs in San Diego foster homes.

Animal abuse on the rise in Arizona? Here's what the experts say

"We previously took eight dogs in over the past couple of months from this case, who are all now in foster care homes thriving in San Deigo. Some are adopted, so that's great," Botticelli said. "These guys today, three of them are coming back to our facility in San Deigo, where they await foster homes. ... And then two of the dogs that we're transporting today are going to a different rescue."

The five dogs  Cody, Xander, Maddie, Skylar and Billy  will now be able to live happy and safe lives with their new foster families, Botticelli said.

"You would imagine for what they've been through, they would probably have a lot of behavior issues and a lot of trauma," Botticelli said. "What we're seeing is just dogs that are ready to finally get to live life the way they deserve."

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Humane Society seeks to stop animal cruelty with new law
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced he is suspending his 2024 long-shot presidential campaign after coming in last place at the Iowa caucuses.

The former Arkansas governor has been a consistent critic of former President Donald Trump, who won the Iowa caucuses convincingly and remains the Republican front-runner in other early states.

"I congratulate Donald J. Trump for his win last night in Iowa and to the other candidates who competed and garnered delegate support. Today, I am suspending my campaign for President and driving back to Arkansas," Hutchinson said in a statement Tuesday morning.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks during the Florida Freedom Summit held at the Gaylord Palms Resort on Nov. 4, 2023, in Kissimmee, Florida. / Credit: Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Although he announced his candidacy early in the 2024 campaign, Hutchinson had trouble winning support from Republican voters, polling in the low single digits from the outset of the race.

"My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front runner did not sell in Iowa," Hutchinson added in his dropout statement.

The former governor got a total of 191 votes in the Iowa caucuses, or 0.2% of the total, according to preliminary results released by the Republican Party of Iowa. His total was the lowest of the five major candidates who competed in the state, with only Chris Christie, who dropped out last week, and "other" candidates receiving fewer votes.

Hutchinson also struggled to meet the Republican National Committee's increasingly higher thresholds to participate in the GOP presidential debates.

Hutchinson, who also represented Arkansas 3rd District in Congress, was one of the few Republicans who sought to set himself apart from Trump. He said it was "inappropriate" for his GOP rivals to talk about pardoning the former president if he is convicted in either of the two federal criminal cases that are scheduled to go to trial this year.

On the eve of the Iowa caucuses, Hutchinson told "Face the Nation" that Trump had "redefined the Republican Party, and not in a good way."

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Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has ceased his campaign to be the Republican nominee for president, he said in a statement Tuesday.

Hutchinson came in sixth place in the Iowa Republican caucuses held Monday night, with 0.2% of the vote.

Hutchinson stood out on the campaign trail as one of the few GOP candidates to firmly rebuke former President Donald Trump, the races front-runner. His statement ending his campaign continued that criticism.

My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front runner did not sell in Iowa, he said.

I answered every question, sounded the warning to the GOP about the risks in 2024 and presented hope for our countrys future.

Hutchinson previously spoke out against the Republican National Committees debate stage requirement that candidates vow to support whomever becomes the partys nominee, stating he could not endorse Trump if hes convicted on federal charges.

Though Hutchinson ultimately signed the pledge, he and his fellow candidate at the time Chris Christie were the only ones at the first GOP debate not to raise their hands when asked if theyd support Trump as the nominee if hes found guilty on any of the dozens of charges on which hes been indicted.

He also slammed his fellow candidates for pledging to pardon Trump if elected.

I think that anybody who promises pardons during the presidential campaign is not serving our system of justice well, and its inappropriate, Hutchinson told CBSs Face the Nation in July.

In early November, Hutchinson revealed that he did not file paperwork to appear on the primary ballot in South Carolina, as both its former Gov. Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott have a much better shot of winning there.

I went to college in SC and met my bride there so I love the state but this is the best way to elect non-Trump delegates, Hutchinson posted on X, expressing a desire not to further split the vote among Trumps competitors.

The $50,000 fee to file to run in the South Carolina primary also amounted to more than 15% of the funds Hutchinsons campaign reported having in October, NBC News found.

The former Arkansas governor failed to qualify for the second GOP debate in September.

Hutchinson  a far-right conservative on abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, immigration and energy reform  first launched his presidential campaign in April in his hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas, at the same spot where he announced an unsuccessful Senate bid in 1986.

I ran as a conservative Republican when being a Republican was like having a career-ending handicap, he said at the April launch, continuing, And now, I bring that same vigor to fight another battle, and that battle is for the future of our country and the soul of our party.

Hutchinson first won a House seat representing Arkansas in 1996. He left that post to lead former President George W. Bushs Drug Enforcement Administration from 2001 to 2003.

He ran an unsuccessful campaign for Arkansas governor in 2006, losing to a Democrat, then won the position in 2015. He served as governor from 2015 to 2023, when he was termed out.

Liza Hearon contributed to this article.

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton endorses David Covey at a True Texas Project event in Beaumont on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. Covey is running against House Speaker Dade Phelan in the Republican primary. Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune

Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday ramped up his political revenge tour following his impeachment last year with a visit to the district of his biggest target: House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont.

Paxton spent the day in southeast Texas campaigning with David Covey, a GOP activist from the area who is challenging Phelan in the March primary. The Phelan-led House, including most Republicans, impeached Paxton in May on abuse-of-power charges and the Senate acquitted him after a trial in September.

Appearing together Monday evening in Beaumont, Paxton praised Covey for his tremendous courage in challenging the speaker and bashed Phelan as being too deferential to Democrats.

We have to protect Texas, and its guys like David Covey that are gonna go down there and undo what the speaker has done, Paxton said.

Paxton campaigned with Covey earlier in the day in Orange, and he was set to head Tuesday to North Texas for more campaign stops for Texas House candidates. Paxton has gone on an endorsement spree since his acquittal, mostly backing primary challengers to the dozens of House Republicans who voted to impeach him.

Paxtons efforts are not just focused on the House. While in Beaumont, he also pitched three primary challengers he recruited to run against judges on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which angered him in 2021 when it struck down his power to unilaterally prosecute voter fraud.

"Theyre gonna try to put me in jail for doing this, but I dont care," Paxton said of his endorsements against the judges.

Phelan has been similarly unapologetic about the impeachment, which has made him not only a target of Paxton but also deepened a rift with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Patrick served as judge in the trial and ended it with a speech accusing the House of cutting corners in its impeachment process.

During a campaign stop last week in Port Neches, Phelan said Paxton and Patrick have a problem with me because Im gonna do whats best for the state of Texas, not what is best for them.

Im not gonna turn my back on corruption, Im not gonna turn my back on malfeasance, Phelan said. Im gonna do the right thing all day long, every day.

As Paxton was campaigning with Covey on Monday evening, Phelan announced the endorsement of former Gov. Rick Perry, who had lobbied state senators to consider the evidence against Paxton. Perrys endorsement called Phelan a fearless conservative and a Texas Hero.

Covey and other Phelan critics have sought to undermine the speakers record by highlighting GOP priorities that have not made it out of the House, like Abbotts yearlong push for school vouchers. They have also pointed to Phelans adherence to a tradition of appointing Democratic committee chairs.

Friends, in one time, slavery was a tradition here, but a Republican stood up and said, Enough is enough, Covey said Monday evening. He added that Phelan is undermining and selling out our state.

Phelan has defended Democratic committee chairs as a worthwhile practice that prevents the Legislature from seeing the kind of gridlock that regularly grips Congress. Even then, he boasted during the Port Neches stop that last year he appointed fewer Democratic chairs than any other speakers ever appointed in the history of the state of Texas as long as were Republican.

Paxtons appearance in Beaumont came as the state was dealing with unusually freezing conditions that appeared to put a damper on turnout. Paxton left early due to anticipated road conditions, according to an organizer.

Covey is an oil-and-gas consultant and the former chair of the Orange County GOP. Alicia Davis, an anti-tax activist from Jasper, is also running against Phelan in the March 5 primary.

Phelan has taken the contest seriously, airing TV ads touting his conservative bona fides since November. He more recently got the endorsement of the National Rifle Association, which cited the Houses 2021 passage of a law allowing permitless carry of handguns.

Asked about the NRA endorsement Monday, Covey said he was prouder to have high marks from the Gun Owners of America, which bills itself as a harder-line alternative to the NRA. The NRA, Covey added, has gone astray and that makes me sad.

Covey also got an audience question about "TEXIT," or the movement for Texas to secede from the United States. He said he has signed a petition from the Texas Nationalist Movement that calls for letting voters decide the question.
An aide for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin asked for an ambulance to come to his house without lights or sirens on the day his controversial hospitalization began.

Can I askcan the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? Uhm, were trying to remain a little subtle, the aide said, according to an audio recording of a 911 call obtained by The Hill.

In their response, a dispatcher said that usually when they turn into a residential neighborhood, theyll turn them off.

Names were redacted in the recording of the call obtained by The Hill, but The Daily Beast, which first obtained the recording, reported the person on the call was an aide to Austin.

Austin was released from the hospital Monday, following waves of controversy for trips to the hospital kept secret from the White House.

The Defense secretary was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C., on the first day of the month because of complications including nausea with severe abdominal, hip, and leg pain from an earlier hospital procedure to fight prostate cancer in December that he kept secret from the White House. He also kept the later hospital visit secret for days.

President Biden on Friday said that Austin had shown a lapse in judgment for not letting him know about his hospitalization. However, he also said he still has confidence in his Defense secretary.

Republican members of the Senate Armed Service Committee sent a letter to Austin last Wednesday demanding that the Pentagon give a detailed timeline of events concerning the Defense secretarys incapacitation and hospitalization.

We are deeply troubled by the apparent breakdown in communications between your office and the rest of the Department of Defense, the White House, and Congress over the past two weeks, they wrote.

This story was updated at 5:24 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
AUSTIN (KXAN)  On a bitingly cold night, Jennifer Walker said she was left in the dark  literally and figuratively.

We kept getting error messages on the Austin Energy system, she said. This is not a first-time thing. It has happened before.

When freezing temps set in Sunday, Austin Energy crews were called out to repair an underground power line in the Spanish Oaks neighborhood. Nearby, at the Homestead in Bee Cave, the power went out in the morning, came back briefly, and went out again around 7:45 p.m., according to Walker.

She tried to report the second outage to Austin Energy. Text messages show two error messages in response saying: Your registration request was not processed correctly. Walker shared another text message from a neighbor who also tried to report the outage but received the same error response.

Jennifer Walker vents frustration over Austin Energys outage alerts (KXAN Photo/Matt Grant)

She called Austin Energy and was transferred to 311, which is staffed on weekends. She said the operator told her she had power, needed to reset our circuit breakers, and that they didnt see a problem on the outage map, she recalled.

And, we said: No. Honestly. Were out out of power,' she recalled.

We started a mass rally with all the neighbors trying to back-door some communication into Austin Energy, she said. We kept trying to pass messages around between all of us about what was happening and who knew what.

Four hours later, at 11:40 p.m., Austin Energy sent a text alert saying an outage may be affecting the area.

The estimated restoration time given was midnight. Power was finally restored around 1:20 a.m., text alerts show.

Text message error from Austin Energy (Courtesy Jennifer Walker)

Similar text message error from Austin Energy (Courtesy Jennifer Walker)

Austin Energy outage updates (Courtesy Kate Austin)

Walkers neighbor, Kate Austin, was able to successfully report the outage. She said she never received text message updates but her husband did  several hours after the power went out for a second time that day.

When youre in your house and its cold and dark, said Austin, you know, it feels like a really long time.

She added it would have been good to have received any message sooner stating Austin Energy was aware of the situation and looking into it.

On Monday, Walker said someone from Austin Energy called to apologize.

He said the system crashed and he said the upgrades were not sufficient that were done. He said they need more upgrades, they need more power, more education for 311, they need more staffing on 311 and they just need more funds allocated, Walker said.

Walker could not recall the name or title of the person who she said called her. Austin Energy could not confirm the remarks.

As of Monday, power outages in Austin remained low. In the morning, around 1,000 customers were impacted. By early afternoon, that number dropped to 109. By 7:30 p.m., it was 177.

AUSTIN POWER OUTAGES: Check to see the latest power outage updates from Austin Energy

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson leads a news conference on the citys response to frigid temps. Austin Energy General Manager Bob Kahn (third from left) looks on. (KXAN Photo/Matt Grant)

Imperfect communication

Austin Energy blamed Walkers error message on a glitch. A spokesperson apologized for the imperfect communication and said they are looking into ways to improve our communication and better inform residents.

We apologize for the imperfect communication to our neighbors that are in that area impacted by the outage on Sunday, said Austin Energy spokesman Matt Mitchell. Making the repair to the underground power line required several different steps as the extent of the damage became clearer. Our crews thought they had a way to safely re-route power to work on the underground cable, but had to change course to different measures.

Austin Energy makes every effort to arrive at a realistic estimated restoration time even when it has to change based on new findings or information, Mitchell added. We are reviewing the situation among multiple departments today to see where we can improve our communication and better inform our neighbors during situations like this.

Asked if four hours is normal for someone to be notified by text of an outage, and given an estimated repair time, Mitchell said its not uncommon and not completely out of the ordinary.

I would say its still too long, Mitchell said. Thats what were talking about in meetings. Ive been in several meetings already this afternoon talking about how we can do better with that. Its accurate to say that in any circumstance that probably should be shorter.

At an afternoon news conference on Monday, Austin Energy General Manager Bob Kahn said there had been very few outages so far. He had not heard about the new frustrations over Austin Energys communication with residents  a problem that raised similar questions almost a year ago.

I have not heard that but I will check into that, Kahn said. Apologize to the viewers if thats happening. It should not be happening.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.
(Bloomberg) -- Australia has unveiled plans to produce its first locally-made missiles as early as next year under a A$37 million ($24.5 million) contract with American munitions giant Lockheed Martin Corp.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Australia will work with the company to construct a small, initial batch of missiles as early as 2025, with the intention of ramping up mass production by the end of the decade, Acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy told a press briefing in Canberra on Tuesday.

The long term goal is to move the Australian army from being able to strike at 40 kilometers (25 miles) to being able to strike at 1,000 kilometers, Conroy said, adding that the Indo Pacific region was facing its greatest arms race since 1945.

The missile deal is part of a broader goal by the Australian government to reshape its military away from a focus on ground combat and toward a greater emphasis on long-range strike and area denial capabilities.

Australia is facing increasing strategic competition between the US and China in small Pacific nations just off the countrys coastline, as well as escalating tensions between Beijing and Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines in the South China Sea.

Conroy said the initial missiles produced in Australia would be suitable for launch from a Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System system. The government wants to then move toward manufacturing them on a broader scale.

In addition, Australia is planning to purchase longer range precision strike missiles, which can hit targets as far as 500 kilometers away, Conroy said, without specifying a timeline except to say the government aims to get the capability by mid-decade.

--With assistance from Zoe Ma.

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FILE PHOTO: Defendant Fritzl is pictured during proceedings the last day of his trial at the court of law in Sankt Poelten

(Reuters) - An Austrian man who held his daughter captive for 24 years and fathered seven children with her could be transferred from a unit for the criminally insane to prison where he would be eligible to apply for release, a court official said on Tuesday.

The 88-year-old man, widely known as Josef Fritzl but who now has a new name, was sentenced in 2009 to life imprisonment in the special unit. If transferred to a regular jail, he could apply for early release on parole 15 years after his conviction.

He was convicted of incest, rape, coercion, false imprisonment, enslavement and for the negligent homicide of one of his infant sons.

An expert opinion on Fritzl's medical condition is being assessed to see if he can be transferred to a regular detention facility, a spokesperson for the regional court of Krems said. Austria's Kronen Zeitung was first to report the expert opinion.

The court spokesperson said it was unclear how long such an assessment would take, estimating it could range from weeks to a couple of months.

If transferred to prison, Fritzl's lawyer could in a second step submit an application for early release.

His lawyer told German daily Bild she had already prepared such an application, adding the aim would be to transfer the man to a nursing home.

Fritzl imprisoned his daughter Elisabeth in the basement of the family home when she was 18. Three of the seven children he fathered with Elisabeth lived with her until they were freed in 2008.

Fritzl and his wife fostered the other three surviving children after Fritzl claimed Elisabeth had given birth to them and then abandoned them to join a religious sect.

He burnt the remains of the seventh child, who died shortly after birth, in the house furnace.

(Writing by Nette Nostlinger; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Monday marks the official start to the Republican presidential nominating contest with the Iowa caucuses.

Voters in Iowa head to caucus sites across the state on Monday night to register their preference for the 2024 GOP nominee. Conditions are expected to be brutal, and forecasters are warning of the coldest Iowa caucus date on record.

The winner of the states caucuses is expected to get a boost heading into New Hampshires first-in-the-nation primary next week, but the results dont always spell success for the rest of the campaign season. Still, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are hoping for a strong showing against former President Donald Trump, the presumed front-runner.
The city of Aurora paid homage to the life and accomplishments of Martin Luther King with a huge celebration Monday at Calvary Church on Route 59 on the border of Aurora and Naperville.

Officials sought a new venue to host the 39th annual Martin Luther King Day event this year after securing two high-profile guest speakers including 17-year-old Dorothy Tillman, who just completed her doctorate from Arizona State University, and award-winning actor Tyler Lepley.

Mondays program also included Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin; U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville; Indian Consul General Somnath Ghosh and Aurora University President Susana Rivera-Mills.

Aurora Chief Communications and Equity Officer Clayton Muhammad said the diversity of speakers and guests Monday reflected the inclusiveness championed by Martin Luther King.

This is Dr. Kings birthday and we have over 1,500 people registered to come and celebrate what would have been his 95th birthday. He died at 39, so hes been dead longer than he was alive, Muhammad said before the event. His legacy continues and we look forward to honoring that legacy particularly with the next generation of young people and that his message continues.

Muhammad said it was exciting having Indian Consul General Somnath Ghosh speak at the event.

Kings message of non-violence was really founded on Mahatma Gandhis message of non-violence. Dr. King said that one day we would have to reckon if we didnt listen to what Gandhi said, Muhammad noted. He (King) never had a chance to meet him, but showing that respect for Gandhi  we know our Indian population here in Aurora is growing, and were excited that the Indian consul general will be here with us.

He said it was great as well that Rivera-Mills who came here as a Latina coming to America and working her way through the educational system was also speaking at the event.

In addition, Muhammad noted that Fosters father was an architect of the civil rights laws and bills of the mid-1960s so he carries that legacy of his father into Congress.

Sister and brother Shelia and Ricky White were part of the big crowd that came to Calvary Church Monday night as the city Aurora held its annual Martin Luther King Day event.

Foster acknowledged his fathers role in civil rights.

My dad actually wrote the federal regulations behind the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he said. Its in my blood. My dad knew Martin Luther King and Ralph Abernathy and many of the heroes of the civil rights movement.

He said Mondays night event was also a sad one in a way because it was the first Martin Luther King Day event in Aurora since the death over the summer of longtime Aurora Ald. Scheketa Hart-Burns.

I am thinking right now the fact that this is the first time I have celebrated Dr. King without Scheketa Hart-Burns here, he said. She was my ambassador to the African-American community in Aurora for all of the years Ive been in politics and there is a hole on the stage not having her there.

Foster said Monday nights event was important because it was crucial to pass (Kings) legacy and his way of thinking about the world to the next generation.

The current young generation spends too much time on cellphones and thinking about things on a TikTok scale. I think that they would do well to sit down and read the letter from the Burmingham jail, he said. It will tell them a lot about what it means to be human on this Earth.

Rivera-Mills also noted the importance of carrying on Kings mission.

Dorothy Tillman, 17, who just completed her doctorate at Arizona State University, speaks during the city of Auroras event Monday night honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King.

It was important for us to remember that those of us who have managed to realize our dreams, we also remember the responsibility that comes with it and serving others, she said

We need to make sure we give back and for me this day is very much about living that legacy out, she said.

For Montgomery resident Jenny Estabrook, the Martin Luther King Day event was an opportunity for her and her family to be a part of something significant.

I think its important for all of us to be here and remember him and its good for my children to learn about him and know about it, Estabrook said as she stood inside Calvary Church Monday night with her family. This is a beautiful facility and the perfect place for this. We try to go to an event every year and try and volunteer somewhere with the kids.

Shelia White of Aurora enjoyed having the event at her own place of worship and said that when our generation was young we carried out Kings vision.

Im not sure todays younger people are carrying Kings vision as much as we did. My kids are in their 40s and when they were in school they carried it out, she said. But this is being celebrated every year and so that part (of remembering King) is being done.

Whites brother Ricky White, also of Aurora, said it was his first time at Auroras Martin Luther King Day event.

I usually have to go into Chicago to experience different events so when my sister pointed this out to me I was all for it, he said. This was something I didnt understand when I was younger but as I started to understand it more I started doing some outreach things myself.

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
On Tuesday 16 January, Viktor Khrenin, Belarusian Defence Minister, said that the country will put forward a new military doctrine that for the first time involves the use of nuclear weapons.

Source: European Pravda, as reported by AP

Quote: "We clearly explain Belarus views on the use of tactical nuclear weapons stationed on our territory," Khrenin said at a meeting of the Security Council of Belarus.

"A new chapter has appeared, where we clearly define our allied obligations to our allies," he added.

Details: The All-Belarusian People's Assembly, a representative body that functions in parallel with the Belarusian parliament, will be the body to approve the doctrine.

How the new doctrine relates to Russian weaponry is still unclear.

Belarusian Security Council Secretary Alexander Volfovich said that the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus is designed to deter aggression from Poland, a NATO member.

"Unfortunately, statements by our neighbours, in particular Poland ... forced us to strengthen [the military doctrine]", he said.

On 25 May, the defence ministers of Russia and Belarus signed documents on the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory. Later in June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the first Russian tactical nuclear warheads were already in Belarus, and the final transfer would be completed by the end of the year.

In late June, Lukashenko ordered to work out an "application algorithm" of the nuclear weapons that Russia stores in Belarus.

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Supporting Ukraine is an "existential necessity" for Europeans, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said during a session of the European Parliament on Jan. 16.

MEPs discussed with De Croo the program of Belgium's six-month presidency of the EU Council, which began on Jan. 1.

Read also: Belgium to set up $1.8 billion relief fund for Ukraine financed by frozen Russian wealth

"For we Europeans, support to Ukraine is existential, he said.

It goes to the heart of our security and our prosperity.

De Croo also noted that 2024 will be a "decisive year," when democracy and freedom will be tested" and he called on MEPs to maintain solidarity with Ukraine and continue military support.

The Belgian leader also mentioned the U.S. presidential election, noting that if former U.S. President Donald Trump wins the presidential election, Europe will be left "on its own."

"If 2024 brings us America First again, it will be more than ever Europe on its own," he said.

Read also: Denmark postpones delivery of first six F-16s to Ukraine until second quarter of 2024

Bild, citing its own sources in the intelligence service of one European country, reported that Russia may try to attack Europe in late 2024 or early 2025, when the United States will be "without a leader" and unable to come Europes, at least temporarily.

This refers to the period between the possible departure of current U.S. President Joe Biden in early November 2024 and the inauguration of his potential successor in January 2025.

The U.S. presidential election is scheduled for Nov. 5, 2024. The main candidates are incumbent Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

The New York Times wrote on Dec. 9, 2023, that Europe fears that Donald Trump's second presidency could lead to the actual withdrawal of the United States from NATO and the destruction of the North Atlantic Alliance, which would only benefit Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Neurosurgeon and former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson on Monday compared Donald Trump to the biblical King David of Israel, telling a seemingly flabbergasted Neil Cavuto that the American public need[s] somebody with a Manhattan, business-type of personality to deal with the administrative state. In an interview aired on Fox News, Cavuto said many Republicans simply cant get over [Trumps] personal behavior, the name-calling, the insults, all of that, and asked Carson how Trump will get over that hump. Carson responded by telling Cavuto to think about the Bible and King David. Most of those people, probably if they were alive back in those days, would say, Oh, what a horrible guy. You know, the episode with Bathsheba, and some of the other things that he did, referring to the adulterous affair the king had with the wife of one of his soldiers, Uriah the Hittite, after which he had Uriah killed. God uses different people for different times. Cavuto, apparently not believing his own ears, then asked Carson if he was truly equating Trump with King David, to which he said, I dont know about King, but certainly he has some policies that are very worthwhile.

Neil Cavuto: Many conservatives say they can never support Trump due to his personal behavior. How does he get over that hump?



Ben Carson: Well, you think about the Bible and King David...



Cavuto: Are you comparing Trump to King David? pic.twitter.com/JDX8nGA8i7  Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) January 15, 2024

Read more at The Daily Beast.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) on Monday blasted comments from presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in which he defended the governments surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr.

The racist campaign to spy on Martin Luther King, Jr in an effort to discredit the civil rights movement and stifle Americas march toward racial equality is indefensible, Thompson, the former chair of the House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, said in a statement first given to The Hill.

Attempting to justify or whitewash it in any way is just the latest attempt by extremists in our political system to rewrite history. We cant allow this dangerous rhetoric to stand and we must call it out clearly when we see it, he continued, referencing comments by GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley in which she downplayed the role of slavery in the Civil War and remarks by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) last year suggesting there were some benefits to slavery.

Thompsons comments came a day after Kennedy Jr., who is running an independent campaign for the White House, argued there was a reasonable justification for the FBI to wiretap the civil rights leader.

The surveillance campaign was done by the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover but was authorized by Kennedys father, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, with the authority of then-President John F. Kennedy.

The younger Robert Kennedy argued his family had little political choice but to authorize the surveillance given Hoovers insistence and political power.

They were betting not only the civil rights movement but their own careers. And they knew that Hoover was out to ruin King, Kennedy told Politico in the interview.

There was good reason for them doing that at the time because J. Edgar Hoover was out to destroy Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement and Hoover said to them that Martin Luther Kings chief was a communist, Kennedy said.

My father gave permission to Hoover to wiretap them so he could prove that his suspicions about King were either right or wrong, he said. I think, politically, they had to do it.

Kennedy Jr. has been polling in double digits, with Democrats in particular worrying he could draw enough votes to hurt President Biden in a general election. But there are still questions about whether Kennedy Jr. will qualify to make it on the ballot in enough states in November.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Bernie Sanders is forcing a Senate vote that could potentially freeze aid to Israel.

The independent senator from Vermont utilized a provision called the Foreign Assistance Act to introduce the resolution last week. If adopted, it would require the State Department to document any human rights abuses committed by Israel since October 7, 2023. Failure to produce a report within 30 days would stall military aid to Israel.

In essence, we will be voting on a very simple question: Do you support asking the State Department whether human rights violations may have occurred using U.S. equipment or assistance in this war? Sanders said on Wednesday, citing billions spent in military aid and the use of tens of thousands of American-supplied bombs in the conflict resulting in civilian deaths.

I hope it is not controversial to ask how U.S. weapons are being used, he added.

While the measure has small odds of passingit would need to get through both chambers of Congress and be signed by President Joe Biden, who has vehemently sided with Israel in the ongoing conflictSanderss resolution will elucidate which politicians really care about the widely documented crimes committed by the Israeli military.

As of this weekend, at least 24,100 Palestinians, including more than 9,600 children, have been killed since the war began, along with some 61,000 Palestinians injured, according to Palestines mission to the United Nations.



Gazans are also suffering from the complete bombardment of war as well as deliberate intervention by Israel to restrict humanitarian aid to the region, resulting in shortages of food, drinking water, medical supplies, electricity, and housing in Palestine.

The great majority of Gazans are are actually in famine, not just at risk of famine, Martin Griffiths, the U.N. undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, told CNN on Monday.



In Gaza, 1.9 million people have been displaced by the bombing and the fighting, more than 85 percent of the population, Sanders said in his statement last week. Many of these people are homeless, and some 1.4 million are crowded into UN facilities. More than 100 of these UN facilities have been damaged in Israeli attacks. Tens of thousands of others are sleeping out in the cold as winter sets in.

All of us who know a little bit about history, when we hear the name Dresden, know that it is synonymous with the destruction of WWII. But that destruction happened over two years. Gaza matched this in two months, Sanders noted.
More than two weeks after apartment units in Harvey were boarded up with some residents inside, the Housing Authority of Cook County says it is working to find new housing for them while the citys mayor insists officials are not the bad guys.

The authority couldnt say how many people it is working with, but said options offered include apartments with rental assistance in other authority owned buildings in Harvey and Homewood, a spokesman said Tuesday.

This has been a top priority, Marcus King said. We are working diligently to rehome them in suitable environments.

Harvey officials insist they did not order the Jan. 5 board-up of the two apartment buildings at 14437 and 1445 S. Halsted St., and were not on the scene at the time.

Videos on TikTok that have been viewed more than 10 million times show 73-year-old Rudolph Williams trapped in his apartment after it was sealed off.

Williams said he was resting in his bedroom when his apartment was boarded up and the handle on his front screen door removed. He contacted family members after realizing he was blockaded inside.

Rudolph Williams, left, and his nephew James Williams at the boarded up apartments at 14437 S. Halsted St. in Harvey, Jan. 8, 2024. Rudolph Williams was inside his apartment when they boarded it up.

Harvey Mayor Christopher Clark said he learned that apartments had been boarded up Jan. 6, and went to the 30-unit complex Jan. 8, climbing staircases the city had deemed hazardous.

The city said it had cited ownership of the property, Ascend Property Group, for unsafe conditions and police Chief Cameron Biddings said his department received 327 calls to 911 from the location about events taking place in the complex, including drug issues.

The property owners were officially notified in writing that the buildings structural integrity had surpassed its life expectancy, and evacuation was mandatory by October 28, 2023, Harvey posted last week on the citys Facebook page. The responsibility to communicate this information to tenants was also emphasized.

On December 14, 2023, after further assessments, the Building Department determined that both 14445 and 14437 S. Halsted pose an imminent safety risk, particularly due to extensive deterioration of balconies and stair risers, according to the citys Jan. 6 post.

Clark said Tuesday that Harvey police were not on the scene at the time the apartments were sealed off, although the citys Facebook post is written in a way that suggests officers were there conducting well-being checks. It states police performed several inspections and wellness checks there Jan. 5.

Clark said that officers had, before the board up, conducted checks at the apartments, but that we didnt have officers on the scene at the time.

Paperwork the board-up company had been given showed that Williams had been evicted from his apartment, and there was no reason for them to believe he was in his apartment at the time it was boarded up, Clark said Tuesday.

Clark said he understands that fewer than 10 residents were displaced when apartments were being closed off.

The mayor said he believes city officials are being unfairly vilified and had reached out to Cook County to find alternate housing for residents.

This administration is only trying to help, Clark said. The city of Harvey is getting beat up because we did what we were supposed to do.

Were asking the wrong questions, Clark said. The question is how were these people allowed to live like this in the first place?

He said a city ordinance calls for city inspectors to come out to inspect an apartment unit when there is a change in tenancy, but that it is up to the landlord to notify the city that a new tenant is moving in.

This building did not deteriorate during this administration, Clark said.

Public records show that the buildings were sold last February to Ascend for $1.2 million. Ascend was formed in October 2021, according to Nevada secretary of state records.

Owners Jay Patel and Henry Cho dismissed allegations that any residents were sealed inside their apartments, and that they had tried to negotiate with the city for more time to make required repairs, which they hoped to complete in March.

The Associated Press contributed.

mnolan@tribpub.com
This article was originally published in Louisiana Illuminator.

WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden announced Friday that some federal student loan borrowers will have their loans cancelled under the Department of Educations new repayment plan.

Starting next month, people who took out under $12,000 in federal student loans and have been repaying those loans for 10 years will get their remaining student loan balance cancelled once they enroll in the Saving on a Valuable Education Plan, known as SAVE.

This action will particularly help community college borrowers, low-income borrowers, and those struggling to repay their loans, Biden said in a statement.

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And, its part of our ongoing efforts to act as quickly as possible to give more borrowers breathing room so they can get out from under the burden of student loan debt, move on with their lives and pursue their dreams.

This initiative builds on the Biden administrations effort to cancel federal student loan debt following last years U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down the White Houses plan for a one-time cancellation of up to $10,000 for federal borrowers. Student loan borrowers who had received Pell Grants  federal aid to help low-income students pay for higher education  could have qualified for an additional $10,000 in forgiveness.

Hours after the Supreme Court struck down the plan, the White House announced its SAVE plan, along with a one-year off-ramp program that would not report borrowers to creditors if they failed to make loan payments once repayment started back up in October.

And, in the wake of the Supreme Courts decision on our student debt relief plan, we are continuing to pursue an alternative path to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible, Biden said. I wont back down from using every tool at our disposal to get student loan borrowers the relief they need to reach their dreams.

So far, 6.9 million borrowers have enrolled in SAVE, and of those borrowers, 3.9 million have a $0 monthly payment.

Under the new plan, SAVE calculates payments based on a borrowers income and family size and forgives balances after a set number of years. The Department of Education has estimated that most borrowers will save about $1,000 per year under the new plan.

Borrowers who are in the former payment plan  known as the Revised Pay as You Earn plan  will automatically be enrolled in the SAVE program.

The states with the highest number of borrowers enrolled in the program include Texas, with 591,700, California with 597,300, Florida with 475,800, New York with 374,300 and Pennsylvania with 289,800.

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on Facebook and Twitter.
President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee as well as their joint fundraising committees for the 2024 campaign took in more than $97m in the last three months of last year.

The campaign revealed the figures on Monday, showing that Mr Biden is ahead of where the Obama campaign was at a similar juncture, but behind then-President Donald Trumps 2020 re-election campaign, Politico notes.

During the last quarter of 2019, Mr Trump and the Republican National Committee had gathered more than $154m. In 2011, as then-President Barack Obama was running for re-election, his campaign and the DNC brought $68m during the last quarter.

In the third quarter of last year, Mr Biden and committees connected to his re-election effort gathered $71m. The Biden campaign noted on Monday that it has $117m in cash on hand.

The campaign has held onto much of its cash, holding back on spending, particularly at the beginning of 2023. In the last few months, the campaign has boosted spending, with a focus on TV ads.

Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said it was a historic haul, according to Politico.

Our democracy and hard-fought basic rights and freedoms are on the line in 2024, and these numbers prove that the American people know the stakes and are taking action early to help defeat the extreme MAGA Republican agenda again, she said.

In the last three months of 2023, more than 520,000 contributors donated funds to Mr Biden and the DNC. The campaign noted that 97 per cent of the donations were less than $200. They added that they organised 39 fundraisers during the most recent quarter. The campaign has around 130,000 people who donate every month. A competition to meet with Mr Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris raised more than $3m.

Mr Trump hasnt revealed how much he raised during the final quarter of last year.

Democratic strategist Jessica Tarlov, a pundit on The Five on Fox News, said on the network that they do have a good record run on in terms of winning elections.

She noted that Mr Biden won in 2020 and then Democrats went on to win the midterms, shocked everyone, the red wave that didn't happen.

And we've done super well on all of the ballot referendums that have been going on all over the country, especially in conservative states, fueled by Gen Z voter turnout, she added. So young people seem to be liking Democrats fine.

She went on to note that the Obama people know what they're talking about, about the ground game. We're here in Iowa where Barack Obama became a sensation and shock to everyone when he won Iowa in 2008. And you can learn a thing or two from them.

But for instance, the fundraising numbers came out today, Joe Biden  $97m taken in in Q4, $117m on hand, his team is outpacing what the Obama campaign did in 2011  97 per cent are grassroots donations, she said. I've heard Oh, well, that's, you know, Hunter Biden's friends in Ukraine or in China that are sending that money over  No, it's regular people that want to support Joe Biden for president.

If you look at the Real Clear Politics average, Donald Trump is up by one percentage point now, in the average of the polls, so doesn't seem that bad  within the margin of error. It's going to be close, but the Biden campaign has a lot to be proud of, she concluded.
(Bloomberg) -- Representative Dean Phillips floated having Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management, X owner Elon Musk and angel investor Jason Calacanis in a potential cabinet if his longshot Democratic presidential campaign takes him to the White House.

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Phillips, a Minnesota lawmaker who has mounted a primary challenge against President Joe Biden, promised he would nominate the best, the most extraordinary bipartisan cabinet in American history if elected, during a discussion Monday with the three business leaders.

Maybe well have a third of them on this Spaces right now, by the way, guys, he added during their conversation, which was streamed on X, formerly Twitter. Phillips, though, did not name any of the leaders directly as potential cabinet picks.

Phillips, 54, aims to capitalize on polls showing many voters unenthusiastic about Bidens reelection bid, which has been weighed down by concerns about his age and his handling of the economy.

The insurgent bid has attracted some prominent supporters, including Ackman and Mike Novogratz, chief of Galaxy Investment Partners, as many Wall Street leaders express unease with a likely general election rematch between Biden and former President Donald Trump, the GOP frontrunner. Mondays conversation was streamed hours before Republican voters will caucus in Iowa, the first nominating contest of the 2024 race.

Musk and Ackman assailed the Democratic party over Phillipss struggles to get on the primary ballot in some states.

I think its an embarrassment to our country, Ackman said.

Ackman over the weekend said he is donating $1 million to support Phillips, who has said has a credible path to winning the nomination. Ackman, who has a history of donating to both Democrats and Republicans, has said Biden should step aside for a younger generation.

Read More: Billionaire Ackman Backs Phillips Long-Shot Biden Challenge

Ackman said Phillips had taken a lot of personal risk going up against the Democratic machine.

Florida Democrats cancelled their primary after only Bidens name was certified for the ballot. A federal judge last week denied a bid to force the party to hold a primary in March.

Ackman urged the public to follow his lead and contribute to Phillips, saying It costs a lot of money in litigation and otherwise for him to get on ballots.

Musk echoed those sentiments, telling Phillips he was surprised about some of the negative tactics that had been employed against him.

Musk has yet to back a candidate in the race, but has interviewed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy on his platform. Musk has said he voted for Biden in 2020 but cannot see himself doing so this year.

But that does not mean he would necessarily vote for Trump, with Musk calling it a difficult choice. The Tesla Inc. CEO has courted Republicans since Biden took office and in 2022 encouraged the public to vote for a Republican Congress in the midterms.

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President Biden on Monday night issued a plea for supporters to donate to his campaign in the wake of former President Trumps victory in Iowa.

Looks like Donald Trump just won Iowa. Hes the clear front runner on the other side at this point, Biden wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

But heres the thing: this election was always going to be you and me vs. extreme MAGA Republicans. It was true yesterday and itll be true tomorrow, Biden added, posting a link to a fundraising page.

News outlets called Iowa for Trump roughly 30 minutes after the caucuses officially got underway. With more than 90 percent of the vote in, Trump had garnered roughly 50 percent of the vote, a resounding showing that put him well ahead of his nearest rivals.

Polling in other early primary states, such as New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, also show Trump leading.

Biden used his first campaign speeches of 2024 to warn that Trump poses a grave threat to U.S. democracy, citing his refusal to accept the 2020 election results, his refusal to condemn political violence and his vows for revenge if reelected.

Trump, speaking to supporters Monday night in Des Moines, slammed Biden as the worst president weve had in the history of our country.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR)  The president and vice president traveled to must-win states for Democrats Monday to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

While President Joe Biden volunteered at a food bank in Pennsylvania, Vice President Kamala Harris commemorated the holiday in South Carolina by asking voters what the civil rights icon would think of the current state of the country.

At this point in America, freedom is under profound threat, Harris said.

Harris said Republicans have mounted attacks on voting, reproductive and LGBTQ rights.

In an attempt to divide and distract our nation with unnecessary debates, she said.

Harris argued the way to honor MLK is to vote for Democrats in the 2024 elections.

When we fight, we win, she said.

These trips come as Republican voters head to the polls in Iowa in the nations first nominating contest of this election cycle.

Today is the day we make history, Nikki Haley said.

GOP presidential candidates, including Haley and Ron DeSantis, are trying to pitch themselves as the top alternative to former President Donald Trump, who is expected to win big in Iowa.

Donald Trump is running focused mostly on his issues, DeSantis said. Im running focused on your issues.

RNC officials have called the overlap between the Iowa caucus and MLK holiday an oversight.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
She taught for 34 years at Chicago Public Schools, while sharing her love of singing with audiences and students.

But Joyce Carter, a mezzo-soprano, who has performed with the Chicago Opera Theatre, Apollo Club, Iliana Community Chorale, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Lake Forest Symphony, isnt done yet.

I loved the opportunity to express myself creatively with my voice and share it with others, Carter said. I love teaching.

Now in her 70s, the South Holland resident spends her days teaching voice part-time at South Suburban College, and piano to students in her home.

Im doing things with passion and with purpose and I enjoy working, she said.

That passion in her professional life as well as her activities off the clock recently earned her the Alumnus of the Year award from her alma mater, Xavier University of Louisiana, a historically Black university in New Orleans.

Mrs. Carter taught us how to serve without shining, said Chantel Shackleford, Xaviers National Alumni Association president. She taught us how to give without bragging and how to be silent when we wanted to speak up.

Joyce Carter, a mezzo-soprano who teaches voice at South Suburban College and piano in her South Holland home, was recently named the Xavier University of Louisiana Alumnus of the Year.

Carter, who grew up in Mobile, Alabama, volunteers at many nonprofit organizations including Links, Inc., South Suburban Chicago Chapter. She is chapter president of The Society, Incorporated Chicago Chapter for the Arts and is on the advisory board of the The African American Network of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association.

One of her favorite gigs is being a Chicago Alumni Association member for Xavier University of Louisiana, where she mentors incoming students and graduates. She received her undergraduate degree in music from Xavier and a masters degree in music from Roosevelt University in Chicago.

My (late) husband and I both were graduates of Xavier and we have always been dedicated to the education of children and helping them find their way, Carter said.

Her daughter, Jocelyn A. Carter, is a physician and scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital and her son, James F. Carter, is an investment banker.

Growing up in Mobile, Carter showed an early talent, so her parents arranged voice lessons and she performed in her church.

She studied at Westminster Choir College in summers while in high school and went to college at Xavier, where she performed as Bess in a New Orleans Symphony production of Porgy and Bess.

Carter was a finalist for the Chicago Lyric Opera School and participated in the Adult Metropolitan Opera National Council regional auditions before moving on to a career in teaching.

Maggie Garner, one of Carters voice students at South Suburban College, said she has a knack for helping build essential pronunciation and breathing skills.

Mrs. Carter is very good at helping you understand why you do what you do in terms of pronunciation and breathing, Garner said. When you have a dense song with a lot of lyrics, you need to constantly be prepared with what you do next and you do that with breathing and pronunciation.

Garner said her teacher is also persistent, but kind.

She is a stickler  if she hears you do something wrong, she wont let you go ahead and do that, said Garner. But shes very nice about it and shes always on your team. Shes very human. Youre going to form a human connection, regardless.

I honestly hope to follow in her footsteps, a little bit.

Christine Coburn Whack, who took private lessons from Carter from the late 1990s to the early 2000s, couldnt say enough about her teacher.

She helped me understand how to use my diaphragm correctly to support my singing, said Whack, a marketing professional who performs positive music that crosses and blends different genres. She also helped me stylistically grasp the songs intention and convey that through my emotions, delivery and overall performance.

That helped Whack with her past performances in Vienna, Austria, New York and Nairobi, Kenya, too.

Mrs. Carter is one of those teachers who makes a lasting impression on you, Whack said. Her expansive knowledge, ability for depth, and passion for teaching have been a blessing, and our time spent together sharing music at her piano will always be a special place in my heart.

Carter, says she enjoys life between her teaching, volunteering and being a member of St. Mark United Methodist Church of Chicago.

I do live alone but in my heart, Im not by myself, said Carter. I have the Holy Spirit here with me, too.

Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
President Biden will host congressional leaders at the White House on Wednesday to discuss his request for billions of dollars in funding for Ukraine, Israel and other national security measures.

Tomorrow the president will host congressional leaders from the Senate and the House along with key committee leaders and ranking members at the White House to discuss the critical importance of his national security supplemental request, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) are among those expected to attend.

Jean-Pierre said bipartisan negotiations on are ongoing, and the White House believes talks are headed in the right direction.

So yes the president is going to have this important conversation on the supplemental request but negotiations continue so that is also really important, she said.

The meeting comes amid a stalemate on Capitol Hill to produce a border security deal that is key to unlocking funding for Ukraine in its war against Russia. Bidens direct involvement could signal a new phase in talks, however.

The White House in late October sent an emergency funding request of roughly $100 billion to Congress seeking additional money for border security, allies in the Indo-Pacific and for Israel and Ukraine in their respective conflicts against Hamas and Russia.

Roughly $61 billion of that request was money for Ukraine, including $30 billion in equipment for Kyiv from Department of Defense stocks, and to backfill those stocks.

The White House has said it has no more funding available to provide to Ukraine, having exhausted the money that was already approved by Congress as of late December.

The administration has for weeks pleaded with Congress to take action on the supplemental request, arguing that a failure to do so would jeopardize Ukraines progress in its fight against Russia, particularly heading into the difficult winter months.

Republicans, who control the House, have said any funding for Ukraine must include changes to border policy. Biden has said he is willing to make significant compromises on the border.

Conservative senators have pushed for a number of demands, including Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who proposed giving aid to Ukraine in $5 billion increments depending on how many migrants cross the border each month.

Sen. Johnson has said McConnell told Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), who is leading border talks with Senate Democrats and the Biden administration, that he rejected the proposal. Lankford said the demands divide his GOP conference.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
US President Joe Biden will host congressional leaders and top politicians at the White House to discuss a request for additional funding, including military assistance to Ukraine, on 17 January.

Source: This was announced at a briefing by Karin Jean-Pierre, White House spokeswoman, European Pravda reports

Details: As she said, Biden will "host Congress leaders from the Senate and House of Representatives, as well as key committee leaders from both parties at the White House" to discuss the "critical importance of his supplemental national security request."

The White House spokeswoman did not elaborate on the details of the meeting, announcing additional news on 17 January. However, she said, the Biden administration believes that bipartisan talks on the supplemental request are "moving in the right direction."

The meeting at the White House is expected to be attended by Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader (Democrats); Mitch McConnell, Republican Minority Leader; Mike Johnson, House Speaker (Republicans); and Hakeem Jeffries, House Democratic Minority Leader.

It comes amid a lack of progress on a congressional agreement that would unlock approval of additional funding to help Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel, along with increased anti-migration measures at the US southern border.

The compromise was hindered, in particular, by Johnson's position, which demands a much stricter approach to curbing migration at the US-Mexico border than the Senate negotiators agreed.

The US announced a new US$250 million military aid package for Ukraine, the last one this year, on Wednesday, 27 December. Later, the White House said the US had no money for further military aid for Ukraine until the new package is adopted by the US Congress.

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The Biden administration may relabel the Houthis in Yemen a foreign terrorist organization, in response to the Iranian-backed groups increased attacks against Israel and on commercial shipping in the region.

Such a move would see the Biden administration reverse course on a controversial and last-minute Trump-era policy.

President Biden removed the foreign terrorist organization (FTO) label on the Houthis in February 2021 over concerns that blacklisting the militant group would prevent aid organizations and business from serving a population suffering under nearly a decade of civil war. Nearly 22 million Yemenis, half being children, require humanitarian assistance.

But the Houthis dangerous attacks in the region are raising pressure on the Biden administration from lawmakers in Congress to move beyond counterstrikes on military targets and to burden the group with a terrorist designation by the U.S.

While Biden said last week he considers the Houthis a terrorist group and that the State Department acknowledged it is looking into reimposing the designation, senior administration officials have not committed to imposing the FTO label.

Nothing to update yet on the FTO designation, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Tuesday. Were still in the process of reviewing it.

But its not entirely clear that labeling the Houthis a terrorist organization would have any practical and immediate impacts on hurting its ability to sow terror and chaos in the region. The Houthis have said their attacks are in support of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which is under siege from Israel after the group launched its shocking terrorist attack on Oct. 7.

The FTO designation could embolden the Houthis, indicating its tactics are working, said Dave Harden, a former senior State Department official who served in both the Trump and Obama administrations.

It doesnt matter to the Houthis that theyre a foreign terrorist organization under U.S. law, they probably like it, he said.

They dont bank and shop and travel and engage in the Western economy. Theyre not like [Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov]. These guys, it doesnt affect them, and if anything, its a badge of honor.

An FTO designation is meant to disrupt financial support to such a group, giving the Treasury Department a wider hand to issue sanctions and signal to other foreign governments, people or businesses that they could lose access to the U.S. financial system if they engage with the sanctioned group.

Former President Trumps designation of the Houthis as an FTO drew rare pushback from Republicans in Congress, largely over humanitarian concerns. Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) opposed the move outright.

In 2021, Sen Jim Risch (Idaho) and Rep. Michael McCaul (Texas), the senior Republicans on the Senate and House Foreign Affairs committees, raised grave concerns that the Trump administration was not putting in place necessary licenses, waivers and appropriate guidance to allow the delivery of goods to the Yemeni people.

Harden, who is founder of the Georgetown Strategy Group, said its fair to recognize concerns about blocking the delivery of humanitarian assistance or commercial goods to Yemen, but that the Houthis are threatening that anyway by attacking shipping in the Red Sea.

Major shipping companies are rerouting their vessels on longer and more expensive routes to avoid the Red Sea route toward the Suez Canal, raising concerns over disrupted supply chains, delayed deliveries and higher prices for consumers across the globe.

Still, Republican and Democratic voices are calling for Biden to take seriously its review of whether to impose the FTO designation for the Houthis  even as many of these lawmakers expressed serious concerns of the terrorist group label when it was imposed by former President Trump.

McCaul said in a statement last week that the Biden administration must acknowledge it was a mistake to rescind the Houthis designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and re-list them immediately.

Other lawmakers calling for Biden to impose the FTO include Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and staunch supporter of Bidens handling of Israels war against Hamas.

Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Brian Mast (R-Fla.) wrote a letter last week to Biden in favor of the FTO designation.

In November, 15 Republican senators wrote a letter to Biden calling for the Houthis to be designated as an FTO.

Harden reacted to such congressional calls as more of a domestic political signal as opposed to hurting the Houthis.

This is something that we care about, and maybe its symbolic, but its not meaningful, he continued.

The FTO designation still poses a significant risk to humanitarian organizations, said Bruce Riedel, nonresident senior fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution and author of the book America and the Yemens: A Complex and Tragic Encounter.

The reasons why Joe Bidens administration lifted the FTO still apply today. I would hope there would be some reluctance to go down that road, he said.

Riedel also argued that the FTO could push the Houthis closer to Iran.

The Houthis are a very independent actor, theyre not like Hezbollah [in Lebanon]. They are a home-grown independent actor. But the more they are attacked, they will naturally go to the Iranians for more and more help, which I dont think is in our interest either.

The Biden administration is so far focused on rallying a global coalition to pressure the Houthis to relent on the attacks, while also taking military action in coordinated strikes.

This is a global challenge, Jake Sullivan, Bidens national security adviser, told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday.

Were talking about a vital artery of global commerce, a critical maritime choke point thats being held hostage, and countries and companies that have nothing to do with the Middle East, whatsoever, are being affected  more than 50 nations in nearly 30 attacks. And so its a crisis that the whole world needs to respond to.

Sullivan said that retaliatory attacks launched by the U.S. and U.K., and supported by other democratic nations, were aimed at degrading the Houthis military capabilities but were not expected to eliminate the threat completely.

We did not say when we launched our attacks, theyre going to end once and for all, the Houthis will be fully deterred, he told the forum.

We anticipated the Houthis would continue to try to hold this critical artery at risk. And we continue to reserve the right to take further action, but this needs to be an all-hands-on-deck effort.

The Houthis have, unsurprisingly, ignored a directive from the United Nations Security Council to cease attacks on ships in the Red Sea. But Sullivan said the U.S. is looking to work with countries with ties to Iran to pressure the Houthis to get them to understand that their attacks must end.

We want to work with countries across the board, countries who are allies and partners, countries who are not, in the common interest to get this to stop.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Billionaire hedge fund chief and burgeoning Internet Main Character Bill Ackman used the afternoon of Martin Luther King Jr. Day to claim the civil rights leader would have been against the movement for diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education and businesses. Its a claim that MLKs daughter has previously rejected.

Ackman made the comments during a Space conversation on X (formerly Twitter) alongside Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips and X owner Elon Musk on Monday. The discussion came two days after Ackman pledged to donate $1 million to a super PAC supporting Phillips longshot primary campaign against President Joe Biden.

Ackman said that Kings famed I Have a Dream speech is precisely about a world where people will be judged not by the color of their skin, but the content of their character. And when I came to learn about the DEI movement, which is an ideological movement, its really the reverse of that.

He continued: I think Dr. King would be very opposed to this sort of ideology, even though you know, diversity is a good thing, even though of course, a culture where everyone feels comfortable and included is critically important.

Join @BillAckman, @Jason, @elonmusk, and me for what promises to be a provocative conversation at 4:15p EST. https://t.co/o8RXYjmXBF  Dean Phillips (@deanbphillips) January 15, 2024

The comments from Ackman fit comfortably within a broader effort by the ultrarich and right-wingers to to twist MLKs words to meet their worldview.

Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy used a similar argument while speaking to NBC earlier this month, and Ron DeSantis quoted King to advocate for his Stop Woke Act in 2021. [King] said he didnt want people judged on the color of their skin, but on the content of their character, the Florida governor said at the time.

MLKs daughter Bernice King has criticized how opportunities have co-opted the civil rights activists legendary speech (specifically his hope that his children would not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character) to project their own ideas and beliefs. My fathers dream and work included eradicating racism, not ignoring it, she wrote on X just last August.

People using not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character to deter discussion of, teaching about, and protest against racism are not students of the comprehensive #MLK.



My fathers dream and work included eradicating racism, not ignoring it. pic.twitter.com/GnbrIeGqRj  Be A King (@BerniceKing) August 1, 2023

Lerone Martin, Director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University, also criticized how folks often misinterpret MLKs words as a call for color-blindness in an interview with CNN on Sunday.

Colorblindness asks us to explain systemic racial inequality by using raceless explanations, Martin said. It asks us to explain or solve a phenomenon but bars us from addressing the root cause of the phenomenon.

For years, conservatives have romanticized a revisionist history of King as their model Black citizeneven though he was an outspoken activist who spoke against American wars, was labeled a communist, and supported more social services for the people, Rolling Stone contributor Ernest Owens wrote in a Daily Beast op-ed in 2021. King has been reduced to a few quotes about nonviolence that these cynical Republicans use to chastise living Black leaders and organizers whom they despise.

Even so, Ackmans argument  that King, who hoped to see a day where all Americans would be treated as equal, would oppose the concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion  is a brazen one.

Fairness is important, but I would say equity is probably worse because its about equality of outcome. And the premise is that if, you know, if everyone takes a test, where everyone is going through some kind of corporate process, the allocation isnt equal by race, Ackman said. Then theres something inherently racist about the structure of whatever that thing is or society or imply systemic racism.

Phillips appeared to agree with Ackman and Musk, who has been on a recent anti-DEI jag of late. We should be a meritocracy, but we should also ensure that everybody can participate in that meritocracy, Phillips said. And I think we can all agree on that. Thats to me, the grand solution for our country is to do just that. There has been injustice, we can correct it so that everybody participates with a beautiful outcome.

Ackman has generated headline after headline in recent weeks, after leading a successful campaign to oust Harvard Universitys president, Claudine Gay. While the effort initially focused on antisemitism on Harvards campus, the campaign against Gay quickly turned to allegations of plagiarism. That prompted a Business Insider report finding instances where Ackmans wife, a former high-profile professor at MIT, plagiarized directly from Wikipedia  and days of lengthy posts from Ackman melting down on X.

Over the weekend, Ackman posted on X that hes planning to donate $1 million to We Deserve Better, a super PAC that supports Phillips. This is by far the largest investment I have ever made in someone running for office, and I am making this investment at a high-risk, but critically important moment for his campaign, Ackman wrote.

We Deserve Better has not yet reported its finances, so its not clear who else is funding the group. But the super PAC has significant Silicon Valley ties. We Deserve Better groups executive director is Matt Krisiloff, an early employee at OpenAI who reportedly dated OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Krisiloff currently leads a biotech company called Conception that is working to create human eggs from stem cells. His brother Scott, who works at a nuclear fusion startup backed by Altman, is on the super PACs board of directors, according to ad buying records.

Phillips has criticized the corrupting influence of big money in politics in an era of super PACs, which were created in the wake of the Supreme Courts 2010 Citizens United decision. In November, Phillips said Citizens United was one of the most abhorrent decisions in Supreme Court history since Dred Scott, adding that it turned over the keys to Congress and to our government to the wealthy and well-connected.

During the Space, Ackman said he chose to back Phillips because hes a very successful entrepreneur whos super charismatic, patriotic. (Phillips is a co-owner of Talenti Gelato.) He also said he had Phillips speak last week at his firm, Pershing Square, adding that hed be willing to do business with Phillips.

Before Ackman, Phillips started a three-minute soliloquy about his upbringing, relating it to MLK, before saying that slavery has long legs, long tails to this day and that the U.S. should acknowledge the injustice and horrors of slavery.

Later on in the discussion between Phillips and the billionaire who has committed $1 million to a super PAC boosting his candidacy, Phillips bragged that he is one of few lawmakers who refuse money from corporate political action committees, crediting this to his entrepreneurial spirit.

That means nobody can buy me. Nobody can influence me. I will always make the right decision and I wont make that decision until I hear from all perspectives on the issue, he said. Im the only one that takes no PAC money of any kind I dont take any lobbyist money.

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Bitter cold temperatures will warm slightly Tuesday and Wednesday in the Kansas City area.

Morning lows around 6 a.m. at Kansas City International Airport hit about 9 degrees below zero. By 10 a.m., temperatures will warm above 0 degrees with a high around 13 degrees.

Wind speeds are down and expected between 9 mph and 14 mph throughout the day, meaning wind chill temperatures shouldnt be drastically colder, according to the National Weather Service.

Temperatures are still well-below normal for this time of year, but compared to the bitter cold Kansas Citians experienced the last few days, the weather service said it should feel like a relief.

Overnight lows are expected to remain around 6 or 7 degrees before warming to a high of about 32 degrees Wednesday.

The low temperature from Wednesday to Thursday is predicted to hit around 19 degrees. Thursdays high is expected to be around 26 degrees.

Temperatures will drop again in the latter half of the week, dropping to around 0 degrees overnight Thursday. Some snow is expected overnight, bringing between half an inch to an inch to the metro area.

Highs are expected to reach about 10 degrees Friday and 14 degrees Saturday.
Business is blazing for the East Dundee company that manufactures Warmies, with their products twice making Oprahs Favorite Things list and being lauded by such groups as Creative Child Magazine and Prevention Health.

Best known for slippers and stuffed animals, all of their products  boots, neck wraps, eye masks, hot packs, heat pads  are designed to be heated in microwaves to provide warmth, comfort and pain relief, Warmies President Scott Wehrs said.

Each is filled with specially treated flaxseed and dried lavender flowers from Provence, France, to provide weight and an aroma to relieve stress, ease anxiety and promote sleep.

Warmies slippers, designed to be warmed in a microwave and manufactured by a company based in East Dundee, made Oprahs Favorite Things list in 2019.

If theyre placed in a plastic bag and put in a freezer for three hours, they can be used in situations where cold is needed, Wehrs said.

Were the only brand in the United States for this type of product, he said.

The company launched in 1995 in London under the helm of Philip Gannon, who created a product called Hot-Pak, the first microwavable heating pack to be sold commercially in Europe. The bags were filled with grain and lavender and became a best-seller.

From there, they expanded to creating microwavable slippers and soft toys.

Entrepreneur Anthony Graffia Jr., who lives in Chicagos northwest suburbs, saw the products overseas and made a deal with Gannon in 2015 to distribute them in the United States.

Wehrs, who had worked for Ty Inc., the company behind Beanie Babies, came on board in 2016. While the products are manufactured in China, the U.S. headquarters is based in East Dundee, Wehrs said.

Its our corporate office. All sales, customer service, finance, accounts payable, accounts receivable, product development, receiving, shipping, you name it, we do it in East Dundee, he said.

Warmies were introduced to the American market in 2016 at a trade show in Atlanta, and things grew from there, he said.

Wellness products sold by East Dundee-based Warmies include neck wraps, eye masks and heat pads, all of which can be warmed in the microwave or made cold in the freezer.

Wehrs did not disclose sales numbers for the privately held company, but said Warmies items are stocked in 20,000 independent retail, drug and grocery stores. They also can be found at Kohls, Macys and American Eagle Outfitters stores, online at Amazon and through the Warmies website, warmies.com.

Oprah Winfrey can be credited with twice giving the company an unexpected boost  first in 2019, when Warmies slippers made her Favorite Things list, and again in 2022, when she selected the companys weighted stuff animals as a favorite gift choice.

That put our wellness line on the map, Wehrs said. Our growth has been explosive.

Oprah had a major effect on sales, just like she does for all the companies named as her favorite things. Several of the SKUs she selected came very close to selling out.

The products also were named the 2023 Readers Favorite by Baby & Childrens Magazine, a Home Awards winner by Prevention Health, Product of the Year by Creative Child Magazine and the Top Choice Award winner by Baby Maternity Magazine.

Trade publication GiftBeat last year named Warmies a top-selling supplier in six categories and Gifts and Decorative Accessories Magazines Reader Rankings named Warmies a best kids toy supplier.

Warmies stuffed animals and soft toys come in two sizes, priced at $14.99 and $29.99. There are more than 160 styles, ranging from every animal imaginable to dinosaurs, sea creatures, fruits and vegetables, even unicorns and narwhals.

Eye masks and Hot-Paks are $19.99; slippers, neck wraps and heat pads $29.99; and boots $34.99.

Soft toys and slippers are East Dundee-based Warmies best-known products, but they also make boots, eye masks, heating pads, neck wraps and other items.

Part of the companys success is that the items appeal to both children and adults, Wehrs said.

There have been a lot of recent articles about our plush line being used by adults for comfort, he said.

Warmies recently entered into a 3-year partnership with the American Heart Association through which they will be donating money from the sale of some items and promoting heart health.

But there will be no resting on their laurels, Wehrs said. Theyll be heading out to the gift industry trade shows in the new year to promote new products, including lines of books, childrens pajamas and childrens socks, he said.

All (the new) product extensions revolve around our adorable characters, he said.

Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
A womans body has been found after a small plane seen flying erratically crashed off Californias coast, a sheriffs office says.

Witnesses saw a small plane flying near Moss Beach on Sunday, Jan. 14, before it disappeared, the San Mateo County Sheriffs Office said in a Jan. 15 Facebook post.

Two people were aboard the single-engine Cozy Mark IV when it crashed into the water near Half Moon Bay around 7:30 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said in an emailed statement to McClatchy News on Jan. 16.

While multiple agencies, including the United States Coast Guard, were searching the area, they found plane debris, deputies said.

The following day, the womans body was spotted by those aboard a commercial fishing boat in the same area as the crash, leading deputies to believe she is likely associated with the plane crash, according to deputies.

The womans body has not been identified, deputies said.

The Coast Guard suspended its search for survivors on Jan. 15, the agency said in a news release.

Its never easy to make the decision to suspend search efforts, and our deepest sympathies go out to the families involved in this incident, Ian McGoohan, operations unit controller at the Sector San Francisco Command Center, said in the release.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash, the FAA said. NTSB officials did not immediately return McClatchy News request for comment on Jan. 16.

Moss Beach is about 25 miles southwest of San Francisco.

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One person is dead following a house fire Monday morning in the City of Binghamton.

The blaze erupted around 8:15 a.m. in a residence at 2 Pleasant St., according to the Binghamton Fire Department.

Lt. Cory Minor of the Binghamton Police Department confirmed firefighters who were battling the flames discovered the body of an adult man inside the house.

Police are not releasing the victim's name at this time, Minor said Tuesday.

The home was supposed to be vacant, and the victim was possibly a squatter, he said. Another person who was reportedly in the house at the time was not injured.

Public safety Woman, 72, died after being hit by car in Oakdale Commons. Here's the latest case update

The cause of the blaze is under investigation but Minor said no foul play is suspected.

Follow Jeff Murray on Twitter @SGJeffMurray. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: One dead after Binghamton fire, no ID released, no foul play suspected
Michael OLeary, chief executive of Ryanair, has revealed the airline complained loudly about faults on newly delivered Boeing 737 Max aircraft  including a spanner found under the floor on one jet.

But the boss of Europes biggest budget carrier offered his full confidence in his opposite number at the troubled US planemaker.

At Boeings request Ryanair has doubled the number of engineers it assigns to the US to check quality of new planes.

On Friday 6 January, a door plug blew out from the fuselage of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 shortly after take off from Portland, Oregon.

The plane immediately depressurised and the pilots declared an emergency. All 177 passengers and crew aboard flight AS1282 landed safely back at Portland.

The entire fleet of Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft flying in the US has been grounded for inspections, which have already revealed loose hardware and bolts that needed additional tightening.

Concerns have been expressed about quality control on fuselages for the aircraft, which are made by Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita, Kansas.

Speaking at a news conference in London, Mr OLeary said: We have been loud in our complaints about the lack of quality control of Boeing over the last two years.

It is not acceptable that aircraft get delivered at less than 100 per cent.

Mr OLeary told The Independent: Coming out of Covid, we were taking aircraft deliveries and finding lots of small defects and things not fitted correctly.

We do a 48-hour check on every aircraft when its delivered into Dublin.

On one plane, a spanner was found under the floor of the aircraft.

The Ryanair chief executive said there had been an improvement over the past few months: The last 12 deliveries we took in October, November, December were the best deliveries weve taken from Boeing.

Results are beginning to come through but clearly more needs to be done.

Mr OLeary praised Dave Calhoun, the recently appointed chief executive of Boeing.

He and Brian West, the CFO, are doing a stellar job. I have the utmost confidence in Calhoun and West.

The Ryanair CEO was speaking shortly after the president and chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Stan Deal, announced immediate actions to bolster quality assurance and controls in 737 production.

Mr Deal said: We are planning additional inspections throughout the build process at Boeing and at Spirit.

These checks will provide one more layer of scrutiny on top of the thousands of inspections performed today across each 737 airplane, and build on the reviews we have implemented to catch potential non-conformances.

Spirit Aerosystems said: As a company, we remain focused on the quality of each aircraft structure that leaves our facilities.

The Ryanair boss predicted the variant of the Max 9 currently grounded would be flying again within days. But he added: If it goes beyond the middle or end of this week, or they find new faults, who knows?

Ryanair has ordered a total of Boeing 737 Max aircraft in a special configuration of the Max 8, seating 197 passengers rather than 189.

The plane has an additional emergency exit because of the increased number of seats. We have a door where they have the plug, Mr OLeary said.

He said there had been no pushback from passengers concerned about flying on Ryanairs all-Boeing 737 fleet since one variant of the jet was grounded after an in-flight emergency.

Ryanair is the safest airline in the world in terms of the number of passengers carried without a single fatal accident.

Mr OLeary said his main concern about Boeing was the delay in delivery of new Boeing 737 Max 8 planes. The carrier was due to get 57 aircraft between September 2023 and May 2024, but delivery dates have repeatedly slipped.

Im reasonably confident well get 50 [new aircraft] by June.

As a result of the delivery delays, the airline has cut its forecast for the number of passengers it expects to fly in 2024 from the original aim of 205 million. The number is expected to be in the range of 200 to 201 million.
Two Boeing planes collided at the Chicago OHare International Airport on Sunday evening.

An All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight was taxiing for departure when its left winglet struck the stabilizer of a Delta Airlines flight, a spokesperson from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement to The Independent. No injuries were reported, and the incident occurred in an area not under air traffic control, the spokesperson said.

The collision occurred as the Delta flight underwent final parking, Emma Johnson, a spokesperson for Delta Airlines, said in a statement to The Independent. Deltas passengers deplaned normally at the gate, she added, and the aircraft is undergoing inspection.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for All Nippon Airways also confirmed their passengers deplaned.

The safety of our customers and flight crew is our top priority, and we apologize for the inconvenience caused to our customers, All Nippon Airways spokesperson Nao Gunji said in a statement to The Independent.

The FAA will investigate the incident, the organizations spokesperson said. It is currently unclear what caused the collision between Deltas Boeing 717 and All Nippon Airways Boeing 777.

A spokesperson for Boeing told The Independent they would defer to the FAA and the airlines involved when contacted for comment.

Boeing recently came under fire after a door plug blew out of a Boeing 737 Max 9 mid-flight. About 171 people  including four minors and three babies  were on board the Alaska Airlines flight, as well as six crew members. The door plug blew out of the plane at 16,000 feet in the air after the plane departed Portland International Airport for California.

Passengers aboard the 5 January flight are now suing Boeing over the incident.

The collision came during a tough day for travellers across the country as yet another winter storm caused travel chaos.

966 flights arriving at or departing the Chicago OHare International Airport were delayed on Sunday, while 273 were cancelled, according to FlightAware. The Denver International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport also saw significant delays and cancellations amid dangerous winter weather.
Polish hauliers, who have been blocking border crossings with Ukraine since November, have agreed with the government regarding some demands and will suspend their protest on 16 January at 13:00 Kyiv time.

Source: Reuters, citing Tomasz Borkowski of the Committee to Protect Hauliers and Transport Employers, as reported by European Pravda.

Quote: "It wont be the end [of the dispute] but there will be a suspension of the protest. [] We agreed [upon] certain conditions; we will give the government time to work as it is a new government," Tomasz Borkowski said.

The Ministry of Infrastructure of Poland organised a press conference on 16 January at 13:00 Kyiv time, during which the hauliers would sign off on the previously drafted agreement.

Polish farmers have decided to suspend their protest at the border crossing with Ukraine in Medyka after the government agreed to their demands earlier this month. However, hauliers continued to block three other checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Polish border.

Background:

The Ministry of Agriculture of Romania and representatives of major agricultural organisations reached an agreement on 15 January, addressing several demands of farmers who protested for six days, blocking the border with Ukraine.

At the end of December, it was reported that the governments of Ukraine and Poland agreed on an action plan for unblocking the border, but that the complete unblocking had not yet happened.

Read also: Poland must recognise it's waging war against Ukraine's European future

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Polish truckers ended their blockade of Korczowa-Krakovets and Hrebenne-Rava Ruska checkpoints  two of the three border crossings with Ukraine that have been blocked by the truckers protests since November last year, Ukraines Border Guard Service reported on Jan. 16.

Earlier the same day, Polish Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak announced that Warsaw had reached an agreement with the Polish truckers who would end their blockade of the border until March 1.

Discussions are reportedly ongoing, the success of which will determine whether the truckers resume their protest after March 1.

According to Klimczak, the protesters also agreed to end the blockade of the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint, a key crossing for cargo vehicles at the Ukrainian-Polish border. The Border Guard Service provided no information on the situation at that checkpoint.

Almost 700 trucks are currently waiting in line to enter Ukraine at Korczowa-Krakovets and Hrebenne-Rava Ruska, the Border Guard Service wrote.

Read also: Anger and disappointment in endless lines of Ukrainian trucks at Polish border

Registration and passage of cargo vehicles across the border in both directions is carried out as usual. The border guards work together with the employees of the control services to ensure the passage of the maximum number of trucks.

Polish truckers started blocking three crossings with Ukraine on Nov. 6, 2023, in protest of the EU's liberalization of transit rules for Ukrainian truckers, causing massive lines on the border and negatively impacting Ukraine's economy.

The truckers launched the demonstration on the grounds that the influx of Ukrainian drivers following Russia's full-scale invasion harmed their livelihoods. Ukrainian officials and industry representatives deny the accusations.

The blockade left thousands of Ukrainian truckers stranded in long lines for weeks in freezing temperatures.

A fourth border crossing, at Medyka-Shehyni, was temporarily blocked by Polish farmers, who suspended their blockade after reaching a deal with the government on Jan. 6.

Read also: Ukrainian retailers face big losses, disruptions due to Polish border blockade

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Evanstons Reparations Committee hosted a selection event on Jan. 11 at Evanston Township High School for the next round of reparations fund recipients.

A total of 453 direct descendants, those who are related to Evanston residents who were at least 18 years old and lived through racially harmful housing policies from 1919 to 1969, were given a randomly generated number that was then listed in a spreadsheet and randomly sorted to place determined their place in line to receive funds.

The committee expects to serve at least 80 people in 2024 but could serve more depending upon the amount of funding gathered through recreational cannabis taxes from Okay Cannabis Dispensary, a predominantly minority-owned dispensary that is expected to open next month at the southern border of the city. The new dispensary will be the second opened in the city alongside Zen Leaf on Maple Ave in downtown Evanston.

Evanstons reparations program began after Evanston City Council voted in late 2019 to establish a fund paid for with tax revenue from the citys adult recreational marijuanna sales. An additional $1 million a year will be allocated to the reparations fund from the real estate transfer tax coffers starting this year until 2034.

Since then 117 of the 140 ancestors, those who were directly harmed by racial housing policies Evanston had in place from 1919 to 1969, have been served and a total of $2,953,596 has been disbursed according to Assistant to the City Manager Tasheik Kerr.

Each recipient has the option to use their allocated $25,000 for a down payment on a home, repairs or improvements to a home they already own, assistance with mortgage payments or a direct cash benefit. Recipients can also choose to split the funding across several options.

Dino Robinson Jr., founder of Shorefront Legacy, a nonprofit that has studied and documented the history of Black Evanston, spoke about the impact of the citys desire to right its wrongs.

Dino Robinson Jr., founder of the Shorefront Legacy Center, gives a presentation during the City of Evanston Reparations Committee meeting at Evanston Township High School on Thursday, January 11, 2024 in Evanston, Illinois. About 200 people attended the meeting to find the selection order of direct descendants who will receive reparations funding. ( John Konstantaras-Pioneer-Press ) 3155975_ct-evr-reparations-event

They dont want a sugarcoated story. They wanted the truth, Robinson said. Because of that, we are able to honor what our ancestors have done. And you sitting here in this audience are living proof of what your ancestors, your family, your relatives have done in this community.

Lifelong Evanston resident Alva Hannon placed 418 on the list and hopes to use her $25,000 on a down payment for a new home. She currently lives in her childhood home in the citys 2nd Ward just down the street from the high school and assists her mother who lives with mobility issues.

Its not about where you place in the line, its just that youre in the line, Hannon said. To even be considered for something like this is a great thing.

Alva Hannon, from Evanston, after the City of Evanston Reparations Committee meeting at Evanston Township High School on Thursday, January 11, 2024 in Evanston, Illinois. About 200 people attended the meeting to find the selection order of direct descendants who will receive reparations funding. ( John Konstantaras-Pioneer-Press ) 3155975_ct-evr-reparations-event

Her parents moved from Louisiana to Evanston in the 1950s and bought their home in 1969. Hannon is one of three siblings and the only one still residing in the city. Following in her parents footsteps, she became an educator who teaches early childhood education in District 65  the same school district she attended as a child until her graduation from ETHS in 1992.

Hannon said she has never considered leaving Evanston and is looking forward to marrying her fiance who currently lives in Ghana in March.

Evanston is like Mayberry, she said. I felt like I was at a family reunion today.

Real estate professional Vanessa Johnson-McCoys family story begins with her father William Johnson, a Navy veteran who grew up off Dodge Avenue and Lyons Street. Because her father worked at Evanston Hospital, Johnson-McCoy always assumed thats where she had been born. As she grew older, her mother Florence told her she was actually born at Community Hospital of Evanston, the first Black medical center north of the Chicago Loop, according to Shorefront records.

Vanessa Johnson-McCoy, left, and her sister Loretta Johnson look for their unique identification number for reparations during the Evanston reparations committee meeting at Evanston Township High School on Thursday, January 11, 2024 in Evanston, Illinois. About 200 people attended the meeting to see the random selection order of direct descendants who will receive $25,000 each in reparations funding. On the list of 454 direct descendants, Vanessa Johnson was number 58 and Loretta Johnson was number 78 for distribution of the funding. The city has enough funding to support payments for the first 80 descendants in the sequence and hope to begin disbursing payments in March. ( John Konstantaras-Pioneer-Press ) 3155975_ct-evr-reparations-event

Johnson-McCoy, the youngest of her siblings, was born after area schools had begun the process of desegregation and was bused every day to Skokie for classes. Her older siblings were educated at Foster School, which according to Shorefront by 1945 was populated by almost exclusively Black students. Her family was one of the first Black families to move to Fowler Avenue but they wouldnt be the last.

At that time, she (Florence) said there were whites across the street but she could see them looking out of their windows as they (Florence and her family) were moving in, Johnson-McCoy said. Shortly after, the whites moved out so it (the block) became predominantly Black.

Florence, now 93 years old, is still meticulous about paying her bills on time  something her daughter came to realize stems from worries that a late payment could give banks the ammunition to take possession of the family home. Florence is one of the 140 ancestors, those who were directly impacted by racial housing policies, who received reparations for the harm she endured. Ancestors were the first group served by the committee to ensure the oldest of reparations recipients received their funding as soon as possible.

Johnson-McCoy has seen remnants of the racial housing policies that her parents lived through with her work in real estate.

When I would do the valuation of properties in the historically Black area, the same house thats there, the value would be much less than if you picked up that same house and put it in another area, she said. Thousands of dollars less just because it (history) hasnt caught up.

Both Johnson-McCoy and her eldest son were sorted within the top 80, placing 58 and 78, respectively, meaning they will receive their reparations this year. She isnt certain yet what she wants to do with the money but may do some repairs and improvements around her home. She hopes to use remaining funds to purchase an investment property in Evanston and build back some of the generational wealth that Black Evanstonians have historically been barred from.

Marvella Bowens life mirrors Johnson-McCoys in many ways, having been born at Community Hospital with family that owned property on Fowler Avenue. But Evanston wasnt Bowens only home. She split her time between her mothers Evanston home and the house her father bought in Glencoe in 1960. Bowen graduated as part of ETHS Class of 1983.

She has lived all over the world from California to Japan but moved back to Glencoe where she lived in a condo for 18 years. Due to rising homeownership costs across the North Shore, Bowen joined her two sisters in Wheeling in early 2023. All three were in attendance at the selection event waiting for their numbers. Residents outside Evanston would have to indicate their intention to move back to Evanston in order to receive their funding, according to city officials.

Melody Marion Bickhem, center from Wheeling, checks the selection order during the City of Evanston Reparations Committee meeting with her sisters Marvella Bowen, left and Adriene Strickland, right, at Evanston Township High School on Thursday, January 11, 2024 in Evanston, Illinois. About 200 people attended the meeting to find the selection order of direct descendants who will receive reparations funding. ( John Konstantaras-Pioneer-Press ) 3155975_ct-evr-reparations-event

Since she already owns her home in Wheeling, Bowen said she would likely use the money for repairs but still hopes to one day come back to the area.

Those were my two hometowns. Those are where I have roots, my kids are familiar with those communities its where I raised them at, she said. Thats home for me.

Those roots began when Bowens grandparents moved to Evanston from Covington, Georgia. Her grandfather owned multiple properties in the city including the original house on Bradley Street he purchased for himself and his wife. Bowens younger sister bought the home several years ago.

Im looking at maybe two years. I would hope less, maybe three years, Bowen said of when shes likely to receive her funds. It (her number) was in the 300s

Bowen said despite having to wait a bit longer than others for her funding, she is happy to see how far the program has come since she sat in the sanctuary of the First Church of God in December 2019 following the citys historic reparations bill vote.

We felt like wow, were not asking for money because we want to be asking for money,' she said. The truth of the matter is when you put your foot on someones neck and you hold them down for so long  and we know the United States has done that to us  why not try to go back and right the wrongs and help people elevate.

For those who didnt attend the meeting, the list is available online at the citys reparations webpage. The first 80 recipients will be contacted by the committee in March to begin the process of disbursing funds.

Interim City Corporation Counsel Alex Ruggie told attendees the funding is considered by both the state and federal government as payment for past harms and is tax exempt. The state has not given a definitive answer as to how accepting reparations funding will impact those on assistance programs such as TANF and SNAP. Ruggie said the city believes it should not impact eligibility for these programs but cannot guarantee so at this time.
(Bloomberg) -- Canada unveiled new rules aimed at preventing sensitive technological research developed in the country from being transferred to China, Iran or Russia.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus government on Tuesday produced a list of dozens of foreign institutes, schools and laboratories it says are linked to entities that might pose a risk to Canadas national security.

The government wont finance sensitive research projects  including those related to artificial intelligence, advanced energy technology and aerospace and satellite systems  if theyre affiliated in any way with the listed institutions.

The Globe and Mail newspaper reported last year that researchers at dozens of Canadian universities have worked with scientists connected to the Chinese military. Soon after, the government signaled its intention to stop funding such projects.

The new rules establish a list of sensitive research areas, such as advanced weapons, digital infrastructure and life-science technology. Any project in those fields thats receiving money from one of the listed institutes would be ineligible for a Canadian government grant.

The organizations are primarily based in China, but the list also includes several from Russia and Iran. They include Chinas National University of Defense Technology, various Chinese military schools and Irans Imam Hossein University, which focuses on nuclear research.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Wednesday that Canada was using national security as an excuse to suppress Chinese universities and scientific institutions. This decision is not wise, she said.

Canada is growing more worried about strategic research falling into the hands of foreign adversaries, government officials said during a media briefing. Tuesdays move follows a recent Federal Court decision that denied a Chinese residents application to study at a Canadian university due to espionage concerns.

Some countries have gone further  the Netherlands is working on legislation that would be used to bar Chinese students from university programs on sensitive technologies including semiconductors and defense. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has restricted colleges and universities from taking money from, or forming partnerships with, China or any other foreign country of concern.

--With assistance from Martin Ritchie, Jon Herskovitz and Colum Murphy.

(Updates with comment from China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman in seventh paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

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A Republican candidate for the North Carolina House, who a top GOP strategist referred to as a Nazi, will remain on the ballot despite having prior felony convictions.

The State Board of Elections voted unanimously to allow Joseph Gibson III to appear on the ballot, finding that his citizenship rights had been restored.

Gibson, a Rockingham County podcaster with past felony convictions, lost a primary election to Rep. Reece Pyrtle in 2022. He filed to run again this year and quickly drew scrutiny from members of his own party.

The North Carolina House GOP caucus director, Stephen Wiley, first raised the alarm about Gibson after finding out he had been convicted of several felonies, including robbery, while living in Connecticut.

Wiley said he also discovered that Gibson had ties to a neo-Nazi organization.

Hes got pretty despicable views and doesnt have any room in polite society as far as Im concerned, Wiley told The News & Observer.

The chair of the Rockingham County GOP, Diane Parnell, filed an official challenge to Gibsons candidacy in December.

The state board and the Rockingham County Board of Elections have each heard Gibsons case twice in the past few weeks, but Tuesdays decision appears to be final.

Wiley anticipated this result, saying before the meeting, I fully expect us to lose and for Mr. Gibson to remain on the ballot  and then I fully expect Rep. Pyrtle will be able to handily beat him on the primary date.

Case bounces between state and local board

Gibson was initially removed from the ballot by the Rockingham County Board of Elections on Jan. 3. The board found that he had been convicted of a felony in Connecticut and had not presented evidence that his rights have been restored.

The board also said that Gibson failed to appear at his own hearing.

He appealed to the state board, which sent the case back to Rockingham, asking the board to determine if Gibsons citizenship rights had been restored.

The Rockingham board then approved Gibsons candidacy on party lines, with all Democrats voting in favor and all Republicans voting against. In the boards decision, it said that Gibson had completed his probation in 2008 for crimes committed in Connecticut and had not been convicted of a felony in North Carolina since.

Parnell then appealed back to the state board, which ruled in Gibsons favor on Tuesday.

At the meeting, Gibson characterized the challenge as political assassination by the GOP, reiterating that he had served his sentence for his convictions and his citizenship rights had been restored.

Alleged ties to neo-Nazi groups

A report from the Anti-Defamation League describes Gibson as a white supremacist and anti-government extremist.

The report says that the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement (NSM) described Gibson as one of our members in NC and supported his campaign online.

The report also says that Gibson participated in livestream events hosted by the NSM and in one instance messaged the channel saying 88, a dog whistle used by white supremacists to mean Heil Hitler.
A crane was used to disassemble the Canton paper mill in August of 2023. Paper making operations had gone on at the site for more than a century, but the mill closed May 24, 2023, putting more than 1,000 employees out of work.

Top state officials and an Illinois company that shut down the Canton paper plant half a year ago  throwing more than 1,000 out of work  last spoke just before Christmas in ongoing talks about whether the state will take back $12 million in economic incentives the mill received.

That is according to a spokesperson for Gov. Roy Cooper who updated the Citizen Times Jan. 12 on what the offices of Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein have characterized as ongoing discussions with the company Pactiv Evergreen, a maker of food packaging such as milk cartons.

"Our office continues to engage with the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, local officials and Pactiv to reach a resolution that best supports the needs of the community, including the repayment of state incentive funds," said Cooper spokesperson Jordan Monaghan.

A month before the 115-year-old iconic paper mill shut down Cooper and Stein said if the plant closed they would look to enact "clawback" provisions of the $12 million Job Maintenance and Capital Development grant that the state gave Pactiv.

Gov. Roy Cooper speaks in Canton with the mill in the background April 6, 2023.

Six months after the May 24 closure, the funds are not back in state hands.

A spokesperson for Stein confirmed AG's office confirmed Stein and staff have been in "continued conversations" with Pactiv and other parties for the past eight months.

"Our position continues to be that Pactivs decision to close the paper mill constituted a breach of the JMAC agreement that requires repayment of the full $12 million it received in incentives," spokesperson Nazneen Ahmed said, adding that Stein will "continue to work on behalf of the residents of Canton and North Carolinas taxpayers."

Stein is running to replace fellow Democrat Cooper when the governor retires at the end of this year.

The Citizen Times reached out to Pactiv and the commerce department.

Once owned by Champion, the United Steelworkers union bought the mill in 1999 and formed Blue Ridge Paper. Struggling with consistent financial losses, the mill workers sold the factory in 2010 to Evergreen Packaging, a New Zealand company owned by billionaire Graeme Hart.

A decade ago the company was facing a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requirement to replace old coal-fired boilers. New natural-gas powered boilers would cost $50 million including new supply lines, Evergreen said.

In a last-minute vote the General Assembly approved the incentives, giving the company $12 million over six years. The company was required to employ at least 800 full-time employees for at least 10 years.

At the time, the mill employed about 1,000 people with an average annual wage, including benefits, of $78,300.

The state has succeeded before in recapturing incentives, said UNC School of Government public law professor Tyler Mulligan.

"A well-known example is the Dell incentive package. When Dell closed its manufacturing facility in the Triad, it agreed to pay back the State and local incentives it had received," he said.

But whether that will work is unclear, according to Mulligan. Typically, paybacks are only required for JMAC grants when a company fails to meet a minimum capital investment, he said. In its message to the commerce department, the Citizen Times requested a copy of the contract.

Evergreen merged with Pactiv in 2020.

Pactiv drew the ire of officials when last year before announcing the closure and layoffs, corporate officers declared they would pay a bonus to shareholders and sold more than $600,000 in stock. Then the price nosedived.

Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards, whose 11th District covers most of Western North Carolina, including Canton, called for a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation. It's not clear if the SEC has taken any action. Investigations by the regulatory body are done privately and only become known to the public with the filing of an enforcement action.

Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: NC in talks with Pactiv Evergreen over $12M incentives; Canton closure
A Lake Zurich man was taken into custody over the weekend after he attacked a sheriffs deputy who was doing a well-being check at the mans residence, authorities said.

The man was taken to a hospital after he was arrested and he made a comment regarding self-harm, the Lake County sheriffs office said. The deputy sustained minor injuries and was released after she was brought to a hospital for examination, police said.

The incident began at about 8:55 a.m. Sunday when the deputy and other officers responded to the home in the 23800 block of North High Ridge Drive. Police had received a report that the utilities were not working at the residence, and police were concerned because of the subzero temperatures.

The occupants of the home were OK, but were not cooperative, police said. The officer went to her squad car to get a list of resources for the residents. When she walked onto the front porch area, the man inside threw a piece of wood at her.

The deputy dodged the object, but lost her balance and fell off the porch. The man then jumped on her and began punching her, police said. Other officers intervened and subdued the man.

In this instance, one of our deputys was trying to provide resources to a family, and she was violently attacked, Sheriff John Idleburg said. I am thankful our deputy will be okay and we will ensure the offender is held criminally accountable for his actions, upon his discharge from the hospital.
Floodwaters inundated Cape Coral streets, especially in the southwest part of the city, and authorities cautioned motorists to stay off the roadways Monday evening.

How much rainfall blasted Cape Coral Monday afternoon?

The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory Monday afternoon effective until 7:45 p.m. and reported that as of 4:37 p.m. 3-6 inches of rain had fallen in the area that was slammed by a line of heavy thunderstorms.

The Cape Coral Fire Department issued its own warning, saying it was best to avoid the flooded streets.

"When we receive a lot of rain in a short amount of time, water pools before it has time to drain. Because of this, flooding is being seen throughout Cape Coral, particularly in the southwest," the department said on its Facebook page.

Will a little street flooding hurt you or your car?

Don't risk it, the fire department alerted drivers. Best to wait until the water drains, it said. A little flood water can ruin your car; a lot can be dangerous.

They said:

"Six inches of water will reach the bottom of most passenger cars causing loss of control and possible stalling.

"A foot of water will float many vehicles.

"Two feet of rushing water can carry away most vehicles including sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and pick-ups."

The weather service said that most flood deaths occur in vehicles.

Where in Lee County was the flooding?

Traffic navigates flooded streets in Fort Myers on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. Parts of Cape Coral, North Fort Myers and Fort Myers saw a deluge of rain over a short period of time this evening.

Social media flowed with pictures of deep street flooding in Southwest Cape Coral. Flooding was also expected in Fort Myers, St. James City, Matlacha, Pine Island and North Fort Myers and other flood-prone areas of the county.

Some downtown Fort Myers streets and Fowler Street, a common flooding site, were covered with water.

The Fort Myers Police Department closed Palm Beach Boulevard in both directions from Terry Street to Marsh Avenue and Fowler from Hanson Street to Edison Avenue Monday night due to the flooding.

What's next for Southwest Florida weather?

Traffic navigates flooded streets in Fort Myers on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. Parts of Cape Coral, North Fort Myers and Fort Myers saw a deluge of rain over a short period of time this evening.

Weird weather: Florida is the Sunshine State, right? So where did that big ball of fire in the sky go?

Expect to wake up to a foggy Tuesday morning. The weather service issued a dense fog advisory beginning at 10 p.m. Monday and ending at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Cape Coral, Captiva, Sanibel, Babcock Ranch, Fort Myers, and Lehigh Acres are included in the warning. Visibility could be less than 1 mile, creating hazardous driving conditions.

To be safe, go slow, use your headlights and leave plenty of space ahead of your car.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral flooding: 3-6 inches of heavy rain leads to flood advisory
Capitol police are looking into comments made by far-right lobbyist and fervent Trump supporter Roger Stone for discussing the assassination of two Democratic members of Congress, per a new report from Mediaite.

The outlet last week shared an audio recording of Stone's comments about House Judiciary Committee Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., which he made while speaking to former NYPD officer Sal Greco.

Its time to do it, Stone said to Greco. Lets go find Swalwell. Its time to do it. Then well see how brave the rest of them are. Its time to do it. Its either Swalwell or Nadler has to die before the election. They need to get the message. Lets go find Swalwell and get this over with. Im just not putting up with this shit anymore.

Stone denied making the remarks, claiming that the audio poorly fabricated AI generated fraud all because I am loyal to [Trump]," per Mediaite's report. Greco in a statement to Mediaite did not refute the veracity of the audio, saying, I dont think your reader is interested in ancient political fodder. Mediaite also reported that Greco was fired from the NYPD in 2022 for his connection to Stone.

While the FBI declined to comment when reached by Mediaite, the publication reported that a source had indicated that the FBI is aiding Capitol police in the probe. Stone, who was criminally convicted at the federal level in relation to former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, had his sentence commuted by Trump before he was sent to prison. As noted by Mediaite, Nadler, not long after the audio between Stone and Greco was recorded, stated that the House Judiciary Committee would be investigating why Stone's sentence was commuted by the Trump administration.

"The Roger Stone assassination plot recording may seem like the ravings of a wannabe gangster. Its not," said Rep. Swalwell. "This is what Trump and his real-life thugs do: they try to intimidate opponents and will always choose violence over voting. Because Im one of Trumps loudest critics, Stone put a hit out on me. This threat, and other threats of violence by Trump and his supporters, must be taken seriously by not only law enforcement but also by my colleagues." He continued: "Both parties, not just Democrats, must condemn this violence. Unity will always be the best antidote against further violence. Finally, Stone said that I and Trumps enemies need to get the message. Well, I and the voters have a message for Stone and Trump: we are still here and we are not going away until we bury MAGAism and make sure Americas democracy endures."

Mediaite: Top Trump aide Roger Stone on tape discussing the assassination of two prominent Democrats, something he denied ever doing. pic.twitter.com/vYkvvdFsVi  Mike Sington (@MikeSington) January 12, 2024
The U.S. Capitol Police, with the help of the FBI, are conducting an investigation into longtime Republican operative Roger Stones comment about assassinating members of Congress, Mediaite reports. In an audio clip obtained by Mediaite, Roger Stone can be heard weeks before the 2020 election telling an associate, Its time to do it. Its either Swalwell or Nadler has to die before the election, referring to Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY). Rep. Swalwell told Mediaite that Stones threat against his life was sincere. The Roger Stone assassination plot may seem like the ravings of a wannabe gangster. Its not, Rep. Swalwell said. This threat, and other threats of violence by Trump and his supporters, must be taken seriously by not only law enforcement but also by my colleagues.

Read it at Mediaite

Read more at The Daily Beast.
One person was injured when a car smashed through the front of a Whole Foods store, according to Maryland officials.

Responders arrived to the scene of a car crash in Bethesda to find a vehicle ran through the grocery store, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief David Pazos said in a Jan. 14 post on X, formerly known as Twitter. The vehicle plowed through the front entrance of the building and eventually came to a stop near the back of the stores produce department, battalion chief Jason Blake wrote in an X post.

5269 River Rd @WholeFoods a car went through the front door and stopped in the back of the produce department. One being evaluated for injuries. @mcfrsPIO @MCFRSNews pic.twitter.com/UQMKxJTdOL  Jason Blake (@mcfrsPIO7) January 14, 2024

The cars occupants were able to get out of the vehicle, officials said. There were two people inside the car, WTOP reported.

One person was injured in the crash, and they were sent to the hospital for an evaluation, the fire departments chief spokesperson Pete Piringer posted on X. The persons injuries were not life-threatening, WTOP reported.

Once customers were cleared out from the store, clean-up and repairs began, WTOP reported.

The driver lost control of their vehicle, which led them to crash into the Whole Foods store, Montgomery County police told The Washington Post.

Richard Sergay, a shopper who was in the store, told The Washington Post he grabbed bananas before heading into another aisle  right before the car rammed through the front door.

It felt like slow motion, Sergay told the news outlet. Amazingly, it seemed no one was in the way at that point. Anyone could have gotten killed.

Bethesda is about 5 miles northwest of Washington, D.C.

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The logo of car rental company Sixt during a photo shoot for the German Press Agency at a rental station at Munich Airport. German car rental company Sixt has announced plans to buy as many as 250,000 vehicles from carmaker Stellantis over the next three years for the company's rental fleets in Europe and North America. Peter Kneffel/dpa

German car rental company Sixt has announced plans to buy as many as 250,000 vehicles from carmaker Stellantis over the next three years for the company's rental fleets in Europe and North America.

"The agreement covers a total value of several billion euros," Sixt announced on Tuesday.

"The first deliveries on a significant scale" are to take place by the end of March, the company said.

Konstantin Sixt, the company's co-chief executive, said the agreement with Stellantis would enable the company to accelerate its growth strategy.

The Stellantis Group includes Citroen, Peugeot, Fiat, Maserati, Chrysler and Opel, among other automotive brands. The company is headquartered in the Netherlands but has significant operations in France, Italy and the United States, among other countries.

The automotive giant will supply Sixt with a range of cars, SUVs and vans as part of the deal.

Stellantis chief executive Carlos Tavares said that the rental cars would allow customers to experience the latest models from the automaker.
A North Carolina car wash employee died after becoming trapped in machinery at the drive-through business (WLOS)

A North Carolina car wash employee died after becoming trapped in machinery at the drive-through business.

Police say that Carolina Franks, 26, was killed on 13 January at ZIPS Car Wash in Weaverville, which is just north of Asheville in the western part of the state.

First responders located ... 26-year-old Carolina Franks of Buncombe County, who had apparently become entrapped in equipment located within the car wash, Weaverville police officials said in a statement. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Franks, who police say suffered a traumatic injury, was not supposed to be working but agreed to go in when a college canceled their shift at the last minute her family told The Asheville Citizen-Times.

She was special, her grandmother Ernestine Franks told WLOS. She loved everybody. She loved animals. She just is a nice young lady.

An investigation into the incident is being carried out by the North Carolina Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health.

Texas-based ZIPS Car Wash is the largest privately owned car wash company in the US and has more than 230 locations across the country.

Our thoughts and prayers are with our team members family in this time of loss. This is such an unfortunate tragedy, said company spokesperson Sarah Elizabeth.

We are working with local authorities and the North Carolina Department of Labor OSHA throughout the investigation, and our Weaverville site will remain closed at this time.
State lawmakers are considering a pilot program to pay cash to kindergarteners and ninth graders for good attendance at school.

Kindergarteners and ninth graders could soon pocket up to $500 cash from the state just for showing up to class if a new bipartisan bill becomes law.

State Reps. Bill Seitz, R-Green Twp., and Dani Isaacsohn, D-Evanston, want to establish a pilot program that offers cash incentives for school attendance and high school graduation.

Isaacsohn said it's smarter to invest in a culture of attendance than to pay the long-term cost of absenteeism and dropping out of school.

"It's about getting back to the culture of being in school every day," he said. Nearly one-third of Ohio students miss at least 10% of school days.

Here is how the program in House Bill 348 would work:

Districts could apply for the program, naming up to two school buildings with chronic absentee rates that put them in the top quartile.

The state would pick at least one urban and one rural district to participate.

Half of the kindergarteners and half of the ninth graders would be in a control group, which would not get payments, while the other half would receive the cash incentives.

Districts would test three options for students that hit 90% attendance or higher: $25 payments every two weeks, a $150 payment at the end of a quarter, and $500 at the end of the school year.

The bill also calls for establishing a high school graduation cash incentive for students in low-performing schools. Graduates could earn $250 upon graduation, plus $250 for a grade point average of B or better. Graduates with a GPA of 3.5 or higher could receive $750.

The legislation earmarks $1.5 million over two years for both the graduation and attendance payments. Isaacsohn said the idea is to try it as a pilot program, see if it works and then decide whether to scale it up.

Chronic absenteeism rates in Ohio schools  children who miss at least 10% of the school year  is about 30%, but the number varies when you dig into who those students are and where they live, according to state data.

About 24% of white children were chronically absent during the 2021-2022 academic year, but that number doubled for Black children. Urban school districts have the highest rates of chronic absenteeism, and in some cases, they were triple or quadruple their suburban counterparts.

About 44% of economically disadvantaged students were chronically absent. And students with learning disabilities were at 40%.

AttendanceWorks.org, a national group focused on improving school attendance, reports that schools that offer a comprehensive approach see the biggest bumps in attendance. Rewards don't necessarily have to be monetary  extra recess time or competition between classrooms can be powerful motivation, the group said.

Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio lawmakers debate cash incentives to boost school attendance rates
Ana Lopez stands in front of the house she has rented for more than two decades in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles on Sunday. In 2022, not long after a new owner bought the home, the tenants began receiving offers to leave. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

In 2022, not long after a new owner bought the Highland Park rental home where Ana Lopez, 66, lives with her husband, the tenants began receiving offers to leave. At first it was about $22,000, she said. One of her neighbors took the offer and left. But Lopez, desperate to stay in the rent-controlled home where she has lived for more than two decades and pays $800 a month, repeatedly turned down the offers, even when the amount increased to $100,000.

After taxes, she felt, the money was not enough to remain long term in her community, where the average monthly rent is more than $2,000 and the median sale price of a home is more than $1 million.

She's felt pressured to go and has been informed that the owner plans to demolish the property. But, she says, Were going to keep fighting to stay in our home."

Buyout offers  also known as cash for keys  have become a frequently used tool for landlords hoping to get tenants to leave rent-controlled apartments without going through a formal eviction process, which can take time, be costly and is governed by strict rules. But it has been difficult to say exactly how often renter buyouts happen across Los Angeles. Last week, data released by City Controller Kenneth Mejias office shed some light on the subject, showing that from 2019 to 2023 nearly 5,000 cash for keys agreements were filed with the city.

Neighborhoods in Koreatown, Echo Park and Mid-Wilshire topped the list for the number of agreements. Lopezs Highland Park neighborhood was also among the top ZIP codes.

Read more: $55,000 to leave a rent-controlled apartment? Why these tenants say no thanks

In a statement, Mejia's office said tenant buyouts are a tactic that landlords use to compel tenants to move out of RSO (Rent Stabilization Ordinance) units or rent-controlled units, often so landlords can re-rent these units to new tenants at market-rate prices. In many cases, buyout amounts are not enough for tenants to afford continuing to live in the City of Los Angeles long term.

Tenant advocates say the numbers reported to the city fall short of fully capturing the extent to which cash for keys is happening across the city. They note that the data include only agreements  not the offers, which often happen informally with a person knocking on the door or making a phone call. Even the agreements themselves, advocates say, may not end up being filed with the city.

"The number of such notices filed with LAHD is likely a tiny fraction of such agreements," said Gary Blasi, professor of law emeritus at UCLA School of Law.

Landlords say the buyout agreements can be a useful tool, giving tenants an incentive to move and creating a win-win for owners, who get their units back, and renters, who leave with some money to help pay for housing going forward. The average amount of a buyout, according to the data, was $24,704.

But tenant advocates say even that amount  or more  is often not enough to allow low-income families to continue living in L.A. neighborhoods where the cost of housing has soared in recent years, especially after taxes.

"When it comes as a lump sum you think, 'Thats a lot of money' but you also need to know what its going to cost you to stay housed on the open market," Blasi said. "What looks to be like a big lump sum windfall could actually leave the tenant in a much worse situation than they are."

Tenants and advocates also say that people who turn down the offers are often met with harassment by landlords.

Weve had tenants report that people come by their home every day at dinner banging on the door telling them they really should take the offer, or people who come by really late at night, said Cynthia Strathmann, executive director for the nonprofit advocacy group Strategic Actions for a Just Economy. And theres other kinds of harassment, persistent neglect  a landlord will refuse to fix anything in the apartment and then really insistently offer them cash for keys until the pressure of living in an apartment thats really in terrible condition will prompt the tenant to move.

Strathmann said communities at the top of the controller's list, like Koreatown and Echo Park, are ones where there's an especially big difference between the monthly rent paid by a long-term tenant in a rent-controlled unit and what a landlord could command on the current market.

Chris Gray, president of the property management company Moss & Co., said cash for keys agreements became especially important tools for landlords after the pandemic, when many tenants racked up large amounts of unpaid rent debt.

"Landlords are in a tough position and all they want to do is get someone into their unit to pay rent," he said.

An eviction through the courts can take months and cost tens of thousands of dollars in attorney fees, Gray noted.

"When you look at a whole picture like that, a landlord would be happy to forgive past rent debt of $30,000, $40,000, or whatever it may be, to get them out and avoid the whole eviction process."

Read more: L.A. eviction cases rose significantly this year. But it's not all bad news for renters

The city began regulating buyout agreements and collecting information about them in 2017 after tenant advocates began protesting what they saw as an increasing practice of property owners displacing residents of rent-controlled units without fully informing them of their rights.

The Tenant Buyout Notification Program requires landlords to provide information to renters when making a buyout offer. They must inform tenants that they are entitled to minimum compensation, which ranges from $9,900 to $24,650, depending on various factors including how long the tenant has lived in the home and whether they are elderly or disabled. Tenants are also told that they have the right to refuse or rescind the offer and to consult with an attorney or the L.A. Housing Department.

Under the program, landlords are also required to file any agreements with the housing department. Those filings are the basis for the analysis that was released by the controller's office.

According to the data, buyout filings peaked in 2019, when there were 1,209 agreements. Last year there were 789 agreements filed with the city.

The buyout ordinance allows tenants to "bring a private right of action against a landlord who violates" the rules and to recover damages and a penalty of $500. But that's a step many low-income residents are unlikely to take, Blasi said.

"I think the city should look again at the tenant buyout notification program and look to put some teeth into it and do some serious outreach to tenants and landlords about the existence of it," Blasi said. "That can only help everybody who is operating in good faith."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  Twenty white roses with blue ribbons on their stems rested on the seats of family and friends of fallen Clark County School District police officer Andrew Craft. Behind that group of loved ones sat over 100 more mourners.

The candlelight vigil in the gymnasium at Legacy High School celebrated Crafts life. Craft died Wednesday at Mojave High School after suffering a medical episode at the age of 37.

Craft has been an officer with the Clark County School District Police Department since 2018.

Photos of Craft, in his uniform and smiling, surrounded the crowded room at the high school where Craft had completed his CCSPD training.

CCSDPD officer Andrew Craft remembered during candle light vigil (KLAS)

CCSDPD officer Andrew Craft remembered during candle light vigil (KLAS)

CCSDPD officer Andrew Craft remembered during candle light vigil (KLAS)

Uniformed officers from other local law enforcement agencies joined those mourners, underscoring a point made by Minddie Lloyd of the Injured Police Officers Fund.

Lloyd said Craft should be remembered as an officer who faced challenges and risks the same as his peers, the same as officers from any police organization, including the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

He was an amazing person and an amazing officer, CCDPD Lieutenant Bryan Zink said. The outpouring of not only members of our own department but from the Nevada State Police, formerly the [Nevada] Highway Patrol, where he started his career has just been amazing.

CCSDPD officer Andrew Craft remembered during candle light vigil (KLAS)

The number of photos uploaded to the Palm Mortuary website also amazed Zink who said he was emboldened by the support expressed by the community toward both CCSPD and Crafts family.

His son is a CCSD student weve been with him every step of the way, Zink said. Weve told him and his mom that he has been adopted by 186 brothers and sisters.

The Injured Police Officers Fund is holding a fundraiser for Craft Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Nevada Coin Mart.

A public memorial will be held at Central Christian Church at 10 a.m. Thursday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX)  The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) announced the launch of a new Externship Program focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math-focused (STEM) occupations last Monday.

This visionary initiative is not just a program; its a state-led commitment to bridge the gap between education and industry that will serve as a catalyst for diverse and includive workforce development efforts in high-growth, high-demand STEM fields. With this new program, CDLE will be able to enhance its mission by providing employers access to professional educators who will engage directly in STEM workplaces. The hands-on experience will allow teachers to then bring relevant, meaningful content back ot their students, inspiring them to pursue STEM-focused careers. Joe Barela, CDLE executive director

According to the CDLE, externships are work-based learning and professional development opportunities that allow teachers to spend anywhere from a few days to a few weeks working onsite at a business to gain exposure to work environments in career sectors their students may pursue.

Click here to learn more about the program.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WesternSlopeNow.com.
China plays pivotal role in global economic growth: Deloitte China Chair

Xinhua) 08:04, January 16, 2024

People take souvenir photos in front of the Chinese-built Peljesac Bridge in Komarna, Croatia, on Aug. 29, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xuejun)

China can create more opportunities for global economic growth and employment by further opening up its market, and promoting international trade and investment, said Jiang.

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- As the world's second-largest economy, China plays a pivotal role in global economic growth, Deloitte China Chair Jiang Ying said in an interview with Xinhua this week.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Swiss Alpine town of Davos from Jan. 15 to Jan. 19, Jiang said that China can create more opportunities for global economic growth and employment by further opening up its market, and promoting international trade and investment.

China's large-scale infrastructure projects, such as the Belt and Road Initiative, also help foster economic development and employment in countries along the routes, she said.

In Jiang's view, China not only plays an important role in the global economy and trade, but also in building a more peaceful world.

This photo taken on Oct. 16, 2023 shows a decoration for the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)

"China's development cannot be separated from the world, and the world's prosperity also needs China," Jiang said, adding that China has contributed more than 30 percent of global economic growth for many years, and is an "important engine" for the stable growth of the world economy.

"China is still the largest contributor to global economic growth engine," she said. "China's economy will continue to grow in a higher quality, more sustainable way and speed, and will make greater contributions to world development."

Against the backdrop of a global economic slowdown, Jiang highlighted a significant increase in the number of newly-established foreign-invested enterprises, coupled with an optimized structure of foreign investment.

This photo taken on Jan. 14, 2024 shows the logo of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)

From January to November 2023, China's high-tech industries attracted investment of 386.65 billion yuan (54.45 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for 37.2 percent of total foreign direct investment volume. During this period, the number of new foreign-invested firms in China increased by 36.2 percent year-on-year.

Jiang said she believes that China's innovation and manufacturing capabilities will continue to attract investments from leading global companies.

The 2024 edition of the WEF annual meeting, on the theme of "Rebuilding Trust," comes at a time when the global economy is sluggish and uncertain. The aim of the meeting is to boost global cooperation, to encourage global economic recovery.

This photo taken on Dec. 27, 2023 shows vehicles to be loaded for export at Yantai Port in east China's Shangdong Province. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
The following items were taken from Naperville police reports and press releases. An arrest does not constitute a finding of guilt:

A 60-year-old Naperville man was arrested on a charge of criminal sexual assault at 12:28 p.m. Jan. 10 in the 1800 block of Abriter Court.

A 20-year-old woman from Naperville was arrested on charges of burglary and retail theft at 2:20 p.m. Jan. 10 in the 1900 block of West Jefferson Avenue.

A 20-year-old man from Aurora was arrested on a charge of retail theft at 4:53 p.m. Jan. 10 in the 2500 block of West 75th Street.

A 34-year-old man from Naperville was arrested on a warrant at 5:26 p.m. Jan. 10 at North Route 59 and West Diehl Road.

A 29-year-old woman from Plainfield was arrested on charges of illegal lane usage and driving under the influence of alcohol at 12:46 a.m. Jan. 11 at North Washington Street and West 5th Avenue.

A 35-year old man from Aurora was arrested on a warrant at 9:22 a.m. Jan. 11 in the 200 block of East 5th Avenue.

A 23-year-old woman from Naperville was arrested on a charge of retail theft at 3:15 p.m. Jan. 11 in the 1700 block of West Ogden Avenue.

A 27-year-old man from Willowbrook was arrested on charges of disobeying a traffic control device, driving under the influence of alcohol, driving without insurance and obstructing justice at 1:30 a.m. Jan. 12 at Aurora Avenue and South Eagle Street.

A 19-year-old woman from St. Charles was arrested on charges of trespass to residence knowing persons are present, knowingly damaging property and aggravated battery/senior citizen at 5:49 a.m. Jan. 12 in the 400 block of Valley Drive.

A 58-year-old man from Chicago was arrested on charges of speeding in excess of 35 mph over the limit, speeding, driving without a valid registration and driving without insurance at 8:34 p.m. Jan. 12 at West 87th Street and Route 59.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General's office announced that a series of outstanding debts are being forgiven for the former students of the Pittsburgh Career Institute (PCI).

In an announcement made on Jan. 3, Attorney General Michelle Henry said an agreement was reached with the recently closed school to forgive $218,000 in outstanding debt balances. Under the agreement, officials from PCI are prevented from collecting these debts and the organization must comply with both the Pennsylvania Fair Credit Extension Uniformity Act and the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices Act.

Pocono Raceway President Ben May and Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry announce a drug take back event at Pocono Raceway on June 28, 2023. NASCAR fans can drop off unused prescription medications during race weekend July 21 to 23.

The sudden closure of Pittsburgh Career Institute left many students with outstanding balances, Henry said. It is only right that these students are not on the hook for those balances. My office is committed to helping students who spend much money, time, and effort on higher education and do not receive the promised benefits.

PCI provided several educational programs that were focused on health care and veterinarian services, but decided to abruptly close its doors program in November 2022. The school said the decision to close came after the Department of Education announced it would no longer accept the school's institutional accreditor  the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools.

At the time of closing, the school had less than 200 students enrolled in its various programs.

Beaver school district recognized as 'school to watch' by state organization

After being named a Lighthouse District by the American Association of School Administrators in the fall, officials at the Beaver Area School District are continuing to celebrate its achievements as a state organization has recognized their middle school as a "school to watch."

According to the district, the Pennsylvania Association for Middle Level Education has named Beaver Area Middle School (BAMS) as one of their 2024 Don Eichhorn Schools to Watch. Selection as a "school to watch" is based on several criteria developed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform, which is measured during an in-person observation and a series of interviews by a state team.

The exterior of Beaver Middle School.

We congratulate these schools for being places that do great things for all of their students," said Bruce Vosburgh, director of the Schools to Watch program. "These schools demonstrate that high-performing middle grades schools are places that focus on academic growth and achievement. They are also places that recognize the importance of meeting the needs of all of their students and ensure that every child has access to a challenging, high-quality education. These schools have proven that it is possible to overcome barriers to achieve excellence, and any middle-level school in any state can truly learn from their examples.

BAMS will join a group of 10 other middle schools in Pennsylvania, setting it apart for their dedication to improving middle school education. Schools in the watch program are recognized for three years, after which they will need to reapply for the title.

Sewickley Academy hosts successful toy drive for the holidays

As students prepared for their Christmas vacations, those enrolled in Sewickley Academy's Lower School were also working to help those in need of gifts over the holiday.

Some of the toys were donated to Sewickley Academy's toy drive during the 2023 Christmas season.

From Nov. 28 to Dec. 11, the school collected new toys and unused gifts for the East End Cooperative Ministry (EECM), gathering five large boxes of Christmas gifts for families who were unable to afford presents this year. According to the school, gifts were distributed across their support network's youth program and food pantry.

During the Christmas season, the EECM said that over 800 families in Pittsburgh's public schools had registered for the gift program. Over 600 families had also registered for support through the organization's food pantry before the holidays.

Other education news to note:

After serving on the school board for over 13 years and assisting in a large merger, Central Valley School Board member John Maly retired from his position as business manager on Dec. 31, 2023. As the school board enters the new year, the recently vacated position will be filled by Joan Wehner, who has served on several Pittsburgh area school boards in similar roles since 2010.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Chalked Up: PCI student debts forgiven; Beaver Middle School named 'school to watch'
By Saleh Salem and Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Huddling around a bewildering tangle of cables and extension leads plugged into a hospital power outlet, displaced Gazan men are pursuing a critical but elusive goal: getting their phones charged.

In wartime Gaza, a charged phone is nothing less than a lifeline. It serves to check on loved ones after Israeli bombardments, helps find out where food and water might be available, and provides light in tents after darkness falls.

"Every day we come here for three or four hours and waste time to charge our phones," said Mohammed Abu Skheta, who fled with his family, including a baby boy, from Al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza to a tent in Rafah, southern Gaza.

"It's a dream to fully charge it. It's very difficult. You can charge it to 50 or 60%, 70% at most," he said.

The charging spot outside the Emirati Hospital in Rafah is popular because it is free. The hospital allows displaced people to plug cables into its power sockets, which are fed either by solar panels or by a generator, when there is fuel for that.

Elsewhere, some households or small businesses that have solar panels allow people to charge, but often for a fee, which not all can afford.

"My financial situation is difficult, so I have to look for an alternative, such as charging at a hospital or shop, without paying money," said Abu Skheta.

Phones are not the only devices in need of regular charging. Mohamad Abu Taha, a barber in Rafah, said he was relying on a solar panel at the family home to recharge his electric razor in between jobs.

"For almost every haircut, I send my nephew to charge the razor. I have to inform the customer that if it's sunny I can work, if not then I cannot," he said.

One tailor in Rafah has got around the lack of electricity by converting a dismantled child's bicycle into a pedal dynamo to power his sewing machine.

NO PLACE TO CHARGE

The war in Gaza started when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 240 hostages, of whom more than 130 are still being held captive, according to Israel's tally.

Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel has responded with a siege, bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza which have killed more than 24,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.

Most of the population is displaced, and severe shortages of food, water, electricity and medicines have resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe, according to the United Nations.

Charging a phone has become one of the challenges of daily life, as time-consuming and frustrating as the search for bread or water.

"We came here to charge, but there is no place," said Mahmoud Marouf, who is displaced from Jabalia in northern Gaza, and had brought a battery similar to the ones in cars to the charging spot at the Emirati Hospital.

Alongside phones, people bring such batteries to charge so that they can then power devices they need in their tents.

Volunteers at the hospital organise a rota allowing people to charge for a certain period of time. The system helps avoid tensions by giving access to precious sockets to as many people as possible, but demand is too high to satisfy everyone.

Marouf said he needed to charge his battery to power medical devices for his children, who have respiratory conditions.

"We got them a large battery and came to charge it, because hospitals are full," he said.

Despite the tedium, those lucky enough to have a spot waited patiently for their phones to charge as much as possible.

"It lasts us for one day, or one day and a half at most, not more. We use it for lighting only," said Mohamad Al-Shamali, who is displaced from Gaza City.

"Calls and telecoms are down so we don't have internet. We try as much as we can to secure lighting, to see the roads we are walking on and inside the tent we are in, no more than that."

(Writing by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
A new restaurant is joining the lineup of food spots in South End soon.

Que Hospitality, the team behind Que Onda and Que Fresa, is opening Catalu, serving authentic Catalonian cuisine with an innovative approach to traditional Spanish tapas.

Itll be located in the space once home to Eight + Sand Kitchen, which recently closed.

Its been a dream of mine to return to my Spanish Hospitality roots and I feel now is the time to introduce this new brand to Charlotte, more specifically South End. It will be an honor to continue the Eight + Sand legacy in this prime location, owner Manny Flores said.

They did an amazing job taking care of the South End community and that will be a focus of ours as well.

[READ NEXT: We asked and you voted. Here is the Readers Choice pick for best tacos in the Charlotte area.]

After traveling to Spain, the team plans to offer a menu completely inspired by the Catalan region with tapas, sangria and gin-focused cocktails, along with a wine program highlighting Spanish wines.

Our roots in Charlotte are deep and we cant wait to be part of South End, Flores said. We are very passionate about Catalu and strongly believe Charlotte will be blown away!

An opening date for the new restaurant has yet to be announced, so keep an eye out on this space for more updates.

Location: 135 New Bern Street Retail A, Charlotte, NC 28209

Cuisine: Catalonian

Instagram: @eatcatalu
Everyone still knows their names!

The cast of the hit 1980s sitcom "Cheers" reunited on stage at the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 15 to present the awards for outstanding directing in a comedy series and writing for a comedy series.

Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman, Kelsey Grammer, John Ratzenberger and George Wendt all appeared in a recreated Bull & Finch Pub bit on stage at the 75th annual award show.

Anthony, thank you for getting us all here, Danson said, referring to host Anthony Anderson. Ah, this feels so nice to be here in front of all of you, thank you.

Cheers Reunion (Valerie Macon / AFP - Getty Images)

"Think of it as a long-overdue class reunion," Ratzenberger said.

"Being together brings back some great memories from show were all very proud of," Grammer added.

The reunion was missing a few names  Shelley Long and Woody Harrelson come to mind  as well as the late Kirstie Alley. Alley died in 2022 at the age of 71.

"Cheers" ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993 on NBC.

Cheers Reunion (Valerie Macon / AFP - Getty Images)

This year marks the 75th Emmy Awards and the show is doing tributes to television throughout the live broadcast on Jan. 15.

The cast of "Grey's Anatomy" also appeared, as well as the cast of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

In the "It's Always Sunny" appearance, the cast joked they didn't get their famous bar recreated and bemoaned that their long-running show has never been nominated for an Emmy.

"Where's Paddy's Pub?" actor Kaitlin Olson joked.

Hosted by Anthony Anderson, the 2023 Emmys, which were rescheduled from September 2023 to January 2024, were broadcast live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, with the red carpet starting earlier. The 2023 Emmys are available to watch on live on Fox and stream on Hulu the following day.

Leading the list of nominees included Succession and The Last of Us. There were a number of A-list stars and appearances from famous faces, including reunions from shows like Greys Anatomy, Martin, Ally McBeal and more.

Follow TODAY.com for complete Emmys coverage, including this years winners and unexpected moments.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
North Central College in Naperville has been awarded nearly $130,000 in state funds to help students experiencing homelessness or unable to provide for their basic needs, a problem the college says has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

North Central was one of 10 colleges and universities across the state to receive financial support from the Illinois Board of Higher Education, part of its End Student Housing Insecurity (ESHI) program.

A total of $1.7 million was earmarked for the schools, with individual awards ranging from $96,000 to $200,000. Chicago State University, University of St. Francis in Joliet and Eastern Illinois University in River Forest were among the institutions receiving grants.

North Central spokesman Jeremy Borling said the college was grateful to have been selected to receive the money.

The funding will help support ongoing work at the college  to remove barriers that housing-insecure students often face when pursuing a college education, Borling wrote in an email last week.

North Central, Borling emphasized, serves a diverse student population with diverse economic backgrounds. Though the average, baseline cost of attendance for a North Central student can range from $54,000 to $64,000 a year, depending whether or not a student lives on campus, 100% of the private colleges new students receive some form of financial aid, he said.

But in recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting impact on the economy have exacerbated many of the challenges that students face, including mental and physical health issues that often serve as underlying factors to housing insecurity, Borling said.

Housing insecurity, or instability, is a broad, variably defined term for hurdles that make access to reliable shelter difficult, including trouble paying rent, overcrowding, moving frequently or spending the bulk of household income on housing, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Basic needs insecurity is a lack of consistent access to necessities, not just food and housing but also health care, transportation, child care and safety.

Since the pandemic, North Central has seen a growing number of requests from its campus community asking for help with basic needs insecurities, housing or otherwise, Borling said.

Some of those appeals have come through North Centrals Cardinal Operation Hope and Help initiative, a program the college launched in 2018 to boost student success, both in and out of the classroom.

The initiative provides emergency support for food, transportation, clothing and other needs to students facing financial hardship. Post-pandemic years have seen an increase in Cardinal Operation Hope and Help requests, Borling said. More students have also been soliciting urgent health care services through the colleges Dyson Wellness Center, he said.

The situation is not unique to North Central.

Students attending institutions throughout the state and across the country face similar challenges, Borling said.

Basic needs insecurity is a problem felt at higher education institutions throughout the U.S., data shows.

A nationwide survey of more than 195,000 U.S. college students found that nearly three in five experienced basic needs insecurity in 2020. The survey, administered by the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice at Temple University in Phildelphia, obtained their information from students at 202 different institutions, 130 two-year colleges and 72 four-year.

Of the four-year students assessed, 43% experienced housing insecurity in 2020, the study found. Compared to results from the same survey conducted in 2019, student housing insecurity had jumped about 8% by fall 2020.

In Illinois, theres been a push in recent years to address student support needs in higher education, including housing insecurity, coming out of the pandemic. The goal is part of a broader initiative launched by the state in 2021 to generally revamp but particularly close equity gaps in Illinois higher education system.

The IHBEs End Student Housing Insecurity program is a step toward addressing those shortcomings.

No student should have to worry about when they will have their next meal or if they will have a safe place to spend the night, IBHE Executive Director Ginger Ostro said in a news release announcing 2023 EHSI grant recipients last month.

The ESHI grants, she said, will allow institutions to continue to remove barriers for housing-insecure students so they can make the most of their undergraduate experience and focus on their goal of graduating.

Grants were awarded through a competitive application process based on an schools ability to present a comprehensive plan identifying services and supports needed to address root causes of homelessness and basic needs insecurity.

Now funded, North Central is finalizing its plan to maximize grant money, Borling said.

More on how the college plans to utilize and implement its EHSI funding will be announced in coming weeks.

tkenny@chicagotribune.com
The Colorado shooter who killed five people at Club Q, an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, in 2022 has been charged with federal hate crimes and other federal charges, newly filed court documents show.

Anderson Lee Aldrich, 23, has pleaded guilty in state court to five counts of murder and 46 counts of attempted murder, as well as having pleaded no contest to two counts of bias-motivated crimes, in the mass shooting that killed five people at Club Q in November 2022.

Aldrich was sentenced to life in prison and was then transferred from a Colorado prison to the Wyoming State Penitentiary late last year.

RELATED: Club Q survivors react to shooter's guilty plea and life sentence: "a heavy day, but it's also a huge relief as well"

Aldrich has now been charged with five federal hate crime enhancements including five counts of murder with a firearm and an additional 69 cases of attempted murder or commission of a violent crime. Aldrich is being represented by a federal public defender in court. The Federal Public Defender's Office said it does not comment on ongoing cases.

In the new federal case, Aldrich has pleaded guilty, but federal court documents show that Aldrich's attorney and the U.S. Attorney's Office have negotiated a plea deal resulting in "multiple concurrent life sentences plus additional consecutive sentences totaling 190 years."

In total, Aldrich faces 74 federal charges, about 50 of which are related to alleged hate crimes.

In the shooting, which appeared to target one of Colorado Springs' most popular LGBTQ bars, five people were killed and 25 others were injured, 17 by gunfire. Aldrich was apprehended by people at the club and then arrested on scene by responding officers.

The five people who died were identified as Daniel Aston, 28; Kelly Loving, 40; Ashley Paugh, 35; Derrick Rump, 38; and Raymond Green Vance, 22.

RELATED: One year later, Club Q victims are still fighting for transparency over funds donated in their names

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado said Aldrich used "computers, internet service providers, web-based retail platforms, web-based financial payment process platforms, and interstate commercial mail carriers, to acquire firearm components, ammunition, and tactical gear" to carry out the attack.

A federal criminal information sheet states that a conviction on the murder charges carries "any term of years or life imprisonment or death," but a plea agreement negotiated between the U.S. Attorney's Office and Federal Public Defender's Office states, "the United States is not seeking the death penalty in this case."

A formal federal criminal complaint has not yet been filed, according to the publicly available court documents.

The owners of Club Q say they will reopen in a new location as "The Q" sometime in January or February.

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They rattle through neighborhoods all over the Philippines decked out in gaudy hand-painted liveries featuring everything from the Virgin Mary to NBA stars, shuttling millions of people on their daily commutes to the tune of blaring horns and rumbling engines.

Affectionately called king of the roads, this form of public transport emerged from the resourcefulness of the post-World War II era when local mechanics converted huge numbers of jeeps abandoned by American troops, customizing them to accommodate civilian passengers.

With roughly 200,000 jeepneys across the country, they remain an affordable form of transportation in a country where the average annual income is around $3,500.

Jeepney fares start at just 20 cents (13 Philippine pesos), ferrying roughly 40% of commuters everywhere from workplaces, schools and malls, according to data from the Department of Transportation.

But the government wants to replace these often worn-out, highly polluting diesel-powered vehicles with new minibuses.

For years, jeepney drivers have argued that the cost to transition to cleaner vehicles is out of their reach. Meanwhile, commuters also fear that replacing traditional jeepneys with brand new vehicles could eventually lead to fare hikes.

Groups representing jeepney drivers have held protests in recent months, with the latest gathering set for Tuesday in the capital Manila.

But Mar Valbuena, chairman of transport group Manibela, said police attempted to stall jeepney drivers from joining that protest.

We cannot proceed because some of our members were stuck at police checkpoints this morning Some have been held at various police checkpoints for nearly two hours, Valbuena told CNN affiliate CNN Philippines from the start point of the protest.

Mar Valbuena, chairman of transport group Manibela, has organized several protests against the jeepney modernization plan. - Josefiel Rivera/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

Valbuena said he still expects roughly 15,000 jeepney drivers, in Manila and other provinces, to protest against a mandatory program to retire the traditional public transport vehicles arguing the scheme was not studied properly.

The transport groups main concern was that the government scheme lacked funds, putting pressure instead on drivers to take hefty loans to comply with the modernization plans.

The uncertain future of jeepneys began in 2017, when the transport ministry ordered vehicles over 15 years old to be replaced with imported minibuses.

The minibuses come with more spacious seating, air-conditioning and runs on cleaner fuel compared with their predecessors  along with a steep price tag of about $50,000 ($2.8 million Philippine pesos), far beyond the reach of many.

We really cant afford that even if we take out a loan, wed be in debt until we die, jeepney driver Joseph Sabado told CNN Philippines.

Jeepneys are mostly privately-owned and are often run by a sole proprietor. As a result, individual drivers have been reluctant to upgrade for new buses, saying the transition is pushing them into debt through hefty financing loans.

To qualify for government loans and subsidies, drivers and small-time operators must join cooperatives or corporations, which will own both the buses and the public franchises to operate them.

The government intended to mandate the switch by March 2020 but it has been pushed back three times due to the Covid pandemic.

This time, a firm deadline for jeepney operators to surrender their franchises and consolidate into cooperatives ended on December 31, 2023.

Jeepney owners who failed to join a cooperative will no longer be allowed to drive certain routes starting February, according to Zona Russet Tamayo, a director at the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.

The board said it is determined to implement the program saying its benefits far outweigh the misunderstood program flaws, said chairman Teofilo Guadiz III.

Jeepney drivers protesting the modernization plan on December 29, 2023 near Mendiola, Manila. - Jose Santos/NurPhoto/Getty Images

We will continue to calibrate each component of the program in response to the clamor of the stakeholders, as we have done since the inception of the program. We will remain focused on the programs primary beneficiaries  the commuters. We believe that overcoming the programs challenges will lead in dramatic transformation in our transport system, Guadiz told reporters in a press conference.

Roughly 76% of jeepney owners have chosen to consolidate under the program and over 1,700 cooperatives have been formed, according to official data, but activists dispute those figures and demanded the government to rethink its plan.

Its their right to protest, but commuters said they are getting tired of it. The important thing is that the consolidation is done, Andy Ortega, head of the Office of Transport Cooperatives, told CNN Philippines.

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U.S. Postal Service collection boxes on Jan. 3, 2024, in downtown Columbus. Anthony J. Williams, 19, of Columbus, is accused in a federal indictment of robbing postal carriers at gunpoint of their arrow keys that can access such collection boxes.

A Columbus man has been arrested in Pittsburgh after a grand jury indicted him on charges in connection with the armed robberies of two U.S. Postal Service carriers in 2022 in the Columbus area.

Anthony J. Williams, 19, was arrested Monday and was to make his first appearance in federal court Tuesday in Pittsburgh before he is returned to Columbus to face the charges against him.

The indictment accuses Williams of conspiring with others to rob mail carriers of their arrow keys  universal keys that can access blue Postal Service mail collection boxes  so the group could steal mail, including checks and money orders. Central Ohio has seen several such robberies of carriers in the past few years.

Nationwide, according to the USPS, 412 carriers were robbed in 2022. In response, the Postal Service is rolling out digital locks to replace the universal keys and deter robberies.

According to the indictment, Williams threatened a USPS mail carrier with a gun to get an arrow key on Nov. 9, 2022, on Michigan Avenue in Columbus. The indictment also accuses Williams of threatening to kill a mail carrier working on Dec. 24, 2022, on Kodiak Drive in Canal Winchester and punching that worker in the face for their arrow key.

Williams allegedly received $2,000 from co-conspirators for stealing the first carrier's key, according to the indictment.

Williams is charged with conspiring to commit an offense against the United States, aggravated robbery of U.S. property of the United States, and using a firearm during a crime of violence.

If convicted as charged, Williams could face a lengthy prison sentence. The last charge alone is punishable by at least seven years and up to life in prison.

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus man charged with robbing 2 USPS carriers of their arrow keys
In 1994, the then president of Benedictine University, a private Roman Catholic university in Lisle, Illinois, Dr. William J. Carroll organized the first of what would become a yearly celebration of the life and works of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in DuPage County.

The annual breakfast came to an end in 2015 following the retirement of Carroll from Benedictine, only returning nine years later under new stewardship and with a new purpose.

The DuPage County Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Advisory Committee, started by the Oak Brook based real estate agency Inland Real Estate Group, became the organizing body behind the breakfast as well as several MLK events held throughout the county in 2023.

Dr. William Carroll, President Emeritus of Benedictine University, speaks during Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I have a Dream Breakfast at Drury Lane Theatre on Jan. 15, 2024.

The committee is co-chaired by Senior Vice President of Government Relations at Inland, Dan Wagner, and President of the Unity Partnership, a nonprofit aimed at establishing positive relationships between police officers and civilians, Regina Brent.

Under this new management and through a years worth of relationship building, the breakfast was attended by more than 1,200 people, raising an estimated net profit of $100,000 for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Fund of DuPage Foundation, a permanently-endowed fund seeded by Inland focused on the funding of public charities that prioritize serving marginalized groups throughout DuPage County.

Its annual income will generate grants to DuPage County not for profits in the areas of health, human services and education, breakfast organizer and President of the DuPage Foundation, Mike Sitrick said in an interview with the Tribune.

The foundation intends to give away $10,000 to DuPage not for profits this year, seeding the remaining profits, Sitrick said, with a goal of growing the fund to over a million dollars over the course of the decade.

The breakfast, held at the Drury Lane Theater in Oakbrook Terrace, gave donors a reason to brave the subzero temperatures Monday morning, bringing together religious leaders from the DuPage AME Church in Lisle, to the Masjid Al-Taqwa mosque in Chicago, eight different faith leaders gave blessings, celebrating a common cause.

The breakfast concluded in a musical tribute by Rev. Darius Brooks, the Cathedral of Grace St Johns AME Choir, and the DuPage AME Choir, including the gospel song We Shall Overcome, popularized and widely sung during the civil rights movement.

While Drury Lanes banquet hall was packed Monday, the DuPage County Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Advisory Committee has work left on the table, including events with special needs groups and Native American and Asian American communities.

Regina Brent, founder of Unity Partnership, speaks during Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I have a Dream Breakfast on Jan. 15, 2024.

When we roll back again in 2025 its not just going to be about fundraising, its going to be about having projects that we have put in gear so that we can give a report to the people that their donations did not go to waste, Brent said.

Bob Zellner, an American civil rights activist who was arrested and beaten several times for his work in civil rights activism, was honored as the keynote speaker.

Work in civil rights is never finished and those living in a democracy must constantly work to maintain it, Zellner said in an interview with the Tribune.

Every action has a reaction, and with the civil rights movement and the womens movement theres been a pushback, Zellner said. The work ahead is to understand how fragile democracy is and how it has to be worked on every day, and if not it will go away.
A British Royal Air Force Typhoon warplane takes off from an air base in Cyprus on Jan. 11 to strike targets in Yemen. (Sgt. Lee Goddard / British Ministry of Defense / Associated Press)

With the possible exception of fights over the national debt and Supreme Court nominations, there is no topic that arouses more partisan hypocrisy than presidential use of military force. And globally, there is no issue that arouses more hypocrisy than Israel. Put them together and you have a perfect storm of double standards.

Lets establish some relevant facts.

On Oct. 7 Iran-backed Hamas launched a brutal attack on Israel, a close American ally, from Gaza. Israel counter-attacked. President Biden repeatedly warned regimes in the region, specifically Iran , not to get involved. On Oct. 24, Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed America would respond to attacks on American forces, swiftly and decisively.

Read more: U.S. and Britain launch massive retaliatory strike against Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen

Iran didnt listen. Iranian-backed militias attacked American bases in Iraq and Syria . In November, Houthis, an Iranian proxy group that controls parts of Yemen, started launching rocket, drone and missile attacks, on both Israel and on international shipping in the Red Sea with support from Iran.

Houthis claimed they were merely attacking ships trading with Israel, but the attacks were indiscriminate, ensnaring ships with no ties to Israel and dislocating global trade. In December, a U.S. warship shot down three drones in self-defense.

Last week, after intense criticism for failing to make good on his warnings, Biden ordered significant attacks on Houthi assets in Yemen, with assistance from Britain and other allies.

Read more: Houthi rebels strike U.S.-owned ship off the coast of Yemen, raising tensions

There isnt room to catalog the full list of hypocrisies on display, but lets go through the most obvious. One of the first things Biden did upon taking office was remove the Houthis from the official list of terrorist organizations. He now says they are terrorists .

Many on the right who blistered Biden for dithering are now angry that he didnt consult with Congress before retaliating. Many on the left, who had no objections to the Obama-Biden administrations attacks on Libya in 2011, are mad at Biden for attacking a group allied with Hamas.

Globally Israel critics, who make a big show of being supporters of international law, are rallying to the Houthi cause . One chant, heard in New York and London, Yemen, Yemen make us proud, turn another ship around. This crowd insists that its animus toward Israel is driven by a passionate commitment to human rights, but seems to have no noticeable objections to Houthi atrocities, including the Houthi restoration of slavery in Yemen.

Anti-Zionism were constantly told, has nothing to do with antisemitism. The official slogan of the Houthis is God is great, death to the U.S., death to Israel, curse the Jews, and victory for Islam. You can tell me that death to Israel is merely anti-Zionist. But curse the Jews ?

Perhaps because such hypocrisy is so hard to defend, the substance of opposition to the strikes, at home and abroad , is American military  escalation  without required congressional approval (or parliamentary approval in the U.K.). Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) declared, This is an unacceptable violation of the Constitution. Article 1 requires that military action be authorized by Congress.

Throughout this crisis, escalation has been code for striking back. Even in the immediate hours after Hamas butchery, there were demands that Israel not escalate by responding. As for America, many opponents of escalation had no problem with Houthi escalation by indiscriminately attacking global shipping and threatening American interests.

This illustrates the weakness of the constitutional argument. In 1801, President Jefferson dispatched two-thirds of the U.S. Navy to wage war on the Barbary pirates. He didnt formally notify Congress until December. As legal historian Robert Turner notes , the Annals of Congress reveal no expression of concern that the president should first have obtained prior legislative sanction.

The constitutionally dubious War Powers Act requires congressional authorization for the use of force, except in cases of a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its Armed Forces. Even if, for some tendentious reason, you do not believe the Houthi attacks qualify for the exception, its worth remembering theyre just one facet of broader Iranian aggression  and escalation.

I have no problem with getting congressional buy-in, and Bidens critics have a point: If he was willing to wait this long to respond to the Houthi attacks, he could have consulted with Congress. The problem with Biden is, he shouldnt have waited this long in the first place.

@JonahDispatch

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Washington Union High School senior Emiliano Aranda, an 18-year-old who hopes to go into medicine, mentioned the similarities between the Black and Latino communities in an award-winning essay he penned for the 40th celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Both communities are often treated in a very similar manner, like were often shut out, said Aranda after delivering his speech at the Fresno Veterans Memorial Auditorium on Monday.

Were also being told you should be better, you should be doing this, kind of blaming our heritage, he continued. At the same time, we have so much potential, we have so much drive.

African Drum Interactive performed at the Martin Luthern King Unity Commemoration at the Fresno Veterans Memorial Auditorium on Jan. 15, 2024.

Aranda was among a handful of Latinos who joined in celebrating the 95th birthday of the civil rights icon. Mondays commemoration program, which capped a community march from St. Johns Cathedral to the auditorium, was the last among six events organized by the MLK Unity Committee.

That unity, however, was not shared by those who showed up for Mondays march and program. About two dozen protestors of Israels war in Gaza, waving Palestinian flags, holding up cardboard signs with phrases like Stop the Homicide, and trying to engage in conversations with marchers once they finished their walk at the front steps of the auditorium.

Aranda, in his speech, credited King Jr. for challenging peoples racism and bias.

The 40th edition of the Martin Luther King Jr. Unity March in downtown Fresno drew hundreds of participants on Jan. 15, 2024.

In pushing for equality and solidarity among all Americans, he transformed the negative perceptions of minorities being uneducated, undesirable, volatile and guilty of everything  guilty for existing, said Aranda.

Still, 40 years later, this negative perception exists in our society. But, thankfully, the MLK Spirit of Resistance also lives on, provided this resistance comes from people of color who are winning more than ever.

Strong support for MLK by Latinos

In Fresno  where Latinos account for 50.5% and Blacks 6.6% of its half-million residents  MLK supporters reflect the citys diversity. Fresno State professor emeritus Sudarshan Kapoor is a founding member of the MLK Unity Committee. The late Ben Benavidez was an early supporter of the march.

And the MLK celebrations saw various elected officials, from Congressman Jim Costa to Fresno County Board of Education Trustee James Martinez.

Longtime community advocate Venancio Gaona said the friendship and mutual respect between King and farmworker icon Cesar E. Chavez starting in the 1960s set the table for todays bonds among the countrys two largest ethnic groups.

For us Latinos nationally, it was an inspiration because at this time Corky Gonzalez was in New Mexico, Reies Lopez Tijerina in Texas and, of course, Chavez in California, said Gaona, a retired Fresno City College professor.

Congressman Jim Costa shares a laugh with Venancio Gaona during the Martin Luther King Jr. Unity March in front of Fresno City Hall on Jan. 15, 2024.

Gaona said the national celebration for Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated in 1968, should be duplicated for Chavez, who died in 1993.

Boulevards named after the two men will intersect in southwest Fresno once Chavez Boulevard signs are installed on portions of city streets on California, Ventura and Kings Canyon roadways.

What was heard during MLK celebrations:

A student from Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School dances during garlanding ceremony Jan. 12 at Courthouse Park.

Fresno City Council President Annalisa Perea, Friday at Courthouse Park during garlanding ceremony: Dr. Kings message transcends time. It is not confined to the pages of history, but continues to guide us as we navigate the present and envision a future built on unity. Our community, like many others across the nation, has not yet fully realized Dr. Kings vision of complete equality and justice for all.

Congressman Jim Costa, Monday during Unity March in front of City Hall: Today we are at a critical moment in American and world history. Many of the issues that were critical in the 1960s, during the era of the Civil Rights movement, are as critical today. There has been an attempt, both with the Supreme Court and in other actions that have taken place, to dismantle the fundamental Voting Rights Act. Thats backsliding. And we cannot allow that to continue.

Sudarshan Kapoor stands next to a poster of Martin Luther King Jr. prior to the start of the MLK Unity March in downtown Fresno on Jan. 15, 2024.

Fresno County Superintendent Michelle Cantwell-Copher, Friday at Courthouse Park: Everyone can be great because everybody can serve. You dont have to have a college degree to serve. You dont even have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.

Fresno City Councilmember Nelson Esparza, Monday during Unity March: Dr. King envisioned a diverse community coming together. He imagined our legislative and judicial halls with men and women who wanted to deliver our country from a feeling of bitterness to a place of progress. And so we must each do our part to fulfill that vision.

Fresno City Councilmember Nelson Esparza said communities of color are still fighting for the same things that Martin Luther King Jr. fought for six decades ago. Esparza spoke during the MLK Unity March on Jan. 15, 2024.

Terri Kimber Edwards, Monday during Unity March: We are honoring those that blazed the trail before us, we should never forget our history. Ever! We need to always remember who we are, what we stand for, even if were doing it alone. Even if youre doing it by yourself because somebody else is with you when youre right.

CHP Captain Austin Matulonis, Monday during Unity March: The sight of diverse faces, walking side by side, carrying banners, singing songs of message and love and understanding was a testament to the strength of our community here in Fresno. It is a powerful reminder that the spirit of Dr. King lives in the hearts and actions of those who strive to be better in a more equitable world.

Terri Kimber Edwards spoke about how her father, the late Fresno City Councilmember Les Kimber, organized the inaugural Martin Luther King Jr. celebration 40 years ago. She spoke during the MLK Unity Parade during a brief stop at Fresno City Hall on Jan. 15, 2024.

Fresno County School Board Trustee James Martinez, Monday during MLK Commemoration at Veterans Memorial Auditorium: Dr. Kings dream is not a distant aspiration. It is a call to action for each of us to play our part in building a society and a world where justice and equality must prevail.

A protestor yells at the end of the 40th Martin Luther King Jr. Unity March in front of the Fresno Veterans Memorial Auditorium on Jan. 15, 2024.
Calumet College of St. Josephs charter authority board is holding a 1 p.m. meeting Jan. 29 to consider the application of the Thea Bowman Leadership Academy.

The meeting comes in the wake of the Gary schools Dec. 13 charter revocation by Education One, its current authorizer at Trine University in Angola.

The Education One charter board revoked Bowmans charter last month without telling school officials the matter was on the agenda.

Bowman leaders said the revocation was retaliation for the school contacting Calumet College last March as it sought a new authorizer.

In response to the revocation, the school sought a restraining order from a Lake Superior Court judge to stop Education One from beginning its closure process of the school.

Judge Rehana Adat-Lopez granted the restraining order and set a hearing for a preliminary injunction at 1:30 p.m. Friday.

In its petition for a restraining order, the school cited irreparable harm if the revocation process continued. The order barred Education One, from holding closure meetings with parents and staff that had been set for Dec. 19.

The vote caught the school off guard. Its leaders said they were planning an expansion and expected to hold a groundbreaking ceremony soon.

Education One officials said it had placed Bowman on probationary status at the beginning of the year for a lack of academic improvement and poor organization.

Its director, Lindsay Omlor said revocation was necessary after Thea Bowmans board began seeking a new charter authorizer, Calumet College of St. Joseph.

The State Board of Education will have to approve the change in authorizers, if Calumet College agrees to sponsor the school.

Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
The Justice Department and state attorneys general have successfully blocked JetBlue Airways $3.8 billion attempted purchase of ultra low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines, the second federal court decision in the past year delivering a blow to further consolidation in the U.S. airline industry.

In a 113-page opinion issued Tuesday, U.S. District Judge William Young in Boston blocked the deal from closing.

While it is understandable that JetBlue seeks inorganic growth through acquisition of aircraft that would eliminate one of its primary competitors, the proposed acquisition, in this Courts attempt to predict the future in murky times, does violence to the core principle of antitrust law: to protect the United States markets  and its market participants  from anticompetitive harm, Young wrote.

The decision is a major win for the Biden administration and its beefed-up antitrust enforcement stance, and will bolster the governments case as it starts reviewing the pending merger between Alaska Air and Hawaiian Airlines, and as it nears a decision on Korean Airs takeover of Asiana Airlines. Consolidation in the sector has been relatively quiet in recent years following decades of mergers, culminating in American Airlines takeover of U.S. Airways, which was finalized in 2015.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that the ruling "is a victory for tens of millions of travelers who would have faced higher fares and fewer choices had the proposed merger between JetBlue and Spirit been allowed to move forward." Garland added the DOJ "will continue to vigorously enforce the nations antitrust laws to protect American consumers."

In a joint JetBlue-Spirit statement, the airlines said they disagreed with the ruling and are "evaluating our next steps as part of the legal process."

"We continue to believe that our combination is the best opportunity to increase much needed competition and choice by bringing low fares and great service to more customers in more markets while enhancing our ability to compete with the dominant U.S. carriers," they said.

President Joe Biden called the decision a "victory for consumers everywhere who want lower prices and more choices."

The airlines' merger agreement doesn't expire until July, and they could appeal to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.

Last year the DOJ successfully unwound a partnership between American Airlines and JetBlue. American is appealing.



In his opinion, Young cited the experiences of Spirit customers, including a college student in Boston seeking to visit family or a large family planning a trip to Miami who can only afford to fly with Spirits prices, as consumers who would be negatively affected by a merger.

It is this large category of consumers, those who must rely on Spirit, that this merger would harm, Young wrote. The defendant airlines, though exceedingly well-represented, simply cannot demonstrate that these consumers would avoid harm.

Youngs ruling followed a monthlong trial that wrapped up in early December.

In court filings following the trial, JetBlue and Spirit said the deal is necessary to boost their ability to compete with bigger airlines and that the merged companies would still only control about 10 percent of the U.S. market even after the merger.

In their post-trial court filings, the DOJ and states  Massachusetts, California, New York, North Carolina, New Jersey and Maryland  said the deal would remove head-to-head competition on hundreds of routes where the two airlines either compete currently or could compete in the future. JetBlue planned to retool Spirit's planes by removing seats and raising prices, the government contends.

Young also concluded that other ultra low-cost carriers wouldn't be able to give cost-conscious consumers enough options, even if they entered markets vacated by Spirit at an unprecedented rate of growth."

Were other ULCCs to attempt to replace Spirits capacity specifically on Spirit routes (and thereby serve Spirit customers), it would take over fifteen years to do so, Young wrote.

Prior to the trial, the airlines offered to divest certain airport slots and gates in Boston, the New York City area and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Frontier and Allegiant Air, saying that will sufficiently solve any anti-competitive issues with the deal.

That factored heavily in the trial, with Young at the end questioning whether the governments concerns could be resolved with additional divestitures. Young said he had concerns about the deal, but was also hesitant to permanently bar the companies from merging.

Young said the divestitures offered by the airlines do not fully alleviate competitive concerns. That includes a lack of requirement to replace capacity on routes canceled after the deal closes.

In barring the merger, though, Young left the door open to future dealmaking in the airline industry including by JetBlue and Spirit, rejecting the DOJs request to bar any deal between the pair in perpetuity.

The government argues that another bite at the apple would be of no use to the defendant airlines, and that therefore, the court ought enjoin any future combination of the two airlines, Young wrote. To rule in such a way, however, would be prospectively to interfere with the free market with unknown, and perhaps harmful, competitive effects.
Due to rising COVID-19 cases and other respiratory illnesses this winter, University of Vermont Medical Center employees are once again wearing face masks when interacting directly with patients.

As of Thursday, Jan. 11, UVM Medical Center employees are required to mask up in patient rooms, exam rooms, during direct patient care and, when requested by a patient, in non-patient-care situations. Only employees must adhere to the new mask requirements, although patients and visitors showing signs of a respiratory illness are still required to wear masks in all UVM Medical Center facilities.

Masks are optional in public areas within the center, including hallways, nurses' stations, cafeterias and shuttles. Even so, all patients, visitors and employees are encouraged to don masks in UVM Medical Center facilities, particularly people who are immunocompromised, who are not feeling well, or who came into contact with a person battling a respiratory illness.

What are the symptoms? COVID variant JN.1 is nearly half of COVID cases in US, CDC says.

Between Dec. 31 and Jan. 6, 59 people were hospitalized and five people died from COVID-19 in Vermont. Overall, hospitalizations for COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses is low.

Respiratory illness trends: Cases, hospitalizations low, but increasing

Respiratory illnesses have increased in Vermont this season, with incidences increasing due to extensive travel and time spent indoors during the holidays, said Ben Truman, spokesperson for the Vermont Department of Health.

Despite the overall uptick, however, cases and hospitalizations for COVID-19, the flu, RSV and other respiratory diseases remain low.

According to data from the Vermont Department of Health, there were only 59 hospitalizations (or less than 10 per 100,000 people) and five deaths from COVID-19 between Dec. 31 and Jan. 6. During this same period, emergency room visits for COVID-like Illness increased almost 5%, lower than in 2021 and 2022 but near 2023 levels. Overall, there were 455 cases reported to the Health Department that week.

COVID-19 wastewater data, however, paints a different picture: viral activity is high in Vermont. Biobot wastewater monitoring data from Jan. 6 shows that the Northeast at the time had the highest average concentration of COVID-19 out of any region in the country at 2,611 copies per milliliter of sewage, almost double the next highest concentration, which was in the Midwest (1,342 copies/mL).

Is it right?: COVID-19 home tests results can read wrong if the tests are expired: How to check

Concentrations in Chittenden County, which have doubled since Dec. 23, were even higher than at 2,871 copies/mL. In comparison, Burlington's Main Plant had a concentration of 3,626,316 copies per liter or roughly 3,626 copies/mL, the highest concentration of COVID-19 in any Rose City wastewater plant since Jan. 17, 2023 (approximately 4,794 copies/mL), according to the city's COVID-19 wastewater monitoring report.

Megan Stewart is a government accountability reporter for the Burlington Free Press. Contact her at mstewartyounger@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: UVM Medical Center employees required to wear masks near patients
Less than three weeks after informing parents that general education students would not receive busing for the remainder of the academic year, Chicago Public Schools announced it would buy and operate up to 50 electric school buses over the next three years through a $20 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Environmentalists and school and city officials praised the EPA funding as a step in the right direction toward a greener school district, improved city air quality and a reduced carbon footprint.

But the news of clean energy buses comes in the middle of a tough school year for many parents who are exasperated by daily hourslong commutes to school because of a bus driver shortage that has kept their children without the free or easy district transportation they received in previous years.

Since August, CPS has provided transportation only for students with disabilities who have Individual Education Plans or 504 Plans requiring transportation, and students in temporary living situations, for whom the district is federally mandated to provide transportation services.

Parents advocating for busing recognized the importance of electric buses but questioned how the district would provide support to families currently without any busing.

We strongly support CPS efforts to reduce our carbon footprint. However, empty seats on yellow buses are the same as empty seats on green buses. They both lead to inequity in public education, said Katie Milewski, leader of CPS Parents for Buses.

CPS does not currently own or operate its own bus fleet, and the 50 clean energy buses will allow the district to build up its own transportation services. However, 50 buses will not be enough to provide transportation for all students, and CPS will continue to supplement with outside vendors, a district spokesperson said. The EPA will fund an additional 30 electric buses for the district through grants to third-party vendors, according to federal data.

As winter settles in, commutes to school  which often include walking several blocks and waiting for public transportation  have become harder for general education parents such as Marissa Lichwick-Glesne, who traverses the city to see that her son gets to his second grade classroom.

When her son Laike, 7, was accepted to Lenart Regional Gifted Center in the Chatham neighborhood, Lichwick-Glesne was worried about the travel time from their Northwest Side home in Norwood Park. But when CPS said Laike would be bused to and from school daily, she and her husband enrolled him.

In the fall, Lichwick-Glesne was one of scores of parents to receive word that CPS would not be able to provide busing for general education students across the district due to a bus driver shortage, part of a national issue facing school districts.

Just before winter break, CPS said busing would not return for the remainder of the 2023-24 school year, despite making hiring efforts such as increasing wages and holding job fairs.

We fully understand how frustrating this news will be for many of our families, and sincerely empathize with the challenges and inconvenience that this situation has caused, CPS said in a Dec. 21 email.

CPS reports that district buses are transporting more than 8,200 students  8,180 diverse learners and 129 students in temporary living students  and providing transportation stipends to an additional 3,903 students.

General education students in magnet or selective enrollment programs, who tend to travel to schools outside their neighborhood, can apply for free Ventra cards and companion passes for a parent to be used on the Chicago Transit Authority system.

But that leaves approximately 5,500 students without busing, according to a CPS spokesperson, and parents say the policy does not protect low-income or middle-class working families who do not have the flexibility or time to transport their kids to school daily.

The Chicago Teachers Union applauded the EPA grant as a step in the right direction for increasing accessible transportation for students while decreasing the environmental burden of students journeys to schools.

In a statement, the teachers union also said the funding will further allow CPS to hold private bus vendors accountable for additional electric buses that will replace current diesel-powered fleets.

The announcement about a continued lack of busing was a reality check for parents struggling to make time to transport their children for several months and hoping for an end in sight.

With his wife often out of town for work, Asif Ahmed usually coordinates his 9-year-old daughter Petras transportation from their home in Logan Square to Hawthorne Scholastic Academy in Lakeview.

Sometimes Petra joins a carpool with other parents and students, but other times Ahmed drives her in the familys sole car, which he said they bought after Petra lost her busing to school.

We moved to Chicago from Los Angeles with the hope that we would not have to spend time sitting in cars, said Ahmed, who commutes to his job in the suburbs by Metra train. Having the school bus was really a huge lifesaver in the sense that we wouldnt have to buy a car.

A CPS spokesperson said offering stipends to general education families was not sustainable for CPS, citing a projected budget deficit for the next school year.

Districts across the country have suffered from bus driver shortages and have taken various steps to increase hiring. Wages for CPS bus drivers now range from $22 to $28 and can include sign-on bonuses.

The commutes for Lichwick-Glesne total about four hours each day. By the time Laike gets home, he has only about two hours to eat, complete rigorous homework, and watch a few minutes of TV before going to bed, his mother said.

Lichwick-Glesne worries how the travel might be affecting Laikes energy. He hasnt spoken about it, but he does sleep on the train, Lichwick-Glesne said. I can only assume hes tired.

Lichwick-Glesne has taken it upon herself to retest Laike, in hopes he can place into a school closer to the familys home. Just this week, she kept him home from school for a day, choosing to not take on a two-hour commute after an overnight snowstorm.

Lichwick-Glesne has epilepsy, which leaves her unable to drive a car, and with her husband commuting to work in the suburbs, public transportation is her only option to take Laike to school.

The district could not provide information on student transfers caused by transportation issues.

The low-emission buses bought by CPS will serve communities that are most affected by poor environmental policies and historical disinvestment, according to a statement from the city.

Electric buses will serve neighborhoods on the South and West sides, including Pilsen, Little Village, McKinley Park, New City, Back of the Yards, North and South Lawndale, and Chicagos Calumet region.

The purchase and implementation of the buses will occur over a three-year period, beginning in April, while the district continues to meet requirements of the grant award, the district said.

The Clean School Bus Program, established by the administration of President Joe Biden, aims to improve air quality for children and families and advance environmental justice. So far, the EPA has distributed funding to replace more than 5,000 diesel-fueled buses across the country through grants and rebates.

aguffey@chicagotribune.com
In 2016, Donald Trump boasted before the Iowa caucuses that he could shoot somebody in the middle of New Yorks Fifth Avenue, and I wouldnt lose any voters.

Eight years on, and 91 criminal charges later, Mr Trumps record-breaking victory in the state has proved that his grip over the partys base is stronger than ever.

He was declared the winner just half an hour after Republicans had gathered to cast their ballots. The announcement came so unexpectedly early that the hall hosting his victory party was still empty.

With most of the ballots counted, Mr Trump had received 51 per cent of the vote  more than his top two rivals combined.

Iowa is the first state to vote in the Republican presidential nomination contest, and Mr Trumps closest challengers, Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, are not prepared to call time on the race just yet.

History shows that Iowa narrows the primary field more than it determines the winner. But Mr Trump is a history-defying candidate, and Monday night could not have gone better for him.

He left Ms Haley  the figurehead for the anti-Trump wing of the GOP  trailing in the dust.

Iowa is critical because of the momentum it gives a candidate. Mr Trump knows better than anyone that winning breeds winning.

Monday nights results have inched the country closer to a historic rematch between Mr Trump and Joe Biden.

The Republican frontrunner made it clear in his victory speech that it is Mr Biden, and Novembers US election, that he is focused on now.

After weeks of attacking his Republican challengers, it was a different Mr Trump on stage in downtown Des Moines.

This uncharacteristically conciliatory version opened by saying: I really think this is time now for our country to come together... whether its Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative.

While the final results were still being tallied, he said we dont even know what the outcome is for second place. But he wanted to congratulate Nikki and Ron for having a good time together.

There were no Trumpian tangents, or angry personal attacks. Instead, the 77-year-old read from a pre-prepared script.

He rattled off a list of campaign policies: securing the US-Mexico border, law and order, and ramping up Americas oil production.

The reason for this statesmanlike Mr Trump was next to him on stage. Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, the two senior advisers credited with bringing discipline to his campaign, looked on as he delivered his speech.

The former president turned and thanked them as he addressed his supporters. They dont want accolades, he said. They just want to win.

The Republican primary race may have just begun  but as far as Mr Trump and his team are concerned, it is already over.

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.
Gregory Searight has lived rough outside in Lexington for years, including a stint under a Loudon Avenue bridge. His only contact with police officers came when they sometimes checked on him in the morning and brought him coffee and donuts.

We was grateful for that, Searight, 63, recalled in a recent interview. They aint never run us off cause we aint never made no trouble. As long as you dont cause problems, you wont have problems.

However, a sweeping anti-crime proposal in the General Assembly  House Bill 5, designated the Safer Kentucky Act  could change things by taking aim at Kentuckys homeless, among many other targets.

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The bill would establish a new crime, unlawful camping.

Police would have to charge people trying to sleep or camp in specified public and private spaces that are not designated for camping, including on sidewalks or roadsides, under bridges, or in parks, parking lots, garages or doorways.

Sleeping in a vehicle could count as camping, as could sleeping in tents, huts or other temporary shelters.

Local governments could not opt out of enforcing the public camping ban, at risk of being sued by the states attorney general. A first offense for unlawful camping would be a violation, punishable by a $250 fine. Repeat offenses would be a Class B misdemeanor, which can bring up to 90 days in jail on top of a $250 fine.

Public camping bans have been controversial in other places. On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to an Oregon citys ban, to decide whether it violates the Eighth Amendments prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment when there are no available shelter beds for homeless people.

In Kentucky, House Bill 5 also would make it easier to involuntarily commit someone to a mental health facility even without a demonstrated history of criminal behavior that has endangered or harmed others.

It would authorize local governments to designate a zone where homeless people can stay, as long as running water and toilets are provided and the zone is remote enough from population centers to be separate from any area frequently used for public purposes.

It would prohibit spending state or federal money on Housing First programs that have become popular over the past 30 years. Housing First prioritizes finding permanent housing for homeless people and then, once there is a roof over their heads, providing any mental health or addiction treatment they might need.

Finally, the bill expands the states stand-your-ground law to allow property owners and tenants to use physical force against homeless people who refuse to leave private property and who use force or threaten to use force.

The bills sponsors say its intended to prod homeless Kentuckians toward social services and housing assistance.

Theres nothing compassionate about leaving someone on the street with untreated mental illness or drug addiction, state Rep. John Hodgson, a Republican from Fisherville in Jefferson County, said at a recent news conference in Frankfort.

Rep. John Hodgson, R-Fisherville, spoke at a Jan. 9 news conference about House Bill 5, which would criminalize unlawful camping in public.

Studies show they will spiral down to premature death, Hodgson said.

Along the way, theyre going to create other problems. Theyre going to devalue the business community. Surveys show the people dont like to go where unsheltered homeless people are panhandling them on the street or camping on the sidewalk.

Hodgson warned of a homeless man who raped a woman in broad daylight in downtown Louisville last August.

We certainly dont want to suggest that an entire population is like that, but among the unsheltered homeless population is a high-risk element for panhandling, petty crime and things that generally endanger the public, he said. And the public health, with things like feces on the sidewalk and drug paraphernalia.

Criminalizing poverty, homelessness

The House bill has shocked some of the estimated 2,400 homeless people in Lexington and their advocates.

They say its cruel to criminalize sleeping outdoors when there sometimes arent enough shelter beds in the city (there are about 500 beds year-round, 700 in winter), and the cost of housing is soaring. Rent growth in Lexington last year was among the highest for any U.S. city, with a median apartment price of $1,232 a month.

Activists lobbied the General Assembly this month for $200 million to build or rehabilitate sorely needed affordable housing in Lexington, Louisville and the states rural communities.

House Bill 5 would punish people for not having a place to live without actually providing anyone with a home, advocates say. Individuals with no money could be jailed for failure to pay fines, and once they are tarnished with criminal records, they would find it even harder to be hired for a job or approved for an apartment.

Our No. 1 concern is the message it sends, said Ginny Ramsey, director of the Catholic Action Center, a privately run shelter on Industry Road in Lexington.

Ginny Ramsey, director of the Catholic Action Center in Lexington, said political rhetoric against homeless Kentuckians could lead to harassment of people on the streets, or even violence.

Instead of our legislators standing up and being a light and saying, We have got to take care of our people in the commonwealth of Kentucky, we have got to be sure they have what they need, in their frustration, theyre criminalizing poverty and homelessness, Ramsey said. And thats not Kentucky.

Ramsey worries that political rhetoric demonizing homeless people could inspire harassment, and even violence. People living on Lexingtons streets have been jeered, pelted with objects and even beaten over the years by those who saw them as less than human, she said.

That is what these type of words create. They give people license to think, Well, theyre the other. But theyre not the other. They are your mother, your father, your brother, your sister. I mean, they are human beings, she said.

Searight said its easy for state lawmakers to push homeless people around because they live safe, comfortable lives and mistakenly believe they could never be in the same position.

I had a house. I had the picket fence. But life shows up, Searight said.

What they need to do is take some of them politicians and put them out here for a whole week, he said.

Take their credit cards. Give them a backpack. Let them see how it feels to be out here in the cold, under a tree, out in the elements. Its not fun. They wouldnt even survive out here because they wouldnt know what to do.

Promoted by a Texas think tank

The homeless language in House Bill 5 is based on model legislation crafted by the Cicero Institute, a free society think tank in Austin, Texas, that was founded by and based on the philosophy of its board chairman, tech billionaire Joe Lonsdale.

The Cicero Institute spent nearly $10 million promoting its views in 2022, according to its most recently available tax returns.

Since 2021, legislation including at least some of the think tanks ideas on homelessness, has passed in Texas, Missouri, Tennessee, Utah and Georgia.

To date, weve achieved legislative victories in five states on this issue of homelessness, with full overhauls in two states and many more in the pipeline, Lonsdale wrote in an essay in the New York Post in December.

Weve banned dangerous tent encampments in multiple states and cities, he wrote. Weve made it easier to civilly commit those who are mentally ill and need treatment. And weve pulled money from failed Housing First programs.

The Cicero Institute has Kentucky connections. It hired Bryan Sunderland, who was deputy chief of staff to former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, as director of advocacy to lead policy outreach across the states. Bevins chief of staff, Blake Brickman, is an adviser to the think tank and works for one of Lonsdales companies.

Bryan Sunderland, who was deputy chief of staff to former Gov. Matt Bevin, now works for the Cicero Institute, where he advocates a ban on public camping by homeless people.

In a phone interview, Sunderland said the Cicero Institutes approach, when adopted, has started to clear away the homeless encampment tent cities ailing so many American downtowns.

Where I think most people come down on this is that its not compassionate to leave someone on the streets. Its inhumane, its not the best place for them, and its not the best place for the community, Sunderland said.

So, its incumbent on the community, like in Louisville, where they are looking for an alternate space, to say you cant camp here because its interfering with this business, he said.

Its interfering with this public park. Its creating a situation in our community where mothers dont want to take their children shopping because of whats going on in a particular area. And its becoming a nuisance to the community in some measure, but its also becoming unsafe, because these areas cant be properly cleaned or secure.

As part of its lobbying efforts in Kentucky this winter, the Cicero Institute has released a poll of 1,507 likely Kentucky voters that it surveyed in late December, asking them about their views on homeless people in public places.

Fifty-nine percent of the respondents favored a statewide ban on panhandling, according to the poll. Fifty-six percent supported a ban on homeless camps in the streets and other public places. Thirty-nine percent said they always or usually avoid going into areas where homeless people are living on the streets.

The Cicero Institute, a free society think tank in Austin, Texas, surveyed 1,508 likely Kentucky voters about their attitudes on homeless people as part of its effort to promote language contained in House Bill 5.

However, the National Homeless Law Center of Washington, D.C., says that criminalizing people who sleep in public hasnt solved the problem of homelessness. Places that have started doing it are only shoving homeless people out of view, to the fringes of cities, the center says.

In Austin, Texas, which has a two-year-old public camping ban, as well as soaring housing costs, the number of homeless in the city steadily increased to more than 5,500 as of last fall, according to a local count.

But many homeless people simply drifted away from downtown neighborhoods for parks, nature preserves and other green spaces farther out, away from police scrutiny but also the social services they need.

Austin police officers clearing urban street camps say they often have nowhere else to send the homeless people theyre evicting, the Texas Tribune reported in 2022.

With these laws, youre putting law enforcement on the front lines of the homeless crisis, and they dont want to be there, Eric Tars, senior policy director at the National Homelessness Law Center, told the Herald-Leader

In many ways, youre really setting them up for the next viral body-cam video incident where youve sent an officer into a camp where people are living, often sleep deprived, probably stressed, possibly with mental illness, and youre telling him to go break up their camp, take their things and maybe arrest them. Thats not going to end well for anyone.

Worse, the expansion of a states stand-your-ground law against homeless people seen as threatening raises some really chilling prospects, Tars said.

This basically authorizes vigilante justice against unhoused persons if they are sheltering themselves on private property, he said. To call that a public safety bill just defies comprehension.

The Lexington police department said it had no comment on House Bill 5. The Kentucky State Fraternal Order of Police has endorsed it.

Housing First starts with a roof

House Bill 5s restrictions on Housing First, a program model that prioritizes putting people in permanent, subsidized homes ahead of mental health or addiction treatment, would cost Kentucky millions of dollars a year in federal funds for affordable housing, state and local housing officials say.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development cites evidence-based studies supporting the Housing First model, and it requires housing programs it funds to run on that model, said Charlie Lanter, Lexingtons commissioner of housing advocacy and community development.

We would no longer be competitive for any new funds, Lanter said. And when I say we, I mean the entire state of Kentucky.

Charlie Lanter, Lexingtons commissioner of housing advocacy, said House Bill 5s ban on Housing First programs could cost the city and the state of Kentucky millions of dollars in federal funds.

The city of Lexington serves 234 people annually through nine different housing programs, all operating on a Housing First model, said Jeff Herron, the citys homeless prevention manager.

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government launched its first Housing First program a decade ago through a $250,000 grant to the Hope Center, taking 18 carefully screened men and women off the streets and out of shelters and putting them into their own subsidized apartments.

Once the people were permanently housed, caseworkers offered them an array of services, including mental health care and addiction treatment, rather than the previously traditional model of requiring people to undergo treatment before they could be placed in housing.

All but one of the early participants accepted the offer of help.

The University of Kentucky Center for Business and Economic Research studied the first two years of Lexingtons Housing First outreach and declared it a success.

In a 2018 report comparing the early participants to control groups, UK researchers said Lexington saved thousands of dollars per permanently housed person on reduced shelter demand and fewer trips to the jail and hospital, to say nothing of incalculable improvements in quality of life for people no longer struggling to survive outdoors.

But the Cicero Institute opposes Housing First.

The think tank says that two decades and 200,000 permanent, subsidized housing units after the model was adopted by the federal government, many American cities still grapple with street homelessness.

The Cicero Institute argues that 20 years after the federal government adopted the Housing First model, American cities are still struggling with tent cities where homeless people camp in public.

Housing First fails because it does not first address the mental health and addiction problems that plague so many chronically homeless people, the Cicero Institute says.

These individuals are reluctant to accept assistance without mandates and requirements, and a house without such mandates will not encourage use of these services, it states on its website.

Echoing the think tank, Hodgson, the House bills sponsor, said, Every case study I have looked at in the last year suggests Housing First is an abject failure and resulted in more unsheltered homeless and exorbitant costs to the taxpayers.

Not a crime to be homeless

Families live in their vehicles in Lexington parking lots because they have nowhere else to go, which would qualify as camping under the House bill, said Kim Bottom, 58, speaking at the Catholic Action Center, where shes currently staying.

Sleeping outside in a car or whatever theyve got to do  I mean, its wrong, but theyve got to do it sometimes, Bottom said.

Families live in their vehicles around Lexington because they have nowhere else to go, said Kim Bottom, who added that she was lucky to find a bed at the Catholic Action Center.

Locating an empty shelter bed in Lexington can be difficult on any given night, she said.

I was lucky that I had somebody pulling for me. But normally, its really, really super-hard to find a place, Bottom said. Theres only one womens facility in the whole city and one (women with families) facility. They really need to do something. They need to have another Salvation Army or something.

Another woman temporarily staying at the Catholic Action Center, Julia Davis, also 58, said she was the victim of a robbery that wrecked her finances and nearly put her out on the street. She desperately wanted to avoid that fate because Lexington is kind of rough, Davis said.

The House bill would imprison people who need help, not punishment, Davis said.

Its really not a crime to be homeless. It can happen to anybody under different circumstances, Davis said. Build another homeless shelter. Theres enough money around here with all of this horse money, this tobacco money, you could build another homeless shelter instead of putting people in jail.

This bill should not be passed. Its wrong, she added.
Chinese chipmakers are increasing efforts to manufacture mature chips in order to prepare for the expected recovery in the global semiconductor sector this year, industry experts said on Monday.

Another goal is to reduce reliance on imported chips amid US export controls, they said.

Most of their new production capacity will focus on mature chips, mostly 28 nanometers and above. Although these are not at the forefront of current innovations, such chips are used in a wide range of applications, from home appliances to automobiles, experts said.

They made the comments after the latest Customs data showed China's imports of integrated circuits or ICs fell in 2023 as domestic production capacity increased.

China imported 479.5 billion units of ICs worth $349.4 billion last year, down 11 percent in scale and down 15 percent in value.

By contrast, Chinese chipmakers' production capacity may have increased 12 percent to 7.6 million wafers per month last year, global chip consultancy SEMI said in a report.

"The sharp decline in China's IC imports was mainly due to sluggish global market demand," said Sheng Linghai, an analyst from market consultancy Gartner.

Several market consultancies, including IDC, predicted that overall IC sales will recover this year and are expected to drive global demand.

Industry experts, however, said that amid global geopolitical uncertainties, Chinese chipmakers have been beefing up local production capacity to not only meet soaring domestic demand for mature chips, but also accumulate mature technologies and then slowly grow toward advanced chip technologies.

Guo Junli, a research director at IDC Asia-Pacific, said in an interview that China urgently needs to improve supply capabilities given the huge domestic demand for semiconductors. Much of that demand is from fields like electric vehicles, industrial intelligence and artificial intelligence.

"On the supply side, China faces international policy risks and restrictions and is in urgent need of a supply chain that is free of such pressures," Guo said.

This year, Chinese chipmakers are forecast to make 18 projects operational. They are also expected to lead the expansion of the global semiconductor industry, SEMI said.

After examining the plans of 48 Chinese chipmakers, analysts at British bank Barclays said China could expand its chip production capacity by 60 percent over the next three years.

"Local players are still underappreciated," analysts Joseph Zhou and Simon Coles wrote in the note. "There are materially more local semiconductor manufacturers and fabs (fabrication units or semiconductor production facilities) in China than suggested by mainstream industry sources."

IC research company Trend-Force said in a recent note that China has 44 semiconductor wafer fabs in operation and a further 22 are under construction. By the end of this year, there could be 32 new Chinese fabs for mature chips in all.

Such expected massive expansion, which has alarmed the United States and the European Union, will likely see China's global share of mature process capacity reach 39 percent by 2027, up from 31 percent in 2023, with room for further growth if equipment procurement proceeds smoothly, TrendForce said.
The cold front that has pushed temperatures dangerously low in metro Detroit appears to be here to stay for the rest of the week, prompting wind chill advisories, school closures and pleas to bring animals indoors to avoid frostbite.

"There's an Arctic air mass that's currently bringing these cold temperatures down," said Brian Cromwell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service forecast office in White Lake Township. "It should be letting up, just not necessarily in the very near future. The start of next week is when we can expect things to potentially go back to more quote, unquote, normal temperatures for this time of year."

Cromwell said that high temperatures are expected to barely creep out of the single digits on Tuesday and they could climb into the low teens by Wednesday. Some light snow is expected, but nothing like the weekend storm that hit metro Detroit and the rest of Michigan.

"The cold is definitely going to be the biggest weather hazard over the next few days," Cromwell said. "So, yeah, if we're gonna go outside, especially in this wind chill, is going to be pretty dangerous."

More: West Michigan program tests humans and AI in predicting snow days

More: Winter storm hits Michigan: Tracking snowfall totals

A map from the National Weather Service shows temperatures in the low teens and single digits in Michigan during a cold snap in mid-January.

By Monday afternoon, several school districts, including Detroit Public Schools Community District, Hazel Park and Harper Woods had already announced that they were canceling classes for Tuesday.

Detroit schools said in a notice on its website the closures were "due to dangerously low temperatures that are forecasted to drop significantly below zero with the wind chill. This is especially concerning knowing that the majority of our students walk to/from school or rely on bus transportation to travel to/from school."

The notice said school officials would wait until later to make a decision on Wednesday classes.

The cold temperatures pose a risk to animals, said Marie Skladd, president of the Michigan Animal Care Network, a nonprofit that provides food, shelter and other pet care essentials to low-income pet owners in Pontiac.

"We are recommending that all animals remain indoors except to relieve themselves for a few moments and come right back in," Skladd said. "Even the breeds that can handle the extreme temps like huskies, you must have proper shelter for them. The doghouse has to be loaded with straw. You have to maintain water source, which, obviously, is not easy with the current temperatures. You would need a heated water bowl."

Skladd said volunteers with her group are already fielding reports of animals frozen to death in the cold. She said a doghouse that's in use in these temperatures should be elevated on a pallet so the animal isn't lying on the cold ground. Chains also are a danger to animals because they can freeze to the animal's neck.

"You have to have a proper collar," she said.

Animals, especially cats, will seek warmth wherever they can find it, Skladd said, including in the engine compartments of vehicles parked outside. She advises people who park outside to bang on the hood of their car before they get in, to roust any animals that may have sought warmth from the engine block.

She also urged people to look out for animals they see outdoors. If a neighbor's pet is left outside for long periods in the cold, Skladd said people should call their local police or animal control to report it.

"Frostbite sets in quickly, especially with those that have do not have a thick undercoat," she said. "They need the water to maintain the body heat and you know water is freezing immediately. So unless you have a heated water bowl and you've made provisions for this animal, chances are they may not make it through the next few days."

The dangers of the cold aren't limited to pets.

Jessica Golich lives at the Griswold Capitol Park apartments in downtown Detroit and said the building has been without heat since Saturday night.

The Griswold Capitol Park building in downtown Detroit on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.

She said the heat initially went out Saturday morning and was fixed, but the fix didn't last.

"At 8:30 p.m. on the 13th, it went out again and we're still out with no timeline, no idea as to when it's coming back," she said.

Golich said she has had to vacate her apartment and stay with family as she waits to learn when the heat will return. She visited Monday afternoon and saw neighbors carrying in electric space heaters to try to keep the temperatures up.

"They've attempted to accommodate us with radiators and stuff but it doesn't work and one single radiator isn't going to fill up an 850-square-foot apartment," she said.

The Free Press left voicemail and email messages with building management seeking comment.

Arthur Rushin, Chief Enforcement Officer for the Detroit Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department, said in a statement that the city was aware of the issue.

"We've spoken with the regional manager and been informed that two of the heat pump units had coils freeze," Rushin said. "Coils were thawed out, however. Heat is about the mid-60s and they have provided space heaters to every tenant that requested one.

City inspectors plan to conduct heat checks Tuesday, Rushin said.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Cold temperatures expected to last through the week for metro Detroit
When former Chicago firefighter Michael Taqee retired from his public service role, he wanted to be able to tell his grandchildren he worked his way up the leadership ranks of the Fire Department.

But an admission practice that discriminated against Black firefighter applicants in the 1990s hurt Taqee in the promotion tests he took two decades later. The exam had a seniority component that accounted for 30% of the score.

Taqee officially joined the Chicago Fire Department in March 2012 at 51. At that point, he only had 12 years to earn a promotion before the citys retirement age would make him call it quits. Since his time with the department dated back to 2012, instead of 1995 when he first took the test, he knew he would never reach the top of the promotional list before his 63rd birthday.

As a result, Taqee retired at 58 without the promotion he had dreamed about.

It was a race to the finish line, so I knew that I would never be afforded the opportunity to get promoted, so I decided to leave early, he said. I wanted to chase dreams before I got too old to chase them.

Taqee is one of 117 Chicago firefighters in the Lewis Class, a group of Black firefighters named after the Lewis v. City of Chicago lawsuit in which a district judge found the city violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with its admission practices in a 2005 ruling.

Now decades later, the firefighters are taking legal action again and seeking financial relief for missed opportunities to move up the firefighter ranks and for personal harm. They also seek reformed promotional practices for Black members of the Fire Department.

Its about the prestige and honor that you made progress in your career, Taqee said of promotions within the Fire Department, speaking at a Monday news conference detailing the legal fight.

Taqee stood with two of his fellow fire academy classmates on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to call out the city for not protecting their civil rights.

From my perspective on King, he fought for civil rights. This was a civil rights case, and even with what we thought was a great outcome, you still have hills and valleys, said Rodney Shelton, a CFD engineer. People fought for us, and now were going to continue that fight.

In August, the first Black firefighter in the Lewis Class was promoted to lieutenant, said attorney Chiquita Hall-Jackson, a workplace discrimination lawyer who is representing the firefighters in the motion to enforce that was filed in November.

The lawsuit alleges a 20% average promotional rate for Black firefighters in the Lewis Class since 1999. That number compares with an average promotional rate of nearly 81% for Black firefighters in other academy classes between 1996 and 2002, according to data compiled by Hall-Jacksons office.

Thats what were here for, and thats why now the harm has been shown, because exams have been taken and these individuals have been harmed because they dont get the actual seniority points that they were required to get and are entitled to, Hall-Jackson said.

The motion is largely based on the use of seniority in the promotion tests, which firefighters must take to move up to higher salaries and be considered for the positions of lieutenant, captain and battalion chief, among others. Seniority accounted for 30% of their test score, and for Black firefighters who were excluded from being hired in the 1990s, it was hard to achieve a high enough score for promotion.

The basis of the case dates back to 1995, when roughly 26,000 applicants took a written exam to become entry-level firefighters. Faced with the large number of applicants for only several hundred jobs, the city decided it would consider only those who scored 89 or above. This cutoff score excluded a high percentage of the minority applicants.

In 2005, U.S. District Judge Joan Gottschall ruled that the initial hiring test had an illegal disparate impact because the city had not justified using the cutoff score. After the ruling, the city conceded the entry-level tests discriminated against Black applicants but defended the hiring tests due to the large number of applicants.

The city did not appeal the disparate impact finding but said the firefighters had waited too long to file their lawsuit. The Supreme Court disagreed in a 2010 ruling.

The city continued to use the same qualifying score from 1996 to 2002 to hire 11 disproportionately white firefighter classes, according to the Legal Defense Fund, a legal group that represented the firefighters in a 1997 lawsuit.

Shelton said his promotional exam score when he tested in 2016 would have been 14 points higher had he been considered a member of the department when he took the admission test. A higher seniority score would have placed him in the top 50 on a list to qualify for a promotion when a spot become available. Instead, he was hundreds of names down the list.

This right here is a continuation of a case that started in 1998, Shelton said. We saw it firsthand after we took our first promotion exam.

On Monday, fire engineer and plaintiff Darrell Payne reiterated that it was a day to celebrate. But he felt obligated to speak out for future Black members of the Fire Department, like others who spoke out before him.

There was people fighting for me before I knew anything about the opportunities that were going to drop in my lap, Payne said.

The city has until Jan. 31 to address the November filing, Hall-Jackson said.

A spokesperson for the Chicago Fire Department could not be reached Monday. A spokesperson for Mayor Brandon Johnson did not respond to a request for comment.

aguffey@chicagotribune.com
Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips suggested potential Cabinet posts for Elon Musk or billionaire investor Bill Ackman as he pursues a long-shot White House bid against President Biden.

Phillips participated in a forum with Musk, podcast host Jason Calacanis and Ackman on Musks X spaces platform Monday to discuss a variety of topics including diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, the 2024 election, the U.S. southern border and what a Phillips administration could look like.

In first 100 days in the Oval Office, Phillips said he would build the most extraordinary bipartisan Cabinet in American history.

Maybe well have a third of them on this spaces right now, guys, he said.

Aside from Cabinet positions, Phillips said his first 100 days would include a focus on working with the other side of the aisle on national defense and security, along with initiatives for health care, education, and food and fuel prices.

Ackman, a billionaire mega-donor, has thrown his support behind Phillipss White House bid, revealing Sunday he plans to donate $1 million to a political action committee backing the Minnesota Democrat. Ackman said Monday that while he has only known Phillips well for the past two months, he was impressed by his business track record and overall personal qualities.

Phillips launched his long-shot bid for the Democratic presidential nomination last fall but has failed to gain any ground on the incumbent. According to RealClearPolling, Biden has about 69.8 percent support, followed by author Marianne Williamson at 7.9 percent and Phillips at 3.2 percent.

Phillips, 54, has tried to position himself as a younger, alternative voice to Biden, whom he has urged to step aside in 2024 and pass the torch onto the next generation of leaders. At 81, Biden is the oldest sitting U.S. president; if reelected in 2024, he would be 86 at the end of his second term.

Calacanis nodded to this when introducing Phillips to Musk, calling him an entrepreneur and under 80.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
An 84-year-old woman found dead in her Upper West Side apartment last year died from elder abuse, police said Monday after deeming her death a homicide.

Cops found Ana Asencio dead face-up in the bedroom of her W. 93rd St. apartment near Columbus Ave. about 9:55 p.m. on July 17.

Police said the chief medical examiners office recently classified the death as a homicide and told the NYPD that Asencio was choked. She had bruising to her neck and trauma injuries on her head.

Cops have made no arrests, but say she was the victim of elder abuse. It wasnt immediately clear Monday if investigators had a suspect.

Police found Asencio after getting a call from a worried relative asking officers to check on her.

Lawyers from the Manhattan district attorneys office visited the apartment building, where they showed neighbors photos of Ascencios injuries, according to a resident.

She didnt deserve this, said Migdalia Rodriguez, 72. She wasnt in her right mind but she was a lovely lady.

Ascencio was a retired public school teacher who suffered from dementia and lived in the filthy apartment with her son, according to the neighbor.

Her son lives here but she was really all alone, said Rodriguez. I would knock on the door once in a while to see if shes OK.

Rodriguez and her mother would bring Ascencio food and help her to the bathroom.

Her legs were swollen, she needed help to get around, said the caring neighbor.

The apartment was always a mess, she added. Its a miracle it doesnt smell.

Ascencios son declined to comment on the death Monday evening.
A century-old shipwreck linked to a possible mutiny and murder has once again emerged from the sand near Surf City, North Carolina, officials reported.

The town posted a photo Jan. 15 on Facebook, showing a mysterious construction of deck timbers had been found on its beach.

It is a ship wreck from 1919. The ship was the William H. Sumner, a 165-foot three-masted schooner toting phosphate, mahogany and ironwood from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to her homeport in New York, Surf City officials wrote.

Several hours after passing Wrightsville Beach, the Sumner ran aground around 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, 1919, on a sandbar off Topsail Inlet. Normally only seen a couple times throughout the year but due to a recent storm its completely uncovered.

Surf City is about 105 miles southeast of Raleigh.

News articles from 105 years ago reported much about the ships demise, including an alleged mutiny and shooting of the captain.

It remains unknown why the Sumner ran aground, according to 2022 article in Wrightsville Beach Magazine.

The inexperienced captain was 24-year-old Robert E. Cochrane, according to the magazine, and crew members reported he shot himself in a fit of despondency over the ships demise.

However, foul play was suspected and the (crew of seven) was jailed, a newspaper article from the period reports.

Three seaman later confessed the captain was shot to death by a member of the crew, but a trial found the chief suspect not guilty, the article reports.

Seven crew members were tried for murder, but the jury failed to reach a verdict in federal court, according to old news articles reproduced on TreasureNet.com.

Much scientific evidence was removed by nature. Ocean water washed away the blood and moved the captains body, the Carolina Shipwrecks blog reports.

The day after his body was moved the ship broke in half. Salvagers began to recover the cargo, and locals removed much of the rigging. Soon after that, the Coast Guard, which considered the Sumner a menace to navigation, blew up the wreck.

Remnants of shipwrecks in North Carolina are protected under state law, and cannot be plucked apart for souvenirs or scoured for artifacts, Surf City officials noted.

Eerie photos show sharks appearing to sleep atop shipwrecks off North Carolina

Underwater robot standing off Outer Banks is not what it seems, park rangers say

Historic WWII shipwrecks off North Carolina attracting invasive lionfish, NOAA finds
The Belgian prime minister warned that democracy will be put to the test in the United States and in Europe during the elections this coming year.

Just hours after former President Trump won the Iowa caucuses by a wide margin Monday, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, whose country took the presidency of the European Union Council Jan. 1, said the European Parliament must prepare for a return of the America first agenda.

2024 will be a crucial year, where our democracies and liberties will be put to the test, De Croo said, referring to the European elections in June as well as the U.S. presidential election in November.

If 2024 brings us America first again, it will be more than ever Europe on its own, he said.

Trumps signature America first agenda led to cooling of relations with European allies, as Trump engaged in trade disputes and threatened to withdraw from NATO  an alliance that has been bolstered over the past couple of years as military conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine has worried many European Union allies.

Trump frequently threatened to withdraw from NATO when president, but just last week, French European Commissioner Thierry Breton claimed Trump privately warned European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in 2020 that the U.S. would not come to Europes aid if attacked, according to new reporting from Politico.

You need to understand that if Europe is under attack we will never come to help you and to support you, Trump said, according to Breton, who claimed Trump also said, By the way, NATO is dead, and we will leave, we will quit NATO.

Trump won the Iowa caucuses with 51 percent support Monday, boosting his momentum as he heads into next weeks primary in New Hampshire, where he also maintains a strong lead, according to early polling data.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) flagged one takeaway that could spell bad news for the GOP after Donald Trumps comfortable victory in the Iowa caucuses on Monday.

Pritzker, in an interview with MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, noted that almost half of the Republican Partys base showed up to vote against the former president. Trump, as of early Tuesday morning, received 51% of the vote.

I mean, this is the most famous Republican. Hes the guy who, you know, basically built the modern Republican Party, the MAGA Republican Party that the Democrats are running against, and half the people in that party didnt vote for Donald Trump, he said.

The Illinois governor added that the results, which show an overwhelming win by the GOP front-runner who faces 91 felony charges over four criminal cases, were telling.

It tells you the weakness of Donald Trump and also the opportunity for Democrats, cause in the end, look, if the base doesnt turn out for Donald Trump in the general election enthusiastically, and Democrats turn out its base, this is all about independents, and independents dont like Donald Trump, said Pritzker, a Biden campaign surrogate.

So, I think were in a pretty good place tonight to see whats happening on the Republican side, he said.

Pritzker, who has knockedTrump on a number of occasions, added that the race could be over if the former president wins in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

But the truth is all of these candidates are running as sort of mini-me Trump Republicans, he said of the 2024 GOP presidential field.

They all have exactly the position that you mentioned earlier, six-week ban on abortion, they want a national abortion ban, the Republican Party is standing against working families and Donald Trump is representative of, I think, everything that is wrong with the current environment in politics.

Pritzker: Almost half of the base of the Republican party showing up for this caucus voted against Trump So, I think that is telling. It tells you the weakness of Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/vETZEoHKIW  Acyn (@Acyn) January 16, 2024

Related...
Top Democrats did not react to Donald Trumps crushing win in the Iowa caucuses on Monday with the dismay that might have been expected. Instead, the victory of the twice-impeached, 91-times criminally charged former president was heralded as an early beginning to the battle for the White House itself.

Related: Trump wins big in Iowa as Republican contest kicks off 2024 presidential race

Called early, Trumps victory came by 30 points over the hard-right Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, who edged the former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley for second. Only one of 99 Iowa counties did not go for Trump: Johnson county, which includes the University of Iowa, was won by Haley, the relative moderate left in the race  by a single vote.

Responding to Trumps win, and using an acronym for Trumps campaign slogan, Make America great again, Biden told followers: Heres the thing: this election was always going to be you and me versus extreme Maga Republicans. It was true yesterday and itll be true tomorrow.

Reporting has long suggested Biden and his advisers want to face Trump at the polls in November. Doing so will allow them to campaign more on the threat Trump poses to American democracy than the virtues of Biden himself, a historically unpopular president facing doubts about his age (81 now, 86 at the end of a second term), his handling of the economy and his support for Israel in its war with Hamas.

On Tuesday, the former New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu, now a Biden campaign co-chair, told MSNBC: You have seen in the last five or six months every candidate for the presidency on the Republican side racing over to the extreme Maga side of the party that Donald Trump clearly owns.

The Republican party that used to be a really great part of the American political system is dead. Donald Trump owns the Maga right and last night 50,000 Iowans  [said they] believe that the [2020] election was stolen, are election deniers, and actually say it doesnt matter to them if the president of the United States is actually a convicted criminal.

Trump faces 91 criminal charges. Seventeen concern election subversion, 40 were brought over the retention of classified information, and 34 arise from hush-money payments to an adult film star who claimed an affair.

Trump also faces civil suits over his business affairs and a defamation claim arising from a rape allegation a judge called substantially true, and attempts to keep him off the ballot in Colorado and Maine, under the 14th amendment to the US constitution and for inciting the deadly January 6 attack on Congress.

Haley has made ground on Trump in New Hampshire, which next week will be the second state to vote. But in Iowa, among an overwhelmingly socially conservative electorate, Trumps domination was near complete. Furthermore, polling in other states  including Haleys home state, South Carolina, which votes third  gives Trump similar leads to his margin in Iowa.

Landrieu said: That should tell you all you need to know about the current Republican party that  by the way, does not represent most Republicans in the country, moderates or independents.

 Everybody has always known this was going to be a fight between Joe Biden and Donald Trump and really a fight between two big ideas. Joe Biden wakes up every day, he ran for the presidency, to save a democracy which is under threat. Donald Trump and Maga Trumpism is an existential threat, is the greatest threat to democracy that weve seen in our life and all of us are going to have to get in this fight because we know how hard its going to be.

Haley and DeSantis often poll better in hypothetical match-ups with Biden than Trump does. And while polling shows Trump edging Biden in several swing states, Biden has beaten Trump once already. The core message of Bidens campaign is that he can do so again. The sooner Trump sews up his apparently inevitable nomination, such thinking goes, the more time Democrats will have to persuade the electorate Biden is at least the lesser of two evils.

Before voting began in Iowa, Bidens vice-president, Kamala Harris, marked the Martin Luther King Day holiday by attacking Trump over his threat to democracy.

She followed up by emphasising Trumps central role in the overturning last year of Roe v Wade, the supreme court decision that once guaranteed the federal right to abortion. Democrats cannot pin Republican threats to reproductive rights  proven a potent campaign issue  so strongly on DeSantis or Haley, though both also oppose abortion.

The same person who recently called the overturning of Roe v Wade a miracle is one step closer to becoming the Republican nominee for president, Harris said.

From the Senate, Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii, lambasted DeSantis and Haley for running campaigns in which they long fought shy of attacking Trump.

Super weird that the challengers praise the person in first place and it doesnt cause them to take the lead, he wrote.

From the House, Steve Cohen, a Democrat from Memphis, Tennessee, weighed in with an unsubtle example of the general anti-Trump 2024 message to come from Democrats up and down the political scale.

What does the grifter insurrectionist fraudster sex abuser liar victory say about Iowa Republicans? Cohen asked.
Ron DeSantis campaign reacted furiously on Monday after some news outlets called the Iowa caucuses for former President Donald Trump less than an hour after caucusing began and before some Iowans had a chance to vote, accusing media companies of election interference.

It is absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote, Andrew Romeo, a spokesperson for DeSantis campaign, said in a statement. The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet.

The Associated Press called the first-in-the-nation nominating contest for Trump about a half hour after Iowans showed up to precincts. Trump currently leads all of his Republican rivals by a wide, roughly 30-point margin, while DeSantis and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley are battling for second place.

The Associated Press and some other news outlets use decision desks that rely on statistics, exit polling and other analyses to project winners of races beyond just reported vote totals. That is why sometimes the winner of the race is called when only a small percentage of the vote total is in.

Asked for comment, AP pointed a reporter to a post on its website explaining why it called the race.

The Associated Press declared Trump the winner of the Iowa caucuses based on an analysis of early returns as well as results of AP VoteCast, a survey of voters who planned to caucus on Monday night. Both showed Trump with an insurmountable lead, the story explained.

READ the AP policy on calling races

The DeSantis campaigns allegation of election interference underscore his combative stance with the press. In the days and weeks leading up to the caucuses, he asserted that the media wants Trump to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Floridas governor and his team went all-in on the Hawkeye State, hoping that a strong performance there would help prove that Trump is beatable. DeSantis barnstormed the state over the weekend, campaigning through punishing winds and subzero temperatures in hopes of beating expectations on Monday night.

But DeSantis has found himself competing viciously with Haley, who has surged in public polling ahead of the caucuses. Hes also running well behind both Trump and Haley in New Hampshire, the next state to hold a nominating contest.
This aerial photo taken on May 11, 2023 shows a crane loading containers at a railway port in Horgos, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]

The China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone is expected to play an important role in expanding economic ties between China and the rest of the world, experts agreed at a recent symposium.



The FTZ in Xinjiang's southern area was established on Nov 1 and is hoped to become a new frontier for opening-up. It has subzones in Kashgar prefecture, Urumqi and Horgos.

Tong Jiadong, a professor at Tianjin-based Nankai University, said the FTZ will allow for the strengthening of cooperation and exchanges with the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and Eurasia.

He made the remarks at a symposium about the development of the FTZ in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, last week attended by government officials, academics and experts.

According to Tong, the Urumqi subzone of the FTZ should strengthen links between land ports and airports, with a focus on developing advanced manufacturing, biopharmaceuticals, exhibitions and modern service industries, to create favorable conditions for economic development and cultural exchanges in Central Asia.

The Kashgar subzone should focus on international trade and logistics, and on developing labor-intensive industries, establishing relevant training and cultural exchange centers.

The Horgos subzone is an important environment for developing border service trade, cross-border tourism and renminbi internationalization, he said.

Ma Xingrui, Party secretary of Xinjiang, has urged relevant departments to ensure that the FTZ is market-oriented, law-based and favorable to the international business environment.

By leveraging the advantages of overlapping policies and the role of a comprehensive experimental platform for reform and opening-up, the construction of an open industrial system around advantageous industries should be accelerated in the coming months, Ma said at a work conference on the development of the FTZ.

Fu Zhengping, dean of the Institute of Free Trade Zone, Sun Yat-sen University, said even though Xinjiang has obvious geographical advantages, its shortcomings are evident. He said the FTZ should utilize existing cooperation mechanisms, such as the Shenzhen and Kashgar cooperation mechanism, to strengthen links with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and draw on the practices of the GBA to promote modern service trade in the following years.

Li Shenglan, a professor at Sun Yat-sen University, said the FTZ is the first one established in China's northwestern border region and so can capitalize on plenty of opportunities.

"This is not only a major measure for the country to coordinate and solve the imbalance in regional development, but also a major strategy and important opportunity to accelerate the formation of a new hub for reform and opening-up in Xinjiang," said Li.
DES MOINES, Iowa  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is facing questions about his path forward in the Republican presidential primary as he leaves Iowa with a distant second-place finish and stares down yet more challenging contests in the next early nominating states.

The Florida governor came in second, behind former President Trumps expected first-place finish Monday night. But DeSantiss finish was still seen as lackluster, especially after his campaign and super PAC poured most of their resources into the Hawkeye State.

On top of that, the governor faces an uphill climb in New Hampshire and South Carolina, where most polls show him coming in a distant third, trailing former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.

Realistically, its going to get late very early the day after New Hampshire, said Jim Merrill, a New Hampshire-based Republican strategist. I think its going to be for everyone not named Trump, and that includes Haley. Its going to take some clear eye on what the path forward is.

Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis addresses the Family Research Councils Pray Vote Stand Summit in Washington, D.C., on Friday, September 15, 2023.

Trump easily won the Iowa GOP caucuses, clinching more than half of the vote. Multiple news outlets called the race for the former president less than an hour after the caucusing began  underscoring the former presidents hold over Republican voters in the state while also drawing criticism from the DeSantis campaign and some journalists over the decision to call it so early.

But speaking to supporters in Des Moines, DeSantis sought to project confidence about his campaign, saying we got our ticket punched out of Iowa.

They spent almost $50 million attacking us, he told his supporters. The media was against us; they were writing our obituaries months ago. They even called the election before people even got a chance to vote.

All eyes are now turning to the Granite State, where an average of New Hampshire surveys compiled by Decision Desk HQ and The Hill show Trump at 41 percent, Haley at 33 percent and DeSantis at 6 percent.

In a nod to the Florida governors standing in New Hampshire, DeSantis immediately headed to South Carolina the day after Iowa, though he will later head to New Hampshire on Tuesday for several events.

More top stories from The Hill:

Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, suggested the Iowa results were pretty much exactly what the polls predicted. New Hampshire-based strategist Mike Dennehy argued there was nothing positive for the governor heading out of the Hawkeye State and suggested he was a dead man walking right now.

He cannot make an argument that hes in a stronger position because he lost to Donald Trump by 30 points, Dennehy said, later adding, He can say that his ticket was punched out of Iowa, but its a bus ticket going to Antarctica. I mean, its not  his campaign is going nowhere.

At the same time, Republicans say that Trumps performance in Iowa speaks for itself.

Whether or not he finishes over 50 percent  which is very likely, given outstanding counties  he has smashed the Iowa GOP caucus record for margin of victory, and thats a powerful message to the grassroots, said Florida-based Republican strategist Ford OConnell.

There is no way to spin this other than a resounding win for Trump in Iowa, OConnell added.

OConnell acknowledged that it makes sense for DeSantis to make his presence known in South Carolina following Iowa, pointing to the states more conservative electorate.

Its a smarter play for him than New Hampshire, because the South Carolina electorate is closer to Iowa in terms of issues, OConnell said. But by not going to New Hampshire, you also lose media coverage, and its hard to stay in the conversation. Plus, two weeks in a presidential primary is a political lifetime.

In a statement to The Hill, the DeSantis campaign predicted that in the next few weeks, the GOP primary would come down to a race between Trump and DeSantis.

Nikki Haley spent more money per vote than any other candidate in Iowa to get a disastrous third  proving no amount of money can erase her record of caving to the left on every issue important to conservatives, said Andrew Romeo, communications director for DeSantiss campaign.

While it may take a few more weeks to fully get there, this will be a two-person soon enough. Despite spending $24 million in false negative ads against Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley couldnt buy herself the kill shot she so desperately wanted last night, and now she will be out of this race after failing to win her home state on February 24, he said.

Former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley speaks during the fifth Republican presidential primary debate at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 10, 2024. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)

In New Hampshire, DeSantis supporters point to what they say are inaccuracies in polling coming out of the state. They also note the fact that Chris Christie and Vivek Ramaswamy have dropped out of the race in recent days.

Youve got the Christie people out now, the Vivek people out now. My suspicion is that most of those are going to come our way, said New Hampshire House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R), who is backing DeSantis. [Christie] was the one guy who was really tearing after Trump in a way that nobody else was. Why would any of those people then jump on board with the candidate whos running to be Trumps VP or secretary of State? he continued, jabbing at Haley.

And then you got all of the Vivek people, mostly libertarians, Osborne said. Why on earth would they get on board with Lockdown Don when they could get on board with Freedom Ron?

Those arguments cut against conventional wisdom, which says Christie supporters would be more likely to support Haley. Additionally, Ramaswamy has endorsed Trump and is set to appear at a campaign rally, a clear signal to his own supporters.

Everybody knows that [the] sliver of the party that [Haley] appeals to is not anywhere near what it takes to take on Donald Trump, Osborne said. Meanwhile, Ron DeSantis  like Ive said from the very beginning  he is the bridge builder between all of the different factions of the party.

Other DeSantis supporters say Haleys decision to only debate Trump or President Biden, effectively ruling out any future debate with DeSantis, could play into the governors favor.

I really take issue with that. Its a New Hampshire tradition, said DeSantis-supporter Kate Day, the former chair of Cheshire County (N.H.) Republicans. We go and we see these candidates then the ultimate is to see the debate.

(AP Photo/Meg Kinnard/Rebecca Blackwell)

Dennehy, the New Hampshire GOP strategist, didnt expect there to be pressure on DeSantis to drop out, noting that Ron DeSantiss existence in the Republican primary helps Nikki Haley.

If Ron DeSantis were to drop out of the race, all of his votes would go to Donald Trump, he explained. And so Nikki Haleys only chance of winning is to increase exponentially the turnout among undeclared, independent voters in New Hampshire. She needs to hold on to her small amount of Republicans support, and so splitting the Republican voter base with Ron DeSantis helps right now.

But some Republicans have seriously doubted that either DeSantis or Haley will be able to topple Trump at all.

South Carolina-based GOP consultant and Trump critic Chip Felkel called it a tremendous mistake for neither candidate to come out swinging harder against Trump and suggested neither one of thems got a shot in hell.

This game is about expectations, Felkel said. Its about beating expectations and getting momentum. And you cant tell me 21 and 19 percent of the vote  those were the expectations, that they would lose that big. And that doesnt truly give you momentum, no matter how much they claim.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Visitors learn about new energy vehicles of Chinese carmaker BYD during the 27th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area International Auto Show at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, June 16, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

"BYD EXPLORER NO.1," a vehicle carrier vessel leased to Chinese automaker BYD, held its maiden voyage ceremony on Monday at a port in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province.

With more than 5,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs) on board, it will set sail for the ports of Vlissingen in the Netherlands and Bremerhaven in Germany.

It is the first vessel in the shipping fleet of BYD, which has joined a number of Chinese automakers in accelerating car exports by operating their own shipping fleets.

According to China International Marine Containers (Group) Co., Ltd. (CIMC), the vessel was built by CIMC Raffles, a subsidiary of CIMC, for international ship management company Zodiac Maritime, and was leased to BYD.

The vessel was delivered on Tuesday to a construction base in Longkou, east China's Shandong Province, before sailing to Yantai Port to be loaded with the first batch of 1,389 NEVs. On Sunday, the vessel arrived at Shenzhen and was loaded with the second batch of some 4,000 NEVs.

According to China's General Administration of Customs, China's auto exports surged to 5.22 million vehicles in 2023, up 57.4 percent year on year.

As China's automobile industry embraces a new export era, automakers are grappling with challenges such as soaring rents, shipping capacity constraints, and intense competition for available car carriers.

Data from global shipping research institution Clarksons Research shows that from August 2020 to the end of November 2023, the one year time charter rate for a 6,500 Car Equivalent Unit (CEU) pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) had soared from 10,000 U.S. dollars per day to 115,000 dollars per day, an increase of more than 10 times.

To bolster automobile exports, major Chinese automakers, including BYD, Chery, and SAIC, have ventured into establishing their own fleets.

Notably, Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Limited successfully implemented an order for two BYD PCTCs on Jan. 23, 2023, while Chery Group subsequently announced plans to establish its own global shipping fleet. SAIC's Anji Logistics, in the past two years, has also ordered a number of large car carriers exceeding 7,000 vehicles each from the Jiangnan Shipyard.

In recent years, the concentration of the global automobile shipping market has remained high, with automakers in Japan, Republic of Korea (ROK) and other countries having deep ties with the transportation link.

According to data from the research institute of China Merchants Bank, as of November 2021, the global capacity of the top 10 car transport shipping companies -- mainly from Japan, ROK and European countries -- accounted for 59.42 percent of the market share, while the car transport capacity of Japan and ROK is mostly occupied by their domestic car manufacturers.

Previously, China's status as a major auto exporter was limited, resulting in minimal emphasis on building an independent shipping fleet. Currently, China has 39 car carrier vessels with a total of 115,000 CEU, representing only 2.8 percent of the global shipping capacity, according to Clarkson Research.

As China's shipbuilding industry flourishes and automobile exports surge, the trend of Chinese automakers utilizing domestically-built ships for transportation has become more evident.

At present, Chinese shipyards have undertaken the vast majority of new orders for car carriers in the world. For instance, Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Limited are booked solid until 2028.

Upon the delivery of the new ship orders, Chinese shipping fleets will significantly increase its global proportion of car carrier capacity, and are expected to rise to the fourth position, trailing behind Japan, ROK, and Norway.

Industry experts stress that achieving high cost performance is pivotal for Chinese cars' global competitiveness. Through long-term collaborations with car manufacturers, local shipping companies can provide more competitive transportation solutions.

Moreover, establishing shipping fleets also holds strategic significance for Chinese automakers to ensure security and stability of the supply chain.

Xie Xiaowen, an expert with the China Communications and Transportation Association, notes that the acquisition of ships by automakers symbolizes the continuous development and internationalization of China's automobile industry.

"For automakers, buying ships can ensure the stability of the export business, reduce transportation costs, and ensure that products are delivered to overseas customers on time," Xie said.

Chen Jia, a researcher at Renmin University of China, believes that Chinese automakers shipping fleets are poised to break the longstanding monopoly of foreign shipping companies on crucial routes and markets, laying a more solid foundation for the global trajectory of Chinese automakers.
The federal civil trial is being heard in the U.S. Southern District of New York, where author E. Jean Carroll (pictured in May) is seeking an additional $10 million from Trump after a jury found Trump sexually abused the magazine columnist in a Manhattan department store dressing room three decades ago. File Photo by Louis Lanzano/UPI

Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Former President Donald Trump was in court Tuesday at the opening of his federal civil trial that will determine the amount of damages he will pay after a judge found he defamed author E. Jean Carroll.

But the former president left before opening statements as his attorney accused Carroll of seeking a "windfall" over "mean tweets."

Carroll's attorney Shawn Crowley started off opening statements Tuesday afternoon by reminding jurors that "Donald Trump sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll" and then "unleashed his followers."

"That fact has been proven and a jury sitting in the exact seats where you're sitting now found that it happened," Crowley said.

"He didn't just deny the assault, he went much, much further," she said. "He accused her of lying and making up a story to make money and to advance some political conspiracy against him and he threatened her."

Former President Donald Trump attended the opening of Tuesday's trial -- that will determine damages owed to E. Jean Carroll -- after his primary win in Iowa, but left before opening statements to head to New Hampshire for a campaign event. Photo by Tannen Maury/UPI

Trump "unleashed his followers to go after her," Crowley added, saying he "continues to lie about Ms. Carroll."

Carroll, who is expected to testify Wednesday, is seeking more than $10 million in damages. Crowley urged the jury to award a "very significant" amount because Trump's attacks on his client have "destroyed her sense of safety."

"Much of that was ruined when Donald Trump went after her," Crowley added. "She's afraid. She's afraid that someday somebody's going to make good on their threats."

Trump attorney Alina Habba countered Tuesday, saying Carroll's career has prospered since the sexual assault allegations, and argued that Carroll is simply trying to seek a "windfall" over "mean tweets."

"The other side will attempt to paint Ms. Carroll as someone who lost everything because President Trump stood up and defended himself when he was publicly accused of assault," Habba said.

"Her career has prospered, and she has been thrust back into the limelight like she always has wanted," Habba added. "This case is not about assault. We had that case. This case is about the defamation."

"Here she is looking for you to give her a windfall because some people on social media said mean things about her," Habba told jurrors. "But in today's day and age, the Internet always has something to say, and it's not always going to be nice. Imagine if every time a public person got a mean tweet, they could get money."

Trump, who attended the hearing in the morning, left the courthouse after a break for lunch and did not return before opening statements. He was scheduled to fly to New Hampshire for a campaign appearance Tuesday evening ahead of the state's Jan. 23 primary.

The jury of nine was selected in the courtroom in Manhattan early Tuesday afternoon. There will be no alternate jurors.

Before being selected, the jurors were asked if they could come to a fair and unbiased decision and asked about their political preferences. Two of the people struck from the jury said they believe the 2020 election was "stolen" from Trump, and another who said he believed Trump is being treated unfairly by the court system.

Trump, who appeared at the hearing Tuesday morning, had traveled from Des Moines, Iowa, to New York City, following his victory in the first ballot of 2024.

Earlier in the day, Trump had been expected to testify despite a motion filed by Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan, expressing concerns that the former president would try to "sow chaos" during the trial, and calling for strict rules aimed at controlling Trump's behavior.

"If Mr. Trump appears at this trial, whether as a witness or otherwise, his recent statements and behavior strongly suggest that he will seek to sow chaos," she wrote in the filing. "Indeed, he may well perceive a benefit in seeking to poison these proceedings."

In light of the filing, U.S. Judge Lewis Kaplan said he would consider delaying Trump's testimony until the end of the trial, which would put the former president on the stand around Jan. 22.

In another ruling, Kaplan denied Trump's petition to delay the trial by a week to allow him to attend the funeral of Amalija Knavs, the mother of former first lady Melania Trump, who died a week ago on Jan. 9.

However, Kaplan pointed out that Trump was allowed to attend the funeral without facing any further penalties from the court.

"The Court offers its condolences to Mr. and Mrs. Trump and the rest of Ms. Knavs' family," Kaplan wrote. "Mr. Trump is free to attend the trial, the funeral, or all or parts of both, as he wishes."

On Tuesday, Habba pressed the issue, asking that only Thursday's trial date be adjourned. Kaplan reiterated that the issue had been ruled on.

Previously, Kaplan restricted the scope of arguments that Trump and his legal team can present during the trial.

The federal civil case is being heard in the U.S. Southern District of New York, where Carroll is seeking an additional $10 million from Trump after a jury found Trump sexually abused the magazine columnist in a Manhattan department store dressing room three decades ago.

As part of the civil verdict in May, Carroll was awarded $5 million, while Trump was also found liable for defaming Carroll in a 2022 Truth Social post, in which Trump labeled the allegations "a Hoax" before declaring, "This woman is not my type!"

Following the sensational trial, Carroll's legal team filed an amended complaint under her original defamation suit after Trump appeared on a CNN town hall on May 10 -- one day after the verdict -- claiming not to know Carroll and calling her a "whack job."

At the time, Judge Kaplan ruled to allow Carroll to revise the original lawsuit to include Trump's latest public comments about her.

Carroll's amended complaint noted that "Trump used a national platform to demean and mock Carroll. He egged on a laughing audience as he made light of his violent sexual assault, called Carroll names, implied that Carroll was asking to be assaulted, and dismissed the jury's verdict vindicating Carroll."

After reviewing Carroll's complaint, Kaplan issued a summary judgment against Trump in September that found the former president acted with actual malice when he made the remarks about Carroll at the town hall.

In December, a federal appeals court denied Trump's request to delay the civil trial for 90 days on immunity grounds, noting the former president did not claim presidential immunity until January 2023, despite Carroll suing Trump for defamation four years earlier, in 2019.

Trump also faces federal criminal trial this spring after being indicted for his failed efforts to overturn the 2020 election. He also faces a similar case in Georgia after he was indicted with 19 co-defendants in connection with a conspiracy to subvert the state results.

Additionally, Trump was hit with a federal indictment in Florida last summer on 37 counts for his alleged mishandling of classified documents that were found at his Mar-a-Lago resort after leaving office.

Also, Trump is scheduled to go on trial to face 34 felony charges related to a hush-money scheme involving former adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Follow the latest updates from the Iowa caucus in our live blog

Donald Trump won a landslide victory in the Iowa caucuses, the first race of the 2024 Republican primary, as Ron DeSantis beat Nikki Haley to a distant second place.

Mr Trump, the former president, won more than half of votes in the state, confirming predictions that he would begin his third presidential campaign with a crushing victory in Iowa.

Mr DeSantis, the governor of Florida, came second, winning slightly more than 20 per cent of the vote and declaring that his opponents had failed to knock him out of the race despite throwing everything but the kitchen sink at him.

The result is a boost for Mr DeSantis, who had faced speculation that he would be forced to suspend his campaign if he could not beat Ms Haley in the Hawkeye State.

At a victory party on Monday night, Mr Trump delivered a conciliatory speech, describing his opponents as talented people and calling for the party to come together.

I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a good time together, he told a crowd of supporters in downtown Des Moines.

Were all having a good time together. I think they both actually did very well. I really do.

As US news outlets declared that Mr Trump had won the state, Elvis Presleys Suspicious Minds blared through his speakers, and his allies said it was time for his Republican rivals to drop out of the race.

Matt Gaetz, a Florida congressman, told The Telegraph: It is time now to unite around Donald Trump as the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party.

Ron DeSantis pledged to keep fighting despite trailing Donald Trump by a long distance - Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Alex Pfeiffer, from the Trump-aligned Make America Great Again super PAC, said: Every dollar spent by president Trumps primary losers is a dollar that could be fighting Joe Biden.

Its time for Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, and Vivek Ramaswamy to face reality and stop wasting time and resources.

Despite its small population and few delegates to the Republican National Convention, Iowa is considered especially important in the Republican primaries because it sets the pace of the campaign and indicates which candidates are likely to perform well in later races.

Mr Trump is leading aggregated Republican primary polls nationwide by more than 50 points, with the support of around 61 per cent of voters.

Earlier on Sunday, Ms Haley overtook Mr DeSantis in the polls, with surveys showing 11.9 per cent of Republicans support her White House bid, compared with Mr DeSantiss 11.6 per cent.

Mr Ramaswamy, a firebrand anti-establishment candidate who visited all 99 counties in the state twice, finished in fourth place and suspended his campaign.

Vivek Ramaswamy pulled out of the race and urged his supporters to back Donald Trump - Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Nikki Haleys campaign had momentum coming into Iowa - Justin Lane/Shutterstock

In a press conference before the count had finished, Mr Ramaswamy said he was a little surprised by what happened tonight and that his plan to draw first-time caucus-goers proved too difficult to actually translate into meaningful results.

Mr DeSantiss campaign took aim at the media for a decision by the Associated Press news agency and some US broadcasters to call the result of the caucus for Mr Trump before voting had finished in some precincts.

Andrew Romeo, Mr DeSantiss communications director, criticised what he described as an absolutely outrageous example of election interference.

Mr DeSantis also criticised the press, telling a crowd at his results party: The media was against us. They were writing our obituary months ago.

They even called the election before people even got a chance to vote. They were just so excited about the fact that they were predicting that we wouldnt be able to get our ticket punched out of Iowa.

Although the result is a victory for the Florida governor, his share of the vote was not as high as his supporters had hoped and has created some anxiety about his campaign in forthcoming races in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Iowa was considered an especially promising state for Mr DeSantiss campaign, which is designed to appeal to more socially conservative Republicans. His performance suggests many of his target voters instead backed Mr Trump.

Ms Haleys placement behind Mr DeSantis is in line with what most pundits had initially expected, although her campaign had seen an increase in expectation in recent weeks.

Polls, including a survey by Ann Selzer, a respected pollster, found that she would place second behind Mr Trump.

As the results came in, Ms Haley congratulated Mr Trump on his victory but warned that both he and Joe Biden lack a vision for our countrys future because both are consumed by the past, by investigations, by vendettas, by grievances.

Early indications on Monday night suggested turnout was relatively low, amid a polar vortex storm that sent temperatures plunging to -20C around 7pm, when the caucuses began.

While the majority of roads in the state were safe on Monday, some major routes around Iowa City in the east of the state remained completely covered in snow and ice.

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Trump back in court for second defamation trial after Iowa victory

By Jonathan Stempel and Luc Cohen

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fresh off a campaign victory in Iowa, Donald Trump sat in a New York courtroom on Tuesday to defend himself for a second time against charges that he defamed writer E. Jean Carroll after she accused him of raping her decades ago.

Trump watched from the defendant's table as Carroll's lawyer told a jury that the then-U.S. president made her life miserable when she went public in 2019 with her story that he had attacked her in a department store dressing room in Manhattan.

"He used the world's biggest microphone to attack Ms. Carroll, to humiliate her, and to destroy her reputation," lawyer Shawn Crowley said.

Carroll, 80, is seeking at least $10 million in damages in a civil case that will put the allegations of sexual assault back in the headlines while Trump pursues the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Jurors will only consider how much Trump should pay Carroll in damages, not whether the alleged assault took place or whether Trump lied about it afterward.

Crowley said Trump's "horrible" lies unleashed a torrent of abuse from his followers, and wrecked her sense of safety.

"As he's campaigning for president of the United States, Donald Trump continues to lie about Ms. Carroll," Crowley said.

Trump's lawyer Alina Habba countered that Carroll was "basking in the limelight" in the years since she released her memoir and accused Trump of rape.

"She is looking for you to give her a windfall because some people on social media said mean things about her," Habba said.

Trump, 77, has said he wants to testify.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan has barred him from arguing that he did not defame or sexually assault Carroll or that she made up her account.

Nevertheless, Trump accused Carroll on social media of lying as court proceedings got underway on Tuesday morning.

Shortly after the court adjourned for the day, Trump accused Kaplan of being politically biased against him, echoing complaints he has made against judges overseeing his other cases.

Trump could spend much of this year shuttling between campaign rallies and courtrooms, as he seeks to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

He won the first state contest in Iowa on Monday by a wide margin, and opinion polls show him leading in the next contest in New Hampshire a week from today.

"I should be in New Hampshire, campaigning and fighting for our Country, and I will be later today, but for now I had to spend time in a Federal Courthouse with a Trump Hating, Radical Left Judge," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform after the court adjourned for the day.

Trump has pleaded not guilty in four criminal cases that could potentially land him in prison before the November presidential election, including two that accuse him of trying to overturn his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden. He also is a defendant in at least two other civil cases.

Kaplan said he expects the trial to last three to five days.

SECOND TRIAL

Trump's high profile was apparent as prospective jurors were screened for the case. Many acknowledged they were familiar with Trump's various legal troubles, though none said they knew the details of the first defamation trial.

One said she used to work for his daughter Ivanka. She was not chosen for the jury.

Jurors' identities are being kept confidential.

Trump has already lost one defamation case against Carroll.

A jury last May ordered Trump to pay the former Elle magazine columnist $5 million for having sexually abused her during the encounter, and defaming her in 2022 by denying that it happened. Trump skipped that trial.

Trump is appealing the $5 million award, and could appeal any award at the second trial. Appeals could take years.

In both cases, Trump has said he did not know Carroll and that she invented their encounter to sell her memoir.

Kaplan has barred Trump from suggesting he did not rape Carroll, as New York's penal law defines the term, because the first jury did not find that Trump committed rape. Kaplan has ruled that Carroll's rape claim was "substantially true."

Trump also cannot discuss DNA evidence or Carroll's sexual activities, or suggest that Democrats are bankrolling her case.

As at the first trial, jurors will be able to see the 2005 "Access Hollywood" video where Trump graphically described the ability of famous people like himself to have sexual relations with beautiful women.

Kaplan has said the video could offer "useful insight into Mr. Trump's state of mind" toward Carroll.

On social media, Trump accused Kaplan of being "biased," echoing attacks he has made on judges overseeing some of his other cases.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Luc Cohen in New York; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Mark Porter, Franklin Paul and Daniel Wallis)
Despite his overwhelming popularity at the Iowa caucuses, Donald Trump cant seem to keep a grip on his legal representation.

On Monday, one of the GOP front-runners star attorneys, Joe Tacopina, filed a declaration to withdraw his firm from two of Trumps upcoming legal battles: his hush-money criminal trial in Manhattan and the E. Jean Carroll defamation case, which Trump has been desperately trying to appeal since being found liable for sexual abuse and defamation.

I respectfully submit this Declaration in support of [law firm Tacopina Seigel and DeOreos] motion, made pursuant to Local Civil Rule 27.1, to withdraw as counsel (including TSD attorneys Joseph Tacopina, Chad D. Seigel and Matthew G. DeOreo) for Trump, with such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper, Tacopina wrote in the legal filing, effectively pulling three of Trumps attorneys in one fell swoop.

Its not clear why Tacopina decided to withdraw, though the decision comes during a year of extreme legal uncertainty for Trump, who is on the line for 91 criminal charges in four separate legal cases34 of which stem from the hush-money case, in which Trump is accused of using his former fixer Michael Cohen to sweep an affair with porn actress Stormy Daniels under the rug ahead of the 2016 presidential election. That trial is set to begin in late March.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the cases against him.

When asked for comment, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung did not acknowledge the recusal of Tacopinas firm but instead slammed Trumps upcoming legal challenges as partisan efforts to keep Trump away from the White House, reported The New York Times.



Trump has the most experienced, qualified, disciplined, and overall strongest legal team ever assembled, Cheung claimed, according to the outlet.

A lawyer might attempt to withdraw as counsel of record for a client in a pending case for a number of reasons, former federal prosecutor Michael McAuliffe told Newsweek.

The attorney-client relationship might have suffered a fundamental breach of confidence, running in either or both directions. A strong-willed client who thinks he or she is more of a lawyer than the actual lawyer can create an untenable scenario for that lawyer to continue representing the clients interests, McAuliffe said, adding that theres a chance the court may require Tacopina to identify a legal or factual basis to withdraw from representing the former president.


The News

DES MOINES, IA  Donald Trump decisively won the Iowa caucus on Monday, leaving his top two rivals scrapping for a distant second place, where Ron DeSantis appeared to narrowly lead Nikki Haley.

I really think this is time now for everybody, our country, to come together, an ebullient Trump said. We want to come together, whether its Republican or Democrat or liberal or conservative, it would be so nice if we could come together and straighten out the world and straighten out the problems and straighten out all of the death and destruction that were witnessing, thats practically never been like this  its just so important.

The topline results played out largely as expected. CNN called the race at 7:30 PM local time, with voting still underway across the state. Trump, in his speech to a caucus site in Clive, railed against an invasion when people are pouring in and coming in from prisons all over the world, from mental institutions and insane asylums all over the world  repeating a now-familiar, oft-fact-checked line from his rallies  while touting his support for ethanol subsidies, a traditional Iowa issue. He called the 2020 election, which he faces state and federal charges for trying to overturn, an unfortunate event.

The result was, in many ways, the dream scenario Trump hoped for when he announced his campaign in November 2022: A dominant performance with Republican voters, plus a divided field of candidates bitterly fighting over what remained, with no single champion emerging. Attention quickly turned to the close race between DeSantis and Haley for second, where DeSantis held onto a narrow lead  21% to Haleys 19%  with over 95% of all votes counted.

Network entrance polls  interviews with voters as they headed into caucus sites  found that Trump locked up his victory months ago. Just one in five caucus-goers said that theyd made up their minds in the races final days, breaking narrowly for DeSantis, whod parked himself in the state and hammered Haley for saying that New Hampshire would correct the result in Iowa. The rest of the electorate had decided earlier than last month, with 64% of them settling on Trump. The makeup of the caucus-goers reflected its winner: 65% said Biden did not legitimately win the 2020 election and Trump cleaned up with this group, winning 69% of them. Haley won 54% of those who believed Biden won.

The former president visited the state just 18 times, skipping candidate cattle calls organized by Sen. Joni Ernst and eventual DeSantis endorser Bob Vander Plaats. He blew off the only debate held in the state  just as he skipped the only Iowa debate held in 2016 ahead of a loss to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. He spent much of the home stretch at courtroom appearances in Washington and New York, by choice, working to rally Republicans to his defense.

Trump also scrapped most of the rallies hed planned for the final weekend, while Haley and DeSantis kept most of their schedules and campaigned in the arctic cold. DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy held freewheeling town hall meetings, up through the final day of campaigning. Trump held one local town hall, with supporters, on a livestream, 48 hours before the vote. The result was what defenders of the caucus process had fretted about: Trump shattered traditional campaigning in Iowa.

Aides have long noted that for Trump, campaigning looks a little different: Hes a former president who has run for president three times now, and whose record is already well-known across the country. But his campaign is also operating differently than it did in past elections, they say, with a take nothing for granted mentality combined with a low-drama, relatively high-functioning ground game across early voting states.

The View From Donald Trump

I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a great time together, Trump said to a revved up crowd at the Iowa Events Center after his win. I think they both actually did very well.

The former president was, naturally, in a positive mood: After hearing hed been projected to win, he told Fox News that he was greatly honored by such an early call and felt great about the evening.

Trumps allies moved quickly to make the case the party needed to get behind the frontrunner and pivot to the general election, where Bidens campaign finished the last quarter with $117 million cash on hand.

Rep. Matt Gaetz said during Trumps speech that his conciliatory tone was an invitation for his opponents to drop out and be in the warm embrace of MAGA, rather than out in the sub-zero temperatures of single-digit delegates alone.

Denial is the first stage of grief, Gaetz added after learning of DeSantis plans to remain in the race.

The View From Ron DeSantis

I can tell you that because of you, in spite of all that they threw at us, everyone against us, we got our ticket punched out of Iowa, DeSantis said in his speech.

DeSantis reveled in overcoming recent polling and speculation that had him falling into third place. Still, it was a major climbdown from early expectations: Hed repeatedly declared hed win the caucus last year, including as recently as last month. Privately, some of DeSantis allies fretted in the run-up that he might have no path forward if he couldnt at least beat Haley. With a narrow second place win, hes likely to stay alive for at least a little while longer  though the results are far from his original goal and the race is moving onto difficult territory in New Hampshire, where a single-digit race between Trump and Haley in some polls has been the main story.

The DeSantis camp was the first to cry foul over the early media calls for Trump, and the candidate mentioned it in his victory speech. In an immediate statement, DeSantis spokesman Andrew Romeo called it election interference, evidence that the media is in the tank for Trump. At the campaigns party in Des Moines, campaign manager James Uthmeier said he was still speaking to caucus-goers when they started getting news alerts, informing them that Trump had won.

The View From Nikki Haley

Haley looked past her third place showing right away, telling a crowd in Des Moines that she still represented the best chance of avoiding a nightmare rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

When you look at how were doing in New Hampshire, in South Carolina, and beyond, I can safely say that tonight, Iowa made this a two-person race, Haley said.

Haleys third place finish may not dim her momentum as she heads into New Hampshire, where DeSantis has tumbled to the single digits. But it dashed her hope of bumping DeSantis out of the race entirely. Her campaign kept expectations for Iowa vague, although as caucus time drew near many in her orbit became confident that she could notch a surprise second-place win over DeSantis.

She fell short as Trump beat her in the populous counties where shed campaigned the hardest  home to thousands of moderate voters and aisle-crossing Democrats, many of whom backed Marco Rubios campaign eight years ago. Haley was set to win about half as many votes, overall, as the Florida senator, who she endorsed that cycle, and who endorsed Trump on Sunday.

The View From Vivek Ramaswamy

Ramaswamy suspended his campaign, endorsing Trump and admitting that he saw no path for me to be the next president. His convoluted closing pitch  that Trump voters could save the former president by voting for one of his rivals  had been mocked by Trump himself. Unwilling to criticize Trump, Ramaswamy had blamed his consultants for the surprise attack. As he conceded, he urged Republicans to nominate the races other America First candidate.
In the heart of South Africa's rugged Swartberg and Koue Bokkeveld mountains lies the alps towering majestically above fertile citrus farmland, forming a wall that sustains enough rainfall to attract farmers to the south.

Siabonga Mbete, 34, grows tangerine - a small seedless fruit of the citrus family that is turning South African farmers into millionaires.

As trucks veer off the dusty road into farmlands to collect some tangerines and lemons at Mbete's smallholder farm located in Eastern Cape Province for the export market, the young farmer is upbeat about citrus farming, which has spawned multiple agribusinesses and unlocked agricultural potential of the country.

"This farmland is a lifeline for most of us in our community and this farm does help us a lot in putting food on the table and providing for our families. Personally, this farm has also helped me to gain skills and I plan to start my own citrus farming project in future," Mbete, one of over 200 seasonal workers at the Khangela Citrus Farm, told ChinAfrica.

Rapid expansion

According to the Citrus Growers Association (CGA) of South Africa, the local citrus industry has achieved remarkable growth over the past few years, with over 160 million cartons of fruit packed for export across the globe in 2022. By 2032, the sector aims to export an additional 260 million cartons a year, contributing 240,000 jobs and 50 billion rands ($2.66 billion) in revenue annually to the South African economy.

Each year, the citrus season in South Africa brings a good harvest, especially for the black-owned Eastern Cape farms. For instance, the Khangela Citrus Farm in Addo region, some 72 km northeast of Port Elizabeth, has been exporting citrus produce like oranges, tangerines and lemons to Japan and some Middle Eastern countries.

The farm was bought by the South African government, which invested millions of rands on infrastructure and skills development for the surrounding communities in Sarah Baartman District Municipality in Eastern Cape.

On the other side, South Africa's Western Cape Province enjoys a unique Mediterranean-like climate which is renowned for its fertile valley nourished by the Olifants River where tasty and nutritious citrus fruits are grown.

"Our success is made possible by the support we get from the North West Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Apart from clinching some export contracts to the Middle East, our cooperative also supplies local companies that add value to our fruits," said Karabo Mduli, a co-owner of the Bokamotso Citrus Project, a family-run smallholder farm.

Arguably, the citrus groves of South Africa have supported generations of families that continue to live, work and thrive on their farms, and this long heritage of citrus production continues to play a major role in the economic future and lives of successive generations.

Having started small with about 1,000 fruit trees, Mduli has seen her agribusiness venture grow immensely to over 8,000 trees. She has since managed to employ 50 local workers in addition to over 100 seasonal labourers to help to manage her agricultural venture.

However, citrus exporters like Mbete and Mduli are now grappling with the burden of much stricter regulations which were recently imposed by the European Union (EU) on South African citrus imports. The action has shaken South Africa's export farmers and hurt the profitability of local citrus growers.

In addition, logistical issues have proven to be a major challenge for most South African citrus farmers, especially those in the northern part of the country, and Mduli is no exception.

Critical new market

In this context, the CGA has noted that a revised lemon protocol signed by South Africa and China in 2021 was a major achievement.

The association believes that with local lemon production expected to grow by 175,000 tonnes by 2024, the finalisation of the revised protocol means China will now become "a critical new market" and will secure 325 million rands ($17.32 million) in new export revenue.

"We envision exporting 25,000 tonnes of lemons to China by 2024 and the current trend indicates favourable export figures," CGA Chief Operating Officer Paul Hardman recently said.

South Africa has already enjoyed phenomenal growth in exports to China in recent years, with shipments of grapefruit, orange and soft citrus reaching 130,000 tonnes in 2020.

Hardman noted that South Africa's citrus export industry is a key source of employment, providing 140,000 jobs and contributing $1.6 billion in annual export revenue. He added that the improvement in trade relations with China has played a vital role in job creation and revenue generation.

Statistics show that South Africa is the second-largest exporter of fresh citrus in the world, after record-breaking exports of 146 million cartons of citrus in 2020, thanks to the country's favourable weather conditions that enable fruits to grow in optimal conditions, producing superior summer citrus that is seedless and easy to peel.

Growth projections for soft citrus, lemons and Valencia oranges indicate an expected additional 6.8 billion rands ($362.36 million) in foreign exchange earnings and the creation of 22,250 stable jobs over the next three years.

Trade analysts say China-South Africa trade has taken a giant leap from $1.4 billion in 1998 to $56.7 billion in 2022, and that gaining access to the Chinese market is a vital step in boosting an export-led growth of the South African citrus industry, which is a commitment the government has made under the Agriculture and Agro-Processing Master Plan.

After the EU erected barriers to imports of South Africa's citrus last July, the government suggested that they might have to start looking elsewhere for markets.

"As a government, we open more export markets for the industry; as the estimates suggest, there will be roughly 300,000 tonnes [of agricultural products] added to the current volumes in the next three years that require an export market," Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza recently noted.
Palestinians walk across the remains of the destroyed Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood in Gaza City, after one hundred days of the Isarel-Hamas war. Omar Ishaq/dpa

Dozens of members of Palestinian terrorist organizations were killed in an army operation in Beit Lahia in the north of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army said on Tuesday.

Soldiers also discovered around 100 rocket launchers and 60 rockets ready for use, the army said.

Hamas and other extremist groups still fire rockets towards Israel from time to time. A number of rockets were fired out of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. Israel's army reported a rocket alert in the south of the country. Israeli media reported an impact in an Israeli town near the Gaza Strip.

It was the heaviest rocket attack for several weeks, reported the Times of Israel. There were initially no reports of casualties.

Israel's army said on Tuesday it attacked nine militants in the al-Shati refugee camp in the north of the Gaza Strip. In the town of Khan Younis in the south of the Palestinian territory, the military said it had killed two armed fighters.

The information could not initially be independently verified.

The war was triggered by an attack by terrorists from the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement and other militant groups on Israel on October 7.

More than 1,200 people were killed and around 250 others were taken hostage to the Gaza Strip. Israel responded with massive airstrikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

According to the Hamas-controlled health authority there, more than 24,000 people have been killed and more than 60,000 injured since then. According to Israel's army, around 9,000 members of Hamas and other terrorist organizations have been killed since the start of the war.

In view of the high number of civilian casualties and the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the sealed-off coastal area, Israel has come under increasing international criticism.

A Palestinian man walks past the destroyed buildings of a school in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood in Gaza City, after one hundred days of the Isarel-Hamas war. Omar Ishaq/dpa
A driver died over the weekend in a single-vehicle crash near Rock Hill, officials said.

The driver of a Honda SUV was killed in the wreck off Twin Lakes Road Saturday morning, said Master Trooper Brandon Bolt of the S.C. Highway Patrol.

The SUV went off the road, then hit a ditch and trees, Bolt said.

The driver who died has not been identified by the York County Coroners Office.

The collision remains under investigation by the S.C. Department of Public Safety.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA)  A St. Petersburg police officer was hospitalized Monday after a man crashed into his patrol car while under the influence, officials said.

The St. Petersburg Police Department said at around 7:15 p.m., James Anderson, 60, drove into a parked patrol car at the intersection of 18th Avenue South and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street South.

Suspect who trespassed at Brandon McDonalds returns and shoots person, deputies say

According to police, the officer was at the intersection help with traffic control at the time.

The officer was hospitalized for minor injuries. Officers said Anderson was found to be impaired at the time of the crash.

He was charged with DUI involving property damage, possession of a controlled substance (fentanyl), and driving with license suspended or revoked.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
The Durham City Council picked attorney Chelsea Cook on Tuesday to finish Mayor Leo Williams former council term.

Four finalists were competing for the Ward 3 seat, representing the western side of the city.

On the first ballot, Cook and Shelia Huggins received three votes each, according to ABC11 The News & Observers media partner.

On the second ballot, Cook won the seat with a unanimous decision.

She was sworn in Tuesday night. The post comes with a $35,200 annual salary.

Who is Chelsea Cook?

Who she is: An attorney working in eviction diversion for Legal Aid of North Carolina

One big idea: Cook has big ideas about how to make housing more affordable and reducing homelessness, including establishing a rental assistance program and incentivizing the acceptance of housing vouchers,

Where she stumbled during her council interview: She was unable to talk in specifics about zoning cases, but said she appreciated the citys efforts to limit suburban sprawl.

Restaurant recommendation: Friday oxtails at The Chicken Hut.





Standout supporter: Sophie Mayer: Her credentials, as you know, are impeccable. But Ill add shes probably the only council member candidate who has waited tables and driven Uber in our city... People gravitate toward Chelsea and they remember her for how she made them feel: heard, appreciated, leveled with and uplifted. Sometimes challenged as well, but always respectfully and with a true desire to find solutions and common ground.

How she became a finalist: With votes from DeDreana Freeman, Javiera Caballero, Carl Rist and Nate Baker.

Here is a closer look at the three finalists she defeated.

The finalists for the vacant Durham City Council seat in 2024 are, clockwise from top left, Shelia Ann Huggins, Chelsea Cook, Chastan Swain and Amanda Borer.

Who she is: An attorney with several years of city government experience. She has twice run for election to the council  most recently in 2023  and has applied to three previous vacancies.

One big idea: Huggins is passionate about connecting people with jobs, with goals around workforce development and recruiting high-paying businesses to the area.

Where she stumbled during her council interview : Huggins briefly startled the council by bringing up Silence of the Lambs when asked about leaders she looks up to. She referenced a line about coveting what you see every day, which for her meant a life of public service because of her parents careers. I thought you were going to say Hannibal Lecter, Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton said with a laugh.





Leaders who inspire: Her parents.

Standout supporter: Thelma Glenn White: Even when Shelia didnt win in 2017, she stayed involved and she stayed committed, because she believes in Durham and wants to make it a better place for all of us. Ive seen plenty of people run for office and when they didnt win, you never saw or heard from them again. Thats not Shelia.





How she became a finalist: With support from Leonardo Williams, Mark-Anthony Middleton, Javiera Caballero, Carl Rist and Nate Baker.

Who he is: A law and policy adviser for the state who moved to Durham five years ago. His background before law school was in ceramics.

One big idea: Swain applauded the councils efforts to densify in the urban core, but said hes concerned about the environmental and societal impacts of rapid development in exurban areas, like southeast Durham.

Where he stumbled during his council interview : He is a lifelong North Carolinian but had to work to convince council members about his commitment to staying in Durham. Swain said both he and his husband have fallen in love with the city as their involvement has snowballed.





Leaders who inspire: Pauli Murray for their trailblazing leadership in LGBTQ civil rights. U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson for making politics accessible to Gen Z.

Restaurant recommendations: Isaacs Bagels. Saltbox. Two Roosters Ice Cream.

Standout supporter: Chris Dreps: Even while completing his law degree at UNC-Chapel Hill, serving as the president of the Graduate Student Council and serving on the Durham Environmental Affairs Board, Chastan was an active and important member of (the Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association) board and committee. He is very knowledgeable about key environmental issues facing our city.

How he became a finalist: With votes from Leonardo Williams, Mark-Anthony Middleton, Javiera Caballero and Carl Rist.

Who she is: A public health administrator at Duke who moved to Durham in 2010.

One big idea: Borer is passionate about elder care and wants Durham to invest in supports systems as a workforce development strategy, addressing issues that derail individuals from keeping their jobs, such as lack of childcare and transportation.

Where she stumbled during her council interview: When asked about zoning decisions, Borer was unable to talk specifically about any cases other than SCAD, a package of reforms that passed late last year.





Leader who inspires: Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Restaurant recommendation: Cant pick just one.

Standout supporter: Leanne Clark-Shirley: Since Ive known her, Amanda has run full-speed to problems that need to be solved or opportunities to make things better than they are today... She understands and can remind us that aging isnt something to be feared or viewed as a threat.

How she became a finalist: With votes from DeDreana Freeman, Javiera Caballero, Carl Rist and Nate Baker.
By Bart H. Meijer

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Dutch Senate will support a law to evenly spread asylum seekers over municipalities in the Netherlands, despite strong resistance from far-right election winner Geert Wilders' Freedom Party and other parties looking to form a new government.

The law aims to resolve a continuing crisis at the country's overcrowded processing centre for asylum seekers, where at times hundreds of people have been forced to sleep in the rough due to a shortage of available shelters in the rest of the country.

The law, which could force municipalities to take in a given number of asylum seekers, had been adopted by the country's lower legislative body before the Nov. 22 election won by the anti-immigration Freedom Party led by Wilders.

But it remained contentious, as Wilders and the conservative VVD party of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte remained opposed, together with the other two parties that are now involved in the talks to form a coalition government.

In the end, Rutte's own party members in the Senate made a surprising U-turn on Tuesday and said they would support the law, giving it a decisive majority in the upper chamber.

The four prospective government parties are still far from any pact almost eight weeks after the election, as they try to agree on common ground to assuage the serious doubts parties have voiced over working with Wilders.

If they reach an agreement, they would be forced to deal with the law that the Senate is now set to officially adopt on Jan. 23.

"My god," Wilders said in a post on X in response to news about the VVD's Senate decision.

Ruben Brekelmans, a VVD lawmaker in the lower chamber, said he wished his Senate colleagues had waited for an agreement on stricter migration policies before handling the spread of asylum seekers.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Paul Simao)
A woman passes the bottled water aisle at a Los Angeles supermarket in 2018, when a study found tiny plastic particles in brand-name bottled waters. A more recent study found smaller and more worrisome nanoplastics. (Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images)

Is anyone really surprised to learn that bottled drinking water is loaded with tiny bits of plastic? The bottles are, after all, plastic. So are the caps. It stands to reason that microscopic bits of the stuff get into the water inside during bottling or packaging, or while sitting in storage. A 2018 study found as much.

The shocking part of a recent Columbia University Lamont-Doherty laboratory study, published last week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the revelation that bottled water is laden with even tinier nanoplastic bits and associated chemicals. Nanoplastics are potentially more dangerous than microplastic particles because they are so small they can be absorbed into human cells.

Read more: Editorial: You're already drinking dinosaur pee. So don't be afraid of recycled wastewater

Some of these super-microscopic substances may not even come from the bottles, but from the nylon membranes used, ironically, to filter out nanoplastics. Some particles could not be traced to a source. Some are thought to have decomposed from larger particles that were previously observable to scientists.

In drinking water production, the study said, "plastic contamination is confirmed in every step from the well to the bottle." It has been observed in other sources of tap water, as well as in raindrops and Antarctic ice. Studying the size and number of particles may help scientists determine the sources of the contamination.

The study examined three popular brands of bottled water, acquired from a "large retailer," but did not reveal the company names.

What we do know is that companies selling water in standard-sized 16.9-ounce plastic bottles are marketing geniuses. Many of them source their liquid assets from the same streams and springs that feed municipal taps, and then sell it back to consumers  implying that its purer and safer than the very same stuff that flows into the sink.

Read more: Editorial: What we flush down the toilet matters. Only the 'three Ps,' please

Some of the biggest bottled water sellers are soft drink companies that have figured out that they can make a killing by just selling the water without the sugar, flavor and fizz that they used to add. Some get their water from deep wells or melting glaciers that existed before humanity  and then add dangerous microplastics by bottling it.

And meanwhile they pump particles of other noxious pollutants into the air and sea by shipping the water from far-flung, supposedly pristine locations. All of them (or their plastic suppliers) use more water to make the bottles than the amount they put inside.

Read more: Editorial: Your clothes are polluting the environment with microplastics. Can washing machines help?

But we are not doomed to a life of gulping down plastic. We are under assault by particles and chemicals that we put into the environment and into our bodies by our own choices. For most Californians, tap water is at least as pure as the bottled stuff, and is certainly cheaper. It has even won national taste tests.

But some Californians have access only to water tainted by so-called forever chemicals, which are associated with a host of health problems including cancer and infertility. They need help cleaning their supplies or being connected to better sources. And the rest have to ensure that our own supplies are not poisoned.

Read more: Researchers discover thousands of nanoplastic bits in bottles of drinking water

State regulators recently approved standards for cleaning and reusing sewage, which is expected to produce drinking water that is in most ways purer than what's in plastic bottles. The nanoplastics have presumably been around for a while, but scientists only recently figured out how to identify the particles.

Its a race against ourselves to keep what may well be the best, purest municipal tap water supplies in the world. If we fall short, water in plastic bottles won't save us.

If its in the news right now, the L.A. Times Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)  El Dorado High School will be revalidated as a national demonstration school for the third time on Tuesday, Jan. 16, the Socorro Independent School District said in a press release.

The district says the school will be celebrating its revalidation as an AVID National Demonstration School at 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday, at the schools theater.

The high school was deemed an AVID National Demonstration School in 2016 and revalidated as a demonstration school in February 2020.

This marks a momentous three-peat demonstration status for the outstanding high school, the district said.

El Dorado High School remains the only high school in Region 19 to have earned this distinction, according to the district.

El Dorado has made a big impact on its scholars through the AVID program by creating systems that promote postsecondary readiness and success in a globally competitive society, the district said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News.
AUSTIN (KXAN)  The Austin Fire Department told KXAN an electrical malfunction was the cause of a fire that burned a building in east Austin Tuesday morning.

According to AFD, the fire burned a one-story vacant commercial building at 12th Street and Airport Boulevard.

AFD posted at 7 a.m. the fire was knocked down and no one was in the building when crews arrived. No one was hurt, AFD said.

Fire damages structure on East 12th Street on Jan. 16, 2024. (KXAN: Todd Bailey)

Fire damages structure on East 12th Street on Jan. 16, 2024. (KXAN: Todd Bailey)

Fire damages structure on East 12th Street on Jan. 16, 2024. (KXAN: Todd Bailey)

This was the second fire crews responded to on Tuesday morning.

Fire burns vacant building on Cameron Road and Clayton Lane

Earlier, AFD put out a fire at the corner of Cameron Road and Clayton Lane. The fire department told KXAN that fire was likely an accident started by people inside trying to stay warm.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.
China has recently released a guideline to strengthen the "silver" economy as part of efforts to address the challenges of an aging population.

The guideline, issued by the General Office of the State Council, specifies measures to expand, standardize, cultivate industrial clusters, and improve the branding of the silver economy.

Prioritizing the well-being of its senior citizens, the country must improve food and health care services for the population and expedite the development of elderly care institutions, according to the guideline.

It anticipates the establishment of around ten industrial parks to develop the silver economy nationwide, urging efforts to cultivate industry leaders and stimulate senior citizen consumption.

Efforts should also focus on nurturing new business models related to smart health and elderly care, as exemplified by the development of nursing and housekeeping robots, along with biotechnologies that help alleviate age-related illnesses, the guideline says.

Financial institutions are encouraged to launch more products for senior citizens and increase support for developing elderly care facilities and programs.

The guideline says the silver economy incorporates economic activities that cater to senior citizens with tailored products and services, and prepare for the challenges of an aging population.
Sir Elton John completed an award clean sweep on Monday night, adding an Emmy to his Grammy, Oscar and Tony gongs on a sterling night for British entertainers at the prestigious US television awards.

Succession took the evenings top awards for best drama, leading actor and leading actress  while Britons Matthew Macfadyen, who plays Tom Wambsgans in the show, and Jesse Armstrong, a British screenwriter and the shows creator and director, won best supporting actor and outstanding writer for a drama series respectively.

Mr Armstrong said: This is a show about family, but it also about when partisan news coverage gets intertwined with divisive right-wing politics, and after four season of satire, as I understand it that is a problem we have now fixed.

We are so honoured, we have loved making this show.

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The hit US drama, about siblings warring over their fathers billion-dollar media empire, took home six awards in total.

Kieran Culkin, who plays Roman Roy in the show, had fatherhood on his mind as he accepted the award for best lead actor in a drama series, using his speech to announce he would like more children with his wife, Jazz Charton.

You said maybe if I win, I love you so much, he said.

Matthew Macfadyen, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin star in the show said to be inspired by the Murdochs - REUTERS

Culkins co-star Sarah Snook, who plays Siobhan Roy, won the award for best lead actress in a drama series and also used the moment to celebrate parenthood.

The biggest thank you, I think though, is to someone who wont understand anything that Im saying at the moment, but I carried her with me in this last season and really it was her who carried me, said the Australian actress, who was pregnant with her daughter during the shows filming.

She joked: Its very easy to act when youre pregnant because youve got hormones raging.

Australian Sarah Snook paid dedicated her success to her baby daughter - Getty

Armstrong won best writing for a drama series and thanked the creative community in the US.

I come from the UK and the show is about things that are close to the centre of American life and politics and weve always been met with generosity and good faith and thats part of Americas tradition of being very welcoming to outsiders and its very nice, he said.

And, for some reason, the name of Australian-born media mogul Rupert Murdoch comes to mind. I cant speak for him but I am very grateful for the generosity Ive been shown working in this country  it was a great sadness to end this show but it was a great pleasure.

Actor Peter Dinklage presented the award to Jesse Armstrong - REUTERS

Kitchen drama The Bear cooked up a storm with four big wins including best comedy. Jeremy Allen White won the Emmy for lead actor in a comedy series, while co-stars Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Ayo Edebiri won best supporting actor and actress in a comedy respectively.

Moss-Bachrach shared a comical on-stage kiss with chef Matty Matheson, who exclaimed: I just love restaurants.

Matty Matheson, center, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach kiss as "The Bear" wins the award for outstanding comedy series - Invision/AP/Chris Pizzello

The Bears Christopher Storer won two Emmys for best directing and best writing on a comedy series, but could not make it to the ceremony.

Elton John misses ceremony for a knee op

Elton Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium won best variety special live at the awards ceremony in Los Angeles  but the British pop icon could not pick up the honour after having a knee operation.

Producer Ben Winston, who picked up the award on his behalf, said: I am not Elton John, sadly he had a knee op. Hes absolutely fine but wanted to send his love and thanks to the Television Academy for this incredible award.

We knew this show would be historic, because it was going to be Eltons last ever show in North America on tour. We knew it would be historic because it was Disneys first live global stream.

We didnt know it would be historic because it was going to win a man  who has created the soundtrack to our lives, hes done so much great for society who is all of our heroes  we didnt know it would win him an EGOT.

The award is added to Sir Eltons five Grammy wins, two Academy Award wins for Can You Feel The Love Tonight from The Lion King and (Im Gonna) Love Me Again from Rocketman, alongside his Tony award for best original score for the musical Aida.

Beef and White Lotus funny women get serious for a moment

Netflix comedy-drama Beef also took home a host of gongs, with stars Steven Yeun and Ali Wong winning outstanding lead actor and actress in a limited series respectively.

Wong said: I wouldnt be standing here without my amazing parents, my mother and my father who I so wish were alive to share this moment with me. My hilarious father who loved me unconditionally and taught me the value of failure.

Young Mazino, Maria Bello, Steven Yeun, Ali Wong, and Joseph Lee posed with their awards - REUTERS

Creator and director Lee Sung Jin made three speeches, also picking up best writing and directing of a limited series.

He said: There is a lot of the suicidal ideation in the show, it was based on stuff I and some of the folks up here have struggled with over the years, so Im really grateful and humbled by anyone who watched the show and reached out about their own personal struggles, its very life-affirming.

I feel like we live in a world designed to keep us separate, even here some of us go home with trophies, other people dont, and I think for some of us when we live in a world like this you begin to think there is no way anyone can understand you, or like you, or much less no potential at being loved.

And so the greatest joy working on Beef has truly been working with the folks up here who I love so unconditionally.

Elsewhere, Jennifer Coolidge, who starred in The White Lotus, won best supporting actress in a drama series, using her speech to thank all the evil gays  a reference to the plot of the hit show.

I had a little dream in my little town and it did happen after all, so dont give up on your dream, she added.

Jennifer Coolidge speaks after winning the award for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series for The White Lotus - Ashley Landis/AP

An emotional Niecy Nash-Betts won best supporting actress in a limited series for Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

Finally, I accept this award on behalf of every black and brown woman who has gone unheard yet over policed  like Glenda Cleveland, like Sandra Bland, like Breonna Taylor, she said.

As an artist, my job is to speak truth to power and baby Im going to do it until the day I die  Mumma I won!

The Emmy for best supporting actor in a limited series went to Paul Walter Hauser for Black Bird, the actor rapping his acceptance speech as he dedicated the award to his wife who makes my heart strong and knees weak.

The ceremony also saw Charlie Puth perform the theme tune to Friends as the Emmy Awards remembered those who have died in the industry, including star Matthew Perry.

Dame Angela Lansbury, star of Murder, She Wrote, Euphorias Angus Cloud and Len Goodman from Strictly Come Dancing were also remembered, alongside Paul Reubens, who acted in Pee Wee Herman.

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.
In the mountains of eastern India, an elusive creature meandered across the landscape, hidden under the cover of darkness. Unbeknownst to the shaggy animal, someone  or rather something  was watching.

The World Wildlife Fund in India and Sikkim Forest Department set up an extensive number of trail cameras to survey wildlife in the mountainous state of Sikkim, according to a Jan. 14 news release from the Forest and Environment Department of Sikkim shared on Facebook by Sikkim News 24.

One trail camera photographed a shaggy creature near a building in Mangan District on Dec. 1, the department said. Photos show the furry animal approaching a bucket-like object outside the building and looking back at the camera.

Wildlife officials identified the animal as a rare and elusive Tibetan brown bear  the first one ever seen in India.

The Tibetan brown bear, also known as the Tibetan blue bear, is one of the rarest subspecies of bears in the world and rarely sighted in the wild, forest officials said. The bear is identified by the lighter yellow-brown scarf-like collar around its neck.

Tibetan brown bears are believed to be the basis of the yeti legend, according to a 2017 study.

Wildlife officials said they will continue studying Sikkims wildlife to assess the population of Tibetan brown bears in the area.

Mangan District is in Sikkim, an Indian state in the Himalayan mountains that borders Nepal to the west, China to the north and Bhutan to the east. The district is about 700 miles east of New Delhi.

Rare penguin with strange coloring seen shaking its feathers in Antarctica, video shows

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Rare, majestic creature seen roaming Arizona on trail camera. See the lucky moment
(Bloomberg) -- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Chinese Premier Li Qiang raised their respective electric vehicle and liquor investigations during a meeting in Davos Tuesday, underscoring concern that the new probes risk triggering a broader trade conflict.

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Even though they broached the issue, there was no further discussion on either investigation, according to a person familiar with the meeting.

China announced an anti-dumping investigation into imports of brandy and some other wine-based spirits this month, a move seen as retaliation for the EUs probe into Chinese electric vehicle subsidies. Diplomatic ties have already been strained, with the EU criticizing Beijing for its failure to condemn Russias war in Ukraine and its reluctance to crackdown on Moscows attempts to get around western sanctions. The bloc has also called the trade relationship imbalanced.

Following supply disruptions triggered by the pandemic and the Russian invasion, von der Leyen announced last year an effort to de-risk from China, reducing dependencies in industries such as pharmaceuticals, electronics and defense. Beijing has said that would amount to a European decoupling since such a move would discourage Chinese investments in critical domestic infrastructure.

A commission spokesperson declined to comment on whether the probes were discussed, pointing to a statement von der Leyen made after the meeting. A message left with Chinas delegation in Davos wasnt immediately returned. Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Li called on the EU to be careful about imposing trade restrictions and trade remedy measures.

Chinas investigation into EU liquor and brandy is the first major public action the country has taken directed at Europe after the EV probe was announced, and is similar to one announced into Australian wine in 2020, when relations with the country deteriorated. China eventually imposed tariffs that ended that lucrative trade, and is only now looking to remove them.

Companies that dont cooperate with Chinas probe would likely face higher tariffs, Bloomberg previously reported. The owner of Hennessy Cognac, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, is cooperating with Chinese authorities and the EU is also preparing its own submission.

The EU wasnt surprised China announced the investigation, as they expected Beijing would respond to the EV probe, but there was no indication beforehand that brandy would be the target, according to a separate person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. For now, they dont expect further actions from China, the person said.

The EUs recent trade actions toward China have extended beyond electric vehicles. Last month, the bloc also opened anti-dumping probes into Chinese biodiesel and melamine exports. In November, Brussels also imposed provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of some plastics products from China.

Its not clear when China might impose any tariffs on brandy but provisional duties could come as early as March, according to another person familiar with the matter, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity. Provisional tariffs on electric vehicles could come as early as June.

The EUs trade deficit with China grew to more than $400 billion last year. European luxury brands or cosmetics companies could be vulnerable if there were to be retaliation, and China is already a huge and growing market for European luxury brands such as LOreal SA and LVMH. The French finance minister pushed for more exports when he visited Beijing in mid-2023.

The vast majority of the spirits covered by the Chinese investigation come from France, which was seen as leading the push for the EUs investigation.

The EU and China could also discuss the dispute at other meetings, including at the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting next month, according to people familiar with the plans.

(Updates with more details in eighth paragraph.)

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China's top legislator Zhao Leji heard opinions concerning the work report of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) during a two-day inspection tour in Tianjin Municipality, north China.

Zhao, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, listened to eight representatives from different fields at a seminar held Monday, and said the standing committee attached great importance to the drafting of the work report, with opinions solicited on multiple occasions.

The work report will be reviewed at the second annual session of the 14th NPC scheduled to open on March 5.

Noting that the standing committee has deepened its understanding of the work of people's congresses over the past year, Zhao stressed upholding the overall leadership of the Party, especially the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, over the work of people's congresses to ensure it is in the correct political direction.

He called for an accurate grasp of the role and tasks of people's congresses in advancing the country's high-quality development and Chinese modernization, as well as steady efforts to promote the high-quality development of the people's congresses' work.

Stressing a people-centered philosophy, Zhao asked for concerted efforts from people's congresses at all levels to effectively carry out their work in the new era.

During exchanges with primary-level lawmakers, Zhao underscored the significance of practicing whole-process people's democracy, and called for efforts to give full play to primary-level legislative outreach offices and lawmakers' stations.
Hamas Gaza Chief Yahya Al-Sinwar, Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh and senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya arrive at the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip

By Piotr Lipinski

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union imposed sanctions on Tuesday on Yahya Sinwar, the political leader of Hamas in Gaza, over the Palestinian militant group's deadly attack on Israel last October.

The decision by the European Council, which considers Hamas a terrorist organisation, makes Sinwar subject to an asset freeze in the 27-nation bloc and bars EU citizens from conducting financial transactions with him.

"The Council decided today to add one individual to the EU terrorist list," the EU executive said in a statement.

"This decision comes as part of the European Union's response to the threat posed by Hamas and its brutal and indiscriminate terrorist attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023."

Hamas gunmen who entered Israel from the Gaza Strip killed about 1,200 people and took about 240 hostage in the Oct. 7 attack, triggering an Israeli offensive to eliminate Hamas and secure the hostages' release that is now in its fourth month.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz welcomed what he said was a "just and moral decision" by the EU.

"This decision is also a result of our diplomatic efforts to strangle the resources of the Hamas, to delegitimize them and prohibit all support to them," Katz wrote on social media platform X. "We will continue to eradicate the root of evil, in Gaza and wherever it raises its head."

Taher Al-Nono, media advisor to Qatar-based Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, accused the EU of bias and called for an end to what he said was its "double-standard policy".

"These are ridiculous and silly sanctions, because everyone knows that Yahya Al-Sinwar has no assents or money, neither in Palestine nor outside it," he told Reuters.

"Such a decision has no value against Hamas, but the idea of imposing sanctions on the leaders of resistance and Hamas, which is resisting the (Israeli) occupation, as granted by international law, shows bias to the occupation."

(Additional reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout in Brussels, Henriette Chacar in Jerusalem and Nidal Al-Mughrabi in Doha; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Timothy Heritage)
Yehya al-Sinwar, leader of the Palestinian Islamic Movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip, attends a rally marking the 46th anniversary of the Land Day. Mohammed Talatene/dpa

The European Union has placed the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Yehya al-Sinwar, on its terrorism list.

The decision is part of the response to the threat from the Palestinian militant organization Hamas and its brutal and indiscriminate terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, the EU said on Tuesday in Brussels.

As a result, all of al-Sinwar's funds as well as other financial assets and economic resources would now have to be frozen in the EU. In addition, assets and economic resources may not be made available to him either directly or indirectly.

The EU had already placed the commander of the armed wing of Hamas, Mohammed Deif, and his deputy, Marwan Issa, on its terrorism list in December.

Both are considered leading figures in Hamas and planners of the unprecedented massacre in Israel on October 7, as a result of which around 1,200 Israelis were killed and around 250 people were abducted to the Gaza Strip.

The EU classified Hamas, which violently seized power in the Gaza Strip in 2007, as a terrorist group in 2001.

The head of the Hamas politburo, Ismail Haniyeh, who lives in Qatar, has not yet been sanctioned by the EU.

Al-Sinwar is the highest-ranking Hamas politician in the Gaza Strip.

Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz welcomed the EU's decision.

"This is a just and moral decision," Katz wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "I thank all our friends that supported this decision."
The European Commission could be forced to resign if more EU funds are released to Hungary while the rebel member state is still resisting the rule of law, members of the European Parliament proposed on Tuesday.

The commission decided in December to release around 10 billion ($10.9 billion) in frozen EU funds to Hungary despite ongoing allegations of abuse of power and corruption in the country.

Brussels justified releasing the money by stating that Hungary had fulfilled certain necessary requirements. Other funds totalling almost 12 billion and billions more in coronavirus aid remain blocked.

A group of European lawmakers from across the political spectrum believes that if the EU commission releases further funds without the conditions being met, parliament would reserve the right to take further political and legal action.

This could include a vote of no confidence in the commission. If successful, it would require the commission including President Ursula von der Leyen to resign.

A resolution on the measures is to be voted on in Strasbourg on Thursday and although it has little chance of success, anger is growing across the chamber.

Von der Leyen, a veteran German conservative politician, has been accused of allowing herself to be blackmailed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who previously announced he would block an EU aid package for Ukraine if money was not forthcoming.

"This step by the European Parliament is the direct consequence of the dirty deal in December," Germany's Green MEP Daniel Freund said.

"If she simply distributes billions of euros to evade Hungary's vetoes, she won't get away with it."
In the European Parliament, the majority of political groups have agreed on a resolution calling for Hungary's voting rights in the EU Council to be suspended and for an investigation into the European Commission's unfreezing of 10 billion for Budapest last month.

Source: European Pravda with reference to Euractiv

Details: With the agreement of members of the European Parliament (MEPs) majority - the Socialists, the Greens, centre-right European People's Party, liberal Renew and the Left - the Parliament will vote on a resolution on Hungary on Thursday, 18 January.

Its two key points are a call on the EU Council to start the process of withdrawing Hungary's voting rights under Article 7.2 of the EU Treaty and a call to launch a parliamentary investigation into the legality of the European Commission's decision to unfreeze 10 billion in funds for Hungary in December 2023, up to and including a lawsuit in the EU Court of Justice.

"We are also sending a strong signal to the Commission: If they simply distribute billions of euros in order to evade Hungarys vetoes, they will not get away with it," Green MEP Daniel Freund, one of the resolutions leading negotiators, told Euractiv.

Most EU lawmakers said the Commission's decision to allocate the funds was not based on objective improvements in Hungary's judicial system and rule of law, as the EU executive claims.

It was believed that this was a concession to Budapest by Brussels before the EU summit, which made the historic decision to start accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova.

According to Euractiv, the final draft resolution may also contain a provision for a vote of no confidence in Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President, if the EU executive body unfreezes further funds for Hungary.

Reminder: Last week, Petri Sarvamaa, a Finnish Member of the European Parliament, proposed to apply the procedure under Article 7(2) of the EU Treaty against Hungary. It provides for the possibility of suspending certain rights, including voting rights in the EU Council, for a state that has repeatedly violated the values of the European Union.

However, Robert Fico, Slovak Prime Minister, has promised to veto any decisions aimed at restricting Hungary's rights in the European Union.

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The European Parliament will vote later this week on a resolution that calls for stripping Hungary of its voting rights at the European Council, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Petri Sarvamaa said on Jan. 16.

Earlier this month, Sarvamaa launched a petition to remove some of Budapest's membership rights, including voting, due to the country's "erosion of the rule of law" and obstructive behavior in the face of EU consensus building.

Hungary has been blocking a 50-billion-euro funding package for Ukraine just as Kyiv entered the third calendar year of an all-out war with Russia.

"Delivering on our promises: the final letter has now been sent to the President of the Parliament," Sarvamaa, a senior member of the parliament who sits on several committees, said on the social media platform X.

"On Thursday (Jan. 18), we will be voting on a joint motion resolution, negotiated this morning with five political groups in the parliament."

The resolution calls on the European Council to strip Hungary of its voting rights under Article 7.2 of the EU treaty, which stipulates the option to suspend a member's voting rights in case of a "serious and persistent breach."

The European Council must then decide unanimously whether the breach is still occurring, after which it votes by a qualified majority to suspend the rights of the accused country.

Most political groups in the European Parliament also want a probe into the EU Commission's decision to unfreeze around $11 billion in funds for Hungary shortly before the December summit, the Euractiv outlet wrote.

Many MEPs criticized the decision, saying that the executive arm was giving in to Hungary's blackmail.

The European Commission said that the decision was taken strictly due to procedural reasons, namely due to judicial reforms undertaken by Hungary.

Although Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban blocked the funding for Ukraine, he allowed other EU leaders to reach a consensus on accession talks with Kyiv by leaving the room during a key vote.

Read also: Opinion: Orban is plain wrong on Ukraine

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Stranded tourists in Xinjiang safely depart as partial road sections resume traffic amidst snowstorm

Global Times) 08:05, January 16, 2024

Some tourists stranded in Atlay, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, due to snowstorms have been safely relocated to a local county, after roads blocked by avalanches were cleared, media reported on Monday.

Continuous heavy snowfall has struck Altay in Xinjiang since January 8, blocking two roads to the Kanas scenic spot and several other roads in the area. The local traffic police department implemented traffic control measures on the affected sections on the same day, causing some tourists to be stranded in Kanas and Hemu scenic areas, according to media reports on Monday.

After several days of continuous operations, the western road to the Kanas scenic area resumed traffic on Saturday. On Sunday, more than 100 stranded tourists were led by the traffic police to head to Burqin county.

"After the road was cleared, we provided three police cars to escort the stranded tourists, and currently, the tourists have safely arrived in the county," local police said.

Currently, over 1,000 tourists stranded on the eastern road of the Kanas scenic area are accommodated in Hemu village, with basic living supplies fully provided. The relevant departments stated that they will continue to ensure the safety and well-being of the stranded tourists.

According to the Xinjiang Daily, large rotary polishing machines were widening the road surface at about 30 kilometers away from the Hemu scenic area, and simultaneously, some material support vehicles were heading towards the area.

In addition to ground rescue efforts, helicopters have been dispatched since Saturday for rescue operations. China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Monday that given the unpredictable weather and thick clouds in the mountainous area, the helicopters hovered to find the best landing spot before safely delivering rescue personnel and supplies to the designated locations.

Due to the ongoing snowstorm, the Kanas scenic spot announced on Monday that it will temporarily suspend the opening of the scenic area until Saturday to ensure the safety of the tourists. If there are any changes to the opening hours, the public will be notified in a timely manner.

Also on Monday, the local traffic police department said on its WeChat account that the Kanas scenic area roads, with a total length of about 150 kilometers, have experienced more than 110 avalanches since January 10. After all-out efforts, as of 10 am on Monday, 120 kilometers of snow-blocked sections in the avalanche areas have been cleared.

Faced with extreme weather, the Kanas scenic spot said on Saturday that it would provide free food and accommodationto stranded tourists, gaining widespread praise online for its commendable act.

According to CCTV News, starting from the end of December 2023, the major ski resorts in Altay have witnessed a peak in tourists, with the average daily number of visitors exceeding 15,000.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Xi Jinping, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, addresses the opening of a study session on boosting the high-quality development of the financial sector, attended by principal officials at the provincial and ministerial levels, at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance) in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 16, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday stressed staying committed to the path of financial development with Chinese characteristics and boosting the high-quality development of the financial sector.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks while addressing the opening of a study session at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance).

While abiding by the objective laws of modern financial development, the path of financial development with Chinese characteristics enjoys features that better suit China's national conditions and is fundamentally different from the Western financial model, Xi said at the study session attended by principal officials at the provincial and ministerial levels.

He called for firming up confidence and making sustained exploration and improvement to further broaden this path.

Members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi, as well as Vice President Han Zheng attended the opening ceremony of the study session. Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the event.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, efforts have been made to constantly deepen the understanding of the essence of socialist finance with Chinese characteristics, and promote financial innovations in terms of practice, theories and institution, Xi said.

The country has accumulated valuable experience and gradually formed a path of financial development with Chinese characteristics, Xi said.

The path adheres to the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee over the financial work and adopts a people-centered approach, according to Xi.

It sticks to the fundamental purpose of serving the real economy, and takes preventing and controlling risks as the eternal theme of financial work, Xi said.

The path also follows the principles of promoting financial innovation and development on the track of marketization and rule of law, deepening supply-side structural reform of the financial sector, coordinating financial opening-up and security, and seeking progress while maintaining stability.

Xi noted that a financially robust country should be based on a strong economic foundation, possessing leading economic, scientific, technological and overall national strength in the world.

At the same time, a country with great financial strength should also boast a series of key core financial elements, namely, a strong currency, a strong central bank, strong financial institutions, strong international financial centers, strong financial supervision and regulation, and a strong financial talent pool, he said.

To strengthen China's financial capabilities, Xi urged efforts to accelerate the building of a modern financial system with Chinese characteristics, and establish and improve a scientific and prudent financial regulation system, a reasonably structured financial market system, a financial institution system with division of tasks and collaboration, a complete and effective financial oversight system, a diversified and professional financial product and service system, and an independent, controllable, safe and efficient financial infrastructure system.

He emphasized efforts to prevent and defuse financial risks, especially systemic risks.

Financial oversight needs to have "teeth and thorns" and be sharp-pointed, he said, adding that law enforcement should be strict in market access, prudential oversight and behavioral regulation.

By boosting opening-up, China will work to enhance the efficiency and capability of financial resource allocation, improve global competitiveness and rule-making influence, and maintain a steady and prudent rhythm and intensity, he said.

It is necessary to promote high-level financial opening-up by focusing on institutional opening-up, and implement the pre-establishment national treatment plus negative list management system, he noted.

Xi stressed alignment with financial rules in global high-level economic and trade agreements, fewer restrictive measures, and better transparency, stability and predictability of opening-up policies.

More should be done to regulate overseas investment and financing activities and improve financial support for the Belt and Road cooperation, he said.

To boost the country's financial strength, it is important to adhere to the combination of the rule of law and the rule of virtue and cultivate a financial culture with Chinese characteristics, he said.

Such a culture adheres to the following principles: being honest and trustworthy; seeking gains through righteous approaches and avoiding a single-minded focus on profit; maintaining prudence and caution in work without succumbing to the lure of quick success; preventing funds from being diverted out of the real economy; ensuring compliance with laws and regulations, and refraining from reckless actions.

Cai Qi said that it is important to deeply understand and grasp the rich connotations of Xi's important words and align thoughts and actions with the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Xi Jinping, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, addresses the opening of a study session on boosting the high-quality development of the financial sector, attended by principal officials at the provincial and ministerial levels, at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance) in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 16, 2024.





Members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi, as well as Vice President Han Zheng attended the opening ceremony of the study session. Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the event. [Photo/Xinhua]
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it will investigate an incident at Chicagos OHare International Airport where a plane taxiing for takeoff clipped another plane Sunday evening.

No injuries were reported, the FAA said in an emailed statement.

The FAA said the left wing tip of Flight 11 from All Nippon Airways, a Japanese airline, hit the rear of a Delta Air Lines plane, Flight 2122, on Sunday around 6:30 p.m. in an area not under air traffic control.

The All Nippon Airways plane was a Boeing 777 aircraft, and the Delta plane was a Boeing 717.

The incident came as a winter storm halted flights in Chicago over the weekend. Flights arriving at OHare were delayed an average of two hours as heavy snow and blizzard conditions swept the Midwest and Great Lakes.

Sundays collision is the latest in a series of airplane incidents being investigated.

The FAA has another open investigation into Boeing after an Alaska Airlines plane panel blew off midflight earlier this month. The FAA grounded more than 100 Boeing planes and both United and Alaska Airlines have separately found loose parts in door panels on their Boeing 737 Max aircraft.

Transportation officials and police launched investigations into the communication between air traffic control and two planes after a fiery collision left five people dead in Japan early this month.

An investigative report by The New York Times published last August found that after reviewing FAA safety reports there was an alarming pattern of safety lapses and near-misses in the skies and on runways in the U.S. While no major crashes have happened, the paper noted that potentially dangerous incidents are happening more frequently than previously thought.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)  Residents will be meeting with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Tuesday, Jan. 16, to discuss their concerns regarding a new wastewater treatment plant that is planned to be built near Fabens.

As we have previously reported back in June 2023, residents were concerned about the proposed wastewater plant due to the town not having enough money to install necessary equipment to filter out the potential foul odor from the plant.

The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at ODonnell Intermediate School, 300 NE Camp St.

Fabens residents concerned about proposed new wastewater plant

State Sen. Cesar J. Blancos office sent a statement to KTSM on Tuesday morning as they will be facilitating the meeting. That statement is the following:

A few months ago, constituents in the Fabens community brought to our attention concerns about a new wastewater treatment plant that is planned to be constructed near their neighborhood. In response, our office requested a public meeting with the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to provide an opportunity for the commission to elaborate on the application, for the applicant (Lower Valley Water District) to provide information on its application and, more importantly, for the local community to express their concerns. This public meeting will facilitate an open, transparent, and respectful dialogue so that the TCEQ has all the information needed to make an informed decision about whether to approve this permit.

This is a developing story and will be updated once we gather more details.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News.
Claim:

A photograph shared in January 2024 showed an actual electronic billboard in Moscow displaying this quote from Russian President Vladimir Putin: Russias borders do not end anywhere.

Rating:

Rating: True

In mid-January 2024, as the war in Ukraine continued, a photograph was circulated on social media, allegedly showing an electronic billboard in Moscow displaying a quote from Russian President Vladimir Putin: Russias borders do not end anywhere. The photo was shared on various social media platforms such as Reddit, Imgur, X (formerly Twitter) and 9GAG. "Yeah just in case anyone wonders whether Russia has imperialist ambitions or not," one Reddit user commented on the viral photograph.

We used Yandex (a Russian search engine) reverse-image search to investigate the photograph's origins, but the results indicated that no matching images were found.

(Yandex reverse-image search results)

However, using Google reverse-image search, we found that the photograph was originally shared on Jan. 15, 2024, on X and Instagram, by Steve Rosenberg, who was appointed the BBC's Russia Editor in November 2022, having previously working as Moscow correspondent. The Rosenberg's post read, "This morning an electronic billboard on my way to work is displaying this Putin quote: 'Russias borders do not end anywhere.'"

This morning an electronic billboard on my way to work is displaying this Putin quote: Russias borders do not end anywhere. pic.twitter.com/K7q5wUPHWN  Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) January 15, 2024

We used the FotoForensics tool to determine whether the photograph could have been digitally edited. The results did not indicate any modifications of the photographs.

(www.fotoforensics.com)

Then, we decided to investigate the text visible on the billboard and noticed it included a logo of the state-owned Russian news agency TASS in the top left corner. The text in Russian visible on the billboard read, "    ." Google Translate provided this English translation: Russias borders dont end anywhere." However, when we investigated the word "" (interpreted by Google Translate as "border") we found that it could also be understood in a more metaphorical way as as "limits."

We investigated whether the quote on the billboard was authentic and found that in November 2016, BBC published an article on the topic with the title "Vladimir Putin: Russia's border 'doesn't end anywhere'." It read:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Russia's border "doesn't end anywhere", addressing a televised awards ceremony for geography students. He asked a nine-year-old boy where Russia's border ended and the boy replied "at the Bering Strait". Mr Putin provided his own answer, which he then said was meant as a joke. Mr Putin has pledged to defend ethnic Russians wherever they live.

We also found a post on X that underscored the context of the quote.

President Putin explains the origins and meaning behind the phrase Russias borders do not end anywhere. https://t.co/B4DyErRp9l pic.twitter.com/cNjPX4JTDz  Putin Direct (@PutinDirect) January 16, 2024

Finally, we found the quote mentioned on an official website of the President of Russia. An article published on Oct. 5, 2023, informed that "Vladimir Putin took part in the plenary session of the 20th anniversary meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club." At one point, Fyodor Lukyanov, Research Director of the Valdai International Discussion Club, asked Putin (emphasis ours)

If I may echo your statement  the part about civilisations and the civilisation-based approach is certainly thought provoking. You once said  it was actually a very long time ago  you used a vivid phrase, you said Russias borders do not end anywhere. If Russias borders dont end, clearly the Russian civilisation is boundless by definition, fair and square. What does this mean? Where is it?

To Lukyanov's question Putin responded (emphasis ours):

Vladimir Putin: You know, this was said for the first time in a conversation with one of the former Presidents of the United States, when he was looking at a map of the Russian Federation at my home in Ogaryovo; it certainly was a joke. We all know this, but I would like to repeat: Russia remains the largest country in the world by area. On a more serious note, this primarily makes sense at the civilisational level. Our compatriots live [around the world] in large numbers; the Russian world is of a global nature; Russian is one of the official languages of the United Nations. In Latin America alone  I recently met with their parliamentarians  there are 300,000 Russians living there. They are everywhere: in Asia, in Africa, in Europe and certainly in North America. So, again, speaking seriously, as a civilisation, Russia has no borders, just like other civilisations have no borders either. Take India or China; look how many representatives of China, or how many representatives of India live in other countries. Various civilisations overlap and interact with each other. And it would be great if this interaction was natural and friendly, aimed at strengthening this balance.

All in all, because the photograph was originally shared by a journalist based in Moscow and the quote attributed to Putin was genuine, we had no reason to doubt the photograph's authenticity and therefore we have rated this claim as True.

Sources:

FotoForensics. https://fotoforensics.com/. Accessed 16 Jan. 2024.

Putins Lesson for Geography Students. BBC News. www.bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-38099842. Accessed 16 Jan. 2024.

Russia-Ukraine War at a Glance: What We Know on Day 692. The Guardian, 16 Jan. 2024. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/16/russia-ukraine-war-at-a-glance-what-we-know-on-day-692.

Valdai International Discussion Club Meeting  President of Russia. 12 Oct. 2023, https://web.archive.org/web/20231012061921/http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/72444#sel=65:1:YSb,65:45:sj6.
Claim:

A video authentically shows a U.S.-owned cargo ship hit by a missile from Yemens Houthi rebels off the coast of Yemen in mid-January 2024.

Rating:

Rating: Miscaptioned

Context:

The video in question is from two years prior and shows a different cargo ship that burned off the coast of Sri Lanka.

In mid-January 2024, a viral video on X claimed to show a U.S.-owned cargo ship on fire and emitting heavy smoke after being hit by a missile from Yemens Houthi rebels. The video in question spread across the internet just as the U.S. military announced that a Houthi missile had struck a cargo ship off the coast of Yemen. The ship continued on its journey.

The video appears to show a cargo ship in the middle of the ocean covered in smoke. It was shared by a number of X accounts in a range of languages including Hebrew:

         

      

          

         

(  ) pic.twitter.com/3Q4kJv8HXH    (@ZgwryBy) January 15, 2024



(Screenshot via X)

While a ship was indeed attacked by Houthi rebels on Jan. 15, the above video does not show the encounter in question. It was taken two years prior and shows the X-Press Pearl vessel disaster off the coast of Sri Lanka. We therefore rate the 2024 video posts as Miscaptioned.

The Sri Lanka Air Forces official YouTube account shared footage of the X-Press Pearl fire in May 2021. When sections of that video were reposted on X after the Houthi cargo ship attack, they appeared to have been reversed and zoomed in on, to pass the vessel off as a different one. However, the coloring of the ship, the cargo aboard it and even the small rescue vessel spraying water onto it appear exactly the same as the one in the Sri Lankan Air Force video below:

BBC News also shared the Air Force media depicting the X-Press Pearl incident when it happened:

The X-Press Pearl was a cargo ship carrying chemicals that caught fire off the coast of Sri Lanka in 2021, leaving behind an environmental disaster that would have ramifications for years to come. It burned for days off the coast, with the crew abandoning the ship, until eventually the flames were doused and parts of the ship sank into the waters.

Meanwhile, the ship attacked by the Houthis in 2024 off the Yemeni coast in the Gulf of Aden was the Eagle Gibraltar. The company that owns the vessel told The Associated Press the ship had sustained limited damage to a cargo hold but [is] stable and is heading out of the area. [...] All seafarers onboard the vessel are confirmed to be uninjured. The vessel is carrying a cargo of steel products.

The Houthi rebelsa militia group that declared itself to be the state of Yemen and has been fighting the internationally recognized Yemen government since 2014  declared military operations targeting Israel in late 2023 after Israel began bombarding Gaza. The rebels also began targeting U.S. and British-owned vessels that they said were linked to Israel or headed to Israeli ports, arguing it was to pressure Israel to halt its attack on Gaza and ease restrictions on humanitarian aid for the Palestinians.

Sources:

Al-Shamahi, Abubakr. As Saudi Arabia and Houthis Talk, Yemens Government Is Sidelined. Al Jazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/14/has-yemen-government-been-sidelined-after-saudi-iran-deal. Accessed 16 Jan. 2024.

Houthi Rebels Strike a US-Owned Ship off the Coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, Raising Tensions. AP News, 15 Jan. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/houthis-us-yemen-israel-palestinians-gaza-fa2aefc86ae002e73081e6ac1b772610. Accessed 16 Jan. 2024.

Ibrahim, Nur. Did Yemen Declare War on Israel Amid Israel-Hamas Conflict in October 2023? Snopes, 2 Nov. 2023, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/yemen-declare-war-israel/. Accessed 16 Jan. 2024.

Latest Video Footage of the X-PRESS PEARL. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgpS6gu-LLg. Accessed 16 Jan. 2024. Accessed 16 Jan. 2024.

Sri Lanka Navy Rescue Crew Following Chemical Fire on Cargo Ship - BBC News. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoYQLOh6_rk. Accessed 16 Jan. 2024.

"X-Press Pearl: The toxic Ship That Caused an Environmental Disaster." BBC, 9 June 2021. www.bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57395693. Accessed 16 Jan. 2024.

Yemens Houthis Hit US-Owned Ship in Missile Attack, US Military Says. Al Jazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/15/yemens-houthis-hit-us-owned-ship-in-missile-attack-us-military-says. Accessed 16 Jan. 2024.


Claim:

Former U.S. President Donald Trump's margin of victory in the 2024 Republican Iowa caucuses was the smallest of any GOP candidate in history.

Rating:

Rating: False

On Jan. 15, 2024, former U.S. President Donald Trump won the 2024 Republican Iowa caucuses. The Associated Press reported that the victory was a "commanding" and "record-setting win" for the 45th president of the United States, who was seeking to become the nation's 47th president.

On the night of the caucuses, X user Victor Shi, among others, posted that "Trump's margin of victory was the smallest of any Republican candidate in American history." A study of results from past Iowa caucuses showed that this claim was false.

A rumor said that former US President Donald Trump had in 2024 the smallest margin of victory of any GOP candidate ever in the history of the Republican Iowa caucuses.

Shi is the strategy director for Voters of Tomorrow, a youth-led organization that describes itself as "seeking to educate, empower and engage Generation Z with politics and government." At the age of 17, Shi was the youngest delegate for then-U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden at the 2020 Democratic National Convention, according to Politico.com.

We reached out to Shi via a direct message on X to ask about the false claim and will update this story if we receive a response.

Past Results from Republican Iowa Caucuses

Ballotpedia.org  a website that describes itself as "the digital encyclopedia of American politics and elections"  defines an electoral margin of victory as "the difference between the share of votes cast for the winning candidate and the second-place candidate."

Trump received 56,260 votes in the 2024 Republican Iowa caucuses, with more than 95 percent of votes tallied, having reported in, according to The New York Times. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis placed second with 23,420 votes. Trump's margin of victory was 32,840 votes.

In the 2016 Iowa caucuses, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz received 51,666 votes. Trump placed second with 45,427 votes. Cruz's margin of victory was 6,239 votes.

In 2012, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum edged out Mitt Romney in Iowa, who at the time was the former governor of Massachusetts, by only 34 votes. Romney later ran for and succeeded in becoming a U.S. Senator in 2019, representing the state of Utah.

The margins of victory for the winner in the remaining Republican Iowa caucuses were as follows: Mike Huckabee in 2008 (10,892 votes), George W. Bush in 2000 (9,205 votes), Bob Dole in 1996 (2,883 votes), Dole in 1988 (13,900 votes) and George H. W. Bush in 1980 (2,182 votes).

In other words, Trump's victory in the 2024 Republican Iowa caucuses truly was "record-setting," as The AP had noted.

Additional Notes

Shi's post also made a claim that said "half of caucus goers voted against [Trump]." That claim will be studied in a separate, upcoming fact check. Meanwhile, the "standing on trial tomorrow as a sexual abuser" claim in the post was a genuine reference to the civil defamation trial that was brought against Trump by columnist E. Jean Carroll.

Sources:

1996 Presidential Republican Primary Election Results - Iowa. Dave Leips Atlas of U.S. Elections, LLC, https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1996&fips=19&f=0&off=0&elect=2.

2000 Presidential Republican Primary Election Results - Iowa. Dave Leips Atlas of U.S. Elections, LLC, https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=2000&off=0&elect=2&fips=19&f=0.

Final Figures Give Bush 31% of Iowa Vote. The Buffalo Evening News via UPI via Newspapers.com, 24 Jan. 1980, p. 6, https://www.newspapers.com/image/873972657/.

Iowa Caucus Election Results 2016. The New York Times, 29 Sept. 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/primaries/iowa.

Iowa Caucus Results. The New York Times, 15 Jan. 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/01/15/us/elections/results-iowa-caucus.html.

Iowa Caucus Results - Election Guide 2008 - Results. The New York Times, 2008, https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/elections/2008/primaries/results/states/IA.html.

Iowa Republican Caucus Results 2020. The New York Times, 3 Feb. 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/03/us/elections/results-iowa-caucus-republicans.html.

Iowa Republican Caucuses - Election Results. The New York Times, 2012, https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2012/primaries/states/iowa.html.

Margin-of-Victory (MOV). Ballotpedia, https://ballotpedia.org/Margin-of-victory_(MOV).

Neumeister, Larry, and Michael R. Sisak. Jury Selection Begins at Donald Trumps Defamation Trial. The Associated Press, 16 Jan. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/trump-carroll-lawsuit-defamation-trial-5e536a371df5245b7bf390d1f864b5dc.

Peoples, Steve, et al. Trump Notches a Commanding Win in the Iowa Caucuses as DeSantis Edges Haley for Second Place. The Associated Press, 15 Jan. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/trump-iowa-caucus-haley-desantis-cold-voting-begins-0af10f1ba21d488af54776b2c8d4028c.

PRIMARY RESULTS: Iowa. CNN, 19 Jan. 2004, https://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/primaries/pages/states/IA/.

Speak Out ... On Portrayal of Cherokee. The Anniston Star via Newspapers.com, 16 Feb. 1988, p. 4, https://www.newspapers.com/image/106720086/.

Ukenye, Lawrence, et al. Meet Bidens Gen Z Hype Man. POLITICO, 17 Aug. 2023, https://www.politico.com/newsletters/west-wing-playbook/2023/08/17/meet-bidens-gen-z-hype-man-00111724.
Claim:

Trump is the only U.S. president in the last 72 years (since 1952) not to "have any wars."

Rating:

Rating: False

Context:

While the United States was not involved in any wars during Trump's presidency, he was not the only president in the last 72 years of whom that was true.

In a recent town hall hosted by Fox News, former U.S. President Donald Trump proudly declared to Iowa voters, "I had no wars. I'm the only president in 72 years... I didn't have any wars."

TRUMP: I had no wars. Im the only president in 72 years I didnt have any wars. pic.twitter.com/6ZH2psmRf6  ALX  (@alx) January 11, 2024

His statement quickly gained traction on social media, spread by supporters of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.

Looking in the last 72 years means we start in 1952 with the election of Dwight D. Eisenhower. That's the simple part, because determining whether Trump's statement is accurate or not means defining the term "war," and doing that is more complicated than it first appears.

Under Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution, only Congress is given the power to declare war:

[The Congress shall have Power . . . ] To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water; . . .

According to the official website of the U.S. Senate, this is a power Congress has used 11 times, starting against Great Britain in the War of 1812. The last time that power was exercised by Congress was in the midst of World War II, on June 4, 1942, when it declared war against the small Axis countries of Bulgaria, Hungary and Rumania (now Romania). The U.S. was already at war with Japan, Nazi Germany and Italy at that point.

Under this definition  to be a U.S. war, Congress must declare it so  Trump is not the only president in the last 72 years without a war. No presidents in the last 72 years have presided over an official war declared by Congress. This definition is obviously too restrictive. As the Senate website notes, "Since [World War II, Congress] has agreed to resolutions authorizing the use of military force and continues to shape U.S. military policy through appropriations and oversight."

Counting the various conflicts commonly referred to as "wars" by historians, we must include the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as full-scale wars. The Korean War was started under Harry S. Truman, the Vietnam War under Lyndon B. Johnson, the Gulf War under George H. W. Bush, and the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan under George W. Bush.

By this metric, Trump joins nine other presidents since 1952  Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden  as having "had no wars."

This might still feel slightly disingenuous, however, because several of those presidents helped to escalate those conflicts and therefore the U.S. should be considered to have been involved in them. This means we must also count Eisenhower, the president at the end of the Korean War and the first to place troops in Vietnam, both Kennedy and Nixon's actions in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, and Obama's expansion of U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This leaves a shorter list of Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, Trump and Biden as presidents who have not been involved in wars. Unfortunately, we're still not done, because Reagan and Clinton sent U.S. troops to other conflicts. As examples, Reagan ordered the full invasion of the island of Grenada in 1983 and Clinton sent troops to Yugoslavia during the Bosnian War.

This leaves us with Ford, Carter, Trump and Biden as not having been involved in wars.

A true pacifist could point to the Congressional Research Service's list of all uses of U.S. troops abroad, and by that metric, all of these presidents have ordered military actions. Ford used military forces during the 1975 evacuation of Vietnam and 1976 evacuation of Lebanon, Carter used forces in a rescue attempt during the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis, Trump continued deployments and bombings in Syria (and ordered the drone strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani), and on Jan. 11, 2024, Biden ordered air strikes against Houthi groups in Yemen.

So yes, Trump has quite a solid record with not being at war. A large part of the withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq took place under Trump. However, because Carter and Ford (and Biden, depending on how U.S. involvement in Ukraine, Israel and Yemen develops), are also not considered to have been involved in wars during their presidencies, we rate Trump's statement as False.

Sources:

CNN. READ: President Joe Bidens Statement on Strikes against Houthi Targets in Yemen | CNN Politics. CNN, 12 Jan. 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/11/politics/read-biden-statement-airstrikes-houthis-yemen/index.html.

Devroy, Ann. CLINTON DEFENDS SENDING TROOPS TO BOSNIA. Washington Post, 2 Dec. 1995. www.washingtonpost.com, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/12/02/clinton-defends-sending-troops-to-bosnia/efd3dd2f-2a0c-43e5-9070-8762ad103dea/.

Fact Check: Which U.S. Presidents Led the Nation into New Wars? Reuters, 2 Feb. 2021. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN2A22QR/.

Glass, Andrew. United States Invades Grenada, Oct. 25, 1983. POLITICO, 25 Oct. 2017, https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/25/united-states-invades-grenada-oct-25-1983-244072.

Https://Twitter.Com/Alx/Status/1745268788998611195. X (Formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/alx/status/1745268788998611195. Accessed 11 Jan. 2024.

Landeck, Katie. Fact Check: Trump Joins Carter, Ford and Nixon among Presidents without a New War. USA TODAY, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/11/01/fact-check-trump-not-first-president-since-eisenhower-without-new-war/6086636002/. Accessed 11 Jan. 2024.

Reporter, Brendan Cole Senior News. Trump First President Since Carter Not to Enter Troops Into New Conflict. Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2020, https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-first-president-since-jimmy-carter-not-enter-us-troops-new-conflict-1549037.

Salazar Torreon, Barbara, and Sofia Plagakis. Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2023. R42738, Congressional Research Service, 7 June 2023, https://sgp.fas.org/crs/natsec/R42738.pdf.

The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription. National Archives, 4 Nov. 2015, https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript.

U.S. Senate: About Declarations of War by Congress. https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/declarations-of-war.htm. Accessed 11 Jan. 2024.

U.S. Top Attorney: Killing Soleimani legitimate, Trump Had Authority. Reuters, 13 Jan. 2020. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1ZC278/.
Claim:

A photograph authentically shows physicist Stephen Hawking attending a conference sponsored by financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in the Caribbean.

Rating:

Rating: True

In early 2024, rumors of a connection between the late physicist Stephen Hawking and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein went viral in light of unsealed court documents related to a lawsuit regarding Epstein's activities. Pictures that have been circulating for several years appear to show Hawking sitting with a group of people in what seems to be a tropical setting, with online users claiming that the photo was taken on the Caribbean island owned by Epstein.

In a tweet, @dom_lucre asked, "Serious question, why the hell was Stephen Hawking on Jeffrey Epstein's Island?"

An image posted on X shows five white people sitting around a table. Three of the people are the right are looking at the camera, while one person is looking at another person sitting in a wheelchair. Above the image, someone wrote, "Serious question, why the hell was Stephen Hawking? on Jeffrey Epstein's Island?"



(@dom_lucre/X)

This is a real photograph of Hawking that shows him either on one of Epstein's private islands or on nearby St. Thomas Island, at an Epstein-sponsored conference. It was taken in March 2006, a few months before Epstein was charged with multiple counts of unlawful sex with a minor.

Epstein, a financier who was later charged with sex trafficking, died in his prison cell in 2021 while awaiting trial (he previously had been convicted of other sex offenses). But before his fall, he was known for his parties and his extensive connections with high-profile celebrities, politicians, and intellectuals. He owned two private islands, Great St. James and Little St. James, which were prominent features in the civil and criminal cases against him. Numerous young women said in court papers that they were taken via private jet to Little St. James, where they were ordered to perform sex acts with Epstein and other men.

Hawking was just one of many scientists and intellectuals invited to these islands for less-sinister reasons  a scientific conference Epstein paid for. So how was Hawking brought into Epstein's orbit?

For years, Epstein financed the Edge Foundation, billed as a salon for elite thinkers, which hosted prominent gatherings of scientists and intellectuals, and gave Epstein access to such circles. According to a Buzzfeed News investigation, Epstein's donations helped Edge carry out most of its activities, including an annual "billionaires dinner" that ceased to take place after his last contribution in 2015.

An archived page from Edge.org describing Epstein's involvement can be seen here, where he was described as "a financier and science philanthropist." The website stated, "He is one of the largest supporters of individual scientists, including theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking and Nobel Laureates Gerard 't Hooft, David Gross and Frank Wilczek."

In 2006, Epstein sponsored a conference at the neighboring St. Thomas Island. Per a March 2006 report in the St. Thomas Source, a local newspaper, prominent scientists gathered in a series of private meetings dubbed "Confronting Gravity: A workshop to explore fundamental questions in physics and cosmology." Among those scientists was Hawking.

Epstein was also described by the local report as the "driving force behind the conference." He reportedly said to the paper that he brought the group to St. Thomas with hopes that the relaxed setting would free the physicists' minds to explore one of the 20th century's last unanswered physics questions: What is gravity?

"There is no agenda except fun and physics, and that's fun with a capital 'F,'" Epstein reportedly said.

The New York Times also reported in 2019 on Hawking's trip to this island (emphasis, ours):

It was a five-day gathering in the Caribbean of some of the world's top scientists, including Dr. Hawking, to share ideas about gravity and cosmology, with scuba and catamaran excursions on the side. One evening, the participants had dinner on the beach at Mr. Epstein's private island. Some of the scientists noticed that Mr. Epstein "was always followed by a group of something like three or four young women," as Alan Guth, a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, put it in an email to The Times, but they did not probe further.

In another 2019 report, The New York Times described how, "Once, the scientists  including Mr. Hawking  crowded on board a submarine that Mr. Epstein had chartered."

But where did the photograph come from? In 2006, The Edge Foundation also published a blog post on the conference and interviewed an attendee and organizer, theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss. Per the post (emphasis, ours):

The topic of the meeting was "Confronting Gravity." Krauss intended to have "a meeting where people would look forward to the key issues facing fundamental physics and cosmology". They could meet, discuss, relax on the beach, and take a trip to the nearby private island retreat of the science philanthropist Jeffrey Epstein, who funded the event.

We scrolled to the bottom of the page and found photographs of Hawking and more from the gathering. The photograph in question showed Hawking seated alongside Nobel Prize winner David Gross, and physicists Kip Thorne and Lisa Randall. Yet another shows Hawking on what appears to be the interior of a boat, captioned, "Lawrence Krauss and Stephen Hawking on the way to Atlantis Submarine."



(Screenshot via Edge.org)

The New York Times described Epstein's allure for these scientists:

The lure for some of the scientists was Mr. Epstein's money. He dangled financing for their pet projects. Some of the scientists said that the prospect of financing blinded them to the seriousness of his sexual transgressions, and even led them to give credence to some of Mr. Epstein's half-baked scientific musings.

The photograph of Hawking has been disseminated in the media, and is also publicly available on the website of the foundation once financed by Epstein, along with a description of the conference he attended, with the dates and details of the gathering matching up with reliable media reports. We thus rate this claim True.

Sources:

"A Timeline of the Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell Scandal." AP NEWS, 28 June 2022, https://apnews.com/article/epstein-maxwell-timeline-b9f15710fabb72e8581c71e94acf513e. Accessed 19 May 2023.

Aldhous, Peter. "How Jeffrey Epstein Bankrolled An Exclusive Intellectual Boys Club And Reaped The Benefits." BuzzFeed News, 26 Sept. 2019, https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/jeffrey-epstein-john-brockman-edge-foundation. Accessed 19 May 2023.

Chappell, Bill. "Financier Buys Jeffrey Epstein's Private Islands, with Plans to Create a Resort." NPR, 4 May 2023. NPR, https://www.npr.org/2023/05/04/1173956903/jeffrey-epstein-island-sold-st-james. Accessed 19 May 2023.

"Jeffrey Epstein." Edge.Org. 5 Apr. 2019, https://web.archive.org/web/20190405211237/https:/www.edge.org/memberbio/jeffrey_epstein. Accessed 19 May 2023.

Kantor, Jodi, et al. "Jeffrey Epstein Was a Sex Offender. The Powerful Welcomed Him Anyway." The New York Times, 13 July 2019. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/13/nyregion/jeffrey-epstein-new-york-elite.html. Accessed 19 May 2023.

"Physicists Debate Gravity at St. Thomas Symposium." St. Thomas Source, 17 Mar. 2006, https://stthomassource.com/content/2006/03/17/physicists-debate-gravity-st-thomas-symposium/. Accessed 19 May 2023.

"Pictured: Stephen Hawking on Jeffrey Epsteins 'Sex-Slave Island.'" The Independent, 13 Jan. 2015, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/stephen-hawking-pictured-on-jeffrey-epstein-s-sex-slave-caribbean-island-9974955.html. Accessed 19 May 2023.

"Stephen Hawking Pictured on Jeffrey Epstein's "Island of Sin."" Telegraph, 12 Jan. 2015. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/stephen-hawking/11340494/Stephen-Hawking-pictured-on-Jeffrey-Epsteins-Island-of-Sin.html. Accessed 19 May 2023.

Stewart, James B., et al. "Jeffrey Epstein Hoped to Seed Human Race With His DNA." The New York Times, 31 July 2019. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/31/business/jeffrey-epstein-eugenics.html. Accessed 19 May 2023.

"THE ENERGY OF EMPTY SPACE THAT ISN'T ZERO." Edge.Org. 6 Mar. 2023, https://web.archive.org/web/20230306164658/https://www.edge.org/conversation/lawrence_m_krauss-the-energy-of-empty-space-that-isnt-zero. Accessed 19 May 2023.

"Who Was Jeffrey Epstein? The Financier Charged with Sex Trafficking." BBC News, 8 July 2019. www.bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48913377. Accessed 19 May 2023.
Organ pipes sing, natural light plays through stained glass windows and hymnals crack open as a choir in royal blue and cream gowns takes their spot at the front of the sanctuary.

Its 10 minutes before 11 a.m. and Broadway Baptist Church, nestled in the Near Southside at 305 W Broadway Ave. in Fort Worth, is beginning its first service of the year.

Tasked with delivering the sermon is the Rev. Ryon Price, a Lubbock native who has been senior pastor of Broadway Baptist since 2017. He has played a crucial role in the church and its members activism on local political and social issues.

The people who are coming believe in our social vision, and our political engagement from a theological perspective, Price said.

Broadway Baptist is one of many churches across the county advocating advocate for social justice, from Black churches in Los Angeles to the United Methodist Churchs work on racial justice and climate change.

The church and its justice committee have focused heavily on the Tarrant County jail, including calls for a federal investigation last year and meeting with Sheriff Bill Waybourn in 2022 over their concerns.

One of those people is 68-year-old Katherine Godby of Arlington.

Godby can be found in a pew in the historic church most Sundays and at a seat in county commissioner meetings most Tuesdays.

Oftentimes Godby, joined by others from the 830-member congregation, speaks out against the conditions at the jail, where 60 people have died since 2018.

Godby feels called by her faith to be vocal about community issues.

The Rev. Ryon Price closes every service telling the congregation go be the light to the world.

Its really not politics, she said. At its most essential level, its about our faith. Its about what we learn from the life of Christ. God is in all of us, God loves each of us, thats the foundation. Theres also something about having your eyes open to the suffering of others. And a lot of peoples eyes are closed.

Godby spent 17 years working across Dallas-Fort Worth as an ordained discipleship pastor. After retirement in 2018, she began to attend Broadway Baptist Church with her husband.

A sermon from Price got her to stay.

Ryan preached a sermon about reducing gun violence. And I thought, wow, so I jumped up and joined the church, Godby said.

Price remembers the sermon too, it came on the heels of the school shooting in Parkland, Flordia, which killed 17.

I used to joke that I would never preach about guns in Texas until you knew I was leaving a church,  Price said. Well, within six months of my term here at church, the shooting in Parkland took place and I realized I couldnt look at myself in the mirror and not say something.

Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Price and Broadway Baptist established their justice committee. Godby was selected the chair a role she held for six months.

The Rev. Ryon Price has been senior pastor at Broadway Baptist since 2017. The people who are coming believe in our social vision, and our political engagement from a theological perspective, he says.

Three years later, Godby is still appearing to speak out at county commissioners meetings. She and members of other area churches who are known as the justice network have filed records requests and protested conditions at the jail, such as a lack of medical treatment, excessive use of force and negligence by jailers. They often speak out during the public comment portion of the meeting of the County Commissioners Court.

Our jail is kept in exceptional condition, and the Texas Commission on Jail Standards told us in 2023 that we were one of the cleanest and most well-run big county jails in the state of Texas, the Tarrant county sheriffs office said in a statement to the Star-Telegram. This organization continues to push false narratives that our inmates are mistreated and kept in filthy conditions. Thats simply not the case.

Still, Price wants his constituents to keep their work up.

My vision for our work is a matter of empowerment. Of all people, Price said. No one pastor can engage all of the very complex issues that are facing our community, and have enough knowledge to make good informed decisions.

But we have an empowerment of a broad number of people who are using their minds, their feet, all of those things to engage the community. Its a beautiful thing in my mind, that its not about one singular person, but its about really the empowerment of a whole community.

Going into the new year, Price has two key issues on his mind: the election and the carceral system.

Voting is a critical issue within the life of this county, and the protection of free and fair elections, Price said. I think its really important for people to go to the polls with a sense of confidence that their vote is one going to be counted, and two, that theyre not going to be intimidated when they go before the ballot. I think that thats really essential.

Price also mentioned his concern with the number of inmates at the Tarrant County jail.

We are growing as a community, but just building more and more jails is not the answer to solving the kinds of problems that we have,  Price said. Weve got to invest in housing, weve got to invest in child care, in education, in health care. So maybe those are some of the key issues rather than incarceration....We want to see a permanent reduction in the jail.

When Broadway Baptist established its justice committee, Katherine Godby, was selected the chair, a role she held for six months. Shes passing the plate during a recent service.

Broadway Baptists history

While the churchs location hasnt changed in 142 years, its ideology has.

Broadway Baptist was formed in 1882 as a Southern Baptist Convention church, at a time when the denomination still had close ties to its foundation in defense of slavery.

We are still coming to terms with a great deal of our history, our complicity in racism, the fallacy of white supremacy, and have been on a trajectory of a broader social vision and inclusion, Price said.

In the 1960s Broadway became one of the first Southern Baptist churches to integrate, according to Price. In the early 2000s it would be kicked out of the Southern Baptist Convention over its inclusion of LGBTQ members and allowing women to serve.

Broadway Baptist Church has a congregation of 830 is one of a handful of Fort Worth churches advocating for progressive policy changes.

The church now aligns with multiple denominations, including the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Fellowship Southwest, the Alliance of Baptists and the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists.

I think it was a privilege to not engage political issues amongst southern white churches., Price said. And really, the fact of the matter is, we were complicit in a lot of the sins against our humanity in both the 19th and 20th century. I think weve, importantly, decided that this is the work of Christ to engage. What might be called the powers and principalities of this world, the actual issues that harm people.

The outspoken political and social nature of the church is also appreciated by Jennifer Nelson, director of communications and membership engagement.

We have a lot of people coming who continue to expel this deep sense of like, relief of, Im somewhere where I can speak openly, I can love God and be practicing my faith, but also talk about the things I want to I care about. Nelson said. I go to church, and I hear a message that reminds me I do have a voice and I do have some agency, and I can go and vote and use that belief as a moral compass.

Nelson also believes the history of Christianity in and of itself is political.

Jesus was born into a political climate and was murdered because of a political climate. We have a history as Christians, we have a story of liberation, Nelson said. When you look at Exodus and breaking chains, liberation is the constant story in our faith. And yet, when we question the liberation of our neighbor, who were supposed to treat as we would want to be treated, suddenly thats political.

At the end of the service, two candles in front of the stage are extinguished by two young boys, known as acolytes, wearing white robes, symbolizing the love of God going out into the world. Price reminds his congregation of that obligation.

Go be the light to the world, he says closing out his sermon, as he does every.

After leaving the stage, Price stands in the early afternoon sunlight outside the churchs main doors and wishes his congregants a good week.

Two days later, some of them will be taking their seats at the county commissioners meeting.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  This weeks winter storm in Oregon has brought mayhem to residents including downed trees on houses, roads, and cars, as well as burst pipes all over the Portland metro area. For disasters like this, when does insurance kick in and when does it not?

That is exactly the question KOIN 6 News posed to experts and it turns out the answer is that it entirely depends on the situation. Bottom line: when a catastrophe happens, it is wise to call the insurance company as soon as possible, let them know what happened, and they will explain the coverage and liability available.

In the case of a busted pipe, ones homeowner insurance should generally cover the damage caused by the burst. However, the homeowner is often responsible for the cost of repairing the pipe itself, depending on where it is located in ones home.

Ice storm warning issued for Greater Portland, Vancouver metro areas

What if a neighbors tree falls on ones house? If its weather-related  and not a neglected tree  ones insurance would be responsible for covering it, not the neighbors insurance. Should a tree crash through ones garage or driveway and crush ones car, it is the auto insurance that is on the hook.

The homeowners [insurance] is not going to cover vehicles, which is a common misconception, explained Wayne Cooley, a representative with Country Financial. Oh, it was parked in my garage so my homeowners insurance should cover it  thats just not the case.

5 people hospitalized after carbon monoxide emergency in Portland apartment

Its not necessary to file a claim in order to gather information from ones insurance company. When disaster strikes, documenting what happened with photos and calling your insurance company, once it is safe to do so, should be the first step.

Knowing your coverages, what you have, what your limits are, additional living expenses if you have to be out of your home, all of those things are good to know ahead of time, explained Jason Horton, a spokesperson for Oregons Divison of Financial Regulation.

Suppose one files a claim but something changes, Cooley with Country Financial said clients can typically cancel a claim without a negative impact on their policy.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
Numerous snow-covered tractors stand on the street 17 in front of the Brandenburg Gate. Farmers, haulage companies and tradespeople protest against planned cuts in subsidies by the German government, including for agricultural diesel. Kay Nietfeld/dpa

Protesting farmers continued to drive tractors around Berlin's government district on Tuesday, a day after mass demonstrations against proposals to cut agricultural diesel fuel subsidies.

About 330 tractors and other farm vehicles stood along the boulevard leading toward Berlin's iconic Brandenburg Gate on Tuesday morning, according to local police.

But police said there was a constant stream of departures and new arrivals.

Two further demonstrations were announced on Tuesday, including one by a farmers' association for the surrounding German state of Brandenburg. Further convoys of tractors joined them in the course of the morning.

In addition, a vigil by the Free Farmers' Association had been running since the previous night.

On Monday morning, several thousand tractors, and many more protesters, descended on central Berlin to demonstrate against the fuel subsidy cuts proposed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition government.

The proposal came amid efforts by Scholz's government to close a major budget gap. The government has so far softened the proposal, offering to gradually phase out the subsidy over three year, but agricultural leaders have demanded further concessions.

The centre-right CDU/CSU opposition bloc, which has largely backed the farmers in their protest against the government, called on Tuesday for wide-ranging financial and regulatory relief for the agricultural sector.

The CDU/CSU has proposed making the diesel fuel subsidy permanent, extending permits for livestock barns and creating a new animal welfare fee on products in supermarkets to offset the cost of implementing new welfare and environmental regulations.

"There finally needs to be an awareness that every regulation, every rule and every requirement is associated with harsh consequences for the daily work of our farmers," the CDU's Steffen Bilger told dpa.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.  A beloved and cherished tiger who made his home in the capital city zoo has been moved to a new state.

Jaya, the Little Rock Zoos male Malayan tiger and father to the zoos newest tiger cubs, has been moved to Manhattan, Kansas at Sunset Zoological Park in hopes of becoming a father again, the zoo announced Tuesday.

The move, like the cubs mother Asmara who was relocated to Florida last year, comes as a recommendation of the tiger species survival program (SSP), which aims in ensuring the survival of the endangered species. The SSP program was developed by Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), according to the zoos spokesperson.

Little Rock Zoo Malayan Tiger mother Asmara moved to Tampa zoo

Little Rock Zoo Director Susan Altrui said the entire Little Rock Zoo family wishes the beautiful and powerful tiger well and he will be missed greatly.

We are all sad to see Jaya go. He is a fiercely handsome tiger and stunning example his species. However, we all know and agree that this is the absolute correct decision, Altrui said. As a member of the AZA and specifically working in the tiger SSP, we are glad to do our part to help conserve this special species for many generations to come.

Jaya joined the Little Rock Zoo family in February of 2022, where he became a companion to female Malayan tiger Asmara and father to their daughters Kae, Sundari and Zoya in August of the same year.

Meet tiger cubs Zoya, Kae and Sundari; the life, glow and beauty of the Little Rock Zoo

Debbie Thompson, the Curator for carnivores at the Little Rock Zoo, said his personality thrived at the zoo and he was a great father while they grew and shared a fence line.

Jaya is very laid-back and is a mellow cat, Thompson said. Male tigers can be high strung, but he was always inquisitive and not easily bothered.

Jaya began his move on Jan. 7, but his daughters remain at the Little Rock Zoo to continue to grow and be seen by visitors.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK.
A federal court has dismissed a suit a lawyer brought against the state judge who disbarred her for trying to inject inflammatory conspiracy theories about control of the judiciary into a contested divorce settlement.

The ruling, against Nickola Cunha, is another blow against a segment of disgruntled litigants who continue to claim, without substantiation, that the states family court system is somehow controlled by a cabal of judges, lawyers and consultants who enrich themselves by steering business.

Last year, state authorities charged Paul Boyne, a former family court litigant who now lives in Virginia, with six counts of stalking, attributing to him years of racist and antisemitic internet screeds that several judges said caused them to fear for their lives. Boyne has been held without bail since October and is scheduled to appear in court in three weeks.

U.S. District Judge Victor Bolden, in a decision released Tuesday, dismissed Cunhas suit against now retired Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher. Cunha was demanding financial compensation from Moukawsher after he summarily disbarred her two years ago.

Cunha did not immediately respond to a request to discuss the decision.

The events leading to the disbarment began when Cunha accused another judge presiding over an especially bitter child custody dispute of involvement in a Jewish conspiracy to steer lucrative consulting work in divorce cases to friends and associates. Cunha also accused her clients husband of child abuse and accused the judge of protecting pedophiles when he declined to act on her accusation.

Moukawsher took charge of the case and insisted that Cunha substantiate the allegations. She claimed initially to have a list documenting such behavior, but eventually admitted there was no list. Moukawsher took her law license, accusing her of making spurious claims in a self-serving effort to tie the judicial process in knots.

She has systematically tried to use the justice system against itself in a bid to frustrate it. In a bid to discredit it, Moukawsher wrote in his disbarment order. In a bid that, if unchecked here and elsewhere, threatens to destroy it as a credible instrument of democracy. Indeed, Ms. Cunha and her client have lashed the system as broken and corrupt. But the cases tortured history may be better explained by the system indulging Ms. Cunha and her client too much. In a quest to achieve fairness and give the benefit of every doubt, the system has allowed itself to be tied in knots.

In her suit against Moukawsher, Cunha claimed that she was being punished for cause of speech made in zealous advocacy for her client, being a violation of First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment protections, while chilling expression and advocacy, a societal detriment; implicating Connecticut State government for inability to properly select, train, manage justices, to assure the proper quality and administration of justice, misuse of federal funds notwithstanding.

Bolden said Moukawsher had immunity as a judge from such suits and that the federal courts lacked jurisdiction over such matters. He also said the appropriate place to challenge the disbarment is in the state appellate court, where Cunha also is pressing an appeal.

Claims of judicial corruption involving race and religion and amplified by the internet have caused judges to be concerned for their safety and the safety of their families. The blog which state authorities have said is controlled by Boyne has published home addresses of judges, identified cars they drive and published photographs of their spouses. It often mentions a need to nurture liberty with the blood of tyrants and suggests gun violence, with the words .50 caliber.

In 2015, Edward Taupier of Cromwell was convicted and imprisoned for threatening to shoot a judge involved in his and Boynes divorces. An email written by Taupier contained information about the judges home, the distance from her bedroom to a nearby cemetery and ammunition that could be used to shoot her, according to testimony at his trial.

According to a federal search warrant affidavit, a 2016 Twitter posting linked to Boynes home internet address asked readers whether the judge singled out by Taupier was in your life? and answered the question with keep calm and reload. aim. shoot again.

A judge who has been a target of allegations by both Cunha and Boyne referred to the blog in a decision, saying it isfilled with anti-Semitic, homophobic and racist rants of the worst kind. It is based on the belief that the entire family law bench and bar in Connecticut and other states are being controlled by a mysterious Jewish cabal in order to steal children away from loving parents and give them to rapists and pedophiles.
A federal judge has ruled against the First Amendment violation claims brought by a group of current and former Benton County sheriffs employees suing the county for $22 million.

Now a Washington state court will decide if the other claims warrant a massive payout.

Three years ago seven senior level sheriffs command staff employees filed a claim against Benton County claiming the county didnt do enough to stop former Sheriff Jerry Hatcher as he engaged in alleged targeted harassment, abuse and First Amendment violations.

Some of the employees retired, self-demoted to other positions or quit in the face of the ongoing issues.

They put the claim on a temporary hold during an ultimately successful campaign to recall Hatcher was placed on the ballot.

A 2021 campaign sign urges voters to recall former Benton County Sheriff Jerry Hatcher.

After Hatcher was removed from office in the November 2021 recall, the group refiled the claim and then a lawsuit in Walla Walla Superior Court. That lawsuit was moved to federal court in May 2022 to consider the First Amendment violation claims.

Federal Judge Stanley Bastian ruled that while some of the claims approached the threshold needed to constitute a First Amendment violation, none of them fully met the criteria. The county also asked Bastian to remove three of the employees from the lawsuit.

Bastian did not remove any of the plaintiffs before sending the lawsuit back to Walla Walla last week. Bastian also left the other causes for damage in tact, leaving them for the Superior Court judge to decide.

Former Benton County Sheriff Jerry Hatcher

Bad boss, worse person

Now a Superior Court judge will decide if the eight other allegations have merit.

They include:

Vicarious liability, meaning the county is responsible for Hatchers actions

Defamation

Invasion of privacy

Outrage

Constructive discharge, meaning Hatcher made the work environment so unbearable they had no choice but to self demote, quit or retire

Violations of the Whistleblower Act

Retaliation

Hostile work environment

The employees suing are Undersheriff Jon Law; Commander Mat Clarke; Lt. Jason Erickson; Lt. Erik Magnuson; now-retired Commander Steve Caughey; and former Detective Todd Carlson.

Sheriff Tom Croskrey also filed an initial complaint, but did not pursue the lawsuit after becoming sheriff.

The county does not dispute that Hatcher mistreated employees, but they believe Hatcher himself should be held responsible. Attorneys for Benton County argue the county did all it could, but because Hatcher was an elected official, he was in a unique position that kept them from being able to stop him.

The recent filing asked for the First Amendment claim and several other causes to be dismissed and for Clarke, Erickson and Carlson to be removed from the lawsuit. The county argued that those three employees did not have strong enough claims.

In a section titled, Sheriff Hatcher Was a Bad Boss and Worse Person, the countys attorneys argued that his alleged abuse was indiscriminate.

Defendant does not contest that Sheriff Hatcher was a bad sheriff and an even worse boss. As abhorrent as his behavior was, it wasnt exclusionary  Sheriff Hatcher did not discriminate who he would terrorize; he belittled most in his path, the county argued.

The county said that Hatchers bad behavior started well before he took office as sheriff, and that he displayed tyrant behavior even as undersheriff.

The county commissioners appointed Hatcher sheriff in 2017 and he later won election to keep the seat.

The U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building in Richland.

Pattern of abuse

The lawsuit says Carlson retired early in March 2021 due to retaliation from Hatcher, and Erickson self-demoted himself from lieutenant to sergeant to limit his interaction with Hatcher. Erickson has since been promoted back to lieutenant.

Caughey and another sheriffs office employee quit in December 2020 after learning that Hatcher had unsuccessfully tried to place members of his own leadership staff on a Brady list because of their cooperation in a whistleblower investigation of the sheriff.

A month later in January 2021, prosecutors in Benton County placed Hatcher on a Brady list when he was possibly going to be a witness in the trial of a jail escapee.

The deputies also allege that after filing whistleblower complaints, Hatcher created a hostile work environment that included harassment and retaliation.

The lawsuit also says Hatcher made defamatory statements about Magnuson regarding a medical condition and politicized his private information. The lawsuit claims that after a SWAT incident led by Magnuson in which a suspect died, Hatcher was irate about having to deal with the media and threatened to choke Magnuson and to rewrite his job description to effectively terminate him without justification.

The lawsuit states that an investigation found the suspect died of a drug overdose and that officers acted appropriately. The lawsuit says Hatcher threatened violence against Magnuson on several other occasions.

It also says that Hatcher threatened to fire anyone who spoke to his estranged wife, who had made allegations of domestic abuse against him.

Hatcher was later investigated for allegations of witness tampering saying he had tried to force his ex-wife to recant her testimony.

After filing for divorce, Monica Hatcher filed a petition claiming Jerry Hatcher had strangled and threatened her in December 2017 when she confronted him about an ongoing extramarital affair.

Monica Hatcher later said her husband forced her to recant her abuse statements by writing a four-page email to a detective saying she is confused about quite a lot of things and cannot in good faith swear to what happened two years ago.

Monica Hatcher eventually sent the email so she could provide proof to her husband, but told investigators the following day that Jerry Hatcher was trying to manipulate her and other witnesses into not cooperating.

The domestic violence case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning prosecutors have the option to refile charges at a later date.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico declared his support for Hungary and his counterpart Viktor Orban after bilateral talks on Jan. 16 and said Slovakia would fight potential measures to restrict Hungary's EU rights.

Elected in September on a populist, Ukraine-skeptic platform, Fico halted arms supplies from Slovakia's military stocks and repeatedly criticized both defense assistance for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. He has said there is no "military solution" to the war, an assertion he repeated on Jan. 16.

Fico's government is close to Orban and his Fidesz party. Orban said on Jan. 16 that Slovakia - Hungary relations were at a "high point" and that both countries are "unhappy about Brussels' initiatives for a super state."

The meeting came days after Petri Sarvamaa, a senior member of the EU's parliament, began circulating a petition to revoke some of Hungary's membership rights, including voting, due to the country's "erosion of the rule of law" and obstructive behavior in the face of EU consensus building.

The petition quickly gained the support of at least 120 other lawmakers, and Sarvamaa said on Jan. 16 that "the final letter has now been sent to the President of the Parliament (Roberta Metsola)."

"On Thursday, we will be voting on a joint motion resolution, negotiated this morning with five political groups in the parliament," he added.

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Anger within the EU toward Hungary has been growing over Orban's obstructionism regarding support for Ukraine, but it reached a boiling point after Orban blocked $55 billion in aid for Ukraine at an EU summit in December. Orban also refrained from voting for Ukraine to move forward with EU accession talks.

He reiterated his concerns about the funding package on Jan. 16.

"If we want to help Ukraine, which I think we need to do, we have to do it in a way that doesn't harm the EU's budget."

Fico largely backed Orban's justification for voting against the funding, saying that the Hungarian leader's unease was "rational and sensible."

Fico did not say he was fully opposed to the aid but rather wanted to see it renewed annually.

EU leaders plan to vote on the funding again on Feb. 1.

There is historical precedent for how Slovakia and Hungary have discussed jointly opposing the EU and protecting each other from perceived threats from Brussels. Under the previous Polish Law and Justice (PiS) government, Poland and Hungary backed each other as they flouted the EU's rules.

Read also: Opinion: Orban is plain wrong on Ukraine

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Two elementary school girls face each other in an open bathroom stall as voices in the crowd urge them to fight: Come on, come on, a student yells.

The opponents, smiling awkwardly and hesitating at first, start to throw their arms in a flurry. One girl grabs the others long hair with one hand and repeatedly hits her head and neck with her other hand, while the other girl grabs her opponents braids and tries to hold onto the arm thats swinging at her.

The two fifth graders at Pyle Elementary School in Fresno push and shove in a circle as the onlookers laugh and cheer.

In this violent Instagram video, an adults voice can be heard from afar, causing the children to stop fighting. Someone is heard saying, Lets go. When the two girls separate, they dont seem to be injured, but their faces are red, and theyre upset. A Q&A box with the video asks viewers to vote on who they think won the quick fight.

This was just one video, from December, that was posted on the Instagram account Pylefights. The account, founded in May, features Pyles mascot and school name. It showed three fighting videos from May to December, and garnered more than 100 followers. It shared the name of the associated TikTok account in the bio.

Parents have complained to the Fresno Unified school board about the videos. One mom told the Bee that she brought her concerns to the Parent Advisory Committee, but she has yet to hear back. One mom said she spoke directly to the Pyle Elementary principal, Isacc Villanueva-Langdon, about the account, hoping the school might take some action.

Ive mentioned this to the principal, and he just kind of brushed me off, saying Oh, they were play fights. So I watched a couple of videos, and I would not call any of these play. They were pretty violent, said Jessica Jolliffe, whose daughter is in the third grade at Pyle. This concerns me because they are just first through sixth grade.

The Bee called and then emailed the principal more than a week ago, offering him the chance to comment for the story. He did not reply.

Not only Pyle, but at least 14 schools within the Fresno Unified School District have social media accounts dedicated to school fight videos, the Bee has found. Most of the Fresno accounts were registered in the second half of 2023. Ranging from elementary to high school fight videos, the accounts usually create a name from a combination of the featured schools name and the keyword fight or fightpage. They often adopt the schools logo or mascot as headshots. The bios can include tips asking followers to send fight videos they record in specific schools. Some schools even have more than one account on the same social media platform.

Its really frustrating because all this stuff is happening, and I dont feel like the school is doing anything about it, said Jolliffe.

The Bee contacted the Fresno Unified School District on Jan. 3, and at other times, for this story to see if the district has a social media policy that might address the video posts. The Bee also asked to speak with someone at the districts Department of Prevention and Intervention about the social media videos and Instagram accounts and whether the district was doing anything to address the situation. The Bee also asked for information about the districts anti-bullying policy and suspension rates.

In an emailed response, the district provided links to its policy on bullying and said that it would not be able to talk to a Bee reporter or answer a series of submitted questions on the topic until later in the month. The department needs time to prepare, the district public information officer told the Bee. Neither the school district nor Pyles principal responded whether they watched the videos and spoke with any of the students involved in the fighting.

The districts anti-bullying policy says that student safety is a high priority and that bullying is not tolerated. The district also has a cyberbullying rule that students shouldnt create or transmit harmful content including causing, attempting to cause physical injury to another person, or willfully using violence upon personnel. A student who has committed the acts is subject to discipline by suspension or expulsion, the policy says. The policies do not appear to specifically address the posting of student fight videos on social media.

School fight videos are nationwide issue

Documenting school fights and setting up social media accounts to distribute those videos has become a national trend, and the situation has popped up in many states. The accounts are popular. Among Fresno Unified school fights accounts, the majority gained more than 100 followers - including at some elementary schools - and the largest one has 1,019 followers.

Other than the obvious problems with student safety, experts told The Bee that the accounts are also dangerous because they normalize violence among students and also add to a students burden of learning to socialize normally in an already stressful post-Covid environment. One expert said that its bad because students who post the videos are searching for likes and online popularity by featuring inappropriate content.

There was less opportunity to deal with social interaction about their peers and manage conflict or emotional regulation, said Marilyn Sliney, executive director of Pacific Clinics, which contracts with school districts to provide student and family counseling.

They are unfortunately getting recognition for how many hits they receive from these videos, she said. The victim of the fight incidents, the child whos doing the videoing, and those observing, are all contributing to whats already a complex situation for kids.

The most frequent challenge they encounter, Sliney said, is that children are still recovering from trauma, especially in their lives after the pandemic during which social media and screen time became significant ways for them to connect. It poses additional difficulties for parents and schools to help kids re-engage in direct social activities.

Nearly half of teens said they use the Internet almost constantly, a 2023 survey from Pew Research Center showed, which roughly doubled the 24% in the 2014-2015 survey. Also, 95% of teens self-reported that they had used YouTube, while 63% and 59% said they used TikTok and Instagram, respectively.

Instagram and TikTok require a minimum age of 13 to own an account. It is unclear how elementary kids set up these fighting accounts. The Instagram Community Guidelines also mandate that graphic violence is not allowed and the platform may remove videos or images of intense violence. But the account owner can prevent being tracked down and blocked by changing the handle, and its also not hard to create new ones - some Fresno accounts wrote in their bios that they are the successor of a previous account. Another common practice is stating No snitch or Dont report.

Fresno parents concerned about safety

As the phenomenon spreads, parents are concerned about their kids safety at school and being exposed to increased bullying and fighting. In the videos, fights usually took place in playgrounds, bathrooms, and schools backyards, and most of the time, there was no adult nearby to intervene.

In one of our School Site Council meetings, they said something about it, and I did some digging about it, too, said Bri Knavel, a mother of three children who all attended Pyle and who serves as a parent representative. There are some on Instagram, some on TikTok.

My second child does not want to go to school, he says he doesnt know what to do, he doesnt feel safe, and I just think its so heartbreaking, said Knavel.

Knavels oldest son is a special-ed student and was bullied by a group of kids at school. Knavel said she had seen the fighting video involving her son circulated in a Snapchat group; she had kept her son at home for a week-long Independent study for safety reasons; and the child even applied for a no-contact order at school.

When Knavel observed at the playground last semester, she saw only two to three staff watching three classes, totaling nearly a hundred students at the playground, and children came by freely from the classrooms to talk to their siblings though they were told not to.

I heard another mom was worried because her little second grader getting picked on by another second grader, and she came home crying one day because the second grader got his older brother to come and beat on her, said Jolliffe.

The excuse that I get a lot of times is we dont have the funding for it, or were understaffed.
UPDATE: The intersection fully reopened to traffic around 6:30 a.m.

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) The intersection of Flamingo Road and Rainbow Boulevard is closed due to a crash Tuesday morning following a crash that sent one driver to the hospital.

According to Las Vegas Metropolitan police, the crash was reported around 4 a.m. and involved two vehicles. The crash created debris in the intersection which is in the process of being cleaned up as police investigate the scene.

The driver transported to the hospital suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
The sight of an SUV floating away in the Intracoastal Waterway ignited a dramatic rescue in southwest Florida, when a state wildlife officer jumped in and began swimming after the vehicle.

It happened just after sunset Saturday, Dec. 16, near the Albee Bridge in Sarasota County, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told McClatchy News on Jan. 16.

Witnesses reported a vehicle was seen driving off a seawall and landing in the water in Nokomis, about 70 miles south of Tampa.

Officer Specialist Kelsey Dalton has been with the FWC Division of Law Enforcement since 2016, officials said.

Officer Specialist Kelsey Dalton arrived at the location at approximately 6 p.m. and saw the vehicle floating northbound in the ICW, FWC officials said.

She dove into the water and swam to the vehicle. With the help of a good Samaritan, she was able to smash the window with her baton and pull the driver, a 69-year-old man, out through the window.

Within seconds, the SUV began to sink nose down as water rushed in the broken window.

Once the man was safely ashore, Dalton grabbed her dive mask and swam back to the partially submerged vehicle to make sure no one else was inside. It was empty, officials said.

The driver, who is from Michigan, suffered minor scratches and bruises, but was not seriously hurt, FWC officials said. His identity was not released.

The Sarasota County Sheriffs Office is investigating the incident.

The quick response from the good Samaritan and Officer Specialist Dalton averted what could have been a tragic situation, the FWC reported.

Dalton suffered cuts to both hands from broken glass during the rescue.

She has been with the FWC Division of Law Enforcement since 2016, officials said.

Two hikers spent hours lost in alligator-filled Florida swamp. See the rescue video

Youths stranded in dark on Florida river feared alligators circled them, deputies say

Large tail seen sticking out of Florida culvert was trapped 8.5-foot creature. See it
LEE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA)  A Southwest Florida deputy helped return a lost dog to its owners on Monday night, just before a storm caused major flooding in the area.

The Lee County Sheriffs Office said Lieutenant Fine was on his way home from work when he noticed a small dog lost in the storm. Fine stopped and brought the dog to safety. Then he called the Lee County Domestic Animal Services to help find her owner.

This sweet girl was returned to her home just in time before the storm got worse, the sheriffs office said. Rain or shine, Lee County, were always going to find a way to pet {rescue} a dog.

(Lee County Sheriffs Office)

According to WBBH, streets in Cape Coral, North Fort Myers, and Fort Myers experienced flash flooding after strong thunderstorms dumped between six and nine inches of rain over the areas.

The heavy rain even caused a gas station roof in North Fort Myers to collapse. An employee who was working inside the convenience store at the time suffered minor injuries. She told the news station that she slipped and hit her head on one of the store shelves.

WATCH: Tornado crosses I-95 in Florida

WBBH reported that flash flooding to this extent is rare for Southwest Florida during January. This month is typically one of the quietest times of the year for weather, with the average monthly rainfall at 2.43 inches.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
Some Florida lawmakers are pushing for what they call a complete reform of property insurance in the state.

HB 1213 proposes opening Citizens Property Insurance to everyone in Florida and moving away from being the Insurer of Last Resort. It would trigger a complete remodel of Citizens Property Insurance.

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The bills sponsors say, if passed, it could resolve the insurance crisis, but critics say it could cause more problems than solutions.

According to the bill, the state-backed insurer would only offer hurricane-related wind coverage, and private carriers would be left to cover the rest of your home insurance coverage.

Instead of having Citizens provide all the coverage for those folks that have Citizens policies, this would sort of categorize and carve out the most risky elements of insurance, which are these unpredictable storms that you cant possibly calculate a risk for, said State Representative Spencer Roach, one of the sponsors.

Read: Marion County deputies continue search for suspect in salon owners death

Roach says similar models have worked in other states.

California has had their California Earthquake Authority since 1996 and Texas has operated the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association since 1971.

He says the proposed reform would allow private insurance carriers to focus on bread-and-butter policies-- and leave hurricane coverage up to the state.

Read: MCO Traveler refreshed after four decades

Youll be able to write these generic policies, and rates will absolutely drop like a stone, Roach said.

He says it would take the risk out of private insurance carriers from doing business in Florida, and in turn, lower the rates.

But critics say the reform would do the opposite.

If the wind portion was taken out and borne by Citizens, your other premiums are going to rise, said insurance expert Tom Cotton, adding that it would drive private carriers out of the market.

Read:

Cotton says the burden of the program could fall back on Floridians. The bills sponsor says proposed program would operate like the National Flood Insurance Program. The national program has struggled to pay off claims with insufficient funds.

Thats a bankrupt program whose rates are unsound, Cotton said. It would do the same thing here. It would still be actuarially unsound, and everyone would have to support it.

The bill is now in the Insurance and Banking Subcommittee.

Christine Ashburn, Citizens chief of communications, legislative and external affairs, said in a statement, We are reviewing the bill and plan to meet with the sponsor. We are looking closely at all proposed legislation, especially bills that could expand the size of Citizens.

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Pointing to increased home values and difficulties finding property insurance, a Florida Senate committee Tuesday approved a bill that would allow residents with homes valued at more than $700,000 to get coverage from the states Citizens Property Insurance Corp.

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Under current law, Citizens is barred from selling policies for homes with a dwelling replacement cost of $700,000 or more, except in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, where the limit is $1 million. The bill (SB 1106) would allow coverage for homes throughout the state with dwelling replacement costs between $700,000 and $1 million if private insurers do not offer comparable coverage for the homes.

Citizens was created just for this  to be the insurer of last resort, bill sponsor Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, said before the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee voted unanimously to approve the measure.

But the bill would be a significant change for lawmakers, who have argued for years that Citizens needs to shrink. It is not clear how many newly eligible policies would land in Citizens if the bill passes.

Banking and Insurance Chairman Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, acknowledged he has been reluctant to add more policies to Citizens. Boyd led efforts in 2022 to pass an overhaul of the property insurance system that included changes aimed at shifting policies from Citizens into the private market.

Were in unusual times right now, Boyd, an insurance agent, said Tuesday. And while the market, I think, is starting to respond to the reforms we made, its still a little ways off. So, theres certain things as a legislature I think we need to do.

While the bill would allow residents with homes valued at more than $700,000 to get Citizens coverage, it includes caveats  and extra costs for those homes.

As an example, annual rate increases for Citizens customers are limited by what is known in insurance circles as a glide path. That will limit rate increases to 13% in 2024, 14% in 2025, and 15% in 2026. But under the bill, the glide path would not apply to homes with dwelling replacement costs of $700,000 or more, meaning they could face larger rate increases than other Citizens customers with lower-value homes.

Also, the bill would impose a surcharge on policies of $700,000 or more. Those surcharges would be $2,500 or 25 percent of a homes premium, whichever is less.

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Dwelling replacement costs reflect the amount of money that would be required to rebuild homes. They can differ from market values of homes, at least in part because they do not include land values.

Rep. Doug Broxson, a Gulf Breeze Republican who is an insurance agent, said people with homes valued over $700,000 now might have to consider purchasing what is known as surplus-lines coverage if they cannot find policies in the regular market. Surplus-line carriers dont face the same regulations as other insurers on such things as rates and coverage requirements.

At the same time, home values have soared in many parts of the state.

Ten years ago, $700,000 would have been a mansion, I think, but today it is just a home, Hooper told reporters after the committee vote.

With the 60-day legislative session starting its second week Tuesday, it remains to be seen whether Hoopers bill will ultimately pass. Rep. Kim Berfield, R-Clearwater, has filed a similar House bill (HB 889).

Also, other lawmakers have filed bills that would make changes related to Citizens coverage. Among them, Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, R-Doral, and Rep. Jim Mooney, R-Islamorada, filed bills (SB 604 and HB 565) that would increase the Citizens coverage limit in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties from $1 million to $1.5 million.

Miami-Dade and Monroe have had a $1 million cap because state regulators determined they do not have a reasonable degree of competition for insurance coverage.

Citizens has grown during the past three years to become the states largest property insurer as private carriers dropped customers and raised rates because of financial problems. Citizens had 1.232 million policies as of Friday, according to data on its website.

It reached as many as 1.412 million policies in fall 2023 before seeing decreases because of a depopulation program, which is designed to move customers into the private market.

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Karen Moore vanished from her South Florida home on eve of her 53rd birthday. The nurse was set to pick up her 8-year-old daughter from Girl Scouts camp but didn't show after missing her shift earlier that day, June 27, 2001.

She and her white 1999 Saturn car were never seen again  until a year ago.

Sunshine State Sonar founder Mike Sullivan was scanning a pond tucked behind a strip mall in Davie, north of Miami, in January 2023. Footage from that day posted on YouTube shows a wheel slowly take shape on the sonar screen. Throwing a buoy down to mark the spot, Sullivan stays in the boat while YouTuber Britain Lockhart suits up and dives down to find Moore's white Saturn with human remains inside.

It may have been a major breakthrough in Moore's case, but finding a car wasn't surprising, really. Sullivan found more than 250 cars in Florida's many human-made canals, ponds and fountains in 2023.

By day, Sullivan owns an auto-parts ecommerce company. In his off time, he offers his diving skills, sonar equipment and team of volunteers to any local official willing to give him any morsel of a clue that could help him chip away at the otherwise-stagnant list of missing persons cold cases.

In doing so, he also provides answers for families who have not known the fates of their loved ones for years, sometimes decades.

"I'm happy to be able to have her home," said Christina Baber, Moore's daughter, in an interview with USA TODAY. "I lost my mom 22 years ago, almost, and it's a day I never thought would happen."

Christina Baber and her mother Karen Moore, who went missing in 2001. Baber remembers her mother taking her out on fun adventures frequently.

1,735 missing people in Florida's 7,500 lakes and 76,000 stormwater ponds

Florida is covered in water. In addition to the 7,500 lakes and 12,000 miles of waterways, a 2020 survey cited by the University of Florida found 76,000 artificial ponds for stormwater drainage in the state.

That means there are lots of places to look for clues for Florida's 1,735 missing persons cases.

Sullivan sifts through databases like the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), The Charley Project and Map the Missing, filtering out those who vanished with their car.

He has help sorting through the thousands of ponds where these cars could be hiding, the equivalent of Spider-Man's "guy in the chair." Her name is Shelly Ranae, and from her post in Virginia, she pores over satellite maps year by year, looking for bodies of water on routes the missing could have taken that have remained filled since the person was last seen.

These aren't always obvious. Many ponds for storm drainage in Florida are more like glorified puddles, dotting major roadways and new housing developments. Sunshine State Sonar found Sandra Lemire's car, missing since 2012, under 14 feet of water that collected in the corner of a highway onramp near Disney World.

Once they get a hit for a car on his radar, Sullivan or one of the other volunteer divers he occasionally collaborates with suits up. They brave waters with sewage, litter and sometimes alligators to crawl the dirty depths in search of someone's loved one. He said he has located nearly a dozen bodies in submerged cars since he started in July 2021, and it is always those final moments before discovery that are most intense.

"My stress level was through the roof" before he dived and found Lemire's car, Sullivan told USA TODAY. "I had to sit down, catch my breath and just calm myself down before I got in that water. ... But you have to do it ... like this is the end, we have to find out if this is her car or it's belonging to another case."

Van pulled from a pond on the highway near Disney, outside of Orlando. Officials with the Orlando Police Department, the Osceola Sheriff's Office and the Orange County Sheriff's Office assisted with the recovery.

Miami-Dade waters hold dozens of stolen cars turned into 'artificial reef'

Tag pull off of car found in Miami canal. The car belonged to Maureen Therese Sherman, who went missing on May 1, 1985. It was discovered by Sunshine State Sonar on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024.

In the first week of 2024, Sunshine State Sonar located two cars with human remains. One appeared to have skeletonized remains of three people, Sullivan said, but authorities had confirmed only one human body as of Thursday. The other car belonged to a missing person, Maureen Therese Sherman, and authorities were testing the remains to see whether they are hers.

Sullivan was on one of his expeditions to the Miami-Dade area, where he estimates 1,000 cars are hiding below waters. (A spokesperson with the Miami-Dade Police Department told USA TODAY there is no way to know exactly how many submerged cars there are in the county but said 1,000 was possible.)

Many of the cars are clearly stolen, Sullivan said, given away by a brick tied to the gas pedal or a plank rigged to the steering wheel to send it into the pond without a driver. He said authorities instruct him to leave those cars alone, sparing the department's resources in favor of letting them become "artificial reefs."

Sometimes he has to sort through dozens of such cars to find one linked to a case. He said the canal where he found Sherman, missing since 1985 from her home nearby, had 24 cars in it.

While diving another canal in the area the same weekend, Sullivan said the team stopped counting at 17 cars. Other nearby "honey holes," as he calls them, can hold 30 cars or more.

Even if a car he finds doesn't match a missing person profile Sullivan has in mind, he still tries to peek inside to see if there is evidence of a body. When he found a 1983 Oldsmobile in a mall pond, he shook the sediment that settled in the backseat, sending a shoe still attached to leg bones floating to the surface.

Sullivan said he wants to start branching out, scanning more retention ponds on the sides of the highway where people may have never thought to look.

Occasionally, people tell Sullivan not to look for their missing relative, hoping to avoid grieving them a second time if he finds their body. But he perseveres with the case anyway, believing that some loved one could still want answers.

"I feel kind of obligated to do this for (families). ... I know if I don't do it, then they will never know because nobody else will do it," Sullivan said. "It's up to me; it's up to our team. If we can't do this, that family's never going to get answers. And we carry that on our shoulders."

An Oldsmobile containing human remains pulled from a mall pond in Florida. Sunrise police said the car was last registered in 2005.

Baber held memorial service for found mother: 'Thank you for bringing closure to another family'

Karen Moore, who was reported missing on her 53rd birthday. She is survived by her daughter, who said Moore "always cared for others and put others 1st."

Baber said her mother's neighbor was the last to see her leaving her house the day before she didn't show up for work.

Moore was divorcing Baber's father when she vanished, and Baber said it was out of character for her not to show up for their scheduled visitation time.

"Everything was centered around my childhood happiness," Baber said of her mother, remembering their frequent visits to the children's museum and the zoo. "I lost that rather quickly once she went missing."

Detective Eddy Velazquez from the Davie Police Department said the investigation into Moore's case is still open. He confirmed the remains in the car belonged to her and said her death has not been ruled a homicide.

Baber said she has never stopped trying to find answers about her mother  where she was going that night, whom she was in touch with, and how her car ended up in a pond far back from the roadway.

But with her mother's body found, Baber was able to hold a memorial service, with family flying in from as far as Alaska, she said. Baber's twin daughters, Eliza and Olivia, look at the picture of Moore next to her urn in Baber's home in Indiana, hearing stories about the grandmother they never met.

"I'm so thankful to finally have closure and have her home. It's still surreal at the same time. I mean, my whole life has been wondering what happened to my mom," she said.

Baber keeps in touch with Sullivan regularly, following his searches and discoveries.

"Any time he has found anybody ... I send him a text saying 'Thank you for bringing closure to another family,'" she said, pausing as her voice trembled with emotion. "They don't have to go out and do what they're doing. And they are. It's such a wonderful thing."

Mike Sullivan (left), Christina Baber (middle) and Ken Fleming. Sullivan found the car and recovered Karen Moore's remains with the help of Fleming.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sunshine State Sonar divers look for sunken cars, missing people
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY)  Honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Urban League of Hampton Roads hosted its 40th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Awards Breakfast at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.

The special event recognized the contributions of local leaders who apply Dr. Kings message of unity and equality to the Hampton Roads Community.

Eight community leaders were awarded for their work toward social and economic equality.

Health  Charlie Hill, Hampton Roads Prostate Forum

Education  Peter Blake, Retiring Executive Director of State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV)

Economic Development  Harry Lester, community leader

Finance  Alexis Swann, Peninsula president, TowneBank

Housing  Norfolk Redevelopment Housing Authority (NRHA)

E.L. HAMM Lifetime Achievement Award  Gov. Douglas Wilder

Young Professional Member of the Year  Nykita Doggette

Guild Member of the Year  Lisa Wise-Chapman

Dr. King referred to us as a beloved community, said Gilbert Bland, president & CEO of the Urban League of Hampton Roads. We were over 1,400 strong today from every gender [and] race. The Navy was here, the police were here, politicians were here, service providers as well as service recipients.

Bland calls it a homecoming of sorts, as this is the first time the breakfast was in person since the pandemic.

It was warming to me to see so many people embrace each other and be glad to be in the company of each other, Bland said. That type of spirit leads to camaraderie, which is cooperation, collaboration and hopefully helping our community.

Former Gov. Douglas Wilder received the lifetime achievement award for being a very wise and skillful politician. Wilder, who pushed for MLK Day to be recognized, was the first elected African American governor in United States history.

It took me eight years to get this holiday passed for Dr. Martin Luther King, Wilder said.

Dr. Clint Smith, a New York Times bestseller for his book, How the Word is Passed, which explores historic plantations and writes stories about the countrys history, was the keynote speaker.

We come from a lineage of people who fought for freedom they knew they might never see, Smith said, but they fought for it anyway because they knew that someday someone would.

Smith challenged everyone to be responsible for creating a world better for the next generations, like Dr. King.

He believed deeply in eradicating poverty, Smith said. He believed deeply in universal housing, universal education, universal jobs. Theres a lot of people who recognize that this work is done best in community, that this work is done best in solidarity, who recognizes that a lot of progress has been made, but also theres a lot of work to do.

Learn more about the Urban League of Hampton Roads.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com.
Hu Haifeng arrives for the closing session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing

BEIJING (Reuters) - Hu Haifeng, son of former Chinese President Hu Jintao, was appointed on Tuesday by the cabinet as a vice minister of civil affairs, making a leap into the senior ranks of the central government from a small city in an eastern province.

Prior to his central government appointment based in Beijing, Hu, 51, had served for five years as head of the Communist Party of the city of Lishui in Zhejiang province.

Born in November 1972, Hu was among the youngest vice civil affairs ministers to be appointed.

During his tenure as Lishui party chief, Hu even received open praise from President Xi Jinping for the city's green development.

Hu entered Chinese politics after a major Communist Party Congress in 2012, becoming the deputy Party head of Jiaxing, another city in Zhejiang province.

His debut coincided with his father's stepping down as general secretary of China's ruling Communist Party as Xi took the helm.

His father Hu Jintao, 81, reached China's pinnacle of power as Communist Party chief in 2002 after a decade as heir apparent, and became the country's president in 2003.

Hu Jintao himself was a political star, picked to join the party's seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, the country's highest tier of political power, in 1992 at the age of just 49.

The younger Hu graduated with a degree in computer science from Northern Jiatong University in Beijing and later obtained an executive Master of Business Administration at the prestigious Tsinghua University.

He later became president of Nuctech, a major manufacturer of security inspection scanners owned by Tsinghua University.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Kim Coghill)
Former Columbus City Schools teacher Justin R. Foley, 48, of Delaware, Ohio, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Tuesday for taking upskirt videos of teenage students when he taught at Columbus Alternative High School, seen here in an aerial photo of the Linden neighborhood.

A once-respected chemistry teacher at Columbus Alternative High School, Justin Robert Foley was "addicted to the thrill" of capturing videos up the skirts of teenage students, in department store dressing rooms and in the city of Delaware where he lived, according to his attorney.

Although Foley never shared the videos, he knows what he did was an "unfathomable violation of trust," said Soumyajit Dutta, a federal public defense attorney representing Foley.

Foley, 48, of Delaware, Ohio, appeared Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Columbus in a jail uniform and chains for sentencing after he admitted guilt in May 2023 to charges of taking voyeuristic videos and possessing thousands of child sexual abuse images on his electronic devices. He took the videos from between approximately June 2018 and September 2022, according to court records.

U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson sentenced Foley to 20 years in prison  the maximum recommended under Foley's plea agreement with federal prosecutors  and 20 years of supervised release.

Foley resigned his advanced placement teaching position with Columbus City Schools in October 2022 after the district began the process to discharge him.

"You've lost your job, you've lost your marriage and you're looking at a long time in prison," Watson said. "Where do you get the idea that it's OK to upskirt your students? Where do you get the idea that it's OK to surreptitiously go into a dressing room and put a camera up somewhere?"

"Of course it's not OK," Foley replied. He said he's still trying to understand why he did it.

"I don't understand myself how I let myself do that, knowing that it wasn't legal or moral or right," Foley said.

Dutta said Foley's stepfather abused him when he was a teenager and he grew up damaged.

"This is a form of addiction," Dutta said. "It started in one way and morphed into other things along the way. So for him, the addiction was the thrill of the capture, if you will, judge. I'm not trying to be crass."

Dutta said that Foley never attempted to touch students.

Foley took the voyeuristic videos between approximately June 2018 and September 2022, according to court records. Foley would then take screenshots from the videos.

According to federal prosecuting attorneys, investigators have identified 11 student victims, but added that there were many others. One of those victims requested $4,740 in restitution for medical expenses, including therapy copays. Watson ordered the restitution, which will come out of Foley's wages from prison work.

Jennifer Rausch, an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, said in court that many of the students Foley videotaped have suffered from anxiety and fear as a result.

Authorities also found thousands of images of child sexual abuse material on Foley's electronic devices that Foley did not produce, but that he downloaded.

According to Rausch, Foley said he was interested in looking at images of women who looked young, but convinced himself they were 18. Raush said one of the children in those explicit images was between 5 and 6 years old.

If you believe you were a victim of or the parent of a potential victim of Foleys conduct, the U.S. Attorney's office in Columbus has said that you can call 614-901-6883.

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ex-Columbus HS teacher gets 20 years for taking 'upskirt' images
A former Chicago Public Schools assistant principal appeared before a judge Tuesday for the first time since an inspector generals report highlighted allegations she stole more than a quarter-million dollars from an elementary school.

The annual report from the Office of Inspector General noted multiple instances of waste and abuse in Chicago Public Schools, revealing financial losses at the resource-strapped district. The report also urged CPS to adopt new training protocols for volunteers and vendors as part of its ongoing efforts to address adult-on-student sexual misconduct.

The report made public accusations that Tracey Canty-Robinson, 55, embezzled $274,000 in after-school program payments.

She was not named in the document, but records show Canty-Robinson was named in a 17-count indictment with stealing from Skinner West Elementary School on the Near West Side.

How is it that somebody could take more than $200,000 from a school-based after-school program, and no one at the school notices that the money is gone? And then further, how is it possible that that much money could be stolen and the program could manage to run unabated? Inspector General Will Fletcher told the Tribune last week.

Canty-Robinson appeared before Judge Stanley Sacks Tuesday morning at the Leighton Criminal Court Building with her attorney, who told the judge that evidence discovery in the case amounts to thousands of pages.

The indictment alleges that she altered checks over a multiyear period. A report from the Office of the Inspector General specified that she is accused of embezzling $274,000 in after-school program payments.

Canty-Robinson faces counts, including theft from a school or place of worship, forgery and continuing a financial crimes enterprise. Three of the charges are class X felonies.

She entered a plea of not guilty and was released on a personal recognizance bond in July.

In a statement, her attorney, Andre Grant, said she is entitled to the presumption of innocence.

The inspector generals office referred Canty-Robinsons case to law enforcement after referencing the allegations in a 2021 annual report.

Canty-Robinson resigned March 12, 2020, after the OIG requested to interview her about its investigation, according to CPS. She then was placed on a do not hire list in July 2021, upon CPS receipt of the OIG report.

The allegations against Canty-Robinson were among a number of financial concerns raised in the inspector generals report, including thousands of lost and stolen technology devices that the district reported to the Chicago Police Department.

But the report noted that district didnt take advantage of services  for which CPS had already paid $2.6 million  capable of freezing, geotracking and potentially recovering the devices.

In another case, the OIG found that a school clerk stole $150,000 through a combination of skimming from cash collected at school and false requests for extra pay.

Chicago Tribunes Alysa Guffey contributed.
A former Kentucky teachers aide has admitted having sexual contact with teenage boys, and has pleaded guilty in federal court over the offense.

Ellen Phillips, 39, formerly known as Ellen Shell, pleaded guilty in federal court in Lexington on Friday to a charge of attempted online enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual conduct, according to court records.

Phillips, of Danville, faces a minimum prison sentence of 10 years but could get life in prison, according to a news release from federal and state authorities.

Phillips acknowledged in her plea agreement that she communicated with teen boys by way of Snapchat, Facebook or text messages, and in many instances met them for sexual activity.

The boys generally ranged from 14 to 16 years old, the plea agreement said.

On some occasions, Phillips engaged in sexual activity with multiple minors at the same time, the plea document said.

The plea agreement cited a particular case in December 2022 in which Phillips tried to persuade a 15-year-old boy to take part in sexual activity.

Phillips messaged the victim through Facebook and repeatedly tried to get him to sneak out of his house and meet her, the plea document said.

When the teen said he couldnt get out because his mother was awake, Phillips offered him alcohol and oral sex and provided excuses he could give his mother to explain why he was leaving, according to the plea.

The boy ultimately told Phillips he couldnt meet her that night.

Phillips, a former aide in Boyle County, was initially charged in state court. She faces charges of multiple charges of third-degree sodomy and third-degree rape in Boyle, Garrard and Rockcastle counties, according to state court records.

State prosecutors will consider dropping charges as a result of Phillips pleading guilty in federal court, according to her plea.

Chief U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves scheduled Phillips to be sentenced in April.

Homeland Security Investigations, Kentucky State Police, the Garrard County Sheriffs Office and the Danville Police Department investigated the case.
Former prisoners recruited into the Storm Z unit complained to dictator Vladimir Putin about deception upon their return to Russia

Former prisoners recruited into the Storm Z unit to fight in Ukraine have filed complaints with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin upon their return to Russia, the Russian Telegram channel Astra reported.

The individuals claim they are not receiving agreed-upon salaries, lack combat veteran identification, and grapple with other unfulfilled pledges from the Russian government.

Read also: Ukraine military intelligence behind attack on Russian oil depot in Oryol  NV source

Former inmates from the Oryol region made a video appeal to Putin, in which they complained about the challenges they face in obtaining essential documents, particularly combat veteran identification. They expressed frustration over the difficulties in securing social services and receiving the three million rubles they were promised in a decree promulgated by the Russian dictator.

Read also: Russian POWs thank Ukrainians for humane treatment during recent exchange  video

"We are encountering problems with all social guarantees, the prisoners complained.

We also had problems with payment. Promises were not fulfilled. When we were invited to join this formation, we were promised salaries starting from 205,000 rubles, but it was only half of that. Combatants were receiving only 75,000 rubles.

At the end of the video, the former prisoners appealed to Putin for assistance in resolving these issues.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A former TSA agent has attempted to provide some clarity about what travellers can and cannot bring through airport security.

Caleb Harmon-Marshall, who posts under the TikTok username @travelwiththeharmony, recently took to the platform to explain what hes learned in the eight years on the job.

Harmon-Marshall also went on to create his own newsletter called Gate Access, where he provides tips on getting through airport security to make a persons overall travel experience easier to navigate.

While working at the worlds busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, he said that he heard many of the same questions and repeatedly sorted out the same problems. So, he said, his main objective with his newsletter was to help people know and understand their rights.

People think that the officers are mean, and they feel like they are prisoners when they go through security, he said in an interview with Business Insider.

And I just wanted to let passengers know that this is here for your safety, theyre working for you, theyre not against you.

He even posts TikToks and writes about specific airlines and their policies, and how they may differ from other airlines. In the interview, he told the outlet that he would spend time reading the terms and conditions of various airlines to give his followers the run-down on the TSA rules.

One of his general tips that he thought travellers should be aware of is that people can bring water or any liquid that breaks the typical 3.4 ounces only rule if they freeze it beforehand.

The TSA website confirms the rule on its website, which reads frozen liquids are allowed, as long as they are frozen solid when presented for screening.

If frozen liquid items are partially melted, slushy, or have any liquid at the bottom of the container, they must meet 3-1-1 liquids requirements, the website reads.

Harmon-Marshall has more than one TikTok video on the subject, with hundreds of thousands of combined views because so many people are unaware that this can be done. If you freeze your water, you can take it past TSA, he reiterated.

A lot of people, theyll get their own bottle, theyll put their water in there, theyll freeze it, and then theyll just thaw out, and theyll drink it as it thaws out.

Another common misconception is that food isnt allowed through the scanner, while in reality travellers are allowed to pack some.

Why would you spend all your money on airport food? Harmon-Marshall said. Its very expensive to buy anything at the airport. Buy something before you go, take it with you, and you can even take it on the plane and eat it.

There are also certain rights that passengers can execute, such as opting for their items to be searched by hand if they are more fragile, like camera film. Theyll just take it and walk it over to the other side, and theyll check it by hand, Harmon-Marshall said.

People can also choose not to go through the body scanner if they have a fear of the radiation they are exposed to. The radiation exposure is less than that of two minutes, but Harmon-Marshall said people were entitled not to use it. Instead, travellers can opt for a physical pat-down by a same-sex officer.

You dont necessarily have to go through there if you dont feel comfortable, he said. A lot of people feel like the radiation and all that kind of stuff can affect them. Pregnant women, they dont like going through it.
The former head of the United Kingdoms spy agency said a potential second term for former President Trump is a national security threat to his country.

Sir Richard Dearlove, former chief of the U.K.s Secret Intelligence Service, said in an interview with SkyNews on Sunday that a Trump reelection would be problematic for the United Kingdom due to the former presidents issues with NATO.

Trump attacked the alliance throughout his time in the White House and reportedly suggested withdrawing from NATO during his term. Trump has repeatedly criticized other governments for not contributing enough to NATO.

When asked what the greatest threats to U.K. national security were, Dearlove said the Russia-Ukraine war, Chinas possible threats to Western interests and Taiwan and the potential reelection of Trump in the U.S.

I think its important, but Im not a politician  you have to add a political threat, which Im worried about, which is Trumps reelection, which I think for the U.K.s national security is problematic, Dearlove said. Because if Trump, as it were, acts hastily and damages the Atlantic alliance, that is a big deal for the U.K.

We put all our eggs, in defense terms, in the NATO basket. If Trump really is serious about, as it were, changing the balance  I mean, the American nuclear umbrella for Europe is, in my view, essential to Europes security and defense, he added.

The U.K.s Secret Intelligence Service is commonly known as MI6, where Dearlove served for nearly 40 years. He was the chief of the agency from 1999 to 2004.

Other critics have expressed concerns that Trumps reelection could affect the status of NATO.

Former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton warned last year the U.S. would almost certainly withdraw from NATO in a second Trump term.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
This photo taken on Jan. 14, 2024 shows an interior view of Beijing Library in Beijing, capital of China.

Many citizens visited the recently opened library to spend their leisure time this weekend. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang)
Fox News political anchor Bret Baier and his wife, Amy, have sold  for $13.49 million  one of their two homes in Palm Beach, the deed of sale shows.

The Baiers had owned the three-bedroom house at 244 Fairview Road on the North End since June 2022, when they paid a recorded $12 million for it using trusts in their names. They bought it from a company linked to fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger.

It was the first house the Baiers owned in Palm Beach, property records indicated. They now own a larger North End residence, which they bought for a recorded $37 million last August on Wells Road.

The Baiers sold the Fairview Road house to the 244 Fairview Road Trust, for which attorney Lester E. Lipschutz of Cozen OConnor in Boca Raton serves as trustee, according to the deed recorded Jan. 19 at the Palm Beach County Courthouse.

Because of strict privacy rules governing trusts, no other information about the buyer was immediately available in public records.

One of the two Palm Beach homes of Palm Beach home of Fox News host Bret Baier and his wife, Amy, at 244 Fairview Road, has sold for a recorded $13.49 million after having been on the market for $15.9 million. The Baiers bought the house In 2022 for $12 million from an entity linked to fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger.

The house on Fairview Road has 4,970 square feet of living space, inside and out, with Bermuda-style architecture, records show. It stands on a lot of about a quarter-acre on a road bordering the south end of Palm Beach Country Club.

The house initially carried an asking price of $16.495 million when it entered the market last June, the multiple listing service shows. The price dropped to $15.9 million in October.

Bret Baier

FROM THE 2023 ARCHIVES: Fox's Bret Baier buys Palm Beach house on Wells Road for $37 million in private deal

Bret Baier hosts Fox News Special Report with Bret Baier and is the networks chief political anchor. Before that, he was Fox News chief White House correspondent and Pentagon correspondent. He co-hosted three town hall candidate forums in Des Moines in advance of the Jan 15. Iowa Republican presidential caucuses.

This month, Bret Baier drew a sold-out crowd at the Society of the Four Arts for a wide-ranging talk about the 2024 presidential race and world affairs.

Broker Christian Angle of Christian Angle Real Estate handled both sides of the sale on Fairview Road, which closed Jan. 12, the MLS shows. Angle also represented both sides in the 2022 private transaction when the Baiers bought the property through revocable trusts in their names.

The house was developed on speculation and completed in 2021, records show. The Hilfigers had bought it new.

The Baiers couldnt be reached for comment. Angle declined to discuss the transaction.

The two-story house has perfectly scaled rooms, high ceilings, and stunning hardwood and marble flooring, according to Angles sales listing. South facing French doors allow for natural, sun-filled interiors.

The formal living room has a fireplace, while the kitchen opens to the dining area and a family room crowned with beamed ceilings. Upstairs are the primary suite and what Angle's listing described as a loft/family/bonus room.

Outdoor amenities include a built-in grill and a covered loggia facing the pool.

A covered loggia with a terrace above it looks out to the pool area at 244 Fairview Road in Palm Beach. Fox News host Bret Baier and his wife, Amy, have sold the house for a recorded $13.49 million. It was last listed at $15.9 million. The couple paid $12 million for the house in 2022.

BRET BAIER SPEAKS IN PALM BEACH: Fox News' Bret Baier says Trump's divisiveness could be key to 2024 presidential race

Angle also represented the Baiers when they bought their house at 125 Wells Road last summer. With Palm Beach Regency-style architecture, its about a mile south of the one they just sold.

Records show the Wells Road house has five bedrooms and 7,798 square feet of living space, inside and out, or about 2,300 square feet more than the house the Baiers sold on Fairview Road.

Bret Baier bought the house on Wells Road as trustee of a trust, according to the deed recorded for the sale.

Fox News host Bret Baier in August 2023 used a trust to pay a recorded $37 million for this house at 125 Wells Road near the ocean in Palm Beach.

The seller on Wells Road was longtime resident Roberta Weiner, whose husband is Boston real estate developer Stephen R. Weiner. Among his business ventures, he founded S.R. Weiner & Associates and co-founded Weiner Venture and WS Development. The latter company is affiliated with the management of Royal Poinciana Plaza shopping center in Palm Beach. Agents Paulette Koch and Dana Koch of the Corcoran Group handled the sellers side on Wells Road.

In December, the Architectural Commission approved a project to add new security gates and replace the front door at the Wells Road house.

Hilfiger and his wife, handbag designer Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger, had used a limited liability company named Villa Deniz LLC to buy the house on Fairview Road for a recorded $9 million in March 2021. The Hilfigers own two other homes in Palm Beach.

dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com

*

This story was updated Jan. 19, the day the deed for the sale of 244 Fairview Road in Pam Beach was recorded.

*

Darrell Hofheinz is a USA TODAY Network of Florida journalist who writes about Palm Beach real estate in his weekly Beyond the Hedges column. He welcomes tips about real estate news on the island. Email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com, call 561-820-3831 or tweet @PBDN_Hofheinz.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Fox's Bret Bair sells 1 of his 2 Palm Beach homes for $13.5 million
Terminal 1 at Frankfurt Rhine-Main Airport is bustling with passengers. Passenger traffic at Frankfurt Airport remained well below the level seen before the coronavirus pandemic, despite significant growth last year. Helmut Fricke/dpa

Passenger traffic at Frankfurt Airport remained well below the level seen before the coronavirus pandemic, despite significant growth last year.

Airport operator Fraport counted around 59.4 million passengers transiting Frankfurt, Germany's largest and most important aviation hub.

That figure was an increase of more than 20% over the previous year, according to an announcement on Tuesday from the company.

However, the passenger total remains nearly 16% below the record-setting figures from 2019, the last full year before the pandemic struck.

Fraport chief executive Stefan Schulte had recently expected around 60 million passengers. Schulte said he also does not expect a return to pre-crisis levels in 2024, either.

In December, Fraport counted around 4.6 million passengers in Frankfurt, only 6% fewer than in December 2019.

However, Frankfurt-based Lufthansa, the airport's biggest carrier and Fraport's largest customer, is again planning for a smaller number of flights in 2024 than in 2019, partly due to bottlenecks in personnel and aircraft.

In the cargo business, Fraport recorded around 1.9 million tons of freight and airmail in Frankfurt last year, almost 4% less than in 2022.

Fraport blamed the decline on weak economic conditions, global geopolitical crises and restrictions on European airspace.

However, cargo traffic picked up again towards the end of the year, with cargo volumes rising in November and then jumping by 7.2% year-on-year to 171,118 tons in December.
FRESNO, Calif. (KGPE/KSEE)  Kia and Hyundai owners can receive a free steering wheel lock at specific policing stations in Fresno, according to the Fresno Police Department.

Organizers say there is a limited supply, and it is first come first served. The list will be updated once they run out at each policing station.

To receive a free steering wheel lock, here is the list of policing stations distributing the steering wheel locks:

Southeast  224 South Argyle Street.

Southwest  1211 Fresno Street.

Northwest  3080 West Shaw Avenue.

Northeast  1450 East Teague Avenue.

Central  2nd floor of Manchester Mall, 3502 North Blackstone Avenue, Suite 201.

The police department says people must bring proof of registration of a Kia or Hyundai.

The Fresno Police Department advises Kia and Hyundai owners to check the post before going to a district for updated locations. Stay updated on the policing stations with available steering wheel locks and follow their Facebook page to stay posted.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com.
Sharon Alony Cunio weeps as she poses for a portrait in the ruins of her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, from where she and her family were kidnapped by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023. Cunio and her 3-year-old twin daughters were released in November, but her husband David remains captive in Gaza. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

KIBBUTZ NIR OZ, Israel (AP)  Standing in the ruins of her home in the Nir Oz farming village on the Gaza border, Sharon Alony Cunio gazed at the distant skyline of Khan Younis, the Palestinian city where Hamas militants dragged her more than three months ago. Her husband, David, remains captive in Gaza.

Hes kilometers away but completely out of reach.

Cunio and her 3-year-old twins were released from Gaza on Nov. 27. They are physically healthy, safe. But she can't stop thinking about her husband's last words to her. He was skinny and frail, wounded in the leg, as the family embraced for a final time in captivity.

Fight for me. Don't give up," she said he told her. Please yell what I cannot yell. I'm scared as hell.

David Cunio is among scores of captives believed to be alive in Gaza after 120 hostages, including his wife and daughters, were freed during a weeklong cease-fire.

As days spin by, punctuated by reports that other hostages have died in Hamas captivity, those freed have increasingly spoken out about the conditions they endured in Gaza. With the plight of the remaining hostages gripping the nation's attention, those who survived hope to pressure the government into reaching another deal.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Sharon described the Hamas attack and her time in captivity, most of which she said was spent in a hospital  bolstering Israel's claims that Hamas has abused protected medical locations for military purposes.

Her girls, Emma and Julie, dont yet understand what happened to them after Hamas militants rampaged through southern Israel on Oct, 7, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 250. The Hamas attack prompted a blistering Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.

In captivity, she told the girls the near-constant sounds of bombardment were just thunderstorms and the militants who guarded their door were their protectors. Now, when it rains in Yavne, the central Israel city where the three are staying with Sharons parents, the girls ask, "Mommy, where are the booms?

____

On the morning Hamas militants attacked their home, the family cowered in their fortified safe room. David Cunio muscled the door shut against the intruders, his wife said, but they eventually flicked on the gas and lit the house ablaze.

As smoke poured in, David grabbed Julie and climbed out the window, leaving Sharon and her sister, Danielle, in the safe room with two children. Armed men stood outside.

I started to lose consciousness, Sharon recalled. At that point, Danielle shook me and said, 'Let's open the window and get out. It's much better if they shoot us. Then there will be no pain, no suffering, instead of watching us all choke to death in here.'

But militants didnt shoot them. Instead, they dragged them, with four other hostages, to Gaza on a tractor stolen from the kibbutz. In the melee, the family lost one of the twins  Emma was gone, and they feared it was for good.

Sharon, David and Julie spent 10 days in a Palestinian home, guarded by two Hamas militants. Their captors said they were in Khan Younis, Gaza's second largest city, Sharon said.

I had a mental breakdown, I had tics, I had panic attacks, she told AP.

On day nine of captivity, the house next door was bombed. As the explosion sent the walls around them crashing in, David and Sharon climbed on top of Julie, protecting her. Glass pierced Sharon's scalp.

Soon after, the captors moved the family. Sharon said militants covered her husband in a white sheet so he looked like a corpse and dressed her in traditional Arab clothes. They wrapped Julie in a cloth and pushed her into Sharon's arms. They packed the family into an ambulance and brought them to a hospital Sharon said she now recognizes from the news as Nasser, in Khan Younis.

Three days later, Sharon said, she heard crying outside their room. She instantly recognized the cries as Emma's.

This guy just handed me Emma, like shes a box or something. And I was shocked, she said.  I was certain she was dead. She was panicking and crying. I couldnt believe that they brought her back to us.

Reunited, the family spent the next few weeks in a room on the hospital's first floor. Stacked boxes separated the hostage section from the rest of the hospital floor, Sharon said. She described sleeping with the girls on a small bed, using a pillow stained with blood. At one point, she said, 12 hostages were packed in the tiny room.

The family soon found out they were being held near two additional rooms of captives, nearly 30 in total. Captors eventually let the hostages spend time in one another's rooms, Cunio said.

The Israeli military has come under international criticism for the forced evacuations and closures of more than half of Gaza's hospitals during its offensive, leaving the medical system near collapse. Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of storing weapons and hiding hostages in hospitals in an attempt to justify military operations at the facilities.

Cunio said some captives received medical treatment from hospital staff. When one of the captives in her room grew sick, she said, he was taken away, returning with an IV in his arm. Another young hostage underwent leg surgery, she said.

Food didn't come on a regular schedule, but most days captors brought them two meals. Sharon described plates of spicy rice topped with meat, and often-moldy pita bread with feta. Some days, no food came at all. Cunio said the adults often gave up their food to feed the twins. They split the bread into quarters, in case no food came the next day.

Cunio lost 11 kilos (24 pounds) in Gaza and said each member of her family suffered from vomiting and diarrhea at least once.

A lot of the times, the girls were just crying, saying Im hungry," she said. It was devastating.

When they needed to use the bathroom, they knocked on the door and waited for captors to open it. Sometimes they waited five minutes, other times hours, Sharon said, and the girls sometimes relieved themselves in the sink or trash can of the windowless, humid room. Every time they left, they had to cover themselves with a hijab.

For the last week of captivity, militants moved the hostages into an outer room, with a window. Cunio said she saw rows of displaced Palestinians camped around the hospital.

The captives were told not to make noise. At night, Sharon said, they cracked the window for fresh air. It grew cold, but the hostages had blankets. The girls had been taken captive in underwear and tank tops, and another hostage fashioned long pajama pants for them out of extra clothing.

Sharon said David, an electrician born and raised in Nir Oz, blamed himself  he was the reason the family lived so close to the Gaza border. Sharon cried all the time, she said, and David once beat himself until he bled inside the mouth. Other times, he managed a bit of levity.

I would tell him, Youre the best man I have ever known, Sharon said. "And he told me, Its about time you figured that out.

One day, Sharon said, David was pulled out of the room to speak with a Hamas officer. The man told him Israel had decided to bring back only women and children, Sharon recalled, and David would be taken somewhere with the other men.

We sat there for three hours, just hugging. Me, him, and the girls," Cunio said. "Im begging him not to go and begging to stay with him. The girls are crying. Why are you leaving? Why are they taking Daddy? Can they take other dads? Why do you have to take ours?

Three days later, Red Cross vehicles ferried Cunio and the girls back to Israel.

____

Now, Sharon said she won't be able to sleep through the night until her husband comes home.

Everything is full of blame," she said. Taking a shower, eating hot food, smoking a cigarette, playing with our girls, being outside when hes in the tunnels."

On Monday, Sharon toured Kibbutz Nir Oz  where militants killed some 20 people and took more than 80 hostage  for the second time since her release. She got excited as familiar faces appeared, with neighbors collecting belongings from ransacked houses. Everyone had a story  a son still held hostage, a spouse murdered.

Sharon's old cat, Elvis, sauntered up. He survived the onslaught, nuzzling into Cunio's leg as the two reunited.

Sharon said the family won't return to the kibbutz, whose idyllic flowering paths and orange groves now give way to homes pockmarked by bullet holes. On the horizon, she sees pillars of smoke rising from the place she believes her husband is held.

For now, Sharon sends the girls to preschool each day and hugs them at night, soothing them through their nightmares.

When she gets a moment to herself, she turns to an archive of her husband's voicemails. I love you, youre the best, he says in the one she can't help but play over and over.

I promised him I'd fight for him, Sharon said. I won't stop until he comes back.
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Chinese Premier Li Qiang attends a grand welcome ceremony held by President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd at the Lohn Estate prior to their talks in Bern, Switzerland, Jan. 15, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

China is willing to promote continuous development of bilateral relations with Switzerland to achieve more practical results in mutually beneficial cooperation, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said in Bern on Monday.

Li made the remarks during talks with President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd. Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, attended the talks.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 74 years ago, bilateral relations have made great progress and set many "firsts," Li said.

He recalled that back in 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping and then Swiss leader jointly announced the establishment of the China-Switzerland innovative strategic partnership, which has provided important guidance for the development of bilateral relations.

China is ready to work with Switzerland to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, further consolidate the foundation of political mutual trust and carry forward the cooperative spirit of "equality, innovation and mutual benefit," the premier said.

China stands ready to continue to push for closer high-level exchanges with Switzerland, better play the role of the dialogue and cooperation mechanism between the two governments, and accelerate the resumption of exchanges at various levels and in diverse fields, Li said.

Both sides should explore more converging interests, bolster cooperation in free trade, customs and other fields, and foster and strengthen new growth areas of cooperation in green development, finance and digital economy, thereby elevating and upgrading bilateral economic and trade cooperation, he noted.

Li also expressed the hope that the Swiss side will continue to provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises in Switzerland.

China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Switzerland in the fields of cultural relics, education, youth and sports, said Li.

Li called on the two sides to closely communicate and coordinate within multilateral mechanisms such as those within the United Nations, strengthen cooperation in the fields of connectivity infrastructure financing, international development assistance and climate change response, and jointly make positive contributions to the cause of world peace and development.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, accompanied by President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd, reviews the guard of honor during a grand welcome ceremony at the Lohn Estate prior to their talks in Bern, Switzerland, Jan. 15, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

For their part, Amherd and Parmelin said that Switzerland was one of the first countries to recognize the People's Republic of China, noting that the Switzerland-China relationship enjoys a long history and rich connotations, and their bilateral business and investment cooperation has been continuously strengthened despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Switzerland stands ready to continue promoting quality bilateral dialogue with China, deepen cooperation in such fields as economy, trade, education, finance, science and technology as well as people-to-people and cultural exchanges, jointly address global challenges including climate change, public health and cyber security, and promote greater development of the Switzerland-China innovative strategic partnership in the Year of the Dragon, they said.

During their talks, the two sides announced that China and Switzerland have completed the joint feasibility study on upgrading the China-Switzerland Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and agreed to support the early launch of formal FTA upgrade negotiations.

The two sides will hold a new round of China-Switzerland strategic dialogue of foreign minister level, working group meetings on finance and energy, education policy dialogue, as well as consultations on UN Security Council affairs within this year.

The two sides will also take the opportunity of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties next year to strengthen people-to-people exchanges.

China will grant unilateral visa-free treatment to Switzerland, and the Swiss side will provide more visa facilitation for Chinese citizens as well as Chinese enterprises investing in Switzerland.

The leaders of the two countries witnessed the signing of documents on bilateral economic and trade cooperation following the meeting.

Prior to the meeting, Amherd held a grand welcome ceremony for Li at the Lohn Estate. Li, accompanied by Amherd, reviewed the guard of honor.
(Bloomberg) -- An executive at Fujitsu Ltd., whose software contributed to improper convictions of UK Post Office sub-postmasters, said the company has a moral responsibility to help provide redress for those who suffered as a result.

Most Read from Bloomberg

I am personally appalled by the evidence we have seen, Paul Patterson, Europe director at Fujitsu Services Limited, told the House of Commons Business and Trade Committee on Tuesday. I think there is a moral obligation for the company to contribute.

Pattersons concession suggests that it wont just be the UK taxpayer who pays out compensation to hundreds of sub-postmasters who were wrongfully prosecuted for theft and false accounting by the government-owned Post Office between 1999 and 2015 after computer glitches led to shortfalls in their accounts.

Shares in Fujitsu, whose UK business makes up about 5% of its sales, fell as much as 1.8% in Tokyo Wednesday morning, adding to two straight days of stock price declines. Fujitsu earned 65% of its overall revenue in its home market as of end-September, with Europe accounting for less than 18%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Maximum negative impact on sales will be, at most, 3-4% in sales, even if we assume penalties, contract suspension and compensation, said Macquarie Capital analyst Hiroshi Yamashina in a note to investors. But uncertain negative financial impact could make investors risk-averse.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last week announced a law to quash the convictions and speed up compensation to some 980 UK Post Office workers as he sought to draw a line under the long-running saga. Redress was also offered to thousands more who were caught up in the scandal but werent prosecuted after using their own money to close the shortfalls and avoid charges.

Government minister Kevin Hollinrake later told the same panel on Tuesday that there is a significant chance the governments move to cancel convictions means some people who were actually guilty may get compensation.

Patterson was giving evidence alongside Post Office Chief Executive Officer Nick Read, who told the same hearing that total compensation may well be in the order of 1 billion ($1.3 billion).

Were all very keen to get to the bottom of this, said Read, who has held the role for four years. Ive been very clear since I joined the organization, that the Post Office simply cant move forward until such time as proper redress has been determined and more importantly has been paid out.

Patterson  appointed to his current role in 2019  said responsibility for the scandal lies in many places, including Fujitsu, and that the the company would take advice from an inquiry into the matter when deciding on its contribution to the redress. He said he had no current estimate for Fujitsus liability.

He added that his gut feeling was that people within Fujitsu knew about the problems with its Horizon software, conceding that it contained bugs which could have had an impact on the accounts logged by sub-postmasters. While Patterson could not give a date when Fujitsu staff first notified the Post Office of problems with Horizon, he said there were known bugs and errors in the system from a very early stage.

He added that when the Post Office was notified, how they chose to use that information in their prosecutions was entirely on their side.

While Patterson said Fujitsu was now an ethical company and was quite different to the company in the early 2000s, Read vowed that the Post Office would be getting off Horizon software it still uses a quarter of a century after its introduction.

Earlier on Tuesday MPs on the committee heard evidence from former sub-postmasters including Alan Bates, founder of the Justice for Sub-postmasters Alliance on whom a recent ITV dramatization of the Horizon affair was based, and Jo Hamilton, a former sub-postmistress caught up in the scandal.

Both spoke of their frustration that the redress process for victims of the Horizon scandal was taking so long. There obviously isnt enough of a resource being put in at that end, Bates said.

Hamilton spoke about how she had been forced to plow seemingly endless amounts of money into the Post Office that she ran, as she was accused of mis-accounting that was actually the fault of the Horizon software. I wasnt tech savvy at all back 20 years ago  they convinced me it was my fault, she said, adding that the Post Office had gaslit her.

When you take on a sub-Post Office, you actually invest a large amount of money in that business. And as happened in my case, when they fell out with me, they walked off with that amount of money, Hamilton said. I think a lot of people feel theres a financial gun held to their head if they start kicking off or start raising too many problems with the Post Office.

Neil Hudgell, Executive Chairman of Hudgell Solicitors who has represented some of the postmasters, earlier told the committee that spouses, children and parents of postmasters caught up in the scandal had themselves suffered stresses leading to behavioral disorders, miscarriages and shattered family lives.

Theres a whole raft and category of people that are not compensable and thats another strand of this scandal that needs to be looked at, he said. The scandal is in the thousands, but could be in the tens of thousands.

--With assistance from Thomas Seal, Jamie Nimmo, Julian Harris, Vlad Savov and Edwin Chan.

(Updates with stock reaction in Tokyo from fourth paragraph.)

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MORGAN COUNTY, W.Va. (DC News Now)  After months of negotiations, local communities are starting to see funding from a nationwide lawsuit against drug makers and retailers to help address the opioid crisis.

Morgan County, W.Va. is hoping to see success in fighting the drug epidemic. It will receive $1.5 million in an initial round of funding for treatment and prevention.

State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey was the lead negotiator in the legal settlement with major drug chains.

Husband kills wife, himself while 3-year-old girl inside Triangle home, police say

At Hope House, a nonprofit in Berkeley Springs, help cannot come soon enough.

Youre coming down off drugs, said Alison Johnson. Right there, thats hard. I mean, to watch folks, they go through so much pain.

Morgan County Commission President Sean Forney said allocating the funds will be a careful process to help law enforcement, treatment centers and recovery programs.

At Hope House, Patricia Essama is on the front lines.

They can bring them in here 24 hours a day, seven days a week, said Essama. And if we cant help them we find other avenues of assistance, whether its rehab, hospital, whatever they need.

Though localities will have broad discretion over the money, the state auditor is playing a watchdog role to assure funds are being put to the most effective use through a system of checks and balances and oversight.

The more funds available, the more programs that can be made available for those fighting substance abuse.

A top priority for localities is the distribution of Naloxone to reverse overdoses.

The statewide nonprofit, West Virginia First Foundation, will advise on the distribution of funds. The largest recipients of funds are the cities of Charleston, Huntington and Raleigh County in southern West Virginia.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with the League of Arab States Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit in Cairo, Egypt, Jan 14, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

China has signed two joint statements on the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, respectively with Egypt and the Arab League, as its fair and balanced stance has received wide recognition.

The core of the two joint statements includes urging an immediate and comprehensive cease-fire, calling for enabling humanitarian access and implementing the two-state solution.

The statements were issued on Sunday during Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to Egypt, where he held talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Ahmed Aboul Gheit, secretary-general of the League of Arab States, in separate meetings.

Observers said the release of the two joint statements is China's latest effort through various diplomatic channels to resolve the conflict, which has dragged on for over 100 days and killed more than 23,800 people and displaced 1.9 million civilians.

Liu Zhongmin, a professor of Middle East studies at Shanghai International Studies University, said China and Arab countries share common aspirations and similar positions on promoting the de-escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, protecting civilians and resolving the Palestinian issue in a just manner.

The joint statements, along with China's position paper on the conflict and a United Nations Security Council resolution under China's presidency focusing on humanitarian concerns and the protection of children, have clearly reflected the country's stance on the conflict, he said.

Although the joint statements could not lead directly to a ceasefire due to the complexity of the Palestinian-Israeli issue, they show China's ongoing efforts to seek consensus, he said.

"China has not given up diplomatic efforts to promote peace, although ending violence between the two sides faces challenges," he said.

The statements also expressed concern over the escalation of the situation in the Red Sea and called on relevant parties to cool down the situation to prevent further spillover effects.

Gong Xiaosheng, China's former special envoy on the Middle East issue, said in a recent interview with the Paper that the Middle East is not far away from China, and what happens in the Middle East will affect regional and international security, as well as China's interests.

But he stressed that China's interests in the region are different from those of some countries, such as the United States. China's interests are not to be realized at the expense of others, and it seeks to achieve common interests featuring peace, cooperation and common development, Gong said.

The new round of conflict has also brought the Palestinian issue back to the center of Middle East politics, while the two-state solution was highlighted in the two joint statements during the foreign minister's visit.

The joint statement between China and the Arab League also calls for convening a larger-scale, more authoritative and effective international peace conference, and formulating a specific timetable and road map for the implementation of the solution, in order to resume peace talks between Palestine and Israel.

China has been closely following the Palestinian issue and is a strong supporter of the two-state solution, which has been recognized by Palestine and the Arab countries, said Liu from Shanghai International Studies University.

The current conflict is the result of failing to implement the two-state solution, he said, adding that after the conflict, it requires all parties involved to change their attitudes as well as the ways of dealing with each other, to address the issue and seek peace through negotiation.
Several tractors park on the road in front of Banz Monastery. The Bavarian Farmers' Association holds a farmers' protest at the start of the CSU parliamentary group's winter conference. Daniel Vogl/dpa

The German government is looking at ways it can ease the financial burden on the agriculture sector, documents seen by dpa showed on Tuesday, as protesting farmers continued to drive tractors around Berlin.

About 330 tractors and other farm vehicles stood along the boulevard leading toward Berlin's iconic Brandenburg Gate, a day after mass demonstrations against proposals to cut agricultural diesel fuel subsidies.

The proposal to cut fuel subsidies came amid efforts by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government to close a major budget gap. The government initially softened the proposal, offering to gradually phase out the subsidy over three years, but agricultural leaders demanded further concessions.

Now the coalition plans to present concrete proposals to aid farmers before the end of March, with corresponding measures to be decided by the middle of the year.

According to information from coalition sources, Scholz's Social Democrats, the Greens and pro-business FDP agreed on a motion to introduce to parliament.

The motion says the government will initiate a "modernization process" towards an ecologically and economically sustainable agriculture sector that produces good food, contributes to protecting the climate and offers farms economic security.

Some elements of the motion seen by dpa are to be clarified "within the framework of the available budgetary resources," including how reliable funding for animal welfare-orientated livestock farming can be ensured and how bureaucracy can be reduced.

The centre-right CDU/CSU opposition bloc, which has largely backed the farmers in their protest against the government, called for wide-ranging financial and regulatory relief for the sector.

The CDU/CSU has proposed creating a new animal welfare fee on products in supermarkets to offset the cost of implementing new welfare and environmental regulations in farming.

"There finally needs to be an awareness that every regulation, every rule and every requirement is associated with harsh consequences for the daily work of our farmers," the CDU's Steffen Bilger told dpa.

Farmers take part in a protest organized by the Bavarian Farmers' Association at the start of the winter session of the CSU parliamentary group. Daniel Vogl/dpa

Numerous snow-covered tractors stand on the street 17 in front of the Brandenburg Gate. Farmers, haulage companies and tradespeople protest against planned cuts in subsidies by the German government, including for agricultural diesel. Kay Nietfeld/dpa
Bernd Baumann, Parliamentary Secretary of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) parliamentary group, sits at the beginning of the plenary session in the German Bundestag. According to its Parliamentary Secretary, Bernd Baumann, the AfD parliamentary group wants to talk internally about a meeting of radical right-wingers in Potsdam that has come to light. Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa

Lawmakers from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party have sought to downplay revelations that AfD leaders met secretly with radical extremists.

AfD lawmakers in parliament plan to discuss the revelations internally in the coming days, parliamentary group secretary Bernd Baumann told dpa on Tuesday ahead of a scheduled meeting of the group in Berlin.

The news outlet Correctiv revealed that several top AfD officials met with far-right figures in Potsdam, including Martin Sellner, the long-standing Austrian leader of the far-right extremist Identitarian movement.

Attendees at the Potsdam meeting allegedly discussed potential plans for widespread deportations of immigrants from Germany, among other things.

The report has prompted outrage in Germany and mass protests against the AfD in several cities over the past week.

The revelations are now scheduled to be debated in German parliament on Thursday following demands for answers from the AfD by centre-left lawmakers.

Rolf Mutzenich, a Social Democrat (SPD), called it "very important" to get answers about what role AfD politicians played in the meeting.

Baumann, however, claimed that the public reaction to the meeting was exaggerated.

"This was not a secret meeting," Baumann said, but a "private appointment."

"Who is Mr Sellner?" he asked.

Sellner has told dpa that he spoke about "remigration" at the meeting, a term that is widely used in far-right circles as a euphemism for the forced expulsion of immigrants and minorities.

Among the attendees at the Potsdam meeting was Roland Hartwig, a prominent advisor and close confidant to AfD chairwoman Alice Weidel. According to a party spokesman, Hartwig's contract has now been terminated.

Members of the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) also reportedly attended the Potsdam meeting.

Reports of the Potsdam meeting with extremists like Sellner are expected to further fuel debate on whether to seek a ban of the AfD as a threat to the country's democratic order.

Under German law, parliament can ask the country's Constitutional Court to consider outlawing a political party.
Sahra Wagenknecht (C), party leader of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance - for Reason and Justice (BSW), speaks to journalists next gto Alexander Ulrich (L) and Andreas Hartenfels during a press conference to present the content and personnel of the alliance in Rhineland-Palatinate. Lando Hass/dpa

The new breakaway party in German politics, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), says it wants to dismantle the European Union and abolish the current climate protection policy if successful in European elections.

Among the party's plans is the abolition of CO2 certificates trading.

"This certificate trade is completely unsuitable for achieving climate policy goals," states the new party's draft European election programme. It also calls for the indefinite use of combustion engines and a return to imports of oil and gas from Russia.

The draft was made available to dpa in advance. The newspaper Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung had initially reported on it.

The BSW was founded last week and intends to run for the first time in the European elections on June 9. The draft programme is to be discussed at a party conference on January 27.

The paper fundamentally criticizes the EU in its current form and calls for it to be dismantled.

"The EU in its current form is detrimental to the European idea," it says.

"What can be regulated better and more democratically at a local, regional or national level must not be left to the regulatory frenzy of the EU technocracy," it adds.

If necessary, Germany should not adhere to EU rules, the draft says. The BSW advocates "the non-implementation of EU regulations at national level if they run counter to economic reason, social justice, peace, democracy and freedom of expression."

This would be a radical departure from the principle that EU rules are binding for all 27 member states. They are currently negotiated by the governments together with the EU Parliament.

The draft BSW programme also states that the EU budget should not be allowed to grow any further and that the EU should not receive any revenue of its own. In addition, no new members should join for the time being, not even Ukraine. The party says that "a moratorium on EU enlargement" is needed.

The draft also campaigns for more independence from the US.

"Europe must become an independent player on the world stage instead of being a pawn in the conflict between the major powers and a vassal of the US," the draft says.

Europe should also "no longer be a digital colony of the United States," but needs an independent digital infrastructure.

It goes on to say: "The war in Ukraine is a bloody proxy war between NATO and Russia." The war may have been "started militarily by Russia, but it could have been prevented by the West and ended long ago," the document says.

Thge BSW advocates a ceasefire and peace negotiations. "In order to motivate Russia to enter into negotiations, an immediate stop to all arms exports to Ukraine should be offered in this case," the paper states.

In terms of migration policy, the draft reiterates Wagenknecht's well-known position: the need for asylum procedures at the EU's external borders or in third countries, and combating the causes of flight.

Wagenknecht also criticizes what she sees as a network of control operated by the media and governments working together.

"In the attitude of a modern Ministry of Truth, many politicians and journalists or the so-called fact-checkers today claim to determine what is right and what is wrong," she said.

Part of this is the EU's Digital Services Act, which she says must be withdrawn. The European Commission set up the Act to create a safer digital space where the fundamental rights of users are protected.

Sahra Wagenknecht (C), party leader of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance - for Reason and Justice (BSW), speaks to journalists next gto Alexander Ulrich (L) and Andreas Hartenfels during a press conference to present the content and personnel of the alliance in Rhineland-Palatinate. Lando Hass/dpa

Sahra Wagenknecht, party leader of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance - for Reason and Justice (BSW), speaks to journalists during a press conference to present the content and personnel of the alliance in Rhineland-Palatinate. Lando Hass/dpa
Sahra Wagenknecht, party leader of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance - for Reason and Justice (BSW), speaks to journalists during a press conference to present the content and personnel of the alliance in Rhineland-Palatinate. Lando Hass/dpa

The new breakaway party in German politics, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), says it wants to dismantle the European Union and abolish the current climate protection policy if successful in European elections.

Among the party's plans is the abolition of CO2 certificates trading.

"This certificate trade is completely unsuitable for achieving climate policy goals," states the new party's draft European election programme. It also calls for the indefinite use of combustion engines and a return to imports of oil and gas from Russia.

The draft was made available to dpa in advance. The newspaper Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung had initially reported on it.

The BSW was founded last week and intends to run for the first time in the European elections on June 9. The draft programme is to be discussed at a party conference on January 27.

The paper fundamentally criticizes the EU in its current form and calls for it to be dismantled.

"The EU in its current form is detrimental to the European idea," it says.

"What can be regulated better and more democratically at a local, regional or national level must not be left to the regulatory frenzy of the EU technocracy," it adds.

If necessary, Germany should not adhere to EU rules, the draft says. The BSW advocates "the non-implementation of EU regulations at national level if they run counter to economic reason, social justice, peace, democracy and freedom of expression."

This would be a radical departure from the principle that EU rules are binding for all 27 member states. They are currently negotiated by the governments together with the EU Parliament.
OTTAWA COUNTY  Is the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners already souring on its new administrator?

In an email to Board Chair Joe Moss on Monday, Jan. 15, an attorney representing John Gibbs warned, should the board's meeting Tuesday, Jan. 16, "involve any discussion of changing Mr. Gibbs' employment status with Ottawa County, know that it's our intention to ensure the provisions of my client's employment contract are followed in strict order," Aaron Davis, of Butzel Long, wrote to Moss.

The email was given to The Sentinel by a source close to, but not authorized to speak on, the matter.

In an email to Board Chair Joe Moss on Monday, Jan. 15, an attorney representing John Gibbs (pictured) warned there would be consequences to firing him.

The letter came ahead of a planned closed session Tuesday "to consult with corporate counsel regarding trial or settlement strategy in connection with Kimball v. County of Ottawa."

On Oct. 24, Ryan Kimball  a finalist for an executive aide position to Gibbs  sued in Ottawa County's 20th Circuit Court, alleging age discrimination by Gibbs when the administrator hired a younger candidate, 23-year-old Jordan Epperson, with fewer qualifications than the county required in its job posting.

More: A year after the Ottawa Impact controversy, here's what the commissioners accomplished

More: Could new HR policies from OI mean lower hiring standards? These emails say yes

During a termination hearing for Health Officer Adeline Hambley  who also is suing the board  commissioners heard testimony from former deputy administrator Patrick Waterman, as well as current human resources director Marcie VerBeek, in which they described concerning behavior when Epperson was interviewed.

"To my recollection, Mr. Epperson raised support for Ottawa Impact in his interviews," Waterman testified during the proceeding.

Ottawa Impact, founded by Moss in 2021, is a far-right fundamentalist group formed in response to school mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. OI now holds a seven-seat majority on the 11-member board.

The Sentinel reported in early September that heavily redacted emails from VerBeek to Gibbs and Waterman indicated differences of opinion as to who should've been offered the job.

In the emails, Gibbs told VerBeek on June 15 to make an offer to Epperson.

The next day, VerBeek asked for an additional meeting with the hiring committee "to discuss options prior to moving forward with the hiring process." Her statements were almost entirely redacted by corporation counsel. Only two sentences were released of the two-page email, along with a chart showing Epperson's qualifications as they compared to the other finalist: Kimball.

Of the five mandatory criteria the county sought, Epperson has one  a bachelor's degree.

More: Lawsuit: Gibbs committed age discrimination in hiring executive aide

More: Heavily redacted emails suggest Ottawa aide's hire was contested

Kimball holds a master's degree, has experience in strategic management, made the Dean's List for both his bachelor's and master's programs, has experience working at the international nonprofit level, has served at least two years on a major board and has experience in management and finance.

When asked if Gibbs mentioned Epperson's age and "bossing him around"  a fact Kimball alleges in his lawsuit  Waterman testified the comment "was made in the first interview when we asked (Gibbs) what it was about Mr. Epperson that he liked. We all said age shouldn't make a difference."

After the board emerged from the approximately 45-minute closed session Tuesday, there was no mention of Gibbs. Moss made a motion to enter mediation with Kimball's attorney, then moved to create a subcommittee of commissioners to "advise" the mediation negotiations.

Moss designated himself chair of the subcommittee and appointed OI-backed commissioners Sylvia Rhodea, co-founder of Ottawa Impact, and Gretchen Cosby to the group.

Moss is notably making himself chair of this committee, along with OI Commissioners Rhodea and Cosby. (*Zylstra is on the Hambley committee as the only non-OI member, which Moss and corporation counsel have touted as "bipartisan.")  Sarah Leach  (@SentinelLeach) January 16, 2024

An attorney representing Kimball told The Sentinel late last month that settlement discussions had been initiated, but did not disclose details. He said he was unaware the board was considering mediation.

"We were unaware this was on the agenda, but look forward to the possibility of mediation which may be able to resolve Mr. Kimballs claims without the time and cost of drawn-out litigation," said Kimball's attorney, Rob Howard, of Cunningham Dalman.

Davis said the board does not have cause to fire Gibbs.

This embedded content is not available in your region.

"As you know, and your lawyers should know, there is no basis to terminate my client for cause," he wrote to Moss. "Should the board, or its lawyers, attempt to get creative in that vein, be advised that the full extent of legal options available to Mr. Gibbs will be used to ensure the board ceases to violate Mr. Gibbs' constitutional, statutory, and contractual rights any further than it already has to date."

Gibbs, who was hired on Jan. 3, 2023, has a clause in his contract that says he "may be terminated at any time ... for cause (defined as intentional fraud, dishonesty, gross misconduct, or willful malfeasance) in connection with his performance."

This embedded content is not available in your region.

However, the board may also fire him without cause if they provide a 90-day written notice.

If the board were to fire Gibbs, he would receive a lump sum severance payment of nine months' pay, as well as nine months of health insurance. If he were to be terminated for cause, he would receive no severance, according to the contract.

Davis said his firm is conducting its own investigation and that he plans to send a follow-up letter to the board by Jan. 24, which "will fully reveal the conclusion of our investigation in the facts and the board's (and perhaps others') violations of law against Mr. Gibbs."

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"If it is indeed the board's intention to relieve Mr. Gibbs of his position as county administrator, we will submit a settlement offer in our follow-up letter to lay out my client's terms as it relates to a financial resolution to include a release from liability.

"To be clear, there is no scenario where the board's adverse conduct against Mr. Gibbs is not put under a microscope by a court of competent jurisdiction if it does not regain its senses and begin treating Mr. Gibbs with dignity," Davis wrote to Moss.

Davis was out of office Tuesday, according to a staff member at his firm; he did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Gibbs' contract runs through Jan. 3, 2026.

 Sarah Leach is executive editor for The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @SentinelLeach.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Gibbs warns of consequences, should OI attempt to fire him
Rex Heuermann, the suspected Long Island serial killer, has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, prosecutors in New York said on Tuesday.

Brainard-Barnes  a woman who worked as a sex escort  disappeared in 2007 and is believed to be the first victim of the Gilgo Four. Heuermann was charged in connection with the unsolved murders of Megan Waterman, Amber Costello and Melissa Barthelemy, all of whom were sex workers in their 20s.

Heuermann, a 60-year-old married father and architect on Long Island, was arrested in July 2023 and charged with first-degree murder for the deaths of Waterman, Costello and Barthelemy. His lawyer, Michael Brown, said Heuermann pleaded not guilty on Tuesday morning to Brainard-Barness death and maintains his innocence for all charges against him. He is being held without bail. His next court date has been set for Feb. 6.

This indictment marks a change in the investigation, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said Tuesday during a press conference announcing the charges. The grand jury investigation of the so-called Gilgo Four is over and has been concluded, and we will proceed with those cases in court.

Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello (Suffolk County Police Department/Reuters)

All of the bodies of the women were found over a decade ago, bound in a deserted spot on the north side of Long Islands Ocean Parkway, near Gilgo Beach.

Heres a look back at the details of the case.

Maureen Brainard-Barnes

Brainard-Barnes, a 25-year-old Connecticut mother, disappeared on the night of July 9, 2007, while working as an escort. According to Suffolk County police, Brainard-Barnes told a friend she was meeting up with someone outside the motel she was working from for an out-call, or a visit by an escort to a person soliciting sex.

Investigators say a friend reported her missing five days later to the Norwich Police Department in Connecticut. She was found on Dec. 13, 2010, wrapped in a belt that bore the initials of Heuermanns father.

There was hair recovered from Maureen Brainard-Barnes from a belt buckle that was around her legs, Tierney said, describing Maureen as an intellectual and artistic person who fiercely protected the people she loved.

According to ABC, prosecutors cited travel and cellphone records they found in a storage unit leased by Heuermann that revealed that his now-estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, and children had traveled out of town around the time of Brainard-Barness disappearance. This follows a pattern of the circumstances around the disappearance of the three other women.

Rex Heuermann appears in Suffolk County Court in New York on Jan. 16. (James Carbone-Pool/Getty Images)

Megan Waterman

Megan Waterman was 22 years old and the mother to a 3-year-old girl when she was last seen on June 6, 2010, by her family on the way to New York on a Concord Trailways bus.

Waterman, a resident of Scarborough, Maine, was a sex worker who advertised on Craigslist and Backpage. Suffolk County police say Waterman left a Long Island Holiday Inn Express at 1:30 a.m. on the day she went missing to see a client and called her pimp to tell him she was on her way to a nearby convenience store.

Two days later, family members reported Waterman missing to the Scarborough Police Department. Her skeletal remains were found on Dec. 11, 2010, near marshy grasslands on Gilgo Beach.

Amber Costello

Costello, a 27-year-old Clearwater, Fla., native, was living in West Babylon on Long Island and working as an escort when she was last seen leaving the house she shared with roommates on Sept. 2, 2010, to meet up with a client. According to Suffolk County police, she had just completed drug rehab for heroin addiction but had relapsed right before her disappearance.

Costello was found three months later, on Dec. 13, 2010, the same day as Brainard-Barness remains were found. Police believe she is the fourth victim.

Melissa Barthelemy

The 24-year-old woman  a sex worker who advertised on the website Adult Friend Finder  was last seen at her Bronx home on July 12, 2009. According to police, Barthelemy told a friend she was meeting up with a man and would be back in the morning. Cellphone records reveal she traveled from the Bronx to Manhattan. Her mother reported her missing to the New York Police Department on July 18, 2009, after not being able to contact her.

Suffolk County police say that after Barthelemy had been reported missing, her sister received phone calls from someone believed to be the killer using Barthelemys phone near New York Citys Port Authority Bus Terminal and near Penn Station.

Do you think youll ever see her again? the unidentified male caller asked Barthelemys sister on Aug. 26, 2009, Steve Cohen, who was an attorney for Barthelemys mother, told CNN. You wont. I killed her, thee caller said before hanging up.

In another phone call, the man called Barthelemy a whore, Cohen said. He also detailed what he had done to Barthelemy sexually during a phone conversation.

On Dec. 11, 2010, a police officer and his dog discovered Barthelemy's remains during a training exercise along Ocean Parkway, according to the Associated Press. It was the same day that Watermans remains were found.
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. -- New charges were filed Tuesday against accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann.

It comes six months after his arrest.

He was indicted Tuesday in the death of his fourth alleged victim, 25-year-old Maureen Brainard-Barnes of Connecticut.

For the first time, her grieving family spoke publicly.

Suffolk County district attorney Ray Tierney inside Judge Timothy P. Mazzei's courtroom at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, where alleged Gilgo Killer Rex Heurmann was indicted in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes. / Credit: James Carbone

"I was only 7 years old when my mother was murdered. Her loss drastically changed the trajectory of my life," daughter Nicolette Brainard-Barnes said. "While the loss of my mom has been extremely painful for me, the indictment by the grand jury has brought hope for justice for my mom and my family."

Nicolette's family had prayed for a resolution.

Investigators said they linked Brainard-Barnes' murder to Heuermann via DNA from a female hair found in the buckle of a belt used to bind her ankles, feet and legs - eight trillion to one that it matched Heuermann's wife Asa Ellerup or daughter Victoria, who was tailed on an LIRR train and threw out an energy drink, according to court documents.

Read the superseding bail application in the Gilgo Beach murders case

Prosecutors made it clear they believed all hair transfer were made from Heuermann to his alleged victims. The family was out of town for the murders of the Gilgo Beach Four.

"Asa Ellerup and her children were not involved, not even in the jurisdiction, when these murders took place," Ellerup's attorney Robert Madedonio siad.

The accused serial killer, his hands shackled behind his hulking back, showed no emotion at all. He was wearing a tie and gray suit, and barely made eye contact with anyone during the court proceeding.

"You're talking about a gentleman who has never been arrested before. He's a productive member of society. He's going to work every day. He's supporting his family, and he's incarcerated. And he's claiming he didn't do this. But he is looking forward to having his day in a courtroom," Heuermann's attorney Michael Brown said.

"Your reaction to the hairs linked to his daughter and wife?" CBS New York's Jennifer McLogan asked.

"Miraculously, nuclear DNA testing and results have come forward," Brown said.

DA Ray Tierney says it's not a time for sarcasm, and it was worth the wait, and that nuclear DNA will help bring justice to the four murder victims.

"Science has caught up. I would, a good break for justice. A good break for the investigation," Tierney said. "Nuclear DNA, as illustrated, is much more discriminant."

New court documents also reveal how the accused killer used burner phones to reach out to sex workers as recently as last year. They said the hundreds of electronic devices seized from his Massapequa Park home included Google searches for the Gilgo victims, and software that would wipe or erase data.

Prosecutors say the seized electronic devices revealed other disturbing Google searches, as well.

"To see all of the types of searches that he did on the internet ... It is rare indeed to find that kind of detail," CBS News legal analyst Rikki Klieman said.

It was a day to honor the victims, Tierney said.

"She was an intellectual. She was a writer. She was an artistic person. She cared very deeply about the people that she loved," Tierney said. "It's been an honor and a privilege to work these cases, and to provide that small measure of closure."

"It has been 16 years since I last saw my sister, 16 years since I heard her voice, because 16 years ago, she was silenced," Brainard-Barnes' sister Melissa Cann said. "Maureen was a mother of two amazing children, and they will forever be without their mother. Maureen was my older sister, who was always there for me when I needed her."

Related: Long Island serial killings: A timeline of the investigation



When Heuermann was arrested in July and charged as the elusive Gilgo Beach serial killer, prosecutors said his DNA from discarded pizza and burner phone evidence tied him to three murdered women -- Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello -- whose bodies were found along Gilgo Beach in 2010.

The petite 25-year-old from Norwich, Connecticut, was a mother of two. She was working as a Craigslist escort in Manhattan when she disappeared in July 2007. Her remains were found three years later near three other women's bodies, dumped along desolate Ocean Parkway on Long Island.

Police dubbed them the "Gilgo Four." They were all sex workers, wrapped in burlap. Now prosecutors say they were all murdered, at different times, by Heuermann.

The DA said the grand jury will continue to try to solve the remaining murders at Gilgo Beach.

The next court date in the case is Feb. 6.

Watch: Legal expert on the case

New York criminal defense lawyer and former prosecutor David Schwartz spoke with CBS New York ahead of Tuesday's court appearance to put the developments into perspective. He called it a "scientific case."

"Heuermann was indicted and remanded for the first three murders. They made the strategic decision to make the arrest at that moment in time, because they were already surveilling him for about a year. They just didn't want anything to go wrong," he explained. "So they made that arrest, and in the meantime, they were investigating the fourth murder. They were waiting for the mitochondrial DNA analysis on the fourth murder."

Schwartz went on to add "DNA is not a layup."

"They didn't use nuclear DNA, which specifically points to a particular person. They used mitochondrial DNA, because of -- 13 years later, all this time went by, which excludes 99.6% of the population," he said. "So it's scientific evidence, plus circumstantial evidence -- they have his truck, they have phone records, they have all types of other evidence that they're going to piece this case together. So I expect this case to be a complicated case, and I expect it to last a good amount of time."

"He's been incredibly lucky or skilled at hiding his identity," forensic expert Dr. N.G. Berrill told CBS New York.

Berrill says the investigation into Heuermann will continue, including into the six still-unsolved murders along Gilgo Beach.

"You have to imagine that they're searching high and low and going back over cold cases ... Time will tell if they can make the link," he said.

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GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX)  The Grand Junction Police Department is currently asking for help locating a person who went missing Jan. 9.

23-year-old James Moen, known to some as Jem or Tristin Ragan, is 54, 250 pounds and he drives a 2003 black Nissan Altima with no bumper and Colorado plates CCZ-C40. His last location is presumed to be in the Glade Park area of the Colorado National Monument.

If you see James or have any information that may lead to his whereabouts, call GJPD at 970-242-6707.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WesternSlopeNow.com.
 Flash

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, holds talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (2nd R) in Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 14, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

China and Egypt on Sunday called for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in a joint statement.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, held talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Sunday. The two sides exchanged views on the Palestinian issue and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, including the Gaza crisis.

In the joint statement on the Palestinian issue, the two sides called for an end to all acts of violence, killing, and attacking civilians and civilian facilities. Both sides rejected and condemned all violations of international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

The two sides expressed deep concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the ongoing suffering of its residents, stressing the need for adequate, rapid, safe and sustainable humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip with unhindered access.

Both countries called on the international community and donors to provide the Palestinian Authority with all forms of support to help it fully honor its entrusted duties in all the occupied Palestinian territories.

Closely following the situation in the Red Sea, China and Egypt expressed concern over the expansion of the conflict in the region, and stressed that the international community and regional countries should work together to immediately put an end to the aggression against the Gaza Strip.

The international community should shoulder its responsibility and begin to implement the vision of the two-state solution in accordance with the UN resolutions, to create political prospects for the realization of peace between Palestine and Israel and the peaceful coexistence of the two peoples, said the statement.

China and Egypt appreciated each other's efforts to cool down the situation in the region, ease the impact of the current humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, work for an end to the conflict in Gaza and support the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

They agreed to maintain communication and coordination on achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian issue in accordance with relevant international norms.
Semafor Signals

Insights from Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, El Pais, and Politico

The News

Former President Donald Trump won decisively in Monday evenings Iowa Republican caucuses, with more than 50% of the caucus votes. Ron DeSantis was around 30 points behind, with a narrow lead over Nikki Haley in third place. Business entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out of the race.

U.S. media outlets concluded that Trumps blowout victory pointed to an inevitable Biden-Trump rematch, while Chinese state media opined that for all its drama, the result of the 2024 presidential elections was unlikely to positively impact U.S.-China relations.

SIGNALS

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

The consensus from US media: Trump is the inevitable nominee

Sources: Politico, Financial Times, New York Times, The Washington Post

Iowa did nothing to suggest something other than the prewritten script, The Washington Posts Dan Balz wrote, noting that everything is pointing to a 2020 rematch this fall. A former Mitt Romney campaign aide told The Financial Times that GOP voters see Trump as the inevitable nominee, and theyre already falling in line. Politico wrote that given Trumps romp in Iowa on Monday, he could all but end the primary next week in New Hampshire. The New York Times noted that though a tight race for second gives DeSantis and Haley rationale to continue, their campaigns are likely to help Mr. Trump. Haleys possible victory in New Hampshire would give her momentum but wont guarantee anything for her as the primary heads back to states with more conservative, Trump-friendly ground, according to Politico.

China enjoys US election drama and Israel focuses on Trumps Gaza war comments

Sources: Global Times, El Pais, Times of Israel

Chinese state-owned tabloid The Global Times said Trumps victory in Iowa reinforced the U.S. populism tendency. Experts told the outlet that while the Chinese public has fun witnessing the drama of the U.S. election, the country should not be under any illusion that one particular candidate wins may lead to any significant positive adjustments in the US China policy. The Times of Israel highlighted Trumps claim that he would resolve the Israel-Hamas war very fast, noting that his Iowa victory turned his ongoing criminal and civil prosecutions into a rallying cry that has galvanized his followers. El Pais described Trumps win as a show of force and that the former president cleared any doubts about his leadership among the Republican Party rank and file.

Europe fears isolation and global insecurity with Trumps rise

Sources: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Politico

The Belgian prime minister warned that a Trump White House could mean Europe will be on its own more than ever, while Germanys industry association said that a Trump win could mean that the U.S. will isolate economically and that Europe must prepare for a world in which we Europeans are more on our own. Foreign diplomats are increasingly alarmed that Americas deepening partisan divide will adversely affect its ability to mediate global security, with one European diplomat telling Politico, If all foreign policy issues become domestic political theater, it becomes increasingly challenging for America to effectively play its global role on issues that need long-term commitment and U.S. political capital.
Joe Biden (left) is running for re-election to a second term, while Donald Trump may still be suspended from running

The US election campaign, the complicated relations between Argentina and Brazil, and an unpopular government in Canada will keep diplomats working 24/7.

While the main intrigue in American politics until mid-2023 was whether Donald Trump would be imprisoned before Election Day, the most important question now is whether the Democratic Party will split into those who support Joe Biden's re-election bid and those who will demand that the US president give way to a new candidate.

An interesting paradox: serious difficulties with unity within the Democratic camp have opened a window of opportunity for Trump's opponents in the Republican Party.

For if the "donkeys" (and this animal is the symbol of the Democratic Party) nominate a successful governor (California's Gavin Newsom or charismatic Gretchen Whitmore from Michigan) instead of the unpopular "Grandpa Joe" or, gritting their teeth, agree to support a moderate senator (Joe Manchin from West Virginia), the "elephants"' bet on the toxic Trump becomes very risky. Nevertheless, donors and the GOP establishment (the grand old party's nickname for the Republicans) may focus on capturing a majority in both houses of Congress.

A scenario where the US election results in a Democratic president and a Republican-controlled Congress has several risks and opportunities for Ukraine.

Ukraine can benefit from such a competition

On the one hand, Trump's defeat will lead to increased moderation in domestic and consistency in US foreign policy: Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel will have stable support. On the other hand, Kyiv will need to redouble its efforts to maintain bipartisan support and prove that the Ukrainian government has broken with the corrupt practices of the past.

Meanwhile, an epic struggle between two polarized conceptions of a "welfare state" could occur in the southern part of the Western Hemisphere. On the one hand, Brazilian President Lula da Silva, a center-leftist, is trying to rebuild capitalism with a human face and restore the country's prestige after four chaotic years of Jair Bolsonaro's rule. On the other hand, the newly elected president of Argentina, self-proclaimed libertarian Javier Milei, will try to carry out a "revolution from above" and dismantle the corrupt and inefficient welfare state.

The two leaders can't stand each other, but they have no right to ignore the close economic ties between the Brazilian and Argentine economies. Lula sincerely believes in the usefulness of state protectionism and promoting national exports, even if it means deepening relations with China or Russia. On the other hand, Milei wants to break with autocrats like Xi Jinping and create business conditions that would attract major Western corporations or promising unicorns to the country, which would help pull it out of the debt hole.

Ukraine can benefit from such a competition if each country cooperates with us on issues that are a priority for them. In particular, Brazil, as a member of the G20 and BRICS, may be close to the ideal of an "honest broker" in preparing a fair peace agreement. Despite its dependence on Russian fertilizer and diesel fuel supplies, Brazil's leadership remains committed to the constitutional principle of respect for human rights in foreign policy. The release of all prisoners, the return of abducted children, the de-occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and the cessation of shelling of Ukrainian Black Sea ports - these Ukrainian demands are understood in Brazil, and it will be very difficult for the Russians to ignore this request without consequences. Meanwhile, Argentina could become a Latin American hub for the production of military products needed by Ukraine, including ammunition and drones based on Israeli technology. This perfectly combines Miley's intention to develop national production and political partnerships with Western democracies.

A few words about Canada: unlike the United States, economic and military assistance to Ukraine has not become a subject of inter-party and election games here. The Canadian government has no politically motivated restrictions on the supply of equipment or ammunition. However, the country could be doing better with economic growth. Amid the threat of a recession two years before the general election, voices favoring focusing resources on domestic needs are growing. The pressure from the right-wing opposition will not allow Prime Minister Trudeau to reduce his support for Ukraine in 2024, as he risks being seen as a Trump follower and losing the support of millions of voters. However, in this situation, Kyiv should also work with Ottawa to agree on priorities for support in 2024 to avoid creating unnecessary problems for a valuable ally.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
This year, Google will continue to support the cybersecurity of the Ukrainian government and will extend efforts to strengthen online security in Ukraine. In particular, it will provide the government of Ukraine with 5,000 security keys.

Source: a report by the company's press service

Quote: "The digital world has great potential for transformation but also carries significant risks. Vulnerable infrastructure and outdated authentication methods leave data susceptible to cyberattacks. This vulnerability threatens not only critical operations but also public trust and user safety," the release said.

Thus, Google continues to support Ukraine's digital transformation through various initiatives. One of the key initiatives is the provision of 5,000 security keys to civil servants.

The company explained that these devices replace traditional passwords with physical verification, which significantly enhances account security. This step will help protect critical operations and strengthen the trust and security of citizens.

In addition to providing security keys, Google also plans to introduce education and training programmes to help Ukrainian government officials understand how to use the full potential of these devices.

Google and the Ukrainian government will also collaborate within joint cybersecurity workshops to share best practices and develop new strategies to protect data.

Google also hosted a high-level roundtable discussion at Google House in Davos to support Ukraine's digital transformation momentum.

Reminder: Google is looking for a new leader for the Ukrainian office after Dmytro Sholomko left Google Ukraine after 17 years in the position.

Support UP or become our patron!
Shasta County sheriffs Lt. Jerry Fernandez made the call around 9 p.m. on July 8, 2022, reporting on his way back to Redding from Napa County that his mission had been a success.

We got him, Fernandez reported. Were on our way back.

Probably be home around midnight.

The lieutenants quarry had been apprehended without incident and soon would be delivered for safekeeping to the home of Bruce John BJ Macfarlane, the livestock manager for the Shasta District Fair.

Goat is at my house... Macfarlane later texted Kathie Muse, a 4-H volunteer and an organizer of the fairs annual barbecue. Talked to sheriff and he said to wait until he talks to DA before we kill goat.

It is perfectly fine at my house till we figure it out.

This is the last known residence for Cedar the goat, a doomed 7-month-old Boer goat who within three weeks would be slaughtered at the behest of fair officials and over the protests of the goats owner: a 9-year-old girl whose family had gone to extreme lengths to save Cedar after changing their minds about letting him be auctioned at the fair 18 months ago.

Cedars fate rivets national attention

Since then, Cedars saga has become a national sensation, with coverage and editorials by major national newspapers, websites and networks.

The goats seizure by sheriffs officials from a goat sanctuary in Sonoma County has resulted in a federal civil rights lawsuit by the family that owned Cedar, and sparked a countersuit by California Attorney General Rob Bontas office threatening to hold them liable for costs of the legal fight with fair officials and the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

Lawyers for the family that owned Cedar said this week they still have not been able to determine what happened to the goats remains after it was slaughtered despite their efforts to save the animal.

The number of government actors involved in the illegal slaughter of a childs pet continues to grow, and we still do not know ultimately what happened to Cedar, said Vanessa Shakib, who along with Ryan Gordon represent the family through their nonprofit Advancing Law for Animals firm.

But in court filings last month seeking the dismissal of Bontas countersuit, Shakib and Gordon shed new light on the lengths officials went in order to see that Cedar was slaughtered, and the intense focus the case has received.

The top three most popular tweets about Cedars case obtained over 16 million impressions, court papers filed last month in the dispute say. One petition seeking justice for Cedar obtained 79,516 supporters, while another petition obtained 43,065 supporters.

Stop killing goats. What is wrong with you?

Newly released documents and excerpts from depositions illustrate the shadow Cedar cast over state officials as angry members of the public voiced their displeasure over the goats slaughter and officials scrambled to contain a public relations nightmare.

Stop killing goats. What is wrong with you? one commenter wrote into the website of Reddings Wallner Plumbing Heating & Air, where president Patrick Wallner also serves on the Shasta District Fair Board. You should be ashamed.

Ill never use your business and I will tell everyone to stop using your business. Complete knucklehead.

Macfarlane testified in a deposition that he had to change his phone number after news stories about the affair broke.

The amount of social media and phone calls and just ridicule I got from across the country was more than I ever wanted to deal with again, Macfarlane said in a November deposition. Im guessing eight to 10 voicemails from disgruntled people across the country wishing death upon me and my family.

Thats why I changed my phone number, when they started threatening my family. It was from Louisville to Detroit to our whole country.

Shasta District Fair Chief Executive Officer Melanie Silva testified that the response at the fair office was even greater, with roughly 5,000 emails pouring in that she kept in a Goat 2022 computer folder.

We had to forward our phones because our phones were blown up, she said during a deposition in November.

The ire directed at fair officials stems from the fallout after Jessica Long decided in 2022 to enter her daughters goat in the Shasta District Fairs junior livestock auction.

The auction was part of a terminal sale in which the animals are sold off to the highest bidder to be slaughtered for their meat.

But Longs daughter, who is identified in court papers as E.L. because she is a minor, changed her mind about auctioning off Cedar, who had become like a family pet.

Cedar was auctioned on June 25 to a representative of state Sen. Brian Dahle for $902, with $63.14 going to the fair and $838.86 meant to go to the girl.

But by then E.L. was sobbing in the goats pen and telling her mother that she did not want her pet goat slaughtered, and Long took it upon herself to spirit the goat away from the fair barn to a goat farm in Sonoma County.

Long offered to repay the fair for any expenses, and received permission from Dahles office to cancel the sale.

But fair officials wouldnt budge, demanding the return of the goat and threatening to charge Long with grand theft if Cedar was not handed over, court papers say.

Jessica Longs daughter holds Cedars leash. Cedar, a 7-month-old white Boer goat with chocolate markings framing its face, is now the subject of a federal civil rights lawsuit naming Shasta sheriffs officials,

Officials seek PR solution after backlash

Then, things began to spiral out of control.

Bleating Hearts Farm and Sanctuary, a goat sanctuary in Napa County, posted a plea on Instagram asking people to contact the fair and ask that Cedar be spared, which led Shasta County sheriffs officials to incorrectly conclude that Cedar was at Bleating Hearts and obtain a search warrant to seize the animal.

Sheriffs officials became involved after Michael Flores, deputy director of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, suggested to Silva that she contact the sheriff for help, court papers say.

CDFA oversees the agricultural districts that run county fair operations, and emails filed in court show Silva had been communicating with a CDFA official on how to handle the dispute and deal with the negative media fallout.

I wanted to give you a heads up about a situation we are having, Silva wrote to fair board members on June 28, 2022, three days after Long took Cedar from the fairgrounds. We are a terminal sale fair, a little girl was upset about her goat going to slaughter so her parents snuck her goat off the grounds.

Since we are a State facility that is a felony. The mother confessed and BJ started to make the arrangements to get the goat back. In the meantime they started a social media flurry to save the goat.

Silva added that she had been getting advice from a media specialist and CDFAs fair and expositions branch chief, Mike Francesconi, on how to handle the fallout, and she asked that no one speak to reporters calling about the matter.

Shasta District Fair Board Vice President Alan Phillips responded to Silvas email 13 minutes later thanking her for the heads up, court records show.

As a highly practiced Media and Political Consultant myself, I agree with following the law as suggested by Mike Francesconi and Im glad to hear that B.J. is on the interpersonal issue, Phillips wrote. AND I would suggest we consider a potentially, not-too-hardline Public Relations move/releases by the ready that may help erode any negativity brewing.

Using a No Comment strategy can backfire. Anyway, these types of incidents often have a short shelf life. Good luck.

State and fair officials did not adopt his strategy, instead opting to decline comment when The Bee contacted them after Longs lawsuit was filed in Sacramento federal court on Aug. 31, 2022. CDFA officials also did not include the Silva or Phillips email among documents released to The Bee in December 2022 in response to a California Public Records Act request.

In any event, Phillips prediction of a short self life for the Cedar story did not turn out to be accurate.

The New York Times and Washington Post covered the story, as did numerous other publications, websites and networks. The German magazine Der Spiegel contacted The Bee seeking documents related to the sheriffs search for Cedar.

And Phillips conceded in an April 6, 2023, email with the subject line Viral Goat media that the furor had not subsided.

With the extreme blowback recently of media (social, podcasts, local, regional and national) surrounding the goat incident, I have been included with hundreds of Twitter mentions along with Governor Newsome (sic) - as that relates to letters of complaint to Melanie and our Governor, Phillips wrote, according to court records. Having also received several messages from complainers on my home phone I am not happy. Of course, I have not responded nor communicated that matter with several news inquiries nor anyone.

Cedar the goat shown before the family pet was seized by sheriffs officials and taken to slaughter, according to a federal civil rights lawsuit.

Court filings shed new light on Cedars fate

Longs lawyers have continued to pursue the case by deposing various fair and sheriffs officials, including Lt. Fernandez, who testified that he was assigned to the case by Shasta County Sheriff Michael Johnson.

Fernandez said he was told just that the goat was stolen and that because of my collateral assignment as a livestock investigator that I needed to reach out to the people from the fair and basically conduct an investigation, court records say.

The investigation eventually led Fernandez and Detective Jacob Duncan to drive to Bleating Hearts in Napa County in search of Cedar.

The goat had never actually been at that sanctuary, court records say, but the sheriffs officials visit to the sanctuary and their discussions with Bleating Hearts founders Justin and Kristin Starkey ultimately led them to the goat, according to court records.

Duncan testified in an August deposition that as he was talking to Kristin Starkey at the sanctuary she was looking for Longs phone number in her cellphone.

And I was asking her about Cedar and while she was looking for, I believe, Jessicas phone number, she was standing close to me and I could see her scrolling through some emails, Duncan testified. And I pointed that fact out to her and she said, Yeah, I got some emails here or something along those lines...

And I asked her if I could see them and she said some form of yeah and handed me the phone to view those. I think she was a good-natured person. I think my opinion is that she was nervous just talking to law enforcement, but she had intentions to be cooperative.

Duncan added, Well, in my conversation with Kristin and review of her emails, I discovered that Cedar was at Billys Mini Goat Farm in Sonoma. I think we left directly following when that interview ended. We went directly to Billys Mini Goat Farm in Sonoma.

Court documents say Cedar ended up at Macfarlanes house on July 8, and apparently was slaughtered at Bowman Meat Co. on July 28 despite repeated efforts by Gordon to find Cedar before he could be killed.

The constitutional violations just keep mounting, Gordon, of Advancing Law for Animals, told The Bee last week. After Cedar was illegally seized, I called the Sheriffs Office and others multiple times to demand he be kept alive.

Now evidence suggests that, at the same time, the Sheriff and DA were apparently deciding whether Cedar lives or dies.

Cedar the goat was auctioned off in June at a Shasta County fair, but the family that owned the goat had second thoughts and offered to pay any losses to keep the pet from being slaughtered. A new lawsuit says Shasta sheriffs officials later tracked the goat down to a farm in Sonoma County and had it taken to slaughter.

Gordon wrote in a declaration filed in court that he learned on July 14, 2022, that Cedar had been seized, and that he called Detective Duncan the next day to inquire about the status of Cedar.

Detective Duncan did not respond so I left (a) message explaining that I represented the Plaintiffs and they wanted to know where Cedar was and what happened to him, Gordon wrote. I explained that I understood he (Detective Duncan) confiscated so I requested that he call me back to provide an update on Cedars whereabouts.

Gordon also called the county counsels office the same day asking that someone there find out where Cedar was, if he was alive and, if he was alive, to communicate that my client demand Cedar be kept alive, court records say.

Gordon wrote that he heard nothing back, and that on July 18 he left another message for Duncan.

That same day he returned my call and explained that he had no information on the whereabouts (of) Cedar, Gordon wrote. Based on his deposition testimony, however, that was untrue.

He knew Cedar was dropped off to BJ Macfarlane.

The next day, Gordon reached Fernandez as he tried to find out where Cedar was.

I expressed that my clients were interested in details regarding to the status and whereabouts of Cedar but he refused to provide any, Gordon wrote. He only stated that Cedar was confiscated and returned to who we deemed to be his owner.

Gordon continued to press for information, contacting county counsel Adam Pressman on July 27, 2022, and asking in an email if you could confirm the whereabouts of Cedar (the goat) and whether hes alive or dead.

Our clients would really like to know.

Court records say that the same day Pressman replied, writing, Im sorry Ryan. Im just not willing to get involved to that point. The Sheriffs Office does not have the goat.

Based on testimony in this matter, Cedar was alive throughout these communications and the Sheriffs Office, whom County Counsel represents, had constructive possession of him, Gordon wrote in his declaration. My clients now understand that Cedar was apparently killed on July 28, 2022, by order or approval of the Sheriff himself, the day after County Counsel Adam Pressman represented the Sheriffs Office does not have the goat.

What did you end up doing with the goat?

Text messages filed in court show Kathie Muse asking Mcfarlane about Cedar on July 26.

Hey BJ What did you end up doing with the goat?

Bowman is killing goat today finally, Mcfarlane replied at 7:47 a.m. on July 28.

Good news finally, Muse replied, according to court records.

A separate set of text messages between Silva and Mcfarlane filed in court also show discussion about how to explain Cedars fate.

Kathy said ok but no one needs to know about this, Mcfarlane wrote to Silva on July 22. U me and Kathy are only ones. It got killed and donated to non profit if anyone asks.

Text messages filed in court also show the response to word that the family had filed a lawsuit.

My phone has not stopped ringing, McFarlane texted Muse, according to court files. Bul----.

What a bunch of s---, Muse replied, adding an angry-face emoji.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs on Tuesday released her plan to renew for another decade a key measure that funds public schools, adding earmarks requiring money be spent on educator and support staff pay as well as school safety and security projects.

Hobbs proposes increasing the current draw from state land trust revenues for education from 6.9% to 8.9%. She wants a dedicated split of those funds in line with priorities announced last week in her State of the State address to fund education, teacher and support staff raises and school safety.

Under the Democratic governor's plan, 2.5% would be general education funding, 4.4% would fund educator compensation, 1.5% would be earmarked for raises for support staff, and one-half percent would be for capital projects to increase safety and security.

According to estimates released by Hobbs' office, that would work out to an average of:

$257 million annually for general school funding

$347 million annually for educator compensation for teachers and licensed support professionals, like counselors

$118 million annually for compensation of support staff, like bus drivers

$39 million annually for school capital projects

"We can increase compensation for educators and make schools safer for our kids, all without raising taxes onArizonans," Hobbs said in a statement. "Or we can let billions of dollars accrue in a bank account and do nothing to address our immediate needs. The choice is clear."

But Republican lawmakers that Hobbs needs to get her plan before voters don't want to "do nothing." GOP leaders in the Legislature last year proposed their own plan to extend what is called Proposition 123, also dedicating money to teacher salaries to bring the state's educators out of the basement of national rankings of teacher pay.

Rep. Matt Gress, a Phoenix Republican and advocate for improving teacher pay, said he would review Hobbs' proposal. Boosting pay to combat a teacher shortage is "something we should be able to find bipartisan agreement on," he said.

"As for any increases in the distribution, they need to be carefully studied, with input from the Treasurers office, to ensure they are sustainable and responsible," he said. "Thats the best way to actually make good on these commitments."

Republican state Treasurer Kimberly Yee said in a statement Hobbs' proposal was "dangerous and unsustainable."

"It would break the bank," Yee said. "Governor Hobbs wants to raid the land trust to cover for her mismanagement of the state budget and overzealous spending plans in an ever-increasing inflationary environment."

Yee, a former candidate for governor who as treasurer oversees the investment of revenues from state trust land, has instead recommended a 4 to 5% distribution based on Wall Street forecasts of returns for similar funds.

State Sen. Christine Marsh, a Phoenix Democrat and a teacher in Scottsdale, will sponsor Hobbs' proposal, according to the Governor's Office. Proposition 123 was first approved by voters in 2016 and expires in 2025, putting lawmakers on a deadline to agree upon an extension plan to continue funding schools.

What could change in 2024: How does Arizona land trust help pay for schools?

Hobbs doesn't have any official role in extending Proposition 123. Lawmakers can refer it to Arizona voters this year by majority vote and don't need her signature, but if history repeats itself, the governor's backing may be crucial to getting the public to sign off.

Proposition 123 was pitched by then-Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, as a way out of a lengthy lawsuit over public education funding. It was not an easy sell to Arizonans in 2016. Ducey lent considerable political muscle to get the measure passed, as did public school advocacy groups. Even then, the proposition won a skinny 51% majority when it went to voters in a special election.

Hobbs has the added complication of divided government, which could mean an agreement to renew the plan will be fraught with political fights between the Democratic governor and Republican majority Legislature. Republican lawmakers' initial reactions to the broad strokes of Hobbs' proposal were mixed, with some in support of funding other school employees and others saying it wasn't necessary.

Hobbs' proposal also includes increasing the number of lawmakers who must vote to stop the increased spending amount in the case of an economic downturn, from a simple majority to a two-thirds vote. That change would make it harder for political whims to impact education spending, given how evenly divided the Legislature is. Christian Slater, Hobbs' spokesperson, said school districts would be able to determine the details about how educators and support staff are compensated and how much, should Hobbs' proposal pass.

Arizona has about 9 million acres of state trust land, and any proceeds from sales of those acres benefit the Permanent Land Endowment Trust Fund. Unlike the state's broad financial picture and a forecast deficit of $1.7 billion, that land trust fund account was at an all-time high late last year in part due to investments, according to Yee's office.

Those proceeds benefit 13 beneficiaries, foremost of which is public education but others include universities, state facilities like prisons, the Arizona State Hospital and School for the Deaf and the Blind. In 2016, the proposition approved by voters increased the share of those revenues that the state could spend from 2.5% to 6.9%. K-12 schools have gotten roughly $350 million a year in recent years as a result.

Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com or 480-416-5669.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gov. Katie Hobbs proposes bigger dip into Arizona Land Trust
Gov. Tate Reeves will call a Thursday special session to ask lawmakers to appropriate $350 million in state funds to close an economic development deal that would bring an electric vehicle battery facility to north Mississippi.

The multibillion dollar project, if approved, is slated to be constructed at the Chickasaw Trails Industrial Park in Marshall County near the Mississippi-Tennessee state line. State officials recently invested around $1.1 million in the industrial park.

Reeves on Tuesday declined to name the companies involved in the proposed deal, but the Daily Memphian reported that the project is a joint venture between Daimler Truck Holdings, PACCAR and Cummins Truck Holdings. The three manufacturers announced plans last year to jointly invest $2 billion to $3 billion in a battery production facility.

Economic development is a team sport, Reeves said. Its not partisan. It doesnt matter what part of the state it is. This is going to change lives for thousands and thousands of people in north Mississippi, in Marshall County and beyond.

The project will include a $1.9 billion corporate capital investment, create 2,000 jobs and pay workers an average salary of $66,000, according to the governor, who is asking lawmakers to appropriate around $350 million in taxpayer funds to contribute to the project.

About half the money the Legislature spends on the economic deal would go toward infrastructure around the facility, and the other half would go toward the business itself, Reeves said.

The governor also said he was highly confident the business leaders would offer a generous benefit package, including health insurance, to the employees at the new facility.

The special session will begin on Thursday and both House Speaker Jason White, R-West, and Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said they anticipate legislation approving the deal will clear the House and Senate quickly.

Rep. John Faulkner, D-Holly Springs, and Rep. Bill Kinkade, R-Byhalia, told Mississippi Today that the Marshall County Board of Supervisors and the local economic development leaders have worked with state officials for months on the project and believe it will improve the overall area.

Its exciting for us, Faulkner said of the economic project. Im glad we have an opportunity to land this project in Marshall County. I think its going to be a game changer and change lives. Its going to mean a tremendous amount of growth for our community.

If lawmakers approve the economic development project, it will be the second type of deal since Reeves became governor where lawmakers have appropriated state tax dollars. Reeves signed legislation into law in November 2022 for money and tax incentives to benefit Steel Dynamics expanding in Columbus.
Gov. Wes Moore, facing resistance from other state and local leaders over his administrations plan to trim $3.3 billion from Marylands six-year transportation spending plan, said Tuesday that he intends to restore $150 million of the anticipated cuts.

The move  which includes reversing a plan to limit Baltimores outsize share of the states highway user revenues  would be funded with a one-time infusion of funds in the 2025 fiscal year budget Moore will release in full Wednesday.

Proposals to cut a scheduled increase in those highway revenues for Baltimore and other local governments would be restored in full to the tune of $52 million for the budget year beginning July 1.

Other plans to reduce $26 million in state support for locally operated transit grants as well as $15 million for state of good repair transit infrastructure upkeep would also be fully restored. The Maryland Transit Administrations commuter bus service would see $28 million of the proposed $64 million cut restored.

Reductions to the same programs are still scheduled for the years beyond the 2025-26 budget. Lawmakers and the governor are set to negotiate that next budget and parts of the states other major long-term fiscal issues  which also include being billions of dollars short for aggressive education reform and climate plans  in the coming months during the legislative session.

The Democratic governor said in a statement the $150 million would, for now, serve as a critical funding bridge for workers and students who rely on the states transportation system.

Moore also acknowledged the apprehension that came from the Maryland Department of Transportations announcement of the cuts last month, saying, So many on the local level  worked with us to make their concerns heard.

Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said the move is a way to maintain highly needed services as officials tackle larger funding issues in the near future.

Related Articles

This is a one-year [solution], trying to minimize some of the negative [effects] that this would have caused, and the impact it would have had on people, Wiedefeld said.

The announcement last month was necessary because of a growing budget gap caused by accelerating costs and an increasingly unsustainable transportation funding system reliant on the states gas tax, officials said.

The cuts were designed to keep most essential services but to limit funding for some services like roadway litter collection and commuter buses, and to put on hold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of planned highway and road projects.

Backlash to the revised plan was swift. Many Baltimore-area lawmakers and others from across the state said the cuts would hurt commuters at a time when elected officials should be focused on expanding transit options and services.

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., a Democrat, said at the time he was concerned about a plan to nix $33.9 million in funding for the Dolfield Boulevard interchange with Interstate 795. State lawmakers like Sen. Cory McCray and Del. Stephanie Smith, both Democrats representing parts of Baltimore, said that while core transit service in the city would be maintained, pulling back on some planned improvements would derail progress and risk future service.

The Baltimore lawmakers in particular had expressed concerns about the proposed changes to highway user revenues. A new law going into effect this year is scheduled to raise the local share of those funds from 15.6% to roughly 18%  but the department last month called for an indefinite pause to that increase. Baltimore collects most of that local share, meaning millions of dollars in additional funding for road projects are expected starting later this year.

Smith, in an interview earlier this month, said the Moore administration had been open to working with legislators on adjusting the plan during the upcoming budget negotiations in Annapolis. The annual 90-day session began last week and will run through early April. Moore is required to release his budget plan Wednesday, and it was not immediately clear Tuesday whether the $150 million would come at the cost of funding other programs.

Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat also representing Baltimore, also said in a recent interview that the public cant afford significant cuts, particularly Baltimore-area commuters who rely on the Maryland Transit Administration.

To the degree that we have to shift funds to make sure there are full protections to the MTA, we will, Ferguson said.

While some lawmakers want to consider new transportation funding revenues this year, Ferguson said he anticipates those decisions wont happen until 2025, after a new commission releases a final set of recommendations to rework the funding system.

Initial recommendations from the Maryland Commission on Transportation Revenue and Infrastructure Needs, or TRAIN Commission, asked lawmakers to consider increasing vehicle registration fees or implementing new fees just for electric vehicles, which do not pay gas taxes, as soon as this year. Recommendations also included increasing tolls to maximize revenue needed to support transportation projects.

Some steps to immediately increase revenues were included in the transportation departments plans from last month, such as raising motor vehicle administration and airport parking fees to pull in about $80 million more per year.

Still, those fee increases or even registration fees for electric and hybrid vehicles are not expected to cover future needs.

The larger issue is still there, Wiedefeld said. I think everyone recognizes that.
Gov. Wes Moore, facing resistance from other state and local leaders over his administrations plan to trim $3.3 billion from Marylands six-year transportation spending plan, said Tuesday that he intends to restore $150 million of the anticipated cuts.

The move  which includes reversing a plan to limit Baltimores outsize share of the states highway user revenues  would be funded with a one-time infusion of funds in the 2025 fiscal year budget Moore will release in full Wednesday.

Proposals to cut a scheduled increase in those highway revenues for Baltimore and other local governments would be restored in full to the tune of $52 million for the budget year beginning July 1.

Other plans to reduce $26 million in state support for locally operated transit grants as well as $15 million for state of good repair transit infrastructure upkeep would also be fully restored. The Maryland Transit Administrations commuter bus service would see $28 million of the proposed $64 million cut restored.

Reductions to the same programs are still scheduled for the years beyond the 2025-26 budget. Lawmakers and the governor are set to negotiate that next budget and parts of the states other major long-term fiscal issues  which also include being billions of dollars short for aggressive education reform and climate plans  in the coming months during the legislative session.

The Democratic governor said in a statement the $150 million would, for now, serve as a critical funding bridge for workers and students who rely on the states transportation system.

Moore also acknowledged the apprehension that came from the Maryland Department of Transportations announcement of the cuts last month, saying, So many on the local level  worked with us to make their concerns heard.

Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said the move is a way to maintain highly needed services as officials tackle larger funding issues in the near future.

The announcement last month was necessary because of a growing budget gap caused by accelerating costs and an increasingly unsustainable transportation funding system reliant on the states gas tax, officials said.

The cuts were designed to keep most essential services but to limit funding for some services like roadway litter collection and commuter buses, and to put on hold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of planned highway and road projects.

Backlash to the revised plan was swift. Many Baltimore-area lawmakers and others from across the state said the cuts would hurt commuters at a time when elected officials should be focused on expanding transit options and services.

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., a Democrat, said at the time he was concerned about a plan to nix $33.9 million in funding for the Dolfield Boulevard interchange with Interstate 795. State lawmakers like Sen. Cory McCray and Del. Stephanie Smith, both Democrats representing parts of Baltimore, said that while core transit service in the city would be maintained, pulling back on some planned improvements would derail progress and risk future service.

The Baltimore lawmakers in particular had expressed concerns about the proposed changes to highway user revenues. A new law going into effect this year is scheduled to raise the local share of those funds from 15.6% to roughly 18%  but the department last month called for an indefinite pause to that increase. Baltimore collects most of that local share, meaning millions of dollars in additional funding for road projects are expected starting later this year.

Smith, in an interview earlier this month, said the Moore administration had been open to working with legislators on adjusting the plan during the upcoming budget negotiations in Annapolis. The annual 90-day session began last week and will run through early April. Moore is required to release his budget plan Wednesday, and it was not immediately clear Tuesday whether the $150 million would come at the cost of funding other programs.

Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat also representing Baltimore, also said in a recent interview that the public cant afford significant cuts, particularly Baltimore-area commuters who rely on the Maryland Transit Administration.

To the degree that we have to shift funds to make sure there are full protections to the MTA, we will, Ferguson said.

While some lawmakers want to consider new transportation funding revenues this year, Ferguson said he anticipates those decisions wont happen until 2025, after a new commission releases a final set of recommendations to rework the funding system.

Initial recommendations from the Maryland Commission on Transportation Revenue and Infrastructure Needs, or TRAIN Commission, asked lawmakers to consider increasing vehicle registration fees or implementing new fees just for electric vehicles, which do not pay gas taxes, as soon as this year. Recommendations also included increasing tolls to maximize revenue needed to support transportation projects.

Some steps to immediately increase revenues were included in the transportation departments plans from last month, such as raising motor vehicle administration and airport parking fees to pull in about $80 million more per year.

Still, those fee increases or even registration fees for electric and hybrid vehicles are not expected to cover future needs.

The larger issue is still there, Wiedefeld said. I think everyone recognizes that.

--------
Yemen's Houthis ramp up attacks on commercial shipping in Red Sea

Xinhua) 08:07, January 16, 2024

ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi armed group on Monday claimed responsibility for attacking a U.S. ship in the Gulf of Aden, a serious escalation of attacks in the crucial maritime region.

The strike, which involved the firing of "several missiles," was "accurate and direct," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a statement on the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV.

The Houthi group now "considers all American and British ships and warships participating in the aggression against our country as hostile targets" Sarea said.

Meanwhile, the group's chief negotiator, Mohammed Abdul Salam, said that the group's attacks on ships heading to Israel would continue, despite recent U.S.-led strikes targeting its sites, according to Al-Masirah TV.

He added that the Houthis are communicating with the international community to clarify their position that "navigation is safe for all ships except those heading to Israel." He also said his group did not seek more conflict and accused the U.S. and Britain of making the Red Sea more dangerous.

Earlier on Monday, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement that the Marshall Islands-flagged container ship Gibraltar Eagle, owned and operated by a U.S. shipping company, was hit by a Houthi missile at 4 pm local time (1300 GMT).

The statement added that no crew was injured on the ship, which sustained minor damage and continued its voyage following the attack.

A Yemeni government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the internationally-recognized government also detected missiles fired by the Houthis and said some of them missed their targets and landed in southern Yemen's mountains.

The failed launches caused panic among residents, but no one was hurt, the official said.

Hours after the missile strikes on shipping, residents reported powerful explosions rocking Yemen's western port city of Hodeidah, which is under Houthi control.

A local official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that an explosion hit Hodeidah International Airport on Monday, which coincided with the flight of military aircraft over the city's airspace.

There has been no official claim of responsibility or confirmation from either side so far regarding the reported explosions in Hodeidah.

Also on Monday, Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), the executive body of Yemen's internationally-recognized government, called on the international community to provide greater support to the Yemeni government to expand its control across all Yemeni territory.

PLC Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi also condemned ongoing Houthi attacks against commercial ships transiting the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen as well as the group's "refusal to commit to a peaceful resolution of the conflict."

The United Nations has warned that the escalating violence threatens to undermine the already fragile peace efforts. Meanwhile, the suffering of millions of Yemeni civilians worsens as the country's economy is teetering on the brink of collapse.

Yemen has been embroiled in a devastating civil war since 2014, with the Houthis fighting against the internationally-recognized Yemeni government. The Saudi Arabia-led coalition intervened in the conflict in support of the Yemeni government in 2015.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
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This photo taken on Jan. 12, 2024 shows a temporary shelter near the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt. ][Photo/Xinhua]

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday again called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza as the conflict turns 100 days.

There is one solution to help address all the issues of the unprecedented level of civilian casualties and catastrophic humanitarian conditions in Gaza, the fate of the hostages, and the tensions that are spilling over across the region, he told reporters. "We need an immediate humanitarian cease-fire."

Apart from the atrocities in Gaza, the cauldron of tensions in the occupied West Bank is boiling over with heightened violence compounding an already dire fiscal crisis for the Palestinian Authority. Tensions are also sky-high in the Red Sea and beyond and may soon be impossible to contain, he warned.

"I have serious concerns about daily exchanges of fire across the Blue Line. This risks triggering a broader escalation between Israel and Lebanon and profoundly affecting regional stability," said Guterres. "I am profoundly worried by what is unfolding. It is my duty to convey this simple and direct message to all sides: stop playing with fire across the Blue Line, de-escalate, and bring hostilities to an end in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1701."

One hundred days into the conflict, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is beyond words. Nowhere and no one is safe. Traumatized people are being pushed into increasingly limited areas in the south that are becoming intolerably and dangerously congested, said the UN chief.

While there have been some steps to increase the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, life-saving relief is not getting to people who have endured months of relentless assault at anywhere near the scale needed. The long shadow of starvation is stalking the people of Gaza -- along with disease, malnutrition and other health threats, he said.

An effective aid operation in Gaza -- or anywhere else -- requires certain basics. It requires security. It requires an environment where staff can work in safety. It requires the necessary logistics and the resumption of commercial activity. The obstacles to aid are clear, he said.

The United Nations and its partners cannot effectively deliver humanitarian aid while Gaza is under such heavy, widespread and unrelenting bombardment. Since the outbreak of the conflict on Oct. 7, 152 UN staff members have been killed in Gaza -- the largest single loss of life in the history of the world organization.

The aid operation faces significant hurdles at the Gaza border. Vital materials, including life-saving medical equipment and parts that are critical for the repair of water facilities and infrastructure, have been rejected with little or no explanation, disrupting the flow of critical supplies and the resumption of basic services.

The aid operation also faces major impediments to distribution within Gaza, he said.

"We are seeking to ramp up the response. But we need basic conditions in place," Guterres said.

The parties must respect international humanitarian law, respect and protect civilians, and ensure their essential needs are met. And there must be an immediate and massive increase in the commercial supply of essential goods. The UN and humanitarian partners cannot alone provide basic necessities that should also be available in markets to the entire population," he said.

Nothing can justify the violence by Hamas. At the same time, the onslaught on Gaza by Israeli forces over these 100 days has unleashed wholesale destruction and levels of civilian killings at a rate that is unprecedented during his years as UN secretary-general. The vast majority of those killed are women and children. Nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people, said Guterres.
GOP presidential primary candidate Nikki Haley said in an interview Tuesday that she hasnt looked at writer E. Jean Carrolls case against former President Trump.

This one I havent looked at, but look, if hes found guilty, then he needs to pay the price, Haley said in an interview on CNN.

Last year, a jury found that the former president had sexually abused and defamed Carroll, awarding her $5 million. She now is seeking a minimum of $10 million for the former presidents denials at the time. She first came out with her claims publicly in 2019.

Trump unleashed his fury at Carroll in a series of social media posts Tuesday as he arrived at court in New York City for a trial to determine how much he must pay, since he has already been found liable.

The only right, honest, and lawful thing that Clinton-appointed Judge Lewis Kaplan, who has so far been unable to see clearly because of his absolute hatred of Donald J. Trump (ME!), can do is to end this unAmerican injustice being done to a President of the United States, who was wrongfully accused by a woman he never met, saw, or touched (a photo line does not count!), and knows absolutely nothing about, Trump wrote on Truth Social.

According to a projection from The Hill and Decision Desk HQ, Haley came in third in Iowa in its recent GOP caucuses, behind Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Election returns from Decision Desk HQ/The Hill show Haley earning 19.1 percent of the Hawkeye States caucus vote, closely following DeSantis, who earned 21.2 percent. However, both of them were handily beaten by former President Trump, who was at 51 percent support.

The battle for the GOP nomination heads to New Hampshire next, where Haley is only 8 points behind the former president in Decision Desk HQ/The Hills New Hampshire polling average. She also has the endorsement of New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R).

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
 Flash

This photo taken with a mobile phone on Jan. 15, 2024 shows the Parliament of Nauru. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Republic of Nauru announced Monday that it will recognize the one-China principle and sever "diplomatic relations" with Taiwan.

In a post on Facebook, the government of Nauru said that it will follow the UN Resolution 2758, which recognizes the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and recognizes Taiwan as an inalienable part of China's territory.

Nauru will no longer develop any official relations or official exchanges with Taiwan, stated the government.

Nauru's President David Adeang will deliver a statement in this regard at the next parliament sitting, and a national address on local television and radio channels, the post said.

China appreciates and welcomes the decision of the government of the Republic of Nauru to recognize the one-China principle, break the so-called diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and to reestablish diplomatic ties with China, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Monday.

China stands ready to work with Nauru to open new chapters of bilateral relations on the basis of the one-China principle, said the spokesperson.

Nauru is an island country in the central Pacific, with a land area of 21.1 square kilometers and a population of about 13,000.
GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley said Monday night that she offers the only path to avoid a Trump-Biden nightmare rematch in November  even after a likely third-place finish in the Iowa caucuses.

Our campaign is the last, best hope of stopping the Trump-Biden nightmare, Haley said in a speech following the caucuses. But its more than that. Republicans have lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections. Thats nothing to be proud of.

The former U.N. ambassador then said her party should want to earn the support of a majority of Americans.

According to a projection from Decision Desk HQ, Haley came in third in Iowa behind Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Election returns from Decision Desk HQ/The Hill show Haley earning 19.1 percent of the Hawkeye States caucus vote, closely following DeSantis, who earned 21.2 percent. However, both of them were handily beaten by former President Trump, who was at 51 percent.

The battle for the GOP nomination heads to New Hampshire next, where Haley is only 11.1 points behind the former president in Decision Desk HQ/The Hills New Hampshire polling average. She also has the endorsement of the New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R).

Thank you, Iowa! Haley said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter early Tuesday morning. Youre faithful, patriotic & hardworking, and Im grateful to each of you! Now its on to New Hampshire, where this campaign is the last best hope of stopping the Trump-Biden rematch that no one wants. We offer America a better choice.

In the wake of Trumps Iowa win, the former president said he was feeling invigorated by the competition.

It really is an honor that, minutes after, theyve announced Ive wonagainst very credibly competition  great competition, actually, Trump said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Haley says she will only join debates with Trump or Biden moving forward

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley says she will only participate in a debate that includes former President Trump or President Biden going forward, putting plans for two debates in New Hampshire ahead of its primary next week in doubt.

Haley said in a statement Tuesday that Trump, who cruised to victory in Mondays Iowa caucuses, needs to stop hiding after he has skipped all five of the GOP primary debates so far.

Weve had five great debates in this campaign, she said. Unfortunately, Donald Trump has ducked all of them. He has nowhere left to hide. The next debate I do will either be with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden. I look forward to it.

Haley says she is last, best hope to stop Trump-Biden nightmare

Two debates had been scheduled in the upcoming days for the remaining top candidates to discuss the issues before voters in the Granite State, which will hold the first-in-the-nation primary next Tuesday. The first was to be held by ABC News on Thursday, and the second was scheduled for Sunday with CNN.

Trump, Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were likely to all be invited to participate in both based on meeting the requirements for participation, but Trump was almost certain to skip the events.

DeSantis had already accepted his invitations to participate in the debates. He denounced Haleys decision in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying she does not want to debate because she is afraid to answer tough questions.

He said Haley is not trying to win the GOP nomination but is aiming to be selected as Trumps running mate, and he pledged he would still attend the events.

I wont snub New Hampshire voters like both Nikki Haley and Donald Trump, and plan to honor my commitments. I look forward to debating two empty podiums in the Granite State this week, DeSantis said.

Haleys announcement comes after Iowans cast the first votes of the 2024 GOP nominating process with their caucuses on Monday. Trump easily won the contest with more than 50 percent of the vote.

Haley defends statement that Iowa voters made it a two-person race

DeSantis narrowly beat Haley for second place with 21 percent to her 19 percent.

The announcement also comes as viewership for the Trump-less Republican debates has increasingly declined with each event.

Polls have shown Haley rising in New Hampshire to more than 30 percent support in the polling average from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ. Trump still leads in the average with 42 percent, while DeSantis has fallen into the single digits in the state.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
ABC News has canceled a planned debate in New Hampshire, after GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley said Tuesday that she would only step foot on the debate stage again if Donald Trump or Joe Biden is there.

Weve had five great debates in this campaign. Unfortunately, Donald Trump has ducked all of them, Haley said in a statement. He has nowhere left to hide. The next debate I do will either be with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden. I look forward to it.

The upcoming debates were slated to take place before the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 23. ABC News planned to partner with WMUR-TV to host a debate on Thursday, and CNN announced it would host a debate on Sunday.

But with both Trump and Haley declining to participate, an ABC News spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday evening that its debate is off. "Our intent was to host a debate coming out of the Iowa caucuses, but we always knew that would be contingent on the candidates and the outcome of the race," the network spokesperson said.

CNN did not respond to a request for comment and has not made any public comment about its scheduling.

Haleys challenge toward Trump comes after the former U.N. ambassador finished in third place in the Iowa caucuses on Monday night. Trump was the far favorite, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in second place.



While DeSantis has accepted the invite to the CNN debate, Trump has already scheduled a New Hampshire rally for Sunday.

DeSantis said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Haley "is afraid to debate because she doesnt want to answer the tough questions" and accused her of running to be Trump's vice president.

"I wont snub New Hampshire voters like both Nikki Haley and Donald Trump, and plan to honor my commitments," DeSantis said in the post. "I look forward to debating two empty podiums in the Granite State this week."

Haley on Monday night claimed that her close third-place result had made the campaign a head-to-head race between her and Trump.

I can safely say tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race, Haley said.

Lisa Kashinsky contributed to this report.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said Tuesday that the United States has never been a racist country, rejecting a suggestion that she might have trouble becoming the GOP presidential nominee as a woman of color.

In an interview on Fox & Friends, co-host Brian Kilmeade asked Haley whether she thinks the GOP is a racist party.

No. Were not a racist country, Brian. Weve never been a racist country, Haley said in response.

Our goal is to make sure that today is better than yesterday, she continued. Are we perfect? No. But our goal is to always make sure we try and be more perfect every day that we can.

Drawing on her experience as a brown girl that grew up in a small rural town in South Carolina, Haley said she has experienced racism in the past but doesnt want to raise her children to think theyre disadvantaged  a point shes made before.

I know, I faced racism when I was growing up. But I can tell you, today is a lot better than it was then, Haley said. Our goal is to lift up everybody. Not go and divide people on race or gender or party or anything else. Weve had enough of that in America.

She added: I dont want my kids growing up where theyre sitting there thinking that theyre disadvantaged because of a color or a gender. I want them to know that if they work hard, they can do and be anything they want to be in America.

Haley, seen as the most moderate GOP candidate still in the race for the presidential nomination, has come under scrutiny in the past for appearing to avoid issues of race.

At a campaign event in recent weeks, Haley was asked about the cause of the Civil War, and she omitted any mention of slavery. When the audience member who asked the question pointed out the omission, Haley said, What do you want me to say about slavery.

She later walked back her remarks, saying of course the Civil War was about slavery.

Haleys Fox & Friends interview comes after she came in third place in the Iowa caucuses on Monday night. On Tuesday, however, she defended what she described as a strong showing and said in the interview, Thats what we wanted in Iowa.

The discussion about racism came after Haley was asked to respond to a clip from an MSNBC host saying, The elephant in the room, shes still a brown lady thats got to try to win in a party that is deeply anti-immigrant. Its still a challenge.

The host continued: I dont see how she becomes the nominee of that party with Donald Trump still around. I cant picture it happening. Maybe it could happen. Ron DeSantis only argument for staying in it, is hes the white guy that he can still make the appeal to white people.

Haley responded by saying her credentials reveal the American dream, adding, You can sit there and give me all the reasons why you think I cant do this. I will continue to defy everybody on why we can do this. And we will get it done.

In a statement to The Hill, Haleys spokesperson defended the candidates comments, stressing the difference between labeling America a racist country and recognizing that racism has always existed.

America has always had racism, but America has never been a racist country, spokesperson AnnMarie Graham-Barnes said in the statement.

The liberal media always fails to get that distinction. It can throw a fit, but that doesnt change Nikkis belief that America is special because its people are always striving to do better and live up to our founding ideals of freedom and equality.

 Updated at 4:25 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
MANCHESTER, N.H.  Nikki Haley is trying a risky new tactic in the Republican presidential race: Shes mounting an attack on Donald Trump.

One day after her third-place finish in Iowa, the former South Carolina governor's campaign and a pro-Haley super PAC began promoting TV ads here depicting Trump as a bully and a liar. Her campaign released a memo calling the former president more vulnerable than commonly believed. And Haley announced she would not participate in two scheduled debates media outlets scheduled ahead of the New Hampshire primary unless Trump joined her on stage  suggesting she plans to ignore Ron DeSantis and train her fire on the frontrunner.

Together, these steps marked a pointed escalation from Haleys tepid rebukes of Trump through the past year  and a new strategic approach as the race moves to New Hampshire, where she is polling closest to Trump and has her best, if not only, shot of wounding him.

The race now moves to less Trump-friendly territory, said Betsy Ankeny, Haleys campaign manager, in a state of the race memo released just after the candidates less than overwhelming finish in Iowa.



New Hampshire is make-or-break for Haley, which likely explains the shift toward confronting Trump. Still, her offensive exposes her to significant risk  not only in the primary, where she is polling double digits behind Trump, but in a GOP where, if the former U.N. ambassador has any future, she cannot afford to alienate whole swaths of conservatives.

Its a crazy fine line she has to walk to not lose the small amount of Republican voters she has currently, but continue to drive out independent voters, said Mike Dennehy, a veteran New Hampshire GOP strategist who is unaffiliated in the primary. She cannot go nuclear on Donald Trump because she will lose any Republican support she currently has if she does so.



Haley is trying to deliver her attacks in a manner palatable to GOP voters. Her campaigns new ad couches her criticism of Trump with a hit on President Joe Biden, her modus operandi on the campaign trail.

But the more aggressive shift in her campaign was unmistakable even before she arrived in New Hampshire: Hours before the Iowa caucuses were held on Monday, both Haleys campaign and the super PAC supporting her dropped new ads in New Hampshire. On Tuesday morning, they began highlighting them to reporters in news releases.

Trump is lying about Nikki, a New Hampshire voter says in the ad being aired by SFA Fund Inc., her aligned super PAC. Thats what bullies do.

In a separate ad, a narrator calls Trump and Biden the two most disliked politicians in America, saying both are consumed by chaos, negativity, and grievances of the past.

There are lines Haley will still not cross: She declined on Tuesday morning to say that Trump is unfit to be president. But she told CBS News, I dont think he needs to be the next president. Im going to be the next president. And so we want to move forward so hes no longer a part of the conversation.

Haley has far more working in her favor in New Hampshire than she did in Iowa. The state is less conservative, less religious and more independent than in Iowa. Shes got the backing of the states popular Republican governor, Chris Sununu. She has polling that shows her closing the gap with  and in at least one case coming within striking distance of  Trump. And she has a growing base of more moderate Republicans and independents who are turning her way on the heels of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christies exit from the race last week.

Independents make up the largest voting bloc in New Hampshire, and are poised to play a major role in the GOP primary. Haleys allies are already working in overdrive to secure Christies voters, a large majority of whom were expected, based on polling and interviews, to break for her.

Greg Moore, the New Hampshire director for Americans for Prosperity Action, the Koch-brothers-founded super PAC backing Haley, said her immediate challenge is trying to consolidate the Christie vote.

Tearing into Trump may help with that, given Christies near-singular focus on shredding the former president.



But Trump enters New Hampshire in a dominant position, having crushed his competition by roughly 30 percentage points in Iowa. His endorsement from biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, the longshot contender who had drawn support from some MAGA-aligned voters before dropping out on Monday, is likely to pad his vote total in New Hampshires primary.

On top of that, Haley is being forced to play defense here. She was already her Republican rivals prime target in New Hampshire, where TV ads and fliers flooding voters mailboxes in recent days have been almost entirely focused on the former South Carolina governor.

In one day over the weekend, at least one prominent Republican in the state received 11 pieces of mail from campaigns and super PACs  and every single one of them was about Haley, seven promoting her and four attacking her.

Haley, said Matthew Bartlett, an unaffiliated GOP strategist from New Hampshire, will have to carefully navigate between appealing to vehemently anti-Trump voters and Republicans who are less disillusioned with the former president.

I am not convinced that the best way to get MAGA voters over to you is to attack them. If that was the case, Chris Christie would have had this nomination wrapped up, Bartlett said. Youve got to be more of a magnet than a spear.
HILLSBOROUGH - Mayor Robert Britting has promised that he will keep residents updated on the township's push on the state Department of Transportation (DOT) to complete long-awaited Route 206 improvements as soon as possible.

Britting said township officials will meet next month with state DOT representatives to get an update on the project that has been delayed since the state fired Konkus Co., the contractor on the widening project, in spring of 2023.

"You have a right to know what's going on," Britting said, adding the highway project is "the most critical" issue facing Hillsborough residents.

The meeting with the DOT came about after Township Attorney William Willard sent the latest in the long-running correspondence with the state detailing Hillsborough's concerns about when the project will finally be completed and worries about safety.

The township is particularly worried about the safety of detention basins and potential hazards for children.

More: Construction firm sues NJ after contract for Route 206 project in Hillsborough ripped up

Hillsborough is also concerned about maintenance issues on Triangle Road, he said.

Because the township's lawyer sent the latest correspondence, the DOT, as a matter of policy, said that all future correspondence has to be reviewed by the state Office of Attorney General which has added another layer of bureaucracy and led to a longer response time, Britting said.

The mayor also said that after reviewing the latest letter from Hillsborough, the Office of Attorney General determined that Hillsborough's concerns were not an emergency.

The termination of Konkus is the latest delay in the 40-year plan to improve Route 206, the most heavily travelled north-south highway between Somerville and Princeon.

It took more than four decades to finish work on the Route 206 bypass, but work seemed to be going ahead quicker on the widening of the congested highway to four lanes from Doctor's Way to Valley Road. There was also hope that the remainder of the highway widening from Valley Road to Brown Avenue would become a reality sometime this decade.

In 2021, when Gov. Phil Murphy came to the township to mark the beginning of the work, which also will include a median barrier, new traffic lights and jughandles, the project was expected to be completed in the summer of 2024.

That date was changed to July 2025, according to a February update of the project by the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, because of delays in the relocation of utilities.

But now nobody knows when the work will be done.

Konkus has filed suit against the DOT, claiming the termination of the contract was the result of "rage-filled" animosity between a DOT engineer and the contractor.

In the lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Somerset County, Konkus Corp. also claims that DOT's "careless and dangerous design" led to years of delays and additional costs.

A spokesman said the DOT does not comment on pending litigation. In court filings, the DOT has denied Konkus's allegations.

The 23-page suit alleges that the DOT breached its contract with Konkus over the $41 million project and issued the termination in "bad faith."

In December, Somerset County Superior Court Judge Robert Ballard denied a DOT motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

Ballard also transferred the case the Superior Court Complex Litigation Program under Assignment Judge Kevin Shanahan. The goal of the program is to resolve cases in an expedited manner.

No new court dates have been set.

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Hillsborough mayor vows to keep residents updated on Route 206 project
Volodymyr Zelensky (C), President of Ukraine, speaks next to Ursula von der Leyen (L), President of the European Commission, during a meeting. The Ukrainian President met with economic and political representatives of the supporting states in Davos in the morning. Hannes P. Albert/dpa-Pool/dpa

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told supporters of Ukraine "to empower their resistance" in the face of Russia's ongoing invasion.

Calling for more arms and financial support for Ukraine, von der Leyen urged the country's backers to hold their ground in a speech at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Von der Leyen said Ukraine needs "predicatable financing throughout 2024 and beyond" against the background of outstanding commitments from the European Union.

Addressing the global forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, von der Leyen said Ukraine "can prevail in this war," citing Kiev's victories in liberating captured territories from Russia as proof.

Robert Habeck (L), German Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, attend a meeting with the Ukrainian President. Ukrainian President Zelensky met with economic and political representatives of the supporting states in Davos this morning. Hannes P. Albert/dpa-Pool/dpa
Two 30-round clips filled with .223 cartridges, and other high-capacity clips for an AR-15, are shown at a gun store in Orem, Utah.

A Holden man has been charged with 68 counts of firearms and domestic violence-related charges in Rhode Island, where he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend and put her in a chokehold.

On Tuesday, the office of Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced that Yaran Drawbridge, 42, faced charges in Providence County Superior Court related to a May 4, 2023, incident in Johnston.

On that day, Johnston police responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at Juniper Lane. According to Neronha's office, officers encountered the victim at a neighbors house, and she told police she had escaped a domestic assault by Drawbridge.

Drawbridge is alleged to have assaulted the victim and put her in a chokehold before she escaped through a bathroom window. The victim told police she believed he was still in the residence with multiple firearms.

Officers entered the home through a rear door and observed multiple large-capacity magazines and other gun paraphernalia in the basement. Drawbridge could not be found, and the victim told police he had another home in Holden, according to Neronha's office.

Investigators sought a warrant for Drawbridges arrest and alerted Holden police.

The next day he turned himself in to Johnston police headquarters. A search of the defendants Johnston residence turned up the firearms and ammunition.

On Dec. 4, 2023, Neronha charged Drawbridge with 62 counts of possession of a large-capacity magazine, three counts of possession of a sawed-off rifle, one count of domestic assault by strangulation, one count of simple domestic assault, and one count of domestic disorderly conduct.

Drawbridge is scheduled for a prearraignment conference Feb. 7 in Providence County Superior Court.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Holden man faces dozens of firearms charges in RI, where he allegedly assaulted girlfriend
Not only is Texas blocking federal border agents' access to a public park along the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, but the state is also preventing the agents from using federal equipment and from conducting "operationally necessary" activities in the area, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security alleges in a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

In the letter, sent over the weekend, Homeland Security general counsel Jonathan Meyer said the state must grant U.S. Customs and Border Protection full access to the city-owned park by close of business Wednesday or risk unspecified sanctions from the Justice Department.

"Texass actions are clearly unconstitutional and are actively disrupting the federal governments operations," Meyer said in his letter. "We demand that Texas cease and desist its efforts to block Border Patrols access in and around the Shelby Park area and remove all barriers to access in the Shelby Park area."

An Army National Guard soldier patrols the banks of the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass on Monday. The federal government has accused the state of using the Guard to block Border Patrol agents from conducting "operationally necessary" activities.

The state's seizure of the park last week as part of Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star has prompted a multifront pushback by the federal government and has been cited as a factor in the recent drowning deaths of a woman and two children in the Rio Grande because rescue efforts could not be carried out.

Meyer said less publicized actions by the state have also interfered with federal border operations.

More: Migrant mother, two children drown near Eagle Pass; Rep. Henry Cuellar blames Texas policy

"(S)ome of the barriers placed by Texas and the armed soldiers deployed by Texas are on federal land," he wrote. "Specifically, Texas National Guard is blocking entrances through federally owned and maintained border barriers with armed soldiers.

"While Texas has claimed that it has re-opened the use of Shelby Park to the public, it continues to prevent Border Patrol from entering, and from using the area under the adjacent port of entry where Border Patrol has certain property stored for use when migrants are apprehended."

In addition to Meyer's cease and desist letter, Homeland Security has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to force the state of Texas to allow federal border officials to operate in the park. In a rebuttal to the high court filed Monday, Paxton's office said Homeland Security is misstating the state's actions in Shelby Park.

The court filing said federal border agents have access to the park's boat ramps and that Operation Lone Star personnel "have consistently sought to collaborate with federal border-patrol agencies" in the effort to combat unlawful immigration from Mexico.

More: Illinois governor asks Abbott to discontinue migrant bus trips amid arctic freeze

Abbott, meanwhile, stepped up his criticism of President Joe Biden's immigration policies and made no mention of state-federal cooperation when he posted his reaction to Meyer's letter on X, formerly Twitter.

"Biden is doing everything possible to eliminate strategies that actually prevent illegal immigrants from entering our country," the governor wrote. "Texas will continue to use every tool possible to block illegal immigration."

In recent weeks, the attorney general's filing said, U.S. border agents have largely ceded immigration enforcement operations at the park to the state.

"When Border Patrol ceased largescale operations at the Park, a Border Patrol officer told state personnel that they would not be back unless the National Guard asked," Paxton's office said in the court document.

Without addressing that claim, Meyer said in his letter that the law gives federal border agents wide latitude when it comes to controlling unauthorized immigration, including entering private land without a warrant within 25 miles of the international border.

Border agents sought the OK from state officials to enter the park when several people attempting to cross were in distress on Jan. 10, Meyer wrote.

"Texas refused. Later, a rescue team from Mexico was able to rescue two individuals from the group, both with signs of hypothermia," he said in the letter. "Three individuals drowned. Texas has demonstrated that even in the most exigent circumstances, it will not allow Border Patrol access to the border to conduct law enforcement and emergency response activities."

The Homeland Security court filing seeking to regain access to Shelby Park is part of a wider action before the Supreme Court that seeks to overturn a ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordering border agents not to cut state-installed concertina wire along stretches of the Rio Grande shoreline.

The high court has not indicated when it might rule on the matter.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Federal-state battle over Eagle Pass city park on Rio Grande escalates
The Houthis hit a US-owned container vessel with an anti-ship ballistic missile on Monday.

It's the latest attack by the Iran-backed rebels since the US and UK hit them with strikes.

The strikes, which began late last week, were meant to degrade the Houthis' capabilities.

The Houthis fired multiple missiles into key waterways off the coast of Yemen, hitting a US-owned vessel on Monday, as the Iran-backed rebels continue to target key shipping lanes.

The attack comes just days after the US and UK conducted a widespread series of intense strikes on the Houthis, who have lobbed dozens of missiles and drones at commercial ships over the past few months. The two countries said in the aftermath that they expected the coordinated action would deliver a serious blow to the rebels. The strikes, however, did not prevent the Houthis from retaliating almost immediately.

On Sunday, the Houthis fired an anti-ship cruise missile toward the USS Laboon, a destroyer, as it was operating in the southern Red Sea, according to a statement from US Central Command (CENTCOM). The missile was shot down near the coast of Yemen by American fighter jets.

On Monday, not even 24 hours later, US forces detected an anti-ship ballistic missile that was fired toward shipping lanes in the southern Red Sea, although it failed in flight and landed in Yemen, CENTCOM wrote in a post on social media.

Tribal supporters of Yemen's Houthis hold up their firearms during a protest against recent U.S.-led strikes on Houthi targets, near Sanaa, Yemen on January 14, 2024. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Shortly after that, the Houthis fired another anti-ship ballistic missile that hit the Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged container ship that's owned and operated by the US. The ship continued its journey after reporting no injuries or significant damage, according to CENTCOM.

A Houthi spokesperson later confirmed responsibility for the incident and said the rebels consider any American or British ships in the region to be hostile actors. The spokesperson added that a response to the coordinated US-UK strikes is "coming" and any new military action from the two countries will trigger retaliation.

In the widespread strikes, which occurred early Friday morning local time, the US and UK militaries targeted dozens of Houthi assets across Yemen, including radar stations, weapons storage locations, launch sites, command and control nodes, and production facilities. Western officials said the strikes were launched from airborne, surface, and subsurface platforms  that is, jets, warships, and at least one submarine  and involved more than 100 precision-guided munitions.

But that wasn't the end of it. On Saturday, a US Navy warship fired a Tomahawk missile and hit a Houthi radar site in Yemen as a "follow-on action on a specific military target" associated with the initial round of strikes, CENTCOM said.

Footage shows airstrikes in Yemen early on January 12, 2024. Screengrab via UK Ministry of Defense

It was not immediately clear how much damage the strikes caused, although a senior Biden administration official told reporters that the strikes were conducted with the expectation that they would "degrade in a significant way the Houthis' capability to launch exactly the sorts of attacks that they have conducted over the period of recent weeks."

"The detailed results of the strikes are being assessed, but early indications are that the Houthis' ability to threaten merchant shipping has taken a blow," the UK Ministry of Defense said in a statement, echoing what the unnamed US official said.

The strikes followed repeated warnings from the US and its allies that the Houthis would face serious consequences if they didn't stop their attacks on international shipping, which have turned critical waterways off the coast of Yemen into a dangerous passage for vessels.

The rebels have claimed their actions are a direct result of the Israel-Hamas war, although US officials have dismissed this as their motivation. US officials have accused the rebels of acting indiscriminately and creating a global problem.

Read the original article on Business Insider
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR)  Monday, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels fired a missile, striking a U.S.-owned ship just off the coast of Yemen.

No one was hurt and the ship is still afloat.

The attack appears to be in retaliation for last weeks air strikes by U.S. and United Kingdom military forces on Houthi targets in Yemen.

President Biden ordered the strikes to respond to Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) says Congress should have been consulted about the strike.

It is Congress that has the right to declare war, not the president of the United States, he said.

Houthi rebels say they will continue attacking the U.S. and other ships in the Red Sea until Israel ends its war on Hamas in Gaza.

But Israel says it will fight on, its been 100 days since Hamas attack on Israel.

Israel has a right to respond to this horrific terrorist attack from Hamas, Sanders added, but hes been critical of Israels unrelenting attacks in Gaza.

You do not have a right to go to war against an entire people, women and children, he said.

Over the weekend, thousands gathered in the nations capital to call for an end to the fighting in Gaza. Palestinian authorities say 24,000 people have been killed.

Iowa Republican Joni Ernest (R-Iowa) warns that six Americans are still being held hostage by Hamas.

They are being tortured. They have been raped. They have been denied medication,  she said.

The White House is urging Israel to scale back the war.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
Eleven people were rescued after a large tree fell on cars at a popular park in California, fire officials said.

On Jan. 15, San Francisco firefighters responded to Golden Gate Park after reports of a tree falling on several cars, according to a Facebook post by fire officials.

I was in the car with my family and next thing you knew is this big tree with the lamppost came down in slow motion on us, Sandy Yeung told KTVU.

Firefighters quickly navigated through the downed tree and search the damaged cars for victims, officials said.

UPDATE



11 OCCUPANTS ARE SAFE

2 OF WHICH HAVE NON-LIFE THREATENING INJURIES #SFFD CLEARING TREE FROM CARS



UNKNOWN WHEN ROAD WILL REOPEN



LARGE TREE ON 4 CARS SB 19TH AVE CLOSED



NB 19TH AVE ONE LANE OPEN AVOID AREA https://t.co/mMYE4Aywdy pic.twitter.com/hM7dQhxjgr  SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA (@SFFDPIO) January 16, 2024

Eleven people were rescued and two needed minor medical care, firefighters said.

The tree also took down a live power line that sat in between the cars and the tree, rescuers said.

We were very, very lucky, Yeung told CBS News Bay Area. I think we had a guardian angel watching over us today.

The massive tree was over 100 feet long, Lt. Jonathan Baxter with the San Francisco Fire Department told KTVU. It hit five vehicles, the outlet reported.

TREE FELL ON VEHICLES



LARGE TREE FELL ON CROSSOVER DR/MLK, 4 VEHICLES UNDER TREE



SFFD EVALUATING 7 VICTIMS



ALL LANES OF 19TH AVE IN THIS AREA CLOSED -MAJOR TRAFFIC DELAYS- AVOID AREA CONSIDER RE-ROUTE pic.twitter.com/SG5BZKxXx6  SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA (@SFFDPIO) January 16, 2024

Firefighters were able to cut and remove the tree debris so the street could reopen, officials said.

22-year-old tree trimmer dies when branch pins him 50 feet in the air, Florida cops say

19-year-old electrocuted after out-of-control driver downs power line, Maine cops say

Falling tree kills driver on highway as severe weather rips through Southeast, cops say
Israels war in Gaza has brought famine with such incredible speed, the United Nations emergency relief chief told CNN on Monday, as he warned that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are starving in the besieged enclave.

The great majority of 400,000 Gazans characterized by UN agencies as at risk of starving are actually in famine, not just at risk of famine, Martin Griffiths, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator told CNNs Christiane Amanpour.

Its been an extraordinary and wholly unwelcome aspect of the Gazan war, he said. It has brought famine with such incredible speed to the front of the lines.

Aid has been trickling into Gaza slowly from two border crossings in the south but agencies have been warning it is a fraction of what is needed.

Last week, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Israel had denied critical supplies from entering northern Gaza. But Israel has accused the UNs Palestinian refugee agency of not doing enough and stalling the progress.

Griffiths told CNN Monday that work to provide humanitarian aid to 300,000 Gazans who remain in the north of the strip continues to be a challenge.

Its not a matter of the number of trucks that can get in, he said after listing a series of roadblocks stopping aid including unreliable deconfliction of access routes, and civilians having to move from one place of insecurity to another place of insecurity.

If you cannot rely on deconfliction of access routes of people in need, if you cannot rely on hospitals not being attacked  if you cannot rely on people having to move from one place of insecurity to another place of insecurity, those are the issues that make humanitarian aid deliveries, he said. Its not a matter of the number of trucks that can get in.

Children try to get food relief in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on December 31, 2023. - Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua/Getty Images

More than 24,000 people have been killed in Gaza and more than 60,000 others injured since October 7, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health said Monday. Meanwhile, nearly 90% of Gazas pre-war population has been displaced, according to the UN.

That campaign began after the October 7 murder and kidnapping rampage by Hamas gunmen that saw some 1,200 people killed in Israel and more than 240 taken hostage, more than 130 of whom are still in captivity, alive or dead.

Israels relentless bombing has wrought widespread devastation, as civilians live with the threat of imminent death  either by an airstrike, starvation or disease.

Griffiths warned Monday that the dire humanitarian situation in the enclave could create generational hatred.

We worry for the security of Israel as much as the security of Gaza, he said.

Screaming from hunger

On Monday, UN agencies issued a joint appeal for greater aid access to Gaza, saying a fundamental step change in the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza is urgently needed.

The heads of the World Food Programme (WFP), UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization said that getting enough supplies into and across Gaza depends on the opening of new entry routes; more trucks being allowed through border checks each day; fewer restrictions on the movement of humanitarian workers; and guarantees of safety for people accessing and distributing aid.

People in Gaza risk dying of hunger just miles from trucks filled with food, said WFP head Cindy McCain. Every hour lost puts countless lives at risk. We can keep famine at bay but only if we can deliver sufficient supplies and have safe access to everyone in need, wherever they are.

The WFP warned in early December that the catastrophic hunger crisis in Gaza which already threatens to overwhelm the civilian population will only intensify.

People wait for food relief in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on December 31, 2023. - Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua/Getty Images/File

Salwa Tibi, a 53-year-old aid worker and mother of four in Gaza, recently told CNN that her children are screaming all day from hunger.

As winds, heavy rains and cooler temperatures descend on Gaza from November to February, aid workers and civilians trying to survive persistent bombardment told CNN they face harsh living conditions, insufficient access to warm clothing, and outbreaks of disease in overcrowded makeshift shelters. Food, fuel and water are ever scarcer, and the price of what little remains is spiraling.

I felt bad for the kids, they had nothing to keep them warm and we were dying from the cold at night, Tibi said.

Adults ration their meals so that children do not go hungry. I see people starving, literally starving, said Shadi Bleha, a 20-year-old student, displaced from northern Gaza to Rafah, who eats one meal a day.

Lives hanging in the balance

The Integrated Food Security and Nutrition Phase Classification (IPC) has confirmed that the entire population of Gaza  about 2.2 million people  is facing high levels of acute food insecurity or worse, with one in four households facing catastrophic conditions.

The IPC said it is the highest share of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity the initiative has ever classified for any given area or country.

Children at high risk of dying from malnutrition and disease desperately need medical treatment, clean water and sanitation services, but the conditions on the ground do not allow us to safely reach children and families in need, said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

Gazas 350,000 children under the age of 5 are especially vulnerable, UNICEF said. The agency warned that in the next few weeks, child wasting, which is the most life-threatening form of malnutrition in children, could affect up to 10,000 children.

Some of the material we desperately need to repair and increase water supply remain restricted from entering Gaza. The lives of children and their families are hanging in the balance. Every minute counts, Russell said.

But the agencies echoed relief chief Griffiths warning that humanitarian aid alone cannot reverse the worsening hunger among Gazas population.

Phillipe Lazzarini, Commissioner General for the UNs Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA), said commercial supplies are a must to allow the markets and private sector to re-open and provide an alternative to food accessibility.

CNNs Sana Noor Haq and Rosa Rahimi contributed reporting.

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A Kansas woman died in an accidental shooting after she and her husband finished a deer hunt on Saturday in southeast Kansas, authorities said.

The shooting was reported at 4:41 p.m. at the Grand Osage Wildlife Area in Labette County. Deputies from the Labette County Sheriffs Office and Kansas Wildlife and Parks officers responded to an accidental shooting call, the sheriffs office said in a social media post.

The victim, Christina Hall of Oswego, was taken by EMS to Labette Health hospital where she died from her injuries, the sheriffs office said.

Authorities interviewed Halls husband, Derek Hall, who had called 911. He told authorities that they had finished deer hunting and had returned to their vehicle before the incident happened.

Derek stated that he laid his rifle down on the back seat of their pickup and attempted to unload it, the sheriffs office said. When he took the rifle off safe it went off, striking his wife, Christina Hall.

Hall was struck in the lower back, Labette County Sheriff Darren Eichinger said in an email.

The incident is not being investigated as a homicide and no charges were brought upon Hall, Eichinger added.

Our thoughts & prayers go out the Hall family during this heartbreaking time, the sheriffs office said.

Labette County is roughly a two-hour drive southeast of Wichita.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson ended his long-shot bid for the White House on Tuesday.

The former two-term governor entered the race in April with an eye toward taking on former President Donald Trump, who saw a decisive win in Iowa on Monday night. Hutchinson found himself increasingly without a political home in a party that has embraced the man who once seemed toxic in the wake of Jan. 6, 2021.

"My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front runner did not sell in Iowa," Hutchinson said in a statement. He finished a distant sixth in Iowa.

After eeking out enough support to earn a spot on stage at the first primary debate last August, Hutchinson faded in the polls and struggled to seize much national attention. His campaign manager, Rob Burgess, departed in the fall over disagreements about how  and whether  to proceed with a presidential bid. Hutchinsons cash-strapped operation opted to forgo putting his name on the ballot in some states, including Nevada and South Carolina, avoiding the accompanying tens of thousands of dollars in fees.



But the former governor soldiered on, making the case against a second Trump term  and outlasting more prominent candidates like former Vice President Mike Pence, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

During the first primary debate, he was the only candidate on stage who did not raise his hand when asked if he would support Trump as the Republican nominee if he is convicted of a crime. (Christie, the races other prominent Trump critic, later clarified that he would also refuse to support the former president if hes convicted.)

Hutchinson, who served as the youngest U.S. attorney under President Ronald Reagan, was also the only candidate to prop up the controversial legal theory that could keep Trump off the ballot in some states.

Over a year ago, I said that Donald Trump was morally disqualified from being president again as a result of what happened on Jan. 6. More people are understanding the importance of that, including conservative legal scholars," Hutchinson said during the first debate in Milwaukee  a comment that elicited both applause and boos from the audience.

"I'm not going to support somebody who's been convicted of a serious felony or who is disqualified under our Constitution, he added, referencing the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment. The clause bars those who have taken an oath to support the Constitution from holding office again if theyve engaged in insurrection against the United States or given aid or comfort to its enemies. After Colorado determined in December that Trump is not qualified to be on the ballot, the decision of whether to remove him currently sits with the Supreme Court.

Hutchinson wasnt always an outspoken critic of the former president. While seeking a second term as governor, he leaned on a Trump endorsement to beat back a primary challenge from conservative gun range owner Jan Morgan.

He has done an incredible job with a focus on lower taxes, border security, and crime prevention. Asa loves our military and our veterans. I fully endorse Asa for Governor! Trump wrote in a social media post at the time.

Hutchinson went on to trounce Morgan in the primary, and handily defeated Democratic challenger Jared Henderson in the general election.

After the 2020 election, Hutchinson first defended Trumps right to bring legal challenges over the results. But by December, he had joined a bipartisan group of governors on a call with the Biden transition team, and on Jan. 6 he condemned the rioters who stormed the Capitol.

Appointed by Reagan in 1982, Hutchinson became the youngest U.S. attorney in the country. After an unsuccessful Senate run, Hutchinson won a House seat and quickly rose to national prominence after serving as an impeachment manager in the case against fellow Arkasanan and former President Bill Clinton. He later served as head of the Drug Enforcement Agency under former President George W. Bush before being reassigned to the newly created Department of Homeland Security in the wake of Sept. 11.
Rapper Ice-T and his wife, Coco Austin, have rung in the new year with a sweet photo of their blended family.

Over the weekend, the "Law & Order: SVU" star and Austin shared a new family photo on their respective social media accounts. The latest photo features Ice-T  legal name Tracy Marrow  in the center and with his children posing on either side of him.

The ICE Family Coco,Chanel,Big ICE, Lil ICE, LeTesah  2024 pic.twitter.com/rUneibmdvn  ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) January 14, 2024

The 'Ice family,' Austin wrote in the caption of the photo post shared on Instagram.

Austin is featured on the far left of the photo sitting next to daughter Chanel Nicole, whom she shares with the actor. To the right of Ice-T are his son and daughter from previous relationships  Tracy Marrow Jr. sits closest to the rapper while his daughter, LeTesha Marrow, sits on the far end on the right.

Fans in the comments section of the two posts pointed out how beautiful Ice-T's family is.

"You have such a beautiful family. Enjoy your family time," one person commented.

"Great family. So happy to see an actual happy couple," another wrote.

Read on to learn more about Ice-T's three kids.

LeTesha Marrow

LeTesha Marrow and Coco Austin (Rob Kim / Getty)

In 1976, Ice-T welcomed his first child, daughter LeTesha Marrow, with his then-girlfriend Adrienne when he was still in high school.

In a 2020 interview with People, Ice-T revealed what it was like to be a dad when he was in the middle of jumpstarting his career.

When I had my first kid, I was in the middle of the wildness of becoming Ice-T, all the people that were after me, and I had my head down, he said. I really wasnt concentrating on them. I was concentrating on survival."

According to LeTesha's Twitter bio, she's a writer and actor who also has an account on OnlyFans.

LeTesha is also the mother of a son, Elyjah Marrow, whom she welcomed in 1995. This was the first time that Ice-T became a grandfather.

According to Billboard, Elyjah was later arrested in 2014 in Georgia in connection to the death of his roommate Daryus Johnson, whom he reportedly shot and killed by accident.

Tracy Marrow Jr.

Ice-T and his son Tracy Marrow Jr. (Scott Dudelson / Getty Images)

In 1991, Ice-T welcomed his son, Tracy, with his then-girlfriend Darlene Ortiz, who is almost 10 years his junior.

According to Complex, they met at L.A.'s Radiotron and dated for 17 years before they called it quits. However, Ortiz told the outlet that they didn't separate on good terms.

"Im disappointed highly of how it ended and how we chose to end it," she said. "Im very disappointed, but at the same time, how can I be mad at him? All these exciting things happened because of him. I met him and supported him, and he is still my sons dad. Theres no way it can ever really get ugly."

As Tracy Jr. grew older, he knew that he wanted to pursue a rap career just like his dad. While adopting the nickname Lil' Ice, Tracy Jr. was focused on getting a lot of money, as his Instagram bio suggests.

On Instagram, he was also seen performing alongside his dad with his father's heavy metal band, Body Count.

However, in 2012, Tracy Jr. got into some legal trouble. On Twitter, he wrote, "Just Bailed Out of Jail lmao #ThezN----sWontHoldMeBack 10k Bail go f--- yourself officer wait for my complaint u need anger management !"

Nonetheless, Tracy Jr. still remains the apple of his mother's eye. For Mother's Day 2021, she shared a collage of photos of them together and wrote, "I just cant get enough of this young man, I love being a mom."

"One of my best memories, when he was 15 and he was appalled at how many of his friends that he witnessed that didnt give their mom or dad, a hug and kiss and tell them they loved them as they exited the car, I was dropping him off at school and it dawned on him seeing his pals leave their parents cars. ," she continued. "Soon after that hed no longer need rides to school but man am I glad to have those moments."

Chanel Nicole Marrow

Chanel is the baby of the family. In 2015, Ice-T welcomed his daughter with his wife, Coco Austin, whom he married in 2002.

When Chanel was born, Ice-T was over 50 years old.

Muhammad Ali said it best, When a man has a child in the second half of his life, after 50, it resets his life, the "6 n the Mornin" rapper said on V-103s "Big Tigger Morning Show" last March. It started my life over.

I got back healthy, now Im back in the gym, Im looking good, sharp, Im strong. Ive got to live," he continued. "I cant go nowhere. Ive got to keep chasing these bags. I got a baby girl.

When Chanel turned 7 years old, she showed her parents that she really has a knack for acting and editing.

On Instagram, Ice-T shared a funny video that Chanel made of herself playing two different characters. He captioned it, "Newest Actress, Editor and Director.. Chanel did this all by herself. Then showed it to me and Coco.. Not bad for a 7yr old. ."

Chanel is also clearly not afraid of the spotlight. At her father's 2023 Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, she showed up alongside her mom and posed for pictures in a cute dress while her dad received his iconic star in the City of Angels.

Let me shout out my family, Ice-T said towards the end of his speech. My son, my daughter, Coco my wife. (Chanel), who obviously is in the position to stand behind one of these podiums one day. She has no fear of the stage.

Chanel also adores her mother to bits. While promoting the "Barbie" movie in a barely-there bikini, Austin said on Instagram, "Chanel is so cute.. She tells me, 'Mommy, you were Barbie before the movie came out. Youre the real human barbie'. And she is dead serious about it.. I love how she views me and loves me thats so sweet of her."

On Sept. 6, 2023, Chanel walked the runway during New York Fashion Week as a model in the Rookie USA fashion show.

Wearing a blue floral sweater, Chanel channeled her fathers smile for the camera while holding another young models hand.

She also strutted down the runway solo at one point wearing a black jumpsuit, striking a fabulous pose with her hand in the air.

Chanel Nicole Marrow (Bennett Raglin / Getty Images for Rookie USA)

Chanel has a verified Instagram account, with more than 440,000 followers. In an Aug. 11, 2023, interview with People, Ice-T shared the reason why he and Austin decided to make a social media account for their young daughter.

Its fun and she likes doing it. If she didnt, we definitely wouldnt do it, he said, also noting that they monitor Chanels activity on the various platforms. When Chanel was born, we got her social media because we knew that we were gonna be the parents that were gonna show a hundred pictures of their kid because we were proud.

Ice-T with Coco Austin and kids. (Todd Williamson / NBC via Getty Im)

I didnt want to put it all on my page, because then Id be that dad thats always showing pictures of his kids, he continued. So we... got her a page, that way if people want to watch our child grow, they can. Were not afraid of anything happening. People will say, dont show her face. Were not concerned with that.

However, if it ever reaches a point where Chanel says that shes not happy with social media, Ice-T says that he and Austin will immediately pull the plug. But until that day, he said shes a normal kid who likes her TikToks and her Reels.

Still, Ice-T is clear that even if you dont see him or his wife in a video or post, they are still watching everything.

I think the thing of it is, its Ice-T and Coco. Our parenting is a lot different than the normal, square couple from Oklahoma. Im a f---ing rock star, its different.

Were like the Osbournes, the Cop Killer rapper continued. We have a different dynamic in our house. But its not harmful. Thats the main thing. Its us.

He said hes also not fazed by others who criticize how he and Austin parent.

You got to remember this: for anything anybody says about me and Coco, theres a million billion people that are like f--- that. So are you gonna listen to the negative? he asked. I always say youre insulated by love. You got so many people out there that love you. You cant pay attention to the idiots, you know? So none of that affects us and you can tell.

Instead, he offered some sage advice on how he approaches being the best father.

The key to having kids is having parental guidance  not necessarily parental control, but guidance to help them understand what it is, he said.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
REYKJAVIK (Reuters) -A volcanic eruption in Iceland that had threatened to engulf a seaside town appeared to subside on Tuesday, although authorities and geologists warned that danger still persisted.

A flow of red-hot lava on Sunday reached the outskirts of Grindavik, a fishing town of some 4,000 residents, setting three houses ablaze but causing no harm to people who had been evacuated for a second time since November.

Live footage on Tuesday morning no longer showed signs of molten rock erupting from the ground, even as experts warned that new fissures could emerge at short notice.

The Icelandic Meteorological Office said new cracks could still open without warning, adding that magma continued to flow underground and it was too early to declare the eruption over.

"This is a very hazardous area and it has a potential to be repeating events in the future as well," Rikke Pedersen, who heads the Nordic Volcanological Centre research group based in Reykjavik, told Reuters.

"What is certain is that we will have more periods of activity on the peninsula and the whole area is sort of in a stage of great uncertainty," she added.

Grindavik resident Hrannar Jon Emilsson watched his almost-finished house burn down on live TV after the volcano erupted on Sunday.

"You sit and watch the news showing everything go up in smoke," Emilsson told Icelandic independent broadcaster Channel 2.

"Last week I asked the electricians to start their work so that they could finalise their part of the work with the view of arranging for moving in before springtime. Things change fast."

It was the second eruption on the peninsula of Reykjanes in four weeks, and the fifth since 2021.

(Reporting by Gerhard Mey in Reykjavik and Louise Breusch Rasmussen and Tom Little in Copenhagen; editing by Terje Solsvik, Bernadette Baum and Andrew Cawthorne)
Idaho lawmakers will again consider whether to further restrict public health districts ability to implement public health measures.

Two bills proposed by Rep. Jacyn Gallagher, R-Weiser, would limit ways for public health districts to prevent the spread of a disease. House Bill 396, which Gallagher introduced Tuesday, would ban state agencies or political subdivisions from mandating masks. Gallagher also introduced a separate bill, House Bill 392, to limit the authority of health districts to address public health crises.

Face masks have been used widely during the COVID-19 pandemic and at times have been required in parts of Idaho. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends masking to prevent contracting or spreading COVID-19, especially when hospital admission levels are high and depending on a persons level of risk.

Gallagher told lawmakers House Bill 392 would place a small limit on public health districts ability to do anything and everything that they want to do whenever they want to do it.

I want to go to my doctor to tell me what to do with my body instead of a health district telling me what I can or cannot do, Gallagher said, adding later, I think that the purpose of this is less power to this body and more individual choice.

Republican lawmakers have repeatedly tried to ban public health practices since the pandemic began, with some success. Gov. Brad Little signed a law last year banning most employers  public and private  from mandating vaccines as a condition of employment.

Lawmakers introduced two bills banning mask mandates in 2022, both of which failed to become law. Then-Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin briefly issued an executive order banning masks in 2021, on a day when Little was out of town and she became acting governor. Little reversed her order and called it a political stunt a day later.

At a Tuesday committee hearing, Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, said he has questions about how the mask ban would apply in certain situations and doesnt want it to be rushed.

Weve had these come in the past years, he said. I like the concept, but I have questions on this.

The bill exempts hospitals or health care facilities but would impact public health districts, school districts, cities and state agencies and boards.

If masks dont work and theyre so bad and ineffective, then why did you exempt hospitals and health care facilities? Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, told the Idaho Statesman. If theyre important enough to allow a hospital or health facility to mandate masks, why arent they important enough in other contexts?

He called the proposal an extreme bill to make hard and fast rules that have the potential to interfere with reasonable solutions where death or serious infection is possible.

Youre tying the hands of future decision-makers who might be facing a very, very difficult and serious situation, he said.

The U.S. has faced a large COVID-19 surge in recent weeks, and wastewater data in Boise shows the surge may be approaching the levels of last winters surge. Hospitals in Idaho reported 87 patients hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases last week, according to state data. The CDC registers Idahos COVID-19 hospital admissions level as medium.

Hayat Norimine contributed to this report.

Want the latest news on the Idaho Legislature? Sign up for Capitol Letters, a newsletter we send for every day of the legislative session. We'll keep you up to date on bills in the process of becoming law.
An Illinois man has been charged in federal court with initiating a murder-for-hire plot against a man in Florida.

Ben Patrick Mullavey, 64, of Mechanicsburg in Sangamon County, faces a single felony count of using interstate commerce to hire someone else to murder a business associate.

A criminal complaint filed Tuesday in the U. S. Court for the Eastern District of Missouri accuses Mullavey of offering up to $10,000 for the murder of the Florida man. Mullavey claimed the man owed him $200,000 and a lawsuit filed to recover the alleged debt was not going well, the charging documents say.

According to an affidavit with investigators, Mullavey met with a man in Sikeston, Missouri, to discuss the murder and supply him with identifying information for his business partner. They also discussed obtaining a Florida license plate to help the hitman blend in, acquiring a crossbow and arrows, expense money and a $1,000 prepayment, according to court records.

On Jan. 3, the man shared details of Mullaveys plans with the FBI.

The murder-for-hire charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.
Two new exceptionally rare babies are ready for double trouble at a Florida zoo after their landmark birth earlier this year.

Luna, the matriarch of a cotton-top tamarin troop gave birth to twins in early January, marking an important step in preserving the species, the Brevard Zoo announced in Jan. 16 news release.

All troop members have been doing well with this big change so far! the zoo said. The little ones have been observed clinging to all family members, and the troop has also been helping groom them.

Primate troops, or groups of animals that live and travel together, are often led by their strongest female member, according to anthropologists from Arizona State University.

Cotton-top tamarins are one of the most endangered primates in the world and are found on the northern coast of Colombia.

Cotton-top tamarins, also called cotton-headed tamarins, are native to the rainforests of Colombia, but their numbers have plummeted, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

The species was listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List in 2021, meaning there are fewer than 2,000 adults in the wild.

Due to habitat loss and the pet trade, this species is one of the most endangered primates on the planet, the zoo said in a Jan. 16 Facebook post. This means every individual, including our two newest additions, are critical successes for the future of the species.

It is essential for the babies to bond with their troop, the zoo said, and they have spent time clinging to different members of their family.

The zoo said its keepers knew Luna was expecting, and made necessary arrangements for her pregnancy and birth to be a success.

The keepers have stayed out of the enclosure as much as possible and set up barriers to prevent any disruptions to the adjusting primate troop, the zoo said.

We want to provide the tamarins with as much quiet time as possible to allow them to bond with the family group, area supervisor of primates Michelle Johnston said in the release.

In order to allow that bonding time, the keepers have not been able to examine the babies closely to check for their sex, the zoo said.

The babies were born to the matriarch, or female leader of the troop, Luna.

For now, they have joined their brothers  Rudy, Archie and Albie  and are exploring their habitat.

Saw them this weekend. You just cant stop watching them. So adorable, one zoo guest commented on Facebook.

Awww loving on mama! I cant wait to see Lunas babies! another wrote.

Brevard Zoo is in Melbourne, about 60 miles southeast of Orlando.

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STUART  An Indiantown man avoided a trial Tuesday by pleading guilty to second-degree murder related to a 2021 stabbing incident that left a 21-year-old man dead, according to court records and a state prosecutor.

During a hearing Tuesday, Romeo Marcos Francisco-Francisco, 22, was ordered to serve 20 years in prison for killing Indiantown resident Manuel Jeremias Souy Perechu, Assistant State Attorney Kristen Chase said after court.

He pleaded guilty as charged, she said.

Francisco-Francisco, of the 14700 block of Southwest 175th Court in Indiantown, was arrested days after the Oct. 30, 2021 stabbing, though on a robbery charge related to an incident that happened a month earlier. At the time, Martin County Sheriffs Chief Deputy John Budensiek said Francisco-Francisco was responsible for the death of Perechu, originally from Guatemala.

The medical examiner reported finding stab injuries to the lower neck and chest area, records show.

The murder

Sheriffs officials were called about 2:25 a.m. Oct. 30, 2021, regarding a man in the street near Southwest Jackson Avenue and Southwest 153rd Street in Indiantown. Sheriffs and fire rescue officials went to the address, and the man was dead, arrest records show.

Investigators spoke to a number of people, including reported witnesses to the homicide, and were told Souy Perechu and three others had been at a local establishment known as the Blue Moon bar.

One witness said he and the others left the bar about 2 a.m. and started walking away. He said two men approached and began fighting Souy Perechu, who was later stabbed.

Another witness said the group met near the bar and went inside. He said the two who were later involved in the fatal encounter sat at a table next to them.

He said Francisco-Francisco and his friend wound up being kicked out of the bar after they were involved in a fight.

Another person said he was robbed about a month earlier in the same plaza as Blue Moon and believed a person in that incident also played a role in the homicide.

That person found the man, later identified as Francisco-Francisco, through Facebook.

Francisco-Francisco was found at a rooming house in the Booker Park area in Indiantown, Budensiek said at the time.

According to the Sheriffs Office, DNA results showed Francisco-Franciscos blood was at the crime scene. His DNA also was in fingernail clippings from the fatally stabbed man.

The man's DNA turned up on a stain on Francisco-Franciscos shirt and pants that were recovered from his room at a house in the 14,000 block of Southwest 175th Court in Indiantown.

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Melissa E. Holsman is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers and is writer and co-host of "Uncertain Terms," a true-crime podcast. Reach her at melissa.holsman@tcpalm.com. If you are a subscriber, thank you. If not, become a subscriber to get the latest local news on the Treasure Coast.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Man pleads guilty to deadly 2021 stabbing outside Indiantown lounge
The best news from the Iowa caucuses last night can be found in the compelling history of the Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum and Ted Cruz presidencies. If youre a little confused, thats because Huckabee won the 2008 caucuses, Santorum won in 2012 and Cruz won in 2016. A handful of Iowa delegates and bragging rights going into New Hampshire didnt do them much good. No presidency followed.

Donald Trump shouldnt get all full of himself just yet.

In 2008, John McCain went on to win the New Hampshire primary and the nomination. Mitt Romney did the same in 2012 and Trump, ditto for 2016. And while Iowa second-place finisher Ron DeSantis is nowhere in the New Hampshire polling, Nikki Haley  whom DeSantis barely edged out  is within striking distance of Trump in New Hampshire. Perhaps a win there could break the Republican Partys populist fever and get enough voters to be willing to turn the page from Trump.

If Haley pulls it off, it wont be because she is an amazing person, but rather, shell pull it off despite a record of meh accomplishment and very little backbone.

Given that she credits Hillary Clinton with inspiring her career in politics, it is a wonder she has any Republican votes at all. I keep asking myself: Which of Clintons many sleazy escapades provided the inspiration? Was it covering up for husbands infidelity, her shady health care task force or the mysterious loss of law firm billing records Congress was after? Maybe it was the inspirational, feminist way Clinton married her way into power.

And while Haley presents herself as a tough politician, when times have arrived for her to show a backbone, shes suffered from political osteoporosis. There was that time when nine Black people including a preacher were slaughtered in a Black church in South Carolina. At first, she didnt know what to do. Then she decided to take down the Confederate battle flag from where it flew on the South Carolina State House grounds. But, she wrote years later, The evil act (Dylann Roof) had committed had robbed the good-intentioned South Carolinians who supported the flag of this symbol of heritage and service.

That flag is no symbol of heritage and service  it is a symbol of slavery. Ill tell you where that flag belongs, Nikki. It belongs on the homes, cars and lapels of people who want to say clearly that they dont want to be part of decent society. The Confederate battle flag has no place in public, and that was obvious before Roof started pulling the trigger of a Glock. Enough Black people had already died at the hands of those who espoused the Confederate cause to make that obvious. Haley still doesnt get it. Perhaps thats why she couldnt remember the Civil War was caused by slavery.

Then came the call from Trump to leave her embattled South Carolina governorship and slide into the United Nations ambassador role. In a bare two years, she shined her tough foreign policy bona fides while representing a man who likes to cuddle with dictators.

What did she achieve? I am not sure. Her website says, As ambassador, Haley defended U.S. interests, kept our country safe, and championed human rights. OK. She also did what she was told by a man who tried to steal an election and she never said a word about his unctuous demeanor toward the butcher in Moscow, the tyrant in Beijing and the nutball in Pyongyang.

So, yeah, I am not a fan of Nikki Haley. But she is our last, best hope for derailing the Trump train. She has my vote.

I will say one thing for her: Shes stubborn and persistent. Somehow she convinced her boyfriend and later husband to change his name from Bill to Michael. Now thats something Hillary Clinton would do. Maybe it will be enough to make her president.

David Mastio, a former editor and columnist for USA Today, is a regional editor for The Center Square and a regular Star Opinion correspondent.
Republican voters caucused in Iowa on Monday, in the first nominating contest of the 2024 GOP primary.

In Iowa  traditionally the first state in the nation to cast votes in presidential races  voters meet at community gathering places throughout the state to hear remarks from presidential candidates supporters. Voters then cast secret ballots indicating their top candidate. The votes are tabulated and the results announced to the caucus. The statewide results are then used to proportionally allocate delegates to the various candidates.

Former President Donald Trump has held a commanding lead in the polls, and is projected to pick up a majority of the 40 Republican delegates up for grabs in Iowa. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is projected to take second place, while former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will land in third.

Caucuses began at 7 p.m. CT.

View live results from the Iowa caucuses below:
Iowa caucuses 2024: Trump projected to win, DeSantis 2nd

The first election of the 2024 presidential primaries is in the books, and former President Donald Trump was the big winner. ABC News projects that Trump finished first in the Iowa caucuses, about 30 percentage points ahead of second-place finisher Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is projected to finish third, while businessman Vivek Ramaswamy is projected to finish fourth. As a result, Ramaswamy has dropped out of the presidential race.

Throughout the night, 538 reporters broke down the results in Iowa in real time with live updates, analysis and commentary. Read our full live blog below.





Latest Developments





Jan 16, 12:20 AM

Thats a wrap!

Thats all from us for today. As of 12:30 a.m. Eastern, 95 percent of the expected vote is reporting. Trump leads with around 51 percent of the vote, followed by DeSantis with 21 percent, Haley with 19 percent and Ramaswamy with 8 percent.



To recap some of the key moments of the night: Trumps win was projected only around 30 minutes into the caucuses; DeSantis kept his campaign alive with a respectable second-place showing; and Ramaswamys fourth-place result prompted him to exit the race and throw his support behind Trump.



Well have more analysis as to what it all means in coming days, and of course, we hope to see you back here next Tuesday as we do it all again in New Hampshire! Thanks for sticking with us.



Tia Yang, 538





Jan 16, 12:18 AM

Final thought: Haleys window is closing

Tonights Iowa caucuses didnt hold many surprises. Trump was expected to win by a huge margin, and he did. DeSantis and Haley were expected to duke it out for second place, and they did. You could argue that DeSantis outpacing Haley was a bit of a surprise, given all the dooming around DeSantiss campaign and Haleys late momentum in the polls, but I dont think the Haleys-in-second conventional wisdom had really sunk in yet, so neither of those results felt out of place.



I will say, though, this wasnt the best combination of events for Haley. She finished third, so she probably wont get a huge boost leading into New Hampshire, a must-win state for her. And Ramaswamys withdrawal from the race could actually help Trump gain some ground there in the next few days. Trump was already very likely to win the nomination, but its really over if he wins New Hampshire  and that probably just got a little more likely.



Nathaniel Rakich, 538





Jan 16, 12:17 AM

Final thoughts: Iowa unfolded as expected

The contest in Iowa played out as I expected it would, but of course the primary is not quite over. Anything could still happen, especially this year. But it does look like Trump will coast to the nomination despite all of the unprecedented baggage he brings with him. He's been too heavily a favorite among Republican voters, many of whom believe he actually won the 2020 election and should be president now. While it's true that most Americans seem blah about a 2016 rematch, it's also true that both parties' voters aren't lining up behind alternative candidates.



Of course, we'll all reconvene in about a week to see what happens in New Hampshire.



Monica Potts, 538





Jan 16, 12:15 AM

Final thoughts: As good as it gets?

Other than his one-vote loss in Johnson County, it's hard to find much that went wrong for Trump tonight. He won a majority of the vote and carried pretty much every demographic category (especially ones that make up the bedrock of the GOP primary electorate). The most Trump-like candidate in the race, who was still siphoning off a chunk of MAGA votes, dropped out and endorsed him. His two main challengers effectively tied, denying either of them the momentum or comeback narrative they desperately sought in Iowa. And you have to imagine the deep-pocketed donors who flooded Iowa with tens of millions of dollars of pro-Haley and pro-DeSantis advertising have to be wondering about their return on investment.

The New Hampshire primary is in eight days and might well be the toughest contest for Trump of the entire primary process, so it's good for him he can approach it with a full head of steam. The window of opportunity for any non-Trump candidate to alter the course of this race, such that it was ever open, is rapidly closing.

Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections





Jan 16, 12:12 AM

Final thought: Not much has changed

Donald Trump came into this race an overwhelming favorite for the GOP nomination, and he leaves it the same way. DeSantis and Haley remain in a close race for second place, but so far behind Trump that it doesnt seem like either has a realistic path to claiming the nomination. The polls were extremely accurate, especially by Iowa standards, and if that holds up in future primary elections, barring any unforeseen circumstances were looking at a Trump-Biden rematch in November.

Mary Radcliffe, 538





Jan 16, 12:10 AM

Final thoughts: Trump's night

Trump will win in nearly every county, the race was called super early, and the issues that brought Iowans out tonight were squarely in his wheelhouse, including the unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 race was stolen. This doesn't suggest there's a lot of room to mount a challenge, but DeSantis and Haley are both going to keep trying! But New Hampshire is a different animal, and that race is soon enough that narratives about Trump's dominance could crack a little. We'll be here for that one, too!



Meredith Conroy, 538 contributor





Jan 16, 12:07 AM

Final thoughts!



With results projected and speeches given, we're closing in on the end. What are everyone's closing thoughts and takeaways for the evening?

Tia Yang, 538





Jan 16, 12:09 AM

Ramaswamy drops out and endorses Trump

Earlier tonight, Ramaswamy dropped out of the race following his fourth place Iowa finish and endorsed Trump. We've already noted how Ramaswamy was all-in in Iowa, traveling through the entire state twice. Ramaswamy had a brief moment in the sun earlier in the race, but that investment didn't really pay off. He urged his supporters to support Trump, but polls show he's already their number two choice. That could make a difference in New Hampshire, where Haley has been closing in on Trump's lead.

Monica Potts, 538

PHOTO: Republican presidential candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy attends his Iowa caucus night watch party after suspending his campaign in Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 15, 2024. (Sergio Flores/Reuters)





Jan 16, 12:04 AM

Turnout is down. Way down.



Around 109,000 votes have been counted in Iowa tonight, and ABC News's estimated expected vote is roughly 115,000. Should that be about the final total vote tally, that'll mean roughly 5 percent of the voting-eligible population participated in the Republican caucuses. That represents a dramatic drop from 2016, when 8 percent took part in the Republican caucuses (7.5 percent participated in both the 2016 and 2020 Democratic caucuses). Even in 2012, 5.4 percent of the VEP voted in the GOP contest in Iowa, while Democrats set a record in 2008 when about 11 percent of the potential electorate in Iowa took part.

The subzero temperatures in Iowa likely played a part in why turnout fell, but the lack of a competitive race surely also diminished interest. The last time either party fell below 5 percent of the VEP in caucus turnout was in 2000, when both parties fell short. Democrats had an uncompetitive race between Al Gore and Bill Bradley (Gore won by 26 points) while Republicans had a closer contest, but one that George W. Bush still won by 10.5 points.

Geoffrey Skelley, 538





Jan 16, 12:02 AM

Nikki Haley is not beating Biden by 17 points

Haley in her victory speech just now claimed she would beat Biden by 17 points in the general election, repeating one of her favorite lines of the campaign to emphasize her potential electability advantage over the other candidates. Haley is referencing her margin in one Wall Street Journal poll from last year  an outlier poll, to be sure. 538 calculated a preliminary general-election polling average today and found Haley up just 2.7 points versus Biden. That's a bigger margin than the one for her competitors  Trump is currently ahead of Biden by 1.8 points in our average, and DeSantis trails him by 1.2  but a far cry from 17. This is a good reminder to ignore individual polls, especially when they disagree from others, and focus on the average.



G. Elliott Morris, 538

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Sub-zero temperatures and former President Donald Trump's dominant lead going into Monday's Republican caucuses contributed to just 15% of Iowa's registered Republicans turning out, lagging past caucus participation.

The Republican Party of Iowa reported that 110,298 Iowans braved a sub-zero Arctic blast on Monday night to caucus at 1,657 precincts across the state. The number of caucusgoers comprised 15% of Iowa's roughly 752,200 registered Republicans. That falls short of the 20% to nearly 30% of Republicans who caucused in recent years, experts say.

The weather was a definite factor on the turnout, said Tim Hagle, a University of Iowa associate professor of political science, on Tuesday. Former President Trump's expected trouncing of competitors was another.

As caucusgoers gathered at 7 p.m. on Monday, temperatures had dipped to 4 degrees below zero in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, said Brooke Hagenhoff, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Johnston. The wind chill in Des Moines made it feel more like 21 to 24 degrees below zero, she said, while in Cedar Rapids, it felt like 24 to 28 degrees below zero.

Voters walk into a caucus site on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, at Interstate-35 High School in Truro.

Des Moines' temperature matched the Jan. 24, 1972, record low for a caucus in the capital city.

Hagenhoff said she's unable to say what time of day Des Moines hit its record lows in 1972, since no hourly data is available. And wind chill data wasn't reported five decades ago, she said. The Des Moines high was 25 degrees in 1972.

"It was an OK turnout," Hagle said. Despite the race generating a lot of interest, it "wasn't particularly close. That's not overly surprising that turnout was down," he said.

"You probably had some people that were Trump supporters that said, 'He's going to win. It's too cold. I'm staying home,'" Hagle said.

2024 Iowa Caucus Recap: Everything to know about how Trump won and how the day unfolded

Precinct-14 Caucusgoers wait for their vote in the Iowa Caucus at Ames Middle School on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. (Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune-USA Today Network)

It was a historic Republican caucus win for Trump, who got 51% of the vote. Among the other top candidates, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis snagged 21% of the vote, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley won 19%. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who snagged 8% of the vote, dropped out of the race Monday night.

Three other candidates  Texas businessman Ryan Binkley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie  each garnered less than 1% of the vote. Christie suspended his campaign on Jan. 10, and Hutchinson dropped out of the race Tuesday.

"Some people were suggesting that if it was below 100,000, that would look really bad," Hagle said, noting that critics balk at Iowa's first-in-the-nation GOP contest, given the state's 3.2 million residents and nearly 90% white population. Iowa Democrats lost their first-in-the-nation status late last year.

While Trump wasn't technically the incumbent, Hagle said "he's effectively running as the incumbent, and incumbents usually don't have serious challengers." Incumbents have "very high name recognition" and "lots of support from their base from before when they won," he said.

Republicans set a record turnout in the 2016 caucuses when about 187,000 people participated, or about 29% of registered Republicans at the time. It was a hotly contested race between U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, then New York developer Trump, and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. Cruz won the Iowa caucus.

About 120,000 Iowa Republicans turned out in 2012 and in 2008  about 20% of registered GOP voters.

"Historically, it was lower than average. But given the weather, it wasn't too bad," said Christopher Larimer, a University of Northern Iowa political science professor, of this year's contest.

Jeff Kaufmann, the Republican Party of Iowa chairman, said in a statement Monday night that caucusgoers braved the frigid temperatures, driven by frustration with President Joe Biden's performance and excited by the GOPs deep bench of talent.

Iowans came out to have their voices heard, Kaufmann said. They came out for their families, their communities, their state, and their country.

A caucusgoer in Precinct 17 writes his preferred candidate's name on a paper ballot during the Iowa Caucuses at Ames Middle School on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, in Ames, Iowa.

Republicans make up about 34% of the states 2.2 million registered voters.

Iowa's Republican party is trying to determine how many Iowans registered in person Monday at precinct sites to participate in the GOP caucus. One Des Moines location reported running out of forms to register new Republicans.

With President Joe Biden the presumptive nominee, Democrats met to discuss party business Monday.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Caucus turnout: 15% of state's registered Republicans show up
As widely expected, former President Donald Trump cruised to a 30-point victory in Mondays chilly Iowa caucuses, the opening salvo of the 2024 GOP nominating contest. The rout further cemented Trumps status as the most likely candidate to face off against President Biden in Novembers general election.

The Associated Press called Iowa for Trump at 8:32 p.m. EST  just half an hour after the caucuses began.

Yet Iowans also braved snowy, subzero conditions to weigh in on which of the former presidents remaining Republican rivals  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis or former South Carolina governor turned United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley  had earned the right to be the GOPs top Trump alternative going forward.

They delivered a split decision, awarding both DeSantis (about 21%) and Haley (about 19%) a fifth of the vote  and all but ensuring that the two candidates continue to divide the partys anti-Trump faction in future primary contests.

After 11:00 p.m. EST, the AP determined that DeSantis had finished in second place, narrowly edging Haley.

This embedded content is not available in your region.

Good news for Trump

Trump set sky-high expectations for his performance ahead of caucus night, urging volunteers Sunday in Des Moines to see if we can get to 50%" support  a bar no GOP candidate has ever cleared. With more than 90% of precincts reporting, Trump appeared poised to make history with 51% of the vote.

Previously, the biggest GOP margin of victory in Iowa was Bob Dole's nearly 13-point landslide over Pat Robertson in 1988.

Donald Trump at a caucus night party in Des Moines on Monday. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

But it wasnt just Trumps record-setting win that made Monday such a good night for the former president. Haley also helped Trump by failing to finish in second place  an outcome that could have forced DeSantis from the race, allowing her to consolidate support ahead of next weeks New Hampshire primary.

"I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a good time together," Trump said in his victory speech. "We're all having a good time together and I think they both actually did very well."

Did Haley miss her chance?

Once seen as the GOPs likeliest Trump slayer  he led the former president in national surveys for a brief spell in late 2022 and early 2023  DeSantis lost altitude soon after launching his heavily hyped campaign last May.

He had long staked his comeback on a strong showing in the Hawkeye State, visiting all 99 counties, landing the coveted endorsements of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats and organizing his supporters to knock on nearly a million doors.

Yet Haley  who had been mired in fourth in the Iowa polls, with just 4% support  rocketed ahead of DeSantis in the states final surveys after several solid debate performances.

Ron DeSantis at a campaign event in Ankeny, Iowa, on Sunday. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)

Seeking a knockout punch, Haleys campaign and her allied super-PAC combined to spend more on Iowa advertising over the last two weeks than any other candidate: a full $7.8 million compared to $6.1 million for DeSantis and just $3.5 million for Trump.

For DeSantis, even a narrow loss to Haley would have come as a devastating blow. In New Hampshire  which holds its primary next Tuesday, Jan. 23  the Floridian (who averages 6% in the polls there) trails far behind both Haley (30%) and Trump (43%).

Instead, squeaking out a second-place result will give DeSantis a reason to continue campaigning in New Hampshire and beyond.

To that end, DeSantis finance chair Roy Bailey said Monday that the campaign has plenty of fuel in the tank to get the job done ... into Super Tuesday  the big pileup of 15 GOP primaries on March 5  assuming they have the success I think we can have in Iowa and exceed expectations.

Onward to New Hampshire

Haley remains the only candidate within striking distance of Trump in the Granite State, where the states independent-minded electorate has gravitated toward her over DeSantis.

Haley also averages double DeSantiss support  25% versus 12%  in her home state of South Carolina, which votes fourth on Feb. 24.

"At one point in this campaign, there were 14 of us running; I was at 2% in the polls," Haley said in her speech Monday night. "The pundits will analyze the results from every angle. We get that. But when you look at how we're doing in New Hampshire, in South Carolina and beyond, I can safely say that Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race."

Experts have long seen New Hampshire, which allows undeclared voters to cross over and participate in party primaries, as the best place for a Trump challenger to gain momentum. The fewer non-Trump candidates on the ballot, the thinking goes, the more support will accrue to the last man  or woman  standing.

Nikki Haley, center, greets supporters during a campaign event in Des Moines. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

Similar logic led former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose New Hampshire poll numbers were about twice as high as DeSantiss, to end his campaign last week. I am going to make sure that in no way do I enable Donald Trump to ever be president of the United States again, Christie said at the time. Thats more important than my own personal ambition.

But DeSantis won't follow in Christies footsteps after finishing ahead of Haley in Iowa.

"You helped us get a ticket punched out of the Hawkeye State," the Florida governor told supporters in his speech Monday night. "We have a lot of work to do. But I can tell you this: As the next president of the United States, I am gonna get the job done for this country."

As a result, its Trump who will emerge from Iowa in a stronger position than ever.

Why Iowa went for Trump

Despite lower-than-usual turnout due to weather, an estimated 120,000 Iowans still showed up  and the lions share caucused for a figure who faces four criminal trials on 91 felony charges ranging from election interference to hoarding classified documents.

Why? According to the AP's VoteCast survey, a full three-quarters of Iowa caucus-goers said the charges against Trump are political attempts to undermine him rather than legitimate attempts to investigate alleged crimes.

Nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents to the National Election Pool entrance poll said that Trump would still be fit to serve as president if convicted of a crime  double the number who said the opposite (32%). And among white evangelicals, Trumps support  just 22% in 2016  soared to 53% this time around.

Im here in part out of spite, Marc Smiarowski, a 44-year-old public utility worker, told the AP at Trump's final pre-caucus rally Sunday in Indianola. I cant abandon him. [With] the political persecution he faces, I feel like I owe him this.
An aerial view shows Erbil, the capital of Iraqs northern autonomous Kurdish region, on Dec. 13, 2021. Credit - Safin HamidAFP/Getty Images

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the Iranian armed forces, launched ballistic missiles at what it described as the headquarters of spies in Erbil, northern Iraq on Monday night. Ten missiles fell near the U.S. Consulate, Iraqi sources said.

In response to the recent evil acts of the Zionist regime in martyring IRGC and resistance commanders, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, with its nobility and intelligence, targeted and destroyed one of the main headquarters of Israels spying agency Mossad in Iraqs Kurdistan region by firing ballistic missiles, the group said in a statement reported by Irans state news agency.

This Mossad headquarters, the statement continued, referencing Israels intelligence agency, has been working for espionage operations and a center for terror attacks planning in the region, especially against our beloved country.

Iraqi officials denied the building was related to Mossad.

No U.S. facilities were impacted, U.S. officials said. An Iraqi security source told ABC News that no coalition or American forces were killed. However, at least four civilians were killed and six injured in the attack, according to the Kurdistan Regional Security Council. Iraqi news outlet Rudaw reported that 17 were injured and that the youngest victim was an 11-month-old baby who was killed just days before her first birthday.

Iraqi politician Mashan al-Jabouri wrote in a post on X that prominent Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayi was among those killed by one of the missiles, which landed on Dizayis palace. Also reportedly killed in the attack were Dizayis daughter Zhina, the familys foreign babysitter who remains unnamed, and Dizayis acquaintance Karam Mikhail.

ABC News reported that coalition forces also shot down three drones near Erbil airportthe latest in increasing drone attacks in the area, where U.S. and other international forces are stationed. Air traffic at the airport has been suspended, the airport confirmed to Rudaw.

In a statement condemning the attack in Erbil on Tuesday, the U.S. State Department said the strikes were reckless and undermine Iraqs stability.

Read More: For Antony Blinken, the War in Gaza Is a Test of U.S. Power

Iraqi Kurdish governor Omed Khoshnaw told reporters that Mondays strikes were a terrorist attack and an inhumane act. Erbil will not be scared or shaken, he said.

Iraq recalled its ambassador from Tehran and summoned Irans charge daffaires in Baghdad on Tuesday over the Iranian strikes, and the Iraqi foreign ministry announced that it would submit a complaint against Iran to the United Nations Security Council.

The IRGC also launched a separate missile attack that struck targets in Syria, the group said in a statement on Monday. That attack targeted those allegedly involved in a bombing in Kerman earlier this month that killed at least 94 people as well as in an attack on a police station in Rask. Syria Civil Defense, the volunteer organization known as the White Helmets, reported that a strike targeted a defunct medical center and left two civilians with minor injuries.

On Tuesday, Iranian state media reported that the IRGC also launched an attack on what it described as two bases for a militant group in Pakistanthough the reports were later removed. Pakistani officials told the Associated Press that the strikes damaged a mosque, and Pakistans foreign ministry said in a statement that two children were killed and three others wounded in the attack. The statement also noted that the Iranian charge daffaires has been summoned to the ministry for the blatant violation of Pakistans sovereignty and that the responsibility for the consequences will lie squarely with Iran.

The dangerous precedent set by Iran is destabilizing and has reciprocal implications, a senior Pakistani security official told the AP on Wednesday.

The strikes this week come amid escalating tensions in the Middle East since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, which has led to proxy conflicts between each sides alliesnotably between the U.S., which backs Israel, and Iran, which supports Hamas. Irans allies in the region, particularly the Houthi rebels in Yemen, have in recent months launched dozens of attacks targeting ships in the strategic Red Sea bound for Israel. The U.S. and U.K. launched a major retaliation against Yemens Houthis last week, in what some fear could spiral into a wider regional war.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for an attack on what it called an Israeli spy base in Iraq as large explosions were reported in the city of Erbil on Tuesday morning.

The IRGC early Tuesday local time fired at the espionage headquarters and gatherings of anti-Iranian terrorist groups in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil and destroyed the targets, according to a statement from the military wing.

Iran has long said that Israel operates a secret base used by spy agency Mossad in the city of Erbil. There was no immediate comment from Israel on the claimed strike.

The Hill could not independently confirm the IRGCs claims. But a U.S. defense official said explosions were reported in the area of Erbil.

We have seen the reports, and we tracked the missiles, which impacted in northern Iraq and northern Syria, said White House national security council spokesperson Adrienne Watson. No US personnel or facilities were targeted. We have been in touch with senior Iraqi officials as well as officials in the Kurdistan Region. Iran is claiming this is in response to the terrorist attacks in Kerman, Iran and Rask, Iran, with a focus on ISIS. We will continue to assess the situation, but initial indications are that this was a reckless and imprecise set of strikes. The United States supports the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Iraq.

The U.S. operates a consulate in Erbil and some troops are stationed at the citys Harir Air Base along with allied fighters in Iraq.

Washington is not reporting any injuries or damage to infrastructure at any American bases, according to the defense official.

The reported strike comes as the Middle East is flaring up amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, with Iranian-backed groups fighting U.S. and Israeli forces across the region.

Iran has largely battled the U.S. and its ally, Israel, through proxy forces in Lebanon and Yemen, and the IRGC strike is the most direct attack yet in the war.

Israel says it is fighting a multi-arena war and in late December killed a senior IRGC official in Syria.

Separately, the IRGC said it struck the ISIS commanders responsible for a deadly bombing in Iran earlier this month. That strike hit targets in Syria, according to the IRGC.

ISIS claimed responsibility for killing nearly 100 people in the Iranian city of Kerman while supporters had gathered for a memorial service on the anniversary of the death of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The imprisoned Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has been sentenced to an additional 15 months in prison, Mohammadis family said in a written statement sent to CNN on Monday.

She was charged with spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic regime, her family said.

The 51-year-old rights activist was awarded the Nobel in October for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all. That battle has come at a huge personal cost  Mohammadi has spent most of the past two decades in prison.

During her trial, she refused to attend court proceedings or participate in questioning, the family said.

On top of the extra 15 months in prison, the new sentence orders Mohammadi to two years of exile outside Tehran and neighboring provinces, according to her family.

Mohammadi was also given a two-year travel ban, a two-year ban on membership in social-political groups, and a two-year ban on using a smartphone, the statement added.

The latest sentencing is Mohammadis fifth conviction since 2021 and her third while incarcerated.

Mohammadi was already serving a sentence of ten years and nine months, accused of actions against national security and propaganda against the state. She was also sentenced to 154 lashes, a punishment rights groups believe has not been inflicted so far, along with restrictions on travel.

A deceitful scheme against women

In a letter written from the notorious Evin Prison in 2023 and shared with CNN, Mohammadi railed against the governments policy of compulsory hijab, calling it a deceitful scheme against women and a tool to strengthen the power of the religious government.

Last August she was sentenced to an additional year in jail for her continued activism behind bars, after she gave a media interview and a statement about sexual assaults in prison, which she says have significantly increased, leading her to describe the abuse as now systematic.

The Iranian government has denied the widespread allegations of sexual assaults against detainees, including in an in-depth CNN investigation last year, calling them false and baseless.

Mohammadis new sentence comes shortly after two journalists were temporarily released on bail after being imprisoned in Iran following their coverage of the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, according to state-run media.

Convicted in October, journalists Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi are currently awaiting a verdict on their appeals, according to Irans state-run news agency IRNA. The women were allowed to leave their Tehran jail on Sunday with a bail of 10 billion tomans each (nearly $200,000 each), IRNA reported. They are also banned from leaving the country, it said.

Hamedi and Mohammadi were arrested in late September 2022, after protests spread across Iran fueled by the death of 22-year-old Amini, who died while in the custody of Irans morality police after being arrested for allegedly wearing her headscarf improperly.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Irans Revolutionary Guards on Monday launched ballistic missiles at what it said was a spy base for Israels intelligence agency Mossad in northern Iraq, and at anti-Iran terror groups in Syria, in the latest escalation of hostilities that further risks spiraling into a wider regional conflict.

The strikes were condemned by the United States as reckless and imprecise.

Iranian forces said the midnight missile strike in Iraq destroyed one of the main espionage headquarters of Israel in Erbil, capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, in response to what they said were Israeli attacks that killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard commanders and members of the Iranian resistance front.

This headquarters has been the center for developing espionage operations and planning terrorist acts in the region and Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement Monday. CNN has reached out to Israels Prime Ministers office for comment on the IRGCs claim.

The IRGC also said it struck several locations in Erbil and claimed to target sites of Iranian opposition groups.

Iraqs Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told CNN Tuesday that there are no Mossad-affiliated centers operating in Erbil. He called the strikes a violation of international law and said he would file a complaint to the United Nations Security Council.

The Iranians dont want to or cannot attack Israel. They search for victims around them, and so they attack Erbil, Hussein said, adding that Iraqis are paying the price for Irans tensions with Israel.

At least four civilians were killed and six others injured in the attack, according to a statement early Tuesday by the Security Council of the Kurdistan region.

A large villa belonging to a well-known Kurdish businessman was also destroyed, according to a CNN journalist in the region. There were unconfirmed reports of casualties at the residential property though it is not known if the building was an intended target.

This blatant violation undermines the sovereignty of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, the Security Council said in its statement, which accused Iran of employing baseless pretexts to attack Erbil, a historically stable region that it said had never posed a threat to any party.

Also on Monday, the IRGC said it fired ballistic missiles at bases of anti-Iran terror groups in occupied territories of Syria.

It claimed the targets were involved in the recent dual bombings in the city of Kerman during a memorial for the slain Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani that left scores dead and wounded.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the deadly twin blasts near Soleimanis burial site, in what was the deadliest attack in Iran since its 1979 revolution.

In its statement, the IRGC said it identified and destroyed a number of key terror commanders and elements, especially Daesh (ISIS), in the occupied territories of Syria by firing a number of ballistic missiles.

A US official said Monday initial indications of Irans missile attacks showed this was a reckless and imprecise set of strikes.

We have seen the reports, and we tracked the missiles, which impacted in northern Iraq and northern Syria. No US personnel or facilities were targeted, the official said.

Authorities and others gather near the site where missiles hit near the US consulate in Erbil, Iraq, on January 15, 2024. - Rudaw TV/AP

Iran is claiming this is in response to the terrorist attacks in Kerman, Iran, and Rask, Iran, with a focus on ISIS. We will continue to assess the situation.

An unnamed US State Department spokesperson told CNN the strikes did not damage the US Consulate Erbil or the New Consulate Compound under construction.

No American personnel were injured, they said.

Kurdistan region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani called on our partners in the international community not to remain silent in the face of repeated attacks against the people of Kurdistan.

Earlier this evening, Erbil was once again attacked by Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps. Sadly, during tonights unjustifiable attack, several civilians have been martyred and wounded, Barzani said in a statement.

I condemn this cowardly attack on the people of the Kurdistan region in the strongest terms.

Concerns of an escalating war

Irans attacks will further raise fears that Israels war in Gaza could widen into a full-scale war in the Middle East with grave humanitarian, political and economic consequences.

Israels relentless bombing of Gaza in response to Hamas October 7 terror attacks has killed more than 24,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, and wrought widespread devastation, as civilians live with the threat of imminent death  either by an airstrike, starvation or disease.

The UN emergency relief chief said the war has brought famine to Gaza with such incredible speed, and South Africa has brought allegations of genocide at the United Nations top court  claims strenuously denied by Israel.

The conflict has escalated hostilities across the region, with Irans allies and proxies  the so-called axis of resistance  launching attacks on Israeli forces and its allies.

US forces last week sank three boats belonging to Yemens Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, and the US and UK launched strikes against Houthi targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen aimed at halting a series of attacks on commercial shipping.

On Monday, a Houthi missile hit a US-owned cargo ship in the Red Sea, marking what appears to be the first time the militants have successfully struck a US-owned or operated ship.

Last week, the US carried out a strike in Baghdad that killed a leader from an Iran-backed proxy group that Washington blamed for attacks against US personnel in the region. US troops in Iraq and Syria have repeatedly come under rocket and drone attacks from Tehrans proxies.

Fighting has intensified between Israel and the powerful Iran-backed group Hezbollah, across the Lebanon border. On Sunday, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed to press on with confrontations with Israeli forces on the Lebanon border until the end of the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

Last week, a senior Hezbollah commander was killed in an Israeli drone strike on his car in southern Lebanon, a Lebanese security source told CNN. Wissam Tawil is the most senior member of the Shiite militant group to be killed in an Israeli strike since Hezbollah and Israel began trading fire across the Lebanese-Israeli border on October 8.

Israel is also suspected of carrying out an attack on high-ranking Hamas leader, Saleh Al-Arouri, in Beirut, sparking fury among Hezbollah leaders who control the area where he was killed.

CNNs Jennifer Hansler, Haley Britzky, Becky Anderson, Brooke Jenner and Celine Alkhaldi contributed reporting.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Iran's Revolutionary Guards launched ballistic missiles at what it claimed was an Israeli spy base in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, and at "anti-Iran terror groups" in Syria on Jan. 16.

The attack set off large explosions in the Iraqi city of Erbil, including at the U.S. Consulate, killing at least four civilians and injuring six, according to the Kurdistan Regional Security Council in Iraq.

The Revolutionary Guard claimed the attack on Erbil was aimed at destroying an alleged Israeli "espionage headquarters" and the positions of "anti-Iranian terrorist groups" who had plotted a suicide bombing attack in Iran earlier in January that killed 86 people.

"In response to the recent atrocities of the Zionist regime, causing the killing of commanders of the Guards and the Axis of Resistance ... one of the main Mossad espionage headquarters in Iraq's Kurdistan region was destroyed with ballistic missiles," the Iranian forces said.

Iranian forces also claimed the attack was in response to Israeli attacks that killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard commanders and members of the Iranian resistance front.

"We assure our nation that the Guards' offensive operations will continue until avenging the last drops of martyrs' blood," the Guard said.

The Guards also claimed to have "fired a number of ballistic missiles in Syria and destroyed the perpetrators of terrorist operations" in Iran, including the Islamic State.

The U.S. State Department condemned the attacks on Erbil, offering condolences to the families of those who were affected.

"We oppose Iran's reckless missile strikes, which undermine Iraq's stability," the U.S. State Department said.

However, no U.S. facilities were targeted and there were no U.S. casualties, according to the spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, Adrienne Watson.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry also condemned Iran's attacks on Erbil, adding that it will take all legal measures to counter what it considers a violation of Iraq's sovereignty and the security of its people, including by filing a complaint at the UN Security Council.

The attacks come amid growing concerns of an escalating situation in the Middle East following the war between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas that began on Oct. 7.

Read also: Opinion: The secret scars of Ukraines mental health crisis

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Iranians drive past under a billboard depicting alleged Iranian missiles attacks with a message reading in Persian "Harsh Response" and in Arabic and Hebrew, "We will take revenge on the criminals" in a highway in Tehran on Tuesday. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps said it destroyed "Israel spy bases" in Erbil, Iraq. Photo by Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA-EFE

Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said overnight it attacked alleged Israeli spy headquarters in northern Iraq, as well as terrorist targets in Syria, state news reported, escalating already heightened tensions in the Middle East.

The attacks in Iraq's Kurdistan Region capital of Erbil were confirmed by the local security council, which said at least four civilians were killed and six others were injured, some of whom were listed in unstable condition.

The IRGC said it had struck Mossad headquarters with ballistic missiles in what it framed as retaliation over "the plot of the Israeli regime's spy agency hatched to assassinate Iranian and resistance commanders," the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

The Kurdistan Region Security Council disfuted the IRGC's claim in a statement of its own that said Iran "always uses unnecessary excuses to attack Erbil."

"Erbil, as a stable area, never has been a source of threat to any party," it said.

"This is a clear violation of the dictatorship of the region and Iraq and the federal government and the international community should not be silent about these crimes," the Kurdistan Region Security Council said.

The United States was quick to condemn the attack in Erbil, with State Department spokesman Matthew Miller offering condolences to the families of those killed.

"The United States strongly condemns Iran's attacks in Erbil today," he said in a statement. "We oppose Iran's reckless missile strikes, which undermine Iraq's stability. We support the government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government's effort to meet the aspirations of the Iraqi people."

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani of the Kurdistan region called on Baghdad to take "a principle position" against the attack while urging the international community "not to remain silent in the face of repeated attacks against the people of Kurdistan."

"In the next few days, we will work with our partners in the [international] community to stop these brutal attacks against our innocent people," he said in a statement published on X.

The attack is expected to raise heightened fears of the war in Israel expanding, as Iran, through its proxies, has been increasing its involvement in the conflict, which began Oct. 7 when the Tehran-backed Hamas militant group launched a bloody surprise attack on Israel that killed some 1,200 people.

Iranian proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon has also been attacking Israel and the Houthi rebels of Yemen have been launching missiles and drones on shipping vessels transiting the Red Sea.

Iran also vowed that it would seek retribution over last month's airstrike in Damascus that killed Sardar Seyed Razi Mousavi, an adviser to the IRGC in Syria. It holds Israel responsible.

"In response to the recent evil acts of the Zionist regime in martyring IRGC and resistance commanders, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, with its nobility and intelligence, targeted and destroyed one of the main headquarters of Israel's spying agency Mossad in Iraq's Kurdistan region by firing ballistic missiles," the IRGC said in a statement carried by the Islamic Republic News Agency.

"This Mossad headquarters has been working for espionage operations and a center for terror attacks planning in the region, especially against our beloved country."

The IRGC overnight also attacked purported spy centers in Syria, targeting "anti-Iran terrorist groups," the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack earlier this month that killed more than 100 people in the Iranian city of Kerman.
By Parisa Hafezi and Timour Azhari

DUBAI/BAGHDAD (Reuters) -An Iranian missile strike on targets in northern Iraq set off an unusual dispute between the neighbouring allies on Tuesday, with Baghdad recalling its ambassador in protest and Tehran insisting the attack was intended to deter threats from Israeli spies.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards hit what they called an Israeli espionage centre in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, Iranian media reported late on Monday, while the elite force said they also struck in Syria against the Islamic State.

The strike appeared likely to deepen worries about worsening instability across the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas started on Oct. 7, with Iran's allies also entering the fray from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

There has also been concern that Iraq could again become a theatre for regional conflict after a series of U.S. strikes on Iran-linked militant groups that are also part of Iraq's formal security forces. Those strikes came in response to dozens of attacks on U.S. forces in the region carried out since Oct. 7.

The Guards said the late Monday attack, Iran's first direct military strike in the region linked to the Gaza war, was in response to Israeli "atrocities" against several of its commanders and those of Iranian-allied forces around the Middle East since the conflict started.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said the attack was "clear aggression" against Iraq and a dangerous development that undermined the strong relationship between Tehran and Baghdad, state media reported.

He said Iraq reserved its right to take all legal and diplomatic measures granted to it by its sovereignty.

In protest, Iraq recalled its envoy from Tehran and summoned Iran's charge d'affaires in Baghdad.

The strike, on a residential area near the U.S. consulate in Kurdistan's capital Erbil, was described by Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani as a "crime against the Kurdish people" in which at least four civilians were killed and six injured.

Multimillionaire Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee and several family members were among the dead, killed when at least one rocket crashed into their home, Iraqi security and medical sources said.

Iraq National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji denied the house was an Israeli spy centre.

"To respond to the claim that there is a Mossad headquarters we visited the place and toured every corner of this house, and everything indicates that it is a family house belonging to an Iraqi businessman from Erbil," he told reporters.

'RECKLESS'

Israeli government spokesperson Avi Hayman said he would not speculate, when asked at a press briefing about Iran's assertion that it struck a Mossad site.

"What I will say is Iran continues to use its proxies to attack Israel on multiple fronts. We condemn Iran's activities and we call on the international community to stand up in defiance of Iran and call for peace in the region," he said.

Defending the attack, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Tehran respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries but it was Iran's "legitimate right to deter national security threats".

In addition to the Erbil strike, the Guards said they fired ballistic missiles in Syria and destroyed "perpetrators of terrorist operations" in Iran, including the Islamic State.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for two explosions in Iran this month that killed nearly 100 people and wounded scores at a memorial for top commander Qassem Soleimani.

France accused Iran of violating Iraq's sovereignty and Washington condemned the attacks as "reckless". U.S. officials said no U.S. facilities were hit and there were no U.S. casualties.

Iran, which supports Hamas in its war with Israel, accuses the U.S. of backing what it calls Israeli crimes in Gaza. The U.S. has said it backs Israel in its campaign but has raised concerns about the number of Palestinian civilians killed.

Iran has in the past carried out strikes in Iraq's Kurdistan region, saying the area is used as a staging ground for Iranian separatist groups as well as agents of its arch-foe Israel.

Baghdad has tried to address Iranian concerns over separatist groups in the region, moving to relocate some members as part of a security agreement reached with Tehran in 2023.

(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad and Jerusalem bureau; Editing by William Maclean)
U.S. and coalition facilities in Irbil, Iraq, have reportedly come under fire from Iranian ballistic missiles.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said they attacked "espionage centers" and "gatherings of anti-Iranian terrorist groups" with ballistic missiles near Iraq's northern city of Erbil, according to Iranian state media reports late on Monday that were cited Reuters .

There were "no U.S. facilities impacted by Iranian ballistic missiles" that struck facilities in Erbil, Iraq, a U.S. defense official told The War Zone Monday afternoon. "There were no injures or damage to infrastructure" at the U.S. facilities located in that city in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

Explosions were heard and seen some 40 kilometers northeast of Erbil, three security sources said, in an area near the U.S. consulate as well as civilian residences.

Exactly what the targets were remains unclear and it certainly isn't the first time the region has come under direct attack by Iranian ballistic missiles. The area was reportedly struck by Iranian ballistic missiles in March 2022. Today's attack, however, comes as tensions are at their most extreme in years. The October 7th attacks on Israel by Hamas and the war that has ensued has drastically inflamed simmering hostilities in Middle East. On top of that, the crisis around the Red Sea has turned into a two-way shooting conflict between Iranian-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen and the U.S. and the U.K. that doesn't look like it will be ending soon.

This is a developing story. We will update it when more details emerge.

Update: 6:03 PM Eastern -

Kuridish business owner Peshraw Dizayee, whose house was hit in the IRGC ballistic missile attack has died, according to the Rudaw English news outlet .

Update: 7:30 PM Eastern -

Official Iranian media is claiming the attack on Erbil was aimed at an Israeli Mossad headquarters there.

"The Revolutionary Guards announced the destruction of the Baran missile and the destruction of the spy headquarters of the Zionist regime (Mossad) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq," the official Iranian Tasnim News outlet reported on Twitter.

Kurdish media released video claiming to show the moment the attack took place.

The IRGC also targeted the Islamic State in Syria in response to a deadly attack carried out by ISIS near the grave of former IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani earlier this month, Iranian state media reports, according to the Times of Israel .

The strikes in Aleppo, Syria took place around the same time as reported IRGC strikes in Iraqi Kurdistan.

That attack on Aleppo was claimed to be Iran's longest ever and a clear display of their ballistic missile capabilities.

Update: 8:51 PM Eastern -

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller issued the following statement condemning the Erbil attack:

"The United States strongly condemns Irans attacks in Erbil today and offers condolences to the families of those who were killed. We oppose Irans reckless missile strikes, which undermine Iraqs stability. We support the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Governments efforts to meet the aspirations of the Iraqi people."

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with the elegists and eulogists in Tehran. Iran's religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has praised the Houthi militia's campaign of attacks against Israel and in support of the Palestinians. -/Iranian Supreme Leader's Office/dpa

Iran's religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has praised the Houthi militia's campaign of attacks against Israel and in support of the Palestinians.

"The nation of Yemen and Ansar Allah have indeed done a great job," the state news agency IRNA quoted the 84-year-old as saying on Tuesday. Ansar Allah, Arabic for Supporters of God, is the official name of the Houthi movement.

Their work is proof of the struggle on God's path, he said. "We hope that these efforts will lead to victory," the supreme leader and head of state continued, according to IRNA.

Since the outbreak of the Gaza war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, the Houthi militia has repeatedly attacked ships with an alleged Israeli connection in the Red Sea.

Large shipping companies are increasingly avoiding the route. The United States and Britain recently attacked the group's positions in Yemen because of their actions.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is the only country in the world that maintains official diplomatic relations with the Houthis. The Shiite group is part of the so-called "Axis of Resistance," a network in the fight against Israel. Israel speaks of an "Axis of Evil."

The Jewish state has been Iran's declared arch-enemy since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
By Parisa Hafezi and Timour Azhari

DUBAI/BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they attacked the spy headquarters of Israel in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, state media reported late on Monday, while the elite force said they also struck in Syria against the Islamic State.

The strikes come amid concerns about the escalation of a conflict that has spread through the Middle East since the war between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas began on Oct. 7, with Iran's allies also entering the fray from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

"In response to the recent atrocities of the Zionist regime, causing the killing of commanders of the Guards and the Axis of Resistance ... one of the main Mossad espionage headquarters in Iraq's Kurdistan region was destroyed with ballistic missiles," the Guards said in a statement.

Israeli government officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

In addition to the strikes at northeast of Kurdistan's capital Erbil in a residential area near the U.S. consulate, the Guards said they "fired a number of ballistic missiles in Syria and destroyed the perpetrators of terrorist operations" in Iran, including the Islamic State.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for two explosions in Iran this month that killed nearly 100 people and wounded scores at a memorial for top commander Qassem Soleimani.

"We assure our nation that the Guards' offensive operations will continue until avenging the last drops of martyrs' blood," the Guards' statement said.

Iran had already vowed revenge for the killing of three members of the Guards in Syria last month, including a senior Guards commander, who had served as military advisers there.

Three security sources and Iranian state media said at the time they were killed in an Israeli air strike. An Israeli mililtary spokesman declined to comment, saying only it had a job to protect the security interests of Israel.

While recalling its envoy from Tehran, Iraq summoned Iran's charge d'affaires in Baghdad to protest against the strikes, the foreign ministry said. It said Baghdad would take all legal measures against what it called a violation of Iraq's sovereignty.

MILLIONAIRE AMONG DEAD

The U.S. State Department condemned the attacks near Erbil, calling them "reckless", but officials said no U.S. facilities were targeted and there were no U.S. casualties.

"The United States supports the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Iraq," Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said in the statement.

Iran, which supports Hamas in its war with Israel, accuses the United States of backing what it calls Israeli crimes in Gaza. The U.S. has said it backs Israel in its campaign but has raised concerns about the number of Palestinian civilians killed.

Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani condemned the attack on Erbil as a "crime against the Kurdish people".

At least four civilians were killed and six injured in the strikes, the Kurdistan government's security council said.

Multimillionaire Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee and several members of his family were among the dead, killed when at least one rocket crashed into their home, Iraqi security and medical sources said.

Dizayee, who was close to the ruling Barzani clan, owned businesses that led major real estate projects in Kurdistan.

Additionally, one rocket had fallen on the house of a senior Kurdish intelligence official and another on a Kurdish intelligence centre and air traffic at Erbil airport was halted, the security sources said.

Iran has in the past carried out strikes in Iraq's Kurdistan region, saying the area is used as a staging ground for Iranian separatist groups as well as agents of its arch-foe Israel.

Baghdad has tried to address Iranian concerns over separatist groups in the region, moving to relocate some members as part of a security agreement reached with Tehran in 2023.

(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Dubai and Timour Azhari in Baghdad; Additional reporting by Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Jasper Ward, Timothy Gardner, David Brunnstrom in Washington and Jana Choukeir, Ahmed Rasheed; Writing by Timour Azhari and Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Matthew Lewis, Michael Perry and Alison Williams)
This image taken from video provided by Rudaw TV shows smoke rising from a building hit by a strike in Irbil, Iraq, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. Iran has announced that it launched strikes against a spy headquarters and the gathering of anti-Iranian terrorist groups shortly after missiles hit an area near the U.S. consulate in Irbil, the seat of Iraqs semi-autonomous Kurdish region. (Rudaw TV via AP)

IRBIL, Iraq (AP)  Iraq recalled its ambassador from Tehran for consultations and summoned Irans charge daffaires in Baghdad on Tuesday in protest over Iranian strikes on northern Iraq that killed several civilians overnight, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said.

The Iranian attack was a blatant violation" of Iraq's sovereignty and "strongly contradicts the principles of good neighborliness and international law, and threatens the security of the region, the ministry said in a statement.

Iran fired missiles late Monday at what it said were Israeli spy headquarters in an upscale neighborhood near the sprawling U.S. Consulate compound in Irbil, the seat of Iraqs northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region, and at targets linked to the extremist Islamic State group in northern Syria.

Irans Revolutionary Guard said in a statement Tuesday that it launched four missiles at IS positions in Syria's Idlib province and 11 missiles at the Kurdish region in northern Iraq, where it said it hit a center of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency.

Qassim al-Araji, the adviser for national security affairs to Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani who is heading a committee investigating the attack in Irbil, said Iran's "claims of targeting a Mossad headquarters are baseless.

There is no reason for these attacks and there is no excuse, Masrour Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdish region, said in a news conference in Davos while attending Tuesday the World Economic Forum. These attacks should not remain without a response.

The strikes came at a time of heightened tensions in the region and fears of a wider spillover of the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

They also came after the Islamic State group claimed responsibility earlier this month for two suicide bombings targeting a commemoration for an Iranian general slain in a 2020 U.S. drone strike. The attack in Kerman killed at least 84 people and wounded 284 others at the ceremony honoring Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

Iranian state media quoted Gen. Hassan Hassanzadeh, one of the commanders of the Revolutionary Guard, as saying that Mondays strikes were a response to a demand made by the countrys Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

He added they will continue their action until the enemies regret" what they did.

Also on Tuesday, Iran launched attacks, using missiles and drones, targeting what it described as bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni militant group largely operating across the border in nuclear-armed Pakistan, state-run IRNA news agency said. Those reports were then suddenly removed without explanation.

Pakistan did not immediately acknowledge the attack.

Last month, Iran accused Israel of killing a high-ranking Iranian general, Seyed Razi Mousavi, in an airstrike on a Damascus neighborhood.

It was unclear whether the strikes in Syria had, in fact, hit any targets associated with the Islamic State group.

Mounir al-Mustafa, deputy director of the civil defense in northwest Syria, also known as the White Helmets, said one of the strikes in Idlib targeted a medical clinic that was no longer operating in the village of Talteta in northwest Idlib province. Two civilians suffered minor injuries, he said.

Sami al-Qassim, who lives near the targeted site, said the clinic was empty and there were no militant activities in the area.

The Iranian strike in Irbil killed at least four people, among them Peshraw Dizayi, a prominent local businessman with a portfolio that included real estate and security services companies, along with members of his family.

The United States condemned what State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller described as Irans reckless missile strikes.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said in a statement that the strikes in Iraq and Syria were in line with the resolute defense of the countrys sovereignty and security, countering terrorism, and part of the Islamic Republics punishment against those who threaten the countrys security.

He said that Iran in a precise and targeted operation, identified the headquarters of the criminals and targeted them with accurate and precision-guided projectiles.

A few hundred demonstrators gathered in Irbil on Tuesday to protest the attacks.

In northwest Syria, a missile strike Tuesday morning hit an area housing teenage detainees at the Sinaa prison in the city of Hassakeh, where hundreds of IS fighters are jailed. The U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which operates the prison, said the strike caused minor injuries and sparked an unsuccessful prison break attempt.

SDF spokesman Siamand Ali told The Associated Press that we have no specific information on who was behind the attack.

___

Albam reported from Taltela, Syria. Associated Press writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Abdulrahman Zeyad in Baghdad, Abby Sewell and Bassem Mroue in Beirut, and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, contributed to this report.
Israeli troops invaded the main southern city of Khan Younis during its ground offensive - Ohad Zwigenberg/AP

Israel will soon wind down heavy fighting in Khan Younis, the countrys defence minister said, after weeks of intense combat in the Gaza Strips south.

Yoav Gallants remarks on Tuesday came as Israel faced increasing international pressure, including from the United States, to scale back its offensive against Hamas in the enclave and reduce civilian casualties.

In the north part of the Strip, this (intense) stage has ended. In southern Gaza, we will reach this stage and end it soon, and in both places, the moment will come when we will move on to the next phase, he said.

Israeli troops fought their way to the centre of Gazas main southern city of Khan Younis, and into towns north and east of the central city of Deir al-Balah.

Mr Gallants announcement raises the question of whether the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will try to advance into the remaining southern areas, where most of Gazas 2.3 million people are crowded.

Meanwhile, in the north, residents said on Tuesday that Israeli tanks had invaded parts of the enclave they had left in January as part of a transition to smaller, targeted operations.

Yoav Gallant did not clarify whether the IDF will try to push into remaining southern areas where most Palestinians are taking shelter - Twitter

The move reignited some of the most intense fighting since the New Year, with massive explosions seen over northern areas of Gaza from across the border with Israel.

The IDFs offensive in the area has wreaked devastation, particularly around Gaza City, where Israel initially said it thought Hamass leadership was holed up following the groups Oct 7 attack.

Israels military then shifted its focus south and moved on to Khan Younis, saying it expected senior Hamas figures to be headquartered there.

But more than three months into the war, Hamass top officials in Gaza are still believed to be alive and the terror group still retains the capacity to attack Israel.

On Tuesday morning, Israel reported Hamas had fired 25 rockets at evacuated settlements in the countrys south, the worst barrage in weeks.

Most of the projectiles were shot down by the IDFs Iron Dome defence system.

Commenting on the attacks, the chairman of the local council in the Western Negev desert told the Israeli war cabinet on Tuesday that reality slaps us in the face after the government had tried to encourage residents to return to their homes near the Gaza border.

Palestinians evacuate a wounded woman following Israeli air strikes in Khan Younis' refugee camp - Mohammed Dahman/AP

In the enclave itself, 2.2 million Gazans were said to be at imminent risk of famine, according to the United Nations.

Almost 380,000 people in the territory were already facing catastrophic levels of hunger, the UN aid agency OCHA said, with almost a million at emergency levels.

Antonio Guterres, the UNs secretary general, warned Gaza faced a long shadow of starvation and the risk of major disease outbreaks unless Israel stopped the war.

He also said the UN could not effectively deliver aid while the IDF was pounding the territory with airstrikes.

But any path toward de-escalating the war still seems remote, with Israel saying it will not halt its offensive until Hamas is destroyed.

Meanwhile, tensions along Israels border with Lebanon continue to mount and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels persist with attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, raising fears of a wider regional conflagration.

A further round of cross-border fire between the IDF and Hezbollah, the Lebanese group backed by Iran, took place on Tuesday.

The IDF said it had successfully hit various Hezbollah targets as deep as 20 kilometres inside Lebanon.

Thousands of residents on both sides of the border fled after cross-border clashes broke out in the wake of Hamass attack.

Israel has said it will not permit locals to return to their homes unless a diplomatic solution to halt the fighting is found or the IDF resolves the threat by military means.

Lebanons Al-Akhbar newspaper on Tuesday cited unnamed officials as saying that Amos Hochstein, special envoy to Joe Biden, the US president, had suggested Hezbollah withdraw eight kilometres away from the border during a visit to Beirut.

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A far-right Israeli government minister has criticized a decision by the countrys military to withdraw an army division from Gaza, exposing further divides between lawmakers over the military offensive in the Palestinian enclave.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said a rocket barrage launched from Gaza into Israel on Tuesday morning proves once again that the occupation of the (Gaza) Strip is necessary for the realization of the combat goals.

The IDF said Monday that the 36th division, which comprises armored, engineering, and infantry companies, withdrew from the Gaza Strip after 80 days, in the most significant sign yet of a shift to a new phase of fighting that some Israeli officials have been promising.

A growing chorus of leaders have condemned the spiraling death toll in Gaza, where Israels deadly military offensive since October 7 has decimated swathes of the territory and left more than 2.2 million people facing famine, deadly disease and forcible displacement.

Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed at least 24,100 Palestinians and injured another 60,834, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health. CNN cannot independently confirm the numbers due to the difficulty of reporting from the war zone.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, pictured on December 18 in Tel Aviv, announced the withdrawal of some troops from Gaza on Monday. It was the most significant sign so far of a new phase in Israel's military offensive. - Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that the intensive manoeuvring stage of Israels military offensive in northern and southern Gaza would end soon.

The Israeli military is working to eliminate pockets of resistance in northern Gaza, Gallant said, claiming: We will achieve this via raids, airstrikes, special operations and additional activities.

After the October 7 attacks, Gallant said the original plan was for the intensive manoeuvring stage of Israels military campaign in Gaza to last approximately three months. But, he cautioned the Israeli military adapts its operations in accordance with the reality on the ground and our intelligence.

A spokesperson for the IDF told CNN the 36th division withdrew from Gaza for a period of refreshment and training, adding that the divisions future movements are yet to be decided.

At the end of the period, and according to the assessment of the situation, it will be decided on the continuation of the operational activity of the divisions forces according to the operational need, the spokesperson added.

The withdrawal means there are now three IDF combat divisions left in Gaza, alongside special forces, according to the spokesperson.

The units still on the ground in Gaza include the 98th division, which is operating in central Gaza and is the biggest division ever created in the history of the IDF. The IDF does not comment on the number of its troops in Gaza, but every division comprises multiple brigades which can each include thousands of soldiers.

Divides within Netanyahus cabinet

Ben Gvirs comments highlight the tensions that exist within the Israeli government, and the wider defense and security establishment, over how much of a presence Israel should retain inside Gaza after the war.

Earlier this month, Israeli cabinet members argued over plans for the post-war future of Gaza and how to handle investigations into the security failings around Hamas October 7 attacks.

The public spat on January 4 followed what one source described as a fight at a meeting of the the security cabinet. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said there had been a stormy discussion, while former Defense Minister Benny Gantz said a politically motivated attack had been launched.

The security cabinet split was over how to handle investigations into the October 7 attack on Israel, including the Israeli militarys failure to anticipate it, as well as how to approach the war from now on.

If the government collapses, Israel would likely face new elections that Netanyahu is widely expected to lose.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pictured on September 27, in Jerusalem. Divides between lawmakers within Netanyahu's cabinet, over proposed post-war plans for Gaza, have spilled into public view recently. - Abir Sultan/AFP/Getty Images

Meanwhile, some far-right politicians are pushing for complete re-occupation, along with the possible return of Jewish settlements, in the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is under pressure from the United States to ensure a prominent role for the Palestinian Authority, said recently Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza.

Israels military campaign in Gaza has forcibly displaced at least 1.93 million people, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees. Thousands of families have moved multiple times as Israels offensive has moved to new areas.

Regional actors in the Middle East have repeatedly likened the mass movement of Palestinians in Gaza to the Nakba, or catastrophe, the Arabic term for the expulsion or flight of Palestinians from their towns during the founding of Israel in 1948.

CNNs Richard Allen Greene, Niamh Kennedy and Lauren Izso contributed reporting.

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Across spiritual traditions, the winter holiday season is usually meant to invoke a spirit of peace and new hope. This past year, however, the war in Gaza seemed to be casting an especially long shadow. The divisiveness behind the war crept into holiday conversations, with many folks relaying to me that they had never felt such tension around the table as when the topic of the war was broached.

Each side seems to come to the table with talking points, curated by corporate media personalities whose primary strategy is to peddle outrage until they corral enough eyes for enough time to hope for profitability. The result is that my Palestinian-supporting friends are likely to tell me, Did you hear that the Israeli defense minister called Palestinians animals?!? My Israeli-supporting friends then retort: Did you hear that Hamas officials quote the Antisemitic diatribe, Protocols of Zion?!? It is a rhetorical duel to paint the other side in the most extreme colors possible, all the while ignoring more moderate and reasonable statements.

If we can agree that the goal should be to foster peace, this competition to identify the worst in the other side is not productive; in fact, it is probably one of the biggest obstacles to the meaningful dialogue required to find lasting peace. How can we have productive conversations when the complexity of the debate is stripped away and the whole other side becomes defined by their worst example?

The reality is that it is no act of moral courage to condemn the extremes of the other side. But where are the people willing to challenge the extremes on their own side? Who is willing to stand up, look in the mirror, and see the more sinister figures behind them? So many people want to call for other people to change, but who is willing to change themselves and their allies?

We need to appreciate that when we repeat the rhetoric about the worst of the other side, we do the bidding of the extremists whose goal it is to scuttle the peace most of us claim to want.

In fact, the sad story of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over the past two decades can be summarized by the triumph of such extremists on both sides. We should remember that in the afterglow of the Oslo Accords of the 1990s, Palestinians shook hands with Israeli soldiers and Israeli shopkeepers opened their doors to Palestinians. There was cautious optimism among the Semitic cousins who shared a common land.

A group of progressive Jewish activists calling for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip blocked the Harbor Freeway in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday.

What happened?

In any debate among competing factions, there seems to be absolutist idealists, who would rather hold out for everything rather than get something, and practical realists, who would rather get something rather than nothing. For the former, compromise is a dirty word; for the latter, compromise is the nature of progress.

Every longstanding conflict is marked by both camps  absolute idealists and practical realists  and both sides can call upon historical examples where their approach yielded results. However, in a contested land struggle such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the absolute idealists usually quickly became extremists, whose goal was to ensure that no lasting peace grounded in compromise could ever take hold. Israel would be all of ancient Israel! Palestine would have no Jews! The goals of absolute idealists on each side were mirror opposites of each other, and the result was tit-for-tat tragedy that leaves everyone scarred.

Political scientists call this phenomenon the extremist veto, which occurs when extremists do their best to shift the middling masses to their edge by staging spectacular attacks which lead people to retrench to their corner, thereby scuttling any momentum toward peace.

On the Israeli side, a Jewish extremist killed the author of the Oslo peace accords, Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin. The settler movement then increasingly encroached into the West Bank, claiming sovereignty over land that Israel had previously pledged to give to a future Palestinian state. And, all the while, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has staked his career on fostering fear among Israelis and preventing peaceful movements that could lessen that fear.

On the Palestinian side, the militant groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have created whole movement grounded in Antisemitism and resistance to Israels very existence. They justified targeting bar mitzvahs and music festivals, as they claim there are no innocent Israelis. Any counter narratives they dismiss as Zionist propaganda, thereby controlling the flow of information to their people.

Without attempting to conflate the two sides or suggest moral equivalency, the reality is the extremists on both sides exist in a symbiotic relationship where they need each other. Netanyahu needed a strong Hamas so that the Palestinians would be divided and he could make the case that there was no real partner for peace. Hamas needed a bellicose Benjamin Netanyahu so their people would come to believe that the Israeli threat mattered more than their corrupt economy and failed services. When war has erupted in Gaza  as it has five times in the last two decades  it is precisely because it served both extremists agendas more than the status quo or peace.

The shift in rhetoric over the past two decades, whereby the grays of reality have slowly been overtaken by a lot of black and whites, is a sign of the effectiveness of the extremist veto. For too many people, the other side has become nothing more than a collection of their worst fears. The result is that most everyday Palestinians and Israelis may not want war, but they no longer seem to want peace.

How do we reverse a trajectory that has been defined by the normalization of extremism? It begins with shifting how we talk about the conflict. The loudest voices against extremists need to come from inside their own camp. Activists need to learn that criticizing ones own is not a sign of betrayal but a sign of strength. The moral high ground is always lost when targeting civilians, raping women or killing children are swept under the rug to make some larger point; these need to be condemned, full stop.

Perhaps my hope is naive or Pollyannaish, but I look for a day when Palestinian rallies have signs condemning Hamas alongside those directed toward Israel and when Israelis stand with signs protesting settler disturbances alongside Hamas attacks. More than ever, the conflict really needs a renewed middle who loudly resist the extremists at the edge. We will only have peace in the Middle Eastand around our holiday tableswhen enough people muster the moral courage to condemn the extreme voices surrounding us.

Contributing columnist Stephen Lloyd-Moffett is a professor of religious studies at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Arafat Barbakh and Tyrone Siu

GAZA/ISRAEL-GAZA BORDER (Reuters) -Israeli tanks stormed back into parts of the northern Gaza Strip they had left last week, residents said on Tuesday, reigniting some of the most intense fighting since the New Year when Israel announced it was scaling back its operations there.

Massive explosions could be seen over northern areas of Gaza from across the border with Israel - a rarity over the past two weeks after Israel announced a drawdown of forces in the north as part of a transition to smaller, targeted operations.

The rattle of gunfire reverberated across the border through the night. In the morning, contrails snaked through the sky as Israel's Iron Dome defences shot down rockets fired by militants across the fence, proof they retain the capability to launch them despite more than 100 days of war.

Israel said its forces had killed dozens of Hamas fighters overnight in clashes in Beit Lahiya on Gaza's northern edge. Gaza health authorities said the last 24 hours of Israeli bombing had killed 158 people in the Palestinian enclave, raising their toll for the war, now in its fourth month, to 24,285, with thousands more bodies feared lost in the rubble.

Israel launched the war to eradicate Hamas after militants stormed across the border fence on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and capturing 240 hostages. The war has driven nearly all Gazans from their homes, some several times, and caused a humanitarian crisis, with food, fuel and medical supplies running low.

Under U.S. pressure to reduce civilian casualties, Israel had said it was transitioning from a full-scale ground assault to targeted operations against the Hamas militants that control the enclave.

It began that shift with a pullback in the north. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant also said on Monday that the more recent ground assault in the south was drawing to a close.

But any path toward de-escalating the war still seems remote, with Israel saying it will not rest until Hamas is destroyed, and the militants showing no sign of losing the ability to resist.

Israel Ziv, a retired general who formerly commanded Israeli forces in Gaza, told Reuters that 10-15% of Hamas' pre-war rocketry corps of some 1,000 personnel were believed to be still alive, with some 2,000 rockets left to be fired.

However, Ziv said, Israeli forces had by now established "extensive control" in Gaza, meaning they could "manoeuvre freely", except in Rafah, Deir al-Balah and Nusseirat, the launch point of Tuesday's rocket salvo.

CHANGE OF PLANS

Some of the hundreds of thousands of residents who fled the north earlier in the war had begun returning last week to bombed-out areas where the Israelis had withdrawn. But residents who spoke to Reuters on Tuesday said the abrupt resurgence of fighting in the north would now halt plans to try to go home.

"We almost planned to return to our house in Nazla, east of Jabalia, but thank God we didn't. This morning people living nearby arrived here and told us the tanks pushed back there," said Abu Khaled, 43, a father of three now living with relatives in severely damaged Gaza City.

"The sounds of bombing from the tanks, from the planes didn't stop all night. It reminded us of the first day of the ground incursion."

Israeli forces have fought their way to the centre of Gaza's main southern city of Khan Younis, and into towns north and east of the central city of Deir al-Balah.

Israeli commando forces carried out targeted raids in Khan Younis to take out militant infrastructure, including offices of several senior regional Hamas commanders, the military said.

The Gaza war has inflamed tensions across the region, including in the Red Sea, where the Iran-aligned Houthi movement that controls most of Yemen has been attacking commercial ships. The route is used by 15% of world shipping. The group says it is targeting vessels linked to Israel in solidarity with Gaza.

The United States and Britain responded by bombing Yemen to prevent what they called a threat to global commerce.

The latest ship to be attacked, a Malta-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier, sustained minor damage on Tuesday when it was hit with a missile in the Red Sea. No injuries were reported.

'FORGIVE ME, MY SON, I COULD NOT PROTECT YOU'

Defence Minister Gallant's announcement on Monday that the major ground offensive in the south would end soon raises the question of whether the Israelis will still try to advance into remaining areas they have yet to enter.

Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people are now crowded into those few areas, including Deir al-Balah and Rafah, which is located on the southern edge of the Strip bordering Egypt.

In Khan Younis, Zaher Abu Zarifa wept and cradled a black plastic body bag holding his seven-year-old son Saif, one of at least 11 bodies brought out at a hospital morgue.

The boy was killed by a missile while playing on a bicycle by a school gate, his father said.

Later, by a small freshly dug grave, a gravedigger unzipped the bag so the father could kiss the boy's face, then zipped it back up, took the boy and gently laid him in the ground.

"Forgive me, my son. I could not protect you," the father repeated. "Forgive me, my son. I could not protect you."

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Doha, Arafat Barbakh in Gaza, Tyrone Siu at the Gaza-Israel border, southern Israel, and Dan Williams in Jerusalem; writing by Peter Graff and Mark Heinrich; editing by Sharon Singleton and Gareth Jones)
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has analysed the Russian versions of the downing of a Russian A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft and damage to an Il-22M airborne command post plane.

Source: ISW

Details: Ukrainian officials have stated that Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian A-50 airborne early warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft and severely damaged an Il-22 airborne command post plane on the night of 14 January.

General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, posted a video of the two planes disappearing from radar, showing that Ukrainian forces struck the A-50 and Il-22 over the Azov Sea.

Valery Romanenko, a leading researcher at the Ukrainian State Aviation Museum of the National Aviation University, said that the loss of the A-50 and members of its crew was "very painful" for Russia since a large part of the A-50's crew is highly specialised and must undergo several years of training.

Ukraines Operational Command Pivden (South) stated that before this strike, Russia had only three A-50 aircraft out of six in service.

At the same time, the Russian information space mostly denied that Ukrainian forces shot down the A-50 aircraft, claiming instead, in a somewhat peculiar manner, that the aircraft was destroyed by "friendly fire" from Russian anti-aircraft defence.

Analysts point out that the A-50 is used for coordinating the actions of Russian aircraft and possibly air defence. The claim that Russian air defence shot down the A-50 would be a catastrophic failure for the Russian forces if true.

A Russian source specialising in Russian aircraft has accused Russian commanders of lacking the proper background required for their positions. The review notes that Colonel General Viktor Afzalov, the current commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces, has extensive experience in Russian air defence.

The ISW experts say that regardless of whether the lack of pilot experience creates any issues for Russian air operations, which is doubtful, his experience in air defence should be sufficient to prevent Russian forces from shooting down their own airborne command aircraft.

A Russian insider source claiming to have ties to an undisclosed Russian security structure asserts that unidentified Russian entities fabricated a "duck" (a Russian term for a false claim) about how Russian forces shot down the A-50. The purpose of this fabrication, the source said, was to reassure Russian pilots that flights over the Black and Azov Seas were still safe and that the incident was due to human error.

"It is unclear why Russian pilots should be more comfortable with the idea that their ground-based air defenders are so incompetent," the review reads.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that he did not have any information about the downed aircraft and recommended that journalists check information about this with the Russian Defence Ministry.

"The Russian MoD has not made an official statement about the incidents as of this publication," the analysts say.

To quote the ISW's Key Takeaways on 15 January:

Ukrainian officials announced that Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft and severely damaged an Il-22 airborne command post aircraft on the night of 14 January.

A senior Ukrainian intelligence official confirmed that Russian forces can generate forces at a rate equal to Russian monthly personnel losses, which is consistent with ISWs assessment that Russian forces are able to conduct routine operational-level rotations in Ukraine.

Skibitskyi indicated that international sanctions are constraining Russian missile and drone production as Russian forces likely continue to adapt their missile and drone strike packages in an effort to penetrate Ukrainian air defences.

German outlet BILD reported on classified German documents describing a hypothetical scenario to prepare for a possible future conflict between NATO and Russia. Developing such scenarios, which are usually classified, is a normal task for professional military staffs.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Switzerland on 15 January to discuss aspects of the Ukrainian peace plan and support for Ukraine with global leaders at the Davos World Economic Forum from 15 to 19 January.

A North Korean delegation including North Korean Foreign Minister Choi Song Hui arrived in Moscow on 14 January for an official state visit to Russia on 15 to 17 January.

Russia and Iran are preparing to sign a Grand Interstate Treaty to further develop Russian-Iranian military-technological cooperation.

The Kremlin is intensifying censorship measures to limit criticism of the Russian war effort in Ukraine ahead of the March 2024 presidential election.

Russian forces made confirmed advances west of Donetsk City and near Krynky amid continued positional fighting along the entire line of contact.

The so-called Donetsk Peoples Republic (DNR) is reportedly forming a womens drone operating detachment.

The Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) stated that Ukrainian resistance forces detonated a Russian military UAZ Patriot vehicle in occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, injuring four Russian personnel and killing an unspecified number of personnel.

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Russian State Duma deputies have brought forth a bill proposing the confiscation of personal property from those convicted of spreading "fake news" about Russia's war in Ukraine, a move aimed to increase censorship ahead of the 2024 Russian presidential election, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed in its latest report on Jan. 15

Citing reports from independent Russian outlet Meduza, the ISW notes that lawmakers from the ruling United Russia party have proposed a bill targeting activities "against the security of the state," seeking to confiscate assets like computers, tablets, or mobile phones owned by individuals convicted under this legislation.

The draft bill, first proposed through the Government Commission on Legislative Activities was supported without any objections. The legislation is now set to go to the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Federal Assembly, for consideration.

The ISW assesses the proposed bill as an attempt to quell any brewing dissent and silence concerned relatives who would otherwise be outspoken about their support for troop demobilization. Recently, women-led protests have emerged throughout Russia, with wives and mothers of mobilized Russian soldiers advocating for the demobilization of Russian troops from Ukraine.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is seeking a fifth term in office, in a vote that is likely to be heavily rigged. Analysts have predicted that Putin has sough to minimize decisions that irritate Russia's electorate ahead of the upcoming Russian presidential election, including the issue of mass mobilization.

Last November, Putin signed a law restricting media freedom during the presidential election, only allowing journalists who have an employment contract with registered media outlets to cover election commission meetings.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Zaluzhnyi confirms downing of Russian A-50 spy plane, IL-22 command aircraft

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Nation's efforts to mediate conflict win recognition

08:18, January 16, 2024 By Zhou Jin ( China Daily

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with the League of Arab States Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit in Cairo, Egypt, Jan 14, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

China has signed two joint statements on the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, respectively with Egypt and the Arab League, as its fair and balanced stance has received wide recognition.

The core of the two joint statements includes urging an immediate and comprehensive cease-fire, calling for enabling humanitarian access and implementing the two-state solution.

The statements were issued on Sunday during Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to Egypt, where he held talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Ahmed Aboul Gheit, secretary-general of the League of Arab States, in separate meetings.

Observers said the release of the two joint statements is China's latest effort through various diplomatic channels to resolve the conflict, which has dragged on for over 100 days and killed more than 23,800 people and displaced 1.9 million civilians.

Liu Zhongmin, a professor of Middle East studies at Shanghai International Studies University, said China and Arab countries share common aspirations and similar positions on promoting the de-escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, protecting civilians and resolving the Palestinian issue in a just manner.

The joint statements, along with China's position paper on the conflict and a United Nations Security Council resolution under China's presidency focusing on humanitarian concerns and the protection of children, have clearly reflected the country's stance on the conflict, he said.

Although the joint statements could not lead directly to a ceasefire due to the complexity of the Palestinian-Israeli issue, they show China's ongoing efforts to seek consensus, he said.

"China has not given up diplomatic efforts to promote peace, although ending violence between the two sides faces challenges," he said.

The statements also expressed concern over the escalation of the situation in the Red Sea and called on relevant parties to cool down the situation to prevent further spillover effects.

Gong Xiaosheng, China's former special envoy on the Middle East issue, said in a recent interview with the Paper that the Middle East is not far away from China, and what happens in the Middle East will affect regional and international security, as well as China's interests.

But he stressed that China's interests in the region are different from those of some countries, such as the United States. China's interests are not to be realized at the expense of others, and it seeks to achieve common interests featuring peace, cooperation and common development, Gong said.

The new round of conflict has also brought the Palestinian issue back to the center of Middle East politics, while the two-state solution was highlighted in the two joint statements during the foreign minister's visit.

The joint statement between China and the Arab League also calls for convening a larger-scale, more authoritative and effective international peace conference, and formulating a specific timetable and road map for the implementation of the solution, in order to resume peace talks between Palestine and Israel.

China has been closely following the Palestinian issue and is a strong supporter of the two-state solution, which has been recognized by Palestine and the Arab countries, said Liu from Shanghai International Studies University.

The current conflict is the result of failing to implement the two-state solution, he said, adding that after the conflict, it requires all parties involved to change their attitudes as well as the ways of dealing with each other, to address the issue and seek peace through negotiation.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said on Tuesday Israel was placing many obstacles to the entry of aid into Gaza, worsening the plight of Palestinians there.

Safadi, speaking at a press conference with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong, said the hurdles meant only 10% of the total needs of more than two million Gazans under siege were being covered.

"The reality now is that Israeli measures are preventing sufficient aid from arriving and only a fraction is being delivered," he said.

Israel, which screens goods going into Gaza and holds back aid it deems to be used for military purposes by its enemy Hamas, denies hampering aid.

Israel was also preventing aid from reaching northern Gaza where Israel's bombardment and its occupation for weeks had wiped out infrastructure and much of its residential buildings, Safadi said.

The United Nations humanitarian office said on Friday that Israeli authorities were systematically denying it access to northern Gaza to deliver aid and this had significantly hindered the humanitarian operation there.

Jordan, which has been in the forefront of Arab neighbours pushing Israel to allow more aid, is the only country that airdrops aid to Gaza to two military field hospitals it runs.

It succeeded in getting Israel to allow the World Food Programme (WFP) to send deliveries to Gaza through another land route that begins from Jordan that has helped to ease pressure on the main Rafah border crossing, which is limited in capacity.

"Even the aid that is arriving is not reaching all of Gaza, some of it is arriving to the south and when we talk of the north there are big Israeli impediments preventing the delivery of aid there," he said

Safadi also blamed Israel for not heeding a call by a U.N. Security Council resolution that was adopted last month that called for allowing safe unhindered and expanded humanitarian access.

"Unfortunately this has not happened till now and this is due to the Israeli position which rejects allowing enough aid and refusing to adopt more effective ways to speed up delivery of aid," Safadi said.

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
A federal judge declined Peter Navarros request for a new contempt of Congress trial after the former Trump adviser claimed the jury in his trial last year was prejudiced by protesters outside the courthouse.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled Tuesday that Navarro would not be granted a new trial because he did not prove that the jury was prejudiced by lingering Jan. 6-related protesters during the jurys brief outside break shortly before they issued a verdict.

Mehta also determined that Navarros counsel knew about the jurys potential exposure to protestors before its verdict was issued but waited to see if the jury would rule in their favor before raising concern. Because of that, they waived it as grounds for a new trial, he wrote.

A defendant cannot learn of alleged improper external influence on the jury, remain silent and gamble on a favorable verdict, only to complain afterwards that a new trial is warranted because the jury was unduly prejudiced by that outside influence, Mehta wrote. That is precisely what occurred here.

Navarros lawyer, Stanley Woodward, had argued that the jurors were exposed to protestors toting Jan. 6-related signs, after prosecutors had linked Navarro to the circumstances of that day.

But after reviewing videos from outside the courthouse, Mehta found that the jurors only interacted with each other and the court security officer who took them outside.

No one directed any words or displayed any signs at them. No one approached them, Mehta wrote. Moreover, the scene itself was relatively placid. There was no indiscriminate yelling or chanting. No one held a sign above their head. There were no activities resembling a protest.'

The court security officer, Rosa Roldan Torres, told a similar story when asked to take the stand last year over the alleged improper exposure. She testified that the jurors removed their juror tags before heading outside on break and were not approached by anyone during that time. She also said she was present the whole time they were outside, which Mehta noted was about eight minutes.

Its not uncommon for protestors to congregate around the federal courthouse in Washington, blocks away from the Capitol, where high-profile political cases are often heard. Former President Trumps arraignment on election interference and seditious conspiracy trials, along with verdicts and sentencings of members of the extremist Proud Boys and Oath Keepers related to Jan. 6 brought significant buzz.

Navarro was convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress in September for refusing to abide by a subpoena served by the House committee that investigated the events of Jan. 6. The first charge pertained to his failure to produce documents, and the second was for failing to appear for a deposition.

The onetime Trump adviser told reporters after his conviction that prosecutors suggestion of his association with J6 is why he was found guilty and that he expects his case to reach the Supreme Court because of the questions it raises about executive privilege for high-ranking White House staff.

I am willing to go to prison to settle this issue. Im willing to do that. But I also know that the likelihood of me going to prison is relatively small because we are right on this issue, Navarro said at the time.

Navarro is scheduled to be sentenced next week. He is the second former Trump ally to face contempt of Congress charges, after ex-White House adviser Steve Bannon was convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress last year and sentenced to four months in prison, which he has not yet served.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Alex Murdaughs defense attorney Dick Harpootlian speaks during an evidentiary hearting at the Richland County Courthouse on Tuesday Jan.16, 2024. Tracy Glantz The State, Pool

Convicted murderer and confessed fraudster Richard "Alex" Murdaugh entered a courtroom in the South Carolina state capital Tuesday smiling and warmly greeting his attorneys and courtroom staff.

But the smiles were soon replaced by more serious looks of concern, and by the time the disbarred Hampton attorney exited the courtroom in shackles, it was clear the post-conviction road to a possible retrial would not be an easy one.

The rules of engagement have been outlined and the stage is now set for a hearing into jury tampering allegations surrounding the double murder conviction of notorious former attorney Alex Murdaugh, and Murdaugh's quest for a possible retrial just became more challenging.

Judge Jean H. Toal, a retired South Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice ordered to hear the jury tampering matters, held a status conference and procedural pre-hearing Tuesday morning in Columbia and made some preliminary rulings that arguably handed Murdaugh's legal defense several major setbacks ahead of the Jan. 29 hearing.

Judge Jean Toal, former Supreme Court Justice, presides over an evidentiary hearting at the Richland County Courthouse on Tuesday Jan.16, 2024. Tracy Glantz The State, Pool

Murdaugh was convicted on March 2 of the June 2021 murders of his wife and younger son and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. In early September, Murdaugh's attorneys announced they would be seeking a new trial based on jury tampering allegations against Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill, who oversaw the inner workings of the six-week trial in Walterboro, S.C.

Here is how Judge Toal intends to conduct the hearing into those allegations.

Murdaugh deserves a hearing on jury allegations, says judge

Tuesday's conference was held to accomplish several matters, chief of which was to determine if an evidentiary hearing was even needed and required by law.

Judge Toal ruled the hearing would move forward as scheduled and is set to begin on Jan. 29-31 in Courtroom 3A at the Richland County Judicial Center in Columbia.

The Jan. 29 Alex Murdaugh hearing will be in open court

Toal stressed that the hearing, including the questioning of jurors, would be conducted in open court, with public and media access. Court TV will broadcast the hearing as a pool source for other media, in addition to pool photographers for "still" photos.

However, the privacy and identity of the jurors will remain protected. The jurors will be referred to by number only, and pool media will be instructed not to show images of the jurors.

Prosecuting attorney Creighton Waters speaks during an evidentiary hearting at the Richland County Courthouse on Tuesday Jan.16, 2024. Tracy Glantz The State, Pool

Judge sets legal standard for Murdaugh jury tampering case

One of the most important decisions in the case involved the legal standards involved: what was the standard of proof, and who had the burden of proof?

Murdaugh's attorneys opened the hearing with arguments based on Remmer vs. United States, a decision that states that proven improper contact with a juror was enough to justify a retrial, regardless of whether or not that contact resulted in prejudice.

Early in the status conference, Judge Toal announced that she would be using the legal standard and precedent set by South Carolina vs. Green, a 2020 S.C. Supreme Court decision that requires that actual prejudice must be proven to get a new trial.

This means that improper contact or improper conversations with a juror alone may not be enough to grant a retrial if there is no evidence the juror or jurors in question were prejudiced into making a decision.

The presumption of prejudice by improper contact "is not the way to examine this issue, but with specific evidence," said Toal.

Attorney Jim Griffin speaks to his client, Alex Murdaugh, during an evidentiary hearting at the Richland County Courthouse on Tuesday Jan.16, 2024. Tracy Glantz The State, Pool

Who will testify in the Alex Murdaugh/Becky Hill matter?

Judge Toal also clearly outlined the primary witnesses she intends to hear from or question.

Despite arguments from Murdaugh attorneys Richard Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, Toal stated that she would be questioning only the 12 jurors who deliberated on the case and reached the guilty verdict  not the alternates, and not jurors who were dismissed before deliberating.

This may prove the most damaging decision of the day for Murdaugh's team. Most, if not all, of Murdaugh's arguments, hinge on the testimony and affidavits of an alternate juror and a dismissed juror referred to in the courtroom as the "egg lady" because she asked to retrieve a dozen eggs from the jury room before leaving.

However, Toal indicated that Murdaugh's attorneys are welcome to submit a written proffer and she could potentially reconsider that position during the hearing.

Judge Toal: 'This is not the trial of Becky Hill'

During the hearing, it became clear that Murdaugh's team planned to attack Hill's character and credibility. In addition to the jury tampering allegations, Hill is also under investigation for ethics complaints that involve the alleged misuse of public office and public money. She also recently admitted to plagiarism when she wrote the now controversial and recently "unpublished" book, Behind the Doors of Justice.

Harpootlian made several comments suggesting that all of these allegations were relevant to "impeaching" Hill as a credible witness.

However, Toal stated that she planned to limit the focus of the Jan. 29 hearing to what happened in the courthouse during the trial only, with a particular focus on interactions between Hill and the jurors.

"This is not the trial of Mrs. Hill," said Toal. "This case is very focused on the jurors and the clerk of court, as I see it."

Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill.

"This is not the time to explore every mistake or incorrect statement or false statement ever made by this witness," said Toal. "I don't think it's necessary or proper to explore each and every impropriety."

Hill, who has denied the jury allegations, is expected to take the stand after the jurors are questioned by Toal. She may invoke her Fifth Amendment rights on a question-by-question basis.

How will the Murdaugh jurors be questioned?

Judge Toal outlined the process by which she planned to interview the jurors.

The jurors, who will kept out of the courtroom before testifying, will be questioned individually in open court by Toal to determine primarily if there was improper contact, and if it influenced their verdict.

Once questioned, the jurors would then be seated in the jury box where they may later be questioned as a group, after which they will all be dismissed.

By law, jurors will not be required to answer certain questions that pertain to details of their actual deliberations.

Who would likely not be allowed to testify?

In addition to identifying the primary witnesses, Toal also indicated who she would not allow to testify. That list included attorneys involved in the trial, retired judge Clifton Newman, who presided over the murder trial and who sentenced Murdaugh, attorneys for the jurors, and law enforcement officers.

However, she may consider other witnesses once the hearing is underway.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Alex Murdaugh jury tampering hearing: Who can testify, what to expect
Attorneys will begin selecting jurors Tuesday in an Orange County murderers resentencing trial.

In 2015, Bessman Okafor was convicted of killing 19-year-old Alex Zaldivar three years earlier.

Changes in state law reversed his initial death sentence, but now its back in play.

Read: Mistrial declared in resentencing trial of Bessman Okafor, who murdered 19-year-old Alex Zaldavar

The latest resentencing ended in a mistrial.

Last October, Okafors resentencing trial took an unexpected turn.

Juror Kayla De Pena broke the judges orders by saying she discussed the case with a friend outside the courtroom.

Watch: Judge hits juror who lied, caused mistrial with max sentence

This mistake caused chaos. The trial was declared a mistrial, costing taxpayers.

De Pena admitted she lied due to mental health struggles and financial pressure.

Read: Teen shot while sitting on park bench in Volusia County, deputies say

Despite her pleas, De Pena was sentenced to 179 days in jail and fined $500.

Shes now serving her sentence in the same jail where Okafor awaits his second resentencing trial.

See more in the video above.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Several Kansas City area public school districts decided to cancel classes or hold virtual learning Tuesday because of safety concerns from cold temperatures and snow.

A severe wind chill warning is in effect through noon Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Districts across the metro vary on how and how often they utilize remote instruction options.

Kansas City Public Schools, Blue Springs School District, Park Hill Schools and North Kansas City Schools will have students learn remotely. Meanwhile Independence School District and Blue Valley Schools canceled classes, announcing a snow day.

Here is a list of Kansas City area school districts that made announcements Monday about Tuesday classes:

Belton School District: Virtual learning on Tuesday.

Blue Springs School District: Virtual learning on Tuesday.

Blue Valley Schools: Classes canceled on Tuesday.

Bonner Springs-Edwardsville School District: Classes canceled on Tuesday.

DeSoto School District: Classes canceled on Tuesday.

Fort Osage schools: Virtual learning on Tuesday.

Gardner-Edgerton School District: Classes canceled on Tuesday.

Grain Valley School: Virtual learning on Tuesday.

Independence School District: Classes canceled on Tuesday.

Kansas City Public Schools: Virtual learning on Tuesday.

Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools: Classes canceled on Tuesday.

Kearney School District: Classes canceled on Tuesday.

North Kansas City Schools: Virtual learning on Tuesday.

Olathe School District: Classes canceled on Tuesday.

Park Hill School District: Virtual learning on Tuesday.

Piper School District: Off for a professional development day.

Raytown Schools: Virtual learning on Tuesday.

Shawnee Mission School District: Classes canceled on Tuesday.

Spring Hill Schools: Classes canceled for Tuesday.
Often referred to as Britains strictest headteacher, Birbalsingh introduced a universal prayer ban in March last year - Geoff Pugh for The Telegraph

Britains strictest headteacher is in a row with Muslim pupils over a decision to impose a prayer ban.

Michaela Community School in Brent, north-west London, which is run by Katharine Birbalsingh, the Governments former social mobility tsar, is facing a High Court challenge from a Muslim pupil over its prayer policy.

The court heard that the school has faced an online campaign over its approach to religion, as well as threats of violence, abuse and false allegations of Islamophobia.

Conservative MPs are understood to be concerned about the challenge to the governing body of the free school, which achieves some of the best academic results in the country.

Its clearly being weaponised

A source close to Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, told The Telegraph: It is deeply concerning that the school is being taken to court over this clearly legitimate policy. Its clearly being weaponised against Michaela which is a brilliant school doing a brilliant job for its pupils with a fantastic headmistress.

A High Court hearing in London on Tuesday was told that the schools stance on prayers was first introduced in March last year by its headteacher, and later re-made by its governing body in May.

About 30 students began praying in the schools wet and dirty yard in March last year, using blazers to kneel as they were not permitted to bring in prayer mats, the court heard.

Lawyers for the school, which is opposing the legal challenge, had argued that proceedings should be held in private owing to concerns over past harassment, which included threats and a bomb hoax.

But following arguments by media organisations, Mr Justice Linden ruled that the hearing should be held in public and the school and headteacher can be identified.

Right to freedom of religion

Sarah Hannett KC, representing the Muslim pupil, told the court that the prayer policy had the practical effect of only preventing Muslims from praying because their prayer by nature has a ritualised nature rather than being internal.

The pupil, who cannot be named, claims the decision banning prayer rituals breaches her right to freedom of religion.

The pupil was seeking a compromise to the schools position, the lawyer said, arguing they should be allowed to pray for around five minutes at lunch time, on dates when faith rules required it, but not during lessons.

Ms Hannett said the ban at the school, where about half of the roughly 700 students are Muslim, makes the pupil feel guilty and unhappy, in her words, it messes up her day.

Jason Coppel KC, representing the school trust, said pupils seen praying outside contributed to a concerted campaign on social media over the schools approach to religion, including a since removed online petition attracting thousands of signatures.

Police were called to respond to claims of bombs being placed at the school, prompting it to hire a security guard and close two days early at the end of term.

Glass bottles were thrown over the school railings and a brick thrown through one teachers window, leaving staff fearing for their lives, Mr Coppel said, adding that the situation had since calmed.

Mr Justice Linden noted the school had received disgraceful abuse but concluded: I do not accept that the evidence in this case establishes a risk to the lives or safety of members of the school staff or the school community that would justify holding the hearing in private.

Michaelas zero tolerance policy

Michaela, which opened in 2014, is known for its zero tolerance policy towards poor behaviour and strict rules, including silence in corridors and no smartphones.

The school was ranked top in the country this year for Progress 8, a measure of how much a secondary school has helped pupils improve since primary school.

One third of the schools GCSE pupils achieved a nine (the highest grade) this year, while 98 per cent were awarded grades 9-4 (the equivalent of A* to C) in at least five subjects. The sixth form sent 82 per cent of its pupils to a Russell Group university in 2021.

Ms Birbalsingh has received criticism for her outspoken views on education, despite her schools results.

Mr Coppel is due to set the schools defence to the case on Wednesday, when the hearing is expected to conclude.

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Katherine Heigl returns to the Emmys for the 1st time in a decade for 'Grey's' reunion

It's been 16 years since Katherine Heigl won the Emmy for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens in the medical drama "Grey's Anatomy," and 10 years since she's attending the annual awards show.

The actor, known for her roles in "27 Dresses," "Knocked Up," and most recently Netflix's "Firefly Lane," stepped foot once again on the red carpet, this time for the 2023 Awards (held in 2024).

The last time she attended the Emmys was in 2014, where she walked alongside her husband Josh Kelly.

Katherine Heigl (FilmMagic, Getty Images)

Heigl will be joining her "Grey's Anatomy" co-stars for a reunion at one point during the telecast. She will stand alongside former co-stars Justin Chambers, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr.

The actor's last interaction with the Emmys involved some controversy: In 2008, she received backlash for not submitting her work on "Grey's Anatomy" for consideration. I do not feel I was given the material this season to warrant a nomination, she said.

Heigl revisited the situation on "The Howard Stern Show" in 2016, saying that she "wasn't feeling good" regarding her performance.

There was a part of me that thought, because I had won the year before, that I needed juicy, dramatic, emotional material, and I just didnt have that that season, she said.

Heigl also said she apologized to Shonda Rhimes.

I went in to Shonda and said, Im so sorry, that wasnt cool; I should not have said that, said Heigl. I shouldnt have said anything publicly, but at the time I didnt think anybody would notice; I didnt think that journalists would see who submitted and who didnt. I just quietly didnt submit. And then it became a story, and then I felt I was obligated to make my statement.

75th Primetime Emmy Awards - Arrivals (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)

Over the years, Heigl has dealt with rumors about her alleged "attitude." In a 2021 interview with the Washington Post she spoke about her "difficult" reputation.

I may have said a couple of things you didnt like, but then that escalated to shes ungrateful, then that escalated to, Shes difficult, and that escalated to shes unprofessional, said Heigl.

Since leaving "Grey's Anatomy" in 2010, she returned to TV on the Netflix show "Firefly Lane," which recently concluded, and "Suits."

Hosted by Anthony Anderson, the 2023 Emmys, which were rescheduled from September 2023 to January 2024, were broadcast live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The 2023 Emmys can be streamed on Hulu starting today.

Leading the list of nominees included Succession and The Last of Us. There were a number of A-list stars and appearances from famous faces, including reunions from shows like Greys Anatomy, Martin, Ally McBeal and more.

Follow TODAY.com for complete Emmys coverage, including this years winners and unexpected moments.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Sir Keir comes top in 493 seats, while Mr Sunak is preferred in just 139 seats - HANNAH MCKAY/AFP

Sir Keir Starmer would be preferred to Rishi Sunak as prime minister by voters in more than three quarters of parliamentary seats, a survey has found.

The Labour leader comes top in 493 seats in England, Scotland and Wales, while Mr Sunak is preferred in just 139 seats.

The result of the YouGov poll suggests that the Conservative strategy of running a presidential-style election campaign by framing it as a head-to-head between the two men would be a mistake.

Mr Sunak does not even beat Sir Keir in all of the constituencies the Conservatives are forecast to win, suggesting he is a drag on the partys chances rather than its biggest asset.

In the Prime Ministers own constituency, more people answered not sure than backed Mr Sunak when they were asked who would make the best premier between the two men.

The only ray of hope for Mr Sunak and his supporters is that almost half of all voters say they are unsure which of the two men would make the best prime minister, suggesting that millions of people are not convinced by Sir Keir either.

It is further bad news for the Prime Minister as he tries to quell a backbench rebellion over his flagship Rwanda policy to deal with illegal immigration, which has undermined his authority and caused deep splits within his party.

Some Tory MPs have held discussions about the possibility of replacing Mr Sunak before the election, though they are currently in a small minority.

Tory strategists have for months been insisting that their best chance of winning the election is to play up the importance of leadership in order to make it a head-to-head between Mr Sunak and Sir Keir.

But where Mr Sunak was outperforming his party a year ago, the opposite is now true.

Widespread support for tougher Rwanda policy

In 559 seats in Great Britain, support for the Tories is higher than support for Mr Sunak. The Prime Minister outperforms his party in only 73 seats.

In contrast, in November 2022 an Ipsos poll found that 47 per cent of voters said they liked Mr Sunak, compared with a figure of 26 per cent for his party.

As The Telegraph reported earlier this week, the same survey of 14,000 people forecast a landslide win for Labour at the next general election, with a 120-seat majority for Sir Keir and a net loss of 196 seats for the Tories compared to their result in 2019.

The poll also showed widespread support for a much tougher version of the Rwanda legislation.

Voters were asked who would make the best prime minister between Mr Sunak and Sir Keir.

Just 21 per cent of the public chose the incumbent, with 32 per cent preferring the Labour leader and 47 per cent saying they were not sure.

Sunak not top choice in any constituency

The results were then analysed using the Multilevel Regression and Poststratification (MRP) method, enabling YouGov to break them down by individual constituency.

Sir Keir gained more support than Mr Sunak in 78 per cent of constituencies, with Mr Sunak preferred to him in 22 per cent.

Across the North and the Midlands, where the Tories won dozens of Red Wall Labour seats under Boris Johnson in 2019, Sir Keir fares even better, winning in 83 per cent of seats.

In the South and London, the Labour leader comes out top in 66 per cent of seats.

In the vast majority of constituencies, not sure was the most common answer, but in 74 constituencies Sir Keir was the top answer.

Mr Sunak was not the top answer in any constituency.

In the newly created constituency of Richmond and Northallerton, which will be contested by Mr Sunak in the next election, only 29.4 per cent of voters think he will make the best prime minister, with 44 per cent saying they were not sure and 25.8 per cent preferring Sir Keir.

In contrast, Sir Keir convincingly wins in his own constituency of Holborn and St Pancras, with the backing of 48 per cent of voters compared with 15 per cent for Mr Sunak and the rest saying they were not sure.

Northern Ireland, which has 18 parliamentary seats, was not surveyed for the poll.

The survey found that if an election was held now, the Conservatives would win just 169 seats and Labour would sweep to power with 385.

Among those who voted Conservative in 2019, only 42 per cent believe Mr Sunak is the best choice for prime minister, with Sir Keir on 10 per cent and the rest not sure.

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(KRON)  TikTok food reviewer Keith Lee cut his food tour of the Bay Area short last week, a move that was met with plenty of national attention. Lee said the trip ended early because he doesnt think the Bay is a place for tourists right now, as well as underwhelming meals and an allergic reaction.

On Sunday, Lee posted a follow-up video, saying his statements were misconstrued. He expanded on the experience and why he left early.

Clad in a mask that he said he was wearing due to lingering allergies, the influencer made it clear he did not leave the Bay Area due to violence.

Bay Area man among victims in Arizona hot air balloon crash

Not at one point did we feel threatened or scared, he said. We didnt get ran out of nowhere.

Lee said he was asked to wait five or six hours to eat at some of the spots he visited, and he did not believe tourists like himself would want to wait outside in the areas where those eateries were located.

Lee posted three video reviews from the trip, critiquing a San Francisco burger joint and two places in Oakland. He faced criticism from people claiming he only went to those two cities, but he dismissed that notion in the video.

He said he went to six or seven cities in total and did not opt to name the other cities because people may be able to deduce which spots he went to and did not like, which could lead to online criticism. Lee claims he went to six places that he did not make a video about because he did not like the food.

We went to the Bay, he said. We went to trucks, brick-and-mortars, we went to Michelin star restaurants.

Throughout the ordeal, Lee has spoken highly of the people he met in the Bay Area, and he echoed that message on Sunday.

The people in the Bay were amazing. Its unfortunate that my allergies flared up, but I never said that the entire trip to the Bay as a fail or disappointment, he said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.
With Mardi Gras season officially under way in Louisiana, Kenny Bs French Quarter Cafe is gearing up for the holiday in its new Bluffton location.

The restaurant that serves Cajun and Creole specialties for breakfast, lunch and dinner first opened on Hilton Heads south end in 1999 and, last year, made the decision to move to a larger space just across the bridges.

Its new home is in Bridge Center, along U.S. 278 across from Moss Creek, and it quietly opened its doors to customers starting Dec. 27.

Ill be honest, said chef and owner Ken Ballard, it rejuvenated me doing this again. I had good memories from when we first started because that was a dream come true, you know, to finally get your own place.

The building, once home to Thai Smile Cuisine, was extensively renovated over nearly a year to create a large waiting area for take-out orders and a spacious dining area with a combination of tables and booths and plenty of natural light.

Canvases on the wall at Kenny Bs in Bluffton show portions of the iconic French Quarter mural that was on the wall at the Hilton Head location.

There are reminders of the original location, with framed mementos and posters lining the walls. Ballard even had large canvases printed with photos of the iconic French Quarter mural that went from floor to ceiling at the Hilton Head restaurant.

The larger space also allowed for the creation of a vivid red Dawghouse room for fans of the University of Georgia bulldogs. Ballards own bulldog Beignet Bouchet (BAYN-yay BOO-shay), named for the Louisiana-style pastry fried and dusted with powdered sugar, is well represented among the photos.

Ken Ballard is the chef and owner of Kenny Bs French Quarter Cafe.

All of Ballards employees moved to the new location, and he has also added additional staff.

While the space is new, customers can be reassured that the menu hasnt changed.

Previously, all ordering was done on paper and customers were rung up on an old cash register. The new space now has a modern point-of-sale accounting system that allows pick-up orders to be placed online.

Unlike in its Hilton Head location, the Bluffton Kenny Bs French Quarter Cafe has a separate space for those waiting to place orders or pick-up to-go orders.

Ive had a good mix of my old customers from Hilton Head, a lot of them tourists that were here for the new year holidays came in. That that was the best sign of anything, that I know I will still get my summer people, as I call them, Ballard said, and then Ive gotten a lot more people that live out here that would have never went down to Hilton Head.

The lunch shift in particular has been busy with locals on their midday breaks from work.

Kenny Bs French Quarter Cafe has opened in a new location in Blufftons Bridge Center.

Mardi Gras on Tuesday, Feb. 13, will be a customer appreciation day. Ballard hopes to have his license to serve beer and wine by then, but regardless, he plans lunch specials on po-boys, jambalaya, gumbo and muffalettas. Of course, there will be king cake; at Kenny Bs, those who find a plastic baby in their cake will get a prize.

On a recent day, two separate customers stopped to talk to compliment Ballard on the food and the space over the course of about 15 minutes.

This is the best food ever, said one woman who identified herself as from Ohio. We have nothing like this.

At a glance

What: Kenny Bs French Quarter Cafe

Address: 1534 Fording Island Road, Building D, in Blufftons Bridge Center

Hours: Winter hours are breakfast 8:30 to 11 a.m., lunch 12:30 to 3 p.m. and dinner 4:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday; closed Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday hours will be added starting around Mardi Gras.

Phone: 843-837-7007

Website: eatatkennybs.com

Beignets from Kenny Bs French Quarter Cafe
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  Longtime photographer, our friend, Gene Rickman passed away over the weekend.

Gene had been with KFOR for 12 years, covering stories across the state of Oklahoma.

He was born in California, but in addition to his work at Channel 4, he had spent time at television stations in Phoenix, Kansas City, Dallas and Tulsa.

Gene was a news photojournalist, but he loved covering sports.

He would often volunteer for any sports segment he heard about.

Many of us jokingly called him Mean Gene, but in reality he was one of the sweetest, kindest people youd ever meet.

Gene leaves behind his wife of 28 years, Angie and their son, Wil.

Gene had just turned 52 this past Friday.

He was a friend to everyone in the KFOR newsroom and will miss him greatly.

Oklahoma Governor Stitt on Tuesday, sent condolences to Gene Rickmans family and KFOR for his service to Oklahoma communities.

As a photojournalist, Gene often worked with local law enforcement to gather information on important stories, and many remember him fondly from their time working together.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
A mandatory evacuation order for families with children has been expanded to 26 more villages near Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast, Governor Oleh Syniehubov announced on Jan. 16.

The villages fall under the Kindrashivka and Kurylivka settlements, parts of which were already ordered to evacuate in August after Russian forces intensified their attacks in the area of Kupiansk.

The police announced in November that the evacuation of children from these settlements was complete, having helped almost 300 children leave the area with their family members or legal guardians.

Syniehubov said in December that the authorities were considering expanding the evacuation order to cover more settlements, depending on the security situation.

The village of Kindrashivka, which lies just north of Kupiansk, is located just seven kilometers from the front line, while Kurylivka, to the south of Kupiansk, is 12 kilometers from the front.

According to Syniehubov, 3,043 people, including 279 children, live in the villages listed under the new evacuation order.

"All evacuees are provided with housing and support from international humanitarian organizations," Syniehubov said. "We call on community residents to take responsibility for their own lives and the lives of their children."

Liberated from Russian occupation during Ukraine's counteroffensive in September 2022, Kupiansk has been a critical target for renewed Russian offensives, as it serves as a key logistics hub for a potential push further south or west.

The U.S.-based think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warned on Jan. 5 that Russian forces may scale up offensive operations in Kharkiv Oblast to try to seize Kupiansk in the coming weeks.

Read also: Its their turn now: Ukrainians call on government to demobilize exhausted soldiers fighting for nearly two years

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Kieran Culkin has explained why he asked his wife for a baby during his Emmy Awards acceptance speech.

The actor took home Best Actor in a Drama Series for his role of Roman Roy in Succession, which was one of many wins for the hit HBO show that were awarded at the delayed event on Monday (15 January).

During his speech, Culkin raised eyebrows with a divisive comment directed at his wife Jazz Charlton. He said while accepting the trophy: Thank you for sharing your life with me and giving me two amazing kids... I want more. You said maybe, if I win! I love you so much.

When the camera cut to Charlton, she could be seen covering her face with her hands in what appeared to be a mixture of joy and shock.

During a press conference backstage, Culkin was asked about this comment, and explained the reasoning behind his decision to publicly ask his wife for a third child, which he described as rude behaviour.

Culkin said that he had been asking his wife for another child for a while and that, a couple of months ago, she sarcastically accepted on the condition he won the Emmy.

I didnt bring it up for months and, when I won the [Golden] Globe, I said, Do you remember what you said? and she went, No, what? What did I say? I dont remember this, the actor, who won a Golden Globe for Succession on 7 January, said.

He continued: Then I told her and it all came back to her, so then she spent the whole week being nervous and, instead of talking to her in private like a human. I just blasted her on stage, which was very rude. Thats it, thats the whole story  the end.

The actors speech divided opinion, with many arguing he should not have put his wife on the spot about a personal matter in such a public setting

Culkin and Charton, who married in 2013, share two children together: Kinsey Sioux and Wilder Wolf.

Succession star Kieran Culkin celebrating Emmys win with wife Jazz Charlton (Getty Images)

Also in his speech, Culkin thanked his agent, stating: I have to thank my manager, Emily Gerson Saines, who Ive been with for about 29 years. Sorry Emily, you probably didnt want me to say the number but I did. I just have to thank you for keeping my name in the conversation when nobody else was talking about me, so as far as Im concerned, this is yours.

At the Emmy Awards, Sir Elton John became the 19th person in history to achieve an EGOT, while Ted Lasso actor Hannah Waddingham was defended by viewers after Laverne Cox pronounced her name incorrectly on the red carpet.

Meanwhile, Ariana DeBose and Last of Us star Bella Ramsey cleared the air after the West Side Story actor hit out at a joke Ramsey made about her at the Critics Choice Awards the night before.
BATTLE CREEK  The Battle Creek Shelter Board of Directors has entered into a management services agreement with Kingdom Builders Worldwide, which assumed day-to-day operational control over the 3-year-old Battle Creek Shelter as of Jan. 1.

The BCS Board of Directors has been working on a transition plan for the facility since June 2023 as it took several steps to achieve independence as a nonprofit organization, reduce expenses and move out of the start-up phase that had been supported financially and operationally by the Battle Creek Community Foundation since the shelter opened in late 2020, officials explained in a Monday press release.

The Battle Creek Shelter is pleased to continue serving Battle Creeks most vulnerable unsheltered individuals in 2024 and we are incredibly grateful to the Battle Creek Community Foundation for its support and leadership over the past three years, Todd McDonald, chair of the BCS Board of Directors, said in the release. We also are pleased to move into this new phase of operations in partnership with Kingdom Builders Worldwide, which has been involved in the shelter since the early days.

In its first three years of existence, the Battle Creek Shelter, 209 E. Michigan Ave., has provided a variety of services, including safe overnight housing, meals, clothing, showers, case management and supplies to hundreds of people. In 2023 alone, the shelter provided overnight shelter to 410 people  including 113 women and 39 military veterans  and served more than 19,000 meals.

Kingdom Builders, a church and community center based in Battle Creek, has provided food services at the shelter since 2021. As the contracted manager of operations, Kingdom Builders will provide on-site management, operational oversight, reporting and meals at the facility. Kingdom Builders will also provide regular communication to the BCS Board of Directors, an independent nonprofit organization that continues to govern and own the facility.

The shelter was launched during the Coronavirus pandemic as local leaders sought a solution for the unsheltered population. A group of individuals and organizations subsequently teamed up to create the Battle Creek Shelter to address the growing needs of adults without housing.

Working in partnership with more than 70 organizations since 2021, the shelter has connected its patrons to numerous resources, ranging from mental health treatment and addiction rehabilitation, to housing assistance and job training. In addition to the Battle Creek Community Foundation, key partners have included Summit Pointe, Bronson Battle Creek, City of Battle Creek, Calhoun County, Zanetti Foundation, State of Michigan, Battle Creek Police Department, Feldpausch Foundation and Haven of Rest Ministries.

The Battle Creek Shelter, open 24 hours a day year-round, operates as a low-barrier shelter, removing as many obstacles and admission requirements as possible for people to receive safe short-term shelter and find permanent housing. The shelter is currently in the process of upgrading its shower and restroom infrastructure to accommodate more patrons in 2024; construction is scheduled to be completed in February and expand the shelters capacity to 80 individuals, officials said.

The shelter is funded by a combination of short-term grants and donations, but it continues to seek support for long-term sustainability. Any individual or organization who wishes to support the shelter financially can learn more online at bchomelessshelter.com or send donations directly to the Battle Creek Shelter, 209 E. Michigan Ave., Battle Creek, MI, 49017.

Contact reporter Greyson Steele at gsteele@battlecreekenquirer.com

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Kingdom Builders Worldwide assumes operational control over Battle Creek Shelter
Frankey Ithaka, of Port Orchard, speaks with a gaggle of reporters following a hearing in Kitsap County Superior Court on Monday morning. Ithaka is part of a group of Kitsap County voters challenging former President Donald Trump's eligibility to appear on ballots in Washington state.

PORT ORCHARD  A Kitsap County Superior Court judge declined to rule on a challenge seeking to block former President Donald Trump's name from appearing on ballots for the upcoming primary and general elections in Washington state, citing Thurston County as the proper venue on Monday morning.

The proceedings brought a crowd of Trump supporters and a gaggle of media to the Kitsap County Courthouse but no resolution to the challenge. Pointing to Thurston County as the seat of state government, Judge Jeffrey Bassett declined to hear the matter.

"Considering that the litigants are seeking a statewide application, I do not believe Kitsap is the appropriate venue for this case today," Bassett said. "There are 39 counties in this state, filing a separate action in every county could result in I dont know how many different decisions."

The group of Kitsap County voters who brought the challenge in Kitsap County also filed the challenge in Thurston County last week.

More: Group files challenge in Kitsap County seeking to keep Donald Trump off Washington ballots

"We go to Thurston, and see what they say in Thurston," said Frankey Ithaka, of Port Orchard, one of the eight petitioners who sought to block Trump's name from appearing on ballots in the state.

In a statement, state Republican Party chair and state Rep. Jim Walsh dismissed the challenge: This filing, like similar filings made in other states, is a poorly-conceived attack on democracy made by unserious people. These eccentric readings of the U.S. Constitutions 14th Amendment waste taxpayers money and time. The Washington State Republican Party will protect the interests of all Washingtonians by standing steadfast against such rank stupidity.

U.S. Supreme Court justices agreed earlier this month to take Trump's appeal of a related case in Colorado, and arguments are scheduled to be held on Feb. 8.

The Kitsap group that brought the challenge cited Trump's "engagement in an insurrection" on Jan. 6, 2021, and Ithaka pointed to the Colorado proceedings.

"If we are not a nation that adheres to the Constitution, then we have nothing to stand on," Ithaka told a group of reporters. "We have got to adhere to the Constitution, and the Constitution is clear in plain text that if you engage in an insurrection, you cannot be president, and you cannot run for president, and you cannot hold public office again."

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Judge declines to hear challenge on Trump ballot eligibility, citing venue
A Kitsap County judge opted not to hear a challenge to Donald Trumps eligibility for the Washington state presidential primary ballot on Tuesday.

The judge intimated that he didnt believe his courtroom was the correct venue to tackle the issue.

Petitioners will instead take their case to Thurston County court on Thursday to try again.

The challenge was first filed in Kitsap County last week, contesting Trumps eligibility for the ballot based on the insurrection clause in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That clause bans any person who has engaged in insurrection from holding any elected office without two-thirds approval from the U.S. House and Senate.

Trumps eligibility has been challenged in multiple states over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack at the U.S. Capitol. That includes Colorado, where the states Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that he was ineligible.

Since then, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to that ruling, with oral arguments set for Thursday, Feb. 8.
The speaker of the Latvian parliament, Daiga Mierina, made her first visit to Ukraine on Jan. 16, the Ukrainian parliament's press service announced on Facebook.

This visit will even strengthen the friendly alliance between our countries and parliaments, Deputy Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Olena Kondratiuk said.

No mention was made of the reason for Mierina's visit.

Mierina's visit comes after President Volodymyr Zelensky's tour of the Baltic states earlier in January.

Zelensky's last stop was in Latvia, after which Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics announced a new military aid package for Ukraine, including howitzers, drones, munitions.

A staunch supporter of Ukraine against Russian aggression, Latvia has committed over 1% of its gross domestic product to military assistance for Kyiv, one of the highest shares of all the allies.

"I am grateful to Latvia for the latest military aid package for Ukraine and a clear understanding that the strength of Ukrainian warriors, positions, and future is the strength that secures Latvia's independence as well," Zelensky said on the social media platform X.

Riga will also lead a drone coalition, one of the several military capability coalitions formed to support Kyiv, Rinkevics noted.

The Latvian president further said that the prime ministers of Latvia and Ukraine would sign a memorandum on military cooperation and an intergovernmental assistance agreement later on Jan. 11.

As part of non-military assistance, Latvia's parliament voted to provide over 500 million euros ($547 million) for Ukraine's reconstruction over the next three years, focusing on Chernihiv Oblast, according to Rinkevics.

As part of his Baltic tour, Zelensky also visited Lithuania on Jan. 10 and Estonia a day later, receiving new pledges of long-term assistance from both countries. While Vilnius promised almost $220 million in the next three years, Estonia announced assistance of $1.3 billion until 2027.

Read also: Opinion: Orban is plain wrong on Ukraine

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
A bill filed Tuesday would dissolve the Council on Postsecondary Education, which oversees Kentucky public universities and colleges, and move its authority to the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority.

House Bill 257, sponsored by Rep. Steven Doan, R-Erlanger, would move CPEs responsibilities to KHEAA, which oversees and provides state financial aid, including the Kentucky Education Excellence Scholarship program. It would also add student members to the KHEAA board.

CPE is over many parts of public universities and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, including tuition ceilings, approving and overseeing academic programs, and the states performance funding model, which distributes state appropriations to schools.

In a press release, Doan said the bill was created in an effort to reduce government size and waste.

Kentuckys experiment with CPE controlling higher education has failed to produce the greatest yield for Kentuckys students, said Doan in a statement. CPEs accomplishments include a decade of record enrollment decline across the board of Kentuckys institution, including record drops in enrollment for low-income students. Kentucky can no longer withstand another year of higher education being led by CPE.

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CPE was created by the 1997 Kentucky Postsecondary Education Improvement Act. CPE oversees the budget requests for schools in the state, and approves tuition rates, admissions criteria and academic programs. CPE also licenses non-profit and for-profit colleges offering bachelors degrees in Kentucky.

The proposed bill would give authority to the executive director of KHEAA, taking the place of the president of CPE. CPE has just under 100 employees, according to its online staff directory.

A CPE spokesperson said Tuesday the council would need to review the bill before commenting.

We cannot stand idly when the government is wastefully taking chances and experimenting with our kids future, Doan said. As state representative, my job requires me to provide government accountability and think out of the box for solutions. CPE is not the solution working for my district or Kentucky.

While statewide college enrollment is lower now than it was 10 years ago, last week Gov. Andy Beshear announced Kentucky leads the country in college enrollment growth from last fall to this fall, according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse. While some universities across the state have seen declining enrollment, the University of Kentucky has reported record enrollment the last several years.

Last year, Senate Resolution 98 directed CPE to conduct a study that looked at a variety of higher education topics, including the structure of higher education governance. Among one of the suggestions from the study was integrating KHEAA into CPE to strengthen alignment of statewide, strategic higher education goals and the goals of state financial aid programs.

The report, done by consulting company Ernst and Young, included four options for strengthening higher education governance in Kentucky, two of which centered around keeping the current structure but focusing on effectiveness or adding authority to CPE.
Florida lawmakers are moving ahead with a plan to impose modest limitations on kratom, the quasi-legal supplement sold in gas stations and convenience stores throughout the state.

A Senate committee on Tuesday unanimously approved SB 842, which would require packages of kratom to include dosage recommendations and other labeling. It would also place a limit on the potency of some kratom products.

The legislation could be a significant step toward potential statewide regulation of kratom, a plant from Southeast Asia that acts as a stimulant or sedative depending on the dosage. The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, said he plans to broaden the bill to require the products be tested by the state.

Today we have two choices: One, do nothing and leave a big problem in the state of Florida or we can at least move forward in the regulation of this product, Perry told senators Tuesday.

Last year, lawmakers passed and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill banning kratom sales to those younger than 21. But that bill placed no other restrictions on kratom products.

Kratom, typically sold as a green dusty powder that consumers mix in drinks or consume in a pill, has become increasingly popular. Advocates say its a safer alternative to opioids, but federal authorities have said theres no evidence to establish kratoms safety.

The Food and Drug Administration issued an import alert for kratom in 2014, allowing it to be refused at the border by federal officials, but it is legal to be sold nearly everywhere in Florida and many other states. Six states  and Sarasota County  have banned it.

The substance was the subject of a multipart investigation last year by the Tampa Bay Times, which revealed that more than 580 people in Florida died of kratom-related overdoses in the previous 10 years. Most of the deaths were caused by a fatal mixture of kratom and at least one other substance, but autopsy reports showed 46 people overdosed solely on the herb.

The Times investigation, Deadly Dose, also found that many kratom products dont have dosing instructions, a list of ingredients or sometimes, any label at all, leaving customers to determine product safety on their own. Kratom brands often rely on a labyrinth of corporations and limited liability companies to operate under the radar, the investigation found.

The bill as currently drafted would prohibit the sale of kratom products in Florida if they dont include directions for the safe and effective use of the product, including, but not limited to, a suggested serving size, on the products packaging or label.

The labels would also be prohibited from claiming that the product is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition or disease.

Penalties for violating the provision would be modest: an administrative fine of $500 for the first offense and no more than $1,000 for subsequent offenses.

The bill would also place some limits on the potency of kratom products, including by prohibiting them from being combined with any dangerous non-kratom ingredients.

Kratoms effects are largely due to the level of chemical compounds, called alkaloids, included in each product.

The legislation targets one alkaloid  7-hydroxymitragynine  while not addressing the plants best-studied chemical compound, mitragynine. Under the bill, producers couldnt sell kratom in which the percentage of 7-hydroxymitragynine is greater than 2% of the products alkaloid content.

Thats far higher than recommended by three researchers consulted by the Times for its series. One suggested that products should be allowed to contain no more than 0.04% 7-hydroxymitragynine.

Perry said afterward that he plans on meeting with researchers at the University of Florida who have studied kratom.

During Tuesdays hearing, two women who traveled from Tampa urged lawmakers to impose further restrictions on kratom, citing the Times series.

Even though some people are using it to get off opioids, it actually is addictive and some people are in treatment for kratom, said Ellen Snelling with the Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance.

The legislation has the support of the kratom industrys most influential advocacy group, the American Kratom Association, which has told the public and legislatures across the country that the herb cannot be fatal unless its contaminated or laced with drugs like fentanyl.

The associations chief lobbyist, C. McClain Mac Haddow, told senators Tuesday that while medical examiners have found kratom to be the sole drug in some fatal overdoses, the toxicology tests were not detailed enough in those instances.

This is not an issue about whether kratom was the sole cause of death, but rather resources applied to, and drug screens done by, medical examiners, Haddow said.

Times staff writer Kirby Wilson contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON  A bipartisan team of lawmakers on Tuesday announced that they had finalized a deal to restore business tax breaks and expand a credit that gives millions of parents refunds at tax time.

Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) unveiled the details of their agreement in a joint press release.

The proposed expansion of the child tax credit falls far short of a policy that Democrats enacted in 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan, which briefly provided advance monthly refunds worth as much as $300 per child. But Tuesdays announcement reflects the reality of a divided government.

Fifteen million kids from low-income families will be better off as a result of this plan, and given todays miserable political climate, its a big deal to have this opportunity to pass pro-family policy that helps so many kids get ahead, Wyden said.

Smith said that the proposal aids families, but he emphasized that it also strengthens Main Street businesses, boosts our competitiveness with China, and creates jobs.

Households that already benefit from the child tax credit would be able to receive a larger portion of the credit as cash refunds, some families with multiple children would get more money per child, and families would have flexibility to base their eligibility on the most advantageous recent tax year.

But the proposal would not greatly expand the $2,000 value of the credit, and it would retain the current requirement that families earn at least $2,500 to qualify  meaning the poorest households would not benefit.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), a longtime champion of expanding the child tax credit, said last week that she would not support the Wyden-Smith proposal as it had been described prior to its finalization Tuesday. She noted that the temporary child tax credit expansion that Democrats enacted in 2021 lifted 4 million children out of poverty  about 10 times as many as could escape poverty under the new package.

As of early Tuesday afternoon, DeLauro had not reacted to the final version.

DeLauros early opposition shows the difficulty for Wyden and Smith in their quest to shepherd the deal through Congress. Lawmakers are already facing a government funding deadline, with a shutdown imminent, and theyre deadlocked on foreign military aid and immigration policy. Its hard to see a complex tax deal finding its way to the presidents desk.

Another child tax credit champion, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), said that he supported the deal despite his disappointment that it didnt go further.

The deal received a significant endorsement from the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which estimated that in its first year, the proposal would lift as many as 400,000 children above the poverty line and make an additional 3 million children less poor as their incomes rise closer to the poverty line.

The proposal will likely get support from business groups that have clamored for the restoration of a tax deduction for research and development and an additional deduction for the cost of capital investments, two key components of the deal. The cost of the package is offset by the elimination of a much-criticized employee retention tax credit.
For years, Mississippians have been jailed without criminal charges while they await mental health treatment.

This session, lawmakers will propose bills aiming to significantly curtail that practice, legislators said in interviews last week. And in the House, the measures will be sponsored by the chair and vice chair of the Public Health and Human Services Committee, to which at least some of the proposals may be referred.

We cant send people with mental illness to jail because the county doesnt want to pay for an alternative, said Rep. Kevin Felsher, R-Biloxi, vice chair of that committee.

No legislation has been filed so far. But Felsher and Rep. Sam Creekmore, R-New Albany, the new public health chairman, said they plan to introduce a slate of bills that together would address multiple aspects of the civil commitment process and impose new limits on the jailing of people without criminal charges.

The Department of Mental Health supports those efforts, Director Wendy Bailey said in an email.

Last year, Mississippi Today and ProPublica reported that hundreds of Mississippians are jailed every year without criminal charges while they await mental health treatment through the civil commitment process. At least 14 Mississippians have died following incarceration during commitment proceedings since 2006, and no other state routinely jails people for days or weeks without charges during the commitment process.

Currently, the states commitment code says people detained before their commitment hearings shall not be held in jail unless the court finds that there is no reasonable alternative.

Felsher said one of his bills will impose stricter limits on the use of jail.

You have to look for every other alternative before jail would become an option, he said.

In some counties, Creekmore said, jail is the default place to put them.

Bailey told Mississippi Today that her agency had reviewed commitment statutes in states including Minnesota, Tennessee, Alabama, South Dakota, and Virginia. Alabama, Tennessee and Virginia prohibit jailing people without criminal charges during the process. Statues in Minnesota and South Dakota strictly limit it.

Limits that could be considered include requirements such as a chancellor must issue a specific order for someone to be held in jail, that the person cannot be held in jail unless actively violent, the local mental health authority would offer to provide services while someone is held in jail and limiting the amount of time the person is held in jail, Bailey wrote.

Bailey has emphasized that she opposes jailing people without criminal charges while they await treatment.

Last year, Creekmore sponsored HB 1222, which became law and requires more mental health training for law enforcement and expanded a court liaison program that aims to help families find treatment options other than civil commitment, if appropriate.

Jailed for lack of health insurance?

Felsher also plans to reintroduce legislation that failed last year, establishing that a person being committed cant be held in jail just because they are indigent and lack health insurance to pay for treatment. That bill would have required counties to pay for a persons treatment after their hearing if a publicly funded state hospital or crisis stabilization unit bed is unavailable, capping costs at the Medicaid reimbursement rate.

Harrison County, part of which Felsher represents, and some other counties in the state, such as Neshoba, already pay for private treatment if a public bed is unavailable.

The measures could trigger a fight with counties, many of which are reluctant to spend money to treat people instead of jailing them while they wait for a state-funded bed.

For example, Lee County Chancery Clerk Bill Benson said in an interview that it costs about $40 per day to jail someone in his county. When a county sends a resident to a private hospital, it pays more than $500 a day, according to contracts Mississippi Today reviewed.

At a hearing in November 2022, Felsher asked Benson whether he would support his county paying hospitals to treat county residents as an alternative to jail.

My supervisors would hang me  if I said yes, Benson said.

On Thursday, Benson said cost is still an issue. He thinks county leaders would want some assurance that they wont have to pay for long hospitalizations of a week or more.

And who is going to be responsible for finding that place to house them? he said.

According to data from the Department of Mental Health, Lee County jailed 25 people before their admission to a state hospital in fiscal year 2023, detaining them for more than five days on average (a figure that doesnt include the days they likely spent in jail before their hearings).

Felsher said he thinks county supervisors support keeping people out of jail without criminal charges but could be concerned about costs. He said he hopes to improve access to public treatment so that counties arent on the hook.

A pilot project and more

Creekmore said he plans to sponsor a measure requiring an evaluation before commitment paperwork can be fileda change that would mean someone cant be detained unless at least one mental health provider has recommended it. Currently, a person can be detained on the basis of a sworn affidavit by anyone alleging that the individual is dangerous to themselves or others because of a mental illness.

Creekmore said he also plans to propose a pilot project that would eliminate jail detentions in participating counties by designating the local crisis stabilization units as the only place deputies can take someone they pick up after an affidavit has been filed. If the person was violent, a deputy would remain with them at the facility for some time period instead of taking them to jail, as sometimes happens now.

If that can be successful, then maybe that can simplify it for all regions, Creekmore said.

The proposed pilot would include Region 8 and Region 10, the community mental health centers serving a total of 14 counties around Jackson and east central Mississippi

The involuntary commitment process is a heart wrenching experience and we, as a society, have a moral and ethical responsibility to put forth our best effort to help these hurting families identify and access the most humane and appropriate environment in our communities, said Dave Van, the executive director of Region 8, in a text message to Mississippi Today.

A summary of mental health proposals lawmakers are discussing:

Proposals addressing civil commitment:

Stricter limits on jail detentions

Requiring counties to pay for private treatment if a public bed is unavailable after a judge has ordered someone to receive psychiatric treatment, and capping county costs at the Medicaid rate

Prohibiting jailing someone during the commitment process because they cant pay for treatment

Requiring a pre-evaluation before someone can be detained

A pilot project to designate the crisis stabilization units in two regions as a single point of entry where deputies take people after picking them up and stay with them if necessary, aiming to eliminate jail detentions

Other mental health proposals

Expanding Medicaid coverage for people with serious mental illness to pay for supportive housing, aiming to bring new facilities to Mississippi

Establishing a mental health peer support program to address suicides among teenagers

Requiring the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline to be printed on all state IDs, including student IDs
As a dozen kidnapped adults and five children with a U.S.-based missionary group marked their 10th day in captivity in a secluded location somewhere east of Haitis capital in October 2021, inside the countrys National Penitentiary the leader of the gang holding them hostage was toasting his birthday.

With Happy Birthday playing to Haitian konpa beats, a designer-clad Germine Joly, known as Yonyon, moved to the music, showing off his gold chains as a video camera panned to his black and yellow Fendi ensemble along with his hat, socks, shoes and a small bag swinging from his hip with the brands name emblazoned on them.

One of Haitis most notorious gangsters, Joly wasnt just enjoying the good life behind bars. He was also directing his kidnapping gangs criminal operations and hostage negotiations, according to U.S. authorities. After being extradited to the United States on board a Learjet in May 2022, Joly, 30, now faces a jury trial in federal court in Washington, D.C.

Hes charged with four dozen counts related to the smuggling of firearms to Haiti, in violation of U.S. export laws, and the laundering of kidnapping ransoms to support his gangs violence. The weapons included AK47 and M1A rifles, along with and ammunition capable of piercing police cars. The arms were purchased from gun dealers in Miami and elsewhere in Florida with the help of straw buyers and proceeds from ransom payments, according to an indictment filed in July 2022, two months after initial charges against him were unsealed.

With jury selection scheduled to begin Wednesday, Joly faces a maximum sentence of up to 20 years on the most serious charge, exporting firearms to Haiti without the proper U.S. license. Though not on trial for the brazen kidnapping of 16 Americans and one Canadian with Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries, the abduction is an important part of the governments prosecution as the U.S. seeks to send a message about the gang-related violence that has been rocking Haiti.

The trial is expected to offer a window into the way in which Haitis armed groups operate. With an estimated 200 armed groups fighting over territory, the United Nations estimates that violent gangs only control about 80% of the Haitian capital and are now spreading to the countryside.

The trial is also expected to show the nexus between Haitis gun trafficking from the U.S. and gang violence and kidnappings.

If you just talk about the gunrunning, that violence thats in Haiti, it spills over into the United States, said Walter Norkin, a former assistant U.S. attorney who is not involved in the case and currently serves as a partner with Akrivis Law Group in Miami.

There are Haitian communities throughout the United States that are affected by it, Norkin said. We are supplying the guns that are used for crimes and everybody should care about that. We shouldnt be doing that.

High-profile case

At least seven leaders of five Haiti-based gangs are wanted by the FBI and face charges in the U.S. for their kidnappings of U.S. citizens since 2021, including the armed kidnappings of the missionaries, who were abducted at gunpoint on Oct. 16, 2021, as they returned from visiting an orphanage. The first of the gang leaders to be transferred to the U.S., Joly is also the most high-profile to be put on trial.

He was charged along with three other Florida residents who were in contact with him and were indicted on charges of receiving wire payments and engaging in straw purchases of firearms that were then smuggled or attempted to be smuggled to Haiti to benefit the gang 400 Mawozo in its kidnappings, killings and exhortation rackets.

Among those arrested is Eliande Tunis, a Pompano Beach resident and U.S. citizen. She was supposed to join Joly as a co-defendant on Wednesday but is now expected to plead guilty before jury selection starts to the 48-count indictment. She faces up to life in prison.

Tunis is described as a member of 400 Mawozo in the criminal complaint and prosecutors now accuse her of destroying 441 texts, audio messages and photos from her communications with Joly; 128 messages from his No. 2, Lanmo Sanjou, also known as Joseph Wilson, and 174 messages with the two other defendants.

Described as the alleged girlfriend of one or possibly multiple senior figures in the gan, by a United Nations panel looking into arms trafficking in Haiti, Tunis was arrested along with Jocelyn Dor and Walder St. Louis, both Haitian nationals. Tunis defense attorney late last week filed a motion with U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates for a change of plea.

In October, Dor agreed to plead guilty to six charges, including receiving wire transfers from Haiti and a $15,000 deposit into his bank account from Tunis, to purchase several rifles to be shipped to Haiti. The most serious charge, violating the U.S. Export Control Reform Act when he sought to export guns to Haiti without the proper license, carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years and a fine of up to $1 million.

On the eve of the trial, it was not clear if St. Louis, the fourth defendant and a Miami resident, is going to face trial or cut a plea deal, because the court records does not show his status. The Florida residents relationship with Joly and 400 Mawozo surfaced during the FBIs investigation into the kidnapping of the missionaries.

Before the start of trial, Joly, along with Tunis, tried to suppress statements made to law enforcement, evidence related to 400 Mawozo and its kidnappings, and evidence relating to the missionaries kidnapping. The judge denied the defense requests.

The court ruled that while even though the defendants are not charged with kidnappings, the defendants connection to 400 Mawozo underlies much, if not all, of the evidence at issue, and the Court finds that evidence of this connection is intrinsic to the overall case.

The government must prove that defendants purchased the firearms with proceeds from 400 Mawozos kidnappings. Evidence that victims paid ransom money to 400 Mawozo to secure their release is necessary to prove the money laundering (proceeds) charges, the court said.

U.S. prosecutors hope to show that Joly is familiar with and had control over 400 Mawozos kidnappings. Among the evidence they seek to introduce is a phone call Joly made to get a kidnapped Dominican diplomat, who also holds U.S. citizenship, freed after he was taken hostage by 400 Mawozo on April 29, 2022.

While in U.S. custody, Joly agreed to assist the FBI, the government said in court documents. The FBI authorized him to call an active member of 400 Mawozo  known as Gaspiyay  to coordinate the release.

After several phone calls, the diplomat was given his vehicle back and allowed to drive himself to the Dominican embassy. Though Joly was incarcerated at the time of the missionaries kidnapping, U.S. prosecutors say his role in securing the diplomats release shows that he still had control of the gang and knowledge of its illicit kidnapping activities.

Other evidence includes communication between Joly and Tunis, who prosecutors say were in regular contact regarding the types of firearms 400 Mawozo needed. With the help of Dor and St. Louis, who served as straw buyers, Tunis facilitated the purchases of weapons and ammunition from licensed dealers in Orlando, Apopka, Miami and Pompano Beach. The arms were then dismantled, wrapped in black garbage bags and packed underneath clothing, shoes and other supplies and shipped to Haiti for use by the gang.

Between mid-September and October, at least 16 such firearms were purchased, according to the federal indictment. The government will need to prove that Joly exported or attempted to export the firearms without first obtaining a license or written authorization from the Department of Commerces Bureau of Industry and Security.

Joly and Tunis are charged with international money laundering to promote a crime, a violation of federal law.

The case is replete with references to defendants involvement in the kidnappingsand specifically the kidnapping of the missionariesin the communications between defendants, prosecutors argued in court documents. Moreover, the government contends that the grand jurys indictment on the money laundering (proceeds) charges provides a threshold showing of evidence tying the firearm purchases to ransom profits.

Given the U.S. role in gun trafficking in Haiti, Norkin, the former prosecutor, says he thinks it makes sense to have these prosecutions in the United States and have these extraditions occur.

400 Mawozos involvement in kidnapping is at the heart of the governments conspiracy case, which is that proceeds from kidnappings are used to purchase firearms and ammunition in the United States and then shipped to Haiti to support the violence.

Missionaries kidnapping

Until the abduction of the missionaries, kidnappings in Haiti went largely unnoticed outside the country. Most of the victims were Haitians and there was a sense that armed groups feared the wrath of the U.S. and left Americans alone.

But all that changed after the July 7, 2021, assassination of President Jovenel Moise. The still unsolved killing created a power vacuum, and in the absence of a functioning government gangs became even more powerful. In a recent report, a U.N. expert said gangs in Haiti are developing more sophisticated arsenals, and their firepower exceeds that of the Haitian national police.

The trafficking of arms and ammunition is a primary driver for the expansion of gang control and the extreme levels of armed violence in the country, the experts said. The constant demand for firearms and ammunition by gangs and civilians, and the very high prices for both in Haiti, have resulted in the creation of a myriad of transnational small-scale smuggling and trafficking networks.

Most of the missionaries were held captive for 61 days before they were finally freed. They initially claimed that they had escaped, but sources familiar with the case later confirmed to the Miami Herald that an undisclosed ransom payment was made and their release was made to resemble an escape.

The payment and their freedom in fact became a point of contention between an incarcerated Joly and his No. 2, Sanjou, who had negotiated the ransom payment and agreed to release the missionaries. Joly wanted to hold the hostages to secure his release from prison and to prevent his extradition to the United States, the Herald learned at the time.

Gang violence continues

The case also shows how difficult it is to stem the tide of gang-related violence and kidnappings in Haiti. After Jolys transfer to the U.S., State Department officials repeatedly cited his extradition as sending a strong signal to gangs that there are consequences for their actions. But it was just the opposite.

Even as Joly arrived in the U.S., 400 Mawozo was engaged in a violent turf war against a rival gang that led to one of the worst massacres at the time. Another armed gang seized control of the countrys main courthouse in Port-au-Prince. With the violence escalating, the U.S. Embassy was forced to restrict the movement of staff in the Tabarre area.

Last July the U.S. Embassy ordered non-emergency staff and U.S. citizens to leave Haiti, after an escalation in gang violence led dozens of Haitian families to seek refuge outside the embassy compound in the Tabarre neighborhood. The embassy is located 1.5 miles away from 400 Mawozos stronghold in the Croix-des-Bouquets area, and less than a mile from that of another rival gang, Kraze Barye in nearby Torcel.

Vitelhomme Innocent, who runs Kraze Barye and is one of the countrys more powerful gang leaders, is also wanted in connection with the kidnapping of the missionaries and other crimes. He is currently the subject of a $2 million reward after being placed in November on the FBIs list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.

Miami Herald Staff Writer Jay Weaver contributed to this report.
Leon Wildes, left, with Yoko Ono and John Lennon outside the US Immigration and Naturalization Service offices in New York in 1972 - James Garrett/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

Leon Wildes, who has died aged 90, was the American lawyer who represented John Lennon during his struggle against deportation from the US in the 1970s.

In 1972 Richard Nixon was seeking re-election, and allies of the administration orchestrated a campaign of harassment against his political opponents. Lennon, who had gone to the US with his wife Yoko Ono on a temporary visa in 1971, had made himself unpopular with his high-profile protests against the Vietnam War. It was later revealed that the Republican Senator Strom Thurmond had suggested deportation proceedings as a strategic counter-measure against him.

On March 23 1973, while Yoko Ono was granted permanent residency, Lennon was given 60 days to leave the US, the ostensible reason for his deportation being a 1968 conviction in Britain for possession of marijuana, But Wildes was surprised at the energy being shown by the immigration service in targeting the former Beatle, and suspicious of the men who kept calling at Lennons apartment wanting to fix his phone  and of the two men across the street who seemed to take forever fixing a bike.

But he was as surprised as anyone when, a week after the deportation order came through, Lennon and Ono held a press conference where Lennon announced the birth of a new conceptual country: Nutopia  a country with no land, no boundaries, no passports, only people. Nutopia has no laws, other than cosmic... As two ambassadors of Nutopia, we ask for diplomatic immunity, and recognition in the United Nations for our country and its people.

Wildes recalled: Yoko came and apologised to me afterwards. She said, You have to understand that when youre representing an artist, were not always predictable. 

Although the stunt succeeded in getting Lennons case into the press, it did nothing to help his prospects of avoiding deportation.

Wildess strategy was to play for time by compiling instances where other drug offenders had not been deported, and arguing that Lennon needed to stay in the US to support his wife, who was embroiled in a custody battle with her former husband Anthony Cox, who had disappeared with their daughter Kyoto in 1971. In fact Wildes won the case on a technicality: Lennons British conviction had been for possession of hashish (rather than marijuana), which did not qualify as a ground for deportation under US law.

Leon Wildes in 1973 - Bettmann

But at the same time, through use of Freedom of Information Act requests, Wildes established that the US Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) and the government had a secret programme that would designate certain immigrants as priorities for deportation on political grounds. On October 8 1975, after Nixon had resigned due to the Watergate scandal, a Court of Appeals judge stated: The courts will not condone selective deportation based upon secret political grounds. Lennons four-year battle to remain in our country is testimony to his faith in this American dream.

Leon Wildes was born into a Jewish family at Olyphant, Pennsylvania, on March 4 1933. His parents ran a clothing business. After qualifying in law at New York University he was admitted to the New York Bar in 1958 and became an immigration specialist. In 1960 he co-founded the legal firm Wildes and Weinberg.

As a young man his musical passion had been for opera, and in 1972, when Lennon walked into his office, Wildes had no idea who he was. But they became good friends to the extent that Wildes even used the song Imagine as hold music on his office telephone. After Lennons death he attended Beatles conventions, and in 2006 appeared in a documentary, The US vs John Lennon.

Leon Wildes is survived by his third wife Alice and by two sons from his first marriage, to Ruth Schoenwalter, who died in 1995.

Leon Wildes, born March 4 1933, died January 8 2024

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To the editor: Israel is not an apartheid state. Arab citizens of Israel have fully equal legal and civil rights. They have served with distinction in the Israeli military, are over-represented in the Israeli medical fields, have served on the Israeli Supreme Court and have their own political party, which was included in a recent Israeli governing coalition. ("Is Israels treatment of Palestinians a form of apartheid?" Jan. 9)

Palestinian Arabs residing in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are not citizens of Israel, and by their own preferences are governed by the Palestinian Authority or Hamas. They do not have the same rights in Israel as Israeli citizens, just as noncitizens do not have the same rights as U.S. citizens in our country.

Implacable foes of Israel such as Human Rights Watch (whose founder decried its subsequent anti-Israel bias) have sought to distort and weaponize the definition of apartheid to use it as a cudgel against Israel. That effort is a part of the broader attempt by Israel's foes to eliminate the country.

But Nelson Mandela obviously held no such opinion of Israel, as he accepted an award from an Israeli university in 1997.

No one should be deceived by the apartheid lie about Israel  it is just another arrow in the quiver of Israel's dishonest and implacable foes.

Daniel H. Trigoboff, Williamsville, N.Y.

..

To the editor: For those who follow events in the Middle East, news of Israeli apartheid is not a startling revelation. But we could not have known this by relying solely on our mainstream media. Israel's misdeeds over the last several decades have gone unreported or have been reported with a strong bias toward the Israeli side.

It is no surprise to followers of the Palestinian situation that Israel's real intent now is to destroy Gaza and force the residents to leave. Its actions have been described as genocide.

It will be interesting to observe how the media cover this harsh accusation against a state whose people were subjected to the very same criminal action.

Joseph Tillotson, Redondo Beach

..

To the editor: The fact that Egypt has blockaded Gaza along with Israel clearly illustrates that the blockade is not based on race or religion, but rather the prevention of terrorism.

Israel didn't want Hamas attacking its citizens, and Egypt didn't want Hamas using its territory as a base from which to launch such attacks.

However, such logic is lost on the knee-jerk anti-Israel crowd, which says nothing about Egypt's actions but screams "apartheid!" when Israel takes the same measures.

Jay Hoffman, Orlando, Fla.

..

To the editor: If one wants to explore this topic further, begin by reading Jimmy Carter's book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid." I am surprised his book was not mentioned in the article.

Paul Burns, Granada Hills

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Ottawa Impact took things too far too fast

I was raised in a very conservative family with traditional values. As an adolescent during the war in Vietnam, I believed our government must have known its business and had valid reasons to continue drafting members of my generation. I now understand how valuable it is for citizens to question such assumptions. Decisions are sometimes misguided. Motives are not always pure. People in powerful positions are not perfect, even if they mean well, and some have turned out to be incredibly self-serving.

As an adult, I grew increasingly skeptical. My mother found this somewhat offensive; my father, who had cultivated cynicism of his own, was sympathetic. Learning how I had voted on one occasion, he said, Its become too one-sided for you, hasnt it? As certain politicians leaned further to the right, it seemed to me that my state  or even my country  could lose its balance.

I have always felt safest relying on a government that embraces lively debate and thoughtful compromise. Radicals alarm me. Extremists rarely respect  or even tolerate  dissent, yet differences of opinion are essential to dealing productively with complex social or economic issues. Too much power on either side makes me nervous; I lose sleep any time a particular faction is fully in charge. Things go too far, too fast, and the damage is difficult to undo.

This brings me to Ottawa Impact: In 2023, they took things too far, too fast. They forced substantial, costly change despite creditable opposition; they proved themselves unwilling to accept constructive criticism even from those who seem to share their views. In 2024, will they REMAIN too one-sided? OI commissioners should act immediately to restore some balance to county government: Assign two standing committees to each commissioner and limit involvement by the chair.

Mary Baine

Tallmadge Township

Committee assignments another example of unequal representation

The recent Ottawa County Board of Commissioners committee and local board and commission assignments for 2024 reek of schoolyard exclusion and childish games.

The choice to assign Commissioners Bergman, Bonnema and Zylstra to one standing committee each and a minimal number of local boards/commissions is a clear attempt to silence viewpoints that do not align with those of Ottawa Impact and retribution for their not supporting the Ottawa Impact agenda. The number of standing committee assignments that each commissioner received was as follows, local boards and commissions were even more heavily OI leaning:

Joe Moss: 6

Gretchen Cosby: 5

Sylvia Rhodea: 4

Allison Miedema: 4

Kendra Wenzel: 4

Roger Belknap: 4

Rebekah Curran: 3

Lucy Ebel: 2

Roger Bergman: 1

Jacob Bonnema: 1

Doug Zylstra: 1

By heavily favoring a select group of commissioners (most notably himself), Joe Moss has effectively disenfranchised Ottawa County residents up and down the lakeshore. Since Commissioners Bergman, Bonnema, and Zylstra work to represent ALL of their constituents, regardless of their political leanings, not only have those who oppose Ottawa Impact lost representation at the most basic level of our county government, but so have those who support Ottawa Impact! This clearly shows that the goal of our current board majority is not good government for all residents of the county. If good government were the goal, all voices and viewpoints (especially those that oppose the majority) would be given equal representation at the committee level.

As a resident of Ottawa County, I demand that committee assignments return to an equal distribution amongst all commissioners and an end to the schoolyard tactics and childish games being played by Joe Moss, Gretchen Cosby, Sylvia Rhodea, Allison Miedema, Kendra Wenzel, Roger Belknap and Lucy Ebel.

Luke Sanner

Park Township

Unfair committee assignments unacceptable

I am writing to protest the unfair committee assignments of the commissioners of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners to standing committees this year.

These are the committees where the actual work of the commission is performed and proposals are made and discussed. These proposals are then presented to the full commission for approval. In the past, commissioners were assigned equally to each of the four standing committees. This year, that practice has been disregarded.

Committee assignments have clearly been made to favor Ottawa Impact-aligned commissioners, while non-OI-aligned commissioners have been placed on far fewer committees. Since these committees are where the actual work gets done, this means that the citizens of the non-OI affiliated commissioners (District 3: City of Holland; District 4: City of Zeeland, parts of Holland Charter Township, and parts of Zeeland Charter Township; and District 10: City of Grand Haven, City of Ferrysburg, and most of Spring Lake Township) will essentially be disenfranchised, while citizens in other districts will have disproportionally large representation.

This is not representative government. We the People will not all be represented equally. I urge Joe Moss, the commission chairman, to reverse this policy and restore representative government to Ottawa County immediately.

Julia Davey

Robinson Township

Moss disenfranchising voters in 3 districts

All of the residents of Ottawa County should be outraged (yes, again) over the latest attempt by Ottawa County Board Chair Joe Moss to silence dissenting views, and to disenfranchise the voters in Holland, Grand Haven and Zeeland.

Specifically, I am concerned about the blatantly unequal commissioner assignments Chair Joe Moss made to the boards standing committees. For those who are unaware, the boards standing committees are the places where much work gets done: budgets get drafted, and spending, contracts and grants get preliminary review and approval.

For 2024, Chair Moss assigned minority Commissioners Bergman (Grand Haven), Bonnema (Zeeland) and Zylstra (Holland) to only one committee each, with none of them assigned to the all-important Finance and Administration Committee; all other board members were assigned between two and six committees each. But wait, theres more  Chair Moss took the additional step of placing himself on all of the standing committees, except for Talent and Recruitment.

This behavior lays bare the chairs beliefs. He apparently believes that a large segment of the electorate deserves to have their views excluded in committee work. He appears to believe that the board majority is entitled to de-platform and silence those who disagree, and keep them from participating in the earliest decisions around some of the Boards most important work.

The question now becomes, what do the other commissioners believe? Do they agree with Chair Moss that this commission should be a place where dissenting voices  and voters  are silenced? Do they agree with Chair Moss that county government should be a place where the majority can trample on the rights of the minority to have representation? Do they agree with Chair Moss that the board should disenfranchise voters by keeping their representatives from raising issues, making motions and voting on important issues like budget development? Do they want this board to be seen as legitimate in its process and actions? Do they want to be complicit in Chair Moss latest controversial tactics? Will they speak up and speak out?

There is an easy fix for all of this. It is one that has a basis in the historical operations of the board. The chair could amend his assignments so that the 2024 standing committee assignments look like those made at the beginning of 2022, with each of the commissioners having two assignments each on the four main committees equally, and with the chair having no assignments on these four committees.

That is, if he and the board majority have any interest at all in making sure that the voices of all Ottawa County voters are heard, through their elected representatives.

Rebecca Patrick

Allendale Township

Why can't the homeless pick up after themselves?

Homelessness is a problem, not as bad here as in other places. I am happy I am not and have never been homeless.

I would like to make a statement. There is a small homeless place near my workplace. A few tents have not been there more than two months, but the garbage around the place is unreal; paper and plastic all over the place. If it is like this after two months, what will it be like after this winter?

There is a dumpster within 50 feet of the place and it is not locked. How much effort would it be to pick up the trash and put it in the dumpster each day? A little effort would go a long way. I think because of actions like this, seemingly not caring about what things look like, tend to give a bad name to camps like this.

They are not paying any rent, why not have the attitude many people have when camping, "leave the place cleaner than when you came"? Make it so that no one knows you are there. Live like you want to be part of society, not like you don't care. Just because you are homeless, doesn't mean you can't be neat.

Al Keuning

Holland

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Letters to the Editor: Ottawa Impact took things too far too fast
SIR  If the latest poll comes as a surprise to Conservative MPs (Tories facing 1997-style wipeout, report, January 15), therein lies the problem.



In their Westminster cocoon, they have completely lost touch with voters and their concerns, instead wasting their time virtue-signalling on net zero and the Rwanda policy (which would be unnecessary had the Tories done anything about illegal migration over the past decade).



A succession of at best inept and at worst dishonest prime ministers has contrived to make the party unelectable. The Tories have squandered their chance, and voters will be asking themselves if Sir Keir Starmer could possibly be any worse.



Rupert Godfrey

Heytesbury, Wiltshire

SIR  I doubt the poll predicting a Conservative wipeout will have come as a surprise to the dwindling band of party activists. I was one of them for more than 40 years, as a former parliamentary candidate and local councillor. But after careful reflection I have decided that I can no longer knock on peoples doors and ask them to vote Conservative.

What we have today among all the main parties is a social-democrat consensus that supports more government, more taxes and more immigration.



I would therefore welcome a clean-out of the Conservative parliamentary party. Then we can start again.



David Evans

Maidenhead, Berkshire

SIR  Reform UK puzzles me. It proposes to fight every seat at the next election but must know that it will not win any, and will simply cause the Conservatives to lose seats.



This could lead to a Labour government with a large majority, led by an ardent Remainer who has stated that he wishes to take us closer to the EU. We will not rejoin but may well end up having to follow EU rules with no say in the matter: the worst of all worlds. Sir Keir Starmer is also weak on immigration. Yet Reform, the party of Brexit and immigration controls, is in effect supporting him.



Any Conservatives considering voting for this party need to think carefully about the consequences.



Paul Hearn

Lambourn, Berkshire

SIR  The picture painted by Lord Frost (Comment, January 15) is gloomy indeed. But were the Tories to take his advice and offer a truly Conservative manifesto at the general election, would anyone believe they would act on it?



There is widespread apathy, not just among the electorate but also the British workforce  which is inhibiting our economic prosperity. Who can galvanise our country into being great again?



Michael Allisstone

Chichester, West Sussex

Stand with Taiwan

SIR  Americas deployment of an aircraft carrier in the Pacific was clearly welcomed by Taiwan (report, January 15). The West should now stand firmly behind Lai Ching-te, Taiwans new, democratically elected president.

The Chinese Communist Party, led by Xi Jinping, will doubtless continue its sabre-rattling and calls for reunification. However, we must not forget that the CCP has never ruled there. Indeed, when Chiang Kai-sheks Republic of China government fled from the communists to Taiwan in 1949, at the height of the Chinese Civil War, the CCP failed to conquer the island.



Xi Jinping may talk of reunification, but the territory was never unified in the first place.



Gordon L Thomas

Worcester Park, Surrey

SIR  Democracy has spoken in Taiwan  and China is not displeased. The Democratic Progressive Partys leader, Lai Ching-te, has become president, but the party lost a majority in the 113-seat Legislative Yuan, losing 11 to retain 51 seats, while the Kuomintang added 14, taking it to 52 lawmakers. The Taiwan Peoples Party and two independents hold the balance of power with the remaining 10 seats.



The president now rules over a territory where he has a minority in the popular vote and in the legislature. It is a result that Beijing will find easier to deal with, as the DPP will struggle to pass any legislation.



Mark Peaker

Hong Kong

A ceasefire in Gaza would only work one way

SIR  South Africa has charged Israel in the International Court of Justice with genocide, and asks the court, as an interim provisional measure, to order a ceasefire in Gaza.

Charles Moore (Comment, January 13) says that if the court orders this and Israel refuses, it could become a pariah nation, and if it accepts, an endangered one. He leaves the consequences of the latter course to readers imagination.

Were Israel to comply with an ICJ demand for a ceasefire, Hamas would be under no obligation to stop sending rockets, missiles and drones into Israel (as it is still doing); nor would it be deterred from repeating the massacre of October 7 again and again, as it has undertaken to do. Consequently 110,000 internally displaced Israelis, domiciled adjacent to the Israel-Gaza border, would be unable to return to their homes. Hamas would continue to hold 132 Israeli hostages, and Israel would be barred from trying to rescue them or effect their release.

In short, Israel would be prohibited from fulfilling its obligations under international human rights law to protect and defend its citizens. One can only hope that South Africas case will fail to stand up. Lord Moore will be aware that Israel is pretty well inured to being a pariah state.



Neville Teller

Beit Shemesh, Israel

HS2 perversity

SIR  Sir Jon Thompson, the executive chairman of HS2, has admitted that HS2 trains will be slower and take fewer passengers (report, January 11).



That being so, why is this ridiculous project still going ahead  given the many other areas where public money is urgently needed? Is it simply a case of: Weve started so wed better finish?



The cost for this phase alone has soared to more than 66 billion. Parliament has been lied to over and over again about the viability and need for this project, and yet, as with the plight of the sub-postmasters, nobody is held to account.



Barbara Cooper

Chetwode, Buckinghamshire

Stressful headlights

SIR  Modern SUV-style cars have whiter and brighter headlights (Letters, January 13) that are often fitted at a greater height. As their drivers are also higher, they may be oblivious to the irritation and danger that their lights are causing to drivers of more traditional cars.



When I am tailgated by an SUV or white van, their lights shine through the rear window of my Ford Fiesta, adding greatly to the stress of driving.



David Bowyer

Bristol

SIR  As annoying as dazzling LED headlights are, modern fog lights are even worse  particularly when switched on in rain rather than fog.



Driving over Salisbury Plain recently, I saw bright lights ahead that I presumed came from a breakdown truck or closed road signal. But it was just a hybrid car. The closer I got the less of the road I could see. Eventually, my full beams persuaded the driver to turn them off.



Robert G Bingham

Salisbury, Wiltshire

Passing the bucket

SIR  I live on the border between Surrey and West Sussex. My land keeps flooding because the main drainage culvert under the road is partially blocked (Letters, January 11).



Surrey County Council told me the flooding was my responsibility. West Sussex County Council said it was not its problem, and to contact Crawley Borough Council. Crawley told me to contact Thames Water. This is strange because I pay my water bill to Sutton and East Surrey Water.



Where do I go from here?



Michael Annett

Shipley Bridge, Surrey

Tunes to live by



SIR  I was told to use Barwick Green, the theme tune for The Archers, for performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation. This is perhaps less embarrassing than Nellie the Elephant (Letters, January 15), but Im sure the patient wouldnt mind either way.



Janet Haines

Tilehurst, Berkshire

SIR  A recent edition of Radio 4s Clare in the Community used the Macarena as a tried and tested song to sing while attempting CPR (which is, of course, incorrect). As the only non-medic in my supper club, I am told the best song is Queens Another One Bites the Dust.



David Nicolson

Boxgrove, West Sussex

Queen of the airwaves

SIR  To those of us of a certain age, Annie Nightingale (Obituaries, January 13) was an integral part of our youth.



As a student in Manchester in the 1970s, I listened to her quiz on Radio 1. She would give a cryptic clue for the name of a pop star or group. My favourite was: Yorkshire greeting, to which the answer was ELO.



Rory Mulvihill

York



The exorbitant cost of visiting a cathedral

Let there be light: one of the exhibits in the Stained Glass Museum within Ely Cathedral - alamy

SIR  Your report (January 13) about cathedrals charging entrance fees was most timely.

The Friday before last we visited Ely Cathedral and were appalled at the 14 visitors fee, plus 6 to go into the Stained Glass Museum. The cathedral shop was also temporarily closed.



It struck us as ironic because, living in a rural parish, we know that lack of money means fewer clergy. The Church of England must make up its mind: buildings or people.



Gillian Grinham

Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

SIR  As a regular churchgoer I have no problem with paying to visit our magnificent cathedrals and minsters.

These beautiful buildings are not just places of worship but also monuments to the skills of past generations of working men. As a result of age and pollution, they are now in constant need of repair and maintenance. We owe it to those past generations to keep the buildings in good order.



Cathedrals and churches should be centres of communities and are the ideal place for exhibitions and other events that bring people together. Christianity is as much about community as communion.



I happily pay an annual fee of 16 on visiting York Cathedral. What I gain is more than just spiritual: it is an appreciation of our heritage.

Esther Drewett

Otley, West Yorkshire

Not the dogs dinner

SIR  A couple of years ago, my husband and I were dining in our local pub. We had a small table in the bar area. Among a group of customers at the bar, one had a dog that was lying quietly on the floor beside him (Letters, January 15).



As we ate our meal, my husband inadvertently knocked a chip off his plate while cutting his fish. The chip landed on the floor. In a flash, the dog jumped up and ate it.



The owner, somewhat annoyed, turned to us and said: Id rather you didnt feed my dog. My husband replied with a smile: Id rather your dog didnt eat my chips.



Madeleine Emerson

Claygate, Surrey

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Forth Worth Mayor Mattie Parker (L) shakes hands with LG Electronics Executive Vice President Jang Ik-hwan at LGs electric vehicle charger factory in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday. Photo courtesy of LG Electronics

SEOUL, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- South Korea's LG Electronics said its first overseas manufacturing line for electric vehicle chargers has gone into production in Texas.

The 59,000-square-foot factory in Fort Worth is equipped for an annual capacity of more than 10,000 slow- and/or fast-charging EV charging units.

The Seoul-based company said Friday it has begun assembling 11kW models and that it could begin production of 175kW fast chargers later this year.

With adoption of electrified mobility gaining more momentum, LG Electronics said its goal was to introduce by next year a 350kW ultra-fast charger for customers in the commercial travel and long-distance transportation industries.

The company said the decision to build its charger facility in Texas was based on the state's outstanding logistics and transportation network.

LG did not reveal financial investment figures nor how many employees had been hired at the site.

"By establishing our EV charger production factory in Texas, we will be able to actively respond to the rapidly growing demand for EV infrastructure in the U.S.," LG Electronics Executive Vice President Jang Ik-hwan said in a statement.

"LG is dedicated to delivering uncompromising quality and will offer customers reliable EV charging solutions that combine efficient charger units with advanced control systems."

A consultancy Allied Market Research expects the EV charger market in 15 major countries to grow almost 30% annually over the next decade, from $7.2 billion in 2022 to $91.2 billion by 2032.

Roland Berger, another consulting firm, expects the global EV charging market to also grow, reaching $186 billion by 2030.

"As the number of EVs rockets, the U.S. will require a vast number of chargers, and corporations worldwide will certainly compete to enter such a lucrative market," Daelim University automotive Professor Kim Pil-soo told UPI News Korea.

"Having vowed last year that electrification will be its major driver for future growth, LG Electronics can be expected to continue its strong push," he said.
Munich's Matthijs de Ligt reacts during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayern Munich and Darmstadt at Allianz Arena. Bayern Munich defenders Matthijs de Ligt and Dayot Upamecano didn't train with the squad on 16 January. The club didn't disclose the reason why both players missed training, but broadcasters Sky reported that they were injured. Tom Weller/dpa

Bayern Munich defenders Matthijs de Ligt and Dayot Upamecano didn't train with the squad on Tuesday.

The club didn't disclose the reason why both players missed training, but broadcasters Sky reported that they were injured.

New signing Eric Dier, meanwhile, was allowed to leave the training camp in Portugal due to the imminent birth of this first child.

Bayern started the training camp in Faro on Sunday and will be there until Thursday in preparation for the forthcoming matches in the Bundesliga and Champions League.

The German record champions have repeatedly had personnel problems at centre back position this season. This is one of the reasons why Dier was signed from Tottenham in the winter transfer window.
Deputies are asking for help finding a statue stolen from a gravesite in eastern Lincoln County.

ALSO READ: Charlottes only Hebrew cemetery is running out of room

According to the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office, the statue is bronze and depicts a little girl feeding rabbits.

The statue was last seen at the gravesite on Saturday. The site is on Highway 16 Business in the town of Denver, near Triangle Circle.

Its worth $3,000, the sheriffs office said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Det. J. Propst with the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office at 704-732-9050.

(WATCH BELOW: Cant get out: Dozens stranded after road washes out in Lincoln County)




COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  Music superstar Lionel Richie will be joined by a legendary band in a tour coming to Columbus in the summer.

Korean barbeque restaurant opens in Dublins Bridge Park

The funk band Earth, Wind & Fire will join the R&B legend in an extension of his Sing A Song All Night tour. Richie announced the tour extension on Tuesday, which will be a 13-date run featuring a stop at the Schottenstein Center on June 13.

The newly announced dates come after a highly successful 2023 tour, a sold-out 20-date run that included stops in Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and more.

In 2023, Richie was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

How is Delta-8 different from marijuana, and why does Ohios governor want to ban it?

Tickets will be available starting with artist presales on Wednesday at 10 a.m. The general on-sale will begin on Friday at 10 a.m. on ticketmaster.com.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
As Action News Jaxs First Alert Weather Team is tracking the potential for freeze warnings and wind chill advisories across our area Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, several cold weather shelters are opening in our area.

We will update this list with more information as it becomes available.

Northeast Florida

Duval County

The City of Jacksonville shared the following information:

With this incoming cold weather, the Emergency Preparedness Division has activated its Phase 3 Cold Weather Emergency Plan  when temperatures reach 28 degrees or colder  and the City of Jacksonville Warming Center will be open overnight to residents who do not have access to adequate heat.

Tuesday, January 16, 2024 7 P.M.  9 A.M. The Legends Center, 5130 Soutel Drive, Jacksonville, FL 32208

JTA buses will transport vulnerable individuals to the Legends Center, which will be staffed and have water available onsite. Residents utilizing the warming center should bring the following items:

Air mattress, blankets, pillows, or other bedding

Snacks and medication

Games, toys, and books

Hygiene, and comfort items

During normal business hours, all libraries are open and will serve as warming centers across the County. More information can be found at jaxready.com/winterweather.

Our non-profit partners at area shelters are also providing weather shelter services to the homeless population. These shelters include:

City Rescue Mission, 234 W. State Street, 32202: Will increase its overnight capacity and extend hours and will remain open each day as temperatures are expected to fall below 40 degrees. All guests will receive a hot meal and will be offered access to showers and clean clothing.

Mission House, 465 11th Ave. N, Jacksonville Beach, 32250, overnight operations at St. Pauls by the Sea Episcopal  Parish Hall, 1150 5th Street N, Jacksonville Beach, 32250

Sulzbacher Center

611 East Adams St., 32202  Men

5455 Springfield Blvd. 32208  Women and Children

Trinity Rescue Mission, 622 W. Union Street, 32202

Clay County

Clay County Rescue Mission said while there is no shelter open to the public, they will be placing people in hotels if they call.

Currently our organization is driving downtown to pass out jackets and blankets to our homeless population, Clay County Rescue Mission said.

You can reach them by calling 904-651-8767.

St. Johns County

A release from the county said First United Methodist Church will open its doors from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. for anyone who needs a place to stay. The church can be found at 118 King St. in St. Augustine. Shelter information is also available as a recording on the St. Johns County cold night shelter hotline at 904-819-4344 and on social media.

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Putnam County

Putnam County Emergency Management shared the following cold weather shelter information on its Facebook page:

First Presbyterian Church of Palatka, Westminster Hall, 126 South 2nd St, Palatka, open 7 pm  7 am

FAMILIES ONLY: Life Church, 2701 Reid St, Palatka, open 7 pm  7 am

Columbia County

Parkview Baptist Church in Lake City said it would be opening its doors and shared the following information on its Facebook page:

Tuesday, Jan. 16: Opens at 5:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall

Wednesday, Jan. 17: Opens at 5 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall

Southeast Georgia

Camden County

Camden County Emergency Management Agency said in a Facebook post, Individuals needing a warming center (shelter) should contact 912-729-5602 for more information.

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A few minutes before gaveling in for the first day of the 2024 legislative session, a top legislator reminded his colleagues to listen to lobbyists when enjoying free meals this year.

House Majority Leader Chris Croft, R-Overland Park, told the House GOP caucus that the purpose of those free meals is for lobbyists to get to talk to legislators.

"Do remember when we have lunches, breakfasts, dinners and things like that, the folks that are sponsoring those dinners are sponsoring to spend time with you, to get to know you," Croft said. "That's part of the deal, is that since you have to eat, this is the time you get to sit there and talk to them.

House Majority Leader Chris Croft, left, told his fellow Republicans in a meeting minutes before the start of the 2024 legislative session that they should listen to lobbyists when enjoying free meals from them.

"So be respectful for them, that they're paying for that brunch and be there talking about their issues and the problems that they have. Don't just grab it and leave, because that kind of defeats the purpose. So if you'll help us out there, that'd be great."

Washburn University political science professor Bob Beatty said there is no data on the effectiveness of lobbyist spending on free meals. But, "If access was not being attained, then they wouldn't be doing it."

"Money doesn't buy votes, it buys access," Beatty said. "In politics, that's 100% legal, whereas buying a vote is illegal. That's the definition of lobbying, because in order to influence legislators you have to be able to talk to them and have access. And so yes, that's how it works."

Kansas House members mingle alongside lobbyists, members of the media and others congregated outside of the House Chambers on Monday prior to the start of the legislative session.

That goes for lobbyists attempting to get their voice heard by legislators from either political party, he said.

"That's part of the American system," he said. "Legislators will say the same thing, 'Oh, they can't by my vote.' But there's a better chance to get your case heard, obviously, if you get to state it to the legislator. That's going to occur over meals, at fundraisers, at conferences, whatever  but access is the key."

Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas legislators told to listen to lobbyists in deal for free meals
FILE - Herring are unloaded from a fishing boat in Rockland, Maine, July 8, 2015. Conservative and business interests that want to limit the power of regulators think they have a winner in the Atlantic herring and the boats that sweep the modest fish into their holds by the millions. In a Supreme Court term increasingly dominated by cases related to Donald Trump, the justices are about to take up lower-profile but vitally important cases that could rein in government regulations across a wide range of American life. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

WASHINGTON (AP)  Business and conservative interest groups that want to limit the power of federal regulators think they have a winner in the Atlantic herring and the boats that sweep the modest fish into their holds by the millions.

In a Supreme Court term increasingly dominated by cases related to former President Donald Trump, the justices are about to take up lower profile but vitally important cases that could rein in a wide range of government regulations affecting the environment, workplace standards, consumer protections and public health.

In cases being argued Wednesday, lawyers for the fishermen are asking the court to overturn a 40-year-old decision that is among the most frequently cited high court cases in support of regulatory power. Lower courts used the decision to uphold a 2020 National Marine Fisheries Service rule that herring fishermen pay for monitors who track their fish intake. A group of commercial fishermen appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.

Billions of dollars are potentially at stake in front of a court that, like the rest of the federal judiciary, was remade during Trump's presidency by conservative interests that were motivated as much by weakening the regulatory state as social issues including abortion.

The 1984 decision in the case known colloquially as Chevron states that when laws arent crystal clear federal agencies should be allowed to fill in the details.

Supporters of limited government have for years had their sights set on the decision, which they say gives power that should be wielded by judges to experts who work for the government.

If youre deferring to the agencys interpretation of the law, youre allowing the agency to be a judge in its own case, said Mark Chenoweth, president of the New Civil Liberties Alliance, which is representing fishermen based in Rhode Island. A second case, involving boats based in Cape May, New Jersey, is also being argued Wednesday.

The alliance, funded by conservative donors including the Koch network, says its committed to cutting the administrative state down to size.

Gun, e-cigarette, farm, timber and home-building groups are among the business groups supporting the fishermen. Conservative interests that also intervened in recent high court cases limiting regulation of air and water pollution are backing the fishermen as well.

David Doniger, a senior lawyer for the environmental advocacy group Natural Resources Defense Council, said the real agenda of Chevron opponents is to hobble modern government.

The Supreme Court could limit the damage, but it's unclear it will, Doniger said.

Will it be a tinkering change or a radical one? he said. If the latter, it threatens to wreck effective government.

Environmental and health advocacy groups are urging the court to leave the Chevron decision in place. Health care groups led by the American Cancer Society warn of the tremendous disruption that overruling Chevron would cause to publicly funded health insurance programs specifically, to the stability of this countrys health care system generally, and to the health and wellbeing of the patients and consumers we serve.

Defenders of the decision may face a difficult climb. The court's 6-3 conservative majority, including three Trump appointees, has been increasingly skeptical of the powers of federal agencies. At least four justices  Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh  have questioned the Chevron decision.

Gorsuch, as an appeals court judge, noted that court decisions permit executive bureaucracies to swallow huge amounts of core judicial and legislative power and concentrate federal power in a way that seems more than a little difficult to square with the Constitution of the framers design.

The public face of the court fight is the fishermen who ply the waters off the East Coast for herring and other fish.

Federal law already requires their boats to carry monitors who gather data, including how much by-catch, species other than the kinds their permits allow, is swept up.

But a 2020 regulation would require the herring boats to pay for the monitors, which could top $700 a day.

The Cause of Action Institute, an anti-regulatory group that used to share office space with an arm of the Koch network, identified the issue as a way to attack the Chevron decision and recruited the fishermen to sue, said Ryan Mulvey, a lawyer with the institute.

The lawsuits argued that Congress never gave federal regulators authority to require the fisherman to pay for monitors. They lost in the lower courts, which relied on the Chevron decision to sustain the regulation.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, unpersuaded by arguments that no one has yet been forced to pay the fee or that the regulation was developed by regional councils that included industry representatives.

The fishermen have accepted the presence of the monitors only grudgingly.

I wouldnt say they get in the way. Itd be if someone came to sit in your living room for a week and watch what you do, said Leif Axelsson, the co-captain of the fishing boat Dyrsten and a third-generation fisherman.

On a recent tour of the 160-foot-long (49-meter-long) vessel at its Cape May dock, Axelsson moved about the boat as though hed been aboard his whole life. The Dyrsten was built for the family business when he was a small boy.

From the captains chair, Axelsson can see more than a dozen computer screens, about half of which help the crew find and catch fish.

There are fewer herring to catch in recent years. A scientific survey found in 2020 that herring has been overfished, leading the federal government to slash the amount of herring that can be caught. Among the uses of the fish is as bait by lobster fishermen.

Fishermen caught more than 100 million pounds of the fish as recently as 2017, but the 2021 catch was less than 11 million pounds. At the same time, the government has provided millions of dollars to help the fishermen cope with the decline.

Axelsson and other fishermen in Cape May who are involved in the Supreme Court case say they expect the quotas to be increased in the coming years.

Forty years on, it's easy to forget that environmental groups actually lost the Chevron case by a 6-0 vote of the court, which upheld a lenient, industry-favored interpretation of an air pollution regulation. Three justices were recused.

Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the court's opinion. "Judges are not experts in the field, and are not part of either political branch of government, Stevens wrote in 1984, explaining why they should play a limited role. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who died last month, was the last surviving member of that court.

The current crop of justices takes a more robust view of judicial power. The Supreme Court itself hasn't invoked the Chevron decision since Trump's justices began arriving on the court in 2017, the first year of the Republican's administration.

But lower courts continue to rely on Chevron. That should change, lawyer Paul Clement told the justices on behalf of Axelsson and other Cape May fishermen.

Thus, the question is less whether this Court should overrule Chevron, Clement wrote, and more whether it should let lower courts and citizens in on the news.

A decision in the cases is expected by early summer.

___

Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.
Woods Bramble has been tattooing along the West Coast from Southern California to Seattle for 35 years. Now, his latest adventure is opening a brand new tattoo shop located right in the heart of downtown San Luis Obispo.

Higuera Street Tattoo, located at 714 Higuera St., celebrated its official opening Friday. According to Higuera Street Tattoos website, the shop will operate as a full service custom tattoo shop with flash options available.

Bramble is the shops owner and artist. Prior to moving down to San Luis Obispo to be closer to his wifes family, Bramble worked at West Seattle Tattoo. In 2012, he opened Blue Geisha Tattoo in Seattle, but closed up shop during the pandemic.

Higuera Street Tattoo is owned and operated by veteran tattoo artist Woods Bramble. Before moving to San Luis Obispo to be closer to family, Bramble was tattooing at his shop Blue Geisha Tattoo in Seattle.

In an interview with The Tribune, Bramble said he is ready for the change of pace on the Central Coast.

Im looking to slow down a little bit and not be in such a such a large city like Los Angeles or Seattle, Bramble said. I like the beach mentality and the college surf town mentality. The vibe has always been so inviting to me.

Bramble said with his new shop, he looks forward to becoming part of the community in downtown San Luis Obispo and connecting with other like-minded businesses.

Bramble can do a little bit of everything when it comes to tattooing, but he is perhaps best known for his tattoos in the American and Japanese traditional styles.

Though shop owner Woods Bramble does a little bit of everything, he mainly focuses on tattooing in the American and Japanese traditional styles.

For Bramble, creating a welcoming tattooing environment is just as important as the tattooing itself.

Sometimes the environments at tattoo shops can be off-putting to people who dont have a lot of tattoos or are coming in for their first tattoo, Bramble said. I want to change that and make it more inviting and accessible to a broader collection of people.

Bramble added that he hopes to make his shop a safe space for people of all experience levels. In other words, he hopes his shop will be full-service, catering to collectors who come in and want to work on big projects with him and novices looking to get quick, easy tattoos.

Making sure female clients are comfortable is also a top priority for Bramble.

Sometime within the year, Bramble will be joined at the shop by his daughter who also tattoos, making it a true family business.

I am just excited about everything about this shop, Bramble said.

More information

For more information or to book an appointment, call 805-439-1292, visit www.higuerastreettattoo.com or follow the shop on Instagram at higuerastreet_tattoo.
Liugi Portacci from the Italian Monument Protection Authority shows a copy of a book from the early 16th century in the Archbishop's Palace. The book was stolen from the library and recently recovered by the Italian police in the northern Italian city of Udine. Peina Ludik/CTK/dpa

A significant religious book that is around 500 years old and has been lost for decades has been returned to the Czech Republic .

Italian customs representatives personally handed the tome over to Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Antonin Basler in the Czech city of Olomouc on Tuesday.

The religious work with the title "Postilla super epistolas et evangelia" disappeared from the diocese's collection at the beginning of World War II, the church said.

The last trace of it was lost in Austria, until two years ago, when Italian authorities discovered the tome at an auction in the Adriatic port city of Trieste - and confiscated it.

The valuable book was published in 1518 in Basel, Switzerland, received a leather binding in Bavaria and reached what is now the Czech Republic in the 16th century, according to the church.

It is richly decorated with woodcuts and contains interpretations of the Sunday and holiday readings from the Gospels, for example as a basis for preparing sermons.

Taking possession of the book for the diocese, Auxiliary Bishop Basler spoke of a successful example of European solidarity and cooperation in the preservation of cultural values.

Liugi Portacci from the Italian Monument Protection Authority shows a copy of a book from the early 16th century in the Archbishop's Palace. The book was stolen from the library and recently recovered by the Italian police in the northern Italian city of Udine. Peina Ludik/CTK/dpa
Donald Trump earned praise from Matteo Messina Denaro, the late Sicilian mafia boss, in his prison diaries - MANDEL NGAN/AFP

A late Sicilian mafia boss thanked Donald Trump for taking on journalists in memoirs discovered upon his arrest.

Matteo Messina Denaro, who was captured after three decades on the run and died nine months later, quoted the former US presidents 2017 claim that reporters are among the most dishonest human beings on Earth.

Honour to you, Trump, for having thought it and most of all for having said it  Thanks, you made me feel less lonely, Messina Denaro wrote in an excerpt of the diaries published by Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

Italian police found three secret diaries kept by the Cosa Nostra boss after his arrest in January 2023 in Palermo.

They were intended to be a record of his life for his daughter Lorenza. The pair were estranged until she visited him in prison last year and agreed to take the Messina Denaro surname before he died of colon cancer aged 61.

The arrest of Italy's top wanted mafia boss, Matteo Messina Denaro, in Palermo - ITALIAN CARABINIERI PRESS OFFICE/AFP

While on the run from police, Messina Denaro was convicted of more than 50 murders.

He was eventually captured in an undercover operation that ensnared him while he was visiting a private hospital for chemotherapy treatment, using a fake name.

Nicknamed Diabolik or U siccu, the Thin One, Messina Denaro became u capu di i capi, or the boss of bosses, after the 2006 arrest of Bernardo U Tratturi (the Tractor) Provenzano, the former head of the Cosa Nostra.

During interrogations after his arrest, Messina Denaro denied having any affiliation with Cosa Nostra, let alone serving as the boss of the Sicilian crime syndicate depicted in The Godfather movies.

Instead, he depicted himself in his diaries as a victim of politically motivated judges and journalists.

The [jail] sentences against me have been determined by politics and journalistic campaigns, he wrote.

However, the excerpts contain several references to mafia culture and suggest he was destined to lead a criminal life as the son of another important mafia figure.

In the environment in which I was born and grew up, weapons represented an important educational moment of life, Messina Denaro wrote.

In another excerpt, the mafia boss wrote: If you dont succeed in winning with words, embrace weapons.

I have never been courteous with people who are holding a sword, I have always looked for a fight, Messina Denaro added.

The 61-year-old was thought to be a boss of the notorious Cosa Nostra and spent 30 years on the run before he was detained - ITALIAN CARABINIERI PRESS OFFICE/SHUTTERSTOCK

The diaries, written during his final years on the run, also indicate Messina Denaro was angry at his daughter for trying to lead a normal life outside of the mafia, but felt guilty about his absence from her life.

Today I learnt that you have been living, already for some time, in London. Being parents means knowing how to impose limits. Lorenza, be careful that behaving like this, life will crush you, he wrote in May 2019 in an excerpt published by the La Repubblica newspaper.

All this is due to the absence/impotence of a father, he added.

In other excerpts, his mood appeared to be gloomy: All around me is pitch black, where am I? he wrote. In what directions am I heading? I have no clue; I dont even know why I am alive.

Messina Denaro added: When I was 16, I knew what I wanted and where I was going. Instead, today, I dont know it anymore and that seems a paradox.

I dont want to act like a victim, I am not one and will never be one. On the contrary, I feel too good with my folly.

I would also have too many revenges to take, but I am not that interested in what will happen afterwards. I feel like I am sitting, all alone, at the bottom of the sea.

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.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  A 19-year-old man has been charged with conspiracy and other federal crimes for allegedly robbing two U.S. Postal Service workers in central Ohio.

Anthony J. Williams, of Columbus, was arrested in Pittsburgh Monday on charges related to two aggravated robberies in 2022, one in Columbus and another in Canal Winchester. He will be arraigned in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Ohio said in a news release.

Williams is accused of robbing two postal carriers of their service keys in November and December 2022. In November, he allegedly robbed a postal worker at gunpoint on Michigan Avenue in Columbus. Then on Christmas Eve that year on Kodiak Drive in Canal Winchester, the federal prosecutor said he punched a postal worker in the face and threatened to kill him if he didnt hand over his postal service key.

11,000 Columbus water customers overcharged by $1,000

The federal indictment claims that Williams conspired with at least four others to steal service keys to take checks and money orders from USPS blue boxes. He allegedly received $2,000 from co-conspirators for the November armed robbery.

Williams has been charged with conspiring to commit an offense against the U.S., aggravated robbery of property of the U.S., and using a firearm during a violent crime. Aggravated robbery of a postal worker is punishable by up to 25 years in prison, while brandishing a firearm during a violent crime carries a penalty of seven years to life in prison.

Last April, two men were arrested on federal charges for allegedly robbing a postal worker of his service key in Dublin. In August, a third man was arrested related to that incident.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
A man whose phone had gone missing learned he left it in a Walmart bathroom when it was used to call in a fake bomb threat, Florida deputies said.

Dispatchers received a call around 3 p.m. on Jan. 12 from someone claiming there was a bomb inside a Port Charlotte Walmart Neighborhood Market, according to a Jan. 16 news release from the Charlotte County Sheriffs Office.

After making the threat, the caller hung up, deputies said.

The dispatcher immediately called the number back, and the person answered the phone and said tic toc, tic toc before hanging up again, according to the sheriffs office.

Deputies searched the area and found the owner of the phone, the sheriffs office said, who said he hadnt realized his phone was missing.

When he got a notification on his smartwatch that a call was coming from 911, he used his watch to ping his phone and found it in the Walmart bathroom, the sheriffs office said.

He had left it behind, according to deputies, and someone else had found it before using it to call in the bomb threat.

The area was searched and the threat was deemed not credible, according to the sheriffs office.

Deputies then used surveillance footage to identify a 28-year-old man who was in the bathroom at the time the call was made, the sheriffs office said.

When questioned, the man told deputies he had made the call after seeing others make fake bomb threats on TikTok, according to the release.

The man was taken into custody and charged with felony false report of a bomb or weapon of mass destruction, the sheriffs office said.

Port Charlotte is about 100 miles south of Tampa.

Bomb washes up on Northern California beach following storms, sheriff says

Man emails FBI, threatening to unabomb office, go on mass murder spree, feds say

School employee and teen student made explosives, sold them over Instagram, feds say

Flight makes emergency landing in Florida when arguing couple mentions bomb, airline says
CARLSBAD, Calif.  A man was hit and killed Monday by an Amtrak train in Carlsbad, authorities said. His death is the fourth from a train crash in the San Diego area in the last week.

The crash occurred around 12:30 p.m. near the Carlsbad Village Station, Sgt. Jason King with the San Diego County Sheriffs Department said in a news release.

When Carlsbad police arrived on scene, they found the victim suffering from injuries, according to law enforcement. First responders attempted to give aid to the victim, but he later died.

All services between Los Angeles (LAX) and San Diego (SAN) on the Pacific Surfliner have been restored, the railway service said at 3:45 p.m. However, residual delays may occur.

4.4 magnitude earthquake shakes San Diego County

The identity of the man is being withheld pending examination from the San Diego County Medical Examiners Office, as well as notification to the family.

Over the weekend, another man was fatally struck by a southbound BNSF freight train in Encinitas Saturday night. And on Thursday, two men were hit and killed by a train in a five-hour span at two different locations  one in Sorrento Valley and a second near the Mission Hills neighborhood.

Anyone with information about Mondays collision can call the Sheriffs Departments non-emergency line at 858-565-5200.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
The future of Sacramento City Manager Howard Chans much-desired raise remains too much a mystery after a first city council meeting of the year that was mired in its mistakes of 2023.

Though the meeting marked the first of the new year, the Sacramento City Council was mired in the past as it had to address serious issues that lingered from several outstandingly poor decisions it made back in December.

Instead of making the hard-but-right choice of denying Chan yet another raise, the council punted on the problem to another meeting as it takes steps to strip his ability to directly place his salary on the agenda.

So far the council has only made a small concession to ethics, and thats not at all what the public was asking of them. It also still allows the formidable city manager to sway someone else on the council to do his bidding should he decide he wants more money in the future.

The whole situation seems to further underline the very serious power imbalance Sacramentos elected officials have (or rather, dont have) over their own employees.

Chan wants not only a 5% raise, bringing his salary to a whopping $420,000, but also a total of 10 weeks vacation time. Its also telling that the city saw zero movement on the announcement of a new managed homeless Safe Ground site until Chan felt his salary adjustment was in jeopardy. Even then, the site was announced in the under-served District 2 the day after that districts council member resigned and could no longer raise protest.

In a show of deference to public anger, Councilman Eric Guerra made a motion for a change to Chapter 7 of the councils Rules and Procedures: He proposed to remove the city managers ability to place items on the agenda pertaining to matters of his compensation, or the compensation of anyone else who reports to council. Only the mayor would be able to bring forward those agenda items in the future, Guerra suggested.

Whether its an actual or perceived conflict of interest, it matters, he said.

The council voted unanimously to delay the vote until the rule change was made.

Moving the vote to a later date serves only to delay and lessen public opinion, in what  I assume  is the hope that the council can ultimately pass Chans raise under the guise of a cost of living increase without as much public backlash as they experienced Tuesday night, thanks to the citys blatant disregard for the Brown Act, which requires a certain amount of public notice be given before government salaries are discussed.

If any of you on this dais are not feeling the love or respect of your community right now its because you are not showing them love or respect. That vote was despicable, Keyon Bliss, a Sacramento resident and a member of the Sacramento Community Police Review Commission, told the council.

Youre already the highest salaried city manager in California, you have an ethical duty to buckle down and make smart decisions with our money, said David Drelinger, a candidate for the district 6 council seat. Do the right thing for the city.

I think (Chan) ought to be fired, or get a 20% pay cut, said another resident, Robert Copeland.

Hear hear.

After such a public lambasting, the city council members were falling over themselves to apologize profusely, but their words meant little when their vote felt unnecessarily bureaucratic and confusing for much of the public in the audience.

Who approved the vote?

In December, the city came under fire for violating the Brown Act, an error that was likely due to a mistake by city staff, most likely City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood or City Clerk Mindy Cuppy.

If it was the former, then it is the third egregious legal mistake Alcala Woods made in recent history  the first was her staunch and legally indefensible insistence that a staffer of councilwoman Katie Valenzuela was a physical threat to City Hall because he supported a 2021 protest outside Chans home.

The second was her laughable investigation of former city councilman Sean Loloees residency; an ongoing farce the city attorney perpetuated until the federal Department of Justice finally conducted their own independent investigation and proved Loloee lived in a tony Granite Bay mansion, not in a small, shared Del Paso Heights home with his employee and her family.

Forgotten, too, in the hullabaloo over the City Managers raise was the fact that the City Attorneys salary was also on the agenda, a raise that would bring Alcala Woods billable hourly rate to $177.211822  a number that feels a few numbers too large, on either side of the decimal point.

And if the Brown Act violation was a mistake by City Clerk Cuppy, then it comes on the heels of an erroneous and consequential election fundraising timetable snafu that landed councilwoman Valenzuela and mayoral candidate Dr. Flojaune Cofer in front of the citys ethics commission by default, though they were both entirely cleared of any wrongdoing.

Whoever was at fault, the councils year ended not with a neat bow, but rather looking like a wrapping job done by a toddler. Theyre mired in scandal, left to profusely apologize for errors that never should have happened and rationalizing yet another raise for a power-mad city manager.

Chan could bring it back

Mayor Darrell Steinberg made it clear in his remarks that evening that he supports giving Chan a cost of living raise, though how much it costs to live in Sacramento surely doesnt math out to $420,000 per year  just ask any of the thousands living in a tent on Broadway or Roseville Road.

I can support a reasonable cost of living increase, Steinberg said, (but) I draw the line at these additional hours in the public sector I cant do it, even non-cashable hours. Even though its not his intent, theres potential, just appearance-wise. Steinberg (or his successor) will be the only one who can bring the item back to council, and thankfully he doesnt seem inclined, though calling it a cost of living raise leaves serious concerns about how the city might try to pass something in the future.

Its amazing how the public can yell at the council until theyre blue in the face about an issue and the city can still feign ignorance about what exactly it is the people want from them.

Do. Not. Give. Chan. A. Raise. (Nor an hours more vacation.)

Is that clear enough?
A 49-year-old Marissa man has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for lighting and throwing a pipe bomb he built at people last spring.

Jim F. Lanier told investigators he brought the pipe bomb to South Marissa Trailer Park early Saturday, April 29, to blow up his wifes car but instead threw it at three people who confronted him, according to court records.

The device did not detonate and no one was injured. Local law enforcement, Scott Air Force Bases Explosive Ordnance Disposal team, a state bomb squad and the FBI responded to the area to close roads, evacuate trailers and neutralize the device.

Investigators also found a similar device in a garage at the home of one of Laniers family members where he stored things, court records state.

His case was scheduled to go to trial this month, but he pleaded guilty to the federal charge of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device and started serving his sentence at the federal prison in Marion.

Laniers attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Daniel G. Cronin, wrote in court filings prior to the sentencing that he understands that he deserves years of imprisonment as a consequence. Cronin described the crime as fraught with danger.

Lanier must also pay a $200 fine and undergo court-ordered mental health and substance abuse treatment as part of the sentence handed down by Judge David W. Dugan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

Lanier had also faced state charges of possession of an explosive or incendiary device in St. Clair County Circuit Court, but they were dismissed in May as the federal case proceeded.
Martin Luther King III is speaking up for his family after hearing the recent comments of actor Jonathan Majors. Martin, who is the oldest son of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, said his mother was portrayed erroneously when Majors brought up her name during his interview on ABC News.

Majors, who was recently convicted after facing harassment and assault charges against his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, has made references to Coretta multiple times, Complex reported. During Majors trial, the court revealed audio of the actor telling Jabbari to behave like Coretta or Michelle Obama.

In his latest interview with ABC News, Majors once again mentioned the civil rights hero. This time, the 34-year-old actor compared Coretta to his new girlfriend, Meagan Good.

Shes an angel, Majors said about Good during the interview. Shes held me down like a Coretta. Im so blessed to have her. The relationship is still fresh but you know, I think I found her.

Martin, who appeared in an interview with CNN anchor Victor Blackwell, was asked to respond to the comparison between Good and his mother.

She was far more than just a prop, Martin said about Coretta during the interview, per The Daily Beast. Sometimes you have to be because you have to support your spouse, which is beyond, above and beyond, what she did. I think in the context of what was said, that plus the personification of all of the many things that mom did during her life with dad, and after dads life, the King holiday wouldnt exist. We wouldnt be talking about Martin Luther King Jr on Monday if it had not been for the work that my mom did.

Previously, Bernice King also went to social media to defend her mothers legacy after Majors made his comment.

My mother wasnt a prop, she said. She was a peace advocate before she met my father and was instrumental in him speaking out against the Vietnam War. Please understand my mama was a force.

My mother wasnt a prop. She was a peace advocate before she met my father and was instrumental in him speaking out against the Vietnam War. Please understandmy mama was a force. Heres what I wrote about her a few years ago: https://t.co/qdCj7K5vXD#CorettaScottKing pic.twitter.com/8vhKBFm6oJ  Be A King (@BerniceKing) January 9, 2024

Speaking to TMZ after facing backlash, Majors said he used Corettas name out of respect.

My intention was to convey my utmost respect for Coretta Scott King, her achievements, and both her personal legacy and the one she shares with her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, he told TMZ.
Emma E. Houston, assistant vice principal for equity, diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer at University of Utah, leads community members during a march in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. in Salt Lake City on Jan. 15, 2024. Marchers walked from East High School to Kingsbury Hall at the University of Utah. | Marielle Scott, Deseret News

This article was first published in the State of Faith newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each Monday night.

Earlier this month ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pew Research Center highlighted its survey on what the civil rights leader means to Americans today.

Pew found that a large share of U.S. adults  81%  believe that King had a very positive or somewhat positive impact on the country, but only 38% of Americans felt their personal views on racial equality were shaped by his work.

Responses to that second question varied widely between racial groups, Pew noted.

Fifty-nine percent of Black Americans say their personal views on racial equality have been influenced by Martin Luther King Jr. a great deal or a fair amount. Smaller shares of Hispanic (38%), White (34%) and Asian (34%) Americans say the same, researchers wrote.

The survey showed that political beliefs also seem to shape how people view the civil rights leader.

A majority of Democrats and Democratic leaners (58%) say King has had a very positive impact on the country, compared with 37% of Republicans and those who lean to the GOP, Pew reported.

Most Americans agreed that there is still work to be done to ensure equal rights for all people.

Fifty-two percent of U.S. adults said efforts to secure racial equality have not gone far enough. But the group of Americans who are feeling optimistic about the future (28%) is smaller than the group feeling pessimistic (44%).

The survey, which was fielded in April 2023, included responses from 5,073 U.S. adults.

Here are some stories Ive written about Martin Luther King Jr. and religion over the years:

Fresh off the press

Why Pope Francis and others want to ban surrogacy

Place of the week: Caceres, Spain

Theres a unique project underway in Caceres, a city in western Spain: A Spanish foundation with funding from Asia wants it to become Buddhisms headquarters in Europe, according to Religion News Service.

As part of this mission, the foundation plans to erect a white jade Buddha statue thats about 47 meters tall and weighs around 6,000 tons. The statue will sit among Buddhist temples and monasteries.

Although land has been set aside for the project, many people in the area are skeptical about whether it will actually come to fruition, Religion News Service reported. There are questions about where the funding is really coming from and whether interest in the Buddha statue will ever justify its size.

The Buddha projects aims are lofty, especially for a small city, and there are those who question whether such grandiosity might doom it in the way of the biblical Tower of Babel, the article said.

What Im reading

Amid a broader debate over how to make college more affordable for young students, several Christian colleges are rolling out programs designed to reduce or eliminate tuition costs, according to Christianity Today. These programs come in many forms, but they generally share the goal of making it easier for students from a variety of backgrounds to access faith-based education.

Another week, another essay from Simran Jeet Singh for you to enjoy. I really liked his reflection on what to do when youre sweating the small stuff.

As David and Nancy French deal with a heartbreaking cancer diagnosis, theyre giving thanks for the many, many friends offering them meals, landscaping help and other acts of kindness. David French wrote a beautiful essay for The New York Times about why you should draw closer to others during sorrowful times instead of pulling away.

Odds and ends

The popular social media account We Rate Dogs made a religion joke this week and Im still laughing. Check it out!

Kleenex, the famous tissue brand, is saying goodbye to Canada. I was shocked by this news and interested to learn that a brand of tissues called Scotties is already much more widely used in the Great White North.
Mary Trump noted that Monday wasnt all good news for her uncle Donald Trump.

In her Substack newsletter, she pointed out that one of the former presidents attorneys, Joe Tacopina, had filed notices that day seeking the withdrawal of his law firm from representing Donald Trump. Tacopina withdrew from two cases in New York: a criminal trial over alleged falsification of business records, and an appeal of the verdict in a civil lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll. Donald Trump has denied wrongdoing in both cases.

Tacopina told ABC News that he had withdrawn on all matters but did not comment on his reasons.

On what everyone knew was supposed to be a day of victory for Donald in Iowa, this loss will still be burning in his mind, Mary Trump wrote in the newsletter, The Good in Us.

Donald Trump swept the Iowa caucuses Monday with a commanding victory, winning 98 of 99 counties and cementing his front-runner status in the race for the GOPs presidential nomination.

Its not unusual for Donald to go through lawyers at an alarming rate, but Tacopinas high profile status shows just how dysfunctional Donalds defense really is, wrote Mary Trump, a clinical psychologist, author and outspoken critic of her uncle.

Tacopinas withdrawal was announced ahead of Tuesday mornings jury selection in a second defamation trial tied to Carrolls allegations that Donald Trump raped her in the 1990s. A jury found him liable for defaming and sexually abusing Carroll last year, though it didnt find that Trump had raped her.

The former president recently told The New York Times that he wished to testify in the second trial and that Tacopina, who represented him in the first, had advised him not to last time.

Mary Trump suggested that her uncles decision to speak in court last week at the end of a separate civil fraud trial, in which Trump has also denied wrongdoing, mightve played a role in Tacopinas departure.

After Donalds disastrous closing argument in his New York fraud trial, its no wonder that Tacopina wanted to distance himself from Donalds penchant for self-destruction behavior, she wrote.

Losing just one key lawyer could have a devastating impact on a case, but not only is Tacopina dumping Donald as a client  his entire firm is leaving, she added, calling such a move a major set back for any defense.

In his business records case, Donald Trump faces 34 felony charges from the Manhattan District Attorneys Office in connection to a hush money payment made to porn actor Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

He traveled to New York after the caucuses to attend the Carroll trial Tuesday.

In a statement to Reuters about Tacopinas departure, a spokesperson for the former president said that he has the most experienced, qualified, disciplined, and overall strongest legal team ever assembled.

Read more of Mary Trumps analysis on Substack.

Need help? Visit RAINNs National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Centers website.

Need help? Visit RAINNs National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Centers website.

Related...
What was built as a luxury townhome development with a zen garden, fitness center and lap pool became a sober living compound and a menace to the neighbors. Then, last week, police and social workers converged to help clear it out.

Almost three dozen people were kicked out in informal evictions on Jan. 9 from the Canal on Baseline complex in Mesa for not paying rent.

But the condo complex was caught up in a widespread scandal involving the massive defrauding of taxpayers and the exploitation of vulnerable, mostly Native American people.

The scam, authorities say, involved stashing people who needed to beat drug or alcohol addictions in motels or at complexes like Canal on Baseline. Those responsible are accused of billing the state's medical system for services without providing addiction therapy.

Last week, a property manager for Canal on Baseline heard complaints from residents about utilities suddenly being shut off and tipped off the Mesa Police Department to possible mass evictions, police said. They, in turn, altered the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System that people were left without a home.

It's not immediately clear where the displaced tenants ended up. State officials brought in homeless service organizations to help.

Neighbors of the Canal on Baseline complex have feared for their safety for months. Now they fear the clear-out offers just a brief respite from the drugs, violence and disturbances that plagued the place for a year. In November, The Arizona Republic reported how neighbors of the complex at 6060 E. Baseline Road called for authorities to act.

What residents endured was not an isolated event. It was part of what state investigators have called the biggest fraud of its kind in Arizona history.

State prosecutors have alleged in court that more than three dozen people and companies fraudulently posed as addiction counseling services. They targeted Native Americans who needed help. Some were kidnapped off the streets from the Four Corners area. Then the state-licensed therapists bilked the state Medicaid system of hundreds of millions of dollars for services they did not provide.

Unanswered questions, loose ends: What to know about Arizona's Medicaid fraud investigation

What are sober living homes?

Sober living homes are set up as temporary shelters for patients while they receive treatment for drug or alcohol addiction. Because no therapy occurs there, the state doesn't license them.

Records from state regulators and court filings suggest many hundreds of people seeking treatment were dumped in such housing in metro Phoenix, but authorities have not said precisely how many people suffered. They may not know.

These people were taken to sober living homes where they were ignored, denied counseling, warehoused and, according to court records, witnesses and one autopsy report, plied with alcohol.

In March, Mesa police found a 36-year-old Native American man from Window Rock dead in a sober living home at Canal on Baseline. The Maricopa County Medical Examiner's office listed his cause of death as "chronic ethanol use" and noted he had alcohol in his blood at his time of death.

State authorities announced a crackdown on the bogus therapy companies in May. Since then, AHCCCS has suspended payment to about 300 licensed providers, but it's unclear how many participated in the fraud. Some have complained they were falsely caught up in a dragnet.

Arizona Behavioral Health Clinic LLC, one sober living home operator in the Canal complex, kicked out tenants on Jan. 9. It had its AHCCCS payments suspended Dec. 22 for what the state described as credible fraud allegations. It's licensed at a different address.

The provider defaulted on its contractual agreement to provide residents with a seamless translation to alternative care, according to AHCCCS.

The owner of the clinic did not immediately respond to The Arizona Republics request for comment.

Mesa police confirmed that 35 people were removed without court orders last week.

AHCCCS called nonprofits Solari Inc. and Community Bridges Inc., which focus on crisis intervention and addiction treatment, to help the evicted tenants at Canal on Baseline find temporary lodging or transportation to somewhere else, said Heidi Capriotti, an AHCCCS spokesperson.

Neither Solari nor Community Bridges said how many residents found temporary lodging.

How we got here: New condo complex purchased by single owner

Canal on Baseline opened in early 2022 under the guise it was going to be a for-sale luxury condominium complex until a single owner bought it.

Samir Holdings Inc., based in Chandler, acquired all 90 units and converted them all to rentals, according to Maricopa County Assessor's Office documents.

The neighborhood went from a quiet area to the focus of frequent police presence. In 2023, police fielded 237 calls for service to Canal on Baseline. Mesa police responded to reports of disturbances, people in distress and violence every 37 hours, on average. Officers responded to such calls as people disturbing the peace, family fights, welfare checks and reports of dead bodies.

Residents started pressuring the city and property owners to resolve the issues. Then, in May, The Arizona Department of Health Services and AHCCCS investigated Canal on Baseline and halted payments to at least two providers operating there.

Up until that point, fraudulent therapy companies used their revenue stream from AHCCCS to pay. The state program does not pay the housing costs of people in outpatient behavioral health therapy.

Samir Sawhney, the owner and property manager, did not immediately respond to The Republic's request for comment for this article. In a statement to Fox10 in June, Sawhney said property managers didn't know the units were operating as sober living homes.

But eviction records filed to the court show as early as December 2022 that rental contracts required extra rent to use units to house people seeking rehab. Agreements included variations of this phrase: "The home will be used for sober living."

In December 2022, Unit No. 122 was leased to a couple who noted in the lease paperwork that they intended to use the three-bedroom apartment as a group home. A breakdown in the monthly rent showed them agreeing to pay a group/sober home surcharge of $500 a month.

At least 15 other units had lease agreements that included similar surcharges. Landlords tacked on the fee where renters might expect an add-on for having pets.

Canal on Baseline, along Recker and Baseline roads, was built in 2021 as a for-sale townhome complex that was later bought by one owner and became a rental housing complex. Since then it has had a constant police presence.

Documents in the Maricopa County Justice Courts show that from April to December, 38 formal notices for evictions were filed against tenants at the Canal property, in addition to the informal removals this month.

Resident evicted in August shares experience

In September 2022, Annie Valencia fell in love with No. 181 at the Canal complex when she moved in. It was a dramatic improvement from her previous quarters: a Kia Soul, parked in a deserted shopping center in Tempe.

Valencia, 40, had started using meth and other drugs as a teenager and had cycled through periods of sobriety and relapse her whole life.

Her cousin, hearing she was on the street again, called her and suggested a program. Valencia said she called the number and a woman named Geraldine Mutwol paid for Valencia and her fiance to stay at a motel until she could arrange shelter through her program, Cactus Sage.

Valencia said Mutwol told the couple to meet her at the Canal complex and told her the apartment was hers rent-free, so long as she took online classes as part of her therapy. Valencia said Mutwol told her to register for the American Indian Health Program rather than the insurance she was on.

Valencia, a member of the Pascua Yaqui tribe, said she did so.

It appeared to Valencia that there were other people at the complex struggling with addiction. But, she said, there was no one around to keep them on the right path. She said she saw people using drugs and drinking, which echoes what neighbors have reported.

Valencia had been through other programs and knew that wasnt how things were supposed to work.

Were here to get our life together and start getting us another chance to live and get a job and start doing what you can, she said. She blamed both the absentee program managers and the participants who should have known better. Some people abused it, she said. Thats not how its supposed to be.

Sometime in August, Valencia said she received a text from Mutwol telling her she was now responsible for the rent. Valencia asked why and said Mutwol told her something about not getting paid herself.

Canal on Baseline, along Recker and Baseline roads, was built in 2021 as a for-sale townhome complex that was later bought by one owner and became a rental housing complex. Since then it has had a constant police presence.

This was after the state crackdown.

A ledger filed with the eviction notice showed that Cactus Sage made regular credit card payments for the apartment in June. It then shows that Valencia paid the July rent by check. She said in the interview that she doesnt have a checkbook, nor the $2,950 for the monthly rent.

I didnt have that kind of money, Valencia said. If I did, I would have been good.

Valencia said she received no eviction notice or warning. Nor did she know her name was somehow placed on the lease.

One day, she said, the power went off. She couldnt get an answer from Mutwol and moved out.

Mutwol did not return a phone message seeking comment for this report.

She lived on the street for a few days until she got hold of a family friend who was her former school guidance counselor. That was when she discovered she had been part of the larger scandal involving sober living homes.

The counselor suggested she call the states helpline, 211, and press the number 7. That led her to Community Bridges and, eventually, an apartment in Mesa with a rent she and her fiance could afford. Valencia said she feels back on her feet for the first time in over a year.

I dont want what happened to me to happen to anybody else, she said.

Elected officials respond, explore changes to city code

Mesa officials said they will continue working with the state agencies to tackle the problems posed by other sober living homes like Canal on Baseline.

Councilmember Julie Spilsbury, who represents the area, noted in a written statement, I understand that concerns persist within our neighborhood. Mesa Police Department has been and will remain active in addressing these issues. With multiple visits throughout the week, we have increased our efforts to manage and alleviate any concerns raised by the community.

Mesa city staff are working toward drafting new a city code that would add a layer of reporting. They want to establish code changes to prevent sober living homes from clustering together. Changes are expected to go to the City Council later this year.

Mayor John Giles, through a spokesperson, referred any questions to AHCCSS and in a statement wrote the city was aware of the evictions and not involved.

We continue to be actively engaged as legislation is being developed and introduced to address sober living homes, he wrote.

Problems are not over, neighbors say

Neighbors hope that after the Jan. 9 evictions, their struggles are over, but more in wish than expectation.

Gilbert resident Darrell Hornebacher said he has compassion for the people who have been displaced and wants nothing but the best for them. At the same time, he was elated when he heard they were moving out because hes been dealing with disturbances there since he moved into the area nearly two years ago.

Because of the repeated police presence at Canal on Baseline, he still worries for his two daughters safety.

I hope it's the end of it, he said. Everybody here wants to live peacefully.

Nearby residents like Mary Simmons, who lives across the street from Canal on Baseline, aren't so sure.

It's going to be a lull and ramp back up again later, she said. Simmons drove through the complex Jan. 11 and said it was empty. Before the evictions, she said, she would see people hanging out around the complex. This day, no one was outside.

The white van she often saw parked inside the complex was gone also, Simmons said.

She said shes worried people who were kicked out of the condo complex will end up living along the Roosevelt Water Conservation District Canal. Simmons and her husband, both retirees, walk along the canal almost every day and in the past two years have taken it upon themselves to pick up vodka bottles and trash to clean up the area.

I feel bad for the people that have been taken advantage of," Simmons said. "Somebody has to fix all this.

Reach the reporter at 602-444-8473 or richard.ruelas@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @ruelaswritings.

Reporter Maritza Dominguez covers Mesa and Gilbert and can be reached at maritza.dominguez@arizonarepublic.com or 480-271-0646. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @maritzacdom.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Crackdown on sober living homes leads to eviction of 35 people in Mesa
A woman who was previously living in Massachusetts is facing charges, along with three others, in connection to the death of her 3-year-old daughter in New Mexico.

Kerri Anne Santos, 33, last known address of Gardner, is charged with child abuse resulting in death, child abuse resulting in great bodily harm, and aiding/abetting in criminal sexual contact of a minor.

Albuquerque Police say Santos showed up at the University of New Mexico Hospital on Saturday around 4 a.m. with three young children, including her 3-year-old daughter wrapped in a blanket. Medical staff attempted to pull back the blanket to examine the child, but Santos pulled away, asking why they needed to, according to a criminal complaint. Officials say staff were eventually able to get the girl from her mother and brought her into the emergency room, where they discovered the child was already dead.

According to a criminal complaint, Santos told detectives the child hadnt been feeling well and she stopped at a gas station so the 3-year-old could use the restroom. Santos claimed the child fell from the toilet, injuring herself, and that was when she drove to the hospital.

Detectives were suspicious of the story, noting several inconsistencies with the timeline of events and the child having several bruises on her body in different stages of healing. Santos said she was traveling from Massachusetts to New Mexico to get away from a bad situation and had no end destination in mind, according to the complaint.

Police inquired with the Gardner Police Department to learn more about Santos, and discovered there were multiple domestic violence reports filed against her and an investigation by DCF about suspicion of Santos using drugs around her children. Santos didnt bring this up to Albuquerque detectives, according to officials.

Authorities worked throughout the day to determine the cause of death for the 3-year-old. The other two children with Santos were placed on a 72-hour hold with the Children, Youth and Families Department.

Austin Bing (left) and Christina Hopkins Pena-Cantor (right)

Investigators learned two other adults, Christina Hopkins Pena-Cantor and her son, Austin Bing, drove with Santos and her three children to New Mexico. They had been in Albuquerque for a few days and stayed at an apartment with another man, James Welch, on Gold Avenue SE.

According to the criminal complaint, one of the adults would tie the 3-year-old girl at the ankles and wrists with shoe laces. The complaint also says that all three children had been sexually molested and the injuries to the 3-year-old occurred at Welchs house.

Court records show on Friday night, the 3-year-old was taken to the bathroom when she fell and hit her head. Santos allegedly argued with Pena-Cantor and Bing to bring her to a hospital but agreed to lie about what happened.

Police executed a search warrant on Welchs residence and arrested Pena-Cantor, Bing, and Welch.

Pena-Cantor is charged with child abuse resulting in death, and two counts of child abuse. Bing is charged with child abuse resulting in death, and child abuse.

Santos, Pena-Cantor, Bing, and Welch are being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque.

Santoss 6-year-old daughter and 6-month-old child are in the custody of New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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A former Gardner woman has been arrested in connection with the death of her 3-year-old daughter in New Mexico.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Bernalillo County, Kerri Anne Santos, 33, was arrested on Jan. 13 and charged with child abuse resulting in death, child abuse resulting in great bodily harm, and aiding/abetting in criminal sexual contact of a minor.

Officers with the Albuquerque Police Department were dispatched to the University of New Mexico Hospital in response to a 3-year-old child who was deceased upon arrival, according to the report. Officers made contact with Santos, who told police she was traveling from Massachusetts to get away from a bad situation. She said that while traveling through New Mexico, she noticed her daughter  who is identified as LS in the document  was not feeling well, so she drove until she reached the hospital.

A former Gardner woman has been arrested in connection with the death of her 3-year-old daughter in New Mexico.

Upon arrival, a detective in the Crimes Against Children Unit consulted with hospital staff and determined that Santoss story was suspicious.

LS has bruising in different stages of healing all over her body with areas of concern: bruising behind both ears, ligature marks across both ankles, linear bruising around right wrist, and linear bruising along underwear line that from front hip to rear of buttocks, the report read. When Kerri brought LS into the emergency room she was wrapped in a blanket, medical staff attempted to pull back the blanket to examine LS and Kerri pulled away and asked why they needed to.

The staff was eventually able to get the child away from Santos and discovered in a different room that she was already deceased. Santos had two additional children with her at the time, according to the report.

In an interview with police, Santos, who gave investigators an address in Gardner as her most recent, said she had moved from North Carolina to Massachusetts to get away from an abusive relationship. She said she had been living with an aunt and uncle who she said had been verbally abusive, which was why she had left the state.

Kerri did not tell anyone she was leaving and does not have a phone, tablet or other means of communication, according to the criminal complaint. Kerri stated she had no final destination in mind when she left Massachusetts and just wanted to find somewhere no one knew her so she could have a fresh start. Kerri doesnt remember the date or day of the week she left Massachusetts. The last state Kerri remembers driving through before New Mexico was Illinois.

Asked to explain LSs injuries, Santos said her daughter had been sick and had fallen off a toilet at a rest stop, according to investigators. Because of the lack of information from Santos, investigators reached out to the Gardner Police Department for any information that would help identify relatives who could provide more insight into Santos. Gardner officials were able to locate multiple domestic violence reports, and an investigation with the Department of Children and Families regarding suspicion of Santos use of drugs around her children.

Due to the suspicious nature of LSs death, the two other children with Santos were placed in the custody of the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department.

Also arrested and facing child abuse charges in connection with the case were Austin Bing, 28, Christina Pena-Cantos, 46, and James Welch, 48.

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Kerri Anne Santos of Gardner arrested in New Mexico for child abuse
Harvey Weinstein (L) and James Dolan (R) attend a celebration for Bryan Cranston at House of Elyx on December 13, 2015, in New York City. Andrew Toth/Getty Images

A masseuse alleges in a lawsuit that Jim Dolan "trafficked her for his own sexual gratification."

Plaintiff Kellye Croft also alleged that Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her.

Attorneys for both Dolan and Weinstein denied the allegations in statements to BI.

A Tennessee masseuse has alleged in a new lawsuit that sports mogul Jim Dolan "unlawfully trafficked her for his own sexual gratification" and didn't care when she told him disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her.

Dolan is now the CEO of Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. and owner of the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers. Attorneys for both Dolan and Weinstein denied the allegations in separate statements to Business Insider on Tuesday.

The plaintiff, Kellye Croft, said in a statement that she has "suffered so profoundly because of what James Dolan and Harvey Weinstein did to me years ago, and it was not an easy decision to come forward and seek justice."

"James Dolan manipulated me, brought me to California to abuse me, and then set me up for a vicious attack by Weinstein," Croft said.

The massage therapist alleges the sexual assaults happened in 2013 and 2014

Croft said she met Dolan in 2013 when she was 27 years old and he was 58 years old. She was working as a massage therapist on tour with the rock band, the Eagles, the civil suit, filed on Tuesday in a California federal court, says.

Dolan's band, JD & The Straight Shot, opened for the Eagles at the time and Croft said she believed that Dolan significantly bankrolled the tour.

The suit alleges that in mid-November 2013 while Croft was in Miami for the Eagles tour, Dolan scheduled a massage with her and forced himself onto her during it.

"Towards the end of the massage, Dolan pulled Ms. Croft towards him. She tried to push away, stating that she was very uncomfortable and that she took her job as a masseuse very seriously and that she wanted to remain professional," the suit alleges.

Croft tried to bring the massage to an end, the lawsuit says, but Dolan "proceeded to come on even stronger."

"Dolan then grabbed Ms. Croft's hands, dragging her to a couch in the same room and forcing her hands between his knees as he sat down," the suit alleges, adding that Croft was "adamant that she did not want to have any sexual interactions with Dolan."

The suit alleges, "Dolan was extremely assertive, and pressured Ms. Croft into unwanted sexual intercourse with him," leaving Croft "disgusted and terrified."

"Following this unwanted sexual contact, Ms. Croft was summoned to Dolan's room multiple times during the remainder of that part of the tour," the lawsuit says. "On each of these occasions, Dolan made unwelcome advances toward Ms. Croft, and she felt obligated to submit to sex with him."

The suit says Croft was "disgusted" by Dolan, "but her youth and extreme loneliness while on the road with strangers, as well as Dolan's immense power, made it possible for Dolan to manipulate Ms. Croft and lure her under his control."

Croft said she was hired at the time to perform massages for the Eagles and other tour members, and she was asked again to join the tour in Los Angeles. But, "in reality, Ms. Croft was flown out to Los Angeles for the purposes of engaging in unwanted sexual acts with Dolan," the suit says.

"Dolan expected Ms. Croft to have sexual interactions with him during the tour, and she spent her time either isolated by herself or waiting for instructions from Dolan," the lawsuit says.

The Azoff Company, the management firm that represents the Eagles and is named as a defendant in the suit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI on Tuesday.

Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan, center, watches during the first half of an NBA basketball game between the New York Knicks and the Toronto Raptors, on Saturday, February 9, 2019, in New York. AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

During the Los Angeles leg of the tour in January 2014, Croft said, she met Weinstein, who told her that Dolan was "one of his best friends."

Weinstein  who was later convicted of rape and sexual assault and remains locked up in a New York prison  was accused in the suit of sexually assaulting Croft at a hotel after he brought up "what sounded like a dream job opportunity," the lawsuit says.

"Weinstein came behind Ms. Croft on the couch and began rubbing her shoulders, again requesting that she massage him. Uncomfortable, Ms. Croft again stated she would not perform any massage without the proper set up," the suit says.

At one point, Weinstein put on only a bathrobe and asked again about a massage, the lawsuit says. When Croft tried to leave, he blocked the door, she alleged.

Croft got away and went to her hotel room, but Weinstein "barged" in, "backed Ms. Croft onto the bed, forced her down, and forced her legs open," the suit says.

"Standing between her legs, he undid his robe, and shoved his fingers inside of her, using his other hand to hold her down. He tried to force his penis inside of her, although he struggled to do so," the lawsuit states.

During the alleged attack, Dolan called before a "rattled and shaken" Croft got away and went to Dolan's hotel room, the suit alleges.

Croft told Dolan that she met Weinstein and that he was "sexually aggressive" with her, and Dolan did not "express any surprise at the news," the lawsuit says.

"To the contrary, Dolan responded to Ms. Croft's report of sexual assault in a completely matter-of-fact tone, noting that Weinstein was 'a troubled person' that had a lot of 'serious issues,' but that his friends were 'trying to get him to address' those issues," the suit says, adding, "Dolan intimated that Weinstein was not a 'safe' person but did little to console Ms. Croft or help her to report the assault to the authorities."

Lawyers for Dolan and Weinstein denied the allegations

Harvey Weinstein listens in court during a pre-trial hearing for his Los Angeles sexual misconduct trial on July 29, 2021. ETIENNE LAURENT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Dolan's attorney, E. Danya Perry, told BI in a statement that "There is absolutely no merit to any of the allegations against Mr. Dolan," and Croft and Dolan "had a friendship."

"The references to Harvey Weinstein are simply meant to inflame and appear to be plagiarized from prior cases against Mr. Weinstein. These claims reflect an act of retaliation by an attorney who has brought multiple cases against Mr. Dolan and has not won, and cannot win, a judgment against him," Perry said.

Perry continued: "Mr. Dolan always believed Ms. Croft to be a good person and is surprised she would agree to these claims. Bottom line, this is not a he said/she said matter and there is compelling evidence to back up our position. We look forward to proving that in court."

Croft's lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, said in response that "Dolan believes he is above the law."

"His own lawyer originally characterized the relationship as a consensual romantic relationship  which it was not. Our Firm has not lost multiple cases to Dolanthat is a fabrication," Wigdor said. "Most egregious, however, is Dolan's assertion that our client has made up being raped by Weinstein when she told Dolan at the time what had happened to her and when Dolan admitted to knowing about Weinstein's predatory behavior. It seems as though Dolan still stands with Weinstein, a convicted felon."

Weinstein's attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, told BI that Weinstein "vehemently denies these meritless allegations and looks forward to litigating these claims in a court of law where the truth will be revealed."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Debris washed up during the cyclone is strewn across the Caudan Waterfront in Port Louis, the capital city of Mauritius, Tueday Jan. 16, 2024. Mauritius lifted its highest weather alert and eased a nationwide curfew Tuesday after a cyclone battered the Indian Ocean island, causing heavy flooding and extensive damage in the capital city and other parts of the country. (Lexpress.mu via AP)

SAINT-PAUL, Reunion (AP)  Mauritius lifted its highest weather alert and eased a nationwide curfew Tuesday after a deadly cyclone battered the Indian Ocean island, causing heavy flooding and extensive damage in the capital and other parts of the country.

The nearby French island of Reunion was assessing the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Belal. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said two more bodies had been found, bringing the death toll there to three. One person died in Mauritius.

Belal ripped through the region off the east coast of Africa on Monday and early Tuesday but was now heading further into the Indian Ocean, the Mauritius Meteorological Services said.

The Mauritius government said that the head of the meteorological services had stepped down after his institution was accused of not giving adequate warning about the storm's impact.

Roads in the Mauritius capital, Port Louis, and elsewhere turned into raging rivers on Monday as Belal brought torrential rains and high winds. Some people climbed onto the roof of their cars and clung on, according to videos published by Mauritius' LExpress newspaper.

The person killed in Mauritius was a motorcyclist who died in an accident caused by the flooding, authorities said. The three who died in Reunion all appeared to be homeless people who had not taken cover in shelters.

Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and other members of his Cabinet visited areas that had been hardest hit, especially in the south. The government said that Belal had left a trail of damage over the country.

Mauritius has a population of about 1.2 million people and is a popular tourist destination.

Police were still mobilized across Mauritius, the government's National Emergency Operations Command said, but people could leave their homes. Schools and many businesses were to remain closed until at least Wednesday.

Mauritius had enforced a curfew until noon Tuesday, with everyone ordered to remain at home except emergency workers, some hospital workers and security forces.

On Reunion, residents emerged from their homes Tuesday to clean up. Men in shorts trudged through ankle-high waters down a street in the town of Saint-Paul as winds buffeted the palm trees. Emergency workers scooped up branches and other debris blocking roads.

In the nearby town of Saint-Gilles-les-Bains, trees had crashed onto quays and into the picturesque marina, and several boats were damaged. The winds hit hardest on the higher, inland areas, but roads to reach them remained impassable.

Some 40% of Reunion's 860,000 people had no electricity and nearly half the island was without internet or cell phone service, the head of the local administration, Jerome Filippini, told a news conference. Schools will remain closed all week.

The French government sent some 150 rescuers and electrical workers from the mainland and the nearby French island of Mayotte to help, and Darmanin was expected on Reunion on Wednesday.

Cyclones are common between January and March in the Indian Ocean near southern Africa as seas in the southern hemisphere reach their warmest temperatures. The hotter water is fuel for cyclones.

Scientists say human-caused climate change has intensified extreme weather, making cyclones more frequent and rainier when they hit.

In 2019, Cyclone Idai ripped into Africa from the Indian Ocean, leaving more than 1,000 people dead in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe and causing a humanitarian crisis. The United Nations said it was one of the deadliest storms on record in the southern hemisphere.

___

Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa. Associated Press writer Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this story.

___

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
GRANDVILLE, Mich. (WOOD)  Food deliveries to thousands of homebound seniors are being delayed in West Michigan amid treacherous road conditions.

Meals on Wheels Western Michigan, a nonprofit based in Grandville, brings meals to nearly 3,000 people a year in Kent and Allegan counties. The organization serves 6,000 seniors overall through its senior pantry and community dining sites, both of which organizers intend to keep open this week.

The meals are assembled from scratch at the nonprofits Grandville kitchen, packaged and frozen. Drivers, most of whom are volunteers, hit at least 1,500 homes in a day through dozens of different routes. Frozen and cold meals are typically delivered Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Meals are assembled at Meals on Wheels Western Michigan on Jan. 16, 2024.

Meals are assembled at Meals on Wheels Western Michigan on Jan. 16, 2024.

Lisa Wideman, the nonprofits president, said they do not plan to close this week. The last time the nonprofit temporarily closed operations was during the 2019 polar vortex, she said.

It was so dangerous even for our drivers to be exposed to that air, Wideman said.

Deliveries are only being delayed this week from a half-hour to a couple of hours, Wideman said.

There have been some seniors who drivers havent been able to reach because of the poor conditions. When that happens, Wideman said organizers call them and ask if they have enough food for the time being.

Sometimes, people are just fine for a day or two, Wideman said.

Overnight shelters stretched to limit in freezing temps

If seniors dont have food in the house, Wideman said the nonprofit will make sure they get a meal.

We have a couple of all-wheel drive vehicles. We have a couple of (volunteers with all-wheel drive vehicles). Were going to find a way to get that food to them, Wideman said.

Were not going to leave anybody hungry, she continued. Were going to find a way.

Before the snowstorm began to hit Kent County last Friday, Meals on Wheels condensed certain routes to allow drivers to finish earlier in the day. Knowing ahead of time that they may not be able to reach some seniors this week, drivers also delivered shelf-stable boxes of food to households before the storm.

Its a rare situation, but it happens, Wideman said.

When drivers bring the meals, they also make sure seniors have heat during the extreme cold.

If they dont, we will find them resources to get that heat back on or get them to a place where they could (stay), she said.

List: Warming centers in West Michigan

The deliveries can be incredibly meaningful for seniors, Wideman said.

That human connection is so important to families as well, she said. Families a lot of times are not local, and just having somebody checking on their parents can be lifesaving.

The organization relies on volunteers and can especially use more of them during these conditions, Wideman said. Anyone interested in delivering or preparing meals can volunteer through the nonprofits website.

Wideman also asked the community to consider donating to help them achieve their mission. She said rising food and labor costs are outpacing their fundraising.

If the community can help us out in any way, itll help us make sure no seniors hungry are forgotten, Wideman said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com.
Turkish exporters have faced an almost complete halt of money transfers from their Russian clients since Jan. 1 as they were either returned or rejected by banks, which has led to serious disruptions in trade between the two countries, Turkish media outlet Ekonomim reported on Jan. 16, citing anonymous sources.

Turkish exports of goods to Russia that Moscow uses for military production have reportedly spiked in 2023, strengthening concerns about sanctions circumvention.

Following the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's recent visit to Ankara, Turkish companies could not receive payments from Russia in Turkish lira and Russian rubles, with some banks sending the money back and others rejecting transactions they had previously accepted, saying that these were "prohibited goods," one the sources told Ekonomim.

Blinken visited Ankara on Jan. 6 and met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, discussing sanctions and export control evasion, among other topics.

The U.S. and the EU have long sought to curb Russia's ability to import dual-use goods via third-party countries. Companies in states like Kazakhstan, Serbia, Turkey, and others have been accused of re-exporting sanctioned products to Russia, fueling the country's war machine amid the invasion of Ukraine.

Read also: Zelensky asks Davos forum to invest in Ukraines peace

According to Ekonomim, problems with money transfers from Russia to Turkey started in December last year and escalated in early January 2024.

These problems are related to the latest expansion of the EU sanctions list and may occur even if a Turkish exporter sells goods that are not subject to sanctions but its client is sanctioned or when Turkish banks have transactions in rubles on their balance sheets, a source in Turkey's Trade Ministry told Ekonomim.

While the West has strengthened its sanctions against Russia following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Turkey's exports to Russia increased by 23.2% last year compared to 2022, according to the media outlet.

Turkey recorded $158 million in exports of 45 goods like microchips, marked by the U.S. as "high priority," to Russia and five "former Soviet countries" suspected of serving as intermediaries for Moscow over the first nine months of 2023, the Financial Times wrote on Nov. 27.

This was three times the number recorded over the same period last year. The average figure for 2015-21 was $28 million, according to the Times' analysis.

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
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Media outlets are defending their decisions to call the Iowa caucuses for former President Trump a little more than a half-hour after caucusing began  and while before the caucuses concluded.

The Associated Press, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News all called the race at 8:31 p.m., citing projections from exit polling and early voting totals in a handful of precincts across the state.

The projections were the earliest in some time for the Iowa caucuses, and they immediately triggered criticism from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantiss campaign.

It is absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote, said Andrew Romeo, a representative for DeSantis, late Monday night. The media is in the tank for Trump, and this is the most egregious example yet.

CNNs Jake Tapper remarked live on air that it was the earliest he could remember the network making a race call.

CNN told The Hill it had enough information from entrance polls to make a projection as early as 8 p.m., once it was clear the race was going to have an overwhelming winner.

The AP said it does not declare a winner in traditional primaries until the last polls are scheduled to close in the contest.

But the Iowa caucuses are different, the AP explained, noting there is no fixed time when all voting ends and some caucus sites might complete their business in a few minutes, while others can take longer to determine the outcome.

For that reason, AP followed its past practice and did not make a poll close declaration of the winner on Monday night. Instead, AP reviewed returns from caucus sites across Iowa and declared Trump the winner only after those results, along with VoteCast and other evidence, made it unquestionably clear he had won, the AP explained.

Decision Desk HQ, an organization that feeds real-time election results and race calls multiple media outlets, including The Hill, called the race at 8:46 p.m. on what it said was the basis of having votes showing Trump exceeding his benchmarks in several counties across the state.

Decision Desk HQ, like all other responsible race-calling organizations, does not call races in elections with defined poll closing times while voters are still voting, the company said. Caucuses are different from primaries in that caucuses have start times but no defined ending times. At no point were we asked to withhold our race call  in fact, we were advised by [Iowa] GOP officials on a pre-Caucus media call that they would not be making any announcement declaring a winner.

NewsNation, the relatively new cable news network that, like The Hill, is owned by Nexstar Media Group, did not call the race for Trump until 8:47 p.m.

Anchor Chris Cuomo on-air said the real news of the caucuses, given projections that Trump would win, was who would finish second between DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. DeSantis prevailed in that battle, with both finishing well behind Trump.

Now, if youre flipping around, you will see that other organizations are calling the caucuses already, Cuomo said. That makes sense. However, it is not about who wins. That would have been a shocker if it were going any other way. Its about what is the margin.

Those criticizing the early calls emphasized that the decisions could have led some caucusgoers to change their votes or leave the caucuses.

A spokesperson for a pro-DeSantis super PAC told The Hill they were at a precinct in Pella, Iowa, where Casey DeSantis, the governors wife, was giving a speech. Attendees started to receive push notifications that Trump had won the caucuses.

You cant taint the process like that, having a victory declared before people have even voted before arguments have been heard. Thats not right, DeSantis campaign manager James Uthmeier said during a subsequent interview with NBC News.

Longtime political pundit Brit Hume, on Fox News, argued the projections likely had little impact.

We are talking here about people who come out on a cold night together at a caucus site, the doors are closed, and nobody can get in, so the opportunity to vote remains, Hume said. Its hard to believe very many people would say, oh, my goodness, the race has been called, Im going home. I dont think so. The impact of it seems that the premise is doubtful.

But Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, described the projects as an unforced error on the part of the media.

It didnt do anything to make any difference in the campaign, and I really dont think it made any difference in the outcome, Smith said. But it was just dumb. It now created controversy when there didnt need to be any controversy.

Julia Manchester and Caroline Vakil contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Four men stand with arms crossed, wearing dark blue jumpsuits with red accented shoulder wings. They look serious, except for the smiling man on the right. He is shorter than the rest.

Houston-based Axiom Space is poised for the company's third private astronaut launch to space. Ax-3 will carry a four-person, all-European crew on a roughly two-week mission to conduct research aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The quartet includes Ax-3 mission commander and former NASA astronaut Michael "LA" Lopez-Alegria, mission specialist Walter Villadei, who also flew aboard Virgin Galactic's Galactic 01 suborbital spaceflight as VIRTUTE 1 mission commander last summer, Turkey's soon-to-be first astronaut, Alper Gezeravc and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut reserve member Marcus Wandt.

The Ax-3 crew will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in the early evening, Wednesday, Jan. 17, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Florida. After about 36 hours aboard their SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, the crew will dock with the ISS early Friday morning, Jan. 19, if all goes according to plan.

The Ax-3 crew is scheduled to spend 14 days aboard the ISS, following their arrival on Friday, Jan. 19. Barring any weather delays, like the ones that prolonged the return of Ax-1, the four-person crew is scheduled to return after two weeks' time aboard their Crew Dragon capsule, parachuting back to Earth for a splashdown off the coast of Florida.

Live updates: Axiom Space Ax-3 private spaceflight with SpaceX: Live updates

Photos: The first space tourists

Michael Lopez-Alegria

A man stands with arms crossed, wearing dark blue jumpsuits with red accented shoulder wings. He looks serious.

Former NASA astronaut Michael "L.A." Lopez-Alegria is no stranger to spaceflight. Ax-3 will be his sixth launch to the ISS, and he has no plans of quitting anytime soon. "It's a dream come true for me," L.A. told reporters during a Jan. 11 crew teleconference, "I will gladly continue to fly as long as the soul is willing, and as long as the body is willing to do so."

L.A. was born in Madrid, and came to the U.S. with his parents as a young child. Combined, he has more than 40 years of aviation and spaceflight experience, which includes three Space Shuttle launches and a Soyuz launch. He was inducted into NASA's Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2020, and currently holds the space agency's record for cumulative time spent on space walks, or extravehicular activities (EVAs). L.A. now works as Axiom's chief astronaut.

Lopez-Alegria flew as mission commander for Ax-1 , and is proud to be reprising that role for Ax-3, he said during Thursday's call.

"I'm very proud and pleased to be leading this mission to the International Space Station, which is important not just for the scientific research and technology demonstrations and outreach events that we'll do, but also it's a very important step toward the goal of Axiom space to have a commercial space station in orbit before the decade is out."

Axiom Space is constructing its own habitation module to berth to the ISS, which it plans to build out and eventually detach to become its own private space station. Throughout development, crews from each of the company's commercially-funded missions to the ISS work, in part, toward helping Axiom reach that goal.

Walter Villadei

A man stands with arms crossed, wearing dark blue jumpsuits with red accented shoulder wings. He looks serious.

Walter Villadei Axiom portrait. (Image credit: Axiom Space)

This also isn't the first spaceflight for Ax-3 mission pilot Col. Walter Villadei. Villadei hails from Rome, Italy, and serves as a colonel in the Italian Air Force (ItAF). His background includes extensive military flight experience with the ItAF, as well as assignments in the space sector, which sent him to Star City, Russia, to with the Russian space agency ( Roscosmos ) as a Soyuz flight engineer.

Currently, Villadei works as the head of ItAF's representative office in the U.S., overseeing commercial spaceflight initiatives.

He flew on a sub-orbital flight to space with Virgin Galactic in June 2023, where he served as VIRTUTE-1 mission commander. At the time, he said that flight would help prepare him for upcoming, longer spaceflights.

"This mission is very important for Italy," Villadei said during the Jan. 11 briefing, calling Ax-3 a "fundamental step" in Italy's national space strategy. "It's a big opportunity for bringing industries of the scientific community and institutions into this new chapter for space exploration."

Alper Gezeravc

A man stands with arms crossed, wearing dark blue jumpsuits with red accented shoulder wings. He looks serious.

Alper Gezeravc will fly as Turkey's first astronaut. The Ax-3 mission specialist holds degrees from the Air Force Academy in Istanbul, and the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, in Ohio, and has 15 years experience flying as a fighter pilot for the Turkish Air Force.

On Thursday's call, Gezeravc acknowledged the significance of his country sending someone to space, but said he doesn't want that fact to overshadow the mission's contribution to the global scientific community.

"I'm representing my beautiful country, Turkey, as the first person to go to space," Gezeravc said, "however, this mission is not only focused on the first manned mission, but it's also representing a lot of scientific missions that we are intending to contribute in the science world."

Like Axiom's previous missions, much of the research conducted by the Ax-3 crew will focus on the effects of long-term spaceflight and the effects of microgravity on the human body, with an emphasis on how that research can have beneficial applications down on Earth . Turkey's Vokalkord experiment, for example, is developing artificial intelligence to detect disease through analyzing audio of people speaking and coughing.

Marcus Wandt

A man stands with arms crossed, wearing dark blue jumpsuits with red accented shoulder wings. He looks serious.

Another fighter pilot, Marcus Wandt has more than 20 years experience in the air, serving in the Swedish Air Force. From fighter pilot, Wandt worked his way up to the role of chief test pilot, and eventually founded his own company to give tactical training to other pilots.

Now, Wandt is a lieutenant colonel in the Swedish Air Force and a member of ESA's astronaut reserve, and will be the second person from Sweden to fly to the ISS. For Ax-3, he will serve as a mission specialist.

"The decisiveness of how Sweden came together with ESA and Axiom, and all the support from NASA and SpaceX to make this happen is fantastic," Wandt said during the Ax-3 crew teleconference.

"I'm so proud to be in the center of that, and being a part of pioneering a new way for Europe to gain access to space and to increase the frequency ... of not only European presence but also European science, and the benefit for what we can do here on Earth that brings everyone forward."
A Tennessee couple is facing time behind bars for allegedly attacking a woman over payment for a hairstyle.

According to WMC, Jazmine Withers and Markell King, both 23, face charges of false imprisonment and aggravated assault after reportedly attacking a woman in a Memphis apartment and cutting braids from her hair.

The local outlet reports that police were called to the apartment on Jan. 7 at 4:10 p.m. in response to a report of an assault. The victim was reportedly at the home getting her hair braided by Withers.

Jazmine Withers was arrested after cutting braids out of clients hair. (Photos: Getty Images/

Cosmetologists are required to obtain a license in the state when receiving compensation for arranging, dressing, curling, waving, cleansing, cutting, singeing, bleaching, coloring, or similar work on the hair.

Yet, its unclear if Withers was licensed, but Tennessee law allows licensed cosmetologists to practice outside of salons.

WMC reported that the stylist and the victim argued over payment for services, which escalated into a fight.

Police say Withers and King blocked the client from leaving the apartment before Withers showered her with blows to the head and cut out the braids with scissors. The hairstylist then ordered King to grab a pistol from the kitchen, the arrest affidavit says, according to WMC.

Police say the weapon had one extended magazine with 12 rounds. The victim says she saw King return with a gun with a flashlight on it, but she was able to fight her way out of the apartment.

Both of the charges Withers and King face are felonies, and they could be sentenced to between one and 15 years behind bars in addition to fines if convicted.

While details of the payment dispute in this case are limited, hairstylists can call the authorities or take other legal action against clients who refuse to pay. The evolution of the internet has revealed an ugly side of the beauty industry where clients complain about extra fees, exorbitant costs, and bad customer service, and cosmetologists complain about customers with unrealistic expectations and bad salon etiquette.

Recent Kent State University graduate Joanna Georges took a New Jersey hairstylist to small claims court after the woman delayed her hair braiding appointment and then attempted to reschedule it for another day after Georges arrived at the salon, according to her viral TikTok video.

Georges refused and asked for a refund of her $100 deposit, but the stylist never reimbursed her, prompting Georges to take legal action. A judge ruled in Georges favor, awarding her the $100 and court fees, she said.

Memphis Stylist Allegedly Cuts Out Clients Braids, Calls for Weapon In Payment Dispute


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Lyle and Erik Menendez, the brothers who were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for gruesomely murdering their parents seven years earlier, are the focus of Season 2 of Ryan Murphys hit Netflix anthology series, Monster.

While Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez were cast as the brothers all the way back in June 2023, now we know who will portray their parents, Jose and Mary Kitty Menendez. According to Deadline, Academy Award winner Javier Bardem and Academy Award nominee Chloe Sevigny will play Lyle and Eriks mother and father.

Spanish actor Bardem, 54, recently played King Triton in Disneys 2023 live action remake of The Little Mermaid. He also stars in the upcoming science-fiction epic Dune: Part Two, in theaters March 1. Sevigny, 49, appears in the new FX series Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, also produced by Murphy and debuting on January 31.

Additionally, the series has added Nathan Lane as investigative journalist Dominick Dunne, who covered the brothers highly publicized trial for Vanity Fair.

Monster previously featured Jeffrey Dahmer

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is Murphys scripted follow-up to 2022s original installment, Dahmer  Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story , which dramatized serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer s murders. The series eclipsed more than 1 billion hours streamed, and Evan Peters received an Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Dahmer.

In November 2022, following the success of Dahmer  Monster, Netflix ordered two follow-up seasons and promised to tell the stories of other monstrous figures who have impacted society, according to Deadline. That certainly describes the case of the Menendez Brothers, who shot their parents Jose and Mary to death in their Beverly Hills home on August 20, 1989.

It took seven years, three trials, and many thousands of hours of TV coverage for the Menendez brothers to be found guilty of their parents murders. On July 2, 1996, they were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. But in between the tragic killings and the brothers conviction, the Menendez murders became one of the most famous criminal cases of the late 20th century thanks to its potent mix of family drama, Hollywood connections, dramatic testimony, and cable TVs ability to blanket the airwaves with coverage.

We still dont know the Monster Season 2 release date

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is expected to hit Netflix in 2024, though the exact release date is unknown. Additionally, Deadline previously reported that Netflix will have exclusive access to Lyle and Erik Menendez for an upcoming documentary feature about the infamous killers.



Monsters wont be the first series or movie to tell the story of Lyle, Erik, Jose, and Mary Menendez. Until Season 2 premieres, you can also watch the familys true story unfold in the drama Menendez: Blood Brothers , the NBC series Law and Order True Crime: the Menendez Murders , and the documentary Truth and Lies: The Menendez Brothers  American Sons, American Murders .

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Sino-Brazilian partnership reflects shared values

08:19, January 16, 2024 By Li Yang ( China Daily

WANG XIAOYING/CHINA DAILY

Foreign Minister Wang Yi is scheduled to visit Brazil later this week after wrapping up his four-country tour in Africa that started on Saturday. Given the important role the Latin American giant plays in the world, the significance of this visit cannot be exaggerated.

The visit is expected to carry on the positive momentum of the development of the comprehensive China-Brazil strategic partnership that was effectively consolidated by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's state visit to China in April last year.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of their diplomatic relations. The past 50 years have not only seen China and Brazil become the largest developing countries in the Eastern and Western hemispheres respectively, but also witnessed them becoming major players on the world stage.

The complementarity of their economic structure means the two sides have great potential to deepen their current cooperation in such areas as minerals and technology, and to expand it into new sectors including environmental protection, climate change, the low-carbon economy and the digital economy.

The development of Sino-Brazilian pragmatic economic and trade cooperation aims to promote common development of the two countries and does not target at any third party. The two sides, upholding international equity and justice, stand ready to work with each other to strengthen strategic coordination in the G20, BRICS and other multilateral institutions, enhance coordination and cooperation in international finance, climate response and environmental protection, and contribute to developing countries' efforts to realize fairer and more balanced global development.

Given this, it is predictable that some in the United States will try to misinterpret Wang's visit as the latest attempt by Beijing to make trouble in Washington's "backyard". But the Latin American countries  especially such an important emerging market economy as Brazil  are nobody's "backyard".

Their shared and firm belief in true multilateralism and their upholding of the United Nations-centered international order and economic globalization put Brazil and China in the same trench fighting unilateralism, hegemony and protectionism. That does not mean they are trying to overturn the international system. It means they are trying to improve it.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
LAFAYETTE, Ind.  A little more than 60 years ago, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his most influential I Have a Dream speech, which swayed the collective mind of the nation in the fight for civil rights.

The ideals that King spoke about in that speech have become a lesson that many attempt to follow in their daily lives and when creating public policies.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today King said in his 1963 speech.

The ideals in this speech became the focus of this year's Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration event hosted by the Tippecanoe County Public Library at the Long Center of Performing Arts in downtown Lafayette.

Every year, Jos Holman, the director of the Tippecanoe County Public Library, invites a local person to be the keynote speaker, with the goal of potentially challenging those in attendance as they reflect on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

This year's event saw about 130 people traverse the single-digit weather to celebrate King's legacy.

Cornelius Bynum, associate professor and director of African American Studies at Purdue University, delivered this year's address. He expressed his criticism of how Kings ideals presented in his speech have been misconstrued over the years.

Cornelius Bynum, associate professor and director of African American Studies at Purdue University and this years keynote speaker speaks at the Tippecanoe County Public Library's 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. community celebration at the Long Center for the Performing Arts, on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, in Lafayette, Ind.

As a historian and as an educator, I often find myself deeply upset by how badly people misunderstand Martin Luther King Jr. and his place in the modern Civil Rights Movement, Bynum said.

This content of their character line has become the basis for theories of color blind and race-neutral policy discourse, that deviously Kings intent.

Rather than focusing on notions of justice and freedom than anger or hate in the dictates of Christ.

Proponents of colorblindness have misappropriated his words to condemn public policies like affirmative action as immoral or unconstitutional.

In hopes of addressing this misappropriation, Bynum used his time at this years event to highlight the pitfalls of colorblindness, and in turn, have the audience reflect on the words King spoke in 1963.

King was a radical theologian who attempted to press the nation to act on basic Christian principles outlined in the New Testament, he said.

The core of Kings philosophy is based on the idea of the Golden Rule," which Bynum quoted from Matthew: Whatsoever you have done to at least one of my brethren, you have also done to me."

As a nation, we have never met this state of basic decency and respect to Black Americans or people of color, Bynum said.

King never intended to foster this theory of colorblindness with the words in his speech and how this idea is detrimental to the goals of the Civil Rights Act, Bynum said.

The pitfalls or traps of colorblindness lay in ideas, theories, or policies that report to seek justice while purposely ignoring the structures and the consequences of racial discrimination, he said. Indeed, colorblind discourse offers nothing of substance to address the discrimination and injustice that King discusses in his speech.

On the one hand, colorblindness restricts our ability to see problems of race clearly," he said. "It suggests that negative outcomes that people of color experience are individual and not a result of the system.

Bynum noted that policies that are made with this lens of colorblindness, fail to address issues within the system that typically affect minority communities negatively and disproportionately when compared to their white neighbors.

He showcased three major stories from the New York Times which highlighted racial discrimination within housing, policies and health care in 2024.

Colorblind discourse is also problematic on the solutions because it precludes honest examination of structures that create and maintain a certain issues, he said.

Cornelius Bynum, associate professor and director of African American Studies at Purdue University and this years keynote speaker speaks at the Tippecanoe County Public Library's 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. community celebration at the Long Center for the Performing Arts, on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, in Lafayette, Ind.

He noted how in 2021 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its maternal mortality rate report, and it highlighted how the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women was 2.6 times higher than for non-Hispanic white women.

The discourse of colorblindness offers nothing for inherently racial problems like this one," Bynum said. "It precludes that developing programs to improve and advance Black doctors. It precludes mandate-specific training for appropriate care for Black maternity patients, not colorblindness.

These ideas that would not have a targeted program specifically targeted to address inherently racial problems, isnt captured in a colorblind discourse," he said.

An insistence on colorblind solutions to systemic racism always falls short because such solutions do not have the capacity to evaluate structural assertions honestly.

Bynum believes that these ideas of colorblind solutions are deliberately designed to absolve society from any responsibility to make substantive change.

If the problems we face are not inherently racial as colorblind discourses insist and race-neutral solutions fail to resolve anything, then what is society doing? What are we to do?

The ideas of colorblind solutions disincentives people who want to create meaningful change by actively addressing the issues of society.

Proponents of and policies of race-neutral solutions are able to absolve themselves of guilt, by insisting that theyve done everything they possibly and the rest can bury their heads into the sand like an ostrich, claiming that racism no longer exists.

These are the pitfalls of colorblindness, Bynum said.

As for the issues of colorblindness solutions, Bynum acknowledged, there's not an easy solution to this problem, and how it has been a question that this nation has been trying to solve since its birth.

But in order to find a real solution to these issues, Bynum notes that people need to first be self-reflective on the system the country currently has in place and acknowledge the need to change in this country.

Noe Padilla is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email him at Npadilla@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter at 1NoePadilla.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: MLK Keynote speaker talks about the 'pitfall of colorblindness'
With near freezing temperatures expected to drop even lower overnight and icy roads scattered around the city, Montgomery Public Schools and Autauga County Schools announced that they will both have a virtual learning day on Wednesday, Jan. 17.

That makes five days in a row that students will not be in the classroom. Following the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, Tuesday was a virtual learning day in each district because of inclement weather as well.

"After carefully considering students waiting outside in frigid weather for buses and the conditions of the pipes in our older school buildings, MPS has decided that continuing virtual learning/work is the best option for everyone's safety," a statement from the district on Tuesday afternoon read.

MPS communication officer Jade Jones said there have been no reported issues with the pipes in any school buildings, but the district is taking precautions.

Wednesday will be a virtual learning day for all of Montgomery Public Schools.

Montgomery was one of the first school systems in the area to cancel in-person learning for the second day in a row. Autauga County Schools followed suit shortly after.

The City of Montgomery offices will also remain closed on Wednesday. A city spokesperson said that operations will continue in the same way they did on Tuesday. All employees eligible to telework will do so, but all employees in public safety, public works and other areas where telework is not possible are required to report as scheduled.

Any city employees who cannot report due to extenuating circumstances regarding the weather will be granted the appropriate leave as necessary, and city employees should contact their supervisor if clarification is needed, the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Elmore County Schools released a statement on Monday saying that regular class schedules are expected to resume on Wednesday, but there may be bus delays. Elmore closed schools altogether on Tuesday.

"On Wednesday buses may run behind schedule due to the low temperatures, so makes sure your child wears warm clothing, and register for your child's bus Remind code for up-dates," the statement from Elmore County Schools read.

According to the National Weather Service, temperatures will drop lower across Alabama on Tuesday evening, refreezing any precipitation that melted during the day.

"Continue to be alert when traveling tonight and Wednesday," a social media statement read.

Hadley Hitson covers children's health, education and welfare for the Montgomery Advertiser. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to the Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: MPS, Autauga cancel in-person class. Elmore set for normal schedule
Nearly 25% of the educators in Kentucky left their positions after the 2022-23 school year. Educators in the commonwealth have not had an across-the-board raise since 2008. Kentucky ranks 44th in starting teacher pay and 40th in average salary, according to the National Education Association.

Educators are on strike in the commonwealth. Thats quite the title. And you might look at it and say its untrue.

Most recently teachers in Oakland and Portland struck, but thats not the commonwealth. But the fact is, teachers are on strike here in Kentucky. And please make no mistake about it, teachers are on a wage strike.

Whats different about this strike? This strike of both early career and veteran educators has no picket line. But nearly 25% of the educators in the commonwealth left their positions after the 2022-23 school year, according to a Dec. 29 WKMS article. While that number includes classroom teachers who leave for administration positions, it also includes those who have left the profession altogether. What is clear, nevertheless, is that teachers are striking by leaving the classroom for better pay.

Educators in the commonwealth have not had an across-the-board raise since 2008. Kentucky ranks 44th in starting teacher pay and 40th in average salary, according to the National Education Association. Both candidates for governor in 2023 called for raises for teachers. Senate President Robert Stivers stated that an increase in pay is needed to stay competitive.

However, with the beginning of the 2024 legislative session, Stivers suggested that any increases will be funded by district through the current SEEK formula and not earmarked for employee pay. In essence, any raises will be left to the discretion of local school boards  potentially leaving thousands of educators without a pay hike.

Recently, a former student of mine left the profession after just three and a half years because her teacher pay was not enough to cover her bills. I still remember her as a student excitedly speaking about her future as a teacher. Her passion for the profession and desire to become a teacher was enchanting, but unfortunately, in practice it could not pay the bills. Today, her story is sadly typical for thousands of other educators in the commonwealth who dreamed of becoming a teacher but have been forced to give up that dream for simple economics.

To make matters worse, this wage strike is spreading. More and more educators are leaving the profession in mid-career, after approximately 12-20 years of service, to maximize their earnings while they can. And make no mistake, this isnt a strike just by teachers. This is a strike by all school staff members: bus drivers, paraeducators, custodians, food service workers and administrators who rank 48th nationally in pay, according to the NEA.

How does this all-too-silent wage strike across the commonwealth get settled? Its simple: by raising educator pay. It doesnt just help them. It helps our students, communities, parents and taxpayers. Heres how:

Every dollar spent to retain a teacher is a dollar saved. Local boards do not have to spend as much on recruitment. They dont have to spend as much on-boarding new employees or on training teachers in the systems unique to each district.

Retaining veteran teachers helps the system grow. I had a great (unpaid) student teaching experience, but as well prepared as I thought I was, I wasnt fully prepared for my first classroom. I am thankful every day for the veteran mentors who helped me in those first years to become the teacher I am today.

Retaining teachers benefits the student. When students have consistency in their buildings they flourish. Schools are communities and when students have consistency in their community they thrive.

What can you do to help end this educators wage strike in the commonwealth? Use your voice and let it be known to those we vote to represent us. Tell them that raising pay for educators is whats best for all of us who live and work in Kentucky and to vote accordingly to settle this strike that, in the end, continues to punish us all.

Kelly Read is president of the Boone County Education Association. He has been an educator for 26 years and teaches English at Boone County High School.

Kelly Read

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Kentucky teachers are striking by leaving the classroom for better pay
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  There is a three-hour drive between Virginia, where Allison Tice and Dustin Pence had planned to give birth to their son Cohen, and Charlotte where he was ultimately born.

Cohen was born on Nov. 30 at Novant Healths Presbyterian Medical Center almost 10 weeks before his original due date.

Queen City News spoke with Cohens parents six weeks after his birth.

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We still should be pregnant right now, but were not, Tice explained. I think its also just kind of been a surreal experience knowing that he is here.

Before they arrived at the hospital in Charlotte, the Virginia couple had spent Thanksgiving with family in Hickory.

Baby Cohen.

Mother Allison Tice.

Thats when Tice noticed she had begun to experience some issues with her blood pressure.

She said she began to experience difficult headaches and had noticed her face and feet had swollen.

I learned very quickly that I had some of the tale-tell signs of preeclampsia, she explained.

Then, it was my dads girlfriend who, also had preeclampsia, who told me I should go get checked out.

Within a week the expecting mother found herself at the Charlotte hospital where he would undergo emergency surgery to save her child.

The last thing I remember the doctor telling me in the room was, You were a lot sicker than we thought, Tice said.

Charlotte man dies in apparent drowning in Hawaii: PD

Cohens lungs were not fully developed when he was born, which is why he spent the next several weeks hooked up to machines to help him breathe.

During this time his mother remained by his side as often as he could, while father drove back and forth (three hours one way) between his newborns bedside, and to his other two children back home.

You just go into dad mode to make sure everything is okay, Pence said. You just tough it out and do what you need to do.

Cohen would spend a mountain of firsts in the Hemby NICU, which included his first Christmas morning, and his first New Years celebration.

The NICU staff stepped in to preserve these moments, created a stocking for Cohen, and put presents under his bed for Christmas Day.

Cohens NICU chart.

Tice said it was not how they envisioned it would be.

Its sweet firsts, but not how we expected it, she explained. I mean, we were still expecting to be celebrating and planning his pregnancy.

NICU Nurse Manager Phyllis Waddell said, in her four decades on the job, these moments are always precious.

Trying to get some normalcy in a very abnormal place and in an abnormal situation, she said. Its so important.

Twins who were the size of pop cans at birth go home after nearly 140 days in the hospital

Friday, after more than a month in the NICU, Cohen was flown to a hospital at home in Roanoke, Va.

As of Monday, Cohen is breathing on his own.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
A woman is facing charges, along with three others, in connection to the death of her 3-year-old daughter.

Kerri Anne Santos, 33, whose last known address is in Massachusetts, is charged with child abuse resulting in death, child abuse resulting in great bodily harm, and aiding/abetting in criminal sexual contact of a minor, according to our sister station Boston 25.

Albuquerque Police said Santos showed up at a New Mexico hospital on Saturday around 4 a.m. with three young children, including her 3-year-old daughter wrapped in a blanket.

Medical staff attempted to pull back the blanket to examine the child but Santons pulled away, according to a criminal complaint.

Officials said staff were eventually able to get the child where they found she was already dead.

>> 5 facing federal charges for alleged deadly drug conspiracy

Santos told detectives the child hadnt been feeling well and she stopped at a gas station so the 3-year-old could use the restroom, according to a criminal complaint,

She claimed the child fell from the toilet, injuring herself, and that was when she drove to the hospital.

Detectives were suspicious of the story due to several inconsistencies with the timeline of events and the child having several bruises in different stages of healing, Boston 25 reported.

When Albuquerque police talked to police in Massachusetts they found there were multiple domestic violence reports filed against Santos and suspicious of Santos using drugs around her children.

>> 20-year-old IDd as man shot, killed near Dayton elementary school

Investigators learned two other adults, Christina Hopkins Pena-Cantor and her son, Austin Bing, drove with Santos and her three children to New Mexico. They had been in Albuquerque for a few days and stayed at an apartment with another man, James Welch.

According to the criminal complaint, one of the adults would tie the 3-year-old girl at the ankles and wrists with shoe laces. The complaint also says that all three children had been sexually molested and the injuries to the 3-year-old occurred at Welchs house.

Court records show on Friday night, the 3-year-old was taken to the bathroom when she fell and hit her head. Santos allegedly argued with Pena-Cantor and Bing to bring her to a hospital but agreed to lie about what happened.

Pena-Cantor is charged with child abuse resulting in death, and two counts of child abuse. Bing is charged with child abuse resulting in death, and child abuse.

Santos, Pena-Cantor, Bing, and Welch are being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque.

We will continue to update this story as new information becomes available.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN)  The Murfreesboro Police Department is investigating after a woman was run over and killed by her own car on Sunday.

Neighbors reportedly found 69-year-old Kathryn Hannon underneath her Lexus SUV around 3:54 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 14.

According to police, the SUV appears to have rolled backward down a small hill behind the driveway of Hannons home on Savannah Ridge Drive.

CRIME TRACKER | Read the latest crime news from Middle Tennessee

Its still unclear how, but at some point, investigators said Hannon was run over by the SUV.

Rutherford County Emergency Medical Services personnel pronounced Hannon dead at the scene. Detectives have requested an autopsy to determine the exact cause of her death.

However, at this time, officials believe the incident was an unfortunate accident.

 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.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024 in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam pledged here on Tuesday to push for new achievements in bilateral relations and cooperation while they met on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024.

In their meeting, Li recalled that last year, under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, bilateral ties were upgraded to an all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership, opening a new chapter in the high-level development of China-Singapore relations.

The Chinese side, Li said, is ready to work with Singapore to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, maintain high-level strategic mutual trust, expand all-round mutually beneficial cooperation, and enhance experience-sharing in various fields to push for new achievements in bilateral relations and cooperation.

Li also pointed out that China is willing to join hands with Singapore to give full play to the effectiveness of upgrading the bilateral free trade agreement, promote the upgrading of bilateral cooperation, and create new cooperation achievements in trade and investment, connectivity, finance, and other fields.

Noting that Singapore-China relations have been elevated to a new stage, Shanmugaratnam said his country attaches great importance to bilateral relations, and is ready to deepen dialogue and communication with China in various fields, as well as strengthen cooperation in such sectors as finance, digital economy, and green transformation, so as to push for the continuous development of bilateral ties.

Li elaborated on China's principled position on the Taiwan question.

In this regard, Shanmugaratnam said that Singapore sticks to the one-China principle and firmly opposes any remarks or acts for "Taiwan independence," adding that Singapore's position on the Taiwan question remains unchanged. 

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024 in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)
Data from millions of death certificates filed in every state and territory is combined and published in national statistics that help researchers better understand the state of U.S. public health.

Missing records from North Carolina have delayed the release of federal data on causes of death across the country, information that experts say is critical to understanding the health of the American public.

Typically released every December, the National Center for Health Statistics finalized data on mortality in the United States is built from millions of death certificates filed in every state and territory. Public health and population researchers use the data to study everything from life expectancy to the impacts of the opioid epidemic.

But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late last year quietly postponed the latest publication of data  detailing deaths in 2022  after North Carolinas vital records office alerted the federal agency that its data was incomplete.

The North Carolina Office of Vital Records notified NCHS on November 30, 2023, that they had identified death records that had not been submitted to NCHS, CDC spokesperson Christy Hagen said in an email to The News & Observer. As a result, NCHS decided to delay release of the final 2022 until we had received and analyzed these data... NCHS is working with the North Carolina Office of Vital Records to ensure we receive complete data for 2022.

Although more recent provisional data remains publicly available, federal officials say they have no projected timetable for release of the countrys latest final mortality statistics. A spokesperson from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, meanwhile, said efforts to track down whats missing in the states data will continue through February 2024.

The delay means it may take months before researchers can access a detailed measure of how people in America die. Public health experts say that information is especially important amid evidence that the countrys downward trend in life expectancy may be slowly reversing.

These data are important to know if were still continuing in that downward longevity curve, said Dr. Victor Weedn, an expert in forensic pathology and the former chief medical examiner for the state of Maryland. To me, right now, when were really paying attention to mortality, having a glitch like this is very concerning.

In the wake of a COVID-19 crisis that claimed more than 1 million lives across the country, researchers say the timing of the delay is particularly bad.

Although variants of the virus continue to spread years after the onset of the pandemic, declining death rates in 2022 make it an important time to examine trends exacerbated by the effects of COVID-19  for example, rising rates of maternal mortality and opioid-related deaths.

Are they still on the rise? Have they stabilized? Have they gone down? Those will be the big questions, Marie Thoma, a maternal health researcher at the University of Maryland, said. Everyones just sort of anxiously awaiting this data from a policy perspective.

Under 800 records missing data

Exactly whats missing from North Carolinas death data isnt clear.

State health officials have identified under 800 incomplete records in the 2022 death data, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Summer Tonizzo told The N&O in an email. Thats less than 1% of the 100,000 or so deaths logged every year in the state on average.

Death certificate data is supposed to flow to the states vital records office from funeral directors and medical providers, who since September 2022 have been required by law to use a new electronic system that began rolling out county by county in late 2020.

Prior to the change to all-digital entry, Tonizzo said, deaths could be reported to DHHS electronically, on paper or both.

The variation in death reporting methods in 2022 may have contributed to inconsistent or incomplete submissions, Tonizzo said. With the full implementation of electronic death reporting, NCDHHS can now better detect and address partial reporting of vital events.

Because partially recorded data cant be submitted to the CDC, she said none of the deaths with missing information were reported to the federal agency.

Partial death reports for calendar year 2022 were entered into the North Carolina Electronic Death Registration System by stakeholders responsible for reporting death, Tonizzo said. When the death reports are completed by these stakeholders, they will be reported to CDC.

Issues with missing data have not affected reports from past years, Tonizzo said

Nor are they related to an ongoing backlog of autopsy reports, often necessary for the completion of death certificates, she said. A joint N&O and Charlotte Observer investigation last year found that since 2020, nearly 1,400 autopsy cases took more than a year to complete, slowing some prosecutions and leaving grieving families in financial limbo.

Asked what details were missing from the hundreds of incomplete death reports, Tonizzo said state officials have not performed this level of analysis.

Each record requires manual inspection during follow back activities with stakeholders responsible for death reporting, Tonizzo said.

Experts: Getting data right worth the wait

Not every public health expert is concerned about the delayed release of the mortality data. Scott Lynch, director of the Center for Population Health and Aging at Duke University, said even on-time releases have been subject to revisions as health experts discover errors and omissions.

I dont think it will have a major impact on scholarship, Lynch said in an email.

But at least in recent years, a CDC spokesperson said, the agency has not delayed a report once it has announced when the report would be published. Mortality data is generally released within a year, according to the CDC.

In the last decade, the latest its been published was late January.

Nathan Dollar, director of Carolina Demography at UNC-Chapel Hill, said any delay in the release of the annual mortality file affects the ability of population researchers like him to conduct timely analysis not just of causes of death, but the potential impacts of government intervention.

The longer its delayed, the worse its effect is, Dollar said.

And that can matter for policymakers trying to decide what programs to fund or cut, said Weedn, the forensic pathologist.

That data is either available for 2022 or its not, he said. It will have a real-world impact in the states where they are making decisions based on that data and have to make those decisions before the data catches up.

But Dollar notes that although a delay in the mortality data is unfortunate, the information is not much good to researchers if its incomplete.

We dont want to rush it, Dollar said. We want to make sure North Carolina and federal agencies do their due diligence to make sure its clean and accurate. These things take time.
FOX VALLEY, Wis. (WFRV)  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is much more than just a day off of work or school.

Northeast Wisconsinites found a variety of ways to celebrate the holiday on Monday. Some chose to honor Dr. Kings memory through acts of service.

Its just been a staple of what we do on our day off, said Lisa Penterman with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin.

She and her colleagues at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin said theyve been coming to the Oshkosh Area Community Pantry for five years to volunteer on MLK Day.

Green Bay & San Francisco slated for Saturday night, rest of Divisional Round finalized

On Monday, they spent the afternoon stocking shelves and freezers with food in preparation for clients to arrive.

Theres people out there who are suffering and when we can help them it makes our team feel better, said Penterman.

A parade of volunteer groups stopped by the pantry on Monday, much to the delight of its executive director Ryan Rasmussen.

I could not be more grateful and appreciative to have all of these wonderful groups and volunteers come, especially today, he said. Volunteers are the lifeblood of this organization.

In addition to the group from Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, Rasmussen said several groups of community members came out to volunteer. Wisconsin Herd players also came out on Monday evening.

Wisconsin Herd

Wisconsin Herd

Wisconsin Herd

Wisconsin Herd

Just celebrating service and celebrating MLK Day, said Rasmussen. Just a wonderful day to have community members come to a place like the Oshkosh Area Community Pantry and give back their time.

Over at Lawrence University, officials hosted their 33rd annual Fox Cities Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at its Memorial Chapel. This is the first year theyve been able to have it as an in-person event since the pandemic began.

Green Bay Gamblers change puck drop on Saturday to make way for Packers game

Through music, fellowship, and speakers, organizers said the event aims to validate Kings dream while simultaneously celebrating his life. Another goal is to develop a community.

University officials also presented awards to community members who have embodied Kings spirit through their work.

I believe in my heart through these community events is how we extend that table how we welcome people, said Lissette Cruz-Jimenez, who is the director of Lawrences Diversity and Intercultural Center and a lead organizer of the MLK event. We are excited to be back to an in-person event for the first time since Covid.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton.
A crash involving an Amazon delivery van and pickup truck is now a homicide-by-vehicle investigation after a baby died, according to Athens-Clarke County police.

Officers responded to a crash on Thursday around 5:53 p.m. off Danielsville Road and Mission Drive.

Investigators said the Amazon delivery driver was heading southbound and turned into the path of a 1996 Ford Ranger heading northbound. The van and pickup truck collided, sending truck passenger, 41-year-old Helen Edwards, to the hospital.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Police said Edwards was pregnant and doctors had to deliver the baby at the hospital.

Edwards and her newborn were sent to the intensive care unit. Her baby died on Saturday, according to police.

TRENDING STORIES:

Channel 2s Tom Regan spoke with Edwards brother-in-law, who was driving the pickup truck and was treated for minor injuries. He told Regan that Edwards remains in the hospital.

Athens police said the case is now a homicide-by-vehicle investigation, but have not announced any charges.

Amazon shared a statement with Channel 2 Action News that said,

This is a tragic accident, and our thoughts and sympathies are with those involved. We are supporting our Delivery Service Partner and Athens-Clarke County Police Department as they investigate.

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IN OTHER NEWS
Growth and development issues in Huntersville reached a fever pitch in 2023.

A major expansion of Birkdale Village was rejected by the towns board of commissioners after staunch opposition at public meetings. An ambitious plan for a members-only beach club and surrounding residential community was withdrawn after months of tense public debate. And those matters took center stage in a town facing an election in November that guaranteed changes on the board of commissioners and in the mayors chair.

In November, former Democratic North Carolina General Assembly lawmaker Christy Clark was elected mayor over two sitting town commissioners in Dan Boone and Derek Partee. Six new commissioners were elected to the town board, defeating sitting members Rob Kidwell and Amber Kovacs, among others, while incumbent commissioners Lance Munger and Stacy Phillips opted not to run for reelection. The previous mayor, Melinda Bales, did not seek reelection and is running for state house.

ALSO READ: Monroe denies rezoning, annexation of housing development

A new crop of elected officials will confront the growing pains in a town thats seen explosive population growth over the last three decades. Major development matters loom in 2024. Clark and the new commissioners must balance continued growth with the towns struggling infrastructure. Huntersville is also a town in search of its identity.

One priority of the new administration has become clear in its early days.

Our downtown has just sort of been overlooked as time has gone on just because weve had so much growth in housing and residential communities and not so much business growth in downtown, Clark said. That is where I think we will be turning our focus.

Read more here.

VIDEO: Monroe denies rezoning, annexation of housing development








Nicola Sturgeon is set to be the star witness during three weeks of hearings - SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT/AFP PHOTO

Nicola Sturgeon will be quizzed by the Covid Inquiry on how her focus on Scottish independence affected pandemic decision-making, lawyers have suggested.

On the opening day of the inquirys Scottish phase in Edinburgh yesterday, the hearing was told that it would examine how the SNP Governments handling of the pandemic was influenced by the aim of breaking away from the UK.

Ms Sturgeon, who was first minister throughout the pandemic, is set to be the star witness during three weeks of hearings focusing on decision-making in Scotland.

In his opening statement, Jamie Dawson KC, counsel to the inquiry, said lawyers would not shy away from asking if ministers were distracted by independence.

He told the hearing: The extent to which the approach to the management of the pandemic was influenced by the Scottish governments key objective of achieving independence for Scotland is also an issue which we will seek to address in the module.

At the height of the pandemic, Unionists regularly accused Ms Sturgeon of using the crisis to attempt to drive a wedge between Scotland and the rest of the UK.

She repeatedly sought to restrict travel between Scotland and England and regularly used her near-daily televised press briefings to attack the UK Government.

Matt Hancock, then the UK Health Secretary, later claimed she would have loved to build a Trump-style wall between her fiefdom and the rest of Great Britain.

Same policies implemented, but slightly later

Ms Sturgeon also had a major row with Andy Burnham, Mayor of Manchester, after trying to ban travel between Scotland and parts of North West England.

Whilst Ms Sturgeon insisted she was taking a more cautious approach than UK ministers, critics pointed out that she often adopted the same policies on lockdown easing, but implemented them slightly later.

UK ministers have also accused her of leaking details of confidential meetings.

Mr Hancock told an earlier hearing of the inquiry that Ms Sturgeon would put some kind of spin on what was essentially substantively the same decision.

The SNP tried to use Ms Sturgeons performance during the pandemic to help it win the 2021 Holyrood election.

Ms Sturgeon later claimed the result, which saw the SNP fall one seat short of a Holyrood majority and then form a coalition with the Scottish Greens, had delivered a mandate for a second independence referendum.

Ms Sturgeon claimed in April 2021 that Scots had looked to their own leaders during the pandemic and that this had made people think about the benefit of self-government.

Continuing his statement, Mr Dawson said the inquiry would look at whether a separate approach was needed and if there was evidence unique to Scotland to justify this.

Refusal to reveal if WhatsApps were deleted

We will examine the extent to which divergence by the Scottish Government from the UK Government approach and systems was based on proper advice and a reasonable balancing of the competing considerations.

Whether there was truly separate Scottish evidence which could and should be used to justify a separate different Scottish approach, whether points of difference were substantive or merely cosmetic, whether they led to different outcomes they were to any extent motivated by factors other than the very best response to the virus for the safety of the people of Scotland.

Opposition parties have accused Humza Yousaf and his deputy, Shona Robison, of misleading parliament over WhatsApp messages requested by the inquiry.

Mr Dawson said 28,000 messages from 85 WhatsApp groups had been handed over to Baroness Hallett and her team.

Ms Sturgeon has refused to reveal if she deleted messages and although the former first minister was not mentioned by name, Mr Dawson said the messages provided related to prominent ministerial decision-makers and others in key advisory roles within the Scottish Government.

Mr Dawson also revealed that no minutes were kept of the gold command group discussing pandemic decisions which would include the then first minister and or deputy first minister, senior policy advisers and other cabinet ministers.

The hearing also heard from Claire Mitchell KC, representing Scottish Covid Bereaved Families, who criticised Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak over evidence they gave to the inquiry.

However she said the inquiry would need to examine whether Unionist politicians were right to accuse Ms Sturgeon of playing politics or if she was right to take different decisions.

Guided by desire to contain and suppress the virus

Of course it has been suggested that then first minister Nicola Sturgeon and other Scottish politicians were playing politics rather than properly engaging in the decision-making to save lives. Was this projection by the UK politicians as to their own behaviour?

Or Is there truth in this? Were cancellations of mass gatherings totemic, were decisions taken to lift lockdown at different time from England just for the sake of doing things differently or a reflection of a different stage of the progress of the virus.

Geoffrey Mitchell KC, representing the Scottish Government, said it acknowledged that certain decisions could have been taken differently.

He said cooperation with the UK Government was on the whole reasonably effective but added: Meaningful discussion with the Scottish government was sometimes absent in respect of UK Government discussions that affected Scotland.

There was no Scottish government response to the pandemic which was guided by anything other than a desire to contain and suppress the virus in order to minimise the overall harm it could do.

The inquiry continues on Wednesday.

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Nicole Kidman has confessed that she used to fib about her height to secure auditions in the early years of her career.

The 5ft 11 (1.8 metres) actor said that she used to pretend she was 5ft 10 and a half after she was told she wouldnt make it in Hollywood because she was too tall.

I was told, You wont have a career. Youre too tall, Kidman, 56, said in a recent interview on the Radio Times Podcast.

People would say, Hows the air up there? Now, I get, Youre so much taller than I thought, or men grappling with how high my heels should be, the Australian actor added. Whenever I go on the red carpet, I get sent shoes that are always so high. Im like, Do they have a kitten heel? Im going to be the tallest person  a giraffe!

She then recalled a time in her childhood when was passed up for a role in the musical Annie because she was two inches taller than the 5ft 2 inch cut-off.

Kidman said that the young girls being considered for the role werent allowed in the audition room until they were measured.

She explained that despite her height, she was given the chance to audition after pleading for the opportunity.

Brian Tee and Nicole Kidman in Expats (Courtesy of Prime Video)

I didnt get the part, the Moulin Rouge! star said. I didnt even get a call back  but at least I got to sing four lines of a chorus.

Fellow Aussie native Chris Hemsworth similarly confessed to the Radio Times in 2016 that he also used to say he was shorter than he was to land auditions.

The 6ft 3 actor revealed that the brief for the audition for Thor said: must be over 6ft 1in, which Id never seen before.

Kidman has gone on to become an incredibly successful actor, having landed her first Oscar nomination in 2002 for Moulin Rouge!, her first Oscar win in 2003 for The Hours, and earning three additional nominations since.

In 2017, she won two Emmys for her leading role on HBOs Big Little Lies.

She will next star in Amazon Prime Vidos mini-drama Expats, based on Janice YK Lees best-selling 1998 novel The Expatriates.

The first two episodes of the six-episode series are scheduled to premiere on 26 January, with new episodes released weekly.
KAMPALA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Senior officials of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) member countries on Monday started a two-day meeting here with a call that the issue of the Palestine-Israel crisis should top the agenda.

The meeting was opened by Yalchin Rafiyev, deputy minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan and head of the Azerbaijani delegation, who urged member countries to remain united amid complex global challenges.

"We continue to face challenges, we must remain united in making joint progress towards achieving a peaceful and prosperous world in a truly just and equitable world order," Rafiyev said.

Azerbaijan assumed the chairmanship of NAM in 2019 and is set to hand it over to Uganda later this week.

Jeje Odongo, Uganda's minister of Foreign Affairs, urged member countries to exercise collective responsibility in addressing emerging issues. "It is crucial for us to address existing, new and emerging issues collectively and in the interest of our membership for the good of mankind," Odongo said.

In the plenary session, Riyad Mansour, Palestine's ambassador to the UN, urged the members to address the Palestine-Israel crisis. Mansour argued that while the Movement faces several challenges, the crisis in the Middle East is the most pressing.

Mansour said there is a need for a humanitarian ceasefire. He said Palestinians are in urgent need of humanitarian aid like water, food, and fuel. "NAM forum from its inception has always supported the Palestinian people. We are confident that NAM will not leave Palestinian people outside," he said.

Delegates from Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Togo, Mauritania, and Maldives among others seconded the push to put the Israel-Palestine issue on top of the agenda.

Hamza Adan Haadoow, permanent secretary of Somalia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, told the meeting that member states must also address the undermining of Somalia's sovereignty by one of its neighbors. Adan said one of its neighbors reached a memorandum of understanding with its regional states to access the sea. "We were requesting NAM delegates to support Somalia as a nation recovering from conflict. To help us safeguard our sovereignty, unity and integrity, which are the core principles (of NAM)," he said.

Ethiopia and Somaliland, a self-declared region of Somalia, signed an agreement allowing Ethiopia access to the Red Sea in return for its recognition of Somaliland as an independent state. Somalia described this as a violation of its territorial integrity.

According to Uganda's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 93 countries out of the 120 member states of NAM are attending the meeting, which will culminate in the foreign ministers' meeting and the summit later this week.

The meeting is held under the theme titled "Deepening Cooperation For Shared Global Affluence." The summit is held every three years.

The NAM forum is guided by the Bandung Principles, which include respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations, recognition of the equality of all races and nations, large and small, and abstention from intervention or interference in the internal affairs of other countries.

Uganda says it will use the summits to promote South-South cooperation and solidarity among member states.


Nicole Kidman, pictured with husband Keith Urban, has told little lies over her height - BRENDON THORNE/GETTY IMAGES

Nicole Kidman has admitted that she lied about her height after being told she was too tall to make it in Hollywood.

The Oscar-winning actress revealed she tells people her height is 179cm (5ft 10 1/2in) when in fact she stands at 180cm (5ft 11in).

Speaking to The Radio Times Podcast, she said: I was teased and called Stalky. People would say, Hows the air up there?

The 56-year-old, who is the star of films including Moulin Rouge, Cold Mountain and Australia, revealed that her height sometimes bothers her when acting and that she has issues with her knees because of it.

However, the Australian actress also said there were times she could use it to her advantage in work and that she is simply grateful to be healthy and walking around.

Nicole Kidman and her then husband Tom Cruise at the 72nd Annual Academy Awards in March 2000 - MICHAEL CRABTREE/PA

Now I get, Youre so much taller than I thought, she said, adding: Or men grappling with how high my heels should be.

Whenever I go on the red carpet, I get sent shoes that are always so high. Im like, Do they have a kitten heel? Im going to be the tallest person - a giraffe!

Despite being taller than most Hollywood actresses, Kidman has achieved an array of accolades for her decades of work in the industry, including an Oscar, a Bafta and six Golden Globes.

What matters is how you allow other people to either say yes or no to you, and whether you accept that, she reflected, saying that she teaches her daughters the superpower of inner resilience.

Big Little Lies first series cast members, Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley - HBO/TELEVISION STILLS

The mother of four shares two adopted children, Isaella and Connor, with her ex-husband Tom Cruise and has two teenage daughters, Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret, with country musician Keith Urban, to whom she has been married for nearly two decades.

Kidman also works by example to increase female-led roles in the film and TV industry and in 2010 started her own production company, Blossom Films, to use her platform to champion women.

She told Radio Times: There was a time when [roles for women] were lacking and hopefully thats being redirected now.

Its partly because were all saying, Come on, lets put women behind the lens, lets give them their voices in writing. We need our allies, not just in terms of directors, but financially and in the press  we need influence and support so that we can move forward.

Discussing filming sex scenes for television in the wake of the Me Too movement, the Big Little Lies actress said that intimacy coordinators on-set can help.

Nicole Kidman is seen on Jan 9 2024 in New York - JOSE PEREZ/BAUER-GRIFFIN/GC IMAGES

Kidman said: Its still not infallible, but at the same time, when you have intimacy coordinators, its very helpful for directors, actors and crew.

She discussed being raised by a feminist mother and said she pulls from her decades of work in the field of violence against women for the UN to advocate for protective laws.

Kidman also insisted that intimate scenes can continue to be filmed with respect and structure while remembering the human being at the centre of it.

It comes after Normal People actor Paul Mescal said that putting sex on television was massively important, and warned that removing it to placate Gen Z is doing everybody a disservice.

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The News

Nigerian fintech executives are braced for a regulatory overhaul by the central bank which will push for tighter controls to battle a persistent fraud problem.

Yemi Cardoso, Nigerias central bank governor, announced plans last November to comprehensively review licenses granted to financial institutions, particularly those in the technology-driven payment services sector. Cardoso, who became Nigerias central bank governor last September, said operators under the banks purview have the duty to ensure they are licensed for services they offer, effectively ending startups previous free rein to float products before regulators caught up.

Details of the new requirements remain under wraps. We are yet to be notified of any regulations, Babatunde Obrimah, chief operating officer of the Fintech Association of Nigeria, told Semafor Africa on Tuesday. The bank would typically share its proposal with the group for input before a final draft is produced, Obrimah said, hoping the new management will still accord us this privilege.

As they await the banks guidance, fintech operators say they are exploring options to address a fraud problem that increased 277% within the first half of 2023, costing deposit-taking institutions 9.7 billion naira. The fintech group  whose members include over three dozen commercial banks, startups, and advisory firms  plans to announce its progress on developing a decentralized fraud-prevention platform before the end of March, Obrimah said.

Uzoma Dozie, chief executive of digital bank Sparkle and chair of the groups committee of CEOs, told Semafor Africa the platforms key feature is information sharing on suspected and suspicious customers, without infringing on data privacy rights.

Alexanders view

Nigerias central bank leadership appears to believe that financial technology, after years of largely being left to grow on its own, now has to be matched for stride and, in some cases, led by regulators.

Cardosos promise to sanction companies breaching the boundaries set for them has set the tone for other money regulators. For example, NIBSS, which coordinates Nigerias decade-old instant payments system, warned operators in December  barely weeks after Cardosos speech  against allowing electronic transfers to companies not permitted to hold customer deposits.

It portends a landscape with more stringently enforced standards, Dozie said. While that could lead to a higher bar for approving fintechs, primary emphasis on compliance is a good thing as it will help to ramp up the publics confidence in the sector, said Tosin Eniolorunda, chief executive of Moniepoint. The startup is a major player in Nigerias agency banking sector where point-of-sale devices are becoming the equivalent of physical bank branches and ATMs for cash-related transactions.

An aspect of the central banks licensing regime for fintechs to watch will be fintech startups partnerships with banks. At present, most digital upstarts enter relationships with the traditional banks that see the former rely on the latters licenses, in order to access facilities like the NIBSS instant payments system. Industry operators expect this kind of collaborative relationship to be preserved.

But whatever the banks priorities, the fintech ecosystem needs a streamlined licensing procedure akin to a one-stop shop that makes it easy for companies to get approvals for new products, Obrimah said. However, that would require Nigerias discrete money regulators  mainly the central bank, securities and exchange commission, and insurance regulator  to be interoperable, he said.

Room for Disagreement

Mobolaji Adeoye, managing partner at Consonance, a Lagos-based venture investment firm, does not expect the central banks regulations to clamp down on fintechs because we are in dire need of innovation, value-creating productivity, and growth.

A logical path for the central bank, he says, will be to adopt a policy approach that is flexible enough to accommodate evolving business models and technologies.

The View From Nairobi

Kenyas central bank has taken an aggressive approach in drawing the line on fintech operations in the country. In a notice last November, the bank warned customers that companies engaged in money transfer services without its license were committing criminal offenses. The bank asked the public to report such companies for prosecution in court.

Notable

Nigerian banks received new guidelines in December from the central bank for operating accounts for companies that enable transactions in virtual assets, notably cryptocurrency trading platforms. Crypto enthusiasts welcomed it as a reversal of a 2021 ban that prevented banks from facilitating crypto transactions, but the guidelines contain some restrictions.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called on Iowa caucusgoers to reconsider supporting former President Donald Trump in the 2024 race for the White House, after the Associated Press and other outlets called the Iowa Caucuses in favor of the former president.

Haley, who has trailed Trump in recent state and national polls, gave a speech at a Des Moines caucus site Monday night. The former United National ambassador said it's time for the GOP to choose a "new generational leader," appearing to reference the former president, adding "you dont defeat Democrat chaos with Republican chaos."

"I trust all of you. Iowans do their homework. They know their issues," Haley said. "But more than that, youre patriotic, God-fearing, hardworking Americans and this is your chance to show the power of your voice. And this is your chance to lead the way to get our country back on track."

Later in night, Haley failed to clinch second place in the Hawkeye State. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis secured the second place prize over Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who announced plans to suspend his campaign.

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley addresses a crowd of caucus-goers Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, at The Bread Board in Pella, IA.

Iowa Caucus live updates: Donald Trump, Nikki Haley and other Republican hopefuls make their final push

Donald Trump is 'honored' by early call

Trump said he was honored by the early call, which came less than an hour after Iowans began caucusing.

"I am greatly honored by such an early call," Trump told Fox News. "It really is an honor that, minutes after, theyve announced Ive won  against very credible competition  great competition, actually."

Donald Trump Jr. spoke after Haley at the same Des Moines caucus site, where he said that the country will be in better shape if his father is reelected. Trump Jr. also accused Haley of wanting to involve the U.S. military in conflicts around the world.

"If they want to be in every war in the history of the world, they should vote for Nikki Haley," he said. "If they want to get back to peace and prosperity the choice is clear that its Trump."

DeSantis spokesperson alleges early calls are 'election interference'

A spokesperson for DeSantis' campaign ridiculed the early calls for Trump's win made by outlets such as the AP, CNN and NBC News.

"It is absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote. The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet," spokesperson Andrew Romeo said in a statement.

Other Republicans echoed similar sentiments, including former Trump White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer who on X, formerly Twitter, wrote "the media calling the caucuses 30 minutes after they start is highly irresponsible."

Contributing: Kim Norvell and David Jackson

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nikki Haley calls for new generation of leaders after Donald Trump win
The former governor of South Carolina charged into Iowa as 2024 kicked off with the hopes of knocking off Ron DeSantis and snatching a second-place finish, buoyed by a late-game polling surge.

Instead, she ended the night in a close third  all the while declaring that, despite Mr DeSantis pulling off his own sort-of victory, that it was now a two-person race.

She now heads to New Hampshire, boosted by her rising poll numbers but with her momentum blunted, at least to some degree, by the lack of a result here tonight.

Ms Haley concluded her battle for the state with remarks at a Marriott in Des Moines that doubled as two caucus precincts; she lost both of them, with Ron DeSantis pulling off a near-upset of his own in one. But in her remarks closing down her campaigns caucus-night watch party, the former ambassador and governor projected the image of a candidate on the upswing, headed to friendly territory with the wind at her back.

It remains wholly unclear if any of that is true. Donald Trump remains ahead in all available polling of both New Hampshire and South Carolina, two of the upcoming states most favourable to the Haley campaigns target demographics.

Her unassuming finish in Iowa came despite a usual dose of Iowa shenanigans. This year, turnout was heavily blunted by brutal winter weather and snowy conditions on roads across the state. Ms Haley, unlike any of her opponents, saw her support boosted in multiple precincts by Democratic Iowans who, thanks to state laws, were allowed to switch their party registration on caucus day and vote strategically in the GOP primary; a desperate bid to break the Trump fever gripping the Republican Party.

One of those Democrats was Alan Koslow of Des Moines, who spoke to The Independent after casting his caucus vote for Ms Haley on Monday.

"I see her as a traditional Ronald Reagan Republican... I agree with her almost 100 per cent on her international and national security agenda. I disagree with her, about, probably 92 per cent on her national agenda."

His reason for backing a Trump alternative in the GOP primary was clear: the former president, he says, represents an existential threat to the rule of law.

"Hes an autocrat. I think hes showing signs of destroying the fabric of American democracy."

Mr Trump was the clear winner of the night, both numerically and in the minds of Beltway pundits. With many questioning whether he would pull off a steep margin of victory, the former president blasted historical precedent aside and tore away more than half of all GOP voters in the state for himself  at press time, he was sitting at 51 per cent in Iowa.

It was a stunning victory  or it would have been for anyone besides Donald Trump. The only thing surprising about the former presidents win was how many pundits, analysts, and even Republicans doubted that his success would be as pronounced as it was. He remains the clear favourite to win the GOP nomination, and his Iowa victory in particular has now set the record for the largest blowout in Iowa caucus history.

Now, in Ms Haleys words, on to New Hampshire. Will the Granite State be the place where Nikki Haley shocks the nation? Or is this just the beginning of the end?
GOP presidential hopeful Nikki Haley tried to claim that racism is no longer an issue on Tuesday, arguing that the United States isnt a racist country and never has been.



Were not a racist country, Brian, Haley told Fox Newss Brian Kilmeade. We never have been.

I know, I faced racism when I was growing up. But I can tell you, today is a lot better than it was then, the former South Carolina governor added. I dont want my kids growing up where theyre sitting there thinking that theyre disadvantaged because of a color or a gender. I want them to know that if they work hard, they can do and be anything they want to be in America.

Nikki Haley: "We've never been a racist country" pic.twitter.com/qcB0wTjvJS  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 16, 2024

Viewers were quick to dredge up recollections from Haleys own 2012 autobiography, Cant Is Not an Option, as evidence that the daughter of Sikh Indian immigrants did experience discrimination on the basis of her race.

In one section of the book, Haley recounts how as a kindergartner she was cast as Pocahontas during a Thanksgiving play, despite the fact that she wasnt that kind of Indian.

It was annoying. I remember thinking to myself, Why cant I be the pilgrim? Haley wrote.

In another section, Haley recollects how her father was profiled by law enforcement due to his turban, how her brother begged to break with Sikh tradition and have his hair cut due to relentless bullying, and how, at the age of 8, she was disqualified from a local beauty pageant due to the color of her skin.

But despite Haleys insistence that Americaand her hometown of Bamberg, South Carolinahave changed, compatriots and local residents feel otherwise.

I think all of us know what this country was built on. And [racism] still exists, Tony Duncan, a Black business owner in Bamberg who went to school with Haleys older siblings, told NPR last year. It exists. As people here in America, we have to deal with these things.

A 2023 Washington Post poll found that 51 percent of Black Americans felt racism would get worse over the rest of their lifetimes, with nearly 70 percent of respondents saying that now is a more dangerous time to be a Black teenager than when they were teenagers. That statistic includes nearly 80 percent of Black Americans who were aged 50 or above.

At the end of the day, the recent gaffe is just another sign that Haley has not yet figured out how to square the issue of race in her campaign. In December, Haley spurred controversy when she stumbled and fumbled her way through answering a point-blank question about the cause of the U.S. Civil War during a New Hampshire town hall, completely avoiding the topic of slavery.

Weeks later, the politico attempted to swat away comments about her perceived ignorance by claiming that she had Black friends.

I knew half of South Carolinians saw the Confederate flag as heritage and tradition. The other half of South Carolinians saw it as slavery and hate. My job wasnt to judge either side, Haley said at the time, noting that a leader doesnt decide whos right.
Ron DeSantis did what he was supposed to do in Iowa. The countrys first Republican nomination contest was a battle for second place with Nikki Haley, with results  a narrow win  that may buy the Florida governor enough viability to get to the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 23 but, in the end, its probably just delaying the inevitable: a return to Florida for three (long) years.

His communications director, Andrew Romeo, insisted before the Iowa vote that DeSantis would push forward with a long, scrappy campaign. As the caucuses proceeded Monday night and Donald Trump was declared the early winner  the Associated Press called the first-in-the-nation nominating contest for Trump about a half hour after Iowans showed up to precincts  the Florida governors campaign staff howled in outrage and labeled it election interference.

In the end, the results were no surprise. Polls rightly predicted Trumps record breaking double-digit lead over his opponents on Monday.

Trump spoke before the count was complete, declaring victory and saying that DeSantis and Haley did very well. It was a speech that sounded, as he no doubt meant it to, like he was already the inevitable nominee. Never-Trumpers hope his legal troubles will eventually catch up with him, but enough Republican voters have made it clear they dont care how many times hes indicted. They are unlikely to change their mind when Trump goes to trial, potentially in the spring. He might have the nomination locked down by then anyway.

If DeSantis returns to Florida, as seems increasingly likely, its unclear how much power he will still hold in the Legislature and state politics. DeSantis dictated the legislative process in the past two years, getting almost everything he wanted into law and, in the meantime, pitting teachers and parents against each, grown-ups against LGBTQ children and the parental rights movement against Black history. With his extreme politics enshrined into statute, Floridians might wonder one day whether a governors presidential aspiration, and the agenda that came with it, paid off for his home state.

By coming in second, DeSantis has a good chance to convince donors to continue to invest in his campaign. But, as the Washington Post reported, there was frustration in his camp that he couldnt keep Trump below 50%. With 94% of votes counted late Monday, Trump led with 51% followed by DeSantis with 21.2% and Haley at 19.1%.

If he can outlast Haley, DeSantis can finally get the two-man race he predicted when he launched his bid, though thats not likely to happen soon given that polls show Haley has a strong chance to come second in New Hampshire and South Carolina. With DeSantis and Haley splitting the Trump alternative ticket, Trump benefits the most as he continues to rein supreme over the GOP.

DeSantis might never make it past being Trumps runner-up but, at this point, thats probably the best he can hope for. Despite all the media buzz surrounding DeSantis lack of charisma and his campaigns strategic missteps, there is a legitimate question on whether he could do anything different to move the needle in his favor.

Monday may have breathed some oxygen into the campaign of Floridas governor, but Iowa proves that the Republican Party is still Trumps party, and not DeSantis.
A helicopter monitors the evolution of the volcanic lava from above. Since the volcanic eruption began on 14 January, the eruption's intensity has been decreasing, although some houses were hit by lava. Raul Moreno/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Experts in Iceland have detected no new lava flows following the recent volcanic eruption in the country.

Quoting Elisabet Palmadottir, an expert on natural disasters at the Icelandic Meteorological Institute, the radio station RUV reported on Tuesday that lava had last been seen coming out of a fissure on the north side of the volcano at around 1 am (0100 GMT).

No lava had flowed from a fissure further south, near the town of Grindavik, since Monday morning, Palmadottir said. However, she emphasized that she was not yet able to say that the eruption was over, and warned that new fissures could open up suddenly in the area.

The volcano near Grindavik began erupting for the second time in just four weeks on Sunday morning. The scorching hot lava hit and destroyed houses, the first time that has happened in Iceland in half a century. The approximately 4,000 inhabitants of the coastal town were evacuated in the early hours of Sunday.

Grindavik is located on the Reykjanes Peninsula in the south-west of the country, where volcanic eruptions have occurred repeatedly in recent years.
An Indonesian civil group on Monday held a demonstration in front of the Japanese embassy in Indonesia to protest against Japan's discharge of nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear incident.
There is no need for journalists to be physically present in the Verkhovna Rada, said Oleksandr Martinenko, the Director of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, in an interview with Radio NV.

Responding to the results of a survey revealing that some 65% of Ukrainians believe that journalists should be present in the Verkhovna Rada during a state of war, Martinenko said that understanding the viewpoints of parliamentarians on various issues can be achieved through social media, and there is no mandate for the press to be present in the session hall and corridors.

Read also: Rada passes bill on selection of Constitutional Court judges

"A transparent Verkhovna Rada with journalists, live broadcasts, and everything else symbolizes peacetime, said Martinenko.

Read also: Verkhovna Rada set to review in the first reading an extensive mobilization bill on Jan. 11

He pointed out that MPs Oleksiy Honcharuk (European Solidarity) and Yaroslav Zhelezniak (Holos) essentially serve as "translators" of events in the Rada through their live coverage. Other MPs also share their views on social media.

"Those who want to, can perfectly see the opinions of the members of the parliament and what they say, Martinenko asserted.

I have plenty of that in my feed. So, honestly, I'm not sure that allowing journalists into the Rada is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed today.

The prohibition on the presence of the press in parliament and live broadcasts of sessions has been in effect since the beginning of the Russian full-scale 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
Semafor Signals

Insights from 38 North, The Hankyoreh, and the Council on Foreign Relations

The News

All eyes are on the Korean peninsula as tensions flare to new heights between the North and South.

Pyongyang this week tested its first solid-fuel hypersonic missile, designed to travel five times the speed of sound and evade missile defense systems, after months of launching new technology including a spy satellite. On Tuesday, the country shut down its reunification agencies, a sign that leader Kim Jong Un is no longer interested in pursuing peaceful dialogue with Seoul.

Conflict between the North and South may prove to be a key security issue in 2024, with elections taking place in both South Korea and the United States.

SIGNALS

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

Kim Jong Un may be preparing for war, some analysts believe

Source: 38 North

The tense situation in the Korean peninsula is more dangerous than it has been since the 1950s, according to two 38 North analysts, who warned that Kim has made a strategic decision to go to war. It remains unclear when Kim plans to pull the trigger, but developments in the North go far beyond the routine warnings in Washington, the authors opined. Contrary to what many U.S. foreign policy hawks believe, the Kim regime has spent decades trying to normalize relations with Washington as a buffer against Russia and China. Kim Jong Un aimed to achieve this at the 2018 Hanoi summit with former President Donald Trump, but its failure was a traumatic loss for Kim. Given Kims possible conviction that after decades of futile attempts, there is no way to engage the U.S., he could be planning to move in a surprise attack, the experts argued. Clinging to the belief that Kim could be deterred by the threat of Washington and Seouls counterattack may be fatal.

South Korean leaders aggressive rhetoric starts a new Cold War

Sources: KTN, The Hankyoreh

In his New Years address, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said he hopes to build peace through strength on the peninsula, doubling down on a commitment to increase military deterrence against the North. But Yoons critics argue that his aggressive rhetoric has only fueled tensions to dangerous new levels. A spokesperson for the opposition Democratic Party told KTN that by boasting about Seouls military capabilities while refusing to hold meetings with North Korean officials, Yoon has started a new Cold War on the peninsula. Experts agree that Yoons hawkish position on the North is because of his overconfidence in protection from the U.S., according to South Koreas The Hankyoreh newspaper, but it is reckless to be 100% confident that the U.S. government will open a nuclear umbrella for South Korea at the expense of American lives, one analyst said.

Unpredictable Trump presidency unlikely to quell North-South tensions

Sources: Council on Foreign Relations, Politico, NBC News

Former President Donald Trump values political flexibility and immediate tactical political advantages, but these characteristics  coupled with an entirely new geopolitical situation  means he is unlikely to mitigate a Korean crisis if elected this year, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. North Korea is now much more closely aligned with Russia as it supports its war in Ukraine, and Yoon is unlikely to cheer on any U.S. efforts to improve relations with Pyongyang. Korean strategists are also worried about Trumps unpredictable decision-making strategies. While Trump has now proposed allowing North Korea to keep some of its nuclear weapons in exchange for economic remedies, a new book claims that Trump apparently proposed nuking North Korea in the wake of the Hanoi summit. Trumps unpredictable leadership would dramatically transform the inter-Korean security dynamic, the Council argued, with major global security implications.
ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Houthi group confirmed Tuesday that its naval forces struck freighter ZOGRAFIA in the Red Sea, claiming that the vessel insisted on heading for Israeli ports despite the group's warning.

In a televised statement, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group's naval forces fired several missiles at the Greek-owned, Malta-flagged ship after its crew ignored warnings and continued sailing toward Israel. The spokesman claimed that the missiles directly hit the ship, with the resulting damage or casualties still unclear.

The attack was carried out in protest against Israel's ongoing blockade and hostilities against the Gaza Strip, said the statement, adding that such attacks would continue until the Israeli blockade and aggression end.

The vessel ZOGRAFIA was hit while sailing northbound in the Red Sea, 76 nautical miles (141 km) northwest of the Yemeni port of Saleef, Greek national news agency AMNA has reported, citing Greek shipping ministry sources.

According to early information, the freighter, with 24 crew members on board, has sustained serious damage, which has not impaired its seaworthiness for the time being.

The attack came less than a day after Houthis claimed responsibility for firing a missile at Gibraltar Eagle, a U.S.-owned oil tanker sailing in the Gulf of Aden.

Tensions have escalated in the Red Sea following U.S.-led airstrikes on Houthi military targets after repeated Houthi attacks on commercial ships.

The Red Sea tensions have raised concerns about maritime security in the strategic waters. Maritime authorities are urging all ships transiting the Red Sea to exercise extreme caution and maintain vigilance against potential attacks by the Houthi group.

The Houthis have controlled much of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa and the strategic Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, since ousting the internationally recognized government in 2014. 
By Victoria Waldersee

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) -A number of European states, "concerned" Arab countries and the United States are working on a concept for a unified Palestinian government that could attract reconstruction funds, Norway's foreign minister said in an interview in Davos.

"A number of countries are working with us... trying to build a broad unity government," Espen Barth Eide said, without naming the specific countries.

Norway was of the view that a unified Palestinian territory should be run by the Palestinian Authority, but "prefacing everything, it has to be what the Palestinians want", he added.

Norway served as a facilitator in the 1992-1993 talks between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) that led to the Oslo Accords in 1993.

The Palestinian Authority, set up under that agreement, exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank and held talks with Israel on a Palestinian state before they collapsed in 2014. Islamist Hamas has ruled in Gaza since 2007 and is sworn to Israel's destruction.

Since the Oslo talks, Norway has chaired a donor group coordinating international assistance to the Palestinian territories, the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), and worked with others to try to revive a diplomatic channel between Israel and the Palestinians.

Barth Eide said work on a two-state solution was becoming urgent as the conflict was spreading in the region, but that only the United States and the Israeli people could influence Israel's position.

"What we can do is work on Palestinian unity, and think about models with interested countries," he said.

Calls for a two-state solution have grown in the wake of attacks on Israel on Oct. 7 in which Hamas gunmen killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages, prompting an Israeli bombardment and ground offensive against Hamas-ruled Gaza in which health authorities in the territory say more than 24,000 people have been killed.

"The long term stability of Israel and peace and prosperity for Palestinians does require a two state solution," Barth Eide said.

A two-state agreement would create a state for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip alongside Israel. Israel has said a Palestinian state must be demilitarized so as not to threaten its security.

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee in Davos, Gwladys Fouche in Oslo; Editing by Alex Richardson and Alexander Smith)
When buying a home you often have to join a homeowners association and deal with the subsequent fees, rules  and drama  that comes with it.

Typically HOAs require property owners to pay fees to maintain the neighborhood and its amenities, such as parks and swimming pools. This could be a quarterly or annual payment with additional fees added on for problems that arise, such as storm damage.

Read up on your neighborhoods HOA laws to make sure the board, and yourself, are following the rules.

You have to pay your HOA fees  or you could face foreclosure

If a resident cannot or refuses to pay HOA fees, the HOA has the power to foreclose upon a home. This is a last resort measure. Before foreclosing upon a home, an HOA may take away privileges for neighborhood amenities, add a late fee or file a lawsuit or lien on the property.

A lien means an individual cannot transfer the property to someone else until they pay off a debt, according to The South Carolina Department of Revenue. By securing a lien, the HOA could foreclose on the house if the homeowner continue to not pay dues.

HOAs are able to require payments by including a covenant on properties. When a person buys a house with an HOA covenant, they are legally required to pay HOA fees, Make sure you can afford HOA fees before purchasing a house.

HOAs have to provide transparency

The South Carolina Homeowners Association Act requires HOAs to register their governing documents with the local government. This means recording this documents with the clerk of courts or the county register of deeds office.

If rules change, the HOA must update these documents by Jan. 10 of the following year. If HOA board members do not document new bylaws with the local government, they may not be enforceable.

Also, HOA rules must be easily accessible to residents. HOAs must put the rules in an easy-to-find commonplace, on its website or send a copy of the rules when a homeowner requests it.

Many HOAs are nonprofits, but if an HOA is not incorporated under the South Carolina Nonprofit Corporation Act, it has to follow the Homeowners Association Act when increasing the budget.

HOA leaders must give notice about a budget increase meeting at least 48 hours ahead of time. This can include putting up signs, sending out an email or posting on the website about the meeting.

What to do if you have problems with your HOA

First, understand that an HOA is a legal entity and must be in compliance with local, state and federal laws.

If you have a dispute with your HOA, start a conversation with its board members. This is the easiest solution and can prevent you from having to hire a lawyer or involve government agencies. You can also check documents to see if your HOA has a way to formally file a complaint.

You can also get involved in the HOA board voting. You can either vote for the people who best support your interests or you can run for the board. Before running, make sure you meet the qualifications for HOA board, such as being apart of the association and having paid your dues.

Lastly, you can turn to the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs or the magistrates court. The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs offers mediation for homeowners and HOAs to resolve issues.

If theres a monetary dispute, the homeowner must go through magistrate court. In order for the court to take it on, the dispute must involve less than $7,500, according to the law.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) has raised more than $650,000 for his legal defense fund amid a corruption investigation into his campaign, the funds attorney confirmed Monday.

The Eric Adams Legal Defense Trust was launched by Adams in November in response to a federal probe looking into whether the mayors campaign conspired with the Turkish government for foreign donations.

Vito Pitta, an attorney for the fund, confirmed to The Hill that the fund raised more than $650,000 as of Dec. 31.

The fund allows Adams to raise money for legal fees without violating city laws on politicians receiving gifts. Adams can take donations of up to $5,000 for legal fees with the requirement that donors be disclosed to prevent future conflicts of interest. Subordinates are also prohibited from donating to the fund under certain regulations.

Pitta told The Hill the Defense Trust continued to raise money this month, bringing the total to an estimated $725,000 as of Monday. The fund is required to file a disclosure report of its first round of donations to New York Citys Conflict of Interest Board by Tuesday, though the additional funds raised this month will be included in the funds second quarterly filing due on April 15.

Adamss mayoral campaign is accused of facilitating illegal donations from interests in Turkey and colluding with the Turkish government. The accusations were brought to the forefront in early November after federal agents raided the Brooklyn home of Brianna Suggs, a top fundraiser and friend of Adams.

Suggs served as the fundraiser for Adamss 2021 mayoral campaign and was appointed to head fundraising efforts for the city mayor. During the November raid of her home, FBI agents searched for financial records of Suggs and any entity controlled or associated with her, documents related to the mayors 2021 campaign, records of travel to Turkey by any employee to Turkey and documents connected to the interactions between the campaign and the Middle Eastern country.

The FBI also seized the mayors electronic devices, including at least two cellphones and an iPad, as part of the investigation.

Adams has denied responsibility or knowledge of the alleged Turkish donations and has repeatedly noted he has not been directly accused of wrongdoing. At the time the allegations surfaced last fall, Adams said he would be angry if anyone attempted to use the campaign to manipulate our democracy and defraud our campaign.

I want to be clear, I have no knowledge, direct or otherwise, of any improper fundraising activity  and certainly not of any foreign money, the mayor said last November. We will of course work with officials to respond to inquiries, as appropriateas we always have.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
MARION, IOWA - JANUARY 11: Former HUD Secretary Ben Carson campaigns for Republican presidential candidate former U.S. President Donald Trump at the Grace Baptist Church on January 11, 2024 in Marion, Iowa. Trumps campaign team is hosting several events throughout Iowa, with surrogates speaking in his place as the former President attends the closing arguments in the Trump Organization civil fraud trial in New York.



MARION, IOWA - JANUARY 11: Former HUD Secretary Ben Carson campaigns for Republican presidential candidate former U.S. President Donald Trump at the Grace Baptist Church on January 11, 2024 in Marion, Iowa. Trumps campaign team is hosting several events throughout Iowa, with surrogates speaking in his place as the former President attends the closing arguments in the Trump Organization civil fraud trial in New York.

After years of relative silence, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson is proving hes still as out of pocket as ever.

On Fox News Monday night, Carson compared former President Donald Trump to the biblical King of Israel, King David. Obviously, the anchors of Fox News are used to hearing some...controversial opinions. But this hot take seemed to catch anchor Neil Cavuto off-guard.

Read more

Cavuto pressed him about the King comparison, to which Carson said, I dont know about king, but certainly he has some policies that are very worthwhile.

For anyone following Carsons presidential run and his subsequent appointment to Trumps cabinet, none of this is particularly new: He has a knack for spontaneously busting into the most incomprehensible game of Mad Libs at any second.

The famed neurosurgeon once compared believing in the separation of church and state to schizophrenia, so bringing the Bible into politics is not the craziest thing hes ever done.

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Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy (right) appears beside former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley at a Republican presidential debate on Nov. 8, 2023.

Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy (right) appears beside former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley at a Republican presidential debate on Nov. 8, 2023.

Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who poured millions of dollars of his own money into his presidential campaign but barely broke single digits in polling, has dropped out of the 2024 race for the Republican nomination.

In the Iowa caucuses, the first contest in the GOP primary race, Ramaswamy pulled in less than 8% of the vote, coming in fourth behind former President Donald Trump, the winner, as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley fought it out for second place.

Ramaswamy endorsed Trump in the race, saying he will do everything I can to make sure Trump is president.

Ramaswamy has never held elected office but nevertheless announced a bid for the presidency in February. He has been campaigning aggressively ever since, much of the time in a tour bus wrapped with a giant image of himself.

Although he appealed to some voters who liked his brash style and judgmental tone, he quickly earned a reputation as the most annoying candidate in the race after the partys debates began in August.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie mocked him as a ChatGPT candidate at that event. During the second debate, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley eviscerated his positions on the Russia-Ukraine war, with Ramaswamy proposing to cut U.S. support to Kyiv and give Russian leader Vladimir Putin territory that he launched an invasion to seize.

Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber, Haley told him during a heated exchange over TikTok.

At the third debate, Ramaswamy invited Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel to join the stage and resign because of the partys poor showing in the off-year elections  which Ramaswamy attributed to her rather than to the partys de facto leader, coup-attempting former President Donald Trump.

Indeed, of all the candidates running, Ramaswamy was consistently the most deferential to Trump  even though Trump, who faces various criminal charges, never bothered to show up for any of the debates. He called Trump the best president of the 21st century and not only promised to pardon Trump if elected, but demanded that the others running make the same pledge.

Ramaswamy is a near-billionaire from investments and almost certainly could have funded his campaign until the end of primaries. However, his polling peaked in the late summer and early autumn, when it began trending downward.

This story has been updated with Ramaswamys Trump endorsement.
Ex-Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairman Sam Randazzo's assets will once again be frozen, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision Tuesday.

Randazzo is accused of receiving a $4.3 million bribe from Akron-based FirstEnergy to help the company in his role as PUCO chairman. Randazzo, who was recently indicted, has said he did nothing wrong.

Long before his criminal charges, Randazzo was mentioned as part of a larger scandal involving Akron-based FirstEnergy and Ohio politicos. Five men, including former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, were arrested in July 2020.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost sued Randazzo in September 2020. FBI searched Randazzo's German Village home in November 2020, and he resigned from the PUCO shortly after. In July 2021, FirstEnergy admitted it bribed Randazzo and Householder, who was later convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

In the civil case, Yost asked a Franklin County judge to block Randazzo from selling off property or other assets. At the time, Randazzo faced no criminal charges but had transferred a $400,000 property to his son, sold two Florida properties worth about $4 million and sold an Ohio property for $800,000.

A Franklin County judge granted Yost's request and froze Randazzo's assets. Randazzo's attorney later disputed that decision, saying he didn't have an opportunity to argue his side of the case. The Tenth District Court of Appeals agreed.

On Tuesday, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that Randazzo's assets could be frozen. Randazzo had received a full hearing with both parties present to make his case, and the appeals court should not have reversed the initial judge's decision, Justice Pat DeWine wrote for the court.

We are pleased that the court recognized that Mr. Randazzo cannot spend down his bribe proceeds and render himself judgment-proof," Yost said in a statement.

Justice Pat Fischer expressed some concern that the state didn't follow the proper protocol for notifying banks and brokerage accounts of the judge's order. Justice Joe Deters had recused himself from the case.

The criminal prosecution of Randazzo is in its early stages as prosecutors produce "voluminous" batches of records for defense attorneys to review. In a Tuesday pretrial conference, Randazzo's attorneys said they would attempt to move the case to Columbus rather than Cincinnati where U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Black is currently presiding.

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Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FirstEnergy scandal: Ohio can freeze ex-PUCO leader Randazzo's assets
LUANDA, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Angolan President Joao Lourenco inaugurated Tuesday the National Maritime Coordination and Surveillance Center in Luanda, the country's capital.

The president emphasized the center's strategic importance, as it will continuously monitor all activities within Angolan territorial waters.

This center, built at a cost of approximately 70 million U.S. dollars, will equip the Angolan Navy with modern tools to enhance their ability to safeguard the country's maritime Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), spanning 200 nautical miles.

This center will also collaborate with other centers along the Angolan coast in Soyo, Lobito, and Namibe.

He highlighted that these surveillance centers will serve as the "eyes" of the Angolan Navy, providing crucial information on various vessels, including fishing vessels, incidents of illegal fishing, merchant navy ships, and others navigating national waters.

Angola has a maritime coastline stretching 1,650 kilometers from north to south along the Atlantic Ocean.

Meanwhile, Lourenco emphasized on Tuesday the ongoing modernization of the Armed Forces in Angola, with a particular focus on advancements within the Navy..

He said that following the opening of the Soyo base in the northern province of Zaire, the completion of the Lobito and Namibe bases in the country's central and southern regions is expected this year.

Additionally, he disclosed plans for constructing the country's largest central naval base while mentioning the ongoing renovation of the existing base and the forthcoming acquisition of three maritime reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft. 
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  The Oklahoma City Police Department is looking for more information regarding a fatal shooting from Saturday.

According to police, officers responded to a business near SW 29th St. and Youngs Ave. around 4:15 a.m. on January 13 after a reported shooting.

LOCAL NEWS: Oklahoma City Police investigating stolen ATM

Upon arrival, authorities learned that the 22-year-old victim, identified as Jacqueline Garcia, was hit by gunfire while sitting in a car in the businesss parking lot. She then drove herself to a local hospital where she later died.

Officials say the investigation is still in the early stages as no arrests have been made and police have yet to identify a suspect.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Homicide Tip Line at 405-297-1200.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
For the second time since last September, Gov. Kevin Stitt has called the Oklahoma Legislature into a special session to talk about taxes. Stitt is seeking a .25% reduction in the personal income tax.

From day one, Ive called on the Legislature to give Oklahomans a much deserved tax cut," the governor said in a media statement about the call on Tuesday. "With record-breaking savings and a strong economic outlook, there's [no] time like the present to deliver a pay raise to all Oklahomans. Lets get this across the finish line before we head into regular session."

While the governor has continued to advocate for tax cuts, the Republican-controlled state Senate said last fall that big cuts like those proposed by the governor could cause future problems. Tuesday, Senate Pro Tempore Greg Treat said calling the Legislature into a special session the week before the regular session begins Feb. 5 was a needless waste of taxpayer money.

It is disappointing the governor would call another special session, Treat, R-Oklahoma City, said in a statement to The Oklahoman. I met with the governor and Speaker [Charles] McCall Thursday. The governor laid out his intentions for a special session regarding tax cuts. I outlined to the governor, we will not know how much money the state will have to spend on a tax cut until the Board of Equalization meets to certify budget numbers in mid-February."

Treat said it was unfortunate the governor has chosen the special session route. "The Senate will adhere to the call of the special session, as we have always done to respect and uphold our constitutional duty," Treat said. "However, I do not know what will be different between the last week in January and the last time he pulled this stunt in October.

House Speaker Charles McCall, however, said the House was ready for the special session. We will be ready to pass meaningful tax relief legislation for the hardworking people of Oklahoma as we previously have in multiple special and regular sessions, McCall said in a media statement.

Echoing Treat, House Democratic Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, said the governor's move was a political stunt and another wasteful special session. "The governors call for a special session to cut income taxes is just his latest political stunt, and it is not a genuine attempt to lower costs for Oklahoma families," Munson said. "We have not even completed our agency budget hearings to gain a comprehensive understanding of our state's fiscal picture, including the potential loss of federal dollars post-COVID."

More: Legislator: Gov. Stitt's call for do-nothing special session cost taxpayers $30,000

Lawmakers, Munson said, will have four months beginning Feb. 5 to deliberate fiscal and policy ideas. "Our job as legislators is to work through these important issues, as we are called to do every year," she said. "Instead, the governor is asking us to waste time and taxpayer dollars by throwing ideas at the wall to see what sticks. It is unwise and fiscally irresponsible to ask the Legislature to haphazardly cut revenue."

Stitt countered that the Board of Equalization delivered good news at the end of 2023, demonstrating strong fiscal practices that confirmed the state's predictions for 2024 and a bright outlook for 2025.

"With $5.4 billion in savings, a strong economy, and fiscally conservative policies, Oklahoma is well-positioned to reduce the personal income tax burden on all four million Oklahomans," the governor's statement said.

Senate Democratic Leader Kay Floyd said lawmakers were still analyzing the figures from Decembers initial certification by the Board of Equalization and wont get the final certification numbers until mid-February.

"We have not yet concluded budget hearings with state agencies. That information and additional data are critical to this discussion," Floyd said in a statement. "To undertake statewide, comprehensive tax reform in five days, without committee work and public vetting and input, would serve no other purpose than to place politics over policy. The governors call for a special session just one week before the regular session begins does not serve the best interest of this state or its citizens.

In September, Stitt's call for a special session fizzled just after the session opened. Stitt asked the Legislature "to put Oklahoma on the path to zero state income tax" and suggested that tax rate be cut from 4.75% to 4.50% as a start.

However, the governor chose not to discuss his proposal, as invited, before the Senate Appropriations Committee.

At that time, Treat said he was concerned that eliminating the income tax would punch a $4 billion hole in the state budget and wanted the governor to explain his plan. He said the governor's failure to appear was frustrating, and just hours after the session had opened, the Senate called it quits, adjourning for good, or "sine die."

The call for a special session is expensive. Those sessions, on average, cost about $34,000 per day due to per diem and other expenses.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Gov. Kevin Stitt calls for new special legislative session to discuss tax cuts
LEWIS CENTER, Ohio (WCMH)  A levy to fund the construction of five new schools will be on Olentangy Schools residents ballots in March.

The district announced Tuesday that residents will vote on a combined 4.25-mill levy to build three elementary schools, a middle school and high school. Citing rapidly increasing enrollment  with projections that the district size will increase by 5,000 students in the next decade  the district estimates the levies will bring in $28.9 million each year.

Voters will be asked to approve a 3-mill operating levy and 1.25-mill permanent improvement levy, while the district would also be able to recoup $350 million in bonds at no additional millage. The district warned that without the new schools, it may have to supplement overcrowded elementary schools with modular classrooms by 2027.

11,000 Columbus water customers overcharged by $1,000

Olentangy Schools Treasurer Ryan Jenkins estimates the combined levy will add $148.75 annually in taxes for each $100,000 of a homes appraised value. Properties are appraised at 35% of their actual value; a property with an appraised value of $100,000 is worth about $285,714.

The schools to be built include:

An elementary school on Bean Oller Road, west of Sawmill Parkway, expected to be completed by the 2025-26 school year

An elementary school on land next to Berkshire Middle School, expected to be completed by the 2025-26 school year

A high school on Bunty Station Road, west of Sawmill Parkway, expected to be completed by the 2027-28 school year

An elementary and middle school, to be tentatively located on Curve Road north of Berlin High School, slated for opening by the 2028-29 school year

This embedded content is not available in your region.

Central Ohio school closings: Jan. 16, 2024

Olentangy Schools residents will vote on the levies and bond issue on March 19. The deadline to register to vote in the March primary election is Feb. 2. Absentee and early in-person voting begins Feb 21.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
COURTDALE BOROUGH, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)  State officials say they have arrested one man for attempted homicide in Luzerne County.

Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) said 21-year-old Wadee Dwikat from Exeter has been taken into custody in Ohio and is being charged with attempted homicide in Courtdale Borough.

Two charged after leaving child on school bus

28/22 News reported to you that one man was shot in his home on South Memorial Highway in Courtdale just before midnight on Christmas Day.

Officials say Dwikat was taken into custody in Warren, Ohio by the Warren Police Department with the assistance of PSP Fugitive Task Force.

Dwikat is currently being jailed pending extradition back to Pennsylvania.

Dwikat has been charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, theft, and criminal trespass.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com.
One of Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrovs soldiers unwittingly filmed explosive footage of his own demobilization in Ukraine, according to footage released by Yury Butusov, a Ukrainian jouirnalist, on his Telegram on Jan. 15.

Read also: Ukrainian forces strike rare Russian artillery and anti-air units on Tavria front

The video depicts the Kadyrovite filming a burning vehicle when an explosion occurs, likely from an ammunition detonation.

Read also: Ukrainian drones find easy prey in Kadyrovite units  video

"The Kadyrovites desire to take a better TikTok video of his burning vehicle, which was hit by a Ukrainian drone, played an evil joke on him. But the content is really glorious!" Butusov wrote.

Earlier footage showed a group of Kadyrovites calmly smoking and carelessly hiding in a forest in the Kupyansk sector. They were easy targets for Ukrainian strike drones.

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
Rishi Sunak delivers his keynote speech on the closing day of the UK Conservative Party Conference in Manchester in October - Hollie Adams/Bloomberg

A YouGov poll splashed across Mondays front page foresees a shocking electoral wipeout for the Conservatives on the scale of their 1997 defeat by Labour.

But were you shocked when you saw it? Is anyone really shocked? The only shocking thing about the shock poll, I think, is that it reckons the shockingly bad Tories will manage to hang on to 169 seats.

Wishful thinking, to my mind. A far superior and more reliable opinion poll  the comments under articles like this one in The Telegraph no less  has seen this asteroid coming for over 18 months. It is one thing to alienate the floating voter, but the Conservatives have been governing as if they were their natural supporters own worst enemy.

It is hard to overstate the sense of betrayal and anger. Back in October, I said that the Tories would be lucky to retain 150 seats and that was before we heard the Oh-dear-God legal immigration figures.

To wilfully welcome a population the size of Birmingham when your own people are struggling to access healthcare, housing and safe maternity services, which they have paid for out of their taxes, goes beyond mere incompetence. It is plain rude.

A kick in the teeth, as Suella Braverman said. Oh, and massively disrespectful of your loyal supporters. Immigration at those levels undermines social cohesion and it stops social mobility in its tracks because too many of our young people, who know they will never own a home and must live in extortionate rented accommodation while they pay off their student loan (like my two, in fact), get despondent and give up.

The UK now has a higher proportion of foreign-born residents than the United States  more than 10 million people, which is 15 per cent of our population and roughly twice as many as it was 10 years ago.

Did any Conservative vote for that? Did they heck. But the people in whom we first placed our trust back in 2010, whose manifesto commitments we stupidly believed, went ahead and did it anyway. How did Tory MPs come to believe they were better judges of what the country needs than the British voter?

While many who came to this country as immigrants, and the children of those immigrants, are making a fantastic contribution and are every bit as British as any of us, we all know there are a horrifying number of idle ratbags sponging off the efforts of hardworking families, getting priority for social housing, university places and even hospital appointments.

A poisonous minority hates the West while living in the, er, West and enjoying its comforts and freedoms. We dont want them here.

Record mass immigration and under a Conservative government. Ive lost count of how many times Ive read or heard that incredulous rider. People say it all the time: The highest taxes for 70 years and under a Conservative government.

Over 40,000 migrants arriving illegally on our southern coast and under a Conservative government.

Blackmailing the motorist into buying EVs they cant afford and struggle to resell and under a Conservative government.

Failing to exploit our own bountiful energy resources by banning fracking and shutting perfectly good coal-fired power stations and under a Conservative government.

Pursuing the economic suicide that is net zero, which gives comfort to our enemies and wont make a gnats breath of difference to global carbon emissions, and under a Conservative government.

Allowing trans ideology and batshit crazy Marxist identity politics to take root in our schools and institutions and under a Conservative government.Hospitals asking male patients if they could be pregnant and under a Conservative government.

Ditto people with cervixes. Woman. The word you are looking for is WOMAN! And under a Conservative government. Putting up thousands of illegal migrants in hotels while our homeless veterans sleep on the streets and under a Conservative government.

The British Army no longer regarded by our allies as a top-level fighting force and under a Conservative government. The RAF found guilty of discriminating against white men and under a Conservative government. Businesses still reeling from lockdown hit with a brutal rise in corporation tax from 19 per cent to 25 per cent and under a Conservative government.

Its hardly an exhaustive list of the unTory abominations we have witnessed over 14 years of Conservative government. Do feel free to add your own.

So, when people shake their heads sorrowfully, marvelling that such and such a thing has taken place under  of all people  a Conservative government there is clearly a residual sense, a powerful nostalgia if you like, that Conservatives would never have allowed it to happen, not on their watch.

Sadly, the party no longer merits the benefit of the doubt. Why should we trust Rishi Sunak? Whenever the Tories appear to be tacking back in the right direction, it turns out to be a minor adjustment; the bare minimum they can get away with without causing a fit of the vapours in Ursula von der Leyen. Or upsetting all those Blue Wall voters they presume are on the Left of the party. (Theyre not.)

Things the Conservatives used to be good at, which was often not doing too much, they are now really bad at. People calling themselves Conservative MPs have allowed all of the above list to happen, which tells us that they are imposters.

Because they dont like or believe in Conservative things; they are liberal globalists who have no particular allegiance to this blessed plot so the dilution of its culture is irrelevant, the comfort and safety of our people unimportant. In fact, many Conservative MPs appear to despise Conservative values, and they loathe those of us who love them. The feeling is mutual, I can assure you.

The Rwanda plan in particular, and immigration in general, are now routinely scorned by so-called One Nation Conservatives as a concern of the Right of the party or even the far-Right when, in fact, the majority of Tory voters are very concerned indeed. (This is why only 38 per cent of the 13.9 million people who backed Boris in 2019 will definitely vote for the Tories again this year. If theyre lucky.)

On Radio 4s Today programme, Miriam Cates explained why she, Robert Jenrick and other rebel Tory MPs are demanding the Rwanda Bill be tightened up to prevent the farcical merry-go-round of appeals and the disappearance of potential criminals and terrorists.

In November, the Home Office admitted that they do not know the whereabouts of 17,000 asylum seekers whose claims have been discontinued. In a functioning country, that scandalous admission would have seen public apologies and resignations. In Broken Britain, it was par for the course.

As Cates pointed out to a disapproving Mishal Husain (you can practically hear her shuddering fastidiously into the microphone, cant you?): The British people have had enough of it.

A poll in The Telegraph, the Sheffield MP said, showed that in almost all constituencies in the country the preferred option is for quick detention and deportation (to Rwanda). If Cates, an eminently sensible, down-to-earth Northerner is now considered a far-Right trouble-maker, it is hardly surprising that Reform UK is hoovering up Tory votes.

Analysis of that shocking yet not-at-all shocking opinion poll warned that 96 Conservative seats will be lost because Reform will be standing a candidate in every constituency. As if it were Reforms fault!

Nigel Farage and Richard Tice are not to blame for the fact that former Conservatives cannot bear to vote for a party which has let them down in almost every single regard, even if the alternative is Starmergeddon.

Last week, I interviewed Ben Habib, the co-deputy leader of Reform, for the Planet Normal podcast and was taken aback. Who was this excellent fellow talking with such passion about putting the interests of British people first? Ben sounded, well, he sounded like a Conservative actually.

A sound nearly as extinct as the call of the hooded grebe or the kakapo. If I lived in Wellingborough, where Ben is standing in the forthcoming by-election, I would vote for him like a shot.

Many just like me will feel the same. The Conservatives pocketed our votes and used them to create a country we barely recognise. The UK needs and wants a Right-wing party. If Tory MPs find our views distasteful, other parties are available.

The democratic process, when it swings round every five years, has a neat way of showing an arrogant and imposter government who is boss. The ballot does not lie.

Im sure the Labour landslide will be every bit as awful as we fear, but true Conservatives will emerge from the rubble and, with our help, they will build again. (Even the Canadian Conservatives managed to recover after losing 167 seats and retaining only two in 1993.)

At least theres one thing to look forward to. Its going to be a lot more fun hating a government you didnt vote for.

You can hear Allisons interview with Ben Habib here

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I am a mom-and-pop landlord in Los Angeles. I only own 12 units, which isnt much compared with large corporations that have thousands of properties. I do not make a living as a landlord. In fact, I make only about $100 a month on a unit whose mortgage is several thousand dollars.

Over the last five years, I have felt under attack by elected officials in Los Angeles and wonder just how long I can afford to own rental property in Los Angeles. If the attitude of the elected officials toward landlords in the city doesnt change, small landlords like me will leave, and the city will be left with only corporate landlords  and slumlords  who dont care about rental laws or the well-being of their tenants.

Read more: Our family of four shared a cramped studio for 25 years. L.A. housing costs nearly kept us there forever

Im a big believer in tenants rights. Its true that many landlords treat their tenants poorly. If they didnt, we wouldnt need tenants rights laws. Also, I believe in rent control  families shouldnt have their rents raised 10% or 20% in a year. However, in the name of preventing homelessness, the city and county have passed numerous measures that are making it impossible for small landlords to function and will ultimately hurt vulnerable tenants.

For example, in 2023, several years after the COVID crisis began, at a time when unemployment was at record lows and wages were rising at unprecedented rates, landlords were told they still could not raise rent. In the end, small landlords like me took it on the chin as we watched all of our costs increase dramatically.

Read more: Editorial: It's not just renters. Landlords need help, too

Currently, the county and city are preparing to provide free attorneys to every individual who is going through the eviction process, regardless of the reason. But if a tenant is being evicted for lack of payment of rent, there is only one legal argument that can be made, and that is around  habitability . If a landlord is not maintaining the entire unit in a habitable condition, or a safe environment with working utilities, then the tenant has the right to not pay some or all of the rent.

Once the habitability issue has been ruled out, then there is no other legal reason for not paying rent. Unfortunately, based on my experience, attorneys representing tenants have learned how to manipulate our court system, drawing out eviction cases. Thats increased the cost to evict a tenant who has stopped paying rent for no legal reason to $20,000 to $30,000 (and ultimately not preventing evictions). How can a small landlord like me absorb that cost? The answer is that we cant.

Read more: Nation's largest single-family home landlord to pay $3.7 million in California rent-gouging case

What are the repercussions of these policies? For me, the first of every month, when rent is due, is nerve-racking. I cross my fingers and pray that my tenants pay. Ive had to evict only one tenant in 10 years from a house I own. That process depleted our savings so much that we may sell that house to recover. Other small landlords lost tens of thousands of dollars when their tenants stopped paying rent during the COVID rent freeze and either sold their buildings at a loss or drew down their own savings.

These policies ultimately hurt tenants. Landlords like me now cant afford to take chances on tenants. That means if you dont have good credit and verifiable income you are probably having a very hard time finding housing these days. That most often means undocumented workers who have no credit and work for cash, or those already struggling socioeconomically.

Read more: Opinion: I'm a tenant in the mass eviction at Barrington Plaza. This developer decision could devastate L.A.

As city and county government officials work to curb homelessness , they are relying on private landlords, who own the vast majority of housing here, to take the risk to provide homes to Angelenos. But they cannot ask us to risk our financial well-being while declaring war on us at the same time. If policies such as free lawyers for all tenants and rental freezes become the norm, small landlords like me will leave Los Angeles.

The L.A. City Council and county Board of Supervisors should instead view people like me as partners in providing housing and give us a seat at the table. For example, the county and city could set up advisory committees made up of small landlords who could make policy recommendations and be consulted on housing-related issues. When debating items like rent freezes, the City Council and county board should proactively invite mom-and-pop landlords to be part of the legislative process by meeting with us. And when measures are debated, we should be invited to testify at hearings. With these steps, we could work together to ensure that all parties are protected and reduce harm to the citys residents and homeowners.

Joshua Kamali is a landlord in Los Angeles. He worked for almost 10 years in Democratic politics and policy in Washington, D.C., and California before becoming a nonprofit fundraiser. He now works in property development and construction and owns 12 units in Los Angeles County.





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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Editors Note: Daniel McCarthy is the editor of Modern Age: A Conservative Review and a columnist for The Spectator World and Creators Syndicate. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion at CNN.

Former President Donald Trumps easy win in Iowa on Monday confirms that there really is no race for the Republican nomination this year. With a deep freeze discouraging turnout, the caucuses provided a hard test of voter enthusiasm. Trumps rivals failed it.

Daniel McCarthy - Courtesy Daniel McCarthy

A measure of the former presidents insurmountable strength within the party is that he not only beat Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy, he also overcame all of the institutional powers backing them  some of the most formidable interests in the GOP.

The well-funded libertarian-leaning donor network assembled by billionaire Charles Koch put its money and muscle behind Haley. Evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats and Iowas Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, put their considerable influence to work for DeSantis. The forces arrayed against Trump are significant not only for their funding and their grassroots networks, but for the ideological commitments they represent. Voters faced a philosophical choice, not just a pick of personalities.

They were also called upon to deliver a verdict of their own on the criminal cases against Trump. The former president argues that these prosecutions are political, and Iowa Republicans showed that they agree. The 2024 election is shaping up to be a referendum on politics in the legal system as well as on Trump and President Joe Biden. If Trumps primary opponents (with the exception of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who dropped out of the race last week) have preferred to talk about almost anything else, Trump has never been shy about discussing his legal travails on the campaign circuit. Voters, starting with Iowas Republicans, are now having their say.

Iowa is a solid red state that gives a good sense of where the Republican Party as a whole stands today. If its more red than the nation at large, its the just right hue to predict whats coming in most other Republican contests. There are cycles when Iowa is an outlier, but all evidence says this isnt one of them.

Its hard to think of any place where DeSantis could do better than Iowa. This was a state that Sen. Ted Cruz won in 2016, though even then he finished only 3 points ahead of Trump. The DeSantis campaign and its outside allies spent $35 million in the state between January 1, 2023, and January 12 of this year. Trumps side, by contrast, spent just $18.3 million. Even with an almost 2:1 spending advantage over Trump, DeSantis couldnt mount an effective challenge  not even with the backing of Reynolds and Vander Plaats.

A sign of just how little dissension there is in the Republican Party about Trumps nomination could be seen ahead of the caucuses, as everyone from North Dakota Gov. (and former 2024 presidential hopeful) Doug Burgum to Sens. Mike Lee and Marco Rubio stepped up to endorse Trump. DeSantis had a year to make his case for the nomination to the partys elected leaders nationwide, as well as to Iowa voters. They heard his offer and turned him down. His moment, for this cycle, is over.

Haleys campaign and deep-pocketed backers spent even more in Iowa than DeSantiss team did: $37 million as of Friday. But if polling before the caucuses is any indication, Haleys donor dollars are largely buying support from non-Republicans: A Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom poll found that Independents and Democrats make up half of her support.

Haleys hopes for a strong showing in the New Hampshire primary on January 23 rest on the possibility of significant crossover voting from those outside the GOP. But while that strategy, if successful, might keep her campaign afloat until her home state of South Carolina votes on February 24, its not a viable path to the Republican nomination. Iowa has tested Haleys support among Republicans and found it wanting.

DeSantis and Haley were well-financed and politically experienced opponents: No one can say that Trumps victory over his rivals doesnt count because the anti-Trump vote was split or the candidate field was weak. DeSantis and Haley were not weak opponents  but as Iowa shows, even strong rivals cant touch Trump.

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Editors Note: Nafees Hamid is the research and policy director for Kings College London on the XCEPT research programme. He is a cognitive scientist who studies political violence. Follow his work on X @NafeesHamid, and @XCEPT_Research. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. See more opinion at CNN.

As fighting continues between Israel and Hamas, many may wonder why this war  and, more broadly, the decades-long IsraeliPalestinian conflict  is so intractable. As far as the current war is concerned, third parties like the UN, US and Qatar have had only minor tactical successes such as the brief hostage and prisoner exchange that prevailed at the end of November.

Nafees Hamid - Courtesy Nafees Hamid

As for the longer conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, which has persisted since 1948, long-term peace today seems no closer than it did 75 years ago. Why is it so difficult to resolve this conflict? Why have so many peace efforts, pursued by so many governments and leaders over the decades, only led back to war?

The answer goes beyond geopolitics and speaks to the underlying psychology of what it is to be human and why we fight. Thankfully, the research on this psychology also points to potential pathways to resolution.

To be clear, geopolitics does matter: Power struggles among leaders, foreign actors cynical use of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict for their own domestic interests, economic motives, strategic and ideological alliances all have worked against peace. But these factors are influenced by and further influence deeper psychological impulses that exist across various conflicts but combine in vicious cycles in Israel and Palestine, leading to perpetual violence.

Here are key psychological concepts that have been studied in the IsraeliPalestinian context and what they mean for conflict resolution.

Parochial altruism: with us or against us

Humans have well-established in-group and out-group biases. These general tendencies still allow for us to be an extremely cooperative species, but the problem arises when these biases begin to polarize. Humans find trouble when they go to the extreme of altruism (by showing favoritism to ones own group) while simultaneously going to the extreme of parochialism (by displaying hostility toward those outside it). When strong forms of parochial altruism arise on all sides of a conflict, intractability sets in.

It is believed that parochialism and altruism co-evolved in humans through repeated warfare. When another group threatens our existence, the best survival strategy is to bond as cohesively as possible with our in-group. This is oftentimes accompanied by perceiving ones own group as morally superior or pure while overly villainizing or dehumanizing the other group. This creates a stark contrast between the good us and the evil other. This in turn justifies using excessive violence against the other side, including against their civilians. This can manifest in being cavalier about copious collateral damage, or even worse, in intentionally targeting civilians.

Damaged cars and personal effects are left scattered around the Supernova Music Festival site, where hundreds were killed and dozens taken by Hamas militants near the border with Gaza, pictured on October 13. - Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images/File

We can see this clearly in Hamas numerous terrorist attacks against civilians and their active dehumanization of Jews in their rhetoric and even in school books used to teach children. We can see it in Israels minister of defense bringing the entire 2.3 million population of Gaza to near starvation through a complete siege and justifying it by saying the Israel Defense Forces are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly, or the now-suspended Israeli minister of Jerusalem affairs suggesting Israel could drop an atomic bomb on the Gaza Strip. The logic of the latter appears to be on a par with Hamas: Our survival depends on the others annihilation.

Sacred values: never compromise

Of course, most Israelis and Palestinians dont think like this. But there are myriad factors that make someone take on this hostile mode of thinking. Chief among those factors is a dogmatic ideology that makes compromise with the other side seem like a morally abhorrent notion.

This kind of ideology is infused with what are called sacred values. These are values of such moral importance that they transcend the material concerns of everyday life; people would be willing to give their lives for them. Israelis and Palestinians hold values that come into direct conflict with each other such as claims over land.

Within the bounds of modern-day Israel and the Palestinian territories are areas considered to be Holy Land by Abrahamic faiths. Wars have been fought on and off consistently over competing claims to its sanctity. Some are willing to accept its shared sacredness while others believe it belongs rightfully to their group alone. But a dispute over sacred land is not all about religion. It can and has been co-opted into politics, and that is from where much of the conflict emanates.

At one extreme end are Hamas, whose leader at the time, Khaled Meshaal, said in 2017 that we shall not waive an inch of the Palestinian home soil. On the other end is the Israeli minister of finance, Bezalel Smotrich, who just this July, in his dual role as head of the Defense Ministrys Settlements Administration, laid out his plans for the annexation of the West Bank. In March, he spoke next to a map of Greater Israel that included parts of Jordan, while arguing against Palestinian statehood because theres no such thing as the Palestinian people and because the Palestinian people are, in Smotrichs words, an invention. When incompatible values like these become sacred, compromise becomes exceedingly difficult.

A feature of sacred values is that they cannot be traded-off with profane values like material incentives to compromise. This poses a serious issue for peace negotiations. When third parties (e.g., the UN, US, etc.) try to help negotiate peace deals, their main tools for (dis)incentivization are material in nature, such as foreign aid and sanctions. A study led from the New School for Social Research investigated how Israelis and Palestinians would react to a two-state solution deal. The sample included Jewish Israeli settlers and Palestinians who identified with Hamas.

Generally, both sides did not support the deal on offer. When each side was offered foreign aid to incentivize the deal, it produced a backfire effect among those who held sacred values. Those found by the researchers to be moral absolutists about particular issues  like Israel conceding land to Palestinians or allowing Palestinian refugees to return home  were more likely to experience anger and disgust at the deal and more likely to endorse violence against it when foreign aid was added to the mix. Meaning, adding foreign aid as an incentive to accept the deal only made things worse.

So how does one incentivize a peace deal among those who hold opposing sacred values? Luckily, there is an answer.

In the same study, the researchers tested the effect of symbolic concessions. These included things like Israel apologizing for the wrongs done to the Palestinian people for all these past years, and Palestinians recognizing the legitimacy of Jewish peoples right to the land of Israel. When a symbolic concession was offered, those holding sacred values were less angered and disgusted by the deal, and support for violent opposition plummeted.

Khaled Meshaal and Bezalel Smotrich - Getty Images

Third-party mediators look at conflicts through the lens of business-style negotiations, where hard facts must be addressed when it comes to hostages, land, militarization, and so on. While these facts do need to be discussed, the research points to the importance of social-emotional needs being addressed first, as they underpin the unwillingness to compromise on the material issues. Carrot-and-stick policies, such as the promise of foreign aid coupled with the threat of sanctions, backfire when presented to those holding sacred values. By contrast, symbolic concessions flip this pattern and act as precursors to further pragmatic negotiations.

Trauma and victimhood: The past is never past

Collective trauma only makes resolving this conflict more difficult. For both sides, the current violence brings back traumatic memories. For Israelis, the attacks on October 7th  and events afterwards such as the storming of an airport in the Russian Republic of Dagestan, where a mob searched for Jewish passengers, or the October firebombing attack on a Berlin synagogue  reminds them of the pogroms Jews faced at the hands of the Nazis and others.

For Palestinians, the war driving people out of their homes and into the streets and refugee settlements harkens back to the Nakba in 1948, when Palestinians were left as a stateless people during the creation of Israel. Collective traumas become part of the story each group tells about itself. They can also be a barrier to resolution by causing some to resist compromise, in order to not let the past repeat itself.

This reaction can be amplified by something called competitive victimhood. As the name suggests, each side competes for who is the greater victim. The competition is not always explicit, but one can hear it as an element in the discussion of this current war. Israelis point out that they suffered an unprovoked attack that killed over 1,200 people and saw more than 240 hostages taken by Hamas into Gaza. Palestinians note that their victimization goes far back, through decades of subjugation.

Whether its acknowledged or not, this competition can lead to an infinite regress, where each side points to an earlier historical fact to demonstrate its greater victimhood and thereby entitlement to greater sympathy. In addition, denying each others collective traumas is tantamount to questioning each others collective identities and is experienced as re-victimization. This creates a dynamic where each side expects the other to make the first and greater concession, which often leads to a stalemate.

Researchers at Tel Aviv University conducted experimental surveys of Israelis and Palestinians and found that simply acknowledging each others traumas can reduce competitive victimhood and increase reconciliation. In these studies, Israeli Jews were presented with information about Palestinians acknowledging the Holocaust as a major victimizing event, while Palestinians were told about Israeli Jews acknowledging the suffering related to the Nakba. What the researchers found: Having ones own collective trauma acknowledged increased willingness to acknowledge the other sides traumas, thereby reducing competitive victimhood. Even more surprising, this reciprocal acknowledgment led to both sides being more willing to compromise on contentious issues like the partition of Jerusalem, Israeli West Bank settlements and Palestinian right of return.

The way forward: Thankfully, the tools exist

Depressing as the last three months have been, the psychological literature makes clear that tools do exist to make peace more possible. Symbolic concessions decrease barriers to resolution, even among absolutists. Acknowledging each others traumas reduces competitive victimhood and increases willingness to compromise on contentious issues. Those elements of dialogue are important for opening the door to discussion of any particular peace plan.

These tools can only be used if leaders on both sides agree to a cessation of violence and sincerely want peace. Such is not the case when war rages on and a group like Hamas identifies itself with the destruction of Israel, and a leader like Netanyahu indicates (as he did in 2019) that a strong Hamas is good for Israel as it provides justification for avoiding peace.

The research all points in one direction: the need to publicly and unequivocally accept each others realities and thereby dignify each others humanity. Once that happens, pragmatic negotiations related to material disputes can be undertaken. But until then, strong psychological levers will continue to work against peace.

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Dr James Masih Shera MBE, a British-Pakistani Christian politician, educationist and former Mayor of Rugby in the United Kingdom, passed away on January 15 at the age of 76.

He was visiting his native Pakistan for the wedding of his brothers grandson when he succumbed to a sudden illness. He is survived by his wife and son.

Born in a small rural village in Gujranwala District in Pakistans Punjab Province on March 6, 1946, Dr Shera had a remarkable journey that began when he secured a scholarship to study at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. He hitch-hiked through Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Greece and Yugoslavia before reaching Italy, where he caught a train to Belgium to start his studies, as per his interviews.

Dr Shera moved to the UK in 1970 and started working at Rugby station as a railway guard. After completing a post-graduate degree at the University of Warwick, he began teaching at the Newbold Middle School, later joining the county council education department where he worked until his retirement.

Dr Shera made history by becoming the first Pakistani to be elected Mayor of Rugby in 1988. He dedicated 40 years of his life to serving the borough of Rugby as a Labour councillor, a leader and a mentor.

Dr Shera was a scholar, a writer and a champion of interfaith and intercultural harmony. He received numerous awards and honours for his contributions to the British and Pakistani Christian communities, including the prestigious Sitara-e-Pakistan and the Hilal-e-Quaid-e-Azam awards from the President of Pakistan.

He was also bestowed with the title of MBE, the Freedom of the Borough of Rugby  the highest honour the borough council can bestow  and two honorary doctorates. He also had a road named after him in Rugby in recognition of his campaigns as chair of the council of fellows of Warwickshire College.

CONDOLENCES

In a joint statement on the council's official website, Rugby Borough Council group leaders Cllr Derek Poole (Conservative), Cllr Michael Moran (Labour) and Cllr Jerry Roodhouse (Liberal Democrats) said: "James Shera, or Jim as we came to know him, was greatly respected by councillors on all sides of the chamber and was also a good friend and mentor to many of his council colleagues.

Jim's hard work and integrity were a constant throughout his 40 years of public service, and we're all truly saddened to hear of his passing.

"Our thoughts remain firmly with Jim's family and friends at this time."

In a statement to Christian Daily International, Dr Azad Marshall, the president bishop of the Church of Pakistan, lauded Dr Sheras services for fostering interfaith and intercultural dialogue.

Bishop Marshall said that Dr Shera lived by the values of love, peace and justice.

His legacy of service and leadership will live on and continue to inspire generations of Pakistani Christians. May God bless his soul, he added.

Albert David MBE, a former member of Pakistans National Commission for Minorities, said Dr Sheras services had profoundly impacted the Pakistani Christian community.

Dr Shera played an important role in advocating for the rights of Pakistani Christians. He will be greatly missed! he added.

The Rugby Borough Council intends to fly the borough flag at half-mast on the day of Dr Shera's funeral, which will be held in Rugby in some days, according to reports in the Rugby press.
Editors Note: Lanhee J. Chen, PhD, is a regular contributor to CNN Opinion and the David and Diane Steffy Fellow in American Public Policy Studies and a participant in the Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific at the Hoover Institution. He was a candidate for California State Controller in 2022. Chen has played senior roles in both Republican and Democratic presidential administrations and been an adviser to four presidential campaigns, including as policy director of Romney-Ryan 2012. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN.

For the US, Saturdays Taiwan election results signal the continuation of heightened tension with China over the issue of Taiwans sovereignty. In some ways, President-Elect Lai Ching-te and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) made the election into a referendum over whether Taiwan should draw nearer to the US or China.

Lanhee J. Chen - Lanhee J. Chen/ECG Studios, LLC

Lais victory signals four more years of efforts to emphasize the islands ties to the US and to seek closer cooperation between Taipei and Washington. This will be the case regardless of who wins the US presidential election in November.

Expect the US to continue its strong, bipartisan support for Taiwan  a posture reinforced by the presence of a bipartisan coalition of former senior officials who met with Lai and Vice-President-elect Hsiao Bi-khim in Taipei on Monday.

In fact, support for Taiwan is one of the few policy issues on which there is agreement between Republicans and Democrats. Further efforts to sell weapons and provide military support to Taiwan are likely to be a congressional priority, even during a contentious election year in the US.

Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have evinced strong support for Taiwan, with Biden even declaring four separate times that the US would defend Taiwan if it were attacked by the Peoples Republic of China or PRC (a position repeatedly walked back by members of Bidens own administration). And policymakers in Congress have proposed legislation that would impose significant economic sanctions on China if it were to engage in efforts to take the island by force.

Overall, Taiwans voters chose continuity over change by delivering a victory to Lai and the incumbent DPP. The DPPs victory means that it will be the first party to hold the presidency for three consecutive terms since Taiwan began directly electing its president in 1996.

Lais results largely mirrored those found in the last public opinion surveys published almost two weeks ago, reflecting the reality that there were probably very few votes up for grabs in the stretch run leading up to Saturdays election.

Taiwan's President-Elect, Lai Ching-te (left), celebrates with his running mate, Hsiao Bi-khim, during a rally outside the headquarters of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Taipei on January 13, after winning the presidential election. - Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images

Taiwans voters largely overlooked concerns about a sluggish domestic economy in favor of the DPPs skeptical view of Chinas ruling Communist Party and its leader Xi Jinping. But it was not a complete victory for President-Elect Lai. His administration will have to deal with a divided legislature where his own party did not come close to reaching a majority, allowing the two major opposition parties  the Nationalist or Kuomingtang (KMT) and Taiwan Peoples Party (TPP)  to come together to block his initiatives and generally make life for his administration more challenging.

As is the case in many recent Taiwan presidential elections, voter turnout was almost 72%  slightly weaker than in 2020 and markedly lower than the high-water mark of approximately 80% in 2004  but still a strong affirmation of the islands system of democratic governance.

Taiwanese officials were able to announce election results within a few hours after the polls had closed and conducted an election generally free of accusations of fraud, foul play, or external influence (despite significant PRC efforts to influence the electoral result in the lead up to the balloting).

China continues to view Taiwan as an existential issue over which there can be no negotiation. Shortly after Lais victory, in fact, BeijingsTaiwan Affairs Office shrugged off the result, repeating its assertion that Taiwan is Chinas Taiwan and that Lais election cannot change the basic pattern and development of cross-strait relations.

Xi and his underlings will likely use the four months between now and Lais inauguration on May 20 to make their displeasure known to residents of Taiwan through continued military incursions into the islands waters and airspace, disinformation activities, and efforts to place economic pressure on the island.

These actions are intended not just to impact people on Taiwan but to signal the PRCs position to the US and the rest of the world. The PRC will also continue to diplomatically isolate Taiwan, something that continued this week when the small Micronesian country of Nauru announced it was switching formal relations from Taiwan to the mainland  for the second time. And it is these activities, coupled with Americas ongoing support for Taiwan, that will likely accentuate tensions between the US and China as Lai takes office, and beyond.

Lai is a particularly vexing problem for Xi and the Chinese Communist Party because he has long been disliked by Beijing, which has called him both a troublemaker and separatist who wants to push Taiwan toward formal independence; a claim that Lai himself denies, saying that there is no need to declare independence because Taiwan has already been operating for years as an independent sovereign state.

Lai will pursue the status quo for Taiwan once he takes office and has expressed a willingness to engage in dialogue with the mainland so long as it happens on mutually agreeable terms  something that Beijing is unlikely to accede to. After all, voters on Taiwan reaffirmed his (and the DPPs) views on cross-strait relations, and polling trends leading up to the election suggest that increasingly Taiwan voters view themselves as Taiwanese, an identity separate and apart from Chinese that makes reunification with the mainland even more challenging.

While some had hoped that Saturdays elections would ease tensions across the Taiwan Strait and between the US and China, the reality is that the results affirmed the status quo. What Taiwans elections did demonstrate, once again, is the power of democracy there and that the peoples voice  even if it continues to support the uneasy balance between the island and mainland that has existed for decades  remains the loudest of all.

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The high peaks of the southern and central Sierra Nevada are home to a unique and endangered animal, the Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep. John Muir called them  the bravest of all the Sierra mountaineers , and indeed they have weathered both ancient and modern climate extremes, human-introduced disease and other existential threats across the centuries. But the greatest danger they face today may be from another native species.

Having been involved in research and conservation of these sheep for half a century, Ive found that the Sierra Nevada bighorn  a subspecies related to desert and Rocky Mountain bighorn  have survived six ice ages. But these rugged icons of the wilderness narrowly escaped extinction from disease after their mountains were flooded with domestic sheep every summer starting around 1860. Their native 180-mile-long range was reduced to three surviving populations in the southern Owens Valley.

Fortunately, pneumonia from domestic sheep has not been seen in the Sierra bighorn during the past 50 years. Populations wiped out by this disease have been undergoing restoration in the West for decades. The efforts have depended largely on catching wild sheep from surviving populations and releasing them in vacant historical habitat, known as translocation.

I worked closely with government agencies to initiate such a program for the Sierra bighorn in the late 1970s. By 1985, the number of Sierra bighorn had grown from 250 to 300. By 2016, they numbered close to 700 and looked like an endangered species success story. But the story has since turned out to be considerably more complex.

Read more: As species recover, some threaten others in more dire shape

Domestic sheep diseases arent the only modern threat to the Sierra bighorn. Another has been avalanches and starvation during extreme winters, particularly among populations that cant descend to lower elevations with less snow and more vegetation.

While a lot of Sierra bighorn died during the unusually snowy winters of 2016-17 and 2018-19, their numbers increased during the milder intervening winters. It seemed as if these remarkably tough animals might be able to survive anything thrown at them.

Last winter shattered that picture along with snowfall records. Not only did we lose considerably more sheep than in previous extreme winters, but five of the 14 populations became local extinctions, with no surviving females. It in effect set the recovery program back to 2010.

Read more: Op-Ed: Elegy for a big, beautiful L.A. cat

Despite this catastrophe, extreme winters arent the top killer of the Sierra bighorn. That distinction belongs to a fellow wild animal: the mountain lion.

While severe winters occur about once every six years on average, lion predation happens every year. During the snowy winter of 2016-17, one large Sierra bighorn population lost about half its members, mostly to lions. This predation largely occurs in lower-elevation winter ranges where the sheep can nibble on nutritious early forage, but where they also overlap with winter concentrations of mule deer that attract mountain lions.

Mountain lions have also been shown to significantly depress bighorn sheep populations beyond the Sierra Nevada, from New Mexico and Texas to southern Alberta province in Canada. What these otherwise varied ecosystems have in common is an absence of wolves.

Wolves arent good bighorn sheep hunters, but they compete with mountain lions for prey and steal and eat what they kill. Lion populations shrink substantially in the presence of wolves, which greatly benefits bighorn sheep.

In my earliest years of research, there was no evident lion predation of Sierra bighorn for a simple reason: mountain lions had not yet recovered from a decades-long campaign to eliminate them from the state, with bounties offered for them starting in 1906. A recent analysis found a steady decline in lion numbers under relentless persecution until about 1,000 remained in 1963, when bounties ended. The states mountain lion population was recently estimated to be between 3,200 and 4,500, probably more than when wolves were present.

During rapidly accelerating lion predation in the 1980s, Sierra bighorn began avoiding lower-elevation winter ranges full of nutritious forage, a behavioral shift ultimately associated with substantial population declines, especially in extreme winters. By the mid-1990s, the population barely exceeded 100, about a third of what it had been a decade earlier, and the effort to repopulate vacant habitat entered a quarter-century hiatus. Mountain lions had all but defeated our efforts to restore Sierra bighorn.

After a 1990 voter initiative made mountain lions specially protected mammals in California despite their substantial recovery, taking away wildlife officials authority to kill them to protect Sierra bighorn, I and others worked to obtain federal endangered status for the sheep to supersede state law.

The resulting recovery plan emphasized the need to protect them from excessive losses to lions while ensuring the viability of the lion population. The plan was approved by an array of interests, including the Mountain Lion Foundation, all of which accepted that some lions would have to be killed to save bighorn.

Aided by declines in the local deer and consequently the mountain lion population along with federal protection and focused removal of predators, Sierra bighorn populations grew rapidly at the beginning of this century. By 2013, we finally had four large populations that could be tapped for translocation, a goal set nearly three decades earlier.

In recent years, however, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife adopted a policy under which lions must be moved rather than killed to protect Sierra bighorn. That means getting permission to relocate lions and then spending time catching and moving them. This can take months, during which the lions continue to kill sheep. This has led to substantial declines in the bighorn populations used for translocation and thereby crippled the recovery program.

With this policy, California has in effect permitted an animal-rights agenda to override science-based conservation, which focuses on the health of populations and ecosystems, not the fate of individuals. The lives of a small number of mountain lions are being saved at the cost of many Sierra bighorn, favoring an animal with wide distribution and a large population over one that  at least so far  has barely escaped extinction.

John D. Wehausen is an applied population ecologist and the president of the Sierra Nevada Bighorn Foundation.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
On Sunday, January 14, Evangelical Alliances across Europe kicked off the annual Week of Prayer where local churches from diverse denominational backgrounds come together each year to pray for greater unity in the body of Christ. Marking the 50th anniversary since the historic International Congress on World Evangelization held in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1974, this years prayer material features reflections on the Lausanne Covenant and its continued relevance today.

Evangelicals are Good News People, and we readily share the message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone and yearn to make disciples of all nations, European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) co-General Secretaries Jan Wessels and Connie Main Duarte write in their introduction to this years prayer guide. That is why they are also prayer-warriors. 50 years of the Lausanne movement within the evangelical family have taught us that we cannot be witnesses of Jesus Christ without the power of the Holy Spirit.

Called by a committee headed by the late evangelist Rev. Billy Graham, the global congress in 1974 brought together some 2,700 participants from 150 nations. The gathering produced the Lausanne Covenant, a declaration of evangelical beliefs and a commitment to renewed focus on the Great Commission.

We are deeply stirred by what God is doing in our day, moved to penitence by our failures and challenged by the unfinished task of evangelization. We believe the gospel is Gods good news for the whole world, and we are determined by his grace to obey Christs commission to proclaim it to all mankind and to make disciples of every nation, the covenant stated at that time.

It concluded by declaring: Therefore, in the light of this our faith and our resolve, we enter into a solemn covenant with God and with each other, to pray, to plan and to work together for the evangelization of the whole world.

Inspired to renew the same commitment today, the EEA themed this years week of prayer material Onward with the Great Commission.

50 years later, this International Week of Prayer of the European Evangelical Alliance gives us the opportunity to reconsider the Covenant, wanting to fuel the movement of fidelity to the Gospel and the passion for mission. With the same spirit of humility and contrition that characterized Lausanne, we want to pray and commit ourselves to being together on a mission to respond to the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus, revisiting the articles that make up the Lausanne Covenant, Wessels and Duarte comment.

The week of prayer itself is a tradition that goes back to the year after the founding of the World Evangelical Alliance in London in 1846 and continues to be observed today in many countries across Europe. The EEA commissions a different national Evangelical Alliance each year to prepare a prayer guide that is then translated and, in some cases, adapted to the contexts in other countries.

This years material was prepared by the Italian Evangelical Alliance with daily reflections on topics from the Lausanne Covenant, such as the triune God, submission to the Word of God, Jesus Christ - the one and only, the holistic gospel, unity in mission, the cost of discipleship, perseverance, and finally a determination to continue with the Great Commission. It also references the upcoming global congress in Seoul, Korea, which marks the 4th global congress of the Lausanne Movement.

Among the groups that translated and adapted the material are the German speaking Evangelical Alliances in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

In Germany alone, some 300,000 believers in around 1,000 cities, towns and villages are expected to participate again this year. The country has a special appreciation for the week of prayer as it was the only activity the Evangelical Alliance in Germany continued without interruption even during the communist era in Eastern Germany.

In comments to German evangelical magazine Pro, the head of the Evangelical Alliance in Germany Reinhard Schink called the week of prayer a signal of hope for our country. Germany is in need for a sign of Gods love, reconciliation and unity in this time of strife, upheaval and all the enormous social challenges, he said, and added that prayer can become a powerful impulse for change and bring about positive developments.

"Especially in these times of social challenges, the prayer of Christians to the God of peace is more necessary than ever before and a safe anchor for many people," said Schink. God admonishes his people to unity, which he brought into the world through Jesus Christ. "This does not mean having the same opinion on all issues but remaining united in all differences."



Prayer material in various languages, including YouVersion study plans, is available on the EEA's website at https://www.europeanea.org/week-of-prayer/week-of-prayer-2024/.
Passengers flying into the Nashville International Airport were reportedly stuck on the tarmac for more than seven hours after de-icing trucks ran out of fuel.

Local media reported that certain American Airlines flights into the BNA airport were stuck on the tarmac for longer than expected causing distress to the passengers.

NewsChannel5 Nashville quoted a passenger identified as Maddox Gates as saying: We eventually get in at around 2.30, and we were sitting in that tarmac until probably about 8.30.

Ms Gates was flying in from New York.

It really wasnt on the staff, the flight crew and the staff, they did everything they could.

The valve to refill the de-icing truck reportedly froze.

De-icing is a crucial process for airlines, including American Airlines, especially during winter or in cold weather conditions. It helps remove ice, snow, or frost from the aircrafts surfaces, such as wings, tail, and fuselage, to ensure safe takeoff and flight.

This is to prevent ice-related issues, such as reduced lift on the wings, which can impact the aircrafts performance.

The airline experienced further delays due to a line of flights ahead of them, preventing any movement.

A passenger named Hallie Barnwell said that the airlines alternative plan involved using air stairs to disembark passengers. But there was uncertainty about when the stairs would arrive.

Passengers stuck on the tarmac for 8 hours at Nashville International Airport after a flight from Reagan Airport. The story tonight on @fox5dc at 11pm! pic.twitter.com/RrOMM6hplz  Allison Papson (@AllisonPapson) January 16, 2024

Things again got messier when the tow bar broke while attempting to tow the first plane after passengers disembarked.

Ms Barnwell said: He (the pilot) also called it a comedy of airs...we were all using comedic relief in the end. Everyone was very patient.

Meanwhile, it was reported that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a ground stop of all flights at BNA due to the weather at 4pm on Monday.

According to WKRN, as of 5.15pm Monday, the FAA lifted the ground stop at Nashville International Airport.

American Airlines shared a statement with The Independent and mentioned challenging conditions but did not specifically address the issue about de-icing trucks running out of fuel.

Todays severe winter weather at Nashville International Airport (BNA) significantly impacted airport operations throughout the day and resulted in a two-hour ground stop for all airlines operating there. These challenging conditions produced unsafe operating conditions, causing cancellations and delays, along with ramp and gate congestion that made it very difficult to safely gate our aircraft.

It continued: We are deeply sorry to our customers who were affected. Our team is reaching out to them to apologize and provide compensation for their experience.
(WHTM) -A Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to eliminate a requirement that state corrections officers reside within the Commonwealth.

State Rep. Clint Owlett (R-Tioga/Bradford) says he plans to introduce legislation that would end the residency requirement to improve staffing numbers in state prisons.

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Owlett says current staffing levels are leading to increased overtime and overworked employees.

Limiting the ability to hire qualified workers just because of where they live would never work in business and its not working for the Commonwealth, said Owlett. This commonsense legislation is necessary to ensure that the security of our prisons is not compromised and to ensure we are not burning out our current officers.

Owlett pointed to four facilities (SCI Somerset, SCI Chester, SCI Waymart and SCI Phoenix) as potential options for out-of-state employees. All four facilities are within 40 miles from either the New York, New Jersey, or Maryland borders

SCI Albion is less than 10 miles from the Ohio border and SCI Fayette is also about an hour from the West Virginia and Ohio borders.

This just makes no sense at all, and I believe needs to change, said Owlett.

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State officials have sought ways to fill staffing gaps in state corrections facilities.

In November 2023 the Department of Corrections announced that non-Pennsylvania residents are eligible to apply to SCI Greene, which is within 15 miles of the West Virginia border and 30 miles of the Ohio border.

After multiple high-profile escapes in 2023, lawmakers introduced five bills to address escapees, including one that would allow state prison corrections officers to fill vacant shifts in local prisons. The bill, introduced by State Rep. Sheryl Delozier (R-Cumberland), has not yet faced a vote.

Following the escape of Danelo Cavalcante in Chester County, former Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said the recent trend of escapes shows there arent enough officers and they arent being paid enough.

If youre someone who traditionally corrections systems would target to work as a correctional officer and you can make the same or more money working at Sheetz versus working a block, right? So the market has changed and corrections hasnt caught up.

Changes made to Pennsylvania tax credit, rent rebate program; filing period now open

Residency is also required for Waterway Conservation Officers, which the Fish and Boat Commission announced this month is in need of trainees.

abc27 has reached out to the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association for comment regarding Owletts proposed legislation. The Department of Corrections declined to comment on Owletts sponsorship memo and said they would review the bill when it is filed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.
The next Ramstein-format summit of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) will be held on Jan. 23, Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder said on Jan. 16.

The UDCG is comprised of over 50 countries, including all 31 NATO members, and has been meeting regularly since April 2022 to coordinate military support for Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.

The announcement came after U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov talked on the phone on Jan. 16 about the upcoming summit and other battlefield updates.

The previous meeting was held virtually in late November. The U.S. has since made no progress on resolving the ongoing dispute within the legislative branch about approving further aid for Ukraine.

Senate Republicans blocked $61.4 billion in support for Ukraine in December, largely over domestic political disputes. Negotiations have continued, but both Republicans and Democrats have mostly dug in their heels on domestic border policy, which has become tied to aid for Ukraine.

Austin has also become embroiled in his own political scandal. He was rushed to the hospital on Jan. 1 after experiencing extreme pain following a surgery he had the previous week to remove his prostate.

He went into the intensive care unit the following day, which the White House was not informed of for three days. Austin also neglected to say for over a month that he had been diagnosed with cancer, which was related to prostate removal.

The defense secretary has since been released from the hospital and is reportedly in good condition, but the concealing of his stay in the ICU was considered a serious breach of protocol. There have been calls for his resignation.

Read also: Zelensky asks Davos forum to invest in Ukraines peace

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After an onboard fuel leak dashed hopes for the Peregrine lunar lander to be the first U.S. trip to the moon's surface in more than 50 years, the lander was set to head back toward Earth and burn up in our planet's atmosphere, space robotics company Astrobotic Technology announced over the weekend.

The company had teamed up with NASA to try to put the uncrewed Peregrine lander on the lunar surface this month  but it never touched down. If that mission had been a success, it would have been the first time a U.S. lander made contact with the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972.

"Sending a spacecraft to the Moon is not easy. I commend Astrobotic's hard work, resilience, and commitment as they navigate the challenges facing their mission," Nicky Fox, a rocket scientist and NASA science administrator, said on X, formerly Twitter, soon after Peregrine's fuel leak.

The Peregrine mission was meant to help NASA researchers prepare for its next Artemis missions  space flights that will take humans around the moon and eventually to the lunar surface in the coming years. Last week, NASA announced Artemis II is delayed from later this year to September 2025, and Artemis III  which would put people on the moon  until September 2026.

Peregrine set to 'burn up'

Astrobotic Technology said Sunday that the company decided to let Peregrine burn up while reentering Earth's atmosphere to avoid "the risk that our damaged spacecraft could cause a problem" in space.

Because the lander leaked a significant amount of propellant fuel, the company said it wouldn't be able to properly maneuver in space. So it's returning to Earth instead of exploring space for a longer amount of time.

"Working with NASA, we received inputs from the space community and the U.S. Government on the most safe and responsible course of action to end Peregrines mission," the company said in a statement. "The recommendation we have received is to let the spacecraft burn up during re-entry in Earths atmosphere."

Even though the lander wasn't able to touch down on the moon, scientists were able to gather important data on the "interplanetary environment" over the course of nearly a week, NASA said.

In addition to scientific payloads, Peregrine also had human remains on board.

Two private companies, Celestis and Elysium, had contracted to have cremated human remains and DNA of clients placed aboard the lunar lander for a cosmic burial. Among them are Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke.

Another 265 people are represented on the rocket that took the Peregrine lander into space. The rocket was set to circle the sun after separating from the lander.

They include three original Star Trek cast members, as well as strands of hair from three U.S. presidents: George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy, The Associated Press reported.

The Navajo nation objected to human remains being taken to the moon for burial as a desecration.

The crew of NASA's Artemis II mission are photographed suited up for the first human spaceflight mission to the moon since 1972. From the left NASA astronaut Christina Koch, NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and at the center NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman.

What's next for NASA moon missions?

Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander and NASA's planned Artemis missions are all part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, which is focused on exploring the moon's surface.

Even though all the lunar missions are connected to NASA's overall goals on and around the moon, "there is no impact to Artemis II or III as a result of Astrobotics Peregrine Mission One," NASA spokesperson Kathryn Hambleton told USA TODAY on Tuesday.

Scientific payloads from Peregrine had been scheduled for future lunar flights, NASA says.

NASA's Orion spacecraft, which carries four crewmembers and was built by Lockheed Martin, is what will one day take humans to the moon during on Artemis missions, the space agency says. Orion is also "a key part of eventually sending them on to Mars," NASA says.

In a couple of years, Artemis III is scheduled to land the first woman and the first person of color on the moon, according to NASA. Eventually, data gathered from Artemis lunar missions will be used to prepare for human missions to Mars, NASA says.

But for now, Artemis II and III are being delayed because of a battery flaw and "challenges" with the air ventilation and temperature control systems of the Orion spacecraft, according to NASA.

NASA also said it would continue its investigation into "unexpected" charring of the spacecraft's heat shield during the Artemis I mission in late 2022, which saw Orion orbit the moon and return to Earth's atmosphere over 25 days. In that voyage, the spacecraft traveled 40,000 miles past the moon, farther than any spacecraft built for humans has gone before, according to NASA.

"Safety is our top priority," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at a news conference this month, explaining why future Artemis missions are delayed. "To give Artemis teams more time to work through the challenges with first time developments, operations and integration, we're going to give more time on Artemis II and III."

Contributing: Cybele Mayes-Osterman, George Petras, Jennifer Borresen and Eric Lagatta

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lunar lander: Peregrine lander set to burn up in Earth's atmosphere
Signs point to a Smoothie King coming to Wichita Falls.

City records show permits were issued Jan. 12 for remodeling of space in a shopping area at 2823 Southwest Parkway for the business. Thats in the area that also has Hobby Lobby and a Mardel store at the busy intersection of Kemp Boulevard and Southwest Parkway.

City permits indicate a Smoothie King store may open near the busy intersection of Kemp Boulevard and Southwest Parkway.

Calls to Smoothie King headquarters in Coppell for more information were not immediately returned.

The chain has specialized in selling smoothies since its founding in Kenner, La., in 1973.

Smoothies are pureed beverages that may contain a variety of ingredients and were initially most popular with health food devotees.

The companys website claims more than 1,350 Smoothie King locations are operating around the world.

Smoothie King was started by a Louisiana couple but sold to South Korean businessman Wan Kim in 2012.

No information was available on when the local store might open.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Permit indicates Smoothie King is coming to Wichita Falls
Perry Superintendent Clark Wicks speaks during a news conference on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, at the Hotel Pattee in Perry, Iowa.

As parents called for more security and transparency, the Perry School Board postponed approving plans to reopen the schools, closed since the Jan. 4 fatal shootings at the high school.

Despite the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, dozens of Perry residents packed the special board meeting Monday in downtowns Towncraft Building, sitting on chairs gathered from other rooms or standing against the wall.

The atmosphere was somber in the wake of Sundays announcement that high school Principal Dan Marburger, severely wounded in the shooting, had died in a Des Moines hospital.

Authorities say Dylan Butler, 17, also shot and killed Ahmir Jolliff, 11, and wounded five other people before taking his own life. They are continuing to investigate the teens motive in the shooting.

Ahmir's mother, Erica Jolliff, in a statement read on her behalf during the meeting, called for people to stop referring to Butler as a school shooter or a murderer.

Related: 11-year-old killed in Perry school shooting remembered as a joyful boy who loved soccer and singing

"He has a name and it's Dylan," she wrote. "Be nice. If you have nothing nice to say don't say anything at all."

She asked that her son's death not be in vain and called for the school district to improve its security procedures.

"By sending our kids to school, we were promised that they were going to be safe," she wrote. "We expect our children to go to school and walk through the front door of our own home following classes."

Related: Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger, wounded in Jan. 4 shootings, dies early Sunday

Parent questions Perry School District's 'good policies' for security

Parent Grace Castro asked the five-member board and Superintendent Clark Wicks to release more information about the "good policies" for security that the district referenced in a post-shootings email to families.

"How will you prevent children from bringing guns into the buildings?" Castro asked. "Our current policies and procedures saved some but failed Ahmir, Mr. Marburger, the other wounded children and every other student and staff who had to witness this and run from it."

The students and staff who stepped up to help during the shooting are heroes, but they never should have been in that position, she said.

"Good policies did not prevent the principal from being in the line of fire," Castro said. Good policies are what allowed for enough time for children to be shot  killed  and forever altered. Good policies dont allow for weapons to enter a school building. Good policies ensure that is impossible."

Castro implored the board to improve security, using some of the money available to Perry and Dallas County through a disaster proclamation Gov. Kim Reynolds made after the shootings.

"We may not have been able to predict the perpetrator would make the choice he did on Jan. 4, but we do have the power and funds to prevent weapons from entering the building in the future," she said.

Related: 'Enough with the prayers.' Students march on Iowa Capitol to demand action on gun violence

Parent Mark Drahos also asked the board to consider safety changes, including securing school entrances and adding hall monitors and a no-bag policy. Butler was able to enter the high school Jan. 4 with a pump-action shotgun and a small-caliber handgun, apparently waiting in a restroom before beginning his attack in the school cafeteria, where students from the high school and adjacent middle school were eating breakfast.

"At the end of the day, all we really want is more preventative measures put in place," Drahos said. He acknowledged the board would not "be able to please everybody."

Related: 'Glass everywhere,' 'blood on the floor': Inside Iowa high school as a shooter rampaged

Perry School Board could meet again later this week

After hearing from community members, the board spent more than an hour in a closed session, then opted not to vote on the district's return-to-school plan. Students had been slated to return to the elementary and middle school later this week, but Superintendent Clark Wicks announced after Marburger's death Sunday that the reopenings of the schools had been postponed.

No date had been set for reopening the high school. Wicks and other officials have said they do not want students to return until repairs are completed to potentially triggering damage remaining from the shootings.

The School Board may meet later this week to continue planning a return to school, Wicks said after the meeting.

As he has repeatedly, he praised the heroics of Marburger, who tried to distract Butler so that other students could escape to safety.

"We are honoring Mr. Marburger this week  and his family  and the hero that he was, the educator that he was, and the leader that he was," Wicks said.

The School Board on Monday also approved contracts for temporary substitute teachers and administrators to help with the district's recovery.

Retired school administrators who will be assisting the Perry staff are Scott Grimes, Tom Lipovac, Randy Martin and Mandy Ross. Administrators will be posted in each of the district's school.

Perry Mayor Dirk Cavanaugh speaks during the Perry City Council meeting on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.

Perry City Council responds to Jan. 4 shootings

Mondays regularly scheduled Perry City Council meeting followed the school board meeting in the same location. Before the meeting began, Mayor Dirk Cavanaugh asked the attendees to have a moment of silence for everyone affected by the Jan. 4 shooting.

Cavanaugh read a brief statement and thanked Perrys first responders for their prompt actions on Jan. 4 along with various other city departments, including public works, parks and recreation, the library and more.

Every single person on our team stepped up to the plate that day and absolutely fulfilled our expectations of them no matter what department they were in, " Perry City Administrator Sven Peterson said. Every department has come together as one.

Perry Police Chief Eric Vaughn said those efforts were appreciated by his department. The Perry Police Department was also assisted by multiple law enforcement agencies from the surrounding counties.

There werent any egos in the room, everybody just knew they were there to help, Vaughn said.

He appreciated everyone who reached out to the Perry Police Department on Jan. 4 and in the coming days.

I just cant believe how many thanks I need to give out to the people that brought food that day and sent cards and were checking on each other, Vaughn said. Thats what we need to do right now is check on each other, theres a lot of people hurting. We need to make sure that were reaching out to those people and keeping an eye on one another today and moving forward for some time.

Perry City Administrator Sven Peterson speaks during the Perry City Council meeting on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.

While reflecting on everything thats happened over the past 11 days, Peterson said the Jan. 4 shooting is not our identity moving forward.

The identity of Perry is really how we responded, whether thats raising money, putting out ribbons and really supporting each other no matter what part of that event youre connected to, Peterson added. I really want that to be the showcase of what Perry is all about.

Samantha Hernandez covers education for the Register. Reach her at (515) 851-0982 or svhernandez@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @svhernandez or Facebook at facebook.com/svhernandezreporter.

Allison Ullmann, the editor and reporter for the Perry Chief and Dallas County News, contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Perry School Board puts off vote on reopening amid security questions
Unpaid carers who have a faith are more likely to be in better health than their counterparts who are not religious.

They are also more likely to report better mental health, prompting calls for faith groups to support unpaid carers in their communities.

The call comes from Carers UK whose new research found that having a religion or faith can support the health of those who care for the elderly, disabled people, or seriously ill friends or relatives.

The charity's State of Caring 2023 report found that nearly a third (30%) of unpaid carers with a religion said that their faith improved their health and wellbeing.

Over a quarter (27%) said they had 'very good' or 'good' mental health, compared to 20% of those who did not identify with a religion.

Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that many unpaid carers in England and Wales have a religious belief, with around half (49%) identifying as Christian.

The survey by Carers UK was carried out between June and August 2023 and received 10,751 responses from unpaid carers across the country.

Of those surveyed, nearly half (47%) were caring for someone for 90 hours or more a week, while a quarter (24%) spent 20 to 49 hours a week in their caring role.

Commenting on the findings, Carers UK said that religious or spiritual beliefs may play a valuable role in helping carers to cope with the challenges of caring for others.

It may also support them in having a more positive and less stressful caring experience, the charity said.

Carers UK welcomed some of the support already being provided by faith organisations but suggested more could be done after finding that only 7% of carers of faith reported receiving support with their caring role from a faith organisation or place of worship.

Carers UK said the figures suggested that faith organisations "could play a greater role" in supporting unpaid carers.

Helen Walker, chief executive of Carers UK, said: "It's clear that faith plays an important role in the lives of many unpaid carers, increasing their sense of inner strength and connecting them with others. Providing care for an older or disabled relative can be isolating, so having a community to lean on can make a big difference to carers' wellbeing.

"Religious institutions and faith communities could consider the unique challenges facing unpaid carers, and ways they could be supported to engage in religious life, such as creating carer networks, providing opportunities for carers to meet other people, or offering volunteering opportunities that can be fitted around caring responsibilities."

Tina English, Director at Embracing Age, a Christian charity which began offering support to carers feeling isolated during the Covid-19 pandemic, said: "This report highlights the vital role faith organisations can play in supporting unpaid carers.

"As a Christian charity we have seen first-hand the positive impact of bringing carers together to pray and chat with one another, in what can be very challenging circumstances. It's so important that carers are seen and supported in their congregations and communities."



Originally published by Christian Today
WASHINGTON (DC News Now)  The Metropolitan Police Department is looking for the car that was used in a shooting in Southeast D.C.

The shooting happened on Jan. 14 around 10:30 p.m.

DC police looking for armed robbery suspects

Police responded to the 600 block of Malcolm X Ave. after they got calls about someone who had been shot.

When police arrived, they found a man who said he was shot in the 3000 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. He was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

(Metropolitan Police Department)

Anyone with information is asked to call (202) 727-9099. A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered to anyone with information that leads to an arrest and conviction of those involved.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
Chinese firms to travel abroad in search of trade deals

Xinhua) 08:20, January 16, 2024

This aerial photo taken on Oct. 2, 2023 shows a container ship docking at an automation wharf of Qinzhou Port for unloading in Qinzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Zhang Ailin)

BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- China plans to arrange overseas trips for a large number of foreign trade companies in 2024 to help them make deals and expand their markets.

The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) said on Monday that it will arrange for more than 1,000 groups of enterprises to visit foreign countries this year to participate in exhibitions, conduct market research and hold business talks.

According to the CCPIT, these foreign visits will prioritize important trade and economic partners such as Europe, North America, Japan, South Korea, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Latin America.

CCPIT head Ren Hongbin said at a national meeting on foreign trade promotion that the council will make further efforts to assist Chinese firms in expanding their overseas markets in 2024.

Official data shows that China's foreign trade stood at 41.76 trillion yuan (about 5.88 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2023, up 0.2 percent year on year in yuan terms.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Despite hosting some of the fastest growing economies in the world, persistent youth unemployment, and pervasive corruption and inequality may fuel clashes between ruling parties and opposition during the 2024 election cycle in nearly 20 African countries.

In West Africa, Senegal, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea-Bissau will go to the polls against a backdrop of military coups that swept the region in 2023. Mali and Burkina Faso, particularly, are in the delicate and uncertain position of transitioning back to democratic rule through elections in 2024.

Relatively stable democracies, such as Senegal and Ghana, have experienced violent conflicts between political factions. Widespread protests in Senegal forced President Macky Sall to shelve his ambitions to run for an unconstitutional third term. At the same time, supporters of the top opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, have clashed with law enforcement while protesting the numerous court cases against Sonko. These are seen as efforts by the government to stop him from being on the presidential ballot in February.

President Nana Akufo-Addo in Ghana is not eligible for re-election due to term limits. So the ruling party has put forward the current Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia as their candidate for Ghanas highest office. The government has grappled with mounting debt that has crippled the economy.

Frequent power cuts, a high unemployment rate, corruption and soaring crime are some of the key issues that South African residents will consider as they prepare to vote in March 2024. This widely anticipated national election is considered a litmus test for the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), after their three decades at the helm of the countrys leadership.

South Africas neighbors Mozambique, Namibia and Botswana will also be going to the polls in 2024 under an electorate that is increasingly disillusioned by the slow progress of democracy and economic gains from independence. Many perceive democracy as a failed means to political and economic growth, not just in Southern Africa states, but across the continent. This partly explains why military juntas in parts of West Africa and the Sahel were cheered and encouraged by citizens in the 2022 and 2023 coups.

Unlike in Latin America, where the evangelical influence in politics grown significantly in the recent past, Christians in Africa are divided on how to engage in politics, if at all. Theologian Bernard Boyo in his book, The Church and Politics: A Theological Reflection, argues that the emphasis on individual salvation has often led the church into neglecting its societal role of actively fostering social, political and economic justice.

We are not oblivious to the fact that most Christians in Africa have no theological or biblical foundation to guide their involvement in politics, Boyo said in his book. They have not been prepared to think biblically about what to do when personal, group, and national interests clash.

Pastor Confex Makhalira, a pastor and church planter in Malawi, has a different view of the church's role in politics. The Bible clearly teaches a separation between the Church and the State. Thus, the Church should not directly involve herself in politics, acting as a political party. However, when individual Christians are called into politics or government they may serve gladly.
Boston Police are turning to the public for help in identifying a suspect in connection to an aggravated assault in Roxbury.

Police detectives say the assault occurred on December 26 in the area of Blue Hill Ave. and Seaveer Street. The assault suspect may frequent the Mattapan area, according to officials.

The incident remains under investigation. No word on the victim of the assault.

Anyone with information is strongly urged to contact District B-2 Detectives at (617) 343-4275.

Community members wishing to assist this investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word TIP to CRIME (27463).

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
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now)  Police in Montgomery County said that they arrested and charged two people for two armed robberies on Jan. 8 and Jan. 10.

Officers responded to the report of a robbery at a 7-Eleven in the 14100 block of Georgia Ave. at about 2:52 a.m. on Jan. 8. There, police say two masked suspects entered the store and demanded the employees not to move. One of the suspects pulled out a gun, while the other sprayed the employees with pepper spray.

Man admits beating mother to death, Prince Georges County police say

The two suspects stole money from the register, as well as the employees cellphones, before driving away in a Ford Expedition.

Then on Jan. 10, officers responded to a robbery at another 7-Eleven in the 11300 block of Lockwood Dr. at about 4:21 a.m. Detectives say that the same two suspects entered the store  one person pulled out a black gun and demanded the employees cellphones, to which the employees complied.

The suspects then stole scratch-off lottery tickets and money from the register before driving off in a Ford Expedition.

Man admits beating mother to death, Prince Georges County police say

On Thursday, Jan. 11, officers found the suspects in the 3500 block of Old Annapolis Rd. in Laurel, Md.

They were identified as 35-year-old Stephen Lavance Oates, Jr. and 29-year-old Katrice Ceclia Wood. The two were taken into custody and transported to the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit and have been charged with multiple counts of armed robbery, assault, theft and firearms-related charges.

They are being held without bond.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. (WAVY)  Police say a man accused of several sexual offenses was arrested Sunday in Winston-Salem.

Previous Coverage: Wanted Peeping Tom in Outer Banks used suicide note as smokescreen, police say

According to police, 48-year-old Jackie Ray Price, of Kill Devil Hills, surrendered to Winston-Salem police on Sunday, Jan. 14 around 3 p.m. He faces seven counts each of felony indecent exposure, misdemeanor secret peeping and felony secret peeping (creating a photographic image). Price was placed under a total bond of $405,000.

Price went missing on May 8, 2023 around the time he was being investigated for indecent exposure and secret peeping. Police say a suicide note was found at his home but there was no body. Investigators began to suspect that Price was alive and attempting to evade arrest.

Kill Devil Hills police say they were able to narrow Prices location down to Winston-Salem thanks to the assistance of the public. They also expressed their gratitude to the Winston-Salem Police Department for conducting door knocks and alerting their community of Prices possible presence.

Our investigators are confident that the relentless efforts of [the Winston-Salem police] ultimately led Mr. Price to surrender himself, Kill Devil Hills Police said in a release.

His first court date is scheduled for Feb. 19 in Dare County.

Keep up to date with the latest news on WAVY.com.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com.
Editor's Note: This story was originally published by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and is republished with permission. The Kyiv Independent is a member center of OCCRP.

Kyrgyz authorities ordered the detention of 11 independent journalists and conducted searches of their homes on Tuesday. According to attorney Zamir Zhooshev, the journalists are now held in custody for 48 hours, before the court decides to release them or to extend the detention.

In the early morning on Tuesday, police searched the apartments of ten current and former employees of independent investigative newsroom Temirov Live in Kyrgyzstan, editor-in-chief Bolot Temirov told OCCRP.

Temirov is currently living in exile after he was stripped of Kyrgyz citizenship and deported from the country in 2022.

The searches were conducted as part of an investigation into alleged calls for mass riots at several different addresses in the countrys capital Bishkek and the provincial city of Tokmok, wrote editor-in chief Temirov on his Facebook page. Police raided the homes of the director of the media outlet and Temirovs former wife, Mahabat Tazhibek kyzy, former Temirov Live journalists Aktilek Kaparov and Tynystan Asylbekov, and other employees currently or formerly connected to Temirov Live.

The Kyrgyz Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed that a criminal case was opened at the end of December and an expert assessment had determined that some publications included calls for mass riots.

Most of the detained journalists have been taken by police to the Main Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, according to Bolot Temirov.

In total, 10 people were detained and interrogated, and their homes were searched. They (the authorities) made a show out of this as if we were terrorists again. The same thing happened two years ago. Now the office is being searched and lawyers are not allowed in, said Temirov in an interview with OCCRP.

No other information is available at present.

On Monday, the State Committee of National Security, also known as the GKNB, conducted a search in the office of Kyrgyz news agency 24.kg. Following the search, security forces interrogated editors-in-chief Makhinur Niyazova and Anton Lymar as well as general director Asel Otorbaeva.

The GKNB later confirmed it is investigating a criminal case involving alleged war propaganda and said that the managers of 24.kg are currently being treated as witnesses.

When she was being led out of the office by security officers, Niyazova told reporters that the search was related to a criminal case regarding an unspecified publication about the war in Ukraine.

Late Monday evening, the editors and general director of 24.kg were released.

Freedom of press in Kyrgyzstan

In recent years, Kyrgyz police and intelligence services have conducted searches in the offices and apartments of a number of independent journalists. In 2022 police searched the office of Temirov Live where officers said they found among Bolot Temirovs things a small bag of hashish.

They planted it! Temirov shouted as he was taken out of the office.

An investigation by OCCRP detailed the smear campaign against Temirov and his team.

Authorities later charged Temirov with three more counts, including the charge that he falsified documents to obtain Kyrgyz citizenship. This effectively invalidated his passport, leading to the accusation that every time he traveled abroad he crossed the border illegally.

An Interior Ministry investigator ultimately revoked the journalists passport and in November 2022 he was deported from Kyrgyzstan to Russia, where he also holds citizenship.

In Reporters Without Borders 2023 World Press Freedom Index, Kyrgyzstan dropped from 72-nd to 122-nd place.

Officials in recent years have tried to increase censorship and promulgate laws restricting press freedom, the report states. After an unsuccessful attempt in 2020, President Sadyr Japarov signed a law in 2021 to limit the spread of so-called false information  a law that violates the Constitution, as well as international treaties and restricts press freedom.

Earlier, international human rights organizations Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International wrote in their reports for 2022 that freedom of expression is gradually being limited in Kyrgyzstan. According to HRW, the authorities have taken a course to suppress critical voices, citing pressure on the media, NGOs and the civil sector, as well as the detention of activists.

Apart from Bolot Temirovs deportation, the most striking examples of this are the blocking of the website of the Kyrgyz RFE/RL service Azattyk and threatening to close it entirely, as well as the regular interrogations of journalists and bloggers.

In August 2023, the Bishkek Prosecutors Office filed a lawsuit against OCCRPs Kyrgyz member center Kloop, asking the court to shut down the media outlet. According to prosecutors, the State Committee of National Security found that most of Kloops publications are aimed at sharply criticizing the current governments policies and discrediting representatives of state and municipal bodies.

The Kyrgyz Ministry of Culture in September, 2023 decided to block Kloops Russian-language website and two months later, their Kyrgyz-language site as well. In response, Kloop filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Culture, asking the court to completely cancel the decisions of the Ministry of Culture and declare them invalid. Court proceedings are still ongoing.

Kyrgyzstans President Sadyr Japarov maintains, however, that freedom of speech and the protection of human rights are our main priority.

There is no pressure (on the media), Japarov told the Kyrgyz news site Kabar in 2022. There are media outlets which try to avoid responsibility for their crimes, and then shout when they are arrested. Its those that carry out pseudo-investigations, publish false information, discredit people, and stir up unrest in society. That is a violation of the law.

Read also: Investigative Stories From Ukraine: How men fake divorces, custody lawsuits to avoid draft

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
YORK COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) A woman who was reported missing and endangered in York was found dead early Wednesday morning, according to the York City Police Department.

Police say Amaris Morales-Berrioss body was found on the 1100 block of Priority Road in York. Morales-Berrios, 42, had last been seen in that same area Saturday night.

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The case is now being investigated as a domestic-related homicide and police say 47-year-old Jose L. Rodriguez Ramos of York was arrested and charged with homicide.

In a separate filing, Rodriguez Ramos was also charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

Changes made to Pennsylvania tax credit, rent rebate program; filing period now open

According to court records, Rodriguez Ramos was denied bail and is in the York County Prison.

Rodriguez Ramos is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on January 31.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call York City Police at (717)-846-1234.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.
The flow of trucks through the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint has resumed after the Polish hauliers called off their protest.

Source: State Border Guard Service of Ukraine

Details: The Polish hauliers protest in front of the Dorohusk-Yahodyn checkpoint came to an end on 16 January, as the Border Guard of the Republic of Poland notified their Ukrainian counterparts at 20:00 (Kyiv time).

Cargo vehicles are registered and allowed to cross the border in both directions as usual.

As a result, Poland's partial blockade of the Ukrainian border has been lifted.

Earlier:

Polish hauliers lifted their blockade of the Krakivets and Rava-Ruska checkpoints.

On 16 January, Tomasz Borkowski of the Committee to Protect Hauliers and Transport Employers, reported that Polish hauliers, who have been blocking border crossings with Ukraine since November, agreed with the government regarding some demands and will suspend their protest.

Subsequently, the specifics of the agreement reached between the demonstrators and the Polish government emerged: the protests will be halted until 1 March.

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The border between Poland and Ukraine

Polish truckers, who have been blocking border points with Ukraine since November, reached an agreement with the government and will suspend their protests on Jan. 17, according to remarks made by protest leader Tomasz Borkowski on Jan.16, according to Reuters.

We have agreed on certain conditions, we will give the government time to work, as it is a new government, Borkowski said.

This is not the end, but there will be a suspension of the protest.

Read also: Poland must prepare for potential influx of more Ukrainian refugees

Polish freight carriers initiated blockades at the Ukrainian border on Nov. 6, stopping freight traffic at three busy border crossings.

Ukraine tried negotiating with the protesters, but was not able to reach an agreement, Ukraines Deputy Infrastructure Minister, Serhiy Derkach, said on Nov. 13.

Truck traffic was also blocked at another border crossing on Nov. 23.

Read also: Poland reinforces air defense readiness amid Russian missile strikes targeting Ukrainian cities

The European Commission announced that it could initiate punitive procedures against Poland if the issue were not resolved.

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
Polish hauliers blocking three checkpoints on the border with Ukraine will suspend their protest until 1 March  this is the agreement between the protesters and the Polish government.

Source: European Pravda, citing TVN24

Details: Dariusz Klimczak, Minister of Infrastructure of Poland, announced on 16 January that the ministry had signed an agreement with the hauliers.

Klimczak said the agreement does not mean the end of the dialogue, but "intensive negotiations".

Quote from Klimczak: "his protest is interdisciplinary, touching upon various aspects of international and domestic politics. The complexity and intricacy of the issues have led to negotiations and discussions lasting over a month. The protest will be concluded by 1 March."

Details: Klimczak added that "there is a lot of work ahead", but at the same time expressed hope that "constructive negotiations will bring a concrete result".

The protesters' leader, Rafa Mekler, said that if the authorities and hauliers cannot find a solution, they will return to the border.

He also added that all the protesters' infrastructure  containers and trailers  remains at the border.

Background:

Earlier today, Tomasz Borkowski of the Committee to Protect Hauliers and Transport Employers, reported that the protest will be suspended on 16 January at 13:00 Kyiv time.

The Ministry of Agriculture of Romania and representatives of major agricultural organisations reached an agreement on 15 January, addressing several farmers' demands who protested for six days, blocking the border with Ukraine.

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The Polish Parliaments Ethics Committee has reprimanded the opposition Law and Justice party (PiS) leader, Jarosaw Kaczynski, for calling recently appointed Prime Minister Donald Tusk a "German agent," the Polish newspaper Rzeszpospolita reported on Jan. 16, citing Confederation Partys MP Konrad Berkowicz.

The decision came after a closed session of the committee and is the harshest punishment that can be imposed on a member of parliament. Kaczynski has the right to appeal the decision within 14 days.

Following Tusk's appointment as prime minister, Kaczynski requested to speak in parliament and called the head of the government a "German agent".

Read also: Key consequences of Polish parliamentary elections

"The Ethics Committee decided that it was unable to determine whether Donald Tusk is a German agent, but by a majority vote decided to reprimand Jarosaw Kaczynski, taking into account the emotions provoked by these words," Berkowicz said.

When asked by journalists if he regretted his words, Kaczynski said he did not.

Read also: Polish government reaches agreement with truckers, ending border blockade

Parliamentary elections for the Polish Sejm and Senate, as well as a nationwide referendum, were held on Oct. 15. Voter turnout was 74.38%, a record high since Polands emergence from communist rule in 1989.

The ruling PiS won the elections with 35.38%, followed by Polish opposition politician Donald Tusks Civic Coalition with 30.66%, the Third Way coalition of centrist parties with 14%, the left-wing Lewica with 8.61%, and the Confederation with 7.16%.

The democratic opposition, which includes Tusks party, the centrist Third Way, and the Left alliance, formed a majority in the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, with approximately 250 seats, granting them the authority to form the government.

Tusk became Polands new Prime Minister, on Dec. 11, ending the eight-year rule of the ultra-conservative Law and Justice party.

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
Polish carriers have unblocked several checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Polish border, allowing normal registration and passage procedures for Ukrainian freight vehicles in both directions, the State Customs Service and the Border Guard Service reported on Telegram on Jan. 16.

About 300 trucks are still waiting to enter Ukraine, according to Ukrainian customs officials.

Polish truckers, who have been blocking border crossings since November, reached an agreement with the government and will suspend their protests on Jan. 17, according to remarks made by protest leader Tomasz Borkowski on Jan.16, says Reuters.

Newly inaugurated Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on December 27th that the Polish government was getting closer to a deal to end the protests blocking trucking on several of the border crossings.

The truckers have been joined by farmers, who demand a halt to sugar imports from Ukraine, immediate payment of direct subsidies, maintenance of the fuel excise tax rate at current levels, and compensation to corn producers.

Read also: Polish government reaches agreement with truckers, ending border blockade

Ukraine and Poland agreed on an action plan to unblock the borders on Dec. 22.

The Ukrainian government agreed with the Poles on Dec. 19 on an additional opportunity for empty trucks to enter Poland from Ukraine through a separate "eQueue" at the largest checkpoint, Yahodyn-Dorohusk. The start of this line of empty trucks was scheduled Dec. 20.

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On Christmas Day of 2022, a fire alarm went off at a church service in Rautjarvi, Finland, but the 30 worshippers who tried to get out found the doors were tied with rope.

Smoke was coming into the sanctuary from a hallway, the church leader told the congregation.

There was no way you could go out through the main door at that point, the Rev. Kari Luumi told the Helsinki Times. Smoke was coming in through the cracks.

The assailant had not tied the ropes tight enough to keep the doors permanently shut, and the congregation managed to escape before the building, built in 1881, was engulfed in high flames and burned down, a church member told a Norwegian news outlet. Police confirmed an intentional arson attack, according to the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe).

OIDAC Europes 2022/2023 annual report shows Molotov cocktails caused fires also at two church buildings in Paris in January 2023, the Church of Saint-Laurent and the Saint-Martin-des-Champs Church.

In February, an arsonist broke through the backdoor of the historic building of the Church of the Cross in Wissen, Germany. Flames destroyed the high altar, and the assailant vandalized symbolic religious artifacts. Total damages amounted to millions of euros.

These were some of attacks on religious freedom that OIDAC chronicled in a Nov. 16 report that shows an increase in such violations since 2021. Overall, hate crimes against Christians escalated from a previous record of 519 incidents in 2021 to 748 cases in 2022 within 30 European countries, an increase of 44 per cent.

The increasing number of anti-Christian hate crimes in Europe reported by OIDAC is deeply worrying, Regina Polak of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE) stated. It is highly necessary to raise both governmental and societal awareness for this problem and undertake political measures to tackle and combat it decidedly.

Throughout 2022, there were 37 arson attacks on Christian targets in Germany, 16 in France and Italy and nine in the United Kingdom. In 18 European countries, arson attacks increased 75 percent, from 60 in 2021 to 106 the following year, according to the report.

Fortunately, some arson attempts did not succeed and did not cause severe damage to churches, apart from being a hateful gesture toward the community, the report notes. In other cases, the fires devastated churches, altars, and religious objects, which led to high monetary and emotional losses.

The report chronicles how the issue of abortion gave rise to oppression of Christians. Buffer zones around abortion clinics gained U.K. parliamentary approval in England and Wales in March. This criminalized all forms of influence affecting people using the clinics, including peaceful actions such as prayer.

The right to freedom of speech continues to be a highly debated issue, adds the report, as new laws are seeking to regulate speech in the public sphere, and some even in the private sphere. New buffer zones around abortion clinics are one form of state regulation that has led to the criminalization of Christians for praying silently on the street.

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, director of UK March for Life, was arrested in December 2022 for silently praying outside the BPAS Robert Clinic, an abortion clinic in Kings Norton, Birmingham, England. An online video shows police officers asking her to disclose the praying in your mind.

She admitted to praying in her thoughts, and officers searched her body, including her hair. She was arrested, interrogated at a police station and charged with protesting and engaging in an act that is intimidating to service users.

During interrogation, officers showed Vaughan-Spruce photos of herself standing outside the abortion clinic. Vaughan-Spruce later told Alliance Defending Freedom International that she told police she may have been praying at those moments  or thinking about her lunch. The Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges on the grounds of insufficient evidence in January 2023.

The Birmingham Magistrates Court later dismissed the charges altogether, although police arrested Vaughan-Spruce again in March for standing inside the buffer zone. West Midland Police later allowed that she was permitted within the area. Then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman, sent a letter to police officers in September 2023 reminding them that silent prayer, in itself, is not unlawful.

The litmus test of a free and democratic British society is whether we can tolerate and withstand public conversation on issues about which there is deep division and strong emotion, said Member of Parliament Andrew Lewer, regarding the arrest. But even if you think these praying people are pests, think about the implications of introducing a ban on their peaceful speech, even their silent thought.

Doctors, nurses and other medical workers suffered vulnerable positions when refusing to participate in practices such as abortion because of religious beliefs. This happened as a result of employers attempting to ditch conscience clauses established by law.

The German government is trying to force trainee doctors to study abortion techniques as part of their general studies under a curriculum reform announced in September. The report says this would ban Christians opposing abortion for conscience reasons from all medical professions.

Believers face a similar challenge in Spain, where the Spanish Congress of Deputies passed an abortion law in December. Doctors opting out of abortion would be blacklisted on a conscientious objectors list and removed from medical committees.

Hate speech laws also posed various challenges to Christians in Europe. The report highlighted a bill passed in the lower house of the Irish Parliament in April. The Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offenses Bill made it a criminal offense to possess material deemed hateful to people on account of their protected characteristics or any of those characteristics  with a threat of imprisonment for offenders.

Alleged offenders were required to prove they did not intend to use such materials to spread hate.

Also threatening religious freedom were other legal developments, such as vaguely formulated and overreaching laws that would criminalize parents, pastors, and teachers if they express dissenting opinions regarding LGBTIQ-related discussions or discourage their children from undergoing hormone therapies because of their religious convictions, the report stated.

Criminalizing expressions of mainstream religious teachings as hate speech when they do not incite hatred or violence is dangerous on various levels, noted Anja Hoffman, executive director of OIDAC Europe.

It stigmatizes legitimate conscience-related convictions, and at the same time weakens the severity of actual incitement to hatred, she added. Furthermore, silencing Christian voices in public undermines the plurality of democratic Western societies and essentially renders a free discourse impossible.

Some Christian school teachers also faced persecution for their beliefs. In Wales, teacher Ben Dybowski last yearshared his beliefs on biblical marriage during a confidential training session about diversity and gender awareness at his high school.

The teacher said human life starts at conception and should be protected from that moment. He also stated that marriage is a union between a man and woman, although he acknowledged the state recognizes other options. Lastly, he said that he was critical of some aspects of Islam.

Thats it. Three mainstream Christian views shared by millions of Brits, religious or otherwise, said Dybowski on his campaign website, set up to take legal action against the school. The next day I was escorted by the headmaster out of the school building. He decided my views were a safeguarding issue and reported me to the local regulator of the education workforce (in plain English: in his opinion my Christian beliefs made me unsafe to work with children and young people). This led to a general ban on working in schools.

Recommendations

The OIDCC Europe report makes several recommendations for change:

 European governments should improve communications with religious groups when drafting laws affecting freedom of religion.

 governments should safeguard Christians freedoms of religion, expression, assembly and conscientious objection.

 The European Union should refrain from hate-speech legislation, which is too open to interpretation, and to ensure laws do not discriminate directly or indirectly against Christians.

 Measures are also needed to collect data on discrimination against believers and media approaches to religious rights need to be vastly improved.

 Journalists need to report anti-hate crimes against Christians, and churches should be encouraged to educate members about legal rights for freedom of religious beliefs.

As freedom of thought, conscience, and religion is a cornerstone for free and democratic societies, we hope that states will not compromise on the protection of these fundamental rights, and thus ensure an open and peaceful climate in our societies, the report states.
A jury convicted a former legislator for Puerto Rico and her husband of stealing thousands in a yearslong scheme while she was in office.

Maria Milagros Tata Charbonier was a legislator in the Puerto Rico House of Representative from 2013 to 2020, according to an August 2020 indictment filed in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

While in office, Charbonier inflated paychecks to her assistant, Frances Acevedo-Ceballos, federal prosecutors said. Acevedos biweekly paycheck began as $800 before increasing to between $2,100 to $2,900.

Acevedo kept some of this inflated salary for herself and gave between $1,000 to $1,500 from each paycheck as a kickback to Charbonier and her husband, Orlando Montes-Rivera, as well as their son, officials said in the indictment.

The scheme lasted from 2017 to 2020, officials said. During the trial, prosecutors said that about $100,000 was stolen through the scheme, according to ABC News and Primera Hora, a Puerto Rican news outlet.

After learning that she was being investigated, prosecutors said Charbonier deleted her call log and text messages on several platforms.

A federal jury convicted Charbonier and Montes-Rivera for their role in the corruption scheme, according to a Jan. 12 news release from the U.S. Department of Justice in Puerto Rico.

Charbonier and Montes-Rivera were convicted of conspiracy; theft, bribery, and kickbacks concerning programs receiving federal funds; wire fraud and money laundering, federal officials said.

Their son, Orlando Gabriel Gaby Montes-Charbonier, entered into a pre-trial diversion program in which the charges may be dropped if he meets the courts criteria, according to ABC News and Primera Hora.

Charbonier was also convicted of obstruction of justice for destroying data on her cell phone, prosecutors said.

Thats the way it is, Charbonier said after the trial, according to ABC News. This is the democracy we live in, and we have to move forward.

Charboniers attorney did not immediately respond to McClatchy News Jan. 16 request for comment. He told ABC News that he planned to appeal the jurys verdict.

Montes-Riveras attorney did not immediately respond to McClatchy News Jan. 16 request for comment.

Acevedo previously pleaded guilty to federal funds bribery and will be sentenced Feb. 5, prosecutors said. Acevedos attorney did not immediately respond to McClatchy News Jan. 16 request for comment.

Charbonier and her husband will be sentenced on April 10, prosecutors said. Their charges include maximum penalties ranging from five to 20 years in prison.

Charbonier was a conservative politician and secretary general of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, ABC News reported.

Google Translate was used to translate the article from Primera Hora.

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The majority of Canadians fear a Donald Trump return to the White House, a new poll has suggested.

In an Angus Reid Institute survey of 1,510 adults, almost two-thirds (64%) agreed or strongly agreed that U.S. democracy may not survive a second Trump presidency.

Almost half (49%) of the respondents worried the U.S. is on the way to becoming an authoritarian state.

Some 62% said the U.S. would be much worse under Trump again.

Regarding relations between the U.S. and Canada, 64% thought Biden was a more stable POTUS.

More than 50% said Biden is better for Canadas economy, with 29% saying whoever occupies the Oval Office doesnt matter, economically speaking, to Canada.

Despite being indicted in four criminal cases, Trump remains the clear Republican 2024 front-runner and on Monday cruised to victory in the Iowa caucuses, meaning a replay of the 2020 election between himself and Biden remains on the cards.

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Residents told KIRO 7 that their West Seattle apartment units were impacted by sewer overflow amid the sub-freezing temperatures due to frozen pipes.

A spokesperson for the Seattle Fire Department said crews had responded to more than 175 issues related to water pipes bursting due to sub-freezing temperatures since Friday.

RESIDENTS IMPACTED:

KIRO 7 spoke with Temple Jackson, who lives inside the Spruce Apartment, located on 39th Avenue Southwest in West Seattle, on Monday.

I went into crisis mode, she said.

Jackson said she had been working from home on Friday morning when she heard bubbling sounds coming from her sink.

And I heard that sound again and it then just started erupting, she said. The poo was coming out. I was so distraught.

Jackson said maintenance workers had tried to fix the issue, but they couldnt due to the frozen pipes.

They indicated the pipes were frozen on Friday and that the temperatures would have to warm up significantly in order for this to be fixed, she said. The house at that point, there were three men here, was filled with the smell of feces.

Later on Sunday, Jackson said her sink had spewed out sewer water and overflowed onto her living room floor and kitchen.

I just started screaming help, help, and it (sewer) was coming up everywhere. And then there was just poop and brown water, and it was just running over, Jackson said.

A neighbor heard the commotion.

I heard yelling, Kendall Bullinger said. And it was my neighbor frantically trying to get all of her things out of her apartment before it was ruined. Its literally sewer water spewing out of her sink.

#NEW: A West Seattle woman tells me her sink erupted with sewer water over the weekend due to frozen water pipes, and she wasnt the only one affected. What she says the apartment management told her that left her now searching for warmth and safety on @kiro7seattle at 5 p.m. pic.twitter.com/5bfRrfiFMc  Louie Tran (@louie_tran) January 15, 2024

And the sewer leaked into her neighbors unit, right below her.

I was in the bathroom doing my dishes and heard water running, said Alex Claus, a resident. And I looked out here and see water pouring through the lights, all over my counter, all over my stuff.

Claus said management had previously told him to not use his dishwasher and sink.

The water lines were frozen and not to use the sink or dishwater, and I still havent heard from them since, he described his conversation with management.

He said hes now concerned about his health due to the sewer water that had spilled onto his kitchen and living room floor.

I feel like there could be some long-term health concerns with mold growing, he said. It was appalling, and all my personal belongings are here -- I have a cat -- are contaminated.

He told KIRO 7 that he believes management should have better prepared its pipes before and during the sub-freezing temperatures.

The hallways should be much better insulated to avoid the pipes freezing, he said. The other building is definitely warmer in the hallways, but this building, building A, is a lot colder.

Bullinger added that the hallway gets cold.

Its usually 40 to 50 degrees in the hallway so I think that probably contributed to the frozen pipe, said Bullinger.

APARTMENT MANAGEMENT:

Jackson had called Thrive, the company that manages Spruce Apartment, and asked to temporarily stay in another unit while workers fix the issue.

They (management) said they wouldnt do it. They wouldnt even give a reason, she said. And they said you guys are on your own, but what we can help you with is with the hotel cart.

Jackson said she carried all of her belongings outside into the hallway.

I dont really have a place to go, she said. I dont really have family or friends here.

She said she had been lying on the hallway floor when her neighbor came by and offered her a place inside their apartment for her to rest.

I have a dog, she said. Im 59 years old and I have some health conditions. I have no more strength. I havent eaten. I havent showered.

Claus said he also reached out to management about the issue.

The response was pretty much contact your insurance, he said. We cant help you immediately. Just contact your insurance and go from there. Ive been running around trying to contact maintenance and the building manager on trying to get answers on when things will be up and running and again, but nothing.

Jackson and Claus said they both had filed claims with their renters insurance companies, but were told that they would not get support to find a temporary unit.

KIRO 7 reached out to Spruce Apartment, and were still waiting to hear back.

We also reached out to Thrive, the company that manages the building and are also waiting to hear back.
Popular reptile expert Brian Barczyk, known for sharing his passion for reptiles in social media videos, has died following a battle with pancreatic cancer.

The Reptarium, a reptile zoo founded by Barczyk in Utica, Michigan, announced his death on Monday.

More than the guiding light of our organisation, Brians fervent passion for reptiles and wildlife, along with his steadfast dedication to education, has touched innumerable hearts and minds globally, The Reptarium team wrote on Instagram.

Just over a week ago, Barczyk uploaded an emotional YouTube video titled This is Goodbye... to send a farewell message to his five million subscribers and the many fans he has garnered through creating content showing day-to-day life in the reptile zoo, as well as educational reptile videos.

You guys have followed along, and I appreciate you guys so much, he said in the video.

It has been an amazing journey and one that has changed my life; each one of you has changed my life like you cant believe.

Barczyk was diagnosed with stage 2 cancer on 27 February 2023. The disease quickly developed to stage 4, he said last year.

He told WXYZ that he was first prompted to go to the doctor after experiencing back pain.

The pain was abdominal, you know, like from stomach to back, he said.

Barczyk had kept his fans up to date with his health struggles in his vlogs, letting them know about his pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

His reptile zoo holds around 3,000 animals and is currently completing an extension across from the current building, calling it the LegaSea Aquarium.

However, the expert said in a recent video that he would not be able to see it completed, according to WXYZ.

We beat a lot of odds in our life; this one we didnt beat... Please come and see me at the LegaSea; my spirit will be there, he told fans in his final video message.

I love you guys. You guys be good, inspire people."

As Barczyk was entering hospice care, he said that his family would continue to complete the aquarium and update his vlog.

Before his YouTube channel became the success it is today, Barczyk was also featured in the TV series Venom Hunters on the Discovery Channel.

His YouTube career has also seen him collaborate with some of the platforms biggest stars, such as MrBeast and Logan Paul.

He is survived by Lori, his wife of 35 years and their two children, Noah and Jade, according to People.
President Joe Biden is heading to North Carolina this week.

On Thursday, Biden will be in the Raleigh-Durham area. Hell talk about Bidenomics and his administrations Investing in America Agenda.

ALSO READ: Vice President Kamala Harris announces mental health funding for NC schools

The goal of the agenda is to repair and rebuild infrastructure, lower costs, support small businesses, and create jobs that pay well.

The exact location of Bidens appearance has not yet been released.

The visit comes a week after Vice President Kamala Harris visited Charlotte to announce $285 million in mental health funding for schools across the country, including $12 million to North Carolina.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

(WATCH BELOW: President Biden to speak at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston)
The inauguration of Bernardo Arevalo as Guatemala's new president was marked by a series of controversies and delays on Sunday. The event was postponed for more than 9 hours while the opposition-controlled Congress debated the admission of the incoming legislators, who were to be sworn in before the president.

The situation was so tense that several world leaders who had traveled to Guatemala for the inauguration could no longer wait and returned to their countries to attend to other commitments.

Finally, the new legislators were sworn in, and a congressional board was elected to formally inaugurate the president. Despite the challenges, Arevalo finally took office after midnight, backed by citizens and international delegations.

But the situation in Guatemala in not new, in the past few months the Central American country experienced one of the worst political and social crises in its history after the election of Arevalo. The situation was exacerbated by the actions of the Attorney General who was accused of obstructing the transition to the elected president.

Since the beginning of October, hundreds of indigenous, peasant, and student organizations blocked more than one hundred points in the country.

The conflict intensified due to the lack of dialogue between the outgoing government and the incoming one. The former president, Alejandro Giammattei, accused Arevalo of promoting the destabilization of the country and of evading his responsibility for the blockades and protests. For his part, Arevalo countered that putting an end to the blockades was the responsibility of Giammattei.

The Guatemalan population, being primarily Christian, with almost 50% of its inhabitants identifying themselves as evangelicals, has navigated this political crisis without setting their beliefs aside. Despite the challenges, faith has played an essential role in how Guatemalans handle the situation.

The Evangelical Alliance of Guatemala (AEG) called for 21 days of fasting and prayer for the country. According to a statement published by AEG, they will "pray for the kingdom of God to be established in Guatemalan society, to live in the principles of the Kingdom and to build families that live in righteousness." In addition, intercession will be made so that God will give wisdom to the new president Arevalo, "in view of the decisions to be taken during his term of office."

Lawyer Marco Castellanos, who is part of the Multireligious Roundtable of Guatemala, said that "faith is essential because when there are serious violations of the fundamental rights of citizens, the Church maintains a peaceful position and a mission of hope."

Churches and religious leaders have been responding to the demonstrations and political conflict by providing support and guidance to their communities. Although the crisis has affected all sectors of society, the Christian community has demonstrated resilience and strength in these difficult times.

Castellanos pointed out that "as an unusual situation, an attack on religious freedom has been observed. Those who organized the blockades threatened the pastors, so that they would provide the protesters with food. They demanded support with church trucks and vehicles to make it appear that the evangelical people supported these actions. Otherwise, they threatened to close and damage churches that refused to do so."

Faith has become a pillar for people during this period of uncertainty, offering hope and comfort during chaos. Despite adversity, the Christian community in Guatemala remains committed to peace and justice, reflecting the core values of their belief.

"We believe we are called to be the Lords instruments of peace and justice in this world, following the example of Jesus Christ, who taught us to love God and our neighbor as ourselves," Castellanos concluded.
Just hours after Iowa Republican voters cemented his status as the partys front-runner, Donald Trump headed to New York on Tuesday to face the music for sexually assaulting and then defaming E. Jean Carroll.

Trump swept Iowa Monday night with 51 percent of the votes, the largest margin of victory since the state began holding Republican caucuses. The win established him more firmly than ever as the front-runner for the partys nomination and set him up for another success at the New Hampshire primary next week.

But first, Trump has to face Carroll in New York. Trump is on trial for comments he made in 2019, when he said Carroll accused him of raping her just to promote her memoir. Presiding Judge Lewis Kaplan has already determined the former president is liable for defamation, so the trial is primarily to set damages.

Trump did not appear at his first trial against Carroll in May. But this time around, he is in the courtroom and may even testifyalthough that will have to wait until January 22, the day before the New Hampshire primary. (Trump isnt required to attend, and he certainly isnt required to testify.)

There are strict limitations on what Trump can and cannot say if he does take the stand. Kaplan issued an order last week barring Trump and his lawyers from pushing conspiracies about Carrolls lawyer or who might be paying the writers legal fees. They are prohibited from making comments concerning Ms. Carrolls past romantic relationships, sexual disposition, and prior sexual experiences, and they cannot argue that Trump did not sexually abuse Carroll or act with actual malice when making his comments about her.

Kaplan has also ruled that Trump cant argue he didnt rape Carroll. Although Trump was found liable for sexual abuse, Kaplan has repeatedly stated that Trump raped her as many people commonly understand the word rape.

In other words, a federal judge has recognized that Trump is a rapist.

Trump has already shown he is unwilling to listen to judges rules after he went on a courtroom rant on the last day of his financial fraud trial in New York. So there is no guarantee hell stick to Kaplans ruling if allowed to testify against Carroll.

In May, a jury unanimously found Trump liable for sexual abuse and battery against Carroll in the mid-1990s and for defaming her in 2022 while denying the assault. He was ordered to pay her $5 million in damages.

Kaplan ruled in September that since Trump has already been found liable for sexual abuse, his 2019 comments are by default defamatory. Carroll is now seeking at least $10 million in damages.
The News & Observer publishes a weekly roundup of restaurant sanitation scores to keep you up-to-date on the health grades at Triangle dining spots.

Sanitation scores and their corresponding letter grades are used in North Carolina to assess restaurants adherence to rules and standards intended to mitigate and prevent the spread of food-borne illnesses.

Youve likely seen sanitation grade cards at restaurants youve visited, and The N&O previously explained what those scores mean and how theyre calculated.

Here are sanitation scores in Triangle counties for the week of Jan. 10-16.

Wake County sanitation scores

The Wake County sanitation grades database shows that 66 restaurant inspections were completed Jan. 10-16.

 Most restaurants received an A grade, or a score of at least 90%.

 Two restaurants received a B grade, or a score of at least 80% but lower than 90%.

Penn Station East Coast Subs #320 (700 Cary Towne Blvd. in Cary) received a score of 87.5% during an inspection on Jan. 11.

The restaurant was in violation of 11 standards. Of these, nine were considered critical violations.

Critical violations included finding the meat slicer, fry bins, colander and chicken prep sink all with old, dried food residue, and the chlorine solution in the sanibucket near the slicer was not a the correct level.

Some violations were corrected during the inspection.

The restaurant previously scored 95% in July 2023 and 97% in January 2023.

Toyars BBQ & Hot Pot Restaurant (4075 Davis Dr. in Morrisville) received a score of 84% during an inspection on Jan. 10.

Note: The restaurant at this address is listed as 12 Ji Hot Pot in Morrisvilles small business directory and on Yelp.

The restaurant was in violation of 19 standards. Of these, 14 were considered critical violations.

Critical violations included finding raw beef in the walk-in cooler with fuzzy growth and an employee handling and preparing produce with their bare hands.

Some violations were corrected during the inspection.

There are no records of previous inspections for this restaurant, per Wake County inspection grades.

 No restaurants received a C grade, or a score of at least 70% but less than 80%.

 No restaurants received a failing grade, or a score below 70%.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Wake County at wake-nc.healthinspections.us.

Durham County sanitation scores

The Durham County inspection management system shows 20 restaurant inspections were completed Jan. 10-16.

 All restaurants received an A grade.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Durham County at bit.ly/3pVQfpG.

Orange County sanitation scores

The Orange County inspection management system shows that three restaurant inspections were completed Jan. 10-16.

 All restaurants received an A grade.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Orange County at bit.ly/3eQqpxc.

Johnston County sanitation scores

The Johnston County sanitation inspections database shows that 10 restaurant inspections were completed Jan. 10-16.

 All restaurants received an A grade.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Johnston County at johnston-nc.healthinspections.us.

Chatham County sanitation scores

The Chatham County inspections management system shows that that one restaurant inspection was completed Jan. 10-16. The establishment received an A grade.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Chatham County at bit.ly/3JfiHwq.

Triangle Asked & Answered: What do you want to know?

Have a question about something in our community? The News & Observers Service Journalism team wants your questions for our Triangle Asked & Answered series. Reach out to us by filling out this form or by sending an email to ask@newsobserver.com.

This common yard shrub kills hundreds of NC birds each winter. Is one near your home?

From purple streetlights to Raleigh recycling  you ask, we answer: Our best reader questions
A religious icon that depicts Saint Matrona of Moscow blessing Joseph Stalin, the Soviet dictator who was responsible for the death of millions, has stirred up controversy in Georgia, especially after a civil activist threw some blue plaint at the icon last Jan. 9, the Art Newspaper reports.

Discord at Georgia's Famed Holy Trinity Cathedral

The subject of contention itself is located in the country's famed church in Tbilisi and initially gained online traction after a dissenting priest made a Facebook post about it on Jan. 6, which was Christmas Eve for Georgian and Russian Orthodox Christians.

Then, on Jan.9, eggshells filled with blue paint were thrown at the work and hit its glass covering.

Later on, the activist Nata Peradze came forward and proclaimed she was the one who threw the paint, a statement that was supported by a Facebook video of the incident she posted herself. Peradze has since then campaigned for the removal of the icon.

On the following day Jan. 10, counter-protesters from the far-right "Alt Info" movement surrounded Peradze's house. Local Georgian authorities have also launched an investigation regarding the paint-throwing they labeled as "petty hooliganism."

Read Also: Chicago's Field Museum Complies to New US Regulations Surrounding Native American Displays

History Surrounding Stalin, St. Matrona, and the Religious Icon

Born in 1879 in the city of Gori, Georgia, Stalin was originally named Iosif Dzhugashvili and received his education at an Orthodox seminary in Tbilisi. This is also where the Soviet dictator began his rise to power. Later on, the seminary's building was turned into a museum.

As for Matrona of Moscow, the Russian Orthodox saint shown to be blessing Stalin was believed to have been born without her eyes and was consequently blind for the rest of her life up until she died in 1952.

In the '90s, decades after her passing, a following of hers developed enough to generate great reverence for her relics within a particular Moscow convent.

According to historical legend, the dictator met with the saint during a time when Russia's capital was threatened by Nazis during World War II.

In terms of the recent scandal, it isn't the first as a similar-looking religious icon was removed in 2008 after it generated uproar for also depicting Matrona and Stalin within it, and due to the fact it was hung in the religious institution of St. Petersburg, Russia.

As for the recently paint-struck icon, the Georgian Orthodox Church has released a couple of contradictory statements regarding it, according to BBC. Since the incident, the religious work has now been cleaned up and has been relocated to a placement that is more conducive to viewing.

Read More: England's Museum is Missing Over 1,700 Objects Within Its Collections, Including Drawing of Queen Victoria

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The Rochester City School District will rename elementary schools named after city co-founder Charles Carroll, a slaveowner, and former school board president Louis Cerulli, the most prominent local opponent of school integration during the Civil Rights era.

The school board is holding a hearing at 5 p.m. Tuesday to discuss names for seven schools in total, including five that are opening for the first time in 2024-25 as part of a district-wide reconfiguration.

Charles Carroll School 46, on Newcastle Road, and Louis Cerulli School 34, on Lexington Avenue, were late additions to the roster.

"We will rename schools #34 and #46 to continue our journey to remove the names of those who were slave owners and segregationists in our City, and replace them with leaders who are unifiers, trailblazers, and have made significant impacts transforming our community," the district wrote in a press release.

Charles Carroll, born in Maryland in 1767, belonged to one of the wealthiest families in America. Much of that family wealth derived from slavery; one research project determined they owned about 1,100 people in slavery.

Charles Carroll School 46 on Newcastle Road in Rochester Friday, July 4, 2020.

Carroll joined with Nathaniel Rochester and William Fitzhugh in 1803 in purchasing the land that became the city of Rochester. An 1804 tax roll shows that he then owned 28 people in slavery at the largest of his several plantations.

He never lived in Rochester itself, but spent his last years on a 1,200 acre settlement in Livingston County. Before moving to New York in 1814, he took out a newspaper advertisement to sell "about FORTY VALUABLE NEGROES," according to a biographer.

 From 2020: Rochester's founding fathers owned people in slavery. Does it matter?

Carroll later served as a representative of the federal government during at least one improper treaty negotiation with the Senecas that resulted in a significant loss of land.

He signed his name to an 1823 treaty, attesting it had been "fairly and properly understood and transacted by all the parties of Indians concerned." But Seneca leaders later said they'd been bribed and threatened, and the full U.S. Senate declined to confirm the agreement.

Carroll is also the namesake of Charles Carroll Park, the downtown park along the Genesee River. City Council voted in 2022 to rename the park to coincide with the ROC the Riverway renovations.

Louis Cerulli, meanwhile, served on the Rochester school board from 1959 to 1969, including two stints as president. He was a prominent community leader who used his power to thwart the district's racial desegregation plans.

Louis Cerulli, Rochester school board member and desegregation opponent.

He became more emboldened after leaving office, forming an anti-integration organization called the United Schools Association. In 1971 he was photographed at a protest where anti-integrationists stood outside a liberal school board member's house after dark wearing white sheets.

Cerulli died in early 1972, and the school on Lexington Avenue was renamed in his honor in 1974.

In 2021 the Rochester school board voted to rename Nathaniel Rochester School 3. Rochester, like Carroll, was a prominent slaveowner.

After School 46 is renamed, RCSD will still have two schools named for men who owned people in slavery: James Monroe High School and John James Audubon School 33.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: RCSD to scrap school names honoring segregationist, slaveowner
Following a prison sentence that led to a lawsuit against Tennessee, Pamela Moses is vying to represent the state in the U.S. Senate, but as an independent candidate instead of a Democrat.

Moses, an activist of Black Lives Matter and former Memphis mayoral candidate appeared in a live podcast video in late December, announcing her candidacy for the Senate in 2024.

Moses also launched a Facebook page for her campaign and is seeking volunteers to help spread the word about her candidacy and fundraising efforts.

Pamela Moses is no longer facing voting fraud charges after Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich dismissed them on April 22, 2022. (Twitter/Pamela Moses)

Ive been in Tennessee all of my life. Ive lived here, but Ive traveled abroad, Moses said. Im the founder of BLM Tennessee and the Memphis chapter, and I was falsely imprisoned by [a] District Attorney who was considered by Harvard to be the most vindictive prosecutor in America.

Moses continued: I overcame that horrible experience. And after reflecting on it, Ive decided that I dont want that to happen to anybody else. And locally and regionally, its very hard to get real change. The real change starts at the top. And so thats one reason why Ive been elected to run for United States Senate in Tennessee.

The BLM Tennessee founder gained national attention for her legal case, involving a prison sentence for attempting to register to vote while on probation, unaware that it violated Tennessee state law. Her case sparked discussions about the treatment of formerly incarcerated individuals trying to restore their rights.

As for her criminal history, Moses faced charges of voter fraud after trying to regain her voting rights, which were revoked during her probation from earlier felony convictions. She received a six-year prison sentence in January 2022.

However, the charges were later dropped by Amy Weirich, the former Shelby County district attorney, following the discovery that the Tennessee Department of Correction had withheld evidence that could have cleared Moses.

Moses filed a federal lawsuit on Oct. 21, alleging she was falsely arrested because of a reckless and malicious prosecution and accused the state and district attorneys of violating her Fourth and 14th Amendment rights.

She seeks to challenge Republican incumbent Marsha Blackburn. Moses will also face off against Tennessee state Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville and Civil Miller-Watkins of Fayette County, who have filed to run as Democrats, according to the Tennessee Outlook.

Real Change Starts at the Top: Pamela Moses, Previously Wrongly Convicted for Voter Fraud, Jumps Into Senate Race to Represent Tennessee
As a result of drone strikes within Russian territory, Russians are beginning to see that reality is worse than what they are told on television, said Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba in a Jan. 15 interview with ABC News.

Kuleba did not provide details on drone strikes in Russia, but hinted that they were part of Kyiv's effort to demonstrate that the war will have negative repercussions for the Russian population.

Read also: Ukrainian-made missile able to hit targets 1,500 km inside Russia nearly ready

"President Putin should explain to his people why all this is happening, said Kuleba.

I think it is useful from time to time to make [Russians] realize that the reality beyond their television screens is different, and can be much, much worse, than their propaganda leads them to believe.

The frequency of drone strikes in Russia, including in Moscow, has increased since the summer of 2023. These attacks have sometimes been attributed to Ukraine, but Kyiv has typically not officially taken responsibility for them.

For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense consistently releases reports claiming to have intercepted drones across Russia.

There were two reports of attacks on Voronezh on the night of Jan. 16, and a state of emergency was declared in the city.

Read also: If we run out of weapons, we'll fight with shovels  Kuleba calls on U.S. Congress to approve aid to Ukraine

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Its been a month since the Food and Drug Administration authorized two gene therapies for people battling sickle cell disease. The news opened a glimmer of hope, but many questioned the accessibility of the treatments.

For Andrea Hall, the new authorization of breakthrough treatments, Casgevy by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Lyfgenia by Bluebird bio, is a stride in the right direction, especially for Black people, who are disproportionately impacted by the disease.

Shakira Martin, pictured here with mother Andrea Hall, won Miss Jamaica Universe in 2011. (Photo: Courtesy of Andrea Hall)

Sickle cell disease primarily affects people of color, Dr. Nadia Taylor of Floridas Banyan Health Systems told Atlanta Black Star. Its a disease of the hemoglobin, which is an oxygen-carrying molecule in your blood, specifically your red blood cells. It causes the red blood cells when theyre under stress, specifically, low oxygen conditionsto turn into a half-moon shape. And thats important because your red blood cells go everywhere in your body and circulate throughout.

The disorder can cause pain and significant health problems for those living with it. Halls daughter, Shakira Martin, passed away at age 30 from complications of the disease in August 2016. She is continuing her daughters legacy through Shaks Hope. This nonprofit foundation advocates for and helps improve the lives of those with sickle cell disease, specifically in Florida and Jamaica.

Im excited about the therapies. However, we are still concerned about cost and accessibility. Who has access and how will the cost be covered for a drug thats over a million dollars, Hall told Atlanta Black Star during a phone interview.

The cost of the historic treatments is high. The pharmaceutical and biotech giants behind the therapies, Vertex and Bluebird bio, have priced it at $2.2 million and $3.1 million, respectively, BioPharma Dive reported.

Both companies hinted at looking into outcome contracts, which would reimburse patients based on how effectively the treatment worked, according to the report. For Bluebird specifically, it is prepping a similar contract opportunity with Medicaid agencies. Black people with the disease who had Medicaid were nearly 90 percent of the insurance programs enrollees in 2021, an analysis suggests.

Will Medicaid be able to cover for those that are not able to work, that are not able to get insurance, that may be on disability, which a lot of them are? Hall asked. Im excited for the community. As we move forward, I have to be because this is growth. For us, I know not everybody qualifies.

Shakira Martin (Facebook/Miss Universe)

Its How She Lived

To Hall, Shakira was a miracle. Before she was born, doctors informed her that she may not live past 12 years old; however, giving up was not an option for Hall. Her daughter went on to compete in beauty pageants  winning Miss Jamaica Universe in 2011  and was a preschool teacher as well as the brainchild behind Shaks Hope. She transcended all the barriers against her.

She really was very resilient, even young. Its not how she died, its how she lived, Hall said.

For a parent dealing with a child with sickle cell, there were also many challenges. The journey included lengthy hospital stays and tackling side effects from medications. Hall recalls when Shakiras friends visited to distract her from the discomfort. Throughout her life, she took a drug called hydroxyurea and had to receive several blood transfusions.

Its the fact that you cant bear pain for your child, that you cant take away any of it, Hall added. She required a lot of attention.

Other people like Obi Ariguzo, who have also taken hydroxyurea and other medications, are optimistic about a potential new solution.

At this point, if anything can help kind of limit the amount of pain crises Im having with how frequently theyre happening, Im all up for it, Ariguzo, 39, told NBC News. I feel like Ive tried everything at this point.

Hall has stressed the importance of supporting individuals grappling with the disease.

I would just encourage people to show compassion because they need it. These patients need it. And I find that its lacking all around in the general public and lacking in the health care system.

Recent Approval for Million-Dollar Sickle Cell Treatments Raises Questions and Concerns About Accessibility for Those Most Affected, Advocate Says
New York's only Climate Museum is now calling some of the most famous fashion brands as neighbors in its new pop-up art exhibit in the middle of the famed SoHo neighborhood in the city, "The End of Fossil Fuel."

It will remain open at 105 Wooster Street in the Manhattan neighborhood until April 28, from Wednesdays through Sundays, from 1 PM until 6 PM. Entrance and admission are free.

Climate Advocacy Through the Arts

Museum director Miranda Massey told ABC News that the location is very intentional for the reason that a variety of shoppers from around the world serve as patrons of the many shops of SoHo, increasing the chance that the exhibition might attract "climate-concerned" individuals.

Inside, the exhibition itself begins by offering a stark reminder of the inequality that is inseparable from the issue of climate crisis, especially on the global level. This is shown using a grayscale map boldly stationed right at the entrance of the show.

On one side, visitors will be able to see the world's wealthiest nations, which have also contributed the most when it comes to overall greenhouse gas emissions to the planet as depicted in darker hues.

As the visitors traverse to the other side, another perspective is revealed when examining the installation: a map that showcases countries that are most vulnerable to climate change.

According to Massey, these countries that are most susceptible to the mounting climate issues have contributed "the least to cause the crisis." For the director, it's a matter that we have to solve head-on by way of "climate reparations."

Read Also: 'Drawing Places': Thousands Visit Local Artist's Exhibition Celebrating Wolverhampton Scenery

Visualizing 'Climate Justice' using Maps, Colors, and Stickers

Continuing through the exhibit, visitors will be able to see more vivid and gripping utilizations of maps, with one being an interactive geographical guide that shows how redlining actions made nearly a century ago continue to hurt the vulnerable of today.

To add context, redlining is a practice within real estate where housing industry official wrongfully designates an area as "high-risk," with the reasons usually including race.

Past this particular installation is a change in era focus, from the Industrial Revolution to the advent of climate activism, which is symbolized by the introduction of color as is typical at the Climate Museum.

This thematic decision is best represented by a mural that covers up the venue's back wall.

The piece itself was commissioned by the institution from Greg Christie, a children's book artist, which showcases the visual passage of what an economy reliant on fossil fuel will become as it incorporates climate justice.

Waiting at the end of the entire exhibit are stacks of stickers printed with phrases that say: "I will oppose the fossil fuel industry" or "I will talk about climate justice," alongside blank ones that allow visitors to come up with their own empowering words.

Since the exhibition opened last October, the walls opposite the show's entrance where the stickers flock now have thousands of climate-positive messages. Among the cavalcade of viewers, the children are especially excited to write down their wishes and expressions.

"When you let young people know that they have that tremendous capacity to change minds and hearts of people in power, they are galvanized by that," said Massey.

Read More: Chicago's Field Museum Complies to New US Regulations Surrounding Native American Displays

 2024 Classicalite All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
WASHINGTON  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's security detail asked that the ambulance they called for him on Jan. 1 approach his house in Northern Virginia without lights and sirens because they were ''trying to remain a little subtle," according to the 911 call obtained Tuesday by USA TODAY.

Austin, 70, had kept his prostate cancer diagnosis and subsequent hospitalization for an infection secret for weeks, shielding the information even from the White House. On Monday, he was released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to continue his recuperation at home.

The 911 call arrived at Fairfax County's dispatch center Jan. 1, presumably from a member of Austin's personal security detail. Identities and locations have been redacted from the recording in some cases. But USA TODAY has confirmed that the call came from Austin's residence, and the caller asked that he be transported to Walter Reed.

A Fairfax County Fire and Rescue log obtained by USA TODAY shows the initial call to 911 happened at 7:11 p.m. Dispatchers sent a firetruck and ambulance to Austin's home at 7:15, arriving at 7:22. It then took more than an hour, till 8:26 p.m. to transport him to Walter Reed and clear the ambulance call.

The Pentagon Inspector General is investigating the events surrounding Austin's hospitalization and failure to promptly notify members of his own staff, the White House, Congress and the public. The secrecy around the defense secretary's long stint in intensive care has generated bipartisan outrage.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby acknowledged last week that Austin should not have kept his boss in the dark about his illness. It is not optimal for a situation like this to go as long as it did without the commander-in-chief knowing about it or the national security adviser knowing about it, or frankly other leaders at the Department of Defense," Kirby said.

Austin is expected to make a full recovery, according to his doctors.

He is almost certain to be summoned to Capitol Hill to explain his actions. Shortly after news of his hospitalization broke, key members of Congress expressed concern.

Transparency is vitally important, Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of Armed Services Committee and the ranking Democrat, Adam Smith, said in a statement on Jan 7. Sec. Austin must provide these additional details on his health and the decision-making process that occurred in the past week as soon as possible.

On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Biden spoke with Austin by phone last week and was glad to hear he was recuperating.

The president is looking forward to the secretary getting back to the Pentagon," Jean-Pierre said. "The secretary was very much engaged and involved in what were seeing in the Middle East."

The Pentagon did not have an immediate response Tuesday to details of the 911 call.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 911 audio of Lloyd Austin Jan. 1 call shows effort to keep move quiet
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) on Monday once again attempted to honor the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. on MLK Day.

But once again, the extremist lawmaker was slammed for hypocrisy on X, formerly Twitter, just like she was in 2023 and in 2022, and like many Republicans have been for similar reasons.

Boebert wrote on the platform: Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream that we would all be equal in America. Equity had no part of that dream. It was about equality. Lets end the woke movement in America in honor of MLK Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream that we would all be equal in America.



Equity had no part of that dream.



It was about equality.



Lets end the woke movement in America in honor of MLK Jr.  Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) January 15, 2024

In 2023, Boebert posted: The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. On this day, we remember his incredible legacy and contributions to this great nation.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.



On this day, we remember his incredible legacy and contributions to this great nation.  Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) January 16, 2023

And in 2022, Boebert told followers: Today, we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His work to make this country a more perfect union lives on.

Today, we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His work to make this country a more perfect union lives on.  Rep. Lauren Boebert (@RepBoebert) January 17, 2022

Boeberts latest observance of MLK Day did not sit well with critics.

Many, many other Donald Trump-adoring Republicans  from Donald Trump Jr. and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders to Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.)  have been slammed on previous occasions for whitewashing the facts of Kings life or invoking his name while pursuing agendas he would have opposed.

Equity means to treat people with fair and impartial treatment, so what is your problem with that?  Lonny Hall (@UncleLonny63) January 15, 2024

Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream that we would all be equal in America.



Trumpers want no part of that dream.



It was about equality.



Let's end the Trumper movement in America in honor of MLK Jr.  Craig Rozniecki (@CraigRozniecki) January 16, 2024

You stand for nothing Dr. King stood for. His family doesn't support Maga. Shut up.  Mary Purviance (@MaryPurvia77887) January 15, 2024

I am hoping the people in Colorado come to their senses and make sure you never hold public office again. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK Jr.) fought for civil rights. The MAGA Republican party tramples on civil rights every day. MLK Jrs work resulted in major civil rights  Dianne Callahan (@DianneCallaha16) January 15, 2024

EXAMPLES OF TRUMP'S OBVIOUS RACISM



He called White Supremacists who marched in Charlottesville, Va, "GOOD PEOPLE."



He called Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals.



He called for a ban on Muslims.



He called Haiti and African countries "SHITHOLES."https://t.co/FO3dipxyML  South Dakotans for Political Integrity (@southdintegrity) January 15, 2024

Indeed, we should all welcome Lauren Boebert being judged by the content of her character. #copoliticshttps://t.co/ziFwxyr6Ov  MissingPundit (@MissingPundit) January 15, 2024

I really dont think someone could post a more ignorant, insensitive, asinine comment than this, but since it is MLK Day Im sure the GOP members will give it a whirl. https://t.co/6N9VkkX0BY  Casey (she/her) (@MamaSissieSays) January 15, 2024

Even for you, this is incredibly disgusting & stupid. No bottom to your brainlessness. https://t.co/ENHztWfs2i  Spiros Ghost (@AntiToxicPeople) January 15, 2024

Oh really? Can you even define Woke? pic.twitter.com/2KDnDEabIh  Cathy (@CathyLabrado) January 15, 2024

Equal, equity, and equality. Look them up then rewrite your message to make sense. Are you now saying MLK jr was too woke? Or not woke enough? And are you saying that to take up the banner of mean and nasty would be in honor of him? What ?  Tina M Long (@TinaMGLong) January 15, 2024

Without achieving equity first, you cant have equality.



Offering all students free wifi would not be an example of equality unless you first made sure that they all had the same computers in order to access the free WiFi- you must establish equity first you see.  Jessamy Robblee-Haehn (@JessamyRoyalH) January 15, 2024

In the grand tapestry of understanding, your expertise on matters related to MLK is as elusive as finding penguins in the Sahara desert, Lauren.  sophisticated dog (@CrusherScott62) January 15, 2024

This must be a parody account. Martin Luther King spearheaded what you called "Woke". Do you understand anything at all about this nation?  Jack Grodeska (@JackGrodeska) January 16, 2024

I do believe that this is the stupidest thing your ever said.  RuthSentMe (@JaneTea4) January 16, 2024

Related...
These are the rules of the new Iowa Democratic Caucuses.

If you stay for this reading, Kevin Marken announced in the East High School library on Tuesday night, Im going to make you do something.

Marken, 58, read a diversity statement toward the back of a caucus chair instruction packet, under the heading MUST READ THIS PASSAGE! Party leaders will take steps, Marken explained, to hold meetings inclusive of all national origins, ethnic identities, religions, sexual orientations, gender identities and disabilities.

Caucus Chair Kevin Marken reads the rules and Des Moines Mayor Connie Boesen listens as Democrats brave sub-zero weather to gather in person on Iowa Caucus night in Polk County on Monday at the East High School library in Des Moines.

Clap, Marken said.

The room clapped. Besides Marken, 11 people filled the cold space, including Des Moines Mayor Connie Boesen and state Sen. Nate Boulton, D-Des Moines.

Marken had attended caucuses for 30 years. But Tuesday was his first meeting as a chair.

The caucus was unusual for other reasons. Unlike in past cycles going back to the 1970s, those in attendance would not vote on Democratic presidential candidates, be they incumbent President Joe Biden or his challengers, Marianne Williamson or U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn.

More: Iowa Democrats put 3 presidential candidates' names on mail-in caucus cards. Who's named:

With state party leaders wanting to show the Democratic National Committee that they could run a caucus open to those who cant attend meetings in person, party members this year will vote on their presidential preferences by mail through March 5.

So, on Tuesday night, Marken told the group what they could do in person. Those in attendance  the East Sides Democratic Dozen  could nominate delegates for the countys annual Democratic convention. They also could nominate members to the state party's central committee, a group that sets the state party's strategy.

Valerie Madison completes paperwork as Democrats brave sub-zero weather to gather in person on Iowa Caucus night in Polk County on Monday at the East High School library in Des Moines.

More: Iowa Democrats can make their presidential pick in the 2024 mail-in caucus. How it works:

To do so, they would need to fill out a couple forms. Then, they could go home.

Is there any questions? Marken asked.

The room stayed silent. An attendee affixed a Planned Parenthood CHOICE MATTERS sticker to her coat. A Raygun bag sat on the counter. Marken laughed. The events began.

The room was divided into 13 sections, representing different precincts  one more precinct than people in attendance. Des Moines 49th district reported to a red couch. Des Moines second district reported to a table with a chess set on it. Other precincts waited on the library's second floor.

You can move your precinct as youd like, said Boulton, 43. Youre probably the only person from your precinct.

Little turnout expected, and few turned out. 'It's cold. And we're old'

Caucus Secretary Susan Wickham, left, Caucus Chair Kevin Marken, and Executive Director of Polk County Democrats Kira Barker review documents as Democrats brave sub-zero weather to gather in person on Iowa Caucus night Monday at the East High School library in Des Moines.

Susan Wickham, 75, the meetings secretary, held up the nomination forms. They were triplicates. One of each copy would go to the state party, the county auditor and the county chair.

Please print hard, Wickham said.

She filled out a form, nominating herself to represent Des Moines 26th precinct.

Id be happy to turn it over to somebody else, she said.

But there was nobody else. Wickham, who chaired precincts during the 2016 and 2020 caucuses, knew Tuesday's event would draw a paltry crowd. A sitting Democratic president is running for re-election.

Beyond that, however, Wickham said the party lost some enthusiasm when it lost its first-in-the-nation status following the 2020 caucuses. She said shes still bitter about the fallout from that election, blaming the Democratic National Committee for forcing the state leaders to use a reporting application that failed, delaying official caucus results.

Some of her friends  hardcore liberals  didnt know the party was holding meetings when she talked to them last week. Then the temperature dropped below zero.

Its cold, Wickham said. And were old.

Democratic Chair Rita Hart seeks to build momentum

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart speaks at the Iowa Democrats Liberty and Justice Celebration in November.

Similar, small events played out across the state at Iowa Democratic caucuses. At Iowa City West High School, about 50 voters showed up to debate party business. At Ames High School, about 100 filled the gym, where Democratic politicians attacked Gov. Kim Reynolds. They told the crowd that Republican policies made schools worse.

"I want to go back to having the strongest public education in the nation," said state Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames.

Before the events, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said Tuesday afternoon that the meetings might draw only small crowds, citing the temperature and the incumbent president.

Hart added that this years new caucus format will be a success, though she declined to say what level of participation would show the new format works. She said about 4,000 Democrats requested presidential preference cards over the weekend, bringing the total number of requests to 12,000.

More: 8,000 Iowa Democrats have requested mail-in caucus cards for 2024 presidential primary

Party members can request cards through Feb. 19. They will mail their votes to the state party, which will count any votes postmarked by March 5, the day the party will announce preliminary results.

State Sen. Nate Boulton shows his daughter, Alys, 2, a globe before the event as Democrats gather in person on Iowa Caucus night in Polk County on Monday at the East High School library in Des Moines.

Hart said she still believes Iowa can move up in the presidential pecking order by 2028. But she said the party needs to show it can win more elections than it has in past years. Her goals include flipping Iowas first and third congressional districts, which Republican Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn currently control.

She hoped Democrats would organize during Tuesdays meeting, building momentum for those November campaigns.

This is where it all starts, she said. This is where we get people organized.

A stranger wanders in, looking for 'big news.' It's somewhere else

Back at East High School, for a few minutes, the caucus received a population bump.

Dmitry Melnikov, who said he was a Russian television reporter, walked into the room. He introduced himself to a caucusgoer.

Its big news, he said, scanning the library. Its big news all over the world. Everyone is watching.

Someone mentioned that this was only a Democratic meeting. He asked where others were gathered. Then, he slinked out, to the schools auditorium, where the Republicans were gathered.

Staff writers Ronna Faaborg in Ames and Jessica Rish in Iowa City contributed to this article.

Tyler Jett is an investigative reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at tjett@registermedia.com, 515-284-8215, or on Twitter at @LetsJett. He also accepts encrypted messages at tjett@proton.me.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Few attend Iowa Democratic caucuses without presidential vote
Former U.S. President Trump holds a campaign rally ahead of New Hampshire primary election, in Atkinson

Former U.S. President Trump holds a campaign rally ahead of New Hampshire primary election, in Atkinson

By James Oliphant and Gram Slattery

ATKINSON, New Hampshire (Reuters) -Donald Trump and his Republican opponents kicked off a week of campaigning in New Hampshire on Tuesday ahead of the state's nominating contest, with the ex-president's competitors battling to slow his march to the party's White House nomination.

A day after Iowans gave him an overwhelming victory in the first vote of the 2024 presidential contest, Trump, who faces multiple criminal and civil cases, appeared in a New York court to defend himself against charges that he defamed writer E. Jean Carroll after she accused him of raping her decades ago.

More than half of Iowa voters backed Trump, 77, propelling him toward a potentially close and acrimonious rematch against Democratic President Joe Biden, 81, in the campaign for November's presidential election.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, 45, finished a distant second to Trump in Iowa, pushing former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, 51, into third.

"We really gotta get back on to Biden and beating the Democrats, and not wasting a lot of time with these two," Trump said of Haley and DeSantis to a crowd of supporters in Atkinson, New Hampshire, located about an hour's drive north of Boston.

Trump is betting he can fast-track the normally months-long Republican selection process with a series of convincing early primary wins to force out his rivals.

Like in Iowa, the candidates face frigid temperatures and snow as they try to turn out supporters to campaign events ahead of the Jan. 23 New Hampshire primary vote.

At a hotel in Bretton Woods, a remote area in New Hampshire's White Mountains, Haley told a group of around 100 supporters who braved a snowstorm that Trump was the wrong choice.

"Rightly or wrongly chaos follows him. You know Im right," Haley, who held the rally with New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, said to cheers.

Desantis spoke at a CNN-moderated town hall at New England College in the town of Henniker, where he said he was encouraged that nearly half of Iowa voters cast ballots for candidates other than Trump.

"(That) tells me that there is an appetite for a different leader," DeSantis said. He held a campaign event earlier on Tuesday in South Carolina, which holds its Republican nominating contest on Feb. 24.

CANCELED DEBATE

With polls showing him far ahead, Trump has refused to debate his Republican rivals. Haley said on Tuesday that she would skip any future party debates unless Trump attends, prompting ABC News to cancel a New Hampshire debate that was set to feature her and DeSantis.

The debate, which had been scheduled for Thursday, was one of two such events scheduled ahead of the New England state's Jan. 23 contest.

"Our intent was to host a debate coming out of the Iowa caucuses, but we always knew that would be contingent on the candidates," an ABC News spokesperson said.

DeSantis had vowed to take the debate stage alone in New Hampshire if necessary. CNN did not respond to a request for comment about its Sunday night debate.

Trump is the only current or former U.S. president to be charged with criminal activity, but he won by an unprecedented margin for an Iowa Republican contest, strengthening his case that his nomination is a foregone conclusion.

He won 51% support in the Midwestern farm state  a victory margin that far surpassed the previous record of 12.8 percentage points for Bob Dole in 1988.

DeSantis won 21% and Haley 19%, with 99% of the expected vote tallied, according to Edison Research. Following the results, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson both ended their campaigns.

Ramaswamy, who has endorsed Trump, spoke at the former president's campaign event on Tuesday night.

LEGAL WOES

Trump's Iowa triumph showed his enduring popularity among Republicans even after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters and the 91 criminal charges that he tried to overturn the 2020 election, retained classified documents, and falsified records over hush money payments to a porn star.

Trump faces four prosecutions, setting up the unprecedented prospect of a president being convicted or even serving from prison, with the courts almost certainly weighing in at every stage.

The former president claims falsely that his 2020 election loss to Biden was due to widespread fraud and has vowed, if elected again, to punish his political enemies and introduce new tariffs on imports.

Nearly two-thirds of Iowa caucus-goers embraced his false voter fraud claims, saying they did not think Biden legitimately beat Trump. More than 60% said Trump would be fit to serve as president even if convicted of a crime.

He has drawn criticism for increasingly authoritarian language, including comments that undocumented immigrants were "poisoning the blood of our country." He has also vowed to end the almost two-year-old Ukraine-Russia war in 24 hours, without saying how.

Biden used Trump's decisive Iowa win to frame the November election as a battle against "extreme MAGA Republicans," a reference to Trump's Make America Great Again slogan, and urged supporters to donate to his re-election effort.

While Trump's performance in Iowa showed his enduring popularity among Republican voters, it remains unclear how that might translate among a wider swath of the American public in November's general contest.

Iowa and New Hampshire - which are majority white and less populated - historically have played outsized roles in presidential campaigns given their early spots on the campaign calendar. But Democrats have changed their playbook, shifting their initial nominating contests to South Carolina, Nevada and other more densely populated and racially diverse states that they say better reflect the nation.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll this month found many Americans appear unenthusiastic about their choices so far with Trump and Biden in a dead heat.

Read Reuters' full U.S. election coverage here:

(Reporting by James Oliphant in Atkinson, N.H., and Gram Slattery in Bretton Woods, N.H.; Additional reporting by Helen Coster in New York and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Writing by Costas Pitas, Susan Heavey and Rami Ayyub; Editing by Kieran Murray, Mark Porter, Howard Goller, Jonathan Oatis and Leslie Adler and Miral Fahmy)
The Kansas City area got upwards of eight inches of snow over the past 10 days, leaving roads and sidewalks difficult to navigate.

And in Kansas City itself, that means its time to break out the shovel.

Local laws vary on whether residents are responsible for shoveling sidewalks and other areas around their homes. In Kansas City, residents and property owners are required to do so  but enforcement of this rule can vary depending on the circumstances.

Overland Park places the responsibility for sidewalk maintenance on landowners, but doesnt penalize those who dont comply. In other nearby municipalities like Lees Summit and Lenexa, city rules dont require residents to remove snow.

While the National Weather Services Kansas City regional office says warmer temperatures are on the way later this month, they wont arrive soon enough to simply melt the snow away in the coming days.

Heres what to know about residents responsibility for shoveling snow around the metro.

Are Kansas City residents required to shovel their sidewalks?

A city ordinance requires that Kansas City residents remove ice and snow from the sidewalks adjacent to their property after a storm.

It shall be the duty of all persons owning or occupying any real property, fronting upon any street, boulevard or highway, to remove from the sidewalks in front or alongside of such property all ice and snow within a reasonable time after cessation of a storm depositing such ice or snow, the ordinance reads.

However, city Neighborhood Services Department spokesperson Monica Castro said that enforcement of this rule is variable.

The Neighborhood Services Department, first and foremost, prioritizes educating its residents before resorting to issuing citations, she said. For instance, during this current storm system, residents did not get a break between the snow accumulations. Plus, the temperatures dipped dangerously low.

While a violation can technically land a property owner with a fine of up to $1,000 or jail time of up to six months, Castro added that the citys definition of within a reasonable time is also flexible for snow removal.

Rather than issue an immediate citation in response to a complaint from neighbors, she said that the department would more likely send a community engagement officer to the home to inform the owner of their obligation to clear their sidewalk.

Are Overland Park residents required to shovel their sidewalks?

Overland Parks municipal code states that landowners are deemed and held responsible for the maintenance and repair of the sidewalk that adjoins their property.

But while the city has long encouraged its residents to remove snow and ice from the sidewalks in front of their homes, it doesnt issue penalties to those who dont.

Municipal code requires residents to maintain sidewalks, but it does not stipulate that they specifically must shovel sidewalks. There are no penalties for those who choose not to do so, city spokesperson Meg Ralph said.

We rely on public education to encourage residents to shovel their sidewalks for the good of their neighborhood.

What are the rules about shoveling your sidewalk in other cities around the metro?

In Kansas City, Kansas, winter weather policies state that the adjacent property owner is responsible for keeping sidewalks clear. However, this requirement isnt explicitly laid out in the Unified Governments code of ordinances.

In Mission, residents are required to shovel within 48 hours of snowfall stopping, as long as the city received two or more inches of snow. You also cant dump your shoveled snow into the street. Prairie Village property owners are responsible for removing snow and ice within 24 hours of the end of a storm.

In Roeland Park and Shawnee, residents must clear sidewalks within 48 hours  but if removing the snow or ice isnt possible, sprinkling an abrasive material like sand or salt over the sidewalk area counts as complying with city rules.

In Independence, residents are required to keep sidewalks and curbs clear of all snow, ice, earth or other substances, but city code doesnt provide a timeline in which this work needs to be done.

While Lees Summit residents are encouraged to keep sidewalks clear, this city doesnt have an ordinance requiring them to shovel snow or ice. Neither does Lenexa, on the Kansas side of the state line.

Do you have more questions about severe weather in the Kansas City area? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
On the afternoon of Jan. 14, seven emergency teams descended on a beach near Mori Point, according to Bay City News on SF Gate. A father and son struggled just off the coast amid rough wintry waters.

Rescuers included two fire companies, a rescue unit, a California Highway Patrol helicopter, state park workers and Coast Guard air and water teams, according to the news outlet.

While EMTs waited on shore, a helicopter flew out and hovered over the distressed pair. According to the KTVU broadcast, rescue swimmers jumped out of the helicopter and pulled the son to safety inside the helicopter. Then, it was the fathers turn. The two were rushed to emergency responders on shore, then to San Francisco General Hospital, about 10 miles away.

Their rescue comes on the heels of sneaker wave warnings in the Bay Area.

Sneaker waves are deadly, larger-than-average swells that can suddenly and without warning surge dozens of feet higher up the beach than expected, overtaking the unwary, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Sneaker waves are known to come out of nowhere and scoop up humans and boulders right off the beach and pull them into the ocean, according to KRON.

For much of the West Coast, sneaker waves kill more people than all other weather hazards combined, NOAA says.

Driver clings to tree after floodwaters engulf car, Massachusetts officials say

Two die inside cabin after boat capsizes in frigid Alaska waters, officials say

Rescuers swept away while trying to reach stranded boaters on NC river, crews say
Residents of Frances Reunion island told to brace themselves for very dangerous storm

Residents of Frances Reunion were warned by authorities to stay indoors on Monday after a devastating storm, Cyclone Belal, battered the Indian Ocean island with hurricane-force winds the day before.

Reunion is one of Frances overseas territories across the world, home to nearly 900,000 people. The island has been placed under a purple cyclone alert, the highest-level storm warning, from early Monday, as residents were urged to seek shelter, stock up on food and water and stay indoors for 36 hours - until Tuesday morning.

Emergency services are also observing the same strict lockdown, and the islands main airport suspended operations on Sunday afternoon.

Only one person so far died when the devastating tropical storm hit the island on Sunday. According to authorities, it was a homeless person who had not found shelter from the storm.

On Sunday, Frances President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X, formerly Twitter: To the residents of Reunion: Cyclone Belal red alert. Be careful, stay at home. The State is mobilized at your side.

The last cyclone to hit Reunion was in 2014, but weather forecasters have compared the current storm with the one that hit the island in the 1960s.

The whole island will be affected, Meteo France forecaster Celine Jauffret said.

Prefect Jerome Filippini, the island's top government administrator, warned of possible flood surges at levels unseen for the past 100 years.

According to Meteo France, the storms winds could exceed 200 km/h on the coast of the island and 250 km/h in the highlands. On the coast, Meteo France expects possible 15-metre tall waves on Monday.

The weather service also warned that the eye of the storm could pass directly over or close to the island on Monday with a strong probability.
After two and a half weeks of winter break, Montgomery Public Schools are back in business, and district officials are excited about what the second half of the school year holds for MPS students.

2024 is slated to be a phenomenal, phenomenal year, Montgomery County Board of Education President Brenda DeRamus-Coleman said. I know that I can speak on behalf of my colleagues when I say that we are looking forward to supporting our administration, our students and our families to ensure that everyone is working together.

The board wasted no time, jumping into the application of a new charter school, high number of resignations across the district in the last two months and discussion around the pricey MPS capital improvement plan.

In case you werent able to attend the meeting yourself on Jan. 9, here are the highlights:

Montgomery school board meetings are at the Montgomery Public Schools Leadership Center.

Very concerning mid-year employee resignations

When it came time for the board to consider personnel reports, District 5 representative Pamela Cloud would not approve the report without discussing a few concerns about certified personnel.

Without naming anyone in particular, Cloud pointed out that MPS has seen 30 resignations in the last two months, and 19 of those happened in the last month alone. Additionally, there were five people who retired between the end of the second nine weeks and the start of the third.

Thats the middle of the school year, Cloud said. Thats very concerning to me.

Superintendent Melvin Brown said he could not confirm whether the district had exit slips, signatures and acknowledgements from all resigning employees, though he said he would check.

District 1 representative Lesa Keith said some board members have been asking for exit slips, or explanations of why employees are leaving, since their election to the board and have yet to receive any.

When you are resigning in January with a contract that goes for a year, you just want to know, Keith said. As a board, you just want to know.

Montgomery County Board of Education member Lesa Keith represents District 1.

Memphis charter school wants to come to Montgomery

Every year, often in the January meeting, Montgomerys board of education hears from the heads of charter schools who have applied to open in Montgomery.

These schools can either apply as conversion charters, meaning the charter would take over an existing school within the district, or start-up charters, meaning it would be a new public school established by a nonprofit to run completely independently from the district.

This year, there was one start-up application: Freedom Preparatory Academy.

Started in Memphis, Tenn., 15 years ago, Freedom Prep operates under the expressed mission to prepare all students PreK-12 to excel in college and in life.

Founder and CEO Roblin Webb told the Montgomery school board that education is our modern civil rights movement, and she believes local parents would benefit from having Freedom Prep as an option for their children. She also emphasized the racial disparities in education opportunities across the country.

Weve graduated six classes with 100% four-year college acceptance, Webb said. We have kids on Wall Street. We have kids playing rugby at Dartmouth now. I just spoke at one of my founding kids graduation from Vanderbilt Law School.

Freedom Preps number one priority is getting kids to college, and Webb said that she encourages kids as young as elementary school to participate in college visits. Other values include affirming positive school culture, promoting character development and exposing kids to the world around them through field lessons.

Third graders from Freedom Prep gather for the I Am A Man march to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination Wednesday, April 4, 2018, in Memphis, Tenn.

Im not a charter school advocate. Im a good school advocate, Webb said.

The charter network is already planning its expansion into Alabama with the opening of a school in Birmingham later this year.

School board members questioned Webb about the curriculums and special education opportunities, but they did not take a vote on the charters approval. That may happen in an upcoming board of education meeting.

Capital improvement chugs along, but could have been doing more

MPS debuted its $150 million capital improvement plan in 2022 following the 2020 ad valorem, or property tax, increase. Part of the referendum that voters passed included the provision that the school district could not start collecting the taxes for three years, and MPS received its first influx back in October.

This funding is allowing MPS to pursue dozens of improvement projects, including the new BTW building, the Ninth Grade Academy at Carver and new field houses and gyms scattered across the district.

During the January school board meeting, MPS Chief School Financial Officer Arthur Watts explained that the district is in an immensely better financial position than it was in 2019. That year, the general fund balance sat at $19.7 million. Now, that number is $94.4 million.

However, he said the three-year delay in collecting the increased ad valorem tax hurt the district's pockets.

If we would have been allowed to go ahead and start our capital improvement plan right then, we would have saved tens to hundreds of millions of dollars, Watts said. There are projects that we will not be able to do because of that delay.

The state legislature was responsible for the addition of the delay into the referendum.

Watts also noted that, as far as he knows, Montgomerys delay was longer than most other districts in similar situations.

For example, when Pike Road residents approved an ad valorem tax increase to go toward schools, tax collection began just one year later.

I probably shouldnt say this, but Im going to do it anyway, Superintendent Brown said in the January meeting. Some folks believe in equity and others dont.

Whens spring break 2025?

There are currently two options for the MPS 2024-25 school calendar. Both options include 180 days for students and 187 days for teachers, with those extra seven days acting as time for professional development.

Spring break is the same for both: March 17-21. The two options for the first day of the school year are Aug. 7 and Aug. 8. Winter break will either be from Dec. 23-Jan. 3 or Dec. 20-Jan. 3 with Dec. 20 as a professional development day for teachers. May 22, 2025 would be the last day of school for students on both calendars.

Parents and community members will have 30 days to weigh in on which schedule they would prefer. MPS is circulating a feedback survey where people can submit their comments, and the issue will be brought back to the board at a later date.

Hadley Hitson covers children's health, education and welfare for the Montgomery Advertiser. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to the Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Highlights from the Montgomery school board's January meeting
Even though a lot of shopping in the United States happens online today, many millennials probably remember a time before buying items over the web became a thing.

Now, as detailed by Forbes, the next e-commerce revolution may come thanks to San Francisco-based company EcoCart, whose technology could make it easier than ever to spark our economy while supporting initiatives that give back to the environment.

After a consumer makes a purchase from a participating company, a proprietary algorithm considers various factors, such as shipping distance, product type, and package weight, and then it calculates how much harmful pollution each purchase is generating.

The shopper is then able to choose whether to offset the pollution by backing an eco-friendly initiative selected by the brand. Forest protection, ocean cleanups, composting, and wind farms are just some of the global projects that have received EcoCarts approval.

Were making it easy for consumers to take climate action in a frictionless way as they go about their daily lives, EcoCart co-founder and CEO Dane Baker told Forbes. Working with a global network of partners, we help brands strengthen customer relationships and loyalty.

EcoCart, which has been in development since 2019, has a diverse portfolio of collaborating companies listed on its website, from apparel sellers such as Cuts to retail giants such as Walmart.

While only 4% of its shoppers chose to support initiatives that gave back to the environment in the early stages of the company, according to Forbes, now 28% are doing so.

Data from Deloitte indicates that figure will only grow, with roughly a $100 billion market forecast for certain economies, including the U.S., by 2030.

Thats great news for our planet, which has been thrown out of balance by humans. The use of dirty energy, the production of plastic, and deforestation are just some of the activities that have led to a dangerous rise in temperatures.

The beauty of climate positive is that brands are taking a stand, communicating to the market that we are trying to leave the world in a better place than we found it, Baker told Forbes.

Baker estimates that having the option to offset pollution will be the new standard for online shopping before 2030.

Join our free newsletter for cool news and actionable info that makes it easy to help yourself while helping the planet.
The Houston-based private institution marketed the course as the study of Black-life matter, a play on words combining scientific terminology with the Black Lives Matter movement.

Rice University in Houston is launching an Afrochemistry course that will reportedly apply chemical tools and analysis to understand black life in the U.S.

According to the Daily Mail, a flyer advertising the course showed a cartoon of a student with an afro hairstyle pondering topics the course will cover, including What does it look like to do science on ones own terms? and What does justice look like in chemistry?

The course does not count for chemistry major credit but does for a minor in African and African-American studies.

Rice University in Houston, Texas, will begin offering an Afrochemistry course this semester that reportedly will apply chemical tools and analysis to understand Black life in the United States. (Photo: JHVEPhoto / AdobeStock)

This course will empower students to consider approaches to STEM that enhance community impact, the flyer reads, adding that it will approach chemistry through a historical and modern African American lens to analyze science and its impact.

Brooke Johnson, Ph.D., a Rice alum hired in August to work in its DEI department, will teach the course beginning this semester. She received a doctorate in chemistry from Princeton University.

Johnson was a track athlete at Rice until she graduated in 2017 and is currently listed in her university bio as a preceptor and post-doctoral fellow.

Dr. Johnson is passionate about the intersection of science and social justice, the bio reads, the Daily Mail reported, and using her unique experiences to teach, support and inspire diverse students.

The private institution marketed the course as the study of Black-life matter, a play on words combining scientific terminology with the Black Lives Matter movement.

As detailed in the course description on the universitys website, Diverse historical and contemporary scientists, intellectuals and chemical discoveries will inform personal reflections and proposals for addressing inequities in chemistry and chemical education.

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The description notes that no prior chemistry or African-American studies knowledge is required, and students will not have to complete a final exam.

Online commentators from the Wall Street Journal are among those who called the course the latest instance of questionable college classes combining science with identity politics. However, one noted that Johnson is an ideal candidate to teach how racial bias influences chemistry research.

Academics questioned whether the focus of the course would be on scientific investigation, racial politics in the area of chemistry, or a combination of both.

The Daily Mail reported that some scholars were concerned identity politics would dilute the study of science, but others speculated it could be helpful to encourage Black students to learn chemistry.

While the title of the course is a bit wince-inducing, I dont think the course will necessarily be a bad thing, someone wrote in an online forum. I can imagine there being a number of legitimate scientific issues that might especially impact African-Americans and their environments.

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The post Rice University launches Afrochemistry class: We will be using chemical concepts to better understand Black life appeared first on TheGrio.
Archaeologists have recently uncovered the structural remains of a medieval Roman cult temple in Spello, an ancient town in Italy, by analyzing a letter sent out by the 4th-century Roman Emperor Constantine.

Implications of the Archaeological Finding

The structure itself was found at a hilltop within the ancient city and below a parking lot, comprising three inner walls of what is likely a monumental pagan temple. Its location was deduced from a letter by Saint Louis University history professor, Douglas Boin.

According to a release by the university, Constantine wrote the correspondence during his rule between 306 to 337 AD and was found sometime in the 18th century.

Its contents were essentially an authorization for the Spello citizens to celebrate a certain religious holiday without leaving their hometown.

In exchange for not being forced to travel great distances to partake in a faraway festival, the emperor ordered the construction of a temple to worship the Flavian dynasty, which Constantine believed to be his divine predecessor.

For the professor, this letter was a momentous find in and of itself, because through it we now understand that, even though the first Roman Emperor accepted being a Christian, he was still affiliating with "cult practice" and seeking to exalt an Imperial family linked to monuments like the Colosseum.

Read Also: The First-Ever US Climate Museum Offers Visitors Free Admission in Its Pop-Up Exhibit in SoHo, NYC

How the Ancient Cult Temple at Spello Was Discovered

"The location of this temple had never been securely identified," Boin explained in his statement within the release, continuing, " but because of the inscription and its reference to a temple, Spello offered a very tantalizing potential for a major discovery of an Imperial cult underneath a Christian ruler."

In their endeavor to physically locate the structure, Boin's team employed underground imaging technology for weeks before they finally received the first batch of promising data, which they used as the basis for the actual dig that followed shortly after.

The first parts of the structure to poke above the surface are two connected walls before the inside walls eventually resurfaced from the excavations.

As per Boin and his team, they will return to Spello in the upcoming summer to fully excavate the area and find out if more lies beneath the dirt.

However, for the professor, these initial findings are already huge enough as it is, especially due to the potential insights regarding how Constantine shifted from an old belief to a new one with Paganism and Christianity.

Although Constantine did adopt the Christian faith, even if not fully, the rest of the empire did not do so until Emperor Theodosius' rule which followed over seven decades later.

This is why the Spello temple discovery is a breakthrough, as it could explain how this gradual religious change transpired over years and years.

"It shows us how the Roman emperors continued to negotiate their values, hopes, and dreams for the future of the emperor and the Empire without knocking down or burying the past," said Boin.

Read More: Paint Thrown at Religious Icon of Stalin in Famous Georgia Church Following Controversy

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Time is running out for the U.S. Congress to approve a military aid package for Ukraine, but Ukrainian resistance will continue nevertheless, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in an interview with ABC on Jan. 15.

He emphasized that Ukraine will never yield to Russia and will continue the fight with whatever means are available.

Read also: Good news regarding air defenses, missiles, drones, and ammunition is on the way  Zelenskyy

Even if we run out of weapons, we will fight with shovels, said Kuleba.

The existence of Ukraine is at stake.

Kuleba noted that supporting Ukraine would help to avoid a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia, a conflict that would require the involvement of American troops.

Read also: Ukraine needs A-10 Warthogs and cruise missile platforms  top military commander

He also pointed out the long-term global consequences of failing Ukraine, warning that a Ukrainian defeat would have serious ramifications for global stability. A Russian victory would send the signal that the West is incapable of stopping aggression elsewhere.

The White House stated on Jan. 3 that the USA could no longer supply weapons to Ukraine until Congress approves a request for additional funding. That process, however, is mired in American partisan politics.

Congress went on holiday in December without resolving the issue of aid to Ukraine, having linked it with strengthening security on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Similarly, a bill on financing aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan failed to pass a procedural vote in the U.S. Senate on Jan. 6 due to Republican demands for a stricter immigration policy.



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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Russia could reconstitute its military strength and become a significant military threat to NATO's eastern flank within three to five years, Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told The Times on Jan. 15.

Citing Estonian intelligence, the PM warned that Moscow could pose a serious challenge to the eastern NATO members in foreseeable future.

Read also: Ukraine will become a member of NATO when all allies agree, and conditions are met  Biden

"Much will depend on how successfully we manage to maintain our unity regarding Ukraine," said Kallas.

She added that, from the Baltic nations' perspective, Russia still has sufficient strength to exert real military pressure, despite having its fighting capacity significantly degraded by the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Read also: Latvia expels pro-Kremlin head of Latvia-Russia Association

Previously, Kallas cautioned that if the West does not aid Ukraine in winning the war, some NATO members could potentially become the Kremlins next targets for armed aggression.

Earlier reports indicated that, according to Ukrainian intelligence, it could take Russia five to ten years to rebuild the capabilities of its ground forces, and three to five years to replenish the stockpiles of precision-guided munitions.

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
Russia will defeat Ukraine if the West abandons it, a former NATO commander says

Russia could defeat Ukraine if the West ceases its support, says ex-NATO chief Philip Breedlove.

Breedlove was NATO's top commander from 2013 to 2016.

He told Newsweek that "tens of thousands of more Ukrainians will die" if the West abandons them.

Former NATO chief Philip Breedlove says Ukraine faces defeat in its war against Russia without the West's support.

"If the West abandons Ukraine, it will fight valiantly, but tens of thousands of more Ukrainians will die, and eventually Russia will subjugate all of Ukraine, which will once again be a Russian vassal," Breedlove told Newsweek in a story published on Sunday.

Breedlove, who served as NATO commander from 2013 to 2016, said earlier that Russia would prevail because it "has more people and depth than Ukraine does."

"If the West chooses to give Ukraine what they need to win, Ukraine will win this war. This war is going to end exactly how Western policymakers want and desire it to end," Breedlove said.

Breedlove's comments come as congressional Republicans are standing in the way of giving more support to Ukraine. In December, the GOP blocked an emergency spending bill that would provide Ukraine additional US aid.

Amid this standoff with the House GOP, President Joe Biden in December also indicated that the US will continue to help Ukraine for now.

"We'll continue to supply Ukraine with critical weapons and equipment as long as we can," Biden said in a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in December.

Representatives for Breedlove did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The failure of Conservative rebels to force tougher measures into the Safety of Rwanda Bill presents them with a dilemma. Do they now vote against the legislation when it comes before the Commons for a Third Reading?

Around 60 voted in favour of amendments intended to limit the scope for appeals against deportation orders and block the European Court of Human Rights from intervening to stop flights. They argued that the Bill as it now stands will not reduce traffic across the Channel, let alone stop the boats entirely. The rebels included the deputy party chairmen Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith, who resigned their posts.

But having been unable to persuade Rishi Sunak to concede their points and override international treaty obligations, the amendments were easily defeated by a combination of Government and Opposition votes. The question for the rebels now is whether to support a measure they say they do not believe will achieve what ministers claim of it.

Just 30 or so rebels could defeat the Government, since the Opposition will vote against a Third Reading. But that would lose the Bill altogether and further undermine Rishi Sunaks authority at a time when the party is facing an uphill struggle to recover in the polls before the election later this year.

To lose a flagship Bill on a matter to which the Prime Minister has attached such importance is not strictly a confidence issue but it would come close. Labour might table a motion to that effect should the legislation be defeated, though at that point the Tories would need to come together or an early election would follow.

If the Bill gets through the Commons, it will still face challenges in the House of Lords, whose amendments will then come back to MPs at some point. This has been a bruising process for Mr Sunak for arguably little gain. Even if the flights to Rwanda do take off, they are expected to carry just a few hundred migrants at most.

Critics fear there will be so many appeals, which can take up to two years to be heard, that the Rwanda scheme will never get off the ground, making Mr Sunaks stop the boats pledge look hollow. Ministers say they will speed up the appeals process by drafting in scores of judges to hear cases, implying that they expect many appeals. But since the backlog in the justice system is causing trials to be delayed for years, it is hard to believe there is such extra capacity.

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The retirement of the owner of a Sacramento wealth management company has resulted in the sale of the firm to one of the largest national players in the financial advisory industry.

After 40 years in business, Confluence Financial Planning owner Cynthia Meyers closed a deal in December to sell her business on University Avenue to Mariner Wealth Advisors.

Terms of the deal were not announced.

Meyers, 71, said that she plans to retire later this year. She said her clients will be in good hands with Mariner which also offers tax preparation and insurance services.

The sale of smaller wealth managers to giant companies like Mariner allows the firms to survive because employees often dont have the several million dollars available to buy the business when the owners retire or decide to sell, said Brooke Southall, founder of trade publication RIABiz.

Typically, the problem is that the next generation that takes over the firm isnt wealthy enough to buy it, he said.So the sale to a bigger firm is a way to create a succession so the firm can survive.

Meyers said all six of her employees are continuing at the firms office and that the business will be operated independently under the Mariner brand.

The key here is that the employees are staying, she said. And our clients who know those employees will have the same kind of service that theyve been accustomed to having.

The acquisition of Confluence was the fifth purchase of a wealth management firm in 2023 for fast-growing Mariner.

Mariner Wealth Advisors had more than $114 billion in assets under advisement and ran 99 offices as of last June 30.

Confluence manages $360 million in assets for 285 clients at its Sacramento office, now operating under the Mariner brand.

Mariner operates 15 offices in California but the takeover of Confluence marks its first retail location in Sacramento, said Marty Bicknell, CEO and president of Mariner Wealth Advisors in a news release.

The remarkable economic growth in the greater Sacramento region, coupled with the success of Confluence Financial Planning, made this acquisition

a strategic union of thriving environments and proven expertise, he said.

This is not the first Sacramento acquisition for Mariner, which is based in Overland Park, Kansas.

In July 2022, Mariner announced it had acquired Sacramento-based Financial Services Network, which provides administrative support and operational and compliance services for 400 independent financial advisors in 20 states who manage $26 billion.

The firm has approximately 60 employees.
Joseph Doll was driving in the slow lane on an early December morning when it happened.

The truck was zipping down the fast lane on Highway 50 near downtown Sacramento with a large lab in the pickup bed and the next thing you know the dog is on the freeway, he said.

The pup was first hit by a box truck, followed by a line of cars unable to brake in time.

By the time I got to (the dog), Doll, a Sacramento resident said in an interview with The Sacramento Bee, there was already blood and intestines and insides all over the freeway.

It didnt even look like a dog by the time I got to it ... it was that fast.

.

Shortly after witnessing the incident, Doll posted to the r/Sacramento Reddit forum to plead with his fellow drivers:

Please dont put your dogs in your truck bed, he wrote.

Sacramentos online community assembled, sharing experiences of riding in the back of pick up trucks with and without dogs. Some stories had fatal endings. The Reddit post received 175 comments and 547 up votes.

I saw this happen to a golden retriever at Thanksgiving. It was decapitated in front of (me) and my son, Reddit user crowislanddive responded.

I was on a school bus in high school on I-5 going through LA, and a dog flew out of a pickup in front of us and our bus ran it over, another Reddit user, identified as wehappy3, posted. That was at least 30 years ago and I still think about it when I see a dog loose in a pickup.

The rules surrounding dogs (and humans) riding in the back of pickup trucks in California are tricky. What is legal and not?

Can dogs legally ride in the bed of a truck?

A 2007 peer-reviewed summary from the American Veterinary Medical Association titled Literature Review on the Welfare Implications of Dogs Traveling in Truck Beds, found pups are at serious risk of injuries when transported in open truck beds compared to in the cab.

More than half of the veterinarians surveyed in Massachusetts (141 practitioners) treated a total of 592 dogs with injuries sustained from traveling in a truck bed.

Officer Ashley Merchant with California Highway Patrol said dogs are legally allowed to ride in truck beds if theyre properly secured.

According to California Vehicle Code 23117(A), the space within the truck bed must be enclosed or feature side and tail racks at least 46 inches high that extend vertically from the floor. The truck could also feature installed means or a secured safety compartment for the pup.

Another option is to tether the dog to the vehicle but a simple leash around the neck would not be sufficient, Merchant wrote in an email.

The pup would have to be tethered by two separate anchor points within the bed, she added.

Break the law in Sacramento County and it could cost you a $291 ticket, which could be higher depending on prior convictions, according to the superior court.

There are few exceptions to the rule.

Merchant said a person transporting their dog along a road in a rural area who either owns or is employed by a ranching or farming business is exempt from the law. The exemption also applies if the person is traveling to or from a livestock auction.

People transporting a dog for ranching or farming purposes are also exempt from the law, she wrote.

Can people ride in truck beds in California?

The rules surrounding humans riding in the back of pickup trucks are even more strict than animals.

No person, according to California Vehicle Code 23116(A), is allowed to drive on the highway with someone in the bed of their pickup truck or flatbed motor truck.

Similarly, California Vehicle Code 23116(B) makes it illegal for a person to ride in the back of a pickup truck or flatbed motor truck thats being driven on the highway.

Here are the exceptions to the rule, according to California law:

The truck features a secured restraint system that meets federal standards of motor vehicle safety

A farmer or rancher is transporting a person exclusively within the boundaries of their land

A person is being transported in an emergency by a public institution

A person is participating in a parade supervised by law enforcement and the speed doesnt exceed 8 mph





In an email, the Sacramento Police Department said a person riding in the back of a pickup truck unrestrained would violate Californias seat belt law, California Vehicle Code 27315(D).

People who violate California Vehicle Code 27315(D) are typically charged $168 in Sacramento County, according to the superior court.

What do you want to know about life in Sacramento? Ask our service journalism team your top-of-mind questions in the module below or email servicejournalists@sacbee.com.
Dual inquiries by national NAACP and Sacramento County officials following the suspected mismanagement of a county pandemic-era meals program by Greater Sacramento NAACP branch leaders are raising questions about whether county officials missed signs of potential self-dealing.

National NAACP officials are performing a forensic audit of its Greater Sacramento branch following allegations of financial misdeeds by chapter leaders; while county Department of Human Assistance officials have asked to see branch financial records related to the Dine-In 2 program which ended last June.

In a statement, national NAACP officials added that the organization considers any allegations of financial impropriety to be of utmost importance.

Suspended Greater Sacramento NAACP branch president Betty Williams and education chair Salena Pryor appear to have used their staffing and consulting firms to operate the Dine-In 2 program and paid themselves with county funds, records obtained by The Sacramento Bee show.

A forensic audit examines financial records for evidence of conflicts of interest or other malfeasance which can later be used in court or other legal proceedings. It is not known whether national NAACP officials plan to seek legal action.

Sacramento chapter treasurers Dafna Gauthier and Lorraine Moore, second vice president Velma Sykes and member Ken Nelson were also suspended in October for alleged financial misconduct after the officers were notified of extensive findings of potential impropriety stemming from the branchs annual financial report in April.

The NAACP will continue to ensure that all units are in compliance with the Associations Bylaws and committed to advancing our mission, officials at the civil rights organizations Baltimore headquarters said in response to the revelations of financial mismanagement reported last week.

It was the officials first public comment since the local suspensions by NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson in October. A spokeswoman declined further comment and requests for an interview with organization officials.

Williams and Pryor did not respond to requests for comment.

County seeking branch contracts

The Dine-In 2 program, launched to get meals to the homes of struggling Sacramento County residents and support local restaurateurs during the height of the COVID crisis, ran from March 2022 through June 2023. The effort served nearly 58,000 meals as of April 2023, chapter officials said.

Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance officials in 2022 cited Greater Sacramento NAACPs specialized experience in providing outreach and education as reason to award it the multi-million dollar program. But, branch contracts with the county and its Department of Human Assistance to run the food insecurity program had earlier been deemed high risk, county officials confirmed.

Officials at the countys Department of Human Assistance notified Sacramento NAACP branch leaders in December that they want to see records related to the branchs contracts for the program and outreach campaign, documents show.

The records outlined in the Dec. 18 letter include recent audited financial statements, invoice claims, transactions and other paperwork.

Conflict of interest provisions in the countys contracts with the Greater Sacramento branch, signed by Williams, Department of Human Assistance director Ethan Dye and Sacramento County Counsel warn that a contractors officers and employees shall not have a financial interest or acquire any financial interest, direct or indirect, in any business, property or source of income that conflict with the contract, the documents state.

A county liaison who worked with the branch along with others at the county department were either unaware of or failed to flag the apparent conflicts of interest.

Williams and Pryors businesses were listed as executive officer and business compliance officer on invoices.

The businesses were not identified as being owned by either of the two branch officers, but Williams and Pryors names and telephone numbers were listed on accompanying documents.

County had concerns before program launch

Department of Human Assistance leaders were wary of potential hazards even before the program got off the ground, Dye said in a March 2022 report to the countys Board of Supervisors two months after the board initially approved the project.

DHA determined there would be significant challenges in allocating (American Rescue Plan Act) funds to restaurant meal services if the partners were unable to meet the ARPA compliance and reporting guidelines, Dye said in the report.

Dye said department officials met with local NAACP and Family Meals Sacramento after county supervisors approved the funding in late January 2022 to review U.S. Treasury Department rules and regulations on how federal rescue act funds are spent.

The officials concluded the rules would be too onerous for the local NAACP and Family Meals Sacramento to follow. Training the two groups would be too costly and time-consuming, Department of Human Assistance officials concluded.

If the local NAACP and Family Meals Sacramento couldnt comply, the food insecurity program would become an administrative burden and create an audit risk, creating further hardship on restaurants, the community and the county, Dye said in his report.

Despite the challenges, Sacramento County supervisors approved the program agreeing to tap millions from the countys general fund.

The DHA used $3.5 million in county general fund dollars to pay for the program  $1 million went to Family Meals Sacramento for restaurant meals contracts and the $2.5 million to the Greater Sacramento NAACP to administer the program, distribute the meals and pay for outreach, plus another $250,000 to the chapter from another restaurant meals program pot. Yet more money to cover administrative costs pushed the programs total to $4.1 million.

Sacramento County then backfilled the general fund cash out of the combined $300 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds awarded Sacramento County in 2021 and 2022.

The strategy, Dye told supervisors in 2022, would allow for a more effective and streamlined approach to getting the program up and running.

Department of Human Assistance officials declined comment. A message to Dye on Friday was not immediately returned.

Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna, whose District 1 provided a portion of the projects funding, declined comment. A message to Board of Supervisors chair Patrick Kennedys office was not immediately returned.

Frustration, missed payments and non-disclosure agreements

Participating restaurant owners cooking the meals expressed frustration over how the program was being managed, according to documents, correspondence and interviews.

One restaurant owner who participated in the program pointed to late compensation payments and questioned where the money was going.

The restaurant owner who spoke with The Bee dipped into savings and scrambled to pay late bills while waiting for program payments. Another restaurant owner withdrew from the program after struggling to keep up with the programs changing record keeping requirements.

Yet another participant who walked away from the program complained that payments were consistently over 90 days late, and that they were routinely discouraged from asking county officials about the delays, correspondence obtained by The Bee shows.

Concerns were also raised by restaurateurs over Williams insistence on non-disclosure agreements as a condition to participate in the program.

When asked about the agreements, Sacramento County attorneys said the county is not privy to the terms and conditions that its contractors impose on its sub-recipients.

The County was unaware, and the NAACP was not required to disclose, that its restaurants were asked to execute NDAs, the Sacramento County Counsels office said in a statement.
The UK Covid inquiry is heading for Edinburgh, where it will hear evidence on what happened north of the border during the pandemic, and who was to blame.

You read that right: poor decision-making and party politics played just as much a part of the pandemic narrative in Scotland as anywhere else in the country, despite the prevailing myth that, under Nicola Sturgeons wise and courageous leadership, Scots fared much better than England did under that rogue, Boris Johnson.

Sturgeon talked a good game. That, in fact, sums up her leadership. Her reputation  particularly among the Left-leaning, progressive elites of Londons media bubble  was based on the former first ministers ability to communicate effectively with almost any audience, despite the fact that observers rather more familiar with her modus operandi could spot the faux affability from a mile off.

During the pandemic, the particular game to be played was one-upmanship with Johnson. Sticking carefully to the SNP game plan that portrayed Scotland, always, as better than and different from England, Sturgeon chose to kill two birds with one stone. She established her caring but serious demeanour, and used her daily televised briefings to promote her own profile.

Despite the national crisis, some critics recognised this ploy for what it was and urged the BBC to stop giving the first minister the priceless free daily coverage that her media advisers had counted on. The state broadcaster, in a rare moment of courage, announced they would stop broadcasting the briefings live. Then, following the inevitable outpouring of rage from activists and MSPs, it capitulated and reverted to their previous role as the main platform for The Nicola Show.

Insofar as Sturgeon had a Covid strategy, it was to replicate Johnsons decisions but with a tartan trim. It often involved announcing, or calling for, certain restrictions before the UK government was able to, so that the impression was that the tail was wagging the dog. Its a trick that could not be replicated when it came to furlough payments or to Johnsons decision to fast-track the Covid vaccine. But that didnt prevent the first minister and her party from extolling the virtues of the subsequent roll-out in Scotland in the the hope, presumably, that the existence of the vaccines themselves would somehow be credited to Holyrood rather than Westminster.

Nor was Sturgeons much-lauded openness  again, carefully phrased in order to draw a glowing comparison with events down south  able to withstand even a modicum of scrutiny. The WhatsApp messages shared by Scottish ministers during the pandemic and now submitted to the inquiry took an age to materialise. At first, Sturgeon refused to confirm whether she had kept any of the messages, and then there were reports that she had deleted them. But then it emerged that the former finance secretary, Kate Forbes MSP, had held on to all of hers and would submit them to the inquiry. Humza Yousaf, Sturgeons successor, later announced he would submit his own cache of material.

If Scotland really is different from England, maybe transparency means something different here too.

We must now await the eventual conclusions of the inquiry (assuming any of us live that long). All we know today is that despite the much-trumpeted differences in approach to the pandemic by the caring, sympathetic, head-tilting first minister to that taken by our partying, uncaring prime minister, Covid fatalities were pretty much the same in Scotland as anywhere else. So, why did Scots have to suffer longer and harsher lockdowns? Why were Scottish school pupils kept out of their schools for longer? What good did it do for Scotlands hospitality industry to suffer more losses and business than their English counterparts?

If the answer is no more substantive than Because Scotland is different, then devolution has indeed failed.

When the remit of the Scottish Parliament was drawn up in 1998, devolutions founders had no notion that pandemics would be on the political agenda two decades later. So the default position of a four nations approach was taken to Covid. Perhaps the formal inquiry will conclude that this approach saved lives, somewhere, somehow. If not, then the usual, default excuse for such an approach  namely that the alternative would undermine devolution  isnt enough.

A national emergency like a lethal pandemic should have been handled, not on a four nations basis, but on a one nation basis. Life and death scenarios are too important to revert to the usual complaints of the constitutional and devolution purists even if  God forbid  vital decisions during that emergency are then taken by politicians you didnt actually vote for.

Such an emergency should certainly not be used by any local politician to grandstand and self-promote in order to deflect from a woeful record of ministerial achievement. Naming no names, of course: lets leave that to the inquiry.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
The sand replenishment project in San Clemente will be delayed for up to 70 days, officials announced.

U.S. Rep. Mike Levin and San Clemente Mayor Victor Cabral confirmed in a joint statement on Monday that due to ongoing sand quality issues, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has allowed the contractor to stop working temporarily.

Air pollution levels spike in Los Angeles

The nearly two-month-long delay has been put in place to ensure that quality sand is used for dredging and finishing the project.

On Saturday, the Army Corps of Engineers communicated to local officials that the contractor, Manson Construction, had decided to postpone the delivery of material to San Clemente.

The city was advised that the delay is short term  and that the dredge will return to San Clemente after it finishes the Solana Beach sand replenishment project, the release said.

According to officials, the San Clemente beach replenishment project will stabilize nearby bluffs along the shoreline and is essential for the protection of the LOSSAN Rail Corridor, which travels through six counties between San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles and San Diego.

LOSSAN, the second busiest rail corridor in the nation, has been designated by the United States Department of Defense as part of the Strategic Rail Corridor Network, meaning that stabilization of the beach serves an important national security objective.

This past year alone, the rail line through San Clemente was closed to rail traffic due in part to the lack of sand supply in the region, officials said. Given [San Clementes] adjacency to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, the protection of our rail corridor is critical to the security of our country.

Driver ejected from moving RV lands on 14 Freeway: video

Despite the promise to get back to work within 70 days, Levin and Cabral are disappointed in the projects lack of progress.

We are extremely disappointed that this important sand replenishment project is being delayed, their joint statement read in part. We fought hard to kickstart this project  [and] while this is a setback, we will continue to fight for the completion of this project in the coming months. Longer term delay is unacceptable.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
SAN DIEGO (KSWB)  If you have been to the coast anywhere in San Diego County, you might have noticed the tsunami evacuation route signs with an arrow pointing inland. But what do they mean? Are you prepared if a tsunami were to hit the San Diego coast?

Locals are likely very familiar with the signs, but as a newbie to the city, it will make you stop and ask the question  what do they mean?

With the earthquake that shook coastal areas from San Diego to Los Angeles County on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and the recent series of major earthquakes in Japan that caused high-level tsunami alerts for Japan and parts of North Korea and Russia, it brings the topic to mind even though NWS says no tsunami warnings were issued for San Diego.

The tsunami evacuation route signs just have an arrow that points inland. But in the event of an emergency, are you prepared? Lets dive in to what the signs mean and the tsunami evacuation map the County has online.

What are tsunamis?

A tsunami is a series of waves created by disturbances from earthquakes below or near the ocean floor, or from other disturbances like landslides, volcanic eruptions, or even by impacts from comets, asteroids or meteorites.

There are two sources of tsunamis  remote and local.

Remote tsunamis are the most frequent to hit California, and are generated by earthquakes off the coasts of Japan, Alaska, Hawaii and Chile.

Local tsunamis are generated off the coast of Southern California and are dangerous because they can hit the coast very quickly, usually in less than one hour.

San Diego tsunami warnings/advisories

San Diego County says only four locally generated tsunamis have been reported since 1800.

The most significant remote tsunami to hit Southern California was in 1960 when a 9.5 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Chile caused a tsunami with 4 foot waves.

In recent years, a February 2010 earthquake off the Chilean coast generated tsunami waves and triggered a Tsunami Advisory for San Diego County and the entire California coast. The tsunami waves did reach the San Diego coast and caused tidal draw back and surges, according to the City of San Diego, but did not cause significant damage.

NOAA says areas with Pacific and Caribbean coastlines are at the greatest risk for tsunamis. Most tsunamis are less than 10 feet high, but they can reach heights of up to 100 feet.

It only takes six inches of fast-moving water to knock over an adult, and just two feet of fast-moving water to carry away most vehicles, according to NOAA.

Luckily, for anyone who lives here knows, tsunamis are rather rare in Southern California. In the past 150 years, only 13 tsunamis have been large enough to cause damage in San Diego County. However, with 70 miles of coastline in San Diego County, tsunamis remain a possible threat.

Just in 2022, San Diego and the entire West Coast was under a tsunami advisory after a volcano erupted in the Pacific Ocean.

What to do

When a tsunami is imminent, evacuate beaches and low-lying coastal areas. Beaches, lagoons, bays, estuaries, tidal flats and river mouths are the most dangerous places to be. Some good news, its very rare for a tsunami to reach more than a mile inland.

An important fact  the first tsunami surge is usually not the highest. The largest surge can come hours after the first wave hits.

The California Emergency Management Agency has put together a list of things to do to survive a tsunami. If you feel an earthquake nearby or know a tsunami wave is going to hit, take cover.

If inside, get behind a table or large object, cover your head and neck, and hold on. If outdoors, move away from beach cliffs, trees, signs and anything else that could be picked up as debris by the wave.

The second step is to move to higher ground as soon as you can if you are in the evacuation area; dont wait for an official tsunami warning.

The third step  remain on higher ground until the all clear is given by officials. If you are outside of a tsunami hazard zone, you are safer staying where you are.

Click here for a list of evacuation maps for San Diego County cities of Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Coronado, Del Mar, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, National City, Oceanside, City of San Diego, and Solana Beach.

If no maps or signs are available, it is advised to head away from the coast. Get to higher ground or head one to two miles inland.

If you are in a boat in the harbor when a tsunami is coming, try to leave the boat to get to higher ground.

If you are at sea during a warning, it is advised to move to a safe distance and stay away from harbors until the threat has passed. The U.S. Coast Guard would issue urgent marine information broadcasts on marine VHF radios channel 16.

How to tell if there is a tsunami coming

Water receding to the point the sea floor is exposed is a sure sign of an impending tsunami. Other signs to look out for  the ocean might even roar and the ground can shake.

A wall of water is also a dead giveaway that you need to leave the coast.

Be prepared

Be aware of the tsunami hazard zones and the evacuation map in areas you frequent. Create an evacuation plan with your family. Sign up for alerts. Have a emergency kit prepared, which could be used for any form of emergency.

Get alerted

The most obvious way to be alerted is through official channels  radio, TV, phone, NOAA weather radios, or you can sign up for emergency alerts with Alert San Diego. In the event of an official tsunami warning, it would be broadcast on all emergency alert channels.

In 2022, The California Department of Conservation updated tsunami hazard area maps for all 20 of the states coastal counties. All San Diego residents in hazard areas should also have received guidance from the city on preparing for a tsunami.

You can visit NOAA/NWS U.S. Tsunami Warning System for real-time alerts/threats. You can also visit California Geological Surveys interactive earthquake map.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will use a little-known provision in the Foreign Assistance Act to force the Senate to vote Tuesday afternoon on a measure that would freeze military aid to Israel unless the State Department produces a report on potential human rights abuses in Gaza.

If adopted, Sanderss resolution would require the State Department to report any human rights violations committed during Israels blockade and invasion of Gaza in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israeli civilians.

U.S. assistance to Israel would be frozen if the State Department fails to produce a report after 30 days.

The resolution has little chance of becoming law because it must pass both chambers and be signed by President Biden.

Sanders introduced his resolution on Thursday to force a floor debate on what he has called the Netanyahu governments indiscriminate and disproportionate military operations in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attacks.

Sanders on Biden reelection: President has got to change course

Sanders has also criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus regime for blocking much humanitarian assistance from reaching Gaza, calling the blockade a serious violation of international law.

The Vermont senator can force his resolution to be discharged from the Foreign Relations Committee with a simple majority vote. The resolution is privileged and cannot be amended or filibustered.

In essence, we will be voting on a very simple question: Do you support asking the State Department whether human rights violations may have occurred using U.S. equipment or assistance in this war? This resolution is not prescriptive  it does not alter aid to Israel in any way. It simply requests that the State Department report on how our aid is being used, Sanders argued on the Senate floor last week.

Sanders has emerged as the Senates fiercest critic of Israels military operation in Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 24,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian officials.

Earlier this month, he called on Congress to withhold more than $10 billion in military funding for Israel, denouncing Israels military response as immoral.

He has also criticized the extensive use of U.S.-supplied bombs and artillery shells in Gaza, noting that two-thirds of the civilians killed have been women and children.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Maha El Dahan

DAVOS (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Tuesday the kingdom could recognise Israel if a comprehensive agreement were reached that included statehood for the Palestinians, ambitious talk as the war between Israel and Hamas shows no sign of easing.

"We agree that regional peace includes peace for Israel, but that could only happen through peace for the Palestinians through a Palestinian state," Prince Faisal bin Farhan told a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Asked if Saudi Arabia would then recognise Israel as part of a wider political agreement, he said: "Certainly."

Prince Faisal said securing regional peace through the creation of a Palestinian state was "something we have been indeed working on with the U.S. administration, and it is more relevant in the context of Gaza".

Securing a normalisation deal with Saudi Arabia would be the grand prize for Israel after it established diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, and could transform the geopolitics of the Middle East.

The Sunni Muslim kingdom, the most powerful country in the Arab world and home to the most sacred sites in Islam, wields considerable religious clout across the globe.

After the eruption of war last October between Israel and the militant Palestinian group Hamas that rules Gaza, Saudi Arabia put on ice U.S.-backed plans for the kingdom to normalise ties with Israel, two sources familiar with Riyadh's thinking said, in a swift reordering of of its diplomatic priorities.

The two sources told Reuters there would be some delay in the U.S.-backed talks on normalisation of Saudi-Israel ties, which is seen as a key step for the kingdom to secure what it considers the real prize of a U.S. defence pact in exchange.

PALESTINIANS

Before Oct. 7, when Iran-backed Hamas fighters launched an attack on southern Israel, both Israeli and Saudi leaders had signalled they were moving steadily towards establishing diplomatic relations that could have reshaped the Middle East.

The Palestinians want a state in territories captured by Israel in a 1967 war, with East Jerusalem as their capital. U.S.-sponsored negotiations with Israel on achieving that stalled more than a decade ago.

Among the hurdles have been Israeli settlement of occupied land and feuding between Western-backed Palestinian authorities and Hamas Islamists who reject coexistence with Israel.

"There is a pathway towards a much better future for the region, for the Palestinians, and for Israel, that is peace, and we are fully committed to that," said Prince Faisal.

"... a ceasefire on all sides should be a starting point for permanent sustainable peace, which can only happen through justice to the Palestinian people."

Israel's hard-right government has played down the prospect of it making significant concessions to the Palestinians as part of any potential normalisation deal with Saudi Arabia.

The war in Gaza started when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages. Israel says more than 130 remain in captivity.

Israel responded to Hamas' assault with a siege, bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza that have devastated the tiny coastal territory and killed, Palestinian health officials say, more than 24,000 people.

The war has raised fears of wider regional instability. Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah have frequently clashed along the border with Israel, while pro-Iranian militias have attacked U.S. targets in Iraq.

Attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have disrupted shipping in the Red Sea and they say they will not stop until Israel halts its bombardment of Gaza.

(Additional reporting by Pesha Magid and Nayera Abdallah; Writing by Michael GeorgyEditing by Gareth Jones)
SAYREVILLE - Borough Police Officer David Sivilli is suing former Mayor Victoria Kilpatrick, alleging that her remarks to a News 12 reporter falsely "implied that Officer Sivilli was somehow involved in the murder of former Councilwoman Dwumfour."

Sivilli, who also served as deputy chairman and a member of the Sayreville Democratic Organization, president of the PBA Local 98 and a member of the borough's Zoning Board of Adjustment, filed the lawsuit in Middlesex County Superior Court on Jan. 10.

The sut also names the borough as a defendant, saying it was "vicariously liable" for the mayor's "outrageous and willful" conduct.

Borough Police Officer David Sivilli has filed a lawsuit against former Mayor Victoria Kilpatrick, alleging false accusations by the former mayor.

Sivilli claims that Kilpatrick's actions were made in retaliation for his role in the Sayreville Democratic Organization's refusal to endorse her for re-election.

Because of Kilpatrick's statement, Sivilli argues in the lawsuit, he was investigated by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office in connection with the Feb. 1, 2023 murder of Dwumfour outside her apartment.

Kilpatrick said Thursday she had no comment on the lawsuit because she had not yet seen it.

Rashid Ali Bynum, 29, of Portsmouth, Virginia, was arrested on May 30, 2023 in Chesapeake, Virginia, and charged with Dwumfour's murder, as well as unlawful possession of a handgun and possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose.

The case is still pending in Middlesex County Superior Court.

The controversy leading to the lawsuit began when Sivilli, acting as PBA president, wrote a letter to Kilpatrick in January 2023, objecting to Dwumfour's appointment as chair of the Borough Council's Public Safety Committee. The borough's fire department had already written a letter to Kilpatrick objecting to the appointment, according to the lawsuit.

In an interview with Alex Zdan, a former News 12 reporter, nearly two weeks after the murder, Kilpatrick said she was "concerned" about the letter.

More: Eunice Dwumfour murder hearing offers first look at defense strategy

When asked by Zdan whether she was concerned that some of the people opposed to Dwumfour's appointment were investigating the murder, Kilpatrick replied, "It does make me feel a bit unsettled to say the least."

Kilpatrick did not mention Sivilli by name in the interview.

In the lawsuit, Sivilli contends in the interview that Kilpatrick "heavily implied" that "somehow" he was involved in the murder.

That implication, Sivilli charged, "caused several residents and members of the public to infer" that he had been involved in the murder.

"Some members of the public shunned and avoided" him because of that implication, Sivilli alleges.

Two weeks after the mayor's interview, Siviili said he was "forced to resign" from the Zoning Board of Adjustment because of the mayor's remarks.

A month later, on April 24, Sivilli, while on overtime, was providing security at council meetings.

According to the lawsuit, Kilpatrick was upset that Sivilli was at the meetings and "stated to the borough's business administrator that (Sivilli) should not be present at the meetings because he made her nervous, apparently based upon the implication that he was involved in Councilwoman Dwumfour's murder."

The lawsuit also alleges that on May 22, 2023, Kilpatrick said she would not attend any more Council meetings "because the police officer (Sivilli) who provides security at the meetings "makes her feel uncomfortable and unsafe, ostensibly due to his alleged involvement in Councilwoman Dwumfour's murder."

In the lawsuit, Sivilli says he was forced to step down as deputy chairman of the Sayreville Democratic Organization since his presence was a distraction to the organization because of the mayor's remarks.

Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com

Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Sayreville cop sues ex-mayor for alleged defamation
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who is running for Senate, unveiled a new Jan. 6-themed advertisement warning that the country faces an even greater danger following former President Trumps win in Iowa.

The advertisement, titled Danger, touts Schiffs efforts to hold Trump accountable on various issues as the California congressman battles other Democrats for the Senate seat. Schiff was the lead House manager of Trumps first impeachment.

When our democracy was in danger, he stood up. Adam Schiff took on a corrupt president. He fought to protect our values and the rule of law, the ads narrator says over clips of Jan. 6 rioters attacking the Capitol.

Now, we face an even greater danger, the ad narrator states as video shows the New York Times headline Why a Second Trump Presidency May be More Radical than His First.

We need Adam Schiff more than ever, the ad states.

Schiffs office said the advertisement is backed by a five-figure buy.

House Republicans voted to censure Schiff in June over his unrelenting criticism against the former president.

Schiff was also forced by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to leave the House Intelligence Committee, which he chaired for four years, at the beginning of 2023.

Last January, Schiff officially launched his bid for the Senate seat formerly held by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who died in September 2023.

He faces a crowded primary but has earned the backing of key politicians in the state, including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and a majority of other Democratic representatives in his state.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Gretchen Zosels glasses freeze over as she gets bundled up by her stepfather, Eric Henderson, in this 2021 file photo.

With exceptionally cold temperatures forecasted for Tuesday, many Springfield-area schools were going the e-learning route.

A wind chill warning is in effect for large portions of central Illinois, including Sangamon County, until noon Tuesday, with high temperatures only expected to hit 10 degrees. Wind chills Tuesday morning could get as low as minus 22 degrees.

All District 186 schools are going to e-learning, according to a release Monday afternoon.

Ball-Chatham schools opted for an e-learning day as did Mt. Pulaski, Pawnee, Virginia, Litchfield, Staunton, Taylorville and Greenview schools.

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Classes at Rochester schools are canceled for Tuesday with decisions about extracurricular activities promised by noon Tuesday, in an announcement made via social media. A similar announcement was made by Williamsville-Sherman schools.

In announcing that Jacksonville schools would be out of session Tuesday, Superintendent Steve Ptacek said he was concerned about morning bus routes and not being able to keep adequate temperatures in multiple classrooms throughout the district.

Illini Central, New Berlin, Palmyra Northwestern, Pana, Riverton and PORTA schools were among those also canceling classes. Routt Catholic and Lutheran High School were closed Tuesday. Afternoon and evening activities were still on in Petersburg.

Classes, services, and events at all Lincoln Land Community College sites are canceled for Tuesday.

Sacred Heart-Griffin High School will implement a 9:30 a.m. start time. It will also run a shuttle between its east and west campuses.

Using an e-learning day allows students to receive asynchronous instruction at home instead of using one of the Districts five extra days that have historically been added to the end of the school year.

"Ensuring the safety and well-being of our students and staff is our utmost priority...as we collectively navigate through these weather challenges," said District 186 spokeswoman Rachel Dyas in an email.

Dyas said the District anticipated being back in person Wednesday based on weather forecasts.

High temperatures for Wednesday and Thursday were expected to be in the mid-20s.

This story will be updated.

Contact Steven Spearie: (217) 622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Frigid temps cause Springfield-area schools to close or go e-learning
Gov. Greg Abbott received a $6 million campaign contribution last month, which his campaign is calling the largest single donation in Texas history.

The check came from Jeff Yass, a national Republican megadonor whose priority issues include school vouchers. Abbott spent 2023 unsuccessfully pushing for a voucher program and is now targeting state House Republicans in the March primary who thwarted his agenda.

Abbott accepted the $6 million donation  dated Dec. 18  in a little-used account, suggesting he was setting it aside from funds raised for his reelection campaign.

Yass is a billionaire from Pennsylvania who is co-founder and managing director of the Philadelphia-based investment firm Susquehanna International Group. He is also a top proponent of school choice, or programs that allow parents to use taxpayer dollars to subsidize private school costs.

Abbott has long been known as a fundraising powerhouse, but the $6 million contribution takes him to a new level. Abbott has previously made headlines for getting single donations of $1 million.

He raised $19 million total over the last six months.

Yass has been called the richest man in Pennsylvania, with an estimated net worth of nearly $29 billion, according to Forbes. His firm was an early investor in TikTok, the social media platform that Abbott banned on state phones and computers in 2022.

When it comes to politics, Yass has also been a multimillion-dollar donor to the Club for Growth, the national anti-tax group that has boosted Texas Republicans like U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy of Austin.

The $6 million is not Yass' first donation to Abbott. Yass previously gave Abbott $250,000 in October, as Abbott was still battling for school vouchers in the Legislature.

Abbott identified school choice as his top legislative priority for 2023, and spent months traveling the state trying to build public support. But he kept encountering resistance in the House. After a measure failed in the regular legislative session in May, he called two special sessions for lawmakers to hear voucher proposals. The fight came to a head in November, when 21 House Republicans joined Democrats to strip a voucher initiative out of a broad education bill.

Abbott has since endorsed primary challengers to seven of the anti-voucher House Republicans who are seeking reelection.

In addition to giving a total of $6.25 million to Abbott in 2023, Yass also cut a $500,000 check last month to AFC Victory Fund, a pro-voucher super PAC that is expected to be similarly active in the primaries.
I am a biological woman and my gender identity is none. If anything describes my inner being, the closest I can get is the shipping forecast.

Sometimes my inner personal sense of what I am is rough or very rough, becoming moderate or rough later. At best, my feeling of a gendered self is moderate or good, occasionally very poor. Possibly, this means I should ID as male then. God only knows, though I dont believe in God. I am of little faith in every respect. Soulless or free as a bird, depending on where you stand.

Yet, no one in their right mind would attempt legislation on my squally feelings as they are a moveable feast. But then I dont live in Scotland, where the Scottish Government is wasting time and money on draft legislation which would ban practices that involve changing or suppressing someones perception of their sexual orientation or their gender identity.

This could mean banning therapy for troubled kids, it could mean putting parents in prison if they do not affirm that their boy is a girl or their girl is a boy. If this should pass, it would mean gender identity being accepted and defined in our primary UK legislation.

All of this is childish acting out by the SNP to show LGBTQ people that the Scottish Government is still with them, according to Holyroods Equalities Minister Emma Roddick. If she had any respect for that community, she would perhaps do her homework instead of pushing through vague, incoherent thoughts as some sort of policy.

Humza Yousaf, after all, was elected as a continuity candidate after the unravelling of Nicola Sturgeon. Part of that unravelling had to do with her commitment to protect the vulnerable minority of trans people. I dont doubt that commitment or her good intentions.

What happened is the prioritising of one set of vulnerable people (trans-identified folk) over another (women in prison) collapsed when it hit the reality of putting a double rapist in a womens jail. Isla Brysons personal sense of gender was not seen by most people as the key issue here.

Transgender woman Isla Bryson, formerly known as Adam Graham, was found guilty of raping two women when she was a man - Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

This was an extreme case but one that showed the limits of relying on gender identity alone. It also showed an administration no longer responding to the concerns of those it governs. In poll after poll, the Scottish electorate cite health, education, the cost of living and inequality as the things they care most about.

Support for independence goes up and down. Concern about the highest number of drug deaths in Europe is sometimes mentioned. Yet, drug addicts dont really come up high on the list of vulnerable minorities that need government intervention.

What we are seeing in Scotland, though, is what happens when you buy into the new religion that says gender identity exists even though it can never be defined. It is simply all the feels. Lots of stuff gets muddled here.

The distress of pubescent girls who would rather not be adult women is a very different phenomenon to that of cross-dressing middle-aged men wanting to go into women-only spaces.

I fully accept  and always have  that some adults suffer so much with gender dysphoria that transition is the only way for them to achieve some peace of mind. I just do not accept that transition is, in itself, a radical act.

The concept of gender identity, however, means no one really has to transition because, in all these conversations, it is clear that no one knows what gender identity is beyond superficial gender expression.

This means adhering to the stereotypes: wigs, make-up, feminine clothes or short hair and an androgynous look. The idea that suppressing a persons gender identity then would, I suppose, mean refusing to let teenage girls use binders or pronouns. Or puberty blockers. All of this is so vague that it can never fly in terms of legislation.

Activists, LGBTQ supporters, and allies protested for trans rights at Trans Pride 2023 in London - SOPA Images/Lightrocket

In all these years, I have asked for and never received a definition of gender identity that is anything other than a persons subjective feelings at a particular moment in time.

Amnesty says gender ID consists of feelings about your body, how you identify yourself and your gender expression  how you dress or act. University advice (Sheffield Hallam) says that these feelings can be complex, changing and deeply individual.

Emma Roddick, when questioned on X (formerly Twitter) about this, blabbed that her gender ID indicates that shes a woman, as she is generally feminine and often wear(s) makeup & dresses. If someone is proposing laws that criminalise others, they need a much firmer grip than this. As so often, I feel those who set out to ensure the rights of trans people do them a disservice by not even bothering to work out what it is they are arguing for.

Gender identity is a faith. It is not a sexual orientation. I dont need to be told by the likes of Roddick or Saint Peter of Tatchell that everyone has a gender any more than I want to be told I have to go to church.

Gender only exists between the ears and not between the legs. Is it too much to ask politicians to use their brains on such matters? Apparently so.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
China's resort island receives over 90 mln tourists in 2023

Xinhua) 08:21, January 16, 2024

This aerial photo taken on Oct. 1, 2023 shows tourists going sailing in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

HAIKOU, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- More than 90 million domestic and overseas tourists visited south China's tropical island province of Hainan in 2023, up 49.9 percent year on year, local authorities said Monday.

Hainan's total tourism revenue surged 71.9 percent year on year to about 181.3 billion yuan (about 25.5 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, according to the provincial department of tourism, culture, radio, television and sports.

Last year, Hainan experienced rapid development in cruise tourism. Cruises to the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea saw 400 trips, up 277.8 percent year on year, and received 149,400 domestic tourists, up 405.33 percent.

This year, Hainan aims to receive 99 million tourists and its tourism revenue is expected to reach 207 billion yuan. The province aims to receive more than 1 million inbound tourists in 2024.

China aims to build Hainan into an international tourism and consumption center by 2025 and a globally influential tourism and consumption destination by 2035.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
(BCN)  On Tuesday, the San Francisco Airport Commission voted unanimously in favor of naming its international terminal in honor of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who died in September.

She was virtually an ambassador for the city and in particular an ambassador for the airport, said former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, who spoke at the meeting.

Brown said that when Feinstein served as mayor is when the airport began to sprout.

Just the name Dianne Feinstein will generate an instant response, Brown said. And that response will only be positive, and it will be unparalleled throughout this country.

Google lays off hundreds of advertising team employees, according to report

Other speakers at Tuesdays meeting included San Francisco Supervisor Catherine Stefani, Feinsteins granddaughter Eileen Feinstein Mariano and former San Francisco Supervisor Jim Gonzalez, who served as Feinsteins assistant while she was mayor.

The resolution was proposed by airport director Ivar Satero, who said the official nomination was received by former airport director John Martin and the Dianne Feinstein 100 plus Committee, a group of former colleagues and civic leaders chaired by Brown who have been campaigning for the airport dedication.

Satero outlined Feinsteins role in the airports development, including leading the charge to bring a BART terminal into SFO and construction of the airports first international terminal that opened in 1983.

Feinstein died at the age of 90 after being the longest-serving woman senator in U.S. history as well as San Franciscos first woman mayor and first woman president of the Board of Supervisors. In the coming months, the commission will plan how to develop appropriate locations, designs and content to celebrate the legacy of Feinstein relative to both SFO and the city of San Francisco.

Copyright  2024 Bay City News, Inc.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.
PANOLA COUNTY, Miss. (WREG)  A deer hunter in Mississippi is lucky to be alive after getting lost and spending most of Sunday night in snow, sleet, and extreme winter weather near Enid Lake.

Slade McDonald credits his survival to a stranger who didnt hesitate to give him food and shelter.

She lives there in that camper, on Enid Lake, and she was a God send, most definitely, he said.

McDonald, an avid deer hunter in Panola County, is counting his blessings after a Sunday night hunting trip near Enid Lake with a buddy.

We went down to the end of the road and went off in the woods. He went one way, and I went the other. I put in my phone where my vehicle was. I pinged where my vehicle was so I could find my way back out. Well, I lost my phone, he recalled.

Mississippi deputy hit by car while investigating accident

McDonald says he had no option but to walk to safety in sleet and snow and soon he found himself at the edge of a frozen Enid Lake.

At one point, I guess I had gotten over the water cause I broke through the ice and I was like waist deep in water, he said.

McDonalds hunting partner had already called the Panola County sheriff.

We were able to get a search party going, looking for him, and we looked till about two oclock this morning, said Sheriff Shane Phelps.

Somehow, the lost hunter found his way to a cabin at the Wallace Creek Campground.

Is it safe for Mid-South kids to play in the snow?

So he came out to the lake bottom, and he saw the lights of the campground. So he walked completely across the lake bottom over here to Wallace Creek, Sheriff Phelps said.

McDonald says he ate a bowl of chili and fell asleep at a womans cabin and then used her phone to call his mother.

So I called her and I said, Hey, what are you doing? She said, What are you doing? The sheriffs department has been looking for you. And I said, Oh no! I stumbled on this campground. This lady has helped me out. And she said, You need to call the sheriffs department right away,' he recalled.

Sheriff Phelps said about ten minutes later, McDonald called him, saying he heard that they were searching for him.

A potentially fatal crisis was averted and what did McDonald learn from his experience?

One thing: Dont depend so much on my phone cause if you dont have it, you dont have anything, McDonald said.

Sheriff Shane Phelps says when it comes to hunting or spending time in the woods know where you are, know your surroundings, and tell someone where youre going and what time you plan on coming home.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
The Shell logo is seen at a petrol station in south London

By Ron Bousso

LONDON (Reuters) -Shell is set to conclude nearly a century of operations in Nigerian onshore oil and gas after agreeing to sell its subsidiary there to a consortium of five mostly local companies for up to $2.4 billion.

The British energy giant pioneered Nigeria's oil and gas business beginning in the 1930s. It has struggled for years with hundreds of onshore oil spills as a result of theft, sabotage and operational issues that led to costly repairs and high-profile lawsuits.

Since 2021, Shell has sought to sell its Nigerian oil and gas business, but will remain active in Nigeria's more lucrative and less problematic offshore sector.

Shell's exit is part of a broader retreat by western energy companies from Nigeria as they focus on newer, more profitable operations. Exxon Mobil, Italy's Eni and Norway's Equinor have struck deals to sell assets in the country in recent years.

The British major will sell The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) for a consideration of $1.3 billion, it said in a statement, while the buyers will make an additional payment of up to $1.1 billion relating to prior receivables at completion.

"This agreement marks an important milestone for Shell in Nigeria, aligning with our previously announced intent to exit onshore oil production in the Niger Delta, simplifying our portfolio and focusing future disciplined investment in Nigeria on our Deepwater and Integrated Gas positions," Shell head of upstream Zoe Yujnovich said.

The buyer, the Renaissance consortium comprises ND Western, Aradel Energy, First E&P, Waltersmith, all local oil exploration and production companies, and Petrolin, a Swiss-based trading and investment company.

The sale, which Renaissance confirmed, requires the approval of the Nigerian government.

SPILLS AND LAWSUITS

Renaissance will take over the responsibility for dealing with spills, theft and sabotage, said Shell, which has faced in recent years multiple lawsuits for compensation over damage caused as a result of spills in the Niger delta.

Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of Nigerian advocacy group Health of Mother Earth Foundation said: "Shell must own up to its responsibility."

"This means full payment for the remediation and restoration of the polluted areas as well as reparations to the host communities. They cannot walk away from the virtually irreparable harm they have caused," Bassey said in a statement.

Shell's SPDC Limited operates and has a 30% stake in the SPDC joint venture that holds 18 onshore and shallow water mining leases. Shell's resources in SPDC reached around 458 million barrels of oil equivalent by the end of 2022.

Other partners in the joint venture are the state's Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which holds 55%, TotalEnergies, with 10% and Italy's Eni with 5%.

Apart from its operations and stakes in several fields deep offshore, Shell still has a liquefied natural gas plant and other assets in Nigeria.

SPDC, which remains the operator, was formed in 1979, incorporating assets of the older Shell-BP consortium, with its current partners entering at later stages.

(Reporting by Ron Bousso; additional reporting by Tife Owolabi in Yenegoa and Camillus Eboh in Abuja; editing by Louise Heavens, Jason Neely and Barbara Lewis)
Snowfall totals: How much snow did Middle TN get?

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  A winter storm moved across Middle Tennessee on Sunday evening into Monday bringing heavy snowfall and frigid temperatures.

Preliminary snow totals show that much of Middle Tennessee saw anywhere from three to eight inches of snow. Due to below freezing temperatures, the snowfall could take a while to melt.

PHOTOS: Snow falls across Middle TN | Jan. 14-15

According to estimates, the Berry Hill neighborhood measured the highest total receiving nearly 9 inches of snow. Meanwhile, the Inglewood and Oak Hill areas each saw 8.5 inches and Hermitage received around 8.2 inches.

Source: WKRN Graphic

Areas below Davidson County: including Rutherford, Bedford, White and Coffee counties saw around two inches less of snow than Nashville. La Vergne got around 6.7 inches, Shelbyville saw 6.5 inches. Sparta, Wartrace and Manchester each saw approximately 6 inches of snow.

Tennessee School Closings: January 16-17, 2024

Source: WKRN Graphic

Although majority of Middle Tennessee received a downpour flurries, there were some areas that stayed below the 6-inch threshold. For example, Antioch received 5.5 inches. Meanwhile, Cookeville and Woodbury both saw less than five inches of snow.

VIEWER PHOTOS: Pets in Middle TN enjoy the first snow of 2024 | Jan. 14-15

Source: WKRN Graphic

According to National Weather Service Nashville (NWS), Nashville accumulated 7.6 inches of snow. Of that total, 6.3 inches occurred on Monday, Jan. 15, which broke the previous record of 2.2 inches back in 1944.

Source: NWS Nashville

Based on data collected from the past 30 years, Nashville usually gets an average of 4.7 inches snow during each winter season, which begins in October and ends in March.

Passengers reportedly stuck on planes for hours at Nashville International Airport

Therefore, Nashville received more than an entire winters worth of snow just from the Jan. 14- 15 winter storm.

Source: WKRN Graphic

Dont forget to take the power and reliability of the WKRN Weather Authority with you at all times by downloading the News 2 Storm Tracker app.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
A persson testing their substances for xylazine at the TN Scientific table near the Savage Sisters Recovery outreach next to McPherson Square in Kensington, Philadelphia on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023. [Daniella Heminghaus]

PIERRE  A popular sedative used for horses and cows is one step closer to being banned for human consumption.

Xylazine, which was determined to be an emerging drug threat in April by the White House, is used by veterinarians and farriers to provide a humane course of treatment for large farm and ranching animals. But more recently, xylazine has been used in the drug market and can be typically mixed with fentanyl.

HB 1028 lists xylazine as a controlled substance in the state but creates an exception for veterinarians and farriers, who shoe horses, and use the drug for animal treatment.

South Dakota Secretary of Health Melissa Magstadt told the House Committee on Health and Human Services on Tuesday that the state lab had found xylazine once in a drug test in February.

A year ago, I had never heard of xylazine.. Since then, Ive learned a lot, Magstadt said. Unfortunately, evil doers take what was meant for good and have added this to illicit drugs. Heres my philosophy: If drug cartels cant kill you with opioids, theyll add fentanyl. If they cant kill you with fentanyl, theyll add xylazine.

She added narcan, a drug used to reverse fentanyl overdoses, is unable to reverse a xylazine overdose.

More: Budget reckoning looms in South Dakota as Kristi Noem talks tax cuts and discipline

Attorney General Marty Jackley, who partnered with Magstadt on supporting the bill, added xylazine was a serious matter because of what it can do to the human body.

The drug, also known as the zombie drug, can cause dead tissue build up and if not treated immediately, can result in the amputation of limbs, according to The New York Times. Because of its nature, xylazine slows the heart and can further increase chances for a fatal overdose. It has been found in drug supplies across 36 states and Washington D.C. since 2022.

Jackley explained if a person is caught using xylazine for human consumption, the penalty would be a felony with up to two years in the state prison. This is in accordance with the Schedule III controlled substance law.

HB 1028 passed with full support in committee and now heads to the House of Representatives for a full vote.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: 'Zombie Drug' could be banned for human consumption in South Dakota
By Hyonhee Shin

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea and the United States have agreed to start early talks on how to share the cost of keeping U.S. forces in the country in a bid to reach a deal before the possible reelection of Donald Trump as president, local media reported on Tuesday.

Trump, who has emerged as the undisputed frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2024 election, had during his presidency accused key Asian ally South Korea of "free-riding" on U.S. military might and demanded it pay as much as $5 billion a year for the U.S. deployment.

Negotiations for the Special Measures Agreement were gridlocked for months under the Trump administration, and the deal was finalised when South Korea agreed to a 13.9% increase in its contribution, the biggest annual rise in nearly two decades.

The agreement is set to expire in 2025, and Yonhap news agency as well as news service Newspim quoted unnamed diplomatic sources as saying South Korea and the United States had agreed to start talks this year on extending the deal to 2026 and beyond. Talks are usually held just before the existing deal is due to end.

South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Lim Soo-suk declined to comment on the reports, saying the government would prepare for the next negotiations in a "systematic, strategic" manner.

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said a delegation from its Office of Security Negotiations and Agreements visited South Korea from Dec. 11-17, 2023, to discuss implementation of the existing 11th Special Measures Agreement (SMA).

"We will work closely with (South Korea) to prepare for the negotiations of the 12th SMA," the spokesperson said in an emailed response to a Reuters query, while adding: "We have not yet made any decisions on the specifics for negotiations."

American troops are deployed in South Korea as part of both nations' efforts to deter North Korea, which has been accelerating its nuclear and missile programmes.

South Korea began shouldering the costs of U.S. deployments, used to fund local labour, the construction of military installations and other logistics support, in the early 1990s.

(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington; editing by Miral Fahmy and Sonali Paul)
Two Lea county state representatives have crafted legislation for a permanent fix for lost tax revenue after a measure for a temporary solution was vetoed in 2023 by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

House Bill (HB) 54 was prefiled Jan. 5 by Republicans Rep. Larry Scott (District 62) and Rep. Randall Pettigrew (District 61) and would create an all cities and counties fund, according to the New Mexico Legislatures website.

Scott said HB 54 was an attempt to fix legislation that resulted in the loss of gross receipts tax (GRTs) funds to Carlsbad and Hobbs which were needed to pay for certain municipal services.

More: State lawmakers seek long-term fix for lost tax revenue for City of Carlsbad

Last year the governor vetoed Senate Bill (SB) 292 which would have provided $25 million to the City of Carlsbad in lost tax revenues from House Bill 6 passed in 2019 that changed the states tax code for where a service takes place and not where the business that provides the service is located.

House Bill (HB) 6 titled Tax Changes was enacted nearly two years after it was signed by the governor in 2019.

A closer look at House Bill 54

Pettigrew said the proposed legislation creates a fund to hold 8% of all state GRTs that would then revert to cities and counties in New Mexico.

The plan would ensure that all local governments would directly benefit from the enhanced GRT revenue the state is receiving from the oil and gas boom, Pettigrew said.

Financial projections from the State of New Mexico indicated the oil and gas industry contributed nearly $12.8 billion in recurring revenue in fiscal year 2024 and nearly $13 billion in fiscal year 2025.

Scott said HB 54 was based on a formula where a city receiving 70% of state GRTs would transfer 30% of the money to the county where the municipality is located.

More: Record $2.75 billion in New Mexico revenue driven by oil and gas industry

Municipalities located in the oil and gas producing counties (Eddy and Lea) would receive a larger share of revenue, Pettigrew said.

However, all municipalities and counties will benefit (from HB 54)."

Larry Scott assesses chances of bill passing

The 2024 New Mexico Legislative starts at noon Jan. 16 and is a 30-day session, which are limited to budgetary items and matters placed on the governors agenda.

On Jan. 4 the governor released her executive fiscal year 2025 budget, which totals $10.5 billion in recurring spending, a 9.9% increase from the last fiscal year, read a press release.

Friday was the last day for New Mexico lawmakers to pre-file bills, and with just a month long session, Scott said HB 54s passage was a longshot.

State Rep. Larry Scott (R-62) introduced legislation in the 2023 New Mexico Legislature to provide a long-term fix for lost tax revenue in Carlsbad and Hobbs.

The takeaway is the state is participating in unprecedented revenues out of Eddy and Lea counties, Scott said.

A revised study commissioned by Eddy County and prepared by the Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University (NMSU) in Las Cruces indicated Eddy and Lea counties contributed more than any other county to New Mexico's revenue stram.

More: Lea and Eddy counties continue leading in contribution to state revenue, study says

The report stated Lea County contributed $250,000 per person, while the state expended $35,000 per person. Eddy County contributed $239,000 per person with $32,000 expended on each person.

The study analyzed State of New Mexico county-level revenues and expenditures from 2015 through 2022, estimating the amount of revenue contributed to the state by each county and the states spending in each county on a per capita basis.

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Legislators prepare long-term solution for lost revenue in Carlsbad
Tesla owners are lining up at Chicago-area charging stations as subzero temperatures cause electric vehicle batteries to die quickly, Chicago news outlets report. But, their cars arent always making it to the charging port.

Fox32 called the charging lots car graveyards, describing the abandoned cars left in the lot after cars wouldnt charge. Tesla driver Brandon Welbourne told CBS2 that multiple cars had been towed from an Evergreen Park charging station.

Tesla driver Wes France told WGN9 he drained his car battery just looking for a charging station around the Chicago suburbs and eventually used a tow truck to get his car to a charger.

McClatchy News reached out to Tesla for comment on Jan. 16 and was awaiting a response.

By the time a Tesla driver gets to one a charging station, they may be faced with hours-long lines, according to CBS2.

Ive been here for over five hours at this point, and I still have not gotten to charge my car, Welbourne told CBS2 at a charging station in Evergreen Park on Monday, Jan. 15.

If a driver found an available charger, they may be waiting hours for their car to get fully charged. Welbourne told CBS2 the charging process took 2 hours, but should have taken 45 minutes. Fox32 reported some chargers at a station in Oak Brook were not working.

Nothing. No juice. Still on zero percent, Tyler Beard told Fox32. He told the news station that he had spent a total of 6 hours between Sunday, Jan. 14 and Monday, Jan. 15 trying to charge his car.

While recent media reports have focused on Tesla, shortened battery life amid cold temperatures is not specific to this location or brand. According to a report by Bloomberg, lithium-ion batteries, which are used to power electric vehicles, lose some of their capacity as temperatures drop.

Teslas support website says the company has made updates to the vehicle to improve charging in freezing temperatures, but it also notes that energy consumption can increase in cold weather.

In cold weather, vehicles use more energy to heat the battery and cabin, and its normal to see energy consumption increase.

Teslas support website recommended that drivers use the precondition or defrost features prior to driving.

Evergreen Park is about 16 miles southwest of Chicago. Oak Brook is about 20 miles west of Chicago.

EVs are cheaper than ever. Thats bad for EV owners

Elon Musk says he wants 25% of Tesla stock for AI development
Texas is one of the most racially conscious states in the country, according to a new report.

Online finance company WalletHub recently ranked Texas second in the country for racial progress based on factors like health insurance coverage and educational attainment between white and Black residents.

The gap between white and Black residents in the state who have a bachelor's degree has decreased since 1970, making Texas one of the only states in the country to follow that trend. Since 1995, Texas has reduced the gap between white and Black residents who have health insurance by more than 13%, according to the report.

What about overall freedom? Texas ranks last in personal freedoms, libertarian think tank says

Texas also ranked eighth among all states in terms of racial integration. WalletHub weighed metrics like homeownership rates, voter turnout rates, and the share of adults in poor or fair health between white and Black residents in the state to inform its report.

The WalletHub report marks a continuation of the trend of Texas becoming more racially diverse and accepting overall. In July 2022, the Hispanic population surpassed the white population in Texas to make it the largest racial bloc in the state at 40.2%, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

More: Texas is 2023's most popular state to move to for third straight year, U-Haul report says

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas ranks 2nd best in U.S. for racial progress. Here's what it means
Iowa caucuses kick off 2024 U.S. presidential race

08:29, January 16, 2024 By Matthew Rusling ( Xinhua

Former U.S. President Donald Trump (Front) speaks to the media outside the courtroom during his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court in New York, the United States, on Oct. 18, 2023. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

Despite Donald Trump's wide lead, some experts said the former president must get 50 percent to demonstrate to voters that he's capable.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Iowa caucuses are set to officially kick off the 2024 U.S. election season later Monday, marking the first significant test of the candidates, who are jostling to be their party's presidential nominee for the general election.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump so far dominates the Republican event, being leaps and bounds ahead of other contenders for the GOP nomination.

On Monday night, Iowa Republicans will descend on community centers, churches and high school gymnasiums in this first event of the presidential primary season.

States can hold either primaries or caucuses as part of the presidential nomination process. Caucuses, which are political meetings, are run by the state party, while primaries are run by the state.

Iowa Democrats are also holding their caucuses on Monday night, but the party has made South Carolina its first nominating contest. Democrats are voting entirely by mail-in ballot and will release the results on March 5.

The final major poll, released 48 hours before the caucuses, found that Trump was far ahead of the other Republican candidates. Trump led with 48 percent of participants in the widely watched Des Moines Register poll.

Former South Carolina governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley took 20 percent, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stood in third place with 16 percent.

Ron DeSantis attends a swearing-in ceremony of the Florida governor in Tallahassee, Florida, the United States, Jan. 3, 2023. (State of Florida government/Handout via Xinhua)

Christopher Galdieri, a political science professor at Saint Anselm College, told Xinhua that the candidate to come out on top of the event "is almost certain to be Trump."

But he added that there are other factors to watch, such as Trump's margin of victory -- Does he dominate by 20 or more points, or does someone come in a close second?

Similarly, who comes in second? "Will it be DeSantis, who has bet everything on Iowa, or Haley?" Galdieri noted.

Moreover, Trump has a number of legal problems. He has pleaded not guilty in the criminal cases and has denied wrongdoing in the civil cases.

The former president maintained they are political attacks masked as legitimate prosecutions and mark a U.S. descent into what he calls a corrupt "banana republic."

A conviction in one of his trials could lead support for his campaign to decline, or he could make some sort of plea bargain that involved ending his campaign, for instance, Galdieri said.

Or the Supreme Court could rule that the Constitution's 14th amendment, which prohibits anyone who "engaged in insurrection" from holding office, bars him from appearing on the ballot this fall, Galdieri said.

"There's two races to watch," said Republican strategist David Kochel, as quoted in the Des Moines Register, a leading Iowa newspaper, and reprinted by MSN.

"Trump vs. his expectations -- because that will be how he's viewed, since it's now kind of assumed that he'll win. And then the other race is Haley vs. DeSantis. Who can make the strongest argument coming out of Iowa?"

Despite Trump's wide lead, some experts said the former president must get 50 percent to demonstrate to voters that he's capable.

This photo taken on Oct. 11, 2023 shows the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Evangelicals, who have been the religious group with the strongest views against abortion, are a key voting block in the Republican Party, and in the past have backed candidates that are more socially conservative.

In the past, GOP candidates have leveraged the evangelical vote, both during and after the Iowa caucuses, to gain traction.

This year marks interesting caucuses because evangelicals are not unified behind a single candidate, as they often are.

Iowa boasts around 752,000 registered Republicans, according to data from the state's secretary of state's office, as of early January. That comprises around 34 percent out of 2.2 million registered voters in the state.

In 2016, Iowa saw a record 187,000 people participate in the caucuses. That was around 29 percent of registered Republicans during that time. That year marked a significant rise over the two previous Republican caucuses, which saw around 120,000 voters turn out.

That year was also the year before Trump took the White House, and the former president energized voters like no GOP candidate in several years.

GOP strategists said higher numbers of participants will help Trump, "because he's got more available supporters to turn out," Kochel said.

However, snow and cold temperatures will likely dampen turnout.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Xi, Iowa friend agree youths hold key to ties

08:38, January 16, 2024 By Zhang Yunbi and May Zhou ( China Daily

This photo taken on Feb 15, 2012 depicts then Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping (3rd right, front) joining dozens of ordinary Americans for tea at a local house owned by his old friend Sarah Lande (3rd, left) in Muscatine, a small city in Iowa, the United States. [Photo/Xinhua]

Sarah Lande, a resident of Muscatine in the US state of Iowa and an old friend of President Xi Jinping's, nodded with a smile when Xi unveiled an ambitious plan for China-US people-to-people exchanges at a dinner reception in San Francisco in November.

"I also wish to announce here that to increase exchanges between our peoples, especially between the youth, China is ready to invite 50,000 young Americans to China on exchange and study programs in the next five years," Xi said in his speech at the welcoming dinner, which was hosted by friendly United States organizations.

Lande went home and wrote a letter to Xi, noting that his plan was encouraging, and saying that she hoped Muscatine High School could be part of the program.

Xi wrote in a reply letter on Jan 4, "I welcome the students of Muscatine to participate in this project."

Lande said she was "honored" to hear from Xi, and that her "heart was warmed" to receive greetings as well from Xi's wife, Peng Liyuan, in the letter.

In his reply, Xi said the future growth of China-US ties "needs to rely even more on the two peoples", and he added that he hoped more young people from the US will visit China, see China with their own eyes and "build more bridges "between the two peoples.

Lande told China Daily, "The deep, long-term friendship between old friends in China and the US has built a strong foundation for our young people to participate in student exchanges and become the citizen diplomats of the future."

Lande, former executive director of the nonprofit organization Iowa Sister States, first met Xi in 1985 when he visited Muscatine as secretary of the Communist Party of China Zhengding county committee in Hebei province. She was one of the organizers of that visit.

When recalling the 1985 visit during the November reception in San Francisco, Xi told guests including Lande: "The days I spent with them are unforgettable. For me, they represent America."

They first reunited when Xi made a trip to the US in 2012 as China's vice-president and visited Lande's home for a big get-together with people he has affectionately referred to as his "old friends" in Iowa.

In 2022, Xi sent a reply after Lande wrote to him and enclosed, as a gift, a copy of her memoir "Old Friends": The Xi Jinping-Iowa Story.

"Peace through friendship and trust is the hope for future China-US relations," Lande told China Daily.

Xi's recent reply letter "is part of the story about a friendship that has lasted nearly 40 years", Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

This year also marks the 45th anniversary of China-US diplomatic ties.

"Over the past 45 years, it is the reaching out to each other by our peoples that has time and again brought China-US relations from a low ebb back onto the right track," Mao told a news conference on Friday.

Those who advocate Sino-US friendship have been impressed by how institutions and communities in China as well as the US are moving quickly to advance the student visits plan.

"As we speak, government agencies in China, universities and civil society organizations are gearing up to send out invitations," senior Chinese official Liu Jianchao said when addressing the nonpartisan US think tank Council on Foreign Relations last week in New York.

Liu, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said in his speech that "we believe communication is the only way of increasing common understanding".

Observers from both countries have highlighted the dire need to secure momentum in the improvement of ties by advancing two-way exchanges, given the political atmosphere in the US and the anti-China voices.

Dan Stein, chairman of the Muscatine-China Initiatives Committee and a native of Muscatine, a city with a population of around 24,000, said: "Just totally blasting each other is not going to solve anything. I think you've got to try to talk, and if the US and China can find stable relations, then it makes everything else better and easier for the rest of the world."

Wang Dong, a professor and executive director of the Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding at Peking University, said the plan for visits by 50,000 US students over five years is "one of the most visionary measures" included in the con-sensus reached by Xi and US President Joe Biden during their San Francisco summit in November.

"The plan could potentially 'revolutionize' China-US relations for years and decades down the road. Should it be accomplished, the ambitious plan will amount to one of the largest people-to-people exchange initiatives in history," he said.

By engaging the young generation from the US, China will help cultivate a next generation of US leaders who will be more empathetic to Chinese culture and history, hold fewer ideological prejudices, and be more willing to accept China on an equal footing, Wang added.

Earlier this month, a delegation of students from New York-based Columbia University concluded a trip in China.

In Chengdu, they joined a China-US Youth Gala Dinner, interacted with Chinese peers, and enjoyed local delicacies, local folk traditions such as face-changing and other intangible cultural heritage.

During the gala, many of them went onstage to join in the dancing and singing.

"This is just the start of making friends here, so we shared a bit about how our academic courses work, and what it is we are learning at our universities," said Patrick Alexander Fitz, one of the Columbia University students.

Speaking to local media, he said that such exchanges are "the first opportunity" for them to forge relationships and bonds.

"If we hope for a better tomorrow, a more peaceful tomorrow, it is important that we, the youth, take on that responsibility of learning more about each other and finding ways to work together even in times of difficulty or when maybe we don't agree," he said.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
The Bexar Appraisal District is battling a disabled veteran who seeks a full property tax exemption on her Converse house. Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

A battle between the Bexar Appraisal District and a fully disabled Air Force veteran who seeks a full exemption on her property taxes recently went before the Texas Supreme Court.

The county agency argues that Yvondia Johnson should not be allowed to claim the exemption on her house that she occupies in Converse because her estranged husband, Gregory Johnson, also a fully disabled Air Force veteran, already qualifies for an exemption for his San Antonio home where he lives separately.

The district argues that the tax code precludes duplicate exemptions for married couples for the same residence homestead and for more than one residence homestead in the same year.

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Yvondia Johnson, 62, has countered that she and her husband each qualify for the full exemption because they each receive 100% disability compensation due to a service-connected disability. The couple jointly owned both houses at the time that Yvondia Johnson applied for the exemption, but they have since assumed sole ownership of the houses they occupy respectively.

The district denied her an exemption.

Johnson filed an unsuccessful protest with the Appraisal Review Board, which consists of residents appointed by the local administrative judge for Bexar County. The board is independent of the appraisal district. She then sued the district in 2021 in state District Court in San Antonio.

Later that year, retired state District Judge John Gabriel granted the districts motion for summary judgment while denying Johnsons motion.

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Johnson appealed the case to the 4th Court of Appeals, which reversed Gabriels ruling in 2022. A three-judge panel found that there was no evidence to show that Yvondia Johnson received an exemption on the San Antonio house that Gregory Johnson occupies.

As pointed out by the Texas Supreme Court, if the people of Texas permit an exemption for the total appraised value of a 100% disabled veterans residence homestead when they meet the requirements of (the tax code), then it is not our place to override their policy judgment,  the appeals court ruled.

Because Johnson demonstrated she was entitled to an  exemption, the trial court erred by denying Johnsons motion for summary judgment and granting the Bexar Appraisal Districts motion, the court said.

Arguments

The district appealed that ruling to the Texas Supreme Court, which heard arguments Thursday from both sides.

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Robert Dubose, a Houston lawyer representing the district, told the justices that pursuant to the tax code, theres only one homestead per family.

Lets say youre correct and theres only homestead, and you have situations like this, where you have people who are married but they really are separated, this isnt fraudulent, this isnt some kind of charade, this is really whats happening. How do you decide which one gets the exemption? Justice Debra Lehrmann asked Dubose.

Well, its community property, he answered. In this case, its all part of the marital estate. It would be the first to apply for the exemption.

Dubose didnt know how many disabled veterans in Bexar County receive a 100% tax exemption, though he said its not a huge number.

So why are we in the Texas Supreme Court talking about whether were going to take some more money out of the pocket of a 100% disabled veteran? Justice Brett Busby wondered.

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Busby later asked Dubose, Do you think its good policy to encourage divorce? Because if  the Johnsons went ahead and got divorced, then theyd both be able to claim the exemption for each homestead.

I dont think this is a public policy question, Dubose replied. Its a tax code exemption, and theres a core principal behind tax code exemptions  that Texas does not recognize exemptions unless theyre clearly expressed by the Legislature because it goes against the principal of uniform taxation.

In its brief to the court, the county agency argued that the issue has significant implications. If the appeals court ruling stands, it said that married taxpayers who own more than one property will cite the reasoning of the court of appeals here to seek two residence homestead exemptions.

Dallas lawyer J. Benjamin Aguinaga, who represents Johnson, expressed skepticism about that becoming a problem.

In order for these floodgates to open, you have to have two spouses that agree to live apart in two different homes that they own solely for the purpose to game the system  to gain a tax exemption on two homes, he said.

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In her brief to the court, Johnson said the unique facts in this case of two married disabled veterans living separately  are unlikely to ever arise again.

Quitclaim deeds

Court documents show that Gregory Johnson, 57, applied for a homestead exemption in 2012 on the total appraised value of the couples San Antonio home. The districts website show the taxes on the property would be more than $7,200 if not for the current disabled veteran exemption.

In 2019, the couple bought the Converse property. They separated at the beginning of 2020, and Yvondia Johnson moved to the Converse house, according to a court document. Taxes on the property exceed $8,000.

Property records show that more than eight months after Yvondia Johnson sued the district, she released all of her interest in the San Antonio home by executing a quitclaim deed in 2021. Gregory Johnson simultaneously did the same for the Converse house.
Montana Ruckman, 31, of New Braunfels, pleaded guilty to four charges related to possession or distribution of a controlled substance, according to the Comal County district attorneys office. Comal County Sheriff s Office

A new Braunfels man was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to selling fentanyl in Comal County, according to law enforcement officials.

Montana Ruckman, 31, of New Braunfels, pleaded guilty to four charges related to possession or distribution of a controlled substance, according to the Comal County District Attorneys Office.

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Investigators with the Comal County Sheriffs Office and the New Braunfels Police Department used surveillance and sting operations to track Ruckmans activities, the district attorneys office said. Ruckman was using social media to set up drug deals, officials say.

Thank you to the many law enforcement officers that tirelessly work day in and day out to make our streets safer, the DAs office said in a written statement. A successful prosecution and the removal of a drug dealer selling this deadly drug in our community would not have been possible without a tremendous amount of work by these officers.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in pain relief and as an anesthetic. It is 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as an analgesic, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Fentanyl can be injected, snorted, smoked or taken orally by pill or tablet.
A mourner bows down in prayer as he pays respects to the 21 victims of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas on Thursday, May 26, 2022. Wooden crosses have been placed near the school marquee, which has been a memorial site. Kin Man Hui/Staff photographer In this photo from surveillance video provided by the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District via the Austin American-Statesman, authorities stage in a hallway as they respond to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, May 24, 2022. (Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District/Austin American-Statesman via AP) Associated Press

The Department of Justice on Thursday is expected to release its long-awaited report on the Robb Elementary School mass shooting, according to Uvalde officials.

But what the report will say about the May 24, 2022, massacre remains a mystery.

Ashley Chohlis, the superintendent of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, revealed the DOJs plan during a school board meeting Monday. She said the district will have counselors available for students and staff after the department issues its report.

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Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell told the Express-News that Justice Department officials called her, too, to let her know about the impending release of the report. She also said she was surprised that the news got out because DOJ wanted the matter kept top secret.

Mitchell, who is conducting a separate criminal investigation into the shooting and the botched police response to it, said there has been little coordination between the DOJ and her office.

I would like to have had a more detailed and timely notice that they were releasing the report this week, Mitchell said. I have asked for an in-person meeting Attorney General (Merrick) Garland prior to their scheduled press conference on Thursday, and Im waiting for a response.

MORE COVERAGE: Justice Department launches investigation of Uvalde school shooting

On May 24, 2022, high school dropout Salvador Ramos, 18, shot his grandmother in the face and took her pickup, crashing it in a drainage ditch by Robb Elementary before jumping a perimeter fence armed with an AR-15-style rifle. He shot at the school before entering through an unlocked side door. He then went into a fourth-grade classroom  which was connected by an inside door to a second classroom  and sprayed teachers and students with gunfire.

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During the rampage, he killed 19 students and two of their teachers, shooting most of them in the first several minutes after entering the classrooms.

Nearly 400 officers from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies rushed to Robb Elementary, but they did not enter the classroom where the shooter was holed up with dead and wounded students and teachers for more than 70 minutes.

A team of six officers that included members of the Border Patrols tactical unit eventually confronted and killed the shooter.

Some officers told investigators after the school shooting that they were unsure whether Ramos was an active shooter, which would have required a faster police response, or a barricaded suspect, which would have called for a more methodical approach.

In the wake of the rampage, Garland announced on June 8, 2022, that he had opened a federal investigation at the request of then-Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin. McLaughlin stepped down as mayor last July to run for the Texas House District 80 seat.

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The DOJs Uvalde investigators include John Mina, who was the sheriff of Orange County, Fla., when the Pulse nightclub mass shooting erupted in Orlando in June 2016, and Kristen Ziman, who was the police chief of Aurora, Colo., when a mass shooting at a movie theater occurred there in 2012.

In a closed-door session in Uvalde last April, top DOJ officials addressed relatives of the 21 students and teachers who were killed at Robb Elementary, and families of some of the 16 people who were injured.

The meeting featured Vanita Gupta, the Justice Departments No. 3 official, who issued a public statement after the session.

Guptas statement said the goal of the departments review was to provide an independent account of law enforcement and other stakeholder actions and responses; identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events; and provide a roadmap for community safety before, during and after such incidents.

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Gupta said the review was not a criminal or civil investigation. In other words, the Justice Department wasnt looking to punish officers who may have failed in their duty that day.

What they have relayed to me is that their report is about policies and procedures only, and not about the criminal investigation so as not to interfere with my responsibility, Mitchell said. However, they have failed to disclose the report to me, so I dont know if (that) is accurate.

The departments Uvalde investigators worked with 10 experts on emergency management and active-shooter response, school safety, incident command and management, tactical operations, officer safety and wellness, and victim and family support. The team examined police policies, training, communications, deployment, incident command and tactics, as well as the support services provided to survivors and their families, Gupta said.

The investigators, as of last April, had traveled to Uvalde at least nine times and spent a total of 30 days there. They had interviewed more than 200 people, including officers, emergency and medical personnel, Uvalde school officials, victims' family members and witnesses, Gupta said. They also interviewed Mitchell.

The departments investigation is separate from the Texas Rangers' yearlong criminal probe into what led to the shooting and officers' slow response to the massacre, in apparent violation of active-shooter protocols.

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Last June, the Rangers handed their criminal investigation to Mitchell, who initially said she might convene a grand jury by the end of 2023 to consider the case.

After six months, Mitchell said her review would continue into 2024.

My office is still dissecting the investigation of the Texas Rangers, which is quite voluminous, Mitchell said this week. Upon our completion of the review of the Rangers investigation, we will then convene a grand jury.
A fire on Florida Avenue caused heavy damage to a home early Monday morning, according to a news release from the Lynchburg Fire Department.

At about 2:35 a.m., fire crews were called to the 800 block of Florida Avenue for a report of a structure fire, according to the release. Neighbors had reported seeing flames coming from the rear of the home at 808 Florida Ave., and the first crews to arrive found heavy fire coming from the first and second stories of the wood-framed home, the release said.

It took firefighters more than two hours to completely extinguish the blaze and the heat from it damaged a home next door, the release said. Authorities dont believe the home was occupied at the time of the fire.

Because low-hanging electrical lines prevented fire crews from accessing the roof, AEP was called in to disable power to the area, affecting several nearby residences, the release said.

No injuries were reported and the Lynchburg Fire Marshals office is investigating.
The superintendent of the Glenwood Community School District is among three local candidates at top of the list in the superintendent search for a Nebraska school district in the metropolitan area.

The Gretna Public Schools Board of Education selected the finalists at a special meeting Thursday. In addition to Glenwood Superintendent Devin Embray, the finalists are Travis Lightle, Gretna's current interim superintendent, and Joshua McDowell, superintendent of the Crete Public Schools in Nebraska.

Lightle has been interim superintendent since July 2023, when he stepped into the role after Rich Beran retired. He was previously the assistant superintendent and has served various roles in the district since 2003.

McDowell has been the Crete superintendent since 2019, according to a district media release. He was previously an administrator with the Grand Island Public Schools.

Embray has been superintendent in Glenwood since 2010 and was formerly the superintendent of Independence Community Schools in Independence, Iowa.
Yes, there was a caucus for Democrats.

While national attention for weeks focused on presidential choices of Iowa Republicans, their opposites across the political aisle also gathered Monday evening for some election duties, even if the focus was decidedly local.

Its important, thats why I showed up, said Chris Williamson, a former church pastor.

He was among some 50 people who attended the countywide Pottawattamie County Democratic caucus held at College View Elementary School.

Marsha Pilger, a party vice chair, described the turnout as low, with the cold weather no doubt a factor. But Democrats don't face any question about their presidential candidate either.

When there is an incumbent (President Joe Biden), people dont feel the need to go to the caucuses unless they want to participate in the governing of the party or be in the democratic arena. Our party this year is not competitive as far as our candidate is concerned.

The Iowa Democratic Party's botched handling of the 2020 caucuses, in which a definitive winner wasn't determined, resulted in a shift in how Iowa Democrats give their preference for president. Instead of caucus night voting, they fill out a preference card, which doesn't have to be returned until March 5.

Its different thats for sure, said Lisa Lima, county party chair.

When the Democratic contest featured multiple candidates, and Iowa still was the first-in-the-nation contest for Democrats, more than 200 would show up at just one precinct, Pilger said.

On the agenda at the county caucus Monday were the elections of unbound delegates and alternate delegates to the county convention, the election of county central committee members, plus discussion of platform resolutions to be shared at other county conventions.

All the attention towards the Republican caucuses this year didnt seem to faze local Democrats, Lima said.

I feel we have stayed busy," Lima said. "Weve been staying in the community. Weve been here.
The Spanish government, represented by its Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Manuel Albares, expressed its satisfaction with Moroccos election to the presidency of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

We are pleased that a friendly and neighboring country occupies this international position, Albares said in an exclusive interview with Spanish outlet El Periodico, published on Monday.

Morocco secured the presidency of the UN Human Rights Council for the year 2024 following a vote held last Wednesday in Geneva. Out of the forty-seven members of the Council, Morocco garnered support from 30 nations, surpassing the 17 votes received by its challenger, South Africa.

According to the Spanish Foreign Minister, Morocco holds a strategic partnership with Spain, and he commended the excellence of the relations between the two nations, built on a foundation of friendship and trust.

The significance of this diplomatic achievement was underscored by the recent High-Level Meeting (HLM) that took place on February 1 and 2 in Rabat. This meeting was marked by the signing of what Albares described as the largest number of agreements in the history of these meetings, emphasizing its tremendous success in addressing crucial issues.

Reflecting on the diplomatic roadmap between Spain and Morocco, Albares highlighted the rarity of such cooperation between neighboring countries. He noted that since the adoption of this new roadmap, bilateral relations have experienced significant development in various domains.

The Spanish Foreign Minister specifically cited notable achievements in combating irregular immigration and terrorism, as well as an increase in trade exchanges. He expressed confidence that the collaborative efforts between Spain and Morocco played a crucial role in preventing a potentially high influx of irregular migrants into Spain.
Chinas Foreign Minister Wang Yi has kicked off his inaugural trip of 2024 that takes him to four countries around Africa, focusing on diplomacy, economics, and security issues on the continent.

During his first stop in Cairo, the top Chinese diplomat called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the start of the implementation of the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In a press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, Wang Yi said that it is necessary to insist on the establishment of an independent, fully sovereign state of Palestine on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Wang additionally discussed the conflict with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, with both sides reportedly agreeing a ceasefire should be achieved as soon as possible to prevent the conflict from further spilling over.The two leaders also discussed the need to immediately end the fighting in Gaza to prevent spillover to new fronts around the volatile region.

As a recent analysis in The Diplomat pointed out, in keeping with a tradition spanning over three decades, for Wang, a veteran diplomat, its his annual overseas trip of 2024  and his overall 11th trip since 2013  to the African continent. Wangs four destinations  Egypt, along with the three francophone countries of Tunisia, Togo, and Cote dIvoire  reflect Chinas continuing interest in North Africa and West Africa, the analysis says. Wangs agenda for this trip no doubt also includes reviews of the implementation of the outcomes of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and coordination for the coming 9th Ministerial Conference of FOCAC to be held later this year in Beijing.
Cape Verde, the West African archipelago of ten islands, has officially been declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as malaria-free, hailing it as a significant milestone in the fight against the disease.

The historic milestone makes the Portuguese-speaking nation only the fourth country in the African region  and the 44th in the world  to achieve the malaria-free status, following Mauritius in 1973, Morocco in 2010 and Algeria in 2019. During a live ceremony, which was attended by by the WTO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Cape Verde Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva welcomed the milestone. For a country in which tourism is its main economic activity, the elimination of malaria is the elimination of a constraint on mobility, the elimination of a perception and the reinforcement of sanitary confidence, said Silva.

With no recorded cases since 2017, Cape Verde has had a long journey to become free of the disease, which killed 608,000 people globally in 2022. With 94% of the 249 million recorded cases globally in 2021, Africa has by far the highest number of cases of the mosquito-borne disease in the world, according to the WTO estimates.

The archipelagic nation in the central Atlantic Ocean faced severe epidemics in densely populated areas before it implemented targeted interventions. Cape Verdes success is the latest in the global fight against malaria, and gives us hope that with existing tools, as well as new ones including vaccines, we can dare to dream of a malaria-free world, the WTO chief said.
Nigers Prime Minister Lamine Zeine landed in Russia on Monday January 15, the first leg of an international tour to take him also to Iran, Turkey and Serbia as the West African country seeks to diversify partners after severing ties with former colonial power France.

Zeine is heading a high-key delegation including the ministers of Defense, Oil, Youth and Sports, Agriculture, Trade and Health.

The visit aims at exploring opportunities for cooperation in various fields, including defense, agriculture, energy, healthcare and oil.

Niger broke ties with France in the wake of a military coup that swept aside West-backed President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 2023.

The authorities have forced France to pull out its forces stationed in the country in a sheer move that underlined the end of military cooperation between the two countries.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus, City Manager Erik Walsh and Deputy City Manager Maria Villagomez speak with the Express-News Editorial Board on July 19, 2023. Kin Man Hui/Staff photographer

While the number of homicides and assaults dropped across San Antonio in 2023, auto thefts skyrocketed  which Police Chief William McManus blames on viral social-media posts that walked viewers through the ins and outs of stealing cars.

Car thefts surged 53%, with 19,225 reported last year, compared with the 12,551 in 2022.

Kia and Hyundai models made up 40% of all cars reported stolen in 2023, according to San Antonio Police Department data. Videos showing how to steal these models with just a screwdriver and a USB cable took TikTok and other social-media platforms by storm last year.

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Ford, Chevrolet and RAM pickups accounted for another 15% of stolen vehicles.

Many of those vehicles are not stolen for joy rides, McManus said. Most are stolen to commit other crimes.

With the exception of property crimes  which increased 6% last year  crimes against persons and crimes against society, such as prostitution and drug violations, declined almost 10% and 2%, respectively. Those are categories that the FBI uses to track crime.

The good news is that violent crime is down, McManus told reporters after presenting last years crime numbers to the City Councils Public Safety Committee on Tuesday.

SAPD reported 165 homicides for 2023, 66 fewer than in 2022, and 31,126 assaults, a decrease of 3,248 cases.

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Engaging in what the chief called risky behavior  such as getting into an arguments at a bar or starting a fight over a romantic partner  fuels most of the violent crimes in San Antonio, the chief said.

Of last years 165 homicides, 25 stemmed from family or intimate partner violence, up from 16 such murders in 2022, according to SAPD data.

District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur, one of three members of the Public Safety Committee present Tuesday, pressed McManus on why the number of homicides attributed to family violence worsened last year. He said he didnt have an answer.

Kaur also criticized what she described as SAPDs decision to outsource much of its violent crime data to the University of Texas at San Antonio to better understand various crimes occurring across the city. UTSA has developed a multiyear plan for the police department to reduce violent crime.

SAPDs internal analysis largely focuses on tracking the time of day crimes occur, day of the week and neighborhoods where they take place in order to adjust patrol strategies.

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If we want our overall policing strategy to be more comprehensive, why are we partnering and keeping all of these positions outside versus enhancing the capacity of the department in this area? said Kaur, a first-term councilwoman whose district includes downtown and extends to portions of the North Side. Why not think more about strengthening SAPDs capacity to be more proactive versus keeping all of the proactive data analysis response strategies external?

One part of the system

McManus lamented the fact that most car thieves are repeat offenders who steal vehicles for a living.

Its a big business, and as far as Im concerned, people need to be held accountable and they need to be held in jail, he said.

Last fall, the chief attacked the Bexar County District Attorneys Office several times for not seeking tougher bail conditions for suspects with prior records of violent offenses. The scuffle between McManus and DA Joe Gonzales intensified after six police officers were shot by suspects with criminal records, some of whom had been convicted of violent crimes, over a 13-day span in August and September.

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Remember, the police department is only one step in the criminal justice system, McManus told reporters Tuesday.

Asked to specify whether he believes magistrate judges are setting bail thats too low for suspects accused of vehicle theft, McManus said, Im not even going there.

Earlier this month, city and county leaders unveiled a plan for curbing violence by repeat offenders, which was designed with input from SAPD. State District Judge Ron Rangel is leading an effort to devise a strategy within the next 90 days to ensure that magistrate judges deny bail to certain suspects with a violent criminal records.

McManus signaled Tuesday that he would like city and county leaders to come up with a similar strategy for certain property crimes, including vehicle thefts.

If we make an arrest and that person is out on the street again doing the same thing, whats left for us to do but arrest that person again, he said.
Thousands marched on January 14 to renew their call for an independent Kabylie and denounce the atrocities and rights violations of the Algerian regime there.

The celebration of the Amazigh year 2974 took place in the Kabylie region in a gloomy atmosphere amid an intensifying crackdown on the kabylie people under the military regime.

The restive Kabylie region has for long been the hotbed of demands for a democratic Algeria. But decades of marginalization and persecution led to the emergence of an independence movement or MAK, whose leadership is exiled mostly in France.

The MAK movement, a peaceful independence group, has been designated by the Algerian regime as a terrorist organization, a pretext to silence independence advocates in the Amazigh speaking region.

Protesters in Paris chanted pro-independence slogans and hoisted flags of the Kabylie nation.

At least 49 Kabyle people were sentenced to death, including MAK leader Ferhat Mhenni, following wildfires that ravaged the Kabylie region in 2022. The Algerian regime banned 100,000 Kabylians from leaving abroad, in a series of repressive measures denounced by global rights groups.

The march was largely ignored by pro-establishment French media, including the AFP, a fact indicating a connivance between Paris and Algiers against Tizi Ouzzou and the Kabyle people.

The US state department 2023 terrorism report criticized the Algerian regime for using terrorism to silence dissent.

In 2021 Algerian authorities targeted more frequently the Berber separatist Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie and the Islamist movement Rachad, which the government designated as terrorist organizations in May. The United States considers these designations more political than security focused, as both groups are highly critical of the government and do not appear to have committed what the United States defines as terrorist acts, the report said.
The number of passengers transiting through Moroccan airports rose 32% in 2023 to 27 million people, indicating a recovery of the tourism sector and the growing importance of the Casablanca hub for travelers to and from Africa.

The national airports agency ONDA reported that the growth was driven by international traffic with 24,429,325 passengers.

Africa accounted for most traffic with 45%, followed by Europe accounted with 32%, Middle and Far East with 325 and North America with 28%.

The growth was thanks to the opening of new routes which was reflected in the double- digit transit growth in many Moroccan ports, notably Rabat +38%, Marrakech +41% and Agadir +30%.

Morocco plans to attract 17 million tourists by 2026, as it bolsters air and rail travel between cities ahead of the 2030 World Cup.

Moroccan airlines RAM said it plans to launch a tender to buy the 200 mostly medium haul airplanes further bolstering its foothold as an African carrier.
The Moroccan Association of Local Council Presidents (AMPCC) and the Association of Mayors of Senegal (AMS) signed a cooperation and partnership protocol in Dakar, meant to enhance cooperation between local authorities in the two countries.

The agreement, initiated by AMPCC President Mounir Lymouri, Mayor of Tangier, and AMS President Oumar BA, was signed during the opening ceremony Monday of the Senegal-Morocco Decentralization Conference, attended by a large Moroccan delegation.

The goal of the ten-year protocol between the two countries national networks of elected representatives is to collaborate in enhancing the sub-national level of responsible action for sustainable, resilient, low-carbon, and inclusive development of the territories, populations, and stakeholders concerned, at both domestic and pan-African levels.

The agreement aims to promote partnership exchanges between umbrella organizations of elected representatives and their members, on a collegiate or bilateral basis, on thematic and/or institutional aspects.

Under the terms of the protocol, the partners undertake to pool their cooperative efforts in one or more of the fields of action defined in an Action Plan drawn up jointly by the two signatory entities.

On Monday evening, the President of Senegal, Macky Sall, received the members of the Moroccan delegation participating in the Senegalese-Moroccan Conference on Decentralization, an audience that reflects the interest and importance he attaches to the historic and excellent relations between Morocco and Senegal in various fields.

During the audience, the Senegalese President praised the participation of two large Moroccan delegations in two major events in Dakar in January. The first delegation, led by the Minister of Youth and Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, and comprising over 70 Moroccan artists, took part in the 12th edition of the Fesnac Arts and Culture Festival in Fatick, during which the Kingdom was guest of honor.

And this week, a large delegation, made up of Moroccan mayors and elected representatives, is taking part in the Senegal-Morocco Decentralization Conference, he recalled.

We are touched by this and it shows the importance that Morocco, a brotherly country, attaches to its relationship with Senegal, emphasized President Macky Sall.

Returning to the Conference, he pointed out that Morocco has a very proactive policy in terms of decentralization and, above all, regional planning. Very often, the Moroccan example has been cited when it comes to seeing how cities have made their contribution to regional planning, he said.

President Macky Sall also asked the Moroccan delegation to convey his feelings of friendship and gratitude to King Mohammed VI.
Photo: Michael Nagle/Xinhua via Getty Images

Since 2022, about 170,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City from southern border states, leaving state and local authorities responsible for their care. As the city deals with intense financial fallout, Mayor Eric Adams has assailed Texas governor Greg Abbott, who continues to send migrants from his state to New York as part of a larger campaign against Democrats. Adams has also called out the federal government over what he says is a lack of assistance to manage the crisis.

Earlier this month, Adams announced that he was filing a lawsuit against 17 Texas charter-bus companies used by the state to transport asylum seekers to New York City, citing a little-known state law to allege that the companies are financially responsible for the care of the migrants they brought to the city. The city is looking to recoup approximately $708 million. Abbott has called the legal action baseless.

Last week, I spoke to Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy director of the American Immigration Council, about the chance that Adamss suit will be successful, what other recourse he has to stem the flow of migrants, and what the Biden administration can and cant do about it.

Eric Adamss lawsuit claimed that bus companies violated New York State law by not financially providing for the care of the migrants once they got here. How likely is this argument to be successful?

Very unlikely, largely because the Supreme Court struck down a nearly identical California law 80 years ago.

Can you tell me more about that particular case?

The law that Eric Adams is invoking is what used to be known as a poor law, which were laws designed to prevent indigent people from coming into various states and becoming public charges. These laws last saw large-scale invocation during the Dust Bowl, when hundreds of thousands of Okies left the southern plains to travel to California and other places when their farming lifestyles died out. California tried to invoke a poor law that was virtually the same as the one New York has on its books and prosecuted a man named Edwards who came to California, bringing his brother-in-law from Texas. His brother-in-law was unemployed and did not have a job, and so was eligible for temporary assistance when he came into California.

As a result, Edwards was prosecuted and convicted of a misdemeanor for bringing in a person to the state who was indigent. And the Supreme Court said [in Edwards v. California] that this violates the fundamental right of travel within the United States, and it said very clearly that states may not turn away migrants and shut their doors to the needy. So, in many ways, thats exactly what Eric Adams is trying to do here. The Supreme Court later reinforced that in a case known as Shapiro v. Thompson, from 1969. The Court could not have been more clear. They wrote, The purpose of inhibiting migration by needy persons into the state is constitutionally impermissible.

Though he wasnt named in the suit, Governor Greg Abbott unsurprisingly pushed back against the lawsuit, saying that all the migrants transported by Texas did so voluntarily and that Adams would be interfering with their legal right to travel across the country. Does he have a point?

For once, I find myself in agreement with Greg Abbott. While Abbott has certainly used these buses as a tool to push his political viewpoints and target where migrants are going, migrants are voluntarily getting on them. Theyre not being forced onto them. I think its really helpful to understand  the background here is that when most migrants cross the border, they know where they want to go. And if they have any resources, they have to buy their own tickets. So if you go to any of the shelters along the border after migrants are released, you will see queues of people lining up to get help with figuring out the process for purchasing a plane ticket or bus ticket, often with the financial assistance of friends and family who are already here.

But there are also thousands of migrants who dont know anybody here, who have run out of money, who have lost everything and are crossing the border with nothing but the clothes on their backs. And, for those people, the prospect of a free bus that goes to New York City is fantastic and is in very high demand. And so weve seen these buses be very popular among the migrants themselves because it is a way in which they can get to a location that they have heard is better than simply being stuck in a border town.

In your opinion, is there any potential legal recourse that Adams and the city could take against Abbotts actions?

Certainly, on a moral basis, I think theres a lot of arguments that Abbott has weaponized migrants. Even if you think that the buses themselves are helpful, the ways in which Texas has essentially interfered with local organizations that had been giving a heads-up to receiving communities about when buses might arrive has really made the situation worse. But legally, I dont see any reason why Abbott would be mandated by law to tell people that a bus is showing up. For example, I dont think that the city of New York gets a notification every time a bus full of tourists shows up, or a plane arrives from Europe with a large group on it here to take a night out on the town. People fly or are bussed into New York every single day, and they are not obligated to tell the mayor when they get there.

Nevertheless, New York is definitely facing a lot of strain, in part because the federal government hasnt really stepped in to provide the kind of coordination role that would help share the burden among the various cities. When we look at other cities around the country, there are many places that are losing population and that are desperate for workers and for people who can show up and help reverse this population loss. But migrants generally arent going there because they dont know where these places are and the buses arent going there. So, weve long been calling for the federal government to play a more active coordination role. If theres a city that says, Hey, we really need people, then help migrants get set up there for a few months and maybe figure out whether they want to stay. Instead, because the federal government has been taking a very hands-off role, its really been left up to each individual city to figure it out for themselves.

Adams has been consistent in saying that the city needs more federal assistance and has particularly criticized the White House on the migrants issue. What can they do beyond the coordination and logistical stuff you mentioned?

The crucial thing to understand is that once a migrant leaves DHS custody, its a free country and they can largely go wherever they want. ICE or DHS can set conditions on people. They could set an order of supervision that limited someone to a specific geographical area, but generally speaking, once somebodys out of DHSs hands, the federal government really only cares if the person is following their federal obligations. Are they showing up to ICE check-ins? Are they going to their court hearings? Are they complying with the terms of their release? And that can occur in any location in the country. The Biden administration has actually very little power right now because Congress hasnt given it the power to do this broader federal coordination role.

Definitely there are things that the administration could be doing to lead on this issue. We have asked the Biden administration to lead on a national level in migrant response since day one. So far, they havent done that. But, at the same time, theres a lot that they cant do because it would require Congress, things like reimbursing city governments. The only funding thats available for that is funding that Congress has provided. Most recently, in the fiscal year 2023 budget, Congress provided $800 million to the shelter and services program to support city and state governments and local nonprofits that are assisting with migrant response. But any funding beyond that would also have to come from Congress. The Biden administration cant simply reimburse the city for something. You have to have statutory authorization to do that. And right now, the only authorization comes through this single $800 million pot of funding, the shelter and services program.

So when you hear people saying things like Why doesnt the president issue an executive order for work permits?  thats not really a feasible option?

This is a great example of the limitations of federal authority. In order for someone to be eligible for a work permit, they have to fall within a certain legal category. There is no general executive authority to simply grant permits willy-nilly. For most people coming to the border, the only way in which they would be able to apply for a work permit is if they filed an asylum application. But, thanks to a 1996 law, the government is actually barred from issuing them to people until 180 days after they file an asylum application. And thats written into the law. The Biden administration cant waive that. It would be illegal to give an asylum applicant a permit before 180 days. So, that means that many people crossing the border have literally no choice. The only way in which they are able to get a permit is waiting six months after they file an asylum application.

For others, there is parole and Temporary Protected Status. These are alternate means by which people could potentially gain a permit. But there, the issue is often that not everybody is getting parole. Parole right now is largely only being granted to people who are coming in legally through ports of entry, and Temporary Protected Status is only granted to nationals of specific countries  for example, the DHS secretary authorized TPS for Venezuela last year. And there the issue is often about processing capacity. The administration has done a really good job of speeding up work-permit adjudications at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. But nevertheless, theres backlogs of tens of thousands of applications and many people have to wait months to get a work permit. So, theres no way that the president could simply sign an executive order and suddenly give one to every migrant. It just doesnt work that way.

Congress is currently in the middle of negotiations on changes to immigration and border policy. What can we expect to emerge from those talks?

Right now, were taking a hard look at what Senate negotiators are discussing, and its hard to see a positive future coming out of those talks. The White House has agreed to significant concessions already, including the possible restart of something like the Title 42 pandemic health expulsions. In other words, an authority that would permit DHS to simply turn away migrants at the border, rather than process them for asylum after they cross. The problem with that is that we have three years of data that showed us what happened under Title 42. And while last December hit a record for the highest number of border apprehensions, the previous record was set in December 2022 when Title 42 was already in effect. So, we actually know for a fact that restarting border expulsions is not going to stop people from crossing the border, because when border expulsions were in effect, people were still crossing the border.

The other policies that have been discussed could potentially help in some ways. An agreement could include $14 billion for the Biden administration to respond to migration, which does include $1.4 billion for supporting state and local governments. So that would certainly help. And there would be an investment in asylum officers, so more people could be screened rapidly. But at the end of the day, the policy changes that are under discussion are not the ones that are going to solve this crisis. If anything, they could theoretically make it worse. We do know that they would have very little long-term impact on border crossings. Of course, that is even presuming that they are passed into law. As we are seeing over the last week or two, opposition in the House of Representatives to any kind of immigration bill that is not the hard-line, GOP Secure the Border Act is growing, and its very possible that even if the Senate does narrowly pass some kind of compromise, that it dies in the House.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty/Getty Images/500px

Clive Fields flew into Iowa from Texas to vouch for Ron DeSantiss campaign at a caucus site inside a former lumber store in Urbandale. Beginning at 7 p.m. across the state, representatives for each candidate were given a few minutes to make their case to Iowans before ballots were cast. Fields, a doctor from Houston, prepared to give what would be his first public speech at a political function to the 164 people assembled before him when he looked down at his phone at 7:30 and saw the news: the Associated Press declared Donald Trump already won.

It was like announcing the winner before the kickoff, Fields said.

It was a blowout. Trump won 51 percent of the vote, finishing a staggering 30 points ahead of DeSantis, who eked out a campaign-saving second place finish over Nikki Haley. The former presidents victory was never in doubt, but there was some question heading into Monday about whether he could get an absolute majority of the vote or if his grip on the Republican base had slipped. In fact, its stronger than ever.

A little over a year ago, Trump looked unusually weak. He launched his third bid for president in a lackluster speech before a bored crowd at his Florida club, immediately after his hand-picked slate of Republican candidates flopped in the midterms. He was also still reeling from his loss to Joe Biden and the subsequent failure effort to overturn the election.

At the same time, elsewhere in Florida, DeSantis was coming off a landslide reelection that was expected to set him up as Trumps top rival in 2024. The young governor who made himself partially in Trumps image would try to run for president as Trump without the baggage, a right-wing culture warrior with an effective track record of governance and not a single indictment, let alone four. The plan was to show he was a viable Trump alternative by winning in Iowa, where DeSantis practically lived, crisscrossing the state to visit all 99 counties. He wouldnt win a single one. Despite spending over $100 million, his support in polls withered under furious attacks from Trumpland, and his campaign operation fell into disarray. It was perhaps the biggest failure by a Republican primary candidate since John Connally had spent $11 million in 1980, a then-record sum, to win only one delegate.

In a way, Haleys third place finish said the most about the shifting foundations of the Republican Party. The former governor of South Carolina and former U.N. ambassador ran as a Republican like George W. Bush and Paul Ryan, representing prosperous suburbs filled with college-educated voters who supported a lean government and a strong foreign policy. Mondays results showed that faction is now a distinct minority within Trumps party. She ran behind Marco Rubio, who tried to build a similar coalition in Iowa. Back then, those voters were divided between Jeb Bush and John Kasich, and some had even backed Trump as a last-ditch alternative to Ted Cruz, who went on to win. This time, Haley had that lane to herself, but it had shrunk significantly over the past eight years, with some having left the GOP entirely. In the end, Trump won a plurality of those who remained, according to entrance polls.

Trumps ultimate advantage is a base of voters who simply adore him. At one Haley event, people politely applauded, but they didnt wave signs provided by her campaign. At Trump events, supporters hooted and hollered at the candidates remarks and would stay standing long after he took the stage because they were too distracted by his presence to sit down.

Don Buhrow was one of them. A Trump caucus captain with the special autographed white MAGA hat to verify his commitment to the campaign, Buhrow said that he had been committed to Trump since he came down the escalator in 2015. Buhrow left the stovepipe hat he wears as an Abraham Lincoln impersonator at home on Monday, because his wife didnt want him to ignore her in favor of people taking selfies with the Great Emancipator. I think theres a lot of similarities between the two, Buhrow said, saying both presidents were very strong willed and they didnt take no for an answer.

As with most caucusgoers and Republicans, Buhrow thought Trump was the victim of foul play in the 2020 election. He got Taken out of office because the left decided they needed to have Joe Biden instead, said Buhrow, who described those Trump supporters in prison for attacking the Capitol as victims of a total sham.

Trumps appeal, though strong, was not universal and the issue of January 6 is a problem of some size. Thomas Hromatka, a Des Moines banker and DeSantis precinct captain in Urbandale, said he was an ardent Trump backer eight years ago, believing that Trump would be A business person with bold ideas about how to manage government. He supported DeSantis and said he doesnt think he can bring himself to vote for Trump again if he was the nominee, over January 6 and the former presidents election denial.

New Hampshire votes next Tuesday, January 23, and Haley could not be content with a bronze medal there. In her speech on Monday night, she insisted that Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race despite her third-place finish. DeSantis, who narrowly edged out Haley for second place, told a cheering crowd, Weve got our ticket punched out of Iowa.

Only one candidate could give a victory speech, though. We are going to come together. Its gonna happen soon too. Its gonna happen soon, Trump said. I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a good time together. Were all having a good time together. I think they both actually did very well.

He could afford to be magnanimous. Its Trumps party and everyone else is just a guest.

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From the left, the archaeologist Federico Bernardini and the astronomer Paolo Molaro at the Castelliere di Rupinpiccolo, with what could be the oldest celestial map ever discovered (INAF)

A strange stone disk unearthed in Italy dating to about 3,000 ago could be an ancient map of the brightest stars in the night sky, a new study suggests.

The stone disk, about the size of a tire, was unearthed a few years ago near a hill fort in northeastern Italy and contains 29 mysterious chisel marks, researchers observed.

Twenty-four of the chisel marks are on one face of the stone, and five marks are on the other.

Using software to analyse the stone carvings, scientists found that the marks likely match groups of stars in the constellations of Orion, Scorpius, and Cassiopeia, as well as the cluster Pleiades.

Researchers also found another uncarved stone next to it about 50 cm (20 inches) in diameter and 30 cm (12 inches) thick, which they suspect could be a representation of the Sun.

One of the 29 marks remains to be identified, according to the study, published in the journal Astronomical Notes.

Scientists suspect the yet unidentified chisel mark likely represents a star in the Orion cluster that may have since exploded as a supernova, or could be a failed supernova that has left a black hole behind.

Digital elevation model of the main face (the one with 24 incisions) of the stone analyzed in the study (Bernardini et al., Documenta Praehistorica, 2022)

The unidentified mark challenges the whole picture. We suggest it could have been the progenitor of a failed supernova, they wrote.

Searching for a black hole in this part of the sky could verify this interpretation, researchers say.

The case of a failed supernova is really intriguing as one of the techniques to search for them is precisely to look for missing stars in the current sky, by using images taken at previous times. This possibility offers a way to verify the proposed interpretation, they added.

The disk, according to the study, may have been used by the people who lived about 3,000 years ago at the hill fort to track changing seasons as part of an agricultural calendar.

Pottery shards unearthed near the site indicate that the fort hill was in use from about 1800/1650 to 400 BCE, suggesting the stone disks can be safely referred only to this long timespan.

Story continues

However, little is known about the ancient inhabitants of the Castelliere di Rupinpiccolo region where the stones were found.

Until now, the oldest known map of the night sky is a palimpsest attributed to Greek astronomer Hipparchus dated to about 135 BC.

The Nebra sky disk, a bronze artifact with gold appliques indicating the Sun, the Moon, and the Pleiades dated around 1600 BC is even older, but is a more rudimentary representation.

If the stone disk is proven to contain a celestial map, it could predate the work of Hipparchus, and demonstrate evidence of unexpected astronomical curiosity in protohistoric Europe.
It has been 60 years since Harold A. Franklin Sr. stepped onto Auburn Universitys campus as the colleges first Black student.

AU has commemorated that moment several times, but Franklins time on the Plains was short lived. Franklin arrived in 1964 and left by 1965 to transfer to the University of Denver, because he was not allowed to defend his masters thesis.

Decades later, Auburn changed that. He was able to defend his thesis on Feb. 16, 2020, and receive his degree. It was a significant moment for the 87-year-old trailblazer.

Almost 55 years later, Auburn was able to correct that problem, Dr. Taffye Benson Clayton, vice president and associate provost for inclusion and diversity, said. He was quoted as saying at that time, Im glad I could do something to help other people.

That moment for Franklin was part of Auburn University giving back to someone that represented so much.

In 2015, the university unveiled a historical marker on the green space in between the RBD Library and Mary Martin Hall commemorating where Franklin entered the library to register for classes. After receiving his degree in the mail due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Franklin was present at the Dec. 2020 commencement ceremony. He walked at that ceremony and participated in the hooding ceremony for the first Black female to receive a PhD in the department of history.

One of the people with Franklin during the graduation was Elizabeth Huntley, a member of the AU Board of Trustees, representing District 6. At Tuesdays ceremony, Huntley shared some insight into a conversation she had with Franklin, where he revealed how lonely he was at Auburn.

Franklin was a new student at Auburn in 1964, but he had already graduated from Alabama State in 1962 and according to Huntley, was away from his wife and son while studying at Auburn. In addition to that challenge, after fighting in court to attend Auburn, the fight had only just begun. Once classes began, he lived alone in a vacant wing of Magnolia Hall.

Can you imagine youre on this campus and theres a whole building thats just for you? You go there every night and you go to class, and theres nobody to talk to you, Huntley said.

Huntley explained that the conversation started with her offering to meet any request Franklin had. Through the course of the discussion, Franklin did make one request: to find the white student that talked to him while he was at Auburn.

He said, there was a white male student who talked to me. He talked to me, he had conversations with me, even when the other white students were sort of getting on to him and scolding him because he was interacting with me, Huntley said. He said, I want to find my friend. He called that person, his friend. Because to him, that person was his friend.

Huntley said that through research the university was able to identify two people: Jim Dinsmore and Bob Boettcher. Reports have indicated that Dinsmore and Boettcher greeted Franklin on the day he registered for classes. However, Huntley said they were unable to locate them and connect them with Franklin.

However, Huntley believed that the story can serve as inspiration for people today, as integration was not simply complete when Franklin enrolled at Auburn.

This celebration of integration is not just about Harold Franklin walking onto the campus of Auburn, Huntley said. Integration is really about the beginning of us building a relationship and seeing people beyond the color of their skin, and creating those types of relationships.

In Huntleys words, Franklin being admitted to Auburn was being invited to the party. She explained that integration does not end there and she compared the isolation he felt while on campus to being invited to a party, but not being asked to dance. Except his friend did.

That one person that he called his friend, asked him to dance, and engaged with him and gave him somebody to talk to as a friend, Huntley said. Although everybody didnt, one person did ask him to dance. And that was the moment that he cherished here at Auburn. And because of that, I believe in Auburn and I love it.

Harold Franklin Jr. told the Opelika-Auburn News that his father never told them that story, in what he believes was an attempt to protect his family.

I think my dad did not tell me about it, for fear of not wanting to upset my mother and myself, because the first time I ever heard that story was like a couple of years ago, Franklin Jr. said. I did not know that he really felt that lonely. So that was very touching to me to know that somebody went through so much adversity by themselves.

Throughout the ceremony, AU representatives emphasized the commitment Auburn has to remembering the legacy of Franklin and all the trailblazers that followed and continuing the progress that was started 60 years ago.

We will constantly try to be better. And I thank Dr. Franklin and all our trailblazers for holding us to that higher truth, Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Vini Nathan said. I feel I missed out on not having an opportunity in terms of meeting Dr. Franklin, but I know that he and all of you who are here will make sure that Auburn does the right thing.
There are two key reasons why China, Russia, and the U.S. have long been scrambling to secure control over Iraqs gas sector, and these are its massive potential size and its huge geopolitical importance. Last weeks awarding of the major build-own-operate-transfer contract to a subsidiary of Chinese flagship gas firm PetroChina to develop the Nahr bin Umar onshore gas field is a clear signal of how this competition is going. Even more so, as it follows the previous weeks takeover by PetroChina from the U.S. ExxonMobil of the lead operator role on Iraqs supergiant West Qurna 1 oil field.

For China, Iraqs gas sector is not just potentially massive but is also highly connected to its equally potentially huge oil sector, allowing the country to leverage contracts won in Iraqs gas fields into a wider presence across its oil fields as well. The reason for this is that around 70 percent of Iraqs gas reserves are associated with oil fields, and the majority of these fields are located in the southeast of Iraq, in and around its major oil hub of Basra. The biggest of these associated gas reserves are to be found in the supergiant oil fields of West Qurna, Rumaila, Nassiriya, Majnoon, Halfaya, Zubair, and Nahr bin Umar. On the other hand, most non-associated gas reserves are to be found in the north of Iraq, especially in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan. As analysed in depth in my new book on the new global oil market order, China efforts to inveigle Iraq to sign up to the all-encompassing Iraq-China Framework Agreement has in large part been aimed by Beijing at securing control over these southern oil fields, with their associated gas. This was done after Chinas main geopolitical ally Russia secured control over Kurdistans entire oil sector in late 2017, gaining much control over its non-associated gas as well, as also detailed in full in the book. Related: Fundamentals Point To Flat Oil Prices in 2024

Precisely how much associated gas there is across Iraq is difficult to say with any certainty, as so much of the countrys potential oil reserves also remain unexplored. Officially, Iraq still has around 145 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves, around 8 percent of the worlds total. However, at the same time as producing these official reserves figures, the Oil Ministry stated that the countrys undiscovered resources amounted to around 215 billion barrels. This was also the figure established in a 1997 detailed study by respected independent oil and gas firm Petrolog. However, in a full analysis conducted in 2012, the International Energy Agency (IEA) put the level of Iraqs ultimately recoverable resources at around 246 billion barrels (crude and natural gas liquids). Officially as well, Iraqs gas reserves currently total about 3.5 trillion cubic metres (tcm), or about 1.5% of the world total, with around three-quarters of these comprising associated gas. In its thorough 2012 analysis, though, the IEA estimated a truer figure at above 8.0 tcm, with non-associated gas estimated to be at least 30 percent of this number.

As was seen just two weeks ago in West Qurna 1, securing either an oil or a gas contract on a major oil field makes it much easier for China to take control of every element of that energy development over time. Under the terms of the Iraq-China Framework Agreement this means that it can secure oil and gas at discounts of 30 percent or more, as also thoroughly examined in my new book. As also analysed, though, it gives the state-owned Chinese companies working on the sites the full legal right to station as many security personnel as they wish on the land to protect their assets. It also allows China great scope to build out corollary infrastructure also agreed to by Iraq in the Framework Agreement. One notable case in point of this plan in action was the awarding in 2021 to China of contracts to build a civilian airport to replace the military base in the capital of the southern oil rich Dhi Qar governorate. The Dhi Qar region includes two of Iraqs potentially biggest oil fields  Gharraf and Nassiriya  and China said that it intended to complete the airport by 2024. This airport project, it announced, would include the construction of multiple cargo buildings and roads linking the airport to the citys town centre and separately to other key oil areas in southern Iraq. In later discussions connected to the 2021 Iraq-China Framework Agreement, it was decided that the airport could be expanded later to be a dual-use civilian and military airport. The military component would be usable by China without first having to consult with whatever Iraqi government was in power at the time, a senior source who works closely with Iraqs Oil Ministry exclusively told OilPrice.com at the time.

Another major advantage to China of securing the key oil and associated gas sites in the Basra region, albeit one that would ultimately fall under the day-to-day control of its key ally Russia, is that it would finally allow for the creation of a seamless link between Iran and the Mediterranean coast of Syria, via Iraq. This is why China and Russia are doing everything in their power in Iraq to secure control in Iraqs sixth gas licensing round over what would be the end-point in the country of that link  the huge Akkas gas field in Anbar province. The Akkas gas field itself is one of three big gas fields that form a skewed triangle across southern Iraq, stretching from the Mansuriya field near the eastern border with Iran, down to Siba field in the south (extremely close to the key Iraqi Basra export hub), and then all the way west across to Akkas itself (extremely close to the border with Syria). Russia thought it had finally gained control over these three sites when in September 2019 its Stroytransgaz signed a preliminary contract with Iraqs Oil Ministry to develop the hitherto virtually unknown Block 17 in Iraqs lawless wasteland Anbar province, as also analysed in depth in my new book. This route has long been the key link required to build a land bridge from Tehran to the Mediterranean Sea by which Iran and Russia could exponentially increase the scale and scope of weapons delivery into southern Lebanon and the Golan Heights area of Syria to be used in attacks on Israel, as also analysed in depth in my new book on the new global oil market order. The core aim of this policy was to provoke a broader conflict in the Middle East that would draw in the U.S. and its allies into an unwinnable war of the sort seen recently in Iraq and Afghanistan, and which may soon be seen as the Israel-Hamas War escalates.

By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com

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Chiles lithium mining giant, Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A (NYSE:SQM), has announced that it has suspended operations at the Atacama salt flat due to widespread protests by an indigenous community. About 500 protesters of the indigenous Toconao community have blocked six different spots on public roads in the southern area of the salt flat, the world's largest lithium deposit, disrupting the movement of workers and mining equipment. Local groups have taken to the streets demanding to be included in talks between SQM and the government, claiming they were sidelined in an agreement that was recently signed between SQM and state-run copper firm Codelco. Chile is home to the world's largest lithium reserves, 90% of which are in the Atacama desert.

Chile's millennial President Gabriel Boric has unveiled plans to nationalize the countrys lithium sector in a bid to boost the economy and protect biodiversity. Boric has pledged to achieve this by pioneering environmentally-friendly technology as well as engaging personally in talks with local Indigenous communities. He envisions expanding mining with public-private partnerships controlled by a new state lithium company. The Chilean government has opened negotiations with SQM for state control and plans to do so with Albemarle before its contract expires in 2043.

But local communities living around the salt flats, once tightly grouped under a regional council, are skeptical and are proving harder to work with. Some community leaders are demanding more profits be channeled their way, while others are strongly opposed to any new lithium mining within their lands. Related:Iran Turns to Dirty Heavy Fuel Oil amid Gas Shortage

"We're in the most arid desert and to exchange what we have in water and vegetation for a lithium battery is going to leave us with nothing," Francisco Mondaca, a civil engineer and head of the environmental unit of the Atacama Indigenous Council, has told Reuters.

"The Chilean government starts selling this lithium without asking us native people, the people who live here, the homeowners, the Lickan Antay people. This method of the Chilean state dealing with native communities never changes. When they want to install new mining operations, they roll over communities," Cristian Espindola, a Toconao security officer on the Tara flat, has told Reuters, calling the move "irresponsible" and a continuation of previous policy.

Some Indigenous leaders are open to supporting lithium extraction at a fair price. Since 2017, Albemarle Corp. (NYSE:ALB) has given 3.5% of its sales each year to the Atacama Indigenous Council, divided evenly among the 18 member communities. That has frequently led to disagreements, "There are communities with ten people who get $2 million and communities with 3,000 who get the same," Alonso Barros, a lawyer for the council, has told Reuters. Some communities now plan to hold individual negotiations with the government, bypassing the council altogether. SQM has already adopted this model, striking individual deals with communities closest to its operations.

Ecuadors NOC Declares Force Majeure

Disruptions by local communities are becoming increasingly common in Latin Americas energy sector. Last month, Ecuador's state-run oil company, Petroecuador, declared force majeure on three oil blocks following protests by the indigenous Kichwa community. The three blocks were producing ~142,000 barrels of oil equivalent before production fell to about 122,500 after the disruption. Petroecudor produces ~ 362,000 barrels of crude per day.

The community has accused Petroecuador of breaching agreements, though the company says its open to dialogue.

This comes as yet another blow to Ecuador's beleaguered oil and gas sector. Last year, Ecuadors energy minister Fernando Santos revealed that fuel imports have now surpassed exports for the first time in more than 50 years. Ecuador's crude and fuel oil exports clocked in at $2.9bn during the first six months of 2023, $100m lower than imports. This marked the first time Ecuadors fuel imports have exceeded exports ever since the country started exporting oil in 1972.

And, its becoming increasingly difficult to drill for more oil. Last year, Ecuadorians voted against drilling for oil in Yasuni National Park, home to the Tagaeri and Taromenani who live in self-isolation. Designated a world biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1989, Yasuni encompasses a surface area of over 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) and is home to 610 bird species, 121 reptiles species and139 amphibian species. Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso has been desperately trying to advocate for oil drilling in Yasuni in a bid to boost the countrys flagging oil exports. Unfortunately, last years referendum means that Petroecuador will have to look elsewhere.S&P Global has projected that Ecuador's crude production will grow slightly to 510,000 b/d in the current year before gradually declining.

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By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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A cold snap in the U.S. and continued attacks on ships in the Red Sea have boosted bullish sentiment in oil markets, although increasing product stocks could counter that narrative.

Chart of the Week

- Indias state-owned refiners are considering resuming imports of Venezuelan barrels after the countrys private refiners started buying last month, with ONGC Videsh waiting for loading dates in February.

- An investor in Venezuela since 2008, ONGC Videsh has more than $600 million in dividends due, which it plans to convert into heavy sour Merey cargoes, despite its differentials strengthening to -$8 per barrel to Dated.

- Venezuela has been producing 800,000 b/d of crude since US sanctions were lifted in October, becoming a market dominated by three main buyers  US, India, and China  ending years of Chinese prevalence in Venezuela.

- According to Kpler data, Indias largest refiner Reliance purchased two VLCCs from Venezuela in December, followed up by a further two cargoes in January, making it the largest buyer globally on a company level.

Market Movers

- US investment giant BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) agreed to buy Global Infrastructure Partners for 12.5 billion, boosting its infrastructure assets to $150 billion and adding a sizable renewables portfolio.

- Spains oil major Repsol (BME:REP) is facing a 1 billion lawsuit after a group of 34,000 alleged victims took it to court over an oil spill at its Pampilla refinery next to the capital city of Lima.

- US offshore-focused oil producer Talos Energy (NYSE:TALO) struck a deal to acquire privately held producer QuarterNorth Energy in a $1.29 billion cash and stock deal, boosting its presence in Mexico.

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Continued attacks in the Red Sea and the U.S. cold snap have been making headlines this week, both indicating a more bullish outlook for oil as ICE Brent continues to hover around $79 per barrel. With up to 500,000 b/d of oil production temporarily shut in across the United States, supply disruptions in the Atlantic Basin might be offsetting the bearish narrative of increasing product stocks. As EIA figures on the United States will only be made available Thursday, smaller macro events such as Chinas no-change Central Bank meeting are poised to become the main bearish market narratives.

Houthis Strike US-Owned Bulk Tanker. Houthi forces struck the US-owned dry bulk tanker Gibraltar Eagle with an anti-ship ballistic missile as it sailed some 100 miles off the Gulf of Aden, claiming the attack was done as retaliation for US strikes on Yemens Hodeidah airport earlier this week.

Cold Snap Lifts Power and Natural Gas Prices. The expected 4% drop in US natural gas output due to the extreme freeze taking over the central and eastern parts of the country lifted Pacific Northwest power prices to $1,075/MWh, the highest on record, whilst Waha gas prices soared to $17/mmBtu.

Bakken Production Freezes Up. The extreme cold rampaging through the US Midwest has led to a 425,000 b/d decline in oil production from the Bakken shale as operators shut in wells, whilst gas output in the same basin is down almost 50% to 1.1 billion cubic feet per day.

Nigeria Tenders Its Revamped Refinery. Nigerias state-owned oil company NNPC has tendered for an operator of its 210,000 b/d Port Harcourt refinery, calling on reputable operators to help meet the nations fuel supply, aiming to restart the plant towards the end of Q1 2024.

White House Sanctions Iran Traders. The US Treasury expanded sanctions on Iran-linked entities as it placed two Hong Kong and UAE-based companies and four tankers they operate on its sanctions list for allegedly shipping Iranian crude for the benefit of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Zinc Prices Buoyed by European Closures. Zinc prices increased by 4% this week to $2,615/mt after Trafigura-controlled metal producer Nyrstar announced that it would place its Budel zinc smelter in the Netherlands on care and maintenance due to high energy costs and weaker regional demand.

Kerry Steps Down as US Climate Envoy. The US climate envoy John Kerry is planning to step down as the top climate diplomate over the upcoming weeks, according to media reports, with his departure coinciding with that of his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua, right after the COP28 summit ended.

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TMX Pipeline Clears Key Regulatory Hurdle. The Canada Energy Regulator approved a route change proposed by the operator of the 590,000 b/d Trans Mountain expansion pipeline, clearing the last regulatory barrier before TMX starts seeking nominations for line filling, expected to happen in Q2.

Libya Eyes 2024 Licensing Round Despite Protests. Brushing aside the 300,000 b/d Sharara field still being down due to protests, Libya is preparing to launch its first upstream licensing round since 2007, aiming to boost oil production to 2 million b/d within the next five years.

Baghdad Wants Kurdish Firms to Produce Less. As Baghdad seeks to adhere to its 2024 OPEC+ production targets, it is increasingly pressuring the Kurdish Regional Government to curb crude output as recently restarted projects ramped up supply to more than 200,000 b/d.

Court Clears Australias Key Gas Project. Australian gas major Santos (ASX:STO) can continue with the construction of a subsea pipeline that is vital for its $4.3 billion Barossa gas project following a three-month hiatus thanks to a court decision that dismissed a claim from indigenous groups.

Biden Administration Lays Out New Methane Rules. The US Environmental Protection Agency proposed new rules for methane emissions, introducing a financial penalty of 900 per metric tonne above a specified amount, expected to raise $750 million this year across 2,000 oil and gas facilities.

Chinese EV Giant Taps Brazils Lithium Supply. The largest EV carmaker globally, Chinas BYD (SHE:002594) has been holding talks with Brazils Sigma Lithium over a potential lithium supply agreement, joint venture, or even outright acquisition, seeking to build EVs in Brazil from mid-2024.

By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com

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A police bodycam video shows City Councilman Marc Whyte being questioned by police on Dec. 29 about how much he'd had to drink that night. Whyte said he was sober, but an officer arrested him on suspicion of DWI. Courtesy San Antonio Police Department

San Antonio City Council Member Marc Whyte was driving home after a night out on the North Side on Dec. 29 when a police officer pulled him over.

The officer, a member of the San Antonio Police Departments DWI unit, put Whyte through a series of field sobriety tests, instructing him to walk an imaginary line, recite the alphabet from C to S and count backwards from 67 to 42. He pointed a penlight in Whytes eyes to assess his eye movements.

RELATED: City Council reprimands Marc Whyte over DWI arrest

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The District 10 council member insisted he was sober. The officer disagreed and placed Whyte under arrest. The charge: driving while intoxicated.

Barely seven months earlier, Whyte was sworn into office as the successor to Clayton Perry, whose political career was destroyed by a DWI.

Heres a timeline of developments in Whytes case.

San Antonio City Councilman Marc Whyte, shown in a booking photo, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated on Dec. 29, barely seven months after he replaced a councilman, Clayton Perry, whose career was derailed by a DWI case. Courtesy Bexar County Sheriff's Office

Friday, Dec. 29

Officer D. McCroy pulls Whyte over shortly after 11 p.m. after seeing him driving erratically in the eastbound lanes of the Northeast Loop 410 access road just south of San Antonio International Airport.

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Whyte was traveling 80 mph in a 65 mph zone and was drifting between lanes without signaling, the officer writes in an affidavit, as reported by Raul Trey Lopez and Megan Rodriguez of the Express-News.

Whyte smelled strongly of alcohol, his eyes were glassy and red, and he swayed back and forth after getting out of his car, the affidavit says.

Whyte tells the officer he had one drink at El Mirasol restaurant on Northwest Military Highway, a second at Myrons Prime Steakhouse next door and a third at the nearby Thirsty Horse Saloon.

Whyte refuses to take a breathalyzer test or have his blood drawn to determine his blood alcohol concentration, the affidavit states. Police obtain a warrant from a magistrate ordering Whyte to comply, and a nurse draws his blood. The sample is sent to the Texas Department of Public Safety lab in Austin for analysis.

Saturday, Dec. 30

Whyte posts bond and is released from the Bexar County Jail. In a statement, he says: I did not feel intoxicated when I drove home last night.  But that isnt the point. Nobody should drive even if they have had just one drink. I take full ownership over my actions, and I apologize to the residents of District 10, my family, friends, council colleagues and anyone else who I have let down.

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Tuesday, Jan. 2

Whyte hires David Christian as his criminal defense attorney in the DWI case. Whyte, a lawyer himself, says Christian has been a friend for a while.

Christian represented Perry in his DWI case and helped him avoid a jail term.

Then-Councilman Clayton Perry with his attorney, David Christian, after pleading guilty to DWI and leaving the scene of an accident. Perry was sentenced to a year's probation. Christian is now representing Perry's successor, Councilman Marc Whyte, in his DWI case. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News

Perry, then 67, downed 14 drinks over four hours at the Evil Olive bar on the Northeast Side on Nov. 6, 2022, according to a police affidavit. On his way home, he crashed into a Honda Civic stopped at a red light and then fled the scene. Perry pleaded guilty to DWI and leaving the scene and was sentenced to one years probation. He decided not to seek reelection to his District 10 council seat, clearing the way for Whyte to run.

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Christian is also representing KSAT reporter John Paul Barajas, who was arrested on a DWI charge in November.

Thursday, Jan. 4

City Council Member Melissa Cabello Havrda discloses that Whyte gave her a ride home from El Mirasol on Dec. 29, about two hours before he was arrested. The two had been socializing with friends at the restaurant.

He seemed normal to me, says Cabello Havrda, who represents District 6 on the West and Northwest sides. I wouldnt have got in the car with him if I thought there was any impairment.

District 1 Council Member Sukh Kaur was also at El Mirasol that night, though with a different group. She says she talked with Whyte for a whole 30 seconds.

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Thursday, Jan. 11

SAPD releases bodycam video of Whytes arrest. On the 20-minute video, the council member appears coherent and polite and is adamant that hes sober.

Asked whether he could drive home safely, Whyte tells the arresting officer: Sir, 1,000%.

Officer D. McCroy tells Whyte hes concerned because he can kind of smell a little bit on your breath.

I am trying to make sure youre OK to drive, the officer says.

Please, I will walk home if you want, Whyte says.

Although it ends with Whytes arrest, the video is vastly less damaging than the bodycam of Perrys arrest, which showed the then-council member sprawled in his backyard with a cut on his head, struggling to answer questions.

Earlier in the day, Mayor Ron Nirenberg temporarily strips Whyte of his council committee assignments, the same penalty he imposed on Perry after his DWI arrest.

The suspension will make it harder for Whyte, the lone social and fiscal conservative on the council, to influence city policies, many of which take shape in council committees. The first-term council member from the Northeast Side was on the Public Safety, Audit, and Economic and Workforce Development committees. Nirenberg does not say when he will let Whyte return to those assignments.

It is incumbent upon the council to make a statement about behavior when one of its members breaches that standard of conduct, the mayor said. And thats what were doing.

Sunday, Jan. 14

City Council votes 10-0 to reprimand Whyte, saying his DWI arrest negatively impacted his and the City Councils ability to conduct its business.

Nobody on this dais is eager to discipline a colleague, but we are linked as members of the City Council, and its our duty to protect that reputation, Nirenberg says. As community leaders, elected officials are held to a higher standard, and rightfully so.

Councilman Marc Whyte speaks to colleague Manny Pelaez after the council voted 10-0 to reprimand Whyte for his Dec. 29 arrest on a charge of driving while intoxicated. Robin Jerstad

A contrite Whyte says afterward: I think what Ive learned from this is that priorities are important. And for me, its serving the constituents of District 10, its my family and my faith. Moving forward, Im going to refocus on those priorities. And I can promise you all that the mistake that I made on Dec. 29 will not happen again.
A Panama-flagged cargo ship navigating the Black Sea on its way to a Danube River port to load grain, a crucial export commodity for war-hit Ukraine, was jolted by an explosion in late December that threw the vessel off course, sparked a fire on deck, and left two crew members injured.

The Ukrainian military, which dispatched tugs to the site, said on December 28 that the ship had hit a Russian mine in the Black Sea, the second such incident in as many months in the major trade route.

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022, the Black Sea has increasingly become a war zone, its waters littered with mines and its skies buzzing with drones and missiles. Russian attacks have hit targets close to the borders of NATO members Romania and Bulgaria, threatening new shipping routes that have been a lifeline for Ukraine. And tourists, usually bound for Black Sea resorts, have been scared away with reports of drifting rogue mines.

There could be some respite, however, after Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria -- the only NATO countries with direct access to the Black Sea -- announced on January 11 the launch of a joint force to clear sea mines, the first major combined effort among allies in the dangerous waters since the start of Russia's 2022 invasion.

The Turkish and Romanian defense ministers -- Yasar Guler and Angel Tilvar, respectively -- and Bulgaria's Deputy Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov signed a memorandum of understanding in Istanbul establishing the Mine Countermeasures Naval Group in the Black Sea (MCM Black Sea).

The joint operation will primarily deploy minesweepers -- specially equipped warships that remove or detonate naval mines in large areas -- and minehunters, smaller, more nimble vessels that destroy individual mines and can operate in shallow waters. The three countries will also utilize helicopters and drones from the air.

While the new force is meant to protect Black Sea shipping, officials from Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria have said it is intended to be entirely peaceful and won't bring any new NATO vessels to the sea. The Bulgarian Defense Ministry told RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service that the joint minesweeping action should be operative within a few months.

Although not formally involved, NATO has welcomed the initiative.

"Russia's war against Ukraine poses substantial risks to freedom of navigation in the Black Sea region, which is of strategic importance to NATO," the alliance said in a statement to RFE/RL. "We welcome efforts by our allies Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey to increase the safety of navigation in the Black Sea, including through a new countermine naval group."

The idea of creating such a "trilateral initiative" was first aired by NATO defense ministers on October 12. Bulgarian Defense Minister Todor Tagarev said the aim would be to create a security belt, free from mines, to protect ships carrying Ukrainian exports.

Three months prior, in July, Russia withdrew from a 2022 UN-brokered Black Sea grain export deal and threatened to treat all vessels as potential military targets. To get its grain to market, Ukraine created a new shipping corridor, which hugs Romania's 245-kilometer and Bulgaria's 378-kilometer coastlines on the Black Sea.

In response, Russia has "absolutely" increased its mining and other hostile activities in and around the Black Sea to thwart Ukraine's efforts to get its grain to world markets, Tomas Alexa, a senior analyst of the British maritime security firm Ambrey, told RFE/RL. Ukraine has regularly accused Russia of dropping mines from aircraft in an attempt to disrupt commercial shipping.

Mass Mining

The danger and prevalence of sea mines in the Black Sea became quickly apparent in the weeks after Russia launched its February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In the following weeks, Ukraine deployed mines to protect its ports in and around the Black Sea, Alexa said.

Russia also was reported to have laid mines in the waters off Crimea, which it illegally seized from Ukraine in 2014. Ambrey has recently confirmed reports, Alexa said, that Russia has also deployed mines around the Crimean Bridge, which connects Russia to the illegally annexed peninsula and has been targeted by attacks allegedly carried out by Ukraine's military.

No exact numbers are available, but Alexa said both Ukraine and Russia had stockpiles of Soviet-era YaM anchor mines, which are tethered with a chain and float a few meters below the surface.

"Four hundred, 500 mines were deployed in the Black Sea at the start of the war, he said.

The consequences of the mass mining were dramatic. On March 3, 2022, the Estonian-owned M/V Helt sank in the Black Sea after striking a mine some 40 kilometers south of Odesa, with all crew safely abandoning ship. Shortly thereafter, several warnings were issued cautioning ships about the possibility of drifting mines in the northwestern, western, and southwestern areas of the Black Sea, including by the NATO Shipping Center.

Later that month, on March 26, 2022, the Turkish Navy detected and detonated the first stray mine in the Black Sea off the cast of Istanbul near the Bosphorus Strait, prompting the temporary closure of the key waterway. Two days later, a second drifting mine was detected off the coast of Igneada, near the Bulgarian border, and deactivated by a Turkish Navy dive team.

That same day, the Romanian Navy minesweeper Vice Admiral Constantin Balescu detonated a floating naval mine spotted by a Romanian fisherman about 90 kilometers off Capu Midia, a Romanian military base located near the Black Sea port of Constanta. Turkey destroyed a fourth mine on April 6, 2022.

For Romania, the danger posed by mines is especially acute given that "Romanian territorial waters and ports are now of crucial importance and have witnessed record traffic levels," explained Cristian Vlas, an analyst focused on Romania and Moldova.

Romania's port of Constanta recorded its highest grain exports in 2023 thanks to a surge in shipments from Ukraine, Romanian officials said on January 10.

"Romania will be the first to suffer the consequences in the Black Sea," said Dionis Cenusa, an associate expert at the Vilnius-based Eastern Europe Studies Center. "Because sea mines are moving south, even through Romanian waters."

New Equipment

The situation in the Black Sea region worsened after Russia pulled out of the UN-brokered grain deal in July and began bombing Ukrainian port and grain facilities in a bid to cripple Kyiv's exports. That same month, a sea mine exploded close to the Romanian resort of Costinesti, which is located 30 kilometers from the Bulgarian border.

That summer, Russia held military drills in the Black Sea that encroached on parts of the Bulgarian and Turkish exclusive economic areas, making export routes even more dangerous to navigate. In August, Russia said in a statement that its Vasily Bykov patrol ship had fired automatic weapons on the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan vessel. The ship was located near Turkish territorial waters. And in October, a mine explosion caused minor damage to a Turkish-flagged cargo ship.

The December 28 attack on the Panamanian vessel was one of the most worrying mine incidents to date, said Alexa.

"The damage done is from the force of the blast under the ship. If the mine is on the surface, the explosion is not as damaging," he said.

Bulgaria has three minesweeping vessels, two of which were acquired in 2020 from the Netherlands -- which had decommissioned the pair in 2011 -- for 2 million euros ($2.2 million).

In September 2023, Romania bought two minesweepers from the United Kingdom -- the HMS Blyth and HMS Pembroke -- in a deal declared of strategic importance by the British Defense Ministry to bolster London's commitment to security in the Black Sea. One of the two ships -- the HMS Blyth -- was filmed passing through the Bosphorus Strait in December and renamed as the Ion Giculescu.

Turkey has more than 10 minehunters, with the oldest dating from 1998 and the newest from 2009. While Ankara is on board with the mine-clearing initiative, it is blocking Ukraine from receiving its own minesweeping vessels. On January 2, Turkey said it would not allow two minehunter ships donated by Britain to Ukraine to transit its waters en route to the Black Sea. It claimed that such a move would violate the Montreux Convention, a 1936 international pact concerning wartime passage of its straits (the Dardanelles Strait, the Sea of Marmara, and the Bosphorus Strait).

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Turkey's stance has been criticized, including by former NATO Supreme Allied Commander James Stavridis, who argued in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the Montreux Convention doesn't apply to minesweeping vessels since they "are entirely defensive."

Washington's Black Sea Strategy

Given its strategic importance and risks posed, Washington has recalibrated its strategy on the Black Sea. In a major announcement in October, the State Department outlined plans to increase regional security, multilateral cooperation, and strategic cohesion in that region.

At the time, Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien told a congressional hearing that the Black Sea's fate is inextricably linked to that of Ukraine and wider Europe. Increasing and ensuring freedom of navigation, and restoring Ukraine's ability to access commercial shipping lanes, will boost the Ukrainian economy at a vital point in the war, O'Brien said.

Washington's strategic rethink, analysts say, followed the loss of a U.S. surveillance drone last March after a hostile encounter with Russian fighter jets over the Black Sea. Soon thereafter, members of the Senate and House Foreign Relations committees submitted a bipartisan bill highlighting the importance of the region and the need to establish a new strategy.

Concerns in Washington and among some Black Sea states have intensified, with Russia indicating it may have revanchist plans for the region. Putin waxed nostalgic recently about the period of history where imperial Russia held sway over much of the Black Sea area.

During his annual press conference and call-in event on December 14, Putin said: "The entire Black Sea coast became Russian after the Russo-Turkish Wars," apparently referring to the war of 1877-78, although others have disputed the Russian president's interpretation of history.

The Russian leader's remarks did not go unnoticed, especially in Sofia. Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said a day later, on December 15, that Putin's comment betrayed Russia's "imperial ambitions at the expense of several countries which are now in the EU" and should serve as a warning.

Part of the Kremlin's immediate strategy could be sea mines, not only to target Ukraine but to deter their Western partners, maritime analyst Alexa said.

"The Russians understand it is not in their interest to directly attack Western ships, but they want to discourage them from entering the area and helping the Ukrainians export grain," Alexa explained. "Since both sides have the same types of mines, they have plausible deniability if a ship hits one of these explosives."

By RFE/RL

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By The Cradle

Europe is divided over the US-UK bombing of Yemen, one of the world's poorest countries, as Italy, Spain, and France have refused to take part in the operation...

Washington and London carried out late-night strikes on Yemen Thursday evening, which targeted several areas of the country, including the capital, Sanaa.

The US and UK are seeking to target Yemen's Ansarallah-led forces for their efforts to target Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea in response to Israel's brutal bombing campaign in Gaza, which many view as genocide.

The US-UK strikes were supported by Germany, Denmark, The Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Korea, and Bahrain, who all signed a joint statement backing the bombing.

Spanish Minister of Defense Margarita Robles (Photo credit: Jorge Zapata/Efe)

However, Europe's major powers, France, Italy, and Spain, refused to take part in the strikes and declined to sign the statement in support of them.

The Italian government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, said it was not asked to participate in the US-UK attacks on Yemen. It stated further that even if a request had been made, it could not have participated without a debate and vote in parliament to authorize military action.

The Italian deputy prime minister said Italy could not have participated at such short notice "because the constitution does not allow us to commit acts of war without a debate in parliament."

However, a government source told Reuters that Rome had been asked to participate but refused because it preferred a "calming policy."

The French government, led by Emmanuel Macron, also ruled out joint action with the US and UK, unlike in Libya in 2011 and against ISIS in Syria in 2015.

French Rear Admiral Emmanuel Slaars said on Thursday that although the French Navy is active in protecting French ships in the Red Sea, Paris's current mandate did not include striking Ansarallah directly.

The Telegraph reported that an anonymous French official said Paris feared that by joining the US-led assault on Yemen's Ansarallah-led forces, it would lose any leverage it had in mediating between Hezbollah and Israel.

France says it is focusing its diplomatic efforts on avoiding an escalation in Lebanon, where Hezbollah has been fighting Israel on the border since 7 October, also in support of Gaza.

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In Spain, Minister of Defense Margarita Robles reiterated Friday that Spain will not participate in any military operation against Yemen. She said this included a rejection of participating in a European Union operation in the Red Sea, which is expected to be announced in the coming days.

"Spain is a country firmly committed to peace in the world, precisely for that reason we have 17 missions and more than 3,000 people in many places," Robles acknowledged. "From the beginning we have said that in the Red Sea we understand that Spain is not going to participate at this time."

Via Zerohedge.com

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Incentivized by below $80 a barrel Brent oil prices, Chinese refiners are looking to import more crude to build up stocks at relatively low prices early this year, expecting strong demand for fuels in the latter part of 2024, analysts and trading sources told Reuters.

International oil prices and Chinas crude import quota policies early this year have made refiners more certain of planning their purchases.

Brent Crude has traded below $80 a barrel since early December, having dropped from a 2023 high of $95 at the end of September.

In addition, China also issued early this month a massive batch of crude oil import quotas to refiners for 2024, raising the allowances from early last year by around 60% and allocating full-year quotas to some. The high volumes of import allowances are expected to give independent Chinese refiners better visibility on their plans to purchase crude oil throughout 2024.

So now refiners are looking to stock up on below-$80 crude early in the year in anticipation of a surge in fuel demand in the second half.

Chinese refiners, led by Unipec, are moving quickly this month, an oil trader at a Chinese refiner told Reuters.

They snap oil from all over the world, except for the U.S. due to high freight rates.

Higher rates have made U.S. crude more expensive for Asian refiners compared to the crude grades from the Middle Eastern producers.

So Asian buyers are turning to more Middle Eastern crude, especially after Saudi Arabiathe worlds top crude oil exporterslashed the price of its crude for Asia for February loading by $2 per barrel to a premium of $1.50 per barrel over the Oman/Dubai prices, off which Middle Eastern producers price their crude loading for Asia. Thats the lowest premium for Saudi crude over Oman/Dubai for 27 monthssince November 2021.

Its too early to assess Chinas oil demand this year, after a mixed bag of economic data throughout last year. But higher Chinese crude oil imports in early 2024, when demand is typically weaker, could support international oil prices.

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The Yemeni Houthis have said all U.S. ships passing through the Red Sea will be targeted from now on following last weeks missile strikes by U.S. and UK forces on targets in Yemen.

"The ship doesn't necessarily have to be heading to Israel for us to target it. It is enough for it to be American," Nasruldeen Amer, a spokesman for the militant group told Aljazeera, as quoted by Reuters. "The United States is on the verge of losing its maritime security."

Initially, the Houthis began attacking ships that were either traveling to Israel or had Israeli ownership or other ties. Since November, there have been close to 30 attacks.

The Houthis retaliated quickly for the attacks, firing anti-ship missiles at a U.S. destroyer in the Red Sea during the weekend. Then, on Monday, they struck a U.S.-owned, Marshal Islands-flagged merchant ship with a cruise missile.

Last week, ongoing missile strikes by the Houthis on merchant vessels pushed Brent crude oil prices to $80 briefly as operators increasingly diverted commodities away from the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.

On Monday, Reuters cited ship-tracking data showing at least 25 tankers getting diverted from their original course through the Red Sea.

Also on Monday Qatar joined the ranks of those avoiding the route, announcing it would no longer send its LNG carriers on this route through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the coast of Yemen. According to Bloomberg, since Friday, at least five LNG carriers scheduled to traverse the Strait have been halted.

As a result of the attacks, ship traffic through the Red Sea has been decimated, with most vessel operators opting for the longer route from Asia to Europe around Africa and the Cape of Good Hope. Others are combining shipping with air transport to get goods to their end destination faster.

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By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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A missile attack carried out by Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps killed a prominent Kurdish energy businessman at his home in Erbil.

Some outlets note that Peshraw Dizayee, who died in the attack with four family members, had purported ties with Israeli intelligence services and that the attack was in fact an assassination.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps itself said they had struck the spy quarters of Israel in Kurdistan, per Reuters, which cited Iraqi state media.

In response to the recent atrocities of the Zionist regime, causing the killing of commanders of the Guards and the Axis of Resistance ... one of the main Mossad espionage headquarters in Iraq's Kurdistan region was destroyed with ballistic missiles, the IRGC said in a statement.

We assure our nation that the Guards' offensive operations will continue until avenging the last drops of martyrs' blood, the corps also said.

The attack on Dizayees house came after members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed in Syria, including one senior commander, Reuters noted in its report. The deaths resulted from an Israeli airstrike outside Damascus.

The IRGC attack was condemned by Iraq authorities and the U.S. State Department. The Prime Minister of Kurdistan, Masrour Barzani called it a crime against the Kurdish people, According to Reuters, Dizayee had close ties with the Barzani clan that runs the autonomous region.

We will continue to assess the situation, but initial indications are that this was a reckless and imprecise set of strikes, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council said, as quoted by Reuters. The United States supports the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Iraq, she added.

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Forbes author and Middle East commentator Paul Iddon noted that while maybe reckless, the attack wasnt necessarily imprecise. Iddon noted the accuracy track record for Iranian ballistic missiles and the fact the IRCG had targeted the home of a local tycoon: in 2022, the corps fired missiles at the villa of Baz Karim Barzanji  another Kurdish energy heavyweight who was involved in plans to export natural gas to Turkey.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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The U.S. military has seized a vessel transporting Iranian missile parts to Yemens Houthi rebels, military officials said on Tuesday.

The raid was conducted last week in the Arabian Sea but only made public on Tuesday, with the U.S. Navy SEALs conducting the maritime operation amid a mounting crisis in Red Sea shipping lanes that have come under constant attack by Houthi rebels.

In the raid, Navy SEALs uncovered components for cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, including warheads, according to U.S. Central Command.

"Initial analysis indicates these same weapons have been employed by the Houthis to threaten and attack innocent mariners on international merchant ships transiting in the Red Sea," Central Command said in a statement. Central Command also noted that this was the first seizure of lethal, Iranian-supplied advanced conventional weapons (ACW) to the Houthis since the beginning of Houthi attacks against merchant ships in November 2023. Two Navy SEALs remain missing from the operation, according to VOA, after they were knocked off their small combat craft in rough seas.

The announcement follows reports that Shell has also suspended all its shipments via the Red Sea/Suez Canal route amid rising tensions in the region and fears of escalating Houthi attacks on commercial shipping. According to the Wall Street Journal, a Shell-chartered tanker carrying jet fuel from India was targeted by the Houthis in December.

On Monday, the Houthis fired a missile at a U.S. merchant vessel and a U.S. warship amid escalating tensions that have seen the U.S. and UK strike back since last week.

Shipping industry groups continue to advise vessels to steer clear of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait where the Houthis are launching their drone strike campaign.

In the meantime, the U.S. retaliatory attacks on the Houthi in Yemen have raised tensions further across the region, with Irans proxy groups launching strikes at U.S. positions in both Iraq and Syria.

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By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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The number of commercial vessels that have transited the Red Sea/Suez Canal route has more than halved over the past month amid rising tensions off Yemen, but more than 100 ships, including oil tankers, have crossed the water lane since the U.S. and UK navies advised operators on Friday to steer clear of the route.

Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and the U.S. and UK strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on Thursday night last week, the largest shipping and tanker industry groups advised on Friday members to stay away from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait while shippers were diverting transit away from the Red Sea en masse again.

In an advisory to its members, the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (Intertanko), representing nearly 70% of all international oil, chemical, and gas tankers, said that tankers should stay well away from Bab el-Mandeb and pause north of Yemen when traveling south through the Suez Canal route.

Many have heeded the advice, but some have not.

A total of 114 commercial vessels  including oil tankers, bulk carriers, and container ships  have continued with their routes and transited into or out of the Red Sea through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to vessel-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg.

Thats down from 131 ships crossing the chokepoint during the same days of the previous week, and more than half from the 272 vessels that used the route one month ago, according to the data compiled by Bloomberg.

Since Friday, tensions in the area ratcheted up further, after an anti-ship cruise missile was fired on Sunday from Iranian-backed Houthi militant areas of Yemen toward USS Laboon, which was operating in the Southern Red Sea. The missile was shot down in vicinity of the coast of Hudaydah by U.S. fighter aircraft, and there were no injuries or damage reported, the U.S. Central Command said.

On Monday, the Houthis fired a missile and struck a U.S.-owned merchant vesselthe Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned and operated container ship. The ship has reported no injuries or significant damage and is continuing its journey, the U.S. Central Command said.

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By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Shell has suspended indefinitely all its shipments via the Red Sea/Suez Canal route amid rising tensions in the region and fears of escalating Houthi attacks on commercial shipping, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing sources with knowledge of the supermajors decision.

An oil tanker that Shell had chartered to ship jet fuel out of India was targeted by a drone and harassed by boats of the Iran-backed Houthis in December, shipping officials have told the Journal.

Shell is the latest major firm that has decided to halt tanker transit through the Red Sea.

In the middle of December, another UK-based supermajor, BP, temporarily suspended all shipments via the route, in light of the deteriorating security situation for shipping in the Red Sea.

The area has become a prime target of attacks on vessels by the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and the U.S. and UK strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen last week, the largest shipping and tanker industry groups advised members to stay away from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait while shippers were diverting transit away from the Red Sea en masse again.

Since Friday, tensions in the area ratcheted up further, after an anti-ship cruise missile was fired on Sunday from Houthi areas of Yemen toward USS Laboon, which was operating in the Southern Red Sea. The missile was shot down in vicinity of the coast of Hudaydah by U.S. fighter aircraft, and there were no injuries or damage reported, the U.S. Central Command said.

On Monday, the Houthis fired a missile and struck a U.S.-owned merchant vesselthe Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned and operated container ship. The ship has reported no injuries or significant damage and is continuing its journey, the U.S. Central Command said.

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In the most recent development as of early on Tuesday, the Yemeni Houthis have said all U.S. ships passing through the Red Sea will be targeted from now on following last weeks missile strikes by U.S. and UK forces on targets in Yemen.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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The Bookworm shares several books that are perfect for snowy winter days.

Curious George Curious About Winter

by H. A. Rey

From shoveling to snow angels, coats to cocoa, little ones will enjoy a perfect day of winter play with Curious George in this tabbed board book.

Join George and the man with the yellow hat as they watch the first snowflakes fall, go sledding, and warm up by the fire.

The book incorporates preschool-appropriate concepts like counting, colors, and seek-and-find.

One Winter Up North

by John Owens

In winter the Boundary Waters, way up north in Minnesota, beckons and welcomes you.

Grab a pack, strap on snowshoes, make a path, and venture out across the frozen lakes and through the snowy woods.

The vast wintery world here is so still and quiet, you might think youre all alone  but no! Who made these tracks? A deer? A hare? A fox? And far off theres a musher, making tracks with his sled dogs.

And when the dark descends, its back to camp, to your warm winter tent, where Father feeds the stove with wood you gathered, Mother snuggles into her big sleeping bag, and you curl up in the fires glow and know that in your dreams and memories you will return again and again to this one winter up north.

Richard Scarrys Busy, Busy Winter

by Richard Scarry

Busytown is a wonderful place to visit, especially after a winter snowfall.

Time to bundle up and play in the snow!

Girls and boys can join the fun in this winter-themed Busytown board book.

A great way to introduce young children to the friendly characters in Richard Scarrys Busytown.

Winter  A Solstice Story

by Kelsey E. Gross illustrated by Renata Liwska

Tonight is the longest night of the year  solstice is here.

Deep in the forest, the dark, cold and quiet of winter is all around.

Owl, Mouse and Deer all watch as the light fades and dark surrounds them, but they have a gift of hope to share with their neighbors.

The moon and stars shine down on a lone tree in the forest, and the animals gather around to bask in its light.

Winter Solstice arrives as the winter sky brings magic for all to share.

Winter Tales

by Dawn Casey illustrated by Zanna Goldhawk

This stunning book brings together a selection of wintery tales from all over the globe  from North America to Siberia, Scotland, France, Russia, and Norway.

This is a magical book to be treasured for generations to come.

Some of the 18 stories included are: The White Bear King, The Mitten, The Apple Tree Man, The Twelve Months, The Snow Queen, and more.

A Winters Tale

by Beatrix Potter

This fresh imagining takes some of the most-loved Beatrix Potter characters on a seasonal adventure through a snowy forest.

In this tale of mischief and bravery: will Peter and Benjamin save the day and manage to stay clear of the terrible Mr. Tod?

Annie and the Wild Animals

by Jan Brett

When Annies cat disappears one winter morning, the lonely little girl tries to befriend the woodland animals behind her home.

But instead of finding companionship, a giant moose, a grumpy bear and others show up to eat her corn cakes until they are all gone.

Then they leave, and to Annies surprise, out of the woods comes Taffy  with three new kittens! Now she has more soft and cuddly friends than shed ever imagined.

The Snowy Day

by Ezra Jack Keats

In 1962, a little boy named Peter put on his snowsuit and stepped out of his house and into the hearts of millions of readers.

This story beautifully depicts a childs wonder at a new world, and the hope of capturing and keeping that wonder forever.

The quiet fun and sweetness of Peters small adventures in the deep, deep snow is perfect for reading together on a cozy winter day.

Omaha World-Herald's top news photos of 2023
Hong Kong: FS promotes HK in Davos

Financial Secretary Paul Chan yesterday arrived in Davos, Switzerland yesterday for the start of the five-day World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting.

Accompanied by Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau, Mr Chan spoke to political and business leaders about Hong Kongs latest developments and promoted its advantages and opportunities.

Mr Chan met Saudi Arabias Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan to discuss the prospects of deepening financial cooperation between Hong Kong and the Middle East.

Mr Chan highlighted that since he visited to the Middle East two years ago, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia have achieved notable progress on financial co-operation. He said this included the Hong Kong Stock Exchanges addition of the Saudi Exchange as a recognised Stock Exchange last year, the listing in Hong Kong of the Asia-Pacific regions first Saudi Arabian exchange-traded fund, and the citys hosting of the inaugural PRIORITY Asia Summit by the Future Investment Initiative.

The Financial Secretary stressed that Hong Kong, with its unique advantages under the one country, two systems arrangement, serves as an international financial centre connecting the Mainland and the world.

Besides welcoming Saudi Arabian capital and enterprises in using Hong Kong as a platform to expand into the Mainland and other Asian markets, Mr Chan added that he looked forward to further two-way financial and business co-operation with Saudi Arabia.

Mr Chan also met with Vice President of Nigeria Kashim Shettima and exchanged views on issues such as global economic development.

In addition, he met with representatives from a company engaged in artificial intelligence (AI) and another that is the issuer of the worlds second largest stablecoin.

The Financial Secretary stressed that the markets response has been positive since the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government announced its Policy Statement on the Development of Virtual Assets in Hong Kong in 2022, adding that many digital asset and third-generation Internet companies have settled in Hong Kong.

He stressed that Hong Kong is pressing ahead with developing digital assets in a prudent and orderly manner, and that it is consulting the public on the regulation of stablecoins with a view to setting an appropriate regulatory framework and promoting the industrys responsible and sustainable development.

He said he welcomed fiat-based stablecoin companies to establish a presence in Hong Kong to provide the community with more innovative and convenient financial services.

Mr Chan also met the founder of an Israeli AI unicorn. He explained that Hong Kong has strong scientific research abilities, and has committed substantial resources to developing AI as an industry, including establishing an AI Supercomputing Centre and promoting orderly cross-boundary data flows.

Mr Chan invited relevant companies to make use of Hong Kong as a platform to expand into Asian markets.

In the evening, Mr Chan attended a welcome reception hosted by the WEF.

This story has been published on: 2024-01-16. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
China, Arab League call for Gaza ceasefire

Xinhua) 08:42, January 16, 2024

CAIRO, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- China and the Arab League states on Sunday called for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire in the conflict-ravaged Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

The two sides also urged the implementation of relevant UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions on the situation in Gaza and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, said a joint statement, adding that all forms of violence against civilians, as well as violations of international and humanitarian law, must be stopped.

The consensus was reached during a meeting between Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese foreign minister, and the League of Arab States Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

The two sides oppose the forced transfer of Palestinian civilians and demand the immediate release of all those held captive, the establishment of a humanitarian coordination mechanism, and humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip via a sustainable, rapid, safe, and barrier-free mechanism.

Any arrangement concerning the future and destiny of Palestine should follow the principle of "Palestinians governing Palestine," said the statement, stressing that the two-state solution has always been the basis for any future arrangement concerning the fate of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank (including East Jerusalem).

The two sides express deep concern over the recent escalation of tensions in the Red Sea region, emphasizing the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yemen while ensuring the security of international commercial routes in the Red Sea.

The Chinese side appreciates the important role played by the Arab side in cooling down the regional situation and avoiding a comprehensive humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

The Arab side highly appreciates the efforts made by the Chinese side to defuse the Gaza conflict, realize a ceasefire and support the just cause of the Palestinian people, and appreciates the Position Paper of the People's Republic of China on Resolving the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Jilson Duban Avelar-Rodriguez is accused of capital murder in the 2018 killing of Julia Chase Wright and Nicholas Andrew Milanovich, who were shot in bed. Courtesy, Bexar County Sheriff's Office

Julia Chase Wright and Nicholas Andrew Milanovich were asleep in their Northwest Side apartment in 2018 when a gunman broke in through a back window and shot Milanovich in the head.

Wright, 21, wounded and bloodied, ran outside to get help from a neighbor, but the gunman followed and shot her again.

Both she and Milanovich, 23, known as Trey, died in a hospital.

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On Tuesday, Jilson Duban Avelar-Rodriguez, 24, will stand trial in the double slaying.

Avelar-Rodriguez was 19 when the attack occurred on Sept. 30, 2018, at the Sonoma Canyon Apartments in the 8600 block of Fairhaven Street in the Medical Center area.

San Antonio police have not released a motive, other than to say neighbors believed the crime was not random and that the couples apartment had frequent visitors.

More than a year later, Avelar-Rodriguez was detained at a federal immigration facility in Pearsall for illegal entry into the United States in connection with an unrelated robbery when police arrested him Dec. 20, 2019, court records indicate. He was charged with capital murder-multiple persons in the deaths of Milanovich and Wright, with bail set at $1 million.

An affidavit supporting his arrest stated that police received a tip from an unidentified source who said they knew the identity of the shooter.

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The revelation led police to Avelar-Rodriguezs girlfriend, who allowed authorities to search their apartment, the affidavit stated.

The search yielded 9 mm ammunition that matched shell casings that were recovered at the crime scene, according to the affidavit.

While conducting the search, investigators noticed a lockbox near the ammunition. When investigators returned to Avelar-Rodriguezs apartment for a second search a few months later, his girlfriend at first would not let them in until she put some things away in her bedroom," the affidavit stated.

That search led officers to the same lockbox, this time hidden behind a washing machine in a closet, the affidavit stated. It belonged to Wright and had been taken from the apartment she shared with Milanovich.

A methadone clinic was treating Wright and had assigned the lockbox for her weekend dose" and gave her a combination for it, the affidavit stated. When authorities tried the combination, it matched.

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The Bexar County District Attorneys Office is not seeking the death penalty. If convicted, Avelar-Rodriguez faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Avelar-Rodriguez is being represented by defense attorneys George E. Shaffer and James H. Ishimoto. The prosecutor is Assistant District Attorney Jeff Mulliner.
When her doctors told Ashley McClinton she was going to have her baby Sept. 4, her first thought was that he wasn't ready.

McClinton had been hospitalized with severe pre-eclampsia, a pregnancy complication that can include high blood pressure. Her baby, John "Buddy" McClinton, wasn't growing as expected.

McClinton thought she would just ride out 10 more weeks of pregnancy in the hospital. She made it four days before doctors told her Buddy wasn't doing well, at all. As she prepared for her emergency Caesarean section, she thought of his sister, Caroline, delivered stillborn at 26 weeks on Aug. 21, 2023.

"I just thought, 'I can't lose another baby,' Lord," she recalled. "I can't lose another baby."

But Buddy, born at 24 weeks and two days at Methodist Women's Hospital weighing 14.1 ounces and measuring 9.65 inches, emerged trying to cry. He was pink and flailing. His mother and father, John McClinton, took those as signs that their son was a survivor.

After 116 days, which included plenty of ups and downs, Buddy left for his family's home in Lincoln on Dec. 29, the smallest baby born at Methodist Women's to survive and be discharged with minimal support, receiving what his mother called a "smidge" of oxygen through a tube under his nose. On Monday, he had topped 8 pounds.

"He's just fought the whole time," Ashley McClinton said. "He's a little champion."

Beyond being thrilled to have their son home, the couple also want to bring the same kind of hope to others struggling with infertility.

"Probably our biggest thing is to not give up," McClinton said. "Sometimes the path to parenthood isn't as easy as you think it will be, and ours certainly hasn't been. It's been full of ups and downs. But I wouldn't trade it for anything."

The couple, married for nearly 14 years, had tried for years to have a baby. They eventually turned to in vitro fertilization, in Nebraska working with Dr. Carolyn Maud Doherty, a Methodist reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist.

After losing their daughter, they wanted to try again. After another round of IVF, Ashley McClinton, then 39, became pregnant with Buddy. She had had weekly ultrasounds. At first McClinton, who now wears a bracelet that says "Boy Mom," couldn't quite believe she was going to have a son.

Then came Labor Day weekend and Buddy's birth. Ashley's mother, Anne Bolt, flew in from Texas. When she first saw her grandson, she said, his hand wasn't as big as her little fingernail.

Dr. Chinyere Oarhe, one of the neonatologists who cared for Buddy, said he was intubated and given medications called surfactants to support his breathing and taken to Methodist Women's neonatal intensive care unit.

Babies are born with a hole in their hearts that typically closes soon after birth. The team tried several rounds of medication to get it to close but was unsuccessful. On Oct. 9, Buddy went to Children's Nebraska for a closure procedure. On Nov. 2, he transferred back to Methodist Women's. With the duct closed, doctors were able to remove his breathing tube.

Very premature babies also are at high risk of bleeding in the brain, Oarhe said. But Buddy's repeat ultrasounds were all clear, including his last one on Dec. 12.

"That is amazing for a baby delivered at 24 weeks, 400 grams, that the brain was clean, no bleeds," Oarhe said. She joked with Ashley McClinton that her son can go to medical school if he wants to.

The longest part of Buddy's NICU stay was the time it took him to learn to eat  to coordinate sucking, swallowing and breathing, Oarhe said. But he went home eating on his own and only needing the nasal canula and a small-to-moderate amount of oxygen  much less than many born his size. He'd gained more than 6 pounds and went home just past his original due date.

Buddy's story is a good story, she said. "All of us were excited.

That doesn't mean there weren't ups and downs during his hospitalization, including several late-night calls to the McClintons. "I remembered one night I called her, 'I need you at the bedside now,'" Oarhe said. "Buddy's not doing well."'

Both parents arrived. The team began changing ventilator settings and his condition improved.

Ashley McClinton, who estimates the couple drove 12,000 miles between Lincoln and Omaha on their near-daily visits, said there were definitely scary moments. "But there were so many joyful moments ... watching him do so well and thrive and grow," she said. "And he was under such great care."

In fact, she said, it was somewhat bittersweet leaving everyone they'd grown so close to in the NICU. Since then, the couple, with the help of Anne Bolt, have been adjusting to having a baby in the house.

John McClinton, a wildlife biologist with Pheasants Forever, said he can't wait to introduce his son to bird dogs and take him into the outdoors, which has been a big part of his life.

Said Ashley McClinton: "It doesn't even seem real most of the time. We just feel so fortunate to have him, and also for his sister. I can feel her presence through him, all the time."

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of January 2024
A federal judge sharply reduced a jurys $36 million punitive damage award against Werner Enterprises in a disability discrimination case.

Citing a statutory cap on such awards, Senior U.S. District Judge John M. Gerrard on Jan. 10 reduced the award to $300,000, plus $35,682.25 in back pay.

The case was filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of a driver against Drivers Management and Werner Enterprises.

Last September, a jury determined that Werner discriminated against Victor Robinson on the basis of him being deaf. The jury awarded $75,000 for Robinsons pain and suffering and $36 million in punitive damages.

Lawyers for Werner had argued that Robinson could not complete the trainer-observed over-the-road component of Werners training program. The company argued it could not hire inexperienced deaf drivers because of safety concerns.

But the jury found Robinson qualified and able to perform the essential functions of the job with a reasonable accommodation.

Gerrard also ordered Werner Enterprises, for a period of three years, to report to the court in writing every six months the name and contact information for any hearing-impaired applicant for an over-the-road truck driving position.

The company must report whether the applicant was hired, the basis for declining to hire, whether the driver was still employed after six months and, if not, the reason for the separation.

After the jury decision last year, Werner issued a statement saying the company prides itself on fostering an inclusive workplace.

The company operates with the mantra that nothing we do is worth getting hurt or hurting others, whether that be its professional drivers, customers or the motoring public at large, it said.

According to its website, Werner maintains offices in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China and Australia and is among the five largest truckload carriers in the United States. Its wholly owned subsidiary company, Drivers Management, employs, trains and manages drivers.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of January 2024
The Nebraska Department of Corrections announced several leadership changes on Tuesday, including new wardens at two Omaha correctional facilities.

Shaun Settles, the current warden of Community Corrections Center-Omaha, will become warden at the Tecumseh State Prison, effective Monday. The current warden at Tecumseh, Craig Gable, will replace Settles as warden of the Omaha center, according to a press release from the Corrections Department.

Effective Jan. 29, Barb Lewien, the current warden of the Omaha Correctional Center, will become warden at the Nebraska State Penitentiary, according to the release. Lewien will be replaced at the Omaha prison by James Jansen, the current warden at Community Corrections Center-Lincoln.

Additionally, Michele Wilhelm, the current warden at the penitentiary, will become warden of Community Corrections Center-Lincoln.

The departments deputy director for prison operations, Robert Madsen, has also assumed oversight of all nine state correctional facilities and will lead the newly developed prison operations team that will focus on the safety and security of the facilities, the release said.

Dawn-Renee Smith, deputy director for rehabilitative services, will now oversee research and the correctional industries program in addition to overseeing programs, reentry and classification. She will also serve as chair of the multi-disciplinary rehabilitative services program, focused on programming, reentry and community engagement, the release said.

Department Director Rob Jeffreys said in the release that the shifting of roles for both prisons and rehabilitative services will allow for more effective management of those areas.

In particular, we want to grow our community outreach and reentry services, he said. This staffing alignment will help us accomplish that mission.

The Corrections Department has also posted an opening for chief inspector, who will report to the director and serve as a resource for constituents and direct internal investigations, according to the release.
A new national report has given Nebraska a weak rating in how the state is ensuring that its teacher workforce can implement the science of reading.

The National Council on Teacher Quality, a think tank dedicated to education reform, released a report ranking all 50 states on Tuesday. It said Nebraska is one of 19 states taking little action in policy to strengthen teachers reading instruction.

Across the U.S., there has been an overwhelming shift to incorporate whats described as the science of reading in reading instruction. The science of reading is a body of research about how humans learn to read and how reading should be taught, according to the International Literacy Association.

States are prioritizing a move towards scientifically based reading instruction. However, what we see is that states need to do more to ensure that teachers are well prepared and well supported to be able to implement (it), said Heather Peske, NCTQ president. We found theres a missed opportunity here for states because theyre not focusing enough on supporting a strong preparation and strong implementation for teachers.

Currently, nearly 40% of U.S. fourth graders are unable to read at a basic level, according to national test data released last year. The scores are similar in Nebraska, where 35% of fourth graders cant read at a basic level and 66% cant read at a proficient level.

The think tanks work has been debated by educational experts for its agenda and methods  the NCTQ itself acknowledges it cant directly measure the mastery of content and knowledge of teachers or how they teach in their own schools, according to the National Education Policy Center.

Tuesdays report, rather, relies heavily on NCTQs review of state laws or regulation around literacy and the science of reading. Nebraskas dedication to local control influenced its low ranking in the report.

The NCTQ surveyed each state in five key areas and concluded that Nebraska ranks significantly lower than the national average, according to the report.

Nebraska has a lot of work to do in order to ensure that teachers are well prepared to teach (students) to read and to help increase reading rates across the state, Peske said.

Nebraska was ranked as weak in three key areas: establishing specific, detailed reading standards for teachers colleges; adopting a strong reading licensure test; and requiring districts to select high-quality reading curriculum.

The NCTQ found that the Nebraska Department of Education does incorporate how to teach struggling readers, including those with dyslexia, in its standards for teacher preparation programs. But Nebraska doesnt specifically require that elementary teachers are given preparation in what the think tank considers the five core reading components or given directions on how to teach reading to English language learners.

Nebraska just recently started the process to require science of reading instruction at teacher colleges. The new rule hasnt been approved by Gov. Jim Pillen yet and doesnt include specific details about the science of reading.

In the report, NCTQ said while the state does require all elementary teacher candidates to pass a reading licensure test, the exam isnt adequate and Nebraska doesnt report pass rate data.

Nebraska does provide guidance in the selection of high-quality curriculum materials, but the NCTQ downgraded the state because it doesnt require districts to select curriculum from an approved list. The fact that the state doesnt allocate funds to reading curriculum materials also contributed to the lower score.

The NCTQ found Nebraska had unacceptable standards in two key areas: reviewing teacher colleges to ensure they teach the science of reading and providing professional learning for teachers to sustain its implementation in schools.

Peske said the NCTQ shared results with each state and asked for feedback on the findings and if any needed revision. The Nebraska Department of Education did review the results and provided feedback before the report was published on Tuesday.

David Jespersen, spokesman for the Nebraska Department of Education, said department officials and the State Board of Education have been working on many of the five key areas listed, including with the proposed science of reading rule revision. While its true Nebraska doesnt require districts to select high-quality curriculum materials, he said, it has been recommending that for years.

Nebraska was one of the first eight states to join the High-Quality Instructional Materials and Professional Development Network and have been (a member) since 2017, he said in an email.

Jespersen said State Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont has also introduced Legislative Bill 1055 this year to provide more professional support for teachers.

The report ends with several recommendations for Nebraska to create more policies around the five key areas. Peske said this could happen within the Education Department or in the Legislature.

The bottom line is that we know that teachers are the most important factor in schools in making a difference whether or not children learn to read, Peske said. I think many state leaders are rightly very concerned about student outcomes, but theyre often not focusing enough on this key component  thats effective teachers.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of January 2024
Editor's note: Check out the full results from the Iowa caucuses here.

* * *

COUNCIL BLUFFS  The outside temperature registered around 2 below zero Monday evening  and felt even colder with the bitter wind  as Rhonda and John Kellogg took their seats in the front row of the Republican caucus at East Side Christian Church.

This was a night calling for sensible headgear, perhaps a full face mask, or one of those Russian-style hats with the furry flaps that cover your ears.

But 77-year-old Rhonda was proud to wear a white-and-gold cap designating her a caucus captain for Donald Trump, ready to declare her allegiance to the former president and hopefully propel him into a White House comeback.

Hes trying to save our country, Rhonda said. It would take a lot more than cold and snow to keep her away.

Republican voters from across Iowa stood in the face of historically frigid weather Monday night to make their voices heard and continue the states traditional role as the nations first test for presidential hopefuls.

They navigated streets still covered with snow and the coldest temperatures ever on caucus night to show up at schools, churches, fire halls and community centers and back their candidates.

No doubt the frigid temperatures were a deterrent for some.

I wanted to come, and he didnt, and I wasnt going to come by myself because we live on a hill, said 61-year-old Marita Heiman, who in the end did coax husband Gerald to come along. I just feel like we need to be part of the process.

There was no keeping 85-year-old Anne Hawkes away. She showed up wearing a head-to-ankle insulated snowmobile suit and a stocking cap. She was anxious to vote for Trump.

I shoveled snow all day so she could make it, said her 83-year-old husband, Brian.

In the end, the Heimans thought the turnout Monday night rivaled that of any caucus at the church they could recall over the past 20 years.

The turnout definitely surprised the organizers at what is officially called Council Bluffs Precinct 12. They were adding chairs along the walls of the meeting room a full 20 minutes before the start. The event kicked off just after 7 p.m., to a standing-room-only crowd of just under 100.

And after each candidate had a supporter speak for them, the hand-written paper ballots were turned in. State Rep. Brent Siegrist, the chair of the precinct, read off each one.

The final tally was an overwhelming Trump victory among these voters.

Trump had 51 votes to 24 for former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, 13 for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, 10 for entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and 1 for Ryan Binkley, a Texas pastor.

It was no real surprise for Tom and Cecilia Hallstrom, who had come out to support the former president. Tom even wore one of those Russian-style hats.

It took me 20 years to figure that out, he said.

The Heimans had been there to support Nikki Haley. While they said they backed Trump as president and would support him again if hes the GOP nominee, they felt it was time for the party to move on to someone less controversial.

I just dont want to see a Trump-Biden ticket again, Marita said. I think it will divide the country more than it already is. And I just think they need new blood in there.

By the time things had wrapped up at the church, the wire services were already calling the Iowa caucuses for Trump.

And as the chairs were being put away just after 8 p.m., Rhonda Kellogg headed back out the door into the cold night, just thrilled by the results.

Im very excited about it, she said. I wish we could go on to the other states and help them out.

Photos: Iowans Caucus at East Side Christian Church in Council Bluffs
The Rev. Portia Cavitt rose to the occasion when she was tapped at the last minute to give the keynote address to about 350 people Monday at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Luncheon in Omaha.

Taking a cue from Kings daughter, Cavitt urged people to go beyond the late civil rights leaders words and to take action in the spirit that King embodied.

Bernice King, the youngest daughter of the slain Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., said we have to get beyond the quotable King that is easy, the quotable King that is convenient and easy, and move to the livable King, said Cavitt, pastor of Clair Memorial United Methodist Church in Omaha. That possesses the spirit characteristics of work, love, action, courage, conviction and non-violence to the issues and to raise the consciousness of others all year long, not just on one day or one weekend but every day of our lives, that we are all created equal and we have a right to be seen for who we are.

Cavitts speech brought the people in the crowd to their feet. The occasion was the 40th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Luncheon, put on by the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Metropolitan Omaha. It was one of the few observances of the MLK Day holiday to take place as scheduled Monday in Omaha. Weather caused many events to be canceled or postponed.

The winter storms also pressed Cavitt, president of the ministerial alliance, into duty as the keynote speaker. The Rev. Traci D. Blackmon, scheduled to give the main address, could not make it because her flight from St. Louis was canceled.

But Cavitt was ready with a word. And the audience was ready to hear it.

We have gained something, but we have lost some strides since the Civil Rights Movement, Cavitt said. And its up to us now, here and now, to make a change and work toward diversity, equity and inclusion. Work toward voter rights, womens rights, global warming. Weve got to move forward and not back.

She criticized redistricting around the nation and voter ID laws as efforts to stagnate our vote as registered voters.

You cannot tell me that your vote doesnt matter or they would not be messing with it, Cavitt said.

Referring to the Iowa caucuses kicking off the 2024 election, she said these are critical times in the nation and Nebraska.

We cant go back to the good old boys club or Make America Great Again, Cavitt said. We suffered that seven years ago so we want to move forward and to recognize what needs to be done here in our nation as well as in our state.

Quoting a question from King, she asked, Where do we go from here? And she invoked spirituality in her answer, which roused acclaim from the audience with her rising voice.

I want you to know as we go onwards and upwards that we are soldiers in the Army of the Lord and love is the only answer, Cavitt said. The world has too much hate all around. Too much lying is in this world. Love is the answer and if God is love, then loves going to open up the door.

The association also presented its 2024 IMA Awards at Mondays event. The academic scholarship went to Myles Julian Jackson, a Creighton Prep senior.

The Action award went to the Beta Upsilon Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. Kimara Z. Snipes, executive director of One Omaha, was honored with the Accountability award. The Advocacy award went to the North 24th Street Business Improvement District. WOWT news reporter John Chapman and Christopher A. McCroy, executive director of 100 Black Men of Omaha, received the IMA Presidents Award.

Photos: 40th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Luncheon by IMA
KEARNEY, Neb.  A woman died in a house fire Sunday in Kearney.

The Kearney Volunteer Fire Department said an electrical event caused the fire.

Firefighters removed the victim from the burning home, but she was pronounced dead a short while later. The department has not identified the victim but said the fire was accidental.

Firefighters were dispatched at 3:29 a.m. Sunday after a report of smoke coming from the house.

A Kearney police officer arrived at the scene before firefighters and said there was heavy smoke coming from the structure and a window had broken.

Firefighters fought the blaze and conducted a primary search of the structure. A short time later, firefighters located and removed the woman, who later was pronounced dead.

The Nebraska State Fire Marshal has been called to assist in determining the origin of the fire.
Tinubu with the former President, Obasanjo in Imo

Published By: Kazeem Ugbodaga

Nigerias President, Bola Tinubu and former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday met at the second term swearing in of Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma.

Obasanjo was known to have worked against the emergence of Tinubu in the February 25, 2023 presidential election.

The two leaders with Uzodimma in Imo

He had opened endorsed the candidature of former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, but Obi failed to win the election.

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The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has asked the Federal Government not to provoke him, adding that he has the capacity to make the country ungovernable.

He described an alleged plan by the FG to arrest him with the International Police as an effort in futility. He said he was a British citizen and so could not be subjected to any Nigerian law.

Kanus reaction followed recent revocation of his bail by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

While dismissing the bail revocation as meaningless and senseless, Kanu said, I am a Biafran that holds a British citizenship. Nigerian law courts and their judges are of no consequence to me.

He dared the Federal Government to come for him if it could, stressing that the bail revocation was a ploy by the Federal Government to make the International Police stop him from travelling freely across the world to make a case for the independence of Biafra.

His statement obtained by our correspondent in Awka, Anambra State, read in part, I am not a Nigerian citizen; therefore, your bail revocation is completely meaningless to me. My devotion to the absolute and puritanical pursuit of the total restoration of the sovereignty of the Republic of Biafra is unwavering.

My lawyers are waiting for an Interpol red notice against my name and all hell will break loose. If the intention of Binta Nyako is to curtail my travels, thereby limiting IPOB diplomatic offensive, then let me assure Biafrans that our enemies have failed.

Should they request Interpol intervention in this matter, I will give my lawyers here in the UK the instructions we need to launch a no-holds-barred legal assault against Nigeria.

So, I am waiting for them. Europe and Interpol are not a bunch of wild beasts like Nigerian law courts and her security services. In Europe there is rule of law which is also binding on Interpol.

The treasonable felony charge they levelled against me is not a crime that could be committed by merely carrying Biafran flag about and preaching secession, but one that could only be committed using guns, bombs and other weapons, which my group has never been associated with. I warn the Federal Government not to dare me because Im capable of causing trouble for Nigeria.

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An upper Area Court I sitting in Kasuwan Nama, Jos, on Tuesday sentenced a student , Hamisu Abubakar to two years in prison for stealing a wireless microphone from a Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church .

The Judge, Lawal Suleiman, who sentenced Abubakar, 20, gave him an option to a pay a fine of N20,000 for stealing and one year imprisonment for trespass with an option of N10,000 fine.

He said that the judgment would serve as deterrent to those who would want to indulge in such act. Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel, Daniel Longwal, told the court that the case was reported on April 9, at the Anglo-Jos Police station by one Pastor Nathan Abiodun of Mountain of Fire and Miracles, Sparkling Junction who is the complainant.

The prosecutor said that while the pastors were having their prayer meeting in the afternoon, the accused went to the altar and disconnected the wireless microphone worth N35,000.

The offence, he said, contravened the provisions of sections 334 and 273 of Plateau State penal code law.

The convict pleaded guilty to the offence.

NAN

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Harlandale ISD is taking applications to replace trustee Christine Carrillo, who resigned from the school board after her arrest on Christmas Eve. She was charged with assaulting her husband. Bexar County Sheriff's Office

The Harlandale Independent School District board will take applications through Jan. 26 to replace a trustee who resigned this month after being arrested on an assault charge.

District 2 trustee Christine Carrillo submitted her resignation on Jan. 2 after being accused of assaulting her husband. The board unanimously voted last week to accept her resignation.

While recent events involving one of our board members have raised concerns, our dedication to our students remains steadfast, Board President Ricardo Moreno said ahead of the vote.

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The board will consider appointing a successor from among qualified voters who have lived in Harlandale ISD's District 2 for at least six months and have no felony convictions.

Applications can be submitted in person at the district's administrative building at 102 Genevieve Drive on weekdays from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. or emailed to ricardo.hernandez@myhisd.net. A map of District 2s boundaries and access to the online application form is available on the districts website.

The board will review the applications at a special meeting on Jan. 31 and interview candidates on Feb. 1.

Harlandale ISD is a B-rated district that serves about 12,000 students on the South Side, according to Texas Education Agency data. In a recent Facebook post, the district said it was seeking "a passionate and committed individual" to represent the District 2 community.

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Whoever is appointed will serve until the May 2025 election, and have the option of running for the position then.

An attorney for the district told the board last week that state law requires Carrillo to retain her position as a trustee until she is replaced. Carrillo was first elected in 2013 and was reelected in 2021 with 70% of the vote.
The police in Lagos have arrested six suspected traffic robbers along Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Alafia and Costain areas of the state. Three of the suspects Daniel Ani, 19, Akinbode Muiz, 17, and Oluwasegun Emmanuel, 24 were arrested at about 10pm under Daleko Bridge, Iyana Isolo while robbing motorists in traffic.

Two others Olalekan Taoreed, and Adeniyi Okunloye, 25, were apprehended at Alafia along Badagry Expressway on Friday night while Godwin Okafor, 31, was picked at Costain.

Police spokesman Bala Elkana, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP) in a statement on Sunday said those arrested at Daleko confessed to be responsible for traffic robbery in Mushin and environs.

They confessed to have stolen numerous phones and bags from different victims as well as a bag containing the sum of N25,000 belonging to one Oyebanji Ibukun of 14, Waheed Ologunju Street, Oke-Afa Isolo, before they were apprehended by the police.

Two knives and cutlasses were recovered from the suspects. Investigation is ongoing, suspects will soon be charged to court.

Patrol team attached to Orile Police Station at about 8pm on Friday received a distress call that some traffic robbers are operating at Alafia along Badagry Expressway.

Anti-robbery teams were quickly deployed to the scene. Two suspects Olalekan Taoreed, 20, of 20, Sunday Street, Ijora Badia and Adeniyi Okunloye, 25, Alaba Road, Suru Alaba were arrested.

One Samsung Duos handset stolen from one of the victims was recovered from them. One big sharp cutlass which was used in inflicting injuries on their victims was recovered from them. The suspects confessed to be responsible for traffic robberies along Orile and environs. Investigation is ongoing and suspects will be charged to court.

CP Zubairu Muazu warns that tough times await traffic robbers with the deployment of surveillance teams across the state. The command will continue to make Lagos State difficult for criminals.

Meanwhile Okafor, who was arrested by policemen attached to the Taskforce on Environmental Sanitation, was said to be a notorious pickpocket who allegedly made between N80,000 to N100,000 daily.

The Taskforce said the suspect was the ringleader of a four-man gang that operated at different areas of the state in a commercial bus, robbing victims of valuables.

The suspect was nabbed after he and three others now at large, jumped down from a commercial bus on top of Costain Bridge immediately they suspected that a patrol team of the agency was chasing them from Ojuelegba, said Chairman Olayinka Egbeyemi, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) in a statement by his spokesman Taofiq Adebayo.

He said the Taskforce acted on series of complaints by commuters about the activities of criminals who used commercial bus to rob them.

A resident of 127, Ojo Road, Ajegunle, Okafor, Adebayo said, co feared to have started off as a bus conductor 15 years ago before graduating to pickpocketing.

He said the suspect confessed further that his gang operated at different parts of the state including Oshodi- Mile 2, Obalende, Pen-cinema, Agege, Ojota and Ikorodu Road, adding that any passenger who refused to corporate was beaten and thrown off the moving bus.

We have been in this robbery and pick-pocket business for long as we dispossessed our passengers of their valuables such as wallets, jewelries including phones which we sold as fairly used to the public, Adebayo quoted the suspect.

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Kidnappers, who abducted 10 people from Sagwari Estate Layout at Dutse in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on January 7, 2024, have killed two more of the abductees to send a strong warning to their relatives negotiating ransom payment.

National Daily reports that after killing some of the kidnap victims, the bandits increased their demand from the initial N60 million per person to N100 million, now totalling N700 million.

Residents said the victims were allegedly killed over the delay in raising the ransom demanded by the kidnappers.

It is reported that a 13-year-old secondary school student, identified as Folorunsho Ariyo, was among those killed.

On Friday, reports emerged that the kidnappers, who also operated in some villages in Bwari, had killed one of the six abducted persons, Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, to force the family into quickly raising the demanded ransom.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite, on Monday congratualted Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State on his inauguration in Owerri for a second term in office.

The Minister in a statement declared:

Hon (Dr) Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite MD,CFA

@DrDorisAnite

To Governor Hope Uzodimma @Hope_Uzodimma1

Heartfelt congratulations on the auspicious occasion of your second term swearing-in as the esteemed executive Governor of Imo State, Nigeria. Your resounding victory is a testament to the trust and confidence the people have placed in your visionary leadership.

As you embark on this renewed mandate, may the strength of purpose that brought you to this position continue to guide you. Your dedication to public service has already left an indelible mark, and we are confident that your second term will witness even more remarkable achievements.

Imo State stands at the cusp of progress under your leadership. Your unwavering commitment to development, governance, and the well-being of your constituents has been inspiring. May the next chapter of your tenure be marked by transformative policies, inclusive growth, and the realization of the aspirations of the people you serve.

In the face of challenges, may your resilience be unwavering, and your wisdom unwavering. Imo State is blessed to have a leader of your caliber, and we look forward to witnessing the positive impact of your continued stewardship.

Wishing you a successful and impactful second term. May your leadership bring prosperity, unity, and lasting positive change to the great people of Imo State.

Best Wishes,

Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite CFA

#WithHeartandMight
An indication has emerged on how a major ally of President Bola Tinubu won a governorship election after spending only #200, 000.

Former INEC National Commissioner and retired Professor of Sociology at the University of Lagos, Prof. Lai Olurode, who made this known extended heartfelt wishes to Bisi Akande, the former governor of Osun State and Tinubus ally as he marks his 85th birthday.

In an official statement he released, Olurode lauded Akande as a prudent and remarkable politician, highlighting his allegiance to the political philosophy of the late Obafemi Awolowo, characterized by straightforwardness and unyielding principles.

Olurode stated, He is an exceptional politician. This school of thought is not after power or political office for personal aggrandizement or power for its own sake. Emphasizing a disdain for extravagance and political ostentation, Akandes approach aligns with the values of ethical governance.

Recalling Akandes tenure as the Secretary to the Government of the old Oyo State and later as deputy governor, Olurode remarked, He was guided by those political ethics which gave more attention to governance and substantive issues in place of the type of cars that officials of the state ride in.

Reflecting on Akandes 1999-2003 governorship campaign in Osun State, Olurode noted, Akande, in the course of the political campaign for election as governor, didnt spend up to N200,000. He drastically cut down on the cost of governance. This frugality, according to Olurode, exemplified Akandes commitment to cost-effective governance.

Furthermore, Olurode praised Akandes principled stance against the inclusion of the First Ladys office in Nigerias constitution. He added that during Akandes four-year tenure as governor, he built a colossal state secretariat without borrowing funds, a feat acknowledged by then-President Olusegun Obasanjo.

In concluding his tribute, Olurode underlined Akandes loyalty to political associates, stating, This man is an exceptional politician, indeed, out of the run of the mill. He deserves all the encomiums in a country where politics isnt really about principle and service but centers around a rapacious money culture.
Gov Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has signed into law the 2024 Appropriation Bill, incorporating an additional N21.74 billion to the originally proposed N2.246 trillion Budget of Renewal, on Monday at the State House in Ikeja.

Addressing attendees at the event, Governor Sanwo-Olu emphasized that the budget has now been revised to a total of N2.267 trillion, surpassing the initial N2.246 trillion allocation.

He said: For the purpose of clarity, the approved budget size is N2,267,976,120,869; comprising N1,315,545,553,871 for capital expenditure and N952,430,566,998 for recurrent expenditure, a ratio of 58:42.

The approved budget size is N21.74 billion higher than what was presented to the House of Assembly due to additional provisions to enforce completion of ongoing projects.

Sanwo-Olu noted that the effectiveness of the budgets implementation would determine its impact.

Furthermore, the Lagos State Governor emphasized that the government was resolute in guaranteeing the utmost realization of the budgets goals and objectives, aligning with the THEMES+ development agenda, and benefiting all residents.

Sanwo-Olu highlighted that his administration will diligently strive to finalize ongoing projects and successfully initiate new ones.

He urged all residents to actively contribute to the prosperous execution of the budget, fulfilling their civic responsibilities with unwavering commitment and punctuality.

Shortly after the budget signing event, Sanwo-Olu issued a statement on his X handle. It reads: Today, I signed the N2.267 trillion 2024 Appropriation Bill of Lagos State into law, marking the start of a new expenditure cycle.

This Budget of Renewal prioritizes infrastructure, environment, education, and technology, with increased allocation for security and public safety.

Of the total budget, 58% goes to capital expenditure, while 42% is for recurrent spending. The additional allocation of N21.74 billion, approved by the Assembly, aims to complete key infrastructure and address priority areas.

The successful implementation of this budget is crucial for the citizens well-being and aligns with our THEMES+ agenda, aiming to transform lives and businesses.

I assure you all that transparency and accountability will be our watchword in the implementation of this budget and I thank the Lagos State House of Assembly for their dedication to the people of Lagos during the budget review.
A 28-year-old suspected thug, Michael Desmond, has been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command for demanding money from a motorist whose car broke down.

A statement released by the command says the suspect was arrested after a motorist with a broken down car alerted the police that some miscreants were trying to extort money from him.

The statement mentioned that the suspect brazenly insisted he was entitled to what they popularly call Owo Omo Taku. He was promptly apprehended while his accomplice fled the scene and is currently on the run.

Read the statement below




Gunmen suspected to be bandits have kidnapped two female students of Al-Qalam University, Katsina State.

It is reported that the victims, Habiba Ango Shantali and Maryam Abubakar Musa were abducted on their way back to school on Monday, January 15, 2024.

The president of the National Association Of Niger State Students (NANISS), Comrade Gambo Idris Shehu, confirmed the incident in a statement signed by the Secretary-General, Comr. Mohammmed Ibrahim.

The National Executives Council just received a sad news that two of our students from Niger State who are studying at Al-Qalam University Katsina have been kidnapped on their way back to school, the statement read.

The victims, both from Borgu Local Government, are: Habiba Ango Shantali, a 200-level student from Political Science department and Maryam Abubakar Musa, a 400 level student from the department of Micro Biology. May Allah rescue them from the hands of those notorious people.
Nollywood actor, Samuel Ajibola, popularly known as Spiff has stated that he is aware that his son looks like former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

In 2022, the actors family was subjected to cyberbullying after he shared photos of his familys visit to Obasanjo on social media.

Netizens pointed out that his son has a striking resemblance with the ex-Nigerian leader.

Reacting to the cyberbullying in a recent interview on Channels TV, the actor said netizens claim that Obasanjo was the true father of his son came from a misinformed position.

He said: The picture that caused the stir was the picture with me and my wife with the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

Im the Youth Ambassador to the Youth Development Centre of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library. So I have a relationship with him. He is a huge mentor to my life.

And so from time to time, I visit him. After I had my son, I took him there to see him. And people started assuming things. They said, Okay, my wife was a secretary to the former President. It moved from that to, Oh! He [Obasanjo] is the true father of my son.

I wont deny it, Im saying this live on air. In that picture, my son does look like him there. But there are circumstances around it. And its still a picture. Its a still picture. Its a second. Its a moment of which my son was just waking up from sleep when we arrived. So he was just booting and he had those eyebags. Those eyebags made him look like the former President. And people were claiming as if they were 100 per cent sure that the former President was the true father of my son.
Spokesman of the Kano State Police Command, SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, said the man was rushed to a hospital with a broken spine and a cracked head.

A suspected phone thief who was knocked down by a vehicle while fleeing in Kano has died.

TORI reported that the man was knocked down while crossing the popular Zoo Road after snatching a phone from a woman on Sunday evening, January 14, 2024,

Spokesman of the Kano State Police Command, SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, said the man was rushed to a hospital with a broken spine and a cracked head.

The PPRO, who confirmed the development in a statement said the man died on Tuesday, January 16 at Murtala Hospital where he was receiving medical treatment.
From Joshua Chibuzo Andrew

President Tinubu and former President Olusegun Obasanjo were all smiles yesterday January 15, at the inauguration of Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma, for a second term.

The inauguration brought the two prominent sons of Yoruba land and leaders of the country to a smiling exchange of pleasantries which had not taken place since the coming in Bola Tinubu as Nigerian president.

Both politicians put their differences aside as they exchanged pleasantries while maintaining a smile, as Governor Uzodimma and other dignitaries watch in admiration.

Recall that Obasanjo was opposed to the emergence of President Tinubu and even campaigned against him during the 2023 presidential election.

In the ceremony, President Bola Tinubu commended Governor Hope Uzodimma for his stewardship in Imo State, describing him as the real hope of the state.

It is a great honour for me to be here in Imo State. And to congratulate the people of Imo for being discerning and determined to vote into a second term, a very unique individual who resonates with a progressive agenda, Senator Hope Uzodimma, he said.

Tinubu said his administration will give more attention to education and healthcare, as well as provide the enablements for industrialization and investments in consonance with his vision of creating an economically stable and prosperous country.

He said he is well-attuned to the concerns of citizens, assuring them that the challenges brought on by very essential reforms are being addressed.

In the past 40 years, a few people were cornering our common wealth, and calling it subsidy, but I call it wasteful. Right now, we are all bearing and sharing that pain. But things are looking up. Things will get better for the good of all Nigerians. With me, there is hope.

I assure you that there will be substantial development in education for your children; priority on industrialization; healthcare will receive more allocation and attention. We will train more health workers, the President said.

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Stafford Visual and Performing Arts Elementary School was forced to close Tuesday due to broken pipes, the district announced. Google Maps

Most area schools were open Tuesday amid a hard freeze warning and biting wind chill, but the wintry weather crippled an Edgewood Independent School District campus and kept Burbank High School in San Antonio ISD closed.

In a statement posted online late in the afternoon, SAISD Superintendent Jaime Aquino said several other schools were confronted with weather-related maintenance issues, including boilers that were slow to heat the buildings and water issues related to burst pipes.

Burst pipes forced the cancellation of classes at Edgewood ISDs Stafford Visual and Performing Arts Elementary School, that district announced.

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Water was shut off at the campus, which serves some 521 students on the West Side, but the school was to reopen Wednesday and resume its normal schedule. Any changes will be posted on Edgewood ISDs website or social media pages.

The subfreezing temperatures kept Burbank High School closed after staff found a repair was needed to confirm proper room temperatures, a press release said.

Aquino said staff at other schools worked diligently to restore heat and assemble students in the warmest areas of their buildings. All district campuses, including Burbank, will be back in session on Wednesday.

I regret that our preparations did not meet expectations, his statement reads. We will continue to monitor the situation and should a campus experience an issue, you will be informed.
From Joshua Chibuzo Andrew

The suspended Imo State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP and a former Minister of Commerce and Industry, Charles Chukwuemeka Ugwuh and one Chief Geoffrey Ekenma have been arrested.

The duo were arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over alleged conspiracy and fraud to the tune of N3.6bn.

The Minister and Ekenma were arrested by operatives of Lagos Zonal Command of EFCC on January 11, 2024 at No.2, Musa Yar Adua way, New Owerri, Imo State.

Charles Ugwuh and Ekenma were arrested following a petition to the EFCC from a new generation bank on the alleged fraud perpetrated through a company, Ebony Agro Industries Ltd., linked to the ex-Minister, Dele Oyewale, the spokesperson for the anti-graft agency said in a statement on Monday

Investigations revealed that Ugwuh and Ekenma, Managing Director, Ebony Agro Industries Ltd., allegedly obtained a loan facility from the bank for the purchase and production of polished rice.

However, the suspect, according to the petitioner, failed to meet up his obligations to the bank and all efforts to get him to repay the loan facility proved abortive, he said.

EFCC said the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.

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The Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar CON, mni has said that the Federal Government under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR would strengthen the defence cooperation with France to curb the menace of terrorism, banditry and other forms of criminalities in the country.

The Minister stated this when he received the Honourable members of French Parliament and members of Defence Commission led by Gassilloud Thomas at Ship House, Abuja. This was contained in a statement signed by Henshaw Ogubike, Director, Press and Public Relations.

While commenting on the existing relationship between the two countries, the Minister said the relationships need to be strengthened in the area of Military equipment, training and further cooperations.

The Minister added that since his assumption of office as the Honourable Minister of Defence, he has had three engagements with France in the area of Military cooperation and this shows the good relationship we have with France.

I believe the French Government can support Nigeria with equipment to fight insecurity and insurgency. You are aware Nigeria has a huge population with great economic potentials and this can help the economies to stabilize, he said.

He also commended the French Parliament relationship with Nigerian Parliament saying that such cooperation would boost the fight against insecurity.

Earlier, the head of the Parliament, Mr Gassiloud Thomas commended the Minister for the quality and robust way he has been handling security challenges in the country.

He said that the French Government would support in other areas the Minister thinks the French Government can assist Nigeria in the fight against insecurity in Nigeria.

He said : The role you are playing to strengthen the relationship is highly appreciated and we will continue to support this present government in order to curb insecurity. This relationship is very important because Nigeria has extraordinary potential and the role Nigeria is playing in the regional security as Nigeria has one of the most efficient military.
The federal government has solicited the cooperation of the Nigeria labour Congress in promoting workers welfare and national productivity.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, made the request in Abuja when she paid a visit to the President and leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) as part of strategy to mobilise critical stakeholders to align with governments agenda in the Labour sector. This was contained in a statement signed by Olajide Oshundun, Director, Press and Public Relations.

She remarked that without the cooperation of the Labour union, who are the workers representatives, it would be difficult for the government to better the lot of Nigerian workers.

The Minister assured the Congress of governments interest and readiness to work with labour unions to promote the wellbeing of workers, as well as boost national productivity.

Onyejeocha noted that the government needed the cooperation of Labour to create the wealth with which to sustain Nigerian workers.

The Minister also emphasised governments commitment to fulfilling its obligations to Nigerian workers, but decried the use of strike to resolve industrial disputes as it disrupts the economy.

She therefore urged trade unions to regard strike as the last resort in seeking resolution of trade disputes, pushing for the fulfilment of agreement, or drawing the attention of government to the plight of workers and citizens.

According to the Minister, Government is interested in the welfare of Nigerian workers. We are interested in their health and the environment in which they work. We are also interested in the wages they earn.

We will partner with you to ensure that Nigerian workers are satisfied. I am sure you will cooperate with the government to make sure our economy improves. Each time you embark on strike, the Nigerian economy goes down, and we incur a lot of losses.

Speaking, NLC president, Comrade Joe Ajaero, noted that the Ministers visit demonstrated care for Nigerian workers, as well as commitment to collaboration with workers representatives, and promised that the Congress would always work together with government in the interest of the workers.

He, however, urged the government to desist from violating Trade Union rights, and defaulting on agreements reached with Labour, as such actions brew trust gaps.

Ajaero enjoined the Minister to push for the clearing of the backlog of agreements which government reached with Labour, as further proof of governments commitment to workers wellbeing.

He also explained that they were not in the habit of rushing into strikes, and only resorted to them as the last option.
The Lagos State Taskforce has impounded no fewer than 344 commercial motorcycles, popularly called okada, during a week-long raid in different areas of the state.

The task force has also vowed to end the operations of the recalcitrant bike riders in the state.

The agencys Director, Press & Public Affairs, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, disclosed this in a statement released on Sunday.

The statement read, The Lagos State Taskforce has vowed to bring the operations of recalcitrant okada operators in the state to a complete halt as it carries out a week-long raid across various parts of the metropolis.

The week-long exercise was anchored by the Chairman of the Agency, CSP Shola Jejeloye who vowed to cripple the activities of okada operators. He disclosed that their activities along some highways in the state have continually put the life of commuters along the axis in harms way.

The statement revealed that during the raid, the task force impounded 174 bikes in the Abule Ado axis, 50 bikes in Lagos Island, 50 bikes in Berger/ Grammar School, and 70 bikes were impounded in the Abule Egba axis.

According to the statement, Jejeloye said, We have taken it upon ourselves to end okada operations in the state and we are putting all mechanisms in place to ensure we achieve this goal.

There is a ban on their activities along selected routes and Local Governments in Lagos, therefore they should not be allowed to operate as they please.

It is our resolve in Y2024 to ensure that the terminal end of every enforcement is the court. Therefore, the fixed mindset of all environmental and traffic violators who think they can get away with every infraction through man knows man or godfatherism will not be tolerated. Enough is enough.

He also sounded a note of warning to security officials in uniform and urged them to obey the rules and regulations of the state regarding okada operation.

There will be no sacred cows in the enforcement of okada operations in the state therefore any uniform man caught conveying passengers on a bike for commercial purposes will be thoroughly dealt with. We should be the ones setting the right examples not breaking them. It will no longer be business as usual. Jejeloye stated.

He also urged Lagosians to desist from patronising okada operators in order to make our roads safe, hazard free and motorable for all.

The National Daily reports that the Lagos State Government had banned the operation of commercial motorcycles on major highways.

In November 1500 seized motorcycles were destroyed on the Lagos State Task Force premises in Oshodi following the clampdown by the state government on okada operators said to have returned to the roads.
Jibrin Banchir, Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Plateau Council, on Wednesday resigned his position as the chairman of the labour movement.

Mr Banchir, who announced his resignation at an emergency State Execute Council (SEC) meeting of NLC in Jos, also told the union leaders that he had been appointed as Special Adviser to Governor Simon Lalong on Labour Matters.

The outgone chairman, who had served in that capacity for eight years, handed to Yarlings Gumshing, immediate past chairman of NUT, to act as chairman until April when a substantive chairman would be elected.

He appreciated workers for giving him the opportunity to serve.

Whatever I am today and the uncommon experience I have garnered is because of NLC.

I have fond memories of the time and there were also turbulent times as well.

There are times we could not sleep in our houses because of threats to our lives. There are times we slept in the secretariat in spite of the risks involved in fighting workers.

Our families also had sleepless nights over threats.

Mr Banchir appreciated God for his protection and prayed for the repose of the souls of those who died for the cause.

He charged the labour movement in the state to remain united if it must achieve its goal of fighting for workers welfare.

According to him, the labour movement is being endangered by corporate governance and that only unity can promote its relevance.

As I am leaving, I want to passionately appeal that we remain united.

We must be honest and sincere in the discharge of our responsibilities.

Our actions and inactions will determine the wellbeing or otherwise of those who cannot take care of themselves, he added.

He appealed to the labour leaders to vote for Mr Lalong, who according to him has a soft spot for workers.

Mr Gumshing in his response congratulated Mr Banchir on his appointment and for successfully serving the body.

Now that you are there, our relationship with government will wax stronger.

We will give you the maximum cooperation you need to succeed in your new appointment.

(NAN)
BLOOMINGTON  Bloomington-Normal local Vivian Doctora is working to make Central Illinois a destination for bao, with this week's pick for Eats of the Week.

After working at State Farm for more than 20 years, Doctora created Bao Destination with plans to join other independent vendors to open a food hall in uptown Normal. The project fell through, but her new bao business persevered.

Bao or baozi is a kind of steam bun stuffed with various fillings. Originating in Chinese cuisine, bao is a common food in Asian countries. Doctora, who was born and raised in Hong Kong, described it as a comfort food.

"My mom used to make it even though we had it easily accessible where we lived," she said. "But it was something fun to do because the process involves everybody. It's usually an all-day process."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Doctora said she started trying to recreate the bao of her childhood.

"With my busy life, I don't really have all day to make it, but I was able to kind of tweak the recipe  and make something that kind of reminded me of how she used to do it and get the kids involved," she said.

Doctora operated Bao Destination as a ghost kitchen, offering pick-up, delivery and catering services without a dine-in restaurant, from the Parke Regency Hotel & Conference Center in 2020.

She received positive feedback but recently left the Parke Regency kitchen because of changes the hotel was making. After customers asked her how they could get their hands on bao all the time, it gave her the idea to make a take-home pack.

Typically, handcrafted bao takes about four to five hours to make, but the take-home packs are frozen, so bao buyers can heat them up in a microwave for about two minutes or on a stovetop for eight to 10 minutes. Customers have used air fryers, instant pots and rice cookers to heat them up as well. The buns are sold in packs of four for $13.99 and packs of six for $15.99.

The business received a wholesale license in March 2023 and started selling the packs to local grocery stores. Community members can now purchase the packs at Hy-Vee in Bloomington, Peru and Peoria, Green Top Grocery, Fresh Thyme and at Chi Family Express, where customers can order bao off the menu and the restaurant will steam them.

Doctora also sells the packs at the Downtown Bloomington Farmers Market, often selling out within the first hour, as well as offering her own Bao Destination merchandise. She hopes to bring the packs to as many stores as possible, including the Shanghai Market grocery store, and even outside of Bloomington-Normal.

"I think what makes bao unique is really the story behind it. It's really how it's reminded me of my childhood," she said, calling the steam buns a conversation starter. "I always believe food is the way to connect people. And every time people at the farmers market ask me like 'what are you selling,' it's allowed me to really share my story. So I think it's just really a way to educate and share my culture with others."

Though bao comes in all kinds of flavors, Doctora said her most popular is the pork dumpling.

Other offerings have included pork belly, vegan chicken with veggie spicy garlic mustard, Mongolian chicken, curry chicken, pizza and apple pie donut.

Bao Destination has also done a collaboration with Pizza Payaa, in which they featured pumpkin pie bao donuts.

Doctora said her husband is Filipino so she tries to incorporate his culture in the flavors, too.

"(It's) inspired me to write my book 'Life As Bao.' I really want to make it a story to make it easier to talk about diversity and inclusion and how we are unique and different in our own way. And we just need to accept everybody just the way they are," she said.

The book was published in July 2023 and is available on Amazon and at the local farmers market.

Doctora said she is currently looking into new locations for Bao Destination, so she can serve fresh, handcrafted bao again to the community. She also hopes to eventually bring them to a food hall format or full-service restaurant, but right now, Doctora said she isn't quite sure if that's what the business is meant for.

In the meantime, Doctora also offers a cooking class called "Beyond Social" at Green Top Grocery and Illinois Art Station in Bloomington. She is a real estate agent for Keller Williams Revolution and is involved with the McLean County Chamber of Commerce, where she started a women's resource group and a young entrepreneur market.

The market is for children ages 5 to 17 who have a business or want to open a business to learn about entrepreneurship. The second annual market will be held on Wednesday, April 17.

"Dealing with wholesaling is another ball game, just reaching out to grocery stores and saying, 'Hey, will you buy my product? Will you give my product a chance?' because I'm not like a big name out there," Doctora said. "Just seeing my product in the grocery store, I think that's huge. I've learned a lot about business in general."

Could vertical farming change the local food landscape? Could vertical farming change what local food means? US relies on other countries for much of its produce Not all crops are ideal for vertical farms
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How Time Flies is a daily feature looking back at Pantagraph archives to revisit what was happening in our community and region. 100 years ago

Jan. 16, 1924: Post office employees are joining other civil service workers seeking an increase in salaries. Postal wage rates have not kept pace with living rates. The majority of clerks and carriers received $1,200 per year in 1913. Today, they are receiving $1,800 per year, while living costs are now 70% higher than they were in 1913.

75 years ago

Jan. 16, 1949: An old-fashioned box social was held Tuesday night at Trinity High School, where boys tried to guess which girl had prepared which box and bid on one to determine his supper partner. Ray Freehill was auctioneer. The affair concluded with the Rev. Fr. B.J. Sheedys birthday.

50 years agoJan. 16, 1974: Overnight delivery of air-mail letters from Bloomington-Normal to selected cities is becoming more difficult due to the energy crisis and curtailment of flights. Robert Buhrke, local postmaster, said that the earlier letters are mailed, the better the chance of overnight delivery.

25 years ago

Jan. 16, 1999: With the holiday season behind them, Eastland Mall officials are turning their attention to construction and new additions, said manager Bill Bain. Workers will being installing footings for the 130,000-square-foot Famous Barr buildings concrete pad and putting up steel beams during the first or second week of February. Mr. Rags, an apparel store catering to teen males, will be opening in the former home of World of Science in the Kohls wing.

Vintage Pantagraph newspaper ads for medicine, 'magic' remedies Clover Blossom Extract - Nov. 15, 1883 St. Jacobs Oil - July 14, 1887 Castoria - July 26, 1892 Rheumatic Ring - May 29, 1894 Beefmalt - May 29, 1894 Wakefield's Cough Syrup - Feb. 13, 1908 S.S.S. - April 23, 1908 Olive Tablets - Nov. 20, 1911 Cold-go - Dec. 11, 1911 Dr. Danby - Dec. 11, 1911 Allcock Plasters - March 2, 1917 Olive Tablets - Feb. 23, 1918 Laxative Bromo Quinine - Oct. 16, 1918 Bayer Tablets of Aspirin - April 24, 1919 Bayer Tablets of Aspirin - April 29, 1919 Snake Oil - Nov. 22, 1919 Beecham's Pills - Nov. 22, 1919 Snake Oil - Nov. 29, 1919 Doan's Kidney Pills - March 8, 1920 Bayer Tablets of Aspirin - Sept. 21, 1920 J.C. Hutzell's Eczema Treatment - Nov. 11, 1922 Gude's Pepto-Mangan - April 2, 1923 O-Joy Corn Wafers - March 4, 1930 Dr. Pierce's Favorite Prescription - March 19, 1930 666 Tablets - March 25, 1930 Cuticura - March 25, 1930 Geo-Mineral - Dec. 8, 1948 Anacin - Jan. 16, 1963 Liquiprin - Aug. 27, 1970 Icy Hot - Nov. 20, 1977
The University Challenge envisions a transformative departure from the conventional approach of obtaining degrees solely for job-seeking purposes, a pursuit that is often limited by the scarcity of job opportunities in a given economy or country. Instead, the focus is on cultivating entrepreneurs, fostering leadership, and creating wealth.



The University Challenge is a 10-to-13-week inter-university competition designed to recruit the brains from selected universities across the country to brainstorm execution solutions to real-life challenges of our communities, feeding off the courses they are offered within the schools they attend.



The essence of this concept lies in encouraging students to embark on business ventures before completing their degrees. Additionally, the initiative promotes the establishment of a comprehensive network platform across all universities, allowing students to recognize the potential of their peers prior to degree acquisition. The premise is clear: students are encouraged to build businesses and create a robust network within the university ecosystem.



The University Challenge spans beyond the traditional academic realm, extending from the development of effective governance structures to the establishment of thriving businesses and industrial platforms. By encouraging this holistic approach, The University Challenge seeks to redefine the purpose of higher education and empower students to become not just job-seekers but creators of economic opportunities and leaders in their respective fields.



A University Challenge student is expected, alongside a team of their interconnected peers, to develop an incubator for theoretical solutions and apply them to real-world problems.





What are the requirements for participating in the University Challenge?



One must be a student of any of the selected schools working with the New Africa Foundation.

One must be selected by the scouting team as an eligible candidate during the casting sessions.

One must be smart, entrepreneurial, solutions-oriented, a team player, and a leader, amongst others.

One must be selected amongst the top 5 to earn a spot in the team which will represent the school.



How does one participate in The University Challenge?



Follow The University Challenge on social media, or look out for information of the casting session in your school.

Be clear about the casting candidate requirements advertised and prepare accordingly

Join the auditions, impress the scouts and win your spot on the school team.

The ideal candidate for The University Challenge is smart, entrepreneurial, solutions driven, resourceful, articulate, and a team player, amongst others.



What happens when one is selected to represent their school?



Selected candidates will be required to form and brand their teams, brainstorm an execution plan to the task given, give team roles based on the task, and execute the task to their utmost abilities.



How many people form a team?



A minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5



Will mobilisation funds be provided for teams in the competition?



Yes. Up to 50,000 cedis mobilisation funds is allocated to each team. However, to access the funds, each team will have to justify the use of money in order to be released.



What is the prize money for the winner of the competition?



GHS 1,000,000.00



Apart from the Prize Money, what else do competitors stand to gain?



Incubation / internship opportunities with New Africa Foundation



For more on-the-go information on The University Challenge, kindly visit The University Challenge (UniChallengeGh) on all socials, send mail to: [email protected], or visit www.newafricafoundation.org. The University Challenge is an initiative of the New Africa Foundation. It is time to Aspire, Elevate, and Dominate.





















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 Urology and Nephrology Centre of Excellence at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) that is currently under construction will be ready for use by the end of 2024, the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, has said.



At the moment, Mr Agyeman-Manu said, work on the centre was 90 per cent complete, with no construction work going on at the site.



He said the contractors were doing the fittings and electricals but were yet to do installation of equipment and refurbishment.



Mr Agyeman-Manu, who was specking in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said the centre, which would attend to urology cases, renal, kidney and renal transplant when it became operational, had a 110-bed capacity.



He said the dialysis unit of the centre that had between 30 to 40 beds would also be able to cater for more patients on dialysis.



Benefits

Touching on the benefits the centre would bring to Ghanaians, Mr Agyeman-Manu said it would support the nations quest to attain Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030, explaining that currently, although Tamale, Cape Coast and Komfo Anokye hospitals were all teaching hospitals, they, together with the regional hospitals, still refer cases relating to urology and nephrology to the KBTH because it was the mother of the teaching hospitals in the country.



This, therefore, increases the number of cases relating to those fields that the hospital has to attend to.



I see that centre as something that is coming in to support the nation in terms of health delivery and a liberation in the health expenditure because patients who will not be able to afford the cost of being flown outside the country for similar treatments, can access them here in Ghana at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.



Once they are here, they can be assured that they will well be taken care of, he said.



In the case of kidney transplant, for instance, Mr Agyeman-Manu said when the centre became operational, it would no longer be an issue for patients to transport people outside to donate their kidneys to them.



The Health Minister said the centre would also help the country to conserve the foreign exchange that would otherwise be shipped to other economies when people sought medical care there.



Aside from the clinical services the centre would offer, Mr Agyeman-Manu said it would serve as a place to impact knowledge because doctors, medical students and practitioners could be referred there for research studies.



Background

Giving a background to the establishment of the centre, Mr Agyeman-Manu said the idea to construct the centre was mooted when the three Ghanaian urologists lost their lives in August 2005 through a road traffic crash while returning from an outreach to provide specialist services at a hospital in Sunyani.



The three urologists who lost their lives in that crash were Professor J. K. M. Quartey, Dr Isaac Bentsi and Dr Benjamin Osei-Wiafe.



The fourth person, Professor George Kluffio, survived and is alive and doing well.



At the time of their death, the country did not have sufficient hands and facilities to handle the many cases in that area and that was why the outreach programme was regularly organised.



Following their demise, the Ministry of Health collaborated with the KBTH and a team was set up to mobilise resources for the construction of the centre.



After years of hiccups due to governmental transitions, finally in 2020, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cut the sod for the construction of the project.











Source: graphiconline.com









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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott gives a speech endorsing former President Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary in Edinburg last November. His comments about shooting immigrants along the border is more of the same reckless and dangerous rhetoric. MERIDITH KOHUT/NYT

The governor of Texas isnt an eloquent or inspiring man. His words dont lift hearts or quicken the imaginations of listeners, moving them with their beauty.

Whats not clear is whether Gov. Greg Abbott, one of the more successful politicians in our states history, fully understands what hes saying or if it lands as intended.

Does he truly believe his efforts to stop the flow of immigrants across the Southern border are restrained by laws that prevent him from giving orders to shoot them?

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Thats whats he suggested during a Jan. 5 radio interview with Dana Loesch, a former spokeswoman with the National Rifle Association.

Loesch asked him, Like, what is the maximum amount of pressure that you, as governor, can implement to protect the border?

Abbott answered, We are deploying every tool and strategy that we possibly can. The only thing that were not doing is were not shooting people who come across the border because, of course, the Biden administration would charge us with murder.

If Abbott had ended his response at the word "border," it wouldnt sound quite as bad. But by adding the snarky because, of course, the Biden administration would charge us with murder, he implies that were it not for that, shooting migrants would be an option.

Eddy Stiven Reyes Alvarez, 23, and his wife, Stefany, 22, wait with their children, Stiven Alberto, 5, and Danna, 3, at Mission: Border Hope in Eagle Pass, Texas, in Sept. 2022. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he's doing all except shooting immigrants to secure the border. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News

Surely Abbott does not seriously believe that anyone, including law enforcement officers under his command, shouldn't be charged for shooting unarmed migrants. And before saying something so flippant, shouldn't he consider that shooting unarmed migrants would be morally wrong and violate one of the Ten Commandments of his faith  or that some people, hearing his words, may take it upon themselves to do just that?

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Why would the governor of our state, which under his tenure has been home to several high-profile mass shootings, talk about shooting unarmed people, evoking painful imagery that is so familiar  too familiar  to so many Texans?

Few things animate Abbott more than using the border to project toughness and a willingness to do anything to "protect" Texans from immigration. Playing to an audience of supporters, Abbott displays coldness, casual cruelty and a robotic inability to convey compassion.

Nowhere have those traits been more evident than in his handling of immigration and Uvalde.

Under Abbott's leadership, razor wire and floating barriers were installed along the banks of the Rio Grande; officers pushed children, mothers and babies back into the river; migrants were denied water in extreme heat; and ill-clad migrants were bused to subfreezing temperatures in Washington, D.C., on Christmas Eve in 2022.

Abbott's policies inflict physical pain and discomfort on people already suffering and show no concern for them as human beings.

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The day after the May 24, 2022, Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde that left 19 children and two teachers dead, Abbott said, It could have been worse." He did nothing during the legislative session that would reduce the chances of another such tragedy.

In the 2019 mass shooting in El Paso, a gunman agitated about a Hispanic invasion targeted Latinos in a Wal-Mart and murdered 23 people. A day before, Abbotts campaign sent out a fundraising letter invoking the language of invasion.

Abbott would later concede that mistakes were made in that fundraising letter, saying he talked to members of the El Paso legislative delegation and emphasized the importance of making sure that rhetoric will not be used in any dangerous way.

Then what should we make of his comment? The only thing that were not doing is were not shooting people who come across the border because, of course, the Biden administration would charge us with murder.
Tullow Ghana led the pack at the maiden Chartered Institute of Supply Chain Management (CISCM) Awards held over the weekend in Accra.



The company took home five prestigious honours on the night, including the Supply Chain Organisation of the Year and CISCM Woman of the Year for Supply Chain Manager, Otuko John-Teye. The company also won best in Legal and Contracts, Governance and Leadership, and Sourcing and Procurement.



The recognition affirms Tullows leadership in Ghanas oil and gas sector and its relentless commitment to partnering and developing meaningful relationships with local suppliers.



Over the years, Tullow has worked with a host of stakeholders, including the Petroleum Commission, to support the activities of indigenous suppliers and companies working in the oil and gas industry.



This commitment has led to the empowerment of many local service companies operating in the sector. It has also strengthened the countrys supply chain activities, especially in the upstream sector, leading to several job creation opportunities, and contributing to overall economic growth.



Last year alone, for example, more than 90% of Tullows upstream contracts were awarded to indigenous and joint-venture companies in Ghana. This has been touted as a demonstration of industry leadership in a sector that is a significant contributor to Ghanas GDP growth in the past two decades.



Commenting on the recognition, Deputy Managing Director, Cynthia Lumor said:



This recognition is testament to our partnership with local suppliers and our focus on developing and empowering local capacity in the upstream sector.



We remain committed to contributing to Ghanas growth through our operations and making a difference in our communities. These accolades are a further call on us to continuously endeavour to build a better future for Ghana; a future where local businesses thrive and our communities flourish.



As the main operator of Ghanas Jubilee and TEN fields, Tullow has been at the forefront of leadership in Ghanas upstream sector over the past two decades.



The company recently reached 100,000bpod production in the Greater Jubilee field, following a successful completion of the Jubilee South-East project. Since inception, Tullow and its partners have invested close to $19bn in the sector, delivering over $6bn in revenues to the government of Ghana.

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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South Africans are urged to stay vigilant following the detection of two cholera cases in northern Limpopo province.



Both patients are Zimbabwean nationals who had crossed the border back into South Africa recently, the province's health department said.



Both patients - aged 43 and 27 - are currently in isolation in hospital, it added.



We urge the public to remain calm but vigilant, and to promptly seek medical attention if they or anyone they know experience symptoms consistent with cholera," the department added.



Zimbabwe is currently battling a cholera outbreak, which has so far claimed more than 200 lives.



In Zambia, about 300 people have died of the disease since October.



The bacterial disease is spread by contaminated water or food, and causes severe dehydration from vomiting and diarrhoea. It can kill within hours if left untreated.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A short while ago, we reported on Tanzania's plan to ban flights from Nairobi to Dar es Salaam.



Around two-and-a-half hours after the Tanzanian Civil Aviation Authority made this announcement, the nation's foreign minister, January Makamba, said he and his Kenyan counterpart had "resolved to settle" the issue within three days.



In a co-ordinated social media post, Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi said there should be "no cause for alarm".



"We have jointly agreed that our respective Civil Aviation Authorities will work together to have the matter resolved amicably within the next three days," he wrote.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.
Three siblings have been reported dead after spending a night in their grandmothers house at Asawase in Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region.



The three, including their grandmother, reportedly inhaled chemicals from an insecticide intended to rid their room of bedbugs, while they slept.



Police report disclosed that the deceased lived with their mother at Parkoso, a community in the Asokore Mampong Municipality. The report indicated that on December 28, 2023, they took advantage of the festive season to visit their grandmother at Asawase.



An uncle of the children, identified as Anthony Frans, reportedly used an insecticide to spray a room in which the siblings were supposed to spend the night, to kill bedbugs and other insects.



Unfortunately, the three children and their 66-year-old grandmother, named as Ekua Gyaabena, inhaled the poisonous chemicals throughout the night, thereby making them very weak and unresponsive the next morning.



The four victims were then rushed to the Manhyia Government Hospital for medical attention, but unfortunately Magdalene and Christian died upon arrival at the hospital.



However, Ekua Gyaabena, their grandmother, and Judith, were still alive so they were hospitalised at the KATH Emergency Centre. But calamity struck again as Judith also died later on, increasing the number of deaths to three.



The grandmother is still receiving treatment at the hospital, whilst their uncle, Anthony Frans, who sprayed the room with the dangerous insecticide, has since been arrested, and arraigned on a provisional charge of murder.



Burial



Scores of mourners from all walks of life in Kumasi, besieged the Asawase Railway Quarters to bid farewell to the deceased, two girls and one boy, at the funeral grounds on Saturday, January 13, 2024.



The tears continued to flow as the siblings, whose bodies were placed in different caskets, were eventually lowered into their graves for their eternal rest.



Suspect Granted Bail



Meanwhile, Anthony Frans, uncle of the deceased siblings, who has been charged with murder, reportedly, appeared at the Asokore Mampong District Court for the second time on January 9, 2024, where he was granted bail of GH20,000 with two sureties.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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National Youth Organizer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Salam Mustapha, has shared his concerns over the exit of eighteen (18) Members of Parliament of the party from the Legislative House.



The eighteen Parliamentarians comprise the Majority Leader and MP for Suame, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu who has served in the House for seven terms, First Deputy Speaker and MP, Bekwai, Joseph Osei-Owusu with four terms, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, Assin Central with six terms, Joe Ghartey, Essikado-Ketan (five terms), Samuel Atta Akyea, Akyem Abuakwa South (four terms) and Dan Botwe, Okere (four terms).



These MPs among others have served notice that they will no longer be a part of Parliament in January, 2025.



Addressing the matter during Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" morning show, the NPP National Youth Organizer was worried that the MPs are exiting Parliament looking at their wealth of knowledge and long years of experience.



To him, it saddens him to see these MPs out of Parliament, however he believes they may have concluded on not joining Parliament again to allow for fresh minds in the House.



"When you take a constituency like Okere where Dan Botwe is, I mean, for the life of me, I don't see Dan Botwe losing primaries."



He believed they may have concluded on not joining Parliament again to allow for fresh minds in the House.



"Sometimes, the breath of new energy, new life, brings a different set of results...I believe that almost every person I have seen on the list is someone who, if the person had re-contested, easily would have won. For instance, if Dan Botwe says he won't contest again, then it is a certain reason to say that, maybe, we should allow new people or let's train new set of maybe young people to take up the mantle of leadership," he told host Nana Yaw Kesseh.



Salam commended the MPs for their hard work for the New Patriotic Party and Ghanaians.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Professor Joseph Osafo, Director, Centre for Ageing Studies at the University of Ghana, has welcomed the decision by some 18 Members of Parliament of the New Patriotic Party to exit Parliament.



The 18 Parliamentarians, comprising the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Assin Central Lawmaker Kennedy Agyapong, Okere MP, Dan Botwe, and a host of others, have indicated that they are no longer interested in contesting their seats again and hence won't join Parliament in 2025.



The Senior Psychologist, speaking to Nana Yaw Kesseh on Peace FM's flagship programme "Kokrokoo," upon reflection on this decision, advised the lawmakers to leave a good mark for the young generation.



He stated, "Leadership is about trailblazing and paving new paths for others. It's not about the skill of holding onto power but about the goodwill of mentoring and preparing for the next generation. The leader must always remember that whoever he wants to manage tomorrow should be managed well today. You cannot mismanage people today and expect them to be managed well tomorrow. When you step out on the way for others today, they will create the highway for you tomorrow."



" . .a time comes when, whether you like it or not, you will expire not in terms of body but in terms of relevance," he further advised.



Turning to the new breed of MPs who will be succeeding them, Prof. Osafo asked that they submit themselves under the tutelage of the experienced parliamentarians.



"They should go to them and learn their work experience," he urged.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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The first contest of the US Republican party presidential race was no contest at all as former US President Donald Trump won the Iowa caucus in a blowout Monday night, January 15 confirming his place as the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.



Trump, 77, recorded the biggest margin of victory in the modern history of the Iowa GOP caucus, dating back to 1976, and became the first Republican candidate to get more than 50% support in a contested caucus.



With 97% of the expected vote in, Trump had 51.1% support, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (21.2%), former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (19.1%) and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (7.7%), who ended his campaign and gave Trump his support as the result became clear.



Trump won or led in 98 of the Hawkeye States 99 counties as of midnight Tuesday, with only Johnson County  the home of the University of Iowa at Iowa City narrowly denying him a clean sweep by barely going for Haley.



I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a good time together. Were all having a good time together, a notably low-key Trump said in his victory speech in Des Moines. I think they both actually did very well. I really do. I think they both did very well.



The 45th president then paid tribute to his late mother-in-law, Amalija Knavs, who died Jan. 9 saying she was up there, way up there, shes looking down and shes so proud of us  and made a call for unity among Americans.



I really think this is time now for everybody in our country to come together. We want to come together  whether its Republican or Democrat or liberal or conservative, said Trump, one of the most polarizing politicians in US history.



It would be so nice if we could come together and straighten out the world and straighten out the problems and straighten out all of the death and destruction that were witnessing.



With hundreds of caucus meetings across the Hawkeye State still in progress, media outlets called Trump the winner at 8:30 p.m. ET, with fewer than 10 precincts having reported their vote tallies to the Republican Party of Iowa.



The early projection of a Trump victory, which happened after caucus meetings had begun but before many actual votes had been cast, infuriated DeSantis who accused the press of unduly influencing the outcome.



I spoke before [approximately] 400 Iowans today at a caucus site and DeSantis won, the Florida governors campaign manager James Uthmeier wrote on X. However, they were getting news alerts of a Trump [sic] victory before speeches concluded or voting began.



The media wants to taint this process and its sad for America. Wake up, everyone.



DeSantis, who invested heavily in an Iowa ground game that failed to overcome the former presidents sheer popularity among voters, also referenced the early projection in his remarks to supporters in West Des Moines.



They threw everything but the kitchen sink at us, he said. They spent almost $15 million attacking us  They even called the election before people got a chance to vote.



I am not going to make any excuses, DeSantis added, and I guarantee you this: I will not let you down.









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The Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Henry Kwabena Kokofu, says the whole of Asanteman will be delighted if the NPPs flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, picks a running mate from the Ashanti Region.



That will be a piece of great news, he said.



According to him, should the choice come from any other region, they will still rally their support for the party to ensure victory in the December 7 presidential election.



We must support the choice of running mate the flagbearer chooses, Mr. Kokofu told NEAT FMs morning show, 'Ghana Montie' in an interview.



Listen to the interview below







Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana









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Nana Akomea, Chief Executive Officer of the InterCity State Transport Corporation, has welcomed the decision of some Members of Parliament of the New Patriotic Party to exit the House.



Eighteen (18) Parliamentarians comprising the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, First Deputy Speaker and Bekwai lawmaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu, Kennedy Agyapong for Assin Central, Dan Botwe representing Okere and a host of others have announced their decision not to return to Parliament.



Touching on the matter during Peace FM's "Kokrokoo", Nana Akomea noted that the MPs' move is a right decision.



To him, they cannot stay in Parliament forever, hence a time comes when one takes an exit for new persons to emerge.



On the impact that the absence of these MPs will make on the NPP, Nana Akomea saw no big deal about it stressing "they have done their part. They have served Parliament, NPP and Ghana. They cannot stay there forever; no matter what you will go...You will go for someone to replace you. What is important is to have a succession plan .... Because no matter how good you are, you can't do one job forever".



Meanwhile, the New Patriotic Party will on Saturday, January 27, conduct their internal polls to elect their parliamentary candidates in constituencies with sitting Members of Parliament.



The party will be electing their candidates to contest the December 7 elections in hope of having a majority in the Legislative House.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Migrants cross the Rio Grande into the U.S. from Mexico behind Concertina wire and a sign warning that it's dangerous and illegal to cross, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. Eric Gay/AP

WASHINGTON  A top Border Patrol official said three migrants who died crossing the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass on Friday had already drowned when agents received a distress call from Mexico, countering initial claims that the woman and two children had drowned after state soldiers blocked federal agents from reaching them.

Still, Robert Danley, the chief patrol agent in the Del Rio sector, said in a sworn statement that Texas guardsmen blocked Border Patrol officers from getting to two other migrants who were struggling in the river Friday night. Those migrants were rescued by a Mexican airboat and were suffering from hypothermia.

The statement was submitted late Monday as part of the Department of Justice's plea for the Supreme Court to restore federal access to a stretch of the border the state took over last week. It is the most detailed account yet of the deaths, which sparked outrage over the weekend, and it appears to corroborate key aspects of the Texas Military Department's account of the incident. The military department said late Sunday that "claims that TMD prevented Border Patrol from saving the lives of drowning migrants are wholly inaccurate."

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More broadly, the DOJ has argued that the state's takeover of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass is preventing Border Patrol from monitoring a critical 2.5-mile stretch of the border and keeping agents from responding quickly to emergencies.

"It is impossible to say what might have happened if Border Patrol had had its former access to the area  including through its surveillance trucks that assisted in monitoring the area," the filing said. "At the very least, however, Border Patrol would have had the opportunity to take any available steps to fulfill its responsibilities and assist its counterparts in the Mexican government with undertaking the rescue mission. Texas made that impossible."

According to Danley's account, Border Patrol received a call around 9 p.m. Friday from Mexico's National Institute of Migration, which said two migrants were in distress on the U.S. side of the river in the area around a boat ramp in the public park. During that call, Mexican officials said a woman and two children had drowned in the same area around 8 p.m.

Danley said a Border Patrol supervisor went to the Shelby Park entrance gate and told three guardsmen through the gate that three migrants drowned earlier in the evening and two were in distress on the U.S. side of the river. The guardsmen said they had been ordered not to let Border Patrol through the gate or give agents access to the park. The Border Patrol supervisor asked to speak to a superior officer and the guardsmen called a staff sergeant on his cell phone and put them on speakerphone. The staff sergeant said the Border Patrol was not allowed to enter, even in emergencies, but that they would send a guardsman to look into the situation, Danley said.

The next day, Mexican officials confirmed to Border Patrol that two migrants who they had reported were in distress on the U.S. side had tried to cross back to Mexico and were rescued by a Mexican airboat, Danley said.

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The Texas Military Department said in its statement about the incident that two migrants were apprehended by state soldiers Friday night. One was turned over to state troopers and the other was transferred to EMS in response to initial hypothermic conditions. It is unclear if they were the same migrants who Danley said were picked up by Mexican officials.

The incident has escalated an ongoing dispute between state and federal officials, who have been fighting a Texas lawsuit aimed at stopping the Border Patrol from cutting state-owned razor wire in the area. Gov. Greg Abbott has said the state is doing what it must to secure the border and accused President Joe Biden of refusing to do so.

The drownings were first detailed by U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat who wrote on social media over the weekend that the state "bears responsibility" for the deaths and alleged that Texas soldiers blocked Border Patrol agents from rescuing the migrants. The Department of Homeland Security later issued a statement that soldiers "physically barred" agents from the park and said Texass "blatant disregard for federal authority over immigration poses grave risks."

In an interview Tuesday, Cuellar stood by his original comments that the state bears responsibility. He said the state takeover forced out a handful of trucks Border Patrol uses to monitor the river, essentially blinding agents to possible emergencies and making them reliant on information from Mexican officials.
Yaw Adomako Baafi, a staunch member of the governing New Patriotic Party, has appealed to the parliamentary aspirants of the party to uphold good virtues and build strong relations with their constituents.



The New Patriotic Party will conduct its parliamentary election in constituencies with sitting Members of Parliament on Saturday, January 27.



The election is aimed at selecting candidates who will compete against the parliamentary candidates of the opposition National Democratic Congress in the December 7 elections, hoping the NPP will win a majority of the seats in the next Parliament.



Addressing the aspirants during a panel discussion programme "Kokrokoo" on Peace FM, Yaw Adomako Baafi advised them, saying "they should adopt interpersonal relationship skills. Becoming an MP is not difficult, although it equally isn't easy. It is about how you relate with the people. You must have a good relationship with them and don't become arrogant. You should also desist from the use of inappropriate language."



To Yaw Adomako Baafi, the NPP is the only best option for Ghanaians, and so he pledged his allegiance to the party.



He encouraged the aspirants to be selfless and sacrifice for the good of the party, stressing that "the hope of Ghanaians is the NPP."





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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RE: ALLEGATION OF SALE OF GOVERNMENT PROPERTY BY THE JUDICIAL SERVICE



The attention of Management of the Judicial Service of Ghana has been drawn to public statements relating to Bungalow Number C43, Onyasia Crescent, Roman Ridge, previously occupied by the late Justice Samuel Marful-Sau (ISC).



On December 28, 2022, the Judicial Service received a letter from the Ministry of Works and Housing expressing the desire to implement a Government Redevelopment Scheme within Onyasia Close, Roman Ridge, Accra.



Two (2) properties that had been allocated by the Ministry of Works and Housing to the Judicial Service and which previously had been occupied by the late Justice Samuel Marful-Sau (ISC) and His Lordship Justice Victor Ofoe, JA (Rtd), fell within the re-development enclave.



The plan under Government's Redevelopment Scheme as expressed to the Judicial Service was to increase the housing stock in the enclave within a two (2) year period from the date of hand over of the properties to the Ministry. Upon completion of the project, four (4) housing units were to be allocated to the Judicial Service for use by Superior Court Judges.



The Judicial Service accepted the offer, recognizing the serious accommodation deficit faced by the judiciary, taking into consideration the security and safety requirements of judges, and also convinced that the project will be beneficial to the Judicial Service.



Following a series of meetings between representatives of Government, Judicial Service and the Ministry of Works and Housing regarding the two (2) properties mentioned above, an agreement dated 17th February, 2023 was entered into between the Judicial Service and the Ministry of Works and Housing to proceed with the project.



Developments on the said land are therefore covered by an agreement concluded between the Judicial Service and the Ministry of Works and Housing.



THE JUDICIAL SERVICE OF GHANA





Ministry of Works and Housing response



The Ministry of Works and Housing in a statement on Sunday also refuted claims that its sector minister, Francis Asenso-Boakye, plotted to sell the official residence of the late Justice Samuel Marful-Sau.



Mr. Kennedy Agyapong had raised concern about Mr. Asenso-Boakye's fraudulent leadership at the ministry over the years.



But the Ministry said it strongly refutes the allegation and states that there has been no such sale of the property in a statement.



For the avoidance of doubt, the said land has not been sold as it is mischievously being alleged and remains the property of the State. The Government Redevelopment Programme (GRP) is rather a cost-effective undertaking which ultimately gives optimal benefit and ensures efficient use of government lands, A portion of the statement reads

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(a) Male gelada yawning (NaturZoo Rheine, credits: M. Francesconi). (b) Spectrogram of a yawn vocalization produced by a gelada male. Credit: Scientific Reports (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49797-5

Most of us are familiar with yawn contagion, which is the act of spontaneous yawning when someone nearby yawns, often but not always audibly. For humans, yawning can emanate from fatigue or boredom, and either seeing or hearing someone else yawn may start a chain reaction.

Many animal species also yawn when they're tired, and yawn contagion is known to occur among various social animals including certain apes, monkeys, lemurs, pigs, wolves, domestic dogs, lions, spotted hyenas, and more. But other than humans, only one speciesthe gelada (Theropithecus gelada), a species of Old World monkeyis known to yawn audibly.

Earlier studies have explored yawn contagion within and between various species; for example, some work has shown that dogs will yawn in response to the sound of human yawns. But to date, there have been no known studies on intraspecific audibly-triggered yawn contagion in a non-human species.

Now a research team from France and Italy has specifically studied how the sound of gelada yawns affects their conspecifics. The team's work is published in Scientific Reports.

Geladas, also known as bleeding-heart monkeys, are endemic to Ethiopia. They live in multi-level societies that include units, teams, bands, and communities. Core units either include a single reproductive adult male with multiple adult females, their young, and at least one follower male; or only young adult and adolescent males no longer living within their birth units.

Similar to humans, geladas enjoy rich and complex vocal communication. According to the new study, "A similar evolutionary social landscape, with similar challenges (e.g., need of group coordination with subjects not always in visual contact), has indeed possibly led to the emergence of multimodal communication in both species."

Existing findings show that yawning geladas, mostly males, emit a loud vocal sound that does not arise solely from inhaling and exhaling. While the researchers behind this study knew that visually-based yawn contagion could affect geladas, they wanted to find out whether the sound of yawning without a visual cue would result in a similar effect.

Testing the effects of audible yawn sounds

The researchers hypothesized thatas with humansas it evolved, yawn vocalization among geladas might have led to the possibility of yawn contagion among subjects who could not see each other; and moreover, that any such vocalization-based yawn contagion would adjust itself in accordance with the perceived social value of the actuating sound.

(a) Alluvial plot showing the occurrence of yawn response (YR = sessions with yawn responses; No YR = sessions without yawn responses) for each level of the factor "Condition," showing the different occurrence of yawn responses when tested subjects were exposed to Test vs. Control stimuli (green streams = proportion of sessions with presence of yawn response by the tested subject; yellow streams = proportion of sessions with absence of yawn response by the tested subject), thus representing the significant effect of "Condition" in GLMM yawn response (Condition: X2 = 18.54, p number of yawns, Group*Condition: X2 = 4.69, p = 0.03). Credit: Scientific Reports (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49797-5

To test these hypotheses, they conducted a study at Germany's NaturZoo Rheine, which hosts a colony of 106 geladas, the largest captive colony in the world. There, the animals live in five core units (four one-male units and one male-only unit) within two adjacent enclosures, divided by a pond, that include both indoor and outdoor areas through which the geladas can roam freely. The animals in each enclosure can see and hear those in the adjacent enclosure, but cannot make physical contact with them.

From among all the units, the researchers randomly selected 33 test subjects (7 males, 26 females; 21 from one enclosure and 12 from the other) for playback experiments, conducted in the outdoor areas. Only adults were selected, as yawn contagion in geladas has only appeared among adults.

Since audible yawns come mostly from males, the researchers first recorded male yawn sounds (which can help promote group coordination, according to a 2021 study) as test vocalizations and male affiliative grunt pairs as control vocalizations. Then, controlling for multiple confounding factors, they played the sounds back to the test subjects in various conditions and observed their reactions. None of the males whose yawn sounds were used as test vocalizations were tested with their own voice recordings.

Yawn sounds as possible social cues

Notably, the findings showed that audibly-triggered yawn contagion exists among geladas. This makes them the only species other than humans to experience this phenomenon. Writing that "[the] mere sound of a yawn can trigger contagious yawning in geladas," the researchers note that compared to the control grunts, audible yawns elicited a more yawns, a higher chance of yawning, and similar levels of contagiousness in both males and females.

The researchers also confirm that the test subjects yawned more frequently in reaction to audible yawns made by individuals from their own group, indicating that group membership could be a factor in audibly-triggered yawn contagion.

While there is more to explore in this area, the team believes that audibly-triggered yawn contagion might serve a social purpose in both humans and geladas.

They write, "Considering the significance of yawning in group synchronization, the adaptive value of auditory YC [yawn contagion] might be linked to the need for individuals to maintain acoustic contact when visual contact is not possible, making this especially relevant in societies characterized by modularity and flexibility, and in species with such rich communicative repertoires."

More information: Luca Pedruzzi et al, The sound of yawns makes geladas yawn, Scientific Reports (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49797-5 Journal information: Scientific Reports

 2024 Science X Network
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Known global impacts of climate change in the SCSSA. Credit: Yang et al. (2023)

As the threat of global warming looms, researchers are racing to understand how complex, interconnected weather systems affect one another. Unprecedented changes to weather patterns, sometimes in defiance of models and predictions, point to the need for a global perspective.

A paper published in Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Research highlights how one region, the South China Sea, and its surrounding areas have global impacts on weather patterns.

Complex climate interactions between the ocean, land, and atmosphere in these regions, including the Indo-Pacific Oceans, Southeast Asia, and the Tibetan Plateau, mean the climate is changing more rapidly in this area. However, this rapid warming affects weather patterns all over the globe, not just in the South China Sea and the surrounding regions.

"This paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex interactions and consequences of climate change in the South China Sea and its surrounding areas, which is crucial for predicting weather extremes in extratropical regions and for mitigating the broader impacts of climate change on a global scale," said Song Yang, a professor at Sun Yat-sen University in Zhuhai, China.

Researchers sought to study the distinctive features of climate change in this region and how they impact regional and global climate patterns, including how air-sea interactions across tropical and subtropical factors drive climate change. With a deeper understanding of warming patterns in the region, the researchers also make projections for the future of climate change in the area and its far-reaching global implications.

One defining feature of this region is the three overlapping, large-scale atmospheric overturning circulations: the regional Hadley circulation, the Walker circulation, and the Asian monsoon circulation. Air moves across the globe in predictable patterns. These patterns are called circulations or cells.

Circulations are essential on a regional and global scale because they connect the region with the broader globe. For example, heating experienced in the western Pacific and South Asian monsoon regions can make droughts worse on the other side of the globe thanks to air movement between the Pacific and North Africa. Changes in the South China Sea and the surrounding areas can even impact weather in the Arctic.

"Climate change in the South China Sea and its surrounding areas is very complex. It has a significant impact on shaping not only regional climates but also exerting far-reaching impacts on weather and climate patterns across the globe," said Yang.

The researchers studying these regions also wanted to understand future projections, both for the South China Sea and its surrounding areas, and how changes in these areas will come to impact climate change globally. The three overlapping circulations are already shifting thanks to climate change.

Researchers point to the predicted changes in the Hadley circulation as an example, which is a cell that connects the tropics and extratropics. In a warmer climate, the ascending branch of the Hadley circulation would become stronger and narrower, while the descending branch would shift poleward.

These changes are expected to increase dry weather and decrease humidity in the extratropical regions. As the climate gets warmer, current climate models project increasing precipitation over South Asia, East Asia, and northern Australia due to the warmer sea surface temperature, increased water vapor supply, and these strengthened overlapping circulations over the South China Sea and surrounding regions.

Looking ahead, researchers will continue to explore the interconnectedness of weather patterns across the globe on different time scales. "This paper seeks to catalyze further research, provide valuable contributions to the understanding of climate dynamics in this region and its global implications, and ultimately improve predictions for weather extremes," said Yang.

More information: Song Yang et al, Global Effects of Climate Change in the South China Sea and Its Surrounding Areas, Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Research (2023). DOI: 10.34133/olar.0038

Provided by Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Research
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The picture shows an RNA polymerase ribozyme thought to be implicated in the origin of life. The ribozyme is shown frozen in ice to symbolize how it was frozen in time for imaging and how it works best under ice-cold conditions. The active site is highlighted by a yellow/red light and the proposed position of the template-product helix is shown in transparent. Credit: Rune Kidmose

How the intricate molecular machinery of life arose from simple beginnings has been a long-standing question. Several lines of evidence point towards a primordial "RNA world," where an "RNA copy machine" (a so-called replicase) started making copies of itself and other RNA molecules to kick-start evolution and life itself. However, the ancient replicase appears to have been lost in time and its role in modern biology has been taken over by more efficient protein machines.

To support the RNA world hypothesis, researchers have been seeking to re-create an equivalent of the RNA replicase in the laboratory. While such molecular "Doppelgangers" of the ancient replicase have been discovered, both their detailed molecular structure and mode of action have remained elusive due to the difficulty of determining the structure of dynamic RNA molecules.

Structure of an ice-loving RNA replicase

In a research paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of researchers now report the first atomic structure of an RNA replicase using cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM).

The RNA replicase being studied was developed by the Holliger lab (MRC LMB Cambridge, UK) to be efficient at copying long templates using nucleotide triplets in the eutectic ice phase (similar to slush-ice).

Returning from postdoctoral studies in the Holliger lab, Emil L. Kristoffersen, currently assistant professor at Aarhus University, facilitated a collaboration with the Andersen lab (Aarhus University, Denmark) to determine the structure of the RNA replicase by cryo-EM. Interestingly, the structure shows striking similarities to protein-based polymerases with domains for template binding, polymerization, and substrate discrimination arranged in a molecular shape resembling an open hand.

"It was surprising to find that a ribozyme that we evolved artificially in the test tube would display features of naturally occurring protein polymerases. This indicates that evolution can discover convergent molecular solutions no matter if the material is RNA or protein," explains Philipp Holliger, program leader at MRC LMB Cambridge, UK.

Model for RNA synthesis in an RNA world

To better understand how the RNA replicase works, the researchers did a comprehensive mutational study to highlight the crucial elements of the RNA structure. This analysis confirmed features of the catalytic site but also revealed the importance of two so-called kissing-loop interactions, which bind the scaffolding and the catalytic subunits together, as well as the importance of a specific RNA domain for fidelity, that is the accuracy with which the replicase copies RNA strands.

While the researchers could not determine the structure of the replicase in action while actively copying RNA, it was possible to build a model for RNA-based RNA copying that is consistent with all experimental data.

"Cryo-EM is a powerful method for studying the structure and dynamical features of RNA molecules. By combing cryo-EM data with experiments, we were able to build a model of the inner workings of this complex RNA machine," says Ewan McRae, who did the cryo-EM work as a postdoc in the Andersen lab at Aarhus University but has now started his own research group at Houston Methodist Research Institute, Texas, U.S..

Inspiration for RNA nanotechnology and medicine

The study provides an exciting first glimpse of an RNA replicase thought to reside at the very root of the tree of life. The currently developed RNA-based replicases are, however, very inefficient (as compared to protein-based polymerases) and cannot yet sustain their own replication and evolution. The structural insight provided by the reported study may help in designing more efficient replication mechanisms and thus get us closer to developing RNA world scenarios in the test tube.

"The properties of RNA replicases may be further improved by using chemical modifications that could exist in an RNA world. In addition, research into the origin of life leads to the discovery of several novel RNA building blocks that may be used in the emerging field of RNA nanotechnology and medicine," explains Ebbe Sloth Andersen, associate professor at Aarhus University, Denmark.

More information: Ewan K. S. McRae et al, Cryo-EM structure and functional landscape of an RNA polymerase ribozyme, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2024). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2313332121 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
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(a) Map of study areas on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska (location shown in map inset) shown on the Bing Imagery basemap. The blue point shows the location of the city of Nome, AK. The three study locations (Teller 27, Teller 47, and Kougarok) are indicated by the white circles. Hillshade maps are of the three study sites (b) Teller 27, (c) Kougarok, (d) Teller 47. The points indicate the location of the ground truth observation of permafrost presence (green) and absence (black) derived from classification of co-located electrical resistivity and temperature measurements as well as spot temperature measurements, frost probe refusal, and soil pit observations collected in the late summers of 2018, 2019, and 2021. (e) Photograph of Teller 27 showing graminoids on the slopes and willow shrubs in the hollow (credit: JCR). (f) Photograph of Kougarok with graminoids and alder shrubs (credit: Nathan Conroy). (g) Photograph of Teller 47 showing graminoids on hillslopes and willow shrubs in hollows (credit: JCR). Coordinates are given in WGS84 UTM Zone 3N. Credit: Earth and Space Science (2023). DOI: 10.1029/2023EA003015

New insights from artificial intelligence about permafrost coverage in the Arctic may soon give policymakers and land managers the high-resolution view they need to predict climate-change-driven threats to infrastructure such as oil pipelines, roads and national security facilities.

"The Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the globe, and permafrost is a component of the Arctic that's changing really rapidly," said Evan Thaler, a Chick Keller Postdoctoral Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Thaler is corresponding author of a paper on an innovative application of AI to permafrost data published in the journal Earth and Space Science.

"Current models don't give the resolution needed to understand how permafrost thaw is changing the environment and affecting infrastructure," Thaler said. "Our model creates high-resolution maps telling us where permafrost is now and where it is likely to change in the future."

The AI models also identify the landscape and ecological features driving the predictions, such as vegetative greenness, landscape slope angle and the duration of snow cover.

AI versus field data

Thaler was part of a team with fellow Los Alamos researchers Joel Rowland, Jon Schwenk and Katrina Bennett, plus collaborators from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, that used a form of AI called supervised machine learning. The work tested the accuracy of three different AI approaches against field data collected by Los Alamos researchers from three watersheds with patchy permafrost on the Seward Peninsula in Alaska.

Permafrost, or ground that stays below freezing temperature two years or more, covers about one-sixth of the exposed land in the Northern Hemisphere, Thaler said. Thawing permafrost is already disrupting roads, oil pipelines and other facilities built over it and carries a range of environmental hazards as well.

As air temperatures warm under climate change, the thawing ground releases water. It flows to lower terrain, rivers, lakes and the ocean, causing land-surface subsidence, transporting minerals, altering the direction of groundwater, changing soil chemistry and releasing carbon to the atmosphere.

Useful results

The resolution of the most widely used current pan-Arctic model for permafrost is about one-third square mile, far too coarse to predict how changing permafrost will undermine a road or pipeline, for instance. The new Los Alamos AI model determines surface permafrost coverage to a resolution of just under 100 square feet, smaller than a typical parking space and far more practical for assessing risk at a specific location.

Using their AI model trained on data from three sites on the Seward Peninsula, the team generated a map showing large areas without any permafrost around the Seward sites, matching the field data with 83% accuracy. Using the pan-Arctic model for comparison, the team generated a map of the same sites, but the model only managed 50% accuracy.

"It's the highest accuracy pan-Arctic product to date, but it obviously isn't good enough for site-specific predictions," Thaler said. "The pan-Arctic product predicts 100% of that site is permafrost, but our model predicts only 68%, which we know is closer to the real percentage based on field data."

Feeding the AI models

This initial study proved the concept of the Los Alamos model on the Seward data, delivering acceptable accuracy for terrain similar to the location where the field data was collected. To measure each model's transferability, the team also trained it on data from one site then ran the model using data from a second site with different terrain that the model had not been trained on. None of the models transferred well by creating a map matching actual findings at the second site.

Thaler said the team will do additional work on the AI algorithms to improve the model's transferability to other areas across the Arctic. "We want to be able to train on one data set and then apply the model to a place it hasn't seen before. We just need more data from more diverse landscapes to train the models, and we hope to collect that data soon," he said.

Part of the study involved comparing the accuracy of three different AI approachesextremely randomized trees, support vector machines and an artificial neural networkto see which model came closest to matching the "ground truth" data gathered in field observations at the Seward Peninsula. Part of that data was used to train the AI models. Each model then generated a map based on unseen data predicting the extent of near-surface permafrost.

While the Los Alamos research demonstrated a marked improvement over the bestand widely usedpan-Arctic model, the results from the team's three AI models were mixed, with the support vector machines showing the most promise for transferability.

More information: E. A. Thaler et al, HighResolution Maps of NearSurface Permafrost for Three Watersheds on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska Derived From Machine Learning, Earth and Space Science (2023). DOI: 10.1029/2023EA003015 Journal information: Earth and Space Science
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Schematic representation illustrating the cascade LiTFSI synthesis in a LiN 2 battery. Credit: Prof. Wang Yaobings group

Lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, commonly known as LiTFSI, and its analogs, are critical electrolytes for lithium batteries and solar cells. However, the commercialization of LiTFSI through thermal chemical synthesis relies on the use of NH 3 intermediates, which involves multiple catalytic and purification processes, leading to substantial carbon emissions. Therefore, developing a method for the direct synthesis of LiTFSI from N 2 under mild conditions becomes particularly important.

In a study published in Nature Catalysis, Prof. Wang Yaobing's team from Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter of the Chinese Academy of Sciences proposed a cascade electrochemical synthesis strategy based on LiN 2 batteries, and achieved efficient electrochemical synthesis of various nitrogen-containing compounds, including LiTFSI.

The specific strategy includes catalytically reducing N 2 to Li 3 N during discharge, acylating Li 3 N to form LiTFSI and the byproduct LiCl, and oxidizing LiCl during charging to complete the synthetic cycle.

The researchers demonstrated the electrocatalytic reduction of N 2 to Li 3 N through techniques such as X-ray diffraction and low-temperature transmission electron microscopy, and confirmed the feasibility of the SN acylation reaction between Li 3 N and CF 3 SO 2 Cl through nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Based on the color change of methyl orange from red to colorless during the charging process, they proved that the byproduct LiCl was oxidized to Cl 2 .

The experimental results indicated that, under optimized conditions, the catalytic reduction efficiency from N 2 to Li 3 N reached 53.2%, the conversion efficiency from N 2 to LiTFSI was 48.9%, and the energy efficiency of electrochemical synthesis of LiTFSI reached 3.0%.

In addition, the researchers utilized a flow cell device to achieve continuous electrochemical synthesis of LiTFSI, demonstrating the practical significance of this strategy in production. By expanding the substrate scope, they provided a pathway for the direct electrochemical synthesis of analogs with different NX bonds (X = S, C, etc.) and metal cations (Li+, Zn2+, etc.), proving the scalability of the strategy.

This study presents a comprehensive electrochemical synthesis scheme for the practical production of nitrogen-containing chemicals, which offers a promising approach to synthesizing high-end electrolytes with enhanced nitrogen atom efficiency.

More information: Xiang Zhang et al, Cascade electrosynthesis of LiTFSI and N-containing analogues via a looped LiN2 battery, Nature Catalysis (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41929-023-01067-3 Journal information: Nature Catalysis
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Ghana has introduced some climate change policies and general environmental regulations but has yet to pass a Climate Change Act. This leaves the country without effective legal and regulatory instruments for addressing climate change. Climate change law expert Kikelomo Kila sets out her findings in a recent paper on why Ghana must not follow the "command and control" regulatory approach.

Why hasn't Ghana introduced specific climate change legislation, and why is such legislation important?

Ghana relies instead on two legislative approaches. The first uses generic environmental legislation to govern climate change issues. The second uses policy instruments.

Under the first approach, Ghana mostly relies on the Environmental Protection Agency Act (1994) to regulate climate change matters. The act established the Environmental Protection Agency, and provides for its functions. These include making environmental policy and prescribing standards and guidelines. Other statutes that indirectly reference climate change issues include the Renewable Energy Act (2011) Act 832 and the Petroleum Production and Exploration Act (2016) Act 919.

The problem with this approach is that climate change impacts are secondary to issues like land use and conservation.

The second approach is to follow the 2013 National Climate Change Policy. This lacks any binding force on governmental bodies, corporations or individuals.

Climate change legislation is important because it specifically prescribes binding obligations and provides tools for action.

How effective have climate change laws been in African countries that have introduced them?

Climate change laws have been enacted in six African countries. These are Kenya, Benin Republic, Nigeria, Uganda, Mauritius, and South Africa. Most are still relatively new (between 2016 and 2023).

It will take time for the practical impacts to be felt, but there has been remarkable progress in some countries.

Take Kenya for instance. A World Bank 2021 report and the Kenya government's report show improvement in Kenya's climate mitigation and adaptation projects beginning from around 2018. Around 800,000 households benefited in 2022 from climate change funds. Climate proof coastal infrastructure has been put in place at the Mombasa port. Most counties in the country have passed their own climate laws. Foreign private sector actors invested about US$643 million) in climate-related capital in Kenya in 2021.

Similarly, Nigeria has witnessed a major shift since the enactment of its Climate Change Act 2021. It sets a target of achieving net zero greenhouse gases emissions between 2050 and 2070. This is significant given Nigeria's status as a major oil exporter with significant carbon emissions from oil and gas production activities. The country's climate change regulator, the National Council on Climate Change, instituted programs and policies for key emissions sectors. It also introduced carbon market regulatory guidance for corporations seeking to invest in mitigation and adaptation projects in Nigeria. There is also a carbon pricing initiative for an emissions trading scheme.

Your research paper recommends that Ghana follow an alternative approach to climate change regulation.

This approach tackles the corporate culture of resisting regulation. Corporations in Africa have over decades developed a culture of disregarding regulatory measures.

The Dilute Interventionism approach is a framework designed for developing countries with weak regulatory systems. It gives corporations incentives to participate in regulatory systems which minimize their carbon emissions and promote mitigation projects.

It involves using strong legal instruments with stringent prescriptive measures as a starting point to ensure compliance with regulatory standards. As compliance increases, interventions are de-escalated. The state and regulatory bodies work together with corporations in this approach, to achieve better compliance. This "rewards" corporations for their compliance by allowing them to self-regulate when they have met a satisfactory standard.

This approach worked in Nigeria's banking sector in 2006. Nigeria's Central Bank adopted a series of regulatory measures (from tough to easier) after the banks had developed a culture of regulatory resistance for over two decades. The result was a significantly improved and reliable banking sector. The banks mostly self-regulate their activities alongside the Central Bank's prescriptive regulation.

The closest to using this model in climate change is the Kenyan experience. The government introduced the Climate Change Act 2016 and the Climate Change (Amendment) Act 2023 which combine prescriptive and economic tools. These created incentives for corporate participation in climate change mitigationand the approach has led to improvements.

You also caution that this approach will only succeed on three conditions: political will, technical capacity, and corporate compliance. Why these three, and does Ghana have these conditions in place?

Political will is vital to establishing a strong climate change regulator with statutory powers to institute the framework. Its effectiveness in monitoring and enforcement depends on availability of technical expertise.

Corporate compliance is key to smooth implementation of the measures. This is important as friction between corporations and the regulator may result in litigation that will slow down its implementation.

Ghana is currently lacking all three. There is not yet the political will to establish a strong climate change regulator. There is no technical capacity either, but this can be solved by outsourcing it to private entities under the supervision of the regulator. This exists in some other sectors.

Corporate compliance is also lacking, but this may come once the other two conditions are solved.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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The KMAP Ocean Gene Catalog 1.0 is the largest database of marine microbes to date. Credit: The KMAP Ocean Gene Catalog 1.0 is the largest database of marine microbes to date

The ocean is the world's largest habitat, yet much of its biodiversity is still unknown. A study published in Frontiers in Science marks a significant breakthrough, reporting the largest and most comprehensive database of marine microbes to datematched with biological function, location, and habitat type.

"The KMAP Global Ocean Gene Catalog 1.0 is a leap toward understanding the ocean's full diversity, containing more than 317 million gene groups from marine organisms around the world," said lead author Elisa Laiolo of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. "The catalog focuses on marine microbes, which greatly impact human lives through their influence on the ocean's health and the Earth's climate."

"The catalog is freely available through the KAUST Metagenomic Analysis Platform (KMAP)," added the study's senior author, Prof Carlos Duarte, a faculty member at KAUST. "Scientists can access the catalog remotely to investigate how different ocean ecosystems work, track the impact of pollution and global warming, and search for biotechnology applications such as new antibiotics or new ways to break down plasticsthe possibilities are endless."

A feat of technological innovation and scientific collaboration

Researchers have been mapping marine biodiversity for hundreds of years, but have faced various challenges to creating a full atlas of ocean life. One is that most marine organisms cannot be studied in a laboratory. The advent of DNA sequencing technologies overcame this by allowing organisms to be identified directly from ocean water and sediments.

The global genome is a major resource for science and society. Credit: Laiolo et al/Frontiers

"Since each species has its own set of genes, we can identify which organisms are in an ocean sample by analyzing its genetic material," Laiolo explained. "Two technological advances have made this possible at scale.

"The first is the enormous increase in speed, and decrease in cost, of DNA sequencing technologies. This has allowed researchers to sequence all the genetic material in thousands of ocean samples."

"The second is the development of massive computational power and AI technologies, which make it possible to analyze these millions of sequences."

The team used KMAP to scan DNA sequences from 2,102 ocean samples taken at different depths and locations around the world. This advanced computing infrastructure identified 317.5 million gene groups, of which more than half could be classified according to organism type and gene function. By matching this information with the sample location and habitat type, the resulting catalog provides unprecedented information on which microbes live where and what they do.

"This achievement reflects the critical importance of open science," said Duarte. "Building the catalog was only possible thanks to ambitious global sailing expeditions where the samples were collected and the sharing of the samples' DNA in the open-access European Nucleotide Archive. We are continuing these collaborative efforts by making the catalog freely available."

A wealth of scientific and industrial applications

The catalog has already revealed a difference in microbial activity in the water column and ocean floor, as well as a surprising number of fungi living in the 'twilight' mesopelagic zone. These and other insights will help scientists understand how microbes living in different habitats shape ecosystems, contribute to ocean health, and influence the climate.

The catalog also serves as a baseline for tracking the effect of human impacts like pollution and global warming on marine life. And it offers a wealth of genetic material that researchers can scan for novel genes that could be used for drug development, energy, and agriculture.

Benthic and pelagic genes encode different biological functions. Credit: Laiolo et al/Frontiers

Toward a global ocean genome

The KMAP Ocean Gene Catalog 1.0 is a first step towards developing an atlas of the global ocean genome, which will document every gene from every marine species worldwidefrom bacteria and fungi to plants and animals.

"Our analysis highlights the need to continue sampling the oceans, focusing on areas that are under-studied, such as the deep sea and the ocean floor. Also, since the ocean is forever changingboth due to human activity and to natural processesthe catalog will need continual updating," said Laiolo.

Duarte cautions that despite its clear benefit, the future of the catalog is uncertain. A major obstacle is the status of international legislation on benefit-sharing from discoveries made in international waters.

"While the 2023 Treaty of the High Seas offers some solutions, it may inadvertently impede research by reducing incentives for companies and governments to invest. Such uncertainty must be resolved now we have reached the point where genetic and artificial intelligence technologies could unlock unprecedented innovation and progress in blue biotechnology," he concluded.

More information: Elisa Laiolo et al, Metagenomic probing toward an atlas of the taxonomic and metabolic foundations of the global ocean genome, Frontiers in Science (2024). DOI: 10.3389/fsci.2023.1038696 Journal information: Frontiers in Science

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Graphical abstract. Credit: Sustainable Horizons (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100086

Empowering the public to monitor pollution in their communities could lead to cleaner air, say researchers from the University of Surrey.

During a five-month study, scientists from Surrey's Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE) worked with volunteers from Zero Carbon Guildford to create a new way of monitoring air quality in real-time. The data made the public more aware of pollution levels. The team hopes similar projects can empower communities to improve their air.

The team installed ten low-cost sensors in the Zero Carbon Guildford building, a large public space in the town center. The public had asked for live air pollution data, which researchers presented using a newly designed system. Emojis represented the levels of pollution, from "good" to "very high."

Professor Prashant Kumar, Director of the Global Centre for Clean Air Research at the University of Surrey, said, "Rather than study them from afar, we asked the local community what they wanted to know. We designed this research with them and helped them understand how to improve their air quality. We need more work like this. When scientists, public bodies and citizens come together, they can create a healthier environment for all."

Researchers found that large gatherings led to more dust in the air and more CO 2 , thanks to more people breathing it out. At peak times, high air pollution in the street outside led to a rise in smaller particles inside the building, too.

Members of the public then got tips on how to improve air quality through an interactive quiz.

Professor Kumar said, "We found that large gatherings can worsen the air quality indoors, and pollution outside can find its way in. But knowledge is power. Our study helped people find better ways to ventilate their homes and workplacesimproving air quality and improving their health."

Ben McCallan, former chair of Zero Carbon Guildford and co-author of the study, said, "Polluted air causes around 7 million premature deaths a year. This collaborative work is a leading example of how to help local communities understand the situation where they live and work. This empowers them to solve their own air quality challenges.

"Our approach does not cost much, but could transform public health for millions."

The research is published in the journal Sustainable Horizons.

More information: KV Abhijith et al, Improving air pollution awareness of the general public through citizen science approach, Sustainable Horizons (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100086
There are concerns that Germany is making preparations for potential military actions in the future, as leaked plans suggest.

Classified documents obtained from the German Ministry of Defense provide a detailed account of Russia's potential plans to intensify the conflict in Ukraine, potentially leading to a full-scale war within a year and a half.

Germany Preparing for War BEtwwen Russia, NATO

The leaked plans, which were published by German newspaper Bild, provide a detailed account of a potential scenario leading to a significant global conflict. The documents suggest that Belarus could potentially serve as a strategic location for launching an invasion, similar to what occurred in February 2022 during the conflict in Ukraine.

The release of the alarming documents coincides with recent statements from Sweden's civil defense minister, who expressed concerns about the possibility of war and encouraged citizens to participate in voluntary defense organizations as a precaution against potential Russian aggression.

Germany's defense leaders are giving serious consideration to the potential threat posed by Moscow. The Bundeswehr is making preparations for a possible hybrid Russian attack on NATO's eastern flank by the summer of 2025, as per NY Post.

An undisclosed document, known as the 'Alliance Defense 2025', reveals Russia's plans to deploy an additional 200,000 troops within its borders. These forces are expected to be mobilized for a potential spring offensive against Ukrainian forces in the coming months.

According to leaked documents, Russia is expected to make significant advances through Ukraine by June, despite dwindling Western support and weaponry.

In July, Putin would initiate cyber attacks in the Baltics while also fueling violence in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania by alleging that ethnic Russian minorities are being singled out. This strategy has already been employed by individuals close to Putin to rationalize their assault on Ukraine in 2014 and once more in 2022 when Russia initiated its extensive invasion.

According to undisclosed information, there are plans that suggest a potential escalation between Russia and a military alliance. These plans involve a mobilization of forces by Mr. Putin in February 2024, followed by a spring offensive aimed at gaining control over a substantial portion of Ukrainian territory.

According to the scenario, it is predicted that by July, Russia would initiate cyberattacks in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Moscow would then attempt to fuel unrest among ethnic minorities in the Baltic region, alleging that they are being singled out.

There is a possibility that Russia may deploy up to 50,000 troops to Belarus and western Russia by September, using the ongoing clashes as a reason. Subsequently, troops and medium-range missiles would be deployed to the enclave of Kaliningrad, situated between Poland and Lithuania.

In December, the document predicts a potential border conflict and civil unrest in the Suwalki Corridor, which lies between Belarus and Kaliningrad.

Read Also: US Urges Israel to Scale Back Attacks in Gaza, Claims It's the Right Time Despite Hamas Releasing Hostage Videos

Russia to Make Baseless Accusations Against West

After a meeting of the UN Security Council in January 2025, there is a possibility that Russia might make unfounded accusations against Western allies, claiming that they are planning to take action against Putin's regime. This could potentially be used as a means to gather support and deploy troops to Belarus and the Baltics by March 2025.

According to the leaked document, in this particular situation, a significant number of German troops, approximately 30,000, would be deployed for defensive purposes. Meanwhile, it is estimated that a much larger force of around 70,000 Russian troops would have gathered in Belarus. In May 2025, the increasing tension may lead NATO to take action in order to deter further Russian incursion. This could potentially result in combat between Western troops and Russian forces.

Putin and Russian officials have consistently maintained that they would not escalate the conflict in Ukraine beyond the country's borders. Although the plans obtained by BILD are a potential scenario prepared by generals in the German army, European allies are taking Russia's threat seriously and making necessary preparations.During a recent "People and Defense" conference, Sweden's Civil Defense Minister, Carl-Oskar Bohlin, expressed concerns about the possibility of war in Sweden.

The sentiment was quickly echoed by the country's military Commander-in-Chief, Micael Byden, who emphasized the need for thorough preparation at all levels and throughout society, according to CNBC.

German Defense Ministry officials declined to comment on the specific scenarios outlined in the document. However, they did mention that evaluating various scenarios, even if they are highly improbable, is a routine aspect of military operations, particularly during training.

Related Article: Ukraine Destroys 2 Russian Control, Command Aircraft-Here's Why It's a Big Achievement for Kyiv
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The Stardust sample return capsule was transported by helicopter from its landing site at the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training Range in January 2006. This image shows the return capsule inside a protective covering. Credit: NASA

Eighteen years after NASA's Stardust mission returned to Earth with the first samples from a known comet, the true nature of that icy object is coming into focus.

Stardust collected material from Wild 2, a comet that likely formed beyond Neptune and currently orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter. Painstaking analyses of the microscopic samples, recently described in the journal Geochemistry, have revealed a surprising truth about the comet's origins and history, said Ryan Ogliore, an associate professor of physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis who has been studying the Stardust samples for several years.

When Stardust launched in 1999, many scientists expected the comet's rocky material would be dominated by the primordial dust that built the solar systemthe "stardust" that gave the mission its name.

But the actual samples told a different story: Wild 2 contained a potpourri of dust that formed from different events early in the solar system's history. For Ogliore, the discovery that Wild 2 contained a record of "local" events was exciting.

"The comet was a witness to the events that shaped the solar system into what we see today," he said.

This image was taken during the close approach phase of Stardusts Jan. 2, 2004, flyby of comet Wild 2. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Kept in the cold storage of space for nearly its entire lifetime, the comet avoided alteration by heat and water seen in asteroid samples.

"Comet Wild 2 contains things we've never seen in meteorites, like unusual carbon-iron assemblages, and the precursors to igneous spherules that make up the most common type of meteorite," Ogliore said. "And all of these objects have been exquisitely preserved within Wild 2."

After nearly two decades, it may seem like scientists have had plenty of time to analyze the minuscule amount of material returned by the Stardust mission: less than one milligram (picture a grain of sand). However, this material is distributed over thousands of tiny particles on a collector the size of a pizza.

"Nearly every Wild 2 particle is unique and has a different story to tell," Ogliore said. "It is a time-consuming process to extract and analyze these grains. But the science payoff is enormous."

Most of the Wild 2 particles are still unstudied and certainly hold many more surprises. As time goes on, the samples can be studied using new techniques that did not exist when the mission launched.

"The Stardust samples, microscopic grains from a body less than two miles wide, contain a record of the deep past covering billions of miles," Ogliore said. "After 18 years of interrogating this comet, we have a much better view of the solar system's dynamic formative years."

More information: Ryan C. Ogliore, Comet 81P/Wild 2: A record of the Solar System's wild youth, Geochemistry (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.chemer.2023.126046
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Given the biological structure of human skin for "water retention", we propose a novel bioinspired strategy to construct a spontaneously formed "skin" on the slippery hydrogels by incorporating biological stress metabolites trehalose into the hydrogel network. The interaction between trehalose and water can generate the surface layer with dehydration tolerance in the atmosphere, which results in flexible slippery hydrogels. Combining vat photopolymerization 3D printing and trehalose-modified slippery hydrogels enables to achieve structural hydrogels with high resolution, shape fidelity, and sophisticated architectures, instead of structural collapse and shrinkage deformation caused by dehydration. Thus, this proposed convenient and versatile strategy adapts to manufacture large-scale hydrogels with sophisticated architectures in a long-term process. Credit: By Desheng Liu, Pan Jiang, Yue Hu, Yaozhong Lu, Yixian Wang, Jiayu Wu, Danli Hu, Tao Wu and Xiaolong Wang.

Hydrogels inevitably undergo dehydration, structural collapse, and shrinkage deformation due to the uninterrupted evaporation in the atmosphere, thereby losing their flexibility, slipperyness, and manufacturing precision.

The research, published in International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, shows how to manufacture a kind of slippery, soft material with high precision in which water molecules are prone to evaporation but still well implemented with high-fidelity structured functional materials.

But the finding could also be extraordinarily useful; if you want to invent something revolutionary, the process often first starts with discovering an entirely new material.

"In principle, this opens up the design and construction of a whole new class of soft matters that, wet and lubricating, are easy to shape and are resistant to dehydration in atmosphere conditions," said Xiaolong Wang, a professor of State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication at the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the senior author on the study.

"Essentially, it suggests new possibilities for extremely significant biolubricating materials and high-precision processing technologies," said Desheng Liu (Research assistant), the first author of the paper.

Hydrogel is a kind of soft material with a hydrophilic three-dimensional cross-linked network structure, which has been extensively applied in tissue engineering, wound dressings, flexible wearable devices, electronic skin, and soft robots due to their flexibility, mechanical tunability, biocompatibility, lubricity, and so on.

By far, the oldest approaches, such as hygroscopic salts and binary water-organic mixed solvents, have been introduced into the bulk hydrogels, restraining the water evaporation under ambient conditions by raising the enthalpy of vaporization of water. Despite improved dehydration tolerance, the hydrogels constructed by these means are inevitably liable to alter properties such as wettability, lubricity, mechanics, and even hydration.

This is advantageous because these materials are more flexible and difficult to process than traditional hard materials, but the trouble is they aren't very stable; they can lose their flexibility if exposed to air or if the temperature gets too high.

Given the biological structure of human skin for "water retention," herein the researchers report a novel bioinspired strategy that introduces trehalose into the hydrogel network to form trehalose-induced hydrogen bond interactions. The interaction between trehalose and water can generate the surface layer with dehydration tolerance in the atmosphere, which results in flexible and slippery hydrogels.

Then Liu began experimenting with some natural moisturizing factors materials discovered years ago, but largely ignored. He made trehalose into an aqueous solution to make hydrogel photosensitive inks and structured hydrogel materials and then began testing its desiccation properties. Thus, trehalose can also act as an effective water retention agent for hydrogels by introducing strong hydrogen bonding interactions to retain inherent properties in the atmosphere.

To the scientists' astonishment, the introduction of trehalose into hydrogel can significantly improve its dehydration resistance, lubrication performance, mechanical properties, and manufacturing accuracy. What's more, it was very stable.

"The strong covalent-like hydrogen bonding interactions formed by multitudinous hydroxyl groups on the trehalose molecule and numerous polar groups on the long polymer chains can confer superior ductility and desiccation-tolerant of slippery hydrogel," said Liu. That is enormously helpful for a slippery, soft material device that has to function in real-world environments.

But to the scientists, the most striking thing was that the soft material is water-contained.

"Combining vat photopolymerization 3D printing and trehalose-modified hydrogels can achieve the miscellaneous stereoscopic hydrogels with desirable resolution, complicated geometries, and tailorable microarchitectures at the macroscopic level due to overcoming the desiccation induced shrinkage and collapse deformation in manufacturing process," said Wang. "As a proof-of-concept demonstration, a high-precision hydrogel vascular phantom was created to imitate guidewire intervention."

The result is unprecedented for a slippery hydrogel material. "It's almost like human skinyou can effectively lock in dampness to prevent excessive evaporation, and thus possessing favorable dehydration tolerance," said Wang.

The scientists are excited because this discovery proposes a fundamentally new design principle for the high-precision manufacturing of hydrogel materials. Natural moisturizing factors are so important for hydrogel materials that almost any new soft material development will open up new frontiers for additive manufacturing techniques, they explained.

It is believed that the proposed method paves the way toward manufacturing large-scale structural hydrogels with dehydration tolerance in the atmosphere, broadening their applications in complex environments.

The team is also exploring the different structures and functions that hydrogel materials may produce by harnessing VAT photopolymerization 3D printing. "We think we proposed a convenient and versatile strategy adapts to manufacture large-scale hydrogels with sophisticated architectures in a long-term process," said Wang.

More information: Desheng Liu et al, Slippery hydrogel with desiccation-tolerant 'skin' for high-precision additive manufacturing, International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing (2023). DOI: 10.1088/2631-7990/ad1730

Provided by International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Non-sectarian political parties help to make divided societies more stable and improve the quality of the democratic process, a new study says.

"Cross-segmental" politicians encourage moderation and cooperation between other more single-issue political parties.

This power to prevent polarization means the success of these political parties should be judged beyond just electoral success, according to the research. A better way to judge their achievements would be to measure how much their core electoral promises "seep" into the programs of other parties, into legislative activism on the parliamentary floor and into government policy-making.

The focus of non-sectarian parties on "bread and butter" social issues that affect people from different groups helps make power-sharing work and encourages other parties to also focus on these issues. This helps to represent the concerns of voters in divided societies.

Timofey Agarin from Queen's University Belfast and Henry Jarrett from the University of Exeter have examined recent political events in Northern Ireland, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lebanon and South Tyrol, countries with ethnically-divided societies and political power-sharing systems in place. Their work is published in Swiss Political Science Review.

Dr. Jarrett said, "Cross-segmental parties often receive comparatively limited electoral support but they have the ability to make politics work. They can successfully represent the interests of different groups and encourage governments to focus on a wider range of social issues than their competitors. They have had an impact in electoral dynamics and legislation and help make representation work.

"They have a positive influence and helps to get things done when others can't agree. The opportunities for representatives running on cross-segmental party platforms and representingrather than protectingtheir electorate's interests should not be perceived as a weakness of non-segmental parties in a polarized political climate. Votes received has little bearing on the relevance of cross-segmental parties for the voter. The message to the voter should be clear: A vote for cross-segmental parties is never a lost vote."

The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland became the third largest party in the regional Assembly following the election in 2022. The study says its success is reflected not only in electoral results but also in its impact on politics in Northern Ireland, playing the role of a facilitator for unionist and nationalist parties to work better together. The party has had an influence in issues including reproductive rights.

Dr. Agarin said, "Cross-segmental parties need not appeal to several communities nor to the whole community of citizens affected. They encourage segmental parties to engage with issues of democratic representation underpinning the political process and impacting all in a divided society.

"The commitment of cross-segmental parties to represent the individual preferences of voters, rather than pursuing the ethno-national claims of segmental parties, adds substance to political agendas concerned with the protection of segmental interests.

"The presence of cross-segmental parties on the ballot is an important gateway for interests that are not clearly attributable to one group or another to be mainstreamed and eventually gain salience in the political process."

More information: Timofey Agarin et al, Making Representative Politics Work: CrossSegmental Parties in Consociations, Swiss Political Science Review (2023). DOI: 10.1111/spsr.12585
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One-dimensional surface hinge states characteristic of HOTIs. Researchers have shown how to detect HOTIs without observing such hinge states. Credit: The Grainger College of Engineering at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Just like a book can't be judged by its cover, a material can't always be judged by its surface. But, for an elusive conjectured class of materials, physicists have now shown that the surface previously thought to be "featureless" holds an unmistakable signature that could lead to the first definitive observation.

Higher-order topological insulators, or HOTIs, have attracted attention for their ability to conduct electricity along one-dimensional lines on their surfaces, but this property is quite difficult to experimentally distinguish from other effects. By instead studying the interiors of these materials from a different perspective, a team of physicists has identified a surface signature that is unique to HOTIs that can determine how light reflects from their surfaces.

As the team reports in the journal Nature Communications, this property could be used to experimentally confirm the existence of such topological states in real materials.

"The bulk or interior properties of HOTIs and other topological insulators have been discounted for a long time, but it turns out that a lot of interesting things are going on there as well," said Barry Bradlyn, a physics professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a project co-lead. "When we looked at the surfaces through a more careful lens, they immediately stood out as far from trivial or featureless."

For a long time, topological insulators have been noted for their ability to carry electrical currents on their surfaces while having insulating interiors. HOTIs, though, would restrict electrical conduction to a one-dimensional edge, or "hinge," rather than the entire two-dimensional surface.

"Charles Kane, who discovered topological insulators, introduced a good analogy," said Benjamin Wieder, a faculty member at the Institut de Physique Theorique, Universite Paris-Saclay and project co-lead. "We can think of standard topological insulators as Hershey's Kisses. A conducting metal foil wrapped around an insulator that doesn't conduct electricity, the chocolate in this case, is a pretty good way to understand them. With HOTIs, though, it's as though someone took the foil and crumpled it into a thin ring encircling the chocolate."

While surface conducting states have been observed in standard topological insulators, resolving the hinge in HOTIs has proven to be exceptionally difficult. Bradlyn explained that this property can only exist in material samples that have an unusually high degree of symmetry, meaning that their crystal structures must be unrealistically perfect.

Instead, Bradlyn and his collaborators turned their attention from the hinge state to the interior, where the electrons tend to "delocalize" from individual atoms and spread through the entire material. Unlike past studies that treat all electrons the same, the researchers considered differences in spina property of electrons that allows them to behave as miniature magnets.

"When we divided the interior electrons into their two possible spin states, up and down, we saw that each state leaves a unique surface signature," said Kuan-Sen Lin, a physics graduate student at the U. of I. and the study's lead author. "Even though the surface of a HOTI seems uninteresting, when you look at what each spin is separately doing on the surface, an unmistakable new behavior emerges that we hope will soon be measured in experiment."

Because electrons with different spins behave as magnets, they respond differently when electric voltage is applied to the material, causing the two spin states to accumulate on opposite sides. This accumulation can be detected by taking advantage of the magneto-optic Kerr effect, in which the polarization, or orientation of the light, changes when it reflects from the surface of a magnet. In the case of HOTIs, the researchers calculated the polarization change from each spin state, and they found it to be exactly half the change that would result from an ordinary insulator.

"In the Kiss analogy, we might expect that because the foil has been crumpled, the chocolate is in direct contact with the air," said Gregory Fiete, a physics professor at Northeastern University and a corresponding author on the study. "With the spin-dependent surface behaviors we found, we can say that there is in fact a transparent layer that keeps the chocolate separate from the rest of the supermarket."

By building on first-principles calculations with the specialized theoretical toolkit the researchers developed for this study, they identified the metal bismuth bromide as a very strong candidate for observing this effect. They are currently working with U. of I. physics professor Fahad Mahmood and U. of I. materials science & engineering professor Daniel Shoemaker to design and perform the experiments proposed in this study.

"The properties of HOTIs that we identified here would be very useful in quantum computing and spintronic devices, but we need to see them in experiment first," Bradlyn said. Wieder added, "We hope that our work shows that the insides and surfaces of topological materials still host many mysterious and advantageous features if you know how to look for them."

The first principles calculations on bismuth bromide were performed by Zhaopeng Guo and Zhijun Wang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Additional computational support was provided by Jeremey Blackburn of Binghamton University. Giandomenico Palumbo of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and Yoonseok Hwang of the U. of I. also contributed to this work.

More information: Kuan-Sen Lin et al, Spin-resolved topology and partial axion angles in three-dimensional insulators, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-44762-w Journal information: Nature Communications
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Research master student Linda Bomm found in her thesis that men, compared to women, believe female sexual assault survivors less, blame women more, and judge them more negativelyespecially if they identify strongly with their male gender.

"When women tell others that they were sexually assaulted, they often face negative social reactions like disbelief, victim-blaming, and negative judgmentsor people emphasize that 'not all men' would commit such acts," says Linda Bomm, one of the winners of the FSW Thesis Award.

"These reactions have negative effects on survivors' mental health and can stop them from reporting the assault. In my thesis, I researched the relation between showing such negative reactions and people's gender, their social identification with their own gender, and their psychophysiological threat levels."

How did you research this?

"In two studies (one online, one in the lab with psychophysiological measures), participants reacted to recordings of different women's voices, of which one described being sexually assaulted by a man, and the others described being in a bike accident or mugged by a man."

What did you find?

"We found that men (compared to women) believed the women in the voice recordings less, blamed them more, and judged them more negatively. Compared to women, men also perceived more strongly that men differ from each other, and that men face as much stigma in today's society as women. Men who identified highly with their own gender also saw the woman who talked about being sexually assaulted by a man as less moral than they saw the other women they listened to in the recordings.

"This is remarkable because men's gender identification affected only the morality judgments they made about female sexual assault survivors, not about female survivors of other crimes. The effect was reversed for women. In the lab, we found that when men discussed a woman's sexual assault, they showed higher cardiovascular threat levels than when they discussed a woman's bike accident experience.

"In the spirit of transparently reporting results, I think it is also important to note where we did not find what we expected: We expected men's gender identification to influence their cardiovascular threat levels, and their threat levels to influence their reactions to the disclosed experiences, but we did not find this in our study."

What has been the most valuable lesson you've learned writing your thesis?

"Academically, I would say the most valuable lesson I learned about designing and conducting a study is to stay concise and feasible in your research design. I kept finding new angles to look at the topic or wanting to add more variables to the design, but ultimately had to remind myself that if I ever wanted to finish this project, I had to 'kill my darlings,' as my supervisor put it.

"On a personal level, it may sound cheesy, but the most valuable lesson I learned was that it's worth it to ask for the things you wantI was surprised that my supervisor (Daan Scheepers) was so open to my ideas and supported me in researching this extremely important topic. Also, it's okay to do things in your own time. Ultimately, I worked on my thesis for a year, and while that is longer than most of my fellow students took, it was the right decision for me."

What are your future plans?

"Since October 2023, I'm a Ph.D. student in Political Psychology at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research at the University of Amsterdam. My thesis project really finalized my decision to pursue a career in academia, and so far, it's been very interesting and exciting. I am also working on publishing the thesis in a scientific journal with my thesis supervisor."

What is your message for students who still need to write their thesis, but are finding it stressful or overwhelming?

"Take your time, trust yourself and your own abilities, and dare to propose research topics that you find the most interesting or relevant. That way, it's way easier to get through motivation dips, and sometimes you can be surprised by how open others are to your ideas."
By Chernor Alimamy Kamara

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in collaboration with pertinent stakeholders is investigating an online money-making platform named Super Advertis suspected of unlawful activities, an entity using various mobile money platforms in Sierra Leone to solicit deposits from the public under the guise of investments.

The platform is said to have defrauded Sierra Leoneans of over OLe 9000,000,000 (nine billion Old Leones).

FIU in a media release issued on the 4th of January 2024 noted that Super Advertis has been engaged in unlicensed and unregulated financial services specifically using mobile money operator agents to accumulate purported investment funds.

It stated that the scam which is believed to be a "Ponzi Scheme" operates by reimbursing existing investors from contributions made by new investors, rather than legitimate profits from a lawful business enterprise. The unit pointed out that investors are misled into believing that profits emanate from legitimate business operations, when in fact, they originate from new investors' deposits.

It stated that Mobile money service providers including Orange Money and Afri-money have taken measures to restrict access to the third-party accounts used by the suspected fraudsters, and are collaborating with relevant authorities in the ongoing investigations.

The FIU advises the public to be cautious in dealing with individuals or institutions offering investment opportunities. It further entreats the public to conduct due diligence, ensuring complete satisfaction with the nature and legitimacy of any business before engaging in financial investments.

It promised to provide further updates on the investigation as the inquiries progress and remains committed to safeguarding the interests of the public and maintaining the integrity of financial systems. It also encouraged the public to reach out to the Unit or the appropriate authorities to report suspected dubious financial dealings.

An announcement from Super Advertis indicated that since its accounts have been frozen by the Orange operator, the Company cannot operate normally, saying if Orange does not unfreeze its accounts, it will result in the inability to complete all contracted tasks of the partner and cause the bankruptcy of the company.

However, a press release issued by Orang Mobile Finance on the 3rd January 2023 reiterated to the public that it has no contractual relationship with Super Advertis and that they do not have any frozen account that belongs to them on its Orange Money platform.

It stated that Orange Money agents are restricted by the scope of their contractual operation, saying where they act outside of their scope, the company is obliged by regulation to take necessary action to mitigate such risk in the interest of protecting their customers.

The company urged customers who have transacted on the said website to contact the respective agent through whom the payment was made for refund processing if necessary.

It is further said to have noticed some incitement on social media on behalf of Super Advertis for the public to vandalize their premises and properties which they strongly admonish them to desist from encouraging such inciting comments.

According to a victim from the Super Advertis scheme he was told of the money-making machine scheme by a friend who convinced him that by investing some amount of money, he would have a double of what he invested. So he said he ended up registering NLE50 and invested NLE 230 (two hundred and thirty New Leones) before realizing that it was a scam.

Copyright  2024 Politico (10/01/24)
Get ready to dine like the Sons of Liberty as the Warren County Historical Society and SUNY Adirondacks Culinary Arts program partner for a colonial dinner commemorating the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.

We are excited to partner with Chef Bolton (Culinary Arts instructor at SUNY Adirondack) and the SUNY Adirondack Culinary program to bring a continental flavor to the Glens Falls area, said Warren County Historian Dr. Stan Cianfarano in a statement about the event. The supply of food was always of prime importance to soldiers and civilians. With most colonials being self-sustaining farmers, they ate what they could grow. The menu at this event reflects the wide variety of foods consumed during the colonial period.

The dinner will be hosted by Patrick Fayette, a 2023 graduate of SUNYs culinary program and local historical reenactor.

Im a culinary student here and I have a sense of history as Im a historical reenactor, and Im avid in history in general, Fayette said.

Fayette, who currently works as a cook at Radici Kitchen and Bar in Glens Falls, started getting involved in reenactment after he came across a group encampment at Fort William Henry in Lake George a couple years ago. Since then he said hes been embraced by the community and has enjoyed learning and participating in the living history of the region.

The reenactment community is really tight-knit. We treat each other like a family basically, he said. (The history is) super local and its really great to be a part of those events during these bigger conflicts.

While Fayette specializes in reenactments from the French and Indian War time period, he said the dinner will feature cultural items from both French and Indian and Revolutionary War times.

Both events are pretty close to each other, about 20-years apart they happened, so theyre pretty close in the lives that people lived. Especially civilians, he said.

Fayette said most of the recipes used for the dinner were pulled from the 1750s through 1780s.

Combining his duel passions for cooking and history, Fayette said it was fun but also tricky to pick out the menu for the evening, due to how culturally diverse the colonies were even at that time.

New York would have had a really large Dutch population. Boston would have had a large British population, whereas as you go north, that would be a larger French population, he said. You have all that mixing together into one unity and you get so many unique dishes out of it.

Dinner will be served at Seasoned, SUNYs culinary school which also acts as a fully functioning restaurant located at 12 Hudson Ave.

The menu will include classic 18th-century French bread with herb butter; appetizer choice of pickled vegetables and charcuterie, a scotch egg in a creamy mustard sauce, corn and potato chowder or steamed little-neck clams in an ale herb broth.

A main course selection includes pork a la Normandy over sweet potato mash; chicken Fricassee over toasted barley; roasted venison with baked beans and root vegetables; baked haddock with zucchini fritters; or a Northern bean cassoulet.

Dessert choices include apple pie, molasses and cranberry bread pudding or gingerbread spice cake. Tea, coffee and soft drinks are included. Beer and wine will be offered at the cash bar.

Dawning his reenactors hat, Fayette said he and several fellow reenactors will mingle with diners as the food is served to discuss the history and culture of the time.

Some of this stuff would have definitely been more of an up-scale kind of diner, like officers and higher civilians would have had, he said. But theres also some, lower-class food as well like Scotch Eggs, that would have been a pretty accessible dish to the lower classes.

Fayette said hes particularly excited to see pork a la Normandy on the menu, as hes seen many videos online of different preparations throughout history.

Its pretty nice to see us be able to get that on the menu with a little bit of a different spin because of how local produce works, he said. Chef Matt (Bolton) does a very good job of sourcing vegetables and meats and everything from local farms.

In addition to serving and educating the public, the event will act as an innovative and unique challenge for the students of SUNYs Culinary school.

Partnering with Warren County Historical Society for a colonial-themed dinner in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War is going to be an amazing way to showcase our students and the culinary arts and baking program, while providing an educational night for our community, Chef Bolton said in a statement.

Tickets are $60 per person. Dinner seatings are at 5:45, 6, 6:15, 6:30, 6:45 and 7 p.m., on Feb. 29. Reservations are required by Feb. 19 and available on a limited basis through Warren County Historical Society. Visit 50 Gurney Lane, Queensbury, or call (518) 743-0734 to reserve space; payment is due at the time of reservation in cash, by check or credit/debit card.
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Nicaragua government releases two bishops and 18 priests, who were arrested amid the region's crackdown on religious leaders, following negotiations with the Vatican.

The announcement on Sunday involved Bishops Rolando Alvarez of Matagalpa and Isidoro del Carmen Mora Ortega of Siuna. The other individuals who were released included 15 priests and two seminarians.

Nicaragua Releases Bishops and Priests

They were all imprisoned over the last few years after a court, in most cases, accused them of supporting a plot in 2018. It supposedly attempted to overthrow President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo's regime.

Alvarez, in particular, was sentenced to more than 26 years in prison, stripped of his citizenship, and declared a traitor last February. He allegedly undermined national security and was charged with the "propagation of false news." On the other hand, authorities arrested Bishop Mora in December last year.

The Nicaraguan government issued a statement noting that Vatican authorities received the clergy members "in compliance with Agreements of Good Faith and Goodwill, which seek to promote understanding and improve communication between the Holy See and Nicaragua, for Peace and Good," as per Fox News.

The Vatican's in-house media operation, Vatican News, confirmed that all of the clergy members in question, except one who remained in Venezuela, arrived in Roma on Sunday. They were said to be now "guests of the Holy See."

During the Angelus at the beginning of this year, Pope Francis said that the bishops and priests who were arrested were "deprived of their freedom" in Nicaragua. The religious leader added that he hoped the path of dialogue would always be sought to overcome difficulties ahead.

Officials from the United States have long accused Ortega's administration of crimes against humanity for waging war against religious freedom and civil liberties. Both the Trump and Biden administrations and several members of Congress passed measures to sanction financial lifelines to the nation's government.

Read Also: Frederik X Visits Danish Parliament for First Time as King

Negotiations With the Vatican

The pope also spoke about the situation on Jan. 8, arguing that the situation in Central America "remains troubling." Referring to the release of the prisoners, the Nicaraguan government said that their freedom was brought about with the help of "frank, direct, prudent, and very serious dialogue," according to Crux Now.

The situation comes as Nicaragua and the Holy See do not currently hold diplomatic ties after the former severed relations in April of last year. That decision followed the ousting of the Vatican's envoy in the region, which prompted the Holy See to close its embassy.

Alvarez's arrest in August 2022 came after he announced a hunger strike in protest of police harassment. He is seen as one of the Nicaraguan government's most vocal critics in the region's church.

Nicaragua also released a dozen Catholic priests in October after they were jailed over a variety of charges and they were then sent to Rome following an agreement with the Vatican.

The nation's Congress, which Ortega's Sandinista National Liberation Front dominates, has ordered the closure of more than 3,000 non-governmental organizations, including Mother Teresa's charity, said the Associated Press.

Related Article: Germany Prepares for Putin's Plan To Attack NATO in 2025, Leaked Secret War Document Reveals
Mr. Millville: Millville High School will crown the next Mr. Millville at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Performing Arts Center. The theme of this year's show is "Born in the USA."

The 2024 contestants are Sergio Droz, Freddie Lavan III, Ian Ledent, Gavin Maguire, Cole Martin, Jacob Morrison, Jayden Potter, Jeffrey Rascone, Jeremiah Street and Jacob Zamot.

All tuxedos worn by the contestants are sponsored by Jimmy's Tailor Shop and Formal Wear in Millville.

Tickets are $10 per person and can be purchased at mhs.millville.org or tinyurl.com/mrmillville24, or at the door (cash only). Doors will open at 5:15 p.m.

Flu vaccine clinic: The Cape May County Department of Health is offering flu vaccines. The next clinic will be held from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Jan. 23 at the Department of Health's offices at 6 Moore Road in Cape May Court House. Additional dates and times are available at cmchealth.net, along with consent forms and additional information on the flu vaccine.

Mary Treat Day: The Vineland Historical Society will host author Deborah Boerner Ein at 10 a.m. Feb. 10. Ein will portray 19th century scientist Mary Treat and read from her book "Mary Had a Little Zoo: All about Pioneer Scientist Mary Treat and her Ants, Plants and Spiders." The museum will have coloring supplies, a craft activity, snacks and a visit from several of Mary's "friends."

The museum also will be open for self-guided tours. Admission is $20 per adult or an adult with one child, and includes one copy of the book. Each additional child is $15. Payment can be made the day of the event.

For more information or to register, call 856-691-1111 or visit the Historical Society on Facebook.

Landscape painting classes: The Somers Point Arts Commission will offer a series of four landscape painting classes this winter. The Saturday classes will take place Feb. 10, 17 and 24 and March 2 at the Somers Point Senior & Community Center at 22 N. Ambler Road. Those interested may sign up for one or more sessions.

Instructors Alissa Petrella and Ginny Swift will provide each class with step-by-step instructions on how to paint a beach-themed acrylic painting. Cost is free, but donations will be accepted.

Registration is first come, first served. Classes will be limited to 20 people per session, and participants must be 18 or older. Email somersptarts@gmail.com and include your full name, phone number and the dates you will be attending.

Women's hall reservations: Reservations are now being taken for the March 20 induction of four Cumberland County women into the Womens Hall of Fame.

The event will be held at Merighis Savoy Inn in Vineland, beginning with a cash bar at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. Cost is $65 per person. To make a reservation, email Dr. Keith Figgs at kcf4@aol.com or call 856-692-0133.

The emcee will be Dr. Elizabeth Arthur, Vineland City Council president. The 2024 inductees are:

Lisa Stewart Garrison, honored for her work getting the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church listed on the National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

Dr. Christine A. Johnston, creator and developer of the worldwide Let Me Learn program and originator of Compass Academy Charter School in Vineland.

Dr. Dina L. Rossi, who developed and designed the Cumberland County Technical Education Center in Vineland.

Mary E. Rossi, longtime principal at Vineland High School.

BBBS gets grant: The PSEG Foundation has awarded Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland & Salem Counties a $2,000 grant to support the High School Service Learning Mentoring Program in the Woodstown-Pilesgrove School District.

This year, The PSEG Foundation awarded $1,040,300 to 301 community organizations, 39 of which were first-time recipients.

"The support from the PSEG Foundation for our High School Service Learning Mentoring Program at the Woodstown-Pilesgrove School District will allow us to continue our work empowering the youth to reach their full potential, said Donna Bennett, president/CEO of BBBS Cumberland & Salem Counties. The work our Bigs do in this program is vital. We encourage everyone to sign up for a virtual volunteer information session to learn more and see if you are interested in getting involved."

Shore names Guardian Angel: Shore Medical Center has named labor and delivery nurse Arianna Jones, of Cape May Court House, its January Guardian Angel of the Month, a program that enables community members to say thank you to a Shore caregiver through a donation to the medical center in their honor.

Jones came to Shore in 2019 as a nurse on the 5 Hayes unit and transferred to maternity in June 2023.

Arianna is a hardworking, dedicated nurse, said Nicole DeCicco, nurse manager of Shores maternity unit. She provides all her patients with kindness and a smile.

The family member of a maternity patient recently made a Guardian Angel donation to the medical center in Jones honor and said this about her: Our angel Arianna was the most caring and loving nurse my daughter could have had when delivering her baby. Arianna gave her and my new grandson the best care, shes truly a gift and such an asset to your hospital.

To honor a Shore Guardian Angel, call the hospital's Planned Giving & Development Department at 609-653-3800 or visit givetoshore.org.

U of Kentucky Dean's List: More than 1,900 undergraduate students qualified for the fall 2023 College of Arts and Sciences Dean's List at the University of Kentucky. Among them were Mollie Share, of Ventnor (geography); John Kolesar, of Wildwood Crest (international studies); and Thomas Routt, of Egg Harbor Township (history).
Madison Marsh, Miss Colorado 2023, was crowned Miss America 2024 on Sunday night at the Walt Disney Theater in Orlando, Florida.

Marsh, 22, a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, graduated in 2023 from the U.S. Air Force Academy. Shes pursuing a masters degree in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Marsh will receive a $50,000 scholarship as Miss America and immediately start a yearlong reign.

A second lieutenant in the Air Force, Marsh is the first active duty Air Force officer to win the Miss America title.

Miss New Jersey Victoria Mozitis, of Northfield, a 2019 Mainland Regional High School graduate and 2023 graduate of Rider University, did not make the final rounds of the competition. She was crowned Miss New Jersey in June at Resorts Casino Hotel.

The Miss America Competition was once a staple of Atlantic City, having begun there in 1921 as a post-Labor Day means to attract visitors, but left the resort in 2019, first for the Mohegan Sun Casino & Resort in Connecticut, now for Orlando.

Miss America 2023, Grace Stanke, crowned her successor at Sundays finals competition, which streamed on the Watch Miss America website. Marsh received a glittering crown, a flowing red cape and a bouquet of roses at the end of the ceremony. The new winner also received hugs from her fellow contestants and took her first walk on stage as Miss America 2024.

Marsh performed a spoken-word piece in the talent portion of Sundays finals, telling the story of her first solo flight. She answered on-stage questions, walked the runway in an evening gown, strutted in fitness clothes and emphasized her philanthropic platform. Marsh is the founder of the Whitney Marsh Foundation, raising money for research to fight pancreatic cancer. The foundation is named after her mother, who died from pancreatic cancer in 2018.

A total of 51 women competed in the Miss America finals. The top 11 contestants were featured in segments that emphasized fitnesswear, talent, evening gowns and on-stage questions focusing on hot topics in America, such as education, politics, money, drugs, technology and climate change. Each segment was weighted as 25% of the contestants total score in the semifinals.

Northfield woman wins Miss New Jersey pageant ATLANTIC CITY  An Atlantic County woman won it all Saturday night.

The 11 semifinalists were:

Miss Texas 2023 Ellie Breaux

Miss North Carolina 2023 Taylor Loyd

Miss Indiana 2023 Cydney Bridges

Miss Kansas 2023 Courtney Wages

Miss Colorado 2023 Madison Marsh

Miss Maryland 2023 Kennedy Taylor

Miss Florida 2023 Juliette Valle

Miss Rhode Island Caroline Parente

Miss Kentucky 2023 Mallory Hudson

Miss Arkansas 2023 Cori Keller

Miss New York 2023 Amelia Collins

Santa, trained in American Sign Language, visits Margate for Shop Small Business weekend A Santa that knows ASL was accompanied by an elf, unicorn, and others for a parade down Ventnor Avenue on Saturday for the Margate Business Association's Shop Small Business weekend.

The contestant list was then trimmed to a top five, who returned to the stage for one more question apiece, focusing on their plans as Miss America.

The top five were:

Miss Colorado 2023 Madison Marsh (winner)

Miss Texas 2023 Ellie Breaux (runner-up)

Miss Indiana 2023 Cydney Bridges (second runner-up)

Miss Kentucky 2023 Mallory Hudson (third runner-up)

Miss Rhode Island Caroline Parente (fourth runner-up)

Terrence Jenkins, an actor and TV personality known as Terrence J, was the host of Sundays finals ceremony, along with model and actress Nikki Novak.

Miss Americas team of judges for this year featured Cynthia Bailey, a reality star best known for her work on The Real Housewives of Atlanta; Nancy G. Brinker, founder of the nonprofit Susan G. Komen for the Cure; Susan Malzoni, a wellness consultant and founder of the Vitamyna company; David Tutera, a wedding planner and fashion designer; Elena Cardone, a real estate investor and author; and Shelley Goodstein, a model and entrepreneur.

GALLERY: Parade for Victoria Mozitis, Miss New Jersey 2023
OCEAN CITY  Sometimes, the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. seems to be boiled down to just four words: I have a dream.

His speech, delivered at the March on Washington in 1963, has moved generations with a vision of universal justice and placed King among those whose words shaped the United States. But no human being is just one thing, a fact that was reflected in comments made at the Ocean City Tabernacle during the citys annual celebration of King.

Speakers, including student essayists and community leaders, spoke of King the social justice campaigner, King the peacemaker, King the servant, King the inspirational and aspirational, and King the reverend, with Pastor Jay Reimer describing King as a minister of the Gospel.

Ava Clevenger, a seventh grader, spoke of a time when people were executed for their beliefs, sold into slavery because of their race or told they could not marry someone of the same gender.

This does not sound like freedom, she said.

She cited contemporary issues, including the war in Gaza, Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ issues and the fight over abortion.

MLKs legacy of peaceful protest has impacted the social movements of today, she said. Through his example, others continue to demonstrate their First Amendment rights.

Caroline Bickings, an eighth grader, said King started a revolution with four simple words.

Atlantic City library provides inspiration, education with MLK read-in The Atlantic City Free Public Library hosted the ninth annual Dr. King Read-in on Saturday afternoon at the Noyes Arts Garage of Stockton University.

His speech resonated with the masses; a calling to find their own dream and pursue positive change in our society, she said. For her, she said, the continued discrepancy between pay for men and women remains something to fight to change.

Another student, Marley Dwyer, said, King didnt hope his dreams came true. He made sure they did. He knew what it would take, and he didnt hesitate in the face of challenges.

She said King not only advocated for Black Americans, but for all people.

Ocean City gathers for Martin Luther King Day each year, which Mayor Jay Gillian described as one of his favorite events. Each year, two residents receive Martin Luther King Community Service Awards, recognizing their efforts on behalf of the community.

This year, the awards went to Jane French, who worked with the late Mark Soifer in the citys public relations department for decades and remains an active volunteer, and Bill McMahon III of the McMahon Agency, honored for his efforts for the Covenant House in Atlantic City and for the Atlantic Cape Community College Foundation, raising money for scholarships.

Gillian praised French for what he called a lifetime of volunteering.

She has given back to Ocean City like very few others have, he said. For the past seven years, she has been involved with the Quilts of Valor organization, which makes quilts for veterans.

The morning began with a citywide cleanup. One of the student essayists apologized because she was still wearing the sneakers she wore for the cleanup. After the event, the city announced a food drive as part of the National Day of Service, aimed at stocking the shelves at the Ocean City Ecumenical Food Cupboard.

Snow squall possible on another windy Sunday, coastal storm nears Tuesday An arctic cold front will bring the potential for a snow squall Sunday, along with chilly winds. A lower impact coastal storm will then impact NJ Tuesday, but snow details are lower confidence than usual just 36 hours out.

Donations of non-perishable food and personal care items will be collected through Jan. 20 at the City Hall Welcome Center at the Ninth Street entrance off Asbury Avenue.

Gillian also introduced the Rev. Gregory Johnson, who began his message at the back of the Tabernacle and worked his way up to the front of the room.

All of us in here can say the Lords been good to us, he said. Although we may have had some struggles. We may have shed some tears. We may have been disappointed. But through it all, through it all we made it.

Johnson ended his comments quoting from Kings Dream speech, citing his call for a world in which children are not judged by the color of their skin but on the content of their character.

Those gathered sang the spiritual We Shall Overcome, which served as an anthem to the Civil Rights Movement. Many joined hands during the song.

King came to national prominence during a boycott of buses in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, and became one of the central figures of the Civil Rights Movement. He also advocated for the poor and spoke against American involvement in Vietnam.

In 1964, he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, at the time the youngest person to receive the award. Four years later, he was dead, shot in Memphis, Tennessee, where he had gone to advocate for higher wages for sanitation workers. Fifteen years later, in 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a national holiday in his name.

Were here today to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King. Its been more than 50 years since Dr. King preached about equality, community and social change. In some ways, weve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go, Gillian said at the event.

Atlantic County executive superintendent to receive MLK award Interim Executive Atlantic County Superintendent Leslie White-Coursey, of Atlantic City, will be presented the 34th annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Spirit Award on Tuesday, the county said.

Each year, residents gather after the observance for a meal, which this year included fried chicken, St. Louis-style spare ribs, baked macaroni and cheese, collard greens, cornbread and sweet potatoes, joining at tables set inside the entrance room of the Tabernacle.
For the first time in nearly a century, New Jersey has shown the fortitude to tackle an age-old problem that has stifled economic growth and hampered the dreams of countless small business owners, said Murphy, a Democrat. We knew this wasnt going to be an easy lift  nothing that has been entrenched for nearly a century ever is. Together with our partners in the Legislature, we are laying new ground rules to help our breweries and distilleries flourish at the same time, creating new opportunities for smaller and more diverse mom-and-pop establishments to set up shop or expand in New Jersey and help transform our downtowns.
Moline-Coal Valley schools made strides on facilities, approved policy revisions and heard from supporters of an after school Satanic club at its board meeting last week.

With all board members present, the Jan. 8 meeting began with a "student spotlight" presentation on Willard Elementary School.

Principal Tara Banks shared recent highlights at Willard, including:

For two, 12-week sessions each year, the school's Girl Scouts program takes groups of 20 students on field trips every Friday during lunch.

The After School Club, which allows students to "get together" for additional academic support, enrichment and other learning activities  particularly geared toward newcomers and English learners. Banks noted academic achievement scores have improved for club participants.

Next, Washington Elementary School principal Brenda Bussard presented on the school's ongoing partnership with United Way Quad Cities, via the "United for Schools" grant program.

The program, first launched at Madison Elementary School in Davenport during the 2021-22 school year, expanded to Washington last spring.

Bussard said United for Schools has helped deliver several new programs and initiatives at Washington so far, including:

A "Care and Supply" closet.

"Books and Barbers," a monthly program where a group of local barbers provide mentorship and a free haircut to students.

The "Girls on Fire" mentorship program, which aims to empower fifth and sixth-grade to connect over the shared challenges of adolescence by offering a safe space for creative expression.

Next, the board moved shifted to regular meeting items.

Monday's public comment session notably included support of the After School Satan Club at Jane Addams Elementary School.

Broc Nelson, a member of the Satanic Temple of Iowa, condemned Moline-Coal Valley leaders for prohibiting the club after its third year in operation.

"The Moline-Coal Valley school board does not have the authority to vote on (ACCS) presence at Jane Addams, nor do they have the right to vote on the religious beliefs of their students, or whether students of a particular religion are or are not allowed to participate in an after-school religious club," he said Monday.

Nelson also claimed the district's justification for prohibiting the club cites a hoax bomb threat falsely attributed to the ASSC in early 2023.

"This does not give the board authority to to bypass well-established constitutional law," he said.

Mortimer Adramelech, a Satanic Temple minister, also spoke during public comment, circling back to the issue of constitutional rights.

"More specifically, I'm concerned with the disparity between the treatment of (ACCS) and the Good News Club, which are both hosted at Jane Addams Elementary," he said, claiming to have heard the Moline-Coal Valley school board's intent to move one club off-campus but not the other. "The (First Amendment) is very clear about how this issue will proceed.

The Good News Club is a program via the Child Evangelism Fellowship, a Bible-centered organization aimed to "evangelize boys and girls with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and to establish (disciple) them in the Word of God and in a local church for Christian living," according to its website.

"The ACCS has been peacefully meeting on campus and engaging students in the study of science, critical thinking and pursuing artistic endeavors for two years now," Adramelech said. "Religious intolerance is not a value that we, as Americans, should allow to be promoted in our public school system."

To view public comment  along with all presentations and board discussions  in full, visit the "Moline Television" YouTube channel to watch Monday's livestream.

Superintendent Rachel Savage declined to comment on the situation with ACCS.

Next, the board moved on to action items, starting with the consent agenda. Upon board member Ramona Dixon's request, consent agenda item C.1 was tabled for the next meeting.

The board later approved all remaining business items.

Highlights:

Partnering with Russell Construction for conceptual planning and pre-construction services in the district's upcoming athletics field project. As previously reported, these preliminary costs are not to exceed $21,400.

Another preliminary agreement  not to exceed $17,500  with Russell for the future expansion of Lincoln-Irving Elementary School.

A nearly $465,000 bid from Valley Construction to renovate the welding lab at Moline High School.

Several procedural board policy revisions, including: 4:60, Purchases and Contracts; 6:60, Curriculum Content and 7:190, Student Behavior.

Partnering with the Illinois State Board of Education for its Visiting International Teacher Program (VITP). This move aims to help Moline-Coal Valley fill needed Spanish-speaking teacher vacancies, and VITP will cover all related visa costs for the district.

Savage gave a reminder of Moline-Coal Valley's e-learning and snow day protocols, given expected weather.

Board president Andrew Waeyaert took time to review the district's board norms during reports. Vice-president Erin Waldron-Smith requested to hold another work session on this front in the future.

Both thanked Monday's public comment participants for bringing their concerns to the board.

Student board member Abigail Greenlee gave an update on high school happenings, noting the historic 2023 Share Joys campaign and extracurricular plans heading into the new year.

The board adjourned into an executive session to discuss real estate matters.

Next meeting: Monday, Jan. 22 at 6 p.m.

Moline students eat donuts to raise money
Republicans went to caucus sites around Scott County Monday night, helping to start the process of picking the GOP 2024 nominee.

Trump supporter shows up plenty early

Clyde Carson is committed to caucus.

The 53-year-old Davenport resident parked his maroon GMC Jimmy outside the entrance the Davenport West Highland Schools gymnasium at 4 p.m. Monday, two full hours before the doors opened for the Republican Caucus.

The caucus started at 7 p.m. and Carson made no bones about who he intended to support.

Donald Trump all the way, he said.  Donald Trump will clear up the crime and corruption that has been going on in this country for a long time.

Carson also cited an age-old conspiracy theory when he said Trump   will keep us out of the wars run by the Rockefellers.

Carson also said he campaigned for Trump in 2016 and 2020.

I was shocked when (Trump) lost in 2020, there was no way that could have happened, he said.

Carson was so committed to caucus he actually spent a half hour standing outside his Jimmy. The temperature was, maybe, zero.

I got here and I changed my coat to look a little nicer, and I locked myself out of the truck, he said. I had to wait 30 minutes for someone to bring me my keys.

But its worth it. I want to be here for this caucus.

Precinct captain braves low temps

Anthony Ziskovsky walked along the sidewalk at Bettendorf High School holding what looked like paper fans.

But the cardboard squares attached to popsicle sticks were not fans, and he certainly did not need them in subzero temperatures. Ziskovsky was holding signs reading, DeSantis 2024 and planting them in the frozen ground a few feet apart.

The further Ziskovsky walked, the more people he encountered who were asking for directions on what to do once inside. Lucky for them, Ziskovsky was a precinct captain and could direct them where they needed to go.

With a temperature of 1 below, Ziskovsky was bundled up, but caucusing for the governor of the Sunshine State. DeSantis, he said, fought COVID, defended medical and personal freedoms and runs his state in a direction Ziskovsky would like to see the country go.

With the wind slowly picking up as the clock ticked closer to 6 p.m., the Bettendorf resident said he was confident the numbers for the DeSantis team would be big, noting supporters were willing to brave the cold.

DeSantis voters are definitely very energized, he said. People are coming from Florida and theyre really coming from all over the country, door-knocking, and theyve been doing that all weekend long.

Long drive for a Haley supporter

Inside Bettendorf High School, caucusgoers slowly trickled in, but the closer it got to the 7 p.m., the more the doors stayed open. Volunteers with the school came by with stacks of chairs lining the cafeteria with extra seats. Once it was time to vote, it was standing room only for one precinct.

In one of the back orchestra rooms stood a man who barely looked old enough to vote. Ethan Levine just turned 18 in September. But, he wasnt planning to vote in the caucus, as he wasn't eligible.

Levine drove nearly 200 miles from Deerfield, Illinois, just to stand with Haley supporters. This was the first caucus he has attended, and his first vote is upcoming, but hes had an interest in politics for years, he said. Thats what made the drive so easy.

I think this is the most engaged you can get in democracy, he said. I feel like its really important to vote, and Im out here to hopefully contribute to that by spreading the message of Nikki Haley.

Levine said hes always been an outgoing guy and was on the debate team in high school. Haley, also, is outgoing but also accountable, he said. With foreign policy and national debt being hot-button topics, Levine was confident there was one woman who could turn things around.

With the debt looming, I think Nikki is the right gal to get it done, he said. Its been fun helping out these past few days with the campaign.

Four caucuses, one site

Davenport West High School was actually the home of four precinct caucuses. Site Manager Bryan Zarn explained.

"We will have two caucuses in the auditorium, the caucuses for precinct D13 and precinct D14," he said. "And there will be two precinct caucuses in the cafeteria, for precincts D11 and D 12."

Zarn said he planned to caucus for Donald Trump and his second choice was Vivek Ramaswamy. He caucused two other times, in 2016 for Trump and in 2012 for Scott Walker.

True love and Trump

Shanda Robb, 46, and Mike Seibert, 48, just got engaged after 15 years of being a couple.

But they met back in the 1990s in the same place they went to cast their caucus votes for Donald Trump  Davenport West High School. Robb was happy to describe the evolution of their relationship.

"Mike was 17 and I was 15 and we both went to West and we had mutual friends who were dating," she explained. "I was young and Mike was, well, kind of boring. So after about two weeks, I broke off because I thought we were just better friends.

"Then I never really saw him again."

Seibert graduated from West in 1994. He eventually got married, had two kids and got divorced. Robb graduated from West in 1996, got married, had three kids, and got divorced.

"Then she stalked me on Facebook," Seibert said.

Once again, Robb explained.

"That was back before Facebook was a thing, and I hadn't signed up and all you could see was the little thumbnail pictures," she said. "I thought that was Mike, and I sent him a message and I ended up signing up for Facebook so we could talk.

"And then he moved back to Davenport from Ohio to be with me."

Seibert said he was a Young Republican at Davenport West and Robb said she learned about Trump from him.

The tale of two veterans

Paul Janecek is a 79-year-old who served in the United States Army and loves the Republican Party.

He voted for Jimmy Carter a long time ago, then became a Republican because "the Democrats just didn't treat the armed services very well."

Mike Ryan is a 68-year-old who served in the United States Marine Corps and describes himself as an "independent thinker."

He wore a shirt to Monday's caucus at Davenport West High School that had the Marine Corps seal on the front and the words "sucker" and "loser" on the back.

"Those are the words Donald Trump used to describe people like me, military veterans," Ryan said.

Janecek said he supports Ron DeSantis for president, citing Trump's issues with how the media portrays him.

"DeSantis is everything Trump will be, but he's just more electable," Janecek said. "DeSantis is a veteran, a family man, and has practically all the same policies as Trump."

Ryan said his disdain for Trump and what he calls his "cult of followers" has not led him to support DeSantis.

"DeSantis starts in about busting the teachers union, and I'm not seeing a plus," he said. "And he is a veteran, but I can't support someone who thinks breaking unions is a positive thing.

"And Trump, well, it goes beyond the military stuff. He's old. I'm an old white guy and I'm sick of the old white guys. I'm thinking maybe Nikki Haley."

Caucus draws crowd in Walcott

The frigid temperatures and wintry weather did not deter Republican caucusgoers in rural Scott County from making the drive to support their candidates.

Precinct chair Tracey Pettett said she was expecting to handle a single caucus with about 50 people. On caucus night, she wrangled two caucuses in a Walcott K-8 school lunchroom in which roughly 150 people sat around lunch tables to caucus.

On the other side of the school, about 180 people gathered in a frigid cold gym. Caucusgoers kept their coats and mittens on as they said the Pledge of Allegiance and listened as campaign representatives pitched their candidates.

That was more than expected, said Scott County GOP Chair Jeanita McNulty. She said they were hoping for 150 to turn out as a high estimate because of the negative temperatures and blowing snow.

Aria Goodin, 19, and her mom drove at a crawl  about 25 miles per hour  on a slick Y40 to caucus in Walcott.

Goodin supported former President Donald Trump in the caucus. The former president carried handily the six precincts at Walcott Elementary. Statewide, Trump won easily.

In the Walcott lunchroom, speakers for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Ambassador Nikki Haley, Ohio biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Trump.

Out of those, Trumps speaker elicited the most cheers and applause by far.

Goodin said she thought Trump was a good president while in office and wanted to give him another shot at the Oval Office. She considered DeSantis, and met him in person at the Quad City Veterans Outreach Center in Davenport, but she thought his promises were unrealistic.

While he can do what hes done for Florida, its going to be a lot harder to do that for the entire U.S., Goodin said. And he kept saying a lot about how hes going to do this and that and this and that on the first day and it definitely added up to a lot of stuff.

First time caucusegoer supports Trump

Becky Tock, 55, lives near Buffalo. She, too, just drove slow on the side roads to come to caucus. She said the cold temperatures didnt bother her, but blizzard conditions like what hit the state on Friday may have made her think twice.

But it wouldve taken a lot for Tock to miss caucusing for the first time for Trump. To, her, supporting the former president is vital to putting the country on the right track.

With four years ago, the election, I just want to make sure my vote is in, Tock said. You cant take anything for granted.

Mary and Don Timmermann, of Hickory Grove Township, came to caucus for Nikki Haley in the Walcott gym. Don, 78, is a pastor at Sweetland Methodist Church near Muscatine, which just went through a split from the United Methodist Church organization over LGBTQ issues.

Mary said she thinks the country needs to clean house of people thatve caused turmoil. She said the country needs new blood, fresh ideas, and fresh approaches to governing. She said Haleys message resonated with her.

The Timmermanns warmly greeted a friend from church, Kirk Graham, as they sat down on the bleachers in the school gymnasium.

Graham, 68, was there to support a different candidate. He had been leaning toward Ron DeSantis, but when the Florida governor didnt gain much traction in the polls, decided to switch to supporting Trump.

I think theyre all good, but I think Trump, thats my guy, hes a proven leader, Graham said.

Graham said he hopes Trump picks Ramaswamy for his running mate.

He said he didnt want to waste his vote on Haley or DeSantis.

With Trump, I want him to be overwhelming, so thats why Im going to support him, Graham said. If hes at 50%, then Im all for him.

Michael Trowbridge, 43, of Blue Grass, came to support DeSantis, he said he thought DeSantis has more of the principles and values that I adhere to.

If Trump was the Trump of 2016 to 2020, I would probably support him. I just dont care for the route hes taken over the last few years, Trowbridge said.

A lot of it has to do with his attacks on the other candidates, Trowbridge said. Thats probably the number one thing I look for is a candidate who at least attempts to unify the party, bring them together.

Libertarians meet in Muscatine

The Libertarian party of Scott County held its caucus in the basement of the Musser Library in Muscatine, due to a last-minute cancellation of the former caucusing location. Only chair Andrew Onsgard from Davenport attended the caucus. He said that he had not decided who to support in the caucuses.

Im pretty open on presidential candidates and I wanted to discuss which one the other people are interested in, he said. I also wanted to elect a delegate to our state convention.

He said that he is interested in candidates Mike ter Maat, Chase Oliver, and hopes to learn more about Lars Mapstead.

David Hotle of the Muscatine Journal contributed to this report.
Since moving to the Quad-Cities from the Southwest in the fall, I've been determined to find the best Mexican food.

My favorite Mexican restaurants growing up in southern Nevada always flew a little under the radar. They weren't the flashy Casa Bonita or Las Vegas casino types. They were the hidden gems in strip malls with unlimited chips and salsa and a bowl of lollipops at the exit.

I'm pleased to say that I struck gold in the Quad-Cities at Rio Grande Central Grill & Cantina in Davenport.

I'd discovered my other local Mexican food favorite, Abarrotes Carrillo, via devout recommendations by friends.

But Rio Grande I stumbled on by a happy accident.

On a weekday lunch break, I traveled with some fellow reporters on a quest for a delicious burger. The goal was to track down Floyd's food truck, a QC favorite that was hopefully going to be on Locust Street that day. But given the snowy weather or another unknown change of plans, Floyd's wasn't quite where we thought it'd be.

Still, hunger hankered in my gut. That's when Rio Grande shone from its subtle perch down the block.

The dish: Burrito Deluxe (Lunch Special)

The menu alone at Rio Grande Central Grill & Cantina is probably longer than this column. It's got six pages filled to the edges with text, and something for every single occasion.

Picking just one meal seemed impossible, especially considering how much overlap there was between many of the menu items  the difference between a Burrito Deluxe and a Deluxe Burrito is still to be determined.

It helped that I perused the menu while munching on the complimentary Rio Grande chips and salsa. The chips were good, and the salsa was even better, with a tang of citrus and cilantro that was refreshingly addictive. Not too spicy, either. I'm a fiend for good chips and dip, so I devoured a whole bowl on my own.

I finally settled on the Burrito Deluxe, from the Rio Grande lunch specials menu. It came as a sort of burrito turned inside out. The centerpiece of the plate is a flour tortilla stuffed with seasoned beef. Then, on top, you'll find the sour cream, melted cheese, lettuce and pico de gallo. It also comes with a side of rice and beans, both of which were absolutely delicious.

I'm normally not the type to opt for ground beef at a Mexican restaurant  chicken fajitas, chorizo or carne asada would be my go-to choices. But I was blown away by how much flavor Rio Grande packed into their beef. I could've eaten the protein alone, never mind for the satisfying counterbalance of veggies and sour cream.

My recommendation: turn the whole plate into a de facto bowl. Try to get a little bit of everything in every bite. Some tortilla, some lettuce, a little bit of rice, beans and beef. That's the perfect bite. That was the taste of my home in the Southwest right there.

The price: $9.25

If you can find a better lunch bargain than this, let me know. Seriously. I left Rio Grande absolutely stuffed and didn't even have to break double digits on the receipt.

Other cost-efficient lunch specials include the chimichanga lunch, enchiladas verdes and tacos carne asada. On their massive menu, Rio Grande also offers various seafood, steak and chicken dishes. They've even got a dozen oysters for $22 and kid's menu with mac and cheese and corn dogs.

A little bit of everything for everyone and all at a startlingly cheap price.

The location:

Rio Grande is located at 1414 W. Locust St. in Davenport. It's at the far end of a strip mall, and close driving distance to the Davenport Whitey's location if you're already eyeing dessert.

They're open from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

The ambience: Neighborly and quick

It was expectedly quiet when some fellow reporters and I stepped into the dining room at Rio Grande on a weekday, in the late afternoon. But still, service was very friendly and extremely quick.

Everything about Rio Grande felt like a neighborhood spot. Cartoons played in the corner, a family celebrated a birthday party and the wait staff approached the whole thing with a nonchalance that puts a diner at ease.

Colors of the Mexican flag hung in streamers from the ceiling, and a fridge full of Jarritos and imported beers faced the entrance.

I know for certain that I'll be coming back to Rio Grande again.
Rock Island-Milan school leaders hired a new district leader, approved discipline plans and talked strategic planning last week.

With all members present, board member Gary Rowe gave kudos to the district's fine arts program  noting the 14 All-State musicians this school year  and other recent district events during board reports.

Like usual, he also gave an update on the district's Project NOW Head Start program and the Black Hawk Area Special Education Agency.

Many board members gave a welcome to Lanty McGuire, the district's interim second-semester superintendent, as well as students and staff coming out of winter break.

McGuire said it is an "honor and pleasure" to serve Rock Island-Milan schools in his interim role, reflecting on his time as a former educator in the district.

Highlights:

As previously reported, hiring Dr. Sharon Williams as the district's new superintendent, effective July 1, 2024. She was hired on a three-term, performance-based contract, with a base annual salary of $220,000.

Hiring Melody Oswald as the interim principal at Longfellow Elementary School for the remainder of the 2023-24 school year, at a daily rate of just under $553.98.

The district's 2024 Discipline Improvement Plan, per Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) guidelines.

A slew of board policy revisions, also per ISBE guidelines.

The board also heard a first-semester update on Rock Island-Milan's strategic plan.

Dr. Kathy Ruggeberg  assistant superintendent of teaching and learning  gave a reminder of the district's strategic priorities:

Engage all stakeholders through building respectful relationships.

Improve academic outcomes and close the achievement gaps through ensuring equity and opportunities for all students.

Enhance and improve operations.

A district satisfaction survey from this fall reported an 85% satisfaction rate from student respondents, alongside nearly 93% for parents/guardians and 87% for staff.

District leaders noted that parent/guardian survey participation landed at 28% this fall, down 3.8% from last fall. For students, this landed at nearly 59%  down almost 12% from last fall.

An almost 15% decrease, staff reported nearly 51% participation in the fall 2023 satisfaction survey. District leaders say engaging students, staff and the community to participate in these surveys will be a focus point moving forward.

Other notable data points from this presentation included:

Increased enrollment and course offerings.

A 39% decrease in In School Suspensions from last fall.

While the district has increased its non-White enrollment count, the percentage of that demographic  46%  has remained the same as the 2022-23 school year.

There has been a nearly 18% increase in Out of School Suspensions from last fall's rates.

Kindergarten reading proficiency landed at nearly 50% this fall, aligning with the district's end-of-year goal. For math, 56% of district kindergarteners were proficient after fall MAP assessments.

The district retained 90% of teachers from last school year.

Next followed a presentation on the 2024 Discipline Improvement Plan, starting with a rundown on Rock Island-Milan's action plan thus far, notably including:

Establishing "Building-Level Discipline Teams" to meet quarterly, analyze data and develop specific plans aimed at lessening exclusionary discipline practices. This team will include students, teachers, counselors and/or student support staff, administrators and parents/guardians.

Establishing a "District-Level Discipline Team" to meet at the end of each month to review data, ensure the implementation of clear policies district-wide and ensure the elimination of exclusionary discipline.

Continued professional development participation focused on trauma-informed care, alternatives to suspension and restorative practices.

According to the presentation, Rock Island-Milan has remained in the top 20% statewide for suspensions since 2020  though this does not include racial disproportionality or expulsions.

The district's top five discipline infractions include:

Violence with no serious injury.

Defiance, disrespect, insubordination and non-compliance.

Threat of violence.

Disruption.

Verbal altercation.

Moving forward, Rock Island-Milan leaders will focus on the following disciplinary steps (alongside Illinois State Board of Education guidelines):

Continue exploring alternative options to suspension, such as implementing new skill-building options. With that, continue expanding positive behavior referrals and reward systems.

Offer appropriate and available resources, such as: counselors, social workers and outside community resources.

Increase parental involvement.

Continue exploring professional development on non-exclusionary options for administrators.

Alicia Sanders, director of student services, also spoke about common factors behind student discipline incidents or behaviors across the district and in the Rock Island community.

To view each presentation and board discussions in full, watch Thursday's livestream on: www.rimsd41.org/apps/pages/boardmeetings.

Next meeting: Tuesday, Jan. 23 at 6 p.m.
Scott County residents were just some of the thousands of Iowan Republicans who turned out for caucuses Monday night. Here are quick profiles of some of the local caucusgoers and who they supported.

Clyde Carson

Location of caucus: Davenport West High School

City/Town of residence: Davenport

How many previous caucuses?

None

Who do you support?

Donald Trump

Why do you support that candidate?

"Trump will straighten out crime and corruption. And he'll put America first."

Who is your number 2 choice?

"There is no other choice."

Janet Janecek

Location of caucus: Davenport West High School

City/Town of residence: Davenport

How many previous caucuses?

Has participated in caucuses since the 1990s

Who do you support?

Ron DeSantis

Why do you support that candidate?

"Went to see him and he is really solid. I like his family and everything he said. He is younger than Trump."

Who is your number 2 choice?

Donald Trump

Paul Janecek

Location of caucus: Davenport West High School

City/Town of residence: Davenport

How many previous caucuses?

Former caucus chairman, has been active in causes since the 1990s

Who do you support?

Ron DeSantis

Why do you support that candidate?

"He is more electable than Trump. I think he will accomplish all the same things Trump would, but too many people will vote against Trump for all the wrong reasons."

Who is your number 2 choice?

"Anyone other than (Joe) Biden."

Shanda Robb

Location of caucus: Davenport West High School

City/Town of residence: Davenport

How many previous caucuses?

Caucused in 2020 for Trump

Who do you support?

Donald Trump

Why do you support that candidate?

"He did a great job the last time he was in office and I would like to see that continued."

Who is your number 2 choice?

Ron DeSantis

Mike Seibert

Location of caucus: Davenport West High School

City/Town of residence: Davenport

How many previous caucuses?

Caucused for Trump in 2020, but seriously considered Marco Rubio

Who do you support?

Donald Trump

Why do you support that candidate?

"I am 100% terrified of where our country is going without commanding leadership."

Who is your number 2 choice?

"There really is no second choice, but if I had to name one it would be Ron DeSantis."

Mike Ryan

Location of caucus: Davenport West High School

City/Town of residence: Davenport

How many previous caucuses?

"I caucused years ago as a Democrat."

Who do you support?

"I'm leaning toward Nikki Haley."

Why do you support that candidate?

"DeSantis comes on and said he busted the teachers union. Not a plus. Trump puts down the military."

Who is your number 2 choice?

"That's really hard. The Trump support seems more like a cult. Vivek (Ramaswamy) looks like he's running for Vice President."

Christy Ziskovsky

Location of caucus: Bettendorf High School

City/Town of residence: Bettendorf

Who do you support?

DeSantis

Why do you support that candidate?

"My kids can look up to him and he's going to be contentious with the words that he says and be a good leader in that aspect."

Who is your number 2 choice?

Undecided

Sam Nixon

Location of caucus: Bettendorf High School

City/Town of residence: Bettendorf

How many previous caucuses?

"This is my first one."

Who do you support?

Nikki Haley

Why do you support that candidate?

"We didn't have fiscal responsibility under George Bush Jr. We didn't have it under Barack Obama, we didn't have it under Trump and we certainly don't have it under Biden. I'm hoping she's a candidate that can start to move us toward a path to bring down our deficits."

Who is your number 2 choice?

"I really don't know."

Davis Hartsuch

Location of caucus: Bettendorf High School

City/Town of residence: Bettendorf

How many previous caucuses?

"20 years worth"

Who do you support?

Trump

Why do you support that candidate?

A medical doctor, Hartsuch has sued the Iowa Board of Medicine for the right to use hydroxychloroquine to treat patients. "Donald Trump was right in saying we should have used it. And if we did, 2,600 lives would have been saved."

Who is your number 2 choice?

"I have no Plan B."

Greg Adamson

Location of caucus: Bettendorf High School

City/Town of residence: Bettendorf

How many previous caucuses?

"I've been involved with the Scott County Republicans for decades."

Who do you support?

Vivek Ramaswamy

Why do you support that candidate?

"I've had the opportunity to meet Vivek and his wife on several occasions and we have been able to have some genuine conversations. He is just smart and the policies that he supports are the policies that I support."

Who is your number 2 choice?

"I have not made up my mind yet."

Becky Tock

Location of caucus: Walcott

City/town of residence: near Buffalo

How many previous caucuses?

First time

Who do you support?

Donald Trump

Why do you support that candidate?

Tock said three years ago there was no war in the Middle East or Ukraine under Trump. The border is also important to her and she said she believes Trump is the only person who can stop foreign wars and illegal immigration.

Who is your second choice?

Vivek Ramaswamy

Kirk Graham

Location of caucus: Walcott

City/town of residence: Blue Grass

How many previous caucuses?

At least one other time

Who do you support?

Donald Trump

Why do you support that candidate?

Graham said he initially leaned toward DeSantis, but thought he was polling too low. He said he believed Trump was a proven leader even if he didnt like how Trump speaks sometimes. Graham wasnt deterred by the cold, and wanted to register his support to help give Trump an overwhelming victory in Iowa.

Mary and Don Timmermann

Location of caucus: Walcott

City/town of residence: Hickory Hills

Who do you support?

Nikki Haley

Why do you support that candidate?

Mary Timmermann said she thinks the country needs new blood, fresh ideas and fresh approaches to governing. She doesnt believe the country should go down another path that has caused so much disruption, chaos, and drama.

Aria Goodin

Location of caucus: Walcott

City/town of residence: Blue Grass

How many previous caucuses?

First caucuses

Who do you support?

Donald Trump

Why do you support that candidate?

Goodin said she believes Trump was a really good president while he was in office. She met Ron DeSantis at a meet and greet in Davenport, but thought his laundry list of things he would get done on his first day in office was unrealistic, and questioned whether DeSantis would be able to achieve the same results nationally as he did in Florda.

Who is your second choice?

Ron DeSantis.

Questions omitted if not asked or no answer provided.

Photos: The 2024 Iowa caucuses
The Biden administration is demanding Texas grant federal agents access to the border after three migrants reportedly drowned in the Rio Grande River.

The deaths mark the latest tragic development in the escalating tensions between the federal government and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. The victims were identified as a woman and two children.

Drowning of Migrants

The incident magnified the rift between Texas and federal officials over the issue of who has authorization and jurisdiction in that particular part of the Rio Grande area. The drownings occurred a few days after state authorities blocked the US Border Patrol from accessing several miles of the US-Mexico border near Eagle Pass.

The city was recently the epicenter of the migrant crisis, but the issue of whether or not the lack of access could have played a role in the deaths is still in dispute. Authorities with Mexico's National Institute of Migration identified the victims on Monday as 33-year-old Victerma de la Sancha Cerros, 10-year-old Yorlei Rubi, and eight-year-old Jonathan Agustin Briones de la Sancha, as per CNN.

The incident started with Border Patrol learning that six migrants were in distress in the Rio Grande at around 9:00 p.m. CT on Friday. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Democratic US Rep. Henry Cuellar said that officials called the Texas Military Department, the Texas National Guard, and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

However, he noted that Border Patrol agents were "unsuccessful" in relaying the urgent information by phone. They then went to Shelby Park's gate, a city park on the Rio Grande that state authorities have blocked off with fencing, gates, and razor wire so that they could explain the circumstances of the incident.

Cuellar noted that the Texas Military Department's soldiers said that they would not grant access to the migrants even in the event of an emergency. They also noted that they would send a soldier to investigate the situation in the Rio Grande.

The situation has prompted the Biden administration to demand that Texas give federal agents access to the border. Department of Homeland Security General Counsel Jonathan Meyer sent a letter to Texas Attorney Ge. Ken Paxton, according to Yahoo News.

Read Also: NYC: 2,000 Migrants Sheltered in School Force Students to Remotely Study

Border Access Issue

The letter noted that a combination of Texas National Guard soldiers, equipment, and physical barriers was unconstitutionally restricting Border Patrol access to roughly 2.5 miles of the US-Mexico border.

Meyer noted that the recent actions taken by the state of Texas "impeded operations" of the Border Patrol. He said that these actions conflict with the authority and duties of the Border Patrol under federal law.

The official's letter gave Texas a Wednesday deadline to "cease and desist its efforts to block Border Patrol's access in and around the Shelby Park area." It also demanded the removal of all barriers to accessing the US-Mexico border.

Meyer said that if the state does not comply, they will refer the matter to the Department of Justice so that it can take appropriate action and consider all other options available, according to ABC News.

Related Article: NYC: Displaced Students', Migrant Families' Situation in Floyd Bennett Field Amid Winter Storm
Republicans went to caucus sites around Scott County Monday night, helping to start the process of picking the GOP 2024 nominee.

Trump supporter shows up plenty early

Clyde Carson is committed to caucus.

The 53-year-old Davenport resident parked his maroon GMC Jimmy outside the entrance the Davenport West Highland Schools gymnasium at 4 p.m. Monday, two full hours before the doors opened for the Republican Caucus.

The caucus started at 7 p.m. and Carson made no bones about who he intended to support.

Donald Trump all the way, he said.  Donald Trump will clear up the crime and corruption that has been going on in this country for a long time.

Carson also cited an age-old conspiracy theory when he said Trump   will keep us out of the wars run by the Rockefellers.

Carson also said he campaigned for Trump in 2016 and 2020.

I was shocked when (Trump) lost in 2020, there was no way that could have happened, he said.

Carson was so committed to caucus he actually spent a half hour standing outside his Jimmy. The temperature was, maybe, zero.

I got here and I changed my coat to look a little nicer, and I locked myself out of the truck, he said. I had to wait 30 minutes for someone to bring me my keys.

But its worth it. I want to be here for this caucus.

Precinct captain braves low temps

Anthony Ziskovsky walked along the sidewalk at Bettendorf High School holding what looked like paper fans.

But the cardboard squares attached to popsicle sticks were not fans, and he certainly did not need them in subzero temperatures. Ziskovsky was holding signs reading, DeSantis 2024 and planting them in the frozen ground a few feet apart.

The further Ziskovsky walked, the more people he encountered who were asking for directions on what to do once inside. Lucky for them, Ziskovsky was a precinct captain and could direct them where they needed to go.

With a temperature of 1 below, Ziskovsky was bundled up, but caucusing for the governor of the Sunshine State. DeSantis, he said, fought COVID, defended medical and personal freedoms and runs his state in a direction Ziskovsky would like to see the country go.

With the wind slowly picking up as the clock ticked closer to 6 p.m., the Bettendorf resident said he was confident the numbers for the DeSantis team would be big, noting supporters were willing to brave the cold.

DeSantis voters are definitely very energized, he said. People are coming from Florida and theyre really coming from all over the country, door-knocking, and theyve been doing that all weekend long.

Long drive for a Haley supporter

Inside Bettendorf High School, caucusgoers slowly trickled in, but the closer it got to the 7 p.m., the more the doors stayed open. Volunteers with the school came by with stacks of chairs lining the cafeteria with extra seats. Once it was time to vote, it was standing room only for one precinct.

In one of the back orchestra rooms stood a man who barely looked old enough to vote. Ethan Levine just turned 18 in September. But, he wasnt planning to vote in the caucus, as he wasn't eligible.

Levine drove nearly 200 miles from Deerfield, Illinois, just to stand with Haley supporters. This was the first caucus he has attended, and his first vote is upcoming, but hes had an interest in politics for years, he said. Thats what made the drive so easy.

I think this is the most engaged you can get in democracy, he said. I feel like its really important to vote, and Im out here to hopefully contribute to that by spreading the message of Nikki Haley.

Levine said hes always been an outgoing guy and was on the debate team in high school. Haley, also, is outgoing but also accountable, he said. With foreign policy and national debt being hot-button topics, Levine was confident there was one woman who could turn things around.

With the debt looming, I think Nikki is the right gal to get it done, he said. Its been fun helping out these past few days with the campaign.

Four caucuses, one site

Davenport West High School was actually the home of four precinct caucuses. Site Manager Bryan Zarn explained.

"We will have two caucuses in the auditorium, the caucuses for precinct D13 and precinct D14," he said. "And there will be two precinct caucuses in the cafeteria, for precincts D11 and D 12."

Zarn said he planned to caucus for Donald Trump and his second choice was Vivek Ramaswamy. He caucused two other times, in 2016 for Trump and in 2012 for Scott Walker.

True love and Trump

Shanda Robb, 46, and Mike Seibert, 48, just got engaged after 15 years of being a couple.

But they met back in the 1990s in the same place they went to cast their caucus votes for Donald Trump  Davenport West High School. Robb was happy to describe the evolution of their relationship.

"Mike was 17 and I was 15 and we both went to West and we had mutual friends who were dating," she explained. "I was young and Mike was, well, kind of boring. So after about two weeks, I broke off because I thought we were just better friends.

"Then I never really saw him again."

Seibert graduated from West in 1994. He eventually got married, had two kids and got divorced. Robb graduated from West in 1996, got married, had three kids, and got divorced.

"Then she stalked me on Facebook," Seibert said.

Once again, Robb explained.

"That was back before Facebook was a thing, and I hadn't signed up and all you could see was the little thumbnail pictures," she said. "I thought that was Mike, and I sent him a message and I ended up signing up for Facebook so we could talk.

"And then he moved back to Davenport from Ohio to be with me."

Seibert said he was a Young Republican at Davenport West and Robb said she learned about Trump from him.

The tale of two veterans

Paul Janecek is a 79-year-old who served in the United States Army and loves the Republican Party.

He voted for Jimmy Carter a long time ago, then became a Republican because "the Democrats just didn't treat the armed services very well."

Mike Ryan is a 68-year-old who served in the United States Marine Corps and describes himself as an "independent thinker."

He wore a shirt to Monday's caucus at Davenport West High School that had the Marine Corps seal on the front and the words "sucker" and "loser" on the back.

"Those are the words Donald Trump used to describe people like me, military veterans," Ryan said.

Janecek said he supports Ron DeSantis for president, citing Trump's issues with how the media portrays him.

"DeSantis is everything Trump will be, but he's just more electable," Janecek said. "DeSantis is a veteran, a family man, and has practically all the same policies as Trump."

Ryan said his disdain for Trump and what he calls his "cult of followers" has not led him to support DeSantis.

"DeSantis starts in about busting the teachers union, and I'm not seeing a plus," he said. "And he is a veteran, but I can't support someone who thinks breaking unions is a positive thing.

"And Trump, well, it goes beyond the military stuff. He's old. I'm an old white guy and I'm sick of the old white guys. I'm thinking maybe Nikki Haley."

Caucus draws crowd in Walcott

The frigid temperatures and wintry weather did not deter Republican caucusgoers in rural Scott County from making the drive to support their candidates.

Precinct chair Tracey Pettett said she was expecting to handle a single caucus with about 50 people. On caucus night, she wrangled two caucuses in a Walcott K-8 school lunchroom in which roughly 150 people sat around lunch tables to caucus.

On the other side of the school, about 180 people gathered in a frigid cold gym. Caucusgoers kept their coats and mittens on as they said the Pledge of Allegiance and listened as campaign representatives pitched their candidates.

That was more than expected, said Scott County GOP Chair Jeanita McNulty. She said they were hoping for 150 to turn out as a high estimate because of the negative temperatures and blowing snow.

Aria Goodin, 19, and her mom drove at a crawl  about 25 miles per hour  on a slick Y40 to caucus in Walcott.

Goodin supported former President Donald Trump in the caucus. The former president carried handily the six precincts at Walcott Elementary. Statewide, Trump won easily.

In the Walcott lunchroom, speakers for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Ambassador Nikki Haley, Ohio biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Trump.

Out of those, Trumps speaker elicited the most cheers and applause by far.

Goodin said she thought Trump was a good president while in office and wanted to give him another shot at the Oval Office. She considered DeSantis, and met him in person at the Quad City Veterans Outreach Center in Davenport, but she thought his promises were unrealistic.

While he can do what hes done for Florida, its going to be a lot harder to do that for the entire U.S., Goodin said. And he kept saying a lot about how hes going to do this and that and this and that on the first day and it definitely added up to a lot of stuff.

First time caucusegoer supports Trump

Becky Tock, 55, lives near Buffalo. She, too, just drove slow on the side roads to come to caucus. She said the cold temperatures didnt bother her, but blizzard conditions like what hit the state on Friday may have made her think twice.

But it wouldve taken a lot for Tock to miss caucusing for the first time for Trump. To, her, supporting the former president is vital to putting the country on the right track.

With four years ago, the election, I just want to make sure my vote is in, Tock said. You cant take anything for granted.

Mary and Don Timmermann, of Hickory Grove Township, came to caucus for Nikki Haley in the Walcott gym. Don, 78, is a pastor at Sweetland Methodist Church near Muscatine, which just went through a split from the United Methodist Church organization over LGBTQ issues.

Mary said she thinks the country needs to clean house of people thatve caused turmoil. She said the country needs new blood, fresh ideas, and fresh approaches to governing. She said Haleys message resonated with her.

The Timmermanns warmly greeted a friend from church, Kirk Graham, as they sat down on the bleachers in the school gymnasium.

Graham, 68, was there to support a different candidate. He had been leaning toward Ron DeSantis, but when the Florida governor didnt gain much traction in the polls, decided to switch to supporting Trump.

I think theyre all good, but I think Trump, thats my guy, hes a proven leader, Graham said.

Graham said he hopes Trump picks Ramaswamy for his running mate.

He said he didnt want to waste his vote on Haley or DeSantis.

With Trump, I want him to be overwhelming, so thats why Im going to support him, Graham said. If hes at 50%, then Im all for him.

Michael Trowbridge, 43, of Blue Grass, came to support DeSantis, he said he thought DeSantis has more of the principles and values that I adhere to.

If Trump was the Trump of 2016 to 2020, I would probably support him. I just dont care for the route hes taken over the last few years, Trowbridge said.

A lot of it has to do with his attacks on the other candidates, Trowbridge said. Thats probably the number one thing I look for is a candidate who at least attempts to unify the party, bring them together.

Libertarians meet in Muscatine

The Libertarian party of Scott County held its caucus in the basement of the Musser Library in Muscatine, due to a last-minute cancellation of the former caucusing location. Only chair Andrew Onsgard from Davenport attended the caucus. He said that he had not decided who to support in the caucuses.

Im pretty open on presidential candidates and I wanted to discuss which one the other people are interested in, he said. I also wanted to elect a delegate to our state convention.

He said that he is interested in candidates Mike ter Maat, Chase Oliver, and hopes to learn more about Lars Mapstead.

David Hotle of the Muscatine Journal contributed to this report.

Feeling caucus confusion? Your guide to how Iowa works What is a caucus? How are caucuses different from primaries? Are both the Republicans and Democrats holding caucuses in Iowa this year? Whats at stake? How will the Republican caucuses work in 2024? How will the Democratic caucuses work in 2024?
Christian Care, Rock Island, is gearing up to host the 11th annual Have a Heart for the Homeless luncheon Feb. 10 at Bally's Quad Cities Casino and Hotel, 777 Bally Blvd., Rock Island.

The event features raffles, a wine pull, refreshments, lunch, a dessert and speakers.

This year the focus will be on Street Outreach. De'Andre Robinson will offer an inside perspective on his time working directly with those living unsheltered and share information on how to meet the immediate needs of people experiencing homelessness.

Doors open at 11:15 a.m. with lunch at noon. Tickets are $35 each or $270 for a table of eight.

For sponsorship opportunities, please get in touch with Cindi Gramenz at 309-786-5734 or cgramenz@christiancareqc.org.
SPRINGFIELD  Nearly 20 years ago, survivors of one of the worst school fires in American history brought a novel idea to Illinois lawmakers: an arsonist registry akin to the long-established database of sex offenders.

The concept was fairly straightforward. Convicted arsonists upon release from prison, plus those found not guilty by reason of insanity, would be required to disclose their address, place of employment and/or the school they attend.

This information would be collected by local law enforcement, turned over to the Illinois State Police, then furnished to the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal, which would create the publicly accessible database on its website.

Known as the Arsonist Registration Act, it passed the legislature with no opposition and was signed into law by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2004.

Two decades later, the Office of the State Fire Marshal's website does in fact have a landing page titled "Arsonist Information" with a "database" tab.

But click on it and all you will find is a blank space with no names.

As long as the law has been in effect, law enforcement and the general public have not been getting the full picture about arsonists who might live and work in their neighborhoods, as the registry has never been established in practice.

The Illinois Auditor General's Office, which examines the use of public funds and performs audits of state agencies, has repeatedly cited both the Office of the State Fire Marshal and the Illinois State Police for failing to set up and maintain the database.

In a report released last month, the office found that this "represents noncompliance" with the law and "limits public awareness of arsonist information."

But where the blame lays for the the lack of implementation is complicated, with the fire marshal's office pinning it on the state police, who have not turned over the relevant arsonist information needed for the registry.

And the state police blame lawmakers, saying they have not appropriated money the agency needs to build out a new registry.

"Currently, the act is an unfunded mandate," said ISP spokeswoman Melaney Arnold. "In the 19 years since the act was passed, the General Assembly has never appropriated funding to ISP for this Act. ISP would need to create an extensive, new database (similar to the sex offender registration) and maintain it. This requires funding for setup and ongoing administration of the program."

OSFM Spokesman JC Fultz said the agency is ready to go whenever ISP provides the data, noting the blank document waiting to be filled on the website.

"We are in constant contact with our partners at the Illinois State Police in regard to funding issues they face to establish this registry," Fultz said. "Currently, ISP reports that this mandate remains unfunded."

The original idea for the registry came from survivors of the 1958 fire that broke out at Our Lady of the Angels School on Chicago's Northwest Side.

Ninety-two children and three nuns, trapped in second-floor classrooms, died in the blaze.

Though the cause of the fire was officially ruled inconclusive, many believe it was the work of an arsonist. In 1962, a 13-year-old boy accused of setting fires in a neighboring town confessed to the crime, though he later recanted.

"It was such a tragic thing in their lives, having their school burned and also losing their classmates, that they became firemen," said former state Rep. Michael McAuliffe, R-Chicago. "So they came up to me and said, 'Well, just like they have the sex offender registry, we would like one for people that are convicted of arson.'"

McAuliffe sponsored the legislation in the House.

An amendment attached to the final version of the bill in the Senate made the requirements for the state police "subject to appropriation" and said they would not start until the Illinois Citizens and Law Enforcement Analysis and Reporting System (I-CLEAR) is implemented statewide.

According to Arnold, that still hasn't happened.

The accountant who conducted ISP's 2022 compliance audit on behalf of the auditor general's office wrote that they were "perplexed" by this, writing that ISP's "documentation stated (I-CLEAR) was implemented in 2004."

ISP also told the office in 2020 that they had "turned over requirements to our vendor" for the creation of a new arsonist database.

"It is in process of reviewing requirements and drafting a Statement of Work (SOW)," the department wrote. "As of now, it does not have a timeline for when that development, testing, and implementation will be complete.

However, Arnold said last week that "because this has never been funded by the General Assembly, ISP has been unable to push it out to bid for an estimate."

Arnold said the cost to build the sex offender registry was about $5 million. With the number of convicted arsonists (believed to be in the hundreds) much less than the number of convicted sex offenders (more than 33,000), building out the arsonist registry would likely cost less. However, there would be ongoing costs, including the hiring of two new employees to administer the program.

Until then, the provisions of the law only apply to arsonists who live, work or attend school in Chicago, where the reporting system is already in place.

Chicago Police Department Spokesman Tom Ahern confirmed that the department has been collecting arsonist registration information as mandated under the law. But the OSFM is the only agency allowed to make that information public, meaning it remains hidden to all besides law enforcement agencies.

And, of course, the OSFM can't comply with the law until it gets information from ISP.

"It's kind of beyond their control, so hopefully the state police will get them the data and they can put the arson registry up for public use," Auditor General Frank Mautino told Lee Enterprises.

The answers from ISP illustrate the challenge in policymaking in marrying a law's concept and enactment with its implementation.

When it comes to ensuring agencies are implementing laws, the state's auditor general said, the responsibility falls at the feet of lawmakers.

"The accountability comes from the governor's office and the General Assembly," Mautino said. "They have a couple of things that they can do. They can impact the budget of the agencies.

"We're a reporting agency. We show where there are weaknesses and we report them to the General Assembly."

In addition to exercising the power of the purse, lawmakers can amend the laws that are in question to make it easier for agencies to comply, Mautino said.

In its response to a 2018 compliance audit, ISP said that they and the OSFM in 2012 "crafted a legislative proposal to clarify the responsibilities of each party" under the law. However, it did not pass.

McAuliffe, who left the legislature in 2019, said it is "a shame" that the arson registry that he helped shepherd into law had not been established.

"I know some of the years when I served, we had tough fiscal times," McAuliffe said. "But now, I would say with times being better and more money in the budget, maybe it would be a good idea to talk to some of my former colleagues and see if someone would be interested in implementing a funding source for that."

Illinois had a long stretch of unbalanced budgets in the 2000s, meaning lawmakers often had to pick and choose what programs got funded. The state's fiscal picture has improved dramatically in recent years  but the registry is just one of many initiatives in need of financial support.

Most don't even know the state is supposed to have an arson registry on the books  even state Rep. Mike Kelly, D-Chicago, who's been a firefighter for more than 20 years.

Upon learning about the registry, Kelly told Lee Enterprises that finding a funding source for it is worth exploring.

"Personally, I think it would be good for municipalities that are looking into investigations of arson," Kelly said of the database. "If you know that within 20 miles there's six different people that have done this in the past, it at least gives you somewhere to look."

32 unsolved crimes in Illinois December 23, 1975 - Carol Rofstad Carol Rofstad, who was 21 when she was killed, lived in Normal, IL while attending Illinois State University. She was found beaten unconscious about noon December 23, 1975, outside her sorority house at 602 S. Fell Street. The suspected murder weapon, an 18-inch piece of railroad tie, was found nearby. Rofstad wasn't found until roughly 12 hours after the attack. She died Christmas Eve as a result of head injuries. Two men, one of whom carried a club, were seen between 10 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. on December 22, 1975. Both were white males and between the ages of 18 and 25. At the time of the attack, most students had already left campus for the holiday break. Instead of returning to Elk Grove Village, though, Rofstad had stayed in the Twin Cities to work at a retail store. Money was found in her purse and there was no evidence of sexual assault. Two women, in the sorority house, neither saw nor heard anything unusual. Anyone with information in this case can call the Normal Police Department at (309) 454-9526, or Crime Stoppers of McLean County at (309) 828-1111. October 2,1976 - Unidentified Female On October 2, 1976, a local farmer in unincorporated Seneca, IL, discovered the victim in a ditch along U.S. Route 6, 1/4 mile east of the LaSalle County line. The victim had died from a gun shot wound. If anyone has any information, please contact Deputy Chief Coroner Brandon Johnson at The Grundy County Coroner's Office at 815-942-3792 or email: bjohnson@grundyco.org. May 26, 1980 - Diana K. Smith On May 26, 1980, Illinois State Police Investigations and the Rock Island County Sheriff's Office initiated a death investigation reference a white female (SMITH) found badly decomposed on the banks of the Rock River in Barstow, Illinois. Smith (Age 21) was last seen on May 20, 1980 leaving her house to go bowling in Rock Island. Any persons associated with Smith, or who may have knowledge of her murder are encouraged to contact the Illinois State Police, Zone 2 Investigations at 815-632-4010, ext. 232. March 30, 1984 - Lisa Ann Carnes Lisa Carnes' body was found on March 30, 1984 in a field in rural Massac County near Macedonia Church Road and US Highway 45. Anyone who has information that may be helpful in solving this crime is asked to contact Illinois State Police, Zone 7 Investigations at (618) 845-3740. April 9, 1985 - Unidentified Male On April 9, 1985, the Adams County Sheriff's Department was notified of the discovery of a deceased unidentified white male (approximately 20-30 years of age). The body was discovered by a private citizen. The body was located near an abandoned rock quarry on property rented by the Western IL Stone Company. This area is in the northwest portion of Adams County, IL (approximately 4 miles east of Meyer, IL) and is a rural area. The property was adjacent to County Road 0543E. Upon arrival officers of the ISP and Adams County Sheriff's Dept. observed the unidentified white male body which was partially covered. An autopsy was performed which concluded the cause of death was the result of multiple blunt trauma to the head and torso. The individual was found wearing "segefield" blue jeans, blue insulated underwear, gray socks (no shoes), a white printed t-shirt was located with the individual with the following printing "Captain Anderson's Restaurant Panama City Beach, FL." Investigators also noted a distinct tattoo on the victim's right forearm (a skeleton holding an inverted shotgun). If anyone has any information regarding this case they can contact Illinois State Police, Zone 4 Investigations (217-285-2034) or the Adams County Sheriff's Department (217-227-2200). May 20, 1986 - Kathleen A. Goebeler On May 20, 1986, Illinois State Police (ISP) District 01 responded to an area of abandoned railroad tracks located on the south side of I-88, milepost 28.5, wherein a citizen had discovered the decomposed skeletal remains of a white female now identified as Kathleen A. Goebeler, DOB: 11-12-1956, 5'01", 105 pounds. Kathleen's maiden name is Johnson. Her last known address was Mckees Rocks, Pennsylvania, which is a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Kathleen was last seen between April 11th and 18th, 1986, in Mckees Rocks, Pennsylvania. It is known that Goebeler would hitchhike as a means of transportation. Goebeler was known to have worked in strip clubs in the Pittsburgh, Pa. area, Atlantic City, New Jersey area and possibly the northwest West Virginia area. Geographic information regarding the area wherein the female was found: I-88 is an east/west toll way which connects the Quad Cities with Chicago, Illinois (very rural in nature). This location was approximately 120 miles west of Chicago. At the time of death, I-88 was still Illinois Route 5, a four lane highway. The body was found approximately 45' south of the roadway across a barbed wire fence in a sparsely wooded area. The photo included with this unsolved crime information is a reconstructed photo. If you have any information please contact Illinois State Police, Zone 2 Investigations at 815-632-4012 or call Crimestoppers at 309/762-9500. July 20, 1990 - Unidentified Female On July 20, 1990, at 1:25 p.m., an unidentified, white female body, approximately 5'4"-5'6" tall and 120-130lbs. in weight, was found in a bean field approximately 40 feet north of Lebanon Road, 1/10th of a mile west of the Troy and O'Fallon Road in Jarvis Township, Collinsville, Illinois. The victim's death resulted from multiple cutting and stab wounds to the neck and torso; her fallopian tubes, uterus and ovaries were missing. Evidence of surgical removal could not be determined. No defensive wounds were found on the victim. The body appeared to have been placed at the site two to three days prior to discovery. An image of a heart shaped turquoise ring she was wearing at the time of her discovery is attached, as well as a photograph of a reconstructive sculpture and artist interpretive sketch of her possible appearance before death. Anyone with any information regarding the identification of the unidentified victim is urged to contact Madison County Sheriff's Department at 618/692-0871 or call Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS(8477). October 4, 1990 - Robin Renea Abrams Robin Renea Abrams was reported missing on October 4, 1990. Abrams was last seen at approximately 4:00 PM, in the area of Goodenow Road, in Beecher, Illinois. At the time of her disappearance, Abrams was 28 years old and was believed to be wearing a black leather jacket, a white, long sleeved, knit pullover, black patent leather shoes and a gold pinky ring. Abrams was also possibly carrying a small, light beige, patterned clutch purse. Abrams was last seen driving a Red 1989 Dodge Daytona Hatchback that was later recovered in Harvey, Illinois. Anyone having information concerning the disappearance of Robin Renea Abrams should contact the Illinois State Police, Zone 3 Investigations Section at 815-726-6377 August 23, 1992 - Tammy J. Zywicki On August 23, 1992, Tammy J. Zywicki departed Evanston, Illinois, for college in Grinnell, Iowa, where she was expected to arrive that evening. Later that day, Zywicki's car was found by an Illinois State Trooper and ticketed as being abandoned. On August 24, 1992, the vehicle was towed by the Illinois State Police. On that same evening, Zywicki's mother contacted the Illinois State Police and advised them that her daughter had not arrived at college. On September 1, 1992, Zywicki's body was located along Interstate Highway 44 (I-44) in rural Lawrence County, Missouri, which is located between Springfield and Joplin, Missouri. She had been stabbed to death. Zywicki was reportedly last seen with her car, a 1985 Pontiac T100 with New Jersey license plates, on Interstate 80 at mile marker 83 in LaSalle County, Illinois, between 3:10 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on August 23, 1992. It was also reported that a tractor/trailer was seen near Zywicki's vehicle during this time period. The driver of the tractor/trailer is described as a white male between 35 and 40 years of age, over six feet tall, with dark, bushy hair. Some of the victim's personal property is known to be missing, including a Cannon 35mm camera and a musical wrist watch with an umbrella on its face and it played a tune. Anyone with any information is urged to contact Illinois State Police, Zone 3 Investigations at (815) 726-6377. January 27, 1993 - Unidentified Female On January 27, 1993, the head of a white female was found in a wooded area in the Wayne Fitzgerald State Park in Jefferson County, Illinois. Postmortem examination revealed the victim had approximately shoulder length reddish-brown hair. Analysis by the University of Illinois, Anthropology Department indicated the victim's age ranged between 30 to 50 years. Unusual skeletal characteristics of the skull and upper front cervical vertebrae indicate the victim suffered from chronic spasmodic torticollis or wryneck, a condition which causes stress on the muscles which are responsible for maintaining upright head posture. Evidence of a healed traumatic lesion on the skull suggests this condition may have been preceded by head trauma; this would have resulted in the victim maintaining a leftward tilt of the head. Anyone with any information that would help identify this unidentified victim is urged to contact Illinois State Police, Zone 7 Investigations at 618-542-1137 or call Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS(8477). June 29, 1993 - Keith L Brown On Feb. 3, 1993, the wife of Keith L. Brown 34, of Buckner reported her husband was missing. Brown's blue 1989 Plymouth hatchback, (IL. Reg. KWA682) was located two days later in a remote area near Crab Orchard Lake in Williamson County. On June 29,1993, Brown's skeletal remains were found in a hay field near Crab Orchard Lake by a farmer. Brown had been shot several times. Anyone with information is urged to contact Illinois State Police, Zone 7 Investigations at (618)542-2171. July 24, 1993 - Carmen Charneco Carmen Charneco was found murdered on July 24, 1993 on Interstate 90 in Elgin, Illinois. The Illinois State Police is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension of Edwin Acevedo Rodriguez, Male/Hispanic, 12/18/72. Rodriguez is a wanted fugitive who fled the Elgin area in July 1993 and is wanted for questioning in the death of Carmen Charneco. Rodriguez should be considered armed and dangerous. Rodriguez has a history of drugs and weapons and has been identified as a member of the street gang Maniac Latin Disciples." Warrants for Parole Violation, Public Peace/Damage to Property/Mob Action, and Unlawful Flight to Avoid Confinement, have been issued for Rodriguez. Before any law enforcement action is taken, agencies should confirm the status of the warrants. The Illinois State Police will coordinate extradition proceedings if Rodriguez is apprehended anywhere. Rodriguez has relatives in and has been sighted in Brooklyn, Bronx, New York, New York and the areas surrounding Aguada, Aguadilla Puerto Rico. He was also sighted in Hialeah, Florida. Rodriguez is a Puerto Rican male, approximately 5 feet, 3 - 5 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes. When last seen, his weight was approximately 132-150 pounds, but this description is dated. Rodriguez has several tattoos including ones on his left and right thighs, right arm, forearm, and shoulder. The attached photograph shows Rodriguez as he looked in 1993. No more recent information is available. Anyone having information concerning this case should contact the Illinois State Police, Zone 1 Investigations at 847-294-4314. Any request for a tip to be from an anonymous source will be honored. August 5, 1994 - Sherry Lewis On August 5, 1994, 30-year-old Sherry L. Lewis, a Decatur realtor, was found deceased in a Macon County residence that was for sale which she had an appointment to show. Anyone with information regarding the Lewis murder should contact the Macon County Sheriff's Office at (217) 424-1337. The family of Sherry Lewis is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the murder. Contact the Illinois State Police, Zone 5 Investigations at 815/844-1500 or call Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS(8477). October 10, 1994 - Jeffery W. Archer Illinois State Police, District Chicago Investigations is seeking assistance regarding the death of Jeffery W. Archer. He was last seen leaving his 1990 Plymouth Voyager, Illinois Registration TU5880 on October 10, 1994, at approximately 5:00 p.m. in the area of 6900 South Wolf Road, Indian Head Park, Illinois. His body was recovered on October 16, 1994, from the Sanitary Shipping Canal, one mile east of Routes 83 and 171. Anyone with any information is urged to contact ISP Zone 1 Investigations at (847) 608-3200 to provide any additional information. August 13, 1995 - Phil Christensen Phillip Christensen was found deceased on August 13, 1995 on Stouffer Road in rural Sterling, IL. An autopsy revealed he died of gunshot wounds. Christensen was a life-long resident of the Sterling-Rock Falls area and known to frequent many of the bars in that area. Many of Christensen's associates were interviewed at the time of his murder and some may have more information to offer. Anyone with information regarding the murder of Phil Christensen is encouraged to contact the Illinois State police, Zone 2 Investigations at 815-632-4010, ext. 232. November 1, 1995 - Shana M Jaros The Illinois State Police, Montgomery County Sheriffs Office, and the Nokomis Police Department are seeking assistance regarding the homicide of Shana Marie Jaros, of Nokomis, Illinois. Just before 7:00 a.m., on November 1, 1995, Jaros' deceased body was discovered in her apartment of one week at 527 South Maple, Nokomis, Illinois. A neighbor reported she heard a scuffle in Jaros's apartment at approximately 4:46 a.m. on November 1, 1995. The neighbor did not observe anyone leaving the victim's apartment immediately thereafter. Jaros received more than 50 stab-cutting wounds from just above her breasts to her neck. Death resulted from massive blood loss. Anyone with any information is urged to contact Illinois State Police, Zone 6 Investigations at 217-324-2515, or Crimestoppers at 1-800-352-0136. April 22, 1998 - Unidentified Male On April 22, 1998, an unidentified male was found in a field near I-55 and Rt. 53 between the towns of Bolingbrook and Romeoville IL. He had been deceased for an estimated 2 to 5 years. He was wearing an extra large blue nylon Starter jacket, blue jeans and size 9 or 9 1/2 Nike shoes. This person had a distinct overbite. Dental records are available for comparison. DNA profile has been established at the Illinois State Police Crime lab in Joliet IL, and is on file in CODIS. The attached image is a facial/cranial reconstruction prepared by the FBI and is an approximation, not an exact replication, of the face and head. Please contact Will County Coroner's Office at 815-727-8455. April 25, 1998 - Jeremy "Chappy" Chappelear On Saturday, April 25, 1998, at approximately 5:25 a.m., the body of 20-year- old Jeremy "Chappy" Chappelear was found on Buckeye Trail, 200 feet south of 4th Avenue, approximately 2.5 miles northeast of Donnellson, Illinois, by a fisherman en route to Coffeen Lake. Jeremy apparently died from being struck and/or run over by a vehicle. Jeremy had last been seen around 2 a.m. (April 25, 1998) at a farmhouse party two miles away. Jeremy may have been making his 10-mile-walk home when killed. If you have any information please contact Illinois State Police, Crash Reconstruction Unit at 618-542-1116, or Crime Stoppers 800/352-0136. June 29, 1999 - Amy Warner Amy Warner, a 23-year-old single mother of two, was killed June 29, 1999, in her home at 17 7th St. in Charleston, Illinois. No one has ever been charged with her stabbing death. January 30, 2002 - Unidentified Female On Wednesday, January 30, 2002, at approximately 4:30 p.m., the Illinois State Police responded to a complaint concerning the discovery of skeletal remains near mile marker 22 on Interstate 64. The complaint originated from workers of the Illinois Department of Transportation who were working in the vicinity and discovered the remains. The skeletal remains were situated off the roadway on the east side of the Silver Creek overpass in rural Mascoutah, Illinois. At the direction of the St. Clair County Coroners office, the remains were transferred to St. Marys Hospital, East St. Louis, Illinois, where an autopsy was performed. The autopsy, performed by Dr. James Petterchak, revealed the following information: the deceased is believed to be an African-American female, approximately aged 20 to 30 years, with two rings on the left hand (one 14 ct. small gold band (size 7 1/4) and one costume style ring (size 6 ) with a light blue colored tear shaped stone), wearing a black colored sleeveless one-piece Jason Matthews brand jumpsuit. The autopsy could not determine the cause of the death and it is believed that the victim has been deceased for several months. Additional forensic examinations will be conducted to determine the identity of the woman. Anyone with information concerning the identity of the victim or the circumstances surrounding her death are urged to contact Illinois State Police, Zone 6 Investigations at 618/346-3782, or Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS(8477). March 11, 2002 - Unidentified Female On March 11, 2002, at approximately 1:57 p.m., the Illinois State Police responded to a complaint concerning the discovery of human skeletal remains near mile post 23 on Interstate 70 (eastbound) near Collinsville, Illinois. The complaint originated from workers of the Illinois Department of Transportation who were working in the vicinity and discovered the remains. The remains were removed from the scene and transported to the Madison County Morgue in Edwardsville, Illinois, where an autopsy was conducted on March 12, 2002. The autopsy did not determine a cause of death, however further examination by forensic anthropologists revealed the following information: The skeletal remains are of a black female, approximately 5'1" to 5'6" in height (5'3" believed to the most accurate). There is no estimate of weight, and the approximate age is between 24-30 years old. It is believed the remains have been at this location for approximately 4-6 months. The skeletal remains were almost completely intact and clad in a pair of gray colored Second Skins brand shorts (size: medium) with rhinestones and a red and white colored check flannel style Tommy Hilfiger button down man's style shirt (size: XL). In addition, a man's style "gold" nugget style ring with two glass stones was found with the remains. The ring originally held four stones in the setting. The ring was determined to be costume jewelry and is a size 7 1/4. Also found were two bracelets. The one bracelet is a metal hoop, approximately 3 inches in diameter, smooth on one side with a channel on the other side. A ring of black onyx beads on elastic string fits into the channel bracelet. The second bracelet is a combination of three separate bracelets. The second bracelet has numerous plastic beads (yellow, green, black, mauve, and brown) strung with thin elastic string that could be stretched. The three separate bracelets were gathered by a single, oval shaped metallic ring with a small hole at one end that appeared to be for the purpose of hanging a charm. On June 18, 2002, the Illinois State Police released computer recreation images of a black female victim that was originally discovered on March 11, 2002. The images reflect how the victim may have looked prior to her death. Anyone with information concerning the identity of the victim or the circumstances surrounding her death are urged to contact Illinois State Police, Zone 6 Investigations at 618/346-3782, or Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS(8477). March 28, 2002 - Unidentified Female On Thursday, March 28, 2002, the Columbia Police Department along with the Major Case Squad began investigating the skeletal remains found on a creek bed on Route 3 near Gall Road in Columbia. Investigators located a green shirt with a large "M" and the word "Mavericks", in orange or yellow lettering, across the front of the shirt. The shirt also had two buttons at the top similar to a softball jersey. The shirt is an adult XL. Also at the scene were a pair of khaki colored size 3 "Chazzz Credentials" shorts. A preliminary report by the Forensic Medical Investigator describes this person as a female, age 33 to 50, with African American ancestry, 5' 01" "give or take three inches", and believed to have children. The victim possibly had a scar across her forehead. Additional information will be available in the coming days. The Medical Investigator believed the person has been deceased at least six months but no more than one year. Anyone with information is asked to call the Columbia Police Department at 618-281-5151 or or call Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS(8477). October 1, 2002 - Unidentified Female The Illinois State Police, in cooperation with the Kankakee County Sheriffs Office and the Coroners Office, is seeking any information that may help identify the skeletal remains of a black female, which were found in October 2002 near the Will/Kankakee County Line, near Route 45. This reconstruction was done by a forensic artist, based on the remains. The woman was approximately 30-40 years old at the time of death and stood around 5 foot 3 inches tall. She is thought to have died in 2001. (The hairstyle and length is only an estimate.) If you can provide any information about the possible identity of this person, or the circumstances of her death, please contact Illinois State Police, Zone 3 Investigations at (815) 698-2672. All information will be treated as confidential upon request. March 26, 2003 - Dalton Mesarchik On March 26, 2003, seven-year-old Streator resident Dalton Mesarchik was reported missing from the front yard of his home. The following day, Dalton's body was located in the Vermillion River. An intense, multi jurisdictional investigation ensued. Agents from the Streator Police Department, Livingston County Sheriff's Department, and Illinois State Police interviewed dozens of people and followed up on hundreds of leads in an attempt to identify the person responsible for Dalton's murder. Physical evidence from Dalton's body and the body recovery site was sent to the ISP Crime Lab for processing. View the press release announcing the Dalton Mesarchik Task Force. Anyone with information of Daltons murder, the hammer used in the murder, or the location where Daltons body was found may contact: Illinois State Police - Dalton Mesarchik Task Force by telephone at 1-815-844-1500 (ext.2321) or email at daltonm@isp.state.il.us May 26, 2003 - Unidentified Male On May 30, 2003, the Illinois State Police began investigating a homicide in Brooklyn, IL. The vehicle and the victim were abandoned since Monday, May 26, 2003. Victim believed to be a male/Hispanic, 18-25 years old, between 5'11" and 6', weighing 200-230 lbs. Clothing victim was wearing was a light blue or light green and white striped button up shirt, black jeans, black cowboy boots, and a black belt with silver attachments that resemble Southwestern Indian style jewelry. Sizes of the clothing are available. The jewelry the victim was wearing appears to be a good quality gold bracelet with the letters "ONO" raised and studded in diamonds. There is a flower on each side of "ONO" consisting of eight petals that are diamonds surrounding a center diamond. The victim was also wearing what appears to be a good quality large man's gold ring with a cluster of six diamonds surrounding a center diamond. Victim was wearing a silver Casio brand watch with digital numbers. The unidentified victim has a tattoo on the back of his right shoulder. Victim was found in the trunk of a red 1988 Dodge Dynasty with Kansas temporary tag. Anyone with information concerning the identity of the victim or the circumstances surrounding his death are urged to contact Illinois State Police, Zone 6 Investigations at 618-346-3770 or call Crimestoppers at 1/800-371-TIPS(8477). July 6, 2003 - Jone Knapton On July 6, 2003, 47 year-old East Moline resident Jone Knapton was reported missing. Four days later, Jone's body was located in the Green River in rural Henry County. An intense, multi jurisdictional investigation ensued. Agents from the East Moline Police Department, Henry County Sheriff's Department, and Illinois State Police interviewed dozens of people and followed up on hundreds of leads in an attempt to identify the person responsible for Jone's murder. Anyone having information concerning this case is urged to contact the Illinois State, Zone 2 Investigations at (309) 752-4915 or the Quad Cities Crime Stoppers: (309) 762-9500. November 1, 2004 - LeAnne Taylor LeAnne Taylor was last seen alive Thanksgiving weekend 2004. Her body was later found by IDOT workers on December 4, 2004, along Bypass 20 outside of Rockford, Illinois. A group of individuals familiar to Taylor have been identified. Some may be responsible for her death, or may have knowledge of her murder. Not all these individuals are associated with each other. The Illinois State Police is looking for people who knew Taylor and may have provided information in the past, but now have more to offer. Additionally, any individuals who did not come forward at the time of her death, but have information to offer, are encouraged to come forward now and speak with investigators. Agents with the Illinois State Police, Zone 2 Investigations may be contacted at 815-632-4010, ext. 232. January 6, 2005 - Unidentified Male On January 6, 2005 at approximately 4 p.m., the body of a male white subject was recovered from the Illinois/Michigan Shipping Canal near Summit, Illinois. The subject is 5'9" in height, weighing 185 pounds between the ages of 50 and 60 years of age with balding brown hair and a mustache. At the time the subject was recovered, he was wearing a brown sweater, blue shirt, dark blue pants, a white t-shirt, and black size nine slip-on shoes. It is believed that the subject may have been homeless at the time. Any person having information or questions are asked to contact Illinois State Police, Zone 1 Investigations at 847-294-4600. (Case # 05-10145DP) April 5, 2007 - Barry Marcel Lowery On Thursday, April 5, 2007 at approximately 5:20 a.m., Barry Marcel Lowery, was found shot to death inside his residence at 640 North 53rd Street in East St. Louis, Illinois. Anyone with information about the murder of Lowery is asked to contact Illinois State Police, Zone 6 Investigations at (618) 346-3782 or St. Louis Regional CrimeStoppers (www.stlrcs.org) at (866) 371-TIPS (8477). CrimeStoppers will pay up to $1000 for anonymous information that leads to an arrest and conviction. January 28, 2008 - Mark Prasse Northwest of Paris, Illinois and southwest of Chrisman, Illinois, was the site of the double homicide of Mark Prasse of Chrisman and Ryan Riddell of Villa Grove, who were found by police on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2008. Police suspect the two friends, both 32 at the time of their deaths, may have been victims of a targeted killing. Story from jg-tc.com: https://jg-tc.com/news/double-murder-pair-apparently-shot-to-death-found-in-rural/article_1c1015a3-1e13-5e0f-809e-4d60dafae611.html The double homicide is being investigated by the Illinois State Polices crime scene services and investigations units, the Edgar County Sheriffs Department and the Edgar County Coroners office. Anyone with information relative to the incident is asked to contact the Edgar County Sheriffs Department at 465-4166. Janury 28, 2008 - Ryan Riddell Northwest of Paris, Illinois and southwest of Chrisman, Illinois, was the site of the double homicide of Mark Prasse of Chrisman and Ryan Riddell of Villa Grove, who were found by police on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2008. Police suspect the two friends, both 32 at the time of their deaths, may have been victims of a targeted killing. Story from jg-tc.com: https://jg-tc.com/news/double-murder-pair-apparently-shot-to-death-found-in-rural/article_1c1015a3-1e13-5e0f-809e-4d60dafae611.html The double homicide is being investigated by the Illinois State Polices crime scene services and investigations units, the Edgar County Sheriffs Department and the Edgar County Coroners office. Anyone with information relative to the incident is asked to contact the Edgar County Sheriffs Department at 465-4166. June 3, 2010 - Thomas Moore On Wednesday, June 30, 2010 at approximately 10:40 p.m., Thomas D. Moore, an O'Fallon, IL resident, was found shot to death in the roadway in the 5700 Block of Portland Place in Washington Park, Illinois. Two black males were observed fleeing the scene in Moore's vehicle, which was found burned a short time later in Washington Park. Anyone with information about Moore's murder should contact Illinois State Police, Zone 6 Investigations at (618) 346-3759 or call Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS(8477).
CHICAGO  Every great city deserves an easily identifiable sandwich of its own. Whether its the Philadelphia cheesesteak or the New Orleans poboy, a gut-busting sandwich is a matter of civic pride.

When most people think of Chicagos sandwich of choice, the first answer is usually the Italian beef sandwich. (Unless you are one of those people who thinks a hot dog is a sandwich.) After all, you can find one in most neighborhoods, and locals love to argue relentlessly about where to find the best. The popularity of the sandwich has only grown recently thanks to The Bear, an FX show that follows a fine dining chef who has to return to his familys Italian beef stand.

But looking through the Tribunes archives, its a bit shocking to find that the Italian beef hasnt been the obvious sandwich choice for that long. Unlike barbecue, which shows up in the archives all the way back in the 1850s, the Italian beef doesnt even make an appearance until the 1950s.

Chicagoans were eating sandwiches with beef long before then, though. Its just that they were either roast beef sandwiches or, more likely, corned beef sandwiches.

As critic Louisa Chu explained well back in 2019, Chicago is a corned beef town, unlike New York, Los Angeles or Montreal, where they prefer pastrami. While true today, Chicagoans were apparently even more obsessed with corned beef in the early 20th century.

That was when P. Harding, also known as Corned Beef John, had 12 restaurants downtown serving the dish, including Harding Grill ( 131 N. Clark St.) and Hardings Colonial Room (21 S. Wabash Ave.). According to an article from Sept. 22, 1922, Harding started the craze for the make em before your eyes corned beef sandwich. An article from Aug. 15, 1926, went even further, claiming his chief bid for fame, however, is in having made the corned beef sandwich what it is today.

The Tribune loved to throw superlatives at Harding. He transformed the Star Theater at 68 W. Madison into a restaurant in 1918, and when he planned to open another downtown restaurant, the paper felt the need to write this: Mr. Harding four years ago answered in the affirmative the momentous question: Is the corned beef sandwich mightier than the movies.

Corned beef also made Harding a very rich man. On Dec. 4, 1928, the Tribune referred to Harding as a millionaire restaurant owner, while noting how he wielded a knife dexterously when he carved corned beef for fifty guests at a dinner given last night in honor of Harry Hackney of Atlantic City, president of the National Restaurant Association.

So when did the Italian beef overtake corned beef? The 1920s is when many of the Italian beef origin stories pop up, with both Pasquale Scala and Tony Ferreri mentioned as possibly inventing the dish. Unfortunately, I couldnt find any mentions in the Tribune archive during that time period.

In fact, the first clear mention of the Italian beef that I was able to find wasnt until June 28, 1953. It wasnt exactly a grand introduction. The very short post, titled Old Peoples Home Aids Plan Benefit Picnic, explains how the ladies auxiliary and mens league of Villa Scalabrini will hold their second annual picnic at noon next Sunday at the villa in Northlake  Italian beef and sausage sandwiches and spumoni will be served [to] guests. Thats it.

According to The Chicago Food Encyclopedia, the origins of the Italian beef probably werent from either Scala or Ferreri, but instead lie in Italian American home cooking. In particular, the book points to so-called peanut weddings in the 1920s where the dish was often served because it was affordable and could easily feed a crowd.

As noted above, nothing was mentioned during the time, but on May 11, 1979, the Chicago Italian American Organization did an advertisement for a 40s Italian Wedding fundraiser where you could experience an authentic 1940s Italian peanut wedding. The first food mentioned is the beef sandwich.

The Italian beef pops up occasionally in the 1950s and 1960s, though most often in restaurant ads, like the one on Nov. 14, 1954, for the grand opening of delivery service for Barsantis Grill at 3404 Lincoln Ave., which specialized in pizza, spaghetti, ravioli, Italian beef sandwiches, bar-b-q ribs, southern fried chicken and french fried shrimp. On July 28, 1963, The New Parkette at 105th and Western printed its menu, which shows that an Italian beef sandwich cost 60 cents.

On May 26, 1962, we get what may be the first recipe for the Italian beef from Mary Meade. (As I found out recently, the name was a pseudonym for a number of different women writers.) Theres a lot of tomato paste, which isnt as common today, but the recipe looks pretty close. Plus it has the first mention of dipping bread in the beef juices: In the true Italian fashion, the sliced Italian or French bread should be dipped into the stock before being layered with the thin slices of beef.

But it was not until the 1970s that the Italian beef truly took off with Tribune reporters. On May 17, 1975, in the Chicago Tribune Magazine, Charles Leroux visited a number of drive-ins around the city, including Mr. Beef: They have a wonderfully spicy sausage sandwich [75 cents] and a killer Italian beef sandwich [$1.05]. A photographer friend says he cant face the drive home without a Mr. Beef beef dripping into his lap.

Even cats started appreciating the sandwich. In one of the stranger stories Ive ever come across in the archives, author Mary Daniels wrote on Oct. 6, 1976, about Nick Fischers cat that weighed 23 pounds and once stole an 11-pound turkey. Then Fischer explained that when he gets a beef sandwich, I have to get him one, too. Without peppers.

By Jan. 8, 1979, the Italian beef was apparently so ubiquitous that Phyllis Magida could write this: Rare is the Chicagoan who doesnt know to dip pierogi in sour cream, or how to hold a taco, or to demand hot pepper with Italian beef.

The Italian beef really took off in the 1980s. In a Sept. 26, 1980, article about where to spot celebrities in the city, Barbara Molotsky wrote that Neil Diamond apparently really liked the Italian beef at Als. The sandwich became a fixture for numerous businesses at Taste of Chicago, which launched for the first time in 1980. Even fine dining chefs started discussing the sandwich. In an article from Oct. 15, 1982, Gail Bernstein asked chefs where they enjoyed eating after closing time, and multiple chefs mentioned grabbing an Italian beef. On Nov. 3, 1983, JeanMarie Brownson even offered a recipe for cheesy Italian beef sandwiches, proving that cheese was a common topping for the sandwich in the 1980s.

By Sept. 15, 1989, Manuel Galvan felt confident enough to declare that the Italian beef was Chicagos sandwich. That said, the article is more interesting for mentioning that Jay Leno, who at that time didnt have his own show, brought a bagful of beefs to Late Night with David Letterman when it was taping in Chicago four months before. As he and the host traded laughs, Leno ate a couple of Italian beefs and frequently told the Chicago audience the sandwiches came from Mr. Beef.

This is around the time when Chicago transplants started writing in to complain about how they cant get a good Italian beef anywhere else. On Aug. 16, 1990, Edward Agustin from Norcross, Georgia, wrote a plea for help from a displaced Chicagoan about how much he missed the wet mess of sandwich. On July 25, 2001, Jerry Goodman from Florida said hed love a recipe for the sandwich because he really missed those morsels.

Finally, on Oct. 12, 2005, there was no doubt about the status of the Italian beef sandwich in Chicago. Thats when the sandwich was included in Bill Daleys article about 10 Chicago icons. There the Italian beef shared space with other recognized Chicago food classics like deep-dish pizza and the Chicago hot dog.

Photos: Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson Election 2023 Chicago Mayor Election 2023 Chicago Mayor Election 2023 Chicago Mayor Election 2023 Chicago Mayor Election 2023 Chicago Mayor Election 2023 Chicago Mayor Election 2023 Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson - 2022 Brandon Johnson - 2023 Brandon Johnson - 2023 Brandon Johnson - File Brandon Johnson - 2022 Brandon Johnson - 2022 Brandon Johnson - 2022 Brandon Johnson - 2022 Brandon Johnson - 2022 Brandon Johnson - 2022
Note: This story is part of 'Gone too soon,' a series that examines why Native Americans die a generation younger than their white neighbors in Montana. With support from the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalisms 2023 National Fellowship, Lee Montana newspapers spent six months reporting on the factors that contribute to a lower life expectancy and what could help close the gap.

CROW RESERVATION  When doctors in Billings told Ursula Rides Horse-Russell she had Stage 2 breast cancer, her mind went blank. She had buried her 34-year-old son two days earlier.

She couldnt remember who came to the funeral or who sent condolences. Navigating a new and scary diagnosis felt impossible.

Doctors surgically removed her cancer but told Ursula shed have to travel to Billings several times a week for chemotherapy  50 miles each way.

For Ursula and her husband Barry, Ursulas care presented a logistical nightmare.

To drive from their home in Hardin to doctors in Billings, Ursula and Barry would need a reliable vehicle and money for food, gas and possibly a hotel  none of which they had.

And Ursula and Barrys children have health issues of their own. Like many grandparents in tribal communities, they raise their three grandchildren full-time. That means theyd also have to find trustworthy care for the kids when traveling for Ursulas appointments.

Moving to Billings could make things easier, but how would they find affordable housing and good schools for the kids? And could they leave their community behind?

At 63, Ursula is three years older than the average age at which Indigenous women die in her county. When she learned her diagnosis, she knew shed have to fight more than just the cancer to survive.

I knew I had to live for my grandchildren, she said. Were the only parents they know.

Ursula, who is Crow, is one of thousands of Indigenous people in Montana who face serious barriers accessing the health care they need to live.

Native Americans have the lowest life expectancy of any racial or ethnic group in the U.S. In Montana, where Native Americans comprise 6.7% of the population, Indigenous people die a generation younger than their white neighbors.

Experts say inadequate care, food deserts, discrimination at the doctors office, harmful U.S. policies, poverty and rurality are among the factors contributing to the crisis. And while tribal leaders have raised the issue for years, they say improving health outcomes is not a priority among state and federal leaders.

Indian Health Service, the federal agency responsible for providing health care to federally recognized tribes, is chronically underfunded and doesnt administer specialty care. So, depending on where one lives on the reservation, a person may have to travel hours for things like cancer treatment, behavioral health services or even to deliver a baby.

In a place where almost 30% of people live below the poverty level  more than twice that of Montana and the U.S  traveling for health care comes at significant cost. Theres gas money, vehicle maintenance, child care, time off work.

Rurality isnt the only issue  Native Americans in Montana die, on average, 17 years younger than the states white rural residents. A deep-seated mistrust of the Indian Health Service means community members may avoid getting the care they need. And while Indigenous people are more likely to die from heart disease, cancer, diabetes, liver disease, stroke and suicide than their white neighbors in Montana, they must rely on an overburdened, underfunded system of care.

Despite these challenges, however, community members fight for solutions to help each other survive.

Gas is very precious': Distance to care No. 1 challenge

The most significant barrier community members face in accessing care is transportation, according to LeeAnn Bruised Head, director of the Crow Tribal Health Department.

We live in poverty here, she said. A lot of people dont own cars, and if they do, gas is very precious.

While several programs offer transportation or financial assistance, they don't come close to meeting community needs. Some organizations distribute gas cards to help people get to appointments. Tribal transit takes people to Billings in the mornings and evenings. And while the tribe can provide limited financial support to members, members must first submit their medical records to people in leadership. In a close-knit community where rumors spread fast, some are hesitant to share their medical records for privacy reasons.

Tribal transit didnt run at convenient times for Ursulas appointments. And she didnt feel comfortable giving the tribe her records, so Barry drove her to most appointments.

Im mad at the tribe, Ursula said, adding that she felt like she had to jump through hoops to get the support she needed. We do everything ourselves, and were doing the best we can.

It didnt take long for their frequent trips from Hardin to Billings to become precarious.

When it snowed, Ursula made Barry promise to drive slow, sometimes making their trips take twice as long. They often brought their grandchildren in tow, but with school and homework, that was difficult, too. With winter temperatures reaching 20 below zero and slick roads, sometimes Ursula and Barry would get stuck in Billings and have to pay for a hotel.

Other times, Ursula couldnt get to her appointments at all.

In October  six months after her diagnosis  Ursula, Barry and their three grandchildren secured affordable housing in Billings and made the move. Though shes glad to be closer to care, Ursula said moving was hard on her family.

We dont hardly know anybody here, she said. We keep to ourselves. The only ones we know are our doctors, nurses and pharmacy people.

While she and Barry drained their savings on countless trips to Billings, uprooted their family and left their community to live closer to doctors, they count themselves lucky.

They both know that if they hadnt been able to travel in the first place, doctors may not have found the cancer in time to safely remove it.

A lot of people die like that, Ursula said.

Youll die: IHS wields bad reputation

Prior to her cancer diagnosis, Ursula regularly made the 50-mile-drive to a hospital in Billings for her persistent chest pain.

While chest pain can be urgent, she didnt even consider going to the Indian Health Service (IHS) facility 15 miles away because she, like many community members, doesnt trust the federal agency.

Sidney Chip Fitzpatrick, who lives on the Crow Reservation, said growing up, his grandfather would tell him not to go to IHS.

He said, Theyll get you sick, and then youll die, Fitzpatrick recalled, adding he avoided IHS for more than 20 years until a knee injury forced him to go.

Tribal leaders have urged members of Congress to increase IHS funding, improve services and enhance staffing for decades to little avail. Frustration is so high that one Montana tribe recently called for the removal of several IHS state and national leaders. Past unethical health abuses at IHS also have far-reaching consequences. A recent federal report cited the forced sterilization of Indigenous women as yet another reason why people remain skeptical of the agency.

It doesnt help that other policy decisions undermine this unique system of care. The unwinding of Medicaid has disproportionately hurt Native Americans nationwide, and a recent sober-living fraud scheme took advantage of Indigenous people in Montana. Last month, the state health department quietly eliminated the tribal relations manager position, sparking outrage among tribal leaders who said improving health outcomes just isnt a priority in the state.

ISH Crow-northern Cheyenne hospital The Indian Health Services' Crow-Northern Cheyenne Hospital is shown in Crow Agency.

We accept no for an answer: Cultural differences in care

Tribal health professionals and community members say providers at IHS, an agency established specifically for tribes, need more training on culturally sensitive care.

For cultural reasons, Indigenous people may avoid eye contact with medical providers, which can be misinterpreted as a sign of disinterest. And community members say advocating for themselves in the medical space can feel uncomfortable.

Anna Whiting Sorrell, a citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, previously served as director of the Montana Department of Health and Human Services. She was also the IHS Billings Area director and an administrator for the tribal health department on the Flathead Indian Reservation.

When she worked for the state, Whiting Sorrell watched as non-Native families fought insurance companies, sometimes appealing to the governors office until their issue was resolved.

I was like, Wow. People do that? Whiting Sorrell recalled. She suspects self-advocacy doesnt come easily for Indigenous families, in part, due to historical trauma.

We accept no for an answer, she explained. Its a belief prevalent in our tribal communities because weve been told no to health care through IHS and other systems.

'An uphill battle': The unique problems with IHS

In its last budget report, IHS said it would need nearly $50 billion to be sufficiently funded. The Biden administration last year allocated $9.3 billion to the agency  $40 billion short of the request but still the largest investment in IHS to date.

Because IHS doesnt provide most specialty services, patients get referred to bigger hospitals, and IHS will usually cover the cost of care. But that system can be unreliable, as community members know the agency can run out of money. IHSs funding is renewed at the start of each fiscal year in October, so patients have a better chance of getting a referral at the beginning of the year rather than at the end.

The agency also struggles to attract and retain doctors, nurses and behavioral health clinicians  problems that are exacerbated by a lack of housing and employment opportunities on the reservation.

And despite incentives that repay student loan debt in exchange for working at IHS, Levi Black Eagle, secretary of the Crow Tribe, said community members see non-Native medical professionals leave time and again.

Say you have an outsider who comes in and wants to make a difference in this community, said Black Eagle. They get here and its an uphill battle. They have all these things working against them, and theyre going to leave.

With limited staff at IHS, community members often see a revolving door of providers and face long wait times to schedule appointments.

Tribal health employees said in November that if someone wanted to receive behavioral health services or counseling, theyd have to wait between six months and one year to get in the door. Without someone to talk to, community members say too many people turn to drugs and alcohol to self-medicate. In 2020, 70% of Crow middle school students reported drinking alcohol before age 13, and chronic liver disease was the second-leading cause of death for Crow community members ages 18 to 54 from 2015 to 2019.

Lisa Daychild, who works at the Lodge Grass School District, lost two brothers and one sister  all in their 40s. Two died of addiction and one from suicide. She often wonders whether more resources, behavioral health or otherwise, couldve saved them.

I always think about that, she said, shaking her head.

Someone they trust: Seeking out solutions

Caught in a web of government bureaucracy and red tape, Crow residents say solutions are most effective when they come from within the community. When it comes to insufficient staffing at IHS, those community members want to see more pathways for Native Americans to pursue careers in medicine.

Little Big Horn College on the reservation offers a pre-nursing program, but students must leave the community to earn more advanced medical degrees.

Black Eagle, the tribal secretary, said that while non-Native providers often leave after a few months or years, community members, who have established support systems, are more likely to stay.

Tribal leaders say its imperative all medical and nursing students receive education specifically on providing health care to Indigenous people. Culturally sensitive care refers to the idea that people of different backgrounds may face unique barriers in accessing Western health care systems.

Practicing this kind of care can look different in different contexts. It can mean doctors make space for Indigenous patients and their families to smudge. It can mean a provider understands that its not uncommon for Indigenous patients family members to attend appointments and do most of the talking.

Misty Wilkie, associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, helped develop a virtual Ojibwe patient module to educate medical students on cultural differences. While this is a step in the right direction, she said increasing Indigenous faculty and enhancing programs for Native students is a must.

Because Native Americans face high rates of historical and ongoing trauma, Bruised Head, from Crow Tribal Health, said trauma-informed care is another crucial piece to the puzzle. Where culturally sensitive care acknowledges a patients unique identity, trauma-informed care addresses a patients entire life experience to provide quality care.

When done right, Bruised Head said trauma-informed care can promote healing and disrupt intergenerational cycles of psychological distress.

Crow community members say grocery stores, walking paths and health education outreach in schools would greatly improve health outcomes on the reservation as well.

Responding to a legacy of mistrust, Alma McCormick  executive director of Messengers for Health, a nonprofit that provides health education outreach on the reservation  said community members are more likely to listen to each other when it comes to important health decisions. Its why she goes door-to-door encouraging others to go to appointments.

Our people need someone to reach out to them, she said. Someone they know. Someone they trust. Someone that loves them and cares about them. Thats the key.

Fitzpatrick, the man who once avoided IHS for 20 years, now does education outreach for Messengers for Health.

Fitzpatricks cousin, who worked as a mechanic, died in his garage at 60. His uncle died on his doorstep. Another uncle died of a heart attack and another man close to him took his own life.

They should have never died, but they did," Fitzpatrick reflected. "I was just thinking, they had to have had some pain. But theyre so proud, they dont go to the hospital. When I hear that, I say, I better go get my blood pressure checked and get a colonoscopy.

And he tells others to do the same.

Nora Mabie reported this story while participating in the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalisms 2023 National Fellowship which provided training, mentoring, and funding to support this project.
By Tajul Islam





The echoes of Bangladesh's 7 January'2024 National Parliamentary Elections are still reverberating, casting a profound impact on the nation's geopolitical dynamics. The scrutiny and critical statements from the United States and its Western allies, particularly the United Kingdom, have woven a complex tapestry of international relations, sparking speculations about an alleged oxymoronic hegemony playing out on the global stage. This article delves into the multifaceted layers of the post-election landscape, examining the intricacies of geopolitical influences and their potential ramifications for Bangladesh's stability and sovereignty.





Awami League's victory in the 12th National parliamentary Elections, securing an impressive 222 out of 300 seats, should have marked a moment of triumph for Bangladesh's democratic process. However, the subsequent critical statements from the United States have created a perplexing narrative, raising questions about the motives behind such observations. While the US State Department's emphasis on democratic principles is commendable, the concurrent criticism of the election's fairness has ignited intense debates and calls for a closer examination of the underlying dynamics at play.





On January 11, 2024, Sheikh Hasina formed the government for the fourth consecutive term with a 37-member cabinet as she took oath as the prime minister for the fifth term. Her council of ministers included 25 ministers and 11 state ministers.





Analysts and observers are postulating that the Biden administration's stance might be driven by an agenda that extends beyond standard diplomatic considerations. Suspicions linger of a hidden motive to shape power dynamics in Bangladesh, possibly by supporting factions aligned with Islamist, jihadist, and Caliphate interests. Such conjectures underscore the delicate nature of global politics, where nations, even with robust democratic systems, become pawns in broader geopolitical games.





Historical precedents reveal that the US, when aiming to influence foreign governments, often collaborates with local elements, ranging from political parties to civil society, think tanks, and media outlets. The concern looms that Bangladesh might unwittingly find itself caught in a broader geopolitical chess game, exposing the nation to unforeseen risks.





The US State Department's critique of the election's fairness, coupled with its simultaneous condemnation of the arrests of political opposition members, introduces additional layers of complexity. Tarique Rahman, the leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and a convicted terrorist, is accused of orchestrating violence through radical Islamist parties. The seeming contradiction in the US advice, urging an investigation into violence while admonishing arrests, adds further intricacy to an already complex situation.





The allegations against Tarique Rahman bring to light the challenge of dealing with individuals accused of terrorism within the framework of democratic governance. Striking the right balance between ensuring national security and upholding democratic principles is a tightrope walk for any government, especially when external actors scrutinize the actions taken.





Moreover, the assertion that "foreign observers" deemed the election unfair is met with skepticism. Numerous election observers, including those from the United States, have affirmed the fairness of the election. The stark discrepancy between the US stance and the on-the-ground reality in Bangladesh raises serious concerns about misinformation and the potential influence of external propaganda.





This skepticism underscores the importance of relying on verified information and objective assessments rather than succumbing to narratives that may be driven by political considerations. The clash of narratives between local and international perspectives further complicates the evaluation of the election's legitimacy.





In the aftermath of the elections, the BNP and its allies have embarked on efforts to delegitimize the results, underscoring a perceived absence of opposition in the 12th parliament. Jatiya Party, once considered the main opposition, fell short of securing sufficient seats. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina now faces the intricate challenge of navigating alliances with independent candidates to counterbalance the evolving political landscape.





The complexities of forming a robust opposition, especially when traditional opposition parties face setbacks, highlight the importance of a vibrant and diverse political landscape. Navigating these challenges requires adept political maneuvering to ensure the checks and balances essential for a healthy democratic system.





The Biden administration's decision to exclude Bangladesh from democracy summits, coupled with its engagement with Pakistan, raises significant questions about its regional strategy. Bangladesh's exclusion, despite its robust democratic track record, threatens to strain relations and undermine the trust built since the 1971 war. The perceived double standard, favoring countries with questionable democratic practices, contributes to growing disillusionment among the Bangladeshi people.





Critics argue that the Biden administration's approach risks alienating Bangladesh and pushing it away from the United States. The alleged agenda of compelling Bangladesh to sever ties with India, China, and Russia in favor of closer alignment with the US contradicts Bangladesh's foreign policy of maintaining friendships with all nations. Sheikh Hasina's resistance to such undue influence underscores her commitment to a balanced diplomatic approach.





Bangladesh finds itself at a critical juncture, grappling with intricate geopolitical dynamics following the January 7 elections. The alleged oxymoronic stance from the US and its Western allies, coupled with attempts to delegitimize the election results, introduces profound uncertainty regarding Bangladesh's political trajectory.





Successfully navigating this delicate situation demands a nuanced understanding of the geopolitical intricacies at play and a steadfast commitment to preserving Bangladesh's sovereignty and stability amid external pressures. The path forward requires thoughtful diplomacy, transparent communication, and a keen awareness of the potential consequences of actions on the global stage.





The evolving narrative surrounding Bangladesh's post-election landscape serves as a poignant reminder of the interconnectedness of nations in the contemporary geopolitical arena. As Bangladesh charts its course, it must strike a delicate balance between preserving its democratic values, ensuring national security, and navigating the nuanced web of international relations.




By: Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury





Although Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and members of her administration, including Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud have been defending Palestinians and condemning Israel and Jews, Qatari ruler, being the key patron and funder of Palestinians including mega-terror outfit Hamas has been continuously using Al Jazeera against Prime?Minister Sheikh Hasina and key figures in her government through vile media assault. It may be mentioned here that to continue anti-Hasina media assault on Al Jazeera, Qatari authorities have placed several anti-Awami League individuals such as David Bergman, a British journalist at forefront while Al Jazeera's Bangladesh representative, Tanvir Chowdhury is openly running massive propaganda on social media platforms.





Following January 7 general election, Al Jazeera operatives are frantically trying to label the election as "flawed" while its representatives such as David Bergman and Tanvir Chowdhury are branding Awami League government as "illegal".





Surprisingly, such notorious bids of Al Jazeera cronies remain un-countered and unattended by the members and activists of Awami League.





Interestingly, while the entire team of Al Jazeera in Bangladesh, London and Qatar are making frantic bids in demonizing Sheikh Hasina and Awami League, they are trying to promote Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its ideological ally Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI). One of the many reasons behind Al Jazeera's bias towards BNP is its strong support towards Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas.





According to media reports, in 2006 then coalition government of Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e-Islami named a bridge as 'Hezbollah Bridge' honoring the Lebanese terrorist group. The bridge is located in the southern part of the South Asian country, spanning the Batakhali River in an area known as Cox's Bazaar. Junior communications minister Salahuddin Ahmed named the bridge after the Lebanese group at the height of Hezbollah's war with Israel.





The bridge was renamed in 2013 by the Awami League government.





Bangladesh's former Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan and a senior leader of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) issued several strong statements on the war, calling Israel's actions "state terrorism" and "religious terrorism" and accusing the United States of sponsoring it.





Due to such track records of BNP, Qatari Amir possibly considers it as favorite and capable of turning a secularist Bangladesh into a Sharia state or even Caliphate. It may be mentioned here that BNP's acting chairman Tarique Rahman, who has been living on self-exile in the United Kingdom since 2007 has repeatedly said  once his party returns to power, he will establish "Islamic democracy" in Bangladesh. Experts believe, beneath this vague term of "Islamic democracy", Tarique Rahman is indirectly expressing his willingness of turning Bangladesh into a Sharia nation.





Al Jazeera's rogue journalism





In an article in the American Journalism Review (AJR), Sherry Rocchiardi noted that critics of Qatari-broadcast network Al Jazeera have "assailed what they see as anti-Semitism, anti-American bias in the channel's news content". She has earlier criticized an Al Jazeera report that Jewish employees of 9/11 targets were informed of the attacks beforehand, a report which was also criticized in an October 2001 editorial of The New York Times.





Ricchiardi cited the former Al Jazeera weekly show Sharia and Life, hosted by Yusuf Qaradawi, an Egyptian cleric who argues clearly and consistently that "hatred of Israel and Jews is Islamically sanctioned".





Al Jazeera hosted a 2008 on-air birthday party for Samir Kuntar, a Lebanese terrorist convicted of killing four Israelis who was released in July of that year. Later this Qatari-broadcast network, which also is known as terror-broadcast network, admitted that its coverage of Kuntar's release violated its code of ethics. But again, Al Jazeera's Beirut bureau chief said "Brother Samir [Kuntar], we wish to celebrate your birthday with you" and called him a "pan-Arab hero".





In May 2019, AJ+ [Al Jazeera Plus] produced a video denying and minimizing the Holocaust. Later it said it had "swiftly deleted" the video, stating that it had "violated the editorial standards of the network". The video stated that "[the] number [of Jews murdered in the Holocaust] had been exaggerated and 'adopted by the Zionist movement', and that Israel is the 'biggest winner' from the genocide.





Meanwhile, according to media reports, the US State Department is offering up to US$10 million for information on five accused Hamas financiers, including Sudanese businessman Abdelbasit Hamza whose extensive business ties in Europe were recently exposed by ICIJ and Israeli news outlet Shomrim.





The department announced on January 12, 2024 that it was seeking any information that could be used to identify and disrupt the financial networks underpinning the Palestinian militant group, designated a terrorist organization by the United States.





Hamza, an ally of former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, was sanctioned by the US following the October 7 Hamas pogrom in Israel for managing its investments and for his involvement in the transfer of almost US$20 million to the terrorist organization.





The almost US$20 million sum included directed payments to a senior Hamas financial officer, according to the State Department. Hamza is also accused by the US of having "longstanding financing ties" to Al Qaeda and its founder Osama bin Laden through companies in Sudan.





In December, an investigation by ICIJ and Shomrim revealed that Hamza has maintained business operations in Europe for nearly two decades, including owning a lucrative stake in a Cyprus-based holding company that mines Egyptian gold.





Following Al Bashir's fall from power in 2019, Hamza sold a significant portion of his shares in Matz Holdings but maintains a 10% stake through the Zawaya Group for Development and Investment, a Sudan-based company that was sanctioned alongside a Spanish real estate company by the US Treasury Department in October. Hamza is the beneficial owner of both.





The reward offered by the US follows four rounds of sanctions targeting Hamas and may be provided for information on the organization's revenue sources or key financial backers, as well as financial institutions that facilitate its transactions.





Hamza was named in the State Department's announcement along with three Hamas operatives involved in Hamas' investment network in Turkey and one operative linked to Iranian entities.





The four others are Amer Kamal Sharif Alshawa, Ahmed Sadu Jahleb, Walid Mohammed Mustafa Jadallah and Muhammad Ahmad 'Abd Al-Dayim Nasrallah. All five were previously designated global terrorists by the Treasury Department.





As the US State Department and other agencies are looking for Hamas contacts, funders and patrons worldwide, possibly with the plan of punishing them through sanctions, Al Jazeera member and Qatari-asset David Bergman is contacting the US agencies with information about Dr Hasan Mahmud, former information minister and now foreign minister of Bangladesh by branding him as "antisemitic". It may be mentioned here that, anti-Semitism and Jew-hatred is considered a serious crime by most of the Western nations, including the United States.





According to media report, commenting on David Bergman, Dr Hasan Mahmud said, "... People have rejected BNP's call to resist poll. Now they are urging to boycott the election and employed some Jewish agents including David Bergman to make the poll questionable".




KavaClub, which aims to be Richmonds first kava bar, is still not open. The Fan bar remains shuttered at 1529 W. Main St. while it continues to wait for the Virginia Department of Health to allow it to serve kava.

But its doors may open soon, only it will not be serving kava.

KavaClub is hoping to open and serve nonalcoholic kombucha from Ninja Kombucha.

Our goal remains simple: to be a nonalcoholic place where people can come and gather for fun, engaging connections with other people, said Fred Bryant, co-founder of KavaClub.

Kava is an herbal drink that is nonalcoholic yet psychoactive. The root of the plant is used to produce a drink with sedative effects. Kava drinkers typically feel blissful and relaxed, but still aware.

Kava is legal in Virginia and not regulated in any state in the U.S.

KavaClub was scheduled to open in May of last year. But Richmond and Henrico Health Departments denied a permit for KavaClub, stating that kava and kratom are not Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS).

The main issue appears to be the definition of kava: Is it a food or an additive?

When used as a supplement, kava has yet to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration and has been linked to severe liver injury.

Bryant and the owners of KavaClub contend that kava as a beverage is safe, not subject to FDA food additive regulations, and should be allowed for service.

KavaClub will serve kava as a cold tea, in which the root is ground and mixed with cold water and then served cold. Kava is not an additive in any common-sense use of the word, KavaClub said.

But the VDH disagreed, saying that the food is water and kava is an additive, and therefore cannot be approved.

KavaClub appealed that decision in Richmond Circuit Court. In September, KavaClubs request for a temporary injunction that would allow it to open for business while its legal battle played out was denied.

KavaClub continues to appeal the decision of the VDH, which said that it could not comment on the status of the case as it is currently in litigation.

KavaClub recently filed paperwork with the city to open at 1529 W. Main St. to serve kombucha and is currently waiting on approval.

Bryant co-founded KavaClub with DJ Lee, Bram Crowe-Getty and Keri Gray. Almost $1 million was invested in the project, while the upscale trendy bar now sits empty.

Meanwhile, kava and kratom are currently available for sale in vape shops and gas stations in Virginia for legal purchase and consumption.

KavaClub has been booking private events as a source of alternative income.

We are hoping to open on the kombucha side while we wait to settle litigation, Bryant said.

Ninja Kombucha Brewing Co. is a local Richmond kombucha-maker at 126 W. Brookland Park Blvd. in North Side. Kombucha is a fermented tea that many believe offers probiotic and gut health benefits.

KavaClubs next court date is May 3, but Bryant said he is hoping the business and the Health Department will find a resolution before then.

PHOTOS: KavaClub
The Richmond School Board must release the investigation it commissioned into last summers shooting outside the Altria Theater following the Huguenot High School graduation, a judge ruled Tuesday afternoon. The Times-Dispatch is part of the lawsuit to obtain the document.

The board has not released the report since its completion in November, when the boards nine members were allowed to read it. In response to public records requests, the board cited an attorney-client privilege exemption in Virginia public records law.

In Tuesdays decision, Richmond Circuit Court Judge W. Reilly Marchant said the exemption mostly did not apply to the 32-page report.

The court finds that the School Board has failed to carry its burden to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the entire Report and its Exhibits are protected from disclosure under the attorney-client privilege as established by Virginia Code," Marchant wrote in his decision.

The Times-Dispatch, WTVR-TV and transparency advocate Josh Stanfield sued the school board to force it to release the results of the investigation that it paid a law firm to conduct into the June 6 shooting outside the theater after the Huguenot graduation. Shawn Jackson, 18, and his stepfather Renzo Smith, 36, were fatally shot. Five others were wounded.

A hearing was held Friday.

Marchant's explanation heavily weighs the board's original request for the investigation, which was formalized in a resolution that board member Shonda Harris-Muhammed proposed on Aug. 14.

Clearly nothing within the four corners of the 8/14/2023 resolution sought legal advice, Marchant wrote.

Marchants decision allows for some redactions to the report. The school can redact several minimal parts of the Report that do constitute legal advice.

Details of what will be redacted are being communicated to the school board via a confidential addendum.

Marchants order requires that the school board release the report with redactions by 1 p.m. on Wednesday.

From the Archives: A look back at the Hotel John Marshall
With the Chesterfield County School Board welcoming three new members, the board elected its two most experienced members to lead the group in 2024.

Clover Hill representative Dot Heffron was named school board chair during Fridays meeting. Heffron is in her second four-year term on the board after being re-elected in November.

Ann Coker, last years chair, was elected vice chair. Coker, who represents the Bermuda district, also is serving her second term on the board.

The county welcomed Dominique Chatters (Dale), Steven Paranto (Matoaca) and Lisa Martin Hudgins (Midlothian) as the newest school board members during Decembers swearing-in ceremony.

An early priority for the board is putting together the budget for the public schools divisions 2025 fiscal year.

The board will hold budget work sessions at 4 p.m. on Jan. 23, Feb. 6 and Feb. 13 in the countys public meeting room at 10001 Iron Bridge Road. Also on Feb. 13, a public hearing on the budget will take place at 6:30 p.m.

Throughout budget season, the school board will host town halls at the following locations:

Jan. 24 at Meadowbrook High School

Jan. 29 at Clover Hill High School

Jan. 30 at Manchester High School

Feb. 1 at Manchester Middle School (Spanish-speaking town hall)

Feb. 5 at Thomas Dale High School

Feb. 7 at Midlothian Middle School

Each town hall will begin at 6:30 p.m., and the gatherings will lead up to a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 22 when the board will adopt the 2025 budget.

Remember Safety Town? A look back through the Times-Dispatch archives
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. (IRGC) claimed responsibility for an attack near the US Consulate in Iraq that targeted Israel's alleged "espionage centers."

The IRGC said that they attacked the alleged espionage headquarters of Israel located in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. The elite force also noted that they launched a separate assault in Syria against the Islamic State.

Israel's Alleged 'Espionage Centers'

In a statement, Iran's guard corps said that ballistic missiles were launched and destroyed espionage centers and gatherings of anti-Iranian terrorist groups in the region. Those particular assaults targeted the northeast of Kurdistan's capital, Erbil.

Furthermore, the IRGC's other target was the "perpetrators of terrorist operations" in Iran. Despite the incident, two American officials said that the missile strikes impacted no US facilities.

The situation comes amid rising concerns about the escalation of a conflict that has spread through the Middle East since the beginning of the war between Israel and the Hamas militant group on Oct. 7, 2023, as per Reuters.

Iran has been accusing the United States of supporting what it calls Israeli crimes in Gaza, and in response, the US government said that it was backing Israel in its campaign. However, the US raised concerns about the number of Palestinian civilians that have been killed amid the conflict.

There were at least four civilians who lost their lives, while six others were injured in the strikes on Erbil. The victims included multimillionaire Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee and several members of his family. Their death came after one rocket crashed into their home.

Dizayee, who had a close relationship with the ruling Barzani clan, owned businesses that led major real estate projects in Kurdistan. On top of the incident, one rocket fell on the house of a senior Kurdish intelligence official and another on a Kurdish intelligence center.

Following the latest attacks, the Iraqi government announced that it will hold a security meeting on Tuesday to talk about the "Iranian violation of Iraqi territory and Iranian non-compliance with the security agreement between the two countries," according to ABC News.

Read Also: Germany Prepares for Putin's Plan To Attack NATO in 2025, Leaked Secret War Document Reveals

Iran's IRGC Claims Responsibility

Erbil Gov. Omed Khoshnaw said that the assaults can be considered terrorist attacks, calling them inhumane. The attacks come as the US and allied forces have been subjected to dozens of attacks in Iraq and Syria. US President Joe Biden's administration has blamed these incidents on Iran-affiliated armed groups.

Earlier this month, the IRGC also claimed responsibility for an attack in Iran's southeastern city of Kerman, where nearly 100 people lost their lives. Rockets have frequently targeted US troops and facilities in Baghdad.

Tensions escalated after a Washington-directed drone strike killed top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and powerful Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis last year. Former United States President Donald Trump said that the death of a US contractor would be a red line and provoke US escalation in Iraq.

The remark was a reference to the December 2019 killing of a US civilian contractor in a rocket attack in Kirkuk. It sparked a tit-for-tat fight on Iraqi soil that brought the nation to the brink of a proxy war, said the Daily Sabah.

Related Article: Nicaragua Releases 2 Bishops, 18 Priests From Prison Following Negotiations With Vatican
Richmond School Board member Kenya Gibson announced Tuesday her plans to run for the 3rd District seat on City Council this November.

The seat, which is held by Ann-Frances Lambert, is one of nine up for grabs this election cycle as Richmond voters will have the option to weigh in on all their council members, as well as their mayor.

Gibson said her campaign will focus heavily on what the people want to see from their government. If elected, her goals are to ensure city government is accessible and transparent, that city budgets put people over private profit and that substantive economic justice legislation is enacted. Additionally, Gibson said she will not take campaign donations from corporations.

Richmond can provide opportunities for all of us when our leaders have priorities that align with ours, Gibson stated in a release announcing her run. Priorities that ensure that we put those with the highest vulnerability first.

Gibson began her political career in the city in 2017 when she was first elected to the school board in a special election. She took over for Jeffrey Bourne, who had vacated the seat after being elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.

Prior to that, Gibson served as the vice president of the Linwood Holton Elementary School PTA and had been a longtime education advocate. After running a $40,000 campaign, Gibson snagged the seat with 46 percent of the votes.

The 50-year-old was raised in New England but moved south for college. She studied at the College of William & Mary. Following a short stint in Los Angeles, Gibson and her family moved to Richmond.

As a self-proclaimed progressive champion, Gibson said her accolades as a government official include passing policy that protects teachers, students and parents, enabling collective bargaining and returning control over building construction to the school district to allow more oversight and community input. Additionally, she said she has fought hard against efforts to privatize public resources.

Gibson is the first to announce a bid against Lambert this election cycle and the first to challenge any of the incumbents .

At our core, Richmonders want every community to be safe and to thrive, Gibson said.

5 hidden gem restaurants in Richmond
An Arlington resident and famous Brazilian national has been charged after officials said she posed as an immigration lawyer in order to defraud clients of around $700,000, according to a federal indictment unsealed Friday.

Patricia de Oliveira Souza Lelis Bolin, 29  a social media personality and political activist originally from Brazil  has been charged with wire fraud, making unlawful monetary transactions and identity theft for a scheme in which officials said she claimed she could help clients obtain E-2 and EB-5 visas to the United States.

If convicted, Bolin could spend decades behind bars.

But officials said they currently are not sure of her whereabouts and are seeking the publics help in finding her.

The EB-5 visa program offers permanent residency and a pathway to citizenship to foreign nationals who invest at least $1 million in a U.S. commercial enterprise for the purpose of creating or preserving jobs.

According to the indictment, Bolin, who is not a licensed attorney, in September 2021 sent a legal retainer agreement to a victim who was seeking help obtaining EB-5 visas for the victims parents. The victim then paid Bolin over $135,000 with the understanding that the funds would go toward a Texas real estate development project that qualified for the EB-5 program.

But rather than invest the funds, officials said Bolin allegedly routed them to her personal bank account and then used them to put a down payment on a townhouse on Kenmore Court in Arlington. She also used the money for home renovations and to pay off credit card debt, officials said.

To conceal the scheme and acquire additional funds, Bolin emailed the victim a number of fraudulent documents, including fabricated court documents listing her as a litigating attorney, falsified U.S. immigration forms, fake receipts showing investments in the Texas project and forged signatures of a notary public identified as F.M., the indictment alleges.

The indictment also states Bolin created email accounts associated with false personas and recruited friends, convincing them to use fake names and pretend to be employees of the Texas project in phone and video calls with victims.

When one victim refused to send more money, Bolin allegedly threatened the victims parents with expulsion from the country and said she would refer them to a collections agency.

Bolin faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for wire fraud, a maximum of 10 years for engaging in unlawful monetary transactions and a minimum of two years for aggravated identity theft. She was ordered to forfeit real property and improvements associated with her Arlington home, as well as nearly $700,000.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Virginia on Friday said Lelis Bolin was not in law enforcement custody, and asked the public to submit tips concerning her possible location to the FBIs Washington Field Office at 202-278-2000.

In a Monday post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Bolin confirmed that the FBI was searching for her.

I am ... a political exile, the post, translated from Portuguese to English, read. There were months of persecution and false accusations.

Bolin also claimed to be seeking asylum abroad. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Multiple Brazilian outlets previously reported that Bolin is a digital influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers across multiple platforms, including Instagram, TikTok and X.

She first rose to prominence in 2016, when she accused Brazilian politician Marco Feliciano of sexual assault, and again in 2019, when she publicly clashed with Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of Brazils former president Jair Bolsonaro, over alleged romantic ties between Bolin and the then-presidents son.

The FBI did not immediately respond to a request seeking confirmation that Bolin had fled the country.

25,000-square-foot home that sold for $8.75M tops 2023 list of Richmond-area home sales 1) $8,750,000 2) $6,250,000 3) $4,350,000 4) $4,125,000 5) $3,600,000 6) $3,500,000 7) $3,450,000 8) $3,200,000 9) $3,125,000 10) $3,100,000
BLACKSBURG  As a new semester approaches at Virginia Tech, a mass migration of email and storage services from Google to Microsoft is causing stress and concern among students, faculty and staff.

The migration process was first discussed soon after Google announced that it would begin charging universities for use of Google Suite, meaning that in 2025, the school would begin paying about $1 million per year to use some of Googles services.

Marc Debonis, the director of Collaborative Computing Services at Virginia Tech, said during a Zoom presentation on the changes obtained by The Roanoke Times that the price to keep the service, together with other possible charges, prompted the migration.

We decided that we were not going to entertain that, Debonis said of the $1 million price tag.

The first service to be migrated will be email. By Jan. 16, most students and employees are expected to start using Microsoft for email service.

Since the change was announced, many people have expressed concern that emails may be lost during the migration. While the process is not yet complete, there have been no major problems with lost emails among those who have started using Microsoft service, according to interviews about the situation.

However, some students dont understand how the migration provides any benefit in the first place.

Two of the biggest reasons the migration was suggested in the first place are, as mentioned, the financial benefit as well as the added security provided by Microsoft compared to Google.

In mid-2023, Microsoft announced that it would also begin charging universities along the same lines as Google.

And while the security Microsoft provides is generally considered to be better, many people have questioned whether or not the added security provides much benefit to students who dont do sensitive work.

I find Microsofts own integration of an app suite, such as teams, calendar and email to be less fluid and intuitive, Vince Snell, a senior electronics and computer engineering major at Virginia Tech, said. For a corporate environment Microsoft might make sense but as a student who doesnt need to generally worry about security I just want it to work so I can focus on studying.

While students will still have access to their Google Drive accounts, their storage will be limited to 5 gigabytes.

Debonis said during his presentation that the cap was a necessary part of the migration.

We are going to have to implement quotas for Google storage usage, Debonis said. Theres no if, ands or buts about that. We cannot continue with unlimited storage.

Debonis continued by saying that students and faculty would be given a five gigabyte quota, while departments would be given an additional 40 gigabytes overall to be doled out to faculty members as-needed.

The storage quotas have been a considerable cause for concern among many faculty and students, though in his presentation, Debonis notes that 75% of faculty and 86% of students use storage under the five gigabyte cap.

Additionally, new storage will be provided through Microsoft well beyond the current cap set on Google Accounts.

While previously, there was no cap set on storage, the new cap is set at a level that most students and faculty would likely not exceed.

Zachary Schmidt, another electronic and computer engineering major at Virginia Tech, said he wasnt worried about the changes to storage.

Im majoring in one of the nerdy things, and I have never gotten close to the new cloud data storage limit, Schmidt said. I think the majority of people complaining are people who were using it for things they shouldnt be using it for.

Right now, the migration process is just beginning, and as the process goes on, new problems may come to light, those involved say.
What Virginia Secretary of Finance Stephen Cummings called the five-alarm fire that is Hopewells finances has prompted the citys legislators to propose that the state be allowed to step in to sort out any localitys finances when the governing body cant or wont.

The bills, House Bill 655 and Senate Bill 645, empower governors to use all powers available to them to act when a local government cannot address its fiscal distress  that is, according to the bills, an inability to pay its bills, manage its cash flow, run deficits or get on top of billing and revenue collection problems.

The bill says one trigger for setting off this process is a localitys inability to file required annual audit reports in a timely way.

Last year, a state review found as many as eight years of missing audits from Hopewell.

This is a way for the state to help earlier, instead of waiting until things get really bad for citizens, as they did in Petersburg, said Del. Carrie Coyner, R-Chesterfield, who sponsored the House bill. Her district includes Hopewell and is bordered by Petersburg. State Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, sponsored the Senate version.

The bills would require the state Auditor of Public Accounts to set up a system to make a preliminary finding that a locality may be in fiscal distress.

With that finding, the state Director of Planning and Budget would be able to send any untapped funds from the states payments of aid to local governments, which cover items such as K-12 schools funding and support for police departments, to direct as much as $750,000 to a distressed locality for technical assistance.

If after that preliminary finding of distress the Auditor of Public Accounts review of the localitys financial records and budget processes shows that state assistance, oversight or intervention is necessary, the official would then tell the governor and the chairs of the General Assembly money committees and report on what actions are needed and what kind of state help should be provided.

At that point, the governor could step in, after consulting with the chairs of the General Assemblys budget-writing money committees, the bill says.

The bill says the people who would step in to carry out the state intervention might come from either a public agency or the private sector. It says the governor can use an expedited process to hire such staff when judging that the need to step in amounts to an emergency.

Coyner said her bill was aimed at acting when a reluctant or inexperienced council or board of supervisors would not.

That had been the situation in Hopewell, she said.

Hopewells situation drew Cummings concern last spring.

This is a five-alarm fire. Its been burning at a five-alarm level for a long time, Cummings told the Hopewell City Council. This cannot continue. Every year things get more challenging. Youve got to get to a position where you can see the light.

At that meeting, the citys financial consultant Nancy Zielke told city council members they were unlikely to receive a clean audit, showing that its books accurately reported its financial position  bad news since the city needed three years of clean audits to get the credit ratings that would allow it to sell bonds at an affordable rate.

Hopewell mayor Johnny Partin says he supports the bills that offer state help.

Overall, I think it is a great piece of legislation, he said.

It will help prevent what has happened in Hopewell in other localities, Partin said, adding that the bills will get struggling localities the help they need.

Petersburgs financial crisis in 2016 involved a large budget shortfall and more debt than it could afford. It was aggravated by water meters that were not accurately measuring bills, cutting the citys revenue.

In response, the city had to cut funding for schools to the minimum allowed by state law, as well as making stinging cuts to other city functions.

7 bills to watch in the upcoming Virginia legislative session Raising minimum wage Mental health support Attempts to reverse Clean Car Act Gun laws Rights restoration Reproductive rights
Bursa Malaysia has launched three new product offerings and solutions today, namely the Bursa Gold Dinar app for gold investment, the MyBURSA customer portal, and the BURSA REACH platform that connects investors directly with dealer representatives. This comes alongside the local bourses unveiling of a refreshed brand logo and corporate identity, as it rebrands itself as a multi-asset exchange.

Specifically, the shariah-compliant Bursa Gold Dinar app will enable interested individuals to begin investing in physical gold with convenience, with an affordable starting capital of just RM10. Open to both Malaysians and those residing in Malaysia who meet the eligibility criteria, you will not only be able to buy and sell gold on the app on any day of the week (trading hours up to 11.50pm), but also transfer it to your loved ones, as well as redeem every 4.25g of gold owned in the form of a physical, custom-designed coin.

The fees charged are also said to be more affordable as compared to many other market players, with the purchase, sale, and transfer fee set at 0.2%, respectively. In addition to that, there is also a withdrawal fee of RM0.15 per transaction and a top-up fee of 0.35% when you top up your account to invest. Other fees that you may also want to take note of include the registration fee, annual admin fee, as well as minting and courier fee (for the redemption of your gold coin)  heres the full list of fees for your easy reference.

To note, Bursa Gold Dinar was actually first announced back in July 2022, and was meant to be launched in the second or third quarter of 2023. However, this was delayed to accommodate a more comprehensive beta testing plan.

Aside from Bursa Gold Dinar, Bursa Malaysia also introduced its new MyBURSA customer portal today, a customer-centric platform that is designed to directly address investors needs, as well as to offer them a personalised experience. At present, it features a range of facilities that can help investors in their decision-making process, such as access to research reports and other curated content. Moving forward, more services that cater to other needs will also be rolled out.

Meanwhile, the BURSA REACH platform is said to be Malaysias first profiling platform that is dedicated to featuring and connecting dealer representatives with investors. On this platform, the representatives can share their portfolios to showcase their skills, and investors are then able to directly engage with their preferred representative for their services. Note, though, that the BURSA REACH platform is currently open only to dealer representatives for onboarding; access to retail investors will only be made available at a later stage.

The launch of these three products is in line with Bursa Malaysias unwavering ambition to develop the capital market in Malaysia, especially it now adopts a new corporate identity as a multi-asset exchange. With the introduction of a refreshed brand logo that encapsulates its progressive spirit, the chief executive officer of Bursa Malaysia, Datuk Muhammad Umar Swift said that the exchange will continue to create opportunities and grow value for the nation.

At the Exchange, we firmly believe it is not enough to keep up, we must step up and innovate. Part of this journey entails drawing in and delighting new customers into our markets. We are changing the way we get to know our customers. We are listening and building relationships with them in a more engaging manner, said Datuk Muhammad Umar, who also said that he hopes to demystify the notion that investing is difficult and costly, and that it is only intended for those in a certain income bracket.

Meanwhile, the chairman of Bursa Malaysia, Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar said that Bursa Malaysia is committed to serving more customers in even more diverse ways as it operates as a competitive multi-asset exchange. We hope that our efforts today and beyond will not only contribute to increased market liquidity and depth, but will also promote financial inclusion and wealth creation, thereby propelling economic growth, he commented.

Key investment offerings that are available on Bursa Malaysia include equities, derivatives, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), real estate investment trusts (REITs), as well as exchange-traded bonds and sukuk (ETBS). More recently, it also launched its Bursa Carbon Exchange for the trading of carbon credits, as well as a debt fundraising platform, BR Capital.

(Source: Bursa Malaysia)

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Cancun authorities capture three on warrants for city murders

Cancun, Q.R.  The State Attorney Generals Office has completed arrest warrants against of three people for three separate Cancun murders. According to a statement from the Office, they are accused of qualified homicide that occurred on December 15, 2023, and January 3 and 9, 2024, in Cancun.

Kairo N was arrested by Investigative Police agents in the death of a Cancun woman. He is alleged involved in the incident that occurred on the night of January 3, 2024, in the Chan Cenote neighborhood in SM 245 of Cancun, without providing additional information.

A second person, Angel Emmanuel N, was arrested by Investigative Police for the December 2023 shooting of a Cancun man. According to the Office, the shooting took place on December 15, 2023, when he met with the male victim whom he shot with a firearm in a park in the Paseos del Mar subdivision of Supermanzana 251.

Additional information surrounding the events that lead up to the shooting was not provided.

FGE personnel also arrested Adelfo N, who is allegedly related to a homicide that occurred on January 9 of this yearn to the detriment of a male victim. Adelfo N is alleged to have killed a man for alleged problems related to the purchase and sale of land in an irregular area.

In their statement, the Office reported that Adelfo N was arrested along with four other subjects for his probable participation in events possibly constituting crimes against health in the form of drug dealing and for carrying two firearms.
Dangerous Colombian criminal leader wanted by Interpol captured in Cancun

Cancun, Q.R.  Quintana Roo authorities have captured a Colombian criminal leader in Cancun that was wanted by Interpol. The captured man, Nelson Enrique N, had been designated by Colombian authorities as dangerous.

Elements of the FGE of Quintana Roo and the Secretary of the Navy arrested the top Colombian leader of a gang Los del Sur. According to information released by the FGE Monday, Nelson Enrique N was captured in Cancun Saturday.

Nelson Enrique N has been named the leader of the criminal group Los del Sur characterized by carrying out actions of high criminal impact in Colombia. He was wanted by Interpol.

Nelson Enrique N was captured January 13 after local authorities carried out search, location, monitoring and reconnaissance work. After an arduous investigation, it was possible to identify and arrest this dangerous subject, the FGE reported.

The subject known by the alias Poporro was arrested while driving a black Tucson Hundai vehicle on Punta Nizuc Boulevard in Cancun January 13.

Nelson Enrique N has an arrest warrant in Colombia for homicide, aggravated robbery and drug trafficking, as well as for trafficking in firearms and explosives, and has 74 investigations in force for different crimes.

Nelson Enrique N was captured in Cancun January 13, 2024.

Five homicides have been attributed to him, six attacks and the marketing of 50 percent of the drugs in the metropolitan area of Bucaramanga, they added.

According to intelligence reports, he began his criminal life in 2006 as a member of the ELN Organized Armed Group and in 2009 he led an organized crime gang called La Banda Poporro.

Currently, he was wanted by the International Police (Interpol), while Colombian authorities were offering a reward of 100 million Colombian pesos for information that lead to his capture.

El Poporro emigrated to Mexico after being the victim of an attack by an opposing criminal group since the Los del Sur gang is considered one of the most dangerous criminal structures in the South American country.

Cancun authorities escort Nelson Enrique N to INM facilities for his return to Colombia.

After being captured, Nelson Enrique N was transferred to Colombia with the support of the National Migration Institute (INM), where he will face justice for the crimes reported against him.
MSC Cruises offering Mexicos Costa Maya on new passenger itinerary

Costa Maya, Q.R.  Cruise company MSC has included Costa Maya, Mahahual and Cozumel on their new itinerary. The ships will depart from Galveston, Texas for a 7-night cruise that will stop at Quintana Roo destinations.

According to Governor Mara Lezama, the company has added Costa Maya, Mahahual and Cozumel to their route to Roatan, Honduras aboard the MSC Seascape.

Lezama says Quintana Roos tourist destinations for cruise ships confirm its leadership while its natural wealth and its historical and cultural attractions continue to attract more visitors.

Through the New Agreement for the Well-being and Development of Quintana Roo we work 24/7 so that this tourism success is reflected in shared prosperity with new jobs and higher incomes for those who work in this sector, she said.

The tourism potential in terms of cruises is reflected in the reception of around 1,500 ships and more than 5 million cruise passengers per year in the four terminals in Cozumel and Mahahual, according to an agreement with SEDETUR.

Tourists are seen wading through Caribbean waters at Mahahual in Mexicos Costa Maya region. Photo: CGC

The new MSC Cruises itinerary from Galveston began sales in January for a November 9, 2025 cruise aboard the MSC Seascape, one of the newest and most sustainable ships in the companys fleet.

Highlights of points to visit will include Costa Maya, Mexico, recognized as the home of the Chacchoben and Kohunlich Mayan ruins, as well as Cozumel, Mexico, recognized worldwide for its incredible diving excursions.

Cruise ship passengers enjoy an excursion day at Cozumel. Photo: CGC

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, MSC Cruises is one of two brands that make up the Cruise Division of MSC Group, the worlds leading privately owned transport and logistics conglomerate.
LOS ANGELES (AP)  Succession won best drama series, The Bear won best comedy, and both dominated the acting awards at Monday night's Emmys, while Quinta Brunson scored an emotional and historic win for Abbott Elementary."

Succession, the HBO saga of a squabbling wealthy family and maladjusted media empire, won its third best drama series prize for its fourth and final season, along with a best actor in a drama award for Kieran Culkin and best actress in a drama for Sarah Snook.

The Bear, the FX dramedy about another contentious family and a struggling restaurant at the center of the life of a talented chef, won best comedy series for its first season. The Emmys also heaped honors on its acting cast, naming Jeremy Allen White as best actor in a comedy, best supporting actress in a comedy for Ayo Edebiri and best supporting actor in a comedy for Ebon-Moss Bachrach. All three were first-time nominees.

This is a show about family and found family and real family, Edebiri said from the stage as she accepted the first trophy of the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

Brunson won best actress in a comedy at the Emmy Awards for the show she created, Abbott Elementary," becoming the first Black woman to win the award in more than 40 years and the first from a network show to win it in more than a decade.

I love making Abbott Elementary so much and I am so happy to be able to live my dream and act out comedy, Brunson said during her acceptance on the Fox telecast, fighting back tears. The writer-actor was among the stars with standout looks on the Emmys' silver carpet.

Succession" won six Emmys overall including best supporting actor for Matthew Macfadyen.

Beef won best limited series, while Steven Yeun and Ali Wong became the first Asian Americans to win in their categories  Yeun for best actor in a limited series and Wong for best actress. Creator Lee Sung won Emmys for writing and directing. It had eight Emmys overall after three wins at last weekend's Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

More coverage:

The stars arrive for the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards
A sentencing hearing for Justin Sigmon, a former major with the Franklin County Sheriffs Office, was postponed at the request of his lawyer earlier this month. The former deputy sheriff was convicted in November of having abusive sexual contact with a minor.

U.S. District Judge Donald Graham approved the delay in an order signed Jan. 5. The judge stated a second order rescheduling the hearing will be forthcoming.

The sentencing hearing was originally set for Jan. 12. Sigmons counsel requested an extension until the court has ruled on post-trial motions. The request would also allow more time for Sigmons family and friends to arrange travel to attend the hearing, according to the court filing.

The case is currently being overseen by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The maximum sentence on the conviction is life imprisonment, according to court documents.

Sigmon was arrested in Florida on May 29 following a cruise with his family from the Port of Miami to the Bahamas and back. While on the cruise, a witness saw him touching a 9-year-old female inappropriately while she was sitting on his lap in the ships dining room, according to court documents.

The witness made a video of the incident which was obtained by police. Ship surveillance also recorded Sigmon.

Sigmon resigned from the Franklin County Sheriffs Office on June 2, just days after the arrest. At the time, he was the second-highest ranking officer.

Sigmon was convicted following a weeklong jury trial in November at the Miami court. He was remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshals following the verdict, according to the court documents.
During a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Bern, Swiss President Viola Amherd announced on Monday that Switzerland has extended an offer to organize a peace summit.

The objective of this summit is to facilitate the resolution of Ukraine's ongoing conflict with Russia. The two presidents announced that the Ukrainian and Swiss teams will commence preparations for the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland starting from Tuesday.

Switzerland Agrees to Host Ukraine Peace Summit

According to ABc News, there is a lack of information regarding the timing and logistics of a potential summit, and it is worth noting that Russia has not been part of the discussions thus far. In a significant development, Ukrainian military chiefs announced on Monday that their forces successfully downed a Russian early warning and control plane along with a key command center aircraft.

If confirmed, this would mark a noteworthy achievement for Ukraine in the ongoing two-year war. On Sunday, Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, participated in talks held in Davos, Switzerland. The discussions involved numerous national envoys and focused on Zelensky's 10-point peace formula, which is intended to contribute to a potential peace summit.

Regarding potential attendees, Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine welcomes all nations that uphold its sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is clear whom we extend our invitation to. He emphasized Ukraine's strong interest in the participation of countries from the Global South.

Switzerland, known for its commitment to neutrality, has been carefully navigating the situation surrounding Russian President Vladimir Putin's conflict in Ukraine, which started in February 2022. Switzerland has aligned itself with the European Union's sanctions on individuals and entities from Russia in response to the ongoing conflict.

Read Also: Ukraine Destroys 2 Russian Control, Command Aircraft-Here's Why It's a Big Achievement for Kyiv

Russia-Ukraine War

On Monday, the Ukrainian air force announced that it had successfully taken down a Russian Beriev A-50 surveillance plane and an Ilyushin Il-22 airborne command post in the Sea of Azov area.

These spy planes play a crucial role in transmitting information to ground troops and coordinating Russian battlefield maneuvers in Ukraine. If the reports are verified, Ukraine would achieve a significant milestone in its defensive conflict with Russia. The ongoing fighting along the front line has been predominantly characterized by trench warfare and heavy artillery exchanges.

The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, General Valeryi Zaluzhnyi, did not provide details regarding the downing of the two aircraft. Ukraine has recently acquired advanced air defense systems with the support of its Western partners.

Per VOA News, tThe location of the interceptions was not disclosed by Zaluzhnyi. However, he shared a video on his social media post that included an airplane tracker displaying two targets vanishing above the Azov Sea. This body of water is situated between Ukraine and Russia, to the north of the Crimean Peninsula and the Black Sea.

No official comment from Moscow was provided at this time. According to Russian war bloggers, there were claims of friendly fire incidents involving both planes, although no evidence was provided to support these claims. According to reports, the Il-22 reportedly sustained damage but managed to land safely. The A-50, equipped with radar, usually has a crew of 15.

Last year, the Russian defense ministry announced that the upgraded A-50 aircraft had been successfully conducting missions during the war. This advanced aircraft has the capability to detect over 300 targets simultaneously, track missile launches from a distance of 800 kilometers, and identify ground and sea targets up to 300 kilometers away.

The Ukrainian defense ministry has estimated the value of the A-50 at $330 million. According to reports, a fleet of nine aircraft has been operated by the Russian air force.

Related Article: Germany Prepares for Putin's Plan To Attack NATO in 2025, Leaked Secret War Document Reveals
The Roanoke teen arrested after police shut down a portion of a busy northwest street last week was wanted in Radford and Roanoke on gun-related charges, according to court documents.

Shyne Gil Williams, 19, is facing nine charges in Roanoke courts related to the Jan. 9 barricade situation on Orange Avenue Northwest, according to court records.

In juvenile and domestic court he faces two counts of assault and battery and three counts of abusive language to another. In general district court he faces four charges: nonviolent felon possession of a firearm, felon possession of a weapon or ammo, possession of a gun with a Schedule I or II substance and possession of oxycodone.

The Radford City Police Department began investigating Williams after a traffic stop ended with a crash and the discovery of a machine gun-like firearm.

On Sept. 16, Radford officers conducted a traffic stop on a white 2021 Tesla sedan, according to a search warrant affidavit. In the front seats were two Black males, and the driver would not provide identifying information to the officers.

The driver pulled the vehicle away from the traffic stop and fled police, who followed in a brief high speed pursuit, the affidavit reads. The fleeing vehicle crashed into a house, and then the two males fled that scene on foot.

When police got to the crashed vehicle, the front doors were open and nobody was inside. They saw a pistol lying on the center console, and noted that the firearm had an extended magazine protruding out of the bottom of the grip and a Glock Switch, an illegal device that allows the firearm to fire multiple rounds of ammunition with a single pull of the trigger, according to the document.

Shortly after the chase, police located the driver, identified in the affidavit as Daquan Maleek Brown. He was taken into custody and charged in connection with the pursuit.

As their investigation continued, police found that the passenger was captured on video shortly before the crash.

It is clearly visible that the passenger has in the front of his pants the grip of a firearm sticking out that appears to have the same type of extended magazine as the one found left in the vehicle, the affidavit reads.

Police listened to jail calls at the New River Valley Regional Jail under Browns account and heard him say that the firearm belonged to a person with the nickname Yayo, the affidavit continues. An officer in Roanoke checked local policing databases and told Radford investigators that Yayo had been previously been identified as Williams.

Roanoke police had named Williams as a suspect in a shooting on March 15. The victim in that incident reported that Yayo assaulted her, fired a gun at her as she ran away, then struck the house she was in with a bullet, the affidavit reads. Investigators found that, after analyzing casings from the crime scene, the firearm used in the March incident was the same firearm found in the Tesla on Jan. 6.

In a photograph posted on his Facebook account in October, police observed Williams holding two firearms, including one with a Glock Switch and an extended magazine  exactly matching the firearm seized Jan. 6, the affidavit continues. In a photograph posted on another Facebook account in January 2023, police observed Williams holding a single black rifle.

Radford police also learned that Williams has a criminal history in Texas, where in 2016 he was found guilty as a juvenile of assaulting a public servant, according to the affidavit.

In September, a Radford grand jury indicted Williams on two charges connected to the findings of the traffic stop: possession of a firearm as a violent felon and possession of a machine gun for an aggressive purpose, according to court records. And on Jan. 3, Williams was indicted by a Roanoke grand jury on a single charge connected to a March 11 incident: possession of a firearm as an adjudicated delinquent felon.

On Jan. 9, Williams mother, identified in a search warrant affidavit as Kristen Woods, called Roanokes 911 center about her son, who she said was armed with a rifle and making threats to shoot her and other household members.

Woods told officers that Williams was in an upstairs bedroom, armed with a rifle and had also made threats to shoot police officers, according to the document.

Police arrested Williams later that evening, after shutting down roads surrounding the residence in the 1200 block Orange Avenue Northwest, and charged him with the Radford warrants.

According to an executed search warrant, police searched the home and and seized a firearm, firearm accessories, personal electronic devices, ammunition and narcotics.

The next day, Jan. 10, police swabbed Williams for DNA, according to an executed search warrant. Investigators believe a link between his DNA and a DNA profile from the firearm found in the Tesla will only go to strengthening the case already built against Williams.

Williams was being held Tuesday at the Roanoke City Adult Detention Center.
An interfaith group of environmentalists is joining calls for preserving natural space, rather than developing Evans Spring, as public opposition mounts in Roanoke.

The city is moving toward public hearings in February on a master plan document for Evans Spring. At more than 100 acres, its the largest chunk of undeveloped land left in Roanoke.

Roanoke Area Interfaith Stewards of the Earth, known by the acronym RAISE, sent city leaders a position statement Monday.

As RAISE, we call on all people of faith and good will to support the preservation of the undeveloped land in Evans Spring, the statement reads. We ask city leaders who make these decisions to consult their conscience, individually and collectively, and act in accordance with what is right, not simply what is expedient or profitable.

Acreage at Evans Spring, located in the citys northwest, is privately owned by a few different entities that are looking to develop. The city commissioned a master plan document from consultants for $215,000, which was published last week.

That proposed plan calls for rezoning to allow for mixed-use retail, housing and green space development.

The document also notes significant and vocal opposition expressed against any development during community meetings, and RAISE added to that opposition Monday.

Holistic health and environmental justice both support the proposal to keep Evans Spring green, the RAISE statement reads. We strongly support a proposal to buy Evans Spring from the landowners to turn it into a city park and green space.

RAISE joins other groups, many of which are concerned with the environment, in opposing Evans Spring development.

Previously, the Sierra Clubs Roanoke group has proposed a nature park with boardwalks on the land, according to an endorsement online.

This wetland can be turned into an accessible attraction that enhances the surrounding neighborhood, preserves native plant species, and provides wildlife habitat, said a Sierra Club statement.

Leading the opposition to development is Friends of Evans Spring, with an online petition now signed by hundreds.

Please support the creation of a park and greenspace around Evans Spring that respects the wishes of the local neighborhoods, the petition reads. And aligns with Roanokes stated values and goals around sustainability and equity.

Public hearings about the Evans Spring plan are scheduled next month, both at the Noel C. Taylor Municipal Building downtown.

First is the planning commissions meeting at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 12. Another public hearing will happen during city councils meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 20.
RICHMOND  Four people, including three Virginia residents, pleaded guilty last week in an illegal duck-hunting operation that involved baiting a Middleburg pond in violation of federal law, resulting in dozens of dead migratory wood ducks.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said Michael Scott, 36, of Purcellville; Eric Scott, 29, of Hillsboro; Christian Hoyt, 39, of Lovettsville; and taxidermist Timothy Young, 48, of Frederick, Maryland, all were barred from hunting for 18 months and fined up to $1,000 for hunting ducks over a baited area.

Officials said the illegal hunting activity, which took place between August and November of 2022, was organized by Clint Burlett, 41, who filled a nearly quarter-acre pond on his Middleburg farm with significant amounts of corn for the purpose of baiting ducks for his family and friends to hunt.

Federal law prohibits hunting waterfowl over baited areas or certain agricultural features such as manipulated crop fields and grain storage facilities.

Officials said Burlett, in messages sent to Michael Scott, Eric Scott, Hoyt and Young, invited the group of experienced hunters to the baited pond to smash (the ducks) when it (is) go time. In one message, sent from Eric Scott to Burlett, Eric Scott expressed hope that the group would beat the previous years total of dead ducks.

Over the course of a few days in early October 2022, the group illegally killed 91 ducks over the baited pond, officials said.

The illegal hunting then continued through the end of November 2022.

Burlett in November pleaded guilty to baiting the ducks and organizing the illegal hunts, according to court records. He was prohibited from hunting for a period of two years and fined $2,700.
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Kranji Primary School slated for relocation to Tengah in 2028, while Outram Secondary School to move to a new campus in Sengkang by 2026. (PHOTO: Google Street View)

SINGAPORE  Kranji Primary School is scheduled to move from Choa Chu Kang to Tengah in 2028, while Outram Secondary School will be relocating to a new campus in Sengkang by 2026, according to an announcement made by the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Tuesday (16 January).

These relocations are part of the the ministry's broader plan to adapt to Singapore's evolving demand for school and preschool spaces. Last February, MOE had revealed plans to open a new primary school in Tengah and a new secondary school in Sengkang.

In addition to these school relocations, MOE also announced the upcoming opening of two MOE kindergartens - one in Tampines North and another in Bukit Batok.

Primary schools relocating and new openings in Tengah and Tampines North

Kranji Primary School's relocation to Tengah will mean there will be two primary schools in the Tengah region by 2028, with Pioneer Primary School set to move from Jurong West to the new housing estate in 2026. Anglo-Chinese Primary School is also anticipated to open its doors in Tengah by 2030.

MOE explained in its media release that the decision to relocate Kranji Primary School was influenced by a surplus of school places in the northern part of Choa Chu Kang, where the school is currently situated. The area already houses three other primary schools  Yew Tee, De La Salle, and Unity.

To facilitate the transition, Kranji Primary School will stop accepting Primary 1 students from 2025. The school will continue operations at the current location until all existing students graduate by the end of 2029. Siblings of current students will be unable to register for Kranji Primary School.

Parents interested in enrolling their children in Primary 1 at Kranji Primary School's Tengah campus can participate in the registration exercise in 2027.

Location of Kranji Primary School and MK@Kranjis new location in Tengah. (PHOTO: MOE)

Outram Secondary School to relocate to Sengkang in 2026

Meanwhile, Outram Secondary School is set to relocate from its current York Hill campus to Sengkang in 2026, In response to the higher demand for secondary school placements in the northeast region. MOE said that the school's current location is also in a mature area where the demand for secondary school places is falling.

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To minimise disruptions, the school will not admit new Secondary 1 students in 2025, and will resume accepting new Secondary 1 students in 2026 at its new Sengkang campus.

To facilitate a smooth transition, the school will continue to operate on both campuses until 2027, when the last batch of Secondary 4 students at the York Hill campus is expected to graduate in that year.

Outram Secondary School's new location in Sengkang. (PHOTO: MOE)

MOE also announced opening a new primary school in Tampines North in 2029, responding to the growing number of families in the area due to the completion of Build-to-Order projects. Further details about the new primary school will be announced at a later date, according to the education ministry.

Upcoming kindergarten expansions in Bukit Batok and Tampines North

Two new MOE kindergartens are scheduled to open in Bukit Batok and Tampines North in 2028 and 2029 respectively.

The new MOE kindergarten in Bukit Batok will be situated within the premises of Bukit View Primary School's new campus. Registration process will open in 2027 for Kindergarten 1 pupils in the following year.

Specific details about the new kindergarten In Tampines North will be disclosed at a later date, and it will share the location with the new primary school.

The new primary school and MOE Kindergarten in Tampines North. (PHOTO: MOE)

Meanwhile, the MOE kindergarten currently located in Kranji will be relocating to the Tengah in 2028, at the same site as Kranji Primary School. The institution will stop accepting Kindergarten 1 students from 2025 and will remain operational until the end of 2025.

Operations at the new Tengah campus are set to begin in 2028, and parents interested in enrolling their children at this facility can register during the 2027 kindergarten registration exercise.

The MOE kindergarten located at Blangah Rise in Bukit Merah is also set to close by the end of this year. Established in 2014 as one of the initial five MOE kindergartens, it has witnessed a fall in preschool demand in the area over the years. As a result, it has halted the acceptance of Kindergarten 1 applications.

MOE said that there are sufficient government-supported preschool places to meet the overall demand in the Bukit Merah region.

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An individual diagnosed with gender dysphoria and bipolar disorder draws attention on mental health issues after attempting to open MRT train doors. (PHOTO:IG/sgfollowsall/screengrab)

SINGAPORE  The image has become familiar among the Singapore public late last year - an individual, clad in female clothes, was captured on video attempting to forcefully open MRT train doors as other commuters stared in disbelief.

The individual, who was eventually charged with being a public nuisance, was found to be a man who was diagnosed with gender dysphoria and bipolar disorder in 2019, and then with adjustment disorder in 2021. Coupled with the revelation from a CNA report that he had defaulted on mental health treatments for years, this raises a pressing question: Why do individuals, evidently in need of mental health treatment, refuse it?

Yahoo Southeast Asia spoke with mental health and legal professionals to delve deeper into this issue. Psychotherapist and counsellor Jon Sim from Holistic Psychotherapy, for one, emphasises the importance of building rapport and trust between the therapist and the individual seeking help.

"The client comes in with a set of goals and expectations; somehow, it's possible that process with an individual therapist doesn't work out well," he told Yahoo Southeast Asia on Wednesday (10 January). He added that clients may drop out due to mismatched expectations, insufficient competence on the therapist's part, or external life events causing distress.

Are support networks the key to encouraging treatment-seeking behaviour?

Sim points out that prevailing attitudes towards mental health in Singapore can still discourage individuals from seeking support. "Even though there's an increasing awareness of mental health, there's still that kind of taboo and societal norm that if you were to come and visit a mental health professional, people don't take it in a positive light," he explains.

Theses challenges deepen among individuals dealing with both bipolar disorder - a mental illness characterised by significant mood swings - and gender dysphoria, which entails a sense of unease due to a misalignment between one's biological sex and gender identity.

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Specialising in LGBTQI counselling, Sim notes the complexity of navigating the transgender community's difficulties, emphasising the importance of a supportive network for those grappling with identity issues.

"I feel like the transgender community faces more challenging obstacles because individuals who are gay are just struggling with internal sexual identity. For transgender individuals, they have to figure it out because they perceive themselves as male in a female body or female in a male body," he said.

"Without a supportive network, anxiety and depression issues increase. The more society, family, and friends diminish their hopes of seeing the light, the less positive motivation there is to seek treatment. Who will be there to encourage them, and who will walk the journey with them?"

Psychotherapist and counsellor Jon Sim from Holistic Psychotherapy emphasises the intricate challenges within the transgender community, stressing the importance of a supportive network for those grappling with identity issues. (PHOTO:Getty Images/Johner RF)

How untreated mental health impacts families

Claire Leong, a counsellor at Sofia Wellness Clinic, emphasised the importance of considering the safety of both individuals and the public when discussing mental health.

She stated, "The first thing that comes to mind is safety of both the individual as well as the public. I want to be very careful when I talk about this because there is already an existing misconception/stigma that people with mental illness are a danger to themselves or others, which is not inherently true."

In an interview with Yahoo Southeast Asia, Leong pointed out that while not everyone with mental health conditions poses a safety risk, some individuals may exhibit behaviour that jeopardises their own safety or that of others, when coupled with certain propensities.

She also highlighted the unintended consequences of individuals rejecting mental health care, noting, "Sometimes, individuals who decline mental health care also end up hurting their loved ones unintentionally, especially when they are in positions where they are supposed to be caring for other vulnerable individuals (For example, a parent who denies mental health care and, as a result, is unable to provide the best care for their child).

"In fact, a few of the teen and adult clients I see are dealing with the effects of growing up with a parent with untreated mental health issues."

Growing up with an adult facing mental health problems is recognised as contributing to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Leong explained that other factors contributing to such experiences include witnessing violence in the home and having a family member attempt or die by suicide.

She stressed the challenges associated with ensuring mental health care for individuals who refuse treatment. "When an individual declines mental health care, it is unlikely that the healthcare system will be able to force the individual into treatment. For example, even an individual admitted into the hospital for being at risk of killing themselves can be discharged at-own-risk by their next-of-kin," she said.

Claire Leong, a counsellor at Sofia Wellness Clinic observes that some teen and adult clients she encounters are grappling with the consequences of growing up with untreated parental mental health issues. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

Leong believes that early intervention is one of the best predictors for good treatment outcome. This means that the sooner one seeks mental health care, the more likely they are to get better.

She also emphasised the potential strain on the healthcare system when individuals deny mental health care. "An individual who denies mental health care today might present with much more severe symptoms in the future that would require more intensive treatment to address, and possibly even involve engaging emergency services. This then increases the load on the healthcare system as a whole."

Does refusing mental health treatment play a role in legal considerations?

Looking beyond personal health, the question then arises: Does the refusal to seek mental health treatment impact an individual's legal rights, especially if their actions pose a threat to public safety or breach the law?

Legal expert Peggy Yee, who is the director of PY Legal LLC, explained that a person's refusal of mental health treatment could be a factor taken into account by the court. Yet, she points out that such refusal may not mitigate the offence.

"In fact, does it make the offender more culpable? The offenders medical condition may be the very reason why he did not or refused to take medication. So it really depends on the facts," she said.

As for the existence of legal frameworks or precedents addressing the obligation of individuals with untreated mental health conditions to seek treatment, Yee explains, "With community-based sentencing, the court can order a mandatory treatment order for the offender to receive appropriate treatment or intervention."

According to SG Courts, community-based sentencing (CBS) was introduced in 2010 to give courts more sentencing choices "for minor offences". This means that courts can consider CBS in appropriate cases instead of traditional sentences like imprisonment or fines.

One type of community-based sentence is the mandatory treatment order (MTO), which directs an offender with certain treatable psychiatric conditions to undergo treatment for a period of no longer than 36 months.

Before an MTO can be considered, the judge will request a report from a psychiatrist at the Institute of Mental Health. The court can only make an MTO if the report confirms the following:

Having a psychiatric condition which is susceptible to treatment

Suitable for the treatment.

Psychiatric condition contributed to the offence.

The various community-based sentences detailed on the judiciary.gov.sg website. (PHOTO: judiciary.gov.sg/website/screengrab)

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Two employees from the dog training company Xavian and Pack suspended on 15 January. amid allegations of mistreating two dogs, as captured in released videos. (PHOTO: Instagram/monkey_bear2)

SINGAPORE Two employees of the dog training company Xavian and Pack were suspended on Monday (15 January), after videos depicting them allegedly mistreating two dogs were shared on social media.

The footage, shared on Instagram by user monkey_bear2, captured the trainers hitting a black Shiba Inu and forcibly pushing another dog to sit down during a photo session.

According to CNA, user monkey_bear2 reported witnessing the incident on Monday morning, near Blocks 39, 40, and 41 at Telok Blangah Rise.

Xavian and Pack's founder takes action in response to dog mistreatment incident

Responding to the incident, the company's founder Xavian Mar issued a statement on Instagram, acknowledging the "disgustingly inappropriate behaviour" observed in the circulating videos.

He clarified that he was not present during the incident, and has suspended the implicated staff members. The founder emphasised that such actions went against the principles of Xavian and Pack and assured that the company would thoroughly review all aspects of its services to prevent future occurrences.

Xavian and Pack's founder addresses the controversy, acknowledging 'disgustingly inappropriate behaviour' in response to the incident captured in circulating videos. (PHOTO: Xavian and Pack Instagram)

SPCA advocates force-free training amidst video

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) told Yahoo Southeast Asia on Tuesday (16 January) that it was alerted to the video on the night of 15 January and has taken action by escalating the case to the attention of the authorities.

Aarthi Sankar, the executive director of SPCA, confirmed that their inspector has reviewed the video, and the SPCA is actively seeking information from individuals who may have experienced negative interactions with the trainers featured.

Concerned citizens are encouraged to reach out to the SPCA at depinspector@spca.org.sg, with the assurance that all provided information will be treated with strict confidentiality.

The video showcases what appears to be the use of "aversive training methods", and the SPCA is against such approaches, emphasising that "force should never be used on animals".

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Recognising animals as sentient beings capable of expressing preferences and feelings, the SPCA stresses the importance of understanding and respecting their behavioural cues.

"In the video, one of the dogs is shown resisting the trainer's attempt to manipulate him/her into a sitting position. Participation in activities or training should be enjoyable and stress-free for our furry companions.

"It is perfectly acceptable if your pet prefers not to pose for photographs or engage in certain activities," Aarthi explained.

She said that the organisation is here to offer advice and resources to help members of the community learn about responsible pet ownership and force-free training methods.

These methods are designed to nurture a loving and enriching relationship with pets while teaching skills, such as sitting and appropriate behaviours.

"Conversely, violence and intimidation only cause fear and anxiety that may result in long-term health and behavioural issues," Aarthi added.

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SIOUX CITY  The slew of presidential candidates who stumped for votes in Northwest Iowa over the past year also pumped an infusion of cash into many area businesses.

The Iowa caucuses attracted not only candidates and their paid campaign staff, but also volunteers and members of the national media to Sioux City, said Kristi Franz, executive director of the Sioux City Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau.

"Those individuals contributed to the local economy by staying in hotels, eating in our restaurants, shopping at our local stores," Franz said.

Few businesses in Iowa gets more nationwide exposure during the caucuses than Pizza Ranch, the Orange City, Iowa-based chain of buffet restaurants which has long been a staple for Republican candidates.

Vivek Ramaswamy, the Ohio businessman and GOP candidate who barnstormed Iowa for months, stopped at Pizza Ranches throughout the state roughly 40 times, give or take, his campaign said. On Dec. 27 alone, the campaign visited six Pizza Ranch locations. On several trips, the campaign purchased buffets for attendees, including during a Oct. 30 event at the Pizza Ranch in Sioux Center.

David Peterson, an ISU political science professor, said Pizza Ranch has maintained its status as a campaign tradition in part by virtue of being a tradition, coupled with the chain's longstanding willingness to host candidates.

"I think there's essentially a little bit of momentum -- once it starts, it just keeps going," he said. "They're in lots of places, they're scattered across the state," Peterson added. "The basic design of a Pizza Ranch is pretty good for one of these events, right?"

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his wife, Casey, also made Pizza Ranch visits in this cycle, and stopped at other area eateries, including the Johnny Mars Family Restaurant in Sioux City on Jan. 3.

Other local favorites have seen big groups of visitors thanks to candidates. On Jan. 11, following a major winter storm with temperatures in the teens, DeSantis attracted roughly 50 people to the Wells Visitor Center & Ice Cream Parlor in Le Mars, Iowa. The campaign treated attendees to free ice cream. (DeSantis himself took a cone of praline pecan.)

While some area venues allowed candidates to use space for free, others benefitted from campaigns who booked rooms for large rallies.

Roughly 500 people turned out to Country Celebrations on Jan. 3 to see South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem stump for former President Donald Trump. The popular Sioux City events venue at 5606 Hamilton Blvd. also had to turn down another campaign event because they were already booked, proprietor Kathy Ellison said.

Country Celebrations also hosted three precinct caucuses for Plymouth County on Monday night. Ellison said she set up 500 chairs for the caucuses, though the bitter cold weather was expected to deter some caucus-goers.

Ellison said the caucus-related events provided invaluable exposure for her business.

"We get people in that have not been there before, you know, some advertising there, and then people can see that I can do just about anything, for different kinds of events," she said.

Iowa's 2024 caucuses are expected to generate an estimated $4.2 million in direct economical impact to Des Moines, but that's down 40 percent from the $11.3 million provided four years ago, the New York Times reported Friday. Direct impact is defined as visitor activities such as sleeping, driving, eating and drinking.

The sharp decline was attributed diminished media engagement in a presidential race that is less competitive than in past years when Iowa's delegates were contested by multiple Democratic candidates. This year, Trump has dominated in the polls in Iowa.

Iowa State University Economics Professor Emeritus Peter F. Orazem said past caucuses goosed the state's gross state product by roughly 0.02 to 0.04 percent.

"It's miniscule," Orazem told The Journal.

While advertising accounts for the bulk of campaign spending, other expenditures include staff payrolls and hospitality-related expenses such as restaurants and hotels.

Peterson noted that the GOP campaigns have opened remarkably few campaign offices in Iowa this year, where in the past a local campaign office was considered a must-have. Thus the flow of rental dollars in local communities has been staunched somewhat.

"This cycle, there's almost none of that," Peterson said of campaign offices.

DeSantis was the only candidate this cycle to open a campaign headquarters in Sioux City.

Perhaps no businesses in Sioux City benefitted from the campaigns then the three local television stations. The flood of money makes this the most expensive GOP caucus in Iowa ever, setting new records for both super PAC and overall spending, according to Politico, a national political news site.

Since the start of 2023, super PACs have spent more than $85 million on TV ads across the nine media markets that cover some portion of Iowa, according to a POLITICO analysis of data from AdImpact, which tracks political advertising.

For some local entities, the caucuses are an opportunity to maintain goodwill and relationships with the community, even if no direct financial windfall is likely.

"I think that, by those candidates coming into our community, not only is there like an immediate impact of people coming into the town, but it also gives us that media exposure, both nationally and internationally, that show Sioux City in a good light," Franz said.

Western Iowa Tech Community College hosted several Republican precinct caucuses Monday night, with potentially hundreds of caucus-goers expected.

"We are here to serve the community, and the election process is an important part of that," said Steve Warnstadt, government affairs coordinator for WITCC. "So we are pleased to play a constructive role in the development of the community. And obviously presidential caucuses are a high-profile event."

To the extent the caucuses benefit the broader economy over a longer period -- beyond just the TV stations, the hospitality industry and the pockets of campaign staffers -- it's through exposure. Larger segments of Iowa's economy, like agriculture and ethanol, reap the rewards of having politicians' attention.

"Probably the most important value is that politicians have to pay attention to topics that are important to Iowa," Orazem said.

"There are a lot of states, and rural states in particular, whose importance is negligible, in terms of the national political debate. But they pay attention to Iowa, because it shaped the start of the presidential campaign. And without that, there's not going to be much effort spent at all in terms of -- how important is ethanol to South Carolina?"
SIOUX CITY -- A Sioux City man already facing 15 counts of related to the possession of child pornography has been charged with 15 more.

A complaint filed Friday in Woodbury County District Court charges Stanley Hill with 15 counts of first-offense purchase/possession of a depiction of a minor in a sex act. His bond was set at $15,000.

Hill, 82, was first arrested in September and subsequently pleaded not guilty to 15 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor after police found more than 100 photos containing images of naked male and female children under age 18 in his possession.

According to the new complaint, while Hill was jailed after his arrest, he called from the jail to another person, asking him or her to clean out his office at home.

The person cleaned the office and removed a few items at Hill's request and gathered a thumb drive labeled "PURE file." The person opened the drive and found photos of male and female children in various stages of nudity.

The person turned the drive over to Sioux City police detectives, who received a search warrant to open the drive and view its contents. Detectives discovered 238 photos, all of which were interwoven with adult pornography. On many of the photos, Hill had added graphic text.
SIOUX CITY  A former Sioux City police officer who was charged with domestic assault has pleaded guilty to lesser charges and will be sentenced later this month.

Bradley Echter, 50, entered written pleas on Jan. 4 to assault and interference with official acts, both simple misdemeanors. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 29 in Woodbury County District Court.

Echter was arrested Sept. 29 after Woodbury County Sheriff's deputies responded to a domestic assault call at a home in the 2100 block of Buchanan Avenue near Sergeant Bluff.

Off duty at the time of the incident, Echter was placed on administrative leave, and the department opened an internal investigation. Police Chief Rex Mueller said Echter resigned in lieu of termination as a result of the investigation.

"In the disciplinary process, he chose to resign," Mueller said.

Echter entered a plea agreement in which the charges were reduced from domestic abuse assault causing bodily injury, a serious misdemeanor, and an aggravated misdemeanor level of interference with official acts.

In his guilty pleas, Echter admitted he resisted or obstructed one or more deputies and that he "did an act which was intended to cause pain or injury" to his wife or resulted in physical contact or placed her in fear of physical contact.

According to court documents, there is no sentencing agreement. Echter could be sentenced to up to 30 days in jail and fined a maximum of $855 on each charge. The case is being prosecuted by Plymouth County Attorney Darin Raymond, who was appointed after the Woodbury County Attorney's office requested a special prosecutor because Echter had investigated several pending cases in Woodbury County and was a potential witness in them.

According to court documents, Echter's wife had come to the home with scratches on her arms and told the resident she was scared and couldn't call police because her husband had her phone. She then returned home.

When deputies arrived, they made contact with Echter at the front door, and he was argumentative and uncooperative. Before he was taken into custody, court documents said, Echter pulled away and resisted deputies while they tried to keep him from re-entering the home. Two deputies received minor scrapes on their hands as a result.

The woman had a scratch on her left elbow, a cut on her left thumb, marks on her right forearm, a scratch and bruising on her right wrist, and pain in her neck and left elbow.
Woman killed, 17 wounded in stabbing, ramming attacks in central Israel

Xinhua) 09:05, January 16, 2024

An Israeli police officer works at the scene of car-ramming and stabbing attacks in the central Israeli city of Ra'anana, on Jan. 15, 2024. Combined car-ramming and stabbing attacks carried out by two Palestinians killed an elderly woman and wounded 17 others in central Israel on Monday, Israeli authorities said. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Combined car-ramming and stabbing attacks carried out by two Palestinians killed an elderly woman and wounded 17 others in central Israel on Monday, Israeli authorities said.

Commander of the Central District of Israeli Police Avi Bitton said that two suspects were in custody after being arrested at the scene in the city of Ra'anana, northeast of Tel Aviv.

In a statement, Israel's internal security agency Shin Bet identified the attackers as Ahmed Zidat, 25, and Mahmoud Zidad, 44, members of the same family from Hebron, a city in the occupied West Bank. They entered Israel without permits.

"They acted together and in parallel, approaching two separate locations, took two cars and launched a series of ramming attacks," Bitton said.

He said the two attackers switched cars three times during their rampage, including one that they took over by stabbing the driver, and rammed the vehicles into pedestrians in several locations in Ra'anana.

Video footage on Israel's Kan TV news showed personal belongings strewn across the road and a shattered bus stop, with at least four children reportedly injured in the attack, the report said.

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) issued a statement on Monday claiming responsibility for the twin attacks in Ra'anana, describing it as "a natural response to the occupation's massacres and its continued aggression against our Palestinian people."

Yaron Muskat, the director of the Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, a nearby city, told reporters that a woman in her 70s succumbed to critical wounds in the hospital.

At least 17 people needed medical care, including five who were in serious condition, according to the ZAKA rescue service.

Israeli security forces stand guard at the scene of car-ramming and stabbing attacks in the central Israeli city of Ra'anana, on Jan. 15, 2024. Combined car-ramming and stabbing attacks carried out by two Palestinians killed an elderly woman and wounded 17 others in central Israel on Monday, Israeli authorities said. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua)

Israeli police work at the scene of car-ramming and stabbing attacks in the central Israeli city of Ra'anana, on Jan. 15, 2024. Combined car-ramming and stabbing attacks carried out by two Palestinians killed an elderly woman and wounded 17 others in central Israel on Monday, Israeli authorities said. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua)

An Israeli police officer works at the scene of car-ramming and stabbing attacks in the central Israeli city of Ra'anana, on Jan. 15, 2024. Combined car-ramming and stabbing attacks carried out by two Palestinians killed an elderly woman and wounded 17 others in central Israel on Monday, Israeli authorities said. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua)

Israeli police work at the scene of car-ramming and stabbing attacks in the central Israeli city of Ra'anana, on Jan. 15, 2024. Combined car-ramming and stabbing attacks carried out by two Palestinians killed an elderly woman and wounded 17 others in central Israel on Monday, Israeli authorities said. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua)

Israeli security forces stand guard at the scene of car-ramming and stabbing attacks in the central Israeli city of Ra'anana, on Jan. 15, 2024. Combined car-ramming and stabbing attacks carried out by two Palestinians killed an elderly woman and wounded 17 others in central Israel on Monday, Israeli authorities said. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua)

Photo taken on Jan. 15, 2024 shows the scene of car-ramming and stabbing attacks in the central Israeli city of Ra'anana. Combined car-ramming and stabbing attacks carried out by two Palestinians killed an elderly woman and wounded 17 others in central Israel on Monday, Israeli authorities said. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua)

Photo taken on Jan. 15, 2024 shows the scene of car-ramming and stabbing attacks in the central Israeli city of Ra'anana. Combined car-ramming and stabbing attacks carried out by two Palestinians killed an elderly woman and wounded 17 others in central Israel on Monday, Israeli authorities said. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua)

Israeli security forces stand guard at the scene of car-ramming and stabbing attacks in the central Israeli city of Ra'anana, on Jan. 15, 2024. Combined car-ramming and stabbing attacks carried out by two Palestinians killed an elderly woman and wounded 17 others in central Israel on Monday, Israeli authorities said. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua)

Israeli security forces stand guard at the scene of car-ramming and stabbing attacks in the central Israeli city of Ra'anana, on Jan. 15, 2024. Combined car-ramming and stabbing attacks carried out by two Palestinians killed an elderly woman and wounded 17 others in central Israel on Monday, Israeli authorities said. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned of a potential war as he called for a constitutional amendment to change the status of South Korea to that of a separate state.

He also warned that while his nation does not seek war, he does not necessarily intend to avoid such confrontations. Kim noted that his final conclusion was that unification with the South was no longer possible.

Kim Jong Un Warns of Potential War

Kim Jong Un's remarks came during a speech to the Supreme People's Assembly, North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament. Kim also accused Seoul of seeking regime collapse and unification by absorption.

The state media KCNA also reported that three organizations responsible for dealing with unification and inter-Korean tourism are set to be shut down. The development comes as tensions between the two sides have worsened amid a series of missile tests and a push by Pyongyang to break with decades of policy and change it relates to the South, as per Reuters.

Analysts have argued that North Korea's foreign ministry can take over relations with Seoul and could help justify the use of nuclear weapons against the South in a future war. Kim called for South Korea to be designated as the "number one enemy" in its constitution. He noted that a war would decimate the South and deal an "unimaginable" defeat to the US.

The North Korean leader also said that if a war were to break out in the Korean peninsula, his nation's constitution should reflect the issue of "occupying," "recapturing," and "incorporating" the South into its territory.

Last week, former State Department official Robert Carlin and nuclear scientist Siegfried Hecker released a report for the US-based 38 North project. They said that they view the situation on the Korean Peninsula as more dangerous than it has ever been since early June 1950.

In a statement, the Supreme People's Assembly said that the two Koreas are now locked in an "acute confrontation." It added that it would be a serious mistake for the North to regard the South as a partner in diplomacy, according to the Associated Press.

Read Also: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Claims Responsibility for Attack Near US Consulate in Iraq

Reunification of the Two Koreas

The assembly added that the North Korean government will take "practical measures" to implement the decision to shut down the agencies managing relations with the South. Kim blamed South Korea and the US for supposedly raising regional tensions.

He argued that it had become impossible for his country to pursue reconciliation and peaceful reunification with the South. One of the agencies in question is the National Committee for Peaceful Reunification, the nation's main agency handling inter-Korean affairs since 1961.

The other two were the National Economic Cooperation Bureau and the Mount Kumgang International Tourism Administration. They were set to handle joint economic and tourism projects between the two Koreas.

On top of North Korea's missile tests, tensions in the Korean Peninsula escalated amid the South's expansion of its joint military training with the US. Kim made announcements last year where he said the North would launch three new military spy satellites, produce attack drones, and expand the country's nuclear materials, said The Hill.

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WASHINGTON  The Biden administration is expected to soon announce plans to redesignate Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen as a specially designated global terrorists, according to two people familiar with the White House decision and a U.S. official.

The move comes as the Houthis have launched dozens of attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea. The group says it has attacked the ships in response to Israel's military operations in Gaza in the aftermath of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

The three people familiar with the decision were not authorized to comment and requested anonymity to discuss the matter ahead of the expected formal announcement. The administration is expected to make the announcement on Wednesday, the U.S. official said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken delisted the Houthis as both a foreign terrorist organizations and as specially designated global terrorists in February 2021 as the administration sought to make it easier to get humanitarian aid into Yemen.

In its waning days, the Trump administration designated the Houthis a Foreign Terrorist Organization over the strong objections of human rights and humanitarian aid groups.

The foreign terrorist designation barred Americans and people and organizations subject to U.S. jurisdiction from providing material support to the Houthis, which the groups said would result in an even greater humanitarian catastrophe than what was already happening in Yemen.

Shortly after the Biden administration took office, Blinken removed the designations in a step that was roundly criticized by conservative lawmakers and others but was intended to keep much-needed food, medicine and other aid flowing to Yemen.

The specially designated global terrorists label to be reimposed on the Houthis does not include sanctions for providing material support and it does not come with travel bans that are also imposed with the FTO label. Thus, it may not pose a substantial impediment to providing aid to Yemeni civilians.

Meanwhile, a senior White House official said Tuesday that addressing the ongoing threat by Yemens Houthi rebels on commercial vessels in the Red Sea is an all hands on deck problem that the U.S. and allies must address together to minimize impact on the global economy.

How long this goes on and how bad it gets comes down not just to the decisions of the countries in the coalition that took strikes last week, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said during an appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The Iran-backed Houthi group has launched dozens of attacks since November on vessels in the Red Sea, a vital corridor for the worlds shipping traffic, in what they say is an effort to support Palestinians in the war with Israel. U.S. and British forces have responded by carrying out dozens of air and sea strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen since Friday. The attacks by the Houthis have continued.

Cnn US carries out additional strikes against Houthis in Yemen

Linda Thomas Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said last week that 2,000 ships since November have been forced to divert thousands of miles to avoid the Red Sea. Houthi militants have threatened or taken hostage mariners from more than 20 countries.

The Red Sea attacks have already caused significant disruptions to global trade. Oil prices have edged higher in recent days, though Brent crude futures were down slightly in early trading Tuesday.

The U.S. launched a new strike against the Houthis on Tuesday, hitting anti-ship missiles in the third assault on the Iranian-backed group in recent days. The strike came as the Iranian-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile attack against the Malta-flagged bulk carrier Zografia in the Red Sea. No one was injured.

Sullivan said it was critical that countries with influence on Tehran and other Middle East capitals make it clear that the entire world rejects wholesale the idea that a group like the Houthis can basically hijack the world.

President Joe Biden's senior adviser acknowledged that the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea as well as groups allied to Iran carrying out attacks in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen pose concerns that the Israel-Hamas war could escalate even as Israeli officials have indicated a shift in intensity in their military campaign.

We have to guard against and be vigilant against the possibility that in fact, rather than heading towards de-escalation, we are on a path of escalation that we have to manage, Sullivan said.

The comments from Sullivan came after Qatars prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said during an appearance at the Davos forum that the situation in the Middle East is a recipe for escalation everywhere. He said Qatar believes that ending the conflict in Gaza will stop the Houthis and militant groups from launching attacks elsewhere in the region.

Sullivan on Tuesday met with Al Thani as well as Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, according to the White House.

Iran fired missiles late Monday at what it said were Israeli spy headquarters in an upscale neighborhood near the sprawling U.S. Consulate compound in Irbil, the seat of Iraqs northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region, and at targets linked to the extremist Islamic State group in northern Syria.

Iraq on Tuesday called the attacks, which killed several civilians, a blatant violation of Iraqs sovereignty and recalled its ambassador from Tehran.

How Houthi attacks crimp global trade Why are Houthis attacking ships? Why is the Red Sea important? How are Houthi attacks affecting trade? What does it mean for oil prices? How is the world responding?
Iranian sniper rifles. AK-47 assault rifles from China and Russia. North Korean- and Bulgarian-built rocket-propelled grenades. Anti-tank rockets secretly cobbled together in Gaza.

An Associated Press analysis of more than 150 videos and photos taken in the three months of combat since Hamas launched its Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel shows the militant group has amassed a diverse patchwork arsenal of weapons from around the world  much of it smuggled past a 17-year blockade that was aimed at stopping just such a military buildup.

Those weapons have proved deadly during weeks of intense urban warfare in Gaza, where Hamas fighters are typically armed only with what they can carry and employ hit-and-run tactics against lopsided Israeli advantages in arms and technology. Hamas propaganda videos posted over the past few weeks appear to show the shootings of Israeli soldiers recorded through the scopes of sniper rifles.

We are searching everywhere for weapons, for political support, for money, Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad recently said in an interview with the AP, declining to discuss specifically who has been providing its weapons or how they were snuck into Gaza.

Experts who reviewed the images for AP were able to identify distinguishing features and markings that show where many of the weapons wielded by Hamas fighters were manufactured. But such an analysis does not provide evidence of whether they were provided by the governments of those countries or purchased in a thriving Middle East black market, with weapons and components listed for sale on social media in such war-torn countries as Iraq, Libya and Syria.

What is clear, however, is that many of the images show Hamas militants toting weapons that appear to be relatively new, evidence the group has found ways of getting arms past the air-and-sea blockade of the Gaza Strip  possibly by boat, through tunnels or concealed in shipments of food and other goods.

The majority of their arms are of Russian, Chinese or Iranian origin, but North Korean weapons and those produced in former Warsaw Pact countries are also present in the arsenal, said N.R. Jenzen-Jones, an expert in military arms who is director of the Australian-based Armament Research Services.

Despite the buildup, Israel maintains a massive advantage, with a powerful array of modern tanks, artillery, helicopter gunships and an air force of U.S.-made fighter jets. Israels military says it has killed more than 7,000 Hamas militants, compared to the deaths of at least 510 of its own soldiers, more than 330 of whom were killed in Hamas initial attack. The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says more than 23,000 Palestinians have died in the fighting, though it does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

Imagery reviewed by the AP showed a Hamas arsenal featuring weapons ranging from small arms and machine guns to shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles and craft-produced anti-tank projectiles.

Among the most distinctive is the oversized AM-50 Sayyad (Arabic for hunter), an Iranian-made a sniper rifle that fires a .50- caliber round powerful enough to punch through up to an inch of steel. It has previously been spotted on battlefields in Yemen, Syria, and in the hands of Shia militias in Iraq.

Hamas fighters have also been seen carrying an array of Soviet-era weapons that have been copied and manufactured in Iran and China. They include variants of the Russian-designed 9M32 Strela, a portable heat-seeking anti-aircraft missile system.

Jenzen-Jones said a grip stock on one of the missile launchers a fighter was seen holding is distinctive to a variant manufactured in China and used by the Iranian military and its allies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, a group closely aligned with Hamas.

Weapons recovered from Hamas fighters by the Israel Defense Forces include what appear to be Italian-designed TC/6 anti-tank mines. However, Sean Moorhouse, a former British Army officer and explosive ordinance disposal expert, said it too had been copied by Irans arms industry.

The Israel Defense Forces and U.S. officials have long accused Iran of supplying money, training and weapons to Hamas and allied militants in Gaza, including the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Iranian representatives at the United Nations did not respond to emails from the AP about whether their government supplied weapons to Hamas, including AM-50 Sayyad sniper rifles. However, a week after AP sought comment, Hamas posted a video purporting to show militants in Gaza using machining equipment to make their own copies of the rifle.

Master gunsmith Don Fraley reviewed that Dec. 20 video and said it would be nearly impossible for Hamas to manufacture a safe and accurate .50-caliber sniper rifle with the rudimentary equipment shown.

Youre going to have to be a rock star at machine shop work. And I didnt see any of that," said Fraley, a former U.S. Army Special Forces soldier and sniper for the Kentucky State Police. "These folks are just trying to cover their tracks.

An Israeli military official familiar with Hamas arsenal said the group uses a combination of smuggled off-the-shelf weaponry, including AK-47s, RPGs and anti-aircraft missiles, as well as a large collection of home-grown weapons often made with easily accessible civilian materials.

There is a huge military/defense industry inside the Gaza Strip, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity under military briefing rules.

Israel-Hamas war at 100 days
WEST DES MOINES  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis finished in a distant second place in the Iowa Republican caucuses, narrowly edging out former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley in a tight race for second place.

With about 97% percent of the votes in as of 11 p.m., DeSantis pulled in about 21 percent of the vote, putting Haley in a close third with about 19 percent support.

Both candidates celebrated the results as a boost to their campaigns even as they trailed far behind former President Donald Trump, who has gathered more than half of reported results.

They threw everything but the kitchen sink at us, DeSantis told a raucous crowd of supporters gathered at his watch party at a West Des Moines hotel. They spent almost $50 million attacking us. ... The media was against us. They were writing our obituary months ago. They even called the election before people even got a chance to vote.

The Florida governors campaign cried foul Monday after national media outlets predicted Trump the winner shortly after the caucuses started.

The Associated Press and other major news outlets such as CNN, Fox News and NBC News called the race for Trump barely 30 minutes after the caucuses began at 7 p.m. Only a handful of precincts had race results reported by that point.

The DeSantis campaign claimed the media was engaging in election interference, since not all caucuses had finished.

But I can tell you, because of your support, in spite of all of that they threw at us, everyone against us, we've got our ticket punched out of Iowa, DeSantis exclaimed.

We represent a chance to reverse the madness that we've seen in this country to reverse the decline of this country and to give this country a new birth of freedom and a restoration, DeSantis continued.

DeSantis noted his campaign has an uphill climb.

We have a lot of work to do, he told supporters at this watch party. But I can tell you this as the next President of the United States, I am going to get the job done for this country. I am not not gonna make any excuses. And I guarantee you this, I will not let you down.

Haley cast her third-place finish as a victory, saying she rose from polling in the single digits to nearly taking second place. She pointed to the later contests and said she was well positioned to take on Trump.

I can safely say, tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race, she told supporters in West Des Moines.

Haley, who spent the weeks leading up to Iowa attacking DeSantis, quickly set her sights on Trump Monday night. She warned of the prospects of a Trump-Biden rematch and said Americans want to see the country taken in a different direction.

Trump and Biden are both about 80 years old, she said. Trump and Biden both put our country trillions of dollars deeper in debt, and our kids will never forgive them for it.

DeSantis bet on ground organizing for second-place finish

DeSantis marshaled a robust network of precinct captains and canvassers to try to boost the Florida governor to second place past Haley.

Never Back Down, a DeSantis-aligned super PAC supporting but not directly affiliated with his campaign, led the bulk of Iowa organizing for the Florida governor. PAC officials said they recruited more than 1,600 precinct captains, spanning nearly every caucus site in the state.

Volunteers organized rides to caucus sites, door-knocked in subzero temperatures and readied to shovel driveways, if needed, to help get supporters out.

DeSantis, though, could not overcome a commanding lead by former President Donald Trump to pull off a caucus night upset.

Once widely viewed as the favorite to challenge Trump, DeSantis struggled to narrow the gap with the Republican presidential frontrunner, despite earning endorsements from top state Republicans, including Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Iowa Christian evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats.

DeSantis also faced a mounting challenge from Haley, who pulled ahead of DeSantis in polling just days before Mondays high-stakes Iowa GOP caucuses that could help determine whether either candidate has a viable shot at upending Trumps path to the nomination.

Nikki Haley caught Iowa momentum

Haley, who came out of Iowa only 2 points behind DeSantis, bolstered her support with national debate performances, a flood of anti-DeSantis advertising money from a super PAC, and the endorsement and organizing power from the influential Koch brothers network Americans for Prosperity.

Based on reported results, Haley gathered more support than DeSantis in urban and suburban areas like Scott, Black Hawk and Story counties, catering to moderates and independents who were not convinced by the far-right posturing of both Trump and DeSantis.

Haley managed to beat Trump in Johnson County by only one vote, taking in 1,271 to Trump's 1,270, and preventing the former president from winning all 99 Iowa counties.

Retired AT&T technician Dave Anderson, sporting a button for former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, describes himself as your run of the mill small government, low taxes Republican, but not a MAGA Republican, like the majority of his fellow caucus-goers at Precinct 19 in northwest Cedar Rapids.

He chose Haley for her civility and lack of negativity in the campaign cycle, which was a priority for the Cedar Rapids resident.

He liked other candidates, like former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who have since dropped out. He voted Republican until 2016.

He was unswayed by arguments for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's acumen in fiscal policy or former President Donald Trump's performance in economic issues, citing a significant drop in his retirement funds under the Trump Administration and a substantial boost in them under Biden's administration.

If DeSantis or Trump are the GOP nominee in the election this November, he said he will vote for President Joe Biden.

DeSantis was all-in on Iowa

The stakes were high for DeSantis, who is projected to do poorly in the New Hampshire primary, which is next up on the calendar. DeSantis was polling in a distant third in the Granite State with 5.8 percent support, according to FiveThirtyEights average of recent polls. Trump has about 40% of support among likely New Hampshire voters, while Haley follows at 30%.

DeSantis pinned his hopes for the Republican presidential nomination on Iowa, hoping a strong ground game and support from the states popular Republican governor and an influential Iowa Christian evangelical leader can make up for lackluster polling and give him a boost through the rest of the primary race.

DeSantis bet on retail campaigning, visiting all of Iowas 99 counties, and intense ground organizing to plant the seeds for success in the Iowa caucuses.

But his campaign became beset by infighting and dysfunction, and left much of the tricky task of organizing support for him to the pro-DeSantis aligned Never Back Down super PAC. Multiple senior officials of which resigned or were fired following disputes over the groups attack ads against primary rival Nikki Haley and personnel moves.

Reynolds, putting her political capital on the line, endorsed DeSantis in November, after initially saying she would remain neutral in the Iowa GOP caucuses.

Trump criticized Reynolds for being disloyal, taking credit for her election victory in 2018 and claiming his endorsement of her for governor saved her campaign.

Reynolds said she was proud of her endorsement, saying DeSantis record as governor of Florida  such as pushing against COVID restrictions and mandates, expanding school choice options for parents and restricting teaching of topics related to gender and sexuality in public schools is undeniable.

This is the man that can step in on Day One and reverse the madness that we see happening from the Biden administration, Reynolds told the crowd in West Des Moines. He has the record. He has the resolve. He is a bold, principled leader.

She assured DeSantis is in it for the long haul."

Weve got one of two tickets out of Iowa, Reynolds exclaimed. Were sending him to New Hampshire. Were sending him to South Carolina. Watch out America, Ron DeSantis is not done.
The Hawkeye state once again kicks off the presidential primary season, at least on the Republican side, where former president Donald Trump seeks his first win in a contested Iowa caucus against an ever-shrinking field of candidates that includes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, among others.

At stake in the caucuses are Iowas 40 delegates to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this summer. Results so far:

Heres a look at what's unfolding tonight:

The Iowa Republican caucuses began at 7 p.m. Iowa Democrats also hold caucuses but they will not hold a presidential preference vote.

WHATS ON THE BALLOT

There is no set list of authorized candidates, meaning that caucus-goers may vote for any candidate they prefer. The state party will track votes for Ryan Binkley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who ended his campaign Wednesday night, DeSantis, Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, Trump and Other.

WHO GETS TO VOTE

Only Iowa residents who are registered Republicans and will be 18 years old by the November general election may participate in the GOP caucuses. Voters may only participate in the caucus in their home precinct and must be there in person.

DELEGATE ALLOCATION RULES

Proportional by statewide vote with no threshold. Statewide caucus results will be used to determine how many of Iowas 40 Republican National Convention delegates each candidate has won. Delegates are allocated to candidates in direct proportion to their share of the statewide vote. Unlike some other states, Iowa delegates are not allocated by congressional district, and candidates do not have to reach a certain vote threshold in order to qualify for delegates.

HOW LONG DOES VOTE-COUNTING USUALLY TAKE?

The length of the caucus meetings will vary from location to location, with most lasting about one hour to 90 minutes.

MORE TO KNOW

Trump received 24% of the 2016 caucus vote against a historically large field of candidates. He carried 37 of the states 99 counties, compared to 57 for caucus-winner Cruz and five for Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. Polling suggests the former president enjoys a far broader and deeper base of support heading into the 2024 caucuses.

If the 2016 results offer any clues, it may be in the states metropolitan areas, where Trump fared the worst eight years ago. Trump placed third in the states most populous counties, including Polk, Linn, Story, Dallas, Johnson and Black Hawk.

Strong wins by Trump in those counties on Monday would be an indication that he has since won over Republicans who didnt support him in 2016, just as hes consolidated his support among the party establishment throughout the country.

Severe weather and its impact on voter turnout may be a wildcard in the race. There is no recount or challenge provision for Iowas Republican caucuses.
Donald Trump won the Iowa Republican caucuses on Monday night in a rout, taking the first nominating contest for a secondnot third!time. His vote share, at 51 percent, and margin of victory, around 30 percentage points, both broke records for competitive Iowa Republican contests.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, meanwhile, came in a distant second place, with around 21 percent of the vote, and Nikki Haley came in third, at 19 percent.

In his victory speech, Trump didnt sound like a candidate concerned about being caught as the race moves on. He spoke about DeSantis and Haley as if they were, once and for all, defeated. In other words, he was relatively nice to them.

I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a good time togetherwere all having a good time together, Trump said. I think they both actually did very well, I do. I think they did very well. We dont even know what the outcome of second place is. He also, for good measure, said that fourth-place finisher Vivek Ramaswamywho suspended his campaign Monday nighthad done a hell of a job.

What a peach.

Caucusing began at 7 p.m. Central Time, and the Associated Press called the race in Trumps favor by 7:31 based on entrance poll data. Television news networks called it around the same time.

This wasnt great. Anyone whos ever been to a caucus knows that while they may begin at a certain time, theres a lot of throat-clearingelecting precinct officials, allowing nominating speeches, etc.before any voting takes place. This meant that media organizations had already called the race before a lot of voterswho have phones on them and can see the newsvoted. It is not as though Donald Trump was ever going to lose. The AP could have called the winner three months ago. But the decision not to wait until, say, 8:30 opened the door for, say, Ron DeSantis team to cry foul and claim that the media was in the tank for Trump. I wouldnt put it like that. Major news outlets just want to beat one another by 11 seconds.

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Indeed, the race was called before Trump or any of his supporters could even get to the Trump celebration.

Related From Slate He Should Have Been Our President: The Fiery Scene on a Freezing Iowa Caucus Night Read More

There is much for the Trump team to celebrate, as the numbers under the hood were as suffocating to his challengers as the top-line result itself. According to entrance polls (an imperfect, oft-revised metric), Trump beat his rivals among men and women; rural, urban, and suburban voters; voters age 30 to 44, 45 to 64, and 65 and older; evangelical Christians and voters who are not evangelical Christians; college graduates and noncollege graduates; and very conservative and somewhat conservative voters.

This is a broad coalition befitting a quasi-incumbent. What room does either DeSantis or Haley have to challenge him going forward?

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DeSantis had staked his all on Iowa, with plenty of cash and high-profile endorsements within the state. He visited every county. And then he got waxed. DeSantis pitched himself as a more effective, more competent MAGA candidate. But MAGA stuck with Trump. DeSantis can check his campaigns bank balance and sketch out his own timetable going forward, but Trumps base remains Trumps base.

Haley, meanwhile, had hoped for the second-place slot that some recent polls had shown her to be in. She didnt get itbut thats no reason to junk a perfectly good prewritten second-place speech.

When you look at how were doing in New Hampshire, in South Carolina, and beyond, I can safely say: Tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race, the third-place candidate said at her caucus-night event.

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Related From Slate How the Iowa Caucuses Fell Apart Read More

Haley did, per the entrance polls, beat Donald Trump in some demographics. She crushed Trump among moderate voters, winning two-thirds of them. She also led among voters who feel Trump would be unfit for the presidency if convicted of a crime, who believe Biden legitimately won in 2020, and who decided on a candidate this month.

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The problem for her was that only about 10 percent of caucusgoers were moderate. Only a third wouldnt vote for Trump if he is convicted of a crime, and only a third believe that Biden was legitimately elected in 2020. Two-thirds of voters decided on a candidate before this month, and two-thirds of them supported Trump.

The good news for Haley is that New Hampshire, which holds the first primary next week, has a more moderate electorate. If you can believe it, we might even see a close contest not just for second place in New Hampshire. But then primary season will return to conservative states. To win the Republican primary in the long run, you need to put together a coalition that resembles the meat of the Republican electorate. Hers doesnt.

In other words, Monday nights result both demonstrates the strength of the coalition Trump has kept together and gives both of his challengers enough excuses to keep their candidacies alive.

Onward.
(Photo : HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)

Pro-Israeli supporters hold placards as they gather for a demonstration in Trafalgar Square in central London on January 14, 2024, to show support for the bereaved families, families of hostages, soldiers and the people of Israel. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza Strip said Sunday at least 23,968 people have been killed in the territory in 100 days of war between Palestinian militants and Israel. The ministry said it had recorded another 60,582 wounded since fighting erupted on October 7.

Police have confirmed that four individuals have been arrested at a pro-Palestinian demonstration in London on suspicion of terrorism offences.

Three individuals, a man in his 30s, a woman in her 50s, and another woman in her 30s, were apprehended by officers around 4pm on Saturday. They were eventually transported to a police station in west London for further questioning.

Pro-Palestine Protest in London, UK

A 49-year-old individual from south London was apprehended by officers around 3 pm on Sunday. The arrest was made on suspicion of inviting support for a proscribed organization.

All four individuals have been granted bail and are required to report back to a police station in west London in late March. Authorities conducted searches at four different locations in south-east Kent, South Yorkshire, west London, and south London.

A large number of individuals reportedly participated in Saturday's rally, commencing at Bank Junction in the heart of London at midday. The rally proceeded through Fleet Street and Victoria Embankment, ultimately reaching Parliament Square.

According to reports, a significant number of police officers, approximately 1,700, were deployed by the Met for the recent Pro-Palestine march in the city. This marked the first major demonstration of its kind in the city this year.

Counter Terrorism Command detectives collaborated with policing colleagues to investigate and address suspected terrorism offenses over the weekend.

This latest investigation is part of a series of approximately 30 inquiries initiated by the Met Counter Terrorism Command to look into potential criminal activity at protests. The focus of these investigations primarily revolves around possible terrorism-related offenses, Daily Mail reported.

Protests against the war in Gaza have swept across the UK since it started in October. A large demonstration took place over the weekend in London, as thousands of people gathered to demand an immediate ceasefire.

Read Also: Protests Against US, UK Airstrikes Draw Thousands in Yemen

Israel-Hamas War

The Metropolitan Police has announced that it is implementing additional measures in response to the indication that the plot against the LSE may be part of a larger coordinated effort.

According to Commander Dominic Murphy, the leader of the Met Counter Terrorism Command, the majority of individuals participating in protests are peacefully expressing their views.

"There are consequences for those who are not and where officers see people supporting proscribed organizations we will take action, as we did this weekend."

Per Sky News, former home secretary Suella Braverman joined pro-Israel protesters in London on Sunday, as the world observed 100 days since Israel's war with Hamas started.

Related Article: Rishi Sunak Makes Official Visit to Kyiv as UK Prepares to Boost Military Aid to Ukraine
Alabama plans to experiment with nitrogen hypoxia, a previously untried method of execution, when it puts Kenneth Smith to death on Jan. 25. Experience has shown that when it comes to the death penalty, such experiments often go awry and produce disastrous consequences. Alabamas scheduled execution of Smith may offer yet another tragic example of what happens when states trot out such methods. Yet, last week District Judge R. Austin Huffaker chose to disregard that risk and give Alabama the go-ahead.

Huffaker ignored the lessons of history and illustrated the Kafkaesque complexities and inhumanity of the law now governing the choice of execution methods.

Before looking closely at Huffakers disturbing opinion, its worth looking at other instances in which states have first tried new ways of putting people to death. Lets start with New Yorks late-19th-century decision to replace hanging with the electric chair.

It did so after a long period of studying different methods of execution and after being assured by experts that electrocuting someone would be a painless and humane way of carrying out a death sentence. After all that, on Aug. 6, 1890, its first use of the electric chair, in the execution of William Kemmler, went disastrously wrong.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, in the run-up to his execution, Kemmler pleaded with corrections officers: Dont let them experiment on me more than they ought to. But despite his pleas, the experiment went on.

The results, the center reports, were disastrous:

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After an initial 17-second administration of high-voltage electric current, a doctor declared Kemmler dead. Then Kemmler let out a deep groan.  Reports of the execution say that After 2 minutes the execution chamber filled with the smell of burning flesh. 2 of the witnesses fainted. Several others were overcome with severe attacks of nausea. Newspapers called the execution a historic bungle and disgusting, sickening and inhuman.

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Fast-forward three decades to 1924, the first time the gas chamber was used. It occurred in Nevada.

There, state officials first tried to pump cyanide gas into the cell of Gee Jon while he slept, but this failed. When Jon was finally killed in a specially constructed gas chamber, he suffocated in a toxic cloud of poison air. Witnesses could faintly smell the gas as it leaked from the chamber.

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Finally, in 1982, when Texas first used lethal injection, things again did not go well. Prison officials repeatedly failed in their efforts to insert an IV into a vein in the arm of Charles Brooks. When they finally succeeded in doing so, it took several minutes for a terror-stricken Brooks to die.

Though he pays no attention to that history, Judge Huffaker clearly is aware that Alabama is venturing into uncharted territory in its plan to use nitrogen to kill Smith. His rhetoric reveals a kind of nervous anxiety about nitrogen executions.

Throughout his 48-page opinion, Huffaker calls his readers attention to what the judge calls the states novel plan. But he does little to assuage Smiths justifiable concerns about what novelty will mean in the execution chamber or to think about how the jurisprudence surrounding methods of execution should respond to the fact of novelty.

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That jurisprudence is quite clearly designed to keep the machinery of death running, and Huffaker plays his part.

In truth, it has never been easy for death-row inmates like Kenneth Smith to win when they challenge a method of execution. This is because, in its entire history, the Supreme Court has never invalidated a method of execution on constitutional or any other grounds.

And in a series of decisions dating back to 2008, the court has given states great latitude in deciding how they want to carry out executions. Those decisions have placed the burden on petitioners to show that any method fails to meet legal standards, and they have made meeting that burden next to impossible.

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To prevail, someone like Smith must show that a method of execution poses a significant risk of imposing what the courts call superadded pain, and the condemned must also identify a readily available execution alternative.

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Smiths views about nitrogen hypoxia have been a bit hard to follow. Initially he indicated a preference to be put to death by nitrogen hypoxia rather than lethal injection, a preference the state ignored when it tried unsuccessfully to execute him in November 2022.

In the lawsuit that Huffaker just decided, Smith challenged not nitrogen hypoxia, per se, but key details of the protocol that Alabama said it would follow, including details about the way the nitrogen will be administered and the mask that will cover his face.

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As the numerous botched lethal injections that have occurred all over the United States have shown, when it comes to executing someone such details make all the difference in the world. Getting them right is necessary to ensure that executions do not become gruesome spectacles.

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Judge Huffaker notes that, among other things Smith contends, the Alabama protocol does not contain guidance on the type of mask to be used; how, when, and by whom it will be placed, adjusted and inspected;  what training the  execution team will receive; how [prison personnel] will conduct a final inspection to determine if the mask has been properly placed; and what will happen if the mask becomes displaced or dislodged during the execution process.

Smith alleges that failing to attend to those details could result in the infiltration of oxygen inside the mask, thereby increasing time to unconsciousness and increasing the risk of dire consequences such as a vegetative state, a stroke, or the painful sensation of suffocation.

Any of those things, were they to occur, would make Smiths death unspeakably cruel.

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As is the case in many methods of execution challenges, Judge Huffaker presided over a contest of experts, with those called by Smith detailing all of the things that could go wrong in an execution under the states current protocol. Not surprisingly, the states expert witnesses reached just the opposite conclusions.

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Despite these conflicting accounts, the judge concluded that uninterrupted introduction of pure nitrogen will result in nitrogen hypoxia and that nitrogen hypoxia will ultimately lead to death. Of course, that conclusion begs the questions that Smith is posing, which are not about the properties of nitrogen, per se, but about the way it would be administered in his case.

Huffaker found that there was simply not enough evidence to find with any degree of certainty or likelihood that execution by nitrogen hypoxia under the Protocol is substantially likely to cause Smith superadded pain short of death or prolonged death. Then, in a shockingly cold-blooded way, the judge acknowledged that things could indeed go wrong but, in his words, only if a cascade of unlikely events occurs.

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After saying that, Huffaker returned to the question of novelty, recognizing that what Alabama wants to do amounts to a kind of human experimentation. Yet, as he put it, novel methods of execution are not new to the federal courts, and that the presence of novelty in an execution method could not and should not alter Smiths burden of showing that the method creates an unacceptable risk of pain.

In the end, Huffakers refusal to ask more of the state when it seeks to use a new and controversial method of execution is both a moral and, in my view, legal mistake. Why shouldnt someone facing execution have the same legal protection when the state seeks to innovate or experiment that the same person would have if they were the subject of an innovation or experiment in the course of their medical care?

I think the answer is that they should.

If Alabama wants to follow New York, Nevada, and Texas in pioneering a new method of execution, it, not Smith, should have to show that doing so will not render an execution cruel. In his case, it has not done so.
Many self-professed champions of freedom throughout the centuries have looked to ancient Sparta as an inspiration. The doomed stand of 300 Spartan warriors against the Persian Empire at Thermopylae in 480 B.C.E.the subject of Zack Snyders 2006 film 300has been particularly influential for figures ranging from Lord Byron rallying support for Greek independence from the Ottomans to Cold Warriors mythologizing the virtues of the West against the Soviet Union. Its easy to ridicule such a simplistic view of history, and to point out that the Spartans might not have deserved their reputation as invincible warriors. But the blunders and brutalities of todays champions of Western civilization follow Spartas example remarkably closely. This should give us pause.

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Spartas famous militarism was inseparable from the all-consuming fear the Spartans had of their oppressed neighbors. Unlike other Greeks, who only took up the spear when their city went to war, the Spartans trained as soldiers full time. The skill acquired over years of drill and exercise made the Spartans unbeatable for centuries in any straightforward clash of infantry. This professional army, however, was possible only because the Spartans enslaved their neighbors, called the Helots, and forced them to take care of the farming and other necessary tasks to keep the community functioning while the Spartans honed their soldiering talents.

At the same time, the Spartans drilled so incessantly, and were constantly under arms, because they were afraid the Helots would revolt. This fear of the Helots kept Spartan soldiers at home, preventing the Spartans from using their peerless army abroad as often as they might. Among other things, Spartan isolationism born of paranoia gave Athens free rein to throw its own weight around, leading to the Peloponnesian War.

The interconnection of military power and violent oppression corroded the Spartan soul, too. Buff Spartan hoplites brandishing their spears were not enough to assuage fears of a Helot uprising. The Helots had to be ritually humiliated to keep them in their place. Plutarch, writing for a Roman audience curious about this peculiar Greek polis, says that the Helots were subjected to various degradations, including forced drunkenness, demeaning public spectacles, and, most horrifyingly, ritual murder as part of a Spartan coming-of-age ceremony. Thucydides, an Athenian author who nevertheless had close ties to some Spartan sources, writes that the Spartans once gathered the most industrious and spirited Helots under the false pretense they would be set free; 2,000 Helots came forward, only to be disappeared. While ghastly even by ancient standards, these measures served only to make the Helots hate the Spartans even more, all but guaranteeing future Helot revolts and worsening Spartan paranoia.

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Spartan militarism as both the cause of and solution to being surrounded by bitterly oppressed peoples made Sparta a profoundly weird place. Many authors from antiquity took it upon themselves to describe the Spartans and their bizarre way of life to others, typically concluding that being on constant war footing made the Spartans the curiosities that they were. This weirdness played out no more conspicuously than in the forced military education system for Spartas boys, which amounted to a Boy Scout troop from hell, taking children from their homes at the age of 7 and forcing them to fight each other and steal food in order to survive.

Though the tough Spartans and their famous come and take them line have inspired many, including advocates for the Second Amendment in the U.S., the Spartans were great warriors only because of their subjugation of the Helots. Even the Greeks did not find this to be a particularly wholesome marker of a civilized state. Some Spartans voted with their feet when they were exposed to Greek life outside of their own isolated and strange society. The Spartan authorities tried to prevent their generals from spending too much time abroad, which more often than not led to those generals catching a glimpse of the good life and acting decidedly un-Spartan.

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Vile as Spartan abuse of the Helots was, the end result of Spartas eventual championing of the cause of freedom abroad was arguably even worse. As I argue in my new book, at the time of the stand of the 300 at Thermopylae, the Spartans cared not a whit for freedom or liberating others. Instead, they fought for glory and fame, much like the epic heroes in Homers Iliad did in the Trojan War. Counterintuitively, glory-seeking did not lead the Spartans to fight many battles outside of their own territory. It was usually only the Helots and other neighbors who had to fear the Spartan spear. The glory and fame the Spartans won from those few battles they did fight farther afield were enough to cement their reputation and prevent others from picking any fights.

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After the Peloponnesian War, however, in which the Spartans ostensibly fought in order to curb the expansionism of their Athenian rivals, they took up the mantle of liberatorswhether the objects of that liberation wanted to be freed or not. When the Spartans started talking about freedom, they engaged in ruinous campaigns abroad that lasted for months or even years, leading to the deaths of Spartan soldiers and many others and turning most of the Greek world against them. It turns out that most people dont want to be forced to be free, especially when that freedom means subservience to ones supposed liberator. Startlingly few leaders have taken this lesson to heart in the 24 centuries since.

Interventionism and military adventures abroad in the name of freedom did not merely weaken Spartas position in the wider Greek world. It also led to the collapse of Sparta itself, at least as a major military power. If there was any Greek state that could stand toe-to-toe with Sparta on the battlefield, it was Thebes, mythical home of Oedipus and bad-boy of Greece for taking the side of the Persians in 480. A hundred years after the Persian Wars, the Thebans grew enraged at the Spartans using their military might to force other Greeks to refrain from holding influence over their neighbors, even as the Spartans continued to oppress many in their own territory, not least the Helots. Even the most powerful state can push things too far and rankle too many rivals.

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The Theban leader Epaminondas stepped forward to put an end to Spartan arrogance and hypocrisy. On a battlefield near Thebes in 371, Epaminondas broke the Spartan hoplite phalanx and killed one of its kings. But its what he did after the battle that was truly revolutionary, and laid bare the dangers of behaving as the Spartans had.

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The Thebans and their allies marched deep into Spartan territory, an astonishingly brazen act. The ancient sources tell us that before this, no Spartan woman had ever so much as seen the campfires of the enemy, since no army had been able to come near Sparta itself. Epaminondas very nearly took Sparta, prevented only by a river flooding its banks. No matter, since he then set his sights on cutting off Spartan power at its source. Epaminondas aided those who had been oppressed by the Spartans for centuries, helping them shore up their own cities defenses and even building entirely new cities to serve as capitals opposed to Spartan dominance. The most impactful of these measures was the foundation of Messene, an impregnable city for the Helots right on Spartas doorstep.

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Now protected by their own walls, and in possession of all the civic tools needed to form their own polis, the Helots were liberated from Spartan tyranny at long last. Epaminondas was not only the tactical genius who bested the Spartan army; he was also one of historys greatest liberators. Spartan violence in the supposed service of freedom was crushed by someone bringing genuine freedom to the oppressed. I recommend reading the graphic novel series Three, which tells the story of Helot liberation and is a welcome corrective to the jingoism of 300.

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The case of ancient Sparta suggests that basing a society on the violent and humiliating oppression of others is bad, both morally and practically. Even the best army, and the best propaganda to bolster that armys image, cant stave off the day of reckoning forever. Even without an Epaminondas showing up to call oppressors to account, the extreme measures a society must enact to keep the oppressed under thumb end up corroding that society from within, making it into a place few sensible people would want to live. Those measures also make uprisings of the oppressed more, not less, likely, leading to a vicious circle in which the oppressor becomes even more outrageous and paranoid, and the oppressed more desperate to strike back.

Todays champions of Western civilization and freedom, both real and self-imagined, would do well to take note.
This week on Amicus, I spoke with Ben Johnson, an associate professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. His work focuses on governance by committees, and he recently published an article in the Atlantic, The Little-Known Rule Change That Made the Supreme Court So Powerful. We spoke about the Supreme Courts legitimacy, and how it operates as a gatekeeper for what kind of legal decisions are made these days. This excerpt of our conversation has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Dahlia Lithwick: At the beating heart of the concern that animates both your law review and your Atlantic piece is this question of: The court is always making choices, and theyre not always visible and legible to us. Steve Vladecks been on this show. He worries a lot about the discretionary docket, which is your point. And it would be useful for you to unpack it, because I think its not intuitively obvious that its not just that the high court is picking its cases, its actually picking its issues within the cases, like going through a box of chocolates. So can you just take us back to how this used to be done and how that shift started to happen? I think your larger point is that initially this was just a court that couldnt keep up with its workload.

Ben Johnson: So if you just go back and think about what is a court: Two people have a problem with each other. Theyve got a fight between them. Wed like to resolve that peacefully in front of a tribunal. And so theres some things that, for the plaintiff to prevail, they have to prove to a court. If they can prove those things, then they win.

So suppose they win, then the defendant appeals. Now the defendant is the petitioner at the appellate court, and theres a set of things that the defendant has to be able to convince the court of in order to reverse the lower court. Or theres a set of things that if the original plaintiff can maintain, will be able to preserve the judgment below.

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But effectively whats supposed to happen at the appellate court level is the appellate court takes a second look at what happened at the trial court and says, Did they screw up so badly that we need to reverse this thing? And they have to look at everything that happened below to figure that out. And for the first 130, 140 years or so, thats how the Supreme Court operated. Any time somebody appealed, the Supreme Court had to take the case, and they had to review the entire record below for error. If they found anything on the record below that was deeply problematic, they reversed it.

Come to 1925 and we get something called the Judges Bill. And here, Chief Justice Taft, formerly the president, said that the Supreme Court should have absolute and arbitrary control over its agenda. It arranges for Congress to give the court massive jurisdiction, which means We will get to choose what cases we hear. But the congressmen are sort of concerned that the justices arent going to take their jobs super seriously anymore, will maybe not work that hard. So they asked the justices, What are you going to do with this power?

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The justices say, Any time we grant cert, were going to decide the case in the ordinary course, which means all the questions within it. And Congress was very clear that this is what was going to happen because they wrote a statute on it. Effectively, there are old-school legal devices that say you have to review the entire record for mistakes. Thats what the justices promised to do in 1925.

In 1927, there is a case called Olmstead, which is the wiretapping case out of Washington state. Its a fun case where theres a bootlegging operation that gets caught in a wiretap. And so the question is whether or not this warrantless wiretap violates the Fourth and Fifth amendments.

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But there was a question in the case about whether or not the warrantless wiretap that was undertaken in violation of state law could be included in the evidence in a federal trial. And the defendants in that case petitioned to the Supreme Court and asked not only the Fourth and Fifth amendment questions about search and seizure and due process, but also the evidentiary question about whether or not its appropriate in a federal trial to include evidence that had been recovered in violation of state law.

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And what Taft said, despite having told Congress differently 18 months before, was, Were going to take the case, but were only going to ask the constitutional questions and were going to skip over the evidentiary question.

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After that, its off to the races. By 1939, the Supreme Courts changed its rules. Instead of reviewing the entire case, theyre only going to review the questions presented. Along the way, starting back with Olmstead, the court has taken this to mean that not only can they limit their review to the questions that a petitioner asks, but they can change the questions that a petitioner asks. They can remove questions, like they did in Olmstead. They can add questions from time to time. And maybe the best example of this is Citizens United. The question of whether or not the campaign finance reform violates the First Amendment and whether or not it should be overruled, that was actually waived in the lower courts. That was no longer a part of the case at all. And then the Supreme Court put it back in.

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So we are a long way from a world where a court simply looks at what happened below and figures out whether or not they did something wrong. Were now in a world where the court looks at a case in the lower court and says, Hmm, this is an opportunity for me to say something Ive been wanting to say for a while and to reaffirm or make some new law that Ive been wanting to make for a while. And I think thats a dangerous place. I think its important to note here that the Roberts Court is not exceptional in this. The Supreme Courts used this to do some things people like, and some things that people dont like. It strikes me as not what they ought to be doing. And its certainly not what they told Congress they would be doing.
As our attention remains fixed on the multiple criminal matters that could force Donald Trump to live out his life in an orange jumpsuit, his mounting civil problems might appear relatively insignificant. Yet, the related Trump civil matters can provide lessons and road maps for the crucial criminal legal battles to come.

Tuesdays start of the second E. Jean Carroll civil trial promises to be the latest, and perhaps most significant, example.

After having initially failed to prevent a $5 million verdict against the former president for physical abuse, Team Trump returns to Judge Lewis Kaplans courtroom in New York to defend the former president against claims he owes Carroll an additional $10 million in compensatory damages and millions more in punitive damages for false statements he made about her.

A lot has happened since the first trial. Lead lawyer Joseph Tacopina will, unsurprisingly, no longer represent Trump. That leaves Alina Habba and Chris Kise at the helm, unless and until someone else can be added at the last minute.

There is little need to repeat the many limitations of Habbas skill set; I detailed them months ago, describing an attorney devoid of both academic credentials and courtroom experience. Remarkably, despite her initial representation of the former presidenta civil suit she filed in Florida against Trumps perceived political enemies that was quickly dismissed, with the judge issuing a nearly $1 million judgment against Habba and her client for filing a baseless claimHabba remains a prominent player in his defense team.

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Predictably, since that remarkable debut, the former general counsel to a parking garage company further underperformed in her defense of the former president in the recently completed lawsuit brought by the New York attorney general seeking millions of dollars from Trump, his sons, and the Trump Organization for the filing of false financial statements. The presiding judge, Arthur Engoron, will likely soon impose the strongest financial penalties he can justify, potentially bringing financial ruin to the Trump family.

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Kise was also a principal Trump attorney in the matter before Engoron and, while not quite as ineffectual, nonetheless completely failed to minimize his clients legal risk. In short, Kises performance only underscored the recent observation made by Tim Parlatore, his prior co-counsel for Trump, that Kise is not a trial lawyer.

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Central to the defenses self-immolation was smearing Engoron, his law clerk, and the attorney general with baseless, outrageous claims of bias. Were that not sufficiently beyond the pale, their client then took the helm of the sinking ship and plunged it farther into the rocks by repeating the same lies directly to the judge.

All of which brings us back to the potential significance of the E. Jean Carroll proceedings before Kaplan.

Taking full advantage of the chaos Team Trump created in the attorney generals case, especially with the threat that Trump will appear at the Carroll trial in person or as a witness, Carrolls counsel filed motions with Kaplan asking him to put in place orders limiting what Team Trump can say at trial. The requests were made to prevent defense counsel and/or their client from trying to poison these proceedings and intentionally turning the trial into a circus.

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Kaplan has thus far imposed limitations principally on Team Trumps ability to deny physically attacking Carroll, as that factual issue had already been determined in the first trial.

More significant limitations on the horizon could address Carrolls all-too-reasonable fears of defense attempts to poison the proceedings and create a circusa danger also looming over the 2020 election interference criminal case scheduled in D.C. for trial this spring (proceedings currently on hold while the D.C. Circuit considers an appeal). Not surprisingly, special counsel Jack Smith has also filed a similar pretrial motion with Judge Tanya Chutkan to not allow the defendant to turn the courtroom into a forum in which he propagates irrelevant disinformation.

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Related From Slate The Chaos in Trumps New York Civil Trial Portends Bad News for Jack Smith Read More

While more can and should be expected of the personal integrity and skill level of Trumps lead counsel in the D.C. case, Todd Blanche and John Lauroboth with real experience and credentials as former federal prosecutorsgiven the disappointing to downright astoundingly unacceptable performances of other Trump attorneys with actual bona fides, as I have previously warned, in Trump World nothing is certain. Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Rudy Giuliani is Exhibit A of that reality.

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And so how far Kaplan will go to control courtroom behavior in the New York civil case will be a testing ground for the limitations that can be imposed by Chutkan in what promises to be the most significant criminal trial in history.

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In this regard, Kaplan is surely the right judge to test the outer limits of such limitations. As I noted in commenting on the first Carroll trial, the highly respected Kaplan is known by attorneys in New York to run his courtroom as a tight, well-controlled ship and is willing to take disciplinary actions few of his peers would even contemplate in order to protect his authority.

Trump and his lawyers are surely aware not only of whom they are dealing in the person of Kaplan, but of the potential impact his rulings can have on Chutkan and a trial in D.C. that could finally bring meaningful justice to someone who has avoided it his entire life.

There will and should be a lot of eyes on this one.
Retail Store Checklist: Ensuring Success in a Booming Market  Things look good for retailers this holiday season. Nearly 190 million U.S. consumers shopped from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday this year, reflecting a significant increase of 14 percent over last years sales numbers, as reported by the National Retail Federation.

Importantly, most of these retailers are small businesses, indicating a promising future for those aiming to carve out their share of the retail pie. However, with the caveat that 20 percent of business startups dont survive past their first year, its crucial to follow a well-planned retail store checklist to navigate this competitive landscape. Taking the proper steps will make the difference between success and failure in this thriving but challenging market.

How to Open a Retail Store Checklist

Have you always imagined owning your own store? Check out our how to open a retail store checklist.

Step 1. Do Your Homework

Got a great business idea? You can have the best idea on earth but if you dont have a market to sell to, youre definitely starting off on the wrong foot. Find out as much as you can about your target customers including age, location, shopping behavior patterns and more. The government is a great source of information. Explore the Census Bureau data page for key numbers and research websites like Pew Research for surveys and trends. Have a retail idea for specific city, check with the citys business and economic development office for local demographics.

Step 2. Create a Business Plan

Youve, of course, heard stories about successful entrepreneurs whose business plans were merely scribbles on a napkin, but those tales dont really work for most entrepreneurs hoping to make a new retail idea take off. Thats why a business plan should be the next step on your how to open a retail store checklist. A business plan not only gives you clarity about understanding about how your business will be organized, it can help you make smarter financial and management decisions.

Plus, if you need investors or bank loans, the business plan will be the first thing they ask for. A business plan is a dynamic document that should be adapted and modified throughout your business life. It basically consists of an executive summary, market analysis, financial projections, employee needs and a thorough description of the products sold in your retail store.

Step 3. The Nuts & Bolts

It might not be as exciting as planning your grand opening, but having a solid foundation is what is going to make your retail business stick around when others are closing due to poor planning. Its important to register your business name in the state you plan to do business, file papers for incorporation (if thats the business entity you choose), get all the necessary licenses and permits for doing business in your city and get an Employer Identification Number (EIN, or Federal Tax Identification Number) from the IRS.

A resale license allows you to buy products for resale without having to pay sales tax. Next, its crucial to buy business insurance for your retail store. Shoplifting and employee theft are common issues retailers face, but there is also the risk of customers getting hurt in your store. Bottom line: Make sure youre protected. Once youve crossed all the practicalities off your how to open a retail store checklist, youre prepared to meet loan officers or investors to help secure your startup financing.

Step 4. Set Up a Location

Before we get too far into location options, you need to know owning any kind of business today requires also having a website. A website will help market your brand, build your reputation and enable customers to find you. As for a physical location, look for spaces near your target market  a commercial realtor can assist you to find something within your budget and that meets your needs. To make your retail store professional and functional, youll need an array of equipment and fixtures, such as signage, display cases, a point-of-sale system, security and more. If youre unsure, work with a commercial interior designer experienced in retail layout to get the right feel  and flow in your retail store.

Step 5. Sales and Marketing

Luckily, todays numerous sales and marketing tools make getting the word out about your new retail business easier than ever. Not that your work ends there. Actually getting shoppers to visit your store takes building a buzz before you even have a grand opening. Your marketing strategy should include a hefty emphasis on social media including Yelp, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.

Also, reach out to your citys business development office. Find out about any local events you can attend to talk about your business. And get involved in your community by sponsoring a charity drive or volunteering at a city event. Plan a grand opening and give away free items or a portion of sales to a local cause. As a result, you make yourself known in your community. And more local consumers will want to do business with you and become loyal customers.

Ensuring Retail Success: Customer Service and Adaptability

While the holiday season and the retail industry present exciting opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs, ensuring the success of your retail store requires more than just following the checklist. Two crucial factors that can make a significant difference in your businesss performance are exceptional customer service and adaptability to changing market trends.

Prioritize Customer Service

Customer service can make or break a retail business. Providing exceptional customer experiences will not only keep shoppers coming back but also attract new customers through positive word-of-mouth. Train your staff to be friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive to customers needs. Personalized interactions and going the extra mile to address customer inquiries and concerns can leave a lasting impression and foster loyalty. Consider implementing customer loyalty programs or reward systems to incentivize repeat business. Encourage customers to leave reviews and feedback, and use the insights gained to continually improve your service and offerings.

Embrace Adaptability

The retail landscape is ever-evolving, and successful retailers must stay ahead of the curve. Embracing adaptability and being open to change will be critical to your retail stores long-term success. Monitor industry trends, keep an eye on your competitors, and be willing to make strategic adjustments to your product mix, marketing strategies, or even store layout based on customer feedback and market demands. Additionally, the rise of e-commerce and digital shopping has transformed consumer behavior, and having a strong online presence is essential. Continuously assess your online marketing efforts and ensure that your website is user-friendly and optimized for mobile devices. Explore e-commerce options to complement your brick-and-mortar store and reach a broader audience.

Leveraging Technology and Market Channels

In the current retail environment, leveraging technology and exploring new market channels are critical for growth. Integrating CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems can significantly enhance customer service by providing insights into customer preferences and buying patterns, enabling more personalized and targeted interactions. This technology also assists in developing effective loyalty programs and targeted marketing campaigns. Furthermore, exploring new market channels such as social media platforms, online marketplaces, and emerging e-commerce trends offers opportunities to reach a broader audience and stay competitive. By keeping abreast of technological advancements and diversifying market channels, retailers can stay relevant and agile in a rapidly evolving market.

Stay Agile in Inventory Management

Effective inventory management is key to maintaining a profitable retail business. Invest in inventory management systems that track sales trends, identify popular items, and help you optimize your stock levels. Avoid overstocking products that may not sell well and capitalize on high-demand items to maximize revenue.

Regularly review and update your product offerings to align with seasonal trends and customer preferences. Consider running promotions or clearance sales to move slow-moving inventory and make room for new merchandise.

Factors Description Prioritize Customer Service Exceptional customer service is crucial for retail success. Train staff to be friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive to customers' needs. Implement customer loyalty programs and encourage feedback to improve service and foster loyalty. Embrace Adaptability Stay ahead of the curve by embracing adaptability. Monitor industry trends, competitors, and be open to making strategic adjustments based on customer feedback and market demands. Establish a strong online presence and explore e-commerce options to reach a broader audience. Stay Agile in Inventory Management Effective inventory management is key to maintaining profitability. Invest in inventory management systems to optimize stock levels and avoid overstocking. Regularly review and update product offerings to align with seasonal trends and customer preferences.

By prioritizing customer service, embracing adaptability, and staying agile in inventory management, your retail store can thrive even in a competitive market. With the right approach and a commitment to delivering value to your customers, your retail business can become a beloved and enduring presence in the industry.

Opening a Retail Store: The Takeaways

Promising Outlook for Retailers

As the holiday season approaches, the outlook for retailers is promising, with a significant increase in consumer shopping compared to the previous year. This presents a golden opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to enter the retail industry and claim their share of the retail pie.

The Importance of Doing It Right

However, the key to success lies in doing it right. While 20 percent of business startups do not survive past the first year, following a well-structured checklist can make a crucial difference between success and failure.

Comprehensive Retail Store Checklist

The How to Open a Retail Store Checklist provides a comprehensive guide for those who have always dreamed of owning their own store. From conducting market research and creating a robust business plan to handling the nuts and bolts of registration, licenses, and insurance, this checklist serves as a valuable resource to ensure a solid foundation for the business.

Emphasizing Customer Service and Adaptability

In addition to the checklist, the importance of exceptional customer service and adaptability to changing market trends is emphasized. Prioritizing customer service creates a loyal customer base and fosters positive word-of-mouth, leading to sustained success.

Importance of Staying Ahead of Trends

Embracing adaptability, staying ahead of industry trends, and maintaining a strong online presence are crucial steps for retailers to thrive in todays ever-evolving market.

Effective Inventory Management

Effective inventory management is another vital aspect that contributes to the profitability of a retail business. Continuously assessing product offerings, capitalizing on high-demand items, and efficiently managing inventory levels ensure a successful retail venture.

Conclusion

By combining these factors, aspiring entrepreneurs can position their retail stores for success, even in a competitive market. With dedication to customer satisfaction, agility in adapting to industry changes, and smart inventory management, retail businesses have the potential to become beloved and enduring establishments within their communities. The future holds promise for retailers, and by following the right steps and strategies, entrepreneurs can make their mark in the retail industry and achieve
Small businesses caught in the crosshairs of competition must harness the right marketing resources to survive and thrive. Vital to this survival kit are marketing materials. They amplify brand presence, animate customer interaction, and bolster sales. They are the silent but persuasive advocates of your enterprise. This article uncovers more than 30 pivotal marketing tools for businesses.

30+ Essential Marketing Materials for Small Businesses

Business Cards: These are small cards that contain essential contact information and branding elements of a business. A typical business card includes the business name, logo, individuals name, job title, phone number, email address, and website. They are great for networking and are available in both print and digital formats. Check out the best business card sites to get your own custom cards printed. Brochures: These are informative marketing materials that typically consist of a folded sheet of paper or cardstock, Condensed insights about your offerings, effectively educating potential customers. Banners and Signage: Prominent, appealing visuals that boost physical visibility and brand awareness. Flyers: A single-sheet document used for promotional or informational purposes. It is typically printed on paper. They are affordable and easy to distribute, ideal for promoting events or special deals. Posters are visual displays typically printed on larger paper or cardstock and displayed in public spaces such as walls, bulletin boards, or windows. They are perfect for grabbing attention in high foot-traffic areas. Catalogs: Catalogs are printed or digital publications that present a comprehensive list or display of products or services offered by a business or organization. They encourage longer engagement. Print Advertisements: These are promotional materials that are published in printed media such as newspapers, magazines, brochures, or flyers. They are traditional yet powerful tools for reaching local markets. Direct Mail Campaigns: Involves sending promotional materials or messages directly to potential customers physical mailboxes. This can include brochures, postcards, catalogs, letters, or other printed materials. The goal is to reach the specific audience, generate leads, increase brand awareness, and encourage recipients to take action, such as making a purchase or visiting a website. Email Marketing: It is a digital marketing strategy used by businesses to communicate with customers, build relationships, and promote products or services. Social Media Posts: Messages, updates, or announcements shared on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or others. They help to drive engagement, increase brand visibility, and foster community interaction. Blog Posts: Written content published on a website or blog. They usually delve into specific topics or provide in-depth information on a particular subject. They help drive traffic to a website, establish thought leadership, engage with an audience, and improve search engine visibility. Infographics: Visual marketing material that simplifies complex information into digestible, visually appealing content. Videos: Visual marketing material that has the advantage of capturing attention, delivering information effectively, and engaging viewers through visual and auditory elements , potentially driving high engagement and shareability. Webinars: Webinars, short for web seminars, are online events or presentations that allow individuals or businesses to deliver educational or informational content to a remote audience. They provide a convenient and interactive way to reach a geographically dispersed audience. Podcasts: Audio-based digital media content that is typically in the form of episodic series. They have gained popularity due to their versatility, ability to cater to niche interests, and the convenience of consuming content while multitasking or on the go. Press Releases: Official statements distributed to media outlets, providing essential information about important events, updates, or news related to your small business. In a small businesss marketing strategy, they play a crucial role in enhancing the companys visibility and credibility. They help build a brands reputation, attract media attention, and can potentially lead to increased coverage and audience reach. Newsletters: Regular publications, typically distributed via email, provide updates, news, and information to a specific audience. They help to build and nurture relationships, share valuable information, drive traffic to websites or blogs, promote products or services, and keep subscribers informed and engaged. Whitepapers: Authoritative and comprehensive reports or documents that provide in-depth analysis, research, or solutions to a specific problem or topic. They are commonly used as a marketing tool to establish credibility, attract potential customers, and showcase expertise in a particular field or industry. Case Studies: Detailed analyses or reports that examine a specific situation, event, project, or problem and its outcomes. Case studies are valuable for sharing best practices, informing decision-making, and showcasing real-world examples of problem-solving or innovative approaches. Landing Pages: These are standalone web pages specifically designed for a targeted marketing campaign or promotion. They are created with the goal of converting visitors into leads or customers. Landing pages are optimized for high conversion rates and are an integral part of lead generation and online marketing strategies. SEO Content: Refers to any content created with the primary goal of optimizing it for search engines. It involves the strategic use of keywords, relevant topics, and other SEO techniques to improve the visibility and ranking of the content in search engine results pages (SERPs). Effective SEO content is informative, engaging, and optimized for both search engines and the target customers. E-Books: E-books, short for electronic books, are digital publications that are read on electronic devices such as e-readers, tablets, or smartphones. They have gained popularity due to their convenience, cost-effectiveness, and the ability to store a vast collection in a single device. Customer Testimonials: Customer testimonials are statements or reviews provided by satisfied customers about their positive experiences with a product, service, or brand. They help build trust, credibility, and confidence in a business or product as they showcase the positive impact and satisfaction of previous customers, influencing the purchasing decisions of potential clients. Mobile Apps: Mobile apps are software applications designed to run on mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets. They are designed to be user-friendly and optimized for mobile devices. They provide an interactive brand experience, driving customer engagement and loyalty. Interactive Digital Brochures: Unlike traditional brochures, these are digital and interactive, often featuring clickable elements that enhance user engagement. Theyre great for providing in-depth information about products or services in an engaging format. Online Reviews and Ratings: Encouraging customers to leave online reviews and ratings on platforms like Google, Yelp, or industry-specific sites. These reviews can significantly influence the decision-making process of potential customers. Brand Merchandise: Items like T-shirts, mugs, pens, or notebooks branded with your companys logo. These can be used for promotional purposes or as giveaways to increase brand visibility and loyalty. Event Sponsorship and Participation Materials: Materials for sponsoring or participating in events, such as banners, booth designs, and promotional giveaways. These materials can help increase visibility in community events or industry conferences. Customer Loyalty Programs: Creating loyalty programs with special offers, discounts, or points for repeat customers. These programs encourage repeat business and can be promoted through various marketing materials. Annual Reports: These reports provide stakeholders with an overview of the companys performance, achievements, and strategy. They can be used as a marketing tool to showcase the companys growth and success to investors, customers, and partners. Instructional Guides and Manuals: Detailed guides or manuals for products or services, providing valuable information to customers. These can be used to enhance customer experience and satisfaction. Product or Service Demonstrations: Live or recorded demonstrations showing the features and benefits of a product or service. These can be shared on social media, websites, or at events to engage potential customers. Partnership Announcements: Marketing materials that announce collaborations or partnerships with other businesses or influencers. These can help tap into new audiences and build credibility. Interactive Quizzes or Tools: Online quizzes or tools related to your industry or offerings that engage users and provide personalized recommendations or insights. These can be excellent for generating leads and driving engagement on your website or social media platforms.

Understanding Marketing Materials for Business

Marketing materials are the tangible mediums businesses use to promote their products or services. They carry immense importance for businesses as they build brand recognition, attract potential customers, and communicate the companys value proposition.

The two key categories are print marketing materials, like brochures, business cards, and flyers, and digital materials, including emails, websites, and social media ads. Customizing these resources to convey your unique business message effectively can significantly influence your marketing success.

Creating Custom Marketing Materials

The advantages of creating custom marketing materials include the following:

Targeted Messaging: Customizing marketing materials allows businesses to tailor their messaging to specific target audiences. By understanding their customers needs, preferences, and pain points, businesses can create materials that resonate with their target market, increasing the chances of engagement and conversion. Brand Consistency: Customized marketing materials ensure brand consistency across all touchpoints. By incorporating brand elements such as logos, colors, and typography, businesses can reinforce their brand identity and create a cohesive visual experience for customers, leading to better brand recognition and recall. Differentiation: Custom marketing materials enable businesses to stand out from competitors. By creating unique and memorable designs, businesses can grab attention, leave a lasting impression, and differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace.

How can I create impactful and memorable marketing materials for my small business?

Define the Audience: Businesses should clearly identify their audience and understand their needs, preferences, and motivations. This helps in creating marketing materials that resonate with the intended audience. Incorporate Brand Identity: Utilize consistent branding elements such as logos, color schemes, and fonts to maintain brand recognition and reinforce the businesss unique identity across all marketing materials. Engaging Design: Use eye-catching visuals, compelling graphics, and well-organized layouts to make marketing materials visually appealing. Consider the use of imagery, infographics, or illustrations that convey the message effectively and leave a positive impact on the audience. Clear and Compelling Messaging: Craft concise and persuasive messaging that clearly communicates the value proposition and benefits of the products or services. Use compelling headlines, informative content, and persuasive calls to action to engage the audience and drive desired actions. Quality Printing and Production: Ensure high-quality printing or production of materials to maintain a professional appearance. Consider using professional printing services or investing in high-quality printing equipment if feasible. Customer Testimonials: Incorporate customer testimonials or reviews in marketing materials to provide social proof and build trust with potential customers. Measure and Refine: Continuously monitor the performance of marketing materials and gather feedback from customers. Use the insights gained to refine and improve future marketing efforts.

The Importance of Brand Consistency in Marketing Campaigns

Maintaining brand consistency across all marketing materials, including colors, fonts, and messaging, is crucial for several reasons:

Establishing Brand Identity: Consistent use of colors, fonts, and messaging helps establish a strong and recognizable brand identity. It ensures that customers can easily identify and connect with your brand, fostering trust and loyalty.

Consistent use of colors, fonts, and messaging helps establish a strong and recognizable brand identity. It ensures that customers can easily identify and connect with your brand, fostering trust and loyalty. Enhancing Brand Recognition: When your marketing materials consistently reflect your brand elements, such as logo, color palette, and typography, it increases brand recognition. Customers will be more likely to recognize and recall your brand when they encounter your marketing materials.

When your marketing materials consistently reflect your brand elements, such as logo, color palette, and typography, it increases brand recognition. Customers will be more likely to recognize and recall your brand when they encounter your marketing materials. Building Trust and Credibility: Brand consistency instills confidence in your customers. It portrays professionalism, attention to detail, and a commitment to delivering a consistent brand experience, which builds trust and credibility over time.

Brand consistency instills confidence in your customers. It portrays professionalism, attention to detail, and a commitment to delivering a consistent brand experience, which builds trust and credibility over time. Creating a Cohesive Brand Experience: Consistency in colors, fonts, and messaging across marketing materials ensures a cohesive brand experience for customers. It helps reinforce your brand values, personality, and messaging, creating a seamless and coherent customer journey.

Consistency in colors, fonts, and messaging across marketing materials ensures a cohesive brand experience for customers. It helps reinforce your brand values, personality, and messaging, creating a seamless and coherent customer journey. Avoiding Confusion: Inconsistent branding can lead to confusion among customers. When marketing materials vary significantly in terms of colors, fonts, or messaging, it can dilute your brands impact and weaken the overall brand perception.

Tips for Designing Custom Promotional Marketing Materials

We have already touched on a number of tips, such as understanding your target customers, brand consistency, and using high-quality printing materials. Here are some additional tips and best practices when designing effective marketing materials.

Keep it Clear and Concise: Use a clean and organized layout with a clear hierarchy in your design. Avoid clutter and focus on presenting the key information or message in a concise and easy-to-understand manner. Choose Readable Fonts: Select fonts that are legible and appropriate for your brand and message. Avoid using too many different fonts, and ensure they are easily readable across various devices and sizes. Balance Text and Visuals: Strike a balance between text and visuals. Use text sparingly and make it impactful. Break up the content into digestible sections and incorporate visuals to complement and enhance the message. Include a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA): Clearly state the desired action you want your audience to take. Whether its visiting a website, making a purchase, or contacting your business, include a compelling CTA that stands out and motivates the reader to act. Test and Iterate: Regularly test your marketing materials and seek feedback from colleagues or customers. Iterate based on the feedback received to continuously improve the effectiveness of your designs.

Crafting Effective Marketing Materials

Creating marketing materials that drive results is essential for businesses, whether youre considering digital marketing for solopreneurs or looking for large agency growth hacks. Consider the following key elements and strategies to make your marketing materials more effective:

Clear and Compelling Messaging: Craft concise and persuasive messaging that clearly communicates the value proposition of your product or service. Clearly articulate the benefits and unique selling points that differentiate your business from competitors. Targeted Approach: Tailor your marketing materials to your specific audience. Eye-Catching Design: Use visually appealing designs that capture attention and create a positive impression. Clear Call-to-Action (CTA): Include a strong and visible call-to-action that tells the reader what action to take next. Consistent Branding: Maintain consistent branding across all marketing materials. Use Social Proof: Incorporate customer testimonials, reviews, or case studies in your marketing materials. Social proof adds credibility and helps potential customers trust your business. Highlight Benefits: Emphasize the benefits and outcomes that customers can expect from your product or service. Show how your offering solves a problem, improves their lives, or fulfills a need. Engage Emotionally: Appeal to the emotions of your audience by tapping into their desires, aspirations, or pain points. Create a connection that resonates with them and makes your brand more memorable. Consistency Across Channels: Ensure that your marketing materials are consistent across various channels, including print, digital, and social media. Test and Measure: Continuously test different variations of your marketing materials to see what resonates best with your audience.

Design Principles to Follow

When creating marketing material, its important to consider fundamental design principles that can enhance the visual appeal and effectiveness of your materials. Here are key principles to keep in mind:

Color Theory: Understand the psychology of colors and their impact on emotions and perceptions. Choose colors that align with your brand identity and evoke the desired response from your audience. Use color combinations that create harmony and contrast to guide attention and communicate your message effectively.

Understand the psychology of colors and their impact on emotions and perceptions. Choose colors that align with your brand identity and evoke the desired response from your audience. Use color combinations that create harmony and contrast to guide attention and communicate your message effectively. Typography: Select appropriate fonts that are readable, visually appealing, and aligned with your brand image. Use a hierarchy of font sizes and weights to establish a clear visual hierarchy and guide readers through the content. Ensure readability by choosing fonts that are legible across different devices and sizes.

Select appropriate fonts that are readable, visually appealing, and aligned with your brand image. Use a hierarchy of font sizes and weights to establish a clear visual hierarchy and guide readers through the content. Ensure readability by choosing fonts that are legible across different devices and sizes. Layout and Composition: Create a visually balanced and organized layout that guides the readers eye smoothly through the content. Use visual elements such as grids, columns, or whitespace to establish a clear structure and hierarchy. Group related elements together and consider the placement of text, images, and graphics to create a visually appealing and coherent design.

Create a visually balanced and organized layout that guides the readers eye smoothly through the content. Use visual elements such as grids, columns, or whitespace to establish a clear structure and hierarchy. Group related elements together and consider the placement of text, images, and graphics to create a visually appealing and coherent design. Visual Hierarchy: Establish a clear visual hierarchy to prioritize and emphasize key information. Use size, color, contrast, and placement to make important elements stand out. Ensure that the most important information is easily noticeable and that the flow of information is logical and intuitive.

Establish a clear visual hierarchy to prioritize and emphasize key information. Use size, color, contrast, and placement to make important elements stand out. Ensure that the most important information is easily noticeable and that the flow of information is logical and intuitive. Consistency and Branding: Maintain consistency in design elements, such as colors, fonts, and visual style, across all marketing materials. Consistent branding strengthens brand recognition and creates a cohesive visual identity. Use brand guidelines to ensure that all materials align with your brands look and feel.

Maintain consistency in design elements, such as colors, fonts, and visual style, across all marketing materials. Consistent branding strengthens brand recognition and creates a cohesive visual identity. Use brand guidelines to ensure that all materials align with your brands look and feel. Use of Imagery: Incorporate high-quality images, illustrations, or graphics that are relevant to your message and visually appealing. Images can evoke emotions, convey information, and enhance the overall design. Ensure that the chosen imagery aligns with your brand identity and resonates with your audience.

Incorporate high-quality images, illustrations, or graphics that are relevant to your message and visually appealing. Images can evoke emotions, convey information, and enhance the overall design. Ensure that the chosen imagery aligns with your brand identity and resonates with your audience. Negative Space: Utilize negative space, also known as whitespace, effectively to create visual breathing room and allow the content to stand out. Avoid cluttered designs by giving elements enough room to breathe, which improves readability and overall aesthetics.

Utilize negative space, also known as whitespace, effectively to create visual breathing room and allow the content to stand out. Avoid cluttered designs by giving elements enough room to breathe, which improves readability and overall aesthetics. Simplicity and Clarity: Keep your design simple and uncluttered to enhance comprehension and visual impact. Remove unnecessary elements that dont contribute to the overall message.

Developing a Strong Call-to-Action

Crafting a persuasive and engaging call-to-action (CTA) is crucial for content marketing as it encourages customer engagement and drives conversions. Consider the following guidelines to create a compelling CTA:

Use Action-oriented Language: Utilize action verbs that prompt immediate response and convey a sense of urgency. Examples include Shop now, Subscribe today, or Book your spot. Make it Clear and Concise: Keep your CTA concise and straightforward to ensure clarity. Use clear and concise language that leaves no ambiguity about the desired action you want the audience to take. Create a Sense of Value: Highlight the benefits or incentives customers will receive by taking action. Communicate the value they can gain, such as exclusive offers, discounts, free trials, or access to valuable content. Emphasize Urgency: Encourage prompt action by incorporating words or phrases that create a sense of urgency. Examples include Limited time offer, Act now, or Dont miss out. Use Visual Cues: Enhance the visibility and impact of your CTA by using design elements such as buttons, arrows, or contrasting colors to make it stand out from the rest of the content. Visual cues draw attention and guide users toward the desired action. Consider Placement and Size: Position your CTA prominently within your marketing materials where it is easily noticeable. Use an appropriate font size and ensure it stands out without overwhelming the rest of the content. Test and Optimize: Experiment with different variations of CTAs to determine what resonates best with your audience. Conduct A/B testing by creating multiple versions of your marketing materials with different CTAs and measuring their effectiveness to optimize future campaigns.

Print Marketing vs. Digital Marketing Materials

Businesses have the option of utilizing print marketing or digital formats. Heres a comparison of the benefits and limitations of each, along with guidance on choosing the most suitable format for different scenarios:

Print Marketing Materials

Benefits:

Tangible and Personal: Printed materials offer a tactile experience that can create a personal connection with the audience. Physical materials like brochures or business cards can be kept, shared, and referred to at any time. Enhanced Brand Perception: Well-designed printed materials can convey a sense of professionalism and credibility, enhancing brand perception among customers. Targeted Distribution: Print marketing material can be strategically distributed in specific locations or directly mailed to targeted audiences, ensuring the message reaches the intended recipients.

Limitations:

Limited Reach: Print marketing materials have a localized reach and may not have the same potential for widespread exposure as digital materials. Higher Production Costs: Printing and distribution costs for print materials can be higher compared to digital materials, particularly for larger quantities or high-quality printing. Limited Interactivity: Print marketing materials offer limited interactivity and cannot provide dynamic or real-time updates like digital materials.

Digital Marketing Materials

Benefits:

Wide Reach and Accessibility: Digital materials can reach a vast online audience globally, expanding the potential reach and visibility of your brand story. Cost-effective Distribution: They can be distributed through websites, social media platforms, email campaigns, or digital advertising at a relatively low cost, making it accessible for small businesses with limited budgets. Interactivity and Engagement: They allow for interactivity, including clickable links, embedded videos, interactive forms, or personalized content. This enhances user engagement and provides opportunities for immediate actions or conversions.

Limitations:

Potential for Distractions: Digital materials may face distractions and competition for attention in an online environment, making it challenging to capture and maintain user focus. Dependence on Technology: Require access to internet-connected devices and may exclude audiences without digital access or in areas with limited connectivity. Shorter Attention Span: Online users often have shorter attention spans, requiring concise and compelling content to capture their interest.

Consider the following factors when choosing the format for marketing materials:

Target Audience: Understand the preferences, behavior, and accessibility of your audience. If they are more likely to respond to physical materials or are in an area with limited digital access, print marketing materials may be more effective. Message and Purpose: Consider the nature of your message and the desired outcome. If you need to provide detailed information, interactive features, or track user engagement, digital marketing material may be more suitable. Budget and Resources: Evaluate your budget and available resources for production, distribution, and ongoing updates. Print materials generally require higher upfront costs, while digital materials offer more cost-effective options. Measurement and Analytics: Determine whether you need real-time data, analytics, or the ability to track and measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. Unlike print marketing materials, digital materials provide more opportunities for data collection and analysis. Integration and Synergy: Consider how your marketing materials will integrate with other channels or campaigns. A cohesive marketing strategy may involve a mix of both print marketing and digital materials to complement and reinforce each other.

Aspects Print Marketing Materials Digital Marketing Materials Benefits Tangible and personal experience Wide reach and accessibility Enhanced brand perception Cost-effective distribution Targeted distribution Interactivity and engagement Limitations Limited reach Potential for distractions Higher production costs Dependence on technology Limited interactivity Shorter attention span Factors to Consider Target audience preferences and accessibility Target audience preferences and digital access Nature of the message and desired outcome Detailed information, interactivity, and user engagement Budget and available resources Budget and cost-effective distribution Measurement and analytics Real-time data, analytics, and tracking Integration with other channels or campaigns Integration with other digital platforms and campaigns

Tips for Creating and Distributing Promotional Materials

We have talked a lot about targeting the right audience, so we wont discuss that here though it is an important aspect when creating promotional marketing material. Here are some additional tips to consider:

Choose the right channels and maintain brand consistency: Select the most suitable distribution channels to reach your audience. This may include online platforms like social media and email marketing, as well as offline channels such as events and local publications. Maintain brand consistency by using your brands colors, fonts, and visual elements. Align your promotional materials with your overall brand guidelines to build recognition, trust, and a cohesive brand image. Track, measure, and iterate: Implement tracking mechanisms to measure the effectiveness of your marketing material. Use analytics tools to monitor engagement, conversions, and other key performance indicators. Gather feedback from customers and colleagues to gain insights into the effectiveness of your materials. Use data and feedback to make data-driven decisions, iterate, and optimize your promotional strategies for better results.

Working with Designers and Printers

Collaborating with designers and printers is integral to creating high-quality marketing materials. Start by seeking partners whose portfolio aligns with your brand style and ethos. A clear brief is key; share your goals, ideal audience, and design preferences.

Communication is crucial; provide constructive feedback during design iterations. When working with printers, understand their requirements (like file formats and deadlines) to ensure a smooth process.

Choose partners based on quality, not just price, and maintain a healthy, respectful relationship to foster collaboration and achieve the best results for your business.

Maximizing Exposure and Impact

Start by identifying where your ideal customer spends time, both physically and online, and ensure your materials reach those spaces.

In digital channels, optimize for SEO to increase visibility. Use compelling call-to-actions to drive customer engagement. Regularly review and update materials to keep them relevant and engaging.

In physical locations, use high-visibility spots for maximum reach. Tailor messages for local customers to increase resonance. By understanding your audience and strategizing your distribution, youll boost your marketing materials reach and impact.

FAQs: Marketing Materials

What Are the Most Important Elements to Consider When Designing Marketing Materials?

When designing marketing materials, crucial elements include your brand identity (colors, logo, typography), clarity of message, audiences needs, and a compelling call-to-action. Also, consider the designs balance, readability, and visual appeal. Remember, each material should align with your overall marketing strategy and objectives.

How Can I Ensure My Marketing Materials Stand Out Among Competitors?

To make your marketing materials stand out, focus on defining your unique selling proposition  what makes your business different. Tailor your materials to resonate with your customers, and prioritize high-quality design. Also, keep up with the current design trends and always align materials with your distinct brand identity.

What Are Some Cost-Effective Marketing Materials for Small Businesses?

For cost-effective marketing, digital materials like email newsletters, blog posts, and social media content are highly effective and affordable. On the print side, business cards, flyers, and banners can be relatively inexpensive. Always measure performance to ensure youre investing in what works best for your business.

How Do I Choose Between Print and Digital Marketing Materials?

Choosing between print marketing materials and digital marketing material depends on your target audience, budget, and marketing objectives. Digital materials offer flexibility, broader reach, and lower costs, ideal for online-centric businesses. Print materials can have a tangible impact, especially for local or niche audiences. Consider your target audiences preferences, the nature of your business, and your marketing goals when making the decision.

How Can I Measure the Effectiveness of My Marketing Materials?

Start by tracking key metrics such as website traffic, conversion rates, social media engagement, and click-through rates. Use analytics tools, trackable links, and unique promotional codes to find strategies that work and identify digital marketing mistakes. Conduct customer surveys or feedback forms to gauge the impact on brand perception. Regularly analyze and compare data to make informed decisions and optimize your marketing strategies.

What Are the Key Steps to Create Marketing Materials That Drive Results?

Start by defining clear goals and understanding your target audience. Craft compelling content and visually appealing designs that align with your brand. Include strong calls to action to prompt action. Test, iterate, and continuously evaluate performance.
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It is tax season again and many people will be looking to find out how to file taxes and for the right places to go to ensure it is done correctly. We will be looking at eight of the best tax preparation services to help you with your taxes. Lets get started.

What are Tax Preparation Services?

Tax preparation service companies are a place to go for help with filing your tax return. A tax professional can help with tax forms, calculate your adjusted gross income, and let you know what deductions and credits you are eligible for, making your experience quicker and much less confusing.

Choosing the Best Tax Preparation Services: Our Methodology

Choosing the right tax preparation service is crucial for small business owners and entrepreneurs, as it can significantly impact their financial health and compliance. Heres our methodology for assessing tax preparation services, using a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most important:

Accuracy and Compliance (5/5): Track record of accurate and compliant filings

Knowledge of current tax laws and regulations

Guarantees or assurances against filing errors Cost and Value (4/5): Transparent pricing without hidden fees

Competitive rates for the level of service provided

Value for money considering the services offered Range of Services (4/5): Comprehensive service offerings (e.g., federal, state, local, and international taxes)

Additional services like tax planning and financial advice

Specialization in relevant industries or tax situations Ease of Use and Accessibility (4/5): User-friendly interface for digital services

Availability of in-person assistance where necessary

Accessibility for people with disabilities Security and Privacy (5/5): Robust measures to protect sensitive financial data

Compliance with privacy regulations and best practices

Clear and trustworthy privacy policies Customer Support (4/5): Availability and responsiveness of customer support

Quality and helpfulness of tax professionals

Support options (phone, email, live chat, in-person) Technology and Tools (3/5): Utilization of up-to-date software and technology

Availability of tools for easy document upload and management

Integration capabilities with accounting software Reputation and Reliability (4/5): Positive reviews and testimonials from clients

History of reliability and trustworthiness in the industry

Professional accreditations and certifications Turnaround Time (3/5): Efficiency in completing and filing tax returns

Timely updates and communication throughout the process

Ability to handle urgent or last-minute filings Educational Resources (3/5): Provision of resources to help clients understand their taxes

Availability of workshops, webinars, or informational content

Guidance on tax-saving strategies and financial planning

By meticulously evaluating each tax preparation service against these criteria, we aim to provide small business owners with reliable and effective options that can handle their tax needs with precision and care.

Where is the Best Place to Get Your Taxes Done?

Whether you want to do your own taxes or would like to get the help of tax professionals there are some really great options to choose from. At the top of our list is H&R Block with great prices, easy-to-use online services, and a plethora of locations that easily make it the best overall.

Jackson Hewitts services are the easiest to use and offer lots of tools to make filing a breeze. If you like to do your taxes online from the comfort of your own home then Turbo Tax Live is a fantastic option to get your taxes done right.

Last but not least is Ey TaxChat, an online tax preparation service that is especially good for the self-employed tax filer. We will learn more about these options and a few others in the following sections.

The 8 Best Tax Preparation Services

We have compiled a list of the 8 Best Tax Preparation Services and online tax software that offer comprehensive assistance with filing your taxes. These services provide reliable support from an experienced tax pro who will help small business owners and individuals insure that their return is accurate and up-to-date with all deductions and credits available.

1. H&R Block Best Overall

Heading our list for best overall tax service is H&R Block. H&R Block was started in 1955 by two brothers and has grown to over 12,000 locations worldwide. It has multiple services to choose from, the best tax software, and competitive prices that will take care of all your individual or business income tax preparation needs.

H&R Block Pros

Affordable pricing starting under $100

Maximum refund guarantee

Thousands of locations to provide accessible services

Various tax services are available

Offers free tax advice to filers using online services

Offers a free file option for simple tax returns

H&R Block Cons

A certified public accountant may not be available to help you

More complex filings come with higher prices

H&R Block Pricing

H&R Block offers transparent pricing. A tax professional will walk you through all the forms you will need, provide free tax advice , and advise you of any fees so that you know how much you will be spending before you even begin.

Fee Type Amount Base Fee $89 State Return Fee (per state) $70 Additional Forms Prices vary based on requirements

2. Jackson Hewitt Ease of use

Jackson Hewitt is a tax preparation service that is known for being one of the easiest services to use. This reputable service was started in 1982 and now has over 6,000 locations across the US. They offer a variety of different tax filing and preparation services for both individuals and businesses.

Jackson Hewitt Pros

Better Business Bureau accredited with an A+ rating

Various options such as dropping off your paperwork or uploading it online

Walk-in preparations available

Thousands of Jackson Hewitt office locations including some located inside Walmart

Early Refund Advance Loan available

Jackson Hewitt Cons

Does not offer a free filing option

Not all tax professionals are CPAs

Jackson Hewitt Pricing

Jackson Hewitts pricing is not clear and easy to find on their website.

Fee Type Amount/Description Online Filing (State and Federal combined) $25 In-person Professional Assistance Prices vary (case-by-case basis)

3. Turbo Tax Live Overall Best Online Experience

Turbo Tax Live is a top tax preparation service that offers an easy and convenient online filing experience. It was launched in 1993 by Intuit and has been rated as the best online tax service on multiple occasions and is one of the best tax software for small business owners.

Turbo Tax Live Pros

Accredited by the Better Business Bureau with an A- rating

Allows you to file your taxes online or using a mobile app for an easy and accessible experience

In-depth question and answer guidance available 24/7 with real accountants

Instant refund estimates

Turbo Tax Live Cons

If you are self-employed and are filing with one or more states it can become pricy. Turbo Tax Live is probably not the best tax software for small business filers.

You are unable to go into a physical location and speak with someone in person

4. EY TaxChat-Best for Self-Employed

EY TaxChat is a top tax preparation service that is completed via your computer or phone and is the best for freelance income filers and small business owners. It was launched in 1986 by Ernst and Young and has a great reputation for high-quality tax services.

EY TaxChat Pros

Ability to speak with a tax preparer who will be able to help you understand the meaning of standard deduction , explain things on your state tax websites that are not so clear, or help to file your side business taxes.

, explain things on your state tax websites that are not so clear, or help to file your side business taxes. Easily send documents using your computer or electronic devices

Get paired with a professional who will be able to help you with your specific tax needs

EY TaxChat Cons

Can be pricier than other competitors

No option to speak with someone face to face

EY TaxChat Pricing

Pricing for EY TaxChat begins at $199 and will vary depending on each individuals needs.

Cash App Taxes is a top tax preparation service that offers a fast and easy way to get your taxes done. This app was originally Credit Karma and Cash App bought out the tax service that is now Cash App Taxes. It is a fast and easy way to get your taxes filed online.

Cash App Taxes Pros

File online via your mobile device

A free base price and state tax filing fee

Get your refund two days earlier by having your refund deposited directly into your Cash App account

Offers a guarantee to get you the maximum refund possible

Cash App Taxes Cons

Not all states are able to file through Cash App Taxes

This is not the best choice for those who have more complex tax needs

Cash App Taxes Pricing

Cash App Taxes are always free no matter what your situation.

6. TaxSlayer

TaxSlayer originated in Agusta, Georgia in 1965 as Rhodes-Murphy & Co. It started as a tax preparation service and has changed a couple of times over the years and is now an affordable software for the average everyday tax filer.

TaxSlayer Pros

Free federal tax filing for all active duty military with no restrictions

Affordable filing options for your individual needs

Simply Free is a 100% free option for filers with simple tax situations. With this option federal tax filing is free as well as the first state filing.

TaxSlayer Cons

No early refund loan services

Not good for individuals that want free tax services with high income

TaxSlayer Pricing

TaxSlayer offers four tiers of pricing for different tax needs.

Pricing Tier Federal Fee State Fee Description/Best For Simply Free $0 $0 Most simple tax returns Premium $32.95 $39.95 Tax filers with more complex situations



Liberty Tax is a tax preparation service that was founded in Virginia Beach, Virginia in 1997 and serves individuals and small businesses. In the US and Canada, there are over 2,500 branches and they have received several accolades over the years for their exemplary service.

Liberty Tax Pros

App available for remote filing

Do your own taxes online and utilize the virtual customer support team

Brick-and-mortar locations available for more personal filing experience

LibertyTax Cons

No free filing option for simple tax returns

Does not offer 24 hr support

Liberty Tax Pricing

Pricing Tier Federal Fee State Fee Description/Best For Basic $45.95 $36.95 Itemized deductions without complexity Deluxe $65.95 $36.95 Itemized deductions plus income from self-employed business Premium $85.95 $36.95 More complex tax situations

In 1998 TaxAct was founded and has helped many individuals and businesses file their own taxes digitally, regardless of their tax situation. This online software is also equipt with many tools to make filing easy for any tax filer.

TaxAct Pros

Downloadable app to file taxes via mobile devices

Free advice available from a live tax expert

Access to free tools that make filing your taxes easier

TaxAct Cons

No physical location

Possibility of technical problems occurring with the software

TaxAct Pricing

Pricing Tier Federal Fee State Fee Description/Best For Free File $0 $39.99 Simple federal returns Deluxe $49.99 $59.99 Federal loans or claiming children; most popular choice Premier $69.99 $59.99 Filers with investments Self-Employed $99.99 $59.99 Reporting personal and business income; most comprehensive package

Tax Software

Tax software designed for small businesses streamlines the often intricate process of preparing and filing income tax returns. Heres a deeper look into the world of tax software:

Types of Tax Software : Form-Based Software: This type primarily focuses on providing digital versions of tax forms. Users input their data directly into these forms, which often replicate the appearance and structure of the paper counterparts. Interview-Based Software: Instead of directly filling out forms, users answer a series of questions. Based on these answers, the software determines which forms to use and automatically populates them.

: Key Features : E-filing Services: Allows users to electronically submit their tax returns, ensuring quicker processing times and receipt confirmations. Document Storage: Stores important tax-related documents, like W-2s or 1099s, in a digital format, which can be beneficial for record-keeping and future reference. Credit and Deduction Suggestions: The software analyzes user data to recommend tax credits and deductions that the taxpayer may be eligible for, ensuring they get the maximum refund possible. Audit Protection: Some software provides features that either decrease the risk of an audit or offer support in the event one occurs. Multi-state Filing: For businesses operating in multiple states, certain software offers the option to file in various states seamlessly.

: Benefits for Small Businesses : Cost-Effective: Using tax software can be significantly cheaper than hiring a tax professional, especially for businesses with straightforward finances. Time-Saving: Automated calculations and form population reduce the time spent on manual data entry. Accuracy: The risk of errors is minimized as the software automatically performs calculations and checks for common mistakes. Year-Round Access: Most platforms offer access throughout the year, allowing businesses to input data, track expenses, and adjust financial strategies as needed.

: Considerations : Complexity: While software can handle a variety of tax situations, businesses with particularly intricate finances might still benefit from consulting a tax professional. Updates: As tax laws and regulations change, its essential to ensure that the software is regularly updated to remain compliant.

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Maximizing Tax Benefits: Tips for Small Businesses

In the intricate landscape of small business taxation, unlocking the full potential of tax benefits can significantly bolster financial health and growth. Navigating this realm requires a blend of strategic planning and astute awareness of the tax advantages available.

Here are some essential tips for small businesses aiming to maximize their tax benefits:

Stay Informed on Tax Deductions : Regularly updating your knowledge about the ever-evolving tax deductions is critical. This includes understanding deductions related to home office expenses, business travel, and equipment purchases. Leveraging these deductions can substantially lower your taxable income.

: Regularly updating your knowledge about the ever-evolving tax deductions is critical. This includes understanding deductions related to home office expenses, business travel, and equipment purchases. Leveraging these deductions can substantially lower your taxable income. Consider Retirement Plans : Investing in retirement plans like SEP IRAs or Solo 401(k)s not only secures future financial stability but also offers immediate tax benefits. Contributions to these plans are typically tax-deductible, reducing your current taxable income.

: Investing in retirement plans like SEP IRAs or Solo 401(k)s not only secures future financial stability but also offers immediate tax benefits. Contributions to these plans are typically tax-deductible, reducing your current taxable income. Utilize Tax Credits : Tax credits are a powerful tool as they directly reduce your tax bill. Credits may be available for certain business activities like hiring new employees, implementing environmentally friendly practices, or research and development efforts. Staying informed about these opportunities can lead to significant savings.

: Tax credits are a powerful tool as they directly reduce your tax bill. Credits may be available for certain business activities like hiring new employees, implementing environmentally friendly practices, or research and development efforts. Staying informed about these opportunities can lead to significant savings. Employ Effective Accounting Strategies : Accurate and efficient accounting practices lay the foundation for maximizing tax benefits. This includes meticulous record-keeping, which simplifies the process of claiming deductions and credits, and ensures compliance with tax laws.

: Accurate and efficient accounting practices lay the foundation for maximizing tax benefits. This includes meticulous record-keeping, which simplifies the process of claiming deductions and credits, and ensures compliance with tax laws. Seek Professional Advice : The complexity of tax laws often necessitates professional guidance. Collaborating with a knowledgeable tax advisor can unveil hidden tax-saving opportunities tailored to your specific business scenario.

: The complexity of tax laws often necessitates professional guidance. Collaborating with a knowledgeable tax advisor can unveil hidden tax-saving opportunities tailored to your specific business scenario. Leverage Tax Software : For businesses handling taxes internally, utilizing advanced tax software can simplify the process and ensure accuracy. These tools often come equipped with features that highlight potential deductions and credits.

: For businesses handling taxes internally, utilizing advanced tax software can simplify the process and ensure accuracy. These tools often come equipped with features that highlight potential deductions and credits. Plan for Tax Payments : Effective tax planning involves setting aside funds for tax payments throughout the year. This proactive approach prevents cash flow issues and potential penalties associated with late or insufficient tax payments.

: Effective tax planning involves setting aside funds for tax payments throughout the year. This proactive approach prevents cash flow issues and potential penalties associated with late or insufficient tax payments. Understand Industry-Specific Benefits: Different industries often have unique tax incentives. Understanding and leveraging these industry-specific benefits can lead to considerable tax savings.

Is it Worth Going to a Tax Preparer?

Tax season can be quite a headache, and many people wonder if its worth going to a tax preparer for help. The answer is yes! It may cost more money to hire someone for professional tax assistance, but the time and effort saved in the long run can be well worth it.

A tax preparer typically has extensive knowledge of the tax code and tax deductions such as self-employed taxes, which they can use to maximize your return or minimize what you owe if you are facing an audit. Tax preparers also have access to the latest software updates that make tax filing quicker and easier, meaning less stress for you during this busy time.

So if youre feeling overwhelmed with managing your finances during tax season, a professional tax preparer could be just the thing to help make things simpler.

Who Should Use a Tax Preparation Service?

Any small business owner or self-employed individual who needs help filing their taxes should consider using a tax preparation service. These services can help with everything from calculating and claiming tax deductions to filing your taxes on time. They also offer expert advice and guidance that can help you minimize your tax liability and maximize your refund. Heres a more detailed overview to help you decide whether a tax preparation service is right for you:

Small Business Owners: Manage complex financial transactions. Need to navigate various tax laws specific to businesses. Can benefit from identifying potential deductions related to business expenses.

Self-Employed Individuals: Handle fluctuating income levels. Need to consider self-employment taxes. Can take advantage of specific deductions like home office or business mileage.

Individuals Needing Assistance with Calculations: Want assurance in accurate tax computations. Require help with calculating deductions and credits. Seek to avoid potential errors that can lead to penalties.

Those Seeking Timely Filing: Want to ensure taxes are filed before the deadline. Seek help in organizing and managing necessary tax documents. Wish to avoid late-filing penalties.

Taxpayers Wanting Expert Advice: Aim to understand the nuances of tax laws. Seek guidance on minimizing tax liability. Want to maximize potential refunds.

Individuals with Complex Financial Situations: Have multiple sources of income, including investments or rental properties. Have undergone major life changes like marriage, divorce, or the birth of a child. Need to navigate inheritance or estate taxes.



What is the best free tax software?

If you are looking for free tax help and free filing for simple tax returns then H&R Blocks free version is the best choice for you. You will not only be able to file your taxes quickly and easily online but will have access to online tax help and it is all completely free.

Which online tax service gives the biggest refund?

Turbo Tax and H&R Block come pretty close when it comes to which online service gives the biggest tax refund. This is mostly because they are both used by a lot of small business owners who can claim many different deductions on their taxes. Often they will be owed money due to overpayment of taxes as well which also pads their expected refund. Finally, both services provide a maximum refund guarantee for their services.

How much does it cost to have someone else prepare your taxes?

The cost of having someone else prepare your taxes can vary from $100 and up. Usually, it starts with how they price their services and whether they charge a flat rate or charge for individual items. Additionally, factors including your location, the complexity of your taxes, and software costs will also influence how much you will pay. More complex tax situations come with a higher price tag.

How Is a Tax Preparation Service Different From Tax Preparation Software?

While tax preparation software can help you prepare your taxes, it does not offer the same level of expertise and guidance that a professional tax preparation service can. Tax services are staffed by tax professionals who are experienced in dealing with all aspects of tax filing and have the knowledge and resources to help you get the most out of your return.

Tax services typically offer additional services like document storage and e-filing that are not available with tax preparation software. The decision to use a tax preparation service or software comes down to your needs and preferences as a taxpayer.

How long does it take for a tax preparer to do your taxes?

The time it takes for a tax preparer to complete your taxes will depend on a number of factors, including the complexity of your return and the efficiency of the tax preparation service. A professional tax preparer may be able to complete and file your taxes in as little as a few hours, or it may take several days or weeks depending on your needs and situation.

Truly, the best way to find out how long it will take for a tax preparer to do your taxes is to consult with a tax professional directly.

Should I hire a tax preparation service or use tax prep software to do it myself?

There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to whether you should use a tax preparation service or software. Both options offer benefits and drawbacks, and the right choice will depend on your personal situation, budget, and preferences.

Some factors to consider when deciding between a tax prep service and software include the level of expertise and support you need, the complexity of your taxes, and the cost. In the end, it all depends on your individual needs.

How much can a small business make before paying taxes in the US?

According to the IRS, small businesses in the US are typically required to pay taxes on any income earned above $400. Other factors that may impact your tax liabilities, such as expenses, deductions, and credits, may also affect the amount of taxes you owe.
A reader asks:

What does a virtual assistant do? And how can one help my business? I run a small business but the volume of emails and customer inquiries has exploded. Its challenging to stay organized. Yet we cant afford to hire a full-time administrative assistant or office manager  nor do we have the space, because our office is tiny. A colleague suggested I hire a virtual assistant. Can you give me some idea of the types of tasks a virtual assistant can do?

 Howard from Albuquerque, New Mexico

Howard, this is a great question. Yes, we will explain exactly what a virtual assistant does. Well go one better for you.

At the end of this article we outline 53 different tasks a virtual assistant (VA) can do for a small business, so that you have examples to draw on. But first, lets answer some basic information.

What is a Virtual Assistant?

A virtual assistant, often shortened to VA, is a professional who operates in a remote working environment, providing assistance in various areas such as administrative tasks, business development initiatives, social media management, marketing campaigns, and much more.

These professionals are pivotal in the day-to-day operation of small businesses, entrepreneurs, and managerial roles, offering support by managing recurring tasks and handling administrative work that otherwise consumes valuable time.

While these assistants typically operate from their home offices, their geographic location can be anywhere  in the United States or overseas.

Virtual assistants have seen an upsurge in their popularity within small businesses in the past decade, primarily due to their flexibility.

Depending on your business needs, a VA can be hired part-time or full-time. Whether you require their services for 20 hours, 30 hours, or even a full 40-hour week, VAs provide versatility to cater to your unique requirements.

The compensation model for virtual assistants can be quite varied. Some may prefer to be paid by the hour, while others might opt for a fixed weekly or monthly stipend.

In many cases, you may find a better value proposition by hiring a full-time virtual assistant for several reasons:

Prices can be surprisingly affordable, especially for offshore workers.

Its easier to integrate a full-time assistant into regular workflows and get deeper benefit from the arrangement.

A full-time VA will be better positioned to learn any special software apps you require, develop cordial relationships with co-workers and customers, and grow with you as the business grows.

There are two primary types of virtual assistants  independent freelancers and those associated with a company or agency.

When you collaborate with a virtual assistant company, you often communicate with a manager who comprehends your needs and ensures you get a VA that is the best fit for your operations.

Benefits of a Virtual Assistant

In the fast-paced business world, the use of a virtual assistant can significantly amplify your productivity. Consider this  how a business owner or a key manager allocates their time could be the most critical determinant of business success.

Thus, it is imperative for them to concentrate on high-value activities and strategic matters, leaving routine and administrative tasks to their reliable virtual assistant.

Rob Levin, Chairman of Work Better Now, puts it this way, drawing from his own experience.

In order to spend time on high-value activities, it was important for me to spend less time on lower-value activities. This is why I not only hired a virtual assistant 5 years ago but why I co-founded a company, Work Better Now , to provide virtual assistants to other business owners.

Levins partner Andrew Cohen and Work Better Nows CEO, says the most common question asked by the companys prospective clients is what can a virtual assistant do for me?

To answer that question, Cohen provides a list of 47 tasks a virtual assistant can do.

53 Tasks a Virtual Assistant Can Do

A virtual assistant is a highly skilled independent contractor who remotely performs a plethora of tasks. Ranging from scheduling appointments to screening and responding to emails, a VAs duties are far-reaching.

Yet, scheduling and emails are just the tip of the iceberg. If a task can be done online, a VA is more than capable of executing it.

This resource is your comprehensive guide to navigating the world of virtual assistants, clarifying their roles and highlighting the significant benefits they can bring to your business.

Calendar Management

The task of managing a calendar, both professional and personal, often poses one of the biggest challenges for entrepreneurs.

Virtual assistants step in here, transforming a daunting task into an effortless process by providing reminders and scheduling appointments. They offer the following services:

1. Coordinate and schedule calls and appointments. A task that can save business owners approximately 10 hours a week, freeing them from doing these tasks they find cumbersome.

The key to success here is providing your VA with clear rules about scheduling, including whom and when to schedule. They can also assist in coordinating schedules for other team members.

2. Confirm appointments. Its a best practice to provide your VA with a list of appointments to confirm, particularly for the next day. This practice can prevent time wastage caused by forgotten appointments or last-minute cancellations from the other party.

3. Provide reminders about calls and appointments. It can be easy to forget to make a call, particularly when youre out of the office or in back-to-back meetings. A VA can provide timely reminders, calling or texting you a few minutes before your commitment to ensure you remember.

4. Reschedule calls and appointments. A VA also serves as your communication bridge, informing the other party of any schedule changes and confirming the rescheduled time.

5. Provide notice of schedule changes to others. The virtual assistant will also provide notice to the other party and get the rescheduled time confirmed.

6. Protect time. VAs can also help protect your time from unnecessary interruptions. They can step in and politely decline requests for meetings that may not be a top priority.

7. Send and maintain a pending list. Virtual assistants can provide you with a weekly list of individuals who havent responded to meeting or call requests, alerting you when your intervention may be needed.

8. Inform significant others when you will be out of town. VAs can also keep your loved ones informed about your travel schedule. They can share a calendar invite with the out-of-town dates and your flight and hotel details, ensuring seamless communication.

Email and Contact Management and Communications

In the digital age, a massive volume of emails can inundate your inbox, and maintaining an up-to-date contact list can become a task in itself.

This is where the expertise of a virtual assistant comes into play. By entrusting these tasks to a VA, you can reclaim precious hours of your time. Heres a look at the range of activities a VA can handle:

9. Screen emails. Virtual assistants can manage your inbox based on specific rules set by you. They can perform tasks such as deleting, responding, forwarding emails or flagging critical ones for your attention.

10. Add people to contacts. Every time you engage with someone new, be it a call, meeting, or any other form of interaction, your VA can ensure that the persons details are promptly added to your contacts.

11. Update peoples info to contacts. There could be instances where you dont immediately have access to all of a contacts information. In such cases, a VA can gradually fill in these gaps, adding information to contacts as and when it becomes available, such as details from an email signature.

12. Add contacts to CRM. A key reason small businesses dont leverage their CRM application effectively is the time-consuming data entry involved. Your VA can take on this task, adding to and organizing your CRM system.

Phone Tasks

When you require someone to handle phone interactions or even carry out light receptionist duties without the need for a physical presence, a virtual assistant can rise to the occasion.

13. Perform light receptionist duties. There are instances when you may expect important calls but might not be available to answer them personally. This is where a virtual assistant becomes invaluable.

By redirecting such calls to your VA, you can ensure you dont miss any vital communication, while also being able to focus on your primary tasks at hand without interruptions.

14. Transcribe voicemails. In our fast-paced digital age, most voicemails can be accessed via email. These can be forwarded to your VA who, apart from transcribing the voicemail content, can also conduct any necessary follow-up activities.

This could include reaching out to the caller or setting reminders for you to respond, thereby streamlining your communication processes.

Travel

The task of organizing flights and hotels for business travel can be a surprisingly time-consuming process, often pulling you away from your core business operations. This is where the skills of a virtual assistant can prove indispensable. A VA can handle:

15. Research flights. Given your specific criteria such as preferred airlines, seating arrangements, and timings, a VA can perform a thorough analysis of various flight options.

They can then present you with the best alternatives, ensuring that you not only travel comfortably but also save a considerable amount of time over the course of a year.

16. Research hotels. In a manner similar to flight research, your VA can delve into hotel options based on your unique preferences.

This can include factors like the type of accommodation, location, available amenities, and any special rates you may be entitled to. They can then compile a shortlisted selection, saving you the hassle of browsing through numerous options.

17. Book flights and hotels. With your decisions made and armed with your credit card and frequent flyer information, your VA can take care of the booking process.

This can be a tedious task to handle personally, but a VA can manage this efficiently, saving you time and reducing the likelihood of errors.

18. Research transportation options. This encompasses various possibilities, from rental cars and rideshares to even local public transportation, depending on your preference and the nature of your travel.

19. Book transportation. Once the best options are identified, your VA can take it a step further and handle the bookings, akin to the way they manage your flight and hotel arrangements. This ensures a seamless travel experience from start to finish.

20. Arrange for events. If your trip involves attending or hosting events, your VA can handle the research and make the necessary arrangements. This could include finding a suitable restaurant for a business dinner, booking a meeting space, or even securing tickets for a local concert.

21. Suspend newspaper or mail. When youre away, your VA can ensure regular services at your residence, such as newspaper delivery or mail, are temporarily suspended. This adds another layer of convenience to your travels and ensures your home operations are taken care of in your absence.

Business Development

When it comes to the task of business development, the workload can be substantial and multifaceted.

From researching potential leads on platforms like LinkedIn to finding crucial contact information like email addresses, these activities often entail time-consuming groundwork.

A virtual assistant can take the reins of these tasks, allowing you to devote your focus on the interpersonal interactions pivotal to making successful sales.

22. Research leads on LinkedIn. For B2B businesses, and occasionally B2C operations, maintaining a list of potential clients is an imperative task. After gaining a deep understanding of your requirements, a virtual assistant can conduct a thorough search on LinkedIn, creating an exhaustive list of prospects that align with your ideal client profile.

23. Find email addresses. A VA can skillfully navigate databases and employ effective Google search strategies to locate the email addresses of potential clients youre looking to contact. This not only ensures you have the correct contact information but saves you the time and effort of finding it yourself.

24. Design presentations. Your VA can add a professional touch to your proposals by locating and inserting the prospects logo and matching the text color accordingly. Furthermore, they can enhance the presentation by animating slides as required, giving you an edge in your business development efforts.

Management

As your business grows, it inevitably results in an increased demand for various management functions. This could include tasks like assembling reports for clients, which might require collating vast amounts of existing data.

Or perhaps youre looking to expand your team and need assistance with recruitment activities. Your virtual assistant can shoulder these responsibilities, providing you with the time and flexibility to focus on more strategic aspects of your business

25. Assemble reports. A VA can design and generate reports that track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) at predetermined intervals. These reports provide a clear snapshot of your businesss performance, helping you make informed decisions.

26. Help to recruit employees. The struggle to find the right talent can often be as intense as the competition for clients, if not more so.

Your VA can screen LinkedIn profiles based on the criteria you provide, compiling a list of potential candidates that might be a good fit for your team. This not only simplifies your recruitment process but ensures that you have a wider pool of talent to choose from.

Accounting

If managing the financial aspects of your business such as maintaining books or sending out invoices induces a sense of dread in you, it might be time to delegate these tasks to a virtual assistant.

27. Maintain the books. With appropriate training and instructions, your virtual assistant can handle financial tasks such as reviewing and matching transactions, and conducting monthly reconciliations. This ensures a streamlined bookkeeping process and consistent financial records for your business.

28. Create and send invoices. By utilizing invoice templates, a virtual assistant can draft professional invoices and distribute them to your clients. This ensures timely and accurate billing, contributing to healthy cash flow.

29. Chase down payments. Establishing an accounts receivable process is crucial for all businesses. Your VA can follow this process to collect payments that are due, which can include escalating the issue to the business owner or the relevant person when necessary.

Personal Errands

Managing personal life responsibilities alongside a thriving business can be demanding. Tasks such as making restaurant reservations or sending out gifts are integral to maintaining your personal relationships.

However, they can also be time-consuming. By leveraging the services of a virtual assistant, you can navigate these responsibilities more efficiently.

30. Make personal restaurant reservations. With access to your personal preferences and login details for reservation platforms like Open Table, your VA can make restaurant bookings on your behalf and even coordinate with the guests.

31. Make purchases. Sometimes, even platforms like Amazon might not have what you need, or the purchase process can be too tedious. Your VA can help with online shopping to secure the items you need.

32. Research and send gifts. For occasions when a generic gift card doesnt suffice, your assistant can find something distinctive and arrange for its delivery.

33. Manage the logistics for your hobby. Whether its securing a studio for your garage band rehearsals or organizing your book clubs meetings, a VA can alleviate the logistical burdens, allowing you to indulge in your hobbies without stress.

34. Track down problem orders. When an order doesnt arrive on time, your VA can liaise with the supplier, handling hold times and troubleshooting, keeping you informed throughout the process.

35. Manage the family calendar. Scheduling family events and tracking appointments can be seamlessly handled by your virtual assistant, freeing up more of your personal time.

36. Schedule medical appointments. Given relevant details such as birth dates and insurance information, a VA can arrange doctors visits and even start filling out the requisite paperwork.

37. Pay personal bills. For infrequent purchases or vendors who dont offer online payment options, a virtual assistant can manage the bill payments.

38. Call stores to get information. Whether youre hunting for a rare bottle of Scotch or a special gift, your VA can make the necessary calls to find the store stocking the item youre searching for.

Operations

As a small business owner, your focus should be on strategic planning for your companys future, conceptualizing new products and services, and driving initiatives that will elevate your business. Therefore, operational tasks such as filling out online forms and managing files can be delegated to a reliable support system, a virtual assistant.

39. Fill out online forms. Your virtual assistant, equipped with pertinent company details, can fill out various forms, such as those necessary for subscribing to Software as a Service (SaaS) products, saving you precious time.

40. Take notes from webinars. When youre interested in the content of a webinar but cant allocate time to watch it, even if its on-demand, your VA can attend on your behalf, note down key points and provide you with a comprehensive summary.

41. Convert files. If youre in need of a different file format, say, a JPEG instead of a PDF, your VA can handle the conversion for you.

42. Conduct research. Your VA can carry out initial research for crucial decisions, such as evaluating various SaaS products to ascertain which one would be the most suitable for your needs.

43. Set up projects in your project management system. A VA can set up new projects in your project management tool and extend invitations to the relevant participants, ensuring a smooth kick-off.

44. Handle file management. Be it Dropbox or a local server for file storage, your virtual assistant can ensure appropriate file organization with accurate naming conventions. They also ensure access permissions are correctly allocated.

45. Schedule social media. Your virtual assistant can streamline your social media strategy by scheduling your posts according to the process youve outlined.

46. Proofread and edit letters, blogs and presentations. Overwhelming workloads can sometimes lead to inadvertent errors. Your VA can help proofread and edit important communications like letters, blogs, and presentations, ensuring professional and error-free content.

47. Maintain a virtual assistant manual. Business owners often prefer establishing processes over strictly adhering to them. Your VA can keep a manual documenting their tasks, which proves handy, especially during unexpected absences.

Heres a summary of the diverse range of tasks that a Virtual Assistant can handle, all neatly packaged in a convenient comparison table.

Task Category Examples of Tasks a VA Can Perform Calendar Management Scheduling appointments, providing reminders, rescheduling appointments Email and Contact Management Screening emails, updating contacts, adding contacts to CRM Phone Tasks Light receptionist duties, transcribing voicemails Travel Arrangements Researching and booking flights/hotels, arranging transportation, suspending regular services Business Development Researching leads, finding email addresses, designing presentations Management Tasks Assembling reports, helping recruit employees Accounting Maintaining books, creating invoices, managing accounts receivable Personal Errands Making reservations, online shopping, managing personal schedules Operations Filling out forms, taking webinar notes, managing files, scheduling social media Tasks a VA Does Not Perform Varies depending on specific VA services, rules, and boundaries

More Tasks a Virtual Assistant Can Do

Expanding the scope of what a Virtual Assistant (VA) can do for your business opens up even more opportunities for efficiency and growth. Here are additional tasks that showcase the versatility and comprehensive capabilities of a VA:

48. Data Entry and Database Management: A VA can manage and update databases, entering new data, and ensuring that all records are accurate and up-to-date.

49. Online Research for Business Development: A VA can conduct in-depth market research, competitor analysis, or find potential business opportunities and partnerships.

50. Handling Online Purchases and Returns: Managing online transactions, tracking orders, handling returns or exchanges can also be efficiently managed by a VA.

51. Website Maintenance: Basic website updates, content uploading, and monitoring for functionality issues can be assigned to a skilled VA.

52. Managing Affiliate Programs: If your business is involved in affiliate marketing, a VA can manage affiliate relationships, track program performance, and coordinate payouts.

53. Customer Feedback Collection and Analysis: Collecting and compiling customer feedback, conducting surveys, and analyzing the results to provide actionable insights for business improvement.

Things a Virtual Assistant Does Not Do

Of course, there are a few things your virtual assistant wont do. You neednt worry about a virtual assistants attitude if you ask them to do something. A VA does not:

Roll his or her eyes at you. At least you wont see it if it happens! And you wont hear it in any communication.

At least you wont see it if it happens! And you wont hear it in any communication. Require a bigger office or another desk . These folks wont be sharing your office space, so theres no need to make extra room.

. These folks wont be sharing your office space, so theres no need to make extra room. Interject drama. With virtual assistants you wont have big egos to coddle. You wont need to walk on eggshells or worry about gossip overriding professionalism. The nature of the relationship being long distance means office drama is nonexistent.

Next Steps to Get a Virtual Assistant

Identify the tasks in your business that would be best to outsource. Hint: Focus on tasks that do not require your expertise. Ask yourself if the task is the best use of your time or would be better done by someone else?

Once youve identified the tasks best suited for outsourcing, the next step is to find the right VA who can seamlessly integrate into your business operations. Services like Work Better Now can match you with VAs that not only fit your needs but also align with your businesss ethos and culture.

Incorporating a VA into your business strategy is not just about delegating tasks; its about empowering your business to reach its full potential. Whether its scaling up operations, enhancing customer engagement, or simply achieving a better work-life balance, a VA can be a pivotal part of your success story.

Remember, the role of a VA is not just to take tasks off your plate; its also about bringing in new perspectives, efficiency, and skills that you might not possess. This collaboration can lead to innovative solutions and strategies for your business.

By choosing the right VA, youre not just hiring a virtual assistant; youre investing in a partnership that can drive your business forward. So, take the time to assess your needs, explore your options, and embrace the journey towards more streamlined and effective business operations with the right Virtual Assistant by your side.

For more information about virtual assistants, read:

All answers to reader questions come from the Small Business Trends Editorial Board, with more than 50 years of combined business experience. If you would like to submit a question, please submit it here.
Monetary policy in the eurozone is the ECBs exclusive competence.

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The European Central Bank (ECB) is not very pleased with Slovakias constitutional amendment from last year that grants the right to people to pay for goods and services in cash.

The amendment wasnt consulted with the ECB, according to the bank.

The ECB respectfully suggests that the provision of the constitution is outside of the competence of a member state whose currency is the euro, the banks president Christine Lagarde writes in the banks opinion from January 11.

Slovakia joined the eurozone in 2009.

Although the central bank adds that it welcomes Slovakias effort to strengthen the availability of cash in Slovakia, it explains that monetary policy questions in the eurozone fall within the ECBs scope, not a member states, and are dealt with in EU legislation.

Up to 111 Slovak MPs in the 150-seat parliament backed the amendment last June. It was the Sme Rodina movement that initiated the change, arguing that the cancellation of cash payments would, for example, put low-income households in danger.

At that time, disinformation that the EU wanted to ban cash was circulating in Slovakia.

The banks president says that the Court of Justice of the European Union has already ruled that cash payments cannot generally be refused.

In the light of the above, the ECB recommends that the provisions guaranteeing the issuance of cash as legal tender and the right to make payments in cash should either be deleted or, alternatively, amended to merely refer to the relevant provisions of Union law, the bank thinks.

At the same time, Lagarde recommends that Slovakia clarify the wording that concerns the right to perform cash transactions at banks. She notes that it is not very clear which operations should, for example, fall under the scope of the cash transactions.
The city of Chiang Mai, Thailand is unlike any other. Meaning new city in Thai, this place balances old and new, local and global, natural and urban in a uniquely compelling way. There are ancient monasteries and UNESCO heritage temples. There are roving hordes of digital nomads arriving from every corner of the globe. There are beautiful historic landmarks and Michelin star restaurants, lush mountains and elephant sanctuaries, colorful buildings and intoxicating street food. And throughout it allnestled in alongside seemingly every facet of life in this placethere is coffee, coffee, coffee.

Roaming Chiang Mai gives visitors a glimpse of just how ingrained coffee is in the everyday lifestyle. From the city streets to the mountaintops, from fast coffee and tea carts on every shopping street to globally inspired, gorgeously modern specialty coffee bars, coffee lovers are absolutely spoiled for choice here. Yes, you will find the modern classic Thai coffee and Thai iced tea with abundance in this place, made with sweetened condensed milk and the perfect foil to the spicy-sweet-savory-sour symphony of flavors found in Thai cuisine. But thats just the start. There are hundreds of cafes heresome built for quick service, others for co-working or quiet contemplation. You could tour this place just for coffee and never see it all.

Quietly, perhaps without much hype, Chiang Mai is one of the most exciting coffee cities in the world. Heres some essential places to visit to get you started.

Mars

Situated inside Old City in Chiang Mai, Mars is one of the first buildings that catches the eye after peering through the 13th-century-built Saun Dok gate. The shiny metallic exterior extends into the cafe space leaning heavily into its space station on Mars theme.

All of the choices in this guide are beautiful, but Mars takes the cakeyou cannot help but take pictures while youre here, and no one can blame you for sharing on social media. Fully equipped with two photo areas, the middle bar lounge affixed next to a floor-to-ceiling lunar projection with dim lighting and intimate seating matched with a synth-wave playlist fits the Martian exploration vibe.

The backroom is open to guests who want to take part in the photo booth and photo stop in front of a wall of redrock. While the crowd was very minimal at the time, all guests were limited to a three-minute session of selfies. Otherwise, you are free to roam and enjoy your drink.

Visuals pleasantries are abundant including Mars signature drink menu. The simplest drink on the signature menu is called the Mars, which pairs chocolatey espresso paired with creamy whole milk. Drink it alongside a slice of Oreo cheesecake before heading back out to walk to Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan.

W8 x Viangpha

Chiang Mai is a wonderland of Thai traditional crafts, and the work of Thai craft artisans should be high on your experience list. The citys famous Sunday Night Market is the perfect place to do this, spanning the length of the road between Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan to Tha Phae Gate on the east side of the city.

Found right outside the eastern gate is W8 x Viangpha cafe (pronounced like double-you-eight). Enter through the staircase to the second floor to visit the cozy coffee bar. Here youll be greeted by a small, charming crayfish in a display tank. The lush, green balcony on the second floor is a warm wooden spilt level, with plenty of space to work on a laptop or admire the locally painted artwork.

Chiang Mai stays warm all year round, and so cafes keep plenty of cold drinks at the ready. W8s iced smoked cinnamon latte is chilled to cool down, but manages to still capture the natural warmth of smoked cinnamon. You can smell it coming as they walk the drink over to your table. I also really enjoy their Black To The Moon signature drink, which features espresso layered over natural strawberry soda with an orange slice.

Carrot

Carrot is located in the south part of Chiang Mai. Tucked between narrow residential streets and Wat Pan Whean, its just a seven-minute walk from the Chiang Mai gate.

Carrot is laid-back in style, and feels almost like drinking coffee in someones home. Here you can choose a seat from two floors of tables and couch, and out the back door is an enclosed courtyard perfect for a bit of reading or enjoying a quiet coffee date. Signs throughout the courtyard read I Carrot live without coffee which is hard to disagree with.

On bar during my visit were three distinct coffees, all roasted by Carrot. These included a light roast blend of coffees from Ethiopia and Chiang Mai, a medium roast of coffees from Pang Khon and Brazil, and a deep, dark roasted Thai coffee from Thep Sadej with nots of chocolate and brown sugar. Here is where I also tried one of my favorite signature drinks in the city, called the Carrot No. 1 and featuring cream cheese foam with sprinkled sweet carrot cookie crumble over the top of espresso.

Roxpresso

Roxpresso is located near the Wat Chai Si Phum, attached to a hostel attached to a hostel nestled on Moon Muang Road. This corner of Chiang Mais old city is relatively quiet and conveniently close to several food markets in the area. With calming white interiors and splashes of holographic plexiglass, the entire space made for a beautiful spot to relax after walking inside the city walls.

Roxpresso uses 100% Arabica beans locally sourced from Chiang Mai. This shop is on the higher end of drink prices, but for the craft cocktail-like experience it was well worth the cost and wait. Unlike most places, Roxpresso specializes in ROK espresso style, a hand-pressed espresso shot that doesnt use electricity. Expect to take it slow as it takes longer than pulling an espresso shot from a machine, especially if you opted for an iced drink. Roxpresso wouldnt dare throw a few ice cubes in a glass. Your drinks platter holds a handmade ice ball as well.

When your drink is ready, the staff will walk a platter full of utensils and a customized name tag to you. Assemble everything slowly, sip, enjoy.

Graph

Graph opened its doors in 2009, and today has four locations across Chiang Mai. Graph Contemporary is located in the old trade neighborhood on the east side of the Ping River and Graph One Nimman, Graph Ground, and Graph Quarter are to the west of Old City near the ultra tourist-friendly Nimman neighborhood. Each location has its own unique menu and design charm.

Graph One Nimman is a great option for those looking to take a quick break from shopping at the daily market space in the One Nimman plaza. Its a small space with about five tables on each side of the speed bar. This location is truly meant for intimate conversation, and is not Wi-Fi enabled. The shop is known for its large selection of signature drinks along with single origin offerings from Graphs roastery, GATEWAY Coffee Roasters.

My favorite of the signature drinks here is the Honeybee. Its a multi-layered espresso-based drink made with a black coffee jelly foundation, mellow caramel frappe middle, and topped with whipped cream, coffee powder, and a honeycomb. Its a feast for the eyes, and it was as fun to mix the jelly into the drink as it was to sip it through a straw.

Graph has multiple locations situated in Chiang Mai. Visit their official website and follow them on Instagram and Facebook
Microsoft is bringing its Copilot AI assistant to small businesses as the tech giant is launching a new premium tier of the technology for individuals.

On Tuesday, the company made an announcement letting small businesses know that they can now subscribe to its Copilot virtual assistant in the company's productivity apps. Furthermore, consumers who are paying for Microsoft 365 software can sign up for a new paid version of the assistant.

Microsoft Expands Copilot AI

The new updates will help the company expose more of its customers to generative artificial intelligence. This is a type of technology that startup OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot popularized last year.

It is capable of composing natural-sounding text with a person's brief written command. The tech giant's efforts to expand access to the technology could help it start to cover the costs of building data center infrastructure that enables AI.

Investors have been gambling on Microsoft to capitalize on generative AI demand in operating systems, cloud, productivity, web search, and security. This is despite facing competition from the likes of Amazon and Google, as per CNBC.

Last week, Microsoft was able to reclaim the title of the most valuable publicly traded company from Apple. The company's CEO, Satya Nadella, has recently been conveying that AI lies at the center of the software maker's current identity.

The first time that Microsoft started offering Copilot for Microsoft 365 was for large companies in November last year as well as faculty and staff at educational institutions the month after. For the latter, the add-on costs $30 per person per month on top of existing subscription costs.

The latest announcement gives small businesses that pay for Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Business Standard the opportunity to sign up for up to 299 licenses at $30 per person per month.

On the other hand, the new premium tier for individuals will be available for $20 per month and will be called Copilot Pro. The new subscription will add a text-drafting, number-crunching AI assistant to Microsoft's widely used applications, including Word and Excel, according to Inquirer.

Read Also: Capella Reveals New Artificial Intelligence App that Deciphers Your Baby's Crying

New Premium Tier for Individuals

The latest development will also allow consumers to gain access to new tools and AI models, such as GPT-4 Turbo. Microsoft added that it would be removing a 300-person minimum requirement to purchase the enterprise version of the AI assistant.

This makes the security controls and Microsoft Teams upgrade that come with the $30 per month per user Copilot available to smaller businesses. Corporate Vice President Jared Spataro said that the tech giant is now expecting virtually all of its business customers to sign up for access to Copilot AI.

While most of the features that were previously available to businesses for the last few months will become accessible to consumers, there is a big exception. This is the capability to summon Copilot to generate a PowerPoint deck based on a Word document.

This is because the consumer version is not powered by Microsoft's Graph technology, due to the functionality not being available just yet. Furthermore, the AI assistant includes improvements to the Image Creator from Designer and allows users to build their own Copilot GPT, said The Verge.



Related Article: AI Takes Center Stage at CES 2024
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240115/irans-irgc-claims-responsibility-for-missile-attacks-on-iraqs-erbil-1116186095.html

Iran's IRGC Claims Responsibility for Missile Attacks on Iraqs Erbil

Iran's IRGC Claims Responsibility for Missile Attacks on Iraqs Erbil

Sputnik International

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) took responsibility on Tuesday for missile attacks on Iraqi Kurdistans capital of Erbil, claiming that it targeted bases of anti-Iranian terrorist groups.

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Earlier in the day, a security source in Iraq told Sputnik that several explosions occurred in Erbil near the US Consulate General and Erbil International Airport. The report added that the IRGC fired ballistic missiles at one of the main headquarters of the Israeli Secret Intelligence Service (Mossad) in Iraqi Kurdistan and destroyed it. The headquarters was reportedly the center for developing special operations and planning terrorist attacks in the Middle East region, in particular in Iran.Four people were killed as a result of a missile strike conducted by the IRGC on Iraqi Kurdistans capital of Erbil, ABC News reported on Tuesday, citing an Iraqi security source.No US facilities have been damaged by the missile attack in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, Reuters reported citing a US official.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240115/us-in-contact-with-iraqi-kurdish-officials-following-recent-missile-attacks-1116186532.html

US in Contact With Iraqi, Kurdish Officials Following Recent Missile Attacks

US in Contact With Iraqi, Kurdish Officials Following Recent Missile Attacks

Sputnik International

The United States is in contact with senior Iraqi and Kurdish officials following the recent missile attacks in northern Iraq and northern Syria, a White House National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement to Sputnik.

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"We have seen the reports and we tracked the missiles, which impacted in northern Iraq and northern Syria," the spokesperson said on Monday. "No US personnel or facilities were targeted. We have been in touch with senior Iraqi officials as well as officials in the Kurdistan Region." There were no US casualties at the consulate, but the United States will continue to assess the situation, the spokesperson said. The initial indications are that this was a "reckless and imprecise set of strikes," the spokesperson also said. Iran claimed responsibility for this attack undertaken in response to the terrorist attacks on the Iranian cities of Kerman and Rask, with a focus on the Islamic State* terror group, the spokesperson added.* The Islamic State (IS/ISIS/ISIL) is a terrorist organization banned in Russia and many other countries.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/belgiums-antwerp-port-warns-of-possible-disruptions-due-to-red-sea-crisis-1116193663.html

Belgium's Antwerp Port Warns of Possible Disruptions Due to Red Sea Crisis

Belgium's Antwerp Port Warns of Possible Disruptions Due to Red Sea Crisis

Sputnik International

Europe's second-largest port by cargo turnover, located in Belgium's coastal city of Antwerp, said on Tuesday that ship delays and subsequent disruptions in port operations are possible in the future due to the crisis in the Red Sea, though none occurred as of yet.

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"To date, there has been no major impact. Shipping companies are reporting delays of 7 to 10 days. The number of calls remains the same. Container ship traffic is the hardest hit, while other categories of vessel are less affected. Schedules are once again becoming less reliable, which could lead to inefficiencies in terminal operations and in the hinterland," the port told Sputnik. The port authority added that fares were scaling up by "potentially +60% for containers," while "insurance premiums increase by 20%." Meanwhile, containers stay in transit longer by passing through South Africa's capital city of Cape Town, the port said. In November 2023, Yemen's rebel Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, announced their intention to attack any ships associated with Israel until it stops its military actions in the Gaza Strip. In December, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the establishment of a multinational operation to secure navigation in the Red Sea. Last week, the US and UK military carried out airstrikes on Houthi targets in different parts of Yemen, including the capital of Sanaa. Last week, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on the Houthis to show restraint and stressed that countries have the right to protect their ships from attacks. He said the Red Sea was a vital maritime route for the whole world and Europe, in particular, the reason why he would propose that the EU establish its own mission in the Red Sea to ensure the safety of navigation.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/bibis-holy-grail-why-does-israel-want-control-of-corridor-between-gaza-and-egypt-1116207292.html

Bibis Holy Grail: Why Does Israel Want Control of Corridor Between Gaza and Egypt?

Bibis Holy Grail: Why Does Israel Want Control of Corridor Between Gaza and Egypt?

Sputnik International

The Israeli military opened fire against armed infiltrators approaching the border zone between Israel and Egypt on Monday, several days after Israel announced plans to seize the 14 km-long Philadelphi Corridor frontier separating Gaza and Egypt. Israels plans could further escalate regional tensions, a Middle East observer says.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced over the weekend that the border between Gaza and Egypt must be closed, and that Hamas cannot be defeated without doing so.Cairo has sent Tel Aviv a series of increasingly dire warnings about Israels plans for the corridor, warning that an incursion into the 14 km-long strip of land would constitute a violation of the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty.On Tuesday, Egyptian State Information Service chief Diaa Rashwan blasted Netanyahu over his nonsense remarks regarding the alleged arms flow from Egypt. Last week, Rashwan reiterated that an Israeli occupation of the Philadelphi Corridor would be a direct breach of the annexes to the peace treaty between Cairo and Tel Aviv.By planning to seize the corridor, Israel risks unsettling its greatest neighbor, and a country with whom it Tel Aviv has fought several wars since Israels founding in 1948, Rashwan stressed. Egypt will defend its national security and the central cause of Palestine if Israel moves forward with plans to occupy the border area, he added.There is great competition, a power competition between two countries over the border, Mehmet Rakipoglu, a Turkish-born researcher and Middle East specialist at Dimensions for Strategic Studies, a UK-based international affairs think tank, told Sputnik.Israels main aim to control this corridor is punishing Gaza or punishing Palestinians in Gaza by creating another highly-fortified border with the enclave, the analyst believes.Secondly, as far as I know, I have heard that from many Palestinians that Egypt and Qatar are working together to deal with Palestinians and Israelis. So maybe Israel is punishing Egypt [by threatening to take control of the border, ed.], Rakipoglu said, pointing out that doing so could do serious political damage to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in his home country and be seen as a sign of weakness against Israeli aggression.As for the timing of IDF threats and Netanyahus rhetoric, Rakipoglu believes its related to the Israeli militarys failure to defeat Hamas in Gaza, losses of time, troops and equipment, and the psychological impact of the Palestinian militant group managing to stand firm against a frontal assault by what has long been considered one of the regions most powerful militaries.Egypt will not allow Israel to have full control over the corridor, Rakipoglu said. Egypt is the most powerful country in the Arab world in terms of military and also in terms of population. Egypts population is over 80 million. Until the normalization process of 1978-1979, Egypt has been on the front[line] in the fight against Israel. So it seems that Egypt has the power, has a capability to confront Israel.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/oil-power-and-conflict-strategic-hotspots-across-the-middle-east-1116202756.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240114/political-survival-now-netanyahus-real-objective-as-gaza-war-enters-day-101-1116165064.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240109/israels-gaza-war-shifts-to-targeted-phase-of-surgical-missions-against-hamas-1116069960.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/biden-admin-wants-ukraine-to-switch-proxy-war-strategy-to-defense---report-1116195324.html

Biden Admin Wants Ukraine to Switch Proxy War Strategy to Defense - Report

Biden Admin Wants Ukraine to Switch Proxy War Strategy to Defense - Report

Sputnik International

Amid Kievs flopped counteroffensive, with corruption and low morale eating away at Ukraine's Army, the popularity of funding the increasingly dysfunctional regime has been plummeting, forcing the US to revise instructions it hands down to its proxy war ally.

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The Biden administration wants Ukraine to switch its strategy in the ongoing proxy war against Russia from offense to defense, Andreas Kluth, a columnist for Bloomberg, has written.Ukraine botched the counteroffensive launched last summer despite the billions' worth of NATO military aid, "frustrating Washington." Hence, the regime in Kiev is to get new instructions from its "puppet-masters."The new "assignment" from the White House is reportedly to be delivered by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan as he meets with Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.Russias forces are "too well dug in, and the Ukrainians have lost too many soldiers and used up too much ammo," the columnist admitted.But even the defense tactic will only work if the US, Europe "keep sending drones, missiles and bullets," Kluth noted, as enthusiasm for propping up Kiev wanes.Zelensky, who continues to be in denial over Ukraines battlefield results (or rather, lack thereof) will not like what he hears from Sullivan, the author surmised. However, he can be expected to slug down that bitter-tasting edict and continue what he does best: harangue Western allies over insufficient aid.More and more officials in the United States are questioning the efficacy of spending astronomical sums of money to support Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "We see that internal debates and internal processes continue in the United States, more and more representatives of the political establishment are interested in, well, probably such a fundamental question  where is their money, the money of American taxpayers, spent, and whether the astronomical sums that were spent for last year were allocated to the Kiev regime. Did these amounts help achieve any results?" Peskov told reporters.Meanwhile, the Russian ArmedForces have fulfilled the main goal of 2023 by thwarting Ukraine's counteroffensive, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in late December. He added that the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost more than 125,000 people and 16,000 units of weapons over the six-month counteroffensive.Moscow officials have repeatedly stressed that arms supplies to Ukraine will not affect the course of the special military operation, but only fuel the conflict.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240106/beggars-shouldnt-be-choosing-biden-desperate-for-more-ukraine-aid-1116020624.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231226/russian-armed-forces-fulfill-main-goal-of-2023-by-foiling-ukrainian-counteroffensive---shoigu-1115817509.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/champagne-corks-popping-in-moscow-as-us-global-influence-wanes-1116186388.html

Champagne Corks Popping in Moscow as US Global Influence Wanes

Champagne Corks Popping in Moscow as US Global Influence Wanes

Sputnik International

In the waning days of the Cold War US Secretary of State James Baker made a solemn vow to Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would not expand one inch eastward beyond a reunited Germany, a promise that was broken in just nine years. Now Russian leaders feel vindicated as the rest of the world is waking up to the increasingly capricious and self-serving nature of 21st-century US foreign policy.

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In the waning days of the Cold War US Secretary of State James Baker made a solemn vow to Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would not expand one inch eastward beyond a reunited Germany, a promise that was broken in just nine years. Now Russian leaders feel vindicated as the rest of the world is waking up to the increasingly capricious and self-serving nature of 21st-century US foreign policy.When the United States voice is not as strong, is not as balanced, is not as fair as it should be, then a problem is created for the world, said Ronald Sanders, the ambassador from Antigua and Barbuda to the United States.Many of the most urgent pleas came from European envoys whose countries have long relied on the US for guidance on foreign affairs. The instinctual trust in America for steady leadership led Western countries to sign on to US-led sanctions against Russia in 2022 without hesitation, a move which has had harsh economic consequences in Germany and elsewhere. Now leaders are left wondering if US instability will further exacerbate the sacrifice theyve made.Domestic American politics has become increasingly fractious in recent decades  what was an almost unthinkable threat of a government shutdown in the 1990s has become a nearly perfunctory aspect of budget negotiations under divided government. But now the political dysfunction imperils foreign policy as well.Envoys were reportedly dismayed when US lawmakers injected a contentious debate over border security into discussions of assistance for Ukraine and Israel  such aid wouldve sailed through Congress unanimously in years past. The unprecedented battle over the House speakership last year also rankled observers, with the countrys legislature paralyzed by partisanship as Hamas attack on Israel provoked a major conflict.The unexpected politicization of Ukraine assistance has led supporters to devise creative new arguments to sell it to GOP lawmakers  demonstrated last year when an ad campaign by neoconservative commentator Bill Kristol urged backing for Kiev as a way to undermine China. But the prospect for continued aid seems shaky at best as analysts say the Zelensky regime is highly unlikely to reverse its fortunes on the battlefield.The prospect of former President Donald Trump returning to the White House next year was cited by some envoys as threatening continued instability and damage to Americas reputation as a pillar of democracy and global stability. On Monday a video went viral on the X social media platform of a Trump supporter welcoming the prospect the controversial billionaire would institute a dictatorship.But most figures cited structural forces encouraging the trend regardless of who wins the presidency in November.The decline of the United States has created an opening for other countries to intervene in diplomatic affairs typically seen as the domain of great powers, as when China negotiated an historic agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia recently. The successful mediation stands in contrast to the US abandonment of its Iran nuclear deal, which was cited by one figure as an example of Americas duplicitousness.The BRICS economic bloc also seems poised to continue to grow in influence in the coming years, especially as countries abandon their use of the US dollar in light of its weaponization through coercive sanctions.Recently Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the continued military confrontation between Israel and Hamas, saying the outbreak of hostilities there demonstrated the failure of a US-led world order to ensure peace and stability. Increasingly it appears other world leaders are coming around to the Russian position on the matter.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231205/no-more-aid-for-ukraine-under-new-us-house-speaker-1115408809.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/china-slams-us-issues-statement-with-arab-league-calling-for-gaza-ceasefire-1116187919.html

China Slams US, Issues Statement With Arab League Calling for Gaza Ceasefire

China Slams US, Issues Statement With Arab League Calling for Gaza Ceasefire

Sputnik International

The US, which is pouring fuel on the fire in the Israel-Palestine conflict, also wants to play the role of fireman, read an article in Chinese media criticizing Americas unconditional support for Israel.

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China released a joint statement with Arab League nations Sunday urging a ceasefire in Gaza and advocating a two-state solution to resolve the long running Palestine-Israel conflict.The resolution emerged after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit in Cairo, Egypt.The statement called for dialogue with Palestinian groups and a global peace conference to move towards implementing a two-state solution, advocating a government of Palestine for the Palestinians. The leaders urged the full implementation of resolutions passed by the United Nations which have long criticized the Israeli occupation of internationally-recognized Palestinian territory. The United States typically uses its influence and position on the UN Security Council to block and undermine resolutions criticizing Israels conduct.The leaders also promoted the resumption of direct peace talks between the Israeli and Palestinian sides.The statement then touched on recent US and UK-backed airstrikes against the Houthi movement in Yemen, which Chinese media criticized as an escalation of the situation and an attempt to distract from the broader conflict. Chinese media called for the respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yemen, a critique of the airstrikes that it noted lacked authorization by the UN.Finally, China called for the sending of humanitarian aid to Palestinians, which it labeled an imperative moral responsibility. China insisted that the only way to ultimately safeguard commercial interests in the Red Sea is to achieve a just settlement of the Palestinian issue.China and Arab League countries also vowed to move forward on economic cooperation via Chinas Belt and Road initiative during the meeting.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231202/israel-bans-entry-of-humanitarian-aid-to-gaza-through-rafah-crossing-1115341630.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/eu-to-audit-members-arms-contribution-to-ukraine-as-support-declines-1116192583.html

EU to Audit Members' Arms Contribution to Ukraine as Support Declines

EU to Audit Members' Arms Contribution to Ukraine as Support Declines

Sputnik International

The decision to audit military support for Ukraine stems from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's initiative after he argued that the arms deliveries for Kiev planned so far by the majority of EU member states were too small.

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Brussels will conduct an audit of weapons supplied to Ukraine by EU member states since the start of Russia's special military operation in light of claims that a number of member countries have sent fewer than agree upon weapons to Kiev, the Financial Times reported, citing three EU diplomats familiar with the matter. The audit has been launched by the EU's External Action Service (EEAS) that plans to present the findings to a summit of EU leaders on February 1. The EEAS has been facing resistance in obtaining complete data for the audit, as member states, despite requests, are reluctant to provide comprehensive information, according to an EU diplomat.The need to audit the delivery of weapons to Kiev came on the heels of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's demand to compile and evaluate contributions from EU members. Germany pledged the most EU aid to Ukraine worth over 17bln by October 31, 2023, based on research by the German-based Kiel Institute for The World Economy.Moscow has repeatedly expressed concerns about arms supplies to Ukraine by sending a note to NATO members. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that any cargo entering Ukrainian territory believed to be carrying weapons would be considered a legitimate target for Russia.Moreover, Lavrov accused NATO of direct involvement in the Ukrainian conflict. He claimed that the United States and NATO supply weapons and conduct training activities in various countries, including Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and elsewhere. Russias Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov emphasized that the US-led military bloc members are increasingly and directly engaged in the conflict, with diversified support for Kiev.The Kremlin has taken a firm stance against supplying Ukraine with Western weapons, asserting that it would have a negative impact and would not contribute to the success of future Russian-Ukrainian negotiations.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230928/head-of-us-military-changes-as-stockpiles-dwindle-support-for-ukraine-on-the-wane-1113758790.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/germany-to-provide-over-7bln-euros-in-military-assistance-to-ukraine-amid-economic-recession-1116207767.html

Germany to Provide Over 7Bln Euros in Military Assistance to Ukraine Amid Economic Recession

Germany to Provide Over 7Bln Euros in Military Assistance to Ukraine Amid Economic Recession

Sputnik International

Germany will provide military assistance to Ukraine worth more than seven billion euros ($7.6 billion) in 2024, the German government said on Tuesday.

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Earlier in the day, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held a phone conversation with US President Joe Biden, and the leaders agreed to continue financial, military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, the government said. Germany, the economic powerhouse of the EU, has fallen on hard times following Berlins 2022 decision to join in on the US-led economic warfare campaign against Russia.Western sanctions intended to cripple the Russian economy have backfired against the very countries that introduced them, with Germany especially suffering from the loss of access to cheap Russian energy that long has been vital for its industry.Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin highlighted that Russias economy has become the number one in Europe and the fifth in the world based on purchasing power parity.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/going-ballistic-what-are-irans-medium-range-missile-capabilities-1116206189.html

Going Ballistic: What are Irans Medium-Range Missile Capabilities?

Going Ballistic: What are Irans Medium-Range Missile Capabilities?

Sputnik International

IRGC Uses Fortress Buster to Trounce Terrorists: What Other Ballistic Missiles Does Iran Possess?

2024-01-16T18:35+0000

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2024-01-30T10:33+0000

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Iran deployed its new Kheibar-Shekan (lit. Castle Buster or Fortress Buster) medium-range ballistic missile during Monday nights strikes against terror targets in Syria, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh has revealed.A total of four Kheibar-Shekan missiles were fired from Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran, Hajizadeh indicated during talks with IRGC Chief Hossein Salami on Tuesday.That means the missiles traveled at least 1,230 km to reach jihadist-controlled Idlib province in Syria.First unveiled in 2022, the Kheibar-Shekan is a 4.5 ton, 10.5 meter long ballistic missile with a 1,450 km range  enough to strike any point in Israel  Irans main regional rival, as well as most US military bases across the Middle East. The missile has a 500-kilogram conventional high-explosive warhead.The missiles engine is solid fueled, which means dramatically reduced preparation for launch times and fewer maintenance requirements compared to liquid-fueled rocket engines. Its also equipped with maneuverable reentry vehicle (MaRV) capability, which means reduced effectiveness for any enemy missile defenses seeking to shoot it down during flight.The missiles were used in Syria on Monday night to target facilities used by terrorists as part of the IRGCs response to deadly terror attacks against the Iranian cities of Rask and Kerman in mid-December and early January. Sources told Lebanons Al-Mayadeen news channel that the missile attack targeted training camps, logistical support headquarters, and a medical point for militants of the Turkestan Islamic Party*, an al-Qaeda*-linked terror group reportedly engaged in the training of IS* offshoot ISIS-Khorasan* to conduct terror attacks inside Iran.Iran's Other Medium-Range MissilesThe Kheibar-Shekan is among the newest and most advanced ballistic missiles in Irans arsenal, but certainly not the only one. Missiles comparable to the Kheibar-Shekan include:Shorter Range Missiles in Irans ArsenalFor engagements nearer to home, including against ground targets and sea-based enemies in the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, Iran has shorter-range missiles, as well as cruise missiles.Advanced cruise missile capabilities include the recently-introduced Abu Mahdi  a 1,650 kg, 6 meter long anti-ship cruise missile with a 3.1 meter wingspan and a 410 kg warhead. The missile has a range of over 1,000 km and radar-evasion capabilities, and is named after Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the Iraqi militia leader killed alongside IRGC Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani in January 2020 in an unprovoked US assassination attack.Incidentally, Iran responded to the al-Muhandis and Soleimani killings by firing Fatah-313 and Qiam 1 ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq. The former is a solid-fuel missile with a 380 kg warhead and a 500 km range. The latter is a liquid-fueled missile with a 750 kg warhead and an 800 km range, and a development of the Soviet-era Scud-C missile. Iran warned its Iraqi partners ahead of the strikes, giving US troops enough time to take cover. Nevertheless, 110 US military personnel suffered traumatic brain injuries (mainly concussions) in the attack, with nearly 70 of them later awarded Purple Hearts.* Terrorist groups outlawed in Russia and many other countries.

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Israel's cabinet approves the country's 2024 budget and adds $15 billion to supplement its war in Gaza against the Hamas militant group.

The decision comes after overcoming strong opposition from within the government, marking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's successful push for an amended 2024 state budget. It is worth roughly $155 billion and was paired with an overall spending increase of less than $20 billion.

Israel Cabinet Approves 2024 Budget

The additional funds include money meant for defense and compensation for those who have been impacted by the war in Gaza. There were also higher allocations for healthcare, police, welfare, and education.

In a statement, Netanyahu said that they have reached an agreement and will pass a very important budget. The prime minister called it the war budget, which would also take care of the needs of Israel's reservists, their families, the self-employed, and government ministries.

The prime minister also noted that they are increasing the health budget and adding another billion shekels to address mental health, which he called an important need. Netanyahu said that they also discussed increasing the education budget, the welfare budget, the internal security budget, and the defense budget, as per the Times of Israel.

The newest measure, which contains a deficit target of 6.6% of the country's GDP, passed a few hours after an all-night meeting regarding the matter ended inconclusively. This was due to ministerial opposition to across-the-board budget cuts. The bill will now go to the Knesset, where it must pass three readings in the plenum before it can become law.

United Torah Judaism Chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf welcomed the budget proposal, noting that it "maintained the budgets of the Ministry of Construction and Housing." However, there were many others who opposed the planned cuts.

During the meeting where officials discussed the budget, tensions over the planned cuts rose to the point that Education Minister Yoav Kisch stormed out of the room in a fit of rage. He left the room over the proposed reduction of his budget by hundreds of millions of shekels.

Read Also: Hamas Urges Israeli Military To Stand Down, Posts Video of Gaza Hostages

Gaza War Against Hamas

Since then, the prime minister and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich appear to have been working to bring around opponents of the wartime budget. These include National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who said that he had reached an agreement to secure more than $500 billion in additional funding for his ministry.

The situation comes as Israel's war against Hamas passed its 100th day on Sunday and has been taking its toll on the Middle Eastern country's defense capabilities. Smotrich said after the vote for the budget that they have changed priorities, according to Reuters.

Last year, Israel approved a two-year budget for 2023 and 2024, but the conflict in Gaza has shaken up the nation's government finances. This has led officials to require budget changes and additional spending.

Amid its war against Hamas, Israel has mounted a relentless military offensive since the terrorist group's initial attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Local health authorities in Gaza said that since then, 24,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed while 60,000 others were injured across the region amid Jerusalem's continued assaults, said the Middle Easter Monitor.

Related Article: US Urges Israel to Scale Back Attacks in Gaza, Claims It's the Right Time Despite Hamas Releasing Hostage Videos
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/irans-strike-on-erbil-calculated-demonstration-of-missile-abilities--1116191139.html

Iran's Strike on Erbil Calculated Demonstration of Missile Abilities

Iran's Strike on Erbil Calculated Demonstration of Missile Abilities

Sputnik International

Amid a new escalation in the Middle East, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) carried out attacks on Iraqi Kurdistans capital of Erbil on Tuesday... 16.01.2024, Sputnik International

2024-01-16T09:31+0000

2024-01-16T09:31+0000

2024-01-16T09:33+0000

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Iran's strike on Erbil was a deliberate and calculated move, aimed at demonstrating its missile capabilities, Mehran Kamrava, professor of government at Georgetown University Qatar, told Sputnik.Furthermore, the strike by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was the longest-range ballistic missile attack that Tehran has engaged in - about 1,200 kilometers, Professor Kamrava clarified.Earlier in the day, a security source in Iraq told Sputnik that a number of explosions had occurred in Erbil near the US Consulate General and Erbil International Airport. "In response to the recent terrorist attacks by Iran's enemies, spy headquarters and enemy headquarters of anti-Iran terrorist groups in parts of the Middle East region were attacked with several IRGC ballistic missiles," the IRGC was quoted as saying by the Tasnim News Agency.The IRGC fired ballistic missiles at one of the main headquarters of the Israeli secret intelligence service, Mossad, in Iraqi Kurdistan and destroyed it, the report added. The headquarters was reportedly a center for developing special operations and planning terrorist attacks in the Middle East region, in particular in Iran.Furthermore, Iran's IRGC mounted a retaliatory missile strike on Syrian territory, killing multiple terrorists linked to recent deadly attacks against two Iranian cities, Iranian news agency IRNA reported on Tuesday. The IRGC was cited as saying that in response to the attacks in the southeastern cities of Rask and Kerman, it had found and destroyed several key terrorist leaders and militants, in particular from the IS* terrorist group, in Syria's "occupied territories."The entire situation in the region is highly fluid and dynamic, and it is very difficult to predict with any level of certainty the next step of the various actors involved, Mehran Kamrava said. The move by Iran meant as retalation for the twin explosions in Kerman that killed more than 80 Iranians about a week ago was a typical Iranian response.Iran has since detained 32 people in connection with the Kerman attack. Along with the two bombs which went off, 16 other explosive devices were recently discovered throughout the province by the security services and disarmed, according to Kerman Prosecutor Mahdi Bakhshi. The terrorists had reportedly also planned to plant explosives inside the cemetery itself, but were unable to do so due to the presence of local security forces.An Afghan offshoot of IS* was responsible for the blasts, seeking to destabilize regional security, Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said. IRGC Quds Force Commander Esmail Qaani accused the perpetrators of having been supplied by the United States and the Zionist regime. The US denied that Washington or Tel Aviv had anything to do with the attack.Iran was "emboldened" to attack Iraqi Kurdistans capital of Erbil after the US and UK carried out strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, Michael Maloof, former senior security policy analyst at the Office of the Secretary of Defense, told Sputnik.This "major escalation" in the region now puts the US "in the position of having to fight a five-front war: Iran, Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, and Syria," Maloof noted. He added that Washington is now going to have to reap the consequences for "supporting Israel in a genocide" that continues in Gaza.The US and the UK carried out air strikes on Houthi targets in northern Yemen last week with the declared aim of deterring attacks on ships passing through the Red Sea. In the early hours of Friday, the US and the UK carried out 23 airstrikes on targets in four provinces in different parts of Yemen, including the capital of Sanaa and the cities of Al Hudaydah, Taizz and Sadah, local government sources told Sputnik.A member of the Houthis' high political council, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, described the Western attacks as "barbaric terrorism" and "deliberate and unjustified aggression."The US and UK either "grossly miscalculated" by attacking Houthis, hoping to bring to an end their activities in the Red sea, or "they deliberately sought to divert global attention from the ongoing genocide of Palestinians by Israel," said Mehran Kamrava. Now, Western media has found a convenient excuse to divert attention from the ongoing genocide in Israel, he noted."The US is now making foreign policy on the basis of the upcoming presidential campaign," said the pundit, aimed at enhancing Joe Bidens chances of reelection, which is "facing a very uphill battle."Looking ahead, Michael Maloof warned that Iran could retaliate further if there's any attack by the United States directly, by closing the Strait of Hormuz.*IS, also known as ISIS/ISIL, is a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia and many other countries.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240115/us-in-contact-with-iraqi-kurdish-officials-following-recent-missile-attacks-1116186532.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/irgc-strikes-at-militants-in-syria-in-response-to-recent-terrorist-attacks---reports-1116191315.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240109/iran-links-kerman-attack-to-daeshs-afghan-proxy-1116074555.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240114/biden-says-us-privately-reaches-out-to-iran-over-houthi-attacks-1116149579.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/iraqi-foreign-ministry-says-recalls-ambassador-to-tehran-after-strikes-on-kurdistan-region-1116196707.html

Iraq Recalls Ambassador to Tehran After Strikes on Kurdistan Region

Iraq Recalls Ambassador to Tehran After Strikes on Kurdistan Region

Sputnik International

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that it had recalled its ambassador to Tehran for consultations following Iran's attacks on targets in the country.

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"Today, on Tuesday, the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalled the ambassador of the Republic of Iraq to Tehran ... for consultations amid the recent Iranian attacks on Erbil, which led to several deaths and injuries," the ministry said in a statement.Earlier on Tuesday, a security source in Iraq told Sputnik that several explosions had occurred in Erbil near the US Consulate General and Erbil International Airport, killing four and injuring six people. Later, the IRGC took responsibility for missile attacks, claiming that it targeted the bases of anti-Iranian terrorist groups, as well as one of the main headquarters of the Israeli Secret Intelligence Service (Mossad) in Iraqi Kurdistan. The targets were reportedly destroyed.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/irans-strike-on-erbil-calculated-demonstration-of-missile-abilities--1116191139.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/irgc-strikes-at-militants-in-syria-in-response-to-recent-terrorist-attacks---reports-1116191315.html

IRGC Strikes at Militants in Syria in Response to Recent Terrorist Attacks - Reports

IRGC Strikes at Militants in Syria in Response to Recent Terrorist Attacks - Reports

Sputnik International

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) mounted a retaliatory rocket strike on Syrian territory and killed multiple terrorists linked to recent deadly attacks against two Iranian cities, Iranian news agency IRNA reported on Tuesday.

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The IRGC was cited as saying that in response to the attacks in the southeastern cities of Rask and Kerman, it found and destroyed several key terrorist leaders and militants, in particular from the Daesh* terrorist group, in Syria's "occupied territories." In December 2023, terrorists attacked the police headquarters in Iran's Rask, killing at least 12 officers and leaving seven others injured. On January 3, two explosions occurred during a ceremony on the fourth anniversary of the assassination of top Iranian general Qasem Solemani in the city of Kerman, leaving 89 people killed and hundreds injured.*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/israel-allows-entrance-of-aid-to-most-affected-areas-of-gaza---qatari-foreign-ministry-1116208300.html

Israel Allows Entrance of Aid to Most Affected Areas of Gaza - Qatari Foreign Ministry

Israel Allows Entrance of Aid to Most Affected Areas of Gaza - Qatari Foreign Ministry

Sputnik International

Israel has decided to allow entrance of medicines and humanitarian aid to the most war-torn areas of the Gaza Strip in exchange for delivery of medicines to the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

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Dr. Majed bin Mohammed Al-Ansari, Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced the success of a Qatari mediation in cooperation with the friendly Republic of France, in reaching an agreement, between Israel and (Hamas), where medicine along with other humanitarian aide is to be delivered to civilians in Gaza Strip, in the most affected and vulnerable areas, in exchange for delivering medication needed for Israeli captives in Gaza, the ministry wrote on X (formerly Twitter).On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip while its fighters breached the border, attacking both civilian neighborhoods and military bases. As a result, over 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza and launched a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 24,200 people have been killed so far in Gaza as a result of Israeli strikes, local authorities said.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 ceasefire was extended several times and expired on December 1. Over 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231205/russia-sends-over-288-tonnes-of-humanitarian-aid-for-gaza-residents-1115384996.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/maritime-safety-in-red-sea-cannot-be-ensured-without-ending-fighting-in-gaza---qatar-1116197340.html

Maritime Safety in Red Sea Cannot Be Ensured Without Ending Fighting in Gaza - Qatar

Maritime Safety in Red Sea Cannot Be Ensured Without Ending Fighting in Gaza - Qatar

Sputnik International

The safety of ships in the Red Sea cannot be ensured without ending the war in the Gaza Strip, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said on Tuesday.

2024-01-16T10:58+0000

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"The aggravation of the situation in Yemen and in the Red Sea region cannot be considered in isolation from what is happening in the Gaza Strip. It is impossible to ensure the safety of ships in the Red Sea by military means if the war in the Gaza Strip continues. If the war in the Gaza Strip ends, the situation in the region will also calm down," Al Ansari told a press conference. The official could not comment on the information about the suspension of transportation of liquefied natural gas from Qatar to Europe via the Red Sea to assess security risks after the US strikes on Yemen.In November 2023, Yemen's rebel Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, announced their intention to attack any ships associated with Israel until it stops its military actions in the Gaza Strip.In December, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the establishment of a multinational operation to secure navigation in the Red Sea. Last week, the US and UK military carried out airstrikes on Houthi targets in different parts of Yemen, including the capital of Sanaa.Last week, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on the Houthis to show restraint and stressed that countries have the right to protect their ships from attacks. He said the Red Sea was a vital maritime route for the whole world and Europe, in particular, the reason why he would propose that the EU establish its own mission in the Red Sea to ensure the safety of navigation.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240115/houthis-fire-cruise-missile-at-us-navy-destroyer-in-red-sea-1116167083.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/north-korean-govt-abolishes-departments-dealing-with-inter-korean-cooperation-1116189203.html

North Korean Govt Abolishes Departments Dealing With Inter-Korean Cooperation

North Korean Govt Abolishes Departments Dealing With Inter-Korean Cooperation

Sputnik International

The North Korean Supreme People's Assembly has decided to abolish government bodies dealing with inter-Korean affairs, North Korean state-run news agency KCNA reported on Tuesday.

2024-01-16T05:03+0000

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2024-01-16T05:03+0000

asia

north korea

supreme people's assembly

kim jong-un

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"The reunification of Korea can never be achieved with the Republic of Korea  Recognizing the stark historical reality and branding the ROK as the state most hostile to the DPRK, the Supreme Peoples Assembly of the DPRK decided as follows  The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, the National Economic Cooperation Bureau and the Kumgangsan International Tourism Administration, tools which existed for north-south dialogue, negotiations and cooperation, are abolished," the Supreme People's Assembly said in a statement, as quoted by the news agency. On Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that North Korea does not want to unleash a war but will not avoid it either. He also noted that if South Korea "violates even 0.001 mm of our territorial land, air and waters, it will be considered a war provocation," the KCNA news agency reported.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240115/north-korea-conducts-successful-test-launch-of-ballistic-missile-on-january-14-1116167659.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/poland-has-beef-with-eu-over-ukrainian-agriculture-1116186987.html

Poland Has Beef With EU Over Ukrainian Agriculture

Poland Has Beef With EU Over Ukrainian Agriculture

Sputnik International

The proposed ascension of Ukraine to the European Union has been a controversial issue for more than a decade, but now disagreement within the economic bloc has risen to the surface with Poland slamming the consequences of liberalized trade for its domestic agricultural industry.

2024-01-16T00:51+0000

2024-01-16T00:51+0000

2024-01-16T00:55+0000

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The proposed ascension of Ukraine to the European Union has been a controversial issue for more than a decade, but now disagreement within the economic bloc has risen to the surface with Poland slamming the consequences of liberalized trade for its domestic agricultural industry.Koodziejczak was appointed deputy agriculture minister under the government of Donald Tusk, who began a second term as Polands prime minister after elections late last year. Tusk promised to bring back Poland to Europe after years of strained relations under the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party. But the former European Council president has made clear hell continue to oppose EU leadership on trade policy with Ukraine.So-called solidarity corridors between the EU and Ukraine were established after the commencement of Russias special military operation in the Donbass in 2022. The special policy suspended customs duties and other barriers to trade with the Zelensky regime. But Poland has protested that the flooding of the EU market with Ukrainian grain, eggs, poultry, and other food products has lowered price and demand within the bloc, devastating local farmers.Polish truckers blocked the border between Poland and Ukraine for weeks last year, protesting the knock-on effects of the trade policy on their industry. Meanwhile agriculture ministers in Hungary, Czechia, and Slovakia likewise expressed opposition to the continued trade liberalization.Nevertheless EU leadership has signaled that it plans to continue the policy with Ukraine until 2025. The draft EU regulation extending duty-free trade with the AU until 2025 is to be adopted by the College of Commissioners on Tuesday, reported a Polish radio station.European farmers have emerged as a powerful voice against government policy in recent years, with German farmers protesting recently against planned cuts in agricultural subsidies forced by the repercussions of US-led sanctions on Russia. Farmers in the Netherlands have also been protesting proposed climate policy there.Continuing tensions with the UKs fishing industry have emerged as a major issue after the countrys vote to leave the European Union in 2016.Western leaders openly cheered on anti-government protesters in Ukraine leading up to the countrys so-called Euromaidan coup in 2014. At stake was whether Ukraine would move towards joining the EU or whether President Viktor Yanukovych would accept a more advantageous offer to join a Russian-led trading bloc.Since then evidence has emerged of the United States role in the regime change operation in Ukraine.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240105/some-1200-trucks-stuck-on-ukrainian-polish-border-due-to-resumed-blockade-1115992413.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230915/poland-introduces-ban-on-import-of-ukrainian-grain-starting-saturday-1113404414.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/russia--niger-discuss-military-cooperation-1116208713.html

Russia & Niger Discuss Military Cooperation

Russia & Niger Discuss Military Cooperation

Sputnik International

A working meeting was held between the Russian Deputy Ministers of Defense, Colonel-General Alexander Fomin and Colonel-General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, and Niger's Defense Minister Gen. Salifou Mody.

2024-01-16T21:18+0000

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russian defense ministry

alexander fomin

yunus-bek yevkurov

military cooperation

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During the talks, the countries highlighted the positive dynamics of the development of bilateral military and military-technical cooperation and identified promising areas of cooperation. The countries noted the importance of developing Russia-Niger relations in the defense sphere and agreed to intensify joint actions to stabilize the situation in the region. The Russian Defense Ministry stressed its readiness to continue constructive dialogue with its partners in Niger to increase the combat readiness of the national armed forces of the Republic of Niger.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231219/russian-deputy-defense-ministers-visit-to-niger-to-boost-cooperation---nigerien-minister-1115672789.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/spain-sent-ukraine-over-144-million-worth-of-arms-over-18-months---reports-1116200253.html

Spain Sent Ukraine More Than $144 Million Worth of Arms Over 18 Months - Reports

Spain Sent Ukraine More Than $144 Million Worth of Arms Over 18 Months - Reports

Sputnik International

Spain transferred weapons worth 133 million euros ($144.7 million) to Ukraine in 2022 and the first half of 2023, Spanish newspaper ABC reported on Monday citing a document seen by its staff.

2024-01-16T12:23+0000

2024-01-16T12:23+0000

2024-01-16T12:24+0000

military

olaf scholz

sergey lavrov

ukraine

russia

spain

european union (eu)

nato

military aid

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During the same period, Spanish authorities approved the sale of weapons worth 515 million euros, however, it takes time to actually export arms after the sale has been authorized, the newspaper reported. Spains defense exports in 2022 reached 4.091 billion euros, marking a 24.3% increase compared to 2021, according to the governments report released on Monday. The countrys supplies to NATO and EU member states accounted for over 60% of total exports, the report read. Earlier on Tuesday, the Financial Times newspaper reported, citing three EU diplomats familiar with the matter, that Brussels was conducting an audit of weapons supplied to Kiev by EU member states since the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in light of claims that a number of states have sent less than they could. Last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called on the EU countries to increase spending on military aid for Ukraine in 2024. Western countries, including member states of the European Union, have been providing military and financial aid to Kiev since the start of Russia's operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The Kremlin has consistently warned against continued arms deliveries to Kiev, saying it would lead to further escalation of the conflict. In April 2022, Russia sent a diplomatic note to all NATO countries on the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russian strikes.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240112/many-in-us-doubt-funds-used-effectively---kremlin-on-arms-supplies-to-ukraine-stop-1116128995.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/ukraine-meeting-in-davos-is-failure-for-kiev-west---russian-foreign-ministry-1116209970.html

Ukraine Meeting in Davos Is Failure for Kiev, West - Russian Foreign Ministry

Ukraine Meeting in Davos Is Failure for Kiev, West - Russian Foreign Ministry

Sputnik International

The recent meeting on Ukraine held in Davos can be described as a failure for Kiev and its Western sponsors, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.

2024-01-16T22:50+0000

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"On January 14, the fourth meeting on Ukraine in the Copenhagen format was held in Davos, Switzerland Its results, apart from a family photograph of the participants and an agreement on possible new meetings, turned out to be a failure for Kiev and its Western partners again," Zakharova said in a statement, published by the ministry. Many countries participated in the meeting as "observes," so their participation cannot be considered "full," the spokeswoman added. More countries are starting to understand that it is impossible to end the conflict if focus is made on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys so-called peace formula, the spokeswoman said.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240110/lavrov-knew-contents-of-secret-ukraine-meeting-weeks-before-bloomberg-report-1116097234.html

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A pair of alleged "alien mummies" that were discovered in a Peruvian airport last October have been revealed to be, unsurprisingly, fake extraterrestrial beings.

A shipment of peculiar figurines was discovered in the offices of courier DHL at the Lima airport. These unique items resembled mummified bodies adorned in traditional Andean clothing.

Truth About Peru's Alien Mummies

Last year, the discovery of two unusual figures in South America ignited excitement among those fascinated by the mysteries of the the universe. This event not only brought joy to believers but also caught the attention of skeptics.

In September, the emergence of images depicting the small extraterrestrial companions caused a wave of ET hysteria. Mexican journalist Jose Jaime Maussan added fuel to the fire when he addressed the nation's Congress, stating that these beings were not part of our terrestrial evolution.

Months of congressional hearings were filled with researchers making a series of astonishing claims. One of the most notable claims was their inability to identify 30% of the hybrid being's DNA. These revelations led Maussan to assert that the supposedly fossilized lifeforms would have a profound impact on history, suggesting that they were intelligent beings who coexisted with us.

The intriguing saga commenced on September 12, when Mexico made headlines by declaring its inaugural congressional hearing on unidentified flying objects. The announcement sparked intense speculation, which only grew when the initial images surfaced, claiming to show the visage of an otherworldly creature.

Surprised onlookers were met with the sight of a pale, ashen face emerging from a somber wooden coffin where the mysterious "extraterrestrial" had been placed.

The figure had distinctive features, with narrow eyes, a unique nose, and a small mouth. Its head and neck resembled that of Steven Spielberg's ET, while its body was thin and delicate, with slender limbs and three fingers on each hand. There were a pair of them.

Many initially doubted the accuracy of the figures, but soon after the surprising unveiling, a number of compelling testimonies emerged to support the credibility of the specimens. A Mexican journalist and dedicated follower of UFO phenomena, Maussan presented the testimonies, asserting that the small, humanoid bodies displayed before Congress were not of terrestrial origin.

According to Maussan, the bodies were discovered in Peru near the ancient Nazca Lines in 2017. Shortly after, Jose de Jesus Zalce Benitez, the Director of the Scientific Institute for Health of the Mexican navy, announced that a series of tests had been conducted on the remains, including X-rays, 3-D reconstruction, and DNA analysis.

"These bodies have no relation to human beings," he stated confidently.

Many individuals were prompted to reconsider their preconceived notions due to the apparent official stamp of authenticity. This reconsideration may have been further supported by a recent decrease in the negative perception historically linked to reporting UFOs.

A former US Navy pilot, Ryan Graves, testified before Mexico's Congress, sharing his experiences with unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs). Graves, a prominent advocate for research in this field, has previously spoken at US Congressional hearings about his encounters with unidentified craft during his time in service.

There has been significant interest in the Pentagon's investigation into sightings reported by military aviators in recent years. Additionally, NASA has made an intriguing announcement about the formation of a new panel dedicated to studying UFOs, marking a unique development for the space agency.

Two months after Maussan's controversial claims before Congress, Mexico held another hearing on November 7 which added more complexity to the ongoing saga. During the hearing, Maussan introduced a group of researchers who conducted a DNA analysis on the figures.

Read Also: Cape Verde Is Latest African Nation to Become Malaria-Free, Says WHO

Fake Ancient Alien Corpses

They asserted that a significant portion, approximately 30%, of the DNA found in the bodies did not match any known species. Furthermore, they confidently stated that each figure possessed its own skeletal structure, leaving no room for doubt about their authenticity.

According to Maussan, the two bodies exhibited strong bones, lacked teeth, and contained implants made of rare elements such as cadmium and osmium, which are not commonly found on Earth. A group of medical experts later brought in a letter signed by 11 researchers from San Luis Gonzaga National University in Ica, Peru, stating the same.

A university anthropologist named Roger Zuniga stated that there was no human involvement in the creation of these beings, both physically and biologically. The scientists' letter clarified that the team was not suggesting the bodies were of extraterrestrial origin. However, they were unable to determine the source of the figures.

However, Argentine surgeon Celestino Adolfo Piotto intensified speculation by stating that, based on his analysis of test results and images of the bodies, he believed these figures to be an advanced form of present-day humans, referring to them as "our descendants."

These allegations surfaced following the confiscation of two remarkably similar figures by Peruvian customs officials. The figures were discovered in a shipment bound for an undisclosed recipient in Mexico, further deepening the enigma surrounding their source and ownership.

On January 12, authorities in Lima held a press conference where scientists presented evidence that challenged the beliefs of ET enthusiasts. According to lead forensic expert Flavio Estrada, the two figures seized by customs authorities in October do not belong to any extraterrestrial, intraterrestrial, new species, or hybrids.

Estrada detailed the findings of his team of experts from the Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences Institute. They conducted a thorough analysis of the figures and determined that they were constructed using a combination of paper, glue, and metal. The figures were assembled on a framework made up of both human and animal bones.

However, they seemed to be nearly identical in terms of size, appearance, and weight. Per Daily Mail, Estrada expressed strong disapproval of what he referred to as "pseudo-science" from Maussan and his researchers, alleging that they were attempting to promote unsupported claims.

In 2015, a journalist covered the finding of what was initially believed to be an alien life form, but was later identified as the remains of a human child. Although the existence of extraterrestrial life is a possibility, it appears likely that the individuals in Mexico's Congress who resemble little grey figures are the result of human deception.

Related Article: Skull From Over 70 Million Years Ago May Have Revealed New Dinosaur Related to T. Rex
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/us-has-hands-full-in-gaza-yemen-not-ready-to-butt-heads-with-iran-1116198766.html

US Has Hands Full in Gaza, Yemen, Not Ready to Butt Heads With Iran

US Has Hands Full in Gaza, Yemen, Not Ready to Butt Heads With Iran

Sputnik International

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at targets Tehran says were affiliated with Mossad and IS* Monday night and early Tuesday morning. The US slammed the reckless attacks, but said no US facilities were hit. Have the missile strikes put Tehran and Washington on a path to war? Sputnik asked leading Mideast observers.

2024-01-16T12:55+0000

2024-01-16T12:55+0000

2024-01-16T12:56+0000

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americans

semyon bagdasarov

iran

iraq

middle east

islamic revolutionary guard corps (irgc)

mossad

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A US National Security Council spokesperson characterized Irans missile strikes as reckless and imprecise, and said Washington would continue to assess the situation. Separately, a State Department spokesperson "strongly condemned" Iran's attacks into Iraq, accusing Tehran of "undermining" Iraq's stability.Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Tuesday that the twin IRGC attacks in Syria and Iraq were launched in defense of Irans sovereignty and security, as well as countering terrorism.US Not Ready for ConfrontationWith US power in the Middle East under threat and Washington facing a multi-front series of crises of its own making across the globe, from the Middle East to Eastern Europe to Asia, America simply isnt prepared for an exchange of blows with Iran, Nikolai Surkov, a researcher with the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the Moscow-based Institute of World Economy and International Relations, told Sputnik.As for Irans missile strikes, the researcher recalled that the Islamic Republic always uses force in a very measured way, and said Tehran has similarly consistently demonstrated absolutely no interest in a major conflict with either Israel or the United States.Only One Country Interested in Iran-US ConflictCenter for Middle East Studies director Semyon Bagdasarov agreed with Surkovs assessment that neither Tehran nor Washington want war, adding that if a conflict is unleashed, it could be started by a third party.[The possibility of a conflict] is not related to Irans targeting ofErbil. But such a possibility exists, and is based in the behavior of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is ignoring the Americans, who are not every interested in the big war, especially in an election year, Bagdasarov told Sputnik.In short, Bagdasarov believes that if there is a war, it will be provoked by Israel, since the US has its hands full looking to stop Lebanons Hezbollah from joining the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and trying to deal with the Houthis campaign to close the Red Sea.As for the attacks on Erbil, Bagdasarov emphasized that this wasnt the first time the IRGC has targeted its adversaries in Iraqi Kurdistan, with similar attacks in 2022 and 2023, targeting suspected US and Israeli assets, as well as Kurdish separatists. Separately, Iran lobbed ballistic missile at two US bases in Iraq in January 2020 in response to the unprovoked assassination of IRGC Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani, leaving over 100 US servicemen and women with traumatic brain injuries.Expanding Geography of ChaosStanislav Tarasov, a political observer and Mideast specialist, told Sputnik that Irans strikes signal an expansion of the geography of the destabilization of the Middle East, with the Hamas-Israel and Hezbollah-Israel, Syrian, Yemeni and Red Sea crises now added to by the potential destabilization of Iraq, which is teetering on the brink of collapse and division into three parts.Its no coincidence that the Iraqi government, which earlier demanded that the Americans withdraw their forces from the countryhas now asked the Americans to maintain their presence, Tarasov emphasized.Missile Strikes Target Mossad, JihadistsThe IRGC bombarded Syria-based facilities used by IS terrorists Monday night in response to twin terror attacks against the Iranian cities of Rask and Kerman in mid-December and early January, announcing the liquidation of key terrorist leaders and militants in the attack.Separately, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, the IRGC confirmed that it had struck one of the main Mossad headquarters used to develop espionage operations and plan acts of terrorism in Erbil, northern Iraq. The latter attack was carried out in response to the recent atrocities of the Zionist regime, according to the IRGC - specifically an Israeli airstrike in a Damascus suburb which killed a senior IRGC advisor on December 25, 2023, and assassinations of IRGC and "Resistance Front" commanders. The IRGC hailed its precision missile attacks as proof of its full intelligence superiority over Israel in the region.Iraqi Kurdish officials reported that four people were killed and six others injured in the Erbil strike, which hit within earshot of the US Consulate General building and Erbils international airport. US officials assured that its facilities were not targeted or damaged, and reported no injuries or casualties.Pro-US Iraqi Kurdistan Prime Minister Masrour Barzani condemned Irans cowardly attack on Tuesday, urging the federal government in Baghdad to take a principled stand against the flagrant violation of Iraqs and the Kurdistan Regions sovereignty. Iraqs Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday that it would pursue legal measures, including filing a complaint with the United Nations Security Council. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has yet to comment on the incident publicly, but has reportedly ordered the creation of a security committee to probe the incident. President Abdul Latif Rashid urged for security issues between Iran and Iraq to be addressed through constructive dialogue, not through military attacks.* IS (ISIS, ISIL) is a terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/irans-strike-on-erbil-calculated-demonstration-of-missile-abilities--1116191139.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/photos-consequences-of-irans-missile-strikes-on-targets-in-iraqi-erbil-1116193124.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240115/russia-iran-foreign-ministers-discuss-middle-east-us-uk-strikes-on-yemen---moscow-1116171643.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240109/us-will-only-be-thrown-out-of-iraq-kicking-and-screaming-heres-why-1116082347.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/iraqi-foreign-ministry-says-recalls-ambassador-to-tehran-after-strikes-on-kurdistan-region-1116196707.html

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are iran and the us on a path to war, why did iran strike iraq with missiles, erbil attack, irgc strikes on erbil and syria
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/us-troops-flee-syria-after-attacks-on-bases-1116208443.html

US Troops Flee Syria After Attacks on Bases

US Troops Flee Syria After Attacks on Bases

Sputnik International

The US is evacuating its Hemo military base near the airport in the northeastern Syrian city of Kamishli (al-Qamishli) after repeated attacks by "Iraqi resistance" forces, Iran's Tasnim news agency reports.

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"Tasnim's sources in Syria report the evacuation of the US military base Hemo... in the northern Syrian province of al-Hasakeh due to repeated attacks by Iraqi Islamic resistance groups," the report said. The agency specifies that the Hemo base, located 4 kilometres west of the Kamishla airport, is considered one of the most important US bases in the Arab republic with at least 350 US military personnel. According to the agency, the base is a training center where the US military trains fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Last week, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called on Shiite "resistance fronts" in various Arab countries to "strike the enemy" wherever it is. Shiite movements within the so-called "Islamic resistance in Iraq" announced the first attack on the US military base Hemo near Kamishla airport. Earlier, Iraqi armed groups said they attacked another US base near the Conico gas field in Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria. Additionally, several drones were shot down near Erbil International Airport in northern Iraq, where a base of international counter-terrorism forces is located.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231029/militants-ignore-bidens-warning-rain-down-fire-on-us-forces-in-iraq-syria-1114572582.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/us-uk-launch-strikes-on-al-bayda-province-in-central-yemen---source-1116201578.html

US, UK Launch Strikes on Al Bayda Province in Central Yemen - Source

US, UK Launch Strikes on Al Bayda Province in Central Yemen - Source

Sputnik International

The United States and the United Kingdom have launched strikes on the Al Bayda province in central Yemen against the rebel Ansar Allah movement, a source in the local authorities of the province told Sputnik on Tuesday.

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On Monday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that a US-owned and operated container ship has been hit by a missile fired from the Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. Later, the Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria confirmed that its missile hit a US-owned ship in the Gulf of Aden. In November 2023, Yemen's rebel Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, announced their intention to attack any ships associated with Israel until it stops its military actions in the Gaza Strip.In December, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the establishment of a multinational operation to secure navigation in the Red Sea. Last week, the US and UK military carried out airstrikes on Houthi targets in different parts of Yemen, including the capital of Sanaa.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/us-has-hands-full-in-gaza-yemen-not-ready-to-butt-heads-with-iran-1116198766.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240116/watch-russian-tor-missile-system-in-combat-in-special-op-zone-1116189137.html

Watch Russian Tor Missile System in Combat in Special Op Zone

Watch Russian Tor Missile System in Combat in Special Op Zone

Sputnik International

The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage of Tor-M2 air defense systems of the Central Military District on combat duty covering the operations of the assault units in the Krasnolimansk region.

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The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage of Tor-M2 air defense systems from the Central Military District on combat duty covering the operations of assault units in the Krasny Liman direction.According to the ministry, Tor-M2 anti-aircraft missile system crews from the Central Military District are on combat duty around the clock, covering the sky in the area where the assault units are operating, preventing the use of enemy attack and reconnaissance drones.

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Standardbred Canada (SC) is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2023 Outstanding Groom Award.

Introduced in 2015, this award recognizes grooms who put their horses first and treat them with kindness and outstanding care, regardless of the horse or its ability, in addition to having a strong work ethic and being a good sportsman.

Submissions were received and considered for grooms from across the country.

Congratulations to the 2023 finalists, Ashley Gamester of Charlottetown, P.E.I. and Andrew Ward of Saint John, N.B.

Born in Charlottetown, P.E.I., Ashley Gamester has proven to be the heartbeat in Jason Hughes stable for over a decade. Hughes has earned a finalist nomination for the 2023 OBrien Award of Horsemanship. Beyond her role as a caretaker, Gamester's unwavering dedication to the stable has seen her pursuing continuing education courses regularly.

At the core of Gamester's responsibilities is the management of some of the stable's top-performing equine athletes. Among these athletes are Bee Two Bee, Tobins Chester, Acefortyfour Dome, Shesjustmisunderstood and Summer Lovin. Each day, Gamester invests her time and expertise to ensure these horses receive the best care and training possible.

As Charlottetown's Standardbred community applauds Gamester's 10 years of dedication, her story stands as a testament to the passion and commitment that define the world of horse racing. Her ongoing pursuit of knowledge and her adept care of multiple horses continue to make her an unsung hero within the racing community.





Born in Saint John, N.B., Andrew Ward, fondly known as "Drew," has been involved in the world of horse racing since his childhood days. Ward started caring for horses at five years old with his dad, James Ward. He then went on to work with Winston (Soupy) Campbell, Jody Hennessey, Ross MacDonald, Hughie Baird and Gilles Barriault before moving to P.E.I. in the summer of 2015 to work with Earl Watts.

For the past six years, Ward has continued to grow his passion as a caretaker, now dedicating himself to the Tom Weatherbie Stable, where he plays a pivotal role in ensuring the well-being of the horses both on and off the track. Amongst those hes cared for in 2023 are Island Beach Boy, Fern Hill General, Redland Bethanyjean, Woodmere Heather M, Downtown Tonight, Century Keyanna and Fern Hill Indigo.

Whether it's a routine work day or a rare moment off, Ward is the first to arrive and the last to leave. As many wrote to Standardbred Canada, Ward stands as a testament to the resilience, dedication and genuine love that define the unsung heroes of the Standardbred racing industry.



The 2023 Outstanding Groom Award winner will be announced at the 35th OBrien Awards Black Tie Gala, which will be held on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024 at the Delta by Marriott Prince Edward in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Previous winners of the Outstanding Groom Award include:

2022 - Kayla Chappell

2021 - Susie McNair

2020 - Brady Jackson

2019 - Rachel Dupuis

2018 - Scott Lecain & Trevor Forgie

2017 - Chantel Gillis

2016 - Teesha Symes

2015 - Cindy Acton

Standardbred Canada was overwhelmed by the many worthy submissions and would like to thank everyone who took the time to nominate an outstanding groom.
RAFAH, Gaza Strip  For a few hours every day or night, Dr. Suhaib Alhamss tries to sleep on a thin mattress in an operating room. He swings in and out of half-consciousness  too tired to open his eyes and too tense to let go. Thunderous shellfire often rattles the windows of the hospital he directs in the southern Gaza Strip.

But the worst sounds, Alhamss said, come from inside Kuwaiti Hospital: the cries of tiny children with no parents and enormous wounds. The panicked screams of patients jolted awake to the realization they've lost a limb.

The Israel-Hamas war, which started about 100 days ago, exposed him, his staff and the people of Gaza to a scale of violence and horror unlike anything they had seen before. It has rendered his hometown unrecognizable.

"This is a disaster that's bigger than all of us," Alhamss, 35, said by phone between surgeries.

His hospital, donated and funded by Kuwait's government, is one of two in the city of Rafah. With just four intensive care beds before the war, it now receives some 1,500 wounded patients each day and at least 50 people dead on arrival  adults and children with shrapnel-shattered limbs and pulped bodies, bone-exposing wounds and tattered flesh.

Nearly 24,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in the war as of Saturday, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The count does not distinguish between civilians and militants.

Israel, which mounted its blistering air and ground campaign in response to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that saw 1,200 people killed and 250 others abducted, holds the group responsible for civilian deaths by embedding militants in buildings used by non-combatants.

To make room for the daily rush of war-wounded, Alhamss has crammed a few dozen extra beds into the intensive care unit. He cleared out the pharmacy, which was largely empty since Israel's siege deprived the hospital of IV lines and most medicines. Still, patients sprawl on the floors.

"The situation is completely out of control," he said.

A urologist by training and a father of three, Alhamss watched aghast as his city and hospital transformed over the course of the war.

With its low-rise concrete buildings and trash-strewn alleys teeming with unemployed men, Rafah, the strip's southernmost city, long has been a squalid place straddling the Egyptian frontier. Notorious as a smuggling capital during the Israeli-Egyptian blockade, it contains Gaza's only border crossing that doesn't lead into Israel.

Now it's the flashpoint in one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Apartment towers have been blasted into flat, smoldering ruins. Israel's evacuation orders and expanding offensive swelled Rafah's population from 280,000 to 1.4 million, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians jammed into flimsy tents smothering the streets.

Most people spend hours each day in search of food, waiting in motionless lines outside aid distribution centers and sometimes plodding miles on foot to carry back canned beans and rice.

The faces he sees around the city changed, too, as Israel presses on with its goal of destroying Hamas.

Fear and strain crease the features of his colleagues, Alhamss says. Blood and dust smear the faces of the incoming wounded, while waxy gray skin and eyes circled by darkening rings are marks of the dying.

"You can see the exhaustion, the nervousness, the hunger on everyone's faces," Alhamss said. "It's a strange place now. It's not the city I know."

Aid trucks have trickled through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt but it's nowhere near enough to meet the besieged enclave's surging needs, humanitarian officials say. In the absence of vital equipment, medical staff applied their ingenuity to new ends. Alhamss dresses patients' wounds with burial shrouds.

"Each day I have people who die before my eyes because I don't have medicine or burn ointment or supplies to help them," he said.

He is too overwhelmed to dwell on all that he's seen, but some images spring up unbidden: the stare of a young boy who survived a strike that killed his entire family, a newborn rescued from his dead mother's womb.

"I think, how will they go on? They have no one left in this world," Alhamss said. His thoughts turn to his own children  12-year-old Jenna, 8-year-old Hala and 7-year-old Hudhayfa  sheltering at their grandmother's Rafah apartment. He sees them once a week, on Thursdays, when they come to the hospital to give him a hug.

"I am terrified for them," he said.

Alhamss knows fellow doctors and nurses who were killed in their homes or on the way to work by artillery, missiles, exploding drones  so many kinds of incoming fire. He has lost dozens of his medical students at the Islamic University of Gaza where he teaches, ambitious men and women "with so much life left to live," he said.

Grief is a luxury he cannot afford. When asked how he felt, he answered with a simple, "It's God's will."

"We all will die in the end, why be afraid of it?" Alhamss asked. "We have no choice but to try to live in dignity, to help those we can."

Israel-Hamas war at 100 days
A bronze statue valued at $3,000 was taken from a grave in Denver, according to law officers.

The statue stood as a grave marker in a cemetery on the 900 block of N.C. Highway 16 South Business in Denver, the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office said in a news release.

The statue is of a small girl feeding carrots to two rabbits. The sheriffs office is requesting the publics help in locating the missing statue.

The statue was last seen on Dec. 13, the sheriffs office said.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Detective J. Propst at 704-732-9050, the Lincoln County Communications Center at 704-735-8202 or the Lincolnton/Lincoln County Crime Stoppers at 704-736-8909.

How drunk driving fatalities in North Carolina compare to the rest of the US How drunk driving fatalities in North Carolina compare to the rest of the US
The Syrian regime's media attributes the "social collapse" in the country to the "biased media", Al-Modon says.

The Syrian regimes media attributes the social collapse in the country to the biased media and the Internet, accusing them of injecting Western values into society, particularly concerning the rising divorce rates.

In a nation where officials avoid transparent discussions about economic collapse, widespread poverty affecting around 90% of the population, and food insecurity threatening 60% of them (according to the United Nations), it is evident that such demagogic narratives, creating an imaginary enemy to scapegoat for the countrys problems, serve to deflect popular discontent.

Pro-regime media cites statements from Sharia judge Yahya al-Khaja, who points to the influence of certain media outlets promoting a culture alien to Syrian society and values that undermine family unity, making divorce more prevalent. Khaja acknowledges material reasons and housing shortages as primary contributors to divorce, alongside shifts in general culture and social norms.

Contrastingly, divorced women face stigmatization, particularly for supposedly destroying their homes, as portrayed in dramas, programs, and dialogues. These mediums either directly criticize them or indirectly endorse the image of the ideal woman who sacrifices personal ambitions, happiness, ideas, and peace of mind for the sake of family continuity.

Khaja notes that while infidelity is a factor in divorces, it is largely linked to social media. Divorce rates, constituting a third of registered marriages in Syria, have slightly increased over the years, reaching approximately 37% of marriages. This percentage, he claims, is normal and not exaggerated.

Official data from the Central Bureau of Statistics in 2022 reveals that in 2021, 237,944 marriage contracts were registered in Syria, with 41,957 divorce certificates issued during the same year, representing 17.6% of the total incidents of registered marriage contracts.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Hijri called on Jordan's King Abdullah II to ensure that airstrikes are directed exclusively against the targeted individuals, al-Souria Net says.

The leader of the Aqel sheikhdom within the Druze community in Suweida, Hikmat al-Hijri, addressed Jordans airstrikes south of Suweida, expressing concern over civilian casualties. Hijri acknowledged the pressing issue of eradicating the drug phenomenon and its associated activities, both domestically and internationally, particularly affecting southern regions.

During a meeting with a delegation from the southern villages of Suweida along the border areas with Jordan on Tuesday, Hijri endorsed Jordans efforts to combat drug trafficking through targeted airstrikes. However, he emphasized the necessity of avoiding harm to innocent civilians and material losses in the process.

Hijri called on Jordans King Abdullah II to ensure that airstrikes are directed exclusively against the targeted individuals, especially considering their proximity to populated areas. Highlighting a shared enemy in the fight against the drug phenomenon, he urged cooperation between the two entities.

While supporting Jordans commitment to combating drug trafficking, Hijri stressed the importance of employing effective and civilian-safe methods. He urged residents of the border villages with Jordan to hold accountable anyone involved in drug-related activities such as trafficking, smuggling, or delivery.

Hijri also noted instances of collaboration between individuals on the Jordanian side and drug traffickers, leading to the smuggling of substances. In the context of the recent airstrikes, which resulted in civilian casualties over the past two weeks, Hijri called for continued efforts to address the drug issue while ensuring the safety of civilian populations and advocating for responsible actions on both sides of the border.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
The Khorramshahr missile shares similarities with North Korea's Hwasong-10, Syria TV writes.

The commander of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) air force, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, disclosed the type of missiles used in the recent bombings of Idleb and Erbil. Two years ago, he had indicated that these missiles were specifically intended to target Israel.

During a video report to Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, the IRGC Commander, Hajizadeh stated, Everything was executed successfully. Four Khyber rockets were launched from southern Khuzestan at ISISs headquarters in Idleb, and an additional four rockets were fired from Kermanshah, along with seven rockets from East Azerbaijan, targeting the Zionist headquarters in Erbil.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards carried out the airstrikes in the early hours of Monday, targeting locations in the outskirts of Idleb in northwestern Syria. In a brief statement, they claimed to have struck terrorist

Part of the punishment: Iranian Foreign Ministry comments on the bombing of Idleb and Erbil

Fars News Agency reported: During the attack on the Mossad headquarters, four high-ranking Mossad officials were killed. Additionally, a missile strike targeted senior ISIS leaders in Idleb , Syria, resulting in multiple casualties.

The White Helmets stated that at 11:40 pm on Monday, four powerful explosions occurred, caused by shelling of unknown origin.

Khyber rocket: It did not reach Israel

Iran unveiled the Khyber Shaken missile in February 2022, and it was shared before the official announcement at the end of 2021 when the IRGC fired 16 missiles during military exercises. Senior army commanders described it as a warning to Israel.

Propaganda for the ballistic missile emphasized its range covering Israel. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Irans armed forces, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, referred to it as a long-range strategic missile, part of the IRGCs third-generation long-range missiles.

The revelation of Khyber was in response to Israeli threats to launch attacks on Iranian territory. The name of the missile, Khyber, carries an implicit message directed at Israel, referrring to the historic battle where Ali bin Abi Talibs army defeated Jewish tribes near Medina.

In May 2023, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Karaye Ashtiani unveiled the fourth-generation Khorramshahr ballistic missile, an advanced version of the Khyber missile. During the announcement, the new missile appeared in the background along with a large model of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.

Technically, the Khorramshahr missile shares similarities with North Koreas Hwasong-10, built on the specifications of Russias expired submarine-launched R-27 ballistic missile. Iran acquired the Hwasong-10 missiles from North Korea in 2005.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
The coffee shop culture in the Philippines is a pretty controversial topic for many Filipinos, especially after a Scottish vlogger criticized them.

In the U.S. and other countries, many people are also going to coffee shops to read, work, and study. However, unlike in developed nations-where people can buy more than one coffee-it is quite different in the Philippines.

This is because many Filipinos tend to purchase just one coffee of their choice and then spend two or more hours working or studying at the cafe.

But, is it really okay to make this a practice? Here's what Filipinos say.

Is It Okay To Buy One Coffee Then Stay At Cafe for Hours?

Recently, Dale Philip, a popular Scottish vlogger posting about the Philippines, faced criticisms after he criticized the habit of Filipinos of purchasing one coffee drink and utilizing the cafe's electricity, internet, etc., for hours.

He complained about how Filipinos make coffee shops, including small cafes, their own work offices or study areas. This wasn't taken by Philippine citizens.

"I would hate to have a business where people just come and use it as their personal office, use your WiFi and electricity, and buy like one coffee," said the vlogger via Manila Bulletin.

"Look at all these guys with their laptops just sitting, using it as their personal office. I would hate that," he added.

After watching the viral video of Dale Philip, many Filipino netizens bashed him. Some of them said that the Scottish vlogger has no right to criticize the coffee shop culture in the Philippines since he's just a foreigner.

Others said that it's okay to use all the amenities as long as Filipino customers order something at coffee shops. Netizens also argued that Starbucks and other popular coffee shops tend to have corporate marketing strategies, meaning their target consumers are employees and students.

Read Also: Taylor Swift Elective Class To Be Offered by UP Diliman; Here's What Filipino Scholars Should Expect

Filipinos Also Against Buying Only One Coffee and Stay for Hours

To clarify things, Filipinos who criticize Dale Philip don't support those who only purchase one coffee and then work or study at cafes for more than two hours.

What they are saying is that it's okay to stay at coffee shops for more than two hours as long as you purchase other products or more coffee as well.

This was noticeable after Beans & Bones co-owner Lee Bueno, a Filipino sales manager, complained about the coffee shop culture in the Filipinos.

"Despite several reminders from our baristas which was a hard thing for them to do because they didn't want them to feel embarrassed, they still continued to stay for longer hours without purchasing any additional order," said Lee Bueno via his official Facebook post.

To make matters worse, his customers even bought outside food in their cafe. Bueno said that this is not the first time it happened at his coffee shop.

Many Filipino netizens sympathized with the coffee shop owner. In the comment section, some of them suggested cutting the free wifi and limiting electrical outlets in one area to discourage people from taking advantage of their amenities.

Others said that there are apps that can limit the use of free wifi to one to two hours. Netizens also said that implementing new guidelines, such as requiring customers to have a certain purchase amount when staying for two hours or longer, would help the coffee business.

Related Article: [VIRAL] How Much Should Engagement Ring Cost? Filipinos Debate If 299-Peso is Enough-Here's What They Say
Your daily brief of the English-speaking press on Syria.

Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched ballistic missiles targeting what they claimed were Israeli spy headquarters in Iraqs Kurdish region and struck alleged ISIS-related targets in northern Syria. The stated motive behind these actions was framed as self-defence and counterterrorism. At the same time, reports highlight the substantial negative impact of US funding cuts on the World Food Programs (WFP) aid efforts in Syria. Due to a significant budget shortfall, primarily linked to reduced US government funding, the WFP has suspended all in-kind food assistance in Syria. Anticipated cuts of up to 50% across all humanitarian sectors in 2024 by the United States Agency for International Aid (USAID) contribute to this challenging situation.

Iran launches missile strikes in Iraq and Syria citing security threats

Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched ballistic missiles at what it claimed were Israeli spy headquarters in Iraqs Kurdish region and hit targets allegedly linked to ISIS in northern Syria, saying it was defending its security and countering terrorism, Al-Jazeera reported.

At least eight explosions were heard in Erbil, the capital of Iraqs semi-autonomous Kurdish region, early on Tuesday. Four people were killed and six were wounded, the regional security council said.

Ballistic missiles were used to destroy espionage centres and gatherings of anti-Iranian terrorist groups in the region, the IRGC said, adding that it fired 11 missiles, state media reported.

The Iraqi government condemned what it called Irans aggression on Erbil that led to civilian casualties in residential areas, calling it a violation of the countrys sovereignty and the security of its people, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The government said it would consider various actions, including filing a complaint at the United Nations Security Council.

The IRGC claimed that it had hit the headquarters of Israeli spy agency Mossad in Erbil, Irans IRNA news agency reported.

We assure our nation that the Guards offensive operations will continue until avenging the last drops of martyrs blood, it said.

Iraq recalls ambassador

In response, Iraq recalled its ambassador from Tehran for consultations and summoned Irans charge daffaires in Baghdad on Tuesday in protest over Iranian strikes on northern Iraq that killed several civilians overnight, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said.

The Iranian attack was a blatant violation of Iraqs sovereignty and strongly contradicts the principles of good neighbourliness and international law, and threatens the security of the region, the ministry said in a statement.

Iran fired missiles late Monday at what it said was Israeli spy headquarters in an upscale neighbourhood near the sprawling U.S. Consulate compound in Irbil, the seat of Iraqs northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region, and at targets linked to the extremist Islamic State group in northern Syria.

Turkey strikes Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria

Turkey said it had destroyed 23 targets in overnight air strikes on Kurdish militants in northern Iraq and Syria, a further escalation of conflict south of its border.

The attacks were the latest by Turkey since nine Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes with Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in northern Iraq on Friday.

The new strikes were on targets in northern Syria and the Metina, Gara, Hakurk and Qandil regions of northern Iraq, the defence ministry said late on Monday.

Twenty-three targets were destroyed, including caves, shelters, tunnels, ammunition warehouses, supply materials and facilities used by the terrorist organization, it said in a statement accompanied by a photo of Turkish warplanes.

It said many militants had been neutralized, a term commonly used to mean killed.

Separately, Iranian state media reported late on Monday that Kurdistan was the scene of an unrelated attack by Irans Revolutionary Guards on what it said was the spy headquarters of Israel there. Irans Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday they had carried out the attack, and one in Syria, in defence of its sovereignty and security and to counter-terrorism.

French court confirms Lafarge complicity in crimes against humanity charges over Syria factory

Frances highest court on Tuesday rejected a request by French cement maker Lafarge to dismiss charges of complicity in crimes against humanity as part of an investigation over how it kept its factory running in Syria after war broke out in 2011.

The ruling, according to Reuters, which upheld an earlier decision by a lower court, is not a verdict on guilt.

It is procedural and means the years-long probe into the companys criminal liability on the grounds of the highly symbolic crimes against humanity charges can continue.

It is still unclear when the investigation will be wrapped up and whether prosecutors will eventually decide to send the case to court for a ruling on the substance of the accusations.

The company did score a partial win as the court dropped charges of endangering the life of its staff.

Lafarge in a statement called the decision a legacy issue which it was addressing through the legal process in France, and did not provide further comment.

The French firm, which became part of Swiss-listed Holcim in 2015, has been the subject of an investigation into its operations in Syria since 2016, in one of the most extensive corporate criminal proceedings in recent French legal history.

Islamist groups

The cement maker has previously admitted, after its own internal investigation, that its Syrian subsidiary paid armed groups to help protect staff at the plant amidst the civil war that had shaken the country for years.

U.S. prosecutors said Lafarge, through intermediaries, paid Islamic State and al Nusra Front the equivalent of approximately $5.92 million between 2013 and 2014 to allow employees, customers and suppliers to pass through checkpoints after civil conflict broke out in Syria.

Women and children who went to live with IS in Syria are being brought home

BBC World reports on the repatriation of women and children from Syria who were associated with the Islamic State (IS). These individuals, primarily wives and children of suspected IS recruits, have been brought back to Kyrgyzstan and are undergoing a rehabilitation program.

In northern Kyrgyzstan, they spend their first six weeks at a rehabilitation center, receiving citizenship, religious ethics, and anger management education, alongside medical and psychological support. The center is heavily guarded and monitored by the state intelligence agency.

The Kyrgyz government treats these returnees cautiously, with nine out of ten under police investigation. Their experiences in Syria, including the roles they played or their knowledge of IS activities, remain largely unknown. Women like Fatima and Elmira share their stories of being unwittingly taken to Syria and the hardships they faced, including the loss of family members and living under brutal IS rule.

Fatima, 57, followed her husband to Syria, losing him and two sons there, and spent four years in Syrias largest detention camp, al-Hol. Elmira, tricked into going to Syria, also ended up in al-Hol and is now training as a seamstress after being repatriated.

Kyrgyzstan, which brought back 110 women and 229 children in 2023, plans to repatriate more, aiming to give them a second chance. However, they face ongoing surveillance and potential criminal charges.

The returnees integration poses challenges, with public fear and stigma evident. Hamida Yusupova, who campaigned for her daughter Elmiras return, speaks of the societal judgment they face. Deputy Prime Minister Edil Baisalov emphasizes the policy as a testament to Kyrgyzstans tolerant democracy, despite its controversial nature and the countrys ongoing political and human rights issues.

Syrians lose WFP lifeline as US slashes funding

An article by Natacha Danon reports on the severe impact of US funding cuts on the World Food Programs (WFP) aid in Syria. The WFP has suspended all in-kind food assistance in Syria due to a significant budget shortfall, largely attributed to reduced US government funding. The United States Agency for International Aid (USAID) is expected to cut funding by up to 50% across all humanitarian sectors in 2024.

The US, as the largest donor to the WFP, contributed significantly less in 2023 compared to previous years, affecting the WFPs ability to meet its operational requirements. The reduction in aid has exacerbated the situation in Syria, where 90% of the population lives below the poverty line.

The suspension of WFP aid has dire consequences for millions of Syrians. For instance, Layla, a mother of six in a displacement camp, has faced increasing difficulties since the aid cuts. Over 3.2 million Syrians who were still receiving aid after previous cuts have now lost support. The WFP estimates that more than half of Syrias population will face hunger, with an additional 2.6 million at risk of food insecurity.

The situation is further complicated by geopolitical factors, such as the Russian veto of the UN Security Council resolution for cross-border aid deliveries into Syria, leaving authorization under the Syrian regimes discretion. This raises concerns about the politicization and potential diversion of aid by Damascus.

In the broader context, the Syrian crisis remains in an emergency phase with insufficient focus on early recovery and sustainable solutions. The humanitarian sectors bureaucratic and politicized nature hinders the transition from emergency aid to sustainable recovery. The reduction in aid not only threatens immediate sustenance but also hampers efforts towards long-term recovery and resilience building in Syria.
Two of the 15 men arrested in November for allegedly trying to meet up with local minors entered guilty pleas to charges of attempted rape last week.

Theodore Edward Dodge, 53, of Brewster, and Oleem Tipkin, 31, of Molalla, Oregon, both pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree attempted rape Jan. 8 in exchange for reduced sentences and dismissal of certain charges.

Dodge entered a guilty plea for the charge of second-degree attempted rape of a child; pending acceptance of the plea deal, the second charge of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes would be dismissed.

He could be sentenced between nearly five to just over six years in state prison. Presiding Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Patricia M. Fassett scheduled Dodges sentencing hearing for Feb. 26 and revoked his bail.

The 13 other men arrested during the operation are at different stages of the legal process. The police conducted the operation dubbed Net Nanny in Longview at the end of October.

According to the police report, Dodge traveled to Longview to meet who he thought was a 13-year-old girl named Taylor, not knowing he was communicating with an undercover police officer of the Seattle Police Department within the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit. The encounter started on a dating site and progressed to email and text conversations.

Dodge told Taylor he had a vasectomy, and proceeded to ask if it was OK not to use condoms.

Tipkin fell for the same scheme, but he answered a post on a dating site called Badoo from an undercover police officer posing as a 46-year-old mother offering her faux underage daughters for sexual engagement.

Like Dodge, Tipkin traveled to the Longview area Winco Foods at the request of the undercover officer and then to another location where he was apprehended by law enforcement.

According to court documents, the other charges that Tipkin faces include another second-degree attempted rape of a child charge and two counts of communication with a minor for immoral purposes. Those charges could be dismissed as a part of the plea deal with the Cowlitz County Prosecutors Office.

As part of the deal, he could receive a lifetime of community custody, become a lifetime member of the sex offender registry, and would not be able to make contact with anyone under the age of 16. His sentencing hearing is on Feb.26.

The Justice Department threatened Dodge and Tipkin with additional charges if they did not accept the plea deal, as they could face federal charges. In Tipkins case, he crossed state lines for his rendezvous, with one of the charges carrying a 30-year mandatory minimum.

Dodge could face a possible federal charge of enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, which carries a 10-year mandatory minimum. Tipkin and Dodge received a strike offense; two more, and they would receive a lifetime sentence.
Longview Parks and Recreation and a local runners group called Cowlitz Valley Runners host local running events throughout the year.

Annual runners dues for Cowlitz Valley Runners is $10 for students, $15 for individuals and $20 for families.

For more information on the group, visit www.facebook.com/RunCowlitz. For more information on Longview parks events, visit www.mylongview.com/196/Recreation.

Schedule:

Friday: 7 p.m., Longview Parks and Recreations Electrifying Shamrock Fun Run, Elks Memorial Building, 2121 Kessler Blvd., Longview. $12.

Saturday: 8:30 a.m., Cowlitz Valley Runners, across from Ostrander Grocery, 2705 Old Pacific Highway. Free. The group will meet at Starbucks after the run.

March 23: 8:30 a.m., Cowlitz Valley Runners, Red Leaf Organic Coffee, 1494 Dike Access Rd., Woodland. Free.

March 30: 9 a.m., Longview Parks and Recreations Running of the Fools, Willow Grove Park, Longview. $12.

April 6: 8:30 a.m., Cowlitz Valley Runners, Vault Books & Brew, 20 Cowlitz St. West, Castle Rock. Free.

April 13: 8:30 a.m., Cowlitz Valley Runners, Red Leaf Organic Coffee, 209 W Main St., Kelso. Free.

April 20 : 8:30 a.m., Cowlitz Valley Runners, Luckman Coffee Company, 254 N Hendrickson Dr., Kalama. Free.

April 21: 8:30 a.m., Longview Parks and Recreations Rainier2Longview 10K bridge run, Rainier City Park, Rainier. For pricing and registration information, visit www.r2lbridgerun.com.

April 27: 8:30 a.m., Cowlitz Valley Runners, Starbucks, 849 Washington Way, Longview. Free.

May 4: 8:30 a.m., Cowlitz Valley Runners, Starbucks in Fred Meyer, 3184 Ocean Beach Highway, Longview. Free.

Editors note: This list has been updated to clarify when the date of the Longview Parks and Recreations Electrifying Shamrock Fun Run.
DES MOINES  Donald Trumps victory in the 2024 Iowa Republican caucuses was huge.

It was the biggest Iowa caucus victory that anyone has ever seen.

Trumps popularity among Iowa Republicans was on full display Monday night, when the former president who is seeking a return to the White House won the state partys presidential precinct caucuses by a historic margin.

With 100 percent of the states 99 counties reported late Monday evening, Trump had carried 98 of them, securing 51 percent of Iowa Republicans support. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis won second place with 21 percent, and Haley finished third with 19 percent.

Trumps victory is far and away the largest ever in the Iowa Republican caucuses, which date to the 1970s. Prior to Monday night, the largest victory margin by a Republican Iowa caucus winner who was not an incumbent president was just 12 points: Bob Dole over Pat Robertson in 1988.

Trump took the stage at his caucus-night rally at around 10 p.m. and thanked Iowa Republican caucus participants, his family, the Iowa public officials who have supported him, and his fellow candidates: DeSantis, Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy. He then turned his remarks to current Democratic President Joe Biden, and celebrated his historic victory margin.

The Republican Party of Iowa late Monday night said it projected statewide caucus turnout of roughly 100,000. Temperatures across the state reached historic lows for an Iowa caucus night, with wind chills in the range of minus 30 degrees.

Iowans braved record-low temperatures after a blizzard blanketed their state just days earlier to deliberate with members of their community about the future of our country and participate in true, grassroots democracy, Republican Party of Iowa chairman Jeff Kaufmann said in a statement. I could not be prouder to be an Iowan than I am tonight.  Iowans coming out en masse demonstrates our peoples resilience and determination, as well as their confidence in the most transparent democratic process in the country.

Trumps victory in Iowa starts the nations presidential nominating process, and propels him on to New Hampshire, where he leads Haley in polling averages at Real Clear Politics and fivethirtyeight by roughly 14 percentage points. New Hampshires first-in-the-nation primary election is next Tuesday, Jan. 23.

Throughout nearly a year of caucus campaigning in Iowa, Trump held a consistent and commanding lead in public polls on the Republican presidential primary. The polls suggested Trumps popularity remains strong here in Iowa, and Monday nights caucus results confirmed it.

Trump finished a close second to Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2016 Iowa Republican caucuses before going on to secure the partys nomination that year. He carried Iowa in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

After his second-place finish in the 2016 caucuses, Trump questioned the results and encouraged Kaufmann to disavow the results, in what turned out to be a precursor to Trumps denial of his 2020 presidential re-election loss, which now has him facing legal issues in Georgia.

Back in Iowa this time around, the Trump campaign left nothing to chance. This time, the campaign apparatus did a better job of doing the grassroots organizing work  finding and then securing the caucus commitments from supporters  that historically has been necessary to fuel a successful Iowa caucus campaign.

And when they did, the results spoke for themselves.

At Washington High School in southeast Cedar Rapids, Ron and Debbie Smith said they were caucusing for the first time, and came out to support Trump.

Everything I dislike about him is why I like him, Ron Smith, a 58-year-old remote contract worker said. He makes you feel uncomfortable, but he does the uncomfortable things that need to get done. Everyone else is all talk.

After DeSantis and Haley, Ohio biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy was fourth at just 7.7 percent. Ramaswamy announced the suspension of his campaign and endorsed Trump on Monday night.

DeSantis campaign cried foul after four national media organizations  the Associated Press, CNN, Fox News and NBC News  called the caucuses for Trump just a half-hour after the caucuses began.

National media organizations have election results reporting staff that help them project winners before official results are reported.

It is absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote. The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet, DeSantis campaign communications director Andrew Romeo said in a statement.

Iowa Democratic Party chairwoman Rita Hart in a statement said the former presidents victory in Iowa shows what will be at stake in the 2024 presidential election.

Donald Trump and the entire Republican field spent every minute leading up to the caucus twisting themselves in knots to stake out the most extreme positions this country has ever seen, Hart said in the statement, criticizing Trump on issues like abortion, Social Security and Medicare, public safety, and tax policy.

Grace King of The Gazette contributed to this report.

Photos: The 2024 Iowa caucuses
School districts around the Portland metro area are keeping a wary eye on weather forecasts, with possible freezing rain, ice and even a little more snow on Tuesday, when classes are supposed to resume after the holiday weekend.

For Portland Public Schools, the decision whether to cancel classes when snow or ice is forecast is especially fraught this year. A district spokesperson said Sunday that decision-makers would meet on Monday afternoon to review forecasts for the following day.

Thats because the district has virtually no wiggle room left in its calendar, after the prolonged teachers strike in November ate up 11 instructional days plus a late start morning.

To make up for those lost hours, Portland students are already scheduled to attend school during what would otherwise be the days set aside for make-up instruction in the event of snow  June 12, June 13 and June 14.

That leaves the district in a pickle. Even though much of the Portland area received relatively low amounts of snow Saturday, state and local transportation departments dont have big fleets of snow plows to clear the roads. And cold temperatures arent expected to lift until Wednesday morning, raising the possibility of icy, difficult-to-navigate side roads until then.

Under state law, students must be offered a minimum number of hours in class each year: 900 for K-8 students, 990 for those in grades 9 to 11 and 966 for seniors, whose final day of school this year is May 30. Falling below that amount requires a waiver from the Oregon Department of Education and a corrective action plan for the following school year. But so far district officials say they dont think that will be necessary.

Seniors and kindergartners are currently the closest to falling short of those minimums, though there are variations even between schools, said Will Howell, a district spokesperson. A handful of westside schools at higher elevations had weather-related late starts last week, for example, meaning students there need to make up more time, he said.

If individual schools are only a few hours short of the requirements, instead of seeking a waiver, district officials will likely try to count recess time and parent-teacher conferences toward instructional time, Howell added. And seniors could wind up with May 31 as their final day of their public school career.

To compensate for the 11 teaching days lost to the strike, district leaders already lopped a week off of winter break and changed Presidents Day plus two planned grading days  Jan. 26 and April 5  into instructional days. That, plus their plan to convert the designated June snow make-up days into class time, leaves them few options to compensate for severe weather.

Seeking a waiver from the state education agency has its own public relations challenges, given that Oregon public school students already spend significantly less time in school than their counterparts in many other states. In neighboring Washington and California, high schools are required to offer 1,080 hours of school per year. And unforeseen closures invariably frustrate working parents, especially after the struggle to manage child care needs during the strike.

On the other hand, deciding to stay open carries risks too, especially with weather that can defy predictions. Employees come from all over the region and need to be able to get to and from school safely. And icy roads can translate to transportation nightmares, as in December 2022, when more snow than predicted snarled the after-school commute, leaving some children stranded on school buses for hours on end.

In deciding to shorten the school day on Friday, Portland fell in line with most other districts around the metro area, including Beaverton, Hillsboro, North Clackamas, Centennial, Reynolds, Parkrose, West Linn-Wilsonville and Forest Grove. That allowed bus drivers to finish their routes by 3 p.m., instead of the more typical 6 p.m., giving them time to get home safely, Howell said.

One option that isnt on the table in Portland: pivoting to virtual school should roads be deemed impassable on Tuesday. Systems are not in place for it, especially not in early elementary grades, according to district leaders.
The Earth is heating up, as is conflict in the Middle East. The world economy and Ukraine's defense against Russia are sputtering along. Artificial intelligence (AI) could upend all our lives. The to-do list of global priorities has grown for this year's edition of the World Economic Forum gabfest of business, political and other elites in the Alpine snows of Davos, Switzerland. It gets going in earnest Tuesday and runs through Friday.

Over 60 heads of state and government, including Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be heading to town to hold both public appearances and closed-door talks. They'll be among more than 2,800 attendees, including academics, artists and international organization leaders.

The gathering is mostly high-minded ambition  think business innovation, aims for peace-making and security cooperation, or life-changing improvements in health care  and a venue for decision-makers in an array of fields and industries to connect.

We are now on WhatsApp. Click to join.

It is also regularly panned by critics as an emblem of the yawning gap between rich and poor: Young Swiss Socialists staged a rally Sunday to blast the forum and brand attendees as the richest and most powerful, who are responsible for today's wars and crises.

Davos is easily mocked. But in current times it is hard to get people together to talk in a room on shared global issues and the value of face-to-face conversations is very real, as the COVID-19 pandemic showed," Bronwen Maddox, director of the Chatham House think tank, said in an email.

Here's what to watch for at the annual Davos gathering:

MESSY MIDEAST

While Davos is generally big picture, regional conflict can cast a long shadow  like the war in Ukraine did a year ago, prompting organizers to exclude any Russian delegation.

This year, Israel's three-month war with Hamas in Gaza, plus U.S. and British airstrikes on Houthi militants in Yemen who have fired missiles into Red Sea shipping lanes, are looming large.

Herzog, the Israeli president, whose job is more ceremonial than is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's, will be on hand for a Davos session Thursday, and the prime ministers of Qatar, Jordan and Lebanon also will be attending.

A humanitarian briefing on Gaza session gets a half-hour slot Tuesday.

WHITHER AI?

A testament to how technology has taken a large and growing slice of attention in Davos, the theme of artificial intelligence as a driving force for the economy and society will get about 30 separate sessions.

The dizzying emergence of OpenAI's ChatGPT over a year ago and rivals since then have elevated the power, promise and portent of artificial intelligence into greater public view. OpenAI chief Sam Altman will be in Davos along with top executives from Microsoft, which helped bankroll his company's rise.

AI in education, transparency about the technology, its ethics and impact on creativity are all part of the menu  and the Davos Promenade is swimming in advertisements and displays pointing to the new technology.

Forum organizers warned last week that the threat posed by misinformation generated by AI, such as through the creation of synthetic content, is the world's greatest short-term threat.

AND WHITHER DEMOCRACIES?

Such misinformation could surge this year, and one session explores the threat of bots and plots" on democracies.

Forum organizers say elections in countries whose populations together total 4.2 billion people will take place this year, and many will be contested. (Few doubt whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will get a new term.)

It comes against the backdrop of talk about a new Cold War, the widening rift between dictatorships  or at least autocracies  and democratic countries.

Back-to-back addresses Tuesday by Chinese Premier Li Qiang and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will highlight the contrast. President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, gives a speech later in the day.

French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will speak Wednesday, as will Argentina's new president, Javier Milei, a libertarian who has already announced plans to slash the government workforce.

Davos corridors were already abuzz about whether former U.S. President Donald Trump  who made two trips to Davos during his term  could be inaugurated again around this time next year following the outcome of November's election.

Biden was once a regular at Davos, but has not attended as president.

TRYING AGAIN TO SAVE THE PLANET

Of all the lofty hopes in Davos, the perennial one of late has been the search for creative and promising ways to fight climate change.

This year is no different: Top climate scientists from around the world reported this month that average global temperatures last year obliterated the record highs  raising the urgency level.

John Kerry, who is stepping down as Biden's climate adviser, takes part in a panel discussion on a U.S.-backed initiative that aims to draw the private sector into development of low-carbon technologies.

I would like  on the climate side  the WEF annual meeting to demonstrate that we've got some concrete building blocks in the works for rebuilding trust," said Arunabha Ghosh, CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, an Indian think tank.

Ghosh, who is expected to lead a panel Wednesday that includes Kerry, pointed to the need for investment to flow to the Global South, where the action is in fighting climate change, as well as bringing emerging markets and developing countries more into global value chains.

He also suggested richer countries should shirk protectionist impulses that could lock out developing countries.

"If we use climate action as a way to raise protectionist barriers, I think we'll have another reason for trust to get degraded, Ghosh said.

Also read the top stories:

Disturbing! An artist who shook up the cultural world with a haunting female portrait created by AI has decided she's had enough of the new technology for now. It's very addictive, she says. Know blow-by-blow account of it all here.

How will AI disrupt the world of work? Artificial intelligence raises serious concerns for jobs but it will also create new positions, says Adecco chief. "AI is probably the largest disruption and revolution that we've seen in decades," he says. Read all about it here. If you enjoyed reading this article, please forward it to your friends and family.

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This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Tuesday there must be a red line that is not crossed in the development of artificial intelligence to ensure the technology benefits society.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos, Li called for "good governance" of the technology's development, urging the world to work together without "camp-based division or confrontation".

He said in a speech that: "AI must be guided in a direction that is conducive to the progress of humanity. So there should be a red line in AI development, a red line that must not be crossed."

Li also said the technology must be inclusive. "It should not just benefit only a small group of people, but benefit the overwhelming majority of mankind."

He added, "It is essential that we work together and coordinate with each other."

While the wars in Ukraine and Gaza have dominated the annual schmooze fest, AI is also on everyone's mind with official and unofficial events about the issue on the agenda.

Some of the world's biggest names in tech, but also finance, including Microsoft's Satya Nadella and International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva, have been talking about AI on Tuesday.

 2024 AFP
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Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has said his company's court battle with Apple is effectively over.

The CEO of Fortnite-maker Epic Games said Tuesday the company's court battle to open up Apple's iPhone to alternative app stores was lost after the US Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

The high court announced it would not hear appeals by either Apple or Epic in the long-running case, effectively putting an end to the legal saga.

Epic in 2020 launched a case aiming to break Apple's grip on the App Store, accusing the iPhone maker of operating a monopoly in its shop for digital services.

Apple takes a cut of as much as 30 percent on all financial transactions in its app shop, prompting complaints about an unfair "tax" for companies.

A federal court in San Francisco overwhelmingly rejected the lawsuit, offering only a concession that apps could indicate to users other ways of paying for services outside of Apple's ecosystem.

Both companies launched appeals, which worked themselves through the appellate process up to the Supreme Court.

"The Supreme Court denied both sides' appeals of the Epic v. Apple antitrust case," Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said on X, formerly Twitter.

"The court battle to open iOS to competing stores and payments is lost in the United States. A sad outcome for all developers," he said.

Sweeney said it was now up to governments and regulators to order that Apple make its iPhones allow new payment systems.

He praised the European Union's Digital Markets Act, which will do that in Europe starting on March 7.

Epic last month won a similar court battle in the United States against Google when a jury decided that the search engine giant wields illegal monopoly power through its Android app store.

 2024 AFP
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Harvard Law Schools Bonnie Docherty attended the U.N General Assembly where the first-ever resolution on killer robots was adopted. Credit: Bonnie Docherty

Long the stuff of science fiction, autonomous weapons systems, known as "killer robots," are poised to become a reality, thanks to the rapid development of artificial intelligence.

In response, international organizations have been intensifying calls for limits or even outright bans on their use. The U.N General Assembly in November adopted the first-ever resolution on these weapons systems, which can select and attack targets without human intervention.

To shed light on the legal and ethical concerns they raise, the Gazette interviewed Bonnie Docherty, lecturer on law at Harvard Law School's International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC), who attended some of the U.N. meetings. Docherty is also a senior researcher in the Arms Division of Human Rights Watch. This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

What exactly are killer robots? To what extent are they a reality?

Killer robots, or autonomous weapons systems to use the more technical term, are systems that choose a target and fire on it based on sensor inputs rather than human inputs. They have been under development for a while but are rapidly becoming a reality. We are increasingly concerned about them because weapons systems with significant autonomy over the use of force are already being used on the battlefield.

What are those? Where have they been used?

It's a little bit of a fine line about what counts as a killer robot and what doesn't. Some systems that were used in Libya and others that have been used in [the ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over] Nagorno-Karabakh show significant autonomy in the sense that they can operate on their own to identify a target and to attack.

They're called loitering munitions, and they are increasingly using autonomy that allows them to hover above the battlefield and wait to attack until they sense a target. Whether systems are considered killer robots depends on specific factors, such as the degree of human control, but these weapons show the dangers of autonomy in military technology.

What are the ethical concerns posed by killer robots?

The ethical concerns are very serious. Delegating life-and-death decisions to machines crosses a red line for many people. It would dehumanize violence and boil down humans to numerical values.

There's also a serious risk of algorithmic bias, where discriminating against people based on race, gender, disability, and so forth is possible because machines may be intentionally programmed to look for certain criteria or may unintentionally become biased. There's ample evidence that artificial intelligence can become biased. We in the human-rights community are very concerned about this being used in machines that are designed to kill.

What are the legal concerns?

There are also very serious legal concerns, such as the inability for machines to distinguish soldiers from civilians. They're going to have particular trouble doing so in a climate where combatants mingle with civilians.

Even if the technology can overcome that problem, they lack human judgment. That is important for what's called the proportionality test, where you're weighing whether civilian harm is greater than military advantage.

That test requires a human to make an ethical and legal decision. That's a judgment that cannot be programmed into a machine because there are an infinite number of situations that happen on the battlefield. And you can't program a machine to deal with an infinite number of situations.

There is also concern about the lack of accountability.

We're very concerned about the use of autonomous weapons systems falling in an accountability gap because, obviously, you can't hold the weapon system itself accountable.

It would also be legally challenging and arguably unfair to hold an operator responsible for the actions of a system that was operating autonomously.

There are also difficulties with holding weapons manufacturers responsible under tort law. There is wide concern among states and militaries and other people that these autonomous weapons could fall through a gap in responsibility.

We also believe that the use of these weapons systems would undermine existing international criminal law by creating a gap in the framework; it would create something that's not covered by existing criminal law.

There have been efforts to ban killer robots, but they have been unsuccessful so far. Why is that?

There are certain countries who oppose any action to address the concerns these weapons raiseRussia in particular. Some countries, such as the U.S., the U.K., and so forth, have supported nonbinding rules. We believe that a binding treaty is the only answer to dealing with such grave concerns.

Most of the countries that have sought either nonbinding rules or no action whatsoever are those that are in the process of developing the technology and clearly don't want to give up the option to use it down the road.

There could be several reasons why it has been challenging to ban these weapons systems. These are weapons systems that are in development as we speak, unlike landmines and cluster munitions that had already existed for a while when they were banned. We could show documented harm with landmines and cluster munitions, and that is a factor that moves people to actionwhen there's already harm.

In the case of blinding lasers, it was a pre-emptive ban [to ensure they will be used only on optical equipment, not on military personnel] so that is a good parallel for autonomous weapons systems, although these weapons systems are a much broader category. There's also a different political climate right now. Worldwide, there is a much more conservative political climate, which has made disarmament more challenging.

What are your thoughts on the U.S. government's position?

We believe they fall short of what a solution should be. We think that we need legally binding rules that are much stronger than what the U.S. government is proposing and that they need to include prohibitions of certain kinds of autonomous weapons systems, and they need to be obligations, not simply recommendations.

There was a recent development in the U.N. recently in the decade-long effort to ban these weapons systems.

The disarmament committee, the U.N. General Assembly's First Committee on Disarmament and International Security, adopted in November by a wide margin 164 states in favor and five states againsta resolution calling on the U.N. secretary-general to gather the opinions of states and civil society on autonomous weapons systems.

Although it seems like a small step, it's a crucial step forward. It changes the center of the discussion to the General Assembly from the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), where progress has been very slow and has been blocked by Russia and other states. The U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) includes more states and operates by voting rather than consensus.

Many states, over 100, have said that they support a new treaty that includes prohibitions and regulations on autonomous weapons systems. That combined with the increased use of these systems in the real world have converged to drive action on the diplomatic front.

The secretary-general has said that by 2026 he would like to see a new treaty. A treaty emerging from the UNGA could consider a wider range of topics such as human rights, law, ethics, and not just be limited to humanitarian law. We're very hopeful that this will be a game-shifter in the coming years.

What would an international ban on autonomous weapons systems entail, and how probable is it that this will happen soon?

We are calling for a treaty that has three parts to it. One is a ban on autonomous weapons systems that lack meaningful human control. We are also calling for a ban on autonomous weapons systems that target people because they raise concerns about discrimination and ethical challenges. The third prong is that we're calling for regulations on all other autonomous weapons systems to ensure that they can only be used within a certain geographic or temporal scope. We're optimistic that states will adopt such a treaty in the next few years.

Provided by Harvard Gazette

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Broadband adoption by presence of school-age children. Credit: USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and California Emerging Technology Fund

Statewide broadband adoption remains high with 91% of households in California enjoying high-speed internet access at home, according to new survey results released today by USC, the California Emerging Technology Fund and the California Department of Technology.

The overall findings are consistent with the 2021 results of the biennial Statewide Digital Equity Survey, which monitors Californians' digital access. The latest findings also reveal that the percentage of under-connected householdsthose with only a smartphonewas cut in half from 6% to 3%.

However, broadband adoption among families with school-age children decreased from 97% in 2021 to 93% in 2023, likely due to the expiration of school-based programs that sponsored internet connectivity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, fewer children in K-12 households have a desktop, laptop or tablet computer available at home to use for school activities that are not shared with other family members, a decline from nearly 95% in 2021 to about 72% in 2023, the researchers found.

"There was significant progress in reducing the number of under-connected households," said Hernan Galperin, the study's lead researcher and a professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. "However, our latest data also point to the sobering reality of the challenges in reaching the most digitally disadvantaged households."

The 2023 survey is the largest endeavor to date by USC Annenberg researchers with CETF in collaboration with the California Department of Technology to obtain a highly representative sample of Californians, said Sunne Wright McPeak, president and CEO of CETF.

"We went to great lengths developing a robust methodology to get the clearest picture of how Californians are faring in broadband adoption," said McPeak. "We now know we still have some miles to go for Californians to achieve full adoption. The survey confirms that affordability remains the major barrier to broadband adoption and underscores the need to ensure that low-income households always will have affordable home internet service available to them."

Broadband adoption in California. Credit: USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and California Emerging Technology Fund

The researchers used a multimodal approachan effective method for sampling hard-to-reach populations, including unconnected and under-connected householdsby combining text-to-online responses with telephone interviews conducted through random digit dialing.

In addition, researchers oversampled residents in rural counties and low-income households, as well as people with disabilities.

More Californians come online

The results show that California has made significant progress in improving internet access among specific disadvantaged groups, such as:

Households with disabilities, up from 83% in 2021 to 91% in 2023

Adults 60 years and older, increasing from 78% in 2021 to 90% in 2023

Adults without a high-school degree, up from 64% in 2021 to 79% in 2023

The data also show that overall adoption trends among racial minority groups improved over the past decade. Among Asian Americans, broadband adoption levels have reached similar levels as those among non-Hispanic white residents. Hispanic/Latino residents still trail non-Hispanic white residents by about 10 percentage points; however, the most recent data show progress in broadband adoption after several years of declines, the researchers wrote.

"To truly eliminate the digital divide, we must confront racial and ethnic disparities by implementing targeted strategies and policies that uplift digitally disadvantaged communities," said Francois Bar, co-author of the study and professor of communication and spatial sciences at USC Annenberg. "The insights gleaned from this latest survey can help shape these initiatives."
Should I let a restaurant apply a credit card surcharge and later contest it with the credit card company? krisanapong detraphiphat/Getty Images

Q: More and more restaurants and businesses now add a convenience fee when customers use credit cards. I thought this was not permitted in Texas. An internet search indicates the convenience charges are illegal; however, a recent court ruling seems to say the law is unenforceable. What is the law in Texas? What do you recommend doing when a company charges more for using a credit card? Should I let them apply the surcharge and later contest it with the credit card company?

A: Chapter 604A of the Business and Commerce Code does, in fact, make it illegal for a business to impose a surcharge on customers who use credit cards. There is a civil penalty of up to $500 for each violation.

Under the law, only state and local governments and some private schools can impose a surcharge.

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However, as you mention, a federal court in Texas ruled in 2018 that the Texas law is unconstitutional as it relates to surcharges on credit card purchases.

A year later, the Texas attorney general issued an opinion stating that the federal court's ruling applied only to the parties to the lawsuit, and the Texas statute is still enforceable in some contexts.

You are correct that many businesses now charge extra when you use a credit card. Some of these businesses have likely imposed the extra fee without doing any legal research, but other, larger companies have presumably asked their lawyers for advice, and those lawyers have given the green light to add the surcharges.

I think that if a business charges more for using a credit card, you should pay in cash or with a check. Sometimes though, the convenience of using a credit card outweighs the surcharge, especially when the purchase is for a relatively small amount of money.

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Your idea of paying the surcharge and later contesting it is almost certainly going to be a giant waste of your time. I would not recommend taking this approach.

Note, there is no law in Texas that prohibits a business from offering a discount to customers who pay in cash.

Q: If you set up all your assets so that they are "payable on death," is there any need to probate your will just to get letters testamentary?

A: If all of the payable on death beneficiaries are alive, and there are no other assets in your estate that pass under your will, there will be no need to probate your will.

What often happens, though, is an account gets overlooked, and there will be an asset that doesn't pass to a named beneficiary automatically. And sometimes a beneficiary designated to receive a payable on death account will have died before you, and thus the designation will be ineffective.

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More than 24 hours of below-freezing temperatures, brief power outages and icy road conditions made for an unusual Martin Luther King Jr. Day and led to many cancellations in Brazos County as cold weather brought by an Arctic front is expected to continue.

The Bryan-College Station area has remained below freezing  with wind chills in the teens and single digits  since approximately noon Sunday, according to National Weather Service data from the Easterwood Airport. These cold conditions are expected to continue until late Wednesday morning, according to NWS projections.

Those projections along with concerns over road conditions led many schools and public offices to cancel their normal operations for Tuesday.

Texas A&M University and Blinn College announced Monday that all non-essential campus operations were suspended and Tuesday classes had been canceled at the Bryan-College Station campuses. Blinns Brenham campus also will be shuttered.

In an email to students, Texas A&M said that bus services will not run, the university recreational facilities and libraries will be closed and dining hours would be modified. Up-to-date dining information can be found online. Normal university operations are expected to resume Wednesday.

The Blinn College District also announced that Tuesdays classes and the scheduled board of trustees meeting have been canceled.

Both the College Station and Bryan school districts announced Monday morning that classes for Tuesday had been canceled. College Stations school board meeting also has been rescheduled to next Tuesday, Jan. 23. Allen Academy and Brazos Christian were among other B-CS schools that announced Tuesday closures.

The city of College Station said all city offices and facilities will be closed on Tuesday and scheduled programs and activities will be postponed due to weather. As of Monday night, the city of Bryan had not publicly announced that its offices will be closed Tuesday.

On Monday, Brazos County Judge Duane Peters authorized the closure of all county offices on Tuesday for non-essential personnel. Tuesdays Commissioner Court meeting also has been canceled and all agenda items have been moved to the Jan. 23 meeting.

The George Bush Presidential Library & Museum in College Station also announced it would be closed Tuesday as did the Brazos County Health District.

Power grid conditions

On Monday morning, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas released a conservation appeal for Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. requesting residents to reduce power consumption if safely able to do so. A similar appeal was made for Monday morning, but ERCOT was able to keep up with demand.

Locally, weather conditions are believed to have caused a power outage for over 100 customers in Caldwell on Monday morning, with power being restored around midday, according to Bryan Texas Utilities (BTU).

Although the exact cause of the component failure is somewhat ambiguous, BTU public information officer Meagan Brown said the issue was most likely caused by the weather.

There was damage to a system breaker and some jumpers as well, those are just different pieces of the electrical system, Brown said. The official cause would be equipment failure, but the weather does play a factor in that.

In preparation for the weather, Brown said BTU had extra crews on standby in case of such an event.

We prepare days in advance, she said. We have emergency preparation meetings where we make sure that everyone has been notified and understands what theyre expected to do. Just like at home when youre insulating your pipes and things, we make sure that we have de-icer and things for our equipment and then also anti-gel for our diesel tanks and make sure were fully stocked on supplies [to] have them ready to go if we should need to use them.

As of Monday night, College Station Utilities had not experienced any wide-ranging outages and College Station Energy coordinator Pat McIntyre said the current demand is not expected to outpace the surge caused last summer by extremely hot temperatures.

This time of year is pretty mild because, typically, if you think about the heat, most central ACs are gas-fired, McIntyre said. Since weve only been below 30 degrees for 24 hours  probably gonna be at the most 48 hours, maybe 60 hours  thats not gonna be too much of a problem, nothing like the load we saw in summer.

Just in case, however, Mcintyre said they always have someone monitoring the local grid 24 hours a day and have set up additional employees on-call.

We added a second layer in case the on-call crew needs additional help, he said. Then other people are already assigned for the operations center to call out.  We prepared for the weekend by getting all the trucks gassed up and supplied up with typical troubleshooting supplies.

Road conditions

While the NWS has not reported any measurable precipitation, light-freezing mist and rain from Sunday night into early Monday caused icy conditions for much of the B-CS area.

Bobby Colwell, the public information officer for the Bryan TxDOT district, said the department has been conditioning the roads in preparation for the cold weather.

Weve been preparing for this since last week, Colwell said. We had our trucks on standby and ready to go since last Thursday.  We began pre-treating with what is called brine. Brine is nothing more than salt water.

However, when temperatures get low enough, Colwell said they have to resort to other options. He said the TxDOT team has been working in 12-hour shifts around the clock to monitor the roads.

Now when it became below 20 degrees, the brine does not work anymore, he said. So, we have had to change over from brine to magnesium chloride and chat rock  a small type of rack that we put on our bridges, roadways and overpasses to help gain traction.

Colwell said the Bryan District learned a lot from the February 2021 storm and the department is always trying to improve its ability to respond.

It taught us how long it usually takes us to pre-treat our roadways from that event so we had a good estimate time of how long it would take us to do each county, he said. Therefore, as soon as we knew that the weather was continuing to drop we went and did the pre-treatment.

For Tuesday, Colwell said TxDOT is still warning people to only travel when necessary and to avoid bridges and overpasses.

Supposedly it is not going to get above freezing until Wednesday, so were asking anyone that has to travel tomorrow to use extra time to check road conditions, he said. God forbid, but if youre in an accident please remain inside the vehicle and call 911 or emergency services because thats the safest place for you, inside that vehicle.

Live road conditions from TxDOT can be found at drivetexas.org or at 800-452-9292. Updates from the TxDOT Bryan District can be found via its social media accounts.

The total number of vehicle accidents caused due to weather conditions is not known at this time but local law enforcement agencies told The Eagle that they have experienced a large increase in incidents since the bad weather began.
The Patterson Elementary School media center is photographed on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023 in Houston. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer

Houston ISDs proposed calendars for the 2024-25 academic year would all have students start earlier in August but still finish classes in early June.

The Board of Managers voted in December to make HISD a District of Innovation, allowing it to exempt itself from several state education laws, including one that requires the district to start the school year on the fourth Monday of August.

The district is expected to use this status to start the 2024-25 academic year several weeks earlier and add additional days of instruction. The current academic year began on Aug. 28 and will end on June 5 for students.

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The districts four draft calendar options all start the school year earlier, but they vary on the dates for the beginning and end of the school year, spring break and staff induction and preparation. The drafts also propose variations to the number of holidays and professional development dates within the year.

None of the calendar options are final yet. The appointed school board is expected to consider approving the new academic calendar  which could include elements of several of the proposed versions  during their monthly board meeting on Feb. 8.

Heres a look at the differences between the four proposed versions of the 2024-25 academic calendar:

Version 1

Under the first version of the academic calendar, the school year would start on Aug. 7 and end on June 3 for students and June 4 for teachers.

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The district would hold induction and preparation for school leaders July 17-24. New staff would have induction on July 25-26, and all staff would have induction and preparation from July 29 to Aug. 6.

The district would also hold spring break March 10-14 and have a spring holiday on April 19. Employees would have nine days of professional development.

Version 2

The second version of the calendar would start the school year a few days later on Aug. 12, with the year ending on June 4 for students and June 5 for teachers.

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School leaders would return for a week of induction and preparation on July 22. The district would hold induction for new staff July 30-31, and all staff would have induction and preparation Aug. 1-9.

NEW EDUCATION SYSTEM: What to know about HISD superintendent Mike Miles' reform model

While the spring break dates would remain the same as version 1, the second version of the calendar would not have a spring holiday in April. Staff would have eight days of professional development.

Version 3

The third version of the calendar proposes an Aug. 14 start date and an end date of June 6 for students and June 9 for teachers.

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Induction and preparation for school leaders would be July 24-31, and induction for new staff would be Aug. 1-2. All staff would have induction and preparation Aug. 5-13.

The calendar also proposes having spring break March 17-21, which is a week later than the first two versions of the calendar.

It would not provide a spring holiday, and it would have eight staff professional development days.

Version 4

If the district adopted the final version of the calendar, the school year would start on Aug. 12 and end on June 4 for students. The last day for teachers would be June 5.

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The district would hold induction and preparation for school leaders July 22-29. New staff would have induction July 30-31, and all staff would have induction and preparation Aug. 1-9.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY: HISD students reflect on meaning of leader in oratory contest

The calendar proposes nine staff professional development days, including two days Nov. 25-26. Students would still have a full week off for the Thanksgiving holiday, but staff attending the professional development would only have three days off.
A loose calf stands in high water in the flooded neighborhood on Devillier Road on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Winnie. While water has started to go down on the south side of the Interstate Highway 10, the north side of the highway was still under deep water. Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle

A cluster of ranches and farms along a highway east of Houston is at the center of a Supreme Court case that could determine the future of property rights in the United States.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear the case of four dozen Winnie-area ranchers, olive grove farmers and other property owners who allege that the widening of Interstate 10 was carried out in a way that flooded their land.

Lawyers for the property owners argue that the flooded lands constitute a violation of the Fifth Amendments takings clause, which protects against the government taking private property for public use without just compensation.

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In response, Texas says there are no grounds for the property owners to bring a case against them under the Fifth Amendment. Instead, the state says an act of Congress would be necessary to give plaintiffs grounds to sue in federal court. While laws passed in the 1800s explicitly allow people to sue local jurisdictions for taking private property without just compensation, there is no law that mentions such cases against states, the state argues.

The DeVillier v. Texas decision is poised to determine whether states or federal courts have the final authority to define whether a state action is a taking that merits compensation. If the Supreme Court says Texas argument is valid, it could have dramatic implications for takings cases across the nation, said U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew M. Edison, who wrote a recommendation for the case when it was at the district court level.

The flood water from Tropical Depression Imelda stands still on the westbound of Interstate Highway 10 on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Winnie. I-10 remains closed between Texas Highway 61 and Winnie. The north side of the highway is still under deep water, like the Devilliers' ranch. Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle Abandoned vehicles sit in the flood water from Tropical Depression Imelda on Interstate Highway 10 westbound lanes on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Winnie. I-10 remains closed between Texas Highway 61 and Winnie. Yi-Chin Lee, Staff / Houston Chronicle A grove of now dead olive trees are seen on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, in Winnie. The owners of the grove, now for sale, and neighboring property owners are suing the state of Texas for expanding the I-10 freeway in a way they say caused flooding. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer A controlled debris fire on Richie DeVillier, 60, home ranch on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, in Winnie. DeVillier and some of his neighbors are suing the state of Texas for expanding the I-10 freeway near his home in a way he says has caused his and neighboring homes to flood severely. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Richie DeVillier, 60, watches over a controlled debris fire on his ranch on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, in Winnie. DeVillier and some of his neighbors are suing the state of Texas for expanding the I-10 freeway near his home in a way he says has caused his and neighboring homes to flood severely. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Richie DeVillier's sister sold her home to a family shortly before the area flooded. The new family has yet to move in, but have told DeVillier that if they do, they plan to rebuild the home on stilts, like a beach house. DeVillier and some of his neighbors are suing the state of Texas for expanding the I-10 freeway near his home in a way he says has caused his and neighboring homes to flood severely. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Richie DeVillier's sister sold her home to a family shortly before the area flooded. The new family has yet to move in, but have told DeVillier that if they do, they plan to rebuild the home on stilts, like a beach house. DeVillier and some of his neighbors are suing the state of Texas for expanding the I-10 freeway near his home in a way he says has caused his and neighboring homes to flood severely. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Cousins Richie Devillier, 56, left, and Steve Devillier, 59, look around Steve's flooded house on Devillier Road on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Winnie. While water has started to go down on the south side of the Interstate Highway 10, the north side of the highway was still under deep water. Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle The flooded neighborhood on Devillier Road on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Winnie. While water has started to go down on the south side of the Interstate Highway 10, the north side of the highway was still under deep water. Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle A resident of the flooded neighborhood on Devillier Road stands next to his truck on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Winnie. While water has started to go down on the south side of the Interstate Highway 10, the north side of the highway was still under deep water. Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle A cow stands in the flood water in the neighborhood on Devillier Road on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Winnie. While water has started to go down on the south side of the Interstate Highway 10, the north side of the highway was still under deep water. Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle The flooded neighborhood on Devillier Road on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Winnie. While water has started to go down on the south side of the Interstate Highway 10, the north side of the highway was still under deep water. Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle Steve Devillier, 59, goes back to his flooded house and ranch on Devillier Road to rescue his zebra but found the zebra moved to a higher ground on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Winnie. While water has started to go down on the south side of the Interstate Highway 10, the north side of the highway was still under deep water. Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle The flooded neighborhood on Devillier Road on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Winnie. While water has started to go down on the south side of the Interstate Highway 10, the north side of the highway was still under deep water. Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle Flooded hay on Devillier Road on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Winnie. While water has started to go down on the south side of the Interstate Highway 10, the north side of the highway was still under deep water. Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle A dead cow is found in the flooded neighborhood on Devillier Road on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Winnie. While water has started to go down on the south side of the Interstate Highway 10, the north side of the highway was still under deep water. Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle Richie DeVillier in the backyard of his Winnie, Texas home on Monday, Sept. 21, 2020. The two were flooded out of their home after Harvey and Imelda. Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Floodwater from Tropical Depression Imelda pools on the westbound lanes of Interstate 10 on Sept. 20, 2019, in Winnie. Local landowners believe the median along the freeway acts as a dam, affecting their properties in heavy rains. Yi-Chin Lee, Staff / Houston Chronicle

Under the States view, it can take property from a private citizen without paying just compensation and the private citizen would be left without a remedy, he wrote.

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If the Supreme Court, on the other hand, decides states can be sued under the Fifth Amendments takings clause, that opens the doors for federal courts to weigh in on a broad swath of state policies. Lawyers have argued that the takings clause applies to a range of regulations, including rent control, COVID eviction moratoriums and limits on developing wetlands, with varying success. In 2021, the Supreme Court struck down a California law giving labor organizers the right to access an employers grounds to solicit support for unionization, alleging the regulation effectively took property without compensation.

The attorney generals of 17 states signed an amicus brief in support of Texas position in the Winnie-area landowners case. They argued that the Supreme Court should support state sovereignty and that cases involving state takings should be filed only in a states own courts.

The deluge

From the skyscrapers of downtown Houston, take I-10 east, and an hours straight-shot drive will land you in Winnie. The buildings grow shorter along the way, then more sparse, then are replaced by irrigated fields filled with rice and crawfish. Cattle egrets hitch rides on the backs of cows, whose lowing cries punctuate the quiet.

Cattle wait to be fed on the ranch of Richie DeVillier, 60, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, in Winnie. DeVillier and some of his neighbors are suing the state of Texas for expanding the I-10 freeway near his home in a way he says has caused his and neighboring homes to flood severely. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer

Richie DeVilliers great-grandfather moved from Louisiana to the Winnie area, where he bought land and farmed rice; his sons bought more land and set up farms and ranches of their own. DeVillier is the fourth generation to live in the area, growing rice and then raising cattle on 900 acres. Theres a street bearing the family name, and many of his neighbors are kin.

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When the Texas Department of Transportation started to work on the stretch of I-10 that fronts DeVilliers ranch, he didnt pay it a whole lot of mind. I trusted what the state of Texas was doing, he said.

In 2015, TxDOT began widening I-10 between Houston and Beaumont from two lanes in either direction to three. The new lanes replaced what was once a grassy median, and TxDOT installed a new, 3-foot-high concrete barrier to separate the traffic hurtling east and west.

Then came Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

DeVillier said his home took on 23 inches of water  the same elevation, he believes, as the top of the barrier. Along with losing tractors, air compressors, welding machines, over 60 head of cattle and around 100 calves, DeVillier lost childhood photos of his son and the piece of trim on which hed marked his growing sons height. DeVilliers father, who was raised on the ranch, never saw Winnie again after the stormwaters covered it. He stayed with his daughter in Oregon while he waited for his home to be repaired but died before the project was completed.

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Richie Devillier, 56, goes back to his cousin's, Steve Devillier, flooded house and ranch on Devillier Road to help him rescue his zebra on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Winnie. The rescue team found the zebra had moved to a higher ground and was safe. While water has started to go down on the south side of the Interstate Highway 10, the north side of the highway was still under deep water. Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle

DeVillier called TxDOT and his state representative for the concrete barrier to be replaced with something that would allow for the water to flow through it and for the drainage underneath the highway, which had partially filled with silt, to be cleared. He said his requests fell on deaf ears. TxDOT said it does not comment on pending litigation.

Two years later, Tropical Storm Imelda poured down on the area. Floodwaters the height of the barrier covered the Winnie area as far as the eye could see to the north, while lanes south of the barrier remained comparatively dry.

Whitecaps broke against the iron-wrought sign that spelled out DeVilliers name on his front lawn. He drove along the side of I-10 that was still dry and flagged a friend of his son who was steering a boat on the other side.

Steve Devillier, right, watches as his family and friends help load one of his calves they found in high water. They are taking her to higher ground on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Winnie. Devillier's house and ranch also got flooded during Hurricane Harvey. Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle

Only the top of his split-rail fence could be seen above water; a fox desperately sprinted down its length. Fire ants that had linked legs to form a floating, writhing raft exploded onto a calf; DeVillier and his son tried to rescue it. Gators swam through the waters. Cattle gathered around their house, the highest point on his ranch. Many calves, shorter than their parents, drowned. When DeVillier went inside his flooded home, he found a white-tailed deer on his bed, trying to escape the waters.

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Again, 23 inches of water flooded his home, DeVillier said. But this time, he wasnt as shell-shocked as he had been during Harvey.

I felt like this was a tap on the shoulder, he said. He also felt like he was being called upon to take action.

He launched a suit with his neighbors in 2020, seeking more than $1 million each.

Things can be replaced, he said. Replace the things that can be replaced.  For the love of God, I hope this compels them to fix this problem.

The suit

Since then, TxDOT has made changes, DeVillier said. Portions of the impenetrable concrete median have been replaced with barriers that allow water to flow underneath; the silted-up culverts have been cleared. He still worries it is not enough.

His suit, filed in state court, argued that Texas had taken property without compensation in violation of both the state and federal constitutions. Texas argued that because the plaintiffs were making a Fifth Amendment argument, the case should be heard in federal court. Then it argued that the plaintiffs had no grounds for a Fifth Amendment case in federal court.

Richie DeVillier, 60, looks out at the cattle on his ranch on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, in Winnie. DeVillier and some of his neighbors are suing the state of Texas for expanding the I-10 freeway near his home in a way he says has caused his and neighboring homes to flood severely. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer

When the district court disagreed, calling the maneuver pretzel logic, Texas appealed the decision. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled with Texas. We hold that the Fifth Amendment Takings Clause as applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment does not provide a right of action for takings claims against a state, wrote judges Patrick Higginbotham, Leslie Southwick and Stephen Higginson.

After the ruling, DeVilliers attorney received a call from the Institute for Justice, a libertarian nonprofit law firm. It offered to take the case to the Supreme Court free of charge. (The institutes services are funded by donors.)

The basic upshot of Texas winning this case will be that states will be entirely in charge of how, when and whether they pay for property they take, said Robert McNamara, an Institute for Justice lawyer who is now arguing the case on behalf of DeVillier and his fellow plaintiffs.

Charles McFarland, a Houston attorney with experience in eminent domain issues, pointed out that the protection against takings granted by the Texas Constitution is slightly different than whats granted by the federal Constitution. For example, there may be different requirements for proving that the state intended to take the property. I think intent is inherent in both the federal and the state constitution provisions, but its explicit in the state provision, he said.

He believes that if the Supreme Court rules that theres no standing to bring a Fifth Amendment case against a state, the number of cases arguing that state governments have taken private property without first paying just compensation will fall.

The Supreme Court

In September, DeVillier and his wife were slowly getting up in a California hotel room, where they had traveled to have breakfast with Institute for Justice donors helping fund their case, when his phone pinged. It was from one of his attorneys congratulating him on the Supreme Court agreeing to hear his case.

I hollered so loud that I almost drove my wife from bed, DeVillier recalled.

This month, as DeVillier fed his cattle, he reflected on how much time had passed since the floods.

Richie DeVillier, 60, prepares a wheel of hay for cattle on his home ranch on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, in Winnie. DeVillier and some of his neighbors are suing the state of Texas for expanding the I-10 freeway near his home in a way he says has caused his and neighboring homes to flood severely. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer

But reminders of the flood years still dot the landscape. The olive grove nearby is filled with the bare white limbs of drowned trees; a sign on the fence advertises the land's sale. A neighboring house still shows Imeldas high water marks.
Frumencio Reyes, standing on N. Main St. in Houston, is a lawyer involved in a local Latino movement that has made it possible to have single district representation in the City Council. Due to this movement, the Hispanic districts H and I were created. Dec. 4, 2008 in Houston. ( Eric Kayne / Chronicle ) Eric Kayne/Houston Chronicle

A legacy worth emulating

Regarding "The Houston voting rights icon you've likely never heard of (Opinion)," (Jan. 11): Thank you so much for the excellent article on Frumencio Reyes Jr. and for reminding us of the importance of his dedicated life and work for the good of Houston and its people. I also appreciated the background information on how he was slighted by the local media and leaders in Houston.

This is personal to me, to learn of Mr. Reyes' mark on the people and politics in the Houston area.

My dad made his mark as a hell-raiser in Los Angeles and lived his life for others like Mr. Reyes. I was recently going over his notes and the contributions he made in the communities where he lived and dedicated his life. We need more of these hell-raisers who bring about change and progress for the everyday citizens they care about.

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I extend my personal sentiments of sympathy to Mrs. Janie Reyes and the family, and to all who knew and loved Mr. Reyes.

Maris P. Helfrich, Galveston

Thank you for the beautiful story on Frumencio Reyes. He earned it.

Jose A. Barrera, Houston

This piece, with the accounting of the life and work of Frumencio Reyes Jr., was appreciated, well-written and served him well.

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I had been seriously considering downgrading from my $29.99 full digital access subscription due to mounting reasons. I am putting that on the back burner now. The Houston Chronicle has just redeemed itself to a degree.

Additional and constant minority representation, along with basic knowledge of Houston and our history, is encouraged for a city as diverse as ours.

Lets try to view Houston as having a few minorities, as Hispanics will not be a minority for long. They could already be the majority, for all we know. If not, they soon will be.

Grant Holt, Houston

GOP priorities

Regarding "The Texas GOP's border crisis plan includes secession, surrender and stunts instead of solutions," (Jan. 10): I need some help understanding how a Texas secession from the Union would help Texas citizens. Commentary by the excellent journalist Chris Tomlinson points out that Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Roy and his ilk want to secede from the U.S. government over immigration.

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I would like to ask this political faction of the government how Texas citizens would recover Social Security income and Medicare health benefits that are provided by our federal government.

How would our hospitals and doctors thrive, given that many Texas citizens can no longer afford health care?

How would businesses maintain cash flow if Texas citizens are no longer buying some merchandise and services? The federal government supports many businesses with incentives, tax deductions and subsidies.

I doubt this GOP ilk can quickly turn on a switch to compensate for federal government support the day after the dumb proposed Texas secession is complete. Finally, how will this element of the GOP respond when I and many other Texans secede from this new ill-founded Texas government?

I would like to thank the Houston Chronicle and its award-winning journalists for the quality information provided daily.

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Tim Whipple, Spring

Regarding "Abbott's school voucher setback highlights broader dealmaking stumbles," (Jan. 8): Our Texas conservatives seem entirely opposed to assistance for the needy and for the average American who could use a little help. Their policy, it seems, is to reserve entitlements for the wealthy and the well-connected. The extraordinary lengths to which Abbott is willing to go to impose vouchers on the states school system is the latest example of Texas politicians favoring their financially comfortable (and downright rich) constituents who supported these handouts. The rest of us get little or nothing.

Kudos to the voucher holdouts in the Legislature who are actually representing the average, everyday people who elected them. Prize them, as they are an endangered species being hunted out of existence.

Willa White, Houston

Regarding "If migrants bused from Texas can't make it in New York, can they make it anywhere? (Editorial)," (Jan. 7): Gov. Greg Abbotts decision to bus migrants to northern states is clearly making immigration problems worse. He is encouraging people to cross illegally by offering free bus or plane rides to northern cities. Eventually, those cities are going to catch up and retaliate by banning unauthorized stops, arresting bus drivers and seizing buses. To some extent that retaliation is already happening.

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This is our tax money that is paying for this. This is another of Abbott's schemes that have not done a thing to stop the masses of immigrants. His new, recently signed law, Senate Bill 4, is going to be rather quickly struck down, as it is very similar to the Arizona law that was already struck down by the courts.

What he should be doing is immediately turning over apprehended immigrants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for processing, and letting the federal government handle this. A better idea is to get the Texas delegation, including U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, to work with the other side to pass bipartisan immigration and asylum reform. Joe Biden has already said he is ready to make concessions. Congress needs to act. We have a crisis on our hands.
Incense industry thrives in Yongchun county, SE China's Fujian

People's Daily Online) 09:19, January 16, 2024

While carrying forward the traditional incense-making craft, Yongchun county in Quanzhou city, southeast China's Fujian Province in recent years has enhanced product innovation and formed an incense industry cluster.

A woman arranges incense sticks in Yongchun county, Quanzhou city, southeast China's Fujian Province. (Photo/Xu Jianfu)

As one of China's major incense production bases, the county is home to more than 300 incense manufacturers, which produce over 1,000 categories of incense products. The current output of the incense industrial chain in Yongchun is worth over 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion).

Pu Lianggong, in his 60s, is an inheritor of the provincial-level intangible cultural heritage of the Yongchun incense-making craft, and the 10th-generation inheritor of the craft.

Pu's Arab ancestors had settled in Quanzhou to trade spices during the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The Pu family then moved to Hankou village of Dapu township in Yongchun county and created Yongchun incense by integrating Arabic incense-making skills with traditional Chinese incense culture.

Pu learned the ancient craft of making Yongchun incense when he was a child, and has been engaged in the ancient craft to date. The craft consists of more than 10 procedures, including dipping incense sticks in water, flipping and rolling them in incense powder, and drying them.

A woman burns incense to pray for happiness. (Photo/Lin Minghui)

Yongchun has continuously promoted the transformation and upgrading of its incense industry by measures like encouraging incense enterprises to pursue innovation and digital transformation, sending technical experts to them, and rewarding enterprises that purchase new equipment.

A number of incense manufacturers in Yongchun have accelerated their transformation and upgrading by stepping up the research and development of new products, pushing forward the industrialized development of the incense industry.

Yongchun Dapu Binda Incense Factory Co., Ltd. (Binda) is one of the companies that settled in an incense industrial park in the county. At the company's factory, the incense production machines operate efficiently while a few workers occasionally walk through them to inspect their operations.

"Now, some incense products are produced by machines, which only require one or two operators and can replace the manual production work of over 100 workers in the past," said Zeng Jianquan, chairman of the company.

As a leading company in the incense industry of the county, the company boasts of over 30 intermediate and senior technicians. It has also invested millions of yuan and developed a new type of incense in collaboration with Fujian Medical University and Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. This incense, with bactericidal and air-purifying properties, is widely applied in automobiles, households and other fields.

Zeng said among 6,086 types of traditional Chinese medicinal herbs recorded in China's pharmacopeias, nearly 500 can be used as raw materials for making incense. Natural herbs need to be mixed according to appropriate proportions to make Yongchun incense.

Relying on sci-tech innovation, Yongchun's incense industry has continued to develop and expand over the past years. Over 40,000 people working in the incense-related industry, and the sector has shown a strong brand effect. The annual output of several major incense companies is each worth over 100 million yuan.

Photo shows the drying of incense sticks in Yongchun county, Quanzhou city, southeast China's Fujian Province. (Photo/Zhang Wenqing)

"The Yongchun incense industry has become a pillar industry in our county. An incense industrial park covering an area of 1,200 mu (80 hectares) has attracted 15 enterprises to settle in and start production. Four incense companies are currently under construction or preparations," said Hong Bingzao, head of Dapu township.

Against the backdrop of consumption upgrading, many incense companies have promoted the integration of the incense industry with tourism, culture, design and other sectors, injecting new vitality into the incense industry while enhancing its competitiveness.

Zeng said that since 2011, Binda has invested 20 million yuan to build a creative industrial park, bringing the once esoteric incense culture to ordinary families. At the industrial park, one of the first ones open to tourists in Fujian, visitors can experience how to make incense, learn about traditional incense-making skills, and Yongchun's profound incense culture.

"Our industrial park attracts tourists to experience the fun of incense art and techniques every weekend and holiday," Zeng said.

The local government also strives to guide the development of the fragrance industry by exploring business opportunities such as essential oil extraction and aromatherapy.

"We continue to explore the incense materials recorded in ancient books and endeavor to develop more products through modern sci-tech R&D, such as perfumes, essence, spices, and incense products with functions like disinfection, disease prevention, and formaldehyde removal," Zeng said.

The domestic market penetration of Yongchun incense exceeds over 80 percent. In the Southeast Asian region, the market share of Yongchun incense surpasses 33 percent.

An illustration of the steps to make traditional Yongchun incense.

The craft of making Yongchun incense earned a place on the list of provincial intangible cultural heritage in 2017. Four years later, it was also listed as a national intangible cultural heritage.

Yongchun incense companies have registered eight provincial famous trademarks and 10 municipal famous trademarks, and possess 374 national authorized patents.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Migrants cross the Rio Grande into the U.S. from Mexico behind Concertina wire and a sign warning that it's dangerous and illegal to cross, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. Eric Gay/AP

WASHINGTON  A top Border Patrol official said three migrants who died crossing the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass on Friday had already drowned when agents received a distress call from Mexico, countering initial claims that the woman and two children had drowned after state soldiers blocked federal agents from reaching them.

Still, Robert Danley, the chief patrol agent in the Del Rio sector, said in a sworn statement that Texas soldiers blocked Border Patrol officers from getting to two other migrants who were struggling in the river Friday night. Those migrants were rescued by a Mexican airboat and were suffering from hypothermia.

The statement was submitted late Monday as part of the Department of Justices plea for the Supreme Court to restore federal access to a stretch of the border the state took over last week. It is the most detailed account yet of the deaths, which sparked outrage over the weekend, and it appears to corroborate key aspects of the Texas Military Departments account of the incident. The military department said late Sunday that claims that TMD prevented Border Patrol from saving the lives of drowning migrants are wholly inaccurate.

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More broadly, the DOJ has argued that the states takeover of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass is preventing Border Patrol from monitoring a critical 2.5-mile stretch of the border and keeping agents from responding quickly to emergencies.

It is impossible to say what might have happened if Border Patrol had had its former access to the area  including through its surveillance trucks that assisted in monitoring the area, the filing said. At the very least, however, Border Patrol would have had the opportunity to take any available steps to fulfill its responsibilities and assist its counterparts in the Mexican government with undertaking the rescue mission. Texas made that impossible.

According to Danleys account, Border Patrol received a call around 9 p.m. Friday from Mexicos National Institute of Migration, which said two migrants were in distress on the U.S. side of the river in the area around a boat ramp in the public park. During that call, Mexican officials said a woman and two children had drowned in the same area around 8 p.m.

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Danley said a Border Patrol supervisor went to the Shelby Park entrance gate and told three guardsmen through the gate that three migrants drowned earlier in the evening and two were in distress on the U.S. side of the river. The guardsmen said they had been ordered not to let Border Patrol through the gate or give agents access to the park. The Border Patrol supervisor asked to speak to a superior officer and the guardsmen called a staff sergeant on his cellphone and put them on speakerphone. The staff sergeant said the Border Patrol was not allowed to enter, even in emergencies, but that they would send a guardsman to look into the situation, Danley said.

The next day, Mexican officials confirmed to Border Patrol that two migrants who they had reported were in distress on the U.S. side had tried to cross back to Mexico and were rescued by a Mexican airboat, Danley said.

The Texas Military Department said in its statement about the incident that two migrants were apprehended by state soldiers Friday night. One was turned over to state troopers and the other was transferred to EMS in response to initial hypothermic conditions. It is unclear if they were the same migrants who Danley said were picked up by Mexican officials.

The incident has escalated an ongoing dispute between state and federal officials, who have been fighting a Texas lawsuit aimed at stopping the Border Patrol from cutting state-owned razor wire in the area. Gov. Greg Abbott has said the state is doing what it must to secure the border and accused President Joe Biden of refusing to do so.

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The drownings were first detailed by U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat who wrote on social media over the weekend that the state bears responsibility for the deaths and alleged that Texas soldiers blocked Border Patrol agents from rescuing the migrants. The Department of Homeland Security later issued a statement that soldiers physically barred agents from the park and said Texass blatant disregard for federal authority over immigration poses grave risks.

In an interview Tuesday, Cuellar stood by his original comments that the state bears responsibility. He said the state takeover forced out a handful of trucks Border Patrol uses to monitor the river, essentially blinding agents to possible emergencies and making them reliant on information from Mexican officials.
Kate Cox and her husband appeared on CBS Sunday Morning this weekend to discuss the fight for an abortion with news correspondent Tracy Smith. It was the couples first TV appearance since the Texas Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling allowing Kate, whose fetus was diagnosed with a typically fatal disorder, to get an abortion. Associated Press

In her first TV interview since leaving the state to get an abortion, Kate Cox, the Dallas woman who sued Texas for permission to terminate her pregnancy, has opened up about the emotional toll of the lawsuit.

Cox and her husband shared their story on CBS Sunday Morning this weekend with news correspondent Tracy Smith. It was the couples first TV appearance since the Texas Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling allowing Cox, whose fetus was diagnosed with a typically fatal disorder, to get an abortion.

It was crushing, the 31-year-old said. I was shocked the state of Texas wanted me to continue a pregnancy where I would have to wait until a baby dies in my belly or dies at birth or lives for days and put my own health at risk and future pregnancy at risk.

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Cox sued the state for the right to an abortion in December after receiving test results showing that her fetus had trisomy 18, a chromosomal disorder that often results in stillbirth or early infant death. Coxs doctors said the baby, if it survived the pregnancy and birth, would live for less than one week, she explained during the newscast.

I didnt want to watch her suffer, the mother of two children said, adding that following through with the pregnancy would put her at higher risk of complications and threaten her ability to have more children in the future.

Texas is one of 14 states that has broadly banned abortion with very limited exceptions. The state law, which has been in effect since August 2022, says abortion is only allowed in medical emergencies involving a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function.

SUPREME COURT RULING: Texas Supreme Court says doctors must decide on abortion after blocking Dallas woman's procedure

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The laws vagueness has caused many health care professionals, including Coxs Houston physician, to steer clear from providing the procedure for fear of retribution. Doctors who perform abortions in Texas can face up to a $100,000 fine and up to 99 years in prison.

A Travis County judge ruled in early December that Cox could terminate her pregnancy but, shortly after, Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a threatening letter informing her medical providers that they could be liable if they performed the procedure regardless of the court order.

On Dec. 11, the Texas Supreme Court struck down the lower courts ruling, stating that doctors must use their reasonable medical judgment to determine whether a patient qualifies for an abortion.

The decision came hours after Coxs lawyers announced that she would leave the state for the procedure. Cox said she ended up getting the abortion in New Mexico.

I wanted to be here, close to home, Cox said through tears during the interview. Its the hardest thing Ive been through. I wanted to come home, cry in my own pillow, hold my babies, be near my doctors, so I was really hopeful.

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One of Coxs lawyers, Molly Duane with the Center for Reproductive Rights, said the higher courts ruling shows that the exception in Texas doesnt exist at all.

But despite the outcome of the lawsuit, Duane said Coxs case has absolutely made a difference in the fight to provide essential reproductive health care in the state.

She got the health care that she needed, she got an abortion, but in terms of the big picture she brought people along on this journey with her and she helped people understand the true human toll that abortion bans take on families, she said.

Cox said shes grateful to have received hundreds of letters of support but has largely steered clear of social media where people on both sides of the issue have weighed in. The couple said the holidays with their family gave them time to get back to normal and that they will soon try to have another baby.

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Apple Watch is dropping its blood oxygen feature altogether in an effort to avoid the US import ban on its Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches, 9to5Mac reported.

The US Customs and Border Protection has supposedly approved the changes happening on the Apple Watches, ruling that the redesign "falls outside the scope" of the import restrictions.

The International Trade Commission has previously imposed an import ban on Apple Watch after ruling its "pulse oximetry features" have been infringing Masimo's patented technology.

The ban was later lifted as Apple prepared to change the affected watches to skirt around the ITC ruling. The changes will only apply inside the US.

As of writing, the blood oxygen readings will remain for Series 9 and Ultra 2 in the US while the Federal court decides during the ITC's appeal period.

Also Read: Apple Targets Long-Term Software Fix to Avoid Patent-Infringement, Sales Ban

US Court to Decide on Apple Watch Ban

Today, Jan. 15, is actually the last day both parties submit their appeals to the court ruling. Once submitted, the US Court of Appeals will decide whether to maintain the ITC ban.

The ITC has already expressed its opposition to lifting the ban on Apple, claiming that the tech giant's arguments "amount to little more than an indisputably adjudicated infringer."

Masimo also opposed the Custom's decision, claiming that it undermines Apple's arguments, would hurt the medical tech firm's businesses, and "demoralize" its scientists and engineers.

Masimo filed the patent infringement case against Apple in 2020, accusing it of stealing its former employees and engineers for its blood oxygen reader technology.

Related Article: Masimo CEO Pushes Better Changes for Apple With Patent Infringement Case

Apple Watches Still on US Market

While both parties are waiting for the Court of Appeals decision, the affected Apple watches continue to be sold across the tech giant's stores across the US.

The watches, complete with its blood oxygen feature, can still be bought before supplies run out or the ban is imposed again.

Models released before the ban can also be acquired via retail stores like Amazon, Walmart, and Target.
OpenAI is making big changes to its AI use policy in preparation for the upcoming 2024 Elections.

The creator of ChatGPT and DALL-E announced in a blog post this Monday that it will prevent people from using its AI technologies to spread disinformation and promote transparency.

OpenAI said it will no longer allow its users to create chatbots and applications impersonating government bodies or dissuading people from attending election polls.

DALL-E will also have "guardrails" to prevent people from requesting generated images of real people, including politicians and candidates.

The AI firm said it is already experimenting with its "provenance classifier" to detect AI-generated images made using DALL-E.

Changes to DALL-E's uses will be part of OpenAI's digital verification effort Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity set to be implemented early this year.

Journalists, verified platforms, and researchers will be the first to test the new policies before it is released to the public.

AI Labeled as Threat Amid Growing Disinformation Online

With more than 40% of the world's population preparing to enter the election, AI-fueled disinformation is expected to ramp up in the coming months.

Political figures have become central figures in deepfakes and AI-generated images meant to manipulate people's perceptions.

One of the many deepfakes released just last year are the generated pictures of former President Donald Trump being forcefully arrested by police forces.

DALL-E has since blocked similar requests since late 2023 as something that "may not follow our content policy."

Top global leaders have already raised the issue brought by the emerging technology to democracy and policy making during the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

For OpenAI's part, the tech upstart vowed to incorporate actual news articles and government election website links to answer user inquiries related to elections.

The AI firm has earlier signed a deal with Axel Springer SE, and later with Thomson Reuters, to allow access to its licensed contents and generate summaries via ChatGPT.

Also Read: Silicon Valley Moves to Regulate 'Emerging Risk' of AI

OpenAI Vows to Work with Credible Organizations

The announcement follows CEO Sam Altman's promise to make efforts to combat generative AI's ability to compromise the election process.

Altman testified in front of the US Congress last year to push for AI regulation amid its growing application and increasing pace of development worldwide.

OpenAI is already working with the National Association of Secretaries of State, one of the oldest nonpartisan watchdogs for politicians and public officials.

The AI firm has yet to announce if it will also work with other political watchdogs for other countries holding elections soon.

Related Article: OpenAI Prepares Safety Protocols Against Dangers of AI
Elon Musk is now facing a defamation lawsuit from one of his employees on X (formerly Twitter) in Ireland.

Aaron Rodericks, former co-lead of Threat Disruption at X, has filed a case in a Dublin court, accusing Musk of defaming and damaging his reputation in one of the billionaire's posts.

The post Rodericks referred to in his lawsuit is a response Musk made in firing the Election Integrity team "that was undermining election integrity." X reportedly dismissed half of the team.

Oh you mean the Election Integrity Team that was undermining election integrity? Yeah, theyre gone.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 27, 2023

Rodericks, who headed Twitter's anti-misinformation campaign, was among the employees terminated as part of the company's cost-cutting decisions when Musk took over in 2022.

Rodericks was able to suspend his termination in a separate court proceeding that alleged that his firing was a deliberate move from Musk due to his critical statements towards the billionaire.

X's Irish division, Twitter International Unlimited Company, was included as a recipient of the lawsuit.

Also Read: Former Twitter Security Head Files Lawsuit Against X, Claims Wrongful Termination

More Lawsuits Mount Against Elon Musk

This was not the first time Musk or his companies have been accused of intentionally firing employees critical of him.

Earlier this month, dismissed SpaceX staff filed a lawsuit against the spacecraft manufacturer for unlawfully firing them because of their critical message towards Musk.

Before that, the National Labor Relations Board filed its first complaint against Musk for terminating Yao Yue after she tried to organize other Twitter workers upset with the batch layoffs.

As of writing, more than 2,000 former Twitter employees are fighting their claims for unlawful termination.

Court reports, however, suggest that neither Musk nor his legal team attended any of the hearings.

Musk is yet to respond towards these allegations.

Related Article: SpaceX Accused of Illegally Firing Staff Critical of Elon Musk

Elon Musk Faces Another Controversy

Musk has been under a lot of fire over the past year and it seems like controversies are sure to follow the notorious billionaire this year.

Just last week, several Tesla and SpaceX executives expressed concerns about Musk allegedly using illegal and recreational drugs. In response, Musk insisted that he has been clean for three years now.

X also has yet to recover from the advertiser loss it suffered last year following Musk's anti-Semitic posts and pro-Nazi content appearing next to ads.
A Giltner man was arrested after allegedly leaving his dogs outside for an extended period of time, resulting in the death of one of the dogs.

The Hamilton County Sheriffs Office said Kevin Jemison, 60, was arrested on suspicion of cruel neglect of an animal resulting in death, and cruel neglect of an animal resulting in serious injury or illness, on Sunday afternoon.

Deputies were called to a home in the 400 block of North Enfield in Giltner on a report of two dogs that had been outside all weekend, according to the sheriffs office. Deputies found one dog in distress and another that had died.

The dog that survived was taken to the Aurora Vet Clinic for emergency treatment of hypothermia and thermal injuries, the sheriffs office said. An investigation into the incident continues.
An inmate at a Lincoln prison who was serving a life sentence for a 2006 murder in Douglas County died Friday, according to the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services.

Ryan Poe, 39, of Omaha, was sentenced in July 2006 for the murder of 23-year-old Trever Lee in Douglas County during a robbery.

Poe was serving a life sentence and being treated for a medical condition at the Reception and Treatment Center in Lincoln.

Poe was one of three men who broke into Lee's Omaha townhouse. Lee attempted to fight off the robbers and was shot six times, according to trial testimony.

Out of the three men involved in the crime, Poe was the only one convicted of the murder.

Poe tried to appeal his case to the Nebraska Supreme Court, saying his original defense lawyer was inept. The court rejected the argument, finding no justification to proceed with the appeal.

A grand jury will investigate Poe's death, as is procedure with any inmate who dies while in custody.

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A 26-year-old Gaston man is accused of helping four murder suspects hide the weapons used in the shooting death of a 6-year-old.

Terrell Dantaveas Ruffin, of 206B Wedgefield Circle, is charged with accessory after the fact of murder in the May 13, 2022 killing of 6-year-old Winston OConner Hunter.

Ruffin allegedly had knowledge of the murder after it happened and assisted known defendants in attempting to dispose of the weapons used in the shooting, according to an Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office warrant.

Ruffin was taken into custody on Jan. 11.

Charges are pending against the men accused of murdering Hunter.

The suspects are:

 Thorne Anderson, 19, of Greenwood Drive, West Columbia

 Jeremiah J. Harley, 19, of County Road 50, Canandaigua, New York

 Michael Thomas Lloyd, 22, of Pinewood Street, Chillicothe, Illinois

 Seth James Phillips, 21, of Karen Place, Framington, New York

Theyre each charged with one count of murder, three counts of attempted murder and four counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. They remain housed at the Orangeburg County Detention Center.

Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell claims the four murder suspects shot up Hunters Woodford home seeking marijuana. They had the wrong address.

Orangeburg County Magistrate Jason Doremus set Ruffins bond at $225,000. As of Monday, Ruffin hadnt posted bond.

If Ruffin is convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

If the murder suspects are convicted, they each face up to life in prison.
The Tri-County Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuses new medical and education building will help it serve the community and state, officials say.

The building has 10 offices, two exam rooms, a lab, a room to perform drug testing and a large meeting room, TCCADA Executive Director Mike Dennis said.

Each office and the meeting room are equipped with equipment that enables us to provide telehealth services, as well as remote supervision for the psychiatry residency program as residents gain skills to become psychiatrists in rural community-based settings, he said.

The TCCADA officially opened its new 6,500-square-foot building on Jan. 11. It will house its psychiatry residency program and provide additional space for medication-assisted treatment and its growing occupational health services.

The commission broke ground on the $2.4 million expansion on Feb. 24, 2023. The addition is located behind the facility at 910 Cook Road.

The TCCADAs psychiatric residency training program provides holistic, community-based psychiatric care in Orangeburg and beyond. Dennis said the new building will have the space to provide a psychotherapy clinic.

The executive director said additional exam rooms and a lab were needed to accommodate the growth of the TCCADAs occupational services, which are provided to business and governmental entities.

In addition to the employment-related physical exams, drug testing and vaccination that we already provide, we anticipate audiometry testing and pulmonary function testing, Dennis said.

The TCCADA has also been providing medication-assisted treatment for many years to individuals with opioid and alcohol abuse problems, but space was inadequate until now, he said.

With this new space, it will allow our providers a better environment to provide those services. The building also has a nice meeting/training room that can accommodate up to 70 people and will allow us to provide education and training on issues related to behavioral health, Dennis said.

The building was paid for with funds from the S.C. Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, as well as the S.C. Department of Health and Human Services and state Legislature.

Dennis said the state directors of the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services and the Department of Health and Human Services, along with the legislative delegation members from Orangeburg, Bamberg and Calhoun counties, understood the need for a psychiatry residency program.

They understand there is a significant deficit of psychiatrists in South Carolina and in particular rural areas. Sen. Brad Hutto and Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter were instrumental in securing funds from the legislature, he said.

SCDAODAS Director Sara Goldsby said the new facility was a significant investment in helping to meet the needs of South Carolinians with mental health and addiction services.

You will see upgraded laboratory facilities, state-of-the-art medical rooms. ... This is something to be very proud of not only here in Orangeburg, but beyond this county because the program here is going to serve so many with services that they currently just do not have, she said.

Dennis cited the 2023 South Carolina State Health Assessment (https://livehealthy.sc.gov/state-health-assessment) in touting the need for the psychiatry residency program, which is one of the few in the nation that is focused on rural, community-based care.

The report stated that more than 25 percent of the states 46 counties are lacking licensed general psychiatrists or psychologists, with rural counties seeing the largest gaps.

That deficit has major impact to include incarceration rates, overutilization of emergency rooms, increased involvement with social services and an increase in suicide, Dennis said.

Suicide was cited in the report as the third leading cause of death for 18- to 24-year-olds and 25- to 34-year-olds, while it was the fifth leading cause of death for 35- to 44-year-olds.

The report also states that rural counties have seen a 33 percent reduction in the number of licensed general psychiatrists from 2009 to 2019, with the reduction seen in rural counties being over three times higher than the rate seen among all licensed providers.

Dennis believes the medical and education building will improve access to mental and behavioral health services in the state.

While it is based in Orangeburg, the psychiatry residency program is working with MUSC Health  Orangeburg, the S.C. Department of Mental Health, the Dorn VA Medical Center, Bamberg Family Practice and DAODAS to have the residents receive training in areas all over South Carolina, he said.

He continued, We also anticipate partnering with DSS, DJJ, Department of Corrections, DHEC and Disabilities and Special Needs to help them meet the needs of those individuals with behavioral health issues that are involved in their systems.
A Georgia-based real estate development company is looking to build an industrial park near the junction of Interstate 26 and Interstate 95.

North Point Development LLC is looking to develop about two parcels totaling about 1,500 acres located primarily in Dorchester County but at the Orangeburg County line.

Those are very promising parcels, North Point consultant Jim Newsome told the Orangeburg County Legislative Delegation at its Jan. 8 meeting.

We think the development, because of the growth of the port and because of the establishment of the Walmart distribution center, is moving further out on I-26, Newsome said.

Newsome is the former president and chief executive officer of the Port of Charleston.

One of the parcels  Weathers Farm  covers about 400 acres and the other is the 1,100-acre Quail Run property.

Newsome said Weathers Farm is at the intersection of U.S. Highway 15 and I-26 in Dorchester County and Quail Run is on I-95 between U.S. 178 and I-26, also in Dorchester County.

Newsome said the property  specifically the 1,100-acre parcel  is a prime manufacturing site, among other possibilities.

I think we would all agree that we are short on manufacturing sites in South Carolina, Newsome said.

The challenge for the parcels is the lack of water and sewer infrastructure.

Water and sewer is critical to development, Newsome said.

Newsome said he has been working with Dorchester County officials on developing the properties, noting there has been request for both sewer and water upgrades. The total project cost is estimated to be about $16 million.

Newsome said the upgrades to the sewer would cost an estimated $6.5 million, of which about $4.28 million has been received through a U.S. Housing and Urban Development grant. Newsome said the gap of about $1.5 million to $2.5 million needs to be funded to make the upgrade a reality.

On the water side, Newsome said Dorchester County applied for a Rural Infrastructure Authority grant last year. The project would require a 20-inch water main on U.S. Highway 15 to connect to the Lake Marion Regional Water System on U.S. 178.

Newsome said the total cost for the water project would be about $9.5 million, with about $4.75 million and $5 million needed to fill the gap to make that possible. Newsome said the county is planning to apply for more RIA grants to help make up the shortfall. The grants have been applied for as part of a broader infrastructure plan for the upper Dorchester area.

At the current time, the county would need between $7 million to $7.5 million to complete the water and sewer infrastructure.

Newsome said the site will have plenty of water capacity when the infrastructure is in place.

The timing is an issue, Newsome said. It may require an interim well between $1.5 and $2 million dollars to make Weathers Farm a reality.

Newsome said Quail Run is more complicated.

He said the sewer capacity of about 100,000 gallons a day would work if the project was all distribution. He said manufacturing or a multi-use projects would require about a 500,000 to 1 million gallon a day capacity.

There needs to be further study of the sewer requirement to actualize that large property, Newsome said.

Even though these properties may be mostly or all located in Dorchester County, if we were able to site facilities there with jobs, a good many  maybe half the employees  would come from Orangeburg," said Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg. It is right on the line. Jobs are jobs and people are mobile. It is real prime territory for development.

Newsome echoed Hutto's comment.

We unlock Dorchester County, Orangeburg County is next, Newsome said. The development has to come further up on the highway system.

Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, recommended Newsome contact the governor for access to federal dollars.

There are other states that are pulling this money down, Cobb-Hunter said. We are doing it here in South Carolina, but we aren't crediting where it is coming from.

She said much of the infrastructure money is coming from the infrastructure bill signed by President Joe Biden.

The bottom line is there are people in the executive branch and the legislative branch that are more focused on President Biden not getting credit for anything, Cobb-Hunter said. There is money on the federal level. There is much money out there that we are missing out on.
South Carolina State University and other universities should be consolidating programs to be more competitive in attracting students, the chair of the state Senate Education Committee said.

Greg Hembree, R-Horry, said S.C. State is one of several universities in the state that should be narrowing down its offerings to only the programs that could give the school the most competitive edge in recruiting students.

Hembree made the comments last week at an event previewing the legislative session. It was hosted by the South Carolina Press Association.

The senator was asked about an open letter written to Gov. Henry McMaster from the U.S. secretaries of agriculture and education asking the state to make up for decades of underfunding for S.C. State, which they said totals nearly $470 million.

Hembree said he was unfamiliar with the letter from the federal officials or the issue.

He claimed the university is challenged with a poor reputation for administrative and fiscal accountability.

The historically Black universitys original mission of providing a higher education for Black South Carolinians is no longer as pressing as it was during the segregation era when the school was founded, he said.

Now, anybody can go anywhere if theyre qualified, so that mission now no longer exists, he said. And I think the question is if thats not there, what is going to be our primary mission going forward?

Hembree said he doesnt believe higher education in the state is lacking funding, but is in a precarious position with rising tuition and costs and a finite number of potential students.

Theyre going to have to figure out What are we good at and what are we going to get rid of? And really try to get back to sort of a core mission instead of trying to be all things to all people, he said.

Smaller, public universities like S.C. State should look to cut programs that are not productive and focus resources on building up select key programs to be headline attractions for students in the state, he said.

Get good at it, advertise it and become that expert that people really want to go to your school for that purpose. Not just, you know, I want to go to State because dad went to State, he said. I mean, I don't know. That's a nice luxury, but I don't know that it's really reality in modern higher education.

Hembree said he understands schools have alumni, employees and proud traditions that would be affected by any cuts.

This wasnt targeted at S.C. State. I think you have many public universities in South Carolina that need to go through this process and be really hard truth with themselves on what they want to be and what theyre good at, he said.

The senator said he couldnt speak specifically on underfunding at S.C. State as an HBCU being an issue.

S.C. States Board of Trustees voted to hold off on plans to cut several under-performing programs at a Dec. 7 meeting.

University President Alexander Conyers said at the time he planned to bring the proposal to the board again at its next meeting in February.

Several trustees said at the December meeting that the university needs to cut programs, but they wanted more time to address the impact on faculty and the university.

Hembree said Monday he was unaware of these developments at S.C. State but he believes they are steps in the right direction.

Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, said at the event that he hopes senators focus on issues like education, workforce development, health care and the environment, instead of partisan issues.

Every year I come to Columbia, Ive been doing it for about 30 years now, and I hope that we will focus on the issues that face the people of South Carolina, things that really matter in peoples lives, but it seems like we get sidetracked every year, he said.

As the minority in the Senate, the Democrats do not control committees or the agenda for the session, but the party will still work to be productive, Hutto said.

I hope we dont get sidetracked on guns or transgender kids or those types of things, but we may, he said. We probably will  its an election year, right?

Hutto said education and infrastructure investment are especially important in rural areas. Efforts have been made to provide technical training and education opportunities in rural areas, but workers are held back by shortages of housing, transportation and health care, he said.

Senate Majority Leader and Rules Committee Chairman Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, said he and Hutto are on the same page when it comes to rural infrastructure and education investment. The state has made some investments in building new school buildings and installing new technology in rural areas, he said.

The state needs to do more to connect more rural high school graduates and young people with industries in South Carolina, Massey said.

We have kids in Saluda that dont know that were building the largest passenger jets in the world in North Charleston, he said. We have kids in Orangeburg who probably dont know were building fighter jets in Greenville.

Massey said he expects the Senate will debate a constitutional carry bill this session, which could loosen restrictions on gun possession in public places.

The bill failed to pass last year. Massey said though he and Hutto disagree on some gun policy, both agree gun owners should be required to take training in firearm safety and operation.

The Edgefield Republican isnt sure if the bill has the Republican votes to pass the House, given it is unlikely to receive any Democrat support  which Hutto agreed with.

I dont know that there are any members of our caucus who would vote for constitutional carry because, quite frankly, we believe that anybody who wants to use a gun lawfully is entitled to do that, but they need to do that with training, Hutto said.

Hutto said so-called ghost guns, or guns ordered in pieces by mail and then assembled without a background check, are a major problem in his district.

Hutto has pre-filed a new gun control bill that would require a national background check for any gun sale, create stricter penalties for improper storage of a firearm and possession on school grounds and require any gun owner to have liability insurance for any injuries caused by the firearm. Hutto did not mention his bill during the session.

The Orangeburg senator said some violence in rural communities can be blamed on a lack of social workers and other health care professionals that are recruited by larger, higher-paying counties. The state needs to find ways to better retain those workers in rural areas, he said.

Both Hutto and Massey touted the ability of the Republican and Democratic caucuses to work together.

Were not Washington, OK? Hutto said. We do get along. We know each other. We can talk to each other. We don't always vote together on everything. I don't mean that by a longshot, but we aren't, and I hope we never get to the point where we can't have honest discussions and come up with meaningful compromises to put the people of South Carolina ahead of our politics.

Hutto and Massey disagreed on the topic of a potential state hate crime bill, which the Orangeburg Democrat said is a priority for the session.

The proposed bill would add additional 5-10 year sentences for individuals convicted of violent crimes proven to be motivated by the victims race, gender, religion or other identity, he said.

South Carolina is one of two states without hate crime laws, Hutto said. This hurts the states industrial recruitment and tourism industries, he said

It kind of boggles our mind that thats a problem, he said.

Hutto said most individuals who would violate the hate crime law and receive the additional sentence would already be receiving hefty sentences, such as life, for the violent crimes themselves.

The additional time would be symbolic of the states stance on hate crimes rather than serve as an additional, practical punishment for those convicted, he said.

Life plus five years doesn't really mean anything, Hutto said. That's not the point. The point is its the right thing to do. Its right to say that the policy of South Carolina is that we don't tolerate crimes based on hate."

Hutto said he believes the bill will pass on a Senate floor vote, but it would have to get through Republican-controlled committees first.

Massey said he believes punishments already in place for violent convictions do enough to signal the states distaste for hate crimes.

What else are we going to do to Dylann Roof? Massey said, mentioning the shooter in the 2015 attack on Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. If we want to go get him, we want to go get a posse and string him up in Charleston, sign me up. I'm on the team. What else do you do? What statement do you send when he's already got the death penalty?

The bill does not have wide Republican support in the Senate, many of whom believe it will be used to target free speech, he said.

Massey also worries the bill would tie the Senate up in debate and prevent Republicans from governing, hurting their future electoral chances, he said.
COLUMBIA -- The South Carolina Department of Education is looking for partners to assist with providing meals to children this summer.

The Summer Break Cafe is a summer food service program funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered by SCDE in South Carolina. The mission is to ensure children have access to healthy meals during the summer months when school is not in session.

Interested local governmental agencies, school districts, faith-based and public/private nonprofit organizations can take part in the program. For more information, visit www.summerbreakcafe.com.

Last summer, partners served approximately 1.4 million meals to students across South Carolina.

Get The Times and Democrat app today Local news has never been this personal. Free to download. Subscribers enjoy unlimited access.

When students are on break from school during the summer, their nutrition will continue to be a priority, said Virgie Chambers, SCDEs deputy superintendent of district operations, safety and student wellness.

Our 2024 goal is to increase the number of meal sites to allow more children access to nutritious meals this summer. To do that, we are currently searching for more community partners, especially in rural and low-income areas.

Since 2019, the number of sponsors and sites have decreased. This reduction impacts the number of children that have access to meals throughout the state.

Summer Break Cafe meals are served at sites that can be located at schools, churches, recreation centers, hospitals, cafeterias, farmers markets, community and migrant centers, and other areas in the local community.

Last summer, the federal government changed regulations to allow rural area sites to serve meals in a non-congregate manner. This meant children could take and eat their meals off site, a parent or guardian could pick up meals for their children, and in some cases multiple meals could be picked up at one time.

With this flexibility in place last year, 373,167 non-congregate meals were provided at more than 180 sites by 19 sponsors. These types of meal services vary depending on the sponsors capability and approval by the Department of Education.

Community partners serving as sponsors will be reimbursed for meals provided to children 18 years and younger at approved meal sites. USDA requires sponsors to be financially and administratively capable of conducting a non-profit food service. Sponsors will receive training and technical support during the application process and throughout the operation of their program.

SCDE will be hosting several virtual informational meetings. The first one will be held on Jan. 18, 2024, from 10 a.m. to noon via Microsoft TEAMS. If you would like to attend, you must register online.
(Photo : Unsplash/ D koi)

Microsoft announced on Tuesday that small businesses can subscribe to its Copilot virtual assistant within the company's productivity apps, and consumers who pay for the Microsoft 365 software can now access a new paid version of Copilot.

The Microsoft updates aim to introduce more customers to generative artificial intelligence, a technology popularized by OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot last year that can create natural-sounding text based on a brief written command and assist Microsoft in offsetting the expenses of constructing the data center infrastructure required for AI.

Microsoft Capitalizing on Generative AI

Investors are optimistic about Microsoft capitalizing on generative AI in operating systems, cloud, productivity, web search, and security despite competition from Amazon and Google. Microsoft regained the title of "the most valuable publicly traded company," surpassing Apple last week.

Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella, has recently emphasized AI's stand in the company's identity. During Microsoft's Ignite conference in Seattle last November, Nadella stated, "Our vision is pretty straightforward. We are the Copilot company."

READ ALSO: Microsoft's "AI Odyssey": An Initiative to Upskill 100,000 Indian Developers in AI Industry

Introduction of Copilot for Microsoft 365

Microsoft introduced Copilot for Microsoft 365, drawing on OpenAI's extensive language models. Large companies got access in November, while faculty and staff at educational institutions received it in December, costing $30 per person monthly on top of existing subscription costs.

Now, small businesses subscribed to Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Business Standard can enroll up to 299 licenses at $30 per person monthly, as mentioned by Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's head of Windows and Surface. Moreover, Microsoft has been eliminating the 300-seat minimum for commercial plans since November and now allows Copilot for those with Office 365 E3 or E5, priced lower than full Microsoft 365 subscriptions.

Copilot Pro Add-on at $20 Monthly

Individuals interested in Copilot have accessed it for free through the Bing search engine and copilot.microsoft.com. However, individuals paying for Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions were previously unable to use it in apps like Word, Excel, and Outlook. Starting Tuesday, individuals can now subscribe to the new Copilot Pro add-on at $20 per person monthly and receive priority access to the latest models with OpenAI's GPT-4 Turbo, according to MedhiUsers can use the advanced model during peak times, switch between models, and design custom chatbots using a Copilot GPT Builder tool, which will be released soon. According to Medhi, Copilot Pro enhances performance, productivity, and creativity for writing, coding, designing, researching, and learning tasks.

Copilot will uniquely integrate web context, work data, and current PC activities to offer improved assistance, prioritizing privacy and security. It will be an uncomplicated and seamless experience accessible on Windows 11, Microsoft 365, and Edge and Bing browsers, which can function as an app or appear when needed with a right-click. More capabilities and connections will be added to Copilot across Microsoft's widely-used applications, aligning with a unified vision of customers' experience.

RELATED ARTICLE: Microsoft Stands in Question About National Security, Debates on Keeping China's AI Lab

 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
(TBTCO) - San luong nha may va doanh so ban le cua Trung Quoc vuot ky vong trong giai oan tu thang 1 en thang 2/2024, anh dau su khoi au vung chac cho nam 2024 va mang lai mot so cuu tro cho cac nha hoach inh chinh sach, ngay ca khi su yeu kem trong linh vuc bat ong san van la luc can oi voi nen kinh te va niem tin.
The Disappointed Tourist, a travelling exhibition by internationally known artist Ellen Harvey depicting lost sites from around the world and down the street, is now showing at the newly rebranded Rowan University Art Gallery & Museum, 301 High Street W., in Glassboro.

The exhibition, a collection of paintings composed from photos of historic sites, includes eight from southern New Jersey including Whitney Glass Works in Glassboro, Salem Oak, a beloved tree that was believed to be more than 500 years old when it fell in 2019, the former Zee Orchards in Harrison Township, the entrance to the former Vineland Speedway and Vinelands lost Palace of Depression.

Born in the United Kingdom and educated at Harvard and Yale, Harvey has shown her work in some of the worlds best-loved galleries and forums, including the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, and the Corcoran Museum of Art in Washington, D.C.

For her current collection, Harveys goal is preservation  at least on canvas.

We live in a world that often feels as though it is vanishing before our eyes, she said. Places we love disappear. Places we have hoped to visit cease to exist the Disappointed Tourist is inspired by the urge to repair what has been broken.

Begun about four years ago and arriving in Glassboro after a three-year tour of Europe, the show features some 300 paintings, and Harvey is not done yet.

The goal is 500 -- 500 or five years, whichever comes first, she said.

Harvey welcomes ideas for additions to the Disappointed Tourist, which may be submitted on the shows website, https://disappointedtourist.org/.

Im most interested in places or stories I dont have, maybe a community or country that wasnt yet represented, she said.

Art Gallery Director and Chief Curator Mary Salvante said Harveys exhibition of paintings, all of them 24 inches wide by 16 inches deep, features a mix of the local and the iconic, such as New Yorks Twin Towers, Bonwit Teller department store, and CBGBs, a legendary club in Manhattans East Village.

The show also features lost sites of international importance, including ornate synagogues destroyed by the Nazis and ice shelves under siege by climate change. Lighter fare includes a painting of an old Blockbuster video store and Philadelphias Veterans Stadium.

Theyre painted in the style of vintage postcards, some black and white, some hand tinted, Salvante said.

Open to the public through March 9, a reception and artists talk takes place Wednesday, Jan. 31, from 5-7 p.m.
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ENERGY Minister Stuart Young has taken umbrage at comments made by Ronald Harford, former chairman of Republic Financial Holdings Ltd, as he boasted about the success of the energy sector.

Young said whenever somebody becomes a former, their mouth gets big, as he quoted from an article in Fridays Express report where Harford made critical comments.
Over the last few years, Leon Coldero has arguably become just as renowned for his insatiable cuisine as he is as an entertainer.

Having spent four decades in entertainment, giving soca parang lovers hits that never get old, opening his restaurant was just a natural progression for Coldero, who used the downtime during the Covid-19 pandemic, to delve full throttle into the restaurant business.
A new camera system is being installed along this countrys roadways with the aim of tackling traffic congestion and reducing the countrys crime.

This was said yesterday by Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan, who spoke with the media at the intersection of the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway and Golden Grove Road in Piarco.
With ten people murdered between Thursday and Saturday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley took to Facebook yesterday to assure citizens that State agencies will not give up the fight to rid our streets and other places of the evil that is now widespread as a gun culture in Trinidad and Tobago.

And in a voice note to the media, Commissioner of Police Erla Christopher said, We are determined to dismantle criminal gangs and make a difference in transforming impacted communities.
(Photo : Unsplash/Magnet.me)

Employees are getting concerned about the uncertain state of the workplace as 2024 kicks in, where some take small steps to "cushion" their careers, making it easier to find another job if their current role becomes redundant.

Career "Cushioning" Explained

According to Taylor Queen, HR adviser with Insperity in Orlando, Florida, "career cushioning" happens when employees proactively attend networking events, update resumes and LinkedIn profiles, and potentially apply for jobs to secure their careers if their roles become redundant.

Career Cushioning is about keeping options when you're unhappy at your current job. It involves preparing for a potential layoff by upskilling, exploring jobs in financially stable companies, or starting a side hustle. Simply put, it's a backup plan in case of job loss.

Why is it Becoming a Trend?

Even with a tight labor market, the LinkedIn Confidence Index revealed in October 2022 that less than half of employees felt prepared for an economic downturn. The frequency of career cushioning varies by industry, with some sectors becoming more susceptible to layoffs.

While not a new trend, the concept has been present in some form. It is gaining traction now due to mass layoffs, economic downturns, and global political uncertainty, which creates a sense of insecurity among employees in various sectors, prompting them to have a backup plan ready.

Many startups rapidly hired during the pandemic now face challenges in layoffs due to unsustainable and unplanned growth. Sumit Sabharwal, CEO of TeamLease HRtech, notes that while precautionary measures during job uncertainty are not new, the current trend where employees openly discuss and share experiences collectively is a "new phenomenon."

READ ALSO: Quiet Quitting Explained: A Coping Mechanism After Pandemic Where People Just Work for the Money

The importance of career cushioning

The pandemic highlighted jobs' inherent unpredictability, leading people to explore unconventional ways to secure financial stability. Vijay Yalamanchili, CEO of Keka, who has been preaching the importance of upskilling for 15-20 years, emphasizes the importance of having a backup plan to fall back on when things go wrong. Like GenZ, Yalamanchili believes in the idea of not being confined to a single role and encourages individuals to recognize the value of diversifying their skills.

The increased technology usage has made it easier for people to learn new skills and create a career cushion during the pandemic that allows them to maintain a consistent standard of living and save for the future.

What is the Right Time to Build This?

According to Yalamanchili, career cushioning is an ongoing and relevant strategy in today's environment. It provides an alternative route for those unhappy with their current career path and a valuable option for individuals looking to explore a new direction after upskilling.

You should always be prepared for the worst, regardless of economic conditions. If you sense that your organization is financially unstable and might consider layoffs, Sabharwal suggested it's the right time to begin your career cushioning efforts.

RELATED ARTICLE: The Revolution of "Quiet Hiring" in Today's Workplace

 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Three-time Grammy-winning vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant straddles the jazz and classical worlds, which makes sense why her concert on Friday, Jan. 19, is simultaneously part of the HSL Properties Tucson Jazz Festival and the Tucson Desert Song Festival.

University of Arizonas Arizona Arts Live is presenting Salvants concert at Centennial Hall  1020 E. University Blvd., on the UA campus  as part of both festivals.

Salvant is one of those artists who is impossible to box in. She earned a bachelors degree in French law from the Universite Pierre-Mendes France in Grenoble at the same time she was studying baroque music and jazz at the Darius Milhaud Music Conservatory in Aix-en-Provence, France.

But shes equally comfortable connecting the dots between vaudeville, blues, folkloric and theater.

Did we forget to mention shes also a visual artist?

Animation drawings by the 2010 Thelonious Monk competition winner who also landed a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship (aka Genius Grant) in 2020 are available through the Picture Room in Brooklyn.

We caught up with Salvant via email to find out what to expect from her concert on Friday.

As for repertoire, she says it will be a mixed bag.

Jazz, some baroque, some originals, maybe a song by Sting, some songs from musicals and operas, she said. To me theyre all just songs! I dont really think about genre when I create a set list.

Salvant has a reputation for being able to transform well-worn lyrics from songs that often fade from the collective conscious and make them her own.

I try to stick to the lyric, try to really understand it, and feel it, and translate that to the audience, she explained of her approach. So the goal is not to even sing it well, but to tell the story clearly. Sometimes weve heard a song a million times and still dont really understand what its about.

Some of the music she unearths comes from daily listening of a wide range of music from all over the world and from many different time periods, from the first ever written music, folk songs that have no real birthdate to whatever is coming out now, she said. But her goal, she said, is to always tell a story with every song she sings.

Stories are how we all communicate and connect with each other, she said. Storytelling is what helps us make sense of our lives. As someone who has the privilege of dealing with lyrics, its important to me to squeeze the juice out of them.

Salvants concert closes out the opening week of Tucson Desert Song Festivals winter leg, which runs through Feb. 15. Coming up:

True Concord Voices & Orchestra is bringing back composer Jocelyn Hagen's Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, a nine-movement multimedia choral piece the Grammy-nominated ensemble performed in November 2019, in the second half of Mozart & Hagen: Two Important Encores Jan. 26-28. Mozarts C-minor Mass, the first major work True Concord performed, opens the concert. The ensemble, led by founder and music director Eric Holtan and still using its original name Tucson Chamber Artists, was in its third season when it performed Mozarts Mass in November 2006. For times and venues, visit trueconcord.org.

Tucson Guitar Society is hosting mezzo-soprano Cecilia Duarte Jan. 26 in Noche Hispanoamericana, with the mariachi Trio Chapultepec (Vincent A. Pequeno, Israel Alcala and William Carlton Galvez) and special guest percussionist Jesus Pacheco. The ensemble will perform popular Latin standards from the mid-20th century. In a second set, Duarte will team up with guitarist Misael Barraza-Diaz in a program of Spanish songs for voice, guitar and percussion.

This is Duartes first time on a Tucson stage since she starred in Arizona Operas mariachi opera El Milagro del Recuerdo (The Miracle of Remembering) in 2021.

The concert will be held at the University of Arizona School of Musics Holsclaw Hall, 1017 N. Olive Road. For tickets and details, visit tucsonguitarsociety.org.
Chick-fil-A: Chick-fil-A gave Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson a $50,000 grant as part of its True Inspiration Awards. The organization plans to use the grant to buy a new fleet of vehicles to provide transportation for youth. Established in 2015, the True Inspiration Awards seek to honor and support organizations that make a positive impact in their local communities. Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson was named a winner in the Caring for People category.

Levity Wellness: Levity Wellness, a float spa in Tucson, partnered with a local Girl Scout troop for a month-long donation drive for Pima Animal Care Center in December.

Tucson East Elks Lodge 2532: Tucson East Elks Lodge 2532 closed out 2023 with a number of charitable events, all supported by grants and fundraisers by the membership. It presented $2,500 to the Tucson Food Pantry to purchase additional food for the Thanksgiving holiday. The lodge also donated $1,000 to the Kids of Steele foundation for its Christmas program. As part of separate efforts, the lodge took 50 children from Ford Elementary School on a Christmas shopping event at Walmart store; and members packed and delivered 52 food boxes to families in need.

XPO: A local branch of a nationwide trucking company XPO donated 500 pounds of food to Tucson East Elks Lodge 2532 for its Feed a Family program. This was done entirely through employee donations. The food donation was to supplement the food boxes distributed at Christmas in the community by the lodge.

Trico Electric Co-op: Trico Electric Cooperative has awarded $35,000 to six nonprofit organizations providing critical services in Southern Arizona. The grants are part of Tricos Power Grants program and are awarded twice a year to charities.

Nonprofits are selected through an application process and reviewed by a six-person committee made up of Trico employees, members and board members.

Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation received a $2,000 grant. Receiving grants of $5,000 each were Gabriels Angels, Literacy Connects and Wheel Fun. Hard Hitters for the Kingdom, Inc. received a grant of $8,000. Junior Achievement of Arizona received a grant of $10,000.
A Honolulu-based restaurant chain has opened its first Tucson location.

L&L Hawaiian Barbecue is now open at 4210 N. First Ave., near East Limberlost Drive. It is the chains third Arizona restaurant.

The community here loves Hawaii and is thrilled to have authentic Hawaiian plate lunches, Tucson owner Rilii Nakano said.

The Tucson restaurant is one of four the Hawaiian chain has recently opened. The 72-year-old restaurant now has 228 locations throughout the U.S. and Japan since becoming a franchise in 1999.

It specializes in plate lunch which is also known as the state food of Hawaii and dates to wage laborers in 19th-century sugar plantations and pineapple fields, who brought rice and other leftovers to work in tins and shared home recipes from Japan, China, Philippines, Portugal and Korea.

Menu items include barbecue meats, rice plates and Spam Musubi.

L&L also has restaurants in Yuma and Phoenix.

Visit hawaiianbarbecue.com for more information.

Other local commercial activity includes:

Beachcomber Campus Edge LLC bought the 28-unit apartment complex at 901 N. First Ave. from 3011 Nine LLC for $4.2 million. Allan Mendelsberg and Joey Martinez, with Picor, represented both parties.

Redwood Villa Inc. bought the 9,100-square-foot Dollar General Store at 12059 W. Clark Farms Blvd. from Scalzo-Ostermiller LP for $2 million. Dave Hammack, with Picor, represented the seller and George L. Renz, with Renz & Renz Investment & Commercial Brokerage, represented the buyer.

GrantCampbell SBUX LLC bought 1.05 acres of land at 2350 N. Campbell Ave. from Campbell/Grant Joint Venture LLC for $1.8 million. Rob Tomlinson and Greg Furrier, with Picor, represented the seller.

Shahen LLC bought a 2,468-square-foot retail building on 0.52 acres at 3578 and 3580 N. First Ave. from Emanuel A. Pita and Elizabeth A. Pita for $720,000. Greg Furrier and Natalie Furrier, with Picor, handled the sale.

AB46 Investments LLC, doing business as D2 Dispensary, leased 13,888 square feet of retail space at San Francisco Square, 3906 N. Oracle Road, from The Machado Family Trust. Dave Hammack, with Picor, represented the landlord and Cameron Lee, with David Lee Real Estate Co., represented the tenant.

Gueros Produce LLC leased 3,390 square feet of industrial space at 850 E. Ohio St. from RRL Inc. Denisse Angulo-Badilla, with Picor, represented the tenant and Max Fisher, with BRD Realty LLC, represented the landlord.
"To all my friends and the people who have supported me, I say 'God bless you.'

"To my enemies -- damn you all."

That's how William H. "Alfalfa Bill" Murray ended a speech in Tishomingo, according to one of the Oklahomans who filed through the Capitol rotunda where Murray's body lay in state.

It was more than just walking past the coffin; it was a chance for hundreds of Sooners to trade stories about Murray, 86, the state's most colorful politician, who had been president of Oklahoma's Constitutional Convention, served in the Legislature, served two terms in Congress and was Oklahoma's ninth governor.

The most turbulent figure during the state's stormiest era, Murray was born a legend and just never stopped being one, the Tulsa World said in its Oct. 16, 1956, obituary for the fiery former governor.

Murray was born William Henry Davis Murray on Nov. 21, 1869, in the Toadsuck community in Grayson County, Texas, near the Red River. As he put it, "I was born in a Texas cotton patch in the midst of a snowstorm."

Murray's mother died when he was 2, and he ran away from home at the age of 12 after his father remarried. An avid reader, Murray sold books in the summer to support himself, memorized the Constitution and read history books for pleasure.

He taught school, edited a newspaper, worked as a political reporter and studied law before running for the Texas state Senate in 1898, the first of his many political defeats, and moving to Oklahoma.

During his early career, Murray became an advocate of alfalfa as a crop and picked up the tag "Alfalfa Bill" that stuck for life. Earlier he had been known as "Cocklebur Bill" because his farm near Tishomingo was covered with cockleburs after a flood.

As president of the 1906 Constitutional Convention in Guthrie, he used a heavy hand to get what he wanted. During his campaign for approval of the constitution by voters, Murray once began speaking on a street corner in Tulsa at 9 p.m. and talked for two hours, a 1907 World story reported.

At one point, the Woods County territorial court enjoined the convention from further progress toward writing a constitution, a ruling that was upheld by the Supreme Court. Some of Murray's supporters suggested he should speak kindly of the court.

"My compliments to the court," Murray said in a telegram to his supporters. "Tell them to go to hell."

After the constitution was approved, Murray was an overwhelming choice for speaker of the new state's House of Representatives. Three years later he made a race for governor but was trounced by Lee Cruce.

He was elected congressman at large, serving two terms, but was defeated when he sought a third term, and in 1918 ran again for governor but was defeated by J. B. A. Robertson.

When he became governor in 1931, Murray said "mine will not be a peaceful administration." He knew whereof he spoke.

He fired politicians; he fought the Legislature; he clashed with the state Supreme Court; he tried to reform state government and he made national headlines by calling on the National Guard whenever he really wanted to get tough.

The most notable was in 1931 when he called out the Guard to open a new free bridge to Texas across the Red River. At one point, Murray showed up at the bridge with a shotgun.

"Arrest any U.S. judges or marshals who try to interfere but be easy on the Rangers," Murray told the Guard. "Just take their guns and tobacco and give them a light kick in the pants if you have to." The bridge eventually was opened without a war between the two states.

Murray ran for president in 1932 and later lost races for governor in 1937, for congressman at large in 1940 and for the U.S. Senate in 1942.

Although the chief justice usually administers the oath of office to a governor, Alfalfa Bill administered the oath to his son, Johnston Murray, in 1951, 30 years to the day after his 98-year-old father had administered the oath to him.

Murray who once said he didn't wear a hearing aid because "they're expensive and it's a pleasure to not listen to a lot of nonsense" and who chained the chairs in his office to the radiator to keep visitors from pulling them too close to his desk, was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1951.

Like this column? Read all the columns in the Only in Oklahoma series from the Tulsa World Archive.
Ten years ago today, U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn confirmed that he would resign at the end of the session.

Coburn, who was undergoing treatment for a reoccurrence of prostate cancer, said "this decision isn't about my health, my prognosis or even my hopes and desires."

"As a citizen, I am now convinced that I can best serve my own children and grandchildren by shifting my focus elsewhere," he said. "In the meantime, I look forward to finishing this year strong."

Sen. James Lankford succeeded Coburn in 2014 after winning a seven-way race for the GOP nomination.

Coburn died in March 2020 at age 72 after his long fight with cancer.
Eating dog meat is a widespread practice in various parts of Vietnam, deeply rooted in a long-standing tradition. Consequently, when the question of whether to ban this practice arises, a significant number of people respond with a firm no.

This sentiment was evident in the comment section under a recent article by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, where a considerable number of readers expressed their disapproval, providing various reasons for their stance.

Several endorsed the viewpoint that dog meat is food.

A reader named Duong Van Ngoc compared dog meat to other livestock and poultry, all similarly serving as both pets and sources of meat and trade.

Meanwhile, another reader named Thanh Hieu highlighted, Its essential to recognize that dogs and cats are part of the natural food chain and arent endangered species.

In Hieus opinion, whether people of a nation eat dog meat or not does not inherently reflect the civilization or culture of their country.

Some others oppose the notion of Vietnam banning the consumption of dog meat, saying it represents a dangerous form of cultural imperialism, prioritizing foreign sensibilities over Vietnamese traditions.

Why impose a ban? While I personally dont favor consuming dog meat, I dont endorse a blanket prohibition. Why should Vietnam conform to the preferences of the West? Instead, it is crucial to regulate objectionable practices, such as not openly displaying whole slaughtered dogs and transporting newly-butchered dogs in closed containers, said a reader who declared themselves as le thanh tan.

Recounting her visit to Zurich, a user named Juile said that she was told that some local farmers still consume their dogs meat, though it is not widely sold.

Juile elaborated that there is no outright ban on people eating dog meat in the entirety of Switzerland and Canada.

Let those who enjoy it consume it; if others dont, thats okay. Banning it is not a viable solution, the reader commented.

User le to ngoc highlighted the importance of tackling uncontrolled stray dog populations in Vietnam, which not only pose a safety risk to residents but could also negatively impact the country's image in the eyes of international visitors.

How come dog defecation is normalized? the user exclaimed.

The user further argued that eating dog meat is deemed 'harmful,' as is consuming other meats without proper medical supervision.

My friend keeps pigs as pets. Would you propose a ban on eating pork? the user wrote.

To promote a civilized approach, we should consider a broader prohibition on all meats, including cattle, pigs, chickens, birds, and fish, given they are all living animals. Crafting reasons for such a ban is easy, isnt it? a user named Chris Nguyen mocked supporters of the dog meat ban, who cited civilization as one of the reasons.

In general, the readers agreed on one point: it is challenging to abandon dog meat.

According to a reader known as Binh Tran, dog meat is currently a type of food with no legal ground for its consumption in Vietnam.

Therefore, encouraging people to abstain from eating it is more feasible than a complete ban.

Dogs and cats can easily expand in quantity; banning their meat might lead to increased diseases from these animals, posing unpredictable consequences, Binh Tran added.

Issuing a ban on dog meat establishments and deploying regular patrols for market surveillance officers to enforce fines seem like a simplistic solution, but that is easier said than done, a reader named Viet commented.

Meanwhile, Duong Van Ngoc said that encouraging restrictions on consuming dog and cat meat might be suitable primarily in urban areas frequented by foreign tourists or designated tourist destinations.

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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse, and their entourage left Hanoi on Tuesday to attend the 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF-54) in Davos, Switzerland, and visit Hungary and Romania from January 16 to 23.

The PM is accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Planning and Investment, Minister of Industry and Trade, Minister of Education and Training, Minister of Science and Technology, and Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, among other high-ranking officials.

This is the first overseas business trip by the Vietnamese government chief and his wife this year.

The WEF-54 commenced on Monday and will last until Friday with the theme of 'Rebuilding Trust,' bringing together more than 2,800 leaders from 120 countries.

PM Chinh is slated to attend the event from January 16 to 18, at the invitation of WEF founder and president Klaus Schwab.

Vietnam is among the nine partners suggested by the WEF to co-organize a Country Strategic Dialogue, and PM Chinh is one of the eight leaders chosen for a separate dialogue session with the forum.

This reflects the interest, recognition, and appreciation demonstrated by the WEF and multinational corporations for Vietnam's international role, position, as well as its achievements and development visions.

The Vietnamese leader is scheduled to attend and speak at all important WEF discussion sessions, including some special panels dedicated to Vietnam.

He will also chair discussions with representatives of the worlds leading corporations, and have bilateral meetings with leaders of countries and international organizations.

The event provides a valuable opportunity to grasp the world's new ideas, concepts, development models, and trends, allowing Vietnam to make the best use of opportunities and new trends, effectively respond to arising challenges, and attract more external resources for the country's socio-economic development, said Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Hang.

The ambassadors of Switzerland, Hungary, and Romania see off Vietnams Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife at Noi Bai International Airport before their departure for their Europe trip on January 16, 2024. Photo: Nhat Bac / Tuoi Tre

This is also an ideal time for PM Chinh to present Vietnams socio-economic achievements, national development strategies, and foreign policies, while at the same time conveying a strong message about a dynamic and innovative Vietnam as an attractive investment destination for global corporations.

From the experience of Vietnam and ASEAN, the prime minister will propose both immediate and long-term solutions for strengthening international solidarity, rebuilding trust, and promoting cooperation between countries, Deputy Minister Hang said.

Vietnam will also highlight its responsible contributions to handling global challenges, especially in areas where the country has strengths such as food security, smart agriculture, adaptation to climate change, and just energy transition, she added.

After attending the WEF-54, PM Chinh will pay official visits to Hungary and Romania at the invitation of his Hungarian and Romanian counterparts Viktor Orban and Marcel Ciolacu, respectively, from January 18 to 23.

The visits are aimed at further strengthening political trust, expanding traditional cooperation areas, exploring cooperative potential in fields of each others strength, and deepening the friendship between the peoples of Vietnam and the two European countries, Hang stated.

During the trips, PM Chinh will have talks with senior leaders of Hungary and Romania, visit localities, universities, research centers, businesses, the Vietnam Friendship Associations in Hungary and Romania, and meet representatives of the Vietnamese communities in the two countries.

These visits aim to strengthen the ties between Vietnam and the Central and Eastern Europe region, as well as enhance relations between Hungary, Romania, and ASEAN countries, Hang remarked.

The goal is to facilitate close coordination in addressing global issues, thereby contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in both the regions and the world, she added.

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A series of hotels and households along Lam Hoanh Street in Son Tra District under Da Nang City, the capital of central Vietnam, are crying for help with noise pollution from a building project.

Several hoteliers told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday that they are facing excessive noise from an underway housing project.

Sound from drills and the impact of equipment and machines from morning till night at the construction site at 254 Vo Nguyen Giap Street have bothered guests in many nearby hotels since the start of 2024.

Multiple tourists have canceled room bookings, left negative reviews, and given low scores for the affected hotels. Meanwhile, several guests left the noise-hit hotels at midnight due to noise pollution, according to a petition written by hoteliers in Da Nang.

Noise from an underway building project, located near a beach in Da Nang City, has deterred many guests from staying at nearby hotels. Photo: Doan Cuong / Tuoi Tre

T.T.H.K., manager of a hotel in Phuoc My Ward, Son Tra District, noted that their establishments primarily cater to foreign guests, particularly South Koreans. These international tourists seek out the hotels for their tranquil environments, providing them with peaceful spaces to rest and rejuvenate.

However, excessive noise from the construction forced dozens of visitors at her hotel to check out at night a few days ago. They could not sleep due to the loud sound, K. lamented.

While we can understand the necessity of construction activities, conducting building work late at night is deemed unacceptable, K. stressed.

Another hotelier, T.Q.H., said that many guests at his hotel complained about noise from the construction project.

We have had to offer discounts to guests to get them to deal with such pandemonium, leading to a drop in revenue, H. said.

Residents and hoteliers have asked the constructor of the project to execute it at a suitable time. Photo: Doan Cuong / Tuoi Tre

Following complaints from hoteliers, the Peoples Committee of Phuoc My Ward took action by issuing a warning to the owner of the construction project.

The administration instructed the constructor to adhere to the permitted construction hours to address the concerns raised by the affected parties.

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The consul general of India in Ho Chi Minh City and the chief editor of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper have exchanged ideas to enhance and foster cooperation between Vietnam and India across various sectors.

Tuoi Tre's Editor-in-Chief Le The Chu and Dr. Madan Mohan Sethi, Indian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, believe that there are opportunities to boost people-to-people understanding, consequently bolstering bilateral cooperation.

During their meeting at the newspapers main office in the city on Tuesday, Sethi said that in the last three years he has visited many places in Vietnam and seen its beauty as well as development potential.

Recognizing parallels between Vietnam and India, notably a youthful population, he acknowledged the positive trajectory of their relationship spanning over 50 years.

Both nations are experiencing favorable development, with companies from each side actively exploring opportunities for mutual investments.

More than 300,000 Indian tourists came to Vietnam last year and that could increase to one million in the near future, the consul general said.

As a doctor before becoming a diplomat, Sethi expressed his views on the potential for developing medical tourism in Vietnam.

In India, the influx of over one billion tourists from around the world signifies a growing trend of seeking a blend of travel experiences and medical care there.

Sethi aired his belief that now is a golden time for the two countries to cooperate in education and training, given the abundance of young populations on both sides.

Le The Chu (L), Tuoi Tre editor-in-chief, hosts a meeting with Indian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Madan Mohan Sethi at the newspapers headquarters, January 16, 2024. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre News

Exploring collaboration in technology holds immense potential, particularly as India stands out as a leading nation in information technology and digital transformation, he said, adding that his country exported over US$220 billion worth of IT products last year.

The avenue for partnership in technology between the two countries is vast, the diplomat said.

He underscored the pivotal role of media in facilitating a better understanding of Vietnam among the Indian people.

He expressed hope for the initiation of cooperative programs soon to enhance and further promote the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

Chief editor Chu said that there is a growing interest among Vietnamese people to travel to India.

Given that Tuoi Tre has a significant readership among the youth, he saw this as an opportunity to further strengthen the connection between the two sides.

Vietnam can also learn from India's socio-economic development. As Vietnam is focusing on information technology and semiconductors, India can be a role model and supporter on human resource training.

"We aspire to serve as a positive bridge, fortifying the relationship between Vietnam and India, Chu remarked.

Through our efforts to provide comprehensive information to readers and businesses, we aim to create avenues for increased cooperation, opening up additional opportunities for both countries.

Both sides also deliberated on establishing a more robust communication channel between Tuoi Tre and the Indian Consulate General to impart more useful information to the public.

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A man backed his car out of a tollgate and drove it in the wrong direction on the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway in southern Vietnam on Monday as he did not have sufficient money to pay a toll fee.

A traffic police officer said on Tuesday that the man was summoned and booked for wrong-way driving on the same day.

Camera footage showed that the car was driving from Ho Chi Minh City to Dong Nai Province on Monday afternoon.

The driver of the car was summoned and booked at a police station in southern Vietnam for wrong-way driving on January 16, 2024. Photo: Supplied

However, the car failed to pass through tollgate 319 to reach Nhon Trach District in the southern province as the drivers toll payment account did not have enough money to cover a toll fee.

The driver was identified as N.Q.T., 39, who resides in southern Binh Duong Province.

As per prevailing traffic regulations, he will be fined VND4-6 million (US$162.4-243.6) and have his drivers license revoked for one to three months.

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RM and V of BTS completed five weeks of boot camp training Tuesday, the Army said, after enlisting late last year to carry out their mandatory military service.

The two members earned the rank of private after undergoing various training, including basic combat and chemical, biological and radiological defense drills, at the Korea Army Training Center in Nonsan, 152 kilometers south of Seoul.

At the boot camp graduation ceremony, the two members received an award as elite trainees for scoring top marks, the Army said. The award is given to around five recruits out of 200, with recipients being rewarded with vacation days.

RM detailed his experience in a video message during the ceremony, noting that he found a sense of fulfillment in military life.

"Through the mental strength education, I deeply felt the need for the military and basic military training in the Republic of Korea, which is a divided country and one in an armistice," he said, referring to South Korea by its official name.

South Korea technically remains in a state of war with North Korea as the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

"Although a world without a need to learn marksmanship would be ideal, I will do my best to carry out my duties, while reflecting on the fact that the peace the Republic of Korea has enjoyed over the past 70 some years is due to the noble sacrifice, efforts and devotion of many people."

RM will be stationed at his unit sometime this week, while V will undergo three more weeks of training as he applied to carry out special operations duty under the Capital Defense Command.

Currently, all seven members of BTS are carrying out their mandatory service in the military or as a social service agent.

All able-bodied South Korean men are required to serve in the military for at least 18 months in a country facing constant threats from North Korea. (Yonhap)
This years dry season may see more severe inland saltwater intrusion than last year, putting Vietnam's Mekong Delta region at risk of a fresh water shortage next month, according to the National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting.

The center has recently warned that during the ongoing dry season, saline intrusion is expected to surpass the average levels observed in previous years.

This phenomenon, attributed to the El Nino, may lead to a fresh water dearth in many localities in the region.

The El Nino could result in unconventional weather patterns and trigger natural disasters, compounding the challenges faced by the affected areas.

During peak saltwater intrusion from February to April 2024, saltwater will intrude deep into the estuaries in the region, causing many localities to fall short of their fresh water needs, the agency elaborated.

The same situation, along with drought, may also occur in the central and Central Highlands regions, affecting agricultural production and peoples daily life.

Recently, the Ham Luong River in Ben Tre Province, one of the 13 localities in the delta region, saw over 50km of inland saline intrusion, which has been poised to increase to about 62km, according to the local hydrometeorological station.

The one-ppt salinity (one gram of salt over 1,000 grams of water) on the Co Chien River encroached 54km and has been predicted to extend 4km further inland.

The station previously warned that salinity on river branches would increase with peak tides until Tuesday.

In Bac Lieu Province, another province in the region, authorities have developed three scenarios for drought and saltwater intrusion, tailored to different severity levels, said Lai Thanh An, director of the provincial irrigation agency.

In light of this situation, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh took action on Monday by issuing a directive to tell the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, along with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, to closely monitor the weather and hydrological conditions.

The fiat specifically requested predictions regarding water sources, their quality, and the potential risks of saline intrusion, fresh water shortages, and drought across the country.

Special attention was emphasized for regions most vulnerable, such as the Mekong Delta, as well as the central and Central Highlands parts.

The PM assigned the agriculture ministry to set out plans to prevent, alleviate, and overcome consequences caused by such undesirable conditions.

The ministry must also issue instructions to farmers on how to organize farming production to minimize impacts of adverse factors, the dispatch said.

All local authorities in the Mekong Delta region must prioritize sufficient supply of water for residents, health facilities, schools, and other essential needs, while calling on people to use water economically and efficiently.

In addition to Ben Tre and Bac Lieu, the other 11 Mekong Delta localities include Can Tho City and the 10 provinces of Long An, Tien Giang, An Giang, Vinh Long, Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, Dong Thap, Kien Giang, Hau Giang, and Ca Mau.

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Art enthusiasts from Paris and across Europe recently converged at the prestigious Almine Rech Gallery in Paris for a captivating exhibition featuring the works of Tia-Thuy Nguyen, a renowned contemporary artist from Vietnam.

Sparkle in the Vastness, an artistic display by the celebrated artist Tia-Thuy Nguyen, takes center stage as a highlight at the renowned Almine Rech Gallery, enchanting the public as it opens its doors in the first month of 2024.

The exhibition lasts more than one month and is set to end on February 24.

Almine Rech stands as the esteemed venue for various prestigious exhibitions featuring renowned contemporary artists, including Justin Adian, Joe Andoe, Ziad Antar, Roby Dwi Antono, John M Armleder, and more.

This marks a significant stride in Tia-Thuy Nguyen's professional artistic journey and represents a rare opportunity for a Vietnamese contemporary artist to enjoy exclusive representation by a world-class gallery.

The collaboration is also an important milestone in Tia-Thuy Nguyen's artistic practice, demonstrating her professional stature on the international stage.

On the opening day of the exhibition, a large number of Parisian art aficionados, influential people in society, and friends were present to congratulate Tia-Thuy Nguyen.

Notably, the event witnessed the presence of Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Ruiz-Picasso, the grandson of artist Pablo Picasso, philanthropist, author, and heir to the ownership of Picasso's works.

Also in attendance were Almine Rech, founder of Almine Rech Gallery; Dinh Toan Thang, Vietnamese Ambassador to France Martin Rama, former chief economist of World Bank Vietnam; Eva Nguyen Binh, president of the French Institute; Vanessa Tubino, treasurer of the Principality of Monaco Expatriate Club; Mara Hoberman, art historian and researcher of Joan Mitchell Catalog Raisonne (Paris); along with many reporters and media outlets who came to cover and interview the Vietnamese artist.

The exhibition is held in a minimalist space with white walls to highlight the works.

Those visitors dedicated ample time to appreciating the artworks, engaging in conversations, and exchanging thoughts with the owner of the pieces.

Such discussions revolved around her passion for art, creative inspiration, and the intricate techniques employed in drawing, embroidery, beading, and more.

Visitors to Sparkle in the Vastness'

Recognition of Tia-Thuy Nguyen's talent by Almine Rech

The year 2023 marked Tia-Thuy Nguyen's diligent and active activities in France and Europe when she continuously participated in exhibitions, like Floating in the Nothingness, Flower of Life, and others.

It all made a strong impression on Almine Rech, the French businessman and artist who founded Almine Rech Gallery  one of the leading art galleries in the world  and co-founded FABA (Fundacion Almine y Bernard Ruiz-Picasso), an organization dedicated to preserving the legacy of Pablo Picasso and maintaining an extensive archive of his works.

Without hesitation, Almine Rech extended an invitation to Tia-Thuy Nguyen and allocated space at the prestigious Paris gallery for her solo exhibition in the early days of 2024, marking a brilliant start to the new year for the artist.

With more than 20 works in the Sparkle in the Vastness exhibition, Tia-Thuy Nguyen brought a visual feast to viewers as she continued to play with diverse materials.

Presenting over 20 works in the 'Sparkle in the Vastness' exhibition, Tia-Thuy Nguyen treated viewers to a visual feast, skillfully playing with various materials.

Despite her classical training in Western painting, she has consistently sought to infuse her practice with the essence of the Asian spirit that has profoundly influenced her artistic journey.

As someone who loves and appreciates craftsmanship, she spent many years learning and pursuing traditional embroidery and applique techniques to turn them into her own unique painting language.

'Sparkle in the Vastness' serves as a continuation of Tia-Thuy Nguyen's creative exploration inspired by clouds. These inspirations trace back to the stories of her father, a former air force pilot, who recounted experiences of flying through majestic clouds.

Enchanted by the mysterious and remarkably clear beauty of clouds, Tia-Thuy Nguyen developed a profound connection and genuine concern for both the clouds and the interplay of light within them.

Naturally, they enter her works, in the shapes, in the layers of materials, and even in the somewhat dramatic way of handling light, opening up magnificent scenes.

Drawing from her father's career as an air force pilot, personal life experiences, and reflections in resonance with the book My Way: The Way of White Clouds by Osho (1975), Tia-Thuy Nguyen uncovered layers of clouds that mirror her own emotions  sometimes vast and desolate, other times bright and hopeful.

A special experience for Parisian art connoisseurs

'Sparkle in the Vastness' took its viewers on a journey of continuous surprises, showcasing Tia-Thuy Nguyen's mastery of innovative composition techniques.

Her approach involves developing the composition with diverse shades of paint, and then applying various craft techniques to enhance the layers.

The infusion of countless sparkling beads, colorful wool fibers spanning thousands of meters, along with the integration of jute and bamboo fabrics, yielded vibrant and brilliant scenes.

The embossing and intertwining of these materials created a sparkling effect that harmoniously graced the surface of each work.

The deliberate overlapping of layers formed a shared landscape, simultaneously concealing and revealing aspects, evoking reflections on the artist's compressed stories and emotional experiences throughout the creative process.

The exhibition lasts more than one month and is set to end on February 24, 2024.

Tia-Thuy Nguyen drew inspiration from the Hang Trong folk painting genre, infusing her works with warm colors and employing bright, vibrant, and somewhat spontaneous color schemes.

The adept incorporation of the spirit found in folk art genres showcases a special talent within Tia-Thuy Nguyen, enabling her to craft a highly personal and distinctly Vietnamese artistic portrait.

This unique quality becomes evident when her works are juxtaposed with those of international artists.

Present at the Sparkle in the Vastness exhibition, many friends, colleagues, and art lovers gave compliments to the artist.

"When I first saw Tia-Thuy Nguyen's sky paintings, I was immediately captivated by her ability to structure and imagine the space around us: the sky, Almine Rech said.

The sky in different atmospheric regions, the sky from dusk to dawn, or at night.

I would love to know about her passion for these paintings.

Her artwork not only captures the beauty and awe of the sky but also reflects her patience in the creative process.

She invests considerable time in adorning oil paintings on canvas with beads.

Through her work, she communicates a spectrum of emotions, ranging from love and hope to fear, encapsulating the enduring sentiments experienced during the prolonged days of waiting for a soldier to return from war.

During the exhibit, the Vietnamese artist expressed her gratitude to Almine Rech for providing a valuable opportunity that facilitated artistic collaboration and synergy between two creative minds.

"My father's stories have contributed to shaping my ability to deeply observe and research, as well as the way I live and face everything in life, she said.

Patience, determination, and striving are also values that I have learned from his career and applied to my life and my artworks.

I hope Sparkle in the Vastness will bring wonderful experiences and create sparkle in the hearts of viewers.

The warmly embraced display at Almine Rech in France underscored Tia-Thuy Nguyen's distinctive standing in the realm of contemporary art.

Viewers cannot overlook her deep affection and significant contributions to the preservation and development of traditional crafts and Vietnamese folk arts.

Some artworks on display:

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A wild mango tree, around 300 years old, at a restaurant in Phu Quoc Island City, off Kien Giang Province in southern Vietnam, has become a magnet for both local and international tourists.

Sitting on the premises of Gio Bien restaurant, owned by Ho Bach Diep, in Chuong Vich Hamlet, Ganh Dau Commune, Phu Quoc City, this ancient mango tree is a living witness to the passage of time.

Diep reminisced that when she and her family resettled on the island in 2000, the mango tree was already thriving.

Sporting rugged bark, the mango trunk boasts a circumference of approximately 4.5 meters, with branches sprawling 15-20 meters wide, creating a refreshing canopy.

A 300-year-old mango tree boasts curved branches in Ganh Dau Commune, Phu Quoc City, off Kien Giang Province in southern Vietnam. Photo: Chi Cong / Tuoi Tre

Diep states that the tree, standing at an impressive height of 30 meters, is estimated to be approximately 300 years old.

In recent times, the mango tree has become a prominent attraction for tourists, providing numerous photo opportunities.

This wild mango tree has stood the test of time, Diep said.

Its beauty mesmerizes both domestic and foreign tourists who eagerly capture its essence in their photographs.

Recognizing this, Ive been dedicated to preserving and protecting the tree.

A woman poses for a photo under a 300-year-old mango tree in Ganh Dau Commune, Phu Quoc City, off Kien Giang Province in southern Vietnam. Photo: Chi Cong / Tuoi Tre

Diep highlighted the remarkable resilience of the tree, which grows merely 100 meters from the sea.

Despite its age, annually, the mango tree blossoms and yields modest-sized, mildly sour fruits.

Upon ripening, the fruits delight the taste buds with a sweet flavor and subtle aroma.

Men measure the trunk of a 300-year-old mango tree in Ganh Dau Commune, Phu Quoc City, off Kien Giang Province in southern Vietnam. Photo: Chi Cong / Tuoi Tre

Leveraging this unique characteristic, Diep has incorporated the mangos acidity into various dishes offered at Gio Bien Restaurant, such as canh chua (Vietnamese sweet and sour soup), sour sea fish hotpot, and mixed dried fish salad, which have all proven highly appealing to tourists.

Pham Huu Kiet, chairman of the Peoples Committee of Ganh Dau Commune, emphasized the need for a specialized agency or expert evaluation to determine the trees age, adding a layer of authenticity to its centuries-old lore.

Visitors admire a 300-year-old mango tree in Ganh Dau Commune, Phu Quoc City, off Kien Giang Province in southern Vietnam. Photo: Chi Cong / Tuoi Tre

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Fetch TV and Warner Bros. Discovery have announced a multi-year extension of their channel partnership, which includes CNN International returning ahead of the U.S. Presidential Election.

Sam Hall, Chief Content and Commercial Officer of Fetch TV said We are delighted to extend our partnership with WBD, with the addition of CNN International taking the total number of WBD channels available on Fetch to nine. Fetch customers will continue to have access to fan favourite programs including Aussie Gold Hunters, Street Outlaws and Sister Wives. We are also very pleased to see CNN rejoin the platform after a two-year hiatus, just in time for what is expected to be a riveting U.S, election cycle.

Glen Kyne, SVP, Networks, Australia & New Zealand, WBD, said: Warner Bros. Discoverys content is incredibly popular in Australia, and this renewal deal with Fetch signals our commitment to continue bringing our homegrown and international content to audiences locally. Building on our long-standing partnership, were also thrilled to expand the reach of CNN International as the trusted news channel returns to Fetch.

Fetch now delivers the most WBD channels in Australia, spanning Discovery, Investigation Discovery, Animal Planet, TLC, Discovery Turbo, Travel Channel, Food Network and HGTV. The addition of CNN International brings the portfolio to a total of nine channels available on the service. All WBD channels are available in the 50 channel Fetch Ultimate pack for $20pm. Customers can also access select channels for as little as $6pm via the Fetch Skinny Packs, including via the popular Knowledge Pack. CNN will be available in the Fetch Knowledge Pack for only $6 pm.

The nine channel portfolio includes:

CNN International  CNN International is the number one international TV news channel according to all major media surveys across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific region, and Latin America.

Discovery  Discovery is dedicated to creating the highest quality non-fiction content that informs and entertains its consumers about the world in all its wonder, diversity and

amazement. The channel offers premium content across genres including, science and technology, exploration, adventure, history and in-depth, behind-the-scenes glimpses at the people, places and organizations that shape and share our world.

Investigation Discovery (ID)  Investigation Discovery (ID) is the leading true crime network on television, delivering the highest-quality programming to millions of households.

TLC  Offering remarkable real-life stories, TLC shares everyday heart, humour, hope and human connection with programming that include fascinating families, heart-warming transformations and lifes milestone moments.

HGTV  HGTV delivers families with relatable stories, superstar real estate and renovation experts and amazing home transformations that inspire a passionate audience.

Food Network  Food Network is a unique lifestyle network, website and magazine that connects viewers to the power and joy of food.

Travel Channel  Travel Channel celebrates and is inspired by explorers and their passion for travel, curiosity about the world and unique points of view.

Discovery Turbo  Discovery Turbo is a unique channel dedicated to all things motored. Offering adrenaline-fuelled entertainment for those who love the thrill of speed, it brings viewers along for the ride to experience the most exciting vehicles on Earth.

Animal Planet  Animal Planet immerses viewers in the full range of life in the animal kingdom with high-quality entertainment, information and enrichment.

Fetch subscribers can view all WBD channels live on TV or on the Fetch Mobi App. Content from Discovery, Investigation Discovery, TLC, and Discovery Turbo is also available on demand.
Veteran broadcaster Philip Brady is recovering in hospital following surgery for a broken hip.

The Herald Sun reports Brady, 84, was walking his dog in the early hours of Friday morning when it caused him to fall on concrete.

It is the second time he has broken his hip following a 2013 fall in Hong Kong.

His 3AW co-presenter Simon Owens posted hopeful news earlier this week.

Greetings from Philip Brady from his hospital bed. At 6pm last night he went in to surgery to replace his broken hip. Here he is, post-op, still with two legs and sucking on a coke. pic.twitter.com/BCanTo4ijw  Simon Owens (@SimonOMelb) January 14, 2024

Brady has been employed in the media most of his adult life, celebrating 60 years in the industry in 2018.

He joined Channel Nine in 1958 firstly as a booth announcer, at the age of 18, where he remained until 1971, predominantly as part of In Melbourne Tonight. He hosted shows including Concentration, Everybodys Talking, Moneymakers, Junior Moneymakers, Casino Ten, Get the Message and Password for the 010 Network.

He has also made numerous guest appearances on Good Morning Australia, Tonight Live with Steve Vizard and ABCs The Late Show.

Brady has been part of 3AW since 1990, notably with Bruce Mansfield for Remember When plus Nightline, and with Simon Owens.

In 2018 he received an OAM for services to the broadcast media industry.

Hes also a reader of TV Tonight should you care to leave a message.

Get well soon Phil!
Northvolt is expected to list in Stockholm this year in an IPO that could reach $20bn

Swedish lithium-ion battery producer Northvolt has completed one of the largest green loan raises in European start-up history as its treads the path to IPO.

The company today said it has raised $5bn (3.96bn), including the refinancing of a $1.6bn (1.27) debt package raised in 2020, is provided by a 23-strong banking conglomerate including BNP Paribas, Citigroup and JP Morgan.

Reuters reports that Northvolt has now secured more than $13bn (10.28bn) in equity and debt to expand its operations across Sweden, Poland, Germany, the United States and Canada.

The Swedish company has to date received orders of over $55bn (43.5bn) from a range of carmakers, including BMW, Scania, Volvo Cars, and Volkswagen Group.

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Peter Carlsson, Northvolts chief executive and co-founder, told the Financial Times today: This financing is a milestone for the European energy transition and demonstrates that circular, sustainable business practices are fundamental to success in todays industry.

News of the loan comes at a key time for the company, which is mooted for a $20bn (15.82bn) IPO in Stockholm sometime this year in what would be one of the biggest listings in recent years for the European market.

The company recently received state aid from Brussels to the tune of 902m (776.8m) to build an electric vehicle-focused battery manufacturing facility in Germanys Schleswig-Holstein area.
BUDAPEST (Reuters) -The European Union should help Ukraine as it fights Russia's invasion but not by diverting resources from the bloc's budget, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Tuesday.

Hungary has opposed efforts to revamp the EU budget to channel 50 billion euros to Kyiv and provide more cash for other tasks such as managing migration. EU leaders are set to discuss the issue at a summit on Feb. 1.

"If we want to help Ukraine, which I think we need to do, we have to do it in a way that doesn't harm the EU's budget," Orban told a news conference.

"But to give away 50 billion euros from the EU budget for four years in advance is a violation of the EU's sovereignty and national interests. We do not even know what will happen in a quarter of a year."

Orban said any financial facility for Ukraine should be separate from the EU budget. He said Hungary's proposal for creating such a mechanism was based on allocating aid on the basis of gross national income (GNI).

"If Brussels accepts this, then there'll be help for Ukraine, outside the budget," he said. "If not, then I'll be sad to halt this process."

Orban was speaking after meeting Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who like his Hungarian counterpart has said there is no military solution to the crisis in Ukraine, nearly two years after Russia's invasion.

Fico said Slovakia supported Hungary in fighting for its interests and that his government would not support any measures limiting Budapest's rights inside the EU.

He said Orban had a "legitimate" fight in his opposition to EU budget changes and signalled support at the upcoming summit.

"The Slovak government will support proposals the premier of Hungary has already put forward or will put forward," Fico said.

(Reporting by Boldizsar Gyori in Budapest and Jason Hovet in Prague; Editing by Ros Russell and Gareth Jones)
Fans were left fearing Jack Hodgson (David Caves) could be in trouble in Silent Witness. (BBC Studios)

What did you miss?

Silent Witness' viewers were worried for Jack Hodgson (David Caves) in Monday's episode after student Vanessa (Maeve Courtier-Lilley) made a move on him.

Initially his niece Cara Connelly (Rhiannon May) had introduced Vanessa - who she wrongly believed was her friend - to her uncle. The forensic scientist promised he would go over their answers on the crime scene with them once they had a go themselves first.

Things take an unexpected turn when Vanessa met Jack at a bar and hits on him, consequently the forensic scientist tried to let her down gently - but Vanessa doesn't take the rejection well leading to fans fearing she would accuse him of something he didn't do.

What, how and why?

Student Vanessa flirted with Jack when she lures him to the bar by himself. (BBC screengrab)

Viewers know something is possibly going to happen because early on Vanessa had told Cara that she thought her uncle was "hot" and wants to see him again. Soon after meeting Vanessa at the bar, Jack soon begun to wonder where his niece was.

He questioned her: "Where's Cara?" Vanessa lied to keep Jack at the bar saying that she would be here in time and he bought them both drinks while they waited for Cara to arrive. Then she tried to change the conversation from Cara so that she can flirt with him. "Are you from Ireland?"

Jack received a text from his niece innocently asking when they can both go over the homework with him - sparking alarm bells and he knows that Vanessa now has lied to him. "Are you sure Cara knows about tonight?" He asked her, giving her a chance to explain.

She told him, "Of course." At this moment, Vanessa made a move on Jack saying: "I like older guys. They've got... I don't know, more depth." Jack responded saying it was time for them to leave. "We need to reschedule," he said. "Cara couldn't make it. It doesn't seem right."

Jack begins to suspect something isn't right at the bar with Vanessa. (BBC screengrab)

Vanessa hit back: "Why did you ask me out?" But Jack doesn't fall for it saying: "I didn't ask you out and Cara knows nothing about us meeting." Jack walked out the bar after he announced: "I'm gone." However, social media was awash with comments from fans expressing their concern for Jack following the scene.

Story continues

Among the comments, one person wrote: "Vanessa is going to be all sorts of trouble for Jack I feel. If not in this story but in a future episode. Jack showed sense but I still feel he's heading for trouble. Silent Witness."

And added in a separate tweet: "Jack was the most sensible I have ever seen him there with Vanessa. But I fear she will accuse him of harassment or assault. If not next episode then later in the series. The way it cut away before Jack left too. Silent Witness."

More fans shared their thoughts, writing on social media platform X, "Jack. Stay away from Vanessa. Silent Witness" and "Vanessa stay away from Jack, you b****. Silent Witness".

"You know I could say Vanessa youre wasting your breath and she is, but tbf if he was sat in front of me, I'd do the same so. Silent Witness."

"Already have a feeling Vanessa isn't to be trusted." And another person wrote: "Vanessa is a messer! She'll mess up Jack's life for sure."

Later, Jack told his love Nikki (Emilia Fox) all about what has happened and she reassures him. The forensic scientist tried to break it to Cara gently by telling her Vanessa isn't her friend but his niece gets upset.

What else happened on Silent Witness?

Nikki and Jack's romance continues to heat up on Silent Witness (BBC)

The episode started out when the Silent Witness team begin work on a suspected suicide. Gabriel is excited to land a new job opportunity at a university but the professor of criminology is very unhappy that he is overlooked because of a complaint by a student.

The interview panel even admit that the professor of criminology would be more than qualified for the job but they decided to go ahead with Gabriel. Things take a dark turn when two of the people on the interview panel end up dead.

Plus, Jack and Nikki's romance has continued to heat up on Silent Witness. Nikki straddled Jack while on the sofa together after he cheekily calls himself a bike.

Read more
Labour will need a record swing to win a majority at the 2024 general election, as the partys path to power has been made more difficult by big boundary changes.

A major new YouGov survey has indicated that Labour is heading for a repeat of Tony Blairs crushing 1997 victory over the Conservatives.

However, new research shows that Sir Keir Starmer will have to achieve a swing of 12.7 points from the Tories to become a majority-holding prime minister  larger than the 10.2-point swing Tony Blair managed in his landslide.

It is also even higher even than the 12-point swing achieved by Clement Attlee in the historic 1945 post-war Labour victory, and more than double the swing at any other election since.

Sir Keirs task is made harder by the impact of the boundary changes, the first since 2010, which are intended to ensure that constituencies have similar numbers of voters.

The new parliamentary constituencies were drawn up by the permanent and independent Boundary Commissions, and fewer than 12 per cent of the 650 Commons seats were left untouched.

Rishi Sunak said earlier this month that he was planning to go to the poll in the second half of this year, with a date in October or November considered the most likely.

Rishi Sunak is under pressure to revive Tory polling fortunes (PA Wire)

The boundary changes give him a modest boost, analysis by leading professors Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher suggests, after they compiled notional results from the last general election in 2019 had it been fought on the new constituencies.

They said the overall impact is that the Conservatives will be defending a notional majority of 94 at the next general election, compared with the 80 majority they actually achieved in 2019.

Broadly speaking, this reflects a pattern where the east, southeast and southwest of England have gained seats reflecting the increase in electorates, and Wales has lost them, following the implementation of the new rules, the academics say.

The Tories have made a net gain of seven seats from the changes, while Labour has a net loss of two seats. The Liberal Democrats lose three seats and Plaid Cymru drops from four seats to just two.

Story continues

The changes mean England is allocated 543 seats, an increase of 10. Wales will have 32 seats, a reduction of eight. Scotland will have 57, down two. Northern Ireland remains unchanged with 18.

Despite the cut in the number of seats in Scotland, the SNP remains on 48 seats, and there is no change in Northern Ireland, with the DUP on eight, Sinn Fein on seven, SDLP on two and the Alliance Party on one.

The Conservatives won 365 seats in the snap 2019 December election. Jeremy Corbyns Labour took 203, giving Boris Johnson a Commons majority of 80, and 162 over Labour.

Keir Starmer has told his troops to ignore the polls (PA)

While the number of Conservative MPs is now down to 349, partly because of by-elections, with another two next month, that makes no difference to the calculations for the general election, which are based solely on the notional results.

Following the 2019 election, a direct swing of seven percentage points from the Tories was needed for Labour to become the largest party in a hung parliament. However, the boundary changes mean this rises to 8.3 percentage points.

For an overall majority, Sir Keirs 12.7-point swing requirement is up from 12 on the old boundaries. Any uniform swing from Conservatives to Labour greater than 4.2 and less than 12.7 is likely to produce a hung parliament.

However, focusing only on the direct swing between Conservatives and Labour makes the assumption there will be no change in the share of votes cast for the other parties, which is highly unlikely to be true.

For instance, a 10-point swing from the SNP to Labour would give Sir Keir 15 gains under the new boundaries, easing his path to Downing Street, according to professors Rallings and Thrasher.

The top election experts compiled their notional results on behalf of BBC News, ITV News, Sky News and the PA news agency.

Despite the warnings about the scale of the turnaround needed by Labour, the YouGov poll of 14,000 voters found Sir Keirs party is on course to achieve a stunning 120-majority.

It found that the Tories were headed for as few as 169 seats, while Labour would sweep into power with 385.

The survey, commissioned by Tory donors working with arch-Brexiteer David Frost, also predicts that the chancellor Jeremy Hunt could be one of 11 cabinet ministers to lose their seats, in what would be the biggest collapse in support for a governing party since 1906.

The Conservatives election chief Isaac Levido fired back at Lord Frost at a meeting of the Tory backbenchers 1922 Committee last night.

The strategist said those who organised the timing of the poll  ahead of the showdown Rwanda vote  are intent on undermining this government and more interested in what happens after the election than fighting it.
Like its star attraction, the bulging mass that is Arnold Schwarzenegger, Conan the Barbarian has a one-track mind for fantasy-adventure pandemonium, and it follows through with tons of heart and determination. Though not a faithful adaptation of the Robert E. Howard stories, the John Milius (Red Dawn) movie carries a great deal of the enthusiasm and mettle found in those sword-and-sorcery tales. With a terrifically enchanting production value and a simple, lighthearted storyline, this passionate little yarn is a delightful behemoth full of magic, mystery, and scantily-clad, beautiful women. It delivers the perfect blend of cheesy escapism, boorish brawn, and plenty of sword action.

Schwarzenegger makes his breakthrough performance as the titular character in search of barbarous vengeance. The Austrian champion bodybuilder was by this point a renowned celebrity as a world-class body-definer, winning several competitions, before challenging himself in an acting career, which was off to a very slow start. But it wasn't until his role of the already-iconic Cimmerian slayer that his career suddenly catapulted his unique name to superstardom. And he's the perfect fit for bringing the heroic fantasy to the big screen. Practically bursting at the seams with muscles and with his raspy brusque accent, Schwarzenegger's portrayal breathes life and dimension into a character that could only previously be imagined by millions of readers.

Set in the fictional Hyborian Age, Conan's quest to avenge the genocide of his people and the murder of his parents commences as a young slave. This is one aspect of the script  the second written by Oliver Stone demonstrating his talents as a writer  that works extraordinarily well in an otherwise straightforward plot. The narrative takes its time to develop and establish a sympathetic character, who for a big part of the story lives in survival mode. Then it shows he is no naturally-born superhero. Conan must learn the art of wielding a sword, and he has a hunger for learning as well as fighting. The man is also flawed, pursuing emerald riches as a thief and content with a lifestyle of gluttony.

Through the course of his journey, Conan meets fellow thieves Sabotai (Gerry Lopez) and Valeria (Sandahl Bergman). They are a good addition to the story, not only as trustworthy companions but also as an amusing distraction from the fact that Conan is mostly a lone figure. Too much Schwarzenegger in any given movie doesn't necessarily mean a good thing. Remember End of Days and Eraser? Anyhow, filmmakers also bring in the always-charismatic Mako who pulls a double shift as the odd wizard Akiro and the film's narrator. The actor inserts a good comedic element without completely looking like a fool. Max von Sydow also makes an appearance as King Osric, whose plea to rescue his daughter from a religious cult points Conan in the direction of vengeance and eventual heroism.

The leader to this fanatical sect also happens to be the object of Conan's sweltering retaliation and is played by none other than Darth Vader . . . doh! I meant the remarkably talented James Earl Jones. I was thrown off by his character's final lines where repeats the words father and son several times. No matter, Jones is utterly impeccable as Thulsa Doom, giving the film a certain quality of respectability. And Milius does great in making Jones' villain a powerful foil to an angrily determined Schwarzenegger. With a grand musical score by Basil Poledouris which nicely combines traditional symphony with a medieval-operatic quality and a militarized bent, Conan the Barbarian remains an awesome fantasy-adventure epic and one of Schwarzenegger's most memorable action roles.

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray

Courtesy of Arrow Video, John Milius's Conan the Barbarian rides into home theaters as a two-disc 4K Ultra HD limited edition. For this review we were issued check discs and not a full retail edition so if there are any differences in the packaging we'll update the review ASAP. Housed in their standard black keepcase with a side-sliding slipcover, the Region-free, UHD100 disc sits comfortably opposite a dual-layered, BD50 disc. The package includes a booklet, six double-sided postcards and a double-sided poster. At startup, the disc goes straight to a menu screen with full-motion clips, music playing in the background and the usual options at the bottom left corner of the screen.
By Lee Kyung-min

Hana Bank will establish a regional office in Budapest, Hungary, in the first quarter of this year, according to the lender, Tuesday.

The move is driven by the increasing financial needs of Korean battery makers seeking expansion in the key logistics and manufacturing hub of Europe's electric vehicle (EV) industry.

The Central European country is home to the EV manufacturing plants of leading German premium automakers, including Mercedes Benz, BMW and Audi. Koreas top battery makers, including Samsung SDI and SK On, built production facilities nearby, alongside their partner suppliers. As of 2022, Hungary was the worlds fourth-largest battery producer after China, Poland and the U.S.

Also advancing growth prospects is Korea becoming the top investment partner of Hungary. According to the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA), Korea remained the East European countrys largest foreign investor in 2022 with a commitment of 2.8 billion euros (4.06 trillion won). Korea topped Hungary's list of inbound foreign direct investment (FDI) partner countries for the third time, after 2019 and 2021. In 2022, 73 percent of Hungary's foreign investments were for the EV industries and 43 percent was battery-related.

Last year, Korea invested nearly 2 billion euros in Hungary. It was the second-largest source of FDI after China. The third- and fourth-largest FDI partners were Germany and the U.S., respectively.

Awating approval



Hana Bank said it recently submitted an application to Hungarys central bank to open an office in Budapest.

Our Budapest office is expected to assist Korean battery businesses inking deals, as aided by market research and local business networking organization, a Hana Bank official said.

Hana is the third Korean commercial lender to enter Hungary. Shinhan and Woori set up offices there in 2021. State-run lender Korea Development Bank also has a subsidiary in Hungary.

The Budapest office raises the number of Hanas overseas offices to 26. Its latest overseas expansion was the establishment of a Taiwan branch in April of 2022.

Whether Hana will be able to clinch deals similar to one made by Shinhan remains to be seen.

In December of last year, Shinhan entered into a global syndicated loan agreement of 65 million euros with the Korea Trade Insurance Corp. (K-Sure) and the Hungarian branch of ShinHeung SEC, a Korean manufacturer specializing in rechargeable battery parts.

Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said in a report that Hungary, unlike other European peers, remains open to investments from Korea and China.

Hungary is referred to as a place where Western European auto manufacturers and East Asian battery manufacturers meet, according to the KOTRA report.

The stability of Korean businesses in the European country will be determined largely by the speed at which infrastructure is established to facilitate manufacturing, the report said.

The report highlighted that Korean battery makers face a variety of challenges, including the imperative need for localization to meet customer demands.
Welcome Guest! You are here: Home  Education & Career

AISSEE 2024 Admit Card - When, Where and How to Download

As per the revised schedule, AISSEE 2024 will be held on Sunday January 28, 2024 in pen and paper mode across India. Read More

Tuesday January 16, 2024 9:35 PM , ummid.com News Network

Sainik School Entrance Examination 2024-25 Session: The National Testing Agency (NTA) is on behalf of Sainik School Society set to release on its website aissee.nta.nic.in the Admit Card and Hall Ticket of the candidates who have registered for the All India Sainik School Entrance Exam 2024-25 (AISSEE 2024).

As per the revised schedule, AISSEE 2024 will be held on Sunday January 28, 2024 in pen and paper mode across India.

The Sainik School entrance exam was originally scheduled to be held on January 21. It was however rescheduled because the exam date clashed with other exams.

The NTA has not confirmed any exact date to release the admit card. However, as per the AISSEE Information Bulletin, the NTA should release the admit card of the registered candidate three weeks before the exam.

Accordingly, all registered candidates should note that the AISSEE 2024 Admit Cards can be released any moment.

Once released and live on the official website, AISSEE admit card can be downloaded and printed through candidate login.

Steps to download AISSEE Admit Card 2024

1. Click here to go to official website: aissee.ntaonline.in .

2. Click on the link marked as "Download Admit Card - AISSEE 2024" under Latest News Sectiom of the Home Page.

3. Enter Application Form Number, Date of Birth and Security Pin.

4. Click on Submit button to proceed and download your admit card (hall ticket).

Candidates should note that Admit card is not transferable to any other person. "Impersonation is a legally punishable offence", the NTA said.

"No candidate will be allowed to appear at the examination centre, on Date and Timing other than that allotted to him/her in his/her Admit card", the NTA said.

Key Points to Remember

 The Admit Card is issued provisionally to the candidates, subject to the fulfilment of the eligibility conditions.

 Admit Card will not be sent bypost.

 Candidate must not mutilate the Admit Card or change any entry madetherein.

 Issue of Admit Card, however, shall not necessarily mean acceptance of eligibility which shall be further scrutinized at subsequent stages of admission process.

 Candidates are advised to preserve a copy of their Admit Card in good condition for futurereference.

AISEE 2024 Eligibility

 Eligibility for admission to Class 6: Candidate should be between 10 and 12 years as on 31.03.2024. Admission for Girls is open in Class 6 only in all Sainik Schools.

 Eligibility for admission to Class 9: Candidate should be between 13 and 15 years as on 31.03.2024 and should have passed Class 8, from a recognised school, at the time of admission.

 Exam fee: Rs 500/- for SC/ST and Rs 650/- for all others

Scheme/duration/medium/syllabus of examination, list of Sainik Schools and their tentative intake, reservation of seats, exam cities, merit list and result declaration dates, passing requirements, important dates, etc., relating to the exam are contained in the Information Bulletin hosted on the official website.

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Welcome Guest! You are here: Home  Education & Career

MHT CET 2024 Registration Begins - Steps to Apply

As per the Maharashtra CET Cell, the MHT CET (PCM) will be held from April 16 to 23, 2024, and the MHT CET (PCB) for this year on the other hand will be held from April 25 to 30, 2024. Read More

Tuesday January 16, 2024 11:24 PM , ummid.com News Network

MHT CET 2024 Registration: The State Common Entrance Test Cell Maharashtra has started receiving online application through its website 'portal.maharashtracet.org' for MHT CET 2024 from Tuesday January 16, 2024.

Candidates should note that the online registration has started from today for MHT CET (PCM) and MHT CET (PCB) both.

Candidate who want to appear for MHT CET 2024 should note that the last date of application is March 01, 2024.

MHT CET 2024 Date

MHT CET 2024 is held for Engineering as well as Medical students. It is mandatory for admission in various engineering and medical professional degree courses that also include Pharmacy courses.

For the students who wish to make career in Engineering (BE and BTech) need to appear in MHT CET (PCM) and the students who plans to opt for Medical (MBBS, BDMS, BUMS, BAMS, BHMS, Para Medical or B Pharmacy courses) should appear in MHT CET (PCB).

As per the Maharashtra CET Cell, the MHT CET (PCM) will be held from April 16 to 23, 2024, and the MHT CET (PCB) for this year on the other hand will be held from April 25 to 30, 2024.

Direct link to apply for MHT CET 2024

Candidates should note that the Maharashtra CET Cell has launched a new website for registration and information website for Common Entrance Tests this year. Follow the steps given below to apply for MHT CET 2024.

1. Click here to go to official website: MHT CET 2024 Registration Website .

2. Click on the link marked with "New User? Register".

3. Read all instructions carefully and click on OK.

4. Select Type of Registration - Aadhaar on Non Aadhaar.

5. Fill the Personal Information, Contact Information, Reservation, Bank Account details, Education 6. Details and Details required for MHT-CET 2024.

7. Enter and save for future reference an appropriate Password.

8. Enter Security Key

9. Click on Register button.

Candidates should note that they need to pay the MHT CET exam fees in online mode to confirm their registration.

"Fee should be paid only in Online Mode. No offline payment will be accepeted", the CET Cell said.

MHT CET 2024 Syllabus

Candidates should note that along with starting online application process, the CET Cell has also published MHT CET Information Brochure and MHT CET 2024 Syllabus, eligibility criteria and Exam Pattern.

"Syllabi of Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology for the MHT - CET 2024, is declared by Director, Technical Education, Mumbai", the CET Cell said. "The questions will be based on Syllabus of State Council of Educational Research and Training Maharashtra", it said.

"Approximately 20% weightage will be given to Std. XI curriculum and 80% weightage will be given to Std. XII curriculum while setting the question paper", it added.

No Negative Marking

"There will be no Negative Marking, however difficulty level will be at par with the JEE (Main) for Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and difficulty level for Biology will be at par with NEET", the Maharashtra CET Cell said.

"The questions will be mainly application based", it said.

MHT CET Paper Pattern

MHT-CET 2024 will consist of 3 question paper of Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) and each paper will be of 100 marks

The MHT CET PCM and PCB both will be held in two shifts.

"Morning shift will be from 09:00 am to 12:00 pm and afternoon shift will be from 02.00 pm to 05.00 pm", the CET Cell said. "The candidate will have choice of appearing any one or both examination", it added.

The MHT CET Exam Centre will be mentioned on admit card and hall ticket that will be released 1-2 week before the exam.



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Welcome Guest! You are here: Home  India

Police firing on Kar Sevaks part of Mulayam-BJP-RSS-VHP deal: Hindu Mahasabha

Devendra Pandey said he was present in Ayodhya and got injured when the UP Police opened fire on the Karsevaks on October 30, 1991. Read More

Tuesday January 16, 2024 11:42 PM , ummid.com with inputs from Agencies

[Former UP Chief Minister and Smajwadi Party President Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son Akhilesh Singh Yadav with Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah (PTI file)]

Bhopal: In a stunning claim, Devendra Pandey, National General Secretary of Hindu Mahasabha, Monday January 15, 2024 said that the police firing on Kar Sevaks in Ayodhya was part of a deal between Mulayam Singh Yadav, and BJP, RSS and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

Case Background

Hundreds of thousands of Kar Sevaks from across the country had gathered in Ayodhya on October 30, 1990 on a call given by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) for the construction of Ram Mandir on the site where 16th century historic Babri Masjid stood.

Mulayam Singh Yadav was Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. He ordered heavy deployment of force in and around Ayodhay and vowed he would not allow anybody near Babri Masjid.

The police had barricaded about 1.5 km-long pathway to the Babri Masjid. As the Kar Sevaks tried to march towards the Babri Masjid on October 30, a clash erupted between the Kar Sevaks and the police. By noon, police received orders from CM Mulayam Singh Yadav to open fire at the Kar Sevaks, resulting in 17 deaths, according to India Today.

Later, the VHP and the BJP had used the firing to build a nationwide campaign. Those killed in the firing were declared martyrs and their photographs were widely circulated. The asthi yatra of the martyrs was taken out all over India, triggering riots that left over 200 people dead, according to The Times of India.

The campaign helped the BJP win the June 1991 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections. About a year and half later on December 06, 1992, Babri Masjid was razed to ground, forcing the then Congress government at the Centre to remove BJP's Kalyan Singh as CM and impose Presidents rule in UP.

Later, the Supreme Court of India in an order passed on November 09, 2019 granted the ownership of the Babri Masjid land to Hindus and asked the government to form a trust to build Ram Mandir on the site.

The Mandir is still incomplete. But the government has decided to open it for worshippers January 22, 2024 onwards. The inauguration ceremony is being held few months before the 2024 General Elections.

Meanwhile in 2023, the BJP government in New Delhi conferred Padma Vibhushan (posthumous) on Mulayam Singh Yadav. Padma Vibhushan is the second-highest civilian award in India after Bharat Ratna.

SP deal with BJP-RSS-VHP

Ahead of the "inauguration of Ram Mandir" on January 22, 2024, Hindu Mahasabha General Secretary Devendra Pandey claimed that Mulayam Singh Yadav and the BJP, RSS and VHP had together hatched a conspiracy for political mileage and the police firing on the Karsevaks in Ayodhya on October 30, 1991 was part of it.

Talking to a Hindi News Channel on YouTube, Pandey said the Padma Vibhushan award conferred on Mulayam Singh Yadav by the Narendra Modi government is in recognition of the favour he had done to the BJP.

There have been hundreds of chief ministers in India who had done extraordinary work. What was Mulayam Singh Yadavs achievement that deserved him Padma Vibhushan? Nothing, except the deal he had with the BJP, RSS and VHP, he told the 4PM News. Mulayam Singh Yadav desired to become an undisputed leader of the Muslim community and the BJP had put its eyes on the Hindu vote bank. By ordering the police firing on the Kar Sevaks, Mulayam achieved what he wanted whereas the incident also politically helped the BJP, he said.

Devendra Pandey said he was present in Ayodhya and got injured when the UP Police opened fire on the Karsevaks on October 30, 1991. He also claimed that they were the Karsevaks who had pelted stones at then VHP President, Ashok Singhal as a result he sustained injuries on his forehead.

Who took Ayodhya dispute to SC?

Pointing at how the Rram Janmabhoomi Ayodhya was a political movement, Pandey said Muslim petitioner Hashmi Ansari was ready for a compromise after the Allahabad High Court ruling. He was however persuaded and funded by some Hindutva organisations to continue the legal battle.

It is how the case reached the Supreme Court of India. It must be investigated who provided fund to Hashim Ansari, Pandey said.

Pandey also demanded investigation of the statement made by Justice Sudhir Agarwal of Allahabad High Court.

It must also be investigated the statement of Justice Sudhir Agarwal who said he was under immense pressure from within and from the political parties to keep the Ram Mandir case unresolved, he said.

Watch Video

This is not the first time allegations have been made against Mulayam Singh Yadav for colluding with the Hindutva organisatsions.

Former Union minister and once a close aid of Mulyam Singh Yadav Beni Prasad Verma had in 2013 accused the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh of conniving with the BJP to flare up communal passions and dared the SP leader to a public debate on Babri Masjid case.

Claiming that communal tension was deliberately flared up to gain political mileage, Verma alleged that the BJP was confident that the Ayodhya dispute would flare communal passion in the state which would benefit the saffron brigade as well as the Samajwadi Party. "It was part of their strategy," he alleged as reported by Hindustan Times.



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Rule of Law does not permit bulldozer justice: Justice Lokur

Bulldozer justice is against rule of law, Justice Madan B. Lokur, a former judge of the Supreme Court of India, said Tuesday January 16, 2024. Read More

Tuesday January 16, 2024 5:40 PM , Pervez Bari

[Justice Madan B. Lokur, a former judge of the Supreme Court of India.speaking on Constitutional Morality at the Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal on the concluding day of the three-day Bhopal Literature and Art Festival 2024.]

Bhopal: Bulldozer justice is against rule of law, Justice Madan B. Lokur, a former judge of the Supreme Court of India, said Tuesday January 16, 2024.

Bulldozer justice is not good. Rule of law doesnt permit it. While when the state starts delivering instant justice in the form of staged encounters, it is problematic. Lynching incidents are partly fallout of delayed justice", Justice Lokur said.

Justice Madan Lokur made the above observations while speaking on Constitutional Morality at the Bharat Bhavan here on the concluding day of the three-day Bhopal Literature and Art Festival 2024.

Justice Lokur asserted that the government sitting on Supreme Court collegiums recommendations, the governors sitting on bills passed by the state assemblies and the speakers sitting on pleas seeking disqualification of legislators under the anti-defection law - all of these are examples of constitutional immorality.

It is true that the constitution does not prescribe any time limit for the government or the governors or the speakers to take a decision, but then, the constitution is not a manual laying down standard operating procedures (SOPs) for everything, Justice Lokur said. Some things - in fact many things - are, and have to be governed by conventions, he added.

Justice Lokur said that the government objecting to the appointment of a person as a Supreme Court judge because he is supposed to be gay or not acting on SC collegiums recommendations for appointments to higher judiciary for months or even years was something which, though not expressly unconstitutional, was against the grain of constitutional morality.

Similarly, he said, governors neither assenting to a bill, nor forwarding it for Presidential consent not returning it to the legislature for reconsideration was also against constitutional morality.

Citing the example of Maharashtra, the ex-judge said that the Speaker of the legislative assembly did not decide a petition seeking disqualification of MLAs under anti-defection law even after the SC nudged him.

Honesty, integrity

During a question-and-answer session, Justice Lokur said that five crore cases pending in courts was a travesty of justice.

But it is not an insurmountable problem. There are ways to tackle it and it should be done, he said. If I file a case and my grandchildren get justice, it is fatal to the justice system, Justice Lokur remarked. The session was moderated by senior advocate of the Supreme Court of India Bishwajit Bhattacharyya.

He said that problems arised when there is a perception that the Chief Justice is allocating key cases or sensitive cases to a certain judge or a set of certain judges. All judges are equal.

Today fingers are raised on a judge being appointed as a Member of Rajya Sabha or a Governor after retirement. It did not happen when M. C. Chaggla was appointed to the Union Council of Ministers. That was because of the change in perception about the honesty and integrity of individuals, he opined.

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HCM CITY  Lynk & Co Automobile International Sales Company Ltd (Lynk & Co) and GreenLynk Automotives Joint Stock Company on Saturday officially launched the Lynk & Co car brand in the Southern market.

The introduction took place at the Lynk & Co showroom on Nguyen Huu Canh Street in HCM City, where three SUV models, Lynk & Co 01, Lynk & Co 05, and Lynk & Co 09, were unveiled.

The spacious Lynk & Co showroom, spreading across nearly 5,000 square meters, aims to not only attract car enthusiasts but also serve as a meeting place for individuals with a passion for modern and high-quality vehicles.

Following the successful debut of the Lynk & Co 09 in Ha Noi, the presence of the Lynk & Co 01 and Lynk & Co 05 SUV models at the launch event reaffirms the brand's commitment to enhancing the standard of quality and experience for Vietnamese consumers.

The Lynk & Co 01, a C-size SUV, stands out in its segment with its 2.0L, 4-cylinder high-power turbocharged engine, designed for efficiency and fuel consumption in urban settings while minimising environmental impact.

Its Mega City Contrast design philosophy ensures its global beauty and unique appeal. Additionally, the Lynk & Co 01 is equipped with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for seamless connectivity.

The Lynk & Co 05, a crossover SUV and considered the coupe SUV version of the 01 model, features sharp lines, sporty front and rear bumpers, and a robust appearance. In the Middle East market, the Lynk & Co 05 is popular due to its personal design, high-performance operation, and innovative technology.

The Lynk & Co 09, the flagship model, was recently launched at Tasco Mall Long Bien in Ha Noi. Developed on SPA technology, the Lynk & Co 09 boasts a 2.0L engine, 254 horsepower, 350Nm torque, and is equipped with an 8-speed transmission and AWD drive. Its luxurious and distinctive design language appeals to discerning customers.

Liu Xiangyang, senior vice president of Geely Auto Group and CEO of Lynk & Co, expressed his honor to be in Viet Nam again to introduce Lynk & Co's high-end products to a new generation of young consumers.

He emphasised the brand's focus on individuality, trendy design, technology, and sporty appeal, which aim to elevate the overall mobility experience.

Lynk & Co, established in 2016, is a global automotive brand resulting from a joint venture between Geely Auto Group and Volvo Car Group. Positioned in the "new premium" market, Lynk & Co caters to urbanites of the new generation who seek a fresh and open approach to luxury vehicles.  VNS
CAIRO  Viet Nam's European Plastics Joint Stock Company (EuP) has inaugurated a factory specialising in producing filler masterbatch in Sadat city, Menoufaya province, Egypt, marking the first factory of a Vietnamese enterprise in the Middle East country.

The EuP Egypt factory was built on an area of more than 34,000sq.m with an investment of US$30 million. It is designed to have 24 production lines with a total capacity of 300,000 tonnes a year, creating jobs for more than 300 local workers. Its products will serve the Egyptian market and exports to the Middle East, Africa, Europe and America.

Founded in August 2022 in Egypt with 100 per cent investment capital from Viet Nam, EuP Egypt Industries Company, a subsidiary of EuP, has an ambition to expand markets and become a multinational company.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony on Monday, Hoang Quoc Huy, chairman of the Board of Directors of EuP, said the EuP Egypt factory is an important step in the companys expansion strategy, adding that it is a symbol of cooperation and development between Viet Nam and Egypt.

Hossam Heiba, president of Egypts General Authority of Free Zones & Investment (GAFI), highlighted the significance of the factory as the first project of a Vietnamese enterprise in Egypt, saying it reflects the Egyptian Government's efforts to attract foreign investors.

He said that Egypt will always encourage and protect foreign investors, including Vietnamese ones. He also expected that more Vietnamese businesses will invest in his country.  VNS
HA NOI  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasised Viet Nam's potential and advantages for the development of high technology, the application of science and technology, and innovative breakthroughs to become a reliable partner and a crucial link in the global semiconductor, automotive technology, and artificial intelligence (AI) value chains.

He was speaking during a session with global businesses on cooperation in the development of AI, automotive technology, semiconductor chips, and ecosystems in Davos, Switzerland.

This was a significant activity in the Prime Minister's official trip, along with high-ranking delegation of Viet Nam, to attend the 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

During talks, businesses shared their desires for collaboration and opportunities to cooperate with Viet Nam in these fields.

PM Chinh stated that many major electronics and semiconductor corporations have plans to expand in Viet Nam, such as Intel, Samsung, Amkor, Qualcomm, Infineon, Marvell, and Hana Micron.

Viet Nam, deeply integrating into the global economy, has diplomatic relations with over 190 countries, including comprehensive strategic partnerships or strategic partnerships with all five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and many G20 countries.

Viet Nam has also signed 16 Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with more than 60 countries, including several high-quality, large-scale new-generation free trade agreements, such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

He stressed that these are crucial platforms that create favourable conditions for Viet Nam to access new manufacturing technology achievements, effectively participate in the global value chain, innovate growth models and develop rapidly and sustainably.

Regarding Viet Nam's achievements in the development of AI, the automotive industry and semiconductor chips, PM Chinh said that after two years of implementing the National Strategy on Research, Development, and Application of AI, Viet Nam has risen seven places in the global AI readiness index, ranking 55th out of 181 countries.

Viet Nam has successfully created a conducive environment for many global AI companies to develop in various sectors such as healthcare, communications, education, cybersecurity, finance, smart factories, smart cities, and semiconductor technology.

In the automotive industry, PM Chinh said the country has issued the national strategy for green growth for the 2021-30 period, with a vision to 2050, including a roadmap for transitioning to electric vehicles and promoting the use of green and clean energy in transportation.

In the semiconductor sector, Viet Nam has determined to pursue and develop the semiconductor industry, building an ecosystem for the semiconductor industry. The country will soon release a strategy for the development of the semiconductor industry and a project to train 50,000 engineers in this field, he said.

The PM also urged corporations and businesses to invest in research and development and apply AI in Viet Nam. He encouraged them to lead in digital transformation, guide the Vietnamese business community to participate, collaborate with universities and research institutions to establish engineering programmes in AI, and digital technology solutions.

In the automotive sector, the Prime Minister said Viet Nam will establish specific mechanisms, preferential policies, and necessary tools to boost the development of the automotive manufacturing ecosystem, especially for electric vehicles.

The Government aims to accelerate electrification, enhance public-private cooperation for the transition to electric transportation, raise awareness of green conversion, and promote eco-friendly consumption and use of electric vehicles.

Mentioning the semiconductor field, PM Chinh said Viet Nam plans to invest in all three stages of the semiconductor value chain, including design, manufacturing, packaging.

The country will give priority to mastering the design phase, followed by testing and large-scale production. Simultaneously, the country will develop supporting industries and material industries.

The Prime Minister proposed that corporations and businesses establish training facilities, research and development centres, chip design and testing facilities at the National Innovation Centre and suitable locations in Viet Nam.

He also stressed the need for enhanced collaboration, technology transfer, support for high-quality human resource training, especially in management, engineering, and scientific research in the semiconductor field.

Additionally, he encouraged partnerships and contracts with potential Vietnamese enterprises for chip product design and manufacturing, as well as exploring the possibility of establishing chip manufacturing plants in Viet Nam.  VNS
KOSPI overtaken by Taiwan bourse in market cap

By Lee Yeon-woo

While Korea's main bourse KOSPI has been performing sluggishly since the beginning of this year, Japan's Nikkei 225 index has been demonstrating a strong upward trend, setting new records day-by-day. Korean stock investors are thus turning their eyes to the neighboring country in search of higher investment returns.

The Nikkei 225 index surpassed the 35,000 mark on Jan. 11 for the first time in 34 years. On Monday, it even broke through the 36,000 level during trading, achieving its highest point since February 1990.

Local media have highlighted that the improvement in the performance of Japanese corporations, especially in sectors like semiconductors, along with the Nippon Individual Savings Account (NISA), are driving the steep rise in stock prices.

NISA, a government-sponsored investment account available to anyone over 18, offers tax exemptions on profits made from stock transactions. To encourage investment, the Japanese government, starting this month, has increased the annual investment limits and extended the tax-exempt period from a maximum of 20 years to an indefinite term.

"With the introduction of the new NISA, there are expectations that the assets of individual investors will support the market," Nikkei Asia reported.

According to the Korea Exchange, the Nikkei 225 experienced a 6.3 percent increase from Jan. 2 to last Friday, ranking it third among the stock markets of the world's 20 major countries. In contrast, the KOSPI saw a 4.9 percent decline during the same period, placing it at the bottom of the list.

Since the first trading day of 2024, the KOSPI has been on a downward trajectory, falling over the next eight trading days. It was overtaken by the Taiwanese bourse in terms of total market cap  the KOSPI totaling $1.82 trillion and Taiwanese stocks totaling $1.99 trillion. Although it experienced a slight rebound on Monday, it resumed its decline the following day.

Market observers are now questioning the absence of the "January effect," a phenomenon where optimistic forecasts typically boost the market at the start of the year, even without specific positive developments. However, this year, the phenomenon appears to have eluded the Korean market.

The primary reason for the decline is attributed to a selling spree by institutional investors. They offloaded stocks worth 7.2 trillion won ($5.4 billion) from Jan. 3 to Monday, contributing significantly to the KOSPI's decline.

Moreover, the disappointing performance of leading stocks has dampened investor sentiment here further.

"The fourth-quarter performances of LG Energy Solution and Samsung Electronics were underwhelming. Although they managed to avoid the worst outcomes, their results were still below expectations," said Huh Jae-hwan, a researcher at Eugene Investment.

"While the semiconductor sector is recovering gradually, high inventory levels remain a challenge. It will take a considerable amount of time for earnings to see a substantial recovery. The domestic stock market will underperform in comparison to the global market."

As a result of these market conditions, Korean investors have increased their investment in the Japanese stock market substantially.

According to data from the Korea Securities Depository, domestic investors have net-purchased approximately $56.18 million in Japanese stocks so far this year. This represents a ninefold increase compared to their net purchases in December. Reports indicate that these investors are particularly focusing on sectors such as semiconductor components and gaming.
HA NOI - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation left Ha Noi on January 16 early morning for attendance at the 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF-54) in Davos, Switzerland and official visits to Hungary and Romania from January 16-23.

The PM is accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son, Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh at, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai, Deputy Minister of Public Security Sen. Lieut. Gen. Luong Tam Quang, Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Vu Hai San, deputy head of the Government Office o Ngoc Huynh, and Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Trung.

Convening from January 15-19 under the theme Rebuilding Trust, the WEF-54 brings together more than 2,800 leaders from 120 countries.

Viet Nam is among the nine partners proposed by the WEF to co-organise a Country Strategic Dialogue on Viet Nam, and and PM Chinh is one of the eight leaders chosen for a separate dialogue session with WEF. This underscores the recognition and appreciation from the WEF and multinational corporations towards Vietnams role, international position, achievements and development vision.

After attending the WEF-54, PM Chinh will pay official visits to Hungary and Romania, with the aim of further strengthening political trust, elevating and enlivening the traditional friendship between Viet Nam and the European countries, promoting and bringing traditional areas of cooperation between Viet Nam and the two countries to a new stage, expanding collaboration in areas of potential and strength, and tightening the friendship between the people of Viet Nam and the two countries.

The Vietnamese government leaders visits are also expected to connect Viet Nam with the Central and Eastern European region, and foster relations between the two countries and ASEAN, towards closely coordinating in resolving global issues, and contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world. VNA/VNS
ZURICH  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse, and the high-ranking delegation of Viet Nam arrived in Zurich, Switzerland, on Tuesday morning (local time), starting a trip to attend the 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

At the airport, the Government leader and his entourage were welcomed by Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Phung The Long, Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai  head of the Permanent Mission of Viet Nam in Geneva, the staff of the Vietnamese Embassy and Permanent Mission, and Vietnamese people in the European country.

During the trip, PM Chinh is scheduled to chair, attend, and deliver remarks at several events of the WEF Annual Meeting 2024, including a seminar on investment attraction in the semiconductor industry, the WEF Country Strategic Dialogue on Viet Nam, a policy dialogue, a seminar on promoting new growth drivers in the country, and a discussion on promoting the role of global cooperation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

On this occasion, he will meet with WEF Founder and Executive Chairman Prof. Klaus Schwab, and engage in bilateral meetings with leaders of some countries, international organisations, and WEF member businesses. He will also address a seminar on Switzerlands experience in and model of developing international financial centres, and receive executives of some leading enterprises of Switzerland.

PM Chinh's participation in numerous activities at the WEF Annual Meeting 2024 demonstrates Viet Nam's active and responsible contributions to the event, thereby helping the international community learn more about the countrys potential, cooperation opportunities, role, and stature in the world so as to maximise resources for national development, and also enhancing cooperation with Switzerland, particularly in finance - banking.

Swiss experts are optimistic about the success of PM Chinh's WEF trip, saying that it is an opportunity for Viet Nam to assert its contributions and role at multilateral forums.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) in Bern, former Deputy Prime Minister of Germany and first Honorary Consul of Viet Nam in Switzerland Philipp Rosler said Viet Nam has made significant contributions to multilateral forums in recent years.

He saw PM Chinh leading a high-level delegation, including numerous business representatives, to the WEF annual meeting in Davos, as a significant milestone.

Their engagements will be another triumph in Viet Nam's series of notable diplomatic events, showcasing the country's strength in future-oriented economic plans, with a strong focus on sustainable growth and digitalisation across all sectors, from food and agriculture to manufacturing, services and digital solutions, he said.

Ivo Sieber, former Swiss Ambassador to Viet Nam, expressed high expectations for the Vietnamese leaders trip, saying that he will not only attend sessions but sideline meetings also.

He noted that over the 50 years since the establishment of formal relations, Viet Nam and Switzerland have collaborated on various joint development projects and shared similarities. He cited Viet Nam is a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2023-25 term, while Switzerland held the presidency of this body last year.

Former member of the Swiss People's Party and the current Editor-in-Chief of the Swiss weekly Die Weltwoche Roger Koppel suggested that Viet Nam take advantage of platforms like the Davos meeting to showcase its achievements in recent years to the world.

For him, Viet Nam is a model of cooperation and maintained balance, he said.

Meanwhile, Ewald Beivi, an official responsible for relations and business development at the University of Zurich, believed that the WEF meeting in Davos presents a major opportunity for Viet Nam to explore new ideas and stay abreast of emerging trends. Importantly, it is essential to go there to listen and connect, he added.  VNS
HA NOI  The 15th National Assembly (NA) continued its fifth extraordinary meeting on Tuesday, during which the Government proposed to the National Assembly an additional allocation of more than VN63.72 trillion (US$2.59 billion) for the mid-term public investment plan from the central budget for the 2021-25 period.

On the second day of the meeting, NA deputies deliberated on the supplementary capital for the mid-term public investment plan from the central budget for the 2021-25 period, as well as several mechanisms and special policies to overcome obstacles and expedite the implementation of national target programmes.

In the report presented on the allocation of funds corresponding to the increase in the central budget revenue in 2022, Minister of Finance Ho uc Phoc, acting on behalf of the Prime Minister, stated that the Government proposed to the National Assembly a plan allowing the use of VN63.72 trillion for the 2021-25 period.

The total allocated capital was intended for five sectors and fields, including VN1.5 trillion ($61.1 million) for national defence, VN1.5 trillion ($61.1 million) for security, VN2.49 trillion ($101.5 million) for State management, VN500 billion ($20.3 million) for science and technology, and VN57.7 trillion ($2.35 billion) for transportation, distributed among 50 tasks and projects.

Specifically, in the defence sector, funds would be allocated to the Ministry of National Defence for investment in three projects aimed at safeguarding sovereignty and national jurisdiction, supporting fishermen in exploiting marine resources, and investing in infrastructure for units affected by the transfer of military land for the construction of Terminal 3 passenger terminal.

In the security and social order sector, funds would be allocated to the Ministry of Public Security to implement seven essential projects to strengthen the building of a clean, strong, disciplined, flexible and modern People's Public Security force, meeting the requirements and tasks in the new situation.

In the science and technology sector, funds would be allocated to the Ministry of Planning and Investment to purchase equipment for the National Innovation Centre.

In the State management sector, funds would be allocated to the Central Party Office for the renovation and repair of work offices and guest houses; and to the Ministry of Finance for investment in two projects, including the construction of the working office of the Tax Department in HCM Citys Thu uc City, and the project to purchase baggage and container scanning machines for customs. This would help enhance the effectiveness of anti-smuggling, anti-trade fraud and illicit goods transportation across borders.

In the transportation sector, funds would be allocated for 32 projects to invest in the construction and completion of a synchronised, modern and strategic infrastructure system, especially key transportation infrastructure projects, high-speed roads, coastal roads, inter-regional connection projects linking industrial zones, airports, seaports and intra-regional connection projects to achieve the goal of completing over 3,000km of high-speed roads by 2025.

Phoc said as of now, 33 out of 50 tasks and projects have completed the required investment procedures as per regulations with the total amounting to more than VN33.1 trillion ($1.34 billion).

The remaining 17 projects were in the process of completing investment procedures.

Additionally, the Government proposed to the National Assembly the allocation of over VN2.5 trillion ($101.9 million) out of the total capital of over VN37.3 trillion ($1.52 billion) for Vietnam Electricity to implement the project to supply electricity from the national power grid to Con ao District, Ba Ria  Vung Tau Province.

The Prime Minister has been assigned to direct the mid-term public investment plan for Vietnam Electricity for project implementation. The Ministry of Industry and Trade would be responsible for State management and executing assigned tasks.

According to the inspection report presented by Chairman of the NAs Finance and Budget Committee Le Quang Manh, most opinions of the committee agreed with the utilisation of VN63.72 trillion from the mid-term public investment plan from the central budget for tasks and projects of public investment in the 2021-25 period.

Regarding the funding sources and the amount of funding, detailed explanations, impact assessments and reports seeking the opinions of competent authorities should be provided to submit to the NA for examination and approval, he said.

Also during the session, Phoc presented a draft resolution on special mechanisms and policies to remove obstacles and expedite the progress of implementing national target programmes.

The Government proposed special policy solutions beyond its authority to thoroughly address difficulties and obstacles. This aimed to continue providing favourable conditions for localities to expedite the disbursement of funds for national target programmes in the upcoming period.

The draft resolution consisted of six articles.

Notably, there were special mechanisms regarding the allocation and assignment of the annual regular budget of the central budget. The Government proposed that the NA recommend special mechanisms deviating from the provisions of the State Budget Law to empower local authorities to decide the detailed allocation of the regular funds from the central budget for the implementation of national target programmes.

Concerning the budget adjustment mechanism and the adjustment of annual capital investment plans, the Government suggested that the NA propose mechanisms not stipulated in the State Budget Law and Public Investment Law. Specifically, the people's councils at district levels would decide to adjust the State budget for 2024 and the State budget not yet disbursed in 2023 for national target programmes that have been transferred to 2024. The people's committees at provincial levels would decide to adjust the State budget capital investment plan for national target programmes from previous years extended to 2024.

Presenting the inspection report on the draft resolution, Chairman of the NAs Ethnic Council Y Thanh Ha Nie Kam stated that concerning the allocation and assignment of the annual regular funds from the central budget, the council broadly agreed with the Government's proposal.

The draft resolution is proposed to take effect immediately from Thursday (January 18) if approved by the NA.  VNS
HA NOI  A five-year plan to improve the capacity of Viet Nams Firefighting and Rescue Police was launched on Monday morning in Ha Noi.

The project was co-implemented by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Viet Nam and the Police Department of Firefighting, Prevention and Rescue under the Ministry of Public Security.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, a representative of the police department said the goal of the project was to improve the capacity of the firefighting and rescue police force of Viet Nam, contributing to ensuring the safety of life and property for people.

It also aimed to strengthen knowledge and skills for officers and soldiers of the fire fighting and prevention police force so that they could promptly and effectively handle assigned tasks, in accordance with the actual situation in Viet Nam, he said.

Trainees of the project consisted of officers and soldiers of the police department, officers of Ha Noi-based University of Firefighting and Prevention, as well as officers and soldiers from 10 localities of Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Ha Nam, Nam inh, Ninh Binh, Thai Binh, Vinh Phuc and Bac Ninh.

There would be six training courses under the project, consisting of initial practical training, rescue training, fire-engine driving training, fire-ladder-truck driving training, team-level leadership training and office-level leadership training.

Shinoda Takanobu, Senior Representative of JICA Viet Nam Office said at the event that response to fragility by providing countermeasures against disaster risks was one of the main priority areas of Japans ODA in Viet Nam.

There has been a long history of Japans support to Viet Nam in the area of firefighting and rescue, including a technical cooperation project implemented by JICA to support the University of Firefighting and Prevention since 2005, training cooperation activities between the Tokyo Firefighting Department and Ha Noi Fire Fighting Police in 2014, and the provision of used fire fighting vehicles to the Viet Nam Fire Fighting and Rescue Police force.

The project once again emphasised the importance of the support to fire fighting and rescue area among JICAs activities in Viet Nam.

With the framework of the technical cooperation project, JICA planned to dispatch not only long-term experts but also several short-term experts in relevant areas.

With your kind cooperation and support to JICAs experts during their assignment in Viet Nam, we hope that they can successfully implement the project activities and transfer their knowledge, techniques and experiences to all trainees of the project, Takanobu said.

JICA expected that the project would contribute to improving the capacity of the firefighting and rescue force and the quality of training activities, making fire prevention activities more effective and mitigating damage of fire accidents to the Vietnamese people and society.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Chi Dung, deputy director of the Fire Prevention, Rescue Training and Response Centre under the Ministry of Public Security said Japan was a country that suffered from many natural disasters, so Japanese rescue forces skills were believed to be very elite.

Through the project, we hope to learn about Japanese skills of firefighting and rescue to improve our capability in the future, he added.

He also said that Viet Nam's firefighting and prevention activities were facing many difficulties although the State and the Ministry of Public Security already invested more over the past time. The equipment was still rudimentary and lacking.

We hope that, through the project, we will be provided with more advanced equipment to improve the fulfilment of our job, Dung said.

The firefighters also expected to learn advanced skills from the Japanese rescue force, such as rescuing people at high altitudes, rescuing people at depth, rescuing people on high-rise buildings and several other specific types of rescue.  VNS
Le Huong*

Cambodian people will never forget the end of the Pol Pot regime 45 years ago and the whole-hearted support and sacrifices made by Vietnamese voluntary troops.

Those efforts have helped create an unbreakable bond between the two nations.

Sok Eysan, speaker of the Cambodia People Party, said the Cambodian people are lucky to have survived the genocidal regime and did so thanks to the Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation with the effective support of Vietnamese voluntary troops.

Though 45 years passed and long after that, the whole Cambodian people will always appreciate January 7 as a milestone for starting our lives for the second time, he told VNEWS.

Only our neighbour brother offered us timely effective support. Nothing is more valuable than the lives of humans. When the people were on the verge of death, the support was extremely great. The support of the Vietnamese army to liberate the Cambodian people from genocide has a great meaning.

During the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime, the Cambodian people sought international help.

Viet Nam listened and joined the fight for peace.

Cambodian historian Sombo Manara highly appreciated the spirit and patience of Vietnamese troops.

For the past 45 years, we have always used the word Vietnamese voluntary soldiers, he said.

'Voluntary means they do not ask for anything in return. In Khmer language or other foreign languages, the word 'voluntary' praises 'morality value' from the heart".

Manara said he remembered that when Vietnamese troops came, the Cambodian country had nothing.

Vietnamese soldiers picked vegetables to cook, he said.

Our people were so poor. There were no supermarkets or high-rise buildings. There were so many difficulties but they spared no effort to help us.

Chhang Youk, the Director of the Cambodian Archive Centre, added: January 7 is the day of a new page in our nations history, which reminds us of people who initiated the new historical page so that Cambodia has peace today.

I think that was an historic moment. In general, looking back 40, 60, and 75 years since the genocide regime appeared, if there was no military activities, we could not stop the genocide regime. At that time, Viet Nam had enough capability to liberate Phnom Penh from Khmer Rouge.

During the years Pol Pot ruled between 1975 and 1979, the people of Cambodia suffered great heartache.

It is estimated that around two million Cambodians were killed.

Senior Colonel Trinh Vinh Pha was among the voluntary troops in Cambodia. He stressed that the Vietnamese Communist Party made a very timely and correct decision, which was to establish a specialised committee to assist the Party and State in the issue of aiding the Cambodian revolution - the Z Central Working Group, code-named B68, on June 16, 1978.

After its formation, the first task of B68 was to understand that to help, Viet Nam needed Cambodian people.

We had to go into the refugee camps and places where Cambodian nationals fled to escape the Pol Pot genocide, he told Viet Nam News.

We found key individuals there. We helped them establish the Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation for them.

After the establishment of the Front, on December 2, 1978, Viet Nam organised the introduction of the Front to Cambodian people in Snoul district, Kratie Province - an area Viet Nam had just liberated.

The veteran, now in his 80s, still remembers that moment as if it was yesterday.

He said: At this introduction, the Front appealed to Viet Nam. To help them, not just to save tens of thousands of refugees, but to save an entire nation.

"This was the foundation, responding to the sacred call of the Front, that led us to send troops to liberate Cambodia and overthrow the genocidal regime.

B68 then helped establish the People's Radio Voice of Cambodia and the Cambodia News Agency to transmit the Front's message to the Cambodian people and the international community. B68 also helped design the national flag and anthem for the Cambodian government.

Pha said though Viet Nam's economy was extremely difficult at that time, Viet Nam's Government took great care of the Cambodian young authorities.

"We spared the best things for Cambodian friends," he said.

"I remember the Vietnamese army sent seven military aircraft on January 24, 1979, to bring nine key members of Cambodian revolutionary government home to avoid human loss."

Pha said that everywhere in Cambodia at that time, there were many corpses. The whole city smelled so terrible.

He said: In the house we stayed, there were so many human bones in the water tank. For nearly two years, I just drank coconut milk. I did not dare to drink water.

"We never cooked soup so as not to use the water. Then we returned to Sai Gon to bring cement to Cambodia. We picked broken bricks, and took sand from the river to build a 10cu.m tank to store rainwater. From that time we can have safe water.

Cambodia's younger generation is only too aware of the sacrifices their ancestors made.

Sok Sovandeth, one among hundreds of Cambodian students studying in Ha Noi, said these history lessons are taught to the young generation at all school levels.

My parents also told me a lot about this, he said.

I think the peace that Cambodian people are enjoying is very valuable because they had suffered a lot under the Pol Pot regime.

The peace has brought a stable and happy life to the Cambodian people. This peace can bring along a better life. People can go to school, and develop the economy. They dont have to worry about the war any more.

This has made Cambodia a country with sovereignty, independence, and freedom. Its economy and society can be more and more developed.

Sovandeth is well aware that as a young person, he appreciated the sacrifices made by older generations, who spent their youth fighting for independence.

I will continue that tradition and contribute to building the country, he said. Ill try my best to study hard.

Time flies, society has changed, yet the people of Cambodia will never forget the horrors they suffered during those years.

And they will always remember the support and sacrifices made by the Vietnamese to ensure their survival. VNS

*with additional interviews by VNEWS
HA NOI  With approximately six million Vietnamese nationals living abroad, remittances sent to Viet Nam from 1993 to 2022 have amounted to US$190 billion, according to deputy foreign minister Le Thi Thu Hang.

Speaking at a press conference for the 2024 Xuan que huong (Homeland Spring) programme on Monday, she said that this figure is almost equal to the amount of foreign investment capital disbursed in the same period.

In 2023, the World Bank estimated that Viet Nam received approximately $14 billion in remittances, while this figure reached a record number of $19 billion in 2022.

Viet Nam has been among the global top 10 recipients of remittances for many years, with overseas Vietnamese residing in more than 130 countries and territories, and around 600,000 of them with an undergraduate or higher degree.

More than 80 per cent of overseas Vietnamese are living in industrial and developed countries and major global economic hubs.

In HCM City, the amount of remittances topped $9 billion in 2023, an increase of 35 per cent compared to the previous year and equivalent to nearly 50 per cent of the citys total budget revenue.

This figure is also nearly three times the total foreign investment capital the city received.

However, deputy foreign minister Hang emphasised that the focus is to promote intellectual and human resources for the countrys development.

Statistics showed that the number of overseas Vietnamese intellectuals and experts engaging in science-technology activities in Viet Nam ranges from 300 to 500 people per year.

Vo Van Hoan, vice chairman of HCM City Peoples Committee said that Viet Nam and particularly HCM City have put forward strategies to attract and mobilise resources from overseas Vietnamese, with the aim of becoming a centre for the semiconductor industry, science-technology and innovation of the region and the world.

Homeland Spring

Homeland Spring is a large-scale programme held annually by the State Commission for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs which welcomes overseas Vietnamese to celebrate the Tet (Lunar New Year).

The event is set for February 1-2 this year at the Reunification Hall in HCM City and will be broadcast live on various platforms.

Last year, Homeland Spring was held in Ha Noi and counted approximately 3,000 participants.

The programme hopes to promote patriotism and strengthen the ties among overseas Vietnamese as an integral part of the nation, encouraging them to preserve the national identity of culture, traditions and language.

President Vo Van Thuong and high-level officials of the country are expected to be in attendance.  VNS
HA NOI  A second foetal cardiac intervention was successfully performed by doctors from Tu Du Hospital and Children's Hospital No.1 in Ho Chi Minh City on January 12.

During prenatal examinations, 27-year-old pregnant woman N.P.P.A., from District 3, HCM City, was diagnosed with foetal heart abnormalities at 21 weeks of pregnancy, specifically progressive aortic valve stenosis. She underwent amniocentesis for genetic testing, which showed no abnormalities.

By January 11, the pregnancy had progressed to 29 weeks with severe aortic valve stenosis. After consultations, foetal experts and paediatric cardiologists unanimously concluded that emergency foetal intervention was crucial in this case.

Without intervention or if delayed until after 29 weeks of gestation to dilate the aortic valve, the risk of foetal death would be extremely high.

The foetus faced the possibility of either dying in the womb, with a stillbirth rate exceeding 30 per cent, or progressing to hypoplastic left ventricle syndrome with a 50 per cent risk of a univentricular heart wall (requiring multiple surgeries after birth for temporary return to univentricular circulation or complete treatment with a heart transplant).

Cardiologists determined that foetal cardiovascular intervention at this juncture was appropriate. However, predicting the foetal position for cardiac catheterisation presented challenges due to excess amniotic fluid and frequent foetal position changes.

The surgery started at 9am on January 12.

The surgical team faced the expected challenges, with the foetus frequently changing positions, making it difficult to insert the needle into the left ventricle and onto the aortic valve.

The intervention at Tu Du Hospital took 20 minutes to position the needle correctly, and it was then handed over to the heart valve catheterisation team at Children's Hospital 1 to complete the crucial final step  aortic valvuloplasty.

Post-surgery, the pregnant woman was closely monitored in the operating room for 15 minutes, and the stabilised condition of foetal pericardial effusion was confirmed.

The successful surgery concluded at 11am on the same day, with continuous monitoring of the pregnant woman post-surgery. By 1pm, the foetal pericardial effusion was well controlled, the foetal heart rate was normal, and the mother's condition was stable.

On January 4, the same expert team from Tu Du Hospital and Children's Hospital 1 achieved a milestone by conducting Viet Nam's first foetal interventional cardiac catheterisation. This involved pregnant woman L., who, during her first pregnancy, was monitored in a Nang City. Transferred to Tu Du Hospital due to the foetus's severe heart abnormalities  a birth defect without a pulmonary valve opening and right ventricular hypoplasia  the intervention successfully addressed the issues.

Subsequent examinations showed good flow through the foetal pulmonary valve, with no pericardial effusion.

Both interventions were executed with absolute precision, marking a significant advancement in technical expertise comparable to that of developed countries in the region.

Through the initial two foetal interventional cardiac catheterisations and first-hand observation of the seamless coordination by obstetric and paediatric experts at Tu Du and Children's Hospital 1, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health said several decisive factors contributed to the success of these interventions.

These include accuracy in ultrasound techniques by paediatric cardiologists at Children's Hospital 1, demonstrating precision in diagnosing foetal congenital heart lesions, serving as the crucial guide for accurate foetal cardiac catheterisation intervention.

Experience and precision in foetal intervention performed by doctors from the two hospitals are also crucial factors.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health views this success as an initial outcome in the specialised field of foetal congenital heart intervention.  VNS
HCM CITY  Van Lang University (VLU) in collaboration with Korea Institute of Culture Product and Design (KICD) on January 15 co-organised a winter international symposium and exhibition for the first time in Viet Nam.

The exhibition, themed "Innovative designs for the community: Enhancing the global brand image, took place at VLUs campus 3 in HCM Citys Binh Thanh District.

It attracted many representatives of universities and design companies from 19 countries, including the Republic of Korea, the United States, Mexico, China, Iran, India, Poland, Japan, Turkey, Romania, Switzerland, Egypt, Hungary, Germany, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Macedonia, Italy and Viet Nam.

More than 100 new designs were on display in many fields such as graphic design, interaction design, product design, fashion design, community design and service design.

Creative design plays an increasingly important role in the modern economy, as designers contribute to creating high-quality products and services to serve the community.

The exhibition focused on introducing designs for the community that bring positive value to the development of local brands and improve the quality of life.

It also opened up great opportunities for Vietnamese designers to learn about new types of design, and interact and exchange experiences with representatives from design superpowers around the world.

Within the framework of the event, numerous scientific conferences shared academic, cultural and artistic values to the designers and academic communities of design.

Experts from RoK and Viet Nam presented the topics of sustainable development in design and preserving cultural values in the context of globalisation.

With the orientation of training applied design according to the development trends of the global design industry, VLU has pioneered the introduction of the topics of exploiting traditional cultural values and community design into its training programmes for many years.

The combination of creativity and cultural identity has helped students of VLUs Faculty of Fine Arts and Design achieve many awards in prestigious international competitions.

VLU cooperates with more than 30 Korean universities and technology companies to increase chances for its students and graduate students to participate in international exchange programmes, studying abroad.

VLUs Faculty of Fine Arts and Design has cooperated with many leading universities in design in the world such as Handong University, Kookmin University, Sunmoon University and KonKuk University.

It regularly hosts many large-scale art events in Viet Nam, aiming at academic exchange in the fields of design and fine arts, and design trends among professionals and art lovers.  VNS
CAN THO  The Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV), in collaboration with related parties, on Tuesday organised a workshop announcing the project Transforming Rice Value Chains for Climate Resilient and Sustainable Development in the Mekong Delta (TRVC).

It will be implemented from the Summer-Autumn crop in 2024, with funding of A$16 million (US$10.5 million) from the Australian Embassy in Viet Nam.

It will be carried out by the SNV, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the departments of Agriculture and Rural Development of An Giang, ong Thap and Kien Giang provinces.

The projects over-arching goal is to shift to low carbon rice cultivation on over 200,000 hectares in the Mekong Delta, contributing to the project on cultivating one million hectares of high-quality and low-emissions rice in the delta to 2030.

Using Pay-for-Results mechanism, it incentivises and attracts the participation of private enterprises in the rice value chain, aiming to develop innovative technologies to achieve higher economic outcomes for smallholder farmers and all rice value chain actors, improve rice quality, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and promote inclusive social values.

Committing to supporting Viet Nam in achieving its net zero emissions target by 2050, Cherie Russell, counsellor for Development Cooperation at the Australian Embassy, expressed her hope that rice production in Viet Nam will prosper in a green and sustainable manner, thus helping increase Vietnamese rices access to high-value export markets which are increasingly promoting the import of low-carbon products.

The Mekong Delta is a key rice production region in Viet Nam. However, rice cultivation in the region and in Viet Nam in general is currently one of the major sources of greenhouse emissions.

Towards realising its commitment on net zero emission by 2050, the Government has taken actions, one of which is the project on one million hectares of high-quality and low-emissions rice in association with green growth in the Mekong Delta to 2030.  VNS
HA NOI  Deputy Prime Minister, Tran Luu Quang, held a reception in Ha Noi on January 16 for a delegation of Vietnamese and Japanese students participating in the Teenage Ambassadors' Programme.

The programme is organised to commemorate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and Japan.

During the reception, Deputy PM Quang emphasised the cultural similarities and historical connections that form the strong foundation of the Vietnam-Japan relationship.

Quang highlighted that Vietnam is currently the second-largest source of international students in Japan, with 51,000 Vietnamese students studying there. He expressed his desire for the program to continue developing and creating more opportunities for students to gain educational experiences in both countries.

Deputy PM Quang encouraged the participating students to strive for academic excellence and personal growth, with the aim of becoming knowledgeable and helpful citizens who can contribute to their respective countries. He also urged them to contribute to nurturing the longstanding friendship between Viet Nam and Japan.

The Teenage Ambassadors' Programme, initiated by the AEON 1 per cent Club Foundation in Japan and other countries since 1990, aims to foster mutual understanding and relations between Japanese youths and their counterparts from different nations. The program includes visits to explore history and culture. So far, it has been conducted 43 times, involving nearly 2,500 high school students from 18 countries, with four editions held in Viet Nam.

The most recent edition of the program took place in Japan from November 13-18, 2023, and the current edition is being held in Viet Nam from January 15-20, 2024, with the participation of 50 Vietnamese and 50 Japanese students. - VNS
Commentary: China, Europe reach out to each other in icy winter

Xinhua) 09:42, January 16, 2024

BERN, Switzerland, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Amidst the picturesque Swiss landscape draped in a pristine blanket of snow, a red carpet was unfurled on Sunday to welcome Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who chose Europe for his inaugural overseas visit in the new year.

The Swiss leg of Li's tour marks the commencement of high-level interactions between China and Europe in 2024. During his four-day trip, Li is slated to participate in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2024 and pay official visits to Switzerland and Ireland.

Li was received by President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd at Zurich international airport. During their train journey from Zurich to the Swiss capital, Bern, the two leaders had a chat over tea "in a relaxing and friendly atmosphere."

Li told Amherd that "China will open its door wider and wider to the outside world and welcomes more Swiss investors."

While Davos, the venue for the WEF annual meeting, enjoys the limelight, Swiss media outlet SWI swissinfo.ch suggests that the most important meeting during Li's visit, from a Swiss perspective, could be the one taking place some 270 km away in Bern, where the Chinese premier is scheduled to hold more meetings with Amherd and other members of the Federal Council.

The WEF has highlighted Li's participation by placing his name first among the political leaders taking part. This year's WEF theme, "Rebuilding Trust," aligns with China's aspirations to increase exchanges and communication and enhance mutual understanding and trust with other parties in face of the "de-risking" rhetoric peddled by the U.S.-led West.

In Dublin, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said ahead of Li's visit to Ireland that the country recognizes China as a major country politically and economically and Ireland's "important economic partner," and looks forward to extending a "warm welcome" to Li and holding "in-depth and constructive discussions" with the Chinese guest, according to the Department of the Taoiseach.

The emphasis on Li's visit can be partially explained by the value placed on certainty in this uncertain world. For many European countries, one thing they can be certain about is that their cooperation with China has been mutually beneficial.

The Chinese market holds significant importance for Europe's post-pandemic recovery. In 2022, China-EU trade reached 847.3 billion U.S. dollars, implying that in every minute, trade exchanges between China and the EU valued over 1.6 million dollars on average.

As for Switzerland, the Central European country has the distinction of being among the earliest Western countries to recognize the People's Republic of China, and stands out as one of the pioneering European nations to formalize a free trade agreement with China. Cooperation between the two countries in areas such as trade, finance, innovation, and culture has immense potential.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Ireland. The China-Ireland strategic partnership for mutually beneficial cooperation has grown steadily, seeing frequent interactions at various levels, with deepening cooperation in trade and investment, green development, culture, education and other fields.

In Switzerland and Ireland, the shelves of many stores display a myriad of products bearing the label "Made in China," as the local tourism industry eagerly anticipates the arrival of Chinese visitors.

However, challenges and tests loom over China-Europe relations as the U.S. government disrupts and reshapes the global supply chains, and lures Europe to label China as a "systemic rival" in certain areas and weaponize the "de-risking" strategy as tools disrupting China-Europe relations.

Such actions could undermine trust and mutually beneficial cooperation, leading to greater turbulence and problems. An anti-subsidy investigation by Brussels into Chinese electric vehicles is an alarming manifestation of this trend.

Regarding concerns in Europe, Li addressed what he considered to be the real risks during his visit to Europe in June last year. In a dialogue with representatives from the German business community in Berlin, he said that "failure to cooperate is the biggest risk, and failure to develop is the biggest insecurity."

Guarding against risks and cooperation are not opposite to each other, he said, adding that for some specific problems, all parties should analyze them case by case, and jointly prevent and respond to them through consultation and cooperation.

Li's perspective has been gaining more affirmation and resonance. Concerning the EU's protectionist measures against Chinese electric cars, there is increasing reflection within Europe.

Days ago, The Economist published an article pointing out that the successes of Chinese cars should be celebrated, not feared as "the potential gains to the West from a ready supply of cheap, green vehicles are simply enormous."

Simultaneously, many European businesses, defying political pressures, are increasing their investments in China and expanding their operations, signaling that China is viewed as an opportunity rather than a risk.

Last July, German automaker VW declared a substantial 700-million-dollar investment in the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer XPeng, acquiring a nearly 5-percent stake in the company to collaboratively develop and manufacture electric vehicles. In September of the same year, Airbus broke ground on its second final assembly line in north China's Tianjin as the European aircraft manufacturing consortium seeks expansion in the Chinese market.

"De-risking" China-reliant supply chains doesn't solve problems but, as The Wall Street Journal puts it, is "creating new risks."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for revising the country's constitution to define South Korea as its "invariable principal enemy" and to codify the commitment to "completely occupying" the South Korean territory in the event of war, state media reported Tuesday.

In a speech delivered at a key parliamentary meeting Monday, Kim called for drawing up legal measures to define South Korea not as a counterpart for reconciliation and unification, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"In my opinion, we can specify in our constitution the issue of completely occupying, subjugating and reclaiming the ROK and annex it as a part of the territory of our Republic in case of a war breaks out on the Korean peninsula," Kim said, using the acronym of South Korea's full name, the Republic of Korea.

He called for stipulating in the constitution that education programs should be strengthened to get North Koreans to be instilled with "the firm idea that the ROK is their primary foe and invariable principal enemy."

Kim addressed the nation at the 10th session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), about two weeks after he defined relations with South Korea as those between "two states hostile to each other" at a year-end party meeting.

The SPA is the highest organ of state power under the North's constitution, but it actually only rubber-stamps decisions by the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).

Stressing that it is a "serious anachronistic mistake" to regard Seoul as a partner for reconciliation and unification, North Korea also decided to abolish three agencies meant to promote inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation.

The bodies in question are the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, the National Economic Cooperation Bureau and the Kumgangsan International Tourism Administration.

The North's cabinet and related organizations will take "practical" measures to implement the SPA decision, it added.

At Monday's meeting, Kim also ordered steps to "get rid of the remnants of the past era" that can be regarded as symbols of inter-Korean reconciliation.

"For the present, we should take strict stepwise measures to thoroughly block all the channels of north-south communication along the border, including the one of physically and completely cutting off the railway tracks in our side ... to an irretrievable level," Kim said.

The North's leader also ordered the dismantling of "the eye-sore" Monument to the Three Charters for National Reunification, a monument built in 2001 in Pyongyang to mark late founder Kim Il-sung's blueprint for federation system-based unification.

Touching on the North's nuclear weapons, Kim reiterated his country will not avoid war though it has no intention to unilaterally start an armed conflict unless provoked.

"As the southern border of our country has been clearly drawn, the illegal 'Northern Limit Line' (NLL) and any other boundary can never be tolerated, and if the ROK violates even 0.001 millimeters of our territorial land, air and waters, it will be considered a war provocation," he said.

North Korea has not recognized the NLL, long demanding that the line be moved farther south as it was unilaterally drawn by the U.S.-led U.N. Command after the 1950-53 Korean War.

The North fired hundreds of rounds of artillery shells near the tense sea border in the Yellow Sea earlier this month, prompting the South Korean military to carry out live-fire drills in response.

"The war will terribly destroy the entity called the Republic of Korea and put an end to its existence. And it will inflict an unimaginably crushing defeat upon the U.S.," Kim warned.

At the year-end party meeting, Kim urged stepped-up war readiness to deter what he called "unprecedented" acts of U.S.-led confrontation against his country and preparations for a "great event to suppress South Korea's whole territory in the event of a contingency.

South Korea's unification ministry said that behind Kim's bombardment of antagonistic messages against the South apparently lies North Korea's anxiety about the stability of the regime and fears of unification by absorption.

"Amid difficulties aggravated by U.N. sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic, North Korea may intend to boost its hostility against South Korea to deflect internal complaints to outside," a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

The official added that North Korea also appears to be staging psychological warfare to drive a wedge in South Korean society by shifting the responsibility of heightened security tensions onto the South. (Yonhap)
On January 4, a Chinese business delegation led by Pei Yongzhi, chairman of Hengluda Bridge and Road Engineering based in Shanghai, visited the southern province of Binh Duong to explore investment opportunities in the locality.

Yongzhi expressed his great appreciation for Binh Duongs development and investment climate in recent times. He noted that the Chinese business delegation has worked with a number of Binh Duong industrial park investors. This will act as a bridge to connect enterprises from both sides in the foreseeable future, Yongzhi added.

Vietnam has become a key manufacturing hub for Apple suppliers from China. Based on the analysis of 1,000 financial filings from Foxconn to Luxshare Precision, investment banking firm TD Cowen pointed out that Apples suppliers have spent around $16 billion on diversifying production assets away from China to India, Mexico, the US, and Vietnam since 2018.

Supply chain field work suggests Vietnam has evolved into a major production hub for computers recently, and small volumes of MacBooks, iPads, and the Apple Watch are already being manufactured there, said TD Cowen. Capacity in Vietnam can support about 40 per cent of annual US Mac/iPad demand. While this is good progress, additional capacity is still required to meet US consumption needs.

According to the report released by CNBC last week, Vietnam will be one of the best-positioned markets in Asia-Pacific for the first half of 2024, along with India and Japan. It noted that Vietnam has benefited from the China+1 strategy, with companies diversifying investments to help reduce their reliance on China.

Vietnam expects to see 6-6.5 per cent GDP growth in 2024 on the back of robust imports and exports, as well as stronger manufacturing activity. The optimism in the market has also led to a more than 14 per cent surge in foreign direct investment last year compared with 2022.

China accounts for half of the new foreign inflows into Vietnam in 2023, reflecting the attractiveness of the Southeast Asian nation as a rising manufacturing hub, said Yun Liu, an ASEAN economist at HSBC.

A lot of Chinese firms have moved into their factories and tried to expand their factory capacity inside Vietnam. China is also Vietnams largest trading partner, with 30 per cent of Vietnamese imports coming from China, a large part of that is raw materials and intermediate goods, Liu said.

Seck Yee Chung, partner of Baker McKenzie Vietnam, told VIR, Vietnam can become a more appealing destination through strategic investments in industrial infrastructure. Foreign investors, including Chinese companies, typically seek the following requirements. First is to develop industrial parks (IPs) and economic zones (EZs) which provide foreign investors with a range of benefits, such as ready-made infrastructure, tax and other incentives. Vietnam should continue to develop new IPs and EZs in strategic locations to keep connecting to the global supply chain.

Secondly, Vietnam needs to upgrade its existing infrastructure. The Bidding Law 2023 provides significant changes to project bidding, including the application of international bidding, criteria to assess bids and select winning investors, detailed regulations on the list of key provisions of project contracts, and conditions for project transfers, according to Chung.

Also, Vietnam needs high-quality warehouses and factories equipped with modern machinery and technology. With the arrival of many new investors, the region is expected to be home to an exceptionally vibrant, ready-built industrial sector. Well-developed transportation and logistics networks will help facilitate the movement of more goods, Chung added.

By fulfilling these requirements and continuing to develop its industrial infrastructure, Vietnam can position itself as an attractive China+1 destination, providing a business-friendly environment for Chinese investors seeking to expand their operations in Southeast Asia. This can lead to mutually beneficial partnerships and further economic growth, Chung noted.

In other factory investment movements, last week Dong Nai Peoples Committee approved two projects from Hong Kong. Freudenberg & Vilene International Vietnam is pouring $10 million into a cotton production factory, while Ryder Industries Vietnam is injecting $15 million into an electronics manufacturing factory in the province.

Seminar set to promote Chinese investment in Vietnam's electronics Vietnam Investment Consulting (VNIC) is cooperating with YueQiBao to organise a seminar exchanging and surveying the investment environment in Vietnam for Chinese electronics businesses on March 27 in Hanoi.

PM calls for more Chinese investments Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called on Chinese investors to expand investment in Vietnam, while addressing the Vietnam - China Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum in Beijing on June 28 within the framework of his official visit to China.

Chinese conglomerates express strong interest in expanding investments in Vietnam Top Chinese groups, including Texhong Group, Goertek Group, and Energy China Group, have shown significant enthusiasm for expanding their investments across various sectors in Vietnam, signalling the country's growing appeal as a lucrative business destination.
This Whitebook provides a comprehensive set of recommendations under the theme of boosting Vietnam's investment into a green and sustainable economy.

Even though environmental sustainability is the main goal, the Whitebook takes a broader scope by focusing on four key areas, namely improving the business environment, a discussion on consumer choices, advancements in the health and beauty industry, and sharing best practises for green and sustainable development.

Through these pillars, businesses can enhance their capabilities, revamp their operations, and strengthen their social responsibility.

The 2024 edition of the EuroCham Whitebook is an invaluable resource, enriched with the input from EuroCham's 19 sector committees. Each of these committees acts as a focused group of experts, bringing in-depth knowledge to the table and offering policy suggestions.

Their expertise covers a wide range of sectors, from the fast-evolving digital economy to initiatives for sustainable and green growth. This turns the paper from simply a collection of studies into a more practical guide.

It also provides real-world solutions to the challenges that European companies face in Vietnam and offers guidance to both policymakers and business leaders as they navigate Vietnams regulatory and growth environment.

EuroCham is confident in the Whitebook's potential impact. By addressing the hurdles highlighted in the document, EuroCham believes it will greatly support the effective implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and help bring about the full ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement.

This effort is crucial for strengthening the economic relationship between Vietnam and the European Union in a way that benefits both sides.

EuroCham chairman Gabor Fluit said, "The valued Europe-Vietnam relationship demonstrates the power of cooperation and conquering challenges together. Our ongoing joint commitment and aligned vision pave the way for significant progress in developing Vietnam's business climate."

"This Whitebook aims to help shape a future where responsible businesses spur innovation and positively benefit Vietnam's people and environment. Despite the obstacles ahead, Vietnam and Europe share a strong determination to realise their ambitious sustainability goals. Past achievements, combined with future focus, signal exciting prospects," Fluit added.

"For over 25 years, EuroCham has played a supportive role facilitating public-private dialogue to advance Vietnam. This Whitebook seeks to deepen such engagement through respectful collaboration and open exchange, which is essential in achieving our shared aspirations," he said.

Erick Contreras, chairman of the EuroCham Green Growth Sector Committee said, "We aim to partner with Vietnam to champion next-generation sustainability solutions across key industries. We stand eager to share global expertise on everything from waste management innovations to energy-efficient building design."

"To support Vietnams renewable energy future, we recommend focused cooperation on streamlining clean power investments and purchase agreements. It is necessary to swiftly deliver effective regulations to enable the delivery of green energy growth that will maximise Vietnams potential in this area whilst also providing a socioeconomic boost to the supply chain and labour force. Allowing greater private sector participation is critical for realising a fossil fuel-free future that will preserve enduring prosperity," concluded Contreras.

European FDI continues to flow into Vietnam amid economic uncertainties European companies expect foreign direct investment (FDI) to continue to flow into Vietnam although their confidence in the local business environment decreased slightly amid global economic uncertainties.

European corporations take part in growing Vietnam's green economy Regional business executives of leading European corporations in various sectors met with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the Green Economy Forum and Exhibition (GEFE) 2022 on November 28 in Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuong (right) held bilateral talks with counterpart Joko Widodo last week

Both nations have agreed to expand cooperation in new sectors such as smart finance, energy transition, digital transformation, innovation, and development of e-vehicles and battery, said Vietnams Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).

Both leaders underscored a major direction for cooperation in the coming time via agreeing to further increase political trust, visit exchanges, and high-level contacts.

The two countries will effectively carry out bilateral cooperation mechanisms and soon formulate the Action Programme for the 2024-2028 period, the MoFA said. The two leaders have also agreed that based on significant cooperation achievements over the past 70 years, it is necessary to elevate the two nations existing strategic partnership to a new height.

The two sides agreed to increase cooperation in agriculture, fisheries, ICT, education and training, culture, sports, and tourism, and at the same time expand collaboration to new and potential spheres like smart financing, the energy transition, digital transformation, innovation, and developing the electric vehicle and battery ecosystem.

According to the Indonesian Embassy to Vietnam, many Indonesian businesses are targeting Vietnam as an attractive business and investment location. They are operating in many sectors such as coal, education, vehicle components, infrastructure, property, consumer products, agriculture, and plastic moulding.

Many Indonesian companies have been successfully operating in Vietnam, including Thang Long Cement, Ciputra Group, Dynaplast Vietnam, Japfa Comfeed, Akebono Brake Astra Vietnam, and Vietmindo Energitama.

Indonesia considers Vietnams position as strategic for the enhancement of mutually beneficial economic cooperation. Foreign investments play a significant role in driving economic growth and development, said Denny Abdi, Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam. The inflow of capital and expertise leads to jobs creation, stimulating economic activity, and improving the overall business environment. Indonesian investors are keen to seize investment opportunities in Vietnam.

In one example, Indonesian animal feed producer Japfa Comfeed Vietnam is expected to continue investing in Vietnam.

Japfa Vietnam holds a significant position as one of the key markets in Asia for Japfa, making it a top priority in the groups expansion strategy, a company representative told VIR.

Building on the growth achieved in previous years, the company inaugurated the animal feed factory in the southern province of Binh Phuoc with an investment of nearly $16.8 million and the aquatic feed mill in the Mekong Delta province of Long An in 2023 with the aim to achieve an output of 1.5 million tonnes.

In 2023, the Vaksindo factory project in the northern province of Hung Yen invested in research and development of internal vaccines, thereby ensuring disease safety for livestock farms nationwide. This project holds tremendous promise and is expected to enhance the overall business efficiency of Japfa Vietnam in the future, he continued.

Capitalising on the strengths of its animal feed and closed farm system, Japfa Vietnam aims to expand its presence in the food business by putting into operation of a poultry slaughterhouse in Binh Phuoc with a design capacity of 60,000 heads a day. Moreover, Japfa Vietnam will develop online distribution channels and establish partnerships with supermarket chains, kitchens, and restaurants.

In another case, Indonesian on-demand service platform Gojek has made significant progress and impact since its entry into the market in 2018. It now offers services in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces for ride-hailing, online food delivery, and package delivery  all of which help to make life easier for consumers while improving income opportunities for its driver-partners and small restaurants and eateries.

In 2023, Gojek introduced more than 10 new product features making services more accessible to consumers, enhancing customer experience, and creating products that lower structural costs and appeal to budget consumers.

Currently, Indonesian investors are also interested in Vietnams infrastructure and property industry. The Vietnamese government is also undertaking promotional activities to attract foreign investors in the development of the property sector by facilitating the construction of facilities and infrastructure, allocation of land and stabilisation of land prices, and especially improving the transparency and simplification of administrative procedures.

Development of the property sector is crucial to the Vietnamese economy, following the agro-industrial and service sectors. Ciputra Group in Hanoi pioneered investment in the property sector including industry, real estate and apartments, and the opportunities are still open for investors from Indonesia, Ambassador Abdi said.

Most of Indonesian investments in Vietnam are located in the southern region. The sectors range from manufacturing products, fast-moving consumer goods, chemicals and pharmaceuticals to transportation, travel, and logistics, Ambassador Abdi said. These companies produce goods and services for the Vietnamese market, as well as for export.

According to Vietnams Ministry of Planning and Investment, cumulatively as of December 20, 2023, Vietnam had 122 valid ventures by Indonesian enterprises registered at $651.43 million.

Available data from the Indonesias Ministry of Investment/Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board showed that for 2014-2022 period inbound investment from Vietnam in Indonesia comprised of 43 projects, operating in trade and repairs, other services, and basic metal industry sectors, with only a few projects in sectors like hotel and restaurants and fisheries.

According to Ambassador Abdi, Indonesia and Vietnam need to have a comprehensive understanding of national investment regulations and to maintain the growing economy and favourable investment climate.

We need to make both markets attractive destinations for investment. On a larger scale, both countries should also refer to the commitments in ASEAN as guidelines towards regional economic integration and realising the ASEAN Economic Community 2025, the ambassador said. Rather than being each others competitor in global market access, Indonesia and Vietnam would benefit more by working together and optimise our assets by strategically investing in sectors where both have comparative advantages.

When it comes to trade, Indonesia is now the third-biggest trade partner of Vietnam in Southeast Asia, and Vietnam is the fourth-largest trade partner of Indonesia in the region.

Bilateral trade rose from $5.6 billion in 2014 to $14.1 billion in 2022. In the first 11 months of 2023, the figure hit $12.6 billion, including Vietnams exports of $4.7 billion and imports of $7.9 billion. The two nations have set a target of reaching $15 billion in the coming time.

Indonesia was part of one of the earliest security and defense pacts with Vietnam, via the establishment of a military attache office in Vietnam in 1964. The two countries regularly exchange defence and security delegations, and signed a number of bilateral defence cooperation agreements, actively participating in activities within the ASEAN framework. In 2021, the two sides organised a number of online activities, including the second deputy minister-level policy dialogue; a navy dialogue; and the signing of an MoU by the two countries maritime police on maritime security and safety cooperation. The Indonesian defense minister officially visited Vietnam in May 2022. Also that year, the sides inked two MoUs on cooperation in anti-terrorism and the fight agaisnt drug trafficking on the occasion of a state visit to Indonesia by Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc in December. As for cooperation in other fields, Indonesia provides Vietnam with a number of short-term, medium-term, and long-term scholarships each year in the sectors of education, culture, and language. Over the years, the two countries have also clinched a number of MoUs on cooperation in fisheries and marine issues (2010); on agriculture, finance, and energy cooperation (2013); cooperation in agriculture, finance, and energy (2013); a partnership for education (2017); working together on justice and law; coal supply cooperation; rural development agreements; gas supply in cross-border areas (2017); and a joint communique on voluntary participation in international cooperation on combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, as well as promoting sustainable fisheries management (2018). Besides that, an MoU was also inked in cooperation in energy and mineral resources in December 2022. Meanwhile, the two countries already have direct flights connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with Jakarta and Bali, operated by Vietjet Air and Vietnam Airlines. In 2022, Vietnam welcomed about 36,000 Indonesian tourists, an increase of 15,000 compared to 2021 (the number was 106,000 in 2019). By the end of October 2023, there were more than 81,000 Indonesian tourists coming to visit Vietnam. Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Vietnam, Indonesia eye cooperation in EV development, food security, manpower Indonesian Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita has invited Vietnam to cooperate in the development of several sectors, including the electric vehicle (EV) industry, green industry, food security, research and development, and human resources.
What are the key aspects of the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act?

Prof. Andreas Stoffers, country director of FNF Vietnam (left), and Huyen Nhu Lanh, project coordinator at the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Vietnam (AHK Vietnam)

Lanh: Coming into effect at the beginning of 2023, this legislation applies to businesses operating in Germany with over 3,000 employees. Starting from this year, it now extends to companies with over 1,000 employees.

Under this legislation, businesses falling within its scope are mandated to implement appropriate and effective measures to manage risks and violations to both human rights and the environment across their global supply chains.

Importantly, this law does not establish new standards. Instead, it promotes a duty of effort approach, with a focus on continuously enhancing standards related to corporate social responsibility and environmental protection.

Until now, AHK Vietnam has consistently served as a bridge between German and Vietnamese businesses. Now, with its new project on sustainable and climate-resilient supply chains in Vietnam, AHK Vietnam seeks to strengthen this bridge by providing the best possible solutions for both sides.

How could the act influence future EU-Southeast Asian trade agreements?

Stoffers: Focusing on risk management in collaborations with German companies, it is likely to significantly influence future trade agreements and regulations between the EU and Southeast Asian nations.

This act complements existing agreements, notably the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, particularly in areas like compliance, purchasing, and contracting. The agreement, with its comprehensive provisions, serves as a model for future agreements, signalling a shift towards more rigorous standards similar to those in the German act.

Consequently, these evolving norms will shape the framework of upcoming EU-ASEAN agreements, making it essential for countries like Vietnam to closely examine and align with these changes.

How will the act impact relationships between German companies and their Vietnamese suppliers, and which Vietnamese industries might be most affected?

Lanh: The act shifts German businesses obligation from a duty of guarantee, focusing on adequately managing risks in their supply chains, particularly concerning human rights abuses and environmental issues. This approach requires a proactive and systematic effort in due diligence, with companies expected to address these concerns sincerely and within their capabilities.

Section 7 of the law stipulates that ending business relationships is a last resort, necessary only in severe cases of legal or environmental violations, or when all remedial efforts fail. Thus, the act could affect German-Vietnamese supplier relationships only under extreme conditions, such as unfulfilled excessive demands or persistent unaddressed violations.

Industries in Vietnam most likely to be impacted are those deeply integrated into global supply chains or those with higher risks of violations, like electronics, textiles, footwear, agriculture, and fishing. However, the legislations primary aim is to improve human rights and environmental standards, which aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Therefore, it is expected to bring about significant, positive changes in Vietnam, especially in these vulnerable sectors.

Are there similar supply chain regulations in other countries, and how have their trading partners responded?

Stoffers: While not introducing a novel concept, the act represents a fresh approach to enforcing social responsibility. This 2021 legislation aligns with Germanys ongoing commitment to the United Nations 2011 initiative on social responsibility, addressing shortcomings identified in the EUs corporate social responsibility report directive in 2020.

Globally, similar laws have been enacted, including the UK and Australias act on modern slavery, and Frances Loi de Vigilance. These laws adhere to the International Labour Organizations criteria, but Germanys act expands on this by incorporating principles from other international conventions like Basel, Stockholm, and Minamata.

Germanys legislation is part of a broader, evolutionary trend towards enhanced sustainability in supply chains. This global movement offers trading partners sufficient time for adaptation, signalling a need for Vietnamese legislators and the business sector to thoroughly engage with these emerging standards in supply chain management.

What advice would you offer to Vietnamese authorities and businesses?

Stoffers: For Vietnamese authorities, enhancing economic resilience involves accelerating institutional reforms, updating legal frameworks, and aligning policies with international standards like the German Act. Embracing these changes can lead to increased sustainability, better working conditions, legal security, and improved risk management.

This alignment also offers reputational benefits for Vietnam, enhancing its image as a reliable investment and trade partner.

Vietnamese businesses, on their part, should actively engage with these new regulations to enhance their competitiveness and reputation in the global market. Understanding and implementing standards is crucial.

Businesses can seek guidance from organisations like AHK Vietnam to navigate these changes effectively and become industry leaders in compliance and sustainability.

Vietnam's supply chain leaders reflect on challenges In a survey conducted by CEL, a top supply chain consultancy firm, the sentiments of more than 300 business leaders and supply chain professionals in Vietnam shed some light on the current state of Vietnam's supply chain industry.
Nadella was speaking on the sidelines during an event organised by Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos.

"If we want competition in AI against some of the players who are completely already integrated, I think partnerships is one avenue of, in fact, having competition," Nadella said.

"I'm sure the regulators will look at it and say, 'is this a pro-competition partnership or not?' And to me, I think it's a no brainer."

Microsoft CEO defends OpenAI partnership after EU, UK probes, illustration photo/ Source: freepik.com

Microsoft has poured billions of dollars since 2019 into OpenAI, which thrust AI into the spotlight with its chatbot, ChatGPT in late 2022.

ChatGPT demonstrated AI's dizzying advances as it could produce eloquent poetry and concise essays within seconds as well as pass medical and legal exams.

But with popularity came greater scrutiny and now anti-trust regulators in the European Union and Britain are examining the Microsoft-OpenAI partnership.

Nadella insisted AI's recent rapid developments come after Microsoft's risk-taking.

"If Microsoft had not taken the highly risky (decision) -- and this is now all conventional wisdom -- but when we made those investments, when we backed OpenAI, went all in on a particular form of computing that led to all of these breakthroughs, it would have not been what we had.

"And more importantly, the incumbents would have been the winners," Nadella said.

OpenAI faced a tumultuous period late last year when its CEO Sam Altman was ousted then made a shock return, all while he maintained Nadella's support.

Nadella said Microsoft now just wanted "stability in the partnership".

He also seemed confident about limiting the risks of AI on elections as billions prepare to head to the polls this year, including in the United States, where Microsoft is based.

"It's not like this is the first election where disinformation or misinformation, and election interference is going to be a real challenge that we all have to tackle," he said. "We as a company have to do our best work."

Nadella was set to speak later on Tuesday during an official WEF event.

New York Times sues OpenAI, Microsoft in copyright clash The New York Times sued ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and Microsoft in a US court on Wednesday, alleging that the companies' powerful AI models used millions of articles for training without permission.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh was on hand last week to honour a number of units of the Ministry of Planning and Investment

Last weeks conference on summarising the work and deploying tasks in the planning, investment, and statistics sector was held at the National Innovation Centre (NIC) in Hoa Lac High-Tech Park in Hanoi to find solutions for the countrys development.

Science-technology and innovation have been identified as critical in forming an innovation ecosystem in Vietnam. Therefore, the inauguration of the NIC two months previous was one of the most important events of Vietnams economy in 2023.

The economy achieved important results in 2023 based on a significant contribution of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) as a strategic advisory agency of the Party and state on socioeconomic development. However, more uphill battles are around the corner.

Although economic growth in 2023 was positive, this is the third consecutive year lower than the overall average target of the five-year plan and the 10-year strategy. GDP per capita in 2023 was only almost $4,300, far from the target of about $4,700-5,000 by 2025, said MPI Minister Nguyen Chi Dung at the conference.

There is also a risk of falling into the middle-income trap, and an ageing population challenge. It is feared the government has not taken full advantage of the countrys golden population opportunities. The countrys industrialisation and modernisation process is still also slow, not keeping up with global requirements.

There are too few large private-owned groups with strong capacity, and high regional and international competitiveness, Minister Dung added.

Although mobilising foreign investment in 2023 was a bright spot with $36.6 billion in total registered capital and $23.2 billion in disbursed capital, there are still many issues, like promoting links between the foreign-invested sector and local businesses, and improving position in global value chains, he said.

In addition, national governance has not kept up with the worlds rapidly changing trends; regional connectivity is struggling; and sci-tech and innovation are not yet the main driving force for rapid and sustainable development.

These challenge for the economy are also a challenge for the work of the MPI. The ministry has to continue to make more efforts in planning management and macroeconomic coordination, PM Pham Minh Chinh said.

He said that it was necessary to build socioeconomic development scenarios in 2024 to minimise difficulties, and take full advantage for rapid and sustainable socioeconomic development and recovery, achieving set goals, and tackling unmet targets in economic growth and labour productivity.

It is necessary to closely monitor regional and world developments, clearly identify opportunities and challenges, improve forecasting, and update socioeconomic development scenarios, PM Chinh said

Pham Minh Chinh, Prime Minister In 2023, the MPI and the sector successfully completed a large amount of work in fields related to its functions, tasks and powers. The sector has performed well the role of a strategic-level general advisory agency, as a focal and coordinating agency for macroeconomic management. The work of improving institutions and policy mechanisms continues to be focused and implementation is accelerated, especially to promote innovation and remove obstacles. There is a change in thinking and action in planning work, meeting progress and quality with new thinking, a new vision, and new opportunities. 2023 was a year of planning. 109 of 111 plans have been completed. Resolutions of the Politburo on the development of six socioeconomic regions were actively implemented. Disbursement of public investment was also a bright spot. The progress of public investment disbursement has clearly improved month by month and quarter by quarter. The disbursement rate in 2023 will reach about 95 per cent, higher than in 2022. The MPI has been good at improving the business investment environment, developing businesses and attracting foreign investment with positive results. Innovation and creative startups have developed strongly. Based on self-reliance, the MPI inaugurated the NIC and attracted 41 investment funds to invest $1.5 billion from 2023-2025. Analytical, forecasting and statistical capabilities have been improved, contributing to the accuracy and quality of macroeconomic advisory and management. For 2024, the MPI should closely follow the conclusions and resolutions of the Party Central Committee, the National Assembly, and the government. There are several critical tasks for the MPI going forward. It must make greater efforts in macroeconomic planning and coordination. It needs to better institutions and policies to implement strategic breakthroughs it institutions, infrastructure, and human resources; and the ministry must mobilise and effectively use resources for investment in national development, especially in innovation. The economy needs to be restructured in terms of innovating growth models, and new economic models and fields, such as semiconductors, hydrogen, renewable energy, green transformation, digital transformation, and the circular economy. National digital transformation must be carried out alongside reform of administrative procedures, while improving the business investment environment, and enhancing communications and transparency. The MPI must do a good job of international economic integration, enhancing the attraction of foreign investment and external resources. Finally, it is critical that the ministry report on the implementation of its plans for socioeconomic development strategy to submit to the 14th National Party Congress.

At the same time, Minister Dung assigned tasks to officials and employees in the sector. He also said the MPI and the entire industry must continue to consolidate and promote a strategic vision of development.

This is the core of all policies to consolidate and unleash internal forces, and utilise external resources for Vietnam to move faster and more sustainably, he added.

Dung emphasised building a regional and international financial centre in Vietnam; finalising the fund on supporting investment to utilise global funding flows; and welcoming direct and indirect capital from foreign investors, especially multinational corporations and strategic investors.

If these efforts are implemented effectively, the MPI will complete its tasks and make important contributions to accelerating and developing the economy, he said.
Covering an area of 3,000 square metres, the new plant boasts an advanced laboratory, manufacturing facility, and warehouse. The facility will also provide additional local job opportunities, bringing the company's workforce in Vietnam to more than 100 people.

As a global sustainability leader, Ecolab supports customers in multiple industrial markets, including food services, lodgings, healthcare, building facilities, food and beverage processing, manufacturing, and more. The company delivers comprehensive science-based solutions, data-driven insights, and services to advance food safety, maintain clean and safe environments, and optimise water and energy use.

Greg Lukasik, senior vice president and market head for Southeast Asia at Ecolab said, "This space is a key milestone for fostering growth and will serve as a hub of science, expertise, and support activities from the Ecolab team to better serve our customers and the local community. With the opening of the new plant, we are creating fresh opportunities for customer partnerships, while simultaneously showing our commitment to supporting the development and growth of Vietnam's thriving economy."

In the same vein, Sam de Boo, executive vice president and president for Ecolab Global Markets said, "Vietnam is a key strategic focus for Ecolab, and the investment in the plant marks a key step in better supporting our customers. The markets we serve will continue to benefit from our global innovation capabilities, combining chemistry, digital technology, data analytics, and services to deliver exceptional customer value."

Around the world, Ecolab provides innovative solutions to help improve businesses' operational efficiency, product quality, and safety while reducing water consumption, energy use, and waste. This new facility demonstrates Ecolab's continued commitment to supporting customers, driving innovation, and promoting sustainability in Vietnam and throughout Southeast Asia.

To show the US Department of Commerce's support of the opening, Greg Harris, principal commercial officer at the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City said, "Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in ASEAN. It's great to see that Ecolab, an American-listed company, is boosting its operations locally. Its industrial customers in Vietnam and across Southeast Asia will benefit from the teams' expertise, technology, and solution delivery."

"Water scarcity, food hygiene, and public health are some of the greatest challenges the world faces today. We look forward to deeper partnerships between Ecolab and local ecosystem players to help create a greener future," added Harris.

More advances can support Vietnams aspirations US President Joe Biden will be the fifth American president in a row to visit, and this is something few other countries can claim. It reinforces the United States commitment to a strong, prosperous, resilient, and independent Vietnam.

Vietnam and US companies collaborate on semiconductors and innovation High-level meetings between the US and Vietnam have paved the way for a strategic partnership focusing on the technology sector, with semiconductors and innovation at the forefront.
Videos of fans praising its deceptively small size have gone viral on social media, with one clip on TikTok of a young woman unpacking numerous large items racking up more than a million views.

Uniqlo sues China rival Shein over viral bag copies, source: Uniqlo.com

The lawsuit filed in Japan against Shein Japan and two subsidiaries "demands the immediate cessation of sales of the imitation products, and compensation for damages incurred," Uniqlo said in a statement.

The nylon Round Mini Shoulder Bag, retailing for $19.90 in the United States, has reportedly become Uniqlo's best-selling bag ever, repeatedly selling out.

Shein, founded in 2008 in China and based in Singapore, has quickly conquered the global fast fashion market by catering to young customers through social media.

Valued at $66 billion last year with revenues reportedly over $23 billion, the online retailer is eyeing a major initial public offering in New York potentially this year, the Wall Street Journal reported in November.

The firm has been accused of exploiting unpaid labour, obscuring production processes and encouraging overconsumption as it faces the wrath of environmental and human rights activists.

Last month, Chinese-owned online retailer Temu sued Shein in a US court, accusing it of "mafia-style" intimidation tactics to keep the upper hand in the local market.

Shein Japan was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday.

UNIQLO commits to accompany long-term development of Vietnam UNIQLOs Hoan Kiem store opened on November 10, aiming to become an icon of harmony and honouring the local culture and long-term relationship between Vietnam and Japan. Nishida Hideki, general director and COO of UNIQLO Vietnam, told VIRs Duc Hanh about the companys strategy, vision, and commitments to the countrys sustainable development.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) last week reported that Vietnams export landscape has been on an uptrend since last years Q3.

Vietnam keen to explore more free trade advantages, illustration photo/ Source: freepik.com

The on-year export turnover in 2023 is estimated to stand at $355.5 billion, down 4.4 per cent on-year. However, the figure for December is estimated to reach $32.91 billion, up 13.1 per cent on-year, with Vietnamese exporters earning $9.44 billion  up 18.5 per cent and foreign companies fetching $23.47 billion  up 11.1 per cent.

In Q4, the on-year export value is estimated to sit at $96.5 billion, up 8.8 per cent on-year. The figure in Q3 was $94.6 billion, down slightly 1.2 per cent on-year, and an average of $82.2 in Q1 and Q2.

Fuelled by this uptrend, the MoIT has set a target that in 2024, the total export turnover will increase 6 per cent on-year, meaning a figure of $376.8 billion  with a trade surplus of $15 billion.

In 2023, the economy recorded a trade surplus of up to $28 billion, meaning Vietnam has achieved such an achievement for eight years in a row.

Export activities have begun to see recovery signals since the remaining months of 2023. In 2024, together with the effective exploitation of existing free trade agreements (FTAs), the conclusion of negotiations of and implementation of deals with new markets such as Israel and the United Arab Emirates will provide more opportunities for us to boost trade and investment of Vietnam, said the MoIT.

At present, the ministry is completing dossiers to submit to the government for approving the Vietnam-Israel FTA. Both nations will promulgate action programmes with concrete schemes on tariff reduction and removal under roadmaps.

The agreement aims to remove obstructions to most trade activities and to promote bilateral trade between Vietnam and Israel. Impediments can be in the form of tariffs, import quotas, other non-tariff barriers such as technical standards, and sanitary and phytosanitary standards.

What is more, the fine political relationship strengthened and upgraded with major partners such as China, the US, and the EU will lay a firm foundation for amplifying Vietnams economic, trade, and investment ties, the MoIT said.

The Vietnamese government in 2024 will continue seeking more opportunities for Vietnamese exports. It will boost the negotiations and signing of FTAs and deals on trade connectivity with new potential partners such as the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) to diversify markets and supply chains.

During an official visit to Brazil last October, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasised that an FTA between Vietnam and Mercosur would lead to breakthroughs in economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries, bringing substantial benefits to businesses and peoples of both sides.

The Vietnamese leader also proposed that Vietnam and Mercosur  which comprises Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay  would soon begin negotiations on the FTA.

The government will also continue supporting enterprises to take advantage of commitments in FTAs through providing consultancy on rules of origin and certificates.

Vietnam will also ensure the speed of negotiations on upgrading the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, the ASEAN-Canada FTA, and a deal between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association based on a principle of ensuring Vietnams benefits.

The MoIT will also combine with other ministries to study possibilities to negotiate FTAs with other potential partners such as Qatar, Turkey, South Africa, and Nigeria.

Nguyen Hong Dien, minister of Industry and Trade According to forecasts of international organisations, the problems of the global economy will persist in the coming years, continuing to adversely impact economies with large trade openness like Vietnam. Therefore, we need to continue to persistently implement the goals of international economic integration according to the Partys policies and guidelines to more effectively take advantage of opportunities and advantages from FTAs in service of national economic development, at the same time anticipating and crafting solutions to overcome negative impacts from outside. In that context, in order to continue to exploit and effectively promote the advantages of bilateral and multilateral FTAs, ensuring the highest national interests and creating motivation for national development, it is necessary to continue to innovate and improve the quality of institutional work to gradually improve the legal and policy system, ensuring synchronisation and feasibility to fully implement Vietnams commitments to international economic integration. We need to make the most of the policy space that Vietnam is allowed in its commitments to create new advantages for the domestic business community to boost exports. We also need to create a basis for developing new industries of production and business, in accordance with the development trends of green economy, digital economy, circular economy, sharing economy, and Industry 4.0. At the same time, there should be a mechanism to encourage and bind foreign-invested enterprises to spread, share, and substantially support domestic enterprises (especially in production cooperation and supply of raw materials for production from on-site sources) in order to promote the development of management skills, technology transfer, formation of supply chains of raw materials and industry linkage clusters. This will contribute to improving competitiveness and capacity to participate in the global production and supply chains. In addition, it is necessary to focus on promoting in-depth, effective, and practical foreign economic relations associated with ensuring the highest national interests, especially economic relations with large and influential partners so as to create leverage for domestic economic and trade development. We will continue accelerating the progress of negotiations and signing of new cooperation mechanisms with countries and regions that still have great potential, such as the United Arab Emirates, the European Free Trade Association, and the Southern Common Market. This will help create motivation to strengthen trade and investment cooperation. Also, we need to continue strengthening implementation of commitments within the framework of FTAs that Vietnam has participated in. It is also needed to strengthen support for businesses to effectively respond to new barriers related to supply chains, clean materials, labour, environment, and carbon fee collection.
The United States expressed disappointment over the escalation of North Korea's rhetoric against South Korea on Monday, stressing inter-Korean cooperation is vital to fostering lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

A State Department spokesperson made the remarks after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for revising the country's constitution to define the South as its "invariable principal enemy" at a key parliamentary meeting Monday (Korean time).

"We are disappointed by the DPRK's continued rejection of dialogue and the escalation of its hostile rhetoric towards the ROK," the spokesperson said in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency. "We believe inter-Korean cooperation is vital to achieving lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula."

ROK and DPRK stand for the official names of South and North Korea, the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, respectively.

The official also reiterated that the U.S. harbors no hostile intent toward the North.

"We continue to consult closely with the Republic of Korea, Japan, and other allies and partners about how to best engage the DPRK, deter aggression and coordinate international responses to the DPRK's ongoing and repeated violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions," the official said.

In his parliamentary speech, the North Korean leader also made a call to revise the basic law to codify the commitment to "completely occupying" the South Korean territory in the event of war and to draw up legal measures to define South Korea not as a counterpart for reconciliation and unification. (Yonhap)
Filing begins Wednesday for the May 4 local elections, which will for the first time include races for the local appraisal district board along with school and municipal contests.

The McLennan Central Appraisal district will hold a countywide election to select three at-large members for its governing board, which will be expanded to eight members. The new requirement was approved as part of Proposition 4 in Novembers constitutional amendment election and pertains to counties with more than 75,000 residents.

Applicants must have lived within the countywide district for two years and cannot be employees of taxing entities connected to the district unless they are also elected officials in a taxing entity. Those interested in the seats can pick up application packets at the district office, 315 S. 25th St. Applications are due by 5 p.m. Feb. 16 in the office of the county judge, 501 Washington Ave., along with a $400 application fee.

The current board is appointed by member entities and includes elected officials such as McLennan County Commissioner Ben Perry and Waco Independent School District trustee Keith Guillory.

Feb. 16 is also the deadline for other 10 local city council elections and eight school board elections in the area.

The Waco mayors seat will be up for grabs in the May 4 election, as Mayor Dillon Meek announced he will not seek another term.

Jim Holmes, District 5 councilmember and mayor pro tem, announced his intentions to run for mayor last year. If elected mayor, another election will be held to fill the District 5 seat.

Aubrey Robertson, a former McLennan County prosecutor and former district attorney candidate, has said he plans to run for mayor as well.

The election will also include races for the District 1 seat held by Andrea Barefield and the District 3 seat held by Josh Borderud.

Other elections include the following:

Bellmead

Precinct 3 seat held by James Cleveland.

Precinct 4 seat held by Mayor Jasmine Neal.

At-large seat held by Gary Moore.

Hewitt

Ward 1, Place 2, held by Johnny Stephens.

Ward 2, Place 2, held by Johnny Price.

Ward 3, Place 2, held by mayor Steve Fortenberry.

Woodway

Ward 2, Place 1 seat held by Storey Cook.

Ward 3, Place 1 seat held by Gayle Avant.

Crawford

One vacant council seat and the seats held by Jared Farrell and Cindy Vannatta.

Gholson

Two council seats held by Diane Binnion and Ric Maddox.

Lacy Lakeview

The council seats held by Richard Lednicky and Charles Wilson.

Lorena

The council seats held by Emily McKenzie, Jason Blanek and Kelly Yarborough.

Also a proposition to reallocate a portion of economic development funds towards street maintenance and repair.

Mart

The council seats held by mayor pro tem Trevor Baize, Odell Nevils and Ethan Deike.

McGregor

The council seats held by Mayor James Hering, Paul Allison and Renee Flores.

Midway ISD

The board seats held by Brad Alford and Colin Witt.

Waco ISD

The District 1 seat held by Jeremy Davis.

The District 2 seat held by President Stephanie Korteweg.

The at-large seat held by Keith Guillory.

Bosqueville ISD

The board seats held by Jeff Bird, Heath Jackson and David McNamara.

Lorena ISD

The board seats held by Greg Hansen, Kristi Humphreys and Russ Johnson.

La Vega ISD

The board seats held by Myron Ridge and Larry Carpenter.

Crawford ISD

The board seats held by Nathan Lammert and Cory Westerfeld.

Mart ISD

The board seats held by Sara Deike and Russell Carroll.

China Spring ISD

The board seats held by Jeff Bradburn and Trey Oakley.
A proposal from the city of Waco to build a new wastewater treatment plant in the Chalk Bluff area has drawn concern from local residents, who said they are worried it could devalue their property and pollute the Brazos River.

The council will discuss the proposed site on Buster Chatham Road at a 3 p.m. work session before the 6 p.m. business session at the Waco Convention Centers Bosque Theater.

For nearly five years, Waco has considered constructing a wastewater plant to accommodate growth in the China Spring area, approving a $132,000 study for the project in 2019. The agenda item for Tuesdays discussion contains few details, and city officials knowledgeable about the project could not be reached on the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.

Veronica Brady, a Chalk Bluff resident who lives across the street from where the plant is proposed to be built, started a Facebook page called Stop Chalk Bluff Wastewater Plant last week after hearing about the new plant on New Years Eve. Chalk Bluff is an unincorporated semi-rural neighborhood between Farm-to-Market Road 933 and the Brazos River.

The plant would serve development in incorporated areas of Waco on the other side of the Brazos River.

Brady said Chalk Bluff residents worry the smell of a sewer plant would devalue their homes, and the plant could put the river at risk.

They want to run a pipe under the Brazos River, Brady said. If the pipe of sewage, that is full-on sewage from China Spring springs a leak under the Brazos, that could destroy the whole river. It would change our whole lives, it would mess up our lives. Its going to destroy our property value, especially us on the end of the road down here. And they just they dont care.

Brady also said she is concerned about the lack of communication from the city of Waco about the project, which she learned about from a neighbor. She also cited the possible traffic issues caused by large trucks moving along the small country road during the construction of the plant and after the plant is completed.

Other items

On Tuesdays business session agenda is an item allowing the city to enter a business grant agreement with the developers of the AC Hotel by Marriott now under construction next to the Magnolia Silos on Sixth Street. The agreement would provide up to $900,000 over 10 years based on tax rebates, helping to finance a conference center at the hotel complementing Wacos convention center.

The council also is set to approve a contract with Apex Realtors to advertise and market retail space at the Foster Pavilion parking garage and to declare Jan. 16 as Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson Day in Waco.
The Waco area endured record-breaking cold temperatures, power outages and event cancellations Monday and braced for more bone-chilling weather and school delays on Tuesday.

The temperature dropped to 14 degrees Monday morning, beating the 1905 record of 17 degrees for the coldest Jan. 15 on record in Waco, according to the National Weather Service. The high was 23 degrees, setting the record for the lowest maximum temperature on Jan. 15.

The freezing weather, which began Sunday, was expected to continue until Wednesday, with a low of 12 overnight Monday, a high of 30 on Tuesday and a low of 15 Tuesday night, according to the NWS.

Waco roads were passable Monday but accumulated a thin layer of ice and snow, and Texas Department of Transportation Waco District officials urged caution in driving.

The weather forecast led to the decision to cancel the 26th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Peace March at the Waco Suspension Bridge and Bridge Street Plaza.

School districts were off for the holiday Monday but most were on track to open Tuesday on a delayed schedule.

Waco Independent School District announced it would start bus routes and classes two hours late Tuesday. Midway, La Vega, Lorena, West, Moody, and Robinson ISDs announced a similar schedule, while China Spring ISD planned to keep normal hours. Baylor University was also set to start classes Tuesday.

Texas State Technical College, the city of Waco and McLennan County were expected to open at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Energy Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the statewide grid, has issued a conservation appeal from 6 to 9 a.m. Tuesday, repeating a call it made for Monday morning. ERCOT is asking customers to turn down their thermostats and avoid using large appliances if possible during those hours.

More than 400 electric customers, mostly in the Hewitt area, were without power Monday morning, according to Oncors outage map. Power was restored to most customers by later afternoon.

Juan Reyes, Oncor spokesperson, said the outages were caused by the strain put onto Oncor equipment by the low temperatures and uptick in energy usage.

Both the city of Waco and the Salvation Army opened warming centers over the weekend due to the weather. The Salvation Armys shelter, located at 300 Webster Ave., opened Saturday and will remain open until Wednesday, while Wacos shelter at the Dewey Community Center opened Sunday and will also remain open until Wednesday.

Ryan Dirker, emergency management coordinator with the Waco-McLennan County Office of Emergency Management, said by email nine individuals had sought shelter at the citys warming center by Monday morning.

Temperatures are expected to remain freezing until Wednesday, when the high is forecast to be 45.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's barrage of bitter remarks against South Korea is an apparent sign of his pressing need to directly engage with the United States on Korean Peninsula issues and better maintain its regime amid economic woes, analysts said Tuesday.

Since declaring there is no point in seeking reconciliation and unification with South Korea in a key year-end party meeting, Kim has gone on to call Seoul the "invariable principal enemy" and vowed to "completely" occupy the South Korean territory in the event of war in a recent parliamentary meeting.

Analysts said the seemingly forceful rhetoric reflects Kim's own anxiety on having to establish North Korea's footing as a firm stakeholder on the Korean Peninsula while seeking economic and livelihood developments to sustain its regime.

Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said Kim appears to be using inter-Korean ties as a pretext for this purpose.

"The ultimate purpose of Kim's speech is to deliver a message to Washington that they two are the sole stakeholders on the Korean Peninsula, while completely eliminating South Korea from such matters," Hong said.

Hong said North Korea appears to have assessed South Korea as an unhelpful entity following the inter-Korean detente in 2018 and the no-deal summit in Hanoi 2019 between Kim and then U.S. President Donald Trump.

At the same time, analysts said Kim's speech is a powerful message addressing its own people to seek internal unity for economic developments.

North Korea's real gross domestic product (GDP) inched down 0.2 percent on-year in 2022, marking the third consecutive year of economic contraction.

The North's nominal GDP stood at 37 trillion won ($27.84 billion) in 2022, which came to a mere 1.7 percent of South Korea's GDP of 2,161.8 trillion won, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

During his parliamentary speech, Kim declared party-wide efforts to push for the development of provincial areas, saying that overcoming the imbalance between the capital area and provincial areas is an important issue in improving people's livelihoods.

"Kim's ambitions center around two grand goals, which are strengthening nuclear war deterrence, and improving people's livelihood and the economy with limited resources," Lim Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean studies at South Korea's Kyungnam University, said.

"This is only possible through internal unity and sufficient resources. Kim appears to be aiming for tangible results in both areas through full-fledged concentration of unity and resources," Lim said.

Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korea studies at Ewha Womans University, said the change in North Korea's stance toward the South reflects its acknowledgement of a failure in core policies, such as unification.

"While it was only on a rhetoric-level, North Korea has used unification as a core pretext to sustain and develop the regime. Now, they are taking on a new challenge and will see whether this will help maintain the regime," Park said.

"Ironically, it also shows that the North's internal situation seems to be unfavorable," Park added. "That's why it is ratcheting up tensions."

South Korea's unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs reaffirmed the assessment.

"The change in North Korea's policy toward the South is part of a process that began following the Hanoi summit in 2019," a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

"Underlying such a change is anxiety about their regime ... There also seems to be an internal demand to heighten animosity toward South Korea by directing internal discontent outward at a time when difficulties have been exacerbated due to U.N. sanctions and the impact of COVID-19." (Yonhap)
Theory of war

There are offensive and defensive people. Evil powers give bad ideas.

Jesus has brought the solution. God has given 10 rules to clarify, allow, and strengthen individually, love.

Love is stronger than pain and hate, not to mention better. Peace will triumph. Love will win. Surprised?

Carol Robinson, Waterloo

Attack on children

Whats the latest attack on children by Gov. Reynolds? This time, its refusing over $28 million federal dollars to provide food for 240,000 low-income children next summer. It would only cost Iowa taxpayers $2.2 million to oversee. How cruel can you get? And yet, I think the cruelty is the point. Reynolds and her GOP minions passed several restrictive laws in 2023 taking away the rights of LGBTQ+ children. They also gave $144 million of our tax dollars to wealthy families to send their kids to private religious schools, leaving public schools poorer because of lower enrollment.

Who is behind this cruelty? Bob Vander Plaats and The Family Leader, a network of evangelical churches across Iowa who instruct their parishioners how to vote. Their donor base contributes campaign funds to Republican politicians from Reynolds on down. TFL has pushed Reynolds and the Iowa GOP to pass all of the above issues. Its truly shameful that self-proclaimed Christians are the cause for all of this completely unnecessary misery.

Jesus is the one who commanded his followers to feed the poor and take care of the children. But his followers here in Iowa have yet to get that message.

Doug Smith, Cedar Falls

A friend remembered

To my reasoning, certain souls need to be recognized and lauded for their time on Earth. Jimmy Longnecker was an example of that spirit. I kicked around with him since Lincoln Elementary. I knew his parents, I had a myriad experiences with his siblings, he was one of the many kiddos I grew up with in the 1960s and 70s (yes were that old). He was a unique individual. He had a creative spirit that was awe-inspiring. His musical talents were wonderful to enjoy and a lucky opportunity to share with the many grateful friends and fans he had. I knew him a little differently in adulthood. We pursued the same academic interests and had many discussions regarding the current state of man and humanism in general. He came back from Auburn a changed person. Smarter, deeper, more engaged. Ill never forget our conversations about psychology, helping professionals, and our future aspirations. He was unique. He will be missed by many. I will miss a friend and colleague of five-plus decades. Its not farewell my friend but until we meet again.

Howard Griffin, Cedar Falls

Election interference

As recently reported in the Courier, two Democratic-controlled states have banned Donald Trumps name from appearing on their primary ballots. While many are surprised to see this brazen attempt to block voters from exercising their right to vote for the leading candidate, this tactic is nothing new.

In the 1860 election, 10 Democratic-controlled Southern states blocked Abraham Lincolns name from appearing on their ballots. As a result, Lincoln only received about 40% of the popular vote nationally, but was able to prevail in the Electoral College.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (who banned Trump for her states ballot) has called the Electoral College the relic of white supremacy. But the exact opposite is true. If it werent for the Electoral College, a slavery-neutral or pro-slavery Democrat would have won the presidency in 1860. At the very least, that would have meant a lengthy delay in the battle to end slavery by Lincoln and the Republicans.

Peter Voorhees, Cedar Falls

Disingenuous essay

Rachel Greszlers recent opinion essay in The Courier included a few actual facts, but they were surrounded by so many deceiving misstatements that its hard to take her, or the article, seriously.

She would have you believe that efforts to increase the number of workers eligible for overtime wages will do only harm to those workers. That up is down. She repeatedly uses a study to justify her opinion, but refuses to cite the source or indicate who funded or conducted the study. Do you suppose that study was paid for and guided by average workers, who she claims to care so deeply about? Me neither.

The Heritage Foundation, which she represents, is nothing more than a mouthpiece for large corporate interests. When it comes to labor and wage laws, the Heritage Foundation would be thrilled to return our economy to the 1920s, before minimum wages, overtime, or employee benefits even existed.

Although they claim to support workers, they are a wolf in sheeps clothing. Dont be fooled.

Dennis Harbaugh,

Waterloo

Support Ukraine

Support for Ukraine is important for the future of all democracies and the freedom of people of the world. Defeat is not an option and will only embolden communist and authoritarian aggression worldwide. Mark Twain remarked, History doesnt repeat itself, but it does rhyme.

The conflict resembles the situation in Great Britain during the spring of 1941, facing possible invasion and certain defeat when alone facing Nazi Germanys invasion of western Europe. President Franklin Roosevelt sent a special adviser, Harry Hopkins, to Great Britain to report on the resolve of the English people, He found they were committed to self-determination and the many values of freedom.

In his reports to Roosevelt, he quoted from the book of Ruth in the Old Testament: Whilst thy go, I will go. Where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Even to the end. He proclaimed his support to their cause, and the Lend Lease Act soon followed.

We now need statesmen and leadership on the world stage to show that the United States is still the light of the free world. We are at a crossroads. Give Ukraine the needed aid to finish their job. Humanity and civilization could depend on our support. The fight for freedom has not changed in 83 years.

Bruce Quegg, Cedar Falls
WATERLOO  A Newton man who was found with more than a two pounds of meth in his vehicle has been sentenced to prison.

Judge C.J. Williams sentenced Cody James Darland Heinrichs, 34, formerly of Mason City, to 14 years in prison on a charge of possession of meth with intent to deliver. Following prison, he will be on supervised release for five years.

According to authorities, officers found 4.6 pounds of meth under the hood of Heinrichs vehicle during a Sept. 7, 2022, traffic stop in Waterloo. They also found $2,000 in cash.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Nagin, and it was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and the Black Hawk County Sherriffs Office.
WATERLOO  Party faithful turned out for the Black Hawk County Democratic Party caucus on Monday night despite having a lot of reasons not to bother.

There were the below zero temperatures.

It was the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.

And choosing a presidential candidate for the November election wasnt even on the agenda.

Those 90-plus people who braved the cold for Monday nights event at the Waterloo Center for the Arts received special praise from Vikki Brown, party chairperson.

I have a heart full of gratitude for each and every one of you and your steadfast dedication for this democratic process, Brown said. Your commitment to shaping the political landscape resonates deeply. Thats one of the principles that leaders like Dr. King advocated for.

While the Republicans were deciding who to put on the ticket  it was Donald Trump for the majority  the Democrats this cycle have adopted a mail-in system.

Party members have until Feb. 19 to request a Presidential Preference Card, which includes the names of incumbent President Joe Biden, U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., and author and activist Marianne Williamson as well as a space for uncommitted.

Cards will be mailed out and mailed back once completed. The results will be announced March 5.

Monday nights in-person event focused on business at the state and local level with lawmakers delivering speeches about taking back control of the Iowa Legislature, which currently sees Republican majorities in both chambers and a Republican in the governors office.

We need, right now, to create some kind of balance in Des Moines.  They are doing whatever they want, said state Rep. Bob Kressig, D-Cedar Falls.

Attendees also got to meet the Democratic candidates for local offices.

Karen Showalter, currently elections manager for the Black Hawk County Auditors Office, will run for county auditor with the upcoming retirement of Grant Veeder.

Sarah Corkery, who operates the Corkery and Corkery marketing firm, is running in an attempt to unseat Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Marion, in the U.S. House.

Nate Neff, a captain with the Black Hawk County Sheriffs Office, is running for the sheriffs seat with the upcoming retirement of Tony Thompson.

Kamyar Enshayan, a former Cedar Falls City Council member, is running for a seat on the Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors.

Ritchie Kurtenbach, a leader with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, is running for a seat on the Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors.

The partys county convention will be March 23 with district conventions on May 4.

Iowas State Democratic Convention with be June 15, and the National Convention is scheduled for Aug. 19-22.

Photos: Democratic In-Person Caucus, Jan. 15, 2024 011524jr-democrat-caucus-1 Vikki Brown Kamyar Enshayan Ritchie Kurkenbach Karen Showalter Sarah Corkery Nate Neff
GRUNDY CENTER  Authorities said Tuesday that Lance Noble was found safe.

Earlier report

GRUNDY CENTER  Authorities are seeking the publics help in locating a Grundy Center man who has been missing for more than a week.

Lance Noble, age unavailable, was last heard from on Jan. 9, according to the Grundy Center Police Department. Police said he has medical concerns and may be confused about his whereabouts.

He drives a silver 2011 Buick LaCrosse with Iowa license plate LHJ045.

Anyone with information is asked to call Grundy County Dispatch at (319) 824-6933 or 911.

Photos: Missing children in Iowa Emily Joann Dudney Daquan Nelson Jade Colvin Fredrick Workman Benjamin Roseland Erin Pospisil Marc Allen Eugene Martin John Gosch Kimberly Doss Colleen Simpson
High Court Reporters

RTE DJ Dave Fanning has launched defamation proceedings against a Hong Kong news site and Microsoft over the publication of his picture alongside an article stating that an Irish broadcaster had gone on trial for alleged sexual misconduct.

The article was published by an online news network entity called BNN on October 11th last accompanied with Mr Fanning's image, entitled "Prominent Irish Broadcaster faces trial over alleged sexual misconduct."

The defamatory article, which states that the broadcaster's identity was being "withheld due to legal restrictions", "faces trial for allegedly engaging in sexual activities with a child under 12" was also allegedly republished on Microsoft's News Service MSN on the same date as it had been published by BNN.

Mr Fanning claims the article makes seriously false and damaging statements about him.

The trial in question had nothing to do with him, and related to another broadcaster, who was subsequently acquitted of all charges.

As a result he has brought proceedings where he seeks damages for the alleged defamation.

The article, the court heard, was removed the day after it was published.

The court heard that the article is completely false, has wrongly suggested that Mr Fanning is a criminal, is a person of low moral standing, a danger to minors, is a paedophile and has gravely damaged Mr Fanning's reputation and good character.

As a result Mr Fanning, represented by Garrett Cooney Bl instructed by solicitor Paul Meagher, wants to sue BNN, Microsoft Operations Ireland Ltd and its US-based parent Microsoft Corporation.

As the defendants are both located outside of the EU, Mr Fanning required the permission of the High Court to serve the proceedings on them.

Counsel told the court that after an extensive search by Mr Meagher his side have discovered that BNN is registered as a Non-governmental Organisation, founded by a Mr Gurbaksh Chahal, located at the Prudential Tower, the Gateway Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.

Counsel said that at this stage of the proceedings it is believed that Mr Fanning's image, may have been included with the article after an Artificial Intelligence (AI) programme used to collect and aggregate news stories failed to function properly.

On Monday Mr Justice Cian Ferriter said that he was satisfied, on an ex-parte basis to allow Mr Fanning serve the intended action on BNN.

However there were certain issues he needed clarified in relation to the application regarding Microsoft's US based parent, which the court wanted clarified.

The judge said he would like to know if there was any evident the allegedly defamatory article was published on any MSN services outside of Ireland or in jurisdictions under the control of Microsoft's US parent.

The judge adjourned that aspect of the application for a week.
Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (15 January 2024)

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.

In Kupyansk direction, units of the Zapad Group of Forces supported by helicopters and artillery repelled one attack of the AFU 60th Mechanised Brigades assault group close to Sinkovka (Kharkov region).

In addition, the Zapad Group of Forces inflicted a fire damage on AFU manpower and hardware clusters close to Petropavlovka, Berestovoye (Kharkov region, Stelmakhovka (Lugansk Peoples Republic).

Up to 20 Ukrainian troops, three armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, and one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system have been eliminated.

In Krasny Liman direction, the Tsentr Group of Forces units, aviation, and artillery repelled one attack of the AFU 63rd Mechanised Brigades assault group close to Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk Peoples Republic), and inflicted fire damage on strongholds of the 5th National Guard Brigade near Serebryansky forestry.

More than 160 Ukrainian troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, and one Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system have been eliminated.

In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces supported by aviation and artillery inflicted fire damage on AFU manpower and hardware near Vesyoloyeloye, Razdolovka, Kleshcheyevka, Andreyevka, and Kurdyumovka (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

More than 200 Ukrainian troops, one tank, three infantry fighting vehicles, one armoured personnel carrier, 13 motor vehicles, and two Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems have been eliminated.

One artillery ordnance depot of the AFU 46th Airmobile Brigade was destroyed near Kurakhovo (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

?? In South Donetsk direction, units of the Vostok Group of Forces supported by aviation and artillery hit units of AFU 72nd, 79th air assault brigades near Novomikhailovka (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

More than 140 Ukrainian troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, four motor vehicles, and one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system have been eliminated.

In Zaporozhye direction, units of the Russian Group of Forces supported by artillery inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of AFU 65th mechanised, 3rd,14th National Guard brigades close to Verbovoye, Rabotino, and Novoprokopovka (Zaporozhye region).

Up to 20 Ukrainian troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, and one D-30 howitzer were destroyed.

In Kherson direction, as a result of the systematic fire impact, the AFU suffered losses of 40 troops, eight motor vehicles, and one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system.

Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Group of Forces have engaged one POL base and 109 AFU artillery units at their fire positions, manpower, and military hardware in 142 areas during the day.

Russias Air Defence shot down 25 unmanned aerial vehicles close to Kremennaya, Belogorovka, Krivosheyevka, Nikolayevka, Verkhnekamenka (Lugansk Peoples Republic), Spornoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic), Pshenichnoye (Zaporozhye region), and three Tochka-U tactical missiles.

In total, 567 airplanes and 265 helicopters, 10,689 unmanned aerial vehicles, 450 air defence missile systems, 14,632 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,202 combat vehicles equipped with MRLS, 7,736 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 17,489 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.

Tags:

WtR
Briefing by Chief of Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Protection Troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov on U.S. military-biological activity

Materials of briefing by Chief of Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Protection Troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

When link above works again? I will download the PDF from source and upload to my server to keep another copy safer

During 2023, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation carried out a detailed analysis of U.S. military biological activities in Ukraine and elsewhere in the world, which provided a more complete understanding of the military biology programmes they are implementing.

Based on the analysis of documents obtained during the special military operation, the structure of the system set up by the U.S. administration for global biological risk management became clear. It is made up of government agencies and private contracting companies, including the so-called Big Pharma companies.

Through the U.S. executive branch, a legislative framework is being formed to fund military biological research directly from the federal budget. Under state guarantees, funds are attracted from non-governmental organisations controlled by the Democratic Party leadership, including the investment funds of the Clintons, Rockefellers, Soros, and Biden.

The main contractors of the American military department are Metabiota, Black & Veatch, and CH2M HILL, which are entrusted with the construction of biobased facilities, supplying equipment for the Pentagons biolaboratories around the world. The work is being coordinated by the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).

The activities of this system are aimed at studying pathogens of especially dangerous infections in the regions of the world strategically important for the USA, controlling the biological situation and achieving superiority in the field of bioproduction. One of the priority tasks is the so-called biological espionage  analysing the epidemiological situation along the borders of geopolitical adversaries and in the proposed areas of deployment of military contingents.

Materials were received confirming that the American military department had set tasks to monitor the biological situation in the Middle East and Central Asia, territories bordering China, Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.

Over the past year, the Pentagon has developed and adopted a number of conceptual documents that envisage the expansion of the foreign network of U.S.-controlled biolaboratories and the continuation of military biological research beyond national jurisdiction.

In addition, administrative and technical structures (the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, and the State Departments Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy) were created in 2023 with the primary mission of implementing policies for further biological-military expansion.

While the stated goals are to monitor infectious diseases and assist developing countries, the example of Ukraine has made it clear how the U.S. is building up its biological-military capabilities.

By the time the special military operation was started, the Pentagon was implementing UP and TAP projects in the country aimed at studying pathogens of particularly dangerous and economically significant diseases (tularemia, anthrax, hantavirus infections).

The research was conducted in three main areas. These include monitoring the biological situation, collecting endemic strains, and studying the susceptibility of the local population.

In 2023, the EU countries actively promoted an initiative to deploy a network of centres of excellence in the field of NBC protection, which envisages the deployment of biolaboratories on the territory of the former USSR. The prospective partners are highly recommended not to advertise this initiative due to its extreme sensitivity for the Russian Federation At the same time, it is stressed that the Central Asian countries are already benefiting from technical cooperation

The distribution of funds on the territory of the post-Soviet space is carried out, including through a system of grants through the Ukrainian and International Science and Technology Centres. I would like to draw attention to the names of individual projects financed in the states of the Transcaucasia and Central Asia.

Project 2410 Assessment of natural resistance of brucellosis pathogen in domestic and wild animals is aimed at studying the possibility of transmission of this pathogen to humans. The research was carried out with the participation of specialists from the University of Florida.

The 2513 Project studies risk factors and molecular properties of resistance in the external environment of virulent enterobacteriaceae.

The research aims to isolate strains that are immune to all known classes of antibiotics.

The 2545 Project involves modelling evolutionary changes in selected viruses highly pathogenic to humans. The research was supported by the UKs national research and innovation agency.

Taking advantage of gaps in international legislation, the United States administration is consistently building up its biological-military capabilities in various regions of the world.

Of particular concern is the fact that the United States has blocked any international initiatives to verify the Biological Weapons Convention. This eliminates the ability to inspect laboratory operations both inside and outside the United States. The 2023 BWC events once again confirmed Washingtons fundamental reluctance to resume negotiations on a legally binding verification mechanism.

In the course of the events held at the BWC, the Russian Federation raised more than 20 questions concerning violations by Kiev and Washington of the requirements of the Convention. It concerned the nomenclature and quantities of pathogenic microorganisms studied under the Biological Threat Reduction Program, the conduct of research on Ukrainian servicemen and mentally ill persons, and the concealment by Ukraine and the United States of the facts of cooperation in the military-biological sphere in international reporting. None of the questions have received substantive answers to date.

At the same time, the initiatives promoted by the United States were aimed at replacing the provisions of the Convention and other norms of international law with its own rules, which were developed in U.S. interests, supported by the collective West and imposed on third countries for implementation.

This can be traced in the work at other international platforms, when Western delegations pushed through decision-making only on issues of interest to them, without regard for the priorities of other states. At the same time, attention is deliberately shifted to the consideration of secondary issues not directly related to the problems of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, for example, such as the creation of all kinds of databases, ensuring gender equality, participation in BWC activities by youth organisations, etc.

To mitigate the political damage from the Russian revelations, the U.S. administration is trying to put pressure on its allies and developing countries. This is due, in particular, to the results of the consideration of the issue of U.S. biological-military activities in Ukraine in the United Nations Security Council and the outcome of the vote in the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to re-elect Russia to the Executive Board of that organisation.

We have repeatedly noted that the work of U.S. military biologists is aimed at forming artificially managed epidemics and is not monitored under the BWC and the UN Secretary Generals mechanism for investigating the use of biological weapons.

At the same time, the forecast of the situation assumes further deterioration of the epidemic situation with possible formation of artificial disease foci and uncontrolled expansion of the vector area.

For example, an increase in non-endemic Asian tiger mosquitoes has already been recorded in Southern and Central Europe during the last two years. In Germany, populations of this species have developed in five federal districts. Another mosquito species that is a vector of the West Nile fever has been identified in Sweden and Finland.

At the same time, an increase in the incidence of uncharacteristic vector-borne infections was noted in the EU countries. More people infected with dengue fever were reported in Europe during the year than in the previous decade. The peak incidence of the West Nile fever has also been recorded more than a thousand cases, 92 of them fatal.

Of particular concern is the increase in research on smallpox viruses and other human pathogenic orthopoxviruses by U.S. military specialists. This involves the evaluation of monkeypox virus as a potential infectious biological agent and the search for agent mimics of smallpox viruses.

I would like to note that only two institutions are allowed to work with this virus  the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the USA and the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR in Russia.

However, despite a ban by the World Health Assembly, aerobiological experiments using two strains of smallpox virus were conducted by staff of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. The relevant document showing the involvement of the U.S. DoD in the research is shown on the slide.

This situation clearly demonstrates the U.S. administrations disregard for international biosafety norms. Such work has the potential to trigger a global epidemic emergency, as a significant proportion of the population has become susceptible to smallpox and other orthopoxviruses as a result of loss of population immunity. The monkeypox pandemic and the increase in the incidence of cowpox virus worldwide over the past 10 years are clear examples.

I would like to remind you that American researchers have a keen interest in the synthesis of orthopoxviruses.

In 2017, they synthesised a functional genome of the equine smallpox virus. At the same time, the possibility of artificial production of Lassa, Ebola, Marburg, and human pathogenic coronaviruses was shown.

A recent example is the gain-of-function studies conducted at the Boston University, where directed modification of the COVID pathogen resulted in 80% lethality causing atypical neurological symptoms and severe lung lesions in model animals.

The risks of such dual-use research are greatly increased by the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. This was clearly demonstrated by a US firm that used an artificial intelligence-based therapeutic compound generator to create potential chemical weapons agents.

I should like to make a special mention of the work carried out in 2023 to identify the organisers and participants in military-biological activities on the territory of Ukraine.

As a result of the analysis of the documentation received, more than 50 persons were identified including US and Ukrainian government officials, employees of intermediary organisations and private companies.

They include DTRA employees Kenneth Myers, Robert Pope and Joanna Wintrol; and Pentagon contractor representatives (Battelle and EcoHealth Alliance) Kevin Olival, Karen Sailors, and Lewis von Thaer.

This list includes Ukrainian citizens who took part in the implementation of the UP and TAP projects: Mikhail Usatiy, Tatyana Kiryazova.

For a long time, employees of the Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU) and the U.S. Agency for International Development remained in the shadows developing scenarios aimed at accusing the Russian Federation of using biological weapons.

I would like to remind you that the relevant training took place in Lvov in August 2023 with the participation of representatives of the SBU and the National Police of Ukraine. The event was attended by Filippa Lentzos, Gemma Bowsher, Head of the Reference Laboratory for the Diagnosis of Viral and Highly Dangerous Pathogens Irina Demchishina, and Head of the Biosafety and Biological Protection Department of the Centre for Public Health of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine Darya Ponomarenko. Demchishina had previously acted as an intermediary in dealing with Pentagon contractor Black & Veatch and its vice president, Thomas Wahl.

Research on the study of pathogens of economically significant infections and mechanisms of their spread was led by Denis Muzyka. Viktor Gavrilenko and Aleksandr Mezinov were involved in collecting and sending materials.

Among those involved in the biological-military dossier, those involved in the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and who benefited financially from the distribution of substandard vaccines deserve special mention.

They include former CIA Director Gina Haspel, Department of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and White House adviser Anthony Fauci, who deliberately obstructed investigations into the causes of the COVID-19 pandemic and manipulated public opinion.

These are top officials of the pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna, Albert Bourla and Stephane Bancel, who made super profits on sales of drugs dangerous to human health.

The list includes Pentagon contractor executives Nita Madhav, CEO of Metabiota, and Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance involved in laundering money from the U.S. government budget allocated to study the agent of a new coronavirus infection and fight the pandemic.

The U.S. and Ukrainian officials shown on the slide are only a small part of the biological-military dossier; more complete information has been transferred to military investigative bodies for appropriate legal assessment.

I would like to point out that the United States signed the Convention in 1972 and ratified it in 1975. We have in our possession a Pentagon document dated 1977 (i.e., after the BWC was ratified).

It shows the main activities of the US Army in the biological weapons development programme. According to the authors, this material was prepared for Congressional representatives to raise their awareness of the U.S. Department of Defenses biological programme.

It is noteworthy that many of the government and scientific institutions listed in the document as Pentagon contractors under the biological weapons development programme are now involved in the so-called Biological Threat Reduction Programme conducted by DTRA in Ukraine. These include universities in Texas, Florida, Arizona, and others.

The directions of research implementation have not changed. The same pathogens of tularemia, anthrax, tick-borne infections are the priority.

In October 2023, the U.S. Department of Defense announced the launch of a training programme for the biomanufacturing strategy, with former military personnel with biomedical warfare experience being prioritised as candidates.

The official press release noted that the Department of Defences activities will focus on revitalising U.S. domestic manufacturing capabilitiesthat enhance Americas strategic competitiveness and enable the military of tomorrow.

Such language may be indicative of Washingtons attempts to recreate technologies for the large-scale production of biological formulations as part of an offensive biological programme.

Thus, the systemic expansion of biological-military activities poses a threat to the security of the Russian Federation and other States considered by the United States as strategic adversaries. The scale of U.S. dual-use research and the global biological risks it poses raise the question of an independent international investigation. Due to the unprecedented pressure from Washington, many states have taken a passive position on this issue, but the information received in the course of the special military operation on the development of biological weapons components on the territory of Ukraine in violation of Articles 1 and 4 of the Convention makes them change their point of view.

In the current situation, we consider it extremely important to resume work on a legally binding protocol to the Convention, which would be binding on all States Parties to the BWC, and first and foremost on the United States.

We are continuing to analyse incoming documents and will keep you informed.

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WtR
Baraboo voters will select a mayor and fill three Common Council seats in the April election.

One challenger is running against Mayor Rob Nelson, and another is looking to unseat District 8 Ald. Heather Kierzek in the April 2 races. Nelson is being challenged by former 3rd District Ald. Michael Plautz, while Kierzek is running against Russell Schider to maintain her seat.

Two candidates, Steve Hause and Nicole Kruschel, are running to replace District 2 Ald. Tom Kolb, who also is not running for re-election.

Andrea Lombard, who also represents Sauk Countys 14th District on the County Board, is the lone candidate to replace Ald. Joel Petty, who is stepping down from his District 5 seat.

Lombard will join current 3rd District Ald. Bryant Hazard as city council members who also serve as county supervisors. She has previously expressed support for opening Baraboo streets to terrain vehicles.

The candidates were announced at the citys Common Council meeting on Wednesday, held a day later than scheduled due to the winter storm on Jan. 9. The races will not have primaries.

Police Chiefs Award

Brian Voltz, a detective with the Baraboo Police Department, received a Police Chiefs Award from Chief Rob Sinden for his work on an investigation regarding possession of child pornography that began in 2021.

Separate criminal complaints indicated that Keith Whiting and Samuel Walter had sexually assaulted a 12-year-old child and that Whiting also had inappropriate relations with a 16-year-old.

Voltz discovered computer hardware that was discarded in the Baraboo River in April of 2022. The hardware, which was was examined by the state Crime Lab, contained thousands more inappropriate images of children, Sinden said, adding that lab personnel had never seen that amount of illegal data in any case statewide to that point.

Detective Voltz went above and beyond in his efforts to secure the convictions, Sinden said at Wednesdays council meeting. This was Detective Voltzs first assigned internet crimes against children case, and he set the bar high for anyone who investigates similar cases in the future.

In October, Whiting was sentenced to 45 years in prison for child sexual exploitation and repeated sexual assault of the same child, according to court records. In November, Walter received a 53-year sentence for two counts of child sexual exploitation and one count each of child sexual exploitation and possession of child pornography. Whiting and Walter also received 35 and 37 years of extended supervision, respectively.
Yoon vows stronger retaliation against Pyongyang's military provocation

By Lee Hyo-jin

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has proposed amending the Constitution to officially designate South Korea as the "primary foe." Additionally, he expressed an intent to annex the South in the event of a war. Analysts believe this could signify a transformative moment in inter-Korean relations.

"We can specify in our Constitution the issue of completely occupying, subjugating and reclaiming the ROK and annex it as a part of the territory of our republic in case a war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula," Kim was quoted as saying by the North's state-run mouthpiece Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Tuesday. The ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name.

He made the remarks during a speech at the 10th session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) held the previous day, according to KCNA.

"And I think it is right to specify in the relevant paragraph of our Constitution ... that education should be intensified to instill into them (North Korean people) the firm idea that ROK is their primary foe and invariable principal enemy," he said, emphasizing the need to discuss the constitutional revision at the next SPA session.

Just last week, Kim already labeled South Korea as the regime's "principal enemy" and declared that it has no intention of avoiding a war.

In Monday's address, the North Korean leader vowed to permanently sever all inter-Korean communication channels, including physically cutting off railway tracks on their side. Additionally, he urged the complete removal of the "Monument to the Three Charters for National Reunification," located at the entrance to Pyongyang, which commemorates the reunification principles established by the regime's founder, Kim Il-sung.

Under the belief that Seoul is no longer a partner for unification or reconciliation, North Korea has decided to dismantle three agencies dedicated to promoting inter-Korean cooperation. This move implies a suspension of government-level talks, economic cooperation projects, and human exchanges for the time being.

Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, analyzed that Kim's latest remarks may signal a "fundamental shift in inter-Korean relations in the 70-year history of division," noting that the primary target of his messages seems to be the United States and not South Korea.

"Kim Jong-un's description of South Korea as a hostile nation ultimately signals that he no longer regards Seoul as a party directly involved in issues linked to the Korean Peninsula. This indicates his intention to manage matters related to the peninsula primarily through North Korea-U.S. interactions," Hong said.

Cha Du-hyeogn, a senior researcher at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, commented that the constitutional amendment would only serve to accentuate the abnormal values embraced by the reclusive regime.

"Last year, North Korea integrated a policy of fortifying its nuclear forces into its Constitution. Now, it is attempting to designate a specific country as a primary foe, further deviating from international standards regarding what constitutes normal constitutional values for a country," Cha said.

In response, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration reiterated its commitment to an overwhelming response to North Korean threats.

"The North Korean authorities have characterized inter-Korean relations not as ties between nations sharing homogeneous backgrounds, but as relations between hostile nations. This acknowledgment reflects the regime's nature as an anti-national and anti-historical group," Yoon said during a Cabinet meeting held just hours after Kim's speech was published.

"If North Korea provokes, we will retaliate with multiple times greater strength," he warned.

The Ministry of Unification condemned Pyongyang's promotion of the "two-Koreas" narrative, condemning the move as "political provocation aimed at creating division within South Korean society."

"North Korea must clearly realize that it cannot gain anything  security, economic benefits or maintainenance of its regime  through the use of nuclear weapons and missiles," the ministry said in a statement.

The U.S. expressed its disappointment over Kim's belligerent rhetoric.

"We are disappointed by the DPRK's continued rejection of dialogue and the escalation of its hostile rhetoric toward the ROK," a State Department spokesperson was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency. The DPRK stands for the official name of North Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Despite the ongoing tensions between the two Koreas, the likelihood of another war on the peninsula is considered low, according to analysts. This is attributed to Pyongyang's somewhat cautious approach to prevent the escalation of tensions into an actual conflict.

"The intention behind Kim's speech is to convey a message to the U.S. that North Korea is the sole stakeholder in issues related to the Korean Peninsula. The likelihood of actual war provocations seems low," Hong said.

During the assembly speech, the North Korean leader stated, "There is no reason to opt for war, and therefore, there is no intention of unilaterally going to war. But once a war becomes a reality facing us, we will never try to avoid it."

This shows Pyongyang's defensive stance about launching a preemptive attack, Hong viewed.
Portage Municipal Airports new operator offers a pathway to people seeking a lucrative career above the clouds, while working to fend off a future pilot shortage.

The airline industry has thousands of pilots that are retiring over the next 10 to 20 years, said Paul Phelps, owner of Sun Sport Aviation. So there is going to be a huge void, and I want to be a part of the solution by helping to inspire kids and mentor them through flight training. ... If they work hard, in two years, three years max, they can be working for the airlines making over $100,000 per year.

Just months after its future was in question, the airport has a new manager and fixed base operator (FBO), solidifying Portages commitment to the next generation of aviators.

Last summer, the council voted to keep the airport open following weeks of uncertainty about its future after two Common Council members introduced measures to direct city staff to inquire with federal and state agencies about what it would take to shut down an airport and abolish its airport commission.

Phelps and his company, Sun Sport Aviation, took over duties as airport manager and FBO in November, and Phelps said he has hit the ground running with the opening of his flight school and is already looking for extra help, as things are moving a little quicker than he expected.

Ive got a handful of students already flying, said Phelps, who also gives flight instructions. As a matter of fact, I need more instructors already, because as the word gets out that we have a flight school here, people are going to walk in off the street wanting to take lessons.

Portage declares snow emergency, school district cancels Friday classes as another storm looms The city of Portage has declared a snow emergency and the school district has cancelled all classes on Friday as another winter storm is expected.

Phelps is an Federal Aviation Administration certified flight instructor of single-engine airplanes, multiengine airplanes and helicopters, with about 2,300 hours of instruction behind him. He is also a military instructor pilot and instrument examiner in Blackhawk helicopters, with 820 hours worked between the two. Over his 38 years of flying military rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft, and civilian fixed-wing aircraft, he has accumulated more than 7,200 hours of combined flight experience.

Phelps said the flight school already has six participants, and the need for flight instructors is only going to grow. A recently hired female flight instructor will be working with and serving as a role model for young female pilots.

One of the students enrolled in the flight school, Jedidiah Hoege, 19, said he has had a dream to purchase and fly his own plane as a hobby for the last several years and has been working a construction job five days a week to help him pay for it. He said the flight school has provided an effective pathway to help him accomplish his goals.

I love construction, said Hoege. I love being able to drive down the road and be like, Hey, I built that house. But its also just to progress my hopeful career of being a pilot.

After graduating from Portage High School last year  before Phelps took over at the Portage airport and started offering instruction  Hoege said he enrolled in ground school to obtain his private pilot license at a flight school in Madison, which he said was difficult as it teaches the basics of all flight.

See live traffic conditions as another big snowstorm hits southern Wisconsin Check out live traffic conditions as the second major snowstorm of the week hits southern Wisconsin on Friday and Saturday, with near-blizzard conditions and bitter cold to follow.

I had to learn about most airplanes, said Hoege. Like the basics of multi-engine airplanes and different avionics you can have, which in and of itself along with the bookwork was challenging for me.

After completing his bookwork ahead of pace in about one semester, and accumulating more than 20 hours of flying, Hoege said he needs about another 20 hours in the air to earn his private pilot license. He also needs to get more comfortable with his landings before being permitted to attempt his first solo flight, a feat Hoege said he has been looking forward to for some time.

Im very excited for that, said Hoege, who smiled as he thought about the feeling of being thousands of feet above the ground. Nerves are always good, they mean youre human, but Ive (controlled the flight) off and on a couple of times, so Im not really nervous about it. I feel quite comfortable up in an airplane.

Hoege said his short-term goal is just to be able to fly people around, like his coworkers and siblings, but he eventually wants to get all of his ratings so he can work for a major airline company, such as Delta or Southwest Airlines. Flying bush aircraft in Alaska or doing missionary work in Mexico or Africa also will be on his radar in the future, he said.

I just really like the idea of being able to help people, said Hoege. If I became a millionaire off the airline company or something, my dream after that would be teaching (flight lessons) for just the price of fuel.

Mile Bluff Medical Center opening Gateway Building at former Mauston Shopko site Mile Bluff Medical Center Gateway Building will house urgent care and dialysis services along with a retail pharmacy at the former Shopko in Mauston.

Phelps said he not only wants to welcome youths who plan to go into a career in aviation, like Hoege, but also those who may only want to do it as a hobby, because it may lead to them one day being flight instructors and helping to keep aviation alive as a hobby.

Phelps also said he will keep in mind that not everyone wants to become a pilot, as some people may work to become professional airplane mechanics, which he said will also be a possible pathway, as he has connections with mechanics who are interested in being mentors.

As a way of providing flight school students a more professional training path and a little more one-on-one attention in the future, Phelps said he hopes to collaborate with local education institutions, such as Portage High School and Madison Area Technical College, so the airport can use classrooms or computers labs for its flight instructors to hold private pilot classes, instrument training classes and commercial pilots classes.

Two of the other current participants in the flight school are Portage High School students who help Phelps clean airplanes and complete various projects around the airport, in return for flight lessons at a discounted rate.

I want to make (flying) obtainable for kids without them ending up in huge debt when theyre done, said Phelps. Im sensitive to that because I went through it myself as a kid. ... It can be hard to pay for flight training.

Phelps said he recently purchased a new flight trainer aircraft, which is cheaper to fly, as it runs on car gasoline and uses less fuel per mile. The plane also has modern aviation technology, including an auto-pilot system and touch screen monitors, which is what airlines are using now.

I want to start them learning in the plane from day one to get them used to what the technology is like, said Phelps. Its a great trainer, its very stable, and all the students who get in it and fly in it say they love it.

Phelps said he is already looking at ordering another aircraft for the fleet, as he has multiple students in the flight school who are interested in becoming airline pilots.

Theyre going to go through Sun Sport Aviation flight training and work through all the different levels, said Phelps. Private pilot, commercial pilot, become a flight instructor, work for the flight school as a flight instructor, build up the time and experience they need for the airlines, and then we can send them off to the airlines when theyre ready. So itll be a win-win.

Heres why so many Alaska and United flights are still canceled The FAA has grounded affected Max 9s for inspection for days, and neither airline has has hinted that flights on those planes will resume soon.

Cost

Sun Sport offers multiple instruction paths, including primary flight instructions, which cost $50 an hour and will help people obtain their sport, recreational or private pilot license.

The most common license, private, takes a minimum of 40 hours of flight time and usually around $8,000 to $10,000 to obtain, Phelps said.

Advanced flight instructions cost $60 an hour and help people obtain licenses for instrument rating, commercial pilot and complex aircrafts. Advanced instructions also allow people to become certified flight instructors, among other things.

Miscellaneous flight instructions are also offered starting at $40 an hour for all levels of ground instruction and cost $50 an hour for biennial flight reviews and $60 an hour for instructions on instrument proficiency checks.
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When a 29-year-old conductor named Michael Tilson Thomas made his San Francisco Symphony debut in 1974, leading Gustav Mahlers Ninth Symphony, few could have foreseen this would evolve into one of the most successful unions of composer, conductor, and orchestra in recent memory.

Now, in celebration of 50 years performing Mahler together, MTT and the Symphony present Mahlers Fifth Symphony, which finds the composer at his most joyous and life-affirming.



Mahlers Fifth Symphony is the ideal piece for music director laureate Tilson Thomas, whose decades-long devotion to the composer yielded the acclaimed Mahler recording project on SFS Media. Dont miss MTT in his final subscription concerts with the SF Symphony.

// January 25-27 at San Francisco Symphony, 201 Van Ness Ave. (Civic Center); get tickets at sfsymphony.org.
North Korea's foreign minister lauded comradely ties with Russia on Tuesday ahead of a rare meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been invited by Kim Jong-un to visit the reclusive nuclear-armed country.

Putin has deepened ties with North Korea since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the United States and its allies have condemned what they say have been significant North Korean missile deliveries to Russia to help its war effort.

Both Russia and North Korea have repeatedly dismissed the criticism. Moscow says it will develop ties with whatever countries it wants and that its cooperation with Pyongyang does not contravene international agreements.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui began talks in Moscow with her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, hailing progress on implementing agreements struck during Kim's visit to eastern Russia last September.

"The fact that now the foreign ministers of the two countries often meet and deepen comradely ties is yet more proof that the Korean-Russian friendly relations, with a long history of friendship and tradition, are energetically moving forward in accordance with the plans of the leaders," Choe said.

Lavrov said they would discuss the broader situation on the Korean peninsula, and cautioned the United States that threats from Washington would achieve little.

Putin will accord Choe the rare honour of receiving her later on Tuesday, along with Lavrov - who visited Pyongyang in October.

Putin visit?

During Kim's visit last year, the Kremlin chief accepted an invitation to visit North Korea and Choe's talks in Moscow are expected to include discussions about that potential trip.

"As for Putin's visit, yes, it is on the agenda - there is a current invitation and Putin will definitely use it at a convenient time, by mutual agreement of the parties, of course," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Russia has gone out of its way to publicize the renaissance of its relationship, including military ties, with North Korea, which was formed in 1948 with the backing of the then-Soviet Union.

For Putin, who says Russia is locked in an existential battle with the West over Ukraine, courting Kim allows him to needle Washington and its Asian allies while securing a deep supply of artillery for the Ukraine war.

For Kim, who has pledged to accelerate production of nuclear weapons to deter what he casts as U.S. provocations, Russia is a big power ally with deep stores of advanced missile, military, space and nuclear technology.

When accompanying Kim on a tour of one of Russia's space launch sites in September, Putin said that Russia would help Pyongyang build satellites and the two leaders discussed the possibility of sending a North Korean cosmonaut into space.

After taking over as president from Boris Yeltsin on the last day of 1999, Putin visited Pyongyang in July 2000 for a meeting with Kim Jong-il, the father of Kim Jong-un. (Reuters)
For over four decades now, Archies Ltd has set up a well-established gifting market with a wide range of products to offer. Along with 200+ Archies Stores across India, the company has also carved a niche for itself as an online gifting destination, offering a combination of Home Decor, Greeting Cards, Flowers, Cakes, Plants, and much more. The company is also amplifying its reach by the means of Social Media, Digital Marketing and PR.

In an exclusive interview with Adgully, Varun Moolchandani, Executive Director, Archies Ltd, speaks about the company's over four-decade long journey, further fortifying its presence in the online space, focussing on the UAE market, the relevance of Archies greeting cards in the digital era, and much more.

Archies Ltd has had a long journey. Please do share with us about the company and its journey.

As the Executive Director of Archies Ltd, I take great pride in being associated with a brand that has become synonymous with expressions of love and celebration since its establishment in 1979. Archies has been a trailblazer in the gifting industry, founded with a simple yet powerful mission  to facilitate the expression of emotions through thoughtful and heartfelt gestures.

Our journey commenced with greeting cards, gradually expanding to offer a diverse range of products, including gifts, stationery, and lifestyle accessories. Throughout the years, Archies has evolved into a symbol of love, joy, and celebration, providing a broad array of products catering to various occasions and sentiments.

Our mission is deeply rooted in the belief that every moment, regardless of its scale, presents an opportunity for connection and expression. Archies is dedicated to offering customers innovative and meaningful ways to celebrate relationships and milestones. We are committed to adapt to the evolving times, embrace digital platforms, and remain true to our core ethos of spreading happiness and creating cherished memories for our patrons.

What are the main products and services offered by Archies Ltd? How has the product range evolved over the years?

Archies offers a diverse range of products and services that have evolved over the years to cater to a wide spectrum of customer preferences. Initially renowned for its signature greeting cards, Archies has expanded its product portfolio to include gift cards, gift packs, stationery, and a variety of lifestyle accessories. The product range has witnessed a transformative shift, incorporating innovative offerings such as song book cards. Notably, Archies has extended its repertoire to feature third-party products, including collaborations with brands like Macaffine, Cadbury, Park Pen, Niana Candles, and more. This strategic diversification reflects Archies commitment to staying dynamic and meeting the diverse demands of its clientele while maintaining its legacy of providing meaningful and heartfelt expressions of love and celebration.

Are there any notable partnerships or collaborations that Archies has formed? How do these partnerships contribute to the companys success?

Archies Limited has strategically formed notable partnerships and collaborations, extending beyond renowned brands such as Macaffine, Cadbury, Park Pen, and Niana Candles. In addition to these alliances, Archies has partnered with Blinkit and other prominent e-commerce platforms. These collaborations play a pivotal role in the companys success by diversifying its product range, attracting new customer segments, and solidifying its position as a comprehensive destination for gifting needs. The partnerships contribute significantly to market expansion and customer acquisition. Moreover, the companys proactive engagement with quick commerce platforms and upcoming collaborations underscores Archies commitment to staying adaptive in response to evolving consumer preferences, particularly in the dynamic e-commerce landscape. By prioritising efficient product delivery and aligning with contemporary market trends, Archies ensures sustained success and competitiveness in the retail sector.

Today being the Online and E-commerce age, could you highlight any recent innovations or trends at Archies Limited?

Archies Limited has recently undergone significant transformations to align with contemporary business trends. Firstly, the company has entered the digital realm by launching its official website, facilitating seamless online shopping experiences. This strategic move caters to the prevailing trend of e-commerce and addresses the increasing preference for online shopping. Additionally, the introduction of a brand mascot named AMA adds a creative and personable dimension to Archies identity, potentially enhancing brand recognition and customer loyalty. The collaboration with Blinkit, a quick commerce (Q-commerce) platform known for rapid delivery, underscores Archies commitment to efficient service in the fast-paced e-commerce landscape. Furthermore, the companys forward-looking approach includes plans to collaborate with more quick commerce platforms in the upcoming year, reflecting a dedication to expanding its reach and meeting the growing demand for swift and convenient delivery services. In essence, Archies Limiteds recent initiatives demonstrate its commitment to adaptability, innovation, and customer-centric strategies in the evolving online and e-commerce age.

How does Archies stay current with changing consumer preferences?

Establishing a robust brand like Archies Limited on the online domain demands a comprehensive strategy. The companys commitment to this endeavour is evident through various initiatives. Firstly, optimising the e-commerce platform ensures a user-friendly experience, spanning desktop and mobile users, secure payments, and efficient order processing. Strengthening social media engagement fosters a broader audience connection, achieved through regular sharing of engaging content, testimonials, and promotions. Targeted digital marketing campaigns, including social media ads and SEO, aim to reach specific demographics and enhance online visibility. Actively engaging with customers and encouraging reviews builds trust and credibility. Exclusive online offers create a sense of exclusivity, incentivising online purchases. Leveraging data analytics for personalisation enhances the shopping experience. Adapting to consumer trends, collaborations, and partnerships further expand reach and align Archies as a contemporary brand.

This multifaceted approach, integrating a well-optimised platform, social media presence, targeted marketing, customer engagement, and adaptability to trends, positions Archies Limited for prominence in the dynamic digital landscape.

We have grown up sending and receiving Archies cards, but now with e-cards, etc., there is a decline in sending cards. What are your views on this?

In a world where digital expressions have become more prevalent, Archies continues to celebrate the enduring charm and significance of traditional greeting cards. While e-cards have found their place in our fast-paced lives, we believe that the tangible and personal touch of a physical greeting card remains irreplaceable. Archies greeting cards are not just pieces of paper; they are vessels of emotions, memories, and the artistry that has defined our brand for decades. The act of selecting, handwriting, and sending a physical card embodies a level of thoughtfulness that resonates deeply with both the sender and the recipient. Its a tangible expression of care, love, and consideration that transcends the digital realm.

Our greeting cards are meticulously crafted to capture a diverse range of sentiments, and they serve as keepsakes that people cherish for years. The joy of opening an envelope to reveal a heartfelt message or a beautifully designed card is an experience that transcends the instant nature of digital communication. Archies continues to innovate and adapt to changing times, offering a seamless blend of both physical and digital expressions. Our commitment to quality, creativity, and the emotional resonance of our products remains unwavering. So, while e-cards have their space in our lives, Archies greeting cards remain timeless, offering a tangible connection that goes beyond the pixels on a screen. We believe in the enduring power of a handwritten note, a thoughtfully chosen card, and the joy that comes from holding a tangible expression of love and warmth.

In which regions or countries does Archies Limited operate? How does the company position itself in the market compared to the competitors?

Archies Limited primarily operates in India, where it has established a significant presence in the market. In the Indian market, Archies Limited has positioned itself as a leading provider of greeting cards, gifts, and related products. The company has built a strong brand image by offering a diverse range of high-quality and aesthetically pleasing products that cater to various occasions and celebrations.

In comparison to its competitors in the Indian market, Archies Limited distinguishes itself through its extensive product portfolio, creative designs, and a wide distribution network. The company has strategically positioned itself as a one-stop destination for consumers seeking thoughtful and personalised gifts. Additionally, Archies has often been recognised for its innovative approach to product design and its ability to stay attuned to evolving consumer preferences.

While Archies Limited primarily operates in India, it is essential to note that market dynamics can change, and companies may explore opportunities for expansion into new regions over time.

How has the financial performance of Archies Limited been in recent years? Are there any upcoming projects or expansions that might impact its financial performance?

Archies Limited has reported a turnover of Rs 90 crore, reflecting a notable financial presence. Regarding future prospects, it is noteworthy that Archies Limited has strategic plans for expansion, with a particular focus on the UAE market. The company is gearing up for potential growth opportunities in the United Arab Emirates, which could significantly impact its financial performance.

While specific details about upcoming projects or expansions might be proprietary and subject to change, the move to expand into the UAE suggests a proactive approach to tap into new markets and diversify the companys revenue streams. The success of this expansion initiative could contribute positively to Archies Limited's financial performance in the coming years.

What are your future plans for growth and development? Are there new markets or product lines that Archies Limited is exploring?

We have outlined strategic initiatives aimed at expanding our market presence and diversifying its product offerings. One notable aspect of the brands future plans involves collaborations with prominent platforms such as Zepto, Swiggy, and Instamart. This collaboration, scheduled to commence in January, indicates the companys commitment to leveraging e-commerce and delivery services to enhance its reach and accessibility to consumers.

Furthermore, Archies Limited is set to launch a new product line specifically designed for the Amavasya (ama) occasion in February 2024. This expansion into a new product line demonstrates the companys agility in catering to diverse customer needs and capitalising on emerging trends in the market. These strategic moves align with Archies Limiteds goal of sustained growth, adapting to evolving consumer preferences, and exploring partnerships to enhance its distribution channels.
Korea will provide an additional $8 million worth of humanitarian aid to help civilian victims in the war between Israel and the Hamas militant group, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.

The provision follows the $2 million worth of aid Korea had pledged to provide in October last year in the wake of the conflict.

The aid will be delivered through international organizations, and the government will ensure the resources properly and transparently reach those in need for humanitarian purposes, the ministry said.

Since the outbreak of the conflict, about 25,300 people from both sides have been killed, with more than 69,000 wounded. (Yonhap)
According to Registrar of Companies (RoC) figures cited in media reports, Google India has disclosed a robust gross ad revenue of Rs 28,040 crore in FY23, marking a YoY increase of 12.49%. Meanwhile, the tech giant's operating revenue for FY23 experienced a marginal 0.1% dip compared to FY22, settling at Rs 9,275 crore.

In a notable development during the 9th edition of Google for India 2023 in October, the company unveiled plans for the Pixel8 launch in 2024. This announcement was part of a broader initiative that included forging new partnerships with the government. The strategic move was underlined by the fact that 350 million Indians were actively using Google Pay at the time.
The Republic Media Network has announced the upcoming Republic Business Emerging Technology Awards 2024, marking a significant leap forward in the recognition of digital and technological excellence.

With Ernst & Young (EY) onboard as the process advisor and presiding jury, these industry-first awards are set to celebrate and honour outstanding achievements across various categories. EY, alongside its esteemed panellists, will ensure a meticulous and transparent selection process, upholding the highest standards of excellence.

The Republic Business Emerging Technology Awards 2024 will recognize outstanding contributions in categories such as Digital First, Digital Transformation, Best Consumer Tech, Ed Tech, Fin Tech, Medical Tech, E Sports, Auto Tech, Home Automation, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality, providing a comprehensive platform for the celebration of innovation.

Tech giants and leading industrialists from diverse sectors will grace the occasion, making this award show a gathering of the sharpest minds.

A sundowner, featuring extensive networking opportunities, will be a highlight of the Republic Business Emerging Technology Awards. Soon-to-be-available event passes will grant access to this exclusive gathering, providing a platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange amongst the attendees.

This multifaceted experience aims to engage, educate and empower, making the Republic Business Emerging Technology Awards a must-attend event on the industry calendar.

Calling all entries, participants, and potential sponsors! Elevate your brand experience and be a part of this grand event. Stay tuned for more updates on how to secure your spot at the Republic Business Emerging Technology Awards 2024.

The Republic Media Network is excited to usher in a new era of digital celebration and recognition with the Republic Business Emerging Technology Awards 2024. Stay tuned for updates on passes, event details, and opportunities to be part of this groundbreaking celebration of digital excellence.
Samsung Electronics has announced it is opening nine Galaxy Experience Spaces around the world to showcase how galaxy AI enables new ways to connect, create and play.

The spaces  opening after Galaxy Unpacked  will immerse fans in Samsungs latest innovations in cities including Bangkok, Barcelona, Berlin, Dubai, London, New York, Paris and Seoul.

Galaxy empowers people with new experiences and new ways to do what they love. With Galaxy AI, were redefining whats possible on mobile devices, said Stephanie Choi, EVP & Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. These spaces will give Galaxy fans the first opportunity to see a new era of innovation firsthand, and we cant wait to see how Galaxy AI will empower people to unleash their potential.

Immediately upon entering these vibrant, contemporary spaces, visitors will know theyve stepped into the future. Yet, everything visitors will experience will be available to them very soon on Galaxys newest devices. As visitors move between interactive and immersive zones, theyll see how Galaxy AI amplifies everyday activities in ways never seen before, from discovering new places to capturing and sharing content to communicating across language barriers.

In every region, visitors will experience different twists on what Galaxy has to offer. Fan-favorites like Nightography and Galaxy gaming will captivate visitors, inspiring new ways to be creative and play with cutting-edge technology. In some regions, visitors will even be able to participate in special activities like daily gaming tournaments where gamers will compete against one another in some of the most popular mobile games. As visitors explore and test out all the features, theyll receive stamps that can be redeemed for exclusive giveaways before they leave. Plus, a lucky draw will give visitors the chance to walk away with a special prize.
Elon Musk's social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has obtained a money-transmitter license from Utah, marking the 15th US state to grant approval as the company explores incorporating payment features.

The approval from Utah was granted on Friday, as reported by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System & Registry, an online database. This license provides X with capabilities similar to PayPal's Venmo, enabling the facilitation of money transfers and opening the door for users to send funds to each other. This strategic move into the realm of payments aims to diversify X's business beyond digital advertising, which has faced challenges since Musk assumed ownership.

X experienced a setback in advertising when major advertisers paused their spending or withdrew from the platform after Musk, in the previous year, endorsed an X user promoting an antisemitic conspiracy theory. At a New York Times DealBook event later that month, the billionaire CEO made a profane comment addressing brands that had suspended their ads on X.
Dear Amy: My son is a well-educated guy with a great job. My husband and I both have college degrees and come from good families. We are not by any means poor.

My son is in a very serious relationship with Anne. Anne is lovely, and they seem to have a great relationship after three years.

The issue is her parents.

From the start, Anne noted that her parents were upset about her relationship with our son. The gist of it seems to be that we dont share their social status.

They seem to think we are rural bumpkins.

We listened and offered very kind advice and did not put down her folks. As their relationship has continued, I sense the parents are adjusting.

This year our son came home from a Christmas Eve visit with them carrying a large box from a high-end fruit company  a gift to us from her parents.

This seemed like a nice gesture until I looked in the box to discover it was a regift. The box included a card from the people who had originally sent it to them.

Half of the fruit had been replaced with smaller supermarket fruit.

I can be an adult, but I am secretly thinking of holding on to the box and gift card and filling it with fruit and having my son deliver it to the parents from us.

I feel like we are being baited so they see how we react to prove that we are beneath them.

Do you advocate regifting next year? Should I send a thank you card and not mention what they did?

It seems like a way for them to have a cruel laugh at our expense.

 Mad in Minnesota

Dear Mad: Annes choice to share her folks status-conscious attitude toward you is questionable. (Perhaps she regrets it, now.)

But lets go back to the part of your narrative where you describe yourself as an adult.

Yes, adults do fantasize about refilling a gift box with cheap fruit and regifting it a year later, but you should let this idea stay a fantasy, because doing so would likely bewilder the recipients  or confirm your lower status in their minds.

Furthermore, I believe you may be overreacting by describing this thoughtless regift as some sort of cruel joke.

The most socially sly response would be to include the original card that you discovered in the regift box along with your thank you note:  this card was included in the box, and we thought you might need to have it.

However, I need to point out that classy people do not highlight the mistakes or retaliate against the petty and tacky slights of others.

I believe the best response is to move on with your head held high.

You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068.
A 15-year-old girl was killed and a 9-year-old boy injured in a shooting Monday on a south Alabama interstate.

Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch told AL.com Monday the shooters intended targeted was inside the same car as the girl who was shot and killed around 3 p.m. on Interstate 165 north of the Bay Branch Road exit near Prichard.

The child is recovering at a hospital and is in stable condition, Burch said.

There is a 15-year-old who lost her life, and a 9-year-old who was shot and neither were the intended targets, Burch said.

This was a rolling gun battle down the interstate. The intended target in the vehicle is at least known to the person who was shooting.

The shooter has not been arrested, and authorities had I-165 shut down Monday evening.

Burch said he was unsure on whether the shooting was gang related.

They know one another, he said. We dont know what their affiliations are.

Burch was also unsure if the intended target was driving or was a passenger inside the vehicle, saying there were multiple people inside the car that was shot.
Phenix Wilkerson, the 4-year-old Alabama boy believed to have been lost in the woods for two days, remains hospitalized after being found by volunteer searchers Sunday afternoon.

Phenix is currently recovering and receiving medical treatment, according to an Alabama Law Enforcement Agency press release on Monday.

Authorities have not released his condition, but video of him being found showed him to alert, conscious and barefoot.

The boy, who authorities said is non-verbal, was reported missing about 12:30 p.m. Friday in the area of Sid Bush Road in Barbour Countys Clayton community.

His mother, Shyanne Ray, said she had left the familys camper to go walk over to her mothers residence and returned a short time later to find her son gone. Earlier reports stated there was someone in the camper with Phenix when his mom left.

ALEAs Fusion Center issued an Emergency Missing Child Alert on Friday, and multiple searchers  both official and volunteer  turned out to help find Phenix.

He was found about 3:15 p.m. Sunday when volunteer Markeith Williams and others in group were walking near an area where searchers believed they had seen little footprints in field on Saturday.

Williams said Phenix was about 150 yards from that field. He looked up when he heard Williams approaching.

Everybody just took off running to where he was, Williams said.

Williams said Phenix was wearing the same clothes he was reported to be wearing Friday. He did not appear to be dirty.

His feet and stuff were pretty clean, Williams said.

He said one searcher put socks on Phenixs feet, and another a coat. Phenix was given water as one of the searchers held his hand.

An officer eventually carried him to the top of the hill where Phenix was put in an ATV and taken to a waiting ambulance.

Efforts to reach his mother for comment were unsuccessful but Ray posted this on Facebook after Phenix was found:

My baby has been found and is okay!! We are at the hospital right now, but overall he is ok!! I have no words..i am so thankful for every single person that came out and helped search for my baby. I wish i could hug everyone of yall and all of the law enforcement people too. Thank yall for everything but most of all I thank god for keeping him safe and bringing him home. God is good and he listens. My baby is okay yall!!!

There has been some criticism on social media that the mother left the boy in the camper. Ray addressed that as well.

I am a human, and I see everything yall are saying,' she wrote. Idc really but its sad yall have nothing better to do. My baby is home and alive.
Authorities are continuing to investigate a Monday night shooting in Mobile County that killed a 15-year-old girl and injured a 9-year-old boy.

Lori Myles, spokeswoman with the Mobile County Sheriffs Department, said it was the second time the boy was shot by a gunman who was pursing someone else.

Details of the earlier shooting that wounded the 9-year-old were not immediately clear.

The boy remains in stable condition at a local hospital as a result of Mondays shooting.

Authorities continue to investigate what they call a rolling shootout that occurred around 3 p.m. Monday on Interstate 165 at the Bay Bridge Road exits in Prichard.

Authorities were back on the scene Tuesday closing both north and southbound exists on I-165, while they continue to investigate.

A girl was shot and killed during the shootout. The girl was not the intended target of the shooter.

Myles said the 15-year-old and 9-year-old were seated in the middle row of a SUV that was shot at by someone who knew an 18-year-old who was also seated in the middle row of the vehicle.
U.S. Rep. Jerry Carl, on his hometown turf Monday, reminded Mobile Countys GOP of their personal connections with him. His opponent, U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, reminded the voters of his staunch conservative bona fides.

The two incumbents, battling it out for Republican nomination to the newly-drawn 1st congressional district seat in South Alabama, made their pitch to the Mobile Republican Party during a candidates forum inside a hotel conference room.

Carl, R-Mobile, leaned heavily on his roots within the county while pushing coastal Alabama issues  more drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, support for Austal USA shipbuilding, and continued advocacy for Airbus to land a military tanker contract  to draw a difference with his opponent who is from a city that is a nearly three-hour drive away.

I look at the faces in this room, its the people I grew up with, Carl said. Its family.

Moore is the current 2nd congressional district lawmaker whose home in Enterprise was redrawn into the 1st district. He has said that his reason for running in the new district is because his home is within its boundaries. The 1st district is also among the most Republican-leaning in the U.S.

Moore said he is the only member of the Alabama delegation who is also member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, and announced that Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, who was the Freedom Caucus first chair in 2015, will campaign for him during an America First rally on Jan. 27, in Robertsdale.

The one thing weve proven is you can be conservative and effective, Moore said. We need more people like him and more like the Freedom Caucus to save this nation.

The two candidates were allowed to speak for five minutes each, and neither took direct shots at the other. They are scheduled to debate Jan. 24, in Daphne.

Their political confrontation is the result of court-authorized redistricting and represents only the first time in 61 years that two incumbents are squaring off against one another in an Alabama congressional contest.

Its unfortunate the situation we are in and the tough choices we got to make, Moore said.

The two have butted heads over last months vote on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Moore was one of 118 House members to vote against the $886 billion defense spending package, and the only one to do so from Alabama.

Moore expressed his concerns for rising federal debt and has said he is worried over continued spending to support Ukraine. He said the rising debt is a reason why he has voted against supplemental appropriation plans.

Its great to say, I want to bring home the bacon, but we cannot save the nation and bring home the bacon, said Moore.

Carl, a former Mobile County Commissioner, told Mobile Countys GOP that he knows what the needs of Mobile are, and said hes been an elected official in Mobile for the past 13 years, and I dont apologize for that.

Carl recently visited Fort Novosel in Alabamas Wiregrass area  now mostly in the 1st district  and recognized he supportive of the NDAA, which included over $60 million to improve the facilitys safety and living conditions.

Neither Carl nor Moore referenced negative campaigning which is likely to emerge in the final weeks before March 5. A new campaign ad released by the South Alabama Conservatives political action committee represented the first attack ad of the primary season, and blasted Moores record. The ad encourages viewers to scan a QR code to find out more, and leads the viewer a website that accuses Moores businesses receiving tax money, among other critiques.

Moore points to his high conservative marks. He scores higher than Carl when comparing the twos scorecards by conservative groups like Heritage Action and CPAC.

The 1st district has long been a reliable Republican district, and has elected Republicans to Congress since the 1960s. But the newly drawn district is even more Republican-leaning after redistricting, and is a whopping +28 advantage or Republicans. That is good enough to be tied for the sixth most GOP -leaning congressional district in the country.

Carl reminded the Mobile County Republicans that he is also a strong conservative and rates the U.S.-Mexico southern border as the No. 1 issue facing lawmakers in Washington, D.C.

Im a conservative Republican and I dont back down from that or apologize for that, Carl said.

Mobile and Baldwin counties have the districts largest population bases but much of the city is now in the 2nd district. Baldwin County, traditionally a Republican-leaning coastal county, remains the dominate population base. The two counties are joined with seven rural and heavily conservative counties to its east extending into the Wiregrass. Dothan, in Houston County, is the districts largest city with a population slightly more than 71,000.

Mobile County GOP chairwoman Tricia Strange said shes concerned that a good number of voters in Mobile County are likely unfamiliar who they will be voting for on March 5.

I think there will be a lot of shock, she said. I dont think its bene published enough (about the dividing lines between) congressional districts 1 and 2.

Republican Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch, who like most Republican officials in Mobile and Baldwin counties endorsed Carl, said he remains upset over how the congressional districts were altered. A federal court tossed out the congressional map approved by the supermajority Republican Alabama Legislature in 2021. The majority of the U.S. Supreme Court backed the decision, requiring Moores 2nd district to be redrawn to give Black voters to elect a candidate of their choice.

Its alarming, Burch said about how the district had been changed. But Ill do whatever I can for (Carl) to be re-elected. Hes been in D.C. fighting for us regardless of where the lines are drawn.
Parts of Alabama could see the coldest temperatures in decades tonight and into Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

The snow and freezing rain was over for north and parts of central Alabama as of Tuesday morning, but freezing rain was still falling in parts of south Alabama, where winter weather advisories were still in effect.

The vast majority of schools are closed Tuesday, and some schools have already announced theyll be closed, have a delayed start or will do virtual learning on Wednesday. Some are dismissing early Tuesday as well.

Plans could change throughout the day, so check back for updates.

The schools and districts below have announced they will dismiss early Tuesday or close, delay the start of school or go to virtual learning on Wednesday:

Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering - Closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

Alabaster City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Albertville City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

The Altamont School - Closed Wednesday

Arab City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Athens City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Attalla City Schools - Two-hour delayed start on Wednesday.

Autauga County Schools - Virtual learning day Wednesday.

Baldwin County Schools - Schools starts at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.

Barbour County Schools - 1 p.m. dismissal on Tuesday.

Bessemer Academy - Closed Wednesday.

Bessemer City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Bibb County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Birmingham City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Blount County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Boaz City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Breakthrough Charter School - Remote learning Wednesday.

Butler County Schools - School starts at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.

Calhoun County Schools - Three-hour delayed start Wednesday.

Cherokee County Schools - Two-hour delayed start Wednesday.

Chickasaw City Schools - Two-hour delayed start Wednesday.

Chilton County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Choctaw County Schools - Virtual Wednesday.

Clarke County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Clay County Schools - Two-hour delayed start Wednesday.

Cleburne County Schools - Two-hour delayed start Wednesday.

Colbert County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Covenant Academy of Mobile - Closed Wednesday

Crenshaw County Schools - Closed Wednesday

Cullman County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Dallas County Schools - Remote learning Wednesday.

Decatur City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Demopolis City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Empower Community School - Closed Wednesday

Etowah County Schools - Some schools closed Wednesday, while some are operating on a two-hour delayed start. See this post for more details.

Fayette County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Florence City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Franklin County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Gadsden City Schools - Two-hour delayed start Wednesday.

Guntersville City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Haleyville City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Hartselle City - Closed Wednesday

Homewood City Schools - Closed Wednesday

Hoover City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Huntsville City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

i3 Academy - Two-hour delay Wednesday

Jackson County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Jacksonville City Schools - Three-hour delayed start Wednesday.

Jasper City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Jefferson County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Lamar County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Lauderdale County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Lawrence County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Lawson State Community College - 10 a.m. delayed opening Wednesday

Leeds City Schools - Two-hour delayed start Wednesday.

Legacy Prep - Closed Wednesday

Limestone County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Linden City Schools - Virtual school Wednesday.

Lowndes County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Madison Academy - Closed Wednesday

Madison City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Madison County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Magic City Acceptance Academy - Closed Wednesday

Marion County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Marshall County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Midfield City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Mobile County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Montgomery County Schools - Virtual school Wednesday.

Morgan County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Mountain Brook City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Muscle Shoals City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Northwest Shoals Community College - Remote learning Wednesday.

Oneonta City Schools - Closed Wednesday

Oxford City Schools - Three-hour delayed start Wednesday.

Pelham City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Pell City Schools - Two-hour delay Wednesday.

Perry County Schools - Closed Wednesday

Piedmont City Schools - Two-hour delay Wednesday.

Randolph County Schools - Virtual learning Wednesday.

Randolph School - Closed Wednesday.

Roanoke City Schools - Virtual learning Wednesday.

Russell County Schools - Remote learning Wednesday.

Russellville City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Saraland City Schools - School starts at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Scottsboro City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Selma City Schools - Virtual learning Wednesday.

Sheffield City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Shelby County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Snead State Community College - Virtual learning Wednesday.

St. Clair County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Sumter County Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Sylacauga City Schools - Two-hour delayed start Wednesday.

Talladega County Schools - Two-hour delayed start Wednesday.

Tallapoosa County Schools - Opens 10 a.m. Wednesday

Thomasville City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Tuscaloosa City Schools - Two-hour delay Wednesday

Tuscumbia City Schools - Closed Wednesday.

Trussville City Schools - Two-hour delay Wednesday.

University Charter School - Closed Wednesday.

Vestavia Hills City Schools - Closed Wednesday

Walker County Schools - Remote learning Wednesday.

Westbrook Christian School - Two-hour delay Wednesday.

Westminster Christian Academy (Huntsville) - Closed Wednesday

Winfield City Schools - Closed Wednesday

Winston County Schools - Closed Wednesday.
Korea will join a U.S.-led multinational anti-submarine exercise in waters off Guam on Tuesday, the Navy said, in an effort to hone capabilities against underwater threats.

The Navy will deploy some 40 personnel and a P-3 maritime patrol aircraft for the annual Sea Dragon exercise that is set to begin later in the day through Jan. 25, which will also involve India, Australia and Japan.

The exercise will train troops aboard maritime patrol aircraft to identify and track submarines with detection equipment, including radar and sonobuoys, and to share submarine target data with other participants, the Navy said.

During the exercise, Korean troops plan to visit a veterans memorial in Guam to pay respect for those who participated in the 1950-53 Korean War.

Korea first took part in the exercise as an observer in 2019, before becoming a full participant the next year. The exercise was first launched in 2014. (Yonhap)
Parts of Alabama woke up to snow, ice and very cold temperatures on Tuesday. And the National Weather Service is warning those in part of the state that the coldest temperatures in decades will be possible tonight and into Wednesday.

The snow and freezing rain was over for north and parts of central Alabama as of Tuesday morning, but freezing rain was still falling in parts of south Alabama, where winter weather advisories were still in effect.

Here is the forecast for additional ice accumulations through the morning:

Here are the potential ice accumulations through this afternoon.NWS

The weather service warned Alabamians to only travel if necessary, keep devices charged, check on neighbors and bring pets indoors.

Highs today will not make it above freezing in a large part of the state, which will allow any frozen precipitation that has fallen to stick around into Wednesday.

Here are the forecast highs for Tuesday:

Here are the forecast highs for Tuesday.NWS

Then the coldest night of the winter is in store for all of Alabama tonight.

The weather service said morning lows in north Alabama are expected to fall into the single digits  or could even go below zero  and wind chills could make it feel like 5 to 15 degrees below zero.

Wind chill advisories and hard freeze warnings will be in effect for much of the state.

Another weather system is expected to move into Alabama Thursday night into Friday, bringing with it another chance of precipitation.

30 1 / 30 Alabama snow January 2024

As of Tuesday morning forecasters think the chances of additional accumulating wintry precipitation are low.

More dangerous cold temperatures are expected this weekend.

Heres a look at what the National Weather Service is expecting statewide:

NORTH ALABAMA

[6:16 AM] Dangerously cold temperatures will persist through much of the week, but the coldest will be between now and tomorrow morning. Please bundle up if headed outdoors and take steps to protect people, pets, plants, and pipes! #HUNwx pic.twitter.com/SXCq5r5f3e  NWS Huntsville (@NWSHuntsville) January 16, 2024

The National Weather Service in Huntsville said north Alabama is facing dangerously cold temperatures and wind chills through Wednesday morning. Wind chill warnings and advisories are in effect for the region.

Low temperatures tonight could fall to the single digits or even below zero, and wind chills could make it feel anywhere from 5 to 15 degrees below zero.

The weather service also said temperatures could possibly get above freezing briefly on Wednesday before falling again, which could refreeze any liquid on surfaces on Wednesday night.

Forecasters are also looking at the weather on Thursday and Friday, when rain could arrive and transition to a wintry mix on Thursday night. Forecasters said the chances for snow or ice are low at the moment.

More extreme cold is anticipated this weekend.

* Wind chill warning for Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin, Lawrence, Limestone and Madison counties until 9 a.m. Wednesday. The weather service said wind chills as low as 10 to 15 below zero will be possible.

* Wind chill advisory for Morgan, Marshall, Jackson, DeKalb and Cullman counties until 9 a.m. Wednesday. Wind chills as low as 5 to 10 below zero will be possible.

CENTRAL ALABAMA

Well, the damage has been done for much of the area, but there's still some rain/wintry mix occurring along and south of the I-85 corridor. There's ice along many of the roadways and bridges across the area. Travel will be hazardous today! #alwx pic.twitter.com/xiCTY28JPv  NWS Birmingham (@NWSBirmingham) January 16, 2024

The National Weather Service said a mix of rain and wintry precipitation continued across southeastern portions of the central Alabama this morning.

The wintry precipitation and rain will continue to move southeast over the next few hours and could cause some minor ice accumulation and slick conditions along and south of the Interstate 85 corridor as temperatures continue to fall.

Forecasters said slick and icy roadways are expected to persist through the day for most of the area with only a brief opportunity for roads to dry this afternoon. Most locations north and west of I-85 will remain below freezing for the entire day, and bitterly cold temperatures are expected areawide tonight. As such, slick roadways may persist into Wednesday morning.

* Hard freeze warning until 10 a.m. Wednesday for Marion, Lamar, Fayette, Winston, Walker, Blount, Etowah, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, Pickens, Tuscaloosa, Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, Talladega, Clay, Sumter, Greene, Hale, Perry, Bibb, Chilton, Coosa and Marengo counties.

The weather service said temperatures will range from around 8 degrees in the northwest to 20 degrees in the central part of the region this morning, then remain at or below freezing in many areas this afternoon, and drop into the 0 to 10 range tonight.

* Hard freeze warning from 8 p.m. Tuesday until 10 a.m. Wednesday for Randolph, Tallapoosa, Chambers, Dallas, Autauga, Lowndes, Elmore, Montgomery, Macon, Bullock, Lee, Russell, Pike and Barbour counties.

The weather service said temperatures will range from 10 to 20 degrees tonight.

* Wind chill advisory from until noon today and from 8 p.m. Tuesday until 8 a.m. Wednesday for Marion, Fayette, Winston, Blount, Etowah, Cherokee, Jefferson, St. Clair and Walker counties.

Wind chills as low as 5 below zero will be possible.

* Wind chill advisory until noon Tuesday for Lamar, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, Greene, Hale, Marengo counties.

* Wind chill advisory from 8 p.m. Tuesday until 8 a.m. Wednesday for Calhoun, Cleburne, Shelby, Clay, Randolph and Talladega counties.

SOUTH ALABAMA

Light to moderate freezing rain/some sleet continues to move across the forecast area this morning. Accumulation amounts of around a tenth of an inch (locally up to 0.20 inches in the circled area) is expected over the next few hours. Plan ahead if you have to drive this morning! pic.twitter.com/7Ki87SloOz  NWS Mobile (@NWSMobile) January 16, 2024

The National Weather Service in Mobile said freezing rain will be possible this morning. Minor ice accumulation will be possible in areas generally along and to the northwest of the Interstate 65 corridor. A few hundredths of an inch of ice will be possible.

Forecasters said slick spots on sidewalks and roads, especially on bridges and overpasses, will be possible.

* Winter weather advisory until 9 a.m. Tuesday and a wind chill advisory from 9 p.m. Tuesday until 9 a.m. Wednesday for Mobile, Baldwin, Conch, Butler, Crenshaw, Escambia, Covington, Choctaw, Washington, Clarke, Wilcox and Monroe counties.

* Winter weather advisory until noon Tuesday and a wind chill advisory from 7 p.m. Tuesday until 10 a.m. Wednesday for Coffee, Dale, Geneva, Henry and Houston counties.

Light freezing rain will be possible with a few hundreds of an inch possible. Wind chills of 5 to 10 degrees possible tonight.
An investigation is underway after a human skull was found in brush in the back yard of a Shelby County home.

Helena police said a man who lives in the 2800 block of Bridlewood Terrace was clearing the area in his back yard Saturday when he discovered what appeared to be a skull.

Officers responded and confirmed the remains were human. A secondary search by detectives turned up additional skeletal remains.

The remains were collected with help from the Shelby County Major Crimes Task Force and the Shelby County Coroners Office. They have been sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Montgomery for identification and further examination.

Police said a previous resident of the home was reported missing in 2019 and detectives believe the remains could be of that individual.
Alabama officials are issuing advisories and preparing the roads as snow, wintry precipitation, and warnings of a winter storm continue to impact the state.

The Florence Police Department reported several vehicle crashes since snow and ice began trickling into Alabama on Sunday night.

The department is cautioning drivers to stay off roads unless travel is absolutely necessary.

Monday morning, in a post on Facebook, officials urged the public to drive slowly and leave plenty of space between vehicles.

The department also instructed the public to stop calling 911 to ask about road conditions to keep the line open for emergencies.

Those wishing to get in contact with the department for non-emergency assistance can call (256)760-6500.

Icy Roadways

As of Monday evening, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) received reports of icy roadway conditions in the following counties:

5 p.m. Road Condition Update

Temperatures are continuing to drop across North Alabama making Huntsville roads increasingly difficult to navigate. Please stay off the roads. pic.twitter.com/BZVR9WhXlS  Huntsville Police (@HsvPolice) January 15, 2024

Lauderdale County

Ice and snow is present on roadways throughout the county.

Franklin County

Ice patches may be present on roadways throughout the county.

Colbet County

Ice and snow is present on roadways throughout the county.

Morgan County

U.S. 31 has reports of icy conditions.

Interstate 65 has reports of icy conditions.

County roads are deemed impassable.

Madison County

Alabama 53 has reports of icy conditions.

U.S. 231 has reports of icy conditions.

U.S. 72 has reports of icy conditions.

County roads in the north part of the county are deemed impassable.

Limestone County

U.S. 72 has reports of icy conditions.

Interstate 65 has reports of icy conditions.

U.S. 31 has reports of icy conditions.

Jackson County

Alabama 79 has reports of icy conditions.

U.S. 72 has reports of icy conditions.

County Roads are deemed impassable.

In Huntsville, a single-vehicle crash that occurred at approximately 11:27 a.m. on Jan. 15, has caused road blockage. The lanes on Alabama 117 near Jackson County 14 will be closed for an undetermined amount of time. Troopers with ALEAs Highway Patrol Division will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates.

Tips from ALDOT

In a statement on Monday, the Alabama Department of Transportation says it plans to pretreat roads to reduce the impact of ice as winter weather continues to affect the state. The agency says it will also have crews ready to address any roadway needs that may arise.

ALDOT has issued several reminders for the public. Motorists can check driving conditions for the state, U.S. and interstate highways at ALGOtraffic.com or use the ALGO traffic app for up-to-date traffic information.

Appropriate driving speeds are determined by the road conditions. On wet or icy roads, motorists should drive slower than the posted speed limit. If possible, motorists should also slow down and move over when approaching highway maintenance personnel and emergency vehicles.
The term race has served only one group well: Racists.

Contrary to the racist absolutists on the left, race is a non-scientific, socially constructed archaic system of classification. Race differences are relative, not absolute. Indeed, theyve always been relative and, more recently, have been intended to give people a stick with which to beat a disfavored group.

In 1919, Adolf Hitler argued that There is living amongst us a non-German, foreign race. There are three general types of races, the culture creators (the pure Aryan race), the culture sustainers (races with substantial Aryan blood), and the culture destroyers (the Jews).

Slightly more than 100 years later, Whoopi Goldberg presented a dissenting opinion. How can you say its about race when youre [white people] fighting each other? During her casual reference to the worst genocide in human history, Whoopi proclaimed, Well, this is white people doing it to white people. Yall go fight amongst yourselves.

In the Wonderful World of Whoopi, race is defined as,  being something that I can see. According to the Whoopi hypothesis, those afflicted with impaired vision are incapable of racism.

Image: 1850s physiognomy chart (edited). Public domain.

Still, despite crackpot theories, scientists reject race as a scientific system of classification. In 2018, 67 scientists from a broad range of disciplines stated that the robust body of scholarship recognizes the existence of geographically based genetic variation in our species but shows that such variation is not consistent with biological definitions of race.

RACE: From benign to bigotry

Aristotle is the first to have believed that a persons traits can be determined from their outer appearance, i.e., Physiognomics. Then, observations about skin color to categorize humans had nothing to do with inferiority or superiority. It was just a description, with the Greeks and Romans observing without judgment that The Africans color was regarded as their most characteristic and most unusual feature.

Before the 17th Century, race as a grouping system was harmless. In 17th-century Europe, though, race became a pseudo-scientific system of classification based on superiority and inferiority. The concept stemmed from the false notion that white people were inherently smarter, more capable, and more human than non-white people. Europeans used this perception to justify colonizing and enslaving Africans and treating cruelly savages in The New World.

During the late 19th century, Irish, Italian, and Jewish immigrants in the USA were referred to as separate races. Today, members of these groups are classified as white. We Jews still get treated separately amongst white supremacists who deny our whiteness and black Hebrew Israelites who deny our Jewishness.

DEFINING RACISM

In 1891, at the Lake Mohonk Conference in New York, a group of wealthy white philanthropists met to discuss American Indian policies. That was when Richard Henry Pratt coined the term racism. He said, Association of races and classes is necessary to destroy racism and classism. He also said, Kill the Indian. Save the man.

By 1902, racism had entered the Oxford English Dictionary, which defined it as the theory that distinctive human characteristics and abilities are determined by race.

One of the earliest scholars to recognize that racism was a bad thing was pioneering American anthropologist Ruth Benedict (1887-1948). Benedict defined racism as the dogma that one ethnic group is condemned by nature to congenital inferiority and another group is destined to congenital superiority. Her legacy includes The Ruth Benedict Prize, awarded annually by the American Anthropology Association.

REDIFINING RACISM

Progressives still believe in race and racism, although theyve turned from the early view that whites are superior. Now, whites are the flawed race. After the Civil Rights movement the term race reverted to a Hitlerian concept of race means classifying individuals between those I like and those I dont.

According to Russell A. Shalev, an Israeli lawyer at the International Legal Forum, Critical Race Theory systematically erases the uniqueness of antisemitism and places Jews at the peak of white privilege and supremacy. Equally heinous, Critical Race Theory views attacks on Jewish self-determination and self-identification as anti-racist.

STREET RACE

Under the reversion to the pseudoscience of physiognomy, todays racists continue to base assumptions and prejudices regarding racial and ethnic identities with nothing more than a fleeting glance at a strangers face.

According to Nancy Lopez, professor of sociology and director of the Institute for the Study of Race and Social Justice at the University of New Mexico, we continue to stereotype and judge strangers qualities based on their appearance. We continue to view race archaically as biology and genetic ancestry. Lopez coined the phrase street race to define the phenomenon as the race that people see us as when we are out in public.

When a white man is donning a kippah, his race is perceived as Jewish, with all the tropes associated with his race. A dark man in a turban (meaning a Skih) is sill perceived as an Arab, all too often linked to unjustified stereotypes. The bigoted observer is blind to the facts of their genetic make-up, personality traits, or country of origin.

CLASSIFYING JEWISHNESS

The task of attempting to classify Jewishness can be futile. Jews view their own identity in all kinds of different ways.

What we can agree on is that Jewishness is a question of personal identity that cannot be minimized to a checkbox on a form. When Jews must choose, some check WHITE. Others check OTHER. Black Jews check BLACK. I (being a proud, unapologetic Zionist who thrives on controversy) am emboldened to write in bold and all caps, JEWISH.

What we can all agree on is that we are a nation of Judean ethnicity, The Nation of Israel. We may be among the smallest of nations, but we are among the largest of families. We share an origin, ancestry, homeland, history, cultural heritage, genetic commonalities, language, dialects, religion, mythology, folklore, rituals, cuisines, and styles.

When the Jewish People were forced to disperse, most Jews settled in the Middle East and Mediterranean countries and, later, throughout Europe. We remained the same Jewish nation ethnically but dispersed geographically. We adapted and adopted the languages and traditions of our new neighbors, but we kept our culture and our gene pool, often under the threat of savage suffering and demonic death.

We were evicted from Spain, blamed for the Black Death, and subjected to the Cossacks sabers. Between the 1930s and 1950s, Jews were banished from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Iraq, Yemen, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran.

Mark Twain eloquently elaborated in 1899:

The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?

Despite Twains refreshing optimism, we subsequently endured cruel communist oppression and narrowly survived savage Nazi aggression. Today, demonic Islamists burned and beheaded our children, gang-raped our women, and turned a peace-loving music festival into a macabre inferno of hell.

We owe it to all those who perished and those who survived to proudly carry on the genes, languages, customs, and traditions of our Judean Ethnicity: The Nation of Israel.

We are not victims. We are survivors. We will dance again.

AM YISRAEL CHAI
When newly announced candidate Donald Trump rode down the escalator at Trump Tower in June 2015, he famously promised to, Build the wall and make Mexico pay for it.

He certainly tried to build a wall on our southern border but unfortunately was thwarted by then House Speaker Paul Ryan and congressional Never-Trump Republicans who blocked funding for the wall. Ironically many of these same Republicans are happy spending hundreds of billions of dollars securing Ukraines, Israels, and other countries borders but not our own.

When President Biden assumed office, he stopped border wall construction, paused deportations, and basically opened our southern border to anyone from anywhere in the world regardless of their background, health status, financial resources, criminality, and intentions toward America.

We are adding a migrant population to America the size of Los Angeles each and every year, most of whom do not speak English, are illiterate, unemployable, and dependent on the government and thereby taxpayers for food, shelter, education, travel, health care, and clothing.

It has become obvious that this is an invasion.

Even Elon Musk accurately noted, At this point there is no question that this administration is actively facilitating illegal immigration.

Trump is certainly speaking out. Now we have wars in Ukraine, Israel, and Yemen, but no war on our Southern Border. Oh, that makes a lot of sense. Crooked Joe Biden is the worst President in the history of the United States!

YouTube screen grab

He should go further and give the following speech at one of his huge rallies or at the summer nominating convention.

Heres my speech suggestion:

My fellow Americans, the majority of you believe that our current immigration system is way beyond broken and that in fact our open southern border is an invasion of America. Excluding the days of COVID, we now have one of the lowest labor participation rates in decades meaning that many of you who want to or need to work are unable to. Illegal migrants working under the table are undercutting the wages and job prospects for many lower income and middle class Americans. When I am back in the White House America, will only welcome foreigners who will contribute to American society, helping to making America great again. They must have the necessary financial resources to support themselves and their families. They will not be admitted to the U.S. if they are detrimental to our economic or national interests. Criminals will not be allowed to migrate to the U.S. Any migrants who were not good citizens or who broke laws in their home country will not be admitted into America. They must also be physically and mentally healthy before entering our country. A national registry will keep track of all migrants, with foreign tourists and immigrants assigned a unique tracking number similar to our social security numbers. Foreigners with false immigration documents will be fined or imprisoned, as will any foreigner falsifying their signature on a government document. Any foreigner who is deported and re-enters the U.S. without authorization may be imprisoned for up to 10 years. Foreigners working in the U.S. without a proper work permit can also be imprisoned. Transportation companies bringing undocumented foreigners into the U.S. will be fined. Non-U.S. citizens will be prohibited from participating in American political life, including protests and demonstrations and any public expression of political opinion. Foreigners may not own American land within 60 miles of a national land border or within 30 miles of the coastal border. To serve in the military, one must be American by birth. This also holds for captains, pilots, engineers, and mechanics.

Giving such a speech will give the left and GOP establishment the vapors. Trump will be accused or racism and xenophobia, with a dose of fascism thrown in for good measure, as predictable as sunrise and sunset.

In response, Trump can quote his predecessor Barack Obama citing the strong foundation between the U.S. and Mexico. And how, Mexico is sharing expertise with neighbors across the Americas.

Trump should then explain that Mexicos own immigration law and constitution is the basis of his proposal, and in a spirit of cooperation and unity, America will borrow from her southern neighbor, implementing the same immigration laws in America as Mexico has carefully and thoughtfully implemented in its own country.

What are these laws? Start with property ownership.

Foreigners can own property in Mexico. Its perfectly legal. Outside the restricted zones50 kilometers (about 31 miles) from shorelines and 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) from international bordersforeigners can hold direct deed to property with the same rights and responsibilities as Mexican nationals.

Temporary residents to Mexico must, Have a job offer issued by a Mexican employer, have an invitation from a private or public institution or have enough money to pay for your stay in the country.

Who can serve in the military and similar jobs? According to Article 32 of Mexicos constitution,

During peacetime, only Mexicans by birth can serve in the Army, in the Navy or in the Air Force as well can perform any employment or commission within such corporations. The same condition applies to captains, pilots, skippers, ship engineers, flight engineers and, in general, to every crew member in a ship or an airplane carrying the Mexican flag. In the same way, only Mexicans by birth can be port harbormasters, steersmen and airport superintendents.

In America, Senator Dick Durbin wants illegal migrants serving in the U.S. military. Will they be loyal to the country they serve or their home country?

What about political protests, as in Cinco de Mayo day in the U.S.? Article 33 of Mexicos constitution spells it out, Foreigners may not in any way participate in the political affairs of the country.

How about deportations so that this horrible event doesnt happen in Mexico as it commonly does in the U.S.?

In Colorado, Illegal immigrant and four-time deportee kills mother and son in drunken driving crash.

Mexico takes deportation seriously:

Evading deportation is a serious crime in Mexico. Illegal reentry into Mexico after deportation is punishable by 10 years imprisonment in a Mexican jail. Foreigners may be kicked out of the country without due process; that means without even being given a hearing. Mexico kicks out illegals without a deportation trial.

The point is that Mexico, as do many other countries, have much stricter immigration laws than the U.S., and they actually enforce their laws, unlike the U.S. Existing immigration laws are routinely ignored in favor of an open border free-for-all, admitting anyone who shows up at the southern border.

America provides no vetting for health status, criminal record, financial independence, or intention. Migrants are supported by U.S. taxpayers, without the consent of the American people or their elected representatives.

Neither party has any interest in fixing the problem, instead encouraging more of it, or coming up with nonsensical justification for unfettered immigration, like climate change," as GOP primary candidate Nikki Haley pronounced.

Candidate Trump could simply craft an immigration policy borrowing from our admired allies, for example Mexico, Australia, or New Zealand, and announce the same for America.

If progressives and woke Republicans are so eager to accept migrants from these countries, they should have no problem accepting their immigration laws.

Brian C. Joondeph, M.D., is a physician and writer. Follow me on Twitter @retinaldoctor, Substack Dr. Brians Substack, Truth Social @BrianJoondeph, and LinkedIn @Brian Joondeph.
On July 25, 2023, Fox News Host Sean Hannity hosted a town hall meeting with Democrat presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. A seven-minute segment of that event primarily concerned the war in Ukraine and was entitled America Wants War with Russia. Being familiar with one of the worst foreign policy decisions in the post-World War II era, I listened intently to what the liberal presidential candidate had to say on the subject. He was quite knowledgeable and, in general, seemed to grasp the motivating imperatives which precipitated this mistake. In contrast, the conservative Hannity appeared clueless and maybe disingenuous. Six months later, as the endless war continues, that town hall remains relevant.

Kennedy focused on two specific items. One, the understanding that existed between Russia, the United States, and Germany regarding the reunification of Germany in 1989-91, and, two, the Minsk Accords. Kennedys main thrust was that the war in Ukraine was driven by American desire for a manageable war with Russia.

Kennedy summarized Germanys reunification and Americas failure to live up to promises made to Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet head of state. The promise was that NATO wouldnt expand beyond Germanys eastern border. Our leaders later took the position that Americas and Germanys oral promises had no legal basis. This is not sustainable in diplomatic understandings be they made in secret or announced publicly.

Its just common sense that, if diplomats cannot rely on fellow diplomats representation, countries will struggle to negotiate to avoid war. Trusting America and Germany, the Soviet Union removed 300,000+ troops and thousands of heavy weapons. That was a good thing but, in contrast, the United States broke its word. By doing so, we gave Gorbachevs successors good reason not to ever trust us again. There has existed an unnecessary estrangement ever since and this feeling is helping to drive us towards war.

Image: Burning Russian tank in Ukraine. YouTube screen grab.

The Minsk Agreements were an effort to establish peace in Ukraine and stop the fighting between ethnic Russians and Ukrainian civilians that started immediately after the 2014 coup. Washington represented the coup as a revolution despite it being orchestrated by Victoria Nuland, Obamas Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs. George Friedman of STRATFOR declared this action was a coup.

While Kennedys summary contained errors in the dates of the Minsk agreements, he did get the narrative right. The first Minsk accord failed and led to the second. Russia guaranteed peace on behalf of the ethnic Russian eastern region of Ukraine called the Donbas, and the West, led by America, guaranteed it for the Ukrainian government.

Ultimately, the Donbas voted to leave Ukraine and declared for Russian sovereignty. The purpose was to have Russia send troops to their rescue. This was because the Ukrainian government had killed around 14,000 ethnic Russians in the Donbas region since 2015. In February 2022, the Kiev Government dramatically increased bombardment of the Donbas. This resulted in the 2/24/22 Russian invasion ordered by Putin.

Under Minsk 2, the West was to have restrained the Kiev government from such actions. Russia/Putin was to do likewise. The West dishonored their agreement. This was a direct provocation, as Kennedy argued, leading to war.

In a book on the Ukraine war written by Swiss intelligence officer Colonel Jacques Baud, Operation Z, he covers the massive uptick in shelling of the Donbas (pgs. 175-177). On pages 182-84, he lays out damning evidence that supports Kennedys main thrust that America and her allies drove Russia to invade.

On March 18, 2019, President Zelenskys advisor and spokesman, Oleksei Arestovich, said in an interview on the Ukrainian channel Apostrof TV:

With a 99% probability, our price for joining NATO is a big war with Russia. And if we dont join NATO, Russia will absorb us completely within 10-12 years. That is the whole range we are in. Now go and vote for Zelensky! Apostrof TV: And if you could choose, what would be best? Arestovich: Of course, a big war with Russia and the move to NATO following the victory over Russia. ...But the price of joining NATO is, in all likelihood, a full-scale conflict with Russia. A larger conflict than we have today. Or a series of such conflicts. But in that conflict, we will be very actively supported by the West. Weapons. Equipment. Assistance. New sanctions against Russia. Most likely, the introduction of a NATO contingent. A no-fly zone, and so on. In other words, we wont lose it. This is a good thing.

How could Arestovich be so sure in 2019 of the Western support that ultimately occurred in 2022?

The answer is now obvious. The war in Ukraine had been planned for some time. Operatives in our State Department and Pentagon were most likely working behind President Trumps back to orchestrate this. Why? An outdated philosophy that still sees Russia as the Soviet Union despite the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and German Reunification. The wars purpose was to weaken Russia and diminish Putins stature, leading to his downfall.

Putins Russia is not the Soviet Union. The experts would have you believe he is plotting his European conquest. He is not. Putins immediate goal is survival. Remember, we have placed missiles in Romania and Poland that can deliver a nuclear strike on Moscow in ten minutes or less.

Republican Lindsey Graham has called for Putins assassination. We threatened him, not the other way around.

Russian GDP in 2022 was $2.24 trillion as compared to Americas GDP of $25.4 trillion and the European Union/NATOs GDP of $16 trillion, which combined equal $41.4 trillion in GDP. Russia does not have the financial wherewithal to invade Europe.

However, Putins army (2 million, including 850,000 active soldiers, reserves at 1.15 million,) is large enough to slice through several countriesalthough he has not threatened to do so. He is building up his military in anticipation of the West attacking and is preparing for a defensive war. That being the case, he will not invade anyone based on his current mindset unless provoked.

Americas military numbers are 2.1 million, with 1.3 million active and 800,000 reserves, and the European Union/NATO forces stand at 2.23 million, 1,065,000 active, 700,000 reserves, and 450,000 militia. (These numbers, as well as GDP, reflect the top ten European armies: Italy, France, Germany, Greece, the U.K., Spain, Poland, Romania, Netherlands, and Portugal.) These nations would be the most affected by Russian aggression. Other NATO participants, such as Canada and Turkey, are questionable allies under current leadership. The smaller countries would participate but less significantly. Estimates of Russian forces vary excessively, which indicates that some numbers have been exaggerated for political purposes.

Having followed the events in Ukraine, the conclusion is that the quality of Western leadership is problematic. America is calling the shots but has failed. Russia fought a war of attrition, killing its way to victory. Baud states that Russians have mastered the operational art. (Battlefield tactics and adjustments within the overall operation.) Because of the Russian strategy, the war in Ukraine is hopeless. Ukraine can no longer field an army to challenge Russia.

Russia has what it wanted: The Donbas and Crimea. Who really wants the bombed-out cities?

Right now, the Biden administration is desperately trying to keep this war going to avoid having to admit a humiliating defeat in an election year. The Ukraine war needed to end yesterday.
You can't make this stuff up.

Just as you think the pro-Hamas left has hit rock-bottom in its offensive protests, another bottom drops out.

Now they're targeting child cancer patients seeking treatment at Memorial Sloane-Kettering cancer center in New York City, harassing vulnerable, weak, patients as they enter the facility -- many nervous, sick, anxious, and all focused on their treatment -- bellowing "shame!" at them in enraged mobs as if the children had anything to do with with is going on in Gaza.

shame rather rebounded here https://t.co/HpMRwkB8GZ  Simon Schama (@simon_schama) January 16, 2024

This follows their shutting down of highways, their defacing of U.S. historic monuments, their ripping of posters of hostages from walls and their disruption of Norman Rockwell-like town hall meetings in small towns in Texas. Everything they do seems designed to repel, rather than draw public support to their cause, which, when you think about it is all about defending rapists, child killers, torturers, hostage-takers and killers.

Now they're harassing child cancer patients, screaming 'shame' at them as they try to get into the building or look down from their hospital windows?

Unbelievable.

Who thinks this stuff up?

The wild-eyed fanatic apparently organizing this crap is one Nerdeen Kiswani:

Yet you keep trying to get me on your show lol. We called out hospitals supporting the genocide in Gaza as Palestinian cancer patients are going to DIE w/ no treatment if not killed by bombs first. These facts ARE disgusting. Just like you! #GenocideSupporter https://t.co/9aXXeEULkr  Nerdeen Kiswani (@NerdeenKiswani) January 16, 2024

Sloan Kettering accepted a *400 million dollar donation* from billionaire Zionist Ken Griffin, the largest in their history. This was *after* he threatened pro-Palestine student activists at Harvard with revoked job offers. Our medical institutions are not innocent bystanders. https://t.co/9aXXeEULkr  Nerdeen Kiswani (@NerdeenKiswani) January 16, 2024

So since patients are dying in hospitals in Gaza because Hamas hid its weapons there with hospital staff collaborating, patients should die in terror over here, too? That sounds-like the kill-them-all logic of Hamas.

And since some billionaire who donated to the hospital said he didn't want to hire pro-Hamas protestors, they're now targeting the patients at the hospital? The cowards could protest the billionaire and insist he hire them but why not bully a child with cancer instead?

"Another complicit institution!" the fat one bellowed in the video. "Make sure they hear you!" she yelled. "Shame on you!" she screamed and pointed, as little kids looking down from their hospital windows.

This is such a vile, dirty group. Do they sit in a room together each week and brainstorm how to make themselves even more offensive?

They shouldn't be allowed within 1,000 feet of any hospital or any other building with vulnerable people. Like the Westboro Baptist Church protestors, who disrupted funerals of grieving families of slain troops to protest something or other and drew some restrictions, the targets of these protests have rights, too -- the right to a dignified private funeral, the right to cancer treatment on schedule, unimpeded, and without pro-Hamas radicals screaming in their ears.

Where are the zoning regulators to put a stop to these kinds of baying protests? Why aren't city officials putting the children's health and capacity to get to their hospital appointments without being harassed by screaming mobs of robotic lowlife their number one priority?

It's incredible what they are getting away with, and the more they get away with, the more they try. What a nasty group they are . The bright spot is that the more the public sees of them, the more they support Israel. Nobody likes a cause that champions terrorist scum.

Image: Twitter screen shot
Korea and the United States have agreed to begin talks on their next deal on defense cost sharing earlier than planned, sources said Tuesday, a move that appears to consider the possible reelection of former U.S. President Donald Trump, known for his tough bargaining on such deals.

The allies have reached an understanding to start the negotiations on sharing the costs for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), this year, according to diplomatic sources familiar with the matter.

The early talks, if launched, will come nearly two years ahead of the original schedule for the deal, known as the Special Measures Agreement (SMA), currently in effect until the end of 2025 under a six-year term.

Seoul and Washington signed the SMA for 2020-26 in April 2021 after 1 1/2 years of tough haggling over how much Seoul should pay for the stationing of the USFK on its soil, as the then Trump administration had called for a sharp increase in Seoul's share.

The early launch of the defense cost-sharing talks appear to have taken into account the possibility of Trump returning to the White House if he wins the November presidential vote.

During his term in office, Trump accused the allies of relying on the U.S. for their defense and called them "free riders" who "rip off" America. Some media had reported that Trump demanded Seoul pay $5 billion for its share, more than a fivefold increase from 2019.

Trump's possible reelection gives rise to concerns he will drive the hard bargain again for the next defense cost-sharing deal.

Even if the negotiations start this year, there is no guarantee an agreement for the new SMA will be reached before the year end, one source said.

Under the latest and 11th SMA, Korea agreed to raise the payment by 13.9 percent from 2019 to $1.03 billion for 2021.

Korea's foreign ministry said "no decision has been made on the specifics" regarding the SMA negotiations.

"We plan to closely work with the United States as we prepare for the next negotiations in a systematic and strategic manner," ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a regular press briefing.

Since 1991, Seoul has partially shouldered costs under the SMA for Korean USFK workers; the construction of military installations, such as barracks, and training, educational, operational and communications facilities; and other logistical support. (Yonhap)
All Republicans need to know is that the last time NYT endorsed a Republican for president, it was Eisenhower in the 1950s. The WaPo has never endorsed a Republican for President.

And it really doesn't matter who the Democrat is. He can be as corrupt as Hillary and Biden, and they will endorse them. They also don't care how much any Democrat abuses his power. The Constitution and separation of powers are not important to them.

They also don't care if Democrats support violent riots when their chosen one doesn't win elections.

They don't care if Biden doesn't enforce immigration laws that he is required to enforce.

And they don't care how many wars start under Democrat presidents.

Results don't matter. The truth doesn't matter about the climate, COVID, or anything else.

All that matters to most of the media and other Democrats as they campaign for them is power over the American people. They love it when people are dependent on the government instead of giving the power, freedom, and money to the people, as Trump did and will do.

So the best thing the Republicans can do when they decide whom to vote for is to ignore or vote the opposite of what the Democrat campaign workers, posing as journalists, tell them to do. They are willing to destroy the United States, and they really don't care about the poor, the middle class, science, small businesses, or minorities, no matter how much they pretend to.

They showed how little they cared about children when they caved to whatever the teachers unions wanted on COVID. They lied continuously. The damage to children was immeasurable.

Here is an example of how little Democrats care about freedom and the little guy. They want to control us on everything.

New Restrictions on Independent Contractors Could Destroy Gig Work But a new rule just issued by the Biden Administration will essentially ban independent contractor status for gig workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act. It will threaten a crucial source of livelihood for millions by putting these jobs at risk. For example, a recent study projected that this sort of policy would result in more than 73,000 lost app-based jobs in Massachusetts alone. In the wake of successful wage negotiations by the United Auto Workers and other unions, the Biden Administration thinks these workers would be better off if they are converted to full-time employees who are eligible for union membership and traditional employee benefits. But that would destroy the flexibility and independence these workers value most. A far better solution would be to allow companies to extend benefits to gig workers without making them employees and taking away their autonomy.

The choice for president becomes easier every day. Trump's policies were successful and popular, both domestic and foreign policies. Biden is a disaster.

When the NYT and WaPo inevitably support Biden, they will not support many of his policies. Instead, they will seek to scare the public about Trump or the climate or something else. Facts haven't mattered for a long time to the complicit media.

Image: Daniel X. O'Neil via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.
In November 2023, the Biden FCC issued a Prevention and Elimination of Digital Discrimination (PEDD) order. This order forbids any internet access practices that differentially impact consumers access to broadband internet access service based on their income level, race, ethnicity, color, religion or national origin, or are intended to have such differential impact. The lawless test of differential impact (rather than differential treatment) became ordinary for such regulations. Considering income level as a protected characteristic is a novel theory. The order also puts the onus of proof on the providers: guilty until proven innocent. Essentially, it makes the provision of internet access subject to the federal government's discretion. Furthermore, it applies not only to persons engaged in providing internet access, but also to their contractors and partners.

Commissioner Brendan Carr perfectly characterized this ruling in his excellent dissent: The Biden Administrations entire approach to the Internet ... can be boiled down to one word: control. ... You can see it in the Biden Administrations campaign to pressure Internet companies into censoring Americans protected political speech  a coordinated effort that is now on appeal to the Supreme Court. Also, President Bidens plan effectively hands the Administrative State veto power over every decision about the provision of Internet service in the country, and there is no path to complying with this standardless regime.

This PEDD order underscores the ruling Democrat-Socialist regime's understanding that it has maintained control over the U.S. internet since 2010 (Obama-era net neutrality, or Obamanet) and the desire to maintain this control at all costs.

Starlink and Elon Musk

The regime perceives that the threat from Starlink, Elon Musk's satellite internet access provider. Its quality is on par with or better than cable internet and continues improving. At $120 per month, it is slightly more expensive than cable internet in most places. However, it is ideal for small resellers, providing consumers and publishers opportunities that Obamanet prohibited, especially freedom of speech. The consumer would be able to pay only for the delivery of the content he wants, and the publisher could purchase bandwidth for its content to sell readers or viewers a whole product. Publishers will also be able to provide other services that Obamanet denies consumers: parental controls, enterprise-grade network security, and private access to the internet.

If Starlink creates a program allowing reselling bandwidth, any person can become a small ISP, value-added reseller, and content distributor. The link from the base station to consumers can be Wi-Fi. Such a service can start at less than $10 per month because the reseller would not have to carry YouTube, Netflix, Pornhub, CNN, and other bandwidth hogs to consumers who do not want them. The provider will derive the most revenue from reselling parental controls, network security, and other services and distributing content. Tens of thousands of such businesses can rise virtually overnight, especially if Starlink limits the number of resellers per potential million customers in each location (franchising).

When such services start, it will be hard for the Biden entity to explain why American citizens are compelled to pay for propaganda from MSNBC, Hamas, and Hezballah; have their computers exposed to hackers from all over the world; and have their children accessible via the internet to all strangers.

The FCC revoked the $900-million award, won by Starlink under Auction 904 of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, two weeks after the PEDD order. This action provides more evidence that Bidens FCC is targeting Elon Musk. Quoting Commissioner Brendan Carr again: President Biden gave federal agencies a green light to go after him [Elon Musk]. During a press conference at the White House, President Biden ... expressed his view that Elon Musk is worth being looked at. When pressed by a reporter to explain how the government would look into Elon Musk, President Biden remarked: Theres a lot of ways. Commissioner Carr highlighted some agencies that followed Bidens hint: the DOJ, the FAA, the FTC, the NLRB, the U.S. attorney for SDNY, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the FCC.

Net Neutrality Recap

To remind the reader, Obama-era net neutrality regulations were imposed by the Obama FCC in 2010 under the heavy influence of the Marxist group calling itself Free Press, with the explicit goal of defeating the First Amendment. The rulings text openly said that purchasing a physical medium for speech (internet delivery or termination) is not speech and is not covered by the First Amendment. When a court struck Obamanet down in 2014, the Obama administration expanded and re-established it. With Trump's appointed majority, the FCC repealed Obamanet, but the repeal was tied up in litigation. After that, 20+ blue states and D.C. imposed Obamanet equivalents through state laws. The combined effect was the preservation of Obamanet nationwide: it is hard to create a publishing distribution system without the main markets (California, New York, and D.C.) and under constant threat that it would be dismantled after the next elections. Bidens FCC still intends to re-establish Obamanet on the federal level.

Noteworthy

Before the 2008 elections, Thomas Lifson predicted that the Obama administration would use net neutrality to silence critics if Obama came to power, and this is precisely what happened.

The PEDD order includes a Report and Recommendation from the DEI Working Group.

The Obama-era net neutrality led to the concentration of the ISP market in the hands of the cable companies. The secondary effect of the PEDD ruling is strengthening the Democrat stranglehold on cable news and programming.

These censorship measures are like those in book publishing history. From the invention of the printing press in the mid-15th century to the early 16th century, book printing was a free-for-all. When it reached sufficient volume and influence, censorship appeared. It grew, peaked, and then declined. Of course, the U.S. abolished this sort of censorship in the Bill of Rights, but Democrat-Socialists could not care less.

Image: Elon Musk. Credit: JD Lasica via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
Islam is not even a religion. Its a social political system that uses a deity to advance its agenda of global conquest. So said Oklahomas John Bennett, a former state representative now running for the federal congress, and he was right on the money; see below:

Muslim immigrants block passage on sidewalks in Grosseto in name of Allah. We don't want to see these acts of arrogance and fanaticism in Italy, we will never end up like London. Anyone who does not respect the rules must be expelled immediately. pic.twitter.com/edjcKAHPI7  RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) January 15, 2024

And here:

Like a dog marks his territory with urination, so do the new-to-Europe third world Muslim invaders with prayer. Ostensibly, they came as asylum seekers and refugees, displaced and downtrodden, ready to adapt and contribute to the West. Now that theres enough of them, they can throw off the shackles of subterfuge and openly act in accordance with what they planned from the very beginning in a particularly warlike way.

Either intentionally or coincidentally, these Muslim hordes are engaged in the conquering tactics articulated by Saul Alinsky in his well-known Lucifer-dedicated book, Rules for Radicals:

For an elementary illustration of tactics, take parts of your face as the point of reference; your eyes, your ears, and your nose. First the eyes; if you have organized a vast, mass-based peoples organization, you can parade it visibly before the enemy and openly show your power.

Just as Alinsky desired to undermine the virtues and ethos of the West, so do the new-to-Europe third world Muslim invaders.

Just as Alinksy framed the cultural revolution as a war between the Haves and the Have-Nots, so do the new-to-Europe third world Muslim invaders.

Sure, this is Islamic prayeraggressive, domineering, and disruptivebut this is not the Judeo-Christian prayer of the West, which is meek, gentle, and humble.

As a colleague reminded me, the stark difference between Christianity and Islam can be seen in prison conversions, and she relayed an astute observation she once heard:

It is not a contradiction to be a Muslim and a murderer, even a mass murderer. That is one reason why criminals convert to Islam in prison. They dont convert at all; they remain the angry judgmental vicious beings they always have been. They simply add religious diatribes to their personal invective. Islam does not inspire a crisis of conscience, just inspirations to outrage.

Like Bennett said, this isnt religionits 7th century barbarism, on an agenda for global subjugation, using faith as a vehicle.

Image generated by AI.
One wonders what it's like to be Jack Smith, Alvin Bragg, Leticia James, or Fani Willis waking up to watch CNN this morning.

Here's CNN:

Former President Donald Trumps huge win in the Iowa caucuses on Monday enshrines one of the most astonishing comebacks in American political history. Losing one-term presidents almost never mount subsequent successful primary campaigns, much less pull off landslides that demonstrate utter dominance of their party. Trump transformed the GOP in his populist, nationalist, nihilistic image in 2016. By claiming 50% of the vote in the biggest win in caucus history, putting him on course to his third consecutive nomination, he showed that eight years after his outsider presidential victory, the current GOP is entirely his party. The big night is going to be in November, when we take back our country, Trump told his first proper victory party since he shocked the world by winning the 2016 election. His MAGA-hat wearing crowd greeted him with chants of Trump, Trump, Trump beneath two vast screens reading Trump wins Iowa!

Astonishing to them, of course.

It sounds like the voters have some unfinished business they'd like to take care of.

And what it really says, aside from the unfinished business of Trump, who, after all, was defrauded of his victory in 2020, is that the prosecutors attempting to take down Trump are only building Trump back better.

Their prosecutions have effectively kept Trump from post-presidential obscurity, and put him front and center of the news, talked about every day, as the underdog everyone's rooting for, in voters' minds. That may explain the intensity of the support for Trump in a place where voters had to trudge through snow in Arctic sub-freezing temperatures to do so.

More to the point, it's a vote of no confidence in our justice system.

Everyone can see that the charges against Trump are about politics, not justice.

As Victor Davis Hanson wrote at American Greatness:

We should dispense with the tired narrative that four conscientious state and federal prosecutorsindependently and without contact with the Biden White House or the radical Democrats in Congressall came to the same disinterested conclusions that Donald Trump should be indicted for various crimes and put on trial during the campaign season of 2024. The prosecutors began accelerating their indictments only once Trump started to lead incumbent Joe Biden by sizable margins in head-to-head polls. Moreover, had Trump not run for the presidency, or had he been of the same party as most of the four prosecutors, he would have never been indicted by any of them. Yet now they are in a doom loop of discovering that the more they seek to rush to judgment before the election and gag Trump from speaking publicly about these star-chamber proceedings, the more he rises in the polls. In truth, each succeeding cycle of corrupt leftwing lawfare that ends in failurethe Russian collusion hoax, the weaponized first impeachment, trying ex-president Trump in the Senate as a private citizen, the laptop disinformation set-up, the Alfa bank ping caper, the pathetic attempt to erase Trump from state ballots, and the unfolding Fani Willis moral debacledoes not return things to zero. Rather, they serve as force multipliers for each other. Each overreach geometrically increases the dangers to democracy, ever more turns the public off, and ironically cascades sympathy and poll numbers for the very target of their paranoias.

It's not just the slings and arrows they are firing at Trump with their insulting claims that their politics is objective 'justice.' It's not just the obvious abuse of power in these "indict a ham sandwich" prosecutions. It's not just the double standard, as in the case of the inflated real estate assets or the classified documents mishandling claims, which are widely done by many but only Trump gets prosecuted for. It's not the White House meetings or the coordination of court dates, which howls of more abuse of power and downright illegality. It's not Fani Willis's flaming boyfriend corruption on the side which is the epitome of prosecutorial misconduct. It's not just James's campaigning to Get Trump. It's not just Smith's gamy record in Europe or in his outrageously lawless prosecution of a Virginia governor which drew a 9-0 Supreme Court smackdown.

It's in the repudiation of what the justice system has become -- politicized, unfair, unjust, and filthy-dirty. That has propelled Trump to his powerful lead in Iowa, because voters can see some unfinished business they need to take care of -- immediately -- in their votes for Trump. They trust that Trump will take care of it because if prosecutors can do this that they do to a president of the United States, they will do it to anyone.

Nobody wants a kangaroo justice system like that, redolent of Chavista Venezuela or the old Soviet Union and its show trials. It's not just kind of bad, or bad at the edges -- it's really bad, identical to what is practiced in dictatorships, and voters want that shut down.

The other candidates running in Iowa did rightly criticize some of these prosecutions when asked but they certainly don't have this issue front and center the way Trump does, literally living it personally. So, they can't be trusted to fix this, either.

That seems to be why Iowa's caucusers went for President Trump. His record was good and sometimes downright great as president. His re-election campaign victory was stolen from him, and now the justice system is trying to take Trump down under the guise of enforcing the law at a time when they don't enforce the law for anything.

That's driving voters and the more they come after Trump, the harder the pushback from voters will be. Democrats don't even understand this, perhaps because they believe their own lies, so they don't stop their legal attacks. But that's good for Trump, who is going to keep rising, the more they try to stop him.

Image: Heblo via OpenClipart, via Pixabay / Pixabay License
A day after President Trump's former National Intelligence Advisor Ric Grenell posted a series of tweets about disturbing U.S. embassy behavior in Guatemala City against its outgoing conservative president, in came the newly elected one, a leftist, and USAID Director Samantha Power sounded as though she had a color revolution going.

Her effusive, gushing tweets were unusual for a U.S. official about a Latin American country's election.

It started with the waiting, like this was a rock star ready to walk onto the stage:

Here in the National Theater in Guatemala City awaiting @BArevalodeLeon when word came that he would finally be able to be sworn in, the room broke out into cheers of si se pudo. Waiting for the new Presidents arrival soon. pic.twitter.com/mWndPiiRDT  Samantha Power (@PowerUSAID) January 15, 2024

Just past midnight here in Guatemala as President Arevalo walks in to take the oath of office. pic.twitter.com/EdWJcs7a3o  Samantha Power (@PowerUSAID) January 15, 2024

The backdrop is that this was a bitterly disputed election, with the conservatives crying 'fraud' and attempting to make their views known in the streets and halls of the legislature.

Power, though, somehow had all the answers.

There is no question that Bernardo Arevalo is the President of Guatemala. We call on all sides to remain calm  and for the Guatemalan Congress to uphold the will of the people. The world is watching.  Samantha Power (@PowerUSAID) January 14, 2024

Did she count the ballots herself? There is no way she could have known that even if this wasn't a foreign country she doesnt even speak the language of.

But all was free and fair, she claimed, much as Jimmy Carter once did during Hugo Chavezs deeply disputed recall referendum of 2004.

I like this response to that:

The world is watching you, Samantha https://t.co/JLBMLBtOko  APBIOonly (@APBIOonly) January 14, 2024

Ric Grenell had a good observation, too, seeing something funny going on:

The Foreign Minister of Cuba and Samantha Power @PowerUSAID are united in their views that the Progressive Left in Guatemala won the election and must be put into power.



Cuba stands with Biden. https://t.co/daKPptb9J6  Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) January 15, 2024

The typical behavior from the Biden administration, and many administrations, really, is to ignore Latin American elections. This one seemed routine, it wasn't the overthrowing of a dictator, though the leftist side may have claimed that, and Power's interest is so unusual it draws attention in itself.

Joe Biden took nearly a week to congratulate Argentina's libertarian Javier Milei after his blowout victory last November, after all.

This one practically got a minute-by-minute roundup, from Power herself, deeply ensconced in the foreign matter, as if she had a stake in it.

And she gushed more:

Guatemalas civil society and Indigenous communities played an essential role in defending the will of the Guatemalan people and making yesterdays inauguration of President Arevalo possible. Today, I got to hear from them about the challenges they face and changes they seek. pic.twitter.com/PDckUXm2B0  Samantha Power (@PowerUSAID) January 15, 2024

Even cabinet members got gushes from the Bidenite fangirl with the taste for color revolutions:

Wonderful to meet Labor Minister @MiriamRoquel. Her role in President Arevalo's cabinet is incredibly important in uplifting representation for Indigenous people in Guatemala. I told her the U.S. has her back as she works to create new job opportunities for all Guatemalans. pic.twitter.com/kPZTGWfIeM  Samantha Power (@PowerUSAID) January 16, 2024

Then the climax -- el presidente Bernardo Arevalo himself with Samantha, shaking hands centered for the portrait at the top of the presidential palace, looking as though he's meeting another head of state and not the lowly USAID director.

Great to meet President @BArevalodeLeon on his first day in office to congratulate him and reiterate the U.S.s commitment to partnering with his Administration to deliver for the Guatemalan people. pic.twitter.com/lYwUs8Dvgi  Samantha Power (@PowerUSAID) January 16, 2024

That's the kind of positioning used for meetings between heads of state, or in the case of the U.S., the vice president and a head of state, if they bother at all. Kamala Harris got this kind of treatment when she paid a visit to Guatemala as part of her "border czar" role.

But somehow, Arevalo is treating Power as a head of state.

Which raises a lot of questions. Why is the Biden administration so gushy about this left-wing president whose loyalty is to anti-American dictators like Nicolas Maduro, Daniel Ortega and the Castro oligarchs of Cuba? Shouldn't he be treated with kid gloves at best, and a few quiet warnings not to try anything more typically? The U.S. has this guy's back? He's not even our friend, let alone our ally and he's in office based on a very disputed election where the opposition is crying fraud. What's more, it comes just as Grenell reported that U.S. embassy personnel were caught threatening officials of the previous administration as if they had it in for them -- and as if they had already cast their lot with Arevalo, which is pretty unacceptable as foreign meddling.

Did Power engineer something in that country, some Chicago-style rigging, gone international? Some Zuckerbucks here, some ballot-harvesting there? I don't know, but it is a matter of record that she's been curiously interested in Guatemala from the get-go. Back when Kamala Harris was lazily ignoring the border and blundering in her diplomacy, I noted that Power had been busy as a bee with her aid schemes and massive reporting focused on this country. I wrote this in June of 2021:

Actually, Power has beavering away on this as administrator of USAID  her project to nation-build the migrant-exporting part of Central America. She's doing the legwork and homework as one might expect it would be done. Her coming mission to the three countries of the Northern Triangle is everything Harris's wasn't. Based on the detail, it was the result of actual staff work, meetings, working details, gathering information  all things Harris has shown no propensity to engage in. Harris just makes it up as she goes along and laughs off tough reporter questions, even from journalistic marshmallows such as CBS's Lester "fairness is overrated" Holt. As Surber notes, she's from "the bullpen." So it's not surprising. Power lives and breathes this stuff. Power is all in nation-building and cut her teeth during the Soros color revolutions of the 1990s, focusing at the time on genocide in Bosnia.

Somehow Harris and Power never seemed to get together about it, which might have seemed logical for them to do, given the out-of-control U.S. southern border and Guatemala's role as a transhipment point for migrants.

Which brings up the last point: Why is the Biden administration so gushy with this guy and so out to "get" the last administration? Likely because the outgoing president, Alejandro Gianmattei, actually tried to stop the border surge, and made it public that Joe Biden had rung a dinner triangle for cartel human smugglers to recruit migrants for big dollars. For that, the Bidenites claimed corruption all over the place with Gianmattei's administration, which as facts come out, wasn't the case. Will they now claim corruption all over the place with Arevalo? Don't hold your breath -- Arevalo and the region can see that Power is sucking up to him, as if she's gotten "her people" into the Guatemalan presidential palace, just like the United Fruit Company used to do.

Is Arevalo a puppet of the U.S., or is Power just glad to see him? It's not clear at this point, but the whole thing looks strange. One thing that's very likely is that nobody in Guatemala now is going to try to stop the migrant surge, but there will be plenty of hands out for spoils and "aid" from the U.S. It's like the U.S. has bought someone and would like to get its money's worth. But that's not what normal people consider democracy.

Image: Twitter screen shot
Apple is disabling the blood oxygen monitoring feature on the Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2. This will enable the Cupertino-based tech giant to overcome the ban on the sale of both smartwatches in the US issued by the ITC late last year. For those unaware, the ban is due to the patent infringement case related to blood oxygen sensors slapped on Apple by health tech brand Masimo.

Apple will disable blood oxygen monitoring on Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2

The ban on the sale of Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 went into effect from December 26. However, the company made an emergency filing to the US Court of Appeals to halt the order issued by ITC. With the temporary pause on the ban, both smartwatches went on sale helping the brand get through the holiday season. During that time, Apple has also been working on making changes to avoid Masimos patents.

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The US Customs and Border Protection determined that Apple can use a redesign to bypass an import ban on the newer Watch models. The redesign means that the company will remove the blood oxygen functionality on the Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2. 9to5Mac shared a letter from Masimos attorneys stating that Apples redesign falls outside the scope of the ITC ruling. Both smartwatches do not infringe Masimos patents as long as they dont have any pulse oximetry features. Additionally, the patent dispute does not affect owners of the existing models with blood oxygen. Such units continue to be available as per Apple spokesperson Nikki Rothberg.

US Appeals Court to decide on Apple Watch ban

The US Court of Appeals is set to come out with a decision on whether or not to pause the ban on Apple Watch throughout the duration of the appeal process. The Cupertino-based tech giant expects this to take at least a year. The company will get time to work on its OS and hardware to avoid Masimos patents if it wins the appeal. On the other hand, the removal of the pulse oximeter is very much on the cards if the appeal fails.

Bloombergs Mark Gurman also reports that the modified watches have been shipped to Apple retail stores. However, the stores have been instructed not to sell those units until they receive word from the corporate.
Apple is disbanding a team of 121 employees handling the companys artificial intelligence (AI) in San Diego. This team, called Data Operations Annotations, was told they have to move to Austin and join the Texas team. If they dont want to move, they might lose their jobs. This news comes from Bloomberg, citing people in the know. Interestingly, Apple may be pushing limits to regain momentum. Notably, Microsoft recently dethroned Apple to become the most valuable company with a market cap of $2.89 trillion.

Apple wants to shift its AI team to Texas from San Diego

Apple is moving its AI team in San Diego, which checks if Siri is working well, to Austin, Texas. The San Diego team has 121 people, and if they dont want to move, they might lose their jobs on April 26. This team listens to Siri recordings in different languages like Hebrew, English, Spanish, and Arabic to make sure Siri responds correctly, Bloombergs Mark Gurman noted.

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The announcement about the move comes from Apples Senior Vice President of ML/AI strategy, John Giannandrea. He is tasked with Siri development and the Apple Car project. Before joining Apple, he spent over 8 years at Google as head of Machine Learning.

Many affected workers in San Diego express reluctance to relocate to Austin. And some are feeling ineligible for roles due to a lack of engineering backgrounds. Apple has encouraged employees to apply for other positions. However, they havent received sufficient information about their future employment prospects.

Well, there are quite a few perks for those moving to Austin

Apple is offering a $7,000 relocation stipend to employees relocating to Austin by the end of June. Therefore, those declining the move will have their roles eliminated, receiving severance pay based on their length of service, along with six months of health insurance. Despite Apples previous avoidance of significant layoffs during the pandemic, this recent move may lead to some employees leaving the company.

All in all, Apple is striving hard to reclaim its position as the worlds most valuable company and prepping to ship the Apple Vision Pro in the US starting February 2.
CES 2024 was a glimpse into the future of technology, and the education space was no exception. TAL Education Group, a leading force in the Chinese education sector, marked its Western debut at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) with a captivating Media Experience Event. The event, held at the forefront of global technological innovation, featured the unveiling of TALs flagship product, the Xueersi xPad Flagship Model, and the Mobby Kids Learning Pad, as well as its collaborative efforts with tech giants like TCL and Microsoft. The TAL Media Experience Event left a lasting impression on attendees, unveiling a glimpse into the future of education and technology.

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Dr. Alex Peng, President and CFO of TAL Education Group, welcomed esteemed guests and media, expressing gratitude for their presence and shedding light on the motivations behind TALs participation in CES. Mr. Peng remarked, This year signifies a landmark for TAL, as we debut at CES for the first time. Thank you for being a part of this pivotal moment. In his speech, Dr. Peng emphasized the crucial role of technology in reshaping the education sector, urging attendees to imagine how technology can bring innovation and creativity to an industry often perceived as traditional.

Highlighting the importance of collaborative development, Dr. Alex Peng invoked an old Chinese saying: United we stand, divided we fall. He stressed the need for unity in the education industry, calling for global partnerships. We bring to you over two decades of educational insight and technological advancements, along with a commitment to open collaboration and joint development, he affirmed. Dr. Peng revealed TALs strategic collaborations with technology giants like Microsoft and TCL Huaxing. Leveraging their cutting-edge technologies and combining them with the educational data accumulated by TAL Education Group over the years, we believe we can unleash unprecedented potential in education, he explained.

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The collaborative spirit at the event was echoed through the following speeches of Dou Yan, TCL Group Strategic Operations Vice President, and Christina Thoresen, leader of Microsofts Worldwide Education Strategy team. Their insights underscored edTech innovation narrative, emphasizing the potential for technology in the education sector. The collaboration with TCL and the emphasis on responsible AI resonated with attendees, aligning with the broader industry focus on ethical technology.

These revealed collaborations showcased innovative edTech solutions, with TCL CSOT presenting its Future-Paper display technology integrated and contributing to the overall experience of the Xueersi xPad Flagship Model. Dr. Alex Pengs demonstration of the efforts on AI-driven instructional technologies underscored the collaborative commitment aiming to reshape the future of education. The device gifting ceremonies for TCL and Microsoft solidified these partnerships and highlighted the shared vision for advancing education through cutting-edge technology.

Hands-on Experience:

Amidst the visionary speeches and demos at TALs CES 2024 Media Experience Event, one immersive journey stood out  the captivating Hanzi Dance experience showcased on their Xueersi xPad Flagship Model. Even though it was designed for teaching children, I personally found the experience invigorating. Strokes of Chinese characters came alive on the massive laser projector screen, in an enchanting dance that celebrated language, culture, and technology, encompassing the essence of CES. Essentially a rhythm game, built into an engaging education device. The atmosphere buzzed with anticipation as attendees, a mix of journalists, educators, and tech enthusiasts, eagerly lined up to learn their Chinese Zodiac signs.

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As we played, there was an undeniable sense of joy and wonder in the room. This tool creates a love for learning in children, in conjunction with interactive features and robust safety measures. Attendees, regardless of their proficiency in Chinese, found themselves enchanted by the dance of these characters. It was about learning and experiencing language in a whole new light  a creative, dynamic, and living entity; all made possible by the design of the Xueersi xPad Flagship Model and its motion-tracking system. The program is evidently tailored for its primary audiencechildren. The calibration process dedicated to childrens height and the immersive learning content are indicative of TALs consideration for the specific needs and preferences of its intended users.

Another interesting feature on display was the AI image recognition, that allows responsive real-time text recognition that can be associated with built-in curricula and evaluation standards. Nearby, they showcased the Mobby Kids Learning Pad, a marvelous early education enlightenment product built upon scientific research on psychological development. An innovation with an expanding content library that can grow with the user, awarded the latest TWICE Picks Awards at CES 2024.

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These experiences for me were portent for the digital age for education. The showcase gave the audience a chance to experience education through diverse immersive experiences. As we interact more with the devices, the anticipation for the transformative education potential of these innovations really showed. Reflecting on Dr. Alex Pengs optimism for the future, Its truly a remarkable and exciting time for Education. We are seeing tremendous potential for growth and innovation around the world. Chinas emergence as a key market for EdTech innovation and TALs aspiration to bring education advancements to learners globally is exciting. The success of TALs Media Experience Event suggests a potential positive impact on diverse personalized learning, making the process more enjoyable and interactive. If implemented on a broader scale, such innovative approaches and ideals could contribute greatly to redefining the edTech industry.
North Korea appears to have made "some progress" in its pursuit to develop a hypersonic missile, Seoul's defense chief said Tuesday, after Pyongyang claimed to have successfully tested a solid-fuel one earlier this week.

Defense Minister Shin Won-sik made the remark in a radio interview with broadcaster KBS after the North launched an intermediate-range missile into the East Sea on Sunday in its first ballistic missile test this year.

Shin said the latest launch involved a conical-shaped warhead like the hypersonic missile the North tested in January 2022.

"The difference with the 2022 (one) is that was a liquid-propellant missile, while this time it was a solid propellant one that they are newly developing," he said. "(We) assess that there has been some progress."

Solid-fuel missiles are known to be harder to detect ahead of launch compared with liquid-fuel ones that require more pre-launch preparations, such as the injection of fuel.

A hypersonic weapon is among the list of high-tech weapons that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to develop at a party congress in 2021.

Meanwhile, Shin renewed the South's warning that the North Korean leadership will face its end if it makes a "wrong decision" amid North Korea's recently hardening rhetoric against the South.

The North's leader called for revising the country's constitution to define South Korea as its "invariable principal enemy" and to codify the commitment to "completely occupying" South Korean territory in the event of war at a parliamentary meeting Monday.

Shin assessed the North's harsh rhetoric as being intended to bolster internal unity in the face of economic difficulties.

He pointed to the North's recent arms exports to Russia as a sign that it would not actually risk war with the South.

"Among the missiles being developed by North Korea, the new ones are the so-called Iskander-type one and the 600 millimeter large-caliber multiple launch rocket system," he said. "Tens of these -- almost all of them that were produced were sold immediately to Russia."

"A barking dog does not bite," he said. "If North Korea really intended to go to war, would it be able to export millions of artillery shells to Russia, and also export its best-performing missiles as soon as they were made?"

The minister has said the North has sent around 5,000 containers to Russia as of end-December, which can accommodate some 2.3 million rounds of 152 mm shells.

Shin also touched on recent reports of the South not conducting proper inspections of North Korea's demolition of guard posts inside the Demilitarized Zone separating the Koreas under a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement.

The minister said there is a high possibility that the underground facilities of the North's destroyed guard posts were untouched as the North has recently been seen quickly restoring them, noting that documents on the inspections remain.

In late 2018, the two Koreas destroyed 10 guard posts each and withdrew from another one each to follow through on the military accord signed under the previous liberal President Moon Jae-in to reduce tensions along the border. (Yonhap)
With Samsungs Galaxy S24 launch mere hours away, many of you might already be gearing up to pre-order the new flagships. If you are, the company has lined up some amazing pre-order benefits for you. Most notably, you will get a free storage upgrade, at least in Europe. Theres a trade-in bonus as well.

You will get a free storage upgrade with Galaxy S24 pre-orders

Samsung usually offers a free storage upgrade with its flagship pre-orders. You get the higher storage version at the price of the lower one. For example, if you pre-order the 128GB version, you get a 256GB unit. Likewise, paying for the 256GB version will upgrade you to the 512GB unit at no additional cost.

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The Korean firm is expected to keep this promotional offer for the Galaxy S24 series. A recent leak suggested that will be the case in its home country, South Korea. We now have confirmation that Galaxy S24 pre-orders in Europe, or at least in Austria, will be eligible for a free storage upgrade too. The confirmation comes through a leaked screenshot of an internal Samsung document for the country.

The document says the promotion will work for the 1TB Galaxy S24 Ultra as well. You will get it at the cost of the 512GB version. However, it appears the 1TB model will be limited to just 2,000 units across Austria. So, you might miss out on this deal if you dont hurry up. Samsung might release the device in limited quantities in other European countries too. Some countries may get more units, though.

If you plan to trade in an old smartphone or tablet in exchange for a brand-new Galaxy S24, Samsung will give you a guaranteed bonus of 100. This is on top of the determined trade-in value for the product. This offer will be valid until January 30, which is when the general sales of the phones are expected to open. Samsung may offer these kinds of promotions globally.

Samsungs official website will have three exclusive color options

The Galaxy S24 lineup will be available in four colors globally: Black, Gray, Violet, and Yellow. You will find these color options in most third-party retail stores if not all. However, if you buy directly from Samsungs official website, you will get three more exclusive colors to choose from: Green, Blue, and Orange. Pre-orders will open in most regions immediately after the launch event tomorrow, January 17.
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has urged the countrys MPs to reject the Rwanda Bill.

The Rt Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, in a letter to all 59 Scottish representatives at Westminster, hit out at the Bill, which would declare Rwanda a safe country for asylum seekers to be sent to  despite an earlier ruling by the Supreme Court.

The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill will be debated in Westminster this week.

In her letter, Ms Foster-Fulton said the Kirk is appalled that the UK Government has sought to change the law rather than addressing the material concerns raised.

We have built a reputation as a world leader when it comes to upholding and championing human rights, she wrote.

This Bill threatens to destroy that reputation, reducing our ability to speak with any credibility on injustices and human rights abuses across the world.

It also sets a worrying precedent that fundamental human rights can be eroded and denied to some.

People in churches across Scotland have expressed fear and anxiety, she said, that they will be deported to Rwanda, leaving them in a place of uncertainty.

Comparing the plight of modern refugees to that of Jesus Christ, the Moderator said: Our faith compels us to advocate for a fair and just system that shows respect to all of Gods children, regardless of where they were born or what their immigration status is.

She added: We urge you to resist this Bill and any amendments that will further restrict the rights of asylum seekers.

This legislation will only lead to more detentions, more deportations, and an ongoing environment of hostility and mistrust.

Let us instead direct our focus on solutions that support refugees and asylum seekers many of whom are fleeing persecution and war in countries like Afghanistan, Iran, Syria and Ethiopia.

They are entitled to seek a place of safety and the Church, in common with many charities, is already working closely with people who have fled desperate situations.

A Home Office spokesman said: We have worked closely with the Rwandan government to address the Supreme Courts findings directly with the new Rwanda Treaty binding in international law, and have also introduced the Safety of Rwanda Bill.

Rwanda has a strong history of providing protection to those that need it, hosting over 135,000 asylum seekers who have found sanctuary 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.

Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael said the Moderator was right to warn MPs that this legislation will create an environment of hostility and mistrust.

Conservative MPs should be ashamed of the willingness with which their Government whips up anti-immigrant fervour, he added.

It seems like they learned nothing from the story of the Good Samaritan.

The Conservative Partys gimmick policy does nothing to bring down the sky-high asylum case backlog and its thoroughly immoral to boot.

The SNPs home affairs spokeswoman, Alison Thewliss, said: The UK Governments Rwanda Bill is deeply callous and immoral and will not be passed in Scotlands name.

The Home Secretarys own briefings notes state that Rwanda has issues with its human rights record and it has recently granted asylum to Rwandan refugees.

They know this Bill will not work and therefore must scrap it without delay.

In direct contrast to the UK Home Office, the Scottish Government is committed to creating an immigration system which is centred around fairness and dignity and prioritises safe and legal routes for refugees fleeing war and persecution.

The SNP will continue to call out the UK Governments inhumane and morally bankrupt immigration policies at every possible opportunity. It does not reflect our values, and will not be passed in Scotlands name.
Current and former politicians have attended a service of thanksgiving for the life and work of Baroness Betty Boothroyd, the trailblazing ex-speaker of the Commons who died last year.

Lady Boothroyd died in February aged 93, with her funeral taking place at a 12th century church in Thriplow, the Cambridgeshire village she called home in her later years, a month later.

She was the first and, so far, only woman to be elected to the role of speaker.

A thanksgiving service was held on Tuesday at St Margarets Church in Westminster, central London, to mark her contribution to public life.

The church is only metres from the Houses of Parliament where Lady Boothroyd made her name during a decades long politics career.

Betty Boothroyd, marking her retirement as speaker of the House of Commons, in 2000 (PA)

A current crop of parliamentarians attended the service, including Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Conservative Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt.

Sarah Brown, wife of former prime minister Gordon Brown, former foreign secretary Lord David Owen and former chancellor Lord Philip Hammond attended, as did former independent MP Martin Bell and Ukip leader Neil Hamilton and his wife Christine.

Lady Boothroyd, a former Labour MP, shattered more than 700 years of parliamentary tradition when she became the first woman to be elected speaker in April 1992, staying on until October 2000.

She then entered the Lords as a crossbench peer in January 2001.

Born to mill worker parents in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, in 1929, Lady Boothroyd was a professional dancer from 1946 to 1948 and appeared in pantomime in Londons West End before going into politics.

Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt leaving the service of thanksgiving (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

She unsuccessfully contested four parliamentary seats before being elected to West Bromwich (later to become West Bromwich West) in May 1973, serving as an MP for 27 years before starting her career in the Lords.

After her funeral in March, Sir Lindsay told PA news agency he would remember Lady Boothroyd not only as a friend, but an inspiration.

She smashed that glass ceiling to smithereens. She became the first and only woman speaker weve ever had, he said.

Former Speaker of the House of Commons Betty Boothroyd was remembered at a service of thanksgiving held in St Margaret's Church earlier today. Baroness Boothroyd was the first woman elected as Speaker and served as an MP for 27 years. Read more: https://t.co/MeAuPDzgdh pic.twitter.com/jSTYmScJGE  Westminster Abbey (@wabbey) January 16, 2024

She is one of the greatest speakers ever known. One of the greatest women that I can honestly say that I have known.

I will always be in awe and always thank her for her kindness and her advice.

Items from Lady Boothroyds estate are due to go under the hammer to raise money for six charities.

Lord David Owen arrives at St Margarets Church (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

The items up for auction  estimated to fetch 200,000  include a large, certificated diamond solitaire ring, photographs, her collection of frogs and a Frances Segelman resin bust of Lady Boothroyd.

The diamond ring is expected to fetch between 70,000 and 100,000 when being put up for purchase by Special Auction Services in Newbury, Berkshire, on January 23.

A collection of her early political photos showing her campaigning for seats around the country is estimated at 100 to 120.

Highlights of her career in pictures are also part of the lot, including framed photos of her meeting Bill Clinton, with an estimate of 40 to 60, and Nelson Mandela, estimated between 20 and 30.
Dame Joanna Lumley has said she has found the reaction to her Netflix series Fool Me Once thrilling.

The drama has been a juggernaut on the streaming service, topping the list of most-watched programmes.

The story is centred on a combat pilot (played by Michelle Keegan) in the military suffering from PTSD whose husband (Richard Armitage), from a wealthy family, is murdered.

Adapted from the novel of the same name by crime writer Harlan Coben, the show has gripped audiences with its twists.

Dame Joanna, who plays Armitages mother, the cold, upper crust matriarch, told the PA news agency: Its thrilling (the reaction) because you work away without any audience at all as you know whenever youre filming and youre just working with a crew and then its put together and its released.

She added: I was rather taken aback when on New Years Day they told me that it would be released to 190 countries simultaneously.

Dame Joanna Lumley with restaurant owner Sujan Katuwal (Ian West/PA)

Its extremely well-crafted and its got lots of twists and turns, lots of red herrings and people watching at home havent any idea what happens until the very last reel, thats always good.

Dame Joanna was speaking as she joined a restaurant owner as he began a charity challenge which will see him walk 3,000 miles through every London Borough.

Sujan Katuwal, who owns Panas Gurkha in Lewisham, south-east London, began his walk from the Embassy of Nepal, in west London, in support of Combat Stress, a charitable organisation dedicated to assisting Armed Forces and veterans coping with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
User base grows by 14 times over 7 years to 55,000

By Jung Da-hyun

If you are interviewing for a job as a member of an airline ground crew, a normal black suit would be suitable.

Around 10:30 a.m., Monday, Kim Ye-ji, manager of a suit rental service near Hongik University Station on Seoul Metro Line 2, the Airport Railroad and the Gyeongui-Jungang Line, assisted a customer in choosing the perfect outfit for a job interview. She recommended suits and sizes based on the customers body type.

It took only 15 minutes for the customer to try on and rent a suit.

The suit rental service, initiated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in 2016, aims to alleviate the financial strain on young jobseekers by offering free suit rentals for interviews.

This service is available to anyone residing in Seoul, from high school graduates up to age 39. Customers can rent clothes, including ties, belts and shoes, for four days, up to 10 times a year.

In a bid to increase accessibility, the city government opened three new branches in Cheonho-dong, Yeongdeungpo District and Nowon District last year and is planning to open another in Jongno District this year, expanding to a total of 14 branches in operation.

This initiative has proven immensely satisfying for young people, with 98.6 percent of users expressing contentment with the service in a survey conducted by the city government.

Being able to rent a suit for free is the biggest advantage in my opinion, said Seo Yu-jin, an IT industry job applicant, who has used the rental service three times.

Since suits are typically only for interviews and not otherwise worn frequently by young people, Seo emphasized it comes as a financial burden to buy one.

The process is streamlined for customers convenience, taking less than 30 minutes to try on and rent the chosen attire.

First-time visitors need to provide their ID card to confirm residence in Seoul, allowing them to avail of the free rental service on-site.

Suit rental store employees offer recommendations on suits and accompanying items according to the company or industry that customers are interviewing with, after taking their measurements.

Upon trying on the suggested suits in the dressing room, the stores swiftly undertake alterations to ensure a perfect fit, which only takes a few minutes.

For returning customers, detailed records are maintained, facilitating the use of pickup and delivery services.

We meticulously record data such as the extent of waist and leg alterations for pants, so that returning customers can receive personalized services with greater efficiency, Kim said.

At the Hongdae branch and a store near Konkuk University, customers can leave the clothes they came into the store wearing in a locker so they can conveniently walk out of the store wearing their rented suit immediately, which is useful for those who have interviews on the same day that they visit the store.

Beyond the convenience of free rentals, the availability of a range of clothes, shoes and accessories including belts and ties  coupled with recommendations based on personal image and company style, contributes to the service's popularity.

People seem to find contentment not only in renting clothes but also in our personalized recommendations tailored to their image or the specific ambiance of each company, Kim said.

At the Hongdae branch, all staff members possess certificates for personal color and image making, emphasizing their commitment to refined and personalized service.

Kim So-ryeong, CEO of The Open Closet, a free rental store near Konkuk University Station on Seoul Metro lines 2 and 7, emphasized the store's unwavering focus on staying attuned to evolving trends in job interviews.

In the past, interview attire typically comprised of a white shirt and black pants or skirts. However, recent years have witnessed a notable expansion of dress codes, especially in large companies embracing uniformless or casual business clothing, she noted.

Our ongoing efforts are geared towards not merely lending out interview clothes but actively styling them to align with contemporary trends, she said.

In response to the dynamic shifts in interview trends, the store is strategically broadening its reach. It boasts an extensive inventory of approximately 7,000 suits, a remarkable threefold increase from its inaugural year in 2016 when the service was initially introduced.

The usage of this service increased continuously, reaching an all-time high last year, marking 55,114 users. This has increased by nearly 14 times from its initial count of 4,032 users in 2016.

The CEO of the Konkuk University branch highlighted that in contrast to the lack of awareness among young individuals regarding the service, now it is recognized as a welfare initiative with substantial growth in its user base.

In a concerted effort to enhance accessibility, the Konkuk University branch has taken proactive measures by installing an additional specially designed dressing room for people with disabilities. The room is twice the width of a standard change room, providing easy maneuverability for wheelchairs, and has handrails installed.

As part of its commitment to youth employment support projects, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is strategically planning to broaden the scope of services. This includes the expansion of service spaces to ensure increased convenience for a more extensive demographic, aligning with the project's overarching goal of fostering public satisfaction.
Davos, an exclusive ski resort near Zurich in Switzerland, hosts the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum which began on Monday.

Delegates from big business, governments, civil society, academia and media will spend the week discussing the biggest global challenges.

Here is all you need to know about the event.

 What is the World Economic Forum?

The World Economic Forum (WEF) was founded in 1971 by German economist Klaus Schwab with the aim of encouraging collaboration between the private and public sectors.

Generally, the WEF focuses on emerging and established global problems. One of its primary stated goals is to work towards improving the state of the world, despite the inevitable differences of opinion on how this should and can be achieved.

The Davos conference centre is hosting a meeting of the World Economic Forum this week (Alamy/PA)

Importantly, the WEF issued a Davos Manifesto in 2020 which stated it is formally guided by stakeholder capitalism.

This declared corporations should deliver value and benefits to employees, society and the planet, as well as shareholders.

-Why is Davos important?

For both politicians and corporate leaders, Davos is not only an opportunity to engage and influence other powerful public and private decision-makers, but it also creates an impression of stature and respect on the global stage.

As with all conferences, the opportunity to build relationships beyond the keynote speeches is key, but the sheer range of delegates and the scope of their influence takes networking at Davos to another level.

For governments it is an opportunity to try to cement and expand influence and co-operation, while politicians in opposition will use Davos as an opportunity to build new relationships and boost their economic credentials at home and abroad.

-Why are members of the Labour shadow cabinet attending Davos?

The event is clearly a prime opportunity for Labour to further impress on corporations and voters that the party is now firmly pro-business and serious about stimulating economic growth.

There is evidence that this approach is working domestically, with improved relations with the business community and a strong private sector presence at the Labour conference, which some jokingly referred to as the Liverpool Davos.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has spearheaded her partys efforts to court business and will be joined in Davos by shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds.

The pair have lined up a series of meetings, including with Google, Barclays and Ericsson, as well as with other chief executives, investors and financiers.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves will attend the World Economic Forum (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Ahead of her trip, Ms Reeves reiterated her commitment to boost wealth creation and business investment in the UK.

Drawing clear dividing lines between Labour in its current form, the party under previous leaders and elements in the Conservative Party, she added: There are some in politics, including those of the old left and Conservative right, who have spent the past few years rallying against, or even insulting, business.

I profoundly disagree with them.

In what will be a key message to delegates and others listening in, Ms Reeves said being pro-business and pro-worker are two sides of the same coin.

-Who is attending Davos on behalf of the Government?

Rishi Sunak will not be attending the World Economic Forum for the second year in a row.

Number 10 has not provided an explanation for his absence but the Prime Minister is facing significant problems at home.

He is braced for a Commons showdown on Tuesday over his flagship Rwanda plan, as allies sought to play down the damaging prospect of two Tory deputy chairmen joining a backbench rebellion.

Lord Cameron addressed the World Economic Forum when he was prime minister (Frank Augstein/PA)

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron and trade minister Lord Johnson will travel to Davos and may feel there is some damage to the Governments reputation that needs repairing.

For example, the cancellation of the HS2 rail line between Birmingham and Manchester provoked some anger from industry, while concerns have also been raised by businesses over the watering down of net-zero commitments.

 What are the main issues that are expected to be discussed in Davos?

Global conflict, the rise of artificial intelligence and climate change are set to be the key themes of discussions at this years gathering.

The WEF said it is focused on rebuilding trust in an era of rapid change and increased fragmentation.

The war in Ukraine, the conflict in Gaza and other geopolitical tensions will be at the forefront of delegates minds, with discussions set to focus on what the organisers describe as a response to profound disruption.

WEF founder Klaus Schwab said: We face a fractured world and growing societal divides, leading to pervasive uncertainty and pessimism.

We have to rebuild trust in our future by moving beyond crisis management, looking at the root causes of the present problems and building together a more promising future.

 Why is Davos controversial?

There are politicians and commentators on both the left and right who are highly critical of the WEF.

Some on the right describe the forums lofty aims as idealistic and the event as an example of counter-productive groupthink.

Others on the left say a gathering of some of the worlds richest individuals and corporations is a sinister example of the global elite asserting its ideology and authority.

There are often protests surrounding the event, while sometimes delegates raise concerns over issues such as tax evasion and corporate greed.
A high-achieving north London school, previously dubbed Britains strictest, is facing a High Court challenge from a Muslim pupil over a decision to impose a prayer ban.

The student, who cannot be named, alleges that the policy introduced by the Michaela Community School in Brent is discriminatory and had fundamentally changed how she feels about being a Muslim in this country, a judge heard.

The pupil described the ban as like somebody saying they dont feel like I properly belong here, a hearing in London on Tuesday was told.

In the legal action against the free schools governing body, the Michaela Community Schools Trust, the student claims the decision banning prayer rituals also breaches her right to freedom of religion.

The hearing was told that the schools stance was first introduced in March last year by its founder and headteacher Katharine Birbalsingh  a former government social mobility Tsar  and later re-made by its governing body in May.

Katharine Birbalsingh, the founder and head of Michaela Community School in north London (PA)

Lawyers for the school, which is opposing the legal challenge, had argued that proceedings should be held in private due to concerns over past harassment, which saw it face threats and a bomb hoax.

But following arguments by the media, Mr Justice Linden ruled that the hearing should be held in public and the school and headteacher can be identified.

Sarah Hannett KC, representing the student only to be referred to as TTT, told the court that the policy had the practical effect of only preventing Muslims from praying because their prayer by nature has a ritualised nature rather than being internal.

The barrister said it was a ban uniquely on Muslim prayer, stopping pupils praying at a time as required by Islam, under which it is part of the five pillars of the faith.

She said Muslim prayer requires prostration and for the worshipper to face a particular direction, adding that there was no evidence the ban affected other faiths in the school.

Ms Hannett said it wouldnt prevent a Christian child sitting quietly in the corner of the playground from praying.

The pupil was seeking a compromise to the schools position, her lawyer said, arguing they should be allowed to pray for around five minutes at lunch time, on dates when faith rules required it, but not during lessons.

Ms Hannett said the ban at the school, where around half of the roughly 700 students are Muslim, makes the pupil feel guilty and unhappy, in her words, it messes up her day.

Around 30 students began praying in the schools wet and dirty yard in March last year, using blazers to kneel as they were not permitted to bring in prayer mats, the lawyer told the court.

The schools prayer rituals policy came after the public response to pupils praying outside and amid the harassment it received, the court heard.

Jason Coppel KC, for the school trust, said pupils seen praying outside contributed to a concerted campaign on social media over the schools approach to religion, including a since removed online petition attracting thousands of signatures.

He argued reporting of the case could give rise to a real and immediate risk of harm to the headmistress, other members of the school staff (and) potentially pupils at the school.

The court heard the school was targeted with threats of violence, abuse and false allegations of Islamophobia.

Police were called to respond to claims of bombs being placed at the school, prompting it to hire a security guard and close two days early at the end of term.

Glass bottles were thrown over the school railings and a brick thrown through one teachers window, leaving staff fearing for their lives, Mr Coppel said, adding that the situation had since calmed.

He said Ms Birbalsingh was concerned coverage of the hearing would cause serious risk of physical danger to our school community.

Mr Justice Linden noted the school had received disgraceful abuse but concluded: I do not accept that the evidence in this case establishes a risk to the lives or safety of members of the school staff or the school community that would justify holding the hearing in private.

The judge ruled that there should be no reports of the case featuring the identity of any school pupils and staff, except for Ms Birbalsingh.

Mr Coppel is due to set the schools defence to the case on Wednesday, when the hearing is due to conclude.
Christmas bookings jumped at restaurant chain Fridays as families shrugged off pressure from the cost-of-living crisis.

Hostmore, the parent group of the chain, said it saw an improvement in trading over the latter half of 2023 after pushing forward with a turnaround plan.

Chief executive officer of Hostmore, Julie McEwan, said the company was mindful of the effect that the cost-of-living crisis had on its customers.

Speaking to the PA news agency, she said: We were mindful that the cost of living crisis affected quite a lot of families over time, so we wanted to go back to our roots and understand who we were and our core market.

We looked at our booking strategy and also looked at what our competitors were doing, we made it as frictionless as possible, but also with a smaller deposit.

A lot of competitors were saying if you want to come and dine with us, and youve got a party of 12, for example, it was 10 per head.

We took that deposit right down which meant that our deposits went up and our core market  our families  could afford to actually come and book with us, and they did.

A really pleasing December 2023 boosted Hostmores overall revenue for the latter half of 2023, with like-for-like revenue of 4% compared to December 2022.

Hostmore said that they found the outcome particularly encouraging considering that the majority of their properties are situated in retail parks and shopping centres.

It manages 91 locations and employs about 4,500 people across its restaurants, which recently underwent a rebranding from TGI Fridays.

It is expected that the company will generate 5.4 million of EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) by the latter half of 2023.

Ms McEwan said: We have continued making good progress in executing our turnaround strategy, through disciplined capital allocation and the delivery of further cost reductions.

Our organic growth initiatives, implemented through a strong and motivated operational platform, have improved the financial outlook of the business and continue into 2024.

Hostmore has also said that it is committed to achieving its goal of becoming debt-free by diverting all its free cash flow towards paying off its borrowings.

As a result, its net bank debt at the end of the year was 25.1 million, an improvement compared to the figure of 31.3 million recorded on July 2 2023.

Weve got really motivated teams and a lot of the ideas that we use come from the experience within the brands, she added.

Also, what we are doing is were utilising our brand equity and also our heritage of TGI Fridays, so what worked really well and taking the best of both, looking at the consumer of the future and how we can attract more footfall in as well.
A people smuggler has been jailed for attempting to bring a Vietnamese woman into the UK by cramming her behind the dashboard of his car.

Jozef Balog, 33, was given a two-and-a-half year prison sentence at Canterbury Crown Court on Tuesday after admitting a charge of assisting unlawful immigration.

According to the Home Office, the Slovakian national was stopped by the UK Border Force in Coquelles, northern France in June 2022, when he claimed to be returning to his Manchester home after visiting relatives.

But a search of his Vauxhall Vectra by officers, which involved the glovebox being removed, revealed the Vietnamese woman cramped behind the dashboard.

Jozef Balog pleaded guilty to assisting unlawful immigration in June 2022 and was sentenced on Tuesday at Canterbury Crown Court (Home Office/PA)

The car had been altered to create the tiny hideaway.

Home Office deputy director of criminal and financial investigations, Steve Blackwell, said: This is a truly shocking case that shows the callous disregard these criminals have for the lives and safety of the vulnerable people they exploit.

We have once again shown that those who seek to exploit our border will be caught and brought to justice.

The smuggler has already served the jail term since he pleaded guilty to assisting unlawful immigration in June 2022, and was in custody for 40 months.
Alan Bates, founder of the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, giving evidence by video link. (Post Office Horizon Inquiry) (House of Commons, PA Images)

A former sub-postmaster at the heart of the Post Office Horizon Scandal has claimed lawyers working for the government have complained about working overtime, evenings and on weekends.

Alan Bates, one of the leading campaigners for the hundreds of postal staff wrongly prosecuted due to faults in the service's IT system, suggested that lawyers were delaying the workers' fight for justice.

Speaking to MPs about the scandal on Tuesday, Bates said: Im hearing a lot of stories about government lawyers, or the firms that the government are using for lawyers, are not happy about working extra hours or working weekends, or working evenings.

There obviously isnt enough of a resource being put in at that end to actually deal with these cases, and thats whats really frustrating. I know the lawyers that Im using, who are dealing with a lot of cases, have a huge team working on them, and theyre piling the cases through, but theyre just not moving. They hit a dead end once they go into the department.

For many the delays may prove too late, suggested Bates, who said he'd spoken to a 91-year-old victim who is still waiting for justice. "How many years has she got to wait for financial redress? Has she got to wait till she gets a telegram from the King?" he told the committee.

Jo Hamilton said she felt like she was being treated like a criminal again when asked to produce excessive levels of evidence. (Post Office Horizon Inquiry) (House of Commons, PA Images)

Bates and other campaigners victimised by the Horizon IT system, designed by Fujitsu, also pointed to a culture of red tape and bureaucracy within the Post Office over delays in getting sub-postmasters their compensation. He added: I think it was 53 days before they asked three very simple questions. Its madness, the whole thing is madness. And theres no transparency behind it, which is even more frustrating. We do not know whats happening to these cases once they disappear in there.

Wrongfully convicted former sub-postmistress Jo Hamilton said it was almost like youre being retried  it just goes on and on and on.

Here are some of the other key moments from today:

Fujitsu admits for first time it should compensate victims

The boss of Fujitsu has said there is a moral obligation for the company to contribute to the compensation. Fujitsu Europe director Paul Patterson told MPs: We were involved from the very start. We did have bugs and errors in the system. And we did help the Post Office in their prosecutions of subpostmasters. For that we are truly sorry."

It is the first time the Japanese firm has offered to compensate victims, with Patterson saying the company had a moral obligation for the company to contribute. Read more from the Guardian here

Statement defending Horizon system concerning

A Fujitsu employee has said a draft witness statement template which defended Horizon software is concerning because obviously bugs were in the system.

Shortly after joining the company in July 2010 Rajbinder Sangha, a former member of Fujitsus fraud and litigation support office, was sent the draft statement, potentially used to assist Post Office prosecutions, which said the Horizon system was operating properly at all material times. Read more from the Press Association here

Only three victims have full compensation

Solicitor Neil Hudgell told MPs only three of his former sub-postmaster clients who had been criminally convicted had received full compensation. He said: Within the convicted cohort of clients that we have, of the 73, three have been fully paid out.

He told the Business and Trade Committee: Im not sure that enough resources are thrown at it in terms of the right results into the right areas. For example, routinely with the overturned conviction cases its taking three to four months to get a response to routine correspondence. Read more from The Independent here

Fujitsu has admitted it has an obligation to compensate victims. (PA) (Maureen McLean)

Post Office 'knew about remote access'

Patterson also admitted there was remote access to the Horizon system, despite the Post Offices repeated denials.

However, he said he did not recognise the characterisation of a covert unit at Fujitsu gaining access to subpostmasters computers without their knowledge. The support and the interventions remotely from Fujitsu has been documented and it is clear the Post Office was certainly aware of that remote access, and that was clear for some period of time.

Nick Read, chief executive of the Post Office, was asked whether he was aware but denied it. He said: Ive only been in the organisation since 2019, so its difficult for me to comment.

'Money from victims may have gone into executive pay'

Nick Read, chief executive of the Post Office, was questioned on Tuesday. (PA) (House of Commons, PA Images)

Money wrongfully claimed from victims of the Horizon scandal may have been used to pay for Post Office executive's hefty compensation packages, Read told MPs.

He said the company has still "not got to the bottom of" what happened to the cash paid by sub-postmasters in a bid to cover the false differences created by the faulty Horizon software.

Read said auditors have tried to get to the bottom of it "two or three times" but failed because of various issues including low-quality data and record keeping.

But he admitted it is a possibility the money taken from branch managers could have been part of "hefty numeration packages for executives". Read more from Sky News here
Rishi Sunak is braced for a Commons showdown over his flagship Rwanda plan, with his authority dealt a blow by the vow of two Tory deputy chairmen to join a rebellion.

The Prime Minister is under pressure from both sides of his party over the legislation aimed at reviving the stalled plan to deport some asylum seekers to the east African nation.

He is battling to quell Tory dissent as more than 60 right-wing MPs have backed amendments seeking to beef up the Safety of Rwanda Bill, which returns to the House of Commons on Tuesday for six hours of debate and voting.

The Rwanda Bill. I have signed the Cash & Jenrick amendments. I will vote for them.  Lee Anderson MP (@LeeAndersonMP_) January 15, 2024

But any attempt by Mr Sunak to placate them would be opposed by more moderate Tories, who want to ensure international law is respected.

It comes as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said that, even unamended, the Bill and recently-signed treaty with Kigali would still violate global refugee law.

The infighting heated up on Monday evening when senior Conservatives Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith said they would back the right-wing changes.

The amendments aim to disapply international law from the Bill and severely limit individual asylum seekers ability to appeal against being put on a flight to Kigali.

They were tabled by Robert Jenrick, who resigned as immigration minister over the legislation, and veteran Tory Sir Bill Cash.

Ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick warned the Tories face election defeat unless the Government strengthens the Rwanda Bill (Yui Mok/PA)

In a last-ditch attempt to calm hardliners concerns, the Prime Minister will draft in 150 judges and free up courtrooms in order to speed up migrant appeals, The Times reported.

Mr Jenrick predicted an electoral wipeout for the Tories at the general election later this year if the Bill is not toughened up.

Writing in the Telegraph, he warned of the political punishment that will be inflicted when the policy fails later in the year and the boats keep coming and said there is no way to win back voters back without passing a Bill that will actually work.

If they are selected, the amendments are unlikely to pass as they will not get Labour support, but the real test will come at the third reading on Wednesday when rebels may vote against the entire Bill.

Tory deputy chairman Mr Anderson tweeted: I have signed the Cash & Jenrick amendments. I will vote for them.

Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson has vowed to defy Rishi Sunak over his Rwanda Bill (Jacob King/PA)

Mr Clarke-Smith, who was only appointed to the same job seven weeks ago, wrote: I want this legislation to be as strong as possible and therefore I will be supporting the Jenrick/Cash amendments.

While the deputy chairmanship is not a Government role, holders would be expected to back its positions.

Mr Sunak will have to consider sacking them from their party posts.

Jane Stevenson, a parliamentary private secretary in the Department for Business and Trade, is also said to be supporting the amendments.

On the eve of the parliamentary battle, Tory political strategist Isaac Levido warned feuding MPs at the 1922 backbench committee: Let me be clear. Divided parties fail.

Political strategist Isaac Levido urged warring Tory MPs to unite or face electoral defeat (Aaron Chown/PA)

Earlier, Mr Sunak sought to woo the right as he appeared to toughen his language on so-called Rule 39 orders, injunctions from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg blocking flights to Rwanda.

He said there are circumstances under which he would be prepared to ignore those orders.

But rebels dismissed the claim, with right-winger Sir John Hayes saying Mr Sunaks verbal promise was not enough and needed to be backed up by legal provisions.

The Prime Minister has previously argued that moving a further inch on the Bill, to more explicitly breach Britains obligations under international law, would risk the Rwandan government quitting the deal.

If the rebels are successful, blocking Mr Sunaks flagship Bill would trigger fresh chaos, which might make opponents toe the line to let it pass.

Meanwhile, centrist Tories warned that any caving to the right wings demands would cause problems for them.

Former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland told the PA news agency: The Government would be best advised not to accept any of the amendments from my colleagues on the right, because the Bill then will cause a problem for us here.

One Nation chairman Damian Green said: We want the Government to carry it through unamended.

Small boat crossings are down 20%. But we need to go further. Under my leadership, we will stop the boats. pic.twitter.com/U45bkGPb6Z  Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) June 5, 2023

The Governments Bill and a treaty with Rwanda are intended to make the scheme legally watertight following a Supreme Court ruling against the plan.

Mr Sunak won a key Commons vote on the legislation in December despite speculation about a major rebellion by Tory MPs then.

Even if it clears the Commons this week, it will face an uphill battle in the Lords.

The first 47 asylum seekers who were set to be on the original aborted deportation flight to Kigali more than 18 months ago have still not received decisions on their claims, with most housed in taxpayer-funded hotels, the i newspaper reported.
Sunak set for Commons showdown with Tory right on Rwanda Bill

Rishi Sunak is braced for a Commons showdown over his flagship Rwanda plan, as allies sought to play down the damaging prospect of two Tory deputy chairmen joining a backbench rebellion.

The Prime Minister is under pressure from both sides of his party over the legislation aimed at reviving the stalled plan to deport some asylum seekers to the east African nation.

He is battling to quell Tory dissent as the Safety of Rwanda Bill returns to the House of Commons on Tuesday for six hours of debate and voting.

In a move that will deepen the Tory split, former prime minister Boris Johnson gave his support to more than 60 right-wing MPs backing amendments to beef up the flagship legislation.

But any attempt by Mr Sunak to placate them would be opposed by more moderate Tories, who want to ensure international law is respected.

It comes as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said that, even unamended, the Bill and recently signed treaty with Kigali would still violate global refugee law.

The infighting heated up on Monday evening when senior Conservatives Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith said they would back the right-wing changes.

The Rwanda Bill. I have signed the Cash & Jenrick amendments. I will vote for them.  Lee Anderson MP (@LeeAndersonMP_) January 15, 2024

The amendments aim to disapply international law from the Bill and severely limit individual asylum seekers ability to appeal against being put on a flight to Kigali.

They were tabled by Robert Jenrick, who resigned as immigration minister over the legislation, and veteran Tory Sir Bill Cash.

Tory deputy chairman Mr Anderson tweeted: I have signed the Cash & Jenrick amendments. I will vote for them.

Mr Clarke-Smith, who was only appointed to the same job seven weeks ago, wrote: I want this legislation to be as strong as possible and therefore I will be supporting the Jenrick/Cash amendments.

Ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick warned the Tories face election defeat unless the Government strengthens the Rwanda Bill (Yui Mok/PA)

While the deputy chairmanship is not a Government role, holders would be expected to back its positions.

Mr Sunak will have to consider sacking them from their party posts.

Former prime minister Mr Johnson, while no longer an MP, is still an influential voice in the Tory circles  particularly with Mr Sunaks critics.

He said: This Bill must be as legally robust as possible  and the right course is to adopt the amendments.

Touring broadcast studios on Tuesday, Cabinet ministers Michael Gove and Mel Stride sought to play down Tory divisions.

Levelling Up Secretary Mr Gove said he was pretty sure Mr Anderson would still be in post at the next election.

I think we might be getting ahead of ourselves because I think that, and Lee is a friend and Im a big admirer of his, the concerns that Lee has about the Bill are the concerns that the country has about migration more broadly, he told Times Radio.

Work and Pensions Secretary Mr Stride declined to be drawn on whether the Tory deputy chairmen could face the sack.

Dame Priti Patel said the Rwanda Bill should go further on forcing civil servants to follow ministerial orders to block court injunctions (Aaron Chown/PA)

He told LBC: We all know that there are very few Bills  very, very few Bills  that go through straight and clean and nobody tries to amend them in any way at all.

What matters is that the Bill progresses in a form that leaves it effective at the end and Im confident were going to do that.

Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel, who first signed a UK migrants deal with Rwanda in April 2022, gave her backing to Mr Sunaks legislation but said it should go further so that all potential roadblocks are removed, including the civil service blob by making clear that the civil service code cannot be used by officials to obstruct decisions.

Dame Priti said measures should be taken to ensure that, should ministers use the Bill to ignore so-called Rule 39 orders, injunctions from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg that have previously been used to block flights to Rwanda, then civil servants must comply with the decision.

In an article for The Sun newspaper, she wrote: The Rwanda Bill gives ministers the power to decide whether to comply with Rule 39 and the Government must force the civil service to let them use it to ensure our robust plans to tackle illegal migration can be operationalised.

Political strategist Isaac Levido urged warring Tory MPs to unite or face electoral defeat (Aaron Chown/PA)

In a last-ditch attempt to calm hardliners concerns, the Prime Minister will draft in around 150 judges and free up courtrooms in order to deal with migrant appeals.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman said that while the Rwanda Bill would ensure the bar for legal challenges is set extremely high, it is also right to ensure that we have the resources to deal with the minority of claims should they arise.

Miriam Cates, another prominent right-wing MP, said she would also be prepared to vote against the Bill if it was unamended, and also appeared unmoved by the Prime Ministers latest plan.

She told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Well, Im afraid all that shows is that the Government is expecting a large number of individual claims.

Were not saying that people should not be able to make legal claims. What were saying is that those claims need to be made in Rwanda.

Tory MP Sir Simon Clarke echoed those concerns in a post on social media, saying: This proves the extent of the problem the Bill as drafted will create  150 badly needed judges and courts snowed under with a profusion of claims against removal.

Jane Stevenson, a parliamentary private secretary in the Department for Business and Trade, is also said to be supporting the amendments.

If they are selected, the amendments are unlikely to pass as they will not get Labour support, but the real test will come at the third reading on Wednesday when rebels may vote against the entire Bill.

On the eve of the parliamentary battle, Tory political strategist Isaac Levido warned feuding MPs at the 1922 backbench committee that divided parties fail.

Mr Sunak on Monday sought to woo the right as he signalled there are circumstances where he would be prepared to ignore Rule 39 orders.

But rebels dismissed the claim, with right-winger Sir John Hayes saying Mr Sunaks verbal promise was not enough and needed to be backed up by legal provisions.

The Prime Minister has previously argued that moving a further inch on the Bill, to more explicitly breach Britains obligations under international law, would risk the Rwandan government quitting the deal.

If the rebels are successful, blocking Mr Sunaks flagship Bill would trigger fresh chaos, which might make opponents toe the line to let it pass.

Meanwhile, centrist Tories warned that any caving to the right wings demands would cause problems for them.

The Governments Bill and a treaty with Rwanda are intended to make the scheme legally watertight following a Supreme Court ruling against the plan.

Mr Sunak won a key Commons vote on the legislation in December despite speculation about a major rebellion by Tory MPs then.

Even if it clears the Commons this week, it will face an uphill battle in the Lords.
Two British brothers have been jailed for stealing Ming Dynasty artefacts worth around 3 million from a Swiss museum, police said.

Louis and Stewart Ahearne, from Greenwich, south London, pleaded guilty to stealing two Chinese Ming Dynasty vases and a cup from the Baur Foundation, Museum of Far Eastern Arts in Geneva on the night of June 1 2019.

On Tuesday, the brothers were each sentenced to three years and six months in prison at a court in Geneva, the Metropolitan Police said.

Swiss authorities said the men were wearing masks and gloves when they broke into the museum by smashing a pane on the front door before shattering a display case and leaving with the items, believed to be from the 15th century and valued at 2,870,000.

Louis Ahearne (Met Police)

Detective Chief Inspector Matt Webb, who led the investigation, said: The Ahearne brothers meticulously planned this burglary, carrying out careful reconnaissance to ensure they could make a clean getaway and bring the items back to the UK.

They naively believed that having fled the country they had escaped punishment, but they did not bank on the fact we would work so closely with our Swiss counterparts to identify those involved.

Organised crime often crosses international boundaries and as this result shows, we will use all of the powers at our disposal to identify and arrest those involved in committing these types of offences.

Stewart Ahearne (Met Police)

DNA from the scene matched Stewart Ahearne, 45, who was living in south-east London, when shared by officers in Switzerland on the international database.

They also identified the registration plates on a car leaving the scene and discovered it had been hired days before the burglary.

Inquiries with the hire car company revealed Stewart collected it at the airport, and it was then used to drive the stolen goods back into the UK.

CCTV images implicated Louis, 35.

The first joint investigation team of its kind between the UK and Switzerland law enforcement was set up to easily share information, the Metropolitan Police said.

The force set up an undercover sting, posing as art buyers and arranging to meet the gang at a central London hotel.

A cup stolen by Louis and Stewart Ahearne (Met Police)

Stewart and his co-conspirator Mbaki Nhkwa handed the vase to the undercover officers in exchange for 450,000, and were promptly arrested.

The Ahearnes were extradited to Switzerland and pleaded guilty there on January 15.

Their sentences will be served in Switzerland and once released they will be banned from entering the country for five years.

They were also ordered to each pay 52,261 Swiss Francs.

Nkhkwa, David Lamming and Kaine Wright, were all previously sentenced for possession of criminal property for their role in the attempted sale of the vase in London.

A reward of up to 10,000 is on offer for information leading to the recovery of the doucai style Ming Dynasty wine cup, which remains missing, and features chickens on its side.

Anyone with knowledge of its whereabouts is asked to call police on 101 and reference Operation Funsea, or call Crimestoppers.
Cicada Safari Press, Tyler Le/BI

Two broods of periodical cicadas are emerging simultaneously for the first time in 221 years.

Broods XIII and XIX overlap in a small portion of Illinois, around Chicago.

People can help scientists keep track of these insects using citizen science apps.

2024 is the year of the cicadapocalypse.

That's because two broods of periodical cicadas  Broods XIII and XIX  will emerge from their underground lairs simultaneously for the first time in 221 years.

The last time the two broods teamed up, Lewis and Clark began their trek through territories recently acquired through the Louisiana Purchase, the US Supreme Court heard the landmark Marbury v. Madison case, and Thomas Jefferson was president.

Hype over the red-eyed insects has reached social media , where commenters are both dismayed and excited about prospective encounters with the dual cicada swarms.

"Which sign of the apocalypse are we on again?" one user on Instagram quipped.

"Leap year, cicadas, AND an election year? Idk if I can do it," one commenter on Instagram said.

Fortunately for those preparing to spend the spring in their basement, the two broods of periodical cicadas will not overlap  much.

Brood XIX will predominantly appear in southern states, while Brood XIII will appear in a small section of the Midwest  mainly Illinois.

Brood XIII is shown with blue dots, and Brood XIX is shown with red dots. These areas will likely have periodical cicadas in 2024. Gene Kritsky/Cicada Safari

One portion of Illinois will see an overlap. That's where cicada hunter Gene Kritsky, with his wife Jessee Smith, will be heading this year  along with many other cicada sites  to map out their appearances.

"I've been doing cicada mapping since 1976. I'm that old," Kritsky told Business Insider. "I'm going up into the Chicago region  I'll be there the first weekend in June  where I'll be lecturing and doing some hikes at the Lake County preserve area."

Kritsky, an author, professor at Mount St. Joseph University, and creator of Cicada Safari, an app that crowdsources cicada photos for scientific research, is excited to see cicadas again this year after last year's stragglers. He's very aware, however, of how polarizing the insect can be, both on and offline.

That's because they show up in thousands, make a lot of noise, and their crushed remains can even be a hazard to drivers by making roads slippery. Sometimes, they can harm young trees by attempting to lay their eggs in them.

However, cicadas are harmless and don't hurt people or animals.

"I've helped people plan vacations to where the cicadas are emerging," Kritsky said. "I've helped people plan vacations to be outside of where they're emerging. So there's both extremes on that."

Unlike annual cicadas, periodical cicadas spend years in their underground rooms like brooding teenagers (is that why they're called broods?) in 13 or 17-year cycles. In the case of the next two emerging broods, Brood XIII emerges every 17 years, while Brood XIX emerges every 13 years.

There are 15 broods in the US  12 are 17-year broods, and three are 13-year broods. Kritsky said this means there have been other instances of two broods concurrently appearing in more recent history.

"In 1998, we had a 17-year brood come out with a 13-year brood," Kritsky said. "So this happens. It happened probably 12 times, at least, in the last 200 years."

That doesn't mean, however, that the periodical cicadas  which emerge in the millions  aren't a sight to see.

The life of a periodical cicada

Periodical cicadas, a red-eyed insect with a black body and orange rings, spend most of their life just inches below the dirt, beneath trees. It gets a bit cold at that depth, around 56 degrees Fahrenheit, so they don't move around much. The cicada nymphs tunnel around and live off of the sap of tree roots. Kritsky told BI that many live near parks and cemeteries in suburban areas because they are drawn to "mature trees, in full sun, with low vegetation."

This is their life for 13 to 17 years until it is time to reproduce. Scientists don't know exactly how they determine how many years have passed, but evidence shows that they keep track of seasons by detecting the flow of sap in the trees.

When the time comes, they emerge in late spring, when soil temperatures reach about 65 degrees. This happens at different times in different locations between late April and early June. Depending on temperatures, Kritsky said Brood XIII could appear in early June or late May. Brood XIX, also known as the Great Southern Brood, could appear as early as April.

The cicadas usually first appear at night. Males will make their way out for the first couple of days, climbing up trees, and females will later follow. The first days of freedom are about shedding their old exoskeleton and hardening their new exoskeleton to become fully grown adults. Then it's time to mate.

To attract a mate, male cicadas use an organ in their body that creates a sound similar to a shrieking buzz. This may be what people recognize most about cicadas because they can get loud  like running lawnmower loud.

If a female is into the call, they mate. The female then searches for trees in brighter areas, locates tiny twigs at the end of the branches, cuts into them, and lays between 400-600 eggs. If they run out of room on one twig, they'll fly to another, Kritsky said.

Once they complete their mission, adult cicadas soon die. In about six weeks, the eggs hatch from the trees, fall to the ground, and burrow into the earth to start the cycle again.

Crowdsourcing has changed the cicada game

Before Cicada Safari's existence, Kritsky said the highest number of records on cicadas was about 8,000 records of cicada locations. His research teams have received over half a million records since 2019, thanks to the thousands of cicada enthusiasts submitting photos. Kritsky said it's helped cicada scientists understand the distribution of periodical cicadas more precisely.

"We found records from areas where cicadas never got reported before, not because they weren't there, but no one knew who to report it to," Kritsky said.

The app has also helped researchers spot new patterns of emergence. Smaller swaths of periodical cicadas normally emerge four years earlier in a phenomenon that scientists are still trying to figure out. More recently, however, scientists have noticed cicadas emerging one year earlier.

In 2023, researchers like Kritsky were able to record these patterns  which may point to climate change-induced shifts  thanks to citizen scientists' observations.

But more than that, the app, Kritsky said, has encouraged people to connect with family and friends over cicadas.

"You can mark your life by cicada emergences that you've remembered," Kritsky said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The weather has been the backdrop to every momentous occurrence in history. Sometimes it plays a major role in influencing the outcome of seismic events, as it did on D-Day during World War II, and other times it simply provides the scenery in which circumstances unfold.

In his new book, "Invisible Iceberg: When Climate and Weather Shaped History", AccuWeather founder and Executive Chairman Dr. Joel N. Myers takes readers on a journey from the beginning of time to modern days, exploring how weather and climate impacted world events throughout history.

Join AccuWeather founder & Executive Chairman Dr. Joel N. Myers on a journey from the beginning of time to the modern day to see how weather and climate changed the very course of human history.

"I've always been fascinated by weather and climate," he told AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Bernie Rayno. "Obviously, the climate has changed so much over the history of the world, how it's impacted species of all sorts and, of course, humanity. We're all talking about climate and weather and how the weather affects just about everything humans do. This is an opportunity to point out some of the dramatic events in history where weather and climate played an important role."

From the comet that ended the age of the dinosaur almost 67 million years ago to engrossing stories about how weather and climate led to the rise and fall of empires, caused plagues to spread, inspired works of art, and thoughts on whether the movements of a cold front and a nearby hurricane could have thwarted the 9/11 attacks, the book highlights dozens of fascinating events from history along with thought-provoking insight about how weather and climate are stitched into the outcomes of these historic occurrences.

Digitally restored vintage maritime history photo of the RMS Titantic departing Southampton on April 10, 1912. (John Parrott/Stocktrek Images)

The title, "Invisible Iceberg," a clever analogy about the hidden role weather has played throughout history, is also a nod to one of the historical events Dr. Myers discusses in his book. "The Titanic, of course, is a story that engrosses and fascinates everybody," he explained to Rayno. "It turns out the lookout couldn't see the iceberg until the last minute, couldn't see how big it was, because there was an inversion present," Dr. Myers elaborated. "The water was very cold; the ship had moved from warm water to cold water and because of that inversion, the light bent, so he only saw the top of the iceberg until it was very close. So people say, 'Hey, somebody was asleep at the switch' and so on, but it was the weather, in many different ways, that led to that problem."

Dr. Myers, considered the "father of modern commercial meteorology," developed a fascination with weather at an early age. "When I was 13, I rode my bike to high school in Philadelphia and the forecast called for a high of 50 and the chance for a shower. I pushed my bike home through a raging snowstorm in November of 1953, and I had a feeling that it was going to snow and I said, 'Boy, I bet I can do better than that; we had 11 inches of snow and it was supposed to be 50 with a shower', so that really motivated me and became the blossoming idea for AccuWeather."

Dr. Joel N. Myers, 17, building a weather observation station atop the family garage. (Credit: Dr. Joel N Myers)

He went on to found AccuWeather in 1962 and successfully established it as the world's most accurate and most used source of weather forecasts and warnings, as well as a global leader in digital media. Dr. Myers, who has been recognized as one of the greatest entrepreneurs in American history in the Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurs, says the book highlights the rises and falls of empires large and small. "There have been politicians that have had sunny futures, but because they didn't handle a snowstorm, you never heard about them again. Same thing with businesses that have been hurt, and some are out of business because the weather caught them by surprise," he said.

The ways in which weather is threaded throughout stories you thought you knew will surprise you. Religion, the Salem Witch Trials, Shakespeare's last play, the creation of the New York Subway System; weather plays a unique, often little-known role in each event that will intrigue and even surprise readers.

US President John F Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, Texas Governor John Connally, and others smile at the crowds lining their motorcade route in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Minutes later, the President was assassinated as his car passed through Dealey Plaza. (Bettmann/Getty Images)

There are also a number of haunting what-ifs posed, including a riveting chapter on how more rain may have saved President John F. Kennedy's life, which is especially enthralling. Dr. Myers details a series of seemingly innocuous events in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, including a key exchange between his secret service team about the rain and whether or not they should put the top down on the car Kennedy would ride in during the motorcade.

"Could the Plexiglass top have made the difference between life and death?" Dr. Myers speculates. "It is possible."

Since founding AccuWeather, Dr. Myers has been one of the foremost authorities on all things weather.

"The biggest difference between major climate changes of the past and weather disasters today is that we now have forecasts and warnings that are far more accurate and reliable, Dr. Myers said. "To be forewarned is to be forearmed, and AccuWeather has helped save over ten thousand lives and probably hundreds of billions of dollars because our clients and users took proactive action based on our forecasts. However, most companies and government agencies still do not use weather and climate forecasts anywhere near the extent they could or should, meaning even more lives could be saved, property loss averted, and ultimately a trillion dollars in economic losses could be avoided if today's leaders used all of the tools available to help them better plan ahead."

But it isn't just weather from the past and present that has Dr. Myers's full attention these days. As he was a visionary many decades ago, he continues looking to the future, closing the book with a timely reminder of how crucial weather is for the future of the planet.

"Our ability to forecast and understand weather and climate change has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decades, yet we must remain humble. We have become better at modeling and predicting but no better at controlling the weather. We can tell you the path of the hurricane more accurately than ever, but we cannot stop it. We can warn you of a blizzard, but not keep it off your doorstep," Dr. Myers writes. "As changing climates put animals into contact with humans in new ways, will another pandemic emerge? We are still in the immediate aftermath of these disasters, and it is too early to know how history will be impacted. Weather nudges us in ways large and small. We can only imagine how it will continue to alter our best-laid plans and shape our history as we go forward. Yet I remain optimistic in our ability to meet these challenges."

You can purchase Invisible Iceberg: When Climate and Weather Shaped History from Barnes & Noble or on Amazon.com and wherever good books are sold.
China, Egypt to mutually support issues concerning core interests and major concerns: Chinese FM

Xinhua) 09:45, January 16, 2024

CAIRO, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- China and Egypt will continue to support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Sunday.

Shoukry said Egypt is proud of being the first Arab and African country to have forged diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, and it is a great pleasure to make Egypt the first stop of the Chinese foreign minister's first visit abroad again in a new year, which demonstrates the solid and profound friendship between Egypt and China.

Egypt adheres to the one-China principle, unswervingly supports China in safeguarding national unity, stability and development, and China's legitimate position on issues related to Xinjiang and Hong Kong. The Egyptian part looks forward to working with China to lift the comprehensive strategic partnership between Egypt and China to a higher level under the guidance of the two heads of state, said Shoukry.

Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that China appreciates Egypt's support for China's legitimate position, and China also firmly supports Egypt in safeguarding its sovereignty, security, development interests and national dignity. China and Egypt will continue to support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns.

Over the past decade since the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Egypt, the two countries have enhanced mutual political trust, carried out fruitful cooperation and close and effective multilateral coordination, noted Wang.

The China-Egypt friendship has brought tangible benefits to the two peoples and set a model for the South-South cooperation. China is ready to work with Egypt to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, push for new developments of bilateral ties, and elevate the partnership to higher levels, said Wang.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Two aircraft belonging to Korean Air Lines and Cathay Pacific Airways clipped wings at New Chitose Airport on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido on Tuesday amid wintry conditions, a Korean Air official said.

No injuries were reported on either plane, Japanese media said.

The Korean Air flight had 289 passengers and crew members on board, an airline official said.

Japanese media reports had conflicting information on whether passengers were on board the Cathay Pacific aircraft. Cathay Pacific Airways could not immediately be reached for comment.

The incident happened when a towing car, which was pushing the Korean Air plane backwards ahead of departure, slipped due to snow on the ground, leading the airplane's left wing to clip the Cathay Pacific plane's right tail wing, the Korean Air official said.

Korean Air Lines' initial assessment attributed the cause to a groundhandler that was towing the airplane in heavy snow, the airline official said.

An airport spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. (Reuters)
On paper, Mondays 75th Emmy Awards should have been a train wreck.

We braced for a show that would run into early Tuesday morning, with 27 trophies handed out on the air and more than half a dozen TV cast reunions staged. But the event wrapped at exactly the three-hour mark, thanks to Anthony Andersons nimble hosting skills and a slew of big winners that folks at home could be genuinely excited about.

Charlie Puth, alongside duo The War and Treaty, delivered a heart-tugging in memoriam performance of Friends theme song Ill Be There for You, paying tribute to Matthew Perry and the many other TV giants we lost this past year. The cast of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia playfully grumbled onstage about their complete lack of Emmy nominations despite 16 seasons on the air. And RuPauls Drag Race star Princess Poppy went viral for her elaborate green goblin getup, which was equal parts horrifying and haute couture.

The show was not without its uncomfortable moments. Social media users were baffled by a montage of the most important TV moments throughout history, which wedged the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in between comedies like M*A*S*H and The Simpsons. A running gag with Andersons mom also fell flat at times as she brusquely told "The White Lotus" winner Jennifer Coolidge to wrap up her acceptance speech. Funny in theory, perhaps, but frustrating to watch.

Here are more of the best and worst moments of the night:

Christina Applegate is self-deprecating, emotional as she makes her Emmys return

Emmys host Anthony Anderson, right, accompanies Christina Applegate to present best supporting actress in a comedy series.

The Emmys broadcast started on a high note thanks to Christina Applegate, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021. The Married  With Children actress choked back tears as she walked out with a cane and received a standing ovation, joking, Youre totally shaming me with disability by standing up! She later quipped, Body not by Ozempic, a reference to the weight-loss drug, and told the audience, We dont have to applaud every time I do something!

Quinta Brunson is overwhelmed by Carol Burnett during her best actress win for 'Abbott Elementary'

A teary-eyed Quinta Brunson gave one of the night's most moving speeches.

The creator and star of Abbott Elementary won her first Emmy for best comedy actress Monday night, moments after friend Ayo Edebiri brought home best supporting actress for The Bear. Quinta Brunson was presented the award by TV legend Carol Burnett and was overcome with emotion as she delivered her acceptance speech. I dont know why Im so emotional, I think just the Carol Burnett of it all," she said, wiping away tears. I am so happy to be able to live my dream.  I just love comedy so much.

Kieran Culkin surprises wife Jazz Charton by asking for more kids during Succession acceptance speech

Kieran Culkin had a memorable request for his wife at the tail end of his Emmy speech.

Culkin collected his first Emmy for best drama actor for the final season of Succession, playing the sniveling yet wounded Roman Roy on the HBO hit. The actor threw off his suit jacket as he took the stage, tearing up as he thanked his co-stars, mother and manager. And, of course, my beautiful wife, Jazz, Culkin said. Thank you for sharing your life with me and giving me two amazing kids, Kinsey Sioux and Wilder Wolf. I love you so many and so much. And Jazz, I want more. You said maybe, if I win! I love you so much.

Katherine Heigl, Calista Flockhart join cast reunions for Greys Anatomy, Ally McBeal and more

Former "Grey's Anatomy" co-stars Chandra Wilson, left, Justin Chambers, Ellen Pompeo, Katherine Heigl and James Pickens reunited on the Emmys stage.

To honor the Emmys 75th year, the awards show brought together beloved TV stars such as Kelsey Grammer (Cheers), Martin Lawrence (Martin) and Calista Flockhart (Ally McBeal) for mini cast reunions throughout the telecast. Standing in a mockup of a therapist's office from The Sopranos, actors Lorraine Bracco and Michael Imperioli paid moving tribute to their late co-star James Gandolfini. Katherine Heigl also reunited with Greys Anatomy co-star Ellen Pompeo and others, despite her controversial departure from the series in 2010.

Niecy Nash-Betts thanks herself with rousing acceptance speech for Netflixs Dahmer

Niecy Nash-Betts delivered a triumphant speech preaching self-love at Monday's Emmy Awards.

The five-time Emmy nominee picked up her first hardware Monday, winning best supporting actress in a limited series for Ryan Murphys Dahmer  Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Nash-Betts thanked co-star Evan Peters and her better half, wife Jessica Betts, who lovingly escorted her to the stage. "And you know who else I want to thank? I wanna thank me, for believing in me and doing what they say I could not do, she said, earning ecstatic cheers and a standing ovation. And I want to say here in front of all you beautiful people: Go on, girl, with your bad self!"

Tina Fey, Amy Poehler help Elton John make EGOT history

Tina Fey, left, and Amy Poehler praised Rihanna's Super Bowl halftime show for getting everyone "pregnant."

On Monday, Elton John officially became an EGOT winner when he picked up best variety special for Elton John: Farewell From Dodger Stadium. The music legend now has Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. Although the pop icon was not at the Peacock Theater to accept the prize, his category was hilariously presented by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who revived their popular Weekend Update segment from Saturday Night Live. Weve reached the stage in life where well only present awards sitting down, Fey joked as they lightly ribbed nominees including Chris Rock and Rihanna.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Best and worst Emmys moments: What we still can't stop talking about
A Virginia man accused of fatally stabbing a dog was arrested during a traffic stop near Dulles International Airport Monday morning.

Reyan Hassan Ibrahim, 25, of Broadlands, Virginia, was arrested by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department around 11 a.m. Monday, according to a news release.

He is being extradited to face charges by the City of Falls Church for stabbing a dog that resulted in the animal being euthanized, according to the City of Falls Church Police Department.

Police say Ibrahim stabbed the dog while it was on a walk with its owner around 9:15 p.m. Sunday night near the intersection of W. Broad Street and S. Maple Avenue. There were no injuries to humans, police said.

Dog killed: 'I did her a favor': Woman sentenced to prison after tossing dog off parking garage roof to death

Witnesses help police find man accused of fatally stabbing dog

According to the news release, witnesses reported the suspect's license plate number to the police, which was registered to Ibrahim.

"Our hearts go out to the family of this dog," said Acting Police Chief Jiwan Chhetri in the news release.. "Pets are members of the family, and we grieve along with them.

We give our thanks to our colleagues at the MWAA Police Department for their swift action. We also thank the community members who took down the license plate Information when they saw this heinous attack -- it was a critical piece in catching this suspect," Chhetri said.

Suspect Reyan Ibrahim had previous arrests

According to WJLA-TV, the ABC affiliate in Washington, D.C., Ibrahim was previously arrested for three incidents of destruction of property, estimated at about $20,000, in November 2023.

The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said he is accused of destroying the electronic menu board at a McDonald's drive-thru, breaking a bottle of wine and the entrance door at a Sheetz, and breaking glass entrance doors at a Chick-fil-A.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Virginia man accused of fatally stabbing dog being walked by its owner


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Elton John made history at the Emmys tonight!

The star becomes just the 19th person to join the exclusive club of EGOT winnerspeople who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award in competitive categories (not an honorary award). Before John, the last person to EGOT was Viola Davis.

John began his road to EGOT with a Grammy win in 1987, winning Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group for "That's What Friends Are For" with Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder. (He went on to win four more Grammys). He then won an Oscar for Best Original Song for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," from The Lion King, in 1995, and then in 2000, scored a Tony Award for his score to Aida. He completed it this evening with an Emmy win for Best Live Variety Special. (In those years, he also won four more Grammys, and another Oscar, making it EGGGGGOOT?)

"I am incredibly humbled to be joining the unbelievably talented group of EGOT winners tonight," John said in a statement. "The journey to this moment has been filled with passion, dedication, and the unwavering support of my fans all around the world. Tonight is a testament to the power of the arts and the joy that it brings to all our lives. Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout my career, I am incredibly grateful."

He was not at the Emmys this evening, so executive producers Ben Winston Gabe Turner accepted the award on his behalf.

"We knew this show would be historic because it was Eltons last ever show in North America on tour, we knew itd be historic because it was Disneys first ever live stream, we didnt know it was going to be historic because it was going to win a man, who has created the soundtrack to all of our lives, who has done so much great for society, who is all of our heroes, we didnt know it was going to win him an EGOT," Winston said.

Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium is currently streaming on Disney+.

Watch now

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Did Taylor Swifts ex-boyfriend  we mean Tom Hiddleston  just make a subtle reference to his past relationship with the singer? Some Swifties are raising major eyebrows following Hiddlestons brief appearance at the Emmy Awards on Monday, January 15.

Hiddleston, 42, presented the award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie alongside Loki costar Ke Huy Quan during Mondays awards ceremony. (The trophy went to Lee Sung Jin for Beef.)

Good evening, everyone. Its wonderful to be here. You all look lovely, Hiddleston told the crowd. Quan added, Hi everyone, Tom Hiddleston wants all of you to know he loves me very much, right Tom?

The crowd laughed as Hiddleston responded, I love you, man.

See the Complete List of 2023 Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners 680

The 2023 Primetime Emmy Awards brought out some of TVs biggest stars after months of anticipation. A-listers flocked to the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Monday, January 15, for the 75th annual awards show, hosted by Anthony Anderson. Nominations were announced in July 2023, two months before the Emmys were initially set to be []

Swifites (or at least the ones on Us staff) were quick to speculate that the entire exchange was poking fun at Hiddlestons short-lived romance with Swift, 34, in 2016. During their three-month fling, Hiddleston was photographed wearing an I [heart] T.S. tank top during her 4th of July party in Rhode Island.

The truth is, it was the Fourth of July and a public holiday and we were playing a game and I slipped and hurt my back, Hiddleston said, explaining the shirt during an interview with GQ from March 2017. And I wanted to protect the graze from the sun and said, Does anyone have a T-shirt? And one of her friends said, Ive got this  And we all laughed about it. It was a joke.

Palace Lee/INFphoto.com

This wasnt the only Swift reference made toward Hiddleston during Emmys night. Fans were quick to notice that E!s red carpet coverage appeared to play Swifts song Style while Hiddleston was arriving at the event.

They just showed tom hiddleston on e! and taylor swifts style started playing in the bg lmao, one fan on X (formerly Twitter) noticed. Another added, Did E! Really just play Style(TV) with Tom Hiddleston on screen?

A third joked, Emmys red carpet on E! playing style tv while showing Tom Hiddleston is a choice  I hope that intern who made that decision is giggling and kicking their feet rn.

Hiddleston and Swift met at the Met Gala in May 2016 and shared a dance together, kicking off their romance. However, by September of that year, Swift called it off.

Taylor Swift, Tom Hiddleston

Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston called it quits on their relationship in September 2016 after three months of dating  look back at their cutest moments

[Taylor] was the one to put the brakes on the relationship, a source told Us Weekly at the time. Tom wanted the relationship to be more public than she was comfortable with.

Hiddleston, for his part, briefly addressed their relationship during the same GQ interview.

Monica Schipper/WireImage

I have to be so psychologically strong about not letting other peoples interpretations about my life affect my life, he said. A relationship exists between two people. We will always know what it was.

While Swift has since moved on to another whirlwind relationship with Travis Kelce (she also dated Joe Alwyn for six years before their April 2023 split), Hiddleston has moved on with Zawe Ashton, with whom he welcomed his first child in late 2022.
From Japan, With Love: Catching Up With Jim ORourke

Kim Gordon

Sonic Youth co-founder Kim Gordon will release her second solo album, The Collective, on March 8 through Matador Records. The lead single, Bye Bye, arrives with a video starring Gordons daughter Coco Gordon Moore and directed by Fleas daughter Clara Balzary.

The Collective was produced by Justin Raisen (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Charli XCX), with additional production from Anthony Paul Lopez. Its the follow-up to Gordons solo debut under her own name, No Home Record, which was released in 2019.

More from Spin:

Gordon will support The Collective with a short tour beginning March 21 in Burlington, Vt.

Kim Gordons The Collective tracklisting:

BYE BYE

The Candy House

I Dont Miss My Mind

Im a Man

Trophies

Its Dark Inside

Psychedelic Orgasm

Tree House

Shelf Warmer

The Believers

Dream Dollar

Kim Gordon 2024 tour dates:

3/21 Burlington, VT  Higher Ground

3/22 Washington, DC  Black Cat

3/23 Queens, NY  Knockdown Center

3/27 Los Angeles, CA  The Regent Theater

3/29 Ventura, CA  Music Hall

3/30 San Francisco, CA  Fillmore

To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.
Araya Doheny/Getty Images for iHeartRadio

After nearly three decades of being in too deep, Sum 41 will hit the road one final time before saying farewell.

The punk vets announced The Tour of the Setting Sum on Tuesday, January 16. Band members Deryck Whibley, Dave Baksh, Jason McCaslin, Tom Thacker, and Frank Zummo will tour in support of Heaven :x: Hell, the groups final album. The 20-track double-LP arrives on March 29 via Rise Records.

The Tour of the Setting Sum includes more than 70 dates and begins on March 1 in Jakarta, Indonesia. After performing around Asia, the band heads to the United States on April 19. The first leg of their North American tour lasts until May 19. From there, theyll head to Europe before returning to their native Canada in August.

After a few dates in Quebec, the band behind Fat Lip, In Too Deep, The Hell Song and more pop-punk hits will finish up their run in the U.S. before concluding their tour  and their career  with a show on January 30, 2025, at Torontos Scotiabank Arena.

Foster the People Drummer Mark Pontius Leaves Band After 11 Years

Going their own way. For some musical artists, they needed to leave their former bands to explore opportunities as a solo act. Zayn Malik did just that in 2015. He left his longtime One Direction bandmates Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne to embark upon a solo music career, dropping his debut []

Both the artist presale and the Citi presale kicked off shortly after the tour announcement was made on Tuesday. The Spotify presale is set to begin Wednesday, January 17, the same day as Live Nations presale. General tickets will be available Friday, January 19, via Ticketmaster.

Steve Jennings/WireImage

Sum 41s upcoming Heaven :x: Hell is split into two sides. Per Blabbermouth, the tracks on Heaven are snarling high energy pop punk, while Hell includes 10 heavy metal anthems spiked with fret-burning solos, thrashing riffs, and fist-pumping hooks.

Sum 41 have always proudly worn their love of metal, name-dropping Iron Maiden in their first hit and including Pain for Pleasure on their 2001 album, All Killer No Filler.

Once I heard the music, Whibley, 43, told Blabbermouth. I was confident enough to say, This is the record Id like to go out on. Weve made a double album of pop punk and metal, and it makes sense. It took a long time for us to pave this lane for ourselves, but we did, and its unique to us.

A Guide to Which Band Members Have Dated Each Other Over the Years- Paramore, Fleetwood Mac and More 354

Musicians in love. Fleetwood Mac is perhaps the most famous example of bandmates dating each other  and the ensuing complications that come with it. I broke up with Lindsey [Buckingham] in 1976. Wed only been in Fleetwood Mac for a year and a half, and we were breaking up when we joined Fleetwood Mac, []

Sum 41 announced their impending breakup in May 2023. Being in Sum 41 since 1996 brought us some of the best moments of our lives, the group wrote at the time. We are forever grateful to our fans, both old and new, who have supported us in every way. It is hard to articulate the love and respect we have for all of you, and we wanted you to hear this from us first.

Sum 41 was formed in Ajax, Ontario, Canada, in 1996. Whibley is the only member who has played with the band throughout its entire run. Baksh, 43, took a break in 2006 before rejoining the group in 2015. Bassist McCaslin, 43, joined the group in 1999 and has remained ever since. Drummer Steve Jocz left the group in 2013, with Zummo, 45, taking over the sticks in 2015.
Christina Baber and her mother Karen Moore, who went missing in 2001. Moore and Baber's father were in the process of getting a divorce when she went missing.

Karen Moore vanished from her South Florida home on eve of her 53rd birthday. The nurse was set to pick up her 8-year-old daughter from Girl Scouts camp but didn't show after missing her shift earlier that day, June 27, 2001.

She and her white 1999 Saturn car were never seen again  until a year ago.

Sunshine State Sonar founder Mike Sullivan was scanning a pond tucked behind a strip mall in Davie, north of Miami, in January 2023. Footage from that day posted on YouTube shows a wheel slowly take shape on the sonar screen. Throwing a buoy down to mark the spot, Sullivan stays in the boat while YouTuber Britain Lockhart suits up and dives down to find Moore's white Saturn with human remains inside.

It may have been a major breakthrough in Moore's case, but finding a car wasn't surprising, really. Sullivan found more than 250 cars in Florida's many human-made canals, ponds and fountains in 2023.

By day, Sullivan owns an auto-parts ecommerce company. In his off time, he offers his diving skills, sonar equipment and team of volunteers to any local official willing to give him any morsel of a clue that could help him chip away at the otherwise-stagnant list of missing persons cold cases.

In doing so, he also provides answers for families who have not known the fates of their loved ones for years, sometimes decades.

"I'm happy to be able to have her home," said Christina Baber, Moore's daughter, in an interview with USA TODAY. "I lost my mom 22 years ago, almost, and it's a day I never thought would happen."

Christina Baber and her mother Karen Moore, who went missing in 2001. Baber remembers her mother taking her out on fun adventures frequently.

1,735 missing people in Florida's 7,500 lakes and 76,000 stormwater ponds

Florida is covered in water. In addition to the 7,500 lakes and 12,000 miles of waterways, a 2020 survey cited by the University of Florida found 76,000 artificial ponds for stormwater drainage in the state.

That means there are lots of places to look for clues for Florida's 1,735 missing persons cases.

Sullivan sifts through databases like the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), The Charley Project and Map the Missing, filtering out those who vanished with their car.

He has help sorting through the thousands of ponds where these cars could be hiding, the equivalent of Spider-Man's "guy in the chair." Her name is Shelly Ranae, and from her post in Virginia, she pores over satellite maps year by year, looking for bodies of water on routes the missing could have taken that have remained filled since the person was last seen.

These aren't always obvious. Many ponds for storm drainage in Florida are more like glorified puddles, dotting major roadways and new housing developments. Sunshine State Sonar found Sandra Lemire's car, missing since 2012, under 14 feet of water that collected in the corner of a highway onramp near Disney World.

Once they get a hit for a car on his radar, Sullivan or one of the other volunteer divers he occasionally collaborates with suits up. They brave waters with sewage, litter and sometimes alligators to crawl the dirty depths in search of someone's loved one. He said he has located nearly a dozen bodies in submerged cars since he started in July 2021, and it is always those final moments before discovery that are most intense.

"My stress level was through the roof" before he dived and found Lemire's car, Sullivan told USA TODAY. "I had to sit down, catch my breath and just calm myself down before I got in that water. ... But you have to do it ... like this is the end, we have to find out if this is her car or it's belonging to another case."

Van pulled from a pond on the highway near Disney, outside of Orlando. Officials with the Orlando Police Department, the Osceola Sheriff's Office and the Orange County Sheriff's Office assisted with the recovery.

Miami-Dade waters hold dozens of stolen cars turned into 'artificial reef'

Tag pull off of car found in Miami canal. The car belonged to Maureen Therese Sherman, who went missing on May 1, 1985. It was discovered by Sunshine State Sonar on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024.

In the first week of 2024, Sunshine State Sonar located two cars with human remains. One appeared to have skeletonized remains of three people, Sullivan said, but authorities had confirmed only one human body as of Thursday. The other car belonged to a missing person, Maureen Therese Sherman, and authorities were testing the remains to see whether they are hers.

Sullivan was on one of his expeditions to the Miami-Dade area, where he estimates 1,000 cars are hiding below waters. (A spokesperson with the Miami-Dade Police Department told USA TODAY there is no way to know exactly how many submerged cars there are in the county but said 1,000 was possible.)

Many of the cars are clearly stolen, Sullivan said, given away by a brick tied to the gas pedal or a plank rigged to the steering wheel to send it into the pond without a driver. He said authorities instruct him to leave those cars alone, sparing the department's resources in favor of letting them become "artificial reefs."

Sometimes he has to sort through dozens of such cars to find one linked to a case. He said the canal where he found Sherman, missing since 1985 from her home nearby, had 24 cars in it.

While diving another canal in the area the same weekend, Sullivan said the team stopped counting at 17 cars. Other nearby "honey holes," as he calls them, can hold 30 cars or more.

Even if a car he finds doesn't match a missing person profile Sullivan has in mind, he still tries to peek inside to see if there is evidence of a body. When he found a 1983 Oldsmobile in a mall pond, he shook the sediment that settled in the backseat, sending a shoe still attached to leg bones floating to the surface.

Sullivan said he wants to start branching out, scanning more retention ponds on the sides of the highway where people may have never thought to look.

Occasionally, people tell Sullivan not to look for their missing relative, hoping to avoid grieving them a second time if he finds their body. But he perseveres with the case anyway, believing that some loved one could still want answers.

"I feel kind of obligated to do this for (families). ... I know if I don't do it, then they will never know because nobody else will do it," Sullivan said. "It's up to me; it's up to our team. If we can't do this, that family's never going to get answers. And we carry that on our shoulders."

An Oldsmobile containing human remains pulled from a mall pond in Florida. Sunrise police said the car was last registered in 2005.

Baber held memorial service for found mother: 'Thank you for bringing closure to another family'

Karen Moore, who was reported missing on her 53rd birthday. She is survived by her daughter, who said Moore "always cared for others and put others 1st."

Baber said her mother's neighbor was the last to see her leaving her house the day before she didn't show up for work.

Moore was divorcing Baber's father when she vanished, and Baber said it was out of character for her not to show up for their scheduled visitation time.

"Everything was centered around my childhood happiness," Baber said of her mother, remembering their frequent visits to the children's museum and the zoo. "I lost that rather quickly once she went missing."

Detective Eddy Velazquez from the Davie Police Department said the investigation into Moore's case is still open. He confirmed the remains in the car belonged to her and said her death has not been ruled a homicide.

Baber said she has never stopped trying to find answers about her mother  where she was going that night, whom she was in touch with, and how her car ended up in a pond far back from the roadway.

But with her mother's body found, Baber was able to hold a memorial service, with family flying in from as far as Alaska, she said. Baber's twin daughters, Eliza and Olivia, look at the picture of Moore next to her urn in Baber's home in Indiana, hearing stories about the grandmother they never met.

"I'm so thankful to finally have closure and have her home. It's still surreal at the same time. I mean, my whole life has been wondering what happened to my mom," she said.

Baber keeps in touch with Sullivan regularly, following his searches and discoveries.

"Any time he has found anybody ... I send him a text saying 'Thank you for bringing closure to another family,'" she said, pausing as her voice trembled with emotion. "They don't have to go out and do what they're doing. And they are. It's such a wonderful thing."

Mike Sullivan (left), Christina Baber (middle) and Ken Fleming. Sullivan found the car and recovered Karen Moore's remains with the help of Fleming.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sunshine State Sonar divers look for sunken cars, missing people
The Iranian-backed Houthis launched another attack on merchant shipping Tuesday just hours after the U.S. preemptively struck missiles in Yemen that were prepared to launch, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command.

U.S. Central Command said there were no injuries reported from the merchant ship.

The statement on Tuesday said the U.S. had struck four anti-ship ballistic missiles that were an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

But in the afternoon, the Houthis hit another merchant ship in the Red Sea, a sign the group is not stopping their attacks on shipping despite a series of strikes by the U.S. The Houthis have said they will attack ships connected to Israel and its allies, but U.S. officials have said many of the ships attacked have no connection to Israel.

"We have seen some additional lower scale retaliatory strikes by the Houthis in the last few days, much smaller than what we have seen before and none of them effective," National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said Tuesday.

Last week, the U.S. and U.K. with support from other nations struck just under 30 locations targeting "radar systems, air defense systems, and storage and launch sites for one way attack unmanned aerial systems, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles," according to a statement from U.S. Central Command.

The U.S.-owned and operated Gibraltar Eagle commercial cargo vessel is seen in a file photo provided to CBS News.

Kirby said he thinks it's too soon to say the continued attacks by the Houthis indicate the coalition strikes were not effective.

"We believe that we did have a good effect with those strikes in terms of disrupting and degrading their capability to conduct military offensive operations," Kirby said.

The Biden administration has emphasized it does not want Israel's war with Hamas to turn into a wider regional conflict. However, the Houthi attacks on commercial shipping combined with the ongoing attacks by Iranian-backed militias on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria show the instability in the Middle East already extends farther than Israel.

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The iconic actress and children's book authors revels in another opportunity to share big messages with little readeres

Oliver Bukowsky Jamie Lee Curtis and her latest children's book, "Just One More Sleep"

Jamie Lee Curtis knows that waiting isn't easy.

The beloved Oscar-winning actress and children's book author, 64, tells PEOPLE that when it came to her latest children's book  Just One More Sleep: All Good Things Come to Those Who Wait... and Wait... and Wait she was inspired by her young neighbor.

"This book was born during COVID, the first Christmas, when I saw my neighbor Betty on the street. It was Christmas Eve. It was about four o'clock, and I was going to get the mail and Betty was there. I went, 'Hey, Betty! Santa's on his way!' And she looked panicked, and she went, 'No, Jamie, no. One more sleep, then, Santa."

Curtis was impressed by Betty's measured way of looking at the much-awaited holiday.

"I went, 'Well yes, you're right Betty. I'm so sorry, you're totally right.' Because she's too young to understand time. And then I went inside and wrote the book."

Of her children's book writing process, Curtis says, "These books arrive to me almost fully formed."

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Courtesy of Jamie Lee Curtis Jamie Lee Curtis and neighbor Betty

Related: Jamie Lee Curtis Wishes Daughter Annie a Happy Birthday: 'I Love Her with Everything I've Got'

"All of these books come to me through the voice of children, one sentence, usually that they're saying," she shares. "I don't focus on anything. Books arrive to me almost fully formed. I hear them."

With Just One More Sleep, Curtis says, "I realized in a modern world  not in my generation when I raised my first children, but in a modern world  they've come up with this wonderful way of compartmentalizing time into something that a child can understand, which is going to sleep. And so the idea of the countdown gives them some control over time. I thought that was extraordinary, and that's why I wrote the book."

The multi-hyphenate says that she's always loved this method of finding the stories she wants to share with young readers.

"I wrote a book called Is There Really a Human Race? which was born when my youngest daughter came home from school one day, very agitated. She was about 5 and she looked at me when she got out of the carpool. She said, 'Is there really a human race?'"

"And what she was saying is, 'And you didn't tell me that I'm in a race? That I have a number on my back?!' I mean, it was so shocking and I felt so terrible that somehow that had gotten into her," Curtis says. "And that day, I wrote a book, because I realized little children are taught that life is nothing but a big competition. We're so obsessed with being number one, and very few people get to be number one. So I wrote a book about it."

Andrew Eccles Jamie Lee Curtis

Curtis is mom to two kids  Ruby, 27, and Annie, 37  and recalls running into the fact that "time is tricky" with them over and over as little ones.

"We always say as moms, 'Be there in a minute.' What does that mean, though? We use time in a way that they can understand. Obviously, my children are grown and I'm far away from when they were little, and yet, I have those memories of time being tricky."

Managing time with one of her kids involved a lot of reminders and the use of egg timers.

"One of my children is a gamer, loves to play video games and is a screen learner. That's how she succeeded, but I had to figure out how to control time with her. And I used egg timers  I know I'm not the first, but it gave me a chance," she says, explaining how she'd use a series of timers to wind down screen time.

"Even though it was frustrating for them, they were able to understand because of the connection between what they were doing and the timer counting down ... It gives them an endpoint, sort of a soft landing."

Penguin Young Readers, Penguin Random House Cover of Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell's "Just One More Sleep"

The book finds Curtis teaming up with illustrator Laura Cornell for another fun read, with Curtis laughing that, "Our backgrounds are very different, although we're both California girls."

"It brings a great partnership. There's always an emotional component that I bring and there's always a humor component that she brings," she says. "That's my secret sauce. Laura brings the humor, I bring the pathos and together, we make books that parents really like reading and children like being read.

"If you can make the parent laugh and make the parent cry, it's a book they want to pick up again and again to read with their children," she adds.

At 65, Curtis says she is "delighted, surprised and proud" that "I can still hear a book for young children that they can relate to because that's the whole point."

"I think being human is hard and the more we grow up and the more we learn about the real world, the harder it is to reconcile joy and happiness because there's so much hard truth out there. Being an adult means you balance both of those and I believe that writing books for children is a privilege," she says.

"That's the joy to me. The joy is that being able to metabolize the reality of the difficulty of the world. I truly believe that we have to ensure and are required to have hope. Because without hope, then it's just awful. And I don't think the world is awful  I think the world is complicated."

"They're big ideas and really important ones and I just love that I'm a bit of a conduit into, I hope, some real feelings for young children as they mature and start to take in the reality of the world. It's a privilege."

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Jamie Lee Curtis

Curtis also acknowledges getting back to acting and directing after many months of striking as a privilege.

"A lot of the creative work in all of our lives was put on hold and all of that work is hopefully going to be restarting now. So I'm hoping that I have a great creative output year. I've had a a year of receiving and promoting  a big, couple of years of promoting. Now I get to create again. I get to inhabit characters and participate in the creation of things. I'm hoping this year is a very creative year."

Just One More Sleep: All Good Things Come to Those Who Wait... and Wait... and Wait is available online and bookstores on Tuesday, Jan. 16.



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Read the original article on People.
Photograph: Tracy Glantz/AP

Kamala Harris issued a plea to Black voters on Martin Luther King Jr Day to join with Democrats to win the 2024 election and to stave off what she said were threats to US democracy posed by Republicans who look set to overwhelmingly back Donald Trump at their first state nomination contest in Iowa.

The US vice-president, the headliner at the NAACPs annual King Day at the Dome event in Columbia, South Carolina, said that freedom in the country was under profound threat, and cited the supreme courts overturning of Roe v Wade, long lines for voting, Republican-backed book bans and the prevalence of gun violence.

Related: Iowa caucuses 2024: live Republican results in full

Freedom is never truly won. You earn it and win it in every generation, she said, quoting Kings late widow, Coretta Scott King, and urging voters to roll up our sleeves. We were born for a time such as this, she said.

Protesters were awaiting Harris at the venue, some waving Palestinian flags  the latest sign of dissent from typically Democratic-leaning voters that the Biden administrations staunch backing of Israel in its attack on Gaza is angering some core supporters.

South Carolina, home to a hugely influential Black voting bloc in the Democratic presidential primary, will hold its contest on 3 February. But there are signs that economic anxiety and policy disappointments are also stressing Black support: an Economist/YouGov survey recently found that only 67% of Black US adults had a favorable view of Biden.

In her address, Harris said: Today we are witnessing a full on attack on hard-fought, hard-won freedoms. Speaking in the state once governed by Nikki Haley, a contender for the Republican presidential nomination, she passed comment on Haleys recent gaffe when she failed to cite slavery as a cause of the civil war.

They even tried to erase, overlook and rewrite the ugly parts of our past, Harris said, hours after the Biden-Harris re-election campaign said it had raised almost $100m in the last quarter of 2023 for election spending.

Earlier Monday, the Guardian quoted a former top aide to Harris during her 2020 nomination campaign, from The Truce, a soon-to-be published critique of her political skills.

A lot of us, at least folks that I was friends with on the campaign, all realised that: Yeah, this person should not be president of the United States, the aide remarked to authors Hunter Walker and Luppe B Luppen, adding that her nomination campaign was rotten from the start.

The authors wrote that the problems Harris experienced with staff morale in 2020 had continued throughout her time as vice-president.

Harris saw heavy staff turnover, with aides describing a toxic climate riven with factionalism and mismanagement. One source who worked for the vice-president declined to go on record or even discuss matters anonymously, due to the heated atmosphere around the office, the authors wrote. It was, they said: Game of Thrones.

Biden meanwhile marked the holiday by volunteering for Philabundance, a hunger relief group in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The US president loaded packages with fresh fruit and milk on to a conveyer belt in a warehouse.

In a radio interview with the Black civil rights advocate the Rev Al Sharpton on SiriusXM, Biden said Trump was a motivating factor in his decision to seek re-election, saying: Trump is just saying things that are off the wall.

Reuters contributed reporting
President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Tuesday to punish North Korea multiple times as hard in the event it carries out a provocation against South Korea, after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for defining South Korea as a "primary foe and invariable principal enemy."

Kim issued the call during a parliamentary meeting Monday, saying the country should revise its constitution to codify the new definition of South Korea and the North's commitment to "completely occupying" South Korean territory in the event of war.

"The current Republic of Korea government is different from any previous government," Yoon said during a Cabinet meeting, referring to South Korea by its formal name. "Our military has an overwhelming response capability. ... Should North Korea provoke us, we will punish them multiple times as hard."

Tensions between the two Koreas run high as Pyongyang has fired artillery near the western sea border in recent weeks and launched an intermediate-range missile on Sunday in its first ballistic test of the year.

Referring to the North Korean statement, Yoon said Kim vowed not to recognize the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto inter-Korean maritime border, carrying out a "political provocation" meant to divide South Korea and make its people anxious.

"The conventional disguised peace tactic that threatens with a choice between war and peace will not work anymore," he said, in an apparent reference to the pro-reconciliation policy of his liberal predecessor, Moon Jae-in. "The fake peace that we earn by bowing to threats of provocation will only plunge our security into greater danger."

The South Korean military reaffirmed its commitment to defending the NLL -- the scene of a series of bloody naval clashes between the two Koreas. North Korea has never recognized the NLL, demanding that it be redrawn farther south.

"The NLL is a de facto maritime border, which our soldiers defended at the cost of numerous sacrifices. Our military remains firm on defending and upholding the NLL under any circumstances," defense ministry spokesperson Jeon Ha-kyu said in a regular press briefing.

At the Cabinet meeting, Yoon called on the nation and government to come together as one to "defeat" the deceptive tactics and propaganda of the North Korean regime.

He also said North Korea's recent definition of South-North relations as those between "hostile" nations amounted to an acknowledgement of the regime's nature as an "anti-national and anti-historical group."

Still, Yoon called for embracing the North Korean people.

"The North Korean people are one people with us, with the same rights as us to enjoy freedom, human rights and prosperity," he said.

Yoon instructed the unification ministry to designate a day for North Korean defectors, noting they are South Korean citizens under the country's Constitution.

He also called on the National Assembly to pass a bill to delay the enforcement of a workplace safety law for small companies with fewer than 50 employees.

The law punishes business owners or CEOs for deadly accidents caused by lax workplace safety measures with a prison term of at least one year or up to 1 billion won ($751,000) in fines.

The measure went into force in January 2022 for firms with 50 or more employees and is scheduled to be extended to smaller companies on Jan. 27.

"The importance of workers' safety cannot be stressed enough. But punishment isn't everything," Yoon said. "Our small businesses are already suffering under high interest rates and high prices, and if this burden threatens the survival of small and medium-sized firms, the damage will be passed on directly to our workers and ordinary citizens."

Yoon also recalled that his heart ached upon learning that an unregistered community center for senior citizens was running on three coal briquettes and instructed the health and interior ministries, as well as local governments, to carry out a full-scale survey of such facilities and draw up effective support measures.

In a video message later in the day, Yoon praised the swift response of the South Korean Marine Corps when North Korea fired approximately 200 artillery shells into waters near the maritime border earlier this month.

"I am truly confident and proud of you all, who carried out duties without any single hesitation during the shelling provocations by North Korea on Jan. 5," Yoon expressed in his message at a Marine Corps event in Seoul.

In response to the North's artillery firings, South Korean Marine Corps units on the border islands of Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong fired some 400 rounds into the maritime buffer zone, double the amount fired by the North. (Yonhap)




Rex Heuermann, the suspected Long Island serial killer, has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, prosecutors in New York said on Tuesday.

Brainard-Barnes  a woman who worked as a sex escort  disappeared in 2007 and is believed to be the first victim of the Gilgo Four. Heuermann was charged in connection with the unsolved murders of Megan Waterman, Amber Costello and Melissa Barthelemy, all of whom were sex workers in their 20s.

Heuermann, a 60-year-old married father and architect on Long Island, was arrested in July 2023 and charged with first-degree murder for the deaths of Waterman, Costello and Barthelemy. His lawyer, Michael Brown, said Heuermann pleaded not guilty on Tuesday morning to Brainard-Barness death and maintains his innocence for all charges against him. He is being held without bail. His next court date has been set for Feb. 6.

This indictment marks a change in the investigation, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said Tuesday during a press conference announcing the charges. The grand jury investigation of the so-called Gilgo Four is over and has been concluded, and we will proceed with those cases in court.

Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello (Suffolk County Police Department/Reuters) (Suffolk County Police Department/Handout /Reuters)

All of the bodies of the women were found over a decade ago, bound in a deserted spot on the north side of Long Islands Ocean Parkway, near Gilgo Beach.

Heres a look back at the details of the case.

Maureen Brainard-Barnes

Brainard-Barnes, a 25-year-old Connecticut mother, disappeared on the night of July 9, 2007, while working as an escort. According to Suffolk County police, Brainard-Barnes told a friend she was meeting up with someone outside the motel she was working from for an out-call, or a visit by an escort to a person soliciting sex.

Investigators say a friend reported her missing five days later to the Norwich Police Department in Connecticut. She was found on Dec. 13, 2010, wrapped in a belt that bore the initials of Heuermanns father.

There was hair recovered from Maureen Brainard-Barnes from a belt buckle that was around her legs, Tierney said, describing Maureen as an intellectual and artistic person who fiercely protected the people she loved.

According to ABC, prosecutors cited travel and cellphone records they found in a storage unit leased by Heuermann that revealed that his now-estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, and children had traveled out of town around the time of Brainard-Barness disappearance. This follows a pattern of the circumstances around the disappearance of the three other women.

Rex Heuermann appears in Suffolk County Court in New York on Jan. 16. (James Carbone-Pool/Getty Images) (Pool via Getty Images)

Megan Waterman

Megan Waterman was 22 years old and the mother to a 3-year-old girl when she was last seen on June 6, 2010, by her family on the way to New York on a Concord Trailways bus.

Waterman, a resident of Scarborough, Maine, was a sex worker who advertised on Craigslist and Backpage. Suffolk County police say Waterman left a Long Island Holiday Inn Express at 1:30 a.m. on the day she went missing to see a client and called her pimp to tell him she was on her way to a nearby convenience store.

Two days later, family members reported Waterman missing to the Scarborough Police Department. Her skeletal remains were found on Dec. 11, 2010, near marshy grasslands on Gilgo Beach.

Amber Costello

Costello, a 27-year-old Clearwater, Fla., native, was living in West Babylon on Long Island and working as an escort when she was last seen leaving the house she shared with roommates on Sept. 2, 2010, to meet up with a client. According to Suffolk County police, she had just completed drug rehab for heroin addiction but had relapsed right before her disappearance.

Costello was found three months later, on Dec. 13, 2010, the same day as Brainard-Barness remains were found. Police believe she is the fourth victim.

Melissa Barthelemy

The 24-year-old woman  a sex worker who advertised on the website Adult Friend Finder  was last seen at her Bronx home on July 12, 2009. According to police, Barthelemy told a friend she was meeting up with a man and would be back in the morning. Cellphone records reveal she traveled from the Bronx to Manhattan. Her mother reported her missing to the New York Police Department on July 18, 2009, after not being able to contact her.

Suffolk County police say that after Barthelemy had been reported missing, her sister received phone calls from someone believed to be the killer using Barthelemys phone near New York Citys Port Authority Bus Terminal and near Penn Station.

Do you think youll ever see her again? the unidentified male caller asked Barthelemys sister on Aug. 26, 2009, Steve Cohen, who was an attorney for Barthelemys mother, told CNN. You wont. I killed her, thee caller said before hanging up.

In another phone call, the man called Barthelemy a whore, Cohen said. He also detailed what he had done to Barthelemy sexually during a phone conversation.

On Dec. 11, 2010, a police officer and his dog discovered Barthelemy's remains during a training exercise along Ocean Parkway, according to the Associated Press. It was the same day that Watermans remains were found.
By Robert Harvey, Natalie Grover and Ahmad Ghaddar

LONDON (Reuters) -At least six more oil tankers were steering clear of the southern Red Sea on Monday, as disruptions increase on the vital route for energy shipping in the wake of U.S.-led strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

Following the U.S. and British strikes, the U.S.-led Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) based in Bahrain on Friday warned all ships to avoid the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the south end of the Red Sea for several days, tanker body INTERTANKO said.

Prior to the strikes it had been mostly container ships which were avoiding the Red Sea, with oil tanker traffic largely unchanged in December.

But since the CMF's warning, a growing number of oil tankers are avoiding the region, increasing the potential for disruptions to oil supply via the Suez Canal in both directions.

Reuters on Monday counted six tankers that had altered their course, making a total of at least fifteen vessels to do so since the start of the strikes, ship tracking data from LSEG and Kpler showed.

The tankers Torm Innovation, Proteus Harvonne, and Alfios I appeared to have turned away from the Suez Canal in favour of the longer route around Africa's Cape of Good Hope for voyages to Europe and the U.S..

The Pacific Julia and STI Topaz are also heading straight for the Cape route.

The Octa Lune performed a U-turn in the northern part of the Red Sea on Jan. 12 and has returned to the Mediterranean with a Taiwan-bound cargo of naphtha.

Tankers tracked by Reuters on Friday that had diverted or paused have either taken the longer Cape route or paused in the Gulf of Aden or northern Red Sea.

Tanker owners including Torm, Hafnia and Stena Bulk said they would avoid Bab al-Mandab from Friday, while Euronav reaffirmed its temporary suspension of transits through the Red Sea.

WATERBORNE OIL GLUT

The disruption is indirectly tightening the market by forcing up oil stocks on water by 35 million barrels, Citi analysts noted.

Oil prices gained 2% last week in response to the rising tide of conflict in the region, but the lack of direct impact on oil production could be limiting gains, according to analysts, as prices ticked lower on Monday.

The strikes last week across Yemen against Houthi forces came in retaliation for months of attacks on Red Sea shipping.

The Houthis said on Monday that their attacks would continue despite the U.S. strikes, and struck a U.S.-owned dry bulk vessel carrying steel products with an anti-ship ballistic missile in the Gulf of Aden on Monday.

Houthi militants have been targeting commercial vessels since late last year in attacks which the group says are in support for Palestinian group Hamas in its war with Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Those incidents have been concentrated on the Bab al-Mandab Strait, southwest of the Arabian Peninsula.

Regional shipping tensions also spread to the other side of the peninsula last week when Iran seized a tanker south of the Strait of Hormuz, another key shipping corridor.

(Reporting by Robert Harvey, Natalie Grover, Ahmad Ghaddar and Jonathan Saul; editing by Louise Heavens and Jason Neely)
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) -OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman on Tuesday said an energy breakthrough is necessary for future artificial intelligence, which will consume vastly more power than people have expected.

Speaking at a Bloomberg event on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Altman said the silver lining is that more climate-friendly sources of energy, particularly nuclear fusion or cheaper solar power and storage, are the way forward for AI.

"There's no way to get there without a breakthrough," he said. "It motivates us to go invest more in fusion."

In 2021, Altman personally provided $375 million to private U.S. nuclear fusion company Helion Energy, which since has signed a deal to provide energy to Microsoft in future years. Microsoft is OpenAI's biggest financial backer and provides it computing resources for AI.

Altman said he wished the world would embrace nuclear fission as an energy source as well.

(Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin in Davos, Switzerland; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Ballistic missiles fired by Iran caused explosions near the U.S. consulate and a U.S. military facility after a missile struck Erbil in northern Iraq, officials said Monday.

No casualties or damage have been reported and National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said no U.S. personnel or facilities were targeted.

Kurdish officials said four people were killed and six wounded by the strike.

Several explosions were reported in the vicinity of the US consulate in Erbil, with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) quickly claiming responsibility, saying it was targeting a 'spy headquarters' and a 'gathering of anti-Iran terrorist groups' in the region with ballistic missiles. (Karzan Mohammad / Anadolu via Getty Images)

Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps said ballistic missiles were fired at midnight local time in response to what it called terrorist crimes. It said in a statement that it hit a major spy headquarters, belonging to Israels Mossad intelligence agency. It added that it was responsible for developing and launching espionage operations and planning terrorist activities in the region, especially against Iran.

Israel has not commented on the attack.

Watson, the NSC spokesperson, said the U.S. tracked the missiles that struck in northern Iraq and northern Syria.

Noting that Irans statement focused on terrorist attacks in Iran and on the Islamic State terrorist group, she said: "Iran is claiming this is in response to the terrorist attacks in Kerman, Iran, and Rask, Iran, with a focus on ISIS. We will continue to assess the situation, but initial indications are that this was a reckless and imprecise set of strikes.

The U.S. State Department condemned what it called Iran's attacks on Erbil.

We oppose Irans reckless missile strikes, which undermine Iraqs stability. We support the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Governments efforts to meet the aspirations of the Iraqi people, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

Denouncing the attack on X, Iraqs foreign ministry said that it considers this behavior an aggression against the sovereignty of Iraq and the security of the Iraqi people. It added that it was an insult to good neighborliness and the security of the region.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani had formed a committee to investigate the attack, the post said.

In a later post, the foreign ministry said it recalled Naseer Abdul-Muhsin, Iraq's ambassador in Tehran to discuss the strike.

Earlier this month in Kerman, more than 80 people were killed when two explosions rocked a memorial event for Qassem Soleimani, an Iranian general killed in a 2020 U.S. drone strike.

An ISIS affiliated group later claimed responsibility for the attacks, and said two suicide bombers detonated explosive belts.

Iranian officials previously announced arrests in connection with the attacks in Kerman, according to state media.

Iran had already vowed revenge for the killing of three members of the Guards in Syria last month, including a senior Guards commander, who had served as military advisers there.
Ukraine claimed it destroyed a Russian spy plane over the Sea of Azov on Monday, in what would be a significant strike against Moscows aerial capabilities.

Ukraines Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi initially said on Telegram on Monday that two aircraft had been destroyed, writing: Warriors of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed an enemy A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft and an enemy IL-22 air control center.

He also thanked the Air Force for the perfectly planned and executed operation in southern Ukraine.

In a statement, the Ukrainian Air Forces called the special operation in the Azov Sea region successful.

Information about the downing of two Russian military aircraft by Ukrainian forces over the Sea of Azov appeared in social media late on Sunday.

Moscow has not yet confirmed the loss of the aircraft. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov did not comment on the reports on Monday and referred journalists to the Russian Ministry of Defense. The defense ministry did not immediately respond to CNNs request for comment.

Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, later said in a post on Facebook that one of the Russian planes targeted was able to make a landing, but said it appeared beyond repair.

So, no matter how you slice it, the target is destroyed, and resuscitation will not help! he wrote.

The long-range radar detection aircraft A-50 was and is a priority target for us, he added. And until today, the destruction of this aircraft seemed an impossible task for the Air Force.

The Sea of Azov separates Ukraine and Russia at the northeastern point of the Black Sea, north of Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula occupied by Russia since 2014.

The Institute for the Study of War wrote earlier this month, citing Russian military bloggers, that Russia had begun constant sorties of A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft due to the threat of Ukrainian strikes against Russian military infrastructure in Crimea.

The A-50 is a Soviet-era spy plane designed to detect and report back the coordinates and movements of enemy objects.

A Ukrainian intelligence source provided an audio recording of the incident alleged to be an intercept from a nearby Russian fighter jet relaying an assistance call from the damaged IL-22 to ground control for an emergency landing.

The aircraft asked to pass on information immediately. It was hit, plans to land in Anapa. An ambulance and fire fighters are urgently needed, the nearby Russian jet allegedly radioed down to ground control.

CNN cannot independently confirm the audio recording.

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Moving to a foreign country can be a scary decision. Particularly if its a country youve never even visited.

In 2021, Katie Meyer, a global hospitality communications professional from California, chose to do just that.

Meyer, who had previously lived and worked in London before returning to the US, relocated to Portugal during the Covid-19 pandemic, settling in the idyllic seaside resort of Cascais, close to Lisbon.

My dream was to someday to return to Europe, Meyer, 66, tells CNN. Once remote work became standard and I sold my real estate in the US. I knew that relocation to Europe was a now or never proposition.

New chapter

Meyer purchased a two-bedroom home for 595,000 (around $651,000). - Katie Meyer

Her personal and professional travels had taken her to many countries in Europe throughout the years, but never Portugal.

While the sunny Mediterranean climate and Portugals laid-back vibe were part of the allure, Meyer was ready for a new chapter in her life.

Safety, quality of life, affordable medical care, and a relatively simple path to permanent residency and citizenship, were high on her list of priorities for her future country of residence, and Lisbon ticked all of her boxes.

Signs of the pandemic were still very evident when Meyer arrived in the Portuguese capital with five suitcases in tow in August 2021.

Few hotels and restaurants open, a fraction of the number of usual tourists, mask-wearing the norm, I felt like I had Lisbon to myself, she says.

Meyer rented an apartment for three months in Lisbon at first. But after exploring the area, she fell in love with the charms of nearby Cascais, a former fishing village that has been luring many expats recently.

She was struck by Cascais unplugged and somewhat sleepy feel, which was something she wasnt accustomed to, and the fact that locals didnt seem to use mobile phones at the market or cafes.

Here, time stands still, and people relish time together, she says. Things take longer. In place of any sense of urgency you find a happier, more laid-back lifestyle.

But one that can be very frustrating to Americans addicted to frenetic beats and trapped in the rat race.

She says she was taken aback by the genuineness of the Portuguese people, their pride and joy in learning that an expat had chosen their country as a new home, and their willingness to help when she was struggling to communicate.

Portuguese is a very difficult language to learn, but they are always willing to help with pronunciations and usage, she says. It is very much a welcoming culture.

Welcoming culture

Former fishing village Cascais id located a short trip from Lisbon. - Alexandre Rotenberg/Alamy Stock Photo

Later that year, Meyer bought a 95-square-meter, two-bedroom, split-level apartment with a roof terrace in a quiet neighborhood, close to cafes and cultural attractions.

Situated on a hill above the center of town, it offers striking views stretching from Cascais Bay and the ocean to the famous mountains and palaces of Sintra.

The purchase price was 595,000 euros (around $651,000). Even though Portugal saw an overall property price increase of 13.8% in 2021, with prices continuing to rise in the years since then, Meyer estimates that an apartment in a similar spot in California would have cost her at least triple.

Fortunately, Meyer was able to benefit from Portugals golden visa system, a five-year residence by investment program aimed at non-EU nationals, which is no longer available for real estate purchases.

To qualify, applicants were required to make a real estate purchase of a minimum of 500,000 euros ($547,000.)

The golden visa grants her visa-free travel through Europes Schengen Area. She also has the option to apply for Portuguese citizenship after holding a golden visa for five years, according to a recently amended law aimed at speeding up procedures.

But for Meyer, one of the cons to moving to a destination with such a slower-paced lifestyle has been getting through red tape, and she faced a wait of around two years to obtain her residency due to the Portugals previous long approval process.

Word of mouth from others who have been through it reigns supreme, she says. And my advice would be to find a good attorney.

Meyer says that Cascais strong sense of community played a part in her decision to build her new life there.

People are very social and family-oriented, she says. On weekends I meet friends at the popular mercado, where, in addition to a farmers market, butchers, cheese and fishmongers, crafts, stands with clothing and household goods for sale, you can socialize and just watch the world go by.

Savoring a creamy pastel de nata (egg or custard tarts) or a tosta mista (a grilled sandwich) at one of the local pastelaria shops is also a popular pastime here.

According to Meyer, the quality and speed of service in restaurants and hotels is slower than in the US, and deliveries and home repairs are also likely to take longer.

Culture clashes

Meyer has happily settled in Cascais and loves her new life there. - Katie Meyer

On the upside, a restaurant server would never, ever present a bill without a customer asking for it, she adds.

That would be considered rude, even with a line of customers waiting for a table. And you wont see people eating or drinking on the go, as you would in the US.

Meyer has noticed that the absence of a tipping culture in Portugal is something that Americans find difficult to grasp.

A small tip is always appreciated for good service and overall experience, she adds. But not mandatory. Americans over-tipping can even be considered rather vulgar in some circles.

Shes picked up some local habits, like forsaking a clothes dryer, considered the Portuguese way.

However, Meyer hasnt been able to give up air-conditioning  a 2022 study by real estate platform Idealista found that only one in four properties on the market in Portugal had air conditioning  and has a unit installed at her home.

Adapting to the local climate has also meant learning to deal with the high coastal humidity and the propensity for mold in winter.

Due to different building standards than those we are accustomed to in the US, dampness and mold is common, says Meyer.

Ive learned to live with various dehumidifying devices and the frequent airing out of my apartment during winter months. Just part of the new routine.

Meyers also had to adapt to the intricately-designed cobblestones on the sidewalks of Portugal  calcada portuguesa  which can be beautiful to the eye but treacherous to the body.

I slipped and fell on these slick stones several times when I first arrived, and quickly learned that this is simply a rite of passage, she says, adding that she now wears sneakers to tackle them. In Portugal, its function over style in the shoe department.

Shes also had to get used to the Portuguese queuing systems. The phrase, take a number, has all-new meaning in Portugal, says Meyer.

To get served at post offices, hospitals and pharmacies requires you go to a machine for a senha, a piece of paper containing a code indicating your place in line, she explains.

You may proceed to a desk only once your number is illuminated on a screen and called.

However, Meyers feels that the affordable cost of living in Portugal outweighs any challenges, even though prices have risen in the years since shes been there.

When I arrived an Uber ride within the greater Cascais area started at 1.50 euros (around $1.64), she says. Today that is closer to 3.50 euros or 4 euros (about $4.38.)

Recently, I had friends tell me that a round trip Uber ride they took in NYC  from Lower Manhattan to the Upper West Side  was $100, including tip, of course. Sticker shock is common for anyone living in Portugal and returning to the US.

Back in late 2021, Meyer says that lunch for two (a fish, steak or stew main, vegetable and potatoes, two glasses of wine, bread and bottled water) would cost her 16 euros (around $17.50.) More recently, the price was 22 euros (around $24,) which she still considers to be a relative bargain.

Although Meyer has adapted well, she says shes still trying to fully absorb the Cascais vibe and feel like a local.

When living outside of the US, I consider myself first and foremost a foreigner, she says.

I know that I must adapt to a new and different culture, not vice versa. Embracing that mindset is fundamental to living abroad.

Meyer gets homesick from time to time, but says she has no plans to return to the US, and wouldnt swap her new life for anything.

I miss my friends and family in the US, but living in a safe, peaceful, affordable and eye-opening environment is an indisputable trade-off, she says.

Portugal is a pretty wonderful travel destination  and Ive had more US visitors these past two years than I probably would have had time to see if I were still living in the US.

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The leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) on Tuesday proposed reducing the number of lawmakers from 300 to 250 as part of political reforms, vowing to pass the proposal through the National Assembly after winning April's parliamentary elections.

"The PPP will first initiate and pass the law revision ... after achieving victory in the upcoming general election," Han Dong-hoon, chairman of the PPP's emergency committee, said during the party's New Year's greeting meeting in Incheon, west of Seoul.

Han made the pledge as part of his political reform measures aimed at helping his party take back the parliamentary majority from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). He previously proposed measures such as giving up immunity from arrest for lawmakers.

"The number of parliament seats will be reduced to 250 in April only if the DPK does not oppose," Han said.

The parliament currently consists of 253 directly contested seats and 47 proportional representation slots. (Yonhap)
YEREVAN, JANUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement doesnt provide for Russia establishing control over any road, an Armenian lawmaker has said.

Gevorg Papoyan, a Member of Parliament representing the Civil Contract Party who chairs the parliamentary committee on financial-credit and budgetary affairs, told reporters that the ceasefire deal, referred to as the 9 November statement, provides for the unblocking of all economic and transport routes, but not Russian control over any road.

Theres no such clause. When we read clause nine, we see that this clause says that Armenia must simply provide a road. And Armenia is ready to provide that road, in line with our legislation. Who says that Armenia has ever closed the roads? Second of all, lets talk generally about the 9 November statement. Does it contain a single clause which Russia and Azerbaijan have implemented? There is no such clause. Theyve failed to do everything they had assumed under all clauses, Papoyan said.

The 9 November statement doesnt contain a clause saying that Russia should control something. It is about the opening of roads, unblocking of connections, which is Armenias agenda, Papoyan said.

Papoyan also responded to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who recently said that he is rejecting the maps proposed by Armenia for delimitation of borders.

The legislator said that Aliyevs statement is unacceptable for Armenia, and if Azerbaijan is rejecting the maps, then it should present the kind of maps which have legal basis.

Armenia wants the process to be carried out with any map that has legal basis, he said.

A map must have a legal basis and constitute an official document, and not a map drawn by historians the way they like. That cant be. Presenting that kind of a map will lead to war, Papoyan said.

He added that although Aliyevs statements are not conducive to peace, Armenia will continue the negotiations with Azerbaijan.
YEREVAN, JANUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. On January 16, the first president of the Republic of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan met with Iranian Ambassador Mehdi Sobhani at his private residence. Arman Musinyan, the spokesperson of the first president, said on social media.

During the two-hour conversation, the strengthening of Armenian-Iranian friendship, deepening of bilateral economic and cultural relations, as well as regional security issues and ensuring uninterrupted operation of communication routes and development were discussed in detail.
YEREVAN, JANUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. On January 16, with the participation of the representatives of the delegation of the European Union (EU), EU headquarters and the government of the Republic of Armenia, a meeting was held dedicated to the sixth anniversary of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed in 2017.

The purpose of the meeting was to emphasize the significance of the CEPA within the framework of Armenian-EU relations, as well as to assess the current stage of implementation and enhance efficiency, Grigoryans Office said.

"70 participants took part at the meeting of the CEPA and had an active participation in exchanging ideas among the partners. The meeting has become a unique platform to assess the progress of the CEPA and plan meaningful strategies to promote implementation.

The representatives of the Government of Armenia presented details of their experience gained within the framework of the implementation of the CEPA. They discussed issues related to successes, challenges, needs, and ways to work better together.

During the external session, the Armenian government outlined specific areas in which reforms related to the CEPA were successfully implemented, demonstrating tangible achievements recorded thanks to the agreement.

Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia, Ambassador Vassilis Maragos highly appreciated the long-term cooperation with Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan and the efforts to promote tangible and sustainable results for the benefit of the citizens of Armenia.

Ambassador Maragos mentioned the common values and interests that exist between the European Union and the Republic of Armenia.

The ambassador reaffirmed support for democratic and economic reforms, which will contribute to the acceleration of the modernization process in Armenia," the statement reads.

Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan noted that the implementation of CEPA, despite the challenging situations that arose after its signing, has been continuous. The Deputy Prime Minister thanked the EU for the accelerated procedure in supporting reforms and economic initiatives aimed at ensuring the rule of law.

Deputy Prime Minister Grigoryan reaffirmed that Armenia is ready to deepen cooperation with the EU and move forward on the path of implementing key reforms. He emphasized the active role of the EU in imparting the knowledge and experience of EU member states at this stage of Armenia's development.

The parties reaffirmed their commitment to promoting the implementation of CEPA through more effective cooperation, expressing their commitment to further strengthening the EU-Armenia partnership.
Perhaps because the job of managing museums has been complicated by the complexities of woke-ness, theres recently been a head-spinning turnover in the Directors Office, with DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) as an overriding imperative. Max Hollein, the straight white male who in 2018 assumed the directorship of the Metropolitan Museum, got in just under the wire before suggested diversity considerations in hiring hardened into near-stipulations.

That said, I had correctly predicted that Hollein and Daniel Weiss, the Mets (now departed) president and CEO, might not have been a match made in heaven.

Daniel Weiss listening to Max Hollein at a Met press event

Photo by Lee Rosenbaum

I had characterized Dan as the Mets remedial leader, hired, in part, to address deficiencies linked to the managerial shortcomings of former Met director Tom Campbell, who had left the museum in financial disarray. Knocked off his pedestal at the Met, Campbell agilely regained his footing in California, where he now directs the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Weiss, with the administrative know-how of a college president and the academic creds of an art historian, became the Mets president in 2015 and its CEO in 2017, assuming those posts before Max arrived.

With all the managerial maneuvering, the Met still hadnt managed to achieve its stated goal of a balanced budget as of the end of the most recent fiscal year, according to the accounting in its Annual Reports: It ran a financial deficit of $3.9 million in fiscal year 2023 (ended June 30), compared to shortfalls of $5.6 million in fiscal 2022 and $7.6 million in fiscal 2021. As CultureGrrl readers may remember, a Met spokesperson had told me in 2022: We expect to achieve a balanced budget for FY 22, which just ended. As the above figures show, that didnt happen then, nor in the following year. (Hope springs eternal.)

But please dont get me started (at least not yet) on Maxs seemingly over-optimistic determination to remake (at great expense) large swaths of the Mets physical plant, supplanting the capital plans of his predecessors. In a detailed breakdown for the NY Times last October, veteran art journalist Ted Loos quantified the mind-boggling (budget-busting?) capital costs of Maxs expansionist extravagances:

Six large projects that began in 2015, many of which are still underway, are budgeted at a total of $2 billion [!?!]. But that will likely not be the end of it.

What Loos doesnt tell us is how all this construction will be funded. Can a museum director who lacks long, strong ties to this countrys philanthropic cultural community (as were adroitly forged by Campbells illustrious predecessor, Philippe de Montebello) manage to raise such enormous sums for these New York edifices? If Max builds it, will they fund?

But for now, lets get back to basicsrejiggering the Mets management structure.

Assuming some of the directors customary roles, Weiss had outranked Hollein on the organization chart (as I noted here), running counter to the guidelines of the leading professional organization for American art museumsthe Association of Art Museum Directors. In his prior gigs, Max was accustomed to running the show. When he became director of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (before trading places with Campbell), he wrested the CEO title from Diane (Dede) Wilsey, who was relegated to the position of board chair (and is now chair emerita). So it was no surprise that when Weiss decamped, Hollein assumed the Mets CEO title.

That revision in the pecking-order put the Met back in sync with the guidelines in Professional Practices in Art Museums (2011 edition, revised in 2023), which states this (p. 5):

The board should appoint the directorto whom it delegates responsibility for day-to-day operationsto be the chief executive officer [emphasis added] of the museum.In certain cases, a paid president or equivalent administrative post may also be appointed.A clear definition of the responsibilities of each position is essential, and the director should carry the ultimate responsibility for advancing the institutions mission, including its artistic direction, collections, scholarship, and programs.

Shortly before Max arrived at the Met, I had predicted that he would undoubtedly try to make their unorthodox partnership [his relationship with Weiss] work. But anticipating a future readjustment, I had stated that Maxs own power grab when he assumed his too-short directorship of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco demonstrates that he (rightly) believes that the CEO title belongs with the director.

As I noted in my Weiss Flight post, analyzing Dans departure from the Met: Its a tough time to be a museum leader.

Such complications have helped to make this a time of major leadership transitions, as reported last June by Robin Pogrebin in her NY Times piece on the new generation of museum directors. Robin cited seven museums that had recently named new directors, with another, the Guggenheim, having recently named Mariet Westermann to succeed its already departed head, Richard Armstrong. Westermann, who was not on Pogrebins list of names widely believed to be in contention to lead the Guggenheim, probably owed her selection, in part, to her experience in Abu Dhabi, where the Guggenheim still hopes to open its long-delayed offshoot (said by Abu Dhabis Department of Culture and Tourism to be on track for 2025 completion). Since 2019, Westermann has served as Vice Chancellor, Chief Executive, and Professor of Arts and Humanities at NYU Abu Dhabi.

CultureGrrl readers met Mariet in 2012, when she was vice president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation: She was the first speaker (after an introduction by the moderator, Max Anderson, then director of the Dallas Museum of Art) at a New York panel discussion on art-museum funding, excerpted in my CultureGrrl Video at the end of this post.

You can watch it here:

In addition to the turnover at the Guggenheim, Philadelphia Museum, Whitney Museum, LAMOCA, SFMOMA, Baltimore Museum, and American Museum of Natural History, Robin mentioned that the contract of Glenn Lowry, the longtime director of MoMA, expires in 2025. As CultureGrrl readers may remember (from my December 2007 postElderfield Too Elderly? MoMAs Mandatory Retirement Beckons), MoMA had a 65-and-out policy for staffers (which I correctly suspected might be waived for Lowry, if he so desired). Lowry is now 69.

But the luminary whose departure I most rue is one of the most knowledgeable and accomplished (yet self-effacing) museum directors Ive known during my 50 years covering museums: Ian Wardropper has announced that he will be retiring in 2025 from what will be a distinguished 14-year directorship of New Yorks Frick Collection, itself currently in the midst of a major renovation project.

Ian Wardropper in his office at the Frick

Photo by Lee Rosenbaum

Ian had pleasantly surprised me years ago by going out of his way after a press event at the Met (where he was then chairman of the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts), in order to thank me for defending him in this favorable 2009 CultureGrrl review of a Met show that the NY Times had (to my mind) shockingly panned. That unexpected, unnecessary courtesyan outlier in my formal interactions with museum officialshas stuck with me ever since.

A NOTE TO MY READERS: If you appreciate my coverage, please consider supporting CultureGrrlvia PayPal or with a debit or credit cardby clicking the Donate button in the righthand column of the desktop version or the Donate link in the menu at the bottom of the posts in the mobile version. Contributors of $15 or more are added to my email blast for immediate notification of new posts.
Amid a crackdown against underground religious movements, Kan Xiaoyong, a former businessman who started his own Evangelical movement outside the official Three-Self Patriotic Movement, was given a harsh sentence. The Supreme People's Court openly tells lower courts to adhere to the Party's position and accept that The judicial organ is first and foremost a political organ.

Milan (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Amid the ongoing crackdown on Protestant house churches that operate outside the official Three-Self Patriotic Movement controlled by the Communist Party of China, penalties for clergymen in underground communities are being toughened.

This is the case of Rev Kan Xiaoyong who was recently sentenced to 14 years in prison by the Ganjingzi District Peoples Court, Liaoning province. His wife Wang Fengying was given four years, while his co-worker Chu Xinyu got 10 years. Three other co-defendants were sentenced to three years in prison, the online magazine Bitter Winter reports.

The public prosecutor was successful in getting such heavy sentences by claiming that the defendants had used a xie jiao (heterodox teachings) to undermine the implementation of law.

Defence lawyers managed to get the court to drop charges of fraud, a pretext often used against house churches that collect money from their members to meet the needs of the community.

Rev Kan is a well-known figure among house church Protestants in China. Originally from Wuhan, he was a successful businessman and the scion of a family with connections to the Communist Party.

In 2018, at the age of 60, he left his business and founded the Discipleship Home Network in Dailan with his wife, who is two years younger. During her career, she had won national awards as a model schoolteacher.

On 20 October 2021, their home in Dalian was raided and both were arrested along with four associates.

At the trial, their lawyers presented evidence that the couple had suffered torture, allegedly inflicted during questioning, but their claim was dismissed.

Despite the setback, the defence team announced that it would appeal the convictions.

The outcome of this trial is further confirmation of the extent to which the courts in the People's Republic of China are there to meet the Party's demands.

In fact, this position is openly defended in an article posted on the official website of the Supreme People's Court, the People's Republic of Chinas highest court.

In it, courts are told to adhere to the Partys absolute leadership and pay attention to politics and take the overall situation into account when ruling.

The leadership of the party is the most fundamental guarantee for the socialist rule of law and the biggest difference between us and the rule of law in Western capitalist countries.

Above all, The judicial organ is first and foremost a political organ, and being political is the first requirement.
by Fady Noun

Without a president for 14 months, the country of the cedars is undergoing a socio-political process of implosion. According to one (alarming) study, Syrian refugees who entered in 2012 could, within 15 years, account for half the population. And at the southern gate, a front has opened up between Hezbollah, a state within a state, and Israel.

Beirut (AsiaNews) - Without a head of state for 14 months, crushed under the demographic weight of Syrian refugees and a conflict on the southern border with Israel, is Lebanon about to self-destruct? By 2038, the Lebanese will represent only 52% of the population, according to a recent study on the demographic situation of the Land of Cedars and its probable evolution published in L'Orient-Le Jour on January 11th.

Drafted by the former Minister of Labor Charbel Nahas, the document highlights the "will to ignorance" of a State which, without the keystone (the presidency) - upon the expiry of Michel Aoun's mandate on 31 October 2022 - has fragmented into several decision centers. A fragmentation of powers and structures that, with difficulty, try to manage the country while trying to maintain a superficial legality.

Arab Spring, Syrian immigration

The authors of this study with alarming contents warn that one of the main objectives is to draw the attention of managers and government institutions to the difference in fertility rates between the two populations. In fact, the current number of Syrian refugee children between the ages of one and four is double that of Lebanese children.

The current demographic imbalance dates back to the period 2010-2020. A first turning point occurred in 2012, with the emergence of the so-called "Arab Spring" in Syria which then degenerated into a civil war (and by proxy) between rebel militias and the army loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. Lebanon has suffered the shock of the massive arrival of Syrian refugees and their uncontrolled settlement in the four corners of the country, with those responsible completely unaware of the consequences of this demographic invasion. In the years that followed, these refugees brought with them a flood of humanitarian aid, particularly from the World Bank and the European Union.

Unfortunately, and against the will of the Lebanese, this aid was intended to keep them on site until the reconstruction of Syria, hit by American (and Western) sanctions and awaiting a change of direction by the regime, would have made their safe return. A turning point that never happened.

Migration shocks

Of course, this migratory shock is not the first to affect the Land of the Cedars and the Middle Eastern region. However, the massive and unbridled influx of Syrians into Lebanon from 2012 onwards recalls in due proportion that of the Palestinians after the partition of Palestine and the creation of the State of Israel in the two-year period 1948-49. As the Syrian crisis continues, there is a strong risk that the presence of these refugees, like that of the Palestinians at the time, will become permanent.

According to the current Minister of Social Affairs of the Beirut government, Hector Hajjar, in Lebanon there are currently 2.1 million Syrians, or 200 thousand families, while the Lebanese are around five million. This figure does not correspond to the 3.7 million indicated in other tables. And it is precisely this discrepancy that becomes a reflection of the fears of a society, which seems to be increasingly afraid of reality and possible consequences.

The authors of the study, which fueled further concerns and tensions, believe that the Syrian crisis and financial collapse have put an end to an economic system born from the combination of the oil boom of the second half of the 20th century and the civil war. Events are happening exactly as in an economic system based on the export of natural resources and the consumption of their counterparts, but in the case of Lebanon it is society itself that is consumed, we read in one passage, which goes on to point out:  This system was institutionalized in agreements between warlords and billionaires [who made their fortunes] from oil revenues, who hoped to perpetuate it while keeping the regulatory role of the state to a minimum.

This is precisely what the Maronite patriarchal vicar, Samir Mazloum, fears, who denounces to AsiaNews the "crumbling of the Lebanese state", the stalled presidential elections and the replacement plans. All this at a historical moment in which the massive and unexpected arrival of tens of thousands of Syrian refugees forces the Lebanese authorities to face challenges of all kinds: educational, security, health and economic. Msgr Mazloum also fears the illegal entry of Muslim extremists into Lebanon, with a further phenomenon of radicalisation. The weapons - warns the bishop - have started to appear! Arms depots were discovered by the army in the Bekaa and Akkar. Of course, these are single weapons, but you never know."

Mgr. Mazloum then deplores the institutional vacuum at the helm of the State and the administrative shortcomings it is causing in the security and justice systems, at a time when, since 8 October, Hezbollah has actively engaged

nilateral forces in a low intensity war with Israel. Contested by the Christian political camp, paralyzed by a hateful feud between its leaders, as well as by the Maronite Patriarch and the Sunni Mufti of the Republic, this conflict "in support" of Hamas in Gaza has already caused the exodus of around one hundred thousand Lebanese from the villages border.

Khalaf: a coup d'etat

Lebanon no longer belongs to itself exclaims MP Melhem Khalaf, who has been locked up in Parliament for several months to ask for the election of the President of the Republic and sees in the reluctance of some of the Shiite tandem to facilitate a real coup d'etat". Moreover, it is now a fact that, faced with the regional crises that arose following the partition of Palestine, Lebanon's internal unity seems to be increasingly shaken. An element visible in the birth of Hezbollah after the Israeli invasion of 1982, when the entire process of rebuilding a Lebanese state seemed about to restart.

Since then this party - closely linked to Tehran - has been transforming itself into a state within a state, parasitizing the country's defense policy and foreign affairs, as well as its economic and judicial apparatus. To all these burdens is added today the weight of the presence of Syrian refugees, welcomed inconsiderately. Alain Bifani, former director general of Finance, who coordinated the drafting of the study in question, claims that this is a wake-up call: "We cannot allow - he adds in the final note of Charbel Nahas' work, which recommends concrete measures to stop the bleeding of departures - Lebanon to self-destruct.
Less than half of South Korean students think unification is necessary
by Arundathie Abeysinghe

Traffic has grown by 80% in a few weeks, after many companies decided to abandon the Suez Canal route because of Houthi attacks, for the one circumnavigating Africa. But for Sri Lanka it risks being only a short-term gain. The political crux of Colombo's participation in the Red Sea mission.

Colombo (AsiaNews) - According to data from the Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA), due to the Red Sea crisis, the port of Colombo has increased the volume of containers transhipment from a ship by approximately 80%. to the other.

This is happening because the main shipping companies are changing their routes following the attacks by the Houthi rebels from Yemen: "The port of Colombo - explains the SLPA to AsiaNews - has emerged as a short-term transit point for the main shipping companies navigation to redirect their ships to the longer and more expensive route that passes through the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa".

Before the Red Sea crisis, around 5,000 container transhipments were carried out in Colombo per day: today there are over 8,000. According to some industry stakeholders, "although the port may benefit from the current crisis, due to the increased uncertainty surrounding passage on that waterway, these recent gains are unlikely to be sustainable for the companies in the long term" .

There are already early indications that some shipping lines will skip the Colombo port in favor of the shorter route from Singapore. However, in anticipation of sustained growth, the port is actively preparing to strengthen its capacity. The East Container Terminal which was semi-operational, has been set up to handle 7 million containers this year.

Recently President Ranil Wickremesinghe - who holds the portfolio of the Ministry of Defense - said he would provide a Navy ship in the Red Sea to help the international effort to repel Houthi attacks - at a cost of 250 million rupees every fortnight .

Sri Lanka therefore also intends to join the "Operation Prosperity Guardian" led by the United States Navy with a patrol vessel equipped with around 100 sailors. A decision that is being strongly criticized within the country's borders.

Sajith Premadasa, leader of the opposition and political alliance Samagi Jana Balwegaya, in parliament pointed the finger at this move by President Wickremasinghe last week: The proposed deployment of our ships and military in the Red Sea should be examined in light of the pathetic state of the country's economy and the increase and expansion of the value added tax (VAT) from 1 January 2024 which has affected the most deprived. Why then should Sri Lanka undertake such a costly military operation, at a time when we are unable to meet even the basic needs of our citizens?

Photo: Colombo Port Authority
by Vladimir Rozanskij

The story of Fr Uminsky, suspended a divinis for refusing to recite the Victory prayer, is not an isolated case. Former collaborator of Kirill Sergej Capnin, now a researcher in the USA, tells of many priests who are tired of blessing arms and would like to pass on to other national Orthodox Churches. And among them there are even those who - to overcome the obstacles placed by Moscow - try to enter the United States as clandestine immigrants from Mexico.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - Many priests of the Moscow Patriarchate are now exasperated by the patriotic and warmongering rhetoric, which is also obligatory in the recitation of prayers in Church "for the victory of Holy Russia", and are desperately looking for an escape route.

Patriarch Kirill's ex-collaborator. Sergej Capnin, now a researcher in the USA at Fordham University, continually receives requests from many of them, who ask to continue their service in one of the other national Orthodox Churches, and do not know how to organize the transition.

Some priests have managed to leave without attracting attention, having themselves relieved of all duties and perhaps moving to other countries, but since 2011 this solution has also become increasingly complicated, with a patriarchal directive that allows them to leave za stat, without duties ecclesiastics, only for health reasons, with related supporting documentation.

In all other cases, after a short sabbatical period, one is forced to return to the ranks, or is suspended from the ministry, or even reduced to lay status, a measure applied several times especially in this phase of the war, to avoid "strategic retreats". from clerical-patriotic commitment.

As Capnin explains, "the patriarchal punitive machine became particularly effective during the war years against priests who think differently, and especially against those who express pacifist sentiments."

Not only the central ecclesiastical courts are activated, but also the diocesan commissions, which act as investigative terminals even before disciplinary ones, directly involving the ordinaries of the various eparchies. The sentences never include the "crime of pacifism", but generically mention acts of disobedience.

Priests who are even only "unenthusiastic" about the war propaganda are first given benevolent admonitions, and then move on to threats not only of punishments or suspensions, but also of cancellation of priestly privileges with respect to mobilization in the army, with the risk of being sent to front directly from the Ministry of Defense. At the end of 2022, Patriarch Kirill had signed an agreement with the military to avoid the conscription of clergymen "as long as they carry out their priestly functions".

Apostolic Rule n.25 then applies to priests reduced to the lay state, which justifies the maximum measure for clerics who are guilty of "immoral actions, violation of the oath and theft". The failure to fulfill priestly promises is linked to the refusal to recite the prayer for Victory in church, as in recent days the accusation was issued against the well-known Moscow priest Father Aleksej Uminsky (in the photo), heir of the ecumenical and liberal community of the "spiritual father of dissent" in the Soviet years, Father Aleksandr Men, murdered by unknown assailants in 1990.

The other local Orthodox Churches, including those closest historically to the patriarchate of Moscow such as those of Bulgaria, Serbia, Czechia and Poland, or the patriarchate of Antioch, are very reluctant to welcome priests fleeing from Russia, both due to the complexity of ecclesiastical bureaucracy, and above all for fear of hostile reactions from Kirill and the Russian state apparatus.

In the United States there are fairly liberal Orthodox jurisdictions, but Russian priests are not allowed to officially enter the country to carry out their mission; some, as Capnin recalls, were even advised to enter as illegal immigrants from Mexico, and some priests have already tried this dangerous adventure. In general, priests who go abroad should receive a permit document from the Patriarchate of Moscow, a pass which it obviously has no intention of granting to the "non-aligned".

As Kirill's ex-secretary explains, only the "hope in salvific Chalcedon" remains, addressing directly the ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople, which from the canonical norms of the ancient Council of Chalcedon of the year 451 has the right to restore to the ministry the priests suspended by bishops as the ecclesiastical "supreme instance". The Patriarchate of Moscow obviously does not recognize this right, and tries to counter it by infinitely lengthening the times of canonical trials, leaving priests in an "ecclesiastical purgatory" from which it is very difficult to escape.
Downtown Basalt is one of the two commercial hubs for the town. Basalt ended a lackluster summer with sales down 3.3% in August, according to the October sales tax report.
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Yoon's promises run counter to his own sound fiscal policies

By Nam Hyun-woo

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration has come up with a series of policies aimed at revitalizing the economy and lowering the cost of living, as part of the presidents bid to focus the governments policy efforts toward improving the livelihoods of the people.

However, the policies contradict the governments direction concerning the management of state expenses within the tax revenue raised, triggering doubts that they are aimed at benefiting the ruling side in the lead-up to the general elections in April.

During a Cabinet meeting, Tuesday, Yoon ordered the government to fully overhaul 91 charges that the government collects as quasi-taxation.

To alleviate the burden on the public and businesses, we need to launch a full-scale review on 91 items of charges and reappraise them from the bottom up, Yoon said.

There are charges serving optimistic purposes such as preserving the environment or improving public health, but at the same time there are plenty of charges which are misrepresented as quasi-taxation.

According to the Framework Act on the Management of Charges, charges refer to financial obligations other than taxes such as share of expenses, dues and contributions the heads of central administrative agencies and local governments impose for public benefit projects.

Business lobby groups have been calling for the government to overhaul these charges, saying the charges, whose purpose is public benefit projects, are becoming excessive burdens for the public and hampers economic activities in the private sectors because they are easier to impose than taxes.

As of 2022, the government collected 22.4 trillion won ($16.83 billion) of charges from 90 items, up 1 trillion won from a year earlier and 15 trillion won from 2002.

Charges are imposed for exceptional cases that incurs social costs, Yoon said. It should not be overused for the purpose of financing.

Tuesdays remarks are the latest in the Yoon administrations recent push to roll out policies aimed at improving the livelihoods of the general public.

A day earlier, Yoon promised that the government would extend an act on discounting taxes on semiconductor-related investments, which is scheduled to come into effect at the end of this year, to boost investments.

There are talks that this will only benefit large conglomerates and shrink welfare costs, making vulnerable people more vulnerable, Yoon said. We have to make sure that such talks are nothing more than propaganda.

Prior to that, Yoon promised on Jan. 10 that the government would scrap extra taxation on multiple homeowners and decided to temporarily increase the tax discount rate on businesses general R&D investments by 10 percentage points on Jan. 4. On Jan. 2, Yoon announced a government plan to abolish the financial investment income tax.

Though Yoon said on Monday that the finance ministry will not sit back and watch the tax revenue decline, criticisms are growing that the recent tax reduction campaigns are running counter to the governments own promise of maintaining sound fiscal principles.

In October, Yoon said in his National Assembly speech on proposing the governments 2024 budget that the government seeks fiscal soundness, and it is not just reducing expenditures but also utilizing the nation's finances efficiently and appropriately without waste.

However, the government in September forecasted at least a 59 trillion won shortfall from last years tax revenue assumption of 400.5 trillion won. The government assumes this years tax revenue will stand at 367.4 trillion won, and this may also suffer shortfalls if the government decides to downscale or abolish some of the charges that Yoon mentioned on Tuesday.

The opposition is criticizing Yoons recent moves as the administrations efforts to meddle in the general elections.

Recently, President Yoon has been touring the weak constituencies of the ruling party in Gyeonggi Province, using town hall meetings to announce vote-catching policies to support the ruling partys campaigns for the general elections, main opposition Democratic Party of Korea spokesperson Rep. Park Sung-joon said in a commentary.

It seems that the president is seeking to turn the public sentiment with irresponsible promises, but the public will not be deceived by this mean trick.
No matter how you look at it, car collectors are not the same as aircraft collectors. That's why we don't often get to see the world of one group colliding with another, especially on the auction block. But that collision is kind of inevitable when a machine from one world is strongly related to the other.

I'm not sure how many of you can forget the 2019 film Ford v Ferrari. With brilliant acting, relatively sound historical accuracy, and a top-notch cast, it managed to climb to the top of the list of preferences for many of us, at least when it comes to movies that deal with the automotive industry. It was even nominated for the Oscar for Best Movie of the Year but lost to Green Book.Ford v Ferrari has many scenes worth remembering, but few of them are so insane in intensity and amusement as the one where Carroll Shelby flies a plane. It happens right before the launch of the new Ford Mustang, and the American automotive icon, together with a bunch of Ford executives, are expected to arrive on the scene.Shelby, played by Matt Damon, convinces the plane's pilot to let him "take a shot at the landing," to the amusement of Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal). By the time the plane lands, Iacocca and the other people on the plane are no longer so amused (check the video below the text for more).For those of you with an eye for details, the aircraft shown in this scene of Ford v Ferrari might seem familiar. That's because it is no stranger to the movie industry, having appeared over the years in some 25 movies, both TV series and cinema flicks.The aircraft is by birth a Beechcraft Model 18, a flying machine that was made by the Beech Aircraft Corporation between 1937 and 1970. Large numbers of them were made (around 9,000 units, making it one of the most widespread light aircraft in the world), and they served the needs of both the military and the civilian world over the years. The family is also known in the industry as the Twin Beech thanks to its bi-motor configuration.This particular example was born to serve the needs of the Royal Canadian Air Force, which employed it as a navigation trainer. It stayed in active service until 1966, when it was brought into the United States. Here it was turned into a haunted house to be enjoyed on Halloween nights.It did that for about two decades, until it was rescued by its current owner, who got hold of it in 1985. The plane only needed one year of love and care to be brought back to shape, and landed its first movie gig in 1986, when it appeared in an episode of the TV series Crime Story.That was the ramp that would propel the Twin Beach to celebrity status. Since then, it has been used in scenes of Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight (1994), Terminal Velocity (1994), Man on the Moon, and even an episode of House (2005). Some of America's biggest advertisers, including Pepsi, Honda , and Bud Light have hired it for their commercials as well.So, why are we talking about the plane now? Simple: remember how we started all this, by saying the tastes of car and aviation enthusiasts don't mix? They'll have to, as the Twin Beach is for sale during Barrett-Jackson's mammoth car auction taking place later this month in Scottsdale, Arizona.The plane is sent on the block in restored condition. It still packs the pair of Pratt & Whitney R-985 engines, which back in their day developed 450 horsepower each. They both spin Hamilton Standard two-blade propellers, which in turn pull the plane down the runway on Cleveland wheels.The interior of the plane is as impressive as you'd expect from a star of this caliber. A burgundy carpet runs the length of the cabin (and even extends on the fold-down step door), and the same color, with gray accents, is mirrored on the five reclining seats fitted inside.The cockpit, the same one where Matt Damon stood, is packed full of all the hardware that a machine needs for proper operation, including navigation and communication instruments, an instrument flight rules panel, a transponder, and an autopilot system with electric trim.The last time someone looked (in October last year), the total number of flight hours on this aircraft's air frame was 8,344. Close to 700 hours of flight time have passed since the last major overhaul performed on the two engines. Yet the seller claims the Twin Beech has only been flown for one hour during the past five years.Barrett-Jackson is selling the aircraft with no reserve, meaning it's impossible to get an estimate of how much it might fetch. We will come back to this story with this important piece of info once we learn it.
kW

AMG

Photo: Instagram | sugardesign_1

Thus, the Stuttgart auto brand no longer offers coupe and convertible versions of the E-Class and C-Class, as the CLE acts as their replacement. Unveiled last summer, the CLE slots between the C- and E-Class in terms of size, and it is closer to the latter, thus offering a more spacious cockpit compared to the two-door versions of the Audi A5 and BMW 4 Series.No one will confuse it for anything else other than a Mercedes, as the CLE has a very familiar design. The same goes for the interior, too, with its generously sized dual screens. It gets stuff such as 5G and allows users to hold Zoom conferences, play Angry Birds, and scroll through TikTok. As usual, interested parties will have to get the higher specs to benefit from additional gizmos.The current range-topper of the series, until the 63 arrives, is the CLE 53 4Matic+ . It features an upgraded 3.0-liter turbo-six, aided by an integrated starter generator and a 48V system. It puts 442 hp (449 ps/330) and 413 lb-ft (560 Nm) of torque under the driver's right foot, with the latter number increasing to 443 lb-ft (600 Nm) on Overboost. The 0-62 mph (0-100 kph) takes 4.2 seconds, and the top speed is 155 or 168 mph (250-270 kph) with theDriver's Pack option.Mercedes' decision to replace the two-door versions of the C and E with a single model, the CLE , looks like a smart move, especially since traditional low-slung models are losing significant ground to crossovers and SUVs. As a result, there will probably never be a C-Class and an E-Class Coupe/Convertible, but that doesn't mean that these models cannot exist in Fantasy Land. Case in point, let's give a warm welcome to the 2025 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe.Sketched out, polished, and shared on social media recently by sugardesign_1, these renderings portray a two-door version of the latest-gen E-Class with a fixed roof over the passenger compartment. The car stays true to the real E-Class, featuring a few updates here and there, and it is a very interesting proposal. The premium GT ignores the CLE, features a special hue to stand out more, and rides on a set of bi-tone alloys.We are certainly fans of these renderings that are neither related to nor endorsed by the three-pointed star brand. Then again, we also like the styling of the real thing, aka the CLE, and that of the latest E-Class , and if we had a saying, we would've kept the coupe and convertible variants of the C-Class and E-Class. Would you have done that, too?
The electrification of the automotive industry is doing wonders for the environment, but also for the design of new cars, because they now can adopt styling cues that were not possible with internal combustion engines. But it also makes for the perfect choice for people wishing to restore the good old classics of the industry while giving them a modern twist.

Photo: Alan Mann Racing

kWh

Photo: Alan Mann Racing

They call this new trend electro-modding, and it as simple as its name hints: replace the existing, fuel-burning powertrain of classic cars with electric drives, in a bid to make them both more powerful and cleaner.There are several companies currently doing this, and the scope of their business covers everything from European classics like Jaguar and Rolls-Royce to the American icons that brighten our everyday lives.The Ford Mustang is a prime target for such a conversion, and we've already seen a number of such projects coming to light. The most recent is that of a vehicle called AMR ePower Ford Mustang. First detailed back in October of last year, the model made its public debut this week at the Philadelphia Auto Show. And it impresses in the flesh just as much as it does on paper or on a computer screen.The car is the product of a company called Mann ePower Cars. It's a newcomer to the industry, born of an association between Pennsylvania-based electronics specialist Manncorp and Alan Mann Racing (AMR).The stated goal of the new entity is to transform classic Mustangs from the 1960s into powerful, fast, safe electro-mods," making the ePower the first in what is hoped will become an entire line of such builds.The first converted car was born in the Ford stables in 1965, making it a member of the very first generation of the breed. It looks exactly the same as it originally did, but behaves better thanks to the completely new powertrain it packs.That would be a combination of a permanent-magnet synchronous electric motor and a 72battery that have been installed in the car after the original powertrain was stripped from the Mustang.The combination is extremely potent, far more so than what Ford offered back in the day. The electric motor cranks out no less than 300 horsepower and 662 lb-ft of torque, all of it available instantly, as is the case with electric powertrains.The power of the engine is sent to the wheels by means of a Torsen limited-slip differential. Once it reaches them, the drive's punch is enough to push the Mustang to 60 mph from a standstill in 5.1 seconds, and on to a top speed of 100 mph (161 kph). That value is so low because the top speed has been limited intentionally, for reasons that have not been disclosed.The battery of the car allows for a maximum driving range of 220 miles (354 km), while charging times sit at 40 minutes to reach 80 percent from either AC or DC outlets.The fitting of a new heart for the car is not the only change Mann ePower performs on these things. The remaining mechanical bits are replaced or refurbished, depending on the condition of the base car.The chassis, for instance, is stripped as well and then gifted with what the company calls "racing-standard componentry." That description covers pretty much everything, from the independent double wishbone suspension with billet aluminum uprights to the new braking system, now comprising ventilated front and rear discs and piston calipers front and rear.The body of the Mustang is not altered in any way, safe for the potential repairs needed here and there. The same goes for the interior, where the company is trying to retain as much of the original look and vibe as possible.That doesn't mean the Mustang isn't modernized in any way. Things we can't do without in modern-day cars, like racing seats, Bluetooth, and a video display, they all make their way inside the electro-mod.Mann ePower Cars says it can perform all the modifications displayed on this here ePower on any Mustang from the 1960s, in either coupe or fastback body styles. The company's engineers are said to need 1,000 hours of work to complete the transformation. The base Mustangs can be provided either by the customer, or by Mann ePower itself.What that means is we are to expect a potential flood of such conversions  in fact, this crew promises exactly this. The only thing that can stay in the way of the idea's potential success is the steep price of such a build.The final price of each built will likely vary greatly, depending on a variety of factors, but word is you'll not be able to get your hands on an AMR ePower Ford Mustang for less than $240,000 or thereabouts. It's unclear when actual production will begin.
Like all traditional body styles, station wagons are also losing ground to high riders. Nevertheless, that's not stopping certain companies from keeping them around, so regardless if you're looking for a premium compact, an executive, a zero-emission, or a V8-powered estate, the automotive industry has you covered.

kW

Photo: Instagram | hre_wheels

Arguably one of the best money can buy, the Audi RS 6 Avant is the kind of ride that can keep enthusiasts up at night. First and foremost, it is very powerful for what is still a family-friendly machine that's on the premium side of the segment, and second, it goes like stink, and it doesn't need additional elbow grease for that.Should you ask the four-ring brand how quick it is, then it will tell you that it takes only 3.3 seconds from zero to sixty mph (0 to 97 kph). That's basically modern-day supercar territory and a few tenths quicker than some iconic models from the past, like the Ferrari Enzo. Keeping the right foot down will see it max out at 155 miles per hour or 250 kilometers per hour.It packs a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 motor , which produces 621 horsepower (630 ps/463), according to the spec sheet. It is good for 627 pound-feet (850 Nm) of torque and works in conjunction with an eight-speed Tiptronic transmission and pure quattro all-wheel drive, aided by a rear differential. And by pure, we mean the real thing and not the Haldex-based system you'd get in smaller models. It also has dynamic all-wheel steering, air suspension, and beefy brakes.The aforementioned numbers are limited to the Audi RS 6 Avant Performance , which is also available in the United States of America. Yes, you read that right; the Ingolstadt company's super wagon can be had on this side of the world brand new from a local dealer. Should you decide to get one, you should prepare a six-digit sum. The official starting price of the 2024 model is $125,800, and that's before factoring in the destination charge and markups, as well as any optional extras.Now that we've reminded ourselves a bit about the RS 6 Avant, it is time to check out one ultra-sexy example. Finished in black all around and featuring privacy windows, it also sits closer to the asphalt courtesy of a tuned suspension and comes with a roof box for enhanced practicality and a set of custom wheels from HRE. Featuring a gold look, they measure 22 inches at both axles and feature carbon fiber center caps. They're part of the Vintage 501 GTM series, starting at $2,450 per wheel in the smallest offering available  17 inches.Despite being stiffer and therefore not as comfortable as the stock one, this Audi RS 6 Avant is one of the best-looking copies we've ever seen. This proves again that less is often more, especially when it comes to the tuning world. But do you like it as much as we do?
EV

Photo: GM

Photo: GM

Photo: GM

The company decided to go all-in on Android Automotive in future EVs, beginning with the 2024 Blazer. While Android Automotive technically allows Android Auto and CarPlay to run on top of the operating system, General Motors banned the phone projection systems, claiming it wants to offer more advanced features to customers.Critics didn't receive GM's announcement well. Many accused the company of adopting Android Automotive because it wants to introduce infotainment subscriptions, but GM's executives praised the capabilities of Google's software on several occasions. Compared to Android Auto and CarPlay , Android Automotive is an embedded operating system that doesn't require a mobile device to run in a car. Android Auto and CarPlay are screen projection systems powered by Android phones and iPhones, respectively, sporting no vehicle integration unless more advanced features are specifically unlocked. Ford recently announced EV routing in Google Maps on Android Auto, allowing the app to access battery information thanks to a project developed with Google.General Motors adopted Android Automotive, claiming the OS has the backend to improve the driving and the infotainment experiences behind the wheel of a new-generation vehicle.Now, the carmaker has decided to go a step further and clearly highlight the differences between Android Automotive and screen projection systems. The effort is an obvious attempt to defend its decision to adopt Android Automotive, though it still doesn't justify the ban on Android Auto and CarPlay. GM doesn't give customers the choice, forcing them to use Android Automotive if they buy a new-generation EV.GM says Android Automotive offers a fully integrated Google Assistant, allowing drivers "to control your GM vehicle with your voice." Google Assistant is also available on Android Auto but offers only "standard capability" with "no control for vehicle functions." At the same time, CarPlay also offers standard Siri capability.Google Maps also offers a more advanced experience on Android Automotive, GM says. The company didn't spend too much time detailing the Google Maps features available on Android Auto, claiming drivers only get "Google Maps capability." Android Automotive offers a fully integrated navigation experience, with support for finding Super Cruise-compatible roads. GM also claims that Google Maps offers map overlays of Ultium 360 chargers for EVs, Super Cruise routes, and more.Eventually, the carmaker highlights the Google Play integration, allowing drivers to install more apps and access "GM-sponsored first-party apps (service scheduling, navigation, trailering." Without Android Automotive, drivers don't get "access to Google Play on Apple CarPlay."GM's wording is often laughable. The "Google Maps capability," the "no access to Google Play on CarPlay" (a Google service on the Apple platform), and "introducing Waze" sound like desperate attempts to defend a decision that the carmaker can't fully justify.Some of the reasons highlighted by General Motors don't make much sense either. The company announces the Waze integration with much fanfare, claiming the app "is now available on select vehicles with Google built-in" to help drivers navigate traffic, road closures, and accidents.Waze has been available on Android Auto and CarPlay for several years, and the Android Automotive integration feels half-baked . Many features are still powered by the app installed on a mobile device (though a direct connection is not required), so Waze eventually offers a more refined experience on Android Auto and CarPlay.GM also says that Google Maps offers access to Super Cruise-compatible roads and maps of Ultium 360 chargers. While true, the same data could also land on Android Auto and CarPlay thanks to EV-specific apps. Google Maps offers more capabilities on Android Automotive , including battery monitoring and automatic suggestions for charging stops, but GM highlights the wrong reasons.Meanwhile, GM's decision to block CarPlay and Android Auto didn't turn the company into a trendsetter, as the carmaker probably hoped it would happen. Several car manufacturers have already confirmed their commitment to offering Android Auto and CarPlay in next-generation models.Polestar's CEO recently commented on GM's choice, explaining that forcing customers to adopt a specific system isn't the right strategy. The CEO emphasized that carmakers must give customers the choice , especially because it's technically possible to offer Android Automotive alongside Android Auto and CarPlay.Google has already teased big announcements on the Android Automotive front for 2024, but the company also revealed that the Android Auto adoption surpassed 200 million vehicles. Both systems keep growing, but CarPlay and Android Automotive have become must-have equipment many consider essential when ordering a new vehicle. Apple's data shows that nearly 80 percent of new-car buyers in the United States are ready to give up on the purchase if the vehicle they're looking into doesn't have CarPlay. The numbers are probably similar for Android Auto.
Transportation solutions vary greatly depending on a lot of factors, among the most important being where and how people will be using them. While for most of us that usually translates into wheeled and flying vehicles, communities surrounded by water like the ones in Hawaii need something a bit more specialized.

Photo: Regent

Photo: Regent Craft

For hundreds of years islanders have relied on boats to get where they need to be, but also to get delivery of much-needed goods. It's a cheap and effective way of doing so, but when great distances are involved, it can take a bit too long.The reason for that is the fact boats regardless of their type can only go so fast, and that is why the advent of aviation solved a lot of problems. But flying has another major flaw: it is expensive.But what if I told you Hawaii is looking into technologies that could solve all these problems, and would allow its inhabitants and tourists to move on the surface of the water at speeds of up to 180 mph (290 kph), and do so very affordably?It was back in the summer of last year when we first learned about this possibility, thanks to a company called Regent Craft and the interest local Hawaiian authorities are taking in seagliders.Regent is the maker of something called the Viceroy. That would be a fully-electric machine that could carry up to 12 passengers not on the water, or completely above it, but somewhere in between.The thing has been designed to have the body of a vertical take-off and landing aircraft, but the capabilities of a plane, boat, and ground-effect vehicles all in one.The plane part consists of the way the Viceroy was designed. It kind of looks like an airplane, with a main fuselage and two sets of wings, one midway and the other one, smaller, at the rear.The basic interior design is the same as in airplanes as well, with two rows of seats separated by an aisle, and the pilots' stations (there are two of them) up front.The ground-effect part of its makeup is given by its ability to fly over land at not-that-great altitudes. Finally, the boat part is owed to the fact it can do the same thing over water, only this time using hydrofoils.The thing is electric, but the details on that are scarce at the moment. We don't know who will be supplying the batteries and the 12 motors meant for the six propellers fitted on each wing. But we do know what to expect, spec-wise.As per Regent, the Viceroy should be capable of traveling for a distance of up to 186 miles (300 km) on a single charge - which, taking into account its speed, it should cover in a single hour. An option to upgrade the battery pack for a range of 460 miles (740 km) will also be on the table.The thing would be able to carry, as said, up to 12 passengers and two crew, but it is suitable for conversion to a cargo hauler, in which case it could transport up to 3,500 pounds (1,600 kg) of supplies.It's a very interesting proposition that has caught the eye and ignited the imagination of a large number of companies and institutions operating in Hawaii. So much so, in fact, that a coalition was formed to make seaglider transport on the islands a reality as soon as possible.The coalition is called the Hawaii Seaglider Initiative (HIS) and has the backing of no less than 21 entities. Among them are major players in the transportation industry, like Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Japan Airlines, Mokulele Airlines, and United Airlines.The companies and a host of government organizations have pledged to work for the rest of the year to create "the socioeconomic and technical feasibility of establishing an inter-island and intra-island seaglider network in Hawaii."Once that is out of the way, Mokulele Airlines plans to become the first operator of sea gliders not only in the region but also in the world. A fleet of Viceroys will be deployed in its service by the middle of the decade.The seagliders will only be used for moving people and cargo over water. They will take off by floating on a hull, rise on the hydrofoils and, once a set speed is reached, would move at heights of 30 to 60 feet (9 to 18 meters) above the waves.As per the company planning this, the cost of a trip on the seaglider would be much cheaper than traditional means. More to the point, a voyage between Oahu and Maui or Kauai (both routes are a little over 100 miles/160 km long) would not cost more than $30. For reference, a seat on a Hawaiian Airlines plane would set you back at least $100.So, if you were planning a trip to Hawaii in the coming years, maybe it'd be best to wait until the seagliders get there. I'm pretty certain it will be an experience in itself.
SUV

Last year, the Japanese automaker delivered almost 235k Tacoma trucks, although everyone and their mother plus the dog were eagerly looking forward to the arrival of the N400 generation twinned on the TNGA-F body-on-frame architecture with the J250 Lexus GX 550. Still, that was almost as many as it sold in 2022 if you can believe its enduring popularity.Now, though, it's all about the fresh iteration, as the company started sales of the gasoline-only version in December. It can be had from $31,500 in SR, SR5 TRD PreRunner, TRD Sport, TRD Off-Road, and Limited trim, but only with the 228 or 278-hp i-Force 2.4-liter turbo inline-for and an eight-speed automatic. We need to wait a little longer for the mighty 326-hp Tacoma i-Force Max, which is equipped with a hybrid powertrain, though.But what if it comes along with a surprise ? For example, what if the Japanese carmaker decides to bring to America  at long last  a J250-based sixth-generation 4Runner also fitted with the TNGA-F platform and mainly featuring the same design as the N400 Tacoma? After all, fans have been waiting for quite some time for a new iteration since the current N280 version appeared in 2009!Anyway, if that happens, the imaginative realm of digital car content creators is prepared for anything  including Toyota's hypothetical decision to mimic its direct competitors, Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco, and offer a removable hard top version like it used to in the past. Well, there are a lot of 'ifs' involved here  and it's all because Jim, the virtual artist known as jlord8 on social media, loves messing around with all things CGI from GM and Ford, plus sometimes also from Toyota.As such, he recently took the 4Runner for a spin and gifted it the front styling of the 2024 Tacoma along with the usual body of the off-road-focused. However, unlike the current 4Runner, this takes directly after the Tacoma XtraCab and features just two doors and a liftgate  plus a lot of retro styling cues like the rear glass treatment or the steelies. Naturally, we can easily imagine it equipped with Tacoma's modern powertrains  the 2.4-liter turbo inline-four with 228 or 278 horsepower, plus the 326-hp i-Force Max.Of course, this is merely wishful thinking, and Toyota may never go back to building a three-door 4Runner like the original N60 version, no matter how many people believe that Yotas with removable hard tops are cool, especially when they look as quirky as this one. So, will the Japanese automaker make a new 4Runner based on the N400 Tacoma, or will they retire the nameplate now that the mid-size 2024 Land Cruiser is returning to America later this year?
Starlink announced a new partnership with John Deere to connect tractors and combined harvesters across the US and Brazil to the internet. This would allow farmers to access precision agriculture technologies in remote areas without data coverage.

Starlink is ideal for rural locations. Later this year, @JohnDeere will begin equipping new and existing machines across the United States and Brazil with Starlink to help connect farmers with high-speed internet so they can fully leverage precision agriculture technologies pic.twitter.com/Jr36oTvGa4  Starlink (@Starlink) January 15, 2024

Starlink is arguably SpaceX's most valuable business. Despite being one of the few companies able to lift cargo into space, SpaceX relies mostly on its Starlink constellation for the bulk of its revenues. By providing internet services to various companies and the military, Starlink is a golden mine for SpaceX. This is only going to get better over time as SpaceX deploys more satellites and the internet speeds get better.Based on what people say, Starlink is by far the fastest and best satellite internet service available to people living in remote areas with no landline connections. It's also reasonably priced, which means it has a lot of happy customers. For many areas, including the oceans, Starlink Internet is the only true option to access the internet. This is why Elon Musk's company signed deals to install Starlink dishes inside commercial vessels and airplanes.However, the deal signed with tractor manufacturer John Deere might be the best so far. The agricultural machinery giant wants to equip all its devices, new and old, operating in remote areas with Starlink internet. For a long time, John Deere sold digital farming services that help automate planting and harvesting . These services depend on an internet connection to function, so farmers in no-connectivity zones have not been interested until now.With Starlink internet installed in every machine, there's no place on Earth where precision agriculture technologies don't work. This significantly expands John Deere's customer base, and it's also a massive win for SpaceX. Starlink didn't win this contract easily. John Deere has tested the technology for the past eight months before making a decision. Starlink's internet speed was basically what closed the deal.Deere said that Starlink service will be offered in Brazil and unconnected parts of the US later this year, with other countries to follow. Elon Musk's company will provide custom-made antennas for John Deere tractors , designed to withstand dusty, rugged conditions. The Starlink connection will allow farmers to monitor and troubleshoot equipment remotely, as well as acquire real-time data on soil, seeds, and planting.If you're wondering how big of a market John Deere is for Starlink, it's enough to know that it sells around 60% of high-horsepower tractors used in the US and Canada. The company reported $55.6 billion in equipment sales in its most recent fiscal year, which means it can be Starlink's most important customer by far.Of course, not all farming machines will have a Starlink dish on their cabin. Still, with 30% of the farmed land in the US outside of coverage areas, the partnership becomes crucial for both companies. In other parts of the world, connectivity is even scarcer. In Brazil, which is one of the world's largest producers of agricultural products, more than 70% of farmed land lacks adequate connectivity.
The closest rival for the Model S electric sedan has been hit with a safety recall. According to Lucid, certain vehicles feature Webasto-supplied coolant heaters with aluminum and zirconium oxide coatings that are prone to delamination and cracking from the heating elements. In this event, drivers will experience a loss of cabin heating capability and  more importantly for the folks at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration  a loss of windshield defrosting capability.

Photo: Lucid

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

NHTSA

A car whose windshield can't be defrosted and poses an unreasonable risk to the safety of the driver, occupants, and other traffic participants. The Webasto-supplied coolant heaters bear part numbers P11-M20101-00 and P11-M20101-01, and these high-voltage coolant heaters were also used by the Jaguar I-Pace through January 2022. In Jaguar's case, the part numbers are L8B2-18K590-AA and L8B2-18K590-AB.Back in February 2023, the Jaguar Land Rover-owned marque switched to redesigned heaters that aren't prone to delamination. The British marque recalled no fewer than 668 vehicles over said issue back in July 2023, namely 2021 to 2022 models produced from June 2020 through January 2022.Over at Lucid, the American company removed suspect high-voltage coolant heaters from inventory in October 2023. Since then, Lucid has exclusively used the redesigned heaters that Webasto started manufacturing in February 2023.The California-based automaker is recalling 2,042 examples of the Air electric sedan, with suspect vehicles assembled between November 10, 2021 and June 11, 2023 for the 2022 and 2023 model years. The first complaint alleging a loss of cabin heat was filed in March 2022, yet Webasto didn't inform Lucid about the delamination condition until January 2023. Worse still for the supplier, Webasto failed to notify Lucid about Jaguar's safety recall.Lucid's first warranty claim over HVCH failure was received in November 2022, and the most recent in June 2023. The following month, theinformed Lucid of the aforementioned Jaguar I-Pace recall, highlighting the similarity in design between the HVCHs of the I-Pace and those of the Lucid Air.It took Lucid until January 2024 to determine that a loss of defrost capability presents a huge safety risk. As for the remedy, Lucid will kick things off with an over-the-air software update designed to identify and warn the owner of a failed high-voltage coolant heater. In the event of a failure, any given vehicle produced with a suspect heater will have its failed heater replaced by Lucid at no cost to the owner.In the meantime, owners are recommended to contact Lucid at 1-888-995-8243 or the federal watchdog at 1-888-327-4236 for more information. Alternatively, owners can determine whether their zero-emission sedans are recalled or not by running the 17-character VIN on the's website.In related news, Lucid manufactured 8,428 vehicles and delivered 6,001 examples of the Air last year. The Model S-rivaling sedan is advertised with a starting price of $74,900 after the $7,500 Air Credit for the rear-drive Pure specification, which offers 430 horsepower, 419 miles (674 kilometers) of range, and a 0-60 acceleration of 4.5 seconds.
We understand if you don't care that much for cars of an especially antique vintage. We're talking so old that they're bordering on the cusp of a natural human lifespan. Or cars that are about to fade from living memory of when they were brand new. But we hope you can put your biases aside for just a moment because this positively ancient 1933 Dodge Sedan is the Great Depression on top and the Great Recession underneath.

Photo: Customs by Kilkeary

EV

But first, a little bit of history surrounding a Dodge product most people in 2024 have never heard of, let alone seen turned into a restomod. Since Dodge and Chrysler have been joined at the hip since time immemorial, some might not be aware the two companies were separate entities until Chrysler purchased Dodge in 1928. When this historic merger was complete, it was now Chrysler's responsibility to provide the Dodge Brother's old company with a passenger vehicle for the coming decade. Under this deal, entry-level Chryslers would be branded as Plymouths, while Dodge would handle mid-rangers and De Soto filled the gap between Dodge and Chrysler.Among the first vehicles to roll out under this new scheme was the Dodge Six, based on the architecture of the Chrysler Series 60. From the factory, the heart and soul of the Dodge Six was Chrysler's trademark flathead straight-six engine. This engine made its debut along with the car in 1928 at roughly 3.6 liters of displacement and gradually increased its stroke up until the Six was sunset in 1938. The Six model line was chocked full of variety in the form of the bespoke Standard Six, Victory Six, and Senior Six, which brought incrementally nicer features and higher-quality build materials.As far as Chrysler was concerned, it was the genesis of a model trim level formula some argue the company still uses under their new corporate overlords at Stellantis Group. A bit like the modern Dodge Charger did up until very recently, the Dodge Six was the common folk's American family sedan. What a pity there was no SRT division in those days, but don't worry. Just like the lauded 1932 Fords beloved by hot rodders, these old Dodges are a fantastic platform for responding. It just needs a competent set of brains and hands to be done correctly.This 1933 Dodge comes to us via Customs by Kikeary of Washington County, Pennsylvania, just south of Pittsburgh. With three-plus decades of experience building custom resto-mods out of old American iron, there are not many tuning shops in all of Western Pennsylvania with the kind of know-how Tim Kikeary and his team bring to the table. From engine and suspension tuning to bodywork and interior trimming, every Customs by Kikeary build is an in-house labor of love from start to finish. Never once does a vehicle leave the shop during that time, as the shop can install all the aftermarket parts their customers could order right under the same roof.The team is happy to work on any American vehicle, be it Chrysler, Ford, or GM, and from any time period, antique to contemporary. In short, they're the perfect team to take an ancient car most youngsters couldn't care less about and stuff it full of modern Mopar hardware they very much do. Gone is whatever anemic motor from the Stone Age this Dodge came with. In its place is 6.1 liters of HEMI 392 V8 perfection. Add on a full Magnaflow stainless steel exhaust, and an engine that jets 485 horsepower on all-stock hardware is surely breathing a little easier now.Power is fed to a rebuilt MAG1 five-speed automatic transmission from SP Precision, and the car is sitting on a custom chassis from Roadster Shop in Mundelein, Illinois. Add on a dependable Ford nine-inch rear end with a Superide II IFS front suspension from Heidts Hot Rod & Muscle Car Parts, and the custom four-link rear suspension matches the fronts to perfection. Wilwood drilled and slotted disc brakes are just added gravy on top. But this time around, it's fair to say this Dodge's bodywork and interior trim are even more electrifying than its drivetrain.Every square inch of polished chrome, plush tan leather, and solid bronze emblems by JAB Jewelry in Cannonsburgh, Pennsylvania, is refined to a standard that lesser shops can only hope to obtain. This especially potent blend of timeless 30s looks with modern comforts and amenities makes for drool-worthy material. Now that the LX/LD Dodge Charger finds itself in the history books alongside its Dodge Six grandpa, it's only a matter of time before it has a similar restomod job, too. Sadly, it'll probably be somenonsense.Whatever the case, this kind of restomod demands respect from young and old, regardless of your preconceived biases about what constitutes a car worth checking out at the local car meet. Congrats to Customs by Kikeary on a fantastic build.
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung will return to work Wednesday, 15 days after he was stabbed in the neck and underwent surgery, his party said.

Lee will restart his official duties as the chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) by presiding over a meeting of the party's Supreme Council at the National Assembly, Rep. Park Sung-joon, a DP spokesperson, said.

"Following that, Lee will convene an event to welcome new talents to the party and kick off full-fledged efforts to prepare for the general elections and revive people's livelihoods," Park said.

Lee was stabbed in the neck by a man in his 60s posing as an autograph-seeker during his visit to the southeastern port city of Busan on Jan. 2. Lee was airlifted to Seoul and underwent surgery for a laceration to a major vein in his neck.

The assailant told police he stabbed Lee to prevent him from becoming president.

Also Tuesday, approximately 800 DPK lawmakers, aides and party members gathered in front of the Assembly building, calling for a full disclosure of all details of Lee's attacker.

The DPK's floor leader, Rep. Hong Ihk-pyo, had demanded the police reveal the party affiliation of the assailant, citing a news report that the suspect was a longtime member of the People Power Party before joining the DPK.

Police had decided not to disclose such information, citing a law that prohibits investigative organizations from disclosing information obtained during the investigation process. (Yonhap)
Photo: Nissan

kW

Named the Nissan X-Trail Mountain Rescue, it is a true slope-conquering brute with multiple upgrades. And we're not just talking about those on the outside, as the interior was also altered to save lives, and that is its real purpose.Starting on the outside, one of the most memorable upgrades saw the wheels being ditched for tracks . The brands engineers replaced the front and rear fenders with wider components to accommodate the tracks. Up front, it has a winch that allows it to free itself from most slippery situations, and if it cannot do that on its own, then the reinforced tow hooks at both ends will certainly come in handy.Sporting a red and silver look with a few yellow accents and displaying its name on the sides, the beefed-up X-Trail is also equipped with footboards for easier ingress and egress, as it rides 23 cm (9 inches) higher compared to the regular variant. Additional lighting units were added to turn night into day at the push of a button, and it also gets a flashing light bar and a siren. The custom roof rack hosts the evacuation stretcher and snow shovels.To be worthy of its new given name, the X-Trail Mountain Rescue's interior was modified. For one, the rear seats were removed, and this is where a stretcher can be found. Thus, it can transport injured skiers to the nearest medical facility, accompanied by a medical professional sitting on a special seat next to them. Additional gizmos can be seen throughout the cockpit, with everything serving a single role: lifesaving.No upgrades were performed under the hood, where this mid-size crossover features the e-4ORCE powertrain with all-wheel drive. It has a total output of 213 ps (210 hp/157). According to the official spec sheet, the 0-100 kph (0-62 mph) acceleration drops from 8.0 in the two-wheel drive model to 7.0 seconds when ordered in this configuration, and the top speed goes up by 10 to 180 kph (6-112 mph). The combined fuel consumption is 6.3-6.4 l/100 km (37.3-36.8 US mpg), and it emits 143-145 g/km on average.Curious as to where you might be able to catch a glimpse of the new Nissan X-Trail Mountain Rescue? Well, you will have to book a trip to Italy for that, as it serves its new role at the Cervinia ski resort. Besides the images shared in the gallery, the automaker also released a video that shows this one-off crossover in action, and it can be seen below.
The original Lamborghini Countach was  and, to some gearheads, will forever remain  the ultimate poster car. With crazy wedge-inspired styling and traditional Lamborghini awe-inspiring looks, the Countach was  again, it still is  a dreadful car to drive (just like its contemporaries and many others that followed). So, what could be done to such an outrage of a supercar to make it turn heads 50 years after it hit the showrooms? Give one to Liberty Walk and let them have a go.

Photo: Liberty Walk

Photo: Liberty Walk

CFRP

There are two types of cars in this world: those we can use as proper automobiles and those we are afraid of dreaming about using. Not in a specific way, but using, period. Ferruccio Lamborghini was a practical man; he wanted his cars to be driven and enjoyed at the same time. But he also liked his cars to be comfortable. The Countach was the exact opposite, and yet it captured the spirit of Lamborghinis raging bull better than any other car from Sant Agata Bolognese will ever be able to.No matter how cutting-edge a car is at its launch, at one point or another, it will go out of style, get trampled by the merciless progress of engineering , and end up as a classic nostalgia. But put a new twist on the old trick, and a dog might think its new and learn it. It's like slamming widebody kits on regular cars and calling them something else.Now, I dont want to plant the flag in the idea claim that a Lamborghini Countach is regular in any way, shape, or form (especially shape). Still, even among its peers, there are variations. From the primordial LP 400 show car from 1971 to the production versions debuting in 74 and finally to the 25th Anniversary edition from 1988, the Countach grew in numbers and ludicrousness.Or so we thought  before nonsensical styling became the norm, rendering the original Countach a mere spec of old peoples idea of a supercar. The JDM treatment could be just what the present ordered as the perfect cure for the past allergy that seems to be transforming into a pandemic of automotive proportions. Liberty Walk has a track record of taking classics and giving them some samurai-infused garments more befitting to the manga universe than an Italian monument of motoring.Still, one of the 1,983 Lamborghini Countaches produced between 1974 and 1990 is now a rice-blessed one-off that just broke cover at the Tokyo Auto Show 2024. And it sparked immediate controversy, just like the nameplate had done half a century ago. See it in the gallery and tell me exactly what was more appropriate to a flared-fenders supercar than to get even wider fenders, a road-crawling body kit, and some rear diffusers that would make an F-22 Raptor fighter jet proud.And yes, the car in question is from the last variant of the Countach  and the most numerous, with 657 examples assembled. In fact, over half of the mad Lambos production run was achieved in the models final five years. The curtain dropped after a young designer (Horacio Pagani) chiseled a particular variant to celebrate Lamborghini Automobilis 25th birthday in 1988. If the name sounds familiar, that is solely because it should: Horacio Pagani is the same man who puts his signatures on Zondas, Huayras, and Utopias.In Liberty Walk tradition, their Countach got the full beans with the LB-WORKS Countach complete body kit. The bumper-diffuser-racing canard trio on the front is the literal depiction of I can see sounds syndrome. Look a little longer, and you can almost hear the driver grinding his teeth when hitting the brakes in anticipation of horrendous screeching between the low-profile Lambo and the asphalt.The Liberty Walk signature dish (the open wide fenders bolted onto the body) eats the tires (puns intended). The side skirt and accompanying diffuser would make shadows on the ground anxious about personal space invasion. It's all good so far, but check out the rear diffuser-and-wing assembly. Yep, that aileron is linked to the snow-plow-like inverted wing sitting low between the quad exhaust tips. And the driver can do without the rear-view mirror (not that it would have been of much use in the standard car), with the roof air intake taking most of that slit in the bodywork Lamborghini called rear window.So, after the Japanese customization shop took a Walk down Liberty lane and put the scalpel on a Ferrari F40 , it was a matter of time before an equally iconic Italian legend would get the low-down kimono garment. By the looks of it, Id say the Asian sculptors already had the Countach in their sights when they tried their hand at the Prancing Horse.So far, the price for the Countach body kit is not available, but we can look at the add-ons for the Maranello supercar. The Japanese customization culture works style visual and aerodynamic elements cost $127,600 in standard form or $160,600 for the Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic () option. The Countach has more Liberty Walk Works bodywork than the F40, so take the above numbers as a reference and build up from there.
Praga Bohema enters production, and the first clients are invited to watch how it is built. The first car to drive through the factory gate will be delivered to a customer in Europe in the first half of 2024.

Photo: Praga

The Bohema will feature a unique specification, and so will all the others, proving that the customization level of the model is out of this world. All the build slots for 2024 are taken, and the carmaker is already scheduling cars for production in 2025. Praga is not your usual Ford or Toyota, so if you might not have heard of this brand, even though it is one of the world's oldest, here is your chance to learn about it. In 117 years on the market, the company with a name inspired by the capital of the Czech Republic has produced cars, trucks, and planes.Now, the car division is working hard to deliver the Bohema, its first street-legal hypercar, on time. Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean was involved in the development of the car, and so was Ben Collins, pro driver and former Stag on BBCs Top Gear.Praga unveiled the Bohema prototype in late 2022. One year and a month later, the model will be manufactured in a factory near the capital of the Czech Republic. It will be hand-built in very low numbers over the next four years.The track-focused two-door coupe is powered by a Nissan-sourced rear mid-mounted 3.8-liter V6 twin-turbocharged engine mated to a six-speed sequential manual transmission. The unit was modded by Litchfield Engineering, which replaced the turbochargers to take the total output all the way to 700 horsepower (710 metric horsepower) and 535 pound-feet (725 Newton meters) of torque, all steered toward the rear axle.The Bohema might be Praga's last all-new hypercar with an internal combustion engine. It weighs just under 1,000 kilograms (2,205 pounds), and that is all due to the extensive use of carbon fiber.Praga invited the first clients who reserved an example to see how it's done with their own eyes at the company's bespoke assembly facility. They also had the chance to check out the production version that will be unveiled in the spring and take it on a drive on its standard Pirelli Trofeo R tires, wrapping 18-inch wheels at the front and 19-inch units at the rear.The Bohema runs from 0 to 62 mph (0 to 100 kph) in 3.5 seconds on its way to a top speed of 190 mph (300 kph). The first customer to enjoy this performance will get their new car in the first half of the year. Praga is also scheduling handovers in the United States and the United Arab Emirates this year.
Theres no shortage of awesome specs when it comes to the sixth generation Mustang, also known as the S550. When this car was unveiled back in December of 2013, people knew immediately that it represented a major upgrade compared to its predecessor.

Photo: Bring a Trailer

Ford then went on to build several amazing versions of the S550 Mustang, such as the Bullitt, the Mach 1, and the Shelby-branded GT350 and GT500. The latter two can be considered collectibles if you can find a low-mileage example today and put it in storage.Speaking of Shelby, or Shelby American to be precise, their take on the S550 Mustang GT is quite amazing. The tuner built a bunch of limited-edition Signature Series cars a while back, sending them out to dealerships across North America with 825 horsepower at their disposal. Only 50 of these cars exist today, and we just found a stunning convertible model getting auctioned off to the highest bidder.Its finished in Race Red with a black soft top and white vinyl racing stripes, plus matching lower door graphics with Shelby lettering. Other visual highlights include the wider fenders for a more planted stance, a dual-intake ram air hood, a front splitter, revised fascias, carbon fiber mirror caps, a rear spoiler, Shelby-branded taillight panel, plus a set of 20x11 forged alloy wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires.Meanwhile, the Carroll Shelby Signature Series package adds the Performance Track Handling suspension, as well as Brembo brakes with six-piston calipers at the front, four-piston ones at the rear.The interior hasnt been left alone either, featuring black Katzkin leather with perforated inserts on the heated, cooled, and power-adjustable front bucket seats, to go with white contrast stitching and special embroidery for the backrests. Other features include the custom light bar, adaptive cruise control, dual-zone automatic climate control, a 12-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system, an 8 touchscreen for the SYNC 3 infotainment system, and auxiliary gauges for boost pressure, fuel pressure and oil temperature.Also, theres a special dashboard plaque that identifies this as a Signature Edition Mustang , no. 16 of 50.As for the power unit, its Fords trusted 5.0-liter Coyote V8 , albeit modified to within an inch of its life. It now boasts a polished Whipple supercharger, an aluminum heat exchanger, billet throttle body, custom air intake, high-performance fuel injectors, plus a revised radiator and coolant overflow tank. The latter two are part of the Shelby Extreme Cooling System.Altogether, this car is putting down 825 horsepower, with everything going to the rear wheels via a 10-speed automatic gearbox.How much did this originally cost? Well, the Mustang GT donor vehicle was a $60,150 affair, while the Signature Edition Package retailed for $76,695. Overall, youre looking at a $136,845 Mustang  and if you hurry up, you might just be able to purchase it for a heck of a lot less.
If we look at America's 2023 mix of best-selling cars, crossovers, SUVs, and trucks, we will find many compact crossover nameplates in the top 25 deliveries.

SUV

For example, according to Car and Driver , the 25th is Ford's Escape, followed by Subaru's Forester (24th), Mazda's CX-5 (23rd), Subaru's Crosstrek (21st), Hyundai's Tucson (15th), Chevrolet's Equinox (14th), Nissan's Rogue (9th), Honda's CR-V (6th), and the ubiquitous Toyota RAV4 in fourth place. Basically, the latter is breathing in the neck of Ram's pickups (445k versus 435k units) and may even strive to one day attack the Chevy Silverado (543k) and Ford's F-Series throne (751k).Interestingly, we are pretty sure that many corner office head honchos from Honda's American headquarters are scratching their heads trying to come up with a solution to also come near the podium with the popular CR-V . In fact, the company sold almost 52% more compact crossover SUVs last year, while Toyota's rivals only soared almost 9% during the same period.As such, it is clearly important to keep the momentum going, as far as Honda is concerned  especially since Toyota might choose to bring out an all-new RAV4 later this year as the current fifth-generation model has been around since 2018. Meanwhile, Honda brought the sixth-generation CR-V to the market in 2022 and hasn't made too many changes since.Well, no worries, the imaginative realm of digital car content creators is coming to the rescue with the decision to unveil early  and completely unofficially  the refreshed 2025 Honda CR-V compact crossover. The good folks over at the AutoYa info channel on YouTube have imagined the CGI looks of the potential facelift for the popular Honda CR-V compact CUV, and their resident pixel master is responsible for making this feel like a genuine Honda. There are subtle changes everywhere so that diehard fans won't be scared by an extreme (hypothetical) redesign. The light touches cover both the front and rear (where there's a subtle light bar now) and introduce a massive portrait-oriented infotainment screen inside the cabin.Of course, the channel's CGI expert has also envisioned an entire array of ritzy colors for the unofficial refresh of the Honda CR-V compact crossover SUV, complete with regular and dual-tone options. Interestingly, while the Japanese automaker only sells the CR-V with gasoline (from $29,500) and hybrid powertrains (from $34k), the design project for the 2025 model year fancies the arrival of the plug-in hybrid option, as shown with the help of double front and rear charging and gasoline ports. So, what do you think  will Honda update the CR-V soon to get prepared to fight the all-new RAV4 , and will the facelift be subtle or more imposing than in this hypothetical presentation?
What's money good for if you're not spending it, right? Howard Schultz, the man who founded and currently serves as chairman emeritus of Starbucks, is perhaps the best person right now to answer that question, even if it's rhetorical.

Photo: YouTube / Dutch Yachting

With a net worth of almost $3.5 billion at the latest estimation, Howard Schultz is in a privileged position to do whatever he wishes in terms of things to buy to make himself feel good. While he's usually quite a private figure, Schultz is famous for his spectacular superyacht, the Feadship custom build he acquired in 2019, Pi.Pi is one of the most elusive presences on the superyacht market , because Schultz's wealth also allows him to retain full ownership of it without having to offer it for charter in the off-season.A 77-meter (252-foot) vessel, it was delivered to the owner as SYZYGY 818, a fully custom build, at the 2019 Monaco Yacht Show, where it won Best Yacht in Its Class and Motor Yacht of the Year. Schultz presumably saw it and liked it enough that it passed into his ownership just three months later, under the new name Pi.Described by trade publications as a sophisticated and highly competent vessel, Pi was able to sail under the proverbial radar for months in a row, occasionally making headlines as it moored into different harbors around the world. The last time it did so was May 2022, and it was presumably getting ready to head in for a refit at the Pendennis Shipyard in the UK.A new report from eSysman Superyacht is now saying that Pi is just now going in for a full refit, having been sold quietly on the specialized market, just one week after listing. Apparently, Schultz wanted to unload it before it was dry-docked, knowing that he wouldn't be able to enjoy it for at least half a year.He got a good deal out of it, too. The same report notes that Pi sold for the original asking price, which could be anything between $150 million and $200 million, if industry rumors are anything to go by. If this is true, it speaks volumes for the quality of work from builder Feadship  and for Pi itself.Schultz won't be boat-less for much longer, though. The sale isn't so much as a change in lifestyle for him as it's an upgrade of the same: the billionaire is currently awaiting delivery on his new superyacht, which, in true billionaire fashion, will be bigger, fancier, more expensive, and understandably more luxurious Feadship is handling this build as well. Known internally as Project 824, it's been in construction for months and was most recently seen in September 2023, when the hull and superstructure were joined at one of the Dutch yard's facilities.Project 824 is 100 meters long (328 feet) and will offer an interior volume of more than 3,000 GT, which technically takes it over the threshold into the megayacht category . With the new classification comes even more secrecy, so these are all the details available right now. Delivery is tentatively scheduled for 2025.
Parading in a Toyota Century SUV Convertible through the town is a reason many would buy the car in the first place. But wait a minute! The Century is not a convertible! Well, it is now!

SUV

Photo: Japan Sumo Association official channel

CVT

Toyota took the Century SUV Convertible to the Grand Sumo Tournament in Japan and showed that two Sumo wrestlers could very well fit in the modified cabin of the vehicle, which left its standardlooks far behind.The convertible was specifically requested by a retired sumo wrestler who intends to use it as a parade car for future champions. The original proposal coming from Toyota was reportedly a modified Toyota Crown . But the Sumo Association officials declined the offer and specifically asked for the Century.The model was unveiled outside the Ryogoku Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo in the presence of Toyota's Chairman, Akio Toyoda. He was accompanied by the Japan Sumo Association director Yamayasu Shibata and committee member Sho Miyagino.The drop-top SUV marks the 100th anniversary of Sumo, which will be celebrated in 2025 and will be the Japanese Association's official parade car.The lower section of the vehicle remains unchanged from the production version of the SUV. But the roof and pillars have been chopped off to turn the vehicle into a convertible. To make up for the lost rigidity, Toyota had to reinforce the body of the Century, which, naturally, added weight. To offset the extra weight, Toyota had to rework the suspension.There is no change in proportions. The four-door convertible is finished in white over an ivory interior and rides on multi-spoke alloy wheels.The carmaker also came up with a new layout for the cabin. The rear seats were deleted and replaced with a raised bench for the sumo champions to sit on during the parade while waving at the crowds. A very short backrest showed up at the rear, and there is a huge amount of legroom on board. That space looks like it can accommodate several athletes.Toyota does not mention any changes to the powertrain. This means that there is still the stock 3.5-liter V6 engine working under the hood in a plug-in hybrid layout. Thus, the model benefits from the presence of 406 horsepower (412 metric horsepower), delivered to all four corners via the e-transmission and the E-Four Advanced all-wheel drive system.The lithium-ion battery pack stores enough energy for a zero-emission drive of up to 43 miles (69 kilometers). We have no idea of the impact of the sumo wrestlers on that range, though.The Century SUV is Toyota's most expensive model. Customers in Japan can order it for the equivalent of $170,000, and that's before checking any option boxes. The carmaker has not unveiled the cost of this build, though.
After December 2023, everything is different in the field of American pony and muscle cars. That's because the Dodge Charger sedan, Challenger coupe, and the Chevy Camaro coupe and Convertible are no more  and the S650 seventh-generation 2024 Ford Mustang is the last one standing and keeping the banner alive.

EV

Surely enough, Dodge will return to the segment in a novel kind ofway  the 2025 Dodge Charger Daytona with the Fratzog logo and no exhaust tips is intensely teased and slated to arrive late this year, probably with fully electric powertrains under the hood. The rumor mill also believes that 3.0-liter Hurricane inline-six turbos are in store for the regular Charger, which will revert to a two-door fastback coupe lifestyle.How about Chevrolet ? Well, the company is now free of the low-selling Camaro and only has the affordable Malibu mid-size sedan and the C8 Corvette series to worry about. Naturally, most people would love to see the Detroit automaker focus on the latter  and the GM subsidiary is preparing to unleash the C8 Corvette ZR1 plus an alleged Zora hypercar pushing the boundary of hybridization past the 1,000-hp threshold.What about full EVs? Chevrolet is currently trying to form a novel Ultium-based family, but problems have delayed the anticipated launches of the Equinox EV, Blazer EV, and Silverado EV RST, with only the Silverado EV WT available in limited quantities. Also, it needs to focus on developing the next-generation Bolt EV because that's the bread and butter. Past that, it might also try its hand with a fully electric Corvette.Well, according to the imaginative realm of digital car content creators, that Corvette EV might also come in the body form of a sleek four-door sedan  after all, the brand is missing a sporty element in that department. The Halo oto channel on YouTube provides fresh automotive info corroborated with their virtual designs; now, there are some new CGI ideas about that Corvette EV sedan.The four-door borrows many cues from the Equinox, Blazer, and Silverado EVs to implement the front design, but further from that, it's absolutely different from anything on offer by Chevrolet in the real world. That's not necessarily a bad thing because the Corvette RS EV saloon feels modern, sleek, and decidedly sporty in the unofficial design project by the channel's resident pixel master.As for the powertrain, we can easily imagine the choice of BEV3 platform, Ultium technology, Ultify software, and maybe a tweaked setup from the Blazer SS EV to warrant its Corvette RS EV moniker  around 600 hp instead of 557 ponies would be more than enough to make a four-door statement against the Tesla Model S or Porsche Taycan Turbo S, at least initially. After that, of course, they can also think about Plaid and Sapphire-beating ideas, right?
There are numerous examples of their collaboration, but on this particular occasion, the imaginative realm of digital car content creators has settled on a singularity  the Renault Alaskan mid-size pickup truck. In case the model is too obscure, no worries; it's just another instance of the third-generation D23 Nissan Navara platform  exactly like the Mercedes-Benz X-Class was between 2016 and 2020 or the Dongfeng Rich 6 from 2018.The Nissan Navara has been around since 1997 as the nameplate for Nissan trucks, but its heritage can be traced back to 1985 when the D21 generation became the successor to the Datsun 720 models. It carried a lot of names back in the day - Nissan Datsun Truck in Japan, Navara in Australia and New Zealand, Nissan Hardbody in America, and many more (Power Eagle, Big M, Camiones, Hustler, Pathfinder Eagle, etc.).Luckily, beginning with the first official generation  D22, Nissan settled on Navara for international markets and Frontier in North America. Today, though, these models are separate entities after the Japanese automaker finally decided to make the Frontier a standalone model that's way better suited to the peculiarities of the North American market.Well, at least one pixel master - Kleber Silva, a Brazil-based virtual artist known as KDesign AG on social media, believes that the Nissan Frontier is too cool not to be shared outside of the region and wants the second-generation Renault Alaskan to follow its example and present itself as a rebadged sibling. After all, if Mitsubishi can pull this off with various Renault models, why the latter can't do the same with the Frontier instead of the Nissan Navara this time?Well, it's pretty clear that it wouldn't take much for Renault to adopt the styling of the Nissan Frontier for its hypothetical second generation of the Alaskan model. However, we are not so sure that the Japanese automaker would approve yet another know-how transfer. As such, a different CGI expert devised a second solution to this potential predicament.More precisely, the virtual artist known as Theottle on social media has conveniently made sure that no one will be upset because his take on the next Alaskan iteration is a Dacia Duster-based pickup truck, stretched and reworked to accommodate the adventurous design on top of the framework provided by the latest version of the Mitsubishi Triton (L200) pickup truck. So, which one is more to your liking  a simple rebadge of the Nissan Frontier or the attractive, enlarged Duster skinned as a Renault mid-size pickup truck?
The EU has been using every opportunity to pass clear messages to Azerbaijan that any violation of Armenias territorial integrity would be unacceptable and will have severe consequences for our relations, the EU foreign policy spokesman, Peter Stano, told the Armenpress news agency.

We remain firm and steadfast in this stance, Stano said, commenting on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyevs latest statements on the conflict with Armenia.

Aliyev said last week that Azerbaijani people and cargo transported to and from Nakhichevan through Armenias Syunik province must be exempt from Armenian border checks. He also demanded Armenian withdrawal from eight Azerbaijani villages and again dismissed Yerevans insistence on using the most recent Soviet maps to delimit the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian rejected Aliyevs demands, saying that they amount to territorial claims to Armenia. Pashinian also accused Baku of undermining prospects for the signing of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty strongly supported by the EU and the United States.

The EUs foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, issued the same warning to Baku in November as the 27-nation bloc decided to deploy more observers to Armenias volatile border with Azerbaijan. The EU launched the monitoring mission in February 2023 with the stated aim of preventing or reducing ceasefire violations there.

EU officials have so far not elaborated on the severe consequences for Azerbaijan. They resisted calls to impose sanctions on Baku even after last Septembers Azerbaijani military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh that forced the regions practically entire population to flee to Armenia.

Some analysts linked their stance to a 2022 agreement to significantly increase the EUs import of Azerbaijani natural gas. The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, described Azerbaijan as a key partner in our efforts to move away from Russian fossil fuels when she signed the deal in Baku.
By Ahn Ho-young

Its a new year. We come across a lot of geopolitical and economic forecasts for the new year: tensions in U.S.-China relations; wars continuing to rage in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip; major elections in more than 40 countries, including Korea and the United States; and how all of these developments will impact Koreas security and economic landscape.

Amid all these forecasts and concerns, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un raised the level of threat against South Korea through his statement at the Central Committee Plenary Meeting held in Pyongyang at the end of December. He redefined relations between the two Koreas as hostile and belligerent, and vowed that North Korea would make every possible effort to overpower the whole of South Korea's territory, employing all the available capabilities and resources, including nuclear weapons.

This heightened threat from Kim himself will lead to increasing calls in South Korea for the re-deployment of tactical nuclear weapons, or even South Koreas own nuclear weapons development program. However, for the time being, the most realistic measure we can take is to fully implement and utilize the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), which was launched in July last year. The NCG had its second meeting in Washington, D.C., last December. At the meeting, the NCG adopted the work plan for 2024, which clearly reflected its commitment to timely and full implementation.

First of all, the NCG agreed to work out by this coming June the guidelines necessary to regulate the nuclear consultation processes in times of crisis and contingencies. Before the NCG, there was an important credibility issue with the U.S.' extended deterrence. It was because of the perception that the extended deterrence was a unilateral offer by the U.S. over which South Korea did not have any say. The adoption of the guidelines must help to meet the objective of joint planning and joint implementation, and remove the credibility gap.

Second, the NCG agreed to continue to develop security and information-sharing protocols. However, in the multi-faceted security consultations between Korea and the U.S., one piece of information, that the U.S. does not share with Korea, is the information concerning U.S. nuclear assets and their operations. The NCGs work on security and information-sharing protocols is expected to lead to enhanced sharing of quality information with Korea, an essential element for the success of the NCG.

Third, through the NCG, it was agreed that the expansion of exercises, simulations and training between the two militaries will be implemented. Military commanders repeatedly emphasize the importance of training and exercises. That is generally true. With respect to the NCG in particular, the importance of training and exercises cannot be overemphasized for the simple reason that extended deterrence against North Korea involves two militaries and weapons under systems of conventional nuclear integration (CNI). It is a highly sophisticated operation.

Other than the three points summed up above, the 2nd NCG reviewed progress and adopted a work plan for such important topics as strategic communications and risk reduction practices. The NCGs progress so far has been solid and credible, which hopefully will continue in the new year. On top of them, I wish to make several suggestions for the future progress of the NCG.

First, when we complete the work regarding the guidelines for nuclear consultation by June, we will have to work out the operational plan for CNI in accordance with those guidelines. The Tailored Deterrence Strategy (TDS) for Korea was amended after 10 years on the occasion of the Security Consultative Meeting held in Seoul last November. At the time, General Shin Won-sik, Koreas Minister of National Defense, said that the TDS would be further developed to an operational level.

Second, in order to ensure the effective implementation of the guidelines and the operational plan, Korea must expedite and complete its plan to modernize and enhance its conventional capabilities based on the three pillars of its Kill Chain for preemptive strikes, the Korea Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system and the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR) program. It is encouraging that the Korean Ministry of National Defenses Mid-term Plan for 2024-28 designated the three pillars as the top priority of the plan.

Third, for the effective sharing of nuclear-related information, it is necessary to detach Korean officers to work at the U.S. Strategic Command. A Working Group has been set up under the NCG. Korean officers at the Working Group must be sent to the U.S. Strategic Command to work together with their U.S. counterparts, modeled on the way the officers of the two countries have so successfully worked together at the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command in Korea since 1978.

The author is chair professor at Kyungnam University. He served as Korean ambassador to the U.S. and vice foreign minister.
16 January 2024 19:47 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

Once again the elites of the world, from politics to art, come together in Davos, a popular ski resort high in the Swiss Alps, to discuss the future direction of life on the earth. The 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) commenced under the motto Rebuilding Trust on January 15. WEF is aiming to discuss the basic principles of trust  transparency, coherence and responsibility.

As is known, the World Economic Forum has been held in Davos annually since 1971 and the resorts name even became the common shorthand for the event. Generally, the Forum lasts one week and during this period the tiny settlement in the Alps becomes the center of attention. The Forum is often criticized as a talking shop for the worlds privileged 1 percent trying to lobby and influence powerful elites to affect change on a global scale. Typically, the US president, leaders of the EU, the UN, and also business leaders and entrepreneurs, prominent thinkers and academics, heads of NGOs and the charity sector, innovators, the media, civil society, activists of all creeds, and even the occasional celebrity attend the Forum. It is also where companies - and even countries and regions - set up their stalls to sell concepts and services, or attract investment.

This year the Forum is organized against the backdrop of military confrontations such as the Ukrainian war, the Israel-Hamas conflict, the crisis in the Red Sea, the firing of missiles at the US bases in the North of Iraq by Iran, and the threat of negative impact of the said conflicts on the global economy is the main concern of the forum.

The event will see quite a few countries presidents take part, including Frances Emmanuel Macron, Israels Isaac Herzog and Ukraines Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and European President Ursula von der Leyen, plus a host of others, are also expected to attend.

Like all countries in the world, Azerbaijan attaches great importance to the Forum and takes part in it since 1992, when the country got its independence. This year a delegation from Azerbaijan, led by the Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov, is participating at the Forum. The Delegation left Baku for Davos on January 15.

Speaking to Azernews on the issue, Natig Jafarly said that the Davos Economic Forum is one of the most influential economic forums in the world, and perhaps the first. He pointed out that good relations have been formed between Azerbaijan and the Forum for a long time. He recalled that even the late president Heydar Aliyev visited Davos many times.

The current president, Ilham Aliyev, has also visited Davos many times, and made speeches at the forum, and these speeches were received with great interest. In the Davos economic forum, the economic prospects of the world in the near future are discussed and problems are put on the table, the expert said.

N.Jafarly also talked about the issues raised by Azerbaijan in Davos.

"This year's two issues step out at the Forum and they are artificial intelligence and security. In both issues, Azerbaijan has its own position and has a say and opportunities to participate. Therefore, the participation of the Azerbaijani delegation in Davos will have a positive effect on increasing interest in Azerbaijan, looking for ways to attract investments, and holding meetings.

In any case, participation in a prestigious forum like Davos is an important step in the name of Azerbaijan and in terms of increasing interest in Azerbaijan, economist Natig Jafarly said.

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Qabil Ashirov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @g_Ashirov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
16 January 2024 15:26 (UTC+04:00)

Nigar Hasanova Read more

In January-December 2023, Turkiye reduced its exports of automobile industry products to Azerbaijan by 26.2 percent to $112.7 million compared to the same period of 2022.

Azernews reports that TurkicWorld was informed about this by the Ministry of Trade of Turkiye.

In December 2023, Turkiye's export of automobile industry products to Azerbaijan decreased by 1.4 percent to 11.1 million dollars compared to the same month of 2022.

It should be noted that in January-December 2023, the export of Turkish automobile industry products increased by 13 percent compared to the same period of 2022 and was equal to 35 billion dollars.

In December 2023, Turkiye exported $3.2 bln worth of automotive products, which is 1.1 percent more than in December 2022.

It was noted that during the last 12 months (December 2022-December 2023), Turkey exported automobile industry products for $35 bln.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
16 January 2024 11:37 (UTC+04:00)

Laman Ismayilova Read more

The Ganja State Philharmonic Hall has hosted a closing ceremony of the project "Cultural Heritage of the Nation" (Xalqn mdni srvti).

Initiated by the Honored Artist Ramil Gasimov, thee project aims to promote classical examples of Azerbaijan in the regions and convey national and spiritual values and folk music to modern youth, Azernews reports.

The project was implemented by the Ganja-Dashkesan Regional Department of the Culture Ministry and the Ganja State Philharmonic Hall.

At the opening of the evening, the project author, director of the Ganja Philharmonic Hall, Honored Artist Ramil Gasimov expressed his gratitude to the Culture Ministry for its support.

He underlined that a "Musical Parade" of works by Fikrat Amirov, an outstanding Azerbaijani composer and the founder of the symphonic mugham genre in world music was held as part of the project with participation of 4, 000 musicians and vocalists.

"With great pride and confidence we can say that the talents raised by Ganja will make a great contribution to Azerbaijani culture and music in the future, as it has always been," said Ramil Gasimov.

The concert program featured students from children's music schools and art schools in Ganja, Goranboy, Dashkesan and Samukh, who performed works by the great composer Fikrat Amirov.

In the foyer there was an exhibition of works of art dedicated to the work of Fikrat Amirov.

Fikrat Amirov, the founder of the symphonic mugham genre, brilliantly synthesised folk music and mugham traditions with modern musical techniques.

The composer wrote the first Azerbaijani lyrical-psychological opera on a contemporary theme. In the opera Sevil, the composer used a variety of musical forms.

Amirov's symphonic mughams, Shur and Kurd Ovshari, are unprecedented in the history of world music.

He is the author of numerous operas, ballets, symphonies, symphonic poems, symphonic mugham, suites, capriccio, piano concertos, sonatas, musical comedies and songs, love songs, piano pieces, music for dramatic productions, and movies.

Fikrat Amirov's heritage, which calls for patriotism, always instills spiritual richness, and glorifies human ideals, is one of the brightest pages in the history of Azerbaijani music.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr

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16 January 2024 11:19 (UTC+04:00)

Nigar Hasanova Read more

The leadership, teaching staff, and students of the National Defense University and the Command and Staff College of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia visited the Military Administration Institute of the National Defense University in Azerbaijan, Azernews reports.

This was informed by the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan.

The delegation was presented with a briefing on the history, educational system, and scientific activities of the National Defense University.

At the meeting, the expansion of cooperation in the field of military education between the two countries was discussed, detailed views were exchanged on the work to be done in this field, and several issues of mutual interest.

Then the delegation visited the Center for War Games of the Military Administration Institute of the National Defense University. The guests were informed about the main activities, opportunities, and capabilities of the institute and the center.

At the end, the sides exchanged presents and a photo was taken.

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16 January 2024 12:18 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

The government of Saudi Arabia will provide financial support to the humanitarian demining activities carried out in Azerbaijan through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid Center of this country, Azernews reports.

For this purpose, a Memorandum of Financial Assistance was signed between the Chairman of the Board of the Demining Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Vugar Suleymanov, and the Deputy Director of the Medical and Environmental Department of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid Center, Abdullah Muhammed Alvadeyi. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the Republic of Azerbaijan Essam bin Saleh Algetal also participated in the event.

A meeting was held between the parties as part of the signing ceremony. Vugar Suleymanov thanked Abdullah Muhammed Alvadeyi for the financial contribution of Saudi Arabia for demining activities in Azerbaijan. At the meeting, the guest was given detailed information about the mine problem facing our country, the large-scale humanitarian demining activities currently being carried out, and the restoration and reconstruction works carried out for the return of the former IDPs to their lands.

Also, the parties exchanged views on the support provided to combat the mine threat and the future development prospects of cooperation in this field. Abdullah Mohammad Alvadeyi expressed his satisfaction with the friendly and brotherly relations between Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia and emphasized that his country is with Azerbaijan in the issue of humanitarian demining and supports Azerbaijan.

During the event, the guests got acquainted with the exhibition where models of mine and other explosive ammunition samples, minesweepers' tools and equipment, and personal protective clothing were displayed in the liberated areas.

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16 January 2024 12:26 (UTC+04:00)

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has examined the conditions created in the newly constructed modern penitentiary complex of the Ministry of Justice in Lankaran.

Minister of Justice Fikrat Mammadov briefed the head of state on the penitentiary complex.

The penitentiary complex, designed to accommodate up to 1300 individuals, consists of two zones and includes seven cell blocks equipped with various amenities. Facilities such as a library, TV room, and a sports field are provided to ensure productive leisure time for inmates.

The penitentiary complex houses a medical point, prayer room, kitchen, dining hall and a laundry.

Special rooms equipped with the necessary tools for remote participation in court hearings through video conferencing, as well as for phone calls and video meetings for detainees, were established.

During the tour of the complex, the head of state was introduced to the EN TEZ (Emergency Electronic Call to the Ministry of Justice) Service platform installed in the complex.

This platform was implemented in First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva-initiated DOST, as well as "ASAN xidmet" centers and Heydar Aliyev International Airport.

A multi-story residential building with 30 apartments was constructed on the complex's premises to accommodate staff members.

President Ilham Aliyev also received information about the newly commissioned penitentiary complex in the Umbaki settlement of Baku.

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16 January 2024 12:56 (UTC+04:00)

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has inspected the operations of a confectionery manufacturing enterprise owned by Laran Limited Liability Company (LLC) in Lankaran.

Director of the Laran LLC briefed the head of state about the conditions created at the facility and products manufactured on-site.

The Entrepreneurship Development Fund extended a soft loan of 1.2 million manats as state support for the project, which has a total value of 5 million manats. The production capacity of the facility, currently producing 1500-1800 tons, is 2000-2500 tons and includes 5 types and 56 varieties, such as caramel, Turkish delight, chocolate-covered Turkish delight, marmalade, and chocolate-covered marmalade.

The equipment installed is sourced from Brazil, Turkiye, China, and Russia. Besides serving the domestic market, the facility exports its products to Russia, Israel, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Moldova, and Iraq.

Currently employing 120 people, the facility covers a total area of 4900 square meters, housing a main building, boiler room, transition zone, anti-fire water tank, and a transformer substation. The premises also feature a spacious green area.

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16 January 2024 15:41 (UTC+04:00)

Nigar Hasanova Read more

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Guatemala Mammad Talibov has participated in the swearing-in ceremony of the countrys new President Bernardo Arevalo de Leon, Azernews reports

During the ceremony, Ambassador Mammad Talibov conveyed the congratulations and warm greetings of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Guatemalas new President.

Noting that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Guatemala and Azerbaijan, the ambassador expressed his confidence in the further development of friendly ties and cooperation between the two countries.

Expressing his appreciation, the President of Guatemala also asked to extend his deep respect and best wishes to President Ilham Aliyev. President Bernardo Arevalo de Leon expressed his interest in further enhancing cooperation between Guatemala and Azerbaijan.

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16 January 2024 16:38 (UTC+04:00)

Abbas Ganbay Read more

The Embassy of Georgia in the Republic of Azerbaijan expresses condolences to the families of the victims of the January 15 explosion in a furniture shop in Baku and all Azerbaijani people.

Azernews reports the condolence message reads:

"We were very saddened by the news of the explosion in a furniture shop in Baku with human casualties. We express our deep condolences to the families and relatives of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to the injured, in these difficult times we are with friendly Azerbaijan".

Recall that yesterday there was an explosion in a furniture shop located on A.Kunanbayev Street in Binagadi district of Baku. As a result of the incident, rescuers pulled out three people from under the rubble (they are alive). A total of 24 people were injured, seven people died, and their bodies were transferred to their destination.

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16 January 2024 17:00 (UTC+04:00)

Nigar Hasanova Read more

The main directions of Azerbaijan's presidency in the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM) for 2024 have been determined, Azernews reports.

This was informed by the institution's press service.

It was noted that during the presidency, Azerbaijan will try to contribute to the implementation of the organization's goals, especially the exchange of experience and knowledge in the field of demining and post-conflict recovery and reconstruction, as well as strengthening cooperation in the field of transport and logistics. At the same time, stimulation of activities in the field of digitization, digitization of transport corridors, energy security, etc. will focus on areas of cooperation such as

In addition, Azerbaijan's chairmanship will continue to coordinate joint efforts of GUAM member states within the framework of international platforms - UN, OSCE, Council of Europe, and other international organizations. The chairmanship will also focus on increasing the efficiency of the organization.

It should be noted that in 2024, the presidency of Azerbaijan will organize the meetings of the Council of National Coordinators and the Council of Foreign Ministers.

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By Song Kyung-jin

Always hungry for natural resources, the whole of Korea went crazy with the No. 1 hit song Block 7 in 1980. I was glued to the TV when that song was aired. The song was written after the Korea-Japan Continental Shelf Agreement, which was signed in January 1974, and which came into effect in June 1978 with a 50-year validity. That craze drove all Koreans to be hopeful of an oil-producing Korea, especially after the two oil shocks of the 1970s.

The once epoch-making agreement is due to expire in June 2028 if either party does not notify of its intention for an extension before June 2025, the end date for its termination. Korea needs to quickly start working on the extension of the agreement to ensure the joint exploration and exploitation of oil, gas and minerals in the Joint Development Zone (JDZ), also known as Block 7, in the East China Sea as stipulated in the agreement.





The grounds for the existence of the agreement stem from a survey conducted by a United Nations agency, the Committee for the Coordination of Joint Prospecting for Mineral Resources in Asian Offshore Areas (CCOP) and the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office in 1968. It addressed a high probability that the continental shelf between Taiwan and Japan may be one of the largest unexplored oil and gas reservoirs in the world. The survey result was published as the so-called Emery Report of 1969. A similar report was released by the Wilson Center in 2005.



Ever since the discovery, however, this continental shelf has been subject to disputes over offshore boundaries between Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan and Vietnam. On top of boundary disputes, changes in international maritime law have led Japan to demonstrate lukewarm responses to joint activities in the JDZ. At the time of the agreement, the predominant international maritime application was the natural prolongation theory of the continental shelf. Despite that approximately 90 percent of the JDZ is allegedly in Japans Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Japan had to accept the concept of JDZ. Hence, Japan had little reason to be enthusiastic about joint activities in the JDZ.

With the signing of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1982, the median line principle replaced the natural prolongation theory as the norm for maritime delimitation. The median line principle is more favorable to Japan than to Korea; thus, Japan has fewer reasons and incentives for joint activities. That explains why Japan has kept silent about the JDZ issue. Coincidentally, in 1986 Japan withdrew from the joint exploration on grounds of the little commercial value of Block 7.

In the meantime, however, some evidence against Japans claim that there was no commercial viability took place. China began producing natural gas offshore in the Chunxiao gas field near the JDZ, or Block 7, in January 2006 and developed four more offshore gas fields in the Xihu Trough in the East China Sea. An unnerved Japan signed a joint development agreement with China in 2008. Korea was not invited as a party to the agreement, leaving room for potential tension and disputes among the three countries with regard to the JDZ and its impact on each of their EEZs that overlapped.

Given the chronological developments in and surrounding the JDZ, one cannot rule out the possibility of Block 7 holding a significant amount of oil, gas and minerals, although untested yet. Thus, Korea should waste no time in urging Japan to commence immediate joint activities in Block 7 and keep raising with Japan the extension of the Agreement beyond 2028. Japan should also accept the offer from Korea and come to the negotiating table. The two countries should capitalize on the improved bilateral relations that have been absent for more than a decade. If the two sides let this golden opportunity slip due to mutual unwillingness and inertia, the improved relations will be short lived, let alone the demise of Block 7 and the death of the possibility of enjoying the offshore natural resources.

Failure to extend the agreement is tantamount to opening a Pandoras Box. It will highly likely create territorial, security and economic challenges in the East China Sea and the Indo-Pacific region. It is especially burdensome for the neighboring countries when China is flexing its muscles all over the region with increased maritime activities including exploring offshore natural resources. So the failure will likely lead to disputes over the JDZ, which will worsen the relations among the three countries having overlapped the EEZs. Strained China-Japan relations will also likely amplify the China-Japan territorial dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, further destabilizing bilateral relations and fanning ominous geoeconomic and geopolitical challenges. What matters most is that it will most negatively affect and limit the maritime access of Korea, which is a major trading nation, leading to disruptions to the global supply chain. Without the three countries cooperation regarding the JDZ, regional economic and security stability will be greatly disturbed.



Dr. Song Kyung-jin (kj_song@hotmail.com) led the Institute for Global Economics (IGE), based in Seoul and served as special adviser to the chairman of the Presidential Committee for the Seoul G20 Summit in the Office of the President. Presently, she is executive director of the Innovative Economy Forum.
16 January 2024 15:57 (UTC+04:00)

By Alimat Aliyeva, AZERNEWS

South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and major local refineries expect that tensions over the Strait of Hormuz and the activities of Houthi militants are unlikely to prevent crude oil imports into the country from the Middle East, but some shipments of Kazakh CPC Blend crude oil may face delays in arrival as they follow a longer route to Cape of Good Hope.

This is reported by Azernews with reference to the international rating agency S&P Global Commodity Insights.

"The supply of Kazakhstan's light sweet CPC blend is under threat due to the growing security threats in the Red Sea area. CPC Blend oil is first delivered from production facilities to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk via the Tengiz-Black Sea pipeline, and then through the Suez Canal to South Korean ports," S&P notes.

According to refinery sources with direct knowledge of the situation, CPC Blend crude oil shipments for South Korea rounded the Suez Canal and headed along a longer route to the Cape of Good Hope.

The dependence of Asian refineries on the Red Sea shipping route in total crude oil imports is negligible. Almost all crude oil shipments from the United States, Latin America and West Africa are usually sent to the Far East via the southern tip of South Africa.

However, small volumes of Libyan El Sharara oil, Mesla mixture and Mellitah condensate, as well as Algerian Saharan Blend, Kazakh CPC mixture and Azerbaijani Azeri Light oil are delivered in Suezmaxes tankers or smaller tankers that pass through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea route before reaching the Far Eastern direction.

South Korea regularly imports about 2-5 million barrels of CPC Blend oil per month, but refineries have said they will reduce purchases of light low-sulfur oil as shipping costs rise sharply, while supply delays of up to two weeks are expected in the first place. Cargo with a quarter loading has been purchased, sources in the management of the refinery and the raw materials company said.

Meanwhile, refiners noted that the logistical risks and higher costs of transporting CPC Blend oil are unlikely to harm their monthly raw material purchase plans, as there are many alternative supply options.

"The Suez Canal and the Red Sea have never been an important oil trade route for South Korea," said a manager of highsulfur crude and condensate reserves at the Ulsan refinery.

South Korea does not necessarily have to depend on supplies from North Africa and the Mediterranean, since a lot of light, low-sulfur oil is offered in the United States, said raw material managers at two refineries.

U.S. crude supplies in December, mainly light grades of oil, including WTI Midland, increased by 18.9% year-on-year to 15.7 million barrels, customs data showed, which was the largest volume since 15.09 million barrels received in January 2022.

In total, the world's fourth largest oil importer received 88.22 million barrels last month, or 2.85 million barrels per day of crude oil.

For the whole of 2023, South Korea imported 1 billion 004.1 million barrels of crude oil, which is 2.6% less than 1 billion 031.28 million barrels imported in 2022, customs data show.

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16 January 2024 09:00 (UTC+04:00)

South Korea's Special Representative for Peace and Security on the Korean Peninsula, Kim Gong, discussed with the US Special Representative for the DPRK, Chong Park, and the head of the Department of Asian and Oceanic Affairs of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Hiroyuki Namazu, the launch of a hypersonic missile by Pyongyang on Sunday, Azernews reports, citing South Korean Foreign Ministry.

It is noted that diplomats condemned the launch as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions, threatening peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in the region.

Pointing to the North's provocations as the "root causes" of instability in the region, the three sides stressed that cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan would strengthen.

In addition, the interlocutors agreed to closely monitor the visit of North Korean Foreign Minister Choi Song-hee to Russia this week.

On Sunday, the Yonhap news agency, citing the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the South Korean Armed Forces, reported that North Korea had fired a ballistic missile towards the Sea of Japan.

This missile test is the first since December 18, when Pyongyang tested the Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental missile, designed to be able to reach the continental United States.

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16 January 2024 10:18 (UTC+04:00)

Abbas Ganbay Read more

Pro-Armenian candidate Vivek Ramaswamy for U.S. president announced his withdrawal from the US presidential race, Azernews reports, citing foreign media.

V. Ramaswamy called Trump and congratulated him on his victory in the Republican primaries in Iowa. He stated that from now on he would support Donald Trump.

According to the preliminary results of voting in the Republican Party primary elections in the state of Iowa, former US President Donald Trump is leading among all other candidates, citing the primary voting results released by the press service of the Republican Party in Iowa.

According to the document, more than 70% of voters cast their votes for him, which is significantly ahead of the other contenders.

In second place is Florida Governor Ron Desantis, who was supported by more than 15% of Republicans. Nikki Haley, former U.N. ambassador to the United Nations, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy received 5.3% and 4.1% of the vote, respectively.

The main intrigue of these caucuses is whether Haley, Desantis, and Ramaswamy can seriously compete with Trump.

Before that, the former President of the United States of America Donald Trump promised to arrange the largest deportation in American history if he wins future elections for head of state.

Recall that the Republican primaries in the United States started on January 15 in Iowa. According to the results of preliminary voting, Ramaswamy was able to get only 7.8 percent of the votes. Former President Donald Trump is leading with almost 52 percent of the vote. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis came in second place. He announced his intention to continue to participate in the election race. The first "three" close the former US permanent representative to the UN Nikki Hale.

Indian-origin Vivek Ramaswamy, among the candidates for the presidential elections in the United States, is distinctive with his pro-Armenian position. In his speech at every talk show and TV program, he defends Armenians as the first traditional step to increase his political rating. However, in order to make his speech more effective, Vivek confusedly mentions Azerbaijan as one of the African countries and baselessly condemns the country for "oppressing" Armenians.

This love of Vivek Ramaswamy for Armenians has made him quite popular together with his anti-Azerbaijan rhetoric as well.

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16 January 2024 12:45 (UTC+04:00)

Elnur Enveroglu Read more

Although the history of the United States of America does not cover a very long time, it is rich in many interesting events. Especially the presidential elections held in the United States have always played a role of trigger to create noise in the political sphere.

The latest results show that the era of incumbent Democratic leader Joseph Biden is coming to an end. But who is the candidate who can replace the old president?

When Donald Trump, who is called a populist and radical nationalist by many Americans, was elected president in 2016, defeating his opponent from the Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton, it was remembered by serious events in the history of the United States. While ordering the construction of the Mexican wall, Trump drew attention with his ultra nationalist and racist character.

Donald Trump, who easily attracts the attention of the masses in more talk shows and has no military knowledge, has also created serious turbulence in the Middle East and Iran relations. Although he is not a complete politician, he is able to hypothetically convince the masses thanks to his talent as a showman. His election as president was observed by many protests. Trump is as much a nationalist as he is an anti-Islamist and a racist.

After becoming president, Trump began to prevent the arrival of immigrants from Muslim countries, as well as ordered the spending of millions of dollars from the US military budget to build walls in Mexico.

Donald Trump, who lost the election to his rival Joseph Biden in 2020, could not easily digest his defeat. He turned the defeat in the elections into a protest under the guise of fraud and tried to prevent the new president from taking office with various maneuvers. On January 6, 2021, he urged his supporters to march to the U.S. Capitol, which many of them then attacked, resulting in multiple deaths and interrupting the electoral vote count.

Donald Trump, who always likes controversy shows, is the first president in American history to have been impeached twice. It is interesting that Trump, who was impeached for the second time in 2021 and acquitted by the Senate, was included in the ranks of the worst presidents in American history.

However, currently, history is changing and, to be more precise, Donald Trump is trying to create a new page in the history of the United States. The former US President is leading among all other candidates in the Iowa Republican primary, according to preliminary voting results.

In the document, it shows that more than 70% of voters cast their votes for him, which is significantly ahead of the other contenders.

In second place is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is supported by more than 15% of Republicans. While Nikki Haley, former permanent representative to the UN, and businessman and pro-Armenian Vivek Ramaswamy received 5.3% and 4.1% of the votes, respectively.

It is significant to note that V. Ramaswamy recently announced his withdrawal from the US presidential race. He called Trump and congratulated him on his victory in the Republican primaries in Iowa. He stated that from now on he would support Trump.

And the most important point is that, prior to this, former President of the United States of America Donald Trump promised to arrange the largest deportation in American history if he wins the future presidential elections.

Pre-elections and tumults in Iran

In 2020, Donald Trump, who ordered the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general and the commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, brought relations with Iran to the worst ever situation. This not only cut off Iran's arm in the Middle East, but also led to an increase in internal turmoil.

Although the situation changed slightly during the administration of President Joseph Biden, Trump's desire to return to the White House later returned the situation to its previous shape. On January 3, 2024, on the eve of the memorial day of the late general, the terrorist incident in Kerman, Iran once again uncovered the footsteps of Trump. After 4 years, on the eve of the next presidential elections, and the incident in Baghdad on the same day 4 years ago - all these can be taken into account as signs predicting the future of Iran-US relations.

Because the January 3 terrorist incident in Kerman was not left unanswered. Iran's IRGC attacked American targets in Erbil, Iraq following the January 3 terrorist actions that Iran speculates as having been committed by the US.

Thus, Trump, who is ahead in the elections, and his turbulent steps are approaching. 2024 ushers in a new show era for US history.

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Elnur Enveroglu is AzerNews Deputy Editor-in-Chief, follow him on @ElnurMammadli1

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16 January 2024 20:40 (UTC+04:00)

On January 16, 2024, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Uzbekistan to the UAE Abdulaziz Akkulov and the Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs Khalid Abdullah Humaid Belhoul signed a cooperation protocol between the Government of Uzbekistan and the Government of the UAE on mutual exemption from entry visa requirements, Azernews reports, citing Kun.uz News Agency.

The document will officially enter into force on February 16, 2024.
16 January 2024 10:38 (UTC+04:00)

Nigar Hasanova Read more

A total of 5,010 tourists from Tajikistan visited Azerbaijan in 2023, which is an 83.1-percent increase compared to the same period in 2022 (2,736 tourists), Azernews reports.

Data from the State Tourism Agency of Azerbaijan indicates that this figure rose by 45.2 percent compared to the pre-COVID-19 year of 2019, when 3,450 citizens of Tajikistan visited Azerbaijan.

In December 2023, Azerbaijan welcomed 599 Tajik citizens, which is 2.2 times more than in December 2022 (263 tourists). In comparison, 338 tourists from Tajikistan visited Azerbaijan in December 2019.

The visits of Tajikistani tourists to Azerbaijan in 2023, broken down by month, are as follows: January (165 tourists), February (177 tourists), March (317 tourists), April (294 tourists), May (299 tourists), June (452 tourists), July (691 tourists), August (507 tourists), September (534 tourists), October (428 tourists), November (547 tourists).

Overall, Azerbaijan was visited by 134,589 tourists from Central Asian countries in 2023, which is 82.31 percent higher than in 2022 (73,823 people).

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Korea's industry ministry unveiled a plan Tuesday to invest 3 trillion won ($2.26 billion) in the robot sector with private businesses by 2030, with a goal of supplying one million robots to local industries.

The plan for intelligence robots will focus on securing 80 percent of key robot parts locally by 2030, compared with the current estimate of 44 percent, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The country will also promptly lift around 50 regulations to pave the way for the development of the robot industry, and foster 15,000 experts, it added.

Through such efforts, Korea aims to deploy one million robots across various sectors of society, encompassing the agriculture, logistics, defense and medical fields.

Other goals include building robot-friendly infrastructure, as well as setting up ethical guidelines in terms of developing and utilizing robots.

The plan will aim to increase the size of the local robot industry to 20 trillion won in 2030, compared with 5.6 trillion won tallied in 2021, it said. (Yonhap)
Iowa Democrats have a new scheme to try to hurt Trump by having their activists switch party registration for one day to attend the Republican caucuses and "hold their nose for Haley". The liberal Axios news service has broken the story of this scheme by Democrats. They figure the easiest way to hurt Trump and bring in a lot of "fake" Haley votes from Democrat activists. They urge their supporters to become "Republicans for a day".

Since Democrats cancelled their own in-person caucuses this year as part of the national strategy to deny candidates other than BIden any opportunity to get traction in the nomination process, this could potentially generate significant numbers of fake GOP participants in the Iowa caucus.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/dems-hatch-republicans-day-scheme-boost-haley-vs-trump-iowa-caucuses

While is clearly the closest thing to a Democrat still running on the GOP side, the leaders of this campaign make it clear they are not Haley supporters for the general election but loyal Democrats just trying to hurt Trump. It is a similar strategy as Rush Limbaugh's Operation Chaos which urged Republicans to monkey around in Democrat primaries.
Under the cover of Covid, and now in the shadow of the infamous Election Irregularities of that fated 2020 presidential election, with current emerging alleged election fraud in Nevada and Pennsylvania inconveniently slipping into the public discourse, there is proved a colluded ongoing Election Interference in the nomination of the Republican candidate, the likes of which has never occurred in our Constitutional Republic's history, albeit, the question remains: Do you support the plain-sight Election Interference of the Democratic Socialist party, employing its minions in their Propagandistic Media, and their Two Tiered Justice System?

98.28% No, I do not support Election Interference; I am a patriot unto our Constitution.1.72% Yes, I do support Election Interference; the alternative, Donald Trump, to this mentally diminished president is far worse.0% "What, me worry" if elections are rigged?
Mississippi has the least amount of people looking to start a small business in 2024, according to a Jan. 16 report from business information site The Small Business Blog.

The site analyzed search data from Google Keyword Planner for more than 100 terms related to the phrases "side hustle" and "small business."

The average number of monthly searches for these 100 search terms were calculated for each state as a proportion of 100,000 residents.

Residents in Mississippi were least frequently looking to begin a new business in 2024, with 202 searches on average every month per 100,000 people, according to a release sent to Becker's.

In contrast, residents in Utah were most frequently looking to start a new small business.

The 10 states where small businesses are expected to grow the slowest this year:

1. Mississippi

2. New Mexico

3. Alaska

4. West Virginia

5. Alabama

6. Vermont

7. Maine

8. Montana

9. South Dakota

10. Louisiana
LX International faces worsening profits amid economic slowdown

By Park Jae-hyuk

Major trading firms in Korea are facing different earnings forecasts, depending on the levels of diversification in their business portfolios, according to securities analysts, Monday.

The market consensus on Samsung C&Ts operating profit last year is around 2.9 trillion won ($2.2 billion), as the companys fourth-quarter operating profit is estimated at 702.8 billion won, up 10.82 percent from the previous year.

Although the falling steel trading volume appears to have reduced Samsung C&Ts annual operating profit from the trading business by 15 percent year-on-year, analysts saw that the companys earnings from the construction business would lead its record profit.

Given that Samsung C&T is expected to win additional mega-size orders from Saudi Arabia for infrastructure construction projects in Saudi Arabia's NEOM megaproject, its profitability is highly likely to grow further this year. Lee Jae-eon, who was nominated as president of Samsung C&Ts trading division last November, is also set to improve the divisions earnings through new eco-friendly businesses.

Based on the solid growth of diversified business portfolios, the companys fourth-quarter earnings will be satisfactory, Kyobo Securities analyst Baek Kwang-je said. Despite the completion of several projects, the construction divisions fourth-quarter profit has also been improved thanks to its growing revenue in other countries.

POSCO International is another trading firm that has increased its earnings through diversification.

Based on its merger with POSCO Energy last January, the company is presumed to have posted a 1.2 trillion won operating profit for 2023, following its 1.1 trillion won operating profit for 2022.

Despite the downturn in steel trading, its operating profit is expected to grow thanks to the solid profit from its energy business, Heungkuk Securities analyst Park Jong-ryul said.

The analyst expects the companys 2024 operating profit to fall 2.3 percent year-on-year, due to its aggressive investments. However, he anticipated a maximization of POSCO Internationals operating profit after 2025.

In contrast to Samsung C&T and POSCO International, LX Internationals yearly operating profit is thought to have been halved last year to 442.3 billion won, according to the market consensus.

The company was once expected to be another trading firm posting over 1 trillion won in annual operating profit, as its operating profit reached 965.5 billion won in 2022. However, the falling raw material prices and freight rates have reduced its earnings.

Its recent investments in mines may provide some momentum, but it is unlikely to see tangible results in the near future, considering the weak prices and the U.S. regulations, Hana Securities analyst Yoo Jae-sun said.

Mirae Asset Securities analyst Ryu Je-hyun also lowered its outlook for LX Internationals 2023 and 2024 operating profits by 7.6 percent.
From private equity's growing presence in the specialty to changes in the use of anesthesia, here are three trends shaping the gastroenterology field in 2024.

Changes in anesthesia

Beginning Jan. 1, Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts stopped its coverage of monitored anesthesia for certain gastrointestinal patients undergoing endoscopic, bronchoscopic or interventional pain procedures.

The insurer no longer considers monitored anesthesia "medically necessary" through this new policy except for cases wherein a patient receives documentation that specific risk factors or significant medical conditions are present from the operating physician or anesthesiologist/certified registered nurse anesthetist.

Meanwhile, the shortage of anesthesiologists continues to affect the ASC and GI industries, with the Association of American Medical Colleges predicting a shortage of 12,500 anesthesiologists by 2033.

Compensation updates

Gastroenterologists were among the highest paid physician specialties in 2023, coming in at No. 11 in Doximity's "2023 Physician Compensation Report." The specialty earned an average annual salary of $496,667, while the highest paid specialty  neurosurgery  earned $788,313 on average each year.

Additionally, a 2024 Stark law compensation update has made it so that ASCs, physician groups and hospitals can provide non-monetary compensation to physicians up to an amount of $507 throughout the calendar year.

Rise of private equity

Private equity firms' interest in gastroenterology practices across the country has continued to grow over the last few years, with the number of private equity-backed gastrointestinal groups increasing by 28% to 68 in 2021.

Meanwhile, independent gastroenterologists are turning to private equity firms to stabilize their finances as the industry continues to consolidate  a trend which was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A cloud-storage firm has returned stolen data to a New York health system that had sued to get it back, Information Security Media Group reported.

Wasabi Technologies turned over the data to Carthage, N.Y.-based North Star Health Alliance, which had also sued the ransomware group that stole it and stored it on Wasabi's servers, according to the Jan. 15 story. The health system, however, said it doesn't expect the LockBit ransomware gang to respond to the complaint so will likely drop it now.

"We filed a lawsuit against John Doe and Jane Doe, fictitious individuals representing the human beings who run the LockBit criminal syndicate, in order to have a vehicle for issuing a judicial subpoena: a legal request to the cloud-based service provider to, in effect, give us back the information that the bad guys  the LockBit criminals  were able to exfiltrate," David Hoffman, general counsel of Ogdensburg, N.Y.-based Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center, one of the hospitals hit in the September cyberattack, told the news outlet. "We were able to work with the legal staff of the cloud-based provider in order to get copies of that information back."

A Wasabi Technologies spokesperson told Becker's: "We're committed to complying with all relevant regulatory requests. It is our policy not to comment on ongoing legal matters."

North Star Health Alliance is investigating which patients were affected and what information had left its possession, Information Security Media Group reported. The health system said it will likely discontinue its complaint against the hackers as it has no idea who they even are.

"I have no expectation that LockBit will ever respond to the lawsuit. I'm not sure that they even know that it occurred, and I suspect that they just don't care," Mr. Hoffman told the news outlet.
Singing River Health System has notified 253,000 patients that their data was compromised in a data breach in 2023.

The Ocean Springs, Miss.-based health system, which operates three hospitals and over a dozen medical clinics along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, was targeted in an Aug. 19 ransomware attack allegedly perpetrated by the Rhysida ransomware group.

Singing River's initial estimate of 501 compromised data files has since been updated to the current number of 252,890, according to a Jan. 15 Bank Info Security report.
The city of Jacksonville, Fla., is reevaluating its agreement with UF Health Jacksonville after the hospital lost a significant amount of money in the last fiscal year.

Currently, the city owns the facility and rents it to the Gainesville-based University of Florida Health. In exchange, the health system provides charity care for the county's residents and receives annual funding to partially offset the care costs.

According to a Jan. 10 report from Jacksonville's Council Auditor's Office, the hospital's net position decreased by $53.6 million between June 30, 2022, and June 30, 2023. As a result, the hospital was not in compliance with the debt service coverage ratio, which is a comparison of annual income to annual debt payment and is used as an indicator of an entitys ability to make future debt payments. If the requirement is not met for two consecutive years, it could be an event of default under the borrowing agreement.

The hospital has taken steps to address the noncompliance, including hiring an independent consultant. The report states that "while there continue to be significant stresses expected on Shands Jacksonville's financial positionit is not anticipated that Shands Jacksonville will perform as negatively in [fiscal year] 2023/24 as it did in [fiscal year] 2023/23."

However, the two parties' agreement expires in March 2028, making this time as good as any to reconsider the terms. During both the last fiscal year and the present one, the city has provided a combined $40 million from the general fund and the American Rescue Plan. But the money is still not enough, given the impending end of Rescue Plan funds and the frequency of visits from indigent patients, particularly those from the nearby jail.

"Close to 5% of our emergency department visits are from [the] inmate population," UF Health Jacksonville CEO Patrick Green told News4Jax.

Duval County, Fla., is the only county in Florida that can not levy a surtax to help cover indigent healthcare costs or fund a county hospital. The report considers multiple potential solutions, including an amendment to create a surtax.

In a statement shared with Becker's, a UF Health spokesperson thanked the city for the report and for providing consistent funding, along with additional money for care and infrastructure improvements.

"The analysis the City of Jacksonville released today reflects a reality common to many safety-net hospitals across the country, including UF Health Jacksonville," the spokesperson said. "As discussed during todays City Council meeting, the skyrocketing costs of providing healthcare like ours also means we need to find additional funding moving forward. Several city officials today expressed their appreciation for the dedication of our staff, and for the compassionate, expert care they provide. We look forward to working hand-in-hand with local officials to continue that mission."
New Orleans-based LCMC Health is moving forward with expansion plans after its $150 million purchase of three HCA Healthcare hospitals.

The hospitals, New Orleans-based Tulane Medical Center; Covington, La.-based Lakeview Regional Medical Center; and Metairie, La.-based Tulane Lakeside Hospital, were purchased last January after the nonprofit health system secured approval from the Louisiana Department of Justice.

As part of the merger, Tulane Medical Center is moving its patients, employees and services to Metairie-based East Jefferson General Hospital, part of LCMC.

"LCMC Health is excited to move into the next phase of our partnership with Tulane University," a spokesperson for LCMC Health told Becker's in a statement. "As we integrate our operations, we are able to make locally based decisions that best serve the comprehensive and specialty care needs of patients in our region."

LCMC invested $220 million into the expansion of East Jefferson as part of the merger plans.

The expansion includes 37 new critical care units, eight operating rooms, 15 academic partnership clinics, emergency department expansion, cancer center expansion, $56 million of infrastructure improvements, and $15 million in imaging and interventional equipment, according to information shared with Becker's from LCMC on the expansion.

Additional career opportunities like nursing and healthcare professional pipeline programs for existing and future employees are also part of the expansion.

Following the move, the Tulane Medical Center building will house a nursing program in fall 2024.
Manning (Iowa) Regional Healthcare Center has named Shannon Black its next CEO, effective Feb. 19.

Ms. Black has two decades of experience in the healthcare industry, according to a recent news release from the hospital. Most recently, she served Des Moines-based UnityPoint Health as a clinic administrator in both Waukee and Jefferson, Iowa.

Manning Regional Healthcare Center is an affiliate of Des Moines-based MercyOne, which was acquired in September 2022 by Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health.
Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton, Calif., has named Eleze Armstrong its next CEO.

Ms. Armstrong joins Twin Cities from Doctors Hospital of Manteca (Calif.), where she served the past two years as CEO. Both hospitals fall under the umbrella of Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, according to a Jan. 16 news release shared with Becker's.

This won't be Ms. Armstrong's first experience with Twin Cities Community Hospital. She served there from 2010 to 2018, progressing from a director-level role in imaging and cardiovascular services to become chief strategy officer.
From the acquittal of a Maryland physician in an alleged $15 million scheme, to two Florida residents sentenced to prison for their roles in a $93 million scheme, here are 10 healthcare billing fraud cases Becker's has reported since Dec. 29:

1. Kenilworth, N.J.-based clinical laboratory RDx Bioscience and its owner agreed to pay more than $13 million to resolve allegations of kickbacks and unnecessary testing.

2. Four owners and operators of Fairfax, Va.-based 1st Adult Pediatric Healthcare Services were among nine indicted for their roles in an alleged scheme to submit false claims to Medicaid for services that were not provided.

3. Atlantic Home Health Care agreed to pay $10 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, which is administered by the Labor Department.

4. Two Florida residents were sentenced to prison after being convicted for their roles in a scheme that billed Medicare $93 million for home health therapy services that were never performed.

5. Memphis, Tenn.-based Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare and its Methodist Healthcare-Memphis Hospitals paid $7.25 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations along with kickback allegations.

6. Tampa, Fla.-based Moffitt Cancer Center agreed to pay more than $19.5 million to resolve civil liability after self-disclosing that it improperly billed federal healthcare programs for clinical trial costs.

7. A medical biller is accused of stealing more than $1 million that was intended to be paid directly to physicians who provided medical care to injured workers under the New York State Workers' Compensation Law.

8. The owner of a durable medical equipment company was indicted for his alleged role in a $60 million fraud scheme.

9. A Maryland physician was acquitted of a more than $15 million fraud scheme conviction after the court determined prosecution did not provide enough evidence that "ambiguous" CPT codes were being abused.

10. Twin siblings who ran a Medicare billing company have been charged for their alleged role in a $25 million scheme involving fraudulent durable medical equipment claims.
On Jan. 5, Florida became the first state approved by the FDA to import cheaper medicines from Canada, but the plan is facing backlash from experts in Canada and the U.S.

Here's what to know:

1. The FDA authorized the state's plan through Section 804 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, but for each product Florida plans to import, the agency has to OK the proposal. Florida is also required to re-label drugs to meet FDA standards, test the drugs for authenticity and compliance, and submit quarterly reports on the cost savings and safety.

2. The importation plan differs from the nation temporarily ordering penicillin G benzathine, a syphilis drug, from a French drugmaker because this importation is because of a monthslong drug shortage rather than an effort to decrease drug prices.

In late August, Florida filed a lawsuit against the FDA, accusing the agency of "recklessly" delaying the decision on whether to approve the state's importation proposal.

3. Florida estimates the first year of the two-year program would save up to $180 million. The medications on the docket include HIV, AIDS, psychiatric and hepatitis C medications.

4. Pharmacy supply chain experts in Canada criticized the plan, arguing it could spur new or worsen ongoing drug shortages.

"It's almost laughable that the U.S. thinks that they're going to solve their problems about prices with Canadian drug supply, which is already stretched to the limit," Jacalyn Duffin, MD, PhD, a professor emerita of medical history and medicine at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, told CNBC.

On Jan. 16, Health Canada said it was disappointed with the FDA's decision, adding that the country "will take all necessary measures to protect the Canadian drug supply."

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the American Pharmacists Association have also voiced concerns with Florida's new allowance. The ASHP said importing medications "is not a meaningful response to drug pricing" and can harm the pharmacist-patient relationship. The APhA argued it jeopardizes patient safety as the plan risks introducing counterfeit drugs to the U.S. market.

5. At least eight other states have submitted proposals to the FDA to import medicines: Colorado, Maine, North Dakota, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Texas, Vermont and Wisconsin. The agency rejected a proposal from New Hampshire in 2022, according to CNBC.
Nauru makes right decision: China's State Council Taiwan Affairs Office

Xinhua) 09:57, January 16, 2024

BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson for China's State Council Taiwan Affairs Office said on Monday that the Nauru government has made the right decision to sever the so-called "diplomatic ties" with Taiwan.

Chen Binhua said that Nauru's decision, which was made in line with the trend of the times, is appreciated.

There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory, which is both a legal and historical fact as well as a prevailing consensus of the international community, he said.

Chen said that it has been proven time and again that upholding the one-China principle is the will of the people and the trend of the times.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Union asks for arrest of chief manager

By Park Jae-hyuk

Hanwha Ocean is facing a setback in its production and a dispute with its labor union, after a 27-year-old subcontracted worker died last week from an explosion at the shipbuilders shipyard on Geoje Island, South Gyeongsang Province, according to industry officials, Tuesday.

The worker, who began working at the shipyard last March, reportedly died in the hospital after he was injured in an explosion at around 3 p.m. on Friday, during grinding work at a rudder factory.

This was the first fatal industrial accident at the shipyard, since Hanwha Groups acquisition of the shipbuilder, which was previously called Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME). The company expressed its condolences immediately after the workers death, promising every effort to find the cause of the accident and prevent similar problems.

Hanwha Oceans unionized workers, however, asked the authorities to arrest the executive who is managing the company. They claimed that management has been desperate to resume operations since the latest accident, rather than making efforts to prevent similar accidents.

Since the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (SAPA) took effect, five fatal industrial accidents have happened at DSME, so we hoped that the shipyard would be safer after Hanwhas acquisition seven months ago, a union representative said at a press conference, Tuesday.

The law, which was implemented in January 2022, states that a companys CEO can be sent to jail if a serious worksite accident occurs if the company has not taken sufficient safety precautions.

The union pointed out that a reorganization of the companys health and safety team during the sale procedure in 2022 disrupted the teams ability to deal with health and safety issues.

The labor ministry should order Hanwha Ocean to cease all operations at its worksites nationwide and should carry out a special labor inspection of the company, the union said. Hanwha Ocean should allow the union to join the inspection of its health and safety systems and reinforce safety managers at workplaces.

After the press conference in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, the workers met with the head of the labor ministrys regional office.

The labor ministry has begun looking into whether Hanwha Ocean violated the SAPA. It also ordered the shipbuilder to halt its operations, Monday, to find out the cause of the accident.

Our company immediately reported the accident to the police and the labor ministry, Hanwha Ocean said in its regulatory filing. We will resume production once we find out the cause of the accident and come up with countermeasures.
Average annual premium is now 1,051 and the highest on record

Explanations for the rise include that the risks of accidents is increased in rural areas

The average cost of car insurance in Northern Ireland has now reached 1,051, adding over 400 in the last 12 months, a report said today.

Comparison price website Confused.com said prices in the region were up on average 383, or 50% more expensive than last year. That left prices here the highest on record, and passing the 1,000 mark for the first time.

For young drivers all over the UK, prices had almost doubled over the year.

The annual premium in NI is now 56 more than the average UK-wide premium of 995, which was an increase of 366, or 58%, over the year.

Explanations for Northern Irelands higher insurance include its more rural landscape, meaning people do more mileage, increasing the risk of accidents.

But Confused.com has said that Brexit has also had an impact, as it can be more expensive to ship parts between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

However, it said savings could still be made of on average 96 per year if drivers were prepared to shop around.

The companys data is based on more than six million quotes per quarter.

But it said the steep increases were not just confined to NI but were being felt all over the UK. The UK average of 995 is the highest ever recorded.

And UK-wide, between March and September last year, prices increased by 41%, or 267, on average. That meant increases of 18% and 19% for each three month period.

It said that customers who were renewing their insurance were more likely to get sky-high quotes.

In a survey of 2,000 UK drivers, around 75% of those who renewed their policy in the last three months saw their premium increase. That was around 10% more than those who renewed at any other point last year, on average.

Those given a higher renewal price were quoted 98 more than the year before, higher than the price they could pay under a new policy.

It said the data showed that for drivers of 17 to 20, premiums rose more than 1,000 a year, compared to 12 months ago.

For 17-year-olds, that meant a 98% increase year-on-year, equivalent to 1,423, with a policy costing 2,877.

Prices for 18-year-olds were up 84%, passing the 3,000 mark for the first time.

Men continue to pay more than women for their car insurance.

Louise Thomas, motoring expert at Confused.com car insurance, said: Like a lot of our expenses, car insurance is getting more costly. And this is to be the case for some time. Claiming is one of the biggest factors when it comes to insurers pricing up policies. And with the cost of paying out for claims being considerably high, insurance prices are going to be too.

While it looks like increases could be slowing, we still need to be doing what we can to keep these costs as low as possible. Things like increasing security, reviewing how many miles you drive or adjusting your excess could bring your overall cost down. But its important to remember that the information youre providing should be accurate otherwise you risk invalidating your policy if you need to make a claim.

It recommends tips for keeping costs down when renewing, including paying annually, where possible, and using a price comparison website.

It also suggests increasing the voluntary excess on the policy, and driving fewer miles as the higher the annual mileage, the higher insurance usually is.
Electric Ireland is reducing costs for its customers in the Republic of Ireland

Electric Ireland  one of Northern Irelands largest suppliers of energy and gas  has confirmed it will not be lowering prices for customers in Northern Ireland, despite slashing costs for customers in the Republic.

The company said yesterday it would be making its second consecutive reduction in electricity and gas prices for households in the Republic, with the new lower tariffs taking effect from March 1.

Electric Ireland has around 1.1m customers in the Republic, while it currently has around 100,000 customers in Northern Ireland, making it the third-largest supplier.

From March, the company will be cutting electricity rates by 8% and gas prices are going down by 7%.

This means the average RoI customer will save over 150 (175) on their electricity bills and 111 on gas (95), while dual customers could see savings of up to 264 (228).

In a statement, a spokesperson for Electric Ireland confirmed the reductions would not replicated north of the border.

Todays pricing announcement in the Republic of Ireland does not apply in Northern Ireland, they said.

Electric Irelands business in Northern Ireland is required to operate separately from the Republic of Ireland, with different market requirements.

We continue to monitor energy prices and when we are in a position to pass on any price changes to customers, will do so.

It marks the second consecutive time Northern Ireland customers and households have not benefited from Electric Ireland slashing its prices. The company previously cut prices for RoI customers in September 2023.

Electricity suppliers in Northern Ireland often face a competitive disadvantage in pricing due to the different grid connection framework compared to Great Britain and the Republic and Ireland.

However in 2022, Northern Ireland households benefited from cheaper energy bills compared to those living in the rest of the UK and Ireland.

Electric Ireland also faced controversy last year in Northern Ireland after a keypad issue prevented customers from topping up their electric meters.

The issue occurred across several days with customers advised to only top up 5 at a time, with the company apologising for the inconvenience.
Cara (15) participating in CBBC style showdown where focus is on sustainability by turning second-hand and recycled materials into new outfits

Belfasts Cara Mailey is dressing to impress for a new childrens television show  but its not herself shes decking out.

The 15-year-old fashion lover is a contestant on Style It Out on CBBC presented by Emma Willis.

It will see nine creative kids from across the UK compete in a clothing contest with sustainability at its core.

The young contestants are vying for the chance to showcase their creations at London Fashion Week.

They will use pre-loved clothes, vintage, second-hand and rescued materials to upcycle and embellish original outfits, with each episode presenting a different theme.

Cara, who has achondroplasia, a height-restricting form of dwarfism, previously worked with two fashion designers from London to create her own range for girls with the same condition  Shes Fierce, by Cara.

She told the Belfast Telegraph: Fashion is really how I express myself, and it only came to me through lockdown when I came out with my own clothing line. I realised: Woah, maybe I do love this.

Cara Mailey with Style It Out host Emma Willis

The multi-talented teen may be better known to some for her acting, as she has appeared in Derry Girls and on other CBBC shows.

But, she isnt putting all her eggs in one basket just yet.

I want to go into musicals in some way, so even costume design for the stage would be amazing, she revealed.

I had so much fun doing this programme and I got to meet Katya Jones  that was my absolute highlight.

Strictly Come Dancing star Katya appears in one of the Style It Out episodes as a celebrity guest judge, as does veteran presenter Gok Wan and social media personality Tilly Lockey.

While Cara is remaining tight-lipped about how she fared  filming took place last summer in Coventry  she said her challenge being shown this week was her favourite theme, as she even had a special guest.

Caras mother Tricia explained: My mum surprises her in this episode, and shes her model.

Cara added: Nanny is a seamstress and shes taught me her own ways, and its sort of why I am so into fashion now.

This week has a dance theme as well, which was definitely my favourite.

The gifted schoolgirl, who is busy preparing for her GCSE exams this year, hopes the sustainable element of the show will further educate other young people about fashion pollution and the benefits of using recycled clothing.

She has learned during filming that the fashion industry produces around 10% of annual carbon emissions worldwide, which is more than all emissions airliners produce combined.

She said it was important to shop second-hand and upcycle items in different ways to get the most out of clothing and help reduce these harmful impacts.

Some of the fabrics we use in the show were even from old loose materials used on Strictly, she added.

The challenge is to make a whole outfit from these pre-loved bits, turning old trousers into skirts and things like that.

Style It Outs debut episode was shown on CBBC and BBC iPlayer last Wednesday.

Three episodes will be aired each week on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, concluding with the Winners Story episode on Wednesday, February 7.

Catch Cara in her next episode on CBBC at 6pm this Thursday.
Climate change has been named as childrens word of the year by Oxford University Press (Ben Birchall/PA)

Climate change has been named as childrens word of the year by Oxford University Press (OUP).

More than 3,000 children aged six to 14 were asked for their word of the year, and the most common responses or themes were climate change, war and coronation.

A poll of 1,000 children was then done by market research agency Opinium and the term for ecological change and global warming was chosen by 33%.

War was picked by a total of 31% of children, while 24% went with coronation.

The King during his coronation at Westminster Abbey last May (Aaron Chown/PA)

Helen Freeman, director of Oxford Childrens, said: The choice of climate change not only demonstrates how attuned children are to the news and their environment, but the research also reveals their willingness to engage with meaningful change.

Whether its understanding how children use slang phrases or what word reflects the past year, its imperative we continue to support childrens language development so they have the means and vocabulary to express themselves.

Reflecting on their opinions of why climate change was chosen, children talked to researchers about the impact of environmental threats and their concerns for the future.

They also said the word makes them feel sad, scared and worried.

Amid war in Europe and the Middle East, 13% of children said the news was why they voted for war while 23% referenced the conflict in Israel and Gaza or Russias invasion of Ukraine as a reason.

Amy Meek, chief executive and co-founder of charity Kids Against Plastic, said: We also mustnt ignore the findings from the language research which demonstrate young peoples desire for action.

Young people not only recognise that climate change is an issue, but theyre also seeing the importance of tackling it.

No-one will feel the negative effects of climate change more than the next generation  or the positive effects of the action we take against it now.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. (Juan Medina/PA)

Coronation was chosen for a happier reason by children, with 24% saying celebration was the reason they picked the crowning of the King in May.

Last year, Queen was named word of the year following the death of Charles mother Elizabeth II, and in 2022 it was anxiety.

The OUP also included a shortlist of three colloquial words  bro, lol and slay  after a market research survey by Childwise of 1,450 children.

The publisher said that research finds children use bro, not just as a term for friends, but as a way of showing solidarity when giving someone a warning.

Bro was chosen by 42% to lols (laugh out loud) 24% after the 1,000-strong Opinium poll.

Slay, the slang term for doing something impressive, was voted by 17%.
Kevin Hart paid tribute to director F Gary Gray, describing the filmmaker as an absolute legend (Isabel Infantes/PA)

Kevin Hart has shared how he enjoyed being able to pull one over on the audience during his new heist film Lift.

The comedian and actor stars as master thief Cyrus Whitaker, who leads an international heist crew in a race to lift $500 million (395,320,000) in gold from a passenger plane at 40,000 feet.

Directed by F Gary Gray, best known for films including Straight Outta Compton and The Italian Job, it also stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw as his Interpol agent ex-girlfriend.

Discussing what drew them to the project, Mbathu-Raw told the PA news agency: Its the con, right? Its the lovable bad guys.

That sort of Robin Hood feel, like Cyrus says I never steal anything from anyone that doesnt deserve to lose it. I kind of love that spirit.

Hart added: Also the idea of pulling one over on the audience as well.

In a heist film, I think theres always a hidden agenda of hitting them with something that they dont see coming, especially when they assume that theyve got it right and that its all over.

I think we do a great job of giving a nice reveal at the end of the story and what happened and how, thats always fun.

The actor also hailed Gray as an absolutely legend filmmaker as he reflected on how he builds a connection between the audience and his characters.

Kevin Hart and Gugu Mbatha-Raw star opposite each other in Netflix heist film Lift (Ian West/PA)

When it comes to dealing with an ensemble, I dont think theres anybody thats told stories better and thats kept you invested into the characters more, he added.

From Straight Outta Compton to Italian Job to Set It Off. Theres so many things where you look and its the story of four to five different characters that you care about, that you want to know whats happening and how its happening and you find yourself at the end going Oh my god I cant believe this happened but they were all there at the end.

He does it very very well, he maintains a nice piece of connected tissue to all.

Hart also acts as a producer on the film alongside Bryan Smiley, Simon Kinberg, Audrey Chon, Matt Reeves and Adam Kassan.

Men In Black star Vincent DOnofrio, Money Heist actress Ursula Corbero, Avatar star Sam Worthington, Into The Woods Billy Magnussen, Spider-Man actor Jacob Batalon and Leon actor Jean Reno are also among the cast.

Lift is available on Netflix now.
Sandi Toksvig said she left the Great British Bake Off because she had stopped having fun (Ian West/PA)

Sandi Toksvig has said she stepped down from hosting the Great British Bake Off because she felt her brain was atrophying.

The 65-year-old comedian and broadcaster began presenting the hit baking show in 2017 alongside Noel Fielding after it moved to Channel 4 from the BBC.

Toksvig announced her departure from the programme in 2020 and was replaced by comedian Matt Lucas, with Alison Hammond later taking over his role last year.

Noel Fielding, Sandi Toksvig, Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood on The Great British Bake Off in 2018 (Mark Bourdillon/Love Productions/PA)

The Denmark-born broadcaster told the Radio Times: To be honest, I left Bake Off because I stopped having fun.

I was literally standing there watching meringues dry and thinking Oh my God, my brain is atrophying.

So, after three years, I thought Thatll do; go and do something else!

Im in love enough with the business to think OK, thats a nice pay cheque, but it doesnt work for me. Ill move on and do something else.

Toksvig currently fronts the long-running quiz show QI, having taken over the role from Stephen Fry in 2016.

She said she has stayed with the show because she is still enjoying it.

I hope QI will be one of my legacy projects, she added.

By the time weve finished the alphabet I will have done exactly the same number as Stephen. Well have done half the alphabet each.

(Radio Times/PA)

The presenter also noted that quiz shows are like a family business for her because her father, Claus Toksvig, was the host of Mastermind on Danish television.

While the diversity among quiz show presenters has been broadening in recent years, Toksvig said she would like to see more female hosts.

Knowledge doesnt belong to one demographic, it belongs to all of us. I would still like to see more women in charge of shows, she said.

Being the quizmaster, between you and me, is the easiest job in the world because they tell you the answers beforehand.

And those cards on which the answers are printed are not as heavy as some of those boys led us to believe  its really fine for a woman to do it.

And lets not even start on chat show hosts Where are the female chat show hosts?

 The full interview is available in Radio Times magazine.
NI firm lands contract with footwear brand worn by Princess of Wales

Konstruct is set to expand its list of high-end clients with new deal for flagship store selling top-end trainers, writes Flavia Gouveia

Martin Kernan, co-founder of Konstruct

Flavia Gouveia Tue 16 Jan 2024 at 11:30

Co Armagh interiors and fit-out company Konstruct has been awarded a contract to fit out Vejas new flagship London store.
Claire Bowes was badly injured as a teenager in the 1998 attack but, now 40, she has just graduated with a Masters degree

Claire Bowes who was injured in the Omagh bomb and now runs Omagh Music Academy. Pic by Peter Morrison

Claire Bowes graduated from the University of Sheffield at the weekend

A woman blinded as a teenager in the Omagh bomb has encouraged everyone to live life with no regrets after graduating with a Masters degree  more than a quarter of a century after the atrocity.

Claire Bowes lost her sight in the 1998 Real IRA attack that killed 29 people  including a mother pregnant with twins  and injured over 200 more.

Now running her own successful music academy, Claire says she never once felt anything other than gratitude for the fact that she survived while so many innocent people lost their lives.

Graduating at the weekend from the University of Sheffield, the busy mother-of-three (40) said its never too late to chase your dreams.

If you want something you can make it happen, if you put your mind to it, she said.

I may very easily not have been here anymore.

Teenager Claire was enjoying a trip into Omagh shopping with her friends when the Real IRA bomb exploded in the Co Tyrone town on Saturday, August 15, 1998.

The Omagh bomb killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins

Her pals escaped unscathed, but 15-year-old Claire was blinded instantly after being hit by shrapnel.

I always say we only have one chance at life, and its up to us to make the most of it, she said.

Thats why I do live my life to that, in terms of everything  no regrets, and making the most of every opportunity that Im given.

Claire graduated from the University of Sheffield with a Masters in Music Psychology for Education, Performance and Wellbeing.

She had been distance-learning for the past two years whilst running her own business, Omagh Music Academy.

Read more Omagh bomb victim Claire Bowes is an inspiration to us all

Juggling work with her studies and being a mum to three children, she also had to manage the added difficulties of being a blind student.

Claire explained: Things take longer to do, because I dont have the visual aspect.

Technology is fantastic, but its not as easy to access everything as it is for someone sighted that can just grab a book or download an article and its instantly accessible.

There were definitely moments where I was very tempted to throw in the towel.

However, Claire believes her hugely supportive family, including her husband and three children, and stubbornness and determination to achieve helped her get through a challenging two years.

I definitely was always a very determined person, but with what I went through, things could have been very different, she said.

Claire Bowes who was injured in the Omagh bomb and now runs Omagh Music Academy. Pic by Peter Morrison

As a teenager who had just lost her sight, Claire said she had no idea about what her life was going to be like.

I knew I wanted to still achieve; I knew the last thing I wanted was for my life to change, she added.

I just didnt want what had happened to me to hold me back in any way. And I think I still live by that now.

I think 15-year-old Claire wouldnt have believed that 40-year-old Claire has done as well as she has.

Returning to her studies just a matter of months after losing her sight, Claire had to adapt to learning new ways of doing absolutely everything, even being guided around her school.

She would go on to study music at Queens University Belfast and opened her own music school in Omagh in 2013.

Her Masters in Music Psychology, she said, will massively benefit her work as a music teacher, as she aims to encourage confidence and creativity through music.

I am so proud of myself for just sticking at it and getting it done.

For me, it was an important milestone to achieve, Claire added.

As for the future, Claire is keeping an open mind about returning for further study, after completing her dissertation on how sight loss impacts music learners.

I dont know if Im allowed to mention things like that in this house at the minute! she said, laughing.

Who knows what the future holds, but its given me a lot of food for thought.
This photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board shows a gaping hole where the paneled-over door had been at the fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. (National Transportation Safety Board via AP)
A Belfast man has appeared in court accused of blackmail and having indecent images of children.

Carl Long appeared at the citys Magistrates Court today to face a total of 11 offences.

The 33-year-old is accused of demanding images from a female with menaces, and intentionally encouraging or assisting in the commission of an offence, namely the distribution of indecent photographs.

Long, of Northwood Parade, is also charged with possessing indecent photos of a child and extreme pornographic images.

A further count of harassment forms part of the same case.

The alleged offences were committed on dates during 2020 and 2021.

During preliminary enquiry proceedings, Long confirmed that he understood the charges.

No further details were disclosed at the brief hearing.

District Judge Steven Keown sent the case to Belfast Crown Court for arraignment on a date to be fixed.

Long was released on continuing bail.
By Lee Min-hyung

Jeju Air and Tway Air are expected to benefit from a planned acquisition of Asiana Airlines by Korean Air, as the integrated mega-sized carrier is set to transfer the rights of their lucrative businesses to the two low-cost carriers (LCC), according to industry officials, Tuesday.

Shares of the nations two largest LCCs have been on course for a gradual recovery in recent weeks on growing hopes that they will be able to widen their revenue streams after the acquisition.

Korean Air had to give up licenses for four European routes and sell Asianas cargo unit, as part of its remedy measures for European antitrust authorities to consider the possibility of approval. The European Commission (EC) is still reviewing the deal, but is known to have reached an internal consensus that it will grant a conditional approval for the acquisition. Earlier, the European watchdog shared its plan to finalize its decision by Feb. 14.

Jeju Air is reviewing its own acquisition of Asianas cargo unit, in a move to diversify its sales channels in the post-pandemic era. Asianas cargo business is considered a stable revenue generator, chalking up 1.13 trillion won ($849 million) in sales in the first three quarters of last year.

A spokesman at the nations largest LCC declined to confirm details on the matter, saying that nothing specific has been confirmed internally for the time being.

We cannot confirm any details on the matter, the official at Jeju Air said, declining to comment further.

Jeju Air's share price has been on a gradual recovery for the past three months in anticipation of the cargo business acquisition. It hovered at around 12,700 won as of Tuesday, up more than 20 percent from three months earlier.

Tway Air is an undoubted beneficiary of the ongoing takeover deal. The LCC is widely expected to generate more sales once it wins the right to operate the four air routes from Korea to Frankfurt, Paris, Rome and Barcelona following the combination of the nations two major carriers. As part of a tradeoff to receive the EC's approval, Korean Air decided to transfer the traffic rights to Tway Air.

Tway Air's share price is rising more steeply than any other carriers this year. Its shares displayed a boxed-in pattern of around 2,200 won per share until the end of last year, but the price soared close to 3,000 won as of Tuesday, fueled by the increasing likelihood for the European authority to grant the approval for Korean Air's long-delayed acquisition of Asiana.

We have plans to launch our first European route to Paris as early as June this year, unless overseas competition authorities delay their decision further, an official from the airline said.

Even if the EC gives its approval, Korean Air still has to get the green light from authorities in the United States and Japan, which many industry insiders expect will not be as time-consuming or tough as the one from Europe.

"Winning approval from the European authorities has been the biggest stumbling block for the deal," an official at a domestic airline said on condition of anonymity. "The remaining procedures will likely make smooth progress after the EC makes its final decision."

Korean Air said it will respond sincerely to any requests from overseas authorities before finalizing the deal.

"Korean Air has yet to receive any official notification from the European authority," an official from Korean Air said. "We will keep doing our best to win approvals not just from Europe, but also the U.S. and Japan."
Former GAA star and wife charged with assaults following late-night altercation

They are well-known and highly respected within Derry GAA circles

Niall Bradley (left) in action for Derry in January 2009

Steven Moore Mon 15 Jan 2024 at 23:05

A former Derry GAA star and his wife have been charged with a number of assaults following a late-night altercation in Magherafelt last October.
Judge Paul Ramsey KC gave Anne Roseleen Darcy a 12-month jail sentence but suspended it for two years, saying it was a sad case in many respects for a 67-year-old with a clear record to find herself in the dock facing serious charges.

He told Newry Crown Court today it is clear she has learned her lesson and warned Darcy that the consequences of any further offences would mean she has to serve the 12 months in addition to any other sentence.

He added: I do not think that this lady will see a court again.

At an earlier hearing, Darcy, from Windsor Bank in Newry, entered guilty pleas to 13 charges. These included one of converting 86,820 cash of criminal property between January 21, 2018, and July 24, 2022.

There were also 11 charges of having items in breach of registered trademarks with a view to make a gain for yourself or another or with intent to cause loss to another and without the consent of the proprietor; and one of selling handbags which bore a sign identical to, or likely to be mistaken for, a registered trademark. These were committed at her home on September 1, 2022.

Previous courts heard claims that, during a raid, police seized 245 fake designer handbags. With Darcy admitting she makes 200-250 on each bag, it was calculated the minimum profit of that seizure would be 49,000.

During an earlier bail variation application, a detective outlined that in addition to a room filled with counterfeit handbags, belts, shoes and purses, officers also uncovered 80,000 worth of diamonds wrapped in paper as well as a diamond grading report from a business in Dubai dated January 1, 2011.

When Darcy was questioned, she made full admissions that she had been travelling back and forth to Dubai and that the items in her house were all fake.

While there are various fashion houses named in the trademark offences, including Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Givenchy, Prada, Balenciaga and Christian Dior, Judge Ramsey revealed during his sentencing remarks that nearly 500 items of counterfeit designer goods were seized, including handbags, shoes, T-shirts and sunglasses.

Summarising the Crown case, the judge told the court that acting on intelligence, officers raided Darcys home and seized the gear, describing the scene as an Aladdins cave.

Investigators who froze her assets and bank accounts established that just over 86,000 had been fed through her Santander personal account.

When Darcy was arrested and interviewed, she made full and frank admissions.

Judge Ramsey said there were aggravating features to the offending, including the length of time it was committed and the significant personal financial gain, but that in mitigation, the defendant had admitted her guilt and had a clear record.

Defence counsel Kevin Magill described how Darcy almost fell into the offending in that the sun-worshiper had been on holiday to Dubai, came back with a bag that a friend commented on and that created a scenario where the friend asked Darcy to bring her one back next time she was there.

Thats how it started and that developed into a way of helping her finance her trips to the sun, said the barrister.

Mr Magill submitted that this is not a lady who planned to engage in a criminal enterprisebut the important thing is that she has learned her lesson and highlighted that since her first arrest, Darcy has been smashed across local daily and Sunday newspapers.

She remarked to me on the way in that she doesnt want to see another handbag and she now wants to get back to work and have the odd holiday, the barrister concluded.

Judge Ramsey said while the custody threshold had been crossed, given her clear record and early admissions, he could suspend the jail sentence.

Judge Ramsey adjourned confiscation proceedings until March 26.
Judgment has been reserved in a landmark challenge to the non-disclosure of legal advice which stalled controversial plans to erect Irish language signs at a south Belfast leisure centre.

A campaign group is appealing the decision to deny access to documentation on the decision taken by the City Council.

Conradh na Gaeilge claimed the tribunal involved witnesses speaking in Irish in a Belfast courtroom for the first time in centuries.

Dual-language signs were set to be put up at Olympia Leisure Centre, located off the Boucher Road and close to the mainly Protestant Village neighbourhood.

But the proposals were put on hold in 2022 following a successful call-in motion tabled by DUP representatives on the council.

Concerns about a possible adverse community impact were raised at the time.

The proposals for bilingual signage at the leisure centre have since been put out to public consultation.

Meanwhile, the Information Commissioners Office is being challenged for upholding the Councils decision to deny its request for details on the legal opinion and material which determined that the test for the DUPs call-in motion had been met.

In December 2022 the ICO concluded that an exemption for information protected by legal professional privilege outweighed the public interest in disclosure.

But Conradh na Gaeilge, a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language, insists that full transparency is required.

Backed by the Public Interest Litigation Support (PILS) Project and the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), the group mounted an appeal at a tribunal sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast.

Lawyers for the campaigners contended that the Council cannot use legal privilege to stop public scrutiny of the legal process.

Four representatives from the Irish speaking community attended the hearing and introduced themselves in Irish.

In a statement, Conradh na Gaeilge claimed: It is likely this is the first time witnesses have officially used Irish in Courts in Belfast since the introduction of the Administration of Justice (Language) Act (Ireland) 1737.

The law, which forbids the use of any language but English in court documentation or proceedings, has yet to be repealed.

Despite parliamentary moves to scrap the prohibition through the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022, brought in by Westminster, the new statutory provisions have not been implemented.

The tribunal is expected to deliver judgment on the appeal next month.

Following the hearing, Conradh na Gaeilge insisted the disclosure sought through a Freedom of Information request should be made.

The group's Language Rights Coordinator, Cuisle Nic Liam, said outside court: This legal opinion seriously impacts a community and, by refusing to release that information, Belfast City Council have precluded the public from seeing the criteria and rationale by which a decision was ultimately taken to reject bilingual signage.

We believe, given the ongoing consultation into this issue, and the broader debate around language rights, that legal determination directing council policy should be transparent and open to scrutiny and challenge.

We hope, through this tribunal, that we can return to a culture of openness and transparency, and that future legal determinations sought, and paid for by the Council with rate-payers money, are made readily available to communities and citizens across the board.
The principal of a small rural Co Antrim school has said she will fight all the way and is remaining optimistic after Straidhavern Primary School was confirmed to be under threat of closure.

The news comes after a group of rural schools formed a new working group to fight school closures.

The Rural Schools Closure Group has been established following the successful legal challenge from St Marys PS in Fivemiletown which saw the school saved at the start of this year.

Straidhavern PS, near Nutts Corner, is the latest school to come under scrutiny  one of almost 200 primary schools in Northern Ireland which fall below the Education Authoritys recommended pupil numbers for sustainability.

The Education Authoritys consultation with staff, governors and parents ends today on the proposed discontinuance of Straidhavern PS.

Principal Judith Meekin said: Straidhavern Primary School, as one of more than 150 small schools across Northern Ireland to have been identified as having enrolment figures below the Sustainable Schools Policys thresholds, has indeed come under scrutiny from the Education Authoritys Area Planning team.

However, thanks to the support of our parents and friends in the local community, we remain optimistic about our future.

We are a small school with such a lot to offer to our pupils, from ensuring pupils benefit from the highest possible standards of care and attention to our breakfast club and wraparound care facilities which support so many of our families beyond the hours of the typical school day.

Our weekly Smalls and Talls group welcomes preschool-age children and their parents or carers from across the community, and we have enjoyed a great deal of support for our recent coffee morning, Christmas fair and various other PTA events, she added.

Applications have already begun to come in for places in our P1 class for September and we are excited to see our Straidhavern Primary School family grow, hopefully for many years to come.

Pupils attend the school from Antrim, Aldergrove, Glenavy, Straidhavern, Dundrod and Crumlin.

Ulster Unionist councillor Paul Michael said that local people and parents were shocked and horrified by the proposals, adding that Stormont needed to get back up and running as soon as possible so that there could be proper representation and dialogue between elected representatives on the issue.

There are talks this week and, frankly, they cant come soon enough, said Mr Michael.

These issues need to be properly discussed with a minister. This school has been providing decades of excellent care and education, and for civil servants to be calling the shots on its future leaves a very bad taste in the mouth.

I have of course registered my objection and I hope others will too.

Meanwhile, a new group has been set up by some schools in a bid to fight off potential closures.

Co-ordinated by Farmers for Action, the Rural Schools Groups first meeting was addressed by a representative of St Marys PS in Fivemiletown, which ensured its survival after a legal challenge.

Its understood around a dozen rural schools across Northern Ireland are involved in the group who are supporting an urgent meeting request with the Department of Educations Permanent Secretary Mark Browne while at the same time considering a legal way forward.

Co-ordinator William Taylor said: All the information coming from the schools would indicate a well-established arrogance from EA [Education Authority] and CCMS [Council for Catholic Maintained Schools] that theirs is the only way forward regardless of protocols ignored or improperly assessed by them in the process to date.

"Therefore, it would appear that the legal route looks possibly the only way to prove this and therefore reverse the drive for closures.

Meanwhile, the group has requested an urgent meeting with Mr Browne to give dialogue one last chance and point out that rural schools are the beating heart of many villages and rural communities in Northern Ireland, and have been for generations, and the destruction of which jeopardises Northern Irelands future.
Council controversy

The Cabinet Office has released a new official portrait of King Charles III that will soon hang in public buildings the length and breadth of the United Kingdom as part of a Government-funded scheme.

A new official portrait has been unveiled of the King  after two Northern Ireland councils voted to reject it.

The new Portrait of Charles will hang in public buildings across the UK as part of a controversial 8 million Government-funded scheme.

Charles is pictured in full regalia inside Windsor Castle wearing his Royal Navy uniform as an Admiral of the Fleet and an abundance of official medals and decorations.

The monarch was captured last year by photographer Hugo Burnand, who also took the King and Queen's coronation portraits and their 2005 wedding photos.

A serious-looking Charles stands in the royal residence's Grand Corridor as he rests his right hand on his pristine white gloves on an antique table and grasps a sword in his left.

The Cabinet Office has released a new official portrait of King Charles III that will soon hang in public buildings the length and breadth of the United Kingdom as part of a Government-funded scheme.

Councils, courts, schools, police forces and fire and rescue services are among the UK institutions now able to apply to claim the formal, framed portrait of the monarch for free.

Earlier this month, unionists expressed their upset after Mid Ulster District Council voted to reject the offer of a free portrait.

Twenty-four councillors voted against the proposal  including all Sinn Fein representatives in attendance  and 11 voted in favour, including all DUP councillors present.

DUP councillor Clement Cuthbertson said he was very disappointed, while not surprised at the outcome of the vote.

Meanwhile, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council voted against the offer of the Kings portrait in December.

Twenty-two councillors were against, with 12 in favour.

The Cabinet Office said the move carries on the tradition which saw many institutions display official portraits of Queen Elizabeth II.

But anti-monarchy campaign group Republic branded the initiative a "shameful waste of money" when it was announced ahead of the coronation last year.

The Cabinet Office said: "His Majesty's accession has marked the beginning of a new reign and the UK Government considers it right that public authorities, as part of the fabric of our nation, have the opportunity to commemorate this moment, strengthen civil pride and reflect the new era in our history."

The portraits are expected to be delivered between February and April this year.
A major strike by public sector workers on Thursday is expected to be the largest seen in Northern Ireland in recent history (Claudia Savage/PA)

Trade unions have welcomed an intervention by the head of Northern Irelands civil service asking the Secretary of State to release funds to make pay awards to public sector workers.

Jayne Brady penned a letter to Chris Heaton-Harris on Monday ahead of a major planned strike by public sector workers on Thursday over pay.

An estimated 170,000 public servants in 15 trade unions across many sectors including health, education and civil servants are set to take part in what is expected to be the largest strike seen in Northern Ireland in recent history.

Snow on the grass on the Stormont Estate in Belfast (Liam McBurney/PA)

Police staff and Roads Service staff responsible for gritting the roads as temperatures plunge are also set to be involved in the walkouts.

While the UK Government offered a 3.3 billion package to stabilise finances in Northern Ireland, including 600 million to settle public sector pay claims, it will not be made available until the Stormont Assembly is restored.

Ms Brady told Mr Heaton-Harris that this represents one of the last opportunities to avert the strike action planned for this week.

This Thursday will represent the single biggest day of industrial action in a generation, reflecting the strength of feeling and deteriorating, and frankly untenable, position we are now in, she said.

She said urgent action is required to address unacceptable public sector pay disparity, estimated at 634 million to maintain broad parity between Northern Ireland civil servants and their colleagues in Great Britain.

Jayne Brady, head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, has issued a plea for funds to Chris Heaton-Harris (Niall Carson/PA)

The Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Union (NIC-ICTU) welcomed the letter and called for an immediate budget allocation.

This has been the position of the trade union movement from the beginning of this dispute. It is also the position of every political party In Northern Ireland, they said in a statement.

In response to this, Chris Heaton-Harris continues to parrot the same discredited line he has held throughout this crisis, that fair pay for public servants is not his responsibility, but that of a restored NI Executive.

The secretary of states strategy has clearly failed and it has failed the people of Northern Ireland. It is long past time that this calamitous fiasco was brought to an end.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has said that his priority is the restoration of the executive in Northern Ireland that can deliver for working people (Liam McBurney/PA)

They added: The trade union movement is clear, the disruption of industrial action this Thursday can be averted. If the money is made available and negotiations begin, we stand ready to engage.

A Northern Ireland Office spokesman said: Its disappointing to see leaked correspondence at this sensitive time. Our absolute priority and full focus is to see a restored executive delivering for people and workers in Northern Ireland.

We have offered a fair and generous package worth 3 billion, which will help a restored executive address a range of pressing issues in the round, from public sector pay to support with ensuring sustainable public services.

This offer is on the table for parties to take forward at pace.
Fiona Ryan has called for a wider programme for memorials to people affected by abuse (Cosica/PA)

A wider memorial programme has been recommended for victims and survivors of historical institutional abuse.

It has emerged that a memorial bench is set to be located in Parliament Buildings for those who suffered abuse at state, church or charity-run homes in Northern Ireland in the past.

A permanent memorial, as well as compensation and an official apology, was among the recommendations of the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (HIAI), which revealed sexual, physical and emotional abuse at the homes from 1922 to 1995.

Fiona Ryan, Commissioner for Survivors of Institutional Childhood Abuse (Cosica), described the inquiry report, issued seven years ago, as a defining moment.

Kate Walmsley, left, and Margaret McGuckin, of the Savia lobby group, at Stormont following the official public apology (Brian Lawless/PA)

She paid tribute to victims and survivors who courageously campaigned for truth and recognition and acknowledgement of the abuse they had suffered in institutions as children.

Ms Ryan said she has highlighted the importance of progressing the inquiry recommendation with urgency, pointing out that many victims and survivors have already passed away.

But she said she has also asked Stormonts Executive Office to consider a wider memorial programme in reflection of the wide range of views of victims and survivors.

It is heartening to see that the Executive Office have taken this advice on board and are progressing with that work on the inquiry recommendation, as well as consideration of a wider memorial programme, she said.

I know from meeting with victims and survivors and their families that the legacy of trauma is experienced across families and across generations.

It is a life-long legacy that does not disappear, living on to have lasting impact and this needs to be acknowledged.

Ms Ryan said there is a duty to recognise and acknowledge the experiences of victims and survivors and the trauma that was inflicted upon them as children in these institutions, in a meaningful way.

We have an opportunity with memorial to also ensure that in remembering the past, memorial informs the future, she said.

We must ensure that future generations, including those in government and those responsible for the care of vulnerable children and young people and older people, are informed by victims and survivors experiences.

A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Assembly said the Assembly Commission is liaising with the Executive Office to deliver the memorial bench.

The Assembly Commission has agreed that a memorial bench to recognise the victims of historical institutional abuse will be installed in the Assembly Chamber rotunda and is working in partnership with the Executive Office on this important and sensitive project, they said.

This has been agreed in line with the recommendations of the Hart Inquiry and is particularly appropriate given that the official apology to the victims and survivors of Historical Institutional Abuse was delivered in the Assembly Chamber and presided over by the Speaker.

The Speaker and the Assembly Commission are committed to playing their part in ensuring that the victims and survivors of Historical Institutional Abuse are remembered but recognise that this is only one limited aspect of the memorial initiatives that the Executive Office is undertaking in consultation with victims and survivors.

Assembly Commission and Executive Office officials will be liaising over the next few weeks on the details of the work required to see the memorial bench delivered.
DUP MLA Joanne Bunting has formally asked the Assembly Commission what investigations it has conducted into the cause of flies in rooms at the rear of Parliament buildings.

The answer given was due to the unseasonably warm weather last year.

She also asked what action it is taking to address the issue.

The Commission responded: Building services were made aware that some offices on the third and fourth floors were experiencing large numbers of flies during the month of October.

As such a pest control company were tasked with investigating the issue and treating accordingly.

It was determined by the pest control operative that there was no underlying reason for the flies outside of the possibility that it was due to the unseasonably mild weather.

Building services will continue to monitor these offices and carry out further investigations if required.

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle ONeill told the DUP last week that it is decision time after her party submitted a motion to recall Stormont ahead of mass strike action on Thursday.

As reported earlier by the Belfast Telegraph, the SDLP and Alliance are expected to support a petition calling for the Assembly to sit on Wednesday.
DUP says Stormont recall a stunt doomed to failure like five previous times

Lyons accuses parties of grandstanding as paper by Paisley think-tank appears to be at odds with Donaldson

Gordon Lyons

Suzanne Breen Tue 16 Jan 2024 at 21:47

The DUP has branded todays recall of the Stormont Assembly as a stunt and accused the parties supporting it of grandstanding in an attempt to make the headlines.
By Park Jae-hyuk

Clothing worn by chaebol families in Korea has frequently attracted public attention, particularly from individuals aspiring to wear the same items as the affluent owners of Korea's family-controlled conglomerates.

The latest example of a chaebol family member whose clothing came under the spotlight was Shinsegae Group Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin, the son of Shinsegae Group Chairwoman Lee Myung-hee, who is a daughter of late Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chul.

Chung became the center of attention on Monday as he was seen wearing the Dior Overshirt during his visit to Starfield Suwon in Gyeonggi Province, set to open later this month. The item is available for purchase at the brand's official Korean website for 3.1 million won ($2,300).

While he had previously shared photos of his other luxury items on Instagram, the billionaire's recent post surprised many as he was pictured wearing the Dior shirt with a helmet while inspecting the construction site of the shopping mall.

In addition, Shinsegae Group explained that his visit to Starfield Suwon aimed to identify solutions during a challenging period. The conglomerate's construction unit and the Emart discount store chain have recently experienced a decline in investor sentiment, with increasing concerns about their profitability.

Some industry officials pointed out that Chungs apparel decorated with the French luxury brands large logo overshadowed Shinsegaes efforts to overcome the crisis.

When the chiefs of business groups visit their company worksites, they tend to put on workwear fully for the image of their companies, an industry official said. "They meticulously attend to details such as the colors of their ties and cufflinks when they visit significant locations," the official added.

Chungs outfit was also in stark contrast with a two-piece suit worn earlier this month by his cousin, Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin, a granddaughter of the late Samsung founder. Shinsegae and Hotel Shilla are now rivals in the nation's retail industry.

When she granted scholarships to female university students as the Dooeul Scholarship Foundation chairwoman on Jan. 4, she wore the suit, which was made by a Korean designer brand, Dint, and sold for 119,700 won on the brands official website.

Her choice of attire at that time was seen as a deliberate expression of her intention to dress appropriately for the event. This observation is based on her consistent selection of luxury items for various occasions, such as wearing Chanel's tweed jacket at her son's middle school graduation ceremony last February and donning Valentino's cape at the wedding of HDC Chairman Chung Mong-gyu's son in the same month.
The committee on assisted dying has been told that the state should not have an invisible hand or influence in the decision of a disabled person to end their life because they have not received adequate support.

The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying was formed to consider and make recommendations for legislative and policy change relating to statutory rights to assist a person to end their life and to receive such assistance.

The committee on Tuesday discussed the protection of vulnerable people with disabilities.

John Dolan, CEO of Disability Federation of Ireland, told the committee that the states priority should be to focus on providing a decent bedrock of life-enhancing services for people with disabilities.

I am asking you to consider how people with disabilities might think and feel about what is being proposed here in the light of their daily experiences and to factor that into your report and recommendations, he added.

This is about relating the trajectory and experience of someones living within the context of any proposals that you make.

It is also important that the State does not unduly have an invisible hand, or influence, in the decision of someone to end their life because it has not supported disabled people to have a life of independence equal to everyone else.

He told the committee there is a mountain to climb in addressing the huge deficits that has been addressed in the Department of Social Protection Green Paper on disability reform.

Now is the time to focus on this country getting a decent bedrock of life-enhancing services for people. That is the priority, he added.

Peter Kearns, from the Independent Living Movement Ireland, said people with disabilities should be given the confidence and choice to live a life and that assisted suicide should not be their first option.

He said that people with disabilities, including those with Parkinsons disease, should be shown that the impairment does not mean life is over.

People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny, who introduced the Dying with Dignity Bill in 2020, said there are a variety of opinions on the divisive issue.

He told the committee that in other jurisdictions where assisted dying legislation has been introduced has excluded the grounds of disability as a means to access the services.

People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny (Brian Lawless/PA)

Mr Kenny said that it would only include someone who is in the last throes of life, those who have months or weeks to live.

Green Party TD Patrick Costello queried whether clear objective legislation that would include only those with terminal illnesses would allay their concerns.

However, Mr Dolan said that any attempt to provide a medical definition of terminal illness would be very problematic.

While the Criminal Law (Suicide) Act of 1993 decriminalised suicide itself, the offence of assisting suicide was retained and put on a statutory footing.

It is currently an offence for a person to aid, abet, counsel or procure the suicide or an attempted suicide of another person.
Women of Honour members, left to right, former army captain Diane Byrne; retired captain Yvonne ORourke; and retired corporal Roslyn OCallaghan (Brian Lawless/PA)

The Women of Honour group said they were not given sight of the terms of reference for the forthcoming Defence Forces tribunal before it was approved by Cabinet.

The terms of reference for the tribunal of inquiry into the Defence Forces handling of bullying, harassment and sexual assault allegations were approved by Cabinet on Tuesday.

The tribunal of inquiry will examine the effectiveness of the complaints processes in the Defence Forces in respect of workplace incidents relating to discrimination, bullying, harassment, sexual assault and rape.

In a statement, the Women of Honour said they welcome the appointment of Justice Ann Power to chair the tribunal.

(We) are now focusing on it being a full, comprehensive and transparent tribunal, they said.

We have not seen the terms of reference in advance of them going to Cabinet. In fact, we just received the terms of reference from a journalist.

We have no doubt a tribunal is the mechanism we need for change. We are now going to have to take time to properly assess what these latest terms of reference contained and proceed accordingly.

The inquiry is being established to investigate whether there have been serious systemic failures in the complaints processes in the Defence Forces concerning workplace issues, including sexual misconduct.

Micheal Martin said the Government will seek to get the tribunal under way as soon as possible (Niall Carson/PA)

The inquiry comes following the report by the Independent Review Group (IRG) on dignity and equality issues in the Defence Forces.

The Women of Honour group previously criticised the terms of reference, saying it did not go far enough.

Speaking after todays Cabinet meeting, the Tanaiste, Micheal Martin, said: Government will now seek the approval of the Oireachtas to formally establish the tribunal, and get work underway as early as possible this year.

I am particularly grateful to all those who have engaged in the process that led to the drafting of the terms of reference, and to the Attorney General and his staff.

I also want to express my gratitude to Ms Justice Ann Power for agreeing to chair this very important tribunal. She brings a wealth of experience to the role.

The tribunal will also have the power to investigate the response to complaints made regarding the use of hazardous chemicals within Air Corps headquarters at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel.

Separately, in a further implementation of the IRGs recommendations, Mr Martin announced the appointment of Mr Kevin Duffy as the independent Chair of a new working group to develop a complaints process for civilian employees and civil servants who work with the Defence Forces.

The Tanaiste said: The appointment of Kevin Duffy is another important step in implementing the recommendations of the Independent Review Group. I am very grateful to Kevin Duffy for agreeing to chair this working group.

He brings a wealth of experience and expertise to this role which, I have no doubt, will prove invaluable to the group in its deliberations.

The Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sean Clancy welcomed the publication.

He said: Since being appointed Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, I have made it abundantly clear, there is no place for any form of abusive, inappropriate, or criminal behaviour in the Defence Forces.

The Defence Forces is fully committed to co-operating with the tribunal in the course of their work and I fully expect that the inquiry will determine the extent of the issues brought to light in the IRG report.

We are working to redesign our grievance procedures and HR policies, rolling out mandatory sexual ethics and respectful relationships workshops and holding people to account for misconduct and misbehaviour.

Change is under way and updated policies and procedures will be underpinned by the principles of mutual respect, dignity and equality.
Attempts by the Conservative right to strengthen the Governments Rwanda plan represent the last opportunity to make sure it is a strong deterrent to small boat crossings, Robert Jenrick has warned the Government.

The Tory former Home Office minister is leading efforts by a group of Conservative MPs on the right of the party to toughen up the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill as it returns to Parliament.

Mr Jenricks amendments to the Bill aim to severely limit individual asylum seekers ability to appeal against being put on a flight to Kigali.

He urged Rishi Sunak to accept changes backed by right-wing Tory dissenters, as there was no reason why he could not unless the Governments goal posts have been shifted.

The Tory MP for Newark told the Commons his changes, alongside those tabled by veteran Tory Sir Bill Cash, seek to address the evident flaws of the Bill.

They represent the last opportunity for us to get this policy right, he added.

Mr Jenrick claimed the Bill as it stands will not provide a strong enough deterrent for what he called the scourge of mass migration, and claimed it needed to be tougher in order to provide a sustainable deterrent to people boarding small boats to cross the English Channel.

In its current state, Mr Jenrick said the Bill left loopholes open which would allow individuals to claim Rwanda would not be safe for them specifically, even if it was deemed a safe country overall.

He warned: Of course as we have seen in the past, one person will mount a successful challenge, that will create a precedent.

Mr Jenrick added: Time and again we will lose these cases in the courts. So the Bill in that respect is legally flawed.

Mr Jenrick went on to challenge the Prime Minister to accept his amendments, telling MPs: The Prime Minister set a test to me, and to anyone who shares my determination to tackle this issue, and that was as follows  that he would accept any amendment whether it strengthened this Bill, if there were respectable legal arguments in international law in their favour.

He claimed a very eminent lawyer had found amendments tabled by the Tory right were compliant with international law, adding: That was the test, we have met the test.

Mr Jenrick went on: Unless the goal posts have been shifted by the Government, I see no reason why the Prime Minister and the minister couldnt accept these amendments and enable us to strengthen this Bill once and for all.
Qatars Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani s has offered a stinging criticism of Israel and the international community over the ongoing Israeli-Hamas war (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone/AP)

Qatars prime minister offered a stinging criticism of Israel and the international community on Tuesday over the ongoing Israeli-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as Qatars foreign minister, said a two-state solution is required to end the conflict and warned that Hamass October 7 attack and the Israeli response shows the region cannot go back to the way it was before.

Gaza is not there anymore. I mean, there is nothing over there, he told a panel meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Its carpet bombing everywhere.

He also brought up the ongoing tensions in the West Bank, which have also seen Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces, and urged an end to Palestinian divisions.

We cannot have a two-state solution without having a government and politicians in Israel who believe in co-existing together side by side peacefully and we cannot have all this ongoing without ending this war, he said.

Israels Iron Dome air defence system fires to intercept a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip (Leo Correa/AP)

He warned that a military confrontation in Middle East waterways will not contain the attacks by Houthi rebels who on Monday fired a missile which struck a US-owned ship just off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden.

What we have right now in the region is a recipe of escalation everywhere, Sheikh Mohammed added.

Elsewhere, Israel said one of its troops was slightly injured in an exchange of fire along the countrys border with Egypt, which Cairo attributed to drug smuggling. One person in Egypt was killed.

The statement from the Israeli military late on Monday said the fighting happened near the Nitzana border crossing with Egypt on the Sinai Peninsula, and that there were 20 armed suspects.

The Israelis and the suspects exchanged fire, with Israel saying hits were identified among the suspects, without elaborating.

The Israeli soldier who was hit was evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment and her family has been informed, the military said.

The Israeli military did not identify the suspects.

Israeli security forces and property tax officials examine a store in Netivot which was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip (Leo Correa/AP)

An Egyptian military statement on Tuesday described the suspects involved as trying to smuggle drugs. It said one person was killed and six people were arrested afterwards.

Egypt and Israel have had a peace deal since 1979, but Israels months-long war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip has strained ties.

Speaking in Davos, Sheikh Mohammed warned of the massive destruction across Gaza and criticised Israel for rejecting a ceasefire.

Israels defence minister had said a day earlier that the intense offensive in the southern Gaza Strip will soon be scaled back, but ruled out a ceasefire.

More than 100 days into Israels war against Hamas, Palestinian authorities said the death toll in the enclave has passed 24,000.

Hamass October 7 attack from Gaza into southern Israel, which triggered the war, killed around 1,200 people and saw some 250 others taken hostage by militants.

Security forces examine the damage caused in Netivot, southern Israel, by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip (Leo Correa/AP)

Meanwhile, Israel said a barrage of 15 rockets was launched towards southern Israel on Tuesday, damaging a store.

Israeli media said it was one of the strongest bombardments from Gaza in more than a week.

It came a day after Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the Israeli army is expanding military control from northern Gaza towards other part of the strip.

Hamas has continued to fire rockets at Israel throughout the war, even as Israel says it is dismantling Hamass military capabilities in ever-expanding areas of Gaza.

Israeli Channel 12 TV reported that the rockets were launched from the central Gaza town of Bureij.

In the area of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, Israeli troops located approximately 100 rocket set-installations and 60 ready-to-use rockets, the Israeli army said on Tuesday, claiming its forces killed dozens of militants during the activity.
People march during a rally in Belgrade, Serbia, on Tuesday (Darko Vojinovic/AP)

Serbian opposition supporters have been back on the streets to accuse President Aleksandar Vucics populist government of orchestrating fraud in last months parliamentary and local elections.

The protesters want the December 17 vote to be annulled and held again in free and fair conditions.

Similar demonstrations were held for days after the elections.

The entire planet knows that the thief has been caught stealing, opposition politician Marinika Tepic told the few thousand protesters on Tuesday.

There are no free and fair elections here. If we give up this fight, there will be no more elections.

The ruling Serbian Progressive Party was declared the winner but the main opposition alliance, Serbia Against Violence, claims the election was stolen, particularly in the vote for Belgrade city authorities.

People have accusing the populist authorities of President Aleksandar Vucic of orchestrating a fraud during the December 17 parliamentary and local election (Darko Vojinovic/AP)

Both Serbian election authorities and the courts have rejected the complaints lodged by the opposition group over the election.

International observers have said the election was held in unjust conditions, noting serious irregularities which included ballot box stuffing and vote-buying.

Some local election monitors alleged that voters from across Serbia and neighbouring countries were bussed in to cast ballots in Belgrade.

Local election monitors and opposition supporters alleged that populist supporters were registered at bogus addresses there.

Mr Vucic and his party have called the reports fabricated.

In December, tensions soared when police fired pepper spray at protesters who tried to enter Belgrade City Hall and arrested dozens.

The crowd on Tuesday also lit candles at a Belgrade church to mark the killing on January 16 2018 of a moderate ethnic Serb politician from Kosovo, Oliver Ivanovic.

Kosovo is a former Serbian province whose 2008 declaration of independence is unrecognised by Belgrade.

The dispute remains a source of tension in the volatile Balkans.

Serbia is seeking European Union membership but has refused to impose sanctions on traditional ally Russia, partly because Moscow supports Belgrades claim to Kosovo.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took a swing at Russian President Vladimir Putin at the World Economic Forums annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, and also took a harsh tone with his allies as war fatigue grows (Markus Schreiber/AP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took a swing at Russian President Vladimir Putin at the World Economic Forums annual meeting in Switzerland on Tuesday.

He also took a harsh tone with his allies as war fatigue grows, pressing political and corporate leaders to enforce sanctions, help rebuild his country and advance the peace process.

Mr Zelensky is trying to keep his countrys long and largely stalemated defence against Russia in the minds of political leaders, as Israels war with Hamas, which passed the 100-day mark this week, has siphoned off much of the worlds attention and sparked concerns about a wider conflict in the Middle East.

Anyone thinks this is only about us, this is only about Ukraine. They are fundamentally mistaken, he said in a speech in English in the ski resort of Davos. Possible directions and even timeline of a new Russian aggression beyond Ukraine become more and more obvious.

Putin embodies war and will not change, he said.

While lashing out at the Mr Putin for mass deportations, flattening cities and the terrifying feeling that the war may never end, he also offered pointed criticism for a world that told him not to escalate tensions ahead of Russias full-scale invasion in 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian President Vladimir Putin embodies war and will not change (Markus Schreiber/AP)

After February 24, nothing harmed our coalition more than this concept. Every Dont escalate to us sounded like You will prevail to Putin, Mr Zelensky said.

He thanked allies for each package of sanctions on Moscow but urged them to ensure they work. Russia, for example, has found workarounds for imports of banned Western products that still appear on shelves.

It is Mr Zelenskys first trip to Davos since the war began after speaking by video in previous years, and he rushed between meetings with corporate executives and world leaders. Surrounded by a large security contingent, he has drawn the attention of media and others seeking to meet him.

Conversations with the prime ministers of Qatar and Jordan will bookend the days most visible events, with speeches by Chinese Premier Li Qiang, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan in between.

Qatari premier Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said defusing the conflict in Gaza would defuse everything else (Markus Schreiber/AP)

Qatari premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the focus on the attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Yemens Houthi rebels  which have spurred retaliatory strikes by the US and Britain  is on the symptoms and not treating the real issue of Israels war with Hamas.

We should focus on the main conflict in Gaza. And as soon as its defused I believe everything else will be defused, he said, adding that a two-state solution is required to end the conflict.

Sheikh Mohammed also warned that a military confrontation will not contain the Houthi attacks.

I think that what we have right now in the region is a recipe of escalation everywhere, he added.

Chinese premier Mr Li focused on pitching the country as a place to invest, noting that we are opening wide our embrace. He said Chinas economy is estimated to have grown about 5.2% last year, exceeding the target it had set of 5%.

Chinas economy, for decades a leading engine of global expansion, has struggled since Covid-19 restrictions, with high youth unemployment and the implosion of its overbuilt property market.

Chinese premier Li Qiang focused on pitching his country as a place to invest (Markus Schreiber/AP)

Mr Li made a veiled criticism of US restrictions on Chinas ability to buy advanced computer chips used in everything from mobile phones to washing machines.

Technologys achievements should be used to benefit all humankind and it should not be used as a method to limit, to suppress another country, he said.

Ms von der Leyen reiterated that the EU does not want to break from Beijing  one of its most important trade partners  but ease the risks of relying too heavily on it because we have issues when it comes to access to the market, when it comes to a level playing field, when it comes to economic security.

She noted Chinas export controls on metals used in computer chips, solar cells and more.

For the US, Mr Sullivan said no when the Associated Press asked whether he would meet Chinas delegation as he headed into talks with Mr Zelensky and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Mr Zelensky, once reticent about leaving his country, has recently gone on a whirlwind tour to rally support for Ukraine amid donor fatigue in the West and concerns that former US president Donald Trump  who touted having good relations with Mr Putin  might return to the White House next year following his commanding win in the Iowa caucuses on Monday.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen painted an optimistic view of the war in Ukraine despite the battlefield stalemate (Hannes P Albert/Pool/AP)

The Ukrainian leader hopes to use the high visibility of the forum to showcase his countrys pressing needs, and allies will be lining up: Corporate chiefs including JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon and officials like Ms von der Leyen learned in multiple gatherings what support and investment is needed to help rebuild Ukraine.

Its time for us, for Ukrainian companies, for international companies to rebuild (the) Ukrainian economy, Maxim Timchenko, chief of Ukrainian energy company DTEK said after the session. To rely on ourselves. To build a future for Ukraine.

In her speech, Ms von der Leyen painted an optimistic view of the war in Ukraine despite the battlefield stalemate. She said Russia has lost half of its military capabilities, while Ukraine regained half the ground it had originally lost early in the invasion.

A day earlier, Mr Zelensky visited Switzerlands capital, Bern, where President Viola Amherd pledged her country will work with Ukraine to help organise a peace summit.

In his speech at Davos, he invited every leader who respects international law to join, saying peace must be the answer.
Claire Bowes, who was injured in the Omagh bomb and now runs Omagh Music Academy (Pic by Peter Morrison)

Claire Bowes remarkable story of triumph over adversity should be a beacon of inspiration for all in Northern Ireland.

Blinded in the Real IRAs bombing of Omagh in 1998, she has urged others to live their lives with no regrets, after graduating with a Masters degree more than a quarter of a century after the atrocity that killed 29 people, including a mother pregnant with twins, and injured more than 200 others.

After her graduation ceremony at the University of Sheffield, Claire (40) has encouraged people to chase their dreams.

Her attitude in the face of such adversity should provide inspiration to everyone in Northern Ireland who refuses to give up on what they want to achieve in life.

Aged just 15 when shrapnel from the explosion instantly rendered her blind, it wouldve been easy for Claire to let that, coupled with the trauma of the incident, colour her outlook on life.

Thats not to say it has been plain sailing.

The added difficulties of being a blind student meant that academic tasks sometimes took longer, with Claire already juggling duties as a mother-of-three and running a business alongside her studies.

Even now, with so much achievement under her belt, she is already considering the next step, planning ahead for further study and development.

I just didnt want what had happened to me to hold me back in any way. And I think I still live by that now, she said.

In a society that has suffered both physically and emotionally from the impact of the Troubles, every win, big or small, is to be celebrated.

That feeling of being held back is one that affects many people here, for different reasons.

Some are Troubles-related; an injury, deep trauma as a result of an attack or atrocity. Others are more abstract; the drip-down effect of generational trauma, a lack of opportunities or the exhausting sectarianism that colours many facets of our society.

Claire Bowes picking herself up after suffering horrendous injuries on that August day in 1998, pushing herself forward and facing her challenges head-on, should inspire others to do something similar.

While a positive attitude is not a perfect solution on its own, it goes a long way towards success.

We are often accused in Northern Ireland of begrudgery, of not celebrating the success of others.

It is important to use that success not to criticise, but to allow other peoples achievements to drive us on to celebrate our own.

We need more of Claire Bowes determination and drive.
Students attend a public dialogue with presidential candidate Anies Baswedan during his campaign rally at Bina Bangsa University in Serang, Indonesia, Dec. 21, 2023.

Millions of young Indonesians including Aqilah Fida Liya Putri, a 20-year-old university student in Jakarta, will be eligible to vote for the first time in next months presidential and legislative elections.

Thats one reason the Feb. 14 polls will mark a pivotal moment for Indonesia  for the first time, more than half the electorate is between 17 and 35 years old. Another is that the country will be getting a new leader after nearly a decade.

But while this demographic of millennials and Gen Z-ers is one that politicians have been wooing assiduously, experts say this voting bloc wont wield any influence in shaping government policies after the general election.

Additionally, while Aqilahs generation has grown up in the digital era, with access to a wealth of information and opinions, that has not necessarily led to better awareness.

Being buried under an avalanche of social media noise can make choosing among a plethora of political parties and three presidential candidates more difficult.

Im still undecided and want to see first what the candidates stand for, Aqilah told BenarNews.

The most important issues for me are the environment, education, and economy. The environment now is polluted, and that will affect our health negatively in the future,

The presidential race features Anies Baswedan, a former Jakarta governor and education minister; Prabowo Subianto, the defense minister who is a former army general; and Ganjar Pranowo, the ex-governor of Central Java province. The constitution does not allow the two-term incumbent, President Joko Jokowi" Widodo, to seek a third term.

Aqilah Fida Liya Putri, a 20-year-old university student who is going to be a first-time voter in next months Indonesian elections, speaks with BenarNews in this screengrab from a video interview in Jakarta, Jan. 12, 2023. [Ami Afriatni/BenarNews]

Another Jakarta student, Agri Melyareza, worries about what her future will be like after she graduates.

Ill be graduating soon  employment and job opportunities are essential for me, she told BenarNews.

Lince Oktaviani Nuboba, a student from Papua, the conflict-ridden and marginalized region in far-eastern Indonesia, gets most of her information about the candidates from TikTok, a popular video-sharing app. She does not read news online.

She favors presidential candidate Prabowo because she finds him funny, Lince told BenarNews.

The 72-year-old minister has become something of a social media darling, thanks to his penchant for breaking out vigorous dance moves at various events.

As political researcher Dedi Kurnia Syah said, Candidates who effectively engage Gen Z and millennials have a clear advantage.

That is why every candidate is campaigning on social media to win them over, Dedi, the executive director of Indonesia Political Opinion (IPO), told BenarNews.

Student Eliab Yosef attends class at his university, in this screengrab from a video interview with BenarNews in Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia, Jan. 11, 2024. [Hadi Ahdiana/BenarNews]

While the more than 100 million young Indonesians are indeed a valuable vote bank, they are underrepresented in politics because they are not very active, experts said.

This is not always for a lack of trying. The political system in the worlds third-largest democracy  and one which is only 25 years old  is dominated by older leaders, experts add.

A startling statistic illustrates this fact all too clearly, as Ella Prihatini, a political lecturer at Bina Nusantara University, pointed out in a paper last year: Only two of the 18 parties contesting the elections this year are led by people under the age of 40.

Gerontocracy, which means a political system is dominated by leaders older than the majority of the population, is what this is called, Ella wrote in the paper published by Perth USAsia Centre. And it is the norm in many of Indonesias political parties.

Indonesia ranks third in Southeast Asia in the number of young members of parliament. But at close to 15%, its share is well below the world average of 18.44%, Ellas paper said. This in turn inhibits young peoples political engagement.

Again, it isnt for lack of trying that youth participation is low.

The paper notes that many young parliamentarians come from political families  half of legislators under 35, and 44% of women legislators have relatives in politics.

Therefore, while anyone can participate in politics on the face of it, young Indonesians in reality have limited opportunities, noted Aisah Putri Budiatri, a researcher at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN).

Politics is an expensive vocation and campaigning requires a boatload of money, which is not something the average young person has easy access to, she said.

This results in the parliament being dominated by incumbent politicians or those who have strong financial and social capital, she told BenarNews

And in this context, [those people tend to be] members of the elite circle or political dynasties.

Motorists drive past flags of political parties flags installed ahead of the general election along the street in Jakarta, Jan. 12, 2024. [Willy Kurniawan/Reuters]

Even with limited participation, some young people are very clear about what they want  or dont want to see in a president.

For Papua student Eliab Yosef, whats important is that no part of the country should be ignored by the winning candidate.

Eliab backs Prabowo and his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of Jokowi. He hopes they will bring unity and national pride, and pay attention to the needs of Papua, especially in education.

I hope that if they are elected as the president and vice-president of Indonesia, they will care for all the people of Indonesia, including the Papuans, he told BenarNews.

Wawan Mahathir Alimuddin, a student of Arab descent in Palu, Central Sulawesi, said he hoped the election would not divide the people, as he felt it did in 2019, when the incumbent Jokowi faced Prabowo for the second consecutive election.

Im seeing more maturity and tolerance among different opinions this year, he told BenarNews.

University students raise white sheets of paper during a protest after Indonesia passed a new criminal code that would ban sex outside marriage and cohabitation between unmarried couples, and insulting the president by expressing views counter to the national ideology, Jakarta, Dec. 15, 2022. [Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/Reuters]

Wawan said he would support any candidate who can realize the potential of Indonesia.

We have abundant natural resources, but we need to improve the quality of our human resources. And please promote our rich culture to other countries, he said.

We have everything but please dont let it be exploited by people who only want to line their pockets and impoverish the people, he added.

Ultimately, though, candidates following through on their big promises is what really matters, said Nicole Trixie, another 20-year-old student in Jakarta.

Our concern as young people is how [the candidates] will translate their words into action. We want to see tangible actions that will benefit the younger generation who will follow in their footsteps, she told BenarNews.

She is enthusiastic about the election, she said, because it is her first time voting.

Our role is significant because we will be the ones picking up the baton, she said.

We will vote, and its essential we dont abstain.

Ami Afriatni and Pizaro Gozali Idrus in Jakarta, Hadi Ahdiana in Papua, Indonesia, and Taufan Bustan in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, contributed to this report.
The St. Nikolas ship (also known as the Suez Rajan), an X1 oil tanker involved in a U.S.-Iran dispute in the Gulf of Oman, is seen in Tokyo Bay, Oct. 4, 2020.

The Philippines has requested Iran to release 18 Filipino crew members of an oil tanker that Tehran seized in the Gulf of Oman last week, the department of foreign affairs said Tuesday.

The Iranian Embassy in Manila promised to help and said the 18 Filipinos were safe, Philippine government officials told reporters.

Were in touch with the Iranian government. The Iranian ambassador has promised assistance, so theres confirmation that it [the ship] was captured. So, were just ascertaining the condition of our 18 seafarers, said Eduardo Jose de Vega, Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs.

So far, there is no indication that they [the 18] are being harmed or mistreated. The Iranian government assured that they will work on it so that they will be released as soon as possible.

Irans navy took the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker ST Nikolas, previously named Suez Rajan, while the ship was in transit between the Iraqi port of Basra and Turkey on Jan. 11, saying this was in retaliation for the United States seizing the ship last year under sanctions targeted against Tehran.

Iran claimed its move was a lawful undertaking of a ship used in stealing oil it owned.

Last year, the U.S. government confiscated more than 980,000 barrels of Iranian crude oil the vessel was carrying in an operation to enforce sanctions.

In Manila on Tuesday, Mardomel Melico, the assistant secretary of foreign affairs, said he was able to speak with Esmaeil Zadeh, the Iranian ambassador, who said Tehran would extend all the help to meet Philippine requests.

He has assured us that the 18 Filipino seafarers are safe and sound, and that everything is being done to facilitate the visit of our embassy officials, said Melicor.

[T] crew men are under the custody of the Iranian government, but they are not hostages, he added.

Around 1,800 Filipinos currently work in Iran, Melicor said.

The embassy did not immediately respond to inquiries from BenarNews.

The Galaxy Leader cargo ship (right), seized by Houthi fighters two days earlier, approaches the port in the Red Sea off Yemen's province of Hodeida, in a picture taken during an organized tour by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Nov. 22, 2023. [AFP]

Houthi hostages

Speaking about a separate incident, the Philippine government also assured the public on Tuesday that 17 other Filipino seafarers who were taken captive by Houthi rebels in Yemen were safe, amid weekend airstrikes by the U.S. military.

The Iran-backed Yemen rebels took control of the Galaxy Leader cargo ship on Nov. 19 in the southern Red Sea, following a daring helicopter-borne attack. Some 25 crew members from the Philippines, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Mexico and Romania were said to be on the ship.

The Galaxy Leader, a Bahamas-flagged car carrier, is chartered by Japans Nippon Yusen. It is owned by a firm registered under Isle of Man-headquartered Ray Car Carriers, which is a unit of Tel Aviv-incorporated Ray Shipping, according to ship tracking data.

It was the first of at least a dozen ships seized by the armed rebels, also known as Ansar Allah, in retaliation for Israels offensive in Gaza.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary De Vega said the honorary consul representing the Philippines in Yemen received firsthand information from the Houthis, which he relayed to the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh.

The seventeen Filipino seafarers are safe and unharmed. There are no confirmed reports of any Filipino casualty during the airstrikes in Yemen, De Vega said.

We are in touch with the families to assure them also that were doing what we can do, he said.

The Houthis have launched a series of drone and missile strikes targeting Israel in solidarity with Palestinians following Hamas fighters surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 killed around 1,100 people, some 700 of them civilians, according to Agence France-Presse news agency.

Israels military actions in Gaza, meanwhile, have since killed more than 24,000 Palestinians, more than 10,000 of whom were children, according to Gaza;s Ministry of Health..

The Filipino hostages are among the countrys estimated 10 million-strong expatriate workforce, whose remittances have traditionally propped up the Philippine economy.

The Philippines is one of the leading suppliers of manpower in the global shipping industry, which currently employs about 400,000 Filipinos

Jeoffrey Maitem and Basilio Sepe in Manila contributed to this report.
By Lee Min-hyung

Hyundai Motor sold off its manufacturing facility in the Chinese city of Chongqing, as part of a strategic shift to reset its global sales strategy focusing on profitable SUVs and luxury vehicles, the automaker said Tuesday.

According to the Korean automaker, Beijing Hyundai Motor sold the manufacturing facility to a Chinese company for 299 billion won ($223.88 million) at the end of last year. Beijing Hyundai Motor is a joint venture between Hyundai Motor and BAIC Motor.

Hyundai Motor put the plant up for sale in August of 2023 amid plummeting automobile sales there. The plant is capable of producing 300,000 vehicles a year, but operations were suspended since December of 2021.

The automaker explained that the decision was part of its ongoing efforts to maximize operational efficiency and realign its sales strategy.

"Hyundai Motor is actively working on various initiatives to enhance our business structure and profitability in China, and the sale of the factory aligns with those efforts," an official at the automaker said.

Hyundai Motor entered the Chinese market in 2002 and sales there peaked at more than 1.13 million vehicles in 2016. However, it faced a decline in momentum due to deteriorating relations between Seoul and Beijing. The unexpected outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic further weakened Hyundai Motor's presence in the Chinese market.

Hyundai initially operated five factories in China, but with the recent decision, the number has been reduced to three. The remaining manufacturing facilities will now serve as a base for the firm's automobile exports to the Southeast Asian market.

The automaker plans to reorganize its sales strategy with a focus on profitable luxury vehicles. The company is also set to widen its electric vehicle (EV) lineup in China to at least four from the current one by 2025.
Bennington, VT (05201)

Today

Generally cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Temps nearly steady in the mid to upper 30s. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Occasional snow showers. Low 28F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 50%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
LENOX  James Taylor is coming back to Tanglewood this summer, but this time in a more celebratory mood.

Taylor's July 3 and 4 performances with his All-Star Band will mark the 50th anniversary of his Tanglewood debut. Taylor first appeared on the Lenox stage July 30, 1974, on a double bill with Linda Ronstadt.

Taylor at Tanglewood James Taylor has returned to Tanglewood most years until COVID ruled out scheduled shows in 2020 and 2021. Following his 1974 with Linda Ronstadt, reviewed enthusiastically in The Eagle, he returned in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2003 and then annually from 2005 through 2019, except for a 2013 sabbatical. COVID-19 forced the cancellation of shows in 2020 and 2021.

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Over the years, he has performed 51 times on the Shed stage  likely the most frequent Tanglewood guest artist.

The Boston Symphony announced the upcoming shows on Tuesday. Tickets go on sale 10 a.m. Jan. 29 via tanglewood.org or 888-266-1200. Both shows begin at 8 p.m. in the Koussevitzky Music Shed.

To celebrate Independence Day, the July 4 concert will be followed by a fireworks display over the Stockbridge Bowl. Proceeds from that show will be donated by Kim and James Taylor to support Tanglewood, a long-standing tradition.

Since the December 1968 release of his first album by Apple Records, the label founded by the Beatles, Taylor has sold more than 100 million albums, according to the Billboard chart. A six-time Grammy Award-winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

The BSO will release its summer 2024 Tanglewood season schedule, including additional Popular Artists shows, on Feb. 1.

Tickets for Taylor's shows traditionally sell out quickly because of the 18,000 capacity limit following his July 17, 2002, show, when 24,470 tickets were sold for his performance with John Williams and the Boston Pops.

Unofficial estimates at the time put the actual number at more than 25,000, including some hedge-hopping gate crashers. Since that night, responding to public safety concerns by Stockbridge and Lenox officials, Tanglewood has enforced the attendance cap.

Taylor's 2002 appearance broke the venues previous record of 23,039 for a Tanglewood on Parade concert in 1999, according to Eagle archives. In 1969, a show by superstars Jefferson Airplane, the Who and B.B. King drew more than 22,000 listeners.

Taylor at Tanglewood

James Taylor has returned to Tanglewood most years until COVID ruled out scheduled shows in 2020 and 2021.

Following his 1974 with Linda Ronstadt, reviewed enthusiastically in The Eagle, he returned in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2003 and then annually from 2005 through 2019, except for a 2013 sabbatical.
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Republican voters in the Midwestern state of Iowa are set to cast their ballots in the first vote of the GOP's presidential nomination contest on Monday, with former President Donald Trump eyeing a big win to cement his momentum in the race to clinch the ticket for the November general election.

Amid concerns that freezing temperatures would affect voter turnout, Trump and his rivals, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, made their final pitches over the weekend to become the Republican standard bearer to take on the most likely Democratic candidate, President Joe Biden.

The latest Emerson College Polling Iowa survey found 55 percent of Republican caucus voters plan to support Trump, while 21 percent back Haley, and 15 percent DeSantis. In the survey from Thursday to Saturday, the sample of Iowa voters has a credibility interval  similar to a margin of error  of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

The center of attention is whether Trump can win more than 50 percent of the vote in Iowa as observers said a result shy of that goal could be construed as a sign of weakness and help his second-place rivals to generate momentum into the next intraparty contest in New Hampshire on Jan. 23.

The first-in-the-nation caucuses in the largely rural state of 3.2 million people are set to begin in precinct locations of Iowa's all 99 counties at 7 p.m. (CT). The meetings of registered Republicans in school gyms, churches and public libraries are expected to last an hour before vote counting starts.

Up for grabs in Iowa are just 40 of the total 2,429 Republican delegates. Each candidate will get the delegates proportionately based on the statewide voting results. Despite the small delegate number, Iowa has gained keen election-season attention as a launching point for candidates to build momentum.

Despite his legal woes. Trump has maintained a comfortable lead over his rivals in recent polls, stressing his campaign slogan of "Make America Great Again (MAGA)." Hours before the caucuses, Trump ramped up his get-out-the-vote message as the bone-chilling weather gripped the Hawkeye State.

"Caucus tonight, Vote for Donald J. Trump, build up the numbers!," he wrote in a post on Truth Social. "We must take our very troubled nation  a nation in decline  back from crooked Joe Biden and the radical left Democrats and thugs who are destroying it. MAGA!."

In a speech to Iowans, Haley stressed that the election is about making sure that "we move forward" rather than continuing "in this chaos."

"The way we go forward is with a new generational conservative leader that is not going to have vengeance, vendettas or take things personally, but going to go forward and make sure we do everything we can so that your family is protected, safe and has the opportunities to continue to go forward in a way that America was supposed to be," she said in a message from a YouTube account of KCCI, a broadcaster in Des Moines, Iowa.

DeSantis also made a final pitch, stressing he is running for the nomination to put himself first and "turn this country around."

"(Trump) is running a campaign about putting himself in his issues first ... You deserve a nominee that's going to put you first, not himself," he said during a campaign event in Ankeny, Iowa, on Sunday. "I am running for your issues and your families' issues and I am running to turn this country around."

The presidential nomination fight has also been keenly watched by South Koreans as the U.S. presidential election could have profound implications for America's approach to its alliances, the North Korean nuclear quandary and its rivalry with China among others.

The Democratic Party is scheduled to hold its first primary in South Carolina on Feb. 3, while the Republican Party sets in motion its nomination process on Monday. The early contests are only the start of the monthslong nomination process, but will serve as a crucial gauge of voter sentiment.

The Republican and Democratic Parties will announce their ultimate standard-bearers at conventions in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in July and in Chicago, Illinois in August, respectively, though their most likely candidates could emerge after "Super Tuesday" contests on March 5.

On Super Tuesday, nomination contests will take place in 16 states and territories, including the crown jewels of California with 169 delegates and Texas with 161. On the single day, 874 delegates, more than a third of the Republican total, are at stake. (Yonhap)
The recent ruckus in Great Barrington thats made national news lately got me to thinking about past Berkshire controversies, times when local officials and law enforcement have looked to intervene in matters of media consumption.

Some 50 summers ago, on-duty officers accompanied by Pittsfield Mayor Donald Butler were part of the ample crowd at the Paris Cinema to see the opening of "Last Tango In Paris" (1973). Their visit came right on the heels of the Supreme Courts ruling in Miller v. California, which supported the right of communities to make their own determinations about obscenity. Theyd come in an official capacity to decide if the controversial Marlon Brando film was too obscene for Pittsfield.

While "Tango" managed to not get pulled from local theaters, one day after its first screening a draft ordinance was introduced to the City Council to better regulate obscenity in the public view.

Other films had not been so lucky. The censors came down hard on Berkshire theaters for obscenity in the fall of 1968.

After arranging a private showing for himself and two police detectives, District Attorney William Flynn ordered Union Square Theatre to cancel "The Woman" because it "depicted lesbian acts." Legal action was threatened if the film was shown again.

Similarly, Flynn ordered Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center to cancel showings of "Therese & Isabelle" for its same-sex romanticism.

Union Square, then owned by a Boston company, fired back in a full-page advertisement in The Eagle accusing them of unwarranted censorship. The theater was unable to enlist substantial public support.

Decades earlier, the vague implication of a woman considering abortion was enough for Mayor Allen Bagg to order Dr. Monica pulled from the Capitol Theatre in the summer of 1934. Bagg, who also banned carnivals in Pittsfield during that period, caught an earful from an influential local woman  who happened to be the lead actress ex-mother-in-law. The star, Kay Francis, was briefly married to Dwight Francis of Pittsfield, and she retained his name after their divorce.

The reformers are getting themselves into a terrible mess, said Mrs. Henry Francis, ridiculing this and the recent ban of "The Thin Man."

In 1944, Pittsfield Police Chief John Sullivan caught even more pushback when he issued a citywide edict banning "Strange Fruit," Lillian Smiths novel depicting an interracial relationship.

Sullivan had been running the citys police force 30 years by then, and Pittsfield had somewhat become accustomed to extra-constitutional bans of things he considered immoral. In 1936, Sullivan had even banned coatless dancing, deciding that men square dancing in nothing but long-sleeve shirts was too racy for public dance halls.

This time, though, his edict was openly defied. By the next day, 150 copies of "Strange Fruit" were on backorder at local bookstores ahead of its release, and 18 copies had been reserved at the Berkshire Athenaeum.

The Berkshire Eagle condemned the ban as "illegal and ineffectual." Mrs. Zell Pianorosa of the England Brothers book department promised to hold the first available copy to send to Chief Sullivan.

"I hope that he reads it and decides for himself, she told The Eagle at the time.

By now we know one of the most common unintended consequences of media challenges is that they often increase the circulation of works that otherwise might not be that popular. Such has certainly been the case with "Gender Queer," which has been the most challenged book in the U.S. over the past year, not just Great Barrington. Sales have skyrocketed with the complaints.

In some instances, such controversies may ultimately elevate materials of great merit to the stature they deserve.

Out by East Hawley Road, just a couple minutes off Route 116 in the Franklin County town of Hawley, lies the crumbled cellar-hole of a little early 19th century house. In the 1830s, Dr. Charles Knowlton penned a dirty, filthy little book there that would change the world.

His "Fruits of Philosophy" would contain the first detailed description of feminine anatomy published in the U.S., and notably the first tutorial on medical birth control methods. He was later charged and sentenced to three months hard labor.

Decades after his death, the book was featured in the Bradlaugh obscenity trial in 1878. It spread like wildlfire in reprinting. Birth rates plummeted; maternal mortality dropped. The age of modern family planning was born.

We all have opinions on individual works, whats appropriate, and for whom. In the heat of the debate, it can be helpful to remember we wont be the final arbiters of what is obscene or acceptable; much of that will fall to folks yet unborn.

If the past is any indicator, the materials that upset people now wont raise an eyebrow at all in a generation or two.
A bill before the Massachusetts Legislature would partially decriminalize prostitution while maintaining criminal accountability for the trafficker and the buyer.
Some of the blessings and promises God made to the Jewish people through history became accessible to gentiles upon salvation. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, And to offsprings, referring to many, but referring to one, And to your offspring, who is Christ.For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise (Galatians 3:16 & 27-29). The promises of salvation, of a relationship with God, and of everything that comes with that is given to all people through Christ.

God made promises and covenants with people other than Abraham. He promised military victories, material blessings, and a throne which would have no ending from which a great king would sit. What does not transfer and is not applicable to the modern church are the promises and guarantees that were made to the nation-state of Israel as a political entity. When someone gets saved, they become a part of the family of God, but their country does not receive the same rights and responsibilities as the nation-state of Israel. Promises such as guarantees of military victories or expanded borders to not apply to gentile nations, even if they follow the living God.

The Lord promised never to forget, or fully set aside, Israel. Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me (Isaiah 44:21). In His time, He will not only restore the nation of Israel, but He will expand its borders from the Nile to the Euphrates, protect it during the Tribulation, and ultimately rule and reign from its capital for a thousand years.

It can be tempting to read a variety of passages in the Bible as allegorical, meaning they are symbolic. Then it becomes easy to point to a variety of passages traditionally believed to refer to the nation of Israel, and re-interpret it as referring to the modern church. While there are passages, such as Jesus parables, that should be taken as symbolic, it is dangerous to interpret selective passages referring to the Jews to mean the church. It ignores Pauls warning, ...do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree (Romans 11:18-24).

The full passage compares humanity to an olive tree. The Jewish people rejected the Messiah in His day, being like the branches that were cut off, giving the Gentiles the opportunity to be grafted onto the tree. However, God can and will graft the original branches - being the Jewish people - back onto the tree in order that all the promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David will be fulfilled through Jesus Christ.

Photo credit: Getty Images/Hleb Usovich
Israel's cabinet on Monday passed a disputed 2024 state budget with amendments adding 55 billion shekels ($15 billion) of spending after over three months of war with Hamas, the Finance Ministry and Prime Minister's Office said.

With Israel's war against the Palestinian Islamist group passing 100 days on Sunday, the amended budget will include more money for defense and compensation for those impacted by the conflict, along with higher allocations for healthcare, police, welfare and education.

"We changed the priorities so that every reservist and every fighter and his family knows that there is a government that stands behind him and fully takes care of him," Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said after the vote.

The approval came after more than 24 hours of debate in which a vote was delayed by ministers unhappy with the level of budget cuts to some ministries meant to offset extra war spending. In the end, some planned cuts to health and internal security were scrapped to ensure passage of the budget.

In all, total spending in 2024 will amount to 582 billion shekels, up some 70 billion from its initial budget and after 20 billion shekels of across the board reductions. The ministry projects a budget deficit of 6.6 percent of GDP this year.

Israel last year approved a two-year budget for 2023 and 2024, but the Gaza war has shaken up government finances, requiring budget changes and additional spending.

Ministers from National Unity, a small centrist party that is led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's main political rival Benny Gantz and joined an emergency government at the start of the war, voted against the budget since demands for a downsizing of government ministries and freeze on lawmakers' salaries were not met.

Gantz's party also voiced disappointment that so-called coalition funds were not reduced more, saying there was still time to show "national responsibility" before the budget was fully approved by parliament.

In recent weeks, the budget has become politically charged, in particular over payments Netanyahu agreed under a 2022 coalition accord with Smotrich and the heads of other religious parties.

That accord was for 8 billion shekels ($2.15 billion) to be set aside for ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties in 2024. According to a budget draft, only 2.5 billion shekels of that will be cut, despite the war funding needs.

The budget approval is also likely to upset the Bank of Israel, which has been urging the government to cut more spending and raise taxes to prevent the deficit from swelling.

In the budget, there will be some tax hikes this year to cigarettes and tobacco products and on bank profits. (Reuters)
A pivotal initiative aimed at extending specialised healthcare services to the children of Zanzibar

Rainbow Children's Hospital has announced the signing of a landmark agreement with the Ministry of Health, Zanzibar. This collaboration marks a significant milestone, positioning Rainbow Children's Hospital as the exclusive paediatric facility amongst the very few hospitals internationally to forge this partnership with the Ministry of Health in Zanzibar.

The agreement is tailored to facilitate patient referrals for cases that require specialised medical attention not presently available in Zanzibar.

Under this one-year contract, Rainbow Children's Hospital will conduct Outpatient (OPD) services and surgical camps within Zanzibar. These initiatives aim to address critical healthcare needs and provide specialised care, particularly in paediatric cases that demand expert attention.

The MoU was formally executed by Dr Amour S Mohammed, Principal Secretary of Ministry of Health, Zanzibar, Shuhaa Nassor Ali, State Attorney, Ministry of Justice & Constitution Affairs and Toshan Singh, General Manager - International Marketing, Rainbow Children's Hospital.
This exclusive #BizTrends2024 interview is with the award-winning strategic forecaster, Nicola Cooper.

In this interview with Bizcommunity Marketing & Media editor, Danette Breitenbach, Cooper shares trends on the future of fashion, society, and technology as well as retail from her new exclusive insights report .

A golden thread throughout the interview is the impact of the trend of the continuing rapid advancement of technology, with tools such as ChatGPT, in the case of Africa, taking its pop and youth culture to the world.

The interview is also available via downloadable App, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and IONO.FM.

The interview is also available via downloadable App and IONO.FM.

Africa rising - but not how we thought

The rise of African music and fashion in the rest of the world is an ongoing and growing trend.

She cites Beyonce as an example. Beyonce delved into African culture, collaborating with African artists, and utilising African designers and filmmakers. This is more about collaboration than cultural appropriation.

So, while we still look to Westernised cultures, she says there is a growing appreciation for contemporary African aesthetics and sounds.

This has led to us, as Africans, not only recognising our value, but also allowing us to understand that our unique voices are relevant not just to Africans, but to the global audience, says Cooper.

This has elevated our confidence and the value we bring globally. It only takes one African person to break through this invisible wall, opening the path for many to follow.

She adds that a few years ago, people talked about "Africa Rising," and it felt like it never really happened.

But she says perhaps we weren't looking at it the right way.

It is more of a pop culture movement, taking African culture and stories to the world.

Technology: opening geographical boundaries

Driving this is technology.

Africa is a technologically savvy continent with one of the largest mobile media markets in the world.

Literally, she states, Technology has opened geographical boundaries allowing people access to trends in real time.

This has opened the world to us and other communities for support, dialogue, and sharing ideas.

She adds that the minute you go online, you are international. This is especially inspiring for young people on a continent where traditional jobs are lacking, and there's quite a bit of unemployment.

This has driven young people to side hustles that could grow into fully-fledged businesses, while global brands are innovating with young African people.

At the end of the day, the recipient is a real human being

Technologys crucial role in retail

The knock-on effect of this is on retail brands.

She says a dynamic shift in how products are produced is taking place, with investment in localised products with increased localised collaborations.

Retailers need to understand their consumers' everyday needs, aspirations, and goals. On the other hand, the introduction of platforms such as Amazon in South Africa also opens new consumer opportunities, states Cooper.

That takes us back to technology and how it is shaping retail.

Understanding that each platform has its own language and visual language is key, says Cooper.

As retailers start to use chatbots, AI, and sizing systems where needed, data will help them understand consumers and their needs better.

But, she says, its critical to humanise data. At the end of the day, the recipient is a real human being.

Consumer centric

Coopers most important message to businesses is to be consumer-centric.

Understand your consumers based on clear evidence, statistics, and learnings. It's no longer just about products and price, but also the values of a brand, its ethos, transparency, and how it reflects its consumers.

She adds that retailers must invest in understanding their consumers' aspirations and societal positioning.

Nicola Cooper is an award-winning strategic forecaster, in-house trends analyst, and cultural strategist at 99c Communications. She's also the founder of her consultancy, specialising in the fields of fashion, lifestyle, and pop culture, particularly for retail and FMCG brands on the African continent and worldwide.

Nicola Cooper social media: X: @NicolaCoop, Website: Nicole Cooper
As we highlighted last week, angry parents protested their children being sent home from James Madison High School in order that some 2000 illegal immigrants could sleep in the gymnasium.

Some parents were even asked to stop filming as the illegals arrived, in an attempt to downplay the situation.

Now, The New York Post reports that the school principal Jodie Cohen criticised the parents on a Zoom call, stating How dare someone say that I dont care about kids, and labelling the parents complaints as offensive.

NYC HS principal lashes out at parents who bashed decision to force students to go remote as migrants sheltered at school https://t.co/r5SOqno0xy pic.twitter.com/oAthGU1hUD  New York Post (@nypost) January 14, 2024

I dont understand how people who never come on a Zoom like this could take an opportunity like this evening to throw mud, she added.

The New York Post reports that the principal of the school that closed for a day so it could house illegal immigrants has hit out at parents who were not happy with the decision, labelling their complaints as "offensive." https://t.co/SlcdvTO5OG pic.twitter.com/tW0z4wgkAT  m o d e r n i t y (@ModernityNews) January 15, 2024

This is for one night, one night! Cohen added, denying that she had sold the kids out, as some have charged.

NEW: James Madison High School principal Jodie Cohen, who gave the 'ok' to cancel in-person class to host thousands of migrants, is lashing out at *parents* who opposed the decision.



She sounds like a liberal.



The 'Karen' teacher whined that people were "throwing mud" at her pic.twitter.com/zbI1ucgaus  Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 13, 2024

How dare the parents complain that their kids were forced out of school so non-citizens can sleep there!

Incredible.

Meanwhile, Joe Biden again refused to describe the immigration situation as a crisis:

REPORTER: "Would you call the situation on the southern border a 'crisis'?"



BIDEN: "No" pic.twitter.com/UUya0vE62w  RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 13, 2024

Thousands of illegal immigrant are being housed in hotels, schools and airports in major American cities thousands of miles away from the border. At what point does it become a crisis?

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews
The Germany military is preparing for a potential attack by Russia in February which culminates in a wider war after the U.S. presidential election.

German newspaper Bild reports on the details of a hitherto classified Berlin Ministry of Defense document called Alliance Defence 2025 with alarming implications.

The secret strategy document wargames a hybrid Russian attack on NATOs eastern flank as soon as next month and then lays out the steps on how the conflict would escalate month by month.

JUST IN - Germany's army is preparing for a Russian attack. Tens of thousands of German soldiers would be deployed, according to a classified document obtained by BILD. pic.twitter.com/ZUKEe3Cj07  Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) January 14, 2024

The scenario culminates in the deployment of hundreds of thousands of NATO troops and the onset of what amounts to World War III by the summer of 2025.

Pravda summarizes the schedule of the scenario.

Russias at first covert and then increasingly overt attack on the West begins in July. Cyber attacks and other forms of hybrid warfare are anticipated, primarily in the Baltic states. Clashes occur, which Russia uses as an excuse to initiate large-scale military exercises on its territory and in Belarus. According to the scenario, this situation could escalate in October if Russia deploys troops and medium-range missiles to Kaliningrad. From December 2024, an artificially induced border conflict and clashes with numerous casualties unfold in the vicinity of the Suwalki Gap (Suwalki Corridor). At a moment when the United States may be without a leader for several weeks after the elections, Russia, with the support of Belarus, repeats the 2014 invasion of Ukraine but on NATO territory. In May 2025, NATO decides on containment measures, and on D-Day, NATO deploys 300,000 military personnel to the eastern flank, including 30,000 soldiers from the Bundeswehr.

The document is officially called a training scenario, although that will do little to allay fears that NATO could face a confrontation with Russia as it looks increasingly likely Ukraine will lose the war.

The Germany Ministry of Defense refused to comment on details of the document, but said it was taking into consideration all scenarios, including extremely unlikely ones, is part of daily military activity, especially in training.

As we highlighted last week, Sweden is also cautioning its citizens to prepare for war with Russia, saying the country is ill-prepared to cope with the sudden onset of hostilities.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews
The World Economic Forum has surveyed the worlds experts and issued its 2024 Global Risks Report. The international elite of experts have declared that the number one threat to humanity is not terrorism or pandemic or even climate change (which is second), but misinformation and disinformation. Of course, that means that the only hope for humanity is censorship and speech controls. The report shows just how engrained this anti-free speech movement has become among the world elite from media to business to politics.

The absurd finding is consistent with the warning of other international figures and groups. We previously discussed how WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has supported censorship to combat what he calls the infodemic.

So 1,490 experts across academia, business, government, the international community and civil society looked at all of the worlds military, economic, and environmental threats and concluded that the greatest threat to humanity is too much free speech. A global risk is defined as the possibility of the occurrence of an event or condition which, if it occurs, would negatively impact a significant proportion of global GDP, population or natural resources.

We have seen how during the Covid crisis experts supported censorship and blacklisting when their views were challenged by colleagues and the public. Earlier positions treated as gospel in the press have been discredited. For example, a recent scientific review by 12 researchers from leading universities found little support for the claims that masks reduced Covid exposures.

The Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) initially rejected the use of a mask mandate. However, the issue became a political weapon as politicians and the press claimed that questioning masks was anti-science and even unhinged. In April 2020, the CDC reversed its position and called for the masking of the entire population, including children as young as 2 years old. The mask mandate and other pandemic measures like the closing of schools are now cited as fueling emotional and developmental problems in children.

The closing of schools and businesses was also challenged by some critics as unnecessary. Many of those critics were also censored. It now appears that they may have been right. Many countries did not close schools and did not experience increases in Covid. However, we are now facing alarming drops in testing scores and alarming rises in medical illness among the young.

Masks became a major social and political dividing line in politics and the media. Maskless people were chased from stores and denounced in Congress. Then-CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said during a Senate hearing that face masks are the most important powerful health tool we have.

For years, scientists faced censorship for even raising the lab theory as a possible explanation for the virus. Their reputations and careers were shredded by a media flash mob. The Washington Post declared this a debunked coronavirus conspiracy theory. The New York Times Science and Health reporter Apoorva Mandavilli was calling any mention of the lab theory racist.

When a Chinese researcher told Fox News that this was man-made, the network was attacked and the left-leaning PolitiFact slammed her with a pants on fire rating.

The extensive censorship and blacklisting that has occurred over the last four years protected such experts from scrutiny and criticism. Many of those same experts are now listing what they deem disinformation to be the worlds greatest threat. The obvious solution to this existential threat is, of course, to allow experts to control or regulate what people read or hear to eliminate harmful disinformation. The question is whether the public can be, again, spooked into surrendering this core human right by world elite.
n November 2021, former US Representative from Georgia Bob Barr wrote a little-noticed political column claiming that buried inside President Joe Bidens $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure legislation was a dangerous provision that would go into effect in five years.

Marketed to Congress as a benign tool to help prevent drunk driving, the measure will mandate that automobile manufacturers build into every car what amounts to a vehicle kill switch, wrote Barr, who was the Libertarian Partys nominee for president in 2008.

Like most Americans, I had never heard of this alleged kill switch until a few days ago when Representative Thomas Massie, a libertarian-leaning Republican, proposed to strip the mandates funding.

The right to travel is fundamental, but the government has mandated a kill-switch in new vehicles sold after 2026, said Massie. The kill-switch will monitor driver performance and disable cars based on the information gathered.

Nineteen Republicans joined all but one Democrat in opposing Massies amendment, which failed.

True or False?

The claim that the feds would mandate that every new motor vehicle include technology that could disable the vehicle seemed ludicrous. So I started Googling.

To my relief, I saw several fact-checkers at legacy institutions had determined the kill switch mandate was not true.

Our rating: False, said USA Today.

ASSESSMENT: False, said the Associated Press.

We rate it Mostly False, concluded PolitiFact.

(Snopes, a reliably left-leaning fact check group, was a little less conclusive, saying the claim was a mixture of true and false.)

Unfortunately, my relief evaporated once I looked at the bill itself.

Sec. 24220 of the law explicitly states: [T]o ensure the prevention of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities, advanced drunk and impaired driving prevention technology must be standard equipment in all new passenger motor vehicles.

The legislation then goes on to define the technology as a computer system that can passively monitor the performance of a driver of a motor vehicle and can prevent or limit motor vehicle operation if an impairment is detected (emphasis added).

How the system will make this determination is unclear, as is the governments potential role in apprehending suspected drunk drivers (more on that later).

But the laws language could not be more clear: New motor vehicles must have a computer system to monitor drivers, and the system must be able to prevent vehicle operation if it detects impairment.

No Mention in the Bill of a Kill Switch

How fact-checkers determined the kill switch narrative to be false is odd, especially since the articles dont deny Barrs central claim: The legislation mandates a computer system that will monitor driving performance and be able to disable motor vehicles.

The Associated Press conceded the law would prevent or limit motor vehicle operation if the system suspects the driver is impaired, even disable a vehicle from being operated. So did USA Today and PolitiFact.

To arrive at their conclusion that this car-killing mechanism is just a fantasy, fact-checkers resorted to sleight of hand. A common tactic was to debunk social media posts that were actually false or unfounded, like the popular claim that the systems would be required to alert law enforcement if the drivers were deemed impaired.

None of the technologies currently in development would notify law enforcement, the Associated Press assured readers.

In an odd bit of uniformity, each of the fact-checkers said spokespeople for groups who support the system, such as MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), told them they would never support giving law enforcement access to the system.

My personal favorite, however, was PolitiFact.

[We] found no mention in the bill of a kill switch, PolitiFact concluded.

The idea that the absence of the words kill switch in the bill is evidence that a disabling mechanism doesnt actually exist in the legislation is nothing short of gaslighting.

Secure in Persons and Effects?

The unpleasant truth is that lawmakers slipped into a massive spending bill a mandate that stands to require all new vehicles to have AI-driven technology that can disable your vehicle if the technology determines youve had one beer too many. And fact-checkers are using headlines to make it sound as if the legislation does no such thing.

Its true there is currently no mechanism in the legislation that would require law enforcement to be notified if drivers are suspected of inebriation. But the Associated Press notes that the law leaves most of the details up to NHTSA (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) to determine at a future date.

From my reading of the bill, there is nothing in the legislation that would prevent NHTSA from requesting or receiving this data. Does anyone believe that in 2027, if the NHTSA requested that system manufacturers turn over the information they collect, it would be told no? Dont bet on it. The Twitter Files show how quick companies comply when the feds come knocking on their door to retrieve their data, and just how little they care about the privacy of Americans.

And that word  privacy  barely appears in any of the three fact-checks. (The single instance is when a MADD spokesman assured readers that the organization remains committed to driver privacy, even though it was supporting a computer system that spies on drivers.) The notion that a system that passively monitors drivers might infringe the privacy of Americans doesnt even seem to have crossed their minds.

Maybe this shouldnt be surprising. In a world where traffic cameras, license plate readers, NSA mass surveillance, intelligence-gathering fusion centers, and widespread warrantless searches are ubiquitous, privacy might seem like a quaint idea. But its one the Framers of the American system took seriously.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution reads.

Im not a constitutional scholar, but it seems to me that the federal governments requiring automobile manufacturers to install a system that spies on its driver  and disables his car if transgressions are suspected  hardly meets this constitutional standard.

I also suspect mandating the installation of this technology is something Americans of all political stripes would overwhelmingly oppose on principle  put aside for now the immense cost on new vehicle purchases it will add  if they knew about it, which is no doubt why the provision was surreptitiously slipped into a $1 trillion spending bill.

The True Purpose of the Surveillance State

Then again, maybe Americans wouldnt care if they knew about federal legislation that mandates tech to disable their cars if it suspects that last glass of wine  which you may or may not have had  put you over the limit.

As Robert E. Wright has pointed out, once upon a time, Americans considered spying an invasion of privacy, but those days are mostly gone. Increasingly, many take an I have nothing to hide approach. Few seem to realize they are almost certainly breaking laws each day unknowingly, and Im not talking about driving 65 in a 55 mph zone.

In his popular book Three Felonies a Day, author Harvey A. Silverglate noted that the typical American commits just that: three felonies per day (four, if you see a felony and dont report it, which is also a crime).

Over the last century, the Land of the Free has slowly transformed into a land governed by endless laws, largely by cracking down on vices instead of actual crimes, creating a society that would render us all criminals if our behavior were constantly observed. Meanwhile, the state has steadily expanded its use of mass surveillance, largely under the pretext of fighting terror.

This is a toxic mixture, yet most people seem largely oblivious to the danger it poses. Americans love citing 1984, but it seems few have actually read it. If they had, theyd realize that the terror of living under a surveillance state was the primary theme of George Orwells masterpiece, which was inspired by actual totalitarian states.

A simple glimpse into the history books reveals few things are quite as terrifying as a surveillance state. (To experience a taste, I recommend Florian Henckel von Donnersmarcks fantastic 2006 German film The Lives of Others.) Its chilling even to imagine what the Stasi or NKVD could do with modern surveillance technology.

The United States is not a totalitarian state, but its growing efforts to control information  which have grown more obvious and ambitious  show that its not a neutral bystander, either. Those in government have their agendas, and they are not known for playing nice with those who cross them (just ask Edward Snowden and Julian Assange).

Which brings us to the raison detre of mass surveillance.

The asymmetry of the surveillance state belies its true purpose: to protect the government, not the people, writes Wright.



Once one understands this, it becomes clear why many see grand potential in a law that requires every single new motor vehicle in the country to be monitored and potentially disabled by a computer  and why rent-a-cop fact-checkers would go through such contortions to downplay this dystopian mandate.
Add the bill of rights subtract the wrongs

Memorize and sing star-spangled songs

There's no answers

When the questions aren't ever asked

Is anybody learning from the past?

Were living in united stagnation

-NOFX, The Decline

Your tax dollars at work, ladies and gentlemen.

The good folks over at the Department of Justice (Ministry of Love), are spending our hard-earned bucks forked over to the IRS at gunpoint to recruit and entrap autistic adolescents in manufactured terror plots in the name of national security.

Related: More Fake Fed Nazis Show Up in Wisconsin

Via The Intercept:

Humzah Mashkoor had just cleared security at Denver International Airport when the FBI showed up. The agents had come to arrest the 18-year-old, who is diagnosed with a developmental disability, and charge him with terror-related crimes. At the time of the arrest, a relative later said in court, Mashkoor was reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid, a book written for elementary school children. Mashkoor had gone to the airport on December 18 to fly to Dubai, and from there to either Syria or Afghanistan, as part of his alleged plot to join the Islamic State. The trip had been spurred by over a year of online exchanges starting when Mashkoor was 16 years old with four people he believed were members of ISIS. According to the Justice Departments criminal complaint, the four were actually undercover FBI agents. As a result of his conversations with the FBI, Mashkoor could face a lengthy sentence for attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization Law enforcement agents first became aware of Mashkoors online activities in support of ISIS in November 2021. But instead of alerting his family, Mashkoors lawyers told The Intercept, FBI agents posing as ISIS members befriended him a year later and strung him along until he became a legal adult. It is appalling* that the government never once reached out to his parents, even while they were sending undercover agents to befriend him online starting when he was 16 years old, said Joshua Herman, a defense attorney representing Mashkoor. Almost all of the conduct he is alleged to have committed took place when he was a juvenile.

*Appalling, perhaps, but not shocking. Why would the FBI agents try to prevent crime when they can get a promotion out of egging it on? Theres no money or prestige in quietly extinguishing terror in the womb.

What they need to sell to the masses is spectacle  Bread and Circus.

Anyone who knows anything about how the feds work recognizes this modus operandi:

 recruit a mentally ill patsy

 pump them full of cash and bad ideas

 set up a terror plot on their behalf

 swoop in to save the day from the threat that they created in the first place

 Parlay the alleged foiled terror plot into fatter budgets to do more of the same

And around and around we go!

I, for one, feel much safer now that the FBI is capturing autistic minor terrorists for posting naughty stuff online and putting them in prison for life where they belong.

God bless our heroes in law enforcement.

Where would we be without the FBI?

Thats a rhetorical question: inundated with autistic child terrorists, obviously.

They keep us safe. They keep us warm. They give us life. The Lord has sent them down from heaven to calm our flighty hearts.

And, by the way  and this isnt said these days nearly enough  thank God for Saint George W. Bush, whose handlers pushed the PATRIOT Act through.

Its called the PATRIOT Act (in capital letters) because its patriotic to arrest and prosecute autistic children for their terror. If you disagree, youre probably a terrorist yourself.

You dont hate Freedom, do you?

If you arent doing anything wrong, like doing autistic child terrorist the heroes of the FBI entrapped, what do you have to hide?

Ben Bartee, author of Broken English Teacher: Notes From Exile, is an independent Bangkok-based American journalist with opposable thumbs.

Follow his stuff Substack. Also, keep tabs via Twitter.

For hip Armageddon Prose t-shirts, hats, etc., peruse the merch store.

Support always welcome via insta-tip jar.
Should all of this talk about Disease X alarm us? According to the WHO, Disease X is an unknown hypothetical disease that could potentially kill millions upon millions of people. It is supposed to be a purely theoretical disease, but by giving it a name they are basically inviting people to come up with all sorts of theories about it. And that is especially true now that experts have speculated that it could cause 20 times more deaths than COVID did

Health leaders are meeting at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Wednesday to discuss ways to prepare for Disease X  a term coined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2018 to describe the unknown, hypothetical pathogen that could cause the next pandemic. According to some experts, Disease X could result in 20 times more fatalities than the coronavirus pandemic. Its on the WHOs shortlist of priority diseases, alongside viruses like SARS, Ebola and Zika.

The WEF is certainly contributing to the hype around this hypothetical disease. On Wednesday, there will be an entire session at the WEFs yearly gathering that has been entitled Preparing for Disease X, and the description for that session ominously declares that Disease X could result in 20 times more fatalities than the coronavirus pandemic

The 2024 program is one for the ages. Attendees will watch Pfizers Albert Bourla and Open AIs Sam Altman talk about Artificial Intelligence (AI). Theyll see depopulation advocate Bill Bugman Gates advancing the climate hoax. John Kerry will appear on four different stages to discuss the energy transition. We will also see Klaus Schwab sit down for a 1 on 1 with the second highest ranking Chinese government official. But one panel in particular sticks out: Preparing for Disease X. The topic is both incredibly vague and incredibly disturbing. The description for the discussion reads: With fresh warnings from the World Health Organization that an unknown Disease X could result in 20 times more fatalities than the coronavirus pandemic, what novel efforts are needed to prepare healthcare systems for the multiple challenges ahead?

Why give such a specific number?

I dont think that is helpful at all.

Are they trying to cause panic?

The list of speakers that are scheduled for this session includes the Director-General of the WHO

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO

Shyam Bishen, Head, Centre for Health and Healthcare; WEF Geneva

Roy Jakobs, President and Chief Executive Officer, Royal Philips

Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice-Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd

Nisia Trindade Lima, Minister of Health, Ministry of Health of Brazil

Michel Demare, Chair of the Board, AstraZeneca Plc

Without a doubt, more global pandemics are coming.

This is something that I have been relentlessly warning my readers about.

But to give an unknown disease a specific name and to throw out numbers for potential death rates is only going to fuel unhealthy speculation.

Of course it isnt just the WHO and the WEF that are doing this.

In June of last year, a bill known as the Disease X Act of 2023 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

And it is being reported that a facility that has just been built in the UK will actually be performing vaccine research for Disease X

A new facility has been constructed in the UK that will conduct vaccine research for an unknown pathogen dubbed by the World Economic Forum (WHO) as Disease X. The new facility is located at the secretive Porten Down science and technology campus in Wiltshire, England, which is best known for chemical and biological warfare research. Experts at this facility are preparing for the emergence of a new Disease X virus, the BBC reported in August.

I have no idea how they can conduct research on an entirely unknown disease, but apparently that is what they intend to do.

Instead of chasing ghosts, perhaps our leaders could focus on fixing what is already broken.

According to one recent study, almost one out of every five hospital deaths in the United States is caused by doctor error

Nearly one in five US hospital deaths are caused by misdiagnoses, research shows. A study published last month in the journal JAMA examined 2019 medical records from nearly 2,500 patients in 29 different American hospitals. All of the patients were transported to the intensive care unit (ICU), died while hospitalized, or both.

Let me give you another example. The makers of Ozempic are being sued by dozens of people including one woman who will suffer diarrhea for the rest of her life

A woman who will suffer diarrhea for the rest of her life after using Ozempic is among dozens of patients who are suing the maker of the blockbuster weight loss drug over claims it left them with crippling stomach paralysis, a DailyMail.com investigation reveals. Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, is facing lawsuits from patients across America who say they experienced extreme side effects which they were allegedly not warned about.

Another woman literally vomited until her teeth fell out.

We have very real problems that health officials could be focusing on.

And we have very real diseases which have been spreading all over the country in recent months.

But instead of addressing our pressing needs, many health officials would like us to look forward to a Disease X which may or may not materialize.

Why?

Once again, I certainly believe that we are living during a time when great pestilences will be very common.

But I think that it would be wise to wait until they actually appear to give them names, and the sort of speculation that the WHO and the WEF are engaging in is not helpful at all.

Michaels new book entitled Chaos is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.
Guatemala's new liberal president, Bernardo Arevalo, took office early on Monday after an extended delay that underlined the uphill struggle he faces to meet high expectations and enact a sweeping anti-graft agenda in opposition-controlled Congress.

Arevalo, an academic and former diplomat, powered to victory in August, vowing to lift up millions of poor Indigenous Guatemalans, crack down on corruption and protect a democracy that has been under attack.

But in a sign of the battles to come, Arevalo's foes in Congress delayed his scheduled inauguration on Sunday by nine hours, signaling that efforts underway since before his landslide election victory to undermine his authority are unlikely to stop soon.

Chile's leftist President Gabriel Boric, who had planned to attend the formal swearing in ceremony, left the Guatemalan capital late on Sunday before the delay ended.

Now Arevalo's upstart Semilla party, which has only 23 lawmakers in the 160-seat legislature, must broker deals with conservative lawmakers who spent months working with right-wing prosecutors to try to thwart him taking office.

"Given the institutionalized opposition to the new president, and the government's limited financial resources, he has his work cut out," said Donald J. Planty, a former U.S. ambassador to Guatemala.

Arevalo has signaled he plans to follow moderate, centrist policies, Planty noted, but it remains to be seen whether he will be accepted by conservatives suspicious of the political left due to Guatemala's history of leftist insurgent groups.

Arevalo's unexpected election victory over two rounds of voting last year was seen as a watershed moment for Guatemala, where the 65-year-old has cast himself as a leader of a people-powered movement bent on reshaping a political landscape long dominated by conservative elites.

In a speech early on Monday, Arevalo pledged he would not leave behind Guatemala's Indigenous peoples, saying there would be "no more discrimination, no more racism." More than 40 percent of Guatemalans are Indigenous, mainly Maya.

Guatemala's Indigenous have historically suffered from discrimination and poverty, with 80 percent of their children facing inadequate access to nutritious food, according to U.N. studies.

US aid announced

The challenges confronting Arevalo as he takes the helm of Central America's largest economy are formidable, including rampant corruption, the rising cost of living and gang violence  all key drivers of migration to the United States.

U.S. President Joe Biden was among several foreign leaders who congratulated Arevalo.

Biden vowed to work with Guatemala to advance human rights, improve security, combat corruption, address the root causes of migration and expand economic opportunities for people in the Americas and the rest of the world, according to a White House statement.

The U.S. government will spend $6 million to launch a program for financial inclusion in Guatemala, according to a statement by its international aid office. The funds are part of a more than $200 million assistance that will be deployed for this program.

"You are not alone," said Samantha Power, the U.S. aid chief who led the delegation from the United States, at a press conference in Guatemala City on Monday afternoon.

Arevalo also faces a battle for control of institutions that have been firmly in the grip of conservative adversaries.

Last week he said he wanted to see the resignation of Guatemala's attorney general  an ally of former President Alejandro Giammattei  who had moved to hinder his accession, including by attempting to suspend Semilla and annul the election.

Still, Arevalo received a boost on Sunday when Semilla's Samuel Perez was elected president of Congress, a move some saw as a dividend of U.S. pressure after Washington last year slapped visa restrictions on 100 outgoing lawmakers for undermining democracy.

"It was incredible how it hit the lawmakers when their visas were revoked," said Mario Taracena, a former lawmaker with the center-left UNE party. "The new (legislators) were very afraid their visas would be taken away."

Arevalo's father, Juan Jose Arevalo, was Guatemala's first democratically elected president, taking office in 1945. His successor, however, was toppled in a U.S.-backed military coup. (Reuters)


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Former President Donald Trump scored a record-setting win in the Iowa caucuses on Monday with his rivals languishing far behind, a victory that sent a resounding message that the GOP's 2024 presidential nomination is his to lose.

Trump was on track to set a record for a contested Iowa Republican caucus with a margin of victory exceeding the nearly 13 percentage points that Bob Dole won by in 1988. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis finished a distant second ahead of former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.

In what was expected to be a low-turnout affair, caucusgoers endured life-threatening cold and dangerous driving conditions to meet in hundreds of schools, churches and community centers across the state.

Haley plans to compete vigorously in New Hampshire, where she hopes to be more successful with the states independent voters heading into the Jan. 23 primary. DeSantis, meanwhile, is heading straight to South Carolina, a conservative stronghold where the Feb. 24 contest could prove pivotal.

Trump has spent much of the past year building a far more professional organization in Iowa than the relatively haphazard effort he oversaw in 2016, when Texas Sen. Ted Cruz carried the caucuses. His team paid special attention to building a sophisticated digital and data operation to regularly engage with potential supporters and ensure they knew how to participate in the caucuses.

His victory party Monday night was dotted with people wearing white Trump Caucus Captain hats like the one the former president donned at a rally on Sunday. Captains were responsible for turning out at least 10 caucusgoers for Trump.

God called us to do that to support Trump, said 64-year-old David Lage, donning a captain's hat at the party.

Iowa has been an uneven predictor of who will ultimately lead Republicans into the general election. George W. Bushs 2000 victory was the last time a Republican candidate won in Iowa and went on to become the partys standard-bearer.

But Trump was already looking ahead to a potential general election matchup against President Joe Biden as he addressed hundreds of cheering supporters at a caucus site at the Horizon Events Center in Clive, Iowa.

He is totally destroying our country, Trump said of Biden. We were a great nation three years ago and today people are laughing at us."

Biden's team, meanwhile, announced that he and the Democratic National Committee raised more than $97 million in the last quarter of 2023 and finished the year with $117 million in the bank, an effort to demonstrate how Biden is preparing for the possible rematch while Trump is still competing in the primary.

The Associated Press declared Trump the winner at 7:31 p.m. CST based on an analysis of early returns as well as results of AP VoteCast, a survey of voters who planned to caucus on Monday night. Both showed Trump with an insurmountable lead.

Initial results from eight counties showed Trump with far more than half of the total votes counted as of 7:31 p.m., with the rest of the field trailing far behind. These counties include rural areas that are demographically and politically similar to a large number of counties that have yet to report.

The Associated Press determined at 11:17 p.m. CST that DeSantis will finish a distant second to Trump. With an estimated 10% of ballots remaining to be counted, DeSantis leads Haley by approximately 2,300 votes, or about 2 percentage points. With votes reported in all but one of Iowas 99 counties, Haley isnt doing well enough anywhere to catch DeSantis, based on the number of outstanding votes.

DeSantis and Haley are competing to emerge as the top alternative to the former president. Haley hopes to compete vigorously in New Hampshire, where she hopes to be more successful with the states independent voters heading into the Jan. 23 primary. DeSantis is heading to New Hampshire on Tuesday after a stop in South Carolina, a conservative stronghold where the Feb. 24 contest could prove pivotal.

Before she left, Haley offered a subtle jab at Trump while addressing voters at a same caucus site.

If you want to move forward with no more vendettas, if you want to move forward with a sense of hope, join us in this caucus, she said. I ask for your vote. And I promise you I will make sure every day I focus on what it takes to make you proud.

Several hundred people rose to their feet in applause.

Trump, meanwhile, was expected to fly to New York Monday night so he could be in court Tuesday. A jury is poised to consider whether he should pay additional damages to a columnist who last year won a $5 million jury award against Trump for sex abuse and defamation.

He will then fly to New Hampshire, the next state in the Republican primary calendar, to hold a rally Tuesday evening.

Trump has made courtroom visits a part of his campaign  heading to court voluntarily twice last week while his opponents campaigned in Iowa  in a strategy that so far is working.

Trump showed significant strength among Iowa's urban, small-town and rural communities, according to AP VoteCast. He also performed well with evangelical Christians and those without a college degree. And a majority of caucusgoers said that they identify with Trumps Make America Great Again movement.

One relative weakness for Trump comes in the suburbs, where only about 4 in 10 supported him.

AP VoteCast is a survey of more than 1,500 voters who said they planned to take part in the caucuses. The survey is conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson were also on the ballot in Iowa, as was former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who suspended his campaign last week.

Trumps success tells a remarkable story of a Republican Party unwilling or unable to move on from a flawed front-runner. He lost to Biden in 2020 after fueling near-constant chaos while in the White House, culminating with his supporters carrying out a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol. In total, he faces 91 felony charges across four criminal cases.

The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing whether states have the ability to block Trump from the ballot for his role in sparking the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. And hes facing criminal trials in Washington and Atlanta for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump has increasingly echoed authoritarian leaders and framed his campaign as one of retribution. He has spoken openly about using the power of government to pursue his political enemies. He has repeatedly harnessed rhetoric once used by Adolf Hitler to argue that immigrants entering the U.S. illegally are poisoning the blood of our country. And he recently shared a word cloud last week to his social media account highlighting revenge, power and dictatorship.

Trumps legal challenges appear to have done little damage to his reputation. Many of his supporters view the charges through a political lens.

About three-quarters of Iowans responding to AP VoteCast said the charges against Trump are political attempts to undermine him, rather than legitimate attempts to investigate important issues.

Meanwhile, Iowa caucus participants were forced to brave the coldest temperatures in caucus history as forecasters warned that dangerously cold wind chills as low as 45 degrees below zero Fahrenheit were possible through noon Tuesday. The conditions, according to the National Weather Service, could lead to frostbite and hypothermia in a matter of minutes if not properly dressed for the conditions. (AP)
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Media dynasty drama "Succession" and restaurant dramedy "The Bear" dominated the Emmy Awards on Monday, earning six trophies each as Hollywood handed out its top accolades for television.

"Succession," the HBO series about the high-stakes battle for control of a global business empire, won the prestigious best drama prize for its fourth and final season.

"The Bear" was named best comedy at a ceremony that was delayed by four months because of last year's labor turmoil in Hollywood. Road rage drama "Beef" claimed best limited series.

Emmy voters honored several actors and creators of color at a ceremony coincidentally held on the U.S. holiday that commemorates civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

"Succession" was named best drama series for the third time.

"It was a great sadness to end the show, but it was a great pleasure to do it," creator Jesse Armstrong said.

Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook and Matthew Macfadyen won acting trophies for their roles as part of the wealthy but miserable Roy family.

Culkin gave an emotional speech as he accepted his first Emmy, for lead drama actor, breaking into tears as he thanked his mom for a great childhood. He then told his wife he wanted more kids.

"You said maybe, if I win!" he said to his wife, Jazz Charton, who was seated in the audience.

Snook, also a first-time winner, recognized Armstrong, her co-stars and her parents as she accepted best actress in a drama.

"Thank you for having a dress-up box when I was a kid. I think this is where it gets you," Snook said.

For "The Bear," star Jeremy Allen White was named best comedy actor, and his co-stars Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach won supporting actress and actor, for the first season of the FX network show.

"I am so proud, so full of gratitude, to be standing in front of you all," said White, who plays chef Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto. "I love the show so much."

The top TV honors were broadcast live on the Fox broadcast network.

Jennifer Coolidge, who won her second supporting actress honor for playing a loopy vacationer on limited series "The White Lotus," took the opportunity to thank "all of the evil gays," referring to characters on the show involved in a murder plot.

Several Black actors won awards at the ceremony.

"Everyone having fun at the chocolate Emmys tonight? We are killing it tonight!" said host and former "Black-ish" star Anthony Anderson.

Holding her trophy on stage, Edebiri of "The Bear" thanked her family for "letting me feel beautiful and Black and proud of all of that."

A jubilant Niecy Nash-Betts, a supporting actress winner for limited series "Dahmer  Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story," hoisted her Emmy trophy in the air and proclaimed, "I'm a winner, baby."

"I want to thank me, for believing in me and for doing what they said I could not do!" Nash said.

Quinta Brunson was named best comedy actress for playing an optimistic teacher on "Abbott Elementary," a show she created. She shed tears as comedy legend Carol Burnett handed her the award.

"I don't know why I'm so emotional. I think it's the Carol Burnett of it all," Brunson said. "I'm so happy to be able to live my dream."

Other winners included "Beef" stars Steven Yeun and Ali Wong.

Organizers used this year's milestone  the 75th Emmys  to honor classic television shows with cast reunions and other moments.

Anderson opened the show with a choir singing theme songs from "Good Times" and "The Facts of Life." Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker played the drum solo from "In the Air Tonight," a song that aired during a pivotal moment in 1980s hit "Miami Vice."

Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer, Rhea Perlman and other stars of "Cheers" gathered around a recreation of the iconic bar set, and "Grey's Anatomy" actors Katherine Heigl and Ellen Pompeo spoke from a hospital room set up on stage.

The show ended with an excerpt from King's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech. (Reuters)
The Bear star Ayo Edebiri won best actress in a comedy series at the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday and confused many people by thanking Ireland in her acceptance speech.

The 28-year-old, from Boston, has no Irish family roots but thanked the country as she picked up the gong, adding to an earlier Golden Globes win.

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"To everybody in Boston, Barbados, Nigeria  Ireland, in many ways  thank you so much, I love you, she said.

The mention of Ireland comes from a viral joke after Edebiri put on an Irish accent at a red carpet event and pretended she played Jenny the Donkey in The Banshees of Inisherin.

"Preparing for that? I lived in Ireland  Ireland  for about four months, she said.

"And I got really into character and I was on all fours for four months and it was really painful but beautiful as well and it was probably the most fulfilling part of my career.

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Ayo Edebiri, winner of the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for "The Bear," poses in the press room during the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards at Peacock Theater on January 15th, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

"And Im so happy for everybody going to the Oscars even though I deserved the nomination more than anybody else because I was obviously a donkey for four months."

"Oh my god, sorry, she said, before returning to her normal accent. I literally  I was there, you know what I mean? I slipped back into it. Yeah. But it was very fulfilling.

"It was very fulfilling and I want little girls out there everywhere to know that they, too, can be a donkey one day.

The interview has since gone viral, and become a running joke, which Edebiri referenced as she picked up her Critics Choice award for her role in The Bear.

In the hit series, she plays Sydney Adamu, a sous-chef.

Edebiri has since added an Emmy win to her collection, for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series.
Arctic air is continuing to bring freezing temperatures, as another series of weather alerts remained in place overnight.

Motorists are again being warned that freezing temperatures will lead to widespread icy patches, creating hazardous travel conditions.

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Temperatures fell below freezing across much of the country on Monday night, with a low of -6.3 degrees noted in Moore Park, Co Cork.

Lowest overnight air temperature of -6.3 degrees recorded at our station at Moore Park, Co. Cork at 05:00 16/01/2024. pic.twitter.com/VGXCIMYXQV  Met Eireann (@MetEireann) January 16, 2024

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Yellow alerts for low temperatures, snow and ice cover the 26 counties in the Republic until 11am on Tuesday, while a similar warning from the UK Met Office for the six counties in the North will lift at the same time.

Met Eireann warned severe frost and icy stretches are likely, adding the coldest temperatures will be felt in the southern half of the country.

Advertisement  Yellow Weather Warning  Snow/Ice 

 Cavan, Leitrim, Louth, Monaghan

 Tues 16, 12am  Tues 16, 11am

Overnight and on Tuesday morning - outbreaks of sleet and snow with small accumulations. Impacts:

- Dangerous driving conditions

- Poor visibility #VisionZero pic.twitter.com/bxdAvVJ8wj  RSA Ireland (@RSAIreland) January 15, 2024 Advertisement

Outbreaks of sleet and snow were also expected in the northern half of the country overnight.

An alert for Donegal added: "Scattered wintry showers will give way to more widespread sleet or snow for a time overnight with the potential for small accumulations."

The recent cold snap has been caused by an arctic airmass, which Met Eireann said will bring "winter hazards" throughout this week.

Similarly cold conditions are gripping the UK, while parts of the US are seeing record-low temperatures.

A weather advisory issued by Met Eireann on Sunday remains in effect, and is set to last until midday on Friday.
The funeral is set to take place this Friday in Tramore, Co Waterford of four-year-old Kobi Macharia Dooly who was found dead amid tragic circumstances in Hackney in London on December 20th last.

Keziah Macharia, the 41-year-old mother of young Kobi, was charged with his murder when she appeared at the Old Bailey in London on December 28th, 2023.

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On the evening of December 20th, police in London were alerted to concern for the welfare of Kobi by his Irish father Ben Dooley.

The Old Bailey previously heard that within minutes of the emergency call, officers forced their way in to the Hackney home of Ms Macharia.

They found Kobi lying in his cot. He had sustained sharp force injuries.

The youngster was rushed to the Royal London Hospital where he died shortly after midnight on December 21st.

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The funeral notice for Kobi appeared on Rip.ie today. Ben Dooly who is a native of Tramore said that his son was very much loved.

Daddy misses you so much and you will be on my shoulders forever. My love for you is eternal. Take care my sweet angel. Xx.

Kobi will be reposing at Falconers Funeral Home, Riverstown in Tramore on Thursday from 4pm to 7pm. All are welcome.

His requiem mass will take place this Friday at noon at the Holy Cross Church in Tramore, Co Waterford. Kobi will be laid to rest at a private ceremony on a later date.

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His funeral cortege will walk from Tramore Credit Union at approximately 11.50am to arrive for his requiem mass at noon.

Donations, if desired, may be made to the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust. The family home in Tramore is strictly private.

The notice said that Kobi danced in to heaven on the 21st of December 203. Rip.

Kobi Macharia Dooly. Late of Hackney in London. Beloved son of Ben Dooly, Tramore, Co Waterford. He will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by his heartbroken father Ben ; his beloved grandparents Wilf and Anne; his aunts and uncles Liz, Zeta, Cathy, Shane, Debbie, Ger and John.He will be greatly missed by all his cousins, extended family and all his little friends.

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The Dooly family appreciates your sympathy, support and understanding at this difficult time. Mass cards can be posted to Falconers Funeral Directors, Riverstown, Tramore, Co Waterford.

Meanwhile, members of the extended Dooly family, who own fish and chip shops and an amusement arcade in the sea side town, are well known and respected in the local community in Tramore.

In the aftermath of the tragedy Irish relatives of the young boy travelled to London to offer support to Ben who has lived in the UK for many years. The Department of Foreign Affairs were of consular assistance to the bereaved family.
Roscrea councillor Shane Lee has accused the Garda public order unit involved in skirmishes with protesters at a hotel in the town where a group of asylum-seekers arrived on Monday of being very heavy-handed, claiming their actions had been a step too far.

Speaking on RTE radios Morning Ireland, Cllr Lee said local gardai had been interacting with protesters at Racket Hall Hotel in Roscrea, Co Tipperary since last Thursday.

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These were people who had never protested a day in their lives, the councillor claimed, adding: What took place yesterday for me was very, very heavy-handed.

Cllr Lee said there should have been communication between the Department of Integration and the local community on accommodation the international protection applicants.

He said the people of the town are welcoming, but the services are not there to back up the numbers of asylum-seekers which were coming.

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Cllr Lee urged Minister for Integration Roderic O'Gorman to visit Roscrea to see the situation for himself.

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'Roscrea is full'

Asked if he agreed with signs in the town which stated 'Roscrea is Full', Cllr Lee pointed out that between 320 and 400 Ukrainian refugees were accommodated in the town at Convent Hill, and international protection applicants are being housed in Sean Ross Abbey.

So it's not as if this is the first rodeo in town. In fairness, the town is playing its part, and that's the message that has been made very, very clear to me, Cllr Lee said.

He said the people of Roscrea are caring and had been very welcoming to the people who had already arrived in the town and were being integrated into the community.

Community activist Derek Russell echoed the sentiment about the lack of consultation with the local community.

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There's no interaction, and I can see how people can get angered when they just get pushed to one side rather than a small bit of cooperation between both sides, Mr Russell said.

The system for dealing with refugees is wrong and badly thought out, he argued.

Cllr Lee added that, ultimately, it is down to money, claiming a price is being put on the heads of refugees. He said business people are looking to make money, claiming that is what had happened with the owners of the Racket Hall Hotel.

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There absolutely has been no loyalty here to the people of Roscrea by the business owners of the Racket Hall Hotel.

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The people of the town have kept that hotel going for many, many, many years.

Cllr Lee claimed the issue at hand was the loss of the hotel as an amenity for the local community, stating: The heart of any community that's in any town is a hotel.

He said the Government's actions in removing the hotel as a local amenity were absolutely shameful.

'Trying to stir things up'

Despite the calls from local representatives for him to visit Roscrea, Mr OGorman said he has no plans to do so.

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However, he said he will be meeting local councillors and TDs to discuss concerns about local services, which he acknowledged is an issue.

Mr OGorman told RTE radios Morning Ireland that it is unacceptable for protesters to block access to accommodation.

People had a right to protest, but not in a way that had an impact on vulnerable people, he added.

While he said he believes some of the protesters are motivated by concern, he claimed others are from the far-right and are trying to stir things up.

He added that it was obvious from comments online that some people are trying to stir up sentiment.

The Government needed to do better at getting accurate information to the public, Mr O'Gorman said, noting there is a lot of misinformation on social media.

He added there also needs to be better communication of the facts about the rights of international protection applicants.

The people who arrived at Rackett Hall on Monday were families and female international protection applicants, the Minister said.

He added officials informed him that entering the accommodation had been a difficult experience for the group, and some of the children had been upset seeing the scuffles outside the centre.

On Monday afternoon, Gardai confirmed one man was arrested under the Public Order Act. He has since been released, with a file to be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
A man described by gardai as a danger to the community, was refused bail today, after he was charged with causing the death of a journalism student in a hit-and-run collision.

Gardai arrested Kieran Fogarty, (20), Hyde Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick, on Tuesday and charged him with offences including dangerous driving causing the death of University of Limerick (UL) student, Joe Drennan, on Friday, October 13th, 2023.

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Mr Fogarty was also charged with driving without insurance or a license at the time.

Detective Garda Shane ONeill, Roxboro Road Garda Station, told a bail hearing held at Limerick District Court that moments prior to the fatal collision, Mr Fogarty was observed by Gardai driving a black coloured BMW dangerously and at speed.

Mr Fogarty overtook a garda patrol car at speed as he drive the BMW from the Annacotty area towards Limerick City.

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Gardai activated the patrol cars blue lights and sirens and followed Mr Fogarty at a safe distance, detective ONeill said.

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He alleged the BMW driven by Kieran Fogarty continued at speed, and broke a red light and collided with a white coloured Volkswagen car, injuring the male driver and female front seat passenger.

Detective ONeill further alleged Mr Fogarty then lost control of the BMW, which mounted a kerb near a bus stop, and struck Mr Drennan who was fatally injured.

He further claimed Mr Fogarty exited the BMW and failed to remain at the scene and failed to render assistance to Joe Drennan.

The DPP is considering further serious charges, said Detective ONeill.

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He objected to bail under Section 2 of the Bail Act as well as OCallaghan Rules, that there was strong evidence against Mr Fogarty including CCTV footage which placed the accused as the only occupant of the car.

Detective ONeill alleged DNA gleamed by forensic investigators from an airbag that had deployed in the BMW in the collision on the night matched Kieran Fogarty.

He further alleged that gardai had unearthed text messages in which Mr Fogarty allegedly discussed leaving the jurisdiction and where he had told others he was involved in a collision in which a person had died.

Detective ONeill said that, given the seriousness of the charges Kieran Fogarty was in his opinion, a danger to the community and should not be released on bail.

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If granted bail Mr Fogarty would commit further serious offences and he would not answer the charges against him, the detective alleged.

The court heard Mr Fogartys partner is due to give birth in June to the couples first child.

Judge Carol Anne Coolican said Mr Fogarty was entitled to the presumption of innocence and that the charges against him were allegations.

The judge said she was satisfied with allegations outlined in the States bail pack.

She remanded Mr Fogarty in custody to appear before Limerick District Court via video-link on January 23rd.

From Mountrath, Co Laois, Mr Drennan, who was editor-in-chief at the University of Limerick student newspaper, Limerick Voice, was shortlisted for Journalist of the Year at the 2023 Student Media Awards.
A new inquest has been ordered into the death of a man in Co Fermanagh almost 50 years ago.

The Attorney General for Northern Ireland Dame Brenda King has directed the new proceedings amid concerns over the original RUC investigation into the death of Jim Murphy.

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However, under the provisions of the Governments contentious new legacy laws, the inquest will not be able to take place before a guillotine date of May 1 for cases which have not reached a point of verdict.

Mr Murphy was shot dead by loyalists at his garage in Corraveigha, Derrylin, on April 20th 1974.

The case has previously been referred to the Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson, but she has said she will not be able to investigate the original police probe until April 2027 due to limited resources.

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Mr Murphys niece Joan Corrigan, who believes there was security force collusion in her uncles murder, said she was delighted with the decision by the attorney general.

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She said: It will not bring him back, but April 2024 will mark the 50th anniversary of his murder and I can look at his photograph on my wall and know I did as much as I could for his memory.

He was a civil rights activist who sought truth, justice and equality, as do I, and a new inquest would be an extremely fitting tribute to him.

She added: Whilst I never met Jim, I know his siblings and loved ones suffered a huge loss, huge pain.

I hope this gives victims families some hope for the long-term battle for justice, in spite of the reprehensible amnesty from the Tory government, which is a further, vicious slap in the face to the bereaved.

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Solicitor Niall Murphy, from KRW Law, said: We welcome this important decision by the Attorney General to order an inquest into the murder of Jim Murphy.

It is poignant and sad that it has taken 50 years for official recognition that the original RUC investigation into Jims murder was failed and defective.

Mr Murphy said he was hopeful the British governments legacy laws would be overturned by legal challenge.

The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, which gained royal assent last year, will halt all legacy inquests which have not reached a point of verdict by May 1st.

A number of Troubles victims have launched legal action against the new laws and the Irish Government has announced it is to challenge the Act in the European Court of Human Rights.
Striking public sector workers in the North have been urged to act in a proportionate and lawful manner.

Police staff will be among tens of thousands of public sector workers taking part in a significant joint strike action on Thursday over pay.

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Workers with 15 trade unions will take part in industrial action across health, education and the civil service.

Liam Kelly, chair of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, urged UK Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris to release the funds for public sector pay awards to avert the strike.

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He also urged workers to resist any calls for civil disobedience, saying that would inevitably result in additional strain on hard-pressed police officers.

Our officers are also public sector employees who have been waiting some five months for a pay award to be signed off, he said.

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They understand only too well the challenges facing public sector colleagues and fully sympathise with them in their attempt to right a wrong.

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He said while police officers cannot legally take part in strike action, they too are angry, frustrated and dismayed at the stalemate over pay.

He claimed the UK government is using public sector pay as a blunt way of bludgeoning and bullying for political ends.

The government is behaving disgracefully by employing such tactics against workers, he said.

Civil disobedience has been suggested, including the possibility of blocking roads and occupying buildings to hammer home the message.

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I would appeal to all workers to resist such calls. Any such action would inevitably place an additional strain on policing at a time when our officers least need the pressure.

Strike action and any associated protest must be conducted both proportionately and lawfully.

Police officers are the emergency service of first and last resort, so its reasonable to expect that such large-scale industrial action will result in a hefty increase in calls for police assistance.
Palestinian militants have battled Israeli forces in devastated northern Gaza and launched a barrage of rockets from farther south in a show of force.

It comes more than 100 days into Israels massive air and ground campaign against the tiny coastal enclave.

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The fighting in the north, which was the first target of Israels offensive and where entire neighbourhoods have been pulverised, showed how far Israel remains from achieving its goals of dismantling Hamas and returning scores of hostages captured in the October 7 attack which sparked the war.

Meanwhile, Gazas humanitarian crisis is worsening, with 85 per cent of the territorys 2.3 million Palestinians fleeing their homes and UN agencies warning of mass starvation and disease.

The conflict threatens to widen after the US and Israel traded strikes with Iranian-backed groups across the region.

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The sun sets behind buildings in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday (Leo Correa/AP)

Israel has vowed to crush Hamass military and governing capabilities to ensure the October 7 attack is never repeated.

Militants stormed into Israel from Gaza that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing around 250 people.

With strong diplomatic and military support from the US, Israel has resisted international calls for a ceasefire.

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Nearly half of the hostages were released during a weeklong truce in November but more than 100 remain in captivity.

Hamas said it will not release any more until Israel ends the war.

The longer the war goes on, the more it threatens to ignite other fronts across the region.

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Palestinians walk through destruction in the Nusseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday (Adel Hana/AP)

Iran fired missiles late on Monday at what it said were Israeli spy headquarters in an upscale neighbourhood near the sprawling US consulate in Irbil, the seat of Iraqs northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

Iraq and the US condemned the strikes, which killed several civilians, and Baghdad recalled its ambassador to Iran in protest.

Iranian-backed groups in Iraq and Syria have carried out dozens of attacks on bases housing US forces, and a US airstrike in Baghdad killed an Iranian-backed militia leader earlier this month.

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Elsewhere, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have resumed their attacks on container ships in the Red Sea following a wave of US-led strikes last week.

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The US carried out another strike on Tuesday, a US official said.

The US military said earlier in the day that two Navy Seals are missing after a raid last week on a ship carrying Iranian-made missile parts and weapons bound for Yemen.

Israel and Lebanons Hezbollah militant group have exchanged fire along the border nearly every day since the war in Gaza began.

The strikes and counterstrikes have grown more severe since an Israeli strike killed Hamass deputy political leader in Beirut this month, raising fears of a repeat of the 2006 war.

In Gaza, the Israeli military said its forces located some 100 rocket installations and 60 ready-to-use rockets in the area of Beit Lahiya, a town on the territorys northern edge.

Israeli forces killed dozens of militants during the operation, the military said without providing evidence.

Mahmoud Abdel-Ghani, who lives in Beit Lahiya, said Israeli airstrikes hit several buildings on the eastern side of the town.

Hundreds of thousands of people fled northern Gaza, including Gaza City, following Israeli evacuation orders in October.

Israel shut off water to the region in the opening days of the war and hardly any aid has been allowed into the north, even as tens of thousands of people have remained there.

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Sharon Alony Cunio is reunited with her cat, Elvis, on Monday in the ruins of her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz from where she was kidnapped with her daughters and husband on October 7 by Hamas militants (Maya Alleruzzo/AP)

Residents reached by phone on Tuesday described the heaviest fighting in weeks in Gaza City.

The bombing never stopped, said Faris Abu Abbas, who lives in the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood.

The resistance is here and didnt leave.

Ayoub Saad, who lives near Shifa Hospital in the city centre, said he heard gunfire and shelling overnight and into Tuesday and saw dead and wounded people being taken to the hospital on carts.

After weeks of heavy fighting across northern Gaza, Israeli officials said at the start of the year that they were scaling back operations there.

The focus shifted to the southern city of Khan Younis and built-up refugee camps in central Gaza dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israels creation.

But there too, they have encountered heavy resistance.

An Israeli fighter jet releases flares as it flies over the Gaza Strip on Tuesday (Leo Correa/AP)

The military said at least 25 rockets were fired into Israel on Tuesday, damaging a shop in one of the strongest bombardments in more than a week.

Israels Channel 12 television said the rockets were launched from the Bureij camp in central Gaza.

Gazas Health Ministry said on Tuesday that the bodies of 158 people killed in Israeli strikes have been taken to hospitals in the past 24 hours, bringing the wars overall death toll to 24,285.

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The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths but says around two-thirds of those killed were women and children.

Senior UN officials said on Monday that Gaza faces widespread famine and disease if more aid is not allowed in.

While they did not directly blame Israel, they said aid delivery is hobbled by the opening of too few border crossings, a slow vetting process and continuing fighting throughout the territory  all of which is largely under Israels control.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said UN agencies and their partners cannot effectively deliver humanitarian aid while Gaza is under such heavy, widespread and unrelenting bombardment.

A Palestinian wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip is treated in hospital in Rafah on Tuesday (Hatem Ali/AP)

At least 152 UN workers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war.

Israeli officials say they have placed no limits on humanitarian aid and have called on the UN to provide more workers and trucks to accelerate delivery.

Israel completely sealed off Gaza after Hamass October 7 attack and only relented under US pressure.

The US, as well as the UN, have continued to push Israel to ease the flow of aid.

Israel blames the high civilian death toll on Hamas because it fights in dense residential areas.

Israel says its forces have killed roughly 8,000 militants, without providing evidence, and that 190 of its own soldiers have died in the Gaza offensive.


















M y father wrote twelve stories and two short novels describing the adventures of the Mad Scientists' Club. The order in which these works were written, starting in 1960, is as follows:



The Strange Sea Monster of Strawberry Lake (1960)

Night Rescue (1961)

The Unidentified Flying Man of Mammoth Falls (1962)

The Secret of the Old Cannon (1963)

The Great Gas Bag Race (1964)

The Big Egg (1964)

The Voice in the Chimney (1964)

Big Chief Rainmaker (1965)

The Telltale Transmitter (1966)

The Cool Cavern (1966)

The Flying Sorcerer (1968)

The Great Confrontation (1968)



The first seven tales were collected in The Mad Scientists' Club book published in 1965. The first three stories originally

appeared in Boys' Life--The Strange Sea Monster of Strawberry Lake--in the September 1961 issue, followed by The Unidentified Flying Man of Mammoth Falls in November 1962 and Night Rescue in February 1964. The Secret of the Old Cannon and The Great Gas Bag Race appeared in Boys' Life in 1966. MacRae Smith wanted to include eight stories in the book; however, in early 1965, the editor rejected the eighth story, Big Chief Rainmaker, so the book was published with seven tales.



In one of those amusing twists, the publisher wrote my father some months later, complimented him on the Rainmaker story, and urged that it be included in the subsequent book. It was. The last four stories were written for The New Adventures of the Mad Scientists' Club, published in 1968. The last story in that volume, The Great Confrontation, completed in 1968, was the last Mad Scientists' Club short story. My father was already at work on The Sunken Village, which became entitled The Big Kerplop!





The Big Kerplop! was published in 1974. It is the first novel-length story of the Mad Scientists of Mammoth Falls (the name they liked). Although it relates how the Club was formed, it is a more complex story about reputations and the propensity of public officials to cover up unpleasant facts. It was written from 1968 through 1973. As the publisher was encountering financial difficulties at the time, the book was not published until 1974, and only 1000 or so copies were distributed. That is why original copies of the book are so rare. One minor item is that the title my father gave the story is as you see it here with the exclamation mark. The publisher dropped the mark in the final title. We restored the title when we re-issued the book. More details on how the book was written and previews of the chapters are found on the TBK! page.



The Big Chunk of Ice is the last tale of the Mad Scientists' Club. Completed in 1974, it is a novel-length international adventure of the Club, taking them to Austria. It was still in manuscript form when Purple House Press published it for the first time in 2005.









Illustrations used by permission of Bertrand R. Brinley, L.L.C.

Copyright  2010 Sheridan Brinley


Qatars prime minister offered a stinging criticism of Israel and the international community on Tuesday over the ongoing Israeli-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as Qatars foreign minister, said a two-state solution is required to end the conflict and warned that Hamass October 7th attack and the Israeli response shows the region cannot go back to the way it was before.

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Gaza is not there anymore. I mean, there is nothing over there, he told a panel meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Its carpet bombing everywhere.

He also brought up the ongoing tensions in the West Bank, which have also seen Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces, and urged an end to Palestinian divisions.

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We cannot have a two-state solution without having a government and politicians in Israel who believe in co-existing together side by side peacefully and we cannot have all this ongoing without ending this war, he said.

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Israels Iron Dome air defence system fires to intercept a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip (Leo Correa/AP)

He warned that a military confrontation in Middle East waterways will not contain the attacks by Houthi rebels who on Monday fired a missile which struck a US-owned ship just off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden.

What we have right now in the region is a recipe of escalation everywhere, Sheikh Mohammed added.

Elsewhere, Israel said one of its troops was slightly injured in an exchange of fire along the countrys border with Egypt, which Cairo attributed to drug smuggling. One person in Egypt was killed.

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The statement from the Israeli military late on Monday said the fighting happened near the Nitzana border crossing with Egypt on the Sinai Peninsula, and that there were 20 armed suspects.

The Israelis and the suspects exchanged fire, with Israel saying hits were identified among the suspects, without elaborating.

The Israeli soldier who was hit was evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment and her family has been informed, the military said.

The Israeli military did not identify the suspects.

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Israeli security forces and property tax officials examine a store in Netivot which was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip (Leo Correa/AP)

An Egyptian military statement on Tuesday described the suspects involved as trying to smuggle drugs. It said one person was killed and six people were arrested afterwards.

Egypt and Israel have had a peace deal since 1979, but Israels months-long war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip has strained ties.

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Speaking in Davos, Sheikh Mohammed warned of the massive destruction across Gaza and criticised Israel for rejecting a ceasefire.

Israels defence minister had said a day earlier that the intense offensive in the southern Gaza Strip will soon be scaled back, but ruled out a ceasefire.

More than 100 days into Israels war against Hamas, Palestinian authorities said the death toll in the enclave has passed 24,000.

Hamass October 7th attack from Gaza into southern Israel, which triggered the war, killed around 1,200 people and saw some 250 others taken hostage by militants.

Security forces examine the damage caused in Netivot, southern Israel, by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip (Leo Correa/AP)

Meanwhile, Israel said a barrage of 15 rockets was launched towards southern Israel on Tuesday, damaging a store.

Israeli media said it was one of the strongest bombardments from Gaza in more than a week.

It came a day after Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant said the country's army is expanding military control from northern Gaza towards other parts of the strip.

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Hamas has continued to fire rockets at Israel throughout the war, even as Israel says it is dismantling Hamass military capabilities in ever-expanding areas of Gaza.

Israeli Channel 12 TV reported that the rockets were launched from the central Gaza town of Bureij.

In the area of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, Israeli troops located approximately 100 rocket set-installations and 60 ready-to-use rockets, the Israeli army said on Tuesday, claiming its forces killed dozens of militants during the activity.
An architect charged with a string of slayings known as the Gilgo Beach killings has been accused of taking the life of a fourth woman, a Connecticut mother-of-two who vanished in 2007 and whose remains were found more than three years later along a coastal motorway in New York.

Rex Heuermann has been formally charged over the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, months after being labelled the prime suspect in her death when he was arrested in July over the deaths of three other women.

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In court on Tuesday, Heuermann wore a dark suit and did not say anything during proceedings.

He will continue to be held without bail.

Suffolk County district attorney Ray Tierney, left, inside Judge Timothy Mazzeis courtroom at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead on Tuesday, when alleged Gilgo Beach Killer Rex Heuermann was indicted in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes (Newsday via AP)

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The judge set the next court date for February 6.

Heuermann has maintained his innocence from day one and looks forward to defending himself in court, lawyer Mike Brown said.

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He entered a not guilty plea on the latest charges.

Mr Brown said he is still reviewing new information presented by prosecutors in court documents on Tuesday morning.

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Prosecutors said Heuermann also searched the internet for phrases that suggested he was afraid of getting caught, including how does cell site analysis work, Gilgo news, how cell phone tracking is increasingly being used to solve crimes and phrases with the term Long Island serial killer.

Ms Brainard-Barnes, 25, who was once employed as a dealer at the Foxwoods Resort Casino, left her hometown of Norwich, Connecticut, on July 9 2007 and went to Manhattan for sex work, with plans to return the next day, according to friends, who became concerned when she uncharacteristically stopped using her phone.

She never returned.

Heuermann was arrested on July 14 and charged with killing Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello, three women who authorities say were also sex workers.

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Heuermanns lawyer said he has denied committing the crimes.

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He previously pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Barthelemy, Ms Waterman and Ms Costello.

Ms Brainard-Barnes was the first of the four women to disappear.

Their remains were found along the same quarter-mile stretch of parkway in the Gilgo Beach area of Jones Beach Island in 2010.

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Additional searching turned up the remains of six more adults and a toddler who was the child of one of the victims.

Police concluded that an 11th person found dead in a tidal marsh on the same barrier island accidentally drowned.

Investigators have said Heuermann, who lived in Massapequa Park across the bay from where the bodies were found, was probably not responsible for all the deaths.

Rex Heuerman, right, listens in court on Tuesday (James Carbone/Newsday via AP)

Some of the victims disappeared in the mid-1990s.

Investigators zeroed in on Heuermann when a new task force ran an old tip about a Chevy Avalanche pick-up truck through a vehicle records database.

A hit came back identifying such a vehicle belonging to Heuermann, who lived in a neighbourhood police had been focusing on because of mobile phone location data and call records, authorities said.

With the tip breathing new life into the investigation, authorities charted the calls and travels of multiple mobile phones, picked apart email aliases, delved into search histories and collected discarded bottles  and even a pizza crust  for advanced DNA testing, according to court papers.

Detectives said Heuermanns DNA on the pizza crust matched a hair found on a restraint used in the killings.

Police said other evidence linked Heuermann to the victims, including burner phones used to arrange meetings with the slain women.

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After the arrest, investigators spent nearly two weeks combing through Heuermanns home, including digging up the yard, dismantling a porch and a greenhouse and removing many contents of the house for testing.

Investigators found hundreds of electronic devices during their lengthy search of Heuermanns home, according to court documents released on Tuesday.

Prosecutors say the devices contained a collection of bondage and torture pornography.
Iran has fired missiles at what it claimed were Israeli spy headquarters near the US consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil and at targets linked to the extremist group Islamic State in northern Syria.

Four civilians were killed and six injured on Monday when missiles hit an upscale area near the consulate in Irbil, the seat of Iraqs semi-autonomous Kurdish region, according to the security council of the Kurdish regional government.

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Irans Revolutionary Guards said in a statement it had hit a headquarters of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, in the Kurdish region of Iraq.

Another statement said it had fired a number of ballistic missiles at terrorist operations, including Islamic State targets, in Syria and destroyed them.

Image taken from video provided by Rudaw TV shows authorities and others near the site where missiles hit in an area near the US consulate in Irbil, Iraq (Rudaw TV/AP)

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The strikes come at a time of heightened tensions in the region and fears of a wider spillover of the ongoing war in Gaza.

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Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have launched near-daily drone attacks on bases housing US forces in Iraq and Syria, which the groups have said was in retaliation for Washingtons support of Israel, and in an attempt to force US troops to leave the region.

The US strongly condemns Irans reckless missile strikes in Irbil, state department spokesman Matthew Miller said. He added that the attacks undermine Iraqs stability.

A US defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the US tracked the missilescand no US facilities were struck or damaged in the attacks.

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The official said initial indications were that the strikes were reckless and imprecise.

An Iraqi security official said Irbil was targeted with several ballistic missiles but did not give further details.

An official with an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia said 10 missiles fell in the area near the US consulate. He said the missiles were launched by Irans revolutionary guards.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said his country will no longer pursue reconciliation with South Korea and called for the Norths constitution to be rewritten to eliminate the idea of shared statehood between the war-divided countries, state media said on Tuesday.

The historic step to discard a decades-long pursuit of a peaceful unification, which was based on a sense of national homogeneity shared by both Koreas, comes amid heightened tensions where the pace of both Mr Kims weapons development and the Souths military exercises with the United States have intensified in a tit-for-tat.

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Some experts say Mr Kim could be aiming to diminish South Koreas voice in regional security matters and communicate more clearly that he will seek to deal directly with America over the nuclear stand-off, which has deepened amid disagreements over the stringent US-led sanctions over his growing nuclear weapons programme.

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Declaring the South as a permanent adversary, not as a potential partner for reconciliation, could also be part of efforts to improve the credibility of Mr Kims escalatory nuclear doctrine, which authorises the military to launch pre-emptive nuclear attacks against adversaries if it perceives the leadership in Pyongyang as under threat.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un blamed South Korea and the United States for raising tensions in the region (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service/AP)

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The North Korean steps come as Mr Kim has been actively boosting his partnerships with Moscow and Beijing as he attempts to break out of diplomatic isolation and increase his leverage by joining a united front against Washington.

North Korea also abolished the key government agencies that had been tasked with managing relations with South Korea during a meeting of the countrys rubber-stamp parliament on Monday, the Norths official Korean Central News Agency said.

The Supreme Peoples Assembly said the two Koreas are locked in an acute confrontation and that it would be a serious mistake for the North to regard the South as a partner in diplomacy.

The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, the National Economic Co-operation Bureau and the (Diamond Mountain) International Tourism Administration, tools which existed for (North-South) dialogue, negotiations and co-operation, are abolished, the assembly said in a statement.

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During his speech, Mr Kim blamed South Korea and the United States for raising tensions in the region, citing their expanded joint military exercises, deployments of US strategic military assets, and their trilateral security co-operation with Japan as turning the Korean Peninsula into a dangerous war-risk zone, KCNA said.

Mr Kim said it has become impossible for the North to pursue reconciliation and a peaceful reunification with the South, which he described as top-class stooges of outside powers that are obsessed with confrontational manoeuvres.

He called for the assembly to rewrite the Norths constitution to define South Korea as the Norths primary foe and invariable principal enemy.

The new constitution should specify that North Korea will pursue occupying, subjugating and reclaiming South Korea as part of the Norths territory if another war erupts on the Korean Peninsula, he said.

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He also ordered the removal of past symbols of inter-Korean reconciliation, to completely eliminate such concepts as reunification, reconciliation and fellow countrymen from the national history of our republic.

A TV screen at Seoul railway station shows an image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news programme (Ahn Young-joon.AP)

He specifically demanded cutting off cross-border railway sections and tearing down a monument in Pyongyang honouring a pursuit for reunification, which he described as an eyesore.

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It is the final conclusion drawn from the bitter history of the inter-Korean relations that we cannot go along the road of national restoration and reunification together, he said.

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South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol said during a Cabinet meeting in Seoul that Mr Kims comments show the anti-national and anti-historical nature of the government in Pyongyang.

He Yoon said the South is maintaining firm defence readiness and will punish the North multiple times hard if it provokes it.

(The North)'s fake peace tactic that threatened us to choose between war and peace no longer works, he said.

In his speech at the assembly, Mr Kim reiterated that the North has no intention of unilaterally starting a war, but has no intention of avoiding one either.

Citing his growing military nuclear programme, he said a nuclear conflict in the Korean Peninsula would end South Koreas existence and bring unimaginable disaster and defeat to the United States.

He had made similar remarks during a year-end ruling party meeting, saying ties between the Koreas have become fixed into the relations between two states hostile to each other.

At a political conference last week, he defined South Korea as the Norths principal enemy and threatened to annihilate it if provoked.

The assembly said North Koreas government will take practical measures to implement the decision to abolish the agencies handling dialogue and co-operation with the South.

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South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol said Kim Jong Uns comments show the anti-national and anti-historical nature of the Pyongyang government (Korea Pool/Yonhap/AP)

The National Committee for Peaceful Reunification has been North Koreas main agency handling inter-Korean affairs since its establishment in 1961.

The National Economic Co-operation Bureau and the Diamond Mountain International Tourism Administration had been set to handle joint economic and tourism projects between the Koreas during a brief period of reconciliation in the 2000s.

Such projects, including a jointly operated factory park in the North Korean border town of Kaesong and South Korean tours to the Norths Diamond Mountain resort, have been halted for years as relations between the rivals worsened over North Koreas nuclear ambitions.

Those activities are currently banned under UN Security Council resolutions against the North that have tightened since 2016 as Mr Kim accelerated his nuclear and missile tests.

The leader has further vowed to expand his nuclear arsenal and severed virtually all co-operation with the South.

He has dialled up his weapons demonstrations to a record pace since the start of 2022, using the distraction created by Russias war on Ukraine to expand his military capabilities.

There is also growing international concern over an alleged arms co-operation deal between North Korea and Russia.

The United States and South Korea say North Korea has provided Russia with arms, including artillery and missiles, to help its fight in Ukraine.
Serbian opposition supporters have been back on the streets to accuse president Aleksandar Vucics populist government of orchestrating fraud in last months parliamentary and local elections.

The protesters want the December 17th vote to be annulled and held again in free and fair conditions.

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Similar demonstrations were held for days after the elections.

The entire planet knows that the thief has been caught stealing, opposition politician Marinika Tepic told the few thousand protesters on Tuesday.

There are no free and fair elections here. If we give up this fight, there will be no more elections.

The ruling Serbian Progressive Party was declared the winner but the main opposition alliance, Serbia Against Violence, claims the election was stolen, particularly in the vote for Belgrade city authorities.

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People have accusing the populist authorities of President Aleksandar Vucic of orchestrating a fraud during the December 17 parliamentary and local election (Darko Vojinovic/AP)

Both Serbian election authorities and the courts have rejected the complaints lodged by the opposition group over the election.

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International observers have said the election was held in unjust conditions, noting serious irregularities which included ballot box stuffing and vote-buying.

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Some local election monitors alleged that voters from across Serbia and neighbouring countries were bussed in to cast ballots in Belgrade.

Local election monitors and opposition supporters alleged that populist supporters were registered at bogus addresses there.

Mr Vucic and his party have called the reports fabricated.

In December, tensions soared when police fired pepper spray at protesters who tried to enter Belgrade City Hall and arrested dozens.

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The crowd on Tuesday also lit candles at a Belgrade church to mark the killing on January 16 2018 of a moderate ethnic Serb politician from Kosovo, Oliver Ivanovic.

Kosovo is a former Serbian province whose 2008 declaration of independence is unrecognised by Belgrade.

The dispute remains a source of tension in the volatile Balkans.

Serbia is seeking European Union membership but has refused to impose sanctions on traditional ally Russia, partly because Moscow supports Belgrades claim to Kosovo.
UK prime minister Rishi Sunak is braced for a showdown in the UK's House of Commons over his flagship Rwanda plan, with his authority dealt a blow by the vow of two Tory deputy chairmen to join a rebellion.

Mr Sunak is under pressure from both sides of his party over the legislation aimed at reviving the stalled plan to deport some asylum seekers to the east African nation.

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He is battling to quell Tory dissent as more than 60 right-wing MPs have backed amendments seeking to beef up the Safety of Rwanda Bill, which returns to the Commons on Tuesday for six hours of debate and voting.

The Rwanda Bill.



I have signed the Cash & Jenrick amendments.



I will vote for them.  Lee Anderson MP (@LeeAndersonMP_) January 15, 2024 Advertisement

But any attempt by Mr Sunak to placate them would be opposed by more moderate Tories, who want to ensure international law is respected.

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The infighting heated up on Monday evening when senior Conservatives Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith said they would back the right-wing changes.

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The amendments aim to disapply international law from the Bill and severely limit individual asylum seekers ability to appeal against being put on a flight to Kigali.

They were tabled by Robert Jenrick, who resigned as immigration minister over the legislation, and veteran Tory Sir Bill Cash.

Ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick warned the Tories face election defeat unless the UK government strengthens the Rwanda Bill (Yui Mok/PA)

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In a last-ditch attempt to calm hardliners concerns, Mr Sunak will draft in 150 judges and free up courtrooms in order to speed up migrant appeals, The Times reported.

Mr Jenrick predicted an electoral wipeout for the Tories at the general election later this year if the Bill is not toughened up.

Writing in the Telegraph, he warned of the political punishment that will be inflicted when the policy fails later in the year and the boats keep coming and said there is no way to win back voters back without passing a Bill that will actually work.

If they are selected, the amendments are unlikely to pass as they will not get Labour support, but the real test will come at the third reading on Wednesday, when rebels may vote against the entire Bill.

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Tory deputy chairman Mr Anderson tweeted: I have signed the Cash & Jenrick amendments. I will vote for them.

Tory deputy chair Lee Anderson has vowed to defy Rishi Sunak over his Rwanda Bill (Jacob King/PA)

Mr Clarke-Smith, who was only appointed to the same job seven weeks ago, wrote: I want this legislation to be as strong as possible and therefore I will be supporting the Jenrick/Cash amendments.

While the deputy chairmanship is not a government role, holders would be expected to back its positions.

Mr Sunak will have to consider sacking them from their party posts.

Jane Stevenson, a parliamentary private secretary in the UK's Department for Business and Trade, is also said to be supporting the amendments.

On the eve of the parliamentary battle, Tory political strategist Isaac Levido warned feuding MPs at the 1922 backbench committee: Let me be clear. Divided parties fail.

Political strategist Isaac Levido urged warring Tory MPs to unite or face electoral defeat (Aaron Chown/PA)

Earlier, Mr Sunak sought to woo the right as he appeared to toughen his language on so-called Rule 39 orders, injunctions from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg blocking flights to Rwanda.

He said there are circumstances under which he would be prepared to ignore those orders.

But rebels dismissed the claim, with right-winger Sir John Hayes saying Mr Sunaks verbal promise was not enough and needed to be backed up by legal provisions.

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Mr Sunak has previously argued that moving a further inch on the Bill, to more explicitly breach Britains obligations under international law, would risk the Rwandan government quitting the deal.

If the rebels are successful, blocking Mr Sunaks flagship Bill would trigger fresh chaos, which might make opponents toe the line to let it pass.

Meanwhile, centrist Tories warned that any caving to the right wings demands would cause problems for them.

Former UK justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland said: The government would be best advised not to accept any of the amendments from my colleagues on the right, because the Bill then will cause a problem for us here.

One Nation chair Damian Green said: We want the government to carry it through unamended.

Small boat crossings are down 20%. But we need to go further.



Under my leadership, we will stop the boats. pic.twitter.com/U45bkGPb6Z  Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) June 5, 2023

The UK governments Bill and a treaty with Rwanda are intended to make the scheme legally watertight following a UK Supreme Court ruling against the plan.

Mr Sunak won a key Commons vote on the legislation in December despite speculation about a major rebellion by Tory MPs then.

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Even if it clears the Commons this week, it will face an uphill battle in the Lords.

The first 47 asylum seekers who were set to be on the original aborted deportation flight to Kigali more than 18 months ago have still not received decisions on their claims, with most housed in taxpayer-funded hotels, the i newspaper reported.
Taiwan goes to the polls on Saturday to elect a new president and parliament under the shadow of an increasingly assertive China which has called the vote a choice between "peace and war".

But no matter who wins the elections, Beijing's military and economic pressure on Taiwan could continue and may even increase, Taiwan security officials say.

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China claims Taiwan as its own territory despite strident objections from the government in Taipei and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under Beijing's control.

Besides its territorial significance to Beijing, Taiwan is also a global semiconductor powerhouse and home to the world's largest contract chipmaker, TSMC.

At stake in the elections will be the future of Taiwan's fraught ties with its giant neighbour, with both major parties supporting Taiwan's sovereignty but offering different views on the island's relations with China.

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Vice president Lai Ching-te, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) presidential candidate, has urged people not be swayed by China's threats, while offering talks with China and pledging not to upset the status quo.

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Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) presidential candidate, Lai Ching-te. Photo: Getty Images

"Taiwan stands on the front line of the confrontation between democracy and totalitarianism," Lai told a campaign rally on Tuesday.

The DPP alleges Beijing is trying to interfere in the vote by spreading fake news and exerting military and economic pressure. China has labelled those accusations "dirty tricks" and a ploy to win votes by "hyping up" a threat.

Over the past year-and-a-half, China has staged two rounds of major war games close to Taiwan, including in August 2022, firing missiles into waters off the island, as Beijing asserts its sovereignty claims over the democratic island.

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Taiwan's largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), has attacked the DPP as separatists and pledged strong opposition to Taiwan independence, while saying they will seek dialogue with China and keep boosting the island's defences.

"Hou Yu-ih opposes Taiwan independence, will allow cross-strait peace, restart dialogue and exchanges, strengthen national defence and let everyone live in peace in Taiwan," the KMT's presidential candidate Hou said on Monday.

Future China relations

In 1949, the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong's communists, who founded the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China remains Taiwan's formal name.

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While both major parties say Taiwan is already a sovereign country, they have different views on ties with China.

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The KMT argues that both Taipei and Beijing belong to one single China, but each can interpret what that means under something called the '1992 consensus', a tacit understanding reached between the then-KMT government and China in 1992.

The DPP rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying Taiwan's future should be decided by its people.

If the DPP wins the presidential election, it will be the first time a party has stayed in power for a third consecutive term since direct presidential voting started in 1996.

How China, where the country's president Xi Jinping is carrying out a new anti-corruption purge of the military and faces entrenched economic problems, reacts to the election outcome will be key.

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Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate, Hou Yu-ih. Photo: Getty Images

Taiwan's officials have repeatedly warned voters that Beijing is trying to sway election results with a "multi-front" campaign, from clandestine influence operations in temples and trade sanctions to sponsoring cut-price trips to China for local politicians and pressuring an influential rock band.

One Taiwan security official, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation, said it was possible China could stage more drills between the election and May 20th when the new president takes office.

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"But certainly we must consider China's own problems, including its tolerance for international criticism," the official said.

Since late December, Xi has twice stressed the importance of "reunification" with Taiwan in public comments, though has not mentioned either the election or using force.

A second Taiwan security official said, no matter who is elected, Beijing could add pressure on the new leader before May 20th, perhaps economically by putting anti-dumping tariffs on imports from Taiwan, having last month accused Taiwan of erecting unfair trade barriers.

Taiwan's security units believe China is likely to continue to whittle away at the handful of countries having formal diplomatic ties with Taipei  now only 13  and boost its economic coercion including trade probes, according to an internal security assessment of possible scenarios after the vote.

World Factbox: What you need to know about Taiwan and it... Read More

There is a third presidential candidate too - former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je of the small Taiwan People's Party (TPP) which was founded in 2019.

The party currently only has five out of 113 seats in the legislature, but Ko's focus on bread and butter issues like the high cost of housing has won him a passionate support base among many young Taiwanese who have packed his campaign rallies.

The parliamentary election is equally important, and the DPP and KMT have both stressed on the campaign trail the need to win a majority. The DPP has had more than 50 per cent of lawmakers over the past four years, meaning it could easily pass legislation.

President Tsai Ing-wen, of the DPP, is constitutionally barred from running again after two four-year terms in office. -Reuters
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy took a swing at Russian president Vladimir Putin at the World Economic Forums annual meeting in Switzerland on Tuesday.

He also took a harsh tone with his allies as war fatigue grows, pressing political and corporate leaders to enforce sanctions, help rebuild his country and advance the peace process.

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Mr Zelenskiy is trying to keep his countrys long and largely stalemated defence against Russia in the minds of political leaders, as Israels war with Hamas, which passed the 100-day mark this week, has siphoned off much of the worlds attention and sparked concerns about a wider conflict in the Middle East.

Anyone thinks this is only about us, this is only about Ukraine. They are fundamentally mistaken, he said in a speech in English in the ski resort of Davos. Possible directions and even timeline of a new Russian aggression beyond Ukraine become more and more obvious.

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Putin embodies war and will not change, he said.

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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russian President Vladimir Putin embodies war and will not change (Markus Schreiber/AP)

While lashing out at the Mr Putin for mass deportations, flattening cities and the terrifying feeling that the war may never end, he also offered pointed criticism for a world that told him not to escalate tensions ahead of Russias full-scale invasion in 2022.

After February 24, nothing harmed our coalition more than this concept. Every Dont escalate to us sounded like You will prevail to Putin, Mr Zelenskiy said.

He thanked allies for each package of sanctions on Moscow but urged them to ensure they work. Russia, for example, has found workarounds for imports of banned Western products that still appear on shelves.

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It is Mr Zelenskiys first trip to Davos since the war began after speaking by video in previous years, and he rushed between meetings with corporate executives and world leaders. Surrounded by a large security contingent, he has drawn the attention of media and others seeking to meet him.

Conversations with the prime ministers of Qatar and Jordan will bookend the days most visible events, with speeches by Chinese Premier Li Qiang, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan in between.

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Qatari premier Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said defusing the conflict in Gaza would defuse everything else (Markus Schreiber/AP)

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Qatari premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the focus on the attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Yemens Houthi rebels  which have spurred retaliatory strikes by the US and Britain  is on the symptoms and not treating the real issue of Israels war with Hamas.

We should focus on the main conflict in Gaza. And as soon as its defused I believe everything else will be defused, he said, adding that a two-state solution is required to end the conflict.

Sheikh Mohammed also warned that a military confrontation will not contain the Houthi attacks.

I think that what we have right now in the region is a recipe of escalation everywhere, he added.

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Chinese premier Mr Li focused on pitching the country as a place to invest, noting that we are opening wide our embrace. He said Chinas economy is estimated to have grown about 5.2% last year, exceeding the target it had set of 5%.

Chinas economy, for decades a leading engine of global expansion, has struggled since Covid-19 restrictions, with high youth unemployment and the implosion of its overbuilt property market.

Chinese premier Li Qiang focused on pitching his country as a place to invest (Markus Schreiber/AP)

Mr Li made a veiled criticism of US restrictions on Chinas ability to buy advanced computer chips used in everything from mobile phones to washing machines.

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Technologys achievements should be used to benefit all humankind and it should not be used as a method to limit, to suppress another country, he said.

Ms von der Leyen reiterated that the EU does not want to break from Beijing  one of its most important trade partners  but ease the risks of relying too heavily on it because we have issues when it comes to access to the market, when it comes to a level playing field, when it comes to economic security.

She noted Chinas export controls on metals used in computer chips, solar cells and more.

For the US, Mr Sullivan said no when the Associated Press asked whether he would meet Chinas delegation as he headed into talks with Mr Zelenskiy and US secretary of state Antony Blinken.

Mr Zelenskiy, once reticent about leaving his country, has recently gone on a whirlwind tour to rally support for Ukraine amid donor fatigue in the West and concerns that former US president Donald Trump  who touted having good relations with Mr Putin  might return to the White House next year following his commanding win in the Iowa caucuses on Monday.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen painted an optimistic view of the war in Ukraine despite the battlefield stalemate (Hannes P Albert/Pool/AP)

The Ukrainian leader hopes to use the high visibility of the forum to showcase his countrys pressing needs, and allies will be lining up: Corporate chiefs including JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon and officials like Ms von der Leyen learned in multiple gatherings what support and investment is needed to help rebuild Ukraine.

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Its time for us, for Ukrainian companies, for international companies to rebuild (the) Ukrainian economy, Maxim Timchenko, chief of Ukrainian energy company DTEK said after the session. To rely on ourselves. To build a future for Ukraine.

In her speech, Ms von der Leyen painted an optimistic view of the war in Ukraine despite the battlefield stalemate. She said Russia has lost half of its military capabilities, while Ukraine regained half the ground it had originally lost early in the invasion.

A day earlier, Mr Zelenskiy visited Switzerlands capital, Bern, where President Viola Amherd pledged her country will work with Ukraine to help organise a peace summit.

In his speech at Davos, he invited every leader who respects international law to join, saying peace must be the answer.
MEAA members are demanding an urgent meeting with David Anderson, particularly to discuss the way in which complaints are handled and how staff need to be supported in a culturally informed way. The controversial post in question was a Human Rights Watch report reposted by Lattouf on the afternoon of December 19, two days into her five-day contract, which alleged Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war. The ABC also published two news items on the Human Rights Watch report in the same week. The broadcaster denied any involvement from Anderson in the decision to remove her. In its legal defence, the ABC said any political opinion expressed by Lattouf during her contracted period, or any matters relating to her race and national extraction/social origin were entirely irrelevant in its decision.

In fact, it denied that Lattoufs publication of the Human Rights Watch Instagram post was an expression of a political opinion. Sacking someone for having or expressing such an opinion is unlawful under the legislation. The suggestion that the ABC took action against the applicant on the basis of her race, national extraction or social origin is abhorrent, the ABC says in its response. The events according to the ABC The ABC alleges in court documents that there was a phone conversation between station content director Elizabeth Green and Lattouf after her first show on Monday, December 18, during which Lattouf was informed that several complaints had been received with concerns raised over her presence on the channel and her perceived stance on the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Lattouf was directed by Green not to post anything on her social media accounts that could be considered controversial, to avoid any perception of bias for the four remaining days of her contract as presenter of Sydney Mornings.

Lattouf sought to clarify what would be appropriate to post the following day, the ABC claims, with a conversation between her and Green. The ABC claims Lattouf said words to the effect of: What can I post? What if another journalist dies, can I post that? Green is alleged to have responded: Well that would be fact-based. But really its probably better that you dont post anything while youre with us because of the risk of the perception that you are biased and not balanced. At midday on December 20, the ABC became aware of Lattoufs Instagram post the previous day. The ABC says it was of serious concern that Lattouf had posted about a controversial topic after being specifically directed otherwise. The post made by Antoinette Lattouf on December 19 which was deemed to be relating to a controversial topic. Despite the broadcaster having deemed this post controversial in nature, it also covered the report in question twice that same week. On December 18, ABC News online posted an article with the headline: Israel-Gaza war: Human Rights Watch says starvation is being used as a weapon of war by the Israeli government.

On December 20, ABC News Breakfast on ABC TV interviewed Omar Shakir from Human Rights Watch on the subject of the report, republished online with the headline: VIDEO: Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of weaponising starvation in Gaza. According to court documents, the application alleges that a meeting between ABC chief content officer Chris Oliver-Taylor, head of audio content Ben Latimer, editorial director Simon Melkman and the acting head of the ABCs capital city network, Steve Ahern, resulted in Oliver-Taylor taking the view Lattouf was in breach of the directive she was given and was subsequently not required to return for her final two shifts. ABC chair Ita Buttrose with managing director David Anderson. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer In the chain of WhatsApp messages, correspondence from Buttrose was shared, confirming on the morning of December 20 that Oliver-Taylor was addressing complaints lodged by members of the Lawyers for Israel WhatsApp group. Buttroses five-year term ends on March 6 and the government is yet to announce her replacement. An ABC spokesperson said the broadcaster has a transparent complaints process and responds accordingly, regardless of the source of the complaint.

The ABC also denies Anderson was involved in the decision, and rejects the claim in Lattoufs application that she was told Anderson was behind the decision. Loading The ABC alleges that in an attempt to comfort Lattouf, Green said words to the effect of these types of matters are taken very seriously and decisions like this can be referred all the way up to the MDs office. Lattoufs legal team is seeking a detailed public apology, compensation for harm to her reputation, distress and humiliation. Lattouf will also seek an order that the ABC offer her a commensurate role back on air. The ABC claims Lattouf was paid for all five shifts, and therefore suffered no financial loss.

Lattouf and her lawyer, Josh Bornstein, declined to comment. RMIT workplace law professor Anthony Forsyth said this was a fairly typical employer response to say this has nothing to do with discrimination; we issued a lawful direction and you breached it. This is an unresolved tension in the legislation between employer rights to direct and control employee speech and anti-discrimination law protections of the right to speak freely, Forsyth said. The first hearing of the case will take place in the Fair Work Commission on Thursday in front of deputy president Gerard Boyce, who himself has faced controversy over his posts on social media. In 2019, months after being appointed by Morrison government Attorney-General Christian Porter, Boyce posted a number of times on social media with comments supportive of the government or critical of the then Labor opposition or unions, even though the commissions code of conduct required him to remain impartial.
We cant cope with the total amount of information, and we dont know what the quality of that information is. The graph comes from a paper  not yet peer reviewed  led by Dr Mark Hanson from the University of Exeter, uploaded to arXiv late last year .

This is called publishing inflation and it is now higher than Australias actual inflation rate. The consequence is, we are overwhelmed with information, says Professor Ben Mol, head of the Evidence-based Womens Health Care Research Group at Monash University.

The black line represents the total number of new scientific articles published per year around the world. Not total articles  total new articles. In 2022, more than 2.8 million new scientific papers were published  almost 900,000 more than in 2016.

Loading

We are publishing more scientific papers now than ever. The industry  for it is an industry  shows no signs of slowing down.

As science has turned into a business, churning out papers and minting PhDs, it has strained the structures that are meant to ensure quality to breaking point. At the same time, there is evidence science is delivering less actual innovation than ever before. I suspect the incentives baked into the system have started dragging it off the rails.

Scientists want to publish more papers to advance their careers and win government funding. Publishers want to publish more because thats how they make money. Governments and universities want to fund more quality science  and so search for metrics of quality. But they fall victim to Goodharts law: When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.

Unfortunately, quality has come to be measured by journal impact factor  the number of times a journals studies are cited. The average impact factor almost doubled between 1997 and 2016. In 1975, the top-scoring journal had an impact factor of 11.87. By 2016, the top was 187.04. Has sciences impact really increased that much?
China's commerce ministry holds roundtable for Belgian enterprises

Xinhua) 10:10, January 16, 2024

BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao has attended a roundtable in Beijing with representatives of Belgian enterprises, responding to their questions and suggestions, while discussing hot topics related to China-EU and China-Belgium relations.

The event, hosted by the Ministry or Commerce last Friday, was attended by executives from over 20 Belgian enterprises, who accompanied Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on his China visit.

"The roundtable is the first of its kind in 2024, which fully demonstrates the great importance China attaches to China-EU economic and trade relations," Wang said.

China has never pursued a trade surplus, and has taken various measures to expand imports from Belgium and Europe, said Wang. He added that China is willing to expand cooperation with the European Union in various areas, and hopes that the EU will relax export restrictions on high-tech products.

China firmly opposes the EU's anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles and hopes that the EU will support China's high-quality new-energy products in contributing to reducing global emissions, he said.

The ministry will actively implement the consensus reached by the leaders of China and Belgium in the field of economy and trade, and promote the healthy and stable development of China-Belgium and China-EU economic and trade cooperation, Wang added.

The attendees from the Belgian side expressed their full confidence in China's economic prospects and business environment, as well as their willingness to further promote economic and trade cooperation between China and Belgium, and between China and Europe.

They also expressed their appreciation for the Chinese side's positive response to the questions and suggestions of Belgian companies on trade and investment in the areas of agricultural and food products, biomedicine and logistics.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Large hailstones, damaging winds, heavy rainfall and widespread extended power outages hit parts of Perth on Tuesday, causing extensive damage to homes, flash floods, and felled power lines and trees.

Homeowner Rick Darlow told 9 News Perth he had been more worried about fires on Tuesday, never expecting to have a storm take out two of his homes bedrooms and a section of his roof, rendering it uninhabitable.

Were just lucky that no one was here. I was more worried about fire this afternoon when I was coming back up the hill, not thinking that this would happen; the end bedrooms are pretty well snookered, he told the station.

Mundaring Child Care Centre was evacuated after trees fell through the roof and water poured through, causing a flash flood that terrified their toddlers and left staff dealing with their trashed room.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has used a visit to Israel to tell the Netanyahu government that Australians have strong concerns about the high numbers of civilian deaths in Gaza, urging Israel to take steps towards a ceasefire.

As well as meetings with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, Wong held an emotional hour-long encounter with the families of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza.

Wong was immediately ushered to high-level meetings after arriving in Israel from Jordan, where she met the Jordanian foreign minister and announced a $22 million boost in Australian aid for Palestinians affected by the conflict.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong leaving Adelaide on Monday for her trip to the Middle East. Credit: AAP

In her meetings with Katz and Herzog, Wong condemned Hamas for the October 7 attacks, when the terrorists were estimated to have killed 1200 people, and called for the release of all hostages remaining in Gaza.
Australia will boost funding to help Palestinian civilians affected by the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Penny Wong announced after arriving in the Middle East for her first visit as foreign minister.

Wong, who held meetings in Jordan on Tuesday ahead of visits to Israel, the West Bank and the United Arab Emirates later this week, said the government would provide an extra $22 million in humanitarian assistance to the Middle East.

Penny Wong says Australia is gravely concerned by the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The government said the latest round of funding would be directed to conflict-affected populations in the occupied Palestinian territories and to address the ongoing regional refugee crisis, with a focus on women and children.

After a meeting with Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman, Wong said Australia respected the independence of the International Court of Justice, which is considering a genocide charge against Israel brought by South Africa.
Gaza: Israeli tanks have stormed back into parts of the northern Gaza Strip they had left last week, residents said, reigniting some of the most intense fighting since the new year.

Massive explosions could be seen over northern areas of Gaza  a rarity over the past two weeks after Israel announced a drawdown of forces in the north as part of a transition to smaller, targeted operations.

The rattle of gunfire reverberated across the border through the night. In the morning, contrails snaked through the sky as Israels Iron Dome defences shot down rockets fired by militants across the fence, proof they retain the capability to launch them despite more than 100 days of war.

Israel said its forces had killed dozens of Hamas fighters overnight in clashes in Beit Lahiya on Gazas northern edge. Gaza health authorities said Israeli bombing had killed 158 people in the Palestinian enclave in the previous 24 hours, raising their toll for the war, now in its fourth month, to 24,285, with thousands more bodies feared lost in the rubble.
Singapore: Pakistan has condemned its neighbour Iran for violating its airspace and carrying out a strike inside Pakistani territory that it says killed two children, amid already high regional tensions.

Pakistans Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday it had lodged a strong protest and summoned the Iranian charge daffaires over what it called an unprovoked violation of its airspace by Iran. Tehran was reportedly targeting bases used by the militant group Jaish al-Adl. The ensuing strike also injured three girls, the ministry said.

A Khorramshahr-4 missile is launched at an undisclosed location in Iran. Credit: AP

This violation of Pakistans sovereignty is completely unacceptable and can have serious consequences, the ministry said in a statement posted to its website. It is even more concerning that this illegal act has taken place despite the existence of several channels of communication between Pakistan and Iran.

It added: Pakistan has always said terrorism is a common threat to all countries in the region that requires coordinated action. Such unilateral acts are not in conformity with good neighbourly relations and can seriously undermine bilateral trust and confidence.
Des Moines, Iowa: Donald Trump is one step closer to returning to the White House, after voters braved subzero temperatures to hand him victory in the Iowa caucuses  the first major test of his ambitious political comeback.

Amid treacherous weather conditions, the former president secured the opening victory of the 2024 US election year on Monday night (Tuesday AEDT)  despite facing 91 criminal charges and the prospect of jail.

Former president Donald Trump speaks to voters during a visit to a caucus site in Clive, Iowa. Credit: Getty

Speaking at his campaign party in Des Moines a few hours after his win, an upbeat and confident Trump started his speech somewhat uncharacteristically by praising his rivals and suggesting it was time for Democrats and conservatives to come together and straighten out the world.

I want to make that a very big part of our message. Were going to come together. Its going to happen soon, he said, before returning to familiar themes such as stopping the invasion of illegal immigrants, election rigging, and attacking Joe Biden as the worst president in history.
Mahsa Amini's death ignited 11 nights of unrest in Iran. (Photo: Lisi Niesner/Reuters)

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have claimed responsibility for a series of missile attacks on what they described as Israeli "espionage headquarters" in Iraq's Kurdistan region, amidst escalating tensions in the Middle East. The elite force also reported striking targets in Syria, targeting the Islamic State.

According to the statement released by Iran's Guards, ballistic missiles were deployed to destroy espionage centers and gatherings of anti-Iranian groups in the region, explicitly naming Israel's Mossad spy agency. This aggressive move by Iran comes amid claims of Israel operating secret bases used by Mossad in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.

The strikes, which took place late Monday, caused significant destruction and civilian casualties. At least four civilians were killed and six injured in the Erbil attacks, including multimillionaire Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee and members of his family. The Kurdistan government's security council condemned the attack as a "crime," highlighting the impact on civilians and regional stability.

The attacks near Erbil reportedly occurred in a neighborhood close to the U.S. consulate and civilian residences, though U.S. officials confirmed that no American facilities were impacted. Air traffic at Erbil airport was temporarily halted following the explosions.

Iran's actions are seen as a response to recent terrorist attacks in its southeastern city of Kerman, which killed nearly 100 people. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for these attacks, intensifying Iran's efforts to retaliate against perceived threats.

The U.S. has been monitoring the situation closely, with a U.S. defense official acknowledging the missile strikes in northern Iraq and Syria. White House national security council spokesperson Adrienne Watson stated, "No U.S. personnel or facilities were targeted. We have been in touch with senior Iraqi officials as well as officials in the Kurdistan Region."

This development marks a significant escalation in the region, with Iran directly targeting what it claims are Israeli-operated facilities. The attacks also underscore the ongoing proxy conflicts in the Middle East, involving Iran, the U.S., and Israel, among others.

As the region grapples with the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and continued conflicts across Lebanon and Yemen, these strikes by Iran's Revolutionary Guards represent a more direct approach in their ongoing confrontation with U.S. and Israeli interests.
Data from the Department of Commerce, compiled by the Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD), an umbrella body representing the domestic medical devices industry

Indias dependence on medical devices shipped from abroad grew significantly between November 2022 and October 2023 with imports jumping by 21 per cent to Rs 61,262.84 crore. The top suppliers of medical devices were the US, Germany and the Netherlands, according to the data from the Department of Commerce.

The data compiled by the Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD), which is an umbrella body representing the domestic medical devices industry, showed that the top five HS codes, which constitute nearly 80 per cent of the total imports into India, have seen an increase of 26 per cent. The imports of consumables and equipment (HS code 9018) went up by 14 per cent to around Rs 18,700 crore. This roughly constitutes 32 per cent of the import basket. Similarly, imports of imaging medical electronics went up by 10 per cent to around Rs 6,900 crore. Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel





ALSO READ: Uttar Pradesh to invest Rs 8,000 crore in 1,400-acre bulk drug park Imports from the US grew by 33 per cent, followed by Germany (27 per cent) and the Netherlands (20 per cent). The imports from China grew by 11 per cent the data shows.

The automobile industry has a duty protection of over 100 per cent, and auto component imports draw a duty of 40 per cent, an industry insider, wishing anonymity, said, adding, However, the medical devices industry has been seeking a nominal 15 percent duty which is long overdue.

Its disheartening to note that imports are still on an increasing uptrend of over 21 per cent over the last 12 months at Rs 61,000 crore compared to Rs 50,000 crore in the same period of preceding 12 months. Policymakers need to review the steep 33 per cent increase in imports from the USA, the dominant exporting country to India of Rs 10,858 crore and Germany at Rs 6188 crore, up by a steep 27 per cent, said Rajiv Nath, forum coordinator, AiMeD.





ALSO READ: Indian medtech industry urges govt action to reduce import dependency Unless policies of consumer electronics and mobile phone manufacturing by levy of nominal 15 per cent duty are implemented, we will continue to be import dependent at zero to 7.5 per cent duty rates. Its not that we are not competent - in many products, India is globally competitive but sadly not in our own country, he said.

Chandra Ganjoo, Group Chief Executive Officer, Trivitron Healthcare, said, As we approach the Union Budget 2024-25, the MedTech industry in India holds high expectations. With an alarming 80-85 per cent dependence on imports, resulting in a massive import bill of over Rs 63,200 crore, it's crucial for the government to catalyse domestic manufacturing. This not only reduces the financial strain but also propels India towards self-reliance in medical technology.

Ganjoo feels the industry is for a comprehensive strategy: incentivising R&D and indigenous production, streamlining regulatory processes for faster product approvals, and enhancing infrastructure and skills.

A recent report by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said: The Indian medical devices industry can expand from $12 billion to $50 billion by 2030, reducing import reliance to 35 per cent and boosting exports to $18 billion.





Country Import Nov 2022-Oct 2023 (Rs cr) YoY growth (%) USA 10858.97 33 China 10384.62 11 Germany 6188.2 27 Singapore 5520.59 15 Netherlands 3552.02 20

Source: DoC data compiled by AiMeD
Microsoft has announced a new subscription-based tier of its Copilot, called Copilot Pro . Besides the benefits available in the free tier plan, the Pro model provides access to OpenAIs most advanced GPT-4 Turbo model that was launched in November last year. Priced at $20 per month, the Pro plan is said to offer advanced capabilities to help individuals with writing, coding, designing and researching  compared to the free version of the AI chatbot.

Microsoft said that customers subscribing to Copilot Pro would get a unified experience throughout their multiple devices, such as PC and smartphone. Besides, Pro subscription will give access to Copilot in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote. The Copilot Pro users will also get priority in receiving updates and getting access to latest language models. It will also allow customers to build their own Copilot GPT, which can be tailored to carry out specific tasks. Moreover, the Pro version brings enhanced AI image creation capabilities over the free tier plan.

The Copilot Pro is not the only paid subscription plan available for the Microsoft AI services. The company also offers Copilot for Microsoft 365 plan, which is priced at $30 per month onwards. This service is dedicated for enterprises and small and medium-sized businesses and offers similar priority to subscribers as the Pro version. With Copilot for Microsoft 365 subscription, customers get support for Copilot in Microsoft services, that is also available with Copilot Pro, together with support for the AI-chatbot in Microsoft Teams. Customers with Copilot for Microsoft 365 subscription also get access to Copilot Studio, which is a more advanced version of Copilot GPT builder aimed at enterprises. This paid version of Copilot provides enterprise-grade data protection and Microsoft Graph Grounding, which allows the chatbot to reference web content from Bing search to answer user prompts.

The free tier of the Microsoft Copilot does not allow for integration with other services or any customisation options for the chatbot. It does, however, lets users generate images using AI. However, the paid version offers more advanced options for the same.

Along with the new Copilot Pro, Microsoft has announced more functionality to Copilot for Microsoft 365 and new features to its Copilot chatbot. With the new update, Copilot for Microsoft 365 is available for small businesses. Previously available for a minimum of 300 seats, customers can now purchase between one and 299 seats for $30 per person per month. Microsoft has also added eligibility of Copilot for Microsoft 365 for education faculty and staff, which was announced last month. The company also officially announced the Copilot mobile app which is already available for both Android and iOS devices.
Executives are worried about the long term viability of their businesses, a PricewaterhouseCoopers pre-Davos survey showed, with pressures mounting from generative artificial intelligence (AI) and climate disruption. Some 45% of more than 4,700 global CEOs surveyed do not believe their businesses will survive, barring significant changes, in the next ten years, the "Big Four" auditor said.

Indian banking sector has recovered well, says Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India at Davos. "Cryptocurrency is not a currency, it has the potentional to become curreny but has risks around it that can affect the banking system. But, I must say that the blockchain technology can be put to many good uses. It has got a lot applications," Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India. "We have signed MoUs with several coutries to provide support to them in developing fast payment system like UPI. It will be a game changer because it will facilitate crossborder payment. UPI has become an internation model," he added. Das further said that core inflation in the country is moving down which shows that the monetary policy is working.Green hydrogen, an alternative to fossil fuel, will help the world to move towards the zero carbon future and achieve energy security for countries like India, Chairman of Adani group, Gautam Adani said. Writing in a blog post on the World Economic Forum site, Adani said for India, the equitable solution is not to replace one fossil fuel with another but to leapfrog to renewables and green hydrogen. "The decrease in solar costs can be replicated with green hydrogen. This shift will help India achieve energy security and improve air quality in its cities. It will also contribute to food security by eliminating the uncertainties of imported ammonia prices, a crucial component in fertilizers. Most importantly, it will offer the world a chance to avert the adverse impacts of climate change," Adani said in the blog titled Reducing costs: The key to leveraging green hydrogen on the road to net zero.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasised the imperative of peace during his address at the WEF. Seeking international support, he urged unity against Russian President Vladimir Putin's hostility. Zelenskyy, engaging with several world leaders, addressed concerns about the war's duration and potential global implications. He questioned the feasibility of negotiation with Putin, asserting that Putin embodies war. Zelenskyy emphasised the necessity of defeating Putin for a just peace and the restoration of Ukrainian lives in his special address at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024.The World Economic Forum on Tuesday stated trust and cooperation are a must in a connected yet divided world. WEF stated that the most pressing issues before the world including are not limited by borders and they travel without passports, but cooperation was still possible and was happening. WEF Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab emphasised that the current moment should be employed as an opportunity to renew old bonds. He stated the world today may be more connected geographically but it is also a lot more divided and fragmented, at the first plenary of the WEF Annual Meeting 2024 "We are also seeing unprecedented risks on technology front," he said. "Let's use this meeting to rebuild trust in each of us for the futureEconomic growth across the globe could fall to its lowest rate in three decades by 2030 amid the ongoing economic and geopolitical shocks, a new report said earlier. Releasing the Future of Growth Report 2024 here ahead of its annual meeting of world leaders, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said this downturn is exacerbating a range of interconnected global challenges, including the climate crisis and a weakening social contract, which are collectively reversing progress in global development.Actress Michelle Yeoh, Burkinabe-German architect Diebedo Francis Kere and American musician Nile Rodgers were given the Crystal Award 2024 at the ongoing World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland. The winners were presented with the awards at the opening session of the WEF on Monday.
Indian-American Nikki Haley, who finished third in the Iowa caucuses, has said that she is the only Republican candidate who could take on frontrunner Donald Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden and avert a "Trump-Biden nightmare".

The Iowa caucuses on Monday formally kicked off the beginning of the long process by which the Republicans and Democrats choose their nominees for the presidential election on November 5.

Haley, the former US Ambassador to the UN, came a close third with nearly 20 per cent of the votes polled. Former US president Trump won the caucus with more than 50 per cent of the votes, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis came in second with 21 per cent. Fellow Indian-American Vivek Ramaswamy secured 7.7 per cent of the total votes polled and suspended his presidential campaign.

The two-time South Carolina governor said her presidential campaign is the best hope to avert a rematch between Trump and incumbent President Biden, a Democrat, in the presidential election.

Our campaign is the last best hope of stopping the Trump-Biden nightmare, the 51-year-old politician told her cheering supporters in West Des Moines, Iowa, late on Monday.

Haley, who has been climbing up the ladder over the last few weeks, said she is headed to New Hampshire, the battleground for the next Republican primary election on January 23.

Addressing her supporters, the lone woman in the race on either side of the political spectrum said that all the evidence says that if it's a Trump-Biden rematch, it will be another tossup election.

It could go either way. We could have more disputes over election interference. And Joe Biden could win again, with Kamala Harris waiting in the wings. Lord, help us, she said.

Haley also claimed the Republican contest to choose the presidential nominee is now a two-person race.

At one point in this campaign, there were 14 of us running. I was at two per cent in the polls. But tonight, Iowa did what Iowa does so well. The pundits will analyse the results from every angle. But when you look at how we are doing in New Hampshire, in South Carolina, and beyond, I think we can safely say . . . Tonight, Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race! she said.

Alleging that Trump and Biden have more in common than one might think, Haley said, Seventy per cent of Americans don't want another Trump-Biden rematch. A majority disapprove of both of them."



She also attacked their age and said they are both consumed by the past, by investigations, by vendettas, by grievances." Trump is 77 and Biden is 81.

"The majority disapprove of both of them," Haley said. "Trump and Biden are both about 80 years old. Trump and Biden both put our country deeper in debt and our kids will never forgive them for it. Both Trump and Biden lack a vision for our country's future because both are consumed by the past," she said.

Asserting that America deserves better, Haley said, We deserve a new direction under new conservative leadership. We deserve a president who will focus on the needs of our people, not on themselves."



A president who will rebuild our economy, close our border, and stand up to our enemies. Most importantly, we deserve a president who will stop our self-loathing, end the division and fear, and make America strong and proud! she said.

Haley told her supporters to look at what happens when she goes head-to-head against Biden. "We win in a landslide. It's not even close. That means no recounts, no lawsuits, and no doubts. It means no more Chuck Schumer leading the Senate. No more endless votes for House Speaker because we'll have a huge House majority, she said.

We'll term limit the do-nothing Washington politicians. We'll rebuild our economy and secure our border. And make no mistake, we will restore our national pride. We are blessed to live in America, and it's time we remembered that, Haley said.
Swiss President Viola Amherd said on Monday, during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Bern, that her country has offered to organise a peace summit that aims to help bring an end to Ukraine's ongoing war with Russia.

"I confirmed to him that Switzerland is ready to organise a conference," Amherd said during a joint press conference with Zelenskyy. "We have agreed that we will examine the details of the next steps in depth to ensure that the peace process is a success."



The two presidents said the Ukrainian and Swiss teams will begin preparations for the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland as early as Tuesday. No details were provided about when or how such a summit could take place, and Russia hasn't been involved in the process.

"This summit is intended to infuse the necessary energy into everything that has already been achieved and to determine that the end of the war must be fair, and the restoration of the strength of international law -- complete," Zelenskyy said.

Talks of a peace summit come as Ukrainian military chiefs said on Monday their forces had shot down a Russian early warning and control plane and a key command centre aircraft, which if confirmed would be a feat for Ukraine in the almost two-year war.

On Sunday, Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, took part in Swiss-hosted talks in Davos among dozens of national envoys about Zelenskyy's 10-point peace formula -- which ultimately aims to feed into the possible peace summit.

As for who might attend, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was open "to all countries in the world that respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity ... So draw conclusions about whom we invite".

He conveyed Ukraine's strong desire for countries from the Global South to be present.

"It is important for us to show that the whole world is against the aggression of Russia and the whole world is for a fair peace," Zelenskyy said. "If countries truly want the war to end, they will support our plan", but added it was an "open plan" that would welcome proposals from other countries.

Switzerland, which has long touted its neutrality, has been at pains to strike the right balance over Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine that began in February 2022. The Swiss have lined up with European Union sanctions on Russian people and interests over the conflict.

Zelenskyy's trip to Switzerland, where he also met with parliamentary leaders on Monday, includes a visit on Tuesday to the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in the eastern town of Davos.

The meeting in Bern came hours after Amherd hosted Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang, who is also on his way to the elite gathering in Davos. It was not immediately clear whether he would meet Zelenskyy there.

Zelenskyy noted China's "significant role in the world" and said Kyiv "would very much like China to be involved in our (peace) formula and engaged in the (peace) summit". However, he added, "not everything depends on our will ... we hope that all civilized countries will be involved in the peace summit".
Turkish exports to Azerbaijan down 3% in 2023

16 January 2024

Turkeys cement exports to Azerbaijan declined by almost three per cent to US$50.9m in 2023, compared to the previous year, reports Azernews. According to Turkeys Ministry of Trade, cement exports from Turkey to Azerbaijan advanced by 0.9 per cent to US$5.7m in December 2023, versus the same month in the previous year.

Looking at 2023 as a whole, Turkeys total cement exports were down 15.5 per cent YoY at US$4.6m, while December 2023 alone saw a 19.7 per cent decline YoY to US$353,000.

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Summit completes deal with Argos USA

16 January 2024

Summit Materials has successfully completed its US$3.2bn combination with Argos North America Corp, the US operations of Cementos Argos SA. The combined company will be known as Summit Materials with Argos holding around a 31 per cent share.

Today, we are excited to begin a new chapter at Summit Materials, said Anne Noonan, Summit Materials' president and CEO. As we transition into the integration phase, I want to start by welcoming our new Argos colleagues into the Summit family. Together we now have an unrivalled, materials dominant, platform featuring significant scale and an advantaged geographic footprint, and our talent-rich team is laser focused on delivering our synergy commitments and industry-leading returns for our shareholders. Argos will hold three board seats out of a total of 11 seats.

Argos USA has four integrated cement plants, including Martinsburg (2.2Mta), Roberta (1.7Mta), Harleyville (2.2Mta) and Newberry (2.1Mta), around 140 ready-mixed concrete plants and eight ports. Its portfolio is well positioned to capitalise on positive demand drivers across public infrastructure, residential and commercial end-markets. The combination of Summit and Argos USA creates the fourth-largest cement platform in the USA.

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Ishikawa, Jan 16 ( News On Japan ) - In response to the Noto Peninsula earthquake, the Ishikawa Veterinary Association has launched an initiative to support evacuees with pets by offering free pet care at more than 40 animal hospitals across the prefecture for one month.

According to Ishikawa Prefecture, some of the people affected by the earthquake have been unable to bring their pets to evacuation centers, leading them to stay at home or continue sleeping in their cars. To assist these individuals, the Ishikawa Veterinary Association began the initiative on Monday, allowing pets of the disaster-affected people to be cared for free of charge for a month at 46 animal hospitals within the prefecture.

The initiative covers dogs, cats, rabbits, and small birds. Those who wish to use this service should contact the Noto Peninsula Earthquake Animal Response Headquarters at the prefectural veterinary association by calling 076-213-5788 to inform them about their pet's condition and proceed with the arrangements.

The Ishikawa Prefectural Pharmaceutical Affairs and Sanitation Division, which requested this initiative from the veterinary association, stated, "Protecting the precious pets of those affected by the disaster is also crucial for safeguarding their own lives and health. We strongly encourage anyone struggling to find a place for their pets to make use of this service."

Source: NHK
TOKYO, Jan 16 ( News On Japan ) - The president and an executive of a talent agency have been arrested on suspicion of allowing a male 'idol' of touch the body of a female fan.

Ryunosuke Kurita (32), the president of NA Promotion, and executive Takuya Hatanaka (42) are suspected of making a male idol touch a 17-year-old girl's breast during a photo session held in 2023 in Shibuya, Tokyo.

According to Tokyo police, the agency regularly engaged in acts such as putting hands inside the underwear of female fans at photo sessions. The 17-year-old girl had reportedly spent 2.5 million yen earned through "papakatsu" (sugar-daddy dating) on these events.

The alleged groping was at a post-live event photo session called "Cheki-kai," where fans could purchase a minute of "alone time" with an idol for 1,000 yen per photo.

At the actual "Cheki-kai," female fans were seen sitting on the idols' laps and hugging them.

A former fan shared her experience: "It was very intimate, like sitting on their laps, wall-slams, almost zero distance. Girls would lie down on the floor, and the guys would lean over them."

The "Cheki-kai" system allows for extended time with the idols for an increased number of purchased photos. Some fans, who earned money through "papakatsu," contributed large sums.

Kurita and Hatanaka have denied the allegations.
UTC, Chattanooga State, Georgia Northwest Technical College and multiple other schools and government offices are closing Tuesday due to the severe weather.

Downtown Chattanooga began to get snow around 9 a.m. and it turned to sleet in the early afternoon.

Some areas north of town reported as much as five inches of snow, including Sale Creek and Walden's Ridge.

Hamilton County Schools will be closed on Tuesday due to hazardous road conditions. SACC will be closed. All school activities are cancelled. Twelve-month employees will work remotely.

Due to the anticipation of severe weather, all campuses of Georgia Northwestern Technical College will be closed on Tuesday. All classes, activities and events are canceled.

Cleveland City Schools and offices will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday due to the road conditions stemming from snowfall and freezing temperatures. Additionally, all after-school care and activities are canceled.

Cleveland School officials said, "We will continue to monitor weather conditions closely. Please stay tuned for updates. Thank you for your ongoing support as we work to ensure the safety of our students and staff."

Other school closings for Tuesday include Hamilton County, Chattanooga Christian School. Baylor School, Boyd Buchanan, OLPH and Calvary Christian.

Some schools are closed through Wednesday, including Grace Baptist Academy, Marion County, Meigs County, Dayton City Schools, Rhea County Schools, Polk County and Sequatchie County.

Hamilton County General Government will be closed Tuesday due to inclement winter weather.

Circuit Court Clerk Larry Henry said both the Circuit Court Clerk's office at the old Courthouse and the civil division of General Sessions Court would be closed on Tuesday.

General Sessions Court Judge Gary Starnes said the Hamilton County General Sessions Court - Criminal and Civil - and Clerks' Offices are closed on Tuesday.

Chattanooga City Court and the Chattanooga City Court Clerk's Office will be closed on Tuesday.

Due to inclement weather, city of Chattanooga facilities will be closed on Tuesday. Essential employees will report as usual.

The Chattanooga City Council business meeting (3:30 p.m.) on Tuesday has been cancelled. All agenda items will be moved to the Jan. 23 agenda.

All City of Collegedale Offices and the Library will be closed Tuesday.

The Courthouse and all Bradley County Government offices will be closed on Tuesday due to the winter storm. The Bradley County Commission meeting scheduled for noon on Tuesday is also cancelled.

The Chattanooga Housing Authority is closed Tuesday, as is the Hixson Utility District offices.





Due to icy roads and temperatures expected to plunge into the teens Tuesday these closures/cancellations have been made for Tuesday in Catoosa County:

- Catoosa County Juvenile Court

- Catoosa County Health Department delayed opening until 10:00am

- Catoosa County Transit

- Catoosa County Senior Center

- Catoosa County Meals on Wheels

- Board of Assessors meeting (tentatively rescheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 30)

Rhea County Executive Jim Vincent has declared that all county offices will be closed on Tuesday.

I spent the day riding round with Sheriff Mike Neal touring the county roads and the side roads are in bad shape, especially on Dayton Mountain, Grandview and out Highway 302 and the snow keeps coming down, said County Executive Vincent.

Snow amounts range from 4 to 5 inches in the southern part of the county to 6 or more inches in the Spring City area.

Dayton City government will also be closed on Tuesday.

Dayton Police Chief Tracy Blevins said the roads are hazardous, and there have been a few crashes but nothing major.

Catoosa County Government Administrative Offices (including Board of Commissioners, Tax Commissioner, and Assessors Office) will be delayed opening until 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

-Walker County Transit will be closed. -Walker County Government offices will open at 10 a.m. -Walker County Landfill will open at 10 a.m.

-The Walker County Civic Center will be open as a warming shelter from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you need a place to get out of the cold prior to the Civic Center opening, please call 911 for help with accommodations.

All Whitfield County non-emergency offices will open Tuesday at 10 a.m.

The Whitfield County Senior Center will be closed.

McLemore on Lookout Mountain is closed on Tuesday.

All SimplyBank locations will be closed Tuesday.




James Richard "Ricky" Nelson, a proud veteran of the United States Marine Corps, died peacefully on January 12, 2024, in Ooltewah, Tennessee, at the age 75.

A Chattanooga Valley native, Ricky settled in Ooltewah and married Frieda where they lived for 40+ years raising a family and enjoying their grandchildren. He graduated from Chattanooga State and earned his certification as an electrician and proceeded to work in the tufting industry.

Ricky was a loyal employee as he only ever worked for one employer during his entire 20 years of working as an electrician.

Ricky was best known for his quick-witted humor telling of various shenanigans, he always wanted to leave you laughing. Rickys tour of duty in Vietnam left a lasting impact on his life, yet he never left the house without representation of being a Marine via a hat or T-shirt. He was proud of his service and continued to fly the American flag at his house through his last days.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Frieda Ann Nelson, and siblings, Carolyn Cordell and Larry Nelson.

Ricky is survived by his sons, Lance (Joyce) Nelson, Ron (Denise) Nelson, Mark (Susan) Leamon and Ben (Traci) Nelson; grandchildren, Kirsten, Rebecca, Patrick, Jake, Andrew and Austin, and great-grandchildren, and brother, Clarence Kelly Nelson.

The family will receive friends from 5:307:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 16, at the Valley View Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, 7414 Old Lee Highway, Chattanooga, Tn. 37421.

A graveside service with military honors will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 19, in the Chattanooga National Cemetery.

Visit www.chattanoogavalleyviewchapel.com to share condolences and view the video tribute.

Arrangements are entrusted to Chattanooga Funeral Home, Valley View Chapel.
Cherry Street Brewing on the Northshore is closing this weekend.

The brewhouse had operated for two years at 300 Cherokee Blvd.

Operators said, "With heavy hearts, we will be closing our Chattanooga location on January 14th. This decision does not come easy for us. We poured our hearts and souls, along with many others, into making it a welcoming neighborhood brewpub for families and all to relax and enjoy some good bites and brews in the community. We love Chattanooga. Weve called Chattanooga home for the last two years. We want to say thank you to our staff, patrons, and so many of you in the community with whom weve grown so close. So many of you have supported and welcomed us to the community from day one.

"Making this decision impacts so many people, not just us but the community organizations we support. Primarily this affects our incredible staff, who have fought beside us over the years. We have already spoken to our team individually, but we want to say it here. We cannot thank you, our staff, and friends enough. The impact we are causing on you personally hurts the most. We are sorry, and we feel that we have let you down the most. We have fought hard for you, and it just was not enough.

"In this dark time, we want to find a little bit of light. We will be throwing down our closing party this weekend. We hope you will join us as we celebrate the good times, further support our staff, and kick as many kegs as possible.

"The closing of our Northshore location will impact many in Tennessee and Georgia. At this time, we will be putting the majority of our distributed products on hold. This does not mean the end; it just means not right now. Our goal is to bring back distribution eventually. The reality for us and most craft breweries is that canned beer distribution is not sustainable because of the cost of materials and ingredients. We hope to begin distributing again in the future, but at this time, we want to get back to our roots and reflect on what we do best.

"So what does the future look like? Our Georgia locations are not going anywhere, and its business as usual. We have been humbled and it causes a lot of self-reflection. Who are we? What brings us and our staff together? What brings us joy, and why in the hell did we start all of this 12 years ago in the first place? The simple answer is we are going to lick our wounds, take care of our staff and community leaders, simplify our lives, and get back to what we all love and know about Cherry Street Brewing. We are taking this time to reflect and support our Chattanooga staff, but when the dust settles, you can expect us to bring our A GAME. We already have a lot of exciting and fun events planned for this coming year and look forward to continuing to serve yall.

"To our staff, we appreciate each and every single one of you. We will do everything in our power to support you through this difficult time. To our community leaders, you are in a special place in our hearts, and we wish you all the best. If there is anything we can do, we are here for you. To our Patrons, we could not have made it this far without you. To the other restaurants and bottle shops who supported us by buying our beer, thank you for believing in us and sharing our products with the community.

"From the bottom of our hearts, again, thank you to everyone who has been there to support us.

"This is not goodbye but see you later."
An anonymous person called police and said there was a white sedan parked in front of his house on Mulberry Street and was occupied at the time. The caller asked police to check the vehicle. Police arrived and asked the driver for his driver's license, however, he said he only had an ID. Police asked him what he was doing out at this time of night and driving without a license. He said he was aimlessly driving around and pulled over to talk to a girl on his cell phone. The man was given a verbal warning for the driver's license law violation and was transported to his residence.

* * *

Police were called to Burger King at 6236 Lee Hwy. where a woman was causing a scene and panhandling. She was told she was trespassed from the property and she left without further incident.

* * *

An officer saw a suspicious vehicle at Waffle House at 3805 Cummings Hwy. The white pickup truck had no tag and was connected to a black trailer. The VIN of the truck came back not stolen per NCIC. The tag on the trailer came back to a black trailer, however the VIN on the sticker in the front of the trailer was two digits different from the VIN to which that tag was registered. Neither VIN returned as stolen. The sticker bearing the VIN of the trailer also appeared to have been altered. The officer looked underneath the trailer for an etched VIN, however couldnt find one. The officer couldnt find proof that anything had been stolen, so he left.

* * *

Police were called to Mountain Creek Road where a man and his wife complained their neighbor had been playing his music loud at all hours of the night and it was a problem for them. They tried to go talk to their neighbor at approximately 2 a.m., but were only able to knock on his windows and door and he didnt answer. At approximately 4:30 a.m. they banged on the wall, and he banged on his wall in return, and then turned the music down prior to police arrival. The officer didnt hear any excessive music, but the man said their apartment management requested he make a police report. The officer suggested that they continue to try to resolve this through apartment management and on a personal level, and the man agreed.

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An employee at Hixson Coin Laundry at 5425 Highway 153 told police a customer was being disorderly. She said the customer refused to abide by the business rules and began yelling when told to leave. The employee then removed the customers laundry from the machine and refunded her money. Per the employee, the customer was trespassed from the property.

* * *

A man at Studio 6 at 7324 Shallowford Road told police he believed someone slashed his tire on his work vehicle and needed police to review onsite video footage. An officer reviewed the footage of the time frame he requested and observed nothing suspicious. The officer also examined the tire and found no evidence it had been slashed, although it was flat.

* * *

Police were called to Brainerd Road where a woman wanted police to stand by while she spoke with her ex-attorney. The woman briefly spoke with the lawyer and left without incident.

* * *

Police spoke with a woman on E. Main Street who said she was involved in a verbal argument with a man. The woman said she believed the man had a firearm in his waistband. She said she had asked him to leave and he refused. The man was not there when police arrived. Police were handed an I.D. with the mans information on it. The woman said he didnt threaten her with the firearm. She said he drove off in a red minivan west on E. Main Street.

* * *

A woman on E. 8th Street told police she and her neighbor had been going back and forth for a couple months about different things. She said her dogs would bark sometimes and her neighbor would get upset, then beat on the wall for the noise. She said she took her dogs outside to use the bathroom and her neighbor started chewing her out. An officer attempted to speak with the neighbor but he didnt answer the door. The officer told the woman to contact her landlord regarding the issue.

* * *

A man on Hanover Street called police and reported he had found an AirTag on his vehicle. He believed his ex-girlfriend placed it there. There was no proof she had put the tracker on his vehicle or video footage. He said he had no contact with her in months and had blocked her phone number and all social media. He had a contract with the woman, where he did some remolding on her home. She wrote him a check for $42,000 for the work. However, the woman went to her bank and made a stop payment on the check. The man wanted this report completed for documentation.
Ishikawa, Jan 17 ( News On Japan ) - With roads still blocked due to landslides following the Noto Peninsula earthquake, making it impossible for vehicles to pass, drones are being utilized to deliver essential supplies in disaster-stricken areas.

As of January 15, two weeks after the earthquake, 176 people in eight districts of Wajima City remain isolated.

Japan's Self-Defense Forces are distributing supplies to people in isolated villages, but manpower is limited. In light of this, a new initiative using drones to deliver support materials is being implemented.

Essential supplies such as light oil for generators are being delivered by drone to evacuation centers, including a primary school located several kilometers away.

A drone operator commented, "We are transporting goods in response to a request from the Ground Self-Defense Forces. While a human bucket brigade requires many people, with drones, we can transport items with less than one-tenth of the manpower, so we are utilizing that."

The initiative to deliver supplies via drones, including medication for elderly residents with chronic illnesses, is said to be the first of its kind in Japan during a disaster. Sixteen days after the earthquake, further use of drones in the affected areas is anticipated.

Source: MBS NEWS
Jerry L. Riggs Sr., 77, went to be with the Lord on January 12, 2024, after a long battle with cancer.

He was born on February 6, 1946, a son of the late Woody & Eva Riggs.

Jerry joined the USMC in 1964 where he did two tours of duty in Vietnam. Jerry married Patsy Vaughn in 1965 and God blessed them with their only son Jerry Jr. in 1967. Upon being discharged from the USMC he became a self-employed business owner opening Jerry's Garage & Wrecker Service in Athens, Tn.. He was of the Christian faith and a member of Miracle Deliverance Tabernacle.

In addition to his parents, he is also preceded in death by two sisters Velma Eaton and Wanda Webb.

Jerry leaves behind to cherish his memory his loving wife Patsy, one son and daughter-in-law Jerry Jr. & Amy Riggs, four grandchildren Kassie Mathews (Cory), Jeremy Riggs, Kaitlin Johnson (Treaver), and Kristen Riggs (Ethan Layman), three great grandchildren Everly Mathews, Camden Mathews and Analiese Johnson, special four-legged companion "Biscuit Riggs", numerous other family members, church family and a host of special friends.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday evening, Jan. 17, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Athens chapel of Companion Funeral Home located at 400 South White Street in Athens, Tn. A service celebrating his life will follow the visitation time at 7 p.m. on Wednesday evening in the funeral home chapel officiated by Bro. Anthony Wynn.

The interment and committal service will take place on Thursday, Jan. 18, at 11 a.m. in the Cochran Cemetery in Englewood, Tn. with family and friends serving as pallbearers. The procession will leave the funeral home on White Street at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday morning.

You are encouraged to share a memory of Jerry and/or your personal condolences with his family by visiting his memorial webpage and guestbook at www.companionfunerals.com. Companion Funeral Home of Athens is honored to assist his family with these arrangements.
Hamilton County Schools will be closed on Wednesday due to hazardous road conditions.

School Age Child Care will be closed. All school activities are cancelled.

Twelve-month employees will use their discretion and report on a two-hour delay. If unable to safely report to work, contact your supervisor for more information.

Due to inclement weather, County Commission Chairman Jeff Eversole has postponed the Wednesday Hamilton County Board of Commissioners regular Commission meeting.

It will be moved to Wednesday, Jan. 24, at 9:30 a.m.

The meeting will take place at the Courthouse, Room 402, 625 Georgia Ave. Board of Commissioners may meet prior to the meeting at 8:30 a.m. and/or immediately following the regular meeting.

Chattanooga City Court and the Chattanooga City Court Clerk's Office will be closed on Wednesday. Court operations will resume on Thursday.

Chattanooga facilities will open on a two-hour delay on Wednesday. City facilities will open at 10 a.m. All essential employees will report as usual.

Hamilton County General Government will be operating on a delayed start and opening at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.

County employees who are unable to commute to work due to unsafe driving conditions in certain parts of the county will not be required to come into the office and will have the option to work remotely. If worsening conditions persist, officials will adjust accordingly on Wednesday morning.

Rhea County Commission Chairman Jim Reed cancelled Tuesday night's Rhea County Commission monthly meeting due to the inclement weather. Chairman Reed has set Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. as the next regular scheduled meeting.

The Department of Public Works suspended the collection of garbage and recycle on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, it will operate on a two-hour delay. Officials will continue to monitor weather conditions and will follow the schedule of normal collection days.

The collection of brush and bulk trash will operate on a two-hour delay on Wednesday.

The collection of loose leaves will resume on Thursday.

The Refuse Collection Centers and Recycle Centers, as well as the Wood Recycle Center, Household Hazardous Waste Facility, and Birchwood Landfill will operate on a two-hour delay on Wednesday.

Baylor School will be closed on Wednesday.

The Bradley Courthouse and County government offices will be closed again on Wednesday.

UTC will be closed as follows.

Campus Operations  Wednesday

All classes are CANCELLED .

. UTC Library will be CLOSED .

. University administrative offices will be CLOSED .

. Events scheduled to take place on campus are CANCELLED. Organizers will communicate if these events are to be rescheduled and, if so, on what dates and times.

University Center (UC) will be OPEN 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM

12:00 PM to 5:00 PM UC Game Room will be OPEN 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM

12:00 PM to 5:00 PM UTC Bookstore will be OPEN 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM

11:00 AM to 4:00 PM Aquatic and Recreation Center (ARC) will be OPEN 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM

11:00 AM to 7:00 PM CARTA/MOCS Express: NORMAL operations, as conditions permit.

Mocs Dining (Food Services)  Wednesday

Crossroads Dining Hall: OPEN 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM

9:00 AM to 7:00 PM Chick-fil-A: OPEN 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM

12:00 PM to 5:00 PM Subway: OPEN 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM

12:00 PM to 5:00 PM Slim & Huskys: OPEN 12:00 PM to 5:00PM

12:00 PM to 5:00PM POD South Campus: OPEN 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM

12:00 PM to 5:00 PM POD West Campus: OPEN 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been living in Montecito since 2020, but there are rumors that the two could be looking for something a little more private.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the United Kingdom for a different way of life in the United States back in early 2020. By the middle of that year, they had fallen in love with a massive Montecito, California mansion, which theyve called home for nearly four years now. However, there have been plenty of rumors that the couple could relocate  and now, they are reportedly considering selling their Montecito spot for a much more private estate.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle could leave Montecito this year

Rumors have swirled for a while that Harry and Meghan could part ways with their Montecito home, but nothing has come to fruition  and that could very well still be the case. However, it is suspected that Harry and Meghan could relocate this year due to privacy concerns in their current estate.

In recent weeks they have been looking for specific properties private enclaves away from prying eyes, an insider told Express. The word is they are now settled on a specific spot and have the realtor sworn to secrecy.

Of course, in 2023, Harry and Meghan were rumored to be checking out a new construction home in Malibu, but it seems the two never purchased the property (the rumors also could have been entirely false). But it seems that these most recent rumors come with little detail because of how private Harry and Meghan want to keep the decision. Its been very much under the radar because the pair are so adamant to keep their home private. They do not want a circus around this, the source continued.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Could Prince Harry and Meghan Markle return to the United Kingdom?

It seems right now that there are mixed ideas about whether Harry and Meghan could come back to the UK, which is where they wed and where they welcomed their first child, Prince Archie. Express reports that psychic Sally Morgan told Closer, They will remain strong as a couple and likely move house next year, although I dont see them leaving the United States, or even California, which theyve worked hard to make feel like home.

With that said, Harry did hint at one point in 2023 that a UK return might be down the road. In court documents, Harry said in a statement that the UK is his home and that he wants his kids to feel comfortable there. The UK is central to the heritage of my children and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the US, Harrys statement read; his at the moment wording had some thinking that Harry and Meghan could eventually consider moving back to the UK. Of course, nothing has been finalized or decided, so its unclear if or when the Sussex family could leave Montecito.
The frigid Arctic Ocean is far removed from the places most people live, but even so, forever chemicals reach this remote landscape. Now, research in ACS Environmental Science & Technology Letters suggests that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) won't stay there indefinitely. Instead, they are transported in a feedback loop, with the Arctic Ocean potentially exporting as many PFAS to the North Atlantic Ocean as it receives, circulating the compounds around the world.

PFAS come and go between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans at roughly equal rates. Adapted from Environmental Science & Technology Letters 2024, DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.3c00835

To get to the Arctic Ocean, some PFAS hitch a ride in the air and fall onto the oceans surface, but others enter from adjacent oceans. The potential impact of these compounds on marine organisms depends on what PFAS are present and how much, which are ever-changing as water flows between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean. These waterbodies are connected by the Fram Strait, which sits to the northeast of Greenland near the Svalbard archipelago. Warm water travels north on the eastern side of the strait, and cold water flows south along the western side, providing a dynamic gateway for PFAS transportation. So, Rainer Lohmann and colleagues wanted to track the movement of PFAS in this region and identify how water circulation influences the mix of contaminants in the Arctic Ocean.

The researchers deployed passive sampling systems, which took up PFAS into a sorbent-filled microporous membrane from water as it flowed past. They put the systems at three locations in the Fram Strait, and at four depths in each location. After a year, the team retrieved the systems and measured the collected PFAS using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The researchers overserved that:
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack holds up a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Electronic Benefits Transfer (SNAP EBT) card during a news conference at the White House, Wednesday, May 5, 2021, in Washington. Nearly 21 million children in the U.S. and its territories are expected to receive food benefits this summer through a newly permanent federal program, the United States Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. No child in this country should go hungry, Vilsack said in an interview on Tuesday.
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There hasnt been a French monarchy since the French Revolution and 1792, yet people love learning about French monarchs with all their glamour, political errors, extravagance, scandals, etc.

One of the more interesting figures associated with French monarchs is Madame de Pompadour, one of King Louis XVs mistresses who made quite an impact during her time at the Palace of Versailles.

Madame de Pompadour, otherwise known as Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, was the chief mistress of Louis XV during his reign as the king of France from 1745 to 1751.

Many royal mistresses often had scandalous reputations, and Madame de Pompadour was no exception.

However, she was a particularly powerful mistress, to the point where some French citizens blamed her for the monarchys downfall.

Jeanne had met Louis XV for the first time in 1744. She was married then and very popular amongst French salons, which is how Louis XV learned who she was before they met.

By 1745, she became the kings mistress, separated from her husband, and moved to Versailles, where she had her own apartment directly above the king.

Jeanne was given her official title, Marquise de Pompadour, to be presented to the royal court. Once she formed a good relationship with the royal family, she was in and became well-known at Versailles.

Jeanne quickly became Louis XVs favorite mistress and closest advisor. Because of that, she was given a lot of power and would control who was and wasnt allowed to meet with the king. Its been said that she would occasionally give public statements in place of the king.

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Below are the Philippines top verses of 2023 as determined by YouVersion. With the help of Langham Partnership, Christianity Today asked three local Bible scholars for their analysis of what the list conveys about the state of Christianity in the Southeast Asian archipelago.

Federico Villanueva, regional commissioning editor, Langham Partnership

What is your overall reaction to this list?

I wasnt surprised. First, these verses reflect the situation of many Filipinos. In the midst of uncertainties, poverty, and political instability, it is understandable that many FIlipinos are drawn to Bible passages which remind them that God is in control.

He has been there from the very beginning (John 1:1). All things work together for good (Rom. 8:28). And he has a good plan for us (Jer. 29:11). So they do not need to worry (Matt. 6:33) but come to him (Matt. 11:28) and cast their cares on the Lord (1 Pet. 5:7).

Second, these verses reflect the influence of Protestant (particularly American) Christianity with its emphasis on personal spirituality and the concern for holiness in an evil and wicked world (Rom. 12:2).

Given the events of this past year, is there a verse you wish were on this list instead?

I wish Psalm 10:15 was included among the top 10 list of verses in my country, given the presence of wicked men in our country and in the world. But Christians tend not to involve themselves in politics and are more focused on the spiritual and inner needs. One of the reasons why our country is like this is there is a huge gap between what we do inside the church and what is happening in the society and the world.

Psalm 10 is part of a lament. The psalmist is complaining against God for his inaction while the wicked are annihilating the innocent poor. In the midst of the so-called War on Drugs by former president Rodrigo Duterte, the majority of the Christian population, according to a survey, was/is supportive of the deadly war. Most of the thousands of those killed are the poor, who do not have the power or resources to defend themselves. And so the situation is similar to that in Psalm 10. But why are we not lamenting? Why are we not praying that God break the arm of the wicked (Ps. 10:15)?

Edgar Ebojo, global translation adviser, United Bible Societies

What is your overall reaction to this list?

Admittedly, the list is something predictable and to be expected given the known contexts Filipinos are in. Whilst at first glance there are some passages that may seem more theologically desirable to have been included, the present passages are in fact very encouragingly realistic, and their relevance is on the spot.

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The list says a lot about how reassuring the Word of God is in the daily life journey of any Filipino Bible user  even during the most trying and difficult times. This message is to be expected from a book we call God's Word. These passages simply show how relevant the Scripture is in the lives and contexts of the Filipino Bible users! They show that his Word is powerful, relevant, and true!

What might the verses more unique to the list convey about the Philippines spiritual needs?

These passages are very familiar ones not just because they are more widely used in the Philippine church context than others but because of the extremely intimate message they clearly convey, which does not necessarily immediately require technical expertise to decipher its meaning and its significance to the Filipino Christian faith. They simply are very straightforwardly pointing to Christthe primary (John 1:1) and central focus of all these passages!

Given our local socioeconomic contexts where there is dire poverty, painful difficulties, and discouraging prospects, these top 10 verses certainly highlight the importance of being assured of the with-us-ness of God emanating from Jesus Christ (the living Word) as promised in Holy Scriptures (the written Word). [They offer] assurance that even in a very difficult and challenging journey, God is with us!

In our pains and weariness (Matt. 11:28; 1 Pet. 5:7), in our lack and the apparent absence of provisions on our tables (Matt. 6:33; Phil. 4:6), and in the midst of seeming direction-lessness of life (Isa. 41:10; Jer. 29:11; Rom. 8:28), the call to trust God faithfully and committedly for everything remain a strong conviction in the Filipinos worship and service of God (Rom. 12:2; John 3:16).

This assurance [not only] encompasses individual and ecclesiastical concerns but also includes national ones. Simply put, these passages are ultimate Scripture engagement materials!

Given the events of this past year, is there a verse you wish were on this list instead?

Considering our present local socioeconomic and cultural contexts, I do not see any other verses more appropriate than what are already in the list. These are on-the-ground information about how the Word of God is perceived and how it underscores the important role the Bible and its plain teachings play in the individual and corporate lives of Filipino Bible users. These chosen passages, derived from different parts of the Philippines and from Filipinos of all walks of life, are nothing but a direct proof of the place of Jesus and the Bible in the psyche of the Filipino.

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Athena Gorospe, chair of biblical studies and theology programs, Asian Theological Seminary

What is your overall reaction to this list?

I was not surprised by the verses listed, except for John 1:1. Most of the verses have to do with personal encouragement in times of anxiety and distress, but John 1:1 is more theological and has to do with the nature of Christ. This is an encouragement to me because it shows that Filipino Christians are not just concerned with their own personal existential needs but are thinking about who Jesus is, in a way that connects with the Old Testament and God as creator. Romans 12:2 is another surprise because it shows a desire among Filipinos to be countercultural, to understand the will of God, and to be transformed.

What might the verses more unique to the list convey about the Philippines' spiritual needs?

As I said [above], the top choice of John 1:1 indicates that Christologythe nature of who Jesus isis an important concern in my context. Philippians 4:6 is not surprising because of what it says about worry and anxiety, but it is just an alternative verse to 1 Peter 5:7, which is among the top verses worldwide. Romans 12:2 has the phrase be transformed, which is interesting because transformation and not just salvation has been much emphasized here in the Philippines. The only problem is that Christians have different understandings of what transformation means, even though they all agree on the need for transformation.

Given the events of this past year, is there a verse you wish were on this list instead?

I would like to see a verse that shows a lament, such as Psalm 13:1 [or] Psalm 22:1. With the events of the past months, as Christians around the world go through so much suffering and conflict, they should be able to use Scripture to express their bewilderment and the feeling of being abandoned by God but then find comfort in the fact that God understands their questioning.

Editors note: CTs regional analyses of the YouVersion top Bible verses of 2023 include Africa, Brazil, the Philippines, Singapore, and Ukraine.

Founded by John Stott, Langham Partnership trains, equips, and publishes pastors and leaders in growing Christian communities in the Majority World.
The Chinese version of this article is part of a series on "12 Influential Christian Women in Modern Chinese History".

Soong Mei-ling (18982003), a pivotal figure in 20th-century Chinese history, holds a distinct place as the First Lady of the Republic of China. Known by various names such as Soong Mei-ling in mainland China, Chiang Soong Mei-ling in Taiwan, and Madame Chiang in the English-speaking world, she played a critical role as the wife of Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Republic of China through its fifth presidency, and as the stepmother to the sixth and seventh presidents. While her political role is well recognized, her Christian faith is a lesser known yet equally vital aspect of her life.

Early life

Soong was born in 1898 to a deeply Christian family in Shanghai. Her father, Charlie Soong, studied theology at Vanderbilt University in the United States and became a Methodist pastor. He was also an influential publisher and a key leader of the Young Mens Christian Association (YMCA) in China. Soongs mother, Ni Guizhen, a pastors daughter, further instilled Christian values in their home.

Soong was the youngest of three influential sisters, each marrying prominent figures in Chinas political history. Her eldest sister married H. H. Kung, a leader in the Republic of Chinas government, and her second sister married Sun Yat-sen, a pivotal figure in modern Chinas formation.

Educated in the United States, where she attended Piedmont College, Wesleyan College, and Wellesley College, Soong embraced Western culture alongside her Chinese heritage. She returned to China in 1917, dedicating herself to social work and education, often in collaboration with Western missionaries.

First Lady of the Republic

On December 1, 1927, Soong married Chiang, then commander in chief of the National Revolutionary Army, in a Christian ceremony. Although many viewed their marriage as politically motivated, with Chiang seeking to strengthen ties with the United States through the Soong family and Soong seeking political influence through Chiang, it was also acknowledged that there was genuine affection between them.

Chiang converted to Christianity at Soongs mothers request, getting baptized in 1930 amid political opposition from his own party. Battling deep depression, Soong experienced a profound spiritual awakening in 1931, during a period marked by internal and external challenges for China, including the threat of Japanese aggression. Her depression was further intensified by the loss of her mother, whose daily prayers had been a source of strength and comfort. This period marked a pivotal change in her spiritual life, driving her to more earnestly embrace her faith. Soong and Chiang maintained a daily routine of Bible reading and prayer, reflecting their shared, deep faith.

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In the 1930s, Chiang launched the New Life Movement, a campaign aimed at reforming society through traditional values and discipline. Soong was at the forefront of the campaign, leveraging the churchs influence and advocating for Christian family values, particularly emphasizing womens roles in societal change. Despite the movements focus on Christian ethics, some Chinese Christians were skeptical about the sincerity of Chiangs Christian faith and its impact on his leadership, with critics suggesting his governance was more influenced by traditional Confucianism and possibly even ideologies of underground criminal factions.

During the 1936 Xian Incident, a major political crisis involving Chiangs abduction by members of his own party, Soong aided Chiangs peaceful rescue through her composure and strategic approach. After his release, Chiang credited his resilience during the ordeal to daily Bible reading and prayer, sharing with Soong a meaningful scripture verse: I have created something new and different, as different as a woman protecting a man (Jer. 31:22, GNT).

Soongs influence as First Lady reached its peak during the Sino-Japanese War. Domestically, she organized womens contributions to the war effort. Internationally, she sought American support for Chinas resistance against Japan, leveraging her eloquence, charm, and English-language fluency to win over American politicians and the public. (Chiang couldnt speak English, so Mei-ling served as his translator.) She earned worldwide recognition and appeared three times on the cover of Time magazine. In 1943, the Foundry Methodist Church in Washington, DC, included an image of her in a stained-glass window alongside representations of President Franklin D. Roosevelts Four Freedoms, symbolizing Asia and womens empowerment.

Despite the Nationalist governments victory against Japan, internal corruption, particularly embezzlement within the Soong and Kung families, fueled public discontent. The Nationalist Partys defeat in the subsequent civil war against the Communist Party led to Mao Zedongs takeover of mainland China in 1949, forcing Chiangs government to retreat to Taiwan, where it continued to resist communism.

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Years in Taiwan

In Taiwan, Soong continued her influential role, supporting Chiangs governance and emphasizing Christian values as the cornerstone of anticommunist nationalism. From 1950 onward, she led the Chinese Womens Anti-Communist and Anti-Russian Federation and the Chinese Christian Womens Prayer Meetings, focusing on providing pastoral care within military hospitals and among the armed forces, caring for the sick, advocating for womens rights, and fostering campus ministries. These initiatives reflected Soongs commitment to connecting her faith with social action.

In 1953, many anticommunist refugees from mainland China arrived in Taiwan and, under the influence of Soongs efforts, embraced Christianity. In 1950, Chiang and Soong established the Victory Chapel at their official residence and attended weekly services thereafter.

In 1961, during an Easter service, Soong gave a speech that reflected her belief in the social gospel, emphasizing the transformative influence of Jesus Christ and concluding that his character ignited humanitys imagination, and his actions became a beacon of wisdom, morality, kindness, and humanity. His pure spirit and proactive life have made him an eternal example for Christians worldwide.

In 1967, Soong received the title of honorary chairperson by Fu Jen Catholic University and actively supported the establishment and growth of several Taiwanese educational institutions, including Soochow University, Wesley Girls High School, and the Gengxin Cultural and Educational Institute.

Legacy and controversy

Soong moved to New York following Chiangs sudden death from a heart attack in April 1975, citing health reasons exacerbated by prolonged stress and grief. However, she remained active in Taiwanese politics through written addresses and public letters. From 1986 to 1991, she returned to Taiwan, actively participating in politics and governance while exerting significant influence over then president Lee Teng-hui.

In 1992, a Taiwanese government report on the impeachment case of Soong Mei-lings improper use of her passport and the prolonged occupation of public land for her residence in Shilin led to her withdrawal from politics, and she subsequently lived a secluded life in New York. Soong passed away at her Manhattan residence on October 24, 2003, at the age of 105. Her death was mourned across Taiwan, overseas, and even in mainland China.

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While many Chinese Christians view Soongs legacy positively, others have been critical of her influence. Some of her Western critics include former US president Harry Truman, who labeled the Chiang-Soong-Kung families as thieves for embezzling American aid, and Eleanor Roosevelt, who critiqued Soongs superficial understanding of democracy and her hypocrisy. Soong also faced criticism for vanity, arrogance, a temperamental nature, and a lack of compassion in her personal life. Some viewed her marriage to Chiang as superficially harmonious but internally conflicted, often marred by disputes and not exemplifying a Christian marriage.

Additionally, many Taiwanese Christians believed that under Chiangs rule, only government-aligned churches received support while churches with different political leanings, such as the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT), faced oppression and surveillance.

Soongs unique blend of Christianity and nationalism also invites reflection, especially considering the prevalent notion among Chinese Christians of using Christianity to save China. Religion to me is a simple matter. It means doing Gods will with all my heart, strength, and mind, Soong once stated. However, integrating this belief into political and family life proved complex, as reflected in her own experiences.

In her 1934 article, My Religious Views, Soong narrated the evolution of her faith across three stages: post-study-abroad patriotic fervor, a period of depression after her mothers death leading to a closer relationship with God, and eventually a desire to align with Gods will. However, Madame Chiang is well known for her dream and strong desire to rule the world. Her actions led by her political ambition often seemed to contradict her self-claimed desire to humbly follow Gods will. Whether she revisited her views on Christian nationalism later in life is unclear. One can only hope that she found deeper closeness and obedience to Christ in her final years.

English translation by Ariel Bi

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Donald Trumps blowout win in Iowa left both Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, who declared theyd continue their race for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, to do their best to spin the outcomes in a positive direction.

We got our ticket punched out of Iowa, DeSantis told supporters. I am not going to make any excuses and I guarantee you this: I will not let you down!

DeSantis, who spent big in the state and traveled to all 99 counties, outperformed his polls, but the Florida governor only bested Haley by a middling two points and fell far shy of Trump at 21 percent of the votes.

Given where DeSantis started the campaign last spring, and the time and money he spent in Iowa, his performance was devastating, said Mark Caleb Smith, a Cedarville University political science professor.

DeSantis didnt perform as well with white evangelicals as he had hoped, with Trump holding on to half of all votes and taking a majority of the evangelical Christian bloc.

It is fascinating how theyve come to put such trust and hope into Trump, said Smith. Theyve rationalizedjustifiedthat Trump is the one that is kind of this instrument of God. Hes the King Cyrus, right, thats going to look out for us, even though we dont necessarily embrace his own personal piety or lack thereof.

Trumps 30-point margin was enough for two candidates to drop out. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who garnered 7.7 percent of the vote, read the political winds and, just a few hours into the night, suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump instead. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson also rolled up his campaign after winning 0.2 percent of the vote.

Haley, the former South Carolina governor and Trump-era United Nations ambassador, prevented the former president from capturing every single county by a sole vote, but she finished third overall.

In her speech after the caucuses, Haley declared the primary a two-person race, leaving some to wonder if her staff failed to rewrite a draft from an expected second-place win. But strange as it seems for someone who finishes third, political watchers said she may have a point.

With DeSantiss second-place finish, three tickets were punched out of Iowa, Jeff VanDerWerff, a political science professor at Northwestern College, a Christian school in Orange City, Iowa, told Christianity Today. But with DeSantis already planning to skip New Hampshire, I suspect that its already down to a two-person race.

While the race for second has often been cursory, there are unique dynamics this time aroundnamely the indictments hanging over Trumps headthat could give it outsized importance.

If Trump could not proceed for any reason, the party will need an alternative, said Wheaton College political science professor Amy Black. DeSantis and Haley are fighting to be that alternative.

Entrance polls found that 31 percent of caucus goers would not consider Trump fit to be president if he is convicted, something that could present a problem down the road. But that may not surface for a while.

They may not play much of a role in the nomination process. I think the general election is where we see a dropoff for Trump if convicted, said Smith.

A lot will hinge on Haleys performance in New Hampshire a week from today.

For her to succeed in defeating Trump, nearly everything has to go right, Smith said. She now has very little margin for error.

One of the things that needs to go right for the former South Carolina governor is a win in the Granite State, where Trump currently has a lead over Haley of around 13 percent, according to FiveThirtyEights polling average.

DeSantis is polling at 5.4 percent. Perhaps those numbers informed where each candidate went post-Iowa: DeSantis headed to South Carolina for a campaign stop, while Haley flew straight to New Hampshire.

Haleys campaign argued in a press release that the rest of the race now moves to less Trump-friendly territory, and that for a former president, Trumps numbers in New Hampshire being only 43 percent are historically bad.

Haleys allies have also pointed to national polling finding that Haley has the biggest edge compared with Trump or DeSantis in a potential face-off with Joe Biden.

Tyler Raygor, senior advisor with Americans for Prosperity Action, a group that endorsed Haley, said that while door-knocking in Iowa, Haley supporters told him that they know that she can actually win the nomination  everyone has seen the polls with her going head-to-head against Joe Biden. And you're talking about kind of a landslide. A lot of people don't want to take the risk of a close election.

It seems clear that going forward, Haley doesnt plan on focusing her fire on anyone else but Trump. She announced Tuesday that she will not skip any more debates that dont also feature the former president. The debate scheduled Thursday in Manchester, New Hampshire, seems scuttled in light of that change unless Trump has a change of heart.

But Trump has little incentive to reverse course, with his strong showing giving the race a feeling more like an incumbent presidential campaign than a true primary, Smith observed. Trump has universal name recognition and the support of a strong plurality of Republicans. Unless something shifts, this looks like it could be over sooner rather than later.

Others agreed. If Trump wins next week, VanDerWerff predicted, The Republican nomination will be over.
Donald Trumpthe far and away GOP frontrunnerhas secured a quick win in Iowa, where his campaigns Christian rhetoric stoked his fan base but disturbed some evangelical leaders.

National outlets barely waited for the ink on the ballots to dry before calling the race for Trump only 30 minutes after caucus sites closed. Some sites were still voting.

Trump won with 51 percent of the vote, more than the other candidates combined, sweeping all but one county in the state. The former president consistently led in the polls by around 30 points, thanks largely to support from evangelical Christians. Around half told pollsters he was their first choice.

Thats a shift from the last time Trump ran in Iowa. The states evangelicals werent excited about the foul-mouthed real estate mogul in 2016 and favored Ted Cruz, viewing Trump as the lesser of two evils when paired against Hillary Clinton in the election, said Jeff VanDerWerff, a political science professor at Northwestern College, a Christian college in Orange City, Iowa.

The thing thats just been really fascinating to me over the last eight years, VanDerWerff told Christianity Today, has been this slow migration and now this real embrace, it seems, of Trump. That hes become or is seen as this instrument of God.

Early entrance polls from CNN found that 55 percent of white evangelical Christians said they were supporting Trump.

Despite subzero temperatures, supporters heeded Trumps call to turn out: You cant sit home. If youre sick as a dog, you say, Darling, I gotta make it, Trump told a crowd at an Indianola rally Sunday. Even if you vote and then pass away, its worth it, remember.

This loyalty comes despite Trump spending less time in Iowa than his competition. His ground campaign was complicated by the former presidents legal troubles pulling him elsewhere. A week before the caucuses, he had an appearance in Washington, DC, for an appeals court hearing Tuesday and another court appearance in New York Thursday.

Two-thirds of white evangelicals voting in Iowa believe Trump would remain fit for the presidency even if convicted, according to entrance polls by CNN.

Mondays results in Iowa give Trump a chance to say, Ive got all the support and momentum. The future primaries are kind of pointless at this point, Daniel Bennett, department chair of political science at John Brown University, told CT. He can say that, you know, this is what we thought it would be and other folks should rally behind him to beat [President] Joe Biden.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley were competing for a second-place finish that would allow them to emerge as a clear Trump alternative, something neither landed. With 94 percent of the vote tallied, DeSantis led with over 21 percent, while Haley tailed him at 19 percent.

DeSantiss narrow capture of second comes after he hit all 99 counties in Iowa. He also earned top endorsements from Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, as well as pastors and faith leaders, and on Monday, the campaign held a prayer call with one of those leaders, Bob Vander Plaats.

As the front-runner, Trumps attitude toward the primary has been one of annoyance that its happening at all. He skipped out on the candidate debates, opting to hold rallies or town halls as counterprogramming. His camp believes that the former presidents base of support is too strong for any other candidate to overcome, that those challenging him for the nomination are disloyal, and that they may as well skip to the general election.

And unlike the sparse organization he had in 2016, his ground campaign deployed surrogates to make Trumps case for him: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem; firebrand GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia; and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trumps former press secretary, all made stops in Iowa.

At Trumps rallies, speakers, from pastors to local politicians, cast the 2024 election in spiritual terms: calling Trumps legal troubles as persecution, his foesfrom the media, Democrats, or Republicans who have endorsed his opponentsas evil forces, and his supporters as true believers.

The other GOP candidates should have all thrown their support behind [Trump], Iowa voter Craig Fleakei told CT. And if they didnt, then they agree with the results of 2020 and they dont have a backbone, he added.

Trump has made inroads with a different kind of evangelical voter. Over his presidency, supporters began to identify as evangelical whether they were consistent churchgoers or not.

Ryan Burge, a political scientist with Eastern Illinois University who specializes in religion and politics, noted in his Substack newsletter that only a quarter of Iowans identified as born-again/evangelical Christians. Over half of Iowans attend religious services less than once a year, and only a quarter of Iowans report attending church weekly. Some of the steepest declines in religious attendance occurred among rural areas of the state, he noted.

Theres just no way to look at this and argue that Iowa is a bastion of Christian values, Burge wrote. Its just not.

Still, Christian imagery and language was all over Trump campaign events across the state. At a rally last month in Coralville, Iowa, one woman wearing an oversized cross necklace toted a Trump sign. Another wore a T-shirt that read, Jesus Is My Savior, Trump Is My President.

Whether its [pro-life], whether its Israel, whether its religious freedom, the litany of good things that are important to Christians  President Trump promised and then delivered, Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, the Trump campaigns senior Iowa advisor, told CT.

But their use of Christianity has led into some shaky theological territory.

Perhaps inspired by one of DeSantiss Florida gubernatorial campaign ads, one video that Trump shared on his Truth Social accountand played at campaign ralliesis a prime example. Made by a group that calls itself Trumps Online War Machine, the video adapted the late broadcaster Paul Harveys So God Made a Farmer monologue with artificial intelligence to weave in mentions of Trump.

God looked down on his planned Paradise and said, I need a caretaker. So God gave us Trump, the narrator said. The video paints Trump in hagiographic terms: as someone who goes into a den of vipers and deals with the fake news, for their tongues as sharp as serpents (a reference to Psalm 140), and wraps up a hard weeks work by attending church on Sunday.

God said, I need somebody who will be strong and courageous, who will not be afraid or terrified of the wolves when they attack a man who cares for the flock, the narration continues, a shepherd to mankind who will never leave nor forsake them.  So God made Trump.

The rhetoric has troubled some faith leaders in the state.

I find it absolutely sickening, Michael Demastus, pastor of Fort Des Moines Church of Christ, told Deseret News. Trump is not the Messiah.

Steve Deace, a conservative Christian Iowa-based talk show host who supported DeSantis, said on social media, We already have a Messiah to place our hope and faith in. What we need is a president who can manage this place somewhat competently until He returns.

Mondays results show that, at least in Iowa, the average white evangelical voter was not troubled by Trumps approach.

Sure, certain pastors  might look at that language and kind of roll their eyes or even be really troubled by it, said Bennett at John Brown. But if you consider yourself maybe culturally Christian or have this relationship with Jesus thats not being discipled outside of political echo chambers or something, I think youre going to be more predisposed to that and not be bothered by it at all.

At the Coralville rally, Joel Tenney, a 27-year-old evangelist, told the crowd that the election was part of a spiritual battle that included demonic forces. Tenney predicted that Trump would win the White House and that when he did, there will be a retribution against all those who have promoted evil in this country.

Trump allies say that evangelical voters loyalty to Trump stems from the track record of his presidential administration.

In September, at a summit hosted by the conservative Family Research Council, Trump made the pitch that no president has ever fought for Christians as hard as I have. And I will keep on fighting for Christians as hard as I can for four more years in the White House.

He said his administration did more for religious liberty than any administration in history, according to everybody. Hes pledged to establish a task force to address anti-Christian bias if reelected.

I think the biggest thing I've heard from Christian voters is Let's make sure that everything that the president did for us is maintained, Kaufmann, Trumps advisor in Iowa, said. But also, let's make sure that we can continue to go on offense to fight for Christianity, which the president has done and will continue to do.

Next up in the primary comes New Hampshire, where Haleys poll numbers have been on the rise with the states more moderate electorate. But there as well, Trump holds the lead.

Haley spent less time in Iowa than the others. Her campaign was boosted by a November endorsement from the conservative group Americans for Prosperity Action, which reached out to voters in every county.

Meanwhile, the crowd of presidential hopefuls has started to thin: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the GOP candidate most willing to criticize Trump, dropped out Wednesday. Political newcomer and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy took his fourth place finish in Iowa as a sign to bow out of the race. After garnering around 7 percent Monday night, he suspended his campaign and encouraged his supporters to back Trump instead.
Home News 49 of 50 states saw gender confusion rise over 4 years: report

The number of gender dysphoria diagnoses increased in nearly every state in the country between 2018 and 2022 as efforts to clamp down on body-mutilating procedures billed by supporters as "necessary treatments" gained steam, according to a report.

A report compiled by Definitive Healthcare and released this month documents the rise in gender dysphoria diagnoses on a state-by-state basis from 2018 through 2022. The report, written from a point of view that supports so-called gender-affirming care, which involves prescribing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones or body-disfiguring cosmetic surgeries, such as castration and double mastectomies, found that gender dysphoria diagnoses increased in every state except South Dakota during the four-year period.

Virginia recorded the largest increase in patients diagnosed with gender dysphoria (274%) followed by Indiana (247%), Utah (193%), Alaska (183%), South Carolina (171%), Delaware (170%), Kansas (147%), Colorado (145%), Washington (145%), Maine (135%), Nebraska (134%), Georgia (132%), Minnesota (122%), Washington, D.C. (122%), Vermont (116%), Rhode Island (114%), Kentucky (112%), North Carolina (109%), Massachusetts (108%), Wyoming (107%) and California (102%).

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On the opposite end of the spectrum, the number of people diagnosed with gender dysphoria dropped by 23% in South Dakota.

The smallest increases in gender dysphoria diagnoses were recorded in Hawaii (6%), Connecticut (10%), Iowa (30%), Florida (35%), Arkansas (42%) and Oklahoma (49%).

The report also included data suggesting that the impact of bans on trans procedures for minors resulted in a decline in gender dysphoria diagnoses between 2021 and 2022: Florida diagnoses rose steadily from 2018 until 2021, then they dropped 16% through the end of 2022 ahead of the passing of a trans care ban in 2023, the report stated. North Dakota diagnoses likewise grew from 2018 to 2021, before dropping 11% from 2021 to 2022 ahead of its youth trans care ban in April 2023.

The report highlighted similar drops in diagnoses of gender dysphoria from 2021 to 2022 in Iowa (14%), Nebraska (5%) and Montana (3%) ahead of the implementation of restrictions on gender transition procedures in those states. The other states that have enacted similar measures either legislatively or through executive action include: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

Although the report claims that nearly every mainstream medical organization asserts that gender-affirming healthcare, including mental health services and hormone therapy, improves transgender folks quality of life and constitutes medically necessary care, critics of the procedures cite concerns about their long-term impacts as the justification for enacting state laws banning minors from obtaining puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and body-mutilating surgeries.

The American College of Pediatricians has listed the side effects of puberty blockers as including osteoporosis, mood disorders, seizures, cognitive impairment, and, when combined with cross-sex hormones, sterility. The organization identifies potential long-term impacts of cross-sex hormones as an increased risk of heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, blood clots and cancers.

Jamie Reed, a former employee at a pediatric gender clinic at Washington University in St. Louis, wrote an op-ed for The Free Press last year elaborating on the side effects experienced by some of the minors prescribed puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. In one case, a 17-year-old girl who was prescribed testosterone experienced severe vaginal bleeding that soaked through an extra heavy pad, her jeans, and a towel she had wrapped around her waist.

We found out later this girl had intercourse, and because testosterone thins the vaginal tissues, her vaginal canal had ripped open, Reed wrote. She had to be sedated and given surgery to repair the damage. She wasnt the only vaginal laceration case we heard about.

In another case, a trans-identified female patient at the clinic who was prescribed testosterone developed an enlarged clitoris that extended below her vulva and chafed and rubbed painfully in her jeans. While the clinic advised the girl to wear compression undergarments worn by biological men who try to pass as female, Reed concluded that the girl had been harmed by the clinic: we hurt this kid.

As for so-called sex-change surgeries, images shared by the office of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last year showed the unsightly scars left behind from the removal of healthy breasts from trans-identified girls and the removal of forearm tissue to create fake, flaccid penises that cannot function.

Chloe Cole, a prominent detransitioner who once identified as a boy, attributed the suicidal thoughts she experienced as a teen to the double mastectomy she underwent as a minor. Cole maintains that the drugs and procedures she underwent left her with deep physical and emotional wounds, severe regrets, and distrust of the medical system.
Home News Historic Mother Bethel AME Church to receive $90K preservation grant

The historic congregation of Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will receive $90,000 in grant funding to help with its building preservation.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation will allot the money to Mother Bethel, one of 31 historically African American churches across the United States receiving funds this year.

In a statement posted to Facebook on Monday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the church said it is "honored" to receive the historic preservation funding.

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"Mother Bethel is honored to be awarded such a generous grant to assist with vital preservation efforts on our 134 year old building! The $90,000 grant will make raising additional preservation dollars a much easier lift," stated Mother Bethel.

"A special thank you to the National Historic Trust's African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and their Preserving Black Churches grant. Thank you to the funders of the grant."

In addition to thanking the multiple foundations and charity organizations that helped to fund the grant, the church expressed gratitude to those who wrote the grant for the congregation.

"And a word of deep appreciation to the grant writing team at Mother Bethel. Without their hard work and dedication, this would not be possible. You never know who is sitting in your pews," the church added. "To God be the glory!"

Mother Bethel AME Church traces its origins to the 18th century, when AME Church founder Richard Allen, a freed slave and Methodist preacher, launched the denomination.

Allen previously belonged to the predominantly white Methodist Episcopal Church. However, he felt a need to launch his own denomination after experiencing racism in the pews.

Allen established Mother Bethel in the 1790s, with the Philadelphia property having multiple church buildings since then. The current sanctuary was constructed in 1890.

The $90,000 came through the NTHP's African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, which bestowed $4 million to 31 different historically black congregations.

"We created the Preserving Black Churches program to ensure the historic Black church's legacy is told and secured. That these cultural assets can continue to foster community resilience and drive meaningful change in our society," said Brent Leggs, executive director of the AACHA Fund, in a statement Monday.

"We couldn't be more excited to honor our second round of grantees and ensure that African Americans  and our entire nation  can enjoy an empowered future built on the inspiring foundations of our past."

Other historically African American churches receiving preservation funds include St. James AME Church in New Orleans, Louisiana; Town Clock Church in New Albany, Indiana; and Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta, Georgia.
Home News Trump wins Iowa, Vivek suspends campaign to back fmr. pres.; Haley, 3rd, claims it's now '2-person race'

Former President Donald Trump has won the Iowa Republican Caucus, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis placing second and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley placing third.

According to results posted by The New York Times, as of Tuesday morning, with over 95% of the votes in, Trump won with 56,260 votes (51%) of the vote. DeSantis received 23,420 votes (21.2%), while Haley got 21,085 votes (19.1%).

Multiple media outlets and The Associated Press had called the first in the nation state race for Trump before the first votes were even counted, with many taking issue with the early announcement.

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Are you kidding me? stated Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a DeSantis supporter, as quoted by the NY Times. They havent even started voting yet and heard all the speeches and AP calls it?

For its part, the AP justified its early call by explaining that results taken from eight counties had shown Trump significantly ahead of the rest of the field and that the counties surveyed included rural areas that are demographically and politically similar to the large number of counties that had yet to report.

In traditional primaries, AP does not declare a winner in any race before the last polls are scheduled to close in the contest, the AP added.

The Iowa caucuses are different. There are no polls and no fixed time when all the voting ends. Instead, there is an 8 p.m. ET deadline for caucus voters to arrive at their location, at which point deliberations among caucusgoers begin behind closed doors.

Vivek Ramaswamy, the businessman who placed fourth place with 8,449 votes (7.7%), announced Monday evening that he was suspending his campaign and endorsing Trump. Ramaswamy was the only candidate to visit Iowa's 99 counties at least twice, some three or four times, according to his campaign. He held 323 events, the most of any candidate seeking the presidential nomination, according to the Des Moines Register's Candidate Tracker.

Weve looked at it every which way, and I think it is true that we did not achieve the surprise that we wanted to deliver tonight, said Ramaswamy. Theres no path for me to be the next president.

I am very worried for our country. I think we are skating on thin ice as a nation.  Now going forward, [Trump] will have my full endorsement for the presidency.

Despite coming in third behind DeSantis, Haley expressed optimism about the next state level races, including the New Hampshire primary, which is scheduled for Jan. 23. She claimed that the race is now between only two candidates: herself and Trump.

Ill be back in the great state of New Hampshire, Haley told her supporters. And the question before Americans is now very clear. Do you want more of the same, or do you want a new generation of conservative leadership?
Home News Watchdog lists Christian charities deemed not 'worthy of support from pro-lifers'

A pro-life advocacy organization claims that more than two dozen charities, including Christian organizations, have ties to or supported pro-abortion and LGBT advocacy.

The American Life League recently updated its "Charity Watchlist," placing charitable organizations into three categories based on their level of support for what the pro-life advocacy group describes as "life issues."

Organizations that receive "green colors" are considered "worthy of donation from pro-lifers" by ALL and are "opposed to abortion, human embryonic stem cell and/or aborted fetal body parts research, all forms of cloning, and other attacks against the human person at any state of development." Organizations also receive the color green if they refrain from donating to "Planned Parenthood Federation and other pro-abortion organizations."

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Charities categorized in yellow "may have previously received a green positive or a red negative because of certain policy positions that are now questionable or cannot be verified."

Organizations classified in red are viewed by ALL as unworthy of support from pro-lifers due to supporting either through "theory, advocacy, lobbying, granting and/or research" any practices deemed by the pro-life group as "offenses to life." Charities highlighted in red may also have refused to answer ALL's inquiries and/or declined to "be clear about its position."

A majority (35) of organizations examined were colored in red, with multiple religious organizations singled out by ALL.

ALL contends that Catholic Relief Services, which "promotes human development by responding to major emergencies, fighting disease and poverty, and nurturing peaceful and just societies," supports "abortion and contraception."

"Catholic Relief Services has a long history of funding or directly participating with groups who are pro-abortion and pro-contraception. They openly admit, 'While CRS strictly adheres to the teachings of the Catholic Church, and our main partners are local parishes and dioceses throughout the world, we work with other agencies who are not always aligned with Catholic teaching,'" the watchlist states.

"CRS says it promotes human development by responding to major emergencies, fighting disease and poverty, and nurturing peaceful and just societies; it serves Catholics in the United States as they live their faith in solidarity with their brothers and sisters around the world."

The Christian Post reached out to CRS for comment on the watchlist. A response is pending.

The YMCA, which has Christian roots and was originally founded to "put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all," is also listed in red by ALL.

"Two YMCA's have recently (2023) have been underfire for their 'Trangender Policies' and the two seperate instances where minor girls were exposed to men in the Y's lockerrooms because of these policies," the ALL watchlist states.

The "transgender policies" in question allow trans-identified males to use locker rooms that correspond with their stated gender identity as opposed to their biological sex.

"The YMCA has done nothing to change this policy as part of their DEI initiatives. The Y has also had pro-abortion advocate, Connie Chung Joe, recently lead a virtual talk which included her 'fighting for reproductive rights' while working at the ACLU of Chicago."

ALL also accused the YMCA of supporting Planned Parenthood.

CP reached out to YMCA for comment. A response is pending.

The watchlist accused the Salvation Army, founded to "preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination," of promoting the LGBT lifestyle as well as supporting abortion and contraception.

"The Salvation Army does not fully condemn abortion, and makes note on their website that they do 'understand' the exception cases, such as rape, incest, and life of the mother and make excuses for these reasons," the watchlist states.

ALL also expressed concern that the Salvation Army has come out in favor of "birth control to prevent abortion" and promoted "Transgender Housing" in Las Vegas.

CP reached out to the Salvation Army for comment. A response is pending.

The maternal health charity March of Dimes and the Girl Scouts of the USA support the LGBT lifestyle, abortion and contraception, according to ALL. Meanwhile, ALL states that Boy Scouts of America promotes the LGBT lifestyle as does the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, which has individual clubs that have worked with Planned Parenthood and/or supported contraception.

The American Cancer Society has expressed support for the LGBT lifestyle as well as in-vitro fertilization, abortion, contraception and human embryonic stem cell research. The American Red Cross, an emergency response charity, has come out in favor of abortion, contraception and the LGBT lifestyle.

ALL reports that Save the Children "supports abortion and contraception," while the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, a breast cancer research charity, supports the LGBT lifestyle, contraception, human embryonic stem cell research and has financially supported Planned Parenthood.

A total of 15 charities were categorized as safe for pro-lifers to donate to. Charities that received green light ratings include Alex's Lemonade Stand, which works to "change the lives of children with cancer through funding impactful research, raising awareness, and supporting families." According to ALL, the organization "states that research using embryonic stem cells is not permissible and that it will not fund this."

Another notable organization given the green light by the pro-life organization is the American Heart Association, which does not fund "fetal stem cell or embryonic research," use "human cells from IVF" or "cloning for human reproduction or harvesting tissue."

The Wounded Warrior Project, known for providing assistance to veterans injured in the line of duty, "upholds pro-life values/does not support anti-life organizations or agendas," the ALL report states.

A total of 10 charities were put in the yellow category.

Prominent organizations colored in yellow include Easter Seals, Habitat for Humanity, the Make-a-Wish Foundation and the St. Baldrick's Foundation. ALL put Easter Seals, which assists those with disabilities, in the yellow category because of its "support of LGBTQ+ lifestyle through blog/social media" and partnerships with "groups that have anti-life initiatives."

Similarly, the affordable housing charity Habitat for Humanity has "partnerships with groups" that "support abortion, contraception, and [the] LGBTQ+ lifestyle."

As for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, which grants the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses, its partnership with the Walt Disney Company earned it the color yellow. St. Baldrick's Foundation, committed to childhood cancer research, financially supports St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, which is colored red on the chart compiled by ALL.
Home News Family of former bishop accuses Episcopal Church of mishandling abuse complaint

The family of an Episcopal Church bishop who resigned last year amid credible allegations of abuse is calling for an investigation of denominational leadership's handling of the allegations.

The ex-wife and two adult sons of former Bishop Prince Singh of the Episcopal Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan filed a complaint against Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and church officer Bishop Todd Ousley in December, the Episcopal News Service reported last week.

Singh was forced to resign last September in response to multiple accusations of abuse from family members and others.

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The family members allege that Curry and Ousley, who lead the church's Office of Pastoral Development, failed to properly follow the denomination's Title IV disciplinary canons, which investigate accusations of wrongdoing by clergy, including bishops. They reported their concerns to Curry directly in December 2022 before making them public in June of last year.

ENS cited an email Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves, vice president of the House of Bishops, sent to Episcopal leaders on Jan. 10. Gray-Reeves informed Singh's family that she is recusing herself from the Title IV complaint involving Curry, with the retired bishop, the Rt. Rev. Herman Hollerith IV, taking her place.

The email included an attached 19-page letter dated Dec. 28, 2023, from the family to all Episcopal bishops, detailing their objections to how Curry and Ousley handled the accusations.

A native of India, Singh served as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester from 2008 to 2022. He was elected bishop provisional of the Eastern and Western Michigan dioceses in October 2021, taking office in February 2022.

In April 2022, Singh and his wife divorced, with her and their sons contacting Curry later that year to detail the years of alleged abuse they endured from Singh. His family went public with the abuse allegations in June 2023.

On Sept. 7, as part of the Title IV investigation, Singh was officially restricted from engaging in ministry due to the allegations. He resigned from the office the next day.

In a joint statement released at the time, the Standing Committee of Eastern Michigan and the Standing Committee of Western Michigan said that the resignation was "a mutual decision."

"We prayerfully recognize that this situation is complex and this news will be received in many ways within and beyond our dioceses. We have [tread] in these waters before," they stated, alluding to the suspension of another bishop in June 2020 over an admitted extramarital affair.

"We have grown in relationship and in trust of one another across our leadership. We have taken on big questions and come out stronger together on the other side. We will address this new challenge with careful stewardship of our body, compassion for one another, and faith in the One who loves us infinitely more than we could ask or imagine."
Home News IHOPKC says some reports of misconduct likely 'were not handled properly

Though reports of misconduct at the International House of Prayer Kansas City have been relatively low, a preliminary review of the ministry's 25-year history shows that at least a few likely "were not handled properly," the ministry's new spokesperson Eric Volz said Sunday.

Volz, who serves as managing director of international crisis agency David House, made the announcement at Forerunner Church Sunday while providing an update on the ministry's investigation into allegations of misconduct against founder Mike Bickle and the ministry in general.

According to Volz, one of the first things the ministry's new executive director, General Kurt Fuller, did since he assumed his role three weeks ago was order a "historic review of reported misconduct." And while that review isn't yet complete, Volz said with confidence there were instances when reports of misconduct were likely "not handled properly."

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"That review is far from over but so far, we can say that for an organization this size with 25 years of operating history, over 20,000 staff who've served here, statistically speaking, the number of known incidents is actually quite low. At the same time, we can confidently say that a few of those reported incidents likely they were not handled properly," Volz said.

"From what we can tell, most of those incidents happened under the watch of leaders who are no longer here, but that doesn't change IHOPKC's responsibility to thoroughly examine and address each case. Some of the cases are clear-cut, and others are not, so we need to be very careful not to blur the lines between the two, and it's going to take some time to make those determinations," he added.

"Regardless, on behalf of IHOPKC, I want to apologize in advance to anyone who has experienced harm here or whose reports were not handled properly. It will take time, but General Fuller will get to the bottom of all of this."

About three weeks ago, Volz announced that IHOPKC permanently parted ways with Bickle even as he remains under investigation for "serious allegations including sexual immorality."

Bickle confessed to sinful misconduct he committed over 20 years ago after a woman, identified as Jane Doe by The Roys Report, alleged that for approximately three years, from 1996 to 1999, Bickle paid for her apartment, gave her a key to his office and engaged in every sexual act with her except copulation. She said the IHOPKC founder wooed her with Scripture when she was just 19 and he was 42, then made her a kept woman for several years as he established his now popular ministry.

IHOPKC founding member Dwayne Roberts, former IHOPKC Executive Leadership Team member Brian Kim and former Forerunner Church Pastor Wes Martin revealed in a joint October statement that they were the ones who first confronted IHOPKC leaders about the allegations against Bickle spanning "several decades."

They alleged that before meeting with IHOPKC's leadership team, they attempted to discuss the allegations directly with Bickle "in the spirit of Matthew 18:15-17" but were rebuffed. They claimed that Bickle also attempted to intimidate, isolate, manipulate and discredit his alleged victims.

In its "Report on Initial Findings," IHOPKC's executive leadership team said they treated the allegations against Bickle as credible and asked him to step away from public ministry when they were first confronted with the allegations on Oct. 24.

The IHOPKC leaders said they identified five of some eight women who the complaint group alleges are Bickle's victims and found the evidence thin. Three of the alleged victims called the allegations "lies.'" One of the alleged victims refused to communicate with the attorneys for the ministry. Only Jane Doe was found credible.

Volz said IHOPKC still had not gotten buy-in from the advocate group into their current investigation, but the ministry is working on it.

"Though we don't know the details, we know that the investigator has conducted numerous interviews with individuals who claim to have information related to the allegations against Mike Bickle, but we also know that she has not been permitted to speak to any of the alleged victims or members of the advocate group and as a result, IHOPKC still has not been able to verify the allegations that were presented by the advocate group last October," Volz said.

"IHOPKC wants the truth. We're going to get the truth no matter what it is. But the reality is this: in order for this to work, there really are two requirements that we need to see met. The first, the investigation must have the ability to be truly independent and we have that. But No. 2, the investigation must legitimately appear to those as truly independent to those that are involved," he explained.

"Those are related but not identical concepts, so we have No. 1 covered. We have an independent investigator, but No. 2 is the crux; we need community buy-in," the David House director said.

"IHOP's conviction is that a complete investigation should be conducted into the allegations of misconduct, and we believe our investigator would be able to accomplish this, but the advocate group does not feel comfortable with our approach, and we want them to feel comfortable.

"We cannot verify the allegations against Mike Bickle without their cooperation, and this community cannot find rest until it has the truth about those allegations."

Volz said he and Fuller have been working with the advocate group to establish trust in their process, and the David House Agency "has been working privately with the consultant of the advocate group on a step-by-step approach toward a mutually agreed upon investigation moving forward."

"This would be one that the alleged victims would have the ability to agree on and accept. To be clear we have not yet reached an agreement, but we are hopeful that we will," Volz said.

The independent investigation into Bickle's behavior is being conducted by attorney Rosalee McNamara, who was hired by the ministry. She previously issued a statement saying she is "free from any influence by any individual or organization, including IHOPKC."

Volz said that as a testament to her independence when the investigation is done, it will be released to the public by the investigators.

"IHOPKC's independent investigator has been hard at work for six weeks. She has been retained to conduct a truly independent investigation, and she has the qualifications to find out the truth," Volz said.

"IHOPKC has also confirmed that a final report will be released directly from the investigator. That means that IHOPKC is not going to have the ability to see the report first and edit the content before it gets released. It will be independently and directly released from the investigator."

IHOPKC also pledges to "implement any and all policy changes procedures and cultural changes to ensure that IHOPKC does not travel down this difficult road again."
Home News Joyce Carol Oates calls the Bible 'work of fiction,' 'fertile ground for hypocrisy'

A notable author is facing criticism and allegations of bigotry for describing the Bible as a work of fiction and fertile ground for hypocrisy.

In a Jan. 11 post on X, author Joyce Carol Oates responded to podcast co-host Sam Adler-Bells suggestion that she needs to read the Bible by declaring, The [B]ible, as you call it, is a work of fiction; or rather, an anthology of fictions.

She added, It is not the [B]ible for much of the worlds population and those who claim it as their own select those verses that appeal to them while ignoring other verses. She concluded by characterizing the Bible as fertile ground for hypocrisy.

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Oates remarks about the Bible followed her reaction to a post from writer and podcaster Matthew Sitman, who co-hosts the Know Your Enemy podcast with Adler-Bell, proclaiming that Widows, orphans, prisoners  no Christian can, without doing great violence to Scripture, get around the extremely clear obligations we have to such people. In response, Oates asked widows, orphans, prisoners  really, these entirely disparate groups have something in common?

Tom Fitton, president of the government watchdog Judicial Watch, took to X on Saturday to condemn her post as an example of ignorant, anti-Christian bigotry.

Tim Spivey, founder and lead pastor of New Vintage Church in Escondido, California, and adjunct professor of religion and philosophy at Pepperdine University, responded to her post on X Saturday by stating: Good to see religious bigotry is alive and well. Even if you think its fiction, its the most influential written work in history and it isnt close  for good reason, he added. Christians do breathtaking good around the world, despite your scorn and caricature.

The Rev. Ben Johnson, an Orthodox Christian who serves as senior editor of The Washington Stand, replied to a post from Clemson University visiting fellow Philip Bunn lamenting Oates decision to dunk on widows and orphans by identifying her statement as minimizing the impact of a book that has sold infinitely more copies than all the books youve written combined.

Podcast host and author Kale Zelden characterized Oates post about the Bible as an example of how famous public intellectuals out themselves as ignorant lightweights.

As other X users took issue with Oates claim, she continued to double down with additional assertions casting doubts on the Bibles authenticity. In one post published later Thursday, Oates insisted, Its pointless to try to reason with persons for whom blind faith is an ideal. She added that what is particularly exasperating is that the [B]ible is cited haphazardly & arbitrarily as vindication for virtually anything.

A subsequent post from Oates took a dig at Christians intelligence, particularly that of Christians who support former President Donald Trump: Why is it the [B]ible? In fact only a small portion of Christians believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible & they are also likely to believe that T***p is heralding the Second Coming.

In another post published Thursday, Oates shared her opinion that the Hebrew Bible & the New Testament are two separate gatherings of writings by various persons over a considerable period of time while stressing that those who want to believe that these are divine books are welcome to their belief.

Over the years, Oates has developed a reputation as a prominent atheist. When accepting the 2007 Humanist of the Year Award at the 66th annual Conference of the American Humanist Association, Oates outlined how it has always been something of a mystery to me that intelligent, educated men and women  as well as the uneducated  can have faith in an invisible and nonexistent God.

While she clarified that she was not averse to acknowledging her atheism, Oates maintained that as soon as you declare that you are an atheist, its like somebody declaring that he is the son of God; it arouses a lot of antagonism. She stressed that she had no desire to confront and be antagonistic to people when asked if she identified as an atheist and why nobody uses the A-word to describe her.

In a 2009 interview with The New York Times Magazine, Oates reflected on her Catholic upbringing, recalling how I could never take the idea of religion very seriously. However, in a Friday post on X, Oates said its embarrassing to admit that I was very impressed at a young age by the [B]ible & learned all one need know about the male ego  self-aggrandizing, self-regarding, self-preening & even self-begetting in Genesis, Chap. 5.
Home News Lil Nas X apologizes amid backlash for depicting himself as Jesus: 'Messed up really bad'

Rapper Montero Lamar Hill, also known as Lil Nas X, apologized Monday amid backlash to recent material he released that prompted accusations of "mocking Christianity."

"I know I messed up really bad this time," Hill, who became famous for his 2018 hit single "Old Town Road," said in an Instagram video. "I can act unbothered all I want, but it's definitely taken a mental toll on me. I'm not some evil demon guy trying to destroy everybody's values and stuff like that. That's not me."

Hill, who recently claimed to be entering his "Christian era," issued the apology on the heels of the release of his new single "J Christ." The music video of the song, which suggests his career comeback is akin to Jesus rising from the dead, depicts him on a cross and also evokes biblical imagery such as Jacob's Ladder and Noah's Flood. The video closes by quoting 2 Corinthians 5:17.

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In the lead-up to the single's release, Hill tweeted an image of himself being lifted on a cross and also published a video on Instagram and TikTok that depicted him dressed as Jesus while he mockingly partook of the Lord's Supper in a church.

Hill tweeted a fake acceptance letter to Liberty University last week that appeared to show he had been accepted to the Evangelical institution next fall for a "dual concentration in Christian leadership and biblical studies."

A spokesperson for Liberty confirmed to The Christian Post at the time that the letter was not real.

Hill said in his recent apology on Instagram that he understands religion is "a very sensitive topic for a lot of people," but maintained that he "didn't mean to mock; this wasn't like a f you to you people.  It was literally me saying I'm back like Jesus."

Regarding the recent video that showed him guzzling communion wine and pouring the wafers of the eucharist down his throat, Hill said he "thought that video was going to be the video to lighten the mood."

Saying he didn't understand the symbolism of the Lord's Supper, Hill said, "I didn't understand the reality of what it is  but I do apologize for that. I will say I am sorry for that. That was overboard."

In an apparent reference to a scene in the "J Christ" music video that shows him fighting Satan in a ring, Hill said he thought it showed him "clearly not being on the side of the devil in that video" and that he felt it was evident "there was an understanding there that I am not like trying to diss Christianity."

Hill drew criticism for his promo material from Christians, including fellow rappers Bryson Gray and Korey Yeshua, who accused him of mocking Christians.

"People will defend this because they worship these celebrities," Yeshua said in a TikTok video last week. "They have made idols out of these celebrities. People need to realize there is a spiritual war happening between the light and the dark, between good and evil."

In an Instagram post last Thursday, Gray hit back at those who suggest Christians and conservatives should ignore Hill's behavior because he is using it "to promote his album and get clout."

Gray urged Christians instead to rebuke Hill, suggesting the rapper would have faced harsh punishment if he had done what he was doing in biblical times.

"I'm seeing many Christians and conservatives saying that 'Christians shouldn't give Lil Nas X any attention because he's only blaspheming and mocking Christ to promote his album and to get clout," Gray said. "They're right about what Lil Nas X is trying to do. But, they are completely wrong about how Christians should respond."

"All biblical Christians, we should be using Lil Nas X in two ways. One: Lil Nas X should be used for us to rally Christians up. Because if you're a Christian and you're not calling out the clear blasphemy. And I'm tired of people calling out stuff in the weak ways: 'I will pray for you brother.' Lil Nas X is not a brother. In biblical times, he would've got smoked instantly," he continued.

"Lil Nas X needs pure rebuke right now. And Christians need to be rebuking him. So we should be using Lil Nas X to bring the body of Christ that is so fractured and separated and all over the place [together]. We should be rallying behind each other to call out sin and to defend our Lord and Savior," Gray added.

Gray told Fox News Digital that he believes Lil Nas X is potentially a "reprobate" as described in Romans 1, which teaches that such behavior is a sign of divine judgment.

The imagery in Hill's music video drew applause from David Harris, a magister with the Church of Satan, who called it "fantastic," according to TMZ.

Harris previously praised Hill for implementing occult imagery in his media campaigns, such as when he released 666 limited-edition pairs of "Satan shoes" in 2021 to promote his song "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)," which also featured demonic themes such as giving a lap dance to Satan in Hell.
Home News Parents of 'miracle baby' born the size of a soda can 'grateful to God' as child continues to improve

A premature baby born roughly the size of a soda can is reportedly continuing to thrive over half a year after she came into the world before 26 weeks gestation, and her family continues to have hope that her condition will improve.

Ellyannah Lopez weighed about 12 ounces when she was born at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles to Cecia Juarez and Boris Lopez last year. The little girl is one of the smallest babies medical professionals at Cedars-Sinai had ever seen, and her parents could not even hold her for 54 days after she was born due to her frailty.

As KABC reported last Tuesday, the neonatal intensive care unit at Cedars-Sinai is equipped to handle premies like Lopez, who was the first baby to require a high-frequency ventilator known as a jet. Lopez currently weighs 12 pounds and is 7 months old, according to the outlet.

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Her parents tried for eight years to have a child. Just as they were about to seek fertility care, Cecia Juarez became pregnant.

"No medication required, so we knew that our baby would be nothing short of a miracle, right?" the mother said in a statement published by KABC.

At 20 weeks gestation, Juarez's blood pressure became dangerously high, and her unborn daughter was not receiving food through the umbilical cord. During pregnancy, nutrients are transferred to babies through the umbilical cord.

Doctors feared that the lives of Juarez and her child were in danger, and the couple worked with their medical team to deliver the child, according to KABC.

"We were going to give her all the chances," Juarez said.

Ellyannah Lopez is smiling and alert even though she has not been able to go home and continues to receive care in the neonatal intensive care unit.

"We're grateful to God for giving us this precious miracle baby," the father, Boris Lopez, told Fox 11, adding that "she's getting better every day."

Dr. Seth Langston of Cedar-Sinai Guerin Children's told KABC that less than 1% of all births are delivered before 26 weeks. The doctor noted that one of the challenges for babies born this early is that their lungs are often underdeveloped, and they require breathing support.

"She was born so small that no one, none of the doctors in that operating room, thought that she would cry," Juarez said. "And when she did, I could hear everybody saying, 'Is that that her?'"

Langston says the baby still has a way to go, noting that Ellyannah Lopez is still working on her breathing and needs to learn how to eat. According to the doctor, this is normal for premature babies, and said these children have "been through so much that they just have a lot of ground to catch up on."

While the premature baby still faces some health issues, the parents continue to have hope, and the couple believes that her condition will keep improving in 2024.

"No matter how small your beginning might be, there's great things ahead of you," Juarez said to her baby girl. "And I'll love you whoever you grow up to be."

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, preterm birth affected about one of every 10 infants born in the United States in 2022. While the CDC reported that the preterm birth rate declined 1% in 2022 to 10.4%, preterm birth rates continued to differ by race and ethnicity.

"In 2022, the rate of preterm birth among African-American women (14.6%) was about 50 percent higher than the rate of preterm birth among white or Hispanic women (9.4% and 10.1% respectively)," the CDC stated.

The signs that a woman may be going into labor early include contractions, abdominal cramps, pelvic pressure, and cramps that feel like a menstrual period.
Home News US Catholic bishops warn 'lives of people of faith' at risk in 2024

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Religious Liberty warns that attacks on churches constitute the largest threat to religious liberty in 2024 and could threaten the very lives of people of faith.

The USCCBs Committee on Religious Liberty released its annual report, titled The State of Religious Liberty in the United States on Tuesday. The document acts as a year in review highlighting developments on issues related to religious liberty such as abortion, human sexuality and immigration across all three branches of government as well as national trends in politics, culture, and law.

The report concluded with a list outlining the five largest threats to religious liberty in 2024 and five ways to respond. The Committee, which works to strengthen and sustain religious freedom by assisting the U.S. bishops, individually and collectively, to teach about religious freedom to the faithful and the broader public, and to promote and defend religious freedom in law and policy, identified attacks on houses of worship as the largest threat to religious liberty in 2024.

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Were this threat limited to a continuation of the property crimes, that have been perpetrated on Catholic churches over recent years, perhaps it would not be the committees chief concern, the report stated. However, boiling tensions over the Israel-Hamas conflict have elevated the chances of a terrorist attack on a synagogue or mosque.

As the report suggested, Catholic churches have found themselves subject to violence and vandalism following Politicos publication of the leaked draft decision in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, which determined that the U.S. Constitution does not contain a right to abortion. Catholic churches likely became targets of pro-abortion activists outraged by the draft Supreme Court decision due to the Catholic Church's outspoken opposition to abortion.

Churches vandalized in the immediate aftermath of the May 2022 publication of the leaked draft include: Holy Rosary Church in Houston, Texas; St. Bartholomew the Apostle Catholic Church in Katy, Texas; St. Josephs Priory in Armada, Michigan; St. John XXIII Catholic Parish in Fort Collins, Colorado, and the Sacred Heart of Mary Church in Boulder, Colorado.

While most instances of vandalism involved the spray-painting of graffiti on church facilities, the tabernacle was stolen in one case.

The attacks on Catholic churches continued in the months following the publication of the official Dobbsdecision in June 2022. Targeted churches included Holy Family Catholic Church in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and St. John Neumann Church in Reston, Virginia.

The violence and vandalism directed at houses of worship extends beyond Catholic churches and dates back to before the Dobbs decision. The Family Research Council, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group, published a report last year that found more than 400 churches were attacked between 2018 and 2022. Additional research from the socially conservative think-tank found that 69 churches were attacked in the first three months of 2023.

The Committee warned that the highly charged atmosphere around the 2024 election might lead far-left extremists to escalate the severity of attacks on Catholic churches, and far-right extremists may view Catholic churches and Catholic Charities facilities as targets for anti-immigrant sentiment or, worse, violent action.

The issue of abortion, seen as a motivating factor behind the targeting of Catholic churches, is expected to loom large in the 2024 election.

Voters in several states could find themselves voting on ballot measures seeking to enshrine a right to abortion in state constitutions, including: Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota. Pro-abortion groups have sought to pass such referendums following the Dobbs decision and have seen the ballot questions pass in California, Michigan, Vermont and Ohio.

The states that could vote on similar measures as early as this year all enacted strong pro-life protections in the wake of the Dobbs decision.

Noting that the Committee was founded in response to increasing legal threats that the U.S. bishops discerned at the time, the report cited the obligation to decry foreseeable threats to the very lives of people of faith as unusual: There is no greater threat to religious liberty than for ones house of worship to become a place of danger, and the country sadly finds itself in a place where that danger is real.

The Committee listed the possibility of doctors at Catholic hospitals being forced to perform elective trans procedures on children due to the federal governments interpretation of the Affordable Care Act as the second biggest threat to religious liberty in 2024.

Concerns about federal law possibly restricting the ability of Catholic nonprofits to minister to illegal immigrants, the potential use of federal law to force people to conform to the orthodoxy of gender ideology, and the prospect of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act forcing employers to give their employees paid leave to obtain an abortion rounded out the Religious Liberty Committees list of the five largest threats to religious liberty in 2024.
Home Opinion 10 guidelines to repair relationships

If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them (John 13:17)



On the wall of my study are the words of Henry Drummond that Ive tried to live by for 50 years: I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now, let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.



I also live by the acronym H.O.P.E.: Helping Other People Everyday.



In a world increasingly characterized by what Jesus described at the end of the age, people offended, betraying and hating (Matt.24:10), how we need to pay particular attention to doing good by nurturing healthy relationships and repairing broken ones.



In His high priestly prayer before the Cross, Jesus prayed that we would prioritize guarding our unity and love for one another so the world would believe that He came from God (John 17:21).



The biblical directive is crystal clear: Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all (Rom.12:16-18).



So what are we supposed to do as flawed folks (we all err [offend] in many ways (James 3:2)) when we encounter inevitable relational conflict?



Back to basics



We remind ourselves that the cost of true discipleship is to deny self, pick up our cross, and follow Him in obedience (Matt.15:24) living not by emotion but by decision. We remember that if we dont forgive others Jesus said neither will our heavenly Father forgive us (Matt.6:15). And there are no limits to forgiveness as Jesus said it is 707 (Matt.18:22) Gulp! Its for His glory and our good.



When were at odds with someone in our marriage, family, church, ministry, or business, lets jettison excuses that rationalize that things will just go away as we live in denial. If we dont correct it, well reject it! So, lets anchor ourselves in the attitude of Jesus.



Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interest, but also to the interest of others (Phil.2-4).



10 guidelines

Consider posting these and passing them along to your church, ministry and loved ones to pro-actively pre-empt problems.



1. Affirm that getting reconciled is a directive, not an elective.



Jesus said if youre coming to worship and theres an outstanding offense with someone, leave your gift and go get things right (Matt. 5:23) and do it respectfully and redemptively looking to yourself in all humility (Gal. 6:1). This requires BOTH individuals to demonstrate Christlike conduct: humility, godly sorrow for sin and real repentance.



Bill, you and I have known each other for a while and I really value our relationship and want to make things right starting with me where theres been some breakdown between us. Can we talk and lets face where we failed and lets make things right." (Note: this is not done via text!]).



2. Reject passivity and act intentionally to thwart the accuser of the brethren (Rev.12:10) from poisoning others with a root of bitterness that can defile many (Heb. 12:15).



Remember how Absalom, son of David, engendered division and defilement by receiving whispering evil reports and allowing them to spread?



3. Conduct ourselves in a godlike manner, being swift to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger (James 1:19).



The fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion (Prv.18:2).



4. Honor due process coming in a spirit of inquiry not accusation knowing the first to present his case seems right until the other comes and examines him (Prv.18:17).



5. Purpose to give people the benefit of the doubt and be loving, avoiding inflammatory, categorical statements (you always you never youre a blankety-blank) that are inconsistent with charitable conversation.



Love, suffers long, and is kind  love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things  For we know in part  When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, and I thought as a child  So now abide faith, hope and love, these three, but the greatest of these is love (1 Cor.13).



6. Resist all prideful, self-righteous attitudes and actions in dialogue remembering that we are all sinners saved by grace.

Corrie ten Boom, whose family members were all killed by the Nazis, encountered a former SS guard from the Ravensbrook prison camp who asked for her forgiveness. She lovingly forgave him saying, Theres a Hitler in all of us.



The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things, who then can know it? (Jer. 17:9-10).



All the ways of a man seem right in his own eyes but the Lord weighs the heart (Proverbs 21:2).



7. Uphold the directive of Jesus to meet privately and personally to handle apparent sinful conduct thereby steering clear of gossip (sharing private information with people who are neither part of the problem nor part of the solution) and slander (telling information that may or may not be true but is designed to harm someones reputation).



The Apple corporation has a policy in its culture that they will follow this procedure as a requirement for its employees.



8. After thorough interaction if we are at an impasse, we will follow the instruction of Jesus and humble ourselves to seek mature Biblical counsel to help resolve the conflict (Matt.18:15-16).



9. In repairing relationships, we will intentionally extend mercy to one another differentiating between an isolated incident and an ongoing pattern of behavior.



Grace is giving people what they dont deserve but mercy is not giving people what they do deserve. Scripture tells us, Mercy triumphs over judgment (Jam.2:13) and Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy (Matt.5:7). Well reap what we sow!



10. Celebrating God-given diversity within the Christian community, we pledge to be gracious in recognizing different preferences, personalities and positions on grey areas disputable matters (Roman 14) and not let them be a source of division.

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None of us has it all together, but together we have it all!



We make allowances for one another because we love one another (Eph. 4:2) (J.B. Phillips)



Heres the deal



Amid a generation experiencing incredible division and hatred, may we consecrate ourselves to repair relationships to glorify God, receive His blessing, and block Satans schemes.



Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity  for there the Lord has commanded the blessing, even life forever (Psalms 133:1,3).
Home Opinion Dining across culture war divides

Last week I did something Ive been doing for many years, and that was to prepare a homemade feast for guests, several of whom see the world in a very different way than I do.

Among my five dinner guests on this particular evening were a lifelong Democrat mom from the Bay area of California; a dad who has suffered an excruciating loss; another man (whose heart is huge) who is married to a man; and an extremely brave woman who is married to a trans-identified female spouse. Also a dinner guest that evening was Lisa Selin Davis, whom I have heard humorously describe herself as a liberal hairy-legged feminist atheist Jew from Brooklyn.

As for me, Im a socially conservative millennial man, originally from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, who has lived and worked in the Washington, DC-area since 2008, except for a three-year hiatus in northern California. Im also a theologically orthodox evangelical Christian, and since the summer of 2016, I have been a journalist with The Christian Post.

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While Im full of opinions that one might expect from a typical conservative evangelical, I have all kinds of fraught feelings about politics nowadays and have for several years. I have even more complicated (and often dreadful) feelings about certain churches, theological tribes, and denominations. Many things that used to make sense to me years ago now no longer do, and being a journalist exposed to behind-the-scenes realities has caused my thinking to modulate in some unconventional, surprising directions, particularly given how I have seen some leaders manipulatively wield power within religious organizations for their own self-centered ends. But thats a multi-layered conversation for another day.

The menu last week was on the fancier side because I wanted to do something special for these particular guests. I made Coq Au Vin over mashed potatoes along with a side salad of baby greens and arugula topped with toasted walnuts, shaved parmesan, pickled red onions, thin slices of Bosc pears, and drizzled with red wine vinaigrette. The Cabernet Sauvignon also flowed liberally. For dessert, pumpkin cobbler with vanilla ice cream was in order.

These guests were all people I have gotten to know over the last few years through strange yet providential circumstances. I value each one of them, and I admire the breadth of the work they have done, much of which has come at great personal cost to them. Interestingly enough, despite being from all over the country, they all had some degree of connection to each other due to some mutually shared experiences. It made me smile to see all the political lefties in the room chatting up a storm with my three conservative philosopher housemates, all of whom are devout Catholics. After dessert concluded, I gave each of my guests a small gift that was individually tailored to them and was a reflection of the work theyve done that I appreciated. It was a joyous occasion from beginning to end.

Why have I been doing this, you ask? And how do I do it in light of such deep and profound differences among us? Its actually not that complicated. As my past and present housemates can attest, Im an unabashed foodie, I have a knack for hospitality, and extending it is an expression of normal life. I may as well give away what I love. And who doesnt love to eat?

And it just so happens to dovetail with my faith. As a Christian, Ive been given a ministry of reconciliation that is defined by not counting the trespasses [of others] against them (2 Corinthians 5:19). I did nothing to deserve God's mercy or grace, and so in the same measure Ive received it, I hope to extend it to everyone I meet, no matter who they are, what they do, or how they thinkeven if God makes no sense to them. And especially if theyve been wounded by religion and there are, sadly, many such people who fit that description today.

Its not lost on me how polarized America is at present, and Ive resolved to not contribute to that polarization, even as my faith simultaneously requires me to be bold and say things at times that some would deem divisive and polarizing. There is an inescapable tension here and I will not pretend as though its easy because its not. Indeed, I have had to make peace with the fact that many in the secular West will always regard me as a peculiar, religiously backward dinosaur. Being misunderstood is unpleasant, but I have learned to accept it.

The words of two philosophers come to mind as I ponder the current state of affairs and why I try, however imperfectly, to conduct myself as I do in these socially chaotic times.

In his 1910 book, Whats Wrong With the World, G.K. Chesterton wrote: All true friendliness begins with fire and food and drink and the recognition of rain or frost.

He further observed that every human soul has in a sense to enact for itself the gigantic humility of the Incarnation. Every man must descend into the flesh to meet mankind.

Several years before Chesterton penned those words, German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said: I might believe in the Redeemer if his followers looked more redeemed.

I have no idea how redeemed I look in the minds of Nietzschean-like observers of Christians today and maybe I shouldnt even care. Depending on who you ask, Nietzsche was either an obnoxious gadfly with an ideological ax to grind or a voice worth considering in light of his uncomfortably on-target criticisms of the professing believers of his era. I lean toward the latter view even as Id readily dispute his infamous line, God is dead.

In my line of work though, Ive seen behind the Religious Right curtain enoughnot referring to the many great pastors and churches out there, mind youto understand why many revile those who believe as I do. I, too, am disgusted by much of what Ive seen and the hypocrisy, abusive narcissism, and relational dysfunction in much of the Church is a stench to me. If all of that represents God (I maintain it doesnt), then maybe Nietzsche was right.

But maybe Chesterton was onto something that provides an antidote for what ails the nation as we head into what is sure to be a tumultuous season. If in enacting the gigantic humility of the Incarnation we can descend into the flesh to meet mankind, preconceived and misguided notions about who other people are might break down. We dont have a fireplace at our house, but food and drink sure do cultivate friendliness.

My lefty dinner guests who were chowing down on Coq Au Vin and pumpkin cobbler around my table the other night recounted how they have seen behind the Woke Left curtain and they detest it in the same way I loathe the rot in my sphere. The parallels were uncanny.

Not to sound too Pollyanna here, but maybe we arent so different after all.



_____________________



This essay originally appeared on the BROADview substack, the newsletter of Lisa Selin Davis, and has been slightly modified for publication on CP Voices.
Home Opinion The shifting pro-life landscape in a post-Roe America

Abortion is the leading cause of death in America and around the world, with more than 44.6 million abortion deaths worldwide in 2023. The most tragic part about this staggering statistic is that each of these deaths was unnecessary and entirely preventable.

January is Sanctity of Human Life month, as well as the anniversary of January 22, 1973, the day the United States Supreme Court handed down the infamous Roe v. Wade opinion that led to the death of around 64 million unborn babies in America. This legal precedent that lasted nearly half a century was sanctioned by a nation founded on the promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. How can a country founded on these principles deem infanticide a constitutionally protected right?

Nearly 50 years later, on June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court made right such a grave wrong by declaring in its Dobbs decision that Roe was egregiously wrongly decided from the start. This was the starting line for a new phase of the pro-life movement as the fight for life shifted to the states.

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Since Roe was overturned, we celebrate the many lives saved as a result of pro-life policies enacted in life-affirming states. A study found around 32,000 babies lives were saved in states with abortion bans in the first six months of 2023, and births rose by 2.3% on average in states with abortion bans. Pro-life laws save lives, and data shows an increase in births in each state with an abortion ban.

The state of a Post-Roe America

In most states where abortion is still legal, however, abortion rates increased, according to research from the Guttmacher Institute. In pro-abortion states that border states with abortion bans, the increase in abortion rates was even more apparent. These increased rates reflect a trend of women in pro-life states crossing state lines to abort their children. The New York Times cited how Illinois estimated abortion rate rose by nearly 70% in 2023 compared with 2020. In its neighboring state of Indiana where abortion is more restricted, the estimated rate of abortion decreased.

Some women are increasingly turning to abortion pills, which are incredibly dangerous, especially when administered at home. Abortion pills are now responsible for the majority of abortions in America, and the United States Supreme Court will rule on limits to the abortion drug mifepristone this year.

It certainly doesnt help that the Biden administration is the most pro-abortion administration in U.S. history, as it tries to force taxpayer-funded abortion, appoints pro-abortion extremists to top positions, endorses abortion until birth legislation, and repeals pro-life policies. The Biden White House is also finding backdoor ways to fund and facilitate abortion, such as paying for service members and their family members to travel out of state to obtain abortions.

I am not sharing these facts to discourage but rather to inform Americans of the reality of the pro-life fight in a post-Roe America. Were navigating uncharted waters, and in order to see life win, we need to know what were up against and how to approach this new and shifting landscape in the fight for life.

Abortion on the ballot

In some ways, the pro-life movement has lost ground since the Dobbs decision as certain states have enshrined radicalized abortion access into law in their state. In November, Ohio was the first red state to codify abortion in its state constitution. Since the Dobbs decision in 2022, the pro-life movement is zero-for-seven in abortion referenda nationwide, with losses in California, Michigan, Vermont, Kentucky, Montana, Kansas, and Ohio.

While Ohio, California, Michigan, and Vermont are the only states that voted to codify abortion in their state constitutions, states like Kentucky, Montana, and Kansas failed to support pro-life protections in ballot initiatives. States like Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota are currently being targeted by activists for abortion to appear on the ballot in 2024.

What is most frustrating about abortion ballot measures is that theyre often vague, misleading, and deceptively worded, which is confusing and causes even moderately pro-life voters to side with abortion. Thats why we are fighting back against this strategy.

In February, I am representing Florida Voters Against Extremism (FLVAE) at the Florida Supreme Court, arguing against the deceptively worded abortion amendment that could appear on Floridas ballot in November. This amendment would codify unrestricted abortion access in Floridas constitution.

The amendment on the ballot is unlawful because it violates Florida law that a voter initiative must be clear and unambiguous, not deceptive, and limited to a single-subject. The Florida proposed amendment intentionally leaves undefined critical words such as necessary, health, healthcare provider, and viability, and includes pre-viability abortions and health in the same proposal. These two distinct issues cannot be put into a single ballot initiative.

The amendment summary language on the ballot also lies about the amendments actual language. While the ballot summary says the amendment would not affect parental consent laws, the actual language would end all parental consent and allow abortion for any reason, at any time, up to birth.

The bottom line is that this abortion ballot initiative is unlawful and must be rejected. I am hopeful the Florida Supreme Court will rule against the amendment. Liberty Counsel is also working with states nationwide to prevent abortion from appearing on state ballots in misleading ways like the tactics used by pro-abortion activists in Florida.

The path forward

While the overturning of Roe v. Wade was a huge win for life, it opened the door to the dark agenda of pro-abortion activists and how they will stop at nothing to allow the killing of unborn children and gaslight voters into supporting abortion. This is an issue that Christians simply cannot keep silent about if we believe the clump of cells in the womb is truly a human life (because it is).

Are we to stand idly by and let the genocide of the unborn continue? Or are we to advocate for life by promoting pro-life policies, voting for pro-life candidates, pursuing legal action against anti-life laws, educating others on the gruesome reality of abortion, encouraging a culture of life, pushing back on pro-abortion lies, supporting pregnancy resource centers, and caring for pregnant and new mothers and their babies?

The path forward to establishing pro-life protections and a culture of life in America starts with each and every one of us. And the fight for life in a post-Roe America has only just begun.
Chinese FM hails China-aided diplomatic academy in Tunisia as "new symbol of friendship"

Xinhua) 10:18, January 16, 2024

TUNIS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Monday that the newly unveiled International Diplomatic Academy of Tunis, the only diplomatic academy China has helped build in an Arab country, will become a new symbol and platform for China-Tunisia friendship.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while addressing the opening ceremony of the academy in the Tunisian capital that was attended by Tunisian President Kais Saied and Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar.

At the ceremony, Wang also called for efforts to promote the construction of an equal and orderly multipolar world and inclusive economic globalization that benefits all.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Home Opinion Who is working against Nigeria being labeled Countries of Particular Concern?

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently released lists of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) and Special Watch List (SWL) that designate countries with severe religious freedom violations. Surprisingly, Nigeria failed to make this list. Why this sudden change? If you recall, President Trump in 2020 included Nigeria in the list but President Biden removed it as soon as he assumed office.

What Nigerian Christians and people of goodwill all over the world do not understand is why it has become so difficult for the Biden administration to do the right thing. It is obvious that the religious freedom violations happening in Nigeria are just as bad or worse in some cases than what is happening in Burma, the Peoples Republic of China, Cuba, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Iran, and Pakistan, which are included on the CPC list. Why would Nigeria be excluded when, by all accounts, the horrors happening there are as bad if not worse than the countries listed above?

Christians in Nigeria are beginning to ask questions like, Who is working against Nigerias inclusion in the list of Countries of Particular Concern? Are there high-powered international conspiracies to annihilate Nigerian Christians?

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The Nigerian government has denied any violations of religious rights and has attributed the ongoing killings to herder-farmer conflicts. If this is true, how come priests are slaughtered not in the farms, but in their pastorates? How many of those priests and Christians owned farmlands? The Nigerian government has remained indifferent over the years about the severe violation of religious freedom in the country and has not told the world the truth. Either they are complicit in this persecution or the true powers responsible for these religious freedom violations have become their masters.

The United States government seems to believe the Nigerian government more than its own agencies like the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Recently, Abraham Cooper and Frederick A. Davie, the chairman and the vice chairman of USCIRF, respectively, commented: There is no justification as to why the State Department did not designate Nigeria or India as a Country of Particular Concern, despite its own reporting and statements. USCIRF calls on Congress to convene a public hearing on the failure of the State Department to follow our recommendations.

The growing violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief in Nigeria will not cease without international attention, and that is why the enemy has blinded the eyes and deafened the ears of those concerned with this recent scandal. Let all people who are pained by what is happening in Nigeria pray for God to touch the eyes and ears of those in authority in the United States.
Christian theology and identity politics

In a powerful article entitled 'Antisemitism and the Ideology of Oppression' published in the Times of Israel on 29 November last year, the American Jewish writer Jonathan Foxman addresses the question of why 'normal looking young Americans' had torn down posters of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October and smeared faeces on posters of kidnapped Israeli children.

In his article Foxman writes: "I struggled to understand this until I realized I was watching a generation of young progressives who have come to embrace a fundamentally different ideology. The something more I saw was zealotry. The people justifying Hamas' attacks, even cheering their atrocities, are the zealots of an ideology that looks at the world and sees only oppression. Wealth and power have relevance because they reveal oppression. Skin colour has relevance because white is the colour of oppression and colonization. In this ideology, everyone must be either oppressor or oppressed, good or evil. It is always 100% the one or 100% the other.

"This ideology makes the world easy to understand. There's no need to study the complexities of the Middle East when you can just rely on the transitive property of equality. If A = B and B = C, then A = C. If Jews are wealthy and powerful and the wealthy and powerful are oppressors, then Jews are oppressors. If colonized peoples are darker skinned than their colonizers and Palestinians are darker skinned than Jews, then Jews are colonizers. If oppressors and colonizers are evil and Jews are oppressors and colonizers, then Jews are evil."

A similar analysis for the causes of contemporary American antisemitism is put forward by the respected American psychologist Jonathan Haidt. In an article published on the website After Babel entitled 'Why antisemitism sprouted so quickly on campus' Haidt notes: "In the days after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, university campuses immediately distinguished themselves as places set apart from the rest of American societyzones where different moral rules applied. Even before Israel began its military response, the loudest voices on campus were not university leaders condemning the attacks and vowing solidarity with their Jewish and Israeli students. Instead, the world saw faculty members and student organizations celebrating the attacks."

He notes that what has followed has been "hundreds of antisemitic incidents on campuses including vandalism of Jewish sites, physical intimidation, physical assault, and death threats against Jewish students, often from other students". The cause of this antisemitism, Haidt argues, is that American students have been taught "to see everything in terms of intersecting bipolar axes where one end of each axis is marked 'privilege' and the other is 'oppression'".

"Since 'privilege' is defined as the 'power to dominate' and cause 'oppression,' these axes are inherently moral dimensions. The people on top are bad, and the people down below are good. This sort of teaching seems likely to encode the Untruth of Us Versus Them directly into students' cognitive schemas: Life is a battle between good people and evil people."

In this way of looking at the world, which is a development of Karl Marx's original teaching about class struggle, the good people/the oppressed are those who are economically deprived, women, and racial and sexual minorities. The bad people/oppressors are the economically powerful, men, white people, and those who are heterosexual and support traditional Christian views on marriage and sexual ethics.

As Foxman suggests, this ideology leads to contemporary antisemitism because Israelis (and by extension Jews in general) are seen as wealthy and white whereas the Palestinians are seen as dark skinned and poor. Therefore, Jews are the oppressors/bad people and the Palestinians are the oppressed/good people. What follows from this is that actions taken by Israel are seen as necessarily unjustified, whereas actions taken by the Palestinians are seen as necessarily justified.

Viewed objectively, this take on what is happening in the Middle East is unbelievably simplistic. It is simply not the case that all Israelis (or Jews in general) are white skinned immigrants from Europe, nor is it the case that all Israelis are wealthy, and all Palestinians are poor. The top leaders of Hamas, for example, are billionaires who live lives of luxury in Qatar. Furthermore, Palestinian society, and particularly Hamas-controlled Gaza, is much more restrictive of the rights of women and sexual minorities than the state of Israel. Thus, even on its own terms, the simplistic equation of Israelis (and Jews in general) being bad and Palestinians good makes no sense.

Furthermore, from the standpoint of Christian theology the whole idea of dividing the world into good people and bad people has to be seen as completely mistaken. The reason this is the case is that the Christian faith, based on the teaching of the Bible, holds that every human being, with the sole exception of Jesus Christ, is a bad person in the sense that they are a sinner against God and their neighbour.

This basic Christian conviction is well expressed in To be a Christian, the catechism published by the Anglican Church in North America in 2020. The section on 'Salvation' in this new catechism declares:

"1.What is the human condition? Though created good and made for fellowship with our Creator, humanity has been cut off from God by self-centred rebellion against him, leading to lawless living, guilt, shame, death, and the fear of judgement. This is the state of sin. (Genesis 3:113; Psalm 14:13; Matthew 15:1020; Romans 1:1823; 3:923)."

The key point to note is that all human beings are sinners. In the words of Paul in Romans 3:23 'all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.' This applies to rich and poor alike, men and women alike, white, black and brown people alike, and heterosexual people and sexual minorities alike.

The consequence of this fact is that although we can (and must) distinguish between the deeds that people perform and say that some are good and some are bad, we cannot divide the world into good and bad people.

We cannot say that we are good while others are bad. As Jesus made clear, all we can ever say is 'God be merciful to me a sinner' (Luke 18:13). We also cannot say of other people that X is good, and Y is bad. Viewed against God's standards, everyone is bad. Thus, the conflict in the Middle East is not between bad Israelis and good Palestinians (or conversely between bad Palestinians and good Israelis).

From what I have said thus far it might appear that Christianity takes a very pessimistic view of things since it says that we are all sinners and all we can look forward to is 'darkness, misery and eternal condemnation.' However, three further things need to be considered.

First, even if Christianity is pessimistic this does not mean that it is wrong. If we are honest about ourselves, we know that we do not live as we should and that therefore, to quote C S Lewis in his book Mere Christianity, if God exists and is absolutely good he 'must hate most of what we do.... He is our only possible ally, and we have made ourselves his enemies.'

Secondly, while insisting that we are all sinners, the Bible, and mainstream Christian theology following the Bible, has always insisted that because they have been created by God in his image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27) fallen women and men retain an awareness of the distinction between good and evil, and an ability, albeit limited, to perform morally good actions. It is because that is the case that it is realistic from a Christian point of view to seek to ask people to take action to at least mitigate the consequences of conflicts such as the current conflict in the Middle East. That is not asking for the impossible.

Thirdly, and most importantly, Christianity offers hope for everyone. To quote again from To be a Christian, the Gospel, or 'good news' that Christianity offers to anyone, whoever they are, and whatever they have done is that: "God forgives my sins and reconciles me to himself through his Son, Jesus Christ, whom he has given to the world as an undeserved gift of love. 'God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." ( John 3:16; see also Psalm 34; Zechariah 12:1013:2; Romans 3:2326).

In this world we shall never be completely free from sin, but through Christ God offers all human beings a supernatural new beginning that means that we begin to become free from the power of sin in this life and that one day we will be resurrected to enjoy a new life from God in which we will be completely free from sin and death forever.

This hope is more comprehensive than the best hopes offered by identity politics since it is offered to everyone and offers a total solution to all human problems, and unlike human political hopes, which may or may not come to pass, the Christian hope is certain since it is guaranteed by God himself.

So, what's the Christian message? Stop dividing people into good and bad, and accept that you, like all human beings are a sinner, but also accept God's supernatural offer of a comprehensive and eternal deliverance from sin, starting in this world and completed in the world to come.

Martin Davie is a lay Anglican theologian and Associate Tutor in Doctrine at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.
Street Preachers' Charter in development to prevent more arrests

A new charter is being developed after a number of high profile arrests and prosecutions involving street preachers.

The Christian Institute is drawing up the 'Street Preachers' Charter' in the hopes of reaching "an agreed understanding between police and preachers over freedom of speech, and to encourage 'best practice' on both sides".

Simon Calvert, Deputy Director of The Christian Institute, said: "Over many years, our in-house lawyer, Sam Webster, has provided advice and training to street preachers, working alongside respected organisations such as the Open Air Mission.

"Through the Street Preachers' Charter, we hope to appeal to those whom God has called to this public ministry, and to work with them to ensure they preach knowing their legal rights, and to help them as they witness on behalf of local churches.

"If we can establish a solid and professional charter from the side of the evangelists, this will benefit our discussions with police and local authorities as we try to help them improve religious literacy and the quality of their training for staff in how to engage with street preachers."

Just last week, street preacher Angus Cameron won a substantial payout from Police Scotland after he was wrongfully arrested while preaching in Glasgow city centre.

The 52-year-old former pastor was arrested in 2022 for 'breach of the peace with homophobic aggravation' following a single unsubstantiated complaint.

He was assisted in his challenge against his arrest by The Christian Institute and was last week vindicated after Police Scotland agreed to pay him 5,500 in damages along with 9,400 in legal costs.

Mr Cameron has donated the full amount of his compensation to The Christian Institute.

Commenting on his arrest, Mr Calvert said, "Angus's preaching was not targeting individuals; he did not use offensive language; he was not aggressive; he did not try to cause offence; he simply quoted the Bible. There was no criminality at all.

"The arresting officer mistakenly believed that because someone claimed to be 'offended' his preaching was therefore illegal. The arrest was wholly unnecessary and was carried out in a heavy-handed and inappropriate manner."

Street evangelists wishing to receive more information on the CI's planned Charter, as well as invitations to free training events, should email streetpreachers@christian.org.uk
UCF reports massive surge in violence against Christians in India

The United Christian Forum (UCF), a watchdog organisation dedicated to documenting instances of persecution against Christians in India, highlighted a disturbing surge in violence against the community.

A C Michael, the National Coordinator of UCF, expressed concern over the unsettling average of three incidents per day in the last week of 2023.

This spike follows an already alarming trend, with an average of two incidents daily leading up to Christmas, resulting in a staggering total of 720 incidents throughout the year. The UCF's helpline (1-800-208-4545) received distressing reports of 23 incidents during the final seven days of last year.

Uttar Pradesh led with ten reported cases, followed by three each in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Punjab. Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan also reported one incident each.

On 2023 Christmas day, as church leaders attended festivities at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence, five pastorsidentified only by their first names, Rakesh, Arun, Ram, Ramkishore and Ashokfaced arrest for conducting a worship service. Simultaneously, three individuals were arrested in Uttar Pradesh under the Freedom of Religion Act (FORA).

Chhattisgarh witnessed a denial of burial rights, a pastor in Karnataka was physically assaulted, and a family in the same region faced excommunication, ration denial and threats from villagers. Punjab reported an incident where a female pastor was stopped from conducting a church service, facing threats and abuse.

In Andhra Pradesh, a mob attacked and physically assaulted a church service in the Visakhapatnam district. Even in the national capital, Delhi, a pastor was forcefully prevented from hosting a Christmas prayer meeting.

In response to these alarming developments, the UCF has issued a statement urging immediate attention and action to safeguard the religious freedom and safety of the Christian community in India.

 Christian Today India
Organizatia HelpAge International contracteaza un formator/ o formatoare / o echipa de formatori sau o companie ce va presta servicii de instruire si consultanta privind dezvoltarea activitatilor generatoare de venituri pentru persoanele in etate
Fundraising income at the Trussell Trust increased by 71% to 55.6m last year, according to recently filed documents.

Accounts for the financial year ending March 2023 show that fundraised income accounted for 95% of the charitys total income of 58.0m, up from 34.2m the previous year.

It comes after the charity launched its first-ever emergency appeal in late 2022 .

The charity recorded an even higher income of 57.8m in 2020-21 , boosted by mainstream media coverage during the year.

First emergency appeal

The largest contributor to the Trussell Trusts fundraised income came from public donations, which sat at 35.5m, an increase of 14.5m on the year prior.

The charity, which operates a network of over 1,400 food bank centres, received 450,000 in legacies for the financial year, a five-fold increase on the 77,000 it received the year prior.

It told Civil Society that it had received a few gifts over 30,000 and one over 100,000.

In October 2022, the charity launched its first-ever emergency appeal which resulted in the charity making a surplus of 2.8m, according to the accounts.

As a result, total reserves for the charity were higher than planned at 35.5m.

The emergency appeal raised more than 15m overall, the charity told Civil Society. Due to the appeal not ending until March 2023, the money has been spent on its cause already and will be displayed in its next annual report.

Due to the widespread recognition across the country of the challenges faced by people experiencing hunger and poverty, we saw incredible support for our cause, the accounts state.

The generosity of supporters, including the response to our first ever emergency appeal, surpassed our expectations and therefore resulted in a small surplus of 2.8m.

This surplus will be invested into our strategic work across future years.

Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, told Civil Society in an exclusive interview: We launched our first-ever emergency appeal last year and we saw a really generous response to that.

So our income has gone up again, which is great and allowed us to continue expanding at that higher level to meet the needs of our food banks. Because a lot of that money came in at the end of the year, weve carried it into this year and we're spending it now.

120% increase in need over five years

The Trussell Trust reported that food banks in its network saw a record level of need this financial year, with a 120% increase over the past five years.

In the year to March 2023, a record 3 million emergency food parcels were distributed to people across the UK through Trussell Trust food banks, the most it has ever distributed.

More than one million of these food parcels were given to children, over double the amount distributed to children by the charity in 2017-2018.

In December 2022, a food parcel was distributed from the charitys network every eight seconds, the accounts state.

The accounts read: These shocking levels of need are part of a longer-term trend that pre-dates the cost-of-living crisis and even the Covid-19 pandemic.

These two events have had a major impact on food bank need and exacerbated the longer-term problems of a weakened social security system, which was already unable to protect everyone who needed its help from the most severe forms of hardship.

Record expenditure

Total expenditure for the year-end was 55.2m, up from 50.6m the previous year, an almost 10% increase. This made it a record expenditure year for the Trussell Trust.

The charity issued 20.8m in grants to food banks in its network, including support costs.

It invested 7.3m into its helpline, which is run in partnership with Mind and Citizens Advice and provides advice to people experiencing food poverty and financial hardship.

Staff costs increased from 10.4m to 13.3m for 2022-23, with wages and salaries rising from 8.9m to 11.3m.

The average monthly headcount was 285 at the end of March 2023, up 47 from the previous year.

Employees making more than 60,000 increased by four people to 29 members of staff. The highest earner made between 100,00 to 110,000 during the year.

An exclusive interview with Trussell Trust CEO Emma Revie will be published on Civil Society later this week

sign up to receive the free Civil Society daily news bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector,
Its January of a presidential election year, and that typically means that the people of Iowa cant move for journalists. Semafors Dave Weigel estimated that the number of reporters to supporters at an event for the Republican candidate Ron DeSantis was about 28 each, according to Weigels boss Ben Smith; Smith himself reported from an event at which Bob Vander Plaats, an influential evangelical leader and DeSantis backer, looked out at a room stuffed with media and declared, The media doesnt select our caucus winner. You select our caucus winner! Journalists looking to speak to ordinary Iowans inadvertently approached each other. In all, more than a thousand reporters applied for credentials to access the caucus-day media center, according to the Des Moines Register. Seemingly, every one of them had to first agree to report on the bitingly cold weather. (Sample pre-caucus headlines included Deep Freeze; In Iowa, a campaign season frozen in place; Here Comes Trump, the Abominable Snowman; and, erm, see above.)

Still, this media invasion apparently paled in comparison to that of previous yearsan equivalent Des Moines Register story from 2020 pegged the number of credentialed reporters that year north of two thousand six hundred. Andif the steady drip of pre-caucus press-watching articles was any guidemany of those who were present werent excited to be there. Michael M. Grynbaum, of the New York Times, reported that the usual media circus surrounding the caucuses felt smaller this year, both literally and spiritually: Weigel described the scene as cold and miserable; a different star political reporter indicted this desultory excuse of a presidential primary and went home early; various network hotshots skipped Iowa altogether (perhaps not wanting to become coldshots). As the cold nixed a slate of campaign events, reporters lounged around, went to the gym, hit the bar early. Others tried to make the best of things. The media crowd was diminished by the bleak news business, the bleak weather, and the bleak primary season, Smith wrote in a dispatch for Semafor. Still, things felt almost normal. Reporters milled around the lobby and basement bar, filing, drinking, buttonholing accommodating campaign officials. Like any other campaign year, really, only a little lower stress, a little nicer, because everyone seems to assume Donald Trump will walk to victory.

Observers mooted various reasons for the diminished media turnout: the weather, of course; cost-cutting at major news organizations; the fact that there were no Democratic caucuses to speak of this year after national party officials robbed Iowa of its first-in-the-nation status. The main reason, though, did indeed seem to be the assumption that Trump would walk to victory on the Republican sidea metaphorical freezing of the race that news outlets also seemed contractually obligated to point out, to go with the frozen ground. This isnt to say that some reporters and pundits didnt have a crack at conjuring some late drama: Would the weather affect turnout? If so, would that benefit Trump, with his more enthusiastic base but less pressing need for votes, or DeSantis or Nikki Haley? If so, which of those two candidates would benefit most? Like much of the other coverage, though, it all felt more than a little half-hearted.

Indeed, the vibe of everyone just wanting to go home wasnt helped when Iowans finally showed up to caucus last night only for various major news organizations to call the contest for Trump just half an hour after it began, and before many attendees had even cast a vote. (Cameron Joseph, who writes our new Friday newsletter, The Scrum, said hed never seen a caucus called anywhere near this fast.) The calls, of course, were driven not by vibes but by datawith caucuses, as opposed to primaries, the cutoff time for participation is considered to be the moment doors close, and early returns and other data sources quickly showed Trumps lead to be insurmountable. Still, the swiftness of the calls quickly attracted critics, and not just those you might expect. The DeSantis campaign accused the media of election interference, and of being in the tank for Trump. Various liberal pundits werent happy, either, suggesting that the early calls could further dent already fragile public trust in the press and in elections. The early call rubs a lot of voters the wrong way, the journalist Mosheh Oinounou told Grynbaum, of the Times. Just because you can call it that early, should you?

Perhaps ironically (then again, perhaps not), if this benefited anyone, it was the man who has done more than anyone else to dent public trust in the press and in elections. The calls came so early that no Trump supporters were yet present at his victory party to cheer them. Eventually, the room filled and Trump took to the stage for a victory speech, smiling down beatifically and calling on Americans of all stripes to come together as various reporters and pundits noted his changed tone, graciousness, and (at least temporary) message discipline. Trump also claimed that the 2020 election was stolen from him, invited onto the stage a man dressed as a border wall, and slammed a supposed immigrant invasion. It was around this time that CNN cut away from the speech. MSNBC didnt carry it at all, citing a broader tendency among major networks not to take Trump live anymore for fear of offering him free airtime for his lies.

The debate as to whether media decision desks calls for Trump came too early was, in a sense, a wonky microcosm of a broader, earlier debate: as to whether the mainstream press had prematurely written off the entire Republican primary as a nonevent, given Trumps consistently huge lead in the polls and the other big story lineshis indictments, his threats to democracy, and so onswirling around him. Before Christmas, Semafors Smith took the political media to task for focusing on Trumps threats to democracy (with a big D) at the expense of the primary horse racea well-intentioned response to critics who view horse race coverage as trivial, but one that also, as Smith saw it, amounted to complicity in Trumps own projections of his inevitable victory amid various possible signs of his weakness, including momentum for Haley. Critics of horse race journalism have a point, Smith wrote, and coverage of big-D democracy is valuableand yet the drama [of] personality and competition has always been part of the pageant of democracy. Sometimes, he concluded, democracy requires writing about politics.

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Despite being a frequent critic of horse race journalism and (broadly speaking) a fan of bigger-picture coverage of Americas democratic health, I sympathize with aspects of Smiths argument. I have argued repeatedly that covering the health of democracy requires deep coverage not only of threats to it, but of the stuff of democracy; by that, I have mostly meant deeper coverage of policy, but elections, clearly, are the stuff of democracy, too. I also agree with Smiths contention that our election coverage can itself shape the contours of a given race; if we portray it as being all over but the shouting, then donors, endorsers, and voters may behave as if it is. And, famously, polls can be unreliable, and journalists and pundits often make for poor prognosticators. (Look no further than the last primary cycle, on the Democratic side.)

Fundamentally, though, I remain unconvinced by Smiths premisein recent months, Ive seen a lot of coverage of the horse race, in Iowa and elsewhere, much of which, to my eye, has projected competitiveness sometimes to the point of contriving it (especially where Haley has been concerned) or at the very least lavished attention on relatively minor candidates. (Over the summer, Vivek Ramaswamy bathed in prestige profiles and daily TV hits, as I noted at the time; last night, he scored 8 percent in Iowa and promptly dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump.) Smith is right to say that coverage of big-D democratic questions has been on the rise, but as I wrote last month, it has not, to my mind, yet drowned out the horse race. Andif Smith is also right to say that the story of big-D democracy is inseparable from that of the horse racethe two must consistently inform each other, rather than running on separate tracks.

Ive often argued that too much horse race coverage of Trump, the election candidate, feels divorced from coverage of Trump, the election denier. The frosty malaise evident in some, if by no means all, pre-Iowa coverage reinforced that impressionit only made sense in a context that calculates newsworthiness as a function of expected competitiveness and conventional electoral drama. In reality, the caucuses channeled important and interesting stories even absent this type of dramaabout Trumps stranglehold on the Republican Party compared with 2016, the penetration of election denialism among the Republican base, and moreand, to be fair, numerous outlets did cover them. Indeed, when two-thirds of caucusgoers (if a CNN caucus entrance poll is to be believed) continue to claim that Trump actually won against Joe Biden in 2020, it simply doesnt make sense to revert to traditional horse race frames. It makes more sense to cover Trump not as one contender among many in a wide-open primary, but as an incumbentat least, an imagined one. This is not a normal election. Its not even almost normal.

Even if you disagree, theres another, far more normal, problem with Iowa horse race journalism: the perennial, quadrennial question of Iowa itself, and whether it deserves such outsize national-media attention. This attention, of course, is a function of the states privileged position in the nominating calendar and the perceived narrative momentum that victory there confers on a candidate (even if this momentum is a creation of the press as much as anything else). In many other respectsIowas acute lack of diversity, the relatively small number of people who caucus there, the eternal possibility of an unexpected last-minute game changer (last time: glitchy software; this time: the weather)the monthslong media focus on the state looks deeply irrational. Perhaps, slowly, this is fading: the Democrats have taken Iowa off the table as a media object (at least for now); Trump and the cold diminished interest (at least this year). But a thousand reporters is still a lot of reporters. Just because you can go to Iowa, should you?



Other notable stories:

ICYMI: Tina Nguyens Unique Perspective on the American Right

Correction: This article has been updated to clarify the reporter-to-supporter ratio at an event for Ron DeSantis, as reported by Dave Weigel.

Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, and The Nation, among other outlets. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop.
Morgan Stanley is close to an agreement to pay $200 million to $300 million to resolve a yearslong US investigation into its employees handling of stock sales big enough to move markets, a probe that rattled major clients and reverberated across the industry.

The pact with federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the Securities and Exchange Commission could be announced in the coming days, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The penalty will be divvied up between the Justice Department and the SEC and wont include any criminal charges against the bank, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.

That outcome would amount to less than investors worst fears in a probe that has hung over one of the banks prized units. Morgan Stanley disclosed in May that it was in talks with federal prosecutors and regulators to resolve the issue. The deal has yet to be finalized, one of the people said.

Representatives for the DOJ, SEC and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.

James Gorman, who handed off the chief executive officer role to Ted Pick this month, said in October that he wanted to leave his successor as clean a slate as possible, and deal with a few of our outstanding issues in the next couple of months.

The investigation into highly sensitive block trades  in which banks typically help clients buy or sell chunks of stock large enough to move prices  has focused in part on whether employees shared or misused information about impending transactions in ways that broke securities laws, people familiar with the matter have said. Regulators have also been examining whether Morgan Stanley, which is set to report fourth-quarter results next week, had adequate internal controls to head off potential abuses.

The firm has also said it faces potential civil liability from allegations it caused stock prices to drop before completing a block trade. As the probe advanced, the New York-based company put on leave and subsequently discharged the head of its US equity syndicate desk, Pawan Passi, and an underling. Passi led the banks communications with investors for equity transactions.

Bloomberg News has previously reported that the Justice Department sought communications involving more than a dozen professionals at Wall Street firms, including at Morgan Stanley and some of its key clients.

Its unclear what penalties, if any, will be levied against individuals whose conduct was closely scrutinized during the probe. So far, authorities havent accused anyone of wrongdoing.

The investigation has been closely watched on Wall Street. Company founders and other major stakeholders rely on bankers to discreetly unload blocks of stock without sending prices into a tailspin. The banks, in turn, often work with hedge funds willing to take the risk of acquiring large amounts of equities on short notice.

Top photo: Morgan Stanley headquarters in New York

Copyright 2024 Bloomberg.


24.82cr people lifted out of poverty in India in last 9 years: NITI Aayog As many as 24.82 crore people in India have come out of multidimensional poverty in the last nine years, according to a study released by NITI Aayog on Monday. "There has been a steep decline in the Poverty Headcount Ratio from 29.17 per cent in 2013-14 to 11.28 per cent in 2022-23 which is a reduction of 17.89 percentage points," the study stated.



Uttar Pradesh registered the largest decline in the number of poor with 5.94 crore people escaping multidimensional poverty during the last nine years followed by Bihar at 3.77 crore, Madhya Pradesh at 2.30 crore and Rajasthan at 1.87 crore.



The paper also shows that the pace of decline in poverty headcount ratio using exponential method was much faster between 2015-16 to 2019-21 (10.66 per cent annual rate of decline) compared to period 2005-06 to 2015-16 (7.69 per cent annual rate of decline).



All 12 indicators of MPI have recorded significant improvement during the entire study period.



To assess the poverty levels in the year 2013-14 against the current scenario (i.e. for the year 2022-23), projected estimates have been used due to data limitations for these specific periods, according to the discussion paper.



NITI Aayog has stated that India is likely to achieve its target of halving multidimensional poverty well before 2030.



Findings of NITI Aayog's Discussion Paper 'Multidimensional Poverty in India since 2005-06' give credit for this remarkable achievement to significant initiatives of the government to address all dimensions of the poverty between 2013-14 to 2022-23.



According to the paper, noteworthy initiatives like Poshan Abhiyan and Anemia Mukt Bharat have significantly enhanced access to healthcare facilities, leading to a substantial decrease in deprivation.



Operating one of the world's largest food security programs, the Targeted Public Distribution System under the National Food Security Act covers 81.35 crore beneficiaries, providing food grains to rural and urban populations.



Various programs addressing maternal health, clean cooking fuel distribution through Ujjwala Yojana, improved electricity coverage via Saubhagya, and transformative campaigns like Swachh Bharat Mission and Jal Jeevan Mission have collectively elevated living conditions and overall well-being of people.



Additionally, flagship programmes like Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and PM Awas Yojana have played pivotal roles in financial inclusion and providing safe housing for the underprivileged, the paper added.



The discussion paper was released today by Prof Ramesh Chand, Member, NITI Aayog in presence of B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, CEO NITI Aayog. Oxford Policy and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have provided technical inputs for this paper.



The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is a globally recognised comprehensive measure that captures poverty in multiple dimensions beyond monetary aspects.



MPI's global methodology is based on robust Alkire and Foster (AF) method that identifies people as poor based on universally acknowledged metric designed to assess acute poverty, providing a complementary perspective to conventional monetary poverty measures.






Excitement peaks ahead of release of Blessy's 'The Goat Life' Malayalam film director Blessy's 'The Goat Life' has been generating significant buzz since its announcement, and with its release all set to take place on April 10, excitement levels have peaked. 'The Goat Life' is based on the novel 'Aadujeevitham', one of the most popular best sellers from the Malayalam literary world, which has been translated into 12 different languages, including foreign ones.



It's penned by noted writer Benyamin and the two got together at the ongoing Kerala Literature Festival 2024 at Kozhikode and had an enlightening discussion which was received with huge applause by the audience.



In it, the two leading lights contributed their expertise with a special video of a behind-the-scenes glimpse of author Benyamin and director Blessy discussing adapting books into films.



Offering valuable perspectives on shooting techniques, film direction, and the art of transforming literature on screen, their presence at the festival further emphasised the deep connection between the novel 'Aadujeevitham' and the upcoming film, 'The Goat Life'.



Speaking about the challenges faced while adapting 'The Goat Life' from a novel to the big screen, director, Blessy said, "Our greatest hurdle lay in meeting audience expectations and surpassing their imaginative interpretations, given the familiarity of the novel. Each film is inevitably influenced by our individual references, and my works consistently explore human emotions that resonate universally, drawing from personal encounters, stories heard, or our own experiences."



The film tells the true story of the life of a young man Najeeb, who in the early 90s migrates from the lush green shores of Kerala to search for the fortunes in a land abroad.



Najeeb is played Malayalam star Prithviraj Sukumaran.



"Crafting Najib's character presented a unique challenge, as neither I nor Prithviraj had any predefined guidance for his portrayal," added Blessy.



Adding to this, Benyamin said, "It is a film which has no references to look into".



Hollywood actor Jimmy Jean-Louis, Amala Paul, Indian actor K. R. Gokul, and renowned Arab actors Talib al Balushi and RikAby are playing pivotal roles.



The Goat Life is all set to release on April 10 in Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada.



Sixty-year-old Blessy has won one National Film Award and six Kerala State Film Awards for his feature films 'Kaazhcha' (2004), 'Thanmathra' (2005), and 'Pranayam' (2011).



His documentary film '100 Years of Chrysostom' received the Guinness World Record for the longest documentary in the world, with a runtime of 48 hours and 10 minutes.






The Supreme Court The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed an order passed by the Allahabad High Court allowing the appointment of commissioner to inspect the Shahi Idgah premises adjoining the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura. During the hearing, a bench presided over by Justice Sanjiv Khanna orally observed: The application for the appointment of local commissioner is very vague Dont implement the order till the next date.



Let the commission not be executed. Look at the prayer of your application. The prayer to appoint a commission in the light of the averment made in the suit is very vague. You have to make a very specific prayer. You have to be very clear what you want the local commission for. You cannot make an omnibus application, Justice Khanna added.



In its interim order, the bench, also comprising Dipankar Datta, said that the commission will not be executed but trial proceedings pending before the High Court can continue.



Issuing notice on the special leave petition moved by the Shahi Idgah Masjid Management Committee, the apex court asked the other side to file their reply by January 23.



The matter will be heard on the next date of listing along with another plea filed by the mosque committee challenging the transfer of cases by the high court to itself.



On December 14, 2023, the Allahabad High Court allowed the application filed by Hindu devotees for appointment of commissioner to inspect the disputed premise.



A bench of Justice Mayank Kumar Jain of the High Court had said, So far as the modalities and composition of the commission is concerned, this Court feels it proper to hear the learned counsel for the parties for such purposes.



The decision came in response to an application filed by the deity Bhagwan Shri Krishna Virajman and seven others claiming that Lord Sri Krishnas birthplace lies beneath the mosque and appointment of a commission was essential to unearth the truth.



The application said that there are visible signs of the mosque being a Hindu temple, including a lotus-shaped pillar and an image of Sheshnaag, a Hindu deity associated with Lord Krishna.




Californias health department has relaxed its COVID-19 guidance in ways that could have significant implications for people of all ages across the state. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

Californias health department has changed its COVID-19 guidance, which could have significant implications for people of all ages statewide.

The new recommendations, issued last week, reflect a more relaxed approach to isolation and testing, allowing people who test positive for COVID-19 but do not have symptoms to return to work and school.

More on coronavirus: S.F. to close community COVID vaccination sites amid funding cuts, faltering demand

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Tomas Aragon, who leads the California Department of Public Health, said these changes stem from the evolving dynamics of the pandemic and the reduced impacts from COVID-19 compared to prior years due to elevated levels of community immunity stemming from prior infections, vaccination or a combination of both, along with the widespread use of antiviral treatments.

Cal/OSHA, responsible for workplace safety, has adopted the states advice and the Oakland Unified School District was one of the first in California to follow these changes for students and staff.

Overall, I think this is reasonable given the high proportion of kids with immunity against COVID, the alignment with how we approach other respiratory viruses, and the tools we have at our disposal to prevent and treat complications from COVID, said Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious-disease expert at UCSF.

Here are the main things to know from the new advice:

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Shift to a symptom-based approach

The new approach is all about looking at symptoms. If someone has COVID-19 symptoms, they should be tested as soon as possible and wear a mask when in the company of others. The infectious period starts when signs of illness appear.

People can resume their usual activities 24 hours after their symptoms improve and their fever is gone without the use of fever-reducing medications.

If someone does not have symptoms, they can go about their normal activities at work or school but should avoid contact with high-risk individuals for 10 days and wear a mask indoors during this period. They should follow the guidance above if their symptoms show up later.

Previously, the state recommended a mandatory five-day isolation period for anyone testing positive for the virus.

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Note that this works only if the child is willing to wear a mask for the full 10 days and if there is good ventilation in the schools, said Chin-Hong. In March 2022, state officials lifted the mask mandate for schools. Parents can be proactive by ensuring that kids are vaccinated  too few are at this time.

Relaxed testing protocols

Testing rules have become more relaxed. Instead of telling everyone in close contact with someone who tests positive for the coronavirus to get tested, they now focus on recommending testing for people with new COVID-19 symptoms, those at higher risk for severe disease outcomes, or those around people at higher risk.

For people who have symptoms but initially test negative, the new plan is to test again within five days of when they first feel sick. Before, the state suggested testing on days 1, 3 and 5.

New return-to-work recommendations

If there is an outbreak at work  meaning three or more cases in a week  employers have to provide free COVID-19 tests to employees during their work hours if they have been in close contact with someone who is infected. The definition of close contact depends on how big an indoor space is, but generally, it means sharing the same area for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a whole day while the confirmed case was infectious.

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What has not changed

Even though the changes make things a bit more relaxed, some important stuff stays the same. Employers still need to treat COVID-19 like a workplace hazard and let the right people know if theres been close contact.

They also have some additional duties, like giving out face coverings for free when someone asks and making sure people use them the right way following the guidelines from the CDPH. If someone has symptoms and is coming back to work, they should wear a face covering for 10 days after their isolation. And if someone tests positive but doesnt have symptoms, they should wear a mask for 10 days from when they first tested positive.

The CDPH explained that these new rules are about keeping those most at risk safe from serious illness while reducing social disruption that is disproportionate to recommendations for the prevention of other endemic respiratory viral infections.
Joe Tacopina, Attorney for former President Donald Trump, leaves Federal Court after the civil trial against former President Donald Trump at Manhattan on May 09, 2023 in New York City.

Joseph Tacopina has withdrawn as a lawyer for Donald Trump in two major cases facing the former president, one of which could go to trial in two months, the attorney said Monday.

Tacopina declined to comment when asked why he was no longer representing Trump.

His withdrawal from legal matters related to the ex-president came hours before the Iowa Republican caucuses, where Trump is hoping to defeat his GOP challengers by a wide margin.

"President Trump has the most experienced, qualified, disciplined, and overall strongest legal team ever assembled as he continues to fight for America and Americans against these partisan, Crooked Joe Biden-led election interference hoaxes," Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in an email when asked about Tacopina's departure.

Tacopina represented Trump in a civil lawsuit filed by writer E. Jean Carroll, who said he raped her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s, and defamed her in late 2022 when he denied her allegations.

A trial in that case ended with a Manhattan federal court jury finding Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll and defaming her. The jury also ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million in damages.

Trump is appealing that verdict in the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

On Monday, Tacopina filed a notice with the appeals court seeking the withdrawal of his law firm from the case.

A trial on a second, similar defamation lawsuit by Carroll against Trump for comments he made about her while president is set to begin Tuesday in Manhattan federal court. Tacopina was not representing the former president in that case.

Also Monday, Tacopina filed a notice withdrawing from the Manhattan Supreme Court case where he was defending Trump on criminal charges of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to the porn star Stormy Daniels.

Trump's then-personal lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 on the eve of the 2016 presidential election to keep her quiet about her account of having sex with Trump years earlier.

Trump, who denies having sex with Daniels, reimbursed Cohen for the payment and other related costs, which were recorded by the Trump Organization as legal expenses.
The logos of Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft displayed on a mobile phone with an EU flag shown in the background.

A raft of major technology and media companies have signed an open letter accusing tech giants of failing to bring their businesses into full compliance with incoming European Union digital competition rules.

The signatories say that companies defined by the EU as "gatekeepers," including Google , Amazon , Apple , Meta , Microsoft , and TikTok owner ByteDance, haven't done enough to engage effectively with them and others in their industry.

Under the EU's Digital Markets Act, companies with more than 45 million monthly active users and a market capitalization over 75 billion euros ($81.2 billion) are considered gatekeepers.

They are required to, for example, make their messaging apps work with those of rivals, and let users decide which apps come pre-installed with their devices.

Another EU requirement is that these platforms do not implement practices that lead to the "self-preferencing" of their services over others.

The open letter, which was signed by international media group Schibsted , eco-friendly search engine Ecosia, privacy-focused search engine Qwant, secure messaging app Element, and VPN service ProtonVPN, said the gatekeepers "have either failed to engage in a dialogue with third parties or have presented solutions falling short of compliance with the DMA."

They also said that businesses and consumers have been largely "kept in the dark" about what's going to happen after March 7, 2024  a pivotal deadline by which all six Big Tech gatekeepers need to get their businesses into compliance with the DMA.
(This is CNBC Pro's live coverage of Tuesday's analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) Analysts kicked off the week with two big upgrades. Piper Sandler raised its rating on Home Depot, citing an improving outlook for the home improvement market. Morgan Stanley also upgraded Starbucks, noting that a recent decline in shares has created an attractive entry point. Elsewhere, Boeing got a downgrade from Wells Fargo, citing concern around the a regulatory audit. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 9:04 a.m.: BofA recommends four stocks to play electricity and electrical equipment demand Bank of America said Tuesday its research shows electricity and electrical equipment demand set to grow through the end of the decade due to the increased use of artificial intelligence and the electrification of the auto industry. Analysts led by Andrew Obin recommended four buy-rated stocks to play the trend: Eaton , Vertiv , Aspen Technologies and GE . BofA in particular highlighted data center electrical demand, which it said may exceed 11% compound annual growth through 2030. "As a real-world example, Nvidia's artificial intelligence server shipments in 2023 will consume a similar amount of electricity as 20mn U.S. homes once installed and running," Obin and team wrote.  Scott Schnipper 8:52 a.m.: Wells Fargo upgrades Victoria's Secret to overweight, cites margin recovery Wells Fargo upgraded Victoria's Secret to overweight, calling the women's clothing retailer one of the "best margin recovery plays." Analyst Ike Boruchow wrote in a Tuesday note that the firm views "recent steps to refresh VSCO's image as critical to helping stem recent revenue losses and positioning the company for a rebound." Core categories such as bras have shown improvement in recent months as Victoria's Secret undergoes a strategic revamp of stores and launches new marketing initiatives, he wrote. The company also appears to be setting itself up for its goal of doubling its operating margin by 2026. Boruchow also highlighted opportunities in international markets as a strength for the company, which plans to add more than 100 new stores over the next few years. "In addition, VSCO's higher-margin beauty business thrives internationally, providing not only the opportunity to continue to expand sales in new markets through new locations and increase visibility for their core lingerie business, but also expand margins through better merch mix," he wrote. Shares added nearly 2% before the bell, with the Wall Street firm's adjusted $28 price target implying about 18% upside from Friday's close.  Samantha Subin 8:51 a.m.: Deutsche Bank upgrades Western Digital The future is looking bright for Western Digital, according to Deutsche Bank. The bank upgraded shares of Western Digital to a buy rating from a hold, simultaneously lifting its price target to $65 from $45. This is nearly 30% higher than the stock's Friday close. Analyst Sidney Ho thinks that risk-reward for the stock looks attractive at its current valuation, with shares trading at the lower end of their valuation range. Additionally, he believes that Western Digital could successfully spin off its flash memory business by the second half of 2024. "While a lot of details (e.g. capital structure of the two entities) still need to be worked out, we believe any "conglomerate discount" should disappear once the two entities are officially separated," the analyst wrote. Meanwhile, Ho believes that the hard disk drive industry stands to finally recover from last year's sharp inventory correction, led by cloud customers. "WDC and STX have suggested that demand has stabilized and should start recovering in the coming months, with strength coming from both U.S. and China cloud customers," he wrote.  Lisa Kailai Han 8:30 a.m.: Morgan Stanley upgrades Target to overweight Target has a positive growth outlook ahead, according to Morgan Stanley. The bank upgraded the retail chain stock to an overweight rating from equal weight. Analyst Simeon Gutman's upgraded price target of $165, raised from $140, implies that stocks could rally 17% from here. "With our broader stock preferences shifting to be more risk-on/cyclical, TGT screens as an attractive investment given its latent earnings potential both on a recovery from idiosyncratic challenges and from a rebound in discretionary spend," he wrote. "An improving macro backdrop together with TGT's relative attractiveness would favor getting more positive on TGT now vs. a year ago." Shares of Target are down 1% this year but have rallied 34% since October. Going forward, Gutman believes Target stock could be propelled by improving sales momentum and margins upside.  Lisa Kailai Han 8:06 a.m.: BMO upgrades Fluence Energy: 'We know we will add a lot of storage' Fluence is one of the few names in the clean energy space that offers investors sustainable revenue growth that is not dependent on interest rates or federal policy, according to BMO Capital Markets. Analyst Ameet Thakkar upgraded Fluence to outperform with a stock price target of $27, implying 33% upside from Friday's close. Fluence's stock has become increasingly attractive after pulling 26% since mid-December, Thakkar wrote. Residential solar stocks face uncertainty and utility-scale solar has also performed unevenly. Fluence, on the other hand, provides visibility. "Put simply, as we have been communicating to investors for some time 'we don't know where 2024 solar capacity growth ends-up, but we know we will add a lot of storage,'" Thakkar wrote.  Spencer Kimball 8:05 a.m.: Citi upgrades Sallie Mae on strong balance sheet growth forecast Citi said loan student loan provider Sallie Mae can expand both its balance sheet and market share in 2024 as competitors leave the sector. The bank upgraded Sallie Mae to buy from neutral and increased its price target to $23 per share from $14. Citi's forecast implies more than 24% upside from Friday's close. Sallie Mae has ticked down more than 3% thus far in 2024. "It will continue to sell student loans, but the pace of loan sales will decline over time, providing an opportunity to grow the balance sheet in the high single digits compared to flat to modest growth since CECL was implemented in 2020," Citi analyst Arren Cyganovich said. "We believe that this growth will make SLM's earnings less volatile and provide potential for sustaining a higher earnings multiple over time."  Brian Evans 7:58 a.m.: Mizuho downgrades PayPal on the back of growing competition Mizuho thinks rising competition may be too much for PayPal to handle. The bank downgraded PayPal stock to a neutral rating from a buy, accompanying the move by decreasing its price target to $65 from $72. This is approximately 6.6% lower than where shares closed Friday. Analyst Dan Dolev cited the increasing threat of rising competition as a main risk factor, listing market share loss to Apple Pay as a growing problem. "We believe that Apple Pay is the primary reason for PYPL's share loss, as Apple (by way of the iPhone) is driving a secular change in consumer checkout habits. The iPhone has forced a shift from desktop (where PYPL has historically performed well) to mobile (where Apple is most prevalent and where PYPL's checkout trends are weaker vs. desktop)," he wrote. Dolev noted that this was especially true for younger generations, which prefer the cleaner and more convenient mobile checkout processes of PayPal's competitors. Meanwhile, increases in Zelle's market share have also placed downward pressure on PayPal's Venmo mobile payment system. "Zelle volumes have compounded at ~40% over the last three years vs. just 22% CAGR for Venmo," the analyst wrote. "We foresee challenges for PYPL in its effort to better monetize Venmo, as the core Venmo customer is likely receiving financial services from traditional banks."  Lisa Kailai Han 7:54 a.m.: Bank of America upgrades Dow, downgrades DuPont Two major chemical stocks are heading in opposite directions in 2024, according to Bank of America. In a pair of notes on Tuesday, analyst Steve Byrne upgraded Dow to buy from neutral and double downgraded DuPont to underperform from buy. Byrne sees upside for Dow because "petrochemical margins and volumes have largely troughed in 2H23," he said in the note to clients. On the other hand, Dupont could be weighed down by legal issues from its prior production of a class of chemicals. "We hear a broadly held view that DuPont's PFAS liabilities have been addressed, which ignores the potential for significant personal injury litigation based on our due diligence in crop chemical litigation," the note said. If Byrne is correct, it will be a reversal of recent history. Over the past 12 months, shares of Dow are down 9%, while Dupont's stock has risen marginally.  Jesse Pound 7:44 a.m.: Constellation Brands named Bernstein's alcohol stock of choice entering 2024 Bernstein listed Constellation Brands as its top alcohol stock pick for 2024 coming out of a tough end to the prior year for the industry. In addition to being a best idea, analyst Nadine Sarwat has an outperform rating with a $325 price target. That level reflects a 25.8% rally from where shares finished last week. Constellation has the best category exposure of U.S. beer makers with 86% of profits in the space tied to premium U.S. imports, Sarwat said. The company is known for brands such as Corona, Modelo and Pacifico. While the beer industry has seen pessimistic volume trends, she said Constellation has "no sign of its brands losing momentum." "This, coupled with margin expansion and improved corporate governance, gives us conviction that the market's discount on STZ is undeserved," she said. Sarwat's call follows what she described as a "rough" finish to 2023 for alcohol companies in the Americas. All stocks in the industry covered by Bernstein have underperformed over the last three months, she said, with that poor showing tied in part to multiple compression among many names. Constellation has climbed nearly 7% in 2024. But the stock saw muted gains compared with the broader market in the prior year, adding just over 4% while the S & P 500 jumped more than 24%.  Alex Harring 7:20 a.m.: Citi downgrades Anheuser-Busch, citing higher potential taxes More headwinds are approaching for Anheuser-Busch , according to Citi. The bank downgraded the brewing company stock to a neutral rating from buy, although analyst Simon Hales left his target price unchanged at 64. This is approximately 7% higher than Friday's close for the Europe-listed stock. U.S.-listed shares are up just 0.7% year to date, but they've jumped nearly 20% over the past three months. "After strong recent relative outperformance, the stock is trading at a mid-teens CY24E PE premium to peers," Hales wrote. The analyst cited a devaluation in the Argentinean Peso as a reason for the downgrade. Meanwhile, Hale also noted that recent changes to Brazil's corporate tax structure could increase Anheuser-Busch's tax rate, thereby also lowering earnings.  Lisa Kailai Han 7:10 a.m.: Stifel upgrades Dutch Bros to buy Dutch Bros has a bright future ahead, according to Stifel. The company upgraded the coffee chain to a buy rating from hold and lifted its target price to $35 from $32. The new forecast implies 25.6% from Friday's close. As a catalyst, Stifel analyst Chris O'Cull cited the company's strong beverage innovation and proactive measures to transition towards new corporate leadership. He believes that "management's efforts should yield further improvements in the quality of the company's execution around its loyalty program, digital marketing, and product innovation, yielding more consistent execution and delivering growth at least in the line with the company's long-term algorithm." The company's growth has already taken off, seen in the 292 new units the company opened in the last two years. In the near future, O'Cull continues unit development to increase in Southeast markets like Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee. Besides beverage innovation, adding a food platform could drive additional returns for the company. The analyst also cited Dutch Bro's recent capital raise and subsequent leverage reduction as a highlight.  Lisa Kailai Han 6:29 a.m.: KBW initiates Shift4 Payments with outperform rating Shift4 Payments has strong growth potential ahead, according to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. The firm initiated coverage of the payment processing company with an outperform rating. Analyst Sanjay Sakhrani's 12-month price target of $95 implies that shares of Shift4 could rally 27%. Shift4 already has the status of being a leading provider of software and payment processing solutions for U.S. restaurants. Sakhrani thinks Shift4's expansion into new verticals, such as stadiums and hospitality  and new geographic regions like Europe and Canada  could further boost the company's organic growth in the future. As a catalyst, the analyst also pointed towards Shift4's advanced product set. "What is unique in the case of Shift4's verticals are the many integrations the company has performed with a multitude of software and point-of-sale (POS) systems that make getting into the space de novo difficult for others," he wrote. "FOUR's strength in the market is evidenced by its ability to raise prices on the gateway product and/or convert providers to its end-to-end processing capabilities, which we discuss as a key growth driver." Sakhrani also cited the company's proven track record of small strategic acquisitions as another factor that could boost its growth. "While there has been some recent pushback from investors that believe M & A is dilutive to growth stories in the payments space, we don't agree with this view," he wrote, listing payment companies who have successfully completed M & A transactions to strengthen their fundamentals, including Fiserv, Nuvei, Visa and MasterCard. Shares of Shift4 are fractionally higher this year.  Lisa Kailai Han 6:01 a.m.: Wells Fargo downgrades Boeing as FAA audit begins A production audit may be the last straw for Boeing , according to Wells Fargo. The bank downgraded shares of the aircraft company to equal weight from overweight on Tuesday, simultaneously lowering its price target to $225 from $280. This is only 3% higher from where Boeing stock closed on Friday. Even after Boeing's 12.6% sell-off last week, analyst Matthew Akers believes that the stock's valuation still does not look attractive to justify the ongoing Federal Aviation Administration audit. "With FAA taking a closer look into BA's production, we think the risk of production/ delivery impact increases significantly," he wrote. "Given BA's recent track record, and greater incentive for FAA to find problems, we think the odds of a clean audit are low." While the agency is only auditing Boeing's 737 Max 9 airplanes for now, Akers believes that the investigation could expand to other models with common parts. Boeing shares fell more than 2% following the the downgrade.  Lisa Kailai Han 5:38 a.m.: Home Depot to outperform market and Lowe's, Piper Sandler says After more than four years of preferring Lowe's over Home Depot , Piper Sandler is now placing its bets on the latter. The bank upgraded shares of the home improvement retailer to an overweight rating on Tuesday and raised its price target increase to $400 from $311. The change implies that Home Depot could rally 12% from its current price. Analyst Peter Keith cited a modest increase in big-ticket remodels as a catalyst for the upgrade. "We are taking a more bullish stance on home improvement  and more specifically, large remodel projects  as home equity extraction activity (cash-out refi's + HELOC originations) is trending toward improvement in 2024," wrote analyst Peter Keith. Keith added that he believes Home Depot shares could outperform both the market and shares of competitor Lowe's, citing the former's greater exposure to pro customers. "Home Depot has been building the ecosystem to support their complex Pro customer for several years, but it was only at their June 2023 Investor Day that they quantified the sub-category as one of their biggest opportunities with a $200B [total addressable market]," he wrote. Meanwhile, Home Depot has a more favorable margin setup and higher capacity for stronger earnings growth, Keith added. Shares of Home Depot are up 2.6% this year.  Lisa Kailai Han 5:38 a.m.: Morgan Stanley upgrades Starbucks It's time to buy shares of Starbucks after the coffee chain's recent struggles, according to Morgan Stanley. The bank upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight, raising its price target to $120 per share from $112 per share. That forecast implies upside of 30.5% from Friday's close. "After recent weakness driven by real headwinds across SBUX's global business, we see interesting risk-reward skew here," analyst Brian Harbour wrote. "Out of consensus, weak sentiment, softer data trends, challenging commentary ... near-term earnings risk, China and Middle East exposure  these legitimate headwinds have brought SBUX's stock under substantial pressure after a constructive 4Q23 and investor day," the analyst added. "But we'd rather wade into the controversy perhaps somewhat early, and look beyond the current quarter, as these 'penalty box' periods can be interesting entry points." Starbucks shares are down 4% year to date and 14.2% over the past 12 months. SBUX 1Y mountain SBUX in past year  Fred Imbert
A federal appeals court on Tuesday denied X Corp.'s latest challenge to a nondisclosure order it received as part of special counsel Jack Smith's search warrant for former President Donald Trump's Twitter account.

Smith first served X, formerly known as Twitter, with a search warrant for Trump's account data in January 2023, part of a criminal investigation into Trump's attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.

At the same time, Smith obtained a nondisclosure order barring X from disclosing the search warrant to Trump or anyone else.

In granting Smith's request to keep the warrant a secret, a federal district court said it was reasonable to believe disclosure of the request would "result in destruction of or tampering with evidence, intimidation of potential witnesses, and serious jeopardy to the investigation."

X initially refused to comply with the warrant, and the district court in Washington, D.C., held the company in contempt and fined it $350,000. X ultimately turned over the data Smith was seeking.

In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected X's first appeal of the order.

In September, X asked for a rehearing before the appeals court's entire slate of judges  a move known as an "en banc" rehearing  arguing that the previous decision was made in error.

Put before 11 judges on the appeals court, X's challenge was again denied in Tuesday's order.

But four of the 11 judges, including three who were appointed by Trump, strongly criticized the courts that had permitted Smith to get the search warrant in secret.
Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, speaks with CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin at the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 16th, 2024.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that China's growing aggression toward Taiwan has undermined the country's own interests.

"I think the approach that they've shown in recent years has actually been totally counterproductive to their interests," Blinken said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street."

Taiwan is an epicenter for the production of semiconductors, which China relies on, and the adjacent Taiwan Strait is a major commercial route that has implications for economic stability in the region.

Blinken's comments come days after Taiwan voters elected the Democratic Progressive Party's Lai Ching-te to serve as the next president. Of the candidates, Lai was Beijing's least favorite as he would likely maintain the DPP's status quo when it comes to relations with mainland China and the U.S.

In the weeks leading up to the election, Taiwan officials reported several attempts by the Chinese government to sway the election via escalating military pressure and disinformation campaigns.

Despite China's distaste for Lai, the White House has been supportive, issuing several congratulatory statements for the president-elect. That has further angered Beijing.

"The US State Department's statement on the election in China's Taiwan region seriously violates the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, and goes against the US' own political commitment to maintaining only cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan," China's Foreign Ministry wrote in a statement Sunday.

"It also sends a gravely wrong signal to the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces. We strongly deplore and firmly oppose this, and have made serious representations to the US side," the statement said.

At Davos, Blinken reiterated the official U.S. stance on Taiwan and China, which simultaneously supports Taiwan's democratic systems but does not support its independence.

The outcome of Taiwan's election would inevitably have ripple effects on the geopolitical climate and economic landscape. The U.S. has been preparing accordingly.

Days before Taiwan voters took to the polls, the White House said it was preparing various contingency plans for a possible "period of higher tension."

"I don't want to get into specifics on those, but of course, we have to be prepared and thinking through any eventuality ... ranging from no response to the higher end," a senior administration official said Wednesday.

China, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan, has made clear its intentions to reunify the island with the mainland, including during President Joe Biden's one-on-one meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. China has not ruled out military force to execute that goal.

"What we're focused on is maintaining peace and stability and we've been very clear with China about that and we've been very clear with Taiwan about that," Blinken said.
Li Qiang, China's premier, delivers a special address on the opening day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said that tech innovations should not be used as a way to restrict or contain other countries. "To keep the competition healthy and bring out the greatest vitality, the only way is to enhance cooperation in innovation," Li said via an official English translation of his Mandarin-language remarks made on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "Scientific and technological fruits should benefit humanity as a whole, instead of becoming a means to restrict or contain the development of other countries," Li added, calling for "more open measures." Li did not specifically name any countries in his remarks. Beijing has repeatedly asked Washington to remove restrictions on Chinese companies that prevent them from buying advanced technology from U.S. firms. U.S. measures in the last two years have explicitly focused on cutting China off from high-end semiconductors used for artificial intelligence, out of concern that the tech is fueling the military capabilities of Beijing.

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Following his speech, Li spoke about the risks and opportunities of generative AI, such as ChatGPT, in a brief question-and-answer session with World Economic Forum Founder Klaus Schwab. "To put plainly, we human beings must control the machines instead of having the machines control us," Li said, calling for a universal "red line in AI development" without specifying details. He added that AI shouldn't just benefit a small group of people, and that the interests of developing countries should be prioritized. U.S.-based OpenAI's ChatGPT surged in popularity just over a year ago, but isn't officially available in China. Many similar chatbots from Chinese companies, such as Baidu and Alibaba, launched to the public in mainland China, after getting the green light from authorities in August. In AI, we are doing a lot of work to roll out policies and regulations," Li said. "We introduced many laws and regulations to ensure the data security, AI-related ethics and generative AI services. All these are efforts to explore an AI governance framework suited to China's national conditions."

Global cooperation

Li on Tuesday cast China as a supporter of multilateralism and called for further global cooperation. In his speech to global business leaders, Li emphasized that China would take steps to address concerns about the flow of data across international borders and the ability to participate equally in government procurement. Foreign businesses operating in China have found it difficult to comply with the country's tightened restrictions on data collection and export, also complaining that domestic businesses have unfair advantages when competing for local government bids. "China remains firmly committed to opening up," Li said. "We will continue to create favorable conditions for the world to share in China's opportunities." Li met with Swiss President Viola Amherd ahead of the Davos conference and is set to visit Ireland later in the week. China on Monday announced it will give Swiss citizens visa-free entry, while the Swiss side will "provide more visa facilitation" for Chinese citizens and businesses investing in Switzerland. It is not clear when the measures will take effect.

China's economic growth
BEIJNG, CHINA - NOVEMBER 13: Illuminated skyscrapers stand at the central business district at sunset on November 13, 2023 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Gao Zehong/VCG via Getty Images)

The chief executive of the Institute of International Finance warned Tuesday that policymakers need to swiftly address record levels of global debt, describing the brewing crisis as a "huge fiscal problem."

IIF CEO Tim Adams sounded the alarm on rising levels of debt while speaking to CNBC's Silvia Amaro at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

His comments come at a time when the issue has largely been overshadowed at the WEF's annual meeting, which runs through to Friday, with the rise of artificial intelligence and conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine high on the forum's agenda.

"We have a debt problem globally. We have the highest levels of debt in a nonwar period in modern history and it's at the corporate, household, sovereign, sub-sovereign [levels]," Adams said.

"We have a huge fiscal problem everywhere, including the U.S. We're running [a] deficit at 7% of GDP. We need sobriety and we need to focus on how we are going to get our fiscal house in order," he added.

The global banking industry's premier trade group said late last year that worldwide debt climbed to a record of $307.4 trillion in the third quarter of 2023, with a substantial increase in both high-income countries and emerging markets.

The IIF said it expected global debt to reach $310 trillion by the end of 2023, warning that elections in more than 50 countries and regions this year could usher in a shift toward populism that brings with it still-higher debt levels.

"I worry about geopolitics every day," Adams said. "I think this will be a challenging year."
The International Terminal at San Francisco International Airport will be renamed for the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who also served as mayor of San Francisco, officials announced Tuesday. Paul Kuroda/Special to The Chronicle

San Francisco International Airports signature International Terminal will soon welcome international travelers with a new name: Dianne Feinstein International Terminal.

The San Francisco Airport Commission passed a resolution Tuesday approving the honor for the late U.S. senator and San Francisco mayor, who while in both offices was a champion for the Bay Areas largest airport.

Feinstein, who died in September, was nominated to become the terminals namesake in November by the Feinstein 100-Plus Committee, which seeks to honor her legislative accomplishments and keep her name alive. The committees slogan is Dianne Feinstein Forever.

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The committee is filled with political and civic dignitaries, including retired airport Director John Martin and former Mayor Willie Brown.

In a news release announcing the naming, the commission said it reviewed the nomination and found compelling reasons to name the terminal for Feinstein.

Those include her role as mayor in the 1981 negotiations that resulted in long-term lease agreements for major airlines, as well as the construction of the International Terminal, which opened in 2000, cementing SFOs reputation as a leading U.S. airport and an important revenue producer for the city.

As senator, the nomination said, Feinstein provided key support for the BART extension to SFO, replacement of its air traffic control tower, a new baggage screening system and other improvements.

The International Terminal at San Francisco International Airport will be renamed for the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who also served as mayor of San Francisco, officials announced Tuesday. Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle

As mayor and senator, she was committed to making SFO a world-class facility that welcomed international travelers and benefited San Francisco and California, SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel told the Chronicle.

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The details of when and how the International Terminal will feature Feinsteins name and honor her legacy remain to be determined, airport officials said, adding that there is currently no timeline.

The naming of a terminal for Feinstein has precedent at SFO. In 2019, the former South Terminal or Terminal 1, then in the midst of a dramatic renovation, was named for the late San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, the civil rights pioneer who was the first openly gay person elected to public office in California.

Under the airport commissions naming policy, only terminals  not the entire airport  may be named for a person. That person must be deceased or retired from public service or private employment, Yakel said.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the year SFOs International Terminal opened. It opened in 2000.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen looks on during a press conference.

An increasingly isolated Russia is now dependent on China for both its military and economic ends, the European Commission's president said Tuesday.

Ursula von der Leyen said Russia was leaning more heavily on its eastern ally as it fails to achieve its objectives.

"Russia is failing on strategic goals," von der Leyen said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "It is first and foremost a military failure," she said, noting that Ukraine had thus far retained its "freedom and independence" in its almost two-year war with Moscow.

"Russia's failure is also economic," she continued, highlighting the impact sanctions have had in isolating the country from trade with Western allies.

"Russia is now dependent on China," von der Leyen added.

Ukraine, meanwhile, is "closer than ever" to joining the European Union, she added.

Russia's trade with China has surged in the wake of Western sanctions imposed following Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Annual bilateral trade between the two countries hit almost $200 billion last year, which President Xi Jinping hailed as a "historic high."

It comes amid growing speculation over Beijing's role in fueling Moscow's war, with new data last week suggesting that Chinese companies are critical conduits in channeling Western technologies to Russia's military.
More than 320 flights have been canceled because of a winter storm that brought snow and freezing temperatures to Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado, on Jan. 15, 2024.

Airlines canceled more than 2,000 U.S. flights Tuesday as winter weather continued to disrupt travel for millions of travelers.

Storms in the Northeast contributed to nearly 6,000 delays and snarled operations at major airports serving New York and Washington, D.C., according to flight tracker FlightAware. Flight disruption improved from Monday, when severe weather contributed to more than 10,000 delays across the U.S.

The Northeast storm dropped just more than an inch of snow in New York City's Central Park, according to the National Weather Service, snapping a more than 700-day streak since the park had seen over an inch of snow on a single calendar day. Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport saw almost two inches of snow accumulation.

Major airlines said travelers flying into dozens of airports in the storms' paths can change their flights without paying fare differences.

Airlines canceled or delayed about 70% of flights at New York's LaGuardia Airport. At nearby Newark Liberty International Airport, a hub for United , more than 45% of flights were canceled or delayed.

Reagan Airport saw more than 60% of its flights canceled or delayed. Southwest Airlines had the most delays of any U.S. carrier, with about 1,000, and canceled another nearly 450, or 14%, of its schedule.

Airlines also canceled or delayed about 30% of flights at Denver International Airport as the area recovered from a Monday storm and wind chills that reached as low as 25 degrees below zero.

The continued grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 9 also contributed to cancellations and delays for Alaska Airlines and United , the only U.S. airlines operating the aircraft. Alaska canceled more than 15% of its flights Tuesday, while United canceled about 14%.

Both airlines waived change fees for travelers whose plans were affected by the planes' grounding.



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Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks to the crowd at a caucus night party in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 15, 2024.

Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley is facing pressure from some of her top fundraisers to either seriously compete with, or outright defeat, Donald Trump in next week's New Hampshire primary, after finishing third on Monday in the Iowa caucus.

"I would still like to see her get somewhere, but the mountain she has to climb is enormous," Andy Sabin, a New York businessman and Haley fundraiser, told CNBC. "As much as I like Haley, I don't even know what Trump could do to stop himself right now."

Sabin plans to help raise money for Trump if Haley doesn't make it through the primary season, despite previously telling CNBC he wouldn't give the former president "a f---ing nickel."

"He may be the only choice I have," said Sabin.

Several Haley fundraisers who spoke to CNBC conceded that, unless she gets a very close second to Trump or manages to pull off an upset win in New Hampshire, the race could effectively be over for her after that.

New Hampshire "is critical. If she wins there, and she can, it will be a long primary season," said Eric Levine, an attorney and bundler for Haley.

Levine is also the co-host of a Haley fundraising event scheduled for after the New Hampshire primary. He told CNBC he isn't worried about poor attendance, as long as she has a strong showing in the Granite State.

"She needs to win or a very, very close second place," said a lobbyist who is raising money for Haley.

To keep many of her more affluent donors engaged, Haley must get within three percentage points of Trump in New Hampshire, said a Republican fundraising advisor whose clients include Haley donors. If she does not, these donors could turn away from Haley and try to find other ways to stop Trump, including possibly by financing a third-party effort like No Labels, said the advisor.

A Haley campaign spokesperson did not respond to CNBC's request for comment before publication.

Trump is facing dozens of federal criminal charges, many related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Nonetheless, the former president dominated the Iowa caucuses, winning more than 50% of support from caucusgoers.

Polls in New Hampshire do not predict Haley faring much better there than she did in Iowa. Trump leads in the Granite State primary by about 14 percentage points over Haley, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average.

A plethora of wealthy Republican-leaning donors have rallied around Haley as their alternative to Trump, even though he is still poised to capture the GOP nomination.

To keep the campaign going after New Hampshire, she will need their help, as well as any small-dollar donor money she can get, to try to fend off Trump in her home state of South Carolina. Trump is leading Haley in the South Carolina primary by 30 percentage points, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average.

Haley and her allied political action committee have spent more than $26 million on advertisements targeting New Hampshire voters, according to AdImpact. Trump and his allied PAC have invested more than $12 million on ads in the state.

Some Haley donors have already lost hope.

In Davos, Switzerland, a wealthy investment banking executive and Haley donor told CNBC on Tuesday that he's now convinced Trump will be the Republican nominee, and go on to defeat President Joe Biden in November.

The banker, advisor and lobbyist were granted anonymity to speak freely.

 CNBC's Alex Sherman contributed to this report.



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Jimmy Haslam, CEO of Pilot Flying J., and Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

The Haslam family has sold its remaining 20% ownership interest in truck-stop giant Pilot Travel Centers to Berkshire Hathaway , both sides announced Tuesday.

The sale, whose terms were not disclosed, was announced more than a week after the Haslams and Berkshire Hathaway settled a billion-dollar Delaware Chancery Court lawsuit over an accounting method that the family complained would artificially depress the sale price of its stake in Pilot Travel Centers.

That settlement avoided what was scheduled to be a two-day trial beginning Jan. 8, with testimony from Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Greg Abel, the designated successor to company CEO Warren Buffett.

"Berkshire Hathaway now owns 100% of Pilot Travel Centers," Berkshire said in a statement, which also said the sale by the Haslams' Pilot Corp. was "effective today."

Berkshire Hathaway in a regulatory filing last year listed the Haslams' noncontrolling interest in Pilot Travel Centers at a value of $3.37 billion

But the since-settled lawsuit raised concerns that could be cut by as much as $1.2 billion.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they attacked the "spy headquarters" of Israel in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, state media reported late on Monday, while the elite force said they also struck in Syria against the Islamic State.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they attacked the "spy headquarters" of Israel in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, state media reported late on Monday, while the elite force said they also struck in Syria against the Islamic State.

The strikes come amid concerns about the escalation of a conflict that has spread through the Middle East since the war between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas began on Oct. 7, with Iran's allies also entering the fray from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

"In response to the recent atrocities of the Zionist regime, causing the killing of commanders of the Guards and the Axis of Resistance ... one of the main Mossad espionage headquarters in Iraq's Kurdistan region was destroyed with ballistic missiles," the Guards said in a statement.

Reuters could not independently verify the report. Israeli government officials were not reachable for immediate comment.

Iran had vowed revenge for the killing of three members of the Guards in Syria last month, including a senior Guards commander, who had served as military advisers there.

Since the Oct. 7 rampage by Hamas fighters into Israeli territory and the ensuing Israeli bombing campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon, more than 130 fighters of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah have been killed in hostilities.
Pro-Iranian Hezbollah militants chant slogans as they walk in the beginning of the funeral procession of the party top commander Wissam tawil in the southern Lebanese village of Khirbit Selem. Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

Is a wider Middle East war  expanding beyond the borders of Gaza and Israel  inevitable? The question is in sharp focus following a series of dramatic escalations around the region in the last few days: targeted killings of Hamas and Hezbollah commanders in Lebanon, a powerful Hezbollah attack on an Israeli Air Force command post, and U.S. and U.K. airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen after the Iran-backed rebels attacked dozens of ships in the Red Sea. Washington has dispatched Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other key diplomats to the region for several high-stakes meetings with Arab and Israeli leaders. "This is a moment of profound tension for the region," the State Department chief told reporters in Doha, Qatar, on Jan. 7. "This is a conflict that could easily metastasize, causing even more insecurity and suffering." An all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah  the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shia militant organization designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. and U.K.  would be devastating for both sides. Hezbollah, considered to be among the most heavily armed nonstate groups in the world, is estimated to have 10 times the military capability of Hamas, and previous wars between Israel and Hezbollah have ended without clear victory on either side. Lebanon, meanwhile, is in the midst of economic and political crisis, its infrastructure wholly unprepared for a new war.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gestures as he arrives in Tel Aviv on January 8, 2024, during his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East. Evelyn Hockstein | Afp | Getty Images

For Charles Freilich, a former Israeli deputy national security advisor, war between Israel and Hezbollah is practically a foregone conclusion. "A major escalation is possible at any time, whether by design or miscalculation," Freilich wrote in an opinion piece in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. But, he warned, "The war in Gaza pales in comparison to what a war with Hezbollah would look like. Hezbollah's military capabilities vastly exceed Hamas's and Israel has yet to achieve its military objectives even against this lesser actor, despite three months of intensive warfare. ... It will be a war such as Israel has never experienced."

Risk grows 'with every passing hour'

A war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group would likely cause significant damage to national infrastructure like water, electricity and communications, as well as homes and military targets for both sides. "Thus far the two sides have been careful to avoid the exchange of fire from getting out of control and escalating into a full scale war," said Nimrod Novik, a fellow at the Israel Policy Forum, which is dedicated to advancing a two-state outcome to the conflict. "However," he added, "with every passing hour the risk of getting there grows, be it due to either side's miscalculation or to a single rocket causing significant casualties that force a massive retaliation." Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, while making bombastic warnings in speeches, appears so far unwilling to involve his forces more deeply in fighting with Israel  likely because he is aware of the destruction it would cause to Lebanon and the domestic backlash it would incur. The broader Lebanese public is highly averse to an all-out war with Israel. The group struck an Israeli army base with drones earlier this month, an attack it said was in response to Israel's assassinations in Lebanon. In a subsequent speech, Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem said the group did not want to take the war beyond Lebanon, "but if Israel expands (it), the response is inevitable to the maximum extent required to deter Israel."

A man waves a Hezbollah movement flag as its leader Hassan Nasrallah delivers a televised speech in Kherbet Selm in southern Lebanon on January 14, 2024, marking the one week memorial since the killing top field commander Wissam Tawil. Mahmoud Zayyat | Afp | Getty Images

Not wanting to risk the chance of a surprise attack like the Hamas-led rampage on Oct. 7, some in Israel are advocating for Israeli initiation of a war with its northern neighbor  and some observers suspect a key aim here is to pull the U.S. into the fighting. "It seems clear that there is a significant faction in the Israeli war cabinet that wants to expand the war in an effort to smash and degrade the military power of Hezbollah, its most potent immediate adversary," Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, told CNBC. "The Israeli hawks who want a war with Hezbollah primarily want to degrade and damage Hezbollah's arsenal of missiles and rockets and its fighting ability." "But," he added, "I also think there is a lurking desire to set in motion a cascade of events that logically lead to a U.S. confrontation with Iran and the long-sought for U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear facilities." CNBC has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.
My top 10 things to watch Tuesday, Jan. 16 1. Bank earnings and disappointment over nothing. They were all pretty good. Before the bell, Goldman Sachs beat revenue estimates on better-than-expected asset management results, while Club holding Morgan Stanley reported fourth-quarter sales of $12.90 billion, beating Wall Street expectations of $12.75 billion thanks to strength in investment banking . We will send out a full earnings analysis later today following management's call with analysts. 2. This could be a big year for health care, a business that can actually grow faster than most of tech and has the possibility of a comeback from the Covid straitjacket that so many of these companies got caught up in. In my Sunday column , I ran through 4 great stock ideas from the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference last week. 3. Abbott Labs is a healthcare stock which had its growth obscured by the pandemic. Wells Fargo raised its price target to $131 from $121 and kept its overweight rating. The firm said Abbott's 2024 base business growth could accelerate over its pre-pandemic rate of 7%. 4. Microsoft price target raised to $435 from $425 at Wells Fargo. The firm said the Club name has much more AI-related products in the pipeline. 5. DuPont double downgraded to sell from buy at Bank of America. The firms sees only a modest earnings recovery in 2024 and "under-appreciated" PFAS liabilities. We made a small sale of DuPont shares a week ago. We still like our longer-term investment thesis centered on the recovery in the semiconductor and electronics industry, but trimmed just in case the timeline gets pushed out another quarter due to the slower bounce back in China. 6. Starbucks upgraded to buy from hold at Morgan Stanley, which cited an "interesting risk-reward skew." The firm also said China concerns are now fully priced into the shares. Big call because the Club stock has been horrendous. 7. Piper Sandler joins the crowd with an upgrade of Home Depot to buy from hold. Total group think which will work. The firm cited more large remodel projects expected in 2024. It also raised its price target for Lowe's to $245 from $218. Separately, Bernstein raised targets for both Lowe's and Home Depot. 8. Baird downgraded RTX and Northrop Grumman to hold from buy. The analyst expects mixed Q4 results for most defense stocks  surprising given how strong the sector has been. 9. RBC Capital backs UnitedHealth despite big hit to profits. These firms have misjudged the consumer and surgeries. 10. KLA Corp price target raised to $500 from $425 at Barclays. All capital equipment stocks are too low because the cycle is starting. Firm also raised Lam Research target to $750 from $600. Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free (See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

Shannon Stapleton | Reuters

My top 10 things to watch Tuesday, Jan. 16

1. Bank earnings and disappointment over nothing. They were all pretty good. Before the bell, Goldman Sachs beat revenue estimates on better-than-expected asset management results, while Club holding Morgan Stanley reported fourth-quarter sales of $12.90 billion, beating Wall Street expectations of $12.75 billion thanks to strength in investment banking. We will send out a full earnings analysis later today following management's call with analysts. 2. This could be a big year for health care, a business that can actually grow faster than most of tech and has the possibility of a comeback from the Covid straitjacket that so many of these companies got caught up in. In my Sunday column, I ran through 4 great stock ideas from the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference last week. 3. Abbott Labs is a healthcare stock which had its growth obscured by the pandemic. Wells Fargo raised its price target to $131 from $121 and kept its overweight rating. The firm said Abbott's 2024 base business growth could accelerate over its pre-pandemic rate of 7%. 4. Microsoft price target raised to $435 from $425 at Wells Fargo. The firm said the Club name has much more AI-related products in the pipeline. 5. DuPont double downgraded to sell from buy at Bank of America. The firms sees only a modest earnings recovery in 2024 and "under-appreciated" PFAS liabilities. We made a small sale of DuPont shares a week ago. We still like our longer-term investment thesis centered on the recovery in the semiconductor and electronics industry, but trimmed just in case the timeline gets pushed out another quarter due to the slower bounce back in China. 6. Starbucks upgraded to buy from hold at Morgan Stanley, which cited an "interesting risk-reward skew." The firm also said China concerns are now fully priced into the shares. Big call because the Club stock has been horrendous. 7. Piper Sandler joins the crowd with an upgrade of Home Depot to buy from hold. Total group think which will work. The firm cited more large remodel projects expected in 2024. It also raised its price target for Lowe's to $245 from $218. Separately, Bernstein raised targets for both Lowe's and Home Depot. 8. Baird downgraded RTX and Northrop Grumman to hold from buy. The analyst expects mixed Q4 results for most defense stocks  surprising given how strong the sector has been. 9. RBC Capital backs UnitedHealth despite big hit to profits. These firms have misjudged the consumer and surgeries. 10. KLA Corp price target raised to $500 from $425 at Barclays. All capital equipment stocks are too low because the cycle is starting. Firm also raised Lam Research target to $750 from $600. Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free (See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.)
The Indian markets have made tremendous gains since the beginning of the year, with both the Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex hitting record highs on Monday.

India is JPMorgan's top pick in Asia, and one of its favorite markets globally, the investment bank's Asian Equity Strategist Mixo Das told CNBC.

"It's our number one market at this point," he said, highlighting that the South-Asian nation will continue to benefit enormously as companies increasingly adopt a "China plus one" strategy.

Although Vietnam is also a strong contender for companies looking to set up manufacturing facilities, "India has sufficient size and scale to fully replace or fully augment the kind of capacity that global investors and global manufacturers seem to want," Das told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" on Tuesday.

Apple opened its first retail stores in India in April and started producing the iPhone 15 in the country in August, fueling optimism that other large companies would also looks at India as a favorable manufacturing destination.

Companies that already have a base in India are also expanding production capacity. The country's largest automaker, Maruti Suzuki, announced last week that it would invest $4.2 billion to build a second factory in India.

Even Vietnamese electric auto maker VinFast said earlier this month it aims to spend around $2 billion to set up a factory in India.
Asian markets may have had a rocky 2023, but those looking for pockets of opportunities in the region can look to Morgan Stanley's selection of "alpha" stocks. Alpha stocks are those with the ability to beat the market. The stocks, which are from Asia-Pacific ex-Japan, have a market capitalization of over $5 billion and were ranked on factors such as quality, value and sentiment, the investment bank's analysts wrote in a Jan. 5 note. Investors are also more optimistic about the Asian market this year. The MSCI Asia Pacific ex Japan Index is down 0.15% in the past month to $511.04. Among the "notable top-ranked stock ideas" on its list is South Korean manufacturing and services conglomerate SK Telecom . The bank has an overweight rating on the stock. "Our Korea telecom analyst ... believes 2024 will be more stable as regulatory risks wane and the 5G cycle comes to a close," Morgan Stanley's analysts wrote in explanation of why they like the stock. "He also sees the AI [artificial intelligence] story as a call option and remain constructive on data centers/cloud," they added. Another top stock that Morgan Stanley is overweight on is the Singapore-headquartered United Overseas Bank . The analysts' noted that the bank "has a similar return profile to peers but is lower risk given its greater ASEAN focus, so it's more protected from slowdowns in China's GDP growth." Here are 10 stocks from Morgan Stanley's full list of top overweight-rated stocks for January. Notable bottom-ranked stocks Morgan Stanley also named its "notable bottom-ranked stock ideas." Australian telecommunication company TPG Telecom was among the stocks on the list, given its "higher debt position than peers, weak mobile position and more exposure to negative tech trends." These factors "should result in a wider discount to peers like Telstra ," the investment bank's analysts wrote. Korean battery manufacturer EcoPro BM also appeared on the list, given that its "valuation premium of 60-70% over its peer L & F is difficult to justify at this stage, Morgan Stanley noted, adding that it "prefers companies with higher earnings visibility."  CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Nikki Haley, then-U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, in the Oval Office of the White House on in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 9, 2018.

WASHINGTON  ABC News has announced it will not move forward with its Republican presidential primary debate in New Hampshire on Thursday, hours after Nikki Haley said she would not participate in further debates unless front-runner Donald Trump is on stage.

"Our intent was to host a debate coming out of the Iowa caucuses, but we always knew that would be contingent on the candidates and the outcome of the race," an ABC News spokesperson told CNBC. "As a result, while our robust election coverage will continue, ABC News and WMUR-TV will not be moving forward with Thursday's Republican presidential primary debate in New Hampshire."

Trump won a landslide victory Monday in the Iowa Caucus, the first contest of the 2024 presidential nomination. Haley placed third in Iowa, with 19.1% of the vote.

On Tuesday, Haley accused Trump of "ducking" the debates.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis accused Haley of not wanting to answer "tough questions" on topics such as her alleged dealings with aircraft manufacturer Boeing while she was governor of South Carolina.

"The reality is that she is not running for the nomination, she's running to be Trump's VP," DeSantis posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday. "I won't snub New Hampshire voters like both Nikki Haley and Donald Trump, and plan to honor my commitments. I look forward to debating two empty podiums in the Granite State this week."

The next GOP primary debate is scheduled for Thursday, days before the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 23. Polls have Haley running just behind Trump in the state, some polls by as little as 7 points.

-- This story has been updated to include ABC's announcement.



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A 39-year-old man was arrested last week in connection with a stabbing that left another man dead and a woman injured in San Franciscos South of Market neighborhood. Mark Winema/Getty Images

A 39-year-old man was arrested last week in connection with a stabbing that left another man dead and a woman injured in San Franciscos South of Market neighborhood, police said Tuesday.

Dennis Duree of San Francisco was arrested Thursday on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, according to police.

The stabbing occurred about 5:40 a.m. Dec. 28 in the area of Mission and Washburn streets, between Ninth and 10th streets, where officers found two victims: a 45-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman, police said.

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Paramedics treated both victims at the scene before taking them to a hospital, where the man died, police said. His name was not immediately released.

An update on the womans condition was not available Tuesday.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says concerns that artificial intelligence will one day become so powerful that it will dramatically reshape and disrupt the world are overblown.

"It will change the world much less than we all think and it will change jobs much less than we all think," Altman said at a conversation organized by Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Altman was specifically referencing artificial general intelligence, or AGI, a term used to refer to a form of AI that can complete tasks to the same level, or a step above, humans.

He said AGI could be developed in the "reasonably close-ish future."

Altman, whose company burst into the mainstream after the public launch of the ChatGPT chatbot in late 2022, has tried to temper concerns from AI skeptics about the degree to which the technology will take over society.

Before the introduction of OpenAI's GPT-4 model in March, Altman warned technologists not to get overexcited by its potential, saying that people would likely be "disappointed" with it.

"People are begging to be disappointed and they will be," Altman said during a January interview with StrictlyVC. "We don't have an actual [artificial general intelligence] and that's sort of what's expected of us."

Founded in 2015, OpenAI's stated mission is to achieve AGI. The company, which is backed by Microsoft and has a private market valuation approaching $100 billion, says it wants to design the technology safely.

Following Donald Trump's victory in the Iowa Republican caucus on Monday, Altman was asked whether AI might exacerbate economic inequalities and lead to dislocation of the working class as the presidential elections pick up steam.

"Yes, for sure, I think that's something to think about," Altman said. But he later said, "This is much more of a tool than I expected."

Altman said AI isn't yet replacing jobs at the scale that many economists fear, and added that the technology is already getting to a place where it's becoming an "incredible tool for productivity."

Concerns about AI safety and OpenAI's role in protecting it were at the center of Altman's brief ouster from the company in November after the board said it had lost confidence in its leader. Altman was swiftly reinstated as CEO after a broad backlash from OpenAI employees and investors. Upon his return, Microsoft gained a nonvoting board observer seat at OpenAI.

WATCH: OpenAI, Microsoft and NYT will likely reach a settlement
Australian actress Sarah Snook (R) accepts the award for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series for "Succession" from US actress Jodie Foster onstage to during the 75th Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theatre at L.A. Live in Los Angeles on January 15, 2024. (Photo by Valerie Macon / AFP) (Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)

Media dynasty drama "Succession" and restaurant dramedy "The Bear" dominated the Emmy Awards on Monday, earning six trophies each as Hollywood handed out its top accolades for television.

"Succession," the HBO series about the high-stakes battle for control of a global business empire, won the prestigious best drama prize for its fourth and final season.

"The Bear" was named best comedy at a ceremony that was delayed by four months because of last year's labor turmoil in Hollywood. Road rage drama "Beef" claimed best limited series.

Emmy voters honored several actors and creators of color at a ceremony coincidentally held on the U.S. holiday that commemorates civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

"Succession" was named best drama series for the third time.

"It was a great sadness to end the show, but it was a great pleasure to do it," creator Jesse Armstrong said.

Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook and Matthew Macfadyen won acting trophies for their roles as part of the wealthy but miserable Roy family.

Culkin gave an emotional speech as he accepted his first Emmy, for lead drama actor, breaking into tears as he thanked his mom for a great childhood. He then told his wife he wanted more kids.

"You said maybe, if I win!" he said to his wife, Jazz Charton, who was seated in the audience. Snook, also a first-time winner, recognized Armstrong, her co-stars and her parents as she accepted best actress in a drama.

"Thank you for having a dress-up box when I was a kid. I think this is where it gets you," Snook said.

For "The Bear," star Jeremy Allen White was named best comedy actor, and his co-stars Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach won supporting actress and actor, for the first season of the FX network show.

"I am so proud, so full of gratitude, to be standing in front of you all," said White, who plays chef Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto. "I love the show so much."

The top TV honors were broadcast live on the Fox broadcast network.
Dubai's property boom in the years following the Covid-19 pandemic has been one of the fastest in the world, fueled by investor-friendly reforms and a surge in expat demand, particularly from Russia in the wake of the start of Moscow's full-scale war with Ukraine.

Some of Dubai's luxury developments cater specifically to Russian buyers, with real estate agencies fully staffed by Russian speakers, and in certain parts of the Gulf emirate a visitor will hear more Russian spoken than Arabic or English. But that wave is slowing down, DAMAC Chairman Hussain Sajwani says.

The new growth in demand is coming from China.

"Russia has slowed down. But other countries are coming in strong, especially Chinese coming back," Sajwani told CNBC's Dan Murphy at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday. He mentioned India and Europe as well.

"Dubai is, you know, surrounded by more than 100 countries with all kinds of issues and challenges. And people want to migrate and come to Dubai, for living or for investments," he said.

While China's economy faces challenges at home, Dubai is benefitting from those who can spend outside of the country. Emaar Properties, Dubai's largest developer, last year reported Chinese investments making up 7% of total sales in the first six months of 2023, roughly double the year prior.

A property crisis, slowing domestic economy, and lifting of travel restrictions after years of harsh lockdown policies are spurring wealthy Chinese to find foreign safe havens for their capital. Dubai's residential rental yields and relaxed tax laws, as well as the UAE's refusal to partake in Western sanctions campaigns, make it an attractive place for that, Sajwani said.

Dubai has also managed to remain stable and brush off initial market nervousness following the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, he added, saying that regional conflict has not hurt the emirate's property sector.

"So far UAE leadership have maintained a very good political policy, being ... to certain extent neutral, not getting involved in issues, in wars of that type. And economically, because we're one of the unique countries in the region, for lifestyle, security, safety, political stability, very good laws, regulations, as you know, the long-term golden visas and all that," he said, referring to a 10-year expat visa first introduced n 2019.

"So a lot of people coming and residing in Dubai anyway."
President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Poland's president, Andrzej Duda, on Tuesday described Ukraine's refusal to cede ground to Russia in prospective peace talks as "perfectly understandable." Speaking to CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Duda restated his support for his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, following stunted peace formula talks to which Russia was not a party. "It's no wonder that the Ukrainian authorities won't speak to [Russian President] Vladimir Putin today because they were clear from the start," Duda told CNBC's Steve Sedgwick. "To me, as the president of Poland, it's perfectly understandable. It's clear," he said. A meeting of national security advisors on Sunday made little headway in resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict after Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, reiterated Kyiv's resolute commitment to its 10-point peace formula.

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Included in its stipulations are the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, including land seized during Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, as well as the withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine. Duda, one of Ukraine's staunchest allies and a border neighbor, commended Kyiv's unwavering position since the onset of the war, and said that the conflict would only end with Moscow's full retreat. Russia, for its part, has objected to such demands. "They attacked an independent sovereign nation, so I'm not surprised President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and those who work with him are clear about the end of the war," Duda said. "The war will come to an end when we've driven Russians out of all Ukrainian occupied territories. For me this is obvious," he added. Duda's comments were mirrored by Latvia's president, Edgars Rinkevics, who said that he believed the West needed to change tack over its support for Ukraine.

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Rinkevics said Ukraine's allies should switch from backing Kyiv against the Russian onslaught for "as long as it is necessary" to a strategy that supports the Eastern European country "to its victory." "All those voices who are saying that we probably should have some kind of political process, talks or discussions, they somehow don't hear what Mr. Putin is saying," Rinkevics told CNBC on Tuesday. "Mr. Putin is saying that he is ready to fight this war until the end," Rinkevics continued. "I read that he is actually questioning the statehood of Ukraine. And if he is questioning the statehood of Ukraine then the big question is, what's next?" Rinkevics said he expected "common sense to prevail" regardless of the political processes not just in the U.S., but also across Europe, citing the upcoming European Parliament elections.
The railroad Canadian Pacific Kansas City is poised to benefit from mounting disruptions to shipping in the Red Sea that are rerouting global trade routes, according to Redburn Atlantic. Shippers will increasingly use CPKC's newly formed land bridge to move freight from the Port of Lazaro Cardenas on Mexico's West Coast to the U.S. East Coast, analyst Oliver Holmes told clients in a research note Monday. The railroad's land bridge through North America is an attractive alternative for cargo from Asia to the U.S. East Coast as the Suez and Panama canals face disruptions to traffic. Container shipping through the Red Sea was down 30% in mid-December due to repeated attacks by Iran-allied Houthi militants in Yemen, Holmes told clients. Ships at the mouth of the Red Sea or on their way to and from the Suez Canal were down 90% in the first week of January, according to Holmes. Sailing around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa as an alternative to the Suez Canal increases transit time from Asia to the U.S. East Coast to 40 days from 28 days. Container ships moving freight from Asia to the U.S. East Coast could divert traffic to Panama Canal instead, but the waterway is suffering from low water and has restrictions in place on the number of ships that can transit daily. CPKC's land bridge through Mexico north to the U.S. shortens transit time by 10 to 14 days compared to the Panama Canal, Holmes wrote. "This route is materially faster (10-14 days) than going through the Panama Canal, especially when there are restrictions in place," he told clients. "We add that this was one of CPKC's merger-derived growth drivers and, thus, we expect there to already be a strategy in place to capitalise on the current tailwind." CPKC offers best-in-class earnings protection if the macroeconomic environment grows weak and the most compelling long-term earnings outlook among railroads, Holmes said. Analysts are underestimating the earnings contribution from Canadian Pacific's recent merger with Kansas City Southern, he said. CPKC's management expects earnings per share to double to CAD$8 from fiscal 2024 through fiscal 2028. Holmes and Redburn Atlantic estimate that the railroad's stock price could roughly double to CAD$200 by 2028. U.S.-listed shares of the company are down about 3% in early 2024. CP YTD mountain CP in 2024
Former President Donald Trump, center, departs Trump Tower in New York on Jan. 16, 2024. David Dee Delgado | Bloomberg | Getty Images

A lawyer for writer E. Jean Carroll urged jurors on Tuesday to force former President Donald Trump to pay for repeatedly defaming her in denying her account of him sexually assaulting her in a New York department store in the 1990s. "Members of the jury, it's time to hold him accountable and show him no one is above the law," Carroll's lawyer Shawn Crowley said in opening arguments of Trump's defamation trial in Manhattan federal court. "Twenty-five years after sexually assaulting her, he keeps doing it and it's time for him to stop," Crowley said. The lawyer noted that Trump's defamatory statements  which are not in dispute in this civil trial  began when he was still president, and have continued to the day of the trial. "You will hear how his statements from 2019 harmed her reputation as a respected writer and advice columnist," Crowley told the nine jurors who will determine monetary damages.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump turns to face potential jurors as they answer questions during jury selection in the second civil trial after E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her decades ago, at Manhattan Federal Court in New York City, U.S., January 16, 2024 in this courtroom sketch. Jane Rosenberg | Reuters

"Led his followers to go after her, attack her character and threaten her life, calling her a liar, and accusing her of making it up to get money," the lawyer said. "People telling her she should go to jail, that they will rape her and that she needs to die." "You will need to decide how much money he needs to pay for ruining her life and living every day of her life living in fear from the hate and threats," Crowley said. But Trump's lawyer Alina Habba brushed aside those claims. "Ms. Carroll will try to convince you that her reputation has been harmed and she suffered throughout this ordeal," Habba said. "The evidence will show you her career has prospered and she has been thrust back into the limelight like she always wanted." Habba also said, "I want the jury to remember one thing: This case is not about assault  this case is about defamation." "Ms. Carroll did not minimize the effects of the defamation. She went on talk shows and did interviews but she expects you to give her an award for every negative comment that was thrown her way," Habba said. "But I need you to remember this: She had a duty to minimize the statements, not exacerbate the statements." "She was not harmed, it's the opposite. She has gained more fame and more notoriety than she could ever have dreamed of," Habba added. The nine jurors seated include an emergency medicine physician, a property manager, a retired track supervisor for New York's transit agency, a publicist and an unemployed physical therapist. The jury is anonymous. Trump was in the courtroom as prospective jurors began being questioned for the trial, which kicked off a day after he scored a landslide win in the Iowa Republican caucuses. But he left to travel to New Hampshire for a campaign event before opening statements were made by Habba and Crowley. The trial will determine just one question: what damages Trump should pay Carroll for defamatory statements he made about her while he was president, and then again last year, denying her claim that he raped her in a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s. Carroll's lawyers want him to pay at least $10 million.

In this courtroom sketch, former U.S. President Donald Trump and writer E. Jean Carroll attend jury selection in the second civil trial after Carroll accused Trump of raping her in the 1990s, at Manhattan Federal Court in New York City on Jan. 16, 2024. Jane Rosenberg | Reuters

Three people were excused from the jury pool after answering "yes" when they were asked if they would be unable to give both sides a fair trial and decide a verdict based only on the evidence presented. One would-be juror said she knew Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump, having worked for her on communications for her company in 2017. That woman said she could be impartial and remained in the jury pool. A man in the jury pool said he knew Carroll's lawyer Roberta Kaplan, having worked together on pro bono legal matters. He also said he could be impartial in the case. Two people answered "yes" when asked if they believed that the 2020 election, in which Trump lost to President Joe Biden, was stolen. Trump, who has made that claim for more than three years, turned around in his seat to see who those would-be jurors were. Judge Lewis Kaplan began the proceedings by quickly rejecting a series of requests by Trump's lawyers, including a motion that the trial be postponed so that he can attend his mother-in-law's funeral Thursday. A jury in a trial last fall found that Trump had sexually abused Carroll in a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s and had defamed her in late 2022 in statements denying the allegation. That jury, which did not find him liable for raping Carroll, ordered him to pay her $5 million.

E. Jean Carroll arrives for her defamation trial against Former President Donald Trump at New York Federal Court in New York City on Jan. 16, 2024. Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

Trump is appealing the verdict in that case. Judge Kaplan, who has presided over both cases, in September said the verdict in the first trial, which found that Carroll was telling the truth about Trump assaulting her, "precludes Mr. Trump from contesting the falsity of his 2019 statements" about her.

Trump blasted the judge and Carroll in several posts on his Truth Social site Tuesday morning. In one post, he wrote, "have been considered an A-List celebrity for many decades," and said he had been "wrongfully accused" by Carroll. "She has been 'all over the place' on the timing of this alleged 'incident,' which never took place, and is being coached by Lunatic Radical Left Democrat operative attorney, Roberta Kaplan," Trump ranted. "I am the only one who has been injured by this attempted EXTORTION." On Monday, Trump's lawyer Joseph Tacopina withdrew from the case, and from a Manhattan Supreme Court criminal case where Trump is charged with falsifying business records related to a 2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Former U.S. president and Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks during a "commit to caucus rally" in Indianola, Iowa, on Jan. 14, 2024.

Shares of Digital World Acquisition soared about 30% Tuesday, following former President Donald Trump's landslide victory in the Iowa caucuses.

The blank check company is scheduled to merge later this year with Trump Media & Technology Group, the operator of the social media platform Truth Social.

Digital World Acquisition extended a deadline for the fourth time last year to merge with the Trump social media platform.

Truth Social has struggled to gain traction since its launch in 2022. Its parent company, headed by former Rep. Devin Nunes, has lost more than $30 million since its founding in 2021.

It has also faced challenges growing its user base beyond Trump and his loyal supporters, and it has less than 5% of the monthly visits of its rival X, formerly known as Twitter, according to website data tracking firm Similarweb.

Still, Trump has remained active on the site, even after X reinstated his account last year.

Shares of Digital World Acquisition have been volatile since its initial public offering in 2021.

On Monday, Trump handily beat his rivals Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley in the Iowa caucus, the first nominating contest of the 2024 campaign.

With 99% of the vote tallied, 51% of those who caucused selected Trump, followed by 21% for DeSantis and 19% for Haley.

In his victory speech to supporters Monday night, Trump congratulated his rivals and called for a rare show of unity.

"Whether it's Republican or Democrat or liberal or conservative, it would be so nice if we could come together and straighten out the world and straighten out the problems and straighten out all of the death and destruction that we're witnessing that's practically never been like this," Trump said.



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MOSCOW, RUSSIA - MAY 9 : Beriev A-50, airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft based on the Ilyushin Il-76 transport, performs during a Victory Day military parade marking the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War, the Eastern Front of World War II, amid coronavirus (Covid-19) precautions at Red Square in Moscow, Russia on May 09, 2020. (Photo by Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Ukraine said on Monday it had destroyed a Russian Beriev A-50 spy plane and an Ilyushin Il-22 airborne command post in the Sea of Azov area, dealing a blow to Russian military operations in occupied southern Ukraine.

"Ukraine's Air Force destroyed an enemy A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft and an enemy IL-22 air control centre," army chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

"I am grateful to the Air Force for the perfectly planned and executed operation in the Azov Sea region!"

Reuters was unable to verify the statement independently. The Russian defence ministry did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.

The Ukrainian defence ministry valued the A-50 aircraft at $330 million. Kyiv's statements did not say how the planes had been destroyed.

The A-50, which first came into service near the end of the Soviet era, is a large Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft that can scan an area several hundred kilometres across for enemy aircraft, ships and missiles.

Some Russian military bloggers said the downing of the aircraft would be a huge loss for Russia's air force, since there was a limited number of the planes in service.

"It will be another dark day for the Russian Aerospace Forces and Air Defense," wrote Rybar, a blogger with nearly 1.2 million subscribers that supports and provides running commentary on Russia's war in Ukraine.

"There are not many A-50s. And the specialists operating them are generally rare. If an aircraft of this type is hit, the crew will not be able to escape." It was not clear how many A-50s Russia has in service.

 Reuters
Wow! Momo Foods, the operator of Wow! Momo, Wow! China, and Wow! Chicken has raised over 350 crores from Khazanah Nasional Berhad (Khazanah), the sovereign wealth fund of Malaysia. The investment will be made through both primary infusion and secondary purchase from early-stage investors Indian Angel Network and Lighthouse Funds.

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In addition, the companys existing investor, OAKS Asset Management, has also infused 60 crores of additional funding into Wow! Momo Foods.

CNBC-TV18 learns that the round will give 15X return to its angel investors from The Indian Angel Network and a 5X return to its Series A Investors, Lighthouse funds that also see a partial exit.

Commenting on the announcement, Sagar Daryani, Co-Founder and CEO, Wow! Momo Foods said, "There is no greater joy for a founder than giving its initial investors (Indian Angel Network and Lighthouse Funds) great partial exits. For us, the Bharat Story has just begun with a huge headway of growth. With Khazanahs investment into the business and their long-term approach, we will strive to become the powerhouse of innovation and transformation in the food space while keeping a strong balance between sustainability, growth and backing breakthroughs."

Dato Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir, Managing Director, Khazanah, said, "We are excited to be on the journey with Wow! Momo in their mission to build the largest QSR brand in India. We aim to encourage the growth of Wow! Momo through enhanced scalability, technological fortification, and focusing on building a strong back-end capability to support its growth."

Vishal Ootam, Founder and CEO of OAKS Asset Management, said, In our journey with investments in other F&B brands, we have realised that long-term thinking and dynamic leadership are essential. We feel that Wow! Momo has both. We feel that Wow! Momo will not only gain dominance in the domestic market but also be the first globalized QSR company from India. We are ready to scale with the brand.

Launched in August 2008, Wow! Momo Foods is a multi-billion-rupee quick service restaurant chain with more than 630 outlets in over 35 cities. The venture now hopes to launch over 400 outlets in the next 30 months. The primary fund will fuel the growth and expansion of the quick service restaurant brand and help to strengthen the distribution foothold and research and development for the FMCG arm.

Wow! Momo, together with Wow! China and Wow! Chicken's aim is to enter more than 100 cities and look at a footprint of over 1500 stores in the next five years. The brand is also expanding across various touchpoints in FMCG with over 1200 retail outlet presence across more than 50 cities in modern trade and quick commerce with its ready-to-eat momos and along with new product launches lined-up in the coming fiscal year.

In the transaction, Investec acted as the financial advisors to Wow! Momo.
A hot air balloon accident in Arizona on Sunday killed four people, including a man from Cupertino. Christian Petersen/Getty Images

A Cupertino computer programmer died Sunday, along with three others, when the hot air balloon he chartered with a dozen others crash-landed in the Arizona desert, according to police.

Atahan Kiliccote, 24, died, along with three others, while another woman was critically injured, when the balloon crashed in Eloy, Ariz., about 40 miles southeast of Phoenix. Eight skydivers safely jumped from the aircraft and landed before the problems with the balloon, police said. Federal investigators said the crash followed a problem with the envelope, or balloon itself.

The Kubicek BB 85 Z balloon, operated by Droplyne Hot Air Balloon Rides, specialized in skydiving by bringing customers to as high as 10,000 feet where they could leap off a platform. The balloon took off for a sunrise jump Sunday with 13 people on board, which appears to be the maximum, according to the Droplyne website. The company said it allows a max 12 per load, on its website under passenger load.

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Police said all eight skydivers successfully jumped, but then the aircraft faced trouble. Around 7:50 a.m., the balloon crashed in the desert east of Sunshine Boulevard and Hanna Road in Eloy.

In addition to Kiliccote, three others died: Chayton Wiescholek, 28, of Union City, Mich.; Kaitlynn Bartrom, 28, of Andrews, Ind.; and pilot Cornelius Van Der Walt, 37, originally from South Africa, but living in Eloy. Van Der Walt started the company after Red Bull hired him in 2017 to film a short film to commemorate the 1909 gas balloon race used to promote the Indianapolis Motor Speedways first event, according to the company website.

Droplyne claimed on its site to have a perfect safety record.

Police listed Valerie Stutterheim, 23, of Scottsdale, Ariz., as the passenger critically injured.

The Eloy Police Department is working with the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration to investigate the incident.

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NTSB officials released early findings Monday, saying the balloon crashed following an unspecified problem with its envelope, which is the balloon portion of the aircraft.

Investigators have not found any mechanical anomalies with the balloon during their examination, the NTSB said. They have also separated the balloon from the basket, and everything appears to be intact.

Investigators hope to examine the balloon for anomalies and they hope an electronic device could provide flight information, as well as a video camera. Both devices have been sent to NTSB headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Investigators are interviewing witnesses and participants. The NTSB has also collected maintenance records for the balloon and information on the pilots flight experience, the agency said. A preliminary report is expected within a month.

On his LinkedIn account, Kiliccote said he worked as a graduate computer engineer at Orsted, a clean energy company, since September 2022.

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We are devastated by the sudden and tragic loss of our team member, Atahan, and we extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues, an Orsted spokesperson said in a statement to the Chronicle. Atahan was a valuable employee with Orsted since September 2022, using his engineering and science background to help us build renewable energy projects across the United States.

Before that, he interned for a year at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park where he designed an application for securing grid asset supply chains. In 2017, he interned at the Stanford University School of Engineering where he analyzed public building data to recommend updates to air conditioning and insulation systems, he wrote in his online resume.

Kiliccote received his engineering degree in 2022 from Carnegie Mellon Universitys College of Engineering. He volunteered for Habitat For Humanity the past five years.

While Droplyne hot air balloons specialize in skydiving, they encourage non-jumpers to join the trips.

Youll be staying in the baskets when the skydivers jump out, the company explains on its website. It is perfectly safe and you do not need to take any special precautions to join any flight where skydivers are onboard.
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Hong Kong Customs detects largest liquid cocaine case

Xinhua) 10:21, January 16, 2024

HONG KONG, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong Customs has seized about 444 kg of suspected liquid cocaine with an estimated market value of about 490 million Hong Kong dollars (about 63 million U.S. dollars), representing a record seizure of liquid cocaine, the customs said Monday.

Acting on intelligence analysis, customs officers on Dec. 19 last year selected a 20-foot seaborne container for inspection and found 148 packages of suspected liquid cocaine packed in transparent plastic bags with a total weight of about 444 kg.

The container, arriving in Hong Kong from Brazil, was declared as carrying wine and grape juice, and the suspected drug was inside 37 out of 706 carton boxes of wine.

Customs officers arrested a 38-year-old man who claimed to be unemployed and a 50-year-old man who claimed to be a transportation company owner on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

An investigation is ongoing and the likelihood of further arrests is not ruled out, the customs said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Dominic Fracassa is an assistant metro editor overseeing breaking news and criminal justice in San Francisco. He previously covered San Francisco City Hall as a staff writer.

He can be reached at dfracassa@sfchronicle.com.
ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has altered the fine print in its usage policies to eliminate specific text related to the usage of its AI technology or large language models for military and warfare.

Before the alteration was done on January 10, the usage policy specifically disallowed the use of OpenAI models for weapons development, military and warfare, and content that promotes, encourages, or depicts acts of self-harm.

OpenAI said that the updated policies summarize the list and make the document more readable while offering service-specific guidance.

The list has been now condensed into what the company terms Universal Policies, which disallow anyone to use its services to bring harm to others and ban the repurposing or distribution of any output from its models to bring harm to others.

Our policy does not allow our tools to be used to harm people, develop weapons, for communications surveillance, or to injure others or destroy property, an OpenAI spokesperson said. There are, however, national security use cases that align with our mission. For example, we are already working with DARPA to spur the creation of new cybersecurity tools to secure open source software that critical infrastructure and industry depend on. It was not clear whether these beneficial use cases would have been allowed under military in our previous policies. So the goal with our policy update is to provide clarity and the ability to have these discussions.

While the alternation of the policies is being read as the companys gradual weakening stance against working with defense or military-related organizations, the frontier risks posed by AI have already been highlighted by several experts, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Highlighting risks posed by AI

In May last year, hundreds of tech industry leaders, academics, and other public figures signed an open letter warning that AI evolution could lead to an extinction event, saying that controlling the tech should be a top global priority.

Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war, read the statement published by the San Francisco-based Center for AI Safety.

Ironically, the most prominent signatories at the top of the letter included Altman and Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott. Executives, engineers, and scientists from Googles AI research lab, DeepMind also signed the letter.

The first letter against the usage of AI came in March, in which more than 1,100 technology luminaries, leaders, and scientists issued a warning against labs performing large-scale experiments with AI.

In October, OpenAI said it was readying a team to prevent what the company calls frontier AI models from starting a nuclear war and other threats.

We believe that frontier AI models, which will exceed the capabilities currently present in the most advanced existing models, have the potential to benefit all of humanity. But they also pose increasingly severe risks, the company said in a blog post.

In 2017, an international group of AI and robotics experts signed an open letter to the United Nations to halt the use of autonomous weapons that threaten a third revolution in warfare.

These experts, again ironically, included Elon Musk, who has set up an AI firm, dubbed X.AI, to compete with OpenAI.

Reasons for concern

There could be reasons for more concern. Some researchers argue that so-called evil or bad AI models cannot be scaled back or trained to be good with existing techniques.

A research paper, led by Anthropic, which seeks to check if an AI system can be taught deceptive behavior or strategy, showed that such behavior can be made persistent.

We find that such backdoored behavior can be made persistent, so that it is not removed by standard safety training techniques, including supervised fine-tuning, reinforcement learning, and adversarial training (eliciting unsafe behavior and then training to remove it), the researchers wrote.

Our results suggest that, once a model exhibits deceptive behavior, standard techniques could fail to remove such deception and create a false impression of safety, they added.

According to the researchers, what is even more concerning is that the use of adversarial training to stop such deceptive behavior of models can teach them to recognize their backdoor trigger better, effectively hiding unsafe behavior.

(The story has been updated with comments from an OpenAI spokesperson.)
Elon Musk wants more control of Tesla, the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer that made him a multi-billionaire, to advance its position as a leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics technology.

The outspoken CEO and co-founder of Tesla used X (formerly Twitter), the social-media platform he owns, to share his discomfort about growing these technologies within the company without having more of a financial stake and thus voting control with Tesla's board.

Musk currently has a 13% share in the company, which overall has a market cap of $764.37 billion.

"I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having ~25% voting control," Musk said on X. This share is "enough to be influential, but not so much that I cant be overturned," which means others could veto any of his technology decisions.

In fact, Musk said he might take Tesla's AI and robotics development elsewhere theoretically to another company  f he doesn't get his way.

"Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla," he said on X. "You dont seem to understand that Tesla is not one startup, but a dozen. Simply look at the delta between what Tesla does and GM."

Musk also seemed to suggest that other shareholders with similar stakes in Tesla, such as Fidelity, don't pull the same weight that he does as its CEO. "Why don't they show up for work?" he said.

Comments spark more controversy

Tesla did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The company's leader is certainly no stranger to controversy  in fact many industry watchers argue Musk relishes it. The comments  perceived by some as a power and money grab that threatens Tesla's business by taking technology innovation outside the company  spurred even more.

"Let me get this straight, Elon wants another 450M new shares ($100B) or conversion of existing shares into super-voting status, or he will 'prefer to build products outside of Tesla?!' Jim Chanos said in a post on X, the president and founder of investment firm Kynikos Associates best known for predicting the fall of Enron. "I know this is Elon, but you do realize how outrageous this is, right?"

Others called Musk's comments an attack on Tesla's board of directors, who he was quick to call "great" and "excellent" in follow-up messages.

Still others supported the idea based on Musks ongoing work at the company and for the good of growing the business.

"Elon has earned all of his existing shares," Tesla investor and retired software engineer Jason DeBolt said on X. "Lets give him a path to earn more (25% voting control) and take Tesla to the next level. Hes working harder than any of us retail investors and institutional investorswaiting for stuff to just magically happen."

Musk seemed to suggest his interest in having more control at Tesla is not about him becoming richer, but "about ensuring the right amount of voting influence at Tesla.

"If I have 25%, it means I am influential, but can be overridden if twice as many shareholders vote against me vs for me," he tweeted. "At 15% or lower, the for/against ratio to override me makes a takeover by dubious interests too easy."

xAI or something new?

If Musk were to take Tesla's AI development elsewhere, it could be as part of a new generative AI venture, dubbed xAI, he launched last year to take on the likes of ChatGPT creator OpenAI. (Musk at its inception supported Open AI as a board member; he resigned in 2018, citing a conflict of interest with Tesla's AI development.)

Musk since has been a critic of ChatGPT and has expressed fears about the technology's threat to the human race. In fact, his xAI advisory team includes Dan Hendrycks, the director of the Center for AI Safety, which signed an open letter warning that AI evolution could lead to an extinction event and pushing for more control over the technology.

Musk also has said that both Tesla and X will work closely with xAI, which is based in the San Francisco area, to design the new generative AI engine, which will not explicitly be programmed with morality but rather will try to understand the true nature of the universe to make it safer.

Meanwhile, even as Musk distanced himself from OpenAI, Microsoft has increased both its financial and strategic influence in the firm, setting up a potential future AI showdown between of some of the tech industry's top leaders.
When it comes to generative artificial intelligence (genAI), businesses across a variety of vertical industries have jumped into deployments over the past year or so for fear of being left behind.

More than two-thirds of business leaders have now rolled out genAI tools for their workforce. But employee knowledge or training on large language models and genAI tools remains a top barrier to proper implementation, according to an October Harris Poll.

The findings indicate while genAI is being rolled out broadly, its not being effectively used, and getting a return on investment (ROI) is even more elusive.

I was really surprised to see 72% conducted employee training on [AI] concepts and employee knowledge was still a barrier, said Carm Taglienti, chief data officer at technology consultancy Insight Enterprises. "So that means a lot of people were trained, but they really didnt learn anything."

The Harris Poll, conducted on behalf of Insight Enterprises, found that a majority of business leaders have been tasked with helping their company define the ROI from genAI. However, only 15% consider the costs of implementation, including technical debt due to outdated infrastructure, initial financial investments, and ongoing maintenance costs.

The results of a new survey by global content and tech firm Thomson Reuters found that nearly 90% of respondents expect basic AI training to become mandatory for all professionals over the next five years.

Sectors slated to most benefit from Gen AI include the legal and tax and accounting professions  of which 75% and 59%, respectively, cite productivity as their top priority for 2024.

Rick Villars, group vice president for research firm IDC, said his analysts have seen that enterprises are again and again increasing budgets for genAI and other forms of AI, including building out infrastructure, services, and software platforms.

The one thing theyre not increasing at the same level is the investment in training and upskilling their own teams, Villars said. Thats about the IT teams and the subject-matter experts. But its also just training their employees on better AI behavior and practices so they can protect their information.

Training workers to utilize AI and big data (huge amounts of structure and unstructured information) ranks third among company skills-training priorities over the next five years, and it will be prioritized by 42% of companies, according to a survey by the World Economic Forum.

The questions companies need to ask include what kind of employees should be part of an AI implementation team and how much (and what kind of) training is needed to realize all of AIs potential benefits.

Who should be on your AI team?

Building an AI team is an evolving process, just as generative AI itself is steadily evolving  even week to week.

First, its crucial to understand what the organization wants to do with AI, said Corey Hynes, executive chair and founder at IT training company Skillable. "Second, there must be an appetite for innovation and dedication to it, and a strategy  dont embark on AI efforts without due investment and thought. Once you understand the purpose and goal, then you look for the right team.

Some top roles include:

A data scientist who can simplify and navigate complex datasets and whose insights provide useful information as models are built.

An AI software engineer who often owns design, integration, and execution of machine-learning models into systems.

An AI officer or leader to provide leadership and guidance in implementing and leading AI initiatives to ensure alignment and execution.

An AI security officer to handle the unique challenges, such as ensuring adherence to regulations, data transparency, and internal vulnerabilities that come with AI models and algorithms, including adversarial attacks, model bias, and data poisoning.

Prompt engineers who can craft and improve text queries or instructions (prompts) in large language models (LLMs) to get the best possible answers from genAI tools.

Legal consultants to advise IT teams to help ensure organizations abide by regulations and laws.

LLMs are the deep-learning algorithms  neural networks  most often characterized by their massive storehouses of information. LLMs can have millions, billions and even trillions of parameters or variables and are essentially next-word generators. Training them to choose the most appropriate response for a given query is the job of a prompt engineer. (Prompt engineering is also one of the fastest-growing career skills for technical and non-technical professionals alike.)

These things [LLMs] are like parrots. They will react to what theyre fed. If you feed them a bunch of garbage, you will get a bunch of garbage back.  Nick Stepro, CTO, Arcadia

Think of it as the process of interacting with a machine to get it to produce the results youd like, said Sameer Maskey, a Columbia University AI professor and CEO of Fusemachines, an AI consultancy.

Avivah Litan, a distinguished vice president analyst at research firm Gartner, said prompt engineering will eventually be folded into application engineering and software developer career streams. It will be a required skill for the future, but it will not be a separate career stream, she said.

Cloud providers are also expected to launch prompt-engineering services, according to Forrester Research, meaning that in some cases the task can be outsourced.

In 2024, all of the hyperscalers will announce prompt engineering," Forrester said in a recent report. "However, enterprise adoption will be limited. Due to incomplete contextual data and limited experience in natural language and prompt engineering among data scientists, the cloud providers first-gen prompt engineering services will not suffice to address the tailored fine-tuning needs."

Some of the top learning platforms for IT skills include online training providers such as Udemy, Coursera, and Code Academy; they are often the best places to turn for upskilling or reskilling employees, according to Erick Brethenoux, an adjunct professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

In 2023, Coursera offered access to more than 35 courses or projects specific to genAI, resulting in 570,500 enrollments. And just last week, it announced the launch of its Generative AI Academy, which is designed to equip executives and their employees with the skills needed to create in a genAI-driven workplace.

Coursera last year also launched courses specific to prompt engineering and has enrolled more than 170,000 students in them, according to a spokesperson. Courseras programs include Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT from Vanderbilt University; ChatGPT Prompt Engineering for Developers from DeepLearning.AI; Prompt Engineering for Web Developers from Scrimba; and AI Foundations: Prompt Engineering with ChatGPT from Arizona State University.

While LLMs such as OpenAI's GPT-4, Googles LaMDA, or Hugging Faces Bart are pre-filled with massive amounts of information, prompt engineering allows genAI tools to be tailored for specific industry or even organizational use.

Over time, massive, amorphous LLMs such as GPT-4 are expected to give way to smaller models that are less compute intensive and more domain specific, allowing more compact LLMs to gain traction in any number of vertical industries.

Security remains a top concern for business leaders when it comes to genAI, with 38% citing it as a top barrier in that Harris Poll. That's more than double the percentage who consider the costs of implementation as a hurdle for their organization.

Mike Peterson, vice president of Infrastructure and Cloud Services at Blue Shield of California, said before ever experimenting with genAI, his organization first developed an AI governance team. That team, comprising members of the IT, legal, and HR group, is now developing frameworks and safeguards to help ensure AI does no harm when it goes live.

Blue Shield is also upskilling its employees, mostly through self-paced learning, but not in the most traditional of ways.

Generally, I try to put IT teams on big projects, Peterson said. I find 70% to 80% of knowledge retention in learning happens by doing. We also hire to fill our AI skills needs.... In the AI space, though, talent is harder because finding someone with years of experience is impossible.

Sarah Danzl, chief marketing officer at Skillable, agreed, and said allowing workers to simply use genAI with little to no hands-on training is like letting someone whod only read an instruction manual fly a plane.

Hands-on training drives skill mastery, she said. Learning new, competitive skills is the most important way IT professionals can future-proof themselves. Its also the path forward for companies seeking to become future-ready.

How to build a genAI team

Building an genAI team requires a holistic approach, according to Jayaprakash Nair head of Machine Learning, AI and Visualization at Altimetrik, a digital engineering services provider. To reduce the risk of failure, organizations should begin by setting the foundation for quality data, establish a single source of truth strategy, and define business objectives.

Building a team that includes diverse roles such as data scientists, machine learning engineers, data engineers, domain experts, project managers, and ethicists/legal advisors is also critical, he said.

Each role will contribute unique expertise and perspectives, which is essential for effective and responsible implementation, Nair said. "Management must work to foster collaboration among these roles, help align each function with business goals, and also incorporate ethical and legal guidance to ensure that projects adhere to industry guidelines and regulations."

For example, a data scientist develops AI models that will extract insights and predict trends. A machine learning engineer will then take the AI models developed by data scientists and scale them for production use, focusing on algorithm optimization and deployment. Data engineers next build and maintain the infrastructure and pipelines that allow for efficient and secure data collection, storage, and access  all of them necessary for AI operations. And domain experts provide industry-specific knowledge required to guide the development and solutions.

Project managers oversee and coordinate between different roles, managing resources and timelines, and ensuring that the project meets its objectives and business goals. Meanwhile, legal advisors ensure that projects comply with relevant laws and regulations.

Generally, I try to put IT teams on big projects. I find 70% to 80% of knowledge retention in learning happens by doing.  Mike Peterson, VP of Infrastructure and Cloud Services, Blue Shield of California

Also important: emerging technology IT workers, who are seen as essential in support of CIO and CTO objectives, according to a recent survey by Skillable. AI for IT Operations (AIOps) ranked in the top five of those technologies.

The top three emerging technologies or knowledge areas crucial for AI team members are:

AI TRiSM (AI trust, risk and security management);

Composite AI (the combination of different AI techniques to achieve the best result);

And generative AI.

According to Gartner, AI TRiSM has emerged as the backbone for organizations to navigate the challenges presented by genAI. Failure to effectively upskill current workforces on best practices means falling behind on genAI implementation.

Not surprisingly, companies are now looking to hire people with AI skills  and job seekers who have those skills are highlighting them.

A recent study by the Oxford Universitys Internet Institute found that employees with skills in AI can earn salaries as much as 40% higher than peers who don't have them. The study also found combining AI skills with a wide range of other skills was the most valuable to organizations.

Job listing site Upwork last fall released its study on the skillsets of job seekers accepting jobs, as well as the search and hiring behaviors of companies pursuing genAI projects. It found that about half of hiring managers plan to hire more independent talent and 49% plan to hire more full-time employees  both because of genAI deployment plans.

It's also important to look for people who like learning new technology, have a good business sense, and understand how the technology can benefit the company.

At his own organization, Insight Enterprises, Taglienti said 10% to 20% of his staff must learn prompt engineering. Others need to know how to use AI content generation skills and coding assistants such as Microsoft Copilot or Amazons CodeWisperer.

Youre interacting with AI, but that doesnt require you to have a ton knowledge to use it, he said. The democratization of this technology enabled us to move away from having to each someone Python, infrastructure, cloud skills. I have the ability to make this relatively simple in terms of onboarding some of the basics for experimenting or implementing ideas that could benefit the business.

So we look for people who are not only subject matter experts but also people who understand business transformation," Taglienti continued, "and they understand adoption and adaptation from a cultural standpoint of a business because thats what the power of the technology allows you to do."

Getting business users onboard

On the business side of the house, its usually not difficult to inspire employees to learn any new technology when that technology has clear business benefits. Nick Stepro, CTO at Arcadia, which sells a health data platform, said it's business users more than technical users who'll get "supercharged" about genAI.

"Four or five years from now, I dont know what a mid-tier level software engineer looks like," Stepro said. "If youre a business user, though, you now have access to an immense amount of power in a natural conversational way that you didnt have before."

The message is clear: genAI and the power of big data will transform healthcare and other vertical industries. And it's the business users who'll understand what data will be needed to feed LLMs to ensure the outputs they produce are valuable.

"If you dont have a data strategy under the hood that can scale, and that can leverage a lot of structured data collated with unstructured data with the appropriate metadata tagging, then youre in a tough spot," Stepro said. "These things [LLMs] are like parrots. They will react to what theyre fed. If you feed them a bunch of garbage, you will get a bunch of garbage back."

There are myriad uses for genAI in business environments that can enhance efficiency, decision-making, and overall customer experiences through the use of chatbots, data analysis tools, document intelligence, and content creation. For example, marketers can use it to create advertising material. Physicians can used genAI to peruse patient records and get a synopsis of their history and even treatment recommendations.

Business users can also become application creators through the use of AI augmented software development, similar to how low-code and no-code tools assist that today.

As compared to AI or classical machine learning, the ability to use generative AI is easy. So, the barrier is fairly low, Taglienti said. You can start using AI immediately without a lot of training. The challenge in our world, and this is true for our customers, is operationalization. So, you can provide people with a chatbot, but in order to get production-level consistency you need to control the processes. You have to monitor the behavior of the usage.

If genAI is being used by the business side to create marketing campaigns or derive sales data, how can those users be sure the the tools are giving them kinds of responses they should expect, Taglienti said.

How am I measuring consistency and the performance of the model?" he said. "We work with customers to help them understand usage and operational performance. Thats something organizations need to look at, just like any other IT deployment."
Ali Wong attends the 2024 Netflix Primetime Emmys after-party. She won for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie award for Beef at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, Jan. 15, in Los Angeles. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Netflix

Ali Wong had a historic night at the Emmys.

In addition to picking up multiple awards on Monday, Jan. 15, for her Netflix limited series, Beef, she clinched the prize for best actress. This achievement makes the San Francisco native of Vietnamese and Chinese descent the first Asian woman to ever win an Emmy for a lead role.

Wong, an executive producer on the show, paid tribute to her late father in her emotional acceptance speech.

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I wouldnt be here without my amazing parents  my father, who I wish was alive to share this moment with me. My hilarious father, who loved me unconditionally and taught me the value of failure, Wong told the audience at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, after taking the stage with the assistance of her boyfriend, Barry actor Bill Hader, who was also nominated in multiple categories at this years awards show.

The triumph follows Wongs historic win earlier this month as the first Asian American woman to receive a Golden Globe for best actress in the limited series or TV movie category for her role in Beef.

Wong, who grew up in Pacific Heights and returned to her hometown last month for a series of stand-up shows at the Masonic, dedicated her Emmys win to her children. The categorys other nominees included Lizzy Caplan for Fleishman Is in Trouble, Jessica Chastain for George & Tammy, Dominique Fishback for Swarm, Riley Keough for Daisy Jones & the Six, and Kathryn Hahn for Tiny Beautiful Things.

To my beautiful daughters, Mari and Nikki, Wong said. You are my everything, and thank you for inspiring me, and this is for you.

Young Mazino, Maria Bello, Steven Yeun, Ali Wong and Joseph Lee, winners of Outstanding Limited Or Anthology Series for Beef, appear in the media room during the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theater on Monday, Jan. 15, in Los Angeles. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

The 10-episode Netflix show, created by Korean-born writer and director Lee Sung Jin (also known as Sonny Lee), features Wong as a business owner entangled in a road rage incident with a character named Danny, portrayed by Steven Yeun (Minari), who also won Emmys for his role as the lead actor and executive producer of the series.

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Lee, honored with top prizes for best writing and outstanding directing in a limited series, shared the personal inspiration behind some elements in the show.

A lot of the suicidal ideation in the show was based on stuff that I and some of the folks up here have struggled with over the years, he said during his acceptance speech. Im really grateful and humbled by everyone who watched the show and reached out about their own personal struggles. Its very life-affirming, so thank you.
Ever since Cracked.com first went online in 1973, the bulk of its writing has come from regular people like you. Whether you're a professional writer, an aspiring writer, or just looking to make some beer money, we want to hear your ideas. Click on these words to get started.

I clicked on those words in 2008, when Cracked paid $50 for an article. Today you are paid $150 for your first four articles, and $250 for every one after that. The process, in short, goes like this:

1. Sign up for the Cracked Comedy Workshop and carefully read the guidelines.

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Romolo Tavani/Adobe Stock 6. Kick back and light a cigar with a $100 bill, or whatever it is people do when they obtain money.

That's it. Some of Cracked's writers have published hundreds of articles, and even become full-time employees. Others have gone on to write for other publications, or signed book deals, or now write for television. For some it's a fun and profitable hobby when they're not busy working or studying or caring for their family. Some people wrote one article for us and then, content to have gotten a weird idea out of their head, were never heard from again. Whatever your goals are, we will try to help you achieve them.

We don't need your resume. We don't care if you've been published in The New Yorker or if your entire creative output to date is erotic Waluigi fanfiction. We don't care if you're 60 or 16. We don't care if you don't know what a intransitive verb is, because I sure don't. All we care about are your ideas. That's what makes Cracked thrive. Somewhere in your head is an observation about pop culture or history or social media or whatever subject it is that fascinates you, and you're the only one who can make it. We want to hear it, and if we like it we want to pay you for it. Talent is helpful, but it's your perspective on the world that's invaluable. Come and show it to us.

Nintendo "Erotic Waluigi fanfiction writers, show us what you've got!" -- Cracked, 2018

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There is only one catch: You have to try. If you approach any publication by saying "I wanna write about why Batman sucks, gimme money" or "I didn't bother to check if you guys publish poetry or not, but here are several volumes of mine just in case," you will not get far. You have to read the rules (which are firm) and deal with rejection (which sucks) and work hard (which is less fun than playing video games). But if you stick to it, you will get paid, and your work will be read by hundreds of thousand (if not millions) of people, and interesting opportunities may open themselves up to you.

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We do this every year, and every year, some people show up, get mad that we won't publish their 5,000-word screed about why women are bad drivers, call us morons, and leave. But other people show up, learn the process, and eventually publish their first piece of paid writing, and that's pretty wonderful for everyone involved to see. We want to reward people who give a shit about something, whether that something is politics or Pokemon.

Nintendo, George Bush Presidential Library Or both. If you can come up with ways Pokemon would run the government, we would be all about that.

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If you're worried that you can't write good jokes, then A) you're probably already funnier than most people who think they're hilarious, and B) we'll help you out with the comedy side of things. If you've got the germ of an idea but are stuck on how to proceed, we'll help you improve your research skills. If you're worried that you don't have any good ideas, we have an entire section dedicated to ideas that have potential but need some help. When an editor suggested 5 Pieces Of Movie Merchandise That Missed The Point Entirely, five different writers each found one good example that fit the premise, split the payment, and got equal credit.

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Discussing cops and Christianity in the same article? Am I stupid? What could my email inbox ever have done to me to deserve such an avalanche of fury and creative grammar? Before the doxxing commences, let me say that the interesting link here is based on a shared facet of the two that (at least I hope) wont inspire a bumper-stickered truck to hang a right behind the back wheel of my car and send me spinning off the freeway at 80 miles per hour.

All of which is to say, were about to embark upon a topic thats never inspired any anger or violence in America: color.

Oh god, wait. Not like that. Not in a of their skin but by the content of their character way, but in a very literal, art school, paints-and-dyes way. The thread the two share that I want to look at is literal: the fact that both are iconically represented decked out in the color blue, and wondering why that is, along with a couple more famous figures and groups that have claimed that particular primary color as their pigment of choice.

Time to do a whos who of a few famously blue-hued dudes.

5 Virgin Mary Public Domain Her drip was also immaculate. If you find yourself staring at paintings of the Virgin Mary and her little messianic morsel in a museum, or church, or the basement of a religious-leaning psychopathic killer, youre probably seeing a very consistent color palette. Mary is almost always wearing blue. Given that its not like we have pictures to go by, why? Well, choosing a color to work in back in those days wasnt a matter of hrrmm-ing at a ProCreate palette or flitting fingers over Crayola offerings. Advertisement Certain colors were more expensive than others, with the color blue, frequently made of the gemstone lapiz lazuli, fetching a particularly pretty penny. Sort of like the saffron of the color spectrum. Because it wasnt something anybody was daubing around with abandon, it became something reserved for only divine and noble figures. If you wanted to get painted in a blue fit, you needed to be somebody important, like, you know, the Mother of God. If youre that kind of divine, you might just end up with your very own blue like Mary did, named, straightforwardly enough, Marian blue.

4 Cops edenpictures You can hear the overtime in this picture. Advertisement The boys in blue and their precious thin line are another group so linked to the color that its practically a synonym. If youre an authority superfan, its the color you bleed, or slap over a Punisher logo in Canva. So when and why exactly did the police end up outfitted in that particular color? Well, much like actual police work, its something that theres plenty of dramatic tales and embellishment about, when the reality is vastly less exciting. One popular myth repeated even by some reputable sources is a play on color psychology. They say that the color blue has been shown to inspire feelings of peace and safety, all part of a great and careful psy-op. That sure sounds like a lot of thought went into it, except that the first police force, and their blue uniforms, were established in 1829, and I doubt they gave a plague-ridden rats ass what colors were connected to feelings. The big reason they chose blue: Most soldiers wore red and white, and the Rifle Brigade had claimed green jackets in 1800, so they picked blue to avoid confusion with the military. Confusion among the public, I mean, unlike the confusion experienced by many modern U.S. police officers, where theyve convinced themselves that they are the military. Advertisement Advertisement

3 U.N. Blue Helmets Public Domain It also looks great on anybody. Speaking of violence, lets go the opposite way, to an organization that actually deserves the given nickname of peacekeepers: the United Nations. Ground forces deployed by the U.N. in the service of establishing peace during and after a conflict are known as Blue Berets or Blue Helmets. Theyre deployed to conflict zones with the agreement of all parties in order to help a transition back to peacetime. I wont do you the dishonor of asking if you know why theyre called that. It takes only the most basic understanding of context clues to know that its because their helmets, berets and sometimes body armor are emblazoned with the U.N.s trademark blue. That blue itself was chosen as the U.N. saw blue as the opposite of red, which they considered the color of war. Its use on uniforms extends beyond branding, though, as the trademark light blue also lets its wearers be easily identified, even from great range, as off-limits. Pull the trigger with a big ol blueberry in the center of your sniper scope, and buddy, you just earned yourself a big-time war crime. Advertisement

2 Vishnu Public Domain Also makes him easy to pick out in illustrations. Advertisement Rocketing back to the religious world, there are some other figures that are represented in blue. Where the Virgin Mary is portrayed with it as symbolic outerwear, however, Hinduism has gods portrayed as blue from tip to tail even in their birthday suit. Specifically, the god Vishnu, one of Hinduisms all-time head honchos, is portrayed with blue skin. Though this might have some connection with the divine nature of blue that I covered in Marys paragraphs (Maragraphs?), it also has a direct bit of symbolism. His skin is often described as not just blue, but sky blue; this isnt just colorful language, but a direct bit of meaning. Its meant to represent his omnipotence, that he is as infinite as the blue sky, and according to some sources, the oceans. We now know that neither the sky nor the ocean are infinite, but hey, no need to repaint a bunch of temple walls about it. It looks nice!
Awkwafina attends the 29th Annual Critics Choice Awards at Barker Hangar on January 14, 2024 in Santa Monica, California. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/FilmMagic

Awkwafina has been tapped by the San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce to head the citys annual Chinese New Year Parade, which is set for Feb. 24.

The actress and rapper, also known as Nora Lum, was announced as grand marshal of this years parade. This years honorary grand marshal for the parade is former Mayor Willie Brown.

Its such an honor to serve as Grand Marshal of the San Francisco Lunar New Year Parade! Im so excited to celebrate with our community, Awkwafina said in a statement. Having been born in the year of the dragon, I look forward to fostering growth and progress that the upcoming year will bring for us.

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Lion dance performers participate in San Franciscos annual Chinese New Year Parade in 2023. Awkwafina, also known as Nora Lum, will be this years grand marshal. Stephen Lam/The Chronicle

Awkwafina initially rose to fame through music in 2012, making the transition to acting after releasing her debut album, Yellow Ranger, in 2014.

Born in New York in 1988, she created and starred in the loosely autobiographical sitcom Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens and won a Golden Globe for her lead role in the dramatic comedy The Farewell in 2019. She has also done several voice acting roles and will be starring as Zhen the fox in Kung Fu Panda 4, set for release March 8.

The parade will kick off at the corner of Second and Market streets, going up Geary Street and turning on Powell to go down Post Street. After turning onto Kearny Street, the parade will conclude at Columbus Avenue.

More Information Year of the Dragon parade: 5:15 p.m. Feb. 24. Free. From Second and Market streets, around Union Square to Kearny Street and Columbus Avenue, S.F. 415-889-8823. www.chineseparade.com

Former grand marshals for the citys Chinese New Year Parade include Warrior actor Rich Ting and Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh.
Companies across the UK are facing significant challenges recruiting staff with the right cyber security skills. According to the Cyber Security Skills in the UK Labour Market report, there were 160,035 job postings for cyber security professionals in 2022, with a 30% increase in demand for all cyber roles in just 12 months. A new virtual career fair at the end of January will provide UK employers with the opportunity to meet certified cyber security candidates, helping businesses take the steps they need to protect their systems and tackle the cyber security labour shortage.

SANS industry-leading training and student capabilities

The UK government has collaborated with the SANS Institute to create the Upskill in Cyber Programme: designed to provide intensive training in cyber security. Students work towards certifications, learning the necessary skills and capabilities to secure an enterprise by implementing secure firewalls and malware protection, configuring devices and managing access to data. These skills are important in significantly reducing the likelihood and impact of phishing, ransomware, and other common threats many UK businesses face.

The course is highly selective, with only 7% of the 4,600 applicants being chosen. The training content is taught by experienced SANS-certified instructors who are cyber security professionals and have, on average, 15 + years of experience in the sector.

Careers fair opportunity

Companies are invited to meet programme graduates at the Upskill In Cyber, virtual Career Fair on Tuesday, 30th January (12 pm to 3 pm) or Wednesday, 31 January (10 am  1 pm). This is a great opportunity to stay ahead of the competition and fill any skills gaps, with the assurance that the graduates possess the necessary knowledge and skills to make an impact from day one.

Martin Loebell, IM&T Leader  Cyber Security at BAE Systems Maritime and Land said I recently presented to a SANS Upskill cohort and enjoyed speaking with them. They asked relevant questions following the event and reached out for more information. The candidates are learning some fantastic skills and come from a broad range of backgrounds, all of which go to strengthen the cyber security community.

Employers can register here. This event is a perfect chance for employers to showcase their organisation, to certified cyber talent. For more information about how your organisation can get involved, please email cyberacademy@sans.org.
Transportation giant Uber acquired the alcohol delivery service Drizly in 2021 for $1.1 billion. It will close the business in March; it is already offering alcohol delivery through its food delivery service, Uber Eats. Paul Chinn/The Chronicle 2019

Uber will shut down the alcohol delivery service Drizly three years after acquiring it for $1.1 billion.

Drizly will continue operating until the end of March. Uber will still offer alcohol delivery through its Uber Eats platform.

An Uber spokesperson, Meghan Casserly, confirmed the closure, first reported by Axios.

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Uber bought Drizly in February 2021, at a moment of pandemic-induced home delivery frenzy. It followed the San Francisco tech firms 2020 acquisition of Postmates, which delivers food from restaurants and other goods; Postmates has since been merged with Uber Eats. At the time of the acquisition, Drizly seemed poised to help Uber, which did not then deliver alcohol, immensely expand its delivery capabilities. The startup operates in 36 states and more than 1,500 cities, according to its website.

But Drizly always operated differently from the rest of Uber. It works by allowing liquor stores to do their own delivery, facilitating the transaction between the customer and the retailer. Unlike Uber Eats, it doesnt use Uber drivers, and requires a separate app.

Since the acquisition, Uber has added alcohol delivery to Uber Eats. In a statement, Uber explained that it wanted its 142 million users to now be able to use a single app for alcohol delivery, food delivery and ride hailing. Globally, instances of alcohol delivery on Uber Eats have more than doubled in the last year, the company said.

The change may come as a challenge to the many local liquor stores that have come to rely heavily on Drizly.

About 40% of the business at Adeline Market and Liquor, in Oakland, comes from Drizly. I dont know what were going to do, said owner Rham Korin.

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Korin has been using Drizly since 2018, and his team delivers liquor throughout the Bay Area, from San Jose to Santa Rosa. Recently, he bought $800,000 worth of products specifically because they sell well on Drizly, including expensive whiskeys like Macallan.

When Drizly notified him of the closure via email on Monday, it said he could continue selling products via Uber Eats. But Korin is wary. Since Uber took over Drizly its been really bad, he said. It slows down a lot. I dont think it will be a good company to deal with.

For other local merchants, Drizly was never especially helpful. Cara Patricia, co-owner of the boutique wine shop Decant SF in SoMa, said she considered using Drizly during the pandemic, but ultimately never did. Decant SF primarily stocks small, limited-production wines, most of which werent in Drizlys central database. Even if they had entered the wines in the database, Patricia said, they never had enough bottles of each wine to make Drizly worth it.

Decant SF accepts delivery orders through its website. Korin said he plans to start a similar venture. In the meantime, we dont know how were going to deal with this, he said.
GBP/USD Analysis and Charts

Falling UK wages will cheer the BoE.

Cable is under pressure from the US dollar.

Recommended by Nick Cawley Get Your Free GBP Forecast Get My Guide

Most Read: British Pound Weekly Forecast: Big UK Data Week May Not Mean Big Moves

UK wage growth slowed in November, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged. While wage growth continues to fall, it remains too high for the Bank of England to consider any imminent UK rate cut.

ONS Labour Market Overview

For all market-moving economic data and events see the DailyFX Economic Calendar

The latest UK implied rates show the first UK Base Rate cut is seen in May with a total of 131 basis points of cuts predicted for next year.

The US dollar has returned from a long weekend on the front foot and is pushing higher. The US dollar index is at a 10-day high, aided in part by slightly higher US Treasury bond yields and ongoing geopolitical worries in Ukraine and the Red Sea. This dollar strength is pushing cable into a support level around 1.2667, and if this is broken then the 38.2% Fibonacci level at 1.2628, a cluster of prior lows around 1.2610/15, and the 50-day simple moving average at 1.2608 will all come into play. A move higher would see 1.2742 act as resistance ahead of a cluster of recent highs up to just under 1.2800.

GBP/USD Daily Price Chart

Chart using TradingView

Retail trader GBP/USD data show 49.18% of traders are net-long with the ratio of traders short to long at 1.03 to 1.The number of traders net-long is 20.81% higher than yesterday and 13.71% higher than last week, while the number of traders net-short is 6.02% lower than yesterday and 12.71% lower than last week.

We typically take a contrarian view to crowd sentiment, and the fact traders are net-short suggests GBP/USD prices may continue to rise.

What Does Changing Retail Sentiment Mean for GBP/USD Price Action?

GBP/USD Bearish Data provided by of clients are net long. of clients are net short.

Change in Longs Shorts OI Daily 12% 3% 8% Weekly 44% -24% 1%

What is your view on the British Pound  bullish or bearish?? You can let us know via the form at the end of this piece or you can contact the author via Twitter @nickcawley1.
GramZero is doing some of its processing at Vida-Blend currently and has the land next door under a purchase contract for the future development of their own processing and fulfillment facility.
Allison Hooker was attacked and bitten by a pit bull at Baker Beach in San Francisco in November. Benjamin Fanjoy/The Chronicle

A lifelong dog lover and owner, Allison Hooker never thought that one day, the mere sight of a certain type of dog would cause fear to course through her body.

But now, whenever the 39-year-old real estate agent and standup comedian glimpses a large black pit bull, shes transported back to the traumatic events of Nov. 9, 2023.

That morning, Hooker was chatting on the phone after going for a run on Baker Beach, one of her favorite areas in San Francisco with a stunning view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Looking up, she suddenly saw a big dog beelining straight for me from about 100 feet away.

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It then launched straight into biting me, Hooker told me recently.

Stunned and screaming, Hooker pulled her arms into her chest and started spinning in circles, trying to prevent the dog from latching onto her limbs.

It tore my sweater all the way up my shoulder because it was jumping that high on me, trying, I think, to go for my neck, Hooker told me. She later counted 13 bites across her hands, arms, shoulders, thighs, back and buttocks, including particularly nasty bites on her right forearm, left thumb and buttocks that resulted in deep purple scars.

Eventually, the dogs owner walked over and pulled the dog off Hooker. But, she said, the owner  whom officials identified as a homeless man named George Jeppson living in a car with Utah license plates  didnt appear disturbed by the attack and didnt reprimand his dog, Sky Bear.

The owner admitted that his dog is trained to attack and may be amused by his dog attacking people, Hooker said in a complaint filed with the U.S. Park Police, which, according to a spokesperson, cited Jeppson for failing to leash and restrain his dog. The owner told me his dog was provoked by my internal struggle or by pulse lasers in me from the CIA.

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I love dogs, she added in the complaint. However, this is not a dog that can be released back into society.

About 10 days later, however, San Francisco Animal Care and Control authorities released Sky Bear  whom theyd temporarily quarantined to ensure he didnt have rabies  back to Jeppson, advising him to keep the dog leashed and muzzled around large crowds.

Allison Hooker holds her puppy Ramon at Baker Beach, where she was attacked by a pit bull in November. Benjamin Fanjoy/The Chronicle

Judging by internal memos I reviewed, this probably wasnt the agencys preferred course of action: Jeppson lectured animal control officers about government mind control, asserted that he worked for the CIA, and argued that pit bulls have been used for mind control research. Sky Bear also did poorly in the shelter, exhibiting aggressive behavior that negatively affected other animals and made it difficult for technicians to administer medication, the notes show.

But the decision wasnt in local officials hands.

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Right or wrong is not in play  its what the law says that were able to do, Animal Care and Control spokesperson Deb Campbell told me.

Had Hooker been attacked on city property, her case would have gone through San Franciscos process for determining whether a dog is vicious and dangerous. This culminates in an independent hearing officer deciding what actions, if any, should be taken to protect public safety  such as owner education, obedience training, requiring the dog to wear a muzzle, and in extremely rare situations, euthanasia.

But when Hooker called city authorities for an update on her case, they told her their hands were tied because the attack had happened on federal land. Lacking jurisdiction, they had no choice but to release Sky Bear.

I was so livid, Hooker told me.

City and federal officials could resolve this jurisdictional issue quickly, but thus far theyve chosen not to.

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For years, they operated under an informal agreement that allowed San Francisco officials to handle dangerous dog cases that happened on federal land within the city. That fell apart in 2019 when a San Francisco Superior Court judge ruled that city officials have no jurisdiction over federal property  siding with a woman who appealed San Francisco Animal Care and Controls classification of her dog as vicious and dangerous after an incident at Crissy Field, which is on federal land.

More than four years later, local and federal officials still havent closed this loophole  and few players involved seem willing to step up to the plate.

A U.S. Park Police spokesperson referred my questions about jurisdiction to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which said, Park law enforcement continues to respond to reports of dog bites  using the same enforcement actions that have always been available to us.

City Attorney spokesperson Jen Kwart told me in a statement, San Francisco remains open to allowing our federal partners to participate in our program for addressing dangerous dogs. While talks to reach an agreement in 2019 stalled, we have recently restarted these conversations with the Presidio Trust with regard to federal land under the Trusts jurisdiction.

Stuck in this legal limbo, Hooker is taking steps to protect herself.

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She still goes on runs, but now she carries mace. Shes extra careful when unknown dogs are around her partners kids. And shes especially alert when taking her new puppy, Ramon, out on walks.

Hooker still firmly supports allowing dogs to go off-leash in certain areas of San Francisco because thats not the problem. The real issue, she said, is the lack of political will to develop a process for handling cases like hers, rare as they may be.
While the Schenectady City School District superintendents May 1 start date at his big new job in Yonkers doesnt quite warrant a mayday distress signal, it is distressing just how swiftly Anibal Soler Jr.s impending departure came about.

First, the rumors swelled on social media following a Dec. 31 Yonkers Voice report about the likelihood of Soler being named to lead Yonkers Public Schools.

Then, after several Gazette reports, came Solers Jan. 5 admission in his weekly written note that he was being considered for the Westchester County districts superintendent post.

In that memo, Schenectadys top administrator assured the Schenectady community: Regardless of what happens, I am committed to the work we have started and are doing.

But its now pretty hard for Soler to pretend hes committed to Schenectady.

Starting his new job on May Day, he wont even be here through the end of the current school year.

That means hes unlikely to see any ground break on the $300 million capital project that emerged out of his #SchenectadyRising mantra. And he wont come close to seeing through any meaningful improvements in academic performance.

Just two and a half years ago, the school board announced Soler as Schenectadys new superintendent. After an exhaustive 14-month search process, the board billed the then-44-year-old from western New York  with experience leading urban districts  as the guy who could right the ship following two decades of tumult.

Now, the Soler ship is set to sail.

When Soler first introduced himself to staff, he purportedly said he was in it for the long haul, according to a middle school teacher who spoke Monday on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

He gave a nice speech. He said all the right things. He talked about being in it for the long term. And we all left going, OK, hes saying the right things, the teacher told me.

But amid the choppy and abrupt ending to Solers tenure, Schenectady is left, yet again, navigating a new course.

Soler came in, was a photo-op in a suit, and then peaced-out immediately, the longtime teacher said. Were not going to get any better without solid leadership.

So divested is Soler from Schenectady that he opted not to attend a recent Schenectady City School District Board of Education meeting during which the board discussed succession options. Instead, Soler kept plans to attend an education conference that  perhaps fittingly  now stands to benefit his own professional enrichment more than the district. All the more egregious, the night before, Soler found the time to travel down to Yonkers to accept the position and pose for a few photos at his new district.

Solers premature exit makes the sympathy he expressed in a Jan. 12 brief all the more waterlogged.

While that work will continue, uncertainty and the unknowns cause frustration and anxiety, he wrote in a note acknowledging hed taken the Yonkers job. Im sure, more than anything, most of you want to know what is next.

One thing now certain is Schenectadys future wont involve Soler.

Though his ambition is understandable, Soler has to realize that  as superintendent  he carried the hopes of an entire district on his broad shoulders.

And as I wrote earlier this month before the Yonkers selection was finalized, Soler is a massive loss because of everything hes been building  from literal facilities to a strong culture.

So even if his ambition has always been obvious, his forthcoming resignation represents a welching on his grand promises.

In the wake of Solers news, Schenectadys school board is strongly considering promoting an internal candidate rather than looking to distant shores for its next leader. Such a strategy would not only expedite the process, it could calm the turbulence by likely ensuring that the next superintendent continues on the same sound path charted by Soler.

I saw some very beautiful PowerPoints, with some really great talking points, the Schenectady middle school teacher told me Monday. But I dont think that less than three years is enough time for these deep, abiding plans.

Currently, the teacher fears: were going to get different PowerPoints with different graphics.

So, even beyond committing to an internal hire, the boards most important priority has to be finding a superintendent truly committed to longevity.

The district is just beginning work on a capital project thats expected to last until 2030, and it is making marginal progress on state test scores.

Obviously, this means fathoms of work remain.

Case in point, district-administered assessments this fall found more than half of all middle schoolers are three or more grade levels behind in math and reading.

The district needs someone invested in turning this around.

I want somebody who isnt going to use Schenectady as a resume builder, the teacher told me.

Schenectadys next superintendent cant be focused on the horizon and push on after a few short years at the helm.

If that happens, the district may very well find itself administering a mayday distress call.


Just when you thought you had heard the most horrendous stories of the terror unleashed on thousands of girls by Rochdale grooming gangs, more episodes emerge, complete with more heart- breaking details.

An aborted foetus was taken from a 13-year-old grooming victim by police without her or her parents consent to be tested for DNA, then left forgotten in a freezer at a police station. A child was arrested and bailed to live with a man who had previously been arrested himself on suspicion of child sex offences  and then she was named as a co-conspirator in her abusers trial.

Another victim, whose story was published in a landmark review yesterday, told police that her tormentors had kept her in a cage and made her act like a dog or baby. No action was taken against the men.

Girls in Rochdale were left at the mercy of grooming rings for over decade despite compelling evidence of abuse, according to a report commissioned by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham

In all of these cases, the cruelty and abuse was facilitated by the failings of Greater Manchester Police.

How could this bonfire of childhood and innocence have been allowed to go on by officers paid  by us  to protect the weak from evil?

The first reason is what I term Islamophilia, as opposed to the Islamophobia we hear so much about. Islamophilia is the habit of giving certain groups of Muslims what is effectively a free pass for behaviour that would rightly be reviled if carried out by others. In Rochdale the police were clearly worried about being labelled racists, but it is a widespread phenomenon. Weve also seen it in the soft-touch policing of the almost-weekly hate marches in London, in which jihad and death to Jews are openly called for, and in which what look like Isis flags and placards supporting Muslim armies flutter. After one of these, the Mets crack Koran squad po-facedly announced that jihad has a number of meanings, so thats all right then.

Meanwhile virtue-signalling women fill their social media feeds in support of Hamas and its stated aim to free Palestine  cheering on an all-male, racial-supremacist terror group that uses rape as a weapon. Yet the same women would scream blue murder if a white bus driver called them love.

Most of all, however, the effect of Islamophilia has been evident for years in the way various police forces in some northern towns and cities turned a blind eye to the systemic rape, torture and trafficking of hundreds of female children by certain groups of Muslim men. Clearly not all the grooming gangs in Britain have been Muslim. Indeed, one Home Office report found grooming gangs were most commonly white. In the case of Rochdale, however, as well as in other conurbations such as Telford and Oldham, people referred to Asian grooming gangs. But the gangs there were not composed of Chinese Buddhists or Indian Hindus.

The report found that Greater Manchester Police and Rochdale Council had failed to properly investigate evidence of abuse in Rochdale, pictured

No: in these cases they were grooming gangs composed of Muslim men  and millions of decent British Muslims revile them. These gangs benefited from the craven Islamophilia that has swamped so many of our institutions, from the police to our universities and our state broadcaster.

The BBC's harrowing 2017 series Three Girls dealt with the events surrounding the Rochdale child sex abuse ring

Yet there is a second, more pernicious, reason the abusers have got away with it for so long. Theyve also benefited from the systemic misogyny of the police, which is industrial in its scale.

Compare the kid-glove treatment of angry Islamists at marches with the heavy-handed policing doled out to uppity women during the vigil for Sarah Everard, who was raped and murdered by a white policeman in 2021. Miss Everards killer was jokingly known as The Rapist by his colleagues on the force.

The police were happy to overlook the grooming gangs medieval misogyny because they  like the gangs themselves  regarded these poor, unfortunate women as second-class citizens, not even worthy of the most basic care and protection.

Yesterday, the great British Muslim lawyer Nazir Azfal  a former chief crown prosecutor who specialises in cases involving violence against women and the sexual exploitation of children  put it robustly: In Rochdale, ethnicity was an issue but not THE issue. THE issue when it comes to rape and sexual offences is that authorities refused to listen to victims, to women & girls. Misogyny is the reason why offenders offend & why those with responsibility to safeguard, failed to do so.

Maggie Oliver, a former detective for Greater Manchester Police who turned whistleblower and now campaigns against child sex abuse

He was absolutely right. Has anything changed? Maggie Oliver, a heroic former detective for Greater Manchester Police who turned whistleblower and who campaigns against child sex abuse, believes not. She said yesterday that the failures that happened then are still happening now.

She told how a female officer working in the unit set up in 2021 to investigate child-sexual exploitation came to her only three weeks ago and said that it was business as usual, with around 300 victims being fobbed off  and 96 men who are considered a risk to children still not prosecuted.

Until the police are forced to face the awful truth  that they are blinded by Islamophilia and mired in misogyny  we will never have a force fit for purpose.

They need to remember that their job is simple  to protect the vulnerable from the vile, no matter their class, colour or creed.
It could be argued that no writer, living or dead, has brought so much joy to so many people. Her Harry Potter novels have sold more than half a billion copies, while her ceaseless philanthropy has saved the lives of innumerable women and children.

So when I read podcast producer Nick Hiltons ignorant and vitriolic attack on J.K. Rowling in the New Statesman - the magazine of choice for champagne-swigging socialists - I was furious.

Hiltons article, published earlier this week, is as bizarre as it is defamatory. It labels the author Britains nastiest novelist, attacks her most recent books and even finds time to bemoan child abuse, murder and torture in the beloved Harry Potter series.

J K Rowling's Harry Potter novels have sold more than half a billion copies, while her ceaseless philanthropy has saved the lives of innumerable women

Author Nick Hilton concludes, in a desperate imaginative leap, that Rowling herself is a bit like the characters in her books: Brittle, cruel, insecure

The article focuses on Rowlings Cormoran Strike series of crime novels, written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Hilton objects to descriptions of violence, depraved characters and dark themes. One wonders whether Hilton understands the concept of fiction - perhaps his next article will accuse Harry Potter of being unrealistic.

Journalist Hadley Freeman put it best, writing on X: The main complaint in this piece seems to be that Rowling does not write nice ladylike novels about nice ladylike things.

In other words, Hilton is accusing Rowling of not living up to his own perverted idea of how a woman should write. There is a word for this kind of behaviour: misogyny.

Hilton concludes, in a desperate imaginative leap, that Rowling herself is a bit like the characters in her books: Brittle, cruel, insecure.

While Hilton has since claimed he was writing only about her books, it is very clear he was using them as a means of launching a thinly-veiled sexist rant against the author herself.

The vilification of Rowling has long been led by aggressive woke activists who accuse her of being transphobic. Rowling is not a transphobe. She simply believes in the importance of biological sex

J K Rowling with Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, left, Emma Watson, right, and Rupert Grint at the premiere of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2

As an investigative journalist, who has dedicated their entire adult life to campaigning to end male violence against women, I am lucky enough to have become good friends with Rowling.

She is, without doubt, one of the kindest, most generous and empathetic people on the planet. She has tirelessly used her wealth and platform to help others and the must rank as one of the most generous philanthropists in the world.

In 2012 alone, she gave $160million (126m) to various charities - 16 per cent of her estate - a giveaway on such a scale that it famously caused her to fall off the Forbes rich list.

And yet, despite the immeasurable good she has done, Left-wing commentators such as Hilton continue to attack her character.

The vilification of Rowling has long been led by aggressive woke activists who accuse her of being transphobic. Rowling is not a transphobe. She simply believes in the importance of biological sex.

As a result, she takes the view that men who identify as women should not be allowed in women-only spaces - be it a changing room, prison or rape centre.

Neither should they be allowed to compete in womens sport or take womens roles in business. Most importantly, they should not be allowed to insidiously roll back centuries of female emancipation.

The real J.K. Rowling is unassuming, selfless and focused on improving the lives of women and children around the world.

In 2005, she founded the charity now known as Lumos, which fights against the institutionalisation of children and seeks to place them within loving homes. It has recently been helping to reunite families displaced by the war in Ukraine.

When rape crisis centres in Scotland began to admit trans women, Rowling used her own money to set up Beiras Place in Edinburgh in 2022, a women-only service for victims of sexual violence.

In October last year she braved death-threats from a baying mob of trans-activists to address a womens rights conference in Glasgow organised by feminist organisation FiLiA.

I was lucky enough to interview her on stage that day, in front of women who had travelled from as far afield as the Middle East and Africa. Lets not forget, Rowling herself is the victim of domestic abuse [at the hands of her first husband], so her ability to connect with and empower women who have experienced similar horrors at the hands of men was both humbling and inspiring.

While privileged men such as Nick Hilton howl with jealousy from the sidelines, J.K. Rowling will continue to do what she has always done: turn her back on the criticism and get on with her work.

To my mind, there is no living feminist who can claim to have done more to help women. History will forever remember her enchanting world of witchcraft and wizardry, but J.K. Rowlings greatest legacy is the work she has done to protect the most vulnerable women.
After victory at the Iowa caucus, Donald Trump spent part of yesterday in a New York court.

To his supporters, such scenes go with the territory. Seeing their leader defending a $10million defamation case is just the price of doing business with him.

Whatever his legal problems  Trump is facing a list of charges that could put him in prison for around 700 years  his political business is thriving.

True, his opponents are adamant that there is still a race for the Republican presidential nomination before the final election in November.

But after yesterday's court appearance  in a case in which he has already been found to have defamed a woman he had sexually assaulted  he headed to New Hampshire, the next primary state, with the aim of finishing off his wounded opponents.

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump applauds as he takes the stage at his caucus night watch party in Des Moines, Iowa

Supporters of Donald Trump attend a rally at the Fort Dodge Senior High School on November 18, 2023

That sentence is enough to tell you that this man is more than Teflon. Nothing bad attaches to him for long  indeed, he uses the bad as a political asset. He was a loser. Now he is back to winning.

After failing to secure re-election in 2020, Trump seemed to be on the way out. Many of those who had backed him had started to look elsewhere.

But then came the four sets of criminal charges. At the time, some pundits wondered whether they would in fact bolster his chances. Now we know the answer.

Iowa is a first in America. After the polls and TV talking-heads have had their say, this frozen state provides the first opportunity for real people to choose the presidential candidate.

This year, the famous Iowa caucus has become the coldest in the state's history. And when I say 'cold', I mean it. With wind chill, it has been -40C. To go from a building to your car actually hurts. Your face freezes. Your lips, too.

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks to the crowd at a caucus night party in West Des Moines, Iowa

Former US president Donald Trump was photographed for a police mug shot after his arrest on August 24 at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia

The road from Chicago to Des Moines, which I had to take as all the flights were cancelled, was littered with those huge American trucks you see in movies, spun around at crazy angles.

The journey should take five hours, but it took me a day. Signs by the road say simply: 'Travel is not advised.'

You're on your own. Crash and you may die quickly of cold in snow. Very American. Very bracing.

The first question on caucus night, then, was whether significant numbers of people might stay at home. Going outside would be too much effort. You see, in a caucus, people have to do more than just vote and rush back to the car. The process involves speeches and participation.

So the second question was: Could we see from the result whose supporters were more enthusiastic, more willing to risk frostbite? Trump had said: 'You can't sit at home. Even if you're as sick as a dog, you say, 'Darling, I gotta make it.' Even if you vote and then pass away, it's worth it!'

Was he joking? Sometimes with Trump, it's difficult to say. But now we can argue his supporters seem to have taken him seriously, doing as he suggested. Now it is difficult for anyone to catch him.

Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and Trump's UN ambassador, needed to come second and claim the mantle of main challenger to Trump. She failed. Instead, tough-talking Florida governor Ron DeSantis came second. But he now faces a contest in New Hampshire in which he will almost certainly be trounced, because New Hampshire's more suburban and independent primary voters don't like him.

Iowa's result is deeply frustrating for Haley. The polls suggest she would beat easily Joe Biden in the presidential election  but she has to become the Republican candidate first. And her chances of that are melting away.

So Trump steams ahead. And even if he were convicted  perhaps jailed  before the November election, his supporters tell pollsters they will stick with him.

Not that the wider nation will necessarily think that way. Trump's chances of winning the final contest against Biden might be significantly reduced in the event of a criminal conviction.

But the Republican party seems to have made up its mind. Biden v Trump, round two. The first modern presidential contest with two former presidents are likely to be on the ticket  and the oldest candidates in history as well.

These men want to do battle, even if that depresses their electorate. Even if it damages America.
Conservative MPs are staring down the barrel of a gun. Unless voters get to see illegal migrants being marched off planes in Rwanda before poll-ing day, they face electoral annihilation.

Frankly, even if deportations have started by then, the next election will be tricky. The last time a party won five successive elections was at the beginning of the 19th century, and polls currently suggest a 120-seat Labour majority.

But if the Rwanda scheme has not come into effect, there will be a total meltdown. Voters will conclude that the Tories were lying when they said they would do 'whatever it takes' to stop the boats.

Despite their doubts about Sir Keir Starmer, they will vent their rage on the governing party.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak holds his weekly Cabinet meeting in 10 Downing Street

Few Conservative MPs disagree with what I have just written. Almost all of them, whichever faction of the party they represent, want to remove people who enter Britain improperly.

The flotillas crossing the Channel make a mockery of our law, insult those who have entered our country legally and make a Tory rout certain.

Why, then, are they divided over the legislation, which is now back before the House of Commons?

Some argue that it does not go far enough, because it allows individual claimants to appeal against their removal. This, they believe, will give the courts an excuse to intervene, and will mean more politicised rulings by judges who oppose deportations on principle.

Others argue that, without such a right of appeal, Britain would be in breach of international law; and, since the Rwandan government has said that it will only sign deals that are compatible with international rules, the whole scheme would therefore fall.

Rishi Sunak is carefully steering the legislation between these two clashing rocks. He, more than anyone, knows that people need to see planes touching down in Kigali before the General Election. It will not do to promise results, or to be seen to have fought hard against a Leftist judiciary. Voters have heard too many excuses. Only physical removals will do.

Since hardly any of his MPs dissent from the principle of what Sunak is doing, their reaction is odd. Sitting in No. 10, the PM has a more unobstructed view of what is going on than anyone else. He is getting the official legal advice. He is talking to the Rwandan authorities.

As even his most aggressive critics admit, the PM is a details man. He may not be a rousing speech-maker, but he is adept at solving delicate problems. He knows that the new policy must be tough enough to ensure that significant numbers of sans-papiers are expelled. Yet it must also be proof against legal challenge. Sunak is one of nature's needle-threaders. This is precisely the stuff he is good at.

Why are his MPs not uniformly behind him? Why, in an election year, are dozens of them risking their own seats?

There are, I think, two different answers. A handful of Tory MPs share Keir Starmer's dislike of the Rwanda scheme in principle. The Labour leader argues that it is a massive distraction and has promised to scrap it on taking office, even if it is working.

It is true that the plan is expensive. And it is true, too, that it will affect only a minority of illegal arrivals. But that does not mean that it will be ineffective, especially if it forms part of a wider package of measures, together with returns agreements and swifter processing of claims.

Indeed, these other measures are already working to a far greater degree than is generally recognised.

Over the past year, Channel crossings have fallen by 36 per cent  in contrast to Mediterranean crossings, which have risen by 83 per cent. A returns agreement with Albania has led to a 90 per cent reduction in the number of illegal entrants from that country.

The Rwanda scheme should be seen as part of a wider strategy. Because clandestine migrants must pass through several safe countries before reaching the UK, the knowledge that they might end up in Rwanda would incentivise many of them to try their luck elsewhere.

Migrants move a smuggling boat into the water as they embark on the beach of Gravelines, near Dunkirk, northern France on October 12, 2022

In any case, the policy has now assumed a totemic importance that goes beyond its deterrent effects. What is at stake is whether an elected government is subordinate to a politicised judiciary.

Most voters have been doubtful all along that the Rwanda scheme would actually happen. They find politicians' promises on the subject both false and patronising. The only way to prove them wrong is to begin deportations before the election.

Far more numerous than those who dislike the scheme are those who agree with Sunak, but who don't really believe that his heart is in it.

They never explain why he would want to introduce a Bill that did not work, since he would be the chief casualty of its failure. But, in politics, facts often give way to feelings. And there is a feeling, especially on the Tory Right, that Rishi is not, politically-speaking, quite One Of Us.

Politics is a tribal business, and most of the MPs seeking to toughen the Bill are, in a broad manner, of my tribe. I backed Boris Johnson as party leader, and I was furious when he was forced out. I voted for Liz Truss as his successor. I set up the European Research Group in 1993, and was a co-founder of Vote Leave in 2016.

Some of my fellow Rightists are motivated by distrust of Sunak. If this measure were being proposed by Johnson or Truss, they would be more willing to accept that it was the best deal on offer. The feeling that Sunak is a milk-and-water Tory is, on paper, an odd one. Judged purely in policy terms, he is plainly to the Right of Boris.

Sunak resigned as Chancellor because he was no longer prepared to go along with high levels of spending.

He has rowed back on some of the more extreme green targets he inherited from Johnson and Theresa May, and salvaged what he could from the HS2 fiasco.

He did not prevaricate on the EU referendum: he was writing Eurosceptic articles while still at school.

On immigration, he is far tougher than Boris, who championed amnesties for illegals.

Don't get me wrong, I am a huge Boris fan. To force him from office over proximity to uneaten cake was an act of pettiness that cheapened us as a nation. I simply find it odd that Right-wingers deny Sunak the trust that they cheerfully offered the man who called himself a 'Brexity Hezza'.

Then again, as I say, facts often give way to feelings. During the Truss/Sunak leadership contest, 80 per cent of Leavers backed Truss (who had voted Remain), while 80 per cent of Remainers backed Sunak (who had voted Leave). Why? Because of what we might, if we are of a pretentious bent, call their gestalt  or, more simply, their vibe.

Truss looked and sounded like a Leaver, saying blunt things in a provincial accent and annoying all the right people. Sunak, with his tight suits and thin ties, looked and sounded like the CEO of a big multinational.

You'd be amazed by how many MPs pick a side on the basis of these tribal indicators and then reason backward.

But the votes this week are not about the PM's image. They are about our ability, as a country, to expel people who should not be here. The Bill before MPs would do that.

It would honour a manifesto commitment, reassert the supremacy of our legislature and go a long way to restoring confidence in our democracy. Every Conservative should back it.
Gabrielle from Devon was left shocked after her visit to the supermarket

A TikToker has shared that she will 'never go to Morrisons ever again' after a nightmare visit saw her battle with empty shelves and rude staff.

Gabrielle, known online as Gi, is based in Devon and often reviews supermarkets including M&S, Tesco and Aldi.

The savvy shopper says she shares her thoughts on 'anything and everything' on her account, @lifeasgab - but was far from impressed with one of her latest visit to Morrisons.

Taking to social media, she warned her 61.1k followers that it was time for her to 'switch supermarkets'.

'You need to stop shopping here,' she said in the clip from this month. 'If you're shopping at Morrisons, I hate to break it to you but you are spending way more money than you need to.'

Last month the boss of Morrisons gave a stark warning to staff that changes need to be made for the chain to survive. Stock image used

Sharing a video panning over the empty shelves, she added: 'Guys, where's the stock?'

Gi, who told viewers had only gone into the supermarket to meet her mother and step-father, then showed her followers a chocolate mousse, which she said sells for 20p less in Aldi.

Moving on to the pet aisle, she said Whiskas cat food was 5 more than she was used to.

However, the final straw was at seeing the price of Lurpak in the dairy aisle. '7.25!' she scoffed. 'I will never ever buy it'.

The influencer continued: 'Bread should not cost 2.50. Stop boasting about your big brands and low prices because that's clearly not what we're seeing here.'

With a Clubcard, the 750g tub of Lurpak costs 5 (6.65 without) at Tesco and is listed as going for 7 on the Sainsbury's website.

Gi's experience of high prices is despite the Morrisons Savers' range, which claims to offer everyday essentials at an affordable price.

In another clip from this month she added if there was 'one supermarket she would get rid of', it would be the retailer.

French businessman Rami Baitieh, 52, went from Paris to Bradford last month as he joined Morrisons from supermarket giant Carrefour. Stock image used

She also claimed a staff member told her 'no' when she wanted to grab some items from the reduced section, moved the stickers away from her and then 'wouldn't let her get anything'.

And her videos have clearly resonated with buyers trying to get to grips with soaring prices.

One commenter said: 'Be cheaper to go to Waitrose lol,' while a second added: 'They used to be great but have gone down hill rapidly.'

Gi also slammed the supermarket's pasta bar for 'lacking' and everything 'tasting the same'. The bargain hunter concluded that she 'didn't even finish' her portion from the shop.

Last month the boss of Morrisons gave a stark warning to staff that changes need to be made for the chain to survive.

French businessman Rami Baitieh, 52, went from Paris to Bradford last month as he joined Morrisons from supermarket giant Carrefour.

Speaking to employees in an early briefing at the company's head office, he said businesses were like 'burning candles' which would burn out unless they changed, The Sunday Times reported.

According to one insider who spoke to outlet, it was a 'gulp moment for everyone' at the British supermarket chain, which employs 105,000 workers.

MailOnline has reached out to Morrisons for comment.

A spokesperson from the supermarket told The Sun: 'Our Savers range has never been more important to our customers.

'In the last few months, we have cut the prices of over 50% of the products, broadened the range by more than 10%, and we are currently updating and improving the packaging.

'We believe that our customers appreciate the value, breadth, quality and availability of the range more than ever.'
Homelessness in San Francisco receives relentless news coverage. Where are the stories about good things happening in the city? Stephen Lam/The Chronicle 2023

Although I dont live in San Francisco anymore (I went to college at UCSF), I am connected to the city and visit often to see my three siblings who live in the Bay Area. I still subscribe to the Chronicle.

As it is with many people, it is confounding to see the deterioration of San Francisco. But, what also bothers me so much are news articles constantly berating the police and politicians that focus on just one negative story after another. I believe the Chronicle contributes to this downfall.

It gets depressing. You would think nothing good happens in San Francisco, and I know that this is not true. This negativity creates reality or certainty exacerbates it.

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I travel the world and see beautiful cities that are clean and free of homelessness. (Singapore, Toronto, Paris, Budapest and Istanbul to name a few.) What do they have that we dont?

Certainly, a lot more laws and punishment than we do.

I dont claim to have the answers, and I know efforts have been made, but if something doesnt change drastically, people will stop coming to this beautiful city.

Anita Cook, Carmichael, Sacramento County

Narrow pay gap

Regarding Which San Francisco CEOs are taking home the most money? We break it down (San Francisco, SFChronicle.com, Jan. 8): A big clue to what is wrong with San Francisco, California and this entire country is covered in this article.

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The huge change in the ratio of CEO pay to the median worker pay over the past half century and it is appalling. Kudos to San Francisco voters for putting an executive pay tax law on the books. Congress should do the same.

Income inequality is dragging this country down and needs to be reversed for all people to thrive.

Charlotte Seekamp, South San Francisco

Reform health care

Regarding Anticompetitive behavior is rampant in health care. Its hurting consumers (Open Forum, SFChronicle.com, Jan. 5): Thank you to Dr. Renee Hsia for highlighting the challenging financial forces that drive health care and the pressing need for greater collaboration.

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A central financial lesson from COVID-19 is the peril of prioritizing lucrative elective procedures over emergency care, which was disrupted by the cancellation of elective surgery at the height of the pandemic.

Historians agree that the Black Plague began in 1346 and would claim the lives of nearly 1 in 3 people on our planet. There was a silver lining, as the plague triggered mass migration out of the hardest-hit areas, shifted the balance of power and wealth and catalyzed the start of the Renaissance by forcing society to change.

Perhaps a central question in 2024 is whether the incentives in our medical system can be realigned to ignite a renaissance in health care to better support struggling maternity care and emergency rooms by valuing lifesaving care over elective procedures.

John Ma, San Francisco

Strategy for Dems

For the first time in American history, our democracy is on the precipice of becoming extinct. Democrats find themselves in a precarious place. They have lost the House, the Senate is holding on by a thread and our president is not a slam dunk for reelection in 2024.

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Unlike past campaign slogans, Hope is not a strategy.

The Republicans are about to nominate one of the worst presidents in U.S. history as their preferred candidate, and the courts are unlikely to keep Donald Trump off the ballot or conclude his criminal trials before the election.

So what can Democrats do?

Register Republican. Thats right. Register Republican and become eligible to vote in the GOP primary. Then vote for Nikki Haley. Why Haley? She isnt Trump and she isnt Ron DeSantis. She understands the job, and even if you disagree with her on policy, she is reasonable and can be expected to uphold the Constitution.

If Democrats vote in the GOP primary in unprecedented numbers, they can at least ensure that the country will be led by either a seasoned Democrat or the countrys first female president.

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So Democrats, go red for the primary, then vote blue in November. Protecting our democracy is a responsibility that falls on all of us.
The actress added that when she married Ted Turner, her views changed

She noted that wanted to conceal her Hollywood side

Jane, 86, revealed she used to hide her achievements while married to Tom

Jane Fonda has confessed that she used to hide her Oscars during her 17-year marriage to activist Tom Hayden to 'play down the Hollywood part of herself'.

The 86-year-old Grace and Frankie actor - who has recently made headlines for refusing to date anyone above the age of 20 because she hates 'old skin' - didn't boast about her achievements during her marriage with 76-year-old Tom.

In Dave Karger's upcoming book, 50 Oscar Nights, Jane revealed that she tried to push down the Hollywood part of her, according to an excerpt released by People.

The actress explained that it wasn't until her marriage with her third husband, Ted Turner, that she began celebrating her success.

Jane has confessed that she used to hide her Oscars during her 17-year marriage with activist Tom Hayden to 'play down the Hollywood' in her (seen in 2023)

In Dave Karger's forthcoming book, 50 Oscar Nights, Jane revealed that she tried to push down the Hollywood part of her, according to an excerpt released by People

The 86-year-old Grace and Frankie actor didn't boast her achievements during her marriage with 76-year-old Tom

Jane married Tom in 1973 and the pair share two children together. They have a son, Troy O'Donovan Garity, and a daughter, Mary Luana Williams.

After 17 years of marriage, the couple divorced.

Now, Jane has given fans insight to their marriage in Dave's book, which is set to be released on January 23, 2024.

She explained that she never displayed her trophies during her marriage to Tom.

'I wanted to play down the Hollywood part of me,' she said to Dave, according to the outlet.

After marrying CNN founder Ted Turner in 1991, Jane revealed that she began celebrating her Oscar trophies.

She told Dave: 'Then I married Ted Turner, and his office was wall-to-wall trophies,

'I thought, "He can display every frigging one of his trophies  why the hell can't I?"'

After marrying CNN founder Ted Turner in 1991, Jane revealed that she began boasting her Oscar trophies (seen

Despite divorcing Ted in 2001, Jane (seen in 2023) noted that she never hides her accomplishments anymore.

Despite divorcing Ted in 2001, Jane noted that she never hides her accomplishments anymore.

'Now I have them very prominently displayed on a bookcase in my living room,' she added.

Jane Fonda has been nominated for an Academy Award a whopping seven times throughout her career.

She brought home an award in 1972 for Klute and again in 1979 for Coming Home.

Jane recently shared her unconventional take on love and dating during an interview on comedian Heather McMahan's podcast, Absolutely Not.

When probed about about dating in her 80s, Fonda dropped a bombshell, stating, 'I'm ashamed to say this, but if I were to take a lover, he'd have to be 20.'

Then, when asked why 20 was specifically appealing, Jane deadpanned 'Because I don't like old skin.'
With a record 72 Vogue covers, her own line with Topshop, and a career spanning five decade Kate Moss has well and truly cemented herself as they ultimate fashion icon.

From her nineties reign as queen of the Primrose Hill set and Britpop It girl to clean-living health guru in a Cotswolds pile, no matter where the Croydon-born beauty is, not matter what she is doing, she is always impeccably dressed.

The runway supremo, who turns 50 today, is the epitome of Cool Britannia and has been a muse for some of the masters of modern fashion from Lee 'Alexander' McQueen to Gianni Versace, Karl Lagerfield and Kim Jones.

While now popular with influencers and stars alike, Kate was one of the first ever to wear a 'naked dress' - a shock to delicate temperaments in 1993.

Discovered aged 14, by 18 she controversially appeared topless in a Calvin Klein advert. She broke boundaries again when she appeared as a hologram for Alexander McQueen in his Autumn Winter 2006 show at Paris Fashion Week.

As her success grew so did her fame, her relationship with Johnny Depp saw her cement her status as a street style icon off the catwalk, with her often papped in airports on her way to see the actor, somehow managing to make jeans and T-shirt look elevated.

Aged 17, in 1991, Kate Moss appeared on her first ever runway in Dolce & Gabanna's Milan shoe. This she says was the night she met Naomi Campbell, which began the start of a legendary fashion friendship

In 1992, aged 18, Kate Moss and Mark Wahlberg posed topless in a campaign for Calvin Klein. Kate later said she 'hated the campaign' and 'couldn't get out of bed for weeks'

It's now been done by everyone from Kim Kardashian to Florence Pugh, but in 1993 Kate was one of the first to rock the naked dress at Elite Model Agency party at the Hilton Hotel, London

Kate became one of Karl Lagerfield's muses and posed for Chanel dozens of times, pictured in a 1993 campaign

In 1993, Kate strutted her stuff for Vivienne Westwood at Paris Fashion Week. She wore a miniskirt with nothing but a pair of tottering heels, going topless and licking an ice cream - which made headlines at the time. Speaking to Vogue in 2021, Kate said it was 'one of her favourites' but said daughter Lila has since told her it's 'too short'

She make anything look good! In 1993, Kate modelled a Red Nose Day T-shirt, as a skirt, paired with a bikini top for the Clothes Show at the C&A in Marble Arch

Style sisters! Kate is pictured in 1993 with Naomi Campbell. The pair modelled together throughout the years. They are pictured leaving the Designer of the Year Awards at the Natural History Museum

From grungy looks to pretty pastels (pictured), it was Kate's versatility that made her so successful. She is pictured at the Met Gala in 1995

By 1994, Kate had made a name for herself on the catwalk and off. Her fame skyrocketted when she started dating Johnny Depp. She is pictured at Los Angeles airport on her way to see the actor. 'I was on the go, life was happening' she said of the look

Kate said she did up to six shows a day and would only eat 'a glass of champagne' at her peak. Pictured in 1994 Vivienne Westwood show in Paris

Kate says this is her 'favourite dress'. It was a gift from John Galliano fior her 21st birthday. Unforunately, she's lost it. 'If anyone has it out there, please return it,' she said in a 2022 video for Vogue. The Manolo Blahnik shoes were also her favourite, 'I lived in them'. Her necklace? A gift from Johnny Depp. 'Those were the first diamonds I ever owned' Kate told Vogue

While she later became known for simply, edgy glam. Preppy looks were a key part of Kate's early career. Pictured in a Todd Oldman catwalk in 1995 in New York

One of the many brands Kate worked closely with was Versace. 'Gianni Versace was an incredible man, he was a beautiful person, generous, exciting, glamour, everything about Versace was. It was incredible,' she said. Pictured in the Versace Paris show in 1995

Red carpets became as popular as runways for Kate while dating Johnny Depp. Pictured at Don Juan De Marco Beverly Hills Premiere at The Academy in Beverly Hills in 1995

Kate wowed in frilled bikini at Bella Freud's show at The Polish Club in London in 1995

In a change from the thigh-skimming looks, Kate looked stunning Stephanie Seymour's wedding in 1995

Speaking of this look, worn at the New York Alexander McQueen show in 1996, Kate said that she loved it because she wanted to wear 'super low rise' all the time

In the peak of her party girl era, Kate dressed up as a sexy cowboy for Ronnie Wood's 50th birthday party in 1997

By 1997, Kate had truly cemented herself as the go-to British model and opened London Fashion week in a Union Jack jumper

At 30, she showed no signs of slowing down and started a relationship with rocker Pete Doherty. In 2005, she headed to Glastonbury Festival with her minuscule shorts and Hunter wellies becoming one of the most talked about looks in Worthy-farm history.

She's also shifted her style. Her 2011 marriage to guitarist Jamie Hince saw her move to the countryside and chic her city girl looks to countryside chic.

Many of the mini dresses were switched for fur coats, ruffle dresses and sensible scarfs.

Her edge certainly didn't disappear however. But the original supermodels, and pioneer of heroin chic, is now less associated with cocaine-fuelled parties.

Despite her perfect skin and trim physique, in her 20s and 30s she admitted she 'never exercised' and had no skin care routine, she was rarely pictured without a cigarette and drink in her hand.

But now she is completely sober, owns a wellness brand, a 4,000 Cadillac Pilates reformer machine and has gone from model to manager with her own agency.

That's not to say she has completely hung up her stilettos. Recently she's appeared on the catwalk for Versace - alongside her daughter Lila, 21.

'In fashion, excess is not for creative purposes, whatever people may say. It is about escapism. You just have to get out of it to deal with it,' she told TimeOut in 2011.

Here, MailOnline looks at her 50 best looks from teen model to titan of industry...

Cut outs before they were cool! Kate Moss in a strapless white floor-length dress with cutout sides worn with clear vinyl raincoat in the Stephen Sprouse Spring/Summer 1998 show in New York

Diamonds are forever! Kate and Naomi matched in this cult look at Syon House for the Verscae fashion show in 1999

Kate was wearing dresses with bold cut outs in 2002, years before it was a trend. She is pictured at Mario Testino Exhibition at The National Portrait Gallery. Photographer Testino and Kate have worked closely together over the years

Yellow there! Kate opted for this 1920s yellow dress that she picked up at Beverly Hills vintage store Lily et Cie to AnOther magazine party in NYC in 2003. In 2010 she launched her own version for her Topshop line

Another vintage look, which she got from a 'shop down the road' was worn to her 30th birthday in 2004. The theme was 'The Beautiful and the Damned'

Now in her 4th decade, Kate still wowed on the runway - pictured for Alexander McQueen in Earl's Court in 2004

By the mid-noughties, Kate had become the ultimate rockstar's girlfriend, with her looks at Glastonbury Festival making headlines. She paired Hunter wellies with mini skirts and later joked 'it doesn't matter what you wear on top'

Kate wore dozens of famous looks cementing her status in festival fashion history at Worthy Farm in 2005

Making history once again, Kate appeared as a hologram in Alexander McQueen's 2006 show. She didn't see the performance until after his death, she cried

A break from the usual programming! In 2006, Kate played 'Kate Pollard' alongside David Walliams as Vicky Pollard in a skit for Comic Relief at the Hammersmith Apollo

By 2008 Kate became a perennial festival goer. She was spotted numerous times throughout the five-day festival, sporting a pair of grey wash jeans and welly boots as she arrived at the beginning of the music weekend. Skinny jeans became one of her fashion signatures

As the 2010s approached, Kate still opted for grungy looks. Pictured at Glastonbury in 2010

In 2011, the model paired her Hunters with skinny jeans and a leather jacket for Glastonbury

From city cool to country chic: In 2011, Kate was snapped outside a country pub with her fiancee Jamie Hince in a ruffled blue gown

John Galliano designed Kate's ethereal fairytale wedding dress for her Gloucestershire wedding to Jamie Hince in 2011

Even double denim looks cool on Kate! Moss opted for a 90s-inspired look for the Mulberry Spring Summer Show at London Fashion Week in 2011

Girl in the golden gown! At a launch for her book Kate: The Kate Moss Book' hosted by Marc Jacobs, Kate stunned in the winning look

Cool-ella Deville! Kate, who posed for Playboy for her 40th birthday, opted for mob wife chic in a striped fur coat and towering stilettos in 2013 for a Playboy party

This is halloween! Kate and Jamie managed to still look stylish while scary at Jonathan Ross' Halloween party in 2013

Diamonds are a girl's best friend! Kate was the epitome of old school glamour at Fran Cutler's surprise birthday party supported by ABSOLUT Elyx at The Box Soho in 2013

Cosy and cool! Kate opted for furs on her birthday in 2016

Never go wrong with a min! In 2017, Kate headed to the Box Soho in a pink T-shirt dress

Bejewelled beauty! Kate was sure to turn heads in a charity fashion show in 2017 for Cannes Film Festival

Kate opted for a leopard print look for Charlotte Tilbury's fragrance launch in London in 2016

Sheer brilliance! While approaching her 50s, in 2019, Kate showed that she's still not afraid to bare all

Belle of the ball! Kate wowed at the Camp: Notes of Fashion Met Gala in 2019 in a silver sequin caped gown by Marc Jacobs with a Jimmy Choo clutch

Best of British! Kate has often worn garment donning the Union Jack, so it was perhaps no surprise she opted for a patriotic look for the Queen's diamond jubilee in 2022

She's still got in! Aged 48 in 2022, Kate Moss showed her daughter and the new league of models how to do it as she wowed in a Milan Versace show

Perfection in pink! At the 2023 Met Gala, Kate looked gorgeous in a baby pink Fendi gown. She said it felt like wearing 'silk pyjamas'

Wonderful in white! Now in her sixth decade, Kate is not afraid to still opt for sheer numbers
A former Harrods sales assistant has claimed that the dress code was so strict at the department store that staff would even be pulled up for poor skin.

Rhiannon worked as a Christmas and summer sales assistant at the London store, after competing with many other applicants for the position.

Comparing the hiring process to the Hunger Games, she said: 'I remember them telling us from the beginning it was something like "only one in 100 applicants gets a job here."

'So you felt like fl****g heck out of this room, it's not going to be many of us, if we get through.'

Rhiannon (pictured), who previously worked at Harrods in London when it was owned by Mohamed Al-Fayed, revealed that the dress code was so strict they would be 'flagged' for poor skin

In an interview with The Shop Flaw podcast, Rhiannon divulged everything about the 'super strict' rules and dress code at the luxury store.

She added: 'Honestly they gave you a tutorial on how to do your make-up. If you were going to wear jewellery, diamonds and pearls were preferred.'

Host Timothy Morley quipped: 'Because we all can afford that on a sales assistant's salary,' while Rhiannon confirmed she was not in the tax bracket at the time.

The ex-Harrods employee, who worked there during Mohamed Al-Fayed's reign, explained staff's attire had to be entirely black.

They were also not permitted to have anything 'wild' in terms of hair colour.

More shockingly, Rhiannon shared that the iron clad rules regarding the 'very polished' appearance of staff did not end with hair and clothes.

'Even down to you know skin care,' she continued: 'If your skin wasn't looking great it would be flagged.'

The former staff member also divulged that staff were even given make-up tutorial and that if they were wearing jewellery, diamonds or pears were preferred (pictured: The Shop Flaw co-host Jasmine Key)

Co-host Ms Key and Timothy Morley (pictured) were shocked to hear the stringent rules, stating it was 'nuts' that staff were flagged for poor skin

TikTok were stunned by the revelation, with one joking that they would get 'break outs' from the stress

Aghast by the revelation, presenters Jasmine Key and Timothy labelled the stern rules as 'nuts', with Rhiannon describing it as a 'different time'.

Many flooded the comments in disbelief at the previously stringent Harrods rules.

'What if you have hormonal breakouts,' one questioned, while another joked: 'Id break out from that stress then get flagged.'

Others agreed with the luxury stores regulations, stating: 'Seems more than fair. To keep the Harrods standards.'

A Harrods spokesman said: 'Any reference to the dress code is out of date.

'The Harrods of today is a very different organisation, these policies are from a different era. '

Although the rules may have been stern, Rhiannon clarified that working on the fifth floor in Ski and Surf department was 'magical'.

Reflecting on the 'retail theatre' the company and staff alike would try to recreate, she also shared what it was like to work next to Al-Fayed's office.

Rhiannon, who was a temporary sales assistant when Mohamed Al-Fayed owned the store, divulged it was 'all hands on deck' when the Egyptian businessman was walking the shop floor

Discussing the Egyptian businessman's  almost  daily floor walk across the store, Rhiannon explained: 'It was be all hands on deck, you would have each department ringing the next department saying: "He's on his way."'

'It would get everyone to stand to attention.'

However, staff weren't fearful of their boss but had a 'deep respect' for him, according to the ex-employee,

She added: 'I feel like the store was an extension of him and everyone acknowledged and respected that.'
When most of us think of a 50-year-old lady, their outfit likely doesn't include a full-sheer gown, a risque cut-out dress or a see-through top.

But that's exactly the kind of eye-catching ensembles many celebrities in their fifties (such as Lauren Sanchez, Kristen Wiig, 50, and Amanda Holden, 52) have opted for when stepping out recently.

Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos' fiancee Lauren, 54, put on a busty display in a risque sheer black floor-length dress as the pair continued his 60th birthday celebrations in Milan.

Meanwhile, a host of famous faces in their fifties have attended award ceremonies in recent days and months where they've flashed their flesh in revealing outfits while posing up a storm.

But for celebrity stylist and fashion expert Miranda Holder, it's been the stars aged 60 and above such as Dame Joan Collins, 90, Meg Ryan, 62, and Julianne Moore, 63, who have really nailed the cool red carpet look this season.

Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos ' fiancee Lauren Sanchez, 54, put on a busty display in a risque sheer black floor-length dress as the pair continued his 60th birthday celebrations in Milan

Joan put on a glamorous display at the 2024 Emmy Awards in downtown Los Angeles on Monday.

The actress dazzled in a pale blue gown emblazoned with sequins which she teamed with a pair of matching opera gloves.

She completed her showstopping ensemble with sparkling diamond jewellery and a slick of classic pillar box red lipstick.

When Harry Met Sally's Meg, meanwhile, looked equally sensational as she attended the 29th Annual Critics Choice Awards ceremony on Sunday.

Sporting a strapless sequin dress that showcased her toned arms, the actress wore her blonde locks in soft waves and completed her look with a smattering of glamorous makeup.

Others in the 60 plus brigade showing the younger women how it's done, according to Miranda, include Dame Helen Mirren.

The 78-year-old actress turned heads in a purple gown which boasted an empire waist and chiffon overlay when attending the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills earlier this month.

Her dramatic coat, meanwhile, featured bell sleeves and a flowing train while also teasing a glimpse of a lavender lining.

The effortlessly elegant ensembles are in contrast to the risque outfits worn by several celebs in their fifties recently - and some of the seemingly less cool looks have ended up on the media's worst dressed lists.

Kristen Wiig, 50, sported a revealing bralette top adorned with bows and a matching sheer skirt for her dramatic entrance at the Golden Globe Awards, pictured left. Pictured right: Attending the Critics Choice Awards, American actress Traylor Howard, 57, showed off a very daring amount of skin in her paper-thin black dress

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star Alex Borstein opted for a unique ensemble that included cut-out details and lace elements when at the Emmy Awards

Sheer class! Gina Torres at the Golden Globes, pictured left, and Ellen Pompeo at the Emmy Awards, pictured right, both opted for mesh tops with their skirts for their outings

Amanda Holden ensured all eyes were on her as she arrived at the British Fashion Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London in December 2023

Attending the Critics Choice Awards, American actress Traylor Howard, 57, showed off a very daring amount of skin in her paper-thin black dress, which, when she stepped in front of the cameras, went completely see-through.

Elsewhere, Kristen Wiig, 50, sported a revealing bralette top adorned with bows and a matching sheer skirt for her dramatic entrance at the Golden Globe Awards.

Commenting on the latest trend, stylist Miranda said: 'Its Awards season, which means every red carpet event is in itself an opportunity to make headlines with a show-stopping outfit that wows.

'If an ensemble gets sufficient press attention, who knows where it might lead Hollywood careers have been built on far less

'It was once said that any publicity is good publicity, but in today's fickle fashion landscape Im not buying it.

'I understand that its a cut throat business, I understand that these actresses have mere seconds in the spotlight in order to secure unforgettable shots which will propel them onto the next rung of their career ladder.

'I cant help feeling however that some of these women have sold out to sensationalism, rather than having the confidence to just be their most glamorous selves in a fabulous - but slightly more demure - ensemble, allowing their natural radiance and personalities to shine through?

Dame Joan Collins put on a glamorous display at the 2024 Emmy Awards in downtown Los Angeles on Monday

Meg Ryan arrives at the 29th Annual Critics Choice Awards, pictured left. Pictured right, Sheryl Lee Ralph, 67, attends the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards

Julianne Moore, 63, looked incredible in red as she attended the 81st Golden Globes at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills

Others in the 60 plus brigade showing the younger women how it's done, according to Miranda, include Dame Helen Mirren (pictured at a Golden Globes after party)

Jodie Foster, 61, pictured left, and Annette Bening, 65, pictured right, both looked cool in sophisticated ensembles as they attended the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards

'Some outfits speak of desperate measures, as if they were relying solely on their physical attributes and the element of surprise, or even shock tactics, rather than being at ease with who they are, both physically and professionally,' she added.

'Enter the 60 plus brigade, Joan Collins, Helen Mirren et al, who mercifully show the younger women how its done.

'These women are rightly proud of their long careers, their knowledge and wisdom, synonymous with their age and are totally at ease in every way.

'Their outfits demonstrate that they have nothing to prove they are simply the most glamourous and polished versions of themselves.

'Their confidence is palpable through their poise, the ease and grace with which they conduct themselves, and their infinitely more elegant but no less fabulous outfits.

'I am absolutely an advocate of ripping up the ageist fashion rulebook, encouraging women, no matter their age, to wear their happy and to flash the flesh if they are body-confident.

'On the flipside however, the 60 plus brigade are living proof that we are most magnetic, alluring and attractive when we are at one with the clothes on our backs.

'Theres no mismatch between who they are as people and the clothes they wear - they are confident and content, which in my eyes is not only feel good fashion in action, but the epitome of beauty.'
The Princess Royal had raised concerns to Coronation organisers that a feather on her headpiece made for 'quite a decent-sized hat' but was told to wear it anyway, according to a new royal book.

The hat in question turned out to be one of the major talking points on social media during the historic occasion in May - after it blocked the view of Prince Harry, who was seated behind Princess Anne in Westminster Abbey.

The Duke of Sussex, 39, was relegated to the third row during the King's Coronation, where he sat between Jack Brooksbank, the husband of Princess Eugenie, and the late Queen Elizabeth II's cousin Princess Alexandra.

Many online were quick to speculate whether the positioning of Anne's huge feather directly in front of her nephew was a deliberate move to 'punish' Harry, who has been outspoken in his criticism of the Royal Family in his Netflix series and memoir Spare.

But in Robert Hardman's new book, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, the Princess defends herself, explaining she had changed seats at the last minute in the hopes of a 'speedy exit'.

The Princess Royal had raised concerns to Coronation organisers that a feather on her headpiece made for 'quite a decent-sized hat' but was told to wear it anyway, according to a new royal book. Pictured, Prince Harry and Princess Anne at the historic event

The author writes: 'At the Coronation itself, Prince Harry was seated in the third row of the royal section, immediately behind Princess Anne, who was wearing a striking red-plumed bicorn hat that remained on her head throughout.

'Social media snipers instantly concluded that Harry had been deliberately placed behind his aunt's tall hat to obscure his view.

'This is nonsense. Not only do the Lord Chamberlain's Office not think like that, but the Princess Royal had only switched to that seat after her request for a speedy exit.

'The hat was an interesting question,' the Princess recalled later. 'I said: "Are you sure you want me to keep the hat on? Because it's quite a decent-sized hat." And the answer was yes. There you go. Not my choice.'

The revelation is made in Mr Hardman's new biography of King Charles which is being exclusively serialised by the Daily Mail.

Elsewhere in the book, it is claimed Queen Elizabeth was infuriated by Harry and Meghan Markle's claim that she had given her blessing to their daughter being named Lilibet.

One member of her staff says the late monarch was 'as angry as I'd ever seen her' after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex publicly stated they would not have used her private family nickname if she had not been 'supportive'.

The couple even ordered their firm of lawyers, Schillings, to write to news broadcasters and publishers - most notably the BBC - saying claims she was not asked for permission were false and defamatory and should not be repeated.

The hat in question turned out to be one of the major talking points on social media during the historic occasion in May - after it blocked the view of Prince Harry, who was seated behind Princess Anne (pictured) in Westminster Abbey

But when the Sussexes attempted to 'co-opt' Buckingham Palace into 'propping up' their version of events, they were 'rebuffed'.

Speaking to members of the Royal Family, friends and palace staff both past and present, Mr Hardman's insight into Harry's relations with family members is captivating.

In 2021, his and Meghan's decision to call their new daughter Lilibet, who was born in California and has only once briefly been to the UK, raised eyebrows.

Lilibet was the affectionate childhood nickname of the late Queen, said to have come about because as a child Princess Elizabeth could never pronounce her name properly.

It was only ever used by her parents, King George VI, the Queen Mother, and her sister, Princess Margaret, as well as her husband, Prince Philip, and a handful of close friends.

Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story' by Robert Hardman to be published by Macmillan on 18 January at 22

At the time, the BBC reported it had been told by a palace source that the Queen was not asked by the duke and duchess as to whether they could use it.

Other sources told media, including the Mail, that while the Queen was called by her grandson and his wife, she felt she wasn't in a position to say no.

But the Sussexes' spokesman insisted the couple would not have used the name had the Queen not been 'supportive'.

They said at the time: 'The duke spoke with his family in advance of the announcement - in fact his grandmother was the first family member he called.

'During that conversation, he shared their hope of naming their daughter Lilibet in her honour. Had she not been supportive, they would not have used the name.'

Strongly worded legal letters were then sent out.

Mr Hardman writes that some of the late monarch's household were particularly 'interested' that amidst a wealth of private family information and criticism of staff members, Harry mysteriously 'omitted' the entire incident from his memoir.

The author says: 'One privately recalled that Elizabeth II had been 'as angry as I'd ever seen her' in 2021 after the Sussexes announced that she had given them her blessing to call their baby daughter 'Lilibet', the Queen's childhood nickname.

'The couple subsequently fired off warnings of legal action against anyone who dared to suggest otherwise, as the BBC had done. However, when the Sussexes tried to co-opt the Palace into propping up their version of events, they were rebuffed.

'Once again, it was a case of "recollections may vary" - the late Queen's reaction to the Oprah Winfrey interview - as far as Her Majesty was concerned.

'Those noisy threats of legal action duly evaporated and the libel actions against the BBC never materialised.'

Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story' by Robert Hardman to be published by Macmillan on 18 January at 22.
A Saltburn superfan has had the film's now-infamous 'grave' scene tattooed on her leg - despite critics insisting she will 'regret it forever.'

Cheyenne Burris saw the Barry Keoghan-starring psychological thriller five times at the cinema when the film was released in November last year.

The 28-year-old content creator, who is originally from California but now lives in Brighton in the UK, was particularly taken with one scene in the film, which has polarized fans across the world.

Cheyenne described the graveyard clip as 'beautiful and poetic' - leading to her to contact her tattoo artist friend to permanently ink the scene onto her thigh.

Saltburn superfan Cheyenne Burris, who is originally from California but now lives in Brighton in the UK, has had the film's now infamous 'grave' scene tattooed on her leg

Cheyenne described the graveyard clip as 'beautiful and poetic' - leading to her to contact her tattoo artist friend to permanently ink the scene onto her thigh

The moment - which was, according to star Barry Keoghan, improvised - sees leading character Oliver Quick humping the gravesite of his friend Felix

Cheyenne Burris saw the psychological thriller starring Keoghan (pictured) five times at the cinema when the film was released in November last year

Saltburn focuses on Oxford University student Oliver, played by Keoghan, who becomes fixated with a popular, aristocratic fellow student Felix, played by Jacob Elordi, who later invites him to spend the summer at his eccentric family's estate.

The graveyard scene, which appears towards the end of the movie, shocked viewers as protagonist Oliver visits a freshly-dug grave.

He lays on top of the bare earth sobbing, before stripping and performing a sex act in the soil.

Cheyenne said: 'I loved Saltburn. It's not the greatest film I've ever seen, but it's also fantastic.

'It just scratches the itch in my brain. Normally this type of dark media isn't really that well done.

'This is funny and dark and so beautiful and well shot. It's the full package for my brain.

'One of my best friends is a tattoo artist and as soon as we got out the theatre, we thought: "Let's do a tattoo."

'So my friend Helena Gifford began drawing some ideas of the graveyard scene for a tattoo.'

The 28-year-old content creator was particularly taken with one scene in the film, which has polarized fans across the world

Cheyenne, who has more than 50 tattoos, had the scene inked onto her upper thigh and documented the process on a TikTok video, which has gotten nearly two million views

She continued: 'Her style is incredible. I asked for it to be drawn with no pants, as I felt it was more real.

'I was always going to do the grave scene. I'm a weird goth anyways so the grave scene felt the most fitting.

'I thought the scene was so beautiful - it's very poetic.

'It's longing, it's desperation. If I had someone obsessed with me that much - that's a goal in my life.

'I just thought it was very romantic in a dark, Victorian way.

'For me it's not about Barry Keoghan as an actor - it's the scene and how it's presented.

'We purposefully left the face a bit ambiguous on the tattoo so it can be who you want it to be.'

Cheyenne, who has more than 50 tattoos, had the scene inked onto her upper thigh and documented the process on a TikTok video, which has gotten nearly two million views.

The artwork split opinions online with some declaring it 'iconic,' while others suggested immortalizing such a scene should be 'illegal'

The artwork split opinions online with some declaring it 'iconic,' while others suggested immortalizing such a scene should be 'illegal,' though Cheyenne laughed off the 'trolls.'

In response to the furor around her new body ink, Cheyenne said: 'It's a weird, passionate and distressing tattoo.

'I just respond to the trolls with humor. It really doesn't affect me. Everyone close to me loves it.

'I would hope Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi would enjoy it if they saw it. I hope they wouldn't be offended!'
Queen Maxima of the Netherlands wrapped up warm in a camel cape coat as she received guests at the Royal Palace.

The Dutch queen, 52, appeared in great spirits as she waved at crowds alongside her husband King Willem-Alexander at the palace in Amsterdam.

The royal couple will receive members of the diplomatic corps of foreign diplomats for their annual New Year's Reception today.

Underneath her chic coat, Maxima wore a beige lace gown that perfectly complemented the nude tones.

The royal - who is originally from Argentina - then accessorised her outfit with brown a snakeskin clutch bag.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands wrapped up warm in a camel cape coat as she received guests at the Royal Palace

The mother-of-three kept her blonde tresses loose, in a side parting and tucked behind her ears.

The European royal opted for signature makeup look - consisting of a smokey eye and nude lip.

King Willem, 56, looked sharp in a black blazer jacket which he paired with a grey waistcoat and a grey and white patterned tie.

It's been a busy week for the couple as they welcomed guests to another traditional New Year's Reception yesterday.

They welcomed several hundred guests from political and public administration and from various sectors of Dutch society to the Royal Palace.

Donning a similar ensemble the Queen looked elegant in a camel-coloured coat, adding a roll-neck jumper in the same neutral palette underneath to keep warm.

King Willem wore a single breasted navy suit with a patterned tie to match Maxima's outfit as he joined his wife to host their annual gathering.

Also in attendance was his mother Princess Beatrix, 85, who still attends significant events, even after her abdication from the Dutch throne in 2013.

The Dutch queen, 52, appeared in great spirits as she waved at crowds at the palace in Amsterdam

Maxima beamed alongside her husband King Willem-Alexanderas they arrived for the New Year's reception

The mother-of-three kept her blonde tresses loose, in a side parting and tucked behind her ears, and her make up naturally bronzed with a smokey eye and nude lip

Invited guests arrive at the Palace on Dam Square for the New Year's reception

The royal couple receives members of the diplomatic corps of foreign diplomats for New Year's Reception

Maxima and King Willem-Alexander looked cheery on Monday as they welcomed guests to day one of the traditional New Year's Reception at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam

Also in attendance was Princess Beatrix, 85, who still attends significant events, even after her abdication from the Dutch throne in 2013

Wearing an ornate royal blue cape with gold detailing by the collar, she too welcomed guests to the impressive and high-calibre event.

Maxima was born in Argentina and married into the Dutch royal family in 2002, three years after meeting her husband-to-be in Seville, Spain.

Despite reportedly having no inkling that Willem-Alexander was heir to the throne when the pair first met, she eventually became queen consort when her husband ascended to the throne.

Willem-Alexander became king when his mother, Beatrix, abdicated in April 2013 after 33 years as reigning monarch.

The couple share three children - the eldest being 20-year-old Crown Princess Amalia, who is the heir to the throne.

Her siblings, Princess Alexia and Ariane, are aged 18 and 16.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima together with princesses Amalia, Alexia, Ariane and dog Mambo for their Christmas card, December 2023

For their Christmas card this December, the Dutch royals showed the rest of the European monarchies how it was done with an adorable family photo.

They even enlisted their dog, Mambo, to join them as they posed for portraits in front of the Christmas tree at Huis ten Bosch Palace.

The family looked closer than ever as they showed their close bond, while appearing to coordinate their looks by each choosing a winter coat from a complementary colour palette - with Alexia choosing navy while Ariane opted for jade green.
She opened up about her post-op progress in a series of new YouTube videos

The USC freshman is set to undergo chemotherapy therapy in February

Michael Strahan's daughter Isabella has opened up about her agonizing recovery after undergoing brain surgery to remove a rare and fast-growing tumor.

The 19-year-old University of Southern California freshman was diagnosed with medulloblastoma in October after she began suffering from 'excruciating headaches' and was waking up vomiting every morning.

She underwent emergency surgery after she was diagnosed, followed by a 'grueling month of rehab,' which included re-learning how to walk.

In a series of videos posted a YouTube, the teenage daughter of Good Morning America host Michael Strahan detailed the brutal reality of the surgery.

Isabella Strahan (pictured) detailed her recovery after undergoing emergency brain surgery to remove a 4cm tumor

The teenager had to undergo a month of rehab in the hospital, even having to re-learn how to walk in the wake of her surgery

'It's been rough, it's been challenging and it's been very hard, but I know I'll get through it,' Isabella said in a YouTube video.

The budding model went on to describe some of the side effects she experienced after the surgery, which saw using a walker and a wheelchair to get around in the wake of having the 4cm tumor removed.

The college student said she was also very emotional following the surgery, which she put down to the steroids she was taking, and would 'bawl' whenever she met someone new.

Isabella also pointed out she's been in New York recovering from her surgery for longer than she was at college, which was 68 days.

'I'll be back,' she assured viewers. 'Just taking a pause.'

The 19-year-old also had to undergo the egg freezing process, as the radiation and chemotherapy can effect her fertility.

'That was not fun for me,' she admitted. 'I am not a big needle person so this whole experience... I've gotten used to my blood and IVs but shots? That was rough.

'Basically [it] was three shots in my stomach, hurt so bad, that was every day for maybe a week.'

Isabella appeared on Good Morning America last week with her father Michael, revealing her devastating diagnosis

The college freshman said she was looking forward to going back to college, joking she's even jealous of her twin sister, Sophia, sitting her finals

The 19-year-old also had to undergo the egg freezing process, as the radiation and chemotherapy can effect her fertility (pictured with her twin sister, Sophia, in hospital)

The teen then underwent her egg retrieval on Thanksgiving day - explaining that she went home after the procedure, 'slept for six or seven hours' then got up and celebrated the holiday surrounded by her family.

Isabella started radiation treatment after Thanksgiving, and a week after she started she decided to shave her head.

'So I cut my hair probably I would say like the end of the second week,' she recalled, adding it was around '4am' when she decided to get rid of it all, joking that she went through a 'mid-life crisis'.

'It started to thin and just kind of fall out... I couldn't even like look at myself because of just worse than probably not having hair.'

'It's definitely sad,' she continued, adding she had more or less been growing it for 18 years.

'Because [I] don't really cut my hair.'

Isabella said she had a wig, but was more comfortable without it.

'It's just not my hair,' she said simply. 'It does looks really similar [though].'

Despite facing six months of chemotherapy, which she will undergo at Duke University where her twin sister, Sophia, is studying, Isabella is positive about what is ahead - saying it's nice to have homecooked meals and be around her dogs.

Isabella started radiation treatment after Thanksgiving, and a week after she started she decided to shave her hair

Isabella is positive about what is ahead - saying it's nice to have homecooked meals and be around her dogs. She is pictured here at Thanksgiving with Michael and Sophia

The college student admitted she was excited about returning to normal life eventually.

'Like I can't really go to school right now, obviously, and [it's crazy] how much I wish I [could] take her [Sophia's] final exam or like just go back to school,' she said wistfully. 'But that will change.'

Isabella first revealed her diagnosis to the world in a Good Morning America segment last week, where she appeared with her father, Michael.

Isabella's doctor Dr. David Ashley also appeared on GMA, explaining although the type of tumor was 'incredibly rare' - with fewer than 10 cases a year in patients her age - her prognosis was good.

'There are four types of medulloblastoma, and Isabella has what's known as a WNT subtype of this,' Dr Ashley explained on GMA.

'Patients have 90 per cent plus survival rates beyond five years and the majority are completely cured.

'With Isabella, I'm very optimistic that her outcome will be terrific. She is doing fabulously.'
The Duchess of Edinburgh looked to be in high-spirits during a visit to the Katherine Low Settlement (KLS) in London today.

Sophie, 58, enjoyed an activity-filled day at the charity, based in Battersea, which has been tackling poverty and isolation for 100 years.

The wife of Prince Edward was all smiles as she took part in a seated dance with others, grouped around in a circle and waving some bright blue pom-poms.

Elsewhere, she was focused while trying her hand at a sewing machine when taking part in a workshop at the centre.

The mother-of-two was effortlessly chic and sophisticated in a white wool ensemble and bright green jacket for today's engagement.

The Duchess of Edinburgh looked to be in high-spirits during a visit to the Katherine Low Settlement (KLS) in London today

Sophie showed off her winter fashion in the warm maxi-dress, which featured a turtleneck, adding a pop of colour with an emerald belted coat.

She carried a brown leather clutch and finished the look off with simple suede boots.

The Duchess styled her blonde tresses in a relaxed style and opted for minimal make-up for the visit.

KLS was opened by the late Queen Mother, when she was the Duchess of York, in 1924.

In 1964, she marked the charity's 40th anniversary with a visit. The Settlement's programmes work to support people from all ages as well as families from refugee backgrounds and adults who have just arrived in the UK and are learning English.

According to its website, more than 500 people a week visit the building.

Last month, the Duchess proved to be a hit with children and adults alike as she volunteered at a Christmas party for Ukrainian refugees.

Sophie cut a casual figure in a black polo neck jumper as she chatted to families, served festive food and painted children's faces at The Lighthouse in Woking, Surrey.

Sophie, 58, enjoyed an activity-filled day at the charity, based in Battersea, has been tackling poverty and isolation for 100 years

The wife of Prince Edward was focused while trying her hand at a sewing machine while taking part in a workshop at the centre

Elsewhere, she was all smiles as she took part in a seated dance with others, grouped around in a circle and waving some bright blue pom-poms.

The Duchess looked to enjoy a seated dance as she visited the KSL in London, Battersea this afternoon

The royal paired her laid back ensemble with black trousers and added a gold chain.

The event included music from the Ukrainian band Atmasfera, a visit from Sviatyij Mykolai (Saint Nicholas), and a Ukrainian puppeteer.

The charity, of which the Duchess became patron earlier last year, hosts a range of projects in central Woking and Barnsbury to support, encourage and empower those who find themselves in need.

The charity, which also runs Woking Foodbank and the Jigsaw baby bank, was supporting around 4,000 local people who will have found Christmas tough this year.

Sophie looked focused on a piece of fabric as she took part in a sewing workshop during today's visit

The mother-of-two was effortlessly chic and sophisticated in a white wool ensemble and bright green jacket for today's engagement

Sophie showed off her winter fashion in the warm maxi-dress, which featured a turtleneck, adding a pop of colour with an emerald belted coat

She carried a brown leather clutch and finished the look off with simple suede boots for today's visit

The Duchess styled her blonde tresses in a relaxed style and opted for minimal make-up for the visit

Sophie optimised both comfort and style in a cosy but elegant white wool dress, perfect for today's chilly weather

She carried a leather clutch for today's engagement in London's Battersea, and kept her jewellery minimal

Sophie's maxi-dress and wrap-jacket was the perfect combination for today's chilly winter weather

Its Christmas Kindness appeal included food hampers, toy vouchers for children, winter warming items, clothing, toiletries, a meal on Christmas Day and more.

It's not the first time that Sophie has visited the charity as she baked mince pies and packed Christmas care packages for the Woking charity in 2021.

The royal got stuck in during the visit, serving breakfast to beneficiaries of the charity and helping to pack essential items for children in need over the festive season.

She was seen baking festive treats, heating up croissants and serving spiced apple juice in the Lighthouse kitchen before chatting to locals during the visit.

She later helped pack care packages for children, all of whom have been referred to us by local support workers and service providers, containing items like shower gel and toys.

The Lighthouse is a charity seeking to tackle widespread poverty and undergo a variety of projects for the local community, including offering free haircuts for men and advice for those suffering with debt.
People on the web were shocked by what Americans said when he got to college

A British student going to college and living in America has revealed the three 'dumbest' things people have said to him when he moved to the U.S.

Pete - who has yet to reveal what university he attends - is originally from England and frequently posts about his day-to-day life online.

Recently, the college student took to TikTok to share the silliest phrases that have been said to him as a 'British person in the United States.'

In a viral video, which has so far amassed more than 1.4 million views, he lifted the lid on the jaw-dropping comments that have been made to him - including one person complimenting his English, despite being 'European.'

A British college student living in U.S. has revealed the three 'dumbest' things people said to him after making the move

Pete - who has yet to reveal what university he attends - is originally from England and frequently posts about his day-to-day life online

He captioned the clip: 'There are so many more I could say but these were definitely the worst.'

'Three dumbest things I have had said to me as a British person who goes to college in the United States,' he said at the start of the video.

The first thing was meant as a compliment, according to Pete.

'Number one, I had a person come up to me and say considering I'm European, my English is really good,' he said.

'And when I told them that was because I'm from England, they said, "Yeah but my friend is European and he speaks way worse English." His friend was from France.'

Next, he had noticed that Americans got the 'Australian and English accents mixed up.'

The college student revealed that one of his American peers thought that he was 'Australian,' because they believed that Australia and the U.K. were the 'same.'

Lastly, he shared that his friends didn't believe he was from a village - or that they even existed.

Recently, the college student shared the silliest things that had been said to him

People flooded the comments and expressed their shock, with many others sharing their own stories of their first encounters with Americans

He explained: 'When I told my friend that I lived in a village, I then had to convince him for the next hour that a village is not just from Minecraft and I wasn't messing with him and villages actually existed in the outside world.'

People flooded the comments and expressed their shock, with many others sharing their own stories of their first encounters with Americans.

One person said: 'How are they in college.'

Someone else added: 'I was asked if we had toilets and electricity in France.'

Another user commented: 'I'm convinced they learn nothing about the rest of the world in school.'

'These are wild,' a fourth person declared.
A federal judge rejected a lawsuit challenging a UC Santa Cruz requirement that applicants for faculty jobs describe how they would promote diversity on campus. Nic Coury/Special to the Chronicle

A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit by a psychology lecturer challenging a UC Santa Cruz requirement that applicants for faculty jobs describe how they would promote diversity on campus.

John Haltigan, formerly an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, said he did not seek a professorship at Santa Cruz because his views would have made his application futile. But U.S. District Judge Edward Davila of San Jose said Haltigan cant show he was harmed by the requirement without applying for a position.

A plaintiff challenging the denial of employment or some other benefit lacks standing to challenge a rule or policy to which he has not submitted himself by actually applying for the desired benefit, Davila said in his ruling Friday, quoting a past decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. But he denied the universitys request to permanently dismiss the lawsuit and said Haltigan could file an amended suit, presumably after applying for a faculty position.

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The suit, in which Haltigan is represented by the conservative Pacific Legal Foundation, is one of dozens around the country challenging policies by universities and employers requiring applicants to submit statements supporting diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. The Supreme Court ruled in 1978, in a case from UC Davis, that public universities could consider a students race in admissions decisions, but ruled last year that affirmative action admissions based on race were unconstitutional.

When UC Santa Cruz invited candidates for a psychology professors position in July 2022, it required candidates to include a statement on DEI. The university said it would give the highest scores to applicants who showed clear and detailed ideas  for advancing equity and inclusion and low scores to those who offered only vague statements about treating all students the same regardless of background, etc.

In his lawsuit, Haltigan called the requirement a modern-day loyalty oath akin to Sen. Joseph McCarthys anti-communist crusade in the 1950s, and a thinly veiled attempt to ensure dogmatic conformity.

He said he believes in colorblind inclusivity and merit-based evaluation that is not based on race or ethnicity. While the university did not require applicants to endorse DEI, Haltigan said, its criteria showed that those who fail to demonstrate conformity with the beliefs and ideology represented by the policy know that their application is futile.

But Davila said Haltigan could have applied for the position and had not shown it would have been futile. Santa Cruz did not exclude such candidates, the judge said, and might have decided to hire Haltigan by finding he had shown excellent qualifications or especially relevant research background.

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Under established judicial standards, Davila said, a would-be job seeker who could have applied for the position but chose not to do so cannot challenge the employers criteria.

The university welcomed the ruling.

The University of California, Santa Cruz is committed to inclusive, welcoming, and enriching learning environments fostering success within and beyond our classrooms, spokesperson Scott Hernandez-Jason said in a statement Tuesday.

We restate our commitment to our mission  hiring employees who can foster academic excellence and success for our richly diverse and vibrant student body.

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Haltigan could file an amended lawsuit or appeal the ruling. No decision has been made yet, said attorney Wilson Freeman of the Pacific Legal Foundation.

The University of Californias DEI Statement requirement renders applications like Dr. Haltigans, that disagree with the prevailing orthodoxy on equity and racial balancing, futile, Freeman said Tuesday.
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden was effortlessly elegant as she donned a chic maroon ensemble for a visit to The Swedish Defense University, Forsvarshogskolan, with her father King Carl Gustaf XVI.

The royal, 46, showed off her glamorous winter fashion in the monochrome deep crimson suit, teamed with a matching coat, shoes and clutch.

Meanwhile, her father, 77, opted for a simply elegant grey suit and striped tie as he joined his daughter.

The duo were all smiles as they enjoyed a tour of the prestigious state institution renowned for its military education.

Photos also showed them chatting with Vice Principal Anders Callert and Principal Robert Egnell as well as conversing together in a boardroom.

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden was effortlessly elegant as she donned a chic maroon ensemble for a visit to The Swedish Defense University, Forsvarshogskolan, with her father King Carl Gustaf XVI

The plum undertones on Victoria's outfit were the perfect complement to the bright golden jewellery she sported for today's outing.

She also collected her chestnut tresses up in a clip and kept her make-up subdued with subtle eyeshadow and a pink lipstick.

Earlier this month, she was in Salen for the annual National People's and Defense Conference.

The event delves into security of the world, Sweden's defence, security of people and emergency preparations of the society.

She was joined by her father and husband Prince Daniel, 50, with the trio enjoying a meal out together one evening.

Victoria looked sophisticated in a black and gold floral gown at Salen's hogfjallshotell for a meal in connection with the Conference.

She donned the satin dress which was cinched at the waist, and completed the ensemble with black stilettos.

The royal, 46, showed off her glamorous winter fashion in the monochrome deep crimson suit, teamed with a matching coat, shoes and clutch

Victoria donned suede plum stiletto boots to match her all-maroon outfit for today's Stockholm outing

Meanwhile, her father, 77, opted for a simply elegant grey suit and striped tie as he joined his daughter

Photos also showed them chatting with Vice Principal Anders Callert and Principal Robert Egnell as well as conversing together in a boardroom

The plum undertones on Victoria's outfit were the perfect complement to the bright golden jewellery she sported for today's outing

She also collected her chestnut tresses up in a clip and kept her make-up subdued with subtle eyeshadow and a pink lipstick

Victoria showcased her elegant sense of style in a deep maroon ensemble for today's outing in Stockholm

The royal accessorised with black earrings and her brunette locks were swept up into a chic bun.

Meanwhile King Carl Gustaf and Prince Daniel both looked smart in tailored navy suits which they paired with white shirts.

It comes after Victoria cut a stylish figure as she visited the customs office at the Stockholm Vartahamnen port terminal in Sweden last month.

She showcased a vibrant red outfit that she has worn on a number of occasions since December 2019.

She wrapped up against the chill in an oversized faux fur coat and chunky ankle boots.

The mother-of-two beamed upon arriving at the port terminal accompanied by her husband Daniel, daughter Princess Estelle, 11, and son Prince Oscar, 7.

The Princess was joined by her father. Both pictured meeting Vice Principal Anders Callert (left) and Principal Robert Egnell

Victoria beamed as she made a visit to the University today. The institution is known for its miliary education

Victoria contrasted her dark outfit with bright golden jewellery and opted for minimal make-up today

Victoria expertly styled her outfit with statement gold hoop earrings, while her brunette tresses were swept up into a chignon.

She was first seen wearing the striking scarlet ensemble, comprising a peplum jacket and pleated skirt, while choosing a Christmas tree in 2019.

Last month the royal layered it over a black turtleneck, adding a narrow waist belt and chunky ankle boots to complete the winter-ready look.

Princess Estelle, who appeared delighted to attend the family engagement, followed her mother's lead by wearing a faux fur coat and lace-up boots.

Meanwhile, Prince Oscar was bundled up in a puffer coat, wool beanie and wellington boots.

Elsewhere, his father looked dapper in a smart navy suit, paired with a stylish roll neck jumper.
Gyles Brandreth showed off his love of a colourful sweater as he entertained crowds at the Mayfair Times Community Awards in London this evening.

The royal biographer and broadcaster, 75, wore a black jumper with a bright red heart in the middle as he led those arriving at a luxurious hotel.

The Community Awards celebrate the spirit and ethos of the people in the areas of Mayfair, Marylebone and St James.

And Gyles looked very cheerful as he gave an animated speech, keeping everyone entertained for the evening.

Meanwhile, he took to Instagram to declare: 'Wherever we are, we're going to have fun!'

Gyles Brandreth showed off his love of a colourful sweater as he entertained crowds at the Mayfair Times Community Awards in London on Tuesday evening

The royal biographer and broadcaster, 75, wore a black sweater with a bright red heart in the middle as he led those arriving at the grand venue

He was joined by the likes of fashion mogul Karen Millen - who wowed in a bold white suit with a statement red bow - and enterpreneur Daisy Knatchbull.

Also in the crowd was British film producer and author Jonathan Sothcott and Mayfair Times editor Selma Day.

Gyles, a former Conservative MP turned TV personality, is a regular on Radio 4's Just A Minute and often appears on This Morning.

Awards at the Mayfair Times are granted to long-standing independent retailers who engage with the community.

A 'Lifetime achievement' award is also offered to an individual, as well as prizes for those 35 and under, and an 'unsung hero' award being on offer.

Other prizes are for sustainability and are given to those who have undertaken significant work for charity.

The Arts and Culture award for 2024 was won by the Royal Academy.

As the late Queen's biographer and friend, Gyles shed light on her final days before her death in September 2022.

He was joined by the likes of fashion mogul Karen Millen (pictured with Nerissa Sothcott, right) - who wowed in a bold white suit with a statement red bow

Fashion star Karen Millen joined the famous guests at the community awards show in London this evening

Fashion entrepeneur Daisy Knatchbull looked stylish in a chic checked suit as she attended tonight's event

Also in the bustling crowd tonight was British film producer and author Jonathan Sothcott (left)

Mayfair Times editor Selma Day also gave a speech to celebrate everyone coming together this evening

Paul Jackson, Eliza Bonham Carter and Jamie Shears pictured at The Mayfair Times Community Awards

Recently he toured his one-man show, Can't Stop Talking!

Earlier on Tuesday, Gyles attended a Westminster memorial service for Betty Boothroyd - the first female Speaker of the House of Commons.

He joined Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the current Speaker, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, ex-Tory Chancellor Lord Philip Hammond and Labour's former foreign secretary Lord David Owen to attend the thanksgiving event at St Margaret's Church.

West Yorkshire-born Baroness Boothroyd, first elected to Parliament in 1973 as Labour MP for West Bromwich, served as Speaker from 1992 to 2000.

She was hailed as an 'inspiration' who had 'smashed the glass ceiling to smithereens' following her death aged 93 in February last year.
The Duchess of Edinburgh was effortlessly elegant as she made an appearance at a chic gala for the Dispensaire Francais - a non-profit which provides medical and social assistance and support to French and French-speaking people in the UK.

Sophie, 58, dazzled in the deep navy blue gown embroidered with glittering black detailing during tonight's event at The French Residence in London.

The mother-of-two - who has been the organisation's patron since 2022 - teamed her evening ensemble, which featured a flowing A-line skirt, with stiletto heels and a matching clutch.

She gathered her blonde tresses back in a relaxed updo, and opted for smoke eye make-up.

Before Sophie, the late Queen Elizabeth II was the Dispensaire's patron. Posting about the event on its X profile, the French Embassy wrote: 'We are delighted to welcome the Duchess of Edinburgh as the French Residence hosts the Dispensaire Francais biennial gala tonight.

The Duchess of Edinburgh was effortlessly elegant as she made an appearance at a chic gala for the Dispensaire Francais

'This non-profit organization provides services for more than 2,000 French and other French-speaking beneficiaries each year.'

It's been a busy start to the week for the royal, who earlier today looked to be in high-spirits during a visit to the Katherine Low Settlement (KLS) in London.

Sophie enjoyed an activity-filled day at the charity, based in Battersea, which has been tackling poverty and isolation for 100 years.

The wife of Prince Edward was all smiles as she took part in a seated dance with others, grouped around in a circle and waving some bright blue pom-poms.

Elsewhere, she was focused while trying her hand at a sewing machine when taking part in a workshop at the centre.

The mother-of-two was effortlessly chic and sophisticated in a white wool ensemble and bright green jacket for today's engagement.

Sophie showed off her winter fashion in the warm maxi-dress, which featured a turtleneck, adding a pop of colour with an emerald belted coat.

She carried a brown leather clutch and finished the look off with simple suede boots.

Sophie, 58, dazzled in the deep navy blue gown embroidered with glittering black detailing during tonight's event at The French Residence in London

The mother-of-two - who has been the organisation's patron since 2022 - teamed her evening ensemble, which featured a flowing A-line skirt, with stiletto heels and a matching clutch

The Duchess of Edinburgh looked to be in high-spirits during a visit to the Katherine Low Settlement (KLS) in London today

The Duchess styled her blonde tresses in a relaxed style and opted for minimal make-up for the visit.

KLS was opened by the late Queen Mother, when she was the Duchess of York, in 1924.

In 1964, she marked the charity's 40th anniversary with a visit. The Settlement's programmes work to support people from all ages as well as families from refugee backgrounds and adults who have just arrived in the UK and are learning English.

According to its website, more than 500 people a week visit the building.

Last month, the Duchess proved to be a hit with children and adults alike as she volunteered at a Christmas party for Ukrainian refugees.

Sophie cut a casual figure in a black polo neck jumper as she chatted to families, served festive food and painted children's faces at The Lighthouse in Woking, Surrey.

Sophie, 58, enjoyed an activity-filled day at the charity, based in Battersea, has been tackling poverty and isolation for 100 years

The wife of Prince Edward was focused while trying her hand at a sewing machine while taking part in a workshop at the centre

Elsewhere, she was all smiles as she took part in a seated dance with others, grouped around in a circle and waving some bright blue pom-poms.

The Duchess looked to enjoy a seated dance as she visited the KSL in London, Battersea this afternoon

The royal paired her laid back ensemble with black trousers and added a gold chain.

The event included music from the Ukrainian band Atmasfera, a visit from Sviatyij Mykolai (Saint Nicholas), and a Ukrainian puppeteer.

The charity, of which the Duchess became patron earlier last year, hosts a range of projects in central Woking and Barnsbury to support, encourage and empower those who find themselves in need.

The charity, which also runs Woking Foodbank and the Jigsaw baby bank, was supporting around 4,000 local people who will have found Christmas tough this year.

Sophie looked focused on a piece of fabric as she took part in a sewing workshop during today's visit

The mother-of-two was effortlessly chic and sophisticated in a white wool ensemble and bright green jacket for today's engagement

Sophie showed off her winter fashion in the warm maxi-dress, which featured a turtleneck, adding a pop of colour with an emerald belted coat

She carried a brown leather clutch and finished the look off with simple suede boots for today's visit

The Duchess styled her blonde tresses in a relaxed style and opted for minimal make-up for the visit

Sophie optimised both comfort and style in a cosy but elegant white wool dress, perfect for today's chilly weather

She carried a leather clutch for today's engagement in London's Battersea, and kept her jewellery minimal

Sophie's maxi-dress and wrap-jacket was the perfect combination for today's chilly winter weather

Its Christmas Kindness appeal included food hampers, toy vouchers for children, winter warming items, clothing, toiletries, a meal on Christmas Day and more.

It's not the first time that Sophie has visited the charity as she baked mince pies and packed Christmas care packages for the Woking charity in 2021.

The royal got stuck in during the visit, serving breakfast to beneficiaries of the charity and helping to pack essential items for children in need over the festive season.

She was seen baking festive treats, heating up croissants and serving spiced apple juice in the Lighthouse kitchen before chatting to locals during the visit.

She later helped pack care packages for children, all of whom have been referred to us by local support workers and service providers, containing items like shower gel and toys.

The Lighthouse is a charity seeking to tackle widespread poverty and undergo a variety of projects for the local community, including offering free haircuts for men and advice for those suffering with debt.
An Australian woman has made the bold claim that she too was given the chance to become Queen of Denmark and was there on the night Mary met her now-husband King Frederik X.

Fiona, from Maroubra, New South Wales, claimed she was at the Slip Inn in September, 2000, when she was approached by two 'guys in suits' who said their friend was a prince and interested in meeting her.

She said she turned down the offer to meet the prince as she was happily engaged at the time and insists she does not regret passing up the chance to meet Frederik.

Speaking on Nova 96.9's Fitzy and Wippa with Kate Ritchie show, Fiona said she was 'having a good time' at the bar before men came came up beside her.

'I must admit, I polished up okay that night. Two guys in suits came up to me and they said, "There's a guy over there that wants to meet you",' she recalled.

An Australian woman has made the bold claim that she too was given the chance to become Queen of Denmark and was there on the night Mary met her now-husband King Frederik X

'I looked at him and he was sort of far away. I went, "Yeah, that's nice, but not interested" because I was engaged at that time and I was happy.'

The men 'insisted' Fiona give their friend a chance but she declined again.

'They came back about 10 minutes later and they said, "He's actually a prince and he wants to meet you",' she claimed.

Co-host Ryan 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald was shocked the men 'dropped the prince line' on Fiona.

Fiona, from Maroubra claimed she was at the Slip Inn in September, 2000, when she was approached by two 'guys in suits' who said their friend, a prince, was interested in meeting her

Fiona turned down the offer to meet the prince as she was engaged and insists she does not regret passing up the chance to meet Frederik (pictured with Mary in 2003)

'I showed them my engagement ring and I went, "Sorry mate not gonna happen!",' she continued.

'If I went out with a prince, it's going to be a bloody nightmare. Yeah, I don't think so.'

Wippa asked if Fiona regretted not taking her engagement ring off her finger and going for a chat with Frederik.

Fiona insisted she had no regrets even though she has since 'left' the man she was going to marry.

'You didn't marry him and you passed on Frederik?' Wippa laughed, before ending the chat.
The gift Australia is giving to Queen Mary and King Frederik X of Denmark to celebrate their accession to the throne has been revealed.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will donate $10,000 to Wildcare Tasmania to support the conservation of the endangered Tasmanian devils on behalf of the Australian people.

Albanese said it was a fitting gift for the Danish queen who was born and grew up in Tasmania.

'The story of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark is one Australians have followed closely and hold dear to their hearts,' he said.

'Australia and Denmark's close ties go beyond this union, with our nations sharing a commitment to democratic values, human rights, action on climate change and liberal trade.'

A donation to Wildcare Tasmania to help save a endangered Tasmanian Devils is Australia's official gift to Queen Mary and King Frederik to honour their accession to the Danish throne

Albanese finished his statement by wishing King Frederik and Queen Consort Mary 'the very best'.

Wildcare Tasmania funds a number of projects to protect and manage wild Tasmanian devil populations.

The organisation runs captive breeding and release programs and conducts research in disease prevention as a deadly facial tumour disease continues to have a devastating effect on the marsupials' population.

CEO of Wildcare Tasmania, Jill Maxwell said she was honoured by the Prime Minister's gift and the contribution will help continue the work of saving the Tasmanian devil population and species.

'As a local myself, I always feel a sense of pride at seeing Tasmanians succeed and make an impact, whether at home or around the world,' she said.

Albanese announced the news the day before King Frederik's proclamation on Sunday said it was a fitting gift for the Danish queen who was born and grew up in Tasmania

'At a global level, the Tasmanian devil really is representative of our magnificent wilderness and wildlife. What a wonderful way to celebrate Queen Mary and the coronation, by contributing to help us save our tenacious marsupial that is so synonymous with our state.'

This isn't the time the Australian government has honoured a new monarch with a donation.

For King Charles III's coronation, the Australian government put $10,000 towards the conservation efforts of the western ground parrot (WGP).

Also known as the 'Kyloring' by the Noongar people, it is one of the rarest parrots in the world with a population of less than 150.

The endangered birds are only found in a concentrated area of a Western Australian national park, with the final few birds almost wiped out by bushfires in recent years.

The national contribution was made on behalf of the Australian people to Friends of the Western Ground Parrot (FWGP), a charity working to save the parrot.
Unvaccinated children in the West Midlands are being forced to isolate for up to three weeks amid the region's biggest measles outbreak since the 1990s.

More than 300 cases have been identified since October, leading to 50 children being admitted to Birmingham Children's Hospital for treatment in the past month.

Health chiefs, who have already declared a 'national incident', blamed low uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

They urged parents to check their kids have had both doses of the jab, or risk them becoming seriously ill from the virus and passing it on to others.

Unvaccinated children who have been in contact with an infected person are being forced to stay at home for up to three weeks in a bid to contain the virus.

MailOnline has today created an interactive map that reveals the number of cases detected in each local authority across England Wales in December.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Latest UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data shows there were 1,603 suspected measles cases in England and Wales in 2023. The figure is more than twice as high as the 735 logged in 2022 and an almost five-fold rise compared to the 360 cases reported in 2021

More than 300 cases have been identified since October. Birmingham Children's Hospital (pictured) has also seen 50 children needing treatment for the virus in the last month

In a letter to parents, Birmingham City Council warned that pupils who have not had the vaccine  given to children aged one, followed by a second dose at three years and four months  will be told to isolate for 21 days if they are exposed to measles.

The warning, posted on January 4 as children returned to classrooms, stated: 'Anyone unvaccinated who is exposed to someone with measles may be advised to isolate for three weeks.

'This would disrupt their learning or work and could happen repeatedly.'

The letter, sent by the council's assistant director for public health, Dr Mary Orhewere, noted that GPs can dish out catch-up doses of the MMR jab, which offers life-long immunity against the three viruses it protects against.

WHAT JABS SHOULD I HAVE HAD BY AGE 18? Vaccinations for various unpleasant and deadly diseases are given free on the NHS to children and teenagers. Here is a list of all the jabs someone should have by the age of 18 to make sure they and others across the country are protected: Eight weeks old 6-in-1 vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), and hepatitis B.

Pneumococcal (PCV)

Rotavirus

Meningitis B 12 weeks old Second doses of 6-in-1 and Rotavirus 16 weeks old Third dose of 6-in-1

Second doses of PCV and men. B One year old Hib/meningitis C

Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)

Third dose of PCV and meningitis B Two to eight years old Annual children's flu vaccine Three years, four months old Second dose of MMR

4-in-1 pre-school booster for diphtheria, tetanus, polio and whooping cough 12-13 years old (girls) HPV (two doses within a year) 14 years old 3-in-1 teenage booster for diphtheria, tetanus and polio

MenACWY Source: NHS Choices Advertisement

Two doses offer up to 99 per cent protection against measles, mumps and rubella, which can lead to meningitis, hearing loss and problems during pregnancy.

Additionally, catch-up vaccination clinics for parents, staff and pupils will be held in schools across the West Midlands.

The three-week isolation advice was first issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) in 2019.

But worries about low uptake and a surge in cases prompted councils, including some in London, to distribute a reminder about the policy in recent months.

Under the guidance, children are banned from school and told not to mix with other children and those considered vulnerable  babies, pregnant women and those who are immunosuppressed. But they can still leave their homes for other activities.

Health chiefs say that while it is disruptive, the three-week isolation prevents measles from taking off among children  which could see more become seriously unwell.

Measles is so infectious that nine in ten unjabbed children in a classroom will catch it if just one classmate has the virus.

The UKHSA said it issues the advice on a 'case-by-case' basis after talks between council officials and schools.

It said: 'There have been children who have had to stay off school because of being a contact with a person with measles and being unvaccinated.

'If they have had one dose they can stay in school, but if they have had neither they are asked to stay off.'

It comes after Dr Naveed Syed, a consultant in communicable disease control at the UKHSA, based in the West Midlands, yesterday warned he was seeing 'cases of measles rising every day'.

He added: 'Uptake of MMR in the region is much lower than needed to protect the population, which is giving this serious disease a chance to get a foothold in our communities.'

At least 95 per cent of the population needs to be vaccinated to prevent outbreaks, under public health guidance.

But nationally, the proportion of five-year-olds who are fully jabbed has fallen to 84.5 per cent  the lowest in more than a decade. The trend has partly been blamed on the rise of anti-vaxx beliefs.

Experts, however, have also pointed to the pandemic which led some children to miss out on routine vaccinations, as well as rising pressures on primary care and a reduction in health visitors.

UKHSA data shows there were 1,603 suspected measles cases in England and Wales in 2023.

The figure is more than twice as high as the 735 logged in 2022 and an almost five-fold rise compared to the 360 cases reported in 2021.

The suspected cases are based on official notifications by doctors making a diagnosis from clinical symptoms.

While not all are later confirmed to be measles by laboratory tests, health chiefs warn that levels are clearly rising.

In England, 89.3 per cent of two-year-olds received their first dose of the MMR vaccine in the year to March 2023 (blue line), up from 89.2 per cent the previous year. Meanwhile, 88.7 per cent of two-year-olds had both doses, down from 89 per cent a year earlier

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Latest NHS Digital also shows that up to four in ten children in parts of England haven't had both MMR jabs by the time they turn five.

Just 56.3 per cent of youngsters that age in Hackney, east London, were fully-protected against measles, mumps and rubella in 2022/23.

After Hackney came Camden (63.6 per cent) and Enfield (64.8 per cent).

Outside of London, the lowest uptake rates for both doses among five year olds were logged in Liverpool (73.6 per cent), Manchester (74.5 per cent) and Birmingham (75.1 per cent).

Measles, which mostly produces flu like symptoms and a rash, can cause very serious and even fatal health complications if it spreads to the lungs or the brain.

One in five children who catch measles will need to go to hospital, with one in 15 developing serious complications like meningitis or sepsis.

Uptake of the MMR jab collapsed in the wake of study by the now discredited medic Andrew Wakefield which falsely linked the jabs to autism.

MMR uptake in England was about 91 per cent prior to Wakefield's study being published but plummeted to 80 per cent in the aftermath.
Eight rodents infected with the pathogen 'surprisingly' died within eight days

Chinese scientists have been experimenting with a mutant coronavirus strain that is 100 percent lethal in mice  despite concerns such research could spark another pandemic.

Scientists in Beijing  who are linked to the Chinese military  cloned a Covid-like virus found in pangolins, known as GX_P2V, and used it to infect mice.

The mice had been 'humanized', meaning they were engineered to express a protein found in people, with the goal being to assess how the virus might react in humans.

Every rodent that was infected with the pathogen died within eight days, which the researchers described as 'surprisingly' quick.

The team were also surprised to find high levels of viral load in the mice's brains and eyes - suggesting the virus, despite being related to Covid, multiplies and spreads through the body in a unique way.

Writing in a scientific paper that has not yet been published, they warned the finding 'underscores a spillover risk of GX_P2V into humans'.

Scientists in Beijing  who are linked to the Chinese military  cloned a Covid-like virus found in pangolins , known as GX_P2V, and used it to infect mice. Every rodent that was infected with the pathogen died within eight days, which the researchers described as 'surprisingly' quick

The virus was discovered in pangolins in Malaysia - scaly mammals that are known harborers of coronaviruses and were heavily speculated to be the intermediate host that passed Covid from bats to humans

Professor Francois Balloux, an infectious disease expert based at University College London, wrote on Twitter (X): 'It's a terrible study, scientifically totally pointless.

'I can see nothing of vague interest that could be learned from force-infecting a weird breed of humanized mice with a random virus. Conversely, I could see how such stuff might go wrong...'

Professor Richard Ebright, a chemist at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, told DailyMail.com he wholeheartedly agreed with Professor Balloux's assessment.

He added: 'The preprint does not specify the biosafety level and biosafety precautions used for the research.

'The absence of this information raises the concerning possibility that part or all of this research, like the research in Wuhan in 2016-2019 that likely caused the Covid-19 pandemic, recklessly was performed without the minimal biosafety containment and practices essential for research with a potential pandemic pathogens.'

According to the study, carried out by the Beijing University of Chemical Technology, the virus was discovered in 2017 prior to the Covid outbreak.

It was discovered in Malaysia in pangolins - scaly mammals that are known harborers of coronaviruses and were heavily speculated to be the intermediate host that passed Covid from bats to humans.

The researchers cloned the virus and stored multiple copes in the Beijing lab, where it continued to evolve.

It is unclear when the newly surfaced study was conducted. But the researchers said it was possible the virus had undergone a 'virulence-enhancing mutation' in storage, which made it more deadly.

For the new research, eight mice were infected with the virus, eight were infected with an inactivated virus and eight were used as a control group.

All mice infected with the virus died. They succumbed to the infection between seven and eight days after being infected.

Symptoms included their eyes turning completely white, rapid weight loss and fatigue.

Researchers found 'significant amounts' of the virus in the rodents' brains, lungs, noses, eyes and windpipes.

By day six, the viral load had 'significantly decreased' in the lungs, but the animals' brains had shrunk and there were 'exceptionally high' virus levels in their brains.

The results suggest that the virus infects via the respiratory system and then migrates to the brain - unlike Covid which causes lower lung infections and pneumonia in severe cases. However, there have been examples of Covid being found in brain tissue of severely sick patients.

'Severe brain infection during the later stages of infection may be the key cause of death in these mice,' the researchers said.

They concluded: 'This is the first report showing that a SARS-CoV-2-related pangolin coronavirus can cause 100 percent mortality in hACE2 mice, suggesting a risk for GX_P2V to spill over into humans.'

However, the original strain of Covid also killed 100 percent in mice in some studies, meaning the new results may not be directly applicable to humans.

Dr Gennadi Glinsky, a retired professor of medicine at Stanford, said on social media: 'This madness must be stopped before [it is] too late.'

Dr Peter Daszak (pictured left alongside Dr Anthony Fauci) is behind EcoHealth Alliance at the center of concerns over the origins of Covid. EcoHealth, which originally focused on conservation, now works around the world to investigate the origins of viruses, map where they have spread and analyze them to find out where the next outbreak could occur

DailyMail.com exposed in 2022 how similar research virus-manipulation research was being carried out by Boston University.

Researchers were found to have created a new Covid strain that had an 80 percent death rate among mice.

It sparked nationwide debate about whether the experiments were an illegal form of research known as 'gain of function' - which involves purposefully making viruses more deadly or infectious to study their evolution.

The Biden Administration tightened rules around such research in October 2022, but the definition of gain of function remains contested.

Dr Christina Parks, a molecular biologist from the University of Michigan, said the Chinese study was 'classic gain of function, whether they tell you it is or not.'

One of the Chinese researchers was Dr Yigang Tong, who trained at the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, a Chinese military medical research institute run by the People's Liberation Army.

Dr Tong studied there between 1988 and 1991 for a master of science and then again between 1997 and 2000 for a PhD.

He also co-authored a paper in 2023 with 'bat woman' Zheng-Li Shi, who helps run the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).

The WIV has been designated the most likely source of the Covid pandemic by the FBI and US Department of Energy in what has been dubbed the 'lab leak' theory.

Researchers there, with US Government grants, were performing gain of function experiments on coronaviruses in the months leading up to the Covid outbreak.

The virus first emerged miles away from the WIV, where researchers were known to be working on coronaviruses found in bats.

It comes as Dr Peter Daszak, head of the New York based non-profit EcoHealth Alliance, which funded controversial experiments in Wuhan which some fear started the pandemic, presented the discovery of a never-before-seen virus with 'almost' as much potential to infect humans as Covid.

Dr Daszak, a friend of Dr Anthony Fauci, the ex-chief medical advisor to the US President, revealed his team have already found one bat coronavirus of considerable interest.

'We found a lot of SARS-related coronaviruses, but one in particular we found was quite common in bats where people were commonly exposed,' he told the WHO event, attended by MailOnline.
The World Health Organization has quietly axed a trans activist with extreme views on medicating children from its transgender health policy panel.

DailyMail.com reported last week that Florence Ashley was among the WHO's 21-person committee tasked with setting international treatment guidelines for treating gender dysphoria.

Following the selection, it emerged the Canadian - who has no medical background - had published several papers calling for trans children to be given puberty blockers without mental health evaluations.

The committee members were announced on January 3, but a revision to the list published Monday no longer listed Ashley as a panelist.

Florence Ashley, a law professor in Canada, believes puberty blockers 'ought to be treated as the default option' for children with gender dysphoria.

The official line from the WHO is that Ashley had scheduling conflicts that prevented them from participating. It came just a few days after DailyMail.com reporting about their views on allowing transition medicine for children

The WHO said the exclusion was due to 'a conflict in schedules'. Despite announcing just a few weeks ago that Ashely would be included on the panel, the latest version of the biographies list said Ashely 'notified WHO in 2023 that they would be unable to participate'.

Ashley - whose pronouns are they/them/that b***h - is a Canadian law professor who specializes in transgender rights.

They have co-written a study that said puberty blockers and hormone therapies 'ought to be treated as the default option' for children with gender dysphoria.

They have also said that social transition, such as calling a child by their preferred pronouns, and puberty blockers 'should be made readily available to all those who wish for them. Together we must recognise that exploration is best fostered not by delaying transition, but through transition.'

They have a significant TikTok following where they express hardline views on trans issues, calling for mental health checks on trans children to be scrapped before they are given puberty blockers and hormone drugs.

Ashley said on TikTok recently when discussing an academic paper they co-authored on the subject: 'Is there any reason to ask people to go through a lengthy and complex gender assessment in order to access gender-affirming care, or is that useless and should the time best be put in supporting decision-making.

'And what our article concludes is that there's really no evidence that gender assessments work... it's just a lengthier process for no real reason.'

They added: 'Gender assessments are really an unnecessary form of gatekeeping that trans communities have been opposing for a while.'

Nearly two-thirds of the panelists are human rights lawyers, activists, and policy advisors, while just slightly over a third of them are trained medical doctors

Insurance claims for puberty blockers in the US have doubled since 2017

Ashley did not publicly acknowledge the WHOs updated list of panelists or their reason for dropping out, but said on X: Tough time to be a troll.

The move was met with some celebration online.

Leor Sapir, a politics researcher at the right-leaning thinktank the Manhattan Institute, said: This is a good first step; WHO was probably eager to ditch a figure that could cause embarrassment.

One gets the sense this was a symbolic sacrifice at best.

But the makeup of 20 other panelists has drawn ire from even those at the United Nations.

Reem Alsalem, a Jordanian human rights advocate at the UN, slammed the WHO for including more activists than medical experts.

She said: 'Stakeholders whose views differ from those held by transgender activist organisations do not appear to have been invited.

'Such stakeholders include experts from European public health authorities who have taken the lead on developing an evidence-based and consequently cautious approach to youth gender transitions (eg England, Sweden and Finland).'

Eleven members do not have a medical background but are a mixture of activists, social justice advocates, human rights lawyers, STD researchers, and policy advisors.

Seven are trans themselves, ten have a medical background and of those, eight are doctors.

The panel also includes members of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), a nonprofit dedicated to promoting medical treatments for gender dysphoria, which has been accused of being too pro-medication.

The WHOs goal with this group is to set global guidelines for the ways that healthcare workers around the world can increase access 'and utilisation of quality and respectful health services by trans and gender-diverse people.'

The WHO also said that guidelines will focus on five areas of policy: the provision of transition care including hormone therapies, health polices that support gender-inclusive care, and laws that respect an individual's right to express their own gender in the way that feels right to them.

These laws often include new updates to official documents such as IDs to reflect the individual's self-identified gender, not the one they were born with.
A family doctor has been suspended for three months after telling a transgender man they were a 'biological woman'.

Dr Raymond Briere  who had been practicing for more than four decades in Montreal, Canada  was found by a complaints body to have acted in an 'inappropriate and disrespectful manner' after telling a patient that they were genetically female during an argument about the risks of hormone drugs.

During an appointment in mid-2022, the patient asked the Dr Briere for a prescription for testosterone therapy to help them transition into a man.

The individual said they were ready to take the next step and had already undergone a social transition by changing their pronouns to he/him.

Dr Briere initially noted he had never helped a patient become a man before, and then warned that testosterone therapy could make them more aggressive.

Pictured above is the clinic in Montreal, Quebec, where Dr Raymond Briere worked. He has been in practice for more than four decades and previously had an unblemished record

The patient disputed this, telling the doctor that their medical opinion was based on 'stereotypes'.

Dr Briere has more than 700 patients in Montreal. The trans man  who has not been named  was one of his patients since 2018.

Dr Briere then suggested the patient could take testosterone via a gel that is rubbed into the top part of the arms or into the armpits.

But this was again rejected by the patient, who said they were only willing to use testosterone injections  which can cause a body to 'masculinize' more rapidly.

The pair then had an argument about the patient's pronouns, with the patient repeatedly requesting that they are referred to as 'he/him' while the doctor said they were 'biologically a woman'.

In a recording, which the patient took on their cellphone without the doctor's knowledge, Dr Briere said that if a genetic analysis of the patient's chromosomes was carried out they would be found to be 'genetically a woman'.

The doctor also told the patient that their change in gender was 'in your brain' and that their body would remain genetically female, still having the two XX chromosomes rather than the XY chromosomes that men have.

He added that: 'A patient until today, [but] you were a woman, dear madam'.

Dr Briere also refused to use the pronouns, saying that he was only being asked to do so because the patient believed his 'circle is the absolute truth'.

The patient and doctor then decided that the patient should seek a consultation with a different physician.

But while Dr Briere was organizing the new appointment they had another dispute about pronouns, which concluded with the doctor refusing to book the new appointment and telling the patient to organize it themselves.

In a disciplinary document from the Medical College of Quebec, the panel sided with the patient.

Dr Briere accepted both charges against him  of behaving in a disrespectful manner and not setting up an appointment with another doctor.

But he said that the attitude of the patient 'denotes, at best, a problem or the non-existence of the mutual trust necessary for the professional relationship'.

The disciplinary panel said it was the 'doctor's obligation' to establish and maintain a relationship of trust with a patient.

They added that if a patient 'believes that their gender identity does not correspond to the sex appearing on their birth certificate, they can request that they be referred to by the identity they express'.

'The medical encounter must then take place while respecting this gender identity,' they said.

The council added: 'There is no indication that the patient is "difficult", that is to say demanding, finicky, scrupulous or anxious.

'On the contrary, he remains calm and listens to the respondent most of the time.'
I am a retired GP and Ive been wanting to rejoin the NHS to help to tackle its current crises. But after passing the obligatory 13 return-to-practice courses in equality, diversity and human rights and handwashing  I kid you not  Ive decided I just cant go back to the NHS as a family doctor.

Its not the courses in being a woke doctor that ultimately put me off  though having to sit through hours of training on the new requirements for functioning in our modern world was pretty frustrating.

For of course, ensuring that everyone is fully informed about everything and gives proper consent  one of the 13 courses  is important, but were meant to do this anyway. But as for how to lift patients safely, fire safety, or health, safety and welfare, infection control, resuscitation (yes, basically teaching doctors how to do CPR) and so on  really?

Then theres the growing use of woke language in the NHS, with changed advice on pages online, for instance, supposedly to make it more inclusive to trans men: breastfeeding is now chestfeeding, expectant mothers are pregnant people.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of pounds of NHS money are being wasted on new woke roles, including an anti-racist consultancy role, rather than it go towards frontline care.

Dr Martin Scurr writes that as an NHS GP  or indeed as many other types of NHS doctor  you often no longer get to see your patients face-to-face

I feel the health service is becoming too PC to care about actual patient care.

But while that is one reason, its not the main reason for my not going back into the NHS.

Nor is my decision about money  because in fact you can make fortune these days as a locum.

The simple reason is that as an NHS GP  or indeed as many other types of NHS doctor  you often no longer get to see your patients face-to-face, and in my view that means you cant be a proper doctor.

READ MORE: NHS launches scheme to lure retired doctors back with offers of flexible hours and remote working in a bid to cut waiting lists Advertisement

I am 73 years old (though far more like 43 in my head). I always thought I would keep working through my seventies. Traditionally GPs have worked long into their senior years, some into their 90s.

However a debilitating bout of illness made me stop practising as a private GP in 2017, when I was 66.

I had sarcoidosis, a mysterious disease that sent my immune system into overdrive. I lost 10kg in weight and my muscles deteriorated so badly that I couldnt climb the stairs to my London consulting room.

It took months for this to be diagnosed.

Then I had to take a lengthy dose of steroids before the symptoms began to resolve.

It seemed sensible to retire as a GP and relinquish my GMC licence to practise  it was costing me 1,000 a month to keep up my medical-practice insurance cover.

Not long after that the pandemic broke out, my phone rang hot with former patients and their families and friends desperate for advice.

It made me start to think about returning to practise.

Indeed the NHS is now waking up to how its missing out on a wealth of priceless experience among retired doctors who are still brilliantly able to care for patients. This comes just as NHS GPS are fast becoming an endangered species as unprecedented numbers take early retirement.

A report in the British Medical Journal last year revealed that the number of GPs opting for voluntary early retirement over the past decade-and-a-half has been growing by nearly 10 per cent every year.

In an attempt to stem the professional tide, the health service this week launched the NHS Emeritus scheme, initially to lure retired consultants back to the health service to help cut our vastly long queues for treatment.

Dr Scurr adds that he feels he can now only provide effective care as a private GP  after witnessing the damage that remote-access has wrought on NHS general practice

NHS bosses hope to expand the scheme to cover many types of doctoring.

Their announcement says that these de-retired consultants should help to unblock the system by providing pre-surgery outpatient appointments for people on long waiting lists.

The NHS clearly intends many of these appointments to be online, rather than face to face. It says: Consultants carrying out remote appointments could be based anywhere in England.

And you can bet that this will be the favoured option, as the NHS has become caught up in the hype of technology good, human contact unnecessary.

And that, in a nutshell, is why I wont return to the NHS, even though I would love to. I feel I can now only provide effective care as a private GP  Ive witnessed the terrible damage that remote-access has wrought on NHS general practice.

Its why, by the end of the pandemic, the GP system had fallen flat on its face: no longer was it about seeing patients in person and giving them the continuity of care that is so vital to curing illness.

Instead, during the pandemic GP surgeries barricaded themselves away from patients. They shut their doors to people in need, even though hospital staff had carried on going to work and giving people close care 24 hours a day.

The fact remains that face-to-face consultations  what you might call old-fashioned NHS doctoring  are the secret to effective care.

Patients might come to see you about one problem  headaches or a childs illness  but through the human interaction of person-to-person consultation, you discover that something else is really wrong and troubling them.

Whats more, as a GP seeing patients in person you develop an instinct that from deep experience will tell you instantly if they are really ill and need urgent investigation and treatment.

Its rather like customs officers knowing from intuition which peoples baggage to search.

You just cant do any of this online or by phone.

Since the pandemic, the GP access problem has only worsened.

Nowadays world of people contacting me because they just cant get hold of their GPs.

I cant let myself be subsumed inaccessibly in the NHS system  nor do I want to enter a world where I may be instructed in using anything but the caring, compassionate kind of language I have prided myself on, rather than regulation speak.

I want to function as a properly effective doctor who does traditional things such as see patients promptly, both in my consulting rooms and on home visits when necessary.

Ive just travelled from my Norfolk home to London to see an elderly lady who broke her femur in a bad fall ten months ago and had to have the bone pinned.

She ought to have had an NHS family doctor help with her recovery, but hasnt been able to see her GP once since the accident. That was ten months ago.

I am now re-qualified to practise as a private GP, having passed the now-obligatory 13 statutory GMC courses for professional re-validation.

I intend to provide my patients with care that is continuous, to be a doctor on whom they can rely, who will give them help and reassurance whenever needed.

This does worry some well-meaning friends and colleagues. Wont you be overwhelmed? they ask. Perhaps. But I have a plan. Im clearly not the only retired GP who would love to return to practice in the traditional effective manner of good doctoring.

I already have found one excellent colleague to work with me, so we can cover for each other.

There are bound to be many others seeking to reclaim their true vocation. Word has already got out and the phone is ringing.

I feel sure that this kind of private GP practice is, sadly for the NHS, the only future for proper family doctoring. We will see how it goes. Wish me luck.
Jessica Flores is a reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle. Before joining The Chronicle in 2021, she worked for USA Today, NPR affiliate KPCC and Curbed LA. Originally from L.A., she received her masters degree in journalism from the University of Southern California and a bachelors degree from Mount Saint Marys University in Los Angeles.

She can be reached at Jessica.Flores@sfchronicle.com.
A measles outbreak in the northeastern US has spread to a fourth state, which health officials are attempting to curb by offering free vaccines.

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where cases have been rising since December, pop-up clinics have launched to offer the shot to unvaccinated individuals.

Over the weekend, Virginia and New Jersey warned residents over the virus  with New Jersey confirming a case in a child who attended daycare.

It takes the total number of infections to nine - eight of which are confirmed to be in unvaccinated people.

At least 30 people are under monitoring.

Doctors say measles  which is several times more infectious than Covid  is spreading in the US again because of falling vaccination rates.

Official data published last year revealed that in some states, a shocking 12 percent of kindergarteners had not received the shot against measles mumps and rubella (MMR) which protects against the deadly disease.

The above map shows states with measles cases (red) or warning over measles exposures (yellow) with no cases yet detected. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (top right) which is where the first case in the outbreak was detected

In 2022, national uptake of the MMR shot had reached record lows - falling from 95 percent to 93 percent in two years.

In some states, the figure is as low as 78 percent.

Experts are now urging all Americans to ensure they are vaccinated against the condition, which can lead to encephalitis  lethal swelling of the brain.

In Philadelphia, where seven of the nine cases have been recorded, physicians at the Black Doctors Consortium are handing out free vaccines against measles.

City health officials are also offering free vaccines at three of their health centers from Monday through Thursday and over the weekend.

The organization's director Dr Ala Stanford told Fox News Philadelphia: 'Measles is the most contagious viral illness  several times more contagious than Covid.

'One person can infect up to 20 people. And it stays in the air for two hours, so if you have been to a particular location where a confirmed case has been [you could be at risk].

'And all it takes for measles to spread is for a person to breathe. Not to cough, not to sneeze, just breathe.'

She added: 'The most important thing you can do to protect yourself from measles is to get vaccinated.

'We have a large influx of people from other countries that come here that don't have access to the care that we've had.

'All it takes is one person to come here [with measles] and meet someone who is unvaccinated and now you've got the spread.'

The Consortium is offering the shots at the Dr Ala Stanford Center for Health Equity from Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

Philadelphia health chiefs are offering the shots between 10am and 12pm and 1pm to 3pm at their health centers. They will be available from 8am to 12pm over the weekend.

The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is administered as two shots in childhood, with the first between 12 and 15 months and the second between the ages of four to six. But it is also available to adults, who receive two doses of the vaccine at least 28 days apart.

The vaccine is more than 97 percent effective against infections with measles.

Measles is one of the most infectious diseases ever recorded  with just a tiny amount of virus able to infect the body.

It is spread via respiratory droplets or touching contaminated surfaces, and symptoms include a characteristic rash that erupts on the face and then spreads across the body within days.

The disease is particularly dangerous for children under five years old, pregnant women and the elderly.

About three in every 1,000 children infected die from the disease; usually as a result of measles-related pneumonia or encephalitis.

CDC data for the 2021-2022 school year shows a 10 year low of MMR vaccination rates among kindergarteners. Vaccination rate varies by state - with Alaska, Wisconsin, DC and Ohio revealed as those with the lowest percentage of MMR vaxxed kids

The above map shows the state by state rates of vaccination exemptions for the 2022-2023 school year, highlighting the top five states with the highest percentages of exemptions

At an uptake level of 95 percent of kindergarteners, the MMR vaccine can prevent measles spreading in the community.

But this has now fallen to below that threshold; 93 percent.

In Philadelphia, rates dropped to 92.8 percent of kindergarteners in 2023  from 97.4 percent in the year before the pandemic.

Most cases of measles in the US are linked to international travel to a country where the disease has not been eradicated.

The last major outbreak occurred in 2022, when more than 80 cases were recorded in Ohio  mostly among children who had not been vaccinated.

The current outbreak in the north-east began in December when a child infected with measles who had not been vaccinated was admitted to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) after returning from abroad.

It took doctors several days to diagnose the infection, only suspecting measles after a characteristic rash appeared.

But by then the virus had already spread to two children in nearby bed; a child who was too young to be vaccinated and a child whose parents opted out of the shot.

Despite quarantine orders, at least one infected patient then attended a daycare in Philadelphia  spreading the disease to other children.

An alert was sparked in Delaware in early January after it emerged one of the Philadelphia-based infected patients had traveled to the state for medical care.

Officials in the state say they are now monitoring 20 to 30 people for infections.

For the 2022-2023 school year three percent of kindergartners had a vaccine exemption from one or more required vaccines. This is an increase from 2.6 percent during the 2021-2022 school year and the highest the US has ever recorded

Last week, New Jersey announced it had confirmed a case of measles in an individual who attended daycare in Camden County  which borders Philadelphia.

State health chiefs currently say the origin of the infection is unknown.

Virginia health chiefs simultaneously warned of a potential measles exposure after a person infected with the virus traveled through the state.

They said the individual was at Dulles International Airport on January 3 and then Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 4.

Health chiefs for the state said the case was not linked to the outbreak reported in Philadelphia.
People have 'forgotten' about the risks of measles, according to a top children's doctor who has warned of fresh outbreaks across the country.

Cases of the highly infectious virus doubled across England and Wales in 2023, while an outbreak in Birmingham has seen 50 children hospitalised in the past month.

Dr Ronny Cheung, of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, warned that there will be spikes in measles across the country which will 'at best will cause children great discomfort and at worst death'.

He said the virus is 'almost entirely preventable' with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, which is given in two doses and provides immunity for life.

Official figures show that uptake of the vaccine is at its lowest point in over a decade, which Dr Cheung blamed on vaccine hesitancy, a lack of awareness and jab fatigue following the Covid pandemic.

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Latest UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data shows there were 1,603 suspected measles cases in England and Wales in 2023. The figure is more than twice as high as the 735 logged in 2022 and an almost five-fold rise compared to the 360 cases reported in 2021

At least 95 per cent of the population needs to be vaccinated to prevent outbreaks, under public health guidance.

But nationally, the proportion of five-year-olds who are fully-jabbed against measles has fallen to 84.5 per cent  the lowest in more than a decade.

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data shows there were 1,603 suspected cases in England and Wales in 2023.

The figure is more than twice as high as the 735 logged in 2022 and an almost five-fold rise compared to the 360 cases reported in 2021.

Most cases have been logged in London and the West Midlands.

Dr Ronny Cheung, of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, warned that there will be spikes in measles across the country which will 'at best will cause children great discomfort and at worst death'

Unvaccinated children in the West Midlands are being forced to isolate for up to three weeks amid the region's biggest measles outbreak since the 1990s.

Dr Cheung said: 'We have seen pockets of outbreaks over the country in the last year or so - there have been outbreaks in Wales and London.

'Essentially, it's due to the fact that vaccination rates for the MMR vaccine have come down and it is the lowest it has been for more than 10 years.

'In a nutshell, it is about vaccination rates.'

The MMR jab is first offered to children aged one, with a second injection available soon after they turn three.

Two doses offer up to 99 per cent protection against the measles, mumps and rubella, which can lead to meningitis, hearing loss and problems during pregnancy.

Around one in 1,000 people with measles develop inflammation of the brain, while one in 5,000 die from the infection. There is no treatment available.

Dr Cheung called for action to reassure people about the jab's safety and remind people about the risks of measles, which 'a lot of people have forgotten about'.

In England, 89.3 per cent of two-year-olds received their first dose of the MMR vaccine in the year to March 2023 (blue line), up from 89.2 per cent the previous year. Meanwhile, 88.7 per cent of two-year-olds had both doses, down from 89 per cent a year earlier

More than 300 cases have been identified since October. Birmingham Children's Hospital (pictured) has also seen 50 children needing treatment for the virus in the last month

Measles, which mostly produces flu like symptoms and a rash, can cause very serious and even fatal health complications if it spreads to the lungs or the brain. One in five children who catch measles will need to go to hospital, with one in 15 developing serious complications like meningitis or sepsis

WHAT JABS SHOULD I HAVE HAD BY AGE 18? Vaccinations for various unpleasant and deadly diseases are given free on the NHS to children and teenagers. Here is a list of all the jabs someone should have by the age of 18 to make sure they and others across the country are protected: Eight weeks old 6-in-1 vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), and hepatitis B.

Pneumococcal (PCV)

Rotavirus

Meningitis B 12 weeks old Second doses of 6-in-1 and Rotavirus 16 weeks old Third dose of 6-in-1

Second doses of PCV and men. B One year old Hib/meningitis C

Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)

Third dose of PCV and meningitis B Two to eight years old Annual children's flu vaccine Three years, four months old Second dose of MMR

4-in-1 pre-school booster for diphtheria, tetanus, polio and whooping cough 12-13 years old (girls) HPV (two doses within a year) 14 years old 3-in-1 teenage booster for diphtheria, tetanus and polio

MenACWY Source: NHS Choices Advertisement

He also urged for wider awareness that it's never too late to get the MMR jab and that they can book an appointment with their GP to catch up.

The general paediatrician warned that the UK 'almost certainly' will see more measles outbreaks across the country.

Dr Cheung warned: 'Party because we know that vaccination rates are very low and they are not equally distributed  there are areas where vaccination rates are much lower than others, usually in urban conurbations.

'Also measles is incredibly contagious, so if you have pockets where lots of people are not immunised, you only need a few cases to cause a pretty significant outbreak. So unfortunately this is something that is going to occur.'

He pointed to vaccine hesitancy and people being unaware that they could come forward for MMR jabs as reasons for the measles resurgence.

He said parents rarely reference concerns linked to a 1998 report by Andrew Wakefield, a now discredited medic who falsely linked the vaccine to autism.

MMR uptake in England was about 91 per cent prior to Wakefield's study being published but plummeted to 80 per cent in the aftermath.

Dr Cheung said parents were more likely to display 'wider vaccine hesitancy in general' or say that they were unaware that they could catch up on vaccines if they had missed the initial offer.

He said that there is also an element of vaccine 'fatigue' adding: 'Some people just don't want to talk about vaccines anymore when we talk about them'.

Experts have also pointed to the pandemic which led some children to miss out on routine vaccinations, as well as rising pressures on primary care and a reduction in health visitors.

'We're just really keen to make sure people recognise it is safe and successful, and it's never too late,' he added.

Dr Naveed Syed, consultant in health protection for the UKHSA in the West Midlands, said: 'We are seeing cases of measles rising every day in the West Midlands.

'Uptake of MMR in the region is much lower than the 95% needed to protect the population, which is giving this serious disease a chance to get a foothold in our communities.

'That's why it's vital that anyone who hasn't had two doses of the MMR vaccine by the time they started full-time school gets immunised as soon as possible.'

Latest NHS Digital shows that up to four in ten children in parts of England haven't had both MMR jabs by the time they turn five.

Just 56.3 per cent of youngsters that age in Hackney, east London, were fully-protected against measles, mumps and rubella in 2022/23.

After Hackney came Camden (63.6 per cent) and Enfield (64.8 per cent).

Outside of London, the lowest uptake rates for both doses among five year olds were logged in Liverpool (73.6 per cent), Manchester (74.5 per cent) and Birmingham (75.1 per cent).

Measles, which mostly produces flu like symptoms and a rash, can cause very serious and even fatal health complications if it spreads to the lungs or the brain.

One in five children who catch measles will need to go to hospital, with one in 15 developing serious complications like meningitis or sepsis.
Dentists could struggle to carry out fillings if a proposed EU ban on mercury gets the go-ahead tomorrow.

The European Parliament is set to ban dental amalgam - used in common silver fillings - amid fears over its toxicity.

Dental leaders have warned the move would be disastrous for the UK, which relies on the 'safe and effective' treatment for millions of fillings every year.

They say the ban on use, manufacturing and export from January 2025 would disrupt supplies and drive-up costs among NHS and private dentists.

Eddie Crouch, chairman, said: 'Since NHS dentistry was born, amalgam has been the go-to material in the fight against decay.

The European Parliament is set to ban dental amalgam - used in common silver fillings - amid fears over its toxicity

Only 43 per cent of over-18s were seen by a dentist in the 24 months to June 2023, compared to more than half in the same period before the pandemic struck

'Nothing competes on durability, ease of placement or cost-effectiveness.

'If this vote passes and government doesn't step up the impact will be felt in practices UK-wide, and among the millions already struggling to access care.'

Debate has raged for decades as more than half of amalgam fillings are made up of mercury, which is more poisonous than lead.

It is mixed with silver, copper and tin, forming a highly durable combination to lock in the mercury.

But it is now accepted that mercury vapour escapes and small amounts are passed into the bloodstream and organs, particularly when put in or removed.

How much does NHS dentistry cost? There are 3 NHS charge bands: Band 1: 25.80 Covers an examination, diagnosis and advice. If necessary, it also includes X-rays, a scale and polish, and planning for further treatment. Band 2: 70.70 Covers all treatment included in Band 1, plus additional treatment, such as fillings, root canal treatment and removing teeth (extractions). Band 3: 306.80 Covers all treatment included in Bands 1 and 2, plus more complex procedures, such as crowns, dentures and bridges. For comparison, check-ups can cost between 20 and 120 at private dentists, according to Which?. Dentures and bridges can also cost up to 2,520, the consumer watchdog says. Advertisement

Some campaigners suggest the fillings are highly toxic, linking their use to certain neurological or auto-immune disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease.

But UK health officials maintain there is no evidence that exposure to mercury from amalgam fillings has any harmful effects on health.

In 2018, an EU directive stopped silver fillings in baby teeth and children under the age of 15, unless dentists felt it necessary. They are also not given to pregnant or breastfeeding women.

Its latest move is environmentally driven, in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal, the 2020 EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and the 2021 EU Zero Pollutant Action Plan.

Any mercury released into the environment can re-enter the food chain with residues having been found in soils, fish and seafood.

High mercury exposure can damage the brain, lungs, kidneys and the human immune system.

If passed, it will see EU countries  and Northern Ireland under post-Brexit arrangements - join the likes of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany, in stopping use.

While there are longstanding plans to phase out use in the UK, experts fear an abrupt stop would represent a multi-million-pound blow to already struggling services, destabilising NHS dentistry.

With patients already facing lengthy waits for NHS appointments, the drive towards white fillings would make this worse, taking longer to apply and often requiring repeat placements.

It comes just weeks after a Nuffield Trust report warned NHS dentistry has 'gone for good' and must be rationed for those most in need.

Describing it as at the most perilous point in its 75-history, it said a radical overhaul was needed including means-testing patients and limiting provisions to emergency treatment and check-ups.
I run my own bespoke diamond jewellery business and in October last year, a client commissioned a piece for her 50th birthday. It was a special gift to herself as she has been fighting cancer for the last five years.

Her mother passed away recently and left her some jewellery, including an 18-carat gold ring. She asked me to incorporate the gold from this ring into her new design.

I made the ring and set it with diamonds. Since the finished item had to be hallmarked, I wrapped it up and took it into London. While there, I called in to see a friend in Bond Street and by mistake left the packet in his office. I did not realise until I returned home to Essex.

The next day, October 17, he posted it by Royal Mail Special Delivery for next day delivery and insured it for the maximum allowed sum of 2,500. The parcel did not arrive the following day, nor in the following days. When I tracked it all that came up online was that it was in transit.

I have tried on numerous occasions to contact Jubilee mail centre in Feltham, west London, the last place it had shown up on tracking. Ive tried other sorting offices, but to no avail. I chased Royal Mail on Instagram and X. All I got via X, was that I could claim back the 10 postage.

All I want is to receive my item. My friend made a claim on the insurance but heard nothing. I am deeply concerned I will be forgotten about, and this claim has been lost in the system.

R. M., Brentwood, Essex

Sally Hamilton replies: I found your story upsetting on several levels. When we spoke on the phone, I could tell how low you were feeling still, more than two months after the event. You told me you had been to the doctor suffering from stress, you believe partly due to this disaster.

It wasnt about the money lost  though the ring was priced at 3,000  it was the heartache its disappearance had caused your client. The piece had important sentimental value because it contained the gold from her late mothers ring. Thats something that cannot be replaced. When you broke the news to your client, she burst into tears, adding to your own woes and feelings of guilt.

But your situation was made worse by Royal Mail failing to respond properly to your requests for help in finding the missing ring. All its customer services offered to do was to return the 10 postage. What an insult. Your fury at this was compounded by the radio silence that followed after the insurance claim was made.

You thought you had done the right thing by using Royal Mail Special Delivery, with its next day guarantee, plus the 2,500 insurance cover should the worst happen. Though its cover fell short of the full value of the ring, your only option was to accept the limitations of the service.

If you could turn back time, I am sure you would have chosen to travel back into town to collect it by hand. But you put your faith in the national postal service to deliver the package safely.

SCAM WATCH Facebook users should be wary of fake messages that claim your Facebook page will be permanently deleted, says consumer group Which?. Fraudsters send these messages with a link to complain about the deletion  but it leads to a website that tricks you in to handing over your personal details. The messages say your Facebook page will be deleted due to a post that infringes our trademark rights. Report suspicious websites to report@phishing.gov.uk and the National Cyber Security Centre will investigate. Report a scam on Facebook by clicking on the three dots to the right-hand side of the page and pressing report.

This it failed to do, and then it let you down a second time by failing to act swiftly to meet the genuine claim. I asked Royal Mail to take another look for the packet and if it could not be found, to pay up the insurance money pronto.

Within a day it came back to say your 60g package was last tracked to Royal Mails Jubilee mail centre, as you already knew, where it was scanned along with other items. Sadly, after that it vanished into thin air and there was no record of it being forwarded from there. A spokesman said there was now no way of knowing its location. The providers National Returns Centre has been contacted, but it has no record of it.

It is with a heavy heart that I think you must now accept the ring is probably gone for good. Whether it is lost, mislaid, or stolen, you will probably never know.

On my intervention, Royal Mail quickly sent out a cheque for 2,500 to your friend who had organised the special delivery.

You told me he has now transferred this cash to you. While you said you feel some satisfaction at the financial claim finally being met, it is a hollow victory as you would rather have the ring.

Royal Mail told me it will forward it to you if it does turn up. Im keeping my fingers crossed that a miracle happens.Do you have a legal question
Motorists could soon be able to check up-to-date fuel prices at different petrol stations on their smartphones and sat-navs to find the cheapest forecourts to fill up.

The Government has announced plans to force fuel retailers to share information on unleaded and diesel price changes at forecourts within half an hour.

Information shared by the fuel sector will be collected by a single body as part of a 'PumpWatch' scheme. The live data will then be made available to tech companies to develop price comparison tools that can be shareable via car sat-nav systems, smartphone apps and websites.

Shake-up: The Government has opened a consultation to force fuel retailers to share live pricing data within 30 minutes

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Currently, pricing data is only made available the following day, meaning information provided is often out of date when motorists want to fill up. Petrolprices.com currently has an app that provides the rates from a day earlier.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) says that by providing live forecourt pricing information drivers can instantly - and more accurately - identify the cheapest fuel in their locality and research the best places to fill up on longer trips to unfamiliar areas.

The proposal is part of the wider PumpWatch scheme to bring more transparency, after the competitions watchdog last year found evidence of drivers being stung at the pumps by retailers following an investigation into 2022 pricing.

The move, which is being consulted on, could save drivers 3p per litre on fuel by helping them find the lowest prices in their area, according to the DESNZ.

It was confirmed last week that the average price of a litre of petrol had fallen below 140p-a-litre for the first time since October 2021.

The RAC's Fuel Watch feed shows that the average price of unleaded on Sunday was 139.9p - though supermarkets, on average, were selling petrol for 137.1p.

Diesel, which currently costs on average 147.8p across the UK, has also dipped to the lowest price since August.

The fall in cost for both fuels has been attributed to a recent decline in oil price.

Information shared by the fuel sector will be collected by a single body as part of a 'PumpWatch' scheme

The move to provide live fuel price data via apps could save drivers 3p per litre on fuel, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero says

Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho said: 'Our work on competition and transparency is working.

'Drivers are now paying the lowest average price at the pump for two years.

'We are forcing retailers to share live information on their prices within 30 minutes of any change in price, helping drivers to find the best deal at the pump.

'This will put motorists back in the driving seat and bring much-needed competition back to the forecourts.'

Twelve major fuel retailers  including all four fuel-selling supermarkets  signed up to an interim voluntary scheme launched by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last year to share daily prices.

The DESNZ plans would make data-sharing a legal requirement.

A similar scheme in Queensland, Australia, saw drivers save an average of 93 Australian dollars (49) per year on fuel, the department said.

Last year, the CMA said that in 2022 UK motorists paid around 900million in additional costs due to supermarkets failing to pass on savings from lower oil prices.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: 'This is a really important day as it should pave the way for fairer fuel pricing for everyone who drives.

'Sadly, there have been far too many occasions where drivers have lost out at the pumps when wholesale prices have fallen significantly and those reductions haven't been passed on quickly enough or fully enough by retailers.

'We badly need to see competition in the wider market match that of Northern Ireland where fuel prices are consistently 5p cheaper.'

A similar scheme in Queensland, Australia, has seen drivers save an average of 93 Australian dollars (49) per year on fuel, the DESNZ said

Pump prices are generally lower in Northern Ireland than the rest of the UK because of competition from forecourts in the Republic of Ireland.

AA president Edmund King said: 'The Government's proposal should stimulate fairer pricing through free market competition, and takes advantage of the latest information technology.

'It gives leeway to fuel retailers to price according to their circumstances but, by directing motoring consumers to where they can get their fuel at a better price, keeps competitive pressure on the trade.'

READ MORE: How to save money on fuel by using less petrol and diesel - here's our top 10 hypermiling tips Learning 'hypermiling' techniques will benefit all drivers. This is the name given to a series of energy efficient measures motorists can put into practice to save petrol, diesel or electricity (if you own an EV). > Here's our top 10 hypermiling tips

Howard Cox, the Reform UK candidate for London mayor and founder of fuel price campaign FairFuelUK, said: 'Years of lobbying the Government seems to have paid off.

'I am delighted that a PumpWatch consumer pricing watchdog will roll out with teeth to protect UK's millions of hard-pressed drivers from perennial profiteering by the fuel supply chain.'

Responding to the Government's announcement, The Petrol Retailers Association - which represents independent fuel retailers in the UK - said it had 'actively engaged in collaborative efforts with the DESNZ and CMA to enhance fuel price transparency'.

Gordon Balmer, the body's executive director, added: 'PRA members operate in a highly competitive market on razor-thin margins. I am pleased to see the Government's release of the road fuel transparency consultation, and we will continue to support them as they develop their final scheme.

'It is important that motorists have the ability to shop around and find the best deals available to them.

'The PRA will be responding to this consultation to ensure that the final fuel price transparency scheme is reliable and easy for both consumers and retailers to use.'

He went on: 'The PRA remains dedicated to fostering transparency and fair practices in the fuel industry, working collaboratively with relevant authorities to achieve a balanced and effective fuel price transparency initiative.'
Artificial intelligence (AI) will affect 40 per cent of jobs globally with many at risk of disappearing, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned.

Millions of roles will be impacted by the rise of AI, which will 'likely worsen overall inequality'.

The ChatGPT app has led to breakthroughs with AI that could threaten up to 60 per cent of jobs

IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva urged governments to act to 'prevent the technology from further stoking social tensions'. The warning came as politicians and business leaders gathered in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum, where the rapid growth of AI is high on the agenda.

So-called generative AI which can produce human-like content from poems to software code has had a major breakthrough over the past year with the release of the ChatGPT app.

Analysis by the IMF found 60 per cent of jobs in advanced economies such as the UK and US are exposed to AI. Around half will benefit from the technology, which could boost productivity. But for the other 50 per cent, robots will be able to do tasks done by humans, resulting in fewer jobs and lower wages.

Georgieva said: 'We are on the brink of a technological revolution that could jump start productivity, boost global growth and raise incomes around the world. Yet it could also replace jobs and deepen inequality.'

In emerging markets and low income countries, AI will affect 40 per cent and 26 per cent of jobs respectively. Poorer countries 'face fewer immediate disruptions from AI' but are also less equipped to make the most of the benefits.
Brexit Britain is resilient and remains one of the world's most important investment destinations, a global poll of business leaders has found.

The PwC survey showed the UK is the most strategically important country for US chief executives and is also becoming an increasingly key location for Chinese firms.

The audit giant's findings, published at the World Economic Forum in Davos, undermine repeated claims that Britain's departure from the European Union has diminished its place in the world.

The UK remains an important strategic destination for US and Chinese chief executives

And they come as a separate poll of company chief economists, published by the organisers of the summit, highlighted the 'precarious nature of the current economic environment' for the world and an outlook 'fraught with uncertainty'.

The poll found that 56 per cent expect the global economy to weaken this year as firms grapple with tough borrowing conditions, global tensions and the rise of AI.

The PwC survey, however, follows official figures last week showing a bounce-back in GDP in November, allaying fears of a recession.

PwC's UK boss Kevin Ellis said they showed how attractive Britain remains around the world even as some in the UK take a 'hair-shirted' negative view of their own country.

The survey of 4,702 chief executives in 105 countries, including 135 in the UK, revealed Britain remained the number one country for chief executives from the US - the world's biggest economy - who are looking to invest.

And it has shot up the rankings for bosses in China, the world's second biggest economy - from 16th to sixth - possibly because of Britain's embrace of cutting edge technology such as AI.

However, it has slipped back in the rankings when looking at all global chief executives - falling to fourth behind Germany after the two countries were joint third last year.

The US and China are the two most important investment destinations for global chief executives. Ellis said: 'The UK's standing on the world stage has proved pretty resilient, particularly among the biggest powers and global investors. There's no doubt it remains an attractive place to live, work and invest. But we can't be complacent. As a country, we're probably more hair-shirted about ourselves than the rest of the world is about us.

You do feel it when you travel around the world, we are very attractive and everyone's very interested in us.'

The PwC survey also revealed that UK chief executives are much more bullish than bosses from other countries about the world economy, with 61 per cent of British bosses expecting it to improve compared with 38 per cent globally.

UK chief executives were less confident about their own country, however, with only 39 per cent expecting it to improve. However, that was sharply up on last year when - in the shadow of Liz Truss's disastrous mini-Budget in September 2022 - just 9 per cent voiced optimism.

And the figures also reveal that 48 per cent of British bosses plan to increase their workforce by 5 per cent or more this year, well ahead of French, German and US business leaders.

Germany 'in crisis mode'

Germany faces a two-year recession while the outlook for the global economy is 'precarious', analysts have warned.

Official figures yesterday showed the German economy shrank by 0.3 per cent in 2023 as high energy prices and weak foreign demand took their toll.

That made it the worst performing nation in the G7.

Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at banking group ING, said the German economy is 'in permanent crisis mode' and warned it is likely to shrink again this year. With the economy just 0.7 per cent bigger than it was in 2019 before Covid-19 struck, Commerzbank's Joerg Kraemer said: 'It is worrying that the German economy has hardly grown at all since the outbreak of coronavirus.'
Practical flats are having a renaissance - even among the royals

What is the recipe for the perfect modern royal look?

For the Princess of Wales, its coat dresses and marvellous millinery, for Princess Mary of Denmark, its tailoring and vibrant colours, and for Queen Letizia of Spain, its all about sophisticated cuts.

However one accessory links theirs and other European royals styles, the failsafe flat.

Kate has long been wedded to her court shoes, Queen Letizia to skyscraper heels and the Duchess of Edinburgh to espadrille wedges, but now they have been shaking up their footwear choices joining a host of other royals in championing flats.

Sophisticated, stylish, and ultimately comfortable, flats can be just as classy as heels and are making a comeback.

The Noughties' favourite ballet pump is more popular than ever, and thanks to their timeless design the pretty and practical shoe is having a renaissance together with minimalist loafers.

Queen Letizia of Spain

Letizia is always up to the mark.

But a recent change of direction in the shoe department is down to doctors advice following pain in her feet and is behind her choice of sparkly flat sandals which she wore with a & Other Stories silk slip dress when attending the closing ceremony of the Atlantida Mallorca Film Festival in August 2022.

Queen Letizia wears flats for last week's visit to the Association for the Prevention, Reintegration, and Care of Prostituted Women in Madrid

Letizia's flats in close-up for last week's outing

Letizia of Spain at the 12th Atlantida Mallorca Film Festival in 2022

As she arrived at the central headquarters of the Association for the Prevention, Reintegration and Care of Prostituted Women in Madrid this week, Queen Letizia supported the organisation by wearing a tweed jacket with frayed edges made by their fashion department.

The fitted jacket was teamed with a classic pair of Hugo Boss wide leg trousers which were neatly cropped to show her Adeba ballet flats complete with an ankle strap. Letizia is usually famed for her impressive collection of skyscraper heels.

Catherine, Princess of Wales

While the Princess of Wales has been known for sticking to court shoes, she has started swapping her favourite heels for flats. For example, she chose a pair of pointed black suede flats from Boden for a Shaping Us event in September last year.

The Princess of Wales visits part of her campaign for early childhood in Sittingbourne last year

Catherine's flat pumps pictured in detail

The Princess had been in flats just a few months earlier, this time on a visit to the Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire

Flats were the order of the day at the Guards Polo Club in 2022

A close-up of the black and nude flat-heeled slingbacks with decorative buckles

She teamed them with her signature red Zara blazer.

A few months earlier she chose a similar pair of pumps, this time a navy style from Emmy London while visiting the Royal International Air Tattoo.

Sticking to the same outfit formula, the royal wore them with a double-breasted blazer by Blaze Milano and navy slim-fit trousers.

Once again practical yet polished, it was a pair of Camilla Elphick two-tone summer flats to attend the Royal Charity Polo Cup in July 2022.

Departing from her usual espadrille wedges, they were the perfect combination with her Emilia Wickstead monochrome dress.

Queen Mary of Denmark

In June 2020 Queen Mary attended the opening of the Naturkraft experience in Ringkbing in Jutland wearing a pair of Chanel espadrilles.

Queen Mary attends the 2020 opening of the Naturkraft centre in Ringkoebing

Mary pictured with children at the Ringkoebing nature centre

Mary of Denmark chooses nude and black sling-backs for a two-day visit to The Netherlands

She paired the casual flats with a Ba&Sh blue shirt, blazer and slim leg trousers. Keeping with two tone Chanel, Mary donned the brands iconic sling backs during a trip to the Netherlands in June 2022, completing the Parisian chic ensemble with a Beulah fitted frock.

Princess Diana

Princess Diana often opted for flats on casual occasions, choosing loafers from Gucci and suede moccasins. Yet in the famous image from her honeymoon, it was a pair of cream flats from a Chelsea cobbler that stole the show.

Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales pose for a honeymoon photo on the banks of the river Dee at Balmoral Castle. She is in flats...

Heavily pregnant with her first child, William, Diana chose black patent flats to meet well-wishers in St Mary's on the Isles of Scilly in April, 1982

Steering away from conventional boots, Diana added glamour and elegance to her tweed Bill Pashley suit while on a walk beside the River Dee in Balmoral.

Later in April 1982, the princess added flats to her dressed up wardrobe, teaming a pair of patent bow pumps from Ferragamo with a ruffled Catherine Walker dress for a masterclass in maternity style.

Princess Victoria of Sweden

Victoria's style is a tale of two halves. At royal soirees she provides princess perfection with voluminous gowns in vivid hues.

Crown Princess Victoria pays a 2022 visit to a charity promoting sustainable seas in Stockholm

However her working day wardrobe is more monochrome minimalism, as seen in June 2022 at the Open Ship event at the Museum of Photography in Stockholm.

A pair of Marzio two tone ballet flats were the perfect contrast to her Ralph Lauren dress which was layered under a By Malene Birger blazer.

Princess Charlene of Monaco

Princess Charlene skipped her usual heels and added glamour to the simple flat shoe by choosing a pair of Jimmy Choo metallic pointed loafers for a Christmas party in 2016.

Princess Charlene of Monaco and Prince Jacques attend the annual Christmas gift distribution at Monaco Palace on December 14, 2016

Charlene in silver flats and Jacques wave at the cameras

Fast forward to December 2022 and Charlenes festive look included flats again when she inaugurated the annual Christmas Village in Monaco, although this time it was a classic pair of over the knee black boots worn beneath an Akris Colourblock coat.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands

During a state visit to Greece in October 2022, Queen Maxima turned to Greek designers Zeus & Dione for a statuesque column dress in burnt orange and beige and ditched her towering heels, instead pairing the tailored frock with Gianvito Rossi leather ballet flats and a Sophie Habsburg clutch.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands attend a meeting with the Dutch community during the first day of the Dutch State Visit visit to Greece 2022. Her flats, liker her dress, is in Dutch Orange

We normally see Maxima in towering heels like these - although on this occasion she might have preferred flats. She is pictured in the Dutch Caribbean last year

In flats for the beach. Maxima poses with Princess Amalia and King Willem-Alexander in the Dutch Caribbean

In January 2023 when visiting the Caribbean wearing a floaty Zimmermann dress and Fabienne Delvigne turban, Maxima again swapped the Gianvito Rossi shoes she first stepped out in for a more comfortable choice of Salvatore Ferragamo loafers.

Back in 2017 Queen Maxima was just as stylish in flats, adding a colourful splash in a blue embroidered Vita Kin dress, oversized hat and matching open toe denim sandals which perfectly picked out the accent colour of her look.

Duchess of Edinburgh

The Duchess of Edinburghs style uniform usually includes espadrille wedges and suede court shoes, but when attending celebrations in Norway in 2017 she chose a pair of Chloe ballet flats with a scalloped edge to accessorise her Sportmax coat and Prada printed shirt.

Sophie, Duchess of Wessex chooses nude flats for a visit to Norway in celebration of King Harald's 80th birthday

In practical flats once again, this time as Global Ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness

Showing that flats can perfectly compliment a patterned dress, it was a pair of cream Nicola Sexton pointed loafers that added structure to her Etro midi dress during a tour of the Cayman Islands in February 2023, and in October 2023 blush pink suede pumps from The Row co-ordinated with the print of her Maxmara shirt dress in Ethiopia.

Queen Camilla

Along with her favoured block heels, Queen Camilla turns to Sole Bliss for comfortable flat pumps and is reported to owns 11 pairs of varying styles.

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall attends the South of England Show on June 8, 2017

Asked to make a shoe impression for posterity St Michaels Mount, Camilla wore comfortable flats

Specialising in stylish but comfortable footwear with wider toe boxes, hidden stretch panels and three layers of cushioning to accommodate issues such as bunions, they are perfect for a royal whos on her feet meeting the public all day.

It was these that she wore to the South of England Show in 2017 paired with a blue skirt suit, showing that comfortable shoes can still look chic.

In 2010 she chose a pair of Footglove loafers which are equally designed for comfort when making imprints of her feet for a cast at St Michaels Mount.

Infanta Sofia

Sixteen-year-old Infanta Sofia has been turning to flats to help her avoid towering over her older sister Leonor and mother Queen Letizia.

Infanta Sofia is taller than her older sister, Leonor, who is heir to the throne. There is speculation that Sofia wears flats so as not to overshadow her sister

In this picture, Leonor is wearing heels - but her younger sister is still taller even though she is wearing flat shoes

At 5'7" she is already more than two inches taller than them both, so routinely turns to flats to avoid overshadowing her family members.

For the swearing in of her sister Princess Leonor in October 2023 a pair of LMDI slingbacks complemented the black belt on her Erdem cape sleeve dress, while a similar style of slingback Massimo Dutti pumps matched the boucle piping on the Sandro dress she wore for the Princess of Asturias Awards.
They say school failed to protect them from anti-Semitism online and on campus

Alex Kestenbaum and five other students are suing Harvard for money back

Jewish Harvard students are demanding tuition refunds from the pricey school over its 'abject failure' to protect them from rampant antisemitism.

Last week, six students led by Shabbos Kestenbaum filed a lawsuit against the university that demands antisemitic professors be fired, and students who troll them disciplined.

In an interview with DailyMail.com, Kestenbaum - whose legal name is Alex - said he and the other students are also seeking reimbursements. For some students enrolled in the prestigious law school, that amounts to more than $75,000 a year.

Attorney Mark Ressler from Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP is representing the group. The firm has also filed lawsuits against NYU and UPenn for similar claims of breach of contract and a failure to abide by discrimination laws.

Last week, six students led by Shabbos Kestenbaum filed a lawsuit against the university that demands antisemitic professors be fired, and students who troll them disciplined

Since Claudine Gay resigned, Kestenbaum says this type of antisemitism on the school's internal social media has soared

He says Harvard 'hasn't lived up to its end of the deal' in protecting Jewish students from discrimination, and the families have a right to ask for their money back.

'Whatever the cost of tuition is per year at Harvard Law School, that should be refunded. Harvard has breached the contract it enters into with students.

Harvard has not lived up to its end of the bargain  Jews are excluded from the code of conduct that should protect them.'

Since school president Claudine Gay resigned on January 2nd, the students have been targeted on Harvard's internal social media, SideChat.

There, other students have anonymously labeled them 'Zionist pedophiles' and declared their full-throttle support for Hamas.

Kestenbaum contacted the school's DEI department and interim president Alan Gabrer, but received nothing in the way of reassurance, he says.

Now, some of the Jewish students are afraid to return to campus for the spring semester.

'Theres a tremendous amount of tension, nerves, anxiety I am home just now for the break and my parents dont want me to go back to campus.

'Theyre afraid for my physical safety... I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if there are physical attacks on Jewish students when we go back.

'We have no reason to believe the spring semester will be any better, and actually a lot of reason to believe that there will be increased and intensified acts of antisemitism given the accelerated antisemitic posts on social media,' he said.

The posts are all written by students 'emboldened' by the cloak of anonymity. If Harvard wanted to investigate the remarks, they could trace the IP addresses connected with user accounts but Kestenbaum says administrators show no interest in taking such steps.

Kestenbaum said he was horrified by Gay's congressional testimony. 'We had no reason to doubt her leadership abilities then literally almost overnight October 7th to 8th, there was a total abdication of moral responsibility,' he said

Kestenbaum says he was rooting for Gay to succeed. 'I took a selfie with her at her inauguration, I was excited'

Kestenbaum and other anonymous students are suing the school for breach of contract

'Whats critical for people to understand is these are students I sit in classrooms with. Students I interact with every single day.

'To know that they not only support Hamas and view it as legitimate resistance, they think theres this conspiracy that Jews control the media.

'That Jews and Zionists are baby killers and paedophiles. If this was any other minority group  we know because Harvard has a track record, quite rightly, of standing up against bigotry and hatred, but there is such an obvious and offensive and hurtful double standard when it comes to Jewish students,' he said.

He and the students from Students Against Antisemitism filed their lawsuit as a 'last resort', he added.

'Its not something I woke up and said lets sue Harvard. Weve tried to go through every other channel and were turned down again and again.

'We didnt know what else to do.'

The lawsuit will also probe donations from foreign countries and groups that Ressler believes are questionable.

'We're going to be ensuring that Harvard does not accept any donation from any other country that is conditional upon a professor spewing antisemitic venom in class or on campus.

'Thats something were going to be probing in discovery when we receive internal emails. The concern is foreign countries are donating large amounts of money with strings attached  mainly you have to ensure that any Middle Eastern studies classes for example are entirely anti-Israel.

One of the biggest donors to Harvard is Qatar. Were going to be exploring if those donations were contingent.

Eventually, the firm hopes to depose key administrators like ousted president Claudine Gay.

Kestenbaum said he and the other Jewish students felt 'betrayed' by Gay's response to the October 7 massacre and the general campus support of it.

When Gay was sworn in as president, he was among students who embraced the fact she was the schools first black female president.

I took a selfie with her at her inauguration. I thought, "look how far weve come."

The students are also calling for Professor Marshall Ganz to be fired. They say he stopped them from referring to Israel as a 'democracy' during a project

'How disappointed I was when just a month later, she betrayed some of most ardent supporters.

'We had no reason to doubt her leadership abilities then literally almost overnight October 7th to 8th, there was a total abdication of moral responsibility whether it was by failing to condemn the massacre or failing to condemn the campus protests.

'They never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity.'

In her resignation letter, Gay refused to take accountability for the scandal. The following day, she penned an op-ed in The New York Times that blamed 'demagogues' seeking to undermine Harvard's 'legacy'.

Antisemitic posts on SideChat skyrocketed, according to Kestenbaum.

'She opened the floodgates by refusing to take personal responsibility, and instead blamed these outside demagogues shes sort of doing a nice wink to a lot of various actors and we, the Jewish students, have been on the receiving end of it.

At one stage, Harvard was 25% Jewish. Now its roughly 5%. Its not because Jews got dumber over time,' he said.

Kestenbaum and the others are waiting for words of reassurance and a plan for how to protect the Jewish student body from Alan Garber, Gay's interim replacement.

So far, they've received one email sent to the entire student body that addressed the 'difficult time' the school was going through.

'We need leadership, protection and guidance but none of that has been offered.

'Were concerned. My mom literally does not want me to go back to campus,' he said.

Harvard is yet to respond to the lawsuit.
Venues across Australia are refusing to use the term 'Australia Day' - simply referring to events held this upcoming long weekend as 'public holiday' and 'public holiday eve'.

Many popular pubs and bars are throwing parties next Thursday, ahead of January 26, with advertising flyers deliberately omitting the words 'Australia Day' given the controversy surrounding the date and calls by Indigenous Australians for it to be changed.

The Lord Gladstone in Chippendale, in Sydney's inner city, is throwing an event on January 25, titled The Gladdy's Public Holiday Eve Blow Out.

The venue's director Mitchell Crum and his business partner Ben Johnson told Daily Mail Australia the decision to leave the words 'Australia Day' out of the event title was 'deliberate'.

The Lord Gladstone in Chippendale, in Sydney's inner city, is throwing an event on January 25, titled The Gladdy's Public Holiday Eve Blow Out (pictured are directors Ben Johnson and Mitchell Crum)

Venues around the country are hosting events ahead of the upcoming long weekend but have chosen to refer to the date as Public Holiday Eve rather than mention the words 'Australia Day'

'The Lord Gladstone stands in solidarity with our local, and the wider Indigenous community that want 'Australia Day' abolished as a public holiday in its current form,' the pair said.

'We believe there is a date that can better represent what Australia Day is meant to mean in terms of celebrating our country as a nation, and a day that connotes so much mourning and trauma to our First Nations peoples is certainly not the day it should be held on.'

Mr Crum and Mr Johnson said the business was not in a position to close on Australia Day but would instead be a 'beacon to our blak brothers and sisters' to offer a safe and welcoming space.

The Lord Gladstone will be closed until 3pm on January 26 to allow staff and management to attend Invasion Day rallies and other events celebrating Aboriginal people.

'Then they can all meet for a catch up afterwards at the pub and decompress - which is what we offer as a pub - a place to come together and celebrate, commiserate and most of all be connected with each other,' Mr Crum said.

The venue are also hosting an afterparty for Indigenous musician and philanthropist Nooky for his event Blak Powerhouse at the Powerhouse Museum.

The Lord Gladstone in Chippendale, in Sydney's inner city, is throwing an event on January 25, titled The Gladdy's Public Holiday Eve Blow Out

The Lord Gladstone's director Mitchell Crum and his business partner Ben Johnson told Daily Mail Australia the decision to leave the words 'Australia Day' out of the event title was 'deliberate'

The Victoria Hotel in Strathalbyn, south of Adelaide, are similarly hosting a Public Holiday Eve Party

The Piano Bar in Geelong, Victoria, is another venue hosting an event dubbed Public Holiday Eve

The Soda Factory, in Sydney's Surry Hills, is throwing a 'Hot in Herre Public Holiday Party' on January 26.

'Join us for the best Summer party in Sydney on Friday 26th of Jan!' the event title reads.

A spokesperson for the venue told Daily Mail Australia it did not have a stance on Australia Day.

'We don't have a stance on that, we're known for our 2000s parties,' she said.

The Piano Bar in Geelong, Victoria, is another venue hosting an event dubbed Public Holiday Eve.

Co-owner Andy Pobjoy said not mentioning 'Australia Day' in the event title was a deliberate choice.

Beer Deluxe Albury is also hosting an event for Public Holiday Eve

'It's my personal belief that we should change the date,' he said.

'I don't expect everyone to agree with us, nor do I want to come across 'preachy.'

'At Piano Bar, we think that it's time pick a new, less divisive date. Australia needs to look forward, not backward to our troubled colonial past.'

Mr Pobjoy said it was their choice as a business to do so and other venues were equally entitled to name their events as they please.

The Victoria Hotel in Strathalbyn, south of Adelaide, are similarly hosting a Public Holiday Eve Party.

The hotel declined to comment when approached by Daily Mail Australia.

Archer Brewing in Brisbane have also referred to the day as public holiday eve, but owner Lucy Martin said they don't have a stance on Australia Day.

'It's something we want to continue throughout the year, as we never open on any public holiday, so saying public holiday eve means we can continue to build the momentum and be known in our local community as the place to go the night before every public holiday without tying it to a specific holiday,' she said.

'We as a venue and a company also don't want to get wrapped up in the politics of it and don't have a stance.

'Our purpose as a brewery and bar is to just provide a space for people to enjoy themselves and drink great beer.

'It is becoming more and more contentious, and no matter which side of the argument you stand on, you can't disagree with that. Within our own team there are opinions both ways, so we choose to remain impartial.'

Ms Martin said their Public Holiday Eve party will have some Australia-themed celebrations such as food and music choices.

'Any future public holiday eve party will have a slight connection to the public holiday it's before anyway,' she said.

The Soda Factory, in Sydney 's Surry Hills, is throwing a 'Hot in Herre Public Holiday Party' on January 26

The Fiction Club in Canberra referred to January 25 as Public Holiday Eve

Other venues hosting events that refer to the date as Public Holiday rather than Australia Day include the Beer Deluxe Albury, near the Victoria and NSW border, and the Fiction Club in Canberra.

Both have been contacted for comment.

Australia Day has been marred by controversy in recent years as calls ramp up for the date, which commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet from Great Britain into Sydney's Port Jackson, to be changed.

Indigenous groups refer to the date as Invasion Day with some Australians from various cultural backgrounds choosing to opt out of celebrating the occasion.

For Indigenous communities, the day represents the pain and suffering first Australians experienced after the arrival of the colonising fleet more than 200 years ago.

It comes after Woolworths, Aldi, Kmart and Big W all announced they would not be stocking any Australia Day merchandise this year.

Two Woolies supermarkets have been vandalised in the fallout.
Daniel Lurie, philanthropist and Levi Strauss heir, arrives with wife Becca Prowda at the Department of Elections on Sept. 26 to file paperwork to participate in the upcoming San Francisco mayoral election. Stephen Lam/The Chronicle

Luries team announced Tuesday that the philanthropist and nonprofit founder has set up a committee to campaign in favor of Proposition E, which Breed placed on the March 5 ballot in an attempt to give police more flexibility in how they do their jobs.

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Prop. E would reduce police officers administrative reporting requirements, including after use-of-force incidents, and increase officers access to surveillance cameras and drones. The measure would also broaden the circumstances under which officers can chase suspects by car.

Its part of a bigger pro-law enforcement push by Breed as her reelection campaign heats up and she tries to show voters shes making progress on addressing the citys public drug scenes and frequent property crimes. Opponents of the measure say it would weaken civil liberties by expanding police surveillance and needlessly endanger the public by ramping up police car chases that can put drivers and pedestrians in harms way.

Daniel Lurie, philanthropist and Levi Strauss heir, speaks during a launch event for his mayoral bid in San Francisco in September 2023. Lurie has set up a committee to campaign in favor of rival S.F. Mayor London Breeds ballot measure to give police more flexibility in how they do their jobs. Stephen Lam/The Chronicle

Luries decision to back Prop. E puts him in the highly unusual position of raising money to support his political opponents idea. Yet Lurie has indicated that he plans to continue criticizing Breed by arguing that, while the policy proposals enshrined in Prop. E are worthwhile, Breed should have implemented them far sooner.

Lurie is generally aligned with Breeds moderate policy agenda but has argued that he could be more effective at running the city and implementing change.

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As a San Franciscan who wants my kids to grow up as proud of this city as I am, its heartbreaking to see rising crime and blight on our streets while City Hall has wasted years doing nothing, Lurie said in a statement. We cant afford to wait any longer. Thats why Im urging San Franciscans to join me in taking action where this administration has failed to do so by voting Yes on E.

Lurie described the ballot measure as one of many steps that should have been implemented long ago, though he said it was one we must stand up and take now to tackle the public safety crisis in our city.

Maggie Muir, a political consultant for Breeds reelection campaign, said in a statement that Lurie just failed leadership 101 by putting his own needs before the needs of the city.



Voters are sick of these games. They want leadership, not political opportunism, Muir said. Since Lurie has no ideas, hes desperately trying to insert himself into the spotlight, and playing politics with the public safety of San Franciscans.



Joe Arellano, a spokesperson for the Prop. E campaign, agreed, referring to Luries campaign committee in a statement as a lame political stunt.



Confusing the voters to boost ones persona is selfish and demonstrates a real lack of leadership, Arellano said.



Supervisor Ahsha Safai, Breeds other main challenger in the mayors race, said he opposes Prop. E because he thought the measures changes to police car chase policy would be dangerous, and he found the entire measure to be a real rushed attempt by the mayor to have something to mask over her inability to lead.



While the city is in crisis, this is her haphazard way of coming back with some ideas slapped together at the last minute, Safai told the Chronicle.

Campaigning for Prop. E could also theoretically help Lurie, the founder of the anti-poverty organization Tipping Point Community and an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, boost his name recognition with voters. Ballot measure committees arent bound by the same individual contribution limits that apply to candidate campaigns, allowing wealthy donors to spend unlimited amounts.

Chris Larsen, the billionaire co-founder of the crypto firm Ripple, and tech investor Ron Conway have already donated a combined $350,000 in favor of Prop. E. Lurie did not say Tuesday how much his new committee plans to raise and spend on its advocacy for the measure. Lurie consultant Tyler Law said in a statement that the campaign is planning an aggressive citywide digital and TV ad campaign to engage San Franciscans around the need to step in where this administration has failed.

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Political consultant Jim Ross said its not unusual for ballot measures to be proving ground for San Francisco mayoral campaigns  and he would know, having worked on the successful 2002 Care Not Cash campaign that helped then-Supervisor Gavin Newsom launch his winning 2003 mayoral bid. Still, Ross could not recall any example directly comparable to Luries move with Breed and Prop. E, though Ross cautioned that its rare that theres ever anything new in San Francisco politics.

Luries gambit on Prop. E  and his overall critique of Breeds management  could benefit from Breeds abysmal approval ratings, Ross said. But that may not be enough for Lurie to win.



Its hard to come in and say, Im going to do the same thing, but better, and for people to find that compelling, he said. All candidate campaigns come down to creating contrast. Supporting her ballot measure and supporting her policies dont create contrast.

Prop. E takes direct aim at the San Francisco Police Commission, the policy-setting body for the Police Department. The measure would roll back 10-year-old limits the commission placed on police car chases and require that all new policies created by the commission must be subject to a 90-day period of community outreach conducted by the department. Commissioners would also have to ensure that their rules dont result in officers spending more than 20% of their time on administrative duties.

Breed has described the commission as being led by people who govern by ideology and personal interest. While she appointed a majority of the commissions seven members, she had a rift with one of her appointees, Max Carter-Oberstone, in 2022. He criticized Prop. E when it was announced by Breed last year, describing the measure as a political move that wouldnt make the city any safer.

More Information What Proposition E would do Proposition E on San Franciscos March ballot would make changes including the following: Reduce the circumstances under which police officers must document using force, limiting it to incidents in which an officer injures a person, uses a gun or points a gun at a person.

Expand vehicle chases, allowing them when an officer suspects a person has committed or is likely to commit a felony or violent misdemeanor.

Allow police to use drones to aid in vehicle pursuits and active criminal investigations.

Allow the police chief to install surveillance cameras in public without Police Commission approval.

Allow facial recognition technology in both drones and surveillance cameras.

Allow police to use other surveillance technology for a year without Board of Supervisors approval. Source: Ballot Simplification Committee

Beyond Prop. E, Breed has also secured increased funding for the Police Department, and shes been trying to help the department hire more officers to reverse a severe staffing shortage. Breeds office on Tuesday said a new class of 20 recruits was starting that day and another 44 cadets were enrolled in two other Police Academy classes, putting the city on track to graduate more cadets this year than any year since the pandemic began.
A flight school owner and a student pilot were among three people killed when a small plane crashed in a remote woodland in Massachusetts.

Fredrika Ballard, 53, of Southwick, Massachusetts, owned the Fly Lugu Flight School while William Hampton, 68, of Indian Orchard, Massachusetts, was a flight instructor.

Chad Davidson, 29, of Woodstock, Connecticut, was a student pilot on the flight that crashed Sunday.

'I lost my beautiful sister-in-law unexpectedly doing what she loved, flying for her company,' wrote Ballard's sister-in-law Betsy Ballard.

Fredrika Ballard, 53, of Southwick, Massachusetts, owned the Fly Lugu Flight School and was killed in Sunday's crash

William Hampton, 68, of Indian Orchard, Massachusetts, was a flight instructor at the school

Chad Davidson, 29, of Woodstock, Connecticut, was a student pilot who also lost his life

'She was the most warm, caring, kind, brilliant, patient, thoughtful, generous and loving person I have ever known. We are all still in shock. We all will love you forever. Fly high beautiful.'

'Heaven received three angles yesterday who already had their wings,' wrote photographer Jeff Byrnes in tribute.

'My heart hurts at the loss of our friends and fellow pilots Fredrika Hamann Ballard and Bill Hampton. Rika was a pioneer in the aviation community. Bill was a storied pilot whom I recently connected with over our love of helicopters. Our love for aviation and passion for building our businesses was just a touch of what bonded Rika and I shared.'

'The world and the aviation community lost a few amazing people this past weekend, I'm not even sure how to put what I want to say in words. Im honored to have met and flown with both of them. Fredrika Hamann Ballard and Bill Hampton: I will never forget everything you taught me and the time we shared soaring thru the skies together!' wrote former flight school student Alex Bloom.

'She was the most warm, caring, kind, brilliant, patient, thoughtful, generous and loving person I have ever known. We are all still in shock. We all will love you forever. Fly high beautiful,' wrote Frederika Ballard's sister-in-law in tribute

Ballard started her Flight School Fly LUGU just before COVID hit and was forced to suspend flight training by the state of Massachusetts for a few months

Hampton was said to be 'a storied pilot with a love of helicopters'

Davidson worked in the administration of another aviation company and was learning to fly

Tributes came flooding in both from former students of the flying school and family members

'We lost two of the greatest mentors in the aviation industry today. Fredrika Hamann Ballard and Bill Hampton aka the GOAT. I am forever grateful to have known both of these incredible individuals. Fly high,' posted another former student flyer, Jamie Glynn.

'I knew Rika personally. She was a great person & very enthusiastic about aviation. She started her Flight School Fly LUGU just before COVID hit & was forced to suspend flight training by the state of MA for a few months. When she reopened she turned it into the great flight school that it is today. Rika & Bill will be greatly missed,' wrote another friend of the pair.

No one could be reached at Fly Lugu for comment.

The twin-engine Beechcraft Baron 55, which took off from Barnes Airport in Westfield at approximately 11:06am on Sunday crashed near Leyden, Massachusetts.

Fire crews are seen rushing to the scene of the accident on Sunday

Three people on board a twin-engine Beechcraft Baron 55 died in a crash near Greenfield, Massachusetts around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. A generic Beechcraft Baron 55 pictured

Authorities began searching the crash site in Leyden Wildlife Management Area near Greenfield around 11:30am after several dog walkers reported seeing the plane crash.

The aircraft was found in a small clearing in the woods on the side of a wooded mountain within the Leyden Wildlife Management Area around 12:33pm.

All three occupants were found dead inside the plane by the Greenfield Firefighters and American Medical Response paramedics.

Federal Aviation Administration Aviation inspectors responded to the crash site Sunday and a National Transportation Safety Board investigator was sent to the site on Monday.

'The aircraft will be recovered to a secure facility for further evaluation. NTSB investigations involve three primary areas: the pilot, the aircraft and the operating environment,' said the NTSB.

State police said the crash remains under investigation.

The NTSB said it would not speculate about the cause of the crash noting how any probable cause along with any contributing factors would be detailed in the agency's final report, which is expected in 12-24 months.

According to Aircraft Cost Calculator, the average price for a pre-owned Beechcraft Baron 55 is $105,500.

The Beechcraft Baron 55 was manufactured from 1964 to 1982, requires a one person crew to operate and can transport up to five passengers.
A prominent Catholic bishop and 18 priests arrived in Rome on Sunday after they were released from jail by the Nicaragua government.

Bishop Rolando Alvarez and the clergy members were imprisoned more than a year ago as part of a crackdown against the opposition and Catholic church by President Daniel Ortega.

Ortega had accused them of supporting massive 2018 civic protests he claimed were a plot to overthrow him.

The Nicaraguan government said the releases were part of negotiations with the Vatican aimed at 'making possible their trip to the Vatican.'

In the past, imprisoned priests have been quickly flown to Rome.

Bishops Rolando Alvarez (left) and Isidoro Mora (right) celebrate mass in Rome on Sunday after their arrival from Nicaragua with 18 other Catholic clergy members. The 19 clergy members were held in jail for over a year by the regime of President Daniel Ortega as part of a crackdown against the opposition

Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Alvarez underwent a routine medical exam on January 2, two weeks before he was released from prison by the regime of President Daniel Ortega

Vatican News, the Vatican's in-house media operation, said the group arrived in Rome on Sunday afternoon and were welcomed as 'guests of the Holy See.'

Bishop Alvarez and Bishop Isidoro Mora celebrated mass Sunday at the Vatican.

Ortega previously sent 222 prisoners to the United States in February in a deal brokered by the United States government and later stripped those prisoners of their citizenship.

Bishop Alvarez has remained in prison for more than a year after being convicted of treason, undermining national integrity and spreading false news and receiving a 26-year prison sentence in February 2023.

Bishop Rolando Alvarez was convicted in February 2023 of treason, undermining national integrity and spreading false news by the Nicaragua government

Catholic church clergy members arrived in Rome on Sunday following their release from jail in Nicaragua

One of the country's most outspoken clergy members, he had refused to get on a February flight to the United States a day before his conviction after he was not allowed to consult with other bishops.

He was also stripped of his citizenship.

In October, Nicaragua released a dozen Catholic priests jailed on a variety of charges and sent them to Rome following an agreement with the Vatican.

Since repressing popular protests in 2018 that called for his resignation, Ortega's government has systematically silenced opposing voices and zeroed in on the church, including seizing the prestigious Jesuit-run University of Central America in August.

Nicaragua's congress, dominated by Ortega's Sandinista National Liberation Front, has ordered the closure of more than 3,000 non-governmental organizations, including Mother Teresa's charity.
Scotch whisky is now so popular around the world that sales account for more than a quarter of all the UKs food and drink exports.

A new report reveals that the Scotch whisky industry brought 7.1billion into the UK economy in 2022.

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA)  the trade body for the sector  said the gross value added (GVA) of whisky in 2022 had increased by 29 per cent since 2018.

The industry is worth 5.3billion to Scotland alone.

Whisky amounted to 77 per cent of Scotlands food and drink exports, as well as 26 per cent for the UK overall.

Scotch is the UK's most valuable food and drink export

Mark Kent, chief executive of the SWA, said the report has once again proven its economic significance to the UK.

He added: The past five years have been turbulent for our sector, as we faced retaliatory tariffs in the United States in addition to the global pandemic.

The Scotch whisky industry has remained resilient, with capital investment directed towards fulfilling our collective sustainability ambitions, creating world-class visitor attractions and building more distilleries that will help boost jobs and growth.

Ahead of the UK spring budget on March 6 and this years general election, it is vital that the industry is supported by government so that businesses can continue to invest in the UK economy.

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack welcomed the report, praising the vital importance of the sector to Scotland.

He said: The UK Government wholeheartedly supports the industry.

Mark Kent Chief Executive, Scotch Whisky Association

Scotch is not just Scotlands but the UKs most valuable food and drink export and thats why weve given it ten cuts or freezes in duty at the last 11 budgets, as well as removing punitive tariffs imposed on the US market.

We are pushing forward with new global trade agreements to safeguard the interest of Scotch whisky, ensuring that the unique characteristics and reputation of Scotch are protected.

Scotch whisky supports 66,000 jobs across the UK, with 41,000 in Scotland. In the past decade 24,000 jobs have been created, the report said.

Wellbeing Economy Secretary Neil Gray said the industry is extremely valuable to the country, adding: Continued growth in global markets means more jobs and investment across Scotland, our communities benefit and it entices visitors and residents to experience the incredible offer we have here in Scotland.
Thousands of Scots households are being offered screening for a common genetic condition known as the Celtic curse.

The drive to target 25,000 households follows the death of an aristocrat from haemochromatosis, the most common undiagnosed genetic condition in Scotland.

Miranda McHardy died in March last year as a result of haemochromatosis, a condition that causes the body to absorb and accumulate too much iron from food.

The 59-year-old, from Banchory, Aberdeenshire, whose family once owned one of Scotlands most famous ancestral castles, was unaware she had the condition before her sudden death.

Haemochromatosis leads to the excess iron being deposited in various organs  including the liver, heart, pancreas and the joints  causing an overload of the element.

Mrs McHardy died of a condition that causes the body to absorb and accumulate too much iron from food

Over time, this can lead to potentially catastrophic and irreversible organ damage, cancer, heart disease, chronic fatigue and diabetes.

Mrs McHardys family believe her death could have been prevented if her condition had been detected earlier and are now determined to help others.

Following a campaign of community fundraising led by them, the charity Haemochromatosis UK will contact around 25,000 households in her local area to offer residents a free genetic health check by post.

It is hoped that screening could eventually be extended across Scotland.

The home test fingerprick kit takes a few minutes to complete.

Mrs McHardy was the daughter of Sir Andrew George Forbes-Leith, 3rd Baronet. He was the last laird of Fyvie Castle, near Turriff Aberdeenshire, which in 1984 was bought by the National Trust for Scotland.

Mrs McHardy had been unwell for several years with various ailments.

She was eventually tested for haemochromatosis after a cousin, who also has the condition, suggested that it might be the cause.

But by then Mrs McHardy had suffered organ damage. She died at home in March last year, aged 59.

Her sister Louisa Leader said: Miranda was one of lifes givers, constantly caring for everyone around her.

She was a counsellor and a volunteer Samaritan for many years.;

She added: She has left a huge hole in our lives and we are all determined to try to raise awareness of this genetic condition.

Miranda had chronic arthritis, type-one diabetes, heart and liver damage  all of which was completely preventable if she had known she had haemochromatosis.

Haemochromatosis is known as the Celtic curse due to its prevalence among people of Irish heritage.

Sufferers must inherit faulty genes from both parents.

It affects one in 83 people in Ireland and one in 113 people in Scotland  but fewer than one in 20 have been diagnosed.

Several members of Mrs McHardys family have since been tested and diagnosed.

Early treatment includes regular procedures to remove some blood, which can help reduce the amount of iron in the body.

Neil McClements of Haemochromatosis UK said: We were inspired by the McHardy familys determination to transform their personal tragedy into a better outcome for other people.
When seven-year-old Dottie Rees rang the end-of-treatment bell on Safari Ward at Great Ormond Street Hospital on October 6, 2022, it marked the end of 18 months of gruelling chemotherapy.

Diagnosed with an extremely rare and inoperable brain tumour  bilateral glioma of the thalamus  when she was just four, shed endured numerous admissions not just to GOSH, where shed had surgery to relieve the build-up of fluid on her brain, but to Basildon Hospital, near her home in Essex to treat infections and for blood transfusions.

For her family  parents, John, 40, and Louise, 37, and sisters, Lily, 18 and Bella, 12  hearing the bells being rung on different wards, and celebrating with other families whose children had reached milestones in their treatment, became a mainstay of their time in hospital with Dottie.

Amid the daily grind of painful treatment, the sound of the bells represented hope. They marked a huge achievement for both children and parents, says John, a freight train driver.

We were all striving to reach the point where we were able to ring it. To us, the end-of-treatment bell never meant someone is cured or cancer free. It was simply a way of celebrating one gruelling cycle of chemotherapy or treatment finally coming to an end. It was a goal that we all wanted to achieve.

Dottie Rees, who was diagnosed with an extremely rare and inoperable brain tumour, at London's Great Ormond Street hospital

A study of 200 cancer patients found that patients who rang the bell reported more distressing and longer-lasting memories of treatment than those who didnt

The bell-ringing ritual is a familiar sound in many cancer wards  there are now 427 end-of-treatment bells in hospitals across the UK  but while for some it marks an important milestone, for others its an unwelcome reminder that they will never be able to celebrate the end of treatment, as their condition is incurable and the end of treatment means doctors have run out of options.

Meanwhile, even those who take part can be left with negative feelings about the experience. A study of 200 cancer patients, published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology in 2020 found that patients who rang the bell reported more distressing and longer-lasting memories of treatment than those who didnt. Researchers suggested the sound could create a flashbulb event, locking in bad memories and creating false hope.

Now there is increasing patient-led debate about the value of the end-of-treatment bell ceremony, with some campaigning to scrap the practice in the UK entirely  this has already led to some hospitals, such as Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, removing the end-of-chemo bell from the Lingen Davies Oncology Centre after complaints from patients.

When Kate Rackham, 46, a teacher and mum of two girls (Ruby, 12 and Nancy, ten), posted her thoughts on X (formerly Twitter) in November, she was tethered to a drip having chemotherapy for stage 4 breast cancer  and unable to escape the sound of another patient in the same ward gleefully ringing the end of treatment bell.

She wrote: Im sitting here alone on the ward while staff go out to whoop, clap and cheer a bell ringer right outside the door. Ill never finish treatment, unless its to die. Am I just being miserable?!?

She had more than 800 responses  while some patients said they found the sound of the bells cathartic and hopeful, many, like Kate, admitted they struggled with mixed feelings. Doctors also commented: Dr Jo Evans, a consultant medical oncologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, wrote: No. Youre not being miserable. Im an oncologist and I hate these bells . . . The worst bit is its in earshot of those who will never finish treatment, be cured or get to ring it. Followed by the tempting fate feeling I get every time I hear it!

As Dr Evans told Good Health last week: Bell-ringing is thought to have begun when a patient who was a naval officer donated one to the radiotherapy department at MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Texas in the U.S.

Kate Rackham her husband Mark, 52, who owns a pub in Urmston, Greater Manchester, and daughters, Ruby, 12, left and Nancy, ten

Ms Rackham, far left, said: I wouldnt begrudge anyone celebrating being cancer-free, but the sad truth of it is that we know some patients will relapse

In the Navy, bells were rung to signal the end of a task, usually a complex one.

But its now morphed to celebrate being cancer-free, which was never the intent. A gift to celebrate surviving adversity and getting through a hideous period is now something entirely different.

I treat patients with a high risk and rate of relapse.

I wouldnt begrudge anyone celebrating being cancer-free, but the sad truth of it is that we know some patients will relapse  either locally or with secondary cancer.

I have one patient who rang a bell following completion of their radiotherapy, only for it to return later  they now solely blame this on their cancer coming back  so the bell can have significant mental health repercussions in the years to come.

Kate, who is a founding member of the charity Fighting to be Heard, which represents the 55,000 patients living with secondary breast cancer, rang the bell herself at the end of her first round of treatment in April 2017. I rang it because I thought thats what you did, she says.

But knowing there was a very real chance the cancer could come back, I tinkled it quietly.

She was first diagnosed with stage 3 oestrogen-receptive invasive ductal carcinoma in 2016 and underwent surgery to remove a 6.5cm tumour from her left breast.

However, subsequent tests showed the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and I had every treatment thrown at me, she says  this meant a mastectomy, removal of lymph nodes, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which was gruelling, like having the worst hangover and flu simultaneously.

So when that was over, and I had a clear CT scan, I definitely felt like celebrating.

But when she wrote her post on X, six years later, having lived through cancer recurrence in her bones and liver, more treatment then further recurrence last year, unsurprisingly, shed been feeling a bit woe is me.

Dottie, now seven and at school full-time, still undergoes six-monthly MRI scans as well as hearing, hormone and eyesight tests and will have regular check-ups for the rest of her life

Id had one round of paclitaxel that Id had a severe allergic reaction to, so it was changed to abraxane, but last October I was told it wasnt working after further progression, she says.

At this point, I was told I would be on intravenous chemo for the rest of my life.

If the drug worked I would stay on it, if it didnt I would change to another  but eventually I would inevitably run out of options.

She wrote the post after starting her second infusion of a drug called eribulin. Kate is being treated at a specialist cancer hospital, where, as she points out, you regularly see people walking the corridors crying, having been told there are no more treatment options, while others are experiencing the euphoria of finding out theyre clear.

The bell is right outside the chemo ward, she told Good Health. And the door is always left open so when I see patients, nurses and family going out to ring it, Ive no choice but to sit and listen to the sound of whooping and clapping and cheering.

It sounds awful but I felt like going out there and saying: you might be celebrating now but you could be back here like me, before you know it. That is not what Tracey and Phil Payton, founders of the charity End of Treatment Bells, intended.

The Paytons  Tracey, 54, a PA, and Phil, 56, a computer consultant, brought the first bell to England in 2014 having come across them in the U.S., where their then eight-year-old daughter, Emma, was being treated for alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma  a rare soft tissue cancer.

Since then their charity has donated bells to 220 hospitals across the UK, always at the request of patient organisations, with patients often raising the money to provide them for their hospital.

Emma had started chemotherapy at Royal Manchester Childrens Hospital in September 2013 and in January 2014, the whole family flew to Oklahoma so that Emma could have NHS-funded proton beam therapy, which wasnt available in the UK at the time (it is now available privately and on the NHS for some types of cancer).

This is where we first came across an end-of-treatment bell, explains Tracey.

To us, ringing it was something to aim for when counting down the days and weeks of treatment.

We knew there was a very high risk Emmas cancer would come back, but getting through every procedure, therapy, X-ray, CT and MRI scan was a small win for us.

When Emma finally rang it on March 5, 2014, her treatment wasnt over, but we were heading home and that was a reason to celebrate.

Back in the UK, Emma had three more rounds of chemotherapy.

The Paytons, desperate to do something to boost morale on the ward where she was being treated, paid 170 to have the UKs first end-of treatment bell made  and when her chemotherapy finished on April 9, 2014, Emma became the first child to ring it.

Now 18, and studying English at Liverpool University, Emma has thankfully remained cancer-free.

But theres not been a day since when I havent worried about the cancer, says her mum.

Once its entered your life, the trauma and worry never end, whether youve rung the bell or not. The fact that it upsets some people, upsets me. But we know there are many more patients at every stage of treatment for whom the end-of-treatment bells are a focus and a goal.

Its possible the real problem lies not with the bells themselves, but rather the name  which rankles with those whose treatment will only end with their death  and their placement, on cancer units where patients have no choice but to listen to other people merrily ringing them.

Indeed, the Paytons originally envisaged the bells for childrens wards only, donating them to adult wards because so many patients asked for them.

Tracey now feels the real reason for the bells may have been lost.

Although theyre called end-of-treatment bells, they were never about saying: Im cancer free, she says. They mean different things to different people. Having stage 4 cancer but being here for another birthday is a really good reason to ring the bell.

Ring it whenever you want, for whatever reason you want a stable scan, another round of treatment done, or just because you feel like it  to us its about each and every celebration on the way.

Consultant clinical psychologist Frances Goodhart, author of The Cancer Survivors Companion, has worked across the NHS for more than 25 years, including for Macmillan cancer and palliative care.

She has mixed feelings about the bells in adult settings.

Dottie pictured at Great Ormond Street where she underwent treatment. Her father John said ringing the bell is a hopeful gesture and one that is important to his family

A bell for a child, who perhaps doesnt experience the same sense of isolation that adults feel at the end of treatment may be a tangible way of marking a milestone reached, she says.

But Im concerned that having a formal way of celebrating a milestone in treatment institutionalises what is a private and often mixed experience for people.

However much care is taken not to pressure people into ringing it, the bell still creates an expectation of public celebration which does not necessarily fit the feelings being experienced, she says.

I would prefer to see more discussion between the treating team and the patient about what to expect as treatment moves towards ending.

I dont want to sound bah-humbug but I think we in Britain tend to be a little more private about our experiences and emotions and this doesnt cross the Atlantic well.

Ringing a bell feels too public and too final when so often it is not the end of the story.

In fact, in the U.S. too, there has been some disquiet about the bell ceremony.

Desperate to avoid upsetting patients back for treatment for the second and third time, nursing staff at Abramson Cancer Centre at The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, experimented with small hand-held bells for patients in private rooms, but found the open-plan chemo suites couldnt accommodate this.

Next they tried limiting bell-ringing ceremonies to patients who requested them, but found that others complained.

Finally, they formally re-defined what bell-ringing meant.

In discussion with patients they designed new signs mentioning some of the milestones experienced during treatment  a positive scan, the completion of treatment, or just a really good day.

Lindsey Zinck, head of nursing at the hospital, says patients are now happier and its taken away some of the guilt and ethical dilemma that nurses and patients struggle with.

Her advice to oncology nurses and institutions who also want to redefine bell-ringing is to engage with your patients  and your patient advisory council if you have one  and try to think of innovative, inclusive strategies to accommodate what all patients with cancer are going through.

Kate adds: My advice is to be your own advocate. The most important thing is that you leave hospital armed with knowledge about your condition.

Ring the end-of-treatment bell if you like, but wherever you are in your cancer journey, be aware of the signs and symptoms of secondary recurrence, too.

Dottie Rees, now seven and at school full-time, still undergoes six-monthly MRI scans as well as hearing, hormone and eyesight tests and will have regular check-ups for the rest of her life.

Many children are in the same position as Dottie, says John.

She is in a sort of holding pattern, hoping that she doesnt have to go through more treatment, but we know if we do well work towards ringing the bell again. It was so important to us.
Economists at the National Bank of Canada say the country has been guided into a 'population trap' and needs to rein in immigration or risk financial collapse.

In a Monday report, the economists said the northern country's 'staggering' population growth is stretching very thin the nation's ability to absorb newcomers.

The absorption issue is perhaps best illustrated by the country's current housing crisis, which is occurring because the population is growing much faster than the residential real estate sector is delivering.

The economists, Stefane Marion and Alexandra Ducharme, said that annual growth should not exceed 300,000-500,000.

Those figures vary drastically from Canada's current reality where it is more than double.

Economists at the National Bank of Canada say the country has been guided into a 'population trap' and needs to rein in immigration or risk financial collapse. Pictured: Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

In the last year, Canada's population has expanded by 1.25million people, or about 3.2 percent. Economists say that figure should be no more than 500,000. Most of the growth is in new migrants.

In the last year, Canada's population has expanded by 1.25million people, or about 3.2 percent.

The Globe and Mail reports those numbers represent the fastest pace of population expansion since the late 1950s.

In this case, almost all of the 1.25million people are foreign migrants, including students and workers.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has expanded immigration policy such that there is essentially no limit on the arrival of temporary foreign residents.

In addition to that uncapped number, the government is aiming to take in 485,000 permanent new residents, which the economists say the country simply cannot afford to do.

'We currently lack the infrastructure and capital stock in this country to adequately absorb current population growth and improve our standard of living,' they wrote.

The heads of Canada's major financial institutions gathered last week and offered uniform criticism of how the Canadian government has handled the massive wave of immigration.

'I think there's some urgency to bring these numbers of students and temporary workers into better balance with the arithmetic of our home-building strategy  The numbers just don't add up,' said Avery Shenfeld, the chief economist at CIBC Capital Markets.

The Canadian Press recently reported that government employees issued an internal warning in 2022 that continued rapid population bumps could exert pressure on the country's socialized healthcare system and affordable housing.

Ottawa, the country's capital, failed to internalize the message, but is now signaling that it may begin dialing back the number of temporary residents permitted to enter Canada sometime this year.

he absorption issue is perhaps best illustrated by the country's current housing crisis, which is occurring because the population is growing much faster than the residential real estate sector is delivering

Economists describe a population trap as a situation in which living standards cannot improve because the population is expanding too rapidly and all excess funds become tied up with maintaining the market's capital-to-labor ratio.

The health of Canada's economy has been in a state of flux for years, predating the current migration trends.

However, some say current conditions have pushed the unsteady economy to the brink of collapse, an issue Justin Trudeau is contending with as he faces approval numbers in free fall and the possibility of an ouster come the next election.

In terms of specific policy, Jean-Francois Perrault, the chief economy of the Bank of Nova Scotia said that the Trudeau government has made it 'too easy' to hire foreigners.

'We're making it cheaper to bring people in, rather than investing,' he said.

The government has held the opposing position for the last few years. Citing a worker shortage, Ottawa has made it easier for employers to access foreign workers.

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program was expanded, meaning companies can hire more workers from foreign countries at a lower price.

Marion, of the National Bank, declared that the federal government has 'lost control on immigration policy.'
Antoinette Lattouf was axed by the ABC following a co-ordinated campaign from Jewish lawyers that included messages being sent to chairperson Ita Buttrose.

Lattouf was sacked on December 20 after just three days as a week-long fill-in host on Radio Sydney's morning show over her comments on the war in Gaza.

It followed an Instagram post she made which linked to a human rights report accusing the Israelis of 'using starvation of civilians as a weapon of war in Gaza'.

In earlier social media posts she had alleged Israeli soldiers were raping Palestinians and challenged claims pro-Palestine protestors in Sydney chanted: 'Gas the Jews'.

Now secret WhatsApp messages from an Australian group called Lawyers for Israel have revealed how her ABC Radio gig outraged its 156 influential members.

Messages posted in the group show its high-powered lawyer members were encouraged to threaten the ABC with legal action unless they dismissed Lattouf.

Lattouf was dumped by the ABC within minutes of her Wednesday show ending, just hours after one member of the group called for a day of action against her.

Broadcaster Antoinette Lattouf (pictured) was axed by the ABC after a behind-the-scenes email campaign by Jewish lawyers to get her sacked which targeted chairman Ita Buttrose

Messages posted in the group show its high-powered lawyer members were encouraged to threaten ABC chair Ita Buttrose (pictured) with legal action unless they dismissed Lattouf.

Secret WhatsApp messages from an Australian group called Lawyers for Israel have revealed how her ABC Radio gig outraged its 156 influential members

Lattouf is now suing the corporation for illegally sacking her over her political opinions and also in part because of her race and Middle East 'cultural background'.

Messages obtained by the Sydney Morning Herald reveal Sydney property lawyer Nicky Stein listing the 'action of the day' at 6.53am with a series of ABC chiefs and politicians to email on the day Lattouf was axed.

'Michelle Rowland is the federal minister for communication. Please use this link to ask how Antoinette Lattouf is hosting the morning ABC Sydney show,' she posted.

'Clause 4 of the ABC code of practice is to be impartial and employing Antoinette is in breach of this clause.

'Please send a copy to 1. ABC Ombudsman 2. David Anderson, Managing Director of the ABC 3. ABC Board.

'Needs to be done again today...It is important ABC hears not just from individuals in the community but specifically lawyers so they feel there is an actual legal threat.'

She added: 'I have basically written to them and told them I expect a proper response by COB today or I would look to engage a senior counsel.

'I know there is probably no actionable offence against ABC but I didn't say I would be taking one - just investigating one.

'I have said that they should be terminating her employment immediately.'

By mid-morning, another group member said ABC chairman Ita Buttrose had replied to seven emails and encouraged others to keep writing to her and others.

'It's not going un-noticed,' she added.

Barrister Robert Goot, deputy president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, revealed he had been told Lattouf would be 'gone from morning radio from Friday' because of her stance on Israel.

After Ms Stein said three days away was 'too long', Mr Goot told members to 'keep writing'.

The leaked WhatsApp message reveal how the group had campaigned for the ABC to sack Lattouf from the ABC Sydney morning show over her comments on Israel and Palestine

By mid-morning, Ms Stein she had just got a response from Buttrose to her email which had threatened the corporation with legal action.

'Dear Ms Stein,' she said it read. ' Thank you for your email. The contents have been noted.

'I have forwarded your email on to Chris Oliver-Taylor, the ABC's Chief Content Officer, who is dealing with this matter.'

Lattouf was fired less than three hours after the update was posted on the WhatsApp group.

An unnamed lawyer had earlier posted on the message group: 'It's obviously the Israeli/Jewish lobby at work again!!!'

Victorian family law mediator Deborah Weiner added: 'We are obviously terrible at it given the amount of lousy press we get [smiley face]'.

After it was revealed Lattouf was suing the ABC, Ms Weiner ridiculed the radio host's Jewish legal representative, Josh Bornstein, of Maurice Blackburn lawyers.

'Bornstein?' she posted on January 11. 'Traiter! (sic)'

Another asked: 'Seems like an expensive enterprise to engage in. What could she get in damages? She lost two days of work due to being fired?

'She was contracted until the end of that week.'

Another unnamed lawyer replied: 'She'll probably say damage to reputation, can never get another job, mental anguish blah blah blah. Pay me $10 million dollars.'

It is not suggested the WhatsApp message group was set up by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry or any other recognised Australian Jewish community.

Antoinette Lattouf (pictured) is now suing the corporation for illegally sacking her over her political opinions and also in part because of her race and Middle East 'cultural background'

The council distanced itself from the messages and the campaign to have Lattouf dismissed by the ABC, although they said they approved of her axing.

'The ECAJ did not contact the ABC about Lattouf, nor did we call for her sacking,' co-CEO Alex Ryvchin told Daily Mail Australia.

'This was a grassroots initiative of individuals exercising their right to make their objections known, and the ABC deciding to act to protect its integrity and standards.

'In light of her conduct we feel they absolutely did the right thing.'

The ABC said the source of the complaints was irrelevant to its procedures.

'The ABC has a transparent complaints process and responds accordingly, regardless of the source of the complaint,' said a spokesman.

Lattouf's law firm Maurice Blackburn denied being the source of the WhatsApp messages and declined to comment further.

Daily Mail Australia has also contacted Ms Stein and Ms Weiner for comment.
She is now three years sober and helping others

A mother-of-three who become addicted to methamphetamine after breaking up with her partner finally got sober after being assaulted and kicked out of her home.

Sarah Bird, a New Zealander living in Australia, first tried meth after her relationship with the father of her children ended and she began trying to numb the pain.

It started with alcohol abuse but after a while Ms Bird turned to harder drugs before her life began spiralling out of control.

Her new partner Adam was also a functional addict at the time and the pair deteriorated together until she realised they needed to quit on January 4, 2021.

Since then the two have successfully kicked their addictions, gotten married and now Ms Bird helps other addicts to turn their lives around.

Sarah Bird, a New Zealander living in Australia, has revealed what it took for her to become sober after three years of being addicted to meth

The mother-of-three first used the hard drug after breaking up with the father of her children and turning to alcohol to numb the pain, which spiralled into regular meth usage

After having three children Ms Bird said her hormones were out of control but that she was able to suppress it until her relationship ended and things began to change.

READ MORE: Bricks of cocaine still washing up on beaches in NSW Advertisement

'I had a full-time job as a hairdresser at the beginning of this, and then all of a sudden I started to become unreliable and dishonest,' she told news.com.au.

She had started using meth because it was more exciting than alcohol, making her feel as though she was part of a secret club when she would chase the high.

However, after losing her job and subsequently her house, things continued unravelling and she was forced to move in with her mother after losing her rental.

The stress of hiding the addiction from her children became too much when Ms Bird got into trouble with the law and was badly assaulted by a stranger.

'I remember thinking to myself, the week before Christmas, I was extremely suicidal at this point. I was like, "I dont want to be here anymore. I dont want to do this. Im so depressed with no money or in trouble. We're behind on rent and kids starting to pick up on things",' she told the publication.

Ms Bird went to Adam and convinced him that they 'had to do something' before either of them ended up dead or in jail.

The two went to their parents, who were aware of the addiction, and asked for their help in getting clean.

They explained that after three years of meth use, they needed help getting into a new home and staying clean.

Ms Bird got into a relationship with Adam, who she has since married, and the two would do meth together until she realised they 'had to do something' and decided to quit

She was convinced that either herself or Adam would wind up dead or in jail if they continued and was worried that her children might eventually realise that she was an addict as they got older

Ms Bird also sat down with her children to admit that she had been struggling with addiction for years = a revelation that came as a complete surprise to them.

The children said that they had noticed her going out at odd times without explanation and sleeping a lot, but Ms Bird was worried that if she didn't come clean it was only a matter of time before the children realised what was really going on.

Ms Bird's mother offered to take the children when she and Adam finally made the leap to go cold turkey and spent their first four days of sobriety sleeping.

To keep on track Ms Bird also reached out to an addiction recovery service called Lives Lived Well which set up virtual meetings for her with Narcotics Anonymous.

Mental health had always been an issue for Ms Bird since she was first diagnosed with ADHD at age 11 and then a manic depressive disorder when she was 15.

During her recovery process she joined an F45 exercise club and found that the community gave her the motivation to keep going.

Ms Bird and Adam got married in September 2022 and this month celebrated three years of sobriety together.

She now has a full-time job again and runs a motivational Instagram page in her spare time where she offers support or intervention to anyone struggling with their own substance abuse issues.

Her children have also become advocates for sobriety, intervening at parties if they see other people offering or exchanging drugs.

'Everybody believes the addicts choose an addiction but it is addiction. I think too many people are too quick to judge addicts and they dont understand that if were given the right support, and we can find it within ourselves, we can be really good humans,' she said.
Bunnings and IKEA have already agreed to increase

Hundreds of thousands of Aussie workers are set to get an annual leave increase from four weeks to five.

Bunnings and IKEA have already agreed to the change, with the proposal pushed by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA).

In exciting news for many retail and warehouse workers, other large businesses are considering the increase, including Woolworths, Kmart and Coles.

Employee Matters founder Natasha Hawker told Sunrise on Monday she liked the proposal as it could help attract and keep staff.

Ms Hawker said it's a great way to think about what a company can offer an employee - because that is what potential employees are focusing on.

Bunnings and IKEA have already agreed to the annual leave increase, with the proposal pushed by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA)

In exciting news for many retail and warehouse workers, other large businesses are considering the increase, including Woolworths, Kmart and Coles

'It is the tightest applicant market that I have seen in some 30 years and you need to hire the best but you also want to retain the best, [so] this is a great attraction strategy,' she said.

Ms Hawker said she could see the additional leave entitlement crossing over into the corporate world although concedes staff already have the option to buy extra leave.

In 2023, IKEA increased their paid leave from 20 to 25 days for 4,000 employees.

Shift workers will get six weeks of annual leave.

IKEA Australia co-worker experience manager Greg Day told Daily Mail Australia the extra week of annual leave would help them attract the best workers.

'We believe it makes for a more engaged workforce who can more easily balance work and home life and want to build a meaningful career in retail with us,' he said.

In May 2023, the SDA successfully argued for Bunnings staff to also have an annual leave increase to five weeks, which was implemented in November 2023.

Bunnings will be phasing the extra week in over a three-year period for full time staff in their stores and distribution centres.

Bunnings chief people officer Damian Zahra told Daily Mail Australia the increase in annual leave was after 'extensive consultation' with its team members.

'We value their contribution to the success of our business and we want to reward them for their great work serving our customers and communities every day,' he said.

'The new package provides higher rates of pay, more flexibility and choice on how they structure their work week, and a phased increase in annual leave.

'We want to attract and retain a high performing team by providing industry-leading benefits and a great culture.'

Bunnings will be phasing the extra week in over a three-year period and is for full-time staff in their stores and distribution centres

In 2023, IKEA increased its paid leave from 20 to 25 days for 4,000 employees

SDA NSW secretary Bernie Smith told Daily Mail Australia the move is a positive one.

'There has been no wages trade off to achieve five weeks annual leave,' he said.

'A fifth week of annual leave would go someway to reducing the gap that has opened up between productivity gains and wages over the past two decades.

'Long term low wage growth has seen a gap of seven per cent open up over the past 20 years between productivity gains and wages for retail workers.

'The time for retail workers to receive increased annual leave entitlements has arrived.'

The union secretary said the SDA was pursuing the extra week of annual leave for employees after consulting with its workplace delegates.

'We also know the importance of a healthy work life balance for workers and the benefits this creates for customers and businesses.

'In the modern retail industry, where work is conducted often around the clock, on weekends, and some public holidays, the extra week of annual leave is well deserved time back in the pockets of workers.'

Mr Smith said the holiday increase can only be a good thing for the Australian economy, as people having extra leisure time will lead to extra spending, especially in the 'retail, hospitality and tourism sectors'.

He said the SDA will keep working to push the fifth week to other companies.

'Employers like Big W, Apple and The Reject Shop have either included a fifth week of paid leave or are on a pathway to five weeks of annual leave.

'[We] will continue to work with other employers as future Agreements arise.'

Although the increase in annual leave will keep workers happy, Ms Hawker said there were some downsides, such as extra costs to employers and scheduling conflicts.

'I think those are truly offset by the increase in productivity and the increase in morale (from the extra week),' she said.
Footage has captured the moment Foreign Minister Penny Wong was heckled by a shopper while on a trip to the grocery store.

Senator Wong, in casual dress, was spotted carrying laundry detergent at Goolwa Village Shopping Centre, in South Australia, last week.

Footage of the interaction in the seaside holiday area was shared days before Ms Wong left on Monday to travel to Israel, Jordan, the occupied Palestinian Territories and the United Arab Emirates.

An unnamed shopper spotted the foreign minister dressed down in shorts and a t-shirt and carrying a bag before he directed unsolicited criticism at Ms Wong.

He not only took aim at her but also Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher.

'Not a good job Penny,' he yelled.

'Not a good job mate. You, Albo, Katy Gallagher (you've) all gotta go. You're a disgrace.'

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has copped some harsh job assessment from a heckler while she was out shopping

Ms Wong, who late last year came out on top of a popularity survey of Australia's MPs, acknowledged her critic with a short hand wave.

The foreign minister was doing some last minute shopping before heading off on a diplomatic trip to Israel, the occupied Palestinian Territories, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

While acknowledging Australia is not a central player in the Middle East, Ms Wong said the nation could still play a part in halting the bloody fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas in Gaza.

'We are a respected voice, and I'll be using our voice to advocate for a pathway out of this conflict,' she said.

Ms Wong condemned settler violence within the region, while reiterating support for a two-state solution.

'Attacking Palestinians where they have a right to be is the wrong thing to do and certainly not conducive to ensuring there isn't escalation,' she said.

Ms Wong will be the most senior representative from Australia to visit the region since the current conflict broke out on October 7 and the first from an Australian foreign minister since 2016.

Aid group Amnesty International said Ms Wong's visit to the region should be focused on ways for a ceasefire to be undertaken.

Senator Wong is preparing to visit the Middle East where she will push for a ceasefire in the bloody fighting between Israel and Hamas

The organisation's Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel spokesman Mohamed Duar said the 100 days since the start of the war had seen a 'chilling disregard of human rights'.

'Amnesty has repeatedly documented war crimes being committed by all parties to the conflict,'' he said.

'The scale of death and destruction we witness in Gaza today is unparalleled.

'For these reasons, Foreign Minister Penny Wong must reiterate Australia's support for a ceasefire, and for Israel to allow unhindered and immediate humanitarian aid to enter Gaza during her trip.'

Ms Wong was crowned Australia's most popular politician in a Resolve Political Monitor poll in December.

Two more Sentators, Independent Jacqui Lambie and LNP Shadow Affairs Minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price placed not far behind.

The wooden spoon for being the most disliked politician went to former prime minister Scott Morrison.
Roland Li covers commercial real estate for the business desk, focusing on the Bay Area office and retail sectors.

He was previously a reporter at San Francisco Business Times, where he won one award from the California News Publishers Association and three from the National Association of Real Estate Editors.

He is the author of Good Luck Have Fun: The Rise of eSports," a 2016 book on the history of the competitive video game industry. Before moving to the Bay Area in 2015, he studied and worked in New York. He freelanced for the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and other local publications. His hobbies include swimming and urban photography.

He can be reached at roland.li@sfchronicle.com.
The chance of a weather system off Queensland forming into a cyclone is increasing as experts warn it could 'u-turn' and impact the state's coast.

The Bureau of Meteorology told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday the chance of the Coral Sea system developing into a tropical cyclone was at 40 per cent - up from 25.

Meteorologist Patch Clapp explained the 05U low system, located about 700 to 800km off the coast, is expected to intensify as it makes a 'u-turn' towards the coastline on Sunday.

A total of three weather systems hovering near Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland could develop into cyclones.

Meanwhile, a 'volatile mix' of weather is forecast to smash Australia with heavy rain, flooding, thunderstorms, and heatwaves across the country.

Meanwhile, a 'volatile mix' of weather is forecast to smash Australia with heavy rain, flooding, thunderstorms, and heatwaves across the country

'There's still disagreement in how that system will move but it certainly looks like it will strengthen over the weekend and track back towards the coast,' Mr Clapp said.

'We certainly encourage those who live along the central and north coast of Queensland to stay up to date with cyclone information.'

'There are no direct impacts expected to the Queensland coast during the next seven days.'

Those in eastern and northern parts of the country will have to contend with days of rain, largely thanks to a monsoon that's settled in over the tropics, as well as moisture-rich air from the Coral and Tasman Seas.

While the majority of Australians will be contending with the deluge of rain, those in the west and centre will be sweating through heatwave conditions as a mass of hot air 'lingers' over the area.

Persistent rain and storms will plague those in Queensland's north until next Monday, while Brisbane is set to be drenched on Tuesday with up to 20mm of rainfall

A 'volatile mix' of weather is forecast to smash Australia with heavy rain, flooding, thunderstorms, heatwaves, bushfires and potential cyclones forecast across the country

QUEENSLAND

While 05U is expected to remain offshore for the next seven days, heavy rain brought by an accompanying monsoon trough is forecast to lash north Queensland.

Persistent rain and storms will plague those in the north until next Monday for the Cape York Peninsula and as far south as Townsville.

Cairns, which has had wet weather since it was hit by ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper in December, is likely to receive 20mm a day for the rest of the week and into the weekend.

Flood warnings remain in place for the Paroo, Barcoo, Bulloo, Herbert, Murray, and Diamantina Rivers.

Most worrying to authorities is the Paroo River, with towns like Eulo and Hungerford urged to be on high alert as the flooding nears its peak - the river is currently just shy of four metres at Eulo and rising.

Meanwhile in the state's capital is set to be drenched on Tuesday with up to 30mm of rainfall, with showers persisting until next Monday.

It will be a balmy week for residents in Brisbane, with maximum temperatures sitting in the low 30s.

The chance of a weather system off Queensland forming into a cyclone is increasing, as experts warn it could 'u-turn' and impact the state's coast

THE NORTHERN TERRITORY

The heaviest rain will fall across the Top End and Kimberley, where the monsoon's showers have forced the Bureau to issue severe weather warnings for locals.

The low will remain over land for most of the week, with the Bureau predicting it will drift eastwards and 'deepen' over the next few days.

'Widespread heavy rainfall is likely to increase as the monsoon low strengthens,' BoM warned.

'Significant river, creek, and stream rises are likely with heavy rainfall, with possible minor to major flooding across the Flood Watch area during this week.'

Due to the weather, many roads will likely be affected and some communities may become isolated.

Metres worth of rain is predicted to fall in the Northern Territory, with some models predicting accumulated totals of more than 1,000mm.

A severe weather warning is in place for Daly, Twii, Gregory and parts of Arnhem, Carpentaria and Barkly districts.

Heavy rainfall across these areas have also raised concerns of flash flooding as north of Wadeye over the western Daly forecast to be slammed by the deluge.

Locations likely to be affected include Darwin, Katherine, Nhulunbuy, Palmerston, Jabiru, Maningrida, Wadeye, Wurrumiyanga and Nauiyu.

Darwin will also be lashed by rain with up to 120mm expected on Tuesday, 110mm on Wednesday, 45mm on Thursday, 25mm on Friday and up to 10mm for each day of the weekend.

Meanwhile in the state's capital is set to be drenched on Tuesday with up to 30mm of rainfall (pictured, flooding in Brisbane)

Wet weather has plagued the Sunshine State since it was hit by ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper in December (pictured, flooded Coomera river at Clagiraba Road on the Gold Coast on January 2)

NEW SOUTH WALES

There's still days worth of rain on the cards for NSW residents, with flash-flooding, hail and gusty winds all possible over the next week.

The state has already endured a deluge of water that fell on Monday, with over 100mm of rain soaking the ground in parts of Sydney.

'Rain and thunderstorms are also likely to develop over a broad area of southern and southeastern Australia between now and Thursday, mainly due to the passage of an upper-level low and associated trough,' Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino told NCA Newswire.

'This outbreak of wet and stormy should feature some severe thunderstorms and may cause pockets of flooding.'

North Parramatta recorded the highest rainfall for this storm event so far, with 152 mm in the gauge between Sunday and Monday, followed by 147mm in Baulkham Hills and 125mm in Northmead.

There are concerns that further rain will contribute to flooding events, with more than 30mm more expected to fall on the already-soaked ground.

Flood warnings remain in place for the Bellinger, Orara, Murray, Warrego and Paroo rivers.

Slow-moving severe and 'very dangerous' thunderstorms are plaguing the Riverina district in the state's west the Bureau of Meteorology warns.

Affecting Griffith and Hay, residents are warned that the heavy rainfall could lead to 'dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding' on Tuesday morning.

Sydney is forecast to be hot and wet, with up to 30mm of rainfall expected on Tuesday and Wednesday and showers likely for the rest of the week.

While, maximum temperatures are expected to range between 27C and 33C across the week.

A mass of hot air lingering over Western Australia is bringing a severe heatwave to parts of the state, with temperatures set to reach almost 50C in some areas

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

While the east is underwater, residents in western parts of the country are going to be sweating through sweltering conditions thanks to a mass of hot air lingering over the area.

The majority of the state will continue through the severe heatwave that has plagued it since the weekend.

Temperatures with soar as high as the mid-40s in the state's north, while the mercury will hover around 40C in the south, including Perth.

The state's capital will reach its highest temperatures on Tuesday, around 41C in the middle of the day.

Southern parts of the state can expect conditions to ease from Wednesday when western airflows are expected to bring down temperatures.

However, those in the north will continue to sweat through till the end of the week, with some areas in the Pilbara likely to nudge close to 50C.

VICTORIA

BoM issued a severe weather warning for the state's north as thunderstorms are forecast over the Mallee District over the next several hours.

Residents in Kerang and Robinvale are being warned to bracer for heavy rain and the potential of flash flooding.

BoM Meteorologist Patch Clapp told Daily Mail Australia that Wednesday is a 'particular day of interest' for thunderstorms and heavy rain for parts of the state and the capital.

'That's kind of confined to the western parts of Victoria primarily, but still a chance of storm activity through Melbourne on Tuesday before it shifts out to the east of the city on Wednesday,' Mr Clapp said.

He added temperatures will also cool as the rain eases, with the mercury falling from 30C to low 20s through the back half of the week.

B0M has issued a severe weather warning for Victoria's north as thunderstorms are forecast over the Mallee District (pictured, resident walks through floodwater in Seymour on January 8)

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Parts of South Australia are set to swelter through a heatwave, with BoM issuing a severe Heatwave Warning for the North West Pastoral District.

The heatwave situation was tipped to last for three days starting from Saturday and expected to ease by Wednesday before redeveloping towards the end of the week.

Maximum temperatures are set to soar in the high thirties to low forties, with overnight minimum temperatures in the mid to high twenties.

Adelaide will remain hot and relatively dry, with only a low chance of rain predicted for the week.

Maximum temperatures are forecast to range between 24 and 35C for the week, while minimum temperatures falling to a chilly 13C on Wednesday and Thursday.

TASMANIA

Hobart is expected to reach a hot 29C on Monday before falling to a cooler 21C on Thursday and Friday.

Showers are forecast for Wednesday and Thursday with up to 15mm and 8mm of rainfall, respectively.

Meanwhile in Melbourne

THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

BoM has issued a severe thunderstorm warning, with residents warned to brace for heavy, locally intense rainfall.

'Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce heavy, locally intense rainfall that may lead to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding,' BoM said.

Locations which may be affected include Deniliquin, Griffith, Hay, Narrandera, Balranald and Dorrigo.

Canberra will remain wet for the first half of the week, with Wednesday expected to receive the highest rainfall totals of up to 20mm.

The mercury is expected to rise from Wednesday onward, with maximum temperatures set to reach 31C over the weekend.
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy ripped into the media ahead of Monday night's Iowa caucuses for erasing him from the race.

In a post on X, Ramaswamy shared a Fox News/Associated Press survey that gave respondents only three Republican candidates to choose from - former President Donald Trump, former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Ramaswamy's spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin also called out The New York Times for only including Trump, Haley and DeSantis on the newspaper's Iowa caucus results landing page.

When web users clicked to see a full list of candidates, Ramaswamy's name appeared there.

'RIGGED,' Ramaswamy wrote late Monday afternoon. 'Fox & AP just sent a broad "voter attitudes" poll on the eve of the caucus, which they'll report on TV right before the Iowa caucus. It leaves one candidate off the list.'

Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy poses with attendees at a campaign event Monday in Urbandale, Iowa. On social media ahead of the Iowa caucuses, Ramaswamy blasted news organizations for erasing him from their caucus coverage

Ramaswamy posted to X Monday an Associated Press and Fox News survey that gave respondents only three choices - former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley

'Stick it to the media & shock the world at the Iowa caucus tonight,' Ramaswamy encouraged his Hawkeye State supporters.

One candidate who was paying attention to Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old tech entrepreneur and best-selling author, was Trump.

In all caps on Truth Social, the ex-president told his faithful not to vote for Ramaswamy, who's run in the race as a Trump ally, but with a younger face.

'A VOTE FOR VIVEK IS A WASTED VOTE. I LIKE VIVEK, BUT HE PLAYED IT TOO "CUTE" WITH US,' Trump wrote Monday morning.

'CAUCUS TONIGHT, VOTE FOR DONALD J. TRUMP, BUILD UP THE NUMBERS!!! IN NOVEMBER, WE MUST TAKE OUR VERY TROUBLED NATION  A NATION IN DECLINE  BACK FROM CROOKED JOE BIDEN AND THE RADICAL LEFT DEMOCRATS AND THUGS WHO ARE DESTROYING IT. MAGA!!!' the ex-president added.

Over the weekend he also told supporters 'Vivek is not MAGA.'

Ramaswamy's spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin also said that The New York Times was keeping Ramaswamy off the newspaper's Iowa caucus results page. Ramaswamy isn't mentioned on the landing page, but does appear when users 'view all candidates'

'A vote for Vivek is a vote for the "other side" - don't get duped by this,' Trump warned.

While Ramaswamy has criss-crossed Iowa, including during the two blizzards in the week leading up to the caucuses, he remains in single digits.

Since he was polling under 10 percent, he was also prevented from participating in CNN's Iowa debate, which was held Wednesday night in Des Moines.

With Trump skipping all the Repubican primary debates, the only participants were DeSantis and Haley.
Newly-released footage shows the chilling moment cops find two missing girls on a remote Doomsday cult compound in Utah.

Video shows police rescuing the sisters on a dark December evening in the wilderness of a polygamist compound after being kidnapped by their father.

Dinah Coltharp, eight, and Hattie Coltharp, four, were found in Lund, south of Salt Lake City in December 2017 after a highly-publicized amber alert search.

The girls were snatched by their father John Coltharp and handed to his friend Samuel Shaffer who hid them on the compound and allegedly married them.

When police raided the site, they also discovered Shaffer's two young daughters, Lily, seven, and Samantha, five, who had not been reported missing.

Dramatic video has been released of the moment Utah sisters who were kidnapped by their father are rescued from freezing water barrels

The girls were being kept in barrels hidden by a polygamist cult leader along with his own two daughters

Samuel Shaffer, who was 34 at the time of his 2017 arrest, formed the group based on arcane Mormon ideas long abandoned by the mainstream church, including promoting child marriage and polygamy

John Coltharp, who was 35 at the time of his arrest in 2017, likened himself to Old Testament prophets and insisted that marrying children was the right thing to do

Samantha and Hattie, the two youngest, were being kept in a 50-gallon blue water barrels to hide them from authorities, where they had been for more than 24 hours in below-freezing temperatures.

Dramatic images shows two of the girls being rescued. They were barefoot and wearing what looked like thin leggings.

The two older girls were found in an abandoned trailer. All were dehydrated.

When questioned, Shaffer said the girls were being hidden from police.

Police fear the men planned to marry Coltharp's daughters off to Shaffer who was described as the 'prophet' of the cult.

Dinah and Hattie were reported missing along with their brothers William and Seth. The two boys were also found safe on the compound just before the girls were discovered

Police dashcam footage shows the Utah wilderness in which the children were found

Samuel Shaffer is arrested by Utah police in December 2017 and read his rights

One of the sisters was found inside this 50-gallon barrel out in the Utah wilderness

The girls had to be coaxed out from the barrel, fearful the cult leader or father were nearby

Police cars and rescue vehicles are seen on the the hunt for the missing girls

One of the girls provides police information as to where other children are being held

Deputies discovered the four girls in barrels and an abandoned trailer on a makeshift compound of shipping containers in the Utah desert about 275 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Hattie and Dinah's brothers William, then seven, and Seth, six, were found earlier on that same day. They had also been taken by their father.

A mother of two of the girls, Micha Coltharp, had reported them missing along with two of her sons, which triggered an Amber Alert.

The raid was a culmination of a weekslong effort by Micha to get custody of the couple's four children after her husband took them to join the group he'd formed with Shaffer.

The men took the children to the compound in preparation for an apocalypse or in hopes of gaining followers, authorities said.

One of the four girls who was being held on a polygamous compound in Utah is rescued in December 2017

Another of the young girls is pictured being rescued. Two were found in a 50lb water container and the other two were found in an empty trailer

Dinah Coltharp, eight, (left) and Hattie Coltharp, four, (right) were being hidden on a compound in Lund, Utah, by their father's polygamous cult leader friend who hoped police would not find them

Samantha Shaffer, five, and Lily Shaffer, six, were also found on the site. They are the daughters of Samuel Shaffer (above) who police say was grooming the Coltharp sisters to marry him. Unlike the other two girls, neither of the Shaffer sisters had been reported missing

Two of the girls were found in an empty trailer on the compound, like the one shown above

The two fathers' religious obsession has been of concern to investigators as it has to friends and relatives since the children were first reported missing.

Coltharp's sister Cindi Ray said she feared her brother was grooming Dinah and Hattie for child marriage.

She said her brother was a 'doomsday prepper'. On the cult's website, Shaffer even described in length his 'revelations' about marriage and adultery.

They include multiple men being able to have sex with one woman if permitted by her husband and women or 'wives' being used to 'raise up' men in the religion through sex.

'A man to whom a woman is sealed need merely place his wife's hand in the hand of another and she shall be submissive to him to whom she has been given.

'Whether it is to be temporary permission or eternal union according to the order, she may have intercourse with him and he with she,' is one of his remarks.

Polygamy and bigamy are illegal in the United States, although Utah, a state that is home to a large Mormon community, does not prosecute polygamists who are law-abiding, giving way to the 'Sister Wives' phenomenon which is seen in some parts of the state.

Samuel Shaffer is pictured during police questioning following his December 2017 arrest

Shaffer, 34, was jailed in 2018 for 26 years to life for child rape and abuse after he 'secretly married young girls' because of his beliefs in polygamy and doomsday

John Coltharp, 35, one of the leaders of the tiny fundamentalist doomsday cult the Knights of the Crystal Blade, was unapologetic at his sentencing in Utah in 2018

Police say Shaffer was grooming Coltharp to take over as the cult's 'prophet'.

In May 2018 Samuel Shaffer, then 34, was jailed for at least 26 years after he was accused of secretly marrying young girls because of his beliefs in polygamy and doomsday.

At his trial he plead guilty to child rape and abuse charges.

Months later in August 2018, John Coltharp,then 35, was sent to prison for at least 25 years.

Coltharp pleaded guilty to sodomy and child bigamy charges.

Claiming that he was speaking at the Lord's command, Coltharp declared that the government of the United States and all the others governments in the world will be overthrown.

Both Coltharp and Shaffer formed a group called the Knights of the Crystal Blade based on arcane Mormon ideas long abandoned by the mainstream church, authorities said.

They had decamped to the desert with John Coltharp's parents, possibly in hopes of gaining followers or joining another group, his brother-in-law Michael Lee said.

The two have described the religious group a 'fundamentalist group for millennials' that believed in an impending Muslim invasion of the United States and a nearing apocalypse.

Both men held the title of prophet at different points and each secretly married each other's two daughters ages four through eight, according to prosecutors.

They both married a relative of the other, according to court documents.

Authorities said the two older girls were also sexually abused by the two men, but it doesn't appear the two younger girls were.
They are suing rental company Sylvan Homes for more than $10,000 in damages

They were shocked to find belongings had been taken by a clean-out company

A family has been left devastated after they returned to their Florida rental home to find all their belongings had vanished.

Victoria Swearinger, 58, and her family began moving into their New Port Richey rental on June 8, the same day the lease took effect.

When the family returned on June 10, they found the locks had been changed and the home left barren. Some belongings were recovered from the side of the road.

'I'm shaking so bad,' Swearingen told New Port Richey police on bodycam footage.

Officers were responding to a call about a suspected burglary before the family realized their possessions had been taken by their rental company, Sylvan Homes.

Victoria Swearinger, 58, and her family began moving into their Florida rental home in June, but were shocked when their belongings disappeared days later

On June 10, the family returned and was devastated to find that the locks had been changed and the home left barren

Some of their belongings, seen here, were later recovered from the side of the road

'Seems like somebody didn't get the memo that you were moving in,' one cop told Swearinger.

Bodycam footage shows officers walking through the home, which is eerily empty, their flashlight beams bouncing off the spotless walls.

Speaking to ABC Action News, Swearinger said: 'We paid the rent. It was our house to put our stuff in.'

Daughter-in-law Britanny Cromer, 33, said she 'immediately burst into tears.'

Her grandmother's ring and her grandfather's dog tags, along with belongings she inherited from her late uncle, had disappeared.

'Why didn't they stop and think? Why didn't they stop and call?' Cromer said. 'I'm out of things that I can't get back.'

Swearinger, Cromer and her husband James sued Sylvan Homes after the company refused to reimburse them for losses.

According to the complaint, 'a clean-out company hired by Sylvan Homes had made a mistake and cleaned out the wrong property.'

Bodycam footage shows the inside of the home completely bare

Swearinger, her son and daughter-in-law Brittany Cromer sued Sylvan Homes after the rental company refused to reimburse them

The 58-year-old, pictured with son James, told ABC Action News: 'It was our house to put stuff in'

Brittany Cromer, 33, pictured with her husband, said prized possessions including her grandmother's ring and grandfather's dog tags had vanished

Sylvan Homes said 'its vendor mistakenly removed personal property' and therefore could not be held liable. The company filed a motion asking for the case to be dismissed

The lawsuit accuses the rental company of violating Florida Statutes 83.67, which forbids a landlord from removing tenants' belongings unless they have been evicted or if the property has been surrendered or abandoned.

In court filings, Sylvan Homes argued that 'its vendor mistakenly removed personal property' and the company could not be held liable.

An attorney for Sylvan Homes filed a motion asking that the case be dismissed. A judge ordered mediation that is scheduled for February 13th.

The rental company, Swearinger said, 'had no right coming in and violating us.' The family seeks more than $10,000 in damages.
The organisers of a poll predicting a Conservative election wipeout were last night accused of being 'intent on undermining this Government'.

In a briefing to Tory MPs, election chief Isaac Levido warned the party would 'fall if it is divided' following projections of a 1997-style victory for Labour later this year.

He accused those who commissioned the YouGov poll of 'throwing in the towel' and warned their actions made the path to victory even 'narrower and steeper'.

The timing of the poll  released at the start of a week in which the Government faces a row over the Rwanda Bill  raised questions among MPs yesterday.

The survey  commissioned by a group calling itself Conservative Britain Alliance, which has not declared its members  puts Labour on course for a 120-seat majority.

Senior Tories said the poll was aimed at forcing Rishi Sunak to take a tougher line on immigration

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Senior Tories said it was aimed at forcing Rishi Sunak to take a tougher line on immigration, as the Right of his party has urged him.

Last night the Telegraph, which published the original poll, released further findings claiming the public backs a toughening of the Rwanda Bill.

Mr Levido told the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs that the research was 'just another poll' and said they knew their constituencies best.

But he warned: 'The people who organised this and analysed and timed the release of it seem to be intent on undermining this Government and our party, and therefore the re-election prospects of every single one of you in this room.

The survey of 14,000 voters found the Tories are on course to lose nearly 200 seats at this year's General Election, giving Keir Starmer a 120-seat majority

An interactive map based on the YouGov research underlines how Keir Starmer could paint the country red, racking up a 120-seat majority. It estimates who would have won new constituencies had they been in place in 2019. This image shows the Red Wall that was won by Boris Johnson returning to Labour

'They seem to be throwing in the towel and are more interested in what happens after the election than fighting it, making the pathway narrower and steeper. Let me be clear: Divided parties fail.'

Yesterday Mr Sunak sought to play down the survey, adding: 'There have been lots of polls over the last year, there will be hundreds more polls.'

He insisted that the only poll that matters 'is the one when the general election comes'.

The survey of 14,000 people found the Tories would win 169 seats compared with Labour's 385.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt would lose his South West Surrey seat, one of 11 Cabinet ministers to be ousted.

YouGov calculated the figures from the huge sample using the Multi-Level Regression and Poststratification (MRP) method, which maps characteristics of specific constituencies

Every 'red wall' seat won by Boris Johnson in 2019 could be lost. The Tories would win 196 fewer seats than in 2019  more than the 178 John Major lost in 1997.

Sir Keir Starmer could be premier for at least ten years because no party with such a sizeable majority has lost the following election.

The poll indicates the biggest collapse for a governing party since 1906, with Sir Keir winning 183 seats since the last election.

Last night senior Tories erupted at potential defeat in their seats, among 200 the party could lose.

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said: 'The loss of voters to Reform and abstention would be the easiest to win back if we could inspire them.'

Sir Simon Clarke added: 'We either deliver on small boats or we will be destroyed.'

Former Brexit negotiator Lord David Frost told the Telegraph: 'There is only one way to bring back those 2019 voters who have left us.

'We have to be as tough as it takes on immigration, reverse the debilitating increases in tax and end the renewables tax on energy costs.'

The YouGov research also predicts Reform UK would fail to win any seats, as the Brexit party and Ukip did in 2019 and 2017.

The Liberal Democrats would get 48 seats, similar to their 1997 haul, making them a notable parliamentary force again.

The SNP would lose nearly half its seats and be left with 25, with Labour making significant gains in Scotland.

Isaac Levido, the Conservatives' election guru, tried to calm Tory jitters over the poll in a meeting with backbench MPs in Parliament

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, who along with Jeremy Hunt is among the Cabinet big beasts at risk of losing their seats, insisted that the Government can still 'turn it around'

The research was ordered by a mysterious group of Tory donors working with Lord Frost.

The poll predicts Jeremy Hunt, with a 8,817 majority, would lose his seat to the Liberal Democrats, with 35 per cent of the vote.

Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt would lose her Portsmouth North seat to Labour, who would take 26 per cent of the vote.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps might expect to be safe, having been MP for Welwyn Hatfield since 2005.

But the poll predicts that he will lose to Labour, who would win 40 per cent of the vote there.

It is predicted Jacob Rees Mogg will cling on to his North East Somerset seat by one per cent of the vote  33 per cent in comparison to Labour's 32 per cent.

But Lib Dem voters could topple him if they lent their votes to Labour.

Boris Johnson's old Uxbridge constituency would also fall to Labour.
President Joe Biden told the Rev. Al Sharpton that he's running for a second term because Donald Trump is the 'most anti-democratic' president in 'American history.'

He also ripped Trump, who is leading in the polls for the Republican presidential nomination, for wanting 'revenge on people.'

'The things that Trump is saying. Trump is saying things that are just off the wall,' Biden said in an interviewed that aired on Sharpton's radio show on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

'He's the most anti-democratic - with a small 'd' - president in American history. The things he's saying. And he means them. He's talking about he's running to get revenge on people,' Biden added. 'It's just outrageous things.'

'He's the most anti-democratic - with a small 'd' - president in American history. The things he's saying. And he means them. He's talking about he's running to get revenge,' President Joe Biden said of Donald Trump; above Biden volunteers at Philabundance, a hunger relief organization, to mark Martin Luther King, Jr., Day

Biden's interview aired the same day Iowa voters were going to caucus sites in the first contest in the GOP presidential nomination contest. Trump had a nearly 30 point lead over his rivals in the last poll of the state before the caucuses began.

Meanwhile, Biden has faced scrutiny over his decision to run for another four years, with critics citing poor approval ratings and concerns about his age. At 81, Biden would be 86 by the end of a second term. Trump, at 77, hasn't faced the same scrutiny of his age.

Some experts are already predicting Trump could have the Republican presidential nomination effectively sewn up by March, which would be one of the earliest starts of a general election campaign.

Trump leads Biden by one point in the RealClearPolitics polling average of the 2024 presidential election.

The president spent Martin Luther King Jr. Day at a service event in Phildelphia, helping bag food at a distribution center.

Biden's focus on the campaign trail has been on Trump. He has made defending democracy a centerpiece of his reelection bid and has repeatedly said Trump threatens the principles on which the country was founded.

President Biden's radio interview with the Rev. Al Sharpton aired on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

He told donors at a political fundraiser in December that Trump is a threat to U.S. democracy and noted the former president pledged to be a dictator for a day if elected in 2024.

'He's saying it out loud,' said Biden.

'He embraces political violence instead of rejecting it. We can't let that happen.'

Biden also has attacked Trump for using language similar to that of the Nazis.

'He talks about the blood of Americans being poisoned, echoing the same exact language used in Nazi Germany,' Biden said at a campaign event in Philadelphia tied to the anniversary of the January 6th insurrection at the capitol.

'He proudly posted on social media the words that best describe his 2024 campaign. Quote: revenge. Quote: power in. Quote: dictatorship.'

'There's no confusion about who Trump is, what he intends to do,' Biden said.

Donald Trump leads in the polls for the Republican presidential nomination

Trump has said he wants to be a dictator for one day but argued he wants it to get things done.

'I said I want to be a dictator for one day,' Trump the New York Young Republican Club annual gala in December. 'And you know why I wanted to be a dictator? Because I want a wall, right? I want a wall and I want to drill, drill, drill.'

Trump is facing federal charges for his role in the January 6th insurrection. The state of Georgia has indicted him and his allies on conspiracy changes tied to attempts to overturn Biden's victory there.

The former president has tried to flip the script, arguing Biden is 'the true destroyer of democracy' by using the federal government to go after a political rival. The White House says they don't interview in legal cases.
Detectives investigating the death of a Melbourne doctor following a home invasion have swarmed a house where a party was held hours earlier.

Daily Mail Australia witnessed at least five police officers scouring the residence in Doncaster, in the city's eastern suburbs, on Tuesday morning.

Dr Gordon, 33, was fatally stabbed when he gave chase to a group of intruders who broke into his Sargent Street home on Saturday.

He was fatally stabbed after following the thugs in his car and getting out to confront them.

Neighbours told Daily Mail Australia the property now under scrutiny by police was the site of a raucous celebration in the hours before Dr Gordon was attacked.

The development comes after neighbours reported a spate of crimes throughout the street in recent weeks, including a November break-in and theft of a car last week.

Police raided a two-storey home in Doncaster, Melbourne's east, in relation to the stabbing death of 'brave' Dr Ash Gordon (pictured) on Saturday morning

Police were seen scouring the home on Tuesday morning (pictured)

A female detective is seen outside the home during the raid on Tuesday

A detective carries two cardboard evidence bags out of the home

During Tuesday's raids, a young man was seen seated in the front passenger seat of an unmarked car, alongside two female officers.

The officers escorted the unhandcuffed man, dressed in a long singlet top, shorts and boots, into the two-storey property.

Detectives could be seen scouring the upstairs floor and carrying out cardboard evidence bags and boxes filled with documents.

Detectives, wearing gloves and face masks, were later seen paying special attention to a garage adjoining the house.

Inside, a mattress was leaned up against a wall next to a fridge, topped with a blue ice box. Some officers focused on an area next to some yellow-lidded bins.

After several hours, officers emerged from the property carrying cardboard evidence bags.

No charges have been laid. An officer told Daily Mail Australia not to expect an arrest, and it is not suggested the occupants of the home played a role in the doctor's death.

A spokesperson for Victoria Police confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that police were at the Doncaster property for a 'current operation'.

'There is no immediate risk to public safety and further information will be provided once operationally appropriate to do so,' the spokesperson said.

Neighbours told Daily Mail Australia a raucous house party had taken place at the home just hours prior to Dr Gordon's death (pictured, police at the home)

A young man in footy shorts was seen with detectives at the property

Dr Brown had chased a group of burglars out of his home (pictured) and pursued them in his car before being stabbed during a confrontation about 500 metres away

Friends and family of Dr Gordon were seen embracing each other outside of his home after the shock news of his death (pictured)

Dr Gordon was asleep in his two-storey townhouse when a gang of thugs broke in around 5am on Saturday.

His devastated housemate and best friend Tristen Standing said Dr Gordon was a protector and immediately sprung into action. Mr Standing stayed home and called 000.

Dr Gordon chased the intruders out of the house and pursued them in his car before they fatally stabbed him during a confrontation some 500metres away, on nearby Elidon St.

Frightened neighbours called police after hearing the commotion and Dr Gordon's body was discovered a short time later.

His attackers remain on the run and no arrests have been made.

Dr Gordon's girlfriend has told police his attackers stole a few items from the house, including laptops and shoes.

The handcuffed man was lead into the home in scrutiny by two female officers who kept him on the bottom floor while investigators combed through the upstairs level

An officer wearing blue gloves made several trips outside to a car to collect various items -including a cardboard box filled with documents (pictured)

Dr Gordon, from the regional, coalmining town of Morwell, studied medicine at university, graduating with honours.

He later opened his Richmond-based cosmetic clinic Redefine Aesthetics, which specialises in skin health, wellness and anti-ageing.

Sister Natalie Gordon told reporters the family are struggling coming to terms with her brothers death.

She described her younger sibling as a very 'patient and loving' person who 'poured his heart and soul' into his work as a doctor.

'He was my best, best, little big brother. He was such a cheeky, light-hearted fun person,' Natalie said.

'He gave his all to everyone - in his family, and in his job - and put everyone ahead of himself.

'He just wanted to provide the best doctor care that he could provide, because he felt that you need a best point of call for your first doctor - and he was that.'

Officers were seen paying particular attention to a garage adjoining the house and ferrying brown evidence bags from the room and into an awaiting vehicle

Dr Gordon's family and friends gathered at his two-storey unit on Monday to begin the daunting process of packing his belongings.

The group were seen carrying boxes and bundles of clothes from the house and piling them into the back of a ute.

Wiping away tears, Natalie said the family were working to 'bring Ash home' by taking his things home to Gippsland. As the family come to terms with the tragedy, they have urged anyone with information about the incident to contact to police.

Natalie had a sterner message for her brother's killers.

'Hand yourself in,' she said.

'It is an absolute disgrace to mankind to do something to someone so, so wonderful.

'The world is a worse place now because he has been taken not only from us but the wider community.'
The real life criminals who inspired the hit autobiographical novel Boy Swallows Universe - now a global Netflix hit series - were a convicted murderer and repeat armed robber.

Arthur 'Slim' Halliday and Gary John Lawrence, played by Australian actors Bryan Brown and Travis Fimmel on screen, were both long term inmates of Brisbane's infamous Boggo Road jail.

Halliday came into Trent Dalton's life as a childhood friend and babysitter, while Lawrence was the author's stepfather.

Boggo Road was a squalid place in the 1980s, and was known for its riots, prisoners' rooftop protests, as well as its rats and bird lice, and is almost as much a character in the story as Dalton's mother, who is jailed for heroin trafficking.

The 2018 debut novel Boy Swallows Universe, which sold more than one million copies and won nine awards, is the fifth-biggest show on Netflix in the first week of its release.

It is set in Bracken Ridge and Darra in Brisbane, in a housing commission home with Dalton's father and the house where he lived with his heroin-addicted mother before she was jailed.

Halliday, who Dalton got to know personally after he was released from jail in 1976 before his death in 1987, was known as the 'Houdini' of Boggo Road.

The real life criminal - now reformed - Gary Lawrence who was Trent Dalton's stepfather and on whom the character of Lyle Orlik, played by Travis Fimmel in the Netflix series, is based

Travis Fimmel as Lyle (above) the drug dealing bank robber the mother (left, Phoebe Tonkin as Frankie) of Eli, based on Dalton's childhood self, falls in love with before going to jail herself

He was so notorious for escaping the jail, in the inner Brisbane suburb of Dutton Park, that a blind spot he identified in the its walls became known as 'Halliday's Leap'.

Originally locked up for housebreaking, he first escaped in 1940 by throwing a rope over the wall, earning himself two weeks' freedom until police recaptured him in a high-speed car chase.

In 1946, he went over the same wall with two others, sparking a massive manhunt and their recapture within four days.

Released in 1949, he stayed out of trouble until May 1952, when police discovered a brain and blood-spattered taxi at Southport, on Queensland's Gold Coast.

The 23-year-old driver, Athol McCowan, was missing for days until his body washed up in a creek, with his head bashed in.

The real Arthur 'Slim' Halliday on whom the character Slim is based and played by Bryan Brown in the Netflix series was actually Dalton's childhood babysitter

Bryan Brown (right) as convicted murderer Slim (right) with Travis Fimmel as Lyle (left) and Lee Tiger Halley as Gus in the new hit Netflix series Boy Swallows Universe

Halliday was arrested in Sydney, extradited back to Queensland and convicted and sentenced to life in 1953, forever maintaining his innocence and with his wife saying she would always stand by him.

In his book, Dalton's boyhood character, Eli Bell - played in the Netflix series by Felix Cameron and, later, Zac Burgess - and his older brother August (Lee Tiger Halley) have as their babysitter, a character called Slim.

Slim (Bryan Brown) is a former jail escapee who served time for murdering a taxi driver, and was introduced to the brothers via their mother's partner Lyle Orlik (Travis Fimmel).

'He was a really sweet man to me when I was a boy,' Trent Dalton told the ABC of Halliday.

Just like the boys' mother Frankie Bell (Phoebe Tonkin) and Lyle in the the book and Netflix series, Trent Dalton and his real life three older brothers had a mother and stepfather who were were drug addicts and went to jail.

Dalton's mother used and sold heroin, and was jailed for two years.

Gary Lawrence was renowned for having served the longest time in Boggo Road jail despite never having been convicted of murder, but after his release became Trent Dalton's beloved stepfather

Gary Lawrence was head cook at Boggo Road jail (above), where he was known for having spent the longest time despite never having been jailed for murder

Slim and Lyle met when the taxi driver killer was in jail work release program at a car shop, the men working and chatting during the day before Slim was sent back to jail in the lead up to his eventual parole.

Lyle is based on Dalton's stepfather, the recidivist criminal Gary John Lawrence, who is still alive and has since reformed, and lives in retirement near Gympie in Queensland.

In Boy Swallows Universe, Lyle, like Lawrence did with the Dalton family, shields their mother, gets her off heroin and shows genuine kindness to the brothers.

A Herald Sun interview with Gary Lawrence reveals that he was known as the 'king of Boggo Road' for his status as the jail's head cook, a privileged job in prison.

He was also known for having served the most time there without ever having been convicted of murder.

The article describes Lawrence as 'a crook with a moral compass' and the 'streetfighter with the soft heart ... a tattooed, hard-swearing jailbird' who was hard-working, trustworthy and capable.

In real life, Lawrence was orphaned as a child, became a street kid and started working in his early teens as a labourer at Hamilton on Brisbane's waterfront and then as an apprentice jockey.

After 23-year-old taxi driver Athol McCowan was found brutally bashed at Southport, a court sentenced to life for his murder Arthur 'Slim' Halliday Halliday, who would later become Trent Dalton's childhood babysitter

He became friends with another kid who had run away from home, Douglas Meredith.

Lawrence first went to jail aged 20 in in 1964 on a minor charge.

Two years later, both he and Meredith were jailed for a savage and disturbing crime, among five men jailed for the assault and robbery of a 20-year-old student at a park in Bardon in August 1968.

Kevin Barry Phillips received 20 years for robbery in company with personal violence, indecent assault and sodomy.

Lawrence copped 16 years for robbery in company with personal violence, two counts of indecent assault and attempted sodomy.

He remained in prison for much of the 1970s, and was out and back again on various lesser charges.

Lawrence taught himself to read in jail, and outside worked as a roofer, meeting Daltons mother while visiting a friend in a womens refuge.

His entry into her and the Dalton brothers' lives, after the breakdown of her marriage to the author's alcoholic father, was seen as a saving grace.

Lawrence was then whisked out of their lives by another jail stint, this time for 10 years, until he finally walked free in 2001, aged 58 and determined never to return.

Author Trent Dalton (left) with the cast of the Netflix series of Boy Swallows Universe, from left, Simon Baker, who plays the Dalton character's biological father, Phoebe Tonkin, Felix Cameron, Lee Tiger Halley, Bryan Brown and Travis Fimmel

An older Arthur 'Slim' Halliday, a perpetual prison escapee, who was then convicted of murder and served time in Boggo Road jail, befriending Gary Lawrence who became Trent Dalton's stepfather

Dalton told the Townsville Bulletin that Lawrence was 'genuinely the first man that I ever loved and he was probably in many ways my mums true love, the love of her life.

'The difficult part of falling in love with that guy was that he had a pretty shady past and he had some pretty dark activities that he got up to in his down time.'

In the Netflix series, Bryan Brown excels as the real-life criminal Slim Halliday who regularly babysits the boys, and who Dalton remembers as 'the funniest, kindest old bloke'.

Phoebe Tonkin plays Frankie Bell as a loving but traumatised young woman who succumbs to drugs, but who Dalton says (of his real mother) picked up her life, is now a grandmother and 'my absolute hero'.

However it is Travis Fimmel's powerful portrayal as deeply flawed but big-hearted Gary Lawrence/Lyle Orlik which is being hailed as the show's triumph.

Fimmel told PopSugar about the character, 'He made a lot of bad choices, ... hes got a heart of gold ... his brains a bit bronzed But hes always going to fight for the kids.'

Slim Halliday always claimed Queensland detective Frank 'the Big Fella' Bischof had framed him for Athol McCowan's murder, and had dramatically swung the jury by testifying at the trial that Halliday had confessed to 'throwing the body into Currumbin Creek'.

The towering Bischoff - who gained thirty-two convictions in thirty-three murder investigations - became Queensland police commissioner for 11 years, but resigned in 1969 amid widespread allegations of corruption and abuse of power.

Ken Blanch's book Slim Halliday - The Taxi Driver Killer found flaws in the police investigation and he believed Halliday might not have been the actual killer, conceding he was 'nasty' and 'a crim' but not a violent one.
A frustrated mayor has been praised for brutally cutting to the chase in an email response to a constituent he believed to be spreading misinformation.

Len Salt, the mayor of New Zealand's Thames-Coromandel District on the country's North Island, signed off a response to a voter with 'go f*** yourself' in a terse email sent on July 10, 2023.

Mr Salt said that he believes the initial email was sent by someone associated with sovereign citizens - people claiming that elected governments and laws are not legitimate.

The constituent had asked for the names and addresses of several of the mayor's staff members, which he refused to hand over.

'My official response, as Mayor of Thames-Coromandel District Council, to your request for personal details ... is this. Go f*** yourself,' Mr Salt wrote.

Len Salt, the mayor of New Zealand 's Thames-Coromandel District, (pictured) told one of his constituents to 'go f*** yourself' in response to an email on July 10, 2023

Mr Salt believed that the email came from someone associated with sovereign citizens - people who believe governments and laws are illegitimate

Mr Salt said he would take any 'criticism on the chin' regarding the email after one of his former political opponents leaked it in an attempt to shame him on Facebook.

'I have always said to the council, and the community, I will protect them. In a climate of increasing hostility towards elected representatives and their staff, I believe it was necessary,' he told Stuff.

He added that many councils had similarly reported an uptick in aggressive behaviour from sovereign citizens in 2023.

The subculture has grown in popularity across the country and members have gained a reputation for sending anonymous death threats to officials, refusing to pay rates or fines, and claiming land ownership under 'allodial title'.

Allodial title refers to land ownership by its original occupants who are not subject to rent, service, or acknowledgment to any superiors, unlike common law.

Mr Salt claimed that his office had to call police on a number of occasions since his election in October 2022 and that he has needed to beef up its security presence.

Two elected members carry panic alarms at all times and Mr Salt said he was 'shocked' to see a local Department of Conservation office install bulletproof glass.

The email that sparked the mayor's outburst accused his council of being a 'fictious [sic] entity ... of bad faith ... with intent to coerce to deceive, to enslave myself and others'.

It was leaked by Steve Hart, who lost to Mr Salt in the 2022 mayoral contest and at the time was sharing videos about governments enslaving citizens through AI.

Steve Hart leaked the months-old email on Facebook in an attempt to shame his former political rival but the move backfired when people praised Mr Salt's no-nonsense approach

Mr Hart said that he shared the email because he wanted the community to question whether Mr Salt was 'the sort of person we want as mayor'.

To his surprise the vast majority of people who answered his question commended Mr Salt for his 'brilliant' no-nonsense response to threats of violence.

'But thats Facebook, where most people have half a brain and are not the smartest,' Mr Hart told the publication.

He insisted that if anyone were to instead ask 'geriatric conservatives' who make up a large portion of voters, they would not approve of the language.

'Its not even professional. Ive had one councillor very gutted about it who thinks he should get wrapped for this ... but we will see if councillors have the balls to stand up to Salt who is becoming more and more arrogant,' he said.
Highgate Cemetery is set to charge upwards of 25,000 for burial spots next to Karl Marx's grave.

The north London graveyard, a popular tourist spot for fans of the communist pioneer, will erect new graves after securing 100,000 of National Lottery Heritage funding to help its conservation work and landscaping.

The site, which already has roughly 53,000 burial spots, will now make space near the tomb of Marx - a spot particularly coveted by communists.

The 37-acre site, located near Hampstead Heath, is also the resting place of George Michael, George Eliot, Douglas Adams and Michael Faraday.

The cost of burial ranges from about 5,000 for cremation plots and upwards of 25,000 for a full grave.

Highgate Cemetery is set to charge upwards of 25,000 for burial spots next to Karl Marx's grave

The north London graveyard, a popular tourist spot for fans of the communist pioneer, will erect new graves after securing 100,000 of National Lottery funding

Ian Dungavell, the chief executive of the cemetery said that new burials were important to keep Highgate a 'living' attraction, the Telegraph reports.

He told the publication: 'What makes Highgate Cemetery so interesting is that it is living heritage, not just a relic.

'It is still a place where things are happening now, where people are buried, and where people come to remember them'.

The cemetery was granted permission to clear old graves and make new burials under the Highgate Cemetery Act 2022, which represent about 50 per cent of its income.

Visitors entrance fees make up roughly the other half of its funding.

Graves earmarked for replacement are the older sites, where monuments are crumbling and relatives of the deceased are no longer alive.

Those close to the occasionally defaced tomb of Marx will be the first to be developed.

According to the publication, Mr Dungavell has set up an objection system, allowing surviving relatives of the 173,000 people buried in the cemetery to halt individual graves being redeveloped.

The site, which already has roughly 53,000 burial spots, will now make space near the tomb of Marx - a spot particularly coveted by communists

The 37-acre site, located near Hampstead Heath, is also the resting place of George Michael (pictured), George Eliot, Douglas Adams and Michael Faraday

Marx's book Das Kapital, first published in 1867, was the text that inspired Communist leaders such as Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin.

His works, including the Communist Manifesto, are considered by critics to have fuelled political tensions and conflicts throughout the 20th century.

The current tomb has repeatedly been targeted by vandals since its erection in 1956 and was damaged by a pipe bomb in 1970, blowing up part of Marx's face.

The marble plaque, from Marx's original 1883 gravestone with his wife Jenny von Westphalen, was struck with a hammer during an attack in January 2019.

The incident left some of the plaque's lettering severely damaged in an apparent attempt to remove Marx's name.

Just weeks later, the plaque was once again targeted with a hammer and sprayed with red paint, saying 'ideology of starving' and 'architect of genocide terror + oppression'.
3D printing enhancing the lives of Chinese people

People's Daily Online) 10:35, January 16, 2024

3D printing is a digital manufacturing process that creates three-dimensional objects by layering materials. Today, 3D printing is beginning to become more and more relevant to the lives of the Chinese people. It has become a valuable tool in many fields, including medicine, construction, aerospace, industrial production, education, and cultural heritage conservation.

People's Daily Overseas Edition has focused on three areas close to daily life to show just how impactful 3D printing has become: building homes, medical treatment, and DIY crafts.

Building blocks: 3D printed modular homes are becoming an internet sensation

Four months ago, the 56-year-old Zhang Guolie would never have imagined that his home would become an internet sensation.

Located in Songzhuang, a village in Gucheng county, north Chinas Hebei Province, Zhangs 400 square-meter farmhouse has become a viral photo spot. The building was constructed with 3D printing technology and was assembled like building blocks. After the 3D-printed wall modules were transported to the construction site, the installation of the main structure was finished in just seven days.

Photo shows a 3D-printed residential building in Gucheng county, northern China's Hebei Province. (People's Daily Overseas Edition/Kang Pu)

The structure was jointly completed by the intelligent construction team of the College of Civil Engineering and Architecture (CCEA) of Zhejiang University and three companies.

"The entire building structure, including the houses, courtyard walls, columns, as well as decorations like flower beds, floor tiles, rockery, and sculptures, were 3D printed from concrete," said Sun Xiaoyan, an associate professor at the CCEA.

Sun added that 3D printers built up concrete materials layer by layer to form wall modules.

Photo shows 3D-printed sculptures in Gucheng county, northern China's Hebei Province. (People's Daily Overseas Edition/Kang Pu)

"From the initial design stage, we gave full consideration to functions like heat insulation and sound insulation, as well as requirements for earthquake and disaster resistance," said Professor Wang Hailong, who is also the director of the Institute of Intelligent Construction and Engineering Management at Zhejiang University.

We also used low-carbon concrete made from solid waste, making it even more environmentally friendly, Wang added.

According to Wang, the team has been dedicated to research on digital construction technology since 2013. So far, they have obtained over 30 domestic and foreign invention patents on 3D printing materials, equipment, structure, and construction methods, and their equipment and technologies have been exported abroad.

The construction cost of the courtyard is about 300,000 yuan (about $42,238.7), which is close to that of a common brick-concrete house in rural areas, said Zhang Yan'an, deputy head of the bureau of agriculture and rural affairs of Gucheng county.

As rural areas often face a labor shortage in terms of building houses, 3D printing provides new opportunities for the construction of a beautiful countryside, Zhang added.

Printing bones: 3D printing revolutionizing medicine

In a room at the 3D Printing Consultation Center of the Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, various 3D-printed models of human bones and joints are displayed on shelves.

Hao Yongqiang, a chief physician at the Department of Orthopedics of the Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, showcases a 3D-printed personalized pelvic prosthesis he made. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

The use of models for surgical design is the first level medical application of 3D printing. With this model, the size of the tumor, its location, and its relationship with surrounding organs, blood vessels, nerves, and so on are clearly visible, which not only reduces surgery time but also helps young doctors grow faster, said Hao Yongqiang, a chief physician at the hospital's Department of Orthopedics.

The application of 3D printing has enabled precise treatment in orthopedic surgery, while 3D bio-printed active tissues or organs represent the highest level of 3D printing for medical applications.

Two years ago, a 16-year-old female patient was diagnosed as suffering from a tumor in the proximal left tibia. Hao used 3D bio-printed personalized active bone scaffolds to repair her bone defects, the first use of this technology pioneered by Chinese scientists. As a result, only a month or so later the patient was back in school moving freely, even participating in physical education classes.

Hao Yongqiang (1st R), a chief physician at the Department of Orthopedics of the Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, discusses the design plan for a 3D-printed personalized pelvic prosthesis with engineers of his team. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

With 35 years of medical experience, Hao has helped countless patients benefit from 3D printing technology.

Hao serves as director of the Medical 3D Printing Innovation Research Center of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, which was established in 2016. So far, nearly 100 medical 3D printing sub-centers have been established in 28 provinces across China.

DIY ceramics: How 3D printing is improving creativity

In ancient times, the design and creation of porcelain pieces was a multiple month process reserved only for experts. Today, people at home with the right materials can produce ceramics in 15 minutes.

This is thanks to Liu Wenqiang, founder of Jinan ChenKun Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. The company, located in east China's Shandong Province, has developed a series of ceramic 3D printers suitable for various uses.

"We have products suitable for ordinary consumers as well as professionals and companies," said Liu.

Photo shows a ceramic 3D printer developed by Jinan ChenKun Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. and 3D-printed ceramics. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

"Ceramic 3D printers greatly reduce the cost of artistic creation and artistic experience," Liu added.

He stated that 3D printing can help users overcome the limits of traditional handmade ceramic techniques to create more complex and diversified shapes.

Jill Taylor, a 60-plus-year-old American, is one of the people who has enjoyed the freedom of creativity provided by Lius 3D printers. An avid pottery lover, Taylor found that her old age made it difficult for her hands to create the pieces her mind envisioned. With the use of the companys products, she was able to print the intricate pieces needed to finish her works, which she proudly shared on social media.

Ceramics enthusiasts experience a ceramic 3D printer developed by Jinan ChenKun Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. at a ceramics course offered by overseas craftsmen. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

In addition to ceramics, 3D printing has been applied in more and more areas of the cultural and creative field, including figurines, ship models, architectural models, statues, and toys.

According to reliable data, more than 1.35 million units of consumer 3D printers were sold in China in 2022, a 14.4-fold increase over 2017.

"Most of our users are from overseas," Liu said, I hope that the company's products can enter more families and allow people to enjoy the fun of DIY more conveniently.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Matthias Gafni is an investigative reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle. He investigates stories in the East Bay and beyond. For almost two decades, Gafni worked for the Bay Area News Group  San Jose Mercury News, East Bay Times and Vallejo Times-Herald  covering corruption, child sexual abuse, criminal justice, aviation and more. In 2017, Gafni won a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news for his work on the Ghost Ship fire. In 2018, he was named SPJ Reporter of the Year in Northern California. The following year, he was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news for his work covering the Camp Fire. In 2020, he won a Polk Award for military reporting for his coverage of the Capt. Crozier saga involving a COVID-19 outbreak aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier. He was born and raised in the Bay Area and graduated from UC Davis. He lives with his wife and three kids in the East Bay.

He can be reached at matthias.gafni@sfchronicle.com.
Embattled Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has insisted she has 'absolutely no plans' to seek the Harvard presidency after rumors swirled she could replace Claudine Gay.

Wu, 39, brushed off the speculation in a radio appearance with WCVB on Sunday, laughing as she insisted she wants to remain in her 'amazing job.'

She made the remarks weeks after sparking backlash by hosting an exclusive Christmas party intended only for 'electeds of color', where she accidentally invited then rescinded invites to the white city councilors in her chamber.

The scandal, and Wu's proximity to Harvard after earning two degrees from the university, fueled speculation that she could leave the mayor's office and succeed Gay.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, 39, faced severe backlash last month after hosting an exclusive 'electeds of color' holiday party, but insisted she has 'absolutely no plans' to leave office and become Harvard President

Claudine Gay, Harvard's first black female president, resigned this month following a media storm over her disastrous Congressional testimony in December, and allegations of significant plagiarism in her academic writings

Gay, who was only elected Harvard President in July, stepped down this month following her disastrous Congressional hearing on antisemitism on college campuses, and allegations of significant plagiarism in her academic writings.

But Wu said she was not up for her old job, saying she was 'saddened' to see Gay resign, adding: 'This is a very important decision though, that the university is going to make in a time of tremendous stress and challenge for academia overall.'

Wu said she was troubled by the media storm around her alma mater, with several top institutions finding their way into 'culture wars' debates in recent times, primarily due to pro-Palestine protests sweeping campuses across the country.

After enduring her own controversy shortly before Gay's, Wu argued that the scandal at Harvard was the result of a 'targeted effort' because of who Gay is, reports the Boston Herald.

Despite Gay sparking backlash by telling Congress that it 'depends on the context' whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates Harvard's code of conduct, Wu cited conservative attempts to bring down policies such as affirmative action and DEI as fueling the fallout instead.

The mayor pledged to lend 'support wherever we can' to Harvard, which is only a short drive from the center of her city, but said the educator 'made her decision at this point.'

Wu also faced questions over the migrant crisis currently gripping a number of US cities, including Boston, New York City and Chicago - which she argued was being worsened by a 'larger challenge around housing' in Massachusetts.

Before Gay's resignation, Wu publicly shared her support for her amid the backlash, saying that 'actions speak louder than words' and she also had a 'sense of what it's like to take just a short clip out of a very hostile, long situation.'

Wu pictured attending her 'electeds of color' party on December 15

Wu's director of City Council relations, Denise DosSantos, reportedly invited the chamber to the exclusive event by accident before rescinding the invites for white councilors 15 minutes later

Wu was elected Mayor of Boston in November 2021, becoming the city's first female and first Asian American mayor.

Last month, she faced a wave of condemnation after one of her aides accidentally sent an invite to her 'electeds of color' holiday party to all of her city councilors.

Within 15 minutes, the aide, Denise DosSantos, had sent a follow up email clarifying that the seven white members of the chamber were not welcome, and it was only intended for the six councilors of color.

DosSantos, a black woman, wrote: 'I wanted to apologize for my previous email regarding a Holiday Party for tomorrow.

'I did send that to everyone by accident, and I apologize if my email may have offended or came across as so. Sorry for any confusion this may have caused.'

There was no apology for actually planning to host a racially segregated party. Wu was slammed by outgoing City Councilor Frank Baker, who told the Boston Herald at the time that it was 'unfortunate and divisive.'

This sentiment was echoed by Michael McCormack, an attorney and former five-term Boston city councilor, who felt Wu's hosting an exclusive party is not typical of her office, and argued former mayors Tom Menino and Ray Flynn, white men, would have invited the entire chamber.

'The problem is that Boston and race, unfortunately, are synonymous,' McCormack said.

'I'm just hoping it was a mistake. It's not something that anyone in the mayor's office should be proud of.'

Wu (pictured arriving at the party) defended her 'electeds of color' holiday party, and when asked if she thought it was divisive replied simply 'no'

Wu faced calls to cancel the event after it was widely criticized online, however she defied her detractors as she showed up for the party.

Asked shortly before the bash if she thought the gathering was divisive, the mayor replied quickly: 'No.'

She insisted there would be other opportunities for all people to celebrate together, but said the 'electeds of color' party was an appropriate way to celebrate 'identity and culture and heritage' in her city.

She said the invitation to white people was 'an honest mistake', refusing to accept that dividing people by race could be offensive.

'I think we've all been in the position at one point where an email went out and there was a mistake in the recipients,' she said.

'So there was truly just an honest mistake... There are multiple ways that we celebrate with everyone. There are several parties where all the entire city council and all of our elected colleagues have been invited to.'
The Archbishop of Canterbury is facing calls to resign over links to disgraced Post Office boss Paula Vennells, who he is said to have supported for the Bishop of London role - despite the Horizon scandal.

Queen Elizabeth II's former chaplain, Rev Canon Jeremy Haselock, has called for Archbishop Justin Welby to resign after claims emerged that he had endorsed Vennells for the position.

Church sources have claimed the Archbishop was supportive of Vennells when she was shortlisted to become Bishop of London in 2017, which is the third most senior role in the Church of England.

This was despite the suggestions that postmasters had been wrongly prosecuted for theft, fraud and false accounting.

Vennells - who was chief executive of the Post Office from 2012 to 2019 - returned her CBE last week after the nation responded with fury to the Horizon scandal.

But campaigners said her decision to hand the honour back with immediate effect was a token gesture and it was time she faced 'real justice'.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is facing calls to resign over links to disgraced Post Office boss Paula Vennells, who he is said to have supported for the Bishop of London role

Church sources have claimed the Archbishop was supportive of Vennells when she was shortlisted to become Bishop of London in 2017, which is the third most senior role in the Church of England

Vennells - who was chief executive of the Post Office from 2012 to 2019 - returned her CBE last week after the nation responded with fury to the Horizon scandal

She was interviewed for the role but was not appointed. Sarah Mullally, who was formerly England's chief nursing officer before she became a priest, was announced as the first female Bishop of London instead. (Stock picture)

Sources told the BBC that Vennells was on the shortlist for the final three candidates for the esteemed role - with the Archbishop keen as a key supporter.

She was interviewed for the role but was not appointed. Sarah Mullally, who was formerly England's chief nursing officer before she became a priest, was announced as the first female Bishop of London instead.

The revelation comes as her local church hit out at her portrayal in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, describing the mini-series as a 'bit like the Crown'.

Ms Vennells, 65, was ordained as a priest in 2005 and had been an associate minister in the diocese of St Albans while at the same time running the Post Office.

After the Archbishop's reported support for the Post Office scandal boss emerged, Rev Haselock, now an associate priest at Great St Bartolomew's in London, called for him to step down.

Writing on his personal social media, he said: 'Surely this is the point at which Welby must go.

Postmasters accused of theft by Post Office celebrate outside the High Court In London after they had their names cleared by the Court of Appeal

Alan Bates and his wife Suzanne Sercombe seen on ITV1's This Morning

In 2017 - the year Vennells was interviewed for the Bishop of London role - legal action was launched against the post office by a group of 555 postmasters

'Another demonstration of his complete lack of sound judgement.

'His backing for this woman for episcopal office shows how completely he fails to understand the nature of that office.

'His total failure to bring pastoral care to the fore during the pandemic and the disastrous decisions he made at that time show his complete and utter lack of understanding of the Church and its ministry.'

He concluded the Facebook post: 'His has been a terrible primary and clutching his Royal Victorian Order, he should go.'

Sources told the Telegraph: 'Justin was close to her' and 'he was always very supportive of her when she was a member of the Church of England ethical investment advisory committee'.

In 2017 - the year Vennells was interviewed for the Bishop of London role - legal action was launched against the post office by a group of 555 postmasters.

The Post Office wrongfully prosecuted more than 700 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses between 1999 and 2015 for theft, fraud and false accounting based on information from a recently installed computer system called Horizon.

The scandal is considered the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history, leading to the inquiry into what went wrong, and who was responsible.

Former postmaster Alan Bates led and won a legal battle after himself falling victim to the faults. His victory paved the way for dozens of convictions to be overturned.

ITV drama 'Mr Bates vs The Post Office' - the channel's biggest new drama in over a decade - brought the scandal to the forefront of the nation's attention.

After the uproar that ensued, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a new law would be introduced to quash the convictions of around 700 Post Office scandal victims.

ITV drama 'Mr Bates vs The Post Office' - the channel's biggest new drama in over a decade - brought the scandal to the forefront of the nation's attention

Rishi Sunak said he was determined to 'right the wrongs of the past'

Jo Hamilton, 66, was falsely accused of stealing 36,000 from a village shop in South Warnborough, Hampshire, and eventually pleaded guilty to false accounting out of fear

The Prime Minister said the Government is determined to 'right the wrongs' as he made the dramatic announcement at the first PMQs of the year.

Mr Sunak said the primary legislation will ensure that people are 'swiftly exonerated and compensated'. Victims who sign simple declarations of innocence will be entitled to money, potentially 600,000 each, by the end of the year.

More than 700 Post Office branch managers were convicted after faulty Fujitsu accounting software called Horizon made it look like money was missing from their shops.

So far just 93 have been able to clear their names in the courts, leaving hundreds unable to claim compensation.

The scandal wrecked havoc upon the victims' lives - with four taking their own lives.

Ms Vennells said: 'I have listened and I confirm that I return my CBE with immediate effect' (Stock picture)

It even effected their families, with many children of those impacted by the miscarriage of justice speaking out about the the bullying they faced.

Former sub-postmistress Jo Hamilton said she was 'glad' the ex-Post Office had handed her CBE back, adding: 'It's a shame it took just a million people to cripple her conscience.'

Ms Hamilton, who was wrongfully convicted in 2008 of stealing thousands of pounds from the village shop in South Warnborough, Hampshire, said: 'It shows the people have spoken  about everything really.

'It's not just about her CBE, it's about how disgusting the whole thing is.

'We're all sick and tired of people taking money, being paid exorbitant amounts of money, and politicians taking absolutely no notice of you whatsoever I think the people are just sick of it.'

Varchas Patel, whose father Vipin who was wrongfully convicted of fraud in 2011 after being accused of stealing 75,000 from his Post Office branch in Oxford, said: 'My initial reaction is good, I'm glad. She doesn't deserve that CBE, she never did deserve that CBE.'

The shamed ex-Post Office chief said: 'I have listened and I confirm that I return my CBE with immediate effect.

'I am truly sorry for the devastation caused to the sub-postmasters and their families, whose lives were torn apart by being wrongly accused and wrongly prosecuted as a result of the Horizon system'.

Before joining the Post Office in 2007, Ms Vennells worked for beauty brand L'Oreal and hospitality business Whitbread.

Ms Vennells started as a group network director, then became managing director in 2010 before being promoted to the position of chief executive in 2012.

After leaving the Post Office, Ms Vennells took over as chair of the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in April 2019. She later stepped down, around the same time as a group of former sub-postmasters won a court case to have their convictions quashed.
Children desire 'meaningful change' experts claim, after 'climate change' was named as the children's word of the year by Oxford University Press (OUP).

Over 3,000 children aged six to 14 were asked for their word of the year, with the most common response being 'climate change'. This was followed close in second by 'war' and third in 'coronation'.

Since the poll began in 2014, the results have become increasingly serious.

In 2020 the children's word of the year was 'coronavirus'; a year later it was 'anxiety'; in 2022, when Queen Elizabeth II died, it was 'Queen'.

With last year proving to be the hottest ever recorded, 'climate change' was the defining term for young people in 2023.

Children desire 'meaningful change' experts claim, after ' climate change ' was named as the children's word of the year by Oxford University Press (OUP)

Over 3,000 children aged six to 14 were asked for their word of the year, with the most common response being 'climate change'

According to the publisher, the research demonstrates just how much of a 'significant role' current affairs is playing in the lives of children today.

Past winners of children's word of the year 2022: Queen 2021: Anxiety 2020: Coronavirus 2019: Brexit 2018: Plastic 2017: Trump 2016: Refugee 2015: Hashtag 2014: Minion Advertisement

Helen Freeman, director of Oxford Children's Books, said: 'The choice of 'climate change' not only demonstrates how attuned children are to the news and their environment, but the research also reveals their willingness to engage with meaningful change.

'Whether it's understanding how children use slang phrases or what word reflects the past year, it's imperative we continue to support children's language development so they have the means and vocabulary to express themselves.'

Reflecting on their opinions of why 'climate change' was chosen, children talked to researchers about the impact of environmental threats and their concerns for the future.

They also said the word makes them feel 'sad', 'scared' and 'worried'.

Amid war in Europe and the Middle East, 13 per cent of children said the news was why they voted for 'war' while 23 per cent referenced the conflict in Israel and Gaza or Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a reason.

Amy Meek, chief executive and co-founder of charity Kids Against Plastic, said: 'We also mustn't ignore the findings from the language research which demonstrate young people's desire for action.

'Young people not only recognise that climate change is an issue, but they're also seeing the importance of tackling it.

Since the poll began in 2014, the results have become increasingly serious

With last year proving to be the hottest ever recorded, 'climate change' was the defining term for young people in 2023

'No-one will feel the negative effects of climate change more than the next generation  or the positive effects of the action we take against it now.'

'Coronation' was chosen for a happier reason by children, with 24 per cent saying celebration was the reason they picked the crowning of the King in May.

The publisher also researched the slang term of the year, which was chosen to be 'bro' by 42 per cent of children.

Other colloquial words including 'lol' and 'slay' were also found to be popular  after a market research survey by Childwise of 1,450 children.

The publisher said that research finds children use 'bro', not just as a term for friends, but as a way of showing solidarity when giving someone a warning.
A family from Iceland watched lava destroy their neighbours' homes before stopping just feet from their own amid a shocking volcanic eruption.

The evacuated town of Grindavik, 25 miles south west of Reykjavik, saw three homes destroyed amid what President Gudni Johannesson said was a 'tremendous force of nature'.

Meanwhile, the town's mayor said the second recent volcanic eruption has caused significant damage - with experts warning further eruptions could smother even more of the town in boiling lava.

Harpa Sigurdardottir, 47, who has now fled the town with her family, told the Mirror: 'We all feel numb. My brother and his wife, Iris, just gave up last night when they saw how close the fissure is to their home and saw the other houses burning.'

Harpa Sigurdardottir, 47, has fled the Iceland town of Grindavik with her family

The January 14 eruption (pictured) began north of the fishing town of Grindavik, and photos appear to show lava slowly flowing towards the town itself

A drone captures the town of Grindavik during the eruption in Iceland on January 15

She added: 'My parents are 78 and 76 and worked all their lives for what it most likely not safe to live in anymore.'

Kristen Jonsdottir, of the Icelandic Meteorological Office, explained the volcanic opening nearest to the town had stopped spewing lava, adding: 'There is movement over Grindavik, so cracks may still be opening.'

An Icelandic volcano spewed lava within 500m of homes in the town of Grindavik, just weeks after residents were allowed to return to their homes following a major eruption, it was reported on Saturday.

Video footage shows an eruption took place, with magma, smoke and ash spurting high into the sky above the town of Grindavik, 25 miles away from Iceland's capital Reykjavik.

The Icelandic Meteorological Office said that lava is currently just 1,500 feet away from the northernmost houses in the town of Grindavik

The fissure grew many times its initial size within just thirty minutes, meteorologists reported. Geologist Magnus Tumi Gumundsson told local media that the crack was a kilometre (3,280 ft) long, adding that he wasn't certain when it would stop growing.

Pictures showed the lava slowly creeping towards the fishing town, with officials saying that the flow was just 500m (1,500 ft) away from hitting the northernmost buildings. Video posted to X showed a second eruption taking place just after midday on Saturday.

Iceland's president, Gudni Johannesson, said in a post to X: 'No lives are in danger, although infrastructure may be under threat.'

Analysis of departure and arrival schedules for nearby Keflavik Airport showed that flights did not appear to be affected by the news of Saturday's eruption, with no arrivals or departures showing signs of being delayed or cancelled at time of publication.

Iceland Air, the country's national carrier, said: 'Our schedule and the operation of Keflavik airport are not affected.'

Local tourism hotspot, the Blue Lagoon hotel, however was evacuated on Friday night, after reopening just a week ago.
An urgent health alert has been issued after an infant infected with measles visited several locations in Sydney's inner west and southwest.

Health authorities confirmed the nine-month-old had recently returned from Asia, where there has been an outbreak of measles in several countries including Pakistan and India.

NSW Health said people may have been exposed at the Five Star Coffee and Nuts grocery on Yerrick Rd in Lakemba, on January 12 between 3pm-5pm when the case visited the venue.

They have identified and contacted people who have been in close contact with the infant to arrange preventive treatment if required.

NSW Health is advising people to be alert for signs and symptoms of measles after being notified of one confirmed case in western Sydney.



Read more on The Pulse:https://t.co/7k3fwftiHM pic.twitter.com/76QEvH4EwK  Western Sydney Health (@WestSydHealth) January 16, 2024

NSW Health said people may have been exposed at the Five Star Coffee and Nuts grocery on Yerrick Rd in Lakemba, on January 12 between 3pm-5pm when the case visited the venue

An urgent health alert has been issued after an infant infected with measles visited several locations in Sydney's inner west and southwest (stock image)

Dr Leena Gupta, Sydney Local Health District's Clinical Director of Public Health, said the location posed no ongoing risk to the public.

He said people who had visited the Lakemba grocery were still urged to be on the lookout for symptoms.

'(They) include fever, sore eyes and a cough, usually followed three or four days later by a red, blotchy rash that spreads from the head to the rest of the body,' Dr Gupta said.

'It can take up to 18 days for symptoms to appear after an exposure.'

Measles is a vaccine-preventable disease spread through the air when someone who is infectious coughs or sneezes.

The most effective and safe protection is the common measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, which is included on the National Immunisation Program (NIP) for children at 12 and 18 months of age.

It is also free in NSW for anyone born during or after 1966 who hasn't already had two doses.

'This should be a reminder for everyone to check that they are protected against measles, which is very infectious,' Dr Gupta said.

In July last year , another measles scare erupted when a man unknowingly infected with the disease travelled through Melbourne and Brisbane airports (stock image)

'Anyone born during or after 1966 needs to ensure they have received two doses of measles vaccine.

'This is particularly important prior to overseas travel, as measles outbreaks are occurring in several regions of the world at the moment.'

In July last year, another measles scare erupted when a man unknowingly infected with the disease travelled through Melbourne and Brisbane airports.

According to Federal Department of Health Care data, the immunisation coverage rate for all Australian children at five years stands at 94.04 per cent.
Cops are desperately searching for two-month-old twin girls who were born premature and with drugs in their systems.

Jai Nyla and Mai Kayla Herron were born early about ten weeks ago, according to a police statement. They also came out of the womb with drugs already inside them.

The Indiana Department of Child Services has a court order out to revoke custody from parents Anthony Herron, 37, and Destiny Miller, 19.

But police have said that the father and mother have refused to cooperate with the search.

Authorities in Indianapolis are desperately searching for two-month-old twin girls who were born under tragic circumstances, as their parents are unwilling to help. The two babies, Jai Nyla (pictured left) and Mai Kayla Herron (pictured right), were born premature about ten weeks ago

Detectives do not know if the twins have received medical attention or if they are in need of medical attention.

Indianapolis police are asking for the public's help in locating them so they can be assessed by medical professionals.

If located, witnesses are asked to please call 911 immediately.

The Indiana Department of Child Services has a court order out to revoke custody from parents Anthony Herron (pictured left), 37, and Destiny Miller (pictured right), 19

They're also asking anyone with information to contact the IMPD Missing Persons Unit or call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317.262.8477 or (TIPS).

Police promise anonymity for anyone offering tips and a potential cash reward of up to $1,000 if it leads to an arrest.

It is unclear if Herron and Miller face any criminal charges.

Herron was previously charged criminal trespassing in 2009.
Court documents show he used the ill-gotten money to finance his campaigns

The disgraced former president was extradited to the United States back in 2022

The wife and daughter of Juan Orlando Hernandez have posted videos online

The disgraced former Honduras president is begging for donations online to bankroll the jailed strongman's legal fight against accusations from federal prosecutors that he raked in millions from powerful drug cartels, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Juan Orlando Hernandez, a one-time U.S. ally who ruled the Central American nation for eight years from 2014, was extradited to the United States in April 2022 to face charges that he built 'a corrupt and brutally violent empire based on the illegal trafficking of tons of cocaine to the United States.'

He allegedly collaborated as a smuggling kingpin with the Sinaloa Cartel, once headed up by Joaquin Guzman Loera, aka El Chapo, who was banged up for 30 years in 2019 after being convicted of murder conspiracy and drug charges.

Prosecutors allege that he personally accepted a $1 million bribe from jailed notorious drug lord El Chapo, also known as Joaquin Guzman, to protect his thugs from arrest.

They also claim that he used the military and other law enforcement agencies to help prop up the gangs' illegal activities.

Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez is accused of drug trafficking and firearms charges by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

The ex-President's daughter, Isabela Hernandez, posted a video to Instagram urging people to donate to a GoFundMe campaign

Wife Ana Garcia de Hernandez posted her own video explaining that her husband's bid to delay the start of the trial to raise enough money for his lawyers had failed

His brother Tony, a former Congressman, was sentenced to life in prison in March 2021 for narcotics smuggling charges, as well as pay $138.5 million in forfeiture, which prosecutors in their sentencing memo called 'blood money' from drug trafficking.

But it appears the 55-year-old has now fallen on hard times, with the former First Family of Honduras being forced to post a series of humiliating videos pleading with his former voters to cough up much-needed funds that can finance his hefty legal bills.

The trial in Manhattan is slated to begin on February 5, according to the social media posts.

In a video uploaded on Sunday, Ana Daniela Hernandez Garcia, one of his daughters, urges supporters to stump up for his lawyers by donating on a GoFundMe page.

'Our struggle to prove the innocence of our father, Juan Orlando, will not stop. To support this cause, please go to our GoFundMe link to donate or to support.' she says in a piece-to-camera that also includes links to the fundraising site.

Ex-Honduran First Lady Ana Garcia Carias, also 55, explains in her video that her husband's bid to delay the start of the trial to drum up enough funds to pay his lawyers had failed.

'We are asking for your support by donating no matter the amount to help bolster Juan Orlando's defense,' she says.

The indictment drafted by US judicial officials charges Hernandez with three counts of drug and weapons offenses that could land him decades in prison if convicted  an effective life sentence.

Federal prosecutors believe the former President used millions in ill-gotten gains to finance his presidential campaigns

Court documents show Hernandez conspired to make Honduras one the largest transshipment points in the world for United States-bound cocaine

The indictment drafted by US judicial officials charges Hernandez (pictured with his wife and three children) with three counts of drug and weapons offenses

Videos posted to Instagram in support of the ex-President use the hashtags 'innocence,' 'he will return,' 'truth' and 'justice'

Hernandez's trial is slated to begin on February 5 in Manhattan (pictured: the former President arrives in New York in August 2023)

Court documents obtained by DailyMail.com show that federal prosecutors believe he funneled millions in ill-gotten gains to help finance his presidential campaigns.

They said Hernandez 'abused his position as the president of Honduras to operate the country as a narco-state, in order to enrich himself and corruptly gain and maintain power.'

Prosecutors argue that the politician, who was extradited in April last year, 'contributed with his co-conspirators to Honduras becoming one of the largest transshipment points in the world for United States-bound cocaine.'

In the extradition request, the US said he had been 'participating in a violent drug trafficking conspiracy to receive shipments of multiple tonnes of cocaine sent to Honduras from Colombia and Venezuela and other locations by air or sea routes.'

The request alleges that the drugs - amounting to a total of 500 tonnes since 2004 - were then transported to the Guatemala border and from there to the U.S.

Hernandez pleaded not guilty to the charges last year, with his lawyers accusing the U.S. authorities of treating their client like 'a prisoner of war.'

He claims that the traffickers have implicated him in court as part of an effort to lessen their own sentences.

His successor as Honduran president, leftist Xiomara Castro came to power with a vow to stamp out drug-related corruption, defeating Nasry Asfura from Hernandez's right-leaning National Party in the process.
The Post Office could change accounts on the Horizon system remotely and without postmasters knowing from as early as 2001, according to a whistleblower.

A source has claimed senior managers would have had to be 'pretty stupid' to not know the Horizon systems could be altered.

The former employee of the Post Office, who worked in a Yorkshire call centre during the 2000s, said their helpdesk team could edit cash and stock on live terminals using the system.

The whistleblower told The Times: 'We wouldn't do it, but if somebody wanted to muck them around, you could.'

Data from the IT system was used to prosecute up to 983 postmasters between 1999 and 2015, assuming the accounts were secure.

The revelation that remote access was possible during a High Court case in 2017 was the beginning of the route that eventually led to the Prime Minister announcing a new law to quash court convictions.

This was so instrumental as it was thought that a jury would be unlikely to deliver a guilty verdict if the data underpinning the case would be changed remotely.

But the whistleblower claimed remote access had been possible for the 16 years prior to the revelation in the court proceedings.

The Post Office could change accounts on the Horizon system (pictured) remotely and without postmasters knowing from as early as 2001, according to a whistleblower

Post Office CEO Paula Vennells speaking at a Business, Innovation and Skills Committee hearing at the House of Commons in London

The former employee of the Post Office, who had worked in a Yorkshire call centre during the 2000s said their helpdesk team could edit cash and stock on live terminals using the system

READ MORE - Viewers outraged after ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office shows Fujitsu staff remotely CHANGING figures on 'secure' 1bn Horizon IT system without subpostmasters knowing Advertisement

The Times reported they source as saying: 'You could go into their cash and adjust it, or wipe their cash off completely. You could go into their stock declaration and add 500 stamps on, or take 500 off.'

The newspaper reported that the Post Office declined to comment on the claims.

But the Post Office had previously publicly denied it was possible for staff to change the live accounts remotely.

However, the source said some call handlers could ask for the postmaster's password and log in to make the changes.

It was done with their permission, but they were not told to change their login details, so it was possible to log in at a later date without their knowledge.

The Times reported the ex-employee as saying: 'You could in effect sell anything that's available to be sold, such as postage stamp books, even car tax discs, and you could adjust the stock.'

In 2019, the conclusions of Mr Justice Fraser in a High Court judgement said Post Office staff could edit accounts only while physically in one of the branches.

Postmasters accused of theft by Post Office celebrate outside the High Court In London after they had their convictions overturned

Viewers of the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office were left fuming after the drama showed Fujitsu staff changing figures in what was claimed to have been a 'secure' 1billion IT system (Alan Bates and his wife Suzanne Sercombe seen on ITV1's This Morning)

Viewers of the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office were left fuming after the drama showed Fujitsu staff changing figures in what was claimed to have been a 'secure' 1billion IT system - without the knowledge of subpostmasters who used the software.

The four-part series is based on the real-life story of postmaster Alan Bates, played by actor Toby Jones, who led the campaign to expose what is considered the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history.

Mr Bates was among hundreds of innocent subpostmasters working in the UK who were accused and later charged of theft, fraud and false accounting due to the faulty Horizon system.

But viewers of the second episode said they were 'sickened' by a scene showing how computer firm Fujitsu, which was hired by the Post Office, was able to alter the subpostmasters' inputted financial figures remotely.

Wrongly convicted victim Michael Rudkin, who is played by Shaun Dooley, is heard saying: 'That means they can sneak in behind your backs, change your figures and b***** off and leave without a trace.'

Rishi Sunak said he was determined to 'right the wrongs of the past'

Former Fujitsu engineer Richard Roll, who worked at the Post Office between 2001 and 2004, blew the whistle on remote access to accounts at the company in 2015. He was part of a team of 30 engineers who had access to terminals remotely.

Mr Bates was one of hundreds of innocent subpostmasters working in the UK who was accused and later charged of theft, fraud and false accounting due to a faulty IT system.

The scandal is considered the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history, leading to the inquiry into what went wrong, and who was responsible.

Between 2000 and 2014, an average of one Post Office worker a week was prosecuted, for theft, false accounting and other offences by the Post Office.

From a total of 736, many were jailed, bankrupted and suffered appalling stress and public shame.

For years Royal Mail and its computer partner Horizon  a system developed by the Japanese company Fujitsu  insisted that they were isolated cases.

A Post Office spokesman said: 'We share fully the aims of the Public Inquiry to get to the truth of what went wrong in the past and establish accountability. It's for the Inquiry to reach its own independent conclusions after consideration of all the evidence on the issues that it is examining.'
A New York teacher who was exonerated of involvement in a noose display is suing for damages - claiming she has been forced out despite being cleared.

Social studies teacher Nancy Doering, 48, was one of three suspended after the pictures were found in 2019 at Roosevelt Middle School in Hempstead, Long Island.

The two others were let go and no longer teach at the school. The drawings were in a classroom as part of a collage about the return to school. They were jokingly described as 'back to school necklaces'.

The images of nooses, described as 'back to school necklaces', were featured as part of a collage in a classroom in February 2019

Doering was formally accused of displaying the noose collage in her classroom, interfering with an investigation by removing the collage and placing it in her closet, and bringing 'negative attention to the school,' according to the suit.

But she insisted it was not her classroom, and she merely removed it when she realized it could be provocative.

She was exonerated in October 2022, following a hearing by New York State's Teacher Tenure Hearing Unit.

But Doering is now suing, and in court documents obtained by The Daily Beast she says she has been forced from the classroom despite being cleared.

Doering, who is white, says she has been subjected to racial discrimination and harassed by Reverend Arthur Mackey, who initially claimed she was behind the noose collage.

She refused to resign, but according to the suit the school district removed her from her classroom and 'forced her into an isolated small office, without any windows, without any ability to lock her door for safety reasons, defamed and publicly shamed her, and stripped her of all her duties and responsibilities.'

The nooses were displayed within Roosevelt Middle School (pictured), on Long Island

She was replaced with a new social studies teacher, who is black.

'Defendants have targeted [Jones Doering] because of her race and have even invited and encouraged members of the community, including Reverend Mackey, to publicly attack, defame, shame and harass [her], the lawsuit alleges.

The suit says that no black teachers were 'publicly defamed and had her reputation and name destroyed based on such false accusations.'

Her car was vandalized, and in January 2023, according to the suit, members of the school district were seen writing on a public white board: 'white supremacy is a hell of a drug.'

Doering argues in her suit she has spent the past five years 'living in constant anxiety, stress and daily fear to herself and her family.'

Jones Doering's suit accuses the school district, the Roosevelt Board of Education, and at least 10 unidentified individuals of racial discrimination, retaliation, promoting a hostile work environment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent supervision, and defamation.

She accuses them all of 'falsely portray[ing]... [Jones Doering] as a racist teacher in a community that is mostly composed of black/African American members and who allegedly displays 'nooses' in her classroom in front of students.'

The school district and school are yet to respond to her suit.
The campaign of Ron DeSantis slammed the early call in the Iowa caucuses on Monday evening, when a string of media organizations announced a win for Donald Trump within minutes of voting starting.

It meant the forecast was broadcast before some precincts had even begun casting votes.

'Absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote,' said DeSantis campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo.

'The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet.'

DeSantis expected to be locked in battle with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley for second place.

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, right, greets supporters following a campaign event at Jerseys Pub and Grub in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Monday

A spokesman for the Desantis campaign slammed the early decision

And although Trump was the odds on favorite for overall victory, the speed with which the networks called the race took many observers by surprise.

The Associated Press, Fox News and CNN all released their forecasts about 33 minutes after polls opened, and after only 319 votes had been counted.

They were able to make their early forecasts using entry polling data, asking caucus-goers who they planned to support as they arrived.

It came so fast that the Trump victory party at a Des Moines hotel was deserted. Campaign staff and surrogates were dispersed at caucus sites.

DeSantis officials were quick to complain that it could affect results.

'I'm at a precinct that hasn't even voted yet, and the media are trying to call the race for Trump,' said Jeremy Redfern, the Florida governor's press secretary, on X.

Steve Deace, an Iowa conservative and DeSantis supporter, made the same point.

'People are telling me phones got Fox News alerts Trump won before they even voted,' he posted.

'Just criminal levels of voter suppression. That network is a freaking cancer. With 'friends' like Fox, who needs CNN?'

Trump posed with son Don Jr in front of a screen showing the results

Early caucus results - as of 9PM eastern time - show Trump with a clear lead

Workers count votes a caucus at Franklin Junior High on January 15, 2024 in Des Moines, Iowa

Other DeSantis supporters said the early call seemed to break CNN and AP policy, which promised not to release forecasts before polling had ended.

None of that bothered the Trump camp.

'The people of Iowa sent a clear message tonight: Donald Trump will be the next Republican nominee for president. It's now time to make him the next president of the United States,' said Alex Pfeiffer, communications director for Make America Great Again Inc.

And campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt even ridiculed Haley for continuing to campaign.

'Nikki Haley still desperately pitching herself to Iowans after the race was called for President Trump in less than 30 minutes is next level CRINGE,' she posted.

DeSantis had gambled much of his campaign on a solid result in the conservative state, where many voters identify as evangelical Christians.

Supporters of former President Donald Trump wait in line in below zero temperatures on Sunday to see the ex-president headline a rally in Indianola, Iowa ahead of Monday's Iowa caucuses

Former President Donald Trump does a little dance and sports one of his Trump Caucus Captain hats. The Trump campaign gave out the white and gold hats to their caucus captains, with these individuals making a pitch to voters on caucus night all across the state

He visited all of its 99 counties and a third-place finish could be enough to drive him out of the race.

Against that backdrop, the Trump campaign has been eager to turn the screw and crush his rivals.

Shortly before being named the winner, Trump delivered a speech at a caucus site in Des Moines that looked ahead to his showdown .

'I would appreciate your vote. I think I deserve it,' he said.

He also used his appearance at the Horizon Events Center in Clive to look ahead to his November showdown with President Joe Biden.

'He is totally destroying our country,' he said. 'We were a great nation three years ago and today people are laughing at us.'
January 15, 2024: President Vladimir Putin of Russia sent his armed forces into Ukraine in early 2022 and, by 2023, that effort, justified by the Russian need to halt eastward expansion nations joining NATO, had Russia on the defensive. Ukraine has a population of 33 million, but nearly ten percent of Ukrainians have fled the country to nearby countries because of lost homes and jobs. Most of those who left will return when the war ends. The sooner the war ends the larger the number of exiled Ukrainians will return. Russia has a population of 143 million and wants to add all Ukrainians to that and make Russia stronger. The Ukrainians are not interested in becoming Russians. Russia is not discouraged by that bad attitude.

As early as 2021 Putin had been threatening war with Ukraine to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and the European Union. Putin declared that Ukraine was part of Russia and ignored the fact that the Ukrainians disagreed and were willing and able to fight any Russian interference. The 2022 invasion was not a complete surprise. Since 2014 Russia has been making a lot of headlines with threats against Ukraine, but not much else. The 2014 Russian seizure of Crimea and parts of two eastern Ukraine provinces led to economic sanctions by the West. Soon the Russian economy was a mess, as in stagnant and shrinking. Russia has fewer friends or allies, and the future looks dim. Sending troops into Ukraine (2014), Syria (2015), Libya (2016) and Ukraine in 2022 has not helped solve any of the fundamental problems there but made for great propaganda.

What went wrong? Russia entered the 21st century with a new elected government dominated by former KGB secret police officers who promised to restore economic and civil order. They did so but in the process turned Russia into a police state with less political and economic freedom. Many Russians opposed this, and the government responded by appealing to nationalism. Russia has turned into what Germany had become in the 1930s. This included police state ways and the traditional threatening attitude towards neighbors. Rather than being run by corrupt communist bureaucrats, the country is now dominated by corrupt businessmen, gangsters and self-serving government officials that characterized the last czarist government of a century ago. The semi-free economy is more productive than the centrally controlled communist one but that just provides more money to steal. A rebellion against the new dictatorship has been derailed by astute propaganda depicting Russia as under siege by the West and NATO. Opinion polls show wide popular support for this paranoid fantasy, but some Russians continue to struggle for better government and beneficial reforms. For now, most Russians want economic and personal security and are willing to tolerate a police state to get it. The 2022 invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions did more damage than the ruling politicians expected. That atmosphere, plus the anxiety generated by having troops fighting in Syria, Ukraine and Libya has scared away a lot of foreign investors and many Russian ones as well. Russia can downplay this in the state-controlled media but without all that foreign and Russian capital the economy cannot grow. Since 2014 most Russians can see daily that they are worse off than before. Meanwhile China, the only real threat to Russia, quietly makes progress in the east. There China has claims on much of the Russian Far East and is openly replacing Russia as the primary economic, military, and political force in Central Asia.

Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022 and that was the first major war since the early 1950s Korean War. The Ukraine War is local, but it involves a major power, Russia, that was a more powerful major power before the Cold War ended in 1991 and the Soviet Union dissolved, losing half its population. The Ukraine War is the first step in rebuilding the Russian empire that was run by monarchies for centuries until the early 1920s when the communist Soviets took over. The former components of the Soviet Union do not want to rejoin any Russian empire and that is why Ukraine fights so hard against the invading Russians.

At the end of 2023 Vladimir Putin ordered the military to increase active duty troops to 1.32 million. This involves finding another 170,000-670,000 recruits (depending on whose statistics are used). If you include civilian military employees, the Russian military purportedly now has 2.2 million personnel. Thats 1.5 percent of the Russian population. At the beginning of 2023 there were purportedly 1.15 million Russian military personnel. By the end of 2023, Russian personnel losses in Ukraine had grown to over a million, of which at least half were permanent losses, mostly dead but also prisoners, missing and those discharged because of disabling wounds. About 40 percent of Russian casualties are dead compared to only 20 percent of Ukrainian casualties because the Russians in this war get no battlefield medical treatment whatever, though even in World War Two they did have at least minimal medical treatment for casualties, largely by dragging wounded off the battlefield, often using female soldiers to do this and bring the wounded to medics. Wounded soldiers in freezing conditions die of exposure or shock within about an hour unless they are carried to shelter, but that was not happening for Russians in the Ukraine. Prospective recruits know this.

Putin wants to replace those losses and increase the size of the military. To that he has to depend mostly on volunteers and former soldiers, or reservists. Then there are the conscripts, young men who are obliged to spend one year in the military. Once that year is over, these men are eligible to become reservists or, now that the military service law has changed, subject to mobilization to supply the military with more troops.

Mandatory conscript service brings in nearly 300,000 new troops a year. Half these men are called up between April and July while the other have are called up during the last few months of the year. This has been the way it has been done for over a century. Conscription gives Russia some badly needed military manpower but there is a catch. Conscripts only serve for one year and nominally cannot be sent into a foreign combat zone. The Russian public will not tolerate tinkering with the 12-month limit and the post-communist Russian government lacks the coercive power to overcome that. Conscripts have been sent to the Ukraine war, but an uneasy de facto compromise has arisen that they can only be used in non-combat roles.

Since Putin ordered Ukraine invaded in February 2022, he has clashed with Russian attitudes towards conscription and lost. After the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, the communist rule was replaced by democracy and frequent opinion polls. There were no professional politicians to make the new democracy work. There were former Soviet officials trying to get elected to powerful positions. More than ever before, these new political candidates had to pay close attention to public opinion. Former KGB officer Putin got elected once and managed to change the rules to keep him in office for as long as he wanted and survive efforts to remove him. Two years of futile combat in Ukraine has led to discussions in Russia about getting rid of Putin. This happened despite Putin putting most Russian media under state control. The catch was that successful dictators, and Putin is one, pay attention to public opinion because if too many of your subjects get too angry, its the end for the supreme leader. Russia experienced this in 1991 and even zealots like Putin must pay heed. Push the Russian people too far and they will push back.

Putins solution is to make the most of a bad situation. Conscripts currently get a few weeks of training followed by service doing any work they can handle. This allows many of the volunteer, or contract, soldiers to go to Ukraine, where the Russian personnel situation is desperate. Training for the conscripts tied up the few remaining military training facilities all the time, as almost all the pre-war training staff were sent to the Ukraine after the war started and became casualties themselves. Russian non-commissioned officers are basically useless because 70 years of the Red Army predecessor of the current Russian army destroyed their role as trainers and leaders of more junior enlisted men, and all attempts to revive an effective non-com system since 1991 have failed.

This makes it impossible to provide training for the contract soldiers or older men, former conscripts, mobilized into the military for as long as the government can get away with it. Few Russian men serve in Ukraine voluntarily and most are coerced or tricked into volunteering, with a few persuaded by offers of high pay, which they rarely get, or are convicts spending six months in Ukraine to get a full pardon. Putins alleged plan is to obey the law about not sending conscripts into battle, and hope to later persuade them, after their discharge, to volunteer for some form of mobilization. Putin lacks sufficient internal security forces to overcome a lot of public opposition to his seriously unpopular or illegal schemes, so he has to be resourceful.

The fighting in Ukraine crippled the Russian ground forces and destroyed most of the modern equipment Putin had managed to manufacture since the early 2000s. Economic sanctions reduced the amount of money he has available for military operations. Sanctions have also increased the percentage of Russians living below the poverty line. Putin embarrassed himself in Ukrainian because he initially boasted that the victory in Ukraine would be quick and relatively painless because the Ukrainians were not willing or able to fight, and most accepted the Putin view that Ukraine was actually part of Russia but that people in Ukraine got confused and lost their way.

The reality was that Ukrainians were better prepared, armed, and motivated to defeat the invading Russians. Putins initial response was to claim that it was NATO forces that inflicted all those casualties on Russian troops. That fiction worked for a short while because state-controlled media had been pushing the idea that NATO was conspiring to destroy Russia. That fable faded as the months of defeats went by and Russians were told by returning wounded soldiers that Ukrainians were fighting back and simply doing so more effectively than anyone expected. Many Russians have family, friends, or contacts in Ukraine and that, added to what Russian soldiers who had returned Ukraine said put an end to Putins attempt to blame NATO. Putin propagandists had to come up with a new explanation for the mess in Ukraine and he came up with a reheated version of the NATO is trying to destroy Russia, explanation for the mess in Ukraine.

Russia has a problem with the fact that for over a year Russian soldiers have been fighting in another country and getting killed or wounded in large numbers. Russia had not been invaded and Putin sought to portray it as a successful Russian defense of the homeland. Once more, Russians eventually see through that disinformation by paying attention to Ukrainian media which makes no mention of plans to invade Russia, only efforts to get Russian soldiers out of Ukraine. Putin also tried, with some success, to persuade people in nations supporting Ukraine with weapons and money that Ukraine is not worth the expense because of a growing list of Russian short shelf-life disinformation.

Russia has few allies or foreign supporters and most of these, like Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Cuba have little to give. China could provide lots of tangible support but prefers not to because China believes the Ukraine invasion was a stupid idea and does not want to get hit with sanctions for providing military support for Russia. China and India both advise Putin to just get out of Ukraine and out from under all those sanctions before long-term damage is done to Russia.

Putin is working on what he agrees are needed reforms so that the next time Russian troops are in combat they will perform better and perhaps even win. There have been several rounds of unsuccessful military reforms since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. One of the major causes of that collapse was their unaffordable and largely ineffective armed forces. In post-Soviet Russia there were far fewer restrictions on criticizing the military. Most Russians had a very negative attitude towards conscription and the reforms underway because of the Ukraine War disaster were seen as typical of several previous efforts to remedy problems that continue to resist any fundamental change.

The new plan calls for a massive training program to replace all the officers lost in the first few months of 2022s fighting. The immediate problem with that is all the officer instructors were sent to the front in March and April 2022 where they too became casualties. Next is that Putin insists on constant suicidal attacks which maximize Russian casualties and interfere with reform attempts. Finally there is another serious problem that few want to discuss, corruption. Even in wartime, especially during the recent fighting, corruption was still a problem. Officers and other government officials continued to put their own financial gain above the need to equip the troops with what they needed to survive and win. There have been several corruption scandals in Russia since the Ukraine War began. The militarys corruption is rooted in political corruption at the highest levels including Putin and his cronies, and inevitably drifted downward until even supply sergeants routinely steal back and sell gear issued to new troops before they leave for the front. Russia is descending into a Third World state known as a resource kleptocracy but run by a for-real gangster confederacy. The only difference with Russia is that they have nuclear and biological weapons from before the Soviet Union collapsed.

By late 2022 over half of Russian military personnel were volunteers serving on contracts or career officers. The ability of the military to hold onto those contract or contrakti soldiers was always weakened if there were a lot of casualties or too much chance of being sent to a combat zone. Volunteering to be a contract soldier used to be considered a smart move because the Russian economy had been increasingly weak over the last decade. After the fighting began in Ukraine, the contract soldiers suffered as much as the conscripts and junior officers did.

The result of this was contract troops refusing to renew contracts. Most of the combat units sent into Ukraine were composed of contract troops who were killed in large numbers. When the survivors got back to Russia, either because of wounds or because many combat battalions returned because of heavy losses, there was a sudden shortage of contract soldiers. That was because most contract troops were near the end of their two-to-three-year contracts and refused to renew. The army had signed up many soldiers for the new, since 2016, six to twelve month contracts for former soldiers, or conscripts willing to try it, and found that there were far fewer vets willing to sign these short contracts because, so few recent short-term contract soldiers had survived service in Ukraine.

The government then tried to solve this reluctant contract soldier problem by changing the contracts so that contract soldiers had to remain in the army for as long as the fighting continued. Realizing that it was a death sentence if they were sent back to Ukraine, many contract soldiers simply refused to go. There were so many men refusing to go that the government backed off from threats to prosecute the reluctant contrakti.

At this point the Russian armed forces have dire and apparently unsolvable manpower problems. They are taking ghastly casualties making suicidal attacks during winter with their front-line troops knowing very well what is happening. The survivors make certain other troops know it too. They have no junior officers to lead and make sacrifices with them because most officer training staff were killed in 2022 and the rest cannot produce replacements fast enough. At this point almost all prospective contrakti recruits know how little training, support, medical treatment, and effective equipment they will get, and how few of them will survive.

Both sides are being forced into mostly drone or UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) wars. The Russians had to do so because of the lack of manpower and the Ukrainians for lack of artillery shells and rockets, and lack of American support due to Congressional deadlock over funding the Ukrainian war effort.

At first supplying Ukraine with munitions was not a problem for the United States because the Americans agreed with their NATO allies, especially Poland and Germany, that defeating the Russian invasion of Ukraine would discourage the Russians from trying that against NATO countries, like Poland and the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Germany agrees with Poland and the Germans have decided to expand their armed forces to deal with the potential Russian aggression. Poland and the Baltic States have taken similar measures. Poland spent nearly $15 billion to buy a thousand modern tanks and other combat systems. South Korea provided this equipment because South Korea has become a major manufacturer and exporter of modern weapons. Recent sales to Poland and other NATO countries surprised the Americans, who had not paid attention to the growth of South Korea as an exporter of weapons.

The European NATO nations still want American support in the form of munitionand weapons. The Americans produce many essential systems for the Ukrainians to use, like the HIMARS vehicles and the guided rockets they are armed with. Patriot anti-aircraft and anti-missile missiles are also American. Japan is the only foreign country to obtain a license to produce Patriot missiles and has agreed to increase production for NATO countries. The United States and other NATO nations have sent most of the Patriot missiles to Ukraine and those missiles have defeated most of the Russian missile attacks. Meanwhile, many American politicians decided that the United States had other obligations closer to home and cut U.S. support for Ukraine.
A magnitude 3.5 earthquake has struck South Australia's Mid North.

Some 129 people reported feeling tremors after the quake hit near Jamestown at about 10.30pm on Monday at a depth of 10km.

Jamestown is 65km east of Port Pirie and 217km north of Adelaide.

The earthquake was largely felt in Jamestown, Peterborough, Georgetown and Spalding.

Some even as far as Adelaide and Swan Reach in the Murraylands reported feeling it.

A magnitude 3.5 earthquake has struck South Australia 's Mid North

Some even as far as Adelaide (pictured, stock image) and Swan Reach in the Murraylands reported feeling it

Geoscience Australia senior seismologist Phil Cummins said he was unsurprised the quake was felt at a great distance.

'We've got 121 felt reports,' Mr Cummins told ABC.

'This one's quite shallow. Earthquakes in that area tend to be deeper than that and so that might be why there is so many felt reports, particularly in the epicentre area.

'The unusual thing is that they tend to be unusually deep for Australia. Australian earthquakes tend to occur at relatively shallow depth.

'That area around the Flinders Ranges tends to get deeper earthquakes.'

A magnitude-2 aftershock at a depth of 5km was reported closer to Jamestown half-an-hour after the initial earthquake.
The grim reality of Australia's insane property market has been thrown into the spotlight after a single photo showed a line of buyers waiting to inspect a home.

The picture, shared to Reddit on Saturday, showed a long queue of buyers waiting to view a property on Cheeseman Street, in the Melbourne suburb of Croydon.

The line to inspect the three-bedroom home started from the front door and snaked across the driveway, down the street and around the block.

Prospective buyers were unimpressed with with one claiming the massive turnout was a result of the price being advertised much lower than the actual figure.

A photo shared to social media shows a queue of prospective buyers waiting to inspect a home in Croydon, Melbourne (pictured)

The property was listed by Jellis Craig Ringwood for $880,000 to $920,000 and is set to go to auction on February 3.

'Jellis Craig Ringwood wasted everyone's Saturday afternoon,' the prospective buyer wrote.

They claimed the price was $300,000 short of how much the home could actually sell for with Domain estimating the final sale could reach as high as $1.21million.

'There needs to be a special layer of hell for these s****y REAs [real estate agents],' the buyer wrote.

Daily Mail Australia contacted Jellis Craig for comment.

One person joked the amount of people inspecting the property were going to wear out the home's flooring.

The three-bedroom home is situated on a 836sqm block and has three distinct living areas, two bathrooms and four car spaces.

'Peacefully secluded within an idyllic leafy neighbourhood, this expansive single level residence showcases striking external and interior design elements with soaring exposed beam pitched ceilings,' the listing reads.

'Impeccably presented and awash with natural light, the home boasts three generous distinct living areas for harmonious family living.'

One prospective buyer claimed the property (pictured) was 'drastically underquoted' which resulted in the massive inspection turnout

The three-bedroom home sits on a 836sqm and boasts three separate living spaces, two bathrooms and four car spaces

Between January and December 2023, the average price for a property in Croydon sold at $885,045, according to Realestate.com.au data.

In the last 12 months, 278 homes were sold while more than 5,600 buyers were looking for a property in the Melbourne suburb.

December 2023 witnessed a notable 5.2 per cent decline in nationwide residential property listings, according to SQM Research.

The total listings stood at 234,194 properties, a contrast from the 247,062 recorded in the previous month.

Aussies are increasingly struggling to secure a roof over their head due to a rise in property prices and drop in availability.

Some have resorted to drastic measures living out of their cars or caravans while tent cities have popped up around the country.
Terrifying GoPro footage captured the moment an alligator clamped down on the head of a shark tooth collector as he waded through a Florida river.

Jeff Heim, a collector specializing in ancient megalodon teeth, recalled his scrape with death in 2021 this week, saying the gator bit him 'twice before I knew it'.

'It was very powerful. It seemed a lot larger than it actually was,' he told Florida Fourth Estate.

He believes he was only spared by the waterproof camera strapped to his head - which recorded the frenzied ordeal - and if he didn't wear the camera 'my head would've exploded.'

Jeff Heim, a professional shark tooth collector, was bitten twice on the head by a crocodile in a frenzied attack in Florida's Myakka River in 2021

Heim received 34 staples to his head after the attack, but he credited a GoPro fitted to his head for saving his life, saying if he didn't wear the camera 'my head would've exploded'

Heim said the attack came as he was steadily sifting through the bed of Florida's Myakka River for megalodon teeth, and believed the initial glancing blow from the beast was a boat clipping his head.

'That to me is why it wasn't as scary, because there's no anticipation,' he said. 'It's like, you blink and things are different.'

As the gator made contact, Heim's GoPro filmed the moment the murky water before him became filled with bubbles while he thrashed in a moment of reaction.

He says he quickly calmed down thanks to his understanding of the predators as the alligator went in for another bite, saying: 'You never want to thrash or splash or act like prey, so I stayed calm.'

Heim avoided several more attempted strikes by the alligator in the muddy river, which he 'backed away from slowly and calmly', which he knew to do because he had 'dove around sharks' many times before.

He said the extent of his injuries were not immediately clear to him, until he felt a large flap of his skull had been torn from his head in the shape of the alligator's snout.

'This was ripped open,' he said, pointing at a large U-shaped scar on the side of his head. 'And it was flapping, and hanging this way.'

After clambering to the riverbank and calling for help at a nearby restaurant, he was rushed to hospital, where paramedics stapled his head 34 times - leading to grisly images of large scars zig-zagging across his scalp.

Heim was also bit in the hand during the attack, and was treated for severe puncture wounds.

The shark tooth collector said the near-death experience only began to dawn on him when he arrived at a hospital, where a paramedic warned him there would be 'a lot of people looking' at him

The attack occurred on Florida's Myakka River

Heim's horrific head wounds saw him almost lose a large chunk of his head, and was left with long scars zig-zagging across his scalp

He said the near-death experience only began to dawn on him after a paramedic warned him there would be 'a lot of people looking' at him when he arrived at the hospital.

'I was just pretty loopy, the severity of the moment hadn't set in yet... I was a little lighthearted with it and was trying to be funny,' he said, and admitted he even tried to peddle his social media handles to nurses amid the attention.

Wildlife officials captured the alligator following the incident, and measured it at 6ft 4 inches, but Heim said it was found to have a large chunk of its tail missing and was likely closer to eight feet.

The nature lover insisted that the gator shouldn't be put to death after the attack, and he recalled pleading from his hospital bed: 'Whatever you can do, please don't kill that alligator, I was in her home.'

However, in an ironic twist, he said when the wildlife officials approached the gator, who they were not intent on killing anyway, a huge 13-foot alligator unexpectedly leapt from the water and attacked and killed the animal.

Now, two years on from the moment and with his injuries healed, Heim said he cites the GoPro on his head from deflecting part of the strike and saving his life, saying: 'I still don't think I felt the full force of that bite.'

'And if I did, my head would've exploded.'

Although he continues to dive for megalodon teeth regularly, and donates the profits to wildlife organizations, Heim added that he has a much safer approach these days and thinks he was reckless.

He concluded: 'I did know the dangers, but I don't think I took them seriously enough back then.'

Speaking years on from his brush with death, Heim concluded that he didn't take the dangers of lurking around alligators 'seriously enough back then'

Despite almost losing his head in the attack, Heim was far from deterred from diving into dangerous waters again, and went on to set up his company SHRKco, which collects and sells ancient shark teeth.

Just two months after the gator chomp, he also went on to make his best catch yet, when he retrieved a 'miracle' six-inch megalodon tooth from a Florida seabed.

In footage shared to TikTok that was viewed over 4.5 million times, the giant tooth was seen buried in deep green seawater, before Heim was visibly ecstatic as he picked it up.

He described the find as 'one of the best days of my life', as he screamed with happiness while emerging from the water holding the half-a-foot tooth.
A councillor said it 'boggles belief' that council staff raided his empty office to confiscate a 'problematic' flag of the city because the historic symbol has no recognition of Indigenous people.

City of Sydney Liberal councillor Lyndon Gannon had the contentious flag, which has been in use since 1908, hanging behind him when it was spotted during a December Zoom council meeting.

The flag, which features a triple-masted sailing ship on a yellow-and-gold background along with three coats of arms and a red-and-white English naval ensign, does not acknowledge First Nations peoples.

This is what prompted Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Mayor in August 2022 to call it 'problematic' along with other symbols of the city such as the chains of office and coat of arms - even though it had a major redesign in 1996.

The former City of Sydney flag was spotted in the background as Liberal Councillor Lyndon Gannon was on a Zoom call for a council meeting

Her motion for a review was passed by council but is yet to occur with Cr Gannon telling Daily Mail Australia the city flag was hanging in his office 'like it always was' when it was spotted.

'I got a call from the council CEO a few days later saying they were coming to collect it because of the review being undertaken. I wasnt even in my office when they came in to get it,' Cr Gannon said.

The councillor said it 'boggles belief' that council staff were fixated on issues such as the flag rather than substantial problems.

'Instead of spending the last 18 months fixing the rubbish crisis, the rat plague of Kings Cross, the highly politicised NYE childrens fireworks, the City has gone around confiscating inoffensive symbols,' he said.

The flag has been stored in council's 'civic collection'.

Cr Gannon decried the obliteration of historically significant items.

'Old histories should not be burned, old statues should not be torn down or defaced, and our flags should not be buried,' he said.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore called for the symbols of Sydney to be reviewed in August 2022

'Instead, they should be challenged and complemented by new histories, historical evidence, and modern monuments and symbols.'

While Cr Gannon believed the City of Sydney's symbols needed to be updated to reflect Indigenous history as well as post-war migration from non-British areas, he called for that to be done in a 'considered, reflective, and timely manner'.

'To hide them in shame without a timeline for renewal sends the wrong message,' he said.

The City of Sydney flag, which is no longer used by council, was designed in 1908 and has the same design as appears on the original coat of arms

'Im more focused on making sure the bins are collected, the rat plagues are taken care of, and were supporting small business.'

On its website the City of Sydney says it symbols 'have a rich history'.

'The City's flag includes the shield from the Arms granted by the College of Arms in London on 30 July 1908,' the website says.

The flag bears the arms of Thomas Townshend, Viscount Sydney, while the English Naval Flag 'acknowledges the role Arthur Philip played in Sydneys foundation'.

'In the top left the arms belong to Thomas Townshend, Viscount Sydney after whom the city was named.'

'The red cross is overlaid with a globe and 2 stars  the principal features of James Cooks Arms, which were granted as a posthumous honour for his service in mapping Australia,' the website says.

'The arms in the top right belong to the first Lord Mayor of Sydney, Thomas Hughes. It was during his term of office that the title of Mayor became Lord Mayor, and the official coat of arms for the city was granted.

'The remaining field of the flag features a ship under full sail, an allusion to the prominence of Sydney as a maritime port.'

Sydney's 1908 coat of arms depicted an Indigenous man and a British settler on either side of a three-mast ship, above the words: 'I take but I surrender'.

Its 1996 replacement greatly simplifies the arms and instead of the two human figures features a stylised Rainbow Serpent - an icon of Indigenous peoples - and a coiled rope to represent Sydney's maritime heritage.

Sydney Council spokesperson said they were in 'the process of commissioning a review of emblems and symbols in the Sydney Town Hall, to ensure that they accurately reflect the City's aspirations and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and heritage'.

'The City of Sydney flag is based on the City's former Coat of Arms and contains no acknowledgement of First Nations people,' the spokesperson said.

'As such, it is no longer flown.

'The City of Sydney flies the Australian flag, Aboriginal flag and Torres Strait Islander flag over Town Hall.'
The US Navy will name its new destroyer after a Second World War hero who saved 15 shipmates from shark-infested waters when their ship was sunk by the Japanese.

Charles Jackson French was one of six Sailors who swam for hours to rescue all but 11 members of the USS Gregory's crew by towing them to safety on a raft.

French was recommended for the Navy Cross but was never awarded a medal for his bravery.

Instead he received a letter of commendation from Admiral William F. 'Bull' Halsey, the commander of the Southern Pacific Fleet.

Charles Jackson French is a World War II hero. He saved 15 shipmates by swimming six to eight hours though shark-invested waters towing a life raft. He is pictured with his sister Viola at during a game in 1943

French was 22-years-old and was a mess attendant working as a cook on the USS Gregory (682) when it was bombed and sank by the Japanese on September 4, 1942

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro has now announced the service will be naming a new Arleigh Burke-class destroyer after French, in honor of his heroics.

In May 2022, Del Toro posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal to French. A training pool for rescue swimmers at Naval Base San Diego was also named after him.

It was the night of September 4, 1942, when the crew of the USS Gregory were patrolling the area between Savo Island and Guadalcanal in the Soloman Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

The crew encountered Japanese destroyers Yudachi, Hatsuyuki, and Murakumo.

Charles Jackson French was a member of the US Navy during World War Two  his ship was sunk by Japanese forces He saved the lives of 15 of his shipmates by swimming through shark-infested waters near the Solomon Islands towing a life raft tied around his waist

The Japanese ships went undetected and opened fire on the USS Gregory and her sister ship USS Little, after the Navy ships were suddenly illuminated by flares dropped by a Navy pilot patrolling nearby.

The Japanese destroyers, along with a cruiser, began firing at 1am as the Battle of Guadalcanal commenced.

The USS Gregory was outgunned and ablaze and lasted only three minutes before sinking.

French, a 22-year-old Mess Attendant, was on board the USS Gregory that night.

U.S. warships were, like the rest of the military, segregated during World War II. Black sailors often served as cooks and stewards.

His story was featured in a comic book but after the war it was largely forgotten. French successfully brought the men to safety on the shores of the Solomon Islands by swimming for 6-8 hours

French, along with a few uninjured Sailors, found themselves floating on makeshift rafts in the ocean after the sinking.

In a daring act of heroism, French, amidst shark-infested waters, essentially became a human tugboat.

He tied a rope around his waist and swam through the night for between six and eight hours, towing a raft filled with his injured shipmates.

'Just tell me if I'm going the right way,' he is said to have called out to the sailors who were all white.

Had he not pulled them to safety, the current that would have pushed their raft toward a Japanese-occupied shore.

Despite attempts to convince him to leave the dangerous waters, French who stood at just 58 and 195 pounds, remained resolute and stayed with his shipmates, stating that he feared the Japanese more than the sharks.

French and the 15 Sailors who were on the raft, many of whom were hurt, were spotted by a scout aircraft at sunrise, leading to their rescue by a Marine landing craft.

Whenn French his shipmates were finally rescued, the staff of a hospital tried to separate French from the group into quarters specifically for blacks.

The injured shipmates of the Gregory men refused to allow that to happen - threatening to fight.

His story was featured in a comic book but after the war it was largely forgotten.

In an attempt to honor his actions and rectify the past, Navy Secretary Carlos del Toro has now announced the service will be naming a new Arleigh Burke-class destroyer after French, in honor of his heroics

An Arleigh Burke-class destroyer of the U.S. Navy will be named after him and likely come into service in about 2031

'French gathered 15 shipmates onto a raft and, fearing they would drift to a Japanese-controlled island, towed the raft himself to a different island,' Del Toro explained last week during the Surface Navy Association 36th National Symposium in Virgina.

'He swam for hours, pulling 15 souls from the jaws of the sea, defying the odds and the sharks with nothing but his own grit and compassion.'

'For too long, we did not recognize Petty Officer French appropriately, but we've begun to correct that.

'With profound conviction and heart brimming with long-overdue recognition, I am proud to announce the name of our newest destroyer, DDG 142, will be the USS Charles J. French.

'Let this ship inspire us to challenge our own limitations and to alwaysalwaysanswer the call of duty, even when the waters are rough and the path ahead uncertain.'
A Mexican bride spent her wedding day in handcuffs after she and her soon-to-be husband were charged with a massive extortion scheme involving drug cartels.

The bride, named as Nancy N, was arrested December 22 ahead of her wedding to a man called Clemente N. He was also known by the alias 'Raton' - meaning 'mouse.'

Prosecutors posted video and photos on social media, including photos showing Nancy N. in a wedding dress and handcuffs, surrounded by police.

Six other men were arrested that day alongside the bride and groom on accusations that they pressured chicken merchants near Mexico City to the point of kidnapping four employees of a poultry shop in nearby Toluca.

Many of the members had nicknames and prosecutors identified their roles in the extortion plot.

A Mexican bride spent her wedding day in handcuffs last month after she and her soon-to-be husband were charged with a massive extortion scheme involving drug cartels

The bride, whom Mexican prosecutors are calling Nancy N., was arrested on December 22 ahead of her wedding

One of the men taken in by police, identified as Santiago N., is alleged to have driven 'an Explorer-type truck' to drive the kidnapping victims.

A man nicknamed 'Chicken' identified as Misael N. 'controlled extortion activities' in the area.

Another, called Nabor N., is known to be a 'main order and controller of the chicken and egg trade.'

The suspects are believed to be connected to a drug cartel known as La Familia Michoacana which was charged with killing half a dozen people with a drone in Southern Mexico earlier in January.

They are believed by prosecutors to be fighting off rival gangs in order to control the area.

Extortion plots by gangs remain a huge problem in Mexico, despite a 3.4 percent drop in activity in 2023 vs. 2022.

Authorities claim that criminal gangs have lost $47million in profits from being unable to extort local poultry and egg businesses, according to CBS News.

Police are continuing to investigate the plot.

Six other men were arrested that day alongside the bride and groom on accusations that they pressured chicken merchants near Mexico City to the point of kidnapping four employees of a poultry shop in nearby Toluca

Authorities claim that criminal gangs have lost $47million in profits from being unable to extort local poultry and egg businesses

A Southwestern border survey revealed in December that Mexican migrants have abandoned their homes for a new life in the United States because of cartel violence instead of economic difficulties

A Southwestern border survey revealed in December that Mexican migrants have abandoned their homes for a new life in the United States because of cartel violence instead of economic difficulties.

The study showed that 88 percent of the people (6,710 people) who passed through the center revealed that they wanted to get away from violence stemming from turf wars between the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

The data - collected by the Kino Border Initiative, a large migrant shelter and resource center in Nogolas, Sonora - was a stark difference from 2017 when 87 percent of the 7,148 respondents indicated that they were migrating to America because of economic hardships.

The survey showed that just 2 percent of the people who were interviewed revealed that they had left everything behind because of violence.

The recent Kino Border Initiative were almost on par with the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration 2022 survey, which revealed that 500 Mexicans (90 percent) who moved to the north were seeking entry to the United States because they were escaping from violence, extortion, armed clashes or organized crime.

At least 25 percent of them had a family member who had been reported missing.
A young couple whose love flourished in a hospital's chemotherapy treatment unit have made a heartbreaking plea to the public after one of them received a terminal diagnosis.

Joe Fan, 29, and Ainslie Plumb, 22, first connected at an event for young people suffering from cancer to meet with each other at Brisbane's Royal and Women's Hospital in 2022.

They were both being treated for various types of leukemia and would spend their chemotherapy treatments together, sessions which quickly bloomed into a relationship.

While Ms Plumb's cancer successfully went into remission, Mr Fan's doctors told him they had run out of treatment options and gave him just months to live.

The dedicated girlfriend has asked the public to help Mr Fan tick off travelling to Hong Kong, New Zealand and Western Australia from his bucket list before time runs out.

A young couple whose love blossomed during chemotherapy treatment, Joe Fan (right) and Ainslie Plumb (left) have asked the public to help Joe complete his bucket list before time runs out

A GoFundMe organised by Ms Plumb for the couple's trip has raised over $21,000 in just over a month, surpassing its $20,000 goal.

In a post to the fundraising page, Ms Plumb said Mr Fan's 'biggest wish for the time he has left is to travel'.

'However this is a big ask with both of us on Centrelink and unable to work regular jobs. Any amount helps us fulfil his dream so that he has no regrets.

'The money raised will go towards covering flights and accommodation and specialised travel insurance for Joe.'

The couple are hoping to start their trip towards the end of February, leaving enough time to consult with Mr Fan's doctors on how he will receive treatment.

'Joe and I have decided our first destination will be Taiwan and Hong Kong,' Ms Plumb told 7News.

'This is really important to Joe as both his parents are from Taiwan and he himself was raised and did most of his primary and secondary schooling in Hong Kong.'

They also hope to make it to Ningaloo, on Western Australia's north coast, to swim with whale sharks.

The couple have asked for the public to help fund a final holiday for Mr Fan (pictured) after he was given a terminal diagnosis and told he had just months left to live

In a post to the fundraising page, Ms Plumb described her boyfriend as a 'special soul' who has worked tirelessly to make the other patients' lives better throughout a three-year battle with cancer.

'He has played violin in the hospital for patients and staff as part of The Stairwell Project and has worked with the Queensland Youth Cancer Service,' Ms Plumb wrote to the fundraiser.

Despite his conditioning worsening, Mr Fan has even given keynote speeches to healthcare workers in a bid to help improve advanced health care and end of life care for young patients.

In a recent update after the fundraiser passed 75 per cent completion, Ms Plumb said they were grateful to just celebrate his 29th birthday as they 'weren't sure we would make it this far'.

She said that 'words do not suffice' for the support the couple have received from both loved ones and random people.
Donald Trump thanked all of his family and paid tribute to his late mother-in-law on Monday night after his historic victory in the Iowa caucuses.

The former president, 77, said wife Melania's mother Amalija Knavs was 'looking down' from heaven and would be 'proud' of the historic result as he praised all his rivals during his victory lap speech.

Knavs died last week at the age of 78 and her funeral is set to be held in Florida this week after Trump attends the court to hear E. Jean Carroll's defamation case against him.

He celebrated after storming to victory in the first primary contest in just 30 minutes by waiting on stage as Lee Greenwood's 'God Bless the USA' played to the crowd.

Trump paid tribute to all of his children, including son Barron who he said was 'watching on TV'.

He said that his 17-year-old son was so tall because he kept eating all of grandmother Knav's food.

Trump then congratulated Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis as they battled for second time and said they had a 'good time together'.

Donald Trump has called for the U.S. to 'come together' and thanked all of his family after he decimated the rest of the Republican field in the Iowa caucus

The former president, 77, said wife Melania's late mother Amalija Knavs was 'looking down' and would be 'proud' of the historic result

He also had kind words for Vivek Ramaswamy, just before he announced he was suspending his campaign.

I also want to congratulate Vivek because he did one hell of a job. He came from zero  thats an amazing job, Trump said.

The historic landslide came despite Arctic temperatures and the Hawkeye State being battered by blizzards that were expected to decimate turnout.

It gives Trump a massive boost as he seeks to win the Republican presidential nomination and return to the White House in what would be the most remarkable political comeback in U.S. history.

The early call sparked outrage from the rest of the Republican field, with DeSantis' campaign accusing the news networks of being involved in 'election interference'.

Thousands of die-hard Iowans braved wind chills as low as minus 35 degrees and ignored frostbite warnings to head to their precincts to cast their votes.

Trump huddled inside the site in downtown Des Moines for more than an hour after cable networks and the AP infuriated Ron DeSantis by calling the race for him while caucuses were still tabulating support.

He was accompanied by his son Donald Trump, Jr., who has been a constant surrogate and who warned earlier Monday of a plot to suppress the vote.

The swiftness of the call got the jump on Trumps campaign party planners. His followers hadnt even arrived at the party yet by the time networks made the call.

It was only after he was declared the winner that his campaign cranked up the PA system to play Elvis Presleys Suspicious Minds.

Supporters yelled Trump! Trump! and Build the wall! as they waited for the former president to appear, while a cash bar served drinks. Two large monitors showed a Fox News feed broadcasting the size of his victory.

Former First Lady Melania Trump 's mother Amalija Knavs, 78, has died after being hospitalized in Miami, Florida, over the holidays. She is pictured center with her daughter and Donald Trump in 2018

Knavs was a textile factory dealer in her native Slovenia when she met husband Viktor. The pair then moved to the U.S. and have been by Melania's side during her career from modeling to the East Wing. She is pictured with her daughter in 2004

The former president, 77, holds a thumb's up with son Don Jr. next to a TV screen showing Fox News projecting him to win the race

As of 10pm, Trump had more than 50 percent of the votes with Haley and DeSantis scrapping in second place

The historic landslide came despite Arctic temperatures and the Hawkeye State being battered by blizzards that were expected to decimate turnout

By the time he came out, his campaign had already said he won in a landslide and allies including Rep. Elise Stefanik and the Make American Great Again PAC were calling for rivals to drop out of the race.

Trumps celebration came while Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley were in a duel for second place, and a DeSantis aide called it Absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote.

The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet, complained aide Andrew Romero.

Still to be determined was whether Trump would crack the 50-percent threshold, and whether one of his rivals would capture enough momentum to get a boost in New Hampshire or South Carolina.

Three caucus goers show up at the Franklin Jr. High School in Iowa, ready to cast their vote

Sharon McNutt holds paper ballots listing the names of the candidates in alphabetical order

Voters begin to arrive at a caucus site at Fellows Elementary School to choose their Republican candidate

Trump surrogate Kari Lake gushed about the win and called on rivals to get out.

Everybody and their brother knew President Trump was going to win. Question is how devoted to this countrys future were the people of Iowa. And tonight we discovered that Iowans are as amazing as we thought they were. They showed up in droves, she told DailyMail.com at Trumps victory party.

Im so proud of my home state, the native Iowan said.

She brushed off the 50-percent threshold as a fixation. Anything over 12 per cent was going to be a huge victory, she said of Trumps victory margin. And I think hes going to get over that 50 per cent. I hope so. But Ill tell you what, Ill take the victory any day.

Asked to assess the importance of Trumps trials (head flies to New York for one tomorrow), she said, I think Americans just understand whats going on, accusing some media members of character assassination of a man who loves this country.

She called for DeSantis and Haley to drop out, but used a soft touch. She urged DeSantis to take sojme time to go back to Florida. He just won that election. The people of Florida are counting on Governor DeSantis to go back and lead that  state. Its a great state in this country. And I hope that he goes into some soul searching and recognizes that this isnt just another political moment in history  Its not his time.

Then she took a slap at Haley, saying  I hope Haley, Nikki Haley, will tell her big donors and the big military industrial complex, no, Im not going to be your pawn. Im going to stand behind President Trump. Were going to save this country. Were going to not waste hundreds of millions more in ads going to New Hampshire.
The shock reason an elderly couple keyed luxury vehicles in broad daylight was revealed in court on Tuesday.

Raymond Edwards, 70, and his wife Barbara, also 70, acted in a fit of road rage, their lawyer said, as they each pleaded guilty to wilful damage in Brisbane Magistrates Court.

They were charged after being caught on camera keying luxury cars at inner-north Brisbane's Brookside Shopping Centre in Mitchelton in October last year.

The footage from the damaged Tesla's on-board cameras showed the pair weaving through the parked cars before keying the electric car with aim to cause damage.

The court was told Mr Edwards had also keyed a white BMW parked next to the Tesla.

An elderly couple keyed luxury vehicles in broad daylight in a fit of road rage, a court has been told. Barbara Edwards, 70, is pictured as family members tried to shield her with an umbrella

The Edwards' were charged after being caught on camera keying luxury cars (pictured) at inner-north Brisbane's Brookside Shopping Centre in Mitchelton in October last year

Police prosecutor Sergeant Josh Kelly said officers had received quotes for the damage to each vehicle, amounting to $2443.61 for the BMW and $1794.51 for the Tesla.

Sergeant Kelly requested the couple pay the repair costs despite the possibility the car owners might have had insurance.

'It's the case for whatever reason, there's been some sort of disagreement with the road users and the defendants have taken matters into their own hands and indiscriminately broken laws,' he said.

'In the circumstances, it's appropriate restitution be ordered for those amounts regardless or not [that] the people have insurance.

'The community at large suffers if we rely on the insurance to cover expenses.'

Representing both the Edwards' in court, defence lawyer Bruce Peters said his clients had apologised for the damage they caused.

He explained their outburst was the direct result of an earlier incident in which a white Tesla and a white BMW allegedly 'cut them off the road and almost forced them into a power pole' about 800m from the Brookside Shopping Centre.

'Once they regained their composure, they continued on to the Brookside Shopping Centre and, lo and behold, the two cars that they thought were the ones that cut them off  a white BMW and a white Tesla  were parked adjacent to one another,' Mr Peters said.

'They took their frustrations out on the cars.'

The couple was each given a $500 good behaviour bond for 12 months.

Raymond Edwards (pictured) and his wife Barbara each pleaded guilty to wilful damage

The couple's lawyer said they keyed the cars (pictured) due to an earlier incident in which a white Tesla and a white BMW allegedly 'cut them off'

Mr Edwards was ordered to pay $2443.61 in restitution for the damage caused to the Tesla and the BMW, while Mrs Edwards was ordered to pay the remaining $897.25 for Tesla repair work.

No convictions were recorded.

As they left court, the couple was shielded by their family and friends with umbrellas in a bid to escape being photographed after they claimed they'd been harassed on social media following the release of the video of the cars being damaged.

In court, Mr Peters said a rock had allegedly been thrown at his clients' house and they had been 'vilified' online since the video went viral.
Vivek Ramaswamy, the young entrepreneur who exploded into the race for the Republican presidential nomination, stunned his supporters by terminating his White House run and endorsing Donald Trump.

Ramaswamy, 38, a charismatic multi-millionaire, came a distant fourth in the Iowa caucuses, the first 2024 contest in the nation, behind Trump , Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley .

The fast-talking biotech businessman told his shocked followers in Des Moines, Iowa on Monday night: 'I think it is true that we did not achieve the surprise that we wanted to deliver tonight.

'As of this moment we are going to suspend this presidential campaign...there is no path for me to be the next president absent things we don't want to see in this country.'

Ramaswamy called Trump earlier in the night - and endorsed the former president, saying an 'America First' candidate needed to be the one to win the White House.

Republican presidential candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy speaks to supporters as he stands with his wife Apoorva Tewari and son Karthik at his Iowa caucus night watch party after suspending his campaign and endorsing former U.S. President Donald Trump in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. January 15, 2024

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is dropping out of the 2024 race after disappointing results in the Iowa caucuses

Vivek Ramaswamy came in a disappointing fourth place with under 8 percent of the votes from Iowa's caucusgoers. The result prompted the entrepreneur to drop out and endorse former President Donald Trump, who led the pack with 51 percent support

'Earlier tonight, I called Donald Trump to tell him that I congratulate him on his victory. And now going forward, he will have my full endorsement for the presidency,' Ramaswamy said.

Ramaswamy spent the final hours of his campaign calling out the media for erasing him from the race.

In a post on X, Ramaswamy shared a Fox News/Associated Press survey that gave respondents only three Republican candidates to choose from - Trump, Haley and DeSantis.

'RIGGED,' Ramaswamy wrote late Monday afternoon. 'Fox & AP just sent a broad "voter attitudes" poll on the eve of the caucus, which they'll report on TV right before the Iowa caucus. It leaves one candidate off the list.'

Ramaswamy's spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin also called out The New York Times for only including Trump, Haley and DeSantis on the newspaper's Iowa caucus results landing page.

When web users clicked to see a full list of candidates, Ramaswamy's name appeared there.

'Stick it to the media & shock the world at the Iowa caucus tonight,' Ramaswamy encouraged his Hawkeye State supporters in his post on X.

Republican presidential candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy embraces a supporter at his Iowa caucus night watch party after suspending his campaign and endorsing former U.S. President Donald Trump in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. January 15, 2024

Republican presidential candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy waves while speaking to supporters as he stands with his wife Apoorva Tewari and son Karthik at his Iowa caucus night watch party after suspending his campaign and endorsing former U.S. President Donald Trump in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. January 15, 2024

But with 95 percent of votes in, Ramaswamy had only received 7.7 percent of the vote.

Ramaswamy brought conservative millennial energy to the Republican race - rapping to Eminem at the Iowa state fair and slapping around anything he deemed too 'woke.'

Throughout his run, he stayed complimentary of Trump, but told voters he represented a next generation choice for the MAGA movement.

He also had several memorable debate moments, generally focusing his ire on Haley and even writing 'Nikki = Corrupt' on a notepad and showing it off to the audience during the December Tuscaloosa showdown.

For his antics, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie - who dropped out of the race Wednesday - dubbed Ramaswamy 'the most obnoxious blowhard in America.'

In the days leading up to the Iowa caucuses, Ramaswamy took surprise fire from Trump.

The former president warned supporters not to 'waste' their vote on Ramaswamy even if they liked his message and even with Trump polling far out in front.

Signs in support of Republican presidential candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump and Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis are displayed at a caucus site at Horizon Event Center in Clive, Iowa, U.S. January 15, 2024

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, his wife Apoorva Tewari Ramaswamy, an Assistant Professor and surgeon at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and their two children.

National coalition director for the campaign Esther Joy gestures while Republican presidential candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy kisses his wife Apoorva Ramaswamy during his campaign visit to the Lion Bridge Brewing Company, before the caucus vote, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S. January 15, 2024

A man clears snow from a sidewalk beside the campaign bus of Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy who was preparing to speak at a pre-caucus campaign event at Grimaldi's Pizzeria in Ankeny, Iowa, Sunday January 14, 2024

'A VOTE FOR VIVEK IS A WASTED VOTE. I LIKE VIVEK, BUT HE PLAYED IT TOO "CUTE" WITH US,' Trump wrote Monday morning.

'CAUCUS TONIGHT, VOTE FOR DONALD J. TRUMP, BUILD UP THE NUMBERS!!! IN NOVEMBER, WE MUST TAKE OUR VERY TROUBLED NATION  A NATION IN DECLINE  BACK FROM CROOKED JOE BIDEN AND THE RADICAL LEFT DEMOCRATS AND THUGS WHO ARE DESTROYING IT. MAGA!!!' the ex-president added.

On Monday night, Trump was complimentary of Ramaswamy during his victory celebration.

'I also want to congratulate Vivek because he did one hell of a job. He came from zero  that's an amazing job,' Trump said.

Later Trump commended Ramaswamy on Truth Social for endorsing him.

'Thank you Vivek, a Great Honor!' the ex-president and 2024 frontrunner said.
January 16, 2024: Soon after Russia invaded in early 2022, Ukraine formed small mobile units of troops using All-Terrain Vehicles/ATVs from a variety of manufacturers and usually armed with locally manufactured Anti-Tank Guided Missiles/ATGMs. Some were armed with heavy machine-guns or automatic grenade launchers. Some of the ATVs were carrying captured Russian ATGMs. The ATGM systems mounted on the ATVs were the ones that were heavier and more cumbersome to carry on foot into combat. For that the Ukrainians preferred the more portable Western ATGMs. The ATVs were ideal for using heavier and less portable locally produced ATGMs.

These 21s-Century Cossacks are doing what the first Cossacks did 500 years ago, traveling light and using whatever weapons they could carry and use on foot or on horseback. The original Cossacks were most effective at raiding and restricting the movements and capabilities of a larger force. Cossacks would raid supply columns and force the enemy to use more troops for guard duty and larger reconnaissance patrols. Cossacks could weaken a larger force and reduce its offensive capabilities.

Its not surprising that these modern Cossacks would emerge in Ukraine now, because this sort of speedy improvisation by a largely recent volunteer force of civilians is one reason the Russians have been losing. The Ukrainians know what they are fighting for while most of the Russian troops who initially invaded were unaware, they were in another country until hastily organized and armed Ukrainians began ambushing them with effective anti-tank weapons and superior tactics and communications. Russian troops are still unsure why they are invading Ukraine while the Ukrainians are defending themselves any way they can.

These neo-Cossacks, in the form of small, mobile motorized forces, were first developed by the British during World War II in North Africa. German and Italian forces established airfields and supply storage sites out in the desert that were lightly guarded because any ground force would be spotted from the air before it got near. To get around that Britain developed the Long Range Desert Group/LRDG consisting of small units with a dozen or so men in wheeled vehicles modified for off-road use in desert terrain. The troops were volunteers trained to use these vehicles and navigate in the desert. While raids on remote airfields and supply depots were the most dramatic operations, the most valuable role of the LRDG was collecting information on enemy strength, dispositions, and movements. This often involved monitoring enemy traffic on the coastal roads, which were the primary traffic route in North Africa. Out of this came the British Special Air Service/SAS commandos and the maritime version, the Special Boat Service/SBS. After World War II other nations based their special operations forces on the British model.

British special operations troops were the first to develop unique vehicles for commando missions in rough terrain and U.S. Special Operations Command/SOCOM adopted the same practice. SAS and SOCOM would use whatever new mobility tech that was available for missions and thats how ATVs of all sorts were adapted when needed for operations in remote desert or mountain areas as were found in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.

One SAS innovation was to send out sniper teams mounted on quad bikes (four wheeled motorcycles) to seek out and kill al Qaeda or ISIL terrorists in Iraq. The Quads were an early form of ATV that are still in use. SOCOM preferred ATMs based on dune buggies. Militarized versions of these dune buggies were developed by British firm Supacat and American firm Polaris in the 1980s, followed by the Israeli TomCar in the 1990s.

What the Americans and British special operations forces validated in combat led other NATO special operations troops to quickly adopt the new equipment and tactics. Moslem nations that worked with NATO special operations forces after 2001 did the same. Some of these troops were from Middle Eastern nations and had already been using civilian ATVs or the early British vehicles adapted for long range desert missions.

In the 2020s military ATVs completed the evolution from civilian sport vehicles to military vehicles. For example, in the 1990s there were the Polaris MRZR ATVs equipped with high performance diesel engines using military JP8 fuel. The U.S. military began using JP8, a form of aviation fuel, as a standard fuel for vehicles, aircraft, boats, and generators in the 1980s. By 1990 the U.S. military adopted JP8 as its standard fuel and all new engines had to be built or adapted to use it. This was cheaper than building multi-fuel engines which could adapt to a wide variety of fuels.

Some exceptions were allowed, such as ATVs which SOCOM was able to acquire over a decade ago because SOCOM was allowed to try new equipment of all sorts to accomplish their missions. The MRZR vehicles were military versions of civilian ATVs Polaris began introducing in the 1980s. Those were often called dune buggies, because they were able to operate effectively on beaches and sand dunes. When these vehicles were first adopted by special operations troops in the 1980s and 90s, they were heavier than later ATVs and less mobile than the later Polaris ATVs but became enormously popular with civilian and military users because they were designed for use in the most remote and undeveloped areas with no roads no roads. While this had obvious appeal for SOCOM, there were many civilians that worked in areas where there were few roads, including construction sites in remote areas and staff in large rural parks. Active duty and reserve military are often called on to assist during natural disasters, as well as operate in combat zones that lack roads or even trails. Noting SOCOMs success with ATVs, these regular troops and their commanders began requesting ATVs when surveyed about equipment that would increase mobility in combat zones. Hummer vehicles, adopted in the 1980s to replace the military jeep and light truck, were more mobile but could not match ATVs in the worst terrain. Once SOCOM got their JP8 ATVs, the rest of the military could easily get them as well.

In Britain, vehicle manufacturer Supacat supplied high mobility vehicles for industry and the military. This included a Special Forces patrol vehicle created by militarizing the civilian Wildcat off-road vehicle. The result is a vehicle similar to Supacat's own Jackal off-road patrol vehicle, but at half the price. However, the Wildcat does not have the anti-mine armor and general bullet-proofing.

Britain had already ordered several hundred Jackal armored patrol vehicles. These weighed 6.6 tons, which was less than half as much as the widely used armored Mine Resistant Armor Protected/MRAP trucks. The 4x4 Jackals do most of their traveling off road, thus avoiding most roadside bombs and mines. Jackal is basically a patrol vehicle, carrying up to five people. This vehicle is armored on the bottom to give protection from mines but is largely open up top. The vehicle mounts 12.7mm and 7.62mm machine-guns, as well as a 40mm automatic grenade launcher. The Supacat chassis has been around for a while and comes in 6x6 versions as well. It has excellent cross country capabilities. Top speed of the Jackal is 80 kilometers an hour, and the vehicle normally carries 3-4 troops. These were initially bought for the SAS commandos, who were quite pleased with the vehicle. The British Army began ordering Jackals for Afghanistan service in 2008.

Jackals are fairly compact vehicles, only 5.4 meters long with one meter ground clearance. Top speed is 130 kilometers an hour on roads. Jackals are usually armed with 12.7mm and 7.62mm machine-guns. About half the Jackals are Jackal 2, which seats four, has better overhead protection and better resistance to roadside bombs. The 2.5 ton Wildcat is a much lighter vehicle but has the same cross-country mobility.

The Americans developed the MRZR ATVs equipped with a more powerful turbo-diesel engine that uses JP8. These vehicles are updates of MRZR4 that weigh 1.5 tons when loaded with nearly 700 kg of fuel, passengers, and cargo. MRZR4 has no doors, four seats, and a steel framework on top which is usually left open for maximum visibility, and acts as a rollbar to protect passengers if there is an accident. The vehicle is optimized for cross country operations with four-wheel drive, a suspension built for safe travel over broken terrain and an 88-horsepower engine providing a top speed of 96 kilometers an hour on flat terrain. Fuel capacity is 27.4 liters and range depends on what sort of terrain the vehicle is operating on. Using simple tools, the seating and cargo carrying configuration of the MRZR4 can be quickly changed to seat up to six or just two with two litters in the back for badly injured passengers. The cargo configuration can carry over 400 kg of anything in the flatbed behind the driver. MRZR4 tires are optimized for off-road use and later models tires were even more resistant to damage. MRZR4 is 3.59 meters long, 1.52 meters wide and 1.87 meters high. Collapsing the roll-bar cage reduces height to 1.52 meters. Empty weight is 853 kg, and it can carry a maximum payload of 680 kg.

The latest update of MRZR4 is called MRZR Alpha and includes a turbo-diesel engine plus several changes to the chassis that made it easier to reconfigure and provide a more stable ride. The new engine increased maximum payload by 33 percent, and has more torque for getting through deep sand or other terrain other vehicles would get stuck in. Another user request included the ability to produce more electric power for recharging or powering the growing number of portable electronic devices used by the military.

Military forces in over twenty nations have been buying more than a dozen different models of MRZR vehicles for military, paramilitary and police force operations. The MRZR4 and slightly smaller MRZR2 have been around since 2008 and receive periodic upgrades based on user feedback. The smaller MRZR2 is a 1.1-ton 4x4 vehicle that can carry nearly 450 kg of fuel, passengers, and cargo. It is 3 meters long. These ATVs have proved ideal for operations in remote areas, especially because ATVs could be brought in via helicopter, dangling from the cargo sling most military helicopters are equipped with or carried inside larger helicopters as well as the new tilt-wing aircraft.

The MRZR manufacturer always paid attention to user civilian feedback and reacted quickly to the needs of military users. This was especially useful for special operations troops and often a matter of life and death. ATVs have proved useful and popular in Afghanistan, especially for special operations forces. There are many models in use, all of them militarized civilian ATVs. These vehicles are innovative both in original concept and how they are constantly modified and upgraded. For example, an important innovation was the use of non-pneumatic tires. The non-pneumatic tires are not solid like traditional tires but are built with a web of plastic honeycomb and surrounded by a thick band of rubber that is very similar to the tread found on pneumatic tires. These tires can survive a hit by a 12.7mm/.50 caliber bullet and keep going. They feel about the same as pneumatic tires, although some users report they are not as effective in mud or watery surfaces.

These ATVs have been so popular that many troops bought them when they got back home and used them for cross-country trips, camping, hunting, or just sightseeing. The U.S. Army bought some for use by troops just returned from Iraq or Afghanistan because it was found that high-excitement recreation, initially video games, helped the troops decompress after returning from a combat tour.
US and UK airstrikes on Houthis have had limited impact, a US official has warned - after an American cargo ship was hit by rebel missiles.

Monday's attack by the Houthis on the M/V Gibraltar Eagle - a Marshall Islands-flagged, US-owned and operated container ship - did not result in serious damage.

No one was hurt, and the ship was continuing it journey. But, an official told CNN, it showed that Friday's attack on the Houthis failed to significantly degrade their capabilities.

The Houthis, backed by Iran, have since November been attacking ships in the Red Sea, purportedly in support for Gazans.

Washington and London have repeatedly warned the Houthis and their Iranian controllers to stop attacking the vital shipping route.

On Friday they took action after their warnings were ignored, and struck 30 targets, the U.S. said. Britain's prime minister, Rishi Sunak, said 13 targets were hit.

Houthi rebels in Yemen are seen at a rally in Sanaa on January 11

Footage shared on social media showed the U.S. and British air strikes in Yemen on Friday

The strikes were successful - 93 percent of their targets were damaged or destroyed.

But they were limited: they left intact almost three quarters of Houthi capabilities, a senior official told CNN.

'Message received and some degradation - but we expect a response, and don't believe we have set back their military efforts substantially,' the official said.

John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, said on Friday that the strikes achieved their aims.

'This wasn't some signaling exercise,' he said. 'This was designed to disrupt and to degrade Houthi military capabilities.'

The strikes were launched against command and control nodes, munitions, launching systems, production facilities, and air defense radar systems.

'This was not necessarily about casualties as much as it was about degrading capability,' Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims II, director of operations for the Joint Staff, said in a briefing last week.

'This was solely designed to get after the capability that is impeding the freedom of navigation in international waters, and we feel pretty confident we did good work on that.'

Britain insisted the strikes were an act of 'self-defense' intended to 'de-escalate tensions and to restore stability to the region.'

Yet on Monday, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) first reported there had been an 'incident' 95 nautical miles south east of Aden.

That report only said the ship's captain reported that the 'port side of vessel hit from above by a missile,' but did not identify the ship or elaborate.

The U.S. later confirmed the ship was the M/V Gibraltar Eagle.

And on Sunday, the Houthi rebels launched an attack against an American destroyer in the Red Sea.

Sunday's attack toward the American warship marked the first U.S.-acknowledged fire by the Houthis since America and allied nations began strikes Friday on the rebels following weeks of assaults on shipping in the Red Sea.

A US commercial ship was hit by a missile off the coast of Yemen on Monday

On Sunday Yemen's Houthi rebels launched an attack against an American destroyer in the Red Sea

The Houthis  a Shiite rebel group allied with Iran that seized Yemen's capital in 2014  have targeted that crucial corridor linking Asian and Mideast energy and cargo shipments to the Suez Canal onward to Europe over the Israel-Hamas war, attacks that threaten to widen that conflict into a regional conflagration.

It wasn't presently clear whether the U.S. would retaliate for the latest attacks, though President Joe Biden has said he 'will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.'

The UKMTO warned ships to 'transit with caution and report and suspicious activity'.

The Shiite rebel group has declared war against the West over its support for Israel

A US fighter jet shot down anti-ship cruise missile fired toward the American destroyer USS Laboon (pictured) by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea Sunday, their first response to a series of drone strikes fired by the Americans in recent days

The missile came from near Hodeida, a Red Sea port city long held by the Houthis, the U.S. said.

The Houthis have been attacking commercial ship sin the Red Sea which they claim are headed to Israel as they aim to support Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas.

A US fighter jet blasted the Houthi cruise missile out of the sky over the Red Sea on Sunday before it was able to hit its target, the USS Laboon.

Rebels were seen posing with machine guns and rocket launchers in photos released Sunday.

Fighters were also photographed earlier in the weekend conducting drills and recording themselves in terrain made to resemble Jewish settlements.
Dallas Hayden, the wife of former Governor-General and Labor leader Bill Hayden, has died at age 87, three months after the death of her husband.

The Haydens had been married for more than six decades, and endured the entirety of Mr Hayden's political career as he rose from Labor MP to architect of universal health care to federal Opposition Leader to Governor-General.

The two eventually retired to a farm on the edge of Ipswich in Queensland, largely retreating from public life before Mr Hayden died aged 90 in October.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed Ms Hayden had followed her husband to the grave.

'Like all in the Labor family, I am saddened to hear of the passing of Dallas Hayden,' Mr Albanese said.

Dallas Hayden (pictured with Anthony Albanese), the wife of former Governor-General and Labor leader Bill Hayden, has died at age 87, three months after the death of her husband

'Dallas was a person of wonderful warmth and great depth, kind and gracious to strangers and friends alike.

'She spent many years playing supporting roles in public life and her optimism, her quiet courage and her strength of character were a powerful source of inspiration for her adoring husband, Bill.'

The Prime Minister offered his condolences to Mrs Hayden's family and friends on behalf of the Labor Party and the government.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton also paid tribute to Mrs Hayden, recognising her importance to the nation.

'A parliamentarian is blessed when they have a spouse at their side whose devotion, patience, level-headedness and love strengthens them as an individual,' he said in a statement.

'Dallas Hayden was such a wife to Bill Hayden and a woman who served her country with honour and grace alongside her husband.'

Mrs Hayden is survived by her children Georgina, Ingrid and Kirk.
The accident killed four passengers and left another with serious injuries

Firefighters arrived to hose down the blaze, which left the ground blackened

Flames ignited at the crash site moments after the balloon went down

New footage shows the immediate aftermath of the Arizona hot air balloon crash that killed four passengers and left another seriously injured.

A huge blaze ignited at the crash site, leaving a plume of dark smoke trailing into the sky.

Aerial footage showed firefighters arriving to snuff out the blaze, hosing down the blackened earth beneath their boots.

The balloon crashed in a rural area around five miles north of the city of Eloy just before 8am Sunday.

Thirteen people - eight skydivers, four passengers and a pilot - were on board, according to Mayor Micah Powell.

New footage shows a wall of flames at the site of the Arizona hot air balloon crash that killed four and left another person in critical condition at a local hospital

Aerial video shows firefighters arriving to battle the blaze, which left the ground completely charred

The balloon fell out of the air around 8am Sunday following an 'unspecified problem' with its envelope, the National Transportation Safety Board said

The eight skydivers leaped from the aircraft before the incident, leaving five people in the gondola.

Eloy Police Chief Byron Gwaltney said they were able to 'exit the balloon without incident' to complete a 'planned skydiving event' shortly before the balloon went down.

He said the skydivers intended to land at the Eloy Municipal Airport, just down the road from the scene of the accident.

'The incident appeared to occur very quickly,' Gwaltney said. 'It's just an absolute tragedy for our community and for the people that we're working with today.'

Preliminary information from the National Transportation Safety Board shows the balloon crashed following an 'unspecified problem' with its envelope.

The first victim was named as Kaitlynn 'Katie' Bartrom, 28, a registered nurse from Indiana.

Bartrom worked at the Fort Wayne Lutheran Hospital on the Advanced Cardiac Therapy floor and had recently graduated from nursing school.

Chayton Wiescholek, 28, Atahan Kiliccote, 24, and Cornelius Van Der Walt, 37, were also killed in the crash.

The first victim was identified as 28-year-old Kaitlynn 'Katie' Bartrom, a registered nurse from Indiana

Cornelius van der Walt, 37, was piloting the balloon before the tragic crash. He hailed from South Africa and resided in the city of Eloy, roughly five miles from the scene of the incident

Atahan Kiliccote, 24, graduated from Carnegie Mellon University's College of Engineering in 2022

Chayton Wiescholek, 28, was on the aircraft with his girlfriend, Kinsey. She was one of the eight skydivers who jumped shortly before the crash

Van der Walt was identified as the pilot. The 37-year-old hailed from South Africa but resided in Eloy.

'I'm so sorry that this one flight will likely be what the public will remember you for,' friend Phil Brandt wrote on Facebook.

'Just know that so many others, including myself, know that you were one hell of a good man and a superb pilot.'

Kiliccote, of Cupertino, California, attended Carnegie Mellon University's College of Engineering and graduated in 2022.

Wiescholek was from Union City, Michigan. His girlfriend Kinsey was one of the eight skydivers who jumped from the balloon shortly before the crash.

She was the last person to hear from him before his death.

'He texted her on the way down, saying, 'Goodbye, this isn't going to be good, I love you' and signed off,' Wiescholek's father told FOX 10.

Once Kinsey landed, she saw the text and immediately called her boyfriend. When someone else answered the phone, she shrugged off her harness and ran two miles to reach him, Wiescholek's mother said.

Valerie Stutterheim, a 23-year-old Scottsdale native, is the only surviving passenger. She remains in critical condition at a local hospital.
Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley told supporters Monday night that she was the 'last best hope' to stop a Trump-Biden rematch after coming in third place in the Iowa caucuses.

The former U.N. ambassador said that despite Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis narrowly beating her for second place in Iowa, her trajectory in the next primaries still made her the more formidable GOP candidate to go head-to-head against former President Donald Trump.

Trump walloped all of his presidential rivals in Iowa - beating DeSantis by around 30 points and forcing entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to bow out.

'The pundits will analyze the results from every angle, we get that. But when you look at how we're doing in New Hampshire, in South Carolina and beyond, I can safely say tonight, I will make this Republican primary a two-person race,' Haley told a crowd gathered at the West Des Moines Marriott.

She more forcefully went after Trump onstage Monday, linking him to President Joe Biden and pointing out how both were around 80-years-old.

Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley told supporters Monday night that she was the 'last best hope' to stop a Trump-Biden rematch after coming in third place in the Iowa caucuses

Former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley came in third place, on the heels of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in Monday's Iowa caucuses. She argued to supporters that she has a better path to take on Trump than DeSantis due to her strong polling in New Hampshire and support in South Carolina

Presidential hopeful NIkki Haley hugs at supporter at her Iowa caucus night event at the West Des Moines, Marriott. Haley had leapfrogged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place in some final Iowa polls but came in a close third place

'Trump and Biden both put our country trillions of dollars in debt and our kids will. never forgive them for it,' she said.

'Trump and Biden both lack a vision for our country's future, because both are consumed by the past by investigations, by vendettas by grievances,' she continued. 'America deserves better.'

She called it a 'hard truth.'

And noted how she, too, had voted for Trump twice in the past.

But she also pointed out how '70 percent of Americans don't want another Trump-Biden rematch.'

'Our campaign is the last best hope of stopping the Trump-Biden nightmare,' she said.

Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, pointed to polls that showed her running better against Biden than Trump and DeSantis in the general election.

A CBS/YouGov poll released Sunday showed her beating Biden by eight points, while DeSantis beat Biden by 3 and Trump beat the current president by 2 points, within the margin of error.

'We win in a landslide, it's not even close,' Haley said. 'That means no recounts, no lawsuits and no doubts.'

But Haley will have to get through Trump first - and that could be a steep climb.

Presidential candidate Nikki Haley smiles as she addresses her supporters late Monday at the Marriott West Des Moines after placing third in the caucuses. Haley has been more focused on winning New Hampshire, but also hoped to edge out DeSantis for the second place spot

The former South Carolina spotted patterned heels as she addressed supporters at the Marriott West Des Moines at the conclusion of the Iowa caucuses, the first time voters had their say in the 2024 presidential election

Despite her third place finish, Haley pointed to polls that showed her running better against Biden than Trump and DeSantis in the general election

Supporters of former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley line the star-spangled banner fencing as she addresses the crowd after Monday's Iowa caucuses at the Marriott West Des Moines

The former South Carolina governor speaks with supporter Chris Varney during a campaign stop earlier in the day at PB's Pub in Newton, Iowa

She will head to the Granite State Tuesday to try to close the gap before New Hampshire's January 23 primary.

New Hampshire voters have a habit of picking a different candidate from the Iowa winner - but Trump remains in first place there too, by an average of 14.2 points, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was in third place in the state - performing better than DeSantis who focused on the more conservative Iowa - but dropped out of the race on Wednesday.

About half of Christie's supporters had told pollsters that Haley was their second choice.

But before he exited from the race, Christie was caught on hot mic dissing Haley - saying she'll be 'smoked' by Trump in the GOP race and adding 'she's not up to this.'

To her supporters Monday night, she warned, 'as we head to New Hampshire I have one more thing to say.'

'Underestimate me, because that's always fun,' Haley said to cheers.

'I love you Iowa, but we're onto New Hampshire,' the candidate added.
A New Zealand Green Party MP was forced to resign her parliamentary position after being allegedly caught on camera shoplifting a luxury handbag.

Golriz Ghahraman, who previously held the minor party's justice portfolio, was filmed glancing around before sliding the handbag into her carry bag at Scotties Boutique in Auckland's fashion shopping district of Ponsonby on December 23.

The handbag allegedly stolen is a grey Issey Miyake, with the brand's range starting at around $274 and climbing to nearly $1,600.

In resigning from Parliament, Ms Ghahraman said her behaviour was 'out-of-character' and prompted by the stresses of work that triggered 'previously unrecognised trauma'.

New Zealand police said they were also investigating a second alleged incident involving Ms Ghahraman at Scotties as well as receiving another report of her alleged shoplifting from Wellington store Cre8iveworx from October 26.

Ms Ghahraman was the first refugee elected to New Zealand's parliament after arriving as a child with her family from Iran

READ MORE: New Zealand political party announces radical election policy to return stolen land to Indigenous owners - including private property Advertisement

Following a meeting with Green Party leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson, Ms Ghahraman quit her seat saying the pressures of office had taken a toll on her.

'It is clear to me that my mental health is being badly affected by the stresses relating to my work,' she said.

'This has led me to act in ways that are completely out of character. I am not trying to excuse my actions, but I do want to explain them.'

Ms Ghahraman went on to say she 'fell short' of the 'highest standards of behaviour' people expect of elected representatives.

'It's not a behaviour I can explain because it's not rational in any way, and after medical evaluation, I understand I'm not well,' she said.

'The mental health professional I see says my recent behaviour is consistent with recent events giving rise to extreme stress response, and relating to previously unrecognised trauma.

'With that in mind, I don't want to hide behind my mental health problems, and I take full responsibility for my actions which I deeply regret.

'I have let down a lot of people and I am very sorry.

'The best thing for my mental health is to resign as a Member of Parliament and to focus on my recovery and to find other ways to work for positive change in the world.'

New Zealand Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman has been forced to resign from parliament after being caught allegedly shoplifting

Video shows Ms Ghahraman allegedly stealing a designer label handbag while inside an Auckland boutique

Cre8iveworx owner Melanie Smith said in an email that she had laid a police complaint against Ms Ghahraman.

Mr Shaw and MS Davidson told New Zealand media on Tuesday that they supported Ms Ghahraman's decision to resign but she had faced stresses beyond the norm for MPs.

'Obviously Parliament is a stressful place for anybody, but Ghahraman has been subject to continuous threats of sexual violence, physical violence, and death threats,' he said, revealing police had investigated some of the incidents.

Ms Ghahraman was the first refugee to be sworn in as a New Zealand MP, having arrived as a child asylum seeker with her family from Iran.

She was selected as a Green Party list candidate in January 2017.
Donald Trump issued a clarion call to the Republican party to unite behind him so he can 'take the country' back from Joe Biden after annihilating his rivals in the Iowa caucuses on Monday night.

The former president, 77, heaped praise on his fellow candidates and vowed to 'straighten out all of the death and destruction that were witnessing' following a record-breaking 30-point win in the party's first primary contest.

It took just half an hour for Trump's historic landslide victory to be called by TV networks as thousands of his die-hard supporters turned up to vote despite brutal sub-zero temperatures and icy roads in the Hawkeye state.

He finished with 51 percent of the vote, far ahead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on 21 per cent, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley on 19 per cent, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy on 8 percent.

After the blowout Trump quickly looked forward and said the 'big night is going to be in November when we take back our country' in the general election.

Instead of mocking the rest of the Republican field he applauded them for their campaigning and called them 'very smart people, very capable people'.

I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a good time together. I think they both actually did very well, Trump told a jubilant crowd of hundreds of supporters.

Donald Trump has called for the U.S. to 'come together' and thanked all of his family after he decimated the rest of the Republican field in the Iowa caucus

Former President Donald Trump raises his fist in the air after he won the Iowa Caucus on January 15

The former president, 77, said wife Melania's late mother Amalija Knavs was 'looking down' and would be 'proud' of the historic result

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Iowa Events Center after winning the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday

As of 7.30am, Trump had more than 51 percent of the votes with Haley and DeSantis scrapping in second place and third place

He also had kind words for Ramaswamy after blasting him in the final days before the caucus.

Later on Monday night Ramaswamy dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump.

I also want to congratulate Vivek because he did one hell of a job. He came from zerothats an amazing job, Trump said.

Iowa was the first state to vote in the Republican party's process for choosing a presidential nominee.

Trump, who holds a huge lead in national polls, included several calls for unity in his speech.

He called on Republicans to 'come together and straighten out the world and straighten out the problems.'

He sought to seize the momentum from his convincing win, even as the race for the GOP presidential nomination shifts immediately to New Hampshire, where Haley has been rising in the polls. DeSantis plans to hold events in South Carolina, which holds its primary on February 24, and New Hampshire on Tuesday, after failing to use his extensive campaign organization in Iowa to pull closer to Trump.

'Because of your support in spite of all of what they threw at us,' said DeSantis at his own rally, 'we got our ticket punched out of Iowa.'

Haley said the results make it a 'two-person race' between her and Trump.

Trump's remarks came in a victory speech where he paid tribute to his late mother-in-law Amalija Knavs and thanked my incredible wife former first lady Melania Trump.

He joked about his mother in law. Boy did she take care of Barron. Thats how he got so tall.

Trump was joined onstage at his victory party by sons Eric and Don Jr., but there was no sign of daughter Ivanka.

Trump celebrated after storming to victory in the first primary contest in just 30 minutes by waiting on stage as Lee Greenwood's 'God Bless the USA' played to the crowd.

Former President Donald Trump speaks Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, at the Trump caucus night watch party at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines

Former President Donald Trump raises his fist in the air after he won the Iowa Caucus on January 15

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during his caucus night watch party in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 15

Vivek Ramaswamy speaks to supporters as he stands with his wife Apoorva Tewari and son Karthik, as he dropped out of the presidential race

Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley gestures while speaking to the crowd as she proclaimed she is the solution to avoid 'more of the same'

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks on stage next to Governor of Iowa Kim Reynolds

Trump paid tribute to all of his children, including son Barron who he said was 'watching on TV'.

The historic landslide came despite Arctic temperatures and the Hawkeye State being battered by blizzards that were expected to decimate turnout.

It gives Trump a massive boost as he seeks to win the Republican presidential nomination and return to the White House in what would be the most remarkable political comeback in U.S. history.

The early call sparked outrage from the rest of the Republican field, with DeSantis's campaign accusing the news networks of being involved in 'election interference'.

Thousands of die-hard Iowans braved wind chills as low as minus 35 degrees and ignored frostbite warnings to head to their precincts to cast their votes.

Trump huddled inside the site in downtown Des Moines for more than an hour after cable networks and the AP infuriated Ron DeSantis by calling the race for him while caucuses were still tabulating support.

He was accompanied by his son Donald Trump, Jr., who has been a constant surrogate and who warned earlier Monday of a plot to suppress the vote.

The swiftness of the call got the jump on Trumps campaign party planners. His followers hadnt even arrived at the party yet by the time networks made the call.

It was only after he was declared the winner that his campaign cranked up the PA system to play Elvis Presleys Suspicious Minds.

Supporters yelled Trump! Trump! and Build the wall! as they waited for the former president to appear, while a cash bar served drinks. Two large monitors showed a Fox News feed broadcasting the size of his victory.

The former president, 77, holds a thumb's up with son Don Jr. next to a TV screen showing Fox News projecting him to win the race

Former First Lady Melania Trump 's mother Amalija Knavs, 78, died after being hospitalised in Miami, Florida, over the holidays. She is pictured centre with her daughter and Donald Trump in 2018, who paid tribute to her in his victory speech in Iowa

Donald Trump Jr. gives a speech in favor of his father at a caucus site in Des Moines

By the time he came out, his campaign had already said he won in a landslide and allies including New York Rep. Elise Stefanik and the Make American Great Again PAC were calling for rivals to drop out of the race.

Also giving them a nudge was Trump surrogate Kari Lake.

She urged DeSantis to take some time to go back to Florida. He just won that election. The people of Florida are counting on Governor DeSantis to go back and lead that  state. Its a great state in this country. And I hope that he goes into some soul searching and recognizes that this isnt just another political moment in history  Its not his time.

'I hope Haley, Nikki Haley, will tell her big donors and the big military industrial complex, no, Im not going to be your pawn. Im going to stand behind President Trump,' she urged Haley.

Trumps celebration came while DeSantis and Haley were in a duel for second place, and a DeSantis aide called it Absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote.

The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet, complained aide Andrew Romero.

After the pleasantries, Trump fumed about illegal immigrants and vowed a crackdown on crime  in a taste of the race he'll run against Joe Biden if he prevails.

Nikki Haley speaks with her kids at a caucus night party in West Des Moines, Iowa

Ron DeSantis embraces his wife Casey DeSantis as he celebrated a projected second place finish

Theyre coming from mental institutions and insane asylums, he said. And their terrorists.

He called for unbelievable harsh penalties for people who carry out mass shootings.

Im going to come down very hard on criminals, he said. He promised 'deportation that we havent seen in this country for a long time.'

It was shortly after 11 pm that Trump turned to the criminal and civil trials he is facing, which allies credit with propelling him to victory.

I go through a lot of courthouses because they call that election interference, he said.

We cant have that.

The big night is going to be in November when we take back our country, he vowed, wrapping up a 22-minute speech.

Still to be determined was whether Trump would crack the 50-percent threshold, and whether one of his rivals would capture enough momentum to get a boost in New Hampshire or South Carolina.

Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis campaign signs sit in a snow mound outside a caucus site at the Horizon Events Center on January 15, 2024 in Clive, Iowa

Sharon McNutt holds paper ballots listing the names of the candidates in alphabetical order

Trump surrogate Kari Lake gushed about the win and called on rivals to get out.

Everybody and their brother knew President Trump was going to win. Question is how devoted to this countrys future were the people of Iowa. And tonight we discovered that Iowans are as amazing as we thought they were. They showed up in droves, she told DailyMail.com at Trumps victory party.

Im so proud of my home state, the native Iowan said.

She brushed off the 50-percent threshold as a fixation. Anything over 12 per cent was going to be a huge victory, she said of Trumps victory margin. And I think hes going to get over that 50 per cent. I hope so. But Ill tell you what, Ill take the victory any day.

Asked to assess the importance of Trumps trials (head flies to New York for one tomorrow), she said, I think Americans just understand whats going on, accusing some media members of character assassination of a man who loves this country.

She called for DeSantis and Haley to drop out, but used a soft touch. She urged DeSantis to take sojme time to go back to Florida. He just won that election. The people of Florida are counting on Governor DeSantis to go back and lead that  state. Its a great state in this country. And I hope that he goes into some soul searching and recognizes that this isnt just another political moment in history  Its not his time.

Then she took a slap at Haley, saying  I hope Haley, Nikki Haley, will tell her big donors and the big military industrial complex, no, Im not going to be your pawn. Im going to stand behind President Trump. Were going to save this country. Were going to not waste hundreds of millions more in ads going to New Hampshire.
A miner tragically killed in a horror workplace incident was crushed between a ute and a fuel tanker after the massive vehicle became bogged.

Luke O'Brien, 27, was working at the fuel-bay area in BHP Mitsubishi Alliance's (BMA) Saraji Mine, in Central Queensland, on Monday when he was crushed about midday.

Queensland Ambulance Service confirmed paramedics were called to the scene about 1.30pm.

It's understood the B Double fuel tanker had become bogged in the open pit mine and Mr O'Brien was standing between it and the ute.

Luke O'Brien (above) was crushed between a ute and large fuel tanker at Saraji Mine on Monday

It's understood Mr O'Brien was working to help free the bogged fuel tanker in the open mine pit when he was crushed (pictured, Saraji Mine pit)

Tragically, the ute moved backwards instead of forwards and Mr O'Brien suffered catastrophic injuries.

He was rushed to the nearby Dysart Hospital where he later died.

Mr O'Brien has been remembered by friends and family as a 'great guy' and 'absolute legend'.

'He was an amazing young man and we who knew and loved him will be forever better for having him in our lives. He will forever live in our hearts and memories,' a family member said.

'Sorry for your loss to you and your family, Luke will truly be missed by many, it is a privilege having known Luke and being able to call him my friend.'

Another said: 'A great guy, great fitter and just all round good guy. Still can't believe it's real. Absolutely gutted for you guys, one of the nicest genuine families I know, they really do take the good ones.'

His mother shared a photo of her son with the heartbreaking caption: 'A piece of my heart has been shattered, my baby boy is gone.'

Mr O'Brien (above) has been remembered by friends and family as a 'great guy' and 'absolute legend'

Mr O'Brien's death has also shocked Queensland's speedway community, which he was an avid member of.

Known for racing modified sedans, Mr O'Brien was a well-known face at meets across Central Queensland.

Family, friends and racers have changed their profile pictures to a photo featuring Mr O'Brien's modified sedan and racing number, seven.

They have also started sharing the tag 'RIP#7'.

'Heaven took a kind and hardworking heart. Fly high my first speedway racing buddy. Gone but never forgotten RIP Luke #7,' one person wrote.

A Cairns speedway also shared a tribute, writing: 'It is with a heavy heart that I inform everyone that Luke O'Brien from Mackay has passed away.

'Luke raced modified's based out of Mackay and attended many meetings at Cairns. We send our love to his partner and his family. RIP Luke.'

Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) is investigating Monday's incident.

Operations at Saraji Mine, where Mr O'Brien was a BEP Engineering and Maintenance worker, have been suspended.

It is the second time in six years a Saraji worker has died in a vehicle-related incident following a 49-year-old miner's death in 2018.

The 27-year-old lived in mackay and was an avid member of Queensland's speedway community (pictured, one of his modified sedans)

'Our deepest sympathies are with the person's family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time,' BMA asset president Adam Lancey said in a statement on Tuesday.

Resources Minister Scott Stewart said safety needs to be a top priority across the industry.

'Our expectation as a government, as a community is that when workers go to work they come home the same way they leave, they come home safe and they come home as healthy as what they leave,' he said.

'This is just tragic, it tears families to pieces.'

Queensland Resources Council acting chief executive Judy Bertram said the sector was committed to workplace safety and would support investigations into the incident.

'The industry's thoughts are with the family dealing with an unimaginable loss, and the friends, work colleagues and first responders involved,' she said.

The Mining and Energy Union said the whole mining community was shocked and saddened by the incident.

Resources Safety and Health Queensland is investigating the incident that killed Mr O'Brien (above)

'This is the worst news we can ever receive,' union district president Mitch Hughes said.

'We are devastated that a coal miner is not returning home at the end of their shift.'

Union safety inspectors are investigating.

'We will ensure no stone is left unturned in understanding what has occurred and preventing future fatalities and injuries,' he said.
A former bikie has been stabbed outside his apartment with police now investigating whether the incident was targeted.

Ugur Okanlar, 35, who was once a member of the Finks, was stabbed in the leg at his apartment in Melbourne's Southbank about 7am on Tuesday.

He was treated by paramedics at the scene and taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Okanlar took to Instagram following the incident and posted a photo of himself sitting inside an ambulance with a bandage wrapped tightly around part of his right leg.

'Stabbed in the leg first thing in the morning,' he wrote.

Ex-bikie Ugur Okanlar (pictured) was stabbed in the leg at his apartment in Melbourne on Tuesday morning

Okanlar took to Instagram following the incident and posted a photo of himself sitting inside an ambulance with a bandage (pictured) tightly wrapped around his right leg

Victoria Police said detectives are investigating whether the incident was targeted with the circumstances surrounding the incident yet to be determined.

The incident comes after Okanlar, who also goes by the name of Pasha online, fronted Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday on a raft of drug charges.

The court was told officers raided Okanlar's home last year following reports from neighbours that he was involved in a heated argument with someone.

Okanlar was found to be alone and was arguing with his girlfriend over the phone at the time, when police conducted a firearms search and uncovered a haul of drugs.

He pleaded guilty on Monday to charges of trafficking cocaine, possessing cannabis and steroids and dealing with the proceeds of crime.

Okanlar (pictured) pleaded guilty to a raft of drug charges the day before he was stabbed

Okanlar was sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order as well as 100 hours of community service.

He has been associated with a number of violent underworld figures in recent years.

Police dropped drugs and weapons charges against Okanlar relating to the attempted murder of Mongols bikie Rocco Curra in 2019.

Curra survived despite being hit with multiple gun shots to his head and chest.

Okanlar was accused of having close ties to the gunmen who carried out the attempt on Curra's life.

The same year Okanlar's close friend Richard Arow was gunned down outside a nightclub in Melbourne by the half son of crime boss Nabil Maghnie.

Okanlar is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Sydney Airport and an Emirates flight from Dubai to Sydney have been added to an exposure site list, after a case of measles was detected in a child.

NSW Health is advising people to be alert for signs and symptoms of measles after being notified of one confirmed case of measles in a nine-month-old infant.

The child had recently returned from Asia, where there has been an outbreak of measles in several countries including Pakistan and India.

An urgent health alert was issued on Tuesday for several locations in Sydney's inner west and southwest.

In an updated statement, NSW Health added the following locations where people may have been exposed to the case:

Emirates flight EK 416 from Dubai to Sydney, arriving in Sydney on January 10 at 6:36pm

Sydney Airport - Terminal 1 International Arrivals (including baggage claim and customs) between 6:36pm and 9pm on January 10

Sydney Airport and an Emirates flight from Dubai to Sydney have been added to an exposure site list, after a case of measles was detected in a child NSW Health is advising people to be alert for signs and symptoms of measles after being notified of one confirmed case in western Sydney.



Read more on The Pulse:https://t.co/7k3fwftiHM pic.twitter.com/76QEvH4EwK  Western Sydney Health (@WestSydHealth) January 16, 2024

The new sites are in addition to the initial exposure location at the Five Star Coffee and Nuts grocery on Yerrick Rd in Lakemba, on January 12 between 3pm-5pm when the case visited the venue.

They have identified and contacted people who have been in close contact with the infant to arrange preventive treatment if required.

Dr Leena Gupta, Sydney Local Health District's Clinical Director of Public Health, reiterated the locations posed no ongoing risk to the public.

He said people who had visited the Lakemba grocery were still urged to be on the lookout for symptoms.

"(They) include fever, sore eyes and a cough, usually followed three or four days later by a red, blotchy rash that spreads from the head to the rest of the body," Dr Gupta said.

"It can take up to 18 days for symptoms to appear after an exposure."

Measles is a vaccine-preventable disease spread through the air when someone who is infectious coughs or sneezes.

The most effective and safe protection is the common measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, which is included on the National Immunisation Program (NIP) for children at 12 and 18 months of age.

NSW Health is advising people to be alert for signs and symptoms of measles after being notified of one confirmed case of measles in a nine-month-old infant

It is also free in NSW for anyone born during or after 1966 who hasn't already had two doses.

"This should be a reminder for everyone to check that they are protected against measles, which is very infectious," Dr Gupta said.

"Anyone born during or after 1966 needs to ensure they have received two doses of measles vaccine.

"This is particularly important prior to overseas travel, as measles outbreaks are occurring in several regions of the world at the moment."

In July last year, another measles scare erupted when a man unknowingly infected with the disease travelled through Melbourne and Brisbane airports.

According to Federal Department of Health Care data, the immunisation coverage rate for all Australian children at five years stands at 94.04 per cent.
This video is no longer available

This video is no longer available

Fisherman, 79, was unable to swim and had to be rescued

Boy, 14, charged after an elderly man is pushed off a pier

Confronting footage has revealed the moment a gang of thugs are heard laughing after an elderly man who can't swim was pushed off a pier.

A 14-year-old boy has been charged after allegedly pushing the fisherman, 79, off the edge of Victoria's Mornington Pier at about 11.30pm on Sunday.

In the clip uploaded to social media, the teens are heard egging each other on before one pushes the man backwards into the dark water below.

The teenagers are heard laughing loudly as they run away from the pier, with one yelling 'yeah the boys' as they make their escape.

It's understood the man was unable to swim and had to be rescued by three other onlookers who were standing on the pier at the time.

A 14-year-old boy has been charged after he allegedly pushed the fisherman, 79, off the edge of Victoria's Mornington Pier at about 11.30pm on Sunday

He was not seriously injured in the fall and was not known to the three teenagers.

Victoria Police said a 14-year-old boy from Crib Point had been charged with reckless endangerment and unlawful assault.

He will face a children's court at a later date.

Victoria Police told Daily Mail Australia the investigation was ongoing.

Anyone with information has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
A former nurse, a male prostitute and a man known a 'The Eunuch Maker' have all been hauled before the Old Bailey in recent months charged with a catalogue of crimes not for those of a squeamish disposition.

The ringleader, who had his leg and penis removed, is now wheelchair-bound, while other members of the gang took part in stomach-churning acts of mutilation, including cutting off genitals and nipples.

Some of these horrifying events were even livestreamed on the internet to a paying audience, bringing in 200,000, in addition to the 18,000 in disability benefits claimed by the sick gang's leader following his illegal amputation.

The public could be forgiven for thinking their eyes are tricking them on reading those words, but it is true - this group of men have been deliberately cutting off their own limbs, often for money and sexual pleasure.

But as one of the most bizarre court cases in British history moves towards its conclusion, things become even stranger if you look deeper than the headlines.

Marius Gustavson (pictured) 46, led the body modification plot which made up to 200,000 by livestreaming procedures online

Gustavson released videos of the stomach-churning procedures on his website eunochmaker.com (pictured)

Former nurse Nathaniel Arnold, 48, Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 23, male prostitute Damien Byrnes, 36, and their Norwegian ringleader Marius Gustavson, 46, are all part of the freakish Nullo - short for genital nullification - movement.

A phenomenon that has spread on dark corners of the internet, subscribers to this ideology - most of whom are male - cut off their own genitals and sometimes their nipples.

Many of those who do aim to have a 'smoothie' - a procedure that leaves them with a fully smooth groin.

READ MORE HERE: Inside horrifying world of the Nullo castration cult whose followers use amateur 'cutters' or even vets to remove their private parts inspired by Japanese artist who sold his penis and testicles to eat for 800 Advertisement

However, given the nature of what they want to do and the clear ethical problems it raises for those doing it for them, more than half of those who undergo it use amateur 'cutters' - often doctors or vets - or do it themselves.

The most famous modern 'Nullo' is Japanese artist Mao Sugiyama, who had his penis and testicles surgically removed by a physician in March 2012 before charging diners. He has also had his nipples removed.

They had been certified free of infections and were frozen for two months before being served up at a banquet in Suginami, a residential area in western Tokyo.

After initially offering to cook his penis for a single guest for 800, he ended up charging five diners 160 each to eat the meal, which was garnished with mushrooms and parsley.

He cooked the genitalia, which were removed in early April 2012 shortly after his 22nd birthday, himself while being supervised by a chef.

Sugiyama put on a traditional chef's outfit, before carefully seasoning and braising the genitals on a portable gas cartridge burner. Police went on to charge him with indecent exposure.

There are believed to be between 10,000 to 15,000 voluntary 'Nullos' worldwide, although the true number is unknown.

Astonishingly, two thirds never tell anyone they have no genitalia, including their families, a 2014 academic study found.

This sub-culture propagates through online forums including specific portals such as Gustavson's 'lucrative' pay-per-view 'Eunoch Maker' website, where subscribers could watch videos of the procedures.

Damien Byrnes (pictured) 36, was sentenced at the Old Bailey to five years in prison for causing GBH with intent

Jacob Crimi-Appleby (pictured) 23, was jailed for three years. He had a sexual relationship with Gustavson after meeting him aged 17 and froze his leg causing it to require amputation

The knife used by Byrnes to remove the penis of Marius Gustavson

It was through this website that Gustavson raked in almost 200,000 by selling videos of procedures done to himself, performed on him by Arnold, Crimi-Appleby and Byrnes.

Arnold, called 'Nurse Nate' by Gustavson, had operations on his own penis performed by the Norwegian, including a 'split and sub' procedure which involves cutting the organ in half.

The nurse, who worked at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital where he stole lidocaine - a local anaeshetic - and sutures, gave advice on how to perform circumcisions before agreeing to remove Gustavson's nipple on August 5, 2019.

He told police he had become a fan of 'The Eunuch Maker' website and used it to have conversations on a chatroom about body modifications and 'sado-masochistic sexual fantasy'.

On his phone police found 72 extreme pornographic images showing injuries to breasts or genitals.

Crimi-Appleby, who had a sexual relationship with Gustavson after meeting the older man when he was 17, did not have his body modified, but did help the man remove his own leg.

A video played to court entitled 'The Eunoch Maker Movie - a null set production' showed Crimi-Appleby assisting Gustavson to pour ice and dry ice onto his leg for two hours.

The men are heard laughing while Gustavson says: 'Ooooh, this is cold' and Crimi-Appleby replied 'it will get colder'.

The leg was left 'blistered and dying' and Gustavson was admitted to the Royal Free Hospital and told staff he had intentionally frozen his leg in order to force an amputation.

After two weeks trying to save his leg, it was amputated. Doctors considered diagnosing him with Body Integrity Identity Disorder and he remained in hospital for two and a half months.

Following this Gustavson, who was left wheelchair-bound as a result, claimed 18,500 in disability benefits.

But the most squeamish details revealed in court came from the amateur operation performed by Byrnes, who had initially been hired by Gustavson for escort services, to remove Gustavson's penis.

After weeks of discussion, including haggling over how much male prostitute Byrnes would be paid - a fee of 500 was agreed - the 36-year-old arrived at Gustavson's home in Grand Parade, Tottenham, on 18 February 2017.

The procedure was recorded from two angles, with Gustavson seen being 'tied and gagged' and strapped to a bed.

Prosecutor Caroline Carberry, KC, told the court that the video showed 'a band, designed to cut off the blood flow, is visible around the base of his penis'.

She said: 'Byrnes places a gag around Mr Gustavson's head and mouth and he kneels at the foot of the bed between Mr Gustavson's legs. He is wearing gloves and holding a red kitchen knife in his right hand.

Nurse Nathan Arnold (pictured) 48, was given a two year suspended sentence

Crimi-Applebys barrister Sean Poulier said his client was a vulnerable 17-year-old when he was seduced by Gustavson.

'Mr Gustavson's body is shaking and he is saying 'No, no.' From other evidence it is very likely that this 'fear' was part of an act for the camera.'

The video shows Byrnes then removing the penis and giving it to Gustavson, who licks the end of it and declares it 'awesome'.

Gustavson said his wound looks 'okay-ish' but his breathing becomes erratic and his right arm shakes and then his legs.

'Mr Byrnes tells him to, 'Chill out'. He then instructs Byrnes to get him a clamp from the top drawer which he does and he places it towards the stump of his severed penis.

'Mr Byrnes is heard to say, 'Well that's one off the bucket list. I never expected that one'.

'Mr Gustavson doesn't answer and continues working at the wound site.

'Mr Gustavson continues to work at the wound site and says, 'I so don't want to have to go to hospital'. He tells Byrnes that he did a good job.'

After Byrnes left, Gustavson called an ambulance and told the operator: 'I tried to do some surgery on my c*ck' and that it was 'a little bit more than a circumcision'.

He was taken to the Whittington Hospital for treatment and treated for infection of the urethra.

After the procedure Gustavson did not pay Byrnes and he threatened to go to the police and tell them about Gustavson castrating a 16-year-old.

Gustavson said he would report Byrnes for 'threats, blackmail, and cutting off my c*ck.'

He said he had checked that what he had done was legal with his solicitor but that what Byrnes did was illegal.

He also said police were aware of the euncuhmakers.com website.

It was part of a larger conspiracy said to have involved up to 29 extreme body modifications relating to 13 victims, one as young as 17.

Arnold, of South Kensington, Crimi-Appleby of Epsom, Surrey, and Brynes, of Tottenham, admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

On Monday, Byrnes - who wept in court as his barrister said he faced not seeing his terminally ill mother if he was sent to prison - was jailed for five years.

Crimi-Appleby, whose lawyer described him as 'vulnerable' was jailed for three years and eight months.

Arnold, who was described by his lawyer as a 'caring, empathetic and kind' person, was given a two year suspended sentence.

Arnold also admitted stealing Lidocaine while working as nurse at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on 21 February 2019, and possession of extreme pornographic images.

Judge Mark Lucraft, KC, the Recorder of London, said: 'This case concerns very serious extreme body modifications.

'It is clear Gustavson agreed or consented to each of the the procedures that took place.

'It is clear they were carried out for sexual motives or financial gain.

'The prosecution raise correctly the public interest in sentencing acting as a deterrent in cases such as this.

'There was no medical justification for anything any of you did. The removal of the penis and leg not only caused irreversible damage but was life-threatening.'

The group are likely to have been inspired by asexual Japanese illustrator Mao Sugiyama

Japanese artist Mao Sugiyama became a famous 'nullo' in 2012 after having his genitals removed, freezing them and then cooking and serving them at a banquet

The judge said the footage of the penis removal was 'far too graphic to be shown in public' and 'extremely upsetting'.

He said the procedure Byrnes carried out 'was in non-sterile conditions, Mr Gustavson was not under general anaesthetic and the knife used was not a surgical scalpel.'

He added that Arnold's work as a nurse was an aggravating factor.

'You have used your position in a hospital where you worked and you would have known all too well the risk of any medical process undertaken away from a proper medical set up.'

Gustavson made notes via video-link from HMP Wandsworth as the trio were sentenced.

The judge dismissed arguments from defence barristers that the sentencing guidelines for assault should not be followed due to the unusual nature of the case, but agreed consent gave some mitigation.

Arnold was given a two year sentence suspended for two years and must complete 100 hours of unpaid work and 60 days of rehabilitation requirement.

He was also given an alcohol treatment requirement.

Gustavson, of Tottenham, north London, admits conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm, five counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and one count of possessing criminal property, namely money.

He also admits making and distributing two indecent videos of a child between January 2017 and January 2020.

David Carruthers, 60, and Janus Atkin, 37, from South Wales, deny conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.

Gustavson's alleged 'righthand man' surgeon Peter Wates, 66, has admitted conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.

He was said to have a major role as surgeon in a large number of procedures.

Romanian Ion Ciucur, 28, who works in a hotel in Gretna Green, Scotland, admits conspiracy to cause GBH with intent in relation to two modifications.

Ashley Williams, 31, has admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Atkin at his home in Newport, south Wales, on 7 November 2017.

German Stefan Scharf, 61, is charged with conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm.

He is accused of taking part in a single procedure by removing a testicle in an apartment in Camden in July 2019.

Gustavson, Scharf and Ciucur are remanded in custody with the others are on conditional bail, including curfew and residence.

Gustavson, Wates, Ciucur and Williams will be sentenced in a two-day hearing on 4 and 5 March.

Scharf, Atkin and Carruthers will next appear for a hearing on 25 January.
Xi Jingping is purging China's military and bringing in generals willing to go to war in a move that could lead to an invasion of Taiwan and drag the Unites States into World War Three, military analysts have said.

The Chinese leader, seen by many as a dictator, is 'trying to gain control of the military,' Gordon Chang told Business Insider, adding: 'I think that he is thinking that he needs officers who are prepared to actually fight.'

According to Chang, author of 'China Is Going to War', Xi feels 'that many of China's general officers don't want to fight.' As a result, he said, the Chinese premier sees 'a force led by an officer corps that is ambivalent about going to war.'

China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its territory, and fears have grown in recent years that Xi is planning an invasion in the coming years, in the face of increasingly hostile rhetoric and simulated blockades of the island.

Beijing has never renounced the use of force to take what it views as a renegade province, and Xi has said that unification is inevitable.

But Beijing has also been involved in low-level clashes with India along their shared border, as well as disputes over nearby islands with Japan and the Philippines.

Xi Jingping (pictured on January 12) is purging China 's military and bringing in generals willing to go to war in a move that could lead to an invasion of Taiwan and drag the Unites States into World War Three, military analysts have said

China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its territory, and fears have grown in recent years that Xi is planning an invasion in the coming years, in the face of increasingly hostile rhetoric and simulated blockades of the island. But China has been involved in other flash points, too. Pictured: Chinese soldiers take part in a simulated beach assault

Since taking power in 2012, he has overhauled Beijing's military forces with a series of reforms while also cutting its personnel, working to improve military-civilian corporation and reshaping its structure.

On December 29, 2023, he dismissed nine senior offices in one go, a move that analysts and US intelligence suggested was to root out corruption.

Chang, however, told Business Insider that this theory misses the point 'because if that were the case, all of them would be sacked.' Instead, he believes that it was likely the officers who were struck off were reluctant to go to war.

He pointed to one example, that of Chinese Air Force General Liu Yazhou, who warned against an invasion of Taiwan.

In February 2022 he received a suspended death sentence.

Joel Wuthnow, another expert on China, told Business Insider that the removals suggest Xi is 'concerned 'about the quality of people and equipment he has invested in over the last decade' and that he fears he cannot rely on his military.

The publication reported that the nine dismissed commanders had been involved in China's Rocket Force, which Wuthnow said would play a critical role in any military campaign ordered by Beijing.

China has been hostile to its neighbours in recent years.

It has become increasingly aggressive in the South China Sea, with its navy often coming into close contact with Filipino vessels.

Military officers and delegates wearing face masks leave after attending the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 3. Xi has purged military commanders in a move experts have said is to rid his forces of leaders who are reluctant to go to war

Beijing has also clashed with Japan over the disputed Senkaku Islands, using its fishing industry to bolster its claim.

There have also been clashes between China and India in the Galwan Valley in the Himalayas which has seen soldiers clashing with melee weapons.

In 2021, China admitted to losing four of its troops in the fighting.

But perhaps the most concerning flash point is Taiwan, which just on Saturday elected a new president who is opposed to reunification with China.

China has encroached on Taiwan's air defence zone several times over the past five years, prompting fears that an invasion is on the horizon.

In September 2023, the Chinese military conducted its largest ever maritime war simulation. It included Beijing's Shandong aircraft carrier as well as 20 other warships, while dozens of warplanes breached Taiwan's airspace.

Chang, however, told Business Insider that it is impossible to predict where a big flare-up could come from first, despite Xi increasing his war-like rhetoric.

In his New Year's address to the nation, Xi said China 'will surely be reunified, and all Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.'

Xi also reportedly told US President Joe Biden of his intention to take Taiwan.

Wuthnow, however, said that the Chinese leader is now more cautious about any assault on the island after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

He has seen how the war has shaken fellow autocrat Vladimir Putin's position in Russia, and the West's support for Kyiv.

China has been hostile to its neighbours in recent years, with flash-points occurring around Taiwan, the South China sea and on China's border with India

But Chang warned that all the conditions are in place for World War Three, with conflict spreading on multiple fronts across the globe.

He pointed to Ukraine, Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza along with military activity in the Read Sea (and fears that conflict could spread in the middle east), as well as insurgencies in Africa.

Chang pointed to the run-up to the Second World War in 1930s and how separate wars merged into what we now know as World War II.

'The same dynamics exist today, and it's entirely possible, and some people can even argue that it's probable that these will merge into a global conflict,' he said, predicting that a conflict in East Asia would drag in Western countries.
Emergency services have launched an investigation after a man died in a house fire in south-west London.

Four fire engines crewed by 25 firefighters were called to Onslow Road in Richmond shortly after 8pm on Monday night.

They attended at a three-bed home on the street, said to be worth some 2.1million in the leafy suburb, and reported damage within the ground floor of the property.

Tragically, the body of a man was discovered within the home, and pronounced dead at the scene.

Details of the deceased were not immediately available; the Metropolitan Police have described him as 'elderly'.

A Metropolitan Police car sits outside the house in Onslow Road, Richmond, where a man died following a fire on Monday

Four fire engines crewed by 25 firefighters attended the blaze, which broke out shortly after 8pm

Firefighters and a forensic investigator wearing white overalls gather outside the property following the fatal bonfire

Residents in adjoining properties were evacuated as a precaution while the fire was extinguished.

Investigators have moved in; forensics experts in white overalls were seen at the entrance to the property as their inquiries got underway.

Neighbours said flames could be seen 'erupting' inside the front door last night, which this morning had been rendered a sooty black.

Detectives were seen to knock doors on the street, asking neighbours if they'd noticed anything 'suspicious' last night.

A single bunch of flowers, left by a neighbour, sat outside the property in front of a parked police car.

Ian Manning, who has lived across the road for around 25 years, said firefighters had told his wife that the fire was believed to have started in the kitchen of the home.

The 63-year-old, who did not know the elderly victim, said: 'A fireman said it started in the kitchen.

'We got alerted that there were people on our front drive, and we went out to see a fireman there.

'There was smoke billowing out of the house and it continued for the best part of an hour.

'About 15 minutes after we came out to see what was going on, flames suddenly erupted just inside the front door.

'We could see naked flames, which was very strange because it had been probably around half an hour since it had started by that time. All the smoke was coming out of the front door.

'Everyone drifted away quite slowly, but most were gone by about 10:30, though a police car was still there around an hour later. Nothing like this has ever happened around here before.'

A live-in carer living in a home directly opposite No. 73 estimated that the elderly victim was in his late eighties or early nineties, with another neighbour saying he rarely saw the man without a companion - either a family member or a carer.

'He was old,' the carer, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

'He was in his nineties, I would say, or late eighties. I just used to say hello once in a while to him.

'I saw the fire brigade outside around eight o'clock. It was dark. I was taking out the bins when I saw the fire engine. It's sad, really. He seemed a nice person.'

Police outside the house in Richmond on Tuesday following the death of the elderly man last night

Flowers had been left outside the home by a thoughtful local as news spread of the tragedy

The front door's ornate glass was broken as the flames ate away at the wooden frame

Windows were opened into the home by firefighters as they sought to air it out after it filled with thick black smoke

Brenton Booth, a company director originally from South Africa who lives a few doors down from the scene of the tragedy, added: 'I didn't know the man, though I had seen him around before.

'He was an elderly gentleman. When I did see him he was with a family member or some form of carer. They were always with him when he left the house.

'Last night, I climbed off my bicycle, went to the kitchen and heard the first fire engine coming down. The fire services and police were on the scene pretty quick.

'We went out into the road. There was a lot of smoke coming from the front part of the building. By the time I got out there the fire services and police were pushing us back.

'We didn't get evacuated, but they said to us: "Go inside. If we need to evacuate you, we will". The next-door neighbour was outside the whole time, talking to the fire services all the time.'

Claire, a mother-of-two living just a few doors down from the house, said she too had seen the elderly man in passing, but didn't know his name.

'I have seen him around,' she said. 'We've been here six-and-a-half years. I have offered to carry his shopping into his house when walking past his house before, but he always refused.

'Nobody knows anything at the moment. I've had the police here this morning. The lady over the road saw the fire and called the fire brigade. There was no explosion or anything Nobody knows what happened.

'Everybody was out in the street but nobody really knew what was going on or if the man was inside. It's very sad.'

The neighbours living either side of the elderly victim's home did not wish to comment on the fire.

A spokesperson for the London Fire Brigade said: 'Sadly, a man has died following a house fire in Richmond.

'Four fire engines and around 25 firefighters responded to a fire on Onslow Road, in a building of three floors. Part of the ground floor was damaged by the fire. A man was found in the home, and sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

'The Brigade was called at 2008, and the fire was under control by 2205. Firefighters from Richmond, Kingston and Twickenham fire stations attended the scene.

'The fire is under investigation by the Brigade and the Metropolitan Police Service.'

A spokesperson for the Met Police said: 'An elderly man has died following a fire in Richmond. Police were called at 8.14pm to the fire at an address in Onslow Road.

'Some neighbouring addresses were evacuated as a precaution. The cause of the fire is currently unknown. Police remain at the scene.'

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson told the Standard: 'We were called at 8:09pm to reports of a fire on Onslow Road, Richmond.

'We sent a number of resources to the scene, including ambulance crews, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team (HART).

'Sadly, a person was pronounced dead at the scene.'
A fraudster who stole gym-goers' bank cards to fund his jet set lifestyle, blowing cash on trips to Dubai and the Amalfi Coast was jailed for the exact same offence and released from prison early, MailOnline can reveal.

Ashley Singh, 35, and his partner Sophie Bruyea, 20, were put behind bars last week after they worked their way through lockers at a number of gyms across the south-east in a year-long crime spree snatching credit and sim cards from 18 victims.

Stealing a total value of 250,000 the couple maxed out their victims credit cards, using the cash to fund luxurious trips abroad and spend thousands in designer stores - they even bought a pedigree puppy.

But we can reveal that Singh was jailed for six and a half years for the same offence in 2019. Under the terms of his imprisonment, he would have been released on parole after serving half of his sentence.

If he had been made to serve his full sentence, he would still be inside and only be eligible for release in 2025.

Ashley Singh, 35, and his partner Sophie Bruyea, 20, were sentenced at Croydon Crown Court last week after being convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation. Pictured: The couple pose for a selfie while on holiday

The couple broke into gym lockers across the south-east stealing bank and sim cards. They ended up taking 250,000 from 18 victims. Pictured: The couple kissing at a pool party abroad

Singh and Bruyea would then use the cash to fund their lavish lifestyle, jet setting to Dubai, Paris and the Amalfi Coast. Pictured: The couple pose in a desert

Singh (pictured), 35, had been released from prison early after being jailed for the same crimes in April 2019

Five years ago Singh was jailed alongside his partner-in-crime Tony Clark for plundering 230,000 from the bank accounts of more unsuspecting gym-goers as they exercised.

Singh and Clark would take photos of the victims' credit cards before replacing the SIM card in their phones with a dummy and then taking control of their bank accounts and using the cash to buy luxury items such as Rolex watches.

In April 2019 Singh was handed a six and a half year sentence at Inner London Crown Court for the crime spree he committed across London gyms and for escaping arrest after previously assaulting a gym officer.

If he had served his full term in prison, Singh would have been released at some point in late 2025 but the career criminal was released early, allowing him to launch another wave of thefts.

Singh had 19 previous convictions, including nine for theft and two for fraud, at the time of his conviction five years ago.

Between 2016 and 2017 Singh, alongside his accomplice Clark who was given a three and a half years sentence in 2018, targeted gyms across London.

After breaking into lockers and taking phone sims, as well as their card information, the pair used the information to take control of victim's bank accounts, meaning any calls to banks appeared to come from the victim's phones.

It allowed the duo to access accounts and online bank accounts. They then went on to change PIN numbers, increase credit card limits and transfer money between accounts.

The gym bandits smile as they ride a camel through the desert after stealing hundreds of thousands from unsuspecting gym-goers

The couple were convicted at Croydon Crown Court on January 10. Pictured: The pair pose next to a car

Bruyea would share snaps of their holidays and luxury lifestyle on her social media accounts. Pictured: Singh, 35, and Bruyea, 20, pose for a selfie together.

The couple even bought a pedigree puppy (pictured) using the stolen credit cards of their victims

Singh and Bruyea targeted gyms across London between January 2022 and January 2023. Pictured: The couple kissing in a rooftop pool

On social media Bruyea would share snaps of their holidays. Pictured: An album of the couple's trip to Dubai, showing them dining at a beach club and visiting designer stores

One victim of their 'sophisticated criminal enterprise' realised their card was missing and immediately asked their bank for a new one only to be told their address had been changed and it had been delivered elsewhere.

Clarke was caught first for the crimes but Singh continued to operate alone going on to thieve a further 43,000.

He was finally arrested in Stratford in September 2018 where police found a number of computers and tablets, as well as two Rolex watches and a PG watch worth 45,000.

Singh banged his head against the glass when he was sentenced by Judge Owen Davies QC in 2019.

You may have well been using drugs and taking them, you may well have even been addicted to them, but I cannot accept that the offending you engaged in was confined to repaying a drug debt or to use cocaine,' the judge said.

You knew what you were doing, you knew the sophisticated nature of the offending involved. The conclusion I have to come to its that the position you are now in is of your own choosing and the court is not going to be influenced by the fact that you now say you have turned over a new leaf.'

MailOnline has contacted the MoJ about Singh's early release.

Despite serving time behind bars for the theft, Singh was not deter from carrying out more of the same thefts upon his release.

The couple used the stolen cash to fund trips to Dubai and the Amalfi Coast in Italy, the court heard

Singh and Bruyea were caught at Gatwick Airport in January 2023 after returning from a trip to Paris

On social media Bruyea would flaunt their luxury life, sharing photos of them on holiday posing next to swimming pools

Singh (right) was jailed for three years while Bruyea (left) was sentenced to 20 months at a young offenders' institute, suspended for two years

Between January 2022 and January 2023 Singh and his partner Bruyea scurried away 250,000 after targeting gym lockers.

There were 14 reports made in the London area, one from Sussex, one from Hertfordshire and two reports from Cambridgeshire.

Instead of hiding away, the couple would flaunt their luxury life on social media, sharing photos of themselves posing next to swimming pools, driving a luxury motor and standing in front of an aquarium at Burj Al Arab - the iconic Dubai hotel.

On one occasion, the pair took a trip to Dubai's Aura Skypool. Access to the rooftop pool costs anywhere between 60 and 100 with a minimum spend of 214 per person on food and drink.

In another picture posted on Facebook, the couple are seen kissing at an airport. Bruyea is seen holding onto a Louis Vuitton roll-on suit case, which can cost up to 2,570, with a Christian Dior tote bag, worth 2,500, draped over her hand.

Singh, wearing a black cap, appears to have a Keepall Louis Vuitton bag across his body, worth 2,020, paired with a black t-shirt, also from the designer and thought to be worth around 700.

On Bruyea's TikTok account she showed off her life being a 'dog mum' in her twenties, sharing videos of her two pedigree dogs, captioning the clip 'best gifts I've ever got was you two'.

The couple enjoy a steak meal with their designer bags displayed on the restaurant table

Some of the designer goods the couple bought with the credit cards of their victims

Bruyea poses on a beach wearing a black leather bikini paired with Louis Vuitton sandals

The criminal couple pose on a night out

The dogs are seen sitting in designer bags, lying on Ralph Lauren pillows or snuggled up in Gucci scarfs. The puppies appear to be Pomeranians - classed as a Toy dog breed because of its size. They can cost anywhere between 750 to 2,000.

The glamorous couple, thought to be married, were finally caught on January 27 last year and were arrested at Gatwick Airport after returning from Paris with around 1,700 of designer goods.

Their 18 victims suffered huge stress and financial loss as a result of their 'wicked' crimes, Croydon Crown Court heard.

As with Singh's previous spree the couple would visit the gyms and rifle through lockers taking credit and sim cards to access the funds.

Singh and Bruyea, of Widmore Road, Bromley, south London, were convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation between January 2022 and January 2023.

Singh was jailed for three years while Bruyea was sentenced to 20 months at a young offenders' institute, suspended for two years.

She was also sentenced to a rehabilitation programme and 120 hours unpaid work.

On social media Bruyea would flaunt their luxury life, sharing photos of them on holiday posing next to swimming pools

The couple pose in a life, as Bruyea hangs a Christian Dior bag off her wrist, while Singh flashes his watch

Singh and Bruyea, of Widmore Road, Bromley, south London, were convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation between January 2022 and January 2023

A local police officer had investigated the couple (pictured) then referred them to experts in economic crime

Det Con Luis Da Silva, from the Met's economic crime team that investigated this case, said: 'We know Londoners are worried about theft. It's a horrible crime, and it causes a lot of stress, pain, and financial loss.

'That's why we take this crime seriously and a whole team of us were committed to catching Singh and Bruyea.

'You couldn't fail to be moved by the devastating impact their callous behaviour had on people, and we hope that by catching them this offers victims a little bit of solace.

'I would urge anyone who has had something stolen to get in touch, because we do want to drive down this crime and go after those who target the public.

'We will now look to forfeit the proceeds of their crimes to try and help compensate those who went through this.'

The pair were first noticed by a lone police officer who had noticed a pattern and flagged it to experts i n economic crime.

Police officers based in Lewisham went on to trace the pair's phones, cars and faces on CCTV linking all the crimes together.
Tory rebels warned they are not 'f***ing around' today as Rishi Sunak struggles to save his Rwanda plans.

MPs insisted they are prepared to kill the flagship legislation and plunge the government into crisis unless the PM agrees to toughen it up.

Former Cabinet minister Simon Clarke delivered the stark message as a crunch debate on the Rwanda Bill kicked off.

Boris Johnson has also waded into the row, saying the government must accept amendments signed by more than 60 Tories, due to be the subject of tense votes this evening.

The changes would sweep away more obstacles to getting deportation flights up and running. MPs want the legislation to block the European Court of Human Rights from issuing last-minute injunctions.

Two of the party's deputy chairs - Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith - have vowed to join the revolt.

Although the government is not in danger of losing the votes outright, as Labour does not support the rebel moves, a big rebellion would be highly damaging to Mr Sunak's authority. He has made 'stopping the boats' a key plank of his pitch for a general election due to happen by the end of the year.

The existential threat to the Bill is likely to come tomorrow when it is due to have its third reading, the last Commons stage.

If Labour opts to vote against at that point rather than abstain then rebels would be able to crash the flagship legislation, plunging Mr Sunak into chaos.

Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick has also insisted he will vote against the bill if the amendments fail. He told the Commons in the debate this afternoon that the Bill 'doesn't work' and is 'operationally flawed'.

He said the rebel amendments 'represent the last opportunity for us to get this policy right'.

Rishi Sunak faces a bloody nose on the Rwanda Bill today after two Tory deputy chairs pledged to join more than 60 rebels trying to toughen up the plans

Former Cabinet minister Simon Clarke reacted with anger to claims a minister had said rebels were only 'f***cking around' and would not vote to kill the Bill

Boris Johnson has also waded into the row urging the government to accept the rebel amendments

Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick has also insisted he will vote against the bill if the amendments fail. He told the Commons in the debate this afternoon that the Bill 'doesn't work' and is 'operationally flawed'

Mr Sunak has made 'stopping the boats' a key plank of his pitch for a general election due to happen by the end of the year. Pictured, arrivals at Dover over the weekend

Mr Anderson's decision to side with the rebels leaves the PM facing a dilemma over whether to sack him from his role as deputy Tory chairman

Brendan Clarke-Smith has also pledged to back rebel amendments tonight

Posting on the X social media site, Mr Johnson said: 'Governments around the world are now trying to imitate the UK Rwanda policy for tackling illegal people trafficking,' he said.

'This Bill must be as legally robust as possible  and the right course is to adopt the amendments.'

The PM gathered his Cabinet this morning ahead of the showdown, with debate on the committee stage of the legislation set to start at lunchtime. The Speaker will decide what amendments will be subject to votes, expected to happen this evening.

In a round of interviews this morning, Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride seemed resigned to the prospect of a backlash against the government from its own MPs.

He told LBC: 'Let's see. Bills go through various processes. There are often amendments.

'We all know that there are very few Bills  very, very few Bills  that go through straight and clean and nobody tries to amend them in any way at all.

'What matters is that the Bill progresses in a form that leaves it effective at the end and I'm confident we're going to do that.'

More than 60 Tory MPs, including Liz Truss, Suella Braverman and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, have signed amendments to beef up the Safety of Rwanda Bill.

Miriam Cates, Conservative MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, said she would be prepared to vote against the Rwanda Bill if it is not amended.

She told the Today programme: 'I would be prepared but what I really want to see is the Government accept these amendments.'

Former Cabinet minister Simon Clarke said: 'If things go wrong, there are a number of us who have shown before, just as we did on Theresa May's soft Brexit legislation, that we won't hesitate to act on principle to actually get things done. We were right then and we were right now.'

However, Tory moderates on the other wing of the party have said they could oppose the legislation if it is strengthened further.

Former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland said: 'There are a large number of Conservatives on the One Nation side who think the Bill has gone as far as they are comfortable with  or even a bit further, in my case  and our view needs to be heard.'

In a further blow, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the Bill and recently signed treaty with Kigali was 'not compatible' with international refugee law.

Mr Sunak insisted yesterday changes were unnecessary as the legislation already gave ministers the power to overrule so-called Rule 39 injunctions from Strasbourg. In a significant intervention, he also confirmed for the first time that he was ready to use the power, if necessary.

'I would not have put that clause in the Bill if I was not prepared to use it,' he said. 'I won't let a foreign court stop us from getting flights off.'

Last night, in a sign of the pressure No 10 is under, Tory campaign chief Isaac Levido rounded on the organisers of a poll suggesting the party will suffer a 120-seat election defeat unless it toughens its stance on issues such as immigration.

In a briefing to Tory MPs, Mr Levido warned the party would 'fall if it is divided' following projections of a 1997-style victory for Labour later this year.

In a further olive branch to the rebels, No 10 said Eurosceptic immigration minister Michael Tomlinson would be put in charge of responding to any interventions from the Strasbourg court.

Sir John Hayes, chairman of the Common Sense Group of Tory MPs, welcomed Mr Sunak's clarification that he was willing to overrule the Strasbourg court, but said it 'has to be in legislation'.

Mr Anderson has put his position in peril by committing to join the Tory rebellion

The Rwanda scheme was blocked by the Supreme Court in November after judges accepted claims from campaigners that the country was not safe, as asylum seekers could theoretically be returned from there to their home country to face torture.

The Rwanda Bill will declare in law that the African nation is a safe country and prevent the courts examining the principle of the scheme.

But to the dismay of Tory rebels, it will not prevent individual appeals by those threatened with deportation.

Mr Anderson's decision to side with the rebels leaves the PM facing a dilemma over whether to sack him from his role as deputy Tory chairman.

Mr Anderson said he had signed several rebel amendments tabled by Mr Jenrick and veteran Eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash, adding: 'I will vote for them.'

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said this morning that he is 'pretty sure' Mr Anderson will still be in post at the next election.

'I think we might be getting ahead of ourselves because I think that, and Lee is a friend and I'm a big admirer of his, the concerns that Lee has about the Bill are the concerns that the country has about migration more broadly,' he told Times Radio.

Key rebel proposals include banning migrants from making individual legal claims against deportation to Rwanda, blocking injunctions from the European Court of Human Rights and disapplying all human rights laws.

Mr Sunak said he was 'happy to have a dialogue with anyone who thinks they might have an idea that will improve the effectiveness of the Bill'.
Donald Trump has landed in New York to face a new E. Jean Carroll civil damages trial after cutting short celebrations for his landslide victory in the Iowa caucuses.

The former president jetted into LaGuardia airport from Des Moines in the early hours of the morning after decimating his rivals in the first primary contest, securing more than 50 per cent of the vote.

Trump is set to appear in the courthouse later today, in the latest legal challenge against him which centers around public comments he made about Carroll while he was president and since the first trial.

In May last year, a New York jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, awarding her $5million in damages. The panel said there was not enough evidence to say he had raped her, as she claimed.

The latest trial, which is set to determine the amount of damages he must pay Carroll, begins today despite efforts by Trump's lawyers to push it back so he could attend the funeral of his mother-in-law.

A New York jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll, awarding her $5million in damages

Former US President and Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks at a watch party during the 2024 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses in Des Moines, Iowa

As of 10pm, Trump had more than 50 percent of the votes with Haley and DeSantis scrapping in second place

Judge Lewis A Kaplan issued an order on Friday denying the motion for a one week delay to the trial.

Fuming over the judge's ruling, Trump blasted Kaplan on his Truth Social platform, labelling him a 'a bad person and a worse judge', and saying he has 'Trump derangment syndrome'.

After the request was rejected, the Republican candidate's campaign team announced that he would hold a rally in New Hampshire on Wednesday night.

The latest Carroll trial is just one of a number Trump is facing as he aims to secure a second term in the White House.

He has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges made against him and has denied wrongdoing in all the civil cases that have been brought against him.

In a fraud trial this month, New York Attorney General Letitia James is asking the judge for a $370million penalty for the businessman.

Before the trial had even begun on October 2, Judge Engoron ruled that Trump committed fraud by overvaluing his net worth by up to $2.2 billion to get better rates on bank loans.

The trial has been to determine what the penalty should be and a ruling is expected by January 31.

Last Spring, a panel of six men and three women also found that Trump injured advice columnist Carroll in a Manhattan Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in 1996 and defamed her when he called her a liar.

The panel ordered the former President to pay a total of $5million in damages, and made their decision after just three hours of deliberation.

Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct or assault by more than two dozen women, but Carroll's has so far been the only case to end up before a jury.

The former president decimated his rivals securing more than 50 per cent of the vote in the first Republican primary contest

The former president jetted into LaGuardia airport in the early hours of the morning

Carroll, 80, sued for battery under the Adult Survivors Act, a law passed in New York that allowed a one year window for sexual assault claims normally outside of the statute of limitations.

Her claim for defamation was based on statements made by Trump, 77, when he was President in which he called her a liar.

According to the jury instructions, sexual abuse meant subjecting Carroll to sexual contact with no consent.

Sexual contact was defined as 'any touching of the sexual or intimate parts of the person for the purpose of gratifying the sexual desire of either party.'

In May, the jury awarded $2million in compensatory damages and $20,000 in punitive damages for the battery allegation.

They also awarded $1million in compensatory damages for the defamation and $1.7million for the repair of her reputation and another $280,000 in punitive damages for the defamation.

One issue that wasn't decided in that first trial was how much Trump owed for comments he made about Carroll while he was still president.

Determining that dollar amount will be the new jury's only job.

Donald Trump responded to a rape accusation by the writer E. Jean Carroll (second from left) by saying that he's never met her. A photo from 1987 shows them at a party together

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ruled last year that the new jury didn't need to decide anew whether Carroll was sexually abused or whether Trump's remarks about her were defamatory since those subjects were covered in the first trial.

Trump is expected at the trial Tuesday, though his plans for the rest of the week have become unclear since Melania Trump's mother's funeral was scheduled for Thursday. The trial is expected to last several days.

He has said he wants to testify, but if he does there will be strict limits on what he can talk about. He did not attend last year's trial, saying recently that his lawyer advised against it.

Because the trial is supposed to be focused only on how much Trump owes Carroll, the judge has warned Trump and his lawyers that they cannot say things to jurors that he has said on the campaign trail or elsewhere, like claiming she lied about him to promote her memoir.

Kaplan also banned them from saying anything about Carroll's 'past romantic relationships, sexual disposition, and prior sexual experiences,' from suggesting Trump didn't sexually abuse Carroll or from implying she was motivated by 'a political agenda, financial interests, mental illness, or otherwise.'

They are also banned, the judge said, from advancing any argument inconsistent with the court's ruling that 'Mr. Trump, with actual malice, lied about sexually assaulting Ms. Carroll.'

Those restrictions don't apply outside of the presence of the jury. That has left Trump free to continue posting on social media about all of the above topics - something he has done repeatedly in recent days - although each fresh denial comes with the possibility of increasing damages he must pay.
A budget airline has announced a major sale on flights from Australia to some of the hottest global destinations in 2024.

Scoot, the budget arm of Singapore Airlines, has dropped its first sale of the year with jaw-dropping prices on international flights on sale as of 1pm on Tuesday.

Economy airfares start from $195 for a one-way flight.

There are more than 15,000 seats on sale on flights to Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, China, India, the Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam.

Budget carrier Scoot has announced discounted airfares for several international flights

Tickets are also up for grabs for flights to the Philippines (pictured)

Aussies can also fly to Singapore as part of the discounted deal (pictured, Marine Bay in Singapore)

Where can I go? Sydney to Jeju, from $315 Melbourne to Jeju from $305 Perth to Jeju from $295 Sydney to Osaka from $345 Melbourne to Osaka from $335 Perth to Osaka from $315 Sydney to Cebu from $250 Melbourne to Cebu from $245 Perth to Cebu from $215 Advertisement

Those booking the cheap flights can make the most of the MultiFlex product which gives them unlimited changes to their flight data and time for no additional fee.

However, passengers will have to pack light as cabin baggage must be kept to a maximum of 10kg.

The flights went on sale at 1pm on Tuesday and are available until 3am on January 23, or until sold out at www.flyscoot.com/en

Flights to Japan (pictured) start from just $315
An incredible map of Iowa's counties reveals just how overwhelming Donald Trump's caucus victory was, with his 30-point margin affirming his grip on the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Trump won 98 out of 99 counties in a drubbing that leaves his rivals Ron DeSantis, who came second with 21% of votes, and Nikki Haley, who finished third with 19% of votes, trailing behind.

But now Trump and his rivals will turn their attention to next week's New Hampshire primary on January 23 where they will compete for more key votes with more to play for after conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out of the race.

In previous presidential races, the winners for Iowa have gone on to win the presidency - as was the case with Jimmy Carter in 1976, Barack Obama in 2008 and George W. Bush in 2000.

DeSantis and Haley will now look to turn their loss in Iowa into a win in the upcoming primaries, but conservative commentators such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich have already declared: 'Trump is the nominee. Get over it.'

Trump won 98 out of 99 counties in a drubbing that leaves his rivals Ron DeSantis, who came second with 21% of votes, and Nikki Haley , who finished third with 19% of votes, trailing behind. Haley did beat Trump in one county - Johnson - but only by one point.

Trump won 98 out of 99 counties in a drubbing that leaves his rivals Ron DeSantis, who came second with 21% of votes, and Nikki Haley , who finished third with 19% of votes, trailing behind

For Haley, who finished third on 21 per cent, she will look for a strong performance in New Hampshire where she has polled as high as 45 per cent in recent weeks

And coming more than 30 points behind Trump in the Iowa caucus will be a huge blow for DeSantis - especially since previous Iowa delegates have backed conservative and religious candidates like him

As of 7.30am, Trump had more than 51 percent of the votes with Haley and DeSantis scrapping in second place and third place

For Haley, who finished third on 21 per cent, she will look for a strong performance in New Hampshire where she has polled as high as 45 per cent in recent weeks.

'When you look at how well we're doing in New Hampshire and in South Carolina and beyond, I can safely say tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race,' she said.

But her supporters in Iowa have admitted that falling behind DeSantis last night could blunt her momentum in the key battlegrounds that lie ahead. Haley did beat Trump in one county - Johnson - but only by one point.

That said, DeSantis had been largely absent from New Hampshire during his campaign trail.

He will first head to South Carolina on Tuesday, a conservative stronghold where the February 24 contest could prove pivotal. He will head later in the day New Hampshire.

And coming more than 30 points behind Trump in the Iowa caucus will be a huge blow for DeSantis - especially since previous Iowa delegates have backed conservative and religious candidates like him.

Some will now question that if DeSantis can't beat Trump in conservative Iowa, where could he? But his spokesperson has previously said his campaign will not be derailed if he lost to Trump in Iowa.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said the competition is all but over for the other candidates, declaring that Trump will be the Republican's presidential candidate despite this being the first vote.

'Despite every lawsuit, despite every effort to destroy Trump, the people of Iowa have stood up and said "No, he's our candidate".

'He's the nominee. Get over it - he's the nominee. He's going to win the nomination.'

Gingrich said the other candidates are now 'irrelevant', adding: 'Nobody is going to be number two because Trump is going to dominate totally if you look at the country at-large.'

Trump's landslide victory in Iowa does now mean that the not-Trump vote remains divided with no clear challenger emerging between DeSantis and Haley. The split field could ease his path to the nomination.

Iowa voters have been influential over the years and have propelled candidates such as Barack Obama to the presidential nomination.

But it hasn't always been the best at predicting who will go on to win the presidency, as was the case in 2020 when Trump won all 99 counties in Iowa only to lose the election to President Joe Biden.

Indeed, Iowa Republicans selected Mike Huckabee in 2008 and Rick Santorium in 2012 - neither of whom won the presidential election.

And for some candidates who were defeated in Iowa - such as Ronald Reagan in 1980, George Bush in 1988 and Trump in 2016 - they all went on to win the election.

Former President Donald Trump raises his fist in the air after he won the Iowa Caucus on January 15

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Iowa Events Center after winning the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday

Former President Donald Trump raises his fist in the air after he won the Iowa Caucus on January 15

Indeed, in 2016, Trump lost in Iowa to Ted Cruz with only 37 counties voting for him but he went on to win the presidency.

But last night's record victory for Trump leaves him with a tighter grip on the GOP nomination - though it could take several more months for anyone to formally become the party's standard bearer.

The magnitude of Trump's victory, however, posed significant questions for both DeSantis and Haley. But neither candidate appeared poised to exit the race ahead of next week's New Hampshire primary.

In a preview of a remarkable balancing act Trump may have to manage in the months ahead, he was expected to be in court in New York on Tuesday.

A jury is poised to consider whether he should pay additional damages to a columnist who last year won a $5 million jury award against Trump for sex abuse and defamation. It's just one of multiple legal challenges facing the former president.

After visiting the court, Trump will fly to New Hampshire to hold a rally Tuesday evening.

Trump has made courtroom visits a part of his campaign - heading to court voluntarily twice last week while his opponents campaigned in Iowa - in a strategy designed to portray him as a victim of a politicized legal system. Among Republican voters, at least, the approach is working.

It took just half an hour for Trump's landslide victory to be called as thousands of his die-hard supporters turned up to vote in sub-zero temperatures and wind chills as low as minus 30 degrees.

Trump quickly looked forward and said the 'big night is going to be in November when we take back our country' in the general election.

Instead of mocking the rest of the Republican field he applauded them for their campaigning and called them 'very smart people, very capable people'.

'I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a good time together. I think they both actually did very well,' Trump told a crowd of a few hundred supporters just hours after networks called the state for him.

It was a sudden turn for someone he regularly insulted as 'Ron DeSantimonious' before the caucusing began and his victory was assured.

He also had kind words for Vivek Ramaswamy, after blasting him in the final days before the caucus  speaking shortly before Ramaswamy dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump.

'I also want to congratulate Vivek because he did one hell of a job. He came from zero  that's an amazing job,' Trump said.

Trump, who holds a lopsided lead in national polls, included calls for unity in his speech, even though Iowa represents just 1.6 per cent of the total delegates at stake in the fight for the nomination.

He called to 'come together and straighten out the world and straighten out the problems.'

Trump sought to seize the momentum from his convincing win, even as the race for the GOP presidential nomination shifts immediately to New Hampshire, where Haley has been rising in the polls. DeSantis plans to hold events in South Carolina, which holds its primary February 24, and New Hampshire on Tuesday, after failing to use his turnout organization to pull closer to Trump.

'Because of your support in spite of all of what they threw at us,' said DeSantis at his own rally, 'we got our ticket punched out of Iowa.' Haley said the results make it a 'two-person race' between her and Trump.

Trump's remarks came in a victory speech where he paid tribute to his late mother-in-law Amalija Knavs and thanked 'my incredible wife' former first lady Melania Trump.

He joked about his mother in law. 'Boy did she take care of Barron. 'That's how he got so tall.'

Trump was joined onstage at his victory party by sons Eric and Don Jr., but there was no sign of daughter Ivanka.

Ron DeSantis embraces his wife Casey DeSantis as he celebrated a projected second place finish

Nikki Haley speaks with her kids at a caucus night party in West Des Moines, Iowa

Trump celebrated after storming to victory in the first primary contest in just 30 minutes by waiting on stage as Lee Greenwood's 'God Bless the USA' played to the crowd.

Iowa has been an uneven predictor of who will ultimately lead Republicans into the general election. George W. Bush's 2000 victory was the last time a Republican candidate won in Iowa and went on to become the party's nominee.

But Trump's success tells a remarkable story of a Republican Party unwilling or unable to move on from a flawed front-runner. He lost to Biden in 2020 after fueling near-constant chaos while in the White House, culminating with his supporters carrying out a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol. In total, he faces 91 felony charges across four criminal cases.

The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing whether states have the ability to block Trump from the ballot for his role in sparking the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol. And he's facing criminal trials in Washington and Atlanta for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump has increasingly echoed authoritarian leaders and framed his campaign as one of retribution. He has spoken openly about using the power of government to pursue his political enemies.

He has repeatedly harnessed rhetoric once used by Adolf Hitler to argue that immigrants entering the U.S. illegally are 'poisoning the blood of our country.' And he recently shared a word cloud last week to his social media account highlighting 'revenge,' 'power' and 'dictatorship.'

Trump's legal challenges appear to have done little damage to his reputation. Many of his supporters view the charges through a political lens.

About three-quarters of Iowans responding to AP VoteCast said the charges against Trump are political attempts to undermine him, rather than legitimate attempts to investigate important issues.

'God called us to do that to support Trump,' said 64-year-old David Lage, donning a captain's hat at Trump's victory party.
This is the horrifying moment a firefighter plane explodes after hitting an overhead cable while tackling a blaze in Chile.

Spaniard Fernando Solans Robles, 58, was killed as he and a colleague were mobilised to deal with a blaze near an aerodrome in Talca in central Chile.

Footage of the tragedy showed the plane exploding into a ball of flames and coming down beside a busy motorway after hitting the power cables.

Three people on the ground were injured in the incident, which occurred just before 4.30pm local time yesterday.

They are said to have been travelling in a car that was hit when the plane came down. Initial local reports described their condition as serious.

Spaniard Fernando Solans Robles, 58, was killed as he and a colleague were mobilised to deal with a blaze near an aerodrome in Talca in central Chile (pictured in the plane before the accident)

Footage of the tragedy showed the plane exploding into a ball of flames (pictured above) and coming down beside a busy motorway after hitting the power cables

Three people on the ground were injured in the incident, which occurred just before 4.30pm local time yesterday. Footage shows the burning plane crash to the ground (pictured: moments before the crash)

They are said to have been travelling in a car that was hit when the plane came down (aftermath pictured). Initial local reports described their condition as serious

The 'vastly experienced' pilot, who died instantly, had been a commercial airline pilot in Europe before moving into the aerial firefighting sector with a private firm that assisted Chile's National Forest Corporation CONAF.

The state-owned private non-profit organisation, funded by Chile's Ministry of Agriculture, said in a statement late yesterday: 'We regret to report that at approximately 4.30pm on January 15 a plane accident occurred in the commune of Talca during fire control work.

'As a result of this unfortunate incident Spanish national Fernando Solans died.

'He was the pilot of the Turbo Trush model aircraft, operated by the airline company Air Andes Chile SPA, which provides services to CONAF.

'Three people were also injured in the incident.

'CONAF extends its condolences to the family of Mr. Solans, who becomes part of the legacy of martyrs who have given their lives to safeguard the heritage of our country and protect the lives of its inhabitants.

'CONAF is actively working with the authorities investigating the accident, and will provide all the information it has, in order to help clarify the causes and circumstances in which this incident occurred.'

Francisco Pulgar Castillo, an MP serving Chile's Maule region which Talca is part of, added in an online tribute to the victim: 'I wish to express my heartfelt condolences for the death of Fernando Solans Robles, a Spanish pilot with vast experience fighting forest fires, who tragically lost his life while he was providing services to CONAF fighting a fire threat in the Panguilemo sector of the province of Talca.

'His sacrifice in the arduous task of fighting fires, protecting flora and fauna, leaves an indelible legacy.

'I want to express our most sincere condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the Air Andes Chile Company affected by this irreparable loss.

Footage shows the moment the plane burst into flames (left). The fireball was visible from nearly a mile away (right)

Crash witness Adolfo Saez said: 'The second plane (pictured) hit two posts and careered across the road in flames before colliding into a parked lorry'

The witness added: 'If our driver hadn't reduced the speed he was going at when the first plane shot by us, we'd have been directly under the second one'

'In this moment of pain, we also extend our words of solidarity to CONAF, recognising their joint work and shared commitment to protecting our forests.'

Chilean president Gabriel Boric tweeted: 'Every year thousands of people carry out the difficult but noble task of combating forest fires.

'Today we have to lament the death of pilot Fernando Solans who was providing serves to CONAF.

'My respect and condolences to his family and loved ones.'

Crash witness Adolfo Saez said: 'The first pilot flew very low and left the driver of the car I was in a little shaken up.

'The second plane hit two posts and careered across the road in flames before colliding into a parked lorry.

'If our driver hadn't reduced the speed he was going at when the first plane shot by us, we'd have been directly under the second one.'
A heartbroken widower has been left devastated after thousands of pounds worth of jewellery was stolen from his late wife's bedside unit.

Simon Richards, whose wife Mary died aged just 35 last year from breast cancer, arrived at his home in Wolstanton, near Stoke-on-Trent, last month to find that callous burglars had ransacked the place.

The 43-year-old is now calling for the thieves to return the stolen items, which include Mary's engagement ring, her silver Tiffany and Co. necklace and the couple's wedding bands.

'I came home from work and immediately sensed something was not right,' Richards said. 'Even the smell of the hallway was different.

'It wasn't the smell of the home but more like a musty dirty smoker clothing smell.

Simon Richards, whose wife Mary died aged just 35 last year from breast cancer, arrived home last month to find that callous burglars had ransacked the place

Among the missing items were the couple's wedding bands. Simon and Mary were married for four-and-a-half years

Mary's engagement ring was taken from her bedside unit, which stored her ashes and photos of her

Mary's necklace from the luxury American jeweller Tiffany and Co. was also stolen. Simon is now calling for the thieves to come forward

'I would normally go through the hallway to the back of the house but something told me something was not right.

'So I went straight upstairs and turned the light on in the bedroom.

'There was stuff everywhere, the clothes were all over the floor, and I saw the jewellery boxes had been opened from the bedside unit.

'The bedside unit has Mary's ashes and some photos of her surrounding it.

'They even took the lid off the box to see what was inside.

'It's not only the fact I walked into a mess, it was seeing Mary's belongings out that took me a while to come to terms with.'

Mr Richards, who called the police immediately, is convinced that the burglars were young as he had seen three youths loitering on the other side of the road earlier that day. The window that the robbers smashed to break into the home was also very small.

Simon met Mary in Summer 2015 at the annual show of a hospital where she was a senior nurse practitioner

Simon then bumped into Mary at a running club and at a bar. From there the 'conversation just flowed'

Simon said it was 'hard' spending Christmas without Mary for the first time but he is 'trying to get by each day at a time'

The despondent widower is urging people to check their Christmas gifts in case they match the stolen sentimental jewellery.

Mary was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2022 and, despite undergoing a mastectomy to remove the tumour, she was told she had recurring cancer just weeks later.

She died eight months later on October 28 last year.

Simon said it was 'hard' spending Christmas without Mary for the first time but he is 'trying to get by each day at a time'.

He said: 'It's been pretty bad. Christmas was her favourite time - she would get really excited about presents so I knew it would be hard.

'We met in the summer of 2015. She was a senior nurse practitioner and was well-respected within the hospital.

'Me and my friends saw her at the hospital's annual show and she was very professional.

'Soon after, I saw her at a running club. After the run, we were at a pub and I saw her at the bar.

'We ordered drinks and started talking - the conversation just flowed.

'She was well-loved.'

Mary was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2022 and, despite undergoing a mastectomy to remove the tumour, she was told she had recurring cancer just weeks later

Mary died on October 28 last year, just eight months after her diagnosis

A spokesperson for Staffordshire Police said: 'We have released images of an engagement ring and a wedding band necklace which were stolen from a home in Wolstanton recently.

'It happened on Hassam Parade on December 18 between 8.30am and 6.30pm.

'The victim came home from work to find their kitchen window had been smashed and the items had been taken from inside.

'Forensic officers have been to the address and we would like to speak to anyone with information that could help with our investigation, particularly those with CCTV, dashcam or doorbell footage from the area that day.

'Call us on 101, quoting incident 130 of December 18, or message us using Live Chat on our website.

'You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111. Tell them what you know, not who you are.'
MBABANE  Eswatini National Schools Arts and Culture Association (ENSACA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Training has planned activities for the benefit of all art courts in schools.

ENSACA is an association that sees to it that there are culture-infused activities at schools. This publication also managed to speak to the president of the Eswatini National Schools Culture and Arts Association, Rodney Gamedze. Gamedze highlighted that this year; they were working hand-in-hand with the Ministry of Education and were ready for action.

He stated that this collaboration between the ministry and the association would ensure the preservation and growth of this cultural legacy and arts in schools. This partnership will enable both parties to work hand-in-hand towards a brighter future for the nations youth. The collaboration also plays a pivotal role in preserving the cultural identity of the nation. He said by integrating cultural education and traditional values into the curriculum schools can empower students to embrace and foster a deep sense of pride in the different art courts.

By working together, schools can enhance extracurricular activities, such as sports, arts and cultural clubs, which foster creativity, teamwork and perseverance. He added that the Ministry of Education can provide the necessary support and resources to create an environment that cultivates well-rounded individuals, who are not only academically proficient, but also socially and emotionally competent.

With great enthusiasm and confidence, Gamedze mentioned that their purpose is to promote culture in schools. We are helping every Swati child in school, whether it is a public or private school; we are aligned with the childrens right that says every child has a right to play, said Gamedze. The planned itinerary for the association will begin in February where Choral conductors will meet for a workshop. A workshop to look into the other art courts will begin in April, where a student in that art court will be accompanied by the teacher to the workshop.

Workshops will begin from February, all the way to April, and Choral music will be the first art court to be discussed, said Gamedze. The widely followed regional schools culture competition, will began in June and finals will be hosted in July, right before learners sit the second term exams. The art codes include drama and theatre, drum majorettes, sibhaca and ummiso. This publication was to witness the various activities on sight, and the largest crowd was at the drum majorettes section.

There are various age groups competing at both the primary and high school levels. There were different categories, including military, show pros, cheerleading, show novelty, and kwaito boys and girls.During last years competition various schools attended including Sydney Williams Primary School, Ludzeludze Primary School, Swazi National High School, Khuphuka High School, and St. Michaels High School, and that is just in the Manzini Region.
The surge in global conflict that marred the year 2023 has set alarm bells ringing in the halls of European defence establishments.

Not three weeks of 2024 have passed, and the governments of Estonia, Sweden and now the UK have already warned their respective nations that the prospect of large-scale war is on the horizon.

Leaked German intelligence documents suggest Berlin expects Russia to launch another wave of attacks to overwhelm Ukraine, and is scrambling to come up with contingency plans in the event Russian troops march westward from Belarus.

The Israel-Hamas conflict threatens to spread violence across the Middle East, with Iran's so-called 'Axis of Resistance' - including Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi rebels - increasing their attacks on Israel and commercial shipping routes, prompting the UK and US to launch a series of devastating strikes by air and sea.

Further East, Taiwan's election of a new democracy-loving president has angered Beijing even further, with a Chinese invasion of the island nation in the coming years looking ever more likely.

And all the while, Kim Jong Un stands by with his fist clenching the keys to North Korea's nuclear arsenal, ready to plunge his foes into radioactive winter.

In a stark warning speech this week, UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps sought to encapsulate the grave threats facing Britain and beyond.

'In five years' time we could be looking at multiple theatres including Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. Ask yourself, looking at today's conflicts across the world, is it more likely that that number grows or reduces?

'I suspect we all know the answer.'

Now, with international security experts in cacophonous agreement that we are closer to World War III now than at any other time since the Cuban Missile Crisis, MailOnline examines the global 'fault lines' that could drag Europe into a massive armed conflict.

The photo released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Jan. 14, 2024 Israeli troops conducting a military operation in Gaza Strip

Oil depot on fire in occupied Donetsk, Ukraine, following missile strike

Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on January 14, 2024

China's aircraft carrier the Liaoning (R) arrives in Hong Kong waters

Smoke rises over Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as seen from Israel January 16, 2024

Russia-Ukraine: Gateway to war between Moscow and NATO

Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 saw the spectre of a major armed conflict darken Europe's door again for the first time since the end of World War II.

The UK and EU immediately leapt to Ukraine's defence, cracking down on Moscow with a barrage of economic sanctions and committing billions in military and humanitarian funding to boost Kyiv's war effort.

But now almost two full years into the conflict with no clear end in sight, European nations are forced to confront the very real possibility the war could drag on indefinitely - and perhaps even spill beyond the borders of Ukraine.

In an alarming speech earlier this month, Sweden's Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said: 'There could be war in Sweden... The world is facing a security outlook with greater risks than at any time since the end of the Second World War,' urging his citizens to join voluntary civil defence groups.

Days later, Estonia's Prime Minister declared that Europe has just three to five years to prepare for Russia's return as a serious military threat on NATO's eastern flank, before British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps this week declared he would send 20,000 British troops to take part in one of NATO's largest war games since the Cold War.

'Our adversaries are busily rebuilding their barriers, old enemies are reanimated, battle lines are being redrawn, the tanks are literally on Ukraine's lawn and the foundations of the world order are being shaken to their core,' he said.

These stark warnings came as leaked documents from the German Ministry of Defence outlined a step-by-step doomsday guide on how Russia could escalate the conflict in Ukraine to an even bigger battle.

The leaked plans, published by German newspaper Bild, reveal in detail the path to a Third World War with Putin using Belarus as a launching pad for an invasion - as he did in February 2022 for his war in Ukraine.

General Sir Richard Barrons warned that Britain is sorely underprepared for a conflict with Russia, and urged the government to invest heavily in reconstituting the armed forces to meet the challenge.

'Russia is clearly angry and rearming so their capability will be restored and when the shooting stops in Ukraine, Russia will blame the outcome on us,' he told MailOnline

'We are already In confrontation with Russia. Right now, we have chosen to do very little about it.

'During the Cold War the Army, at all times, was ready to fight at four hours' notice. When the Cold War ended and there was no sense of existential risk to the UK, all of that was dismantled.

'Now we would need five to 10 years' notice of a Russian surprise attack to manage to deal with it. It's deeply disappointing.'

Retired US Army Brigadier General Kevin Ryan also told MailOnline that a failure to prepare on the part of NATO could incite Putin to strike.

'Until recently it didn't seem Russia could build an army good enough to enforce that demand. But if Russia continues to have success enlarging its force and ramping up military production then we need to get ready.

'Getting ready could be enough to avert a wider war. Not getting ready could invite one,' he concluded.

Ben Hodges, who commanded who commanded the US Army in Europe between 2014 and 2018, added: 'If the civilian leadership doesn't think there's a threat, they won't be able to move quickly enough. Our leaders should talk to us like adults. It doesn't mean you're a scaremongerer, it means you're taking precaution, which is exactly what we should be doing.'

How NATO could face a potential all out war with Russia by summer 2025, according to leaked German defence documents

A Ukrainian serviceman from the 406th Artillery Brigade named after Khorunzhoy General Oleksii Almazov arranges 155mm shells near an M777 howitzer at an undisclosed location in the Zaporizhia region, southeastern Ukraine, 14 January 2024

A crater left by a missile in the yard of a damaged residential building after a Russian attack on January 2, 2024 in Kharkiv

Grant Shapps sent a warning shot that Britain and its allies must increase defence spending amid the threats posed by Russia, China, Iran and North Korea

Mr Shapps said Britain's contribution to this year's 'Steadfast Defender' exercise would provide 'vital reassurance' against the 'menace' posed by Russia's Vladimir Putin

The Middle East: A tinderbox waiting for a spark

The ruthless October 7 attacks on Israeli towns and kibbutzim by Hamas gunmen, in which more than 1,000 Israelis were killed, prompted Tel-Aviv to embark on a brutal aerial bombardment of and subsequent armed incursion into Palestinian territory that has left more than 20,000 Gazans dead.

But the heinous violence engulfing the Gaza Strip threatens to tip the already shaky security landscape of the wider region into total chaos.

Since October 7, Hezbollah has increased its attacks on northern Israeli towns and exchanged fire with the IDF over the border, and Yemen's heavily armed Houthi rebel forces have hijacked commercial shipping vessels and damaged several others with missiles.

US and UK armed forces responded with full fury, conducting massive strikes on dozens of rebel-held strongholds, but the rebels' Supreme Political Council threatened retaliation, declaring: 'All American-British interests have become legitimate targets for the Yemeni armed forces.'

The Houthis made good on the threat this week, blasting a US-owned freight ship sailing the Gulf of Aden with yet another missile, while unsettling footage in Yemen's capital Sanaa showed tens if not hundreds of thousands of people chanting anti-US slogans.

But there is one, much graver threat, sitting behind each of the burgeoning militias in the Middle East - the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis are part of Iran's 'Axis of Resistance' - groups spread across the Middle East that constitute a geopolitical and military alliance to counter threats from the West and regional rivals. The Islamic Republic commands considerable forces in Iraq and Syria, which have authored several drone and rocket attacks on US bases in recent months.

Tehran is also orchestrating a wide-ranging strategic partnership treaty with none other than Vladimir Putin, for whom it is already producing drones to bombard Ukrainian cities.

Putin himself has warned that 'further escalation of the crisis is fraught with grave and extremely dangerous and destructive consequences... It could spill over far beyond the borders of the Middle East.'

Mona Yacoubian, the Vice President of the US Institute of Peace's MENA centre, said that with tensions set so high across the Middle East, a single spark could ignite the tinderbox at any moment.

'The Middle East is in the throes of unprecedented levels of tension, unparalleled in recent memory. Across the region, no fewer than four major flashpoints could provoke a wider war in the Middle East. In addition to the conflict dynamics between Israel and Lebanon, the Red Sea, Iraq and Syria have all become arenas of spillover confrontation from Gaza.

'A violent spike in any of these hot spots could quickly escalate to a wider confrontation,' she concluded.

Tehran is the chief backer of both Hamas and Hezbollah - but these are just some of the powerful militias that have been propped up by Iranian money, weapons and military training in recent decades

A view of the demolition at Al-Maghazi refugee camp after Israeli forces withdrew from the area in Deir Al Balah, Gaza on January 16, 2024

Supporters of the Houthi movement rally to denounce air strikes launched by the U.S. and Britain on Houthi targets, in Sanaa, Yemen, on Friday

An RAF Typhoon aircraft takes off to join the US led coalition to conduct air strikes against military targets in Yemen

Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the Houthi supreme political council, speaks while holding a gun, in Sanaa, Yemen, on Friday

A handout picture made available by Iran's Supreme Leader Office shows Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a meeting with Iranian clerics from across the country, in Tehran, Iran, 16 January 2024

China-Taiwan: A localised conflict that could cause a clash of the titans

This past weekend saw Lai Ching-te - the presidential candidate most hated by Beijing - elected as Taiwan's new leader.

Chinese officials denounced him as a dangerous separatist - with one spokesperson calling him a 'destroyer of peace', and declared the new president-elect does not represent the voice of his people in a delusional and derisive statement.

Analysts expect China to ramp up its display of displeasure around May - when Lai takes office - with a dramatic increase of aggressive military exercises around the island, or restricting imports from Taiwan as economic punishment.

China has done both in the past, notably holding war games on an unprecedented scale following the visit to the island of then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Beijing already routinely sends fighter jets and warships into the skies and waters around Taiwan - a constant reminder of the threat of invasion if the government refuses to become part of China.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sees Taiwan as a renegade province to be brought back under Beijing's control - something the authoritarian president Xi Jinping has said he's willing to do by force.

But Taiwan's elected Democratic Progressive Party steadfastly argues it presides over a self-governing, democratic, capitalist society with overwhelming support from its people.

Taipei's army, navy and air force are among some of the most highly trained, technologically advanced and well equipped in the world. But China's massive population and vast resources mean Beijing's military holds the advantage across every conceivable metric.

In a straight fight, China would quickly overwhelm Taiwan's defences and assume control of the island nation.

But any aggression on the part of Beijing could precipitate a 21st century military clash between the world's two superpowers.

CIA Director William Burns claimed last year that US intelligence suggested Xi has instructed his country's military to 'be ready by 2027' to invade Taiwan, and President Joe Biden confirmed Washington would come to Taipei's aid 'if in fact, there was an unprecedented attack'.

America's willingness to abandon its previous decades-long policy of strategic ambiguity indicates the strategic importance of Taiwan on many fronts.

The island boasts one of the most technologically advanced industries in the world and is the foremost producer of vital technological components.

It is also a highly strategic ally in terms of its geography, forming part of the 'First Island Chain' which allows the likes of US, Australia and South Korea to build a string of allied nations monitoring and discouraging Chinese aggression in the South China Sea.

But even the threat of US intervention does not seem to have dampened China's ambitions.

In his New Year's address to the nation, Xi said China 'will surely be reunified, and all Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.'

Chinese troops from the People's Liberation Army are seen patrolling with the Chinese flag on an exercise

Taiwanese soldiers pose for group photos with a Taiwan flag after a preparedness enhancement drill in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan

China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its territory, and fears have grown in recent years that Xi is planning an invasion in the coming years, in the face of increasingly hostile rhetoric and simulated blockades of the island. But China has been involved in other flash points, too. Pictured: Chinese soldiers take part in a simulated beach assault

China's President Xi Jinping believes Taiwan is a renegade province that must be brought under Beijing's control

A Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile is launched during what North Korea says is a drill at an unknown location December 18, 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un views a missile launcher before the launch of a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile during what North Korea says is a drill at an unknown location December 18, 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un

North Korea: A nuclear pariah primed to destabilise Western relations

Much of North Korea's population faces abject deprivation, enduring famine, healthcare scarcities, and a near-total isolation from the world beyond its borders.

That is because supreme leader Kim Jong Un has funnelled almost all his nation's resources and wealth into one singular goal - to amass the world's largest and most threatening arsenal of nuclear weapons.

His regime tested a record number of missiles in 2022 and continued apace in 2023, with satellite flyovers also showing that the long-defunct Punggye-ri nuclear test site had been reconstructed, presumably to accommodate the development of a brand new bomb.

North Korea's near total isolation from the world stage means it is less likely to be dragged into a major conflict, and the threat of war is a tool used since the very creation of the country by Kim Jong Un's grandfather Kim Il Sung to maintain the dynasty's grip on power.

But the regime has already agreed to supplement Moscow with munitions for its ongoing war in Ukraine at a time when Western relations with its historic allies  China and Russia  are at new lows.

A RUSI analysis of North Korea's provision of munitions to Russia warned: 'The impact will be felt much further than the battlefield in Ukraine. The sale of such quantities of munitions will fill the coffers of the cash-strapped regime in Pyongyang.

'North Korea may seek other assistance from Russia in return for its support, including the provision of missile and other advanced military technologies.'

And a US National Intelligence Estimate published in June 2023 warned Pyongyang could extend the scope of its incessant missile testing to conduct more provocative or even damaging strikes off the coast of Western partners Japan and South Korea.

RAND Corporation adjunct international defence researcher Bruce Bennett said: 'North Korea knows that the United States has promised that if the North employs its nuclear weapons, the regime will not survive. It is hard to imagine Kim taking this risk unless the regime is being threatened by internal rebellion.

'But that leaves ways that North Korea could use nuclear weapons coercively - each would likely be intended to decouple the [South Korea-US] alliance and place the North, with its nuclear weapons, in a position of military superiority on the peninsula, and thus be able to at least influence if not dominate [South Korea].

'North Korea could also directly threaten the United States with nuclear weapon use. For example, it could threaten to target Washington DC with a nuclear weapon unless the United States removes its military forces from South Korea.'
Converted handguns that were originally designed to fire blanks are now responsible for more shootings in the UK than genuine handguns.

Police data shows there were 64 discharges from converted models last year compared to 42 from their real equivalents.

Converted handguns caused four deaths and 17 serious injuries, leading authorities to prioritise them as a 'top-line threat priority'.

Blank guns are used at sporting events as starter pistols, in film and theatre and for a range of other uses, such as scaring birds. They fire cartridges filled with gunpowder in the place of real bullets, leading to a realistic noise and spark.

'Sometimes they even include genuine parts from genuine weapons,' Gregg Taylor, from the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (Nabis), told the BBC.

A converted handgun owned by Waheen Yaseen, a criminal from Wakefield, West Yorkshire

Yaseen was jailed for ten years and six months for possession of a firearm and possession with intent to supply class A drugs

'Therefore you've got 90% of what you already need to then go on - and do the extra 10% to convert.'

Waheen Yaseen, from Wakefield, was jailed last week for possessing a converted handgun along with thousands of pounds worth of crack cocaine.

READ MORE - Gun-obsessed Lidl worker who plotted Dunblane-style massacre at his old primary school is jailed for life Advertisement

Officers searched another property connected to the 46-year-old and found a black handgun and three nine-milimetre round.

He was jailed for ten years and six months for possession of a firearm and possession with intent to supply class A drugs.

Sergeant Tonge, of West Yorkshire Police, said: 'The converted firearm possessed by Yaseen was clearly intended for criminal purposes and I hope our communities will be reassured by this result.'

Blank guns are categorised according to how they discharge or 'vent' gunpowder. This can be from the top of the weapon, at the front or the side.

Forward-venting models are illegal to possess or import to the UK but can be traded lawfully in some parts of mainland Europe and smuggled into the country.

Side-venting or top-venting blank guns are legal for anyone over the age of 18 because they have solid barrels and are considered more difficult to covert.

However, over recent years police have seen a rise in these models being converted by criminals.

Last year underworld armourer Alireza Nowbakht, 50, was jailed for five years after being found guilty of converting blank firing pistols into lethal firearms from his home in Smethwick

Nowbakht transformed his bedroom in his home in Smethwick, West Midlands, into a makeshift gun workshop (pictured)

'And for the first time in a while now, we've seen converted weapons overtake the use of original weapons, said Mr Taylor, who called the issue of converted guns a 'top-line threat priority'

The BBC's File on 4 bought a top-venting blank firearm - which is based on a real handgun - for 99.99 online. The retailer only asked for proof of age.

Last year underworld armourer Alireza Nowbakht, 50, was jailed for five years after being found guilty of converting blank firing pistols into lethal firearms from his home in Smethwick.

Armed officers from the National Crime Agency's Armed Operations Unit raided his house in Mallin Stree on December 22, 2022.

In the video cops can be heard screaming 'armed police, come to the door' before training their guns on the suspect as he gives himself up.

Nowbakht had bought seven of the weapons online from a legitimate supplier and had them delivered to a nearby address.

NCA officers had Nowbakht under surveillance as he picked up the consignment and took them back to his home.

An upstairs bedroom had been turned into a workshop equipped with machining tools used to convert the guns.

Officers recovered a firearm along with live rounds of ammunition and ammunition casings.

Nowbakht also had a stolen VW Tiguan with cloned number plates outside.

The car had been taken from nearby Wednesbury 12 days prior, and had been disguised with cloned number plates.

He admitted possessing a firearm, possessing ammunition and theft of a car at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

The Home Office said it was working to 'mitigate the threat of criminally convertible blank-firing firearms entering the UK'.

It also said it is keeping firearms controls under constant review to address evolving threats.
A young Yemeni man has been dubbed Tim-Houthi Chalamet over his striking resemblance to the Wonka star after filming himself on a cargo ship seized by Houthi rebels last year.

The wavy-haired TikToker posted a video of himself approaching the huge Galaxy Leader vessel that was captured by the Iran-backed group in November, sparking the admiring comparisons with his Hollywood lookalike.

A second clip then showed him posing on the deck of the tanker, his phone in one hand and a red, white and black Yemeni flag flying in the other, with one social media user writing that their 'timbers' had been 'shivered'.

The Galaxy Leader was hijacked by at least ten armed Houthis in the Red Sea on November 19, who used a helicopter to board the vessel.

Since then, it has been moored in waters off the coast of Yemen and turned into a tourist attraction at Ras Issa port, around five miles from the village of As-Salif.

This Yemeni man has been dubbed Tim-Houthi Chalamet over his striking resemblance to the Wonka star after filming himself on a cargo ship seized by Houthi rebels. The wavy-haired TikToker (pictured left and right) posted a video of him approaching the huge Galaxy Leader vessel (seen right), that was captured by the Iran-backed group in November

Other social media users quickly commented on the man's resemblance to Hollywood star Timothee Chalamet, pictured on January 7 in Los Angeles at the Golden Globe awards

A number of Yemeni social media influencers have climbed aboard since, sharing videos of themselves on the deck of the cargo ship.

Pictures have shown them walking along the deck waving both Yemen and Palestinian flags, flaked by armed men who are presumed to be Houthis.

The clips have been shared widely online having been posted to platforms such as TikTok and YouTube by the influencers revelling in the vessels' capture while showing their support for Palestinians and the people of Gaza.

The latest video to catch the attention of netiziens was posted in recent days by a man named Rashid Al Haddad, according to his social media profiles.

In the first clip, Rashid is seen approaching the Galaxy Leader on a smaller boat, filming his face as the Israeli-linked ship looms in the background.

A second man is seen on the bow of the small boat, navigating it towards the ship.

In another clip, he is then seen standing on the deck of the Galaxy Leader, waving the flag of Yemen, while a third clip shows him below deck, walking through a large empty space that likely once held some of the ship's cargo.

Users online were quick to note Rashid's resemblance to Hollywood superstar Timothee Chalamet - who has had starring roles in films including Wonka, Dune, Little Women and the French Dispatch - with one netizien even dubbing him 'Tim-Houthi Chalamet'

Pictured: A still grab from Rashid's video showing him on the deck of the Galaxy Leader vessel

A picture of Rashid then showed him back on shore, the vessel in the distance.

Users online were quick to note his resemblance to Hollywood superstar Timothee Chalamet - who has had starring roles in films including Wonka, Dune, Little Women and the French Dispatch, with one netizien even dubbing him 'Tim-Houthi Chalamet'.

'Why is Timothy Chalamet working with the Houthis?' another joked on X.

Others commented on how attractive they found Rashid, with one writing: 'That guy should be a model.' Another simply wrote: 'Shiver me timbers.'

In a similar theme, another person wrote on X: '100% that pirate is going to be on a fashion week catwalk this year,' while others complimented his coat.

Despite the comments assuming Rashid to be either a pirate or a Houthi rebel, MailOnline was unable to confirm one way or another.

There was nothing to suggest in his limited social media activity that he was a member of the Houthi, however - according to his TikTok account - an earlier iteration of his account of the platform was recently banned.

MailOnline has reached out to Rashid for comment.

The Galaxy Leader was travelling between Turkey and India when it was seized on November 19, one of a number of vessels to come under attack by the Houthis

Houthi gunmen released footage of them landing on the vessel in a helicopter before taking ctonrol of the ship by forces, before rerouting it to Yemen

Pictured: A Houthi helicopter is seen landing on the Galaxy Leader vessel in November

The Galaxy Leader was travelling between Turkey and India when it was seized on November 19, one of a number of vessels to come under attack by the Houthis.

Yemen's rebel group, who control a swathe of the country's west, say their attacks on ships in the Red Sea are in support of Palestinians, amid Israel's on-going invasion of Gaza sparked by the October 7 Hamas terror attack against the Jewish state.

The attacks have disrupted the vital shipping lane that sees vessels travel up and down the Red Sea and through the Suez Canal.

Several companies have rerouted vessels around the southern tip of Africa to avoid the dangers in the region, adding several days to each journey.

The main East-West route makes up about 12 percent of global shipping traffic.

On Monday, the Houthi movement vowed to widen its targets in the Red Sea region to US ships, following US and British strikes on its sites in Yemen last week.

Houthi gunmen stormed the bridge and took control of the Galaxy Leader

People wait for boats to take them away after touring the deck of the Galaxy Leader cargo ship

This handout satellite picture released by Maxar Technologies on November 28, 2023, shows the seized Isreali-linked Galaxy Leader ship

British and American ships had become 'legitimate targets' due to the strikes launched by the two countries on Yemen last week, Nasruldeen Amer, a spokesperson for the Houthis, told Al Jazeera.

'The ship doesn't necessarily have to be heading to Israel for us to target it, it is enough for it to be American,' Amer said.

'The United States is on the verge of losing its maritime security.'

The group previously said it would only target Israeli ships or those en route to Israel.
Caroline Glachan, 14, was murdered by her drug addict boyfriend and a jealous rival who had previously threatened to 'batter' her as she found herself at the heart of a fatal love triangle in 1996.

The schoolgirl, who told a friend she was pregnant shortly before her death, had known 'violent' 18-year-old Robert O'Brien for just two months before he and Donna Marie Brand, along with friend Andrew Kelly, lured her to a bridge and killed her.

O'Brien, 45, and Kelly, 44, were yesterday sentenced to life in prison with Brand, also 44, to be sentenced in March after the schoolgirl was left to drown in the River Leven.

Caroline first met heroin addict O'Brien in June 1996 and quickly became his girlfriend.

Her mother Margaret McKeich did not approve of her daughter's relationship, describing her as 'infatuated' with the 18-year-old, who boasted of having multiple girls on the go at once.

Caroline, said to have been 'infatuated' with O'Brien, was found dead in Renton's River Leven

Robert O'Brien, who was Caroline's heroin addict boyfriend at the time of the killing, will serve at least 22 years in prison

Donna Marie Brand was a jealous love rival of the 14-year-old and was also convicted of her murder

Caroline suffered physical abuse from O'Brien, telling her mother he had 'lifted his hands to her'.

A friend, Joanne Menzies, now 42, revealed at trial he had threatened to kill her after she was seen 'kissing another boy' and described him as a serial 'bully'.

Soon after the two struck up a relationship, the 14-year-old confided in another friend, Tracy McFetridge, that she had become pregnant.

Ms McFetridge told the trial she initially did not believe Caroline, but accompanied her to a pregnancy test which came back positive.

However, forensic pathologists found no evidence of a pregnancy during their 1996 investigations.

At the same time as seeing Caroline, O'Brien was also in a relationship with another schoolgirl, Donna Marie Brand.

Before her death, a jealous Brand had threatened to 'batter' Caroline if she spent time with O'Brien, friends of the 14-year-old said.

On the night of August 25, O'Brien, Kelly and Brand arranged to meet Caroline at a bridge near the towpath beside the River Leven, between Renton and Bonhill in West Dunbartonshire.

Kelly and his then-girlfriend, Sarah Jane O'Neill, had been babysitting four-and-a-half year-old Archie Wilson and his brother before O'Brien and Brand arrived at the house.

Before her death, a jealous Brand had threatened to 'batter' Caroline if she spent time with O'Brien, friends of the 14-year-old said

Fellow murderer Andrew Kelly was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years in prison

The four teenagers left the property with the young children at around 11pm before returning later that night.

Once they had met with Caroline, they launched a vicious assault on the schoolgirl which included repeatedly punching and kicking her to the face and body.

They then threw bricks or similar items at her, causing further blunt force trauma to her head and body.

She was pushed or fell into undergrowth and her body was discovered in the river at Place of Bonhill, Renton, later the same day, which was her mother's 40th birthday.

Caroline sustained at least ten blows to the head and extensive skull factures before ending up in the river.

Her cause of death was drowning, with pathologists concluding she was still alive when she entered the water, but had been knocked unconscious by a head injury.

After ending up in the River Leven, the 14-year-old was left to die by the callous group of killers.

The evidence of one of the children, Archie, who is now in his 30s but was unfit to appear at trial, was described as 'pivotal' to detectives solving the case.

He told his mother, Elizabeth Wilson, how he had been taken down to the River Leven late that night before witnessing a 'lassie' being 'battered' and falling into the water.

Asked what he said happened, Ms Wilson told jurors: 'He said they were down the Leven... that they were fighting with the lassie, that she ended up falling in and that they had battered the lassie.'

Caroline's family had been unhappy about her relationship with heroin addict boyfriend O'Brien, who was four years older and had been violent towards the schoolgirl

Caroline was described by her mother as being 'infatuated' with Robert O'Brien

Her mother Margaret McKeith, speaking outside Glasgow's High Court last month after Caroline's murderers were found guilty, welcomed the convictions as a 'great day'

Both Ms Wilson and her son were interviewed in 1996, and the mother was again in 2020 when the case re-opened.

Miss Wilson admitted she had not wanted her young boy 'involved' at the time. But, asked by police what her reaction was when she discovered Caroline had been found in the river, she stated: 'The blood just kind of drained from my face.

'I just knew that the story Archie had told us was related to the body.'

The tragedy witnessed by the two youngsters occurred as Caroline's mother was out celebrating her birthday with friends.

O'Brien was said to be the primary assailant who attacked the teenager with the other two responsible on an 'art and part' basis - with Kelly also throwing rocks at the teenager.

All three lied and concocted alibis, which were only exposed when a new probe in 2019 saw police take statements from more than 200 people who had not spoken to the initial investigation.

One of the key missing pieces for police was the evidence of neighbour Linda Dorrian, who was at home on the night of the murder with her ten-year-old daughter.

She told police how she saw two young men and women leave Ms Wilson's house, and later returning. This was the first time any evidence had emerged to counter the trio's alibi that they were inside the house the whole night.

O'Brien also told brazen lies to police at the time of the investigation, claiming Caroline had a stalker who had followed her home on multiple occasions.

Andrew Kelly, pictured outside Glasgow's High Court, joined Caroline's other two killers in concocting a fake alibi

Brand, also pictured outside the High Court last month, is now due to be sentenced in March

He told a newspaper: 'She had been followed by a man with a moustache several times as she made her way home.

'She had no idea why it was happening, but she seemed pretty scared by it all.'

In the years following Caroline's death, O'Brien continued his violent criminal behaviour.

He was put behind bars for 18 months in 1997 after being convicted of serious assault and robbery.

Then in 2003 O'Brien was given a three-month term for drug dealing and possession of a knife.

He was labelled a 'violent man' by a judge after being convicted of the attempted murder of a stranger with a crossbow in 2006.

He was yesterday ordered to serve a minimum of 22 years behind bars for Caroline's murder while Kelly was handed a minimum of 18 years.

Kelly, who was 16 at the time of Caroline's death, also had other crimes on his record, including several drugs offences. Brand had no criminal convictions.

Brand, who was hospitalised with a respiratory infection at the time of the hearing, will be sentenced in March. She also faces a life sentence.
A manslaughter probe has been launched after a 20-year-old with a dairy allergy died after being served a tiramisu dessert that was made with milk.

Anna Bellisario and her boyfriend had reportedly been dining at a fast food restaurant in Milan on January 26 last year.

She went into an anaphylactic shock and died on February 5 at San Raffaele hospital.

The two women who ran the pastry shop that supplied the restaurant are under investigation for manslaughter, Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera reported.

It claimed that the investigation so far had suggested the pair had mixed up the invoice of vegan sweets with desserts containing milk.

Anna Bellisario and her boyfriend had been dining at a fast food restaurant in Milan on January 26 last year, Italian media reports. She went into an anaphylactic shock and died on February 5 at San Raffaele hospital

The two women had mixed up the invoice of vegan sweets with desserts containing milk, it has been suggested in the first part of the investigation, according to a report (Stock Image)

It is alleged that the company did not prevent the mixing of the two production lines in the laboratory pastry shop, supplier at the time to 63 Italian restaurants of the Tiramisu vegan product.

In a reconstruction by prosecutors Tiziana Siciliano and Luca Gaglio on Monday, the investigating judge Fiammetta Modica, using information in part based on wiretaps that draws 'a worrying picture of unscrupulousness', ordered the ban of the owners of the laboratory, a mother and daughter, the newspaper reported.

It was suggested that if the separation of the ingredients and environments had been respected, and the staff had been given the correct training  instead of just a four-hour course  there would have been no mixing of casein with products of vegetable origin in the pastry laboratory, which led to the fatal outcome for the girl.

When she ordered the tiramisu, Ms Bellisario checked the label, but also asked for further information, due to her very strong allergy.

She had then started to eat after being given reassurance, it was reported.

On the second spoonful, she felt sick and ran to the bathroom to try to vomit.

She took the asthma medication and the cortisone that she always carried, but shortly afterwards she lost consciousness and later died in hospital.

Ms Bellisario, who studied fashion design, regularly went to the restaurant. She had an egg allergy and also suffered from a strong milk allergy.

In other tiramisu packaging from the same brand, traces of milk protein were also identified.

On top of that, traces of egg were found in the mayonnaise of the supposedly vegan sandwich that Ms Bellisario had as her main dish in the restaurant.

The product, Tiramisu Mascherpa, was withdrawn from the market by the ministry of health on February 6 last year, due to it possibly containing milk proteins not indicated on the label.
At least seven members of the first Rochdale grooming gang brought down for raping and trafficking young children across England are walking free on the streets today  after a new report warned that nearly 100 other abusers are escaping justice.

In a case that shocked the nation, nine Asian men were convicted in 2012 of a range of sexual offences against children including rape, trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with children in and around Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

Two members of the Rochdale grooming gang convicted of paedophilia offences are still waiting to be deported back to Pakistan  because their home country is refusing to take them back.

Qari Abdul Rauf, 54 and Adil Khan, 53, were part of a group of Asian men who plied girls as young as 12 with alcohol and drugs before ferrying them around the north of England in taxis to be raped by other predators.

Both have since been released, as have at least five others, one of whom was set to be returned to his home country upon release. The ringleader is still believed to be behind bars while another was due to conclude his sentence later this year.

A new hard-hitting report released yesterday concluded that at least 96 men who pose a potential risk to children continue to roam the Greater Manchester area, but admits they are likely 'only a proportion of the individuals' committing sex abuse.

Following on from a 2013 report that examined how abuse was allowed to continue for so long before any convictions were secured, the damning 173-page paper slammed police and council bosses for failing to act on early reports of grooming.

A number of convictions have followed those of the 'original' Rochdale gang - the nine monsters who were sentenced in 2012 have been profiled below.

Qari Abdul Rauf (left) and Adil Khan (right) are both still awaiting deportation despite losing a legal battle to remain in the UK

Abdul Aziz (left) has been able to remain in the UK; Mohammed Amin has served his sentence

Mohammed Sajid (left) and Kabeer Hassan (right). Sajid's sentence concludes this year, after which he will be deported to Pakistan; Hassan is believed to be free

Hamid Safi (left) is believed to have been deported to Afghanistan after serving his sentence; Abdul Qayyum (right) is now free

Qari Rauf and Adil Khan

Taxi driver and Muslim preacher Abdul Rauf, of Rochdale, was convicted of trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child. He was jailed for six years in 2012, ultimately serving two years and six months behind bars.

Adil Khan, also of Rochdale, was convicted of trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child and was jailed for eight years, serving four in prison and four on licence.

Both appealed against the plan to deport him to Pakistan, and renounced his Pakistani citizenship  but not before the Home Office stripped them of their British citizenship and with it the right to remain in the country.

Alongside Adil Khan, Rauf sought to claim in 2022 that his forced removal would be ncompatible with his human rights, but that appeal failed.

In August 2023, immigration judges refused another further appeal from Rauf's lawyers  whose identities have been protected by way of a court order.

But a report in The Sun suggests the pair's removals have been delayed because Pakistan, is reportedly refusing to allow them to return.

Rauf and Khan claimed during their deportation appeals to have renounced their Pakistani citizenships, rendering them both 'stateless'.

A previous hearing concluded that it would be 'relatively easy' for the pair to reclaim their Pakistani identities but that they were 'unwilling' to do so.

Abdul Aziz

Aziz, of Rochdale, was convicted of trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child.

He was paid for ferrying children across the north of England and ultimately jailed for nine years.

Known as 'the Master' by his fellow abusers, Aziz was reportedly stripped of his UK citizenship by a court in 2018  but it has since emerged that he renounced his Pakistani citizenship five days before the hearing, and before Rauf and Khan.

Mohammed Amin

Amin, of Rochdale, was found guilty of sex assaults and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child.

The taxi driver was jailed for five years after he was found guilty during the 2012 trial, and has now served his sentence across both prison and release on licence.

Rochdale grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed urged his victims to call him 'Daddy'; he still has a decade of his sentence remaining

A report published yesterday concluded that children were still at risk from at least 96 paedophiles roaming the streets of Rochdale

BBC drama Three Girls (stars Liv Hill, Molly Windsor and Ria Zmitrowicz, above) dramatised the failure of police and social services to act on reports of child sex abuse in Rochdale

The drama saw actors take on the roles of members of the Rochdale gangs

The harrowing drama (pictured) portrayed how the victims at the centre of the scandal were repeatedly let down

The BBC drama also portrayed the trial of key members of the Rochdale gang

Mohammed Sajid

Sajid, a cash-and-carry worker from Rochdale, was found guilty of rape, trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child, having come to the UK from Pakistan.

He was jailed for 12 years in 2012 and would be due free if he served the full sentence behind bars; he will otherwise complete the remainder of his sentence on licence.

At the time of his sentencing, he was told he would be deported to Pakistan once the term had been served.

READ MORE: How former detective, chief prosecutor and local councillor battled the establishment to expose shocking abuse of young schoolgirls by gangs of predatory older men Advertisement

Kabeer Hassan

Hassan, of Oldham, was convicted of rape and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child.

Hospitality worker Hassan, the youngest member of the gang, was given a girl to rape as a 'treat' for his birthday, the trial heard.

Following his conviction, he was jailed for nine years, and will now be free on the streets.

Hamid Safi

Illegal immigrant Safi, from Rochdale, arrived in the UK from Afghanistan after hiding underneath a lorry.

He was convicted of trafficking and conspiracy and jailed for four years.

At the time of his sentencing, he was told he would be deported to Afghanistan following the conclusion of his term.

Abdul Qayyum

Qayyum, known as 'Tiger', was convicted of conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child.

A taxi driver and a businessman, he was sentenced to five years in jail in 2012 and will now be free on the streets.

Shabir Ahmed

Twisted ringleader Ahmed, who urged his victims to call him 'Daddy', was sentenced to 19 years in prison for his role as the kingpin in the Rochdale grooming gang.

He had been employed as a welfare rights officer within Oldham Council but was convicted of two counts of rape, sex assault, trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child.

Since then, Ahmed's jail term has been extended by three years after he was convicted of repeatedly raping a girl, and another 12 months after attacking another inmate behind bars.

In theory, he could remain in jail until around 2034, but could be granted parole to serve the remainder of his sentence on licence. He has also sought to appeal against the decision to deport him to Pakistan upon release.
Jailed Austrian incest monster Josef Fritzl could soon be released after an expert ruled that he is no longer a danger to the public, it has emerged.

Fritzl, 88, was jailed for life in 2009 after admitting he had kept his daughter Elisabeth locked in the cellar for nearly 25 years.

But who exactly is Elisabeth Fritzl? What happened to her and where is she now? Read on below for everything you need to know about Elisabeth Fritzl.

Fritzl repeatedly raped his daughter Elisabeth (pictured), fathering seven incestuous children with her during her captivity

Jailed Austrian incest monster Josef Fritzl (pictured in 2009) could soon be released after an expert ruled that he is no longer a danger to the public, it has emerged

Who is Elisabeth Fritzl?

Born on April 6 1966, Elisabeth Fritzl is a kidnap survivor who suffered from horrific acts of abuse carried out by her own father, Josef.

Elisabeth had seven children, but one died, all of which were fathered by her evil captor.

Fritzl, 88, is serving his life sentence in a special prison unit for the criminally insane in Austria's Krems-Stein prison.

What happened to Elisabeth Fritzl?

On August 28 1984, Josef Fritzl called his then 18-year-old daughter Elisabeth into the basement of the family's home in Amsteten, Austria.

He was re-fitting a door to the newly-renovated cellar in the property and asked Elisabeth to help him carry it.

Horrifically, this was a ploy by Josef to trick his daughter, as he then knocked her unconscious with an ether-soaked towel.

For the next 24 years, the inside of that cellar was the only thing Elisabeth would see.

Her father lied to her mother and the police, telling them she was a runaway and had joined a cult.

During her torturous time spent in the basement of the family home, Fritzl assaulted and sexually abused Elisabeth.

She even gave birth to seven children that were born due to the numerous instances of rape, one of whom died shortly after birth.

Three of her children were brought up by Josef and Elisabeth's mother, Rosemarie, who was deceived by her husband into thinking they were left at the doorstep by their 'missing' daughter, who Josef claimed was unable to care for them.

Depraved Fritzl, 88, was jailed for life in 2009 after admitting he had kept his daughter Elisabeth locked in a cellar (pictured) as his sex slave for 24 years

During her ordeal under the family home in Amstetten in the state of Lower Austria, Fritzl fathered seven children with her in a case that shocked Austria and the world

Elisabeth's remaining three children were raised by her while she was held captive in the cellar.

Thankfully, at the age of 42, Elisabeth was able to escape to freedom on April 26 2008, after one of her children fell unconscious and Josef agreed to seek medical assistance for the child.

Elisabeth was able to be set free after police were tipped off by medical staff and she told them about her horrendous experiences, which led to Josef Fritzl being arrested arrested and eventually jailed for life in 2009.

Where is Elisabeth Fritzl now?

Elisabeth was given a new name following Josef's trial, which saw strict laws introduced to prevent her identity from being revealed.

She now lives with her six surviving children in a tiny hamlet in the Austria countryside, which also cannot be identified and only referred to by Austrian media as 'Village X'.

The children, aged between 21 and 35 as of January 2024, are said to have slept in rooms with doors permanently open after undergoing weekly therapy sessions to help them overcome the traumas they suffered inside the cellar.
Taxpayers could be saved 'at least' 20billion a year if the Government overhauled IT systems, tackled fraud and sorted its 'problem' with mega-projects such as HS2, according to Whitehall's spending watchdog.

Gareth Davies, the head of the National Audit Office, will set out a blueprint for achieving value for money in an annual speech in Parliament this afternoon.

Speaking to the Financial Times before his address, he said Britain had been left with 'out of date IT systems', 'crumbling' infrastructure and growing 'maintenance backlogs'.

Mr Davies suggested Brexit, the Covid crisis and the war in Ukraine had left little room for Whitehall to implement much-needed reform.

He outlined how more than 7billion a year could be saved from increasing competition in Whitehall procurement processes, 10billion from fraud prevention and 6billion in better combatting tax evasion and avoidance.

Gareth Davies, the head of the National Audit Office, will set out a blueprint for achieving value for money in an annual speech in Parliament this afternoon

Mr Davies suggested Brexit, the Covid crisis and the war in Ukraine had left little room for Whitehall to implement much-needed reform

It was recently revealed how the cost of HS2 could soar to as much as 66.6bn - an eye-watering 475m per mile of new railway track - despite the axing of the project's northern leg

Mr Davies also warned that Whitehall had a 'governance problem' when overseeing major projects such as HS2 and building big hospitals.

'We think that our work demonstrates that there are tens of billions of savings available a year,' he told the newspaper.

Last week it was revealed how the cost of HS2 could soar to as much as 66.6billion - an eye-watering 475million per mile of new railway track - despite the axing of the project's northern leg to Manchester.

Mr Davies outlined how the NAO are proposing projects such as HS2 and a programme to build 40 new hospitals should be taken out of the control of individual Whitehall departments.

'Where these projects reach tens of billions of pounds over several parliaments the overspend risk in those projects is so big, they can't be handled within a departmental budget,' he added.

Instead such projects should be overseen by new 'cross-government oversight boards', Mr Davies suggested.

He also used the newspaper interview to push for the Government to embrace opportunities offered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) to overhaul decades-old Whitehall IT systems.

'Our view, as auditors, is that those are risks that need to be embraced rather than [government] being so risk-averse that you fail to take advantage of the big opportunities that are coming,' Mr Davies added.

But the NAO boss warned against 'overambitious' IT projects as he pointed to the Post Office scandal and the abandoned 10billion NHS national IT system.

'The phrase used in the IT industry is "dolphins not whales",' Mr Davies said.

'So manageable projects compared to gigantic, overambitious attempts to change the whole world with one IT system.'

Schools across the country were recently plunged into crisis over the presence of 'crumbly' reinforced autoclaved concrete (Raac) in their buildings.

More than 100 schools, nurseries and colleges in England were ordered to close classrooms and other buildings by the Government.

Mr Davies pointed to the crisis as he hit out at a Whitehall tendency to 'downplay the required spending on annual maintenance in order to make room for more glamorous new projects'.

In his speech today, Mr Davies is expected to say: 'Schools, hospitals, prisons, roads and flood defences must be adequately maintained to meet their purpose. The NAO's recent work has highlighted the false economy of allowing maintenance backlogs to build up.

'Our report on school buildings found more than a third are beyond their design life, leading to higher running costs and in some cases expensive emergency repairs, which continue to affect pupils, teachers and parents even now.

'The same issues are significantly affecting patient care  and costs  at many NHS hospitals.

'A more disciplined approach to asset management, with maintenance plans for each part of the public estate, is an essential component of the Government-wide efficiency drive I am recommending.'

Ahead of Mr Davies' address to Parliament, Labour's shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said: 'Waste and inefficiency has become normal under the Conservatives.

'Labour will treat taxpayers' money as if it were our own and get tough on waste by creating a new Office of Value for Money, tackling pandemic-related fraud with a Covid Corruption Commissioner and by strengthening the Office for Budget Responsibility.

'Labour's plans to get Britain building again, modernise our public services and get the finances under control will turn around 14 years of failure and unleash a decade of national renewal.'
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A woman who woke up in the middle of the night to find three masked knifemen in her bedroom has laughed off the incident, saying they were 'shaking' and looked 'more afraid than me'.

The 63-year-old woke to the sound of the thieves inside her Kellyville Ridge home, in Sydney's northwest, shortly before 3.20am on Tuesday.

CCTV footage shows the thieves searching the streets for a target before coming across the woman's home on Armour Avenue with an open garage door.

Three people jumped out of the car and ran towards the garage as their getaway driver turned around.

They returned to the vehicle but were back at the woman's home just minutes later to enter a second time before fleeing at 3.09am.

Three masked thieves (above) stole a phone, wallet and set of keys from a Sydney home in the early hours of Tuesday morning

After the group returned another two times, the 63-year-old was woken by the noise of the trio in her bedroom, holding knives.

'[They were] shaking, saying "You've gotta tell me where is your passport? Where is your money?",' she told Nine News.

'I said "What are you doing?" and I pushed them away, the knife.

'But when I see them talk, they shake. I thought "Oh, they're more afraid than me".'

The group fled the property and met their getaway car outside of the woman's home at 3.17am.

The woman then woke her 65-year-old partner and they called the police. Neither were injured during the invasion.

The Kellyville Ridge woman (above) laughed as she recalled confronting the thieves, saying 'they [were] more afraid than me'

The group had stolen a phone, wallet and set of keys from the couple. All the locks on their home have since been replaced.

Police described the crime as opportunistic and are still on the hunt for the offenders.

Investigators urged anyone with information about the incident to contact police immediately
One of the tragic victims of the Rochdale grooming gang was a 15-year-old girl who was repeatedly raped and plied with drugs by predatory paedophiles before dying from a heroin overdose.

Victoria Agoglia was meant to be receiving round-the-clock 'solo' residential care, but went missing 19 times in three months for up to two weeks at a time. Instead of trying to find her, carers message her asking: 'When are you coming back?'

It transpired she was being used for sex by older men in exchange for cash, alcohol and hard drugs - sometimes being abused by up to 25 of them in a single night.

Dozens of young girls were targeted, abused and raped by gangs of mainly Asian men between 2004 and 2012 in Rochdale as officials stood by. Victoria herself wrote a heartbreaking letter to police documenting her abuse, but was ignored.

Her heartbreaking story is just one of many documented in a new report published yesterday which documents the struggle they faced to be believed. It has also identified 96 men who are still deemed a potential risk to children.

Victoria Agoglia was meant to be receiving round-the-clock 'solo' residential care, but went missing 19 times in three months for up to two weeks at a time

Victoria wrote a heartbreaking letter to police documenting her abuse, but was ignored

In the run-up to her death in 2003, Victoria Agoglia ran away from her terraced house 21 times in the space of two months, and on five occasions the police were asked to look for her.

She was raped and was known by her carers to be exploited for sex by older men in exchange for cash, alcohol and hard drugs.

A scribbled note written by Victoria, titled 'Things I've done in the past', was passed to cops by social services and documented the abuse she suffered at the age of 13.

Victoria's devastating letter in full Things I have done in the past I drank, smoked weed, took pills, had blown coke, had heroin  just for what? All you do is get a laugh out of it but also it can kill you. I am only 13. I got the rest of my life ahead of me. I have slept with people older than me, half of them I don't even know their names. I am a slag and that is nothing to be proud of. Now I think why I did it, just to impress the boys and they treated me like ****. Even one night when I was out I was pilled up with some boy and Sam because they were out of their faces so much they crashed the car. Police looked all over Mosside Longsight but we never got caught and all the thing I lost just for drugs. Boys, my family and family is supposed to mean a lot to people at the time it did, not for me. So I lost all of that. I just hope I knew that at the time but I did not. Next time you should think family before drink, drugs, sex or money. Aged 13, 1989 Advertisement

She wrote how she 'slept with people older' than her - 'half of them I don't even know their names. I am a sl*g.'

She went on: 'I think it I did it just to impress the boys and they treated me like ****. All the things I lost for drugs. Boys, my family, I lost all of that.'

The letter was signed off 'age 13, 1989.'

Her tone showed how the schoolgirl was in desperate need of help by police. But the letter was never acted upon.

In September 2003, Victoria visited the home of a 50-year-old Asian man - Mohammed Yaqoob - who injected her with heroin.

She died in hospital five days later. He was later jailed for three and half years for injecting her with a noxious substance after being cleared of manslaughter.

Maggie Oliver, a former detective who resigned from Greater Manchester Police to go public with her views on grooming gangs, revealed the letter Victoria wrote was included in a police report which was never acted on.

Ms Oliver wrote the report, which even started with a picture of Victoria and her letter in a bid to highlight her case, after launching Operation Augusta in 2004 which set out to investigate the Rochdale child abuse ring.

But shockingly the investigation was quietly shelved by police bosses while Ms Oliver was on a three-month break.

It wasn't until eight years later that the beasts behind the operation which saw girls plied with alcohol and drugs before being used as sex slaves came to justice.

While the new report focused on events taking place from a year after Victoria's death, it concluded that lessons were not learned from her death or the resulting Operation Augusta, in which just two of almost 100 suspects were jailed.

That was despite an investigation into her death revealing 57 victims of grooming gangs, some as young as 12 years old.

One case highlighted by the report is that of Child 44, a teenage girl who had an abortion after being abused at the age of 13 in 2009.

It was revealed that Greater Manchester Police (GMP) secretly took the foetus and performed a DNA test on it to try and link it to possible suspects.

Police launched their first investigation into grooming in Rochdale in 2007

Shabir Ahmed was jailed for 22 years for 30 child rapes at his second trial

However, when no matches came up, it was left in a freezer at Rochdale police station and was only found when it was uncovered in a 'routine property review'.

The girl who had the abortion would only find out in 2011 that it had been taken by the police, with the moment she found out emotionally being reenacted in the BBC drama 'Three Girls'.

She told the authors of the 173-page report that police had 'robbed' her of her unborn child and said it was 'disgusting' police had done so without her consent.

In the meantime she had continued to be abused by a grooming gang and at one point was even at risk of being taken to Pakistan by them.

A trial involving the men who abused her eventually took place in 2012, but the girl would find out in the lead-up to this that the man who got her pregnant was not to be charged with her rape.

He was instead jailed for eight years for conspiracy and trafficking for sexual exploitation, allowing him to be released four years into his sentence, reports the Guardian.

Things got worse for Child 44, as she reported being threatened by a man with a gun before the trial and being harassed and abused on the street by supporters of the men who raped and abused her.

The girl, who even bumped into her abuser in a supermarket after he was released from prison without her being informed, said police told her to just 'lock your door' when she asked for help about the harassment.

Another girl who also gave evidence against her abusers reported that her house was 'trashed, with slag and grass written across the wall', while her shed was burned down and chickens killed in a campaign of harassment.

The damning dossier also claims that no action was taken against a 'pimp' who got a 15-year-old girl pregnant, while another child claimed she was kept locked in cages and made to act like a dog or baby, with again, no action being taken against the men allegedly involved.

The report is the third of four written by child protection specialist Malcolm Newsam CBE and former senior police officer Gary Ridgway  and saw apologies this morning from Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, Greater Manchester Police and Rochdale Council.

The heartbreaking stories of some of the victims of the Rochdale grooming gangs were portrayed in BBC drama 'Three Girls'. Pictured: A promotional photo for the programme

Rochdale child abusers Jahn Shahid Ghani (left) and Mohammed Ghani (right) were both jailed last year

Insar Hussain (left) and Ali Kazmi (right) were also both jailed last year for raping children in Rochdale

The authors previously led a review of Operation Augusta, an investigation into grooming gangs in South Manchester, which was published in 2020, and the review into child safeguarding practices in Oldham, published in 2022.

It followed criticism of failings within Rochdale Council and Greater Manchester Police aired in BBC documentary, Betrayed Girls.

The report considered claims by Sara Rowbotham, co-ordinator of a young people's Crisis Intervention Team, and Maggie Oliver, former Detective Constable involved with the first large-scale investigation into grooming in Rochdale, Operation Span, launched in 2010.

READ MORE HERE: Revealed: Ringleader of Rochdale grooming gang WON'T be deported to Pakistan because of loophole that let him RENOUNCE citizenship of his native country just five days before key hearing Advertisement

It found that the pair of 'lone voices' had flagged clear evidence of 'prolific serial rape of countless children in Rochdale' but that this was not acted upon, with the children's unwillingness to make a formal complaint repeatedly used as an excuse for not investigating.

Mr Newsam, lead author, said: 'GMP and Rochdale Council failed to prioritise the protection of children who were being sexually exploited by a significant number of men within the Rochdale area.

'This review was initiated following the serious allegations made by both Maggie Oliver and Sara Rowbotham and we have found through this review their allegations to be substantiated.

'Both GMP and Rochdale Council failed to respond appropriately to these concerns.

'Successive police operations were launched over this period, but these were insufficiently resourced to match the scale of the widespread organised exploitation.

'Consequently, children were left at risk and many of their abusers to this day have not been apprehended.'

Mr Newsam and Mr Ridgway said: 'CSE continued to be treated as a low priority and under-resourced by GMP.'

By October 2012, a review group chaired by GMP identified 127 potential victims whose cases had not been acted on  a figure which later grew to 260 potential victims.

After Operation Span, three more investigations - Operation Routh, Operation Doublet and Operation Lytton - saw 30 men convicted, many of whom received lengthy sentences.

Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, called the report 'a detailed and distressing account of how many young people were so seriously failed'. Pictured: Mr Burnham at the funeral of Everton chairman Bill Kenwright on December 18 last year

Files held by officials for 111 children revealed 'a significant probability that 74 of these children were being sexually exploited at that time, and in 48 of those cases, there were serious failures to protect the child', the report revealed.

A fourth review is still to take place by Mr Newsam and Mr Ridgway, which is to 'consider current practice across Greater Manchester to address the risk of child sexual exploitation' and recent police investigations.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham called the report 'a detailed and distressing account of how many young people were so seriously failed'.

He added: 'That said, it fulfils the purpose of why I set up this review in the first place.

Conclusions of the Rochdale grooming gang review The emerging threat of child sexual exploitation was not addressed between 2004 and 2007. In 2007, GMP and Rochdale Council declined to investigate how a group of Asian men had been exploiting 11 children for sex and dealing class A drugs despite concern by the Crisis Intervention Team, in a 'serious failure to protect these children'. Just one detective was appointed to begin a small-scale police investigation in 2007, which did not investigate how organised crime groups were involved. No charges or convictions resulted. The first investigation in 2008 and 2009 - launched after a girl arrested for smashing up a takeaway revealed she had been raped and sexually assaulted  'was complex and needed to be resourced accordingly, but additional resources were not provided'. Although the investigation 'identified widespread sexual exploitation of many vulnerable children by at least 30 adult perpetrators', none were charged. A second girl who spoke to the 2008/2009 investigation team complained of sexual assault but 'insufficient effort was put into identifying the man who raped her'. Had her complaints been 'pursued with the rigour required it may have strengthened the evidence to proceed with the prosecution', the review said. Operation Span, the second investigation into the 2008/9 accusations, which saw nine men convicted and jailed in May 2012, was described as 'relatively limited'. Authorities committed a 'deplorable' failure to protect a girl known as 'Amber'. She was designated a victim of child sexual abuse but the crimes were not formally recorded by GMP and the perpetrators 'were potentially left to continue their abuse of other children. Instead, Amber was later named as a 'co-conspirator' in a trial of men accused of abusing other children. The review said: 'No consideration was given to how the decision would affect Amber personally or what the repercussions of the decision might be for her family. This failure to protect a vulnerable victim as deplorable.' Lessons were not learned after the death of 15-year-old Victoria Agoglia from drugs in 2003 after claiming she had been sexually abused, or the resulting Operation Augusta, a probe into child sexual exploitation in South Manchester which ended in 2005. Just two of almost 100 suspects were jailed despite an investigation into Victoria's death revealing 57 victims of grooming gangs, some aged just 12. Advertisement

'It is only by facing up fully and unflinchingly to what happened that we can be sure of bringing the whole system culture change needed when it comes to protecting children from abuse.'

He apologised to the victims and said: 'We are sorry that you were so badly failed by the system that should have protected them.

'I have asked Greater Manchester Police and Rochdale Council to ensure that every possible action is taken to follow up any leads arising from this report and to pursue any potential perpetrators.'

A series of initiatives have taken place around Rochdale since 2012, including better engagement with potential victims and a scheme encouraging hotel owners and taxi firms to report concerns.

Last year, an Ofsted report regarding Rochdale Council - including the Complex Safeguarding Hub - was published and confirmed that 'children at risk receive an effective response'.

Rochdale Council leader Councillor Neil Emmott said the authority is 'deeply sorry' for the 'very serious failures that affected the lives of children in our borough' and how officials 'failed to take the necessary action'.

And Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Stephen Watson said: 'It remains to be a matter of profound regret that victims of child sexual exploitation in Rochdale in the early 2000s were failed by Greater Manchester Police  to them, I apologise.

'I also recognise the plight of Maggie Oliver and Sara Rowbotham - who advocated for victims and survivors when no one else did, and ultimately enabled the review and publication of this report.'

He added: 'Since nine men were convicted following Operation Span in 2012, there have been a further 135 arrests, 432 charges, and 32 convictions (for child sex grooming).'

Ms Oliver, who resigned from Greater Manchester Police in 2012 to publicly reveal the extent of the police failings about child sexual exploitation, said she remained 'angry' that 'not one senior officer or official has ever been held individually responsible for these failures, lies and cover ups'.

She said the report 'confirms the truth of what I have been saying for over 12 years'.

Drawing a parallel with the ongoing Horizon scandal at the Post Office, she added: 'There are so many parallels between that case and this: 'ordinary' people being criminalised and silenced, institutional cover ups and corruption in an effort to protect the brand whatever the cost to affected individuals, refusal to acknowledge any wrongdoing.'

She added: 'I am also not assured that lessons have been learned. I can absolutely, categorically say that through our work today at The Maggie Oliver Foundation (a support group she founded), we see on a daily basis that victims and survivors of sexual offences are still routinely treated badly or even inhumanely, still not believed, still judged, still dismissed when they report these horrendous crimes.'

Ms Oliver said her two-decade battle to expose the truth 'has almost ruined my life'.

She claimed Chief Constable Watson's remarks had been prepared by a PR department which 'pretends that these are failures of the past'.

But she insisted: 'The failures that happened then are still happening now.'

Mrs Oliver, who now runs a charity bearing her name supporting survivors of child abuse, added: 'I would like to say today that things are a million times better.

'But if I went to every one of the victims and survivors that approach the Maggie Oliver Foundation every day to say 'Are things different?' they would tell you 'No they are not'.

''There are still far too many victims who are not being heard, who are being criminalised, who are being intimidated, who are being silenced when they dare to raise their head above the parapet.

'Victims are being let down on a daily basis.'

She called for more resources to be put into investigating and prosecuting grooming gangs across the UK as well as tougher sentences.
MBABANE  Influencer Neliswa Angel Khumalo has dismissed allegations that she ever was a prostitute.



The prostitution claims have been existing within the industry and country, after a video surfaced on social media platforms where she and two other females were seen involved in explicit, daring activities. From then on, allegations of prostitution arose and these allegations were squashed on the newly established, trending Tattoo Palace podcast dubbed, Whats the story. The podcast is new and there are only two episodes that have been released so far. The first episode featured Gcinisizwe Buthelezi and the second episode featured Khumalo. The first episode was sitting on 4 151 views at the time of compiling this report and the second episode which features Khumalo was sitting on 9 668 views after 19 hours on YouTube.

During an interview with this publication, Khumalo made it clear that she was not a prostitute, after being asked how she feels about having such allegations directed to her. I wouldnt reach that end where I would call anyone a prostitute. It is hard on me, but then I do not really care anymore, people may think what they want to think. I know that I am not a prostitute, so whatever somebody else thinks, I just dont care, Khumalo said.

It is worth noting that the video in question was content shot for StripChat. Stripchat.com is an international adult website and social network featuring free live-streamed webcam performances, often including nudity and sexual activity, through traditional, virtual reality and mobile broadcasts. The site averages over 400 million visitors a month, according to SimilarWeb. The site was launched in 2016, and has since won numerous awards including Cam Site of the Year and Cam Company of the Year at the XBIZ Europa Awards.

During the course of podcast she mentioned that she made E300 000 after selling one of her adult videos to a client. When asked if this was true she narrated that she wouldnt lie. Why would I lie on a podcast? she asked. When asked if she can provide proof of payment she refused, citing that it was confidential. They give us the money in instalments because if they were going to give us the money as it is, they would likely freeze our bank accounts and all. The money comes in three instalments; even now I still get it. It would be unfair for me to disclose the person that sends me the money, Khumalo said.

The episode of the podcast which featured the influencer set social media abuzz, amassing close to 10 000 reactions. When asked how she felt about the hits that the episode received on the information highway, she shared that she wasnt expecting it to go big. Honestly, I didnt expect this type of reaction, for me it was just a podcast, and it was my first time doing it. I didnt expect that people would want to hear my side of the story and I am shocked that they really want to hear my story, she said.

Khumalos name has been in the lips of majority of social media users. She rose to fame after she appeared recording a live adult video which was later leaked on social media platforms. When asked how she has been able to deal with the fame she got after the video leak she shared that it had been hard for her. Its coming with a lot of negative energy that I dont need in my life. It also comes with a lot of hatred, of which I dont want. However, it taught me to appreciate myself and it feels so good, she said.
Due to heavy snow and freezing temperatures amidst a -10C Arctic blast, schools around the UK remain closed today.

The treacherous winter conditions mean some schools have decided to shut their doors for the day with children set to work remotely as the cold snap continues.

In three days of yellow weather warnings lasting until Thursday, the Met Office warn 'disruptive' snow will make it 'bitterly cold' for Brits - with 6 inches already recorded in Scotland.

Conditions saw around 200 schools across Aberdeenshire, Moray and Shetland closed at the start of the week, with dozens following suit since in England.

Here is our list of schools that we understand have closed for the day, or opening late. If you cannot spot your child's on the list and have doubts, please contact their school:

Due to heavy snow and freezing temperatures amidst a -10C Arctic blast, schools around the UK remain closed today (Photo: Shutterstock)

Parents and children alike make the most of the closed schools to enjoy the wintery conditions on Chadwell Hill on sledges in Essex in 2022 (Photo: Shutterstock)

Aberdeen

Milltimber School - Closed to everyone

Aberdeenshire

Aberchirder Primary School - Closed

Aboyne Academy - Closed

Aboyne Primary School - Closed

Alehousewells School - Closed

Alford Academy - Closed

Alford Primary School - Closed

Arduthie School - Closed

Auchenblae School - Closed

Auchterless School - Closed

Ballater School - Closed

Ballogie Nursery - Closed

Banchory Primary School - Closed

Barthol Chapel School - Closed

Bracoden School - Closed

Braemar School - Closed

Cairney School - Closed

Carronhill School - Closed

Catterline School - Closed

Cluny School - Closed

Craigievar School - Closed

Crathes School - Closed

Crathie School - Closed

Crossroads Nursery, Durris - Closed

Crudie School - Closed

Daviot School - Closed

Drumblade School - Closed

Drumoak School - Closed

Dunecht School - Closed

Dunnottar School - Closed to pupils only

Durris School - Closed

Ellon Academy - Partial closure for pupils

Fettercairn School - Closed

Fintry School, Turriff - Closed

Finzean School - Closed

Forgue School - Closed

Fraserburgh Academy - Closed

Fyvie School - Closed

Glass School - Closed

Glenbervie School - Closed

Gordon Primary School - Closed

The Gordon Schools - Closed

Hatton Fintray School - Closed

Hill of Banchory School - Closed to pupils only

Inverurie Academy - Closed

Johnshaven School - Closed

Keig School - Closed

Keithhall School - Closed

Kellands School - Closed

Kemnay Academy - Closed

Kemnay Primary School - Closed

Kennethmont School - Closed

Kincardine O'Neil School - Closed

King Edward School - Closed

Kinneff School - Closed

Lairhillock School - Closed

Largue School - Closed

Laurencekirk School - Closed

Logie Coldstone School - Closed

Logie Durno School - Closed

Lumphanan School - Closed

Lumsden School - Closed

Luthermuir School - Closed

Marykirk School - Closed

Mearns Academy - Closed to pupils only

Meldrum Academy - Closed

Methlick School - Closed

Midmar School - Closed

Mill O' Forest School - Closed

Monymusk School - Closed

New Machar School - Closed

Old Rayne School - Closed

Ordiquhill School - Closed

Oyne School - Closed

Pitmedden School - Closed

Port Elphinstone School - Closed to pupils

Premnay School - Closed

Rayne North School - Closed

Redmyre School - Closed

Rhynie School - Closed

Rothienorman School - Closed

Skene School - Closed

St Andrew's School, Inverurie - Closed

St Cyrus School - Closed

Strathburn School - Closed

Strathdon School - Closed

Tarland School - Closed

Tarves School - Partial closure for pupils

Tough School - Closed

Towie School - Closed

Tullynessle School - Closed

Turriff Academy - Closed to pupils

Turriff Primary School- Closed

Udny Green School - Closed

Uryside School - Closed

Westhill Academy - Closed

Highlands

Craighill Primary Nursery - closed

Knockbreck Primary (Tain) - closed

Knockbreck Primary Nursery (Dunvegan) - partially closed - opening one hour later

Moray

Speyside High School - Closed

Shetland

Anderson High School - closed

Brae High School - closed

Aith Junior High School - closed

Mid Yell Junior High School - closed

Sandwick Junior High School - closed

Northern Ireland

Straid Primary School

Thick frost in Glen Nevis near Fort William after temperatures plummeted to -6 across the Highlands of Scotland on January 11

County Durham

There are currently no school closed.

More school closures across County Durham will be updated here.

Cornwall

There are currently no schools closed or partially closed due to emergencies.

For more information on Cornwall schools, check out the council website.

Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire Council has not yet revealed which schools are likely to close.

Check the County Council website here for more information on school closures.

Buckinghamshire

A full list of schools and whether they are open or closed across Buckinghamshire can be found here.

Cambridgeshire

Schools across Cambridgeshire will either remain open, partially or fully closed - find out more here or contact your local school.

Cambridgeshire Council say any school closures will be 'communicated to parents via their school or college.'

Cheshire

There appears to be limited information available for school closures across Cheshire - check with your local school for more updates.

Cumbria

Milburn School, Penrith

Kirkland Church of England Academy, Frizington

Thwaites School, Millom

Old Hutton CofE School, Kendal (Closed at 12:30 today)

Selside Endowed CofE Primary School, Kendal (Closed at 11:00 today)

Great Corby Primary School, Carisle (Closed at 13:00 today)

Check here for more updates on school closures in Cumbria

A person shovels snow in the village of Ings in Cumbria on December 4

Devon

More school closures are to be announced here.

Derbyshire

Check the county council website here for information on school closures across Derbyshire.

Dorset

Check here for updates on school closures in Dorset.

East Sussex

A full list of the schools which will be closed or partially open can be found here.

Essex

Many schools across Essex will be fully or partially shut in the coming days - a list can be found here.

Gateshead

Gateshead Council have not been notified of any school closures. Check here to see if your kids are affected.

Greater Manchester

Philips High School, in Whitefield - closed

St Peter's Catholic High School in Orrell, in Wigan - closed

Check here for Bolton

Check here for Bury

Check here for Oldham

Check here for Rochdale

Check here for Stockport

For Tameside - check with your school

Check here for Trafford

Check here for Wigan

Check your borough website or call up your child's school for more updates on school closures.

Commuters drive through heavy snow on North Deeside Road Cults Aberdeen Scotland on January 15

Hampshire

There are currently no closures listed by Hampshire County Council.

Check here for updates.

Herefordshire

There is limited information on how many schools across Herefordshire will be impacted.

Check here for updates on school closures.

Kent

This search tool can be used to find out which schools will remain closed in Kent.

Lancashire

Brunel Nursery School, open at 1pm

St Matthew's Church of England Primary School, open at 1pm

Belthorn Academy Primary School, closed today

Newfield School, closed today

Shadsworth Junior School, open at 10am

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Withnell, closed today

Higham St. John's C Of E Primary School, closed today

Walverden Primary School, closed today

Nelson Whitefield Infant School and Nursery Unit, closed today

Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School, closed today

Samlesbury Church of England School, closed today

A full list of school closures across the whole of Lancashire will be updated here.

Leicestershire

For updates on schools in the city of Leicester, check here.

Lincolnshire

You can find more information on school closures across Lincolnshire here.

London

Residents are advised to check with their local authority for information on school closures in your area:

Barking and Dagenham

Barnet

Bexley

Brent

Bromley

Camden

City of London

Croydon

Ealing

Enfield

Greenwich

Hackney

Hammersmith & Fulham

Haringey

Harrow

Havering

Hillingdon

Hounslow

Islington

Kensington & Chelsea

Kingston upon Thames

Lambeth

Lewisham

Merton

Newham

Redbridge

Richmond upon Thames

Southwark

Sutton

Waltham Forest

Tower Hamlets

Wandsworth

Westminster

Snow covers Kendal in the Lake District this morning (January 16) as the North of England is expecting heavy snow falls for the next three days

Merseyside

Gateacre School

Archbishop Blanch

Riverside Primary

St Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School

Turriff Primary School

Holly Lodge Girl's College

St Anne (Stanley) C of E Primary School

Dixons Broadgreen Academy

St Francis Xavier's College

The Blue Coat School

Our Lady of the Assumption Primary School

Alsop High School

Northway Primary

Norfolk

There are currently no schools set to shut across Norfolk, but check here for updates.

Rutland

Check Rutland County Council's website here for updates on whether your kid's school is closed.

Somerset

Someset Council have not been notified of any school closures at the moment.

Check here to see if your child's Somerset school is impacted in the coming days.

Snow blankets the ground in Manchester this morning (January 16)

Staffordshire

St. Bartholomew's CE(VC) Primary School, Longnor

Check here for school closures as they are announced.

Suffolk

With limited information available on current school closures, check Suffolk County Council's website here as it contains a town search engine to let you know if you child's school has been affected.

Sussex

There are currently no schools reported as closed in Sussex. Check here for details in East Sussex, and click here if you live in West Sussex.

Wiltshire

In the event of unplanned closures, for example, due to bad weather, schools will notify parents directly. The council does not publish this information. Check with your child's school to see if they'll be affected.

Yorkshire

Councils across North, South, East and West Yorkshire have not been made aware of any school closures - check your local council website form more information.
Pivotal in seeking justice against the grooming gangs operating between 2004 and 2012

These are the three heroes that played a crucial role in bringing down the Rochdale grooming gangs who targeted, abused and raped dozens of young girls.

Nazir Afzal, Maggie Oliver and Sara Rowbotham battled police and council bosses in order to seek justice after gangs of mainly Asian men destroyed the lives of a number of children in the Greater Manchester town between 2004 and 2012.

A new report published yesterday revealed the plight faced by the girls who were the subject of this abuse and the struggle they faced to be believed, as well as the harassment when they gave evidence against their abusers.

The damning dossier, which has identified 96 men who are still deemed a potential risk to children, has sparked calls from whistleblowers that there is 'categorically' still grooming taking place in the town.

Whistleblower Ms Rowbotham appeared on the verge of tears as she greeted her vindication after years of being 'scapegoated'.

Maggie Oliver and Sara Rowbotham battled police and council bosses in order to seek justice after gangs of mainly Asian men destroyed the lives of a number of children in the Greater Manchester town between 2004 and 2012

Nazir Afzal was the Chief Crown Prosecutor for North West England at the time of successful prosecution of the Rochdale child sex abuse ring

The report considered claims by Maggie Oliver, former Detective Constable involved with the first large-scale investigation into grooming in Rochdale, Operation Span, launched in 2010. Pictured: Ms Oliver at her home in Cheshire

Whistleblower Sara Rowbotham, pictured here in a BBC documentary, greeted her vindication after years of being 'scapegoated'. The former sexual health worker  who was played by Maxine Peake in the BBC drama about the scandal, Three Girls  was later appointed MBE for services to young people after an online petition attracted more than 300,000 signatures

The former sexual health worker  who was played by Maxine Peake in the BBC drama about the scandal, Three Girls  was later appointed MBE for services to young people after an online petition attracted more than 300,000 signatures.

Between 2004 and 2014, she worked for the Rochdale Crisis Intervention Team for the NHS, which is when she uncovered the Rochdale child sex abuse ring and helped bring the perpetrators to court.

As a front line sexual health worker, who led the NHS crisis team, she made 181 referrals detailing the abuse and sexual grooming of young people between 2005 and 2011.

In 2012, she told the Rochdale inquiry her bosses had ignored scores of warnings that girls were being groomed and sexually exploited. She was made redundant two years later, in 2014.

Speaking yesterday, Ms Rowbotham said: 'How many more times will it take a drama or documentary and the ensuing public outcry to call people and organisations to account?' We were blamed, and they said it was my fault.'

Ms Oliver is former detective who resigned from Greater Manchester Police to go public with her views on grooming gangs.

She joined he Greater Manchester Police in 1997 as a police constable and had been part of The Serious Crime Division of the GMP and investigated countless gangland murders, shootings, kidnappings, rapes and witness protection cases.

Her first contact with the scandal was her investigation into multiple severe sexual assaults perpetrated mainly by Pakistani men. During her work in Operation Augusta, Oliver interviewed many victims, some as young as 11.

She was shocked by the lack of response of the police force and the lack of efforts in trying to protect the victims and said her two-decade battle to expose the truth 'has almost ruined my life'.

Since retiring from the force, Ms Oliver claims that the convictions barely scratched the surface of what she describes as a highly-organised crime group of hundreds of perpetrators against countless young victims.

She said she remained 'angry' that 'not one senior officer or official has ever been held individually responsible for these failures, lies and cover ups'.

She said the report 'confirms the truth of what I have been saying for over 12 years'.

Drawing a parallel with the ongoing Horizon scandal at the Post Office, she added: 'There are so many parallels between that case and this: 'ordinary' people being criminalised and silenced, institutional cover ups and corruption in an effort to protect the brand whatever the cost to affected individuals, refusal to acknowledge any wrongdoing.'

She added: 'I am also not assured that lessons have been learned. I can absolutely, categorically say that through our work today at The Maggie Oliver Foundation (a support group she founded), we see on a daily basis that victims and survivors of sexual offences are still routinely treated badly or even inhumanely, still not believed, still judged, still dismissed when they report these horrendous crimes.'

Maxine Peake, left, as Sara Rowbotham and Lesley Sharp, right, as Maggie Oliver in the BBC drama about the scandal, Three Girls

The heartbreaking stories of some of the victims of the Rochdale grooming gangs were portrayed in BBC drama 'Three Girls'. Pictured: A promotional photo for the programme

Afzal's work against grooming gangs led to criticism from 'members of the Asian community' and a campaign by the far right to have him sacked and deported

Nazil Afzal was the Chief Crown Prosecutor for North West England at the time of successful prosecution of the Rochdale child sex abuse ring.

Afzal worked as a solicitor in Birmingham from 1988 until moving to London in 1991, where he became a Crown prosecutor.

READ MORE HERE: Where the Rochdale grooming gang members are now 12 years on from their sentences Advertisement

In 2001, he became the youngest person, and first Muslim, to be appointed as assistant Chief Crown Prosecutor.

One of his first decisions on becoming a chief crown prosecutor was to initiate prosecutions in the case of the Rochdale child sex abuse ring, overturning an earlier decision by the CPS.

He suggested that 'white professionals' over-sensitivity to political correctness and fear of appearing racist may well have contributed to justice being stalled'.

He used his position to stress that abusers were found in all communities, and that the vast majority of paedophiles in Britain are white.

Afzal's work against grooming gangs led to criticism from 'members of the Asian community' and a campaign by the far right to have him sacked and deported.

When asked about these campaigns , Afzal said: 'I was born in Birmingham. They can deport me to Birmingham if they want to', and said 'I think if you are getting it from both sides, you are probably getting something right.'

The damning dossier, which has identified 96 men who are still deemed a potential risk to children, has sparked calls from whistleblowers that there is 'categorically' still grooming taking place in the town.

It is not the first official report into child sex exploitation in Rochdale - a report in 2013 found that hundreds of young girls were allowed to fall into the hands of Asian grooming gangs because police and social workers may have been scared of seeming racist. They refused to believe that race was an issue even though dozens of young, white girls were being specifically targeted and groomed for sex by older Pakistani men.

Yesterday's report makes for distressing reading, revealing the heartbreaking stories of just some of the victims of the depraved gangs of men, many of whom are yet to be brought to justice for their crimes.
Senior MPs and former ministers today attended a Westminster memorial service for Betty Boothroyd - the first female Speaker of the House of Commons.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the current Speaker, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, ex-Tory Chancellor Lord Philip Hammond and Labour's former foreign secretary Lord David Owen were among those to attend the thanksgiving event at St Margaret's Church.

West Yorkshire-born Baroness Boothroyd, first elected to Parliament in 1973 as Labour MP for West Bromwich, served as Speaker from 1992 to 2000.

She was hailed as an 'inspiration' who had 'smashed the glass ceiling to smithereens' following her death aged 93 in February last year.

Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt, the current Leader of the House of Commons, and 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady were among senior Tories at this morning's service.

Former independent MP Martin Bell and ex-Tory minister Neil Hamilton, now the leader of UKIP, also attended.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer speaks to Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the current Speaker of the House of Commons, after today's memorial service for Betty Boothroyd

Sir Lindsay previously hailed Baroness Boothroyd, the first female Commons Speaker, as an 'inspiration' who had 'smashed the glass ceiling to smithereens'

Ex-Tory chancellor Lord Hammond of Runnymede was also among those to attend the memorial service

Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt, the current Leader of the House of Commons, and 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady were among senior Tories at this morning's service

Baroness Boothroyd (pictured in 2019), was first elected to Parliament in 1973 as Labour MP for West Bromwich and served as Speaker from 1992 to 2000

Radio and TV personality Gyles Brandreth, a former Tory MP, is pictured arriving at St Margaret's Church

Labour's former foreign secretary Lord David Owen and current shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper

Ex-Tory minister Neil Hamilton, now the leader of UKIP, and his wife Christine

Former Labour home secretary Charles Clarke (left) and David Lidington, who was Theresa May's de facto deputy PM

Sir Nicholas Soames, the former MP and grandson of Winston Churchill, and Sarah Brown, the wife of ex-Labour PM Gordon Brown

Martin Bell, the former independent MP and BBC war reporter, in one of his famous white suits

Sir Roger Gale, Nigel Evans (centre) and Rosie Winterton - whp are all currently deputy speakers of the Commons

Baroness Boothroyd's funeral took place in March last year at a 12th century church in the Cambridgeshire village she called home in her later years.

Sir Lindsay said at the time he would remember her 'not only as a friend, but an inspiration'.

'She smashed that glass ceiling to smithereens. She became the first and only woman Speaker we've ever had,' he added.

'She is one of the greatest Speakers ever known. One of the greatest women that I can honestly say that I have known.

'I will always be in awe and always thank her for her kindness and her advice.'

Baroness Boothroyd shattered more than 700 years of parliamentary tradition when she became the first woman to be elected Speaker in April 1992, staying on until October 2000.

She then entered the Lords as a crossbench peer in January 2001.

Born to mill worker parents in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, in 1929, Baroness Boothroyd was a professional dancer with the Tiller Girls from 1946 to 1948 and appeared in pantomime in London's West End before going into politics.

She unsuccessfully contested four parliamentary seats before being elected to West Bromwich (later to become West Bromwich West) in May 1973.

Baroness Boothroyd shattered more than 700 years of parliamentary tradition when she became the first woman to be elected Speaker

She gained respect from both sides of the Commons for her charm and 'no-nonsense' style in the Speaker's chair

Lady Boothroyd was unafraid to make her feelings known to her successors in the job

The then Miss Betty Boothroyd electioneering for a seat in the Nelson and Colne by-election in 1968

Thurty years later, in 1998, she posed with her Madame Tussaud's wax double outside the Speaker's House in Westminster

Baroness Boothroyd in her time as a dancer. She performed with the Tiller Girls at the London Palladium but a foot infection ended her career and she turned to politics

The former Speaker welcoming the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to a dinner in Westminster in 1996

Baroness Boothroyd gained respect from both sides of the Commons for her charm and 'no-nonsense' style in the Speaker's chair.

Flags were flown at half mast in Westminster following the news of her death on 27 February last year and MPs took part in a minute's silence in the Commons.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hailed the passing of 'a remarkable woman who dedicated her life to politics', while Theresa May praised her 'inimitable style, but also her immense personal warmth and kindness'.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: 'Betty Boothroyd was an incredible and inspirational woman.

'As Speaker, she was at the forefront of a generation that smashed the glass ceiling for female politicians. She made the role her own, with a wit and style that will never be replicated.'

Baroness Boothroyd never married and once insisted that although she was a loner she had never been lonely.

Lady Boothroyd was unafraid to make her feelings known to her successors in the job, with Sir Lindsay admitting in a 2020 interview she 'gets me put in my place' with regular phone calls telling him whether he is getting things right or wrong, and encouraging him to 'tell him (the Prime Minister) straight'.

And in April 2019 she publicly criticised then speaker John Bercow over his attitude to Donald Trump addressing Parliament during a state visit while he was US president.

Baroness Boothroyd was Speaker between 1992 and 2000, straddling the final years of John Major's Tory government the first phase of Tony Blair's administration.

She took on the job less than three years after TV cameras were allowed to broadcast live proceedings from the chamber.

She was an MP from 1973 until entering the Lords in 2001.

She initially represented Labour and then, as is customary, sat as an independent during her time as Speaker.
Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp today broke his silence and said 'I only want peace and safety for innocent people' after the actor faced backlash over his comments on the Israel-Hamas war.

Schnapp, 19, who is Jewish, had been slammed for showing off stickers saying 'Zionism is sexy' in November and for saying 'you either stand with Israel or you stand with terrorism' in a separate statement in October.

Responding to the backlash today, Schnapp said his 'thoughts and beliefs have been so far misconstrued from anything even close to what I believe'.

'I only want peace and safety and security for all innocent people affected by this conflict,' the Will Byers actor told his 32 million followers on TikTok.

Schnapp has openly supported Israel in the past and condemned Hamas terrorists who rampaged through the country and massacred more than 1,300 people and took 240 hostage. In response, Israel launched withering aerial bombardments on Gaza which have killed 24,000 people according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

But amid backlash over his comments and him showing off 'Zionism is sexy' stickers, Schnapp added: 'I've had many open conversations with friends with a Palestinian background and I think they are very important conversations to have and I've learned a lot.

Schnapp, 19, who is Jewish, had been slammed for showing off stickers saying 'Zionism is sexy' in November and for saying 'you either stand with Israel or you stand with terrorism' in a separate statement in October

Responding to the backlash today, Schnapp said his 'thoughts and beliefs have been so far misconstrued from anything even close to what I believe'

Pictured from left in Stranger Things season 5 teaser picture: Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp, Finn Wolfhard, Charlie Heaton, Eduardo Franco, 'Chapter Nine: The Piggyback'

'One of the takeaways I've had is that we all hope for the same things - that being those innocent people being held hostage in Gaza to be returned to their families and equally hope for the end to the war and the loss of innocent life in Palestine - so many of those people being women and children.'

The young actor added: 'And I think anyone with any ounce of humanity would hope for an end to the hostilities on both sides. I stand against any killing of any innocent people.'

Referring to the criticism he has faced in recent months, Schnapp said: 'I hope for 2024 that I will see people be a little more understanding and compassionate [online] and recognise that we are all human... we should stand together for humanity and for peace.'

Schnapp had faced backlash for showing off 'Zionism is sexy' and 'Hamas is ISIS' in a TikTok video where he is seen laughing next to friends in November.

A month earlier, he had been criticism for publishing a statement that read: 'You either stand with Israel or you stand with terrorism. It shouldn't be a difficult choice. Shame on you' - which was seen as condoning Israel's siege of Gaza.

Fans had branded the star 'sick and twisted' and urged viewers to boycott the new season of Stranger Things.

One fan wrote: 'Damn killing innocent civilians is sexy. Stripping off people from basic necessities is sexy. Being the reason why people are displaced from their homes is sexy

Another wrote: 'How is he not getting fired for spreading hate' while a third typed: ''War crimes are sexy?' and another wrote: 'The levels of evil this is.'

In the video shared to Instagram in November, the Will Byers actor, 19, who is Jewish, is seen laughing as he sits among friends who show off the stickers - which also read 'Hamas is Isis'

Mourners react around the body of Faris Khalifa during his funeral at the Nur Shams camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on January 16

Others wrote: 'Having all those resources to learn about the occupation, thousands of people literally pointing him to that direction, and this is what he answers with'

'He's handing out stickers whilst Palestinians are being blown up. yeah Stranger Things is definitely cancelled in this household

'He's dumb and evil, the worst combination.'

'Well get out of your cushy LA pad, give up your career and go live in Israel then if you love Palestinian genocide sooo badly.'

In an October 11 post Schnapp wrote: 'As a Jewish American, I am afraid. Afraid for my brothers and sisters in Israel, who have been senselessly attacked by Hamas. I am truly heartbroken to see the brutal murders of innocent children, women and soldiers fighting to defend themselves.

'I, like others, want peace for both Palestinians and Israelis. Let's stop the rhetoric and choosing sides. Instead we must recognize that we are all on the side of the fight against terrorism. Choose humanity over violence.

'I just reposted a beautiful picture of a young innocent girl whose life was taken by Hamas at a music festival. I was met with comments reading 'no one cares free Palestine' and 'She deserves that, and every Israeli terrorist deserves that  Free Palestine.'

'I am outraged by the justification and celebration of the death of a young girls life. Have people lost their minds??? STOP!'

'This is one example of many posts, rallies, and petitions being signed attempting to justify the brutality against these innocent Israeli people,' he continued. 'You don't have to be Jewish, you don't have to be Israeli, you just have to have empathy and common sense to know that THIS is wrong.'

'I hope we can agree that Hamas are a recognized terrorist organization: they don't represent the Palestinian people when they value murdering Israelis more than protecting their own.

'You either stand with Israel or you stand with terrorism. It shouldn't be a difficult choice. Shame on you.'

'While you justify the murders and torture of our loved ones, we will hope and pray for safety, justice, liberation, and self determination in Palestine,' he continued, addressing his pro-violence commenters.

A Palestinian woman cries in front of a destroyed building in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, on January 16

Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip are treated in a hospital in Khan Younis on Monday

Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas on Tuesday

It comes as Israeli tanks stormed back into parts of the northern Gaza Strip they had left last week, residents said on Tuesday, bringing back some of the most intense fighting since the New Year when Israel announced it was scaling back its operations there.

Massive explosions could be seen over northern areas of Gaza from across the border with Israel - a rarity over the past two weeks after Israel announced a draw-down of forces in the north as part of a transition to smaller, targeted operations.

The rattle of intense gunfire carried across the border through the night. In the morning, contrails snaked through the sky as Israel's Iron Dome defences shot down rockets fired by militants across the fence, proof they retain the capability to launch them despite more than 100 days of war.

Israel said its forces had killed dozens of Hamas fighters overnight in clashes in Beit Lahiya on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip. Gaza health authorities said the last 24 hours of Israeli bombing had killed 158 people in the enclave, raising their toll for the war, now in its fourth month, to 24,285, with thousands more bodies feared lost in the rubble.

Israel launched the war to eradicate Hamas after militants stormed across the border fence on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and capturing 240 hostages. The war has driven nearly all Gazans from their homes, some several times, and caused a humanitarian crisis, with food, fuel and medical supplies running low.

Under pressure from Washington to reduce civilian casualties, Israel had said it was shifting tactics, transitioning from a full-scale ground assault to targeted operations against the Hamas militants that control the enclave.
Josef Fritzls barbaric abuse of his own flesh and blood mean he will forever be known as one of the 20th centurys most depraved paedophiles.

But now, 15 years after he was jailed for the evil meted out on a daily basis in his dingy basement lair, the 88-year-old is ravaged by dementia and begging for mercy.

The rapists crimes of incest, murder and enslaving his daughter were so barbaric that his surname has become a synonym for evil.

Reports of his possible transfer to a care home from the notorious Krems-Stein Prison - Austrias most secure psychiatric jail - have elicited public outrage rather than sympathy, something self-pitying Fritzl has repeatedly claimed ought to be bestowed upon him.

Now, frail and with dementia, one of the worlds most depraved paedophiles stands to spend his final days enjoying the sort of mercy he failed to show Elisabeth, the daughter he raped more 3,000 times during the 24 years he kept her as a sex slave in the secret basement of their family home.

Fritzl has been locked away at Krems-Stein since he was convicted in 2009, in a case that sent shockwaves around the globe.

Frizl at his trial in 2009. He has been locked away since he was convicted, in a case that sent shockwaves around the globe

The cellar where Fritzl imprisoned his victims. His horrific crimes were only discovered when Kerstin, one of seven children he fathered with Elisabeth, slipped into a coma

He was prone to grandstanding in court, with his lawyer imploring jurors to consider that nobody should be treated as a monster when they are able to take care of two families, a nod to the fact his wife Rosemarie believed Fritzls lies that Elisabeth had run away to join a cult and so had no idea of what was happening under her roof.

His memoirs, penned from behind bars, also showed a recalcitrant disregard for the truth.

The opportunity to bash out his story, though, is likely to have been a welcome distraction from the grim reality of life as one of Austrias most hated criminals.

Accounts from officials and former inmates tell a tale of a deeply unpopular prisoner who arrived behind bars with a target on his back.

So low was his stock inside that Fritzl is said to have spent much of his time in solitary confinement.

Yet that has failed to make him immune to violence from fellow prisoners.

In one exchange, in 2016, Fritzl is said to have lost several teeth after getting into a fight with a man - also sent to the solitary wing - who had allegedly been involved in setting up a fake dating profile in Fritzls name. The octogenarian came off worse.

Such has been the animosity towards Fritzl that he was often watched by four guards - though they are said to have been distracted at the time of the 2016 punch-up.

A fellow prisoner told local media: Just hearing his name makes me nauseous.

Fritzl was and still is separated from everyone else.

He has totally withdrawn himself and barely leaves his cell. He doesnt want contact with others, and all together it looks as though he has resigned himself to dying.

That date with destiny appears to be edging ever closer.

Local reports claim Fritzl, now addled with dementia, appears confused, regularly talks to the TV, believes he is a pop star and discusses visits from family members that have never happened.

Indeed daughter Elisabeth has not had any contact with her father since he was jailed and lives under a new name in an unknown part of Austria with the children conceived during the decades her own father brutally raped her.

Fritzl is said to have begun life behind bars working as the prison librarian, but was later given menial, dirty chores.

More recently, he has reportedly experienced multiple falls and needs a walker to move around.

Signs of the state of his mental health were arguably present during his quarter-of-a-century of offending.

But there was a fresh insight into the warped Fritzl mind when he released his life story from prison, with the help of lawyer Astrid Wagner, last year.

In it, he sought sympathy for the abuse he allegedly received at the hands of his mother, and, more recently, because there are prisoners just waiting to be able to beat me up.

In a worryingly dispassionate description of Elisabeths ordeal, he wrote: At first it was just a mind game I played.

But I got used to it. The idea, which had previously seemed so absurd, so monstrous to me, took shape.

In 2016, Fritzl is said to have lost several teeth after getting into a fight with a man - also sent to the solitary wing - who had allegedly been involved in setting up a fake dating profile in Fritzls name

Elisabeth Fritzl pictured before her ordeal at the hands of her monstrous father

He also implied that he saw himself as having a higher ranking than other prisoners, and described seducing women with extra-marital affairs around the world before he was jailed.

And in a further sign of his self-aggrandising, he said he yearned to be reconciled with Rosemarie, whom he regarded as his soulmate, despite not having spoken to her throughout his time in jail.

Wagner, who co-authored the grim tome, said Fritzl wanted it to be a bit of a warning, or rather a way of showing people how far you can go if you look away, so to speak, or if you ignore evil, because he repressed everything inside himself.

A court is now expected to decide whether it agrees with a new psychiatric report on Fritzl - who changed his name in 2017 - which says he no longer poses a danger to the public.

Fritzls horrific crimes were only discovered when Kerstin, one of seven children he fathered with Elisabeth, slipped into a coma.

He took her to hospital where alarmed doctors noted her malnourished condition and rotting teeth.

Another of the children died at the hands of Fritzl, a matter of days after being born. He disposed of the body in an incinerator.

Three others were brought up by Fritzl and his wife, presenting them to her as foundlings.

When Elisabeth was given permission to finally leave the dungeon to visit Kerstin in hospital, she was arrested and subsequently told the police about the horrific crimes her father had committed.

She and her children now live in obscurity, in a state-funded house guarded by a high fence and CCTV.

Even if a court subsequently shows frail Fritzl compassion, he is likely to see out his life in far less grand surroundings - and a change of surname will never grant him the anonymity he supposedly seeks to crave.
It would see cars reduced to a snail's pace on one of the city's busiest roads

Plans to slow cars in Manchester city centre to just 10mph in a bid to reduce pollution have been revealed.

The speed limit would be reduced in Quay street from its junction with Peter Street and Deansgate down to Gartside street.

Councillors were presented with the proposal at the environment, climate change and neighbourhoods scrutiny committee meeting on Thursday, January 11.

This proposal to deter motorists by forcing them to drive at a snail's pace raised some eyebrows at the meeting. Including from Anthony McCaul, who represents the affected area.

It is part of Greater Manchester's plan to introduce a clean air zone across the region to reduce pollution. It was originally meant to be implemented in May 2022.

The 10mph speed limit could be introduced on Manchester's busy city centre road of Quay street from its junction with Peter Street and Deansgate down to Gartside street.

Quay street leads onto Deansgate which is one of the busiest roads in Manchester. Since February 2023 a bus gate has stopped private cars using some sections of the road

Labour's Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham scrapped plans to bring in a congestion charge in February 2022 following a backlash from residents

However, the rollout was halted in February that year following a backlash from some road users, such as HGV drivers, who faced paying up to 60 a day to drive in Greater Manchester.

Since the scheme was paused, Greater Manchester's Labour Mayor- Andy Burnham has been looking at other ways to deter motorists from driving without bringing in a charge.

The Manchester Evening News reported that Cllr McCaul, speaking at the meeting, said: 'We are struggling to understand as ward councillors how reducing the speed limit alleviates pollution from standstill traffic for a large part of the day. That's a concept we are still trying to get into our heads.'

In response to Cllr McCaul Oliver Baldwin from AECOM, a company which studies air quality and traffic modelling for Transport for Greater Manchester, claimed the measures were aimed at reducing through traffic on roads adjacent to Quay street to improve local access and reduce traffic in the surrounding areas which could improve the air quality.

He said: 'We are targeting a series of measures that would make those routes less attractive from a through traffic perspective while maintaining local access.'

Not only might the council find it hard to enforce the speed limit due to the lack of legal power to do so. Cllr McCaul believes the proposal would fail to tackle the reason behind the build-up of traffic in the area.

Which is coincidentally due to other initiatives to deter drivers such as the introduction of a bus gate in February 2023 which closes section of Deansgate to cars.

He said: 'We will always get traffic on those side streets and on Quay Street because we have made Deansgate one-way and put a bus gate in, coincidentally driven by Salford [council].

'Until we look at it as a network rather than a single road and until we get down there and look day-in-and-day-out, the modelling is good but it needs to be proven in real life.'

A spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: 'The Council is committed to hitting clean air targets and supports an investment-led approach. Improvements in air quality will be achieved by investment in zero-emission buses and taxis with the need for supporting interventions at persistent exceedance locations on Regent Road and in the Quay Street area.

'To address these exceedances, we would - through consultation - look at ways to introduce low-traffic, low-speed usage of these streets. The measures may differ by location, but are likely to include signing, surface treatments and urban realm improvements. The aim of this measure is for drivers to perceive these roads as low speed and low capacity and therefore avoid them unless necessary.'

A number of local authorities across the UK have started to reduce the speed limit

'However, the Council would underline its commitment to hitting clean air targets and working with partners across Greater Manchester to develop sustainable transport solutions.'

Although 10mph speed limits are yet to be implemented widely; 20mph speed limits are currently being rolled out across the UK. Wales became the first country in the UK to make 20mph its default speed limit in September 2023.

The introduction of this speed limit has led to backlash from people in Wales including from the small village of Llandegla. They claim the speed limit has led to bus services being axed to the town which Arriva claimed was due to the 20mph speed limit.

While London has not announced plans to adopt 10mph speed limits at the moment, it might as well have the speed limit now as traffic only travels at an average speed of 10mph. This means London has the longest travel times in the world and is now officially the slowest city on earth.
Move has sparked outrage from some Aussies

Dingo that attacked two children is euthanised

A dingo that attacked two children and a man on the Queensland island of K'gari in recent weeks has been euthanised.

Queensland's Department of Environment, Science and Innovation said the dingo was humanely euthanised on Tuesday afternoon to protect the public.

'The tagged dingo has displayed increasingly dangerous behaviour including two separate attacks in recent weeks on young children in the Hook Point area,' the department said in a statement.

'Due to the escalation of the animal's behaviour, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) has made the difficult decision to euthanise the dingo.'

However, the move has been criticised by some Australians who argued it was the responsibility of visitors to stay away from the wild animals.

A dingo that attacked two children and a man on the Queensland island of K'gari in recent weeks has been euthanised - sparking outrage among animal lovers

Queensland's Department of Environment, Science and Innovation said the dingo was humanely euthanised on Tuesday afternoon on K'gai (pictured)

READ MORE: Female jogger mauled by a pack of four dingoes Advertisement

'I have a part dingo dog, this is sad,' one man wrote.

'People just need to stay away from them.'

'So sad. This is their home,' a second agreed.

'Just wrong, they are hungry looking for food,' a third shared.

'How about we start doing this to humans as well!' a fourth wrote.

Euthanising a dingo was a last resort and the decision was in line with the Fraser Island Dingo Conservation and Risk Management Strategy, QPWS said.

The tagged animal bit the man on the back of his leg in the Hook Point barge area on Monday in the third attack in as many weeks.

A primary school-aged girl was taken to hospital last week with significant leg wounds after she was bitten multiple times while swimming near Hook Point.

She was one of two children attacked in the area in recent weeks.

There have been six dingo-related incidents on K'gari since December 10, five involving children.

Rangers and the local Butchula Aboriginal Corporation are considering using tracking collars among other options to monitor the animals.

The decision to euthanise the dingo has been criticised by some Australians who argued it was the responsibility of visitors to stay away from dingoes (pictured, dingos on K'gari)

But they have rejected calls to cull any of the estimated 200 dingoes on K'gari, blaming visitor behaviour for a spike in incidents.

A series of incidents in 2023 led rangers to euthanise a dingo that had bitten a woman on the thigh while she was visiting the island.

QPWS has urged people to be 'dingo safe' by walking in groups, camping in fenced areas and not running on the heritage-listed island.

Children should be kept under constant supervision and within arm's reach on K'gari.

QPWS said it was important to keep all food, rubbish and bait locked up and never to feed the animals.
A drug-addicted tree surgeon was filmed abseiling down a quarry face and stealing peregrine falcon eggs as the distressed birds desperately called out.

A court heard the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) had installed a hidden camera nearby to monitor the development of the unborn chicks.

The covert footage showed a rope which had been dropped from the top of the cliff, before Christopher Wheeldon appeared in shot as he abseiled down the cliff.

He then reached in to the nest to remove the eggs - popular with criminal collectors who build up collections of different rare species - and placed it in an orange box.

The 34-year-old father-of-two then called out to an accomplice to pull him up.

After stealing the eggs, the court heard Wheeldon, of Matlock, Derbyshire, then committed a number of shop thefts to steal items to feed his heroin addiction.

The covert footage showed a rope which had been dropped from the top of the cliff, before Christopher Wheeldon appeared in shot as he abseiled down the cliff

Wheeldon, of Matlock, Derbyshire, committed a number of shop thefts to steal items to feed his heroin addiction

Jailing Wheeldon for 18 weeks at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court, District Judge Stephen Flint told him: 'It seems even the birds are not beyond your thieving grasp.'

The judge continued: 'You may see them simply as eggs for profit but this causes damage to the environment and it is a deplorable thing to do. In your state, hanging off anything, whether it's a quarry wall or a tree, is not the best thing to do.'

Peregrine falcon eggs and chicks can fetch up to 20,000 on the black market.

On Monday, the court heard that Wheeldon struck at Bolsover Moor Quarry in Whaley last April.

Lynn Bickley, for the prosecution, said: 'The peregrines can be seen and heard 'alarm calling' with the female on the nest turning her head and looking upwards. A green rope comes into view and Mr Wheeldon can be seen carrying a box and an insulated bag.

'He reaches into the nest three times, puts the eggs in the box and the box in the insulated bag.'

She said the two birds continued making their alarm calls and remained at the site until lunchtime the following day.

Miss Bickley said Wheeldon was recognised and visited and ropes and spikes he used to carry out the offences were found at his then address in Darley Dale, outside Derby.

She told the court that Derbyshire was a hotspot for peregrine nest thieves, and the second worst county in the country for the number of thefts from peregrine falcon nests.

The drug-addicted tree surgeon was filmed abseiling down a quarry face and stealing peregrine falcon eggs as the distressed birds desperately called out

He then reached in to the nest to remove the eggs - popular with criminal collectors who build up collections of different rare species - and placed it in an orange box

Wheeldon pleaded guilty to charges of disturbing the nesting site of a protected bird, taking the eggs of a protected bird, and five counts of shoplifting, four of which were committed in the first week of January this year at stores in the Matlock area.

Clare James, mitigating, said her client has two young children aged four and 11, is a qualified tree surgeon and used to work on the railways until he was sacked following a positive alcohol and drug test. She said he then worked for Chesterfield Town Council until losing his job when he lost his driving licence for drug-driving in 2021.

Miss James said: 'There is nothing I can say in relation to the offence in terms of mitigation. He abseiled down the cliff to get the eggs and he says he can't give an explanation why he did it himself.'

The RSPB said after the case that the eggs were likely stolen to order, artificially incubated and then hatched and laundered into the illegal falconry trade, possibly overseas. The charity said wild British peregrine falcons are regarded as being of genetically superior stock and command high prices.

Thomas Grose, RSPB Investigations Officer: 'The theft of Peregrine eggs and chicks has been a persistent threat to these birds in Derbyshire. This case is a great example of organisations working together to bring those responsible to justice.

'Without dedicated volunteers and the efforts of Derbyshire Police this would have been just another failed nest. I hope this sends the message that we are watching and will continue our efforts to protect these amazing birds of prey.'

Chris Wilkinson, Derbyshire Police Rural Crime Team: 'The nesting sites of these beautiful birds of prey are protected in law for a reason.

'Peregrines are an endangered species and groups, including the RSPB, have been working hard to ensure they are free from persecution and able thrive in Derbyshire.

'He abseiled down the cliff to get the eggs and he says he can't give an explanation why he did it himself.'

The efforts made by the RSPB, Derbyshire Police, NWCU and the Animal and Plant Health Agency to secure the conviction and subsequent sentence handed down by the courts, goes to show that we will go above and beyond to identify those responsible and bring them to justice.'

Peregrine Falcons were hunted heavily and impacted by pesticides in the food chain during the 20th century, but numbers have improved since they were given full legal protection under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. This means that it is a criminal offence to intentionally or recklessly kill, injure or take a peregrine.

There are now thought to be around 1,500 pairs in the UK. The falcons are the fastest animals on earth. They feed on other birds such as ducks or pigeons and can reach speeds of up to 200mph in a hunting dive.

They favour open spaces and usually nest on high cliffs, although they are today also found in villages, towns and cities, where they often choose church towers to nest in.

In 2022 Derbyshire's Rural Crime Team joined forces with the RSPB to set up a network of marked intrusion detection cameras to safeguard some of the birds of prey known to be nesting in the county.
Shopkeepers in Rochdale have been offering young girls free illegal super-strength vapes in return for sexual favours, it was revealed today.

Greater Manchester Police is clamping down on some e-cigarette shops because they have become honeypots for vulnerable children as the former mill town still battles child abusers after decades of scandal.

Detectives admit vapes have become 'a big tool for sexual and criminal exploitation' in Rochdale, which became notorious for the gangs of mainly Asian men grooming underage girls for sex using alcohol, drugs, money and gifts.

And instead of takeaways, the new battleground is e-cigarette stores on the streets of the Greater Manchester borough. Vapes are also being used by gangsters who give them to young boys to sell as a test to see if they are capable of joining their gangs as drug dealers or runners to move narcotics and cash.

Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Round, GMP Rochdales lead for safeguarding, has described vapes as a gateway to abuse and just last month police and trading standards seized 2,000 illegal super-strength vapes from shops to keep them away from children.

He said following a bust last month: 'Vapes are often used to groom young people. They will be used to form relationships, or young people will be asked to sell vapes, which can then lead to them being coerced into selling drugs or performing sexual favours'.

But Maggie Oliver, a former GMP detective who quit in 2012 in protest over the force's handling of the Rochdale abuse scandal, said: 'I am telling you that the failures I saw in Rochdale back in 2011 and 2012 are still happening today. Things haven't changed. In far too many ways victims are still being failed in Rochdale and in many other areas'.

Police have launched a clampdown in Rochdale to seize e-cigarettes (pictured last month) because illegal super-strength vapes are being used to groom children for sexual and criminal exploitation

Officers seized more than 2,000 illegal vapes in Rochdale in December and believe that they will carry out monthly raids to keep children safe

Shabir Ahmed, the ringleader of a Rochdale child sex grooming gang, was jailed for 22 years for 30 child rapes. Victoria Agoglia was meant to be receiving round-the-clock 'solo' residential care, but went missing 19 times in three months for up to two weeks at a time. She was raped and was known by her carers to be exploited for sex by older men in exchange for cash, alcohol and hard drugs

The new disgusting use of vapes emerged as a new report concluded that gangs of paedophiles were left free to groom a new generation of victims because police and council bosses ignored the abuse of scores of young mainly white girls in the town between 2004 and 2012.

Hundreds of vulnerable children as young as 13 were targeted by mainly Pakistani men, lured into abusive sexual relationships through being plied with drink and drugs, or flattered with gifts and attention.

Vapes are handed out by shopkeepers to youngsters for sexual favours, the BBC has said.

Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Round said of the recent vape seizures: 'We have a number of proactive operations that aren't one-offs, they aren't gimmicks. We do them once a month'.

The leader of the so-called Sunrise Team, fighting exploitation in Rochdale, said: 'What I want to able to do in 15 or 20 years when I retire is say that we did everything that we possibly could to make sure there isn't child exploitation'.

Police and social services left these girls 'at the mercy' of the sex gangs, a damning 173-page review from 2004 to 2013 concluded yesterday.

At the height of their sickening crimes in Rochdale, gangs of mainly Asian men, often from the Pakistani community, used takeaways to lure in mainly white girls from poor backgrounds.

These vulnerable children were used for sex by paedophiles in exchange for alcohol, drugs and money. Sometimes they were abused by up to 25 men in a single night.

Rochdale became synonymous with organised sexual abuse of children in 2012

Michelle Dyson (pictured last year) said that she refuses to let her children out of the house when it's dark

Last year Rochdale residents said they had worries about the use of vapes to groom children.

Alison Hoaken, 56, said she was fearful for her 11 grandchildren growing up in Rochdale.

READ MORE HERE: Revealed: Ringleader of Rochdale grooming gang WON'T be deported to Pakistan because of loophole that let him RENOUNCE citizenship of his native country just five days before key hearing Advertisement

'It's getting worse,' she said. 'We've got men selling vapes to 13-year-old girls, but when I report it, nothing happens. It's so bad that I tell my granddaughters to be careful how they dress when they go out so they don't attract attention from these men.'

Mother-of-three Emma Haskins told Mail Online: 'It's very scary being the mum of kids growing up in Rochdale today,

'It doesn't feel like anything's changed in the past 20 years.

'Children are still getting approached in the street by men offering them things like drugs, alcohol, designer clothes, vapes  it's disgusting.

'We need more police on the streets, and tougher sentences on abusers when they are caught.'

'My son is 13 but I daren't let him out by himself after dark,' said her friend Michelle Dyson, 45.

'It's frightening to hear what's going on in this town.

'Some parents in Rochdale think grooming is all in the past, but they've got their heads in the sand.'

The friends both volunteer with a local group called Parents Against Grooming UK which is campaigning for tougher action against abusers.

Insar Hussain (left) and Ali Kazmi (right) were also both jailed last year for raping children in Rochdale

Rochdale child abusers Jahn Shahid Ghani (left) and Mohammed Ghani (right) were both jailed last year

Today it was revealed that one of the victims of the Rochdale grooming gang was a 15-year-old girl who was repeatedly raped and plied with drugs by predatory paedophiles before dying from a heroin overdose.

Victoria Agoglia was meant to be receiving round-the-clock 'solo' residential care, but went missing 19 times in three months for up to two weeks at a time. Instead of trying to find her, carers messaged her asking: 'When are you coming back?'

Dozens of young girls were targeted, abused and raped by gangs of mainly Asian men between 2004 and 2012 in Rochdale as officials stood by. Victoria herself wrote a heartbreaking letter to police documenting her abuse, but was ignored.

Her heartbreaking story is just one of many documented in a new report published yesterday which documents the struggle they faced to be believed. It has also identified 96 men who are still deemed a potential risk to children.

In the run-up to her death in 2003, Victoria Agoglia ran away from her terraced house 21 times in the space of two months, and on five occasions the police were asked to look for her.

She was raped and was known by her carers to be exploited for sex by older men in exchange for cash, alcohol and hard drugs.

A scribbled note written by Victoria, titled 'Things I've done in the past', was passed to cops by social services and documented the abuse she suffered at the age of 13.

She wrote how she 'slept with people older' than her - 'half of them I don't even know their names. I am a sl*g.'

She went on: 'I think it I did it just to impress the boys and they treated me like ****. All the things I lost for drugs. Boys, my family, I lost all of that.'

The letter was signed off 'age 13, 1989.'
Maps today laid bare how Keir Starmer's red tide could sweep Britain at the general election.

A series of scenarios for Labour making progress in the contest later this year show how the party's gains would rack up across the country.

But new analysis also underlines the scale of the challenge that Sir Keir faces, with changes to boundaries meaning he needs an even bigger swing than Tony Blair secured in 1997 to get an overall majority.

Compared to the 2019 results, he requires a 12.7 point shift from the Tories to Labour in order to get more than half of the MPs in the Commons - although a worse result would still see him in No10.

Sir Tony only managed 10.2 points in his first landslide.

A 4.2 point swing would deprive the Tories of their majority, and 8.3 points would be enough to make Labour the biggest party. An even bigger swing of 20 points - suggested by some polls, although few at Westminster expect it - would see Labour pile up 444 MPs.

In reality, the political dynamics are much more complicated than a direct swing calculation can illustrate, with the Lib Dems hoping to make major inroads in the Tory 'Blue Wall' and the SNP desperately defending their territory. However, the figures give a sense of what is at stake.

And Rishi Sunak has insisted the Tories can still defy the polls to emerge victorious. He has declared that his 'working assumption' is that he will call a general election in the second half of the year, with November 14 widely touted as a date in Westminster.

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Keir Starmer (left) and Rishi Sunak (right) are set to battle it out for the keys to Downing Street later this year

Projections of boundary changes, the first since 2010 and designed to ensure all seats have similar numbers of voters, show they have made Labour's task significantly harder.

The overhaul has been overseen by the independent Boundary Commissions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Fewer than 12 per cent of the 650 Commons seats are exactly the same as in 2019.

To understand the electoral battleground, Professors Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher have compiled notional results for what would have happened at the last general election in 2019 had it been fought on the new constituencies.

'Broadly speaking this reflects a pattern where the east, south east and south west of England have gained seats reflecting the increase in electorates, and Wales has lost them, following the implementation of the new rules,' the academics say.

'The overall impact is that the Conservatives will be defending a notional majority of 94 at the next general election compared with the 80 majority they actually achieved in 2019.

'The Conservatives have made a net gain of seven seats from the new boundaries; Labour has a net loss of two seats. The Liberal Democrats lose three seats and Plaid Cymru drops from four seats to just two.'

Buckingham could be 'tipping point' seat for Labour election win Buckingham & Bletchley could be the 'tipping point' for a Labour election victory, according to new analysis. A projection based on new constituency boundaries suggests the seat would be the 125th gain for Keir Starmer's party. It would require a uniform swing from the Tories of 12.7 percentage points, and take Labour to 326 of the 650 MPs - a majority. The Conservatives would lose 135 seats in that scenario, reducing their total from 372 to 237. Advertisement

The changes mean England is allocated 543 seats, an increase of 10. Wales will have 32 seats, a reduction of eight. Scotland will have 57, down two. Northern Ireland remains unchanged with 18.

The Conservatives won 365 seats in the snap 2019 December election, with Jeremy Corbyn's Labour on 203, giving Boris Johnson a majority of 80, and 162 over Labour.

While the number of Conservative MPs is now down to 349, partly because of by-elections, with another two next month, that makes no difference to the calculations for the general election, which are based solely on the notional results.

Following the 2019 election, a direct swing of seven percentage points from the Conservatives was needed for Labour to become the largest party in a hung parliament, and the boundary changes mean this rises to 8.3 percentage points.

For an overall majority, Sir Keir's 12.7 point requirement is up from 12 on the old boundaries, and any uniform swing from Conservatives to Labour greater than 4.2 and less than 12.7 is likely to produce a hung parliament.

However, focusing only on the direct swing between Conservatives and Labour makes the assumption there will be no change in the share votes cast for the other parties, which is highly unlikely to be true.

For instance, a 10 point swing from the SNP to Labour would give Sir Keir 15 gains under the new boundaries, easing his path to Downing Street, according to professors Rallings and Thrasher.

The four Boundary Commissions were obliged to ensure the new constituencies have an electorate within 5 per cent of 73,392, which is the total number of voters on March 2 2020 divided by 650, the number of Commons seats.

This gives all constituencies between 69,724 and 77,062 electors with just five 'island seats' exempt  Orkney and Shetland, Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Islands) in Scotland, Ynys Mon (Anglesey) in North Wales and the two seats allocated to the Isle of Wight.

The academics compiled their notional results on behalf of BBC News, ITV News, Sky News and the PA news agency.
MBABANE  Zweli Simelane, the son of Mduduzi Gawuzela Simelane and his co-accused brother, Jabulani Simelane, claim that Chief Justice (CJ) Bheki Maphalala is interfering with their file.

Zweli and his co-accused brother, Jabulani, who is a member of the Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO), are facing charges under the Suppression of Terrorism Act, 2008. The duo made the allegations of interference against the CJ in their papers where they are seeking an order for the recusal of Judge Justice Mavuso from presiding over their bail application.

It is our humble submission that, in the present case, justice will not be manifestly and undoubtedly seen to be done. There is an ostensible interference by the chief justice in the administration of our file, submitted the duo. They averred that the removal of their file from the duty judge assigned to do bail applications during the week ending on December 22, 2023, and it being reassigned to Judge Mavuso was really unsettling.

This we say, bearing in mind the fact that the allegations levelled against us are in connection with civil unrest, which prevailed in Eswatini in 2021, where various homesteads, infrastructure and property were destroyed, contended the accused persons. They highlighted that it was a notorious fact that the CJ fell victim to these arson attacks when his homestead in Hlatikhulu was burnt down and livestock shot dead.

According to the accused persons, it therefore gave rise to a reasonable apprehension, on their part, that justice would not be seen to been done in a case where the CJ, as a victim of the civil unrest, had his hands all over their file in an unusual manner. The Simelane brothers brought it to the attention of the court that their file had been removed from two judges, to be specifically assigned to Judge Mavuso. They pointed out that the file was removed from Judge Bongani Sydney Dlamini and further taken from Judge Zonke Magagula to be assigned to Judge Mavuso.

Giving background of the matter, the accused persons told the court that they made their maiden court appearance before Judge Dlamini (Bongani) on March 13, 2023, who remanded them in custody pending trial. They alleged that immediately upon adjournment after the remand appearance, they were served with an order for the detention of their items and same was issued by Judge Dlamini on an ex parte basis on the same day, despite that their attorneys were present in court.

Detention

The duo said they had an issue with the detention order and this resulted in them instructing their lawyer to apply for the release of their items. The application for the release of the items, according to the accused persons, was then due to return to court on March 17, 2023. On March 17, 2023, the matter came back before Judge Dlamini, for us to make our application for the release of our detained property. While Judge Dlamini was sitting, the deputy registrar of the High Court entered the courtroom through the entrance reserved for judges and whispered to the judge, alleged the Simelanes. They alleged that no one heard what the deputy registrar said to the judge. They claimed that after the adjournment of 20-30 minutes, they were taken aback to see Judge Mavuso entering the courtroom to take over the case.

The accused persons submitted that, in observance of the court decorum, their attorneys applied to address the judge (Judge Mavuso) in his chambers. They submitted that it was in the chambers that their lawyers expressed their disquiet about the substitution of Judge Dlamini for Judge Mavuso.

In chambers, our attorney informed Judge Mavuso that there was apparent interference by the chief justice in the administration of the file for the matter. Judge Mavuso assured our attorneys that he was under no particular instruction from the chief justice and further assured our attorneys that he would be independent and impartial, submitted the pair.

Confirmatory

Lawyer Dumisani Hleta deposed to a confirmatory affidavit where he stated that on December 21, 2021, he was requested by his colleague Thabiso Mavuso, counsel for the accused persons, to file a bail application on their behalf. He alleged that he was assisted by the assistant registrar, who informed him that the instruction from the CJ was that the bail application should be heard by the same judge before whom the accused persons were first remanded. Hleta alleged that since he was not privy to the information, he contacted Thabiso to enquire from him and he (Thabiso) told him that the matter first appeared before Judge Bongani Sydney Dlamini, but was later given to Judge Mavuso. He alleged that he told Thabiso that the assistant registrar had told him that the bail application would be heard by Judge Mavuso as per the CJs instructions.
Fujitsu has issued a long-awaited and grovelling apology for the Post Office Horizon scandal, which saw innocent subpostmasters jailed because of faults with its accounting software  as bosses insisted the Japanese firm is an 'ethical company'.

Paul Patterson, the European director of the computing firm, told furious MPs he is 'truly sorry' about the scandal and admitted that the firm has a moral duty to help compensate the victims.

Mr Patterson, who has been with the firm since 2010 and in his current role since 2019, said the company had accepted its part in 'this appalling miscarriage of justice', noting: 'We were involved from the very start'.

The tech boss told the Commons' Business and Trade Committee that 'bugs and errors in the system', along with the company's direct assistance to the Post Office, led to subpostmasters being wrongly prosecuted.

But while the Japanese company says it has a 'moral obligation' to contribute to the compensatory fund for subpostmasters, it has not yet set aside any money to do so  and 'can't put a number' on what it would expect to pay out.

Fujitsu Europe boss Paul Patterson leaves Portcullis House after giving evidence to the Commons' Business and Trade Committee on Tuesday

He admitted to MPs that the company had long been aware of problems with the Horizon computer system used by the Post Office and said: 'We are truly sorry'

Paul Patterson, Europe director at Fujitsu, told MPs he was 'truly sorry' for the role his firm played in the scandal

Former subpostmaster Alan Bates told MPs that the bid to get compensation after the Horizon scandal was 'tied up in bureaucracy'

He was joined by Jo Hamilton who said she felt 'gaslit' and was made to believe missing funds were her fault

Mr Patterson was grilled by MPs who accused him and Post Office CEO Nick Read of failing to answer their questions.

Their appearance came after weeks of public anger over Fujitsu's silence in the wake of the ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, which renewed the public's interest in the scandal.

But it began on a welcome note as Mr Patterson apologised for the company's direct and deep-seated involvement in the scandal  including an acknowledgement that the system could be accessed remotely, a fact previously denied by the Post Office.

READ MORE HERE: Post Office Scandal LIVE Advertisement

He said: 'To the subpostmasters and their families, Fujitsu would like to apologise for our part in this appalling miscarriage of justice.

'We were involved from the very start. We did have bugs and errors in the system. And we did help the Post Office in their prosecutions of subpostmasters. For that we are truly sorry.'

Mr Patterson went on to expand on Fujitsu's role in the Post Office's private prosecutions of subpostmasters based on flawed evidence produced by the accounting system, acknowledging: 'There was data given from us to them to support those prosecutions.'

Shockingly, he added: 'The information shared with the Post Office as part of our contract with them was very clear  the Post Office also knew there were bugs and errors.'

Asked whether Fujitsu would be contributing to a compensatory pot for subpostmasters whose lives were wrecked by their wrongful convictions, he said there was a 'moral obligation for the company to contribute'.

The executive was then asked whether Horizon could be remotely accessed  a fact denied by the Post Office for years as it sought to cover up the system's flaws.

Mr Patterson told the committee that there was remote access, but dispelled the characterisation of a 'covert unit' at Fujitsu accessing subpostmasters' computers without their knowledge.

'The support and the interventions remotely from Fujitsu has been documented and it is clear the Post Office was certainly aware of that remote access, and that was clear for some period of time,' he said.

As for why Fujitsu did not act, despite knowing of Horizon's flaws, he said: 'I don't know. I really don't know. On a personal level I wish I did know.

'Following my appointment in 2019 I've looked back at those situations for the company and the evidence I've seen, and I just don't know.

'There were known bugs and errors in the system at a very early stage. I know there were bugs and errors when it was rolled out; in large IT projects there will always be some bugs and errors, particularly of this scale.

'The important thing is what do we do with that information. Did we share that information with the Post Office? Yes, we did.'

The committee hearing comes after the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, starring Toby Jones (pictured) as Alan Bates

The drama shined a light on the stories of subpostmasters who were caught up in the Horizon scandal. Pictured: John Hollingworth and Toby Jones in the programme

Mr Patterson, wrapping up a frank exchange with MPs, said he supported the government's plans to quash subpostmasters' convictions en masse with legislation.

But he admitted that Fujitsu had not made any provision for a compensatory fund that would pay out to the hundreds of Post Office workers who were wrongly convicted of fraud thanks to the Horizon system's flaws.

He said: 'When this (the inquiry) is done, we also expect to sit down with Government to determine our contribution to the redress. We have not made provision for that yet.

'I can't put a number on that yet, but when we get to that position we will absolutely have to make a provision for it.'

And asked whether Fujitsu would bid for future government contracts - amid those it currently has - he concluded: 'It's very clear that our brand and our value in the UK is under question, and we will look at all of those opportunities and decide yes or no.'

'What I do know is the inquiry is looking at this very point of who knew what and when, and the action they did or did not take to draw attention to the concerns. I just don't know.'

Elsewhere during the hearing:

Nick Read, CEO of the Post Office, said he would support the quashing of convictions

He admitted that the organisation could face liabilities of around 1billion due to the scandal and related compensation schemes

Subpostmaster Alan Bates says victims of the scandal are dying waiting for compensation

Wrongly convicted Jo Hamilton revealed she was 'gaslit' by Post Office lawyers into thinking it was her fault money was missing

Just three of 73 clients of one lawyer fighting for victims of the scandal have so far received the full compensation

The Government has been scrambling to exonerate the hundreds of subpostmasters wrongfully convicted and pay out compensation to those affected, with public anger rising after ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office cast a new light on the scandal.

MPs are examining what more can be done to deliver compensation for victims of what has been labelled one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.

He was joined at the committee by Nick Read, chief executive of the Post Office, who was criticised for failing to say when the organisation knew remote access to subpostmasters' Horizon systems was possible.

When asked about the timeline, Nick Read told MPs: 'I couldn't give you an exact date on that.'

Business and Trade Committee chairman Liam Byrne replied: 'Why can you not answer that question? It is fundamental to this case.

READ MORE HERE: The Post Office could change accounts on the Horizon system remotely and without postmasters knowing from 2001, whistleblower claims Advertisement

'You must surely have had time in four years to cut to the heart of this issue, which is when did the Post Office know remote access to terminals was possible.'

Mr Byrne added: 'I think we are both surprised and disappointed that you've not got that question answered on the table.'

Both men expressed support for the Government's move to quash subpostmasters' convictions.

Asked whether the technology giant accepts that everyone should have their names cleared, Mr Patterson said: 'It's very clear from the inquiry the answer would be yes.'

Mr Read said his organisation shared that view, adding: 'We're very clear that we want to ensure that redress is done as quickly as possible. And the mass exoneration that the minister has put forward, we welcome that.'

He added that he would be willing to personally meet victims of the scandal so he could apologise to them face-to-face and that 45 hadmet him so far.

Mr Read also appeared to concede that the organisation could face liabilities of around 1 billion due to the Horizon scandal and related compensation claims.

The 1 billion figure was put to him by MPs, and he began by saying he did not recognise it, but, pressed again said: 'I think what has been done in the last 10 days in terms of the potential to mass exonerate, that is going to obviously generate a lot of people coming forward.'

Asked for an assessment of the 1 billion estimate, he said: 'I think it's unlikely to be that size, but it may well be.'

He added he does not think that the organisation will perform any more private prosecutions in the future.

Post Office CEO Nick Read and Europe director of Fujistu Paul Patterson address MPs. Behind them sits Jo Hamilton (far right), a subpostmaster who was wrongly convicted during the Horizon scandal

'I don't think the Post Office would want to carry out private prosecutions,' he told the Business and Trade Committee.

'I've been very clear on my watch they won't and I see no reason why they should continue to do so.'

But MPs expressed their frustration at what they saw as a lack of answers from the pair.

Labour MP Ian Lavery said: 'I've asked three or four questions - I haven't heard one answer yet.'

READ MORE HERE: Moment daughter of bankrupt Post Office victim Lee Castleton breaks down in tears as she reveals being bullied at school after her father was wrongly accused of stealing 25,000 Advertisement

Mr Read said he felt a 'culture of denial' was behind the Post Office dragging its feet over compensation for subpostmasters, before adding he had not 'seen any evidence' that Post Office executives misled ministers, the courts or Parliament at any stage.

Asked whether he believed the Post Office prosecuted the innocent knowing the case to be flawed, he said: 'I sincerely hope not. But I have not had evidence to that effect.'

Challenged over why his organisation fought the provision of compensation to those who were unfairly punished for so long, Mr Read said: 'A culture of denial. I can only assume that that is the case.

'It's a lack of understanding and perhaps a lack of curiosity of really what is going on. I think that is the most important cultural challenge that I have in my organisation is to ensure that everybody in the organisation sees and understands absolutely what has been going on.

'I don't think that was the case certainly when I joined in 2019.'

Mr Read took over at the Post Office in September 2019, after the scandal emerged, and last year handed back around 54,000 in bonus payments linked to the firm's co-operation with the public inquiry into the crisis.

Mr Patterson has been in his current role since 2019 but has worked for Fujitsu since 2010.

Earlier in the morning MPs heard from former subpostmasters Alan Bates and Jo Hamilton, who have campaigned for compensation for victims of the scandal.

Mr Bates, on whom the ITV series centred, said he was 'frustrated' that it was taking so long to get compensation for those who were wronged.

'There's no reason why full financial redress shouldn't have been delivered by now. It's gone on for far too long, people are suffering, they're dying - we're losing numbers along the way - and it just seems to be tied up in bureaucracy,' he said.

'This scheme started in March 2022 and that's 22 months ago now and we still have very few cases that have gone through and come out the other end. It's frustrating to put it mildly.'

Nick Read, CEO of the Post Office, appeared before the Commons' Business and Trade Committee

Explaining how the scandal was allowed to happen Mr Bates said a lot of subpostmasters felt there was a 'financial gun held to their head if they start kicking off or start raising too many problems with the Post Office'.

READ MORE HERE: Touching moment Mr Bates vs the Post Office actor Will Mellor shares hug with former postmaster Lee Castleton who was pursued for 25,000 he didn't steal Advertisement

He said: 'When you take on a Post Office, you actually invest a large amount of money in that business,' he explains.

'As happened in my case, when they fell out with me, they walked off with that amount of money.'

Ms Hamilton, a subpostmaster who was wrongly convicted and who described the process of getting compensation as 'nonsense'.

She told MPs: 'It's almost like you're a criminal all over again, you've got to justify everything - forensic reports for this and forensic reports for that and you put it into the machine and months later it comes back with a query.

'It's almost like you're being retried because everything you say you'd like they say 'well justify that' and it just goes on and on and on. Everything has to be backed up. It's just nonsense.'

She added that when she was wrongly convicted Post Office lawyers had convinced her 'it was all my fault and I wasn't tech savvy at all'.

Ms Hamilton said: 'It just makes me so angry that they'd literally gaslit me for about three years and turned me into a basket case.'

In the first session of today's committee hearings, Lord Arbuthnot, a member of the Horizon compensation advisory board and a long-time campaigner on the Horizon scandal, said he would like redress for subpostmasters to be finalised by the end of the year.

Europe director at Fujitsu, Paul Patterson, also answered questions about his firm's role in the scandal

Appearing before the Business and Trade Committee, he said: 'This has gone on for more than 20 years. And if we can sort it out by the end of the year, that would be a welcome change. Let's hope we can get it sorted out before August.

'It's essential for these people who are living hand to mouth, and some of them still bankrupt, that there's money to be paid as soon as possible.

'I hope it is a matter of weeks, rather than months. In some cases it will be a matter of months. But it must not be a matter of years, it mustn't spill into next year.'

Dr Neil Hudgell, executive chairman at Hudgell Solicitors, told MPs that only three of his former subpostmaster clients who had been criminally convicted had received compensation.

He said: 'Within the convicted cohort of clients that we have, of the 73, three have been fully paid out.'

He told the Business and Trade Committee: 'It sounds perverse to say this, but I'm not sure that enough resources are thrown at it in terms of the right results into the right areas.

'For example, routinely with the overturned conviction cases it's taking three to four months to get a response to routine correspondence.'

Asked by committee chairman Liam Byrne if government bureaucracy was 'dragging its feet', he replied: 'That's the only logical conclusion that that I can come to.'

Mr Bates told Sky News before the hearing: 'I have one concern, and it's to get the compensation right, that's it.

'They should be moving heaven and earth to get it done and get it done fast.'

Speaking before this morning's committee, Ms Hamilton said Fujitsu 'should pay if there's wrongdoing'.

She said: 'Fujitsu, if they're in it up to their necks, then they will have to pay but we won't know that until the inquiry has done its work. If there's wrongdoing then they should pay.'

When asked what she would like to here from the IT firm today, Ms Hamilton said: 'Well, no one ever says sorry, not in the way I'd like to see sorry or hear sorry. Sorry is an easy word isn't it.'

Kevin Hollinrake, the Post Office minister who has argued that Post Office figures found responsible for the scandal should be jailed, is to appear at noon.

Rajbinder Sangha, a former member of Fujitsu's fraud and litigation support office, is due to face questions from the public inquiry's counsel.

Alan Bates, the subpostmaster who has campaigned for justice following the Horizon scandal, said today some victims of the scandal have died while waiting for compensation

Jo Hamilton, a wrongfully convicted former subpostmaster, said she felt she was being treated 'like a criminal' all over again during the compensation scheme

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last week announced that the wrongly prosecuted in England and Wales could have their names cleared by the end of the year under fast-tracked legislation after growing pressure to take more serious action.

Those whose convictions are quashed are eligible for a 600,000 compensation payment, while Mr Sunak offered 75,000 to subpostmasters involved in group legal action against the Post Office.

The Prime Minister has faced calls to go further and bar Fujitsu from securing Government contracts and pursue the firm for compensation payments.

The Horizon software started to be rolled out in Post Office branches across the UK in 1999 and over the subsequent years a series of subpostmasters were prosecuted over missing funds.

In 2019 the High Court ruled that Horizon contained a number of 'bugs, errors and defects' and there was a 'material risk' that shortfalls in Post Office branch accounts were caused by the system.
A gang of five masked thieves were caught on camera ransacking a million-dollar home in California while the family was out on a camping trip.

The family, who lived in the community in Ventura County for 18 years, was left in total shock after the gang of robbers entered their home at 6:30pm on January 12 and stole their valuable and sentimental possessions.

'I have a really hard time sleeping in my bed. I have a hard time being in my own house,' the owner said.

Five masked intruders were caught on horrifying home surveillance cameras as they broke the lock on the Camarillo home's back gate and made their way inside.

They also broke a motion-sensor spotlight during their rampage so that no one would be alerted to their misdeeds.

The gang of five thieves can be seen here breaking into the home, walking through the door before their rampage

The family, who lived in the community in Ventura County for 18 years, was left in total shock after the gang of robbers entered their home at 6:30pm on January 12 and stole their valuable and sentimental possessions

Five masked intruders were caught on horrifying home surveillance cameras as they broke the lock on the Camarillo home's back gate and made their way inside

The thieves trashed the home within a matter of minutes - stealing dozens of items and leaving the rest of the family's belongings sprawled on the floors.

Speaking to KTLA, the victim, who was identified by her first name Aimee, said: 'They took lots of jewelry, cash, cameras, they took silverware, just easy, little things that were fast to pick up.

'You couldn't even walk on the floor. It was just everywhere.

'They took my children's baby jewelry. They took my father's special things that are all I have left of him, my grandmother's things.'

Speaking about how she feels, Aimee said: 'So violated and unsafe.'

The robbers had left the scene by the time that Aimee's son, 20, returned home from the gym. He did not go on the family camping trip.

Camarillo Police and the Ventura County Sheriff's Department launched an investigation, but the family said they are not hopeful about seeing any of their stolen items again.

No arrests have been made in the case.

The thieves trashed the home within a matter of minutes - stealing dozens of items and leaving the rest of the family's belongings sprawled on the floors

Speaking about how she feels, Aimee said: 'So violated and unsafe'

The robbers had left the scene by the time that Aimee's son, 20, returned home from the gym. He did not go on the family camping trip

The robbers can be seen here barging through a door (left)

In November last year, one Los Angeles homeowner made headlines after he pulled a gun on two masked intruders who attempted to break into his house.

The father, who has not been identified, was approached by one of the masked robbers from behind as he walked up to his home in the affluent Mid-City neighborhood.

The homeowner then reached for his gun and started a shootout with the intruders.

'There was nothing in my house that was worth dying for. But I was willing to die for my family,' the man told KABC.

He added that his five-month-old baby, wife and nanny were all in the house at the time of the incident. The average house price in Mid-City is more than $1m.

The terrifying incident comes as crime in Democrat-run Los Angeles has soared following the defund police movement. The lax law enforcement has sparked an exodus of residents to Republican states such as Texas and Florida.
The infant, Myra, survived the near-fatal incident but has remained in critical condition

A five-month-old baby from Ohio miraculously survived after being shot in the face, with police claiming it was her grandmother who purposely fired the gun.

Mia Desiree Harris, 43, was indicted on Friday on five felonies after she allegedly shot her granddaughter Myra on December 9 in Liberty Township, Ohio - approximately 25miles from Cincinnati.

Before she allegedly aimed the gun at the young child, Harris is claimed to have first fired the weapon at other family members and punched one in the face during an argument, according to court records.

The grandmother has been charged with four counts of felonies assault and one count of improperly discharging a firearm at or in habitation. She is being held at Butler County Jail on a $1.5million bond and is expected in court at 1pm on Tuesday.

Myra survived however she was recently sedated due to seizures and pressure on her brain, according to a GoFundMe page set up by her aunty TaMia Carter.

'Please continue to keep her in your prayers. She's fighting so hard,' Carter wrote.

Mia Desiree Harris, 43, shot her five-month-old granddaughter in the face on December 9 in Liberty Township, Ohio

The infant, Myra, survived the shot to her face but has remained in critical condition and has undergone two surgeries

Prior to being shot, the baby was brought into a bedroom in an attempt to avoid the danger as Harris opened fire early that morning, it is alleged.

Harris, Myra's paternal grandmother, is accused of firing a handgun though the bedroom door multiple times before going on to break the door down and aiming at the baby's mother, but missed.

The accused allegedly went on to shoot the child in the face as she laid on the bed in the room.

The grandmother then fled the scene around 1.50am before she was pulled over on I-75 for driving in the opposite direction, according to the Butler County Sheriff's Office.

Harris refused to pull over and eventually lead authorities back to the scene of the crime and drove back to the town house, where she was apprehended, police say.

Myra was immediately rushed to UC West Chester Hospital before she was flown to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. She has undergone two surgeries and remains in critical condition.

In the chilling 911 call that the infant's mother made the day of the gruesome attack, she said: 'My baby's been shot, my baby's been shot.'

'Someone shot your baby,' the 911 operator responded.

'Yes...Lord, please save my baby.'

Harris was indicted on Friday on five felonies. She was charged with four counts of felonies assault and one count of improperly discharging a firearm at or in habitation

Myra is pictured with her mother. A GoFundMe page has been created to help support the family

Harris, the paternal grandmother of Myra, first shot at the baby's mother but missed. She then went on to point the gun at her grandchild who laid on the bed in the bedroom

Witnesses went on to confirm that Harris was the shooter. She also 'made several admissions' to investigators, Detective Daniel Turner said during a court testimony last month.

The grandmother told detectives that her family was attempting to 'take all of her money and leave her' and that she wasn't going to let that happen.

'They crucified her, so she crucified them,' Turner said.

Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser told Fox19 NOW: 'Words do not do justice to the magnitude of the allegations.'

'This case will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and I thank Sheriff Jones for his excellent investigation.'

At the beginning of the investigation, Jones said that the case was 'one of the most disgusting, vile criminal acts' that he's ever seen.

'What makes it even worse is this is the baby's grandmother. The baby is handing onto life as we speak. It's in God's hands now.'

Though Myra survived, she was recently sedated due to seizures and pressure on her brain

After the shooting, Harris fled the scene but soon lead authorities back to the scene of the crime and drove back to the town house, where she was apprehended

Myra's mother said that her main focus is supporting her child as her and her family try to navigate the challenging circumstances

Donations from the GoFundMe page are set to pay for medical bills, a new home and help the child's parents who aren't working as they spend time with Myra.

A message from the infant's mother was also included on the donation page.

'I ask for no evil to be said I ask for peace and prayers. I ask that no one speak on this situation in a negative light. Mental health is so much bugger than what anyone talk about and please check up on the people around you and the people you love,' the mother said.

'My daughter was loved by the person that did this to her and we as the victims asked for no hate on any side be said.'

She then expressed that her main focus is supporting her child as her and her family try to navigate the challenging circumstances.
Gen Z are especially being targeted as employer's claim they lack 'soft skills'

Workers forgot how to dress and act in the office due to the pandemic

Over half of U.S. companies are forcing their employees to attend etiquette classes to remind them how to dress and act in the office after working from home during the pandemic.

Workers returning to the office after years of doing their jobs at home have forgotten basic etiquette and workplace norms.

Office culture has become so unprofessional that companies are enlisting business training companies to teach their employees how to dress for the office as well as basic standards for respecting shared spaces - like kitchens and communal desk space.

Companies are specifically targeting Gen Z employees - who had little experience with pre-pandemic office environments and aren't accustomed to the professionalism required in offices.

More than 60 per cent of businesses will send their workers to office etiquette classes by 2024, according to a July survey of 1,548 business leaders by ResumeBuilder.com.

Over half of U.S. companies are forcing their employees to attend etiquette classes to remind them how to dress and act in the office after working from home during the pandemic

Office culture has become so unprofessional that companies are enlisting business training companies to teach their employees how to dress for the office as well as basic standards for respecting shared spaces - like kitchens and communal desk space

Maryland-based company Business Training Works , which companies are enlisting for help with etiquette, suggest that employees opt for conservative clothes and steer clear of crop-tops, miniskirts, halter tops and camisoles

Professionals suggest you ditch 'casual Friday' and 'emulate the style of those whose positions you would like to have'

The survey found that two-thirds of companies that have already offered the classes say they've been 'highly' successful.

Business leaders believe that Gen Z specifically struggle with 'soft' skills - like taking constructive criticism and keeping controversial topics such as politics and religion out of the office.

When it comes to office attire - work from home culture allowed employees to wear sweatpants or even pajamas on the job, and now it seems that workers have forgotten how to dress to impress.

Maryland-based company Business Training Works, which companies are enlisting for help with etiquette, suggest that employees opt for conservative clothes and steer clear of crop-tops, miniskirts, halter tops and camisoles.

The company also said it's time to put an end to wearing trainers to work unless you're hitting the gym on your lunch break, and even then it's not optimal.

Bosses were shocked to see their employees returning to work wearing blue jeans with holes in them.

Professionals suggest you ditch 'casual Friday' and 'emulate the style of those whose positions you would like to have.'

Along with dress code - Business Training Works and other etiquette classes cover topics such as making polite conversation, writing professional emails, making polite eye contact and taking appropriate lunch breaks.

Although these skills seem like common knowledge - standards have clearly slipped since the pandemic.

Some of the biggest companies like KMPG, Deloitte and PwC are implementing these training programs for their newer employees

Along with dress code - etiquette classes cover topics such as making polite conversation, writing professional emails, making polite eye contact and taking appropriate lunch breaks

Companies are specifically targeting Gen Z employees - who had little experience with pre-pandemic office environments and aren't accustomed to the professionalism required in offices

Some of the biggest companies like KMPG, Deloitte and PwC are implementing these training programs for their newer employees.

The Swann School of Protocol would complete one or two jobs a month pre-pandemic, but now their help is being enlisted up to six times a month, according to the company's founder Elaine Swann.

'The soft skills that are necessary to have a harmonious workplace were not being used' when everyone was home working in their pajamas, she said. 'Utilizing those skills is almost like a muscle. If you're not using that muscle, it can become weak.'
Gordon Brown today blasted Fujitsu for 'misleading' ministers over the Horizon IT system as he demanded they pay compensation to victims of the Post Office scandal.

The ex-Labour prime minister heaped more pressure on the Japanese-based firm to stump up cash for hundreds of sub-postmasters caught up in the widespread miscarriage of justice.

Speaking to ITV News from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Brown demanded Fujitsu take 'responsibility' for their actions.

The former premier also expressed his hope the victims of the scandal 'get justice'.

But Mr Brown, who was Chancellor when the faulty Horizon software began being introduced by the Post Office, denied his Treasury took key decisions over the contract.

He insisted it was a 'business department issue' at the time he was in charge of the nation's finances.

Gordon Brown blasted Fujitsu for 'misleading' ministers over the Horizon IT system as he demanded they pay compensation to victims of the Post Office scandal

Public anger at the treatment of sub-postmasters has grown after an ITV drama - titled Mr Banks vs The Post Office and starring Toby Jones - returned the issue to the spotlight

Tony Blairs government considered ditching the Horizon IT project in 1998 due to fears it was flawed.

Gordon Brown, then chancellor, tells @ITVJoel it wasnt the Treasurys decision to push ahead, saying Fujitsu mislead ministers https://t.co/RoBPDvN3vJ pic.twitter.com/nLQD718PLp  ITV News (@itvnews) January 16, 2024

Fujitsu created the faulty accounting software called Horizon that made it appear as though money was missing from Post Office branches.

More than 700 branch managers were handed criminal convictions in what has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history.

A public inquiry into the scandal is ongoing and public anger at the treatment of sub-postmasters has grown after an ITV drama - titled Mr Banks vs The Post Office - returned the issue to the spotlight.

This has also seen a fresh focus on how Fujitsu, despite their role in the scandal, has won nearly 200 public contracts with a value of about 6.7billion over the past decade.

Mr Brown told ITV News he had not been invited to give evidence to the ongoing inquiry into the Horizon scandal.

'I cannot say that I can look back on the Treasury documentation on this and find that it was the Treasury that made the decision on this - it wasn't,' he said.

Asked if he felt sorry over the scandal, the ex-PM said: 'I feel sorry that... look people have lost their livlihoods, they've lost years of their lives.

'Some people actually have been driven to attempted suicide or suicide as a result of what's happened.'

Pressed on whether he felt responsible over the treatment of sub-postmasters, he replied: 'I feel that all of us who were involved in any respect in this have got to take some responsibility for this.

'But equally, at the same time, I think we've got to distinguish between those people who knew there was a problem and didn't act on it, and those people who negotiated the contract in the first place.'

Fujitsu Europe director Paul Patterson told MPs he was 'truly sorry' for the role his firm played in the scandal

Downing Street has suggested the Government could seek to claw back a possible 1billion compensation bill for sub-postmasters from Fujitsu, if the inquiry finds the firm is to blame.

Asked if he agreed Fujitsu should pay compensation, Mr Brown said: 'Of course the company should pay compensation.

'You cannot be a contractor to the government and hope to get any more contracts, which I think they still have, unless you take responsibility for the actions you have been responsible for.

'Clearly the government, ministers and officials were misled about this, the Post Office was clearly misled.

'But, of course, you cannot excuse the Post Office for not actually acting when they knew there was a real problem affecting individuals.'

The former premier also suggested 'the levels of compensation will probably have to be higher to take into account of all the legal costs, as well as the mental turmoil' that sub-postmasters have faced.

Mr Brown's comments came as Fujitsu Europe director Paul Patterson apologised to sub-postmasters.

He also admitted to a committee of MPs there is a 'moral obligation' for the technology giant to contribute to the compensation.

'We were involved from the very start. We did have bugs and errors in the system,' Mr Patterson told the House of Commons' Business and Trade Committee.

'And we did help the Post Office in their prosecutions of subpostmasters. For that we are truly sorry.'
This is the terrifying moment a skier's path down a Tahoe mountain slope was blocked by a huge black bear.

Danielle Brill was visiting Heavenly Mountain Resort with her family on January 12 when the animal caught her eye as another skier was making their way down the resort's Mombo run.

The Sacramento snowboarder quickly pulled out her phone to record as the skier was able to dodge the animal, before she filmed it darting across the white powder and heading for a tree.

'It was adrenaline,' Brill told ABC7 News. 'I think he got spooked and started running full force.

'He just wanted to get out of there and I'm glad I wasn't in the line of full force running.'

Danielle Brill of Sacramento, California, spotted a black bear getting into the path of another skier while she was snowboarding down the the Mombo run at the Heavenly Mountain Resort in Lake Tahoe

     !



A snowboarder named Danielle told me she came across this bear Friday afternoon while on vacation with family at Heavenly.



She stayed away but saw a skier try & approach the bear. The bear then ran trying to get away.



A bear pic.twitter.com/iwkrOaqIZu  Dion Lim (@DionLimTV) January 15, 2024

Brill kept her distance while recording the bear, who ran toward her after it was spooked by a skier behind him

In another video, the animal was seen running away as it was approached by a skier wanting a closer look.

'When the guy spooked him and (the bear) was running towards me in the 23 second video,' she told SFGate.

'That was scary and I wanted to get away as quick as possible.'

She said the bear was 'very gentle' and the heart-stopping moment was 'exciting'.

Brill, who kept her distance, did the right thing in giving the unexpected guest space.

BEAR League executive director Ann Bryant: 'Bears have a boundary line that they're comfortable with you being that.

'When that man was coming up behind him, that was it - he had to get out of there.'

The snowboarder first spotted the bear casually hanging out and climbing up a tree. She was staying at the resort last week with her family

Brill was nervous when the black bear ran toward her but told a news anchor that seeing the animal was 'exciting' and it was 'very gentle'

Social media users have been trashing the male skier on X for attempting to get close to the bear and scaring the animal away

Footage of the encounter posted to X (formerly Twitter) profile triggered a wave of viewers to lash out at the skier who attempted to move closer.

'Poor bear,' one person wrote.

'Why would someone try to get close to a bear? So dumb?' asked another.

'Probably to take a selfie,' someone else replied.

Daily Mail has reached out to Brill for additional details.
A 38-year-old Quebec man has been found guilty for starting a series of devastating forest fires - which lead to hectares worth of damage and displaced hundreds.

Brian Pare has plead guilty to staring 14 forest fires, including fires in Chapais and Lake Cavan, at a courthouse in Chibougamau in Quebec.

Pare, who has been detained since his arrest, said little during the hearing, only responding 'yes' to a series of questions from the judge.

He had been charged 13 counts of arson and one count of arson with disregard for human life.

It is unclear if the court has already determined his punishment or will hold another hearing.

Brian Pare has plead guilty to staring 14 forest fires, including fires in Chapais and Lake Cavan, at a courthouse in Chibougamau in Quebec

He has been found guilty for starting a series of devastating forest fires - which lead to hectares worth of damage and displaced hundreds

Prosecutor Marie-Philippe Charron told the court the damage the Pare's actions had caused in the country and how police were able to arrest him.

She told the court that two of the 14 fires set by him had forced the evacuation of around 500 homes in Chapais in June 2023.

It has been reported at the time that around 80 forest fires were burning on June 1, including eight that were 'out of control,' according to SOPFEU, a fire prevention agency.

At a press briefing on the same day, Mayor Isabelle Lessard said the evacuation order is not being lifted 'given that the fire is still uncontrolled and still threatening.'

The young mayor resigned from her position in November after 'suffering the effects of burnout' from handling the wildfires.

One of the largest fires ignited by Pare was in Lake Cavan and burned 873 hectares of forest, she further told the court.

'On May 31 at 8.30pm, the town of Chapais issued a mandatory evacuation order due to the raging fires, in particular the fire at Lake Cavan as well as the airport fire, two fires that are included in the charges and were cause by the accused,' Charron said.

Prosecutor Marie-Philippe Charron told the court the damage the Pare's actions had caused in the country and how police were able to arrest him

She told the court that two of the 14 fires set by him had forced the evacuation of around 500 homes in Chapais in June 2023

One of the largest fires ignited by Pare was in Lake Cavan and burned 873 hectares of forest, she further told the court (picture post-fire)

The devastating wildfire in Lake Cavan was the first of the five fires the convicted ignited between May 31 and June 1

The devastating wildfire in Lake Cavan was the first of the five fires the convicted ignited between May 31 and June 1.

This fiery spree had come three days after the Quebec government banned open fires in or around forests due to dry weather conditions.

Investigators who began to probe into the cause of the five fires soon discovered that none of them were started naturally.

Charron told court that evidence was found indicating that some of the fires had been criminally set.

She said police first interviewed Pare on June 2, after he had been seen in the area where a fire had started and was considered a witness.

While he denied causing the fires, police began to suspect Pare as he 'demonstrated a certain interest in fires' when being questioned.

Aerial footage of a wildfire burning in British Columbia, Canada on June 7, 2023

Emergency resources are being stretched across Canada as the wildfires continue on both the east and west of the nation

Around the same time, he had also begun to post about Quebec's record-breaking forest fire season on his social media pages, according to officials.

They said some of the posts were claims that the fires had been deliberately set by the government to trick people into believing in climate change.

Charron further told the court ideology and behavior matched a profile of the suspect developed by provincial police specialists and officials soon gained a warrant to install a tracking device on Pare's vehicle.

On September 1 and 5, 2023, the tracking device showed he was at the locations where other fires had started.

He was ultimately arrested on September 7 and admitted to the police that he had ignited nine of the fires.

The prosecutor told the court: 'At this point, the accused admitted he was the one who started the fires and, as his main motivation, claimed he was doing tests to find out whether the forest was really dry or not.'

A pre-sentencing report has been ordered that will consider both Pare's mental state and the risk he poses to public safety. It will be submitted by April 22.
Shell has suspended all Red Sea shipments after Houthi rebels launched strikes on oil tankers navigating the trade route, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The British oil giant on Tuesday declined to comment on the report which cited insiders who stated that the suspension was indefinite. Oil prices rose by around 1 percent, but analysts said the actual impact on output had been limited.

A tanker chartered by Shell carrying Indian jet fuel was last month targeted by the jihadists. The vessel was attacked by a drone and harassed by rebel boats.

The Houthis, Iran-backed Islamist militants who control Yemen, have stepped up attacks on cargo and military ships in the Red Sea amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Shell has joined other big firms in swerving the Red Sea - which accounts for around 12 percent of total seaborne oil trade. BP last month paused all shipments, while Qatar Energy did the same this week.

FILE PHOTO: Houthi military helicopter flies over the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea in this photo released November 20, 2023

Oil prices rose by around 1% on Tuesday, as investors weighed the impact of tensions in the Middle East. The geopolitical risk premium on oil prices may find a ceiling unless production is shut in, analysts said. "In the absence of actual and palpable impact on oil output prices will remain well within the current $72-$82 range," PVM analyst Tamas Varga said in a note.

Shell's move comes after the US today released images of Iranian missile parts and other weaponry from a ship bound for Yemen seized in a raid last week that saw two of its commandos go missing.

Meanwhile, a new ship came under suspected fire from the Houthis in the Red Sea and sustained some damage, though no one was wounded, officials said.

The raid marks the latest seizure by the US Navy and its allies of weapon shipments bound for the rebels, who have launched a series of attacks threatening global trade.

The attacks, U.S.-led retaliatory strikes and the raid all have raised tensions across the wider Middle East, which also saw Iran conduct ballistic missile strikes in both Iraq and Syria.

The SEAL raid happened last Thursday, with the commandos launching from the USS Lewis B. Puller backed by drones and helicopters, with the U.S. military's Central Command saying it took place in the Arabian Sea.

The SEALs found cruise and ballistic missile components, including propulsion and guidance devices, as well as warheads, Central Command said. It added that air defense parts also were found.

'Initial analysis indicates these same weapons have been employed by the Houthis to threaten and attack innocent mariners on international merchant ships transiting in the Red Sea,' Central Command said in a statement.

Images released by the U.S. military analyzed by The Associated Press showed components resembling rocket motors and others previously seized. It also included what appeared to be a cruise missile with a small turbojet engine - a type used by the Houthis and Iran.

The U.S. Navy ultimately sunk the ship carrying the weapons after deeming it unsafe, Central Command said. The ship's 14 crew have been detained.

The Houthis have not acknowledged the seizure and Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A United Nations resolution bans arms transfers to Yemens Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Tehran has long denied arming the rebels, despite physical evidence, numerous seizures and experts tying the weapons back to Iran.

Meanwhile Tuesday, a missile struck the Malta-flagged bulk carrier Zografia in the Red Sea. The vessel had been heading north to the Suez Canal when it was attacked, the Greek Shipping and Island Policy Ministry said.

Iranian-made missile components bound for Yemen's Houthi seized off a vessel in the Arabian Sea. U.S. Navy SEALs seized Iranian-made missile parts and other weaponry from a ship bound for Yemen's Houthi rebels in a raid that saw two of its commandos go missing, the U.S. military said Tuesday

This undated photograph released by the U.S. military's Central Command shows what it is described as the vessel that carried Iranian-made missile components bound for Yemen's Houthi in the Arabian Sea. U.S. Navy SEALs seized Iranian-made missile parts and other weaponry from a ship bound for Yemen's Houthi rebels in a raid that saw two of its commandos go missing, the U.S. military said Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (U.S. Central Command via AP)

The ship - managed by a Greek firm - had no cargo on board and sustained only material damage, the ministry said. The crew included 20 Ukrainians, three Filipinos and one Georgian.

Satellite-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed the Zografia still moving after the attack.

The British militarys United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which monitors incidents in the Mideast's waterways, earlier acknowledged an attack in the vicinity of the Zografia.

Since November, the Houthis have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea, saying they were avenging Israels offensive in Gaza against Hamas . But they have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for global trade.

U.S.-led airstrikes targeted Houthi positions on Friday and Saturday. In response, the Houthis launched a missile at a U.S.-owned bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden, further raising the risks in the conflict.

The SEALs traveled in small special operations combat craft driven by naval special warfare crew to get to the boat. As they were boarding it in rough seas, around 8 p.m. local time, one SEAL got knocked off by high waves and a teammate went in after him. Both remain missing.
A cult leader who allegedly told his followers to starve themselves to prepare for the end of the world has been charged with murder after mass graves filled with 429 dead bodies was found in a Kenyan forest.

Kenya's director of public prosecutions said on Tuesday that Paul Mackenzie, along with more than 90 others, will be charged with murder, manslaughter, radicalization, cruelty and child torture, among other crimes, after the bodies were dug up last April.

The more than 400 bodies, which include children, have been dug up from dozens of mass graves in the remote Shakahola forest, in southeast Kenya.

Most showed signs of starvation, but many, including children, bore markings that indicated they had been abused.

Mackenzie, currently imprisoned after being convicted of running an illegal film studio for his church last November, and his underlings are accused of telling followers of the Good News International Church to starve themselves to prepare to enter heaven.

Paul Mackenzie (pictured) and his underlings are accused of convincing followers of the Good News International Church to starve themselves to death

Dozens of mass graves filled with 429 bodies were found in a remote Kenya forest

Investigators dug up the bodies, many of them being children

Mackenzie denies the charges, claiming that he could not have caused the deaths of the many hundreds found in mass graves as he closed his church down in 2019.

The top official in charge of Kenya's prosecutions, Mulele Ingonga, pushed the charges in response to pressure from a magistrate in the coastal county of Kilifi who threatened the prosecution to charge the suspects within two weeks, else the court would release them.

For months since the arrests last April, prosecutors had asked the court for permission to keep holding church leader Paul Mackenzie and 28 others while they looked into the case that shocked Kenyans with the discovery of mass graves and allegations of starvation and strangulation.

Principal Magistrate Yousuf Shikanda declined the latest request to hold the suspects for an additional 60 days, saying the prosecution had been given enough time complete investigations.

Investigators began looking into the church after police rescued 15 emaciated parishioners from Mackenzie's church in Kilifi county in Kenya's southeast, following a tipoff from a local rights group. Four died after the group was taken to a hospital.

Investigators began looking into the church after police rescued 15 emaciated parishioners from Mackenzie's church

Cults are common in Kenya, which has a largely religious society

Mackenzie denies the charges, claiming that he could not have caused the deaths of the many hundreds found in mass graves as he closed his church down in 2019

Survivors told investigators the pastor had instructed them to fast to death before the world ends so they could meet Jesus

Survivors told investigators the pastor had instructed them to fast to death before the world ends so they could meet Jesus.

The tipoff suggested that there were shallow graves in the area filled with the bodies of at least 31 of Mackenzie's followers.

Mackenzie turned himself into police the month before the bodies were found, after two children starved to death in the custody of their parents.

He was released on bail for the Kenyan equivalent of just 560.

Cults are common in Kenya, which has a largely religious society.

Kenya's interior secretary Kithure Kindiki said following the discovery of the bodies that the case was 'the clearest abuse of the constitutionally enshrined human right to freedom of worship.'

Attempts to regulate religion in the majority-Christian country have been fiercely opposed in the past as attempts to undermine constitutional guarantees for a division between church and state.
The family of a New York City teen killed while subway surfing have revealed they wished they had checked his social media, which was full of the dangerous stunts.

Alam Reyes, 14, fell off a Coney Island bound F Train in Brooklyn on Friday and died at the scene.

Now his heartbroken half-brother has revealed the teenager followed multiple accounts that posted pictures and videos of subway surfing around the city.

'Now that you go to his social media, you see who he's following, who's his friends,' Diego Tinoco, told the Daily News.

'You see the videos people post of subway surfing, you realize now it's too late.'

Alam Reyes, 14, fell off a Coney Island bound F Train in Brooklyn on Friday

Despite the best efforts of emergency responders, the boy was pronounced dead at the scene

'I spoke to him the day he died,' Tinoco, 32, revealed, 'I just said good morning because I was going to work.'

'He was a nice kid, he had a lot of friends, he just hung out in the wrong circle.'

Tinoco said his brother ditched class at Landmark High School in Chelsea and went subway surfing with a friend.

The friend continued on to the next stop after Reyes fell at the elevated Avenue N station in Midwood above McDonald Avenue.

'Investigate more on social media to see who they're following, to see who they're hanging out with,' Tinoco warned other families.

'It clearly shows his friends were subway surfing.

'There's a lot of them. I saw a lot.'

'There's a lot of kids doing it,' he explained.

Last year, the MTA reported 928 instances of people riding outside, on top of, or in between trains - compared to just 206 in 2021. Pictured: A Washington DC Metro subway train

Jay Thirunarayanapuram, 15, was discovered on June 20 by the tracks near the Rhode Island Avenue station in Washington DC

Adding: 'They're doing it just for posts.'

People on McDonald Avenue saw blood in the street and then saw a sneaker fall from the tracks overhead, Ernesto Galindo, who works at Vinnie's Pizza told the daily News.

'It was a red and white Nike,' Galindo said.

'Then the fire department, the cops, and the ambulance came. It was chaos. We were in shock. We are still in shock.'

'I don't know why the kids do these things. It's so dangerous,' he added.

Jevon Fraser, 14, also died subway surfing when he fell from a train in Queens in June

Last year four other teens including Jay Thirunarayanapuram, 15, died while surfing a subway.

Jay had been filming himself 'subway surfing' moments before he died.

In another of the recent tragedies, 14-year-old Jevon Fraser died after riding on top of a No. 7 train in Queens last June.

City officials have been battling the rise of the dangerous trend and last year, the MTA and the mayor's office launched a campaign aimed at youths.

In 2022 the MTA reported 928 instances of people riding outside, on top of, or in between trains - compared to just 206 in 2021.

The NYPD has also begun deploying drones to catch subway surfers in real time.

'Another innocent life has been lost, and it should not happen,' New York City Transport President said in a statement following Reyes' death.

'I implore parents to talk with their children and teachers to speak with their students, riding on top of subway trains is reckless, dumb and the consequences can be lethal,' said Davey.
MANZINI  Some legislators say they are already swimming in debt due to an influx by some of their constituents seeking assistance with school-related expenditure.

The legislators, who are in their fourth month in office, said despite being in debt due to financial commitments emanating from their election campaigns during the 2023 General Elections, they could not send back their constituents empty-handed. The Members of Parliament (MPs), who engaged this publication, said they were alive to the economic challenges a majority of emaSwati faced as they lived within the same communities.

Assisting

Others said they were assisting those who were vulnerable with school fees, stationery and school uniforms prior to them assuming office in the 12th Parliament. Some of them called for a review of the school funding system as they supposed that this was a national issue given the high rate of unemployment in the country, which as per the Labour Survey of 2021 by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, stood at 33.3 per cent.

Somntongo Constituency MP Sandile Nxumalo said there was an influx of people seeking assistance with the school-related expenditure. He said in dealing with the needs of the constituents, they met as an inkhundla council to engage on the resources they could raise to contribute towards the requests.

Debts

The unfortunate part is that we are still paying debts accrued from the campaigns we had as a council; however, we cannot let the people go empty-handed. We offer whatever we can raise at any given instance, he said. Nxumalo said it was not enough and understanding the dynamics of the constituents played a role in the disbursement of the assistance. He said this was an issue which parliamentarians needed to find a long lasting solution for.

The politician said the request for school-related expenditure was not an isolated issue, but it spoke to the poverty challenges which engulfed the country.

This issue is serious and if the youth cant be kept in schools, they will come across people who will be their handlers and shall expose them to things which can be a problem for the country in the long run, Nxumalo said. Also, Kubuta Constituency MP Masiphula Mamba said the month of January was synonymous with people seeking financial aid to meet various obligations.

He said: This is understandable as the nation, through Sibaya, raised various concerns revolving around the economic challenges. School fees are too high and the number of unemployed people increased a lot due to COVID-19. Mamba said he anticipated the requests from constituents and had planned around it. He said they discussed the peoples needs with the inkhundla council and tried to assist where possible.

Sacrificing

The legislator said being a politician was not a get-rich quick scheme, but meant sacrificing in some instances and putting their needs first.

Mtsambama Constituency legislator Sibongile Mamba said the requests were coming in thick and fast. She said the requests varied between top-up fees, school uniforms and shoes. In anticipation of this, Sibongile said she had set aside a fraction of her resources to deal with the needs of the people. The politician requested not to divulge her budget but said it was purely reserved for the needs of her constituents.

We are in a very impoverished area and we know some of the needs by the families and we had planned for them. In the past few weeks, I have attended to over 50 people with various requests for assistance, she said. Also, Matsanjeni South MP Sabelo Ndlangamandla said the requests were seemingly a national issue. He expressed an understanding of the various challenges his constituents experienced. Ndlangamandla said his constituency was one of the most impoverished in the country and had minimal job opportunities. He said the needs forwarded to him included buying school uniforms, stationery and also paying school fees.

We are lucky to have been able to get people to sponsor us with school shoes. We are now seeking assistance from sponsors to pay school fees for high school going learners as the fees are too steep, Ndlangamandla said.The legislator said there was a need for the country to review its policy on education and avail it for free to all learners as the social challenges were making it hard for others to access education.Also, Shiselweni II Constituency MP Bhekithemba Bhembe said: This is a national issue which needs the input of every person in the country. If resources were available, education would be made free as the fees are too high for unemployed and or low earning citizens.

Requests

Bhembe said there was no day when they did not receive school-related requests. The MP said where possible, he assisted while he was also looking for sponsors to assist with more resources. Gege Constituency MP Magesi Dlamini said: We make do with what we have and assist as much as possible; however, our resources are minimal compared to the needs brought by the constituents. Dlamini said he sought political office aware of the challenges as he had seen it happening with previous politicians in the past terms. On the other hand, Zombodze Emuva Constituency legislator Ntando Mkhonta said the situation was bad such that on average, there were five requests per day.

Uniforms

Mkhonta said where he could assist with school uniforms; he shared his resources while directing those seeking school fees to file applications with the Department of Social Welfare. It is worth noting that during the Peoples Parliament  Sibaya  in October 2023, a number of people appealed that politicians should look into setting a uniform amount for school fees as they claimed that some were too exorbitant. They also called upon government to lead by example such that it should pay grants to schools on time so that parents could follow suit.
The head of the Post Office has blamed a 'culture of denial' for delays in giving compensation to subpostmasters caught up in the Horizon scandal.

Nick Read, who became CEO of the firm in 2019, admitted to MPs on the Commons' Business and Trade Committee that the Post Office had dragged its feet in the past on compensation.

The Post Office boss insisted to the bipartisan committee - which predecessor Paula Vennells also appeared at in 2015 - that he had not seen 'any evidence' that executives had misled ministers or the courts.

He also appeared to concede that the potential liabilities faced by the Post Office could reach up to 1billion as a result of the scandal and related compensation claims, and revealed he had met with 45 subpostmasters in person to apologise for their treatment.

During the fiery committee meeting, which Mr Read attended alongside Fujitsu's Europe director Paul Patterson, MPs said they were 'shocked' by a perceived lack of answers as to how the nightmare was allowed to continue for so long.

Nick Read, chief executive of the Post Office arrives at Portcullis House in Westminster ahead of the Commons' Business and Trade Committee meeting

Mr Read told MPs there had been a 'culture of denial' at the Post Office which led to it dragging its feet over compensation claims from subpostmasters

It comes as anger continues to grow over the Horizon scandal, which saw more than 700 Post Office staff wrongly convicted after faults by the IT system developed by Fujitsu incorrectly said money was missing from their branch accounts.

The Government has been scrambling to exonerate them and pay out compensation to those affected, with public anger rising after ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office cast a new light on the scandal.

MPs are examining what more can be done to deliver compensation for victims of what has been labelled one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.

Mr Read joined Paul Patterson, the Europe director of Fujitsu in a terse committee meeting in London this morning.

Addressing MPs, Mr Read said he felt a 'culture of denial' was behind the Post Office dragging its feet over compensation for subpostmasters, before adding he had not 'seen any evidence' that Post Office executives misled ministers, the courts or Parliament at any stage.

READ MORE HERE: Post Office Scandal LIVE Advertisement

Asked whether he believed the Post Office prosecuted the innocent knowing the case to be flawed, he said: 'I sincerely hope not. But I have not had evidence to that effect.'

Challenged over why his organisation fought the provision of compensation to those who were unfairly punished for so long, Mr Read said: 'A culture of denial. I can only assume that that is the case.

'It's a lack of understanding and perhaps a lack of curiosity of really what is going on. I think that is the most important cultural challenge that I have in my organisation is to ensure that everybody in the organisation sees and understands absolutely what has been going on.

'I don't think that was the case certainly when I joined in 2019.'

He also declined to say whether he thought Paula Vennells misled Parliament in 2015 when she appeared before the same committee.

Mr Read was asked if he would have said in 2015 that prosecutions against subpostmasters were sound, given he now was able to go back and read board minutes and documents from the period.

'I don't think I can give you a straight answer on that ... I don't think it's my place to judge that,' he told MPs.

He repeatedly said it was for the inquiry to look back at the scandal and how it was handled by former executives.

'My job is to make sure that redress is speedily delivered to our victims and most importantly that I run the Post Office of today. That is my job. My job is not the investigative role that is being played by Sir Wyn, that is clearly his job. He initiated an independent inquiry. It's now a statutory inquiry.'

Fujitsu boss Paul Patterson pictured leaving the Houses of Parliament following this morning's committee meeting

Paul Patterson, Europe director at Fujitsu, told MPs he was 'truly sorry' for the role his firm played in the scandal

Mr Read was criticised for failing to say when the organisation knew remote access to subpostmasters' Horizon systems was possible.

When asked about the timeline, Nick Read told MPs: 'I couldn't give you an exact date on that.'

Business and Trade Committee chairman Liam Byrne replied: 'Why can you not answer that question? It is fundamental to this case.

'You must surely have had time in four years to cut to the heart of this issue, which is when did the Post Office know remote access to terminals was possible.'

Mr Byrne added: 'I think we are both surprised and disappointed that you've not got that question answered on the table.'

Mr Read and Mr Patterson both expressed support for the Government's move to quash subpostmasters' convictions.

Asked whether the technology giant accepts that everyone should have their names cleared, Mr Patterson said: 'It's very clear from the inquiry the answer would be yes.'

Mr Read said his organisation shared that view, adding: 'We're very clear that we want to ensure that redress is done as quickly as possible. And the mass exoneration that the minister has put forward, we welcome that.'

He added that he would be willing to personally meet victims of the scandal so he could apologise to them face-to-face and that 45 had done so so far.

Mr Read also appeared to concede that the organisation could face liabilities of around 1 billion due to the Horizon scandal and related compensation claims.

Former subpostmaster Jo Hamilton, who was wrongly convicted during the Horizon scandal, leaves the hearing at Portcullis House today

The 1 billion figure was put to by MPs, who began by saying he did not recognise it, but, pressed again said: 'I think what has been done in the last 10 days in terms of the potential to mass exonerate, that is going to obviously generate a lot of people coming forward.'

Asked for an assessment of the 1 billion estimate, he said: 'I think it's unlikely to be that size, but it may well be.'

READ MORE HERE: The Post Office could change accounts on the Horizon system remotely and without postmasters knowing from 2001, whistleblower claims Advertisement

He added he does not think that the organisation will perform any more private prosecutions in the future.

'I don't think the Post Office would want to carry out private prosecutions,' he told the Business and Trade Committee.

'I've been very clear on my watch they won't and I see no reason why they should continue to do so.'

Mr Read added that there could still be hundreds of people who can still go through the historical shortfall scheme (HSS) and that they should come forward.

'I'm concerned. We specifically set up a scheme that we thought was simple and the idea was that people wouldn't need legal representation,' he said.

'Now, clearly, if that is going to be problematic, or if we believe that there is consequential loss or other issues associated with it, we have an independent appeals process.'

He said he recognised that people may not want to go through that process.

'I can understand that. But, by the same token, 2,400 people have been through the HSS scheme, 82% of them have accepted offers. There may well be hundreds more out there and they should come forward.'

But MPs expressed their frustration at what they saw as a lack of answers from the Mr Read and Mr Patterson.

Labour MP Ian Lavery said: 'I've asked three or four questions - I haven't heard one answer yet.'

Concluding the session, chairman Byrne said Mr Read's responses had left members 'fairly shocked actually'.

Former subpostmaster Alan Bates told MPs that the bid to get compensation after the Horizon scandal was 'tied up in bureaucracy'

He was joined by Jo Hamilton who said she felt 'gaslit' and was made to believe missing funds were her fault

He added: 'You've not been able to supply the committee with key events in the timeline, such as when the Post Office first knew that remote access was possible.

'You've told us that you haven't kept evidence safe about what money was paid to you inappropriately and therefore is owed back.

'And you can't estimate the scale of compensation.

'We are grateful for the moral commitment from Fujitsu that they will share in the compensation payment.

'But that leaves us many questions which we need to put to the minister, which is the subject of our next session.'

Mr Read took over at the Post Office in September 2019, after the scandal emerged, and last year handed back around 54,000 in bonus payments linked to the firm's co-operation with the public inquiry into the crisis.

READ MORE HERE: Moment daughter of bankrupt Post Office victim Lee Castleton breaks down in tears as she reveals being bullied at school after her father was wrongly accused of stealing 25,000 Advertisement

Sat next to him during the committee meeting was Paul Patterson, the Europe director of Fujitsu, who issued a grovelling apology over his firm's role in the scandal.

Addressing MPs, Mr Patterson began by apologising on behalf of the Japanese firm.

He said: 'Fujitsu would like to apologise for our part in this appalling miscarriage of justice,' he says.

'We were involved from the very start.

'We did have bugs and errors in the system and we did help the Post Office in their prosecutions of the sub-postmasters and for that we are truly sorry.'

Mr Patterson told MPs the company gave evidence which was used to send innocent people to prison during the Horizon scandal.

'Yes, there was evidence from us.

'We were supporting the Post Office in their prosecutions. There was data given from us to them to support those prosecutions.

'The information shared with the Post Office as part of our contract with them was very clear - the Post Office also knew there were bugs and errors.'

Mr Patterson said he is not aware why his company did not take action despite knowing there were glitches in the Horizon system.

'I don't know. I really don't know. On a personal level I wish I did know. Following my appointment in 2019 I've looked back at those situations for the company and the evidence I've seen, and I just don't know,' he told MPs.

'What I do know is the inquiry is looking at this very point of who knew what and when, and the action they did or did not take to draw attention to the concerns. I just don't know.'

He also admitted that Fujitsu could access the systems in Post Office branches 'remotely' in what the committee suggested was a 'covert' manner, something that he denied.

'It is clear the Post Office were certainly aware of that remote access - and that was clear for some period of time,' he said.

Mr Patterson has been in his current role since 2019 but has worked for Fujitsu since 2010.

The committee hearing comes after the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, starring Toby Jones (pictured) as Alan Bates

The drama shined a light on the stories of subpostmasters who were caught up in the Horizon scandal. Pictured: John Hollingworth and Toby Jones in the programme

Earlier in the morning MPs heard from former subpostmasters Alan Bates and Jo Hamilton, who have campaigned for compensation for victims of the scandal.

Mr Bates, on whom the ITV series centred, said he was 'frustrated' that it was taking so long to get compensation for those who were wronged.

'There's no reason why full financial redress shouldn't have been delivered by now. It's gone on for far too long, people are suffering, they're dying - we're losing numbers along the way - and it just seems to be tied up in bureaucracy,' he said.

'This scheme started in March 2022 and that's 22 months ago now and we still have very few cases that have gone through and come out the other end. It's frustrating to put it mildly.'

READ MORE HERE: Touching moment Mr Bates vs the Post Office actor Will Mellor shares hug with former postmaster Lee Castleton who was pursued for 25,000 he didn't steal Advertisement

Explaining how the scandal was allowed to happen Mr Bates said a lot of subpostmasters felt there was a 'financial gun held to their head if they start kicking off or start raising too many problems with the Post Office'.

He said: 'When you take on a Post Office, you actually invest a large amount of money in that business,' he explains.

'As happened in my case, when they fell out with me, they walked off with that amount of money.'

Ms Hamilton, a subpostmaster who was wrongly convicted and who described the process of getting compensation as 'nonsense'.

She told MPs: 'It's almost like you're a criminal all over again, you've got to justify everything - forensic reports for this and forensic reports for that and you put it into the machine and months later it comes back with a query.

'It's almost like you're being retried because everything you say you'd like they say 'well justify that' and it just goes on and on and on. Everything has to be backed up. It's just nonsense.'

She added that when she was wrongly convicted Post Office lawyers had convinced her 'it was all my fault and I wasn't tech savvy at all'.

Ms Hamilton said: 'It just makes me so angry that they'd literally gaslit me for about three years and turned me into a basket case.'

Jo Hamilton, a wrongfully convicted former subpostmaster, said she felt she was being treated 'like a criminal' all over again during the compensation scheme

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last week announced that the wrongly prosecuted in England and Wales could have their names cleared by the end of the year under fast-tracked legislation after growing pressure to take more serious action.

Those whose convictions are quashed are eligible for a 600,000 compensation payment, while Mr Sunak offered 75,000 to subpostmasters involved in group legal action against the Post Office.

The Prime Minister has faced calls to go further and bar Fujitsu from securing Government contracts and pursue the firm for compensation payments.

The Horizon software started to be rolled out in Post Office branches across the UK in 1999 and over the subsequent years a series of subpostmasters were prosecuted over missing funds.

In 2019 the High Court ruled that Horizon contained a number of 'bugs, errors and defects' and there was a 'material risk' that shortfalls in Post Office branch accounts were caused by the system.
The UN has urged Alabama to halt the world's first nitrogen gas mask judicial execution later this month, saying it could amount to torture and violate US human rights pledges.

Kenneth Smith is set to be executed in Alabama on January 25 for the murder-for-hire of Elizabeth Sennett, a pastor's wife who was beaten and stabbed repeatedly at her home in the north of the state in 1988.

For the first time, Alabama officials plan to carry out the execution by binding a mask to the convict's face and connect it to a cylinder of nitrogen intended to deprive him of oxygen.

It would be the first judicial execution tried anywhere in the world using asphyxiation with an inert gas, experts say.

UN officials in Geneva want Alabama to abandon its experiment in death-by-nitrogen

Kenneth Smith, 58, was convicted in a 1988 murder-for-hire slaying of a preacher's wife

Speaking in Geneva, Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, said on Tuesday that the novel method could be illegal.

'We have serious concerns that Smith's execution in these circumstances could breach the prohibition on torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as well as his right to effective remedies,' said Shamdasani.

'These are rights that are set out in two international human rights treaties that the US is bound by,' she added.

Shamdasani also warned that Smith would not receive sedatives before his death sentence is carried out  something that large animals typically receive when they are euthanized.

Alabama and other US states have struggled to get the barbiturates used in lethal-injection executions, thanks in part to a European ban on exporting them to the US.

Some states have revived old-fashioned firing squads, while Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Alabama have introduced new gas-based procedures.

'It is worrying that this is gaining ground as a method of execution,' Shamdasani said.

Alabama's officials plan to use canisters of nitrogen in judicial executions, like those shown in this photo

A file photo showing Alabama's lethal injection chamber at Holman Correctional Facility. Several US states have struggled to get the barbiturates used in such executions, thanks in part to a European export ban

Elizabeth Sennett, 45, was found dead on March 18, 1988, in the couple's home in Alabama's Colbert County. She had been stabbed eight times in the chest and once on each side of neck

The UN opposes all types of judicial executions, especially those that are deemed 'cruel.'

Other UN experts have also sounded the alarm over the planned execution.

The execution method would use the mask to replace breathable air with nitrogen, causing death from lack of oxygen.

Nitrogen makes up 78 percent of the air that humans inhale and is harmless when mixed with proper oxygen levels.

The nitrogen would be administered for at least 15 minutes or for five minutes after Smith's heart flat-lines  'whichever is longer,' says the state's execution protocol.

Smith's lawyers have tried  and failed  to persuade US judges to abandon the execution by nitrogen hypoxia.

Prosecutors said Smith and John Forrest Parker were each paid $1,000 to kill Elizabeth Sennett for husband Charles Sennett Sr., who was deeply in debt and wanted to collect on insurance

Elizabeth Sennett, a pastor's wife and grandmother, was beaten and stabbed repeatedly at her home in the north of the state in 1988.

Sennett's husband, who was the pastor of the Westside Church of Christ in Sheffield, killed himself one week after her death when the murder investigation started to focus on him as a suspect, according to court documents

John Forrest Parker, the other man convicted in the slaying, was executed in 2010

They said that the method violates a constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

The mask, which is a fitted seal over his nose and mouth, would interfere with his ability to pray with his spiritual adviser, lawyers claimed.

They also said the mask might not fit properly, or that Smith could vomit and end up in a vegetative state.

The Alabama attorney general's office has called those risks speculative and unlikely.

Prosecutors said Smith was one of two men who were each paid $1,000 to kill Sennett, a 45-year-old grandmother and pastor's wife.

This was on behalf of her husband, the Rev. Charles Sennett, who was deeply in debt and wanted to collect on insurance, the said.

Smith, 58, is one of only two people alive in the US to have survived an execution attempt.

Alabama botched his previously scheduled execution by lethal injection in November 2022 when multiple attempts to insert an intravenous line failed.

With agencies.
In a normal workplace, job 'perks' might include free snacks, a gym membership or even a corporate retreat - at the world's most powerful companies, it's a plane.

S&P 500 spent over $65 million in 2022 flying their executives around the globe on private jets.

Spending on private flights is up about 50 percent on pre-pandemic levels, according to an analysis by the Wall Street Journal.

Over 420 executives at 216 top companies were offered the perk in 2022.

One of the biggest spenders was Meta Platforms that splashed $6.6 million on CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg's personal flights in 2022 - 55 percent more than in 2019.

Both the number of executives using the perk and the spending per executive has jumped since 2019

Meta spent the most on CEO Mark Zuckerberg's travel

They splashed out $6.6 million in 2022 on flights for Zuckerberg

They say the flights are necessary for his security

Many of the companies say they have to offer private flights to be compliant with security advice - but critics say it is a waste of money.

According to data from executive data firm Equilar, behind Meta, the firms with the highest spending on private flights were casino and resorts company Las Vegas Sands, with $3.2 million and aerospace company Lockheed Martin with $2.1 million.

Constellation Brands, Ford Motor and Charter Communications all spent over $1 million on executives' personal flights.

PepsiCo spent $776,000 on personal flights for five executives in 2022, twice as much as in 2019.

Two-thirds of this went on flights for CEO Ramon Laguarta who reportedly needed the flights for safety and efficiency reasons.

The figures include non-business-related flights. For example, travel to other companies' board meetings or into work from distant homes are some of the uses.

Critics say the spending shows big corporations are too eager to please their executives.

Rosanna Landis Weaver, an executive-pay analyst at As You Sow, told the Journal: 'The vast majority of S&P 500 companies do not offer this perk.'

Data shows a massive jump in company spending on executives personal private plane travel

Tesla and X owner Elon Musk's private jets took 441 flights in 2023, flying over 1,160 hours

PepsiCo spent $776,000 on personal flights for five executives in 2022, two-thirds of which went on flights for CEO Ramon Laguarta

Palo Alto Networks spent $650,000 subsidizing personal flights for CEO Nikesh Arora in the year ended July 2022, the following year the bill rose to $1.8 million.

In an October securities filing officials said: 'There was a bona fide, business-related security concern for Mr. Arora and credible threat actors existed with both the willingness and resources necessary for conducting an attack on Mr. Arora.'

Most of the companies' plane spending went to the CEOs, accounting for over two-thirds of the cost.

Explaining their spending on Zuckerberg's travel in a company filing, Meta wrote: 'Mark Zuckerberg uses private aircraft for travel in connection with his overall security program.

'Since March 2022, we have chartered a private aircraft that is indirectly and wholly owned by Mr. Zuckerberg and operated by an independent charter company for business and personal travel by Mr. Zuckerberg.

'On certain occasions, Mr. Zuckerberg may be accompanied by guests when using such aircraft, and certain of our other personnel may also use such aircraft for business travel.'

Goldman Sachs in 2020 acquired two Gulfstream jets, including a G280 similar to the one above

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon took seven trips on the company jet in as many weeks, all while raging that employees should return to the office and stop working remotely

It's not the first time companies have come under fire for their CEO's use of private jets.

In 2021, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, took seven weekend trips on the company's private jet in as many weeks.

CEO David Solomon's trips over seven weekends were mostly to the Bahamas, including an exclusive enclave on the pink-sand beaches of Barbuda, sources told Bloomberg at the time.

Meanwhile, LVMH CEO, Bernard Arnault was forced to sell his company's private jet in 2022 after enthusiasts started tracking the plane and sharing its location online.

He said he now rents a plane whenever he flies.
MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell has predicted Nikki Haley has no chance of winning the GOP presidential nomination, claiming most Republican voters will reject her due to her immigrant heritage.

Haley, who was born in South Carolina to Sikh parents originally from India, came in third in Iowa's caucus on Monday night with 19 percent, behind Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis.

During live coverage of the caucuses, O'Donnell cited recent CBS polling showing that more than 80 percent of registered Republicans agree with Trump's claims that immigrants who enter the US illegally are 'poisoning the blood' of the country.

'That means that 81 percent of the Republican primary electorate believe Nikki Haley has poisoned blood and is poisoning the blood of the United States,' O'Donnell said.

'So, that as a roadblock for Nikki Haley is impossible. But it also shows you what you're up against in any kind of campaign against voters like that, the convertability of voters like that to anything other than the Trump view of the world is impossible,' he continued.

MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell (right) has predicted Nikki Haley has no chance of winning the GOP presidential nomination, saying that most Republican voters will reject her as the child of immigrant parents

Haley, who was born in South Carolina to Sikh parents who immigrated from India, came in third in Iowa's caucus on Monday night with 19 percent

'There's no campaign ad, there's no speech you can make. There's no, you know, Republican who Chris Christie might be able to convince some of them. Not them. Not any of the 81 percent. Not one of them can be converted,' said O'Donnell.

Co-host Joy Reid agreed, saying: 'And the bottom line is, you know, as much as we, you know, we want to respect and it's been interesting listening to these voters, you must understand that the Republican base is overwhelmingly those people.'

At another point in the broadcast, Reid commented that it was an 'elephant in the room' that Haley is 'a brown lady, who's got to try to win in a party that is deeply anti-immigrant.'

A Haley campaign spokeswoman pointed DailyMail.com to Haley's response to that remark in a Fox News interview on Tuesday morning.

'Joy Reid lives in a different America than I do,' said Haley. 'I mean, yes, I'm a brown girl that grew up in a small rural town in South Carolina, who became the first female minority governor in history, who became UN ambassador, and who is now running for president. If that's not the American dream, I don't know what is.'

'You can sit there and give me all the reasons why you think I can't do this, I will continue to defy everybody on why we can do this,' she added.

Haley added: 'We're not a racist country...we've never been a racist country.'

There has been no credible claim or indication that Haley's parents, a lawyer and a professor who moved to South Carolina from Canada in 1969, entered the US without authorization.

On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly claimed that immigrants who enter the US illegally were 'poisoning the blood' of the country, echoing words used by the genocidal dictator Adolf Hitler.

Haley, a former United Nations ambassador, previously told the Des Moines Register that Trump's inflammatory remarks on immigration are 'not constructive' and 'not necessary.'

'I think we need to secure the border,' she said. 'And I don't think you have to have that rhetoric to do it. That rhetoric is not helpful.'

Alongside Haley in the GOP primary, former presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy is also the child of immigrants from India.

Ramaswamy dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump on Monday night, after finishing a distant fourth in Iowa with roughly 7.7 percent of the vote.

As of 7.30am, Trump had more than 51 percent of the votes with Haley and DeSantis scrapping in second place and third place

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Iowa Events Center after winning the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday

Supporters wait for former US President Donald J. Trump to arrive to celebrates his win in the 2004 Iowa Caucus at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa on Monday

Trump led the field with 51 percent, followed by DeSantis with 21.2 percent, narrowly beating Haley's 19.1 percent.

Since October, when he first rolled out his 'poisoning the blood' rhetoric about immigrants, Trump has repeatedly doubled down on the line despite furious criticism.

Trump's detractors, including President Joe Biden, have pointed out that Hitler frequently used the phrase 'blood poisoning' to refer to the supposed threat posed by other ethnic groups.

The Nazi leader wrote in his memoir Mein Kampf: 'All great cultures of the past perished only because the originally creative race died out from blood poisoning.'

On the campaign trial Trump dismissed any comparison to Hitler and insisted he had never read Mein Kampf.

Earlier this month, a DailyMail.com/TIPP Poll revealed that more Americans agree with Trump's rhetoric than disagree with it.

The poll showed 47 percent of respondents said the Republican was 'correct' while 46 percent objected to his language.

'They're poisoning the blood of our country,' Trump said of undocumented immigrants at a rally in New Hampshire

The difference is within the poll's margin of error  but nevertheless shows greater support for a stark message than many expected, shining light on a key issue in this year's presidential race.

The nationwide survey of 1,247 voters found that nearly half said Trump spoke correctly, including 30 percent who agreed strongly with his comments.

Similar numbers disagreed with the former president.

White respondents, men, and people aged over 25 were more likely to endorse Trump's message than others.

Unsurprisingly, Republican-leaning voters were much more likely to agree that immigrants were 'poisoning the blood' in America than were Democrats.
Prince William could become the first British monarch in five centuries to break official ties with the Church of England.

There is already talk in royal circles as to whether the Prince of Wales will take the title of Supreme Governor of the Church of England when he eventually becomes king.

William greatly admires and respects the Church, and enjoys attending services at significant times of the year, such as Christmas and Easter.

But he feels he is no different to the average Briton in that he is not a regular worshipper.

And that has led to speculation as to whether he may consider not taking on the formal role that British monarchs have held since the time of Henry VIII.

The topic is aired in a fascinating new biography of King Charles by renowned royal writer Robert Hardman, which is being serialised in the Daily Mail.

Prince William could become the first British monarch in five centuries to break official ties with the Church of England. Above: King Charles with his son and grandson Prince George in an official picture marking his Coronation

The final part in tomorrow's Mail explores the relationship between His Majesty and his son and heir.

Of their approach to religion, Hardman writes of William: 'In royal circles, it is no secret that he does not share the King's sense of the spiritual, let alone the late Queen's unshakeable devotion to the Anglican church.'

A senior Palace figure says: 'His father is very spiritual and happy to talk about faith but the Prince is not. He doesn't go to church every Sunday, but then nor do the large majority of the country. He might go at Christmas and Easter but that's it.

'He very much respects the institutions but he is not instinctively comfortable in a faith environment.'

William, 41, was confirmed into the Anglican faith in 1997, when he was 14, but is understood to only attend a 'handful' of services each year, mainly connected with official engagements or on special occasions in the Christian calendar, as well as weddings and christenings.

The late Queen Elizabeth was a devout Christian, with a deep sense of religious duty, who attended church on a weekly basis.

King Charles, despite his interest in other faiths, particularly Islam, has always been a regular churchgoer.

The revelation about William comes at a time when Christianity is already under threat from public apathy, particularly among the younger generation.

UK church membership has plummeted from around 30 per cent of the population a generation ago, a recent Church Statistics report found.

There is already talk in royal circles as to whether the Prince of Wales will take the title of Supreme Governor of the Church of England when he eventually becomes king. Above: William and Catherine with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby at Prince George's christening in 2013

If figures keep falling membership is expecting to hit just 8.4 per cent of the population by next year, only around 2.4 million people.

In 2022 the average weekly church attendance at Church of England services was 654,000, a drop of 228,000 people since 2009.

That year 36 per cent of people who were regular attendees of Church of England services were aged 70 or over, with just under half being aged between 18 and 69, and only 18 percent being 17 or younger.

The monarchy, however, has a unique relationship with the Anglican Church.

The sovereign holds the title 'Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England', and has done since Henry VIII broke with Rome in 1531.

In his or her coronation oath they also promise to maintain the Church.

Archbishops and bishops are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, who in turn considers the names selected by a Church Commission.

They take an oath of allegiance to the monarch on appointment, as do parish priests, and may not resign without royal authority.

Every five years the sovereign opens the General Synod, the supreme authority of the Church of England, and any 'law' passed by it has to be given royal assent.

The new book also reveals that another area where the King and his son differ is over their coronations.

William has indicated, Hardman says, that although he thought his father's was 'brilliant', his will be shorter - ideally around ann hour and ten minutes - and 'more discreet', certainly less 'spiritual'.

The Prince of Wales is also, says one aide, 'one of the least ideological people I have ever met' and will shy away from the academics and intellectuals his father likes to surround himself with with.

Another describes William as 'serious and pragmatic' and not prone to making 'lots of speeches'. He is instinctively wary of wading into controversy but wants to be more 'conventional and cautious'.

If there is one thing that causes King Charles to bristle, Hardman writes, it is commentators claiming he will be a caretaker until his heir - the 'change-maker'- takes over.

Those close to the King say that this is demonstrably wrong.

Princess Anne says: 'When you start much later in your life, inevitably you've got more experience to fall back on and you will have more opinions.'

Prince William and the Princess of Wales arriving for the Christmas Day church service at Sandringham last month with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, as well as Mia Tindall

Queen Camilla's sister, Annabel Elliott, agrees. She says: 'People keep talking about "he's a caretaker". And I don't see that at all, knowing we'll see quite a few changes.'

Another difference between the King and his eldest son is their living arrangements.

While William is deeply committed to his new role and links to Wales, he will permanently rent out his father's property there and has no plan to stay in it himself.

Nor will he have a grand investiture as Prince of Wales like his father's in 1969.

But most agree this is a good thing, with no appetite in Wales itself for any large-scale event.

William has also already made clear he does not see himself a shoe-in to follow his father as head of Commonwealth, and would potentially like to see that honour be shared out amongst the member nations themselves.

Some of their differences are more based on their belonging to different generations, however.

William apparently favours box sets instead of reading, one of the King's passions. Superhero movies are a particular favourite for the Prince of Wales, most notably Deadpool, about a wise-racking mercenary.

But father and son do get on better than they have done for a long time - and there are issues that bind them.

Hardman says like his father William absolutely refused to watch The Crown.

Prince William is seen at his brother's wedding in 2018. The pair were snapped talking to the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby ahead of the start of the ceremony

'The Prince... rolls his eyes when people say that 'it's just drama',' says a source close to him. 'Yet, he will not give it any greater publicity by complaining. He doesn't like the idea of being seen as a complainer all the time.'

Father and son have also been brought closer by the Harry debacle and he has come to appreciate his father's successes more - even though they do not share a passion for organic farming.

However, the King is a huge fan of his daughter-in-law. 'He thinks Catherine is doing a wonderful job, not just with her royal duties but also bringing up his grandchildren,' a friend tells the author.

Meanwhile, Charles III is very content to leave it to 'genetics and the Almighty' to dictate the length of his reign and plans to pack in as much as he can.

'I'm his closest in age and, you know, we don't always agree,' says the Princess Royal. 'But we both understand what is important about the monarchy. We both agree on that. It's understanding that the team has to pull together to make it work.'
Gilgo beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann was today charged with a fourth murder - that of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, a 25-year-old sex worker who vanished in 2007.

Heuermann was already been charged with the murders of three of the 'Gilgo Beach four' - Megan Waterman, Amber Costello and Melissa Barthelemy.

Today, after months of speculation, he was officially charged with Maureen's killing.

He denies all of the charges and says the DNA testing is not foolproof.

Speaking after the hearing, Heuermann's attorney Michael Brown said: 'He has maintained his innocence from day one. We had advance notice that it was coming, I explained it to him. He said "I am not guilty" , he is looking forward to fighting these charges.

'All along we've been told the evidence is unsuitable for nuclear DNA testing. There has bene testimony, lab reports that said it was incapable of having nuclear DNA testing.

'Those statistics are not very convincing.'

Rex Heuermann appears in court on January 16, 2023, charged with the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, a Long Island sex worker who vanished in July 2007. Her body was found three years later

Heuermann and his attorney listen as Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tiernay (left) addresses the court

Rex Heuermann's wife Asa Ellerup leaves court with their daughter. He was today charged with a fourth murder - that of Maureen Brainard-Barnes. Heuermann pleaded not guilty

Heuermann has been charged in the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello and Megan Waterman. He is the prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes

A female hair that was found on the belt used to bind Maureen's body was a match for Heuermann's wife, new charging documents reveal.

She and the children were out of town when Maureen vanished in July 2007 and have not been charged.

Dressed in a navy suit and white shirt, Heuermann pleaded not guilty to Maureen's murder today.

In new charging documents, prosecutors revealed today how police followed Heuermann's daughter, Victoria, on a Long Island Railroad train in May 2023.

They seized a discarded can of Monster Java, an energy drink, that she had been drinking from to test her DNA against the traces found on the victims' bodies.

Maureen was 25 when she vanished after taking the train from Connecticut to New York in 2007.

Rex Heuermann's disturbing April 2021 internet searches are revealed in new court filings

Heuermann was still contacting escorts in 2020. Above, an ad that he responded to that year

Details of Heuermann setting up a meeting with an escort in 2020

In May 2023, police followed Heuermann's 26-year-old daughter Victoria on the Long Island Railroad. Above, she is seen drinking from a can of Monster Java, an energy drink

Police seized the can once Victoria had discarded it and used her DNA to test against the traces found on the murder victims

DNA found on the buckle of the belt used to bind Maureen Brainard-Barnes' body was a match for Heuermann's wife

Her corpse was discovered three years later, bound by a distinctive belt that had a buckle with the initials 'WH' or 'MH' engraved on it. Investigators said it could have belonged to one of Heuermann's relatives.

Today, Heuermann's estranged wife Asa Ellerup and her daughter were among those in court. They sat in the back row of the public gallery.

Prosecutors say they were out of town when he committed the brutal slayings.

Ellerup's attorney Robert Macedonio spoke briefly to the press to reiterate that fact.

'Asa Ellerup and her children were not in the state when the murders took place. She has no involvement in this and has never had any involvement in this,' he said.

All four women were sex workers whose remains were discovered in a stretch of Long Island shorefront near Heuermann's home in 2010.

Another six bodies were discovered in a different patch of beach the following year. He has not been charged in those murders.

Brainard-Barnes' corpse was bound by a belt that had a buckle with the initials 'WH' or 'HM' on it

Heuermann, an architect who lived with his wife and kids in Massapequa Park when the killings occurred, has pleaded not guilty.

He was charged last year in a bombshell case development after a new team of detectives revisited the decade-old case and found traces of his DNA on some of the victims and the tarps they were wrapped in.

Police also traced phone calls made to some of the victims' families to the areas where Heuermann lived and worked.

The deaths had long stumped investigators and fueled immense public attention on Long Island and beyond, with the killings leading to the 2020 Netflix film 'Lost Girls.'

While Heuermann awaits his fate in jail, his estranged wife Asa Ellerup is preparing to take part in a blockbuster docuseries for Peacock.

The NBC streaming service insists she won't be paid for her participation, and says any profits from the show will not contribute to his defense.

The series is estimated by experts to be worth $1million.

Families of the women killed have tried to block her from profiting from the killings

Prosecutors say Ellerup was unaware of her husband's crimes. She filed for divorce not long after his arrest.
Cable news pundit Joy Reid claimed Donald Trump won the Iowa caucus because 'white Christians' believe he will 'return' the US to them.

Reid called the Midwest state 'hyper evangelical' and therefore full of voters who support the former president in his campaign to regain the White House.

Trump handily won the Iowa caucus on Tuesday night with 51 per cent of the vote in frigid conditions to kick off the primary season.

Reid discussed how overrepresented white Christians were in Iowa compared to the rest of the country on MSNBC coverage of the caucus.

Cable news pundit Joy Reid claimed Donald Trump won the Iowa caucus because 'white Christians' believe he will 'return' the US to them

Quoting Robert Jones, author of The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy, she said Iowa was 61 per cent white Christian, compared to 41 per cent in the whole US.

Raid said she earlier asked him why evangelicals were so supportive of Trump, despite him losing to President Joe Biden at the 2020 election.

'They see themselves as the rightful inheritors of this country, and Trump has promised to give it back to them,' she quoted Jones as saying.

Reid added that given this, white Christians didn't care how electable Trump was, or about any of his controversies.

'When you believe that God has given you this country, that it is yours, and that everyone who is not a white, conservative Christian is a fraudulent American, is a less real American, then you dont care about electability,' she said.

'You care about what God has given you.'

Reid revisited the topic later in the show, arguing the Democrats needed to confront the reality that 'white evangelicalism' had morphed into 'Christian nationalism'.

'White evangelical Christians of a certain mindset... [think] that they own this country,' she said.

'That immigrants, that brown people, that Hindus like Vivek Ramaswamy and his wife are illegitimate Americans. They are less legitimate Americans than they are.'

Ramaswamy dropped out of the race soon after only getting 7.7 per cent of the vote, and endorsed Trump in his concession speech.

Trump handily won the Iowa caucus on Tuesday night with 51 per cent of the vote in frigid conditions to kick off the primary season

Reid called the Midwest state 'hyper evangelical' and therefore full of voters (pictured at the caucus) who support the former president in his campaign to regain the White House

Reid added: 'Theyre not trying to convince people and win people over through politics. What theyre saying is, "we own this country, and everyone will bow down to us".'

At another point in MSNBC's coverage, Reid claimed not only did white Christian voters in Iowa reject Ramaswamy because of his race, but also Nikki Haley.

'The elephant in the room is she is still a brown lady who has to try to win in a party that is deeply anti-immigrant and accepts the notion that you can say immigrants a poisoning the blood of our country,' she said.

Trump last month, in one of his most controversial speeches, used what his opponents called Nazi ideology when discussing the migrant crisis.

'They're poisoning the blood of our country. They're coming into our country from Africa, from Asia, all over the world,' he said.

Reid referred to Trump questioning whether Haley, whose parents are Indian immigrants, was even born in the US and therefore eligible to be president.

'I don't care how much the donor class likes her... it's still a challenge, I don't see how she becomes the nominee of that party with Donald Trump still around, I can't picture it happening,' she said.

'Ron DeSantis' only argument for staying in it is he's the white guy, that he can still make the appeal to white people.'

Florida Governor DeSantis won 21 per cent of the vote in Iowa to Haley's 19 per cent. Both are still in the race and will contest the New Hampshire primary next week.

At another point in MSNBC's coverage, Reid claimed not only did white Christian voters in Iowa reject Ramaswamy because of his race, but also Nikki Haley

Reid claimed: 'Ron DeSantis' only argument for staying in it is he's the white guy, that he can still make the appeal to white people.'

Iowa is 83.7 per cent white and 4.4 per cent black, according to census data. The whole of the US is 58.9 per cent white, 13.6 per cent black, and 19.1 per cent Hispanic.

The state is 77 per cent Christian, but only 28 per cent call themselves evangelicals. For the whole of the US, this number drops to 24 per cent.

About 49 per cent of Americans are Protestants of any kind, and 23 per cent are Catholic - making Iowa only slightly more Protestant.

Reid was criticized online for making generalizations about Iowa voters that would land her in hot water if she was talking about any other group.

'If a white newscaster said that there were too many Muslims in Minnesota, they'd be fired immediately, sued, and probably driven into hiding,' one wrote.

Actor and director Robert Davi wrote: 'Imagine if a white joy reid said that "its a state over represented by black Christians... etc"

'I would say they are a disgusting ignorant elite bigot! If she said this- something needs to be done to hold her accountable for fanning racism and bigotry.'

One pointed out that Biden turned his 2020 campaign around with a big victory in South Carolina, where about 60 per cent of Democratic primary voters were black and heavily supported him

Actor and director Robert Davi criticized Reid online for making generalizations about Iowa voters that would land her in hot water if she was talking about any other group

Another pointed out that Biden turned his 2020 campaign around with a big victory in South Carolina where about 60 per cent of Democratic primary voters were black and heavily supported him.

'Was Joy Reid crying about disproportionate black influence on the democratic primary?' he wrote.

Jonathan Turley, chair of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, had a more measured take on Reid's remarks.

'Much like our politics, our media often seems captured by the most extreme elements of our society,' he wrote.

'However, the most concerning aspect is that this is just the beginning of January. We have to make it to November.'
A music teacher at prestigious Dulwich College repeatedly fondled two pupils during piano lessons, a court heard.

Martin Ball allegedly touched the boys when they were as young as eight and ten as he tutored them in the 80s and 90s.

The 89-year-old is accused of groping the boys on their chests, backs and groins while they were wearing their clothes during the course of music lessons.

Southwark Crown Court was told today that one of the students had complained about the alleged incidents in the 1990s but nothing was done.

Ball, who was pictured arriving at the court on Tuesday, denies 13 charges of indecent assault at the private school in southeast London.

Former teacher Martin Ball is pictured arriving at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday as he denies 13 charges of indecent assault

The first seven charges relate to the first boy when he was as young as eight and date between September 1987 and October 1992.

The second six charges against the second boy date back to when he was 10 and date between September 1990 and August 1995.

Julie Whitby, KC, prosecuting said: 'The charges relate to the sexual abuse of two school boys during the early 1990s.

'He was a music teacher at Dulwich College. The two boys were his pupils.

'One of the boys came forward in March 2021. He indicated that he had been touched by the defendant when he was at the school and that the touching was sexual.

'The touching was repeated during the course of these music lessons.

'Nothing happened. The abuse continued until 1995.'

After the first boy complained to police in March 2021, a second boy, who attended the school in the late 80s was traced and later made a statement.

The first alleged victim said in a video interview played to jurors: 'Basically every single lesson. every single time I had a piano lesson, he would passively touch me up and fondle me.'

Asked what Ball was like as a person he replied: 'He was very smiley, very likeable, actually, a very likeable man. Gentle.'

Asked when the alleged abuse began he said: 'I don't have a first memory, it started pre-puberty. I never knew it any different.

Ball is alleged to have repeatedly touched two pupils while he worked as a music teacher at Dulwich College. Pictured: Dulwich College in south London

'I never knew it not being there. There was no one day when I thought 'Oh, he is touching me'. It's just how it was.

'I don't remember anything being under clothing. It was always on top or over clothing. If he sat next to me his hand would be on my lap and often in direct contact with my genitals.'

Asked how often the touching happened he replied: 'It was most of the time. 'It would have been unusual for me to go there and for it not to happen. I can't remember thinking 'Oh, he didn't touch me that lesson'.'

Asked how it made him feel when he was touched by Ball the alleged victim said: 'I was pre-pubescent. Because I was not sexually aware or sexuall mature...I didn't have a point of reference to know it was wrong if that makes sense.

'As a boy I didn't know it was wrong and didn't know the sexual implication of it. That is how I read it now. I don't remember thinking 'You dirty old bastard'.'

'It was uncomfortable. He was a man and I was a boy.'

Asked about Dulwich College he said: 'It was very authoritarian and patriarchal. It was a 'don't speak unless you are spoken to' like environment.'

Former pupils of 45,000-a-year Dulwich College include Star Wars star Chiwetel Ejiofor, author P.G. Wodehouse, politician Nigel Farage and explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.

Ball, of The Drive, Beckenham, south London, denies 13 counts of indecent assault.

The trial continues.
'He has nowhere left to hide,' she said as she challenged him to debate her

The state may be Nikki Haley's last, best chance to bring down Donald Trump

Republican 2024 candidate Nikki Haley said she would not take part in any more campaign debates unless Donald Trump appeared, throwing down a challenge to the former president Tuesday morning as the focus moved to New Hampshire's primary.

Haley finished third in Iowa's caucuses on Monday night but has a better chance of slowing Trump's momentum in the Granite State.

'We've had five great debates in this campaign,' she said.

'Unfortunately, Donald Trump has ducked all of them. He has nowhere left to hide.

'The next debate I do will either be with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden. I look forward to it.'

'I love you Iowa but we're on to New Hampshire,' Nikki Haley told supporters on Monday night In Iowa as she offered herself as the best candidate to upend a Trump-Biden election

ABC News and WMUR are due to host a debate on Thursday night.

DeSantis said he stood by his commitment to appear.

'Nikki Haley is afraid to debate because she doesnt want to answer the tough questions such as how she got rich off Boeing after giving them millions in taxpayer handouts as governor of South Carolina,' he posted on X.

The two released their dueling statements after the results of the Iowa caucuses.

Trump took more than half the votes in the contest. He is on course to be the Republican nominee to take on President Joe Biden in November's election.

Analysts say New Hampshire next week may turn out to be the last, best chance to stop him.

'If Haley doesn't win in New Hampshire, if Trump wins in New Hampshire, the nomination is essentially his,' said Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center.

'This is do or die for the non-Trump Republicans who are left.'

Neither Haley nor DeSantis got the bump they wanted from Iowa, where they finished on 19 percent and 21 percent respectively, far behind Trump's 51 percent.

Both tried to claim they were now the best person to challenge Trump.

Haley laid down her challenge on Tuesday morning as attention shifted to New Hampshire

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis fired back that Haley was scared to debate him

In an extraordinary show of strength, Trump took every Iowa county bar one. Haley won Johnson County, home to the University of Iowa, by a single vote

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis finished second on 21 percent in Iowa but is it enough after he gambled so much on a strong result in the state, with its high proportion of evangelicals

It is Haley who has the better chance in New Hampshire next Tuesday. She has previously spoken of how voters in New Hampshire can 'correct" the Iowa result, and is running second in polls and just a handful of points behind Trump.

'Underestimate me, because that's always fun. I love you Iowa, but we're on to New Hampshire,' she told supporters on Monday night.

In contrast to Iowa, with its large evangelical population, New Hampshire is known for a more moderate brand of Republicanism and a more highly-educated voters.

Those play to Haley's strengths.

And anti-Trump groups have run campaigns to persuade Democrats to reregister as 'undeclared,' allowing them to take part in New Hampshire's 'semi-open primary.

Haley has already campaigned heavily in the state. And she is due to hold a rally in northern New Hampshire on Tuesday with the state governor, Chris Sununu, who has endorsed her.

As of 7.30am, Trump had more than 51 percent of the votes with Haley and DeSantis scrapping in second place and third place

Former President Donald Trump raises his fist in the air after he won the Iowa Caucus on January 15 as son Eric looks on

In contrast, DeSantis is running in single digits and made his way straight to South Carolina after the Iowa results, in a sign that he has all but given up on New Hampshire.

That leaves Trump urging his opponents to drop out so that he can concentrate on the business of beating Biden.

His victory speech on Monday had the magnanimous air of a man who had clinched the nomination, not a candidate who had won just the first contest.

'I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a good a good time together,' he said. 'We're all having a good time together.'

Tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy announced he was ending his campaign after finishing in fourth place.
Donald Trump wants his own version of the Russian Wagner mercenary group that is responsible to the president only, a former senior White House official has claimed.

Miles Taylor, who was chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security during the Trump presidency, said Trump wanted to create his own mercenary force which he would have complete control over.

He said while security officials managed to 'shut down these conversations', Taylor believes that if Trump wins the presidential election in November his attempts to create a mercenary group like Wagner would not be thwarted.

Speaking to journalist Robert Moore on 'Trump: The Return?', which airs on ITV1 and ITVX at 9pm tonight in the UK, Taylor said: 'When I was in the administration, Donald Trump wanted to create his own mercenary force in the United States military.'

'He saw what Vladimir Putin had with the Wagner group in Russia and he wanted to create his own version of this. This is a real story,' Taylor said, adding that he managed to shut down the conversations by saying it was not a viable approach.

'But the year after I left the administration, that conversation cropped back up and Donald Trump asked his national security council to look into this idea of creating a mercenary group responsible to the President only,' Taylor, who released his memoir 'Blowback' on his time serving under Trump in July 2023, said.

Miles Taylor, who was chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security during the Trump presidency, said Trump (pictured together in the Oval Office) wanted to create his own mercenary force which he would have complete control over

Speaking to journalist Robert Moore on 'Trump: The Return?', which airs on ITV1 and ITVX at 9pm tonight in the UK, Taylor said: 'When I was in the administration, Donald Trump wanted to create his own mercenary force in the United States military'

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during his caucus night watch party in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday night

'That's what we're talking about here. And I don't think in a second term those attempts will be thwarted,' Taylor, who endorsed Joe Biden in 2020, said in a sinister warning.

Taylor emerged as a hero of the anti-Trump movement with an anonymously published op-ed piece in 2018. At the time he was an official at the Department of Homeland Security, and described the president as 'impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective.'

'Blowback: A Warning to Save Democracy from the Next Trump' is set to be published on July 18

Meanwhile despite these warnings and Trump facing 91 felony charges across four criminal cases along with the fact he tried to overthrow an election, his Republican supporters are still standing resolutely behind him.

And his landslide victory at the Iowa caucus last night is proof of that. It took just half an hour for Trump's historic landslide victory to be called by TV networks as thousands of his die-hard supporters turned up to vote despite brutal sub-zero temperatures and icy roads in the Hawkeye state.

He finished with 51 percent of the vote, far ahead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on 21 per cent, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley on 19 per cent, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy on 8 percent.

There's a long way to go before a Republican presidential candidate is named, but conservative commentators such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich have already declared: 'Trump is the nominee. Get over it.'

For his supporters, this is music to their ears.

Geno DiFabio, a truck driver and former Democrat voter from the heartlands of Ohio, told Moore in his new documentary that he is looking forward to Trump making a triumphant return.

When asked whether he finds it disturbing that Trump is facing 91 charges and four court cases, DiFabio says: 'I don't care. I don't believe any of this is real, what they're doing to him.

'In my mind it won't be a convicted felon or a convicted ex-con being president. It'll be someone they tried to persecute and he'll be a hero to the people again.'

Geno DiFabio, a truck driver and former Democrat voter from the heartlands of Ohio, told Moore in his new documentary that he is looking forward to Trump making a triumphant return

One man said in the documentary: 'I was the Muslim for Biden campaign chair and today I denounce Joe Biden. We in the Muslim community loved him and today what you're seeing is betrayal.'

The former president, 77, said wife Melania's late mother Amalija Knavs was 'looking down' and would be 'proud' of the historic result

Former President Donald Trump raises his fist in the air after he won the Iowa Caucus on January 15

As of 7.30am, Trump had more than 51 percent of the votes with Haley and DeSantis scrapping in second place and third place

And President Joe Biden's support for Israel amid their bombardment of Gaza has seen him lose key support from voters within the Arab-American communities who helped him reach the presidency in 2020.

One man said in the documentary: 'I was the Muslim for Biden campaign chair and today I denounce Joe Biden. We in the Muslim community loved him and today what you're seeing is betrayal.

'So because of the betrayal, we are standing firm. I will vote for a Republican.'

When asked if he would vote for Trump in a presidential election against Biden, he said: 'Yes I would vote for Trump.'

There are fears among Biden supporters that this apathy and dislike for Biden over the Israel-Hamas war could be enough for Trump to win back the presidency if he becomes the Republican candidate on the ballot.

The documentary also features former New York mayor Rudi Guiliani speaking at an event where he calls America a 'fascist state'.

Guiliani, who led the effort to challenge the 2020 election result on behalf of Trump, is filmed telling a crowd: 'You're living somewhere that is closer to a fascist state.'

'Look at the difference in America when Donald Trump ran it,' Guiliani said to a cheering crowd.

Backstage, when asked about what America could expect from another Trump presidency, Guiliani said: 'The world can expect salvation. We no longer have to stop this country from becoming a socialist and in large part fascist country.'

When asked about the unsubstantiated claims, Guiliani says he is '100%' comparing Biden's America to Stalin's Russia. '100%. He hasn't made one decision in the interests of the United States,' Guiliani said without providing evidence to back up his claim.

For Miles Taylor, the former White House official said if Trump wins a second term, America should brace itself.

'My message would be batten down the hatches if he won the White House again we are at risk of that powder keg being let off,' he said.

'After witnessing the man up close I can tell you if he wins the White House presidency again it's the end of the American experiment.'

Trump's landslide victory in Iowa does now mean that the not-Trump vote remains divided with no clear challenger emerging between DeSantis and Haley. The split field could ease his path to the nomination.

Iowa voters have been influential over the years and have propelled candidates such as Barack Obama to the presidential nomination.

But it hasn't always been the best at predicting who will go on to win the presidency, as was the case in 2020 when Trump won all 99 counties in Iowa only to lose the election to President Joe Biden.

Indeed, Iowa Republicans selected Mike Huckabee in 2008 and Rick Santorium in 2012 - neither of whom won the presidential election.

And for some candidates who were defeated in Iowa - such as Ronald Reagan in 1980, George Bush in 1988 and Trump in 2016 - they all went on to win the election.

Indeed, in 2016, Trump lost in Iowa to Ted Cruz with only 37 counties voting for him but he went on to win the presidency.

But last night's record victory for Trump leaves him with a tighter grip on the GOP nomination - though it could take several more months for anyone to formally become the party's standard bearer.

The magnitude of Trump's victory, however, posed significant questions for both DeSantis and Haley. But neither candidate appeared poised to exit the race ahead of next week's New Hampshire primary.

Former President Donald Trump raises his fist in the air after he won the Iowa Caucus on January 15

For Haley, who finished third on 21 per cent, she will look for a strong performance in New Hampshire where she has polled as high as 45 per cent in recent weeks

And coming more than 30 points behind Trump in the Iowa caucus will be a huge blow for DeSantis - especially since previous Iowa delegates have backed conservative and religious candidates like him

In a preview of a remarkable balancing act Trump may have to manage in the months ahead, he was expected to be in court in New York on Tuesday.

A jury is poised to consider whether he should pay additional damages to a columnist who last year won a $5 million jury award against Trump for sex abuse and defamation. It's just one of multiple legal challenges facing the former president.

After visiting the court, Trump will fly to New Hampshire to hold a rally Tuesday evening.

Trump has made courtroom visits a part of his campaign - heading to court voluntarily twice last week while his opponents campaigned in Iowa - in a strategy designed to portray him as a victim of a politicized legal system. Among Republican voters, at least, the approach is working.

Trump's success at Iowa tells a remarkable story of a Republican Party unwilling or unable to move on from a flawed front-runner.

He lost to Biden in 2020 after fueling near-constant chaos while in the White House, culminating with his supporters carrying out a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol. In total, he faces 91 felony charges across four criminal cases.

The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing whether states have the ability to block Trump from the ballot for his role in sparking the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol. And he's facing criminal trials in Washington and Atlanta for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump has increasingly echoed authoritarian leaders and framed his campaign as one of retribution. He has spoken openly about using the power of government to pursue his political enemies.

He has repeatedly harnessed rhetoric once used by Adolf Hitler to argue that immigrants entering the U.S. illegally are 'poisoning the blood of our country.' And he recently shared a word cloud last week to his social media account highlighting 'revenge,' 'power' and 'dictatorship.'

Trump's legal challenges appear to have done little damage to his reputation. Many of his supporters view the charges through a political lens.

About three-quarters of Iowans responding to AP VoteCast said the charges against Trump are political attempts to undermine him, rather than legitimate attempts to investigate important issues.

'God called us to do that to support Trump,' said 64-year-old David Lage, donning a captain's hat at Trump's victory party.
MBABANE  At least E90 million may have gone down the drain, with the revocation of a licence for the mining and rehabilitation of the Bulembu Mine.

The proprietors of the mine, Salamander Magnesium, which is the parent company of Kobolondo Mining Swaziland (KMS), said it had spent this amount of money on planning and expenditure, since it was granted the licence in 2016. Government revoked the licence recently, citing certain failure by the company to meet stipulated timelines. However, the company is still hopeful that the investment will yield fruit.

Chief Executive Officer of Salamander Magnesium, Lloyd Birrell said his company had since resubmitted a rehabilitation mining application in the name of Kobolondo, now renamed Kobolondo Magnesium and submitted the full environmental impact assessment (EIA) for public scrutiny in October 2023. Birrell said a statement issued by the Government of Eswatini, alleging that the company had failed to meet timelines, was based on misinformation.

The Bulembu tailings dumps comprise 28 million tonnes of residues from the historical mining operations of Turner and Newell at the Havelock Asbestos Mine. These dumps are un-rehabilitated and shall contain approximately 13 million tonnes of ne and ultra-ne chrysotile asbestos, posing a serious environmental hazard and health risk. The conventional rehabilitation of these dumps, through cladding (covering with organic material), would cost in excess of E1.2 billion and cover-up, rather than eliminate, the hazard. He said that based on historical records, Salamander proposed the extraction of asbestos and potentially gold from the dumps and after preliminary work, a rehabilitation mining licence was granted to a local Kobolondo Mining (Pty) Ltd (Kobolondo) in late 2016 and notarised in late 2017.

Commenced

The company then commenced with a detailed drilling programme (3 807 metres), taking more than a year. It also conducted an extensive XRF and XRD evaluation of 1 254 composite samples. XRF and XRD (X-Ray fluorescence) refer to monitoring process activities to ensure efficient recovery of precious metals. Birrell further explained that the results of the drilling programme and analysis showed that the tailings contained no economically extractible gold, but signicant magnesium elements, leading Salamander to develop a new, complex rehabilitation strategy.

Once Salamander had identied the size and constituents of the resource, work commenced on a competent persons report, a 280-page document necessary for the raising of funds. At the same time, work commenced on an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Report, comprising stakeholder consultations and scoping report, geohydrological and hydrological baseline assessment, specialist botanical survey, bird and mammal survey and other factors. He said this assessment and resultant documentation was essential, as it was a requirement of the licence that the Eswatini Environmental Authority (EEA) had issued Kobolondo, with an environmental compliance certicate.

Extent

The CEO said the full extent of this process and the proposed rehabilitation and mitigation plan required extensive input, site visits and evaluation by officials from the EEA, given the hazardous nature of asbestos and potential exposure thereto. This process has taken several years. The 1 200-page Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and supporting documentation has been made available for public scrutiny. The most time-consuming and complex component of the project has been perfecting the process of extracting the minerals from the asbestos and ensuring, at the same time that the asbestos is chemically destroyed at a molecular level, which is a world-rst and a breakthrough in terms of asbestos abatement technology, he said.



After three years of intensive work, including the construction and extensive operation of a pilot plant, Salamander said it proved and patented a unique metallurgical process to extract magnesium sulphates and hydroxides from the chrysotile asbestos and did so on a commercially viable basis. In March 2022, Salamander advised the MMB, the ministries of Natural Resources, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Commerce and Finance that the project was ready for implementation, after several years of planning and expenditure in the order of E90 million.

Listing

He said the project was presented to multiple interested Eswatini investment companies and work commenced on a potential listing on the Eswatini Stock Exchange. In July 2022, Birrell said the commissioner of mines advised that the MMB was considering the cancellation of the licence, citing certain requirements of the licence that, in their opinion, had not been met. Salamander immediately provided the commissioner with a detailed rehabilitation mining plan and a comprehensive update on progress, including a detailed valuation of the project, with the extensive benets for Eswatini clearly set out, as per the MMB requirements.

The MMB was simultaneously requested to inspect the site and meet with the Salamander team, which comprised of multiple experts in mining, metallurgy, engineering, rehabilitation, health and safety, nance and administration, as well as all the local Eswatini advisors. The MMB did not accede to this request. On December 15, 2022, the commissioner of mines advised that the licence had been cancelled on October 17, 2022, citing reasons that were not raised in their correspondence of July 19, 2022, he said.

He said Salamander respectfully disagreed with those reasons, in writing.Multiple efforts were made by Salamander to engage with the MMB, without success. Many meetings were held with various ministries, including the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs and the Ministry of Natural Resources, in an attempt to resolve the situation. In July 2023, Salamander was approached by a South African mining investment company, who advised that it had been approached to do the rehabilitation project and whether Salamander wished to form a joint venture.



Salamander declined this approach, stating that it would be deploying its resources and patented technology elsewhere.

In August 2023, on request from the commissioner of mines, he said Salamander resubmitted a rehabilitation mining application in the name of Kobolondo, now renamed Kobolondo Magnesium and submitted the full Environmental Impact Assessment for public scrutiny in October 2023.
Alex Murdaugh's defense suffered a blow in court on Tuesday after a judge ruled that he cannot call a juror known as 'Egg Lady' to testify in hearings for a new trial.

Murdaugh appeared in a Columbia court on Tuesday for a pre-trial hearing, which would determine what evidence and testimonies the court will hear later this month.

Judge Jean Toal ruled that only the 12 jurors who convicted Murdaugh of his wife and son's murders, and the court clerk Becky Hill can testify, as the disgraced lawyer seeks a new trial.

'At present, I see no reason to call the alternates,... I think Im perfectly capable of evaluating what the jurors tell me,' Toal said, adding that she could change the ruling if Muadaugh's team provides supporting documents.

Toal, who is the state's former chief justice, also decided that the case's original judge, Clifton Newman, and the attorneys who tried it cannot be brought to the stand.

Murdaugh's lawyers earlier announced their plans to call juror 785, known as 'Egg Lady,' who was dismissed during closing arguments before infamously asking to retrieve a dozen eggs she had left in the jury room.

Alex Murdaugh, convicted of killing his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul, in June 2021, sits during a hearing on a motion for a retrial, Tuesday

Alex Murdaugh with his head in his hands during Tuesday's hearing

Alex Murdaugh grins as he chats to his attorney Dick Harpootlian

Judge Jean Toal ruled that only the 12 jurors who convicted Murdaugh of his wife and son's murders can testify as the disgraced lawyer seeks a new trial

Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill, pictured with Judge Newman, is being accused by Murdaugh's defense team of influencing the jury as they move for a retrial

The defense has claimed that a new trial is necessary because Colleton County Clerk of Court H ill engaged in improper behavior that affected the first trial's outcome by influencing the jury.

The disgraced lawyer was found guilty of the brutal murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul and sentenced to life in prison last March. In November, he was also sentenced to 27 years after admitting to dozens of financial crimes.

The defense claims Hill fabricated a Facebook post that showed juror 785 discussing the case with her husband to get het kicked off the trial.

Attorneys Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian have repeatedly accused Hill of tampering with the jury.

'We have evidence that she fabricated the existence of a Facebook entry by one of the jurors' former husbands. Never happened. We've got an affidavit from him. He never did it,' Harpootlian told News Nation last year.

The lawyer, who is also a Democratic State Senator, added: 'This is unprecedented that the, that the clerk of court went on a ... campaign to discredit the defense and discredit Alex Murdaugh's testimony.'

During the trial Judge Newman ordered Hill to produce a Facebook post that she had seen, claiming that a juror's ex-husband was 'saying stuff' about how his former wife told him the 'verdict was going to be.'

Judge Newman dismissed the juror after speaking to two of her tenants who he claimed 'waffled' about discussing the case with the juror.

The defense also claims Hill repeatedly asked the juror about her feelings on the case.

Murdaughs lawyers said in a September filing that the elected official asked jurors whether Murdaugh was guilty or innocent, told them not to believe Murdaughs testimony and pressured jurors to reach a guilty verdict for her own profit.

Maggie and Alex Murdaugh with their son Paul (center), who died alongside his mother. Far left is their surviving son, Buster

Murdaugh speaks with his attorney Dick Harpootlian

Alex Murdaugh is led away in cuffs Tuesday

Murdaugh stands with his attorneys Dick Harpootlian (red tie) and Jim Griffin. Prosecutor Creighton Waters (left) stands in front of the SC AG Alan Wilson (blue shirt and tie)

Hill is also said to have flown to New York City to be with three jurors during their post-trial television interviews and allegedly shared journalists business cards with jurors during the proceedings.

Hill has denied the allegations in a sworn statement, saying she neither asked jurors about Murdaughs guilt before deliberations nor suggested to them that he committed the murders.

Adding to the intrigue is the recent revelation that Hill plagiarized part of her book about the case.

The defense will get to put forth evidence at a three-day hearing expected to begin January 29, according to a tentative schedule shared by a media liaison for the judge.

Toal has been assigned as the judge for the appeal motions and must decide whether to run back a murder trial that lasted six weeks, involved over 70 witnesses and included about 800 exhibits.

The states highest court appointed Toal to oversee the weighty matter of a new trial after Judge Newman recused himself.

Newman, who rose to celebrity in true crime circles for his deft guidance of the highly watched case, is set to leave the bench after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 72.
Mia Khalifa recorded herself telling a Jewish mother that her breath smelled like 'knock-off falafel' after being confronted outside Miami Beach Convention Center - weeks after the porn star heralded Hamas' attack against innocent civilians.

The woman, wearing a white jumpsuit, was repeating the words 'Am Yisrael Chai,' which is the Hebrew for 'the people of Israel live' - a term used to show solidarity with the Jewish people.

Lebanese-born influencer and porn star Khalifa also chastised the family for 'taking the bus' when she said she was waiting for her valet outside the convention center.

Khalifa has shown her unreserved support for Palestine and Hamas since October 7 - including when she said she wished the murdering terrorists had recorded their brutal slaughtering of Israelis horizontally on their phone.

The 30-year-old posted the clip on January 15, where the woman was calmly repeating the Hebrew slogan, with the caption: 'The Zionists are losing the plot.'

Mia Khalifa recorded herself being confronted by a Jewish mother, weeks after the porn star heralded Hamas' attack against innocent civilians

The woman, wearing a white jumpsuit, was repeating the words 'Am Yisrael Chai,' which is the Hebrew for 'the people of Israel live' - a term used to show solidarity with the Jewish people

The woman showed off her necklace - which is the Hebrew word for 'life'

'She followed me through the lobby calling me slurs and didnt stop the entire time she was waiting for her UberPool at the Antique Jewelry Fair,' Kahlifa claimed.

'Shes a vendor- something she made abundantly clear so I guess this is what her business stands for.'

Although the porn star accused the woman of calling her slurs, those alleged insults were not seen on camera.

At one point in the video, Khalifa turns to the woman's son, who is standing outside the building with a suitcase, and asks: 'Are you proud of your mom?'

Attempting to throw an insult at the woman, the porn star adds: 'Are you waiting for the bus? Because I'm waiting for a valet.'

She then tells the camera: 'She got real quiet now,' before the woman approaches again, shows off her 'life' necklace, and repeats 'Am Yisrael Chai.'

Although the porn star accused the woman of calling her slurs, those alleged insults were not seen on camera

Khalifa then snaps: 'Get away from me, your breath smells awful, oh my God, you smell like knock-off falafel.'

As the porn star walks away, the woman waves and says: 'Bye! Am Yisrael Chai!'

The ordeal took place at the convention center in Miami Beach - where an antique jewelry and watches show was being hosted between January 11 and 15.

Some people slammed Khalifa in the comments under the video - while others stood up for the alleged harassment she faced.

One person wrote: 'Considering where your mouth has been, not sure you should be making fun of peoples breath!'

Another said: 'Not a good look for you Mia. You act like a spoiled brat child. Bravo.'

A third person said, on Khalifa's side: 'This is disgusting. Why is she even getting that close to you, she needs to understand personal space & mind her business lol.'

Khalifa's previous comments about the terrorist attack on October 7 caused intense outrage online - and even resulted in her losing her job with Playboy.

Khalifa sparked massive backlash online after she loudly supported the terror attack by Hamas

Khalifa is no longer creating content for Playboy's Centerfold platform, which she joined in February 2022, after her comments backing Hamas

She was retweeting footage shot by Hamas, while mocking Zionist settlers in occupied land and stolen homes this morning, and claimed that President Joe Bidens fav hobby is b*mbing Arab children.

She shared an image of the terrorists, who had just savaged Israelis, riding in the back of a pick-up truck, calling it a 'Renaissance painting.'

I cant believe the Zionist apartheid regime is being brought down by guerrilla fighters in fake Gucci shirts - the biopics of these moments better reflect that, she joked in one tweet.

Can someone please tell the freedom fighters in Palestine to flip their phones and film horizontal, she added in another that was later deleted.

Playboy accused her of hate speech as it booted her off its Centerfold platform that allows models to interact directly with fans.

Khalifa was born in Beirut and moved to the states in 2001 during the South Lebanon conflict with Israel

The US-based star, whose real name is Sarah Joe Chamoun, used to work in the porn industry but now speaks out against it

She previously said: 'I'd say supporting Palestine has lost me business opportunities, but I'm more angry at myself for not checking whether or not I was entering into business with Zionists. My bad.'

She continued defending her request that the terrorists film horizontally: 'I just wanna make sure there's 4k footage of my people breaking down the walls of the open air prison they've been forced out of their homes and into so we have good options for the history books that write about how how they freed themselves from apartheid.

'I'm from LEBANON, are you insane for expecting me to be on the side of colonialism you f***ing weirdo.

Khalifa was born in Beirut and moved to the states as a kid in 2001 during the South Lebanon conflict with Israel.

The US-based star, whose real name is Sarah Joe Chamoun, used to work in the porn industry but now speaks out against it.

She became a controversial figure after filming sketches while wearing a hijab, and revealed in 2019 that she had received death threats over her work.
A people smuggler has been jailed after he tried to bring a Vietnamese woman into the UK through the Channel Tunnel by cramming her into the dashboard of his car.

Slovakian national Jozef Balog, 33, was intercepted by Border Force officers at the UK Control Zone in Coquelles, Northern France in June 2022.

Balog claimed to be returning to his home in Manchester after visiting relatives in his home country.

However, when officers inspected his British-registered vehicle they found a woman wedged inside a tiny, custom-built hideaway behind the glovebox.

Officers undertook a thorough investigation of the car after they noticed the carpet was further forward into the footwell than expected.

Josef Balog claimed to be returning to his home after visiting family when a woman was found crammed inside his dashboard. The Slovakian national has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years for assisting unlawful immigration

The Vietnamese woman was found inside custom-built hideaway after Border Force Officers noticed the carpet was further forward into the footwell than expected. She was identified, deemed to be an illegal entrant, and served with the requisite paperwork

Shocking photos captured by Border Force officers show the tiny custom-built hideaway inside Balog's car

Once the glovebox had been removed the officers discovered the Vauxhall Vectra had been modified to smuggle people into the UK.

Shocking photos captured by the officers show the woman wedged inside the tiny, custom-built hideaway.

The Vietnamese woman was identified, deemed to be an illegal entrant, and served with the requisite paperwork.

Balog was sentenced to two-and-a-half years for assisting unlawful immigration at Canterbury Crown Court on Tuesday January 16.

He pleaded guilty to assisting unlawful immigration at a previous hearing in June 2022. He had been remanded in custody for the 40 months since so his sentence has already been served.

The British-registered Vauxhall Vectra had been modified significantly in order to smuggle people into the UK

The hideaway was discovered when Border Force officers intercepted Balog's vehicle at the UK Control Zone in Coquelles, Northern France

Steve Blackwell, Deputy Director of Criminal and Financial Investigations at the Home Office, said: 'This is a truly shocking case that shows the callous disregard these criminals have for the lives and safety of the vulnerable people they exploit.

'We have once again shown that those who seek to exploit our border will be caught and brought to justice.

'I am grateful to the officers who identified this horrific incident and brought the case to a positive conclusion.'

Between January and November 2023, the Home Office says over 110 people have been convicted for people smuggling leading to over 160 years in sentences.
A British schoolboy who converted to Islam and became a supporter of terror group ISIS plotted an attack on the Isle of Wight festival, a court has heard.

The 16-year-old, who was aged 15 at the time, was caught by the FBI, jurors at Kingston Crown Court were told, and he didn't go ahead with his plans as he didn't have a vehicle to carry out the attack.

The teenager planned to target the event in 2022 after he 'adopted an Islamic extremist mindset', the court heard.

The festival was attended by a total of 90,000 people and featured performances from the likes of Lewis Capaldi, Nile Rodgers and Chic, Madness, Kasabian and Happy Mondays.

Instead the boy - who had a photo of Osama Bin Laden as his phone's background - hatched plans for a knife attack at an education institution.

He was arrested on the day he planned to carry out the attack with a knife in his rucksack and notes saying he was going to 'slice' the throat of a teacher.

The teenager, from the Isle of Wight, alleged that one teacher had drawn the face of Allah and wrote: 'You shouldnt feel safe. I have not forgotten the time you drew a face and claimed it was God.'

A British schoolboy who converted to Islam and became a supporter of terror group ISIS plotted an attack on the Isle of Wight festival, a court has heard

He was discovered using the Discord messaging app to discuss his plans by the FBI, who tipped off British authorities and he was arrested, prosecutors said.

The white British boy is now on trial accused of four terrorism charges and possession of a knife.

Kingston Crown Court heard the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, developed an interest in extreme Islam over time and supported ISIS.

On social media, under an Arabic name that translates to 'God over disbelief', he shared Islamic State propaganda videos and clips of beheadings and executions.

When he was arrested, he was found with a handwritten note titled 'To My Family' explaining that he was 'driven by hatred of the 'kuffar', an Islamic term for someone who doesn't believe in God.

He wrote a note to his mother saying: 'Please know that anything which happens did not be caused by you [sic] and what you limited me from doing. Rather if anything does happen then it was fueled [sic] by my hatred to the kuffar.'

To his grandmother, he penned a note asking her to become a Muslim.

Serena Gates, prosecuting, told jurors: 'It is alleged that the defendant, has over time, adopted an Islamic extremist mindset.

'By July 2022, the prosecution allege this culminated in him taking preliminary steps, which amounted to 'engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts.'

After changing his plan to attack Isle of Wight Festival in June 2022, the boy allegedly drew up 'alternative targets for a knife attack'.

The targets were individuals who worked at an education institute on the Isle of Wight.

Sketches and notes appeared to show guns and threats of violence towards the individuals, Ms Gates said.

Ms Gates described the videos that the boy shared online. He used social media sites Discord, Reddit, and Instagram.

'The videos that the defendant sent out concerns terrorist activity, predominantly relating to the group known as Islamic State', she said.

'Parts of the videos contained graphic images of violence and executions.

The 16-year-old, who was aged 15 at the time, didn't go ahead with his plans as he didn't have a vehicle to carry out the attack (Pictured: Mika performs at the Isle of Wight festival in 2023)

'The videos and documents were largely propaganda, designed to promote the ideological cause of the terrorist group and encourage the killing and revenge attacks of 'disbelievers' or non-Muslims'.

The boy was described as a 'generally isolated figure' who gradually showed concerning behaviour.

He decided in 2022 he could 'no longer work with women due to his faith' and people that knew him said he 'looked unkempt and spoiling for a fight'.

They added that 'something was changing in him, that he was more self-aware and confident but definitely tussling with change'.

The teen stated he 'couldn't support paying taxes in the UK as in his view, it was supporting Syrian children being bombed'.

It was heard he thought the Charlie Hebdo shootings were 'justified'.

The teen faces four terrorism charges. Three charges are dissemination of terrorist publications relating to his sharing in June 2022 of videos 'My Vengeance (My Revenge)' and 'All Disbelievers of the World'.

The fourth terror charge is preparation of terrorist acts on July 11, 2022 - his online research of a location to commit an attack; his research on weapons, firearms, and stab vests; him obtaining a knife; and his note to his family titled 'To My Family'.

The teen faces a fifth charge - having a knife in a public place on July 11, 2022.

The boy denies all charges.

The boy has autism, but was described as 'bright, articulate and capable of exchanging ideas with others' and 'perfectly intelligent'.

As he is young, his trial has been adapted so barristers do not wear robes and wigs and more breaks are taken.
The screaming man was eventually escorted out of the building and Hunt was able to resume his speech

Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt was slammed for supporting 'racist' Donald Trump in Iowa by an agitated anti-Trump heckler who began shouting at him during a speech in support of the former president.

The Republican was addressing a crowd in at the Timberline caucus site in Waukee, Iowa, Monday evening when the man started yelling.

The heckler shouted that Hunt, R-Texas, was 'degrading himself' and accused him of turning his back on the black community.

'How can a black man do this on Martin Luther King day,' the heckler, who himself appeared to be black, shouted at Hunt. 'How can a black man stand here and talk to us about a racist.'

Shortly after interrupting Hunt's speech, the man appeared to become agitated and started walking toward the congressman.

Despite being interrupted, Hunt continued his speech and told the crowd why he believes that Donald Trump is the best presidential candidate

Hunt referenced Martin Luther Kin Jr.'s 'I have a Dream' speech after the man left the room

The heckler began yelling that former President Donald Trump was a racist and that Hunt was turning his back on the Black community by supporting him

Once the man began approaching, Hunt, who for years served in the U.S. Army after graduating from the military academy West Point, stood his ground while other attendees quickly took action to restrain the heckler and prevent him from getting closer.

The man was eventually removed, but not before shouting all the way to the exit. The audience applauded after his removal.

Immediately following the removal of the heckler, Hunt changed his tone and addressed the situation.

'I come from a district in Houston, Texas that's a majority white district and I won by 30 points,' Hunt told the crowd.

'Because on days like this I realize I am literally being judged not by the color of my skin but on the content of my character.'

Fittingly, the Republican was invoking a line from Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous 'I Have a Dream' speech.

Other caucus attendees quickly responded to the situation and escorted the heckler out

Hunt addressed a crowd at a Trump campaign rally in his hometown and district Houston

Hunt was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022 and took office in January 2023

Iowans embraced below freezing temperatures on Monday to caucus for their preferred 2024 presidential candidate

Hunt later addressed the matter on X.

'Tonight, at the Timberline Caucus, as I spoke on behalf of President Trump an enraged man attempted to stop my speech,' Hunt posted. 'He shouted Trump was 'racist.' You know, the same tired trope we've heard over and over again.'

'The anti-Trump movement is in full blown meltdown,' he wrote.

'But on this day, of all days, Martin Luther King Day, the people of Iowa, just like President Trump judge me not by the color of my skin but by the content of my character,' the post continued.

Trump went on to win the Iowa caucuses decisively, beating fellow candidates Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley by over 30 points, a record margin.

Trump's victory in Iowa was so obvious that President Biden took note.

'Looks like Donald Trump just won Iowa. He's the clear front runner on the other side at this point. But here's the thing: this election was always going to be you and me vs. extreme MAGA Republicans. It was true yesterday and it'll be true tomorrow,' Biden noted on his social media accounts.
A pair of bungling carjackers who made off with an $100,000 1962 Chevy Impala convertible nearly blew themselves up as they made off with their latest score.

Seth Wayne had only owned the car just a couple of weeks when he left it parked outside his garage on the night of January 11.

Street surveillance footage shows the moment two men approached the vehicle who eventually made off with the car.

But Wayne says the pair nearly blew themselves up as they tinkered with the wires to get it to start, not accounting for the hydraulic changes to the engine.

The Chevy was also missing some parts, and as they tried to get away, the car struggled to get moving.

Wayne posted footage on his Instagram Highlights two days ago and noted the men 'forgot to take the license plate off their Prius' which was seen following behind as one of the suspects yelled 'push me' out the window.

Two men stole a 1962 Chevy Impala belonging to Seth Wayne in Woodland Hills, California on January 11. The carjackers took off with the car after one of them pushed it with a Prius

The car bought by Wayne on Christmas Eve was stolen along Medina Road by the men who spotted the car on the street

The Chevy Impala is worth over $100,000 and Wayne had bought it on Christmas Eve.

It was undergoing repairs on its engine before the vehicle was stolen,' Wayne told KTLA 5.

'You work hard this... People just come and snatch it right from you,

In an interview with NBC Los Angeles he said: 'I had a lot of cars but that one was definitely special.

'Only had it for a couple weeks, bought it on Christmas Eve, so definitely a bummer.'

According to Wayne, the men must've 'not know what was going on' since they appeared surprised to see sparks under the hood after the pulled cables.

Wayne called the thieves 'crackheads' on Instagram and other social media users are sharing videos and photos of the Chevy Impala.

Wayne posted footage he got of the men stealing his car on his Instagram two days ago and called the thieves 'crackheads'

The Chevy Impala owner is a car enthusiast who owns several other vehicles. Wayne has thanked social media users for sharing photos and videos on their Instagram

Instagram users have accused Wayne of planning this theft to collect on insurance money and have called the whole story a 'scam'

Two others who posted a video of the car on their Instagram claimed there will be 'fat rewards' for the person who finds the vehicle.

Another user questioned why Wayne parked the car on the street late at night with the hood down.

One insisted the car was already 'gone' and 'stripped'

Daily Mail has reached out to Wayne for comment.
Miyah Warnock died a month after she was gravely injured in September 2021

A father has pleaded guilty to killing his three-month-old daughter while the child's mother has admitted child cruelty for failing to protect her.

Officers from Wiltshire Police were called to the family home in Cornfield Road, Devizes, due to medical concerns for Miyah Warnock on September 2021.

The infant was taken to Bristol Children's Hospital where she died the next month.

Samuel Warnock, 29, formerly of Devizes, Wiltshire, pleaded guilty to causing the death of his daughter in 2021 at Winchester Crown Court.

His plea came as he was set to stand trial charged with the child's murder.

Samuel and Jasmine Warnock are facing jail for their role in the death of their three-month-old daughter Miyah who died on October 19, 2021

The tot tragically died one month after she was gravely injured by her father in September 2021

Jasmine Warnock outside Winchester Crown Court on January 16 where she pled guilty to child cruelty by neglect

The child's mother Jasmine Warnock, 29, was recorded on a 999 call saying Miyah 'could not breathe properly, her eyes were rolling backwards and she was going limp'.

She entered a guilty plea to child cruelty for failing to protect Miyah from assault having previously faced a charge of causing or allowing the death of a child.

Sallie Bennett-Jenkins KC, representing Mrs Warnock, said that her client entered her guilty plea on the basis that she did not witness any assault on Miyah.

She added that Mrs Warnock raised the issue of bruising suffered by Miyah which Mr Warnock told her had happened because he had a 'loss of sensitivity in his hands' which affected how he handled the baby.

He also told her that he had fallen down the stairs while carrying Miyah after his 'knee had given way'.

Ms Bennett-Jenkins said: 'Jasmine Warnock accepted these explanations without pressing further.'

She added that Mrs Warnock had raised the issue of Mr Warnock's handling of Miyah but she accepted that she had not taken further steps to prevent it from happening.

Jasmine Warnock said she believed her husband's excuses that he 'fell down the stairs' with their baby daughter

Miyah's father had been due to go on trial for murder but prosecutors accepted his plea of manslaughter

Samuel Warnock, 28, from Wiltshire, appeared before Winchester Crown Court (pictured) this afternoon

Officers were called to an address in Cornfield Road, Devizes, (pictured) due to medical concerns for Miyah

She said that Mrs Warnock was not present when Miyah first collapsed on September 18.

Ms Bennett-Jenkins said: 'Jasmine Warnock did not foresee the risk of death or any serious injury to Miyah from the actions of Sam Warnock.

'Jasmine Warnock at no time inflicted injury on Miyah and was not present when the injury was inflicted.

'Jasmine Warnock was not present on 20th September when injuries leading to death were inflicted.'

Ms Bennett-Jenkins said that Mrs Warnock accepted that she did not investigate the cause of the collapse and allowed Mr Warnock to have sole care of Miyah on the following days before her death.

Caroline Carberry KC, prosecuting, said that the pleas were acceptable following consultation with the chief crown prosecutor and the baby's maternal grandparents.

She said that Mr Warnock faced up to 16 years in prison for the offence of manslaughter while Mrs Warnock faced a sentence of up to two years.

She added that the alternative charges would lie on file.

The judge, Mrs Justice May, adjourned the case for the two defendants to be sentenced on March 18.

She ordered pre-sentence reports to be prepared by the probation service on both defendants and asked for the 'dangerousness' of Mr Warnock to be addressed in the evaluation.

By CAMERON ROY

Miyah Warnock, the three-month-old infant died after her father admitted mortally injuring her - despite initially telling the police that bruises on her tiny body were from 'falling down the stairs while holding her'.

As millions of Britons were confined to their homes at the height of the Covid pandemic, little Miyah suffered serious bruises after a barbaric attack at the family home in Wiltshire in September 2021.

Her mother Jasmine Warnock, 29, was recorded on a 999 call saying Miyah 'could not breathe properly, her eyes were rolling backwards and she was going limp'.

She entered a guilty plea to child cruelty for failing to protect Miyah from assault having previously faced a charge of causing or allowing the death of a child.

It follows a familiar, grim pattern of abusive parents using lockdown 'as a cover' to carry out their cruelty, with similar violence dished out to a host of other young victims including Alfie Phillips, Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson, whose cases tugged at the heartstrings of the nation.

Experts have explained how usual safeguarding methods or chances to spot serious abuse such as schools, health workers and children's clubs were absent or moved online during the pandemic, meaning abusers could harm children in their care with impunity.

18-month-old Alfie Phillips was beaten to death and smothered in an overnight attack by his mother and her former partner after a night of 'violent discipline'

Star Hobson was just 16 months old when she was murdered by her mother's girlfriend Savannah Brockill in September 2020

Five-year-old Logan Mwangi was murdered by his mother, step-father and teenage step-brother on July 31, 2021

Five-year-old Alijah Thomas begged her mother Martina Madarova, 41, not to kill her as she strangled her to death at their home in Ealing, west London

The case of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes shook the nation for its sheer depravity when the six-year-old was murdered by his cruel stepmother Emma Tustin on 17 June, 2020

On October 10, 2019 Kyrell Matthews, aged two, was left with 41 rib fractures and internal injuries by the time of his death

Miyah joins a heartbreaking rollcall of children killed in lockdown, including two-year-old Kyrell Matthews, who was left with 41 rib fractures and internal injuries by the time of his death after weeks of cruelty at the hands of his mother Phylesia Shirley and her boyfriend Kemar Brown.

Meanwhile, the case of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, who was poisoned and tortured in what should have been a safe home, shook the nation for its sheer depravity when the six-year-old was murdered by his cruel stepmother Emma Tustin on 17 June, 2020.

She was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 29 years and the boy's father Thomas Hughes was jailed for 21 years for manslaughter.

Similarly, Star Hobson was just 16 months old when she was murdered by her mother's girlfriend Savannah Brockill in September 2020.

In the lead-up to her death, she had suffered months of abuse in her home in Keighley, west Yorkshire, during the coronavirus lockdown in 2020.

Elsewhere, two-year-old Lola James was tragically killed by her evil stepfather, suffering 101 injuries including brain damage similar to that sustained in high-speed car crashes in July 17, 2020.

Then on October 10, 2020 16-year-old, Kaylea Titford, who suffered from spina bifida, was found dead at her home in Newtown, Powys, after her parents allowed her to become morbidly obese during lockdown.

In another tragic example, five-year-old Logan Mwangi was murdered by his mother, step-father and teenage step-brother on July 31, 2021.

His body, which suffered 56 'catastrophic' injuries consistent with a 'brutal and sustained assault' was found in the River Ogmore near his home in Sarn, Bridgend county.

Alijah Thomas, five, who begged her mother Martina Madarova, 41, not to kill her as she strangled her to death at their home in Ealing, west London, on September 14, 2021 is another victim.

Alfie Phillips's stepfather Jack Benham told the court how he and Sian Hedges began their relationship around September 2020 through meeting regularly at the same friend's house where they would buy drugs.

Tests showed the pair had used cocaine and Hedges admitted to police she had taken a 40 bag over the course of three hours after Alfie went to sleep, the prosecution said. Benham also said he smoked some cannabis, which he did regularly.

The boy was discovered blue and floppy on the morning of November 28 2020, and paramedics said it was 'immediately apparent' to them that Alfie had been dead for some time.

The youngster was taken back to the caravan at 7pm and was not seen again by anyone other than Benham and Hedges until about 11.30am the following morning. It was during these hours Alfie was brutally murdered by the pair.

Sian Hedges, 27, will face life imprisonment for her son Alfie's murder, which took place in Benham's caravan in Hernhill, near Faversham, Kent

Jack Benham, 35, of Hernhill, Kent, murdered the 18-month-old toddler with his new partner

Benham said they left the toddler to fall asleep without being cuddled, while together they drank whisky and Coke, 'getting drunk, but not too drunk'

He said they left him to fall asleep without being cuddled, while together they drank whisky and Coke, 'getting drunk, but not too drunk', with Hedges telling police they had their last drink at about 1am and then went to sleep in the same bed as Alfie.

Benham told police Alfie was 'whingey and upset' when he was put to bed between 7pm and 8pm on the night of Friday, November 27.

The despicable pair denied harming Alife on the night that the toddler had his life cruelly snatched away from him, with Hedges and Benham pointing the finger at each other.

Hedges said Alfie stirred but went back to sleep with his dummy. She said he was 'fine and normal'. She then recalled Benham waking her up saying 'What the f***'s wrong with him? Oh my God. He's under my leg'.

The court heard Benham, who is not Alfie's father, said he thought he had suffocated him.

Hedges said Alfie was floppy and his lips looked blue and she had a gut feeling he was dead but denied having caused him any injury and said she had no idea how Alfie could have fractured his arms or sustained any serious injury.

But Jurors had heard about older injuries Alfie sustained in the months before his death, such as a cut under Alfie's eye which was explained by the toddler playing with keys and his fingers being caught in the dog gate in Benham's parents' home.

A skeletal survey and post-mortem examinations indicated many of the breaks to his bones would have occurred in the hours before Alfie's death.

In interviews, Benham told police he did not consider himself a step-father figure and rarely did anything for Alfie.

He described Alfie as a 'mummy's boy' and admitted he did not like him. But during the trial he claimed he treated the toddler like 'one of my own'.

Jurors reached a unanimous guilty verdict for the murder of little Alfie following deliberations that took nearly ten hours, that began on Tuesday afternoon.

Prosecutor Jennifer Knight KC had told jurors: 'It is clear that he had been deliberately injured on more than one occasion, culminating in an assault perpetrated on him during the night of 27 to 28 November 2020 that led to his death.'

She added: 'Jack Benham and Sian Hedges were in the caravan together throughout the night.

'Had either defendant not been joining in with the assaults, that defendant who was not part of it would have stopped the attack and removed Alfie Phillips from the caravan, and from the presence of the other who was carrying out these attacks.

'The fact that this did not happen can only be because both defendants agreed that the assaults should take place...they both agreed in meting out some sort of aggressive, violent discipline to Alfie that night which resulted in his death.'

Speaking after the verdicts were announced, Alfie's family told of the anguish of having to endure a three-year wait for justice, with many questions still unanswered.

They said: 'We have had to listen to the horrific details of what Sian and Jack did to Alfie, how they assaulted him again and again.

'He suffered so much pain. In these years, we have not had the closure, and even after the trial we feel that we still deserve answers.

'The only people with these answers are Sian and Jack but they have refused to say what happened to him.

'Still to this day, they have refused to take responsibility.

'They have never shown any remorse for what they did, and we will never know the truth about what happened to Alfie.

'Alfie was so cruelly taken from us that day. Every day we are hurting. Our shining light, that shone so bright, will always be in our hearts.

'We have such special memories of our short time with Alfie and these memories keep us going on the darkest of days.'

Alfie was described as 'good as gold' and 'lively' by his father, Sam Phillips, adding there was 'never a dull moment' with the toddler, who he said was always playing and laughing.

Reacting to the verdict, Kent Police's senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Kath Way, said: 'Today's verdict will not bring Alfie back, but it does mean that Hedges and Benham lose their right to freedom and life as they know it.

'Alfie should have been protected and loved by his mum, instead Hedges and Benham inflicted unimaginable suffering on him during a sustained and lengthy night of violence.'

She added that the pair refused to admit what they had done and instead subjected Alfie's family to a trial where details of 'horrendous abuse' were detailed.

'Alfie would have been four now and would have recently started school. Instead, his life was cruelly taken away by those he should have been able to trust the most.'
A husband and wife have been shot dead and a man arrested in the Netherlands today following a bitter row over a house the couple had purchased with 'numerous flaws'.

The victims - a Polish man aged 50 and a Dutch woman aged 44 - were found dead in the village of Weiteveen in Drenthe, near the border with Germany at 8.45am with the suspect - a 50-year-old man - arrested at the scene.

According to local reports, the double murder followed a year-long campaign of threats made by the couple to a Dutchman who sold them a home which they felt had numerous flaws - eventually driving him 'crazy'.

Unverified footage circulating online shows a man admitting to the crime and talking about being harassed by the couple for a year.

Dutch media reports that an estate agent involved in the acrimonious sale had tried to mediate in the row over structural failings to the house.

A video circulated on social media purporting to show the suspect in an emotional state

At around 8.45am the police received a report of a violent incident in Weiteveen in the Netherlands. Officers at the scene determined that there were shots fired during the incident. Pictured: Emergency services at the scene

The man was said to have been shot dead in front of the home.

His wife reportedly tried to flee in her car, but fell off the road - possibly in part due to the slippery conditions - and was then also gunned down, Dutch daily morning newspaper De Telegraaf reports. The police have not confirmed this account.

A video was released on Facebook purporting to show the suspect, who appears to be ranting in an emotional state. Another video appears to show the arrest of the same man.

He says in the livestream that 'something bad has happened' because of 'harassment' and claims he had to do something to protect his family, RTL Nieuws reports.

RTL Nieuws said the police told them that they are aware of the images circulating on social media and that they are investigating them.

A reporter from RTV Drenthe was also informed by villagers that the suspect and the victims know each over the sale of a house.

According to various sources, the man was allegedly involved in a conflict with another man from Poland, De Telegraaf reports. The conflict is said to be about the sale of a property.

Data from the land registry shows that the suspect sold the home exactly one year ago to a man with a Polish name and a woman with a Dutch name, the publication reports.

Both are said to be from Velsen-Zuid, residents of Weiteveen said. They also said that the couple has a son who is around 10 years old.

Real estate agent Bart Beukema from Veenoord confirmed to De Telegraaf that he was involved in the sale.

He said he was aware that a conflict had arisen over the sale and that this had been ongoing, but he said he was shocked by the dramatic events of today.

'I was surprised by this. Too bizarre for words,' he said.

'I can't say much about it substantively. The conflict concerns construction matters. Unbelievable that it led to this.'

The argument was known to residents of Weiteveen and, according to them, had taken place since September last year, De Telegraaf reports.

A forensic team at the home in Weiteveen, near the border with Germany, where a shooting took place today

Richard, who shares two adult children with his wife, and who is known to residents in his village as a man 'who wouldn't hurt a fly', is said to have complained about threats on several occasions.

'This was coming,' according to a man from Weiteveen, who said he was aware of the conflict.

Another video of a woman has now also emerged online. According to the publication, she says in the video while crying: 'Well, you have seen Richard's video.'

The woman says there has been a conflict surrounding the sale of a property and that Richard is her partner. Their children are said to have been threatened seriously.

She said: 'They have provoked us to the core.'

According to the woman, she attempted to change her husband's mind and leave the matter to the police.

She said: 'But Richard has gone completely crazy. He went there. And the Pole probably threatened him with a gun or something. I don't know, I wasn't there of course.

'As usual, I was so dutiful and went to work. And I hear at work that Richard went there and that he probably shot those people.'

Jose van Gijssel of the Northern Netherlands police said: 'Deceased persons were found in two places. At a home and in a vehicle.

'There is currently no other suspect in the picture other than the man who has been arrested.'

According to the police, the suspect is from Klazienaveen. The police have not yet released any information about the identities of the victims.

Residents of Weiteveen told De Telegraaf that Richard lives in the village, but that he and his wife have been separated for a period.

Richard is said to have temporarily moved in to his mother's house in Klazienaveen and it is possible that he is still registered there, the publication reports.

The mayor of the municipality of Emmen, which includes Weiteveen, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that he had been informed about a violent incident in Weiteveen that resulted in two deaths and understands 'the emotions that arise as a result of this terrible incident'.

He also expressed his condolences to the relatives and noted that the investigation is ongoing.
Residents are citing the new 'mansion tax' as well as homelessness and crime

Californians are packing up their LA mansions and flocking to states where you can get more bang for your buck and avoid extortionate taxes, rampant crime and the Golden State's homelessness crisis.

Celebrities, families and CEOs are all among California's richest residents who are skipping town to avoid the recently enforced 'mansion tax'.

The policy, which taxes an extra four per cent on homes sold for more that $5 million and a 5.5 per cent tax on homes above $10 million, went into effect on April 1, 2023, and many Californians took it as their sign to leave.

Gus Lira is a managing partner at a private jet partner company who recently decided he needed to get out of California.

Despite loving his oceanfront condo in Malibu - Lira was sick of the taxes, he told Business Insider.

Californians are packing up their LA mansions and flocking to states where you can get more bang for your buck and avoid extortionate taxes, rampant crime and the Golden State's homelessness crisis (pictured: Los Angeles' most expensive home)

Celebrities, families and CEOs are all among California 's richest residents who are skipping town to avoid the recently enforced 'mansion tax' (pictured: a 21-bedroom, 42-bathroom mansion is located in Bel Air, Los Angeles)

'For me, really the main reason, and for many of the people that I know, is just taxes,' Lira said.

'It's just crazy. California is making it very difficult for everybody.'

Friends of Lira's from Orange County had moved to Las Vegas and recommended that he check out the property market over there instead.

Despite being skeptical of moving to the desert, just a few days after visiting Summerlin, a Vegas community near Red Rock Canyon, Lira purchased a $1.9 million four-bedroom home with a pool.

Lira said the same property in Malibu would cost about $8 million.

Although Lira kept his Malibu home as well, he said 'I'm not a California resident anymore. Couldn't afford it anymore. You can't get ahead when you get $100 and they take $60.'

Lira isn't alone in leaving - in fact, LA topped Redfin's list of U.S. metropolitan areas that homeowners are looking to leave the most.

The state of California has lost over 500,000 residents between 2020 and 2022. It's the fourth largest decrease in the country in that time, behind New York, Illinois and Louisiana.

Many residents opted for cities like Las Vegas and Seattle - but a lot of Californians ditched the city lifestyle completely and bought acres of land in states like Texas, Wyoming and Colorado.

Amongst those opting for more remote mansions is Hilary Swank, who put her $10.5 million Pacific Palisades home on the market in 2021 and moved to Colorado with her family.

She was one of a large group of people who took off during the pandemic, in search of more space and privacy.

Amongst those opting for more remote mansions is Hilary Swank, who put her $10.5 million Pacific Palisades home on the market in 2021 and moved to Colorado with her family

Mark Wahlberg listed his massive, six-acre Beverly Hills Park estate for $87.5million, 13 years after purchasing the plot of land for $8M and building his dream family home

The 52-year-old actor said he had bid the Golden State farewell in hopes of giving his children a 'better life' in income tax-free Nevada

Matt Damon listed his stunning estate in Los Angeles in 2021 for $21 million

Damon revealed in 2021 that he, his wife and four children were leaving Los Angeles to move to New York City where he purchased a Brooklyn penthouse

Swank told Architectural Digest that her 168-acre Colorado mountain home is her 'happiest place'

'It just called to us and we couldn't stop thinking about it. It was great that we were in the middle of nature. We can't see our neighbors, no one for mileswe just had [it all] right there,' she said.

Mark Wahlberg revealed in 2022 that was going to join the exodus from California by leaving his longtime home in Los Angeles in favor of Nevada in a quest to eventually build 'Hollywood 2.0' in Sin City.

The 52-year-old actor said he had bid the Golden State farewell in hopes of giving his children a 'better life' in income tax-free Nevada.

Wahlberg wasn't shy about admitting that his move out of California was about taxes, though he focused on how they would affect his businesses.

Comedian, MMA commentator and podcasting icon Joe Rogan moved his Spotify-backed show, as well as the rest of his life, to Texas.

Rogan said he moved to Austin, Texas in 2020 to 'have a little bit more freedom.'

The ex-Fear Factor host and his Texas-born wife, Jessica Ditzel, now live in a lakefront mansion in Austin after moving to the Lone Star state last year.

The podcaster sold his massive 7,573-square-foot residence outside LA in the guard-gated community of Bell Canyon for $3.45 million.

Ozzy Osbourne said in 2022 that he is quitting Los Angeles and moving back to the UK because he pays too much tax in California (pictured: Osbourne's Buckinghamshire mansion)

Ozzy Osbourne said in 2022 that he is quitting Los Angeles and moving back to the UK because he pays too much tax in California.

The Black Sabbath rocker, 75, and his music manager wife Sharon, 71, relocated to their Buckinghamshire pile Welders House, with the couple having resided in Beverly Hills for more than 25 years.

Ozzy said: 'We are leaving LA. We are a bit sad. But the tax is getting too much. I am sad because I really really like staying and living there.

Matt Damon revealed in 2021 that he, his wife and four children were leaving Los Angeles to move to New York City.

'We're moving at the end of the month and school's September. We can't wait to move back here,' Damon said of the move to the Big Apple.

Damon joked about how he 'might have to find a rental apartment' to get away from the kids, 'but I'm excited.'

The lifelong Bostonian will be much closer to home after the move.

While many have left California to save money and avoid the state's extortionate taxes - some are fed up with LA's culture.

YouTuber and makeup expert Jeffree Star fled to a ginormous ranch in Wyoming for the sake of his mental health after LA's lifestyle took a toll on him

Joe Rogan said he moved from his LA mansion to Austin, Texas in 2020 to 'have a little bit more freedom'

YouTuber and makeup expert Jeffree Star fled to a ginormous ranch in Wyoming for the sake of his mental health after LA's lifestyle took a toll on him.

Scott Baio announced his plans to escape from California in May 2023 and placed his $3.85million home on the market, citing the state's disastrous homelessness and crime issues.

On Twitter, the conservative-leaning sitcom star said that he just doesn't feel secure in the Golden State anymore given the various issues under Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom.

Elon Musk first publicly mentioned his plan to leave California for Texas in a string of furious tweets in May 2020 after a California county health official said that the plant could not reopen amid coronavirus shutdowns.

He then listed seven of his California homes for sale, worth a total of $137 million.

In December 2020, the Tesla CEO and now 'Chief Twit' confirmed he had relocated to Texas after living in California for two decades.

The 52-year-old South African claimed that the state had become 'complacent' when it comes to innovation.

Musk's $55,000 Texas home was revealed for the first time in 2022 - complete with a rocket-shaped kids' playhouse, Tesla solar panels and CCTV cameras hidden in palm trees.

Elon Musk first publicly mentioned his plan to leave California for Texas in a string of furious tweets in May 2020 after a California county health official said that the plant could not reopen amid coronavirus shutdowns (pictured: one of Musk's LA properties)

In December 2020, the Tesla CEO and now 'Chief Twit' confirmed he had relocated to Texas after living in California for two decades

A family-of-eight revealed how they have saved thousands of dollars after relocating from California to Texas, saying they would never go back to their previous high-priced lives.

Jennifer and Chuck Balek - who have six children between them from past marriages - revealed that they were 'just so tired' of not being able to afford things on the West Coast.

Rent on a 3,200ft property was coming in at $4,000 a month and gas costing $6 a gallon, the Baleks said.

The Baleks relocated to the Lone Star State in April 2021 and managed to snag a redbrick mansion for $386,000.

Along with cheaper property prices, the Baleks found gas was more reasonable.

At the time they moved, gas was about $2 less in Texas compared to California.

'We were paying $2.86 when we first got here and in California, it was $5,' Chuck said.

As a result of the high gas prices, Jennifer said there was a time when they were spending at least a thousand dollars a month on filling up their cars.

The high living costs meant the family was never able to save enough to buy a home as they would have needed a deposit of more than $100,000 for a property big enough for eight people.

Overall, the family say the cost of living is probably a good 15 to 20 per cent lower in Texas.

Other positives of living in Texas, the Baleks say, include less traffic, good schools and the friendliness of people.

The homeless crisis in Los Angeles has skyrocketed in the last handful of years, reaching a total of more than 46,000 people living on the streets, an issue that Mayor Karen Bass committed herself to tackling as soon as she took office last year.

A family-of-eight revealed how they have saved thousands of dollars after relocating from California to Texas and managed to snag a redbrick mansion for $386,000

People fleeing California cite the homelessness epidemic as one reason for their move

The number of homeless people in LA has more than doubled in the past decade.

There was a 9 percent rise in homelessness in Los Angeles County between 2022 and 2023, with the unhoused population now totaling 75,518 people, according to the latest data from the LAHSA.

The city of Los Angeles saw an estimated 10 percent rise to a total of 46,260 people.
Seven giant tortoises have been mysteriously found dead in a woodland near Exeter.

Police are investigating after the dead animals were discovered in the Mid Devon area and are appealing for anyone with any information to come forward.

Two bodies were found in Ashclyst Forest roughly north-east of Exeter on Monday, January 8 and a further five were found nearby on Friday, January 12.

The reptiles are believed to be Aldabra giant tortoises, native to the atoll of the same name in the Indian Ocean - part of the Seychelles - and are classed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Devon and Cornwall Police said inquiries were underway to identify the owners and establish the circumstances surrounding the animals' deaths and the disposal of their bodies in the forest.

The death of the Aldabra giant tortoises are being investigated by police

Two bodies were discovered in Ashclyst Forest, Devon (stock picture)

In 2021 another giant Aldabra tortoise was found in the same forest. The reptile was discovered alive by a walker and was taken to a local vets, where it later died

Inspector Mark Arthurs added: 'We are appealing to members of the public for information to try to establish the circumstances around this discovery and to identify those responsible.

'We would ask that if anyone knows anything, they get in touch.

'We would also like to hear from anyone who has recently purchased a giant tortoise in the area or knows of anyone who normally has a large number of tortoises but has fewer now.'

In 2021 another giant Aldabra tortoise was found in the same forest. The reptile was discovered alive by a walker and was taken to a local vets, where it later died. It was not microchipped.

Giant tortoises were once found on many western Indian Ocean islands, but most species were driven to extinction by poaching by sailors  the reptiles' ability to survive months without water or food made them a perfect provision for long voyages.

Remote Aldabra is maintained by the government of the Seychelles as an uninhabited nature reserve and is home to a population of between 100,000-150,000 Aldabra giant tortoises.

The giant Aldabra tortoise found in 2021 was not microchipped

In 2021 another giant Aldabra tortoise was found in the same forest (pictured)

Aldabra tortoises feed on grasses, leaves, woody plant stems, fruit and occasionally carrion or small invertebrates.

What are Aldabra giant tortoises? Aldabra tortoises are the largest species of tortoise in the world - together with their distantly-related cousins, the Galapagos giant tortoise

They can live for more than 150 years and reach sizes of up to 550 pounds

Some shells of the tortoise can reach over 3.2ft in length

The species is classed as vulnerable by the global authority on endangered animals - the International Union for Conservation of Nature

They are native to Aldabra Island, one of the Seychelles northeast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean

They are kept at several wildlife parks in the UK but also in some private collections Advertisement

Together with their distantly related cousin, the Galapagos giant tortoise, it is the largest species of tortoise in the world.

The tortoises can live for 150 years or more. In 2005, an Aldabra tortoise was found dead in India and carbon-dating of its shell showed it had reached the age of 255 years old.

One Aldabra sub-species is believed to be the world's oldest living land animal, at 191 years old.

Jonathan was brought to St Helena from the Seychelles fully grown in 1882 and lives in the grounds of the governor's mansion.

On Monday it was announced that the tortoise will meet Prince Edward later this month when the Duke of Edinburgh visits the island.

Adult male Aldabra giant tortoises can reach up to 4ft (1.3m) in length and weigh as much as 770lbs (350kg) in captivity.

The tortoises are known for their gentle nature. There are believed to be several thousand Aldabra giant tortoises in zoos and private collections around the world  including five at Paignton Zoo, 31 miles south of the Ashclyst Forest, which ended up at the zoo after being confiscated by Customs from an illegal importation in 1986.
MANZINI  In an effort to collect overdue school fees from parents, Mhubhe High School has made it a requirement for parents to sign affidavits committing to pay their balances.

The school is owed over E400 000 in outstanding school fees. The affidavit, which is expected to be signed at the police station, requires parents to fill in their names, identity (ID) number, gender, as well as the region where they come from, chief and indvuna. It also entails details highlighting whose parents they belong to, the childs ID number and their class. The form further provides for the amount of money that a parent is committing to settle for school fees.

Eligible

If I fail to meet the above-mentioned, my child will no longer be eligible to be in class, reads in part the affidavit, which is then followed by a space where a parent is required to sign. According to the Head teacher, Mlungisi Nxumalo, the move to introduce affidavits was a strategy to ensure that parents committed to paying owed school fees. Nxumalo mentioned that in some cases, they had observed that children owing school fees did not come with their parents when they were expected to.

This is a sort of commitment, a way that parents are showing that they will settle outstanding fees once they have paid the deposit, the head teacher said. The administrator reiterated that some parents were seemingly failing to pay school fees despite having promised to do so. He said others claimed that they were working in the textile industry, and as a result, were unable to show up at school to account for their outstanding fees.

Disheartening

He said it was disheartening to disturb the children about their parents who were not paying school fees. When asked what the penalties for failing to honour their commitments would be, Nxumalo said he could not divulge that as yet, since they had not reached that point and the method was new. Nxumalo said the decision was reached after consultations with parents last year. He told this publication that the school even roped in police officers around July, when parents had not settled their outstanding fees, to explain the concept of signing affidavits.

Responsible parents have no qualms with the affidavits because they know that they will honour their responsibility of paying school fees. The challenge lies with the parent who is unwilling and doesnt want to commit himself to anything, because they know that they do not want to pay school fees, the administrator said. He further expressed that the failure by parents to pay school fees had a negative effect on the school, revealing that over E400 000 school fees was owed by parents. He said some of the effects included that there were several perfomance reports kept by the school after parents had last paid fees in the first academic term. Nxumalo added that children whose parents had not settled fees consumed the meals provided by the school at the expense of parents who paid school fees.

He elaborated that failure to pay school fees by parents resulted in the institution being in debt. All this owed money would be used towards the basic operations of the school such as electricity, water and procuring material for school projects done by pupils writing their external examinations, Nxumalo said. He went on to state that it became stressful when parents failed to pay school fees. He said these parents failed to attend school meetings. Nonetheless, the head teacher said there were some parents who were forthcoming and showed willingness to pay the school fees.A member of the school committee, who was identified as Dlamini, said they aspired and wished for their children to get quality education, hence the move to effect the affidavits. Dlamini said the decision was reached after engaging parents and informing them of this move.

Frustration

On the other hand, some parents expressed frustration and concern about this requirement. They argued that it was a burden to have to take this extra step to ensure that their children continued attending school. A parent, who requested to comment on condition of anonymity, said it was a known fact that parents were encountering financial challenges, as the economy was unstable. She said the school was literally forcing them to commit to doing something that was against their ability, as they were grappling with various financial challenges.Under Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Training Naniki Mnisi was sent a questionnaire, to react to the move by the school to effect the affidavits. She referred this reporter to the Minister, Owen Nxumalo. However, he had not responded at the time of compiling this report.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson dropped his long-shot bid for the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday after campaigning across the state for a year but capturing just 191 votes in the Iowa caucuses.

Hutchinson had a long resume and a rural appeal, and his candidacy served as a throwback to an earlier era of the GOP but ultimately failed to resonate in a party now dominated by Donald Trump.

Trump went after him repeatedly even though he never provided a polling threat, sometimes mocking him as 'ADA' in an apparent joke about a disabilities law.

After the withdrawal of anti-Trump candidate former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Hutchinson spoke of being the only candidate who did not pledge to pardon Trump, who is facing 91-counts of criminal indictments.

Republican presidential candidate former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson ended his presidential campaign after scoring less than 200 votes in the Iowa caucuses

Hutchinson's exit came a day after he finished sixth in Iowa's leadoff caucuses, well behind Trump and other top rivals and even behind Ryan Binkley, a pastor who failed to qualify for any of the debates. Hutchinson was the last GOP candidate remaining in the race who was willing to directly take on Trump.

'I congratulate Donald J. Trump for his win last night in Iowa and to the other candidates who competed and garnered delegate support,' Hutchinson said in a statement. 'Today, I am suspending my campaign for President and driving back to Arkansas. My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front runner did not sell in Iowa.'

During the campaign, he failed to register beyond a single percentage point in most polls and drew sparse crowds even as the Republican presidential field winnowed from more than a dozen candidates down to a handful. Another competitor, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, dropped out of the race Monday night after finishing fourth in Iowa.

Hutchinson campaigned around the state and was banking on getting a boost from the state to keep his campaign going. He would not pledge to pardon Donald Trump if he got convicted in his four criminal cases

Hutchinson stayed in the race even as better-financed and well-known candidates such as former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott dropped out last year.

He stuck around, running his campaign on a relative shoe-string. He tried to limit expenses by driving rather than flying in what he termed his 'return to normal' tour.

He spent the night before the caucuses bowling with family and aides, showing prowess on the lanes after a race where his campaign never caught fire as he hoped.

During the first debate, Hutchinson was booed by some audience members when he said he wouldnt support Trump if he was convicted in any of his four criminal cases, and he questioned whether the former president was disqualified from holding office because of his role in inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

'I am not going to support somebody whos been convicted of a serious felony or who is disqualified under our Constitution,' Hutchinson said.

He failed to meet the qualifications for the next four presidential debates, an unwelcome development that denied him needed exposure.

Before entering the race, he called another Trump White House run the 'worst scenario' for the GOP and said the former presidents call to terminate parts of the Constitution hurt the country.

He objected to the Republican National Committees requirement that candidates support the eventual nominee in order to qualify for the debate stage, though he ultimately signed the pledge. Hutchinson said the party should instead require hopefuls to vow to not run as a third-party candidate.
The CEO of Fujitsu today finally broke his silence on the Post Office Horizon IT scandal by saying he was 'sorry' for the damage done to victims's lives - but refused to confirm whether the firm would return the money it had earned.

Takahito Tokita was collared by BBC reporters while walking between venues at the World Economic Forum in Davos and asked if he would like to apologise for his firm's faulty software.

The Japanese executive replied: 'Of course, Fujitsu has apologised for the impact on them, their lives and that of their families.'

A reporter then asked him: 'What do you think about Fujitsu returning the money?' Avoiding the question, he said: 'We understand there's an ongoing public inquiry so I'm sorry I cannot comment further.'

The short exchange was the first time Mr Tokita had commented to the media about a scandal that has seen hundreds of postmasters unfairly prosecuted due to a glitch in its Horizon system.

Takahito Tokita was collared by BBC reporters while walking between venues at the World Economic Forum in Davos and asked if he would like to apologise for the Horizon IT scandal

Mr Tokita (left) replied: 'Of course, Fujitsu has apologised for the impact on them, their lives and that of their families'

Earlier today, Fujitsu's Europe director Paul Patterson issued his own apology during a grilling by MPs.

Mr Patterson opened the hearing by offering an apology for the 'appalling miscarriage of justice' suffered by postmasters.

'We were involved from the very start. We did have bugs and errors in the system. And we did help the Post Office in their prosecutions of subpostmasters. For that we are truly sorry,' he told the Business and Trade Committee.'

Days after an ITV drama on the scandal prompted outcry, Rishi Sunak announced that the wrongly prosecuted in England and Wales could have their names cleared by the end of the year under fast-tracked legislation after growing pressure to take more serious action.

READ MORE - Alan Bates warns Horizon victims will die waiting for compensation Advertisement

Those whose convictions are quashed are eligible for a 600,000 compensation payment, while Mr Sunak offered 75,000 to subpostmasters involved in group legal action against the Post Office.

Lawyers have said that hundreds more victims could now come forward after being caught up in the scandal.

But campaigners, including former subpostmaster Alan Bates who was at the centre of the ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, today called the process for making compensation claims 'madness' with people 'dying' while waiting for payments.

Mr Bates, 69, who was at the centre of ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office which has enraged the nation, told the Business and Trade Committee his claim is 'bogged down' and it took 53 days for three simple questions to be asked.

Wrongfully convicted postmistress Jo Hamilton, 66, who is depicted by Bafta-winning Monica Donlan in ITV's four-part drama, said she had been 'gaslit' by The Post Office into thinking she had committed offences.

'They convinced me that it was all my fault and I wasn't tech savvy at all,' she told the committee.

The anger about the scandal which has exploded across Britain after the hit ITV series hit the nation's screens came to a head as Fujitsu finally issued a grovelling apology.

It also emerged during evidence today that despite the firm being aware of bugs in the software, data from Horizon is still being used in court proceedings, according to Fujitsu employee Rajbinder Sangha.

Former subpostmaster Alan Bates told MPs that the bid to get compensation after the Horizon scandal was 'tied up in bureaucracy'

Former postmistress Jo Hamilton, 66, leaves after attending the hearing in which she told MPs she had been 'gaslit' by The Post Office

Paul Patterson, Europe director at Fujitsu, issued a grovelling apology and admitted the firm's software was dodgy

Mr Patterson told MPs he was 'truly sorry' for the role his firm played in the scandal

Mrs Hamilton speaking at the committee where she said the Post Office 'convinced me that it was all my fault and I wasn't tech savvy at all'

The Government has been scrambling to exonerate them and pay out compensation to those affected, with public anger rising after ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office cast a new light on the scandal.

And the committee heard another 200 postmasters impacted by the dodgy Horizon system had since come forward.

MPs are examining what more can be done to deliver compensation for victims of what has been labelled one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.

READ MORE HERE: Post Office Scandal LIVE Advertisement

Earlier in the morning MPs heard from former Mr Bates and Ms Hamilton, who have campaigned for compensation for victims of the scandal.

Mr Bates, on whom the ITV series centred, said he was 'frustrated' that it was taking so long to get compensation for those who were wronged.

'There's no reason why full financial redress shouldn't have been delivered by now. It's gone on for far too long, people are suffering, they're dying - we're losing numbers along the way - and it just seems to be tied up in bureaucracy,' he said.

'This scheme started in March 2022 and that's 22 months ago now and we still have very few cases that have gone through and come out the other end. It's frustrating to put it mildly.'

Explaining how the scandal was allowed to happen Mr Bates said a lot of subpostmasters felt there was a 'financial gun held to their head if they start kicking off or start raising too many problems with the Post Office'.

He said: 'When you take on a Post Office, you actually invest a large amount of money in that business,' he explains.

'As happened in my case, when they fell out with me, they walked off with that amount of money.'

The committee hearing comes after the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, starring Toby Jones (pictured) as Alan Bates

The drama shined a light on the stories of subpostmasters who were caught up in the Horizon scandal. Pictured: John Hollingworth and Toby Jones in the programme

Dr Neil Hudgell, executive chairman at Hudgell Solicitors, told MPs that only three of his former subpostmaster clients who had been criminally convicted had received compensation.

He said: 'Within the convicted cohort of clients that we have, of the 73, three have been fully paid out.'

He told the Business and Trade Committee: 'It sounds perverse to say this, but I'm not sure that enough resources are thrown at it in terms of the right results into the right areas.

'For example, routinely with the overturned conviction cases it's taking three to four months to get a response to routine correspondence.'

READ MORE HERE: The Post Office could change accounts on the Horizon system remotely and without postmasters knowing from 2001, whistleblower claims Advertisement

Asked by committee chairman Liam Byrne if government bureaucracy was 'dragging its feet', he replied: 'That's the only logical conclusion that that I can come to.'

Ms Hamilton, a subpostmaster who was wrongly convicted and who described the process of getting compensation as 'nonsense'.

She told MPs: 'It's almost like you're a criminal all over again, you've got to justify everything - forensic reports for this and forensic reports for that and you put it into the machine and months later it comes back with a query.

'It's almost like you're being retried because everything you say you'd like they say 'well justify that' and it just goes on and on and on. Everything has to be backed up. It's just nonsense.'

She added that when she was wrongly convicted Post Office lawyers had convinced her 'it was all my fault and I wasn't tech savvy at all'.

Ms Hamilton said: 'It just makes me so angry that they'd literally gaslit me for about three years and turned me into a basket case.'

Addressing MPs, Mr Patterson began by apologising on behalf of the Japanese firm.

He said: 'Fujitsu would like to apologise for our part in this appalling miscarriage of justice,' he says.

'We were involved from the very start.

'We did have bugs and errors in the system and we did help the Post Office in their prosecutions of the sub-postmasters and for that we are truly sorry.'

Mr Patterson told MPs the company gave evidence which was used to send innocent people to prison during the Horizon scandal.

'Yes, there was evidence from us.

Post Office CEO Nick Read and Europe director of Fujistu Paul Patterson address MPs. Behind them sits Jo Hamilton (far right), a subpostmaster who was wrongly convicted during the Horizon scandal

'We were supporting the Post Office in their prosecutions. There was data given from us to them to support those prosecutions.

'The information shared with the Post Office as part of our contract with them was very clear - the Post Office also knew there were bugs and errors.'

Mr Patterson said he is not aware why his company did not take action despite knowing there were glitches in the Horizon system.

READ MORE HERE: Moment daughter of bankrupt Post Office victim Lee Castleton breaks down in tears as she reveals being bullied at school after her father was wrongly accused of stealing 25,000 Advertisement

'I don't know. I really don't know. On a personal level I wish I did know. Following my appointment in 2019 I've looked back at those situations for the company and the evidence I've seen, and I just don't know,' he told MPs.

'What I do know is the inquiry is looking at this very point of who knew what and when, and the action they did or did not take to draw attention to the concerns. I just don't know.'

He also admitted that Fujitsu could access the systems in Post Office branches 'remotely' in what the committee suggested was a 'covert' manner, something that he denied.

'It is clear the Post Office were certainly aware of that remote access - and that was clear for some period of time,' he said.

Fujitsu employee Ms Sangha later told the committee data from Horizon was still being used in court proceedings.

The former member of the fraud and litigation support office also raised concerns about a draft witness statement template handed to her shortly after joining in 2010, which said the software was operating properly 'at all material times'.

She told the probe the template, which was potentially used to assist Post Office prosecutions, was concerning because 'obviously bugs were in the system'.

Sam Stein KC, who represents a number of subpostmasters, asked Ms Sangha: 'To your knowledge, is the Horizon system still being used to provide data that is used in court proceedings?'

The witness replied: 'Yes, I think it is.'

She was joined at the committee by Nick Read, chief executive of the Post Office, who was criticised for failing to say when the organisation knew remote access to subpostmasters' Horizon systems was possible.

Nick Read, CEO of the Post Office, appeared before the Commons' Business and Trade Committee

When asked about the timeline, Nick Read told MPs: 'I couldn't give you an exact date on that.'

Business and Trade Committee chairman Liam Byrne replied: 'Why can you not answer that question? It is fundamental to this case.

READ MORE HERE: Touching moment Mr Bates vs the Post Office actor Will Mellor shares hug with former postmaster Lee Castleton who was pursued for 25,000 he didn't steal Advertisement

'You must surely have had time in four years to cut to the heart of this issue, which is when did the Post Office know remote access to terminals was possible.'

Mr Byrne added: 'I think we are both surprised and disappointed that you've not got that question answered on the table.'

Both men expressed support for the Government's move to quash subpostmasters' convictions.

Asked whether the technology giant accepts that everyone should have their names cleared, Mr Patterson said: 'It's very clear from the inquiry the answer would be yes.'

Mr Read said his organisation shared that view, adding: 'We're very clear that we want to ensure that redress is done as quickly as possible. And the mass exoneration that the minister has put forward, we welcome that.'

He added that he would be willing to personally meet victims of the scandal so he could apologise to them face-to-face and that 45 had done so so far.

Mr Read also appeared to concede that the organisation could face liabilities of around 1 billion due to the Horizon scandal and related compensation claims.

Europe director at Fujitsu, Paul Patterson, also answered questions about his firm's role in the scandal

The 1 billion figure was put to by MPs, who began by saying he did not recognise it, but, pressed again said: 'I think what has been done in the last 10 days in terms of the potential to mass exonerate, that is going to obviously generate a lot of people coming forward.'

Asked for an assessment of the 1 billion estimate, he said: 'I think it's unlikely to be that size, but it may well be.'

He added he does not think that the organisation will perform any more private prosecutions in the future.

'I don't think the Post Office would want to carry out private prosecutions,' he told the Business and Trade Committee.

'I've been very clear on my watch they won't and I see no reason why they should continue to do so.'

But MPs expressed their frustration at what they saw as a lack of answers from the pair.

Labour MP Ian Lavery said: 'I've asked three or four questions - I haven't heard one answer yet.'

Mr Read said he felt a 'culture of denial' was behind the Post Office dragging its feet over compensation for subpostmasters, before adding he had not 'seen any evidence' that Post Office executives misled ministers, the courts or Parliament at any stage.

Asked whether he believed the Post Office prosecuted the innocent knowing the case to be flawed, he said: 'I sincerely hope not. But I have not had evidence to that effect.'

Challenged over why his organisation fought the provision of compensation to those who were unfairly punished for so long, Mr Read said: 'A culture of denial. I can only assume that that is the case.

'It's a lack of understanding and perhaps a lack of curiosity of really what is going on. I think that is the most important cultural challenge that I have in my organisation is to ensure that everybody in the organisation sees and understands absolutely what has been going on.

'I don't think that was the case certainly when I joined in 2019.'

Mr Read took over at the Post Office in September 2019, after the scandal emerged, and last year handed back around 54,000 in bonus payments linked to the firm's co-operation with the public inquiry into the crisis.

Mr Patterson has been in his current role since 2019 but has worked for Fujitsu since 2010.

Alan Bates, the subpostmaster who has campaigned for justice following the Horizon scandal, said today some victims of the scandal have died while waiting for compensation

Jo Hamilton, a wrongfully convicted former subpostmaster, said she felt she was being treated 'like a criminal' all over again during the compensation scheme

In the first session of today's committee hearings, Lord Arbuthnot, a member of the Horizon compensation advisory board and a long-time campaigner on the Horizon scandal, said he would like redress for subpostmasters to be finalised by the end of the year.

Appearing before the Business and Trade Committee, he said: 'This has gone on for more than 20 years. And if we can sort it out by the end of the year, that would be a welcome change. Let's hope we can get it sorted out before August.

'It's essential for these people who are living hand to mouth, and some of them still bankrupt, that there's money to be paid as soon as possible.

'I hope it is a matter of weeks, rather than months. In some cases it will be a matter of months. But it must not be a matter of years, it mustn't spill into next year.'

Mr Bates told Sky News before the hearing: 'I have one concern, and it's to get the compensation right, that's it.

'They should be moving heaven and earth to get it done and get it done fast.'

Speaking before this morning's committee, Ms Hamilton said Fujitsu 'should pay if there's wrongdoing'.

She said: 'Fujitsu, if they're in it up to their necks, then they will have to pay but we won't know that until the inquiry has done its work. If there's wrongdoing then they should pay.'

When asked what she would like to here from the IT firm today, Ms Hamilton said: 'Well, no one ever says sorry, not in the way I'd like to see sorry or hear sorry. Sorry is an easy word isn't it.'

Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake said he was determined to 'slim down' bureaucracy for subpostmasters as much as possible.

He welcomed Post Office boss Mr Read's promise to 'streamline' the process 'because there was some very concerning evidence... about some of the complexity, some of the delays in responses, that shouldn't have happened'.

Scotland's top prosecutor has also apologised to those who 'suffered a miscarriage of justice' as a result of the Post Office Horizon scandal.

Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC said she wanted to 'acknowledge the harm caused to the people in these cases who have suffered a miscarriage of justice'.

In a statement to MSPs at Holyrood she said: 'The wrongly accused and convicted subpostmasters and postmistresses are due an apology from those who have failed them, and I do that today as head of the system of criminal prosecution in Scotland.

'The Post Office is part of that system and I apologise for the failures of those in the Post Office who were responsible for investigating and reporting flawed cases.'

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last week announced that the wrongly prosecuted in England and Wales could have their names cleared by the end of the year under fast-tracked legislation after growing pressure to take more serious action.

Those whose convictions are quashed are eligible for a 600,000 compensation payment, while Mr Sunak offered 75,000 to subpostmasters involved in group legal action against the Post Office.

The Prime Minister has faced calls to go further and bar Fujitsu from securing Government contracts and pursue the firm for compensation payments.

The Horizon software started to be rolled out in Post Office branches across the UK in 1999 and over the subsequent years a series of subpostmasters were prosecuted over missing funds.

In 2019 the High Court ruled that Horizon contained a number of 'bugs, errors and defects' and there was a 'material risk' that shortfalls in Post Office branch accounts were caused by the system.
Of all of art dealer George Berges' clients, Hunter Biden was the only one to ask him to disclose which clients bought his work.

The revelation came in testimony seen by DailyMail.com that calls into question the White House's insistence that they had worked out a deal to prevent any ethics concerns about Hunter's new lucrative painting career.

Under their first contract, Biden had included a provision that required Berges disclose the names of his buyers to him, a highly unusual practice in the art world.

'Normally, the gallerist does not let the artist know who the collectors are,' Berges said.

Of all of art dealer George Berges' clients, Hunter Biden was the only one to ask him to disclose which clients bought his work

But Hunter was made aware of at least 70 percent of the identities of those who purchased his art, House Republican investigators estimated based on Berges' testimony.

Months into his father's presidency, Hunter renegotiated a second contract where Berges was required not to disclose the names of purchasers to him.

Berges said he did not get the 'impression' that Hunter had ever sold art prior to using him as a dealer, and Berges sold Hunter's first work on December 11, 2020 - less than a month before his father became the president.

The White House had announced in 2021 that a team of lawyers had reviewed sales and kept purchasers anonymous as a way to avoid potential conflicts of interest when buyers handed hefty sales prices to the president's son.

According to former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki, the established ethics plan 'system' regarding the selling of Hunter's art and the setting of prices would be handled by a 'professional gallerist.'

Berges told investigators on the House Oversight Committee that he worked with around 15 clients and none had asked to know who bought their work, other than Hunter Biden, according to testimony reviewed by DailyMail.com

Under their first contract, Biden had included a provision that required Berges disclose the names of his buyers to him, a highly unusual practice in the art world

'Normally, the gallerist does not let the artist know who the collectors are,' Berges said

Hunter was made aware of at least 70 percent of the identities of those who purchased his art, House Republican investigators estimated based on Berges' testimony

Berges also confirmed that a Biden donor who later got an appointment from the president to a plushy art commission - Elizabeth Hirsch Naftali - had spent nearly $100,000 on two of Hunter's works, and her name was disclosed to Hunter.

President Joe Biden appointed her to the Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, an obscure but prestigious board in July 2022, eight months after Hunter's exhibition opened in New York City.

Berges told the committee Tuesday that Naftali paid $42,000 in February 2021 for one of Hunter's artworks and another in December 2022 for $52,000 - before and after her appointment.

The art dealer revealed that Hunter's bong-smoking Hollywood attorney Kevin Morris bought $875,000 worth of Hunter's art, but only paid $300,000 - Berges' 40 percent commission - for it and kept the rest as a loan repayment from Hunter.

Morris, who is now backing a documentary film about Hunter, has spent more than $5 million financially supporting the president's son, including offering him $2 million to pay the IRS in back taxes.

Berges said he was first introduced to the president's son by Hollywood producer and Democratic donor Lynette Phillips, who hosted at least one fundraiser attended by President Biden.
Rishi Sunak is facing a test of strength with rebels over Rwanda tonight as more Tories back moves to beef up legislation.

Furious MPs insist they are 'not f***ing around' and will attempt to kill the flagship legislation, plunge the government into crisis, unless the PM agrees to toughen it up.

In tense scenes in the Commons, Jane Stevenson - a ministerial aide to Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch - said she would be backing hostile amendments in crunch votes this evening.

Mr Sunak also could be forced to sack two Conservative deputy chairs, Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith, if they make good on vows to defy the government whip.

And Boris Johnson has waded into the row, saying the government must bow to the demands by more than 60 Tories.

Dozens of right-wingers have been holding meetings in Parliament this evening trying to hammer out joint tactics for pressurising the premier.

Rebels suggested it would be 'sad' and 'politically damaging' to axe Mr Anderson. But another ERG member supporting the amendments told MailOnline: 'If he doesn't he will show weakness.'

The mooted amendments would sweep away more obstacles to getting deportation flights up and running. MPs want the legislation to block the European Court of Human Rights from issuing last-minute injunctions.

Although the government is not in danger of losing the votes outright, as Labour does not support the rebel moves, a big rebellion would be highly damaging to Mr Sunak's authority. He has made 'stopping the boats' a key plank of his pitch for a general election due to happen by the end of the year.

The existential threat to the Bill is likely to come tomorrow when it is due to have its third reading, the last Commons stage.

If Labour opts to vote against at that point rather than abstain then rebels would be able to crash the flagship legislation, plunging Mr Sunak into chaos.

Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick and ex-Cabinet colleague Simon Clarke are among those who have stated they will vote against the bill if the amendments fail. However,

Rishi Sunak (pictured holding Cabinet this morning) faces a bloody nose on the Rwanda Bill today after two Tory deputy chairs pledged to join more than 60 rebels trying to toughen up the plans

Former Cabinet minister Simon Clarke reacted with anger to claims a minister had said rebels were only 'f***cking around' and would not vote to kill the Bill

Boris Johnson has also waded into the row urging the government to accept the rebel amendments

Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick (left) has also insisted he will vote against the bill if the amendments fail. In tense scenes in the Commons, Jane Stevenson (right) - a ministerial aide to Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch - said she would be backing hostile amendments in crunch votes this evening

Mr Sunak has made 'stopping the boats' a key plank of his pitch for a general election due to happen by the end of the year. Pictured, arrivals at Dover over the weekend

Mr Anderson's decision to side with the rebels leaves the PM facing a dilemma over whether to sack him from his role as deputy Tory chairman

Brendan Clarke-Smith has also pledged to back rebel amendments tonight

Mr Jenrick told the Commons in the debate this afternoon that the Bill 'doesn't work' and is 'operationally flawed'. He said the proposed changes 'represent the last opportunity for us to get this policy right'.

Posting on the X social media site, Mr Johnson said: 'Governments around the world are now trying to imitate the UK Rwanda policy for tackling illegal people trafficking,' he said.

'This Bill must be as legally robust as possible  and the right course is to adopt the amendments.'

The PM gathered his Cabinet this morning ahead of the showdown.

Pushing his amendment in the House, ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick said it would make the Rwanda scheme 'legally and operationally workable for the first time'.

'It's not correct to say that we wouldn't enable people to challenge individual circumstances, but they wouldn't be able to be suspensive,' he said.

More judges to deal with migrant appeals, says Justice Secretary Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has asked for more judges to be appointed to the First-tier and Upper Tribunal to speed up courts dealing with migrant appeals. He told the Commons that recruitment would 'conclude in the next few months and new judges will be appointed, trained and start sitting from this summer'. In the meantime, the judiciary had identified judges which could provide 5,000 additional sitting days while extra space had been prepared, making a total of 25 courtrooms available for hearings. In a written ministerial statement to Parliament, he said: 'We are confident that, with the additional courtroom and judicial capacity detailed above, in line with projected levels agreed with the Home Office, the vast majority of Illegal Migration Act appeal work will be dealt with by the courts in an expedited manner.' Advertisement

'So individuals would arrive in the UK and within days, which is critical to the success of the scheme, they would be removed to Rwanda, where they could bring forward claims as they may wish, but they wouldn't block the flights, and that is critical. Without which, the scheme would simply not succeed.'

The MP for Newark added: 'There are very narrow grounds in which individuals would not be put on a flight, ones the Home Office are very used to dealing with through fitness to travel requirements, and that is a concept that's well known and understood and I'm certain would work.

'So what does the amendment do that's different? It narrows down the reasons by which individuals could make claims and makes the scheme legally and operationally workable for the first time.'

Mr Jenrick also dismissed claims by ministers that Rwanda would have walked away from a Treaty if it had gone further in loosening human rights rules.

'That argument is not a plausible one in my opinion. The argument that the Rwandan government walk away from this scheme was raised not just at the eleventh hour, but one minute to midnight,' Mr Jenrick said.

He added: 'I think this is not a plausible argument from the (UK) Government. I think it was unwise for the Government to solicit that press release from the government of Rwanda. I don't think that we should cast blame on the government of Rwanda because I think they are honourable people who want that scheme to work.'

Veteran Tory MP Bill Cash also said he would push his amendment to a vote - but urged the government to propose their own change.

'I strongly urge the Government to note the sheer anger and frustration demonstrated in opinion polls and public concern that we get this Bill right and make it work,' he said.

'If not, this anger will continue up to and including the general election.

'Would it not be wise for the Government to reflect on the position, and that it would be better and wiser to come forward with their own amendments and use our majority, in line with our manifesto, granted to us by the general election in 2019, and in the national interest, and for the sake of all Conservative Members of Parliament whose seats will be so at risk if we do not do so?'

Another Tory, Sir Edward Leigh cautioned that if the Bill is passed as it is 'people will make spurious claims based on their political opinions which will make it impossible for them to be put on a flight to Rwanda'.

He said: 'You can so easily concoct a spurious reason why, whilst Rwanda generally may be a safe country, for you personally you cannot be sent there and this will clog up our whole judicial process.'

Sir Edward continued: 'You can concoct so easily a history of mental illness, it's so subjective, it's easy enough to find a doctor to sign a medical certificate saying that you have a history of mental illness, it's easy to concoct a personal history. For instance if you come from Iran, that you allege that you are gay for instance, again no tribunal will export you to Iran if you say that you are gay. If you come from Iraq you can say that you are an activist Christian, whether you are or not.

'I cannot see how anybody who has a right to go through the judicial process  given the ease that you create a history, personal history, which will make your own personal circumstances impossible in Rwanda  I can't believe that any court or any tribunal will export somebody to Rwanda.'

Sir Simon Clarke said he would vote against the Bill at third reading tomorrow if the amendments failed.

'The Prime Minister has said he will do whatever it takes. Unfortunately, I do not believe that as of this moment we are set to do whatever it takes to stop this problem,' he said.

'And I can only vote for this legislation if I believe genuinely and sincerely that it will resolve the problem.'

Speaking about the Bill meeting the 'reality of our courts system', he said 'I don't think the outcome will be a pretty one', adding that 'at best' there are 'likely to be a few token flights'.

'In the absence of amendments being brought forward and supported by the Government I will not be able to support this Bill, more than that, I will vote against it at third reading.'

The immigration minister made a final appeal to rebels as he wound up the debate, warning that amendments would make it 'simply unworkable'.

Michael Tomlinson told the Commons: 'This House has a fundamental choice.

'We can legislate as the Government proposes to end the perilous journeys being made across the Channel by enabling Parliament to confirm that in light of the treaty that the Home Secretary signed on December 5 last year, and in light of the updated evidence, that the Republic of Rwanda is a safe third country.

'Or we can put into statute a scheme that is riven with holes by amendments tabled by members opposite that makes the Bill simply unworkable.'

More than 60 Tory MPs, including Liz Truss, Suella Braverman and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, have signed amendments to beef up the Safety of Rwanda Bill.

Miriam Cates, Conservative MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, said she would be prepared to vote against the Rwanda Bill if it is not amended.

However, Tory moderates on the other wing of the party have said they could oppose the legislation if it is strengthened further.

Former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland said: 'There are a large number of Conservatives on the One Nation side who think the Bill has gone as far as they are comfortable with  or even a bit further, in my case  and our view needs to be heard.'

Mr Anderson has put his position in peril by committing to join the Tory rebellion

In a further blow, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the Bill and recently signed treaty with Kigali was 'not compatible' with international refugee law.

The Rwanda scheme was blocked by the Supreme Court in November after judges accepted claims from campaigners that the country was not safe, as asylum seekers could theoretically be returned from there to their home country to face torture.

The Rwanda Bill will declare in law that the African nation is a safe country and prevent the courts examining the principle of the scheme.

But to the dismay of Tory rebels, it will not prevent individual appeals by those threatened with deportation.

Mr Anderson's decision to side with the rebels leaves the PM facing a dilemma over whether to sack him from his role as deputy Tory chairman.

Mr Anderson said he had signed several rebel amendments tabled by Mr Jenrick and veteran Eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash, adding: 'I will vote for them.'

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said this morning that he is 'pretty sure' Mr Anderson will still be in post at the next election.

'I think we might be getting ahead of ourselves because I think that, and Lee is a friend and I'm a big admirer of his, the concerns that Lee has about the Bill are the concerns that the country has about migration more broadly,' he told Times Radio.

Key rebel proposals include banning migrants from making individual legal claims against deportation to Rwanda, blocking injunctions from the European Court of Human Rights and disapplying all human rights laws.

Mr Sunak said he was 'happy to have a dialogue with anyone who thinks they might have an idea that will improve the effectiveness of the Bill'.
Russian President Vladimir Putin today declared his forces had the upper hand in their almost two-year conflict with Ukraine, warning that Kyiv risks an 'irreparable' blow if it continues to fight back.

Speaking hours after Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West to ensure Kyiv has the air superiority it needs to make progress on the battlefield, Putin boasted that Moscow's troops were in the ascendancy in eastern Ukraine.

'Not only has their counter-offensive failed, but the initiative is entirely in the hands of the Russian armed forces,' Putin scoffed on state television this afternoon.

'If this continues, Ukraine's statehood could be dealt an irreparable, very serious blow,' he concluded in menacing remarks.

The frontlines in eastern and southern Ukraine have barely moved in more than a year as the conflict has ground to a stalemate.

Putin went on to add that recent attacks on Russian civilians were 'barbaric'.

More than 20 people were killed in the Russian city of Belgorod, close to the border with Ukraine, on December 30 in what Moscow said was a cross-border shelling attack launched by Ukrainian forces.

'They are trying to show that they can also do something. But instead of solving military tasks, they act in such a barbaric way. Attacks are being carried out on peaceful settlements with indiscriminate weapons,' Putin said, making no mention of Russia's enduring campaign of brutal airstrikes on Ukrainian civilian centres since February 2022.

Speaking hours after Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West to ensure Kyiv has the air superiority it needs to make progress on the battlefield, Putin boasted that Moscow 's troops were in the ascendancy in eastern Ukraine

Soldiers of the artillery battery of the 59th Motorized Brigade of the Ukrainian army fire artillery towards Russian positions

Mortar platoon soldiers with an 82mm mortar perform a combat mission as Ukrainian soldiers hold their positions in the snow-covered Serebryan Forest in temperatures of -15C, on January 10, 2024 in Kreminna, Ukraine

A Ukrainian residential property is seen on fire in Ukraine following a Russian missile attack

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a ceremony for the Sluzhenie All-Russian Municipal Service Awards at Live Arena in Odintsovo outside Moscow, Russia,16 January 2024

The Russian President's latest remarks followed a fresh plea to the West by Zelensky for help in restoring Ukrainian air superiority in the conflict.

In an address to the World Economic Forum in Davos today, Zelensky said gaining control of the airspace was essential to give his forces a chance of victory on the battlefield.

'We must gain air superiority for Ukraine. Just as we gained superiority in the Black Sea, we can do it.

'This will allow progress on the ground... Partners know what is needed and in what quantity,' Zelensky declared.

The plea came as part of an impassioned speech in which he railed against Russian aggression and won a standing ovation

Accusing Putin of wanting to inflict 'pain, pain, pain and crisis that impact the entire world', the Ukrainian president said: 'Regimes like his exist as long as they wage war.

'And we all in the free world exist as long as we can defend ourselves.

'If anyone thinks this is only about us, this is only about Ukraine, they are fundamentally mistaken.'

'Every "don't escalate" to us sounded like "you will prevail" to Putin.

'We need to finally dispel the notion that global unity is weaker than one man's hatred. This year must be decisive,' he concluded.

In an address to the World Economic Forum in Davos today, Zelensky said gaining air superiorty was essential to give his forces a chance of victory on the battlefield

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) attend a meeting during the World Economic Forum in Davos

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (2nd L) walks in the Congress center during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, on January 16, 2024

Zelensky's address in Davos came one day after he asked Switzerland to organise a 'high-level peace conference' to discuss the ongoing conflict.

Swiss President Viola Amherd revealed during a joint press conference in Bern: 'I confirmed that Switzerland is ready to organise the conference.

'We agreed that the details of the further approach will be looked into in depth in order to make this peace process a success.'

The president underlined that her historically neutral country will 'fight for long-lasting and just peace in Ukraine'.

Zelensky added: 'We are open to all countries that respect our sovereignty and territorial integrity at the peace summit.'

It is understood that Russia will not be invited to the conference. But the Ukrainian president expressed he would be keen for China to attend.

'We would want the countries of the global south to be present, for sure, we would want China to be involved.'

No official timescale was given for when the summit might be held, nor exactly what the summit would entail.

Putin's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 saw a major armed conflict return to Europe for the first time since the end of World War II.

The UK and EU immediately leapt to Ukraine's defence, cracking down on Moscow with a barrage of economic sanctions and committing billions in military and humanitarian funding to boost Kyiv's war effort.

But now almost two full years into the conflict with no clear end in sight, European nations are forced to confront the very real possibility the war could drag on indefinitely - and perhaps even spill beyond the borders of Ukraine.

A mortar platoon soldier with an 82mm mortar performs a combat mission as Ukrainian soldiers hold their positions in the snow-covered Serebryan Forest in eastern Ukraine

Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline take part in medical training in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on January 14, 2024

A Ukrainian self-propelled artillery opens fire toward Russian lines, in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on January 14, 2024

In an alarming speech earlier this month, Sweden's Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said: 'There could be war in Sweden... The world is facing a security outlook with greater risks than at any time since the end of the Second World War,' urging his citizens to join voluntary civil defence groups.

Days later, Estonia's Prime Minister declared that Europe has just three to five years to prepare for Russia's return as a serious military threat on NATO's eastern flank, before British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps this week declared he would send 20,000 British troops to take part in one of NATO's largest war games since the Cold War.

'Our adversaries are busily rebuilding their barriers, old enemies are reanimated, battle lines are being redrawn, the tanks are literally on Ukraine's lawn and the foundations of the world order are being shaken to their core,' he said.

These stark warnings came as leaked documents from the German Ministry of Defence outlined a step-by-step doomsday guide on how Russia could escalate the conflict in Ukraine to an even bigger battle.

The leaked plans, published by German newspaper Bild, reveal in detail the path to a Third World War with Putin using Belarus as a launching pad for an invasion - as he did in February 2022 for his war in Ukraine.

General Sir Richard Barrons warned that Britain is sorely underprepared for a conflict with Russia, and urged the government to invest heavily in reconstituting the armed forces to meet the challenge.

'Russia is clearly angry and rearming so their capability will be restored and when the shooting stops in Ukraine, Russia will blame the outcome on us,' he told MailOnline

'We are already In confrontation with Russia. Right now, we have chosen to do very little about it.

'During the Cold War the Army, at all times, was ready to fight at four hours' notice. When the Cold War ended and there was no sense of existential risk to the UK, all of that was dismantled.

'Now we would need five to 10 years' notice of a Russian surprise attack to manage to deal with it. It's deeply disappointing.'
Lord Cameron will meet Argentina's new president Javier Milei tomorrow for their first bilateral meeting.

Argentina's foreign minister Diana Mondino is also set to join the Foreign Secretary and the leader for their encounter at the Davos summit in Switzerland.

Argentinian presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni confirmed today the meeting would take place, which was initially thought to have been scheduled only between Lord Cameron and his counterpart from the South American nation.

It is not yet clear whether the Falkland Islands will be on the agenda.

Argentina's Foreign Ministry said in a long statement following right-wing Milei's landslide victory in the nation's presidential run-off in November that its claim to the islands constituted a 'permanent and unwaverable objective.'

As president-elect Milei insisted he believed the Falkland Islands belonged to Argentina (file image)

Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron will meet Argentina's new president Javier Milei tomorrow. Pictured: Foreign Secretary David Cameron departs 10 Downing Street following a cabinet meeting in London, Britain, 16 January 2024

As the country's president-elect Milei insisted he believed the Falkland Islands belonged to Argentina, but said the islanders must have a say in their future.

PM Rishi Sunak responded by saying through a spokesman: 'It's obviously a settled issue, a long-settled issue, and we have no plans to revisit it.'

And Defence Secretary Grant Shapps went on to rebuke any notion of negotiations with Argentina by saying: 'The Falkland Islands are British. That is non-negotiable and undeniable.'

Respected Argentinian daily Clarin claimed today Lord Cameron asked Milei for a meeting in a WhatsApp he sent him as he was on his way to Davos.

Rival paper La Nacion said the issue of the Falklands, which in Argentina are known as the Malvinas, would be 'on the table' along with the economy.

Milei said the islanders must have a say in their future. Pictured: Farm buildings at Carcass Island Settlement in the Falkland Islands

Downing Street confirmed late last week Rishi Sunak would not be attending the World Economic Forum in Davos for the second year in a row.

Lord Cameron met former Argentinian president Mauricio Macri at the summit in 2016 when he was still Prime Minister.
Virginia officials have unearthed roughly four thousand missing votes that 'shorted' President Joe Biden during the 2020 election.

Though Biden defeated Donald Trump, a release from Prince William County's Office of Elections has revealed that while Trump improperly received 2,327 extra votes, Biden was shorted 1,648 votes.

Biden went on to win the state by nearly half a million votes as a release by the states elections office said that 'reporting errors did not consistently favor one party or candidate'.

The office detailed that the errors were 'presumably a consequence' of the result tapes being improperly formatted and incompatible with state reporting requirements.

The discrepancy admission has come just after a misdemeanor charge for willful neglect against Michele White, the former registrar and election chief of Prince William County was dropped.

Election officials in Virginia have unearthed nearly 4,000 missing votes that 'shorted' Joe Biden of 1,648 votes even though he went on to win the state by nearly half a million votes

It was also revealed that Donald Trump had improperly received 2,327 extra votes during the election in Virginia

White was charged in 2022 with corrupt conduct, neglect of duty and making a false statement during the 2020 presidential election. She then resigned approximately a year before here expected indictment.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares has since dropped White's felony corruption charges after a key witness changed their original account.

Her attorney, Zach Strafford referred to his client as a 'scapegoat' and that allegations that she was responsible for the voting miscount were 'disproved,' according to NBC.

'The board certified incorrect results and they, and the attorney generals office, attempted to assign blame to Ms. White for their mistakes,' Strafford said.

The misreported votes have since revealed that Biden and Trump weren't the only candidates that received an incorrect amount of totaled votes in the previous election.

Mark Warner, the Democratic Senate candidate and Daniel Gade, the Republican candidate both received 'too few votes by 1,589 and 107 respectively,' Eric Olsen, the Director of Elections said in the press release.

Warner then went on to win the race by more than 500,000 votes.

Michele White, the former registrar and election chief of Prince William County was charged in 2022 with corrupt conduct, neglect of duty and making a false statement during the 2020 presidential election

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares has since dropped Michele White's felony corruption charges from her interaction with votes in the 2020 presidential election in Virginia

Rob Wittman, the Republican House of Representatives candidate was also shorted 293 votes due to the missing votes. He went on to win by more than 80,000 votes.

'Over the past 3 years, the 2020 election has been the subject of audits, recounts, and investigations,' Olsen said in the release.

He went on to say that 'mistakes are unfortunate', but don't 'reflect a purposeful attempt to undermine the integrity of the electoral process.'

Former President Trump has since gone on trial for his engagement in alleged election fraud, along with a slue of other legal battles that are making their way through different jurisdictions.

In August, Special Counsel Jack Smith charged Trump with four felony counts for attempting to interfere in the counting of votes and trying to block the certification of Biden as the winner of the 2020 election.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has continued to claim that his loss was the result of fraud.

Thousands of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 in a failed bid to overturn his defeat.

Rioters storm the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021

Trump was also indicted with 18 others in Fulton County in August on charges they participated in a wide-ranging conspiracy to keep the Republican incumbent in power after he lost to Biden

Smith said in a televised public statement following the release of the indictment that the attack on the Capitol was 'fueled by lies' made by Trump 'targeted at obstructing the bedrock function of the U.S. government - the nation's process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election.'

Trump was also indicted with 18 others in Fulton County in August on charges they participated in a wide-ranging conspiracy to keep the Republican incumbent in power after he lost to Biden.

He and his allies aggressively pushed Georgia officials and state lawmakers to reverse Biden's win and sent fake electors to Washington.

Trump and the other 18 defendants were indicted under Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, law, which is based on the similar federal statute created in 1970 to target organized crime.

In the case against Trump and his allies, the indictment uses Georgia's RICO law to connect a web of various alleged crimes by claiming they were perpetrated as part of an ongoing criminal enterprise to overturn the election results.
An 11-year-old Florida schoolgirl has been arrested after allegedly holding a box cutter up to another pupil's throat and threatening to kill them.

Brihanna Martial was arrested and charged with possession of a weapon on school property and aggravated battery, a first-degree felony.

The victim claims Martial poked him in the neck multiple times while whispering, 'I will kill you,' while in Manatee Elementary School's cafeteria last Thursday, Collier County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Brihanna Martial, 11, was arrested and charged with possession of a weapon on school property and aggravated battery, a first-degree felony

The incident occurred at Manatee Elementary School located in Naples around 100 miles west of Miami

The victim tried to leave the lunch room; however, Martial followed him and cornered him against a window while holding the box cutter up to his neck.

The girl allegedly whispered 'I will kill you' in the boy's ear.

Security footage at the school, located in Naples around 100 miles west of Miami, confirmed the victim's account.

According to police the school's youth relations deputy found the box cutter hidden in Martial's waistband.

Manatee Elementary has about 590 students between pre-kindergarten and fifth grade.

Safety at schools is becoming an increasing concern across the country as younger children bring weapons onto campus.

Last year an Iowa teacher was shot by her six-year-old student in her classroom.

Abby Zwerner was shot in the hand at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia on January 6, 2023.

Abigail Zwerner, 25, (pictured) was shot by her six-year-old student at Richneck Elementary School in January

After the shooting, Zwerner filed a lawsuit against the school district seeking $40 million

The child took his mother's 9mm handgun from his mother's purse in their home.

The day of the shooting, the six-year-old was dropped off at the school by his mother.

He concealed the gun in his backpack and then his pocket before shooting his teacher in front of the class.

He told other children that morning he had a firearm in his backpack and staff were also told about it.

Rather than remove him from any classes, the school's administrators allowed him to be around other children and teachers.

They checked his backpack for a weapon, but he had already removed it and put it in his sweatshirt, according to a lawsuit later filed by Zwerner.

She is suing Newport News Public Schools for $40 million, alleging gross negligence against school administrators.

Zwerner said administrators ignored multiple warnings the boy had a gun that day and had routinely dismissed ongoing concerns about his troubling behavior.

The vice principal forbade any teachers from searching the boy himself, according to the lawsuit.

At 1:59pm, he pulled out the gun from his sweater and shot Zwerner in the chest. The bullet hit one of her hands first - which she says saved her life.

Moments after the shooting, the six-year-old told a reading specialist who restrained him: 'I shot that (expletive) dead' and 'I got my mom's gun last night,' according to search warrants.
New photographs of apparent bloodstains in the home of mother-to-five Jennifer Dulos have been shown to jurors in the trial of Michelle Troconis, the woman accused of helping to conceal her murder.

Troconis, 49, a glamorous American-Venezuelan socialite who was dating Jennifer's ex-husband Fotis Dulos at the time of her death, appeared stony-faced as she arrived for day three of her trial at Connecticut Superior Court on Tuesday.

She watched intently at the police photographs as they were shown and appeared to be listening to a translation of the hearing through earphones.

Fotis and Jennifer were in the midst of acrimonious divorce and child custody battle proceedings when she vanished on May 24, 2019, and he was later charged with her murder.

But he killed himself in January 2020, leaving Troconis to face the music alone. She has denied any involvement with Jennifer's disappearance.

Troconis' trial began in Stamford began on Thursday last week before pausing over the weekend and Martin Luther King Jr Day.

Michelle Troconis looked stony-faced as she arrived at Connecticut Superior Court on Tuesday

Troconis' trial began in Stamford began on Thursday last week before pausing over the weekend and Martin Luther King Jr Day. (Pictured: Troconis arriving at the Stamford court with her mother and a member of her legal team)

Troconis arrived for the Jennifer Dulos trial flanked by her mother (right) and her legal team, including attorney Jon Schoenhorn (left)

Troconis started straight ahead as she approached the court for day three of her trial on Tuesday

Troconis and her attorney Jon Schoenhorn arriving at the Stamford courthouse ahead of day three of her trial. The American-Venezuelan defendant has denied all charges

Michelle Troconis in court for day three of her trial

Troconis conferred with her attorneys at points during the trial in Stamford, CT

On Tuesday, jurors heard more evidence about what detectives have been calling 'blood-like stains' on several surfaces in Jennifer's New Canaan CT home, where she lived with her five children

Evidence of 'blood-like stains' on the ground of Dulos' garage was shown to jurors

Police said they also found red stains in Dulos' kitchen, including on the inside tubing of a paper towel roll, on the faucet at her sink, and on the edge of a countertop

Suspected blood stain in Jennifer Dulos' Range Rover which was parked in her garage

Former state police detective Matthew Reilly said he spotted red stains on several surfaces in Jennifer's kitchen, including on a paper towel roll, sink faucet, and counter-top - and in her garage

On Tuesday, jurors heard more evidence about what detectives have been calling 'blood-like stains' on several surfaces in Jennifer's New Canaan CT home, where she lived with her five children who were aged between eight and 13 at the time.

Former state police detective Matthew Reilly said he spotted red stains on several surfaces in Jennifer's kitchen on May 25, 2019, including on a paper towel roll, sink faucet, and counter-top - and in her garage.

Jurors were also shown photographs of alleged bloodstains on Jennifer's Chevy Suburban, which was found abandoned around three miles from her home the day after she vanished.

Former detective Reilly said he swabbed the stains and some of the garage samples tested positive for blood. The samples were sent to a lab for confirmation, but none of the witnesses have testified yet about these results.

Under cross-examination by Troconis' lawyer Jon Schoenhorn, he agreed that one of the tests used to detect human blood - called a luminol swab - would also have appeared positive for a 'laundry list' of other substances.

He said this is because the test flags the presence of iron, which can also be found in substances including horseradish, turmeric, and animal blood.

Troconis' trial began last week with evidence from several other Connecticut detectives. Jurors were also shown bodycam footage of officers searching her home, and what appeared to be a bloody footprint on the ground.

Police say Fotis transported her body out of the garage and disposed of it later in a friend's SUV.

Troconis, a former ESPN host in South America, denies charges connected to the suspected homicide - including conspiracy to commit murder, evidence tampering and hindering prosecution.

Jennifer Farber Dulos vanished in May 2019. Her remains have never been found, but police believe she was murdered by her husband Fotis Dulos, and that his new girlfriend Michelle Troconis conspired with him to help him cover up the crime

Jennifer and Fotis Dulos

Troconis  who is accused of helping lover Fotis Dulos kill his wife in 2019  is currently free on a $2million bond and faces up to twenty years in prison if convicted

Troconis in court for the third day of her trial on Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Troconis looked pensive as she listened to her trial unfold on the third day of hearings

Troconis speaking with her attorneys, including Jon Schoenhorn, during her trial on Tuesdy

A 'red stain' on the grill of Jennifer Dulos' Range Rover on May 24, 2019, the day she vanished. Police searching the house said it stood out to them and did not appear to have been from a deer strike. The state alleges Fotis Dulos killed his wife either in the home or the garage, injuring her so badly that she bled profusely, and then removed her body

Police also found a bloody footprint in the garage where they believe Jennifer's body was moved

Cops also pointed out what they thought were 'drops' of blood in the same garage

Jennifer vanished aged 50 on May 24, 2019, after dropping her children off at school, and her body was never found. Judge William P. Osterndorf declared her 'officially dead' on Wednesday.

Prosecutors allege that Fotis, a luxury real estate developer, brutally slayed Jennifer at her New Canaan home before disposing of her body in several trash bags with the help of Troconis.

Jennifer, who made her living as a writer for Patch.com, was last seen returning home at 8.05am on a neighbor's security camera.

She missed two doctor's appointments in New York City scheduled for later that day, and two of her friends, including her nanny Lauren Almeida, reported her missing after being unable to get in touch with her.

State police launched an investigation, starting with a search of her home where they found her blood splattered on the exterior of a Range Rover in her garage and on several surfaces in the kitchen.

Officials said there was evidence of an attempted cleanup, and the enormous amount of blood made it apparent Jennifer could not have survived.

She was going through a messy divorce with Fotis at the time, and arrest warrants show that he was also $7 million in debt while living with Troconis and her daughter in the Farmington, Connecticut home he once shared with his wife and children.

The Dulos children - Petros, Theodore, Constantine, Christiane and Cleopatra Noelle - were aged between eight and 13 at the time.

Jennifer Dulos is pictured in a photo released by police when she went missing

Jennifer, a 50-year-old writer and mother-of-five from New Canaan, close to Stamford, vanished after dropping her five beloved children off at school on May 24, 2019

Fotis (pictured) killed himself in his mansion aged 52 while awaiting trial in January 2020, leaving Troconis to face the music alone

Prosecutors believe Fotis drove an employee's Toyota Tacoma pickup truck from that property to New Canaan before riding a bicycle to Jennifer's home and attacking her in the garage.

He put her body in her Chevrolet Suburban and drove around three miles, police say, The vehicle was found abandoned near Waveny Park in New Canaan.

That evening at around 7.30pm, Fotis and Troconis were seen on surveillance cameras in his pickup truck stopping at several locations in Hartford. Fotis emerged from the vehicle to dispose of several garbage bags while Troconis remained inside.

Police recovered some of the bags several days later and found bloodied clothing, zip ties and other items containing DNA matching Jennifer and Fotis. One bag also had Troconis' DNA on, authorities said.

In police interviews, Troconis said she thought the bags contained goods from one of the houses Fotis was selling at the time.

Officers also uncovered what came to be known as 'the alibi scripts' - two pages written by Fotis and Troconis which detailed their activities on a nearly hourly basis the day Jennifer was last seen, but did not include the bag disposal time.

Troconis claimed they detailed their actions on the advice of Fotis' lawyer.

But her arrest warrant also alleges that she presented conflicting stories to police during three interviews about whether she saw Fotis on the morning that Jennifer died.

That morning, Fotis was meant to meet with Kent Mawhinney, his friend and lawyer, but they never actually met. Mawhinney was also charged with conspiracy to commit murder and awaits trial. He has pleaded not guilty.

Jennifer Dulos went missing in May 2019 and her body has never been found despite extensive searches from investigators. Her husband Fotis killed himself the following January after being charged with her murder

Venezuelan socialite Troconis (left with Dulos and right with her daughter) has always denied having any involvement in Jennifer's death

Meanwhile, Troconis' lawyer, Jon Schoenhorn, has accused police of lying to and misleading his client during interviews and questioning her in English with no interpreter present when her primary language is Spanish.

Schoenhorn has also challenged much of the evidence in the case. Judge Kevin Randolph recently ruled the police seizure of Troconis' cellphone was illegal and any evidence obtained from it cannot be used during the trial.

But Randolph allowed other evidence Schoenhorn sought to bar, including video of the police questioning of Troconis and DNA test results.

Dulos' family and friends hope the trial provides accountability for her death and answers to lingering questions.

'As this trial begins, it is crucial to remember who is at the center: Jennifer, whose five children have lost their mother and, as an eventuality, both parents,' said her friend Carrie Luft, in a statement on behalf of family and friends.

'Jennifers family and loved ones have lost a loving daughter, sister, cousin, and lifelong friend.'
The crash orphaned the Ambrosio's six children who are between two and nine years old

Angel Melendez-Ortiz was driving a stolen pick-up truck on the wrong side of the freeway and trying to flee cops when he smashed into them

Jen and Ryan Ambrosio were killed instantly in the head-on collision on Jan 6

Six children - all under ten years old - are now orphaned after their parents were killed when a suspect fleeing police in a stolen truck slammed into their car on a Michigan highway.

Ryan, 45, and Jen Ambrosio, 43, from Farmington Hills, were killed instantly in the head-on collision around 1.30am January 6.

Angel Melendez-Ortiz, 35, was driving a stolen pick-up truck on the wrong side of the Lodge Freeway in Southfield with his headlights off when he smashed into their SUV, police said.

The crash orphaned the Ambrosio's six children, aged between two and nine, and they are now being cared for by family members.

'They were so loved, by so many of us. Their families, friends, church, and community groups are reeling from this shocking loss,' family stated.

Melendez-Ortiz was hospitalized along with his passenger, but has since been charged with two counts of second-degree murder, fleeing police, reckless driving and driving without a license causing death - he faces life in prison.

Jen and Ryan Ambrosio died in a crash just after 1.30am January 6 when a stolen truck slammed into their SUV on a Michigan Highway

Their SUV was hit head-on by the stolen pick-up truck, killing them instantly, police said. Angel Melendez-Ortiz, 35, has since been charged with two counts of second-degree murder, fleeing police, reckless driving and driving without a license causing death - he faces life in prison

Melendez-Ortiz was fleeing Michigan State Police officers at the time after stealing a pick up truck

The cars were left mangled, the Ambrosios were declared dead at the scene and the suspect and his passenger were taken to hospital with serious injuries

Mendelez-Ortiz, 35, was taken to hospital with serious injuries following the crash

Mendelez-Ortiz was fleeing from the police in a stolen 2006 Ford Super Duty Truck when he hit a patrol car and then sped off.

Driving at over 100mph, he entered the northbound Lodge Freeway in Southfield.

To evade pursuing officers, Melendez-Ortiz exited the freeway at Telegraph Road, turned off his headlights and made a U-turn. He got back on the northbound lanes of the Lodge traveling in the wrong direction.

Speeding with his headlights still off, he slammed headlong into the Ambrosios' GMC Terrain near Civic Center Drive at around 1.30am.

The couple were returning home from their date night to their six children at the time and were killed instantly.

Melendez-Ortiz and his passenger, a 29-year-old woman from Detroit, were hospitalized with serious injuries.

The family were 'beloved' in the community. Jen was a devout Catholic, attending mass every Sunday with her entire family at the Our Lady of Sorrows church.

The couple, who celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary last year, were out on a date night at the time

Melendez-Ortiz, from Romulus, has pleaded not guilty and was given a $1.5 million cash bond, he is due back in court Jan 24.

If convicted he faces life in prison.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald told CBS Detroit: 'These are senseless deaths, and I have authorized the highest possible charges for this crime.

'We will pursue justice for these victims and their entire family, including their young children, and we will hold this defendant accountable.'

It is rare for a driver to be charged with murder after a fatal crash, but the prosecutor's office said the case shows 'elements of intentionality on the part of the defendant' because he turned off the headlights of the vehicle and was driving on wrong way.

The six children are being cared for by their extended family

The family were devout Catholics and attended Mass every Sunday at Our Lady of Sorrows church

Jen Ambrosio's cousin, Brandi Burke, started a GoFundMe fundraiser to support the children. As of Tuesday, it had raised over $614,000.

Burke wrote: 'In the early morning hours of January 6, 2024, Ryan and Jen Ambrosio were on their way home from a date night when their lives were cut short in a fatal car wreck.

'The greatest impact of this tragedy is (and will continue to be) on their six young children: Amelia, Maria Grace, Faustina, Benedict, Raphael, and Julian.

'Ranging in age from 2-9 years old, they now have to navigate life's ups and downs without their parents by their side.'

Burke said the children will be kept together in a family member's home.

She said: 'The Ambrosio children, while now without their parents, have always had the presence and support of a large extended family that will ensure they are raised together in a safe and loving home.'

Jen was a devout Catholic, attending mass every Sunday with her entire family at the Our Lady of Sorrows church.

Her cousin, Jon Jimenez, wrote: 'Jen was a big sister to me and here for every milestone of my life, both big and small.

'Our family thanks you for the love and support we've received thus far. Love the people around you today because tomorrow is never promised.'
Chinese FM lauds great progress in China-Tunisia ties in past 6 decades

Xinhua) 11:14, January 16, 2024

Tunisian President Kais Saied (1st R, front) and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (1st L, front), also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visit the library of the International Diplomatic Academy of Tunis in Tunisia, Jan. 15, 2024. Wang addressed a ceremony held in the Tunisian capital of Tunis on Monday to inaugurate the China-built International Diplomatic Academy of Tunis, which was also attended by Tunisian President Kais Saied and Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar. (Xinhua/Huang Ling)

TUNIS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday spoke highly of the "great friendship" achieved by China and Tunisia during the past six decades since the establishment of their diplomatic ties.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks at a ceremony held in the Tunisian capital of Tunis to inaugurate the China-built International Diplomatic Academy of Tunis, which was also attended by Tunisian President Kais Saied and Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar.

It took eight years to build the academy, the only one of its kind that China has helped build in an Arab country, the Chinese top diplomat noted.

The academy, which has demonstrated the high level and quality of the China-Tunisia ties, will become a new symbol of and platform for carrying forward the traditional China-Tunisia friendship, he added.

Over the past decades, China and Tunisia have firmly supported each other in safeguarding independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and choosing their own paths of development, Wang said.

The two countries have also achieved fruitful results in pragmatic cooperation by successfully implementing a number of high-quality projects to improve people's livelihoods, maintaining close communication and coordination in international and regional affairs, and working together to safeguard common interests as well as international fairness and justice, he said.

At the ceremony, Wang also called for building an equal and orderly multipolar world and advancing an inclusive economic globalization that benefits all.

He underscored that all countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, should play their due role and enjoy the right to development and revitalization.

Ammar, for his part, said that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Tunisia and China, which have achieved smooth progress in bilateral cooperation in various fields.

Strengthening the bilateral friendship is the shared political wish of both sides and conforms to the common interests of the two countries and their peoples, said Ammar.

He expressed gratitude to China for building the academy, which is the concrete result of the joint construction of the Belt and Road and has crystallized the profound friendship between Tunisia and China.

Tunisia will use the academy as a bridge for boosting mutual understanding and exchanges between Tunisia and China, as well as the rest of the world, the Tunisian top diplomat said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
The World Health Organization WHO has urged countries to continue putting in place tobacco control policies and continue to fight against tobacco industry interference.

Good progress has been made in tobacco control in recent years, but there is no time for complacency. Im astounded at the depths the tobacco industry will go to pursue profits at the expense of countless lives. We see that the minute a government thinks they have won the fight against tobacco the tobacco industry seizes the opportunity to manipulate health policies and sell their deadly products," says Dr Ruediger Krech, Director of WHO Department of Health Promotion.

While the numbers have steadily decreased over the years the world will make it to a 25% relative reduction in tobacco use by 2025, missing the voluntary global goal of 30% reduction from the 2010 baseline. Only 56 countries globally will reach this goal, down four countries since the last tobacco trends report by WHO in 2021.

1.25 billion adult tobacco users

According to the latest estimates in the World Health Organisation (WHO), globally there are 1.25 billion adult tobacco users.

Trends in 2022 show a continued decline in tobacco use rates globally. With about 1 in 5 adults worldwide consuming tobacco compared to 1 in 3 in 2000.

The report shows that 150 countries are successfully reducing tobacco use. Brazil and the Netherlands are seeing success after they implemented MPOWER tobacco control measures, with Brazil making a relative reduction of 35% since 2010 and the Netherlands on the verge of reaching the 30% target.

South-East Asia population using tobacco more

Currently the WHO South-East Asian Region has the highest percentage of population using tobacco at 26.5% with the European Region not far behind at 25.3%. The report shows that by 2030 the WHO European Region is projected to have the highest rates globally with a prevalence of just over 23%. Tobacco use rates among women in WHOs European region are more than double the global average and are reducing much slower than in all other regions.

The prevalence of tobacco use has changed little since 2010 in some countries, while six countries are still seeing tobacco use rising: Congo, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Oman, and Republic of Moldova.

WHO urges countries to accelerate efforts for tobacco control as there is still much work to be done. The Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2023, published by STOP and the Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control, show that efforts to protect health policy from increased tobacco industry interference have deteriorated around the world.

Use by children

Country surveys consistently show that children aged 1315 years in most countries are using tobacco and nicotine products. To protect the future generations and ensure that tobacco use continues to decline, WHO will dedicate this years World No Tobacco Day to Protecting children from tobacco industry interference.

Next month countries are set to meet in Panama for the 10th Session of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Conference of Parties where the tobacco industry will try to influence global health policies by offering financial and in-kind incentives, interfering with countries rights to protect the health of their populations.

Strengthening the WHO FCTC is a global health priority outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals. WHO stands ready to support countries in defending evidenced based tobacco control measures in the face of industry interference.--TradeArabia News Service
The US carried out four fresh strikes on Yemen on Tuesday targeting anti-ship ballistic missiles used by the Houthi rebels.

The Yemeni rebels were preparing to use the facility to continue their attacks against western ships on the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, according to US officials.

'The US conducted self-defense strikes against four Houthi ballistic missiles that posed an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships,' a US official told AFP.

It's the latest US military's latest move against the Iran-aligned group over its targeting of Red Sea shipping after it declared war on the US over its support of Israel in the war against Hamas.

The strikes came a day after the Yemeni rebels attacked a US cargo ship on Monday.

The US strikes came a day after Yemeni rebels attacked a US cargo ship on Monday

Tuesday's US strikes against Yemen came a day after the the Houthis rebels attacked the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned and operated container ship

US Central command said Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired the anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and struck the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned and operated container ship.

Shell announced on Tuesday it would be suspending all its Red Sea shipments following the attack.

A tanker chartered by Shell carrying Indian jet fuel was last month targeted by the jihadists. The vessel was attacked by a drone and harassed by rebel boats.

Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping have continued even after the US and Britain last week launched an initial wave of strikes to degrade Houthi capabilities.

But unlike the initial US strikes last week, which were against pre-planned targets, Tuesday's strikes appeared to show that the US military would proactively go after Houthi military capabilities as they are detected. If confirmed, that would usher in a far more assertive posture for the U.S. military toward the Houthis.

Central Command on Monday disclosed the first seizure in more than four years of advanced Iranian-manufactured ballistic missile and cruise missile components, in a January 11 operation that saw two Navy SEALs lost at sea near the coast of Somali.

'Initial analysis indicates these same weapons have been employed by the Houthis to threaten and attack innocent mariners on international merchant ships transiting in the Red Sea,' Central Command said in a statement.

On Sunday Yemen's Houthi rebels launched an attack against an American destroyer in the Red Sea

The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, have claimed their attacks on commercial ships are aimed at supporting the Palestinians in Israel's war in Gaza. Their attacks have disrupted global shipping and stoked fears of global inflation. They have also deepened concern that fallout from the Israel-Hamas war could destabilize the Middle East.

The Houthi movement has vowed to keep up attacks despite the strikes last week against radar and missile capabilities. Some experts believe they welcome a conflict with the United States and its allies.

On Sunday, Houthi fire went in the direction of the USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer operating in the southern reaches of the Red Sea, the U.S. militarys Central Command said in a statement.

The missile came from near Hodeida, a Red Sea port city long held by the Houthis, the US said.

The Houthis have been attacking commercial ship sin the Red Sea which they claim are headed to Israel as they aim to support Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas.

A US fighter jet blasted the Houthi cruise missile out of the sky over the Red Sea on Sunday before it was able to hit its target, the USS Laboon.

Rebels were seen posing with machine guns and rocket launchers in photos released Sunday. Fighters were also photographed earlier in the weekend conducting drills and recording themselves in terrain made to resemble Jewish settlements.

The United States military and its allies began airstrikes on Friday on the rebels following weeks of assaults on shipping in the Red Sea.

The Houthi fire on Sunday went in the direction of the USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the southern reaches of the Red Sea, Central Command said.

The missile came from near Hodeida, a Red Sea port city long held by the Houthis. 'An anti-ship cruise missile was fired from Iranian-backed Houthi militant areas of Yemen toward USS Laboon,' Central Command said.

'There were no injuries or damage reported.' The first day of US-led strikes on Friday hit 28 locations and struck more than 60 targets with cruise missiles and bombs.

Sites hit included weapon depots, radars and command centers, including in remote mountain areas.

The Houthis have yet to acknowledge how severe the infrastructure damage was from the strikes, which they said killed five of their troops and wounded six others.

But two officials told the New York Times on Sunday they still have about 75 percent of their ability to fire missiles and drones at ships transiting the Red Sea.

This is despite the US and its allies claiming to have damaged or destroyed about 90 percent of the targets struck.
A winter storm has frozen government officials' ability to work Tuesday as a rare dumping of snow covered the nation's capital.

The House of Representatives announced they would be cancelling votes, the White House called an early press lid and federal offices are closed as the area deals with several inches of snow.

GOP Whip Tom Emmer's office advised that 'votes are no longer expected today' due to 'inclement weather conditions.'

The House will now plan to vote for the first time on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. ET - just three days before the next anticipated government shutdown on Friday at midnight.

The Senate, meanwhile, is still meeting Tuesday in order to kick off the long process of staving off a shutdown with a short-gap spending measure that would fund the government into the beginning of March.

A short drive down Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House announced that employees could work virtually due to the inclement weather.

They also announced a press lid shortly after 10:00 a.m., meaning reporters and the public will not hear or see from President Biden for the remainder of the day.

Other federal offices are also closed today and employees have been asked to telework.

Over three inches of snow have fallen in Washington D.C. since Monday, causing treacherous road conditions Tuesday

Members of Congress must pass a spending bill by Friday to keep multiple government agencies from shutting down

Federal offices throughout the Washington-area are closed Tuesday, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Public school classes were canceled in Washington D.C. and neighboring Maryland and Virginia counties as a result of the winter storm

The Washington, D.C. area had not gotten over an inch of snow in over two years before the storm hit this week, according to local weather reports

The White House called called for a lid shortly after 10:00 AM on Tuesday, meaning reporters and the public will not see or hear from the president for the remainder of the day

D.C. residents celebrated the storm on the National Mall by having snowball fights and building snowmen

Locals roll snow into balls for snowmen in front of the Washington Monument

The White House advised its employees they could telework on Tuesday due to the weather

The snow day comes as the federal government is set to partially shut down on Friday if a spending bill is not passed.

Since the end of September, Congress has failed to pass appropriations bills to fund government agencies for 2024. Instead, they have passed two short-term spending deals called continuing resolutions, or CRs, to kick the issue of funding down the road.

If a CR is reached, the government would continue funding federal agencies at the same levels set by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to the chagrin of many Republicans.

The senate has not cancelled their votes scheduled for Tuesday and seems poised to vote on a CR this week.

House Speaker Mike Johnson recently agreed to a deal with Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer that would fund the government in fiscal year 2024 at a $1.6 trillion level.

If the greenlit CR is passed before midnight on Friday, a government shutdown would be avoided until at least March 1.
The United Nations has warned Alabama of potentially violating human rights treaties by going through with the execution of a hitman using nitrogen gas.

Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, is set to die by nitrogen hypoxia - or suffocation by nitrogen gas - on January 25, nearly 35 years after he and another carried out the hired hit on a 45-year-old preacher's wife, Elizabeth Sennett.

He was supposed to be put to death in November 2022, but the execution was botched when prison staff couldn't get the lethal injection needle into a vein.

Smith, 58, sued Alabama to instead be killed with nitrogen gas, which would suffocate him to death, and a court approved the method in May.

Earlier this month, UN experts expressed alarm over the choice, stating that it may 'subject him to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or even torture'.

They explained that the possibility of grave suffering existed if the execution went through since there was no scientific evidence to state otherwise.

The intergovernmental organization is now demanding the state to halt Smith's execution and not conduct any other future executions using nitrogen gas.

This undated photo provided by the Alabama Department of Corrections shows Kenneth Eugene Smith, who was convicted in a 1988 murder-for-hire slaying of a preacher's wife

Earlier this month, UN experts expressed alarm over the choice, stating that it may 'subject him to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or even torture'

Elizabeth Sennett, 45, was found dead on March 18, 1988, in her home in Alabama's Colbert County. She had been stabbed eight times in the chest and once on each side of neck

Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement today: 'We are alarmed by the imminent execution in the United States of America of Kenneth Eugene Smith, through the use of a novel and untested method  suffocation by nitrogen gas, which could amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under international human rights law.

'The UN Human Rights Office calls on Alabama state authorities to halt Smiths execution, scheduled for 25-26 January, and to refrain from taking steps towards any other executions in this manner.

'We have serious concerns that Smiths execution in these circumstances could breach the prohibition on torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, as well as his right to effective remedies.'

The Office said if the state went through with the execution using the current method, they would violate the UN's Convention against Torture along with the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment.

The 1984 resolution titled Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment states that 'no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.'

The intergovernmental organization is demanding the state to halt Smith's execution

Elizabeth 'Liz' had two sons, Chuck and Mike, and several grandchildren

Sennett's husband, who was the pastor of the Westside Church of Christ in Sheffield, killed himself one week after her death when the murder investigation started to focus on him as a suspect, according to court documents

Smith was initially convicted of the contract killing - ordered by disgraced Rev Charles Edward Sennett (pictured) - in 1989, and a jury then voted 10-2 to recommend a death sentence, then by electric chair

The Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment resolution, which was set in 1988 guarantees that no detainee shall be subjected to medical or scientific experimentation which may be detrimental to his health.

The US is a member of both resolutions.

Shamdasani's statement further read: 'Rather than inventing new ways to implement capital punishment, we urge all States to put in place a moratorium on its use, as a step towards universal abolition.'

The UN's involvement comes a month after Reverend Jeff Hood, an anti-capital punishment Catholic priest Smith asked to give him spiritual support in his last moments, sued to stop the execution.

Rev. Hood filed a lawsuit in the Alabama District Court demanding the execution be halted until authorities could safely allow him to perform his duties.

The lawsuit is believed to be a pretext for buying time to stop the execution entirely, as he has spoken frequently about the moral wrong of putting Smith to death.

Hood works with Death Penalty Action and has provided spiritual counseling to numerous death row inmates during their executions.

His lawsuit argues nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method 'presents potentially significant dangers to his own life, and violates the religious liberties of both himself and Mr. Smith'.

Reverend Jeff Hood (pictured) is suing to stop a hitman on death row from being executed with poison gas, arguing it could put his own life at risk too

John Forrest Parker, the other man convicted in the slaying, was executed by lethal injection in 2010 - a fate that awaited Smith last year but was called off because workers were unable to start an intravenous connection before the execution warrant expired at midnight

Several states turned to nitrogen hypoxia as a substitute for lethal injection as the drugs required became more scarce and expensive.

An increasing number of botched executions and shifting public sentiment prompted some makers of the drugs to refuse to sell them to prisons.

An airtight mask is placed over the condemned inmate's face and pure nitrogen is pumped inside, causing unconsciousness and death from oxygen deprivation.

However, the state acknowledged the procedure was not without risk for others within the small chamber, should something go wrong.

Hood was therefore forbidden to come within three feet of Smith in case the gas leaked from the mask, which he argued violated Smith's religious rights.

His lawsuit claims the waiver requiring him to stay three feet from Smith was signed 'under duress' and was illegal.

The US Supreme Court ruled last year that spiritual advisers must be allowed to pray with and lay hands on inmates during executions.

The state of Alabama has yet not commented on the UN's request.
It was chilly day in Mason City, Iowa, and MAGA die-hard supporters who came to see Donald Trump were presented with an introductory video that departed from the usual array of flags and family members and endorsers touting his political wins.

A deep-voiced narrator gave a sermon-like exposition while large screens showed images from the heartland and of Trump.

'And on 14 June 1946, God looked down on his planned paradise and said: I need a caretaker.

So God gave us Trump, said the narrator. 'God said I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, fix this country, work all day, fight the Marxists, eat supper, then go to the Oval Office and stay past midnight at a meeting of the heads of state. So God made Trump,' he said.

The video, which Trump shared on his Truth Social web site, one of many times when the former president and his campaign team cast his pursuit of a blowout victory as a religious crusade.

The final results that came in would have been enough to answer his prayers.

Trump cleaned up among evangelical voters in the Iowa Caucses Monday nighjt

When officials tabulated the results Monday night, Trump had not only won Iowa convincingly, but he cracked an outright majority among white evangelicals, a group holding tremendous sway in Iowa.

He won 53 per cent support among the group, according to NBC entrance polls. The group made up half of those who turned out on a day with sub-zero temperatures that slashed turnout to just 110,000 people.

It came in a blowout win where he carried 98 of the state's 99 counties. Rival Ron DeSantis had made a big push for the state's religious voters, and stressed faith and family as he campaigned throughout the state.

DeSantis had also given evangelical supporters in Iowa something to vote for: he signed into law the Florida' 'Heartbeat Protection Act,' which outlaws abortion six weeks after conception. But it was the former president who ran away with their support.

Ron DeSantis made a push for Iowa evengelical support, and stressed faith and family on the campaign trail

Trump was in a Manhattan courthouse Tuesday in his defamation case. A jury in a related case found he committed sexual abuse

In a twist, and in a sign of his instinct that he would over-perform among the group, Trump went after DeSantis on the issue, and made a case for abortion 'exceptions,' which he described as linked to winning elections.

''Now, I happen to be for the exceptions, like Ronald Reagan, with the life of the mother. Rape, incest, I have -- I just have to be there,' Trump said.

'I think it's candidly, I think it's one of the most fascinating and interesting things about this process has been that Trump has been able to kind of in a highly nuanced and sometimes amorphous way, addressed this issue with an eye to the general and at least so far has been hasn't really paid up a penalty for it,' Ralph Reed, chairman of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, told DailyMail.com before the caucuses.

'I'm surprised at that consistent loyalty of the evangelical community toward Donald Trump,' Trump rival Asa Hutchinson told DailyMail.com days before Trump's blowout victory drove him to drop out of the race.

'He doesn't need to be a pastor, he needs to bring us the freedoms to change our country,' said Brett Mason, who led prayers before a Trump event in Cedar Rapids last week.

Worshippers at a Des Moines Megachurch sang Trump's praises the day before the caucuses, in a sign of how his support among evangelicals was holding.

Trump split evangelical christian voters who hold a college degree with DeSantis, according to entrance polls. But he ran away two-thirds support among those without a college degree.

Back in 2016, evangelicals made up almost two-thirds of those who caucuses amid a contentious GOP primary.

They helped power Texas Sen. Ted Cruz to his surprise win over Trump.

'They gave about a third of their votes to Ted Cruz, about a fifth of their votes to both Donald Trump and Marco Rubio and it was that margin among evangelicals that gave Cruz his victory, and really enabled him to go mano-a mano with Trump through Super Tuesday and all the way to the Indiana primary in April and all the way to the convention,' said Reed.

That came despite Trump's status as a thrice married politician who had publicly spoken of pro-choice positions in the past.

In the time since, Trump has flooded the courts with conservative judges, and helped put three conservative justices on the Supreme Court who helped overturn Roe v. Wade.

This time, Trump picked up about 70 per cent of Cruz's voting bloc, according to the Washington Post.

It is a formula Trump can tray to replicate in South Carolina, where white evangelicals hold similar voting power. That is a state that DeSantis will be banking on  with lower prospects of finding a way past Trump and Nikki Haley in New Hampshire.

Trump plans to head to New Hampshire Tuesday night to try to run a replay of his Iowa blowout. That comes after stopping in New York to attend the latest installment in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case, where a jury trial previously found he committed sexual abuse.
In 1919, the ship crashed into a sandbar off the coast after an alleged mutiny

Wooden planks of a century-old shipwreck have surfaced on a North Carolina beach after a storm washed away its sandy tomb.

The fire department of Surf City, North Carolina, shared photos on Facebook of the newly unearthed wooden planks of the William H. Sumner on Monday.

The group confirmed the logs belonged to the ship that was the William H. Sumner, a 165-foot-long, three-masted schooner toting phosphate, mahogany and ironwood when it sank almost 105 years ago.

According the fire department, the Sumner was sailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to New York when it sank after passing Wrightsville Beach around 8pm on September 7, 1919, on a sandbar off Topsail Inlet.

'Normally only seen a couple times throughout the year but due to a recent storm it's completely uncovered,' said the fire department.

The fire department of Surf City, North Carolina shared a photo of the newly unearthed remains of the William H. Sumner

The William H. Sumner (pictured) was a 165-foot-long, three-masted schooner toting phosphate, mahogany and ironwood when it sank 105 years ago

The Sumner was sailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico to New York when it sank after passing Wrightsville Beach around 8 p.m. on September 7, 1919, on a sandbar off Topsail Inlet

Some experts believe the Sumner sank after crew members mutinied on board the vessel. Eight crew members were tried for murder, but the jury failed to reach a verdict

The William H. Sumner periodically resurfaces on the shores of Surf City, and was last seen back in 2020.

In 2020, similar remains of the wreckage surfaced on the beach. Back in 2017, a low tide revealed interconnected logs from the ships remains.

Experts believe the Sumner sunk off the coast of nearby Topsail Island on September 7, 1919 after crew members mutinied on board the vessel.

The 165-foot-long ship was built in 1891 and, at the time of its supposed sinking, was carrying 850 tons of phosphate, in addition to 56 mahogany logs and 30 tons of iron wood, according to Wrightsvillle Beach Magazine.

According to the TopSailIslandblog, the captain of the ship, 25-year-old Robert E. Cochrane, was found dead in mysterious circumstances after the ship ran aground.

'The story goes that the young captain on his first voyage in command had sailed too close to the shore while the currents and winds had died preventing him from sailing back offshore again,' said TopSailIslandblog.

The William H. Sumner periodically resurfaces on the shores of Surf City, and was last seen back in 2020 (pictured)

Back in 2017, a low tide revealed interconnected logs from the ships remains (pictured)

The ship was said to have gotten beached on a sandbar and taken on eight feet of water in its hold and eventually split in half.

It was initially believed that Cochrane may have been distraught 'over the fact that his vessel met disaster on his first voyage' and committed suicide over his failure.

However, three crewmen were interviewed later claimed that the young captain was shot and killed by his first mate while still at sea.

'The speculation is that the crew had asked the Captain to detour to pick up supplies and the captain, wishing to head northward to port, would not. The crew then allegedly mutinied,' the blog reports.

Eight crew members were tried for murder, but the jury failed to reach a verdict.
Rishi Sunak faces a 24 hour battle to save his premiership tonight after he was hit with a massive Tory revolt on his Rwanda plan.

The PM suffered an eye-watering 60-strong rebellion in a series of brutal Commons votes - with rebels warning that the flagship policy to fly migrants to east Africa will be killed off altogether unless he agrees to beef up the legislation.

Two Conservative deputy chairs, Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith, dramatically quit to defy the government whip on the flagship Bill.

Jane Stevenson - a ministerial aide to Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch - also offered her resignation after backing the hostile amendments in crunch votes this evening.

Amendments to disapply international law and limit the rights of asylum seekers to appeal against their deportation were supported by 60 Conservatives - with the scale of the rebellion even bigger than many had expected. Former senior ministers Suella Braverman, Liz Truss and Robert Jenrick were among the mutineers.

Furious MPs insist they are 'not f***ing around' and have been threatening to kill the flagship legislation altogether tomorrow, plunging the government into crisis. Danny Kruger, the new Conservatives co-leader, said he was 'prepared' to vote against it but urged ministers to move towards their position.

But some alarmed Tories warned that the party was approaching 'mass suicide' with just months to go until a general election.

Boris Johnson has also waded into the row, saying the government must bow to the demands.

The government was never in danger of losing the votes outright this evening, as Labour does not support the rebel moves.

But the size of the rebellion is catastrophic for Mr Sunak's authority, and he must now decide whether to cave or up the ante and make the vote a confidence issue.

He has made 'stopping the boats' a key plank of his pitch for a general election due to happen by the end of the year.

The existential threat to the Bill will come tomorrow when it is due to have its third reading, the last Commons stage.

With Labour set to vote against at that point, rebels could be able to crash the flagship legislation, plunging Mr Sunak into chaos.

Rishi Sunak (pictured holding Cabinet this morning) suffered a brutal blow tonight with 60 rebels backing toughening his Rwanda plans

Rishi Sunak suffered a major revolt over Rwanda tonight as Tories backed moves to beef up legislation

Jane Stevenson - a ministerial aide to Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch - also offered her resignation after backing hostile amendments in crunch votes this evening

Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick (left) has also insisted he will vote against the bill if the amendments fail. In tense scenes in the Commons, Jane Stevenson (right) - a ministerial aide to Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch - said she would be backing hostile amendments in crunch votes this evening

Mr Sunak has made 'stopping the boats' a key plank of his pitch for a general election due to happen by the end of the year. Pictured, arrivals at Dover over the weekend

Mr Anderson and Mr Clarke-Smith quit as Tory deputy chairs after joining the rebellion

The Commons division list recorded 58 Tories backing the rebel amendment - plus two tellers means the rebellion was by 60 MPs

Boris Johnson has also waded into the row urging the government to accept the rebel amendments

Mr Jenrick told the Commons in the debate this afternoon that the Bill 'doesn't work' and is 'operationally flawed'. He said the proposed changes 'represent the last opportunity for us to get this policy right'.

Tory rebel Mark Francois said 'the numbers speak for themselves' when asked if he would vote against the Bill on Wednesday.

'I hope very much that the Government will listen and as a result of this that the Government will listen and take stock and that perhaps there will be some possibility of tightening the Bill tomorrow,' he told Sky News.

'The numbers speak for themselves.'

Rebels suggested earlier that it would be 'sad' and 'politically damaging' to axe Mr Anderson. But another ERG member supporting the amendments told MailOnline: 'If he doesn't he will show weakness.'

The pair quit moments before going through to division lobbies in favour of amendments designed to sweep away more obstacles to getting deportation flights up and running. In a joint resignation letter, Mr Anderson and Mr Clarke-Smith insisted they had to be 'consistent' and ensure the legislation would work.

A Downing Street source said: 'The PM accepts their resignation and thanks both Lee and Brendan for their dedication and hard work for the Conservative Party.

'This is the toughest legislation ever brought before Parliament to tackle illegal migration.

'This Bill will make it clear that if you come here illegally you will not be able to stay. We must pass this Bill to deliver what all Conservatives want  a credible plan to stop the boats.'

Reform UK leader Richard Tice quickly twisted the knife by offering the two departing Tories a berth in his party.

Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick and ex-Cabinet colleague Simon Clarke are among those who have stated they will vote against the Bill altogether if it is not amended. However, it is not clear whether they have the numbers to kill it off.

Tory moderates, who are already worried the legislation is too tough, urged Mr Sunak to hold his nerve and face down the right wing. Former Cabinet minister Damian Green said he believed the rebellion had reached its 'high water mark' and the mutiny would fade tomorrow.

Former Tory director of communications Guto Harri tore into the rebels, saying they risked destroying the party.

'What you see as they are heading towards the cliff (is that) instead of changing direction some of them want to put their foot even more firmly on the accelerator and go flying off that cliff in a blaze of glory,' he told Sky News.

'I think these are self-centred narcissists who are enjoying the attention that they command, not realising that their rebellion today is utterly futile, because they have been outvoted massively in the House of Commons.

'Tomorrow they either bottle it or they really are committing mass suicide as a party, so the futility of it, the self-indulgence of it, the narcissism of it, in aid of what?

'These people are so obsessed with ideological or theological purity that they have forgotten that there is no point having the perfect policy if you are not in a position to execute it.'

Posting on the X social media site this afternoon, Mr Johnson said: 'Governments around the world are now trying to imitate the UK Rwanda policy for tackling illegal people trafficking,' he said.

'This Bill must be as legally robust as possible  and the right course is to adopt the amendments.'

The PM gathered his Cabinet this morning ahead of the showdown, with Tory tensions boiling up all day.

As voting began on the first rebel amendment, Mr Anderson and Mr Clarke-Smith released their letter saying: 'In the past we have signed amendments, voted for ten minute rule bills and spoken on various occasions in the media to argue that safeguards need to put in place to make sure our legislation is watertight.

'It is therefore important in terms of credibility that we are consistent with this.'

The pair stressed that their support for the 'government remains as strong as ever and that is why we are so passionate about making this legislation work'.

'However, we fully appreciate that with such important roles there is also the issue of being bound by collective responsibility.'

In a post on X, Wolverhampton North East MP Ms Stevenson said: 'I have offered my resignation as a PPS this evening. I don't consider my votes to have been anti-Govt, but they do warrant resignation. In the Chamber earlier I paid tribute to @RishiSunak's work so far & welcomed his commitment made in Rome in Dec to lead talks on (global) frameworks.'

Pushing his amendment in the House, ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick said it would make the Rwanda scheme 'legally and operationally workable for the first time'.

'It's not correct to say that we wouldn't enable people to challenge individual circumstances, but they wouldn't be able to be suspensive,' he said.

More judges to deal with migrant appeals, says Justice Secretary Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has asked for more judges to be appointed to the First-tier and Upper Tribunal to speed up courts dealing with migrant appeals. He told the Commons that recruitment would 'conclude in the next few months and new judges will be appointed, trained and start sitting from this summer'. In the meantime, the judiciary had identified judges which could provide 5,000 additional sitting days while extra space had been prepared, making a total of 25 courtrooms available for hearings. In a written ministerial statement to Parliament, he said: 'We are confident that, with the additional courtroom and judicial capacity detailed above, in line with projected levels agreed with the Home Office, the vast majority of Illegal Migration Act appeal work will be dealt with by the courts in an expedited manner.' Advertisement

'So individuals would arrive in the UK and within days, which is critical to the success of the scheme, they would be removed to Rwanda, where they could bring forward claims as they may wish, but they wouldn't block the flights, and that is critical. Without which, the scheme would simply not succeed.'

The MP for Newark added: 'There are very narrow grounds in which individuals would not be put on a flight, ones the Home Office are very used to dealing with through fitness to travel requirements, and that is a concept that's well known and understood and I'm certain would work.

'So what does the amendment do that's different? It narrows down the reasons by which individuals could make claims and makes the scheme legally and operationally workable for the first time.'

Mr Jenrick also dismissed claims by ministers that Rwanda would have walked away from a Treaty if it had gone further in loosening human rights rules.

'That argument is not a plausible one in my opinion. The argument that the Rwandan government walk away from this scheme was raised not just at the eleventh hour, but one minute to midnight,' Mr Jenrick said.

He added: 'I think this is not a plausible argument from the (UK) Government. I think it was unwise for the Government to solicit that press release from the government of Rwanda. I don't think that we should cast blame on the government of Rwanda because I think they are honourable people who want that scheme to work.'

Veteran Tory MP Bill Cash also said he would push his amendment to a vote - but urged the government to propose their own change.

'I strongly urge the Government to note the sheer anger and frustration demonstrated in opinion polls and public concern that we get this Bill right and make it work,' he said.

'If not, this anger will continue up to and including the general election.

'Would it not be wise for the Government to reflect on the position, and that it would be better and wiser to come forward with their own amendments and use our majority, in line with our manifesto, granted to us by the general election in 2019, and in the national interest, and for the sake of all Conservative Members of Parliament whose seats will be so at risk if we do not do so?'

Another Tory, Sir Edward Leigh cautioned that if the Bill is passed as it is 'people will make spurious claims based on their political opinions which will make it impossible for them to be put on a flight to Rwanda'.

He said: 'You can so easily concoct a spurious reason why, whilst Rwanda generally may be a safe country, for you personally you cannot be sent there and this will clog up our whole judicial process.'

Sir Edward continued: 'You can concoct so easily a history of mental illness, it's so subjective, it's easy enough to find a doctor to sign a medical certificate saying that you have a history of mental illness, it's easy to concoct a personal history. For instance if you come from Iran, that you allege that you are gay for instance, again no tribunal will export you to Iran if you say that you are gay. If you come from Iraq you can say that you are an activist Christian, whether you are or not.

'I cannot see how anybody who has a right to go through the judicial process  given the ease that you create a history, personal history, which will make your own personal circumstances impossible in Rwanda  I can't believe that any court or any tribunal will export somebody to Rwanda.'

Sir Simon Clarke said he would vote against the Bill at third reading tomorrow if the amendments failed.

'The Prime Minister has said he will do whatever it takes. Unfortunately, I do not believe that as of this moment we are set to do whatever it takes to stop this problem,' he said.

'And I can only vote for this legislation if I believe genuinely and sincerely that it will resolve the problem.'

Speaking about the Bill meeting the 'reality of our courts system', he said 'I don't think the outcome will be a pretty one', adding that 'at best' there are 'likely to be a few token flights'.

'In the absence of amendments being brought forward and supported by the Government I will not be able to support this Bill, more than that, I will vote against it at third reading.'

Former Cabinet minister Simon Clarke reacted with anger to claims a minister had said rebels were only 'f***cking around' and would not vote to kill the Bill

The immigration minister made a final appeal to rebels as he wound up the debate, warning that amendments would make it 'simply unworkable'.

Michael Tomlinson told the Commons: 'This House has a fundamental choice.

'We can legislate as the Government proposes to end the perilous journeys being made across the Channel by enabling Parliament to confirm that in light of the treaty that the Home Secretary signed on December 5 last year, and in light of the updated evidence, that the Republic of Rwanda is a safe third country.

'Or we can put into statute a scheme that is riven with holes by amendments tabled by members opposite that makes the Bill simply unworkable.'

More than 60 Tory MPs, including Liz Truss, Suella Braverman and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, have signed amendments to beef up the Safety of Rwanda Bill.

Miriam Cates, Conservative MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, said she would be prepared to vote against the Rwanda Bill if it is not amended.

However, Tory moderates on the other wing of the party have said they could oppose the legislation if it is strengthened further.

Former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland said: 'There are a large number of Conservatives on the One Nation side who think the Bill has gone as far as they are comfortable with  or even a bit further, in my case  and our view needs to be heard.'

Mr Anderson's decision to side with the rebels leaves the PM facing a dilemma over whether to sack him from his role as deputy Tory chairman

Brendan Clarke-Smith had also pledged to back rebel amendments tonight

In a further blow, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the Bill and recently signed treaty with Kigali was 'not compatible' with international refugee law.

The Rwanda scheme was blocked by the Supreme Court in November after judges accepted claims from campaigners that the country was not safe, as asylum seekers could theoretically be returned from there to their home country to face torture.

The Rwanda Bill will declare in law that the African nation is a safe country and prevent the courts examining the principle of the scheme.

But to the dismay of Tory rebels, it will not prevent individual appeals by those threatened with deportation.

Mr Anderson's decision to side with the rebels leaves the PM facing a dilemma over whether to sack him from his role as deputy Tory chairman.

Mr Anderson said he had signed several rebel amendments tabled by Mr Jenrick and veteran Eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash, adding: 'I will vote for them.'

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said this morning that he is 'pretty sure' Mr Anderson will still be in post at the next election.

'I think we might be getting ahead of ourselves because I think that, and Lee is a friend and I'm a big admirer of his, the concerns that Lee has about the Bill are the concerns that the country has about migration more broadly,' he told Times Radio.

Key rebel proposals include banning migrants from making individual legal claims against deportation to Rwanda, blocking injunctions from the European Court of Human Rights and disapplying all human rights laws.

Mr Sunak said he was 'happy to have a dialogue with anyone who thinks they might have an idea that will improve the effectiveness of the Bill'.
A mother of an infant girl has plummeted 100ft to her death while caving without a helmet or proper abseiling gear.

Autumn Nicole Draper, 38, fell as she explored a cave on private property in Staffordsville, Virginia, near the West Virginia border, on Friday.

A fellow caver called 911 about 4.15pm, but it was not until after 1am on Saturday that her body was retrieved, Giles County Emergency Services said.

Draper, also known as Nikki Koert, was the mother of a young daughter whom her brother Brandon Koert promised to raise as his own.

'My beautiful sister is now with God. My heart is aching and I don't even know what to say,' he said.

Autumn Nicole Draper, 38, (pictured center with her brother and family) fell as she explored a cave on private property in Staffordsville, Virginia , near the West Virginia border

Draper (right), also known as Nikki Koert, was the mother of a young daughter whom her brother Brandon Koert (left) promised to raise as his own

'I know that life was hard. And that you carried so much pain in your heart. I'm so sorry Nikki. I wish I could have done so much more.

'Your little girl is ganna be just fine. I can't look at her and not see you. I can't hear her little deep voice and not hear yours when you were that age.

'I promise you I will shower her with love. I will protect her, I will always show up and be there for her, I will raise her and be the best daddy I can be for as long as I am here. Love, your Big Brother.'

Koert thanked his friend James Crigger, who stayed as rescuers from the Celco Emergency Response team and Blacksburg Rescue Squad's Technical Rescue Cave team found and removed her body.

'I couldn't thank you enough for all you have done for us man. Sitting out there with us half the night and not leaving until they retrieved her out of that cave,' he said.

Local police said Draper was not wearing a helmet nor using appropriate rappelling gear when she fell

Draper lived in the nearby town of Fairlawn, near Roanoke, with her daughter and grew up in Pulaski.

Local police said Draper was not wearing a helmet nor using appropriate rappelling gear when she fell.

Giles County Chief Deputy Scott Moye did not suspect foul play, but said the sheriff's office was waiting for the results of an autopsy.

Virginia has more than 4,000 caves, at least 253 caves in Giles County alone, but only a dozen of them are developed as tourist attractions.
Israel is preparing for the horrific scenario that raped hostages held by Hamas may return home pregnant.

Hospitals in Israel are discussing how they might have to deal with the mental and physical state of some female hostages who may be at various stages of pregnancy when they are released from captivity, according to the Hebrew publication Maariv.

Gynecologist teams are also concerned about the current health of women who may be pregnant as the poor hygiene conditions where they are being held captive in Gaza could put them at risk of serious infections.

Israel's Ministry Health allows women to apply for an abortion up until the moment of birth depending on their age and other circumstances, including if the pregnancy is a result of rape.

About 136 hostages are still believed to be held captive in Gaza by Hamas and it is thought that some may have been raped, according to the testimonies of those that have already been released.

Israel is preparing for the horrific scenario that raped hostages held by Hamas may return home pregnant. Pictured: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Hamas fighters accompany newly released hostages before handing them over to the Red Cross in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on November 28 2023

A man fixes one of many pictures of Israelis still held hostage in Gaza to a wall in Jerusalem on January 10

Professor Tal Biron-Shental, chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba, told Maariv: 'The human mind fails to grasp a case of abduction in captivity, which will have to deal not only with the pregnancy but with the fact that it was created by the brutal rape of a murderous terrorist.

'The main difficulty that the country must prepare for right now is the terrible mental trauma. A pregnant woman who feels movements becomes attached to the fetus.

'But in the case that it is the product of a terrorist who murdered her relatives and brutally raped her, the emotional result is unimaginable.

'I am uncertain how they will cope, but we must prepare now for this terrible theoretical possibility of a woman conceiving or raising such a child.

'Thus, we must stop this atrocity, not allow the captives to perish there, bring them back, and provide them with care.'

Professor Hagai Levine, chairman of Israel's Association of Public Health Physicians and head of the medical department of the Captive Families Headquarters added: 'The task of terminating an advanced pregnancy becomes increasingly complex and challenging as the days in captivity progress.

'Stress, polluted environments, and the absence of medical supervision amplify the complications and dangers of pregnancy for the mother, even before considering the appalling psychological aspect.

'We have been pressing for a long time with requests to allow medical examinations and the transfer of medications. If there is a captive woman who, God forbid, has conceived from rape, it is imperative to bring her home urgently.'

Eylon Keshet holds posters of his captive family members as he views an exhibition organised which aims to highlight the continued plight of Israeli hostages in Gaza

People hold posters depicting Israeli hostages in Gaza to mark 100 days since the October 7 Hamas attack on January 14

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the weekly cabinet meeting at the Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv, Israel, on January 7

Smoke rises following Israeli air strikes in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on January 16

January 14 marked 100 days since Hamas' shock invasion into southern Israel, storming across the border in cars, vans and by motorised paraglider at daybreak.

Some 1,100 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed in the October 7 attacks, while 240 were taken hostage to be used as leverage in prisoner swaps with Israel, which holds many Palestinians - civilians and suspected terrorists - in prisons.

Israel's offensive in response to the attack, has killed more than 23,000 Palestinians. according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Around 40 per cent of the Gazan population are children.

A week-long ceasefire was organised in November after weeks of retaliatory bombing by Israel on communities in Gaza as the army paved the way for a wider ground invasion.

Critics, including international charities and the UN, warned that the bombing was devastating civilian communities in one of the world's most densely-packed enclaves.

A siege of Gaza City, cutting water, aid, power, medical supplies and fuel to the beleaguered Strip risked a serious humanitarian crisis, the UN warned in October.

And 24-hour evacuation orders were met with outcry from humanitarian aid groups, warning such an unprecedented migration of people was 'impossible'.

Mounting pressure eventually saw Israel agree to a temporary ceasefire to last from November 24 until November 30.

A total of 110 hostages were released during that timeframe, mostly as part of a Qatar-mediated deal between Hamas and Israel, some released as part of a separate deal with Thailand and two as a gesture to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The return of hostages from Gaza has revealed the dire conditions hostages were exposed to within Gaza.

Some gave chilling accounts of rape, physical beatings and psychological torture, drawing horrified reactions from family members and Israeli citizens who put more pressure on the government to safely ensure the return of the remaining captives.
As part of their efforts to nail the Gilgo Beach serial killer, Long Island police followed suspect Rex Heuermann's daughter to obtain her DNA from an energy drink.

On May 25, 2023, Victoria Heuermann, 26, was followed from Penn Station in New York City on a Long Island Rail Road train to Massapequa Park, the coastal Long Island town where she grew up and where her father is accused of carrying out the murders of four prostitutes.

Undercover police officers watched Victoria on the hour-long train journey as she sipped from the Monster Java drink, then followed her on to the platform at Massapequa Park, where she discarded the drink into a trash can.

They seized it the can and later tested the DNA she left on it against the female hair found on the body of Amber Costello, a sex worker who vanished on September 2, 2010, after arranging to meet a client.

Victoria Heuermann, right, with her mother Asa Ellerup in Suffolk County Court today

Victoria Heuermann is spotted on the Long Island Rail Road on May 25, 2023. Police followed her on the train and later seized the can she had been drinking from

The can is shown in the trash after being discarded by Victoria. DNA taken from it was a 4million percent match to a relative of the DNA found on one of the victims

The incident was three months before Rex's arrest in midtown Manhattan.

The DNA was a 4million percent match to someone directly related to Victoria, the agents found.

The new details emerged today in a new filing by Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tiernay.

Heuermann was charged with a fourth murder - that of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, a 25-year-old sex worker who vanished in 2007.

Victoria was unaware that the agents had followed her until today.

'They were surprised. They didn't know that their husband and father was a suspect or had involvement in this,' attorney Bob Macedonio, who is representing the family, told DailyMail.com.

Victoria and her mother Asa Ellerup in July 2023, after Rex was charged

The family has not yet declared support for or condemnation of Rex.

They continue to attend court hearings to 'gather the facts', Macedonio said.

They are taking part in a Peacock docuseries to 'share their story,' he added, but were tuned out of the many podcasts and true crime series that have already been created about their family.

'The only thing that [Asa] knows is what is in the media. She was as surprised as everyone else.

'If he did this, it was a double life.'

Rex Heuermann appears in court on January 16, 2023, charged with the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, a Long Island sex worker who vanished in July 2007. Her body was found three years later

Rex Heuermann's disturbing April 2021 internet searches are revealed in new court filings

Heuermann's attorneys insist the DNA is not as watertight as prosecutors claim.

He pleaded not guilty to the fourth set of charges today, and is 'looking forward to fighting the case,' his lawyer said.

Heuermann, 59, stands accused of murdering Amber Costello, Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and now Maureen Brainard-Barnes.

All four women were sex workers who vanished between 2007 and 2010 after arranging meetings with clients.

Among other pieces of evidence revealed today were Heuermann's twisted internet searches for terms including 'slave porn' and 'medieval torture of women'.

He will remain in custody without bail until his trial. The next court date has been set for February 2nd.
The Lloyd Austin aide who called the ambulance for him asked the operator if the medics could be 'subtle,' switching off the lights and sirens, according to a new report.

'Can I ask - can the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? Uhm, we're trying to remain a little subtle,' the aide said, according to the recording, which was obtained by The Daily Beast through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

The aide's identity is unclear as is whether the aide decided on their own to make the request for a 'subtle' approach or was directed to do so.

Austin was accused of covering up his hospital stay.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, 70, was hospitalized on January 1 and released on January 15th. He is pictured December 20 in this most recent pic

He had surgery on Dec. 22 for prostate cancer and left the hospital the next day. He returned to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on January 1st but didn't tell President Joe Biden of his whereabouts until Jan. 4th.

Austin didn't disclose the cause of his surgery - his prostate cancer - until Jan. 9th after facing days of questions about his hospitalization. Biden learned about it the same day as the general public.

The defense secretary was released from the hospital on Monday after 15 days of recovery.

When Austin's aide made the 911 call on New Year's Day, the dispatcher said the ambulance could be 'subtle,' noting that 'usually when they turn into a residential neighborhood, they'll turn off' the lights and sirens.

The call was made at 7:15 pm from Austin's Great Falls home; an ambulance arrived 7 minutes later at 7:22, according to ABC News.

'We need to take him to Walter Reed medical, is that a possibility?,' the aide asked the dispatcher.

Austin was described as awake, alert, and oriented during the call.

The defense secretary's complications included 'nausea with severe abdominal, leg and hip pain.' The early diagnosis was a urinary tract infection but further examination showed Austin, 70, had a fluid build up in his abdomen that was impairing the function of his small intestines.

The request from the aide to the 911 dispatcher suggests that the effort to keep Austin's ailment secret was well-known among his close advisers.

Secretary Austin was treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

President Joe Biden admonished Lloyd Austin for his lapse in judgment when the defense secretary chose not to reveal his hospitalization, but said he still has confidence in him

Democrats and Republicans alike blasted Austin for the secrecy. Some called for his resignation.

Biden stood by his defense secretary but did admonish him for a lapse in judgement.

The White House is conducting a review of the matter. Chief of Staff Jeffrey Zients sent a memo to Cabinet secretaries, ording them to keep the White House informed when they may not be able to perform their duties.

The Pentagon's inspecter general also is investigating the mishandling of Austin's secret hospitalization.

Eight in ten men and six in ten black men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. The risk grows for men as they age. It is the most common cancer among men in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The 5-year relative survival rate for prostate cancer in the United States is 97%.

Austin will work from home as his recovery continues.

He will have to do physical therapy and regular follow ups but is expected to make a full recovery, his doctors said. He needs no further treatment for his cancer.

'I'm grateful for the excellent care I received at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and want to thank the outstanding doctors and nursing staff for their professionalism and superb support,' Austin said in a statement.

'Now, as I continue to recuperate and perform my duties from home, I'm eager to fully recover and return as quickly as possible to the Pentagon,' he said.
Sabre hosted a workshop for key travel agencies in Bahrain, in collaboration with Qatar Airways, to learn about the IATA New Distribution Capability (NDC) content.

The focus of the workshop was on NDC awareness and the regional availability of Qatar Airways' NDC Content on Sabres global distribution system.

Sabre conducted a workshop on Introduction to Sabre NDC, listing the participating airlines at Sabre NDC. It's available through the Sabre 360 Graphical interface, followed by a live demo.

Participants learned about end-to-end NDC shopping, NDC pricing, NDC Order Create, NDC Order Fulfillment, and NDC Order Re-shop through the graphical interface. Additionally, they gained insights into the activation process through Sabre Central Market Place.

Qatar Airways' NDC content is the first EMEA-based airline partner to launch NDC content in the Sabre Marketplace. This integration provides easy access for travel agencies to shop, book, and manage dynamic pricing and relevant bundled offers from Qatar Airways.

Qatars NDC content is accessible through Sabre Red 360, Sabres agency point-of-sale tool, as well as its NDC-enabled Offer and Order Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).  TradeArabia News Service
Two Boeing planes clipped wings as they were taxiing at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on Sunday evening, according to officials.

The left wing tip of Flight 11 from All Nippon Airways, a Japanese airline, struck the rear of Delta Air Lines Flight 2122 at around 6.30pm local time, FAA spokesperson Tony Molinaro said.

Both planes were of Boeing design - The All Nippon Airways flight was a Boeing 777, and the Delta Air Lines aircraft was a Boeing 717.

No injuries were reported, and the Federal Aviation Administration says it will investigate the incident.

'Customers deplaned normally at the gate and the aircraft is being evaluated by Deltas maintenance technicians,' Delta said in a statement.

Two Boeing planes clipped wings as they were taxiing at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on Sunday evening, according to officials

Boeing is facing increasing scrutiny following the grounding of its Boeing 737 Max 9 model after an emergency exit door failed and caused an emergency landing

Boeing is facing increasing scrutiny following a series of mechanical failures and subsequent grounding of its Boeing 737 Max 9 model after an emergency exit door failed and caused an emergency landing last week.

It was not immediately clear what caused the incident on Sunday and whether it was related to a manufacturing flaw.

Boeing representatives did not provide a comment on Monday regarding the collision at O'Hare and instead directed The Associated Press to speak with the airlines involved and the FAA.

Raymond Bongalon, a customer service representative with All Nippon Airways, said Monday afternoon that the airline could not yet provide any information on what happened.

The airline's flight status tracker said Flight 11 was bound for Tokyo but canceled because of "aircraft inspection."

As DailyMail.com previously reported, aircraft near-misses have been on the rise in the US amid a severe air traffic controller staffing shortage that controllers say is pushing them to the brink physically and mentally.

In the fiscal year through September 30, 'significant' air traffic control lapses jumped 65 percent from the prior year, to 503 incidents, according to internal Federal Aviation Administration data.

An emergency exit used as a cabin window blew out of the Alaskan Airlines flight from Portland to California at 16,000 feet, sparking an FAA audit on Boeing

Last week the FAA announced it will audit Boeing and its suppliers' production line after the door of the Alaska Airlines aircraft blew off mid-air.

The agency will significantly increase oversight of Boeing, with the head of the agency saying publicly that they believe there are 'other manufacturing problems' at the company.

The agency said it will significantly increase oversight of Boeing, with the head of the FAA saying publicly that they believe there are 'other manufacturing problems' at the company.

the FAA said that it had informed Boeing it is conducting an investigation to determine if the aircraft maker failed 'to ensure completed products conformed to its approved design and were in a condition for safe operation.'

'The safety of the flying public, not speed, will determine the timeline for returning the Boeing 737-9 Max to service,' the FAA said.

The agency was previously slammed for letting Boeing conduct its own investigations after two deadly crashes involving Boeing's 737 Max 8.

After last Friday's horrifying incident, the FAA grounded 171 Boeing jets installed with the same panel - most of which are operated by Alaska Airlines and United Airlines - pending safety inspections.

The Alaska Airlines aircraft, which had been in service for just eight weeks, took off from Portland, Oregon last Friday and was flying at 16,000 feet when the panel tore off the plane. Pilots returned the jet to Portland, with only minor injuries suffered by passengers.

Alaska Airlines and United Airlines both said they have found loose parts on multiple grounded aircraft during preliminary checks, raising new concerns about how Boeing's best-selling jet family is manufactured.

The two carriers have canceled hundreds of flights since Saturday with the MAX 9 planes grounded.

Earlier this week, in his first public acknowledgement of the disaster, Boing CEO Dave Calhoun admitted errors and told staff the company would ensure an accident like the mid-air Alaska Airlines panel blowout 'can never happen again.'

Calhoun said he had been 'shaken to the bone' by the accident.

The near-catastrophe comes just five years after the aircraft's 8 variant suffered two fatal crashes in 2017 and 2018 in Indonesia and Ethiopia, which killed more than 300 people.
The distraught sister of the latest 'victim' of Long Island 'serial killer' Rex Heuermann' wept outside of court as she said 'losing Maureen has become a wound that never truly heals.'

Melissa Cann, 39, trembled when she spoke about the death of her older sister, Maureen Brainard-Barnes after Heuermann was charged with second degree murder on Tuesday at Suffolk County Criminal Court as he pleaded not guilty.

The 25-year-old Connecticut woman's remains were found along the stretch of Ocean Parkway on December 13, 2010. The mom-of-two sex worker was last seen alive on or about July 9, 2007 when she left a motel in Manhattan to meet a client.

In July, Heuermann, was charged with first and second degree murder in the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, 24; Megan Waterman, 22; and Amber Costello, 27. All the women worked as sex workers. Heuermann pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Cann wept as she said, 'thirteen years ago, Maureen was found murdered after she went missing for three and a half years.

'Throughout those years, I had continued to hold onto hope that one day there would be justice for Maureen, and that whoever took Maureen's life would be held accountable.'

'Today is another important chapter in the long pursuit of justice for Maureen.'

Melissa Cann, 39, speaking on behalf of her sister Maureen Bainard-Barnes, who was the fourth victim in the 'Gilgo Four,' that was announced at today's indictment. Attorney Gloria Allred, attorney, (pictured left) comforts Cann as she speaks

Attorney Gloria Allred speaks after Tuesday's indictment as the representative of the alleged victims of defendant, Rex Heuermann (pictured right Nicolette Brainard-Barnes, Maureen's 24-year-old daughter and pictured left Maureen's sister, Melissa Cann, 39)

Nicolette 'Nikki' Brainard-Barnes, 24, holds up one of the last photos she took with her mother, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25. She said the last time she saw her mother was when she was 7-years-old and spoke of how much she misses having her in her life

Cann spoke about her older sister Maureen, whom she admired, and pointed out how she was always there for her.

'It has been sixteen years since the last time I saw my sister and sixteen years since I heard her voice because sixteen years ago, she was silenced.'

At times, she found it difficult to get through the words as she explained that with the loss of her sister has come 'unimaginable pain and panic.

'My life shattered with the confirmation of Maureen's death due to the experience of my sister going missing and being found murdered.'

The ordeal has caused her to suffer grueling PTSD and to became 'guarded and overprotective to those she loves.'

She added: 'I knew first-hand that evil exists in the world.'

Before her death, she said her sister had aspired to become a writer and loved to read books.

'She had her whole life ahead of her,' she said, in part. 'My family will never get the chance to know who Maureen would have been today because her life was tragically taken.'

Alleged Gilgo Beach Serial Killer Rex Heuermann walks into the Suffolk County courtroom in Riverhead on Tuesday morning dressed in navy blue suit with polka dot tie ready to face Judge Timothy P.Mazzei as his attorney Michael Brown stands nearby

Heurmann's attorney speaks to his client in the Riverhead courtroom on Tuesday during his indictment in the death of a fourth woman Maureen Brainard-Barnes

Rex Heuremann stands with cuffs behind his back as his attorney, Michael Brown (pictured right) speaks with Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney (pictured left) in Judge Timothy P. Mazzei's courtroom on Tuesday

Heuremann pled not guilty in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes

She spoke about the stigma her family has endured since her sister was judged and marginalized and said 'Maureen was more than how she has been portrayed.'

She added, 'she was first and foremost a loving mother, a caring sister, and a giving friend.'

At the time of her death, she was the mother of two young children, 'two children,' she said, that 'will forever be without their mother.'

She walked away from the podium and hugged her 24-year-old neice Nicolette 'Nikki' Brainard-Barnes, one of Maureen's children, who also spoke.

Nicolette said she was only 7 years old when her mother was murdered and taken from her and said the loss 'drastically changed the trajectory of her life.'

'There are countless times I needed her, and she was not there,' she said.

She remember as a youngster how her mother would read to her every night, but said she can no longer 'remember the sound of her voice.'

'I wish she was here today,' Nicolette said as she held up one of the last photos of her and her mother together.

'I owe so much to my mom, and I know that she would want me to speak out for her in the process and let everyone know who she really was a loving mother,' she said.

Cann and Nikki both expressed gratitude to the Suffolk DA's office, Suffolk County Police, detectives past and preset and the Gilgo Beach Task Force for their commitment to the case all these years.

'For years it looked like there might not be charges filed against any suspect for the murder of my mother.

Though she is still suffering her mother's loss, she said, 'the indictment by the Grand Jury has brought hope for justice for my mom and my family.'

Heuermann has been charged in the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, 24; Amber Costello, 27; Megan Waterman, 22 and now Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25

The photo that Nikki held up after today's indictment of her and her mother - one of the last photos of the mom and daughter taken together

Ten bodies were found in total in 2010 and 2011 in stretches of Long Island beach near to where Heuermann lived

High-profile attorney Gloria Allred, also spoke after the indictment and was there to represent five of the six clients who are relatives or friends of the alleged victims of defendant Rex Heuermann.

Those who were present, but did not speak was Melissa Barthelemy's sister, Amanda Funderburg; Elizabeth Meserve, Megan Waterman's aunt, and legal guardian of her daughter, and Sara Karnes, Maureen Brainard-Barnes friend.

Melissa Barthelemy's mother, Lynn Barthelemy was not able to be present today, Allred said.

Allerd, whose role is victims' rights attorney said she stepped in the role when she was asked and said she was 'honored to support them.'

Allred spoke about a sex worker from California named Rhonda DaCosta that contacted her 39-years-ago after she was raped and sodomized by a client who had also stolen money from her.

Allred explained that DaCosta performed that type of work because she needed the money to support herself and her young child.

During his criminal trial, the rapist, Daniel Zabuski was charged with rape, sodomy and grand theft, but Judge Gilbert Alston dismissed the case.

She said the judge told the Pasadena Star at the time that the case should have never been filed and said, in part, 'a whore is a whore is a whore.'

Appalled at the judge's comments she said, 'this case wasn't about contract; it was about rape and every woman's right to say 'No.'

The victims rights attorney said she brought the case up at Tuesday's indictment based on Judge Alston's suggestion which seemed to be that sex workers are not good people.

'This notion is dangerous to women's lives, whether or not they are sex workers,' she said.

'The courthouse door should never be shut to any woman who is victimized by gender violence.'

Allred said, Zabuski went on to rape, beat and assault more women until he was finally sentenced to 80 years in prison, in other cases.

She was eventually able to file a civil case against Zabuski for her client over the objection of Zabuski's attorney, and a different judge allowed her to continue to litigate the case for DaCosta.

But, the case never went to trial because her client passed away.

Allred explained that the point of what happened to DaCosta is that failing to afford sex workers access to justice sends a message to men who victimize them, that the victimizers may never face consequencs for their wrongful and criminal acts.

As the families of the victims stood besides her, she asked: 'This is 2024. Will there be justice for women who just needed some money to help support their children or themselves?'

It is long overdue to provide justice for vulnerable women who are missing and murdered,' she said.

Allred continued that it will be for the jury to decide if this defendant will be found guilty of the murder of Maureen and the murder of other women for whom the defendant has been indicted.

In closing, she said, 'We look forward to a fair trial for the defendant and justice for Maureen.'
A convicted rapist on licence from prison took his own life next to the body of his girlfriend in a suspected murder suicide at a Hilton hotel more than 200 miles away from where they lived.

Michael McGibbon, 29, left a letter to his sister in the hotel room which said: 'I ain't killing myself and letting her live happily ever after,' an inquest heard.

His body, along with childcare worker Chenise Gregory, was found with fatal stab wounds on 4 May 2021 at the Hilton Majestic Hotel in Harrogate, Yorkshire.

Ms Gregory, also 29, was found in a pool of blood in the bedroom, while McGibbon was found dead in the bathroom.

The four star hotel was a five-hour drive away from their homes in south London.

Police said at the time that they believed the incident was a murder-suicide.

The couple's bodies were discovered in their hotel room by staff at the Hilton Majestic.

The hotel's night manager Alan Reeding said he and his colleague Emma Storey had entered the couple's hotel room at around 10:20pm because the guest below had complained of water leaking through her ceiling.

Childcare worker Chenise Gregory, was found with fatal stab wounds on 4 May 2021 at the Hilton Majestic Hotel in Harrogate, Yorkshire

His statement said: 'We tried to get in, but there was some resistance to the door opening.

'I peered through the partially opened door, and initially I saw specks of blood on the bedding and a lot of blood on the floor.

'I called out to see if anyone was in the room, but no one answered.

'I tried to peer further around the door, and I then realised that the obstacle preventing the door from opening was a woman's body.

'I could see that she was dead. There was a lot of blood around her.

'I moved into the room, stepping over the woman's body, and I went into the bathroom.

'The bath was running and the shower was also on. There was a man sitting on the floor. He also was dead.

'He was hunched over, and his head appeared to be dangling backwards at an awkward angle. It was a truly horrific sight.'

Shortly after Ms Gregory's death, her cousin posted a tribute to her on social media.

Devante Gravesande-Smith, a barrister, wrote: 'Chenise was a loving and caring person whose smile would light up a room.

'She worked as a childcare specialist. Throughout her life, she touched the hearts of those she worked with and her family and close friends.'

During McGibbon's inquest, Croydon Coroner's Court heard he had been convicted of rape in 2016.

According to reports at the time, he raped a vulnerable woman that he met as he walked home from a house party.

He claimed the sex was consensual but was jailed for six years and put on the sex offenders register for life.

McGibbon was sent to prison and later released in 2019, before being recalled and re-released in January 2020.

He was still on licence when he and Ms Gregory were found stabbed to death in 2021.

Assistant Coroner Edmund Gritt told the court: 'Mr McGibbon was accused of rape in 2013.

'He was charged in 2015 and he was convicted in 2016. He went to prison.

'He was released from prison in 2019, but then recalled to prison in 2019. He was released on licence in January 2020.'

He added that, in the lead-up to his death, McGibbon was 'paranoid' that people around him knew about his crime.

He told his family as well as police and probation officers that he believed there were people out there who wanted to kill him.

She was found in a pool of blood in the bedroom, while McGibbon was found dead in the bathroom

The couple's bodies were discovered in their hotel room by staff at the Hilton Majestic in Harrogate.

Assistant Coroner Gritt explained: 'It is evident from multiple sources - Michael's mother, his probation officer, the police officers who visited his address on 25 April, and from the letters left in Harrogate - that in the weeks before Michael's death he was expressing belief that others intended to harm him.

'There is no evidence that any of those beliefs were true in fact, true in reality.

'It appears from the record of events that he left to his mother that he was importing mundane events - movements by vehicles, conversations by individuals - with some suspicion.

'He thought they were sinister actions that were to be harmful to him. There was even suspicion of his girlfriend Ms Gregory.

'I find that he was subject to a rapid onset of false paranoid beliefs.'

In a letter left to his mother, also found at the scene in Yorkshire, McGibbon wrote: 'Please know that none of this is your fault.

'I guess I made a few too many bad decisions.

'I know you think I am paranoid, but there really are people out there who want me dead.

'That is why I did it this way, at least then I go out on my own terms. I hope you forgive me. Thank you for everything.'

A separate inquest into Ms Gregory's death is due to be held later this year.

Her 'heartbroken' family have asked for her inquest to be heard by a jury due to the alleged involvement of the police and parole board in the run up to her death.

Assistant Coroner Gritt is soon due to rule on whether a jury will be used for her inquest.

A statement from Detective Chief Inspector Jonathon Sygrove read to the inquest said: 'The initial hypothesis on the case from my colleague was that Michael McGibbon had taken Chenise Gregory to the hotel to kill her and then take his own life.

'After a detailed investigation. I agree with the hypothesis. We are satisfied that there was no third party involved.'

Commenting on Ms Gregory's inquest, Assistant Coroner Gritt added: 'While McGibbon's death has been linked to Ms Gregory's, their inquests are separate, and I will make no findings of fact as to how Ms Gregory came about her death during Mr McGibbon's inquest.'

Giving his conclusion on McGibbon's death, Assistant Coroner Gritt told the court: 'Michael died on 4 May 2021 in a bedroom at the Majestic Hotel in Harrogate by deliberately stabbing himself, in circumstances in which he had recently succumbed to false paranoid beliefs that others intended to harm him, though there had been no formal medical diagnosis of mental health conditions associated with paranoia.

'I record a conclusion of suicide.'
Around 150 pro-Palestine protestors have been arrested in the Canon House Office building, according to reports.

The group described themselves as Mennonites and called for a ceasefire in Gaza, according to local reports.

At least 200 people blocked an area inside the rotunda at Cannon House, Local News Outlet via FOX 5 DC reported.

Around 150 pro-Palestine protestors have been arrested in the Canon House Office building, according to reports

The group described themselves as Mennonites and called for a ceasefire in Gaza whilst singing hymns and blocking an area of the rotunda

The group were singing hymns during the arrests, which took place around 1:30pm, according to reports

Images have emerged on social media appearing to show Capitol Police arresting the protestors.

One image shows a group of protesters sitting on the floor of the rotunda, one of whom can be seen wearing a keffiyeh.

The group were singing hymns during the arrests, which took place around 1:30pm, according to reports.

In footage posted to the Mennonites X profile protestors can be heard singing and chanting, 'cease fire now, cease fire now.'

The group legally entered the Cannon House Office Building after going through screening, Capitol Police reported.

The demonstrators were then asked to disperse in accordance with the Congressional Buildings policy on protests.

When they refused to stop the protest, arrests were made, police said.
A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Special Counsel Jack Smith can have access to former President Donald Trump's Twitter account, as he investigates the former president for 2020 election interference.

The full U.S. Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C., rejected a petition from Twitter to rehear the case after a three-judge panel ruled agaist the social media company in July.

The case can now move to the Supreme Court.

Smith had gone behind Trump's back and with a search warrant asked Twitter, now X, for the contents of the former president's account, including direct messages.

The special counsel muzzled the tech company with a non-disclosure agreement, which sought to prevent Trump from being told about the search.

Special Counsel Jack Smith went behind former President Donald Trump's back and sought the contents of his Twitter account from Twitter. On Tuesday the full U.S. Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C rejected Twitter's request to rehear the case

At the end of the Trump administration those same files went to the National Archives, but Smith admitted Twitter was asked because getting the content from NARA 'would trigger notice to the former president' under the Presidential Records Act.

Smith had asked Twitter for access to all of the ex-president's tweets including direct messages 'received by, stored in draft form, in or otherwise associated with the subject account including attachments, multimedia, header information, metadata and logs.'

Twitter eventually complied with the warrant.

The release included at least 32 direct messages sent by Trump.

Four judges appointed by Republican presidents slammed the full court's decision not to rehear the case in a 12-page statement released alongside the opinion.

U.S. Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, a Trump appointee, wrote the statement and it was signed by Circuit judges Justin Walker, Gregory Katsas and Karen Henderson.

'Rather than follow established precedent, for the first time in American history, a court allowed access to presidential communications before any scrutiny of executive privilege,' the conservative judges wrote.

Special Counsel Jack Smith gained access to former President Donald Trump's Twitter account by going to Twitter instead of the National Archives, in which the Presidential Records Act would have triggered that Trump be informed of the search

The judges said Smith 'obscured and bypassed any assertion of executive privilege and dodged the careful balance Congress struck in the Presidential Records Act.'

Rao and the other judges feared that the decision opened up a Pandora's box of problems down the road - especially with presidents using more electronic communications.

'Without a presumption for executive privilege, new questions will invariably arise, particularly because nothing in the panel's opinion is limited to a former President,' the judges said.

'What if, in the course of a criminal investigation, a special counsel sought a warrant for the incumbent President's communications from a private email or phone provider? Under this court's decision, executive privilege isn't even on the table, so long as the special counsel makes a showing that a warrant and nondisclosure order are necessary to the prosecution.

'And following the Special Counsel's roadmap, what would prevent a state prosecutor from using a search warrant and nondisclosure order to obtain presidential communications from a third-party messaging application?

'And how might Congress benefit from this precedent when it seeks to subpoena presidential materials from third parties in an investigation or impeachment inquiry?' Rao and the other judges asked.
A part-time model has been jailed after trying to con her ex-fiance out of more than 60,000 in a romance scam.

Rosemary Lai, 31, targeted Ashely Booth after meeting him on dating website Plenty of Fish and learning he had inherited a house and money from grandmother.

The hospital worker, of Longsight, Manchester, proposed to him after a year-long whirlwind romance and then tried to get him to book expensive wedding venues.

But when vulnerable Mr Booth, 35, dumped Lai in 2019, she then sent him forged bailiff letters claiming he owed him more than 63,000 for a lavish venue.

The court heard that Mr Booth suffers from anxiety and schizophrenia but was in love with Lai, who also worked at Tesco.

A part-time model has been jailed after trying to con her ex-fiance out of more than 60,000

Rosemary Lai, 31, targeted Ashely Booth after meeting him on dating website Plenty of Fish and learning he had inherited a house and money from grandmother

The case was heard at Manchester Crown Court (pictured)

She was arrested by police in 2022 after Mr Booth's family went to the police.

Lai pleaded guilty to one count of fraud and three counts of making an article or document intended to commit fraud at Manchester Crown Court.

She showed no emotion as Judge Peter Horgan jailed her for 27 months and imposed a five-year restraining order on her.

He said: 'The complainant needs protecting from you.'

The judge added: 'You have empathy but only for yourself.'

The court heard that Lai targeted Mr Booth as she knew he was vulnerable.

He was later sectioned after failing for a separate 3,000 con and Lai sent him seven letters while he was in hospital in 2019.

Prosecutor Mark Pritchard said: 'She became aware that the complainant he inherited a sum of money after his grandmother passed away.

'The defendant was very money focused in the relationship and materialistic. '

He added: 'In 2018 the complainant proposed to the defendant.

'The defendant started looking at expensive wedding venues and the complainant told her that they were beyond his means, and they needed to look for cheaper venues.

'No deposits were ever paid to the venues as the complainant never had any intention of paying the large sums asked.

'Eventually the issues involving the wedding came to a head and the complainant broke off the engagement.'

But when vulnerable Mr Booth, 35, dumped Lai in 2019, she then sent him forged bailiff letters claiming he owed him more than 63,000 for a lavish venue

Lai sent the forged letters claiming she was being targeted for 63,488.07 by bailiffs and demanded the money off Mr Booth who was in a mental institution at the time.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Booth said: 'Rosemary has made me feel depressed, down and worthless as she always used to say she would replace me with a better bloke.

READ MORE - I thought I met the perfect guy on a dating app but he scammed me out of hundreds of pounds - if it worked on me, it could happen to you Advertisement

'My mental health has deteriorated since we broke up and she was sending me these court letters.

'I paid for everything in the relationship, all the meals and trips out for her because I did love her and I wanted her to have a better life but she has taken advantage of me.

'We broke up over three years ago now and these letters have been sent since then and I want them to stop.

'It is making me stressed and upset as I did not know if these were real or fake.

'Its getting me down because its making my parents mental health deteriorate well.

'My mum has cried so much over these letters.'

The court heard that Lai also worked at Manchester Children's Hospital and has never been in trouble with the police before being arrested for this romance scam.

Defending Megan Cox said: 'Rosemary wants me to tell the court that she is remorseful and regrets her actions and is sorry.

'She wishes she could go back and undo her actions but obviously understands she can't do that.'

She added: 'Miss Lai is a hard worker and she now realises the harm her actions have caused.

'However no money was lost in this case or any deposits paid for wedding venues.'
After months of delays, top congressional leadership will meet with President Biden at the White House to hash out negotiations on securing the southern border and offering aid to Israel and Ukraine.

President Biden will sit down with Republicans Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democrats House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

It comes after House Republican leadership privately told his GOP conference on a call that he would not accept the deal currently being negotiated in the Senate, one that ties together border provisions and national security aid.

Senate negotiators have been meeting with White House officials, including Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas since before the holiday break but have offered little in the way of details.

Biden is set to meet with the congressional 'Big Four' - Hakeem Jeffries, left, McConnell, second from left, Chuck Schumer, second from right and Mike Johnson, right

'Our target is to get text out as quickly as we can,' Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told reporters. 'And we're hoping to be able to do that this week. But we continue to go through little technical things that are just constantly going to come up over and over again.'

Biden has faced significant resistance from hardline conservatives over his $110 billion supplemental funding request. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., suggested last week she could file a motion to vacate Johnson from the speakership if he puts more Ukraine funding on the House floor.

But Republicans remain insistent about the need to stem the flow of migrants at the southern border.

Republican Iowa caucus goers said in exit polls that immigration was their number one issue, suggesting the matter will remain top of mind in the 2024 election.

Earlier this month Senate negotiations reportedly hit a wall over parole authority.

Parole is a legal tool used by the Biden administration to resettle hundreds of thousands of migrants in the U.S. on humanitarian grounds. Now Republicans want to rein it in.

Lankford has called the administration's policy of granting people parole and then giving them work permits 'absurd' in comments to Semafor.

'For the last nine months, the administration has literally told anyone in the world that if you'll tell us in advance that you're coming, we'll give you a work permit when you get here,' Lankford told Semafor. 'That's not humanitarian parole.'

But Chris Murphy, Conn., the lead negotiator on the Democratic side, told reporters his party is not interested in taking away the administration's 'tools' to 'manage the flow' of migrants at the border.

GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, left, and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, right, will also be at the meeting to discuss border security Ukraine aid and Israel aid

Meanwhile earlier this month White House Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young warned that U.S. aid for Ukraine has run dry and there is no avenue to help the nation in its war against Russia other than Congress approving more aid.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos this week.

In an appearance after their meeting, Sullivan seemed confident U.S. lawmakers would come to pass aid for Ukraine in the coming weeks.

'What I will say is that we've got to be able to deliver the necessary resources to Ukraine for the weapons that it needs to be able to achieve the results that it needs,' Sullivan said in a conversation with Brge Brende, president of the World Economic Forum. 'I continue to believe and express confidence that we willafter a lot of twists and turns ultimately get there.'
The daughter of Brazilian weight loss influencer Mila De Jesus is mourning the loss of her mother who passed away of suspected cardiac arrest.

Anna Clara, 15, announced yesterday the death of her mom, 35, who passed away on January 12.

'We appreciate all the prayers and condolences. Continue to pray for us Thank you,' she wrote.

De Jesus leaves behind Anna Clara, her husband, George Kowszik, and three other children.

Anna Clara, 15, posted Mila De Jesus's death amount on Instagram yesterday. The 35-year-old Brazilian influencer died of a suspected cardiac arrest

She noted in the photo caption that the family appreciate the prayers and condolences and ask that everyone continues to pray for them

Besides Anna Clara, De Jesus leaves behind three children, and husband, George Kowszik, whom she married less than six months ago

De Jesus shot to fame on social media after undergoing gastric bypass surgery on October 5, 2017.

She celebrated the weight loss anniversary by sharing a post with her nearly 60,000 Instagram followers. De Jesus described the surgery as a decision that changed her life - as she shared before and after pictures of herself.

The influencer posted photos and videos of Anna Clara on September 5, 2023 to celebrate her daughter's 15th birthday.

'What a privilege to be your mother my love, may God bless you and enlighten your life always,' she wrote in the caption.

The Instagram post also included a photo of Anna Clara and De Jesus with one of the influencer's sons.

The two videos in De Jesus's Instagram post featured photos of a young Anna Clara, one of which being with her mother rocking matching black glasses.

A memorial for De Jesus will take place at a life center on January 19.

Since her death, social media users have posted heartfelt comments on the influencer's tribute photo created by her daughter.

The last photos featuring Anna Clara on De Jesus's Instagram was from her 15th birthday last September. Anna Clara's younger brother was also in the photo

Social media users have sent their condolences to the family and Anna Clara herself after she announced her mother's death yesterday

'What comforts me is knowing that their mom is resting and was so happy to have them as her children! She was always about stepping up!,' wrote Vania Pestana.

'Still can't believe it - May God comfort the hearts of the whole family,' wrote Bazilian-American internet personality Camila Coelho.

Brazilian influencer Flavia Calina called De Jesus 'a very very special and very loved person,' and wrote, 'May God comfort your hearts!.'

Others have offered their support for Anna Clara.

'I didn't have the chance to meet you in person, but you live in my heart for years and your mom knew that,' wrote motivational speaker Jaciara Cambui.

'I will be praying for you and know that you have an aunt that even from far away is here if you need me.'
The disturbing theme park is run by Iranian government to 'educate' about war

At the park - kids dress as soldiers and fire plastic bullets at a Netanyahu target

Iran opened a disturbing government-run amusement park for kids where visitors dress as soldiers and fire AK-47s at U.S. flags and Netanyahu targets to 'learn' about the war.

City of Games for Revolutionary Children is an 'amusement park' near Iran's second largest city, Mashhad.

The amusement park is free for visitors and targets boy aged from eight to 13 to come and 'play' soldier with each other.

Attractions at the concerning landmark include 'attacking Iran's enemies' by shooting plastic bullets at a Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu target and U.S. flags.

The unsettling children's theme park opened in September and is suspiciously run by the government.

Iran opened a disturbing government-run amusement park for kids where visitors dress as soldiers and fire AK-47s at U.S. flags and Netanyahu targets to 'learn' about the war

City of Games for Revolutionary Children is an 'amusement park' near Iran's second largest city, Mashhad

The amusement park is free for visitors and targets boy aged from eight to 13 to come and 'play' soldier with each other

Attractions at the concerning landmark include 'attacking Iran's enemies' by shooting plastic bullets at a Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu target and U.S. flags

Children can dress up in military fatigues and play with AK47s while they supposedly learn about the Iran-Iraq war of 1980 to 1988 - known to Iranians as 'The Holy Defense.'

Also featured at the park is mocking fighting in Syria, which is intended to teach kids about ISIS.

Visitors can also take part in activities like scaling walls and crawling under barbed wire - while staff members bark orders and speakers blast recorded machine gun fire.

The amusement park saw so much popularity that they considered extending the parks planned schedule to keep up with the demand.

Cultural Center Director Hamid Sadeghi discussed the bizarre park in an interview with Iranian Raja News.

'The children follow various paths simulating fighting the enemy, and at some places, the children learn about simple [combat] methods such as firing plastic artillery shells at a simulated enemy as well as aiming and firing a rifle with plastic bullets at [an effigy] of Netanyahu and at US and Israeli flags.

'[Afterwards,] the children are blindfolded and asked to throw a ball at an Israeli flag in the form of a puzzle and knock it down, and then to assemble a puzzle of an Iranian flag.

'The children learn that the most important element[s] for attaining victory are wisdom and intelligence for fighting the enemy,' Sadeghi said.

While playing soldier is just a game for kids in Iran, just across the Persian Gulf in Yemen children are still being recruited into military ranks to fight in the country's civil war.

The unsettling children's theme park opened in September and is suspiciously run by the government

Children can dress up in military fatigues and play with AK47s while they supposedly learn about the Iran-Iraq war of 1980 to 1988 - known to Iranians as 'The Holy Defense'

The Yemeni civil war began in late 2014 - when Houthi forces took over the capital city Sanaa, which was followed by a rapid Houthi takeover of the government.

The Iranian-backed group of Houthis were struck by U.S. missiles on Tuesday - the third assault on the rebels in recent days.

The strike came as the Iranian-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile attack against the Malta-flagged bulk carrier Zografia in the Red Sea.

The ship was hit, but no one was injured. The vessel had been heading north to the Suez Canal when it was attacked, the Greek Shipping and Island Policy Ministry said.

Witnesses of the war in Yemen reported seeing children as young as seven at checkpoints - and the UN reported that between January 2020 and May 2021, nearly 2,000 children that were recruited by the Houthis died in battle.
A woman who was allegedly raped and impregnated by a Lyft driver has sued the rideshare company and accused them of 'prioritizing profit over safety'.

In the suit, Tabatha Means claims the unidentified Lyft driver allegedly followed her into her home in Florida and repeatedly raped her while she was intoxicated on April 28, 2019.

According to legal documents, the alleged attack resulted in pregnancy and the birth of her son.

The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court Northern District of California and accused the company of negligent hiring, retention and supervision.

'The night I was raped could have gone very differently if Lyft took the problem seriously and implemented common sense policies,' Means tearfully told KRON4.

Tabatha Means filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Lyft for an alleged rape with a driver that took place in April 2019 in Florida

The rideshare company has gone on to deny the accusations and said that the incident 'did not take place on the Lyft platform' but was instead initiated between Means and the unidentified driver

A spokesperson for Lyft denied all allegations against the company and told PEOPLE: 'The alleged incident from 2019 did not take place on the Lyft platform while using the Lyft app, but rather involved a separate trip arranged between the individuals involved.'

On the night of the alleged incident Means called a ride through the Lyft app and was picked up by a car shortly after it was requested.

When the driver pulled up he proceeded to roll down the passenger side window as Means confirmed that it was the correct driver, the lawsuit said.

The driver then told Means to hop in the front seat. She was allegedly intoxicated at the time and 'her speech was noticeably slurred,' according to the lawsuit.

Means recalled making 'small talk' with the driver and allegedly told him that she didn't feel well before he went on to compliment her looks.

The suit detailed that the driver said that he didn't understand how 'a woman as sexy as her' was alone that night.

'These inappropriate comments made Plaintiff very uncomfortable, and she was eager for the short ride to end,' the lawsuit said.

Once the driver reached her home, he allegedly pulled his vehicle into a parking spot and continued a conversation with Means.

After the alleged rape, Means soon discovered that she was pregnant. When she gave birth to her son she then matched the Lyft driver's DNA sample to that of her sons, confirming he was the father

The suit said: 'During this interaction, the Lyft driver began running his hand along her thigh and leaned in to kiss her. Plaintiff rejected his advances.'

Legal documents went on to detail how the driver then offered to walk Means into her home, but she insisted that she could do it on her own.

He proceeded to ignore her response, exited his car and followed Means into her home, according to the lawsuit.

Once the two were inside her residence he allegedly started to assault her 'immediately' as she 'begged him to stop.'

'It will be just fine and over before you know it,' the Lyft driver said according to the lawsuit.

According to the suit, the driver then 'forcibly' made Means perform oral sex on him as he told her that he had just had a separate sexual encounter with 'a girl I picked up before you.'

He then proceeded to force her on a bed where he 'violently raped her' even as she kept telling him to stop and that she didn't want it, the suit stated.

When he had finished the alleged rape he reportedly told Means that he wanted 'to go again' before he had sex with her again.

At the end of the incident, the Lyft driver then grabbed his clothing and left Means' house, the lawsuit said.

At the time, Means decided not to share any details about the alleged assault as she thought that nobody would believe her.

About a month after, Means discovered that she was pregnant after she took an at-home test.

Means has gone on to admit that she regrets not filing a police report after the incident occurred and has encouraged other woman to speak up

She then told her sister about the pregnancy and the alleged rape by the driver.

Means described her pregnancy as a 'nightmare' as she went on to suffer three hemorrhage episodes before she gave birth to her son.

After the child's birth, she went on to obtain an administrative order from Florida's Child Support Service and was able to match the Lyft driver's DNA sample to that of her sons, confirming he was the father.

'Lyft knows its customers are getting raped. Every day is a struggle for me. At the same time, I need to be a mom to my youngest son. I love my kids so deeply, but there are a lot of mixed emotions,' Means said in an interview.

According to the suit, Lyft has been aware of drivers 'sexually assaulting and raping female passengers' since 2015.

The legal filling also accused the company of having lenient security measures between their drivers and passengers, including laxed background checks, in-car cameras and fingerprinting.

'Lyft does not have a zero-tolerance policy for sexual misconduct and has allowed drivers who have been reported for misconduct to continue driving,' the lawsuit stated.

Means has gone on to admit that she regrets not filing a police report after the incident occurred and has encouraged other woman to speak up.

'Lyft is trying to blaming me, or push me into saying I wanted this. Or is happened off app. I took a ride thinking I was safe, period,' she said.

'I was there, I know what happened. I dont want anyone else to be afraid to speak up. Say something, because this will continue.'
Human traffickers on the U.S.-Mexico border are making up to $60,000 per migrant they sneak across the border, and smugglers in one sector are making up to $1.5 billion a year, according to a recently released congressional report.

'Our Sector Intelligence Unit estimates that the weekly revenue for the illicit human smuggling in our sector alone, the Del Rio Sector alone, is in excess of $30 million a week,' U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens, told members of the House Oversight Committee.

If the department's estimations are correct, human smugglers sneaking migrants into the Del Rio Sector alone would make $1.56 billion in revenue annually.

Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., called the report 'gut wrenching.'

'This border crisis is unlike anything weve ever experienced as a nation,' Boebert posted on X.

Migrants illegally crossing the Rio Grande river into the U.S. hold children above the water

The report reveals testimony given by nine border patrol chiefs responsible for various sectors along the U.S.-Mexico border. The agents have a combined 225 years of law enforcement experience within the Border Patrol, the report notes.

'I have seen everything from as low as two to three thousand dollars all the way upwards of $50,000 for someone that's, say, from a very far away country, or, you know, wants to be able to guarantee entry into the U.S.,' Dustin Caudle, deputy chief patrol agent of the Yuma Sector, testified.

But Chief Patrol Agent of the Laredo Sector, Joel Martinez, said the prices can reach even higher.

'For somebody from China, we've heard it go up to at least -- we've heard it go up to [$]60,000 a person,' he said.

On average, migrants pay cartels $8,600 in fees to be smuggled across the border, according to the report.

Boebert, who serves on the House Oversight Committee that conducted the report, called the findings 'gut wrenching' and said the border crisis is 'unlike anything weve ever experienced as a nation'

Thousands of migrants illegally crossed into the Texas border town Eagle Pass in December

Migrants who attempted to evade Border Patrol officials await to be processed

Migrants arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border outside of El Paso, Texas, awaiting entry into U.S.

No one crosses the border without first paying the cartels, a border agent testified

'When I started in '95, people could just get to the border and cross on their own. you know, now nobody crosses without paying the cartels,' Chief patrol Agent of the Tucson Sector, John Modlin, testified. 'So the cartels, you know, determine when people cross, you know, how many people cross at a time, all of that.'

'It's all -- it's all controlled by them,' he continued.

Modlin added that he has witnessed migrants getting beaten for trying to cross into the U.S. without first paying the cartels.

Additionally, Martinez testified that the cartels have been known to shoot people who cross without their permission.

Since Biden took office to through the end of fiscal year 2023, there were over 6.2 million encounters of illegal border crossers apprehended, according to the report.

In December 2023 alone, Border Patrol estimates that over 300,000 migrants crossed into the U.S. illegally.
A young boy has been rushed to hospital after being bitten by a shark inside an 'exhibition' at a Bahamas resort.

The 10-year-old child from Maryland was attacked by the large fish just after 4pm on Monday at a resort, according to police. It's unclear where the incident took place.

The unidentified boy was hospitalized after his right leg was bitten. He was participating in a 'shark tank' exhibition at a local resort on Paradise Island.

He is believed to be in a stable condition as he recovers from his injuries.



The unidentified boy was hospitalized Monday just after 4pm when his right leg was bitten. He was participating in what authorities said was a 'shark tank' exhibition at a local resort on Paradise Island. Pictured: Stock mage of a bull sharkB

Police did not identify the resort on Paradise Island in the bahamas, but Atlantis Paradise Island offers shark experiences on site

Police did not identify the resort, but Atlantis Paradise Island offers shark experiences on site.

The investigation is ongoing. Police did not confirm what type of shark bit the boy.

In 2022, a teenage boy was on a lobstering expedition in the Florida Keys when he suddenly came face-to-face with a shark which bit him in on his lip.

Fischer Hricko, 13, was looking for the crustaceans with his father and was going after a particularly big specimen when he suddenly felt a tap on the back of his leg.

A nurse shark managed to jump up and bit him in the face.

'He just popped up screaming 'Mom, mom, shark! Get me out of here! Get me out of the water!,'' said Fischer Hricko's mom, Rhiannon, said to FOX 35.

'I saw a big one and I got it in my hand. On the way up, when I had the lobster in my hand, I felt a little tap on the back of my leg, and I looked behind me and the shark was in my face,' Fischer explained.

'It was scary, like, I tried getting away, but it was so fast,' he said.

And in 2018, a shark turned on an eight-year-old boy and took a bite out of his back while he was on vacation in the Bahamas.

Asher Jones was swimming with nurse sharks as part of an organised excursion off Exuma Cays in the Bahamas when one of the predators attacked.

The boy's father, Jeremy, saw the shark move towards the youngster and pulled it off Asher's back.

Though the nurse shark is generally considered not dangerous to humans, it can still bite and its grip is so tight that in some cases surgical instruments have been needed to remove it.

At first the youngster thought the attack was just his dad mucking around in the water.

A lifeguard sits under the umbrella while watching people enjoy Paradise island beach, Nassau, Bahamas

But then Asher, who lives in Sandy in Utah, USA, hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean, realised what was happening and thought he was going to die.

He said: 'It was horrifying. At first I thought it was my dad pretending, but then I was like 'no, my dad would not try to hurt me' because it was digging into my freaking flesh.'

'It was the most scary thing in my entire life.'

And this week, new terrifying GoPro footage captured the moment an alligator clamped down on the head of a shark tooth collector as he waded through a Florida river.

Jeff Heim, a collector specializing in ancient megalodon teeth, recalled his scrape with death in 2021 this week, saying the gator bit him 'twice before I knew it'.

'It was very powerful. It seemed a lot larger than it actually was,' he told Florida Fourth Estate.

He believes he was only spared by the waterproof camera strapped to his head - which recorded the frenzied ordeal - and if he didn't wear the camera 'my head would've exploded.'

Heim said the attack came as he was steadily sifting through the bed of Florida's Myakka River for megalodon teeth, and believed the initial glancing blow from the beast was a boat clipping his head.

Not all near-death shark bites ended so luckily. On December 31, a 39-year-old man was killed by a shark in Maui, Hawaii as he surfed in Paia Bay.

Officials said that they arrived to the scene where Ocean Safety Officers had already been transporting the injured victim on a jet ski to shore.

'Once onshore, life-saving measures were performed by first responder personnel until medic personnel arrived to transport the male to the Maui Memorial Medical Center for further treatment,' the Maui Police Department said in a statement.

The man's identity was not immediately released pending the notification of extended family and friends.
No minutes were kept of key meetings that Nicola Sturgeon held with senior colleagues throughout the pandemic, an inquiry heard yesterday.

The so-called Gold Command group, which met ahead of Cabinet meetings, included the former First Minister, deputy FM John Swinney and sometimes other ministers.

Baroness Halletts UK Covid inquiry is sitting in Edinburgh over the next three weeks as the multi-million-pound probe puts the spotlight on Scotland.

Senior figures including Ms Sturgeon, national clinical director Jason Leitch and former health secretary Jeane Freeman are expected to give evidence.

Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney were said to have held meetings where it appeared no minutes were kept

It was also revealed the inquiry will probe how the SNP Governments quest to break up Britain affected decision-making. It was confirmed thousands of documents had been handed over, but some would be redacted.

On the first day of hearings in Edinburgh yesterday, Jamie Dawson, KC, lead counsel for the inquiry, said: [There were] meetings in which the First Minister and/or deputy first minister, and occasionally other Cabinet secretaries, would meet with senior policy advisers.

They became colloquially known within the Scottish Government as Gold or Gold-type or Gold Command meetings. These would typically take place over the weekend or on a Monday immediately before the Cabinet, which tended to meet on a Tuesday.

It appears that no minutes of the meetings of this group were kept.

But Geoffrey Mitchell, KC, representing the Scottish Government, said ministers had sought to be open, transparent and accountable in respect of the decisions made. He told the inquiry: Formal records of decisions were kept and decisions were communicated to the Scottish parliament in oral and written statements, in the answering of parliamentary questions, and in the participation of ministers in meetings of the parliament and of committees.

There had been political outrage regarding the provision of ministers WhatsApp messages to the inquiry, but thousands have now been handed over.

Mr Dawson said: These comprise messages from around 85 messaging groups which came directly from the Scottish Government and a total across both types of messages, ie those within groups and between individuals, of around 28,000 messages.

These include messages from prominent ministerial decision-makers and others in key advisory roles within the Scottish Government.

Claire Mitchell, KC, representing the Scottish Covid Bereaved, said the sorry history of the difficulty of this inquiry in accessing WhatsApp messages was cause for considerable concern.

She added: Media reports have suggested senior figures in the pandemic decision-making such as Nicola Sturgeon and Jason Leitch have failed to retain messages.

If these reports are correct, the Scottish Covid Bereaved hope that, whatever evidence may be gleaned from surviving WhatsApps, nothing of significance has been lost as a result of this apparently wilful deletion of messages.

Some documents handed over would still be redacted, Mr Dawson said.

Meanwhile, it was revealed that Nationalists were pushing for another referendum a day after Ms Sturgeon chaired a crisis meeting about the looming Covid crisis.

On January 29, 2020, the SNP Government had activated its operational response room, Mr Dawson said, with the first meeting chaired by the then- First Minister that day.

He said: By way of context MSPs also voted 64 to 54 to back calls for a second Scottish independence referendum.

Mr Dawson added: The extent to which the approach to the management of the pandemic was influenced by the Scottish Governments key objective of achieving independence is also an issue which we will seek to address.

Baroness Hallett said: I have always said this is an inquiry for all four nations of the United Kingdom, which is why I am pleased to be here in Scotland to begin our public hearings in the devolved nations.

The inquiry continues. The Scottish Covid probe is currently paused.
The White House is going to war over the border, demanding Texas immediately stop blocking federal agents access along a portion of it and slamming Gov. Greg Abbott for 'extreme' politics that 'demonizes and dehumanizes people.'

The aggressive posture comes as President Joe Biden invited the top four congressional leaders and other lawmakers to the White House on Wednesday to talk about funding for the Ukraine, which Republicans have paired with security on the border.

And, late Friday, a woman and two children drowned after Texas National Guard soldiers barred federal agents from a section of the border on the Rio Grande River.

The Department of Homeland Security wrote to officials in Texas, accusing the state of impeding operations and acting unconstitutionally. Texas officials argue they are trying to stop border crossings.

President Joe Biden's White House has ramped up its border war with Texas

'Texas's failure to provide access to the border persists even in instances of imminent danger to life and safety,' reads the letter from DHS General Counsel Jonathan Meyer , which was obtained by CNN.

'Texas has demonstrated that even in the most exigent circumstances, it will not allow Border Patrol access to the border to conduct law enforcement and emergency response activities.'

It is the most dramatic escalation yet of border war that has brewing for years between President Joe Biden's White House and Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas.

Abbott, other Republicans, and even some Democratics have blasted Biden for not doing enough to stop the record number of migrants crossing the border. Republicans have also seized on border security as a campaign issue for the 2024 presidential election.

The White House is fighting back.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre blasted Abbott at Tuesday's White House briefing, calling him 'extreme' and not caring about migrants' safety.

'What he's doing at the border, its policies, how he's getting involved - it's extreme,' she noted. 'It demonizes and dehumanizes people. But it also makes the job of the Border Patrol harder and it also is it's more dangerous. That's what we're seeing.'

'He's not really interested in solutions,' she added.

She also repeated her call for bipartisan action in the halls of Congress in order to make the border more secure.

'We believe we need a bipartisan agreement to deal with the policy components and also the funding components, obviously, of immigration that's been broken for some time for decades now,' she said.

'We want to we want to continue to collaborate with the cities and states obviously,' Jean-Pierre stated, 'but we have to have Congress act as well.'

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (above center), a Republican, ordered the Texas National Guard to seize part of the border to stop migrant crossings.

National Guard soldiers stand guard on the banks of the Rio Grande river at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas

On Sunday, the Texas Military Department, which controls the state National Guard, disputed the DHS claims, saying two of the migrants had already drowned when Border Patrol requested access to Shelby Park.

The department has not denied barring Border Patrol from entering the park. The state fenced off about 2.5 miles of the U.S. Texas border in Shelby Park last week and has been denying the public and federal agents access to the city-owned land.

A combination of Texas National Guard soldiers, equipment and physical barriers is keeping federal officials out.

Texas officials said the move is designed to deter unlawful crossings by migrants.

The Department of Justice, however, filed a new request with the Supreme Court on Monday to grant federal agents access to that portion.

The federal government is asking the Supreme Court to vacate the whole injunction barring Border Patrol agents from cutting or moving Texas' razor wire. The Justice Department argues that the state is using that decision to cut off access to more land than just the riverbanks.

Texas National Guardsmen stand behind a gate at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas

Migrants standing in front of the border wall wait to be picked up by Border Patrol agents in Eagle Pass, Texas

Abbott has said he is taking action because President Biden is not doing enough to control the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Shelby Park area is located near Eagle Pass, Texas, which has seen a high number of border crossings.

Eagle Pass was the epicenter of the border crisis last month with record high crossings.

Some days in December saw illegal crossings topping 10,000 people a day.
A high-achieving but controversial school once dubbed 'Britain's strictest' is facing a High Court challenge from a Muslim pupil over a 'prayer ban'.

The student, who cannot be named, alleges that a policy banning prayer rituals on the premises, introduced by the Michaela Community School, is discriminatory.

She said it had 'fundamentally changed' how she feels 'about being a Muslim in this country', a judge heard.

The pupil described the ban as 'like somebody saying they don't feel like I properly belong here', a hearing in London was told today.

In the legal action against the free school's governing body, the Michaela Community Schools Trust, the student claims the decision 'banning prayer rituals' also breaches her right to freedom of religion.

The hearing was told that the school's stance was first introduced in March last year by its founder and headteacher Katharine Birbalsingh - a former government social mobility Tsar - and later re-made by its governing body in May.

This was after members of the public began a 'campaign' against the school's approach to religion when pupils were seen praying in the schoolyard on blazers instead of prayer mats, the court was told.

The controversial school - rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted - has been described s having an ethos likened to private schools.

It holds a zero-tolerance policy for bad behaviour and there is a 'boot camp' week at the beginning of the year for the students to learn the rules and consequences of misbehaving.

Katharine Birbalsingh, the founder and headteacher at Michaela Community School

The student, who cannot be named, alleges that the policy introduced by the Michaela Community School is discriminatory and had 'fundamentally changed' how she feels 'about being a Muslim in this country', a judge heard

While he was Mayor of London, Boris Johnson took part in a history lesson with pupils at the school during a visit in 2015

Gavin Williamson photographed with head teacher Katharine Birbalsingh at the school

Lawyers for the school, which is opposing the legal challenge, had argued that proceedings should be held in private due to concerns over past harassment, which saw it face threats and a 'bomb hoax'.

But Mr Justice Linden ruled that the hearing should be held in public and the school and headteacher can be identified.

Sarah Hannett KC, representing the student, told the court that the policy had the 'practical effect of only preventing Muslims from praying because their prayer by nature has a ritualised nature rather than being internal'.

The barrister said it was 'a ban uniquely on Muslim prayer', stopping pupils praying 'at a time as required by Islam', under which it is part of the 'five pillars' of the faith.

She said Muslim prayer requires 'prostration and for the worshipper to face a particular direction', adding that there was no evidence the ban affected other faiths in the school.

Ms Hannett said it 'wouldn't prevent a Christian child sitting quietly in the corner of the playground from praying'.

Former home secretary Suella Braverman (pictured) was founding chair of the school

While chair of the social mobility commission, Ms Birbalsingh was criticised for saying girls don't enjoy physics and claimed children from low-income families should set their sights lower - after which she stepped down

A documentary titled 'Britain's Strictest Headmistress' featured the school

The pupil was seeking a 'compromise' to the school's position, her lawyer said, arguing they should be allowed to pray for around five minutes at lunch time, on dates when faith rules required it, but not during lessons.

Ms Hannett said the ban at the school, where around half of the roughly 700 students are Muslim, makes the pupil 'feel guilty and unhappy, in her words, it 'messes up her day'.

READ MORE - Who is Britain's strictest headteacher? Everything you need to know about Katharine Birbalsingh and her row with Labour MP Jess Phillips Advertisement

Around 30 students began praying in the school's 'wet' and 'dirty' yard in March last year, using blazers to kneel as they were not permitted to bring in prayer mats, the lawyer told the court.

Jason Coppel KC, for the school trust, said pupils seen praying outside contributed to a 'concerted campaign' on social media over the school's approach to religion, including a since removed online petition attracting thousands of signatures.

He argued reporting of the case could 'give rise to a real and immediate risk of harm to the headmistress, other members of the school staff (and) potentially pupils at the school'.

The court heard the school was targeted with 'threats of violence', abuse and 'false' allegations of Islamophobia.

Police were called to respond to claims of bombs being placed at the school, prompting it to hire a security guard and close two days early at the end of term.

Glass bottles were thrown over the school railings and a brick thrown through one teacher's window, leaving staff 'fearing for their lives', Mr Coppel said, adding that the situation had since 'calmed'.

He said Ms Birbalsingh was concerned coverage of the hearing would cause 'serious risk' of 'physical danger to our school community'.

The lawyer representing the school trust said reporting of the case could 'give rise to a real and immediate risk of harm to the headmistress, other members of the school staff (and) potentially pupils at the school'

Ms Birbalsingh let a documentary film crew inside the school to show how her systems work

Mr Justice Linden noted the school had received 'disgraceful' abuse but concluded: 'I do not accept that the evidence in this case establishes a risk to the lives or safety of members of the school staff or the school community that would justify holding the hearing in private.'

The judge ruled that there should be no reports of the case featuring the identity of any school pupils and staff, except for Ms Birbalsingh.

Mr Coppel is due to set the school's defence to the case tomorrow, when the hearing is due to conclude.

There is a legal requirement for schools to hold a daily act of worship of 'Christian character' but many opt out of this.

The Government also states in guidance that schools won't be acting unlawfully if they fail to provide an 'equivalent act of worship for other faiths'.

Former home secretary Suella Braverman was founding chair of the school.

Located in Wembley, it achieved some of the best GCSE results in the nation in its first cohort, and in both 2022 and 2023 it held the highest progress score for the exams in England.

This is despite the fact almost a quarter of its pupils are on free school meals.

Pupils walk in silence, single-file between classes and many of the policies at the school have been described as 'neo-strict' - using sanctions but also weaponizing praise, according to The Economist.

Ms Birbalsingh faced a backlash after telling parents to 'back the teacher' when pupils 'accuse them of being racist'

A book published in 2016 was written by teachers at the school on their methods, and a second in 2020.

Teachers speaking about the policies at the school have said detentions are handed out for arriving 'one minute late' to school, for not having a pen or a ruler, or for 'reacting badly' by rolling their eyes after a teacher speaks to them.

Pupils have also been given detention for not making enough eye contact with their teachers, it has been reported.

The school attracted criticism in 2016 when it emerged that children whose parents didn't pay for school lunches were made to eat in a separate room.

She argued that the children affected were from dysfunctional homes and needed the school's support.

The headteacher said 'kindness and gratitude' are taught at the establishment, in contrast to other schools in which children are 'horrible', she told The Guardian.

The newspaper reported that the students' bathrooms don't have mirrors and each cubicle has a framed letter of praise from a government minister.

Headteacher and founder Ms Birbalsingh sparked outrage in 2019 after suggesting parents should ignore children who accuse a teacher of being racist.

She said at the time: 'If your child is in trouble and your child says my teacher is racist - you should be backing the teacher. If you genuinely think the child is being subjected to racism then have a word with the head.

'If the child believes that every time they are in trouble for not doing their homework or everytime they are in trouble for misbehaving in lessons - all they have to do is to go home and say teacher is being racist.'

Ms Birbalsingh was asked about teachers showing favouritism before replying on Twitter: 'Who cares?! It is like saying 'Teacher is racist' or 'Teacher doesn't like me'.

'Ignore it. Work hard. Indulge your kid with their grievances and you destroy all hope of success for your kid. Up to you. My advice is: Back the teacher even if you don't like them.'

She stepped down from the Government's Social Mobility Commission after suggesting girls shun physics at A-level because they 'naturally' dislike 'hard maths'.

Ms Birbalsingh has since claimed her comments were 'taken out of context'.

She tweeted: 'Once again press takes one quote of mine out of context and everyone goes mad.

'I am not going to force our girls to do A level physics if they don't want to do to it.

'It is OK if we don't have an exact gender balance in all subjects.'

MailOnline has approached the school for comment.
British police have launched a fresh hunt for the body of a Royal Navy sailor who is thought to have been murdered in Gibraltar 37 years ago.

Royal Navy Rating Simon Parkes, 18, from Bristol, was last seen in December 1986, when the ship he was serving on, HMS Illustrious, was docked in Gibraltar.

He is thought to have been murdered by Allan Grimson - dubbed the Frankenstein Killer for his large forehead - who was jailed for life for the murder of two young men and was serving on board the aircraft carrier at the same time as the 18-year-old.

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said it is now carrying out a 'small amount of further excavation work' at the Town Range Car Park in Gibraltar in connection with Simon's disappearance.

The force added that it will be 'carrying out the work...during the week of 15 January' and the activity is part of its work to 'assess a new line of enquiry' that has recently emerged.

British police have launched a fresh hunt (pictured) for the body of Royal Navy sailor Simon Parkes, 18, who is thought to have been murdered in Gibraltar 37 years ago

Simon from Bristol, was last seen in December 1986, when the ship he was serving on, HMS Illustrious, was docked in Gibraltar

Allan Grimson - dubbed the Frankenstein Killer - is thought to have murdered the 18-year-old

Simon had gone to shore in Gibraltar on December 12 but unlike many of hundreds of other crewmen, he never returned to the ship.

READ MORE: 'Frankenstein' Royal Navy serial killer convicted of murdering two young men in 1990s and linked to deaths of 20 other victims could be freed next year after being granted parole hearing Advertisement

Despite numerous searches over the years, the 18-year-old's body has never been found and he is presumed to have been murdered.

Grimson, who preyed on young men, was serving on Illustrious at the time and is the prime suspect.

He was jailed in 2001 at Winchester Crown Court for the murders of naval rating Nicholas Wright, 18, from Leicestershire, and barman Sion Jenkins from Newbury, Berkshire.

He has always denied being involved in the disappearance of Mr Parkes.

Chillingly, Simon's disappearance came exactly 11 years before the murder of fellow sailor, Mr Wright and 12 years before the killing of Mr Jenkins - who was raped, tied up in the bath and beaten to death.

MailOnline revealed last year that Grimson has been given a parole date after serving 22 years behind bars for the two murders

He is due to go before the Parole Board in February. A release could then follow within weeks if green-lit by justice chiefs.

David and Margaret Parkes, whose son Simon served with Grimson and is thought to have been killed by him in December 1986 during a stop on HMS Illustrious in Gibraltar

Grimson and Simon were both serving on aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious (pictured) when Simon vanished

Simon (pictured) had gone to shore in Gibraltar on December 12 but unlike many of hundreds of other crewmen, he never returned to the ship.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said in a statement: 'Officers investigating the disappearance of a young sailor more than 30 years ago are carrying out a small amount of further excavation work at Town Range Car Park in Gibraltar as we follow a potential further line of enquiry.

'A working group led by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary comprised of detectives and specially trained search officers both from the police and military, will be carrying out the work in Gibraltar during the week of 15 January as we continue to investigate what happened to Simon Parkes.

'The operational activity is part of our work to assess a new line of enquiry that has been presented to us.

'This latest activity follows work carried out in August 2023 where a small amount of excavation work was undertaken at Town Range Car Park.

'Whilst nothing was found to progress the investigation a further potential area of interest within the car park was identified to us.

'This investigation continues to be a collaborative operation between Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary and Royal Gibraltar Police with support from the Ministry of Defence.

'Anyone with information about the disappearance of Simon can call us on 101, quoting Operation Thornhill, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.'
Democratic Senator Bob Menendez and his wife are seeking separate trials on bribery charges they each face in a New York court.

The New Jersey Democrat and his wife, Nadine, were each charged in the fall with helping three New Jersey businessmen in return for cash, gold bars and a luxury car.

The couple and the businessmen, who also face charges, have all pleaded not guilty to the alleged bribery scheme that involved advancing the interests of the Qatari and Egyptian governments.

Husband and wives usually cannot be forced to testify against each other, and the couple want to keep their communications confidential.

Democratic Senator Bob Menendez and his wife Nadine are seeking separate trials on bribery charges they each face in a New York court

Nadine Menendezs lawyers asked in papers filed late Monday for the severance on the grounds.

Attorneys argue that the senator may want to testify at a trial scheduled to start in May and could divulge marital communications that she plans to keep secret.

Lawyers for Bob Menendez wrote that each spouse should face separate trials so that the senator does not provide information about marital communications during cross-examination that might be damaging to his wife's defense.

They asked the trial judge not to force 'him to choose between two fundamental rights: his right to testify in his own defense and his right not to testify against his spouse.'

The requests for separate trials were made as part of several pre-trial submissions late Monday by lawyers for defendants in the case.

Several days earlier, the senator's lawyers had asked that charges in the case be dismissed. They added to those requests Monday, calling charges against him a 'distortion of the truth.'

'Senator Menendez isnt just `not guilty - he is innocent of these charges. Senator Menendez has never sold out his office or misused his authority or influence for personal financial gain,' they wrote.

Since the senator was first charged in September, he has been forced to relinquish his powerful post leading the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Prosecutors have added to the bribery charges too, saying that he conspired with his wife and one businessman to secretly advance Egypts interests and that he acted favorably toward Qatar's government to aid a businessman.

'Over and over again, the Indictment distorts or ignores evidence reflecting the Senators conduct in favor of American - and only American - interests and his decades of appropriate constituent services,' the lawyers said.

The New Jersey Democrat and his wife were each charged in the fall with helping three New Jersey businessmen in return for cash, gold bars and a luxury car. They are pictured outside court in September

Prosecutors released images of the gold bars Menendez allegedly received from New Jersey businessmen in return for pushing the interests of Qatar and Egypt

Bob Menendez and his wife Nadine arrive for a reception in the East Room of the White House on May 16, 2022

Piles of cash are pictured from the raid on the Menendez's home in New Jersey

'Worse yet, the government knows it. The government has buried evidence proving Senator Menendezs innocence, including evidence that directly undercuts the allegations in the Indictment.

'And the defense is prohibited from disclosing any of it to the public - necessitating a redacted filing under seal - even as the government has gone on its own media blitz to advance its false narrative,' the lawyers said.

The lawyers also said the trial should not be in New York since almost everything alleged to have occurred happened in New Jersey or outside New York.

'This case belongs in New Jersey,' they said.

The lawyers noted that Menendez won an earlier corruption case in New Jersey with 'at least 10 jurors voting to acquit the Senator on the governments hyped-up corruption charges.'

A spokesperson for prosecutors declined to comment. Prosecutors will reply to all the pre-trial motions with arguments of their own in several weeks.
Missing teenager Brissa Romero was under the influence of alcohol and THC when she drove her car into a pond in Illinois and drowned, a coroner has ruled.

The 17-year-old's body was recovered by search crews on December 12.

The Lake County Coroners Office confirmed it received Romero's toxicology report on January 10 and found her alcohol and THC levels were above the legal driving limit.

She had a blood alcohol content of 0.16, twice the legal driving limit for those 21 and older, and her THC levels pointed to recent use.

Romero went missing on December 4 as she was on her way to a work holiday party at the Bowlero bowling alley. Her car was recovered by search crews from a retention pond just a mile away from where she was last seen alive.

Missing teenager Brissa Romero was under the influence of alcohol and THC when she drove her car into a pond in Illinois and drowned, a coroner has ruled

The 17-year-old's body was recovered by search crews on December 12

The teenager's THC reading was 7.4 nanograms per milliliter and the driving limit in Illinois is five nanograms per milliliter.

The coroner's office determined Romero's death to be an accident with drowning in a retention pond as the official cause and ethanol intoxication as a factor.

Brissa wasn't inside her Nissan Rogue when it was pulled out of the water - but investigators believe she had been in the vehicle when it went into the lake.

'Based on the condition of the vehicle and all the evidence we have at this point, it appears that Brissa was in that vehicle when it drove into the lake,' said Vernon Hills Police Chief Patrick Kreis.

The car was retrieved from the pond at 4 pm after a police supervisor spoke to a witness who had spotted a backpack floating on the water.

Police found the backpack and it appeared to belong to Brissa - so they called in additional forces to search the area and eventually found the car.

The pond is just off a T-intersection of Lakeview Parkway and Executive Parkway, according to police.

Brissa might have been unfamiliar with the area and driven through the intersection instead of turning right or left, which would have led her to drive down an embankment and into the pond.

Surveillance footage the night Brissa went missing shows that the young woman made a pit stop at her job to pick up her iPad that she had forgotten before heading out again to the party.

The video footage was from a fast-food restaurant that was around one to one and a half miles away from the pond.

The Lake County Coroners Office confirmed it received Romero's toxicology report on January 10 and found her alcohol and THC levels were above the legal driving limit

Surveillance footage from December 4 - the night Brissa went missing - shows that the young woman made a pit stop at her job to pick up her iPad that she had forgotten before heading out again to the party

Officials said her phone last pinged near the party venue but no one at the party saw her.

The dark-haired, brown-eyed Romero, who stands at 5 feet, 1 inches tall, was wearing a green long-sleeve shirt, black vest, ripped black jeans and black Uggs.

After her disappearance, police conducted an extensive search using drones and surveying local ponds for her vehicle, but nothing surfaced until last night.

Jocelyn Rubi Romero told the news outlet last week that everyone in the family shares their location of where they are with their parents.

'She called my mom at 6:55 pm and said she was on the way over here, and my mom kept looking at her location, and she was heading over here,' Rubi Romero said, 'but around the time that she arrived, she did not call my mom.'

A vigil was previously held near Town Center Road and Milwaukee Avenue, the last known place where Brissa was seen.

Brissa might have been unfamiliar with the area and driven through the intersection instead of turning right or left, which would have led her to drive down an embankment and into the pond

Family and friends had gathered to pray that Romero would be found safe and return home.

Clutching a large crucifix towards her chest, Romero's distraught mother, Blanca Aguilera, wept as she said: 'I want my daughter back as soon as possible. I just want my daughter back.'

Romero had been attending Harper College and was studying to become an ultrasound technician.

Aguilera said that one of the last conversations she and her daughter had was about college and Romero's future plans.

Described as a 'hard worker,' the teen was busy working two jobs before she went missing, and was not someone who would runaway from home.

'Somebody came and took her, I don't know what they think,' said the heartbroken mom at the time. 'I just want my daughter back.'
The US Capitol Police have opened an investigation into conservative political operative Roger Stone, who was caught on tape allegedly threatening to assassinate two House Democrats.

Last week, the website Mediaite published an audio recording of the comments, which were made just weeks ahead of the 2020 presidential showdown between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

In the conversation, Stone and former NYPD officer Sal Greco speak about Congressman Jerry Nadler and Eric Swalwell.

Mediaite claimed the recording was taken at the Caffe Europa in Fort Lauderdale.

In it, Stone is allegedly heard saying to Greco 'let's go find Swalwell and get this over with.'

Roger Stone is reportedly under investigation by the US Capitol Police following the release of a recording of him and an associate allegedly discussing the assassination of two members of Congress

'It's time to do it, then we'll see how brave the rest of them are,' the voice continues.

'Either Swalwell or Nadler has to die before the election. They need to get the message. I'm just not putting up with this s*** anymore.'

Stone reacted furiously to the story last Monday branding it 'total nonsense,' and 'more AI manipulation.'

He demanded the website release the tape, insisting 'I never spoke about assassinating anyone'.

'Fake Mediaite can't produce the recording they claim to have,' he tweeted last Thursday.

'Mediaite has produced NO audio of me threatening 2 Dem Congressmen. Where is it? Post it!' he added.

The website then published a 19-second excerpt from the tape containing the words it had reported, but admitted it had been 'lightly edited' in order, they claimed, 'to protect our source, who requested anonymity out of fear of repercussions from Stone, whom they believe to be dangerous'.

Stone slammed the explanation as 'Bulls***!'

'Audio is 'lightly edited' because it's fake AF - just like Mediaite and Diana Falzone,' he tweeted.

'Actually AI created click bait bull***t,' he tweeted, 'Why would anyone believe Diana Falzone?'

In 2020, House Judiciary Committee members Jerry Nadler or Eric Swalwell were planning an investigation into Trump's decision to commute Stone's 40-month jail sentence for obstruction, witness tampering, and lying to Congress

The Capitol Police reportedly launched an investigation into the recording, with which they are being assisted by the FBI

He then claimed to know the identity of the website's source.

'Mediaite anonymous source for AI fabricated 'Assassination' audio has criminal record for prostitution and drug dealing,' he wrote.

In response to the comments allegedly made by stone, Congressman Swalwell told Mediaite:

'The Roger Stone assassination plot recording may seem like the ravings of a wannabe gangster. Its not. This is what Trump and his real-life thugs do: they try to intimidate opponents and will always choose violence over voting.

'Because Im one of Trumps loudest critics, Stone put a hit out on me. This threat, and other threats of violence by Trump and his supporters, must be taken seriously by not only law enforcement but also by my colleagues.'

Stone has adamantly denied that the recording is of him. He's claimed it's an AI deep fake and has lashed out at Mediaite for publishing the story

Stone was sentenced to 40 months in jail in November 2019 for obstruction, witness tampering, and lying to Congress over his evidence to special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election

Swalwell, who has previously been the subject of a Congressional investigation into an alleged affair with a Chinese spy, added that he and his supporters 'are not going away until we bury MAGAism and make sure Americas democracy endures.'

A few months before the 2020 election, Nadler, who along with Swalwell, sits on the powerful Judiciary Committee, said it would be looking into why then-President Donald Trump commuted Stone's prison sentence.

The longtime political operative was convicted of multiple federal crimes in relation to the Russia investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. His sentence was commuted days before he was due to start his sentence.

While Stone continues to adamantly deny making the comments, Mediaiate reports that Greco did not deny being a part of the conversation.

'I don't think your reader is interested in ancient political fodder,' he told the outlet.
Republicans are holding off the contempt vote since Hunter's attorneys are engaging in good faith negotiations to 'reach an agreement'

Republicans are holding off the contempt vote since Hunter's attorneys are engaging in good faith negotiations to 'reach an agreement'

Republicans are postponing a procedural vote to advance Hunter Biden's contempt of Congress charge as negotiations for his closed-door deposition continue.

A spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee told DailyMail.com that staff for the committees and lawyers for Hunter Biden are still working to schedule his appearance after he defied a congressional subpoena last month in a spectacular PR 'stunt' on the Hill.

Negotiations were developing as recently as this afternoon, the spokesperson confirmed.

And in addition to the winter storm that dumped inches of snow on D.C., which led to the House canceling votes today, the House Rules Committee will hold off on advancing the resolution to give negotiators more time to 'reach an agreement.'

The full House vote on Hunter's contempt of Congress charges was expected for tomorrow, but now it is postponed indefinitely.

A winter storm dumped inches of snow on D.C. on Monday

Lawmakers leading the Joe Biden impeachment investigation were preparing to issue a second round of subpoenas to Hunter Biden to compel him back to Capitol Hill for a closed-door deposition, DailyMail.com reported Monday.

Just days earlier, Hunter Biden caved and agreed to Republican demands for his testimony as the GOP is planning to hold him in contempt of Congress this week.

But a source told DailyMail.com that Republicans were considering holding off the contempt vote if Hunter engages in good faith negotiations about providing closed-door testimony.

If Hunter's team agrees to 'genuinely cooperate' and they can work out a deposition time and date, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan would recommend to leadership to hold the floor vote on contempt 'in abeyance' for now.

Hunter's agreement is contingent upon the GOP sending new subpoenas for his testimony. The GOP's original subpoenas came in November, before the House's December 13 vote to formally authorize the impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden's alleged connections to Hunter's shady business deals.

'The Committees welcome Mr. Bidens newfound willingness to testify in a deposition setting under subpoena,' Oversight Chairman James Comer said Sunday.

'Our willingness to issue these subpoenas is rooted entirely in our interest in obtaining Hunter Bidens testimony as expeditiously as possible,' Comer and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan wrote in a letter obtained by DailyMail.com, while rejecting Lowell's claims that their original subpoenas are 'invalid.'

The back-and-forth between the top Republicans and Hunter's attorney Abbe Lowell comes after his shock made-for-TV appearance on Capitol Hill in blatant defiance of their subpoenas last week.

Top Republicans are preparing to issue a second round of subpoenas to Hunter Biden to compel him back to Capitol Hill for a closed-door deposition

The back-and-forth between top Republicans James Comer and Jim Jordan with Hunter's attorney Abbe Lowell comes after his shock made-for-TV appearance on Capitol Hill in blatant defiance of their subpoena last week

House GOP Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., announced a vote will take place Wednesday

'If you issue a new proper subpoena, now that there is a duly authorized impeachment inquiry, Mr. Biden will comply for a hearing or deposition,' Hunter's attorney Abbe Lowell wrote Friday in a letter to Republicans obtained by DailyMail.com.

Earlier Friday, Republicans had announced they will hold a full House vote on contempt of Congress charges for Hunter Biden this week.

'While we will work to schedule a deposition date, we will not tolerate any additional stunts or delay from Hunter Biden,' the top Republicans added.

'Enough of his stunts. He doesn't get to play by a different set of rules. He's not above the law,' said top Republican Steve Scalise.

The contempt articles - voted out of the Judiciary and Oversight committees last week - were expected to go to the House Rules Committee Tuesday and finally to the House floor as early as Wednesday.

If that ends up happening, the case will be referred to the Biden-led Department of Justice for prosecution, which is unlikely. In addition to 12 months jail time, Hunter could be ordered to pay a fine of up to $100,000 if convicted.

Hunter Biden sparked utter chaos in Congress last Wednesday and was accused of a 'ridiculous PR stunt' by making a shock appearance to face Republicans threatening to hold him in contempt.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise. Scalise is currently battling cancer

 Floor Vote Announcement: Next week the House will vote to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for repeatedly defying subpoenas.



Enough of his stunts. He doesn't get to play by a different set of rules. He's not above the law.  Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) January 12, 2024

The president's troubled son, 53, staged the spectacular stunt and sat and listened as GOP Rep. Nancy Mace said he 'had no b***s' and 'should be in jail' for refusing to sit for a deposition behind closed doors.

About 17 minutes later he got up and walked out as Marjorie Taylor Greene started to question him over his business deals and the ongoing impeachment probe into his father Joe.

He was hit with a flurry of questions by reporters after he stormed out - including being asked 'what kind' of crack he smokes and why he put his father Joe on speakerphone over 20 times to speak with his business pals.

Hunter caused a circus as cameras and reporters swarmed him for the very brief appearance amid the scandal over his shady foreign business deals.

Last week it was revealed Hunter is filming a top-secret documentary to set the record straight about his battle with addiction to crack cocaine and his financial woes.

Republicans started ripping Hunter for the 'made-for-TV publicity stunt.'

Hunter walked into the committee hearing room with his attorneys Abbe Lowell and Kevin Morris and sat down in the first row

Hunter Biden showed up on Capitol Hill at the start of a markup to hold him in contempt of Congress

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., wrote on X: 'The Congressional subpoena served to Hunter Biden was for a closed-door deposition, not a made-for-TV publicity stunt. These terms are not negotiable.'

GOP Whip Tom Emmer said 'another day, another ridiculous PR stunt by Hunter Biden.'

'If this is the Biden family's strategy to distract the American people from their disturbing pattern of corruption, it's a pointless one.'

Hunter walked into the committee hearing room with his attorneys Abbe Lowell and Kevin Morris and sat down in the first row, silently taking in the chaos that then unfolded in front of him as lawmakers grappled with the remarkable turn of events.

The top Democrat on the committee Jamie Raskin appeared to be aware that the president's son was going to disturb proceedings with his shock entry.

'Who bribed Hunter Biden to be here today?' asked Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C. 'You are the epitome of white privilege coming into the Oversight Committee spitting in our face, ignoring a congressional subpoena to be deposed.'

'You have no b***s to come up here,' she spewed. 'I think Hunter Biden should be arrested right here and right now,' Mace continued. 'I'm looking at you!'

'I believe that Hunter Biden should be held completely in contempt. I believe he should be hauled off to jail right now!' the fired up Republican congresswoman remarked.

Democrat Jared Moskowitz - who also seemed to be aware of the stunt - asked for a show of hands from the lawmakers on who wanted to hear from Hunter, since he was in front of them.

He put Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., on the spot, daring him to question Hunter since he came to the public hearing, and threatened to make the contempt vote 'bipartisan.'

'Listen, I'll make this bipartisan. I'll vote for the Hunter contempt today. You can get my vote. You can get my vote but I want you to show the American people that you're serious.' Moskowitz taunted before submitting subpoenas for Republicans who didn't comply with the January 6 Committee's requests for testimony.

Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, departed a House Oversight Committee meeting at Capitol Hill

Hunter walked into the committee hearing room with his attorneys Abbe Lowell and Kevin Morris and sat down in the first row, silently taking in the chaos that then unfolded in front of him as lawmakers grappled with the remarkable turn of events

Hunter then stormed out of the hearing room following Moskowitz's remarks, immediately after Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., started speaking, less than 30 minutes into the hearing.

'I think it's clear and obvious for everyone watching this hearing today that Hunter Biden is terrified of strong conservative Republican women because he can't even face my words as I was about to speak to him,' said Greene.

'What a coward,' she exclaimed.

Republicans say that his 'obstruction' of their impeachment investigation has forced them to take the president's son to court to compel his cooperation - or he will face up to a year in jail.

Hunter defied a subpoena last month requiring him to sit for a closed-door deposition as part of the GOP impeachment investigation into whether President Joe Biden was connected to or profited from his son's shady business deals.

Instead of showing up for his required testimony, Hunter appeared outside of the Capitol to deliver a dramatic tirade slamming 'shameless' Republicans, while saying he'd only testify in a public forum.
Madurai, Jan 16 (UNI) A spectator was gored to death and 114 others injured in Jallikattu (bull taming) and Manjuvirattu (bull race) events held in Madurai and Tiruchirapalli districts of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday.

Police said a youth, identified as Ramesh was gored on his chest by a ferocious bull, when it was unleashed during the Manjuvirattu held at Eliyarpathi village in Madurai.

He was rushed to the government hospital, where he died without responding to treatment.

Forty two persons, including 14 bull tamers and 3 policemen were injured in the renowned Jallikattu event held at Palamedu in Madurai, as part of the ongoing Pongal festivities.

Of the injured, 9 persons were admitted to Government Rajaji Hospital for multiple injuries.

As many as 485 registered bull tamers and 847 bulls participated in 10 rounds of the day-long event, amid tight security.

A car was presented to a bull tamer, namely Prabhakar for embracing 14 bulls, while a motorcycle was given to another tamer, Tamilarasan for taming 10 bulls.

Gold and silver coins, television sets, household articles, bicycles were gifted to the winning bull tamers and best performing bulls.

In Tiruchirapalli district, atleast 72 persons including bull tamers, spectators and policemen were injured in the Jallikattu held at Periya Suriyur village, which saw the participation of 350 bull tamers and 658 bulls.

12 persons were admitted to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital here for treatment.

A youth, K.T.Karthik who tamed 15 bulls in the event was adjudged as the bull tamer and was presented a motorcycle.

UNI GSM CS1846
Sen. Bernie Sanders is set to force a full Senate vote on a resolution that would force the U.S. to investigate alleged Israel war crimes and withhold aid if they are found to have merit.

Just after Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, U.S. lawmakers were in lockstep with support for Jewish state's aggressive response in Gaza. But as the months wear on and the Palestinian civilian death toll lurches upward, liberal Democrats have begun to sour on President Benjamin Netanyahu's military campaign, and the push for more U.S. aid to fund the bloody offensive.

The resolution is expected to fail during a Tuesday evening vote given that Republicans still widely support Israel without condition. But it will put the break among Democrats over the Middle Eastern conflict on full display.

Sen. Bernie Sanders is set to force a full Senate vote on a resolution that would force the U.S. to investigate alleged Israel war crimes and withhold aid if they are found to have merit

The resolution would freeze all U.S. security aid to Israel unless the State Department produces a report within 30 days examining whether the nation had committed human rights violations in its wartime conduct.

In a statement earlier this month Sanders, who himself is Jewish, deemed the Gaza offensive an 'illegal and immoral war against the Palestinian people.'

Back in October President Biden requested $14 billion in security aid for Israel that has now stalled in Congress. Biden and the top congressional leadership will meet at the White House on Wednesday to discuss a package that would include aid for Israel and Ukraine and border security measures.

Much of the holdup has been around the much larger $61 billion supplemental request for Ukraine which hardline conservatives oppose.

The mounting death toll in Gaza - 24,000 according to the Gaza Health Ministry - coupled with Israel's road blocks to aid for trapped civilians have sparked wide near-constant protests across the U.S. On Tuesday 130 people were arrested on Capitol Hill in a pro-Palestinian demonstration.

It's also prompted genocide charges at the International Court of Justice and a subtle urging from the Biden administration to wind down the bombing campaign. Earlier this month Israel said it would soon shift to more targeted military operations in Gaza.

Congress has not invoked the human rights authority that Sanders' resolution uses since 1976.

Pro-Israel lobbyists have campaigned aggressively against the measure and the Biden administration has resisted conditions on aid and argued Sanders resolution is poorly timed and not necessary.

'It's unworkable, quite frankly,' National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Sunday.

Smoke rises following Israeli air strikes in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, 16 January 2024

A donkey cart drives past a collapsed building in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, on January 16, 2024

A view of the destroyed house of the Palestinian al-Huli family as a result of the Israeli attack as citizens inspect the damage in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on January 16, 2024

'The Israelis have indicated they are preparing to transition their operations to a much lower intensity. And we believe that transition will be helpful both in terms of reducing civilian casualties, as well as increasing humanitarian assistance.'

Sanders said on CNN he 'strongly disagree[s]' with Kirby, noting two-thirds of those killed in Gaza have been women and children, 70 percent of housing units in the region have been razed, and most of the 2.3 million people who live there have been displaced.

He called the bombing in Gaza 'worse than what took place in Dresden over a two-year period,' referencing the American and British bombing campaign of Dresden, Germany during World War II.

'You do not have the right to go to war against an entire people,' Sanders said.
Australia has announced funding for humanitarian aid to the Middle East, as Foreign Minister Penny Wong arrived in the region for critical talks and said Australia has 'a role to play'.

Senator Wong said Australia would provide $21.5million, which would focus on the growing refugee crisis stemming from the war between Hamas and Israel, as well as on 'conflict-affected populations' in occupied Palestinian territories.

The announcement came following a meeting with Jordan's deputy prime minister and foreign minister Ayman Safadi.

The aid package will include $4million to the Red Cross and $6million to the UN Relief and Works Agency, along with support for refugee programs in neighbouring Jordan and Lebanon.

Senator Wong said the humanitarian crisis in Gaza was dire.

Australia has announced funding for humanitarian aid to the Middle East, as Foreign Minister Penny Wong (pictured) arrived in the region for talks and said Australia has 'a role to play'

'We have a role to play as Australia. We're obviously not a party to the region, but I hope we are a respected voice, and we can also continue to provide assistance from afar,' she told reporters.

'I hope that the international community can work towards a just and enduring peace, which Israelis live in peace and security and Palestinians are able to achieve their legitimate aspirations for statehood.'

The Foreign Minister said the talks with her Jordanian counterpart were an open and very deep discussion.

'We discussed the importance of efforts to restart a political process which leads to a future Palestinian state,' she said.

Senator Wong is also set to hold talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II.

She will also visit Israel, the occupied Palestinian Territories and the United Arab Emirates during the Middle Eastern trip.

As Israel stares down international outrage over its bombardment of Gaza and Houthi rebels threaten to expand attacks in the Red Sea, Australian ministers are under mounting pressure over their response to the conflict.

Australian Defence personnel played a part in missile attacks launched by the US and UK in response to the Iran-backed group blockading international shipping lanes in the Red Sea in support of Palestine.

The Coalition has blasted the government for its decision to reject a US request for deployment of a warship, with Labor opting to send a contingent of defence force personnel instead.

In a joint statement, Opposition Foreign spokesman Simon Birmingham and Opposition Defence spokesman Andrew Hastie said the government had taken credit for involvement in the strikes, when promised Aussie troops hadn't yet made it over.

Acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy said the government was in the process of sending that contingent to the region and some had already left for the Middle East.

The commitment will be met by the end of this month as previously pledged, he added.

Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong outlined her concerns in a tweet (pictured)

A picture taken from Rafah shows smoke billowing over Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip during Israeli bombardment on January 13, 2024

Asked if Australia should be doing more as an AUKUS partner in the Red Sea, British High Commissioner to Australia Vicki Treadell said Australia had done its part by providing personnel for the operations centre in Bahrain, used for the strikes.

'Those are decisions for the Australian government to make, balance against the other priorities and demands for security in this region,' she told ABC radio.

Ms Treadell said the UK always welcomed support from Australia on international issues.

'Australia is supporting our activity, not everything is about having big assets in the region,' she said.
A skipper who steered a New Year's Eve cruise into a sandbank has given a bizarre reason for why he got so drunk - claiming he thought his alcoholic beverages was a soft drink.

Cruise captain Keith Francis Tamati Tarapipipi-Kippenberger was almost three times over the limit crashed his vessel into a sandbank in the Gold Coast Broadwater, near Main Beach, during New Year's Eve celebrations.

About 120 revellers were forced to ring in 2024 on the stranded boat, sparking a mass marine rescue.

Queensland's Southport Magistrates Court was told on Tuesday that water police received several reports about the skipper, including suspicions he had been drinking.

Defence lawyer Clancy Robba told the court Tarapipipi-Kippenberger did not realise until later the 'number of soft drinks' he had that night were actually alcoholic Hard Solos.

Cruise captain Keith Francis Tamati Tarapipipi-Kippenberger (right) said he thought the alcoholic Hard Solo he was drinking was lemon soft drink

Tarapipipi-Kippenberger was found to be almost three times the legal drinking limit when he crashed a cruise vessel carrying more than 100 passengers into a sandbank during Gold Coast New Year's Eve celebrations

Tarapipipi-Kippenberger was charged after he was breath-tested and recorded a blood alcohol concentration of 0.149.

Hard Solo is the alcoholic counterpart to lemon soft drink Solo but has a 4.5 per cent alcohol concentration - which is about 1.3 standard drinks per can.

The alcoholic beverage, which uses similar branding to Solo, will soon be forced to change its name to 'Hard Rated' after regulators received a handful of complaints it could be confused with the soft drink.

The skipper remained silent as a reporter hit him with a barrage of questions while leaving the court.

'Do you have anything to say about what you did?,' Channel Seven reporter Mel Wightman asked.

'Do you understand how dangerous it is operate a boat drunk?

'Do you really think that people would believe that you didn't know you were drinking? You were almost three times the legal limit.'

Hard Solo was a massive hit at last year's Schoolies celebrations on the Gold Coast. Schoolie Lucas, above, with a big crate

Rhyce, Sabian, James and Will cracked open cans of Hard Solo along the Surfers Paradise strip during the celebrations

Mr Robba explained his client had a few drinks the day prior to the event and also onboard the boat that night.

'He's never done anything like this before  he's ashamed and embarrassed about the offence,' Mr Robba told the court, according to the Gold Coast Bulletin.

However, Magistrate Mark Bamberry was not convinced by the skipper's mix-up, claiming the story was 'difficult to believe'.

'It's not as if you're on a jetski  you've got 120 odd people on board plus your crew, and I'm told you're drinking Hard Solo and didn't know the difference,' Mr Bamberry said.

Tarapipipi-Kippenberger pleaded guilty to one charge of mid-range drink driving, was fined $2,000 and had his marine licence disqualified for three months.

Mr Robba explained Tarapipipi-Kippenberger's reputation has been 'severely damaged' which has made it hard for the FIFO worker to find boating contracts.

He added the incident was also being investigated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

Do you know more about the Hard Solo mishap? Email us: tips@dailymail.com
A mother broke down in tears as she recalled the moment she tried to save her friend from allegedly being stabbed to death by an intruder at a real estate office.

Susan Scardigno, 50, was working at Real Estate Agents Group, in Plympton, Adelaide, on December 20, when Shaun Michael Dunk, 30, is alleged to have burst through the door and knifed her and her colleague, Julie 'Julez' Seed, 38.

Ms Seed, a mother-of-two, died at the scene while Ms Scardigno was rushed to hospital in a critical condition.

Speaking out about the traumatic events, a visibly traumatised Ms Scardigno said being the one who survived had left her with immense 'grief, guilt and pain'.

Susan Scardigno, 50, has opened about how her colleague and friend was allegedly stabbed by a random intruder

'I did everything I could at the time to keep her (Ms Seed) safe and in the aftermath I thought she was - but she wasn't,' Ms Scardigno told Nine News.

She labelled the alleged attacker a 'coward' recalling how the office was in high spirits moments before the incident.

Ms Scardigno said her colleague had 'bounced into the office' that day and was excited about her new Christmas-themed nails she recently had done.

'It was very calm, it wasn't like a crazy person running into the door otherwise we would have been alerted,' Ms Scardigno said.

'I remember the terror when I ran outside. I remember people's faces. So many people got pulled into the scenario. So many got hurt.'

Ms Scardigno was left with several stab wounds to her body but said she is able to cover them up.

'But I have to look at them everyday,' she said.

'I just can't seem to find myself in there at the moment. I just can't connect with me, it feels like it happened to somebody else.

'It feels like shame, it feels like I was violated.'

Police said they had recovered a knife and a small hammer from the crime scene.

Mr Dunk has been charged with Ms Seed's murder and the attempted murder of Ms Scardigno.

Julez Seed (left) and Susan Scardigno (right) were allegedly stabbed by a stranger at their workplace on December 20. Ms Seed died at the scene

Julie 'Julez' Seed, 38, is pictured with her fiance Chris Smith

Ms Scardigno is set to sit down with South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas this week to discuss what needs to be done to prevent further tragedies.

'It can't be for absolutely nothing, we need to take that power back for her (Ms Seed),' she said.

She had worked at the agency for five years as a business development manager while Ms Seed was employed two years ago.

In the wake of the tragedy, close friends paid tribute to Ms Seed, a mother of two daughters aged 12 and 18, from Morphett Vale who got engaged to partner Chris Smith a year ago.

'Julez was a beautiful soul, she had a smile that lit up a room,' close friend Cathy Black earlier told Daily Mail Australia. 'She was very loved.

'Julez and Chris were so happy together, it's tragic. She was always happy, everyone loved her.

Ms Scardigno is pictured with her partner, Sean Sykes, during a recent night out in Sydney

'She was a wonderful mum of two beautiful girls, one of which has just turned 18.

'It's heartbreaking to think that she finally had everything she had ever wanted in life, only to be taken so tragically from the world by a senseless random act of violence that should never have happened.

'Now a beautiful family has had their whole life torn apart....and right before Christmas.

'My heart breaks for her family.'

The real estate building is located next to a supermarket car park where families were among those who watched the tragic events unfold.

Dunk appeared via video link in Adelaide Magistrates Court last month.

He was denied bail and the matter was adjourned until March 28.
Two cops have been shot and six people have been injured in Brooklyn, according to law enforcement sources.

One officer was shot in the hand and the other in the leg at 1969 Bergen Street just before 3.30pm on Tuesday, according to ABC New York. A total of six people were injured but it is not clear how many suffered gunshot wounds.

The cops were rushed to Kings County Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The suspected gunman was arrested and also suffering injuries. He is alleged to have grabbed one of the officer's pistols during the fracas.

Police sources would not confirm what led to the shooting but told Fox 5 NY 'it was domestic in nature.'

Two police officers and a civilian was shot non life threatening but its looking like a ep of law & order out here #NYC #Brooklyn #eastnewyork pic.twitter.com/0aEs34BD7K  Dame Dark (@DamesDark1) January 16, 2024

One officer was shot in the hand and the other in the leg at 1969 Bergen Street just before 3.30pm on Tuesday (pictured: a cop at the scene this evening)

Cop cars at the scene of the Brooklyn shooting on Tuesday

The crime scene on Tuesday afernoon

This is a breaking news story. More follows later.
A woman woken up in the middle of the night by thieves managed to prevent them from stealing her car after calling the police, grabbing a knife and screaming at the offenders.

Mandy Grace, from Mackay in Queensland, was woken up on Sunday night after three intruders broke into her house with a hammer and took her car keys.

Ms Grace quickly raced outside after dialling police before launching into a vicious tirade against the men.

CCTV caught the moment Ms Grace screamed at one man inside the car to 'get out' as she repeatedly hit the vehicle with her fist.

Mandy Grace, from Mackay in Queensland, was woken up on Sunday night after three intruders broke into her house with a hammer and took her car keys

CCTV caught the moment Ms Grace confronted one man attempting to steal her car, screaming at him to 'get out' as she repeatedly hit the vehicle with her fist

Ms Grace's doorbell camera initially caught the men lurking around outside before they broke in to try and take the keys.

One intruder was able to get into the car before Ms Grace stormed outside and began screaming.

'Get out of my car c***! Get out c***,' she demanded.

'Get you, you m***********! Get the f*** out!'

The flustered intruder began panicking as Ms Grace circled the car, somehow managing to snap the key in the ignition before giving up the fight.

'I will,' the man can be heard yelling back in the footage.

At that moment Ms Grace went back inside to grab a knife and when she came back outside, the man had already fled the scene.

The flustered intruder began panicking as Ms Grace circled the car, somehow managing to snap the key in the ignition before giving up the fight

'I've worked so hard for the things that I own,' she told 7News.

'For someone to take that away, just angered me.'

The intruders are yet to be caught by police.
James Bulger's mother has celebrated the news that her son's killer Jon Venables will spend two more years in jail.

The 41-year-old killer missed last week's deadline to appeal against a decision from the parole board to keep him behind bars.

Venables had 21 days to submit an appeal after a ruling in December found that he remained a danger to children and could not be trusted outside of jail.

He was just 10 when he and another boy took James from a shopping centre and tortured and killed him before leaving his mutilated body by a railway line in 1993.

James' mother Denise Fergus, 54, expressed her relief that Venables will be kept behind bars as she told The Mirror: 'This is the best way to start the year'.

James Bulger's Denise Fergus, 54, mother (pictured) has celebrated the news that her son's killer Jon Venables will spend two more years in jail

Venables (pictured in 1993) missed last week's deadline to appeal against a decision from the parole board to keep him behind bars

He was just 10 when he and another boy took James (pictured) from a shopping centre and tortured and killed him before leaving his mutilated body by a railway line in 1993

Denise added: 'It is huge for us and for other families who could go through what we did if this person was released.

'To hear that he has now missed the window in which he can appeal, gives us our life back for another two years at least knowing nothing he can do can affect our life or that of others.

'It allows us space to breathe and to focus on the happiness in our lives.'

Venables reportedly 'went mad, shouting and screaming' following the parole board's decision to reject his parole bid last month.

In making their decision, the board said they were concerned Venables has 'continuing issues of sexual preoccupation' and were 'not satisfied' he was safe to be back on the streets.

He was granted a private two-day parole hearing after it was ruled it would 'harm his mental health' if it took place in public, but he did not attend to give evidence in person.

Venables' parole bid already sparked controversy after it emerged that he skipped giving evidence during the two-day hearing to prevent 'disproportionate emotional stress.'

James Bulger's father Ralph spoke out about the parole board's decision on TalkTv

The pair kidnapped and tortured James (pictured), before leaving his mutilated body by a railway line 30 years ago

James' father Ralph Bulger and his uncle Jimmy Bulger said in a joint statement following the parole board's decision in December that they were 'relieved at the decision'.

They added that Venables' continued offending after his release 'had a traumatic impact on us'.

It was reported previously that James' family had written to the Parole Board over suggestions that one of their son's killers could be released.

A family source had said: 'The family has written to the decision makers, saying they believe Venables is a danger to the public and to children, and that he needs to be kept locked up.'

The insider went on to say that it should be 'a cut and dry case' and that were was no need for extra time to debate if 'monster' Venables should be released.

Venables and fellow 10-year-old Robert Thompson horrified Britain when they snatched toddler James from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside.

The pair kidnapped and tortured James, before leaving his mutilated body by a railway line 30 years ago.

The child killers were convicted of murder in November 1993 and detained indefinitely.

The pair were released aged 18 in 2001 after just eight years and given new identities. Thompson has not reoffended.

Venables and fellow 10-year-old Robert Thompson (pictured) horrified Britain when they snatched toddler James from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside

Following his released in 2001, Venables was recalled to prison twice, in 2010 and 2017, having been found to be in possession of indecent images of children.

Venables was turned down for parole in 2020 after serving his minimum 40 months.

After his 2001 release he was given a new name and was given parole conditions including informing his parole officer if he ever got a job and getting their permission before leaving the UK.

He had to regularly see a forensic psychologist and was banned from contacting Robert Thompson or any member of James Bulger's family.

He also had to ask his parole officer for permission to leave Merseyside, stay overnight in the same house as a child under 16 or spend time with anyone under 12.
The Colt Cobra revolver gun Hunter Biden allegedly bought illegally for $900 in cash while addicted to drugs has been pictured for the first time in a scathing court filing from prosecutors.

Chemists also found cocaine on the brown leather pouch where the president's son stored his gun, Special Counsel David Weiss's office claimed in the damning document.

Federal prosecutors made the new revelations as Weiss hit back at the president's son trying to have three felony gun charges carrying up to 25 years in prison dropped.

Hunter, 53, claims the Department of Justice only indicted him after caving to Republican pressure and is demanding the charges are dropped.

The top prosecutor slammed the 'conspiracy theory' as a 'fiction designed for a Hollywood script.'

The Colt Cobra gun Hunter Biden allegedly bought illegally while addicted to drugs has been pictured for the first time in a scathing court filing from prosecutors

'Stripped of its bluster, the defendant's theory of vindictiveness is simply not credible,' prosecutors wrote.

'Left with the inconvenient truth of trying to explain how this could happen during the Biden Administration, the defendant suggests that evil motives are lurking deep within the Department of Justice.

'This theory is a fiction designed for a Hollywood script,' they added.

The court filing also delves into into the fact that he chose to write a memoir where he 'made countless incriminating statements about his years-long drug usage' at the time when he bought the gun.

'He recounted his interaction with a drug dealer who pointed a gun at him during a drug deal before he decided to buy his own gun,' it continues.

'Investigators also obtained messages from his Apple iCloud account in which he discussed buying thousands of dollars worth of crack while also taking videos of himself weighing crack and smoking it.

'Furthermore, a chemist was able to confirm the presence of cocaine residue on the brown leather pouch in which defendant stored his firearm. The evidence against him does not end there.

'The charges in this case are not trumped up or because of former President Trumpthey are instead a result of the defendants own choices and were brought in spite of, not because of, any outside noise made by politicians.

'The defendant cannot prevail on his selective prosecution claim because he does not identify any individual who chose to make similar choices as him who was not prosecuted, and he cannot establish any link between statements of politicians and a discriminatory purpose by current DOJ officials.'

Prosecutors say Hunter went into a Wilmington, Delaware, gun store on October 12, 2018, and bought a Colt Cobra 38SPL, an HKS Speedloader used to rapidly reload bullets, and ammunition.

'When asked whether he was an unlawful user of, or addicted to, any depressant, stimulant, or narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance, the defendant answered, no,"' the filing reads.

If he had answered 'yes,' he would not have been able to buy the gun.

The Colt Cobra cost $886.81, so Hunter handed over $900 in cash, prosecutors allege.

Eleven days later, his then-girlfriend Hallie Biden - the widow of his late brother Beau - found the weapon in his car with the windows down.

Alongside it were the speedloader and the ammunition. She threw the gun in a trash can behind a grocery store.

'The police later obtained the gun case from the defendant and obtained the defendants gun, the ammunition contained in the ammo box, speed loader, and brown leather pouch from the older man,' the filing states.

The president's son is also separately facing a nine-count indictment for alleged tax crimes.

Hunter, 53, is trying to get three felony gun charges that carry up to 25 years in prison dropped

A picture from Hunter Biden's laptop showed the now 53-year-old first son posing nude with a firearm

Eleven days after guying the gun his then-girlfriend Hallie Biden - the widow of his late brother Beau - found the weapon in his car with the windows down.

In December, Hunter Biden's lawyer filed a motion to dismiss felony gun charges against him.

Attorney Abbe Lowell, who is forcefully confronting prosecutors' arguments in both cases, made the filing in federal court in Delaware, where Hunter is accused of lying on a form when purchasing a Colt Cobra revolver in 2018  at a time when he has written he was abusing crack cocaine and other substances.

He cited recent court rulings on gun ownership including a recent appeals court decision striking down prohibitions on prohibitions on drug users possessing firearms.

His attorneys argued that the charges were 'politically motivated' and accused Weiss of having 'buckled under political pressure to bring more severe charges.'

The maximum time in prison would be 25 years total if he is convicted on all of the counts, although federal sentences are usually less than the maximum. Hunter could also be slapped with a max $250,000 fine and three years probation.

According to the indictment, Hunter lied about his drug use when he purchased a gun in 2018.

The First Son purchased a 0.38 Colt Cobra caliber pistol in Delaware, a state that makes any buyer answer a series of questions before they can lay their hands on a weapon.

One from the 2018 application asks if the applicant uses or is addicted to drugs. The box is clearly checked 'no.'

Hunter has admitted that he was addicted to crack cocaine at the time of the gun purchase.

Video discovered on Hunter's laptop computer shows him naked and brandishing a handgun in a hotel room in 2018, allegedly five days after buying the gun.

About two weeks later his lover and brother's widow Hallie Biden found it 'unlocked' in his truck and threw it in a grocery store trash can. Its discovery sparked a police investigation.

In addition, now-President Biden sounded close to tears in the voicemail left on Hunter's abandoned laptop on October 15 - three days after Hunter bought the gun and lied about being a drug addict - begging him to get help.

'It's Dad. I called to tell you I love you. I love you more than the whole world pal,' Joe said in the October 15 message. 'You gotta get some help. I know you don't know what to do, I don't either.'

On July 27, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ruled out President Biden issuing a pardon for Hunter. But it remains to be seen if the White House's posture has changed now that Hunter faces the three new felony charges.

Republicans are insisting that Joe's son is guilty of even more felonies and that Weiss' indictment on gun charges should just be the tip of the spear.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., who is leading an investigation into the Biden family's business dealings, reacted to the indictment saying the charges are a 'very small start.'

'Unless U.S. Attorney Weiss investigates everyone involved in the fraud schemes and influence peddling, it will be clear President Biden's DOJ is protecting Hunter Biden and the big guy,' he continued.

'Ironically, that's the one crime that he committed that you cannot tie Joe Biden to,' added Comer.

Republican firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz said in reaction: 'Getting Hunter on the gun charge is like getting Jeffrey Dahmer on littering.'

The White House is referring inquiries on the new charges to the Justice Department, saying that it is an independent investigation.

Earlier this summer, the president's son had reached a deal after the five-year investigation that would have allowed him to avoid trial for the firearms charges if he abided by parole conditions over 24 months.

Republicans in Washington complained that the president's son had gotten himself a 'sweetheart deal' designed to protect President Biden.

However, the plea deal spectacularly fell apart in court in July, opening Hunter up to new charges.

Hunter allegedly lied on a firearm report (above) required for his gun transaction. A photo of the form shows he answered 'no' when asked if he was an 'unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance'

Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned the 'diversion agreement' of Hunter's plea deal - a clause that gave him blanket immunity for a wide range of other potential charges, including illegal foreign lobbying - killing the deal.

In August, Attorney General Merrick Garland elevated Weiss to special counsel status after increased scrutiny.

Garland's decision to promote Weiss came after IRS whistleblower allegations that Hunter received 'special treatment' during the criminal probe.

IRS agents Joe Ziegler and Gary Shapley testified under oath to House Republicans that their investigation into the president's son 'supported felony and misdemeanor tax charges,' which were ultimately not brought against Hunter due to political pressures.

Weiss tried to bring felony charges against him in Washington, D.C., they said, but was blocked by the district's top federal prosecutor Matthew Graves, a Biden appointee.

The 'special treatment' for Hunter became a pattern that kept happening, said the whistleblowers, who were told they would get in 'hot water' if they tried to speak with President Joe Biden's adult children and grandchildren over the course of their investigation.

Shapley also shared handwritten notes from a meeting from October 2022 in which he quoted Weiss saying he was 'not the deciding person' on charging Hunter Biden with tax crimes, raising questions about potential improper handling of the case by DOJ.

The collapse of Hunter Biden's original plea deal also presented more problems for his father, Joe Biden. The president is now facing more headlines and questions involving his drug-addict son's case as he hits the 2024 campaign trail.

The White House and the president himself have maintained that he has never been involved in Hunter's business dealings.

But Republicans are well into their own investigation looking into Hunter's foreign business dealings.

As part of their probe, they spoke with Hunter's ex-business partner Devon Archer, who testified that President Biden was in fact aware of his son's dealings and sat in on at least 20 calls and multiple dinners with his son's business partners.

Additionally, they have uncovered over a dozen shell companies that Hunter and at least 12 members of the Biden family used to funnel in foreign money.

Joe Biden also used various private email addresses from which he would sometimes send, receive and forward government correspondence according to emails found on Hunter Biden's now-infamous laptop.

'Robin Ware,' 'Robert L. Peters' and 'JRB ware' were three pseudonyms used on emails that were about both official and family business.

House Republicans launched an impeachment inquiry into President Biden last year over his alleged connections to Hunter's multi-million dollar foreign 'influence peddling scheme.'
They were already dead but two others almost drowned in the Rio Grande

Three migrants - woman and two children - found dead by Mexican authorities

Two migrant children who drowned along with their mother trying to cross the Rio Grande into the US were just eight and 10 years old.

Yorlei Rubi, 10, and Jonathan Agustin Briones de la Sancha, 8, died alongside Sancha Cerros, 33, on Friday night near the Eagle Pass crossing in Texas.

The area has been inundated with thousands of asylum-seekers, mostly from Venezuela, desperately trying to reach the US from Mexico.

Shelby Park, a local recreation area along the river, is a popular spot to cross and has recently been taken over by the Texas National Guard and blocked with fences, gates, and razor wire.

Border Patrol agents were denied access to the park on Friday night after they were told by Mexican authorities that a group of migrants crossing was in distress.

Yorlei Rubi, 10, (left) and Jonathan Agustin Briones de la Sancha, 8, (right) died alongside Sancha Cerros, 33, on Friday night as near the Eagle Pass crossing in Texas

A convoy of migrants wades across the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, carrying all they have above the water

Thousands more immigrants crossing the border into the US at one of the busiest entry points - Eagle Pass in Texas

Mexican authorities recovered the bodies of a woman and two children Saturday across the border from Eagle Pass, amid escalating tensions between the state and the US Government over immigration enforcement.

Texas Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar claimed the national guard blocking the border agents prevented the trio from getting life-saving help.

However, a Supreme Court filing by the US Department of Justice makes clear Yorlei, Jonathan, and Cerros were dead an hour before border patrol arrived.

US Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote in the document that Mexico told Border Patrol about 9pm that the three migrants drowned about 8pm, and advised two others were in distress.

The two other migrants were Monica de la Sancha Cerros, 30, and her son, Victor Antonio Briones de la Sancha, 10, both relatives of the drowned trio.

Border Patrol then approached the National Guard perimeter, but were told, through a closed gate, that they were under orders not to let them through.

When the agents tried to explain the seriousness of the situation, they were told they couldn't be let in 'even in emergency situations'.

The National Guard then sent its own guardsmen to investigate instead.

'The following day, Mexican officials confirmed to Border Patrol that the two migrants... had attempted to return to Mexico and were rescued by a Mexican Government airboat while suffering from hypothermia,' Prelogar wrote.

Immigrants wade across the Rio Grande while crossing from Mexico into the US in Eagle Pass, Texas

A National Guardsman lets in a truck at a gate of the Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas, The Texas Military Department confirmed that the Texas National Guard seized control of the area

They also told border agents they recovered the bodies of the three asylum-seekers who drowned.

'It is impossible to say what might have happened if Border Patrol had had its former access to the area  including through its surveillance trucks that assisted in monitoring the area,' Prelogar wrote.

'At the very least, however, Border Patrol would have had the opportunity to take any available steps to fulfill its responsibilities and assist its counterparts in the Mexican government with undertaking the rescue mission. Texas made that impossible.'

The Texas Military Department did not deny it blocked the Border Patrol agents from accessing the area, but, just as the court filing, noted the migrants were dead already.

'Mexican authorities were recovering the bodies, and Border Patrol expressed these facts to the TMD personnel on site,' it said.

TMD said national guardsmen searched the area after Border Patrol alerted them to the other two migrants, but didn't find anyone.

About 45 minutes later, guardsmen saw Mexican authorities responding to an emergency situation on the other side of the river.

Guardsmen 'reported their observations back to Border Patrol, and they confirmed that the Mexican authorities required no additional assistance',' TMD said.

National Guard soldiers stand guard on the banks of the Rio Grande river at Shelby Park

Border Patrol agents were denied access to Shelby Park on Friday night after they were told by Mexican authorities that a group of migrants crossing was in distress

Texas National Guards were on the weekend seen using riot shields to try and hold back migrants at Eagle Pass

'At no time did TMD security personnel along the river observe any distressed migrants, nor did TMD turn back any illegal immigrants from the US during this period,' it said.

'Also, at no point was TMD made aware of any bodies in the area of Shelby Park, nor was TMD made aware of any bodies being discovered on the US side of the border regarding this situation.'

A day before the migrants drowned, the Justice Department warned Supreme Court justices that officials in Texas had taken control of Shelby Park and were not letting Border Patrol agents enter.

Cuellar, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee's subcommittee for homeland security, called the deaths 'a tragedy.'

'This is a tragedy, and the State bears responsibility,' he said, accusing Texas of being responsible for the deaths.

By Monday, it was clear the three migrants had already drowned and guardsmen blocking Border Patrol did not change the outcome.

The Department of Homeland Security before the Supreme Court filing thrust the blame on the incident on Governor Gregg Abbott and his handling of the ongoing migrant crisis.

'In responding to a distress call from the Mexican government, Border Patrol agents were physically barred by Texas officials from entering the park,' it said.

'The Texas governor's policies are cruel, dangerous, and inhumane, and Texas's blatant disregard for federal authority over immigration poses grave risks.'

Texas Department of Public Safety officers work inside a fenced off Shelby Park, Thursday. The park lies in a major corridor for migrants entering illegally from Mexico and is the center of Abbott's aggressive attempts to stop them, known as Operation Lone Star

The team was Abbott's state-sponsored attempt at stopping illegal immigration, and had been presided over by both the Texas Military Department the Texas Department of Public Safety

The park lies in a major corridor for migrants entering illegally from Mexico and is the center of Abbott's aggressive attempts to stop them, known as Operation Lone Star.

The effort was Abbott's state-sponsored attempt at stopping illegal immigration, and had been presided over by both the Texas Military Department the Texas Department of Public Safety.

A recent probe carried out by the Military Times and the Texas Tribune found that at least four of their intelligence officers faced disciplinary action because of alleged illegal behavior - which the publications said was actually uncovered nearly a year ago, in September 2022, but was only set out over the summer.

The TMD - the state's security watchdog - reportedly told the outlets it concluded its investigation in September 2022, but is still waiting to release its report and 'finalize' discipline until leaders receive it.

After announcing the deaths, feds slammed Gov. Greg Abbott's policies that seek to stop illegal immigration, calling them 'cruel, dangerous, and inhumane, and [a] blatant disregard for federal authority'

Texas Department of Public Safety officers guard an entrance to Shelby Park on Thursday, a day before the Texas Military Department and Texas National Guard 'did not grant access to Border Patrol agents to save the migrants', feds said

As problematic stretches of the border remain manned, migrants are periodically swept away to their deaths by the current of the infamous Rio Grande - which, despite its inherent dangers, is a popular crossing point

While only four were said have faced interim discipline from administrators in the meantime, six in total were claimed to have taken part in the debacle - turning over a list of names of prospective migrants at a February 2022 meeting.

Those names, investigators reportedly said, were compiled after the agents secretly infiltrated invite-only WhatsApp groups to spy on asylum seekers and track their movements.

Lt. Col. David Tyler, the leader the intelligence wing from December 2021 to fall 2022 and one of the four said to have already faced internal discipline, told the outlets that 'all the Generals wanted to know about the next mass migration.'

The state has so far spent more than $4.5 billion over two years stationing the groups at the Southern border, and Abbot's office has continued to double-down on its legally questionable practices.

As problematic stretches of the border remain manned, migrants are periodically swept away to their deaths by the current of the infamous Rio Grande - which, despite its inherent dangers, is a popular crossing point.

Abbott's office referred questions about the Friday drownings to the Texas Military Department, which said its security personnel saw Mexican authorities responding to an incident across the river about 45 minutes after Border Patrol made the state aware of the situation.

The department said it maintains water rescue equipment and works with local paramedics to assist migrants needing medical care.

'At no time did TMD security personnel along the river observe any distressed migrants, nor did TMD turn back any illegal immigrants from the US during this period,' the department insisted in the statement.

Cuellar, who represents a Texas border district, reiterated how it was Mexican authorities alerted the Border Patrol to the distressed migrants struggling in the river late Friday.

Aerial view showing migrants queuing at the border fence in an attempt to cross into the US, in Ciudad Juarez Chihuahua, Mexico

Migrants queue at the border fence to try to cross into the US, in Ciudad Juarez Chihuahua, Mexico

He said federal agents attempted to call and relay the information to Texas National Guard members at Shelby Park, without success.

Agents then visited the entrance to the park but were turned away, according to the congressman, who said they were told a Guard member would be sent to investigate the situation.

The 50-acre park is owned by the city, but it is used by the state Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department to patrol border crossings.

Although daily crossings diminished from the thousands to about 500, state authorities put up fences and stationed military vehicles by the entry to deny access to the public and Border Patrol agents this week, according to a court filing.

In its Supreme Court filing, Texas challenged claims that Border Patrol agents were denied access. They said the Border Patrol has scaled down its presence since summer, when the state moved its resources and manpower to the park.

Federal agents were also granted access to the area to secure supplies, the state said.

Abbott's office referred questions about the Friday drownings to the Texas Military Department, which said its security personnel saw Mexican authorities responding to an incident across the river 45 minutes after Border Patrol made local officials aware of the situation. An investigation, as of Sunday morning, was ongoing

Cuellar said there was no immediate information available about the victims' nationalities, relationship and ages. The Mexican government made no public statements.

On Saturday members of the public held a ceremony at the park to mark the deaths of migrants in their region.

Julio Vasquez, a pastor, said access was granted after making requests with the city and sharing pictures showing the entry still fenced up and guarded by members of the National Guard and military vehicles.

An investigation into the deaths remains ongoing.
An Iranian strike on targets inside Pakistan killed two children and wounded three other people overnight, the Pakistani government has said, further stoking fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East.

Pakistan's foreign ministry issued a statement confirming Tuesday's attack, which was first announced by Iranian media reports that were later withdrawn.

Islamabad called the attack an 'unprovoked violation' of the country's airspace, with the strikes reportedly targeting bases of Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl, and warned of 'serious consequences'.

The attack further raises tensions in a Middle East already roiled by Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and comes less than a week after a UK-US coalition attacked several targets in Yemen in response to Houthi strikes on shipping vessels.

It also threatens relations between Iran and Pakistan, which have long eyed each other with suspicion while maintaining diplomatic relations.

Analysts have suggested Iran used the fact that the West is focused on the crisis in Gaza and the Red Sea as cover to carry out its own military action.

An Iranian strike on targets inside Pakistan have killed two children and wounded three other people, the Pakistani government has said. Pictured: A missile is launched in an unknown location in Iran in August 2020

The foreign ministry statement said Pakistan strongly condemned the attack on its Balochistan province.

It said: 'Pakistan strongly condemns the unprovoked violation of its airspace by Iran which resulted in death of two innocent children while injuring three girls.

'This violation of Pakistans sovereignty is completely unacceptable and can have serious consequences.'

'Pakistan has always said terrorism is a common threat to all countries in the region that requires coordinated action.

'Such unilateral acts are not in conformity with good neighbourly relations and can seriously undermine bilateral trust and confidence.'

Two Pakistani security officials said the Iranian strikes damaged a mosque in Balochistan's Panjgur district, about 30 miles inside Pakistan from the Iranian border.

The foreign ministry said the three wounded were girls.

Pakistan's official statement did not say where the strike took place, but Pakistani media said it was near Panjgur in southwest Balochistan province, where the two countries share a sparsely populated border of nearly 620 miles.

Iran offered no immediate official comment but its state-run Nour News agency said the attack destroyed the Pakistan headquarters of the jihadist group Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice). Formed in 2012, Jaish al-Adl is blacklisted by Iran as a terrorist group and has carried out several attacks on Iranian soil in recent years.

It was not the first Iranian attack on one of its neighbours' territory in recent days.

Late on Monday, Iran fired missiles into northern Syria targeting the so-called Islamic State terror group and into Iraq at what it called an Israeli 'spy headquarters' near the US consulate compound in the city of Irbil.

Iraq on Tuesday called the attacks, which killed several civilians, a 'blatant violation' of Iraq's sovereignty and recalled its ambassador from Tehran.

Four people were killed and six others wounded in the attack, according to the Kurdistan security council.

Iraq challenged Iran's claim that the strikes targeted Israel's intelligence services in response to recent Israeli assassinations of Iranian and pro-Iranian commanders.

It said it would lodge a complaint with the UN Security Council over the Iranian 'attack on its sovereignty'.

Pakistan's official statement did not say where the strike took place, but Pakistani media said it was near Panjgur in southwest Balochistan province, where the two countries share a sparsely populated border of nearly 620 miles

Pakistan's foreign ministry issued a statement confirming Tuesday's attack, which was first announced by Iranian media reports that were later withdrawn. Pictured: Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari

The Iranian strikes add to multiple crises across the Middle East, with Israel waging a war against Hamas in Gaza and pro-Palestinian Huthi rebels in Yemen attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Washington-based Wilson Center, warned of the seriousness of the strike.

'Iran has staged cross-border operations against Pakistan-based militants in the past, but I don't recall anything on this scale,' he said on X. 'This plunges Pakistan-Iran ties - a delicate relationship even in the best of times - into serious crisis.'

On the broader threat of a wider conflict in the region, Mona Yacoubian, the Vice President of the US Institute of Peace's MENA centre, said that a single spark could ignite the tinderbox at any moment.

'The Middle East is in the throes of unprecedented levels of tension, unparalleled in recent memory. Across the region, no fewer than four major flashpoints could provoke a wider war in the Middle East,' she said.

In addition to the conflict dynamics between Israel and Lebanon, the Red Sea, Iraq and Syria have all become arenas of spillover confrontation from Gaza.

'A violent spike in any of these hot spots could quickly escalate to a wider confrontation,' she concluded.

Kirsten Fontenrose, of the Atlantic Council, told the BBC Today Programme: 'I think Iran is using the fact that the world is focused on both Gaza and the Red Sea as cover for conducting some of its own actions around the rest of the region.'

She pointed to how the Islamic Republic seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, and now the attacks in Pakistan, Iraq and Syria, and noted that if Iran is criticised for the attacks, it will likely point to the actions of the US.

'I would assume, that if they are criticised for this, [Iran] will say: how is this different from what the US is doing in Yemen by striking what they see as imminent threats to their regime?' she told the British broadcaster.

Asked about the bigger picture in the region, Fontenrose said that it appears Iran is looking to avoid any direct confrontation with the United States, but that it is willing to push its proxies into action against US partners in the gulf.

Iran backs Yemen's Houthi rebels, as well as the Hamas and Hezbollah terror groups.

The reason for the recent uptick in activity, she said, could be due to the Tehran regime looking to shore up its position.

'One of the reasons they could be doing this is to sure up a narrative that they are the ones that are being attacked because this is what the regime usually uses when it comes time to face domestic referendums,' Fontenrose told the BBC.

'So they are about to face a time when the supreme leader will be transitioned should he pass away at some time, and there are lots of power struggles in Iran leading up to this. The regime, as it stands needs, to shore up power,' she said.

She added that Tehran usually does this, at a time when it feels vulnerable, by creating a narrative around a national enemy.

'In this case they are really working on shoring up that national enemy narrative in the form of the US and its partners abroad,' she said.

The attack further raises tensions in a Middle East already roiled by Israel 's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Pictured: Smoke rises following Israeli air strikes in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on January 16

Hours before Tuesday's strike, Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar had met Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

In response to the attack, Pakistan said it summoned Tehran's top diplomat in Islamabad to protest at the 'unprovoked violation of its airspace'.

Late Tuesday, Iran's Nour News agency posted on X: 'Minutes ago, two important headquarters of the so called Jaish-ul-Adl terrorist group was targeted in Pakistan'.

'These headquarters were destroyed by rockets and drones.'

Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for an attack in December on a police station in Rask that killed at least 11 Iranian police officers.

The United States has also labelled Jaish al-Adl a terrorist organisation, saying the group 'primarily targets Iranian security personnel' but also government officials and civilians with assassinations, kidnappings, and suicide bombings.

Tehran and Islamabad frequently accuse each other of allowing militants to operate from the other's territory to launch attacks, but it is rare that official forces on either side engage.

'It is even more concerning that this illegal act has taken place despite the existence of several channels of communication between Pakistan and Iran,' Pakistan's foreign ministry said.

'Pakistan has always said terrorism is a common threat to all countries in the region that requires coordinated action.

'Such unilateral acts are not in conformity with good neighbourly relations and can seriously undermine bilateral trust and confidence.'

Meanwhile, China on Wednesday urged Pakistan and Iran to show 'restraint'.

'We call on both sides to exercise restraint, avoid actions that would lead to an escalation of tension and work together to maintain peace and stability,' foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular briefing.

'We consider both Iran and Pakistan as close neighbours and major Islamic countries,' she said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian speaks during a press conference in Tehran on January 15

Balochistan has faced a low-level insurgency by Baluch nationalists for more than two decades.

Baluch nationalists initially wanted a share of provincial resources but later initiated an insurgency for independence.

Iran has long suspected Sunni-majority Pakistan as hosting insurgents, possibly at the behest of its regional arch-rival Saudi Arabia.

However, Iran and Saudi Arabia reached a Chinese-mediated detente last March, easing tensions.
Washington, Jan 16 (UNI) The United States have condemned in the strongest terms the missile strikes carried out on Iraqs Erbil by the Iranian military, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

"The United States strongly condemns Irans attacks in Erbil today and offers condolences to the families of those who were killed. We oppose Irans reckless missile strikes, which undermine Iraqs stability," Miller said on Monday. "We support the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Governments efforts to meet the aspirations of the Iraqi people".

Earlier in the day, a security source in Iraq told Sputnik that several explosions were reported in Erbil near the US Consulate General and the Erbil International Airport caused by missile attacks.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps took responsibility for the attacks, saying they targeted the bases of anti-Iranian terrorist groups and specifically one of the main headquarters of Israel's intelligence service Mossad in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Following the attacks, a US National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement to Sputnik that the US was in contact with Kurdish and Iraqi authorities following the latest missile attacks in northern Iraq and northern Syria.

Although no US casualties were reported at the consulate, the spokesperson characterized the attack as a "reckless and imprecise set of strikes" and the situation was being assessed.

UNI/SPUTNIK GNK
Rishi Sunak faces a battle to save his premiership today after 60 Tory MPs rebelled over his Rwanda migrant plan.

Tory Right-wingers ignored pleas for unity last night to carry out the biggest rebellion in Mr Sunak's time as leader in a bid to toughen up plans to deport Channel migrants.

In a further blow, Tory deputy chairmen Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith resigned to join the revolt, as did Kemi Badenoch's aide Jane Stevenson.

Conservative whips now face a day of frantic arm-twisting to prevent the rebels voting down the Rwanda legislation tonight and plunging the Government into crisis.

Some MPs said they had been warned the Prime Minister is ready to collapse the Government and call an election if he loses tonight  a claim flatly denied by both No 10 and sources in the Tory whips' office.

Leading rebels told Mr Sunak that he must give in to their demands or risk defeat. They were bolstered by an intervention from Boris Johnson, who urged them to stand their ground to make the legislation 'as legally robust as possible'.

Rishi Sunak faces a battle to save his premiership today after 60 Tory MPs rebelled over his Rwanda migrant plan

In a further blow, Brendan Clarke-Smith resigned to join the revolt

Tory deputy chairmen Lee Anderson has also resigned

The former PM said: 'Governments around the world are now trying to imitate the UK Rwanda policy for tackling illegal people trafficking. This Bill must be as legally robust as possible  and the right course is to adopt the amendments.'

Revolt on two amendments Tory MPs rebelled on two amendments to the Rwanda Bill last night in the biggest revolt of Rishi Sunak's premiership to date. While neither of the alterations passed, the sizeable Conservative support will worry the Government ahead of the Bill's third reading, due to fears that some MPs could vote against it. The first amendment, tabled by Tory MP Sir Bill Cash, aimed to ensure UK and international law cannot be used to prevent or delay a person's removal to Rwanda. Size of rebellion: Voted for by 60 Tory MPs. The second amendment, which was tabled by former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, aimed to severely limit individual asylum seekers' ability to appeal against being put on a flight to Rwanda. Size of rebellion: Voted for by 59 Tory MPs. Advertisement

Downing Street said the proposed legislation was already the 'toughest ever' and warned that tightening it further risked breaking international law.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said the plans were 'legally robust and the fastest way to get flights off the ground'.

But 60 rebel MPs lined up to warn that the Safety of Rwanda Bill is destined to fail unless it is strengthened.

They voted to support an amendment to disapply human rights laws in relation to deportations.

A similar number backed a separate push to ban Channel migrants from lodging individual legal appeals to frustrate their removal.

Rebels included ten former Cabinet ministers, including Liz Truss, Suella Braverman, Sir Iain Duncan Smith and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who led yesterday's revolt.

The proposed changes were heavily defeated last night as they were opposed by both the Government and Labour.

But some rebels warned they could vote down the entire Rwanda Bill tonight unless the Government caves in.

Former Cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke said: 'I will vote against if the legislation isn't amended. Simple as that.'

Mark Francois, chairman of the ERG group of Eurosceptic Tories, urged the PM to back down or risk losing his flagship policy tonight. 'Given the size of the vote tonight, if I were his advisers, I would be saying: 'I think you want to compromise tomorrow if you can'.'

Tory whips were last night trying to peel off some of the rebels and reduce their number to a 'hardcore' of around a dozen.

However, there are concerns the Government could still lose if a large number of Tory MPs abstain tonight, when Labour plans to try to kill off the legislation.

Tory Right-wingers ignored pleas for unity last night to carry out the biggest rebellion in Mr Sunak's time as leader in a bid to toughen up plans to deport Channel migrants

Kemi Badenoch's aide Jane Stevenson also resigned to join the revolt

Leading rebels told Mr Sunak that he must give in to their demands or risk defeat

The rebellion came just 24 hours after Tory elections chief Isaac Levido issued a stark warning to Conservative MPs that they risk inevitable defeat if they allow infighting to continue.

'Let me be clear: divided parties fail. It's time to get serious,' he told the backbench 1922 Committee on Monday night.

Boris Johnson's former communications chief Guto Harri described the rebels as 'self-centred narcissists' whose revolt was 'utterly futile'.

READ MORE: Rishi Sunak faces a 24-hour battle to save his premiership after SIXTY Tories revolt over his Rwanda Bill and threaten to kill the flagship policy altogether in Commons vote tomorrow Advertisement

He told Sky News: 'Tomorrow they are either going to bottle it or they really are going to commit mass political suicide.'

The Rwanda scheme was blocked by the Supreme Court in November after judges accepted claims that the country was not safe.

The new legislation declares in law that the African nation is a safe country and prevents the courts examining the principle of the scheme.

But, to the dismay of Tory rebels, it will not stop individual appeals by migrants threatened with deportation.

Rebel MPs are also seeking to disapply all human rights laws and ban interventions from the European Court of Human Rights, which grounded the last attempted deportation flight to Rwanda in June 2022.

Mr Jenrick, who quit the government last month, said there would be a deluge of individual claims unless they were outlawed, telling MPs: 'Every legal representative and Leftie lawyer will try everything they can to support those claims. We see it every time.'

He added: 'How much are we actually willing to do to stop the boats? How willing are we to take on the vested interests, balance the trade-offs, take the robust steps that will actually work?

Labour 'needs record swing' Labour would need a record swing of 12.7 points to win the next general election, research has suggested. Results were compiled for what would have happened at the 2019 election had it been fought on new constituency boundaries that are being introduced. The changes would give the Tories a boost due to an increase in seats in the East, South East and South West, academics Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher concluded. For an overall majority, Sir Keir would need 12.7 points  up from 12. A swing to Labour which was less than that would produce a hung parliament. Advertisement

'The only countries in the world that have fixed this problem, latterly Australia and Greece, have been willing to take the most robust action. Are we?'

MPs will vote on further amendments today before holding a crunch vote tonight on whether to approve the Bill and send it to the House of Lords.

Mr Anderson has told friends he is ready to vote down the Bill. Mr Sunak made extensive efforts to persuade the straight-talking former miner to vote with the Government. But Mr Anderson told GB News: 'I don't think I could carry on in my role when I fundamentally disagree with the Bill.'

In a joint letter with Mr Clarke-Smith, he said: 'We have already had two pieces of legislation thwarted by a system that does not work in favour of the British people. It is for this reason that we have supported the amendments... This is not because we are against the legislation, but because like everybody else we want it to work.'

Business Secretary Ms Badenoch is known to have privately urged No 10 to strengthen the Bill. Last night, her parliamentary aide Ms Stevenson resigned.

The MP for Wolverhampton North East said the legislation had to be 'as robust as it possibly can be' to deal with the illegal immigration 'crisis'.

'It is a crisis and my constituents certainly want to see results,' she said.

In the debate, immigration minister Michael Tomlinson urged MPs to unite behind the policy, saying: 'Let there be no doubt that the Government is focused and determined to stop the boats. We have made progress, but we must be enabled to finish the job.'
Scientists have unraveled the mystery behind how a volcanic superstructure the size of Idaho formed beneath the Pacific Ocean.

Called the Melanesian Border Plateau, a team of international researchers determined the more than 85,00-square-mile structure was created when dinosaurs ruled the Earth 145 to 66 million years ago and is still growing to this day.

Researchers used seismic data, rock samples and computer models to identify four periods of volcanic eruptions deep beneath the surface that started 100 million years ago.

The submerged structure was also found to feature rare elements used in smartphones, computers, and medical devices.

The Melanesian Border Plateau, which is larger than Idaho, is located in the South Pacific, far below the ocean's surface

In the new study, an international team of scientists led by Kevin Konrad, assistant professor of geoscience at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, assembled the available data to determine the age of the Melanesian Border Plateau.

During an oceanic expedition in 2013, Konrad and his colleagues collected samples of rock from multiple points around the Melanesian Border Plateau by dredging deep down along its slopes from aboard a ship.

Scientists have known bits and pieces of how the Melanesian Border Plateau formed, but they hadn't been able to build a comprehensive picture until now.

Analyzing the ages and chemical makeup of these rocks helped them put together the pieces of the puzzle.

This research is no simple task, as the water in the area can be up to 2,000 feet deep.

The work offers a glimpse into the forces that built the Earth as we know it, and it may provide insight into what the future of our planet will look like.

Researchers used seismic data, rock samples and computer models to identify four periods of volcanic eruptions deep beneath the surface that started 100 million years ago

Earth's oceans are full of underwater volcanoes. Their eruptions formed island chains like Hawaii and Japan, as well as undersea mountains and ridges that have never pierced the ocean's surface.

Some of the structures created by volcanic activity have built up into larger formations over time, usually in one big event at the edges of the plates that make up Earth's crust - where two plates meet.

These boundaries between plates are known to be the sites of volcanic activity, so it makes sense that they would birth formations of igneous (volcanic) rock.

But other structures formed over time in the middle of the plates, where there is less obvious volcanic activity. This makes their origins less straightforward.

The Melanesian Border Plateau is one such structure - an oceanic mid-plate superstructure, as Konrad and his colleagues call it.

At first examination, it may look like the Melanesian Border Plateau formed from one gigantic upwelling of lava from beneath the Earth's surface.

Such an event would have registered beyond the local area, though, sending up masses of volcanic material into the water.

'There are some features in the Pacific basin where [scientists] have only a single sample, and it looks like a very large massive single event,' Konrad told Live Science. 'Sometimes when we sample these features in detail, we realize they're actually built over multiple pulses over tens of millions of years and wouldn't have significant environmental impacts.'

Rather, it seems that four distinct periods of activity, all with different origins, built up the Melanesian Border Plateau over time.

Researchers used seismic data, rock samples and computer models to identify four periods of volcanic eruptions deep beneath the surface that started 100 million years ago

According to the new study, the plateau began forming from undersea volcanic activity during the Cretaceous period, between 145 and 66 million years ago - when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth.

During this first period, a volcanic hotspot called the Louisville Hotspot burned through the lithosphere, the outermost layer of the Earth's crust, to form a ridge and some small undersea mountains, near what would eventually become the Melanesian Border Plateau.

Hotspots form when the lithosphere passes over magma that is close to the surface.

This was just the beginning of a series of volcanic events.

Between 54.8 and 33.7 million years ago, in the Eocene epoch, some of the earliest mammals were spreading across the planet.

At the same time, the lithosphere passed over the Rurutu-Arago hotspot, this time forming oceanic islands and underwater mountains.

The third event happened during the Miocene epoch, between 23 and 5.3 million years ago - when whales and sharks became numerous in the oceans and the first apes started walking upright.

At this time, some of the existing islands and hotspots were reactivated when the region passed over the Samoa hotspot.

'All those same conduits that magma used to go through 45 million years ago, they're now preexisting weaknesses that magma can start moving through 13 million years ago,' Konrad told Live Science.

The period between then and now mark the ongoing fourth pulse of the Melanesian Border Plateau's formation.

Based on the age of lava flows identified by other researchers in the past, it seems that this most recent phase of the Melanesian Border Plateau has been caused by completely different factors than the previous three.

Deformation of the plate boundary in the Tonga Trench has led to new volcanic eruptions, which have continued to deposit rock and build it up.

The results appeared in the January issue of Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

The Melanesian Border Plateau's complex formation may not actually be so unique, according to Konrad.

Other oceanic mid-plate superstructures probably exist, he said, especially in the South Pacific where volcanic activity continues to shape the region today.

Volcanic activity shaping the region doesn't pose an immediate threat to people.

But better understanding it offer insights into how other undersea structures have formed.
Space minister Andrew Griffith appeared to make an embarrassing slip-up this week as he confused Mars with the sun.

During a trip to the Science Museum, he was also reportedly baffled by a display showing the surface of Jupiter, which he misidentified as Saturn.

But can you tell the difference between the planets just by looking at their surfaces?

MailOnline has put together this interactive tool to test your knowledge of the solar system from the Mercury to the Moon.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Mr Griffith's gaffe came during a visit to the museum in west London, where the minister talked up the UK's prospects as a space-faring nation.

He reportedly pointed to an exhibit showing the surface of the planets in the Solar System and exclaimed: 'Now we have got to Mars!'.

Mr Griffith was then told by a member of museum staff that he was, in fact, pointing at the Sun.

Space minister Andrew Griffith reportedly mistook the the sun for Mars and Jupiter for Saturn during a trip to the Science Museum in London

According to an interview with The House magazine, as the exhibit changed again Mr Griffith continued to declare: 'That one is Saturn'.

Once again, a member of staff replied: 'No, no, that is Jupiter.'

During the interview, Mr Griffith also played down his prospects of becoming the first UK minister to venture into space.

He said: 'Would I want to be the first minister in space? I think the whole idea of space exploration is fascinating.

'It's enormously good that people like Tim Peake and others do that, but I'm very respectful of the amount of proficiency that goes into that.'
Reports of a UFO in China are circling the web, with residents of Beijing and nearby towns claiming to have seen 'a moving cloud-like object' with three light sources.

Images and videos of the observation flooded Chinese social media platforms Monday, with many users commonly describing it as a 'misty ball of light' that moved from west to east without emitting any sound.

More than 900,000 threads about the sighting surfaced online Monday afternoon.

One person shared on Weibo that the weather was clear in Beijing when they witnessed 'a glowing object looming' and determined it was not an aircraft because there were no flashing lights.

Reports of a UFO in China are circling the web, with residents of Beijing and nearby towns claiming to have seen 'a moving cloud-like object' with three light sources.

The ball of light appeared Monday morning above the nation's capital and as far as Tianjin and the central province of Shanxi and Shandong in the east.

One user shared the object had three light sources and [being] shaped like an isosceles triangle' and disappeared 'like a mist and disappear without a trace.'

Another posted on Weibo: 'There were three light sources flying very fast.

'At the same time, there was a large halo on the east side of the light group. There was no sound.'

Images and videos of the observation flooded Chinese social media platforms Monday, with many users commonly describing it as a 'misty ball of light' that moved from west to east without emitting any sound

One person shared on Weibo that the weather was clear in Beijing when they witnessed 'a glowing object looming' and determined it was not an aircraft because there were no flashing lights

A Beijing resident commented: 'What is this thing? And it flies very fast, and it is in front of me all of a sudden.'

An astronomer also weighed in on the sightings, theorizing the UFO could have been a Space rocket used to launch SpaceX's Starlink satellites on Sunday - but the suggestion has yet to be confirmed.

Wang Zhuoxiao, a researcher at the Centre for Astronomy Technology at Tsinghua University in Beijing, also posted online with his speculation, according to the South China Morning Post.

Zhuoxiao suggested the glowing object was excess fuel released by a SpaceX rocket that launched from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California Sunday at 3:59am ET.

The statements align with what is known as the 'Twilight phenomenon,' which is produced when unburned particles of propellant and water left in the vapor trail of a launch vehicle condenses, freezes and then expands high up in the less dense upper atmosphere.

Zhuoxiao noted that the circular shape was likely formed as the rocket was performing a tumbling motion to release unneeded fuel to help it climb to orbit,

The ball of light appeared Monday morning above the nation's capital and as far as Tianjin and the central province of Shanxi and Shandong in the east. More than 900,000 threads about the sighting surfaced online by Monday afternoon

New Zealanders witnessed a nearly identical event in 2022 when a glowing blue swirl appeared in the night sky, which was created by a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster

READ MORE: Bizarre footage shows several UFOs hovering above Philadelphia A witness uploaded the bizarre video of the sighting on Reddit and described the large cluster of lights as 'spinning and darting back and forth.' Advertisement

An anonymous astronomer from the Beijing Planetarium also said it could have been a rocket launched from the US.

The astronomer mentioned a similar sighting in China on September 13, 2023 that was later found to be linked to a rocket cloud formed by a previous SpaceX launch.

New Zealanders witnessed a nearly identical event in 2022 when a glowing blue swirl appeared in the night sky, which was created by a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster.

The rocket spun to vent its fuel, it created a vapor trail that reflected the sunlight and produced a visible blue swirl that eyewitnesses said moved 'serenely' across the night sky.

The plume lit up the sky over Nelson, a city at the tip of New Zealand's south island, and travelled 466 miles (750km) south to Stewart Island by about 7:30pm.

The two-stage rocket had been launched on Sunday morning from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

It was carrying a communications satellite for the Louisiana-based company Globalstar, which SpaceX said was deployed about 1 hour and 50 minutes after launch as planned.

After dispatching its payload, the Falcon 9 began venting its fuel, while the rocket's first stage returned to Earth for a vertical landing on SpaceX's droneship.

However, the recent event in China has not been confirmed to be linked to a SpaceX rocket just yet.
Bottled water companies are hitting back against reports of nano and microplastics in bottled water.

A recent study conducted by Columbia University revealed that the average liter of store-bought bottled water contains more than 240,000 nanoplastics which were connected to cancer, birth defects, and infertility.

The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) acknowledged that it hasnt closely reviewed the study, yet still claimed the health impacts are understudied and inconclusive.

The IBWA said these reports unnecessarily scare consumers, but several independent experts told Dailymail.com that just because water comes from a bottle, it doesn't mean its safer or better regulated.

The IBWA pushed back against a study that reported more than 240,000 nanoplastics were found in bottled water. The association claimed the science doesn't hold water

Researchers at Columbia University looked at three brands of bottled water to determine how much nanoplastics they contained

Avinash Kar, senior attorney and senior director of Natural Resources Defense Council, told DailyMail.com: 'While most bottled water is relatively clean, testing has shown that some of it contains contaminants of concern ranging from microplastics to toxic forever chemicals.

Michael Belliveau, co-author and Executive Director of Defend Our Health based in Portland, Maine, told Dailymail.com last week: This study shows that preventing plastic pollution can reduce the incidence of disease, disability and early death, and its attendant human suffering and health care costs.'

Despite experts' warnings, the IBWA insists its completely fine that consumers are ingesting nanoparticles every time they take a sip of bottled water as they attempt to discredit scientists and their findings.

The IBWA told Dailymail.com: 'There currently is both a lack of standardized methods and no scientific consensus on the potential health impacts of nano- and microplastic particles.'

While the IBWA disputes scientific research, some researchers estimate that more than one million people die from plastic-related diseases each year.

A New York University study estimated that microplastic exposure cost the US healthcare system roughly $289 billion in 2018 alone.

Researchers believe the chemicals found in nanoplastics might be a contributing factor to the rising number of young people diagnosed with cancer.

Scientists are still reviewing the long-term dangers that nanoplastic consumption poses to public health according to Phoebe Stapleton, a toxicologist at Rutgers and co-author of the Columbia University study.

She told AP News what we do know is 'that they are getting into the tissues (of mammals, including people)  and the current research is looking at what theyre doing in the cells.'

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told DailyMail.com last week that it is not aware of scientific evidence that would support that would support consumers being concerned about the potential level of microplastic or nanoplastic contamination in food, including bottled water.'

The IBWA claimed its more important to look at the amount of nano and microplastics in the environment, including soil, air, and water, adding that there isnt any research to support that nanoplastics are harmful to peoples health.

The World Health Organization (WHO) told Dailymail.com: 'Although the limited data provide little evidence that nano- and microplastic particles (NMP) have adverse effects in humans, there is increasing public awareness and an overwhelming consensus among all stakeholders that plastics do not belong in the environment, and measures should be taken to mitigate exposure to NMP.'

Researchers identified the three main nanoparticles as: polyethylene terephthalate, polyamide and polystyrene

However, the Columbia University researchers said that because the nanoparticles are so small  measuring less than one micrometer which is 70 times smaller than a piece of human hair  it could actually do more harm than if the particles were larger.

'This size disparity significantly influences their interaction with the human body and the environment,' according to Beizhan Yan, a chemist who co-authored the Columbia study.

Yan told DailyMail.com that nanoplastics smaller size means they are more likely to penetrate primary biological membranes (eg. the gastrointestinal tract lining) and secondary barriers, such as the placenta and blood-brain barrier, potentially leading to more severe health impacts compared to microplastics.'

The study used a new technique that Columbia biophysicist and co-author Wei Min developed called stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy.

SRS uses two lasers to identify seven common nanoplastics in the bottled water and fed the data into a computer to confirm the results through a data-based algorithm.

The IBWA argued that studies using analytical methods like the one conducted by Columbia University should no longer be published.

There currently is both a lack of standardized methods and no scientific consensus on the potential health impacts of nano- and microplastic particles, the IBWA said.

The association further suggested that scientific research and studies dont hold water and demanded that scientists and ideally journalists should have a critical look on applied methods before trusting in the results of studies.

WHAT ARE MICROPLASTICS AND HOW DO THEY GET INTO OUR WATERWAYS? Microplastics are plastic particles measuring less than five millimetres (0.2 inches). They have hit the headlines over recent years, as improper disposal has resulted in tonnes of waste making its way into the ocean. Each year, tonnes of plastic waste fails to get recycled and dealt with correctly, which can mean they end up in marine ecosystems. Although it's unclear exactly how they end up in the water, microplastics may enter through simple everyday wear and tear of clothing and carpets. Tumble dryers may also be a source, particularly if they have a vent to the open air. Plastics don't break down for thousands of years and it is estimated that there are already millions of items of plastic waste in the oceans. This number is expected to rise. Studies have also revealed 700,000 plastic fibres could be released into the atmosphere with every washing machine cycle. Current water systems are unable to effectively filter out all microplastic contamination, due to the varying size of particles. The amount of plastic rubbish in the world's oceans will outweigh fish by 2050 unless the world takes drastic action to further recycle, a report released in 2016 revealed. More than 80 per cent of the world's tap water is contaminated with plastic, research published in September 2017 revealed. The US has the highest contamination rate at 93 per cent, followed by Lebanon and India, experts from the University of Minnesota found. France, Germany and the UK have the lowest levels, however, they still come in at 72 per cent. Overall, 83 per cent of water samples from dozens of nations around the world contain microplastics. Scientists warn microplastics are so small they could penetrate organs. Bottled water may not be a safer alternative, as scientists have found contaminated samples. Creatures of all shapes and sizes have been found to have consumed the plastics, whether directly or indirectly. Previous research has also revealed microplastics absorb toxic chemicals, which are then released in the gut of animals. Advertisement

Dailymail.com has reached out to the WHO for comment.
Half of the nearly 25,000 cities in the US could become ghost towns by 2100, a study suggests.

Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago found that in a modest scenario, around half of cities could lose up to a quarter of their resident populations by the end of the century.

If fertility rates continue to decline and the exodus from cities gets worse, as many as two-thirds of US cities could see their populations shrink significantly.

The team warned: 'The implications of this massive decline in population will bring unprecedented challenges, possibly leading to disruptions in basic services like transit, clean water, electricity and internet access' as cities shrink and populations age.

High taxes and cost of living associated with bustling metropolises have been pushing people away from cities for decades, trends which data suggests were exacerbated during Covid when companies allowed employees to work from home.

Braddock, Pennsylvania had a population of 1,721 according to the 2020 US Census  down more than 20 per cent from its 2010 population of 2,159

Researchers predicted population trends between 2020 and 2100 based on the past 20 years of population data. In this severe scenario, about 64 per cent of cities are predicted to lose population by 2100

The exodus will be felt more in the Northeast and Midwest than in the South and West regions, with Hawaii and the District of Columbia experiencing no loss of people at all, the study's authors predicted.

Population has been on the rise since the 1600s  before the 'United States' even existed. But US Census data suggests that the country as a whole will experience population decline by 2080, which aligns with the findings of the new study.

For the latest study, the researchers used existing trends from the past 20 years to predict what the next 80 will look like.

According to the 2010 US Census, 3,123 people lived in Calais, Maine. In 2020, that number fell 1.4 per cent to 3,079

The team looked at the change in cities' populations from 2000 to 2010, 2010 to 2020, and 2000 to 2010, while also taking into account each city's average annual population change from 2000 to 2020.

They categorized cities with a yearly drop of five per cent or higher as severely depopulating, from one per cent as moderately depopulating, and from 0 to 1 percent as slowly depopulating.

Granite City, Illinois, was home to 27,549 people according to the 2020 census. In 2010 its population was 29,849. In one decade, the city's population dropped 7.7 percent

Midwestern cities like Detroit, Michigan; Cleveland, Ohio; and St. Louis, Missouri, fell into the 'moderate to slow depopulation' category, as did southern cities including Columbus, Georgia; Birmingham, Alabama; and Memphis, Tennessee.

For the future predictions, the researchers didn't name specific cities, but estimated the percentage of cities for each state and region.

In this 'intermediate' scenario, more than 50 per cent of cities are predicted to lose population by 2100

One of their models showed that half of the 24,295 cities are expected to see a population drop of about 12 to 23 per cent by the end of the century in the most likely scenario.

A more extreme estimate predicted the number of cities in decline could reach 64 per cent.

In the future, the depopulation numbers will be higher in the Northeast and Midwest regions of the country than in the South and West, the study's data suggest.

In 2010, 15,254 people lived in Mitchell, South Dakota. As of 2020, the city's population rose about 2.7 percent, to 15,660

More than 80 per cent of rural cities in the Northeast region could lose population numbers by 2100, according to an intermediate estimate.

About 77 per cent of urban cities in the region would grow, though.

The intermediate estimate also predicted most rural cities in the South will lose population, while all urban cities will gain population.

It can be hard to forecast how population growth trends will be altered by the effects of uncertain futures: changing job markets, sea level rise, climate change, immigration, new laws, and all the other factors that can make people move to or away from a given city.

Current trends in population change showed that about 40 per cent of US cities grew between 2000 and 2020, but 43 per cent shrank

More than 80 per cent of rural cities in the Northeast region could lose population numbers by 2100, according to an intermediate estimate. About 77 per cent of urban cities in the region would grow, though

In the coming decades, there will be cities or states in a region that don't adhere to the regional trend, the researchers wrote: For example, California's southern coast may lose population, but its northern coast may gain population.

And even though Texas and Utah are currently growing, many cities in each of these states will experience substantial population loss by the century's end, the researchers concluded.

Historically, a big portion of the depopulation trend has hit rural areas as young people moved to cities, leaving behind an aging population - people who were not having babies.

And the new study supported this trend.

The intermediate estimate predicted most rural cities in the South will lose population, while all urban cities will gain population

Looking at population density  the number of people who live in a given area  revealed that the cities experiencing severe depopulation tend to have low population density.

Researchers also looked at how incomes link up to the population trends.

They found that cities in the Northeast and Midwest regions with lower median household incomes were more likely to depopulate over time.

'Such trends could exacerbate socioeconomic challenges experienced by lower-income households in these regions,' they wrote, 'given that population decline can create affordability concerns with infrastructure services, such as water and electricity, due to a dwindling tax base, and operations, management and maintenance (OMM) challenges.'

Intermediate predictions for midwestern cities show a more spread out trend than other regions, with nearly the same percentage of urban and rural cities gaining and losing population, respectively

The West region of the US will have the lowest percentage of population loss in rural cities compared to the other three regions in the study, according to the intermediate estimate

By contrast, high-income cities across all the regions will likely experience population growth.

And for some rural cities with low median incomes, populations are likely to grow.

Only time will tell how large regions and specific cities will be affected by populations over time.

Stagnant cities can usually support their population, but as cities shrink, the ability of city services to support the population may not keep up with the local demand.

This, in turn, can speed up depopulation as people move away from cities that become unlivable.
French photographer Dimitri Bourriau ventured to the site to record the dusty detritus of the park for posterity

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Dodgem cars gathering dust. A dismembered children's teacup ride. A roller coaster whose coasting days are over.

Welcome to Lucky Star Park in Cyprus where there's no need to buy a ticket - because the rides have come to a complete stop. For good.

The distant echoes of laughter have long faded away at the abandoned funfair, located in Larnaca.

A post on the park's Facebook page announced the fair was 'closed due to renovations' in June 2019. But no updates have been announced since, while the fair's website has been taken down.

French photographer Dimitri Bourriau, 40, ventured to the site to record the dusty detritus of the park for posterity, producing a captivating collection of images.

Recalling his visit, he told how he was struck by how intact the rides were and said this could be explained 'by the fact that it is on an island', which 'complicates the transport and resale of the attractions'. Scroll down to see Dimitri's photographs of this fascinating faded funfair...

This smiley caterpillar roller coaster is among the rides photographed by Dimitri Bourriau during his visit to the abandoned Lucky Star Park in Larnaca, Cyprus. It once, presumably, earned thrills of excitement from children riding in its carriages, but now stands motionless

'I was able to take very interesting shots, particularly for attractions that were not on the ground such as hot air balloons or swing attractions (like the one pictured above) that can be found at fairgrounds,' Dimitri explained

LEFT: This image shows what could now be described as a 'merriless-go-round' at Lucky Star Park. RIGHT: Dimitri visited Lucky Star Park in January 2023, almost four years after its closure in the summer of 2019. 'I have several photos that I particularly like of the place,' he told MailOnline Travel. 'I really like the hot air balloon ride (pictured) and the caterpillar'

The abandoned fairground is located near the northern coast of Cyprus, explains Dimitri. 'It is in the Greek part of the island, like the majority of my Cypriot explorations'

This picture shows a pair of dodgems at Lucky Star Park, which have been left to gather dust

Dimitri said he discovered the site of the former amusement park 'via local press articles that talked about its opening, then its closure'. RIGHT: This image shows an abandoned Daytona USA arcade game and is Dimitri's favourite of the collection because it is 'a game that I played as a child', he said, adding: 'During my visit, the sky was cloudless and the colours of the arcade machine matched the sky very well. There is a very Californian side to this shot'

For this photo project, Dimitri said he was 'particularly motivated' by the state of the amusement park. 'Many parks, once bankrupt, sell and dismantle their attractions in order to replenish their coffers,' he explained

A children's teacup ride lies dismembered on the ground in this photo

The weather was 'very pleasant' during Dimitri's trip to the old fairground, which he said allowed him to 'explore the attractions left abandoned in the field'

Dimitri said the more he progressed, 'the more he discovered'. He added: 'It was impressive, and there was a very nostalgic side, because I imagined the children playing in these places. Despite a lot of dust, a little rust and lack of maintenance, they were very beautiful and in very good condition'

'It is quite rare to find such a complete park, as they are often looted or dismantled after they close,' said Dimitri. The fact that it's intact 'can be explained by the fact that it is on an island - this complicates the transport and resale of the attractions'

The signs at the park are all in English, according to Dimitri, who said 'we can imagine foreign tourists being the main driving force behind the park'

'I stayed more than four hours in the park as there was no surveillance, so I was able to do handheld and tripod [photos], and also use my drone,' Dimitri explained

Behold the carriages of another fairground ride at the park, which appears to have been taken apart and left to nature

Dimitri didn't meet anyone at the park, which is 'quite far from the towns', he said. The access road, he added, 'belongs to the park so it is poorly maintained now'

French photographer Dimitri has 58,000 followers on Instagram

To see more of Dimitri's work visit his Instagram page and his website - https://www.jahzdesign.com.
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'Most people look into the darkness of a cave and see only terrifying blackness. I see an unexplored world of possibilities.'

So says Canadian Jill Heinerth, a cave diver for 30 years, in fascinating new book Adventuress: Women Exploring the Wild (39.99/$55, Prestel), a tome that profiles 20 'extraordinary' women 'with a deep desire for adventure'.

Jill, a filmmaker and photographer, acknowledges that her job is said to be the most dangerous in the world and that one mistake could cost her her life.

But 'despite the risks', underwater caves 'represent the ultimate challenge' for Jill and 'leave her feeling like a kid in a candy store'.

She writes: 'People look at my work and suggest that documenting the world of underwater caves might be the most dangerous job in existence.

'Most people look into the darkness of a cave and see only terrifying blackness. I see an unexplored world of possibilities.' So says Canadian Jill Heinerth (above), a cave diver for 30 years, in fascinating new book Adventuress: Women Exploring the Wild. Above: Jill slips through a narrow gap wearing a special life support device called a rebreather

Jill, a filmmaker and photographer, acknowledges that her job is said to be the most dangerous in the world and that one mistake could cost her her life. She's pictured above in a cave in Abaco in The Bahamas

'I have been burdened with the grief of countless colleagues' deaths, some of whom made unwise choices in the blackness of underwater cave systems.

'Their names have been added to a long list of divers who ran out of air, got lost in a labyrinth, or pressed too far into new exploration before turning back.

'[But] to a filmmaker and photographer, underwater caves represent the ultimate challenge: I create art while monitoring delicate life support equipment at task loads that take my mind and body to the limit. Despite the risk, I'm like a kid in a candy store, working with biologists discovering new species, physicists tracking climate change, and hydrogeologists examining our finite freshwater reserves. Probing the underground pathways of the planet.

'With training, preparation, and dedication to proper safety procedures, I have maintained a career of nearly 30 years of exploration and science. It would be arrogant to say that I will never make a mistake or poor choice that could ultimately cost me my life, but I believe that following the ultimate rule for survivors can help. Be willing to assume risk. Be ready to push the razor's edge of possibility. Be bold and confident in whatever you take on in life.'

Jill (above) says: 'Be willing to assume risk. Be ready to push the razor's edge of possibility. Be bold and confident in whatever you take on in life'

LEFT: Jill is pictured here at Floridas Ginnie Springs. She reveals: 'I've lived near here for more than a decade, making hundreds of dives into the caves onsite.' RIGHT: A cave called 'The Pit' in Mexicos Yucata

The Explorers Club Fellow, who has dived everywhere from Egypt to the Antarctic and Mexico, explains how she stays alive.

She writes: 'When trapped in a claustrophobic cave underwater in the darkness of a total silt-out, I must summon the calmness necessary to make the next best step towards survival.

'If a rock has me pinned, I use logic to figure out how to free myself. If the safety guideline breaks, I methodically deploy my cave diver's reel and patch the broken guideline.

'I must do all of these things in the absence of panic. Every breath I take has to be measured and calm. I must keep my heart rate low and focus on the next best course of action.

Jill peers into an unusual waterhole in a hyper-saline lake in Egypt. She says: 'With training, preparation, and dedication to proper safety procedures, I have maintained a career of nearly 30 years of exploration and science'

'Unchecked emotions won't serve me in this life-threatening situation. They will only distract me from success and use up precious air.

'[And] when the hair stands up on your neck, alerting you to danger ahead, you must be willing to let go. As you reach for the tempting summit of the mountain or the new exploration in a virgin cave, remember you also have to get home safely.

'Knowing when to turn back is as essential as embracing fear.'
Kate Beckinsale's stepfather Roy Battersby has died at the age of 87.

On Wednesday morning the actress shared a black square without a caption on her Instagram account, and her friends and fans offered their condolences in the comments.

Roy was hospitalized in Los Angeles last month after suffering 'a massive stroke' while battling two forms of cancer, which he was diagnosed with in summer 2023.

On Monday, Kate confirmed her stepfather's death with a video montage honoring him, which included a quick announcement that he had died the same day as her black post.

The British actress, 50, has been quietly caring for both her beloved mother and stepfather as they battle a slew of serious health issues, DailyMail.com previously revealed.

Kate's actress mother Judy Loe married Roy in 1997  18 years after Kate's father, Porridge star Richard Beckinsale, died.

Kate Beckinsale's stepfather Roy Battersby died Wednesday, January 10, at the age of 87. The British actress, 50, has been quietly been caring for Roy and her mother Judy Loe in recent months (pictured in 2021)

Roy was hospitalized in Los Angeles last month after suffering 'a massive stroke' while battling two forms of cancer , which he was diagnosed with in summer 2023

Kate's actress mother Judy Loe married Roy in 1997, 18 years after Kate's father, Porridge star Richard Beckinsale, died; seen in 1986

Roy enjoyed his own successful career as a director, working on major British on-screen hits including Inspector Morse and Cracker. His most recent directorial credit was for a 2006 episode of A Touch Of Frost.

Kate's Instagram post on Monday included an announcement about her stepfather's death on Wednesday.

It noted that his funeral would be held back in London, with details forthcoming.

'I have no words yet,' Kate captioned the video, before thanking a fan account for editing it. 'Oh Roy I am so sorry I lost.'

The clip opened with a moving recording of Roy recalling how he was forced to hide in a shelter during the Blitz early in World War II as Nazi bombs rained down.

He called the eventually announced of Victory in Europe Day a 'wonderful thing,' because it meant no more hiding in shelters, and young men no longer had to leave their families to go off to fight across the continent.

The video also featured several sweet photos of Kate with her stepfather and her mother, including a hilarious photo showing her and Roy beaming at each other while holding playfully insulting tea cups.

Kate rushed from the Golden Globes ceremony on Sunday January 7 to the hospital, sharing photos of herself on the red carpet and by Roy's bedside with the caption: 'Golden globes 2024 start to end.'

She was still clad in her glamorous Atelier Zuhra gown for the hospital visit, as she ate a burger and chatted to her friends and family in Roy's room.

Her friends and followers were quick to check in on the star, with one commenting: 'I dont know how you made it through last night with all that is going on. You are strong and a consummate pro.

'Having to leave the side of your beautiful Roy to honor this commitment at the Globes was above and beyond. Sending love and prayers to you and your family. Im so happy you were able to make it back to the hospital. '

Kate responded: 'thank you and thank you for your supportive texts all the way through. That was so kind xx'

Kate's mother Judy Loe's has been fighting her own private health battle. The 76-year-old was diagnosed with a longstanding illness six years ago  something Kate has alluded to in several emotional Instagram posts over the past year.

Kate shared a video montage to Instagram on Monday, which included an announcement about her stepfather's death on Wednesday. It noted that his funeral would be held back in London

Kate rushed from the Golden Globes ceremony on Sunday January 7 to the hospital, sharing photos of herself on the red carpet and by Roy's bedside

Her friends and followers were quick to check in on the star, with one commenting: 'I dont know how you made it through last night'

The tribute video opened with Roy recalling his struggles hiding in shelters during the Blitz in World War II and his elation after VE Day was declared

The video also featured several sweet photos of Kate with her stepfather and her mother, including a hilarious photo showing her and Roy beaming at each other while holding playfully insulting tea cups

Kate appeared to have fun pestering her stepfather in another sweetly unguarded photo

Roy and Kate's actress mother Judy Loe were dressed up as nobles from centuries earlier in a snap highlighting the fun they had as a family in his final years

She was still clad in her glamorous Atelier Zuhra gown for the hospital visit, as she ate a burger and chatted to her friends and family in Roy's room

The Underworld actress flew Judy and Roy out to the US from their home in the UK so she could care for them full-time at her Los Angeles home.

'Kate has been caring for her parents, who both have serious illnesses, for most of the year,' a source exclusively revealed to DailyMail.com late last year. 'She brought them to her home in LA and has made looking after them her number one priority.'

The insider revealed that the Snow Angels star  whose biological father Richard Beckinsale died in 1979 at 31 from a heart attack in his sleep  has been feeling the emotional toll in recent months.

'She was spotted this week several times crying in the corridors of UCLA hospital,' the source added. 'Her friends are very concerned that she has been under relentless strain for months and hardly sleeping or eating.

'Kate appears to be very strong but this has been incredibly hard and, given that she lost her father so young, is affecting her very deeply. Her friends are concerned for her own health.'

A second source explained that her mother Judy has chosen to keep her health battle private, stating: 'She's extraordinary, you wouldn't even know by looking at her. She has been keeping a very positive attitude throughout everything.'

Kate's biological father Richard Beckinsale was best known for his roles as Lennie Godber in the BBC sitcom Porridge and Alan Moore in the ITV sitcom Rising Damp.

He also had a daughter  Samantha, 55  who is his only child from his marriage to Margaret Bradley.

Kate has alluded to her parents' ailing health online in recent months, sharing images of her mother undergoing treatment in hospital.

In August she encouraged fans to do what makes them happy in the Instagram caption, writing: 'Embrace joy. Accept grief. Wear feathers. Sing. Do what makes you feel happy even for a moment. Pair grief and sickness and fear with as much life and laughter and celebration as you possibly can.

'It doesnt mean you are having some sort of crisis. It means you are choosing life, fiercely. Be brave, and when you dont feel brave, listen. Laugh hard, dance hard, cry hard, love hard with those you trust.'

Kate has alluded to recent struggles in emotional Instagram posts about her parents over the past year; pictured in November 2023

Kate previously shared a snap of Roy undergoing treatment in hospital

Her 76-year-old mom has been privately battling her own illness for the past six years

Kate's close bond with her parents has been a source of delight for social media fans who often share messages of praise for the family's visible love for one another

Roy enjoyed a successful career as a director, working on major British screen hits including Inspector Morse and Cracker. His most recent directorial credit was for a 2006 episode of A Touch Of Frost; pictured with his Alan Clarke Award at the 1996 Bafta Craft Awards

The Underworld actress flew Judy and Roy out to the US from their home in the UK so she could care for them full-time at her Los Angeles home

She continued: 'Spread love when you can. Read. Stay in bed and cry when its from all sides and feels like an avalanche. Try not to be mean, or to take on others meanness. People can break.

'Be kind. Fight with everything youve got for your loved ones , and for your own spirit x.'

However, the Much Ado About Nothing actress has been determined to put on a brave face and do all she can to continue supporting her loved ones during this difficult time.

'Kate has been attempting to maintain a positive public and professional presence, and remain upbeat for her family,' the source added.
True Detective: Night Country

Rating:

Streets Of Gold: Mumbai

Rating:

Well, that's weird. And not just the barefoot ghost in a blizzard, the one-eyed polar bear, the suicidal reindeer, the vanishing scientists or the disembodied human tongue.

The original True Detective in 2014 was one of the most admired crime thrillers ever screened.

Its combination of Deep South voodoo strangeness and police procedural, matched with career-best performances from Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, was exceptional.

True Detective: Night Country (Sky Atlantic) appears to be a remake of another show entirely. Set in Alaska, it charts an investigation into the disappearance of eight researchers at a remote government base on the ice.

The only clues at the scene were an uneaten ham sandwich, a woman's severed tongue on the floor and a message scrawled on a whiteboard: 'We are all dead.'

Jodie Foster plays Danvers, a world-weary detective with a teenage ward causing trouble, and a hatred of The Beatles

Idealistic Native American policewoman called Navarro (Kali Reis), pictured left

Jodie Foster plays Danvers, a world-weary detective with a teenage ward causing trouble, and a hatred of The Beatles.

She's stuck in a town called Ennis, where the sun doesn't rise for weeks during winter and the roadsigns read, 'Welcome to the end of the world.'

Also probing the mystery is an idealistic Native American policewoman called Navarro (Kali Reis), who has cheek piercings and tattoos over half her body.

There's one murder she's never been able to solve and, wouldn't you just know it, she won't rest till she catches the killer.

The two women loathe each other  not merely a mutual dislike but outright hatred, which feels engineered by a committee of writers.

The whole set-up, in fact, has too much crammed into it, as if director Issa Lopez decided to use every idea suggested by anyone.

In the first hour, there's the spectre of a dead man called Travis who has no shoes and probably died from frostbite of the feet, plus a monster that whooshes across corridors when backs are turned, and an unseen voice that yells, 'She's awake!'

Add a herd of reindeer throwing themselves off a cliff and the world's ugliest polar bear stopping traffic on Main Street. Then there's Fiona Shaw, spy mistress from Killing Eve, gutting a wolf. It's a lot to take in.

But most bizarre of all is how similar this True Detective is to a 2015 Arctic crime serial called Fortitude, which starred Michael Gambon. Fortitude never really worked. The cast was great but the plot was just hokum with added icicles.

The first True Detective was superb because, for all the dark spookiness, it was an engrossing drama about two angry, flawed cops. This time round, it's fast-moving and beautifully shot, and  if it can develop the fractured relationship between Danvers and Navarro  might become excellent too.

But if it just keeps adding layers of weirdness, it will turn into another Fortitude. And there's not much point in that.

Streets Of Gold: Mumbai (BBC2) centred on the star of another remake  Anupam Mittal, one of the entrepreneur investors on Shark Tank, India's version of Dragons' Den.

Streets Of Gold: Mumbai (BBC2) centred on the star of another remake  Anupam Mittal, one of the entrepreneur investors on Shark Tank, India's version of Dragons' Den

Shark Tank follows the original formula closely, with one major difference: it draws 50 million viewers.

Anupam gave us a guided tour of his Mumbai penthouse and invited the cameras to inspect his racehorse Democracy before the Indian Derby, but it was touching that he plainly cared much more about his small daughter than any of his riches.

This was a far more engaging hour than last week's opening episode, which drooled over the city's billionaires.

What came as the biggest surprise was to realise how much wealth there is in the slums. One man, sharing a one-room shack with his parents and brother, was able to spend 30,000 on his wedding. Fancy schmancy!
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A restaurant in France has been confronted after Aussies discovered its striking resemblance to a popular Australian eatery.

Totti, an Italian restaurant based in Paris, shares several notable similarities with Justin Hemmes' Totti's - a Merivale chain with Italian cuisine and locations in Bondi, Rozelle, Sydney's CBD, and now Lorne in Victoria.

The French 'cut copy' was spotted by famous Australian Instagram account Miss Double Bay, who called the likeness between both restaurants 'uncanny'.

The account shared several comparative images, including the restaurants' very similar menus and logos.

'It has come to my attention that we have a doppelganger in our midst - Totti (with no 's'), a Italian restaurant located in Paris. The like4like is UNCANNY,' she wrote.

A restaurant in France has been confronted after Aussies discovered its striking resemblance to a popular Australian eatery. Pictured (l-r): Totti restaurant entrance in Paris, Totti's restaurant entrance in Bondi

'Not to mention the misleading nature of their IG handle (@totti.restaurant), which even has my girl @jackieo_official accidentally tagging the wrong venue. @merivale get the lawyers on standby.'

Merivale's Totti's menu, created by executive chef Mike Eggert, features an array of Italian dishes from pasta, antipasti and its famous 'puffy' wood-fired bread.

While the French Totti doesn't have their bread on their menu, it does have a garlic and olive oil bread, as well as several similar dishes like burrata, schnitzel and tiramisu.

Totti, an Italian restaurant based in Paris, shares a striking resemblance to Justin Hemmes' Totti's - a Merivale chain with an Italian cuisine and locations in Bondi, Rozelle, Sydney 's CBD and now Lorne in Victoria

The French 'cut copy' was spotted by famous Australian Instagram account Miss Double Bay, who called the similarities of both restaurants 'uncanny'. Pictured: Food and beverages at Totti's Bondi

Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson confronted the Parisian restaurant that appears almost identical to a famous Australian chain on Tuesday.

The radio duo went the extra length on their radio show by contacting the doppelganger restaurant to call them out.

'It's here in Australia. Are you the same company?' Kyle pressed a staff member.

Merivale's Totti's menu, created by executive chef Mike Eggert, features an array of Italian dishes from pasta, antipasti and its famous 'puffy' wood-fired bread. Pictured here is their famous veal schnitzel (left) and tiramisu (right)

Even the menu is 'uncanny' - Totti in Paris also serves schnitzel and tiramisu

'Oh no, we are not the same company actually,' the employee replied.

'But the logo is exactly the same, the fonts the logo, are you sure it's not the same?' Kyle continued, to which the man answered, 'I'm certain we are not the same.'

The staff member revealed the Parisian restaurant opened in 2022, while Totti's first opened in Bondi, Sydney, back in 2018.

While the French Totti doesn't have their puffed bread on their menu, it does have a garlic and olive oil bread. It also offers antipasti dishes like burrata

Merivale CEO and Totti's owner Justin Hemmes (left) has since been made aware of the copycat restaurant. Pictured with Daniel Ricciardo (right) at Bar Totti's in Sydney's CBD

He also noted his boss had 'never been to Sydney', let alone heard of the iconic Merivale chain.

Jackie also mentioned that she had accidentally tagged the imitation restaurant while enjoying the culinary delights at Totti's Bondi.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Justin Hemmes and his representatives for comment.

Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson confronted the Parisian restaurant that appears almost identical to a famous Australian chain. Pictured: Merivale Totti's Instagram account

The Totti staff member told Kyle and Jackie O that his boss had 'never been to Sydney', let alone heard of the iconic Merivale chain. Pictured: French Totti Instagram page

Jackie also mentioned that she had accidentally tagged the French restaurant while enjoying the culinary delights at Totti's Bondi

Merivale CEO and Totti's owner Hemmes has since been made aware of the copycat restaurant.

'Don't they say "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?"' he said, according to Good Food Magazine.

'I'm not sure I agree with that.'
Sunrise viewers have branded the breakfast show's recent makeover a 'terrible fail'.

Six months ago, Seven relocated the Sunrise set to South Eveleigh from its original Martin Place studio in Sydney's CBD, and producers totally overhauled it.

Several fans have mocked the new studio, which features two large screens in an otherwise empty set.

'The way in which they use this set, is like when you buy an 86-year-old a smart phone,' one viewer commented on a thread featured on TV industry blog Media Spy.

Several were especially critical of the way hosts Natalie Barr and Matt 'Shirivo' Shirvington have been asked to present segments using the large screens.

Sunrise viewers have branded the breakfast show's recent makeover a 'terrible fail' after Natalie Barr and Matt Shirvington were dwarfed by huge images of King Fredrick and Queen Mary on Monday

'Didnt mind it at first because it was new, but the depth and emptiness is so weird,' commented another.

One posted a screenshot from Monday's episode which featured coverage of the King of Denmark's Coronation.

Matt and Natalie can be seen standing between one small screen and a large wall-size screen - making them look tiny.

'Imagine if a creative director from NBC News (US) saw this shot,' one viewer remarked.

'They would instantly know how to fix it for $20k in 10 different ways.'

Several were critical of the way hosts Natalie and Matt have been asked to present segments using the large screens

Sunrise fans expressed shock last July when the top-rating show started broadcasting from their new digs.

Critics rushed to social media to slam the state-of-the-art studio, with many claiming it looks 'sterile' compared to the iconic Martin Place studio, which featured a large window facing onto the busy footpath outside.

'Sorry but Martin Place was loads better. Loved being able to see the actual world go by in the background. This new place seems like a windowless, dark, damp, basement dwelling,' one viewer complained.

Six months ago, Seven relocated the Sunrise set to South Eveleigh from its original Martin Place studio in Sydney's CBD, and producers totally overhauled it

'The new Sunrise set at Channel 7 Sydney is much too sterile - almost unfriendly - unlikely the lively view of people in Martin Place in the CBD,' another agreed, while someone else described the studio as looking 'all boxed in'.

Naysayers also took aim at the set's new colour palette, which introduced brighter hues of yellow and orange as well as more white space.

'Way too bright. Too much orange and white,' one complained, as another wrote: 'It is very in your face and it takes over. Very glary. Just too much.'

Sunrise had his final broadcast from the Martin Place studio last July.
Tiger Lily Hutchence and her new boyfriend Ben Archer brought in 2024 with an early morning beach stroll on New Years Day.

The daughter of INXS star Michael Hutchence, 27, and her new British model beau, 26, sealed the first day of the year with a kiss in Perth.

Unable to keep her hands off him, Tiger cosied up to her love, who she began quietly dating in June last year, as they watched the sun rise over the water.

Garbed in a beautiful, loose floral dress, Tiger adorned her neck with layered necklaces before throwing her dark locks up into a haphazard bun.

Meanwhile, Ben kept things sporty with a white tank top and Adidas track pants to match his Adidas slides as he packed on the PDA with his famous girlfriend.

Tiger Lily Hutchence, 27, (right) and her new boyfriend Ben Archer, 26, (left) brought in 2024 with an early morning beach stroll on New Years Day

The loved up couple spent much of the morning cuddling, taking selfies, and stealing passionate kisses whenever they could.

Tiger and Ben have apparently been 'inseparable' since they began dating, with the pair celebrating Christmas together before they rang in the New Year.

'His family adore her and she loves that they're so normal compared to hers,' a source told Woman's Day last Monday.

The daughter of INXS star Michael Hutchence and her new British model beau sealed the first day of the year with a kiss in Perth

Unable to keep her hands off him, Tiger cosied up to her love, who she began quietly dating in June last year, as they watched the sun rise over the water

Garbed in a beautiful, loose floral dress, Tiger adorned her neck with layered necklaces before throwing her dark locks up into a haphazard bun

Meanwhile, Ben kept things sporty with a white tank top and Adidas track pants to match his Adidas slides as he packed on the PDA with his famous girlfriend

'Things are getting very serious between them. Everyone's expecting an engagement announcement any day now.'

In July, Tiger made her feelings clear when she declared 'I love you' on an affectionate birthday post Ben made for her on Instagram.

Another photo saw Tiger leaving flirty comments underneath his modelling photos.

The loved up couple spent much of the morning cuddling, taking selfies, and stealing passionate kisses whenever they could

Tiger and Ben have apparently been 'inseparable' since they began dating, with the pair celebrating Christmas together before they rang in the New Year

'His family adore her and she loves that they're so normal compared to hers. Things are getting very serious between them. Everyone's expecting an engagement announcement any day now,' a source told Woman's Day last Monday

'Fit. I love you naked,' she wrote, to which he cheekily replied: 'Make out with me?'

According to the insider, Ben has 'completely swept her off her feet' and he's 'everything she wants in a man'.

The couple are understood to have recently taken the next step in their relationship after Tiger flew Ben to Perth to meet her family.

'Ben's completely disarmed her and for the first time she can see a future of weddings, babies and something she's never had - a family... Taking him to Perth was a big step,' the insider added.
Bindi Irwin was joined by her husband Chandler Powell, mum Terri Irwin and daughter Grace as the family touched down in Los Angeles on Sunday.

The wildlife warrior, 25, and her companions landed at LAX Airport just a day after brother Robert Irwin and his girlfriend Rorie Buckey touched down in the city following their Canadian ski trip.

The Irwin clan were all masked up for the trip - except little Grace, two.

Bindi dressed for the chilly winter weather in a pair of skinny jeans and a black hooded puffer jacket, as well as a pair of black hiking shoes.

Her hair was out and styled straight, while she went makeup-free for the long-haul flight.

Bindi Irwin, 25, Terri Irwin, 59, Chandler Powell, 27, and daughter Grace, two, touched down at LAX on Sunday. Little Grace had fun sitting atop bags that were stacked on a luggage trolley

Meanwhile, mum Terri, 59, rocked a very similar outfit - a pair of skinny jeans and black shoes - but switched things up with a printed T-shirt and a blue zip-through hoodie.

Chandler, 27, dressed in all black with trousers and a fitted long-sleeve T-shirt, paired with brown shoes.

Little Grace looked adorable sitting atop several stacked luggage bags on a trolley.

The cheeky toddler appeared very excited for the holiday as she ran through the arrivals terminal, forcing Bindi to follow her close behind

She wore pale pink pants and a grey knitted jumper, while her growing brown hair was tied back in a cute bun.

The cheeky toddler appeared very excited for the holiday as she ran through the arrivals terminal, forcing Bindi to follow her close behind.

Once the group had collected their bags, they all boarded a transfer bus to their next destination.

Once the group had collected their bags, they all boarded a transfer bus to their next destination

Last week, Bindi shared a sweet tribute to her two-year-old daughter.

In a sweet photo shared to her Instagram account, the mother-of one gave Grace a ride on her shoulders through one of the famous family's rural Queensland properties.

The duo both sported matching bright blue outfits in the photo and huge grins.

'Visiting our conservation property and Grace trying to spot a wild koala,' she wrote in the caption.

Bindi Irwin took to social media on Tuesday to pay a sweet tribute to her two-year-old daughter Grace Warrior. The Wildlife Warrior, 25, shared a photo of herself giving Grace a ride on her shoulders through one of the famous family's rural Queensland properties

'These are the moments I'll carry with me forever.'

Bindi's mother Terri was quick to comment on the image and her daughter's sweet sentiments.

'You are such a beautiful mama,' she wrote.

Bindi and her American husband Chandler Powell married on March 25, 2020, and welcomed Grace exactly one year later on their first wedding anniversary.

Last year, it was reported that Grace could be an even bigger star than her late grandfather, Steve Irwin.

'Grace is an absolute natural in front of the camera,' a source told New Idea magazine in April.

Bindi and her American husband Chandler Powell married on March 25, 2020, and welcomed Grace exactly one year later, on their first wedding anniversary. All pictured

'It's also believed she could be an even greater entertainer than her grandfather Steve Irwin. She's so bright and funny,' they added.

'You have to remember that Bindi grew up in front of the cameras and was Grace's age when she first started appearing on television.'

They claimed Bindi is excited about a possible new TV opportunity in the U.S. with a format similar to The Crocodile Hunter - the show that made her parents famous.

Last year, it was reported that Grace could be an even bigger star than her late grandfather, Steve Irwin

'In a few years' time there's incredible opportunities, some that Bindi herself is excited about, including a Crocodile Huntress [series] that would be family led, but have American favourite Bindi in the lead,' the insider said.

Grace's grandad Steve, known to millions around the world as the 'Crocodile Hunter', died on September 4, 2006, at the age of 44, after being pierced in the chest by a stingray while filming a documentary in Batt Reef, Queensland.

The Irwin family have worked hard at preserving his conservation legacy in the years since he passed.
READ MORE: Inside the tragic true story behind new Netflix show Boy Swallows Universe

Boy Swallows Universe was released on Netflix last week and viewers have been quick to praise one standout performance in the Australian drama.

The seven-part series, based on the popular novel by Trent Dalton about a Brisbane family torn apart by a drug lord, stars 14-year-old Melbourne actor Felix Cameron as Eli.

Felix plays the younger son in the Bell family, who must navigate the notorious Brisbane criminal underworld in order to save his mother from danger.

Viewers quickly took to X to praise Felix' incredible performance, with many remarking that the teen is destined for stardom.

'Felix Cameron will win an Oscar before he reaches 30 years old. Phenomenal young actor,' one said.

Boy Swallows Universe was released on Netflix last week and viewers have been quick to praise 14-year-old Melbourne actor Felix Cameron (pictured)

'Cameron is phenomenal as young Eli Bell. He's certainly going places,' a second person chipped in.

'The kid playing Eli is giving an award-winning performance,' a third person wrote, while a fourth added: 'Little dude crushes it'.

Felix was born in Melbourne and previous appeared in the 2020 Australian drama Penguin Bloom alongside Naomi Watts.

Felix plays the younger son in the Bell family, who must navigate the notorious Brisbane criminal underworld in order to save his mother from danger

Boy Swallows Universe was released in full on January 11, and plenty of Netflix subscribers have already binged their way through all seven-plus hours - hailing the show as 'beautiful and brilliant.'

Staying true to its Aussie roots, the series stars an A-List lineup of Australian actors, including Phoebe Tonkin as Frances Bell, Eli's mother, and Vikings star, Travis Fimmel, as her drug-dealing partner Lyle Orlik.

The troubled tale first tugged at the heartstrings of many Australians when the book was released in 2018 - with particular elements of the story revealed to be loosely inspired by some of the author's very own childhood experiences.

Viewers quickly took to X to praise Felix' incredible performance, with many remarking that the teen is destined for stardom

Speaking to the Townsville Bulletin in July 2018, Trent recalled that he himself grew up with two unconventional male role models.

One was his criminal stepfather, and the second was a family friend, Arthur "Slim" Halliday, who was a convicted killer and prison escapee notoriously known as 'The Houdini of Boggo Road.'

Describing his stepfather as the 'first man I ever truly loved,' Trent, as a boy, would look up to the man he called 'Dad' - despite his shady, dark doings as a criminal.

However, when his stepfather was taken away by police, the novelist began to funnel his desire to find out more about his father figure's secret life into writing a book, based on 'answers that never came.'

The seven-part series, based on the popular novel by Trent Dalton about a Brisbane family torn apart by a drug lord, stars 14-year-old Melbourne actor Felix Cameron as Eli
Dave 'Hughesy' Hughes has opened up about his 'tragic' surfing accident at Surfers Paradise on New Years Eve which saw him rushed to hospital with a severe injury.

The 53-year-old comedian dislocated his shoulder while enjoying a day out at a Queensland beach, resulting in 'nerve damage' and excruciating pain.

Now the radio host has revealed the gruesome details of the horrendous Gold Coast incident on his 2DayFm Breakfast show Hughesy, Ed & Erin.

Hughesy began by saying the entire incident occurred during his first surfing lesson when he failed to 'fall backwards' off his board as instructed.

'I didn't listen properly,' the media personality said, revealing he instead fell forward which led to his 'too big' board smashing into his back and dislocating his shoulder.

Dave 'Hughesy' Hughes, 53, (pictured) opened up about his 'tragic' surfing accident at Surfers Paradise on New Years Eve which saw him rushed to hospital with a severe injury

'Immediately, I'm like, I am in trouble here. I'm thinking, am I going to drown?' he told co-hosts Erin Molan and Ed Kavalee.

Hughesy went on to joke, 'The only thing that stopped me from drowning was that I was in knee deep water,' before adding that his shoulder was 'below my b**l sack'.

'I'm on the beach in agony when the surf life saver comes over,' he continued.

The comedian dislocated his shoulder while enjoying a day out on a Queensland beach, resulting in 'nerve damage' and excruciating pain

'And I say, "Have you got the green whistle? Give me the green whistle. I heard it saves everybody."'

Unfortunately for the television presenter, the surf life saver who arrived to help said they no longer had green whistles to give to injured beach goers.

Hughesy's bad luck didn't end there as he explained 'the ambulance never turned up' either and he was left 'on the beach for an hour crying' before help finally came.

Hughesy explained 'the ambulance never turned up' and he was left 'on the beach for an hour crying' before help finally came

The veteran entertainer was rushed to hospital with his incredibly painful injury on New Years Eve he revealed on Instagram the following day.

'Happy NY. Had my least sober NYE in 30+ years. Green whistle came after two hours of worst pain of my life, plus morphine and the rest of them,' he wrote at the time.

'Shoulder dislocation whilst surfing. 9 out of 10 level nerve damage. Shout out to wife, @surfersparadiseslsc, and GC medical professionals for their much needed help!'

Alongside the caption, Hughesy shared several dramatic images of the aftermath of the accident which saw him hunched over with his arm in a sling while inhaling the famous 'green whistle' - which contains the powerful analgesic Penthrox.
Eva Mendes swooned over her husband Ryan Gosling's reaction to his win at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards on Sunday evening.

The day after the ceremony, the actress, 49, reposted a clip of the 43-year-old Barbie star's stunned reaction to his name being called and wrote in her caption: 'I LOVE HIM!!!!'

For his song I'm Just Ken, he won over two other songs from Barbie's original motion picture soundtrack  Billie Eilish's What Was I Made For? and Dua Lipa's Dance the Night.

Gosling  who gushed about Mendes, calling her 'the girl of my dreams', during his speech at the Santa Barbara Film Festival  appeared taken aback when he realized he won in the category.

Then, his confused expression went viral on the internet.

Eva Mendes swooned over her husband Ryan Gosling's reaction to his win at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards on Sunday evening

The day after the ceremony, the actress, 49, reposted a clip of the 43-year-old Barbie star's stunned reaction to his name being called and wrote in her caption: 'I LOVE HIM!!!!'

However, Mendes did not join Gosling on any red carpets during award show season as the couple are notoriously private with their relationship.

Last year, Mendes  who confirmed rumors of secretly tying the knot with Gosling over a year ago  previously revealed why she prefers to show her support privately and through the screen.

During an on Instagram with her fans, she responded to a fan's comment that said they wanted Barbie to 'get through the awards season' so that Mendes could start joining Gosling and become a fixture on the red carpet.

'We don't do those things together,' she said in response. 'I'm only comfortable posting because it's already out there.'

She also noted that the first and only red carpet they ever attended together was for The Place Beyond the Pines.

The pair previously met on the set of the epic crime drama in 2011.

She then went on to clarify that it's not that red carpets with Gosling are 'not comfortable' for her but instead they prefer to keep their relationship private.

'By "not comfortable", I mean exposing our very private life that we value,' she explained.

For his song I'm Just Ken, he won over two other songs from Barbie's original motion picture soundtrack  Billie Eilish 's What Was I Made For? and Dua Lipa 's Dance the Night. Gosling appeared taken aback when he realized he won in the category

Then, his confused expression went viral on the internet

Last year, Mendes previously revealed why she prefers to show her support privately and through the screen. She also noted that the first and only red carpet they ever attended together was for The Place Beyond the Pines

The pair previously met on the set of the epic crime drama in 2011. Since they met on the set of The Place Beyond the Pines and played a couple with a child together, Mendes and Gosling have welcomed two kids together

'I'm still dying to do another movie with him though,' she added.

Since they met on the set of The Place Beyond the Pines and played a couple with a child together, Mendes and Gosling have welcomed two kids together.

They are the proud parents of two daughters  nine-year-old Esmeralda Amada and seven-year-old Amada Lee.

In recent years, fans have speculated the pair secretly eloped.

In November 2022, Mendes seemingly confirmed the rumors when she referred to Gosling as her husband on a television appearance in Australia.
Jennifer Connelly appeared on social media this week to post a rare photo featuring all three of her children.

The 53-year-old Top Gun: Maverick actress and her brood smiled while seared on a ski-lift photo during a ski trip in Zermatt, Switzerland.

The silver screen star is mother to daughter Agnes, 12, and sons Stellan, 20, and Kai, 26.

'Greetings from beautiful Zermatt ,' the dark-haired beauty captioned the image, which she shared with her 1.3 followers.

Connelly shares her two younger kids Agnes and Stellan with husband Paul Bettany, who she married in 2003. She shares Kai with ex David Dugan.

Jennifer Connelly appeared on social media this week to post a rare photo featuring all three of her children

Paul also shared an outtake from the family trip to his personal Instagram account

Paul also shared an outtake from the family trip to his personal Instagram account.

Posting to his 2.2 million followers, he wrote in the caption: 'Hello from Switzerland! #mountainexposure.'

And earlier this month he shared a black and white selfie that showed him in a snow-covered wonderland.

'Zermatt again. Perfect days,' he wrote, adding the hashtag '#mountainexposure' again.

In Jennifer's post, she and her trio of children were equipped with helmets and ski goggles.

While speaking with People in 2021, Paul discussed his home life with his wife and kids.

At the time he noted, 'I'm still quite an active dad, because I've got a 9-year-old.

'There's a lot of staring at a math problem, bewildered, and asking Jennifer to solve it for me.'

Connelly shares her two younger kids Agnes and Stellan with husband Paul Bettany, who she married in 2003

Stellany accompanied his mom to the 2023 Academy Awards last March

The family-of-four pictured in New York City in 2015

Their romance unfurled following the September 11 terrorist attacks, when Paul found himself 'frantically worrying' about the actress.

According to the publication, he proposed to her before 'before they even dated' and joined her in NYC, where they've lived together since.

'Yeah, totally faked my way into that one; poor Jennifer, as she slowly realized how ill-educated I was,' he joked before adding, 'She's much better read than me. I just sound like it because of the English accent, that's all.'

He also gushed to the magazine, 'Marriage and children changed my life. It really altered who I was and what I saw as my goals.'
Swarm star Dominique Fishback lookd dreamy in a princess dress at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, which took place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon.

The 32-year-old performer flashed a wide smile as she posed for a set of snaps prior to the start of the the star-studded affair.

The actress - who recently attended the high-profile premiere of The Color Purple - wore a flowing blue dress that featured numerous sequin-esque attachments.

Her dress featured a long train, which was carried by an assistant as the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts actress prepared to pose for a few photos.

The performer accessorized with several pieces of jewelry, and her gorgeous dark brunette hair was tied into a ponytail.

Dominique Fishback stunned while making an appearance at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, which took place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon.

Fishback has been put up for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her work in the dark comedy miniseries Swarm.

The show, which was co-created by Janine Nabers and Donald Glover, was centered on a young woman whose obsession with a pop star spirals out of control.

In addition to the actress, the cast of the program included Damson Idris, Paris Jackson and Billie Eilish.

Swarm consisted of seven episodes, all of which were released on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service on March 17, 2023.

The series received largely positive reviews from critics, and it currently holds a rating of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Fishback will go up against performers such as Jessica Chastain, Ali Wong and Lizzy Caplan for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie award.

The strike-delayed ceremony gathers Hollywood's biggest stars as they celebrate the best of primetime television over the year of 2023.

Comedian and Black-ish star Anthony Anderson will be making his debut as the host alongside an all-Black executive producer team for the first time in Emmy history.

Emmys 2024 WINNERS: AT A GLANCE

Drama Series: Succession Actor in a Drama Series: Kieran Culkin - Succession Actress in a Drama Series: Sarah Snook - Succession Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Matthew MacFadyen - Succession Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Jennifer Coolidge - The White Lotus Limited Series: Beef Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie: Steven Yeun - Beef Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie: Ali Wong - Beef Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie: Paul Walter Hauser - Black Bird Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie: Niecy Nash-Betts  Dahmer  Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Comedy Series: The Bear Actor in a Comedy Series: Jeremy Allen White - The Bear Actress in a Comedy Series: Quinta Brunson - Abbott Elementary Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Ebon Moss-Bachrach - The Bear Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Ayo Edebiri - The Bear Reality Competition Program: RuPaul's Drag Race Talk Series: The Daily Show With Trevor Noah Scripted Variety Series: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver Succession nearly swept the board with wins for Matthew MacFadyen, Sarah Snook, and Kieran Culkin (left to right) Advertisement

The actress - who recently attended the high-profile premiere of The Color Purple - wore a flowing blue dress that featured numerous sequin-esque attachments

The performer accessorized with several pieces of jewelry, and her gorgeous dark brunette hair was tied into a ponytail

The lower portion of Fishback's outfit featured a long train, which was carried by an assistant as the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts actress prepared to pose for a few photos

Fishback has been put up for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her work in the dark comedy miniseries Swarm

Jason Bateman, Quinta Brunson, Stephen Colbert, Jon Cryer, Jodie Foster, Jon Hamm, Ken Jeong, Joel McHale are among the stars announced to take the stage on Monday.

And the nominees include Pedro Pascal, Hannah Waddingham, Keri Russell, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Hart, Elisabeth Moss, Kieran Culkin and Bob Odenkirk.

The awards ceremony normally occurs in September but was delayed because writers and actors were on strike at the time last year.

Due to the industry strikes, the Emmys were postponed to 2024 on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in the United States and arrives in the heels of the Golden Globes.
Jimmy Barnes shared a heartwarming tribute to Jane, his wife of over 40 years, on Saturday as the pair celebrated her 65th birthday.

The famed rocker, 67, who is currently recovering from open heart surgery, shared loving words for his darling to Instagram alongside a throwback photo of the pair.

In the snap, which saw the lovebirds cuddling up on a beach, Jimmy and Jane looked much younger but just as much in love as they are today.

'Happy Birthday to my Jane. I love you more each day. I know I am blessed because Im spending this life with you,' the Scottish-born Australian penned.

'You are so full of life and love and joy and I hope you have the best birthday ever.'

Jimmy Barnes, 67, (left) shared a heartwarming tribute to Jane (right), his wife of over 40 years, on Saturday as the pair celebrated her 65th birthday

Jane has often seen by Jimmy's hospital as he recovers from his recent surgery.

She has dutifully kept the musician's followers updated online, often posting captions and messages to assure his fans he is healing well.

It comes after the Working Class Man hitmaker shared a very promising health update earlier this month.

The famed rocker who is currently recovering from open heart surgery, shared loving words for his darling to Instagram alongside a throwback photo of the pair

'Happy Birthday to my Jane. I love you more each day. I know I am blessed because Im spending this life with you,' the Scottish-born Australian penned

Jimmy announced on social media he's 'going to be ok' while thanking his daughter Eliza Jane Barnes and her husband Jim for taking care of him.

The rocker informed his followers late last year he was undergoing open heart surgery after a bacterial infection spread to his heart.

Following the procedure, he let his followers know he is healthy, happy and likely to make a full recovery.

It comes after the Working class Man hitmaker shared a very promising health update last week. Jimmy announced on social media he's 'going to be ok' while thanking his daughter Eliza Jane Barnes and her husband Jim for taking care of him

In November, Jimmy was forced to cancel his headlining appearance at Rock the Boat cruise festival in Noumea, New Caledonia, after being hospitalised with bacterial pneumonia.

He then had to pull out of his scheduled performance at By The C in Torquay on December 2 after his condition failed to improve.

Jimmy also had a string of sold-out headlining gigs booked for January and February, including multiple shows at the Red Hot Summer Tour festival.

However, he confirmed late last year that his upcoming shows will likely be axed after doctors found his infection had spread.
I've seen a few conversations where someone says something like this:

I've been using an open-source LLM lately -- I'm a huge fan of not depending on OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google. But I'm really sad that the AI safety groups are trying to ban the kind of open-source LLM that I'm using.

Someone then responds:

What! Almost no one actually wants to ban open source AI of the kind that you're using! That's just a recklessly-spread myth! AI Safety orgs just want to ban a tiny handful of future models -- no one has tried to pass laws that would have banned current open-sourced models!

This second claim is false.

Many AI "safety" organizations or people have in the past advocated bans that would have criminalized the open-sourcing of models currently extant as of now, January 2024. Even more organizations have pushed for bans that would cap open source AI capabilities at more or less exactly their current limits.

(I use open-sourcing broadly to refer to making weights generally available, not always to specific open-source compliant licensing.)

At least a handful of the organizations that have pushed for such bans are well-funded and becoming increasingly well-connected to policy makers.

Note that I think it's entirely understandable that someone would not realize such bans have been the goal of some AI safety orgs!

For comprehensible reasons -- i.e., how many people judge such policies to be a horrible idea, including many people interested in AI safety -- such AI safety organizations have often directed the documents explaining their proposed policies to bureaucrats, legislative staffers, and so on, and not been proactive in communicating their goals to the public.

Note also that not all AI safety organizations or AI-safety concerned people are trying to do this -- although, to be honest, a disturbing number are.

At least a handful of people in some organizations believe -- as do I -- that open source has been increasingly vital for AI safety work. Given how past ban proposals would have been harmful, I think many future such proposals are therefore likely to be harmful as well, especially given that the arguments for them look pretty much identical.

Anyhow, a partial list:

1: Center for AI Safety

The Center for AI Safety is a well-funded (i.e., with > 9 million USD) 501c3 that focuses mostly on AI safety research and on outreach. You've probably heard of them because they gathered signatures for their sentence about AI safety.

Nevertheless, they are also involved in policy. In response to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) request for comment they sent proposed regulatory rules to them.

These rules propose defining "powerful AI systems" as any systems that meet or exceed certain measures for any of the following:

Computational resources used to train the system (e.g., 10^23 floating-point operations or training FLOP; this is approximately the amount of FLOP required to train GPT-3. Note that this threshold would be updated over time in order to account for algorithmic improvements.) [Note from 1a3orn; this means updated downwards] Large parameter count (e.g., 80B parameters) Benchmark performance (e.g., > 70% performance on the Multi-task Language Understanding benchmark (MMLU))

Systems meeting any of these requirements, according to the proposal, are subject to a number of requirements that would effectively ban open-sourcing them.

Llama 2 was trained with > 10^23 FLOPs, and thus would have been banned beneath this rule. Fine-tunes of Llama 2 also obtain greater than 70%on the MMLU and thus also would have been banned beneath this rule.

Note that -- despite how this would have prevented the release of Llama 2, and thus thousands of fine-tunes, and enormous quantities of safety research -- the document boasts that its proposals "only regulate a small fraction of the overall AI development ecosystem."

2: Center for AI Policy

The Center for AI Policy -- different from the Center for AI Safety! -- is a DC-based lobbying organization. The announcement they made about their existence made some waves -- because the rules that they initially proposed would have required the already-released Llama-2 to be regulated by a new agency.

However, in a recent interview they say that they're "trying to use the lightest touch we can -- we're trying to use a scalpel." Does this mean that they have changed their views?

Well, they haven't made any legislation they're proposing visible yet. But in the same interview they say that models trained with more than 3x10^24 FLOPs or getting > 85 on the MMLU would be in their "high risk" category, which according to the interview explicitly means they would be banned from being open sourced.

This would have outlawed the Falcon 180b by its FLOP measure, although -- to be fair -- the Falcon 180b was open-sourced by an organization in the United Arab Emirates, so it's not certain that it would matter.

As far as the MMLU measure, no open source model at this level has yet been released, but GPT-4 scores ~90% on the MMLU. Thus, this amounts to a law attempting to permanently crimp open source models beneath GPT-4 levels, an event I otherwise think is reasonably likely in 2024.

(I do not understand why AI safety orgs think that MMLU scores are a good way to measure danger.)

3: Palisade Research

This non-profit, headed by Jeffrey Ladish, has as its stated goal to "create concrete demonstrations of dangerous capabilities to advise policy makers and the public on AI risks." That is, they try to make LLMs do dangerous or scary things so politicians will do particular things for them.

Unsurprisingly, Ladish himself literally called for government to stop the release of Llama 2, saying "we can prevent the release of a LLaMA 2! We need government action on this asap."

(He also said that he thought it would potentially cause millions of dollars of damage, and was more likely to cause more than a billion dollars of damage than to cause less than a million.)

4. The Future Society

The Future Society is a think tank whose goal is to "align artificial intelligence through better governance." They boast 60 partners such as UNESCO and the Future of Life Institute, and claim to have spoke to over 8,000 "senior decision makers" and taught 4,000 students. They aim to provide guidance to both the EU and the US.

In one of their premier policy documents, "Heavy is the head that wears the crown", they define "Type 2" General Purpose AI (GPAI) as a kind trained with > 10^23 FLOPs (but less than 10^26) or scoring > 68% (but less than 88%) on the MMLU. Llama-2, again, falls into this category on both counts.

The document mandates that anyone creating a Type 2 GPAI must -- well, must do many things -- but must provide for "Absolute Trustworthiness," which seems to mean that the model must be incapable of doing anything bad whatsoever, and more to the point means that the provider of the model must be able to "retract already deployed models (roll-back & shutdowns)." Open source models would be unable to meet this requirement, obviously.

Similarly, they say that providers would be "required to continuously monitor the models capabilities and behaviour, detecting any anomalies and escalating cases of concern to relevant decision makers," which is again impossible to do with an open source model.

Note that in accord with their policy recommendations, this group specifically calls out Meta's actions, dubbing the open-sourcing of Llama a "particularly egregious case of misuse." They also seem to believe that Apache licensing is unacceptable, explicitly calling the "no guarantee of fitness of purpose" clause in such a license "abusive."

Don't worry, though! The Future Society says that they believe that "legitimate and sustainable governance requires bringing to the table many different perspectives."

(My guess is that this is one of the major teams responsible trying to get the EU's rules to ban open source AI, but the institutional process by which the EU works is completely opaque to me and so I am only left guessing.)

Note that the above is just a partial list of organizations or people who have made their policies or goals extremely explicit.

There are other organizations or people out there whose policies are less legible, but ultimately are equally opposed to open sourcing. Consider, for instance, SaferAI , whose CEO says he's fine "with developing and deploying open source up to somewhere around Llama-1"; or the PauseAI people, who think we should need approvals for training runs "above a certain size (e.g. 1 billion parameters)" and who accused Meta of reckless irresponsibility for releasing Llama-2.

Or there is the extremely questionable StopAI group advised by Conjecture, which wishes to eliminate not merely all open source but all AI trained with > 10^23 FLOPs.

Or there are surprisingly numerous people who want to completely change liability law, so that you cannot open-source a model without becoming liable for damage that it causes.

These and similar statements from them either outright imply or would be hard to separate from policies that would have effectively banned currently-extant open-source.

So, again -- it's just false to say that if AI safety groups haven't tried to ban models that already exist. They already would have banned models that are actively being used, if they had had their way in the past. They would have substantially contributed to a corporate monopoly on LLMs.

If you are like me, and think the proposed policies mentioned above are pretty bad -- the stupidity of a law in no way prevents it from being passed! The above groups have not dissolved in the last 6 months. They still hope to pass something like these measures. They are still operating on the same questionable epistemology.

The open-source AI movement is in general is far behind these groups and needs to get its legislative act together if the better organized "anti-open source" movement is not to obliterate it.

And I think it is better to call it the "anti-open source" movement than the AI safety movement.

The "environmentalist" movement helped get nuclear power plants effectively banned, thereby crippling a safe and low-carbon source of energy, causing immense harm to the environment and to humanity by doing so. They thought they were helping the environment. They were not.

I think that some sectors of the "AI safety" movement are likely on their way to doing a similar thing, by preventing human use of, and research into, an easily-steerable and deeply non-rebellious form of intelligence.
Padma Lakshmi and her daughter, Krishna, were a glamorous duo at the 2024 Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Monday.

While posing on the red carpet, the 53-year-old model turned heads in a chartreuse-colored gown with a plunging neckline and a flowing, floor-sweeping skirt.

At her side, 13-year-old Krishna donned a strapless, black velvet gown with a high leg slit lined with feathers.

The former Top Chef host  who looked effortlessly stylish at the Glamour & Tory Burch Luncheon  also posed for solo shots to showcase her stunning look featuring shiny, metallic silver platform heels and luscious locks.

She looked striking in a sultry smoky eye paired with peach blush and a vibrant magenta lip combo.

Padma Lakshmi and her daughter, Krishna, were a glamorous duo at the 2024 Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Monday

While posing on the red carpet, the 53-year-old model turned heads in a chartreuse-colored gown with a plunging neckline and a flowing, floor-sweeping skirt

To go with her eye-catching and head-turning custom Marchesa dress, she opted for minimal and dainty jewelry.

She opted out of a necklace to let the chain details on the bodice of her dress as well as the straps stand out.

The New York Times bestselling author sported one statement diamond ring and layers of gold bangles on one arm.

Similarly, her daughter Krishna donned a statement Tiffany & Co. necklace and left her hair down in soft beach waves for an effortlessly chic look.

Padma was nominated for the award of Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Competition Program for her work on Top Chef, but the Emmy went to RuPaul of RuPaul's Drag Race.

The 75th Emmy Awards takes place at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Monday evening.

The strike-delayed ceremony gathers Hollywood's biggest stars as they celebrate the best of primetime television over the year of 2023.

Comedian and Black-ish star Anthony Anderson will be making his debut as the host alongside an all-Black executive producer team for the first time in Emmy history.

At her side, 13-year-old Krishna donned a strapless, black velvet gown with a high leg slit lined with feathers

The former Top Chef host also posed for solo shots to showcase her stunning look featuring shiny, metallic silver platform heels and luscious locks. She looked striking in a sultry smoky eye paired with peach blush and a vibrant magenta lip combo

To go with her eye-catching and head-turning look, she opted for minimal and dainty jewelry. She opted out of a necklace to let the chain details on the bodice of her dress as well as the straps stand out

She sported one statement diamond ring and layers of gold bangles on one arm

Emmys 2024 WINNERS: AT A GLANCE

Drama Series: Succession Actor in a Drama Series: Kieran Culkin - Succession Actress in a Drama Series: Sarah Snook - Succession Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Matthew MacFadyen - Succession Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Jennifer Coolidge - The White Lotus Limited Series: Beef Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie: Steven Yeun - Beef Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie: Ali Wong - Beef Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie: Paul Walter Hauser - Black Bird Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie: Niecy Nash-Betts  Dahmer  Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Comedy Series: The Bear Actor in a Comedy Series: Jeremy Allen White - The Bear Actress in a Comedy Series: Quinta Brunson - Abbott Elementary Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Ebon Moss-Bachrach - The Bear Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Ayo Edebiri - The Bear Reality Competition Program: RuPaul's Drag Race Talk Series: The Daily Show With Trevor Noah Scripted Variety Series: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver Succession nearly swept the board with wins for Matthew MacFadyen, Sarah Snook, and Kieran Culkin (left to right) Advertisement

Jason Bateman, Quinta Brunson, Stephen Colbert, Jon Cryer, Jodie Foster, Jon Hamm, Ken Jeong, Joel McHale are among the stars announced to take the stage on Monday.

And the nominees include Pedro Pascal, Hannah Waddingham, Keri Russell, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Hart, Elisabeth Moss, Kieran Culkin and Bob Odenkirk.

The awards ceremony normally occurs in September but was delayed because writers and actors were on strike at the time last year.

Due to the industry strikes, the Emmys were postponed to 2024 on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in the United States and arrives in the heels of the Golden Globes.

Like at the Globes  which celebrated 2023's top films and television shows on January 7  Succession dominates most categories.

At this year's Emmys, Succession leads nominations with 27 nods.

The Last of Us follows closely behind with 24, The White Lotus with 23, and Ted Lasso with 21.

Succession is in the running for the Outstanding Drama Series for the third time after previously winning the title in 2020 and 2022.

Guests take photographs on the red carpet prior to the start of arrivals for the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, January 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles

At this year's Emmys, Succession leads nominations with 27 nods. The series' stars Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox are up against each other for Outstanding Lead Actor in a drama series. Their co-star Sarah Snook is also nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a drama

The series' stars Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox are up against each other for Outstanding Lead Actor in a drama series.

Their co-star, Sarah Snook, is also nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a drama.

The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal is up for lead actor in a drama while his co-star, Bella Ramsey, is nominated for lead actress.

Bad Sisters' Sharon Horgan, Yellowjackets' Melanie Lynskey, The Handmaid's Tale's Elisabeth Moss and The Diplomat's Keri Russell are also in the same category for best leading actress in a drama.

The Bear's duo Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri are also up for lead actor and supporting actress, respectively, for their roles in the restaurant dramedy's debut season.

Due to the industry strikes and delay, the first season of The Bear is in the contending rather than the second season, which was released this past summer.

For that reason, many of nominated television shows, which were released up to 19 months ago, are now receiving their moment.

Netflix's Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is up for Outstanding Limited Or Anthology Series against Beef, Daisy Jones & The Six, Fleishman Is In Trouble and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The Last of Us received 24 nominations. Pedro Pascal is up for lead actor in a drama while his co-star Bella Ramsey is nominated for lead actress

The Bear duo Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri are also up for lead actor and supporting actress, respectively, for their roles in the restaurant dramedy's debut season. Due to the industry strikes and delay, the first season of The Bear is in the contending rather than the second season, which was released this past summer

For Outstanding Comedy Series, The Bear is up against Ted Lasso as well as Abbott Elementary, Barry, Jury Duty, Only Murders In The Building, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Wednesday.

At this year's award show, there will be a series of cast reunions and recreations to honor and commemorate beloved, classic television series like The Sopranos, Cheers, I Love Lucy and All In The Family.

Stars from Grey's Anatomy, American Horror Story and Ally McBeal will also reunite onstage while presenting awards at the Emmys.

Fan-favorite comedians and presenter duo Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who is also nominated for Outstanding Host of a Reality or Competition Program, will also take the stage at the award ceremony.

The show will kick off at 5 p.m. PT and can be streamed live on Fox or FXX through streaming services such as Hulu + Live TV, Sling, DirecTV, YouTube TV and FuboTV.

The day after the award ceremony, the Emmys will be available to stream on Hulu.

The first Emmy Award was held back in 1949 to celebrate the artistic and technical merit for the television industry.

The 75th Emmy Awards logo is seen at the Peacock Theatre at L.A. Live in Los Angeles
Lil Nas X took to Instagram on Monday to offer an explanation about his controversial new single J. Christ.

The 24-year-old rapper (born Montero Lamar Hill) riled up many Christian fans and artists with his new single and music video for J Christ.

Christian artsits such as Dee-1, Lecrae and Hurricane Chris have blasted Lil Nas X for the song and urged their followers to pray for him.

He took to Instagram on Monday with a video to his 11.4 million followers that began, 'I wanted to... not necessarily apologize, but I wanted to explain where my head's at and where it's been for the last week.'

'So, first of all, when I did the artwork, I knew like there would be some upset people and whatnot, simply because, you know, religion is a very sensitive topic for a lot of people,' he added.

Lil Nas X took to Instagram on Monday to offer an explanation about his controversial new single J. Christ

The 24-year-old rapper (born Montero Lamar Hill) riled up many Christian fans and artists with his new single and music video for J Christ

He took to Instagram on Monday with a video to his 11.4 million followers that began, 'I wanted to... not necessarily apologize, but I wanted to explain where my head's at and where it's been for the last week'

'But... I also didn't mean to mock. This wasn't a "F*** you to you people. F*** you to the Christians,"' Nas X explained.

'It was not that. It was literally me saying, "Oh, I'm back like Jesus," that was like the whole thing. I'm not the first person to dress up as Jesus, I'm not the first rapper, I'm not the first artist, I won't be the last,' he added.

He admitted that given his, 'history' with the Call Me By Your Name video, 'anything I do towards religion can be seen as like mockery. That was just not the case with this.'

'And I will say, though, with the communion video, with me eating the crackers and juice, I thought that video was gonna be the video to lighten the mood to take it down, less serious and whatnot. I thought that was something we all wanted to do as kids,' he added.

He also admitted that he, 'didn't understand the idea of... you know, the reality of what it is, me eating is the symbolism of Jesus' blood and bones or something like that, I don't remember completely.'

'I did not mean it to be as like a cannibalism thing, or whatever the freak, but I do apologize for that. I will say I am sorry for that. That was overboard,' he said.

However, he admitted that he, 'does not agree with all of Christianity's rules and whatnot,' adding, 'I know not everyone follows Christianity by the book or 100% or, you know, the world would be a lot crazier, but I do apologize for that.'

He also admitted, 'This is not to try and get everybody on my good side or whatnot, this is moreso to clear my own head about my own decisions. I know I messed up like really bad this time and I can act unbothered all I want but it's definitely taken a mental toll on me.'

'But... I also didn't mean to mock. This wasn't a "F*** you to you people. F*** you to the Christians,"' Nas X explained

'It was not that. It was literally me saying, "Oh, I'm back like Jesus," that was like the whole thing. I'm not the first person to dress up as Jesus, I'm not the first rapper, I'm not the first artist, I won't be the last,' he added

He admitted that given his, 'history' with the Call Me By Your Name video, 'anything I do towards religion can be seen as like mockery. That was just not the case with this'

However, he admitted that he, 'does not agree with all of Christianity's rules and whatnot,' adding, 'I know not everyone follows Christianity by the book or 100% or, you know, the world would be a lot crazier, but I do apologize for that'

'I know this will not be an immediate move-forward and whatnot, but I do want my Christian fans to know that I am not against you. I was put on this Earth to, you know, pull people closer together and promote love and that's who I am,' he said.

'I'm not like some evil demon guy trying to destroy everybody's values and stuff like that. That's not me,' he added.

'And also with the video, there's no disrespect. I thought me clearly not being on the side of the devil in that video was like... I don't know, there was an understanding that I'm not like trying to diss Christianity,' he said, admitting this was not a speech he 'wrote down' adding he was doing it, 'off the top of my head.'

'Lastly, again, I hope, sooner or later, we can move forward and I'm excited for the rest of this era and the things I have planned. That's all I have to say for now. I'm sending you guys love, sending my fans love, I'm sending the people who I hurt love,' he concluded.
Love Island's Shaughna Phillips was left gobsmacked to see her ex Callum coming face-to-face with former flame Molly during Monday's All Star's spin-off.

The 28-year-old, who was coupled with the hunk during the 2020 series, took to her Instagram Stories and shared a hysterical clip as her mouth hung open in absolute shock.

Writing: 'Everyone right now'.

Callum dumped Shaughna to couple up with Molly during the sixth season and they went on to have a three-year relationship, even moving in together in Manchester.

But they broke up just six months ago and had an awkward on-screen reunion when they both shockingly entered the South African villa during the All Stars launch.

Love Island's Shaughna Phillips was left gobsmacked to see her ex Callum coming face-to-face with former flame Molly during Monday's All Star's spin-off

Callum dumped Shaughna to couple up with Molly during the sixth series and they went on to have a three-year relationship, even moving in together in Manchester

Callum was revealed to be the first bombshell shaking things up in the villa directly after host Maya Jama coupled up the main line-up of former show legends.

However in an epic and very unexpected twist, Molly walked in directly after him as a second bombshell, leaving Callum completely stunned.

Upon her entrance, Callum was wide-eyed as Molly strutted her stuff through the doors, leaving the rest of the villa reeling at the very uncomfortable reunion.

Maya then explained that Callum would have a choice between stealing one of the girls from an existing couple, or coupling up with his ex-girlfriend Molly.

Molly was seen looking unimpressed and rolling her eyes at the prospect of Callum picking her with following their break-up, as the pair did not appear to be on good terms.

Reacting to the 'savage' twist, viewers were quick to take to social media to share their shock, with some admitting they didn't even know the couple had split up.

They said: 'When Callum walked in I thought 'oh damn I need to check Mollys insta story after this' . THEN SHE WALKED IN;'

'Making molly and callum bombshells together is f**king insane;' 'This being how i found out callum and molly broke up;'

The 28-year-old took to her Instagram Stories and shared a hysterical clip as her mouth hung open in absolute shock

Callum and Shaughna pictured together as a couple during 2020 series

Molly and Callum broke up just six months ago and had an awkward on-screen reunion when they both shockingly entered the South African villa during the All Stars launch.

'I CANT COPE THIS IS INSANE!!!! #LoveIsland also, I love Callum his little face dropped when she came in. She seems angry at him, I'm so invested already;'

'Yessss I GASPED at that! Callum and Molly at the same time!'

Before Molly's shock entrance, Callum had told Maya that he had an 'idea' of who he wanted to couple up with as he stood smiling, keen to embark on his second Love Island journey.

Before Molly's shock entrance, Callum had told Maya that he had an 'idea' of who he wanted to couple up with as he stood smiling, keen to embark on his second Love Island journey.

In September, it emerged that Callum and Molly had gone their separate ways after three years together.

Callum moved out of their Manchester home following the break-up, with a source claiming that Molly had wanted to get engaged.

Insiders told The Sun at the time: 'It's really sad as they were a sweet couple together but it's over - and has been for a few weeks.

'They're trying to stay friends - they were together for over three years - but it's difficult. I think in the end, Molly wanted to get engaged and that didn't happen.

'Everyone was really surprised when they split as they were perfectly matched. He's now moved out of the home they shared and they've split custody of their two dogs.'

Reacting to the 'savage' twist, viewers were quick to take to social media to share their complete shock, with some admitting they didn't even know the couple had split up

The villa was left reeling at the shocking twist as show legends including Kaz Kamwi could not hide their surprise at the exes' double entrance

Molly and Callum met on the first-ever winter edition of the ITV dating show in 2020, where they left before the finale.

The couple moved into a lavish four-bedroom house in Manchester that November after meeting on the show.

Former scaffolder Callum previously revealed that he can see himself marrying model Molly and potentially having children together.

Last year, he gave a now-poignant interview in which he hit back at people who judged them, revealing they have 'proved a few people wrong' after recently celebrating their two year anniversary.

He said: 'We are perfect. We've got two dogs so we've got a proper little family going, it's lovely. There is other things we want to focus on at the minute but obviously in the future it's definitely something we both want together...

In September, it emerged that Callum and Molly had gone their separate ways after three years together, with Callum moving out of their shared Manchester home

At the time of their split, a source claimed that Molly had wanted to get engaged, but that hadn't happened

While the pair initially went from strength to strength it wasn't always smooth sailing, as their get-together caused a stir on the ITV2 show back in 2020

'We've just not really decided when. We're just enjoying things that we've got at the minute and then family and marriage will eventually come into it.'

Callum explained that viewers of the dating show judge islanders but only see a segment of each day: 'People can judge from an outside perspective...

'Obviously they don't see 24 hours of Love Island, they only see 60 minutes so people can obviously judge but we're still together. That was the main thing I went in there for so yeah, I'd say we've proved a few people wrong.'

Reflecting on his experience, he said: 'I didn't think I was going to get a girlfriend and we were gonna live together. I was really open minded and the thing I really wanted was to find someone.

'Obviously it's not 100 per cent when you go in there that you are going to get that but we got lucky and we are still here.'

While the pair initially went from strength to strength it wasn't always smooth sailing, as their get-together caused a stir on the ITV2 show.
Kieran Culkin interrupted J. Smith-Cameron's red carpet interview to give her a kiss at the 2024 Emmy Awards.

The 41-year-old actor suddenly appeared behind his Succession co-star and on-screen lover, 66, and rested his head on her shoulder in a sweet moment.

Smith-Cameron was talking to a Variety reporter about doing a movie  and not a musical, she specified  with Brian Cox when Culkin wrapped his arms around her.

The dynamic duo's real-life chemistry and on-screen relationship is one of the central romances in satirical comedy-drama series, Succession  which received a total of 27 nominations at the Emmys.

Bantering off of their relationship, he jokingly pretended to finish her interview answer with gushing compliments about himself.

Kieran Culkin interrupted J. Smith-Cameron's red carpet interview to give her a kiss at the 2024 Emmy Awards

The 41-year-old actor suddenly appeared behind his Succession co-star and on-screen lover, 66, and rested his head on her shoulder in a sweet moment. They then shared a quick peck before he sauntered off

'...And I love Kieran Culkin and he's my absolute favorite to work with even though he's an a**hole to me and I hate him in my personal life,' he said as she pretended to shake her head.

'You really hate me, don't you?' he said when she didn't say anything but continued acting annoyed.

'No,' she answered before looking into his eyes and sharing a friendly, mutual moment.

'You look lovely,' he said, complimenting her. 'You smell nice.'

To which, she asked for 'a little kiss' and they shared a quick peck before Culkin walked away.

'How much do you love him?' the interviewer asked Smith-Cameron.

'Oh, I'm pretty crazy about him, but he's also a brat,' she joked.

Smith-Cameron is nominated for best supporting actress in a drama series while Culkin is in the running for lead actor against their co-stars Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong.

He had surprised her mid-interview by wrapping his arms around her. Then, he went on to finish her answer for her: '...And I love Kieran Culkin and he's my absolute favorite to work with even though he's an a**hole to me and I hate him in my personal life.'

Before he headed off, they showed off their chemistry as she asked for 'a little kiss' and they shared a quick peck

The pair play on-screen couple Roman and Gerri in Succession  which received 27 Emmy nominations, including for Outstanding Drama Series

Smith-Cameron is nominated for best supporting actress in a drama series while Culkin is up against two of their co-stars for best lead actor

The series is also up for Outstanding Drama Series for the third time after winning two times in the past.

The 75th Emmy Awards take place at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Monday evening.

The strike-delayed ceremony gathers Hollywood's biggest stars as they celebrate the best of primetime television over the year of 2023.

Comedian and Black-ish star Anthony Anderson will be making his debut as the host alongside an all-Black executive producer team for the first time in Emmy history.

Jason Bateman, Quinta Brunson, Stephen Colbert, Jon Cryer, Jodie Foster, Jon Hamm, Ken Jeong, Joel McHale are among the stars announced to take the stage on Monday.

And the nominees include Pedro Pascal, Hannah Waddingham, Keri Russell, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Hart, Elisabeth Moss, Kieran Culkin and Bob Odenkirk.

The awards ceremony normally occurs in September but was delayed because writers and actors were on strike at the time last year.

Due to the industry strikes, the Emmys were postponed to 2024 on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in the United States and arrives in the heels of the Golden Globes.

Guests take photographs on the red carpet prior to the start of arrivals for the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, January 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles

At this year's Emmys, Succession leads nominations with 27 nods. The series' stars Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox are up against each other for Outstanding Lead Actor in a drama series. Their co-star Sarah Snook is also nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a drama

Like at the Globes  which celebrated 2023's top films and television shows on January 7  Succession dominates most categories.

At this year's Emmys, Succession leads nominations with 27 nods.

The Last of Us follows closely behind with 24, The White Lotus with 23, and Ted Lasso with 21.

Succession is in the running for the Outstanding Drama Series for the third time after previously winning the title in 2020 and 2022.

The series' stars Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox are up against each other for Outstanding Lead Actor in a drama series.

Their co-star, Sarah Snook, is also nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a drama.

The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal is up for lead actor in a drama while his co-star, Bella Ramsey, is nominated for lead actress.

Bad Sisters' Sharon Horgan, Yellowjackets' Melanie Lynskey, The Handmaid's Tale's Elisabeth Moss and The Diplomat's Keri Russell are also in the same category for best leading actress in a drama.

The Bear's duo Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri are also up for lead actor and supporting actress, respectively, for their roles in the restaurant dramedy's debut season.

The Last of Us received 24 nominations. Pedro Pascal is up for lead actor in a drama while his co-star Bella Ramsey is nominated for lead actress

The Bear duo Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri are also up for lead actor and supporting actress, respectively, for their roles in the restaurant dramedy's debut season. Due to the industry strikes and delay, the first season of The Bear is in the contending rather than the second season, which was released this past summer

Due to the industry strikes and delay, the first season of The Bear is in the contending rather than the second season, which was released this past summer.

For that reason, many of nominated television shows, which were released up to 19 months ago, are now receiving their moment.

Netflix's Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is up for Outstanding Limited Or Anthology Series against Beef, Daisy Jones & The Six, Fleishman Is In Trouble and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

For Outstanding Comedy Series, The Bear is up against Ted Lasso as well as Abbott Elementary, Barry, Jury Duty, Only Murders In The Building, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Wednesday.

At this year's award show, there will be a series of cast reunions and recreations to honor and commemorate beloved, classic television series like The Sopranos, Cheers, I Love Lucy and All In The Family.

Stars from Grey's Anatomy, American Horror Story and Ally McBeal will also reunite onstage while presenting awards at the Emmys.

Fan-favorite comedians and presenter duo Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who is also nominated for Outstanding Host of a Reality or Competition Program, will also take the stage at the award ceremony.

The show will kick off at 5 p.m. PT and can be streamed live on Fox or FXX through streaming services such as Hulu + Live TV, Sling, DirecTV, YouTube TV and FuboTV.

The day after the award ceremony, the Emmys will be available to stream on Hulu.

The first Emmy Award was held back in 1949 to celebrate the artistic and technical merit for the television industry.
Kieran Culkin couldn't keep his hands off his wife Jazz Charton as they posed for photos on the red carpet ahead of the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Over a decade after they quietly tied the knot in 2013, just one year after meeting at a bar in New York City, the happy couple, were behaving like newlyweds as they packed on the PDA.

The 41-year-old actor, who is in the running for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series against his Succession costars Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong, looked smitten as he wrapped his arms around his spouse's waist.

Charton, 33, chuckled as Culkin embraced her from behind and planted a kiss on the back of her shoulder.

Kieran Culkin, couldn't keep his hands off his wife Jazz Charton as they posed for photos on the red carpet ahead of the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards

Over a decade after they quietly tied the knot in 2013, just one year after meeting at a bar in New York City, the happy couple, were behaving like newlyweds as they packed on the PDA

The 41-year-old actor, who is in the running for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series against his Succession costars Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong, looked smitten as he wrapped his arms around his spouse's waist

For the occasion, Culkin looked dapper in a black tuxedo and white dress shirt while his other half wowed in a figure-hugging black gown with jewel-encrusted straps.

She accessorized her timeless look with a black ring on her middle finger and diamond bracelet.

The couple famously wed during a road trip in Iowa and share two children: daughter Kinsey, four, and son Wilder, two.

Last week, his hit HBO series notably won four of its nine nominations at the Golden Globes.

Despite his show's success, Culkin and Charton claimed they didn't get seats to the event.

During the show, she shared a photo with his wife at the bar, with a caption reading: 'We don't have seats so we're just drinking at the bar. IT'S STILL A NIGHT AWAY FROM THE KIDS.'

Charton held a pouting look on her face as Culkin stood next to her by a bar while sipping on tasty martinis inside the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

It is unclear how long the couple had no seats since the lovebirds were later spotted relaxing at a table during the ceremony along with other celebrity guests.

Despite his show's success, Culkin claimed he and Charton didn't get seats at the Golden Globes

In text added over the image, she jokingly penned, 'We don't have seats so we're just drinking at the bar. IT'S STILL A NIGHT AWAY FROM THE KIDS' (seen at the Golden Globes last week)

The 75th Emmy Awards take place at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Monday evening.

The strike-delayed ceremony gathers Hollywood's biggest stars as they celebrate the best of primetime television over the year of 2023.

Comedian and Black-ish star Anthony Anderson will be making his debut as the host alongside an all-Black executive producer team for the first time in Emmy history.

Jason Bateman, Quinta Brunson, Stephen Colbert, Jon Cryer, Jodie Foster, Jon Hamm, Ken Jeong, Joel McHale are among the stars announced to take the stage on Monday.

And the nominees include Pedro Pascal, Hannah Waddingham, Keri Russell, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Hart, Elisabeth Moss, Kieran Culkin and Bob Odenkirk.

The awards ceremony normally occurs in September but was delayed because writers and actors were on strike at the time last year.

Due to the industry strikes, the Emmys were postponed to 2024 on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in the United States and arrives in the heels of the Golden Globes.

Guests take photographs on the red carpet prior to the start of arrivals for the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, January 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles

At this year's Emmys, Succession leads nominations with 27 nods. The series' stars Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox are up against each other for Outstanding Lead Actor in a drama series. Their co-star Sarah Snook is also nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a drama

Like at the Globes  which celebrated 2023's top films and television shows on January 7  Succession dominates most categories.

At this year's Emmys, Succession leads nominations with 27 nods.

The Last of Us follows closely behind with 24, The White Lotus with 23, and Ted Lasso with 21.

Succession is in the running for the Outstanding Drama Series for the third time after previously winning the title in 2020 and 2022.

The series' stars Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin and Brian Cox are up against each other for Outstanding Lead Actor in a drama series.

Their co-star, Sarah Snook, is also nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a drama.

The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal is up for lead actor in a drama while his co-star, Bella Ramsey, is nominated for lead actress.

Bad Sisters' Sharon Horgan, Yellowjackets' Melanie Lynskey, The Handmaid's Tale's Elisabeth Moss and The Diplomat's Keri Russell are also in the same category for best leading actress in a drama.

The Bear's duo Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri are also up for lead actor and supporting actress, respectively, for their roles in the restaurant dramedy's debut season.

The Last of Us received 24 nominations. Pedro Pascal is up for lead actor in a drama while his co-star Bella Ramsey is nominated for lead actress

The Bear duo Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri are also up for lead actor and supporting actress, respectively, for their roles in the restaurant dramedy's debut season. Due to the industry strikes and delay, the first season of The Bear is in the contending rather than the second season, which was released this past summer

Due to the industry strikes and delay, the first season of The Bear is in the contending rather than the second season, which was released this past summer.

For that reason, many of nominated television shows, which were released up to 19 months ago, are now receiving their moment.

Netflix's Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is up for Outstanding Limited Or Anthology Series against Beef, Daisy Jones & The Six, Fleishman Is In Trouble and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

For Outstanding Comedy Series, The Bear is up against Ted Lasso as well as Abbott Elementary, Barry, Jury Duty, Only Murders In The Building, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Wednesday.

At this year's award show, there will be a series of cast reunions and recreations to honor and commemorate beloved, classic television series like The Sopranos, Cheers, I Love Lucy and All In The Family.

Stars from Grey's Anatomy, American Horror Story and Ally McBeal will also reunite onstage while presenting awards at the Emmys.

Fan-favorite comedians and presenter duo Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who is also nominated for Outstanding Host of a Reality or Competition Program, will also take the stage at the award ceremony.

The show will kick off at 5 p.m. PT and can be streamed live on Fox or FXX through streaming services such as Hulu + Live TV, Sling, DirecTV, YouTube TV and FuboTV.

The day after the award ceremony, the Emmys will be available to stream on Hulu.

The first Emmy Award was held back in 1949 to celebrate the artistic and technical merit for the television industry.
Disney+ has dropped a new trailer for their latest blockbuster series Death and Other Details.

Now available on the streaming giant, the ten-part mystery stars Homeland's Mandy Patinkin as a cunning detective out to solve a series of baffling murders.

Set aboard a glamorous ocean liner, the Knives Out style drama also features actress Violet Beane from the DC superhero series The Flash.

The story centres on the beautiful Imogene (Beane) after she finds herself the prime suspect in the sinister goings-on aboard an elegant liner cruising the Mediterranean.

And in a clever twist, she must join forces with the world's greatest detective Rufus Cotesworth (Patinkin) in order to clear her name.

Meanwhile, Imogen hates Rufus, because, twenty years earlier, the sleuth never managed to bring to justice the murderer of her mother.

And the trailer teases that fans can look forward to plenty of Murder of the Orient Express type mayhem.

In one gruesome scene, a guest aboard the liner is found dead having been harpooned to the wall of his elegantly appointed cabin.

Other scenes introduce viewers to the many chic and super-wealthy guests aboard the liner - all of whom appear to be hiding secrets.

Disney+ has dropped a new trailer for their latest blockbuster series Death and Other Details Pictured: A scene from the ten-part series which dropped on the streaming giant January 16, which features actress Violet Beane from the DC superhero series The Flash (right)

Meanwhile, one scene shows that in amidst all the intrigue, Imogen finds time out for some romance with a hunky fellow passenger.

Other scenes tease that millions of dollars may be the true secret to the mystery behind the murder.

Also featured in the cast is The Good Fight's Lauren Patten and English-born star Rahul Kohli from Netflix's The Fall of the House of Usher.

The drama stars Homeland's Mandy Patinkin (pictured) as a cunning detective out to solve a series of baffling murders aboard a glamorous ocean liner

Angela Zhou from Hell on Wheels and up and coming French Spanish actor Hugo Diego Garcia are also featured.

Completing the cast are model turned actress Pardis Saremi and Only Murders in the Building star Linda Emond.

The show was created by Mike Weiss (The Mentalist) and Heidi Cole McAdams (The 100).
Liz Hayes has broken her silence on her infamous 2014 interview with 'Wolf of Wall Street' Jordan Belfort, who stormed off the set after being asked about his finances.

The 60 Minutes reporter, 67, appeared on The Kyle and Jackie O Show to talk about her recent memoir when Jackie O, 48, asked her about the difficult interview.

'What about your interview with Jordan Belfort? You pressed him on his finances and he walked out, I loved it, were you scared to ask those questions?' Jackie asked Liz.

'No, I was not. I was scared he would walk out before I got to ask those questions,' Liz said.

In the interview, Hayes asked Belfort if his oral contract with his company was an attempt to hide his income, prompting him to declare the meeting over and storm out.

Liz Hayes (pictured) has broken her silence on her infamous 2014 interview with 'Wolf of Wall Street' Jordan Belfort, who stormed off the set after being asked about his finances

Liz added that Belfort immediately became defensive when she began her hard line of questioning: 'He thinks that anyone questioning or criticising him is attacking him.'

The hosts then asked if Liz and Jordan had later reconciled or if there was still bad blood between them, to which she responded: 'No, he's never ever forgiven me for asking that.'

Belfort, 61, made more than $100 million by ripping off investors through his investment banking firm in the 1990s and was later convicted for stock market manipulation and spent 22 months in prison.

60 Minutes reporter, 67, appeared on The Kyle and Jackie O Show to talk about her recent memoir when Jackie O, 48, asked her about the difficult interview with Jordan Belfort (left)

His story was turned into the 2013 movie The Wolf of Wall Street starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie.

Following the notorious 60 Minutes interview, Belfort branded TV host Liz Hayes a 'f**kwit'.

He later spoke out against the Channel Nine show and justified his highly publicised walk-out during an interview on the program.

In the interview, Hayes asked Belfort if his oral contract with his company was an attempt to hide his income, prompting him to declare the meeting over and storm out. Liz revealed Belfort had never 'forgiven' her over the interview and they had not yet reconciled

The former stockbroker described the interview as 'a complete attack' and called Hayes a 'f**kwit' when he gave an interview on KIIS' Kyle And Jackie O Show in the aftermath.

Belfort took issue with the veteran journalist asking the same questions repeatedly during the interview.

'This was a complete attack, she was arguing with me and asking me the same questions nine times. If you saw the unedited version you would see what an f-wit she is,' Belfort claimed.

Belfort explained that continued questioning around the credibility of his management company in Australia, The Fordham Company, was when he'd 'had enough'.

His story was turned into the 2013 movie The Wolf of Wall Street starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie. Pictured
Fifi Box has declared war with upcoming radio rivals Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson ahead of their show's expansion to Melbourne this year.

Fifi, 46, currently co-hosts the popular Melbourne breakfast program Fifi, Fev and Nick alongside Brendan Fevola and Nick Cody on 101.9's FOX FM.

But the radio personality isn't afraid of KIIS FM's The Kyle and Jackie O Show making its way to Victoria's capital - revealing she is only 'focused' on her team at the Hit Network.

'I love that everyone is talking about radio at the moment, obviously the Melbourne landscape is about to change (and everyone is saying) oh how is all this going to play out,' she told the Herald Sun.

'I'm just as excited about this as anyone. It's game on, let's see what happens.'

Fifi Box has declared war with upcoming radio rivals Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson ahead of their show's expansion to Melbourne this year

She continued: 'We're just focused on us... We're just going to keep having fun.'

Fifi's co-host Brendan initially heard the bombshell news back in August and shrugged off any potential competition coming to Melbourne radio waves.

'It doesn't affect us, we're fine,' the 42-year-old said in November.

'We've got the most listeners in Melbourne so I don't feel that's going to affect us at all. Great show, great product, we've been together for a long time now and we'll just keep doing what we're doing.'

The radio personality isn't afraid of KIIS FM's The Kyle and Jackie O Show making its way to Victoria's capital - revealing she is only 'focused' on her team at the Hit Network

Fifi, 46, currently co-hosts the popular Melbourne breakfast program Fifi, Fev and Nick alongside Brendan Fevola (right) and Nick Cody (left) on 101.9's FOX FM

Fifi's bold statement comes off the back of incorrect reports that Kyle and Jackie O's expansion to Melbourne had been delayed.

While the pair returned to the airwaves in Sydney on Monday, their first official broadcast in Melbourne will be in the second quarter of this year or possibly earlier.

A source at the station told Daily Mail Australia: 'It's not accurate that the expansion into Melbourne's been delayed because the [Melbourne] show was never set to begin airing this Monday.'

'At this stage, the launch date's still to be determined but will likely fall [in the second quarter] of this year,' they added.

Fifi's co-host Brendan initially heard the bombshell news back in August and shrugged off any potential competition coming to Melbourne radio waves. 'It doesn't affect us, we're fine,' he said in November

The source said there's still a lot of planning and arrangements to be set before the big transition.

Meanwhile, ARN released a statement last week revealing Byron Cooke will remain on KIIS 101.1 during the summer before Kyle and Jackie O make their way south.

'Think of KIIS 101.1 as a footy team and Kyle and Jackie O are our star players,' Cooke said.

'I'm coming on as the emergency sub in that ridiculous yellow vest. I'll give it a red-hot crack and then the inevitable will happen - I'm sent back to the VFL.'

Byron has been a part of KIIS 101.1 since early 2022, working in a number of on-air positions prior to becoming the station's workday announcer.

KIIS FM hosts Kyle and Jackie 'O' confirmed their historic new radio deal will see them expand from Sydney to Victoria's capital

In November, the Sydney-based radio duo signed a record-breaking $200million, 10-year deal live on-air - keeping them on the airwaves until 2034.

A spokesperson for ARN confirmed to Daily Mail Australia the deal for the Sydney duo meant their work pals Jase Hawkins and Lauren Phillips were out of a job and their Melbourne breakfast show finished up in December.

Lauren broke down in tears while announcing the news to her listeners, sobbing that she didn't want to 'say goodbye to Melbourne'.

Jase and Lauren's show was successful for KIIS FM, bringing in new listeners for the station and sitting third in the Melbourne market behind Fox FM's Fifi Fev & Nick and GOLD104.3's Christian O'Connell.

In a statement to celebrate the historic contract renewal, Sandilands said, 'Fans of the show will be stoked to hear that this 10-year deal is the longest radio deal in Australian history.

Melbourne KIIS FM stars Jase Hawkins, 42, (left) and Lauren Phillips, 41, (right) were out of a job and their Melbourne breakfast show finished up in December

'Love us or loathe us, Jackie and I will be continuing with our politically incorrect nonsense for a long, long time.'

He added, 'We want to thank the listeners. Staff. All the clients. Even senior management, I'll give a nod to. They actually did something brilliant.'

The duo will dominate markets outside their Sydney-based audience and extend their reach into Melbourne for the first time.

It's been reported one unique clause in the contract gives Sandilands the ability to broadcast the show from 'anywhere on the earth'.

The shock jock has often worked on the KIIS FM show from Los Angeles and other places, so the new contract will give the flexibility to continue broadcasting from wherever he chooses.
Abbie Chatfield makes no secret about the fact she's a feminist.

But the former Bachelor star, 28, has revealed she is struggling with a dilemma between feeling good about herself and her politics.

Speaking on her It's A Lot podcast, Abbie talked about her desire to get a nose job.

'I've been scared to even mention this,' she said.

'I have a dilemma, a feminist dilemma...I have almost no cartilage or bone in between my eyes. I get filler in that gap to make my nose straighter.'

Abbie Chatfield is struggling with a 'feminist dilemma' as she contemplates getting a nose job

'So...should I get a nose job?' she asked 'My biggest problem with it is it's not very feminist or very intersectional.

'I understand plastic surgery cannot be inherently feminist, and I also understand if I existed in a vacuum where I just lived...without any awareness of how I looked, I wouldn't want to get this done. This is all the feminist discourse that I've seen.'

'Unfortunately, I don't live in a f***ing vacuum, I live in a f***ing Big Brother house where every c*** if filming me from every f***ing angle,' the podcaster added.

Later, her producer reassured Abbie that it is not feminist to tell women what to do with their lives, to which Abbie quickly replied 'So should I book it in then?'

The former Bachelor star revealed she is struggling with a dilemma between feeling good about herself and her politics on her It's A Lot podcast

'So...should I get a nose job?' she asked. 'My biggest problem with it is it's not very feminist or very intersectional'

It comes after Abbie shared a bizarre story over the weekend involving an ex and the elaborate lie he spun so he could avoid meeting her family.

Sharing a video to Instagram as part of a sponsorship for the dating app Bumble, Abbie recalled her then-beau had turned down a holiday with her and her clan because he had already booked a trip to Antarctica.

The FBoy Island host explained the pair had been on and off 'for years' and one Christmas she invited him on a holiday to meet her friends and family.

The boyfriend - who Abbie did not identify - turned down her offer with the excuse that he was headed to the South Pole.

Unable to shrug off her suspicions over his excuse, Abbie discovered the truth when she checked his friends' social media in the New Year.

She found photos of her lover holidaying on the Gold Coast with his mates.

'Not quite Antarctica, is it?' Abbie questioned sarcastically as she continued the story.

Eventually, the reality star confronted the shameless boyfriend.

'All this man did was go, ''I'm sorry, baby'',' she said, clearly not relishing the memory.

It comes after Abbie shared a bizarre story over the weekend involving an ex and the elaborate lie he spun so he could avoid meeting her family

Meanwhile, Abbie's followers were quick to call out the reality star for the authenticity of the story.

'Nice story for Bumble but I don't think you're silly enough to truly believe that he was going to Antarctica,' wrote one fan.

Another follower agreed commenting: 'Who goes to Antarctica? I would have known it was a scam to start.'

'At least pick a feasible country lol,' wrote another.
Ellen Pompeo commanded attention on the 2024 Emmys red carpet in Los Angeles on Monday night.

The 54-year-old Grey's Anatomy star looked style savvy in a shimmery and sheer top paired with a long, slinky, black, satin skirt.

The Monique Lhuillier getup showed off the television sensation's svelte figure and boasted a thick white collar and short black tie.

Pompeo, who was reunited with the cast of her hit ABC show at the event, pulled her blonde locks into a wispy updo.

She captivated as she smiled and posed for photos before taking the stage with her peers.

Ellen Pompeo commanded attention on the 2024 Emmys red carpet in Los Angeles on Monday night

The 54-year-old Grey's Anatomy star looked style savvy in a shimmery and sheer top paired with a long, slinky, black, satin skirt

Ellen took the stage as co-presenter alongside her Grey's co-stars.

Katherine Heigl, who starred as medical intern Dr. Izzie Stevens in the show from 2005-2010, wowed in a scarlet gown.

Also presenting were Chandra Wilson, Justin Chambers, and James Pickens Jr.

The cast united to mark the show's 20th season, making it the longest-running prime time medical drama in TV history.

They also presented the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

Katherine told Extra of the reunion: 'I havent seen my old friends in years, so this is really fun and exciting.'

Pompeo recently left the show after 18 years while Heigl departed back in 2010 following rumors of on-set feuds and a reputation for being 'difficult' to work with.

Addressing her controversial departure, Heigl said in a conversation with Ellen for Variety last year: 'I was so naive. I got on my soapbox and I had some things to say, and I felt really passionate about this stuff.'

The Monique Lhuillier getup showed off the television sensation's svelte figure and boasted a thick white collar and short black tie

She captivated as she smiled and posed for photos before taking the stage with her peers

She added, 'I felt really strongly. I felt so strongly that I also got a megaphone out on my soapbox. There was no part of me that imagined a bad reaction.'

'I felt really justified in how I felt about it and where I was coming from. Ive spent most of my life  I think most women do  being in that people-pleasing mode. Its really disconcerting when you feel like you have really displeased everybody. It was not my intention to do so, but I had some things to say, and I didnt think I was going to get such a strong reaction,' she added thoughtfully.

The insightful statement continued, 'I was in my late 20s. It took me until probably my mid- to late-30s to really get back to tuning out all of the noise and going, But who are you? Are you this bad person? Are you ungrateful? Are you unprofessional? Are you difficult? Because I was confused! I thought maybe I was.

'I literally believed that version, and felt such shame for such a long time, and then had to go, "Wait. Who am I listening to? Im not even listening to myself. I know who I am."'

Pompeo offered: 'You were just a little early, because they came out with this thing where everybody has their own megaphone and they get a blue check. Its called Twitter. You were just a little ahead of your time, lady.'

Pompeo was reunited with the cast of her hit ABC show at the event, pulled her blonde locks into a wispy updo

Ellen took the stage as co-presenter alongside her Grey's co-stars

Katherine Heigl, who starred as medical intern Dr. Izzie Stevens in the show from 2005-2010, wowed in a scarlet gown

Also presenting were Chandra Wilson, Justin Chambers, and James Pickens Jr.

The strike-delayed ceremony gathered Hollywood's biggest stars to celebrate the best of primetime television in 2023.

Comedian and actor Anthony Anderson made his debut as the host alongside an all-Black executive producer team, an Emmy first.

The awards ceremony typically takes place in September, but was delayed due to the writers and actors strikes last year.

As a result, the Emmys were postponed to 2024 on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

It followed Sunday night's Critics Choice Awards and came on the heels of the Golden Globes.
Ali Wong was joined by boyfriend Bill Hader as they arrived at HBO Max's star-studded Emmy after-party at San Vicente Bungalow in West Hollywood on Monday.

The actress, 41, held hands with the comedian, 45, and traded in the 5-inch black platform heels she wore to the ceremony for sneakers.

Earlier on the Emmys red carpet she told E! host Heather McMahan that she was 'nursing a knee injury', hence why she decided to wear platforms.

'I had to wear, like, heel platforms. These add about five inches. They're insane.'

Wong had much to celebrate, after her road rage drama Beef earned her the Lead Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie awards trophy.

Ali Wong was joined by boyfriend Bill Hader as they arrived at HBO Max's star-studded Emmy after-party at San Vicente Bungalow in West Hollywood on Monday

The actress, 41, held hands with the comedian, 45, and traded in the 5-inch black platform heels she wore to the ceremony for sneakers

And though she switched out of her shoes, the actress kept the stunning beaded Louis Vuitton dress she wore earlier in the night.

Meanwhile Sarah Snook beamed at the afterparty after scoring the Lead Actress in a Drama Series win for her role as Shiv Roy in Succession.

The beauty sizzled in her busty red gown while holding onto her golden trophy.

Her co-star and on-screen brother Kieran Culkin was also present, and looked sharp in a black suit.

Kieran was joined by wife Jazz Charton. He planted a sweet kiss on he after hilariously letting her know in his acceptance speech earlier in the night that he wanted to have more children.

Justine Lupe - known for her portrayal of Willa Ferreyra on the series - looked incredible in a low-cut black dress.

Succession's Alexander Skarsgard cut a dapper figure, wearing a sharp black suit and a bowtie.

Succession was named best drama series for the third time while Kieran, Sarah, and Matthew Macfadyen won acting trophies for their roles as part of the wealthy but miserable Roy family.

The Last of Us hunk Pedro Pascal was joined by glamorous sister Lux Pascal, who stunned in a black gown.

Sarah Snook beamed at the afterparty after scoring the Lead Actress in a Drama Series win for her role as Shiv Roy in Succession

The beauty sizzled in her busty red gown while holding onto her golden trophy

Her look was accessorized with a diamond necklace

Her co-star and on-screen brother Kieran Culkin was also present, and looked sharp in a black suit

Kieran was joined by wife Jazz Charton

He planted a sweet kiss on he after hilariously letting her know in his acceptance speech earlier in the night that he wanted to have more children

Her co-star Justine Lupe - known for her portrayal of Willa Ferreyra on the series - looked incredible in a low-cut black dress

Succession's Alexander Skarsgard cut a dapper figure, wearing a sharp black suit and a bowtie

The Last of Us hunk Pedro Pascal was joined by glamorous sister Lux Pascal, who stunned in a black gown

The brother and sister duo laughed it up at the event

Earlier in the night Pedro joked that his injured shoulder was caused by Kieran, telling the audience: 'I think tonight is a perfect time to tell everyone that Kieran Culkin beat the s**t out of me'

Jennifer Coolidge wowed in a black and gold gown after winning Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

She was pictured arriving at the event

Jennifer Coolidge wowed in a black and gold gown.

Coolidge continued her successful run on the White Lotus as she won Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

Natasha Lyonne shimmered in a silver gown and was joined by Bryn Mooser.

Robin Thede sparkled in a unique gold dress, while Marian Wang was a vision in a bright pink ensemble.

Storm Reid was accompanied by her mother, Robyn Simpson, at the bash.

The 20-year-old performer appeared to be enjoying the company of her parent as they posed for a snap before making their way towards the event's main area.

The actress - who made quite the impression at the recently-held Creative Arts Emmy Awards - donned a slim-fitting black dress that was accented by a partially lime green attachment on its left side.

Reid also wore a pair of black high-heeled shoes and accessorized with various pieces of jewelry.

Her gorgeous light brunette hair cascaded onto her back and shoulders for the duration of the event.

Simpson opted for a chic light beige dress as she spent time with her daughter.

Natasha Lyonne shimmered in a silver gown and was joined by Bryn Mooser

Marian Wang was a vision in a bright pink gown

Robin Thede sparkled in a unique gold gown

F. Murray Abraham was joined by White Lotus co-star Sabrina Impacciatore

The pair were pictured having a blast on the rest carpet

Their co-star Michael Imperioli looked handsome as ever in a black tuxedo

Zoe Winters stunned in a black lace corset and fitted pants. Sophia Di Martino was the epitome of sophistication in a silk skirt and black turtleneck

Storm Reid was accompanied by her mother, Robyn Simpson, at the bash

The actress - who made quite the impression at the recently-held Creative Arts Emmy Awards - donned a slim-fitting black dress that was accented by a partially lime green attachment on its left side

John Oliver celebrated his win with wife Kate Norley

She dazzled in a plunging black gown

Comedians Jeff Hiller and Bridget Everett played it up for the cameras

Becky Blades posed with Taylor Kay Phillips

Anna Marr was joined by Mark Kramer

Charlie Redd posed with his Emmy alongside Ethan Corn

Seena Vali flashed a bright smile as he held onto his Emmy

Upon arriving for the party, Justine and Zoe posed up a storm together

Theo James, Will Sharpe, and Adam Di Marco put on a dapper display at the bash

Sarah beamed from ear to ear with her award

The star's of succession posed together after a successful night

Another group shot together

Sarah also made her way to the after party

Sarah looked to be struggling with her dress as she held up the heavy skirt

Sarah bagged her first Emmy on Sunday for playing Shiv Roy in Succession

The star's red dress trailed behind her in the street

Kieran waved to fans as he arrived at the post-Emmy party

The star looked in great spirits after bagging the award for best actor in a drama series for his performance as Roman Roy in Succession

The actor looked as though he was running to get to the party

Reid took home the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Riley Abel in The Last Of Us.

Zoe Winters stunned in a black lace corset and fitted pants. Sophia Di Martino was the epitome of sophistication in a silk skirt and black turtleneck.

Others at the bash included F. Murray Abraham, Sabrina Impacciatore, Becky Blades, Taylor Kay Phillips, Jeff Hiller, Bridget Everett, Charlie Redd, Ethan Corn, Anna Marr and Mark Kramer.

The 75th Emmy Awards took place at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Monday evening.

The strike-delayed ceremony gathers Hollywood's biggest stars as they celebrate the best of primetime television over the year of 2023.

The awards ceremony normally occurs in September but was delayed because writers and actors were on strike at the time last year.

Due to the industry strikes, the Emmys were postponed to 2024 on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in the United States and arrives in the heels of the Golden Globes.

The first Emmy Award was held back in 1949 to celebrate the artistic and technical merit for the television industry.
Sydney Sweeney is currently in Australia filming upcoming thriller Eden.

But over the weekend, the American actress took time out of her busy schedule to make a surprise visit to a Gold Coast screening of her film, Anyone But You.

Sweeney, who plays Bea, joined local co-star Joe Davidson at the screening at Pacific Fair Event Cinemas.

A video taken by a fan inside the cinema showed Sweeney and Davidson walking down the aisle with a microphone.

'Hey guys, what's up,' Sweeney said.

American actress Sydney Sweeney took time out of her busy schedule to make a surprise visit to a Gold Coast screening of her film, Anyone But You

Sweney, who plays Bea, joined local co-star Joe Davidson at Pacific Fair Event Cinemas

The introduction was followed by screams in the audience.

'Well we wanted to come and surprise you guys,' she said.

'Thank you for coming to see our movie.'

The introduction was followed by screams in the audience. 'Well we wanted to come and surprise you guys,' she said. 'Thank you for coming to see our movie'

Davidson continued: 'Thanks for coming. Every single cinema I have been to so far has been completely full.

'I've seen it nine times and it's good that Sydney could come see it with you guys.'

The film has gone viral on Tiktok, with people dancing out of the cinemas to its theme song, Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield.

'I hope you guys feel how much fun and love we had making this movie,' Sweeney said. 'It was a blast. 'I love Australia, you guys are all incredible'

'I hope you guys feel how much fun and love we had making this movie,' Sweeney said.

'It was a blast.

'I love Australia, you guys are all incredible.

'Laugh, cry, dance on your way out.'

Following the intro the pair both posed for photos alongside some lucky cinemagoers

Davidson, best known for his role as Cassius Grady on Neighbours, said, 'You probably don't even know who I am if you haven't seen the movie'.

'We thought it would be good to drop in and seen you guys.

'I'm from the Gold Coast so it's really good to be able to experience it with you guys.

'We are very lucky to have Sydney back because she is filming another film on the Gold Coast now.'

'I love it,' Sweeney said.
Robert Irwin was left mortified after his mother Terri Irwin joked that she has a very special tattoo tribute to her late husband, Steve Irwin.

The mother and son were on stage for the VMX 2024 veterinary conference in Orlando, Florida this week when Terri, 59, left Robert blushing.

A fan in the audience admitted they had a Steve tattoo, leading to Terri making the X-rated gag.

'It seems like there's more than one person who has a tattoo of Steve and I was really impressed because I don't have a tattoo of Steve,' she said.

Then she added cheekily: 'I have a tattoo that says "Steve was here". I don't think I can show it to you.'

Robert Irwin was left mortified after his mother Terri Irwin (both pictured) joked that she has a very special tattoo tribute to her late husband, Steve Irwin

The comment sent Robert doubling over and covering his face in embarrassment before he rose again to change the subject, saying, 'Anyway! Alright!'

It comes after Terri paid a sweet tribute to her husband Steve on Christmas Eve.

The conservationist posted a photo to Instagram showing her late husband posing alongside their two children, Bindi and Robert.

The family are pictured, all smiles while posing with newborn Robert.

'December 2003. Best month. Best Christmas. Best family. Cherish every moment,' Terri captioned the post.

The comment sent Robert doubling over and covering his face in embarrassment before he rose again to change the subject, saying, 'Anyway! Alright!'

It comes after Terri paid a sweet tribute to her husband Steve on Christmas Eve. Terri and Steve are pictured with their children in a throwback image

Steve and Terri Irwin met in 1991 when she visited Australia Zoo while on a holiday from the US and they married the following year.

Steve tragically died when a stingray barb pierced his chest on September 4, 2006, while filming near Batt Reef, Queensland, in his native Australia.

He was just 44-years-old at the time.

Terri famously took over Australia Zoo after being widowed with the couple's two children.

Irwin and her children Bindi, 25, and Robert, 19, have worked hard in the years since Steve's passing to keep his conservation legacy alive.
Married At First Sight's Evelyn Ellis and her boyfriend Duncan James recently took the next step in their relationship as they went on their first overseas trip.

And on Tuesday, the 28-year-old reality star took to Instagram to showcase her incredible figure in a skimpy sheer dress with a plunging neckline in Vietnam.

Evelyn set pulses racing in the long-sleeved number that offered a glimpse of her rose tattoo on her thigh.

The brunette beauty wore her locks out and relaxed.

Evelyn is currently on holidays with her boyfriend Duncan, who she met while appearing on the Channel Nine show.

Married At First Sight's Evelyn Ellis and her boyfriend Duncan James recently took the next step in their relationship as they went on their first overseas trip

Evelyn is currently on holidays with her boyfriend Duncan James

The couple have been documenting their trip to their social media pages.

On Saturday, the couple shared a gallery of their trip to Hong Kong, which included several photos of them sightseeing and enjoying a romantic dinner together.

Duncan and Evelyn have been going strong since announcing they were dating in May.

Evelyn confirmed her relationship with fellow MAFS groom Duncan, who was paired with Alyssa Barmonde on the show.

The pair said in May it was 'exhilarating' and 'freeing' to finally go public after months of rumours.

'We are in a relationship. This is our hard launch,' Evelyn told Nine.com.au.

Evelyn set pulses racing in the long-sleeved number that offered a glimpse of her rose tattoo

On Saturday, the couple shared a gallery of their trip to Hong Kong

In one photo, the pair were gifted a cute letter from a restaurant with customised napkins

'It feels good to finally just say it and it feels kind of exhilarating in a weird, freeing way,' the Maxim cover girl added with a laugh.

Last month, Evelyn organised a surprise birthday bash for Duncan who turned 38.

Taking to social media, she shared her excitement and the day with her followers.

Since arriving in Asia, Evelyn has been showcasing her date night looks to her Instagram

'Duncan's always wanted a surprise birthday party, so today I am going to try and make it happen for him,' she declared in an early morning video post.

The day unfolded with Evelyn visiting the chic Potts Point florist, Wild About Flowers.

There she carefully selected an array of vibrant bouquets and cheerful balloons, setting the tone for the evening's festivities.

The preparations continued back at their stylish Balmain apartment, where the stage was set for the big reveal.
The Primetime Emmy Awards were back with a bang on Sunday as the stars of the small screen descended upon the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles.

The 75th annual ceremony normally occurs in September but was delayed because writers and actors were on strike at the time last year.

Making up for lost time, there were plenty of hilarious, awkward and incredible moments on stage as Hollywood celebrated the best TV moments of 2023.

From Christina Applegate's powerful and tearful appearance to the mystery over Pedro Pascal's censored speech and nearly everyone kissing for the cameras, there were plenty of moments trending on the evening.

Now MailOnline takes a look back at the top viral moments of the 2024 Emmys.

Christina Applegate's standing ovation

Christina Applegate made a surprise appearance at Emmys and received a standing ovation from the audience as she made light of her battle with multiple sclerosis

Christina Applegate made a surprise appearance at Emmys and received a standing ovation from the audience as she made light of her battle with multiple sclerosis.

Tearful Christina, 52, who was diagnosed with the degenerative condition in 2021, arrived onstage to present the Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series award - and broke down in tears as her peers cheered her on.

The actress, who leaned on a walking stick as she was escorted onstage by host Anthony Anderson, said: 'Thank you so much. Oh my god, you're totally shaming me with disability by standing up. It's fine.

'Body not by Ozempic. Okay, let's go. Some of you may know me as Kelly Bundy from Married, With Children or Samantha from Samantha Who? or Jen Harding from Dead To Me.

'Very few of you probably know me from that debut - I'm going to cry, more than I've been crying. Baby Burt Grizzell on Days of Our Lives. It was my breakout role.

'And for all these years, it's look at that. Been an honor to play funny, flawed, complex characters like the women nominated for supporting actress in a comedy series.'

Pedro Pascal gets censored

Pedro Pascal couldn't resist the opportunity to roast Succession star Kieran Culkin before presenting the award for Best Supporting Actor but producers were quick to bleep him

Pedro Pascal couldn't resist the opportunity to roast Succession star Kieran Culkin, before presenting the award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama.

While addressing why his left arm was in a sling, the heartthrob, 48, hilariously joked that the father-of-two, 41, caused his injury.

'Before we get into the nominees for best supporting actor in a drama series, I'd like to take just a second and make this about me,' Pascal, 48, said. 'A lot of people have been asking about my arm; it's actually my shoulder.'

He continued: 'And I think tonight is a perfect time to tell everyone that Kieran Culkin beat the s**t out of me.'

In response, Kieran stared blankly at the camera, before erupting into laughter.

Pedro's quip got bleeped for using a cuss word, but the moment quickly went viral on X (previously known as Twitter) as fans explained why he had been censored.

The Bear's Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Matty Matheson pucker up on stage

The Bear star and EP Matty Matheson was surprised by a shocking kiss from his co-star Ebon Moss-Bachrach as they picked up the coveted Outstanding Comedy Series award

The Bear capped off a string of individual acting wins toward the end of the evening with the coveted Outstanding Comedy Series award.

Matty Matheson, a real-life chef who executive produces the series and also appears as a supporting player on it, was chosen to give the acceptance speech, but he was interrupted just seconds into it by his costar Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who planted a big kiss on his lips.

Ebon and Matty had lips locked for several seconds in what looked like a passionate make-out session, with the audience watching on in hysterics.

Although it's possible that it may have been planned ahead of time  as The Bear has been a frontrunner throughout this awards season  Matty still looked shocked and off guard when Ebon strutted up to him during his speech.

'I just wanna thank restaurants as a whole, hospitality as a whole' Matty began when Ebon quickly marched from his perch on the stage, gave his costar a tap on the back and them held his face close for the smooch.

'I love you, Ebon,' Matty said as soon as they were finished to hearty laughter from the audience.

Niecy Nash-Bett's acceptance speech hailed best ever

Viewers hailed Niecy Nash-Betts's acceptance speech the 'best ever' as she picked up the Emmy for Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie for Dahmer

Viewers hailed Niecy Nash-Betts's acceptance speech the 'best ever' as she picked up the Emmy for Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie for Dahmer.

Niecy, 53, who played Glenda Cleveland in the acclaimed series, accepted the honor 'on behalf of every black and brown woman who have gone unheard' as she thanked herself in a rousing speech.

The star, who showed off her ample cleavage and honed curves in a black strapless gown, said: 'I'm a winner, baby! Thank you to the most high for this divine moment.

'Thank you, Ryan Murphy for seeing me. Evan Peters, I love you. Netflix. Every single person who voted for me. Thank you. My better half, who picked me up when I was gutted from this work. Thank you.

'I want to thank me. For believing in me and doing what they said I could not do. I want to say to myself in front of all you beautiful people, go, girl, with you bad self. You did that.

Referencing black women who have died in police incidents, she said: 'Finally, I accept this award on behalf of every black and brown woman who have gone unheard, yet overpoliced, like Glenda Cleveland, like Sandra Bland, like Breonna Taylor. I'm going to do it until the day I die. Momma, I won!'

The star beat Annaleigh Ashford  Welcome to Chippendales, Maria Bello  Beef, Claire Danes  Fleishman is in Trouble, Juliette Lewis  Welcome to Chippendales and Camila Morrone  Daisy Jones & the Six.

Kieran Culkin crashes J. Smith-Cameron's red carpet interview to steal a kiss...

Kieran Culkin surprised his Succession co-star J. Smith-Cameron as he crashed her red carpet interview to give her a kiss ahead of the ceremony

Kieran Culkin surprised J. Smith-Cameron as he crashed her red carpet interview to give her a kiss.

The 41-year-old actor suddenly appeared behind his Succession co-star and on-screen lover, 66, and rested his head on her shoulder in a sweet moment.

Smith-Cameron was talking to a Variety reporter about doing a movie  and not a musical, she specified  with Brian Cox when Kieran wrapped his arms around her.

The dynamic duo's real-life chemistry and on-screen relationship is one of the central romances in satirical comedy-drama series, Succession  which received a total of 27 nominations at the Emmys.

Bantering off of their relationship, he jokingly pretended to finish her interview answer with gushing compliments about himself.

'...And I love Kieran Culkin and he's my absolute favorite to work with even though he's an a**hole to me and I hate him in my personal life,' he said as she pretended to shake her head.

'You really hate me, don't you?' he said when she didn't say anything but continued acting annoyed.

'No,' she answered before looking into his eyes and sharing a friendly, mutual moment, as Kieran told her: 'You look lovely. You smell nice.'

Smith-Cameron then asked for 'a little kiss' and they shared a quick peck before Kieran walked away.

'How much do you love him?' the interviewer asked Smith-Cameron, to which she quipped: 'Oh, I'm pretty crazy about him, but he's also a brat.'

Then Kieran kisses on-screen father Brian Cox

Fresh from his kiss with on-screen lover Smith-Cameron, Kieran puckered up again to kiss on-screen dad Brian Cox when he won Best Actor

Fresh from his kiss with on-screen lover Smith-Cameron, Kieran puckered up again to kiss on-screen dad Brian Cox when he won Best Actor.

The actor took home his first individual Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Roman Roy on Succession.

While fans of the show wouldn't be surprised by the win, they may have been shocked by Brian planting a big kiss on Kieran's lips.

After his name was read out, Kieran celebrated with his wife Jazz Charton, before making his way to the stage.

He then received a sweet embrace and peck from supportive pal Brian, who plays his father Logan Roy in the HBO series.

Kieran, who also scooped a Critics Choice Award and Golden Globe for the role, thanked his mother Patricia 'for giving me life' and told wife Jazz Charton he wants more children during his emotional speech.

He said: 'I love you all so much, especially everyone in the cast. J, Alan, Sarah, Brian, every single one I love you.

'I'm not going to have time, I don't want to get yelled at so... I've got to thank Jesse Armstrong for being a brilliant writer, showrunner and gentleman, thank you for Succession, thank you for everything.'

Kieran then fought back tears as he continued: 'I've got to switch to the personal really fast. I have to thank my mom for giving me life, my childhood which was great, so thank you for that.

'I have to thank my manager, Emily Gerson Saines, who I've been with about 29 years - sorry Emily, you probably didn't want me to say the number but I did.

'I just have to thank you for keeping my name in the conversation when nobody else was talking about me so as far as I'm concerned this is yours.

'And of course, my beautiful wife Jazz. Thank you for sharing your life with me and for giving me two amazing kids. Kinsey Sioux and Wilder Wolf, I love you so much.

He quipped: 'And Jazz - I want more. You said maybe, if I win. I love you so much.'

Kieran beat out his Succession co-stars Brian and Jeremy Strong in the category, along with Jeff Bridges  The Old Man, Bob Odenkirk  Better Call Saul and Pedro Pascal  The Last of Us.

Hannah Waddingham calls out Laverne Cox

Hannah Waddingham had to jump in and correct Laverne Cox after she mispronounced her name on the red carpet

Hannah Waddingham had to jump in and correct Laverne Cox after she mispronounced her name on the red carpet.

The Orange Is the New Black star, 51, was hosting Live From E! Countdown to the Emmys when she slightly mispronounced the English actress', 49, name, introducing her as 'Hannah Waddington.'

The Ted Lasso star did not brush past the mistake, but corrected Laverne, telling her: 'Waddingham. Let's get that right, straight away.'

'Tell me, say it again,' Laverne asked her, before she imitated Hannah's English accent, adding, 'I love you so much.'

Jennifer Coolidge thanks 'all the evil gays' in hilarious speech

Jennifer Coolidge thanked 'all the evil gays' who tried to kill her in The White Lotus during her hilarious acceptance speech

The star, 62, won Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role of Tanya McQuad in The White Lotus

Jennifer Coolidge thanked 'all the evil gays' who tried to kill her in The White Lotus during her hilarious acceptance speech.

The star, 62, won Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role of Tanya McQuad in The White Lotus.

During her acceptance speech, the actress put her Emmy on the floor, joking she didn't 'have the strength' to hold it.

Jennifer also reminded the audience she 'got the hook last year' when her acceptance speech - also for The White Lotus - ran on too long.

The Legally Blonde star then thanked the show's creator Mike White, saying: 'Thank you for giving me this opportunity to play this incredible character. He says I'm definitely dead so I'm going along with it.'

As time was running out, Jennifer then said: 'I want to thank all the evil gays,' which prompted the audience to break into applause.

Anthony Anderson's mother Doris Bowman, who was serving as the Emmys 'play off mama' - ensuring speeches were kept short - then stood up in the crowd to remind Jennifer her speech was running too long.

'Baby, baby,' Doris said. 'I love you baby, but time. Time!'

In the season two finale of The White Lotus, Jennifer's character Tanya realised a group of gay men who she had befriended on her holiday were trying to kill her in order to steal her fortune.

This led to one of the show's most memorable lines when Jennifer's character said: 'These gays, they're trying to murder me!'

Aubrey Plaza resembles a Post-It Note

Aubrey Plaza went viral as she donned a high-necked gown that fans claimed resembled a 'Post-It note' for the red carpet

Followers quipped the star looked like the post-it Carrie Bradshaw memorably got dumped via in Sex And The City

Aubrey Plaza went viral as she donned a high-necked gown that fans claimed resembled a 'Post-It note'.

The actress, 39, was taking no chances as she donned the boxy yellow satin dress, which concealed her cleavage as she took to the red carpet.

Yet viewers were quick to quip the star looked like the post-it Carrie Bradshaw memorably got dumped via in Sex And The City and a pat of butter.

The dress flashed a hint of sideboob and was paired with gold platform heels and jewelery by Effy.

Her raven locks were styled in a sleek half updo and she sported a radiant palette of make-up.

The star was no doubt doing her best to cover up after suffering a nip slip on stage last year.

She caused a stir at the 2023 SAG Awards when she donned a very revealing sequin gown that featured a large front cutout, resulting in a wardrobe malfunction.

Matthew Perry tribute leaves fans 'sobbing'

The late Matthew Perry got a special tribute during the 2024 Emmy Awards' In Memoriam segment which left fans of the Friends star in tears

Charlie Puth sung his 2015 song I'll See You Again, which was written as a tribute to the late Paul Walker, with the tune ending in a soulful rendition of the Friends theme song

The late Matthew Perry got a special tribute during the In Memoriam segment as Charlie Puth sung his 2015 song I'll See You Again, which was written as a tribute to the late Paul Walker and featured on the soundtrack of Furious 7.

Charlie was joined by The War and Treaty for this In Memoriam rendition, though they had quite the surprise up their sleeve.

Towards the end of the song, they suddenly broke into a more soulful rendition of the Friends theme song I'll Be There For You by The Rembrandts - after Jennifer Aniston urged fans to celebrate his life at the Critics Choice Awards

Just as they finished up the chorus, a tribute to Matthew, who passed away in October at just 54, was shown on screen, as the crowd broke into applause.

Matthew's photo was then added to a collage of all of those who were shown in the tribute, which began with a tribute to another TV legend: Norman Lear.

Ariana DeBose and Bella Ramsey bury the hatchet

Ariana DeBose and Bella Ramsey hugged it out on Monday after feelings were hurt over a joke the previous night at the Critics Choice Awards.

Ariana DeBose and Bella Ramsey hugged it out after feelings were hurt over a joke the previous night at the Critics Choice Awards.

Bella, 20, wrapped her arms around the neck of Ariana, 32, who grasped her back as they embraced during the awards ceremony.

Ariana was left fuming on Sunday after being lumped into a joke made by Critics Choice Awards presenter Bella about 'actors who think they are singers' and was caught glaring furiously about the quip.

The Wish star had her eyes closed on Monday while hugging Bella who was cheek-to-cheek with her as they held each other.

Ariana isn't holding a grudge against Bella despite being left 'deeply offended' by the joke, an insider exclusively told DailyMail.com.

She had previously took to Instagram to inform her more than 712,000 followers that she 'didn't find' the joke 'funny' at all.

The Wish star was all smiles upon arrival on Monday at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards as she shrugged off the jibe about her singing made during the Critics Choice Awards.

Ariana later took to Instagram to inform her more than 712,000 followers that she 'didn't find' the joke 'funny' at all.

A night of epic Emmys reunions

The first of the long-awaited reunions was from one of the most popular shows of all time - HBO's The Sopranos - with Lorraine Bracco and Michael Imperioli taking to the stage

On the series, Lorraine and Michael never shared a scene but the pair reunited to pay tribute to the show's late star James Gandolfini (pictured on the show in 1999)

The Emmy Awards delighted fans with nostalgic cast reunions of some of the biggest and most beloved shows in television history.

Emmy Awards executive producers Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay revealed in advance that the cast of the Nineties sitcom Martin and the hit legal drama Ally McBeal would be appearing.

Yet fans were left in shock as a slew of more iconic show casts made surprise appearances on stage.

The first of the long-awaited reunions was from one of the most popular shows of all time - HBO's The Sopranos.

Four-time Emmy nominee Lorraine Bracco, who played Tony Soprano's (James Gandolfini) shrink Dr. Jennifer Melfi, and Emmy winner Michael Imperioli, who played Tony's protege Christopher Moltisanti, took the stage in a recreation of Melfi's office.

The pair reunited to pay tribute to the show's late star James Gandolfini, who died at the age of 51 from a massive heart attack in June of 2013 while in Italy.

Audiences were then treated to more reunions as the cast of Cheers, Grey's Anatomy,, All in the Family, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Saturday Night Live - Weekend Update came together on stage.
Love Island fans were left shocked when they discovered Hannah Elizabeth's real age during Monday night's launch episode of All Stars.

Hannah was a contestant on series one of Love Island back in 2015 where she finished as runner-up with Jon Clark who proposed to her in the villa.

The OnlyFans star is now back for another shot at love but fans were shocked when they learned she is 33 years old.

Taking to X, several fans expressed their disbelief with one writing: 'That Hannah woman doesn't look 33 wtf'.

Another fan added: 'No way is Hannah 33, I thought she was in her 40s,' while a third wrote: 'Hannah is a different type of 33'.

Love Island fans were left shocked when they discovered Hannah Elizabeth's real age during Monday night's launch episode of All Stars

Hannah was a contestant on series one of Love Island back in 2015 where she finished as runner-up with Jon Clark who proposed to her in the villa

Hannah, who won first series in 2015, was one of the first to enter villa as she showed off the results of her 'Bratz doll' facial surgery (Right, pictured in 2015)

Agreeing with this sentiment, another wrote: 'Sorry I'm really sorry but I'm struggling to understand how Hannah is 33.'

A fifth added: 'Wait, what? Did Hannah say she is 33? No way.'

Hannah was one of the first people to enter the villa along with series seven contestant Liberty Poole.

She said upon upon entering the All Stars villa: 'Best known for getting engaged on the show. As if that happened, who does that!

'When we got out the villa, it didn't work out. I'm now a mummy, my four year old son Reggie. People think I'm dead high maintenance but I just like to go out for a pint.'

On what she's looking for in a man, she said: 'They just need to have a cool vibe on. The last guy I had a crush on he just ghosted me.'

Along with her age, some other viewers were left shocked by Hannah's changed appearance since she appeared on series one.

The influencer showed off the results of her 'Bratz doll' facial surgery - after heading to Turkey for the procedure in November 2022.

The stunner entered the villa in a skimpy bikini as she showed off her incredibly smooch visage as well as her surgically enhanced assets

The OnlyFans star is now back for another shot at love but fans were shocked when they learned she is 33 years old

The stunner entered the villa in a skimpy bikini as she showed off her incredibly smooch visage as well as her surgically enhanced assets.

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one viewer wrote: 'Hannah is too heavily augmented I'm sorry but she looked 10x better pre surgery'.

While a second commented: 'Hannah looks soooo different'.

The islanders were coupled up by public vote at the end of the first episode with Hannah paired with series five star Anton Danyluk.
Will Mellor has revealed he has undergone lens replacement surgery on both of his eyes after his sight deteriorated rapidly when he hit forty.

The former Coronation Street actor, 47, told his followers that he was nervous before undergoing the op at OCL Vision in London.

Speaking in an Instagram clip, he explained: 'Today is a big day for me. Im about to go in for lens replacement surgery.

'Ive had bad eyes for all my life but since I hit forty my eyes just deteriorated rapidly. Now I need glasses for more or less everything.'

Will said he looked at laser eye surgery but conceded: 'I cant have laser cause I have one short sighted and one long sighted eye and that would mean they could correct only one or the other so Id still need glasses for reading or long distance.'

Will Mellor, 47, has revealed he has undergone lens replacement surgery on both of his eyes after his sight deteriorated rapidly when he hit forty

He continued: 'Whereas lens replacement if all goes well then Ill never need glasses again. So how amazing is that. A bit nervous I cause its my eyes but Im about to go for surgery so Ill let you know how I get on.'

Giving an update after the surgery Will could be seen with plastic shields covering his eyes.

He joked: 'Well Ive just come out of surgery looking very sexy as you can see. Unbelievable. I mean both eyes took about twenty minutes in total to do both eyes if that.

'Not much pain at all, a bit of pressure on the eye like a bit of a headache on the eye but that was it. Unbelievable. Dr Romesh is a genius. A bit blurry but Ill keep you posted. I'll let you know.'

The surgery comes after Will admitted he asked BBC Three bosses to bring back their iconic 90s hit show, Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps, when the channel relaunched.

The actor, who played Gaz Wilkinson, revealed in an exclusive chat with MailOnline that he and other cast members wanted the show to make a comeback.

He said it would have been the perfect time to relaunch the show when the channel came back in February 2022.

He told MailOnline: 'I said I would do another one, just to say thank you to the people who supported it because it ran for ten years.'

The former Coronation Street actor told his followers that he was nervous before undergoing the op, but later admitted his experience was 'unbelievable'

He explained: 'Ive had bad eyes for all my life but since I hit forty my eyes just deteriorated rapidly. Now I need glasses for more or less everything'

Will continued: 'Everyone still talks to me every day in the street about it. Every day, someone will mention it. Their favourite show, growing up and, you know, had a cult following, and it'd be nice to do another series just to see where they are now.

'But it's it's not only getting the cast back together because I know me and Ralph are up for it. It's more about the channels now. They just don't seem to want to.

'I mean, we offered it to BBC, and they said no. And I was just like, I was quite surprised because, you know, they brought Gavin And Stacey back for one, and I think Two Pints went a lot longer than that did.

'But the BBC Three launched their channel back, and I thought, what a perfect way to bring their channel back with a show that was a flagship of theirs. And they said no and they don't want to revisit it. So that was the end of that.

The surgery comes after Will admitted he asked BBC Three bosses to bring back their iconic 90s hit show, Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps, when the channel relaunched (pictured in June)

The actor, who plays Gaz Wilkinson admitted the rest of the cast wanted the show to make a comeback. (Pictured L to R: Kathryn Drysdale as Louise Brooks, Ralf Litte as Jonny Keogh, Sheridan Smith as Janet, Will as Gaz and Natalie Casey as Donna Wilkinson)

'So unless we do it and we put it down as and we put it on a streaming system, whether it be like Netflix or Amazon or whatever, if they want to talk to us, I'm sure we'd talk.

'But, you know, we have got to have a channel, or we've got to have the funds to be able to make it.'

'People like nostalgia and people need comedy. People need comedy in their life, and people need a bit of nostalgia,' he added.

The show, available on BBC iPlayer, follows the lives of five 20-somethings who live in Runcorn, Cheshire, meeting at a local pub to chat about life. It aired from 2001-2011.
Love Island All Stars kicked off with a bang on Monday evening, as several exes came face-to-face with their former partners.

Among the awkward reunions was Liberty Poole and Jake Cornish, who struck up a romance in the seventh series.

The pair were originally favourites to win, but broke up and quit the show just days before the final after Movie Night revelations rocked their romance.

Ahead of her re-entry into the villa, Liberty, 24, admitted it might be 'awkward' coming across an ex-boyfriend in the South African villa and seemingly shut down the possibility of any rekindled romances.

She got a nasty surprise on the launch episode, when she was faced with her ex-boyfriend Jake, 26, walking through the door.

Love Island All Stars kicked off with a bang on Monday evening, as several exes came face-to-face with their former partners, including Liberty Poole and Jake Cornish

The pair were originally favourites to win in series seven, but broke up and quit the show just days before the final after Movie Night revelations rocked their romance (pictured in July 2021)

Ahead of her re-entry into the villa, Liberty, 24, admitted it might be 'awkward' coming across an ex-boyfriend in the South African villa and seemingly shut down the possibility of any rekindled romances

Liberty was left openmouthed as she revealed they hadn't spoken for two years and could only say 'Oh my God' as he came bounding into the South Africa villa.

The shocks didn't stop there, as the couple were then left paired up, after the public voted on who would be matched with who.

The pair shared a turbulent relationship on the show in 2021, with Liberty falling hard and fast for Jake, but her feelings seemingly not being reciprocated.

The couple became the first to become official in series seven, when Jake asking Liberty to be his girlfriend.

However, during the Casa Amor loyalty test, Jake was seen encouraging his male co-stars to play away from their partners.

Clips of this moment were played during the iconic Movie Night, as well as earlier conversations of him talking to the boys about his feelings for Liberty.

In one video he told the guys: 'Her personality is mint, I cant fault her. Its like talking to Jake with a wig on. It's just not that 100 per cent where I look at her and go... I haven't got the girl there where I'm like f*** me I want to rip your clothes off.

'I don't want to fake any s*** you know what I mean? I don't want to say I really do like her when I don't, I'd be lying to myself.'

She got a nasty surprise on the launch episode, when she was faced with her ex-boyfriend Jake, 26, walking through the door, leaving her openmouthed as she revealed they hadn't spoken for two years

The shocks didn't stop there, as the couple were then left paired up, after the public voted on who would be matched with who

Jake was also accused of 'gaslighting' and demonstrating 'toxic' traits after he failed to compliment Liberty, and made comments on her appearance and 'messy habits'.

Liberty was left doubting Jake's feelings for her, and he insisted that he did love her, saying his iconic line: 'You're my girlfriend, you're part of me.'

He added: 'I am honest because I love you. I love you for you. Its scary to say but I do love ya.'

But when Liberty excitedly told the other girls about Jake's confession, they were doubtful that he was being genuine.

Liberty finally broke down as she realised Jake didn't love her the way she was, saying: 'I can tell Im giving him the ick over little things like being messy. Id rather walk out being me.

'Im not saying Jake isnt a genuine guy but I dont want to stay in the villa with someone that doesnt like me or love me.'

The pair then both decided to leave the show just three days before the final after their split, completely shocking their fellow Islanders, while Liberty was left heartbroken.

Ahead of their reunion on All Stars, Liberty said she doesn't regret dumping 'toxic' Jake because she could no longer 'fake' their romance.

The pair shared a turbulent relationship on the show in 2021, with Liberty falling hard and fast for Jake, but her feelings seemingly not being reciprocated

During Movie Night, clips showed Jake encouraging his male co-stars to play away from their partners and admitting to not wanting to 'rip Liberty's clothes off' leading to accusations of 'gaslighting' and demonstrating 'toxic' traits

Liberty finally broke down as she realised Jake didn't love her the way she was and the pair then both decided to leave the show just three days before the final

She also said she had learned from her experience, and vowed not to fall in love so quickly this time after she confessed her feelings for Jake just weeks after they met.

In a subtle dig at her ex, Liberty said this time around she would like to leave with a 'fit' man who has a 'good personality' and a 'good heart' but she intends on pacing herself.

When asked if she would revisit their romance, Liberty replied: 'I am a believer in second chances but me and Jake ended because there were incompatibilities and I didn't regret my decision I will be focusing on new connections.

'One thing about me is I won't fake anything. I am going in to find a connection but if that doesn't happen, that's it.

'I am hoping for a better experience and hopefully this time I do leave with someone because that's the point of going in. Hopefully I do leave with a fittie this time who has a good personality and a good heart.'

Liberty confirmed that she and Jake haven't spoken in two years but she would encourage her ex to focus on pursuing a new romance in the villa and even suggests that they could become friends.

She added: 'I haven't spoken to him since. If he's in there and wants a conversation then I'm happy to do that at the time I didn't have any regrets about my experience in the villa. I did what was right for me.

'I wish him the best and if we were both in there together I want him to focus on finding love because that's what I'm going to be doing.

Ahead of their reunion on All Stars, Liberty said she doesn't regret dumping 'toxic' Jake because she could no longer 'fake' their romance

She also said she had learned from her experience, and vowed not to fall in love so quickly this time after she confessed her feelings for Jake just weeks after they met

'I don't want us being in the same room to take away from each other's experiences. I will be civil maybe we could even be mates who knows?'

The former Dancing On Ice star had sex with Jake after they had committed to each other during their season but Liberty says she doesn't want history repeating itself.

She said: I'm not planning on having sex this time. If you're in a relationship and it happens in the moment then that's not something you can prepare for because it's just a natural progression but I'm not planning on it this time.'

Speaking about possibly being reunited with a former flame, Liberty added: 'It's always going to be awkward isn't it, it's always going to be weird seeing someone that you've been with getting with someone else.

'I wish my exes nothing but the best. I'm going to be focused on my own journey so if it was to happen I won't be worrying about them - so I'll stay focused on my goal, which is to find love.'

Meanwhile, Jake brushed off any potential drama between the pair as he insisted there was no 'bad blood' between them, despite their shock on-screen break-up.

'Well there is only one and that's Liberty. We never ended with any bad blood between us and everything happens for a reason. We just become two different people in the end,' he said.

Of his return, he added: 'I have definitely matured in the two years since first being on the show. I look at things differently and respond differently.

Meanwhile, Jake brushed off any potential drama between the pair as he insisted there was no 'bad blood' between them, despite their shock on-screen break-up

After Liberty and Jake were coupled up again on Monday night, they were quick to shoot down any possibility of rekindling the romance when asked by host Maya Jama

'When it comes to people's opinions, I don't sit on the fence anymore. That is my way of life now, so I will take that into the Villa.'

After Liberty and Jake were coupled up again on Monday night, they were quick to shoot down any possibility of rekindling the romance when asked by host Maya Jama.

Jake put his foot in his mouth, saying: 'I don't hate the girl' when asked if he was happy to be paired with her.

And when Maya asked: 'Is there any room for a rekindle do we think?' both Liberty and Jake immediately shook their heads and in unison replied: 'No.'

However, an insider has hinted that Jake may take the opportunity to try his luck with Liberty once again.

Speaking to The Mirror, the source said: 'Jake is hoping to make amends second time round and will have more reason to be on guard as Liberty's best pal Kaz Kamwi will be by her side.

'There will be no room for messing up even if he does attempt to recouple with Liberty.

'Liberty and Jake had an extremely awkward reunion on Aftersun at the end of their series but it will be nothing compared to discovering they will be living in the same house for weeks on end.

However, an insider has hinted that Jake may take the opportunity to try his luck with Liberty once again

Host Maya advised Liberty to follow her heart, whether it led her back to Jake or to someone new, after the presenter herself got back together with her own ex, Stormzy, last year (pictured with Stormzy in November)

'There were rumours the pair had given things another go after the show but the truth is they've not seen each other for years so things are going to get very uncomfortable.'

Host Maya advised Liberty to follow her heart, whether it led her back to Jake or to someone new, after the presenter herself got back together with her own ex, Stormzy, last year.

She said: 'I think Liberty is going to do what she wants to do. Some people are just meant to be together and some people arent.

'A lot of the girlies are rooting for Lib. Maybe shell find a new love in there but maybe her and Jake will rekindle an old spark.

'I actually cant predict who is going to get together. From that line-up who would know? Some of them have probably never crossed paths and some of them will have history.'
Sadie Frost and Rita Ora rang in Kate Moss' 50th birthday as they led the celebrities paying tribute on Tuesday.

Sharing a montage of snaps to Instagram, actress Sadie, 58, shared some unseen photos of the 'spiritual warrior' while Rita, 33, thanked Kate for her 'guidance.'

The supermodel jetted off to Mustique, a small private island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, to celebrate her milestone birthday.

Joining her in the Caribbean, Sadie gave an insight into their wholesome holiday as she shared a snap of Kate wearing a flower crown.

She captioned the post: ''All grown up darling Kate happy 50th birthday it was so so special celebrating your pre birthday with some of our beautiful friends.'

Sadie Frost and Rita Ora rang in Kate Moss' 50th birthday as they led the celebrities paying tribute on Tuesday (Sadie, left, pictured with Kate, centre)

Sharing a montage of snaps to Instagram, actress Sadie shared some recent photos of the 'spiritual warrior' while Rita, 33, thanked Kate for her 'guidance'

Sadie continued: 'There was so much fun and laughter amongst our celebratory circle #spiritualwarrior. Plus so many memories I will never forget.

'Thank you @rosemaryferguson_ @jessmorris_lamorray @florastarkey @jesshallettcast @katy_england @lilamoss and kate for a lovely time p.s was so nice to get some recent photos of us all.'

Sadie and Kate were the talk of the town as members of the Primrose Hill set, a group of stars with a reputation for 'drink, drugs and bed-hopping'.

The Primrose Hill Set, a name given to the all-star group of edgy residents of the leafy neighbourhood, were known in their heyday for their wild ways with stories of their antics becoming the stuff of legend.

Now, sober and the proud owner of a wellness brand, Cosmoss, Kate rang in her 50th with meditation and yoga.

The model was previously said to have told friends she was also inspired to transform her behaviour by her close pal Sadie.

Sadie has spoken extensively in recent years about her holistic approach to life which has seen her ditch bad habits for meditation and clean-living.

Kate is now said to embrace being tee-total 80 per cent of the time, going to the gym and starting yoga sessions.

The supermodel jetted off to Mustique, a small private island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, to celebrate her milestone birthday

Joining her in the Caribbean, Sadie gave an insight into their wholesome holiday as she shared a snaps of the group

She captioned the post: ''All grown up darling Kate happy 50th birthday it was so so special celebrating your pre birthday with some of our beautiful friends'

Elsewhere, Rita hailed Kate as one of her 'favourite humans' as she shared her own selection of photos.

'Happy birthday to one of my favourite humans on the planet. So grateful for ALL of our memories to many for me to put into one post!' she wrote.

'Thank you for your guidance all of these years and your loyalty and your work ethic is 0 to none. Keep being the star you are and shine for eternity!

Rita concluded: 'I cant wait to celebrate with you weve got so many more memories to make! I love you!'

Arriving on the modelling scene after being discovered at the tender age of 14, Kate rose to fame in the mid 1990s.

Her collaborations with Calvin Klein launched her as a household name and in 2013, she was honoured at the British Fashion Awards to acknowledge her contribution to the fashion industry over the course of 25 years.

Previously describing her happy place as on the dancefloor, Kate has since left London for the west Oxfordshire countryside where she practices transcendental meditation and goes wild swimming in a 'secret place' only the local villagers use.

The fashion icon also believes in the power of positive affirmations to improve one's outlook with 'embrace the unknown' and 'trust the universe and it will lead the way' being among her favourites.

Elsewhere, Rita hailed Kate as one of her 'favourite humans' as she shared her own selection of photos

'Happy birthday to one of my favourite humans on the planet. So grateful for ALL of our memories to many for me to put into one post!' she wrote

'Thank you for your guidance all of these years and your loyalty and your work ethic is 0 to none. Keep being the star you are and shine for eternity!'

Rita concluded: 'I cant wait to celebrate with you weve got so many more memories to make! I love you!'

Despite her new Gwyneth Paltrow-like lifestyle, Kate still allows herself one vice.

'I still smoke occasionally,' she told The Sunday Times. 'I've heard that when you stop, you can really tell [by your skin]. But I haven't stopped... yet.'

The model admitted she is in 'denial' about her upcoming 50th birthday because she does not feel her age.

'I'm not turning 50,' she said. 'No. I'm not thinking about it. I do not feel 50.'

Briefly discussing her party days, Kate told how she now never stays out at a party past midnight, describing it as her 'cut off point'.
Patsy Palmer is shortly making her grand return to Albert Square after a five-year hiatus from the BBC soap.

The EastEnders star, 51, will reprise her role as the fiery Bianca Jackson for a short stint this spring.

And ahead of her return the actress and DJ, who lives in Malibu with her husband Richard Merkell and her children Charley, 31, Fenton, 24, Emilia, 22, and Bertie, 13, has admitted that the BBC show is the 'toughest job' she's ever done.

Speaking on Viv Groskop's How To Own The Room podcast last week, Patsy referred her soap return like 'putting on an old pair of slippers'.

She said: 'I must admit, when I see people in EastEnders, when I go back to work it is like putting on an old pair of slippers.

Patsy Palmer, 51, is shortly making her grand return to Albert Square after a five-year hiatus from the BBC soap

The EastEnders star will reprise her role as the fiery Bianca Jackson for a short stint this spring

'They are family. I spent more time with them when I was in the show than with any of my own family.'

She added: 'Looking back now, everything was so much bigger at the time. I was very young and we were thrown into the height of fame not realising there were 22 million people watching us.

'At some moments in all that madness back in the 1990 it would hit you and you would feel so overwhelmed and the anxiety would kick in. If you suffer from anxiety attacks, you dont know what is happening.

'For me it was very environmental and about what was happening around me and what was happening in my life at that time. People see all the awards and people think it is glamorous, but it is the hardest work I have ever had at EastEnders.

'Being a performer, it is not for the faint-hearted. Sustaining life as a performer for years, like my whole life since I was six, you need breaks, big breaks.

'It is a tough job and no wonder so many suffer from anxiety, depression at times due to that level of responsibility that we have to have. It is a big responsibility. I felt like that whole time in my life was massive.

'It was enormous for me and was I thrust into this character in a soap opera. It was huge. So, yeah, who would be able to cope with that.'

Bianca was last seen in Walford in September 2019 to attend the ill-fated wedding of step-daughter Whitney Dean, (played by Shona McGarty) to Callum Highway (played by Tony Clay) amid the latter's relationship with Ben Mitchell (played by Max Bowden).

And ahead of her return the actress and DJ, who lives in Malibu with her husband Richard Merkell and her children Charley, 31, Fenton, 24, Emilia, 22, and Bertie, 13, has admitted that the BBC show is the 'toughest job' she's ever done

Speaking on Viv Groskop's How To Own The Room podcast last week, Patsy referred her soap return like 'putting on an old pair of slippers'

She said: 'I must admit, when I see people in EastEnders, when I go back to work it is like putting on an old pair of slippers'

She added: 'People see all the awards and people think it is glamorous, but it is the hardest work I have ever had at EastEnders'

In the upcoming episodes, she will be visited by Whitney and her partner Zack Hudson (James Farrar) following her off-screen break-up with Terry Spraggan (Terry Alderton).

The character will return in 'a special episode focusing on Whitney and the drama she faces in Milton Keynes' where Bianca now lives, the BBC teased.

Recently talking about her return to the Square, Patsy said: 'I'm so excited to be reprising the role of Bianca.

'EastEnders holds such a special place in my heart, so it's always a pleasure to be back.'

Chris Clenshaw, EastEnders executive producer, said: 'I'm thrilled to welcome the fabulous Patsy back to the iconic role of Bianca Jackson.

'Although the character was last seen on-screen in 2019, Bianca still remains a fan favourite.

'We know our audiences will be thrilled at her return as she is thrust into the heart of the drama alongside step-daughter Whitney.'

Bianca arrived in Albert Square in 1993 as the daughter of Carol Jackson (Lindsey Coulson).

Patsy's character Bianca is best known for her tumultuous romantic relationship with Ricky Butcher, played by Sid Owen (pictured), who she yelled 'Rickaaaaaaay' at

Bianca arrived in Albert Square in 1993 as the daughter of Carol Jackson (Lindsey Coulson)

Since leaving Eastenders Patsy has been living in America with her children and husband Richard, after they relocated in 2014

The actress - who is referred to as her real name Julie in the States - has calved out a successful career as a DJ

Last year she featured on ITV1's Dancing On Ice where she was partnered with skater Matt Evers but was voted off after pulling out the stops for Spice Girls routine during Icons Week

She is best known for her tumultuous romantic relationship with Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen), who she yelled 'Rickaaaaaaay' at.

Her storylines also involved finding out that David Wicks (Michael French) was her father and discovering the abuse of Whitney.

Bianca's sister Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) continues to be a feature of the soap.

Since leaving Eastenders Patsy has been living in America with her children and husband Richard, after they relocated in 2014.

The actress - who is referred to as her real name Julie in the States - has calved out a successful career as a DJ and previously competed in BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing in 2005 with professional dancer Anton Du Beke.

Last year she featured on ITV1's Dancing On Ice where she was partnered with skater Matt Evers.

Patsy has already started filming her scenes, which will air in the Spring on BBC One.
Mel Schilling issued an urgent health warning on Tuesday evening after revealing her personal battle with bowel cancer.

The Married At First Sight star took to Instagram to urge her followers to listen to their bodies, in a post shared to her Instagram.

'Listen to your body, if something feels wrong ask for help,' she began, before adding, 'Dont gaslight yourself, you know your body better than anyone else.'

She then implored her fans to take take a 'poo test' if they notice something irregular in the bathroom.

'If your bowel habits have changed ask your GP for a *Poo Test* (aka a FIT Test) its a quick, simple, painless test that will indicate any signs of bowel cancer,' she continued.

Married At First Sight's Mel Schilling issued an urgent health warning on Tuesday evening after revealing her personal battle with bowel cancer. Pictured

The Married At First Sight star took to Instagram to urge her followers to listen to their bodies, in a post shared to her Instagram. 'Listen to your body, if something feels wrong ask for help,' she began, before adding, 'Dont gaslight yourself, you know your body better than anyone else'

Mel closed her health warning by advocating people do their best to lead a healthy lifestyle.

'Prevention is better than a cure, so live the healthiest lifestyle you can,' she wrote.

Mel's openness about her condition serves as a wake-up call to many, urging them to take their health seriously and to not hesitate in seeking medical advice.

In true Mel fashion, she didn't miss the chance to shout out the 'real' star of the show, her stylish Karen Millen dress, bringing a touch of her signature charm and grace to the serious discussion.

Mel, who appears on the British and Australian versions of the show, revealed she had colon cancer in an Instagram post on December 19.

She posted a photo of herself hugging her husband Gareth Brisbane, 51, and their daughter Madison, eight, alongside the caption: '"You have cancer." Three little words that everyone dreads but no one ever expects to hear.

'Last Thursday my consultant told me those three words.'

She then implored her fans to take take a 'poo test' if they notice something irregular in the bathroom. 'If your bowel habits have changed ask your GP for a *Poo Test* (aka a FIT Test) its a quick, simple, painless test that will indicate any signs of bowel cancer,' she continued

Mel, who appears on the British and Australian versions of the show, revealed she had colon cancer in an Instagram post on December 19

Mel said she was diagnosed just one month after she began to feel pain in her stomach while filming MAFS Australia's upcoming eleventh season.

'About a month ago, when I was filming in Australia, I developed severe stomach cramps on set. I put it down to all the travel I'd been doing and the upset it caused to my system,' she explained.

'I saw my GP in Sydney and he put it down to constipation, gave me some laxatives and sent me on my way.'

Despite her doctor's initial assessment, Schilling said she knew her condition was more serious and booked herself a scan when she travelled to the UK.

'On Thursday I was told I had colon cancer and in an instant my whole life changed,' she wrote.

In addition to the UK version, Mel will soon return to screens alongside fellow experts John Aiken and Alessandra Rampolla for the eleventh season of the Aussie version of the hit dating show.
When he won the Outstanding Support Actor award for Succession at Sunday's Emmys, Matthew Macfadyen was quick to praise his wife Keeley Hawes, branding her his 'best friend' and also paying tribute to their children.

In the HBO hit, the central storyline for his character Tom Wambsgans was the toxic relationship with wife Siobhan 'Shiv' Roy (Sarah Snook) against the backdrop of a show riddled with backstabbing, twists and drama.

Yet away from the screen, Matthew, 49, is happily loved-up with fellow actor Keeley, 47, with the pair sharing two children and he is stepfather to her first born.

The couple, who will celebrate 20 years of marriage this November, are lauded for having one of the strongest marriages in Hollywood, with the pair still just as smitten and committed to one another with every year that passes, despite their hectic work schedules.

Yet while their relationship may look like a fairytale, Matthew has confessed it didn't get off to the best of starts, previously describing the moment he fell in love with Keeley as 'awful.'

His greatest Success(ion): How Matthew Macfadyen's marriage to Keeley Hawes went from an 'awful' start to a Hollywood fairytale (pictured at Monday night's Emmy Awards)

Keeley was newly-married to cartoonist Spencer McCallum, with baby son Myles, when she first met Matthew in 2002 when they co-starred in BBC drama Spooks (pictured on the show)

Keeley was newly-married to cartoonist Spencer McCallum, with baby son Myles, when she first met Matthew in 2002.

The pair met starring in BBC spy drama Spooks (known as MI-5 in the States) and were spotted kissing in June that year.

Yet Keeley insisted that nothing happened between them until her marriage ended, saying: 'I'm sure nobody would believe we never had an affair but we really didn't.'

Speaking about the fairytale moment they first said the L word, Keeley recalled: 'Matthew just came straight out with it and said "I love you" in the rain one day. I thought, "Oh dear, here we go.'

Her divorce from Spencer was finalised in 2004 and in November of that year she wed Matthew. They welcomed their first child, daughter Maggie, the following month.

Keeley has revealed there is no bad blood with her ex, explaining: 'Spencer and I were best friends before we married, and weve managed to stay that way.

'Happily, both my husband and my ex-husband get along brilliantly. They are both generous people, to each other and to the children.'

Speaking to the Mail On Sunday in 2005, Matthew confessed he was in turmoil when he first met Keeley as he realised he had feelings for a married woman.

He explained: 'It was awful because I realised I'd fallen for her.

'We weren't having an affair and it was a slow process. But I knew the effect she had on me. She's gorgeous. Everyone who meets her will tell you the same thing.'

When Matthew picked up his second Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series Emmy on Monday he was quick to thank his wife in his acceptance speech

In Succession, the storyline for his character Tom Wambsgans was the toxic relationship with wife Siobhan 'Shiv' Roy (Sarah Snook) yet away from the screen, Tom, 49, is happily loved-up

Matthew, who played MI5 agent Tom Quinn in Spooks and Keeley, who shot to fame as agent Zoe Reynolds, revealed the couple's lives 'changed completely' when they eloped, saying: 'We rang a mate each to come along as witnesses and people brought little throwaway cameras to take pictures.

'I read a poem and Keeley cried her eyes out. It was wonderful and romantic.

'Keeley was heavily pregnant with our daughter and the whole thing seemed perfect to me... To get married, celebrate my 30th and then become a father, in quick succession, was fantastic.'

They welcomed son Ralph in 2006.

READ MORE: Why Matthew Mcfadyen is Succession's greatest success Advertisement

The following year, the couple worked together again on a new project as they appeared in 2007 comedy Death at a Funeral.

They also co-starred in Stonehouse last year, dramatising the life and times of disgraced British government minister John Stonehouse,

The series followed love cheat Labour MP John Stonehouse, who faked his own death before running off with his mistress and later being exposed as a spy.

While playing the jilted wife in the show, Keeley insisted that her union was the complete opposite to that of politician John and Barbara.

She told the Mirror: 'We have worked together before, but not for several years. And so when this came up, it seemed like the perfect project on so many levels really, mostly because the Stonehouses are so different to Matthew and I and to our relationship.

'So its nice to see us, I think, and interesting for people who may know that we are married to see us as the "other" couple.'

She told Matthew: 'It was really wonderful. It was very jolly, wasnt it?'

He responded: 'Yeah, it was very difficult working with Keeley.

'Shes... it was hard. It was hard. No, thats a silly answer. It was joyful working with Keeley. It was nice, wasnt it?'

He added to Town & Country: 'We got to see each other, which is really nice. So often were sort of scattered in different countries. But the idea of going to work together was just great. We even took the dog.'

Yet working together is rare for the pair, who revealed how they manage to keep their marriage spark alive when torn apart on shoots.

The couple have worked together since Spooks and starred in 2007 comedy Death at a Funeral together before working on Stonehouse last year (pictured)

Yet working together is rare for the pair, who revealed how they manage to keep their marriage spark alive when torn apart on shoots (pictured in 2005)

The couple prove to be each other's biggest champions when they're not working together (pictured in 2022)

Matthew told The Evening Standard in 2021: 'Keeley and I have a three-week rule  neither of us wants to be apart for any longer. So after three weeks on my own, I started to go a bit mad.

'You start to think. "What am I doing?" I'd be walking around Brooklyn, thinking, "where do I live?" It was odd and hard.'

For the lovesick pair, they'll do whatever it takes to go the distance, with Keeley telling The Telegraph in 2010: 'I love being married to Matthew, and I know Matthew loves being married too.

'It ties everything up and it's a statement to each other and to the world. Marriage and being a mother are absolutely crucial to my happiness and my life.'

She added to The Daily Mail's You magazine: 'You have to work at it. We still fill up the dishwasher and put a wash onthats lifebut you also have to make the effort to be romantic.

'When life takes over, going out to dinner together isnt top of your list, but before you know it, the children are older and around less and youre sort of back together again. I couldnt love him more. It helps that hes the nicest man in the world.'

The couple prove to be each other's biggest champions when they're not working together.

When Keeley was nominated for a BAFTA in 2015 for her role in Line of Duty, Matthew told The Big Issue: 'It is so exciting  about f***ing time!

'Trying to keep our careers going and focus on our family is tricky, but that is part of the fun. How do we make this work? Will we traumatise the children if we are not there for a few weeks?

'But when one of us is working away, the other is usually at home.'

When Keeley was nominated for a BAFTA in 2015 for her role in Line of Duty, Matthew told The Big Issue: 'It is so exciting  about f***ing time!' (pictured in 2019)

When Matthew won his first Emmy in 2022 for Succession, Keeley shouted about his achievement on Instagram

When Matthew won his first Emmy in 2022 for Succession, Keeley shouted about his achievement on Instagram, posting a picture of Matthew with his award and the caption: 'I could not be prouder of my gorgeous, talented, kind, and brilliant husband.'

When Matthew picked up his second Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series Emmy on Monday he was quick to thank his wife in his acceptance speech.

He made a joke about his on-screen relationships as he began: 'Our stellar cast, I must make mention to my onscreen wife Sarah Snook and my other onscreen wife, Nicholas Braun. Acting with you has been one of the most wonderful things of my career, thank you Nick, thank you Sarah.'

He went on to mention his family as he continued: 'Thank you to my actual wife, Keeley, my love and my best friend for being here. Maggie, Miles and Ralph, I love you, I'll see you soon.

'Thank you so much, this is a great honour.'
Love Island: All Stars contestant Jake Cornish will only receive 2,000 following his three days on the show.

Instead of earning a lucrative signup fee, the returning Islander, 26, was promised 2,000 for every week he remained on the ITV2 series.

And after quitting the show following just 72 hours in the South African villa, Jake won't see a notable difference to his bank balance.

Former stars of the show have all agreed to take part without an initial join-up fee, earning 2,000 each for every week they remain on the programme.

The total earnings for the future winners are a potential 12,000 each but MailOnline believes there is NO cash prize for the Love Island: All Star champions.

Love Island: All Stars contestant Jake Cornish will only receive 2,000 following his three days on the show

Instead of earning a lucrative signup fee, the returning Islander, 26, was promised 2,000 for every week he remained on the ITV2 series

And after quitting the show following just 72 hours in the South African villa, Jake won't see a notable difference to his bank balance (pictured with Liberty Poole)

A source revealed: 'Everyone is being treated the same on Love Island: All Stars there was no negotiation for stars of the show to take part despite their status and fan base.

'Jake will have only earned a total of 2,000 to be on the series, which isn't bad for three days' work but wont have been what he was hoping for.

'There isn't a cash prize for the winners either, everyone knows that the Islanders are already famous in their own right so offering a lump sum wasn't what producers wanted.'

Jake, who starred on series seven of the show, faced an awkward reunion with ex-girlfriend Liberty Poole, 24, when he entered the South African villa.

The reality star reportedly decided he 'couldn't stay' after the public voted for the exes to be coupled up together on Monday night's launch show.

'Jake was really shocked to see Liberty in the villa... they had no idea the other person would be there,' a source told The Sun.

'It was clear from the start they wouldn't get back together, then none of the girls wanted to step forward for him.

'Jake had a nice three days and emotional chat with Maya Jama but he couldn't stay in the villa so quit the show. It's just not his time.'

Former stars of the show have all agreed to take part without an initial join-up fee, earning 2,000 each for every week they remain on the programme

The total earnings for the future winners are a potential 12,000 each but MailOnline believes there is NO cash prize for the Love Island: All Star champions

MailOnline has contacted ITV and Jake's representatives for comment.

Jake and Liberty were among 12 former Islanders who appeared on the new spin-off show. The series sees past contestants head into the villa to try to find love once more.

Ahead of her re-entry, Liberty admitted it might be 'awkward' coming across her ex and seemingly shut down the possibility of any rekindled romances.

She got a nasty surprise when - not only was she was faced with her ex-boyfriend Jake - but the public voted for them to form a couple.

Liberty revealed they hadn't spoken for two years and could only say 'Oh my God' as she saw him walk through the villa.

Jake and Liberty were among 12 former Islanders who appeared on the new spin-off show. They split after a brief romance when they starred in the show back in 2021 (pictured)

Ahead of her re-entry into the villa, Liberty, 24, admitted it might be 'awkward' coming across an ex-boyfriend

They were quick to shoot down any possibility of rekindling the romance when asked by host Maya.

When Maya asked: 'Is there any room for a rekindle do we think?' both Liberty and Jake immediately shook their heads and in unison replied: 'No.'

The pair shared a turbulent relationship on the show in 2021, with Liberty falling hard and fast for Jake, but her feelings seemingly not being reciprocated.

The couple became the first to become official in series seven.

However, during the Casa Amor loyalty test, Jake was seen encouraging his male co-stars to play away from their partners.

Clips of this moment were played during the iconic Movie Night, as well as earlier conversations of him talking to the boys about his feelings for Liberty.

In one video he told the guys: 'Her personality is mint, I can't fault her. It's like talking to Jake with a wig on. It's just not that 100 per cent where I look at her and go... I haven't got the girl there where I'm like f*** me I want to rip your clothes off.

'I don't want to fake any s*** you know what I mean? I don't want to say I really do like her when I don't, I'd be lying to myself.'

Jake was also accused of 'gaslighting' and demonstrating 'toxic' traits after he failed to compliment Liberty, and made comments on her appearance and 'messy habits.'

The exes hadn't spoken for two years before the All Stars show.

Liberty previously said she would encourage her ex to focus on pursuing a new romance in the villa if he was to enter before the launch.

She got a nasty surprise on the launch episode, when she was faced with her ex-boyfriend Jake, 26, walked through the door

She said: 'I haven't spoken to him since. If he's in there and wants a conversation then I'm happy to do that at the time I didn't have any regrets about my experience in the villa. I did what was right for me.

'I wish him the best and if we were both in there together I want him to focus on finding love because that's what I'm going to be doing.

'I don't want us being in the same room to take away from each other's experiences. I will be civil maybe we could even be mates who knows?'

Meanwhile, Jake brushed off any potential drama between the pair before entering the villa as he insisted there was no 'bad blood' between them, despite their shock on-screen break-up.

'Well there is only one and that's Liberty. We never ended with any bad blood between us and everything happens for a reason. We just become two different people in the end,' he said.

Love Island: All Stars continues on ITV2 at 9pm
Netflix fans have slammed one of the platforms' original movies just days after it was released.

Many reported that they 'gave up' on watching the 'atrocious' film rather than bothering to finish it.

The streaming giant dropped Lift, starring Kevin Hart on January 12, and it was the UK's most popular film of the day at time of writing.

The heist comedy, also featuring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, follows a crew of professional thieves who have taken on a seemingly impossible mission - to steal $500 million in gold bars from the cargo hold of an aeroplane while it is mid-flight.

The movie had been set to land last August, however, this date was pushed back as a result of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Netflix fans have slammed the new film Lift , branding it 'atrocious' just days after its January 12 release

The film, starring Kevin Hart and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (pictured at the movie's London photocall), follows a crew of professional thieves who have taken on a seemingly impossible mission - to steal $500 million in gold bars from the cargo hold of an aeroplane while it is mid-flight

Critics of the new Netflix movie took to X to vent their frustration as many admitted that they could not bear watching to the end

Critics of the new Netflix movie took to X to vent their frustration.

They commented: 'Awful film. Gave up 20 minutes in as made no sense...

'Was not worth the wait...

'Swapped to another film after 10 mins...

'Don't waste your time watching this...

'Rubbish!...

'Dreadful, dreadful film!...

'Watched it yesterday, my brain has tried to protect itself by already forgetting any details.'

And the critics seem to agree with this majority of comments, with Rotten Tomatoes giving the film a critics' score of just 31 per cent - even lower than its audience score of 34 per cent.

It has a more generous, but still modest, 5.5 out of 10 on IMDb.

While the film's reception among critics was also poor, there were viewers coming to its defence

However, there were also plenty of viewers coming to Lift's defence online, commenting: 'I see a lot of people saying this was a bad movie I disagree @KevinHart4real showed range wasnt loud like he was in his first few movies this was good to me...

'Awesome Movie...

'Watched it last night, good film. Love the jet...

'Great film! Hope its a great success and we get a sequel!'
Married At First Sight expert Mel Schilling has revealed she 'ignored the signs' of her colon cancer and is already back at work weeks after undergoing surgery.

The TV star, 52, who appears on the British and Australian versions of the show, revealed she had colon cancer in an Instagram post on December 19.

Speaking on Tuesday's This Morning about her diagnosis, she said: 'I was ignoring the signs for such a long time, my energy had dropped and I was doubled over and shouting in pain.

'I was doing a lot of international travel so I blamed it on the travel. In my mind I had a busy year and I thought I could rest in December.'

Mel eventually went to a GP in Australia who thought she had constipation but she went to a specialist after returning to the UK after being unable to keep water down.

Married At First Sight expert Mel Schilling has revealed she 'ignored the signs' of her colon cancer and is already back at work weeks after undergoing surgery

The TV star, 52, who appears on the British and Australian versions of the show, revealed she had colon cancer in an Instagram post on December 19

The specialist pinpointed she had colon cancer right away and, in helping to keep her spirits up, Mel has named her tumor 'Terry'.

The star added she is lucky she caught the tumour early but noted she could never feel it.

She said: 'It's a good news story. It has been tough but it was early intervention. It could have been different had I waited a month later.'

When she made the announcement, Mel posted a photo of herself hugging her husband Gareth Brisbane, 51, and their daughter Madison, eight, alongside the caption: '"You have cancer." Three little words that everyone dreads but no one ever expects to hear.

'Last Thursday my consultant told me those three words.'

Mel said she was diagnosed just one month after she began to feel pain in her stomach while filming MAFS Australia's upcoming eleventh season.

'About a month ago, when I was filming in Australia, I developed severe stomach cramps on set. I put it down to all the travel I'd been doing and the upset it caused to my system,' she explained.

'I saw my GP in Sydney and he put it down to constipation, gave me some laxatives and sent me on my way.'

She said: 'I was ignoring the signs for such a long time, my energy had dropped and I was doubled over and shouting in pain'

Mel eventually went to a GP in Australia who thought she had constipation but she went to a specialist after returning to the UK who told her she had cancer

She said: 'It's a good news story. It has been tough but it was early intervention. It could have been different had I waited a month later'

Despite her doctor's initial assessment, Schilling said she knew her condition was more serious and booked herself a scan when she travelled to the UK.

READ MORE: Mel Schilling shares painful details about her bowel cancer symptoms and admits she initially 'ignored' the worrying signs Mel Schilling shocked fans last month when she revealed she was battling colon cancer Pictured: Mel shared details about her symptoms in a new video Advertisement

'On Thursday I was told I had colon cancer and in an instant my whole life changed,' she wrote.

Despite her heartbreaking situation, Mel said she feels 'incredibly blessed' her cancer is 'relatively easy to eradicate'.

'I'm expected to make a full recovery though it's a rough road ahead,' she wrote, adding: 'I also feel so lucky to have an incredible support network around me, both personally and professionally, my own family and my TV family have been amazing this past few days.'

Mel concluded her post by encouraging her social media followers to seek medical advice whenever something feels off.

'I just wanted to finish by saying that if something doesn't feel right, please, please don't ignore it and if you don't think the answers you have got are right, keep going until you do, it might just save your life.'

Common symptoms of colon cancer include a change in bowel habits, rectal bleeding, anal or rectal pain, lumps, unexpected weight loss, fatigue and anaemia.

Doctors recommend that people with an average risk of the cancer start screening at around age 45.

Those with a higher risk should start screening earlier.

Colon cancer treatment usually involves surgical removal of the cancer.

Other treatments like radiation therapy and chemotherapy may be recommended, depending on the location and stage of the cancer.

In addition to the UK version of MAFS, Mel will soon return to screens alongside fellow experts John Aiken and Alessandra Rampolla for the eleventh season of the Aussie version of the hit dating show.
Kate Moss's very louche 30th birthday party had the theme 'Beautiful and the Damned' and is rumoured to have ended in an orgy at Claridge's hotel in Mayfair, while her 40th was an epic, four-day Glastonbury-themed bash at her country home in the Cotswolds.

To mark her next milestone birthday, the supermodel and her closest friends had a very 'grown up' celebration somewhere warmer.

I hear that Moss, who turned 50 on Tuesday, enjoyed a pre-birthday holiday in Mustique, the playground of the rich and famous in the West Indies.

She was joined by her daughter, Lila, 21, who's followed her footsteps into modelling, and by friends including Sadie Frost, her fellow former member of the Primrose Hill set known for their hedonistic antics in the 1990s.

Others on the trip were Rosemary Ferguson, the model-turned-nutritionist, fashion stylist Katy England, floral designer Flora Starkey, fashion casting director Jess Shallet and designer Jess Morris.

Kate Moss appears to have ditched her 'party girl' image once and for all, after celebrating her 50th birthday on a booze-free 'spiritual' retreat on the private island of Mustique

She was joined by her daughter, Lila, 21, (second right) who's followed her footsteps into modelling, and by friends including Sadie Frost (second left)

Others on the trip were Rosemary Ferguson (far left), model-turned-nutritionist, stylist Katy England (third right), floral designer Flora Starkey (centre), fashion casting director Jess Shallet (second right) and designer Jess Morris (third left)

Moss, who launched her 'wellness' brand Cosmoss, in 2022, was dressed as a 'spiritual warrior' in one holiday snap that Frost, 58, shared online.

The birthday girl could be seen wearing a floral crown and a garland of flowers round her neck as she sat in the sand among her circle of friends on the beach.

'All grown up darling Kate,' Frost writes, describing her friend as a 'spiritual warrior'.

She says: 'It was so, so special celebrating your pre-birthday with some of our beautiful friends...there was so much fun and laughter amongst our celebratory circle.

'Plus so many memories I will never forget. P.S. It was so nice to get some recent photos of us all.'

Mustique has been beloved by the jet-set since Lord Glenconner bought it in the 1960s and gave Princess Margaret a ten-acre plot as a wedding present.

The tiny private island is a favourite of the Prince and Princess of Wales and home to rock stars Sir Mick Jagger and Bryan Adams, as well as U.S. fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger.

Kate is now said to embrace being tee-total 80 per cent of the time, going to the gym and starting yoga sessions.

Moss, who launched her 'wellness' brand Cosmoss, in 2022, was dressed as a 'spiritual warrior' in one holiday snap that Frost, 58, shared online, with the girls all wearing Hansine

Mustique has been beloved by the jet-set since Lord Glenconner bought it in the 1960s and gave Princess Margaret a ten-acre plot as a wedding present

Kate is now said to embrace being tee-total 80 per cent of the time, going to the gym and starting yoga sessions

During the 1990s, Kate was a fixture on the party scene and was part of the famous Primrose Hill set that were regularly seen living it up in London

Arriving on the modelling scene after being discovered at the tender age of 14, Kate rose to fame in the mid 1990s.

Her collaborations with Calvin Klein launched her as a household name and in 2013, she was honoured at the British Fashion Awards to acknowledge her contribution to the fashion industry over the course of 25 years.

Previously describing her happy place as on the dancefloor, Kate has since left London for the west Oxfordshire countryside where she practices transcendental meditation and goes wild swimming in a 'secret place' only the local villagers use.

The fashion icon also believes in the power of positive affirmations to improve one's outlook with 'embrace the unknown' and 'trust the universe and it will lead the way' being among her favourites.

Despite her new Gwyneth Paltrow-like lifestyle, Kate still allows herself one vice.

'I still smoke occasionally,' she told The Sunday Times. 'I've heard that when you stop, you can really tell [by your skin]. But I haven't stopped... yet.'

The model admitted she is in 'denial' about her upcoming 50th birthday because she does not feel her age.

'I'm not turning 50,' she said. 'No. I'm not thinking about it. I do not feel 50.'

Briefly discussing her party days, Kate told how she now never stays out at a party past midnight, describing it as her 'cut off point'.

To learn more sparkling gossip, read Eden Confidential in Wednesday's Daily Mail.
MARCH 2020

Kate revealed she and Prince Charles had got 'relatively close' at the Prince's Trust Awards on March 11 - Charles was diagnosed with coronavirus in mid-March.

She said: 'Around the 29/30 March, I came home came in and said [to Derek] 'god you look ill.'

'He said he had a headache, numbness in his right hand, and was struggling to breathe,

'I rang Dr Hilary (Jones) and tried to get through, he talked to Derek. He said put me back on, I think you need to call an ambulance'

Derek, 52, was taken into hospital on March 30 and remained in an unresponsive condition.

APRIL

Kate and her children isolated at home after she displayed 'mild symptoms'.

Kate said: 'Derek remains in intensive care and is still very ill. I'm afraid it remains an excruciatingly worrying time.

'I'm afraid he is still in a deeply critical condition, but he is still here, which means there is hope.'

MAY

Kate said: 'The journey for me and my family seems to be far from over as every day my heart sinks as I learn new and devastating ways this virus has more battles for Derek to fight.

'But he is still HERE & so there is still hope.'

That month, Kate and her family took part in the final clap for carers

She said: 'I'll never give up on that because Derek's the love of my life but at the same time I have absolute uncertainty'

JUNE

On June 5, Kate revealed Derek is now free from coronavirus but continues to fight against the damage inflicted on his body

JULY

On July 5, Kate revealed Derek has woken from his coma but he remains in a serious yet critical condition.

On July 8, she announced she would be returning to GMB, after being urged by doctors to 'get on with life' during Derek's recovery.

She added that Derek had 'opened his eyes' after waking from his coma, but has been told his recovery could take years.

On July 13, Kate returned to GMB for the first time since Derek was hospitalised.

On July 28, Kate revealed she'd paid an 'extra emotional' first visit to Derek, and admitted she's 'frustrated' by his slow progress.

AUGUST

On August 14, Kate reassured GMB viewers that Derek was 'still with us,' but it was 'a waiting game.'

On August 19, Kate revealed she celebrated Derek's birthday with their two children, and described the day as 'challenging' for her family.

SEPTEMBER

At the end of September, Derek reportedly becomes the longest surviving patient with coronavirus after spending 184 days in and out of intensive care.

Kate reveals Derek has lost eight stone during his battle.

The presenter announces she is returning to her Smooth Radio show so Derek can hear her voice.

OCTOBER

On October 30 Kate reveals that Derek has spoken for the first time in seven months, saying the word 'pain' to his wife, who watched on 'in tears' over FaceTime.

Kate says a day later that her husband no longer needs a ventilator to breathe.

NOVEMBER

Kate reveals her family car has been stolen in latest 'body blow' to her family life, as kind-hearted fans offer their cars to help.

She says she feels 'physically sick' at the prospect of facing her first Christmas without Derek.

DECEMBER

The GMB star tells viewers it is her dream to visit Derek on Christmas Day.

She also reveals she missed two weeks on GMB after her children were exposed to the virus, but thankfully she and the kids tested negative.

On December 17, Kate has an emotional conversation live on GMB with two nurses who treated Derek when he was first admitted to Whittington Hospital in North London.

On New Year's Eve she reflects on a 'calamitous' Christmas without Derek, as her house was flooded and she struggled to get a food delivery slot until her pal Emma Willis stepped in to help.

JANUARY 2021

Kate reveals she and her children got to visit Derek in hospital over the Christmas period, and it was the first time her family had seen him since he was hospitalised.

She also says she's banned from seeing him due to new restrictions introduced during the government's third lockdown.

FEBRUARY

Kate reveals she is unsure how much Derek will 'ever be able to recover' following warning from doctors that he may never wake from his coma

MARCH

Kate revealed that was in the process of adapting her home to suit Derek's needs when he is finally released from hospital, in the ITV documentary Finding Derek.

The programmed was praised by viewers for offering a heartbreaking look at the long-term effects of coronavirus.

Kate also revealed that Derek has 'no muscle left' since battling Covid

APRIL

Kate revealed that Derek was finally allowed to leave hospital, but would require round-the-clock care once he was returned home.

MAY

Kate revealed that despite now being home with his family, his communication abilities were 'minimal' and he 'couldn't really move'

DECEMBER

During an appearance on Piers Morgan's Life Stories, Kate revealed that Derek had said 'I love you' for the first time.

After celebrating Christmas, Derek was also pictured in a wheelchair during a trip to the pantomime with his family

JANUARY 2022

Kate revealed that Derek was 'very fatigued' and 'very weak' following the family outing, adding: 'I don't know what this year is going to bring.'

FEBRUARY

Kate offered a glimpse into the daily struggles of looking after her husband amid his battle with long Covid in the documentary Caring For Derek

She also revealed that Derek would die within three days if he was left alone to care for himself.

JULY

On July 6, Kate revealed that Derek had been re-admitted to hospital after suffering a 'downturn,' and in a later interview said she takes things 'day by day.'

On July 20, it was reported that Kate had pulled out of hosting Good Morning Britain to be at Derek's bedside after he took a 'very serious' turn for the worse.

Recalling the day, the presenter told The Sun: 'At one point Derek said to me, "This is it, this time. I am gone." It was just terrifying.

'His sepsis was gut-wrenching for all of us because it had gone undiagnosed until the point where it was about to take his life away again.'

JANUARY 2023

Kate became overwhelmed as she confronted former health secretary Matt Hancock over his handling of the pandemic and his decision to go on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here.

She then became tearful and looked up as she spoke about Derek, who has been unwell for approaching three years.

Describing public anger towards him, Kate added of his decision: 'This gives the impression you still don't get why they are cross. You still don't get why people are upset. They want to hold you to more account.'

APRIL

Kate revealed that Derek was once again receiving care in hospital, as she shared the emotional moment Sir Elton John dedicated a song to the 'inspiring' couple.

She shared the emotional moment Sir Elton John dedicated a song to the 'inspiring' couple, writing on Instagram: 'Yes Derek has been back in hospital this week & yes there's such a long road ahead but #eltonjohn & @davidfurnish you gave the kids & Derek a moment that we will never forget and has lifted their spirits again to feel anything is possible.'

It was also reported that Kate was planning a trip across the world for pioneering treatment in a 'final hope' to help her husband.

MAY

Kate reportedly faced a huge 716,000 tax bill after she was forced to close her husband's business two years after he became stricken with Covid-19.

The final total will be settled within the coming weeks, with friends insisting she will pay whatever is owed.

A friend told The Sun: 'The figures are terrifying and Kate is of course worried about all the financial pressures, but she has to trust the process.

'When it comes to an end, she is determined to pay back anything that's owed.

'It's no secret that Kate has been battling to keep her husband alive and working through some heartbreaking situations in her personal life in recent years.

'Sadly as well as the emotional stress of Derek's terrible illnesses the financial burden has also been crippling.'

DECEMBER

Derek was left fighting for his life after suffering a heart attack.

Kate held a 24/7 vigil by his bedside and cancelled all work commitments while the family 'prayed for a miracle'.

A source said: 'It was sudden and a shock as he had been doing so well and was in great spirits, looking forward to Christmas at home with the family.

'This setback has been a huge blow for his family and all the people caring for him. Kate is by his side 24 hours a day and is willing him on to win this latest battle for his life.

'Derek has fought so many times, and always, against all odds, come out the other side.'

JANUARY 2024

Kate announced on January 5 that Derek had passed away.

She said: 'Derek was surrounded by his family in his final days and I was by his side holding his hand throughout the last long hours and when he passed.

'I have so much more to say, and of course I will do so in due course, but for now I just want to thank all the medical teams who fought so hard to save him and to make his final moments as comfortable and dignified as possible'.

MailOnline understands he passed away on January 3 in a North London hospital.

He is survived by wife Kate and their children Darcey, 17, and son William, 14.
Love Island star Teddy Soares has revealed he is single after calling it quits on his romance with model Casey Boonstra.

Fans of the ITV2 show will note that it leaves Teddy, 29, open to an appearance on the show's All Stars spin-off which launched on Monday night.

It has been rumoured that his long-term ex-girlfriend Faye Winters may be heading to the South African villa - meaning a potential reunion for the exes.

Following the breakdown of his relationship with Faye, Teddy admitted he was 'loved-up' with Casey, 29, after they enjoyed a series of dates.

However, revealing they have now called time on their romance while chatting on his podcast TeddyTalks, Teddy told his co-host and brother Sidney he is single.

Love Island star Teddy Soares has revealed he is single after calling it quits on his romance with model Casey Boonstra

Following the breakdown of his relationship with Faye, Teddy admitted he was 'loved-up' with Casey (pictured), 29, after they enjoyed a series of dates

Sidney told him: 'You've transitioned into the limelight, and you get told a lot of things by people you meet. If it's the audience commenting on romantic relationships that you choose to be in...'

But Teddy jumped in and said: 'Hey, that was plural, bro. One, one relationship.'

'So, just to clarify, you are completely single right now?' Sidney asked.

And Teddy confirmed: 'Oh yeah, I'm single. Let me get that straight.'

Teddy first spoke about the relationship with Irish native Casey during an interview in October where he revealed he was dating someone new.

He told the Sun: 'I am loved-up at the moment. Well maybe I shouldn't say loved-up but I am seeing someone and really happy.

'We are just taking our time and getting to know each other. I think at this stage we are just finding out about each other and becoming best friends which is really nice.'

Teddy and Casey appear to still be on good terms following the end of their relationship as they still follow each other on Instagram.

Teddy first spoke about the relationship during an interview in October where he revealed he was dating someone new

It has been rumoured that his long-term ex-girlfriend Faye Winters (pictured) may be heading to the South African villa - meaning a potential reunion for the exes

In stark contrast, his two year relationship with Faye came to a more dramatic end when he moved out of the house they had bought together.

Faye was named the show's most controversial contestant ever after receiving 36,324 for her behaviour in the villa during her stint in 2021.

The complaints were mostly linked to a furious row with Teddy, where she shouted at him that he was a 'two-faced p***k'.

Speaking about a possible return to the show, Faye told The Sun: 'They keep trying to throw me back in don't they. Are the UK public ready though? That's the thing, am I forgiven? Until I'm forgiven I don't know.

'I'm still the most complained about Love Islander ever. It's one of those things, when the time comes and I have to get on a flight and go, then I'll make the decision.'

Teddy is currently in Australia and was spotted hanging out with fellow former contestant Chloe Burrows.

Chloe's name has been thrown about a lot as a contestant fans are desperate to see return to the show.
Kate Moss is hosting a star-studded party at the Ritz in Paris to celebrate turning 50 with Rita Ora and Sadie Frost on the guest list, MailOnline can reveal.

The supermodel flew to the French capital from Oxford via a private jet that sits up to seven VIP guests ahead of her bash on Tuesday.

And it's believed that Kate will be joined by her boyfriend Nikolai von Bismarck and celebrity pals including Noel Gallagher at the Ritz, where she plans to mark turning the milestone age.

Kate's daughter Lila Moss, 21, was pictured carrying heavy bags out of her London home before flying to Paris, joining her famous mother for the festivities.

Sharing an image of the Eiffel Tower on her Instagram story, Lila appeared excited as the build-up to the big night is officially underway.

Kate Moss is hosting a star-studded party at the Ritz in Paris to celebrate turning 50 with Rita Ora and Sadie Frost on the guest list, MailOnline can reveal (pictured in 2022)

It's believed that Kate will be joined by her boyfriend Nikolai von Bismarck and celebrity pals including Noel Gallagher at the Ritz, where she plans to mark turning the milestone age

The supermodel flew to the French capital from Oxford via a private jet (pictured) that sits up to seven VIP guests ahead of her bash on Tuesday

A source told MailOnline: 'Kate has been planning a big party at the Ritz in Paris for a long time now.

'And finally the day has arrived and all of her close friends and family are jetting into the capital to celebrate her special day.

'As a world famous supermodel, nobody expected anything less from Kate than to host her party at the Ritz, which is almost as fabulous as she is.

'It will be a night to remember, she can't wait to dress up, and dance the night away.'

MailOnline understands the private jet Kate used to fly to Paris would have cost 10,000, with the former party girl ensuring she arrived in the capital in style.

Kate's flight took off on Monday after 4pm and she landed in France shortly afterwards.

A source added: 'Kate loves the Ritz and always stays at the hotel when she's in Paris.

'She is hoping to keep her soiree as private as possible and she knows she can trust the staff there.'

MailOnline understands the private jet Kate used to fly to Paris would have cost 10,000, with the former party girl ensuring she arrived in the City of Light in style (pictured in 1993)

Kate's daughter Lila Moss was pictured carrying heavy bags out of her London home before flying to Paris, joining her famous mother for the festivities

Rita Ora has flown into Paris to celebrate Kate's Parisian birthday after posting an Instagram tribute to the model, dedicating her love to her

Kate had a rather different pre-birthday celebration with her best friends in Mustique, which involved a beachside spiritual circle

Kate had a rather different pre-birthday celebration with her best friends in Mustique, which involved a beachside spiritual celebratory circle.

Lila and Sadie joined her on the getaway as well as former model Rosemary Ferguson, stylist Katy England, fashion casting director Jess Shallet, florist Flora Starkey and designer Jess Morris.

She posed in a bohemian black dress, floral crown and necklace and with no make-up on as she sat crossed-legged on the white sand underneath palm trees.

The supermodel has a history of throwing epic birthday parties.

When she turned 30, she threw a bash with the theme 'Beautiful and the Damned', which was rumoured to have ended in an orgy at Claridge's hotel in London's Mayfair.

Her 40th birthday consisted of a four-day Glastonbury-themed extravaganza at her country home in the Cotswolds.

And her 50th is shaping to be no different as Kate and her A-list guests descend onto the Ritz, one of the most decadent hotels in Paris.
Succession may have cleaned up during awards season  but Matthew Macfadyen has seemingly quashed hope of a spin-off, branding it highly unlikely and a strange concept.

But the British actor, 49, who played ruthless antagonist Tom Wambsgans in the hit HBO series, did reveal the one condition on which he would return as he picked up the Emmy Award for supporting actor in a drama series on Monday night.

I would never say never, but highly unlikely, he told reporters in the press room. It would all depend on if [creator] Jesse Armstrong wanted to do it.

I think Jesses instincts and our instincts is that we ended just at the right place. We sort of didnt tie it up, we just left them to carry on in their strange and frightening world.

Matthew MacFadyen opened up about a spin-off after picking up Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Tom Wambsgans in Successoin

Matthew with his onscreen wife Sarah Snook, who won Best Actress in a Drama Series and his onscreen brother-in-law Kieran Culkin, who won Best Actor in a Drama Series

He finished: As nice as it would be to work with everyone again, it would be strange to do a spinoff. But who knows?

The four-season drama, which followed media mogul Logan Roy, played by Brian Cox, and his childrens bid to inherit his empire, dominated this years Emmys, taking home six awards, including the coveted best drama series.

Kieran Culkin, 41, and Sarah Snook, 36, who played siblings Roman and Shiv Roy, respectively, were honored with lead actor and actress, while Mark Mylod won best directing and Jesse reigned supreme in the best writing category.

Talk of a spin-off has been circulating since the final series bowed out in climactic fashion in May last year.

Nicholas Braun, 35, who played the hapless-turned-conniving cousin Greg, told Deadline that he would be up for returning  but only if Jesse wants to.

I dont think he has an angle, he said on the red carpet.

He wrapped it up so well, you dont want to change something else.

Scottish star Brian, 77, who lost out on lead actor to his costar Kieran, echoed his comments, telling Variety: We'll see. If it's good enough and Jesse wants to do it, I might do it.

Tom Wambsgans is the power hungry husband to Shiv Roy, who enjoys the power that comes with being married into the media mogul family, and runs conservative news network ATN

Matthew in character as Tom alongside Sarah Snook as his wife Shiv Roy

Kieran scooped Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Roman Roy, and celebrated with his wife Jazz Charton

The actor, pictured sharing a kiss with his wife, joked that his Emmy win my have bagged him a third child

Succession won six accolades at the 2024 Emmys (L-R Alan Ruck, Sarah Snook, Alexander Skarsgard, Brian Cox, Nicholas Braun, Kieran Culkin, Matthew Macfadyen, and J. Smith-Cameron)

What I love about it and what I love about Jesse Armstrong is we don't go past our sell-by date.

'A lot of American shows do go past their sell-by dates. We've left people wanting. You always want to keep people wanting.'

Kieran revealed that he may celebrate his big win by having a third child, after his wife Jazz Charton joked that she would be open to the idea if he won an Emmy.

Speaking in the press room, he said: A couple months ago, I have been asking for a while and my wife said, "Maybe if you win the Emmy, ha ha!"

And I didn't bring it up for months and then when I won at the Globes, I said, ''Remember what you said?'' And she was like, "What did I say?" And then it all came out and instead of talking to her like a regular human, I blasted it on stage. So that's the story...

Asked if he would name the baby Roman, replied: No. I wouldn't name it Emmy or any cute little thing. But s***... No!

Kieran has daughter Kinsey Sioux, four, and son Wilder Wolf, two, with Jazz.

She previously joked that Kinsey was conceived after the 2019 Golden Globes, where Kieran was nominated for Succession.

Breaking the news on Instagram, she wrote: '#theglobeswerefun.'

Restaurant dramedy The Bear also dominated the Emmy Awards on Monday, earning six trophies as Hollywood handed out its top accolades for television at a ceremony which featured a star-studded red carpet.
Naomi Campbell gushed over longtime friend Kate Moss on Instagram as she led the celebrities paying tribute to the supermodel on her 50th birthday on Tuesday.

Sharing a montage of snaps to Instagram, Naomi, 53, recalled a number of 'unforgettable' memories the pair have shared together throughout their careers.

The supermodel revealed that Kate is 'chosen family' and she gushed that she will forever 'treasure their decades of sisterhood'.

She penned: 'Happy birthday, little Wagon! Im proud to welcome you to the fabulous fifties!

'Youre my chosen family and I treasure our decades of sisterhood.

Naomi Campbell gushed over longtime friend Kate Moss on Instagram as she led the celebrities paying tribute to the supermodel on her 50th birthday on Tuesday (pictured 1993)

Sharing a montage of snaps to Instagram, Naomi, 53, recalled a number of 'unforgettable' memories the pair have shared together throughout their careers (pictured 2001)

Naomi shared this sweet post alongside the gallery of images

'Weve had more unforgettable moments than I care to remember, LOl!. Whether it was a photoshoot in Paris, Havana Cuba or our trip to South Africa to visit Nelson Mandela, or riding in the open-top bus as part of the late Queens Platinum Jubilee, we continue to reign, representing South London to the world!

'Enjoy your special day! And may God bestow tons of blessings on you'.

The two South London girls first met on a photo shoot in Los Angeles in 1992 and their friendship is still going strong over 30 years later.

Naomi and Kate were both known as part of the six models of their generation declared supermodels in the 90's alongside Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista.

It was previously suggested that they called each other wagon[s] because they were permanently falling off them in reference to their struggles with alcohol.

But Naomi told The Sunday TImes in 2016: ' No! Its because were wagons. Because were naughty, we enjoy our life, we laugh, just girls having fun.

Also sharing a gallery of snaps to mark Kate's birthday was Sadie Frost and Rita Ora.

Actress Sadie, 58, shared some unseen photos of the 'spiritual warrior' while Rita, 33, thanked Kate for her 'guidance.'

The supermodel jetted off to Mustique, a small private island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, to celebrate her milestone birthday.

Joining her in the Caribbean, Sadie gave an insight into their wholesome holiday as she shared a snap of Kate wearing a flower crown.

The supermodel revealed that Kate is 'family' and she gushed that she will forever 'treasure their decades of sisterhood'

She penned: 'Happy birthday, little Wagon! Im proud to welcome you to the fabulous fifties! Youre my chosen family and I treasure our decades of sisterhood' (pictured 2023)

The two South London girls, who are part of the six 90's iconic supermodels, first met on a photo shoot in Los Angeles in 1992 and their friendship is still going strong over 30 years later

She captioned the post: ''All grown up darling Kate happy 50th birthday it was so so special celebrating your pre birthday with some of our beautiful friends.'

Sadie continued: 'There was so much fun and laughter amongst our celebratory circle #spiritualwarrior. Plus so many memories I will never forget.

'Thank you @rosemaryferguson_ @jessmorris_lamorray @florastarkey @jesshallettcast @katy_england @lilamoss and kate for a lovely time p.s was so nice to get some recent photos of us all.'

Sadie and Kate were the talk of the town as members of the Primrose Hill set, a group of stars with a reputation for 'drink, drugs and bed-hopping'.

The Primrose Hill Set, a name given to the all-star group of edgy residents of the leafy neighbourhood, were known in their heyday for their wild ways with stories of their antics becoming the stuff of legend.

Now, sober and the proud owner of a wellness brand, Cosmoss, Kate rang in her 50th with meditation and yoga.

The model was previously said to have told friends she was also inspired to transform her behaviour by her close pal Sadie.

Sadie has spoken extensively in recent years about her holistic approach to life which has seen her ditch bad habits for meditation and clean-living.

Kate is now said to embrace being tee-total 80 per cent of the time, going to the gym and starting yoga sessions.

Also sharing a gallery of snaps to mark Kate's birthday was Sadie Frost and Rita Ora (Sadie, left, pictured with Kate, centre)

Actress Sadie, 58, shared some unseen photos of the 'spiritual warrior' while Rita, 33, thanked Kate for her 'guidance'

The supermodel jetted off to Mustique, a small private island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, to celebrate her milestone birthday

Joining her in the Caribbean, Sadie gave an insight into their wholesome holiday as she shared a snaps of the group

She captioned the post: ''All grown up darling Kate happy 50th birthday it was so so special celebrating your pre birthday with some of our beautiful friends'

Elsewhere, Rita hailed Kate as one of her 'favourite humans' as she shared her own selection of photos.

'Happy birthday to one of my favourite humans on the planet. So grateful for ALL of our memories to many for me to put into one post!' she wrote.

'Thank you for your guidance all of these years and your loyalty and your work ethic is 0 to none. Keep being the star you are and shine for eternity!

Rita concluded: 'I cant wait to celebrate with you weve got so many more memories to make! I love you!'

Arriving on the modelling scene after being discovered at the tender age of 14, Kate rose to fame in the mid 1990s.

Her collaborations with Calvin Klein launched her as a household name and in 2013, she was honoured at the British Fashion Awards to acknowledge her contribution to the fashion industry over the course of 25 years.

Previously describing her happy place as on the dancefloor, Kate has since left London for the west Oxfordshire countryside where she practices transcendental meditation and goes wild swimming in a 'secret place' only the local villagers use.

The fashion icon also believes in the power of positive affirmations to improve one's outlook with 'embrace the unknown' and 'trust the universe and it will lead the way' being among her favourites.

Elsewhere, Rita hailed Kate as one of her 'favourite humans' as she shared her own selection of photos

'Happy birthday to one of my favourite humans on the planet. So grateful for ALL of our memories to many for me to put into one post!' she wrote

'Thank you for your guidance all of these years and your loyalty and your work ethic is 0 to none. Keep being the star you are and shine for eternity!'

Rita concluded: 'I cant wait to celebrate with you weve got so many more memories to make! I love you!'

Despite her new Gwyneth Paltrow-like lifestyle, Kate still allows herself one vice.

'I still smoke occasionally,' she told The Sunday Times. 'I've heard that when you stop, you can really tell [by your skin]. But I haven't stopped... yet.'

The model admitted she is in 'denial' about her upcoming 50th birthday because she does not feel her age.

'I'm not turning 50,' she said. 'No. I'm not thinking about it. I do not feel 50.'

Briefly discussing her party days, Kate told how she now never stays out at a party past midnight, describing it as her 'cut off point'.
He's one of Britain's most recognisable actors after making a name for himself on a longstanding soap.

His passion for acting started from childhood and on Monday he shared a throwback snap from 1981 in a production of Oliver at the Noel Coward Theatre, where pop star Helen Shapiro was playing Nancy.

Yet while he may have started his career on the West End, many would recognise him for his work in the East End after he moved to become a star of the small screen.

He went on to become one of the biggest names in soap operas and was recognised by The British Soap Awards when he received a Lifetime Achievement Award.

So can you guess who it is?

This iconic British actor looks unrecognisable in a childhood snap with Helen Shapiro at one of his first acting gigs in 1981 - but can you guess who it is?

That's right, it's Adam Woodyatt!

EastEnders longest serving male cast member - having starred on the soap for 37 years - delighted his Instagram followers on Monday when he shared a throwback from one of his first productions.

Unrecognisable with his curly locks and fresh faced features - he bore more of a resemblance to Coldplay's Chris Martin.

He captioned the image: 'Found this backstage photo with Helen Shapiro as Nancy from when I was in 'Oliver!' at the then Albery (now Noel Coward) Theatre in 1981.'

Adam joined EastEnders in 1985 as Ian Beale before fleeing Albert Square in January 2021 following a dramatic showdown with his ex-wife, Sharon Watts.

He returned to the soap for a brief cameo in 2022 before returning for good in August 2023.

Ian made a comeback alongside his wife Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins).

Cindy made a shocking return from the dead after 26 years, as she was revealed to be living in France with ex-husband Ian Beale and son Peter.

It later transpired that Cindy had spent the last two decades living in witness protection and was given the alias Rose Knight.

In a further twist, she was revealed to be the absent wife of Queen Vic landlord George Knight (Colin Salmon), and mother to their two daughters Gina (Francesca Henry) and Anna (Molly Rainford).

It was Adam Woodyatt! (pictured in 2023) EastEnders longest serving male cast member delighted his Instagram followers on Monday when he shared a throwback snap

Adam joined EastEnders in 1985 as Ian Beale before fleeing Albert Square in January 2021. He returned for good in August 2023 alongside wife Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins)

While Adam is keeping busy with his soap career he recently revealed he has his eyes on another project.

He put himself forward to star in the BBC smash hit The Traitors, revealing he'd go to extreme lengths if there was ever the chance to star in a celebrity version.

Taking to Instagram on Friday, he posed in a Traitors style cape while staring intensely down the lens.

He captioned the post : All caught up on @bbciplayer and waiting for tonights episode.

If they ever do a celeb version of #traitors I would walk to Scotland to be part of it!!
Kate Moss celebrated her 50th birthday in style on Tuesday as she headed for brunch with boyfriend Nikolai von Bismarck and daughter Lila in Paris ahead of throwing a star-studded party at the Ritz in the evening.

The birthday girl looked in high spirits on her day out as was spotted leaving the luxury hotel with boyfriend Nikolai, 37, and daughter Lila, 21, to grab food at the Brasserie Lipp.

She looked fantastic on her milestone birthday as she modelled a belted black mini dress that showed off her lithe figure.

A source told MailOnline that Kate's swanky birthday bash has been in the planning for a long time and that she 'can't wait to dress up and dance the night away', so she was no doubt counting down the hours to the soiree.

Prior to her big night, Kate looked effortlessly chic at brunch as she teamed her little black dress with a fur coat and boosted her frame with a pair of heeled suede ankle boots.

Kate Moss celebrated her 50th birthday on Tuesday in Paris as she headed for lunch with boyfriend Nikolai von Bismarck, 37, hairdresser James Brown and daughter Lila, 21, ahead of throwing a giant party at the Ritz later

She kicked off her big day by grabbing food at the Brasserie Lipp with her nearest and dearest

She looked fantastic for her milestone birthday as she modelled a belted black mini dress that showed off her lithe figure

Kate completed the look with a pair of cat eye sunglasses with gold hooped earrings.

By her side was boyfriend Nikolai, who kept things casual in a grey jumper teamed with a printed shirt and grey trousers.

He finished off the look with brown boots that appeared to be well-worn favourites judging by the hole in the sole.

Lila also kept things low-key in a cropped cream jumper and wide legged jeans that she paired with a shaggy jacket and boots.

During the birthday brunch, Kate could be seen opening a white long-sleeved top with a black patterned print.

She admired the gift, which appeared to be from a female friend also present at the brunch.

The supermodel flew to the French capital from Oxford on a private jet that carries up to seven VIP guests ahead of her bash on Tuesday.

And it's believed that Kate will be joined by celebrity pals including Noel Gallagher at the Ritz later on in the day.

The supermodel teamed the garment with a fur coat and boosted her frame with a pair of heeled suede ankle boots

Kate completed the look with a pair of cat eye sunglasses with gold hooped earrings

Kate seemed in great spirits as she celebrated her special day with her loved ones

By her side was boyfriend Nikolai, who kept things casual in a grey jumper teamed with a printed shirt and grey trousers

He was seen walking closely behind Kate and shielded his eyes behind a pair of dark sunglasses to go with the rest of his attire

He finished off the look with brown boots that appeared to be well-worn favourites judging by the hole in the sole

Nikolai was seen basking in the sunshine as he left the hotel but wrapped up warm in the near-freezing January temperatures

Lila kept things casual in a cropped cream jumper and wide legged jeans that she paired with a shaggy jacket and boots

Inside the eatery Kate was seen opening her presenters as her loved ones watched on

Lila looked in high spirits as she shared a giggle with her mother at the lunch date

The supermodel tucked into lunch at Brasserie Lipp (pictured) where they offer a range of reasonably priced meals. The menu has remained unchanged since the 1930s

What did Kate Moss have for her birthday meal? The supermodel tucked into lunch at Brasserie Lipp where they offer a range of reasonably priced meals. Among the famous specialities of the Brasserie Lipp are Bismark herring, brandade de morue, choucroute garnie, roast chicken, blanquette de veau and tete de veau. The menu has remained unchanged since the 1930s, with the 'true Parisian institution' first opening in 1880. Brasserie Lipp is filled with original Art Nouveau-Art Deco decorations and each year it sponsors an annual literary prize, the Prix Cazes, for an author who has won no other literary prize. Advertisement

Lila was pictured carrying heavy bags out of her London home before flying to Paris, joining her famous mother for the festivities.

Earlier in the day she shared an image of the Eiffel Tower on her Instagram story and Lila appeared excited as the build-up to the big night got officially underway.

A source told MailOnline: 'Kate has been planning a big party at the Ritz in Paris for a long time now.

'And finally the day has arrived and all of her close friends and family are jetting into the capital to celebrate her special day.

'As a world famous supermodel, nobody expected anything less from Kate than to host her party at the Ritz in Paris, which is almost as fabulous as she is.

'It will be a night to remember, she can't wait to dress up, and dance the night away.'

MailOnline understands the private jet Kate used to fly to Paris would have cost 10,000, with the former party girl ensuring she arrived in the City of Light in style.

Kate's flight took off on Monday after 4pm and she landed in France shortly afterwards.

A source added: 'Kate loves the Ritz and always stays at the hotel when she's in Paris.

'She is hoping to keep her soiree as private as possible and she knows she can trust the staff there.'

Kate had a rather different pre-birthday celebration with her best friends in Mustique, which involved a beachside spiritual celebratory circle.

Kate and Nikolai were seen returning to the Ritz in Paris for her birthday celebrations on Tuesday evening

The supermodel was helped out of the car as she arrived back at the lavish hotel in the French capital

Croydon-born Kate appeared in good spirits as she made her way into the hotel, smiling as she stepped out of the car

Kate wrapped up warm in her black fur coat as she she headed to her hotel room to get ready for her evening celebrations

The Hotel Ritz Paris (pictured), where Kate will enjoy birthday celebrations on Tuesday evening, is ranked among the most luxurious hotels in the world

The property is considered a symbol of high society and luxury and its lavish Suite Imperiale has been listed as a national monument by the French government

Why did Kate Moss choose the Hotel Ritz Paris for her birthday? The Hotel Ritz Paris is ranked among the most luxurious hotels in the world. Founded in 1898 by the Swiss hotelier Cesar Ritz, the hotel was constructed behind the facade of an eighteenth-century townhouse and has a view of the Place Vendome. The 159-room hotel recently underwent a four-year, multimillion-euro renovation and its lavish Suite Imperiale has been listed as a national monument by the French government. The property is considered a symbol of high society and luxury and has featured in many notable works of fiction, plays and films by the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Noel Coward and Billy Wilder. Advertisement

Lila and Sadie joined her on the getaway as well as former model Rosemary Ferguson, stylist Katy England, fashion casting director Jess Shallet, florist Flora Starkey and designer Jess Morris.

She posed in a bohemian black dress, floral crown and necklace and with no make-up on as she sat crossed-legged on the white sand underneath palm trees.

Mustique has been beloved by the jet-set since Lord Glenconner bought it in the 1960s and gave Princess Margaret a ten-acre plot as a wedding present.

The tiny private island is a favourite of the Prince and Princess of Wales and home to rock stars Sir Mick Jagger and Bryan Adams, as well as U.S. fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger.

The supermodel has a history of throwing epic birthday parties.

When she turned 30, she threw a bash with the theme 'Beautiful and the Damned', which was rumoured to have ended in an orgy at Claridge's hotel in London's Mayfair.

Her 40th birthday consisted of a four-day Glastonbury-themed extravaganza at her country home in the Cotswolds.

And her 50th is shaping to be no different as Kate and her A-list guests descend onto the Ritz, one of the most decadent hotels in Paris.

Arriving on the modelling scene after being discovered at the tender age of 14, Kate rose to fame in the mid 1990s.

Her collaborations with Calvin Klein launched her as a household name and in 2013, she was honoured at the British Fashion Awards to acknowledge her contribution to the fashion industry over the course of 25 years.

The supermodel flew to the French capital from Oxford via a private jet (pictured) that sits up to seven VIP guests ahead of her bash on Tuesday

MailOnline understands the private jet Kate used to fly to Paris would have cost 10,000, with the former party girl ensuring she arrived in the City of Light in style (pictured in 1993)

Kate's daughter Lila Moss was pictured carrying heavy bags out of her London home before flying to Paris, joining her famous mother for the festivities

Kate had a rather different pre-birthday celebration with her best friends in Mustique, which involved a beachside spiritual circle

Kate appeared to have ditched her 'party girl' image once and for all with her relaxing retreat

She was joined by her daughter Lila (second right) who's followed her footsteps into modelling, and by friends including Sadie Frost (second left)

Others on the trip were Rosemary Ferguson (far left), model-turned-nutritionist, stylist Katy England (third right), floral designer Flora Starkey (centre), fashion casting director Jess Shallet (second right) and designer Jess Morris (third left)

Mustique has been beloved by the jet-set since Lord Glenconner bought it in the 1960s and gave Princess Margaret a ten-acre plot as a wedding present

Kate is now said to embrace being tee-total 80 per cent of the time, going to the gym and starting yoga sessions

READ MORE: 50 things you never knew about Kate Moss on the day she turns 50 Advertisement

Previously describing her happy place as on the dancefloor, Kate has since left London for the west Oxfordshire countryside where she practices transcendental meditation and goes wild swimming in a 'secret place' only the local villagers use.

The fashion icon also believes in the power of positive affirmations to improve one's outlook with 'embrace the unknown' and 'trust the universe and it will lead the way' being among her favourites.

Kate is now said to embrace being tee-total 80 per cent of the time, going to the gym and starting yoga sessions.

Despite her new Gwyneth Paltrow-like lifestyle, Kate still allows herself one vice.

'I still smoke occasionally,' she told The Sunday Times. 'I've heard that when you stop, you can really tell [by your skin]. But I haven't stopped... yet.'

The model admitted she is in 'denial' about her upcoming 50th birthday because she does not feel her age.

'I'm not turning 50,' she said. 'No. I'm not thinking about it. I do not feel 50.'

Briefly discussing her party days, Kate told how she now never stays out at a party past midnight, describing it as her 'cut off point'.

Kate Moss is 50! How supermodel turned back the years with her reinvention from wild child days drinking prosecco at 8am as 'The Tank' to tee-total wellness guru

Kate Moss celebrated a huge milestone as she rung in her 50th birthday on Tuesday.

It marks a new era for the supermodel who has reinvented herself into a wellness guru - a far cry from her wild drug-fuelled party days.

Kate previously joked she was in 'denial' at turning 50 and 'wasn't thinking about it', but the fashionista has turned back the years with a series of huge lifestyle changes.

From giving up alcohol and big nights out to launching her own wellness brand to rival Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop and juice fasts, take a look at the supermodel's transformation as she enters her next chapter...

From The Tank to tea

Kate Moss celebrated a huge milestone as she rung in her 50th birthday on Tuesday. Kate previously joked she was in 'denial', but the fashionista has turned back the years

It marks a new era for the supermodel who has reinvented herself into a wellness guru - a far cry from her wild drug-fuelled party days (pictured with Jo Wood at Ronnie's 50th in 1997)

During the nineties and early noughties, Kate was known for emerging from clubs looking bleary-eyed with a cigarette permanently dangling from her lips as part of the Primrose Hill set.

The name was given to the all-star group of edgy residents of the leafy neighbourhood, who were known in their heyday for their raucous behaviour with stories of their antics becoming the stuff of legend.

Kate's love of boozing reportedly extended to flutes of prosecco at 8am and glasses of wine and vodka at lunch, and gained her the nickname 'The Tank'.

After attending a week-long detox in Turkey back in June 2015, the runway sensation wound up being escorted off an easyJet flight home after her airport drinking session took a heavy turn.

The model branded the pilot a 'basic b***h' in a parting shot.

Kate ended giving up alcohol for good back in 2017.

Nowadays, she has regular juice fasts, and favours the week-long juice-only programme at wellness LifeCo resort in Turkey  she's visited every year for the past decade.

Drug scandal

Kate was famously dubbed 'Cocaine Kate' when she was photographed snorting the substance in 2005. In recent years Kate opts for a healthier approach with less cigarettes (pictured 1993)

Kate used to be a firm favourite on the Glastonbury scene (pictured here with Pete Doherty in 2005), but now she is into crystals and wild swimming

An iconic moment in Kate's modelling career was when she took to the Louis Vuitton in 2011 with a cigarette in hand on No Smoking Day

Kate was famously dubbed 'Cocaine Kate' when she was photographed snorting the substance in 2005.

At the time she was dating singer Pete Doherty, who has made no secret of his own drug use and addiction to heroin.

Following the scandal, Kate was dropped by seven companies including Chanel, Burberry and H&M, and had to work hard to regain her public image.

An iconic moment in Kate's modelling career was when she took to the Louis Vuitton in 2011 with a cigarette in hand on No Smoking Day.

A year later, the British supermodel was part of the Olympic Games closing ceremony in London back.

In recent years Kate opts for a healthier approach, telling NBC's Megyn Kelly in 2018: 'I go to bed, I drink lots of water, not too much coffee, and I'm trying to cut down on cigarettes.'

Modelling career V Wellness brand

Kate is the proud owner of wellness business Cosmoss which sells a range of own-brand teas, skincare products and a book of 150 'positive messages'

Nowadays, Kate and her Primrose Hill pal Sadie Frost have adopted a much healthier lifestyle

Kate's love of boozing reportedly extended to flutes of prosecco at 8am and glasses of wine and vodka at lunch, and gained her the nickname 'The Tank'

Kate is the proud owner of wellness business Cosmoss which sells a range of own-brand teas, skincare products and a book of 150 'positive messages'.

She has a 4,000 Cadillac Pilates reformer machine at home, and personal trainer, Hortense Suleyman.

A magazine source said: 'The brand is late on the bandwagon  candles, serums and perfume are all quite middle-aged. But she's been having lots of meetings with people and Cosmoss is stocked in Harrods. I know she has great hopes for it.'

Collaborations are reportedly planned with departing Vogue editor Edward Enninful, who feels there is a lot of money to be made from Moss and her cachet.

The source said: 'She has done a spa for the [Cotswolds private rental estate] The Lakes By Yoo and the thinking is that she might be able to licence out some version of her Cotswolds' lifestyle  she's turned her party barn into a spa space which apparently is lovely.

'The bottom line, which might surprise people, is that Kate wants to make another fortune. Back in the day, people would quietly complain she never put her hand in her pocket on a night out and she has always been very driven by money.

'Everyone says she left [model agency] Storm after 27 years because she couldn't stand paying it the commission any more.

Kate and Matt Lucas perform on stage at the Little Britain charity gala performance at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2006, a year after her drug scandal

The supermodel was part of the Olympic Games closing ceremony in London back in 2012

'She's bit like Mick Jagger; she's come up from the suburbs into a kind of rarefied world of the wealthy, and she has this appetite to earn and earn.'

A first birthday party for Cosmoss was held during London fashion week in September, attended by Kate's many friends. Guru Deepak Chopra led a guided meditation.

Yet the first accounts filed to Companies House - Kate owns 80 per cent of the shares - show net liabilities in its first trading year of 105,000 with 406,000 owed to creditors.

By contrast her model agency, simply called the Kate Moss Agency, is in rude health with net assets of 11 million. She is by far the most successful model on its books  many of the rest are the sons and daughters of her friends.

Life changes

While Kate used to reportedly kick off her day guzzling prosecco, the supermodel is said to now start each day with meditation and the chanting of affirmations.

Kate has also got into crystals, which she 'charges' by the light of the moon and goes wild swimming in the dead of night.

Of her decision to switch up her lifestyle choices, Kate said last year: 'I just felt like I needed all the help I could get.'

Moss is also close to the owners of the Health Box cafe in nearby Lechlade, where she likes to go to pick up a CBD coffee.

Lucrative career ventures

In July 2022, Kate signed a huge new deal with Diet Coke following being named the new 'creative director' of the brand

The supermodel has also fronted her pal Charlotte Tilbury's beauty campaign

Kate bounced back a year after her 2005 drug scandal and went on to secure deals with Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein and Virgin Mobile as well as Longchamp, Mango and Vogue-Eyewear before making 3 million designing clothing for Topshop the following year.

In July 2022, Kate signed a huge new deal with Diet Coke following being named the new 'creative director' of the brand.

The catwalk star is reportedly 'earning up to 5million for the partnership'.

It comes after Kate was named as the new Creative Director for Diet Coke, taking the helm as the brand celebrated its 40th anniversary last year.
Lucy Hale looked bright and cheery in an apple red look as she made an appearance in New York City on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old actress  who recently marked two years of sobriety  showed off her sleek style in a cropped blazer and matching shorts.

The Tennessee-bred beauty showed her long, toned legs in the look, which was rounded out with pointed red patent leather heels.

Her loose-fitting, high-waisted bottoms boasted a ribbon sash detail that was tied around her waist. She pulled her lustrous dark locks back, arranging them in a deep center part and leaving face-framing pieces out at the front.

Lucy has been busy promoting her new film Which Brings Me To You, which has screening event in the city on Tuesday evening.

Lucy Hale looked bright and cheery in an apple red look as she made an appearance in New York City on Tuesday

The 34-year-old actress showed off her sleek style in a cropped blazer and matching shorts

The Pretty Little Liars alum looked typically stunning in a face of flattering makeup that complemented her features.

Her doll-like eyes were accentuated with dark, lengthening mascara and her cheeks were dusted in blush.

Hale's plump pout was coated in a tinted, rosy hue and complete with a glossy finish.

Also on Tuesday, the longtime entertainer wowed in a monochrome pink getup.

She wore a long-sleeved, button-up shirt tucked into matching pale pink bootcut trousers.

The outfit was topped with a long, structured coat in the same shade.

The fashionista added a pair of soft pink high heels and carried a matching leather handbag.

A third look of the day was an impeccable ivory outfit that made the star look angelic.

She looked effortlessly sleek in a strapless top with stone-covered buttons going vertically down the front.

The put-together look was constructed with a corset-style underpinning, two front pockets, and it pulled in at her waist.

Coordinating with her blouse was a pair of tailored, wide-leg trousers.

And she added height to her frame with matching open-toe platform shoes.

The Tennessee-bred beauty showed her long, toned legs in the look, which was rounded out with pointed red patent leather heels

She pulled her lustrous dark locks back, arranging them in a deep center part and leaving face-framing pieces out at the front

Lucy's busy press day included a stop by the Today Show

Also on Tuesday, the Pretty Little Liars star wowed in a monochrome pink getup

She wore a button-up shirt tucked into matching pale pink trousers

The fashionista added a pair of soft pink high heels and carried a matching leather handbag

Later on Tuesday, Lucy put on yet another chic ensemble as she headed out to a screening of Which Brings Me To You at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Robin Williams Center in New York City.

She wore a cool black leather biker jacket while out in the cold, though she removed it to show off her ensemble on the red carpet.

Lucy highlighted her ripped abs with her white Loewe button-up crop top, which had a gray striped hem and long sleeves that swallowed up her hands and were left unbuttoned at the cuffs.

Lucy contrasted her white top with a lustrous gray pleated maxi skirt that made her ensemble look like a school girl's uniform.

She added a set of tall black leather boots to her look, and she wore a black belt to hold up her skirt.

The brunette beauty sported an elegantly made-up face and styled her highlighted locks with a middle part while letting them rest across her shoulders.

She was joined by her costar Nat Wolff for a conversation after the film screening, and the two were clearly having a great time based on their goofy poses on the red carpet.

He looked cool and cozy in a brown striped sweater, along with black pants and dark brown loafers.

A third look of the day was an impeccable ivory outfit that made the star look angelic

She looked effortlessly sleek in a strapless top with stone-covered buttons going vertically down the front

The put-together top was constructed with a corset-style underpinning, two front pockets, and it pulled in at her waist

Hale's presentation was finished with a long, matching coat

Later on Tuesday, Lucy put on yet another chic ensemble as she headed out to a screening of Which Brings Me To You at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Robin Williams Center in NYC

She wore a cool black leather biker jacket while out in the cold, though she removed it to show off her ensemble on the red carpet

Lucy highlighted her ripped abs with her white Loewe button-up crop top, which had a gray striped hem and long sleeves that swallowed up her hands and were left unbuttoned at the cuffs

She was joined by her costar Nat Wolff for a conversation after the film screening, and the two were clearly having a great time based on their goofy poses on the red carpet

Lucy contrasted her white top with a lustrous gray pleated maxi skirt that made her ensemble look like a school girl's uniform

She added a set of tall black leather boots to her look, and she wore a black belt to hold up her skirt

The brunette beauty sported an elegantly made-up face and styled her highlighted locks with a middle part while letting them rest across her shoulders

Nat looked cool and cozy in a brown striped sweater

The costars played up their chemistry with a fun fist bump

The outing comes after Lucy took to Instagram earlier this month to celebrate two years alcohol-free.

She shared with her 24.3 million followers that she is 'so grateful' for everything she's learned along her sobriety journey, and revealed her personal stats.

The stunner also shared a quote by author F. Scott Fitzgerald that read, 'For what it's worth... it's never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit.'

And the actress declared, 'This continues to be the greatest gift Ive given myself.'
Kate Moss looked in good spirits as she opened gifts from her boyfriend Nikolai von Bismarck and daughter Lila for her 50th birthday on Tuesday.

The model has jetted to Paris to celebrate turning the milestone age and went for brunch at Brasserie Lipp in the city.

The star could be seen opening a white long-sleeved top with a black patterned print during the outing.

Kate admired the gift, which appeared to be from a female friend also present at the brunch with Lila and Nikolai.

She looked fantastic for her milestone birthday as she modelled a belted black mini dress that showed off her lithe figure.

Kate Moss looked in good spirits as she opened gifts from her boyfriend Nikolai von Bismarck and daughter Lila for her 50th birthday on Tuesday.

The model has jetted to Paris to celebrate turning the milestone age and went for brunch at Brasserie Lipp in the city

The supermodel teamed the garment with a fur coat and boosted her frame with a pair of heeled suede ankle boots.

The supermodel flew to the French capital from Oxford via a private jet that sits up to seven VIP guests ahead of her bash on Tuesday.

And it's believed that Kate will be joined by celebrity pals including Noel Gallagher at the Ritz for the festivities.

Lila was pictured carrying heavy bags out of her London home before flying to Paris, joining her famous mother for the festivities.

Sharing an image of the Eiffel Tower on her Instagram story, Lila appeared excited as the build-up to the big night is officially underway.

A source told MailOnline: 'Kate has been planning a big party at the Ritz in Paris for a long time now.

'And finally the day has arrived and all of her close friends and family are jetting into the capital to celebrate her special day.

'As a world famous supermodel, nobody expected anything less from Kate than to host her party at the Ritz in Paris, which is almost as fabulous as she is.

The star could be seen opening a white long-sleeved top with a black patterned print during the outing

Pictured is Brasserie Lipp where Kate Moss started the milestone day

Kate looked fantastic for her milestone birthday as she modelled a belted black mini dress that showed off her lithe figure

Kate admired the gift, which appeared to be from a female friend also present at the brunch with Lila and Nikolai

It's believed that Kate will be joined by celebrity pals including Noel Gallagher at the Ritz for the festivities

'It will be a night to remember, she can't wait to dress up, and dance the night away.'

MailOnline understands the private jet Kate used to fly to Paris would have cost 10,000, with the former party girl ensuring she arrived in the City of Light in style.

Kate's flight took off on Monday after 4pm and she landed in France shortly afterwards.

A source added: 'Kate loves the Ritz and always stays at the hotel when she's in Paris.

'She is hoping to keep her soiree as private as possible and she knows she can trust the staff there.'
An insider told DailyMail.com that Lindsay wants the quip REMOVED

Lindsay Lohan is calling for an insulting joke made at her expense to be edited out of the new Mean Girls movie, an insider has claimed  after the actress was left 'very hurt' by the distasteful quip.

Lindsay, 37, expressed her upset after Tina Fey's musical remake of the 2004 original saw Megan Thee Stallion referencing 'fire crotch' - an insult that was hurled at the star during her days of hanging out with Paris Hilton, now 42.

In an initial statement, a representative for Lindsay said that she was 'disappointed' - but now an insider close to the star has revealed exclusively to DailyMail.com that she believes the line should be removed from the final cut altogether.

If that wasn't enough, Lindsay's father Michael also slammed Tina, 53, over the 'condescending' quip, as he slated the new film.

Lindsay Lohan said she was 'disappointed' by the 'fire crotch' joke in the new Mean Girls film

The actress didn't know the musical would contain a joke at her expense, and attended the premiere last Monday where she was reunited with writer and costar Tina Fey

'The real mean girl here is Tina Fey,' said the insider. 'She wrote it. She also knows that Lindsay is hurt by it.

'The studio is also aware of how Lindsay feels about it. The right thing for them to do would be for them to edit this out of the film. It is completely unnecessary and very disrespectful.'

Lindsay's father Michael confirmed that he had watched the scene in which the joke was made.

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, he said: 'While I'd love to make a few comments about Megan The Stallion and even Tina allowing that condescending piece to be in the movie, I'll take the high road and reserve them.'

He continued: 'I don't care how many times they remake Mean Girls, and no matter in how many ways, it will never be like the original with Lindsay.

'The original and Lindsay are iconic. While I am happy that Lindsay and Tina got together, I'm at a loss as to why she didn't do a sequel with the original cast first.

'That would have been a huge success and outdone any version since the original as so many others agree.

'I'd bet that if you did a survey on what people think would've been better with the original cast or these musical versions.

In the new movie, rapper Megan Thee Stallion pops up to praise the new popular girl, Cady, and drops the 'fire crotch' gag

In 2006, a video surfaced showing Paris laughing while her friend Brandon Davis used the term 'fire crotch' and hurled other insults at Lindsay

'A sequel of the original would win with the original cast and would be better and more successful.'

Michael added: 'Nobody can replace Lindsay in her roles. Not because I'm her dad, but because of her talent.'

In the new movie, rapper Megan Thee Stallion, 28, pops up to praise the new popular girl, Cady, played by Angourie Rice, 20 years after Lindsay's portrayal in the original.

Speaking in a TikTok-like clip, Megan announces: 'Y2K Fire crotch is back.'

Fans were quick to spot the reference to oil heir Brandon Davis' explicit 2006 tirade about Lindsay, in which he and Paris mocked the actress.

Lindsay's dad Michael slammed Tina over the 'condescending' quip  while also slating the new film and all the other Mean Girls spinoffs

Lindsay starred in the original Mean Girls film alongside (L-R) Lacey Chabert, Rachel McAdams, and Amanda Seyfried

Lindsay famously played Cady Heron, a newcomer who joins the exclusive 'Plastics' at North Shore High School

Though she does not reprise her role, Lindsay pays homage to her character's time with the 'Mathletes'

While Lindsay had her own cameo, she was unaware the joke was featured until she watched the new movie for the first time at the New York premiere.

In the new film, Tina returns to her role as Ms. Norbury. Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried and Lacey Chabert, who played 'Plastics' Regina George, Karen Smith and Gretchen Weiners, respectively, in the original film do not star.

Lindsay's comments came hours after Tina praised the actress during an interview with CBS on Monday.

'The original movie is really Lindsay's movie, you know? She's just luminous through it,' she said.

'I thought if she was gonna do anything, I thought it might be nice to have her come kind of late in the movie when you're like, "Oh my gosh, I didn't think," you've so much forgotten that you're looking for cameos.'

She has yet to publicly respond to the news of Lindsay being 'hurt' by the joke.

The 2024 musical comedy sees Renee Rapp reprise her role as infamous queen bee Regina George having played her in the Broadway musical.

Renee, Avantika Vandanapu and Bebe Wood make up the 'Plastics'  a trio of teen girls who rule over North Shore High School and decide to take new girl Cady under their very exclusive wing.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs has ended his lawsuit as well as business relationship with alcoholic beverage giant, Diageo, with both parties withdrawing their suits over the brands he was previously marketing.

The 54-year-old rapper sued the British brand last year, accusing them of neglecting his marketing partnerships with the brands DeLeon Tequila, and Ciroc, due to racism and has now 'agreed to resolve all disputes.'

Diageo denied his claims  all of which Diddy has now rescinded, according to a statement shared with DailyMail.com.

Now it's been reported that the case is over as Diddy has dismissed the lawsuit, suggesting both sides have reached a settlement.

The Bad Boy Records founder  who is reportedly 'skipping the 2024 Grammys due to sexual assault allegations and lawsuits'  was previously seeking billions in damages.

Sean 'Diddy' Combs has ended his lawsuit with alcoholic beverage giant, Diageo; seen in January 2020

The 54-year-old rapper sued the British brand last year, accusing them of neglecting his marketing partnership with DeLeon Tequila, due to racism

'Sean Combs and Diageo have now agreed to resolve all disputes between them,' the joint statement read.

'Mr. Combs has withdrawn all of his allegations about Diageo and will voluntarily dismiss his lawsuits against Diageo with prejudice,' it stated.

'Diageo and Mr. Combs have no ongoing business relationship, either with respect to Ciroc vodka or DeLeon tequila, which Diageo now solely owns.'

Diageo previously noted that they previously tried to resolve the issue privately before Diddy served them with a lawsuit.

In May 2023, Combs filed the lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court, alleging that Diageo North America starved Combs' brand partnership with Ciroc Vodka and DeLeon Tequila of resources.

He alleged that Diageo leadership told him his race was one of the reasons it limited distribution to urban neighborhoods.

He was also told that some Diageo leaders resented him for making too much money, according to the lawsuit.

Combs has been associated with the London-based company since 2007 when it approached him about Ciroc.

Diageo denied his claims  all of which Diddy has now rescinded, according to a statement shared with DailyMail.com. Now it's been reported that the case is over as Diddy has dismissed the lawsuit, suggesting both sides have reached a settlement; seen in May 2023

Combs has been associated with the London-based company since 2007 when it approached him about Ciroc; seen in September 2023

The resolution comes after Diddy reached a settlement with Cassie after his ex sued him for sexual and physical abuse during their past decades-long relationship

The alcoholic beverage giant owns more than 200 brands, including Guinness and Tanqueray.

The resolution comes after Diddy reached a settlement with Cassie after his ex sued him for sexual and physical abuse during their past decades-long relationship.

His billion dollar empire continues to face risk of crumbling as three other women sued him for sexual assault, rape and abuse back in November.

He has vehemently denied all claims and is also choosing to skip the 2024 Grammys due to the severity of the allegations.
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Model Olivia Jade Giannulli was spotted soaking up the sun during a Mexican getaway with friends this week.

The 24-year-old bombshell  who lives in Los Angeles and dates Saltburn star Jacob Elordi  flaunted her fit figure in a colorful two-toned string bikini.

The YouTube sensation wore a low-cut olive green top with thin straps as her ample bosom nearly spilled out of the look, which had delicate ruching.

She bared her washboard abs as she paired the top with cheeky orange bottoms that boasted golden yellow tie straps.

Elevating the look further, the fashionista  whose mom is Lori Loughlin  added a patterned floppy sun hat featuring the same tones as her swimwear.

It has been almost five years since she was involved in Varsity Blues, the name of the operation that looked at a criminal conspiracy to influence undergraduate admissions decisions at several top American universities.

Olivia Jade Giannulli was spotted soaking up the sun during a Mexican getaway with friends this week

The 24-year-old bombshell  who lives in Los Angeles  flaunted her fit figure in a colorful two-toned string bikini

The stylish accessory was neatly tied into a bow underneath her chin and she donned glossy, black, oval-shaped sunglasses. The young beauty showed off her tan lines while luxuriating with a group of friends in Puerto Vallarta.

At one point she carried a cream-colored, canvas tote bag over her shoulder as she walked barefoot in the sand.

While on her luxurious getaway, the star has continued posting to her 1.2 million Instagram followers.

Earlier this week, she promoted an upcoming piece of content for YouTube, writing to her fans, 'new youtube video is almost done being edited.'

The note was written in small white font placed over a scenic snapshot of palm trees and the sun setting on a beach.

Another post featured the stunner posing in front of a wooden gray door, dressed in a lavender bathing suit and a cream-colored netted cover-up.

The getaway comes after Giannulli and her parents were busted for fraud related to her college admissions scandal investigation.

The YouTube sensation wore a low-cut olive green top with thin straps as her ample bosom nearly spilled out of the look, which had delicate ruching

Elevating the look further, the fashionista  whose mom is Lori Loughlin  added a patterned floppy sun hat featuring the same tones as her swimwear

While on her luxurious getaway, the star has continued posting to her 1.2 million Instagram followers

Olivia's hat was neatly tied into a bow underneath her chin and she donned glossy, black, oval-shaped sunglasses

The young beauty showed off her tan lines while luxuriating with a group of friends in Puerto Vallarta

The makeup-maven has focused on her YouTube account in the time since she weathered her college admissions scandal

She has been dating Jacob Elordi - seen at the premiere of Saltburn held at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on November 14, in Los Angeles - on and off four two years

The salacious misconduct was codenamed Operation Varsity Blues by the Department of Justice and was made public in March 2019.

Loughlin and husband Mossimo Giannulli, 60, were among 50 people accused of paying bribes to get their children into the country's most elite colleges.

Prosecutors alleged the couple paid $500,000 to provide their Olivia and their other daughter Isabella Giannulli, 25, entry into University Of Southern California as recruits for the crew team, despite the fact that they hadn't previously participated in the sport.

Loughlin took a plea to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and was ordered to pay a $150,000 fine and complete 100 hours of community service on top of serving two months in prison.

The superstar strutted her stuff confidently as she spent some time away from LA

The star took a load off as she relaxed on a luxe cabana with a small group

Loughlin enjoyed the company of gal pals, who were also stylishly dressed in swimsuits

She was also hit with two years of supervised release that expired at the end of December 2023.

Giannulli also opted for a plea deal and was sentenced to five months in prison, fined $250,000 and ordered to complete 250 hours of community service.

Meanwhile, Olivia bounced back by leaning into her social media content which included creating makeup tutorials for her online audience.

She also enjoyed a stint on Dancing with the Stars in 2021 and told People that year, 'I want to keep evolving as a person, and I think sometimes it takes kind of difficult situations and mistakes and stuff that we're really not proud of to do that.'
Meadow Walker appeared to be keeping to herself as she was spotted in New York over the weekend.

The model, 25, was seen Sunday for the first time since announcing her split from husband Louis Thornton-Allan.

The runway model bundled up in a loosing fitting black mock turtleneck top and a black fleece lined black jacket.

She showcased her long legs in a pair of straight leg jeans. The cover model stepped out in a pair of black and white sneakers.

She is the daughter of the late actor Paul Walker, who is best know for his Fast And Furious films.

Meadow Walker, 25, appeared to be keeping to herself as she was spotted in New York over the weekend

The model, 25, was seen Sunday for the first time since announcing her split from husband Louis Thornton-Allan. Seen in 2022

Meadow styled her raven locks in a loose bun and appeared to be makeup free.

She wore dark sunglasses in the winter glare and carried a large black shoulder bag with a gold chain.

After announcing her separation from her husband of two years in late December, Meadow appears to have traveled to Australia, according to recent posts on social media.

In breaking the news about the demise of her marriage, she shared a joint statement with her soon-to-be ex, writing, 'We have come to the agreement to amicably separate.

'This is truly a united decision,' they continued, 'and we sincerely hope everyone can respect our wishes for privacy. We maintain mutual love and respect for one another, and will continue to support each other.'

Her mother is Paul's former girlfriend Rebecca Soteros, 49.

The Fast X actress is the president and founder of the Paul Walker Foundation, which carries on the Fast and Furious franchise star's passion for helping others.

The organization provides scholarships to teens aged 16 to 19 who are making an impact for good in their communities.

The model was seen Sunday for the first time since announcing her split from husband Louis Thornton-Allan

The runway model bundled up in a loosing fitting black mock turtleneck top and a black fleece lined black jacket. She showcased her long legs in a pair of straight leg jeans and stepped out in a pair of black and white sneakers

On Christmas Day, Meadow shared a black and white throwback photos with her father, which showed them goofing around in a hotel.

'Sending my love to everyone! This is a difficult time of year for so many. Talk to your loved ones and tell them you love them. Tomorrow isnt promised,' she captioned the image.

Meadow began modeling at age 17 after signing with DNA Models, according to her Instagram bio.

She has since walked the runway for big brands such as Balenciaga, Proenza Schouler, Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen.

The runway model wore dark sunglasses in the winter glare and carried a large black shoulder bag with a gold chain

Meadow is the only child of the late actor, Paul Walker and his former girlfriend Rebecca Soteros, 49. The Fast X actress is the president and founder of the Paul Walker Foundation, which carries on the Fast and Furious franchise star's passion for helping others

Seen with her father when she was a young child

The brown-eyed beauty appears to be relying on fellow model Grace Burns, 20, the daughter of supermodel Christy Turlington, 55, and actor/director Edward Burns, 55, for support.

A black and white snap of the two posted Monday on Meadow's Instagram was captioned 'To infinity and beyond.'

Writing December 15 on social media, Meadow promoted Grace's upcoming book of poetry, Derived From Us, writing, 'Grace, I love you!!!!'

'So grateful to call you family, my beautiful sister.'
Demi Moore is often attached at the hip with her adorable chihuahua Pilaf, and the actress couldn't have looked any happier reuniting with her pooch on Monday.

Demi, 61, beamed with joy as she was reunited with Pilaf following a trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Eyes closed, the tiny pooch looked sleepy as he enjoyed a ride in his owner's arms.

Demi smiled wide as she carried her ever-present companion in his arms as she departed the airport.

The Ghost actress kept it cute and casual for her flight into Los Angeles.

Demi Moore is often attached at the hip with her adorable chihuahua Pilaf, and the actress couldn't have looked any happier reuniting with her pooch on Monday

She donned a black jumpsuit teamed with a cream sweater and white sneakers.

Her raven black locks cascaded down in natural waves while a pair of fashionable sunnies shielded her eyes.

She emerged from the transport hub with a chic black purse in hand and a smile on her face.

Demi's beloved dog has made many appearances on his owner's Instagram account and has even attended several glamorous events with her.

The lucky pooch had quite the adventurous last few months, attending the Royal Ascot and even a Versace show with his owner.

Pilaf was front and center watching models walk down the runway in the arms of his owner.

Sharing snaps from the Versace event, Demi gushed in the caption: 'Pilafs big night out with the one and only @donatella_versace! Not to mention my hot date @mrkimjones and our perfect seat mates @pppiccioli @simona_caggia. We had a regular dog party. Absolutely stunning show.'

The dog even has his own Instagram account which boasts over 12K followers.

Moore emerged from the airport with a chic black purse in her hand

She lovingly carried her furry companion in her arms

Moore took Pilaf to the Royal Ascot over the summer

The lucky pooch even got to meet Donatella Versace in September

Pilaf was front and center watching models walk down the runway in the arms of his owner

On there, fans can find adorable snaps of the dog dressed up in an array of fun pet clothing.

Demi also has three daughters with ex-husband Bruce Willis, who has stepped away from public life after his family confirmed he is battling frontotemporal dementia.

During their marriage, they welcomed daughters Rumer, 35, Scout, 32, and Tallulah, 29.
Tunisia, China oppose interference in internal affairs under pretext of human rights

Xinhua) 13:23, January 16, 2024

Tunisian President Kais Saied (1st R) meets with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (1st L), also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, in Tunis, Tunisia, Jan. 15, 2024. (Xinhua/Huang Ling)

TUNIS, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian President Kais Saied and visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday expressed opposition to interference in other countries' internal affairs under the pretext of human rights and democracy.

During their talks here on Monday, Wang said the world today is afflicted with uncertainty and instability as well as rampant unilateralism, power politics and hegemony, said Wang, noting that China opposes the imposition of one's own values, opposes the transformation of other countries according to one's own standards, and opposes the interference in other countries' internal affairs under the pretext of human rights and democracy.

China is willing to strengthen unity and coordination with Tunisia to jointly implement the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative, to promote economic globalization featuring equal, orderly global multipolarity and inclusiveness.

Saied said that the history of colonialism cannot be repeated and the world cannot return to unipolar hegemony. Tunisia opposes double standards and interference in other countries' internal affairs under the banner of democracy and human rights.

"The series of important global initiatives proposed by President Xi (Jinping) demonstrate China's cultural heritage and global vision," said Saied, expressing willingness to work with China and other developing countries to safeguard common values of mankind, defend international fairness and justice, and build a community with a shared future.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Kevin Costner's ex-wife Christine Baumgartner has officially put the Yellowstone actor behind her and moved on with financier Josh Connor.

Last week DailyMail.com exclusively revealed Baumgartner, 49, had moved on with Costner's banker buddy Connor, 49 - just four months after her bitter divorce from the star, 68.

She was seen in her Range Rover dropping off her new man at his palatial Montecito home  less than five minutes from her own house - early Friday morning after a brief trip away.

The couple also traveled together at Christmastime - her new banker beau flew her to Hawaii on a private jet, sources told DailyMail.com.

Connor, himself a divorced father of three, became legally single on January 3, 2023  just five months before Baumgartner blindsided Costner by filing for divorce.

Kevin Costner 's ex-wife Christine Baumgartner has officially put the Yellowstone actor behind her and moved on with financier Josh Connor (pictured July 2023)

Last week DailyMail.com exclusively revealed Baumgartner , 49, had moved on with Connor, 49 - just four months after her bitter divorce from the star, 68 (pictured 2022)

Connor is a managing director and co-portfolio manager of Oaktree Capital's Infrastructure Investing strategy, specializing in the transportation sector.

He has worked for the asset management company since 2017 - after serving as a strategic advisor to the firms Infrastructure Investing team since September 2015.

Connor has worked as an investor, key strategic advisor, lender, and an investment banker to transportation companies around the world.

Before joining Oaktree, he founded Connor Capital SB, an investment firm that focuses on equity investments in transportation companies.

He also served as managing director and the co-head of the Industrials Banking Group at Barclays, a member of the Barclays Investment Banking Operating Committee, and Global Head of Transportation Banking.

He joined Barclays in 2011 from Morgan Stanley, where he spent 15 years and was the global co-head of the Morgan Stanley Transportation & Infrastructure Group, a member of the Morgan Stanley Investment Banking Management Committee, and on the Board of Trustees for the Morgan Stanley Foundation.

Connor currently serves on the boards of directors of Frontier Airlines and Copa Holdings (NYSE: CPA).

He received a B.A. degree in economics from Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Connor is a managing director and co-portfolio manager of Oaktree Capital's Infrastructure Investing strategy, specializing in the transportation sector

The pair were previously photographed laughing together on another vacation in Hawaii in July, accompanied by her daughter Grace and his youngest child Abigail, both 13, and it later emerged in court that the banker had loaned her $20,000 .

Accused by an irate Costner of having a new boyfriend, Baumgartner denied dating Connor under oath during an evidentiary hearing in Santa Barbara last August.

And, last week, the pair were repeatedly seen popping in and out of each others homes  despite both having their children with them.

Sources have told DailyMail.com that the romance has been going on for some time, with the couple taking a trip to New York in December ahead of their tropical Christmas.

The insider said: Theyre together and they have been for a while. They spent time before Christmas together in Hawaii while Kevin was presumably in Aspen with the kids.

They also made a trip to New York together. She hasnt been doing much to hide whats going on from her friends.

According to the source, the lovebirds met via their daughters who are themselves close friends and frequently hang out together.

As a result, Connor and his ex-wife Patricia, 48, have been pals with the Costner family for years with both living in Montecito  close to Baumgartners $50,000-a-month rental home and Costners $70m Carpinteria compound.

The pair were previously photographed laughing together on another vacation in Hawaii in July, accompanied by her daughter Grace and his youngest child Abigail, both 13, and it later emerged in court that the banker had loaned her $20,000

But Baumgartner and Connors once-platonic friendship has now heated up, with both the July vacation and the $20,000 loan scrutinized by Costners divorce lawyers.

In court, a tearful Baumgartner insisted that she and Connor are just good friends and said she shared a room with a female friend during the July vacation  which she admitted had been funded by the financier.

She was then forced to explain a $20,000 loan handed to her by Connor - $10,000 of which she said had been paid to her mother while the rest had been returned.

The glamorous blonde then had to admit that Costner had been making monthly payments of $5,000 to help her parents which had stopped when she filed for divorce.

She told court that the $10,000 had been handed over to make up the shortfall  and insisted she planned to pay it back.

Despite her denials, a bystander said the new couple had looked cozy during their July vacation, with photos showing them strolling down the beach and grinning ear-to-ear.

They have kids together: Kevin and Christine seen with their children in 2019

The onlooker exclusively told DailyMail.com: She sat with the guy at a corner table. He was handsome.

They started off across the table from each other and she was laughing a lot at whatever he was saying.

'She was showing him photos from her phone, and he moved to the seat next to her so they were both facing the water.

Its hard to say if there was anything going on with them, but he did put his hand on her leg at one point that I saw. That was the only actual physical interaction.

'Her suite is right next to the guys suite. He had the drinks charged to his room and they left together right before sunset.

Baumgartner and Connor have kept their relationship under wraps since then, with the Costners settling their divorce weeks after the evidentiary hearing.

The mom-of-three had hoped to be awarded $165,000-a-month child support payments and was also fighting to overturn their prenuptial agreement which would have provided her with a one-off sum of $1.5m and no alimony.

She told court of the couples lavish $11million-a-year lifestyle that included a $160,000 ranch in Colorado and a sprawling beachfront estate in Carpinteria, and said she needed to rent a property for $100,000-a-month in order to provide a comparable lifestyle for her children.

Baumgartner also claimed her lavish four-bedroom Montecito rental is unsuitable because her sons have to share a bedroom and the luxury property lacks sea views.

Judge Thomas Anderle was unimpressed with her arguments and slashed her child support award to $63,000-a-month, down from a temporary $129,000.

Despite vowing to fight on, weeks later, Baumgartner and Costner settled their divorce  which friends later told DailyMail.com she did reluctantly.

Connors divorce took longer to finalize, with the banker filing to end his marriage citing irreconcilable differences in November 2022.

The former couple finally agreed to an equal custody split over a year later, with Connor on the hook to pay ex-wife Patricia $16,500-a-month in spousal support unless she marries again.

On top of that, Patricia was awarded $16,626 in child support, although that has now been slashed by $3,325 because elder daughter Lily has just turned 20.

Younger daughter Abigail, 13, and son John, 17, remain covered by the payments with school fees shared by both parents.
He's the hunky Australian model who once starred in a string of sultry Calvin Klein underwear ads.

But Travis Fimmel looks worlds away from his days as an early 2000s pin-up in his new Netflix series Boy Swallows Universe.

The Vikings actor plays the role of drug dealer Lyle Orlik in the hit show, and is seen wearing an array of daggy 80's-style outfits while sporting a shaggy salt-and-pepper beard and mullet and an earring.

The new look is very different from his sleek modelling ads.

The Victoria-born star made a name for himself in 2002 as the first male model to land a six figure deal to pose exclusively for Calvin Klein for one year.

He's the hunky Australian model who once starred in a string of sultry Calvin Klein underwear ads, but Travis Fimmel looks worlds away from his days as an early 2000s pin-up in his new Netflix series Boy Swallows Universe. (Travis pictured in Calvin Klein ad in 2002)

Travis appeared on dozens of billboards across LA, causing traffic jams in the area due to the raunchy nature of his images.

The character of Jerry 'Smith' Jarrod from Sex and the City is said to have been inspired by Travis, who also appeared in spreads and on the covers of magazines like W.

Since then, Travis has turned his attention to acting.

He first made waves in the acting world in 2003 after landing the leading role in Warner Bros. series Tarzan.

However it wasn't until 2013 when Travis really hit the big time, scoring the iconic role of Ragnar Lothbrok in the hit TV series Vikings, which aired between 2013 and 2017.

The actor plays the role of drug dealer Lyle Orlik in the hit show, and is seen wearing an array of 80s-style outfits while sporting a shaggy salt-and-pepper beard and mullet and an earring

He went on to appear as Anduin Lothar in Warcraft (2016) and starred in the science fiction series Raised by Wolves (2020).

In 2023, he appeared in two Stan Original series - Black Snow and Caught.

While Travis is based in LA, he spends plenty of time in Australia and even recently his own Aussie lager brand Travla with MasterChef judge Andy Allen.

His latest project Boy Swallows Universe has earned rave reviews form audiences.

Adapted from Trent Dalton's iconic novel, Boy Swallows Universe is an extraordinary tale that explores the trials and tribulations of two brothers - Eli and August - who grow up in 1980s suburban Brisbane.

The series was released in full on January 11, and plenty of Netflix subscribers have already binged their way through all seven-plus hours - hailing the show as 'beautiful and brilliant.'

Staying true to its Aussie roots, the series stars an A-List lineup of Australian actors, including Phoebe Tonkin as Frances Bell, Eli's mother.

Adapted from Trent Dalton's iconic novel, Boy Swallows Universe is an extraordinary tale that explores the trials and tribulations of two brothers - Eli and August - who grow up in 1980s suburban Brisbane. (Travis and Phoebe Tonkin pictured with co-stars Lee Halley and Felix Cameron)

The troubled tale first tugged at the heartstrings of many Australians when the book was released in 2018 - with particular elements of the story revealed to be loosely inspired by some of the author's very own childhood experiences.

Speaking to the Townsville Bulletin in July 2018, Trent recalled that he himself grew up with two unconventional male role models.

One was his criminal stepfather, and the second was a family friend, Arthur 'Slim' Halliday, who was a convicted killer and prison escapee notoriously known as 'The Houdini of Boggo Road.'

Describing his stepfather as the 'first man I ever truly loved,' Trent, as a boy, would look up to the man he called 'Dad' - despite his shady, dark doings as a criminal.

However, when his stepfather was taken away by police, the novelist began to funnel his desire to find out more about his father figure's secret life into writing a book, based on 'answers that never came.'

The series was released in full on January 11, and plenty of Netflix subscribers have already binged their way through all seven-plus hours - hailing the show as 'beautiful and brilliant'
Jamie Lee Curtis looked sophisticated wearing a plum pantsuit and nude heels while promoting her 14th children's book in Midtown Manhattan on Tuesday.

Hairstylist Sean James coiffed the 65-year-old Oscar winner's signature silver pixie cut and make-up artist Grace Ahn made sure she was camera ready for her press tour.

Jamie began her morning on TODAY wearing a pink pantsuit from Another Tomorrow in order to properly celebrate the 'book birthday' for Just One More Sleep.

The 32-page book - illustrated by Laura Cornell - aims to teach children between the ages of three and seven all about the wonders of delayed gratification.

'It's about how hard it is to wait for something. Now all of us adults have to wait for things,' Curtis told Hoda Kotb.

Jamie Lee Curtis looked sophisticated wearing a plum-colored pantsuit and nude heels while promoting her 14th children's book in Midtown Manhattan on Tuesday

Hairstylist Sean James coiffed the 65-year-old Oscar winner's signature silver pixie cut and make-up artist Grace Ahn made sure she was camera ready for her press tour

'The pandemic taught us how to wait for things because we stopped everything. But for children, they compartmentalize time. They can't really understand time. But they can understand how many more sleeps until their birthday.'

The NY Times bestselling author's book originated when she told her young neighbor Betty that Santa Claus was on his way on Christmas Eve and she replied: 'No. One more sleep, then Santa!'

Jamie - who's nearing 25 years of sobriety - also discussed her lessons on growing old gracefully.

'I'm much less hard on myself,' Curtis explained.

'I'm very much in acceptance of what I look like, and I own what I think and feel. And that, to me, is what maturity is - you own what you think and feel. I say what I mean. I mean what I say. I try not to say it mean. And that's a way, then, to grow into my old age.'

The Haunted Mansion actress also took part in a cooking segment where she baked her favorite lemon cake recipe.

On December 18, Jamie and her husband Christopher Guest impressively celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary.

'39,' Curtis - who boasts 13.5M social media followers - announced on Instagram at the time. 'My hand in his.'

Jamie began her morning on TODAY wearing a pink pantsuit from Another Tomorrow in order to properly celebrate the 'book birthday' for Just One More Sleep

The 32-page book - illustrated by Laura Cornell - aims to teach children between the ages of three and seven all about the wonders of delayed gratification

Curtis told Hoda Kotb: 'It's about how hard it is to wait for something. Now all of us adults have to wait for things. The pandemic taught us how to wait for things because we stopped everything. But for children, they compartmentalize time. They can't really understand time. But they can understand how many more sleeps until their birthday'

The NY Times bestselling author's book originated when she told her young neighbor Betty that Santa Claus was on his way on Christmas Eve and she replied: 'No. One more sleep, then Santa!'

Jamie - who's nearing 25 years of sobriety - also discussed her lessons on growing old gracefully: 'I'm much less hard on myself'

Curtis explained: 'I'm very much in acceptance of what I look like, and I own what I think and feel. And that, to me, is what maturity is - you own what you think and feel. I say what I mean. I mean what I say. I try not to say it mean. And that's a way, then, to grow into my old age'

On December 18, the Haunted Mansion actress and her husband Christopher Guest (L, pictured September 3) impressively celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary

Jamie - who boasts 13.5M social media followers - announced on Instagram at the time: '39. My hand in his'

Next month, the 75-year-old British baron (M, pictured in 1984) will reprise his iconic role as lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel in Rob Reiner's rock-mockumentary sequel Spinal Tap II alongside Michael McKean (R) and Harry Shearer (L)

Audiences can next catch Curtis as crazed scientist Dr. Patricia Tannis in Eli Roth's long-delayed video game-inspired comedy Borderlands - hitting US/UK theaters August 9 - alongside Kevin Hart (M, pictured in 2021) and Cate Blanchett (R)

The Los Angeles native and the 75-year-old British baron are proud parents of two adopted daughters - Annie Guest, 37; and Ruby Guest, 27.

Next month, Christopher will reprise his iconic role as lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel in Rob Reiner's rock-mockumentary sequel Spinal Tap II alongside Michael McKean and Harry Shearer.

Paul McCartney, Elton John, and Garth Brooks are all set to make cameos in the long-awaited follow-up to the 76-year-old filmmaker's 1984 cult classic This Is Spinal Tap.

In November, Jamie was 'thrilled to join' the 'wonderful ensemble' of James L. Brooks' political drama Ella McCray alongside Emma Mackey, Woody Harrelson, Ayo Edebiri, Albert Brooks, and Kumail Nanjiani.

But audiences can next catch Curtis as crazed scientist Dr. Patricia Tannis in Eli Roth's long-delayed video game-inspired comedy Borderlands - hitting US/UK theaters August 9 - alongside Kevin Hart and Cate Blanchett.

The Halloween alum calls herself the 'OG nepo baby' having had a leg up in showbusiness thanks to her famous parents Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis.
Love Island All Star viewers were left fuming and accused Mitch of 'love bombing' Liberty during Tuesday's show.

The pair, who are coupled up with other islanders, have been growing close during their first 24-hours in the villa with things heating up during the latest episode.

Mitch, 27, who last year was branded 'messy' by viewers for similar antics, flirted up a storm as he praised the blonde beauty, 24, before placing his hand on her thigh.

He even suggested they should marry, with Liberty appearing enamoured by the hunky gas engineer and went on to rub sun cream into his back.

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one viewer said: 'It's only been 24-hours and Messy Mitch is already talking about getting married!'.

Love Island All Star viewers were left fuming and accused Mitch of 'love bombing' Liberty during Tuesday's show

The pair, who are coupled up with other islanders, have been growing close during their first 24-hours in the villa with things heating up during the latest episode

While a second asked: 'How come Liberty does not recognise lovebombing?'.

And a third said: 'Messy Mitch is going to finish liberty, she doesnt have a clue'.

While someone else wrote: 'Liberty is falling fast, I can already hear the sound of her heart breaking when Mitch picks the next bombshell'.

Another viewer commented: 'Mitch will surely give you a show cos tell me why he is already planning a wedding with Liberty'.

With another saying: 'Liberty needs to wake up , Mitch will be worse than Jake [Cornish] wont be long till she starts the tears , she confuses me with her choices'.

And: 'Liberty is too soft for this show..why does she keep coming back? My babe is in love after one day?? And to make it worse, she is in love with Messy Mitch??? Somebody help'.

Mitch, 27, who last year was branded 'messy' by viewers for similar antics, flirted up a storm as he praised the blonde beauty, 24, before placing his hand on her thigh

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter , one viewer said: 'It's only been 24-hours and Messy Mitch is already talking about getting married!'

Elsewhere in the episode Messy Mitchel was brutally pied by Kaz Kamwi, leaving fans in hysterics.

He was coupled-up with Kaz, 29, by the public during Monday's launch episode of the series.

And, as the moments after the coupling was shown on Tuesday, Mitchel was seen being put in his place by Kaz.

Sitting by the fire pit, he told her: 'This is a big moment for you. You're my best mate here.'

Kaz seemed delighted with Mitchel's revelation but she immediately hit back: 'This is a big moment for you too because I accept it.'

Viewers of the show thought the moment was hilarious, with many taking to social media to react.

Elsewhere in the episode Messy Mitchel was brutally pied by Kaz Kamwi , leaving fans in hysterics

One person wrote: 'Kaz friendzoning Mitch in 0.2 seconds was hilarious. I think their friendship couple could be interesting to watch!'

Someone else posted: 'Good on kaz for shutting Mitch down early.'

While someone else shared: 'I knew kaz and Mitch are just friend zone,' while another person posted: 'Kaz friend zoning mitch IMMEDIATELY b4 he could!'

Referring to the public vote, one show fan wrote: 'Thank God! The delusional Kaz & Mitch ship yall created can end.'

Someone else wrote: 'So glad Kaz and Mitch arent going to fake try, best thing establishing theyre a friendship couple and a friendship couple ONLY day 1.'

And another viewer remarked: 'Kaz & Mitch established friend zone already Lmao.'

Another viewer demanded: 'Producers yall got 24hrs to bring someone in for Kaz a friendship couple with Messy Mitch who will backstab her in a heartbeat for his type will not do.'
Exes Emma Stone and Kieran Culkin enjoyed two sweet awards show reunions recently - 13 years after their split.

Stone, 35, and Culkin, 41, who both triumphed at Sunday's Critics Choice Awards for their turns in Poor Things and Succession respectively, were seen embracing as they celebrated their wins.

The actress looked delighted as she hugged Culkin as they celebrated during the night.

The pair also reunited on January 12 at the AFI Awards Luncheon, enthusiastically greeting one another on the red carpet.

Culkin is now married to Jazz Charton, with whom he shares two children, while Stone is married to Dave McCary and the pair share daughter Louise, two.

Exes Emma Stone and Kieran Culkin enjoyed two sweet awards show reunions recently - 15 years after their split (pictured at Sunday's Critics Choice Awards)

Stone dated Culkin for two years after working on comedy flop Paper Man with co-stars Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Daniels and Lisa Kudrow (pictured 2009)

Stone dated Culkin for two years after working on comedy flop Paper Man with co-stars Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Daniels and Lisa Kudrow.

While the film sank without trace - getting only a limited released across north America - the former couple's romance blossomed before finally ending in 2011.

Culkin broke down in tears as he continued his Succession winning streak to win the Actor In A Drama series Emmy at Monday's ceremony.

The Roman Roy actor thanked his mother Patricia 'for giving me life' and told wife Jazz Charton he wants more children during his emotional speech.

He said: 'I love you all so much, especially everyone in the cast. J, Alan, Sarah, Brian, every single one I love you.

'I'm not going to have time, I don't want to get yelled at so... I've got to thank Jesse Armstrong for being a brilliant writer, showrunner and gentleman, thank you for Succession, thank you for everything.'

Kieran then fought back tears as he continued: 'I've got to switch to the personal really fast. I have to thank my mom for giving me life, my childhood which was great, so thank you for that.

'I have to thank my manager, Emily Gerson Saines, who I've been with about 29 years - sorry Emily, you probably didn't want me to say the number but I did.

'I just have to thank you for keeping my name in the conversation when nobody else was talking about me so as far as I'm concerned this is yours.

Stone, 35, and Culkin, 41, who both triumphed at Sunday's Critics Choice Awards for their turns in Poor Things and Succession respectively, were seen embracing as they celebrated their wins

The pair also reunited on January 12 at the AFI Awards Luncheon, enthusiastically greeting one another on the red carpet

Stone dated Culkin for two years after working on comedy flop Paper Man with co-stars Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Daniels and Lisa Kudrow (pictured 2010 with Jeff Daniels)

Culkin broke down in tears as he continued his Succession winning streak to win the Actor In A Drama series Emmy at Monday's ceremony

The star won for his portrayal of the youngest Roy son Roman in Succession

Culkin is now married to Jazz Charton, with whom he shares two children

Stone is married to Dave McCary and the pair share daughter Louise, two (pictured last week)

'And of course, my beautiful wife Jazz. Thank you for sharing your life with me and for giving me two amazing kids. Kinsey Sioux and Wilder Wolf, I love you so much.

He quipped: 'And Jazz - I want more. You said maybe, if I win. I love you so much.'

Culkin beat out his Succession co-stars Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong in the category, along with Jeff Bridges  The Old Man, Bob Odenkirk  Better Call Saul and Pedro Pascal  The Last of Us.

It was a stellar night for Succession, with the drama also winning awards for Lead Actress for Sarah Snook, 36, before the series as a whole earned top honor Best Drama Series in its final season.

Emma was one of the biggest winners of the night at the Critics Choice as she earned Best Actress for Poor Things.

The actress - who also triumphed at the Golden Globe Awards last week - was in disbelief as she won over a very stacked category which included the likes of Lily Gladstone - Killers Of The Flower Moon, Sandra Huller - Anatomy of a Fall, Greta Lee - Past Lives, Carey Mulligan - Maestro, Margot Robbie - Barbie.

Emma Stone scored an upset win in the Best Actress category for Poor Things at the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday

In Poor Things she portrays Bella Baxter/Victoria Blessington who is a woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist, Dr. Godwin Baxter (played by Willem Dafoe)

She recognized each of her competitors individually during the beginning of her acceptance speech as she said: 'Um, I'll be honest. I'm in full blown I didn't have anything that I was going to say because this is completely crazy. This category is ridiculous. Lily, I mean, come on. Margot. What in the Carey. Okay. Greta and Sandra Huller. This doesn't make any sense.

'Thank you so much for this. It means to such. I was being serious. I don't know what to say. This table here is poor things table. This crew, this cast, mark, Chris, Katherine hunter, Hannah. There are so many unbelievable people I was lucky enough to work with and searchlight and Ed and Tony. That's how we are supposed to say it to a Greek man if we are speaking to them. I love you. Thank you for everything. This is, uh, really wild.'

In Poor Things she portrays Bella Baxter/Victoria Blessington who is a woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist, Dr. Godwin Baxter (played by Willem Dafoe).
Kate Moss has sparked rumours she's planning a big 50th birthday bash in Paris, as her daughter Lila jets of to France.

The model, 21, was spotted carrying several bags and what seemed to be a very large Stella McCartney dress out of her London house.

Lila, who was dressed in a black trench coat and Madeleine Thompson Cashmere jumper, then climbed into a taxi with her boyfriend Yoni Helbitz.

She has been dating dating Yoni, 23, for around a year, with his identity confirmed in August.

Lila later shared an Instagram post, which showed her catching a private jet to the capital city of France.

Kate Moss has sparked rumours she's planning a big 50th birthday bash in Paris, as her daughter Lila jets of to France

Lila and mother Kate pictured at the Met Gala in 2023

Elsewhere, Kate's best mate DJ Fat Tony shared a social media snap showing he was also on a plane.

He also shared a birthday message to the star on Tuesday: 'Happy birthday @katemossagency you make 50 the new 30 keep shining brighter xxxx'

Meanwhile, Rita Ora hailed Kate as one of her 'favourite humans' as she shared her own selection of photos.

'Happy birthday to one of my favourite humans on the planet. So grateful for ALL of our memories to many for me to put into one post!' she wrote.

'Thank you for your guidance all of these years and your loyalty and your work ethic is 0 to none. Keep being the star you are and shine for eternity!

Rita concluded: 'I cant wait to celebrate with you weve got so many more memories to make! I love you!'

Kate has hosted some of the most legendary parties in British history, from her Beautiful And The Damned-themed 30th held in a Claridges suite to her Eighties-themed 40th that started in Mayfair and ended 48 hours later in her ten-bedroom Cotswolds home.

Cameras were banned at her previous birthday parties and are once again expected to be vetoed at this event.

Kate is in the process of a grand reinvention as she celebrates turning 50.

The model, 21, was spotted carrying several bags and what seemed to be a very large Stella McCartney dress out of her London house

Lila, who was dressed in a black trench coat, then climbed into a taxi with her boyfriend Yoni Helbitz

She has been dating dating Yoni, 23, for around a year, with his identity confirmed in August

Lila went makeup free, showing off her natural beauty, during the trip

Lila later shared an Instagram post, which showed her catching a private jet to the capital city of France

Elsewhere, Kate's best mate DJ Fat Tony shared a social media snap showing he was also on a plane

She has left behind the raucous North London scene of her 20s and 30s, and has now settled in a honey-coloured Grade II-listed mansion in the Cotswolds.

For those of us who remember Kate's youthful heyday, when a cigarette was almost permanently dangling from her lips, this might seem something of an 180 degree turn.

Back in her 20s and 30s and at the peak of her desirability as a model, her beauty regime was virtually confined to a habit of plunging that lovely face into a basin of iced water to clear the head after a heavy night out. She never exercised.

Now, though, the proud owner of wellness business Cosmoss, which sells a range of own-brand teas, skincare products and a book of 150 'positive messages', she does 'everything'.

She has a 4,000 Cadillac Pilates reformer machine at home, and personal trainer, Hortense Suleyman.

Supermodel Kate (pictured) is in the process of a grand reinvention as she turns 50

She walks and lifts weights, as well as trying all and every expensive treatment and tweakment - though she's not keen to talk about it.

'No comment. Au naturel. Next,' she blustered when asked about it earlier this year. However, she uses an aesthetician who is renowned as one of the best Botox and filler practitioners in London.

She will admit to loving various expensive face masks and Neal's Yard essential oils. She also uses a 2,000 at-home LED device that claims to have an anti-ageing affect and makes her skin feel 'brighter and tighter'.

She has regular juice fasts, and favours the week-long juice-only programme at wellness LifeCo resort in Turkey - she's visited every year for the past decade.
Love Island: All Stars kicked off on Sunday night and fans are all saying the same thing about series one alumnus Luis Morrison - he's hot!

Luis, 29, finished the 2015 series of Love Island in fourth place with Cally Jane Beech whom he went on to have daughter Vienna, six, with.

The couple sadly split when Vienna was 10 weeks old. Later, Luis dated influencer Chloe Elizabeth and they later had son, Romeo, together.

Luis and Elizabeth split in 2022, when Romeo was nine months old, and Luis has been single since.

Hannah Elizabeth was also on series one of Love Island - she finished the competition in second place with Jon Clark, who famously proposed to her.

Love Island: All Stars kicked off on Sunday night and fans are all saying the same thing about series one alumnus Luis Morrison - he's hot!

The star is looking for love for a second time, and is the only male series one alum, but that could change as this series promises twists

Hannah Elizabeth was also on series one of Love Island - she finished the competition in second place with Jon Clark, who famously proposed to her

The duo appeared delighted to be reunited as they rushed to hug each other after Luis entered the villa alongside Toby.

Taking to Twitter, Love Island fans could not stop fawning over the father of two's dashing looks.

'Luis is still cuteeeeee #LoveIsland' wrote one.

'Who is this Luis that I've never seen before?' Wrote another, throwing in a heart-eye emoji.

'Luis is the lengest [most attractive] ngl [not going to lie] #LoveIsland' wrote a third, matter-of-fact fan.

'Hello, Luis is FOINE #LoveIsland' wrote another.

'Omg sexy as fcuk #luis but gotta feeling he's a heartbreaker #LoveIslandAllStars #LoveIsland' theorised one viewer.

'Luis is the only one that is slightly handsome #LoveIsland' declared a particularly brutal fan.

The duo appeared delighted to be reunited as they rushed to hug each other after Luis entered the villa alongside Toby

Taking to Twitter, Love Island fans could not stop fawning over the father of two's dashing lo

Luis, 29, finished the 2015 series of Love Island in fourth place with Cally Jane Beech whom he went on to have daughter Vienna, 6, with (pictured in 2017)

Love Island: All Stars airs Sunday to Friday at 9 pm on ITV1. The series is available to watch on catch-up on ITVX
A cooler home has also been shown to improve sleep quality and length

Turning the thermostat down a few degrees may not sound comfortable, especially during today's great freeze.

But a chilly home could be the secret to cutting your chances of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease, as well as getting better sleep.

That's according to Professor Hannah Pallubinsky, a researcher at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, who studies the effect of temperature on the body.

Here, MailOnline explores why turning your heating down a notch  for short, fixed periods  could overhaul your health.

A cool room has been shown to improve the bodies glucose metabolism, which is how quickly excess sugar is removed from the blood

Cuts type 2 diabetes risk

Turning your heating down slightly, could help lower your risk of type 2 diabetes, according to Professor Pallubinsky.

One of her studies involved exposing volunteers to 14 to 15C (57.2 to 59F)  a relatively cold room  for six hours a day over ten days.

The researchers took measurements of glucose metabolism  how quickly excess sugar is removed from the blood  before and after the cold exposure.

Results showed participants marked improvements in glucose metabolism after the study. People were up to 40 per cent better at controlling their blood glucose levels.

Speaking on Dr Michael Mosley's BBC podcast Cold Therapy, Professor Pallubinsky said: 'This was due to something called glucose transporter 4. We saw much more of that in muscle cells after cold acclimation.

'It's a protein that can remove glucose from the bloodstream more quickly, which is a positive thing as that can really improve glucose metabolism.'

However, experts recommended that those hoping to harness the health benefits of cooler temperatures should start by turning the thermostat down just a couple of degrees for a few hours a day before building up to longer and colder.

Being too cold can trigger hypothermia, which young and old people are especially vulnerable to.

People with heart problems should also be extra careful, as blood vessels constrict in response to the cold, which can cause blood pressure and heart raise to rise.

Keeping the heating at about 15 degrees might also lower blood pressure and reduce cholesterol

Lowers risk of cardiovascular disease

Spending time in a cooler environment may also lower the risk of heart disease.

That could be because brown fat can increase when the body adapts to the cold, according to Professor Pallubinsky's study.

Brown fat is thought to reduce cholesterol, combat obesity and reduce blood pressure, all of which can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Professor Pallubinsky told the podcast: 'Brown fat is called brown fat because when you look at it under the microscope, it has lots of these little energy factories called mitochondria, which have a brown-ish colour.'

These cells can make heat to maintain the body's 37C (98.6F) internal temperature.

Unlike white fat, which is seen in abundance around midriffs, bottoms and chins, the brown type is invisibly and compactly distributed deep inside, especially around the shoulder blades, spine and kidneys.

It is thought to be strategically located to keep important organs warm.

Keeping your heating somewhere in the region of 16 to 20 degrees Celsius could help you harness the cold and have a deeper and longer sleep

A cooler room means deeper sleep

A cold room can provide the perfect conditions for the best night's sleep.

That's because it could help the body naturally cool down when it's time to sleep and make it easier to fall into a deep sleep.

A cooler room temperature can make it easier to fall asleep, as it is working in concert with the body's biological clock.

'At night time our body temperature reduces, this happens around the time we want to go to bed, it is almost a signal for us to go to sleep,' said Professor Kathryn Reid, a an expert in neurology at the Centre for Circadian and Sleep Medicine at Northwestern University in Illinois.

'So, when the core body temperature rhythm starts to decline, by about 1C, the body is telling you this is the time you should be sleeping,' she told the podcast.

'We want to synchronise our activities around what our body is telling us to do.'

Dr Reid recommended making the room you sleep in cool, dark and quiet by either turning the thermostat down, opening a window or turning on a fan.

One study, raised in the podcast, saw healthy volunteers sleep in either a 17C (62.6F) or 22C (71.6F) room.

The volunteers who slept in the cooler room spent a higher percentage of the night in the deepest stage of sleep, called N3.

This stage of sleep is vital for memory, brain health, tissue repair and strengthening the immune system.

The cooler room also helped people spend more time in a REM cycle which is important for consolidating memories.

Another trail, published in 2012 in the journal Sleep, studied 40 people suffering from constructive sleep apnoea, a disorder which causes breathing to stop and start, interrupting sleep.

Participants slept in a lab for three nights either with a temperature of 16, 20 or 24C (60.8, 68, 75.2F).

Researchers found those that slept at 16C slept significantly longer and spent less time awake.
Doctors revealed which cold and cough treatments at the pharmacy to skip

It may seem like everyone is coming down with a pesky winter bug.

Along with recent spikes in flu, Covid, and RSV as part of America's tripledemic, more and more people have found themselves fighting a lingering cough or sore throat.

And many will be heading to the pharmacy to stock up on medications - but according to recent developments, very few of the products you may have once relied upon actually work.

Last year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled that decongestant Sudafed 'is not effective' compared to a placebo, sparking debates on whether or not the drug should be pulled.

Sudafed's active ingredient is phenylephrine, which is used to treat sinus congestion and pressure, but the medicine is also advertised as a treatment for stuffy nose.

The US is in the midst of a surge in flu and cold cases. Experts revealed which treatments actually work

Phenylephrine was approved by the FDA in the 1970s to shrink the dilated blood vessels in the nose, relieving nasal and sinus congestion.

But since then, more research has come out showing that, because the medicine is metabolized in the gut, less than one percent reaches the nose.

So, what can you take to help you speed up the recovery process, if anything?

Now, DailyMail.com has called on pharmacists and doctors to uncover the best products to use to tackle that sore throat and stuffy nose - and what to ditch completely.

MOST SUDAFED IS USELESS - BUT THERE'S ONE PRODUCT THAT COULD HELP

Dr Dahlia Philips, an infectious disease physician and medical director of MetroPlusHealth in New York, told DailyMail.com that one important tip is to look for the ingredients on the packets of medicine.

Products like Sudafed that contain the decongestant phenylephrine should be avoided, according to Dr Philips.

However, some Sudafed products use the active drug pseudoephedrine, which has been shown to reduce cold symptoms.

Drugs with this ingredient can only be purchased from behind the pharmacy counter due to it being used to make methamphetamine.

Graphic shows the common symptoms (green tick), occasional and possible symptoms (orange circle) and the symptoms that never occur (red cross) with the common cold, flu and Covid

Meanwhile, other decongestants like Robitussin and Mucinex, are unlikely to help much.

These claim to break up excess mucus in the airways and make it easier to breathe, but Dr Philips said: 'Maybe they have some marginal benefit, but we're talking very low percentage here, like five percent benefit.'

TRY TYLENOL AND IBUPROFEN FOR FEVERS AND MUSCLE ACHES

Additionally, Dr Philips recommends stocking up on Tylenol and Advil. These contain acetaminophen, which reduces inflammation in the body that leads to fever and pain.

'Ibuprofen or Tylenol, in terms of an anti-inflammatory component, are really effective for sore throat and congestion,' she said.

'If you really want to take something, I would make sure you have either Tylenol or Advil, Ibuprofen, or Motrin at home for your aches and pains and fevers.'

She adds that painkillers with active ingredients like acetaminophen and diphenhydramine - found in drugs like Tylenol and Benadryl - are also effective for inflammation - and could help clear congestion.

NASAL SPRAYS ARE KING

Nasal sprays containing phenylephrine - available for as little as $5 online - are likely to be effective, said Dr Philips. Afrin is one example, costing $9.99 at Walmart.

Dr Jennifer Bourgeois, a pharmacist at SingleCare, told DailyMail.com: 'Those are actually really effective.'

'We don't want to use them for more than three days or we can get what we call rebound congestion.'

Rebound rhinitis happens when you take a nasal decongestant too often. This overuse leads to irritation and inflammation in the nasal passages, causing more congestion.

'It's really recommended for short-term usage,' Dr Philips said.

She suggests using these nasal sprays during times when you need fast relief, such as to relieve sinus pressure while on an airplane, rather than relying on them every time you get a cold.

...AS ARE NASAL RINSES

Dr Jennifer Bourgeois is a 'big proponent' of saline rinses. 'Those are very effective at clearing mucus,' she said.

'We know that if mucus sits in those sinus cavities for extended periods of time, it makes the patient more susceptible to infections, so clearing those sinus cavities out if typically going to be a good idea.'

One way of doing this is with a Neti Pot, costing around $13, which is a plastic teapot with a long spout.

Using this involves placing the spout in your upper nostril and tilting your head sideways over a sink. By gentling pouring the solution into one nostril, mucus should spill out of the other.

HONEY IS EFFECTIVE...BUT VITAMIN C IS A WASTE OF YOUR MONEY

Dr Bourgeois also recommends opting for a cup of tea with honey, as honey has natural antioxidants, which reduce inflammation. This can be soothing for a sore throat.

A 2020 study from Oxford University, for example, found that honey was more effective in relieving cold and flu symptoms than commercial medications.

Though vitamin C is known for its immune-boosting antioxidants, don't bother adding it to the rotation once you've come down with a cold.

'Vitamin C may have some slight benefit in terms of preventing illness, but once you're sick, taking vitamin C really does not shorten the duration of illness in any way,' Dr Philips said.

As for the old adage that garlic helps treat viruses, the experts say there's no science to back this claim up.

And although some evidence suggests that garlic has similar antioxidants, Dr Philips warns that it won't get rid of your cold. 'That hasn't been proven,' she said.
Emulating successful coalitions like the Janata Party, United Front and National Front could prove advantageous for the opposition parties in the forthcoming elections

Congress Party's responsibilities have increased with the decision of the INDIA bloc to name Congress President Mallikharjun Kharge as the President. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has declined the post of convenor. Forming partnerships before elections is relatively easy, but the real challenge lies in agreeing on seats. How difficult is seat-sharing for the INDIA Bloc, and can the Opposition overcome the obstacles before the polls?

The Congress party is leading a coalition of 26 partners to find a solution that satisfies everyone. They have decided to nominate a single candidate to contest against the Bharatiya Janata Party to prevent the opposition vote from being divided. However, the Congress-led coalition finds itself in a difficult position as most regional parties are bargaining hard for more seats, which could only come at the cost of the Congress party's interests. Mallikarjun Kharge has instructed the Party to initiate talks with other allied leaders to address this dilemma. It indicates that the Congress was prepared to contest in fewer seats, this time to accommodate the partners. The Congress party had formed alliances with other political parties in several states before the elections. It joined with DMK in Tamil Nadu, RJD. JD (U) in Bihar, and JMM. in Jharkhand.

Although these alliances continue, the Congress knows that seat-sharing will be challenging in certain states, particularly Delhi, Punjab, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh. The Congress party is currently trying to strike a balance between meeting the needs of their Party and their allies. It faces the challenge of maintaining positive relationships with its regional partners. The Congress's local units differ with the top leadership about giving away seats to partners. Seeing the reality, Kharge has directed the Party's alliance committee to put in extra efforts to accommodate allies. He has also reached out to opposition leaders to coordinate with the INDIA Bloc.

The Congress will fight against the BJP directly in 13 states and against non-BJP parties in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha, and Telangana. The Congress will share space with the CPI (M) in West Bengal and Tripura. In the past, Congress wielded significant political power in Delhi and Punjab. However, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has emerged as a strong contender against Congress' dominance, as it now holds power in both states. While the Congress aims for four seats in Delhi and seven in Punjab, the ruling AAP. The party seeks a larger share of seats.

Additionally, the AAP plans to contest in other states like Goa, Haryana, and Gujarat. Similarly, in UP, the Samajwadi Party; in Bihar, RJD. and JD (U); in Jammu and Kashmir, the National Conference and PDP; and in Tamil Nadu, DMK. are expected to have the upper hand. The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, will be in control of her state. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) are aiming to secure a larger share of seats than their partners in the INDIA Bloc. During the 2019 elections, Congress contested 421 seats but won only 52. They formed alliances in some states and contested in fewer seats, such as nine in Bihar, seven in Jharkhand, 21 in Karnataka, 25 in Maharashtra, and nine in Tamil Nadu. However, they contested in 70 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh.

Congress has less chance of defeating the BJP on its own. It will not contest the 272 seats required to form the government independently but may contest 255 seats, the lowest ever. Its best-case scenario is to win 125 seats. As a key player, the Congress should focus on directly challenging the B.J.P. in over 190 seats, with strong leaders fielded from constituencies. The Party needs to strengthen the booth committees at the ground level.

The Bharat Jodo NYAY Yatra, led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, has also sparked controversy. KC Tyagi, leader of JD (U), questioned why Congress did not make it a joint yatra with opposition bloc partners. Although Congress invited its partners, how they will respond is still uncertain. A successful yatra will go to the credit of Rahul Gandhi. The Opposition is in a difficult situation regarding the inauguration of the Ram Temple. The opposition coalition has decided to boycott the event. Attending it would only support their narrative as it is a political spectacle for the BJP While Congress was internally divided, it declined the invitation. The CPI (M) leader, Sitaram Yechury, also politely declined the invitation.

Although the poll surveys have predicted that Prime Minister Modi will win the upcoming election, the Opposition still has a slim chance if they remain united. The opposition parties should take inspiration from successful coalitions like the Janata Party, United Front, and National Front. To win the election, the Opposition must communicate the Modi government's failures and their alternate plans more effectively. This will be challenging in the crucial Hindi belt. Ultimately, it is up to the voters to decide whether to continue supporting Modi.

(The writer is a popular columnist, views are personal)
BJP's national president outlines a focused approach for a decisive victory in the upcoming polls, relies on alliances and Modi's charisma

Discussing the future strategy for securing Modi's third win in 2024, Nadda emphasized that the people of the country are inclined to grant another opportunity to the Prime Minister, aiming to propel India into the category of developed nations. The outcome of state polls hinges on the faith in Modi's Guarantee, proving challenging for the opposition, lacking credibility and coherence. Nadda predicts that INDIA is facing obstacles due to regional egos, over-ambition, inner contradictions, and the control of the Gandhis over Congress.

BJP, symbolizing stability, and Modi, its epicenter, form a crucial 'Mantra' expected to play a dominant role in the 2024 polls, securing a larger number of Lok Sabha seats. Nadda criticized vested interests attempting to create divisions between North and South, asserting that such tactics will fail, especially with BJP's commitment to thwart divisive agendas.

Addressing losses in Telangana and Karnataka, Nadda optimistically anticipates a different voting dynamic at the national level in 2024. Despite setbacks in Himachal assembly polls, he plans to regain ground by winning all four Lok Sabha seats, counting on Modi's special connection with the state's people.

Nadda asserts BJP's readiness for the 2024 polls, highlighting ongoing efforts to secure victory in 150 parliamentary seats previously unclaimed by the party. The party aims to form new alliances, adopting a flexible approach in contrast to the opposition's internal struggles over seat sharing and common agenda.

Unlike Congress, BJP demonstrates commitment to generational change in states, evident in the smooth selection of Chief Ministers. Nadda commends the party's disciplined approach in fielding MPs, showcasing workers' readiness for sacrifice. Nadda emphasizes BJP's collaboration with RSS, a relationship dating back to the early nineties.

Naddas close association with Modi dates back to the early nineties when the latter was in charge of party affairs of Himachal and they used to move together on Lambretta scooter in Shimla.It has been a long, arduous journey for grassroots Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker and former students leader, 63-year-old Jagat Prakash Nadda who had been initially appointed the working president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He is considered as a symbol of dynamism, perseverance, sobriety and maturity. Later he got elected to the post of national president of BJP on January 20,2020 and extension upto June,2024 due to state polls and general elections.

Nadda's journey from an RSS worker to BJP's national president is marked by his faith in Modi and Shah. He credits his success to them, acknowledging the challenge of matching Shah's standards. Nadda's exit from Himachal politics in 2010, due to differences with Dhumal, provided an opportunity to work in the organisation.

In the post-Himachal assembly polls in 2017, Nadda's unaffected reaction to not being chosen as CM reaffirmed party leadership's faith in him. Modi and Shah's strategic planning, evident in advance announcements, positioned Anurag Thakur and Nadda for significant roles.

Nadda's association with Jayaprakash Narayan's Bihar movement and RSS shaped his political career. Guided by Vajpayee, Shekhawat, and Advani, Nadda is recognized for his moderate and open-minded approach. Nadda dismisses the opposition's caste census ploy, anticipating Modi's vision of focusing on youth, women's development, farmers, and the poor to be the predominant takeaway in the 2024 polls.

Nadda grew under the influence of stalwarts such as Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and LK Advani, who guided him at every step of his political career. He is known for his qualities of being moderate and open-minded.

In the end, while negating the opposition ploy of caste census, Nadda feels that BJP will take appropriate decision national caste census but Modis vision of four castes will be predominant Takeaway in 2024 pols who feels that youth, development of women, farmers and poor will take India to next level in future.

(The writer is political analyst and senior journalist based in Shimla; views are personal)
Indian-American Nikki Haley, who finished third in the Iowa caucuses, has said that she is the only Republican candidate who could take on frontrunner Donald Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden and avert a "Trump-Biden nightmare".

The Iowa caucuses on Monday formally kicked off the beginning of the long process by which the Republicans and Democrats choose their nominees for the presidential election on November 5.

Haley, the former US Ambassador to the UN, came a close third with nearly 20 per cent of the votes polled. Former US president Trump won the caucus with more than 50 per cent of the votes, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis came in second with 21 per cent. Fellow Indian-American Vivek Ramaswamy secured 7.7 per cent of the total votes polled and suspended his presidential campaign.

The two-time South Carolina governor said her presidential campaign is the best hope to avert a rematch between Trump and incumbent President Biden, a Democrat, in the presidential election.

Our campaign is the last best hope of stopping the Trump-Biden nightmare, the 51-year-old politician told her cheering supporters in West Des Moines, Iowa, late on Monday.

Haley, who has been climbing up the ladder over the last few weeks, said she is headed to New Hampshire, the battleground for the next Republican primary election on January 23.

Addressing her supporters, the lone woman in the race on either side of the political spectrum said that all the evidence says that if it's a Trump-Biden rematch, it will be another tossup election.

It could go either way. We could have more disputes over election interference. And Joe Biden could win again, with Kamala Harris waiting in the wings. Lord, help us, she said.

Haley also claimed the Republican contest to choose the presidential nominee is now a two-person race.

At one point in this campaign, there were 14 of us running. I was at two per cent in the polls. But tonight, Iowa did what Iowa does so well. The pundits will analyse the results from every angle. But when you look at how we are doing in New Hampshire, in South Carolina, and beyond, I think we can safely say . . . Tonight, Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race! she said.

Alleging that Trump and Biden have more in common than one might think, Haley said, Seventy per cent of Americans don't want another Trump-Biden rematch. A majority disapprove of both of them."

She also attacked their age and said they are both consumed by the past, by investigations, by vendettas, by grievances." Trump is 77 and Biden is 81.

"The majority disapprove of both of them," Haley said. "Trump and Biden are both about 80 years old. Trump and Biden both put our country deeper in debt and our kids will never forgive them for it. Both Trump and Biden lack a vision for our country's future because both are consumed by the past," she said.

Asserting that America deserves better, Haley said, We deserve a new direction under new conservative leadership. We deserve a president who will focus on the needs of our people, not on themselves."

A president who will rebuild our economy, close our border, and stand up to our enemies. Most importantly, we deserve a president who will stop our self-loathing, end the division and fear, and make America strong and proud! she said.

Haley told her supporters to look at what happens when she goes head-to-head against Biden. "We win in a landslide. It's not even close. That means no recounts, no lawsuits, and no doubts. It means no more Chuck Schumer leading the Senate. No more endless votes for House Speaker because we'll have a huge House majority, she said.

We'll term limit the do-nothing Washington politicians. We'll rebuild our economy and secure our border. And make no mistake, we will restore our national pride. We are blessed to live in America, and it's time we remembered that, Haley said.
A US-based 32-year-old patient diagnosed with two large fibroids within her uterine muscle was successfully treated recently in an Indian hospital in the NCR region through robotic-assisted myomectomy, showcasing the reach of robot-assisted arms in the body parts where human hands cannot reach. The case also highlights the growing medical tourism in India as increasing number of foreign nationals travelling here to seek medical treatment.

The patient has been married for four years and had sought medical attention due to heavy and painful menstrual periods and her inability to conceive.

A medical examination revealed the presence of two fibroid, measuring 5 cm and 10 cm in size, causing her distressing symptoms and infertility issues, said Dr. Anjana Singh, Director & HOD, Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Fortis Hospital Noida.

Explaining about the functioning of the robot-assisted myomectomy, the doctor said that the sophisticated gadget helps the surgeon put tools and a tiny camera through small incisions on the lower belly.

This gives the surgeon a better view of the area which moves the tools using a robotic controller. The advanced dexterity of the robotic arms allows meticulous fibroid removal while preserving the integrity of the uterus, she said, adding that the use of robotic technology decreases postoperative pain, ensuring a more comfortable healing process.

The patient was under the follow-up of the doctors for over three weeks after the surgery, after which she flew back to the USA in the last week of December.

The doctors also said that any delay in surgery would have caused the fibroid to grow, worsening her symptoms and requiring a more complicated surgery thereafter.

The benefits of this cutting-edge procedure were manifold. Firstly, the patient experienced a significant reduction in her heavy and painful menstrual periods, leading to a substantial improvement in her quality of life. Additionally, the removal of the fibroids eliminated the pressure on her uterine lining and cavity, increasing her chances of conceiving naturally.

The reduced recovery time meant that she could resume her daily activities relatively quickly, added Dr. Anjana Singh.

The case also highlights the growing demand of Indian medical tourism among foreigners looking for cost-effective services for high-quality treatments and new-age healthcare facilities. As in this patients case not only were the waiting times for surgery unreasonably long, but the associated costs were also exorbitant in her country. This led her to explore alternative options. In India, she got medical reprieve at a low-cost budget, said an official from Fortis Noida. .

According to reports, Indias medical tourism has grown rapidly in recent years, with an increase in foreign tourists from 183,000 in 2020 to 304,000 in 2021.

It is expected that the medical tourism market is likely to grow at a CAGR of more than 20% between 2023 and 2027 to more than USD 35 billion from current USD 6 billion.
The Centre on Monday announced that it has enhanced the medical facilities in Ayodhya ahead of the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple next week. This initiative is aimed not only at ensuring a smooth event but also to cater to the large number of devotees expected to throng the holy site after the ceremony.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to perform the Praan Pratishthaa of the idol of Lord Ram at the grand temple in Ayodhya on January 22, with more than 8,000 guests in attendance.

From January 23 onwards, lakhs of devotees are anticipated to visit the temple. Elaborate arrangements are underway in the town of Uttar Pradesh to facilitate both the consecration ceremony and the arrival of devotees.

Apurva Chandra, Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, announced that a 120-bed hospital in Ayodhya has been upgraded, with additional emergency beds. Chandra, who also holds the additional charge of Secretary in the Health Ministry, visited Ayodhya on January 10 to assess the preparations for health facilities related to the Praan Pratishthaa of the Ram Mandir.

He mentioned that the 350-bed Rajarshi Dashrath Autonomous State Medical College in Ayodhya has also undergone upgrades, including the addition of 200 beds, including 50 emergency beds.

A team from the Trauma Centre at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi has been sent to Ayodhya to train 200 paramedics in the temple town to handle medical emergencies, Chandra said.

Furthermore, the Government plans to establish emergency response teams in Ayodhya during the Praan Pratishthaa ceremony and related programmes.
Three people were killed and about half a dozen others were injured in a powerful explosion in a sugar mill in Sitapur on Monday noon.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed his condolences to the family members of those who died in the mishap. He also directed the district magistrate to make arrangements for the treatment of the injured.

Reports said that a steam tank exploded in Ramkots Jawaharpur Sugar Mill in Sitapur. While three workers died on the spot, more than five workers were seriously injured. At the same time, two labourers were reported to be missing.

Sources said that after the accident, the sugar mill officials fled the spot which led to strong protest by the workers who created a ruckus till the local police reached the spot and assured them of all possible help.

Senior officials visited the spot and were making further investigations.

The bodies were sent for autopsy.
The Arvind Kejriwal governments Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) has approved three new district court complexes in Rohini Sector-26, Shastri Park and Karkardooma. After the completion of these three projects, Delhis District Court will witness an increase of 200 courtrooms. Sharing about the projects, Finance Minister Atishi said keeping the convenience of judges, lawyers, and citizens in mind, these three projects will incorporate better public facilities.

The 11-storey new District Court Complex in Rohini Sector-26 will feature 100 new courtrooms and 270 lawyer chambers, along with modern facilities. The complex will consist of 3 basements, a ground floor, and two 11-storey building blocks. It will house 100 courtrooms and 270 lawyer chambers. The total cost of this project is estimated to be Rs 714.19 crore.

Additionally, a new District Court Complex in Shastri Park will include 48 courtrooms and 175 lawyer stations. The total cost for this project is estimated to be Rs 184.91 crores. The third project involves constructing an additional court block near the existing court in Karkardooma. This new court block will have 50 new courtrooms, and the total cost for this project is estimated to be Rs 199.39 crores.

The Finance Minister said currently, there is a considerable backlog of pending cases on judges and courts nationwide, leading to unnecessary delays in case resolutions. In this context, the commitment of the Kejriwal government to provide sufficient judicial infrastructure in the capital is crucial. The governments dedication to building 200 new courtrooms in Delhi in this direction proves to be highly significant in strengthening the judicial system.

These three projects are highly significant in the direction of enhancing Delhis judicial infrastructure, and their completion will greatly aid in the swift resolution of legal matters, Atishi said.

She also said that the Kejriwal government is actively working on a war footing to address the shortage of courtrooms in Delhis district courts, and these three projects are crucial steps in this direction. Keeping the convenience of judges, lawyers, and citizens in mind, these three projects will incorporate better public facilities.
Stray dogs are continuously attacking children in Bhopal. The latest incident is from Rajiv Nagar where a 3 year old child was bitten by a dog.

When the father called the Municipal Corporation's dog squad, the pet lovers got angry. After reaching home, they abused him and then assaulted him. The matter has been reported at Piplani police station. Police have registered a case against the pet lovers under other sections including assault.

The matter is of Rajiv Nagar of Bhopal. Vikesh Yadav, who works in a construction company, lives here. On January 11, his 3-year-old child was bitten by a stray dog in the locality. Vikesh Yadav took the child for treatment and informed the Municipal Corporation team about the stray dogs. The team caught stray dogs from the colony.

Pet lover Kavita Bhavnani, living in the colony, came to know about this on Sunday. She reached Vikesh's house with her two sons Mohit and Vishal. She asked Vikesh- Had you called the dog squad of the Municipal Corporation? As soon as Vikesh said yes, Kavita and her sons got furious. He abused Vikesh and beat him up and also threatened not to try to capture dogs in future.

Piplani police station in-charge Anurag Lal says that resident Vikesh Yadav has lodged a complaint in the case of dog biting of a 3-year-old child in Rajiv Nagar. A case of abuse and assault was registered and investigation was started.
The 76th Army Day was celebrated with enthusiasm in the headquarters of Uttarakhand Sub Area on Monday. The celebrations began with the wreath laying ceremony at Shaurya Sthal. Major General Atul Rawat, Brigadier Sanjog Negi, station commander, brigade commanders and veterans paid homage to martyrs and remembered the supreme sacrifice of all personnel who laid down their lives in the line of duty. The ceremony was also attended by serving officers, JCOs and other ranks of Dehradun station who resolved to emulate the heroic deeds of the fallen soldiers of the armed forces.

The Army Day is celebrated every year on January 15 to mark the day when the when General (later Field Marshal) KM Cariappa, took over the command of Indian Army from General FRR Bucher, the last British Commander-in-Chief in 1949 and became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of army in independent India.
In what could be a precursor to Lok Sabha polls, the AAP and Congress have arrived at an understanding on contesting the Chandigarh mayoral polls in an alliance, to deny BJP the post.



Under the arrangement, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will fight for the mayor's seat while the Congress will contest the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. The development came amid the AAP and the Congress, both constituents of the INDIA bloc, holding talks over seat sharing for this year's Lok Sabha polls.



With the AAP and the Congress deciding to have a tie-up for the January 18 Chandigarh mayoral polls, it is going to be a two-way contest and the two parties will have an edge over the Bharatiya Janata Party.



In the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, the BJP has 14 councillors. The party also has an ex-officio member MP who has voting rights. The AAP has 13 councillors and the Congress seven. The Shiromani Akali Dal has one councillor in the House.



Polls for the posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor will be held on Thursday. The Congress abstained from voting in 2022 and 2023, leading to the BJP's victory in the mayoral polls. Elections for the three posts are held every year during the five-year term of the House. This year, the mayor's seat has been reserved for the Scheduled Caste (SC) category.



Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Pawan Bansal said the "beginning of the end of BJP's rule will initiate from Chandigarh". He stated that this would honour the mandate of the people of Chandigarh and will also force the BJP to sit in opposition in the Municipal Corporation.



After the alliance between AAP and Congress, leaders and candidates from both parties arrived at the Municipal Corporation on Monday to withdraw their nominations.



Before the alliance decision, both Congress and Aam Aadmi Party had fielded their candidates for all three positions, but now, with the change in the situation, Congress's Jasbir Banti has withdrawn his name for the mayor's position, and the AAP candidate has withdrawn for the positions of Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
Chhattisgarh Police on Monday arrested a 52-year-old gangster from Raipur and brought him here in connection with a murder of an extortionist over monetary issues.

Listed criminal Tapan Sarkar, who was absconding after killing Shubham Rajput, has been taken into custody, Durg Senior Superintendent of Police Ram Gopal Garg said.

Sewak Ram Nishad, involved in killing Rajput, had already been nabbed soon after the killing last year.

Sarkar was arrested from a farm house in Champaran village in Raipur district following a tip.

After arrest, Sarkar told the police that Nishad slit Rajputs throat on March 8, 2023 following the formers instruction to kill him.

The police said Sarkar wanted to replace Rajput from extortion work and assigned Nishad to kill him and to give his position to Nishad. Sarkar was in jail for 17 years and he got bail in 2022 from the Supreme Court over another murder case.
The Baleswar police claimed to have cracked the loot of two Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in Khaira and Soro areas of the district recently by arresting five members of a criminal gang.

The five criminals, who hail from different areas of Haryana, have been arrested from Bhubaneswar while one more accused is still absconding, said Baeswar SP Sagarika Nath.

Nath said the miscreants had looted Rs 6 lakh to Rs 10 lakh from a Punjab National Bank (PNB) ATM at Mangalpur in Soro and Rs 5 lakh from an Axis Bank ATM at Tudigadia market in Khaira on the wee hours of January 12.

The miscreants looted the cash by cutting open the vending machine with the help of gas cutters. They even bombed the kiosk while looting it.

The SP said that after committing the crime, the miscreants escaped after brandishing pistol to the security personnel at various check points which were activated after the ATM loots. The Mayurbhanj police was also alerted and as a police team was chasing the criminals, they had to abandon the car midway.

From CCTV footage and pieces of evidence from the car, police started an investigation by forming special teams, the SP said.

The criminal gang belongs to Haryana. Some of them are expert cutters. They used to travel by air, train and road. They used to conduct a recee a day before striking any ATM. The gang is involved in similar ATM loots in Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The car that was abandoned is suspected to be a stole from New Delhi bearing the registration number of Jharkhand, the SP added.
In a move that aligns with Ayodhyas burgeoning economic landscape, Bollywood luminary Amitabh Bachchan has reportedly purchased a plot in The Sarayu, a forthcoming seven-star mixed-use enclave slated for formal launch on January 22.

Developed by Mumbai-based The House of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL), this strategic acquisition by Bachchan underscores the evolving economic dynamics of Ayodhya.

The Sarayu, covering an expansive 51 acres, is strategically positioned to capitalise on the cultural and spiritual significance of Ayodhya, particularly with the imminent inauguration of the Ram temple. Bachchans undisclosed but substantial investment, estimated to be valued at Rs 14.5 crore for a 10,000-square-foot plot, reflects not only confidence in the local economic potential but also a keen appreciation for the towns rich spiritual heritage.

Speaking on the investment, Bachchan was reported to have said: I am looking forward to embarking on this economic journey with The House of Abhinandan Lodha for The Sarayu in Ayodhya, a city that holds a special place in my heart.

The economic implications of Bachchans involvement in The Sarayu are notable, given the broader context of Ayodhyas infrastructure and economic development since the landmark Supreme Court verdict in 2019.

Abhinandan Lodha, chairman of HoABL, hailed Bachchan as the first citizen of The Sarayu, underscoring the potential economic impact of his association with the project.

His investment signifies not only confidence in the citys economic potential but also a deep appreciation for its spiritual heritage, Lodha reportedly said, predicting a transformative effect on The Sarayus global standing.

Bachchans focus on the plotted development within The Sarayu, coupled with plans for a five-star palace hotel in collaboration with Leela Palaces, Hotels, and Resorts, positions his investment as a strategic move in Ayodhyas economic resurgence. The entire project, set for completion by March 2028, adds to the economic optimism surrounding Ayodhya, as the city continues to evolve into a destination for both spiritual seekers and discerning investors.

As Ayodhya enters a new phase of economic revitalisation, Bachchans investment in The Sarayu not only aligns with the towns cultural renaissance but also underscores the economic potential that Ayodhya holds. The actors foray into this seven-star enclave is poised to be a significant economic catalyst, contributing to the citys economic resurgence on a broader scale.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the banks should assist the government in its endeavour to prevent migration and encourage reverse migration in the mountainous areas of the State. Exhorting the banks to undertake a special campaign of giving loans to the people in the mountainous areas, the CM said that development of rural and backwards areas of the State is needed and it is essential for reverse migration.

He was addressing the State credit seminar organised under the aegis of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) here on Monday. Expressing gratitude to NABARD for a hefty 33.5 per cent increase in the credit plan for development of agriculture, horticulture and small and medium industries in the State, the CM said that the increase augurs well for the farmers and people engaged in small and medium industries in the State. He however cautioned that a proper monitoring mechanism is needed for the success of the credit plan. Dhami said that the banks should ensure that capable and needy people are not made to undertake unnecessary rounds of the banks for loans.

Dhami said that both the houses of the parliament have passed the Nari Shakti Vandan bill and the Uttarakhand government is also providing 30 per cent reservation to the women of the State in government jobs. He asked the officers of NABARD to start special schemes for women of the State so that they become empowered and get maximum benefit from the government schemes. The CM said that in a recent interaction the beneficiary women of Tehri district said that the Sashakt Behena Utsav Yojana has proved beneficial for them. The CM said that every branch of bank in the State should work with a fixed target for distribution of loans in the credit plan of the NABARD.

He pointed out that Rudraprayag, Bageshwar and Tehri are the districts with low credit penetration and asked the officers that efforts to increase loan distribution in these districts should be made. The CM said that the State has 7.60 lakh beneficiaries of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme while Kisan credit cards have been given to 6.89 lakh farmers. He said that the credit cards should be given to remaining farmers as well.

Dhami said that the climate and the geographical conditions of the State are conducive for horticulture, aromatic plants, medicinal plants, dairy, fisheries, bee keeping, mushroom and organic farming. He suggested that the banks can organise special camps for increasing credit flow in these areas.

The CM said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a target to double the income of farmers and the State government is working dedicatedly to fulfil the target. He said that during the recent Global Investors Summit held in Dehradun, PM Modi had made an appeal that people should select Uttarakhand for destination weddings and positive results of the PM's appeal are visible.

The CM also released the State focus policy paper -2024-25 on the occasion.

The chief general manager of NABARD VK Bisht gave an account of the activities of the bank in Uttarakhand.

Cabinet ministers Ganesh Joshi, Dhan Singh Rawat, additional chief secretaries Radha Raturi, Anand Bardhan, secretaries BVRC Purushottam, HC Semwal, SN Pandey and representatives of banks attended the programme.
The vibrant Punjabi community of Bhubaneswar celebrated Lohri, the grand Indian harvest festival, with fun and fervor.

Over 400 members of the community got together at the Punjab Bhavan. The celebration began during the late evening with friends and relatives gathering at the venue.

The formal Lohri Poojan was performed before lighting up the bonfire after sunset. Members gathered around the bonfire threw popcorn, sugar-candies, sesame seeds, gur and other things in the fire as per the Lohri tradition.

While elders of the community were felicitated, the youth and children were awarded with prizes for their various achievements.



Lohri is a popular winter festival of harvest celebrated widely by Sikhs and Hindus across India. It is observed the night before Makar Sankranti and is celebrated with great pomp and show in the north Indian region.



Adding to the festive atmosphere is the Bhangra, a spirited dance form deeply rooted in Punjabi culture. With rhythmic footwork and lively movements, Bhangra becomes a joyful expression of the celebration. Its more than just a dance; its a cultural tradition that binds the community together, celebrating life and togetherness.


On the instructions of the national leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday launched a wall writing campaign with the slogan Ek baar phir Modi sarkar, is baar BJP chaar-sau paar.

The chief minister first drew a lotus flower on the wall of Shri Vishwakarma Bhagwan Panchayat temple in Jatashankar and wrote the slogan below it to kickstart the campaign, which aims at enthusing party workers ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Addressing the workers present at the event, organised by the BJP Metropolitan unit, Yogi exhorted the party workers to take the campaign to new heights of success, like the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra.

He said that the campaign is significant in view of Prime Minister Narendra Modis programmes to communicate with the voters as well as three massive rallies to be held ahead of the election.

The chief minister urged all the MPs, MLAs as well as representatives of panchayat and municipal bodies to play their role with full responsibility. Draw the lotus and write the slogan underneath it wherever there is space on public buildings. However, permission must be taken before writing on someones personal property. Efforts should be made to ensure that no space is bereft of the slogan, CM Yogi said.

Emphasising on the importance of strengthening booth management, the chief minister pointed out: The stronger our booths are, the more effective will be our dialogue with the voters, with our candidates winning with huge margins.

Yogi said that the resolution for 2024 is to cross 400 seats and party workers should dedicate their efforts towards achieving this end. He added that by launching the campaign on Monday, BJP national president JP Nadda has given a new resolution to the country from Delhi.

The chief minister told the party workers not to hesitate in talking about the achievements of the double-engine government, pointing out that the last 10 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modis leadership has earned him peoples trust. The schemes of the Central and state governments have created new trust among citizens. Infrastructure works of global standards have taken place in the country and state. Highway, railway and air connectivity has strengthened. New AIIMS, IITs have been formed. Many schemes have created new standards. The plans have not just been announced, but also been implemented to ensure their 100 per cent saturation, he further said.

The chief minister was welcomed by BJPs Gorakhpur chief Rajesh Gupta on the occasion. MP Ravikishan Shukla, Mayor Manglesh Srivastava, BJP state vice-president & MLC Dharmendra Singh, MLA Vipin Singh, Pradeep Shukla and a large number of officials and workers were also present.
Chhattisgarh Health Minister Shyam Bihari Jaiswal said on Monday that collective efforts were crucial to building the India of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dreams.

Opening 38 crore accounts under his initiative is a historic step. He has pledged to uplift everyone.

Jaiswal was addressing a Vikas Bharat Sankalp Yatra programme in Manendragarh district. Khelo India players were honoured with medals.

Free health checkups were given to 80 people; 38 were tested for sickle cell disease and 40 for tuberculosis.

A total of 170 persons were registered for the Ujjwala Yojana, 588 for ration cards, 77 for the Vishwakarma Yojana, 67 for the Swanidhi Yojana and 583 for PMAY.

Jaiswal urged the people to clean and decorate nearby places of worship for the consecration of Lord Ram in Ayodhya on January 22.
Kapurthala court on Monday granted bail to Punjab Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira in a criminal intimidation case, adding a new chapter to the ongoing legal battles surrounding the three-time legislator from Bholath. Judicial Magistrate Supreet Kaur, approving the bail, also directed the Congress legislator to furnish a bail bond of Rs one lakh.

Khairas release was marked by a warm reception from his supporters who adorned him with garlands and celebrated with sweets.

Addressing the media after his release, Khaira asserted his complete innocence. I am entirely innocent, yet I had to spend time behind bars. If I were guilty, they would have imposed any punishment they desired. Unfortunately, the sorrowful truth is that I am entirely blameless, he said.

Khaira went on to express a long-standing belief that telling the truth comes at a cost. He attributed the false cases against him to his commitment to revealing the truth about Punjab. The police have previously fabricated reports and arrested my relatives because I speak the truth about Punjab. This isn't a significant punishment for me, he stated.

The criminal intimidation case was registered by Kapurthala Police on January 4, charging Khaira under sections 195A (threatening any person to give false evidence) and Section 506 of the Indian Penal Code (criminal intimidation). The complainant, Ranjit Kaur, accused Khaira of intimidating and pressuring her husband, Kashmir Singh, who is a key witness in a 2015 NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) case.

This recent legal hassle follows Khairas bail grant from the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the same day, linked to the 2015 drugs case. The Congress MLA, representing Bholath constituency, had faced arrest on September 29 last year in connection with the 2015 NDPS case, triggering accusations of political vendetta from the Congress against the ruling AAP in the state.

The 2015 drugs case, registered in March of that year at Jalalabad in Fazilka, involved nine individuals, including Gurdev Singh, allegedly a close aide of Khaira, who were later convicted. The police had seized two kilograms of heroin, 24 gold biscuits, firearms, and Pakistani SIM cards from the accused.

Ranjit Kaur, the complainant in the criminal intimidation case, alleged that masked individuals threatened her family in October of the previous year if her husband did not withdraw his statement against Khaira. She further claimed receiving anonymous threats, escalating the gravity of the situation.
The national president of Congress party Mallikarjun Kharge will visit Dehradun on January 28. This would be the first visit of the veteran leader to the State after taking over the charge of the grand old party in October 2022. The new in charge of the State Congress Kumari Selja said that the Congress president will attend a mega conclave of the workers in Dehradun. Selja asked the State unit of the Congress party to make preparations for the visit of Congress president. Thousands of workers of the Congress party from all parts of the State will attend the Dehradun conclave chaired by the Congress president. The visit of Kharge who recently was also appointed president of the opposition INDI Alliance will kick-start the election campaign of the Congress party in Uttarakhand on January 28.
Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has given his nod for notifying 147 acres of land in northwest Delhis Rani Khera locality for developing it as an industrial area, Raj Niwas officials said on Monday.

The land was transferred to the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in 2007.

The DSIIDC had plans to develop the multi-level manufacturing hub but due to the stay imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on December 14, 2017, the project got stuck until the Supreme Court vacated the NGT order on July 31, 2023.

After the legal hurdles were cleared, the Delhi governments Industries department sought Saxenas approval on January 3 for notifying Rani Khera for development as an industrial area by the DSIIDC under the provision of Sub-section (k) of Section 2 of the Delhi Industrial Development Operation and Maintenance (DIDOM) Act, 2010, in terms of the Master Plan of Delhi 2021.

The Lieutenant Governors nod for notifying 147 acres of land in Rani Khera Industrial area comes three months after he gave similar approval for specifying 55.20 acres of land at Baprola Industrial area in September 2023 and 920 acres of land at Kanjhawala Industrial area in May 2023.
In a momentous announcement, the doors of the Ram Temple are set to be open for devotees from January 23, marking a significant milestone following the grand inauguration ceremony. Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai unveiled comprehensive measures to ensure a seamless and regulated entry process for all pilgrims.

Rai emphasised on the necessity for a well-organised approach, indicating the possibility of extending the temple entry into the night to accommodate the maximum number of devotees. Concurrently, the entry of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), RSS, and other members of vichar pariwar (like-minded organisations) is scheduled to commence from January 26.

To manage the anticipated influx, specific time slots and batches will be allocated to devotees and other groups, ensuring strict adherence to the designated schedule. With an expected daily turnout of 4,500 to 5,000, each devotee has been requested to limit their stay to one day. This arrangement is slated to remain in effect until February 23 or 24, as per Rais announcement.

Invited guests, including members of various organisations, will find accommodations at locations such as Karsevak Puram, the naturopathy centre at Maniramdas Chavni Kendra, and the adjacent Teerth Kshetra Puram, named after Mani Parivat. In addition, arrangements are underway in ashrams, dharamshalas, home stays, and hotels to ensure top-notch facilities for all guests.

Underlining the global significance of the event, Rai revealed that representatives from 50 nations, including groups from the United States and Hong Kong, are expected to attend the consecration.

Adopting a unique approach of one nation, one organisation representative, a total of 53 delegates from 50 nations, including South Africa and Gulf countries, will be present.

Rai reiterated the priority of providing a seamless experience for devotees, emphasising the goal of facilitating same-day departures. In consideration of the cold weather, efforts are being made to extend darshan timings until the night, if necessary, to prevent any inconvenience to attendees.

The emphasis will be on ensuring that those who have arrived for darshan are able to leave that day itself. The effort is on ensuring people are not put to any inconvenience in this cold. So as per requirement, we will ensure darshan timings are extended till night as well, Rai stated. The organisers are committed to delivering a memorable and comfortable experience for all attendees, both local and international, during this historic occasion.
Gwalior Crime Branch on Monday registered a criminal case against an interviewer for allegedly demanding 'sexual favour' from a woman candidate in exchange of job in Seed and Farm Development Corporation at Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwavidyalaya in the district.

On January 3 this year, interviews were held for some posts in the seed corporation at the Agricultural University in the district and the interview panel for the same arrived from Seed Development Corporation, Bhopal. After the interview, an interviewer in the panel allegedly demanded sexual favours from the candidates in the name of providing a job via message.

Thereafter one of the candidates, came forward and lodged a complaint against the interviewer to the Gwalior crime branch. Acting on it, an FIR was registered against the accused interviewer.

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Rishikesh Meena told ANI, "A walk-in interview was held on January 3 in the Agricultural University in the district for the post of Technical Assistant. The candidates shortlisted after filling the application on percentage basis were called for the interview. We have just collected the information from the Agricultural University about the interview panel."

"In the preliminary investigation, it came to light that one of their staff, who was technically sound, was in the panel to conduct an interview for the recruitment. After the interview, he had messaged three woman applicants and demanded 'sexual favours' promising selection. One of the candidates showed courage and exposed the incident," Meena said.

The ASP further said the crime branch had registered the FIR into the matter and a team was sent to Bhopal to nab the accused.

Meanwhile, Chairman of Madhya Pradesh Seed and Farm Development Corporation Munna Lal Goyal, said, "I received information about the matter on Monday morning that an employee of Seed Corporation had come here for an interview and three women candidates had complained that he had committed obscene acts during the interview. After getting the information, I talked to the managing director and instructed to terminate the employee with a dirty mentality. A notice for the same has been issued today and after three days, he will be terminated."
A special program was organized at the Meteorological Centre, Ranchi on the 150th year of the establishment of the India Meteorological Department on Monday. Airport Director, R.R. Maurya as special guest; Regional Director, BCAS. (Ministry of Civil Aviation) Ashok Lakra; Professor, Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, Dr. Ramesh Kumar, were present. Senior Scientist A.E. Kujur welcomed the guests by presenting them with a bunch of flowers. Congratulating everyone on this auspicious occasion, he encouraged all the visitors and made his statement on the multidimensional importance of the forecast and warning issued by the department.

After that the program started with the lighting of the lamp. Through a PowerPoint presentation by Satish Chandra Mandal, Meteorologist-B, the glorious history of 150 years of India Meteorological Department was shown and detailed information was given about the weather services provided by the Meteorological Center, Ranchi. Special guest R.R. Maurya, Airport Director, Ranchi highlighted the important role of Meteorological Department in aviation service and shared his experiences.

In the end, Upendra Srivastava gave a vote of thanks while enhancing the knowledge about the new services to be started in the future of Indian Meteorological Department.

Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar was present as the chief guest in the main program organized in Delhi. On this occasion, Kiren Rijiju, Union Cabinet Minister, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) graced the occasion as the guest of honour.

On the 150th year of the establishment of India Meteorological Department, the following new services were inaugurated:-

 Souvenir on the evolution of IMD and its services since 1875

 Indigenously developed Decision Support System

 Panchayat Weather Service for Farmers: https://mausam.imd.gov.in/greenalerts

 IMD's mobile app and Mausamgram: https://mausamgram.imd.gov.in/

 National Framework for Climate Services (NFCS)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accompanied by his wife and the AAP leaders attended the Sundar Kand recital programme at a temple in Rohini on Tuesday and sought the blessings of Lord Ram and Hanuman for the countrys progress. Kejriwal tweeted, I alongwith wife participated in the Shri Sundar Kand Paath organized in Rohini temple to worship the lord. Meanwhile the Delhi BJP said that Kejriwal who recited Sundar Kand, had expressed grief over the construction of Ram temple from the public platform and opposed it.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister sought happiness, peace and progress of all people. In the over 1.5 hour-long programme, Kejriwal took part in recital of Sundar Kand of the Ramcharitmanas and performed a havan. I pray to Lord Ram and Hanuman that all your wishes are fulfilled and they bless you with happiness and prosperity as well as happiness and progress in Delhi and the country, he said on the occasion.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs, councillors and other party leaders along with local people attended the Sundar Kand programmes in all the 70 assembly constituencies in Delhi.

Delhi Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj also participated at Sunderkand Path in his assembly constituency. Bhardwaj, in a tweet, said, With the immense grace of Bajrangbali ji, Sunderkand was recited in every assembly of Delhi including Chirag Delhi. We pray to Bajrangbali ji for everyones well-being, may there be peace in Delhi, the country and the entire world, may there be goodwill and love everywhere.

Taking a dig at the Kejriwal government for organizing sunder kand in all 70 assembly constituencies, the Delhi BJP leaders said that there was a time when CM Kejriwal had opposed the Ram Temple from a public platform and said that he himself and his family including grandmother were very sad that the construction of the Ram Temple was being done hurting sentiments of other religion people.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party has started a wall writing campaign across the country from January 15 regarding the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Party's National President Jagat Prakash Nadda from New Delhi on Monday and Party's State President and MP Vishnudutt Sharma launched the wall writing campaign in Madhya Pradesh from ward number 45, booth number 159 of Shivaji Nagar in Bhopal.

State President Sharma made a lotus flower with his hand on the wall and wrote the slogan Once again Modi government. After this, the district presidents of the party launched the wall writing campaign in all the districts of the state.

While discussing with the media after wall writing, State President and MP Vishnudutt Sharma said that on the call of Bharatiya Janata Party National President JP Nadda, wall writing will be done across the country from today with the resolution of Modi government once again.

Under this campaign, all the workers are participating in this campaign with the resolution of Ek Baar Fir Modi Sarka in 2024. In Madhya Pradesh too, at every booth, from the Chief Minister to the public representatives, BJP officials and workers are participating in the wall writing campaign to fulfill the resolve of forming Modi government once again under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

State President Sharma said that today every section is happy with the public welfare schemes run under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, while India is seen with respect on the global stage.

Today, only one voice comes from the mind of every person that Prime Minister Modi ji is the guarantee of fulfillment of every guarantee. I not only have hope, but have full confidence that with the blessings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah ji, leadership of BJP National President JP Nadda and hard work of our booth workers, we will get a victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Once again the Modi government will be formed with a strong majority and will work towards realizing the resolve of a developed India.

Like January 22, history will be made in Lok Sabha elections too

State President Sharma said that along with wall writing, BJP workers are also promoting the public welfare schemes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The poor welfare schemes run by Prime Minister Modi have worked to change the lives of the poor of the country.

History will be created in the country as soon as Lord Ramlala is consecrated in Ayodhya on January 22. After 500 years of struggle and sacrifice of millions of people, 22 January is going to be history. Similarly, history will be made by BJP's victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

After wall writing, State President Sharma visited Kesari Nandan Hanuman Temple in Shivaji Nagar on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti and wished for the happiness, prosperity and progress of the country and the people of the state. As part of the cleanliness campaign being run in temples across the country, State President Sharma cleaned the Hanuman Temple premises. Appealing to the public and BJP workers, the State President said that by joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for cleanliness, they should conduct cleanliness campaigns in the temples around them and celebrate by lighting the Ram Jyoti at their residence on the auspicious occasion of Ram Lalla's consecration on January 22.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday interacted with tribal groups especially primitive tribes, including Asurs and assured them of providing all necessary help so that they can join the mainstream of society.

Modi also released online the first instalment to one lakh beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas YojanaGramin (PMAY  G) to the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN). The PM assured the PGTV community that before Diwali a pucca house would be provided to them.

Speaking online to Shashikiran Brijiya of the endangered primitive tribe of Tutwapani village of Bishunpur block of Gumla district through video conferencing, he said they will celebrate Diwali in a pucca house this year.

The Prime Minister also interacted with tribal people from across the country getting information about the condition of the primitive tribes and the schemes of the Central Government to reach the plateau areas.

Primitive tribes from over 100 districts connected with the prime minister online, including four districts in Jharkhand-Gumla, Godda, Sahibganj, and Khunti.

Union Agriculture cum Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda was also present on the Bishunpur block campus, where around 600 primitive tribes assembled to talk directly to Modi.

Asurs a primitive tribe of Jharkhand were the ones who first made iron in the world, but they are now threatened with extinction. They are traditional iron smelters who live mainly in Jharkhands Gumla, Lohardaga, Palamu, and Latehar districts.

Jharkhand takes pride in its 32 tribes, including 8 Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs). They are Asur, Birhor, Birajia, Korwa, Savar, Pahariya (Baiga), Mal Pahariya and Souriya Pahariya.

The Prime Minister, in his address, mentioned that the PVTG communities were deprived of their benefits for past 75 years and now the government has finally through PM-JANAMAN scheme is constantly working for providing them the basic amenities like pucca house, water, electricity, road and mobile connectivity, MMU, Aadhar card, Ayushman card, etc. The Prime Minister also thanked the officers who have worked hard through outreach camps and helped in providing benefits of various schemes at the door step of persons residing in remotest locations. He also mentioned how different Ministries of Government of India are working together for the welfare of these most backward communities.

Expressing happiness on the work being done in mission mode under PM-JANMAN mission, Union Tribal Affairs Minister, Shri Arjun Munda expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Prime Minister for his emotional, sensitive and focussed approach for ensuring that historically deprived tribal families get justice through the PM-JANMAN campaign. He informed that out of 22,500 PVTG villages, 17,443 have joined todays event.

The Minister said that more than 8,000 camps were organized within 2 months in remote areas of the country, including mountainous and border areas. In these camps, benefits like issuance of Aadhar cards, Ayushman Cards, PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana funds, Kisan Credit Card, Forest Rights Act leases, opening of PM Jan Dhan Yojana accounts, caste certificates and ration cards, among others, have been given to the most backward tribal populations in the country.

Munda further thanked all the concerned Union Ministries and State governments associated with this mission that have worked tirelessly for 2 months to sanction projects worth Rs. 4769 crores that have been approved by the Prime Minister today. Looking at the speed with which all the Ministries have worked together, Shri Munda expressed confidence that more than 50% of the schemes would be approved in this financial year itself. This, he added, is an excellent example of the Whole of Government approach of the Government of India towards ensuring overall development of the tribal people.
The chorus for declaring January 22 as a public holiday to celebrate the consecration of Ram temple at Ayodhya is growing. The latest to join the bandwagon is Ranchi MP Sanjay Seth. Ranchi MP Seth has written a letter to Chief Minister Hemant Soren urging that Jharkhand government should declare January 22 as a holiday. Along with this, he has also requested for ban the sale of meat and liquor on the day.

The BJP-ruled states of Uttar Pradesh and Goa have already declared January 22 as public holiday with all educational institutions closed on that day, while Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh have announced ban on sale of liquor and meat products on January 22.

The decade-long wait of lord Rama's devotees is going to end in January 2024. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will perform 'pran prathistha' of Ram Lalla at the newly constructed Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22, 2024

In his letter, Seth has said that 22 January 2024 is the day in Indian history for which the people of India were waiting for centuries. This day has come as a good fortune to all of us after such a long struggle, sacrifice and penance, we are re-establishing our beloved Ramlala in Ayodhyadham. Our pride on this day also increases because Lord Shri Ram also had special love for Jharkhand. Jharkhand is also the birthplace of Hanuman ji, an ardent devotee of Lord Ram.

Seth said that this day is definitely an unforgettable day not only for the Hindu society but for the entire India. The concept of Ram Rajya which we talk about in the Constitution and the governance system, the same Ram is being re-established after centuries. This is a matter of pride for us public representatives and the government too.

He has said in his letter that on this date the entire society is spontaneously preparing to celebrate Diwali. Preparations are going on for many social and cultural festivals. Certainly, being the head of the state, I am sure you will also participate in this celebration.

The MP said that on this important and holy day, I request you to declare January 22 as a state holiday in Jharkhand. Along with this, the sale of meat and liquor should also be banned on this day so that we can celebrate the festival of Ram Lalla's return in a more emotional and virtuous manner.

We can make our people realize that in reality Lord Shri Ram himself is coming to Ayodhya Dham to realize the concept of Ramrajya.
A retired secretary of a cooperative society was shot dead in Bamiyana village of Bareilly district, an official said on Monday.

The incident occurred within the limits of Bhamora police station when the deceased, identified as Brahmapal Singh (70), went to check his crops and was shot dead.

We received information that an elderly citizen named Brahampal Singh (70) from the village was found lying near his farm with a bullet injury and he had died on the spot on Sunday evening. Upon receiving the information, officials reached the spot and inspected it, said Bareillys Superintendent of Police (Rural) Mukesh Chandra Mishra. He said a case was registered on the basis of the complaint filed by the relatives of the deceased and further investigation was underway.

In another incident in Unnao, a dispute over collection of money led to the murder of one person while his brother was critically injured.

The accused, identified as Kale Khan, attacked a local farmers leader, Vinod Kashyap and his brother, Durga Shankar Kashyap, as they were collecting donations for an upcoming event at the village temple.

Vinod succumbed to injury while receiving treatment at the hospital.

The event was scheduled for January 22, 2024 to mark the pran pratishtha of Lord Ram at Ram temple in Ayodhya. The police, however, denied the communal angle in a statement on the incident. Police said the two groups got into a fight over money.

Meanwhile, a 26-year-old civil services aspirant ended his life by setting himself afire before jumping off the third floor of his house in Jhansi, police said on Monday.

Police said the deceased, Mayur Rajak, had been preparing for the civil services examination since 2019 after completing an engineering course, but could not succeed.

Mayur was living with his mother, Anita Rajak, in the Sipri Bazar area of Jhansi. His father, Manoj Kumar Rajak, is a sub-inspector in the Railway Protection Force and is posted in Firozabad while his elder sister, Akanksha Rajak, is pursuing doctorate in Bengaluru.

According to police, Mayur and his mother went to their respective rooms after dinner on Saturday and a few hours later, Mayur set himself afire and jumped off the third floor of his house.

A neighbour spotted the body outside the house and informed the police. The cops reached Mayurs house and informed his mother, who was till then unaware about her sons death.

Sipri Bazar Station Officer VP Pandey said, We have found a suicide note in Mayurs study room on the second floor. He did not mention any specific reason for taking the extreme step. In the note, he wished that his mortal remains be immersed in the Ganga where the river is clean.
n Aiming to ensure development of various mandis across the capital, Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board (DAMB) approved a budget worth Rs 544.80 crore. The announcement to this effect was made by Development Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday after a board meeting held at Delhi Secretariat. The board approved a budget for mandis in the financial year 2024-25. The meeting included officials from the Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board (DAMB) and Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC).

Giving details, Rai said, The board has given the green signal to a budget of Rs 544.80 crore for the development of mandis. For the financial year 2024-25, the board has allocated approximately Rs 225.96 crore to APMC, Azadpur; Rs 20.07 crore to Fruit & Vegetables Market, Ghazipur; Rs 21.27 crore to FP & EMC Ghazipur; Rs 8.63 crore to Flower Market; Rs 21.77 crore to APMC Keshopur; Rs 31.36 crore to APMC, Narela; Rs 5.36 crore to APMC, Najafgarh and Rs 210.40 crore to DAMB.
Delhi Police is making adequate security arrangements, including using drones, across the national Capital ahead of the praan pratishthaa ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22 and the Republic Day celebrations.

Security has been beefed up across the national capital ahead of praan pratishthaa and the Republic Day. Our forces are already taking out flag march in several sensitive areas identified by the department, a senior police officer said.

The officer added the Delhi Police is keeping an extra vigil in those sensitive areas and using drones to monitor security.

More than 8,000 police personnel have already been deployed in Delhi for the January 26 parade across the national capital.

The night patrolling staffers, who have been directed to check hotels, guest houses and dharamshalas, are checking security measures in place at these facilities, particularly near the railway stations and inter-state bus terminals, and their records to know who are visiting the national capital and for what purpose.

Different markets of Delhi like Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazaar, Chawri Bazaar, Khari Baoli, Kashmiri Gate, Naya Bazaar, Connaught Place, Lajpat Nagar, Sarojini Nagar, Bhagirath Place, Kinari Bazaar and several other big or small markets are making their arrangements for January 22, the police officer said.

Several temples like Prachin Hanuman Mandir, Jhandewalan Mandir, Birla Mandir and Kalka Ji temple will celebrate praan pratishthaa. We are also expecting high footfall and additional security forces will be deployed to maintain law and order situation, he added.

Action is being taken against anyone found to be violating rules under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), police said.

Another senior police officer said the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued directions for verification of tenants and servants, border checking, security of vital installations, malls and markets, and patrolling in areas drawing heavy footfalls.

Those who are not following the orders, we are taking strict action against them and registering the FIR, he added. The police said that they used drones to monitor the sensitive areas of the northeast district on Tuesday, adding a flag march was taken out on Monday.
A day after resigning from the Aam Aadmi Party, senior leader Jot Singh Bisht joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. A number of other former AAP leaders and senior Congress leaders also joined the BJP in the presence of the BJP State president Mahendra Bhatt and chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday.

Welcoming the leaders to the BJP, the CM said that since they had joined the party during the auspicious period of Uttarayan, it would be auspicious for the party, for them and the State. We are all fortunate that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ram Rajya is being reinstated in the nation. Due to the faith of crores of followers of Sanatan Dharma and PM Modis efforts, Lord Ram is being ritually placed in the temple in Ayodhya. The Central and State governments have taken steps towards making India a developed nation for which all have to do their bit. We have to work to achieve success in vision 2025 for Uttarakhand, he said.

Presiding over the programme, the BJP State president assured that those who have joined the party will be accorded proper respect. Good persons are always welcome in a party dedicated to good governance and development. The party will hold such large joining programmes till the election. A leader or worker with a clean image and capability is always welcome in the party, Bhatt said. He further said that under PM Modis guidance and CM Dhamis leadership, a long series of development programmes is underway. He said that with the public and political workers witnessing the development of the State and the nation, there is a wave of people wanting to join the BJP due to social and moral pressure. Bhatt said that PM Modi had done a lot for the State and the people during the past nine and half years, adding that now is the turn of the people to do something for him. Stating that the blessing of the people are with the BJP, he said that victory in the coming Lok Sabha elections should be resounding beyond the imagination of the opposition.

Along with Bisht, the other former AAP and Congress leaders who joined the BJP include RP Raturi, Kamlesh Raman, Hem Arya, former Kisan Congress State vice president Ratnamani Bhatt and others.
The Samajwadi Party and the Congress will be holding the next round of seat-sharing talks in Delhi on Wednesday (January 17). This is the third round of talks, and the meeting will be held at Congress Rajya Sabha MP Mukul Wasniks residence in Delhi.

However, the Congress wont be holding direct talks about seat sharing with the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which is an ally of the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh. The talks with the RLD will be done through the Samajwadi Party.

Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha seats, which is the highest in the country. The BJP and its ally Apna Dal (S) had won 62 out of the 80 seats in 2019, while the SP-BSP alliance won 15 seats and the Congress could only win one.

The Samajwadi Party had on January 12 reconstituted the panel for holding talks on seat sharing with the Congress. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav inducted party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav and former minister Lalji Verma besides Javed Ali Khan into the panel.

The other members in the panel are SP MLA Sangram Singh Yadav, and former MLC Udaivir Singh. The virtual meeting of the INDIA block is scheduled for Saturday.

The Congress and the SP reached consensus that the performance in the 2022 UP assembly elections, the hold of the parties in specific seats as well as potential candidates would be the major criteria for seat sharing.

SP sources said that the party was flexible and would accommodate winnable candidates. At the meeting, it was decided that the parties should present a list of seats that they could potentially win, along with the names of their probable candidates.

An SP leader said, After this exercise is completed, it will be assessed which partys candidate will be suitable as per the social and demographic conditions of the constituency concerned. If a seat has a significant OBC population, we will see which party has a more popular OBC candidate.

The Congress had performed poorly in both the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls in UP, winning two and one seats respectively, and is now learnt to be highlighting its performance from the 2009 elections, when it had won 21 seats.

The Congress is currently confined to the Rae Bareli seat, held by senior leader Sonia Gandhi.

The SP has decided to concede Amethi and Rae Bareli for the Congress if members from the Gandhi family are fielded. Likewise, the Congress is also expected to not ask for the seats in the Yadav belt comprising Etawah, Mainpuri, Etah and Firozabad.

In the 2022 UP assembly polls, the SP had won 111 seats with a vote share of 32%. Its alliance partner RLD had won eight seats with a vote share of 2.85%. The Congress had contested 399 seats but won just one, while its vote share dropped to 2.33%.
A camp was organized under Vikas Bharat Sankalp Yatra (VBSY) in the premises of Middle School Jhopro under Chainpur Panchayat of Chas block on Monday. The camp was inaugurated jointly by Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Education cum State In-charge of VBSY Sunil Kumar Barnwal, MLA Bokaro Biranchi Narayan, DC Kuldeep Chaudhary, SP Priyadarshi Alok, DDC Kirtishree G, AMC Saurav Kumar Bhuwania and SDO Chas Om Prakash Gupta.

Barnwal said that the camp is being organized in the entire country under the Vikas Bharat Sankalp Yatra. Its objective is to provide people with the benefits of various welfare schemes run by the government. The Prime Minister has set a target of making India a developed country by the year 2047 and has taken a pledge for this. During this occasion MLA Bokaro Biranchi Narayan said that the central government is continuously doing development work and committed to the development of all sections of the society.

DC Kuldeep Chaudhary on the occasion said that work is being done to provide welfare to the last person of the society through various schemes. Also to ensure that more and more people can participate in the camp and avail the benefits of the schemes, public awareness is being spread through publicity in multi-purpose languages/LED vans/street plays etc. DC further said that till date 229 camps have been organized in various panchayats across the district. It is noteworthy that on the occasion, people who benefited from various schemes shared their work experience on the stage.

During the occasion Additional Collector Maneka, Civil Surgeon Dr. Dinesh Kumar, Nodal Officer Manisha Vats, District Public Relations Officer Rahul Bharti, Special Duty Officer Kanishk Kumar, District Education Officer Jagarnath Lohra, District Education Superintendent Mohd. Noor Alam Khan, including villagers of the area and different senior officials were also present.
Himachal Pradesh BJP chief Rajeev Bindal on Tuesday hit out at the Congress leaders for declining the invitation to attend the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22 and said the Congress has always opposed the construction of the Ram temple.

The Congress party not only questioned the existence of Lord Ram but also termed "Ramayan" as a fiction and it is only due to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the devotees of Lord Ram that today a grand temple is built at Lord Ram's birthplace in Ayodhya, Bindal said in a press statement issued here.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said the Congress is moving away from India's soul, which resides in Lord Ram.

Bindal alleged the Congress is a divided house on the issue of attending the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya.

He said some Congress leaders are saying that they would visit the temple on January 22 while others are unwilling.

Bindal said that a grand Ram temple should have been built at Lord Ram's birthplace after country's independence in the same way as Somnath temple was reconstructed on the orders of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

"But at that time, PM Jawaharlal Nehru blocked, diverted and postponed the construction of Lord Ram temple," he said, adding the Congress similarly challenged the existence of Lord Ram and filed an affidavit on whether Ram Setu exists or not.

Escalating his attack, the Rajasthan BJP chief said the Congress has become directionless and leaderless in the state as well as in the county and has been reduced to a one family party instead of a national party.
Asserting the perception that India was a weak country has changed in the past over nine years, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this and said the nation is now considered as "strong and powerful".

Addressing the 'Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra' in his parliamentary constituency, the home minister said the perception regarding India has changed across the world now.

"Now no one considers India as weak. We are now seen as a strong and powerful country. The credit for this goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi," said Singh.

"When the country and countrymen are strong, no power in the world can dare to show eyes to us," he added.

Singh said it is happening for the first time in the history of India post independence that any government is reaching the door of people to ensure that they avail the benefits of various welfare schemes.

"Our prime minister is worried and concerned if anyone eligible is not getting benefited by the schemes. He used to ask us to ensure that schemes should reach the beneficiaries in our constituencies," he added.

Singh said that India's economy was at the 10th position in the world when Modi became the prime minister, adding it is now at the fifth place.

"The economists feel this is the charisma of Modi. If all goes like this, the Indian economy will be among the top three economies in the world by 2027 and on the top by 2047," he added.
A senior IPS officer serving with a paramilitary force in Delhi has pledged to serve the pilgrims visiting Ayodhya and spend a "considerable" time in the holy town post his retirement from service.

Raja Babu Singh, a 1994-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, is currently serving as the inspector general (training) with the Border Security Force (BSF) at its headquarters here.

"I have decided to spend a considerable time in Ayodhya post my retirement from service and will serve the visiting pilgrims, pray and meditate and have daily darshan of Lord Ram," Singh said.

The officer is scheduled to retire in July 2027.

His comments came ahead of the Ram temple's consecration ceremony on January 22 in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.

Singh said the construction of the temple was his long-desired wish and he had offered a brick for its construction after the demolition of the Babri mosque in 1992.

"I was a student at the Allahabad University and was preparing for the civil services when I, along with a friend, offered the brick as we undertook a religious trip to Ayodhya," he said.

The officer has earlier served as the BSF IG in Kashmir, where the force guards the Line of Control under the operational command of the Army, apart from serving in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and at various positions in his cadre state.
Aviation security watchdog BCAS has issued show cause notices to IndiGo and Mumbai airport operator MIAL over the incident of passengers having food on the airport tarmac on Sunday, according to official sources.

Many passengers rushed out of an IndiGo aircraft at the Mumbai airport, sat on the tarmac, and some were also seen having food there as soon as their diverted Goa-Delhi flight landed after a long delay on Sunday.

Both IndiGo and MIAL were not proactive in anticipating the situation and making the appropriate facilitation arrangements for passengers at the airport, as per the notices issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).

The sources said the aircraft was allotted a remote bay C-33 instead of a Contact Stand, an aircraft parking stand that is suitable for walking passengers to and from an aircraft from an allocated boarding gate. This further added to passenger woes and deprived them the opportunity to avail basic facilities like rest rooms and refreshments at the terminal, they added.

After a video of passengers eating on the tarmac at Mumbai airport went viral on social media on Monday, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia held a meeting with all ministry officials at around 12.30 am on Tuesday, the sources said.

In the early hours of Tuesday, BCAS issued show cause notices to Indigo and MIAL, they added.

Mumbai airport is operated by the Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL).
The BJP on Tuesday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying he would like people to believe that the faith of Hindus can be manipulated but no one wants him to interpret how they should practice their beliefs.

The Ram temple is a deeply felt emotion by Hindus in every corner of the country, Union minister and BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar said after Gandhi accused the BJP of turning the January 22 consecration ceremony at Ayodhya into a party event.

With the former Congress president targeting the BJP over the Ram temple issue and also slamming the Modi government for its handling of the economy, Chandrasekhar hit back at him at a press conference here.

"Rahul Gandhi lives in a la-la world. He thinks everything he says is predicated on nobody understanding the truth and he can get away with these atrocious lies.

"He tried so in 2014 and 2019 and is trying again. The people of India are wise enough. They understand the truth and what his politics is about," he said.

The minister cited the performance of the Congress government in Karnataka which he blamed for "corruption and farmers' distress" in the state.

Gandhi had earlier said in Nagaland that it is difficult for his party's leaders to attend the January 22 ceremony as the BJP and the RSS have turned it into a "political event" centred around Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

His remarks at a press conference during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra here came days after the Congress top brass declined the invitation to the event at the Ram temple in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.

With a Niti Aayog report saying that over 24.82 crore people moved out of multidimensional poverty in nine years till 2022-23, Chandrasekhar lauded Modi's pro-poor and welfare policies for development and accused the Congress of misleading the poor with empty slogans of 'Garibi Hatao'.

The Modi government has reversed the "anyay" (injustice), he said in a swipe at Gandhi's Nyay Yatra.

The Congress played on the poor for decades, he said. The Modi government has made a transformational impact, he said.

Since 2015, more than 1 lakh start-ups and 112 unicorns have come up, the BJP leader said, adding that a parliamentary report in 2012 had noted that nine groups had cornered 97 per cent of the net worth in the banking system.

Capital availability for the young innovators was then scarce but now they are rising due to a supportive system, he added.

There will be 10 lakh start-ups and 10 thousand unicorns in the next 10 years, he claimed, asserting that India has become a technology-producing country from a technology-consuming country.

It has led to a steady decline in the unemployment rate, he added.
Designated terrorist G S Pannun on Tuesday gave a veiled threat to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and police chief Gaurav Yadav as he asked gangsters in the state to join the banned outfit Sikhs For Justice and stop top political leaders from attending the Republic Day parade.

In an email sent to some journalists and two videos accessed by PTI, Pannun compared Mann with former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, who was assassinated in a bomb blast on August 31, 1995. The blast, which claimed the lives of 17 others, was carried out by the banned terror group -- Babbar Khalsa International.

Pannun also equated Yadav, the director general of Punjab Police, to assassinated police officer Gobind Ram, who was killed in a bomb blast in 1990.

Punjab Police officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Pannun and his organisation have issued threats in the past as well and all necessary precautions have been taken to ensure "tight security" for all VIPs in the state.

In one of the purported videos of Pannun, he dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the Republic Day parade without security.

"I dare Modi, you come to Delhi without your security. If you are a popular leader, come to Delhi on R-Day without security and SFJ is going to avenge the assassination of Shaheed Nijjar by raising the Khalistan flag," he is heard saying in the video.

Nijjar was killed by unidentified assailants at a gurdwara in Canada's Surrey.

In another video, Pannun asked gangsters in Punjab to join the SFJ, participate in a referendum for Khalistan, and also prevent CM Mann from hoisting the tricolour on Republic Day.

The email sent to journalists, however, deviated slightly from the videos where Pannun, besides giving a call to Punjab gangsters to join the SFJ, also asked them to get recognised as "shaheeds" (martyrs).

Pannun had been designated as a terrorist by the Union home ministry under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Sikh for Justice banned in 2020.

Tightening its noose around US and Canada-based "designated individual terrorist" Pannun, the NIA in September last year confiscated a house and land of the self-styled general counsel of the outlawed SFJ outfit in Punjab's Amritsar and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

The properties confiscated include 46-kanal (5.7 acres) of agricultural land at Khankot village in Amritsar and a one-fourth share of a house in Chandigarh's sector 15/C area.

Pannun has been on the NIA's radar since 2019 when the anti-terror federal agency registered its first case against the terrorist, who has been playing a major role in promoting and commissioning terror acts and activities, and spreading fear and terror in Punjab and elsewhere in the country through his threats and intimidation tactics.

Non-bailable warrants of arrest were issued against Pannun by the Special NIA Court on February 3, 2021, and he was declared a "Proclaimed Offender" on November 29 last year.

"Investigations have revealed that Pannun's organisation, Sikhs for Justice, was misusing cyberspace to radicalise gullible youth and instigate them to undertake terrorist crimes and activities," an NIA spokesperson had said.

The official said the investigations have further revealed that Pannun was the main handler and controller of the SFJ, which was declared an "Unlawful Association" by the Centre on July 10, 2019.
The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday searched premises linked to former Rajasthan PHE department minister Mahesh Joshi and some others in a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission, official sources said.

Last year, the federal agency had conducted at least two rounds of raids in the case related to the central government programme.

The locations linked to Joshi, a former minister of the public health engineering (PHE) department, and some others are being searched under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.

Joshi was denied a ticket by the Congress to contest from the Hawa Mahal seat in Jaipur in the last year assembly polls in the state.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had last year raided premises in Jaipur and Dausa, including the residential and official premises of senior PHE department officials and IAS officer and the then additional chief secretary Subodh Agarwal, apart from some private persons.

The agency had earlier claimed that several middlemen and property dealers "aided" officials of the state government's PHE department to siphon off "illegally earned" money from the Jal Jeevan Mission.

Probe found that contractors were involved in securing tenders pertaining to Jal Jeevan Mission works, based on purported "fake" work completion certificates issued by the Indian Railway Construction International Limited (IRCON) and by "bribing" senior PHE department officials, it had alleged.

Former Rajasthan chief minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot had alleged that central agencies were acting on the directions of the BJP-led government at the Centre to target opposition leaders and Congress-led state governments.

In the 2023 assembly polls, the BJP wrested Rajasthan from the Congress.

The money laundering case stems from a Rajasthan anti-corruption bureau FIR which alleged that Padamchand Jain, the proprietor of Shree Shyam Tubewell Company, Mahesh Mittal, the proprietor of Shree Ganpati Tubewell Company, and others were involved in "giving bribes" to public servants to obtain illegal protection, obtain tenders, get bills sanctioned and cover up irregularities in works executed by them under various tenders received by them from the PHE department.

The Jal Jeevan mission launched by the Union government aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water through household tap connections and it was being implemented in Rajasthan by the state's PHE department.
Union minister and senior BJP leader Anurag Thakur on Tuesday said the opposition parties should stop commenting on the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya as it has been built after a long wait of 500 years.

Thakur took part in cleaning the Hanuman mandir premises at Connaught Place on Tuesday, under a campaign to clean local temples launched by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22.

"Some people are still not happy with the construction of the temple," Thakur told reporters when asked about the opposition parties' charge that the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have turned the "pran pratishtha" ritual into a political event.

There are some who are pained at the construction of the temple, there are some who are pained by the "pran pratishtha" ceremony and then there are some who have to give statements on it for the sake of their politics, the Union minister said.

"I just want to say that they should stop commenting and giving such statements. The Ram temple in Ayodhya has come up after a wait of 500 years and crores of people from across the country and world will visit it in the coming days," he added.

Thakur said after the grand "pran pratishtha" ceremony on January 22, the doors of the Ram temple will be opened for devotees and arrangements will be made for their visit.

Hitting out at the Congress, Thakur said the opposition party had forced Lord Ram to stay in a tent in Ayodhya for years and was now trying to mislead and incite the people on the temple issue.

Thakur alleged that the Congress had tried to create hurdles in the construction of the Ram Temple, first by promising to rebuild the Babri mosque and later by sending a battery of lawyers to delay the building of the temple.

"Congress forced us to keep Lord Ram in a tent for years. These are the same people who described Lord Ram and Ram Setu as fictional. Then they promised to rebuild the Babri mosque," the senior BJP leader said.

"It is because of the devotion and struggle of crores of Ram devotees and activists, the wait of over 500 years is coming to an end," he said.

Thakur said only six days were left for the consecration of the Ram Temple and, as exhorted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the entire nation is immersed in devotion to Lord Ram and engaged in cleaning temples.

"This is a befitting reply to those who were seeking to know the date when the Ram Temple would be rebuilt. Now that we have conveyed the date, time and place and also sent an invitation to them, they are running helter-skelter to avoid attending the consecration ceremony," Thakur said.

The senior BJP leader said the Congress first claimed not to have received the invitation and when they were invited, the opposition party was making different excuses for not attending the event.

"They delayed the construction of the Ram temple and now they are trying to mislead and incite the people," Thakur said.

The Union Minister also hit out at AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and claimed that the Delhi government had oppressed temple priests in the national capital.

"These are the same people who, before joining politics, made promises of a corruption-free government. But not AAP has given the most corrupt government. Their deputy chief minister, ministers and MPs are in jail," Thakur said.
A team of senior IMF officials overseeing Sri Lankas bailout programme has toured the Tamil-dominated Northern district of Jaffna for the first time under the current USD 2.9 billion agreement, officials said here on Monday. Led by Peter Brueur, the International Monetary Fund senior mission chief for Sri Lanka, the team last week met with the Governor of the Northern province, PMS Charles, and other senior officials and discussed issues related to economic growth in the province, demining programmes, resettlement of conflict-displaced individuals and compensation for conflict victims.

They also discussed the educational matters related to Jaffna University, post-COVID operations, and the adverse effects of climate change on the northern region, the officials said. The team, which returned to Colombo on Monday, is scheduled to engage with the finance ministry. Talks are expected with Shehan Semasinghe, the state minister of finance, who leads the local IMF engagement under President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The discussions in Colombo are anticipated to focus on the targets outlined in the current IMF programme, which advocates large scale economic reforms in the island nation.

In a meeting with President Wickremesinghe on Thursday last, Brueur had expressed satisfaction with Sri Lankas progress in implementing reforms aimed at revitalising the economy.
North Korea on Monday said it flight-tested a new solid-fuel intermediate-range missile tipped with a hypersonic warhead as it pursues more powerful, harder-to-detect weapons designed to strike remote US targets in the region.

The report by North Koreas state media came a day after the South Korean and Japanese militaries detected the launch from a site near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, in what was the Norths first ballistic test of 2024. The launch came two months after North Korea said it successfully tested engines for a new solid-fuel intermediate-range missile, which reflected a push to advance its lineup of weapons targeting US military bases in Guam and Japan. The Norths official Korean Central News Agency said Sundays launch was aimed at verifying the reliability of the missiles solid-fuel engines and the maneuverable flight capabilities of the hypersonic warhead. It described the test as a success but didnt provide flight details. KCNA did not mention whether North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was present at the test, which it said was part of the countrys regular weapons development activities. South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The Norths existing intermediate-range missiles, including the Hwasong-12 that may be able to reach the US military hub of Guam in the Pacific, are powered by liquid-fuel engines, which need to be fueled before launch and cannot stay fueled for long periods of time.

Missiles with built-in solid propellants can be made ready to launch faster and are easier to move and conceal, which theoretically makes it harder for adversaries to detect and preempt the launch. The North since 2021 has also been testing hypersonic weapons, which are designed to exceed five times the speed of sound. If perfected, such systems could potentially pose a challenge to regional missile defense systems because of their speed and maneuverability.

Chang Young-keun, a missile expert at South Koreas Research Institute for National Strategy, said the test Sunday would have been focused more on developing a solid-fuel first stage for an IRBM than evaluating the purported hypersonic warhead. Experts say its unclear whether the Norths hypersonic vehicles consistently maintained a desired speed exceeding Mach 5 during its tests in 2021 and 2022. But its likely that the North is trying to build a hypersonic weapons system powered by solid-fuel booster rockets, simultaneously with its efforts to develop the new IRBM, and may conduct more flight tests soon, Chang said. In particular, a hypersonic missile with IRBM-level range would be an effective mean for evading US missile defenses and striking Guam, Chang said about the Norths ambitions.Lee Sung Joon, spokesperson of South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the military was analyzing the Norths latest test but declined to provide specific assessments about the North Korean capabilities demonstrated by the launch.

The Souths Defense Ministry issued a statement demanding the North to halt its ballistic testing activities that violate UN Security Council resolutions. It said the South Korean military was maintaining a firm joint defense posture with its US allies and is ready to respond overwhelmingly in the event of a direct provocation by the North.

Hypersonic weapons were part of a wish-list of sophisticated military assets Kim unveiled in 2021, along with multi-warhead missiles, spy satellites, solid-fuel long-range missiles and submarine-launched nuclear missiles.

North Korean military scientists and engineers have been checking off Kims list of goals, testing for the first time last year a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, named Hwasong-18, which added to the Norths arsenal of weapons targeting the US mainland.

The Norths also launched its first military reconnaissance satellite in November and aims to launch three more satellites in 2024, as Kim describes those devices as crucial for monitoring US and South Korean military activities and enhancing the threat of his nuclear-capable missiles.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years after Kim in recent months ramped up his weapons demonstrations.
The temple inauguration in Ayodhya closes a chapter in our history that many youngsters wont know about, but the rest of us lived through. It concerns the BJP, the reasons for its rise after four decades of stagnation and the man who elevated and energised it.

In the last general election before it merged into the Janata Party, the Jan Sangh under Atal Behari Vajpayee, contesting in alliance with some other parties, won 22 seats. In the four earlier elections, it won only three, four, 14 and 35 seats, and never had a national vote-share of over nine per cent.

In its official history, the party describes the last Assembly polls it fought on its own: In the 1972 Assembly elections (in states across India), Jan Sangh went to the polls largely on its own. It fielded 1,233 candidates and won 104 seats with an overall eight per cent votes. In almost all the states it suffered losses. For the first time since its founding, Jan Sangh could not improve upon its earlier performance.

The party plateaued, and this became clear when it contested the 1984 general election on its own, winning seven per cent votes and only two Lok Sabha seats. When Lal Krishna Advani took charge of the party in 1986, he had never participated in electoral politics. He had been a journalist in the RSS magazine, where he wrote film reviews.

As a politician, Mr Advani was always a nominated member, whether in the Delhi Council or in the Rajya Sabha. He had no experience of mass mobilisation and, going by his autobiography (My Country, My Life) doesnt appear to know how it worked.

The Ayodhya issue was actually launched by non-political groups inside the RSS, led by the VHP. At a UP meeting in 1983, Rajendra Singh, who would later become RSS chief, demanded the Babri Masjid be opened to Hindu devotees. In September 1984, the VHP began a campaign against the mosque. It received sufficient public response for the group to claim in 1986 they would forcibly break the locks open. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi succumbed to pressure and his government told the courts there would be no law-and-order problem if this happened. The locks were thus opened and Hindus allowed into the mosque.

But the VHP didnt stop with being given access to worship at the site: its goal was the razing of the mosque. In February 1989, at the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, the VHP said it would lay the foundation stone for the temple in November. This would involve the making of bricks across the country and their being carried in processions through towns and villages to Ayodhya in November.

Till then, Mr Advani wrote, a few BJP members like Vijayaraje Scindia and Vinay Katiyar had participated in the Ayodhya movement in their individual capacity. It was not an issue in mainstream politics. In June, at the BJP national executive meeting in Himachal Pradesh, Mr Advani threw the party behind the issue. The BJP resolution demanded the site be handed over to Hindus and the mosque built at some other place.

Elections came a few months later, in November 1989. The BJPs manifesto made its first reference to Ayodhya: By not allowing the rebuilding of the Ram Janma Mandir in Ayodhya, on the lines of the Somnath Mandir built by the Government of India in 1948, it has allowed tensions to rise, and gravely strained social harmony. It was a violation of the BJPs own constitution, that on its first page and opening articles pledged it would bear true faith and allegiance to secularism.

A few days before voting, the VHP brought all its processions from across India to Ayodhya and laid the foundation stone next to the mosque.

Powered by its divisive, anti-Muslim demand, Mr Advanis BJP won 85 seats, four times as many as the Jan Sangh in the last election it fought alone and over 40 times as many as Vajpayee delivered in his reformed and renamed party. Mr Advani had become the most successful political leader from the RSS and had found the recipe for electoral success.

He began to invest more in the issue that brought such dividends. The Congress lost its majority, and a coalition led by V.P. Singh took power with support from Mr Advani, though for only a short period. Three months after the election, in February 1990, the VHP resumed its mobilisation against the mosque and said it would continue the process of what it called kar seva from October.

The political escalation, according to Mr Advani, happened by accident. He writes in his autobiography that in June he was to visit London, and before he left, he was interviewed by the editor of the RSS Panchajanya, who asked him what would happen if the government failed to resolve the Ayodhya matter. Mr Advani told him the BJP supported the decision to begin kar seva on October 30, and if it was stopped the BJP would launch a mass movement.

Frankly, I had forgotten about this interview, he writes, when his wife telephoned him and asked: What have you said? The papers here have reported it with blaring headlines: On Ayodhya, Advani threatens the biggest mass movement in the history of independent India. Mr Advani adds: The die had been cast.

What happened with his rathyatra has been documented. Some 3,400 Indians were killed in the violence, and the polarisation brought the BJP to the doorstep of power.

As the temple is inaugurated, unfortunately for Mr Advani but unsurprisingly for the rest of us, the architect of the partys rise will not be able to lead the ceremony and claim credit for his achievement.
It is difficult to draw a dividing line between Prime Minister Narendra Modis excessive enthusiasm as the Ram Mandir gets consecrated in Ayodhya on January 22, and the preparations being made by the Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, the Central government-appointed committee to look after the functioning of the temple. The Prime Minister went to Ayodhya on December 30 to inaugurate the international airport, to flag off the Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat trains from the temple town, preceded by a roadshow where he was showered with flower petals by the crowd. And he had announced projects worth Rs 11,100 crores for the development of the place, and Rs 4,600 crores for projects in other parts of Uttar Pradesh. He has been claiming in his characteristic declamatory manner about the revival of Indias cultural glory by turning the pilgrim centres into star destinations of tourists from India and abroad. Of course, he included Ujjain and Varanasi along with Ayodhya as part of the cultural economic boom.

This sense of exultation, bordering on ecstasy, in the speeches and gestures of Prime Minister Modi can be traced to his instinctive grasp of the importance of the Ayodhya temple, which has been a longstanding part of Bharatiya Janata Partys political agenda. And with the Lok Sabha elections barely months away from the inauguration date, the Prime Minister wants the drums to be beaten louder than ever about the temple, and he wants to be seen as closely associated with every aspect of it. He had deputed Nripendra Misra, his confidante and principal secretary, to head the temple construction committee, because he did not want to leave it to any other organisation. The credit for constructing the temple had to be claimed by the Prime Minister. The temple trust is a nominal one till the time of inauguration, a proxy for the Prime Minister, and it is he, through his trusted aides, who is orchestrating the triumphal opening ceremony. Narendra Modi outshines Lord Ram as he leads from the front the preparations for the mega event.

It is now a recognisable signature of Prime Minister Modi that he does not believe in anything low key. It has to be as loud as it can be, and he does not feel embarrassed by the fact that he might be overdoing things, or that it can turn out to be crass and vulgar. He is the artist of political bling, leaving behind the big fat Indian weddings and the Bollywood extravaganzas miles behind. To what extent will the constructed and inaugurated Ram Mandir at Ayodhya influence the Lok Sabha polls this summer? Prime Minister Modi wants to turn this into an effective campaign theme, and the razzmatazz he has been creating surrounding Ayodhya is done with this in mind.

The BJP has benefited from the Ram temple card in Uttar Pradesh for more than 20 years now. Now that the temple is there at last, will it still fetch votes? Uttar Pradesh has turned into an almost unassailable fortress for the Hindutva party. How much more will the temple card add to the partys kitty? Given that Prime Minister Modi is orchestrating the temple inauguration with a grand political intent shows that the party still wants to play on the sentimental quotient that the temple issue evokes in the state as it is not sure of its achievements on the economic and governance fronts in Uttar Pradesh.

This also extends to the other Hindi heartland states, except for Bihar. That after 10 years in power, Mr Modi and the BJP are forced to fall back on the old Ayodhya temple theme should come as a disappointment. But Mr Modi is not too worried about these niceties. He is quite focused on winning the election, and any issue that comes in handy is good enough. The temple issue is as good as any.

What is of great curiosity is his idea of turning Ayodhya into a point of revived Hindu national glory and to make it a point of international attention. Here is the inflection point when realism tips into vainglory, and fantasy takes over. This is the natural path of right-wing nationalism that Mr Modi and the BJP, with support from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, travel, and this is the political cul de sac.

The big talk of India riding the two horses of modern technology and antiquated tradition takes a beating because technology is based on science and a certain attitude of mind. It requires that you do not look back but you look forward. A country, a party and a leader who hark back to a glorious irretrievable past, and indulge in talk of the great achievements of the past, cannot be moving towards the future. But the BJP remains deeply anchored in Indias imagined past, and without an understanding of its intellectual treasures, which are of great sustenance. The right-wing worldview is warped because it invokes a past which cannot be reconstructed. The hoopla around the Ram temple in Ayodhya is a desperate attempt to invoke what was a utopia of poet Valmikis imagination, his artistic vision of a tale of human fortune and frailties. To take the Ram story in an unthinking crude manner, one ends up creating a Disneyland of Ayodhya, the small town which had seen its days of glory and honour in the days of the Buddha and the Jain Tirthankaras, of political importance in the late Gupta period.

The inability to distinguish between the past and present, of dreams and reality, is the infirmity of the national mind, and it leads to sharp discordance in the day-to-day life of the people. Indians have over the centuries carried their mythology in their minds while leading their life in the present, and did not allow the myth, with its emotional resonances, to come in the way of dealing with daily challenges. The RSS, the BJP and Mr Modi are leading the country on a slippery path where the past glories are being sought to be revived in a kitschy manner, and not allowing the people to lead normal lives. What the mythological past of India transmits is a sense of values, and Indians have lived with those tales and values without having to resort to these acrobatics of theatrical recreation.
The people of Taiwan celebrated their right to vote with a clear-cut endorsement of the independence-leaning candidate Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party in the presidential polls. The result is only likely to further exacerbate global tensions as China fumes at the free worlds reaction, interpreting it as open encouragement to Taiwanese separatist forces.

The election saw China bringing enormous pressure on the Taiwanese to vote for the pro-China candidate Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang, flying military jets daily over the self-ruled island, sailing naval ships and sending weather balloons as messages of warning.

The Taiwanese seem determined to keep clear of Chinas dream of unification despite the threat of invasion that China is unlikely to forswear, given that in history it lost the territory to Japan in 1895 and regained it after World War II only to see General Chiang Kai-shek flee there with his nationalists and rule Taiwan for decades.

To live in Chinas gigantic shadow has been the lot of the Taiwanese, a majority of whose people find a resonance in independence and keeping some distance from the imposing mainland just across the Taiwan Strait. They have voted Mr Lai Ching-tes party to power for a third term.

The people of Taiwan, one of whose strengths is building their country into the microprocessor chip capital of the world, have been inured to living with the Chinese supremo Xi Jinpings threat to use force to take over the island.

Not even the assurance of the President-to-be (in May he will be sworn in) that he would seek a balanced approach to China ties, including cooperation, appear to have assuaged Chinas sense of hurt as evidenced in its thinking that Taiwan is a lost territory that must be regained.

The US President Joe Biden sounded as if he intended to placate China in stating soon after the election that the US was not supporting Taiwans independence and yet his promise to come to the defence of Taiwan with military intervention, thereby scotching strategic ambiguity, has long shaken US-China ties.

Already riddled with a near two-year war in Ukraine, 100 days of the Gaza war and US-UK intervention in striking Houthi targets in Yemen, Chinas stand on Taiwan that could harden with the latest election result could be one more strand to the modern narrative of a troubled world.
NEW DELHI: Amid diplomatic tensions, the Maldives on Sunday reportedly asked India at the first meeting of a newly-constituted joint high-level core group to withdraw its small contingent of troops  which had been operating two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft for medical evacuations and contingency operations in the archipelago nation -- from there by March 15, Maldivian media reports said Sunday. India did not directly comment on the reported two month-long deadline set for it but only said that both sides also held discussions (at the meeting) on finding a mutually workable solution to enable the continued operation of Indian aviation platforms that provide humanitarian and medical evacuation services to the people of the Maldives. New Delhi further said: It was agreed to hold the next meeting of the high-level core group in India on a mutually convenient date.

In its statement issued on Sunday evening, the MEA also said: The first meeting of the India-Maldives High-Level Core Group was held in (the Maldivian capital) Male today. During the meeting, both sides held discussions on wide-ranging issues related to bilateral cooperation towards identifying steps to enhance the partnership, including expediting the implementation of ongoing development cooperation projects.

This comes a day after Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu hurled a fresh thinly-veiled barb at India soon after his return from China, by claiming his country would not be bullied and that the Indian Ocean does not belong to any single country. Mr Muizzu, widely perceived to be an anti-India and pro-China leader, had won the presidential polls in his country late last year and had pledged to evict the small Indian troop contingent from his tiny nation that is Indias south-western maritime neighbour.

At a press briefing, Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, public policy secretary at the Presidents Office, said that President Muizzu has formally asked India to withdraw its military personnel by March 15, the Maldivian SunOnline newspaper reported, according to media reports. Indian military personnel cannot stay in the Maldives. This is the policy of President Mohamed Muizzu and that of this administration, he was quoted as saying. A high-level core group formed by the two nations last month following the Maldivian demand for withdrawal of troops held its first meeting at the foreign ministry in Male on Sunday morning. This was also attended by Indian high commissioner Munu Mahawar, the Maldivian media report said, adding Mr Ibrahim confirmed the meeting and said the agenda for the meeting was the request to withdraw troops by March 15.

In highly provocative remarks earlier on Saturday soon after his return from Beijing, the Maldivian President was quoted as saying: We may be small but this doesnt give them the licence to bully us This ocean (Indian Ocean) does not belong to a specific country. This ocean also belongs to all countries situated in it. He further reportedly said that the Maldives is one of the countries with the biggest share of the Indian Ocean.

Soon after his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai early last month, Mr Muizzu had claimed that India has agreed to remove its soldiers from the tiny archipelago nation. But Indian government sources thereafter had said that discussions are on on how to keep Indian humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) assistance to the Maldives operational using Indian platforms, an obvious reference to the two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft reportedly operated by Indian armed forces personnel there till now. Sources had also acknowledged that the issue had been briefly discussed at the meeting between the two leaders in Dubai. Sources had then said: The Maldivian side has acknowledged the utility of these platforms. The fact that it is an important segment of our bilateral development partnership is recognised by both sides. Discussions on how to keep them operational are ongoing. The core group that both sides have agreed to set up will look at details of how to take this forward.

In an open snub to India last week, President Muizzu had appealed to Beijing for its unwavering support and described China as his nation's closest partner in development, adding that Beijing should once again regain the pre-Covid position of the topmost tourism market for the Maldives. He further praised the Chinese-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) connectivity project that he said were in alignment with key projects in his country and hailed the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping as well as close political ties between his country and Beijing. The remarks made by the Maldivian President in Fujian province further complicated ties between India and the Maldives, especially in the context of slanderous remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi made recently by the now-suspended three Maldivian deputy ministers that had led to a reported spate of cancellations by Indian tourists after an outcry in the social media.
WELLINGTON: Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has married her longtime partner, tying the knot after Covid restrictions forced the couple to cancel a ceremony in 2022.

On the back of her shock resignation in January last year, Ardern told reporters she was looking forward to "finally" getting hitched to her TV presenter fiance.

The 43-year-old married fishing show host Clarke Gayford, 47, in a small ceremony held on Saturday in New Zealand's Hawke's Bay wine region.

The couple planned to marry in early 2022, but were forced to cancel after Ardern's government ramped up Covid restrictions in the face of surging cases.

Ardern won international acclaim for her handling of the pandemic, although her popularity within New Zealand had soured in the months before she stood down from politics.

New Zealand media reported a small number of anti-vaccination demonstrators attempted to protest outside the wedding venue.

An international hero of progressive politics, Ardern steered New Zealand through natural disasters, the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2019 Christchurch mosque massacre.

She graced the cover of Time Magazine in 2020, and drew widespread praise after carrying baby daughter Neve with her on the floor of the United Nations general assembly.

But her popularity began to dip towards the end of her second term in office, driven by deteriorating economic conditions and a backlash to her government's strict Covid policies.

Ardern's successor, Chris Hipkins, was trounced by conservative opponent Chris Luxon in a general election last October.
Annaly Capital Management Inc. is one of the largest mortgage real estate investment trusts in the United States. The company is based in Maryland, with a principal office in New York City. Annaly primarily borrows money via short-term repurchase agreements and reinvests the proceeds in asset-backed securities.

Annaly is a mortgage real estate investment trust that earns profits from the difference between the interest it makes from its investments and the interest it pays on its borrowings, enhanced by leverage.

In 1997, Michael A.J. Farrell and Wellington Denahan established Annaly to capitalize on the burgeoning real estate sector.

In October 2012, Wellington Denahan assumed the CEO role; in 2013, Annaly acquired CreXus Investment for $996 million. In 2016, the firm completed the purchase of Hatteras Financial for $1.5 billion in cash and stock. In 2017, Annaly sold its Pingora servicing subsidiary, and in March 2020, David L. Finkelstein was appointed chief executive officer and board member. Later that year, Steven F. Campbell was named president of the company.

Annaly's investments are divided into four distinct groups: agency credit, residential credit, commercial credit and middle market lending. These investments include mortgage-backed securities, non-agency residential mortgage assets, mortgage servicing rights, residential mortgage loans, agency commercial mortgage-backed securities, corporate debts, credit risk transfer securities and other commercial real estate investments.

Annaly Capital Management Inc. has a strong track record of financial performance and is an S&P 400 component. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.80% of the company's stock, and EMG Holdings L.P., Bank of Montreal Canada, MetLife Investment Management LLC, Rhumbline Advisers, Yousif Capital Management LLC and CIBC World Market Inc. have all taken positions in Annaly Capital Management.
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EnerSys provides various stored energy solutions for industrial applications worldwide. It operates in three segments: Energy Systems, Motive Power, and Specialty. The company offers uninterruptible power systems applications for computer and computer-controlled systems, as well as telecommunications systems; switchgear and electrical control systems used in industrial facilities and electric utilities, large-scale energy storage, and energy pipelines; integrated power solutions and services to broadband, telecom, renewable, and industrial customers; and thermally managed cabinets and enclosures for electronic equipment and batteries. It also provides motive power products that are used to provide power for electric industrial forklifts used in manufacturing, warehousing, and other material handling applications. In addition, the company offers mining equipment, diesel locomotive starting, and other rail equipment. Further, it provides specialty batteries for starting, lighting, and ignition applications in transportation; and energy solutions for satellites, military aircraft, submarines, ships, and other tactical vehicles, as well as medical and security systems. Additionally, the company offers battery chargers, power equipment, battery accessories, and outdoor cabinet enclosures, as well as related after-market and customer-support services for industrial batteries. The company sells its products through a network of distributors, independent representatives, and internal sales forces. The company was formerly known as Yuasa, Inc. and changed its name to EnerSys in January 2001. EnerSys was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Reading, Pennsylvania.
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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 total joint replacements, such as hip, knee and shoulder, and trauma and extremities surgeries. This segment also offers spinal implant products comprising cervical and thoracolumbar systems that include fixation, minimally invasive and interbody systems used in spinal injury, complex spine and degenerative therapies. The MedSurg and Neurotechnology segment offers surgical equipment, and surgical navigation systems, endoscopic and communications systems, patient handling, emergency medical equipment and intensive care disposable products, reprocessed and remanufactured medical devices, clinical communication and workflow solutions, and other medical device products that are used in various medical specialties, as well as patient and caregiver safety technologies. This segment also provides neurosurgical, neurovascular and craniomaxillofacial implant products, which include products used for minimally invasive endovascular procedures; products for brain and open skull based surgical procedures; orthobiologic and biosurgery products, such as synthetic bone grafts and vertebral augmentation products; minimally invasive products for the treatment of acute ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke; and craniomaxillofacial implant products, including cranial, maxillofacial, and chest wall devices, as well as dural substitutes and sealants. The company sells its products to doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities through company-owned subsidiaries and branches, as well as third-party dealers and distributors in approximately 75 countries. Stryker Corporation was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in Portage, Michigan.
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Two men have been arrested following a spate of incidents, including the highjacking of a car, in Bridgend on Sunday night.

Two men in their 20s were arrested in the Dublin area after gardai located a grey Seat Altea with a Northern Ireland registration which was hijacked in Bridgend at around 8.30pm on Sunday.

Buncrana Garda superintendent Shaun Grant said the two males were found with the hijacked car and were arrested on suspicion of possession of offensive weapons.

That car has been recovered and two males have been arrested and remain in Garda custody in a Dublin city station, he said on Tuesday.

Superintendent Grant said inquiries are ongoing and there is a continuing appeal for witnesses to the incident.

One line of inquiry is that these incidents may be related to a familial feud emanating in Derry city, he said.

The incidents took place close to the Donegal-Derry border. It is believed that vehicles were damaged by a gang wielding weapons.

A Garda cordon remained at a business premises in the border village on Monday morning. Gardai are particularly appealing to those with video footage, including dash-cam, from the Bridgend area between 8.15pm and 8.45pm, to make contact.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Burnfoot Garda Station on (074) 9368194, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.
A new inquest has been ordered into the death of a man in Co Fermanagh almost 50 years ago.

The Attorney General for Northern Ireland Dame Brenda King has directed the new proceedings amid concerns over the original RUC investigation into the death of Jim Murphy.

However, under the provisions of the Governments contentious new legacy laws, the inquest will not be able to take place before a guillotine date of May 1 for cases which have not reached a point of verdict.

Mr Murphy was shot dead by loyalists at his garage in Corraveigha, Derrylin, on April 20 1974.

The case has previously been referred to the Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson, but she has said she will not be able to investigate the original police probe until April 2027 due to limited resources.

Mr Murphys niece Joan Corrigan, who believes there was security force collusion in her uncles murder, said she was delighted with the decision by the attorney general.

She said: It will not bring him back, but April 2024 will mark the 50th anniversary of his murder and I can look at his photograph on my wall and know I did as much as I could for his memory.

He was a civil rights activist who sought truth, justice and equality, as do I, and a new inquest would be an extremely fitting tribute to him.

She added: Whilst I never met Jim, I know his siblings and loved ones suffered a huge loss, huge pain.

I hope this gives victims families some hope for the long-term battle for justice, in spite of the reprehensible amnesty from the Tory government, which is a further, vicious slap in the face to the bereaved.

Solicitor Niall Murphy, from KRW Law, said: We welcome this important decision by the Attorney General to order an inquest into the murder of Jim Murphy.

It is poignant and sad that it has taken 50 years for official recognition that the original RUC investigation into Jims murder was failed and defective.

Mr Murphy said he was hopeful the Governments legacy laws would be overturned by legal challenge.

The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, which gained royal assent last year, will halt all legacy inquests which have not reached a point of verdict by May 1.

A number of Troubles victims have launched legal action against the new laws and the Irish Government has announced it is to challenge the Act in the European Court of Human Rights.
Trade unions have welcomed an intervention by the head of Northern Irelands civil service asking the Secretary of State to release funds to make pay awards to public sector workers.

Jayne Brady penned a letter to Chris Heaton-Harris on Monday ahead of a major planned strike by public sector workers on Thursday over pay.

An estimated 170,000 public servants in 15 trade unions across many sectors including health, education and civil servants are set to take part in what is expected to be the largest strike seen in Northern Ireland in recent history.

Police staff and Roads Service staff responsible for gritting the roads as temperatures plunge are also set to be involved in the walkouts.

While the UK Government offered a 3.3 billion package to stabilise finances in Northern Ireland, including 600 million to settle public sector pay claims, it will not be made available until the Stormont Assembly is restored.

Ms Brady told Mr Heaton-Harris that this represents one of the last opportunities to avert the strike action planned for this week.

This Thursday will represent the single biggest day of industrial action in a generation, reflecting the strength of feeling and deteriorating, and frankly untenable, position we are now in, she said.

She said urgent action is required to address unacceptable public sector pay disparity, estimated at 634 million to maintain broad parity between Northern Ireland civil servants and their colleagues in Great Britain.

The Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Union (NIC-ICTU) welcomed the letter and called for an immediate budget allocation.

This has been the position of the trade union movement from the beginning of this dispute. It is also the position of every political party In Northern Ireland, they said in a statement.

In response to this, Chris Heaton-Harris continues to parrot the same discredited line he has held throughout this crisis, that fair pay for public servants is not his responsibility, but that of a restored NI Executive.

The secretary of states strategy has clearly failed and it has failed the people of Northern Ireland. It is long past time that this calamitous fiasco was brought to an end.

They added: The trade union movement is clear, the disruption of industrial action this Thursday can be averted. If the money is made available and negotiations begin, we stand ready to engage.

A Northern Ireland Office spokesman said: Its disappointing to see leaked correspondence at this sensitive time. Our absolute priority and full focus is to see a restored executive delivering for people and workers in Northern Ireland.

We have offered a fair and generous package worth 3 billion, which will help a restored executive address a range of pressing issues in the round, from public sector pay to support with ensuring sustainable public services.

This offer is on the table for parties to take forward at pace.
Police have urged anyone with information about the ruthless killing of Kevin Conway in Belfast to come forward.

The 26-year-old died after being shot multiple times at his home in the Greenan area of west Belfast last Tuesday.

The victim had been on bail awaiting trial for the murder of Shane Whitla in Co Armagh last year.

The independent charity Crimestoppers has offered a 20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for Mr Conways murder.

A senior detective said it has left a loving family heartbroken and a community in shock.

A week on, detectives revisited the scene on Tuesday.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil McGuinness said police are working tirelessly to bring those responsible to justice.

Today, January 16, is one week on since this brutal attack took place. It was last Tuesday night, at approximately 9.30pm, when Kevin was murdered in his own home. He was shot multiple times and, sadly, pronounced dead at the scene, he said.

We will work tirelessly to bring those responsible to justice, and tonight our officers have revisited the immediate area.

Weve been speaking with pedestrians, drivers and passengers, and have carried out extensive house-to-house inquiries.

Mr McGuinness went on: This ruthless killing has left a loving family heartbroken.

Theyre going through unimaginable sorrow and pain, while an entire community is left in shock.

Im appealing to you, if you have any information, to please come forward. I know its not easy, but Im keen to offer assurance that information can be passed to Crimestoppers with total anonymity.

Crimestoppers can be contacted on the charitys 24/7 Contact Centre on 0800 555 111.

Alternatively, detectives can be contacted on 101; while information, including photos, CCTV and dash cam footage, can be provided to police through the Major Incident Public Portal at https://mipp.police.uk.
HIGHLIGHTS Team Secret and Blacklist Rivalry reign supreme as APAC Predator League 2024 champions in Valorant and DOTA 2, claiming Predator Shields and $65,000 each! Abed Yusop and Jeremy "Jremy" Cabrera crowned Intel MVPs for dominant performances in DOTA 2 and Valorant, respectively. Mark your calendars: APAC Predator League returns to Malaysia in 2025, with qualifiers starting later this year! Can India's esports stars rise to the challenge?

Team Secret and Blacklist Rivalry emerge as Valorant and DOTA champions and JeremyJremy Cabrera (Valorant) and Marc Polo Raven Fausto (DOTA) walked home with the Intel MVP award as the Asia Pacific Predator League 2024 came to a close on Sunday, January 14. The eSports tournament hosted by Acer saw some of the most talented eSports athletes from the APAC region take the stage and put up a spectacular show for the fans.

In case you didnt know, the Acer Predator League is a tournament organised by the tech giant to promote eSports in the Asia Pacific region. The tournament, since its inception in 2018, has seen over 15,000 teams take part, showcasing their expertise and prowess in their game of choice. This year, in the Philippines leg of the tournament, it was Team Secret and Blacklist Rivalry who took the crowns in Valorant and DOTA, respectively.

Asia Pacific Predator League 2024  Winner takes it all!

Blacklist Rivalry trumped the local heroes, Execration, with Abed Abed Yusop emerging as their top performer, averaging 8.5 kills and 14 assists in the series. On the Valorant side, Team Secret were the favourites and they did not disappoint. Thanks to Adrian invy Reyes exploits in the series, the team defeated their Japanese rivals, FAV gaming. This was Team Secrets first LAN trophy and Predator Shield since the inception of its VALORANT team. In addition to the glory, both these teams also walked away with a $65,000 prize and the shiny Predator Shield.

Valorant DOTA 2 Placement Team Name Prize (USD) Placement Team Name Prize (USD) 1 Team Secret 65,000 +

Predator Shield 1 Blacklist Rivalry 65,000 +

Predator Shield 2 FAV gaming 20,000 2 Execration 20,000 3 BOOM Esports 7,500 3 Team Aster 7,500 3 Team Flash 7,500 3 IHC Esports 7,500 Intel MVP-VALORANT JeremyJremy Cabrera 10,000 +

Intel MVP Trophy Intel MVP-Dota 2 Marc Polo Raven Fausto 10,000 +

Intel MVP Trophy Classifications of the Asia Pacific Predator League 2024

Also Read: MSI Unveils Handheld Gaming Device, the MSI Claw, Powered by Meteor Lake and Intel XeSS Technology @ CES 2024

The organisers also rewarded the best individual performances, handing out a $10,000 award and the Intel MVP Trophy. As mentioned earlier, for Dota 2, it was awarded to carry player Polo Raven Fausto while in Valorant, it was awarded to duelist player Jeremy Jremy Cabrera.

With the end of Asia Pacific Predator League 2024, it was announced that the next edition of the Asia Pacific Predator League would be held in Malaysia, with the qualifiers starting at the end of this year, and the finals being held in early 2025. India has been on the rise in the world of eSports and it would be interesting to see what the ace eSports athletes from our home country are able to bring to the table next time around.
Chinese, Tunisian FMs stress independent development

Xinhua) 14:48, January 16, 2024

TUNIS, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Nabil Ammar, Tunisian minister of foreign affairs, migration and Tunisians abroad on Monday voiced willingness to support each other's independent development.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Tunisia, thereby having great significance in bridging the past and the future.

"We are ready to take this opportunity to work with Tunisia to review the successful experience and grow our traditional friendship so as to write a new chapter in China-Tunisia friendly cooperation," he said.

The two sides need to support each other on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns, so as to provide a solid foundation for and add strong impetus into bilateral relations, he added.

Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Wang said, provides the fundamental guidance for building China into a great country and for the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization.

China's development in the new era has also provided a useful reference for other countries intending to speed up development while preserving their independence, said Wang.

China will promote the modernization of the world with Chinese modernization, and is willing to share experience in governance with Tunisia and enhance Tunisia's capacity for independent development so as to achieve common development and prosperity, said Wang.

For his part, Ammar said that Tunisia and China, sharing extensive common interests and values, have a solid political foundation, sound development momentum, and inspiring cooperation results in bilateral relations.

The Tunisian side cherishes its friendship with China and will always remember China's support and help.

Ammar reiterated that Tunisia always firmly upholds the One-China principle and stands ready to work with China to push for greater development of bilateral relations.

As China-Tunisia relations have broad prospects, the two sides agreed to strengthen high-level exchanges, add strategic substance to bilateral relations, and expand all-round cooperation.

The two sides will strengthen solidarity and coordination to jointly safeguard the legitimate interests of developing countries, and uphold the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and international equity and justice.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and agreed to continue to jointly support the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
SK Siltron becomes SiC wafer supplier for Infineon

SK Siltron, a subsidiary of SK Group, has signed a long-term contract with German semiconductor company Infineon to supply silicon carbide (SiC) wafers.

According to ET News, SK Siltron's subsidiary, SK Siltron CSS, has entered into a supply agreement with Infineon for SiC wafers. While the specific terms, including the contract amount and duration, have not been publicly disclosed, it is revealed to be a long-term supply agreement.

SK Siltron will prioritize the supply of 6-inch SiC wafers. It plans to transition to 8-inch products in the future.

SiC is a core material for manufacturing next-generation power semiconductors. It is known for its high-temperature resistance, high breakdown voltage, and superior durability.

The material is widely used in electric vehicles, energy storage systems (ESS), and solar energy applications. However, the technology for SiC wafers has a high barrier to entry, and only a few global companies, including SK Siltron CSS, Wolfspeed, and II-VI, can produce them.

In its efforts to cultivate future growth, SK Siltron has invested over KRW1 trillion and acquired DuPont's SiC wafer business. SK Siltron has a SiC wafer production facility in Michigan in the United States.

Industry observers say that SK Siltron's deal with Infineon is an initial success in its investment endeavors. Infineon aims to address the growing demand for semiconductors and stabilize its material supply chain through collaboration with SK Siltron.

SK Siltron is in the process of developing 8-inch SiC wafers. If successfully commercialized, SK Siltron will be poised to continue collaborating with Infineon and potentially establish a new factory.
Semiconductors opportunities in emerging markets

India is bound to be a strategic partner for the United States in terms of demographics, domestic market, software talents, and national strategy.

China, which intends to challenge the global hegemony of the United States, is a world-class power. If "Taiwan belongs to China", then the balance of power of the world would have already been different. To keep China in check, in addition to the first island chain of Taiwan, Japan, and Korea linking into a "technological island chain", India is bound to be a strategic partner for the United States in terms of demographics, domestic market, software talents, and national strategy.

By 2035, India will have 380 million more people under the age of 39 than China. The country boasts 108 unicorn startups.

Local companies such as TATA, Reliance, and TVS all have the strength to build up local brands. Moreover, the country's young population will be the key to success in the metaverse and other business opportunities in related fields.

India is already the world's third-largest automobile market, the second-largest smartphone, and the largest two-wheeled vehicle market. High levels of air pollution are likely to drive the country's shift toward shift electric vehicles.

Encouraged by the US policy to migrate supply chains, Apple, Micron, etc. are actively investing in India. Taiwan's Hon Hai, Pegatron, and Delta are also cultivating their supply chains in the country

Even if India cannot replace China, its position in the global supply chain is on the rise.

Outside-in vs. Inside-out

Apart from China and India, many emerging countries with abundant natural resources will compete with different strategies. It would be unwise to overlook these participants who have entered the semiconductor competition from the sidelines.

Vietnam and Mexico enjoy geographical advantages. They will be the first to benefit from the changing US-China relationship.

From the perspective of the amount of SMT equipment for automated production that the two countries have imported, we can see that Mexico and Vietnam will be the fastest-growing countries in terms of demand for semiconductors in the next 5~10 years. Singapore and Malaysia, two countries with small populations and limited domestic markets, have adopted a strategy to actively attract foreign investment in the semiconductor industry.

Now there are more than 10 fabs in Singapore. With a limited population and natural resources, Singapore has been able to use its tax and government efficiency to attract many large factories to set up a presence in the country.

Thanks to "China + 1" and "Taiwan + 1", Singapore offers a strong contrast to other countries and is even attracting Taiwanese businessmen to deploy their subsidiaries there.

I often tell people that Taiwanese firms have been forced to go "inside-out" due to the political environment and population and resource limitations. However, Singapore which lacks substantive advantages in those physical resources, bringing external resources to the country.

The contrast between Taiwan and Singapore demonstrates that with the right strategy and administrative efficiency, industrial development is not an unattainable goal. Malaysia, securing a place in the first wave of semiconductor competition, successfully attracts companies like Infineon.

Wildcards

Canada and Australia also have their roles to play in geopolitics, green energy, materials, and talent competitions against the backdrop of the world's increasing focus on ESG. Canada and Australia have advantages in natural resources and a common Anglo-Saxon heritage.

If Canada and Australia, which run education as an industry, cooperate with Taiwan to manage "semiconductor talent training centers", they would carve out their niche amid a global shortage of semiconductor talent.

By attracting STEM talent from ASEAN countries, and expanding the scale of student and professor exchanges with Taiwan's top universities of science and technology, Australia and Canada would be able to take advantage of the business opportunities of Taiwan's talent-hungry semiconductor manufacturers and IC design companies.

In the era of globalization, the US led the technology race, and Japan, Korea, and both sides of the Taiwan Strait benefited from an open and free trade environment. However, as the world moves from globalization to and into the dawn of "de-globalization" and the regional division of labor, all enterprises will face new challenges.

Europe, not willing to be left alone, is beckoning the big players in Asia. It remains to be seen whether the emerging countries in Asia, as well as Canada and Australia, will also participate in the semiconductor competition.

Credit: AFP
Taiwan's quantum computing advancement: Collaboration with IQM to boost research on low-temperature CMOS

Taiwan's efforts in advancing low-temperature CMOS and quantum computing technologies are set to receive a significant boost with the recent signing of a collaborative Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute (TSRI) and Finland-based IQM Quantum Computers. The MOU aims to accelerate quantum computing development in Taiwan by leveraging IQM's expertise and technology.

Under the MOU, TSRI gains access to IQM's knowledge, facilitating the integration of advanced quantum computing technologies. IQM will not only deliver purchased quantum computers to TSRI but will also dispatch technical personnel to support its hardware integration and coordination efforts.

Manpower shortages at the Institute of Physics of the Academia Sinica resulted in a slight delay in quantum computer development, causing a fidelity lag. Lo Meng-Fan, director general of the Department of Natural Sciences and Sustainable Development under the National Science and Technology Council, told the DIGITIMES that the collaboration with IQM emerged as a solution, allowing advanced low-temperature components from academic research teams to be tested in IQM's quantum computer boasting a fidelity of up to 99.9%.

Luo emphasized that TSRI's collaboration with IQM is not merely a procurement endeavor but a strategic move to test Taiwan's quantum computing solutions. The success of the solutions could lead to global market opportunities, as Taiwan's solutions might be sold to governments and businesses worldwide, entering the international quantum computer supply chain.

TSRI is executing the "Quantum Computer Sub-Systems R&D Platform Planning Project," aiming to fast-track quantum computer subsystem development and aid local industries in adopting quantum key technologies. TSRI Director General Alex Hou said the technical details of the collaboration are expected to be finalized by 2024, with IQM's quantum computer then to be placed at TSRI for testing.

Hou further clarified that IQM's quantum computer acquisition aims at testing Taiwan's low-temperature circuits, with no specific requirement for a set number of quantum computers. This underscores the collaborative and research-focused nature of the partnership.

Several research teams in Taiwan are developing Cryo-CMOS chips designed to operate at ultra-low temperatures for driving and reading large-scale solid-state quantum bits. While these chips may not entirely replace existing equipment from Keysight Technologies, they can significantly simplify peripheral circuits and save costs, making them integral to the evolving quantum computing landscape, according to Hou.

The research team led by Professor Li Jiun-Yun at National Taiwan University is currently generating digital signals to control quantum bits through a signal generator, then converting them into analog signals and driving qubits through radiofrequency circuits. By using reflective circuits combined with low noise amplifiers (LNA), quantum information is transformed into optical signals for reading, enhancing the fidelity of quantum computers. In addition, the team headed by Professor Li Pei-Wen at Yang Ming Chiao Tung University is also conducting related research.
Is eVTOL sector about to take off?

At CES 2024, Hyundai Motor made a resounding entry into the burgeoning aerial vehicle market with the unveiling of its cutting-edge Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Against the backdrop of CES 2024's strategic focus on the potential advancements in Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) solutions and the continued prominence of electric vehicles (EVs), particularly in land and sea domains, the spotlight has been turned to whether the eVTOL industry is poised for a transformative takeoff.

Supernal, Hyundai's subsidiary, showcased the physical prototype of the "S-A2" eVTOL at CES 2024. Distinguished by Hyundai's proprietary solid-state battery technology and featuring an innovative configuration of eight rotorsfour for vertical takeoff and landing, and the remaining four for horizontal flightthe S-A2 promises heightened efficiency. Hyundai underscored the quieter flight experience of the S-A2, likening its noise levels to that of a household dishwasher. The ambitious plan is to have the S-A2 operational by 2028, with flight tests potentially commencing as early as the conclusion of 2024.

In an era where eVTOLs, unencumbered by traditional runways and boasting streamlined components, present an opportunity for reduced operational costs in comparison to conventional aircraft, industry insiders are deliberating whether the eVTOL business is on the cusp of a transformative ascent. Flight cost analyses indicate that, for instance, helicopters incur approximately US$150 for every 15 minutes of flight, aligning closely with the operational costs of eVTOLs and EVs.

While the eVTOL arena is predominantly dominated by US entities, including major players like Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation with backing from notable investors such as Uber, Toyota, and Intel, Taiwanese companies are cautiously navigating their entry. Molicel, a subsidiary of Taiwan Cement, has notably secured battery orders from Vertical Aerospace and Archer Aviation. Despite a limited Taiwanese footprint currently, companies with established roles in the EV supply chain are strategically positioned to contribute significantly to the evolving eVTOL landscape.

The eVTOL narrative, often labeled as "flying taxis," aligns structurally with drones, emphasizing safety standards that surpass typical drone considerations. The multifaceted eVTOL supply chain comprises core subsystems, encompassing batteries, power systems, flight controls, communications, navigation, and mechanical componentsa landscape mirroring the intricate dynamics of drone technology.

Within the battery realm, advancements are expected to play a pivotal role in elevating eVTOL efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and payload capacity. In the power system domain, motors are identified as crucial, with specialized eVTOL products already undergoing certification by industry leaders like PIPISTREL, Safran, and MagniX.

Considering the airframe, the challenge arises from the larger dimensions of eVTOLs, making it a domain where consumer or industrial drone manufacturers may find it challenging to compete. Aerospace suppliers are anticipated to take precedence in this sector, but industry experts note that both consumer and industrial drone manufacturers, as well as automotive body manufacturers, possess the technical acumen to venture into this arena.

AIDC, Taiwan's aerospace leader, has emphasized the need for local players to explore opportunities in the emerging urban air mobility (UAM) sector, particularly within the eVTOL realm. As Taiwan's aerospace firms eye potential contributions to the supply chain, there is a growing call for the government to proactively craft regulations for the evolving landscape of aerial mobility.

In conclusion, Taiwan, with its proven track record in both automotive and aerospace supply chains, stands poised to make substantial contributions to the dynamic eVTOL industry. As competition intensifies and the momentum toward vehicle electrification prevails, Taiwanese companies have a compelling opportunity to carve out a significant niche in this transformative market.

In Taiwan's manufacturing landscape, the competition intensifies notably in the aircraft sector. Leading the charge in aircraft structural expertise are prominent entities such as AIDC, EVA Airways, Chenfull International, Drewloong Technologies, and Magnate Technology. These companies count aerospace giants Boeing, Airbus, and Bombardier among their discerning clientele. As the burgeoning field of eVTOL garners attention, stakeholders from various industries are recognizing the future potential of AAM solutions. Currently, the automotive and aviation sectors are spearheading these advancements. Regardless of the competitive dynamics at play, Taiwanese manufacturers are poised to secure a significant foothold amidst the overarching trend toward electrification in vehicle technology.
The Women of Honour group said they were not given sight of the terms of reference for the forthcoming Defence Forces tribunal before it was approved by Cabinet.

The terms of reference for the tribunal of inquiry into the Defence Forces handling of bullying, harassment and sexual assault allegations were approved by Cabinet on Tuesday.

The tribunal of inquiry will examine the effectiveness of the complaints processes in the Defence Forces in respect of workplace incidents relating to discrimination, bullying, harassment, sexual assault and rape.

In a statement, the Women of Honour said they welcome the appointment of Justice Ann Power to chair the tribunal.

(We) are now focusing on it being a full, comprehensive and transparent tribunal, they said.

We have not seen the terms of reference in advance of them going to Cabinet. In fact, we just received the terms of reference from a journalist.

We have no doubt a tribunal is the mechanism we need for change. We are now going to have to take time to properly assess what these latest terms of reference contained and proceed accordingly.

The inquiry is being established to investigate whether there have been serious systemic failures in the complaints processes in the Defence Forces concerning workplace issues, including sexual misconduct.

The inquiry comes following the report by the Independent Review Group (IRG) on dignity and equality issues in the Defence Forces.

The Women of Honour group previously criticised the terms of reference, saying it did not go far enough.

Speaking after todays Cabinet meeting, the Tanaiste, Micheal Martin, said: Government will now seek the approval of the Oireachtas to formally establish the tribunal, and get work underway as early as possible this year.

I am particularly grateful to all those who have engaged in the process that led to the drafting of the terms of reference, and to the Attorney General and his staff.

I also want to express my gratitude to Ms Justice Ann Power for agreeing to chair this very important tribunal. She brings a wealth of experience to the role.

The tribunal will also have the power to investigate the response to complaints made regarding the use of hazardous chemicals within Air Corps headquarters at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel.

Separately, in a further implementation of the IRGs recommendations, Mr Martin announced the appointment of Mr Kevin Duffy as the independent Chair of a new working group to develop a complaints process for civilian employees and civil servants who work with the Defence Forces.

The Tanaiste said: The appointment of Kevin Duffy is another important step in implementing the recommendations of the Independent Review Group. I am very grateful to Kevin Duffy for agreeing to chair this working group.

He brings a wealth of experience and expertise to this role which, I have no doubt, will prove invaluable to the group in its deliberations.

The Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sean Clancy welcomed the publication.

He said: Since being appointed Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, I have made it abundantly clear, there is no place for any form of abusive, inappropriate, or criminal behaviour in the Defence Forces.

The Defence Forces is fully committed to co-operating with the tribunal in the course of their work and I fully expect that the inquiry will determine the extent of the issues brought to light in the IRG report.

We are working to redesign our grievance procedures and HR policies, rolling out mandatory sexual ethics and respectful relationships workshops and holding people to account for misconduct and misbehaviour.

Change is under way and updated policies and procedures will be underpinned by the principles of mutual respect, dignity and equality.
A naming rights deal is set to be presented to Cork County Board delegates this evening as a change in the iconic name Pairc Ui Chaoimh is on the cards.

First reported in the Irish Examiner on Monday, a report revealed a multi-layered naming rights deal for the landmark GAA headquarters worth nearly 300,000 a year to Cork GAA.

Title sponsor Supervalu will have first choice in the historic re-naming and have subsequently come up with....Supervalu Park.

Boston Scientific, PepsiCo and Statkraft also have subsidiary stadium branding privileges as part of the package that is believed to be worth 1m for the next three years.

The iconic headquarters was named after former GAA director general Padraig O Caoimh who led the GAA for 35 years.

Padraig's grandson Donal, told the Irish Examiner he was "deeply shocked and saddened" at the proposed new name and that nobody had contacted him from the GAA to tell him of the new name that was being considered.

Donal isn't the only one disappointed at this proposed name change, Tanaiste Michael Martin said he was "deeply disappointed and annoyed", adding that "Padraig Ui Chaoimh was a key figure in the formation of the GAA at club and national level".

Deeply disappointed & annoyed at the proposal to change the name of Pairc Ui Chaoimh.



Padraig Ui Chaoimh was a key figure in the formation of the GAA at club and national level.



Govt allocated 30m towards the development of the stadium and never sought naming rights.  Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) January 16, 2024

GAA fans were also quick to comment on social media when the news broke to air their grievances on the new proposed new name.

SuperValu Pairc has a ring to it all right, the ring of desperation in Cork GAA https://t.co/sEjoRBUiaH  Michael O'Regan (@Michael_O_Regan) January 16, 2024

SuperValu Park. Disgusting. Its shameful when sponsors pull this kind of stunt.  A (@repealtheGRA_) January 16, 2024

Others were quick to defend the new proposed name change, likening it to when the Grand Canal Theatre was changed to the Bord Gais and most people claimes the name would never catch on.
Employment opportunities are expected to grow by 16% in Louth during the course of 2024, according to recruitment company, FRS Recruitment. This follows a disappointing 2023, when the number of opportunities in Louth declined by 30%.

FRS Recruitment says that the positive outlook for the coming year is in line with its national projections, with 8% growth also forecast for the country as a whole over the next 12 months.

It is anticipating particularly strong demand for accounting, insurance, engineering, science, construction, cybersecurity and social care personnel on a national basis for the coming year.

It is also expected that upward pressure on salaries in Louth and the rest of the country will continue over the next 12 months, with the economy at full employment and cost of living challenges still being felt by local employees.

The analysis is included in FRS Recruitments 2023 Review & 2024 Trend Forecast report. In total, over the course of 2023, FRS Recruitment advertised a total of 88,964 opportunities nationally.

There was also a strong level of response from potential candidates to the openings that came on market, with FRS recording a 32% rise in the average number of applications received per opportunity.

On a county by county basis, 20 of the 26 counties experienced a decline in job opportunities in 2023. Dublin and all the other main urban areas experienced a drop in the number of roles with Limerick (down 20%), Cork (down 19%) and Galway (down 18%). Proportionately the largest decline was experienced in Monaghan (down 51%).

However, six counties did buck the national trend and recorded a rise in the number of opportunities in 2023. There was significant growth in activity in the north-west part of the country in particular, with the largest county by county increases occurring in Donegal (up 43%), Leitrim (up 40%), Mayo (up 36%) and Sligo (up 13%). Additional increases in the number opportunities were also seen in Tipperary and Wicklow.

Speaking about the report and the outlook for the year ahead, Lynne McCormack, General Manager with FRS Recruitment said, If 2023 was a year of turbulence in the recruitment market locally and nationally, we are anticipating a steady rise in opportunities in Louth for the year ahead.

"We are already seeing green shoots of recruitment appear across multiple sectors, several of which experienced a challenging 12 months.

It is fair to say that in 2023, the market in Louth and the rest of the country got jittery, certainly in the first half of the year. The large job losses announced by the major tech companies seemed to resonate across the market and across most of the country.

"This had implications for opportunities coming on stream for multiple industries beyond the IT sector. Rising costs relating to energy, supply chain expenses and salaries also impacted on the recruitment outlook as many Louth based employers opted to utilise their available workforce rather than going to the market with new openings.

Thankfully the market recovered in Q3 and was firing strongly again by the end of the year. The signs point to that approach continuing for into 2024.

The market is already showing significant need for skilled personnel in several sectors. Employers are actively seeking out individuals with qualifications and experience in accounting, insurance, science, engineering, cybersecurity, social care and construction.

"Such is the pent up demand for this talent we see no shortage of opportunities arising in the next 12 months in Louth, especially for those sectors.

There are also a lot of temporary roles coming to the market, especially for those interested in manufacturing and production positions, customer service jobs as well as a wide range of opportunities for drivers.

As long as the economy maintains such high levels of employment, there will also be significant upward pressure on salaries, as talented Louth based employees seek out the most favourable conditions.

"Leveraging offers of new employment to secure better terms from their existing employers became a regular part of the hiring dynamic nationally, and in Louth, throughout 2023 and we expect that will continue in the next 12 months.

"Coupled with the significant expenses associated with accommodation and commuting, employers in most sectors can expect to see a push for better remuneration, especially from those employees located throughout Louth who know there are plenty of other openings available on the market, Ms. McCormack concluded.

The 2023 Review & 2024 Trend Forecast report is available on www.frsrecruitment.com.
Above: Jane McGee, Moya ONeill and Jane McGee from St Vincent's Secondary School Louth with their project 'Testing which kind of chocolate has the most detrimental effect on your singing voice' at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2024 in the RDS Dublin (Photos: Fennell Photography)

Students from Louth were among the award winners at the 60th BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition which was held at the RDS Dublin from Thursday 11 January to Saturday 13 January.

Over 1,100 students from across the country took part in the exhibition with judging carried out by 85 expert judges.

Louth students picked up awards in both the Special Awards category and in the Display Awards category, with one student picking up two awards in this year's competition.

From Dundalk Grammar School, Solomon Doyle was awarded 1st Senior Individual in the Technology category for his project "DermAI: Novel Approach to the Mitigation of Algorithmic Bias within CNN Based Skin Lesion Classification".

Solomon also took home The AMD Award, in the Special Awards category for his project.

In the Display Awards category, two Louth projects took home awards. Cillian OKelly from St Marys Diocesan School won an award in the Biological & Ecological category for his project, The Effect of Microgravity on Plants.

In the Health & Wellbeing category, Moya O'Neill, Mia Gogarty and Jane McGee from St Vincents Secondary School in Dundalk, won an award for their project, "Testing which kind of chocolate has the most detrimental effect on your singing voice".

Among the Louth students at this year's competition, were Ryan McLoughlin Smith, Fionnuala Johnston and Luke Matthews from Colaiste Ris in Dundalk, pictured below, with their project "To Investigate Noise Pollution and Cheaper Ways to Integrate Sound Proofing Methods into already Existing Buildings"

Also at this year's competition, Lorcan Garvin, pictured below, from Colaiste Chu Chulainn in Dundalk, took part with his project "Which beach sand in Co. Louth has the most microplastics?".

The winner of the 60th BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE) top prize was Sean OSullivan, a 5th year student from Colaiste Chiarain in Limerick, for his project, "VerifyMe: A new approach to authorship attribution in the post-ChatGPT era".

The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is designed to raise schools engagement in the critical subjects of science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM).

The Exhibition calls upon students aged 12-19 years from all over the island of Ireland to showcase innovative science and technology projects. It is supported by valued partners including the Department of Education, Analog Devices, Amgen, Stripe, and RTE. Learn more at www.btyoungscientist.com.
Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) recently rolled out its second year of DkIT Loves STEM in partnership with iWish, this roadshow facilitated talks to female TY students. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths and this roadshow visited schools in the region which included visits to Loreto Balbriggan, St Vincents Dundalk, Breifne College Cavan, Scoil Ui Mhuiri Dunleer and Our Lady's College, Greenhills Drogheda.

Leading female academics from the Institute who specialise in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths were delighted to meet with female students and share their own experience and career journeys within the STEM industry. STEM is the fastest growing and most in demand sector in Ireland but recent research undertaken by iWish reported that 57% of girls lack confidence in their ability to pursue a STEM career, 66% of girls see lack of information about STEM careers as a barrier to pursuing a career in STEM, with 84% of girls wanting to know more about STEM but 93% reject the stereotype that STEM careers are more suited to boys than girls.

The aim of these talks facilitated by DkIT was to address the current barriers to STEM for females by hosting talks sharing expert females experience of STEM industries.

This DkIT roadshow ran in conjunction with iWish who the Institute have been partnering with since 2023.

iWish is a national community committed to showcasing the power of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths to teenage girls.

This community run outreach activities, mentorship programmes, TechForGood laptop donations, further education programmes and showcase events reaching a global audience. Other participating Universities of iWish include Munster Technological University, University College Dublin, University College Cork, Trinity and Limerick University.

Donna OConnor, Equality & Diversity Officer (Athena SWAN Coordinator) at DkIT said:

"We were absolutely delighted to roll out our DkIT Loves STEM roadshow for a second year. Its a fantastic opportunity for us to visit our surrounding secondary schools and to meet the up-and-coming STEM stars of the future. DkIT passionately believe in bringing equality to all subjects, particularly STEM as its currently underrepresented by female students.

"Id like to thank all the schools that were involved and our fabulous STEM role models who loved sharing their STEM stories and career paths with the students. Dr Orla Sherlock spoke on behalf of the Sciences, Fiona Lawless introduced Technology and Maths, and MaryEllen Kelledy brought Engineering to life for the TY students.

For more information on the DkIT loves STEM Roadshow check out www.dkit.ie
Well-known DJ and broadcaster Dave Fanning has launched defamation proceedings against a Hong Kong news site and Microsoft over the publication of his picture alongside an article stating that an Irish broadcaster had gone on trial for alleged sexual misconduct.

The article was published by an online news network entity called BNN of an article on October 11 last accompanied with Mr Fanning's image.

Under the headline, "Prominent Irish Broadcaster faces trial over alleged sexual misconduct," the article was written by a Kasturi Chakraborty.

The defamatory article, which states that the broadcaster's identity was being "withheld due to legal restrictions", "faces trial for allegedly engaging in sexual activities with a child under 12" was also allegedly republished on Microsoft's News Service MSN on the same date as it had been published by BNN.

Mr Fanning claims that article make seriously false and damaging statements about him.

The trial in question had nothing to do with him, and related to another broadcaster, who was subsequently acquitted of all charges.

As a result he has brought proceedings where he seeks damages for the alleged defamation.

The article, the court heard, was removed the day after it was published.

The court heard that the article is completely false, has wrongly suggested that Mr Fanning is a criminal, is a person of low moral standing, a danger to minors, is a paedophile and has gravely damaged Mr Fanning's reputation and good character.

As a result Mr Fanning, represented by Garrett Cooney Bl instructed by solicitor Paul Meagher, wants to sue BNN, Microsoft Operations Ireland Ltd and its US-based parent Microsoft Corporation.

As the defendants are both located outside of the EU, Mr Fanning required the permission of the High Court to serve the proceedings on them.

Counsel told the court that after an extensive search by Mr Meagher his side have discovered that BNN is registered as an Non-governmental Organisation, founded by a Mr Gurbaksh Chahal, located at the Prudential Tower, the Gateway Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.

Counsel said that at this stage of the proceedings it is believed that Mr Fannings image, may have been included with the article after an Artificial Intelligence (AI) programme used to collect and aggregate news stories failed to function properly.

On Monday Mr Justice Cian Ferriter said that he was satisfied, on an ex-parte basis, to allow Mr Fanning serve the intended action on BNN.

However there were certain issues he needed clarified in relation to the application regarding Microsoft's US based parent, which the court wanted clarified.

The judge said he would like to know if there was any evident the allegedly defamatory article was published on any MSN services outside of Ireland or in jurisdictions under the control of Microsoft's US parent.

The judge adjourned that aspect of the application for a week.
JAMIE Kelly and Tim OKennedy are two guys who make really, really, delicious pies. Together, they are The Pie Guys.

What started out as a Covid lockdown project has morphed into a food business thats fast gaining something akin to legendary status among the peckish and curious of Cork.

The Pie Guys first location opened in early 2022 at The Black Market, and from the get-go they were pulling in hungry punters from all corners of the county.

That location is still operating, co-located with their production kitchen, and last July, they opened their second location in The English Market.

The English Market is a legendary spot, says Tim. You feel that all the serious food people in Cork are either in here or visiting. Its a hub of food greatness.

The market is such a beacon of good taste and good food; its a centre of gravity, really, agrees Jamie.

The Pie Guys have arrived and set up at a time when the market is entering a new phase in its long history.

A few long-standing stalls closed there in recent years, signalling a transition between adjusting to the loss of market stalwarts, but equally presenting an opportunity for a new generation of traders and their customers.

The market seems to be moving in the direction of some of the great European food markets, like La Boqueria [Barcelona] where theres great fresh produce but also interesting places where you can get prepared foods as well, says Tim.

In a way, no food bridges the gap between the traditional and modern quite as well as an honest to goodness pie. The Pie Guys are taking a very traditional food form and giving it a contemporary twist.

During lockdown, I bought a cookbook called The Pie Room by Calum Franklin, and realised I had forgotten what a majestic thing a pie is when its done right, says Tim.

Jamie Kelly and Tim OKennedy, owners of The Pie Guys, at their English Market stall. Picture: Gerard McCarthy

I had allowed myself to be dumbed down to the point where the thing you find in the filling station or low-end grocery store defines your experience of pie.

But thats not representative of what a pie is at all.

Jamie had spent several years working in Ballinspittle, at Diva Cafe then the bakery when the cafe closed. Meanwhile, Tim co-founded Leafling Mercantile also in the village. The pairs friendship grew from a shared passion for food.

Id been trying to get to work with Jamie for a while, then one day, Im walking through the village and bump into Jamie, says Tim.

I showed him a photo of a Lobster Mac n Cheese Pie Id made.

Jamie professed a love for a good pie and suddenly a lightbulb went off, says Tim.

Eventually, the duo found their way to The Black Market in Ballintemple.

Initially, Jamie was hand-making every pie, which they both admit was not a sustainable method.

They mechanised the shaping and filling of their pies so they could concentrate on developing taste bud-captivating fillings, and making sure every sheet of Jamies gloriously crisp and flaky puff pastry was consistently delicious.

Tim admits he and Jamie are sympatico when it comes to their vision and commitment to The Pie Guys.

Jamies cheffing background means the kitchen is largely his domain, but together they experiment with ideas and flavours for their pies.

Some of the ideas for fillings come from things Ive cooked at home; recipes Ive distilled into a pie filling but would have started life as something quite different, explains Jamie.

The Beef and Beamish is a take on Beef and Guinness and something Ive been doing for years and years.

Making the pie with Beamish was so much better, so that kinda stuck.

Tim says theres a core range of pies because of its deeply traditional form; there will always be a beef and a chicken pie, for example, but after that its playtime as far as the flavours and fillings are concerned.

Once you have the bases covered, you go into this space where almost everything in the world is made better by being put inside pastry.

If you start there, and thats the working theory, youre not going to go too wrong, Tim says.

Tim and Jamie work closely with suppliers to ensure as many of the ingredients used in their pies is Irish and also as locally sourced as possible.

Their chicken is from East Ferry Farm, Dexter beef is from a farm in North Cork, and their pork from Caherbeg in Rosscarbery, West Cork.

So, how have The Pie Guys fared, being the new kids on the block in the iconic English Market?

The reception from the other traders has been phenomenal. The English Market is the friendliest place on earth, says Jamie; a sentiment shared by Tim, too.

We really have been made to feel so welcome, adds Tim.

Jamie Kelly and Tim OKennedy, owners of The Pie Guys, celebrate the opening of their venture within the famed English Market. Picture: Gerard McCarthy

People have been really friendly, wishing us well, leaving cards and little gifts on the stand when we started. They have been so supportive.

As far as customers are concerned, we knew the love affair for pies is huge. By opening here in The English Market, our business more than doubled in size overnight.

The Pie Guys stall is open six days a week with their range of daily fresh-made hot pies to takeaway, complete with spuds and slaw on the side, or freezer pies to take away home and reheat in the oven.

We do say that once theyre done, theyre done, says Tim.

Its a bit like a French bakery in that what weve got when you show up is what we have.

If you want to be pretty sure of a decent selection of pies, be here by 2pm.

In barely a year, The Pie Guys went from a nugget of an idea to a fully-fledged business with two bustling locations in the citys most exciting hubs for foodies; and it seems, summer or winter, Corkonians cannot get enough of these deeply comforting pies.

Things are definitely ramping up now the colder months are settling in, but by no means did business collapse in the summer, says Jamie.

It tipped along, and opening in The English Market during midsummer meant we were able to tap into the tourist market.

We saw loads of English, Kiwis and Australians and did great trade with them - they loved the pies!

Between both locations, The Pie Guys are employing four people full time, plus themselves.

Did they ever wonder, one year in, that this would be where their lockdown business idea would be?

No, we didnt think that it was going to be like this, says Jamie.

It has happened very quickly and suddenly, and overall its been really positive and amazing.

Were both of the view that were done expanding for a little bit now, explains Tim.

We have absolutely no intention of growing to a point where we cant keep the standards to where we want them to be; thats the horse we rode in on.

But something tells me that if the time feels right, and the perfect opportunity arose for another leap of faith into the unknown, The Pies Guys would be ready to step up and bring their gospel of Good Pies For All to further corners of the county - and country (maybe)

Next week in the series, Kate Ryan talks to the people behind The Rooftop Farm, which recently set up a stall at The English Market.
A 48-year-old Cork man admitted entering the balcony of an apartment and stealing a pup valued at 1,000 but when questioned later by gardai he said he was motivated by concern for the welfare of the dog.

Michael Roe of 14A Commons Road, Blackpool appeared at Cork District Court today on Monday.

He is charged by Garda Keith Shier with entering a property at Orchard Court, Blackpool, Cork, as a trespasser on March 14, 2023.

Sergeant Pat Lyons said that, A man entered a private residence by means of an unlocked door. He removed a dog from a balcony and removed the dog from the premises.

The owner challenged this man as he was attempting to leave the area and managed to get his dog back safe and sound.

On arrival, gardai were shown where the man had gone. He had gone to the home of an acquaintance in the area  where he had permission to be.

The suspect was arrested. He had welfare concerns for the dog.

Defence solicitor, Shane Collins-Daly, said, This is a rather unusual case. It is very serious, he knows that. He is a 48-year-old man. He had significant animal welfare concerns. He gave an explanation of why he did what he did.

The day before he did contact the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Dog Action Welfare Group citing his concerns.

Essentially there were concerns he had about that he felt was cruelty. One of the people he spoke to asked if he had confronted the owner.

He called in to confront the owner. There was no answer. The door was unlocked. He could see the dog out on the balcony. He decided to grab the pup and run with him. But he was confronted by the home owner.

The prosecuting guard was somewhat sympathetic to Mr Roes concerns, which were subjective but genuine. It was a spur of the moment decision to go into the house in the hope of getting the dog help. He agreed with the guards that it was not the best course of action but he did it out of concern.

He has two dogs of his own and he cares for them and would consider himself a dog lover. He accepts entirely he should not have done what he did.

Judge Mary Dorgan said, It is very concerning to enter the apartment and take the dog. I accept he was fully cooperative and that he had genuine concerns. It is quite unusual. Judge Dorgan directed a probation report to address some form of restorative justice.

Sentencing was put back until April 8 for that purpose.
THE Cork Education Support Centre (CESC) celebrated 50 years of providing support for teachers in 2023.

Since its establishment in 1973, the centre has supported for primary, post-primary, national, regional, and local professional development for teachers and the education community across Cork city and county.

Director Sean Horgan outlined the history of the last five decades with The Echo, explaining: Generations of the educational community in Cork have reason to be very grateful to those in the early 1970s who set about the establishment of what was then called Cork Teacher Centre.

These pioneering teachers  like many others throughout Ireland at the time  sowed the seeds of a support service for teachers which has grown into the Educational Support Centre network we are familiar with today.

He explained that the demand for a teachers support network grew from the ground up, as groups of teachers began convening informal groups, particularly primary teachers  then termed national teachers  following the introduction of the new primary curriculum in 1971.

The three Rs

This relatively new discovery method-based curriculum reflected the latest research of the 1960s and must have proved somewhat challenging to older teachers who were used to the more traditional three Rs and rote learning off by heart, explained Sean.

The three Rs is a term coined in the early 19th century and used for three basic skills taught in schools: Reading, writing, and arithmetic, with the Rs referring to Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic.

All of this change, coupled with the lobbying of these informal teacher support groups, persuaded the Department of Education to support teachers in a practical way, so 10 teacher centres were established in 1973, CESC among them.

The first full time director was Bart Bambury, who went on to lead the development of the Teacher/Education Centre for the next 30 years from very humble beginnings  a few spare rooms in the Modh/Model School in Anglesea St, where the Centre remained for 10 years.

The first full-time director was Bart Bambury, who went on to lead the development of the teacher/education centre for the next 30 years from very humble beginnings  a few spare rooms in the Modh/Model School in Anglesea St, where the centre remained for 10 years.

Mr Horgan explained: In those days of homemade charts and flashcards, the centre did a brisk trade in its lamination service laminating posters and charts which would stand the test of chalkdust for many years.

The trusty teilgoir (usually one per school) for the use of stilscannain used in the teaching of Buntus and Comhra Gaeilge was now being used to project filmstrips on nature, science, history, and geography.

The library in the Teacher Centre was a treasure trove of these filmstrips, which could be borrowed for a week or two.

These were soon augmented with vast sets of video tapes, cassette tapes, and records  a major attraction for pupils in pre-whiteboard and internet days.

Each May, the Cork Teacher Centre summer course brochure would be posted to schools with an application form enclosed, which was eagerly photocopied, completed, and hand-delivered to the centre that evening to ensure the securement of a place on a course and the resultant three course days (now EPV days) to be used the following school year.

Changes

The next move for the centre was to the Crawford Art Gallery in Emmett Place in 1984, Mr Horgan said, explaining that this was one of just many changes happening for Cork teachers at the time.

Advances in IT use in school continued to develop with the use of overhead projectors, CDs, and the first use of computers  teachers pioneering the use of computers in schools in the Cork area welcomed the continued expansion of Apple Computers at their Hollyhill site.

The centre became the base for meetings of teachers involved in new initiatives such as the Home School Community Liaison Scheme (later the Deis programme), the Remedial Education (later the Special Education Provision), the substitute teacher list, and various others.

Hotels, or schools themselves, after the children had left, were often used for in-service training and meetings due to the lack of space in the centre, so in the mid-1990s, having outgrown its premises, the centre moved to its third home  the upstairs offices in Robert Scott House on St Patricks Quay.

Teacher centres at the time, working hand in hand with the newly established Primary Curriculum Support Service (PCSP), were to be front and centre of the delivery of teacher in-service ahead the impending Primary School Curriculum (1999), a significant landmark in the history of primary education in Ireland.

The management committee began looking for a new purpose-built premises, eventually purchasing a building located on a prominent site on the Mardyke, directly opposite the main gates of University College Cork.

The Rectory, as it was known, was an imposing Victorian building originally built in 1889 which stood on a half-acre site, and had been the residence of the Dean of St. Finbarrs Cathedral.

The Rectory, as it was known, was an imposing Victorian building originally built in 1889 which stood on a half-acre site, and had been the residence of the Dean of St Finbarrs Cathedral. Planning was granted for a substantial two-storey extension, combining a period building with an ultra-modern facility.

The building and refurbishment took a considerable time and the building was finally ready for occupation in 2001, as one of many changes in a two-year period.

This move to the Mardyke coincided with Bart Bamburys retirement after a huge commitment to the development of teacher education, lasting almost 30 years.

He was followed by Michael Jackson, one of those who pioneered the establishment of the Teacher Centre in 1973, who served as director for approximately one year, and then James Mulcahy, who took over as director in 2002 and served until 2015.

The growth in the number of centres nationwide led to the official name change from Cork Teachers Centre to Cork Education Support Centre, which coincided with the expansion of the rollout of the revised primary curriculum as well as numerous initiatives at second level, including new subject options, as the improving economic climate of the Celtic Tiger years ensured resources were provided for teacher in-service.

Advance

This was a huge advance on previous in-service provision  schools were to be closed for three days a year, trained by practising teacher tutors seconded from their own schools, said Mr Horgan.

This modern and professional CPD provision covered one subject per year  beginning in 1999-2000 and concluding in 2007.

Teachers now had the time to devote time free of teaching duties to a modern system of in-service, provided with lunch and even mileage expenses in certain circumstances  a far cry indeed from our founding fathers of the 1970s.

James Mulcahy retired as director after 13 years of service, and was replaced by Niamh Ni Mhaolain in 2015, during which time the Department of Education changed the terms of secondment for directors of education support centres to a five-year maximum secondment, so Niamh returned to school in 2020.

During her service, she continued with the rapid expansion of activity in the centre with new programmes and initiatives.

The windows in the older building were replaced, major energy upgrades were implemented, and staffing was increased to meet the increasing level of activity in the centre.

Mr Horgan continued: However, life changed for all in the centre with the enforced closure of schools and much of society with the outbreak of covid-19 in March 2020.

Niamh, as director, aided by a supportive staff and management committee, rose to the challenge and implemented system changes to enable the staff to work from home and initiate the new era of online webinars as a support for teachers, SNAs [special needs assistants], pupils, parents, and the wider educational community.

When Sean Horgan took over as director in October 2020, covid restrictions and lockdowns ceased all activity in centres nationwide, staff worked from home, providing the best possible service to schools in the circumstances, and any initiatives that could not go online were cancelled.

He shared that Cork, like other centres, upgraded their IT equipment so that they could adapt as much of their offering as possible to be delivered virtually.

Ironically, the covid pandemic witnessed a tripling in the numbers of teachers/SNAs availing of online training/local course programme. The convenience of being able to access training online resulted in the dramatic decrease in numbers attending face-to-face courses in centres, Mr Horgan said, explaining that the numbers attending face-to-face events and courses are still below pre-covid figures but they are improving all the time.

Discussing taking the helm in the middle of a global pandemic, the director told The Echo: It was very difficult, because its hard to see a centre that is normally bustling and packed every day empty, but were very lucky that we had systems in place when everything had to go online.

It was late 2021 before we started having people back in again, it was in a limited way with masks and social distancing.

Thank God were coming out now, and things are getting very busy, theres lots happening in the senior cycle in particular.

There are new obstacles arising all the time, with Mr Horgan describing the increased energy costs associated with the current cost of living crisis as a major challenge to centres as they try to rebuild activity after the pandemic.

Senior cycle reform is on the horizon as junior cert reform is almost finished, while on a primary school level there is a new maths curriculum to get trained up in.

Mr Horgan concluded: Centres have gained a lot of experience over the past 50 years and face the future with confidence.

Celebration

In October last year, a celebration was held to celebrate five decades of hard work in the education sector, which was attended by people associated with the centre over the years.

Attendees at the CESC 50th anniversary celebration lats October.

There were about 60 attendees, including family of Bart Bambury and Michael Jackson, former directors, officials from the Department of Education, and many who were involved in the setting up of the centre in the early days.

Chairwoman Blathnaid Breslin opened proceedings with a short speech, commending the director and staff for the great work being done in the centre supporting school communities, before Director Sean Horgan gave a brief presentation on the establishment of the Cork Teachers Centre in 1973 and the history of the centre over the past 50 years.

Assistant Chief Inspector Martin Lally delivered a short address on the work of centres and of CESC in particular, instancing his very positive experiences as a service user of the centre when he was a young teacher himself.

Proceedings concluded with a humorous few school-related sketches and stories from seanchai Paddy OBrien, a retired teacher himself.

Many agencies, national programmes, and unions were represented, along with many members of the Retired Teachers Association who had been very active in the establishment of the centre and supported it over the years.

Sean Horgan told The Echo that it was a great opportunity to catch up and reminisce, and that everyone enjoyed looking at books, school posters and photographs from over the years.
A UCC student has been recognised for outstanding achievement and awarded the Thermo Fisher Scientific Prize in Organic Chemistry for 2024.

Fourth year Chemistry student Tara McInerney was presented with the award at the School of Chemistry Undergraduate Awards ceremony, which took place on the UCC campus.

Open to all UCC students who completed third year in chemistry throughout the 2022/23 academic year, the prize is awarded annually to the student who passes with the highest combined mark in the Organic Chemistry modules.

For her achievement, Tara received a 1,000 cash prize along with a commemorative plaque.

Thermo Fisher Scientifics Cork campus is an active pharmaceutical ingredient development and manufacturing site and is part of its pharma services business.

Norma Kelly, senior process chemistry manager at Thermo Fishers Cork site said: Its an honour to present Tara with the Thermo Fisher Scientific Prize in Organic Chemistry.

2024 is our second year presenting this award, and we are thrilled to do so as encouraging the next generation of chemists is a core value for Thermo Fisher Scientific.

She added that UCCs School of Chemistry produces top tier graduates, many of whom have been recruited over the years to join their team.

Professor Anita Maguire, Head of School of Chemistry at UCC, said: We are truly appreciative of the support from Thermo Fisher Scientific for our students, through work placements, their Organic Chemistry Prize and various other interactions.

On behalf of the School of Chemistry, I would like to extend a heartfelt congratulations to the recipient of this award, Tara McInerney.

Tara, we are incredibly proud to count you among our student body here at UCC. Your success is an inspiration to your peers and to future chemists. We look forward to your continued success in your academic and professional pursuits.
A man took a bottle of alcohol from a Carrigaline supermarket shelf and drank it in the store without paying and then tried to drive off on a motorcyle belonging to a security man. He caused 600 of damage to it when he fell over on the bike.

Sentencing of John OMahony, with addresses at Brookhill, Ballea, Carrigaline, County Cork; Ardcullen, Hollyhill, Cork, and Cork Simon Community, will take place on February 1 at Cork District Court, on charges arising out of this series of events.

They occurred on August 31, 2023 at Supervalu, Carrigaline, County Cork, and now, at Cork District Court, Sergeant Pat Lyons has outlined the background to the incidents: He took alcohol from a shelf and drank it in the store. He left the store without paying. He then went outside to the carpark of Supervalu, where he got up on a parked motorcycle and attempted to steal it.

He pushed it off the stand and moved it back about six feet, where he fell over with the motorcycle, causing approximately 600 damage to the motorcycle.

The bike belonged to a member of security staff at the store.

There were also other charges against the accused for incidents in Cork City. On November 20, 2023, he had stolen property at Courthouse St.

Earlier in the year, on June 17 at Oliver Plunkett St, he was shouting and was intoxicated.

He was arguing with security staff of an off-licence. He had a sharply pointed drill-bit in his possession, with a tinfoil handle wrapped around it.

The 32-year-old pleaded guilty to several charges arising out of the incidents.
TANAISTE Micheal Martin has moved to provide clarity on Irelands position over South Africas genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Asked, when speaking to reporters in Cork this week, if Ireland should have joined with South Africa in bringing the action, Mr Martin said there had been a lot of misinformation about the matter.

South Africa took a case on its own, it didnt invite others to join it at the time. What happens in situations like this is, when a country takes a case to the International Court of Justice in respect of the Genocide Convention, it asks the court for provisional measures  and thats before it files its more substantive case.

So, South Africa has asked the court for provisional recommendations or measures. The courts now going to consider that and its only when the country that has filed the complaint of genocide files its own whats called a memorial  the substantive case  that then countries decide whether theyll join at that stage or not.

Very often that depends on the initial provisional findings of the court and indeed the memorial itself that the country puts forward, the Foreign Affairs Minister said.

No country in the world has joined South Africa yet, not even Palestine, because of the mechanisms by which this works, and so we will consider this, he added.

Mr Martin said he believes Israel has committed breaches in terms of international humanitarian law in respect of what has happened in Gaza, showing disproportionate use of violence against the civilian population.

South Africa has asked the ICJ to order an immediate halt to Israeli military operations in Gaza. As two days of hearings ended on Friday, ICJ president Joan E Donoghue said the court would rule on the request for urgent measures as soon as possible. Israel has insisted that its war in Gaza is a legitimate defence of its people.
A 63-year-old Cork man accused of attacking his sleeping wife with boiling water and a claw-hammer admitted attacking her and said during his bail application: My wife goes out three or four times a week, I dont drink or smoke.

Noel Twomey of 18 Carbery Grove, Knocknaheeny, Cork, was arrested after he flagged down a Garda patrol car while soaked in blood and carrying a bloodstained hammer in a plastic bag at 5am on Monday, January 15 at Bakers Rd, Gurranabraher, Cork, the court heard.

Detective Garda Brian Murphy charged Mr Twomey with two counts of assault causing harm to his wife, Jackie Twomey, at the family home.

Objecting to bail, Det Garda Murphy said: This is very serious. She went to sleep in the safety of her own bed. Noel Twomey made the very conscious decision to boil a pot of water and retrieve a claw hammer from the tool box.

He has stated that he paced the apartment ten to 20 times considering would he carry out his actions. He then entered his bedroom where his wife slept and attacked her in a cowardly fashion as she lay asleep. He showed no remorse and never inquired about his wifes condition. He comes across as a very controlling individual. His actions yesterday were very disturbing and sinister.

The detective said that Mrs Twomey was still in hospital after being taken into intensive care initially.

Judge Mary Dorgan refused bail and remanded Noel Twomey in custody until January 23.

It is extremely difficult to hear the accused admitted the attack and said in evidence that he thought about it prior to executing an absolutely vicious attack on his sleeping wife of 40 years.

Shane Collins-Daly, defence solicitor, asked the judge to direct that the accused would get all available medical and psychiatric care while in prison. The objection to bail was based primarily on the seriousness of the assault.

Detective Garda Murphy said: It is alleged that on January 15 in the early hours of the morning, Jackie Twomey returned home. She had been out with family members that night. Her husband of nearly 40 years was at home and was still awake in the sitting room when she returned at approximately 3.30am. He later described her movements in detail after he obsessed with the CCTV system that was on the exterior of the property.

Jackie Twomey later went to bed and fell asleep. Noel Twomey then proceeded to fill a pot of water on the stove and armed himself with a claw hammer from a tool box. When the water was boiling he took the pot and the hammer and paced the flat for some time before entering the bedroom. He proceeded to pour the boiling water on his wife before striking her over the head with the hammer a number of times. He expressed surprise that she was able to jump up and leave the property.

He also left the property and on Bakers Road he flagged down a patrol car. He was visibly soaked in blood and he was in possession of a blood-stained hammer in a plastic bag.

The bedroom was declared a crime scene and examined by scenes of crime officers.

During Det Garda Murphys direct evidence at Cork District Court, Noel Twomey spoke up from the dock and complained that the detective was repeating the allegations against him in his testimony. Judge Dorgan told him not to interrupt and said that he would have his opportunity to give evidence.

- If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services.
By Grainne Ni Aodha, PA

An organisation representing one-parent families is calling for two Yes votes in the upcoming referendum, saying that it would go towards addressing injustices in Irish history.

Two referenda are to be held on March 8th to amend Irelands constitution.

One will ask whether the definition of family should be based on durable relationships rather than on marriage (Article 41), and another will ask whether a reference to the role and duties of women in the home should be deleted and replaced with a new article on carers (Article 41.2 replaced with 42B).

One Family said the referenda on March 8th offer a unique opportunity to end the exclusion of children and couples in unmarried families from the Irish Constitution, pointing out that 40% of children are being born to parents who are not married to each other.

It also said that it represents represents a significant step towards addressing the injustices faced by single and unmarried parents throughout Irish history.

Mary Kerrigan became an unmarried mother in 1972 and went on to run One Familys precursor, Cherish, in counties Clare and Limerick.

When I was out with my baby in the 1970s Limerick and Clare, people would say who owns the baby? I would answer I do, she said.

The next comment was I did not know you got married. I would say I didnt. End of conversation. During that time, an unmarried mother and her child were not welcome in our society.

I volunteered with Cherish for 15 years and the women of Cherish were responsible for campaigning to change much of the discrimination that existed, but here we are 52 years later still campaigning to be brought included in our most basic document  our Constitution.

Breda Murray, a single mother and a grandmother, explained how she has some children who are Constitutionally protected and some that are not: My two eldest children were born to me in an unmarried relationship and my last two children were born in a marriage that has now ended.

There is absolutely no difference in how I love them and care for them, and no difference for them in how they love me as their mother.

It is disappointing that our Constitution makes this unnecessary distinction between my children as two live in a Constitutional family and two do not.

Ireland must change this archaic and discriminatory clause so that all children can receive the same rights and protections as each other whether their parents are married or not.

The chief executive of One Family Karen Kiernan said: We are standing on the shoulders of hundreds of thousands of children and parents, particularly mothers, who were shamed, incarcerated, and forcibly torn apart from each other because of the absolute privileging of marriage in our Constitution and a society that supported this.

One Family is also advocating for a Yes vote in relation to care and the removal of outdated sexist language from the Constitution and the replacement with gender-neutral recognition of care within the family, reflecting the reality of family life today.

These forward-thinking referendums aim to promote greater equality for all families, including those involved in receiving and providing care and support.
Richard Wheeler, Ben Hatton and David Lynch, PA Political Staff

UK MPs have approved a ban on exporting livestock for slaughter and fattening, amid warnings that a loophole could be created by Northern Irelands exclusion.

The Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill seeks to prevent cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses being sent to the continent for slaughter from Britain.

But it will not extend and apply to Northern Ireland, with the UK government saying this is to ensure Northern Ireland farmers have unfettered access to markets in the Republic and UK.

Attempts by the DUP to ensure Northern Ireland was incorporated in the Bill, including a bid for the export ban not to apply to the Republic of Ireland, failed on Monday.

The DUPs Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) told the Commons: As a result of the exclusion of Northern Ireland from this Bill, animals can be taken from Northern Ireland, exported through the Irish Republic, taken on a 23-hour boat journey to the European mainland, and then carried down to the south of Spain, France or indeed further abroad.

Mr Wilson recalled visiting a slaughterhouse while on a motorbike holiday through the Alps and France.

He said: I hadnt spoken to anybody who could speak English for about two weeks and I noticed a lorry with a Northern Ireland registration number on it.

Mr Wilson added: I thought theres somebody from Northern Ireland, Im going to follow that lorry and when it stops at least Ill have somebody I can talk to  I find somebody who speaks English, my sort of English that Ill understand.

Mr Wilson said the lorry stopped at an abattoir and unloaded sheep that had travelled from outside Ballymena, County Antrim.

He said: This Bill will still leave that route open and the objective which the Government is seeking to achieve will not be achieved.

And its ironic that weve got a Bill about animal welfare which ignores the main source of concern about the transport of animals across the continent of Europe.

Mr Wilson said he wished the Bill well, adding: I hope that it wont be a loophole.

UK environment minister Mark Spencer said farmers in Northern Ireland routinely move animals to the Republic of Ireland for slaughter and for fattening.

UK MPs heard about 3,500 cattle, 17,000 pigs and 337,000 sheep were moved in this way in 2022.

Mr Spencer told MPs: This Bill must not jeopardise the access Northern Ireland farmers have to the Republic.

Mr Spencer said World Trade Organisation rules would not allow the UK to favour one nation above another in that way, adding: We would lose in court is the advice that I have been given.

He added: To try and put forward legislation that we know not to be legally sound is not what the Government is in a position to do.

And Im enormously sympathetic to (Mr Wilsons) view. And I agree with him, I dont want to see sheep and cattle moved from Belfast all the way to Madrid.

That is not what we want to see happen, but we dont have the power to be able to stop that at this moment in time.

He said it would be devastating for Northern Irelands economy if farmers there could not move their livestock to the Republic for slaughter and fattening.

He expressed his frustration that we are unable to do this.

The UK government has previously said the Bill is only possible now the UK has left the European Union.

There has been no live export of livestock for slaughter since Brexit, experts have said, pointing to practical barriers including EU checks and a lack of suitable border posts, as well as resistance on the part of ferry companies to facilitate the trade.

Elsewhere in the debate, Labour suggested extending the livestock ban to include alpacas, llamas and deer.

Shadow environment minister Ruth Jones said: It is about future-proofing the legislation and making it fit for purpose.

But Mr Spencer said the government has received no evidence that a ban on other species is at all necessary.

The Bill received an unopposed third reading and will undergo further scrutiny in the UK's House of Lords at a later date.
David Raleigh

A man has appeared in court charged in connection with the death of University of Limerick (UL) journalism student Joe Drennan last year.

The 21-year-old had been standing at a bus stop on the Dublin Road in Castletroy at around 9.30pm on Friday, October 13th when he was hit by a car. He was later pronounced dead at University Hospital Limerick.

The driver of the car failed to remain at the scene.

On Tuesday morning, gardai arrested and charged Kieran Fogarty (20), of Hyde Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick, with three offences relating to the incident.

Mr Fogarty, who sat in the dock at Limerick District Court wearing a grey tracksuit and runners, was charged with one count of dangerous driving causing Mr Drennans death, one count of driving without insurance, and one count of driving without a drivers license.

Mr Fogartys solicitor, Darach McCarthy, applied to have a bail hearing held in-camera, meaning the public are excluded from the courtroom.

Sergeant Ashling ONeill, of Roxboro Road Garda station, said she was opposed to the solicitors application, adding the State did not have any reason for having the bail hearing heard in private.

Refusing the application, Judge Carol Anne Coolican said: Justice needs to be administered in public.

Mr Fogarty was held in continuing custody and the matter was adjourned for a bail hearing to be heard later on Tuesday.
Cillian Sherlock and Cate McCurry, PA

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has described protesters who clashed with gardai as they tried to prevent asylum seekers from entering accommodation in Co Tipperary as anti-freedom and anti-democratic.

Scuffles broke out at the Racket Hall Hotel in Roscrea on Monday as protesters gathered while asylum seekers were being taken into the premises.

Demonstrators have been gathered outside the property since Thursday after news broke that the hotel was to be used to house asylum seekers.

Gardai, including members of the public order unit, formed a cordon at the entrance to the site while the international protection applicants were bussed to the hotel.

A Garda van passes protesters at the Racket Hall hotel in Roscrea, Co Tipperary. Photo: Niall Carson/PA.

A man was arrested during the incident.

The building is to provide accommodation for around 160 applicants.

Mr Varadkar said he was very disappointed at the scenes that unfolded outside the hotel.

Ireland is a republic, were a democracy, were a free country, and in a republic and in a democracy and a free country, people have the right to protest, they have the right to hold views that other people may find objectionable, Mr Varadkar said on Tuesday.

However, nobody has the right to engage in violence against other individuals, to damage property or to prevent people getting to their home or get into their work. Thats anti-democratic. Thats anti-freedom and thats against the spirit and the values of our nation.

He added: I do want to say this as well  I understand how a lot of people in Roscrea feel. Bear in mind only a small minority of people were involved in the events yesterday, and some of them werent from Roscrea. I understand that hundreds of people have been accommodated in Roscrea in the last couple of years, both from Ukraine and people seeking international protection.

Mr Varadkar said the rising number of people in the area has put the towns resources under pressure, adding he understands peoples frustrations.

One of the things we will be doing at Cabinet today is asking all ministers to come together, to take the 10 districts in the country that have the highest proportion of people from Ukraine and people seeking international protection, and to put together a special package to help those areas that are under pressure, he added.

Weve done that to a certain extent already with the Community Recognition Fund. But I think we need to do more to help out, to increase resources around health, around education, around policing, to respond to genuine concerns that people have when theres a large increase in the population in their area.

I think we need to do that, need to step up those efforts.

Mr Varadkar said part of the solution to labour shortages in Ireland is migration.

Thats why its important that we continue to be open to migration, but it needs to be migration thats managed well, he added.

That means being fair and welcoming to those who enter the country legally, to study, to work, to join family. It also means being very firm with people who try to enter the country illegally, or try to take advantage of our systems.

We have to step up our efforts there as well.

Meanwhile, Minister for Integration Roderic OGorman said child asylum seekers being accommodated at the hotel were upset at the scenes on Monday.

Mr OGorman said the site would be used for families and single women, adding that women and children being accommodated at the hotel on Monday witnessed the clashes.

Mr O'Gorman said: My understanding is, from talking to my officials, that theyre settling in, but it was a difficult enough experience, children were upset at seeing the scuffles, experiencing the violent tension as they arrived.

Minister for Integration Roderic OGorman criticised some of the protesters. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA.

He said he respected the right to protest but added that people could express themselves in a way that doesnt impact on vulnerable people.

Mr OGorman said: I dont think it is ever acceptable to block peoples access to the place that theyre staying.

Speaking to RTE Radio, he said some locals are motivated by concerns about the towns resources and that his department would be meeting local representatives to see how the region could be supported.

However, the minister added: I think we also recognise there are people who are travelling around the country  far-right activists  who are looking to stir up anti-immigrant sentiment.

Mr OGorman said he does not currently have plans to visit Roscrea personally.

The Minister said he was bringing proposals to Cabinet that are more planned, more structured and more resourced.

He said this would involve building large reception centres, noting that continuing to use properties such as Racket Hall was unsustainable.

Mr OGorman did not provide a figure for how many centres would be needed.

He said the Government was working on a robust communication campaign to tackle what he described as substantial myths about immigration.
Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

An aerial view of lava after a volcano eruption near Sundhnukagigar, Iceland on Jan. 14, 2024. Iceland Public Defence / Handout / Anadolu via Getty Images

A volcano in southwest Iceland erupted on Sunday morning, releasing lava flows that covered roads and reached an evacuated fishing village, where it set at least three homes on fire.

According to Icelands meteorological office, the eruption followed a series of earthquakes and caused 160-foot-high fountains of lava, inundating the town of Grindavik, reported The New York Times and The Washington Post.

President of Iceland Gudni Thorlacius Johannesson addressed the country regarding what he referred to as tremendous forces of nature, saying it had been half a century since lava had reached homes in the country.

Lava is flowing into Grindavik, a thriving town where people have built their lives, Johannesson said, as The Washington Post reported.

Grindavik is about 25 miles southwest of the countrys capital of Reykjavik.

Johannesson remarked on social media that, while the lava flows might pose a danger to infrastructures, they were not life-threatening, since the town had been evacuated. He also pointed out that there had been no flight interruptions.

Activity from the volcano has since eased, though the meteorological office said fresh fissures could appear with no warning, adding in a statement that it was difficult to estimate how long this eruption will last, reported Reuters.

The eruption began near another that happened last month. Authorities said one fissure from this eruption was at least 2,950 feet long, according to The Washington Post.

Kjartan Adolfsson, who is currently living in temporary housing in Reykjavik, commented that hopes of he and his neighbors returning home soon were fading.

None of us knows what to think today, Adolfsson said, as The New York Times reported.

Civil defense agency spokesperson Hjordis Gudmundsdottir said the eruptions larger fissure sent a crack through Grindaviks protective barriers.

Local officials said the barriers had saved the town from worse damage, reported The Washington Post.

[T]he defense wall that was built is very successful, Ulfar Luviksson, police chief of Suurnes, a region in South Iceland, told Icelands national broadcaster RUV on Monday.

The Red Cross has raised approximately $30,000 so far for residents of Grindavik, RUV said.

We have seen an extremely strong response to the collection, better than we are used to seeing, so it is obvious that there are many people who want to help the residents now in these very difficult times, said Red Cross press officer Oddur Freyr, as RUV reported.

The crack that had opened near Grindavik Sunday had calmed down by Monday, and lava coming from the larger fissure was slowing, Rikke Pedersen, daily manager of University of Icelands Nordic Volcanological Center, told Reuters.

The meteorological office said new cracks were possible in Grindavik in the coming days, as GPS measurements indicated that lava was still flowing underneath the town.

Unfortunately (the lava) went a little bit more south than we had hoped for, Vidir Reynisson, the countrys Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management head, said during a press conference on Sunday, as reported by Reuters.

Police warned of unstable ground and dangerous gases near the spewing lava and encouraged people not to approach it on foot, The Washington Post said.
(Photo:  Peter Kenny)The Train to Davos on Jan. 28, 2007.

New signs of polarizing populism are generating greater division in the world, says the general secretary of the World Council of Churches, Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, while participating at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

"New expressions of polarizing populism are leading to greater division in our world and in our societies," he said speaking at a meeting of religious leaders at the annual meeting in the Swiss resort of Davos.

Chinese President Xi Jinping offered a vigorous defense of free trade at the WEF on Jan. 17 in

Davos in a speech stressing Beijing's desire to play a greater global role as the United States turns inward, Reuters reported.

"We see more tribalism, nationalism, racism, and violence," said the leader of the WCC that represents more than 550 million Christians from mainly Anglican, Orthodox and Protestant traditions.

"The root causes of these trends can often be found in the negative effects of economic globalization - or of its radical opposite, economic protectionism, inequality and exclusion  with more and more people marginalized and left behind, creating ever greater gaps between the rich and the poor," noted Tveit.

A community of 16 Religious Leaders joined in the meeting in the Davos gathering that brings together global political leaders, heads of the business world and people from all works of life who shape opinions.

The theme of the WEF this year is "Responsive and Responsible Leadership."

Tveit said, "Appeasing the fear of one group by increasing the fear of another cannot be the solution."

"These challenges require leadership accountable to the whole and one humanity for the sake of justice and peace for all. Real accountable relationships, not only to owners but also to employees, is a condition for a healthy business," said the WCC leaders.

RESPONSIBLE GLOBAL LEADERSHIP

He asserted that responsible global leadership today entails a much wider horizon of accountability.

"Economic gains must provide the resources for education, jobs, health, and a healthy environment - for all. Taxes are common resources needed for sustainable development of a society, and should not be escaped or avoided," he said.

"In a wider horizon of mutual accountability to humanity and the future of the one planet Earth, we can find much better solutions together than apart," Tveit told the meeting.

Among the religious leaders attending Davos along with Tveit are: Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace at the Vatican; the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby; Pinchas Goldschmidt, Chief Rabbi and president of the Conference of European Rabbis, Russian; Nasereldin Haghamed, chief executive officer of Islamic Relief Worldwide from the United Kingdom; Bani Dugal, principal representative of Baha'i International Community's United Nations Office; Jim Wallis, president and founder of Sojourners, USA and others.

At the Davos meeting Christine Lagarde, managing diirector of the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC, told participants that the concerns leading to populist movements in many developed countries are real, but the right policies can address them.

"We now have an opportune moment to put in place policies that will help," she said and suggested more redistributionist policies, since "excessive inequality puts a brake on sustainable growth."

She also urged a stronger social safety net, fiscal and structural reforms, and education to help both young people and mature workers prepare for the technological change that is disrupting the workplace.
(Photo: World Economic Forum)India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi opens the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 23, 2018.

Pope Francis has urged participants at the World Economic Forum meeting to take bold steps to build a sustainable, human-centered future while World Council of Churches leader Olav Fykse Tveit has called on the world to say no to nuclear weapons.

The Pope echoed the theme of the meeting, Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World, calling on participants to build "inclusive, just and supportive societies."

The 48th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting is taking place Jan. 23-26 in snow-besieged Davos-Klosters, Switzerland and U.S. President Donald Trump who is expected to deliver the closing speech is drawing most attention due to his isolationist rhetoric.

Davos was opended on Jan. 23 by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the world is facing many new and serious challenges from the rise of anti-globalization to technological changes and the environment.

"Forces of protectionism are raising their heads against globalization, their intention is not only to avoid globalization themselves but they also want to reverse its natural flow," he said, CNBC reported.

Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, delivered a speech for Francis,

In it he said, "It is vital to safeguard the dignity of the human person, in particular by offering to all people real opportunities for integral human development and by implementing economic policies that favor the family."

"The entrepreneurial world has enormous potential to effect substantial change by increasing the quality of productivity, creating new jobs, respecting labor laws, fighting against ... corruption and promoting social justice," said the pontiff.

He continued: "If we want a more secure future, one that encourages the prosperity of all, then it is necessary to keep the compass continually oriented towards 'true north'," represented by authentic values.

'NO TO NUCLEAR WEAPONS'

For his part, WCC's Tveit said he can think of no greater antithesis to a vision of shared life and responsibility than the continued existence of and political and social support for nuclear weapons.

"There is absolutely no moral justification whatsoever for using them," he stated. "The time has come to say together that for the sake of the one humanity there is no moral ground on which we can keep them and threaten one another with them."

The risk that nuclear weapons will be used because of a mistake or by irresponsible people is very real, Tveit noted.

"Still, this most destructive and indiscriminate type of weapon of mass destruction ever devised by men (and I use the gender-specific term deliberately) continues to be the keystone of our global 'security' regime," he wrote. "It is time to say together that this is wrong."
Photo:  Peter Kenny

The World Economic Forum annual meeting begun in snow-smothered Davos with the World Council of Churches head urging the participants to renew its commitment to multilateral cooperation for the longer-term good of all people.

The Jan. 15-19 forum convened under the theme "Rebuilding Trust."

The event is frequently criticized as a talk show for global elites bu critics from the left and right of the political specturm.

WCC's Rev. Jerry Pillay reflected that trust is the essential ingredient without which human societiesand the global communitycannot function.

"However, in today's divided and increasingly conflictual world, it is a commodity in critically short supply," said Pillay.

"While some of those in attendance in Davos are themselves drivers of inequality, injustice, and division, we want to believe that many others are genuinely committed to exercising their considerable influence to promote a greater measure of justice and peace in the world."

The rich and powerful of the world are descending on the picturesque Swiss Alpine resort town of Davos for the WEF meeting.

The annual meeting is at a time of devastating wars in Gaza and Ukraine, breakthroughs in artificial intelligence that are causing as much excitement as worry, a catastrophic debt crisis amid an economic slowdown, and a deterioration in the health of the planet, DW.com reported.

"Bashing Davos is a piece of cake. As the super-rich jet into the Swiss ski resort this week to rub shoulders at the annual World Economic Forum, eyes will be rolling," Lucy Burton commented in The Telegraph newspaper based in London on Jan. 15.

"From the VIP partying to the private jets and the 32 hot dogs, mocking the 'Davos Man' hot-footing it around this 'schmoozathon' is all too easy. Money, power, greed  former shadow chancellor John McDonnell's Davos speech 'warning the global elite' in 2018 that their fun will soon be over must have written itself," wrote Buron.

She noted that the threat never came to pass and Davos is still going strong, with members of Britain's opposition Labour party saying the plan is to replace the memory of their member McDonnell attacking the rich and 'making a nuisance of himself' at the Swiss resort.

2,800 PARTICIPANTS

More than 2,800 participants expected to appear at the five-day event including more than 60 heads of state and government. The theme of this year's meeting of global political and business leaders, celebrities and prominent social activists is "Rebuilding Trust."

"The theme is a direct response to the erosion of trust that is evident in societies and among nations," WEF Managing Director Mirek Dusek said during a media briefing.

Rebuilding trust will be an essential precondition for progress, Pillay observed.

"Given the unprecedented constellation of global crises  especially of climate, conflict, and economic inequality  there is an urgent need for cooperation and action, rather than division and unconstructive competition," he said.

The WEF annual meeting gathers key decision-makers in the fields of politics, economics and business.

"The power of this gathering must be leveraged for rebuilding trust and the renewal of commitment to multilateral cooperation in facing these crises, not only in the short-term interests of a privileged few but for the longer-term good of all people and our common home," said Pillay.
As the US gears up for the 2024 presidential election, OpenAI shares its plans on suppressing misinformation related to elections worldwide, with a focus set on boosting the transparency around the origin of information. One such highlight is the use of cryptography  as standardized by the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity  to encode the provenance of images generated by DALL-E 3. This will allow the platform to better detect AI-generated images using a provenance classifier, in order to help voters assess the reliability of certain content.

This approach is similar to, if not better than, DeepMind's SynthID for digitally watermark AI-generated images and audio, as part of Google's own election content strategy published last month. Meta's AI image generator also adds an invisible watermark to its content, though the company has yet to share its readiness on tackling election-related misinformation.

OpenAI says it will soon work with journalists, researchers and platforms for feedback on its provenance classifier. Along the same theme, ChatGPT users will start to see real-time news from around the world complete with attribution and links. They'll also be directed to CanIVote.org, the official online source on US voting, when they ask procedural questions like where to vote or how to vote.

Additionally, OpenAI reiterates its current policies on shutting down impersonation attempts in the form of deepfakes and chatbots, as well as content made to distort the voting process or to discourage people from voting. The company also forbids applications built for political campaigning, and when necessary, its new GPTs allow users to report potential violations.

OpenAI says learnings from these early measures, if successful at all (and that's a very big "if"), will help it roll out similar strategies across the globe. The firm will have more related announcements in the coming months.
Critics Choice Awards 2024 guests were served with an unexpected choice of dinner at the awards show.



After last week's Golden Globes, the awards season continued on Sunday to honor the best Hollywood actors and productions for 2023. But this time, guests didn't seem pleased with the food served to them at the recent event.



Film producer Jen D Angelo of the 2023 American comedy film "Quiz Lady" described the pizza in a bag served at the event as "absolutely revolting 3D printed a** pizza."



In a series of Instagram Stories, she first shared a photo of an envelope and asked her followers to guess what was inside.



After uploading more photos from the awards show and their win as Best Movie Made for Television, she finally revealed that the food in the envelope was a pizza.

The Color Purple cast react to the Critics Choice Awards serving pizza in a bag:



Where are the lamb chops? pic.twitter.com/QNQi1tixll  Pop Base (@PopBase) January 15, 2024

Instagram account @oprahdaily also posted a sneak peek at the awarding event, where the stars were served pizza in a bag.



In the video, Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks and Oprah Winfrey were captured having different reactions to the served dinner.



Brooks grabbed hers with a smile while her co-star Henson looked as if she was examining the pizza pocket she received.



Meanwhile, Barrino and Winfrey politely declined the dinner offered to them.



The "American Idol" alum joked, "Where are the lamb chops?" before laughing.



On the other hand, the American talk show host pointed to her lips and said, "I'm not messing up my lips!"



Oprah Daily's reel has since garnered over 1.5 million views on the social media platform and a lot of reactions from netizens on Instagram.



"Pizza? Seriously? As an event planner, I'm mortified," commented one user.



"No, no, no. This is terrible. Did they get juice boxes too?" quipped a second user.



"That's disgraceful. Serving them pizza at a prestigious award show while they are wearing expensive ball gowns," wrote someone else.



"Sidenote, this is really disrespectful. If I had to pay for wardrobe, makeup, transportation and my time, you can't give me pizza in a bag," opined another.

Serving pizza when guests are dressed in their nice Versace, and DVF, and their Gucci, and their Christian Louboutins https://t.co/tf66df2qIN pic.twitter.com/sp8CP6oPKp   (@DiaryOfKeysus) January 15, 2024

The Instagram video was reposted by Pop Base on X, garnering more reactions from netizens.

"I'm crying. They [are] really serving these high-end celebrities at a high-end event pizza in a bag. I get better food at my school cafeteria," tweeted one X user.

"I didn't know the Critics Choice Association was [that] broke," commented a different user.

"Pizza in a bag is so funny, I'm sorry. Critics Choice [is] never beating the second-class awards show allegations," said another netizen.
Archivo - COMUNICADO: nShift unveils Emissions Tracker, helping retailers reduce last mile emissions and fulfil reporting needs - NSHIFT/PR NEWSWIRE - Archivo

(Informacion remitida por la empresa firmante)

Data compiled between 25th  31st December found Wednesday 27th to be the most popular day for returns. With returns requests up 17% compared to 2022, retailers need strategies to mitigate the revenue hit from handling returns

LONDON, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumers rush to return unwanted gifts shortly after Christmas, according to new data from nShift , the global leader in parcel delivery management software.

It has found, for the second year in a row, the Wednesday (27th) after Christmas Day was the most popular day for people to begin the process of returning unwanted gifts - a trend referred to as 'Returns Wednesday'. Analysis found returns requested increased by 17% on this day compared to 2022 levels.

Handling returned items can cost retailers as much as 50% of their profit margins. As a result, they have been described as a " trillion dollar problem " by market analyst firm Gartner. However, in a poll of shoppers carried out by Retail Week on behalf of nShift, almost half of consumers agreed they'd be more likely to shop again from retailers with easy returns policies.

"With every passing year, returns become an increasingly business-critical issue for retailers," said Sean Sherwin Smith, Product Director Post-Purchase, nShift. "Customers expect to see flexible returns policies, and that means the general trend is only going one way - up. Retailers must have strategies in place to shift returns from a financial drain to a business gain  and a means for driving increased loyalty and repeat purchase."

By looking at which day of the week carrier companies were alerted of the need to collect an item, nShift was able to determine which days were the most popular for people in each country to begin the returns process. For Returns Wednesday on 27thDecember 2023, Norway was up almost 50% compared to 2022, Denmark exhibited an increase of nearly 20% and saw a sharp increase in returns on subsequent days with 28th and 29th December up almost 30% YoY and 10% compared with the same dates in 2022. Finland, too, was up on last year's levels - over 2.5%.

Sherwin Smith continued, "With the right strategies and processes in place, retailers need not fear the revenue impact of returns. Done right, they are an opportunity to retain revenue, build customer loyalty and create upsell opportunities."

nShift's returns solution helps ease the administrative burden while ensuring a smooth, friction-free journey for customers looking to return their orders. In digitizing the entire returns experience retailers can:

About nShift

nShift is the global leading provider of cloud delivery management solutions enabling frictionless shipment and return of almost one billion shipments across 190 countries annually. nShift's software is used globally by e-commerce, retail, manufacturing and 3PL shippers. The company is headquartered in London and Oslo. It has over 500 employees across offices in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, United Kingdom, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Romania.

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Scientists are aiming to unlock the potential of clover and other legumes to reduce the use of fertiliser and emissions from livestock following a 3.3m grant.

Researchers will look at the ability of red and white clover and another legume, Birdsfoot Trefoil, to improve livestock productivity whilst reducing reliance on fertilisers.

It is part of a new UK government funded project in partnership with the farming industry and scientists at IBERS, a research institute at Aberystwyth University.

New legume varieties have been developed by seed firm Germinal and the university that are more resilient to grazing and extreme weather.

Birdsfoot Trefoil contains compounds called tannins, which scientists say can reduce methane emissions by cattle and sheep.

The study, called NUE-Leg, will be working with commercial farmers to maximise the benefits of clovers and legumes.

It will look at how to best take advantage of the natural ability of legumes to fix nitrogen, reducing reliance on chemical nitrogen fertilisers.

The study will include on-farm trials to identify how to support farmers to reach the government's net zero targets.

Dr Christina Marley, from IBERS at Aberystwyth University, said the project could help cut the use of fertilisers and agricultural emissions.

"The aim is to make the most of the ability of clovers and other legumes to increase nitrogen levels naturally in UK grasslands," she said.

"We are really looking forward to working together with livestock farmers to understand how best to use these new legumes within real farming systems.

"There is so much potential in these adaptations to some of our native plants, as we, as a society, undertake a wider collective effort to tackle climate change."

Paul Billings, managing director at Germinal UK, said the project had the potential to be 'truly transformative' for grassland farming in the UK.

"We want to achieve a threefold increase in the capacity of clovers to fix atmospheric nitrogen up to 300 kg nitrogen per hectare per year and thereby eliminate the need for chemical nitrogen fertilisers," he said.

"It could be a game-changer in both cutting emissions and in supporting farm profitability."
Believing in ghosts can make a person happier.

Having faith in ghosts is good for you

Scientists believe that individuals who are convinced that poltergeists are real are less likely to be distressed by the prospect of death.

Chris French, head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths, University of London, claims it can be "beneficial" to believe in spirits as it can help people process the passing of a family member.

French told the Instant Genius podcast: "I acknowledge that there are some benefits from holding some paranormal beliefs. We all fear our own mortality and maybe even more so the death of our loved ones.

"So any kind of evidence, even if on the surface it might seem negative, scary ghosts, any kind of evidence of the possibility of life after death, we will tend to be drawn to it.

"The point is, people want to believe."
I write young adult sci-fi for two reasons: first and foremost, the idea that the Universe is populated elsewhere both excites and terrifies me (so I have to explore it!) and secondly, it gives me total freedom to make stuff up. When you build a world set in a different time, on a distant planet with unique influences, tracking how things work and whos who can be overwhelming. Here are my tips and tricks for ensuring your lore isnt lawless.

Author Carla Lauder

History first

They say that history is written by the victors, which suggests that the winner owns the story. I like to think of history as an unreliable character. Theres the truth, and then theres the representation of events through the eyes of your key cultures. These quagmires of conflict can be mined for nuggets of inspiration. In the first novel of The Quelling Trilogy, the Rhemans dont see themselves as invaders; they are simply reaping what they have sown. In counterpoint, the Aurora Saurins are traumatized by the Rhemans arrival and prolonged occupation. This conflict forms the premise and makes a compelling backdrop for exploring the themes.

One tool I depend on heavily is Scrivener. This app enables me to navigate between chapters and scenes effortlessly, while also keeping handy folders you can fill with templated settings sheets. Its easy to adapt the settings template to track fact-finding (or fact production, in my case) for fictional regions or planets. Alternatively, you can start from scratch, creating templates of your own.

Get the lay of the land

Im a visual person, so the first order of business is to sketch out a map. This helps me to understand the distances my characters will travel, the obstacles they may face, like mountain ranges or rivers, and the types of people they might encounter in each region. If you like things to be pretty, hop onto Fiverr and get your map professionally created. Since Scrivener supports pictures, you can include the map in your setting sheet or, for a fully immersive experience, get it framed and hung on your wall.

Glossaries arent just for readers

One thing I failed to do when publishing The Quelling was include a glossary, even after my editor recommended it. This is an oversight I regret. When multiple races and factions are competing for control, a glossary can anchor your readers in the story, and theres no reason the same wouldnt be true for the author in the early days, before being fully steeped in the lore.

Characters before plot

Once I understand the settings, Ill add a character sheet for the key players to my characters folder in Scrivener. If Im developing a sci-fi character who defies reality, Ill use an AI image generator to create a picture of the extra-terrestrial so I can refer back to it when describing the creature, keeping all descriptions in sync. While creating characters, Ill note broader themes in Scrivener in the notes section, detailing factions and cultural nuances as I uncover them.

Plot as a priority

For me, a novel arrives in three phases. Theres the plot, the draft, and the edited workeach taxes a different part of the brain. While plotting, my ideas generally come to me while walking or drifting to sleep. I use an audio recorder on my phone to record ideas while walking and keep a notepad and pen at my bedside in case inspiration strikes in the night. I use a simple Excel template to set out a four-act structure, each with fifteen scenes. While working through these scenes, focusing on the purpose, action, and character development, the Universe and its lore will evolve. Things I cant fully explain yet will go into a second tab called Q&A, which Ill ponder on my next walk, and so it goes on until the full picture emerges.

Draft like nobodys watching

While writing the draft, Im constantly updating the notes section on each Scrivener scene, summarising the scene, and tracking anything obscure I might have trouble remembering. It's essential to keep the flow going, so if I come up against something that contradicts the lore and set-up already in place, I note it down and return to it later.

Find an Editor in Beast Mode

It's imperative to have a fearless developmental editor who will unmask the holes in your story without concern for your sensitive creator core. If my editor raises a point I cant instantly solve by slotting in some additional text, I write it on a piece of paper and read it as I climb into bed; that way, my unconscious can get to work on it while I sleep. Incorporating an idea into your story spawned from a blocker that once kept you awake at night can be addicting.

An ear for errors

Once Ive been through a developmental edit, Ill upload the book to an app called Voice Dream and listen to it repeatedly, trying to spot any issues I didnt pick up during the writing and editing process. An audio review is my preferred editing method because the eye skips over things that the ear never would. Issues are tracked on my phones notes app so I can correct them later.

And that is how I like to create a lore-abiding manuscript, if you'll pardon my painful puns. I hope these tips and tricks help you as loremaker of your own fantasy Universe.

Author Bio

About Carla Lauder:

Carla Lauder grew up in South Africa before immigrating to the United Kingdom, where she attended the University of London to complete a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems and Computing, followed by an MA in Creative Writing. She now lives at the foot of a lush mountain in Hong Kong with her husband, and two rapidly lengthening sons, who enjoy their newfound proximity to nature, especially the sea.

Her Latest Book The Quelling

Out 16th January 2024

The Quelling by Carla Lauder

When youre Stained, patches of skin glisten like liquid starlight, and sooner or later, his creatures find you.

In a world of curfews and body raiders, where people huddle in bunkers to avoid being taken by the invading Rhemans, nineteen-year-old Kyjta has one objective: to rescue her young charge, Calipsie.

Forming an improbable alliance with the enemy, a Rheman named Kranik, Kyjta must not only save Calipsie, but also face down the Rheman overlord whos taken a disturbing interest in her.

Connect with Carla Lauder at cllauder.com or on Instagram, Facebook, or X .
Dolph Lundgren is loving his experience of married life.

Emma Krokdal and Dolph Lundgren tied the knot in 2023

The 66-year-old actor married Emma Krokdal last year, and Dolph feels he's made a "good choice".

The 'Wanted Man' star - who was previously married to Anette Qviberg between 1994 and 2011 - told Fox News: "I really enjoy it."

Dolph hailed Emma for being a "wonderful" partner in his personal life and his professional life.

The actor revealed that they've recently worked on a number of projects together, and Dolph thinks they make a very good partnership.

He shared: "Emma is a great support. She's very clever.

"We're working on a comedy. She helped me on ['Wanted Man'] as well. She helps me with the script and in production and post-production - just giving me a second opinion."

The loved-up couple tied the knot in Mykonos, Greece, on July 13, 2023.

They previously told PEOPLE: "We chose to celebrate our love by getting married at our villa in Mykonos with family and a few close friends. With both COVID and a long road of challenging medical treatments, weve had to push our marriage plans many times.

"We felt it was finally the right time to celebrate love, life and happiness - in the land of the Gods."

Dolph - who is perhaps best known for playing Ivan Drago in 'Rocky IV' - actually teased his wedding on social media before he tied the knot.

Alongside a photo of the couple enjoying the summer sunshine, he wrote on Instagram: "Tomorrow is the day. Mykonos [heart emoji] (sic)"

Dolph and Emma first announced their engagement back in June 2020.

The Hollywood star took to Instagram at the time to share a photo of Emma and her sparkling engagement ring.

Dolph - who was born in Spanga, Sweden - captioned the post: "Something very special happened here in Sweden."
Kim Kardashian can already see the "determination and ambition" of her six-year-old daughter.

Kim Kardashian has heaped praise on her daughter

The 43-year-old star has taken to social media to write a heartfelt birthday message to her daughter Chicago.

Alongside a series of photos, Kim - who also has North, ten, Saint, eight, and Psalm, four, with ex-husband Kanye West - wrote on Instagram: "Happy 6th Birthday Chicago! I honestly didnt know too much about what raising a Capricorn girl would be like but you make it so easy and fun and silly!!! I can already see the determination and ambition you have within you. You are so smart, sweet, silly and so lovable to everyone around you especially your cousins! Its magical to see you all together and all the love that exists between the tribe. I love you so much Chi Chi and cant believe you are 6 years old! [heart emoji] Im so so so happy to be your mommy! (sic)"

Meanwhile, Kim previously described her experience of motherhood as the "best" kind of "chaos".

The brunette beauty admitted that she's found motherhood to be a challenge - but she's still relished the experience.

Kim told the 'On Purpose with Jay Shetty' podcast: "Everyone says the days are long and the years are short, and that couldn't be like a more true statement.

"So, like, when you're in it, I mean, especially when they're babies and you're feeding ... there's madness going on. It's like full madness. It's the best chaos, though."

Kim also revealed that she finds herself playing the "good police officer and bad cop" as a single mom.

She said: "You know, with all the moods and the personalities and sometimes they're fighting, and you know, there's no one there. Like, it's [just] me to play good police officer and bad cop."
Heres what you need to know about how Indians will be impacted by the new Schengen visa rules for Finland



If Finland has always been on your bucket list, this might be the year you decide to visit the Northern European nation. If youre applying for a Schengen visa for Finland, there are some additional requirements that you need to know about.



In order to qualify for a visa for Finland, Indian travellers who plan to visit will now have to provide details of more funds and submit a sponsorship form from their host.





As of January 1, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Finland has instituted new regulations for short-stay travellers who want to apply for a Schengen visa. These include the need to show a greater availability of funds; travellers must now show a minimum of  50 for each day spent in Finland, which, incidentally, is an increase of  20 from the earlier required amount  an increase of 66%. The increase in these financial requirements for visas is said to have been necessitated by the rising living costs within Finland.



Alongside this increased financial requirement, Finland has also introduced a scheme for proof of sponsorship or accommodation. Hosts now need to complete a sponsorship form, which the visa applicant must include with the rest of the application, which will help to enhance transparency and accountability of financial arrangements for short-stay applicants.







Images: Shutterstock





Also Read: Add Bulgaria And Romania To Your Europe Trip After March
In November 2023, the euro area's exports of goods to the rest of the world reached 252.5 billion, representing a decrease of 4.7 per cent compared to 265 billion in the same period of 2022, according to the first estimate of Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Imports from the rest of the world amounted to 232.2 billion, marking a more significant decline of 16.7 per cent compared to 278.8 billion in November 2022.

The euro area achieved a trade surplus of 20.3 billion in goods with the rest of the world in November 2023, a stark contrast to the 13.8 billion deficit recorded in November 2022. Intra-euro area trade also experienced a decline, reaching 227.2 billion in November 2023, down by 9.4 per cent compared to the previous year.

In November 2023, euro area's exports and imports declined 4.7 per cent and 16.7 per cent respectively, compared to November 2022. The trade surplus was 20.3 billion, contrasting the previous year's deficit. The EU experienced similar trends, with a trade surplus in November and decreases in both exports and imports. Most EU member states reported declines.

In January to November 2023, euro area exports of goods to the rest of the world decreased to 2,621.3 billion, marking a 0.6 per cent decline compared to the same period in 2022. Imports followed a similar trend, falling to 2,571.7 billion, a significant 13.1 per cent decrease compared to January-November 2022. Consequently, the euro area recorded a surplus of 49.7 billion, a notable shift from the minus 323.7 billion deficit recorded during the same period in 2022. Intra-euro area trade for the first eleven months of 2023 also decreased, reaching 2,441.0 billion, down by 4.6 per cent compared to the previous year, as per Eurostat.

Meanwhile, the EUs exports of goods to the rest of the world reached 225.5 billion in November 2023, a 5.1 per cent decrease compared to 237.6 billion in November 2022. Imports from the rest of the world amounted to 206.3 billion, marking a more substantial decline of 20.5 per cent compared to 259.5 billion in November 2022. Consequently, the EU recorded a trade surplus of 19.2 billion in November 2023, a significant shift from the 22.0 billion deficit reported in November 2022. Intra-EU trade within the EU also saw a decrease, reaching 358.5 billion in November 2023, down by 7.6 per cent compared to the previous year.

When looking at individual EU member states, November 2023 trade figures showed decreases in exports for all but four countries compared to November 2022. The largest decreases were recorded in Belgium (minus 20.6 per cent), Latvia (minus 18.8 per cent), Bulgaria (minus 18 per cent), and Lithuania (minus 17.2 per cent). In contrast, Cyprus experienced the highest increase in exports at 7.5 per cent.

Regarding imports, a similar trend emerged, with all EU member states, except Ireland (1.8 per cent), Cyprus (2.5 per cent), and Slovenia (7.8 per cent), reporting decreases in imports in November 2023 compared to November 2022. Hungary (minus 25 per cent) and Belgium (minus 22 per cent) registered the most significant decreases in imports.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)
Fighter trailer: The much-awaited trailer of Siddharth Anand's Fighter was released yesterday and, in no time, took over the heads of the masses.

From its breathtaking action sequences to its massive landscape, thundering BGM, and the fresh chemistry of Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone, the trailer has justified that the film is arriving with a bang and a perfect start to 2024.

All set to release on the eve of the 75th Republic Day, India's biggest aerial action drama is setting the right tone with its fervour of patriotism. The trailer has been garnering praise from trade analysts and industry people, while the wave of fan appreciation has taken the social media universe by storm.

From reckoning the trailer as the trailer of the year to praising the dialogues, the BGM, the storyline, and the background score, the netizens are showering immense love on their social media for the trailer. Here is how they reacted.

As the trailer of Fighter has been released, it has justified that director Siddharth Anand, after ruling 2023 with Pathaan, is back to set new examples of success. Hrithik Roshan, on the other hand, is arriving in action after WAR, and his presence in the trailer says it all 'Fighter' is surely going to be his massiest and most patriotic film.

Deepika Padukone is seen performing aerial actions, and she is looking absolutely stunning. She indeed had a great 2023 with the two biggest releases of the year, Pathaan and Jawan, and now she is coming back with another one this year with 'Fighter'. While the trailer has arrived with a power pack punch of adrenaline rush, the film will surely create history for Republic Day releases till date.

Pure goosebumps!!! #HrithikRoshan trailer of the year #FighterTrailer ! Itne intezar ka phal bohot meetha Mila..trust me!!  GR's Fan Boy ARYA (@majumder_arya) January 15, 2024

#FighterTrailer is the best trailer Ive seen 4 a Bollywood movie in recent times. VFX,Dialogues, Storyline, Background score, everything is pure goosebumps, & when @iHrithik says Indian Occupied Pakistan, JAI HIND! Cant wait to experience it on IMAX 3D!

pic.twitter.com/WbgVTmCaox  Rohit Sharma (@memyselfrohit) January 15, 2024

Helmed by Siddharth Anand and presented by Viacom18 Studios in association with Marflix Pictures, 'Fighter' epitomises cinematic brilliance.

This film seamlessly intertwines heart-thumping action and patriotic fervour, promising an unparalleled cinematic experience. Brace yourself for an epic journey as 'Fighter' takes flight in theatres on January 25th, 2024, offering a spectacle that redefines cinematic excellence.
Mumbai, India - 16th January 2024: In the latest Netflix film 'Lift', the energetic world of heist films finds a refreshing break from cliches with the captivating and authentic performance of Ursula Corbero. As Camilla, the skilled wheel woman with a penchant for piloting private planes, Corbero brings a unique blend of youthful energy and mature dedication to her role. The true magic, however, lies in the unexpected chemistry that developed naturally among the cast, transcending differences in personality, background, and culture.

In 'Lift', Camilla (played by Ursula Corbero) finds herself faced with the task of flying a private plane as part of the crew's elaborate plan to intercept a jet carrying gold without alerting air traffic control. Despite the immense pressure, Camilla rises to the challenge, showcasing her character's determination and skill.

When asked about the strong bond between the cast members, Ursula Corbero credits it to the natural chemistry that unfolded during the production. "It's all about chemistry and magic," she shares. "I think that happened, naturally. We weren't expecting to have this real connection in real life. And for me, it's very beautiful and sometimes even unbelievable how people with different personalities, different backgrounds, and from different cultures, can connect very deeply. It's magic," she said in a statement on Netflix's official website.

Director F. Gary Gray was equally impressed with Corbero's portrayal of Camilla, praising her approach and dedication to the role, he said,"Despite her youthful age, both in real life and in the character she brought to life, she displayed genuine enthusiasm for the piloting aspect of the role. Her mature approach, clear vision, and dedication to steering clear of heist genre cliches not only impressed me but made a lasting impression." With such high praise from both Corbero and Gray, it's clear that the magic of chemistry and teamwork has truly elevated the film 'Lift' to new heights.

The exceptional performance of Ursula Corbero as Camilla and the undeniable chemistry among the cast members promise an exhilarating cinematic experience.

Lift, a mid-flight heist, is available for streaming exclusively on Netflix.
Neru OTT Release: 'Neru,' directed by the acclaimed Jeethu Joseph and featuring the legendary Mohanlal in the lead role, released in theatres on December 21.

Suresh Gopi's Daughter Bhagya's Wedding Date And Venue: Unveiling The Details Of The Event Promising Grandeur

The movie, titled Neru, is accompanied by the intriguing tagline "Seeking Justice." Industry insiders suggest that "Neru" is poised to be a gripping courtroom suspense thriller, adding another layer of intrigue to its narrative.

"Neru" marks the fifth venture between the dynamic duo of Mohanlal and Jeethu Joseph, following the successful projects "Drishyam-1," "Drishyam-2," "Twelfth Man," and the eagerly awaited "Ram."

Penned by Santhi Mayadevi and Jeethu Joseph, the screenplay is under tight wraps, promising an engaging and intriguing storyline. The film is being produced under the prestigious banner of Aashirvad Cinemas, helmed by Antony Perumbavoor, bringing together a powerhouse of talent to create cinematic magic.

Vishnu Shyam took charge of composing the music for the film, and Vinayak Sasikumar penned the lyrics for the songs. A pre-release single titled 'Roohe' was unveiled on December 19, 2023. The song features vocals by Karthik and is complemented by a chorus performed by Shyam and Cathy Jeethu.

Neru received acclaim from critics for its cast performances, especially those of Mohanlal, Siddique, and Anaswara Rajan, along with commendation for its direction. The film proved to be a commercial success, earning over 85 crore worldwide. This achievement positioned Neru as the third-highest-grossing Malayalam film of 2023 and the sixth-highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time. Critics hailed Neru as Mohanlal's comeback, marking his third-highest-grossing film.

Neru OTT Release Date And Platform

"Neru" is currently running successfully in theaters, while a section of the audience eagerly awaits the movie's OTT release. According to the latest reports, this highly anticipated movie will have its digital premiere on Disney+ Hotstar on January 23. Fans can then stream this engaging film, delving into its narrative and characters, from the comfort of their homes. The buzz surrounding "Neru" has escalated following a positive response in theaters, and now audiences are eager to experience the movie's storyline and immersive content on the digital platform.

According to the Indian box office tracker, Neru Box Office Collection, the figures for each day are as follows:

Day 1:  2.8 Cr

Day 2:  2.1 Cr

Day 3:  3 Cr

Day 4:  3.55 Cr

Day 5:  3.9 Cr

Day 6:  3.25 Cr

Day 7:  2.7 Cr

Day 8:  2.5 Cr

Day 9:  2.75 Cr

Day 10:  2.95 Cr

Day 11:  3.1 Cr

Day 12:  2.5 Cr

Day 13:  1.9 Cr

Day 14:  0.9 Cr

Day 15:  0.7 Cr

Day 16:  0.75 Cr

Day 17:  1.1 Cr

Day 18:  1.5 Cr

Day 19:  0.43 Cr

Day 20:  0.4 Cr

Day 21:  0.35 Cr

Day 22:  0.3 Cr

Day 23:  0.17 Cr

Day 24:  0.28 Cr

Day 25:  0.32 Cr

Day 26:  0.1 Cr

Day 27:  0.08 Cr

Day 28:  0.08 Cr

Day 29:  0.07 Cr

Malayalam Net Box Office:  44.53 Cr

India Net:  44.53 Cr

India Gross:  52.85 Cr

Overseas:  32.3 Cr

Worldwide:  85.15 Cr

'Neru' is the 33rd film from Aashirvad Cinemas. As "Neru" unfolds, Satheesh Kurup takes charge of the cinematography, while the music is composed by Vishnu Shyam.

The trailer for 'Neru' showcases the powerhouse pairing of Mohanlal and director Jeethu Joseph. This intense courtroom drama immerses viewers in the world of Vijayamohan, a lawyer portrayed by Mohanlal thrust into the challenge of representing a petitioner/victim in a high-stakes trial.

The trailer tantalises with glimpses of a probing investigation set in Thiruvananthapuram, suggesting the accused's presence near the incident site the day prior. Amidst escalating tension, Vijayamohan reluctantly embraces the case, admitting to his waning confidence after a prolonged absence from legal proceedings, stating, "I am not confident anymore." The trailer unfolds to reveal Vijayamohan's immersive journey through the trial, confronting scrutiny and self-doubt.

Abraham Ozler Box Office Collection Day 6 Prediction: Jayaram's Film Continues Strong Run

With an unexpected turn of events, the narrative reaches a gripping climax within a Kerala courtroom, promising compelling and relentless courtroom sequences that stretch into the night. The Neru trailer has garnered exceptional acclaim, sparking widespread anticipation for the Mohanlal-Jeethu Joseph magic to captivate audiences once again.
Bigg Boss 17 Torture task winner: Remember the time when Priyanka Chahar Choudhary and Archana Gautam left no stone unturned to win the Torture task in Bigg Boss 16? The TV celebs continued to face torture, showcasing their mental and physical strength.

BB 17 TORTURE TASK: WHO WILL GET NOMINATED IN WEEK 14?

Something similar happened when Mannara Chopra suffered 'torture' at the hands of Team B in the Bigg Boss 17 torture task. Adding a new twist in tale, Bigg Boss announced the nomination task where both the team had to torture their opponents to safeguard themselves from elimination.

Things turned heated during the task as it involved 'torturing' the opponents, so that they leave the buzzer and get nominated. Who will get nominated for elimination in week 14? This is the question on everyone's mind. The BB 17 torture task was conducted before the Ticket to Finale task. The losing team will get nominated for eviction and their fate will depend on the audience votes.

WHO WILL WIN BIGG BOSS 17 TORTURE TASK?

Team comprised of Mannara Chopra, Arun Srikanth Mashettey, Abhishek Kumar and Munawar Faruqui. Team B included Ayesha Khan, Ankita Lokhande, Vicky Jain and Isha Malviya. Team A went first while Team B tortured them so that they could save themselves from getting nominated.

From applying red chili powder to throwing water on face, Team B attempted different methods to win the task. The winner of Bigg Boss season 17 torture task will be declared on Wednesday (January 17).

ABHISHEK KUMAR-MANNARA CHOPRA LEAVE THE BUZZER IN BB 17 TORTURE TASK

Mannara Chopra was the first contestant, who left the torture task. Despite trying her best, she collapsed and couldn't hold on to the buzzer. Mannara slammed Ayesha Khan for targeting her in the task, taking a dig at her for fainting during the Weekend Ka Vaar episode. Reacting to the taunt, Ayesha stated, "Haa mujhe jaana hai finale mein. Maine kya galat kiya. Mujhe jana ha top five mein."

If the recent buzz is to be believed, Bigg Boss will give a special chance to Team A to decide if they want to compete against Team B and give them a 'taste of their own medicine' or disqualify them for hiding things in the BB 17 house.
Mondi Plc - Results of General Meeting and finalisation announcement

PR Newswire

LONDON, United Kingdom, January 15

Mondi plc

Incorporated in England and Wales

Registered number: 6209386

LEI: 213800LOZA69QFDC9N34

LSE share code: MNDI ISIN: GB00B1CRLC47

JSE share code: MNP

15 January 2024

General Meeting results & finalisation announcement

General Meeting Results

The purpose of this announcement is to advise shareholders of the results of a General Meeting of Mondi plc held earlier today and, in accordance with the JSE Listings Requirements, to provide shareholders with finalisation information in relation to the implementation of the Special Dividend and associated Share Consolidation in accordance with the Circular.

All resolutions were passed by shareholders by way of a poll and all valid proxy votes were included in the poll. The Company's issued share capital on 11 January 2024 (the voting record date) was 485,553,780 ordinary shares of 0.20 each. Overall in excess of 73% of shares were voted.The total number of votes received on each resolution is as follows:

Resolution Votes For % Votes Against % Votes Total % of ISC Voted Votes Withheld ** 1. To declare a special dividend 356,833,073 100.00 15,653 0.00 356,848,726 73.49% 87,271 2. To approve the share consolidation 354,747,912 99.83 594,687 0.17 355,342,599 73.18% 1,593,398 3. To authorise the directors to allot relevant securities 328,823,596 92.17 27,951,594 7.83 356,775,190 73.48% 160,807 4. To authorise the directors to disapply pre-emption rights* 325,253,231 91.15 31,576,014 8.85 356,829,245 73.49% 106,752 5. To authorise Mondi plc to purchase its own shares* 313,016,563 87.79 43,536,250 12.21 356,552,813 73.43% 383,184

* Special Resolutions

** A vote withheld is not a vote in law and is not counted in the calculation of the proportion of votes for or against a resolution.

All resolutions have been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism

Finalisation Announcement

Following the approval of the Special Dividend and the Share Consolidation by Shareholders at the General Meeting, all conditions required to be fulfilled to proceed to implementation of the Special Dividend and Share Consolidation have been fulfilled.

Unless otherwise defined, all capitalised terms have the same meanings as defined in the circular published by the Company on 19 December 2023 (the "Circular").

The terms and conditions and salient dates and times in relation to the Special Dividend and Share Consolidation as set out in the Circular and the announcements published by the Company on 19 December 2023 remain unchanged. The tax considerations relating to the Special Dividend and the Share Consolidation are included on pages 22 to 26 of the Circular.

Shareholders are advised to read the Circular (available on Mondi's website www.mondigroup.com/investors ) which contains the terms and conditions of the Special Dividend and Share Consolidation, with care and in full. An electronic copy of the Circular is available on the Company's website at www.mondigroup.com/investors and can be made available through a secure electronic manner at the election of the person requesting inspection.

Fractional Entitlements

The Share Consolidation will replace every 11 Existing Ordinary Shares with 10 New Ordinary Shares. If an individual shareholding is not exactly divisible by 11, the Shareholder in question will be left with a fractional entitlement. Fractional entitlements arising from the Share Consolidation will not be delivered to Shareholders but will instead be aggregated and sold in the market, the proceeds of which will be dealt with as outlined below:

(A) Shareholders on the UK Register

- The net proceeds of the sale, after the deduction of any expenses and/or commission associated with such sale (including any related VAT), will be paid in due proportion to the relevant Shareholders.

- Payment of fractional entitlements (where applicable) is expected to be effected on 12 February 2024. CREST members will receive their fractional entitlement payment via their CREST accounts. Shareholders on the UK Register who are not CREST members will receive their payment by cheque.

(B) Shareholders on the South African Branch Register

- In South Africa, the cash sum equal to its fractional entitlement will be calculated in accordance with South African market requirements. The cash value in respect of fractional entitlements to New Ordinary Shares shall be determined by reference to the weighted average price of the New Ordinary Shares on the JSE on 24 January 2024, less 10 per cent. in accordance with the Listings Requirements.

- Details regarding the payment of cash proceeds in respect of fractional entitlements to New Ordinary Shares will be announced on SENS by the Company before 11:00 a.m. (SA time) on 25 January 2024.

Issuance of shares

As stated in the Circular, in order to effect the Share Consolidation, it is necessary for the Company to issue three additional Ordinary Shares of 0.20 each, so that the number of Existing Ordinary Shares is exactly divisible by 11 and to ensure the Share Consolidation results in a whole number of New Ordinary Shares following the Share Consolidation.

The Company confirms that applications will be made on or around 16 January 2024 for the admission of three new Ordinary Shares to: (i) the premium listing segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities; and (ii) listing and trading on the main board of the JSE ("Admission").

These three additional Ordinary Shares will be issued to the Company's employee benefit trust, the Employee Share Trust, and will rank equally with the existing issued Ordinary Shares of the Company.

It is expected that Admission will become effective on or around 19 January 2024 and that trading will commence on the same day.

Following the issue of the three additional Ordinary Shares, the total number of Existing Ordinary Shares in issue will be 485,553,783. The Company does not hold any shares in treasury. Therefore, the total number of votes exercisable following the issue of the three additional Ordinary Shares will be 485,553,783.

Jenny Hampshire

Company Secretary

Mondi plc

About Mondi

Mondi is a global leader in packaging and paper, contributing to a better world by making innovative solutions that are sustainable by design. Our business is integrated across the value chain - from managing forests and producing pulp, paper and films, to developing and manufacturing sustainable consumer and industrial packaging solutions using paper where possible, plastic when useful. Sustainability is at the centre of our strategy, with our ambitious commitments to 2030 focused on circular driven solutions, created by empowered people, taking action on climate.

In 2022, Mondi had revenues of 8.9 billion and underlying EBITDA of 1.8 billion from continuing operations, and employed 22,000 people worldwide. Mondi has a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange (MNDI), where the Group is a FTSE100 constituent, and also has a secondary listing on the JSE Limited (MNP).

Sponsor in South Africa: Merrill Lynch South Africa Proprietary Limited t/a BofA Securities.

Legal Notice

The disclaimers, forward looking statements and important notices set out in the long-form announcement published by the Company on 19 December 2023, in relation to the publication of the Circular relating to a proposed Special Dividend and associated Share Consolidation, are specifically incorporated by reference into this announcement as if restated and repeated in this announcement in full.
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - January 15, 2024) - Resolute Resources Ltd. (TSXV: RRL) ("Resolute" or the "Company") announces today that it has accepted the resignations of independent directors Curt Labelle and Chris Wolfenberg from the Board of Directors of the Company. The board would like to thank Mr. Labelle and Mr. Wolfenberg for their service and wishes them all the best in the future.

The board is actively engaged in identifying and evaluating alternatives with respect to the appointment of new independent directors to fill the vacancies left by Mr. Labelle and Mr. Wolfenberg's departure, and will provide an update in the coming weeks.

About Resolute Resources Ltd.

Resolute is an energy corporation trading on the TSXV under the symbol RRL. Resolute has projects in Northwest Alberta, where it is exploring shallow cretaceous sandstone reservoirs that can be exploited with Multi-Lateral Open Hole wells. Resolute has accumulated just under 35,000 acres in its GFD light oil project in Northwest Alberta. Resolute is pursuing projects that are high in environmental social and governance metrics, that result in lower emission oil and low water use due to no hydraulic fracturing, but that provide high economic returns.

For further information, please contact:

Alexander Lindsay

CEO & Director

Phone: 587-585-5421

Email: resolute@resoluteresourcesltd.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/194307

SOURCE: Resolute Resources Limited
Future Market Insights, Inc. warns of a growing concern: hormone imbalance, particularly affecting testosterone levels. This disruption, fueled by modern life's unhealthy habits and stress, threatens the health and well-being of both men and women. Dive deeper into the intricate dynamics of this burgeoning market and uncover compelling stakeholder opportunities in our comprehensive FMI report.

NEWARK, Del., Jan. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The unhealthy lifestyle and stress associated with developing life have been a prominent reason behind the hormone imbalance in the population. The testosterone hormone is the male hormone responsible for the development of male characteristics. It plays a crucial role in regulating sex drive, fat distribution, production of sperm, bone mass, and muscle mass and strength.

A proper balance in the levels of testosterone is required. High or low levels of testosterone are responsible for serious health issues. The high levels of testosterone in the females develop condition of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which is a common condition observed in every one woman among five. On the other hand, low levels of testosterone in males can lead to infertility, erectile dysfunction, and many others. The monitoring of testosterone thus becomes important in both males and females.

The market for testosterone tests worldwide was valued at US$ 100.0 million in 2022 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of nearly 6.9% during the forecast period, reaching an estimated valuation of US$ 208.1 million in 2033.

Request Exclusive Sample Report: Testosterone Testing Industry Strategic Insights, https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-18800

Leading manufacturers are working to develop new, more efficient methods of connecting with consumers while utilizing cutting-edge technology to make testosterone tests widely accessible to consumers. The companies are also combining several different technologies to enhance their present products.

"Increasing infertility, the rising prevalence of testosterone deficiency, and the growing cases of erectile dysfunction are supposed to boost the market growth during the forecast period," according to Sabyasachi Ghosh (Associate Vice President at Future Market Insights, Inc.).

Key Takeaways from the Market Study

The blood test kits accounted for 45.2% of the market share.

of the market share. The male segment had a prominent market share of 84.5% . Due to the higher prevalence of low testosterone-related disorders in men, males occupy a higher position in the gender category of this market.

. Due to the higher prevalence of low testosterone-related disorders in men, males occupy a higher position in the gender category of this market. By end users, the home care settings segment held a significant market share of 40.2% due to the increased availability of home kits for testing testosterone levels.

due to the increased availability of home kits for testing testosterone levels. North America topped the list by region, with a market share of 32.4%, and is anticipated to remain at the top till the forecast period.

Report Scope as per Testosterone Tests Industry Analysis

Attribute Details Forecast Period 2024 to 2034 Historical Data Available for 2019 to 2033 Market Analysis US$ Million for Value Key Countries Covered  USA  Canada  Brazil  Mexico  Argentina  UK  Germany  Italy  Russia  Spain  France  BENELUX  India  Thailand  Indonesia  Malaysia  Japan  China  South Korea  Australia  New Zealand  Turkiye  GCC Countries  South Africa and North Africa Key Market Segments Covered  By Sample type: Blood test



Urine test



Saliva test  By Gender: Male



Female  By End-use Sector: Hospitals



IVF Centers



Home Care Settings



Others  By Region: North America



Latin America



Europe



South Asia



East Asia



Oceania



Middle East and Africa (MEA)

Market Competition

The key players in the market are bringing in newly developed innovative products for great usage. Also, they are making strategic plans like mergers and acquisitions to expand the market growth.

Following are the leading market players in Testosterone Test:

Abbexa

Imaware

LetsGetChecked

Everlywell

Boditech

myLAB Box

Verisana

Cerascreen

MediChecks

Genway Biotech

Hone Health

Humankind Ventures Ltd.

Diagnostic Automation/Cortez Diagnostics Inc.

Myclinic.ie

Healthy Human Labs Ltd.

MyBioSource

Bluecrest Wellness

Testochecker

Purchase this report now to get key companies with their Revenue Forecast, Volume Forecast, Company Ranking, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, Trends, and Pricing Analysis.

Recent Developments:

Abbexa received accreditation for ISO 9001:2015 in June 2022. With this accreditation, Abbexa demonstrated its dedication to enhancing all of its processes, services, and products. Abbexa tries to maintain a high level of quality and outstanding customer service, as well as continual investment in development, and has established clearly defined procedures in all business sectors.

In April 2022, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Mayo Clinic is making investments in a significant laboratory expansion project. The laboratory will receive a US$ 49 million investment as part of the expansion. The Superior Drive Support Center of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester will have more laboratory space owing to the expansion project. Several clinical laboratories that are housed in the Hilton Building, a component of the Mayo Clinic in downtown Rochester, will relocate to the new laboratory space.

What Does the Report Cover?

Future Market Insights offers a unique perspective and actionable insights on the testosterone test market in its latest study, presenting a historical demand assessment of 2019 to 2023 and projections for 2024 to 2034. The global testosterone test market is segmented in detail to cover every aspect of the market and present a complete market intelligence approach to the reader.

The research study is based on the sample type - (blood, urine and saliva), by gender (male and female) and by end user (hospitals, IVF centers, home care settings and others), across seven key regions of the world.

About Healthcare Division at Future Market Insights

Future Market Insights facilitates corporates, government, investors, and associated audiences in the healthcare sector to identify and accentuate vital aspects applicable to product strategy, regulatory landscape, technology evolution, and other crucial issues to achieve sustainable success. Our unique approach to gathering market intelligence equips you in devising innovation-driven trajectories for your business. Know more about our sector coverage here.

About the Author:

Sabyasachi Ghosh (Associate Vice President at Future Market Insights, Inc.) holds over 12 years of experience in the Healthcare, Medical Devices, and Pharmaceutical industries. His curious and analytical nature helped him shape his career as a researcher.

Identifying key challenges faced by clients and devising robust, hypothesis-based solutions to empower them with strategic decision-making capabilities come naturally to him. His primary expertise lies in areas such as Market Entry and Expansion Strategy, Feasibility Studies, Competitive Intelligence, and Strategic Transformation.

Holding a degree in Microbiology, Sabyasachi has authored numerous publications and has been cited in journals, including The Journal of mHealth, ITN Online, and Spinal Surgery News.

Explore FMI's Extensive Coverage in the Healthcare Domain:

Testosterone Injectable Market: Global Industry Analysis 2016 - 2020 and Opportunity Assessment 2021 - 2031. - Review and Request to Access Sample PDF Study.

Global Industry Analysis 2016 - 2020 and Opportunity Assessment 2021 - 2031. - Fructosamine Test Market by Blood Serum and Plasma Samples, from 2024 to 2034. - Review and Request to Access Sample PDF Study.

by Blood Serum and Plasma Samples, from 2024 to 2034. - Vitamin B Test Market Analysis by Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid (Vitamin B9) Tests, from 2024 to 2034. - Review and Request to Access Sample PDF Study.

Analysis by Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid (Vitamin B9) Tests, from 2024 to 2034. - Topical Pain Relief Market Analysis by Creams, Gels, Patch, and Spray Formulations, 2024 to 2034. - Review and Request to Access Sample PDF Study.

Analysis by Creams, Gels, Patch, and Spray Formulations, 2024 to 2034. - Therapeutic Hair Oil Market Analysis by Alopecia and Inflammatory Skin Disease Indications, 2024 to 2034. - Review and Request to Access Sample PDF Study.

About Future Market Insights (FMI)

Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in Dubai and has delivery centers in the United Kingdom, the United States, and India. FMI's latest market research reports and industry analysis helps businesses navigate challenges and make critical decisions with confidence and clarity amidst breakneck competition.

Our customized and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. A team of expert-led analysts at FMI continuously tracks emerging trends and events in a broad range of industries to ensure that our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.

Contact Us

Nandini Singh Sawlani

Future Market Insights Inc.

Christiana Corporate, 200 Continental Drive,

Suite 401, Newark, Delaware - 19713, USA

T: +1-845-579-5705

For Sales Enquiries: sales@futuremarketinsights.com

Website: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com

LinkedIn| Twitter| Blogs | YouTube

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1197648/3531122/FMI_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/increasing-concern-regarding-health-and-the-rising-issues-due-to-imbalance-in-testosterone-levels-is-driving-testosterone-test-market-growth-302034628.html
HOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / January 15, 2023 / Finding the right plastic surgeon with just a few clicks would have previously seemed impossible, until now. The Review Growth Index (RGI) by Doctor Marketing, MD brings a game-changer in data-driven Google Reviews research, curated for patient convenience into Top 10 lists for each major city. Consumers are able to save loads of time when researching plastic surgeons in their local market area for cosmetic procedures they may want done. Up to 87% of potential patients use Google to search for healthcare providers. They often use Google Reviews as a performance measurement. This helps them evaluate local healthcare providers and medical clinics before making a decision. For plastic surgeons, having a larger number of reviews, ratings, and patient satisfaction is essential for their medical practice to get noticed.



The Review Growth Index (RGI) curated Top 10 Plastic Surgeon Lists based on Google Reviews. Image Credit: Chaylek / 123RF. Illustration by: Doctor Marketing, MD.

"Nearly 9 out of 10 patients start their search online, mostly on Google. The Review Growth Index (RGI) makes those searches more efficient and meaningful through our data-driven curated Top 10 Plastic Surgeon lists. They serve as recognition to those cosmetic surgery practices that cultivate the highest number of patient reviews and ratings based on quality of care and patient satisfaction," said Marty Stewart , Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Doctor Marketing, MD.

"At the same time, the Review Growth Index ( RGI ) makes it very convenient and time-saving for prospective patients researching cosmetic surgery procedures and looking for the best plastic surgeon in their local city. They can quickly read our quarterly-compiled Top 10 Cosmetic Surgeon Lists, all linking to the Top 10 Plastic Surgeons ' practice websites, as well as directly to their Google My Business (GMB) reviews. Patients can read the reviews of the Top 10 and make an informed decision on which surgeon to call," continued Marty Stewart.

Prospective Patients Matter to All Surgical Practices

"Prospective patients" in the context of healthcare providers and aesthetic medical services refer to individual consumers exploring their options in plastic surgery, cosmetic surgery, or non-surgical aesthetic treatments. These individuals are actively researching and considering various cosmetic procedures, but who have not yet committed to a specific treatment or chosen a particular plastic or cosmetic surgeon.

The term is particularly relevant in the field of aesthetic medicine, where patients often weigh multiple options, from traditional plastic surgery to less invasive cosmetic procedures and non-surgical alternatives. These prospective patients are in the decision-making phase, seeking the best fit for their aesthetic goals and medical needs, before they even schedule a consultation.

Patient Journey Quick Statistics for 2024: Doctor, Physician, and Plastic Surgeon Google Searches and Google Review Research

Over 77% of patients use an online search prior to scheduling an appointment with a healthcare provider.

use an online search prior to scheduling an appointment with a healthcare provider. Over 82% of patients use search engines like Google or Bing to find a healthcare provider.

like Google or Bing to find a healthcare provider. Up to 87% of consumers report using Google and Google Reviews to evaluate and research local businesses, such as plastic surgeons and cosmetic surgery clinics.

Understanding the Review Growth Index (RGI) for Plastic Surgeons

The significance of RGI in the plastic surgery industry can't be overstated. It acts as a compass, guiding patients through the sea of choices to surgeons who not only excel at their surgical craft but also earn high marks for patient satisfaction, based on the high number of Google Reviews they have.

When a plastic surgeon or cosmetic practice lands on the Review Growth Index (RGI) rankings, it opens doors and their visibility soars as potential clients recognize them not just for their surgical skills but also for top-notch patient care and service excellence.

When it comes to choosing a plastic surgeon, patients want the best of the best. That's where the Review Growth Index comes in. This robust ranking system doesn't just count star ratings, it dives deep into patient feedback across multiple platforms.

RGI rankings shine because they're about consistency and quality over time. By evaluating surgeons based on the volume of reviews and average star ratings, as well as direct indicators of patient satisfaction like communication skills and post-operative care, RGI provides an all-encompassing look at service excellence.

Simplifying Patient Choices with RGI Rankings

Choosing a plastic surgeon is like navigating through an endless sea of options. The Review Growth Index rankings from Doctor Marketing, MD is a time-saving curated list that spotlights top-performing surgeons based on robust data-driven review analysis.

Every review and star rating from major platforms gets meticulously compiled and analyzed to give credit where it's due. Surgeons aren't just ranked, they're celebrated for their dedication to quality pre- and post-operative care, clear communication skills, and overall patient service excellence.

Upcoming Top 10 Lists to be Included in the Review Growth Index

In the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, focus will be on curated lists of plastic surgeon reviews from these major U.S. cities:

Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Houston, TX

Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in New York, NY

Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Chicago, IL

Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Phoenix, AZ

Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in San Antonio, TX

Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Dallas, TX

Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Austin, TX

Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Jacksonville, FL

Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Fort Worth, TX

Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Charlotte, NC

Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Columbus, OH

Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Indianapolis, IN

Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Seattle, WA

Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Denver, CO

Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Washington, D.C.

Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Boston, MA

Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Nashville, TN

Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Tucson, AZ

Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Atlanta, GA

Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Miami, FL

About The Review Growth Index (RGI)

The Review Growth Index (RGI) by Doctor Marketing, MD is an innovative metric designed specifically for the healthcare and medical industries, with current focus on the plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures sectors. It works by aggregating public data from major review platforms like Google Reviews to develop a comprehensive assessment of a doctor or surgeon's online reputation and performance.

RGI analyzes the volume of patient reviews a surgeon receives, the star ratings given, and expressions of patient satisfaction. This provides prospective patients a reliable benchmark for choosing skilled, well-regarded doctors or surgeons with confidence.

It also serves plastic surgeons by analyzing patient feedback patterns, enabling refinements to medical services and clinical approaches. Overall, RGI functions as an industry-specific gauge of excellence based on actual patient outcomes and experiences. Its insights help match discerning clients with surgeons delivering exceptional care and results.

About Doctor Marketing, MD

Doctor Marketing, MD is a top healthcare digital marketing agency , specializing in medical content creation, content distribution, and strategy. The firm works with Top Doctors and Surgeons, Healthcare Companies, Medical Professionals, Private Practices, Medical Groups and Clinics, Hospitals, Executives, and Leaders in the Healthcare Industry and specialty Medical sectors.

Doctor Marketing, MD has built a world-class content writing team of award-winning writers, SEOs, copywriters, wordsmiths, and ghostwriters. They've perfected a proprietary content assembly line process, and further specialize in large-scale content production through well-crafted blog posts, articles, and medical content pieces that attract new patients.

Doctor Marketing, MD Helps Medical Professionals and Healthcare Providers Attract New Patients and Increase Patient Acquisition: Better, Faster and with Less Effort.

Need Strategic Marketing Guidance For Your Doctor's Office, Healthcare, Medical, Clinic, Medspa, Plastic or Cosmetic Surgical Practice?

CONTACT:

Doctor Marketing, MD

Anna Goldstein

Director of Media Relations

877-463-9777 ext. 3

anna.goldstein@doctormarketingmd.com

https://DoctorMarketingMD.com/

Connect with Doctor Marketing, MD on Social Media:

Linkedin, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube

Schedule a Deep-Dive Marketing Analysis for Your Medical Practice, Visit:

https://DoctorMarketingMD.com/contact/

SOURCE: Doctor Marketing, MD (DRMMD)

View the original press release on accesswire.com
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 15, 2024 / Inogen Alliance



Creating a safe and healthy workplace is a top priority for Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) Managers. This responsibility extends even to seemingly low-risk office environments, as occupational illnesses and injuries cost businesses over $170 billion annually in the United States alone. A comfortable, well-ventilated, and secure workplace not only safeguards employee well-being but also significantly boosts productivity and job satisfaction.

Here are some essential tips to protect your most valuable assets-your employees-and foster a culture of safety in offices around the world:

1. Expertise in EHS Challenges

To ensure a safe and productive workspace, EHS Managers must be well-versed in the unique challenges of hybrid work environments. This includes addressing ergonomic considerations for employees with unassigned office seats and varying home office setups. Additionally, EHS professionals should develop emergency response strategies tailored to varied workforce presence and in many cases cultural or regional nuances in location and populations. Prioritizing overall employee well-being while balancing the demands of hybrid work is crucial.

2. Leveraging External Resources

EHS Managers should equip themselves with the right resources to effectively implement and support EHS programs. Consider bringing in external support as an extension of your internal teams. Collaborating with experts can provide fresh perspectives and solutions to complex challenges with a global or local lens while enhancing workplace safety.

3. Cultivating a Safety Culture

Fostering an open and collaborative culture of safety in the workplace is essential. Prioritize people-first safety policies that not only protect employees but also safeguard your brand reputation. By encouraging employees to actively participate in creating a safer environment, you can build a strong foundation for long-term workplace well-being.

4. Ergonomic Workstation Setups: Ensuring that employees have ergonomic workstations is essential for preventing musculoskeletal issues and promoting overall health. Provide adjustable chairs, ergonomic keyboards, and monitor stands to support proper posture. Encourage employees to set up their workspaces to minimize strain on their neck, shoulders, wrists, and back. Conduct ergonomic assessments to identify and address individual needs. Ergonomics in the workplace extends beyond office setups, to retail, warehouses, data centers, manufacturing and more.

5. Emergency Response Programs and Drills: Safety goes beyond physical health; it also encompasses preparedness for emergencies. Conduct regular fire drills and emergency evacuation exercises to ensure that employees know how to respond in critical situations. Post clear evacuation routes and emergency procedures in visible locations throughout the workplace. Make sure to account for cultural considerations when developing global programs and understand local environments.

6. Proper Lighting: Adequate lighting is crucial for reducing eye strain and enhancing overall well-being. Ensure that workspaces are well-lit with natural or artificial light. Consider adjustable lighting options that allow employees to customize their lighting levels to suit their tasks.

7. Hydration and Nutrition: Encourage employees to stay hydrated by providing easy access to clean drinking water. Promote healthy eating habits by offering nutritious snacks and meal options in the workplace. Educate employees about the importance of balanced nutrition in maintaining their energy and focus.

8. Mental Health Support: Recognize that mental health is a vital component of overall well-being. Offer mental health resources, such as Employee Assistance Programs or stress management workshops. Encourage open conversations about mental health to reduce stigma and provide a supportive environment for employees.

9. Risk Assessments: Ensure that the work environment is safe and well-maintained by conducting risk assessments. Regularly inspect equipment, electrical systems, and infrastructure for potential hazards. Address any issues promptly to prevent accidents and injuries.

10. Safety Training and Education: Continuously educate employees about workplace safety. Offer training sessions on topics such as fire safety, first aid, and ergonomics. Keep employees informed about safety protocols and encourage them to actively participate in safety initiatives.

11. Remote Work Safety: As remote work becomes more prevalent, EHS Managers should extend safety measures to home offices. Provide guidelines and resources to help remote employees set up safe and ergonomic workspaces. Encourage regular breaks and movement, even in remote work settings.

12. Feedback and Improvement: Foster a culture of continuous improvement by soliciting feedback from employees. Encourage them to report safety concerns or suggest improvements. Regularly review safety protocols and make adjustments based on feedback and changing circumstances.

By implementing these additional safety tips, EHS Managers can create a comprehensive and holistic approach to workplace well-being. Prioritizing safety and health in the workplace not only protects employees but also contributes to higher job satisfaction, increased productivity, and a positive organizational culture. Remember that a safe and healthy workplace is an ongoing commitment that requires the collaboration and dedication of everyone in the organization.

While these tips are critical for all workplaces, one universal element transcends office settings: the importance of incorporating more physical movement into daily routines.

The Role of Movement in Workplace Health

Insufficient physical activity ranks as a significant risk factor for mortality, and its annual global healthcare cost reaches a staggering $24.7 billion. EHS professionals should prioritize movement within the workplace due to its pivotal role in protecting employee safety and well-being.

Here are some insights into how EHS professionals can combat the issue of inactivity and promote a healthier workplace. Check out the full blog on movement practices from Antea Group USA here.

1. Encouraging Microbreaks

Microbreaks are brief, frequent breaks throughout the workday that encourage employees to move more. These breaks combat the sedentary nature of many jobs and promote physical activity. Encourage employees to take short walks around the office, perform stretching exercises at their desks, or engage in simple movements like squats or lunges. The benefits of microbreaks include improved circulation, reduced musculoskeletal issues, increased energy and focus, stress reduction, and enhanced productivity and creativity.

2. Digital Tools for Movement

Several digital tools can help remind employees to take microbreaks. Fitness trackers can be programmed to notify individuals to move at regular intervals or challenge them to achieve a set number of steps per hour. Productivity tools, such as task timers, can also prompt workers to take breaks after a specific time period. These tools seamlessly integrate movement into the work environment, making it easier for employees to remember to take microbreaks.

Incorporating regular movement into the work routine offers numerous physical, mental, and productivity benefits. It enhances circulation, supports musculoskeletal health, boosts energy and focus, reduces stress, and promotes overall well-being. Frequent breaks can enhance productivity and creativity by combatting mental fatigue and encouraging fresh thinking.

In conclusion, as EHS professionals strive to create safe and healthy workplaces, integrating movement into daily routines is a proactive measure that can significantly enhance employee health and well-being. Whether you work in an office or a hybrid environment, prioritizing physical activity is key to a thriving and productive workforce.

Inogen Alliance is a global network made up of dozens of independent local businesses and over 6,000 consultants around the world who can help make your project a success. Our Associates collaborate closely to serve multinational corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations, and we share knowledge and industry experience to provide the highest quality service to our clients. If you want to learn more about how you can work with Inogen Alliance, you can explore our Associates or Contact Us. Watch for more News & Blog updates here and follow us on LinkedIn.



View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Inogen Alliance on 3blmedia.com.



Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Inogen Alliance

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/inogen-alliance

Email: info@3blmedia.com



SOURCE: Inogen Alliance

View the original press release on accesswire.com
OTTAWA (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar strengthened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Tuesday. The U.S. dollar rose to a 1-week high of 1.0913 against the euro and nearly a 4-week high of 0.8586 against the Swiss franc, from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.0948 and 0.8554, respectively. Against the pound and the yen, the greenback advanced to an 8-day high of 1.2677 and a 5-day high of 146.24 from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.2725 and 145.73, respectively. The greenback climbed to nearly a 5-week high of 1.3475 against the Canadian dollar, from Monday's closing value of 1.3424. If the greenback extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.07 against the euro, 0.88 against the franc, 1.24 against the pound, 149.00 against the yen and 1.37 against the loonie. Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
J-10 fighter jets engage in flight training

China Military Online) 16:22, January 16, 2024

A J-10 fighter jet attached to an aviation brigade with the air force under PLA Southern Theater Command taxies on the runway during a flight training exercise on December 25, 2023. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Shang Jieyan)

A J-10 fighter jet attached to an aviation brigade with the air force under PLA Southern Theater Command takes off with speed during a flight training exercise on December 25, 2023. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Shang Jieyan)

Two J-10 fighter jets attached to an aviation brigade with the air force under PLA Southern Theater Command take off in formation during a flight training exercise on December 25, 2023. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Shang Jieyan)

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
SINGAPORE, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In a bold move to accelerate its digital transformation strategy, HNB General Insurance ("HNBGI") has announced the launch of Project Phoenix, a transformative initiative in collaboration with Azentio Software to implement a world-class Core Insurance System. This ambitious project marks a significant milestone in HNBGI's digital transformation journey, promising unparalleled value to its stakeholders.

Project Phoenix signifies HNBGI's unwavering commitment to enhancing efficiency, accuracy, and overall operational effectiveness, ultimately benefiting all stakeholders. "This initiative aligns perfectly with our mission to create sustainable value through innovation," said Sithumina Jayasundara, CEO of HNBGI. "The upgrade and customization brought about by Project Phoenix will propel us to new heights, elevating our competitiveness, operational efficiency, accuracy and agility in a rapidly evolving market. This, in turn, translates to better service delivery for our customers."

Azentio Software, a leading banking, financial services & insurance (BFSI) software company headquartered in Singapore, is HNBGI's trusted partner in this transformative journey. With over 25 years of expertise, Azentio serves 1,000+ clients across 65 countries, including 130+ insurance clients in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. Azentio ONEInsurance platform allows to launch unique and bold new insurance products quickly, sell aggressively, and engage digitally by transforming into a customer-obsessed organization, while remaining efficient, compliant, and secure.

Jatinder Bedi, Vice President - BFSI at Azentio Software, expressed, "We are honored to collaborate with HNBGI on Project Phoenix. Our expertise lies in providing cutting-edge insurance solutions that meet the highest global standards, and we are committed to supporting HNBGI throughout this transformative journey."

Project Phoenix transcends mere technological advancement; it signifies a strategic commitment to excellence in the face of rapid industry change. As HNBGI embraces its digital future, it remains steadfast in its dedication to delivering top-tier services and maintaining its position as a trusted insurance provider. This initiative is not just about implementing a new system; it's about taking flight towards a brighter, more efficient, and customer-centric future.

About Azentio Software

Azentio provides mission-critical software products across Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and India to banks, financial services providers, and insurers. It also provides ERP solutions to mid-market enterprises. Azentio Software Private Limited is wholly owned by funds advised by Apax.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1978771/Azentio_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/hnb-general-insurance-makes-a-strategic-leap-towards-a-futuristic-insurance-system-with-project-phoenix-302034470.html
First Lady of Pakistan, together with health and development organisations and the private sector, calls for world leaders to prioritise assistive technology access

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new global campaign, backed by the Honourable First Lady of Pakistan, Begum Samina Arif Alvi, was launched today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, calling for urgent action to improve access to assistive technology for millions of people around the world.

Three children standing with their arms around each other's shoulders. The child in the middle has a prosthetic leg.



The campaign, 'Unlock the Everyday', is the first ever global campaign on assistive technology and aims to raise awareness of everyone's right to assistive technology - such as wheelchairs, glasses, hearing aids, prostheses and digital devices - no matter where they live, or their income.

It is estimated that 2.5 billion people today need at least one form of assistive technology and most people will require assistive technology at some point in their lifetime. However, only 10% of people in low-income countries can access the assistive technology they need, compared to 90% in high-income countries.

The campaign is calling for global action to address this inequity. Without access to appropriate assistive products, millions of people are prevented from earning a living, gaining an education or living independent and fulfilled lives, further compounding existing social and economic inequalities.

The Honourable First Lady of Pakistan, Begum Samina Arif Alvi, is encouraging global leaders to support the campaign and prioritise assistive technology:

"Assistive Technology is a bridge that connects individuals with disabilities, ageing populations, and those suffering from non-communicable diseases to a world of opportunities - opportunities for education, employment, and above all, inclusion in society. It is vital to focus on enhancing the affordability and accessibility of high-quality Assistive Technology, ensuring that individuals from diverse socio-economic backgrounds can equally benefit from these advancements. As a key driver in achieving numerous Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this initiative is essential to ensure inclusivity in our path towards 2030.Yet, we have a long road ahead in our journey towards full inclusion. I urge global leaders to prioritize the integration of assistive technology into their national plans and SDG strategies. Let's work together to build a more inclusive world where no one is left behind!"

Launched by global partnership ATscale, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the International Disability Alliance, amongst other partners, the Unlock the Everyday campaign has already been endorsed by various leaders in the global development and private sectors.

Pascal Bijleveld, CEO of ATscale, said:

"Despite having the power to unlock potential and transform lives, assistive technology has historically been under-resourced and under invested in - leading to the shocking inequity in access and huge funding gap we have today. This simply cannot go on. Not only will improving access improve the lives of millions of people, it is key to accelerating progress towards the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, which all UN member states are committed to."

Unlock the Everyday was launched at a high-level panel event in Davos, on the sidelines of the 2024 World Economic Forum. As well as the Honourable First Lady of Pakistan, other panellists, representing organisations supporting the campaign, included:

Pascal Bijleveld, CEO of ATscale, the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology

Leopoldine Huyghues Despointes, actress and disability activist

Caroline Casey, Founder of The Valuable 500 and President of the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness

Professor Gilles Carbonnier, Vice President, International Committee of the Red Cross

Louise James, Managing Director, Accenture Development Partnerships

Jorge Olague, Deputy Director,Private Sector Partnerships, UNICEF

Panellists discussed not only the importance of improving access to assistive technology, but crucially, the role that policymakers, the private sector and those working in the health and development sectors can play in bringing about change.

Research from ATscale shows that for every dollar invested in assistive technology, a $9 return can be expected through improved educational outcomes, better paid employment and high productivity among adults and lower longer-term healthcare costs.

However, despite this significant return on investment, a vast funding gap remains, which the campaign aims to highlight and address. To ensure lifetime access to appropriate assistive technology for all people needing it in low- and middle-income countries today would cost approximately USD 700 billion over 55 years.

Overall, key things the campaign is calling for, include:

Governments worldwide to commit greater investment in assistive technology - including investing in the provision of appropriate products and services so more people can access AT when they need it

- including investing in the provision of appropriate products and services so more people can access AT when they need it Governments in low- and middle-income countries to implement supportive and inclusive policies that establish assistive technology as core parts of national health systems/ services, financing schemes including insurance, social protection programmes, and education initiatives.

that establish assistive technology as core parts of national health systems/ services, financing schemes including insurance, social protection programmes, and education initiatives. Bilateral and multilateral donors to recognise the importance of access to AT and ramp-up their financial support

and ramp-up their financial support Stakeholders, including those in the private sector, to collaborate to improve assistive technology supply chains

The campaign is asking policymakers and leaders across the world to show their support for assistive technology users and those in need of assistive technology, and help raise awareness of these issues to drive change.

All people who use assistive technology and other members of the public across the world can also get involved and show their support on social media.

Bijleveld concluded: "We truly believe that by uniting partners, policymakers, global decision-makers, the private sector, communities and of course, assistive technology users themselves, we can create a global movementthat will motivate those in a position of power to take decisive action."

Notes to editors

If you're a journalist and want to find out more about the campaign or interview a spokesperson, please contact the press office on:

Please direct all enquiries to: UnlocktheEveryday@grayling.com/ +44 2038613719

About Assistive technology

Assistive technology helps people live with greater autonomy and choice by facilitating daily activities they would otherwise be unable to do well, or at all. People in need of assistive technology include people with chronic health conditions or physical impairments, temporary injuries and diseases, older people, and people with disabilities.

Examples of assistive devices include wheelchairs, prosthetics, screen readers, visual or hearing aids.

Assistive technology: Key facts

Today 2.5 billion people need at least one form of assistive technology and most people will require assistive technology at some point in their lifetime, whether because of a disability, injuries or simply old age. By 2050 this figure is likely to rise to 3.5 billion.

people need at least one form of assistive technology and most people will require assistive technology at some point in their lifetime, whether because of a disability, injuries or simply old age. Without access to assistive technology, when it is needed, more than 30% of the global population will struggle to meet their most basic human needs.

will struggle to meet their most basic human needs. Globally at least 80 million people need an appropriate wheelchair, but up to 95% of those in need do not have access to one.

need an appropriate wheelchair, but up to 95% of those in need do not have access to one. Global funding for disability-related issues stands at just 0.5% of all development aid.

Improving access to AT is a powerful way to accelerate progress towards all of the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those relating to overcoming poverty, good health, quality education, gender equality, reducing inequalities, decent work and climate action.



About the campaign

Unlock the Everyday is aimed at people who currently use or need assistive technology, their communities, organisations working to improve the lives of assistive technology users, the private sector and policymakers and leaders across the globe.

More information about the campaign can be found here: www.UnlockTheEveryday.org

About ATscale

ATscale is a global partnership working to transform access to life-changing assistive technology across lower- and middle-income countries. Its vision is to ensure every person can access and afford the assistive technology they need, enabling a lifetime of potential. Members include the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the US Agency for International Development (USAID), China Disabled Person's Federation (CDPF) the Government of Kenya, the Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD) the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the International Disability Alliance. The organisation is hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0c3ba09f-1d79-4bb9-a3b4-3e83d0f26ff2
Antwerp, Belgium, 16 January 2024

Mercier Vanderlinden and Van Lanschot Belgium to continue as Mercier Van Lanschot

New combine a top private banking player in Belgium

January 2024 has seen Mercier Van Lanschot launched as a new brand in the Belgian wealth management market, following the tie-up of Van Lanschot Belgium and Mercier Vanderlinden. With 10.5 billion in assets under management (AuM) in the third quarter of 2023, the new combine is one of Belgium's leading private banks. Its ambition is to continue its growth momentum, with Mercier Vanderlinden and Van Lanschot Belgium having between them achieved net AuM inflows of 0.6 billion in the first three quarters of 2023.

The rebranding to Mercier Van Lanschot is the final milestone in this collaborative venture that got under way in 2021, when Van Lanschot Kempen acquired a majority stake in Mercier Vanderlinden, followed by the purchase of the remaining stake in 2023. Sharing a single, robust vision of wealth management and wealth planning, marked by decisiveness, entrepreneurship and a straightforward approach, the joined-up teams have now merged their brands, strengths and complementary capabilities.

Mercier Van Lanschot offers its clients discretionary wealth management solutions and investment advice, wealth planning and family services, finance and family officer services, focusing on the long term and underpinned by a solid, stable investment strategy that is informed by pricing discipline, bottom-up fundamental research and conviction. The wealth of the Mercier and Vanderlinden families is invested alongside that of Mercier Van Lanschot's clients, and in the same investment funds.

Thomas Vanderlinden, CEO of Mercier Van Lanschot, said: "Our new brand highlights our commitment to our shared vision of wealth management going forward. A single name and a single team provide clarity to our clients. By joining forces, we have created a wealth manager with a broader offering, supported by the solid company that is Van Lanschot Kempen and a network of no less than 1,800 in-house experts. Our mandate is unchanged: protecting the purchasing power of our clients' wealth and growing this for future generations. And we do so together, as 'investing together' continues to be the tagline for our personal engagement. I'm grateful to our clients for their continued faith in us and to our people at Mercier Van Lanschot and Van Lanschot Kempen for all their hard work in helping us complete our integration in 2023."

Management

Mercier Van Lanschot is headed up by a joint management team comprising Thomas Vanderlinden, CEO; Paul Timmermans, responsible for areas including IT, business support, client service and internal control; and Frederic Van Doosselaere, whose responsibilities include financial, legal and tax affairs, HR, wealth management and investment advice. Stephane Mercier continues to be responsible for the funds managed by Mercier Van Lanschot.

The former Mercier Vanderlinden partners will continue to hold some 4% in Van Lanschot Kempen until at least 2030 - proof of their commitment to and faith in Mercier Van Lanschot's shared future.

A Van Lanschot Kempen company

Mercier Van Lanschot offers its clients the best of two established brands in Belgium and builds on a tradition of nine generations of entrepreneurship, starting with Cornelis van Lanschot in 's-Hertogenbosch in 1737. Mercier Vanderlinden was founded in 2000 and grew from a family mandate into Belgium's largest independent wealth manager. Van Lanschot Belgium has been active since 1991 and has since recorded solid growth.

As a Van Lanschot Kempen company, Mercier Van Lanschot is part of an independent wealth manager with 118 billion in assets under management (Q3 2023) and the largest independent private bank in the Benelux region. Van Lanschot Kempen combines private banking, investment management and investment banking, is listed on Euronext Amsterdam and has a solid capital position.

More information

Media Relations

Marrika van Beilen

T +31 20 354 45 85

mediarelations@vanlanschotkempen.com

Investor Relations

Judith van Tol

T +31 20 354 45 90

investorrelations@vanlanschotkempen.com

About Mercier Van Lanschot

Mercier van Lanschot, created in 2023 by the merger of Mercier Vanderlinden and Van Lanschot Belgium, is an independent specialist wealth manager, active in discretionary wealth management and investment advice, wealth planning and family services, finance and family officer services. Its mission is to protect and sustainably grow the purchasing power of its clients' wealth, with its long-term focus creating positive financial and non-financial value. Mercier Van Lanschot has 12 branch offices in Belgium and is part of Euronext Amsterdam-listed Van Lanschot Kempen, the Netherlands' oldest independent financial institution and the largest independent private bank in the Benelux region.

For more information, see www.merciervanlanschot.com

Disclaimer

Investing involves risks and you may lose your investment. The value of your investments partly depends on developments in the financial markets. Past performance is no guarantee for the future.

This press release does not constitute an offer or solicitation for the sale, purchase or acquisition in any other way or subscription to any financial instrument, and is not a recommendation to perform or refrain from performing any action.

Attachment


DUBLIN (dpa-AFX) - Global information services company Experian plc (EXPN.L), on Tuesday, issued an update on trading for the three months ended 31 December 2023 and reported that it has delivered good growth in Q3, at the upper end of its expectations.



Q3 revenue was up 9% at actual exchange rates from ongoing activities and 7% at constant exchange rates, with organic revenue growth of 6%.



In the third quarter, North America delivered a 5% increase in organic revenue growth. The total revenue growth was 6%, which includes the contribution from a recent acquisition in the health sector that was completed during the quarter. Meanwhile, Latin America demonstrated a 13% growth in organic revenue. At constant currency, the total revenue growth was 17%, which also includes contributions from recent acquisitions.



The UK and Ireland saw a 3% increase in organic revenue growth, which was also reflected in the total constant currency growth at a rate of 3%. In EMEA and Asia Pacific, the organic revenue growth was 7%, while the total constant currency revenue growth was 8%. There was significant progress in several key markets, such as Australia, India, and Italy, the company added.



For FY24, the company currently expects full-year organic revenue growth to be between 5% and 6%, with modest margin accretion, all at constant exchange rates and on an ongoing basis.



Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Video-Workshop: Das kleine Einmaleins der Charttechnik In diesem kostenlosen Video-Workshop von Stefan Klotter lernen Sie alles uber Charttechnik. Lassen Sie sich diesen kostenfreien Workshop nicht entgehen! Hier klicken
Reflow Medical, Inc., a developer of innovative medical devices focused on cardiovascular disease, announces it has received CE (Conformite Europeenne) Mark certification in the European Union for the Bare Temporary Spur Stent System. The device is intended to treat de novo or restenotic lesions in the infrapopliteal arteries with a commercially available drug-coated balloon (DCB) to enhance drug absorption.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116803175/en/

The Bare Temporary Spur Stent System is a unique clinical solution known as Retrievable Stent Therapy, or RST. It is intended to provide stent-like results while leaving no metal behind. (Graphic: Business Wire)

"The device performance and clinical study data for patients suffering from CLTI has been quite impressive," said Professor Thomas Zeller, MD, who is Chief of the Department of Angiology at University Heart Center Freiburg in Bad Krozingen, Germany. CLTI, or chronic limb-threatening ischemia, increases the risk of mortality, amputation, and impaired quality of life. Prof. Zeller was a principal investigator in the DEEPER OUS clinical trial (NCT03807531).

The Bare Temporary Spur Stent System, followed by drug-coated balloon treatment, reduces clinically driven target lesion revascularization (CD-TLR), improves wound healing, reduces recoil, and improves vessel patency through one year, compared to historical treatment outcomes with plain balloon angioplasty or a DCB alone.

Marianne Brodmann, MD, is a Professor and Vascular Specialist with the Division of Angiology, Medical University Graz in Graz, Austria, and the Principal Investigator for the DEEPER LIMUS clinical trial (NCT04162418) to evaluate the Bare Temporary Spur Stent System. "We have found that the Spur allows us to treat patients with (BTK) disease using stent therapy, without the long-term risk of a stent implant," she said.

The Bare Temporary Spur Stent System is a unique clinical solution intended to provide stent-like results while leaving no metal behind. Known as Retrievable Stent Therapy, or RST, the self-expanding stent is designed with radial spikes for creating channels in the vessel wall to enhance drug absorption and reduce recoil. The stent is then recaptured, removed, and treated with a commercially available drug-coated balloon.

"Earning the CE Mark is a huge milestone for the company. It enables us to offer a clinically validated solution to an unmet need in a major disease area," said Isa Rizk, Reflow Medical's Co-Founder and CEO. "Our next goal is to expand our organization to commercialize this breakthrough technology and serve the needs of physicians and their patients in countries accepting this certification."

The Reflow Medical Bare Temporary Spur Stent System was granted certification as a Class IIa medical device under the European Union Medical Device Regulation (2017/745). The EU MDR is a rigorous process that requires manufacturers to provide substantial evidence of their device's performance and safety.

About Reflow Medical, Inc.

Reflow Medical, Inc., established in 2011, is a private company focused on empowering physicians through the design and development of innovative and effective technologies for treating cardiovascular disease.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116803175/en/

Contacts:

Jennifer Carlyle

jcarlyle@reflowmedical.com

949-481-0399
Dynamic marketing leader will lead strategy and execution of Toluna's global marketing efforts to fuel brand growth

Toluna, the leading global insights technology and panel provider, today announced the appointment of Scott Axcell as Chief Marketing Officer. As part of his role, Scott will be responsible for the strategy, execution, and overall success of Toluna's global marketing efforts, overseeing product marketing, brand, creative, growth marketing, and marketing operations. He will also join the company's executive leadership team.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116969563/en/

As Chief Marketing Officer, Scott Axcell will lead the strategy and execution of global marketing efforts to fuel brand growth. (Photo: Business Wire)

Scott is a dynamic marketing leader who brings over 25 years of experience in successfully growing brands and scaling companies. Early in his career, Scott held brand marketing roles at Nestle and Heinz in London, UK before taking a senior global branding communications role at LeapFrog in San Francisco, California. After his time at LeapFrog, Scott transitioned into executive marketing leadership roles helping to scale B2B businesses in the InsuranceTech, big data, and events industries.

Now based in Denver, Colorado, Scott joined Toluna in 2022 as part of the GutCheck acquisition. At GutCheck, he led marketing efforts that were built around a deep content strategy and brand repositioning, which helped guide GutCheck back to being recognized as one of the industry's best and most innovative full-service insights providers. He now moves into the CMO role after a successful tenure as Toluna's Head of Marketing for North America.

Frederic-Charles Petit, CEO of Toluna, said, "Scott's appointment is a critical step for our organization as we continue to bring together two companies with such complementary strengths in Toluna and MetrixLab. Scott's extensive experience will be a major asset to both our global marketing organization and executive leadership team, and I look forward to working with him as we execute on our mission to provide clients with on-demand access to platform, panel, and experts to grow their brand and business."

"Toluna is an innovative company at the forefront of the global insights industry," added Axcell. "I'm thrilled to take on this role as Chief Marketing Officer and I look forward to collaborating with our talented leaders and marketing team across the globe to build on our momentum while expanding and elevating our brand."

About Toluna

Toluna empowers leading brands and agencies to conduct research without limits by unifying the best of technology, the best of research science, the best of global panel, and made-to-measure service to scale your business.

Toluna is powered by 2650 employees worldwide, delivering critical insights in over 90 markets to over half of the Fortune 500. Together, we strive to push the field of market research toward a better tomorrow.

About MetrixLab

MetrixLab is a fast-growing global market research and insights company that is challenging the status quo of insights. By blending evolving technology with passionate experts, MetrixLab helps global and local brands to drive more impact, and forges partnerships to drive sustainably equitable growth. From creative testing to brand tracking, and packaging to e-commerce optimization, MetrixLab's range of solution suites adapts to fit all types of budgets, timelines, and business needs.

MetrixLab is a proud partner to more than half of the world's top 100 brands.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116969563/en/

Contacts:

Rob Patterson

Rob.Patterson@Toluna.com






INSYS icom designates CITIC Telecom CPC as selected partner for Asia and China Markets expansion and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) transformation

HONG KONG, Jan 16, 2024 - (ACN Newswire) - CITIC Telecom International CPC Limited ("CITIC Telecom CPC"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CITIC Telecom International Holdings Limited (SEHK: 1883) is pleased to announce INSYS icom has designated CITIC Telecom CPC as the handpicked partner to support INSYS icom's expansion into the Asia and China markets. INSYS icom is leveraging the high performance and high reliability of TrueCONNECT Private Ethernet to support extended geographic coverage of its mission-critical connectivity services for Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices, including in Mainland China. INSYS icom is also utilizing the SmartCLOUD cloud computing platform to safeguard localized IIoT data within borders, in compliance with stringent data sovereignty requirements.Secure communication and networking of data in industrial applications - that is the core competence of INSYS icom. With its intelligent and powerful hardware and software solutions (Managed Devices and Services), machines, plants and other devices can be reached remotely and their operating data transmitted. INSYS icom masters the advancing digitalisation with its expert knowledge of this complex subject area. The company has set itself the goal of continuously developing innovations for industrial data communication and networking and works passionately every day to achieve this. The leading manufacturer in the energy and water supply segment also positions itself as a premium partner in the field of mechanical engineering. Customer proximity in all its forms is the foundation for the regionally rooted and cosmopolitan company."From literally a world of choices, we ultimately decided to partner with CITIC Telecom CPC on the strength of their multidimensional expertise," said David Sukowatey, Product Manager, Managed Services of INSYS icom. "We are extremely impressed by their teams' extensive resources and knowledge across crucial technology and business-related areas. Not only are we benefiting from CITIC Telecom CPC's superb networking and cloud solutions, their professional staff are also instrumental in helping us navigate various other complex technical, business and regulatory challenges, in particular with deployment in regions."Scaling Up Beyond Europe with Trusted PartnerINSYS icom's manufacturing industry customers build and deliver machinery to their own customers' manufacturing plants worldwide. To enable these IIoT machines to communicate, INSYS icom developed a turnkey communications system combining local area networking (LAN), cellular communications (using SIM cards), and dedicated VPN services, allowing customers to deploy and operate their machines anywhere easily. This comprehensive IIoT communications solution was extremely successful in the European market, and INSYS icom decided to expand into Asia to sustain this growth momentum. Scaling up beyond Europe meant new milestone for the company, not only regarding the broader geographic coverage (including mobile connectivity), but also the capability of establishing a reliable IIoT infrastructure to support global connectivity and address complex global-local laws and regulations. As the selected partner, CITIC Telecom CPC is facilitating INSYS icom in this business growth initiative via both technological and business assistance.In technical areas, CITIC Telecom CPC's flagship enterprise solutions support both the connectivity expansion to Asia (including mainland China), and the need to address in-country regulatory requirements. Specifically, high-performance TrueCONNECT Premium (VPLS), CITIC Telecom CPC's award-winning fully meshed and highly redundant Ethernet-based private network service, is linking up INSYS icom's European headquarters and diverse IIoT devices located in other regions, including Asia and mainland China. IIoT applications operate in mission-critical environments and require robust networks with high availability and low latency.TrueCONNECT Premium's high reliability and performance underpin this crucial connectivity and pave the way for INSYS icom to launch a new offering of its icom Connectivity Suite which enables customers to configure machinery anywhere and deploy it globally to achieve even higher productivity and cost efficiency. New 7x24x365 emergency support hotline services have also been launched, again supported by TrueCONNECT Premium's superb reliability.Additionally, INSYS icom is using the flexibility and agility of the SmartCLOUD cloud computing platform to facilitate and store data in proximity to deployed IIoT devices. It ensures rapid access and enhanced service productivity, as well as complies with local requirements such as GDPR and China MLPS 2.0. stipulating data sovereignty specifications.With decades of extensive technical and business experience, CITIC Telecom CPC's competence spans multiple domains across technology, business, government, culture, and geography. Through this partnership, INSYS icom is leveraging CITIC Telecom CPC's thriving technological and business ecosystem, including ample local resources in Asia and China, to overcome an intricate technical and regulatory landscape and virtually any challenge."We strive to provide a full stack of services and resources to support INSYS icom substantial businesses success in their endeavors," said Jacky Kwok, Chief Commercial Officer, CITIC Telecom CPC. "We are serious about our service commitment. The team has cultivated an immense knowledge base, experience, and other resources to assist them in multiple dimensions."With CITIC Telecom CPC's services and expertise, INSYS icom is now continuing to develop other new applications and extend functionality for customers within existing markets and new geographies. Both companies have exhibited strong resonance with a corporate culture of continuous innovation and commitment to quality, with the aim to transform technical potentials into real-world positive impact for customers.About CITIC Telecom CPCWe are CITIC Telecom International CPC Limited ("CITIC Telecom CPC"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CITIC Telecom International Holdings Limited (SEHK: 1883), serving multinational enterprises the world over by addressing their specific ICT requirements with highly scalable tailored solutions built upon our flagship technology suites, comprising TrueCONNECT private network solutions, TrustCSI information security solutions, DataHOUSE cloud data center solutions, and SmartCLOUD cloud computing solutions.With the motto "Innovation Never Stops," we leverage innovative technologies, embracing AI, AR, Big Data, IoT, and other cutting-edge emerging technologies to transform technical potential into business value for our customers. As an enterprise digital transformation partner, we strive to help our customers achieve industry-leading positions, high agility, and cost-efficiency through digitalization.With our Global-Local capabilities, we are committed to providing our customers with one-stop-shop ICT solutions with superior quality. Having a worldwide footprint across nearly 160 countries and regions, including Asia, Europe and America, Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, our global network resources connect nearly 170 points of presence (POPs), 60+ SDWAN gateways, 21 Cloud service centers, 30+ data centers, and three dedicated 24x7 Security Operations Centers (SOCs). We are certified with a series of international certifications, including SD-WAN Ready, ISO 9001, 14001, 20000, 27001, and 27017, to ensure our services compliance with international standards and resources for enterprises. We offer local professional services, superior delivery capabilities as well as exceptional customer experience and best practices through our global presence and extensive industry know-how, becoming a leading integrated intelligent ICT service provider to enterprise customers.For more information, please visit www.citictel-cpc.comMedia Contacts:Catherine YuenCITIC Telecom CPC(852) 2170 7536Email: catherine.yuen@citictel-cpc.comSource: CITIC Telecom CPCCopyright 2024 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Email security risks remain high with 94% of organizations experiencing incidents in the past 12 months.

96% of organizations that experienced phishing attacks were negatively impacted, up from 86% last year.

Most cybersecurity leaders are stressed about email security, and 61% are kept awake at night by the use of AI in phishing.

Alarmingly, data loss and exfiltration incidents were experienced by 91% of respondents.

January 16, 2023 - London, UK - Leading cybersecurity company Egress today releases its second Email Security Risk Report. The report lays bare the attitudes and approaches to email security, the evolution of risks, and the impact of incidents. In the 2024 Email Security Risk Report, alongside expert commentary, a comparison of 2023's results offers insight into how 500 Cybersecurity leaders view the threat landscape, including how they remain vulnerable to both inbound phishing attacks and outbound data loss and exfiltration, and how they continue to question the effectiveness of traditional approaches to email security.

The report contains new data on phishing attacks, data loss prevention, and concerns about technical defenses' ability to detect and prevent advanced threats within Microsoft 365 environments.

Jack Chapman, VP of Threat Intelligence at Egress, comments:

"The 2024 Email Security Risk Report is an essential read for all cybersecurity professionals and ultimately a tool to help teams assess their inbound and outbound defenses.

"What has been staggering is the emergence of trends alongside the 2023 edition of the Email Security Risk Report; for example, 94% of respondents fell victim to phishing attacks, up 2% from the previous year. Organizations continue to face vulnerabilities when it comes to advanced phishing attacks, human error, and data exfiltration, and analyzing emerging trends will be key to bolstering defenses.

"The report also highlights how Cybersecurity leaders know that they're vulnerable when it comes to phishing attacks. 58% of organizations have experienced account takeover incidents in the last 12 months, and 79% of these started with a phishing email that harvested an employee's credentials, so it's no wonder that phishing attacks and compromised accounts are causing concern for our Cybersecurity leaders.

"The use of AI by cybercriminals is also at the front of our leaders' minds, and rightly so. While it's currently impossible to actually prove chatbots are being used to create phishing attacks, cybercriminals generally take every advantage they can get. Organizations can't afford to be left behind but must ensure their defenses keep pace with cybercriminals' methodology and the resulting attacks.

"The stats in this latest report are truly staggering; 94% of companies have experienced security incidents in the last 12 months, and 95% of cybersecurity leaders are stressed about email security. Organizations urgently need to adapt their approach, or risk finding themselves in the same position next year."

Email Security Risk Remains High

The Egress Email Security Risk Report 2024 has revealed that 94% of respondents fell victim to phishing attacks, up 2% from the previous year. Inbound email incidents primarily took the form of malicious URLs, attacks sent from a compromised account, and malware or ransomware attachments.



Looking towards outbound email incidents, 91% of organizations experienced data loss and exfiltration due to reckless behavior to 'get the job done', human error or malicious exfiltration amongst other contributing factors.

94% of organizations were victims of phishing attacks

96% of organizations were negatively impacted by phishing attacks

94% of organizations were negatively impacted by outbound email security incidents

79% of organizations were victims of account takeover attacks which started with a phishing email

61% of cybersecurity leaders say the use of chatbots in phishing keeps them awake at night

Employees face the consequences for email security incidents

The impact of an email security incident can be severe for employees and their organizations. 96% of surveyed organizations experienced negative impacts from phishing attacks, which is a jump of 10% versus last year's report (when the number sat at 86%). Findings from the Email Security Risk Report show that leaders are taking a tough stance with employees caught by phishing attacks with negative outcomes for the people involved happening in 74% of companies. In particular, the report revealed the way organizations responded, with:

51% of employees caught in phishing attacks disciplined

39% of employees caught in phishing attacks fired

27% of employees caught in phishing attacks voluntarily leaving their roles

Looking at outbound threats, a similar picture is seen with 94% of the surveyed organizations reported being adversely affected, which is an increase of 8% from last year's report. In outbound email incidents, 67% of people were disciplined, let go, or chose to leave the organization. Employees being disciplined was the most common outcome, seen in 51% of organizations.

It is evident from the report's data that email security incidents continue to have far-reaching impacts for organizations, with financial loss from customer churn and reputational damage topping the organizational costs in both inbound and outbound incidents. Organizations should provide the right technology to their teams to detect advanced threats and SAT programs that genuinely increases their understanding of real threats going forwards.

AI is a growing concern for cyber risk

AI continues to be one of the industry's biggest talking points, and our Cybersecurity leaders are savvy to the effect new tools, large language models, and generative AI could have on phishing attacks. 63% are being kept awake at night by deepfakes, and 61% by AI chatbots being utilized to create efficient phishing campaigns. This trend is expected to continue into 2024 and beyond, with organizations being encouraged to continuously review their defences.

Through stolen Microsoft credentials threat actors can gain access to the kingdom

Microsoft credentials are synonymous with being 'the keys to the kingdom', giving cybercriminals the power to move laterally across systems and networks to exfiltrate data and access email accounts to target customers and suppliers with further attacks.

Findings from the report show that account takeover attacks (ATOs) are a significant concern for Cybersecurity leaders as 58% of organizations experienced account takeover incidents. Of these:

79% began with a phishing email harvesting an employee's credentials

83% saw multi-factor authentication bypassed before proceeding with the account takeover

Additionally, over half (51%) of organizations fell victim to phishing attacks sent from compromised accounts within their supply chain in the last 12 months. Utilizing a trusted domain helps enable attacks to get through traditional perimeter defenses and people are less suspicious of emails sent from addresses they recognize. Cybersecurity leaders are well-aware of their vulnerability, with supply chain compromise and ATO their top sources of stress.

Cybersecurity leaders question the value of their SEGs

Many of the email security features Microsoft 365 offers overlap with the functionality available in SEGs, leaving organization to question their tech stack. Of those who use a SEG, 91% expressed frustration with it, and 87% are considering replacing their SEG or have already done so. As organizations adopt native controls in favor of SEGs, they are still left vulnerable to the advanced phishing attacks that can bypass signature-based and reputation-based detection, as well as employees' behaviors that lead to outbound incidents, such as human error.

Combining Microsoft's controls and integrated cloud email security (ICES) solutions covers the full spectrum of inbound and outbound email security incidents, so it's little surprise that a large portion of organizations are weighing up their options.

Training is considered a checkbox requirement

According to the findings from the report, email security risks remain a top concern for organizations with 94% having experienced security incidents over the past year. Despite this, according to the majority of respondents, training is provided only to meet compliance requirements with 88% acknowledging that they are doing SAT for compliance purposes.

If training is engaging, in bite-size modules and relevant to the employee's tasks, it should be an enriching activity with real-time teachable moments throughout their workday, but Cybersecurity leaders are currently worried that employees skip through training as quickly as possible and that they find training annoying.

With this in mind, it is no wonder that 91% of Cybersecurity leaders have doubts about the effectiveness of traditional training, and making the training tailored to teams or individuals isn't being offered commonly:

Only 19% of organizations deliver SAT that reflects on the department or team that employees work in

Just 9% of organizations tailor training to the individual employee.

The ramifications of this are significant for both employees and their organizations as quality learning can turn a company's biggest risk into one of their strongest defences - their people.

For more information or to access the full report, please visit https://pages.egress.com/whitepaper-email-risk-report-01-24.htmland https://www.egress.com/blog/company-news/stats-from-the-email-security-risk-report?

--- ENDS ---

For press inquiries, please contact:

Destiny Gillbee

PR Director

egress@c8consulting.co.uk

About Egress

As advanced persistent threats continue to evolve, we recognize that people are the biggest risk to organizations' security and are most vulnerable when using email.

Egress is the only cloud email security platform to continuously assess human risk and dynamically adapt policy controls, preparing customers to defend against advanced phishing attacks and outbound data breaches before they happen. Leveraging contextual machine learning and neural networks, with seamless integration using cloud-native API architecture, Egress provides enhanced email protection, deep visibility into human risk, and instant time to value.

Trusted by the world's biggest brands, Egress is private equity backed with offices in London, Sheffield, Cheltenham, New York, Boston, and Toronto.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Faraday Copper Corp. ("Faraday" or the "Company") (TSX:FDY)(OTCQX:CPPKF) is pleased to announce the results from the first two reconnaissance drill holes of its Phase III program at the Copper Creek Project, located in Arizona, U.S. ("Copper Creek"). The holes intersected a newly identified breccia at the Area 51 target ("Starship"), which has the potential to increase the open pit Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE"). The Company also provides Gold Program results from the Copper Prince breccia.

Paul Harbidge, President and CEO, commented "It's exciting to start the Phase III drill program with a new discovery that supports the district scale exploration upside at Copper Creek. The new Starship discovery is interpreted to be related to a different mineralized system that is distinct from the Copper Creek MRE. Our geophysical and spectral data demonstrates that the Starship breccia displays similar characteristics to other known mineralized breccias at Copper Creek and suggests it is located at the top of a larger hydrothermal system that is open both laterally and at depth. Follow up drilling during the Phase III program will target the lateral extension and deeper parts of this breccia complex."

Highlights

Intersected 72.01 metres ("m") at 0.37% copper, 0.02 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold and 1.35 g/t silver from 50.24 m, including 25.06 m at 0.78% copper , 0.03 g/t gold and 1.49 g/t silver from 50.24 m in drill hole FCD-23-042 at the previously undrilled Starship breccia (Figure 1 and 2).

0.02 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold and 1.35 g/t silver from 50.24 m, , 0.03 g/t gold and 1.49 g/t silver from 50.24 m in drill hole FCD-23-042 at the previously undrilled Starship breccia (Figure 1 and 2). Drill hole FCD-23-042 also intersected 225.52 m of hydrothermal breccia from 57.00 m which contains the following additional mineralized intersections: 9.43 m at 0.47% copper, 0.08 g/t gold and 1.91 g/t silver from 175.57 m and 11.45 m at 0.26% copper, 0.03 g/t gold and 1.28 g/t silver from 249.89 m (Figure 1 and 2).

Drill hole FCD-23-041 intersected 29.86 m at 0.26% copper, 0.08 g/t gold and 2.10 g/t silver from 185.29 m, including 13.94 m at 0.42% copper, 0.13 g/t gold and 2.29 g/t silver from 185.29 m (Figure 3). This intersection is contained within a 102.13-metre-long breccia intersection from 131.12 m.

The new Starship discovery has the potential to increase the open pit mineral resource and the mineralization remains open laterally and at depth. Sulphide mineralogy and trace element geochemistry, together with geophysical evidence, suggest that the drill holes intercepted a shallow part of the mineral system, which includes a near-surface supergene enrichment zone.

(For true width information see Table 1.)

Area 51 (Figure 1) was identified as highly prospective by integrating airborne versatile time domain electromagnetic ("VTEM") data and short wave infrared spectral data together with geological mapping and sampling. It is a broad southwest-northeast trending zone, approximately 800 m southeast of the Copper Creek mineral resource. More than 15 breccia occurrences along with southwest trending vein zones and widespread sericite alteration are documented over an area of approximately 1,000 m by 400 m between the historical Bunker Hill mine and east of the Starship breccia. The latter is part of the eastern breccia trend which hosts the Copper Creek mineral resource. This breccia trend is interpreted to follow the hanging wall of the northwest trending Holy Joe thrust fault, which brought Proterozoic metamorphic rocks in contact with younger sedimentary rock units to the east of Area 51. This fault is also thought to have controlled the emplacement of the Paleocene Glory Hole volcanics and Copper Creek granodiorite which host the mineralization at Copper Creek.

The airborne VTEM data for Area 51 highlights an area of conductivity which is potentially sulphide-bearing (Figure 4A). Known mineralized breccias at Mammoth and Childs Aldwinkle are associated with areas of elevated conductivity cross cutting more resistive surrounding rocks (Figure 4B). Figures 4A and 4B are presented for comparative purposes.

Drill hole FCD-23-042 was collared south of the Starship breccia outcrop and drilled to the north-northwest. The mineralization occurs as chalcopyrite and chalcocite cement within a hydrothermal breccia, which also includes pyrite and quartz. The hole intersected over 225 m of hydrothermal breccia with several mineralized intervals (Figures 1 and 2). The mineralization and alteration suggest that the intersection is in the upper part of the mineralized system and remains open laterally and at depth.

Drill hole FCD-23-041 was collared approximately 125 m to the northeast from drill hole FCD-23-042 and was drilled to the west-northwest. The mineralization is similar to hole FCD-23-042 and occurs as chalcopyrite and chalcocite cement within hydrothermal breccia (Figure 3). It intersected over 100 m of hydrothermal breccia.

Figure 1: Plan View Showing Surface Geology and Target Location

Note: The open pit design is based on constraints used in the MRE as presented in the report titled "Copper Creek Project NI 43-101 Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment" with an effective date of May 3, 2023 (the "Technical Report") available on the Company's website at www.faradaycopper.com and on the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

Figure 2: Cross Section Showing Drill Hole FCD-23-042

Figure 3: A typical core sample from drill hole FDY-23-041 (187.4 m to 187.6 m)

Figure 4A: Inversion model of airborne VTEM data highlighting conductive areas in warm colours, which are potentially sulphide-bearing

Note: The underground footprint is based on constraints used in the MRE as reported in the Technical Report.

Figure 4B: Inversion model of airborne VTEM data highlighting conductive areas in warm colours, which are potentially sulphide-bearing. Presented for comparative purposes with Figure 4A.

Note: The open pit shell and underground footprint are based on constraints used in the MRE as reported in the Technical Report.

Table 1: Selected Drill Results from Copper Creek

Drill Hole ID From To Length True Width Cu Au Ag Mo (m) (m) (m) (m) (%) (g/t) (g/t) (%) FCD-23-042 50.24 122.25 72.01 51 0.37 0.02 1.35 0.0003 including 50.24 75.30 25.06 18 0.78 0.03 1.49 0.0003 and 175.57 195.00 19.43 14 0.28 0.09 1.61 0.0003 including 175.57 185.00 9.43 7 0.47 0.08 1.91 0.0005 and 213.22 235.00 21.78 15 0.19 0.03 0.94 0.0001 and 249.89 261.34 11.45 8 0.26 0.03 1.28 0.0003 FCD-23-041 185.29 215.15 29.86 21 0.26 0.08 2.10 0.0004 including 185.29 199.23 13.94 10 0.42 0.13 2.29 0.0003

Notes: All intercepts are reported as downhole drill widths. Due to the insufficiently constrained geometry and irregular shape of mineralized domains, true widths are approximate.

Table 2: Collar Locations from the Drill Holes Reported Herein

Drill Hole ID Easting Northing Elevation Azimuth Dip Target Depth Depth (m) () () (ft) (m) FCD-23-042 549759 3622259 1390 340 45 Starship Breccia 916.2 300.59 FCD-23-041 549845 3622350 1372 282 45 Starship Breccia 808.7 265.33

Note: Coordinates are given as World Geodetic System 84, Universal Transverse Mercator Zone 12 north (WGS84, UTM12N).

Gold Program Update

The Company is continuing the re-assaying of historical material for potential inclusion of gold in future mineral resource updates. Several historical drill holes from Copper Prince have been analyzed for gold and results are shown in Table 3. In addition to gold assays, samples were re-analyzed for copper and molybdenum and the results validate historical analysis. The Company continues to advance the re-assay program with current focus on the Keel underground zone.

Table 3: Results for Intercepts for the Copper Prince Breccia

Drill Hole ID From To Length True Width Cu Au Ag Mo (m) (m) (m) (m) (%) (g/t) (g/t) (%) CP1 79.25 161.54 82.29 56 1.54 0.07 2.84 0.007 CP2 109.73 140.21 30.48 23 1.67 0.09 4.63 0.001 CP3 0.00 97.54 97.54 38 2.37 0.07 5.44 0.029 CP4 76.20 106.68 30.48 7 1.67 0.03 5.38 0.001 CP5 No significant values CP6 No significant values RCP-08-026 29.57 65.23 35.66 25 1.10 0.02 3.91 0.008 RCP-08-027 16.46 53.34 36.88 9 1.33 0.03 3.16 0.009 RCP-08-028 34.75 92.45 57.70 29 0.56 0.02 1.37 0.007 RCP-08-030 123.75 138.68 14.93 4 0.53 0.03 1.38 0.018 and 143.87 156.36 12.49 3 0.39 0.02 1.09 0.011 and 227.08 243.54 16.46 4 0.46 0.03 2.27 0.027 RCP-08-038 7.01 37.49 30.48 8 1.27 0.03 3.94 0.016 FCD-22-013 234.27 249.28 15.01 11 10.83 1.65 55.62 0.014 FCD-22-018 103.17 155.55 52.38 37 1.05 0.03 1.35 0.010

Notes: All intercepts are reported as downhole drill widths. True widths are approximate due to the irregular shapes of the mineralized domains. Drill holes CP1 through CP6 are re-analyzed holes; drill holes named RCP are holes historically analyzed by Redhawk Copper Corp.; drill holes named FCD correspond to Faraday's previously reported intercepts. Intercepts greater than 0.13% copper are listed in this table.

Next Steps

Phase III drilling continues and is focused on three objectives:

Reconnaissance drilling on new targets;

Expanding the MRE; and

Better delineating high-grade mineralized zones.

As part of the Phase III program, three drill holes have been completed in Area 51 and the results for two holes have been released to date. Additional holes are currently being designed to test the lateral and depth extent of this new mineralization. Three holes were drilled in the Bald area and two holes near the Copper Prince area and the assay results will be released as they are received, analyzed and confirmed by the Company.

Sampling Methodology, Chain of Custody, Quality Control and Quality Assurance

All sampling was conducted under the supervision of the Company's geologists and the chain of custody from Copper Creek to the independent sample preparation facility, ALS Laboratories in Tucson, AZ, was continuously monitored. The samples were taken as  core, over 2 m core length. Samples were crushed, pulverized and sample pulps were analyzed using industry standard analytical methods including a 4-Acid ICP-MS multielement package and an ICP-AES method for high-grade copper samples. Gold was analyzed on a 30 g aliquot by fire assay with an ICP-AES finish. A certified reference sample was inserted every 20th sample. Coarse blanks were inserted every 20th sample. Approximately 5% of the core samples were cut into  core and submitted as field duplicates. For the gold program, samples were taken from archived pulverized rock material ("pulps"). Pulps were re-blended and analyzed using the same methods as detailed above. A certified reference sample was inserted every 15th to 20th sample, whereas blanks were inserted every 10th sample. On top of internal QA-QC protocol, additional blanks, reference materials and duplicates were inserted by the analytical laboratory according to their procedure. Data verification of the analytical results included a statistical analysis of the standards and blanks that must pass certain parameters for acceptance to ensure accurate and verifiable results.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Faraday's VP Exploration, Dr. Thomas Bissig, P. Geo., who is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").

About Faraday Copper

Faraday Copper is a Canadian exploration company focused on advancing its flagship copper project in Arizona, U.S. The Copper Creek Project is one of the largest undeveloped copper projects in North America with open pit and bulk underground mining potential. The Company is well-funded to deliver on its key milestones and benefits from a management team and board of directors with senior mining company experience and expertise. Faraday trades on the TSX under the symbol "FDY".

For additional information please contact:

Stacey Pavlova, CFA

Vice President, Investor Relations & Communications

Faraday Copper Corp.

E-mail: info@faradaycopper.com

Website: www.faradaycopper.com

To receive news releases by e-mail, please register using the Faraday website at www.faradaycopper.com.

Cautionary Note on Forward Looking Statements

Some of the statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking statements" and are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Faraday to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements and forward-looking information specifically include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the exploration and open pit potential of the Copper Creek property and the possibility of adding gold in future Mineral Resource Estimates.

Although Faraday believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should not be in any way construed as guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include without limitation: market prices for metals; the conclusions of detailed feasibility and technical analyses; lower than expected grades and quantities of mineral resources; receipt of regulatory approval; receipt of shareholder approval; mining rates and recovery rates; significant capital requirements; price volatility in the spot and forward markets for commodities; fluctuations in rates of exchange; taxation; controls, regulations and political or economic developments in the countries in which Faraday does or may carry on business; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, competition; loss of key employees; rising costs of labour, supplies, fuel and equipment; actual results of current exploration or reclamation activities; accidents; labour disputes; defective title to mineral claims or property or contests over claims to mineral properties; unexpected delays and costs inherent to consulting and accommodating rights of Indigenous peoples and other groups; risks, uncertainties and unanticipated delays associated with obtaining and maintaining necessary licenses, permits and authorizations and complying with permitting requirements, including those associated with the Copper Creek property; and uncertainties with respect to any future acquisitions by Faraday. In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining, including environmental events and hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding and the risk of inadequate insurance or inability to obtain insurance to cover these risks as well as "Risk Factors" included in Faraday's disclosure documents filed on and available at www.sedarplus.ca.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction. This press release is not, and under no circumstances is to be construed as, a prospectus, an offering memorandum, an advertisement or a public offering of securities in Faraday in Canada, the United States or any other jurisdiction. No securities commission or similar authority in Canada or in the United States has reviewed or in any way passed upon this press release, and any representation to the contrary is an offence.

SOURCE: Faraday Copper Corp.

View the original press release on accesswire.com


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Donald Trump has won a major victory in the Iowa Republican caucuses, cementing his claim for a party ticket in the 2024 presidential election.



While the former President secured more than 50 per cent of the delegate votes, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finished second far behind, unable to win half the votes that Trump received.



He was just ahead of former US envoy to UN Nikki Haley.



Vivek Ramaswamy finished fourth and dropped out of the race. The biotech entrepreneur of Indian origin also endorsed Trump.



Marc Lotter, former director of communications for Trump's 2020 presidential campaign, told BBC Radio 4 that Ron De Santis and Nikki Haley will follow suit.



Republican Party's nomination process for their White House candidate began in Iowa on Monday night.



Next week's primary in New Hampshire is crucial for the remaining three top candidates, where polls show Haley is in a much stronger position.



After kick-starting his bid to win the third consecutive GOP presidential nomination in a confidence-boosting style, Trump said in his victory speech to supporters in Des Moines that he wants to 'straighten up the problems of the world.'



Trump's Capitol Hill allies called on Haley and DeSantis to concede the race in favor of the frontrunner, but both of them vowed to continue their campaigns.



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CHICAGO, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sweeteners Market is projected to reach USD 144.7 billion by 2028 from USD 115.8 billion in 2023 at a CAGR of 4.6% from 2023 to 2028 according to a report published by MarketsandMarkets. The sweeteners market is experiencing significant growth due to its diverse applications across various industries, including food, beverage, personal care, and pharmaceuticals. In the food industry, sweeteners play a crucial role in enhancing the taste and sweetness of a wide range of products, such as bakery items, confectioneries, and dairy products. For instance, high-intensity sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose are extensively used in the production of sugar-free candies and desserts.

In the beverage industry, sweeteners are employed to formulate low-calorie and sugar-free options, addressing the rising demand for healthier drink alternatives. The use of sweeteners extends to the personal care sector, where they are utilized in the production of oral care products, chewing gums, and cosmetics. Additionally, in pharmaceuticals, sweeteners are incorporated into medications to improve palatability. The versatility of sweeteners across these diverse industries reflects their integral role in product formulation, contributing to the overall expansion of the sweeteners market.

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Stevia is expected to have the largest share in the natural sweeteners segment during the forecast period.

Stevia commands the largest share in the natural sweeteners market due to several key factors driving its popularity and market dominance. As a natural, plant-derived sweetener with zero calories, stevia aligns with the growing consumer preference for healthier, clean-label alternatives to traditional sugars. Its unique advantage lies in its high sweetness intensity, making it an effective sugar substitute in various food and beverage applications while maintaining a minimal impact on caloric content.

The global shift toward reducing sugar intake and combating obesity has fueled the demand for natural sweeteners, with stevia emerging as a frontrunner. Its widespread adoption by major food and beverage manufacturers, coupled with regulatory approvals for its use, has contributed to its dominance. Additionally, stevia's versatility in catering to diverse consumer tastes, from beverages to baked goods, positions it as a preferred choice, driving its substantial market share in the competitive landscape of natural sweeteners.

By sales channel, direct sales channel holds the largest share in the sweeteners market in 2023.

The direct sales channel which includes the B2B segment, holds the highest share in the sweeteners market. In the B2B context, manufacturers and suppliers prefer direct sales channels as they enable streamlined communication and negotiation processes, fostering strong and direct relationships with buyers. This direct engagement allows for tailored solutions, bulk transactions, and efficient order fulfillment, crucial factors in the competitive sweeteners industry.

Moreover, in the B2B realm, where large quantities are often involved, the direct sales channel minimizes complexities associated with intermediaries, reducing costs and optimizing supply chain management. Manufacturers can better understand the specific needs of their business clients, providing customized solutions and building long-term partnerships. The transparency and control offered by the direct sales model contribute to its dominance, ensuring that the sweeteners market efficiently meets the demands of businesses while fostering collaborative growth and strategic alliances.

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China is expected to account for the highest growth between 2023 and 2028.

China has emerged as the fastest-growing country in the sweeteners market, driven by a dynamic and rapidly expanding sugar industry. The establishment of new refineries and the adoption of advanced technologies have propelled the sector's growth, transforming it into a highly integrated industry. With a significant increase in consumption, China has successfully met domestic requirements through a combination of domestic production and imports. Despite being a net importer of sugar, the country has strategically developed an alternative sweetener industry, positioning itself as a major producer and consumer of saccharin globally.

Sugarcane, constituting approximately 80 percent of sugar production, is primarily cultivated in the South and Southwest regions, notably Guangxi, Guangdong, and Yunnan provinces. Guangxi, in particular, has become a leading supply province. The overall growth in China's sweeteners market is underscored by the sugar industry's expansion, technological advancements, and strategic shifts in cultivation patterns, establishing the nation as a key player in the global sweeteners landscape.

Major players operating in the sweeteners market are Cargill, Incorporated (US), ADM (US), International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (US), Ingredion Incorporated (US), Tate & Lyle (UK), Associated British Foods (UK), Sudzucker AG (Germany), and Ajinomoto Co., Inc. (Japan).

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Sugar Substitutes Market by Type (High-Fructose Syrup, High-Intensity Sweeteners, Low-Intensity Sweeteners), Composition, Application (Beverages, Food Products, & Health & Personal Care Products), Source, Form, Region - Global Forecast to 2028

Polyol Sweeteners Market by Type (Sorbitol, Maltitol, Isomalt, Erythritol, Xylitol), Application (Bakery & Confectionery, Oral Care, Pharmaceuticals, Beverages, Dairy), Form (Powder/Crystal, Liquid/Syrup), and Region - Global Forecast to 2022

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Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 16, 2024) - Palladium One Mining Inc. (TSXV: PDM) (OTCQB: NKORF) (FSE: 7N11) (the "Company" or "Palladium One") is pleased to announce Electromagnetic ("EM") survey results have been received and interpreted from the fall program on the Canalask Nickel - Copper Project, located in the Kluane mafic-ultramafic belt, Yukon, Canada. (Figure 1 and 2).

Highlights

A high-resolution ground-based EM survey has confirmed the presence of a strong untested conductor down plunge of historic shallow drilling and within the mafic-ultramafic chonolith / dyke. The result has achieved several important goals: Defined the conductor's geometry, a necessary percussor to drill testing. Improved understanding of the conductor's relationship to historic shallow drilling. For example, DD hole VQ-7 which returned 0.8% Ni, 0.2% Cu over 3.0 meters including 1.3% Ni, and 0.3% Cu over 0.1 meters in disseminated to semi-massive sulphide within the ultramafic dyke.. Enhanced geological understanding through additional modelling of new and historic data.

To assist in drill program planning and future permitting, a high-resolution orthophoto survey was also flown.

Diamond drill testing is planned for the 2024 field season, the timing of which will be dependent on the late-winter/spring breakup.

President and CEO Derrick Weyrauch commented, "The fall exploration program has highlighted the potential of the Canalask property to host significant nickel - copper sulphide mineralization within the mafic-ultramafic dyke in addition to its historical footwall deposit. Drill testing is planned for the 2024 field season.

A previous EM survey had indicated the presence of a significant conductor at depth in a flexure of the ultramafic dyke, however, due to incomplete data from the past survey, the exact geometry was poorly understood. The 2023 EM survey used the most modern equipment available and has not only confirmed the presence of the conductor but has also significantly improved its 3-dimensional orientation. The conductor's position is now interpreted to be deeper than previously understood. The closest holes to the body of the conductor are from the 1980's, hole VQ-7 contained a narrow patch of semi-massive sulphide which returned 1.3% nickel, thereby suggesting a source of massive sulphide nearby.

In addition to this untested conductor, the Canalask project contains the historic Main Zone Canalask deposit consisting of 400,000 tonnes at 1.35% nickel (copper was not reported) (Yukon Assessment Report 094599), hosted within footwall rocks of the ultramafic dyke. The occurrence of the footwall hosted mineralization is in part the basis of our hypothesis that the historic deposit was originally fed by a larger body of nickel - copper sulphide present within the ultramafic dyke."

Exploration Since Acquisition

The Company competed a drone-based magnetometer survey (Figure 1) over the entire Canalask project. This survey consisted of 392-line kilometers at 100-meter spacing and helped refine the location and structure of the Ni-Cu-PGE prospective ultramafic dyke and greatly assisted the refinement of drill targeting. In addition, a reconnaissance site visit returned grab sample assays over 2% nickel, 6% copper and 1.55 g/t gold (see press release November, 17, 2022). These results support the high grades that were historically reported in footwall-style sulphide mineralization at the Canalask deposit. The 2023 program consisted of brushing out and re-establishing access trails, as well as re-establishing historic grid lines and was followed by a drone based airborne orthophoto survey and a high-resolution ground-based EM survey using Lamontagne's UTEM system. This work has led to a substantial better understanding of the project's geology, and has refined drill targets.

Canalask Property Overview

The Canalask Property is located within the Whitehorse Mining District, approximately 300 kilometers northwest of Whitehorse, Yukon and is accessed from the Alaska Highway near south-east of Beaver Creek. The Canalask Property consists of a contiguous block of 179 quartz claims covering approximately 3,400 hectares.

Exploration dates to the 1950s when the Canalask footwall zone was originally discovered, drilled, and partially developed. A historical resource estimate on the Main Zone is quoted at 400,000 tonnes at 1.35% nickel (copper was not reported) by Discovery Mines Ltd. in 1968 (Yukon Assessment Report 094599). Early Metallurgical floatation test work returned concentrate grades as high as 19.7% nickel (Yukon Assessment Report 093256). Exploration continued up until the early 2000s through a series of surface programs including geochemical surveys, geological mapping, and geophysics. During these campaigns, numerous high-grade Ni-Cu-PGE showings such 4.7% Nickel, 0.6% Cu and 6.82 g/t TPM (Total Precious Metals) in grade samples at the Discovery Zone (Yukon Assessment Report 094599), were discovered along the length of the ultramafic-mafic dyke. In 2006, Xstrata completed an assessment Report (Yukon Assessment Report 094599) summarizing this earlier work. Readers are cautioned that the Company has not verified the 1968 Historical Mineral Resource Estimate and therefore the data should not be relied upon.

Geological Setting

The Canalask Property covers the lateral extent of the northwest - southeast striking, steeply dipping "White River Intrusive Complex" (WRIC) which is part of the larger Kluane Mafic-Ultramafic Belt. The Kluane Belt extends from northern British Columbia to east-central Alaska, within the Pennsylvanian to Triassic Wrangellia Terrane volcanics and sediments. The belt is host to numerous nickel-copper +/- platinum-palladium deposits and prospects, most notably the past producing Wellgreen Deposit, now owned by Nickel Creek Platinum Corp., approximately 110 kilometers to the south. The WRIC occurs as a sill-like body of ultramafic and mafic rocks 100 to 150 meters thick and dipping approximately 50 degrees to the southwest. The northern margin of the WRIC represents the basal footwall contact zone while the southern margin delineates the upper hanging wall intrusive contact. The intrusion itself is dominantly composed of peridotite and dunite with a mineralized basal gabbro zone.

Exploration Target

The WRIC is a favourable setting for magmatic nickel-copper sulphide mineralization and is considered a "feeder system" with a high volume of magma flow. As evidenced by the abundance of magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE showings at the base of the WRIC and the discovery of the nickel-rich Canalask footwall deposit, the project hosts strong potential for both "magmatic feeder-type" basal deposits and "epigenetic footwall-type" footwall deposits. The geological setting draws comparison to the world-class Norilsk Ni-Cu-PGE camp.









Figure 1. Canalask Project showing the modeled Maxwell plate (yellow) from the 2023 ground-based EM survey overlaid on the 2022 drone based magnetic survey showing total field and location of the historic drill holes and Main Zone footwall deposit.

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Figure 2. Isometric view new looking southwest of the modelled ultramafic dyke (purple) and modelled Maxwell plate (yellow) from the 2023 ground EM survey and position of historic drill holes including VQ-7 which is located near the upper northeast corner of the plate. Insert map in the upper left is a stylized cross section illustrating the exploration target consisting of massive magmatic sulphides located at the base of the ultramafic dyke.

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Qualified Person

The technical information in this release has been reviewed and verified by Neil Pettigrew, M.Sc., P. Geo., Vice President of Exploration and a director of the Company and the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About Palladium One

Palladium One Mining Inc. (TSXV: PDM) is focused on discovering environmentally and socially conscious Critical Green Transportation Metals. A Canadian mineral exploration and development company, Palladium One is targeting district scale, nickel - copper sulphide and platinum-group-element (PGE) deposits in Canada and Finland. The Lantinen Koillismaa (LK) Project in north-central Finland, is a PGE-copper-nickel project that has existing NI43-101 Mineral Resources, while both the Tyko and Canalask high-grade nickel-copper projects are located in Ontario and the Yukon, Canada, respectively. Follow Palladium One on LinkedIn, Twitter, and at www.palladiumoneinc.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Derrick Weyrauch"

President & CEO, Director

For further information contact:

Derrick Weyrauch, President & CEO

Email: info@palladiumoneinc.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release is not an offer or a solicitation of an offer of securities for sale in the United States of America. The common shares of Palladium One Mining Inc. have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration.

Information set forth in this press release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address a company's expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, risks associated with project development; the need for additional financing; operational risks associated with mining and mineral processing; fluctuations in mineral and commodity prices; title matters; environmental liability claims and insurance; reliance on key personnel; the absence of dividends; competition; dilution; the volatility of our common share price and volume; and the impact of governmental entities. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/194281

SOURCE: Palladium One Mining Inc.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 16, 2024) - Goldsource Mines Inc. (TSXV: GXS) (OTCQX: GXSFF) (FWB: G5MA) ("Goldsource" or the "Company") is pleased to announce results for a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") for the Company's 100%-owned Eagle Mountain Gold Project (the "Project") in Guyana, South America. The PEA demonstrates potential for robust project economics as expressed by both strong after-tax returns on capital and free cash flow.

The PEA was prepared by ERM Consultants Canada Ltd. ("ERM") with contributions from Soutex Inc. ("Soutex") for aspects related to metallurgy and the process plant in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). The PEA contemplates a fit-for-purpose, low capital cost ("capex") intensity phased development plan for the Project. The initial phase (Phase 1) comprises shallow (starting at surface), low strip ratio open pits targeting soft-rock saprolite resources and a processing plant design that accounts for the beneficial characteristics of saprolite. This is followed by the second phase (Phase 2), the development of open pit fresh rock resources, in which gold production is derived from a blend of fresh rock, transition rock and saprolite material.

PEA Highlights (refer to Tables 1, 2, 3)

Robust project economics with strong after-tax IRR and after-tax NPV. After-tax internal rate of return ("IRR") of 57% and after-tax net present value discounted at 5% ("NPV5%") of US$292 million ("M") at the base-case gold price of US$1,850 per ounce ("oz"). After-tax IRR of 69% and after-tax NPV5% of US$388M at spot gold prices of US$2,055 per oz (January 15, 2024).

Shallow open pit with 15-year mine life; quick payback period driven by a phased development plan. Phase 1 - 4.5 years of production from low strip soft-rock saprolite resources offers low capex intensity, with development capex estimated at US$95.6M, and a short payback period of 18 months. Phase 2 - the subsequent development of shallow and higher-grade fresh rock resources brings the mine life to 15 years. Phase 2 development capex estimated at US$46.6M consists primarily of additional processing equipment, building off the substantial infrastructure provided in Phase 1. Average all-in sustaining costs ("AISC") of US$1,077 per oz of gold produced. Phase 1 AISC estimated at US$829 per oz of gold. Projected average annual gold production of 66,500 oz per year for 15 years. Average mill head grade of 1.26 grams per tonne ("gpt") gold with associated strip ratio of 2.1, and average mill gold recovery of 90.7%. Phase 1 mill head grade of 1.20 gpt gold with associated strip ratio of 1.2, and mill recovery of 95.1%.



Goldsource Chief Executive Officer, Steve Parsons, P.Eng., stated, "The PEA results for Eagle Mountain represent a significant milestone in demonstrating the potential for robust project economics as expressed by the strong after-tax IRR of 57% and quick payback period. Also, a key objective with the PEA was to demonstrate the merits of the phased development plan, specifically the potential to scale into production with a low capex intensity, multi-year runway of low all-in sustaining costs, and potential strong free cash flow generation. As expected, the Eagle Mountain Gold Project is well suited to this approach owing to the distinctly shallow nature of the mineral resources. Notably, the soft-rock saprolite, which does not require drilling and blasting, translates to low estimated initial capital and operating cost intensities."

"The PEA incorporates a fit-for-purpose approach; mine design and equipment selection are tailored for the distinct requirements of Phase 1 and Phase 2. The PEA contemplates a technically simple, open pit mine and 5,000 tpd gold processing plant. The plant is initially configured for saprolite, which brings to bear lower power requirements and elevated gold recoveries. In Year 5, the plant is upgraded with conventional crushing and grinding equipment to treat a blend of fresh rock, transition rock and saprolite. While throughput rates greater than 5,000 tpd and lower cut-off grades for the fresh rock component could have allowed for production and NPV benefits, this would have come at the expense of IRR and with larger financing needs, concessions we were not willing to make as we look to bring forward a project with a low capital intensity and more favourable development logistics."

Key PEA Assumptions

The PEA is based on the April 2022 Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") comprised of an estimated 31.1 million tonnes ("Mt") grading 1.18 gpt gold for 1,183,000 oz of gold in indicated mineral resources, and 18.4 Mt grading 0.98 gpt gold for 582,000 oz of gold in inferred mineral resources. The 2022 MRE is contained in a technical report titled "Eagle Mountain Gold Project, Potaro - Siparuni Region Guyana, NI 43-101 Technical Report" dated May 24, 2022, with an effective date of April 5, 2022.

The production scale for Phase 2 was established to maximize the utility of the 5,000 tonne per day ("tpd") Phase 1 processing infrastructure (i.e. minimize the requirements for additional capex). The timing of the transition to Phase 2 was set based on projections for free cash flow, specifically to recover the Phase 1 development capex and generate significant surplus cash to fund Phase 2.

PEA mine plan and cost assumptions contemplate contract mining and power generation.

Phase 1 and Phase 2 development capex estimates for the processing plant are based on budget quotes from manufacturers for large mechanical equipment and quotes from recently constructed and under-construction projects for other plant/auxiliary equipment. Non-plant and other development capex are derived from both benchmarking analyses using comparable projects and calculation-derived estimates for certain earthmoving activities. Development capex includes a contingency of 15%.

A technical report prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 on the Project which includes the PEA will be filed with the applicable Canadian securities regulators within 45 days of this news release. The technical report will be available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) and on the Company's website (www.goldsourcemines.com). The results of the PEA are preliminary in nature and include inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them to be classified as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the results of the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

Life of Mine ("LOM") Estimated Cash Flow Profile

The economic analysis of the Project is based on the production and cost models developed for the Phase 1, Phase 2, and LOM construction, operating, and reclamation plans. The models include detail for the major components of the phases, including the open pits, carbon-in-leach ("CIL") processing plant, and supporting infrastructure, such as haul roads, waste rock dumps and tailings storage facilities. The economic analysis uses a cash flow model at a base-case gold price of US$1,850 per oz. The model applies all Phase 1 pre-production capital costs (development capex) in year 0 and Phase 2 development capex in years 4 and 5. At the base-case gold price of US$1,850 per oz gold, cumulative undiscounted after-tax free cash flow is estimated at US$443M (Figure 1) and average annual after-tax free cash flow at US$37M for years 1 to 15. At spot gold prices of US$2,055 per oz (January 15, 2024), cumulative undiscounted after-tax free cash flow is estimated at US$585M and average annual after-tax free cash flow at US$47M.

Table 1: Economic Analysis Summary (Base Case and Spot Gold Price Assumptions)



Units US$1,850/oz (Base Case) US$2,055/oz (spot)(1)



Pre-Tax After-Tax Pre-Tax After-Tax IRR (3) % 75% 57% 91% 69% Payback Period(2) Months 16 18 14 16 NPV0% (3) US$ M 605 443 793 585 NPV5% (3) US$ M 406 292 532 388 NPV8%(3) US$ M

326

232 428 309 Notes: (1) Spot gold prices on January 15, 2024. (2) Payback period for Phase 1 development capex. (3) After-tax NPV and IRR estimates exclude existing in-country tax loss pools totaling C$37M, which can be applied against taxes payable. NPV is calculated as of the commencement of construction and excludes all pre-construction costs.



Table 2: Sensitivity of Estimates for After-Tax NPV, IRR and Payback Period to Changes in Gold Price

Gold Price NPV5% NPV8% IRR Payback Period US$/oz US$ M US$ M % Months 1,650 199 156 45% 21 1,750 246 194 51% 19 1,850 292 232 57% 18 1,950 339 269 63% 17 2,050 385 307 69% 16

Table 3: Conceptual LOM Plan Summary

Description Unit Value PEA Mine Plan



Mine Life Years 15.0 Phase 1 - Saprolite Only Years 4.5 Phase 2 - Fresh Rock/Trans and Saprolite Years 10.5 Total Tonnes Mined Mt 84.0 Waste Tonnes Mined Mt 56.6 LOM Strip Ratio (tonnes waste: tonnes processed) Ratio 2.1 Phase 1 - Saprolite Only Ratio 1.2 Phase 2 - Fresh Rock/Trans and Saprolite Ratio 2.4 Tonnes Milled Mt 27.2 Mill Throughput Mt/yr 1.825 LOM Metallurgical Recovery % 90.7 Phase 1 - Saprolite Only % 95.1 Phase 2 - Fresh Rock/Trans and Saprolite % 88.9 LOM Gold Production koz 997 LOM Average Gold Production koz/yr 66.5 Phase 1 - Saprolite Only koz/yr 67.9 Phase 2 - Fresh Rock/Trans and Saprolite koz/yr 65.9 Capital and Operating Cost Estimates(4)



Phase 1 Development Capex (saprolite) US$ M 95.6

When Yr 0 Phase II Development Capex (fresh rock + saprolite) US$ M 46.6

When In Yr 4 & 5 Sustaining Capex (1) US$ M 133.4 Unit Operating Costs US$/t processed 28.9 Phase 1 - Saprolite Only US$/t processed 21.6 Phase 2 - Fresh Rock/Trans and Saprolite US$/t processed 32.0 LOM Total Cash Costs (2)(3) US$/oz 943 Phase 1 - Saprolite Only US$/oz 708 Phase 2 - Fresh Rock/Trans and Saprolite US$/oz 1,054 LOM All-In Sustaining Costs (3) US$/oz 1,077 Phase 1 - Saprolite Only US$/oz 829 Phase 2 - Fresh Rock/Trans and Saprolite US$/oz 1,194 Notes: (1) Sustaining capital costs excludes closure costs. (2) Total cash costs per oz of gold include operating costs plus treatment and refining changes, and government royalties. (3) Site-level AISC per oz of gold include total cash costs and sustaining capital costs. (4) Non-IFRS financial performance measures with no standardized definition under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Refer to note at end of this news release.







Figure 1: PEA Profile for Free Cash Flow

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Notes:

(1) Non-IFRS financial performance measures with no standardized definition under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Refer to note at end of this news release.

Overview of Production Plan

The conceptual LOM plan estimates total gold production of 997,000 oz, of which 306,000 oz at AISC of US$829 per oz of gold are for Phase 1 (Figure 2). Total recoverable gold is a subset of the 2022 MRE, as shown in Table 4, largely due to the Company's express focus on delivering a smaller, higher-grade "fit-for-purpose" project to enhance the overall development logistics in the context of the project particulars and market backdrop. The alternative, a larger bulk tonnage operation with a lower cut-off grade, notably for the fresh rock, could have resulted in higher conversion rates, but would have come with higher development capex and lower internal rates of return.

The PEA contemplates an open pit operation using contract mining. Mill feed for the processing plant is sourced from the primary Eagle Mountain deposit as well as satellite pits at the Salbora deposit and Toucan and Powis prospects, which are proximal (within approximately 1.5 kilometres) to the Eagle Mountain pit outline. Mining will use traditional load and haul methods using hydraulic excavators, and/or wheel loaders as appropriate to the terrain. Based on the conceptual locations of the processing plant and waste dumps, haulage is predominantly downhill from the Eagle Mountain deposit, which provides scope for fuel savings. Phase 1, estimated at 4.5 years, considers initial gold production from saprolite mineralization during which time most of the mining will be "free dig" (i.e. not requiring blasting). This is followed by Phase 2 in which gold production will be derived from a blend of fresh rock, transition and saprolite mineralization for an estimated 10.5 years, bringing the estimated LOM plan to 15 years. Phase 2 will require drilling and blasting of the fresh and transition rock to facilitate mining, material handling and processing. The PEA mine plan is designed to maintain mill feed rates at 1.825 Mt per year (approximately 5,000 tpd) through Phases 1 and 2.

Figure 2: PEA Annual Production and Operating Cost Profiles

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Figure 3: Annual Saprolite, Fresh Rock/Trans Tonnes Moved With Corresponding Strip Ratio

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For Phase 1, the process flowsheet involves a low capital intensity saprolite CIL plant. Main components include five leach tanks, scrubber, ball mill, cyclones, gravity concentrators, carbon stripping circuit, and effluent treatment. While the back end of the plant, downstream of the grinding circuit, is similar for both phases, additional screening, crushing and grinding, and additional power generation equipment are required for Phase 2 to treat the harder fresh rock material. The mill configuration for Phase 2 is also capable of processing 5,000 tpd, including up to 4,250 tpd of fresh and/or transition rock with the balance of the mill feed being made up with saprolite. The saprolite and fresh rock/transition composition of run-of-mine material is presented in Figure 3. Coarse and bulk fresh rock encountered in Phase 1 will be stockpiled and processed in Phase 2. Detailed metallurgical testwork from 2018 (saprolite) and 2022 (fresh rock and saprolite) for areas represented in the 2022 MRE provide the basis for the PEA mill design criteria developed by Soutex.

Table 4: PEA Mine Plan (Higher-Grade Subset of the 2022 MRE)

Classification April 2022 MRE 2024 PEA Conceptual LOM Plan Net Conversion of Tonnes

(%) Mt In-situ grade

(gpt Au) Mt Mill head grades (gpt Au) Indicated









Saprolite and Trans 12.5 1.04 11.3 1.08 90% Fresh Rock 18.7 1.28 8.7 1.58 47% All Indicated 31.1 1.18 20.0 1.30 64% Inferred









Saprolite and Trans 6.1 0.71 3.1 0.92 51% Fresh Rock 12.3 1.12 4.1 1.32 33% All Inferred 18.4 0.98 7.2 1.15 39%

Notes:

(1) Numbers have been rounded to reflect the precision of a MRE and PEA Conceptual Plan. Totals may vary due to rounding.

(2) Phase 1 saprolite-only mill feed grades, as presented in PEA Highlights, reflects a sub-set of the 2024 LOM saprolite resources. The balance of the saprolite tonnes is processed in Phase 2, blended with fresh and transition.

(3) For the 2024 PEA Conceptual Plan, transition Indicated and Inferred resources were grouped with fresh rock resources and mined/processed in Phase 2. The April 2022 MRE had grouped the transition material with the saprolite resources.

(4) For the April 2022 MRE notes, refer to Table 8 in this news release and to report titled "Eagle Mountain Gold Project, Potaro - Siparuni Region Guyana, NI 43-101 Technical Report" dated May 24, 2022, with an effective date of April 5, 2022.

Capital and Operating Cost Estimates

Phase 1 development capex (preproduction capex) is estimated at US$95.6M (including contingency), of which US$56.5M is related to the processing plant (direct and indirects). Phase 2 development capex, primarily comprised of processing equipment to accommodate harder fresh rock, is estimated at US$46.6M with expenditures to commence in the second half of year 4. A further US$133.4M of sustaining capex is estimated over the LOM (averaging US$8.9M per year), of which US$51.9M relates to tailings storage facilities, US$23.8M to the processing plant, and US$20M to open pit auxiliary equipment. Total LOM capital expenditures are estimated to be US$295.6M. This includes US$20M for mine reclamation at the end of the LOM. Tables 5 and 6 provide the breakdown of the capital cost estimates.

Table 5: PEA Development and Sustaining Capex Summary

CAPEX Description Year Cost (US$ M) Development Capex (1)



Phase 1 - Direct Costs 0 65.0 Phase 1 - Indirect, Owners Cost, Contingency 0 30.5 Phase 1 - Sub-Total

95.6 Phase 2 - Direct Costs 4 & 5 32.3 Phase 2 - Indirect, Owners Cost, Contingency 4 & 5 14.3 Phase 2 - Sub-Total

46.6 Sustaining Capex(1) and Other



Sustaining Costs 2-15 133.4 Reclamation 15+ 20.0 Total LOM CAPEX

295.6 Notes: (1) Non-IFRS financial performance measures with no standardized definition under IFRS. Refer to note at end of this news release.

Table 6: Phase 1 Development Capex Breakdown

Cost Centre Cost (US$ M) Open Pit Mining 4.5 Mineral Processing 39.0 Power, Electrical and Instrumentation 2.9 Site Infrastructure and Support Services, incl. Roads 8.7 Water Management Systems 2.1 Initial Tailings and Mine Waste Management Facilities(1) 7.8 Phase 1 Direct CAPEX Costs(2) 65.0 Working Capital 3.8 Indirect and Owner Costs 14.3 Indirect, Owners Cost, and Working Capital 18.1 Contingency 12.5 Total Phase 1 Development CAPEX(2) 95.6 Notes: (1) Initial tailings represent the starter costs for the tailings storage facility. Sustaining capex includes an additional US$51.9M for tailings. (2) Non-IFRS financial performance measures with no standardized definition under IFRS. Refer to note at end of this news release.

Total LOM operating costs are estimated at US$786M. The operating cost estimate is based on the total amount of labour, materials, and consumables that will be required to fully execute the mining and processing plans for Phase 1 and 2. The PEA contemplates open pit mining and power generation by contractors. Average unit mining cost of US$2.10 and US$2.75 per tonne mined were used for saprolite and fresh rock/transition, respectively, in the economic analysis. Operating costs have been determined based on benchmarking analyses using similar sized saprolite and fresh rock operations with adjustments for local conditions. For unit processing cost determinations, the average ore blend (ratio of fresh rock to saprolite) for the LOM was used to estimate power draw and reagent consumptions. Table 7 provides a breakdown of the operating cost estimates.

As contemplated in the PEA study, over 300 mining, processing, maintenance, and general administrative workers are expected to be employed directly. In addition, the Project will benefit Guyana through both taxation and royalty payments.

Table 7: PEA Operating Cost Summary

Description Total

Cost Unit Cost (US$ M) (US$/t)

milled (US$/oz produced) Mining (1)(2) 201.5 2.40/t mined 202 7.40 Processing (1)(2) 448.5 16.33 450 Rehandle 3.5 0.13 4 G&A 122.5 4.50 123 Other 7.5 0.55 8 Rent 0.8 0.03 1 Contractor Mobilization 2.0 0.07 2 Total Operating Costs 786.4 28.88 789 Treatment & Refining Charges 7.8 0.28 8 Royalties 146.7 5.39 147 Total Cash Costs(5) 940.8 34.55 943 Sustaining Capex (3)(5) 133.4 5.08 134 All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) (4)(5) 1,074.2 39.64 1,077



Notes:

(1) The unit mining and processing costs for saprolite are estimated at US$2.10/tonne mined and US$11.10/tonne milled, respectively.

(2) The unit mining and processing costs for fresh and transition rock are estimated at US$2.75/tonne mined and US$21.00/tonne milled, respectively.

(3) Sustaining capital costs excludes closure costs.

(4) Site-level AISC include total cash costs and sustaining capital costs.

(5) Non-IFRS financial performance measures with no standardized definition under IFRS. Refer to note at end of this news release.

Eagle Mountain Project Opportunities

Based on Project work, including engineering studies, exploration, and results of a 2017 pilot plant operation at Eagle Mountain, opportunities have been identified which may offer scope to enhance Project economics. The following opportunities will be evaluated:

The PEA economic model accounts for US$59M of construction costs over the LOM for a tailings storage facility. It is recommended that the Company evaluate alternative and potentially lower cost locations for tailings deposition with consideration given to valley and topographic lows within the Eagle Mountain Prospecting License. Also, the opportunity to backfill the open pits during Phase 2 activities will be evaluated.

Evaluation of the potential efficacy of locating a portion of the saprolite processing equipment, such as the scrubber, and pump boxes, at higher elevations along the northeast flanks of the Eagle Mountain deposit. This could allow for the use of slurry transport of saprolite material to the main processing facility, reducing truck haulage of saprolite from these areas of the Eagle Mountain deposit. This technique was tested during the 2017 gravity pilot plant. Trade-off studies are recommended.

The PEA contemplates a power-by-the-hour contract using diesel generators. The Company will complete trade-off studies to evaluate the merits of owner-operated gensets. Also, the Company will evaluate opportunities for lower costs via hydrokinetic power sourced from nearby rivers.

The PEA does not include drill results after December 2021, the cut-off date for the 2022 MRE. The Company will evaluate opportunities to incorporate exploration targets that have been identified, upgrade inferred mineral resources to indicated mineral resources and via expansion drilling test for opportunities to capture additional shallow gold mineralization currently below the US$1,600 per oz PEA pit shells. Also, several area and regional targets need to be evaluated for potential additional mineral resources.

2022 Mineral Resource Estimate for Eagle Mountain Project

Table 8: Summary of April 2022 MRE

Classification April 2022 MRE Update Tonnes (000 t) Gold (gpt) Ounces Au (oz) Indicated





Saprolite & Transition 12,500 1.04 417,000 Fresh rock 18,700 1.28 766,000 Total 31,100 1.18 1,183,000 Inferred





Saprolite & Transition 6,100 0.71 139,000 Fresh rock 12,300 1.12 443,000 Total 18,400 0.98 582,000

Notes:

Numbers have been rounded to reflect the precision of a Mineral Resource estimate. Totals may vary due to rounding.

Gold cut-off has been calculated based on a gold price of US$1,600 per oz, mining costs of US$1.5/tonne for saprolite-transition and US$2.0/tonne for fresh rock, processing costs of US$6.0/tonne for saprolite-transition and US$12.0/tonne for fresh rock, and mine-site administration costs of US$3.0/tonne. Metallurgical recoveries of 95% are based on prior test work.

Mineral Resources conform to NI 43-101, and the 2019 CIM Estimation of Mineral Resources & Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines and 2014 CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources & Mineral Reserves.

The Company is not aware of any environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-economic, marketing, or political factors that might materially affect these Mineral Resource estimates.

Mineral resources are not mineral reserves as they do not have demonstrated economic viability. The quantity and grade of reported inferred resources in this mineral resource estimate are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define these inferred resources as indicated or measured resources, however, it is reasonably expected that the majority of inferred mineral resources could be upgraded to indicated mineral resources with continued exploration.

Qualified Persons

The Independent Qualified Persons, as defined in NI 43-101, for the PEA and who have verified and approved the contents of this news release are Nigel Fung, P.Eng, of ERM (Mining and Economic Model), Leon McGarry, P.Geo, an ERM Associate (Mineral Resource), and Antoine Berton, P.Eng, Ph.D. of Soutex (Processing).

All scientific and technical data contained in this presentation has been reviewed and approved by N. Eric Fier, CPG, P.Eng., Executive Chairman of Goldsource, a Qualified Person for the purposes of NI 43-101.

The Qualified Persons referenced in this news release are not aware of any environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-economic, marketing, political, or other relevant factors that could materially affect the PEA.

ABOUT GOLDSOURCE MINES INC.

Goldsource Mines Inc. (www.goldsourcemines.com) is a Canadian exploration company focussed on its 100%-owned Eagle Mountain gold project in Guyana, South America. The Company is led by an experienced management team, proven in making precious metals exploration discoveries and executing on phased project development in the Americas.

Steve Parsons

Chief Executive Officer

Goldsource Mines Inc.

or Further Information:

Goldsource Mines Inc.

Contact: Steve Parsons, Chief Executive Officer

Telephone: +1 (604) 694-1760

Fax: +1 (604) 357-1313

Toll Free: 1-866-691-1760 (Canada & USA)

Email: info@goldsourcemines.com

Website: www.goldsourcemines.com

570 Granville Street, Suite 501

Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 3P1

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND INFORMATION

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of Canadian and United States securities legislation, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release relate to, among other things: the Company's strategic plans; the results of the PEA; the economic potential and merits of the Project; the estimated amount and grade of mineral resources at the Project; the PEA representing a viable development option for the Project; the timing and particulars of the development phases as identified in the PEA; estimates with respect to LOM, operating costs, sustaining capital costs, Phase 1 and Phase 2 capex, AISC, cash costs, LOM production, mill throughput, NPV and after-tax IRR, payback period, production capacity and other metrics; the estimated economic returns from the Project; evaluation of alternate locations for tailings deposition and the opportunity to backfill open pits during Phase 2; evaluation of the efficacy of location a portion of the saprolite processing equipment at higher elevations; the completion of trade-off studies to evaluate the merits of owner-operated gensets and opportunities for lower costs via hydrokinetic power; Project enhancement opportunities; the completion of further expansion drilling; the benefits of the Project to Guyana and its citizens; and the timing of filing of a technical report in respect of the PEA.

These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant operational, business, economic and regulatory uncertainties and contingencies. These assumptions include, among other things: conditions in general economic and financial markets; tonnage of ore to be mined and processed; ore grades and recoveries; prices for gold remaining as estimated; currency exchange rates remaining as estimated; reclamation estimates; reliability of the 2022 MRE and the assumptions upon which it is based; future operating costs; prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); the availability of skilled labour and no labour related disruptions at any of the Company's operations; no unplanned delays or interruptions in scheduled production; performance of available laboratory and other related services; availability of funds; all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals for operations are received in a timely manner; the ability to secure and maintain title and ownership to properties and the surface rights necessary for operations; and the Company's ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive.

The Company cautions the reader that forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements contained in this news release and the Company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: fluctuations in gold prices; fluctuations in prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); fluctuations in currency markets; operational risks and hazards inherent with the business of mining (including environmental accidents and hazards, industrial accidents, equipment breakdown, unusual or unexpected geological or structural formations, cave-ins, flooding and severe weather); risks relating to the credit worthiness or financial condition of suppliers, refiners and other parties with whom the Company does business; inadequate insurance, or inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks and hazards; employee relations; relationships with, and claims by, local communities and indigenous populations; the ability to obtain all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in a timely manner; changes in laws, regulations and government practices in the jurisdictions where the Company operates; changes in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls or regulations and political, legal or economic developments, including legal restrictions relating to mining and risks relating to expropriation; increased competition in the mining industry for equipment and qualified personnel; the duration and effects any pandemics on the Company's operations and workforce; and those factors identified under the caption "Risks Factors" in the Company's most recent annual Management's Discussion and Analysis. Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statements were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements included in this news release if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as otherwise required by applicable law.

Cautionary Note for U.S. Investors Concerning Mineral Resources and Reserves

This news release has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of Canadian NI 43-101 and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum guidelines, which differ from the requirements of U.S. securities laws. NI 43-101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators that establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects.

Canadian public disclosure standards, including NI 43-101, differ significantly from the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and information concerning mineralization, deposits, mineral reserve and mineral resource information contained or referred to herein may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by U.S. companies. In particular, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, this news release uses the terms "indicated mineral resources", and "inferred mineral resources'". U.S. investors are advised that, while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian securities laws, the SEC does not recognize them. The requirements of NI 43-101 for identification of "reserves" are not the same as those of the SEC, and may not qualify as "reserves" under SEC standards. Under U.S. standards, mineralization may not be classified as a "reserve" unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the reserve determination is made. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part of an "indicated mineral resource" will ever be converted into a "reserve". U.S. investors should also understand that "inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of "inferred mineral resources" exist, are economically or legally mineable or will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Disclosure of "contained metal" in a mineral resource is permitted disclosure under Canadian securities laws. However, the SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute "reserves" by SEC standards as in place tonnage and grade, without reference to unit measures. Accordingly, information concerning mineral deposits set forth herein may not be comparable with information made public by companies that report in accordance with U.S. standards.

Non-IFRS Financial Measures

Goldsource has included certain non-IFRS financial measures in this news release, such as development capital expenditures, sustaining capital expenditures, total cash costs, all-in sustaining costs, and free cash flow, which are not measures recognized under IFRS and do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. As a result, these measures may not be comparable to similar measures reported by other companies. Each of these measures used are intended to provide additional information to the user and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures prepared in accordance with IFRS. Non-IFRS financial measures used in this news release and common to the gold mining industry are defined below.

Development Capital Expenditures

Development capital expenditures represents the spending at new projects and/or expenditures at an existing operation that is undertaken with the intention to increase production levels or increase the mine life.

Sustained Capital Expenditures

Sustaining capital expenditures are expenditures incurred during a production phase to sustain and maintain the existing assets so they can achieve constant expected levels of production from which the Company will derive economic benefits. Sustaining capital expenditures include expenditure for assets to retain their existing productive capacity as well as to enhance performance and reliability of the operations.

Total Cash Costs and Total Cash Costs per Ounce

Total cash costs are reflective of the cost of production. Total cash costs reported in the PEA include mining costs, processing, general and administrative costs of the mine, off-site costs, refining costs, transportation costs and royalties. Total cash costs per ounce is calculated as total cash costs divided by payable gold ounces.

All-In Sustaining Costs and All-In Sustaining Costs per Ounce

Site-level all-in sustaining costs and all-in sustaining costs per ounce are reflective of all of the expenditures that are required to produce an ounce of gold from operations. All-in sustaining costs reported in the PEA include total cash costs, sustaining capital, but exclude corporate general and administrative and exploration costs. All-in sustaining costs per ounce is calculated as all-in sustaining costs divided by payable gold ounces.

A description of the significant cost components that make up the forward looking non-IFRS financial measures of total cash costs and all-in sustaining costs per ounce of payable gold produced is shown in Table 7 of this new release.

Free Cash Flow

Free cash flows are revenues net of operating costs, royalties, capital expenditures and cash taxes.

Neither TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/194325

SOURCE: Goldsource Mines Inc.
COEUR D'ALENE, ID / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Idaho Strategic Resources (NYSE American:IDR) ("IDR" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that members from the Company's management team will be participating in both the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC) and the Idaho Mining Day at the Capitol. Idaho Strategic will have a booth at each event with multiple members from the Company in attendance, including its President and CEO, John Swallow.

The Vancouver Resource Investment Conference will be held at the Vancouver Convention Center from January 21st-22nd and gives Idaho Strategic the opportunity to meet face-to-face with potential investors, analysts, and others within the mining industry. The VRIC is open to those who register for the event at cambridgehouse.com. The Company would like to encourage conference attendees to stop by booth #310 to speak with members from Idaho Strategic's team.

In addition to the VRIC, Idaho Strategic will also have a presentation booth set-up at the Idaho Mining Day at the Capitol on February 1st at the Capitol building in Boise, ID. This event is an opportunity for members from the Idaho Strategic team to meet and present to policy makers and industry stakeholders with a specific focus on advancing Idaho projects and supporting Idaho communities. Idaho Strategic will be presenting an overview of its projects at the House Resources Committee Meeting, as well as hosting local District representatives for lunch.

Idaho Strategic's President and CEO, John Swallow stated, "Our approach to industry events has been conservative in the past - which I believe is the right approach when starting small and proving ourselves. That being said, our Company and our team are now at a point where it makes sense to increase our awareness within the industry. The strategic combination of our production-based exploration strategy, and our Company's unique positioning to give investors exposure to both gold as a store-of-value and critical minerals essential for decarbonization and supply chain security is a business plan that I think will resonate well with those willing to listen. I am excited to participate in these events and look forward to increasing Idaho Strategic's awareness in 2024."

About Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc.

Idaho Strategic Resources (IDR) is an Idaho-based gold producer which also owns the largest rare earth elements land package in the United States. The Company's business plan was established in anticipation of today's volatile geopolitical and macroeconomic environment. IDR finds itself in a unique position as the only publicly traded company with growing gold production and significant blue-sky potential for rare earth elements exploration/development in one Company.

For more information on Idaho Strategic Resources click here for our corporate presentation, go to www.idahostrategic.com or call:

Travis Swallow, Investor Relations & Corporate Development

Email: tswallow@idahostrategic.com

Phone: (208) 625-9001

Forward Looking Statements

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended that are intended to be covered by the safe harbor created by such sections. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by forward-looking words such as "intends", "potential", "believe", "plans", "expects", "may", "goal', "assume", "estimate", "anticipate", and "will" or similar words suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, assumptions, intentions, or statements about future events or performance. Forward-looking information includes, but are not limited to, the potential for Idaho Strategic to attend either the VRIC and/or the Idaho Mining Day at the Capitol events, the potential for weather and/or travel issues to negatively affect the Company's attendance at either event, the possibility that Idaho Strategic will have constructive conversations at either event, and the potential for Idaho Strategic's awareness to be increased in 2024 as a result of the Company's participation in upcoming industry events. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of Idaho Strategic Resources as of the date such information is provided and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements of IDR to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. The forward-looking statement information above, and those following are applicable to both this press release, as well as the links contained within this press release. With respect to the business of Idaho Strategic Resources, these risks and uncertainties include risks relating to widespread epidemics or pandemic outbreaks, if they occur, including our ability to access goods and supplies, the ability to transport our products and impacts on employee productivity, the risks in connection with the operations, cash flow and results of the Company relating to the unknown duration and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; interpretations or reinterpretations of geologic information; the accuracy of historic estimates; unfavorable exploration results; inability to obtain permits required for future exploration, development or production; general economic conditions and conditions affecting the industries in which the Company operates; the uncertainty of regulatory requirements and approvals; fluctuating mineral and commodity prices; the ability to obtain necessary future financing on acceptable terms; the ability to operate the Company's projects; and risks associated with the mining industry such as economic factors (including future commodity prices, and energy prices), ground conditions, failure of plant, equipment, processes and transportation services to operate as anticipated, environmental risks, government regulation, actual results of current exploration and production activities, possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates, permitting timelines, capital and construction expenditures, reclamation activities. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such information. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from this forward-looking information is available in Idaho Strategic Resources filings with the SEC on EDGAR. IDR does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or other such factors which affect this information, except as required by law.

SOURCE: Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
SAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Cody Gutierrez, renowned CMO turned marketing consultant, has officially launched his boutique marketing consulting firm that focuses on scaling up companies (especially $1M-$100M organizations in Ecomm, SaaS and Professional Services). In the corporate world, Gutierrez earned nine promotions in 10 years and scaled revenue 2X, 5X and 10X for three separate companies, so it's no surprise he is branching out to build his own portfolio of companies to grow and invest in.

Cody Gutierrez

Gutierrez's company Uptivism LLC helps CEOs and business owners to profitably grow their revenue and brands through advisory (done-with-you services), execution (done-for-you services) or his Revenue Growth toolkits (do-it-yourself marketing playbooks).

Gutierrez will offer everything CEOs and business owners need to efficiently scale up: fractional CMO services, marketing evaluations, strategy calls and info products, all in one place. So instead of getting burned by marketing agencies or settling with poor-performing resources, now they can get both a world-class AND affordable growth partner. Gutierrez has a reputation of being best in class when it comes to customer acquisition, growth strategy, performance marketing, creative, positioning, analytics, automations and more.

"Look, we all know profitable revenue growth is harder now more than ever, which means companies need better marketing if they want to get results - that's what clients hire me for and I'm happy to help," notes Gutierrez.

Gutierrez is confident in his abilities to grow revenue profitably. That's why he gives his clients peace of mind with month-to-month contracts (cancel anytime) and low-cost engagements. This relieves common concerns of business owners who hire growth partners and understand the sticking points.

"I've grown all sorts of businesses, hands-on. Now it's time to accelerate profitable growth for my clients' businesses," Gutierrez confidently asserts, showcasing his proven track record in corporate revenue growth, including bootstrapped to VC-funded companies, brands to agencies, VCs and PE firms, B2B to B2C, startups to enterprises, and more.

Gutierrez recently also introduced the "Growth in a Box" Toolkit, a compact, powerful system to grow revenue. Described as a "CMO in Your Pocket," the toolkit encompasses key approaches that Gutierrez has utilized to grow companies, providing businesses with a blueprint for scaling and a marketing operating system for making high-impact decisions.

Cody Gutierrez's consulting firm is poised to address a range of challenges faced by businesses, including overcoming past disappointments with underperforming resources, tackling growth constraints by leveraging top-tier marketing talent, combatting complacency by driving growth, and more.

To work with Cody Gutierrez: book a call or get his revenue toolkit.

For more information, contact:

Cody Gutierrez

Email: CodyGutierrez2255@gmail.com

Phone: 909-518-3087

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cody-gutierrez/

Contact Information

Cody Gutierrez

CEO

codygutierrez2255@gmail.com

9095183087

SOURCE: Uptivism LLC

View the original press release on newswire.com.
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Galway Metals Inc. (TSXV:GWM)(OTCQB:GAYMF) (the "Company" or "Galway") is pleased to announce the drilling results from the Oak Bay property, situated 14 kilometres southwest of the current Clarence Stream Gold Resource. The Company is also pleased to announce its exploration priorities for its winter drilling program. The Clarence Stream gold project has a district scale strike length of 65 kilometres, is open in all directions and remains largely unexplored, and has excellent infrastructure in the mining friendly province of New Brunswick, Canada.

"These solid drilling results from the most western section of our Clarance Stream gold project illustrate the potential for this to be a multi-million-ounce gold district", said Robert Hinchcliffe, President and Chief Executive Officer of Galway Metals Inc. "We are excited to begin our winter drilling program, which will continue building our gold resource and target new discoveries. We are targeting 2 of our most attractive and untested anomalies for a new discovery in early 2024."

To highlight a few drill holes at Oak Bay:

Drill hole OB-06: Intersected 2.5 g/t gold over 5.6 metres Including 13.2 g/t gold over 0.6 metres

Drill hole OB-16: Intersected 2.6 g/t gold over 2.7 metres

The drilling program consisted of 19 drill holes over 5,130 metres, with 75% of the drill holes returning anomalous gold values at Oak Bay. For a more comprehensive list of the Oak Bay assay, please click on the following link (Link).

Winter 2024 to Focus on Adding High Quality Ounces and Make New Discoveries

The 2024 winter drill program will focus on increasing the current pit resource in certain areas where previous drilling has taken place and target to add to the existing resource; and drill the following top 2 exploration targets in search of new discoveries (Link to Figure 1).

Target 2: Large soil anomaly within a large gabbro complex with up to 5.0 g/t gold in soil

Target 4: High gold in soil anomaly with 7.5 g/t gold in grab sample of gabbro located down ice from 1-kilometre-long Magnetic anomaly

Oak Bay Geology and Mineralization

Oak Bay is located 14 kilometres southwest of the South Zone and shares similar geological settings. Mineralization consists of arsenopyrite-rich quartz veining in altered, silicified gabbro dykes in contact with sediments, both of which are mineralized. The large multi-phase gabbro complex lies between Oak Bay and the South Zone and is the likely source of mineralization hosting the three highest soil samples taken to date: 5.0 g/t, 3.2 g/t, and 3.1 g/t gold. The Oak Bay Claims are host to widespread boulders with grades up to 18.0 g/t Gold and strong linear soil anomalies grading up to 0.9 g/t gold.

Clarence Stream Gold Project

The Clarence Stream deposits can be characterized as intrusion-related, structurally- controlled, quartz-vein hosted gold deposits. These deposits consist of quartz veins and quartz stockwork within brittle-ductile fault zones that include adjacent crushed, altered wall rocks and veinlet material. The mineralized systems are hosted in intrusive and metasedimentary rocks within high strain zones controlled by regional fault systems. Pyrite, base metal sulphides, and stibnite occur in these deposits along with anomalous concentrations of bismuth, arsenic, antimony and tungsten. Alteration in the host rocks is confined within a few metres of quartz veins and occurs mainly in the form of sericitization and chloritization. Gold mineralization at the South Zone closely resembles that at Oak Bay; it is commonly hosted in quartz veins, quartz stockwork, and along the contacts and within sheared and altered metagabbro and microgranite sills and dikes that crosscut the meta-sedimentary rocks. A more complete description of Clarence Stream's geology and mineralization can be found at www.galwaymetalsinc.com.

Review by Qualified Person, Quality Control and Reports

Michael Sutton, P.Geo., Director and VP of Exploration for Galway Metals, is the Qualified Person who supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release on behalf of Galway Metals Inc. All core, chip/boulder samples, and soil samples are assayed by Activation Laboratories, located at 41 Bittern Street, Ancaster, Ontario, Canada, Agat Laboratories, located at 5623 McAdam Road, Mississauga Ontario, Canada L4Z 1N9 and 35 General Aviation Road, Timmins, ON P4P 7C3, and/or Swastika Laboratories situated in Swastika, ON. All four labs have ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation. All core is under watch from the drill site to the core processing facility. All samples are assayed for gold by Fire Assay, with gravimetric finish, and other elements assayed using ICP. The Company's QA/QC program includes the regular insertion of blanks and standards into the sample shipments, as well as instructions for duplication. Standards, blanks and duplicates are inserted at one per 20 samples. Approximately five percent (5%) of the pulps and rejects are sent for check assaying at a second lab with the results averaged and intersections updated when received. Core recovery in the mineralized zones has averaged 99%. For results of all holes that Galway has drilled at Clarence Stream, go to Galway's website at www.galwaymetalsinc.com.

About Galway Metals Inc.

Galway Metals is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company focused on advancing its 100%-owned, high-grade, open-pitable flagship Clarence Stream gold project in SW New Brunswick. Clarance Stream is an emerging gold district with an exploration strike length of approximately 65 km and widths of up to 28 kms in certain areas. Galway Metals also has 100%-ownership in the Estrades project, a former producing high-grade, gold-rich polymetallic VMS mine in the northern Abitibi of western Quebec. Led by a management team with a proven track-record of creating shareholder value having sold Galway Resources for US$340 million, Galway Metals is focused on creating value for all its stakeholders.

For additional Information on Galway Metals Inc., Please contact:

Robert Hinchcliffe President & Chief Executive Officer

Telephone: 1-800-771-0680

Email: info@galwaymetalsinc.com

Website: www.galwaymetalsinc.com

Look us up on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn

Cautionary Statement

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

This News Release includes certain "forward-looking statements" which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company's objectives, goals or future plans, information with respect to the OTCQB listing, DTC eligibility, and broadening U.S. institutional and retail investors. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to changes in economic conditions or financial markets, political and competitive developments, operation or exploration difficulties, changes in equity markets, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices capital, operating and reclamation costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, an inability to predict and counteract the effects of COVID-19 on the business of the Company, including but not limited to the effects of COVID-19 on the price of commodities, capital market conditions, restrictions on labour and international travel and supply chains, and those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.

SOURCE: Galway Metals Inc.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
High-Grade Copper Veins and Stringers Intersect Mineralisation Grading up to 6.49% Copper

MONTREAL, QC / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / SRQ Resources Inc. ("SRQ" or the "Company") (TSXV:SRQ) is pleased to announce assay results from the October 2023 drill program at the newly discovered ultramafic magmatic intrusive complex hosting base metal mineralisation at its Lac Brule project in Quebec.

Highlights

From the Phase II five-hole drill program for 1,246 metres ("m") on the Gossan Zone: Hole LB-23-15 intersected 160m of Ultramafic Magmatic ("UM") intrusions with 34.35m of combined mineralisation grading 1.16% Copper Equivalent ("CuEq") including 17.85m at 0.49% nickel ("Ni") and 0.36% copper ("Cu"). All holes returned UM intrusive sequences with intercalated sulfide mineralised layers. At the Gossan Zone, the UM intrusive sequence can be traced over 800m along a southwest to northeast direction. High-grade Cu veins and stringers intersect mineralisation grading up to 6.49% Cu

A 600-kilometer ("km") line gravimetric airborne survey identified additional targets and validated the North Zone.

Phase II results are in addition to the July 2023 maiden drilling program of 13 holes for 3,950m (holes: LB-23-01 to -13) that led to the discovery of Lac Brule's UM intrusive complex and its associated high-grade Ni-Cu mineralisation.

Hole LB-23-15 intersected 160m of UM intrusions with 34.35m of combined mineralisation grading 1.16% CuEq including 17.85m at 0.49% Ni and 0.36% Cu. A key feature is the presence of several millimetric to centimetric veins of sulfide-rich material, mostly massive chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and pentlandite, that intersect the early-stage sulfide mineralisation at various angles (mostly between 45 and 90 degrees from the core axes) and return up to 6.49% Cu (Figure 4).

Additionally, in October 2023, a 600km-line airborne gravimetry survey carried out by Xcalibur Multiphysics ("MPH") Canada Inc over the area of interest at the Lac Brule project revealed new targets in the vicinity of the current discovery.

Dr. Marc-Antoine Audet, Ph.D., P.Geo., CEO and President of SRQ, said, "Today's results from our October drilling campaign continue to return nickel and copper mineralisation and demonstrate the prospectivity of our Lac Brule underexplored property. We will follow up with drilling in summer 2024 and expand the airborne gravity coverage on the exciting results gained from these new drilling intercepts and from the 2023 test airborne gravity survey. "

Untapped Geological Potential of SRQ's Lac Brule Property

SRQ's discoveries are being made on its 100%-owned Lac Brule property located 50km north-west of the former Renzy Ni-Cu mine on the unceded lands of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg community in the Upper Laurentian region of Quebec and a five-hour drive from Montreal. The former Renzy mine operated from 1969 to 1972 (Figure 5). UM intrusive bodies host mineralisation at both the Renzy mine and at Lac Brule. Both sites present several striking similarities, including mineralogy, petrology and timing of emplacement.

Key Findings

UM Intrusive Complex: The existence of an UM intrusive complex provides valuable new insights into the geological history of this never-explored region and implies untapped potential for additional mineralised bodies. Tectonic Significance: Pyroxenite intrusive units are injected into highly deformed and highly metamorphosed gneiss, intercalated with garnet-rich amphibolite's of the Grenville geological province. Characteristics of the newly discovered UM intrusion suggest it intruded the gneissic assemblage during the last tectonic event related to the Grenville metamorphic event. Base Metal Sulfide Mineralisation: Analysis of the drilling samples indicates the presence of significant Ni and Cu mineralisation associated with pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and pentlandite. This discovery strongly suggests potential for additional mineralised units of large UM intrusive complexes.

Geophysical Surveys of Gossan and North Zones

In December 2021, SRQ commissioned MPH to conduct a HELITEM II electromagnetic ("EM") survey to follow up on the May 2021 gossan discovery. The July and October 2023 drill hole locations in relation to conductivity targets are shown on Figure 1. Only the Gossan Zone has been drilled while the larger North Zone is still untested.

The SW-NE longitudinal vertical cross-section (Figure 2) shows a low-dipping, thick layer of peridotite-pyroxenite magmatic intrusive sequence intruding the Grenville aged paragneiss and garnet-rich amphibolite assemblage. At the Gossan Zone, the UM intrusive sequence can be traced over 800m along the cross-section.

In October 2023, SRQ followed up with a 600 km-line airborne gravimetry survey that outlined several high gravity target zones (Figures 1 & 3) confirming the North Zone as a prime target area.

Figure 1: Compilation map of 2021 EM conductive zones and 2023 drillholes. The large North Zone EM target has not been drill tested. The test gravimetric survey area is shown in dashed lines.





Figure 2: SW-NE longitudinal cross-section showing the UM intrusive and the Ni-Cu mineralised horizon.





Figure 3: Compilation map of the 2021 EM and the October 2023 gravimetry survey results, showing high ranking exploration targets.

Figure 4: LB-23-18 - Vein of sulfide-rich material, mostly massive chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and pentlandite, intersecting the early-stage sulfide mineralisation and returning up to 6.49% Cu.





Figure 5: SRQ's properties in the Canadian province of Quebec.

Lac Brule Newly Discovered Ni-Cu Mineralisation

The Ni-Cu mineralisation encountered is characterized by cumulate and aggregates of iron, copper and nickel sulfides: pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and pentlandite, respectively. Pyrrhotite is the dominant sulfide with visible chalcopyrite. Pentlandite can be seen mixed with pyrrhotite. The textures of the sulfide mineralisation vary from disseminated to semi-massive to massive (> 80% of sulfide material) showing net-texture or brecciated sulfides between pyroxene and amphiboles. Thin massive sulfide horizons are intercalated and sometimes associated with garnet-rich xenoliths.

Appendices 1 and 2 provide composited drilling results at cut-off-grades ("COG") of 0.2% and 0.4% Ni, respectively for the October 2023 drill program. All measurements are in core lengths.

Quality Control

Core logging and sampling are performed at SRQ's field facilities by SRQ's staff. Sample preparation and analysis are carried out by Activation Laboratories Ltd (Actlab), Ancaster and Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. All samples were assayed for Ni, Cu, Co, Fe, S, Pt, Pd and Au using sodium peroxide fusion ICP for the first five elements and by Fire Assay ICPOES for the last three.

The technical information in this release has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Marc-Antoine Audet, Ph. D geology, P. Geo and President and CEO of SRQ Resources, and a 'Qualified Person', as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Renmark Financial Communications Inc.

The Company is pleased to announce that it has retained the services of Renmark Financial Communications Inc. ("Renmark") to handle its investor relations activities in accordance with TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") policies.

"We are pleased to announce that we have selected Renmark to reinforce SRQ Resources Inc.'s profile in the financial community and to enhance the visibility of our company. We chose Renmark because its standards and methodologies fit best with the message we wish to communicate to the investing public," noted Marc-Antoine Audet, Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer.

In consideration of the services to be provided, the monthly fees incurred by SRQ will be a cash consideration of C$6,000, starting January 16th, 2024, for an initial period of seven months. The agreement is subject to the approval of the TSXV.

Renmark Financial Communications does not have any interest, directly or indirectly, in SRQ or its securities, or any right or intent to acquire such an interest.

Independent Trading Group.

The Company is pleased to announce that it has retained Independent Trading Group ("ITG") to provide market making services in accordance with TSXV policies and subject to the approval of the TSXV.

ITG will trade the securities of the Company on the TSXV for the purpose of maintaining an orderly market. In consideration of the services provided by ITG, the Company will pay ITG a monthly fee of $5,000 from the Company's available cash for a minimum term of one month and renewable for successive one-month terms thereafter. Either Party may terminate the arrangement by providing written notice to that effect 30 days prior to the end of the then current term. The services provided by ITG commenced on August 21, 2023.

The Company and ITG are unrelated and unaffiliated entities and ITG has no interest, directly or indirectly in the Company or its securities. ITG will not receive shares or options as compensation, nor have they indicated any immediate intent to acquire shares of the Company through the open market or otherwise. The capital used for market making will be provided by ITG.

About ITG

ITG is a full-service securities dealer regulated by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada and is dedicated specifically to professional trading. ITG's head office is located at 370 King Street, Suite 701, Toronto, Ontario M5V 1J9

About SRQ Resources Inc.

SRQ is a Canadian base metals company exploring for nickel, copper and platinum in the province of Quebec.

A near-surface Ni-Cu project, Lac Brule is located on a 288 km virgin exploration property at a five-hour drive from Montreal. The project's prospectivity for base metals has been confirmed by geological mapping, the presence of a surface gossan, and geophysical surveys. The presence of the historic Renzy Ni-Cu mine located 50 kilometers to the south-east and at the heart of the large regional pattern further adds to the area's mineral exploration appeal.

For more information about SRQ, please visit SRQ's website at www.srqexploration.com

Contact Information:

Marc-Antoine Audet, President and CEO

ceo@srqexploration.com

Tel: (514) 726-4158

Forward-Looking Statements and Forward-Looking Information:

Certain of the statements made and information contained herein are "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information characterized by terms such as "will", could", "expect", "estimate", "evidence", "potential", "appears", "seems", "suggest", are inherently subject to significant business, economic, and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Known and unknown factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements and forward-looking information, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements and information. Such factors include, but are not limited to: the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development; assumptions relating to the trading price of the Company's common shares; the ability of the Company to convert resources in reserves, its ability to see through the next phase of development on any project, its ability to produce a pre-feasibility study or a feasibility study regarding any project, its ability to execute on its development plans in terms of metallurgy or exploration, the availability of financing for activities, risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results and the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits, the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, metal price fluctuations, environmental and regulatory requirements, availability of permits, escalating costs of remediation and mitigation, risk of title loss, the effects of accidents, equipment breakdowns, labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in exploration or development, the potential for delays in exploration or development activities, the inherent uncertainty of cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, commodity price fluctuations, currency fluctuations, expectations and beliefs of management and other risks and uncertainties. Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can affect the Company's actual results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements and forward-looking information made by or expressed on behalf of the Company. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Appendix 1: Drill Hole Intercepts Defined Using a COG of 0.2% Ni (in core lengths)

CuEq: ((Cu%*3.75)+(Ni%*9.0))/3.75

HOLE-ID FROM TO LENGTH CuEq Ni Cu Co m m m % % % % LB-23-14 139.60 140.40 0.80 2.10 0.68 0.47 0.09 142.45 146.45 4.00 1.28 0.41 0.30 0.05 155.30 159.80 4.50 0.70 0.21 0.18 0.02 Combined 9.30 1.07 0.34 0.26 0.04 LB-23-15 98.25 107.30 9.05 1.52 0.48 0.36 0.06 110.35 129.25 18.90 1.08 0.33 0.28 0.04 132.65 137.00 4.35 0.99 0.31 0.25 0.04 143.00 144.00 1.00 0.60 0.21 0.10 0.03 151.50 152.55 1.05 0.64 0.22 0.11 0.02 Combined 34.35 1.16 0.36 0.29 0.05 LB-23-16 202.95 205.30 2.35 1.00 0.33 0.21 0.07 227.20 227.50 0.30 0.90 0.31 0.15 0.08 235.65 236.45 0.80 0.94 0.30 0.23 0.07 237.10 239.60 2.50 0.58 0.20 0.11 0.05 Combined 5.95 0.81 0.27 0.17 0.06 LB-23-17 155.10 168.35 13.25 0.90 0.28 0.23 0.04 LB-23-18 142.10 142.30 0.20 7.32 0.35 6.49 0.05 146.10 154.70 8.60 1.12 0.34 0.30 0.05 Combined 8.80 1.26 0.34 0.44 0.05





Appendix 2: Drill Hole Intercepts Defined Using a COG of 0.4% Ni (in core lengths)

CuEq: ((Cu%*3.75)+(Ni%*9.0))/3.75

HOLE-ID FROM TO LENGTH CuEq Ni Cu Co m m m % % % % LB-23-14 139.60 140.40 0.80 2.10 0.68 0.47 0.09 142.45 145.20 2.75 1.66 0.53 0.40 0.07 Combined 3.55 1.76 0.56 0.41 0.07 LB-23-15 98.25 107.30 9.05 1.52 0.48 0.36 0.06 110.35 115.55 5.20 1.55 0.51 0.32 0.06 115.85 116.10 0.25 1.37 0.50 0.16 0.06 117.70 119.45 1.75 1.26 0.41 0.28 0.05 120.75 121.10 0.35 2.50 0.62 1.02 0.08 126.95 127.25 0.30 1.79 0.41 0.81 0.06 133.15 133.55 0.40 2.49 0.78 0.63 0.10 136.45 137.00 0.55 1.34 0.42 0.34 0.05 Combined 17.85 1.54 0.49 0.36 0.06 LB-23-16 204.50 205.30 0.80 1.84 0.62 0.35 0.12 239.00 239.60 0.60 1.18 0.45 0.11 0.11 Combined 1.40 1.56 0.55 0.25 0.12 LB-23-17 156.45 156.75 0.30 1.55 0.53 0.27 0.07 157.75 158.55 0.80 1.25 0.41 0.27 0.05 160.70 162.35 1.65 1.69 0.55 0.36 0.07 Combined 2.75 1.55 0.51 0.33 0.07 LB-23-18 148.90 149.25 0.35 2.52 0.74 0.75 0.10 152.50 153.15 0.65 1.92 0.67 0.31 0.10 Combined 1.00 2.13 0.69 0.47 0.10

SOURCE: SRQ Resources

View the original press release on accesswire.com
LONDON, Ontario, Jan. 16, 2024.thAnnual CEM AlphaNorth Capital Eventin Nassau, Bahamas from January 19-21, 2024 hosted by Capital Event Management Ltd , regarding the provision of investor relations services to the Company.

The Company is pleased to be participating in the CEM AlphaNorth Capital Event and to have the opportunity to showcase its recent achievements and discuss future plans with investors. Aduro's mission of unlocking significant value from its technology platforms and to revolutionize the plastic industry through sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions remains at the forefront of everything we do, and the Aduro team is thrilled to share our progress and future plans with the investment community.

The Company is also pleased to announce that it has extended its marketing and investor relations agreement with Arrowhead. Arrowhead will provide services for a renewed term starting January 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2024. This renewed term will be automatically extended for successive six-month terms, subject to earlier termination by 30 days' written notice from either party. Cash compensation for the services during the renewed term will be US$50,000, with US$25,000 payable on the renewal date of the agreement and US$25,000 payable after three months. Arrowhead is not related to the Company and has no interest, directly or indirectly, in the Company or its securities.

Arrowhead will continue to advise Aduro on its international capital markets strategy work closely with Aduro to develop and deploy a comprehensive international investor marketing program, which will include featuring the Company on the arrowhead platform, the publication of independent analysis, investor targeting, corporate disclosure distribution, non-deal roadshows, reporting and strategic advisory. The marketing services will occur on the Arrowhead social media channels and arrowhead.bidplatform.

About Capital Event Management Ltd.

Capital Event Management Ltd, ("CEM") is a leading provider of opportunities for small-cap investment advisors, portfolio managers, institutional investors, and high-net-worth individuals to connect with emerging companies looking to raise capital and gain open-market support. With over 10 years of experience in curating an exclusive investor database and a partner's fund at CEM Capital, the company has done the legwork to make it easy for clients to build relationships that can make a difference. The five-pillared approach at CEM includes a partner's fund, destination events, virtual meetings, executive consulting, and advisory services, all curated to provide valuable experiences that connect capital with opportunity.

Arrowhead Business and Investment Decisions, LLC

Arrowhead Business and Investment Decisions LLC.,("Arrowhead") is headquartered in New York City and was founded in 2008. Arrowhead advises public companies on investor relations, financial communications, and capital markets strategies. As a cross-border specialist, Arrowhead provides idea generation, insight, and corporate access to an international network of institutional and private investors. Through targeting, research and interactions, Arrowhead helps corporations and investors to evaluate opportunities, connect, exchange information, and transact.

About Aduro Clean Technologies

Aduro Clean Technologies is a developer of patented water-based technologies to chemically recycle waste plastics; convert heavy crude and bitumen into lighter, more valuable oil; and transform renewable oils into higher-value fuels or renewable chemicals. The Company's Hydrochemolytic technology activates unique properties of water in a chemistry platform that operates at relatively low temperatures and cost, a game-changing approach that converts low-value feedstocks into 21st-century resources.

For further information, please contact:

Ofer Vicus, CEO

ovicus@adurocleantech.com

Abe Dyck, Investor Relations

ir@adurocleantech.com

+1 604-362-7011

Arrowhead

Thomas Renaud, Managing Director

enquire@arrowheadbid.com

+1 212 619 6889

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact that address activities, events, or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations based on information currently available and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. In this release, the forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, expectations regarding the implementation of continued marketing and investor relations services of Arrowhead; and, in particular, the anticipated effects of the proposed marketing services, including increased awareness of the Company and its developing technologies in the United States and internationally. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and, accordingly, undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to their inherent uncertainty. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include, but are not limited to, the marketing services not being provided as anticipated, the delivery of such services not resulting in the anticipated results, adverse market conditions and other factors beyond the control of the parties. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

The CSE has not reviewed, approved, or disapproved the content of this news release.





A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/584db0a0-b635-477b-b14b-f3ac42e3caed.


THE HAGUE (dpa-AFX) - Shell Plc (SHEL) announced Tuesday that it has reached a deal to sell its Nigerian onshore subsidiary, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited or SPDC, to Renaissance, for an undisclosed sum.



Renaissance is a consortium of five companies comprising four exploration and production firms based in Nigeria and an international energy group.



Zoe Yujnovich, Shell's Integrated Gas and Upstream Director, said: 'This agreement marks an important milestone for Shell in Nigeria, aligning with our previously announced intent to exit onshore oil production in the Niger Delta, simplifying our portfolio and focusing future disciplined investment in Nigeria on our deepwater and integrated gas positions.'



Post transaction, Shell will retain a role in supporting the management of SPDC or joint venture or JV facilities that supply a major portion of the feed gas to Nigeria LNG.



The deal will preserve the full range of SPDC's operating capabilities following the change of ownership.



This includes the technical expertise, management systems, and processes that SPDC implements on behalf of all the companies in the SPDC JV.



The SPDC JV comprised of SPDC Ltd with 30 percent stake, followed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation with 55 percent, Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd with 10 percent, and 5 percent of Nigeria Agip Oil Company Ltd.



SHEL was trading down by 1.66 percent at $62.74 per share in the pre-market trade on the New York Stock Exchange.



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Appointment builds upon Nuveen's existing footprint in Korea with a view to further expanding Arcmont's and Churchill's relationships in the region

Arcmont Asset Management and Churchill Asset Management, the European and U.S. asset management companies of Nuveen Private Capital, have appointed Bonsoo Koo as Head of Business Development for Korea. In this role, Mr. Koo will be exclusively focused on offering Arcmont's and Churchill's private credit and equity solutions and further deepening relationships with Korean investors.

Mr. Koo will partner with colleagues from Arcmont, Churchill and the broader Nuveen team to capitalize on the growing demand from Korean institutions for private capital. Nuveen has a wide range of established and longstanding client relationships across the region and opened its on the ground presence in 2021.

"With over $1.2 billion of Korean committed capital, Arcmont and Churchill have cultivated longstanding strategic relationships with institutional investors in the region. We continue to see Korean LPs actively pursuing private credit and equity solutions due to their attractive risk-adjusted total return potential, lower volatility and portfolio diversification benefits," said David Burnside, Co-Head of Nuveen Private Capital Business Development. "We are delighted to welcome Bonsoo to the team as we deepen our commitment to Korean investors and our presence in the region."

Mr. Koo joins following many years working in the Korean market and in his prior role within the Private Fund's Group at Evercore, has introduced and represented Arcmont investors.

"Having previously partnered with Arcmont, I have seen firsthand the value the firm brings to its investors. Now, together with Churchill, the opportunity to offer an enhanced array of investment opportunities across the European and U.S. middle markets is very exciting," Mr. Koo said. "Private capital has now become an important asset class for Korean investors' portfolios and providing bespoke client service to help them meet their investment objectives is absolutely key to our growth strategy in the region."

Mr. Koo's appointment follows that of Managing Director Jamal Hammoud, a Senior Investment Strategist who joined in November 2023 to deepen investor relationships in the Middle East.

Nuveen Private Capital was formed in March 2023 following Nuveen's acquisition of Arcmont, which in combination with Churchill, created a $73 billion private capital platform and one of the world's largest private credit managers. Collectively, Arcmont and Churchill deployed over $15 billion in support of European and U.S. private equity firms and their portfolio companies in 2023.

About Arcmont Asset Management

Arcmont Asset Management, an investment-affiliate of Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA, is a private debt asset management firm providing flexible capital solutions to a wide range of businesses in Europe. Established in 2011, Arcmont has raised approximately 25.9 ($28.4) billion in assets to date from institutional investors globally and has committed over 26.6 ($29.2) billion across more than 340 transactions. With a highly experienced investment team, a proven investment track record and deep technical expertise, Arcmont offers creative and flexible capital solutions to European businesses, with the reliability of a partner that values long term relationships. To learn more about Arcmont, visit www.arcmont.com.

About Churchill Asset Management LLC

Churchill, an investment-specialist affiliate of Nuveen (the asset manager of TIAA), provides customized financing solutions to middle market private equity firms and their portfolio companies across the capital structure. With over $50 billion of committed capital, we provide first lien, unitranche, second lien and mezzanine debt, in addition to equity co-investments, secondary solutions and private equity fund commitments. Churchill has a long history of disciplined investing across multiple economic cycles and our unique origination strategy, execution and investment are driven by more than 160 professionals in New York, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles. To learn more about Churchill, visit https://www.churchillam.com.

About Nuveen

Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA, offers a comprehensive range of outcome-focused investment solutions designed to secure the long-term financial goals of institutional and individual investors. Nuveen has $1.1 trillion in assets under management as of 30 Sept 2023 and operations in 27 countries. Its investment specialists offer deep expertise across a comprehensive range of traditional and alternative investments through a wide array of vehicles and customized strategies. For more information, please visit www.nuveen.com.

This material is not intended to be a recommendation or investment advice, does not constitute a solicitation to buy or sell securities, and is not provided in a fiduciary capacity. The information provided does not take into account the specific objectives or circumstances of any particular investor, or suggest any specific course of action. Financial professionals should independently evaluate the risks associated with products or services and exercise independent judgment with respect to their clients. Churchill Asset Management is a registered investment advisor and majority-owned, indirect subsidiary of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America.

Certain Nuveen products are advised by Nuveen Alternatives Advisors LLC, a registered investment advisor and wholly owned subsidiary of TIAA, and distributed by Nuveen Securities, LLC, Member FINRA and SIPC.

[GPP-3321385PR-O0124W]

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116780409/en/

Contacts:

Madison Hanlon, Prosek Partners

pro-churchill@prosek.com
Cost-effective automotive door body structure demonstrator part made from Braskem polypropylene and WEAV3D lattice technology receives industry recognition for a novel approach.

Braskem and WEAV3D automotive component to showcase at the 2024 JEC World trade show in Paris, France, March 5-7, 2024.

Braskem (BM&FBOVESPA: BRKM3, BRKM5 and BRKM6; NYSE: BAK; LATIBEX: XBRK), the largest polyolefins producer in the Americas as well as a market leader and pioneer producer of biopolymers on an industrial scale, in partnership with WEAV3D Inc., an advanced manufacturing and materials startup, today announced that their innovative automotive door component prototype was selected as one of three finalists in the Automotive and Road Transportation Process category of the JEC Composites Innovation Awards 2024.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116900845/en/

Beltline Stiffener (Photo: Business Wire)

The combination of WEAV3D composite lattice reinforcement with Braskem PP enables lighter and less expensive thermoplastic solutions than conventional organosheet, unlocking new opportunities for the cost-effective replacement of sheet metal structures with thermoplastics throughout the vehicle.

"We continue to be very excited to offer our clients innovations and partnerships around high-performance polypropylene materials utilizing the WEAV3D lattice technology after launching this project in 2023. We are honored to be recognized as a finalist for the JEC World Innovation Awards. As the automotive industry continues to roll out new electric vehicle designs, it requires automakers to re-think the vehicle design with cutting-edge performance materials and consider more sustainable end-of-life solutions. The initial conversion process focus has been on thermoforming to leverage large parts production; however, the WEAV3D technology can also be applied to injection molding of more complex parts. With significant improvements in lightweighting, reduced costs, and higher material efficiency, combining Braskem's PP portfolio with WEAV3D composite lattices provides a 'win-win' in terms of enhanced material performance and a more sustainable environmental impact, including the integration of natural fiber options," Amanda Zani, Technology Platform Manager, Braskem.

Benefits of using WEAV3D's Rebar for Plastics and Braskem Polypropylene vs. conventional composite organosheet:

LIGHTWEIGHT Reduces sheet blank weight by ~50% and final part weight by ~23%

Reduces sheet blank weight by ~50% and final part weight by ~23% COST EFFECTIVE Reduces costs by ~50%

Reduces costs by ~50% EFFICIENT - Increases sheet yield from 25% to 45% by weight, resulting in a 62% reduction in trim waste

"WEAV3D and Braskem are demonstrating the significant potential of the WEAV3D lattice material with this automotive door prototype and we are thrilled to be selected a finalist by the Innovation Awards jury," says Chris Oberste, President of WEAV3D. "Thanks to the simulation workflow developed in collaboration with Altair Engineering, we were able to optimize the lattice structure for cost and performance, while still using the original organosheet tooling and forming process equipment at the Clemson Composites Center at Clemson University."

Winners of the JEC Composites Award 2024 will be announced during an online award ceremony on February 8, 2024, between 13:30 and 15:30 CET, accessible at www.jec-world.events. The Braskem-WEAV3D prototype part will also be on display in the JEC Innovation Planets section of JEC World, held in Paris, France from March 5-7, 2024. Visit WEAV3D's booth 6P32e in the American Pavilion to learn more about the prototype part.

For more information, please click here.

ABOUT JEC

JEC Group is a non-profit organization entirely dedicated to promoting composite materials and fostering their applications globally.

Publisher of the JEC Composites Magazine, the industry's reference magazine, JEC organizes several events around the world, including JEC World, the leading international exhibition dedicated to composites and their applications, which takes place annually in Paris. JEC media, events and digital channels connect a global community of professionals from the composites industry and beyond, to enable knowledge transfer, create networking opportunities, and highlight innovation. For more information visit: www.jeccomposites.com

ABOUT WEAV3D Inc.

Headquartered in metro Atlanta, Ga., WEAV3D is an innovator in composite materials, manufacturing processes, and processing equipment, having spun out of the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2017. WEAV3D's patented composite forming technology integrates weaving and composite consolidation into an automated, continuous process that reduces waste, cycle times and material handling costs. When combined with injection overmolding, thermocompression, or thermoforming, this novel Rebar of Plastics approach improves part stiffness and strength while minimizing weight, enabling new innovations in the automotive and construction markets at a fraction of the cost and cycle time associated with traditional composite manufacturing. For more information, visit www.weav3d.com

ABOUT BRASKEM

With a strategy centered on people and sustainability, Braskem is engaged in contributing to the value chain to strengthen the Circular Economy. Braskem's almost 9,000 team members dedicate themselves every day to improving people's lives through sustainable solutions in chemicals and plastics. With its corporate DNA rooted in innovation, Braskem offers a comprehensive portfolio of plastic resins and chemical products for diverse industries, such as food packaging, construction, manufacturing, automotive, agribusiness, health, and hygiene, and more. With 40 industrial units in Brazil, the United States, Mexico, and Germany, Braskem exports its products to clients in over 70 countries.

Braskem America is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Braskem S.A. headquartered in Philadelphia. The company is the leading producer of polypropylene in the United States, with five production plants located in Texas, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, an Innovation and Technology Center in Pittsburgh, and a New Renewable Innovation Center in Boston focused on leveraging groundbreaking developments in biotechnology and advanced materials. For more information, visit www.braskem.com/usa.

Braskem on English social media:

www.facebook.com/BraskemGlobal

www.linkedin.com/company/braskem

www.twitter.com/Braskem

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116900845/en/

Contacts:

For press information:



Braskem North America

Stacy Torpey

Communications Director

1 (215) 841 3194

stacy.torpey@braskem.com
NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Velotix marks the commencement of a prosperous 2024 by welcoming international Tier One bank to its roster of customers as well as mention in the Gartner Market Guide for Data Security Platforms.

Velotix, a leading data security company, announces the inclusion of an additional Tier One bank as a customer, marking an additional milestone for the company's expansion within the Banking Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector. This partnership underscores Velotix's commitment to empowering financial institutions with cutting-edge technology to enhance their data security, streamline operations and drive innovation.

The Velotix data security platform empowers organizations to seamlessly integrate data-driven and security practices. Velotix ensures compliance with privacy and security standards for both structured and unstructured data, employing intelligent methodologies to establish, uphold, and enforce the organization's Data Protection Policies.

As part of this strategic alliance, Velotix will deploy its state-of-the-art data security platform to meet the stringent security requirements and regulations of the financial industry. The collaboration aims to provide the partner bank with advanced capabilities to discover, auto-tag data and enforce data protection policies, while enabling full data democratization.

"Velotix thrives as a leader, harmonizing robust data democratization and data security through our AI-based, precision-driven policy methodology. Our unique approach ensures constant compliance in the ever-evolving business landscape. Velotix remains committed to driving digital transformation and ensuring the highest standards of data security for its partners in the BFSI sector and beyond," shares Dr. Adi Hod, Co-Founder and CEO of Velotix.

In addition to this pivotal partnership, Velotix is pleased to announce its inclusion in Gartner 2024 Market Guide for Data Security Platforms by analysts Joerg Fritsch, Brian Lowans, Andrew Bales. We believe that Velotix's recognition is due to our ongoing commitment to innovation and excellence in the data security space.

Velotix invites organizations to explore the comprehensive features of its Data Security Platform, designed to meet the highest standards of data governance and data access and security controls. For more information, visit www.velotix.ai.

About Velotix:

Velotix enables enterprises to navigate the challenges posed by privacy laws while still harnessing data for business intelligence. Velotix is a unique AI-driven data security platform that simplifies compliance, streamlines data access, automates policy enforcement and empowers enterprises to unlock the full potential of their data. Velotix was founded in 2020 by Dr. Adi Hod and Uriel Ekstein. For more information, visit www.velotix.com, LinkedIn.

Gartner, Market Guide for Data Security Platforms, By Joerg Fritsch, Brian Lowans, Andrew Bales, 5 January 2024.

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Contact:

Hilee Avrahami, CMO

e: hilee@velotix.ai

t: +972.54.336.2883

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/velotix-secures-tier-one-international-bank-partnership-and-recognized-as-a-representative-vendor-in-the-2024-gartner-market-guide-for-data-security-platforms-report-302035637.html
Syncron Inventory empowers Bileko Car Parts to streamline inventory operations, improving overall agility and decision-making.

STOCKHOLM, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Syncron, a global leader in intelligent service lifecycle management solutions, proudly acknowledges its enduring collaboration with Bileko Car Parts A.B., a leading Swedish aftermarket automotive parts distributor and wholesaler. Bileko Car Parts selected Syncron Inventory to optimize parts availability and streamline inventory management throughout its vast network.

Navigating and optimizing inventory operations in the automotive aftermarket is no easy feat, especially for organizations with many products with uncertain demand patterns. As it grew into a critical player in the automotive aftermarket, Bileko Car Parts realized it needed a system that could help streamline and manage operations. Committed to excellence, Bileko Car Parts sought a comprehensive system that could also support delivering best-in-class service to its diverse customer base.

"Before working with Syncron, we didn't have a central solution for managing inventory in our local warehouses. As we grew, we needed a system to manage the inventory and have the right part at the right place and time," said Therese Nilsson, logistics planner at Bileko Car Parts. "And that is where Syncron helped us."

Syncron digitalized inventory operations for Bileko Car Parts, eliminating manual processes for increased efficiency. Syncron also enabled Bileko Car Parts to centralize inventory policies, maximize product availability, enhance forecasts, and improve capital management and customer service levels.

With Syncron, Bileko Car Parts gains an easy-to-use platform and an experienced customer support team to help it achieve a more resilient, efficient supply chain.

Bileko Car Parts also gains a modern system that allows for expansion and continuous improvement. "If we can link our entire supply chain across the different business areas in one system, that will also bring a higher degree of availability to our customers," said Christofer Kohn, CEO and managing director of Bileko Car Parts and chief financial officer of Mekonomen Company Sweden. "This is a journey we're looking forward to embarking on in the coming years."

Syncron Inventory is an essential component of the Syncron Connected Service Experience (CSX) Cloud, an AI- and ML-driven platform that helps manufacturers and service organizations transform their approach to service lifecycle management from beginning to end.

To learn more about parts planning with Syncron, visit syncron.com/parts-planning .

About Syncron

Syncron helps manufacturers and distributors capitalize on the new service economy by optimizing aftermarket profitability, increasing customer loyalty and enabling the transition to servitization. Syncron aligns all aftermarket services with its Connected Service Experience (CSX) cloud platform, helping companies differentiate themselves through exceptional aftermarket experiences while driving significant revenue growth. The world's top brands trust Syncron, making it the largest privately-owned global leader in intelligent service lifecycle management SaaS solutions. For more, visit syncron.com .

About Bileko Car Parts

Bileko Car Parts is a subsidiary within MEKO, the largest player in Northern Europe in the vehicle aftermarket. MEKO is present in eight markets with 600 branches and 20,000 workshop customers, where 4,300 workshops work under the Group's strong brands. The Group offers a wide and easily accessible range of inexpensive and innovative solutions and products for consumers and companies. Bileko Car Parts is responsible for category management, purchasing, pricing and supply chain operations for the Business Area Sweden/Norway, but also supports other Business Areas within MEKO in selected areas.

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Technology-enabled JV increases LYB access to advantaged feedstocks and attractive markets

Transaction encompasses existing assets and planned growth projects

HOUSTON and RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- LyondellBasell (LYB) today announced it entered into an agreement to acquire a 35% interest in Saudi Arabia-based National Petrochemical Industrial Company (NATPET) from Alujain Corporation (Alujain) for approximately $500 million. Enabled by its Spheripol polypropylene (PP) technology, the joint venture positions LYB to grow and upgrade its core PP business through access to advantaged feedstocks, plus additional product marketing capacity, in a strategic region.

Closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary closing conditions. Alujain and LYB are also assessing together potential construction of a new propylene via propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and PP facility at the NATPET site, subject to a final investment decision. The project is being studied with a shared goal to implement solutions that align with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's 2060 carbon reduction strategy.

Alujain is a petrochemicals, energy, mining and metals company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As majority owner of NATPET, the company is a longtime licensee of LYB Spheripol PP technology, one of the solutions it uses to operate a propylene and PP complex in Yanbu Industrial City. NATPET currently has an annual PP production capacity of approximately 400,000 tons.

"This investment in NATPET reflects our strategy of growing and upgrading our core around assets and businesses with lasting advantages," said LYB CEO Peter Vanacker. "We are pleased to invest in this joint venture, which leverages LYB's technology, leading global market positions and Alujain's proven operational excellence. We expect the joint venture will add value both through our ownership interest, as well as marketing of the products in key regions."

"We welcome the opportunity to deepen our ties with LYB, first as licensee and now as joint venture partner," said Alujain Chairman Mohammed Bin Saleh AlKhalil. "We look forward to advancing our collective efforts to produce and market essential materials that serve our customers' needs across the globe. This new investment is a great step forward for developing the downstream sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Alujain has plans to drive these developments further."

About LyondellBasell

We are LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) - a leader in the global chemical industry creating solutions for everyday sustainable living. Through advanced technology and focused investments, we are enabling a circular and low carbon economy. Across all we do, we aim to unlock value for our customers, investors and society. As one of the world's largest producers of polymers and a leader in polyolefin technologies, we develop, manufacture and market high-quality and innovative products for applications ranging from sustainable transportation and food safety to clean water and quality healthcare. For more information, please visit www.lyondellbasell.com or follow @LyondellBasell on LinkedIn.

About Alujain Corporation

Alujain Corporation was established in 1991 with a view to adding value to Saudi Arabia's natural hydrocarbon and mineral resources. It is a listed Saudi joint stock company and its head office is in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Alujain's main strategic objectives are to identify, evaluate, promote, develop and invest/operate major industrial projects in petrochemicals, mining, metals, energy sectors and other projects, with a commitment to creating value for its shareholder by utilizing local strengths and talents, capacities, wealth and natural resources, also setting the highest standards of national, social and environmental responsibility.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements

The statements in this release relating to matters that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions of management which are believed to be reasonable at the time made and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from the projections, anticipated results, or other expectations expressed in this release, including, but not limited to, receipt of required regulatory approvals or the expiration of applicable waiting periods; the satisfaction of closing conditions; our ability to complete the transaction described in this release within the time period suggested; the final investment decision and the successful construction and operation of the proposed facilities described in this release; and our ability to implement our strategy and successfully align our asset base with that strategy. While these statements and projections are made in good faith, LyondellBasell and its management cannot guarantee that anticipated future results will be achieved. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the "Risk Factors" section of our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, which can be found at www.LyondellBasell.com on the Investor Relations page and on the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at www.sec.gov .

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By Elias Habbar-Baylac

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Our conviction in Africa's vast potential is part of what fuels the climate investment strategy of the Cisco Foundation. Among our vision, we see the transition to clean energy not just as a necessity, but as a catalyst for inclusive growth and digital innovation. And through the Cisco Foundation's $100 million Climate Commitment, we are investing wholeheartedly in this vision. Our recent investments into early-stage climate ventures SHYFT Power Solutions and Jaza Energy, following our previous limited partnership with The Catalyst Fund, are critical steps on our journey to help build a sustainable future across the continent.

Solving Africa's Energy Gaps

Africa's energy landscape is confronting a critical shortfall, with roughly 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa still lacking electricity, accounting for over 80% of the global population living without electricity????. Due to the impracticalities of expanding grids due to geographical and financial constraints, the focus has shifted towards distributed energy resources. Microgrids, and off-grid solutions are not just alternatives but necessities, particularly in reaching remote and rural communities with affordable and cost-effective energy solutions. Solar mini grids have been at the forefront of this sustainable transformation, with, according to the World Bank, an increase from about 500 installations in 2010 to more than 3,000 in sub-Saharan Africa today, and with plans for a further 9,000. By 2030, it is anticipated that the cost of electricity from mini grids could fall to as low as $0.20/kWh, making it the most affordable option for more than 60 percent of the population??. Mini grids could help us achieve the ambitious UN Sustainable Development Goal 7, which aims for universal energy access by 2030.

Digitalization in Africa's Energy Transition

In the realm of digital innovation, we must create seamless integration between off-grid and on-grid systems to ensure reliable and continuous access to electricity. This integration is key to transitioning from intermittent power supplies to a stable and resilient energy infrastructure. Other innovation priorities include the growth of cost-effective, scalable off-grid solutions that can reach the most vulnerable citizens, who are living at or under the global poverty line of $2.15 per day, as defined by the World Bank. Technology and digital solutions are central to this endeavor, as they enable the efficient and effective adoption of renewable energy sources, crucial for closing Africa's extensive energy gap.

Internet of Things (IoT) solutions are also essential in enhancing the efficiency and scalability of distributed energy resources, such as off-grid systems, solar panels, and storage solutions. These technologies enable real-time monitoring and management of energy assets, thereby optimizing energy distribution and consumption. The Cisco Foundation is eager to support the potential of information and communication technologies, including IoT and software-enabled off-grid energy, to support the climate transition.

Enter our new portfolio investees, SHYFT Power and Jaza Energy. SHYFT Power is pioneering the use of IoT to efficiently manage energy resources, while Jaza Energy is innovating by integrating solar-powered hubs with telecommunications towers. These initiatives illustrate the powerful synergy between connectivity and energy, which play a pivotal role in empowering underserved communities and contributes to a more connected and sustainable future in Africa. As part of the broader Cisco family, these investees of the Cisco Foundation Climate Commitment can access an extensive range of in-kind resources and volunteer advisory. This support not only furthers these technologies but also underscores our commitment to fostering innovative, sustainable, and more inclusive solutions globally.

SHYFT Power: Software & IoT Innovation for Reliable Clean Energy

SHYFT Power Solutions, a 2017 Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge recipient emerging from Stanford University, is transforming energy management in Nigeria, and has become a key player in the Cisco Foundation investment portfolio. Their advanced platform integrates various power sources to improve energy efficiency and encourage clean energy adoption. The innovation that SHYFT brings to the table is further exemplified by its utilization of IoT, software, and smart meter solutions, which are essential in tackling the energy access and reliability issues prevalent in Nigeria.

The positive impact of SHYFT Power has been echoed by its customers, as illustrated by the glowing feedback from Bola Yusuf, General Manager at Wemabod Towers in Ikoyi. He asserts, "As a property and facilities managers of a high-brow building providing 24-hour power, energy efficiency is crucial for us, and SHYFT has been instrumental in achieving transparency. Their smart energy solutions allow us to effectively monitor and optimize consumption, reducing costs, and supporting sustainability. What sets SHYFT apart is their exceptional customer support - prompt, knowledgeable, and they provide solutions tailored to our needs. They have been a valuable partner in our journey towards energy efficiency and cost savings."

This direct endorsement underscores the seamless integration of IoT technology within their systems, demonstrating how digital solutions can significantly bolster sustainable energy management. SHYFT's approach is pivotal in reducing carbon emissions and serves as a standard in the management of distributed energy resources. It's with great enthusiasm that we join an esteemed list of climate investors backing SHYFT Power, including Powerhouse Ventures, Third Sphere, and KawiSafi Ventures.

Jaza Energy: Empowering Communities with Sustainable Energy

Jaza Energy, another new investment portfolio company, is revolutionizing clean energy access in Tanzania and Nigeria with its solar hubs.

In Tanzania, 66% of households still use kerosene for energy needs. Jaza hubs offer a sustainable alternative to those reliant on kerosene and generators, illuminating over 11,500 homes and benefiting 90,000 people. Jaza's impactful partnership with IHS Towers, one of the world's largest owners, operators and developers of shared communications infrastructure, integrates energy with telecommunication services, extending its reach.

By leveraging digital tools and advanced batteries, Jaza addresses the energy deficit impacting 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, where annual fossil fuel expenditure reaches $27 billion. Stories from Jaza's hubs, like Agineta's in Msambara, Tanzania, showcase the significant improvement in living standards" "The quality of the light allows me to work after dark and my children are able to study," she says.

Jaza employs over 250 local women as "Jaza Stars," further amplifying its social impact. One Jaza Star, employees responsible for sales and community development, from Mchori expressed, "After working with Jaza, I participate in decision-making in my family," highlighting the empowerment brought by these roles.

We proudly support Jaza's mission for a more inclusive future, alongside partners like Canada's Active Impact Investments. This initiative exemplifies our dedication to innovative, sustainable solutions, aligning with the Cisco Foundation's vision of sustainable community development.

Climate Investments for a Sustainable, Inclusive Future

The Cisco Foundation is a distinct legal entity established in 1997 by a gift from Cisco. But the Foundation's work reflects Cisco's strength as a tech leader; its purpose to Power an Inclusive for All; and its strategic environmental sustainability priorities to accelerate clean energy adoption, transition to a circular model, and invest in resilient ecosystems. By supporting climate ventures like SHYFT Power and Jaza Energy and pre-seed innovation platforms like The Catalyst Fund, the Cisco Foundation invests in a vision of a regenerative future where connectivity, advanced technologies and sustainability coalesce to power inclusive growth in Africa??. Our climate investments through the Cisco Foundation reflect our vision for an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable future for Africa, and they embody our belief in a world where technology can drive sustainability, fostering an inclusive future for all.

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View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Cisco Systems Inc. on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Cisco Systems Inc.

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/cisco-systems-inc

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Cisco Systems Inc.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 16, 2024) - Bear Creek Mining Corporation (TSXV: BCM) (OTCQX: BCEKF) (BVL: BCM) ("Bear Creek" or the "Company") announces it produced 13,478 ounces of gold and 52,144 ounces of silver from the Mercedes Mine ("Mercedes") during the three months ended December 31, 2023 ("Q4 2023"). Consequently, Mercedes production for 2023 totaled 43,860 ounces of gold and 167,019 ounces of silver, placing it near the high end of the Company's most recent production guidance of 39,000 - 45,000 gold ounces (see Bear Creek news release dated November 24, 2023).

Eric Caba, President and CEO of Bear Creek, states, "We are extremely pleased that the efforts we have made at Mercedes to improve production are finally bearing out, with a 47% increase in gold production in Q4 compared to Q3 2023. Q4 2023 saw month-over-month improvements culminating in an output of 5,198 gold ounces in December 2023 - the highest monthly level of gold production at Mercedes since April 2019. We have had to go back to fundamental basics in the mine and focus on increasing development, managing costs, and placing key talent in the right positions. There is still a lot to be done on all fronts, but we believe the corner is being turned. With the gold and silver stream burdens having been reduced as of January 1, 2024, we look forward to continuing to optimize Mercedes' profitability through 2024 and to testing the many promising exploration targets within the Mercedes property. Our confidence in the potential for the discovery of additional mineralization remains strong as does our commitment to maximize Mercedes' generation of free cash flow."

Production and development results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2023 are as follows:



Q1 2023 (1) Q2 2023 (1) Q3 2023 (1) Q4 2023 Full Year 2023 (2) Ore Processed (tonnes) 134,487 125,135 126,208 135,918 521,749 Gold recovery (%) 95.5 94.5 94.0 93.6 94.9 Gold grade processed (gpt) 2.91 2.42 2.40 3.30 2.77 Gold ounces produced 12,025 9,199 9,159 13,478 43,860 Silver ounces produced 40,105 39,841 34,928 52,144 167,019 Development (meters) 1,044 1,353 1,791 2,833 7,071

(1) See Bear Creek news releases dated April 14, July 18 and October 20, 2023

(2) Full year 2023 numbers may not add due to rounding





Directly underlying the improvements in production during Q4 2023 were higher gold grades and increased working faces. The gold grade of ore processed increased to 3.30 grams per tonne ("gpt") in Q4 2023 from 2.40 g/t the previous quarter. Development meters steadily increased over the course of the year, reaching a total of 2,833 meters in Q4 202, an increase of 1,042 meters over the previous quarter. Improving development meters, which results in increased working faces, has been a key component of the Company's multi-faceted strategy to improve Mercedes' production.

Mercedes' 2023 production was comprised of contributions from four main deposit areas: Marianas, San Martin, Diluvio and Lupita. During 2023 Bear Creek changed mining methodologies at the San Martin and Marianas deposits in order to better align the mining method with the geological and structural conditions of each deposit.

The San Martin deposit became a key contributor to consolidated gold production during Q4 2023 as mining faces progressed into the higher grade heart of the San Martin deposit. During the last quarter, Bear Creek focused on further refining the mining and blasting methods utilized at San Martin to reduce dilution and optimize production while reducing processing costs. San Martin is expected to continue to be a significant contributor to Mercedes' gold production in 2024.

Delineation drilling at the Marianas deposit has returned numerous intersections and zones of high-grade gold mineralization - in some cases with grades up to 20x the average gold grade of the current Marianas reserves (see Bear Creek news releases dated February 22 and August 30, 2023). The deposit, however, is also structurally complex with challenging ground conditions and it has proven difficult to control dilution. As a result, the gold grade per tonne of ore mined from Marianas was lower than planned during the second half of 2023. During the last quarter, Bear Creek commenced a transition from sublevel caving mining methods to a mixture of sublevel stoping and cut and fill, to more effectively reduce dilution and optimize grade. Monitoring of the impact of these changes is ongoing.

On January 1, 2024 reductions to the Mercedes gold and silver stream obligations took effect pursuant to the restructuring agreement (the "Restructuring Agreement") with Sandstorm Gold Ltd. and its subsidiaries (collectively "Sandstorm") announced by the Company on September 28, 2023. The Sandstorm Gold Stream has now been reduced from 600 oz to 275 oz per month and silver deliveries under the Nomad Silver Stream have been fully suspended until April 2028. In combination with the completion of the Nomad Gold Stream on September 27, 2023, the stream burden on Mercedes has been reduced by approximately 78%. The Company expects these stream reductions to positively impact the Company's free cash flow.

Closing of the Restructuring Agreement, including issuance of a 1% net smelter returns royalty on Corani and payment of up to $10 million in the form of common shares of Bear Creek, is expected in the coming weeks, subject to TSX-V approval. Readers are referred to the Company's news releases September 28 and November 24, 2023 for additional information regarding the Sandstorm Restructuring.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Eric Caba

President and Chief Executive Officer

For further information contact:

Barbara Henderson - VP Corporate Communications

Direct: 604-628-1111

E-mail: barb@bearcreekmining.com

www.bearcreekmining.com

Subscribe to Bear Creek Mining news

NI 43-101 Disclosure

Unless otherwise indicated, scientific and technical information in this news release is based on work programs and initiatives conducted under the supervision of, and/or has been reviewed and approved by, Andrew Swarthout, AIPG Certified Professional Geologist, a director of the Company who is a Qualified Person ("QP") as defined in NI 43-101. Additional information related to the Mercedes Mine and the Corani Project, including the Quality Assurance and Quality Control measures applied to the Company's sampling and assaying practices, is available in its Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2022, available on its website and on SEDAR+.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding: actions being taken to improve development progress and processing grades, reduce dilution, reduce operating costs, discover additional mineralization and attract personnel at the Mercedes mine; the Company's goals and expectations for Mercedes' operations in 2024; the technical and geological appropriateness of various mining methodologies; the intended use of cash resources on exploration drilling and the intended targets of these exploration programs; the Company's financial condition and future cash flow potential; anticipated impacts stemming from the Restructuring Agreement; TSXV approval of the Restructuring Agreement; terms and conditions of the Restructuring Agreement and the Company's ability its obligations thereunder; and the anticipated effect of the Restructuring Agreement on the Company's financial condition. These forward-looking statements are provided as of the date of this news release and reflect predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events based on the Company's expectations at the time the statements were made, as well as various assumptions made by and information currently available to them. In making the forward-looking statements included in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to assumptions related to the Company's planned development and operating activities, business objectives, goals and capabilities, financial resources and liquidity, assumptions related to gold and silver prices, and the expectation that anticipated development and operating results will not differ materially from expectations. On September 30, 2023 the Company had a working capital deficiency of US$66.1 million. There is no guarantee that sufficient funds will be available to meet the Company's financial obligations and the Company may be required to raise funds through the issuance of equity or by other means. There can be no assurances that such funding will be available, and if so, under acceptable terms and conditions. Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and the risk exists that estimates, forecasts, projections, and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that assumptions on which they are based do not reflect future experience. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a number of important factors could cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from the expectations expressed in them. These risk factors may be generally stated as the risk that the assumptions expressed above do not occur, but may include additional risks as described in the Company's latest Annual Information Form, and other disclosure documents filed by the Company on SEDAR+. The foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. Investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the Company or on behalf of the Company, except as required by law.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/194313

SOURCE: Bear Creek Mining Corporation
Enhancing Leadership to Position Company for Next Stage Growth

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Cardiff Lexington Corporation (OTC Pink:CDIX), an acquisition holding company focused on locating, acquiring, and building middle market, niche companies, primarily in the healthcare industry, today announced the appointment of Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald, M.D. as Managing Director of Nova Ortho and Spine, the Company's healthcare subsidiary. Dr. Fitzgerald has previously been with Nova Ortho and Spine as a highly qualified member of the management and care team. In his new role as managing director, he will now oversee all aspects of day to day operations, expansion, patient care, provider production, marketing, and company relations as the business continues to grow.

Dr. Fitzgerald has over 20 years of experience in the medical profession in various roles including physician, respiratory therapist, and physician's assistant. From 2018 to 2021, Dr. Fitzgerald was the alternate Chief Medical Officer and the in-patient medical director for the Cleveland Clinic throughout Martin County, Florida. He also served as the Chairman of Medicine, Professional Development Physician Champion, Operations Development, Financial Committee Member, Board of Trustees (voting member), and an Instructor for Career Development and Patient Advocacy. In these roles, Dr. Fitzgerald was solely responsible for three hospitals with a total patient capacity of over 550, as well as the supervision of 30 physicians and 12 advanced care providers. Additionally, during his tenure, Dr. Fitzgerald developed several programs to include a physician advisory platform that allowed the hospital system to work closely with private and government insurance. This created a symbiotic relationship while improving care and increasing revenue. Dr. Fitzgerald also continues to serve as a Colonel and the Chief of Aerospace Medicine in the Air National Guard overseeing the state of Florida's entire health program of Aerospace and General Medicine.

Dr. Fitzgerald is board certified by the American Academy for Procedural Medicine (AAOPM) for procedural medicine, certified traumatic brain injury specialist, and a life care planner for catastrophic injuries. He earned his Doctor of Medicine from the International University of Health and Sciences and completed his residency at Oakland University in Detroit, MI, a part of the Beaumont Health network, now one of the largest healthcare systems in Michigan. In addition to his medical degree, Dr. Fitzgerald has also earned a Bachelor of Science in physician assistant studies and a Master of Health Science from Nova Southeastern University, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communications from Towson University.

Alex Cunningham, Chief Executive Officer of Cardiff Lexington, commented, "Over the last three years, we have doubled Nova locations from 5 to 10 and expect accelerated growth moving forward. With his education, experience, and background as a health care system administrator, which includes oversight of three hospitals and supervision of 30 physicians, Dr. Fitzgerald brings invaluable leadership experience to Nova Ortho and Spine. As Managing Director of Nova, Dr. Fitzgerald will oversee a growing team of physicians, care providers, and support staff, as well as spearhead strategic planning and maximize growth opportunities. We are thrilled that he has agreed to step into this expanded role and look forward to leveraging both his medical and business acumen to drive growth and value for our business and for our shareholders."

Dr. Fitzgerald commented, "Nova Ortho and Spine is making a meaningful impact on the healthcare industry by providing accessible care to an underserved patient population, and I am thrilled to be taking on the position of Managing Director to continue driving and expanding on this initiative. As we continue to grow our footprint throughout the state of Florida and the greater southeast region of the U.S., there is a significant opportunity to establish Nova as a premier provider of healthcare services. With a unique business model and robust patient referral network, Nova is positioned for considerable growth, and I am energized by the opportunity to lead this charge."

About Cardiff Lexington Corporation:

Cardiff Lexington Corporation is focused on locating, acquiring, and building middle market, niche companies, primarily in the healthcare industry. Fundamental to the Cardiff Lexington strategy is the service-based partnership culture which emphasizes core values, teamwork, accountability, and performance.

A substantial majority of the Company's revenue is derived from Nova Ortho and Spine, PLLC, or Nova, which are regional primary specialty and ancillary care facilities throughout Florida that provide traumatic injury victims with a full range of diagnostic and surgical services, primary care evaluations, interventional pain management, and specialty consultation services.

For more information on Cardiff Lexington Corporation, you may access the company's website at https://cardifflexington.com/

Forward Looking Statements

This press release may contain information about our views of future expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs, assumptions, and expectations of the Company's future economic performance, taking into account the information currently available to it. These statements are not statements of historical fact. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. The Company does not undertake any duty to update any statements contained herein (including any forward-looking statements), except as required by law. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of factors, risks, and uncertainties, some of which are not currently known to us, that may cause the Company's actual results, performance, or financial condition to be materially different from the expectations of future results, performance, or financial position. Actual results may differ materially from the expectations discussed in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include general industry considerations, regulatory changes, changes in local or national economic conditions and other risks set forth in "Risk Factors" included in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

CONTACT:

Cardiff Lexington Investor Relations

investorsrelations@cardifflexington.com

(800) 628-2100 ext. 705

or

IMS Investor Relations

cardifflexington@imsinvestorrelations.com

(203) 972-9200

SOURCE: Cardiff Lexington Corporation

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Half of projected 130,000 tons annual output set for export markets

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Sanoat Energetika Guruhi ("Saneg"), Uzbekistan's largest private oil and gas company, has launched a unique modernization programme to improve the quality of base oils production in the country.

The project, based at Saneg's Fergana refinery (FNPZ), will raise the standard of base oils developed in Uzbekistan to European standards for the first time.

Saneg plans to produce approximately 130,000 tons of base oils in 2024, with half this quantity exported to foreign markets including Italy, the Baltic states and Turkey.

The large-scale programme includes modernizing FNPZ's atmospheric vacuum column, as well as upgrading the on-site plans that produce base oils.

As part of the program's first stage, new catalysts are being used on the base oil hydrotreating column. This unit performs deep cleaning of oil from sulphur, nitrogen, aromatic hydrocarbons and asphaltene substances, which negatively affect the products' oxidation stability, corrosion characteristics and colour.

"The program to improve the quality of base oils is a step forward in Saneg's commitment to innovation and product improvement," said Tulkin Yusupov, Saneg's CEO. "The modernization programme makes it possible to maximize the potential of the hydrotreating plant and produce oils with improved antioxidant and anticorrosive properties that match API standards."

Saneg is now using the HyBRIM group of catalysts at FNPZ, developed by Danish company Topsoe. This new generation of catalysts provides deep purification of oils from sulphur and nitrogen impurities.

The improved base oils will be involved in the production of motor, transmission, hydraulic, gear, compressor and other types of commercial oils marketed under the SEG Motol brand.

About Saneg

Sanoat Energetika Guruhi, Saneg (Jizzakh Petroleum until November 2021) was established in 2017 with the aim of expanding the country's production capacities for the deep processing of hydrocarbon raw materials and the production of high-quality petroleum products, as well as increasing the export potential of Uzbekistan's oil and gas industry.

Saneg is Uzbekistan's largest private oil and gas company which owns the subsoil rights to 103 deposits for geological exploration and extraction, and which accounts for about 80% of oil production in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The company employs over 5,000 people. The production facilities of the company are in Karshi, Mubarek, Fergana and Andijan.

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EQS Newswire / 16/01/2024 / 15:00 CET/CEST

SHENZHEN, CHINA - Media OutReach Newswire - 16 January 2024 - Global technology company OnePlus today announced that it has undergone a comprehensive collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. to bring a series of cutting-edge technologies to the upcoming next-gen flagship OnePlus 12 smartphone. By maximizing the potential of Qualcomm Technologies' most premium mobile chips, the technologies are set to deliver an enhanced user experience that raises the bar for all-round flagship performance on smartphones.



Waffle Inner Structure Chipset

The collaboration between OnePlus and Qualcomm Technologies not only brings the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform to the OnePlus 12, but also delivers personalized optimizations to OnePlus' CPU-Vitalization, the updated Qualcomm(R) Game Quick Touch 2.0, and enhanced AI performance, bringing true intelligence, premium-tier performance, and a smooth-beyond-belief experience to the new flagship handset.



"We are thrilled to continue utilizing the latest Qualcomm Technologies chipset on our new flagship OnePlus 12," said Kinder Liu, President and COO of OnePlus. "We are equally honored to expand our collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies to explore the full potential of this chipset and achieve greater synergies that unlock a second-to-none mobile experience for our users."



In addition, OnePlus 12 is the first Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 device to be approved as Snapdragon Spaces Ready. This will allow developers to bring their XR ideas to life and explore the full potential of headworn AR.



Deep architecture optimization enhances processor utilization and power efficiency



With CPU-Vitalization, OnePlus leverages system-level arithmetic scheduling technology and disassembles the chip microarchitecture to unleash the full potential of Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and deliver unparalleled performance with extended battery life. Working with Qualcomm Technologies on L3/MPAM solutions and optimization of the EAS (Energy Aware Scheduling) algorithm has enabled OnePlus to significantly improve processor utilization and extend the battery life of the OnePlus 12 by up to 30 additional minutes.



Level up with fast and smooth gaming experiences



OnePlus has conducted comprehensive enhancements to touch control for games. Working closely with Qualcomm Technologies, OnePlus has optimized performance down to the millisecond level, resulting in a 32% improvement in touch latency through Qualcomm Game Quick Touch 2.0, a Snapdragon Elite Gaming feature. Thanks to these optimizations, OnePlus has significantly enhanced touch rate stability, reducing occasional framerate fluctuations and touch loss during frame drops under high-demand gaming scenarios to make the gaming experience on the OnePlus 12 the fastest and smoothest yet.



Collaboration on improved AI performance



OnePlus is also collaborating with Qualcomm Technologies to build a lightweight edge deployment solution for large AI models with the aim of gradually enabling large model capabilities on edge devices. Benefiting from the powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and OnePlus' ongoing research into AI applications, the solution is set to bring superior on-device computing capabilities to smart scenarios, including optimization of SoC bandwidth allocation, intelligent retouching effects for locally-stored images, enablement of generative AI language models, and more.



The OnePlus 12 is powered by Qualcomm Technologies' latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform. Compared to the previous generation, the platform boasts the Qualcomm Kryo CPU, offering up to 30% improved performance and 20% more power efficiency, along with the integrated Qualcomm Adreno GPU, which delivers up to 25% improved performance and power efficiency. Together with 4th Gen Hasselblad Camera for Mobile with a new 64MP 3x periscope lens, and a boundless Flowy Emerald colorway, the OnePlus 12 is set to deliver a user experience that is smooth-beyond-belief in every aspect.



----



1.Qualcomm, Adreno, Kryo, Snapdragon, and Snapdragon Elite Gaming are trademarks or registered trademarks of Qualcomm Incorporated.

2.Snapdragon and Qualcomm branded products are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.



Hashtag: OnePlus

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. About OnePlus OnePlus is a global mobile technology brand challenging conventional concepts of technology. Created around the "Never Settle" mantra, OnePlus creates exquisitely designed devices with premium build quality and high-performance hardware. OnePlus thrives on cultivating strong bonds and growing together with its community of users and fans.



For more information, please visit OnePlus.com or follow us on:

Instagram - https://instagram.com/oneplus

Facebook - https://facebook.com/oneplus

Twitter - https://twitter.com/oneplus

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/oneplus



News Source: Media OutReach

16/01/2024 Dissemination of a Financial Press Release, transmitted by EQS News.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



Media archive at www.todayir.com


Amber Edwards continues on the Board of Directors in her new capacity as Chair and Robert Catlin joins miraDry as its Chief Executive Officer as the company looks to expand and reach more patients seeking a permanent solution for unwanted sweat and odor.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- miraDry, the global medical device leader in underarm sweat and odor treatment, announces Amber Edwards as newly appointed Chair and Robert Catlin, former SVP and General Manager of Endo Aesthetics, as Chief Executive Officer. Arash Khazei will step down as Chief Executive Officer, continuing in the near term as a strategic advisor to the company. Together Ms. Edwards and Mr. Catlin bring a wealth of experience in global commercial excellence, positioning miraDry for significant expansion.

"We would like to thank Arash Khazei for his leadership over the past two and a half years. There has been an immense amount accomplished in building the infrastructure and optimizing miraDry operations in preparation for significant global growth," said Amber Edwards. "We are thrilled to have Rob Catlin join this dynamic team bringing broad commercial leadership experience in dermatologic and aesthetic categories. As a respected leader in the industry, Rob will help miraDry enter a new phase as we accelerate provider adoption and reach more patients to provide the relief they are seeking."

"I look forward to taking miraDry to the next level, building on the incredible progress that has been made since 1315 Capital acquired the company. There is tremendous market opportunity to accelerate awareness and adoption both in the US and globally, as validated by miraDry's 82% growth in China in 2023," said Mr. Catlin. "miraDry remains the first and only FDA-Cleared permanent solution for axillary hyperhidrosis, and with 90% patient satisfaction we expect it to maintain its leadership position in the growing hyperhidrosis category."

With over two decades of experience in the medical aesthetics and dermatology industry, Mr. Catlin brings a proven track record of performance, strategic leadership, and value creation to miraDry. He has led dynamic sales and marketing teams in the medical aesthetics category including the energy based medical device field, fostering a culture of excellence within organizations including Allergan, Ulthera (acquired by Merz), Medicis (acquired by Valeant Pharmaceuticals) and most recently Endo International.

To find a miraDry provider, visit https://providers.miradry.com/.

About miraDry

miraDry is based in Newport Beach, CA and is a leading innovator in non-invasive aesthetic treatments. Utilizing thermal energy to selectively target and permanently eliminate sweat and odor glands, miraDry is a long-lasting, non-surgical solution for excessive underarm sweat and odor. Since launch, more than 1,500 accounts in over 45 countries have performed a collective 450,000 treatments worldwide. miraDry is FDA-cleared and the only treatment of its kind with a notable 90% patient satisfaction1. For more information, visit www.miradry.com.

Data on File

About 1315 Capital

1315 Capital is a private investment firm with over $1 billion under management that provides expansion and growth capital to commercial-stage healthcare services, medical technology, health and wellness, and pharmaceutical & medical device outsourcing companies. 1315 Capital targets markets where high-quality management teams can rapidly scale platform companies into large and important businesses that positively impact patients, physicians, and the broader healthcare system. For more information, visit www.1315capital.com.

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TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- StickIt Technologies Inc. (the "Company" or "StickIt") (CSE: STKT), the parent company of StickIt Technologies Inc., an Israeli technology and cannabinoid company, is pleased to announce that it has retained CHF Capital Markets Inc. ("CHF") and an Independent Trading Group ("ITG") effective immediately.

The CHF services agreement for investment community outreach, corporate communications, and digital marketing is for a 12-month period with quarterly reviews and may be subject to termination with two months' notice. Under the terms of the agreement, which is subject to the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) approval, CHF will receive a monthly retainer, reimbursement of any expenses incurred, and an incentive stock option to be made available with terms (length and vesting periods) similar to those of Directors and Insiders. Upon termination of this contract, the options will expire in 30 days.

ITG will trade shares of the Company on the CSE/ NEO/ TSXV and all other trading venues with the objective of maintaining a reasonable market and improving the liquidity of the Company's common shares. Under the agreement, ITG will receive compensation of CAD$5,000 per month, payable monthly in advance. The agreement is for an initial term of three months and will renew for additional one-month terms unless terminated. The agreement may be terminated by either party with 30 days' notice. No performance factors are contained in the agreement, and ITG will not receive shares or options as compensation. ITG and the Company are unrelated and unaffiliated entities and at the time of the agreement, neither ITG nor its principals have an interest, directly or indirectly, in the securities of the Company.

"Engaging CHF Capital Markets and ITG is an important step in our journey to bring our unique, patented cannabinoid technology to the forefront of Canadian investors' minds. CHF will be a strong and trusted ally in delivering our story to the investment community. Working together with ITG, experts in market-making, allows management to focus on building the business," said Eli Ben-Haroosh, CEO and Director.

About CHF Capital Markets Inc.

CHF Capital Markets (www.chfcapital.com) is a Toronto-based leading Capital Markets firm with more than 139 years of collective IR and Capital Markets experience. CHF has been a trusted partner for many public companies in Canada and worldwide, operating in a broad range of industries.

Its team consists of a diverse pool of talent that combines analytical and creative skills - high-profile communications and investment industry specialists, digital media experts, content creators and graphic designers - making it a one-stop shop for all your communication and investor relations needs in the public sector.

About Independent Trading Group

Independent Trading Group (ITG) Inc. is a Toronto-based CIRO dealer-member that specializes in market making, liquidity provision, agency execution, ultra-low latency connectivity, and bespoke algorithmic trading solutions. Established in 1992, with a focus on market structure, execution, and trading, ITG has leveraged its own proprietary technology to deliver high-quality liquidity provision and execution services to a broad array of public issuers and institutional investors.

About Stickit Technologies Inc.

Stickit Technologies Inc. operates as a cannabis company. The Company offers smoking utensils made from condensed cannabis oil in a specific matrix that gives the product its rigidity, similar to a toothpick, that can be easily inserted into any regular cigarette. Stickit Technologies serves customers worldwide.

For more information, please contact:

StickIt Technologies Inc.

Eli Ban-Haroosh

E: info@stickit-labs.com

www.stickit-labs.com

CHF Capital Markets

Cathy Hume

T: 416-868-1079 x 251

E: cathy@chfir.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes certain statements and information that constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. The Company provides no assurance that forward-looking statements and information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, other than as required by law. More detailed information about potential factors that could affect financial results is included in the documents filed from time to time with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities by StickIt. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

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Sphera's best-in-class sustainability performance management software empowers companies like Suntory Beverage & Food Europe to establish transparent, audit-proof sustainability data and reporting

CHICAGO and LONDON, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Sphera, a leading global provider of environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and risk management software, data and consulting services, today announced that its SpheraCloud Corporate Sustainability software has been selected by Suntory Beverage & Food Europe (SBFE), producers of iconic soft drink brands Orangina, Lucozade, Schweppes and Oasis*, to support their sustainability efforts on the journey to net zero.

SBFE's Growing for Good value inspires the company to grow their business sustainably as they work toward being net zero by 2050. A few key sustainability priorities on that journey include reducing added sugar in their drinks by 35% by 2025; making their plastic packaging 100% sustainable by 2030; using 20% less water by 2030; reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030; and reducing Scope 3 emissions by 30% by 2030.

SpheraCloud Corporate Sustainability software is a market-leading solution for comprehensive ESG reporting and advanced performance management. Automated data collection, powerful reporting tools, advanced planning features and extensive emission factor libraries enable enterprises to rapidly and reliably understand the environmental impacts of their business and meet regulatory requirements. Advanced performance analytics help companies understand gaps between targets and actual performance, improve sustainability and reduce operational expenses. Additionally, SpheraCloud Corporate Sustainability simplifies reporting for all relevant standards and frameworks (such as CSRD, GRI, CDP, SASB and TCFD), ESG ratings agencies (such as MSCI and DJSI) and existing and emerging regulations (such as SEC and European Commission).

Some key areas in which SpheraCloud Corporate Sustainability will support SBFE's sustainability efforts are:

Calculation of Scope 3 emissions - specifically for categories 1 (raw goods), 9 (transportation) and 11 (packaged goods) - in support of SBFE's Scope 3 emissions reduction target of 30% by 2030, as well as helping to provide more accurate and streamlined reporting generally, including for integration of supplier data.

Visualization of progress against sustainability goals, as well as simulations of future activity to support decision-making and investment decisions.

Building capability and robust reporting frameworks for non-financial disclosure requirements, and bespoke dashboards to support colleagues and customers across Europe.

"Sphera helps businesses take measurable, proactive steps in their sustainability journeys, and we're proud that Suntory Beverage & Food Europe has entrusted Sphera to help them achieve ambitious sustainability goals," said Paul Marushka, Sphera's CEO and president. "SpheraCloud Corporate Sustainability provides insights based on transparent, actionable and auditable data to help improve corporate sustainability performance as a foundation for a sound net-zero strategy. Empowering businesses to make data-based decisions to set, measure and achieve sustainability and ESG goals is critical to our mission of creating a safer, more sustainable and productive world."

"Partnering with Sphera supports our transition to be a more sustainable business by enabling us to track, monitor and visualize our sustainability progress," said Michelle Norman, SBFE director of sustainability and external affairs. "Suntory Beverage & Food Europe is committed to Growing for Good, and that means investing in industry-leading sustainability data management tools and robust ESG disclosure software to support our future goals, while giving our teams the capacity to be more efficient and effective."

About Sphera

Sphera is the leading provider of environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and risk management software, data and consulting services focusing on Environment, Health, Safety & Sustainability (EHS&S), Operational Risk Management (ORM), Product Stewardship and Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM).?For more than 30 years, we have served over 7,000 customers and a million-plus users in 80 countries to help companies keep their people safe, their products sustainable and their operations productive. Learn more about Sphera at www.sphera.com. Follow Sphera on LinkedIn.

About Suntory Beverage & Food Europe

Suntory Beverage & Food Europe (SBFE) was established in 2014 and is one of five regional divisions of the Japan-based Suntory Group, one of the leading global drinks companies. We're proud to be part of a family-owned business with its inspiring 120-year heritage and we are guided by Shinjiro Torii's founding spirit. SBFE is made up of 3,300 passionate people working throughout Europe on hugely iconic brands including Schweppes*, Orangina, Lucozade, Ribena, La Casera, Oasis*, Pulco and MayTea with a commitment to producing great-tasting, healthier drinks. As a corporation sustained by the gifts of nature and water, Suntory Group and SBFE will always protect the ecosystems that deliver water. Because its ecosystem is the wellspring, not only of its business and the rich experiences the group creates for people's lives, but also of human life itself. SBFE will continue to be a company where everyone is empowered with the freedom and flexibility to innovate. Through all of its corporate pursuits, Suntory seeks to inspire the brilliance of life. For more information, please visit our website and LinkedIn.

*Owned and commercialized within SBFE respective territories

For media inquiries, please contact:

Evan Neville

sphera@walkersands.com

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The Saijo area of Hiroshima Prefecture is one of Japan's three major sake-producing regions, along with Nada in Hyogo Prefecture and Fushimi in Kyoto Prefecture.

The area is one of the few unique sake regions in the country, with seven breweries located adjacent to each other at the foot of the mountain. One of the reasons for the proximity of the breweries is the water used for sake brewing. The water used in Saijo's sake brewery district comes from the rain and snow that falls on Mt. Ryuo over a period of 15 years and gushes out from the foot of the mountain as water containing minerals that are ideal for sake brewing. The brewery is therefore located next to the spring water at the foot of the mountain.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240114872773/en/

Wellness Tourism in Hiroshima KAMOSU TABI (Photo: Business Wire)

KAMOSU TABI is a wellness tour that invites you to feel a connection with 'nature,' 'local community,' and 'people' through the traditional Japanese art of sake brewing. This journey not only rejuvenates the mind and body but also provides insights for a better tomorrow.

KAMOSU: to ferment koji (malted rice) to make sake, soy sauce, etc. The word is also used to mean "to create a certain state or atmosphere."

Activity 1:

Nature and Water Source of Mt. Ryuo

Mt. Ryuo, which overlooks the town of Higashihiroshima, is the source where renowned water is born. Rainwater from Mt. Ryuo takes over 15 years to percolate, emerging as underground water rich in minerals suitable for sake brewing. By experiencing the nature of Mt. Ryuo and tracing the source water, you can feel a deep "connection with nature".

Activity 2:

Historical Sakagura-dori Street

The Sakagura-dori street, once a thriving post town during the Edo period, boasts seven breweries. Utilizing the underground water from Ryuo Mountain as its source, traditional sake brewing has been continued.

By strolling through the charming streets known as 'Sake Capital Saijo,' you will feel a "connection with the local community."

Activity 3:

The birthplace of Toji; Akitsu

Akitsu, known as a good natural port since ancient times, is nurtured by the mild climate of the Seto Inland Sea, where a variety of agricultural products are grown and oysters are cultivated.

Akitsu is also known as the "birthplace of Toji," or master brewer, who contributed to Hiroshima's sake, and the town is filled with people's passion for sake.

You will feel the power of the connections between people who care about sake.

Lunch:

For lunch, enjoy a meal that takes advantage of the blessings of the sea and mountains, and sake from Saijo.

Gift:

Original Sake Cup Gift for Tour Participants

Tour plan: 7 hours Minimum price 13,000 yen

Reservation site:

https://sake-experience-higashihiroshima.com/en/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240114872773/en/

Contacts:

Contact us:

Tour Operator: Geishu Kanko Co., Ltd.

TEL +81-82-425-5888

451-9 Taguchi, Saijo-cho, Higashihiroshima City,

Hiroshima Prefecture 739-0036, Japan

Travel Planning and Execution:

General Incorporated Association Michishirube

Hiroshima Prefecture Governor Registered Travel Business No.: 3-460

Web Site:

https://sake-experience-higashihiroshima.com/en/
SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / PRN, a STRATACACHE company, today announced a partnership with Place Exchange, the leading SSP for programmatic out-of-home (OOH) media, to enable PRN's many retail clients to take advantage of mutually acceptable programmatic brand advertising incremental to PRN's direct advertising sales services.

Grocery store with smart sign

PRN pioneered rich, digital media in the physical shopper journey and has the largest in-store retail media networks in the U.S. Integration with Place Exchange allows PRN's retail clients to access the largest programmatic pool of demand from advertisers looking to leverage in-store screens as part of their digital out-of-home (DOOH) and omnichannel campaigns. Given PRN's vast experience in ensuring relevant shopper advertising and retailer brand safety, campaigns will be carefully and selectively curated.

2024 will be the year of in-store retail media. With in-store shopping accounting for 85 percent of total retail sales in the United States, according to Statista, digital screens in stores are poised to attract a growing share of the burgeoning retail media advertising spend. Furthermore, programmatic OOH spend is on the rise and attracting more retail-friendly brands and advertisers due to the programmatic buying benefits of ease, flexibility and automation. eMarketer's Insider Intelligence projects programmatic OOH in the US will be a billion-dollar category by 2025.

PRN has secured billions of dollars in direct retail advertising sales for their retailer clients over the last 25 years. PRN will continue to focus on value-added direct advertising sales enabled by its decades of brand and agency relationships and will balance this with technology that incrementally adds the value of open and private exchange buying.

Place Exchange's patented technology seamlessly enables planning, targeting, execution, and measurement of OOH media on par with other programmatic channels, all within the leading DSP platforms.

Chuck Billups, SVP Retail Media at PRN said, "We are excited to take our partnership with Place Exchange to the next level, having already subscribed to their PerView measurement solution. Place Exchange has focused on creating an exchange that is vast and network friendly with a best-in-class API that will allow us take advantage of new revenue streams and budgets while creating the best in-store retailer experiences and services for which we are trusted."

Nick Bennett, SVP Partnerships at Place Exchange said, "We're thrilled to offer additional revenue opportunities for PRN's retail clients. In a moment when most sales are taking place in brick-and-mortar locations, buyers can now access highly desirable in-store inventory from PRN's clients within the leading programmatic buying platforms they already use, and easily integrate them into their omnichannel strategies."

Learn more about PRN at www.prn.com and Place Exchange at www.placeexchange.com.

About PRN

PRN, a STRATACACHE company, is the leading provider of in-store monetization services for retailers and brands. With a differentiated approach to shopper experience, a deep understanding of technology, and a dedicated monetization practice, PRN works with retailers and brands to define, design, build, and deploy strategic in store digital experiences.

About Place Exchange

Place Exchange is the leading SSP for programmatic out-of-home media. Integrated with omnichannel and OOH DSPs, Place Exchange's patented technology uniquely offers agencies and advertisers the opportunity to fully unify buying and measurement of OOH media with other digital channels, leveraging the same workflow, creatives, reporting, and attribution as for online and mobile advertising. Place Exchange's unmatched premium supply ecosystem adheres to its Place Exchange Clear certification program that delivers buyers quality, consistency, transparency, and compliance. For OOH media partners, Place Exchange offers the opportunity to access untapped programmatic ad spend with full transparency and control. For more information about Place Exchange, visit www.placeexchange.com. Place Exchange is a 2023 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 company.

Contact Information

Andrea Poley

Director, Global Communications

andrea.poley@scala.com

SOURCE: PRN - A STRATACACHE Company

View the original press release on newswire.com.
BRUSSELS, Jan. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Rockwell Automation today published its 2023 Sustainability Report detailing the company's sustainability progress and outcomes, and how Rockwell is partnering across the manufacturing industry and communities worldwide to create sustainable impact and change.

Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell provides industrial automation and digital transformation solutions to manufacturers in more than 100 countries.

"We've been improving the efficiency of industrial processes for more than 120 years, which includes making the most of scarce resources," said Rockwell Automation Chairman & CEO Blake Moret. "Today, our technology and expertise help manufacturers in diverse industries address the complex challenge of making high-quality products at scale while minimizing negative impacts on the environment."

Smart manufacturing technologies play a critical role in driving Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and sustainability success. Survey results from the company's 8th annual State of Smart Manufacturing Report indicate the driving factor for manufacturers to pursue sustainability and ESG policies and programs is to improve efficiencies, confirming that sustainability is critical for operational improvement and profitability.

Rockwell's 2023 progress on its ESG journey

In addition to showcasing how Rockwell supports customers' sustainability efforts with its innovative, sustainable products and solutions, the report also highlights the company's ESG initiatives and programs that are making Rockwell more sustainable while at the same time fostering a culture that empowers employees to operate safely, sustainably, and responsibly.

In 2020, Rockwell announced its goal to be carbon neutral by 2030 (Scope 1 and 2 emissions). The report discusses the company's work toward this goal, and includes information about Rockwell's Scope 3 emissions baseline, explaining that indirect emissions from its value chain represent 99% of its Scope 3 carbon footprint.

The report highlights new 2023 ESG initiatives, including:

UN Global Compact: The company joined the UN Global Compact and the report discusses the eight UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) on which Rockwell believes it can have the greatest impact.

The company joined the UN Global Compact and the report discusses the eight UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) on which Rockwell believes it can have the greatest impact. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi): Rockwell joined this partnership between the United Nations Global Compact, Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), World Resources Institute (WRI), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which is designed to address corporate climate action.

Rockwell joined this partnership between the United Nations Global Compact, Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), World Resources Institute (WRI), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which is designed to address corporate climate action. Product Design for Sustainability: The creation of a new team responsible for the integration of sustainability design principles, measurement criteria, and requirements into common product development processes.

Partnering to build sustainable communities

Advanced manufacturing is creating demand for people who have the knowledge and skills to optimize technology, yet workforce and skill shortages continue to impact companies across every industry. The 2023 Sustainability Report underscores the work the company is doing to help create a skilled, engaged workforce that is comfortable using these tools, and the importance of partnering across government, educational institutions, and industry to develop needed workforce skills, now and in the future.

"In a time when workforce and skill shortages impact manufacturers in every industry, enabling people to become comfortable with the newest technology and giving them opportunities to upskill along the way can be the difference between success and failure," said Moret.

He added, "When a human-centric approach is applied to technology implementation, we see improvement in nearly every aspect of the manufacturing operation-from efficiency to worker safety-delivering results that have a positive impact on both the bottom line and sustainability."

Learn more in Rockwell Automation's 2023 Sustainability Report.

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AMSTERDAM (dpa-AFX) - Automaker Stellantis N.V. (STLA) announced on Tuesday that it has reached a multi-billion euro agreement with SIXT, a premium mobility service provider, to deliver up to 250,000 vehicles over the next three years. The agreement is to deliver a variety of cars such as city cars, SUVs, vans, and trucks to SIXT's rental fleet in Europe and North America. Further, Stellantis said that it also plans a potential collaboration with SIXT on Mobilisights for data as a service or DaaS business. Under Stellantis' 'Dare Forward 2030' plan, the company expects to reach a 100 percent passenger car battery electric vehicle sales mix in Europe and 50 percent passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in the U.S. by 2030. In the pre-market activity, Stellantis' stock is down 3.85 percent, to $21.44 on the New York Stock Exchange. Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Businesses required to comply with government-enforced data security standards in both Europe and U.S. will now be able to host their data on U.S. soil when partnering with Metomic for their data security needs across SaaS, cloud and GenAI applications

Metomic, a next generation data security solution for protecting sensitive data in the new era of collaborative SaaS, cloud and GenAI applications, today announced that its customers can leverage the Metomic platform without their data leaving U.S. soil. The launch of U.S. data hosting is a major competitive advantage for highly regulated industries, including healthcare, finance, and insurance organizations, that must comply with government-enforced data security standards.

As consumer privacy legislation continues to evolve across the globe, many businesses must navigate complex data security standards. In the EU, businesses must comply with GDPR and Privacy Shield 2.0, a data privacy framework recently launched by the European Commission. Data security regulations in the U.S. can differ from state to state. There are also industry-specific regulations like HIPAA, which dictate how healthcare data is stored and exchanged, or the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) that addresses how credit card data is managed.

For highly regulated industries, data security compliance measures often mean that the business must host and process data in the same country where the customer resides. With Metomic, businesses now have a choice when it comes to where their data is hosted, enabling them to remain compliant while still benefiting from Metomic's advanced capabilities to detect the risks that matter, and secure sensitive data in SaaS, Cloud, and GenAI applications.

"Data privacy regulations are a top priority for highly regulated industries in Europe and the U.S., with legislation becoming more stringent across both continents. Meanwhile, businesses continue to implement more and more SaaS, cloud and GenAI applications, relying on collaborative work tools to be as efficient and productive as possible. These two opposing forces are creating massive data security challenges for organizations with customers across the globe," said Rich Vibert, CEO, Metomic. "At Metomic our priority is keeping data secure and compliant, without getting in the way of business innovation, productivity, and collaboration. That's why we want to make sure our customers have the choice between the U.S. and Europe when it comes to processing and storing their sensitive data."

Because Metomic works with a number of businesses that must comply with both EU and U.S. data security standards, having access to data hosting capabilities in the U.S. is a non-negotiable for many enterprise organizations.

In addition to being compliant, Metomic's U.S. customers will achieve reduced latency in real-time data processing because data is being processed and stored closer to where it is created (versus a data center located on a different continent).

About Metomic:

Metomic's data security software for SaaS was born out of the frustration of its leaders trying to implement SaaS applications that make businesses more productive but are off limits because of high-risk security concerns. As a next generation security solution focused on cloud-based applications, Metomic gives security teams clear visibility into their organization's SaaS network to manage sensitive data and detect security threats, allowing businesses to take full advantage of their SaaS application network. To learn more visit www.metomic.io.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116683570/en/

Contacts:

Claire Wilson

claire.wilson@metomic.io
ORTEC, a global provider of decision support software and data science capabilities, is pleased to announce a partnership with investment firm Battery Ventures to accelerate its growth ambitions. This strategic partnership, including a significant investment by Battery, marks a key moment in ORTEC's existence and positions the company to increase its impact on customers and in core markets globally. With this partnership, ORTEC will be able to further strengthen its leadership position in the US and Europe in the field of supply chain, workforce-management and data science consulting.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116805637/en/

Michael van Duijn (ORTEC CEO) and Zak Ewen (Partner Battery Ventures) (Photo: Business Wire)

Improving the world through data and mathematics

The ORTEC journey started in the early 1980s, when a few passionate Dutch students wanted to show the world the value of mathematics by creating long-term sustainable growth for organizations and society. Specifically, the company's initial consulting business helped customers leverage data and mathematical models to solve operational problems. Over time, the company developed commercial products that help large enterprises address complex logistical challenges such as last-mile fleet dispatch and route planning; pallet-load planning and optimization; and advanced workforce scheduling and resource planning.

Now, more than 40 years later, ORTEC delivers solutions to over 1,200 customers worldwide to improve business results and make a positive impact on the world. Customers include ASML, Heineken, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Procter Gamble, Shell, Waitrose, Albert Heijn, G4S, Sodexo and Tesco.

In partnership with Battery, going forward, ORTEC will offer products and services through three new divisions that focus on logistics and routing solutions, workforce-management solutions, and data science and consulting. Battery, which was founded in 1983, is a longtime, global software investor that has made more than 500 investments over the last four decades.

"We are very pleased that Battery Ventures joins ORTEC as a strategic partner. With their knowledge, experience, and network, we can further drive innovation, expand our market reach and create additional impact for our customers," said Michael van Duijn, ORTEC's chief executive. "I am proud of the great company we are today and the amazing group of talented employees that create impact for our customers day in and day out. It makes me excited that with this partnership, we have the ingredients to make a more positive impact on the world."

Shared commitment to long-term growth

The agreement between ORTEC and Battery Ventures highlights a shared commitment to drive innovation, deliver exceptional value to customers, and achieve long-term impact growth. Both parties are confident that the partnership will pave the way for ORTEC to expand its strong position as a leading provider of optimization technology built to solve complex operational challenges in an increasingly data-driven world.

"We've gotten to know ORTEC and its founding team over a period of more than 10 years, and during that time we've watched the business transform from a consulting-led business into a commercial software company serving the world's most sophisticated and complex enterprises," said Zak Ewen, a Battery partner based in London, who joins ORTEC's board. "Now we're excited to formally partner with Michael, Aart, Gerrit and the rest of the team to further accelerate the company's mission."

Moving forward, ORTEC founders Aart van Beuzekom and Gerrit Timmer remain part of the board and will continue to take care of ORTEC and its future.

About ORTEC

For more than 40 years ORTEC has been supporting many of the world's best-run organizations to make better data-driven decisions. Our decision support software and data science capabilities enable our customers to improve their business results and make a positive impact on the world. With our 1,000 employees across 13 countries, we help over 1,200 leading customers worldwide to make better choices in an ever-changing environment. Discover more at www.ortec.com

About Battery Ventures

Battery partners with exceptional founders and management teams developing category-defining businesses in markets including software and services, enterprise infrastructure, online marketplaces, healthcare IT and industrial technology. Founded in 1983, the firm backs companies at all stages, ranging from seed and early to growth and buyout, and invests globally from six strategic locations: Boston; San Francisco and Menlo Park, Calif.; Herzliya, Israel; London; and New York. Follow the firm on X @BatteryVentures, visit our website at www.battery.com and find a full list of Battery's portfolio companies

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116805637/en/

Contacts:

For ORTEC:

ORTEC Corporate Communications

press@ortec.com

For Battery Ventures:

Rebecca Buckman

Marketing Partner

becky@battery.com
3M and Discovery Education open submissions to the 2024 Young Scientist Challenge

ST PAUL, MN and CHARLOTTE, NC / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / 3M (@3M) and Discovery Education (@DiscoveryEd) today announced that the 2024 3M Young Scientist Challenge ( YoungScientist) is now open to entries. As the nation's premier middle school science competition, the annual 3M Young Scientist Challenge invites students in grades 5-8 to compete for an exclusive mentorship with a 3M scientist, a $25,000 grand prize, and the chance to earn the title of "America's Top Young Scientist." Competition entries are accepted at YoungScientistLab.com until the deadline on May 2, 2024.

Each year, the 3M Young Scientist Challenge recognizes the grand prize winner, 10 finalists, four honorable mentions, and up to 51 state merit winners - nationwide and in Washington D.C - who have demonstrated a passion for using science to solve everyday problems and improve the world around them.

To enter, students in grades 5-8 submit a one-to-two-minute video explaining an original idea using science to help solve an everyday problem. All entries are reviewed by a diverse group of judges and evaluated on their creativity, scientific knowledge, and communication skills. Videos can be recorded using a cell phone or digital camera and will not be judged on production skills. This year, the 3M Young Scientist Challenge offers innovative ways for students to engage in science through new entry topics, including robotics, home improvement, automotive, safety, AR/VR, and climate technology. To learn more about the 3M Young Scientist Challenge, including entry details and to find supporting resources, visit youngscientistlab.com.

Previous challenge finalists have collaborated with 3M scientists to create solutions to a wide variety of real-world problems, including cybersecurity, machine learning, water conservation, food waste, alternative energy sources, energy consumption, air pollution, and transportation efficiency. The 2023 winner - 14-year-old Heman Bekele from Annandale, Virginia - created a compound-based Skin Cancer Treating Soap (SCTS). Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, with an average annual treatment cost of $8.1 billion. Inspired by this costly and widespread health issue, Heman developed an affordable soap solution that could positively impact skin cancer outcomes. Over the next five years, he hopes to refine this novel innovation and create a nonprofit organization that will distribute this low-cost solution to communities in need.

In June 2024, 10 finalists will be chosen to participate in an exclusive summer mentorship program during which they will work closely with and learn from a 3M scientist. Each finalist then has the opportunity to compete in the final event at the 3M Innovation Center in St. Paul, Minnesota during an interactive competition comprised of hands-on challenges, presentations, live judging, and more. During the final event, October 14-15, 2024, the grand prize winner will be announced.

"The 3M Young Scientist Challenge encourages young people to solve everyday problems using science and innovation - and we can't wait to see what you dream up!" said Torie Clark, Chief Public Affairs Officer at 3M.

In the seventeenth year, the 3M Young Scientist Challenge continues to inspire and challenge middle school students to think creatively and apply the power of STEM to discover real-world solutions. America's Top Young Scientists have gone on to give TED Talks, file patents, found nonprofits, make the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and exhibit at the White House Science Fair. These young innovators have also been named TIME Magazine's first Kid of the Year, featured in The New York Times Magazine, Forbes, and Business Insider, and have appeared on national television programs such as Good Morning America, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and more. In addition, a 3M Young Scientist Challenge Alumni Network was formed in fall 2022 and welcomed more than 100 former challenge finalists and winners for networking opportunities.

"For seventeen years, the best and brightest students have been connecting their passion for science with world-changing innovations," said Amy Nakamoto, Executive Vice President of Social Impact at Discovery Education. "The Challenge inspires students to use their creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking skills to make the world a better place."

The award-winning competition supplements the 3M and Discovery Education program Young Scientist Lab, which provides no-cost dynamic digital resources for students, teachers, and families to explore, transform, and innovate the world around them. All the resources are also available on Discovery Education Experience, the company's award-winning K-12 learning platform.

###

About 3M

3M (NYSE:MMM) believes science helps create a brighter world for everyone. By unlocking the power of people, ideas and science to reimagine what's possible, our global team uniquely addresses the opportunities and challenges of our customers, communities, and planet. Learn how we're working to improve lives and make what's next at 3M.com/news

About Discovery Education

Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place. Through its award-winning multimedia content, instructional supports, innovative classroom tools, and social impact programs, Discovery Education helps educators deliver equitable learning experiences engaging all students and supporting higher academic achievement on a global scale. Discovery Education serves approximately 4.5 million educators and 45 million students worldwide, and its resources are accessed in over 100 countries and territories. Inspired by the global media company Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and trusted organizations to empower teachers with leading edtech solutions that support the success of all learners. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.

Contacts

Tim Post

3M

Email: tpost3@mmm.com

Grace Maliska

Discovery Education

Email: gmaliska@discoveryed.com

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Discovery Education on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Discovery Education

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/discovery-education

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Discovery Education

View the original press release on accesswire.com
The "Europe Space-Based Laser Communication Market Analysis and Forecast, 2023-2033" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Europe space-based laser communication market is projected to reach 1.31 billion by 2033 from $253.9 million in 2022, growing at a CAGR of 10.55% during the forecast period 2023-2033.

The introduction of second-generation satellites with intersatellite links (ISL) has resulted in a notable increase in the market for space-based laser communication in Europe. Modern technologies that improve communication performance both on Earth and in space, such as artificial intelligence (AI), electronically steered antennas (ESAs), component miniaturization, and ISLs, are primarily driving this rise.

Europe is one of the prominent regions for the growth of the space-based laser communication market. A consortium of prominent European space and telecommunications companies, comprising Airbus Defense and Space, Eutelsat, SES, and Thales Alenia Space, has joined forces to submit a bid for a proposed satellite constellation that aims to rival SpaceX's Starlink system. With the European Union (EU) taking the lead, the project will receive a substantial funding commitment of $2.64 billion in 2023. Additionally, the project is expected to secure further financial support from the European Space Agency and private investments, bolstering its overall funding capacity.

Prominent firms that are creating massive constellations in low Earth orbit (LEO) and medium Earth orbit (MEO), such OneWeb, SpaceX, and Amazon's Project Kuiper, also have an impact on the market's trajectory. 2023 will see the integration of laser terminals by low Earth orbit satellites, such those operated by Starlink, into a constellation with optical intersatellite connections (OISLs), producing a strong mesh network in orbit.

When it is fully deployed, Telesat's LightSpeed constellation also intends to include optical satellite links, while OneWeb is considering include optical links in its second phase of rollout. Inter-satellite links are made easier by the inherent nature of Amazon's Kuiper constellation.

To bring cutting-edge and novel products, major participants in this industry, such as Tesat-Spacecom GmbH Co., SKYLOOM, Bridgecomm, and Mynaric, are substantially investing in research and development.

How this Report Can Add Value

Product/Innovation Strategy: The product segment helps the reader understand the different types of components available for deployment and their potential globally. Moreover, the study provides the reader with a detailed understanding of the Europe space-based laser communication market by end user and solution.

Growth/Marketing Strategy: The Europe space-based laser communication market has seen major development by key players operating in the market, such as contract, collaboration, and joint venture. The favored strategy for the companies has been contracts to strengthen their position in the Europe space-based laser communication market.

Competitive Strategy: Key players in the Europe space-based laser communication market analyzed and profiled in the study involve major Europe space-based laser communication companies providing components. Moreover, a detailed market share analysis of the players operating in the Europe space-based laser communication market has been done to help the reader understand how players stack against each other, presenting a clear market landscape. Additionally, comprehensive competitive strategies such as partnerships, agreements, and collaborations will aid the reader in understanding the untapped revenue pockets in the market.

Analyst's Perspective on Europe Space-Based Laser Communication Market

The Principal Analyst states, 'The space-based laser communication market represents a transformative frontier in the satellite communication industry, poised to revolutionize global connectivity. With the ever-increasing demand for high-speed data transmission, space-based laser communication offers a paradigm shift from traditional radio frequency systems.

The convergence of various factors such as decreasing launch costs, advancements in laser technology, and the insatiable appetite for bandwidth-intensive applications such as 5G, IoT, and Earth observation, are propelling this market. Moreover, space-based laser communication promises lower latency, higher data rates, and enhanced security compared to its RF counterparts, opening up possibilities for not only the commercial satellite market but also defense and scientific missions.

However, it is essential to acknowledge the inherent challenges, including atmospheric interference, beam divergence, and optical component reliability in the unforgiving space environment, that must be overcome for widespread adoption. The competitive landscape is dynamic, featuring both established aerospace giants and innovative start-ups vying for supremacy in this burgeoning sector.

Government support, international collaboration, and regulatory frameworks will significantly influence market dynamics. Moreover, the space-based laser communication market is at a critical juncture, with immense growth potential contingent on technological breakthroughs and strategic partnerships, promising a future where the cosmos becomes the backbone of global connectivity.'

Key Questions Answered in the Report

How is the Europe space-based laser communication market expected to grow during the forecast period 2023-2033?

What are the opportunities for companies to expand their businesses in the Europe space-based laser communication market?

What are the key developmental strategies implemented by the key players to sustain in this highly competitive market?

What is the current and future revenue scenario of the Europe space-based laser communication market?

Key Attributes:

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 68 Forecast Period 2023 2033 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2023 $481.7 Million Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2033 $1313.3 Million Compound Annual Growth Rate 10.5% Regions Covered Europe

Companies Mentioned

HENSOLDT

Mynaric

ODYSSEUS SPACE SA

Tesat-Spacecom GmbH Co.

Thales Alenia Space

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/kk3yk6

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.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116342789/en/

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Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com

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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Qualcomm

Originally published by VentureWell

Empathy can lead to inspiration.

Antony Fuleihan was visiting hospitals as part of his Master's Degree studies in biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University when he first considered becoming an entrepreneur. There, he observed patients who were experiencing extreme back pain, the causes of which were often complex and difficult to diagnose. "It became very obvious that there was an overwhelming unmet clinical need: Spine patients need care that is personalized to their specific problems," said Fuleihan. "From that moment, I couldn't stay away. I wanted to make sure that our invention would reach patients and physicians, and that we were actually improving lives."

A report by The Washington Post detailed the widespread issue of doctors dismissing or misdiagnosing their patients' symptoms. "There's a major misdiagnosis opportunity for the spine-every year, over a quarter of a million patients get unnecessary spine surgery," noted fellow Johns Hopkins graduate student and co-founder Evan Haas. "That's terrifying."

To solve this challenge, Fuleihan and Haas partnered to launch their startup CurveAssure, developing an at-home, wearable monitoring device that provides physicians with posture analysis data, allowing for faster data-driven patient care and surgical decision-making.

"What we do is we simplify the pathway," Fuleihan explained. "Once patients see their spine surgeon, they're sent home with a number of wearable sensors that provide more personalized and dynamic data. This allows us to help surgeons figure out what treatment is best for that patient."

Since 2022, CurveAssure has progressed through the VentureWell Accelerator, completing the Pioneer and Propel stages of the E-Team Program, the 2023 Ascend Medtech Accelerator, and, most recently, Aspire Medtech 2023. The team spoke on our E-Team Founding Stories panel with other student entrepreneurs and was featured in the OPENminds Innovator Showcase at OPEN 2023, VentureWell's annual conference.

"It has been awesome to be able to step through our journey of entrepreneurship with VentureWell," Haas told us. "All of the programs [in the VentureWell Accelerator] are seeded in such a way so that we're able to learn more about business as we continue to grow and expand. And the network has been tremendous - we've been finding great mentors and investors."

Qualcomm became the inflection point in the team's entrepreneurial journey.

Fuleihan was awarded a 2023 Qualcomm Innovator Stipend, which provided an additional $2,500 in funding to help offset the cost of advancing their innovation - a key moment for the venture. "The stipend was really helpful in allowing us to file our first provisional patent," Haas explained. "With medical devices, it's critical - especially in the early stages of the company - to secure intellectual property (IP). We want to make sure that everything is locked down so that our invention is secure for us to continue."

The stipend helped CurveAssure reach a critical milestone of filing for IP, which then helped unlock additional funding opportunities through Johns Hopkins like the 2023 President's Venture Fellowship. They also won first place at the International 2023 Stu Clark Pitch Competition for the Graduate Business Plan and Graduate Elevator Pitch. "Over the last two years, our team has honed in on a critical unmet need and a device that has the potential to revolutionize the spine space," Haas said.

Tip from a founder: Start early when exploring how to secure the rights to your invention.

Patenting has always been top of mind for CurveAssure. "We learned that IP is critical at every step of a company's development," Haas explained. "All of the investors we talk to want to see our initial dive into the landscape through patenting. They want to make sure that they can trust the investment that they place in us, and that we're able to execute and actually capture the market share that we're aiming for."

During Pioneer, the first stage of our E-Team Program, CurveAssure received mentorship specifically on the importance of IP. "VentureWell put together a couple of different workshops where [law firm] Cooley came in and talked about all the different ways to tackle IP challenges. They gave some wonderful advice that really helped us out early on."

Looking ahead, CurveAssure is working to expand the value of the company. "We filed our provisional patents, and we're looking to convert our patents to a full patent in the next couple of months," Haas told us. "We're looking for ways to expand and secure the other aspects of IP, trademark - all of the pieces that we have within the company."

He offered a key piece of advice for early-stage innovators: "Don't be scared of IP. You should dive into it. Be willing to read a bunch of patents, be incredibly confused, ask a lot of questions, then have mentors help you through this process."

Hear more from Fuleihan and Haas about their journey as entrepreneurs and how participating in our E-Team Program accelerated the growth of their startup:

Expanding Participation Through the Qualcomm Innovator Stipend Program

In partnership with Qualcomm, we offered the Innovator Stipend Program in 2022 and again in 2023 to reduce financial challenges for student entrepreneurs, giving them the breathing room they need to develop their products while simultaneously juggling the fiscal responsibilities of school and life - with the aim of further narrowing the patent diversity gap. Recipients were awarded stipends ranging from $1,500 to $4,000 to offset the cost of participation in our E-Team Program as well as for living expenses, materials and physical prototyping, equipment, or expenses associated with patent filing, incorporation, or attorney fees.

About the E-Team Program

Through the E-Team Program, VentureWell has trained over 540 student teams and more than 1,300 student innovators. The teams have raised over $600 million in follow-on funding and have launched more than 240 ventures since taking part in our program.

Learn more about VentureWell's E-Team Program, which supports student-led science- and engineering-based teams from across the nation in bringing their high-impact innovations out of the lab and into the market. Applications for our Spring 2024 cohort are now open!

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Qualcomm on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Qualcomm

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/qualcomm

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Qualcomm

View the original press release on accesswire.com
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Southern Empire Resources Corp. (Southern Empire) (TSX-V:SMP) announces that subsequent to approval by the Imperial County Planning Commission (ICPC) at a hearing held on January 10, 2024, its subsidiary, SMP Gold Corp., has received a Notice of Determination approving the Reclamation Plan for the Oro Cruz Project Exploration Plan of Operations (the Plan) that governs the proposed exploration drill program at its wholly-owned Oro Cruz Project located in Imperial County, California.

"Having previously received federal approvals from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act on September 1, 2023, the recent approval of the Oro Cruz Project Reclamation Plan by the Imperial County Planning Commission, the lead agency for permitting related to the California Environmental Quality Act, is a major step forward for Southern Empire. We look forward to drilling the high-grade, oxide gold zone of the Oro Cruz Cross Mine from which gold was last produced in 1996. I would like to especially thank our staff and consultants for their commitment to the Oro Cruz Project permitting process and our shareholders for their continued patience" commented Dale Wallster, Southern Empire's CEO.

The Plan proposes that SMP Gold Corp. conduct mineral exploration drilling activities (the Proposed Action) requiring up to 8.31 hectares (ha; 20.54 acres) of surface disturbance on, primarily, previously mined and disturbed land administered and managed by the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The proposed temporary drill pads, operational staging site and access routes occur within an encompassing 253 ha (626 acre) Project Area (as defined in the Plan) located in the southwest corner of the 184,000-acre Picacho Area of Critical Environmental Concern, the latter designated to include important biological habitats, indigenous peoples' cultural sites and the historic Cargo Muchacho - Tumco Mining District.The Proposed Action is within areas previously disturbed by the historical American Girl Mining Joint Venture operations, which concluded in 1996 as gold prices declined and ultimately bottomed at US $251.70 in August of 1999.

Highlights of the Plan include:

Establishment of up to 65 drill pads in seven drill target areas

Reverse Circulation (RC) and/or core drilling of up to 65 drill holes

Improvement and construction of temporary access roads

Creation of a staging area at the Cross Mine underground portal for infrastructure required to support future underground drill programs.

At the January 10, 2024 hearing, the ICPC made the following determinations regarding the Proposed Action and the Reclamation Plan:

The Oro Cruz Project will not have a significant effect on the environment. A Negative Declaration was prepared for the Oro Cruz Project pursuant to the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Mitigation measures were made a condition of the approval of the project. A mitigation reporting or monitoring plan was adopted for the project. A statement of Overriding Considerations was not adopted for the project. Findings were made pursuant to the provisions of CEQA.

The Plan is designed in accordance with performance standards in 43 CFR 3809.420 and other Federal and state laws related to environmental protection and protection of cultural resources and to attain the stated level of protection and reclamation required by specific laws in the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA). The BLM's Decision Record and signed Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), the Environmental Assessment/Mitigated Negative Declaration and other associated documents were posted for public review on September 1, 2023, online at the BLM NEPA Register. The 2,895 pages of documentation supporting the Proposed Action and the Reclamation Plan are available at: Imperial County Planning and Development Services website and the Imperial County Notice of Determination is at: ICPC - Reclamation Plan #21-0001 Notice of Determination. Although Oro Cruz Project approvals have now been received from both the BLM and Imperial County, these are being appealed by parties opposing mining in Imperial County. The outcome of these appeals is yet to be determined.

Southern Empire's ongoing environmental and permitting efforts are coordinated by Del Fortner Consulting of Tucson, Arizona. Our broader environmental assessment and permitting team includes:

Sespe Consulting, Inc., specialists on SMARA and CEQA baseline environmental analysis, permitting and reclamation plan requirements, that assist in document preparation for the CEQA analysis.

Stantec Consulting Services Inc., an international firm that liaises directly with both the BLM and the ICPD to prepare National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation for the BLM and coordinate the CEQA environmental review process with the ICPD.

(NEPA) documentation for the BLM and coordinate the CEQA environmental review process with the ICPD. WestLand Resources, Inc., specialists in environmental engineering, permitting and planning, have completed the Oro Cruz Project baseline environmental and cultural studies and have provided services necessary to comply with both the NEPA and CEQA permitting requirements.

Qualified Person (QP)

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been prepared, reviewed and approved by David Tupper, P.Geo. (British Columbia), Southern Empire's VP Exploration and a Qualified Person within the context of Canadian Securities Administrators' National Instrument 43-101; Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101).

About Southern Empire Resources Corp.

Southern Empire is engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of metals and minerals deposits in the American southwest and northern Mexico and is particularly focused on those that are naturally oxidized and amenable to lower-cost metal extraction methodologies such as heap leaching. To achieve its goals, Southern Empire has assembled a board of directors, all veterans in mine and corporate finance, exploration, permitting, development, and operations that will guide the future growth of the company.

In the Cargo Muchacho mountains of Imperial County, California, Southern Empire's wholly owned Oro Cruz Project has the potential to re-establish gold production from an oxide gold deposit located approximately 22.5 kilometres (14 miles) southeast of the operating Mesquite gold mine of Equinox Gold Corp., which has now produced more than five million ounces. At Oro Cruz, extensive historical drilling and large-scale open-pit and underground mining of the American Girl, Padre y Madre, Queen and Cross oxide gold deposits by the American Girl Mining Joint Venture (AGMJV; being MK Gold Company and Hecla Mining Company) occurred between 1987 and 1996. During that time, gold was recovered by heap leaching of lower-grade ores and milling of higher-grade ores. Following significant definition drilling and underground development, the Cross open-pit and underground mines operated successfully for only one year, producing about 61,000 ounces of gold, until AGMJV operations ceased in late 1996 as collapsing gold prices caused their entire operations to be shuttered and decommissioned. This left the Oro Cruz property with many gold exploration targets in addition to the Cross oxide gold deposit having a historical inferred resource estimate, as reported in 2011 by Lincoln Mining Corp., totalling 341,800 ounces gold based on 4,386,000 tonnes averaging 2.2 grams gold per tonne at a cut-off grade of 0.68 g/t Au (4,835,000 tons at 0.07 ounce gold per ton; please refer to the Cautionary Notice Regarding the Oro Cruz Property Historical Resource Estimate below). Although no surface facilities remain, the underground infrastructure at Oro Cruz (including a 2.4 kilometre haulage ramp, sublevels and draw points) remains in excellent condition and the open pit was abandoned just after stripping was completed prior to the start of its Stage II expansion.

Southern Empire has received a Decision Record and Finding of No Significant Impact regarding federal BLM permitting of the Oro Cruz Project and a Notice of Determination regarding the Oro Cruz Project Reclamation Plan from Imperial County, the lead State of California agency responsible for permitting. Southern Empire continues to finalize ancillary Oro Cruz Project state and county permitting that will allow for up to 65 exploration, confirmation and metallurgical drill hole sites at Oro Cruz to support a new resource estimate, and to also test the potential of waste rock and decommissioned heap leach piles to yield residual gold production.

In northern Mexico (Sonora, Chihuahua, and Durango), Southern Empire has a leachable copper prospect and three gold projects having bulk-tonnage potential. Our Mexican projects are the:

Suaqui Verde Copper Project, Suaqui Grande, Sonora;

Centauro Gold Project, Escalon, Chihuahua;

Pedro Gold Project, Mapimi, Durango; and,

La Loma Gold Project, Nazas, Durango;

The three gold projects are located along what Southern Empire is calling the Mapimi Gold Corridor, a 150-kilometre, southeast-trending Oligocene tectonostratigraphic belt, the regional geological setting of which, together with numerous coincident geological, mineralogical and geochemical characteristics as observed at Centauro, Pedro and La Loma, strongly supports the proposition that the Mapimi Gold Corridor has significant potential to host bulk-mineable, low sulfidation epithermal and/or Carlin-style gold deposits.

For more information on Southern Empire, its people and its projects, please visit our website: www.smp.gold.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Southern Empire Resources Corp.,

Dale Wallster, CEO and Director

For further information on Southern Empire please visit both www.smp.gold and SEDAR+ or contact: Lubica Keighery, (778) 889-5476, lubica@smp.gold .

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Notice on Forward-Looking Information and Forward-Looking Statements

Information provided in this news release may contain forward-looking information or forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. Such information or statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations and are not guarantees of future performance. Southern Empire cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond its respective control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to Southern Empire's limited operating history, the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations, results of exploration programs on its projects and those risks and uncertainties identified in its annual and interim financial statements and management discussion and analysis. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Southern Empire undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

Cautionary Notice Regarding the Oro Cruz Project Historical Resource Estimate

The historical mineral resource estimate outlined above is disclosed in a technical report dated April 29, 2011, prepared for Lincoln Mining Corp. by Tetra Tech, Inc. and filed on the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR+). It is termed an inferred mineral resource, which is a category set out in NI 43-101 and was based on historical reverse circulation and core drill hole sample, underground channel sample, and blasthole sample assay results and calculated using ordinary kriging to estimate gold grades in 10-foot-by-10-foot-by-five-foot blocks. Accordingly, Southern Empire considers this historical estimate reliable as well as relevant as it presents key targets for future exploration work. However, a QP has not done sufficient work to verify or classify the historical estimate as a current mineral resource and Southern Empire is not treating this historical mineral resource estimate as current mineral resources.

SOURCE: Southern Empire Resources Corp.

View the original press release on accesswire.com


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched an appeal for $1.5 billion to protect the health of the most vulnerable populations in dozens of emergency situations around the globe in 2024.



The appeal covers 41 emergencies that demand the highest level of response from WHO, with the aim to reach more than 87 million people. It is being issued in a context of complex emergencies cutting across crises of conflict, climate change and economic instability, which continue to fuel displacement, hunger, and inequality.



'For those facing emergencies, disruptions to essential health services often mean the difference between life and death,' said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. 'From mothers giving birth during conflict, to aid to young children in drought-affected regions, to those receiving cancer treatment or dialysis, health care saves lives. Health-care services are also critical for breaking the cycle that too often leaves communities in a perilous state and reliant on yet more emergency assistance.'



The WHO has appealed for funding the needs of the African Region ($334 million); the Eastern Mediterranean Region ($705 million); the European region($183 million); the Western Pacific Region ($15.2 million); the South-East Asia Region ($49 million); and the Americas Region ($131 million).



The WHO chief recalled that the financial support received in 2023 allowed the UN health agency to assist millions of people. 'As we enter 2024, the solidarity and support of the international community is needed more than ever,' said Dr Tedros.



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BANGALORE, India, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Sodium-ion Battery Market is Segmented by Type (Layered Oxide, Prussian, Polyanionic Compound), by Application (Power Battery, Energy Storage System).

The Global Sodium-ion Battery Market is projected to grow from USD 373.6 Million in 2023 to USD 40550 Million by 2029, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 118.4% during the forecast period.

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Major Factors Driving the Growth of Sodium-ion Battery Market

Because of their layered structure, which facilitates sodium ion mobility inside the material and results in high power output and good rate capability, sodium-ion batteries with layered oxide cathodes are becoming more and more popular for energy storage.

Because sodium supplies are plentiful and reasonably priced, sodium-ion batteries provide a strong option for large-scale energy storage requirements. The adoption of sodium-ion technology is also fueled by its potential to supplement or replace current lithium-ion batteries, particularly in situations where resource availability and cost are important factors.

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TRENDS INFLUENCING THE GROWTH OF SODIUM-ION BATTERY MARKET

Sodium-ion batteries with layered oxide cathodes are propelling the market expansion. Usually made of layered transition metal oxides, these cathodes provide a stable platform for the intercalation and deintercalation of sodium ions during the charging and discharging cycles. The layered construction improves the battery's overall performance by facilitating effective ion diffusion. An important step towards improving the viability and sustainability of sodium-ion battery technology is the creation of layered oxide cathodes, which also help to diversify energy storage options.

Because sodium is more plentiful and less expensive than lithium, sodium-ion batteries provide a financially viable alternative. Manufacturers looking for cost-effective options in the energy storage industry find sodium-ion batteries to be an appealing option due to the consistent production and scalability guaranteed by the availability of raw materials, especially sodium.

The market for sodium-ion batteries is expanding due in large part to the rising need for effective energy storage solutions brought on by the increase of renewable energy installations and the electrification of various sectors. These batteries meet the growing demand for dependable energy storage infrastructure with their enhanced capacity and performance features.

The need for improved battery technologies is driven by the rise of energy storage projects worldwide, including decentralized systems and grid-scale applications. Due to their developing capacities, sodium-ion batteries are being used in more and more energy storage projects globally, which is fueling the expansion of the energy storage industry as a whole.

The sodium-ion battery industry is mostly driven by government initiatives and supporting regulations that are intended to promote sustainable energy solutions and reduce carbon emissions. The market's growth is greatly aided by subsidies, incentives, and regulatory frameworks that promote the use of sodium-ion batteries and provide an atmosphere that is conducive to investment and development. One of the main reasons sodium-ion batteries are becoming more and more popular is their stability and safety. Sodium-ion batteries are a dependable and secure choice for a variety of applications, from consumer devices to large-scale energy storage projects, thanks to advancements in battery chemistry and engineering that have increased safety features.

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SODIUM-ION BATTERY MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS

Aquion Energy, Natron Energy, Reliance Industries, AMTE Power, and HiNa Battery Technology are a few of the major sodium-ion battery manufacturers in the world. About 65% of income was shared by the top five players in the world. With a market share of almost 70%, North America leads the industry, followed by Europe and China, with respective shares of 5% and 22%.

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Key Players:

Aquion Energy

HiNa Battery Technology

Natron Energy

CATL

Li-FUN Technology

Great Power

DFD

Farasis Energy

Natrium

VEKEN

Reliance Industries (Faradion)

AMTE Power

Tiamat Energy

Jiangsu ZOOLNASH

Ben'an Energy

Shanxi Huayang

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CEC Great Wall

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- Automotive Sodium-ion Battery market is projected to reach USD 2373.2 Million in 2029, increasing from USD 8 Million in 2022, with a CAGR of 69.1% during the period of 2023 to 2029.

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- Sodium-Ion Battery Electrolyte market is projected to reach USD 220.7 Million in 2029, increasing from USD 126 Million in 2022, with a CAGR of 6.3% during the period of 2023 to 2029.

- Sodium-Ion Battery Organic Electrolyte market is projected to reach USD 135.8 Million in 2029, increasing from USD 86 Million in 2022, with a CAGR of 6.7% during the period of 2023 to 2029.

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- The Alkaline Battery market is projected to grow from USD 5288.5 Million in 2023 to USD 5816.9 Million by 2029, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 1.6% during the forecast period.

- Lithium-Ion Battery Separator market is projected to reach USD 6683.3 Million in 2029, increasing from USD 2904 Million in 2022, with a CAGR of 9.5% during the period of 2023 to 2029.

- Lithium-ion Battery Market

- Stationary Sodium-ion Batteries market is projected to reach USD 185.1 Million in 2029, increasing from USD 121 Million in 2022, with a CAGR of 6.2% during the period of 2023 to 2029.

- Electric Vehicle Battery Market

- Lithium-ion Battery Cathode Materials market is projected to grow from USD 8998.6 Million in 2023 to USD 13120 Million by 2029, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.5% during the forecast period.

- Anode Materials for Li-Ion Battery market is projected to reach USD 4253.8 Million in 2029, increasing from USD 433.3 Million in 2022, with a CAGR of 41.9% during the period of 2023 to 2029.

- Lithium-Sulfur Battery market was valued at USD 39 Million in 2022 and is anticipated to reach USD 290.6 Million by 2029, witnessing a CAGR of 35.0% during the forecast period 2023-2029.

- Lithium Ion Battery Cathode Material Market

- Electric Bike Market

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Global Bank Connectivity, Account Management, & Fee Analysis Through a Single Solution

BOSTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Today, Treasury Intelligence Solutions (TIS) and Treasury Strategies, a division of Curinos, Inc., have announced a new partnership agreement that will see Treasury Strategies' global bank fee analysis platform integrated with the TIS cloud platform for cashflow, liquidity, and payments. By leveraging the combined solutions of TIS and Treasury Strategies, corporate treasury and finance teams can now gain complete control and visibility over every element of their banking operations through a single structure.

Since 2010, TIS has enabled organizations to connect their entire banking and back-office landscape together through a single platform that streamlines payments and reporting, simplifies bank account management, and provides total visibility over account balances, transaction details, and all associated bank documentation. By adding the capabilities of the Treasury Strategies bank fee analysis solution, TIS clients can now easily monitor bank fees across all their relationships, standardize fee categories for benchmarking purposes, and automatically identify pricing discrepancies on monthly statements. These capabilities unlock a whole new tier of operational efficiency for clients who want to quickly analyze bank fees across all their relationships and account structures, benchmark these costs across each bank relationship, and then compare their fees against what similar companies are charged both domestically and globally.

Given that TIS has integrated over 85,000 client bank accounts with their platform and can connect organizations to 11,000+ global banking options, the Treasury Strategies bank fee analysis solution serves as a natural extension of these core capabilities. According to Jon Paquette, SVP Solutions at TIS, "The TIS and Treasury Strategies integration is the latest example of our commitment to provide businesses of all sizes and industries with top-tier bank connectivity and bank account management services. With Treasury Strategies as our partner, clients can now access an unprecedented range of datasets to help them evaluate and benchmark the costs of their banking operations on a global scale. This will ultimately enable them to more effectively identify inefficiencies, eliminate redundancies, and create a more sustainable, streamlined, and cost-effective banking structure."

This perspective was shared by Peter Serene, Managing Director of Commercial solutions at Curinos, who added, "We're thrilled to partner with TIS, integrating our advanced bank fee analysis solution, NDepth, into their comprehensive treasury management suite. In today's evolving bank fee and ECR landscape, NDepth is a critical tool. It's designed to empower organizations with unparalleled visibility into their financial operations, aligning with TIS' mission to simplify global payments and cash management. Together, we help organizations assert control over their bank fees, optimize financial processes, and realize substantial savings. This collaboration underscores our commitment to delivering transformative bank fee analysis benefits for treasurers worldwide".

The partnership between TIS and Treasury Strategies is expected to take effect immediately, with both teams working together to develop an enhanced solution offering for clients. For more information about this announcement, refer to the below media contacts.

About Treasury Intelligence Solutions (TIS): TIS helps CFOs, Treasurers, and Finance teams transform their global cash flow, liquidity, and payment functions. Since 2010, our award-winning cloud platform and best-in-class service model have empowered the entire office of the CFO to collaborate more effectively and attain maximum efficiency, automation, and control. With over 11,000 banking options, $80 billion in daily cash managed, and $2.5 trillion in annual transaction volume, TIS has a proven track record of combining our unparalleled market expertise with tailored client and community feedback to drive digital transformation for companies of all sizes and industries. For more information, visit tispayments.com and begin reimagining your approach to global cash flow, liquidity, and payments. For additional information, please visit www.tispayments.com.

About Curinos: Curinos is the leading provider of data, technologies and insights that enable financial institutions to make better, and more profitable, data-driven decisions faster. Curinos brings to market a new level of industry expertise across deposits, lending and digital experience solutions and technologies. Through access to comprehensive datasets and analytics, intelligent technologies and connected behavioral insights, Curinos is the partner of choice to help you attract, retain and grow more profitable customer relationships. For additional information, please visit www.curinos.com.

About Treasury Strategies: Treasury Strategies, a division of Curinos is a leading treasury consultancy working with public and private sector treasury organizations. Our experience and thought leadership in corporate treasury management, banking, risk management, working capital, liquidity and payments, combined with our comprehensive view of the market, rewards our clients with a unique perspective and actionable solutions. For additional information, please visit www.TreasuryStrategies.com.

Contact Information

Jennifer Knutel

SVP Global Marketing

jennifer.knutel@tispayments.com

Brooke Mansfield

Director, Global Marketing

brooke.mansfield@curinos.com

SOURCE: TIS

View the original press release on newswire.com.
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / CBRE Group, Inc.:

CBRE analyzes financial impact and upsides of regulations aimed at reducing buildings' carbon emissions, identifies actions to aid compliance

CBRE

By Sara Johnston Director, Mktg & Comm

A growing number of local U.S. jurisdictions are implementing building performance standards (BPS) to combat carbon emissions in the real estate sector, creating new financial and reputational considerations for building owners, according to a new report by CBRE.

Ten local jurisdictions across the U.S. launched BPS policies in 2023, including cities, counties and states. New Jersey joined California and Colorado in enacting a statewide policy in 2023 with Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Washington scheduled to do the same over the next three years.

The regulations are aimed at reducing buildings' greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The stipulations vary by jurisdiction with many imposing financial penalties for policy violations. CBRE's Econometric Advisors analyzed the potential financial impact for a 500,000 sq. ft. office building that failed to meet energy- or emissions-reduction mandates in cities with active BPS policies. The analysis found non-compliance could reduce a building's net operating income (NOI) by 5.1 to 5.8%.

"The financial penalties associated with BPS regulations could be significant for building owners, but collecting fines is not the goal. The policies are designed to incentivize investing in the improvements needed to reduce a property's carbon impact. Those investments also have an upside in protecting a building's reputation and helping to attract tenants. As regulations become more widespread, a strategic approach to sustainability will become a prerequisite for any major capital investment," said Dennis Schoenmaker, executive director and principal economist, CBRE Econometric Advisors.

Actions to aid compliance

Improving a building's energy efficiency and overall performance requires the cooperation of building owners and tenants. While the building owner is liable for financial penalties, how tenants operate their individual spaces significantly impacts a building's ability to meet performance targets. Two actions to aid cooperation and compliance are green lease clauses and submetering.

Green lease clauses outline specific obligations and commitments related to sustainability measures like energy efficiency, renewable power procurement, water consumption, waste management and more. Such clauses can feature cost-sharing measures to help distribute building improvement costs among tenants and the owner, as well as stipulations to track and reward tenants who reduce their energy usage.

Submetering is the process of measuring and monitoring individual tenants' energy consumption and billing them accordingly. It can also be applied to large electrical equipment, such as HVAC, lighting and building automation systems. The use of submetering provides more accurate data, allowing a building owner and its property management team to focus on areas with the highest impact. Research has shown the use of submetering in multi-tenant buildings can lead to an energy savings of up to 15% (U.S. General Services Administration).

"Momentum is growing for more BPS implementation. Building owners operating across multiple markets are facing tremendous amounts of complexity in navigating the various regulations. The good news is the solutions to help simplify the complexity and accelerate decarbonization are advancing every day, as does the industry's understanding of the urgent need to act. Owners and tenants are becoming more aligned on the importance of sustainability, and this shared responsibility will be key to driving progress," said Rob Bernard, chief sustainability officer, CBRE.

View the full report here.

About CBRE Group, Inc.

CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Dallas, is the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2022 revenue). The company has approximately 115,000 employees (excluding Turner & Townsend employees) serving clients in more than 100 countries. CBRE serves a diverse range of clients with an integrated suite of services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from CBRE Group, Inc. on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: CBRE Group, Inc.

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/cbre-group-inc

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: CBRE Group, Inc.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
With this partnership, Votorantim Cimentos intends to increase renewable energy consumption in Brazil to 75%, strengthening its decarbonization strategy and increasing its competitiveness.

SAO PAULO, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Atlas Renewable Energy, an international leader in providing renewable energy solutions for corporations, and Votorantim Cimentos, a construction materials and sustainable solutions company, have signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to supply and purchase, respectively, 100 MW of solar energy for the next 15 years. The solar energy provided through this agreement will support the energy needs of Votorantim Cimentos' production units and distribution centers located in the South, Southeast, and Midwest regions of Brazil.

With the new partnership, the project will be responsible for around a third of Votorantim Cimentos' energy consumption in the country, equivalent to supplying energy to 424,000 homes. Through the self-production PPA, the company is advancing its decarbonization strategy, which includes renewable energy as one of its strategic pillars.

The new energy generation will come from Atlas' Luiz Carlos Solar Project, located in the municipality of Paracatu, Minas Gerais, which will have an installed capacity of 787 MWp, of which almost two-thirds (470 MWp) will be destined for Votorantim Cimentos.

"This partnership with Votorantim Cimentos confirms Atlas' repeated ability to partner with blue chip companies of Latin America's industrial sector to help them make the energy transition. It also contributes to building Brazil's sustainable production supply chain powered by clean energy. At the same time, we are proud that our project, Luiz Carlos, will promote Atlas' best-in-class ESG programs targeting true sustainable development," said Carlos Barrera, CEO of Atlas Renewable Energy.

The project is also part of Votorantim Cimentos' investment portfolio to increase its structural competitiveness, ensuring a better long-term position and sustainable growth.

"This project is an important step in our decarbonization journey and is aligned with Votorantim Cimentos' 2030 Sustainability Commitments. In all the regions where we operate, our focus is to intensify efficiency and incorporate the use of renewable energy, increasing the volume of self-produced clean energy we consume and, consequently, our competitiveness, generating benefits for society and the planet," says Alvaro Lorenz, Global Sustainability Director at Votorantim Cimentos.

Luiz Carlos Solar Project

The Luiz Carlos solar project will be located in Paracatu, Minas Gerais, a municipality that is already home to other Atlas solar projects, which will allow the company to continue investing in the development of the region, in environmental and social terms, with an emphasis on hiring local labor.

With the start of construction, Atlas will actively support robust environmental, social, and governance (ESG) programs for sustainable development. Atlas' flagship program, "We are all part of the same energy," during the construction of the Boa Sorte Solar Project, located in the same municipality, trained over 300 women from surrounding towns to contribute to the construction of the solar plants. Additionally, Atlas's award-winning Ed-Mundo program will also be implemented. The program is designed to educate young students from underrepresented communities in programming, IT, robotics and entrepreneurship and empower them to play a central role in social transformation, creating job opportunities and additional sources of income for their communities and families.

INVESTMENTS IN DECARBONIZATION

Votorantim Cimentos' goal is to have 45% of the energy consumed globally come from renewable sources by 2030. With this new project, 75% of the energy consumed by the company in Brazil will come from clean sources.

Since its foundation, Votorantim Cimentos has always been concerned with generating its own energy for the production of its plants. In the state of Bahia, the company operates the concession for the 160-megawatt Pedra do Cavalo Hydroelectric Plant, as well as owning four Small Hydroelectric Plants (SHPs) in other locations and participating in the Machadinho Hydroelectric Plant (HPP) consortium in southern Brazil. In 2022, it also signed an agreement with Auren to build a wind farm in the northeast of Brazil, with a capacity of 220 megawatts, which went into operation in early 2023, adding 55 average MW of renewable energy to its portfolio.

The conclusion of the agreement still depends on the usual conditions for operations of this nature, including the approval of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE).

About Atlas Renewable Energy

Atlas Renewable Energy is an international renewable energy generation company that has developed and built about 5.2 GW of renewable energy assets, of which 2.3 GW are operational. Atlas has specialized in developing, financing, constructing, and operating renewable energy projects since early 2017. The company has an experienced team with a deep global power market and renewable energy expertise, with the longest track record in the renewable energy industry in Ibero-America.

The company's strategy is focused on helping large corporates make the energy transition to 100% clean energy. Atlas Renewable Energy is widely recognized for its high standards in developing, constructing, and operating large-scale projects, as well as its deep and long-standing track record in ESG and sustainable development.

For more details, please visit: https://www.atlasrenewableenergy.com

About Votorantim Cimentos

Votorantim Cimentos is a construction materials and sustainable solutions company with more than 13,000 employees. The portfolio of construction materials goes beyond cement and includes concrete, mortar and aggregates. The company also operates in the areas of agricultural inputs, waste management and co-processing. Votorantim Cimentos units are strategically close to the most important growing consumer markets and are present in ten countries in addition to Brazil: Argentina, Bolivia, Canada, Spain, the United States, Luxembourg, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Uruguay. More information at www.votorantimcimentos.com.br

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DUBAI, UAE, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest report by Kings Research, the Global Medical Imaging Services Market value was registered at USD 502.12 billion in 2022 and is foreseen to grow to USD 789.17 billion by 2030, depicting a 5.81% CAGR from 2023 to 2030. The global market for medical imaging services is experiencing growth, primarily attributed to the rising incidence of chronic diseases and an aging population, which is fueling the demand for accurate and early disease detection. Technological advancements in medical imaging, such as high-resolution modalities and the integration of artificial intelligence, contribute to enhancing diagnostic capabilities.

Medical imaging services are essential to contemporary healthcare as they allow us to visualize the human body using methods such as MRI, CT, ultrasound, X-ray, PET, and SPECT. For a variety of medical diseases, these services are essential for early identification, diagnosis, and therapy planning. They are used in many different contexts, such as neurological assessment, cardiovascular assessment, illness monitoring, preventive screening, and diagnostic imaging. Identification of fractures, malignancies, infections, and vascular anomalies is facilitated by diagnostic imaging.

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Trending Now: Siemens Healthineers and CommonSpirit Health Enhance Portfolio with Block Imaging

In May 2023, Siemens Healthineers, in collaboration with CommonSpirit Health, successfully acquired Block Imaging, a prominent provider of refurbished medical imaging equipment. This was aimed at broadening Siemens Healthineers' portfolio and consolidating its presence in the refurbished medical imaging market. The acquisition empowered Siemens Healthineers to provide an array of cost-effective imaging solutions to healthcare providers, reinforcing their commitment to delivering high-quality and accessible medical technology.

Competitive Landscape

Prominent players in the medical imaging services industry are strategically employing various key business tactics to improve their market presence. These include forging partnerships, engaging in mergers and acquisitions, innovating products, and establishing joint ventures. The objective behind these endeavors is to broaden their product portfolio and enhance market shares across diverse regions.

For instance, in January 2023, Bayer acquired Blackford, a British medical imaging AI developer. This acquisition underscores the increasing importance of artificial intelligence in the medical imaging sector. The strategic decision aligns with the prevailing market trend of incorporating AI solutions to improve diagnostic accuracy and efficiency, highlighting the industry's reliance on advanced technologies.

Prominent players profiled in the medical imaging services market include:

Siemens Healthineers

Philips Healthcare

Canon Medical Systems

Hitachi Healthcare

Hologic, Inc.

Carestream Health

Fujifilm Holdings Corporation

Agfa-Gevaert Group

Esaote S.p.A.

GE Healthcare

Have an Enquiry? Talk to our Analyst @ https://www.kingsresearch.com/enquiry/medical-imaging-services-market-318

Non-invasiveness of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Service Type to Bolster Medical Imaging Services Market Growth

Based on service type, the market is segmented into magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), nuclear medicine, and x-ray.

The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) segment dominated the global medical imaging services market in 2022. This dominance can be attributed to MRI's exceptional capability to generate detailed images of soft tissues and organs. The non-invasive and radiation-free characteristics of MRI have reinforced its popularity among both healthcare providers and patients, further establishing its position at the forefront of the market.

Increasing Imaging Services Offered by Hospitals to Augment Market Revenue

Based on end-user, the medical imaging services market is categorized into hospitals, diagnostic imaging centers, ambulatory surgical centers, and research and academic institutes.

The hospitals segment held the largest market share in 2022. Hospitals stand out as primary providers of diagnostic and imaging services, presenting a diverse array of modalities and catering to a broad patient base. This extensive service offering has significantly contributed to their substantial market presence. The comprehensive infrastructure of hospitals, coupled with the presence of specialized medical staff capable of handling complex cases, establishes them as the preferred choice for a wide spectrum of medical imaging needs.

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Surging Emphasis on Early Disease Detection to Boost Medical Imaging Services Market Development

The global medical imaging services market is growing due to increased demand for early disease detection amid rising chronic diseases and an aging population. Technological advancements, including high-resolution modalities and artificial intelligence, enhance diagnostic capabilities. Key drivers include the expansion of telemedicine, teleradiology services, and healthcare infrastructure investments in emerging economies. Integration of electronic health records and a focus on patient-centric care contribute to streamlined workflows and improved outcomes, fueling market growth.

Furthermore, rising government initiatives and investments in healthcare infrastructure and medical imaging technologies play a pivotal role in fostering the growth of the medical imaging services industry. These efforts are geared toward improving access to medical imaging services and elevating the overall quality of healthcare delivery.

Early Adoption of Cutting-Edge Technologies in North America to Spur Medical Imaging Services Market Expansion

North America led the global medical imaging services market in 2022. The region's well-established healthcare system, high healthcare spending, and early adoption of cutting-edge technologies are some factors responsible for its dominance. Major manufacturers of medical equipment, medical imaging centers, and technological pioneers are all concentrated in the United States. The area's commitment to innovation and R&D activities, as well as its use of AI and focus on patient care, all contribute to its leadership status in the industry.

Purchase This Comprehensive Research Report for Valuable Market Insights: https://www.kingsresearch.com/buy-now/318

Growing Government Investments in Healthcare Infrastructure to Support APAC Medical Imaging Services Industry Progress

The Asia Pacific medical imaging services market is anticipated to experience notable growth, with the highest projected CAGR through the forecast period. This growth is driven by factors such as economic development, urbanization, growing healthcare expenditure, an increase in chronic diseases, technological advancements, digital healthcare solutions, and government initiatives. The adoption of telemedicine, teleradiology, and mobile health applications is on the rise, enhancing accessibility to medical imaging services in remote areas. Government investments in healthcare infrastructure further contribute to APAC's position as a dynamic and rapidly expanding region in the global medical imaging services industry.

For more information on the report, visit: https://www.kingsresearch.com/medical-imaging-services-market-318

Key Points from TOC:

Chapter 1 Introduction of The Global Medical Imaging Services Market

1.1 Market Definition

1.2 Market Segmentation

1.3 Research Timelines

1.4 Limitations

1.5 Assumptions

Chapter 2 Executive Summary

Chapter 3 Research Methodology

3.1 Data Collection

3.1.1 Secondary Sources

3.1.2 Primary Sources

3.1.3 Research Flow

3.2 Subject Matter Expert Advice

3.3 Quality Check

3.4 Final Review

3.5 Bottom-Up Approach

3.6 Top-down Approach

Chapter 4 Global Medical Imaging Services Market Outlook

4.1 Market Evolution

4.2 Overview

4.3 Market Dynamics

4.3.1 Drivers

4.3.2 Restraints

4.3.3 Opportunities

4.3.4 Challenges

4.4 Pricing Analysis

4.5 Porter's Five Forces Analysis

4.6 Value Chain Analysis

4.7 Macroeconomic Analysis

Chapter 5 Impact of Russia-Ukraine War

Chapter 6 Global Medical Imaging Services Market, By Service Type

Chapter7 Global Medical Imaging Services Market, By Application

Chapter8 Global Medical Imaging Services Market, By End-User

Chapter9 Global Medical Imaging Services Market, By Geography

Chapter10 North America

Chapter11 Europe

Chapter12 Asia-Pacific

Chapter13Middle East & Africa

Chapter14Latin America

Chapter 15 Global Medical Imaging Services Market Competitive Landscape

15.1 Overview

15.2 Key Developments

15.3 Key Strategic Developments

15.4 Company Market Ranking

15.5 Regional Footprint

15.6 Industry Footprint

Chapter 16 Company Profiles

16.1 Siemens Healthineers

16.1.1 Key Facts

16.1.2 Financial Overview

16.1.3 Product Benchmarking

16.1.4 Recent Developments

16.1.5 Winning Imperatives

16.1.6 Current Focus & Strategies

16.1.7 Threat from competition

16.1.8 SWOT Analysis

16.2 Philips Healthcare

16.2.1 Key Facts

16.2.2 Financial Overview

16.2.3 Product Benchmarking

16.2.4 Recent Developments

16.2.5 Winning Imperatives

16.2.6 Current Focus & Strategies

16.2.7 Threat from competition

16.2.8 SWOT Analysis

16.3 Canon Medical Systems

16.3.1 Key Facts

16.3.2 Financial Overview

16.3.3 Product Benchmarking

16.3.4 Recent Developments

16.3.5 Winning Imperatives

16.3.6 Current Focus & Strategies

16.3.7 Threat from competition

16.3.8 SWOT Analysis

16.4 Hitachi Healthcare

16.4.1 Key Facts

16.4.2 Financial Overview

16.4.3 Product Benchmarking

16.4.4 Recent Developments

16.4.5 Winning Imperatives

16.4.6 Current Focus & Strategies

16.4.7 Threat from competition

16.4.8 SWOT Analysis

16.5 Hologic, Inc.

16.5.1 Key Facts

16.5.2 Financial Overview

16.5.3 Product Benchmarking

16.5.4 Recent Developments

16.5.5 Winning Imperatives

16.5.6 Current Focus & Strategies

16.5.7 Threat from competition

16.5.8 SWOT Analysis

Continued..

About Us:

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/medical-imaging-services-market-to-record-robust-growth-at-5-81-cagr-accounting-for-789-17-billion-by-2030--north-america-leads-the-industry-due-to-increased-demand-for-early-disease-detection-projects-kings-research-302035870.html
By Rasha Rehman

Originally published by TriplePundit

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Storytelling is central to sustainability and social impact. Issues like warming temperatures or gender equity gaps may sound complex and difficult to understand. But when communicated through the lens of story - and through the eyes of the people and communities affected by these issues and working to solve them - they take on new meaning for engaged audiences.

Young leaders looking to accelerate their work in this area have a new opportunity to learn how to tell impactful stories. Launched by the nonprofit organization Girl Rising, the Future Rising fellowship selects 10 leaders annually between the ages of 17 and 25 who are working on gender equity and climate justice issues interchangeably. The fellowship provides financial support, a stipend of $5,000, access to networks of advisors and experts, and skills training such as leadership development, storytelling workshops, speaking opportunities, and other professional opportunities.

Girl Rising was established to explore how empowering women and girls with education can combat global poverty, CEO Christina Lowry told TriplePundit. Originally, Girl Rising launched as a film, which later became an organization. Along the way, the founding team kept up with research and trends on girls' education and consistently discovered girls and women are disproportionately impacted by climate change, Lowry said.

Girls and women are more susceptible to climate-induced disasters

Globally, women represent 43 percent of the agricultural workforce, a rate that grows higher in parts of Asia and Africa. As such, women play a critical role in environmental sustainability and food security. Yet due to a combination of factors such as cultural gender norms, lack of access to education and resources, poverty, and limits on decision making, they are disproportionately impacted by climate disasters. Women are also susceptible to climate-induced exploitation such as organized trafficking because climate disasters uproot local security and safety for women and children, according to the United Nations Environment Program.

"We believe, at this moment in time, it is imperative to hand the mics over to girls and young women for us to be able to elevate the voices of those people, young women and young men who really are on the front lines of this work," Lowry said. "So, we decided to create a fellowship program."

During their cohort, Future Rising fellows complete a narrative media project that tells the story of their own work or the work of girls and women within the climate and environmental justice space. Fellows also learn the elements of impactful storytelling and are empowered to develop their own stories to tell.

The Future Rising fellowship teaches effective storytelling strategies and provides access to a global network

Ayomide Solanke is a 2021 Future Rising fellow from Lagos, Nigeria. For her media project, she created a graphic novel that highlights how societal practices and norms such as child marriage affect girls and women and worsen poverty and climate change. The novel has since published locally in Lagos as well as online. "[The fellowship] was an opportunity at the time to be able to see and get my message on a larger and  wider platform," she said.

Solanke first discovered the fellowship via X, previously known as Twitter, and applied. "My original manuscript was probably maybe 10 pages at most," she told us. "At the end, I have like 45 to 50 pages."

During the fellowship, Solanke and her cohort participated in a series of training sessions and workshops to learn more about storytelling. She learned to incorporate the voice of survivors in her story by speaking with them, while navigating the delicate line of not making them feel re-victimized. And the time spent drafting her story taught her how important using easy-to-understand language can be to getting a message across.

"I would say that the Future Rising fellowship helped me not just in my project, [but] also in my work as an activist," Solanke said. "I'm able to have a wider platform to grow and evolve and meet other people and share my work with people, and also hear, and see what other people are doing and incorporate and collaborate."

Like Solanke, 2022 fellow Geela Garcia of Manila, Philippines, said the fellowship connected her to a global network of individuals to learn from and engage. "I wanted to be in a diverse community with shared goals and perspectives about people and our home," she told TriplePundit. "Since the cohort is global, it exposes me to stories and experiences of people from different cultures and parts of the world. The fellowship reminds me that despite our differences, we are similar in wanting to make a safer and more livable place for all."

Girl Rising and HP continue their work to advance digital equity and eliminate challenges to girls' education

Girl Rising has partnered closely with the tech giant HP for nearly a decade - from HP's support of the original Girl Rising film, to a multi-year partnership to advance technology education in the U.S, India and Nigeria, said Michele Malejki, the company's global head of social impact.

"In 2021, HP made a commitment to accelerate digital equity for 150 million people, and the Girl Rising Future Fellows program, also launched in 2021, was a natural next step in our collaboration - squarely rooted in our Sustainable Impact focus areas of climate action, human rights and digital equity," Malejki told TriplePundit.

Digital equity - meaning equal access to technology and knowing how to use it - is essential for combating poverty as education, healthcare and economic opportunities increasingly move online. Women and girls, people with disabilities, aging populations, and other marginalized groups are disproportionately affected by gaps in digital literacy and technology access. HP and the HP Foundation aim to change that by bringing technology solutions and funding to nonprofit partners like Girl Rising.

"HP and Girl Rising share a common belief that to drive positive, lasting change in the world, women and girls must have access to quality education, which includes amazing learning materials," Malejki said. "Educating women and girls is fundamental to addressing our climate crisis, to strengthening our communities and global economy, and to solving other related issues like population growth and human rights violations." Since 2019, the company and nonprofit have enabled 14.4 million students and teachers in India, Nigeria, and the U.S. with technology solutions and new curriculum, she said.

Meanwhile Girl Rising announced the third cohort of Future Rising Fellows in September in its latest bid to help young people tell their stories on a global platform and have access to power.

"One of the things we know is that young people often don't have a seat at the table, and as critical discussions and decisions are being made about how countries and multilateral institutions are going to address climate change, where investments are going to go, we believe these young people need to be at the table and have their voices heard and their demands heard," Lowry said.

This article series is sponsored by HP and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.

Image courtesy of Girl Rising

Geela Garcia, multimedia journalist and Girl Rising Future Rising Fellow, Philippines, documents stories of women, food sovereignty and the environment.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from TriplePundit on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: TriplePundit

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/triplepundit

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: TriplePundit

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Lee Fuhr will head the new Creative division of Border continuing to operate Cozy as a sub-brand, focusing on marketing websites, microsite design, digital collateral, and brand design

SAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Border LLC, a boutique user experience design and development agency in San Diego, is pleased to announce its recent acquisition of Cozy, a creative agency with a niche in business-to-business and not-for-profit digital design. This acquisition signifies a strategic expansion of Border's design services, strengthening its offering in marketing websites, microsite design, digital collateral, and brand design.

Aaron Martlage, General Manager and Design Principal of Border, shared his perspective on the acquisition stating, "Bringing Cozy into our team marks a pivotal step in broadening our service offerings. Their specialization in B2B websites complements our focus on designing and building superior enterprise software experiences. Each division retains its laser focus on its expertise while rounding out the overall offering for our clients."

Lee Fuhr, Founder and CEO of Cozy Design, Inc., also sees the potential. "Collaborating with Border represents an exciting chance for us to expand our capabilities and reinforce our commitment to pragmatic design, especially for those often neglected by mainstream agencies. Cozy and Border serve similar clients, engage in overlapping yet distinct project types, and our company values are remarkably aligned."

This acquisition allows Cozy to retain its unique identity as a sub-brand within Border, with Lee Fuhr leading the new Creative division. This structure is designed to keep Cozy's specialized services intact while benefiting from the expanded capabilities and resources of Border, including in-house development.

The collaboration between Border and Cozy is set to deliver a unique blend of services. Border's expertise in enterprise software design combined with Cozy's prowess in B2B web and microsite development will offer clients a comprehensive suite of digital solutions.

This partnership also signifies a commitment to innovation and customer-centric design in the San Diego creative community. Both Mr. Martlage and Mr. Fuhr lead community initiatives in San Diego and know the unique position of their brands are well positioned in 2024; San Diego and Tijuana are joint Word Design Capitals this year as designated by the World Design Organization.

For more detailed information about the services and collaborative ventures of Border and Cozy, and to understand how this partnership can benefit your business, visit Border's website and Cozy's website.

About Border LLC:

Border LLC excels in designing and developing intuitive enterprise software solutions, focusing on delivering engaging and user-friendly experiences across a variety of industries.

About Cozy:

Cozy is recognized for its creative design and marketing services, particularly in the realm of business-to-business websites and not-for-profits, providing tailored digital solutions to businesses.

Contact:

Border LLC

https://borderux.com

hi@borderux.com

Cozy

https:/cozydesign.com/

hi@cozy.es

Contact Information

Aaron Martlage

General Manager + Design Principal

aaron@borderux.com

619-343-3779

SOURCE: Border LLC

View the original press release on newswire.com.
SCOTTSDALE, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / In the spirit of giving back, Sharing the Good Life Foundation, a philanthropic arm of MC Companies, is delighted to announce its outstanding achievements in community support over the past year.





MC Companies' employees at the MC 2023 Volunteer Day

MC Companies' employees from the Scottsdale Corporate office and Phoenix properties joining together to participate in a company-wide volunteer day.





In the past 12 months, Sharing the Good Life has extended support to an impressive 72 diverse charities solely through the Employee Grant Program. This initiative is fueled by the active participation of MC employees dedicated to giving back and creating a positive impact in the communities we serve.

As part of its commitment to volunteerism, each MC employee is provided with 16 hours annually of paid volunteer hours. Additionally, MC Companies annually closes its doors for a full day, allowing employees to volunteer their time at local food banks. Total VTO hours used this year reached an impressive 2,936. This demonstrates our team's dedication to making a difference beyond the workplace, embodying the values that define our company.

The Sharing the Good Life Foundation spearheaded a company-wide food drive collecting a substantial 12,789 pounds of food. Thank you to the generosity of both employees and additional contributions from the Foundation, they were able to help alleviate the immediate needs of individuals and families facing food insecurity.

"We are immensely proud of the accomplishments of the Sharing the Good Life Foundation and our dedicated team. Our commitment to corporate social responsibility is at the forefront of our values, and these achievements exemplify the positive impact that can be achieved when we unite for a common purpose. As we reflect on the past year's accomplishments, we look forward to furthering our efforts to support communities and drive meaningful change," remarked Ross McCallister, Owner of MC Companies.

Sharing The Good Life Foundation aims to inspire a spirit of generosity and compassion that extends beyond the workplace and leaves a lasting legacy of positive change. We firmly believe that by working together and channeling our collective efforts, we can create a profound impact on the communities we serve.

Contact Information

Caulene Flores

Marketing & Communications Manager

cflores@mccompanies.com

(480) 313-5409

SOURCE: MC Companies

View the original press release on newswire.com.
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / FedEx Corporation

The Salvation Army's support of the emergency services in Kent and Sussex will strengthen after the church and charity got a special delivery from FedEx this week.



Photo credit Salvation Army

The global delivery company presented representatives from The Salvation Army's South East division with a new Incident Response Unit (IRU) at Rochester Fire Station, the 23rd vehicle FedEx has donated to charities across the world since 2006.

The Salvation Army has been supporting emergency services for more than 50 years, providing on site refreshments and emotional support to responders at major incidents.

The new vehicle will operate across Kent and Sussex, where Salvation Army teams have previously provided more than 20,000 meals to NHS staff during the pandemic, helped out when an earthquake hit Folkestone and fed stranded lorry drivers. Team members also provided support to people in London after the Queen's death as well as the tragic Grenfell Tower fire.

Captain Gary Robb from The Salvation Army's South East Divisional Headquarters said he was delighted to receive the new vehicle and thanked Alun Cornish, FedEx Express Operations Managing Director who was also present.

Gary said: "FedEx has worked with The Salvation Army for many years across the globe and together we have been able to provide vital support to communities at times of crisis. Thank you for putting your faith in The Salvation Army and for supporting our work in such a tangible way."

Alun Cornish said FedEx Express was honoured to be associated with The Salvation Army.

He said: "We're pleased to support the tireless work you do to help our communities. We hope our gift will allow you to help people in the dark hours following a disaster, and to help others in need throughout the year."

Guest blog from The Salvation Army UK

***Photo credit Salvation Army

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from FedEx Corporation on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: FedEx Corporation

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/fedex-corporation

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: FedEx Corporation

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Since its inception, LABS has screened 1.6 million patients, enrolled more than 237,000 people in healthcare programs, and improved more than 100,000 lives

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, a sister organization of the World Economic Forum (WEF), announced at WEF's annual meeting in Davos today that Ruchika Singhal, president of Medtronic LABS, is the 2024 "Corporate Social Innovator of the Year."

For nearly a decade, Medtronic LABS, an independent nonprofit organization supported by Medtronic, has been bringing together health systems, governments, local innovators, companies, and non-governmental organizations to remove healthcare barriers. Medtronic LABS uses data, technology, and partnerships to address some of the world's most pressing health issues - like hypertension and diabetes - in underserved communities in Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Bangladesh, the United States, and Bhutan.

"When we started LABS, the team was challenged to consider how to use Medtronic's expansive business and health technology resources to find ways to expand access to the nearly half of the world that lacks access to essential health services," Singhal said. "We had lots of ideas early on, and it took us years to engage local stakeholders and truly understand ground level needs and constraints to refine our solutions. Achieving scalable and sustainable impact requires long-term commitment to the mission and our work at LABS is a testament to what's possible. We are truly grateful for the support and recognition."

Since its inception, LABS has screened 1.6 million patients, enrolled more than 237,000 people in healthcare programs, improved more than 100,000 lives, and trained more than 8,000 community health workers.

"The LABS model that Ruchika and her team created dramatically extends our Mission by offering meaningful health solutions to patients we otherwise would not reach with our traditional products and therapies," said Geoff Martha, Medtronic CEO and Chairman. "I'm proud of Ruchika for harnessing her passion and entrepreneurial spirit for the greater good."

The 2024 Schwab Foundation Social Innovation Awards recognize 16 organizations, joining a global community of 477 change-makers directly improving the lives of 891 million people. The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship was founded in 1998 by Hilde and Klaus Schwab. In partnership with the World Economic Forum, the Schwab Foundation is the foremost global community of pioneering social innovators driving systemic change.

About Medtronic

Bold thinking. Bolder actions. We are Medtronic. Medtronic plc, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is the leading global healthcare technology company that boldly attacks the most challenging health problems facing humanity by searching out and finding solutions. Our Mission - to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life - unites a global team of 95,000+ passionate people across more than 150 countries. Our technologies and therapies treat 70 health conditions and include cardiac devices, surgical robotics, insulin pumps, surgical tools, patient monitoring systems, and more. Powered by our diverse knowledge, insatiable curiosity, and desire to help all those who need it, we deliver innovative technologies that transform the lives of two people every second, every hour, every day. Expect more from us as we empower insight-driven care, experiences that put people first, and better outcomes for our world. In everything we do, we are engineering the extraordinary. For more information on Medtronic (NYSE:MDT), visit www.Medtronic.com and follow @Medtronic on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic's periodic reports on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Medtronic on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Medtronic

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/medtronic

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Medtronic

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Significant reduction of COVID-19 related activities

Growth of all other lines of business

Cash totaling 2.9m on Dec 31 st , 2023

, 2023 Laboratory in Evry accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) enabling to target the large and growing demand of the pharmaceutical industry

Regulatory News:

IntegraGen (FR0010908723 ALINT) (Paris:ALINT) an OncoDNA Group company specializing in the decryption of the human genome which performs interpretable genomic analyzes for academic and private laboratories and develops diagnostic tools for oncology, today announced its non-audited revenue of 11,751k in 2023, representing a decrease of 7% compared to 2022 (excluding intra-group transactions). This decrease in revenues in 2023 is mainly due to the drop in COVID-19 related activities, which were partially offset by a significant increase in other business lines. While the SeqOIA platform has grown by 9%, the activities linked to the Microbiology with the P2M platform of the Institut Pasteur, closely related with the COVID-19 pandemic, have decreased by 37%. Genomic services business in Evry remained stable (+2%).

Compared to the 2023 H1 revenues, which were 14% below H1 2022, the recovery in revenues in H2 2023 is significant and allows to anticipate a resume in growth for the activities continued in 2024.

The Company's cash situation as of December 31, 2023, was 2.9m, in line with the company's expectations and 2023 budget.

As indicated at the occasion of the H1 2023 revenues last October, IntegraGen confirms that the 5 years contract with the SeqOIA GCS will end as of February 29, 2024. Consequently, IntegraGen has implemented a rightsizing effort to support the improvement of company's profitability, leading to a significant reduction of its total number of employees, effective in February 2024.

In addition, IntegraGen laboratory in Evry received the accreditation of the College of American Pathologists (CAP), which is necessary to conduct sequencing activities in the context of clinical drug development. IntegraGen is now able to address the large and growing demand of the pharmaceutical industry, drastically increasing its total addressable market.

Bernard Courtieu, IntegraGen CEO, said "2023 has been the first year without any COVID-19 effect, and has demonstrated once again the robustness of our business model. We will continue to deliver superior value to our customers, and are targeting new areas of growth, particularly the services to the bio-pharma industry for the clinical development of new drugs in Oncology, in conjunction with the OncoDNA Group. All this, associated with the cost reduction program initiated in Q4 2023, will help to support our profitability, and provide the basis for future sustained profitable growth of IntegraGen

Full financial results for the full year 2023 will be published on April 24, 2024.

ABOUT INTEGRAGEN

IntegraGen is an OncoDNA group company specializing in the genomics of cancer and rare genetic diseases. Backed by highly competent and qualified teams, IntegraGen is a leading player in DNA sequencing services and genomic data interpretation software. The company runs one of the largest NGS labs in France and operates for research institutes of excellence. As part of OncoDNA group, IntegraGen leverages the power of next generation sequencing with the mission of delivering the promise of precision medicine to patients. IntegraGen has about 50 employees and generated 10,8 million of turnover in 2021. Based in France, IntegraGen is part of the Belgian OncoDNA group present in Spain, UK, Germany and works with an international network of 35 distributors. The Group also provides biomarker testing and clinical interpretation tools to guide treatment and monitoring of latestage solid tumors and accelerate the development of new cancer drugs.

IntegraGen is listed on Euronext Growth in Paris (ISIN: FR0010908723 Mnemo: ALINT Eligible PEA- PME).

For further information, please visit www.integragen.com or connect with us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116179642/en/

Contacts:

IntegraGen

Bernard COURTIEU

CEO



Virginie Decoster

CFO

contact@integragen.com

Tel.: +33 (0)1 60 91 09 00

NewCap

Investor Relations

Louis-Victor DELOUVRIER

integragen@newcap.eu

Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 98 53
Regulatory News:

As regards the liquidity contract awarded by the company Sopra Steria Group (Paris:SOP) to ODDO BHF SCA, as of the 31st December 2023, the following means were included in the liquidity account:

11,024 shares;

5,388,963.57 euros in cash.

At this time of the last half yearly statement on 30th June 2023, the following means were included in the liquidity account:

17,457 shares;

4,195,353.95 euros in cash.

During the period from 01/07/2023 to 31/12/2023 the following transactions were executed:

4,973 purchase transactions

4,983 sale transactions

Over the same period, the volumes traded represented:

284,059 shares and 53,395,933.4 euros purchased

290,492 titres shares et 54,589,541.6 euros sold

At the time of the original agreement on 31st May 2006, the following means were included in the liquidity account:

0 shares;

180,000 euros in cash.

Disclaimer

This document is a free translation into English of the original French press release. It is not a binding document. In the event of a conflict in interpretation, reference should be made to the French version, which is the authentic text.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116305707/en/

Contacts:

Investor Relations

Sopra Steria Group

Olivier Psaume

investors@soprasteria.com

Press Relations

Image Sept

Caroline Simon-Phelip

caroline.simon@image7.fr

+33.1.40.67.68.16

+33.1.53.70.74.65
HBM Healthcare Investments AG / Key word(s): Monthly Figures

Key Figures 15.01.2024



16.01.2024 / 17:47 CET/CEST



in CHF Performance in % 15.01.2024 MTD FYTD CYTD NAV 229.31 1.9 -7.1 1.9 Share Price 174.00 -4.7 -15.2 -4.7 Total Net Assets (in million) 1'585 HBM Healthcare Investments AG Bundesplatz 1 CH-6300 Zug - Switzerland Tel. +41 41 710 75 77 Fax +41 41 710 75 78 E-Mail: hbm@hbmhealthcare.com Web: www.hbmhealthcare.com Wenn Sie keine Mitteilungen von HBM Healthcare Investments mehr wunschen, konnen Sie diese hier a bbestellen . Should you wish to unsubscribe from all HBM Healthcare Investments news, please unsubscribe here. Disclaimer: This message may contain confidential or privileged Information and is intended only for the use of the addressee named above. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you are hereby notified that you must not use, copy, disclose or take any action based on this message or information herein. If you have received this message by error, please advise the sender immediately and delete this message. The publication is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy securities. Statements regarding the past performance may not be understood as indication for the current or future performance. The value of investments and the income therefrom may fluctuate. A good past performance may possibly not be repeated in the future. It is possible that the investor will not be paid back the full amount invested. Performance data does not take into account any commissions and costs charged when units of the Fund are issued and redeemed. An investment entails risks, which are fully described in the individual offering documents. Some information quoted was obtained from external sources HBM considers to be reliable. HBM cannot guarantee the adequacy, accuracy, timeliness or completeness of or be held responsible or liable for errors of fact regarding such data and information obtained from third parties, and this data may change with market conditions. 06/2023 If the email looks unformatted, please use this alternative link .



End of Media Release


Redde Northgate Plc - Transaction in Own Shares

PR Newswire

LONDON, United Kingdom, January 16

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION

16 January 2024

REDDE NORTHGATE PLC

("Redde Northgate" or the "Group" or the "Company")

Transaction in Own Shares

Redde Northgate plc (LSE:REDD) announces that on 16 January 2024 it purchased the following number of its own shares to be held in treasury:

Class of shares : Ordinary shares of 50p ("shares") Number of shares purchased : 50,000 Weighted average purchase price paid : 349.5 pence per share Highest purchase price paid : 349.5 pence per share Lowest purchase price paid : 349.5 pence per share

Following the above transaction, the Company's issued share capital consists of 246,091,423 ordinary shares of 50p each, of which 17,865,071 ordinary shares are held in treasury, and 1,000,000 preference shares of 50p each which do not carry any rights to vote. Therefore the total number of voting rights in the Company is 228,226,352 which may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

In accordance with Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 (the Market Abuse Regulation) as incorporated into UK domestic law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, the schedule below contains detailed information about the purchases made by Numis Securities Limited on behalf of the Company as part of the Company's buyback programme.

Schedule of Purchase - Individual Transaction (as at 16 January 2024)

Number of shares

purchased Transaction price

(GB pence per share) Time of transaction Transaction reference number Venue 50,000 349.50 14:45:11 00068473280TRLO0 LSE LSE

Notes

This announcement is made in accordance with the requirements of Listing Rule 12.4.6.

For further information contact:

Buchanan

David Rydell/Jamie Hooper/Hannah Ratcliff +44 (0) 207 466 5000

Notes to Editors:

Redde Northgate is the leading integrated mobility solutions platform providing services across the vehicle lifecycle. The Company offers integrated mobility solutions to businesses, fleet operators, insurers, OEMs and other customers across seven key areas: vehicle rental, vehicle data, accident management, vehicle repairs, fleet management, service and maintenance, vehicle ancillary services and vehicle sales.

The Company's core purpose is to keep its customers mobile, whether through meeting their regular mobility needs or by servicing and supporting them when unforeseen events occur. With its considerable scale and reach, Redde Northgate's mission is to offer a market-leading customer proposition and drive enhanced returns for shareholders by creating value through sustainable compounding growth. The Group aims to achieve this through the delivery of its strategic framework of Focus, Drive and Broaden.

Redde Northgate services its customers through a network and diversified fleet of over 120,000 owned and leased vehicles, supporting over 600,000 managed vehicles, with more than 170 workshop, body shop and rental locations across the UK, Ireland and Spain and a specialist team of over 6,000 automotive services professionals.

Further information please visit the Company's website:
The organization has been a staple in Santa Ana since 1963, and its owners believe it will continue to thrive because it provides a service residents need.

SANTA ANA, CA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Orange County Bail Bonds is celebrating its 60th year in the industry in 2023, a remarkable feat that has seen multiple families and generations write bonds in Orange County, California.





Orange County Bail Bonds

Orange County, California, Bail Bonds Offices in Santa Ana





The business got its start in 1963 and has always been a family-operated company. When current owners Bob and Anne Miller purchased the firm in 1995, they reaffirmed that commitment to family by bringing in Mike Yoakum, their cousin, who has a tremendous amount of industry experience. Yoakum has been in the bail bonds industry all his life. Both of his parents were bail agents, and he received his license in 1988, working as an agent ever since.

In the years since, Bob hired Scott Miner to the team. Scott has been with the company since 1998 and provides Spanish translation services for clients. Leah Salazar, the General Manager, came on board in 2009 doing filing and has since moved up to the top of our management team. Ray Reyes started in 2016 and his sister Gaby Reyes is our newest licensed bail agent. It's a family affair.

In 2001, Bob Miller bought the building his bail bonds company was operating out of, and things started looking up. However, he experienced even more problems in 2004 when a fire did extensive damage to the second floor, forcing Orange County Bail Bonds to operate out of a parking lot trailer for over two years.

The good news was that the new building meets the new earthquake standards and has a green design, so it should stand the test of time. The hope is that this new construction ensures people needing bail bonds in Santa Ana, Anaheim, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, and the rest of Orange County will have access to this building for generations.

A key to Orange County Bail Bonds' longevity is the service it delivers. The company is available 24 hours per day, so clients don't have to wait for office hours to get the assistance they require. It's also worth noting that the office is directly across from the Orange County Jail, providing easy access for agents. Not only do they cover all of Orange County from their Civic Center office, but they also have reciprocal agreements with agencies all over the country.

The services the Orange County Bail Bonds team provides also benefit Orange County residents. By getting defendants out of jail while awaiting trial, there's less burden on the justice system and less tax money being used on inmates. Police departments also spend fewer resources on fugitive warrants because Orange County Bail Bonds ensures defendants show up in court at the correct time and day.

Beyond the benefits for the community, defendants appreciate the discounted rates Orange County Bail Bonds offers, which are the lowest legal rates offered. It can also provide bail without collateral in some scenarios, which is another bonus for those using the service.

When a loved one is in jail, it's easy to panic and become overwhelmed by the situation. By offering family-friendly service in Santa Ana, they believe they can reunite families while they await trial and ensure defendants don't have to spend more time away from their homes than is absolutely necessary.

As Orange County Bail Bonds celebrates its 60th year in business, owner Bob Miller is proud to reminisce about all their years in business and the families they've helped along the way. While there's no telling if the company has another 60 years in its future, Orange County Bail Bonds will continue serving Southern California for years to come and isn't showing any signs of slowing down.

Reach out to Orange County Bail Bonds at 714-224-5688 or visit www.bailall.com to learn about bail bond options and 24 hours of immediate bail service.

Contact:

Orange County Bail Bonds

1043 West Civic Center Drive

Suite 100

Santa Ana, CA 92703

https://www.bailall.com





Contact Information

Bob Miller

Owner

bail@bailall.com

714-543-8688





SOURCE: Orange County Bail Bonds

View the original press release on newswire.com.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Power One Resources Corp. (TSXV:PWRO) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that its common shares will begin trading on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) on January 18, 2024, under the trading symbol "PWRO".

Business of the Company

The Company's only business is the exploration of its two mineral properties - the Pecors Property and the Wicheeda North Property.

The Pecors Property is located about 115 km west of Sudbury and about 16 km east of Elliot Lake, Ontario. It is prospective for copper, nickel and platinum group element (PGE) mineralization. This property was originally explored for uranium, but recent work resulted in the search for base metals instead. The technical report received by the Company recommends a $520,000 program of data analysis and a 2,000 metre drill program . The work program commenced in December 2023 and will take until late-January 2024 to complete the field work and another 10 weeks to complete the analysis. As of the date hereof, the access roads to the drill sites have been substantially completed although no drill holes have been started, such that there are no assays or other results from the work done to date. There are no known mineral resources or reserves within the Pecors Property, and the exploration program is a preliminary step in the search for commercial quantities of mineralization. A copy of the Pecors technical report is available on SEDAR+ under the Company's profile.

The Wicheeda North Property is located about 80 km due north of the city of Prince George and 60 km east of the community of Bear Lake, British Columbia. It is prospective for rare earth element (REE) mineralization. The exploration history of the Wicheeda North Property is limited to an airborne geophysical survey that covered the northeast half of the property and grid-based soil geochemical sampling in the east and northeast parts of the property. The technical report received by the Company recommends a $120,505 program of soil geochemical sampling and an airborne electromagnetic geophysical survey. Completion of the work program is conditional upon the Company raising sufficient funds, and there is no assurance the Company will be successful in that regard. A copy of the Wicheeda North technical report is available on SEDAR+ under the Company's profile.

Capital Structure

The Company has approximately $632,485 of funds available, which it intends to use toward finishing the recommended work program on the Pecors Property ($205,000, as $315,000 has been paid to date), the remaining costs of listing on the TSXV, and for general and administrative costs.

The Company has a total of 33,218,597 shares, 13,983,846 warrants, and 1,900,000 options outstanding. A total of 8,507,000 shares are subject to escrow restrictions, whereby 10% will be released upon the commencement of trading, with an additional 15% every six months thereafter over 36 months. The principal shareholders of the Company are Marvel Discovery Corp. which holds 5,000,000 shares (representing 15.05% of the Company's outstanding shares), and Karim Rayani who, directly and through R7 Capital Ventures Ltd., controls 3,507,000 shares (representing 10.56% of the Company's outstanding shares).

Management

The officers and directors of the Company are:

Karim Rayani - CEO and director. For the past 18 years, Mr. Rayani has been focused on financing both domestic and international mineral exploration and development. Currently, he is the principal of R7 Capital Ventures Ltd., an investment family office firm with a diverse portfolio. Previously he worked independently as a Management Consultant and Financier to companies in the junior mining, biomedical and technology sectors. Mr. Rayani brings an extensive network of contacts throughout North America and Europe with a focus on institutional accounts. He also serves as Chief Executive Officer and a director of Falcon Gold Corp., (TSX.V), and Chief Executive Officer and a director of Marvel Discovery Corp. (TSXV).

Brian Crawford - CFO, Corporate Secretary and director. Mr. Crawford is a director, Corporate Secretary, and/or Chief Financial Officer of several TSXV and CSE listed companies including Silver Bullet Mines Corp., Searchlight Resources Inc., CBLT Inc., and Tempus Capital Inc.

Fraser Rieche - director. Mr Rieche is a co-founder of and partner in SKU Media Corp., a public relations and marketing company; and partner in various other internet and media-based companies.

Dean Pekeski - director. Mr. Pekeski is an officer and director of several public companies. Previously he was an exploration geologist and project manager with Rio Tinto Exploration; and a Vice-President at Western Potash Corp.

Jordan Smith - director. Mr. Smith is a principal of the Bow and Stern restaurant group, British Columbia. He is also a director of Carmanah Minerals Corp. (CSE).

Full biographies of each individual can be found in the Company's Listing Application (see below).

Listing Application

In connection with the Company's listing on the TSXV, it has prepared and filed on SEDAR+ a Listing Application in the form prescribed by the TSXV. The Listing Application, together with the financial statements, MD&A and technical reports as incorporated by reference therein, provides full details of the Company, its business, management, capital structure and risk factors. Readers are encouraged to review the Listing Application in its entirety.

Power One Resources Corp.

"Karim Rayani"

Karim Rayani, CEO

Telephone: (604) 670-0019

Email: k@r7.capital

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 Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements and information herein, including all statements that are not historical facts, contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements or information include but are not limited to statements or information with respect to future work programs, ability to secure financing for future operations, and prospects for future development. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements or information can be identified by the use of words such as "will" or "projected" or variations of those words or statements that certain actions, events or results "will", "could", "are proposed to", "are planned to", "are expected to" or "are anticipated to" be taken, occur or be achieved.

Although management of the Company believes that the assumptions made and the expectations represented by all forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that a forward-looking statement or information herein will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements and information by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. These factors include, but are not limited to: risks associated with the business of the Company; business and economic conditions in the mining industry generally; the supply and demand for labour and other project inputs; changes in commodity prices; changes in interest and currency exchange rates; risks relating to inaccurate geological and engineering assumptions; risks relating to unanticipated operational difficulties (including failure of equipment or processes to operate in accordance with specifications or expectations, cost escalation, unavailability of materials and equipment, government action or delays in the receipt of government approvals, industrial disturbances or other job action, and unanticipated events related to health, safety and environmental matters); risks relating to adverse weather conditions; political risk and social unrest; changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets; and other risk factors as detailed from time to time in the Company's continuous disclosure documents filed with Canadian securities administrators. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

SOURCE: Power One Resources Corp.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Esker achieves strong 14% annual growth despite continued economic uncertainty

Esker:

Sales Revenue in M (Unaudited) Q4 2023 Q4 2022 Q4 2023/Q4 2022

Growth(4) 2023 2022 2023/2022

Growth(4) SaaS(1) 38.2 34.2 +15% 146.8 127.7 +17% Implementation Services(2) 8.0 6.9 +17% 28.3 25.7 +12% Legacy Products(3) 0.7 1.3 -42% 3.5 5.9 -39% TOTAL 46.9 42.5 +13% 178.6 159.3 +14% Bookings(5)(4) 7.0 4.50 +58% 20.8 16.6 +24% (1)Includes subscriptions and transactional revenue (2)Includes Consulting and Professional Services (3)Includes Esker DeliveryWare, Fax Servers and Host Access (4)Growth based on a constant exchange rate: 2023 exchange rates applied to 2022 figures (5)Expressed as Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR). ARR is the average annual subscription value that customers commit to pay over the life of a contract. Revenue from platform transactions is not included as it is uncertain by nature and depends on the number of transactions effectively processed, which is not known at the time the contract is signed.

Dynamic growth continues despite unpredictable economic environment

Esker once again experienced its most successful quarter and year in company history with sales revenue reaching close to 180 million euros for 2023. Esker 2023 sales revenue amounted to 178.6 million euros, a 14% increase over 2022 based on constant exchange rates (+12% based on current exchange rates).

Esker Q4 2023 consolidated sales revenue amounted to 46.9 million euros, achieving a 13% increase over Q4 2022 based on constant exchange rates (+11% based on current exchange rates). Despite a slight decrease in volumes processed since the middle of the year due to the economic slowdown, cloud-based SaaS revenue (+15% based on constant exchange rates) and implementation services continue to drive growth, representing 98% of quarterly revenue. This strong momentum is spread across all geographical locations Esker is active in, recording solid growth across the board. These results are due to sales success achieved throughout the year.

A record quarter and year for new bookings

Esker also recorded its best quarter in terms of new bookings. The annual recurring value (ARR) of new contracts signed during Q4 2023 increased by 58% based on constant exchange rates compared to Q4 2022, reaching 7.0 million euros. This represents 38% growth compared to the previous record in Q3 2023.

ARR of new contracts signed in 2023 increased by 24% (at constant exchange rates) over 2022, reaching 20.8 million euros.

Sales activity was extremely dynamic in Europe with an 84% increase in new bookings for the year. Driven by the upcoming e-invoicing regulations in France, sales activity in France grew by 89%, with an impressive Q4, up 146% compared to Q4 2022. The rest of Europe increased 83% over the year (+72% in Q4), reflecting the success of substantial investments made in previous quarters for the region.

New bookings in the U.S. increased by 16% in Q4, representing 35% of the company's overall bookings. The Asia-Pacific region saw a slight decrease in bookings (-2%) due to the poor economic climate in the region.

Increased acquisition costs

The pace of signed contracts linked to the e-invoicing regulations in France accelerated in Q4 2023, resulting in higher-than-expected acquisition costs (generally consisting of sales commissions). As Esker does not defer the costs, they are charged to income statement at contract signature, whereas sales revenue is only recorded on a month-by-month basis (revenue spread out in SaaS mode). Consequently, and as announced in the Q3 2023 financial results, the rapid acceleration in bookings will impact the expected operating margins for 2023 by 1 or 2 points, bringing it to around 10%.

A solid financial structure

As of December 31, 2023, company cash rests at 52.2 million euros (versus 46.9 million euros as of December 31, 2022). With 41.5 million euros in net cash (compared to 32.3 million euros on December 31, 2022) and more than 130,000 in treasury shares (representing more than 20 million euros based on the closing share price), Esker has the financial autonomy to pursue its strategy based on accelerating organic growth, complemented by targeted acquisitions to integrate adjacent markets and enhance value delivered to customers.

Outlook for 2024

The positive impacts of the e-invoicing regulations should continue in 2024, increasing bookings in France. The same aspect is expected to favorably impact operations in Spain, Malaysia, Singapore and Germany in years to come, depending on the implementation timelines of the respective governments.

All Esker subsidiaries hold substantial potential bookings portfolios, which is expected to result in double-digit booking growth for 2024.

Given the strong booking performance in 2023, and despite continuing economic uncertainty possibly impacting platform transactions, Esker projects organic revenue growth for 2023 to be between 12-14%. At this level, combined with tight control expenses and investments, profitability (operating profit) is estimated to be between 12-13% of revenue.

An English webcast with Jean-Michel Berard (Esker CEO) and Emmanuel Olivier (Esker COO) will take place January 16, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. Central European Time. To participate, please join call here.

About Esker

Esker is a global cloud platform built to unlock strategic value for Finance, Procurement and Customer Service professionals, and strengthen collaboration between companies by automating the cash conversion cycle. Esker's solutions incorporate AI technologies to drive increased productivity, enhanced visibility, reduced fraud risk, and improved collaboration with customers, suppliers and employees. Founded in 1985, Esker operates in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific with global headquarters in Lyon, France, and U.S. headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin. For more information on Esker and its solutions, visit www.esker.com. Follow Esker on LinkedIn and join the conversation on the Esker blog at esker.com/blog.

2024 Esker S.A. All rights reserved. Esker and the Esker logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Esker S.A. the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116430297/en/

Contacts:

Press Contact: Lindsey Harrison

Tel: (630) 730-1808 eskerpr@walkersands.com



Investor Relations Contact: Emmanuel Olivier

Tel: +33 (0)4 72 83 46 46 emmanuel.olivier@esker.com
Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Plc - Transaction in Own Shares

PR Newswire

LONDON, United Kingdom, January 16

For immediate release

16 January 2024

FINSBURY GROWTH & INCOME TRUST PLC

(the "Company")

MARKET PURCHASE OF COMPANY'S OWN SHARES

The Company announces that it has today purchased 106,980 of its own shares ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 840.09 pence per Ordinary Share. Such shares will be held in treasury by the Company.

The transaction was made pursuant to the authority granted at the Annual General Meeting of the Company held on 17 January 2023.

Following this transaction, the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury is 27,353,324; the total number of Ordinary Shares that the Company has in issue, less the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury following such purchase, and therefore, the total number of voting rights in the Company is 197,637,979.

The figure of 197,637,979 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for calculations of interests in the Company's voting rights in accordance with the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

For and on behalf of

Frostrow Capital LLP

Company Secretary

For further information, please contact:

Victoria Hale

Frostrow Capital LLP

Tel: 020 3 170 8732
Wavestone announces today the acquisition of Aspirant Consulting in the US.

Aspirant Consulting: supporting businesses digital transformation

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, Aspirant Consulting provides deep expertise on Strategy, Marketing & Innovation, Organizational Effectiveness & Change Management, and Technology Consulting.

Aspirant RPO, another division of Aspirant, which provides Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) services, is not included in the scope acquired by Wavestone.

Aspirant Consulting clients include Global 500 companies as well as large US enterprises, in several sectors, with a strong footprint in Life Sciences. Key clients are leading companies such as GSK, Haleon, Novartis, PPG, Westinghouse, and Zimmer Biomet.

Aspirant Consulting headcount is circa a hundred permanent employees, including approximately 80 consultants, and an additional circa 30 contractors mainly in the US and some in the UK.

Over its last fiscal year (ending December 31, 2023), Aspirant Consulting forecasted consolidated revenue is $26.1m (23.8m), with an adjusted EBITDA margin expected to be over 10%.

"From 2018-2023, Aspirant Consulting has more than doubled in size, driven by our terrific team and outstanding commitment to our clients.", comments Mike McClaine, Aspirant Consulting's CEO. "Joining forces with Wavestone gives us the opportunity to take advantage of synergies and deliver even more value for our clients on a much larger scale."

"With Aspirant Consulting, Wavestone continues to strengthen its presence in the United States", says Pascal Imbert, Wavestone's CEO. "Our discussions in the last months have confirmed a strong cultural fit at all levels and we were impressed by Aspirant Consulting's track-record and their ability to develop long-lasting footprint within very large enterprises. All combined with the quality of the leadership team will enable us to build sound foundations in the US, the world's leading consulting market."

Terms of the operation

Wavestone has acquired 100% of Aspirant Consulting's share capital.

The purchase price is $24.0m (21.9m) in enterprise value, plus an additional consideration of up to $10.0m (9.1m) conditioned by Aspirant Consulting's performance at December 31, 2024.

The acquisition has been financed by Wavestone's own funds and through credit lines available to the firm from its banking partners.

Aspirant Consulting will be integrated in Wavestone's accounts as of February 1, 2024.

Aspirant Consulting's leadership team is fully committed to this merger. Mike McClaine, CEO of Aspirant Consulting, and key executives will pursue the firm's development within Wavestone, alongside Wavestone's US management team.

Wavestone's advisors:

IA Global Capital, Dentons, Grant Thornton, Arsene Taxand, Willis Tower Watson

Aspirant Consulting's advisors:

Metz Lewis Broadman Must O'Keefe, Schneider Downs, Oury Clark

Next event: publication of Q3 2023/24 revenue, Tuesday, January 30, 2024, after Euronext market closing.

About Wavestone

Wavestone, a leading independent consultancy headquartered in France, and Q_PERIOR, a consulting leader in the Germany-Switzerland-Austria region, joined forces in 2023 to become the most trusted partner for critical transformations.

Drawing on more than 5,500 employees across Europe, North America and Asia, the firm combines seamlessly first-class sector expertise with a 360 transformation portfolio of high-value consulting services.

Wavestone is listed on Euronext Paris and recognized as a Great Place to Work.

Wavestone

Pascal Imbert

CEO

Tel.: +33 (0)1 49 03 20 00



Justine Brosset

Financial Communication

Tel.: +33 (0)1 49 03 20 00 Actus

Mathieu Omnes

Investor and Analyst Relations

Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 92



Anne-Charlotte DUDICOURT

Press relations

Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 35

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Full and original release in PDF format:https://www.actusnews.com/documents_communiques/ACTUS-0-83733-wavestone-cp-pittsburgh-16012024-en.pdf
Dennis Fliller brings over a decade of business leadership experience to strengthen Intellias' growth in the North American region

CHICAGO, IL / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Intellias, a leading digital technology services company, has named Dennis Fliller as Vice President, Head of Telecom and Media for North America. He will lead both the strategy and operational excellence of the company's North American business unit, supporting existing and future customers with the latest technology and connectivity services.





Before joining Intellias, Fliller held executive positions in technology, sales, strategy, operations, and consulting at Capgemini and TEKsystems. Since 2011, he has been dedicated to understanding the challenges of telecom and media companies in order to bring them additional value. Fliller's focus on strategic consulting and large-scale business and technology transformation programs aligns with Intellias' commitment to innovation and excellence.

Fliller holds a bachelor's in mathematics from Dowling College in New York and an MBA in organizational leadership from Southern New Hampshire University.

"As the world shifts to 5G, companies need to quickly embrace and adapt to changes. Additionally, with more media platforms streaming directly to consumers, more personalization is required. Intellias has strong expertise in telecom and media, providing value to renowned brands worldwide. My goal will be to address clients' challenges with intelligent solutions. I am excited about the opportunity to join a company with a well-established brand and talent to expand its presence in North America," shares Dennis Fliller, VP, Head of Telecom & Media, North America at Intellias.

"Dennis's appointment is pivotal in building our vertical leadership team. He brings an invaluable understanding of North America's telecom and media market dynamics to Intellias. This will help us further enhance our customer centricity, capabilities and scale, and deepen our technology partnerships," comments Regina Viadro, SVP, Global Head of Digital Technology Services; President of North America at Intellias.

"Serving leading brands for over two decades, Intellias offers solid software engineering and digital consultancy expertise for telecom and media companies. We particularly excel in B/OSS software development as well as cloud, big data/DWH, AI, and IoT bespoke product development. With Dennis's focus on business excellence in the North American region, we will keep addressing key technology challenges to ensure clients' long-lasting success and innovation on the market," says Roman Makarchuk, Telecom & Media Delivery Director at Intellias.

As a global technology partner, Intellias empowers leading communications service providers, vendors, and system integrators to accelerate their digital transformation journey and enhance engineering capabilities in the telecom and media domain. The company contributes to the success of leading brands, including Amdocs, Kyivstar, Lifecell, and Pivotal Commware.

Contact Information

Mariia Volianyk

Head of Communications

mariia.volianyk@intellias.com

SOURCE: Intellias

View the original press release on newswire.com.
The Board of Directors today announces the co-optation of Laurence Rodriguez as director, and acknowledges Bernard Gilly's resignation

Regulatory News:

The Board of Directors of GenSight Biologics (Paris:SIGHT) (Euronext: SIGHT, ISIN: FR0013183985, PEA-PME eligible) (the "Company"), a biopharma company focused on developing and commercializing innovative gene therapies for retinal neurodegenerative diseases and central nervous system disorders, has acknowledged the resignation of Mr. Bernard Gilly from his position as director. The Board of Directors of the Company also announced today its decision, after consultation of the Nomination Committee, to co-opt Mrs. Laurence Rodriguez as director for the remainder of Bernard Gilly's term of office (expiring at the end of the annual shareholders meeting to be held in 2024 to approve the financial statements for the financial year ending December 31, 2023).

The co-optation of Laurence Rodriguez will be subject to ratification by the next shareholders' meeting of the Company.

Laurence Rodriguez appointment as Chief Executive Officer became effective on December 21, 2023. She has over 30 years' experience in the life sciences industry, including 13 years in the rare diseases business at Sanofi Genzyme, where she held a range of executive roles. As Head of the Rare Diseases Rare Blood Disorders unit at Sanofi Genzyme, she oversaw the successful launch of various rare disease products developed or acquired by the Company.

She joined GenSight Biologics in May 2021 as Head of Operations for France. She handled the early access program in preparation for LUMEVOQ's commercialization and created strong relationships with the stakeholders.

The board of directors would like to thank Bernard Gilly, co-founder of the Company in 2012 together with Pr. Jose-Alain Sahel, for his many years of dedication to the Company and his essential contribution to make LUMEVOQ a life changing therapy.

The Board of Directors has 8 members, including 5 who are deemed independent and one observer.

About GenSight Biologics

GenSight Biologics S.A. is a clinical-stage biopharma company focused on developing and commercializing innovative gene therapies for retinal neurodegenerative diseases and central nervous system disorders. GenSight Biologics' pipeline leverages two core technology platforms, the Mitochondrial Targeting Sequence (MTS) and optogenetics, to help preserve or restore vision in patients suffering from blinding retinal diseases. GenSight Biologics' lead product candidate, LUMEVOQ (GS010; lenadogene nolparvovec), is an investigational compound and has not been registered in any country at this stage, a marketing authorization application is currently under review by the EMA for the treatment of Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), a rare mitochondrial disease affecting primarily teens and young adults that leads to irreversible blindness. Using its gene therapy-based approach, GenSight Biologics' product candidates are designed to be administered in a single treatment to each eye by intravitreal injection to offer patients a sustainable functional visual recovery.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116248339/en/

Contacts:

GenSight Biologics

Chief Financial Officer

Thomas Gidoin

tgidoin@gensight-biologics.com

LifeSci Advisors

Investor Relations

Guillaume van Renterghem

gvanrenterghem@lifesciadvisors.com

+41 (0)76 735 01 31
BURLINGAME, Calif., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CoherentMI published a report, titled, Global Ultrasonic Nebulizer Market Size is estimated to grow from US$ 218.3 Million in 2023 and is forecast to reach a value of US$ 325.6 Million by 2030 at a CAGR of 5.9% between 2023 and 2030.



The global ultrasonic nebulizer market is driven by two key drivers. Firstly, the rising prevalence of respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cystic fibrosis is fueling the demand for ultrasonic nebulizers. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 235 million people suffer from asthma worldwide, and this number is expected to increase in the coming years. Ultrasonic nebulizers provide an effective and convenient way of delivering medications directly to the respiratory system, thereby reducing symptoms and improving overall quality of life for patients.

Secondly, technological advancements in ultrasonic nebulizer devices are driving market growth. Manufacturers are focusing on developing portable and user-friendly devices that offer faster and more efficient drug delivery. These advancements, coupled with the increasing adoption of nebulizers in home healthcare settings, are expected to drive market growth during the forecast period.

Key Market Takeaways:

The Global Ultrasonic Nebulizer Market Size is anticipated to witness a CAGR of 5.9% during the forecast period 2023-2030, owing to the increasing prevalence of respiratory diseases and the growing demand for efficient drug delivery systems.

On the basis of product type, the large-volume ultrasonic nebulizers segment is expected to hold a dominant position, owing to the rising incidence of COPD and the need for effective drug delivery in large volumes.

In terms of application, COPD is dominating the market due to its high prevalence and the requirement for regular medication administration. However, the market for ultrasonic nebulizers in the treatment of other respiratory conditions such as cystic fibrosis, asthma, and others is also expected to grow.

Among the end users, hospitals and clinics are expected to dominate the global ultrasonic nebulizer market. This is primarily due to the availability of advanced healthcare facilities and the requirement for immediate and focused treatment of respiratory conditions. However, the demand for ultrasonic nebulizers in home healthcare settings is projected to witness significant growth.

Regionally, North America is expected to hold a dominant position over the forecast period. The well-established healthcare infrastructure, high prevalence of respiratory diseases, and favorable reimbursement policies in the region contribute to its market dominance.

Key players operating in the global ultrasonic nebulizer market include Philips Healthcare, Omron, PARI Medical, BD, and Agilent Technologies, among others. These players are actively involved in product development, strategic collaborations, and mergers and acquisitions to strengthen their market position.

Market Trends:

Two key trends are expected to shape the global ultrasonic nebulizer market in the coming years. Firstly, there is a growing preference for portable and handheld nebulizer devices. These devices offer the convenience of on-the-go treatment and are especially popular among patients with active lifestyles. Manufacturers are launching lightweight and compact devices that can be easily carried in a bag or pocket, providing patients with the freedom to administer their medication anytime, anywhere.

Secondly, there is an increasing focus on developing nebulizer devices with enhanced drug delivery efficiency. Manufacturers are investing in research and development to improve the particle size distribution of the aerosolized medication, ensuring optimal deposition in the respiratory system. This trend is driven by the need to improve treatment outcomes and minimize waste of medication.

Recent development:

In October 2022, Omron Healthcare announced the release of the NE U22 nebulizer, which is designed to treat respiratory illnesses by administrating aerosol medication.

In June 2020, BreathResearch, a respiratory health company was acquired by AireHealth.

Read complete market research report, "Global Ultrasonic Nebulizer Market, By Product Type, By Application, By End User, By Geography, and other Segment Forecast 2023-2030", Published by CoherentMI.

Global Ultrasonic Nebulizer Market: Key Market Opportunities:

Large-volume Ultrasonic Nebulizers in COPD Treatment

Large-volume ultrasonic nebulizers are expected to dominate the global ultrasonic nebulizer market in terms of product type. This is mainly due to the increasing prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the requirement for efficient drug delivery in large volumes. COPD is a chronic respiratory condition that affects millions of people worldwide. Ultrasonic nebulizers are widely used in COPD treatment as they offer effective and fast drug delivery through inhalation.

Growing Demand for Home Healthcare Solutions

With the rising preference for home-based healthcare, there is a significant opportunity for ultrasonic nebulizers in the home healthcare segment. The convenience and cost-effectiveness of home healthcare solutions are driving the demand for portable medical devices. Ultrasonic nebulizers are compact, lightweight, and easy to use, making them suitable for home use. Patients with respiratory conditions such as asthma and cystic fibrosis can benefit from the use of ultrasonic nebulizers in the comfort of their own homes.

Overall, the global ultrasonic nebulizer market offers lucrative opportunities in large-volume nebulizers for COPD treatment and the growing demand for home healthcare solutions. With advancements in technology and increasing awareness about respiratory diseases, the market is expected to witness significant growth in the coming years. Key players need to focus on innovation and expanding their product portfolio to capitalize on these market opportunities.

Global Ultrasonic Nebulizer Market Segmentation:

By Product Type Large-volume ultrasonic nebulizers Small-volume ultrasonic nebulizers

By Application COPD Cystic Fibrosis Asthma Others

By End User Hospitals and Clinics Emergency Centers Home Healthcare Others

By Region North America U.S. Canada Latin America Brazil Mexico Rest of Latin America Europe Germany U.K. Spain France Italy Russia Rest of Europe Asia Pacific China India Japan Australia South Korea Rest of Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa South Africa GCC Countries Rest of Middle East & Africa



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Top Questions Answered in this Report:

What factors are impeding the growth of the Global Ultrasonic Nebulizer Market? What are the primary drivers fueling the growth of the Global Ultrasonic Nebulizer Market? Which segment dominates as the leading component in the Global Ultrasonic Nebulizer Market? Who are the key players actively participating in the Global Ultrasonic Nebulizer Market? Which region is expected to take the lead in the Global Ultrasonic Nebulizer Market? What is the projected CAGR of the Global Ultrasonic Nebulizer Market?

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Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - January 16, 2024) - Mr Andrew Jonsson, CFO of HerdWhistle Technologies announces the engagement and partnership of HerdWhistle with Milltrust International as the key investor and main broker for HerdWhistle's $6 million raise under Milltrust's Agri-food Technology Ventures. "Monetisation of our game-changing agri-tech requires funding, our agreement with Milltrust International will enable HerdWhistle to raise the money that it requires to fully commercialise and achieve its operational objectives and targeted revenue. Milltrust is the right partner for our company. It has access to and has built trust with a comprehensive network of investors over 13 years of continued success in agri-tech. Shareholder value is the key and imperative metric within our Executive Group at HerdWhistle and to grow our company, to add significant value to maximise return to our shareholders we need to have a strategic plan for each stage of our targeted growth. The experience that Milltrust have in raising investment will enable us to move forward seamlessly."

Mr Simon Hopkins, CEO of Milltrust International has recently joined the Advisory Board of HerdWhistle Technologies as a specialist advisor for business and investment. "Dr. Jack Behan, CEO of HerdWhistle and I met when I was Director of Roslin Technologies, the venture builder we founded in 2016 at the University of Edinburgh. I knew he was on to something with the phenotyping of livestock which today is at the core of successful breeding, animal health as well the mitigation of emissions from animal husbandry. His relentless determination to assemble the dream team has brought us to the point where we are pleased now to be backing HerdWhistle Technologies."

Mr Alexander Kalis, Group Managing Director of Milltrust International commented 'HerdWhistle's journey aligns seamlessly with Milltrust International Group's agri-food technology venture research initiatives. As part of these initiatives, Milltrust recognises and invests in companies that are not only at the cutting edge of technology but also significantly contribute to sustainable and ethical agricultural practices. HerdWhistle's innovative approach and commitment to sustainability make it the perfect embodiment of these values.'

HerdWhistle's offerings combine technologies to monitor the welfare and efficiency of animals and trace them through the supply chain to better meet the increasing demands of consumers for sustainable production.

Contact Information:

Media Relations HerdWhistle Technologies Inc.

investors@herdwhistle.com

(587)943-4404

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/194424

SOURCE: HerdWhistle Technologies Inc.
CHICAGO, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Arizton's latest research report, the green hydrogen market is growing at a CAGR of 53.53% during 2022-2029. Rising investments in green hydrogen projects, technological advancements & increasing R&D activities, and the emergence of anion exchange membrane are significant trends in the green hydrogen market.



To Know More, Download the Free Sample Report: https://www.arizton.com/request-sample/3679

Browse in-depth TOC on "Green Hydrogen Market"??

313 - Pages??

96 - Tables??

82 - Figures?

The Global Green Hydrogen Market Report Scope

Report Attributes Details Market Size (2029) $84.03 Billion Market Size (2023) $6.42 Billion CAGR (2023-2029) 53.53 % Base Year 2023 Forecast Year 2024-2029 Market Segments Technology, Source, End User, and Geography Geographic Analysis North America, Europe, APAC, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa

Green hydrogen is increasingly recognized as a leading sustainable energy source owing to rapid technological advancements and the declining cost of renewable electricity; some experts, however, are expressing skepticism about its future. Presently, most of the hydrogen derived is from natural gas, which results in gray or blue hydrogen; this type, though cost-effective, fails to align with the carbon neutrality goals. The feasibility of green hydrogen production is currently contingent on the development of demand and the global market growth, both of which remain relatively limited. The total hydrogen production in 2021 was 94 million tons, of which a mere 1 million tons was produced through technologies with low environmental impact. The widespread adoption of green hydrogen can stimulate competitive value chains and create new investment opportunities for nations trying to position themselves in this burgeoning industry.

Despite being in its early stages, the global market for green hydrogen holds significant potential in the energy transition scenario. Green hydrogen, produced via electrolysis and fuel cells using zero-carbon renewable energy, is unique in its ability to be generated at any scale and in diverse locations worldwide. This characteristic feature makes it an attractive option for sustainable hydrogen solutions, especially in developing countries. The green hydrogen market has been gaining significant attention and undergoing dynamic changes. There is a rising global focus on decarbonization and the transition to a low-carbon economy. Governments, industries, and investors recognize green hydrogen's potential as a key player in achieving carbon neutrality goals. Several countries have announced ambitious plans and investments to scale up green hydrogen production, infrastructure, and utilization.

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Recent Partnerships & Developments

Iberdrola: In December 2023, Iberdrola committed to doubling its Innovation, Development, and Research (R&D&I) investment to $4.37 by 2030 and has secured recognition as the world's top private utility in R&D for two consecutive years. The company's strategic emphasis on innovation spans renewable energy, smart grids, digital transformation, green hydrogen, and custom solutions; it also aims to accelerate its decarbonization initiatives. The key projects include offshore wind energy, pumped hydro technology, and green hydrogen development. The company continues to launch competitive products and services, leveraging big data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for customer-driven energy solutions.

ITM Power: In September 2023, ITM and FRIEM collaborated to develop a standardized Power Supply Unit (PSU) design, which has been optimized for ITM's 2MW Plug & Play electrolysis container. This collaboration aims to enhance PSU performance through closer integration with ITM's electrolyzer technology, promoting overall system reliability and cost reduction. ITM specializes in Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolysis, while FRIEM, with 70 years of experience, excels in electric energy conversion systems. The partnership underscores ITM's commitment to advancing PEM electrolysis technology, focusing on improving system performance and cost-effectiveness. FRIEM views this collaboration to strengthen its position in the global green hydrogen market.

The Global Green Hydrogen Market Surges with Unprecedented Investments, Accelerating Transition to Clean Energy and Fostering Sustainable Growth

Over the past year, the green hydrogen market has experienced a significant investment surge, marking a significant trend toward sustainable and clean energy solutions. Governments, industries, and investors increasingly acknowledge the importance of adopting cleaner energy alternatives to reduce carbon emissions. For instance, in 2023, the Board of Directors of the World Bank approved a loan of $150 million to boost investments in green hydrogen projects in Chile. This financial support aims to expedite Chile's progress in green growth, energy transition, and the dedication to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. This marks the World Bank's first loan designed to promote green hydrogen and contribute to the country's initiatives in mitigating climate change. As a result, substantial financial commitments are being made to support green hydrogen technologies' development and scaling up.

Moreover, the demand for green hydrogen is escalating in sectors such as heavy industries and long-haul transportation, where achieving decarbonization through electrification is challenging. Green hydrogen, a versatile energy carrier, can be utilized in industries that are difficult to electrify directly, expanding its potential market applications and driving further investments. As of November 2022, nearly 50 green hydrogen projects in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region were in the planning stages, requiring an estimated investment of at least $155 billion. These projects are primarily focused on the integrated ammonia production facilities running on green hydrogen, with investments allocated to renewable energy plants ($102 billion), electrolyzer plants ($23 billion), air separation units ($14 billion), and civil works ($16 billion). The Cop27 UN climate summit in Egypt fueled momentum, leading to the preliminary agreements for over 23 GW of wind projects and numerous green hydrogen deals.

Key Company Profiles

Nel

ITM Power

ENGIE

Siemens Energy

Air Products and Chemicals

McPhy Energy

Loop Energy

Messer

Elcogen

LONGi

John Cockerill

Plug Power

Cummins

Genvia

Air Liquide

Linde

Bloom Energy

Uniper

FuelCell Energy

Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation

FUSION-FUEL

thyssenkrupp AG

Enapter

rsted

HydrogenPro

Topsoe

Sunfire

H2 Green

NTPC REL

Green Hydrogen Systems

Lhyfe

Iberdrola

Enel Green Power

Beijing SinoHy Energy

GUOFUHEE

Sungrow Power Supply

Shandong AUYAN New Energy Technology

Purification Equipment Research Institute of CSIC

Kohodo Hydrogen Energy

Ohmium

Market Segmentation

Technology

Alkaline Electrolyser

Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzer

Others

Source

Wind Energy

Solar Energy

Others

End Users

Refining

Ammonia

Others

Geography

Europe

Germany



Spain



France



Portugal



Italy

APAC

China



India



Japan



Australia



South Korea

North America

The US



Canada

Middle East & Africa

Egypt



Morocco



South Africa



Saudi Arabia



The UAE

Latin America

Chile



Brazil



Mexico



Argentina

Key Questions Answered in the Report:

How big is the green hydrogen market?

What is the growth rate of the global green hydrogen market?

Which region dominates the global green hydrogen market share?

What are the significant trends in the green hydrogen market?

Who are the key players in the global green hydrogen market?

Get the Detailed TOC @ https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/green-hydrogen-market?details=tableOfContents

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TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Planes of Korean Air and Cathay Pacific slammed into each other on Tuesday at New Chitose Airport's runway, which is located on the northern island of Hokkaido in Japan. The Korean Air's Airbus A330 sustained damage to the left wing whereas the Cathay's Boeing 777-300 was damaged near its right wing. Nobody was injured in the collision. Japan's public broadcaster, NHK reported that the vehicle towing the Korean airplane had skidded on the snowy tarmac and collided with a Cathay aircraft. The airport had warned earlier of delays and cancellations due to heavy snow on the ground. Cathay Pacific stated that its aircraft had been 'struck by a Korean Air A330, which was taxiing past,' adding that its plane was parked and empty at the time. Korean Air confirmed that 'There were no injuries, and the airline is cooperating with all relevant authorities.' The plane had 276 passengers and 13 crew members on board bound for Seoul. Earlier, a Japan Airlines plane erupted into flames after colliding with a Coast Guard aircraft while landing in Tokyo. In the incident, five members of a Coast Guard plane were killed, while 367 passengers and 12 crew members of Japan Airlines were safely evacuated. Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Regulatory News:

ESI Group (Paris:ESI):

AMOUNT OF INDEMNIFICATION: 155 euros per ESI Group share

AMF This press release (the "Press Release") has been prepared and distributed by Keysight Technologies Netherlands B.V. in accordance with Article 237-3 of the of the General Regulation of the Autorite des marches financiers ("AMF") and Article 9 of AMF Instruction no. 2006-07.

Target company: ESI Group, a public limited company with a board of directors with a share capital of EUR 18,505,779 divided into 6,168,593 ordinary shares of EUR 3 of nominal value each as of December 31, 2023, fully paid up, with registered office at 3 bis rue Saarinen, Immeuble Le Seville, 94528 Rungis Cedex, France, and registered with the Trade and Companies Register under number 381 080 225 R.C.S. Creteil ("ESI Group" or the "Company" and with its subsidiaries, the "Group"), and whose shares are admitted to trading on compartment B of Euronext Paris ("Euronext") under ISIN code FR0004110310 (ticker symbol: ESI) (the "Shares

Offeror: Keysight Technologies Netherlands B.V., a private limited liability company (besloten vennootschap) organized under the laws of the Netherlands with a share capital of EUR 87,638,788, with registered office at 288 Hullenbergweg, 1101 BV Amsterdam, the Netherlands, registered under number 58724265 (the "Offeror

The Offeror is an indirect subsidiary of Keysight Technologies, Inc., a joint stock companyorganized under the laws of Delaware (USA), with a nominal issued share capital of USD 2,000,000 on October 31, 2022, having its registered office at 1400 Fountaingrove Parkway, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 (USA), registered under number 5433360 ("Keysight Technologies, Inc."), whose shares are admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Terms of the squeeze-out: Following the tender offer on the Shares initiated by the Offeror (the "Offer"), the Offeror holds 5,707,855 Shares representing 5,707,855 theoretical voting rights, i.e. 92.53% of the share capital and 90.86% of the theoretical voting rights of the Company1

Taking into account the assimilated shares, within the meaning of Articles L. 233-9 I, 42 and L. 233-9 I, 23 of the French Commercial Code, the Offeror holds (effective holding and by assimilation) 6,055,000 Shares representing 6,055,000 theoretical voting rights, i.e. 98.16% of the share capital and 96.38% of the theoretical voting rights of the Company4

Hence, the conditions laid down in Articles L. 433-4 II of the French Monetary and Financial Code and 237-1 et seq. of the AMF General Regulation for the implementation of the squeeze-out procedure concerning the Shares are satisfied considering that:

the 113,593 Shares not tendered to the Offer by minority shareholders represented on the closing of the Offer 1.84% of the Company's share capital and 3.62% of its theoretical voting rights 5

when examining the compliance of the proposed Offer, the AMF was provided with the valuation report of the presenting financial institutions and the report of the independent expert, which concluded that the price offered was fair with a view to a squeeze-out (see D&I 223C1942 of November 29, 2023); and

the squeeze-out includes the cash payment proposed in the Offer, i.e. 155 euros per Share, net of all costs.

By letter dated January 12, 2024, J.P. Morgan SE et BNP Paribas, acting on behalf of the Offeror, informed the AMF of the Offeror's decision to implement the squeeze-out procedure in respect of the Shares not tendered to the Offer by minority shareholders (with the exception, in particular, of shares held in treasury by the Company), on the basis of articles L. 433-4 II of the French Monetary and Financial Code and 237-3 I, 2 of the AMF General Regulation, subject to the exclusions set out below, as indicated by the Offeror in the Offer document (note d'information) relating to the Offer, which received AMF visa no. 23-492 dated November 28, 2023.

In accordance with AMF D&I notice no. 224C0084 of January 16, 2024, the squeeze-out will be implemented on January 26, 20246 and will apply to all the Shares held by minority shareholders, excluding:

Shares held directly by the Offeror, i.e. 5,707,855 Shares;

5,707,855 Shares; Shares assimilated, within the meaning of Article L. 233-9 I, 4 of the French Commercial Code, to Shares held by the Offeror, i.e. 15,676 Shares;

15,676 Shares; treasury Shares held by the Company, i.e. 331,469 Shares.

The squeeze-out will therefore cover a maximum of 113,593 Shares representing no more than 1.84% of the Company's share capital and 3.62% of its theoretical voting rights.7

The trading of the Shares will remain suspended until the implementation of the squeeze-out.

Euronext has published the timetable for the squeeze-out and the date on which the Shares will be delisted from the Euronext Paris regulated market, i.e. January 26, 2024.

In accordance with the provisions of article 237-5 of the AMF General Regulation, the Offeror will publish a notice informing the public of the squeeze-out in a legal gazette (journal d'annonces legales) in the place where the Company has its registered office.

In accordance with the provisions of article 237-4 of the AMF General Regulation, the Offeror has undertaken to pay the total amount of the compensation, net of all costs, into a blocked account opened for this purpose with the Credit Industriel et Commercial ("CIC"), appointed as the centralizing agent for the compensation transactions, which will carry out the compensation on behalf of the Offeror on the account of shareholders whose bank details are known.

Unallocated funds corresponding to the compensation of securities whose rightful claimants remain unknown will be held by CIC for ten (10) years from the date of implementation of the squeeze-out and transferred to the Caisse des Depots et Consignations at the end of this period. These funds will be available to heirs subject to the thirty-year statute of limitations in favor of the French State.

Availability of documents relating to the Offer: The Offer document approved by the AMF on November 28, 2023 under number 23-492, as well as the document containing information on the Offeror's legal, financial and accounting characteristics, are available on the ESI Group website (https://investors.esi-group.com) and AMF website (www.amf-france.org), and may be obtained free of charge from:

J.P. Morgan SE



14 Place Vendome

75001 Paris

France BNP Paribas



16 Boulevard des Italiens

75009 Paris

France

The response document (note en reponse) relating to the Offer prepared by ESI Group and approved by the AMF on November 28, 2023 under number 23-493, as well as the document containing other information relating to the legal, financial and accounting characteristics of ESI Group are available on the ESI Group website (https://investors.esi-group.com) and the AMF website (www.amf-france.org) and may be obtained free of charge from:

ESI Group SA

3 bis, rue Saarinen

94528 Rungis

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER This Press Release has been prepared for information purposes only. It does not constitute an offer to purchase or a solicitation to sell shares in any country, including France. The dissemination, publication or distribution of this press release, the Offer and its acceptance may be subject to specific regulations or restrictions in certain countries. The Offer will not be directed to persons subject to such restrictions, either directly or indirectly, and may be accepted from any country where the Offer would be subject to such restrictions. This press release is not intended to be published and disseminated in such countries. Accordingly, persons in possession of this press release are required to inform themselves about and to comply with any local restrictions that may apply. The Offeror and the Company disclaim any liability for any breach of these restrictions by any person.

_____________________________________

1 On the basis of a total of 6,168,593 Shares on December 31, 2023, representing 6,282,186 theoretical voting rights following the loss of double voting rights, as the case may be, attached to ESI Group shares tendered in the Offer, within the meaning of Article 223-11 of the AMF General Regulation.

2 Pursuant to the liquidity agreements entered into in the context of the Offer relating to 83,934 Free Shares, 15,676 Free Shares subject to a holding period at the date of implementation of the squeeze-out will be assimilated to Shares held by the Offeror and 68,258 Free Shares still subject to a vesting period at the date of implementation of the squeeze-out will not be assimilated to Shares held by the Offeror.

3 Corresponding to the 331,469 treasury Shares held by the Company.

4 On the basis of a total of 6,168,593 Shares on December 31, 2023, representing 6,282,186 theoretical voting rights following the loss of double voting rights, as the case may be, attached to ESI Group shares tendered in the Offer, within the meaning of Article 223-11 of the AMF General Regulation.

5 On the basis of a total of 6,168,593 Shares on December 31, 2023, representing 6.282.186 theoretical voting rights following the loss of double voting rights, as the case may be, attached to ESI Group shares tendered in the Offer, within the meaning of Article 223-11 of the AMF General Regulation.

6 As of the date of implementation of the squeeze-out, ESI Group will no longer be bound by the periodic information obligation applicable to issuers on Euronext Paris, and consequently will not release externally its revenue and annual financial results for the year 2023.

7 On the basis of a total of 6,168,593 Shares on December 31, 2023, representing 6,282,186 theoretical voting rights following the loss of double voting rights, as the case may be, attached to ESI Group shares tendered in the Offer, within the meaning of Article 223-11 of the AMF General Regulation.

THIS DOCUMENT IS AN UNOFFICIAL ENGLISH-LANGUAGE TRANSLATION OF THE FRENCH-LANGUAGE PRESS RELEASE WHICH WAS PUBLISHED BY KEYSIGHT ON 16 JANUARY 2024.

IN THE EVENT OF ANY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THIS UNOFFICIAL ENGLISH-LANGUAGE PRESS RELEASE AND THE OFFICIAL FRENCH-LANGUAGE PRESS RELEASE, THE OFFICIAL FRENCH-LANGUAGE PRESS RELEASE SHALL PREVAIL.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116023172/en/

Contacts:

ESI Group
LITTLETON, CO / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Ur-Energy Inc. (NYSE American:URG)(TSX:URE) (the "Company" or "Ur-Energy") is pleased to announce that its Chairman and CEO, John Cash, will be participating in The Microcap Conference taking place at Caesar's Atlantic City Hotel and Casino on January 30-31 and February 1, 2024.

In addition to holding one-on-one meetings, Mr. Cash will present a Company update about production operations at our Lost Creek ISR uranium mine site following a return to commercial operations in 2023, our sales contract book and the current uranium market.

Mr. Cash is presenting Wednesday, January 31, 2024, at 12:05 p.m. Eastern Time on Track 5.

Ur-Energy invites you to attend Mr. Cash's presentation at The Microcap Conference and to schedule a meeting with Mr. Cash. Please register to ensure you can attend the Conference and to receive updates that are released. Register and read more about the Conference here: https://themicrocapconference.com/.

The Microcap Conference will feature company presentations by publicly traded microcap businesses and qualified private companies across healthcare, technology, financial services, energy, and other high-growth sectors in one of the largest independent events for microcap companies.

About Ur-Energy

Ur-Energy is a uranium mining company operating the Lost Creek in-situ recovery uranium facility in south-central Wyoming. We have produced and packaged approximately 2.7 million pounds U3O8 from Lost Creek since the commencement of operations. Ur-Energy now has all major permits and authorizations to begin construction at Shirley Basin, the Company's second in situ recovery uranium facility in Wyoming and is in the process of obtaining remaining amendments to Lost Creek authorizations for expansion of Lost Creek. Ur-Energy is engaged in uranium mining, recovery and processing activities, including the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of uranium mineral properties in the United States. The primary trading market for Ur-Energy's common shares is on the NYSE American under the symbol "URG." Ur-Energy's common shares also trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "URE." Ur-Energy's corporate office is in Littleton, Colorado and its registered office is in Ottawa, Ontario.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT

John W. Cash, Chairman, CEO and President

720-981-4588 (ext. 303)

John.Cash@Ur-Energy.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws regarding events or conditions that may occur in the future and are based on current expectations that, while considered reasonable by management at this time, inherently involve a number of significant business, economic and competitive risks, uncertainties and contingencies. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are considered to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements express or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements include factors described in the public filings made by the Company at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained herein are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management as of the date hereof and Ur-Energy disclaims any intent or obligation to update them or revise them to reflect any change in circumstances or in management's beliefs, expectations or opinions that occur in the future.

SOURCE: Ur-Energy Inc.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
TULSA, OK / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / In alignment with its core mission of reimagining the healthcare experience so that everyone can have the power to be well, CareATC proudly announces the launch of its CareATC Cares Philanthropy Program. This initiative underscores the company's commitment to amplify the impact of its associates' volunteer efforts and support causes close to their hearts, thereby enriching communities nationwide.

The CareATC Cares Philanthropy Program channels financial resources to charitable organizations where CareATC associates devote their time and energy. "We are immensely fortunate to have a compassionate team that not only upholds our organizational mission but also serves their communities with unwavering dedication," stated Dawn Carter, CEO at CareATC.

Monthly Grants for Local Charities

Every month, CareATC pledges grants to deserving local charitable entities within the communities it serves. Notably, two distinguished agencies each month have the privilege to receive grants. To be eligible, recipient organizations must operate as a registered nonprofit under IRC 501(c)(3) status. CareATC ensures the direct disbursement of all grants to the selected charitable organizations, fostering transparency and impact.

Q4 2023 Beneficiaries

Since its inauguration in October 2023, the CareATC Cares Philanthropy Program has already made a significant mark by supporting six commendable charitable organizations:

Catholic Charities of Central Florida: Providing vital medical and dental services through its free clinics. For more information, visit https://cflcc.org/. Faith Through Fire: Offering trauma therapy tailored for stage 4 breast cancer patients. For more information, visit https://faiththroughfire.org/ Taste Project: Addressing food insecurity by feeding the underprivileged in Fort Worth, TX. For more information visit, https://www.tasteproject.org/. Camp Kudzu - Fund a Camper: Sponsoring children's diabetic camps to foster growth and well-being. For more information, visit https://www.campkudzu.org/. Legacy Family Network: Crafting 'blessing bags' to support foster children. For more information, visit https://www.legacyfamilynetwork.org/. Unified School District 240: Supplying essential materials for at-risk preschool programs. For more information, visit https://www.usd240.org/.

As CareATC advances into 2024, the company remains steadfast in its commitment to uplift communities, empower its associates, and champion the transformative power of philanthropy.

For more information or media inquiries, please contact:

Sherri Couch

918-779-7400

sherricouch@careatc.com

About CareATC, Inc.

CareATC, Inc., is a leading innovator in employer-sponsored healthcare. Offering customized healthcare benefit solutions for employers, CareATC's advanced transformational care model drives engagement, improves health outcomes, lowers healthcare costs and provides transparency into the total cost of care. Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, CareATC manages more than 150 clients in 26 states, cares for more than 430,000 members and is Accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care Inc. To learn more about CareATC Inc., visit https://www.careatc.com/.

SOURCE: CareATC, Inc.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 16, 2024) - QYOU Media Inc. (TSXV: QYOU) ("QYOU" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement of up to 22,500,000 units of the Company ("Units") at a price of $0.07 per Unit (the "Offering"), for aggregate gross proceeds of up to approximately $1,575,000. Each Unit will be composed of one (1) common share in the capital of the Company (a "Share") and one (1) common share purchase warrant of the Company (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one (1) additional Share (a "Warrant Share") at a price of $0.10 per Warrant Share for a period of twenty-four (24) months from the closing date of the Offering, subject to an accelerated expiry date at the option of the Company in the event that the ten (10) day volume weighted average trading price of the Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") for any ten (10) consecutive trading days is $0.25 or more.

The Offering is being completed pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption (LIFE) under Part 5A of National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions and therefore the securities issued in the Offering will not be subject to a hold period in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws. There is an offering document (the "Offering Document") related to the Offering that can be accessed under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.com and at www.qyoumedia.com. Prospective investors should read this Offering Document before making an investment decision.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering to build out its Maxamtech and QGamesMela gaming business, and for general working capital purposes, all as more particularly set forth in the Offering Document.

The Company may compensate certain finders with a cash commission of up to 7.5% of the aggregate gross proceeds of the Offering and issue finders warrants equal to up to 7.5% of the total number of Units subscribed for under the Offering. The finders warrants, to the extent they are issued, will entitle the holder to acquire one (1) Share at a price of $0.10 per Share for a period of 24 months.

The Offering is expected to close on or about January 23, 2024 and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals, including the approval of the TSXV.

The securities issued pursuant to the Offering have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or U.S. persons absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act and all applicable state securities laws or compliance with the requirements of an exemption therefrom. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

About QYOU Media

One of the fastest growing creator-media companies, QYOU Media operates in India and the United States producing, distributing and monetizing content created by social media influencers and digital content stars. In India, under our flagship brand, The Q and on connected TV, via channels Q Kahaniyan, Q GameX, Q Comedistaan & Sadhguru TV, we curate, produce and distribute premium content across television networks, VOD and OTT platforms, mobile phones, smart TV's and app-based platforms. In addition, QYOU has numerous additional content destinations, apps and gaming platforms engaging over 125 million Indian households weekly. Our influencer marketing company, Chtrbox, has been a pioneer in India's creator economy, leveraging data to connect brands to the right social media influencers. QGamesMela is a recently launched casual gaming business leveraging access to the large audience enjoyed by Q India products. In the United States, we power major film studios, game publishers and brands to create content and market via creators and influencers. Founded and created by industry veterans from Lionsgate, MTV, Disney and Sony, QYOU Media's millennial and Gen Z-focused content reaches more than one billion consumers around the world every month. Experience our work at www.qyoumedia.com

Investor Relations Contact:

Dave Gentry

RedChip Companies Inc.

1-800-RED-CHIP (733-2447)

Or 407-491-4498

QYOUF@redchip.com

Source: QYOU Media Inc.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "will", "estimates", "believes", "intends", "expects" and similar expressions which are intended to identify forward-looking statements. More particularly and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements concerning the Offering, the receipt of necessary approvals for the Offering, the expected closing date of the Offering and the intended use of proceeds from the Offering. Forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and the actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, assumptions and expectations, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Readers are cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Additional risks and uncertainties regarding QYOU are described in its publicly-available disclosure documents, filed by QYOU on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.com) except as updated herein. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, as such information, although considered reasonable by the respective management of the Company at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and are expressly qualified by the foregoing cautionary statement. Except as expressly required by securities law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/194522

SOURCE: QYOU Media Inc.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation approved its largest annual budget ever, committing $8.6 billion for achieving a range of health goals such as the eradication of polio, delivery of supplies to curb child and maternal mortality, and development of new tuberculosis drugs.



Bill Gates, the former CEO of Microsoft (MSFT) said, 'We can't talk about the future of humanity without talking about the future of health.' He founded the organization along with his former wife Melinda Gates in 2000.



Earlier, the foundation had committed $8.3 billion in 2023 and $7 billion in 2022 for healthcare. It had also pledged to increase healthcare funding to $9 billion annually by 2026.



Foundation CEO Mark Suzman said, 'The new high-water mark for our budget will further our mission to help create a world where everyone has the opportunity to live a healthy, productive life'.



After a brief stutter during the Covid-19, the foundation will resume its focus on tackling wider infectious disease threats and higher mortality rates in children.



Gates had also requested the countries around the world to donate 0.7 percent of their domestic output for healthcare purposes.



The Foundation intends to spend a portion of its funding for the advancement of global health innovations which will improve the lives of the most vulnerable people of the world, including new born babies and pregnant women from low-income communities.



Gates added that, 'Every day, new born babies and young children die simply because of where they were born. Mothers die giving birth, leaving families devastated. That keeps me up at night.'



Further, the Foundation commented, 'The Gates Foundation measures impact in terms of lives saved and opportunities provided to the poorest.'



Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Video-Workshop: Das kleine Einmaleins der Charttechnik In diesem kostenlosen Video-Workshop von Stefan Klotter lernen Sie alles uber Charttechnik. Lassen Sie sich diesen kostenfreien Workshop nicht entgehen! Hier klicken
MOUNTAIN VIEW (dpa-AFX) - Alphabet Inc.'s (GOOG) Google has reportedly revealed its plans to downsize its advertising sales unit. Philipp Schindler, Google's chief business officer, communicated the restructuring plan to the staff in an internal memo. The company has decided to eliminate several hundred roles as it plans to shift its focus towards better serving small and medium businesses. The impacted employees will be allowed to apply for other open positions within the company. The move follows the company's recent decision to lay off about 1,000 employees from multiple teams, including Voice Assistant units, hardware teams, and its augmented reality team. Alphabet is among several tech companies that are adopting artificial intelligence software and automation to improve efficiency and productivity. The restructuring effort is aimed at optimizing the company's resources and delivering better results for its customers. This is a trend among tech companies that are looking to adopt new technologies to improve their operations. Amazon, for instance, recently laid off several hundred employees in its streaming and studio operations. Even Twitch, a subsidiary of Amazon, cut more than 500 jobs to turn the division into a more profitable venture. The restructuring plan is not an uncommon decision in today's tech world. However, it is noteworthy that the company has decided to shift its focus towards small and medium businesses. The move indicates that Alphabet Inc. is looking to expand its customer base beyond its existing clientele. The company has stated that it is committed to providing better services to its customers, and this restructuring plan is one of the steps toward fulfilling that objective. Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Regulatory News:

FDE (Euronext: FDE ISIN: FR0013030152), a carbon negative energy producer, has agreed to acquire a controlling stake in Greenstat ASA, a leading green energy operator based in Norway, with a strong focus on hydrogen and solar activities, to further strengthen the Group's position as a leading European low-carbon energy production solutions provider.

A strong project development platform in Norway and beyond

Greenstat, a Bergen-based renewable energy developer, has been scaled-up under the leadership of Chairman, Bernt Skeie, and CEO, Vegard Frihammer since 2015. In 2023, the company already achieved revenues of c. 6.2 million1

Thanks to its experienced team of renewable energy professionals, Greenstat develops, owns and selectively operates renewable energy infrastructures to drive the green energy transition. The company's strategy, focusing on the development of projects with the best available technology and strong local anchoring, is an excellent match with FDE's culture and portfolio of assets.

Since inception, Greenstat has developed a diversified and attractive portfolio, mainly within hydrogen and solar, with c. 450 MW in gross capacity. Major projects will be shortly entering construction phase and will benefit from FDE's excellent track record in building and operating green energy production sites.

An attractive and mature hydrogen and solar portfolio under development

Greenstat is already a leading player in hydrogen, producing green hydrogen at the Stord Hydrogen pilot plant in Norway. The company is also the lead partner in 3 of the 5 maritime H2 projects in Norway selected by Enova, the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment entity focused on promoting a shift towards more environmental-friendly energy and climate technology. Enova awarded a total of c. 40 million2 funding for Greenstat to develop the 3 projects with an electrolyzer capacity of 20 MW each. Construction is planned to start in 2024.

In addition, Greenstat is a solar photovoltaic producer with a 49% stake in a first 45 MW plant already in operation and a pipeline of over 50 MW solar projects to be developed throughout 2024.

Building an independent leader in hydrogen and low carbon energy

The addition of Greenstat to FDE's existing portfolio will further strengthen the Group's position as a key low-carbon multi-energy producer in Europe, providing all key energies for a sustainable future: green gas, green power, decarbonated H2 and B io-CO2, in particular in Norway, where FDE accelerated its development of Liquefied Biogas (LBG) and Bio-CO2 plants through its subsidiary Biogy Solutions AS.

Greenstat's sourcing and development capabilities combined with FDE's project management and operational know-how will allow for a faster and more efficient deployment of new low-carbon energy production sites across Europe, with mid-term positive cash flows visibility.

These various synergies will therefore create a leading European player in the production of low-carbon energy that will significantly contribute towards Europe's goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

A value accretive transaction for FDE

The transaction comprises three equity tranches over a period of 18 months.

The first tranche, to be completed by February 9th, 2024, involves the purchase of an existing investor's shares for c. 2.3 million3 and the subscription of new shares in Greenstat for c. 13.2 million4, providing FDE with a controlling stake in Greenstat of 56.35% of its share capital and voting rights

A second tranche of up to 13.2 million5 and a third tranche of up to 13.2 million6 will be invested into Greenstat, subject to the company reaching certain operational and financial milestones.

The transaction will be financed by the Group's available cash, allowing FDE to keep its strong financing capacity in order to pursue its various projects, including those of its new subsidiary, Greenstat.

The completion of the transaction is subject to final closing conditions and the approval of Greenstat shareholders at their upcoming general meeting.

Vegard Frihammer, CEO of Greenstat ASA, declares: "The development of a leading green energy production platform requires solid expertise, strong financial and operational capabilities, but also an agile approach. The FDE and Greenstat teams have this know-how and this common ambition to become a leading independent low carbon energy producer in Europe.

Antoine Forcinal, CEO of FDE explains: "The acquisition of Greenstat is a logical step forward in the ongoing development of FDE in Europe and Norway in particular, as a key hydrogen producer and green energy player overall. I am delighted to welcome Vegard Frihammer and his entire team within the FDE group

Following this acquisition, FDE will communicate its new growth prospects for FY 2026 during its capital day that will take place in Q2 2024 (date to be communicated in due course).

FDE confirms its FY 2026 objectives of annual revenues of more than 100 million, and an EBITDA above 50 million, combined with over 10 million tons of CO2eq emissions avoided per annum

Next dates:

Sales for the 1st half of fiscal year 2024: January 24th, 2024

Presentation of development in Lorraine: March 7th, 2024

Reuters code: FDEL.PA

Bloomberg code: FDE.FP

About La Francaise de l'Energie ( FDE )

FDE is a negative carbon footprint energy Group, specialized in the implementation via short circuits, of energy recovery and production sites, allowing the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. FDE notably supplies regional players with gas, electricity, heat and CO2, thus replacing imported energy with local, cleaner energy. FDE has strong development potential and aims to become a leading independent player in the energy sector in Europe by Bpifrance.

More information available on www.francaisedelenergie.fr

Disclaimer

This press release contains certain forward looking statements and estimates concerning LFDE's financial condition, operating results, strategy, projects and future performance and the markets in which it operates. Such forward-looking statements and estimates may be identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "can," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "is designed to," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "objective," "should," or the negative of these and similar expressions. They incorporate all topics that are not historical facts. Forward looking statements, forecasts and estimates are based on management's current assumptions and assessment of risks, uncertainties and other factors, known and unknown, which were deemed to be reasonable at the time they were made but which may turn out to be incorrect. Events and outcomes are difficult to predict and depend on factors beyond the company's control. Consequently, the actual results, financial condition, performances and/or achievements of LFDE or of the industry may turn out to differ materially from the future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by these statements, forecasts and estimates. Owing to these uncertainties, no representation is made as to the correctness or fairness of these forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates. Furthermore, forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates speak only as of the date on which they are made, and LFDE undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

__________________________

1 NOK 70 million (unaudited)

2 NOK 450 million

3 NOK 27 million

4 NOK 150 million

5 NOK 150 million

6 NOK 150 million

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116534001/en/

Contacts:

Press FDE

contact@francaisedelenergie.fr

+ 33 3 87 04 34 51



Investor Relations

ir@francaisedelenergie.fr

+33 3 87 04 34 51
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Gold Mountain Mining Corp. ("Gold Mountain" or the "Company") (TSX:GMTN)(OTCQB:GMTNF)(FRA:5XFA) announces that, further to its January 10th news release regarding demands for payment pursuant to its Elk Gold Mine project, it has been in discussions with its creditors and is working on finding a solution to the situation.

The Company has also accepted the resignation of Mr. Stephen Wilkinson from the Company's Board of Directors.

The Company wishes to thank Mr. Wilkinson for his services and contributions to the Company.

About Gold Mountain Mining

Gold Mountain is a British Columbia based gold and silver exploration and development

company focused on the Elk Gold Project, a producing mine located 57 KM from Merritt in South Central British Columbia. Additional information is available at www.sedarplus.ca or on the Company's new website at www.gold-mountain.ca.

For further information, please contact:

Gold Mountain Mining Corp.

Phone: 778.262.0933

Email: IR@gold-mountain.ca

Website: www.gold-mountain.ca

Twitter: www.twitter.com/goldmtnmine

SOURCE: Gold Mountain Mining Corp

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Delfos, a Barcelona, Spain-based provider of a virtual engineer software platform for renewable energy assets, raised 6.3m in seed funding.

The round was led by Contrarian Ventures and Headline with participation from existing investors DOMO.VC and EDP Ventures.

The company intends to use the funds to expand in Europe.

Led by CEO Guilherme Pinheiro Studart and CTO Samuel Lima, Delfos Energy is a company specially geared towards the advanced management of renewable energy park assets. With customized solutions for the wind, solar and hydro markets, the company already monitors more than 9 GW of installed power and have more than 2.5 million assets monitored in Latin America alone. The software can centralize data, detect anomalies and boost power generation performance by providing insights into the behavior of each asset through monitoring, fault prediction and machine learning. It contains customizable modules for each clients needs, and can present different KPIs and reports.

FinSMEs

16/01/2024
elv.ai, a Bratislava, Slovakia-based startup that combines artificial intelligence with human moderators to make the internet safer for debate, raised 500K in funding.

The Slovak CB ESPRI Impact One fund made the investment.

The company intends to use the funds to launch its product in the Czech Republic, where it protects discussions and social networks of Prima TV and the Economia publishing house.

Co-founded by Jakub Suster, Gabriel Toth, Ludovit Durman and Milan Dubec, elv.ai leverages machine learning and human moderators who control the AI and recognise possible linguistic nuances not picked up by technology to transparently remove inappropriate and hateful content in the shortest possible time.

Since its launch in Slovakia, elv.ai has recorded over 2,500,000 hateful or disinformation comments out of more than 16,000,000 and has identified over 5,000 fake profiles. In the Czech Republic, out of more than 2 million monitored comments on 44 profiles, up to 504,000 were hateful content, which is 24%.

Commenting on the news, CEO Jakub Suster said: We perceive that the media space has changed significantly and that the need to protect online discussions and social networks from hatred is growing. In our native Slovakia, we monitor and moderate the discussions of roughly one-third of the media market and help a number of major institutions that want to control the posts of their online discussions: without misinformation, hoaxes or hate speech. We are pleased that even in the Czech Republic, we have quickly found conscious media houses that consider it their duty to protect their fans and users from hateful and misinformation content

FinSMEs

16/01/2024
Sandwater, an Oslo, Norway-based venture capital firm, closed its early-stage venture fund, at 1.4bn NOK (approx. 125M).

Backers included multiple international institutional investors, including, amongst others, the European Investment Fund (EIF), First Swedish National Pension Fund (AP1), and LGT, alongside the Norwegian climate fund Nysn, Investinor, family offices of Canica and Lrdal, and many other private equity investors in the Nordics.

Read more on VCWire.tech, our new website dedicated to the tech venture capital industry.

FinSMEs

16/01/2024
Ankita Lokhande and Vicky Jain recently got into a serious discussion where the former made some shocking revelations about her conversation with her mother-in-law

They might have entered the house as one of the strongest contenders and a rock-solid couple, but things started falling between them quite soon, and their relationship has been in the limelight since then. We are talking about celebrity couple Ankita Lokhande and Vicky Jain, one of the final contestants of Bigg Boss 17. From the two getting into constant arguments to making shocking revelations about their relationship, there are multiple instances of trouble brewing in Ankit and Vickys marriage.

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At a time when the two continue to struggle in their marriage, things took a turn for the worse after their mothers entered the show in the last few episodes. Following their exit, Ankita and Vicky were spotted getting into a serious conversation. The Pavitra Rishta actress made some shocking revelations regarding their parents conversation, while Vicky could be seen accusing Ankita instead.

Vicky Jain says his family is being shown as rich, egoistic people on Bigg Boss

Ankita began by asking Vicky if he trusted her and then went on to describe the entire conversation that she had with her mother-in-law Ranjana Jain.

Your father called my mother and asked kya aap aapke pati ko aise Marti thi kya chappal fek kar? Papa ne aur bhi bola tha. He said Aapki aukat kya hai (Your father called my mother and asked if she used to hit her husband with slippers. He also questioned her status in society)? I politely told mummy that she was alone, my papa recently passed away. I genuinely felt guilty and apologised to her.

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It's just so so irritating to watch this man gaslighting #AnkitaLokhande every time. You are such a RED FLAG #VickyJain . And Ankita as #KaranJohar rightly said, "you don't need to apologise for everything you feel.." .. #BiggBoss17#BiggBoss @anky1912 pic.twitter.com/DIf8ngo1Rb  Neeti Roy (@neetiroy) January 14, 2024

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Hearing this, Vicky while defending his fathers action, said Ankitas father would have done the same thing and expressed it in the same way.

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He further also expressed that his family is being shown as rich egoistic people on the show, while Ankitas family as victims. She is still balancing it and taking all the harsh things on herself, Vicky said in support of his mother.

On the other hand, host Karan Johar was also seen taking a jibe at Vicky, bashing him for not taking a stand for his wife after his mother made such statements.
? El rol del @TC_Peru es clave para asegurar los pesos, contrapesos y la separacion de poderes en la democracia. Sus magistrados tienen sobre sus hombros una gran responsabilidad: ser los baluartes de la sana interpretacion de nuestra Constitucion y proyectar legitimidad, pic.twitter.com/4tVyWnsZMO
No doubt, Killers of the Flower Moon was named best film of 2023 and Martin Scorsese best director by the National Board of Review. There are many reasons as to why it is a must watch.

Based on a non-fiction book by David Grann_, Killers of the Flower Moon_ is an investigation of the murders of numerous Osage people in Oklahoma in the 1920s. The movie talks about greed and to what extent people can go for the hunger of wealth. It is a masterpiece for many reasons and tries to understand the cruel mind of the white Americans.

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No, it is not a regular White Vs Black story, but a heart wrenching story of greed, conspiracy, racism and more. And this is depicted through the relationship shared between Mollie (Lily Gladstone) and Ernest (Leonardo DiCaprio). Mollie is an Osage woman and she falls in love with this white man called Ernest who is negatively influenced by his greedy uncle William Hale (Robert De Niro).

Robert De Niro who plays the role of William Hale is one of the most conniving people and the mastermind behind all the murders and atrocities happening with the native Indians of America. The story is set in Oklahoma . And there are numerous killings that are happening which go unreported. Mollie keeps losing all her family members one by one mysteriously and nobody gets to know who is the man behind this heinous crime. It was indeed a well thought conspiracy to kill the wealthy Osage people.

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First these white men get married to the wealthy Osage women who have a huge house, jewellery, cars and all things fancy. Why are these deaths happening is a big question mark?

Many of us dont know about Osage and how well-off they were. They are the real Americans and the richest people of that country. The White Americans used to plead with them for jobs. The Osage were wise people and they knew how to acquire wealth. One of the main conspirators who objected to the wealth of the Osage people was William Hale (Robert De Niro). He was the uncle of Ernest Burkhart ( Leonardo DiCaprio ) who advised him to get married to Mollie who belonged to a wealthy Osage family. He was friends of the Osage families too. But nobody really knew that he was the real man behind the killing of the Osage people. Outwardly, he showed that he was their ally, but he was interested in their wealth and would go to any extent to get that. Its a brilliantly made true-crime tale.
Popular Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi, fondly called Makkal Selvan by his fans, has impressed the audience in Hindi markets with his performances in Mumbaikar, Farzi and Jawan. The actor has played the lead role in Sriram Raghavans latest release Merry Christmas co-starring Katrina Kaif.

In a recent interview, director Raghavan showered praises on the Viduthalai star and called him a secure actor. Vijay always has so much to give to his directors. Even when you want a samosa, he will give you a buffet of options (laughs). He is such a secure actor. He did have his challenges with Hindi but because we were not making something very traditional, I just asked him to be himself. And that worked like magic, said Sriram while talking to India Today.

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The filmmaker also shared his thoughts on Vijays character in Shah Rukh Khans Jawan and opined that he wished that the actor had more memorable role in the movie. As soon as it came, people really enjoyed him. Of course, with Jawan, more audiences got to see him because it had Shah Rukh Khan. But I wish he had a much more memorable role in Jawan. With this film, his first Hindi outing, I think hes gotten what he deserves, the filmmaker shared.

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Calling him a rooted actor, Raghavan added, He has come up the hard way. So, hes grateful and the best part is that hes always in the quest to learn.

The filmmaker also spoke about fans demanding the sequels of Andhadun, Badlapur, or even Ek Hasina Thi and said, I dont know, my Andhadun producer would be very happy as it would open better and make more money. But that can never be the criteria to make films. The story ended there and I want people to keep wondering what exactly happened. If I get a real crazy story, I might make Andhadun 2 with a new story and maybe just one scene from the first part to tantalise,
Aarya is not the only major project Raveena Tandon has turned down. From the 1991 film Phool Aur Kaante to Chhaiya Chhaiya from Dil Se and Karan Johars Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, the actress has said no to some of the most successful films

Yesteryear actress Raveena Tandon is all set to dazzle our screens with her Disney Plus Hotstar upcoming web series, Karmma Calling. While the show will mark Raveenas second OTT venture, not many know that she was earlier considered for Sushmita Sen starrer Aarya, which would also have been her OTT debut on the streaming platform. However, it seems like destiny had other plans as she instead featured in Netflixs crime drama Aranyak and now in Karmma Calling.

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In an interaction with Hindustan Times, the actress, while recalling the time of her digital debut, said that she got some really exciting scripts. However, she wanted to do something that the audience had never seen her in before. I chose Aranyak to be my digital debut and it really worked for me. The year was really full of awards and the gamble paid off, she said.

Raveena Tandon was the first choice for Aarya

Raveena also spoke about meeting directors Ram Madhvani and Nikhil Madhok from the Hotstar and said, We have to do something (together). Im really waiting to work with Ram. I had to explain to him why I couldnt do Aarya. Then he understood my reason, thus confirming that she was indeed approached for the Sushmita Sen starrer family crime drama.

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Notably, Aarya is not the only major project that Raveena Tandon has turned down in her career. From the 1991 film Phool Aur Kaante to Chhaiya Chhaiya from Dil Se and even Karan Johars Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, the actress has said no to some of the most successful films of the present time.

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Raveena Tandon on working in Karmma Calling

The Mohra actress also spoke about her role as Indrani Kothari in the upcoming Disney Plus Hotstar series. I did not identify with the character because shes someone completely different and thats what won me over. A lot of actors are comfortable in playing what they are in real life and they are big successes. However, for me, that does not work. I see to it that every role that I pick is completely different from the last one, the actress said.

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For the unversed, Karmma Calling will release on Disney Plus Hotstar on 26 January.
From the US to France and Australia, events to commemorate the momentous Ram Temple consecration in Ayodhya have been scheduled around the globe. From car and bike rallies to rath yatras, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad is organising these activities in more than 60 countries

Excitement is high for the grand consecration ceremony of Lord Ram at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on 22 January.

Not only are celebrations taking place in India, but they are also extending to other nations.

From the US to France and Australia, events to commemorate the momentous occasion have been scheduled around the globe. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) is organising these activities, or Hindu diaspora groups are undertaking them.

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In charge of the organisations international affairs, VHP joint general secretary Swami Vigyananand stated that the VHP has direct contacts with Hindu community organisations in more than 60 nations and has organised events with them, according to Indian Express. He said the events included car rallies, rath yatras, and prabhat pheris, which are marches performed to the tune of bhajans. Moreover, temples throughout several nations will broadcast live footage of the consecration ceremony.

Lets take a closer look.

The US

There are around a dozen events scheduled to celebrate this significant Pran Pratishtha at Ram Temple in several US cities. Over 300 places will offer live streaming of the event, according to the India Times.

On 22 January, devotees in New York will gather at Times Square. The VHP has scheduled a vehicle and bike rally at the Shri Bhakta Anjaneya Temple in Washington, DC, for 20 January.

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Our Washington DC Chapter organized a Mini Car Rally to commemorate the inauguration of #ShreeRamMandir in #Ayodhya pic.twitter.com/u4cISMkSPZ  VHP America (@VHPANews) December 18, 2023

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A VHP volunteer from its DC chapter, Animesh Shukla, said on the internet: On January 20, we are having an amazing event expecting more than 1,000 people there. We want the entire Indian community to come together and celebrate this holy and auspicious occasion, which is going to come only once in lifetime for all of us.

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Prasad will be distributed in American temples after 22 January, beginning in Boston.

On 14 January, the VHP also arranged a musical light show featuring over 150 Tesla vehicles in Maryland. Set to the melodies of Jai Shri Ram, it demonstrated the artistic talent of the Hindu community.

Over 40 billboards showing Lord Ram and the Ram Temple have been constructed in over 10 states, including Texas, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and Georgia, according to CNBC-TV18.

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France

From the Place de la Capelle, an arena in the northern portion of the city, to the famous Eiffel Tower, there will be a Ram Rath Yatra in Paris. Additionally, chanting of the Shree Ram Dhun, devotional songs, cultural programmes and prasad distribution would take place at the Eiffel tower as part of this.

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#sabkeram

Ram Rath Yatra and Ayodhya Ram Mandir celebrations in Paris, France. 1000 of devotees will attend from across Europe https://t.co/qEzqCrZnIr pic.twitter.com/L6Y3jAOfaA  Avinash Mishra (@avinashm9) January 6, 2024

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Following a puja and a vishwakalyan yagna, the rath yatra will begin and head to multiple famous Parisian sites, including the Arc de Triomphe, the Musee du Louvre, and Le Republique.

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Sharing details of the yatra, programme organiser Avinash Mishra posted on X, We Indians living in France will be joining the historic and momentous occasion of Shri Ram Mandir inauguration in Ayodhya by organising a Ram Rath Yatra across Paris and a large scale celebration at the Eiffel Tower. The Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust also replied, It is a blessing for every rambhakt across boundaries to witness the pran pratishtha of Bhagwan Shri Ramlalla Sarkar at his janmshthan in Ayodhya. This cherished moment belongs to rambhakts worldwide, a moment when the hearts of a billion people shall beat as one.

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Australia

Programmes in Australia will be held at Kingsley Park in Melbourne and Parramatta Park in Western Sydney. The India Times reports that the event will be aired live in over 30 locations.

Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and New South Wales are among the other Australian cities where VHP will host activities for the Hindu community.

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Around 25 to 50 organisations are collectively organising the programmes in Australia, Vigyananand said.

Africa

According to Vigyananand, the VHP was planning a car rally and other events in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mauritius, Ghana, Nigeria, and Mozambique, among other countries in Africa.

Indian Express quoted him as saying, The VHP is taking the lead. But it has become a programme of the Hindu samaj. This is a historic occasion for the Hindu community. Hindus are connected and their roots are in India. When something happens in India, it has an effect internationally.

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On 22 January, the Mauritian government declared a two-hour special break for Hindu public servants, enabling them to take part in regional celebrations honouring Lord Rams Pran Pratishtha in Ayodhya.

Similar celebrations in other countries

All Hindus in the nation are being urged by VHP Canada to enlighten with diyas and decorate their homes with Hanuman Dhwaja (Flag).

VHP Canada requests all Hindu Canadians to decorate their homes with Hanuman Dhwaja (Flag) & enlighten with diyas! @VHPANews @VHPDigital @VHPSocialMedia @MParandeVHP pic.twitter.com/2H4YA7d0YV  VHP Canada (@vhpcanada) January 13, 2024

In a post on X, VHP Thailand announced that Nagesh Singh, Ambassador and PR to UNESCAP, Embassy of India, will be present for the historic event to be celebrated at Dev Mandir Bangkok.

Buckingham, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Jakarta, and Bali have all scheduled similar events.

The consecration ceremony in Ayodhya

From Uttar Pradeshs Pakhawaj to Tamil Nadus Mridang, different classical instruments from across the country will be played to celebrate the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony in Ayodhya, the temple trust has said.

Champat Rai, general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, said musicians from different parts of India have been selected to perform during the grand function on January 22.

Asked about questions raised by many on the ceremony being held in an incomplete temple, Rai on Monday told a press conference, I will not respond to any criticism.

He said the Pran Pratishtha at the temple will begin at 12:20 pm and is expected to be completed by 1 pm.

The ceremony will take place in the august presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat, Uttar Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and the president of the temple trust Mahant Nritya Gopal Das.

Seating arrangements have been made for around 8,000 people, he added.

With inputs from agencies
Its a big comeback for Donald Trump. He has secured a landslide victory in the Iowa caucuses, the first contest in the US presidential race. But what are the chances that the winner goes on to become president?

It is the first contest of the US presidential race. And Donald Trump has emerged as the winner. The former US president won the Iowa caucuses, cementing his frontrunner status in the Republican primary field.

Iowa is the first of the state-by-state contests which allow Republican voters to choose their candidate for the White House. The final nominee will take on the Democratic pick, possibly President Joe Biden, in November.

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We take a look at what happened in the state and what Iowas record says when it comes to picking the president.

What were the results of Iowa?

Donald Trump swept to victory in the Iowa caucuses on Monday, the first vote in the US presidential race.

The former president has led polling for more than a year, but the Iowa contest was seen as the clearest insight yet into whether he can convert his advantage into a stunning White House return.

In the end, major US networks took just half an hour from the opening of polls to project the winner, with Trump securing almost three-quarters of the early vote, reports news agency AFP.

There was a tight contest in the race for second place between Flordia governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley. DeSantis edged out Haley.

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Following a poor performance in Iowa, Indian-American businessman Vivek Ramaswamy announced his withdrawal from the 2024 US presidential race. He finished fourth in Mondays vote, securing close to 7.7 per cent of the votes. He will now endorse Trump.

What does the Iowa win mean for Trump?

For Trump, whose legal problems have only mounted  he faces several civil and criminal trials in the US  Iowa was a major election test. There was speculation as to whether his support had dampened. But the victory in Iowa suggests that the 77-year-old has succeeded in turning the prosecutions into a rallying cry to galvanise his support.

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Trump has not just won Iowa, he has registered a massive win, likely shattering previous records. Trump claimed 50 per cent of the vote the biggest in caucus history. The largest margin of victory for an Iowa Republican caucus had been 12.8 percentage points for Bob Dole in 1988.

Losing presidents have rarely had successful primary campaigns. Trump has pulled off a landslide demonstrating his complete dominance among the Republican voters. CNN called it one of the most astonishing comebacks in American political history.

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The win serves as an endorsement for Trump, who left the White House disgraced following the 2021 assault on the US Capitol by his supporters. Does Iowa predict presidents?

The opening vote in the primary season, the Iowa results are considered crucial for winnowing the field and giving those left standing a springboard for the rest of the race. While Trump now has momentum in the New Hampshire presidential primary to be held on 23 January, history shows that a win in the Iowa caucuses does not guarantee success in the remaining race or even in November.

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Winning the first contest has not panned out well for Republican candidates recently.

In the last three Iowa caucuses, the GOP winners failed to get the partys nomination  Senator Ted Cruz (2016), former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania (2012) and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (2008), according to a report in Politico. The last Republican presidential hopeful to win Iowa and become the Republican nominee was then Texas governor George W Bush. This was 24 years ago.

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The US modern primary system started in 1972. In the five decades since, there have been 16 times that presidential candidates who won Iowa caucuses have not gone on to win the elections in November and become the commander in chief. There have been eight times that winners were not named their partys nominees, reports ABC News. This does not include uncontested races.

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Only three presidents won the Iowa caucuses when races were contested rather than unopposed  Republican George W Bush in 2000 and Democrats Jimmy Carter in 1976 and Barack Obama in 2008. Both Bush and Obama fell back in New Hampshire after winning in Iowa.

Trump lost Iowa in 2016 to Ted Cruz by about three per cent. But it was the former who became the Republican partys nominee and was elected president. Other Iowa losers, who won the presidential race are Ronald Regan in 1980 and George HW Bush in 1988.

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One of the most interesting contests in Iowa was the win in 2008. Republican candidate Mick Huckabee won the caucuses with 34 per cent. He was way ahead of the eventual GOP nominee Senator John McCain who came fourth with 13 per cent. He lost the presidential race to Obama.

In 2020, Trump won both Iowa and New Hampshire but lost the general elections. That year, Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg won Iowa with 26 per cent. The partys nominee and winner of the election was Biden, who was fourth in the caucuses.

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Experts say that while Iowa is the first in the presidential race, it does not necessarily reflect the mood of the nation.

I think the general point is that politically, Iowa should not matter. Its homogeneous, its rural and its overwhelmingly white. And those who win in Iowa often dont become president, because Iowa caucuses just dont reflect the policy preferences and demographic composition of America, Sean Westwood, a Dartmouth College associate professor of government and director of the universitys Polarization Research Lab told ABC News.

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For Trump then, this is an early win but it may not directly translate to winning the general election and becoming president.

With inputs from agencies
The fog cover in Delhi has led to many flights being delayed or cancelled. In an attempt to mitigate the inconvenience, the DGCA has issued new SOPs for airlines. They have been instructed to provide real-time information to flyers as well as sensitise airport staff to inform passengers about delays

Delhi is enveloped by a thick fog  so thick that visibility has been drastically reduced, disrupting flight and train schedules. On Sunday, the fog cover was so intense that it led to several hundred flights being delayed and the situation didnt improve on Monday either.

On Tuesday (16 January), foggy conditions persisted in the national capital with Delhis IGI airport, one of the busiest aviation hubs in the country, experiencing the immediate consequences of the foggy weather. News agency ANI reported that nearly 30 flights departing from Delhi were delayed, while 17 others were cancelled.

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And with flight schedules being severely disrupted, passengers were seen in large numbers, fuming over the long wait they have to endure at the airport for their flight to be rescheduled.

In fact, the situation has become so dire that the regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stepped in on Monday and issued new standard operating procedure (SOPs) for delays and cancellations amid this fog chaos.

Lets see what has changed and what flyers can now do in case their plane is delayed or cancelled.

New rules amid fog chaos

Against the backdrop of a significant number of flights getting delayed or cancelled , leading to angry commuters, the aviation watchdog on Monday issued new guidelines for airlines.

This move came after Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had earlier said all stakeholders are working round-the-clock to minimise fog-related disruptions in flight operations and that DGCA will come out with SOPs to ensure better communication and facilitation of passengers to minimise discomfort in view of flight cancellations and delays due to adverse weather.

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And by Monday evening, the aviation regulator issued their new rules. Firstly, airlines have been permitted to cancel, sufficiently in advance, flights that are anticipated to be delayed by a period beyond three hours. This, according to the DGCA, will reduce the congestion at airports and mitigate passenger inconvenience.

Moreover, airlines will have to publish accurate real-time information regarding delays of flights, which shall have to published on the airlines website. The airline will also have to inform affected passengers through SMS/WhatsApp and email.

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Airline staff at airports are required to be appropriately sensitised to effectively communicate, guide, and continuously inform passengers about flight delays.

The aviation regulator has also mandated that all airlines publish the reference of Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR)  pertaining to facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights on the flight tickets in order to make flyers aware of their rights.

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Fogged out in Delhi

The new SOPs issued by the DGCA comes after flyers at IGI airport had the most harrowing weekend, spilling over into Monday. On Sunday, passengers were left frustrated and angry after flights kept getting cancelled.

The stressful day also saw a passenger attacking a pilot inside an IndiGo plane while it was on the tarmac. The man, who was identified later as a Sahil Kataria, was later arrested and let out on bail.

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And it didnt end there. On Monday night, passengers aboard an IndiGo flight from Goa to Delhi, which was diverted to Mumbai owing to the fog conditions in the capital, sat on the tarmac, and some were also seen having food. The airport operators and the Quick Response Team (QRT) of the CISF cordoned off the passengers into a safety zone shortly after they sat down on the tarmac.

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A Mumbai airport spokesperson later said, IndiGo flight 6E 2195 (Goa to Delhi) was diverted due to unfavourable weather conditions. As the flight was already significantly delayed in Goa, passengers were irate and rushed out of the aircraft as soon as the step ladder was connected.

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Other harrowing tales have also emerged owing to the flight delays. A passenger on board an Air India flight bound for Bengaluru at 2.45 am on Sunday, which was delayed by nine hours, spoke of his nightmare. It was suffocating inside the aircraft but the crew told us to remain seated without giving us more information. After some passengers started screaming, we deboarded around 11.30 am, said the passenger to Times of India.

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Social media was flooded with complaints from flyers and their loved ones, as they spoke of their nightmarish experiences at Delhi airport.

Delhi enveloped in fog

The travel chaos in the national capital is owing to heavy fog. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has also issued an orange alert today (16 January) on account of the heavy fog. On Monday, the fog had reduced visibility to 200 metres in the city.

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The fog enveloping the capital is owing to the cold conditions there. For the past four days, the minimum temperature has been hovering around 3 to 4 degrees Celsius. On 14 and 15 January, minimum temperature was 3.5 degrees Celsius, while on Saturday it was 3.6 degree Celsius and on Friday, it was recorded at 3.9 degrees Celsius.

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And theres no relief in sight. The IMD has said that very dense fog conditions are likely to continue in north India for the next four-five days.

With inputs from agencies
Golriz Ghahraman, an MP from New Zealands Grand Party, resigned as she faces police investigation for shoplifting on three different occasions. In her statement, she noted that mental health issues and stress had led to her to this unexplainable behaviour. But is there a link between the two?

Sex scandals, political corruption and crimes Most often these are the reasons why a lawmaker or minister resigns or is forced to quit. In New Zealand, however, an MP has quit with immediate effect following accusations of shoplifting.

Golriz Ghahraman  a New Zealand Green party MP and its justice spokesperson  who made history as the first refugee to be elected to New Zealands parliament has resigned over alleged shoplifting allegations, saying she had fallen short of the standards expected of politicians.

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Interestingly, she has attributed her unexplainable behaviour to work-related stress, adding that while she was not trying to excuse her actions, she did want to explain them.

We take a closer look at Ghahramans case of shoplifting allegations and try to decipher if mental stress can actually lead to shoplifting.

What New Zealand MP said about shoplifting?

Forty-two-year old Ghahraman, who moved to New Zealand from Iran as a child, faces three allegations of shoplifting from boutique clothing shops. While two alleged incidents took place at an Auckland luxury clothing store, the other was from a Wellington high-end clothes retailer.

The allegations were first published on 10 January by Newstalk ZB Plus, which reported that Ghahraman had been accused of shoplifting during the festive season from Scotties Boutique, a store specialising in luxury brands in the Auckland suburb of Ponsonby. The police confirmed they were investigating an allegation but were unable to confirm any individual identities.

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And on Tuesday, reacting to the allegations, she resigned with immediate effect. In a statement, she said, It is clear to me that my mental health is being badly affected by the stresses relating to my work. This has led me to act in ways that are completely out of character. I am not trying to excuse my actions, but I do want to explain them.

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People should, rightly, expect the highest standards of behaviour from their elected representatives. I fell short. Im sorry.

She further added that she understood that she wasnt well. The mental health professional I see says my recent behaviour is consistent with recent events giving rise to extreme stress response, and relating to previously unrecognised trauma.

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With that in mind, I dont want to hide behind my mental health problems, and I take full responsibility for my actions which I deeply regret. I have let down a lot of people and I am very sorry.

The best thing for my mental health is to resign as a Member of Parliament and to focus on my recovery and to find other ways to work for positive change in the world.

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Ghahramans party colleagues, Marama Davidson and James Shaw, extended their sympathy to her, saying that she had been at the receiving end of abuse from the public, including threats of sexual and physical violence and death threats.

If youre living with that level of threat, in what is already quite a stressful situation, then there are going to be consequences, Shaw was quoted as telling The Guardian.

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Can stress cause you to shoplift?

Ghahramans statement attributing her shoplifting to mental stress has got many people asking if its indeed true: can stress lead to shoplifting.

Shoplifting remains one of the most common forms of theft. However, it remains a complex behaviour with experts providing several theories to explain it. While some maintain that shoplifting is a form of impulse control disorder, others have noted that depression, anxiety, trauma, and stress can make someone more likely to shoplift as a way of coping with difficult emotions.

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Psychologists note that in many cases the act of stealing relieves the person of the they are experiencing and they then are able to associate shoplifting with stress relief. This leads to a continuation of their shoplifting.

In fact, Terrence Daryl Shulman, the author of Something for Nothing: Shoplifting Addiction and Recovery wrote, Most people who resort to stealing are actually crying for help. Theres something amiss, wrong, unresolved, absent.

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He further detailed that the top three emotional reasons people shoplift are anger  to try to make life fair, grief  to fill the void due to a loss, and depression  to distract from sadness.

Even the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention (NASP), a US based NGO that deals with shoplifters, has said that stealing is a maladaptive coping technique  similar to drinking or binge eating  in response to anxiety and stress.

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Many shoplifters when asked why they indulge in stealing have responded that their mood enhances when they indulge in the act. Psychologists note that this is because shoplifting leads to a release of dopamine, also known as the feel good hormone. So when a person is stressed and want to feel good, they indulge in behaviours such as shoplifting.

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This has been echoed by Adam Borland, a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinics Center for Behavioral Health. He was quoted as telling the Washington Post that many individuals who shoplift experience a pleasurable rush of dopamine throughout the body, similar to other addictive behaviours, and seek to feel that pleasure again and again.

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In a BBC report, a woman identified as Jane said that she resorted to shoplifting when she feels stressed. A teacher by profession, the resident of the UK said, When the cost-of-living crisis began, trying to find food that was actually enjoyable got more and more complicated. Also, my job, particularly at the moment, is pretty stressful. Education is in a bit of a state, and teachers bear the brunt of it. So, I do feel that stress has got a lot to do with it.

Is there a cure to shoplifting?

So can one be treated for shoplifting? Mental health experts say that there are treatment programs to help with this problem.

Many mental health experts recommend cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for shoplifting. They observe that CBT provides the tools to regain control over impulses. It helps to recognise the triggers and emotions that underlie the stealing behaviour. And then gives the the skills to manage the impulse and manage the behaviour.

Some also recommend in finding emotional outlets such as writing or exercising. Find new ways to distract, entertain and amuse yourself, experts note.

With inputs from agencies
We are just a week away from the grand opening of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Ahead of the pran pratishtha on 22 January, other rituals, having religious significance, will be conducted for the next seven days

The final countdown before the big day has begun. Preparations are in full swing for the historic consecration ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, scheduled for 22 January. And from today (16 January), a set of pre-pran pratishtha rituals have begun.

These rites will be conducted right until 22 January, the day when the formal opening of the temple will take place in the presence of over 7,000 guests from all over the country. This includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan and Alia Bhatt, and sportspersons like Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar.

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As we gear up for the grand ceremony, heres a better understanding of all that will take place from today until 22 January.

Schedule of pre-Pran Pratishtha rituals

On 16 January, the rituals will begin. On this day, the host appointed by the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra, the Ram Mandir temple trust, will conduct the atonement ceremony, which features the Dashvidh bath, Vishnu worship and the offering to cows along the Saryu River.

The following day, 17 January, would mark the arrival of the selected idol at the Ram Mandir. This will be done after a procession carrying the Ram Lalla idol will be carried out through Ayodhya. On the same day, devotees carrying Saryu water in the Mangal Kalash will also reach the Ram Janmabhoomi temple.

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After the idol, which has now been confirmed to be the one sculpted by Arun Yogiraj , is brought to the temple, formal rituals begin. On the third day, Thursday (18 January), sacred ceremonies such as the Ganesh Ambika Puja, Varun Puja, Matrika Puja, Brahmin Varan, and Vastu Pujan will be conducted. Each of these rituals hold cultural and religious significance, contributing to the sanctity of the overall ceremony. On this day, the Ram Lalla idol will also be placed at its aasan in garbh griha.

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Following these ceremonies, on the fourth day, 19 January, a holy fire will be lit inside the Ram Mandir.

It will be on the fifth day, 20 January, that the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Mandir will be washed with the holy water of Saryu, and rituals such as Vaastu Shanti and Annadhivas will be performed.

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And a day before the final event, the deity of Ram Lalla will be given a divine bath with 125 urns and the ritual of Shayadhivas will be observed.

The pran pratishtha ceremony

On 22 January, the historic and religiously significant pran pratishtha ceremony will be held at the Ram Mandir in the presence of VVIPs and devotees. The rituals will take place from 12.20 pm to 1 pm and it is then that the deity of Ram Lalla will be consecrated.

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For the unaware, the pran pratishtha ceremony is when the idol turns into a deity, which, in turn, can accept prayers and grant boons to worshippers. Its a very important step in the consecration.

As part of the pran pratishtha ceremony, the idol will be placed in the sanctum sanctorum in the eastward direction. And following this, comes the final stage, which is opening the eyes of the statue.

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According to an Indian Express report, the ceremony includes the application of anjan  similar to kohli  around the deitys eyes, with a gold needle. This process is carried out from behind, as it is believed that if one looks into Gods eyes the moment they open, their brilliance can be too much to take. It is only after this that the idol is believed to have been brought to life and can be prayed to.

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What to expect after pran pratishtha ceremony

According to the temple trust, following the pran pratishtha ceremony, which is to be inclusive, all the witnesses will have darshan.

Its also important to note that the temple will be closed for devotees on 21 and 22 January and will be open to the public the next day, 23 January.

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The historic Ram Mandir inauguration will also see grand celebrations not only in India, but across the world . In the United States, car rallies will be held to commemorate the event. Moreover, the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla will not just be livestreamed in various India embassies overseas but also at the Times Square in New York.

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Theres also a Ram Rath Yatra in Paris from Place de La Chapelle around 12.30 pm and culminate at Place de Trocadero around 3 pm.

With inputs from agencies
The World Health Organisation describes disease X as an unknown pathogen that could cause a serious international epidemic. Experts say that the session at the World Economic Forum is a thought experiment and that the public need not be concerned

At the 54th World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerlands Davos, researchers and business leaders are set to discuss Disease X.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), whose director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is joining tomorrows panel to discuss it, has warned that Disease X could kill more than 20 times the number of people dead than the COVID-19 pandemic.

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But what is Disease X? How real is the threat? And what are scientists doing to fight it?

Lets take a closer look:

What is it?

For one, Disease X isnt a particular disease per se.

As per the WHO, it indicates an unknown pathogen that could cause a serious international epidemic.

Disease X represents the knowledge that a serious international epidemic could be caused by a pathogen currently unknown to cause human disease. The R&D Blueprint explicitly seeks to enable early cross-cutting R&D preparedness that is also relevant for an unknown Disease X.

The WHO added Disease X to their list of diseases and pathogens prioritised for research and development in public health emergency contexts in 2017.

The list includes

COVID-19

Crimean-Cong haemorrhagic fever

Ebola virus disease

Marburg virus disease

Lassa fever

Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)

Nipah and henipaviral diseases

Rift Valley fever

Zika

How real is the threat?

While news of the session may have alarmed many on social media, theres no cause for concern.

Dr Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told Fortune people in the medical and public health have always conducted thought experiments and tabletop exercises to prepare for pandemics.

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Dr Stuart Ray, vice chair of medicine for data integrity and analytics at Johns Hopkins Department of Medicine, the website it would be irresponsible for world leaders not to meet.

There have been multiple such events in recorded history, and the recent coronavirus pandemic taught us that rapid response can save millions of lives, he said. Coordination of public health response is not conspiracy, its simply responsible planning.

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Such meetings should be publicised because such planning requires oversight, appreciation for personal impact on personal and economic freedom, and impact on special populations, he added. It makes good sense for a global public health organization, scientific leaders, and interested private individuals to be involved.

But others are not so sanguine.

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Kate Bingham, who headed up UKs Vaccine Taskforce from May to December 2020, in an interview with Daily Mail warned that Disease X could result in a repeat of the 1919-1920 Spanish flu.

Let me put it this way: the 1918-19 flu pandemic killed at least 50 million people worldwide, twice as many as were killed in World War I. Today, we could expect a similar death toll from one of the many viruses that already exist, Bingham said.

If the world has to tackle the threat from Disease X, the world will have to prepare for mass vaccination drives and deliver the doses in record time, she added.

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In a sense, we got lucky with Covid-19, despite the fact that it caused 20 million or more deaths across the world. The point is that the vast majority of people infected with the virus managed to recover Imagine Disease X is as infectious as measles with the fatality rate of Ebola. Somewhere in the world, its replicating, and sooner or later, somebody will start feeling sick, said Bingham.

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Bingham also explained why humans are likely to witness more pandemics.

The increase in outbreaks is the price were having to pay for living in the modern world. First, its increasingly connected through globalisation. Second, more and more people are cramming into cities, where they often come into close contact with others, she added.

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What are scientists doing?

As per Bloomberg, groups like the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) are supporting rapid response vaccine platforms that could develop new vaccines within 100 days of a virus with pandemic potential.

Other efforts underway include:

Updating the International Health Regulations and developing a new global agreement to protect the world from future emergencies.

A new fund, approved by the World Bank, for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

A WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin that aims to speed access to key data, and develop analytic tools and predictive models to assess potential threats.

The Global Virome Project that aims to discover zoonotic viral threats and stop future pandemics.

A $5 billion US government initiative to develop next-generation vaccines and treatments for Covid-19, called Project NextGen.

$262.5 million in funding for a US national network for detecting and responding more efficiently to public health emergencies. Establishment of global center for pandemic therapeutics.

The WHO, meanwhile, says scientists are simply doing their job.

Targeting priority pathogens and virus families for research and development of countermeasures is essential for a fast and effective epidemic and pandemic response. Without significant R&D investments prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, it would not have been possible to have safe and effective vaccines developed in record time, Dr Michael Ryan, executive director of WHOs Health Emergencies Programme was quoted as saying on the organisations website.

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This list of priority pathogens has become a reference point for the research community on where to focus energies to manage the next threat, added Dr Soumya Swaminathan, WHO chief scientist.

It is developed together with experts in the field, and is the agreed direction for where weas a global research communityneed to invest energy and funds to develop tests, treatments and vaccines. We thank our donors like the US government, our partners, and the scientists who work with WHO to make this possible.

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With inputs from agencies
Our energy consumption is surging three times faster than the global average, and 25 per cent of the global energy demand growth in the next 20 years will come from India, Puri said.

India can become a five trillion dollar economy much before 2028, said Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday, adding that the countrys energy transition needs to be done in an orderly manner to safeguard the interests of its large population.

Puri, the minister for petroleum and natural gas as well as housing and urban affairs said I dont think we need to wait till 2028 to become a five trillion dollar economy, and if you look at what is happening, it should happen much before 2028, he said while listing various macroeconomic parameters.

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Speaking at a CII-EY breakfast session on accelerating Indias energy transition towards sustainable economic growth on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024, he said India is aware of its commitments towards sustainability goals and will meet all the targets in time while meeting the requirements of a growing economy.

Our energy consumption is surging three times faster than the global average, and 25 per cent of the global energy demand growth in the next 20 years will come from India, he said.

Under PM @narendramodi Jis leadership, India's ascent to a $4 trillion economy is fueled by a robust growth rate of 7.2-7.3%.



Our energy consumption is surging three times faster than the global average, and 25% of the global energy demand growth in the next 20 years will come pic.twitter.com/EeWl73pjbd  Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) January 16, 2024

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I also think that the transition has to be orderly because transition by nature has to have both a clear roadmap and it must have in place all the safeguards that will ensure that there are no knee-jerk decisions taken, he noted.

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Puri said it is even more so important for a country like India, which is also now the worlds most populous country.When it comes to energy, the relationship between economic growth and energy is very important. Because we are now close to a 4 trillion dollar economy, but the fact is, we need to take care of a very large part of our population.

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Its one thing to be theorising about the need for the transition without having to take care of domestic compulsions. As far as India is concerned, availability and energy resources are important because we import a key portion of our crude oil requirements, he said.

Given the multiple crises the world is facing, a democratically elected government like we have in India has to ensure affordability also. Then comes sustainability, and we are fully committed to that also, the minister said.

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He said the traditional market, which was dependent for energy on a defined number of suppliers, who could at will decide price etc, that dynamic doesnt seem to be working.

I am confident that all the targets we have for 2030 on the energy transition, we will meet them. Our green hydrogen policy will succeed in a big way.We are on our way to meet our targets on aviation fuel. India today presents a fantastic potential for biofuel blending. We are meeting all our targets ahead of time.

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The establishment of the Global Biofuel Alliance is another example of our successes, he added.

With inputs from PTI.
??Lo acompanaron los jefes de @indeciperu, @CENEPRED y @ANAPeru. El sobrevuelo en la cuenca del rio Rimac se verifico trabajos de descolmatacion, encauzamiento y conformacion de diques ejecutados por @MuniLima, en los tramos de SJL, El Agustino, Rimac y Cercado de Lima. pic.twitter.com/VvlkkMPBNr
According to the Ministry of Mines, this is the first ever lithium exploration and mining project by a Government Company of India

The government of India has signed an agreement for lithium exploration and mining project in Argentina. The Ministry of Mines said the agreement between Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) and the state-owned enterprise of Catamarca province of Argentina CATAMARCA MINERA Y ENERGETICA SOCIEDAD DEL ESTADO (CAMYEN SE).

According to the Ministry of Mines, this is the first ever lithium exploration and mining project by a Government Company of India.

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KABIL will commence exploration and development of 5 lithium brine blocks - Cortadera-I, Cortadera-VII, Cortadera-VIII, Cateo-2022-01810132, and Cortadera-VI covering an area of about 15,703 Hectare, located in the Catamarca province of Argentina.

KABIL is also working towards setting up a branch office at Catamarca, Argentina. The project cost is about 200 crores.

This is a historic day for both India and Argentina as we are scripting a new chapter in bilateral ties with the Agreement signing between KABIL and CAMYEN  a step which will not only play a crucial role in driving the energy transition for sustainable future, but also ensure a resilient and diversified supply chain for critical and strategic minerals essential for various industries in India," said Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister of Coal and Mines.

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The mining ministry further said with this agreement, KABIL has obtained Exploration and Exclusivity Right for 5 blocks to evaluate, prospect and explore and subsequent to existence/discovery of lithium mineral, exploitation right for commercial production.

This will not only boost its quest for sourcing lithium for India but will also help in bringing in technical and operational experience for Brine type lithium exploration, exploitation and extraction, the ministry said.

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Argentina is the part of Lithium Triangle along with Chile and Bolivia with more than half of worlds total lithium resources and having the distinction of having second largest lithium resources, third largest lithium reserves and fourth largest production in world.

This strategic move strengthens the bilateral ties between India and Argentina as well as contributes to the sustainable development of the mining sector, ensuring a resilient and diversified supply chain for critical and strategic minerals essential for various industries.
Pannun called on gangsters to come together and carry out an assault against the Chief Minister on 26 January, according to a report

Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has issued threats to assassinate Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the Director General of state Police Gaurav Yadav on Republic Day.

According to an India Today report, Pannun called on gangsters to come together and carry out an assault against the Chief Minister on 26 January.

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These threats mark the most recent incidents in a series of menacing declarations by Pannun, the founder of Sikh For Justice (SFJ) and a designated terrorist, targeting various Indian establishments and authorities.

Meanwhile, Pannu also threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi and dared him to attend the Republic Day function on 26 January without security.

I dare Modi, you come to Delhi without your security. If you are a popular leader, come to Delhi on R-Day without security and SFJ is going to avenge the assassination of Shaheed Nijjar by raising Khalistan flag, Business Today quoted him as saying in a video.

In June last year, Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed by unidentified assailants at a gurudwara in Canadas Surrey.

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The India-Canada ties strained after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in September last year accused agents of the Indian government of being involved in the killing of Nijjar.

India, in response, dismissed these allegations as absurd and motivated. Subsequently, both Ottawa and New Delhi engaged in reciprocal expulsions of diplomats following Trudeaus claim of Indian involvement in Nijjars death. India also temporarily halted the issuance of visas to Canadian citizens and requested Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country for the sake of parity. In compliance, Canada withdrew 41 diplomats along with their family members from India.

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Last month, a video surfaced featuring Pannun announcing his intention to target the Indian Parliament on or before 13 December. Prior to this, another video emerged in which the Khalistani militant issued a threat on November 19, warning of potential danger to individuals planning to travel via Air India. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has initiated a case against him in connection with the Air India threat video.

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The government had previously designated the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) as an unlawful association in 2019, accusing it of engaging in anti-national and subversive activities. Additionally, in 2020, Pannun was classified by the Centre as an individual terrorist, citing his encouragement of Punjab-based gangsters and youth to advocate for Khalistan.

In November of the preceding year, US authorities indicted Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national, for his alleged involvement in a murder plot targeting Pannun on American soil. According to US officials, Gupta had agreed to pay $100,000 to an assassin for the execution, with an initial payment of $15,000 made in June of the same year. Subsequently, Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic at the behest of US authorities.

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With inputs from agencies
Senior BJP leaders, including Union ministers and chief ministers, picked up the broom across the country after PM Modi appealed to the people to carry out cleanliness drives at temples across the country ahead of the consecration ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis joined the cleanliness drive and participated in the cleaning of the Mumbadevi temple premises in Mumbai.

Our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has urged everyone to clean the temples across the country before the Pran Pratishtha in Ayodhya. Under the same initiative, we too did a cleanliness drive at our Mumbais deity, Mumbadevi temple. I think this is a really good initiative and people of all religions should go to their places of faith and undertake this cleanliness drive, said Fadnavis.

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The cleanliness initiative aligns with the nationwide campaign launched by BJP president J P Nadda, encouraging the ruling party members to undertake cleanliness activities in temples and their surroundings. J P Nadda initiated the drive at Guru Ravidas Temple in Karol Bagh on Sunday.

 8am | 16-1-2024  Mumbadevi Mandir, Mumbai | .  . | --   , 



 Following the clarion call by Hon. PM Narendra Modi Ji, under the 'Cleanliness of Temples and Places of Worship' Abhiyan, took darshan at Shri Mumbadevi Temple and participated in pic.twitter.com/NgrXy7o9G9  Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) January 16, 2024

Prominent BJP leaders, including Union ministers and chief ministers, took part in similar efforts across various regions of the country. The party aims to generate enthusiasm leading up to the consecration of Lord Rams idol at the Ayodhya temple scheduled for January 22.

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Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh chief ministers Yogi Adityanath, Bhupendra Patel, Bhajan Lal Sharma and Mohan Yadav joined the cleanliness campaign in Ayodhya, Gandhinagar, Jaipur and Ujjain, respectively. Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw attended the exercise at a temple in Baleswar in Odisha. Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Meenakshi Lekhi were among others who cleaned up temples in different places.

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The BJP will also be felicitating peoples visit to the Ram temple after January 22, when Prime Narendra Modi will attend the consecration ceremony, and help them in their stay.

The Uttar Pradesh government and several organisations on Sunday launched a statewide cleanliness drive, which will continue till January 22, the day of the consecration ceremony at the Ayodhya Ram temple.

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PM Modi cleaned the premises of the Kalaram Temple in Nashik last Friday as part of the Swachchata Abhiyan campaign and appealed to the people to carry out cleanliness drives at temples across the country ahead of the consecration ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

Delivering his inaugural address at the 27th National Youth Festival in Nashik, the Prime Minister reiterated his call for cleanliness campaigns, urging citizens to clean pilgrimage places and temples across the country on Pran Pratishtha day of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the installation of the idol of Ram Lalla at the grand temple on January 22.

With inputs from agencies.
The cheetahs were imported in two batches  from Namibia in 2022 and South Africa in 2023. The initiative began on September 17 last year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a group of cheetahs brought from Namibia into an enclosure in Kuno

Shaurya, a cheetah translocated from Namibia, died at the Kuno National Park on Tuesday, according to a report by news agency ANI. So far, seven adult cheetahs and three cubs have died at the national park.

Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (APCCF) and Director Lion Project said late in the morning the tracking team observed incoordination and staggering gait in the animal following which Shaurya was tranquilized. Post revival the tracking team noticed complications. The Namibian Cheetah failed to respond to CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and died around 3.17 pm.

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The cause of death can be ascertained only after post-mortem.

Today, on 16th January, 2024 around 3:17 pm, Namibian Cheetah Shaurya passed away. Around 11 am in the morning, incoordination and staggering gait was observed by the tracking team following which the animal was tranquilized and weakness was found. Following this, the animal was revived but complications arose post revival and the animal failed to respond to CPR. Cause of death can be ascertained after post mortem, APCCF & Director Lion Project said.

Cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952 and the animals were brought to the park again in 2022.

The cheetahs were imported in two batches - from Namibia in 2022 and South Africa in 2023. The initiative began on September 17 last year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a group of cheetahs brought from Namibia into an enclosure in Kuno.

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Four cubs were born in the park since then, but three of them and six other adults died in a span of five months ending last August.

The 10th death was reported today.

The multiple deaths issue even reached the Supreme Court last year, which said there was no reason to question the central government on the moves being made to reintroduce cheetahs in India.

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Project Cheetah head SP Yadav had told the media another batch of cheetahs will be imported from South Africa for their introduction at the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary soon.
The rockets have been a huge success in Indian defence forces also as the recently cleared the proposal for the acquisition of two types of these rockets, known as Area Denial Munition Type 2 and Type-3, defence for the Army.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is developing Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers that would be able to strike targets at 120 km and 200 km.

According to defence officials, two South American countries have shown interest in the Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers. The development is seen to be a huge success for indigenous weapon systems in the country after many countries opted for India-made Tejas aircraft.

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The Defence Research and Development Organisation has also now started working on developing two types of long-range rockets for the systems, including a 120Km and a 200-strike capability version, they said. The DRDO would be producing and developing the new rockets with its partners in both private and public sector industries.

The Indian-made Pinaka weapon system is named after the bow of God Shiva and has been developed by the DRDO.We have already achieved success in the exports of the Pinaka MBRLs to Armenia. Two South American nations have shown interest in the system seeing its capabilities, defence officials told ANI.

The present rockets can strike targets at up to 75-80 Kms.The DRDO is now working on long-range rockets which could be fired from the same set of launchers that are already in service with the Indian Army and will help in saving costs, the officials said.

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The Pinaka MBRL has been one of the success stories in the indigenous weapon systems developed by the DRDO in partnership with private and public sector units.

While the launcher vehicles are made by the Tata Group and Larsen and Toubro, the rockets are made by the Solar Industries and the Munitions India Limited. The new rockets project is also expected to involve private sector firms in development and production.

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The rockets have been a huge success in Indian defence forces also as the recently cleared the proposal for the acquisition of two types of these rockets, known as Area Denial Munition Type 2 and Type-3, defence for the Army.

The rockets would be procured by the Indian Army from indigenous sources only and two main contenders include the Economic Explosives Limited of Solar Industries and the Munitions India Limited one of the ammunition-producing companies created by the corporatisation of the erstwhile Ordnance Factories, they said.

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As part of larger artillery modernisation plans, the army has a requirement of large regiments of the Pinaka MBRL. Pinaka regiments of the Indian Army include launchers with automated gun aiming and positioning systems and command posts.

With inputs from ANI.
The recent diplomatic ripples following Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzus visit to Beijing, despite the fallout from derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Modi, underscores a nuanced tale of strategic realignment and indebtedness

In a surprising turn of events, the serene archipelago of Lakshadweep, Indias smallest Union Territory, has emerged from the shadows to seize the limelight on Google Trends. The catalyst? None other than the charismatic Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose recent visit sparked a whirlwind of speculation that hinted at Lakshadweep becoming the nations newfound tourist haven. However, the unintended consequence of this newfound interest has stirred the tranquil waters of the Maldives, a popular holiday paradise for many Indians.

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The surging popularity of Lakshadweep now threatens to cast a shadow over the Maldives tourism industry, and what was once a diplomatic ripple has transformed into a tempest, fueled by derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Modi from certain political quarters in the Maldives. As the dust settles, it becomes evident that promoting Lakshadweep as a beach destination is not just a travel initiative  its a diplomatic chess move that underscores the strength and influence of India and its unwavering leader.

As the buzz around Prime Minister Modis Lakshadweep visit grew, online speculations hinted at a connection to shifting dynamics in the Maldives. Unconfirmed reports suggested concerns over the Maldives aligning with China, an issue of strategic importance for India. Despite New Delhis silence on any direct link, the online discourse intensified, with some Maldivian politicians using derogatory language against PM Modi and Indians. This unfolding narrative unveils deeper geopolitical nuances, laying the groundwork for an exploration into the influence of China in the Maldives.

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As of 13 December, 2023, the Maldives witnessed a robust 12.6 per cent increase in tourism, totalling 1,757,939 visitors compared to 1.5 million in 2022. Indian tourists took the lead with 209,198 arrivals, outpacing both Russian and Chinese visitors at 209,146 and 187,118, respectively. These figures highlight Indias significant contribution to the Maldives flourishing tourism sector.

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As diplomatic tensions peak between India and the Maldives, tour operators in the island nation are grappling with anxiety, amplified by the suspension of flight bookings on a major Indian travel portal. The digital landscape reflects the turmoil, with MakeMyTrip noting an astounding 3,400 per cent surge in Lakshadweep searches post-Prime Minister Modis visit. This sudden shift in travel interest paints a vivid tableau of geopolitical intricacies entwining the tourism sector, casting an ominous shadow over the Maldivian travel industry.

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The recent diplomatic ripples following Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzus visit to Beijing, despite the fallout from derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Modi, underscores a nuanced tale of strategic realignment and indebtedness. Muizzus pivot towards China is not a mere symbolic gesture; it represents a carefully calculated move, mirroring a broader narrative of economic dependency and geopolitical manoeuvring. Chinas strategic interest in the Maldives dates back to 2008, recognising its geographical significance near vital sea lanes crucial for Beijings energy supplies. The acquisition of Feydhoo Finolhu, a small islet strategically positioned near the Male International Airport, serves as a tangible example of Chinas tactical positioning in this geopolitical chess game.

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Economic engagement is a key facet, with Chinas investments extending beyond visible acquisitions to include securing a 50-year lease for a modest $4 million. This economic embrace is a calculated move, as China utilizes its financial leverage to court successive Maldivian administrations, creating a complex web of dependency. The looming debt entanglement is a cause for concern, with the Maldives owing China an astronomical $1.37 billion, constituting roughly 20% of its public debt. Beijings role as the Maldives largest bilateral creditor raises alarms about the potential pitfalls of a debt trap, casting a shadow over the archipelagos economic future.

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Chinas geopolitical manoeuvring in the Maldives goes beyond financial ties. In 2018, during a period of political turmoil, China swiftly cautioned India against interference, solidifying its protective stance over Maldivian affairs. Additionally, by orchestrating the Maldives transition from a Least Developed Country to a burgeoning economy, China strategically fortified its influence, creating a delicate yet precarious dynamic.

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In a significant move, the Maldives formally requested India to withdraw its military personnel from its shores earlier last year, shedding light on a geopolitical tug-of-war between India and China for influence in this strategically positioned archipelago. Situated along bustling shipping routes in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives has become a focal point for both nations, leading to substantial investments in infrastructure upgrades and the extension of loans to the country. The troop removal issue underscores the complex dynamics at play as India and China vie for supremacy in this crucial region.

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Since 1988, India has been a steadfast ally of the Maldives, particularly in defence and security cooperation. This bond extends beyond military matters; in times of crisis, India has consistently supported the Maldives. During the 2004 tsunami and the water crisis in December 2014, India was the first to extend assistance. Amid the global onslaught of the second wave of COVID-19 in January 2021, the Maldives received the first batch of vaccines from India, highlighting Indias commitment to its neighbours well-being. Despite export restrictions, India sent 3 lakh vaccine doses within the first three months of the year.

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Indias assistance during the initial outbreak of COVID-19 was extensive, including the dispatch of a Composite COVID-19 medical relief team comprising pulmonologists, anaesthetists, physicians, and lab technicians. Essential medicines were gifted as a goodwill gesture, and India evacuated nine Maldivian nationals from Wuhan. During the pandemic, India sent 580 tonnes of food, and 50,000 Hydroxychloroquine tablets, and facilitated the travel of 37 seriously ill Maldivian patients to Kochi for medical treatment, even when borders were closed.

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This steadfast support isnt limited to crisis response; India is actively contributing to the development of the Maldives. The Hanimaadhoo International Airport expansion project is being supported under a $800 million Line of Credit from the EXIM Bank of India, further solidifying the partnership. These instances underscore the depth of the India-Maldives friendship, showcasing Indias commitment to the well-being and progress of its island neighbour.

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In recent years, the Maldives has witnessed the rise of radical forces and the impact of extremism on Maldivian soil, while not extensive in terms of attacks, has targeted the democratic government and tourists. The trend began with the 2007 Male Sultan Square Attack, and more recent incidents, like the 2020 arson assault and the 2021 IED explosion targeting former president Mohamed Nasheed, highlight the persistent threat.

ISIS and Al Qaeda have successfully recruited Maldivian youth as foreign fighters, with the Maldives earning the dubious distinction of being the worlds largest per capita Foreign Terrorist Fighter (FTF) contributor. Factors such as Saudi Wahabism and Deobandism infiltrating Maldivian society, along with the influence of foreign-educated individuals returning with extremist interpretations of Islam, have contributed to the radicalization of the youth.

The Maldives, once known for its tolerant version of Islam, now grapples with radicalised individuals viewing the nation as a land of Kafirs (infidels). The recruitment and reinforcement of Maldivian operatives with organizations like Al-Qaeda and ISIS underscore the alarming peak of radicalism in the country. Concerns grow as the influence of extremist interpretations continues to pressure successive governments to implement policies aligned with their ideologies.

Amidst the expanding Chinese influence in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, President Xi Jinpings ambitious plans for an extensive naval arc from the Bay of Bengal to the Arabian Sea loom large. This geopolitical landscape demands Indias attention and strategic planning. However, a more immediate concern arises within the confines of Lakshadweep  a region entangled in a web of drug trafficking and arms smuggling.

The startling revelation emerges as the value of drugs seized in Lakshadweep between November 2020 and 31 March, 2021, skyrockets to an astonishing Rs5,000 crore. To put this in perspective, its nearly three times the annual budget allocated for Lakshadweep in 2021-22, which stands at Rs1,349.71 crore. Within a modest surface area of around 32 km, the drug trafficking turnover paints a grim picture, exacerbated by the value and quantity of firearms seized.

This concerning scenario unveils a geographical shift in the drug trafficking route, with Sri Lankan boats ferrying illicit substances and weapons into the remote Lakshadweep islands. Untangling this complex network poses a formidable challenge for enforcement agencies, and the even greater puzzle lies in tracing how these illegal goods find their way into the Indian mainland.

Amidst aspirations to open Lakshadweeps doors to tourism, these pressing issues demand immediate attention. Before unlocking the potential of this scenic paradise, a meticulous focus on combating drug trafficking and arms smuggling is imperative. It is not just a matter of national security; it is a critical step towards ensuring a safe and sustainable future for Lakshadweep.

In navigating these challenges, India stands at a crossroads, where the allure of tourism must be balanced with a steadfast commitment to addressing the darker undercurrents threatening the tranquility of Lakshadweep. Its not just about opening doors; its about fortifying the foundations to withstand the storm that lurks beneath the surface. Nevertheless, there is a steadfast belief that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, a resolute commitment to addressing these challenges will be undertaken.

The author is a practicing advocate. She writes article on womens rights, politics and law. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.

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It is a travesty of justice that the Opposition leaders who repeatedly demonised Hinduism under the garb of secularism, have the audacity now to lecture the BJP on the Ram Mandir?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to conduct the auspicious act of opening the eyes of the Ram Lalla idol at the Ram temples sanctum sanctorum in Ayodhya on 22 January, 2024, with a golden stick in the presence of 11 Vedic priests. This will mark the culmination of the seven-day Pran Pratishtha (consecration) rituals, heralding a new chapter in Indias civilisational history. While Jawaharlal Nehru visited Mughal marauder Baburs tomb in Afghanistan in 1959, Indira Gandhi visited the tomb in 1968 and Rahul Gandhi in 2005, it took a leader as tall and fearless as Prime Minister Modi to correct a historical wrong. Babur destroyed an existing temple in the year 1528 to build a masjid (Babri masjid), snatching away from Hindus what was rightfully theirs. And while it is the Supreme Court ruling that paved way for the construction of the Ram Mandir, at the Ram Janmabhoomi site, let truth be toldit is the grand ambition, extraordinary vision, unwavering conviction and flawless execution of Prime Minister Modi that has finally brought the Ram Mandir to fruition.

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Ram Mandir has been part of the BJPs manifesto for the longest time and the issue of building a mandir at Lord Rams birthplace was first crystallised in the BJPs Palampur resolution of 1989. Jan Jagaran Abhiyan slogan, coined by Modi, then the Gujarat general secretary of the BJP, became a rallying cry for the Ram Mandir movement. Three decades back, the BJP actively organised various activities including Mohalla Baithaks, Prabhat Pheris, Sammelans and a massive signature collection campaign. Half a crore signatures were collected from Gujarat alone, all thanks to Modi.

Unlike his predecessors like Nehru, Indira or Rajiv Gandhi, Modi has never felt compelled to engage in appeasement politics and therefore never paid obeisance to bloodthirsty Mughals and therein lies his greatness. While Modi has no qualms visiting the Ajmer dargah, the Grand Istiqlal mosque in Indonesia or the Al-Hakim mosque in Egypt, here is a proud Hindutva leader who is equally at ease wearing his Hindu credentials proudly on his sleeves and why should he not? More than 80% of Indias population is Hindu.

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Is Jesus not celebrated at his birthplace in Bethlehem? Is the Prophet in Islam not celebrated at his birthplace in Mecca? Is Lord Gautam Buddha not celebrated at his birthplace in Lumbini in Nepal? Is Lord Mahavir not celebrated at his birthplace in Kundalpur, in modern day Bihar? The answer to the above questions is Yes. That being the case, why were Hindus denied their natural right to celebrate Lord Ram at his birthplace in Ayodhya? That is because Hindus are inherently secular and waited tolerantly for the Court verdict. There has now come a time in history though, when nothing can stop the collective consciousness of over a billion Hindus, the most peaceful community anywhere in the world. And that tryst with history is on the auspiciously eventful day of 22 January.

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Who are the reckless Opposition leaders who allege that Prime Minister Modi has hijacked the Ram Mandir issue for political gains? Who are the Opposition leaders who wrongfully accuse Modi of being majoritarian? It is that very lot from the Congress which filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, denying the very existence of Lord Ram and the Ram Setu. It is that very lot from the TMC in Bengal, Mamata Banerjee included, who have no qualms offering namaaz on the streets but have a problem with the peaceful chants of Jai Shri Ram. It is that very lot from the DMK which equates Sanatan Dharma with dengue, malaria and COVID-19. It is that very lot from the Samajwadi Party whose leader Mulayam Singh Yadav fired on unarmed Ram bhakts in 1990. It is that very lot from the RJD that calls Ramcharitmanas a hoax. It is that very lot from the AIMIM, Owaisi included, who hail the Constitution to derive undue benefits under Articles 29 and 30, but when instant triple talaq was criminalised and repealed within the ambit of Indian law, this radical bunch of bigots ran amok, disparaging the very ethos of the Constitution.

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In sharp contrast, if there is one party that has steadfastly furthered the Hindu cause, without being majoritarian, it is the BJP and if there is one fearless Hindutva icon who assiduously created an enabling environment for Hindus so that they do not feel marginalised in their own homeland, it is Prime Minister Modi. Manmohan Singh threw lavish iftar parties when he was the prime minister. Sonia Gandhi sent emissaries to the Vatican for the canonisation ceremony of Mother Teresa. Mamata Banerjee has even changed the name Ram Navami into Rongo Navmi in textbooks in Bengal. For the longest time, thousands of crores were given as Haj subsidies by successive Congress regimes.

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Is it not a travesty of justice that these hypocritical Opposition leaders who repeatedly demonised Hinduism under the garb of secularism, have the audacity now to lecture the BJP on the Ram Mandir? How can wearing a skull cap and throwing iftar parties at the cost of taxpayers be considered secular, but celebrating a Ram Mandir be communal? Think hard about that. Those who allege that there can be no Pran Pratishtha unless the temple is completed,are peddling lies. Only the construction of the Garba Griha or the sanctum sanctorum needs to be completed before the Pran Pratishta ceremony happens and the Garba Griha is ready. Those who say the Shankaracharyas have refused to endorse the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla, forget that India has over 33 crore gods and goddesses,12 Jyotirlingas, 13 Akharas including the Juna Akhara, over 7 lakh temples, scores of Adheenams and over 60 lakh sadhus and seers. It is impossible to please everybody. A vast majority of Hindus believe what will happen on January 22, 2024, should have actually happened 500 years back.

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Also, the former Shankaracharya of Kanchi peeth was arrested in 2004 under the watch of the Congress. Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati was mercilessly murdered in 2008, under the watch of the Congress. So the Congress party has absolutely no moral high ground to lecture the BJP or anyone else for that matter, as it has used and abused Shankaracharyas in the past, for political dividends.

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Commencing on January 16, 2024, the Pran Pratishtha rituals will unfold within the sacred precincts of the Ram temple. The centerpiece of these rituals will be the installation of Ram Lallas new idol, meticulously carved from the black stone of Karnataka. This symbolic act is scheduled for January 17, when the idol will be placed on an opulent golden throne. To facilitate the Vedic rituals integral to the consecration ceremony, eight havan kunds will be arranged within the temples sanctum sanctorum.

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Each kund will be assigned to a yajman (the beneficiary on whose behalf the rituals are performed), a priest, and several assistants, ensuring the meticulous execution of the ceremonies. A havan kund is a square structure where a sacred fire is kindled, and divine offerings are made during a religious ceremony. The main rituals will be conducted by Lakshmikant Dixit, a Vedic priest hailing from Varanasi, supported by a team of 121 other priests. The sanctum sanctorum will witness the presence of 11 Vedic priests, including Dixit, who will serve as the head priest orchestrating the sacred proceedings.

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This landmark event on 22 January, 2024, is not only a celebration of spirituality but also a testament to the unity and devotion of millions of Hindus who hold the Ram temple in high reverence. Karl Marx once famously said, Religion is the opium of the masses. Well, while religion alone cant feed hungry multitudes, what is equally true is that religion can be a binding glue that unifies a force that elevates citizens to go beyond the call of duty, to achieve economic prosperity, tranquility and social harmony. The consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla on January 22, 2024, cements this very idea of a new India under Modi  an India that despite being secular in character does not deny its Hindu population the unequivocal right of celebrating its gods and goddesses; an India that celebrates innovation and entrepreneurship, but does not shy away from celebrating with equal fervour the splendour of the Somnath temple and the glory of Kashi Vishwanath and the Ujjain Mahakal corridors. And indeed, if there is a leader who has infused in Hindus pride for their religion, it is Prime Minister Modi. Prior to May 2014, Hindus were scared to wear bhagwa, adorn a rudraksha mala, wear the sacred kalwa on their wrists or even smear their forehead with sacred vibhuti (vermilion). Today, Hindus are not scared to reclaim their civilisational legacy, albeit within the ambit of law.

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Despite winning a brute majority in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Modi government left the Ram Mandir verdict to the better judgement of Indias apex Court, echoing Prime Minister Modis unwavering commitment to Indias democratic ethos and its institutions, the judiciary included. Hindus waited for 500 years, knocked on the doors of many lower courts for over 134 years, before getting an opportunity long overdue, to rejoice at a victory that had always been theirs for the asking, but something they had to patiently strive for and wait for.

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Blending religion and economics is not easy but it is not impossible either, especially when the leader at the helm of affairs is Narendra Modi, who is both a proud and unapologetic Hindu and a consummate statesman too. Modi is assertive without going overboard, proud of his Hindu roots and yet endearingly and effortlessly secular. Secularism comes naturally to PM Modi because Hinduism is indeed the only secular religion in the world.

Unfortunately, the word secularism has become a much abused one over the last many years. Since the days of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress has been dismissing Hinduism as subaltern. Indira Gandhi buried the excavation reports of archaeologist B.B. Lal, who found proof of temple remains under the Babri Masjid and reportedly stopped the excavation work mid-way. Later, KK Muhammed, former Regional Director, North, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), too found remains of a temple under the masjid structure. Yet, many Western and Indian mediapersons, who know absolutely nothing about Indias rich history or its complex polity, have the audacity to denounce Hinduism and its magnanimity.

Leftist pseudo-seculars who have never once expressed grief or even regret at the horrific genocide of Kashmiri Hindus in 1990, at the hands of bloodthirsty, radical Islamists, have the audacity to lecture on secularism? Irony just died a million deaths. Those who weep for Bilkis Bano have never shed even a crocodile tear for Shah Bano. The likes of Rahul Gandhi, Sitaram Yechury and Mamata Banerjee who accuse PM Modi of being majoritarian have not once condemned the ISIS-style beheading of Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur or Umesh Kolhe in Amravati. These people were beheaded by radical Islamists only because they believed in their faith (aastha) in Lord Ram.

On 22 December, 1949, Uttar Pradesh (then called United Province) Chief Minister Govind Vallabh Pant, at the behest of then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, ordered the expulsion of Hindus from the temple of Ram Lalla. But Faizabad (present day Ayodhya) District Collector KK Nair refused to implement the order, pointing out that the real stakeholders were performing puja there and the move to expel them would lead to riots and bloodshed. Nair was soon suspended from service. Like her father Nehru, Indira Gandhi also scuttled the rights of Hindus by inserting the word Secular, via the 42nd Amendment to the Indian Constitution in 1976. For many years post that amendment, Hindus in India were pushed around, hounded and discriminated against, in their own country, under the garb of secularism.

If anyone has any doubts on how the Ram Mandir can lead to an economic rejuvenation of Ayodhya, one need not look far  the 182-m tall Statue of Unity, the worlds largest statue, at Kevadia, in 2023 alone witnessed a footfall of over 1.3 crore tourists. Religious and cultural tourism is something India has a natural flair for. Take for example, the three UNESCO world heritage sites of Hampi in Karnataka, the ancient structural wonder, the Ajanta caves in Maharashtra and the Taj Mahal in Agra, which see heavy tourist traffic every year. The Ram Mandir is expected to outshine each of these.

Ayodhya gave the concept of Ram Rajya  where there is no poverty, pain, grief or discrimination. Ram Rajya is a powerful idea that blends the Gandhian variant of a Welfare State, with many characteristics of contemporary capitalism. Ram Rajya is universal in its appeal and not merely limited to Shri Ram. In fact the 17th century saint, Sant Tukaram, extolled Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharajs reign as Ram Rajya. By using the Ram Rajya slogan, Gandhi implied an ideal Rajya akin to the kingdom of God on earth, where values of justice, equality, idealism, renunciation and sacrifice are practised. Also, Ram Rajya is not a proselytising or polarising concept.

Can there be Ram Rajya without a Ram? The knowledge of Ram Rajya alone is not enough, as Ram needs to be understood first before the Rajya. Knowing the hero is as important as worshipping the hero. The spiritual fervour with which Hindus worship Shri Ram and imbibe his ethos is evident in many respects, especially so with regard to Prabhu Rams adherence to dharma, said the renowned Kidambi Narayanan in a discourse. Prime Minister Modis greatest legacy is Hindu revivalism. Thanks to Modi, millions of Indian youngsters today know why Ram is a hero.

The author is an economist, national spokesperson of the BJP and the bestselling author of The Modi Gambit. 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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Imagine a time when handwriting becomes like hieroglyphics: incomprehensible to all but scholars. And surprising as it may sound, that time has already arrived in the US, where 22 states recently had to resort to legislation to ensure that young Americans will still able to write by handand read handwriting. It seems the current keyboard generation in school there today already regards the outcome of putting pen and pencil to paper as arcane and all but indecipherable.

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Typing has taken a lot of character and drama out of communication by making uniformity the norm. There is no way of judging a person by their handwriting anymore; the beauty of copperplate symmetry as opposed to spidery scrawls, slating script to straight, the primness of some handwriting, the flamboyance of others. In the era of handwritten text, as much could be gleaned from the way sentences were written as from what the words actually expressed.

The very idea that many Americans (at least the younger ones) can now be stumped by merely the handwritten word is hilarious. That many of them are no longer taughtyes, taughtto write by hand and read handwritten words is awesome in its insouciance. American educators for the last few decades clearly presumed children will only live and work in places with keyboards and printed words, never needing to use a pen or read handwritten text.

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Never mind that some of the most important documents in US history were hand-written, including drafts of the Declaration of Independence. Not to mention some of the worlds most precious contemporary documents like the scribbled song drafts by the Beatles. It is ridiculous that these are now as esoteric as the Dead Sea Scrolls for many Americans at a time when millions of people elsewhere in the world are still using pens as their main writing implements.

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The pitfalls of unfamiliarity with handwritten words are not hard to discern. A professor in a US University had a eureka moment regarding the importance of learning how to read and write cursive script when a student regarded a certain handwritten historical document as an image rather than a text as he was unable to read it. She realised that even reading the handwritten letters and notes of a generation ago would soon become impossible for young people.

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This is akin to Americans losing the old skill of telling time on a clock or watch with a dial and two hands. According to a survey in 2021, nearly 50 per cent of Americans under the age of 35 do not own any analog clocks, and 33 per cent of them between 35 and 44 do not have them either. So, most of those luxury timepieces worn by young celebrities are probably just jewellery not devices to know what time it is. For that, they have their mobile phones, presumably.

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In many parts of the world, smartphones and other handheld personal devices have already become indispensable for remembering phone numberssome no longer remember even their ownand doing even everyday calculations. Some can no longer even read money. So much of the brains quotidian exercises have been handed over to digital entities in the past 50 years. Handwriting was also given similar short shrift in favour of keypads in many US states.

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It was during the Barack Obama Administration in 2010 that cursive (hand) writing failed to make it to the national Common Core Standards for school curricula, even though it specifically mentioned keyboard skills for grades 3 to 5. Hence many schools stopped focusing on penmanship. By 2015, though, several states began enacting laws to ensure that the skill is not lost due to some bureaucratic oversight. California is just the most recent convert.

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Interestingly, South Carolina (where the Republican US presidential nomination hopeful Nikki Haley comes from) not only passed a law mandating cursive hand-writing skills by the end of grade 5, it also required students to memorise multiplication tables so that they would also be able to multiply numbers mentally in that same period. The pushback against keyboards and in favour of old-fashioned brain stimulation has not come a moment too soon.

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Multiple studiesironically, many of them conducted in the UShave shown that that cursive writing stimulates many more neural systems in the brain than typing does, and the practice of writing by hand integrates motor and perceptual skills. Many teachers and other pedagogic experts aver that writing joined letters rather than printing also aids spelling and sentence formation in young learners. So, it is heartening that US states are slowly opting to bring it back.

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Piquantly, the US actually has a National Handwriting Day23 Januarythe birthday of John Hancock, whose impeccably executed signature stands out in the US Declaration of Independence. A day to remember the benefits of writing longhand is much needed everywhere. Writing without delete or backspace keys and devices to alter the sequence of paragraphs makes thoughts measured and sentences cogent from the outset. That mental discipline is invaluable.

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Of course, some documents are best not written by hand anymore, because of the serious consequences of possible illegibility. Medical prescriptions are first on the list. No wonder last week the Orissa High Court directed the state government to issue directions to doctors to write medical prescriptions and all medico-legal documents in capital letters or legible handwriting. Printouts would be best in such cases but perhaps not widely practicable in India just yet.

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Though the benefits of hand-written communication are undeniable, that does not mean everyone must have perfect handwriting. Indeed, handwriting is perhaps the very first medium of self-expression available to everyone. People form letters and even join them together in unique ways to express their individuality. Taking away that first agency of distinctiveness right from the start can only be detrimental to the development of critical thinking in the long run.

Penmanship not only has generational (and some say even gender) differences and peculiarities, but also regional markers. The way Americans generally hand-write a capital G, for instance, is very different from the way the British do. The letters b, r, x and z are also handwritten differently on either side of the Atlantic. The British style has many similarities with how other Europeans write longhand as well. But then keyboards obviated all such distinctions.

Unlike the US, schools in India continue to teach students cursive handwriting without controversy or dissent. But in the worldwide drive to make work paperless in the interests of sustainability, handwritten text is fast becoming an unintended casualty. While there are many advantages to going digital, the need to retain certain fine motor skills that keep the human brain ticking oversuch as writing longhandcannot be discarded. A balance must be struck.

The author is a freelance writer. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_s views._

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The recent turmoil in Indian airports serves as a wake-up call for the aviation industry to proactively address challenges posed by adverse weather conditions

In the past 48 hours, social media in India has been abuzz with one predominant story  the chaos unfolding at airports across the country. Delayed flights, stranded passengers and a disturbing incident involving an irate traveler and a co-captain have taken centre stage.

Delhi to Goa flight incident

The focal point of this narrative revolves around a Delhi to Goa flight that experienced a staggering 13-hour delay. Passengers were left waiting inside the plane for an undisclosed period, resulting in frustration and anger. The situation escalated when a co-captain informed the passengers about the delay leading to an unfortunate attack on the crew member.

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Fogs impact on air travel

The primary cause behind the widespread disruptions has been a thick blanket of fog engulfing North India particularly affecting flights departing from New Delhi. The low visibility has crippled operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (I.G.I.), the countrys largest aviation hub. With pilots unable to see the runway, flights faced delays leading to a domino effect on the entire flight schedule.

Compounding the situation, operational challenges, and runway issues at the Delhi airport have exacerbated the chaos. Of the four runways available, only one is operational due to maintenance work on the second runway. The absence of a crucial system called the Instrument Landing System (ILS) on all runways further hindered flight operations during low visibility conditions.

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ILS and runway preparedness

The ILS, akin to a navigation aid in a computer game, guides pilots during low visibility. However, only two out of the four runways at the Delhi airport are equipped with the ILS. This lack of infrastructure has led to the current disruptions, highlighting the need for better planning and preparedness on the part of aviation authorities.

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In the aftermath of the chaos, passengers faced numerous challenges, with nearly 600 flights delayed and 76 cancelled at the New Delhi Airport alone. Connecting flights were missed and frustration mounted among travelers. Harrowing tales surfaced on social media, depicting passengers enduring multiple delays and, in some cases, being trapped inside planes without adequate information or provisions.

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Call for urgent action

Recognising the urgency of the situation, Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia outlined an action plan expediting work on the second runway. However, addressing the larger issue requires collaboration between aviation authorities and airlines. Deploying more planes equipped to handle low visibility, training pilots for such conditions and investing in advanced systems like the ILS are crucial steps to prevent future disruptions.

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The recent turmoil in Indian airports serves as a wake-up call for the aviation industry to proactively address challenges posed by adverse weather conditions. With the nation aspiring to be an aviation hub, a robust infrastructure, operational efficiency and a passenger-centric approach are imperative. As the fog persists, passengers are left hoping for swift resolutions and a more resilient air travel system in the future.

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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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Notwithstanding the developments that surround Myanmars future, India should anvil a strategy that is not only in line with its Neighbourhood First policy

The past few months have witnessed the civil war in Myanmar taking unpredictable turns and twists. The Peoples Defence Force which is the armed wing of the Chiang Mai-based National Unity Government and affiliated ethnic militias of the country seem to have confronted Myanmar on quite a few fronts.

The setbacks have seen the fleeing of several Myanmar army personnel into Mizoram. The accelerated efforts of the rebel groups have been relentlessly targeting the military and its assets and capturing townships that the Myanmar army had been acting as tactical bases. A hitherto disunited resistance has come together to battle the Tatmadaw under a single command and control.

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However, the last word in the war has not yet been scripted. After all, temporary defeats have never proclaimed the final outcome. One has to just read how Operation Barbarossa unfurled, progressed and concluded.

Clarity, therefore, continues to defy the direction in which the war in Myanmar is heading towards. This is even though the rebel groups presently have an upper hand in the conflict. The countrys future would only witness conclusive proclamation in the ensuing months.

But the important question that this column wishes to pose is the stand that India should take towards its crucial neighbour even as it watches the unfolding situation in Myanmar.

Realpolitik is realpolitik and, therefore, Myanmarregardless of who governs its polityis an important linchpin for Indias Act East Policy. This authors visit to Yangon in 2014 as an Indian representative for Track II Dialogue and later to the Indo-Myanmar borderlands in 2022 after the military takeover of 1 February 2021 informed that the vital entry points from places such as Moreh in Manipur that would have opened the gates to the seamless causeway all the way to the Pacific are refusing to Go East. The farsighted dream of the visionary Prime Minister Narendra Modi (who coined the phrase Ashta Laxmi for the eight states that comprise the North East) to open up the North East to trade and commerce that would decisively alter the kismet have come to a standstill.

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Myanmar is also the last sanctuary left for the Indian insurgent groups.

NSCN (K) (and its various factions), ULFA (Independent), a plethora of Meitei groups and even NSCN (IM) have well-entrenched camps in the Sagaing Division.

There was great optimism when the Myanmar army conducted Op Sunrise-I and Sunrise-II in 2019. Although certain observers have termed the Operations as cosmetic, the fact of the matter is that several insurgent camps were demolished. But such a pro-India stance evaporated after the military takeover in Myanmar. Indeed, several Indian Insurgent Groups have come to an understanding with the Myanmar army. It is reported that the insurgent would be allowed undisturbed existence in their established camps and in return for which they would have to aid the Myanmar army to quell the rebellion. Such an understanding is fraught with grave national security implications for India.

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The state of affairs in Manipur has not shown signs of improvement and it is now known that Valley Based Insurgent Groups or the Group of Five (G-5) billeted in three neat clusters (North, Central and South) in Sagaing have entered the Land of the Emeralds with NSCN (IM) aid (via the Somra Tracts) to direct the ethnic pogroms that are being committed by vigilante right-wing groups such as the Arombai Tangol and Meetei Lipun as also carry out attacks on the security forces.

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ULFA (Independent), despite the hammering that they have been subjected to by the Assam Police and the Assam Rifles, may attempt to foment trouble to avenge recent humiliations that they have been faced with. Indeed, the fact that most Indian Insurgent Groups have active linkages with the Chinese could be translated to disturbing effects on the ground in the days to come, especially as a proud India readies to celebrate its Republic Day..

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What is, therefore, needed is a blueprint for coordinated joint operations against the insurgents. However, it must be understood that, unlike Bhutan where Operation All Clear resulted in ULFA-NDFB-KLO cadres fleeing to India (where they were netted by the Indian security forces), the Indian Insurgent Groups will only go deeper into Myanmarese territory, to the safe sanctuaries in the Sino-Myanmarese border, or into areas dominated by the Kachins and the Was who have affinity with such groups.

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The above poses a dilemma for the Indian state.

On one hand, there are crucial socio-economic and national security implications as aforesaid and ones which are inextricably intertwined with Myanmar, and on the other hand, there is a civil strife that is waxing and waning like irregular lunar cycles.

It is, therefore, high time for India to make considered military-diplomatic decisions.

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What must be New Delhis policy towards a state of affairs that has yet to unfold clearly? As aforesaid, notwithstanding the victories of the rebel groups, prudence and high-level reading of the entrails India must be guarded about correct policy formulation.

New Delhi has already reached out to Naypyidaw. A Union Defence Secretary-level delegation comprising senior military officials made a two-day trip to Myanmar in July last year in what was described as an ice-breaking exercise. Maintenance of peace in the Indo-Myanmar border areas, illegal trans-border movements, and transnational crimes such as drug trafficking and smuggling were also discussed with the Myanmarese military leadership.

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Of course, it is also known that India tacitly supported the military in opposition to the rebel forces loyal to the incarcerated Aung San Suu Kyi in world fora.

However, in light of the changing fortunes a la the battle gains of the Peoples Defence Force and the other anti-junta alignment, it would be pragmatic for New Delhi to keep its options open and warm.

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Hard-nosed farsightedness dictates that New Delhi must enter into retrospection of its strategic objectives. A non-comprehension of such imperatives would sound the death knell to its national security objectives which (as far as Myanmar is concerned) precariously hinges on its Act East Policy and Indian insurgent groups that have not only taken shelter in Myanmar but are hitting out at Indian security forces with impunity. The cold-blooded assassination of Col Viplav Tripathi along with his entire family in Manipurs Churachandpur comes to mind when the sinister designs of the belligerence are brought to mind.

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The events in Myanmar presage uncertainty for India. But notwithstanding the developments that surround Myanmars future, India should anvil a strategy that is not only in line with its Neighbourhood First policy of which the Act East is a subset of, but also, as aforesaid, the issue relating to the Indian insurgent groups.

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To that end, a recalibration exercise that takes into consideration a matrix that balances out well between ideology and pragmatism is the imperative of the hour.

An undemanding, farsighted policy would be not to put all the eggs in one basket. Such a line of approach could well render itself to (if the mandarins are listening) (a) continue to do active business with the Generals in Naypyidaw (b) keep a ear close to the ground and listen carefully to the change in breeze and fate that will characterise the conflict in the Land of Jade in the near future (c) open covert diplomatic feelers with the National Unity Government in Chiang Mai, the structuring of which traditional Indian agencies charged with such business are perfectly capable of, and (d) renew old (soured) relationships with ethnic militias such Kachin Independent Army, Chin National Army, Taang National Liberation Army and Karen National Liberation Army and explore novel pathways for forward depth engineering with such formations.

In simple terms, the realistic strategy that India must adopt, for now, should be hunt with the hound and run with the hare.

The writer is a conflict theorist and bestselling author. 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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China's Chongqing sees robust growth in auto exports in Jan-Nov 2023

Xinhua) 16:26, January 16, 2024

CHONGQING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, a key hub of the country's auto industry, experienced a notable increase in automobile exports from January to November 2023.

According to data from Chongqing Customs, Chongqing exported 334,000 units of vehicles in the first 11 months, a year-on-year increase of 28.1 percent.

Chongqing is promoting the rapid development of the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry. The city's 16 NEV enterprises produced 394,000 units of NEVs in the period, up 23.6 percent year on year, according to the Chongqing economic and information commission.

Changan Auto, a major carmaker in the city, significantly boosted Chongqing's auto exports. In 2023, the overseas auto sales of the company's own brands exceeded 230,000 units, hitting a record high.

To meet the logistics demand for car exports, Chongqing has launched streamlined channels. From January to October 2023, the Yuxinou (Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe) railway, the first China-Europe freight train route, handled the import and export of more than 80,000 vehicles, with a value of about 10 billion yuan (about 1.4 billion U.S. dollars).

In November 2023, Chongqing rolled out a plan to enhance its auto exports, targeting a goal where, by 2027, the city's annual vehicle export volume will account for 10 percent of the country's total annual vehicle exports.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
???? Fortaleciendo relaciones con Canada???? El premier Otarola recibio al ministro de Desarrollo Internacional de Canada, @HonAhmedHussen. Peru es el 3. socio comercial de este pais en la region, el 4.destino de sus inversiones y el 3. beneficiario de la cooperacion canadiense. pic.twitter.com/G9sahgM4pE
One of Indias biggest Aerospace, Pixxel has launched a new facility, spanning over 30,000 sqft. to test and make spacecrafts and satellites. Pixxels ambitious plans include the launch of six satellites as part of the Firefly constellation this year, bringing the total to nine

Pixxel, a pioneering force in hyperspectral earth-imaging technology, celebrated the grand opening of its Spacecraft Manufacturing Facility in Bengaluru, India, with key figures such as S Somanath, Chairman of ISRO, and various industry stakeholders and investors in attendance.

At the inauguration, Pixxel introduced the satellite building facility, showcasing its commitment to advancing space exploration.

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Having successfully deployed three functional satellites over the past two years, Pixxel has demonstrated expertise in translating data into actionable insights.

The company is expanding its footprint in the space industry, forming partnerships with global entities such as British Petroleum, the Ministry of Agriculture in India, and the National Reconnaissance Office in the US to leverage its data.

CEO and Founder of Pixxel, Awais Ahmed, revealed the facilitys capabilities during the event, stating, Well build 6 of our Firefly hyperspectral imaging satellites here. Ahmed emphasised that the facility, operating at full capacity, can handle over twenty satellites with an impressive turnaround time of six months.

Highlighting a significant achievement, Ahmed stated, For the first time in India and globally, well have a five-meter commercial hyperspectral satellite.

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Pixxels ambitious plans include the launch of six satellites as part of the Firefly constellation this year, bringing the total to nine, including the three previously deployed satellites. Additionally, the company aims to contribute to the larger Honeybee constellation of hyperspectral satellites.

Spanning over 30,000 sq ft, the newly inaugurated facility consolidates satellite manufacturing services, offering a comprehensive Spacecraft Assembly, Integration, and Testing (AIT) facility. Pixxel aims to optimise the production process by designing, manufacturing, integrating, and testing satellites under one roof before transporting them to launch sites.

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CEO Awais Ahmed shared his vision, stating, The inauguration of the new facility marks a momentous milestone as Pixxel nears its fifth anniversary since inception. He highlighted the facilitys pivotal role in Pixxels mission to create a health monitor for the planet, supplying critical data to key industries such as agriculture, energy, forestry, and environmental monitoring.

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The facility includes modern clean rooms ensuring a contamination-free environment during satellite assembly, along with labs for advanced camera integration, electronics R&D, electrical assembly, a mechanical workshop, a mission control room, and office space for over 200 employees.

Pixxels commitment to sustainability is evident in the facilitys features, including a wastewater treatment plant and smart HVAC systems for enhanced energy efficiency.

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The inauguration of this cutting-edge facility signifies a significant milestone for Pixxel as it gears up to launch six satellites in 2024 and an additional eighteen by 2025, furthering its mission to establish a health monitor for the planet.

(With input from agencies)
Apple may be planning to redesign the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2, and remove the blood-oxygen tool in order to bypass a US ITC ban. However, this will only happen, if the federal appeals court refuses to put a longer stay on the order, or vacate the ban completely

In response to an impending ban on its latest smartwatches, Apple Inc. has devised a strategic plan to eliminate the blood-oxygen feature from the Series 9 and Ultra 2 models, as per a report by Bloomberg

The move is aimed at circumventing the ban, pending the outcome of an appeal challenging the ban decision. Masimo Corp, the company embroiled in a patent dispute with Apple over the technology, revealed the plan on Monday, stating that the US Customs and Border Protection has granted approval for the redesign.

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The conflict stems from an October ruling by the US International Trade Commission (ITC), which found that Apples smartwatches infringed on Masimos patents related to blood-oxygen measurement technology, known as pulse oximetry.

As a result, Apple temporarily halted sales just before Christmas, but an interim stay allowed the resumption of sales last month.

Masimo disclosed that Apple presented a software workaround to the customs agency last week, asserting that the redesigned watches unequivocally do not contain the contested pulse oximetry technology.

The customs agency, in turn, determined that the redesign falls outside the scope of the import ban, signalling Apples ability to keep the watches on the market.

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However, the removal of the blood-oxygen feature would only be implemented if Apples appeal for an extended stay from the federal appeals court is unsuccessful.

Apple anticipates a ruling on its motion for a stay for the entire appeal period from the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit as early as Tuesday, with the company suggesting the period could extend for a year or more.

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Until a final resolution is reached, Apple reassures customers that newly sold units will continue to feature the blood-oxygen functionality.

The companys engineers have been working on a software update to modify the blood-oxygen app and algorithms, potentially resolving the issue without sacrificing the feature.

However, the removal of the capability is viewed as a preemptive measure to avert the reinstatement of the ban, which could have occurred this month.

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Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Tamlin Bason notes that while Apples move addresses the immediate risk of a ban, it may impact customer demand, considering the significance of the blood-oxygen feature, which was prominently highlighted by the tech giant.

Apple has already initiated the shipment of modified Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches to US retail locations, with instructions not to open or sell the tweaked devices until receiving approval from the corporate offices. These modified versions may likely exclude the blood-oxygen feature.

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Simultaneously, a federal appeals court is expected to hear Apples motion for a continued stay on the ban this week.

The ban, overturned on an emergency basis, awaits further proceedings while the ITC urges the appeals court to dismiss arguments opposing the enforcement of the ban as weak and unconvincing.

(With inputs from agencies)
A Chinese startup called Betavolt is claiming that they have come up with a battery which is capable of powering a device for over 50 years, without ever charging it. The batterys current power output is 100 microwatts at 3 volts, with a goal to reach 1-watt power output by 2025

In a groundbreaking development, a Chinese startup named Betavolt claims to have engineered a nuclear battery capable of generating electricity for an impressive 50 years without the need for charging or maintenance.

The cutting-edge technology, detailed in a report by The Independent, represents a significant leap in atomic energy miniaturization.

Betavolts nuclear battery, currently undergoing testing for commercial applications such as phones and drones, is designed to cater to various scenarios, including aerospace, AI equipment, medical devices, microprocessors, advanced sensors, small drones, and micro-robots, according to the companys press release.

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Despite the term nuclear, the diminutive battery measures a mere 15X15X5 millimetres, composed of wafer-thin layers of nuclear isotopes and diamond semiconductors. The company has successfully incorporated 63 isotopes into a module smaller than a coin, demonstrating a pioneering achievement in atomic energy miniaturization.

Betavolt emphasizes the safety of its nuclear battery, assuring that the radiation it emits poses no harm to the human body, making it suitable for applications like medical devices, including pacemakers.

The batterys current power output is 100 microwatts at 3 volts, with a goal to reach 1-watt power output by 2025. Utilizing energy from decaying isotopes, a concept explored in the 20th century, the technology converts this energy into electricity. China has been actively pursuing the miniaturization of nuclear batteries under its 14th Five-Year Plan from 2021-2025.

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The batterys layered design not only prevents fire or explosions due to sudden force but also allows it to operate in a wide temperature range, from -60 degrees Celsius to 120 degrees Celsius.

Betavolt highlights the environmental friendliness of its atomic energy batteries, explaining that after the decay period, the 63 isotopes transform into a stable, non-radioactive isotope of copper, posing no threat or pollution to the environment.

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Mass production of the nuclear battery is anticipated to commence after the completion of testing and obtaining all necessary clearances. Betavolt believes that this innovation will position China at the forefront of the AI technological revolution.

(With inputs from agencies)
Elon Musk s X Corp has received a money transmitter license in Utah, the 15th state in the US to do so. With this, Elon Musk gets one step closer to becoming a bank, and on a larger front, one step closer to rebrand X as the everything app

In a significant development for Elon Musks social media platform X, the social media platform has obtained a money-transmitter license from the state of Utah. This marks the 15th state in the United States to grant approval to X as the company explores the integration of payment features into its platform.

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The approval from Utah was officially granted on Friday, as reported by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System & Registry, an online database overseeing licensing activities.

Similar to payment giants like PayPals Venmo, this license empowers X to facilitate money transfers, paving the way for users to send funds to one another directly through the platform. The move into payment services is seen as a strategic effort by X to diversify its revenue streams beyond its reliance on digital advertising, which faced challenges following Elon Musks ownership.

Following Musks controversial agreement with an X user promoting an antisemitic conspiracy theory last year, major advertisers suspended their spending or abandoned the platform altogether. Musks subsequent profane comment about brands that had pulled their ads further exacerbated the situation.

Since Elon Musks acquisition of Twitter in October 2022, he has expressed a vision of transforming the platform into an everything app, akin to the popular Chinese app WeChat. WeChat allows users not only to exchange messages but also to perform various tasks, such as hailing a taxi or making payments to merchants.

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This recent license approval in Utah adds to Xs growing list of state money-transmitter licenses. The company had previously obtained approvals in states including New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, and Michigan. With these regulatory milestones, X is strategically positioning itself to expand its offerings and reshape its business model beyond its roots in social media and digital advertising.

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(With inputs from agencies)
Googles ad revenue went up by 12.49% as it raked in Rs 28,000 crore in the fiscal year 2022-23. However, Google Indias operating revenue for FY23 settled at Rs 9,275 crore, down from Rs 9,286 crore in FY22

In a recent disclosure of financial details obtained from the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Google India revealed a robust 12.49 per cent year-on-year growth in its gross ad revenue for the fiscal year 2022-23, reaching Rs 28,040 crore, as per a report by The Economic Times.

This further solidifies the tech giants dominant position in the digital advertising sector, driven by its key platforms such as Google Search, YouTube, and Chrome.

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Comparing the figures with the previous fiscal year, Google Indias gross ad revenue witnessed a remarkable surge of nearly 80 per cent, climbing from Rs 13,886 crore in FY21 to Rs 24,926 crore in FY22.

Google Indias revenue structure comprises three primary segments: the resale of advertisement space, the sale of enterprise products, and the provision of IT and IT-enabled services to its group companies.

Despite a marginal decrease of 0.11 per cent, Google Indias operating revenue for FY23 settled at Rs 9,275 crore, down from Rs 9,286 crore in FY22. Its worth noting that the company underwent a demerger of its IT services business into an independent entity known as Google IT Services India.

The National Company Law Tribunal approved the transfer of Google Indias IT business to Google IT Services India in May of the preceding year. This strategic move aimed to streamline Google Indias focus on its core business divisions of advertising and enterprise, enhancing operational efficiency.

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The designated date for the transfer of Google Indias IT services business to Google IT Services India was April 1, 2021.

According to financial filings, Google India paid an equalisation levy of Rs 1,543 crore to the government for the acquisition of online advertisement space from Google Asia Pacific.

The company follows the practice of purchasing ad inventory from Google Asia Pacific and subsequently reselling it to advertisers within the country. In the previous fiscal year (FY22), Google India disbursed Rs 22,845 crore to Google Asia Pacific for ad inventory procurement.

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In comparison, Googles main competitor, Facebook Online India Services (the India arm of Meta), reported a 13 per cent growth in gross ad revenue, amounting to Rs 18,308 crore for FY23, up from Rs 16,189 crore in FY22.

A report by Magna Global, a media investment firm under IPG Mediabrands, indicates that the overall ad spend in India reached Rs 1,09,882 crore in 2023, marking an 11.8 per cent increase compared to the previous year. Notably, digital ad spending experienced a robust growth of 14.2 per cent, reaching Rs 49,883 crore.

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Industry sources highlight the significant contribution of YouTube, boasting 573 million users, to Google Indias gross ad revenue. According to TAM Media CEO LV Krishnan, YouTubes extensive reach and user engagement make it a pivotal player in attracting audiences and ad investments within the digital advertising market.
A court in China has granted copyright protection to artists of an AI-generated image in an effort to inspire individuals to engage in creative endeavours using new tools, and to develop new tools

A groundbreaking decision by a Chinese court, recognizing the copyright of an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated image, is positioned to catalyze creativity and provide a significant boost to the burgeoning AI industry, as stated by the presiding judge responsible for the landmark ruling.

In an unprecedented judgment in mainland China, the Beijing Internet Court ruled in November that an image created through the text-to-image software Stable Diffusion qualifies as artwork entitled to copyright protection due to the originality and intellectual contribution of its human creator.

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The courts move to confer legal status on generative AI content, under specific conditions in this case, is seen as an effort to inspire individuals to engage in creative endeavours using new tools, emphasized Judge Zhu Ge during a recent lecture reported by Chinese online news outlet The Paper.

The judge expressed concerns about the potential negative impact on the industry if AI-generated content is not recognized as artwork, stating, If no content created with AI models can be considered artwork, this would deal a blow to the industry.

While the ruling has ignited heated debates on whether AI-generated content should be safeguarded by copyright laws, the Beijing Internet Court asserts that future disputes involving an authors personal expression in AI-assisted image creation should be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The legal precedent emerged from an intellectual property infringement lawsuit initiated in May of the previous year by a plaintiff named Li, who utilized the Stable Diffusion program from the US startup StabilityAI to craft an image posted on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu.

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Li accused blogger Liu of using the AI-generated image without permission on the Baidu-owned content-sharing platform Baijiahao. The court ruled in favour of Li, deeming the AI-generated image an artwork based on continuous human input into prompts and parameter adjustments reflecting aesthetic choice and personalized judgment.

Judge Zhu underscored the rulings consideration of potential implications for emerging industries during her lecture, hoping that the decision in this case could serve as a guiding reference for future disputes.

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The courts decision aligns with Chinas evolving aspirations for generative AI, coinciding with global advancements in AI technology. Forecasts indicate that Chinas generative AI industry is poised to contribute 30 trillion yuan in economic value by 2035, constituting a third of the industrys projected global value of 90 trillion yuan, according to a report by the CCID Group, affiliated with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

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(With inputs from agencies)
Microsoft is now offering its AI tool as Copilot Pro to individuals and small businesses for $20 per month, Microsoft aims to distinguish Copilot Pro from others by its integration into everyday applications

Microsoft is expanding the accessibility of its artificial intelligence tool, Copilot, by introducing a subscription service aimed at consumers and small businesses. Following the launch of a free AI Copilot for the Bing search engine in the previous year, Microsoft now offers Copilot Pro to individuals for $20 per month.

This subscription provides users with an advanced text-drafting, number-crunching AI assistant integrated into widely used Microsoft applications such as Word and Excel. Additionally, subscribers gain access to new tools and AI models, including the GPT-4 Turbo.

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Microsoft has also removed the previous requirement of a 300-person minimum for the enterprise version of Copilot, thereby making security controls and a Microsoft Teams upgrade available to smaller businesses for $30 per month per user.

Corporate Vice President Jared Spataro expressed confidence in widespread adoption, stating, I cant imagine a commercial organisation out there that will not buy at least a seat of Copilot to see what its all about.

Competing with Alphabets Google in the AI productivity and cloud software market, Microsoft aims to distinguish Copilot Pro by its integration into everyday applications. While other subscription services, such as OpenAIs ChatGPT Plus, exist in the consumer market, Microsoft emphasizes the seamless integration of Copilot Pro into commonly used applications.

(With inputs from agencies)
Vodafone and Microsoft have entered into a 10 year deal to provide IoT, AI and cloud services to small businesses and consumers across European and African markets. Vodafone will invest $1.5 billion in Microsofts AI technologies, while Microsoft will become an equity investor in Vodafones IoT

Vodafone and Microsoft have entered into a groundbreaking 10-year partnership aimed at providing generative AI, digital, enterprise, and cloud services to over 300 million businesses and consumers spanning Vodafones European and African markets, as per a Reuters report.

As part of the collaboration, the British telecommunications giant will invest $1.5 billion in customer-centric AI technologies developed using Microsofts Azure OpenAI and Copilot capabilities.

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Additionally, Vodafone plans to transition from physical data centres to the more cost-effective and scalable Azure cloud services for its services in Africa and some parts of the European market.

To reciprocate, Microsoft will become an equity investor in Vodafones IoT (Internet of Things) platform, which is slated to become a standalone business by April 2024, as reported by Reuters. The tech giant will also play a role in expanding Vodafones mobile financial platform in Africa.

Luka Mucic, Vodafones Chief Financial Officer, highlighted Microsofts leadership in AI, particularly through its OpenAI partnership, which is expected to revolutionize the telcos customer services. Said, Mucic, Thats the part that is really going to catch each and every one of our customers," he said on Tuesday, adding that a Microsoft AI-underpinned TOBi chatbot would provide more consistent and intelligent responses to queries.

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Judson Althoff, Microsofts Chief Commercial Officer, underscored the strategic importance of Vodafones strengths in IoT and financial services.

He emphasized that Vodafones IoT assets would play a crucial role in addressing sustainability challenges in various sectors by leveraging Microsofts digital twin technology. Vodafones IoT stack allows us to go into those environments, model the environment, create large-scale data stores, and use AI to help customers meet their sustainability goals, he said.

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Althoff also commended Vodafones M-PESA mobile money platform, operating in several African countries, for sharing common objectives with Microsoft in the region, such as promoting digital literacy. The partnership aims to bring generative AI capabilities to enhance customers financial decision-making processes.

The alliance signifies a significant step towards advancing digital and AI-driven solutions in the telecommunications and technology sectors, promising to deliver innovative services to businesses and consumers alike across Europe and Africa.

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(With inputs from agencies)
Zelenskyy first announced his peace formula at a November summit of the Group of 20 major economies. His peace formula calls for restoring Ukraines territorial integrity, withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities, as well as the release of all prisoners and detainees

Switzerland has agreed to host a global peace summit on Ukraine at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Neutral Switzerland has earlier acted as a broker to resolve conflicts and could now help find a resolution for the war that began when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

At the request of the Ukrainian president, Switzerland has agreed to host a summit on the peace formula, the Swiss government said. Further details are now being worked out.

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Speaking alongside his Swiss counterpart Viola Amherd at a press conference in Bern, Zelenskyy did not provide an extensive list of the participants of the planned peace summit but hinted about who he wanted to attend.

We are open to all countries that respect our sovereignty and territorial integrity at the peace summit, so draw conclusions about who we invite, Zelenskyy said.

We would like the Global South to be present  it is important for us to show that the whole world is against Russias aggression, and the whole world is for a just peace. Neither Zelenskyy nor Amherd provided any details on when or where in Switzerland the summit might take place. They said their teams would begin organising it starting on Tuesday.

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Zelenskyy was in Switzerland where he was due to meet other world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Among the dignitaries he could meet would be Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who is also in Davos this week.

Ukraine said on Sunday that it was vital that Beijing was involved in talks to end the conflict.

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Zelenskyy said on Monday China, one of Russias key allies, played a big role in the world, and he wanted Beijing to take part.

We would very much like China to be involved in our (peace) formula, as well as in the summit, he said. But not everything depends on our wishes.

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Zelenskyy first announced his peace formula at a November summit of the Group of 20 major economies. His peace formula calls for restoring Ukraines territorial integrity, withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities, as well as the release of all prisoners and detainees, among other things.

The Kremlin on Monday dismissed talks in Davos on Ukraines peace proposals, saying nothing would be achieved because Russia was not part of the discussions.
The elimination of the long-standing 15-year rule potentially enfranchises millions just in time for the upcoming general election, the date of which is yet to be determined by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

In a landmark decision, over 3 million British citizens residing overseas for more than 15 years will now have the opportunity to participate in all UK elections.

This significant change, effective from Tuesday, marks the resolution of a two-decade-long issue, characterized by unfulfilled promises from successive UK governments.

The elimination of the long-standing 15-year rule potentially enfranchises millions just in time for the upcoming general election, the date of which is yet to be determined by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

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Advocacy group British in Europe highlights that this legal adjustment aligns the UK with other major democracies like the US, France, Italy, and Canada, all of which grant lifelong voting rights.

Jane Golding, co-chair of the campaign group, emphasised the historic nature of this change, stating, Voting is a basic citizenship right regardless of where someone lives. She acknowledged the tireless efforts of long-term campaigner Harry Shindler, who passed away before being able to exercise his hard-earned vote.

To facilitate the transition, British in Europe is collaborating with the Electoral Commission to address frequently asked questions and promote awareness abroad.

Interested voters can register in the last constituency where they were registered or in the place they lived if not registered beforea valuable option for those who moved abroad as young adults and never participated in UK elections.

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The secondary legislation enabling this vote passed on December 18, providing relief to those who had been repeatedly disappointed by previous governments unfulfilled promises.

Harry Shindler, who challenged the 15-year voting limit in 2016, persisted in his efforts until his passing, taking the case to the European Court of Justice when the UK government failed to deliver on its commitments.

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Not everyone in parliament supports the concept of a lifelong vote. Liberal Democrat life peer Paul Scriven questioned the legitimacy of someone who hasnt lived in the UK for 50 years having a say in policies that dont directly impact them.

In response, Golding argued that British expatriates face similar electoral concerns, such as healthcare for the elderly, education policies for overseas children, and immigration policies affecting non-British spouses, demonstrating their ongoing connection to UK affairs.
??? Ejecutivo anuncia que tercera etapa del proyecto Chavimochic sera ejecutada por Canada y beneficiara a mas de 130 000 productores



Tras culminar satisfactoriamente con la evaluacion y el informe de las propuestas tecnicas y economicas. https://t.co/0jVnsyFPf3
Two Conservative Party chairmen said they were ready to defy Sunak to join the rebellion by voting to toughen the legislation before parliamentary votes on the plan on Tuesday and Wednesday

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing a major right-wing rebellion in his party on Tuesday over flagship immigration legislation to speed up the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda in a critical test of his authority.

Two Conservative Party chairmen said they were ready to defy Sunak to join the rebellion by voting to toughen the legislation before parliamentary votes on the plan on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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Sunaks party is deeply divided over the bill, which aims to block asylum seekers bringing further court challenges against their deportations. Some Conservative lawmakers say it goes too far and others that it does not go far enough.

Unless the legislation is changed, some Conservatives are threatening to vote against the government at its final parliamentary stage in the House of Commons, the lower house of parliament, which could take place on Wednesday evening.

In an attempt to quell the rebellion by addressing lawmakers concerns asylum appeals will clog up the judicial system, the government announced plans to recruit more judges and staff to deal with them.

But one senior lawmaker said the rebels had the numbers to defeat Sunak in the final vote.

There is zero purpose in putting in place a piece of legislation that doesnt work, he said, adding that the rebels only needed half of those who backed the amendments to defeat the government in the final vote.

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Sunak has made stopping arrivals of asylum seekers crossing over from France on small boats a central aim of his government.

Most of them say they are fleeing wars and abuse in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. The British government says about 90% making the journey are men and many of them economic migrants rather than genuine refugees.

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DIVIDED PARTIES FAIL

Sunak faced the most serious threat to his leadership last month when he saw off a potential revolt by dozens of his lawmakers at the first parliamentary vote on the legislation.

The government comfortably won that vote after some lawmakers decided to abstain rather than oppose it, but some warned they could vote down the legislation at later stages.

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More than 60 Conservative members of parliament are planning to back the amendments that would allow ministers to ignore last-minute rulings from judges at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg seeking to ground flights to Rwanda.

A similar number also supports another amendment that would stop asylum seekers from bringing individual claims to prevent their removal to the East African nation.

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Isaac Levido, the Conservative Partys election strategist, told lawmakers at a closed-doors meeting late on Monday the party faced defeat at this years national election unless they ended their infighting.

Let me be clear. Divided parties fail, Levido said, according to a Conservative official.

Conservative Party Deputy Chairmen Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith said they would vote to toughen the legislation.

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Asked if this means he would be sacked, Brendan Clarke-Smith said: It is not for me to decide.
Through the first 11 months of 2023, the United States paid Russia $1,017 billion for imports of fuel Uranium

The United States of America, it seems, is playing both the arsonist and the firefighter in Ukraines war with Russia as the latter emerged as the biggest exporter of fuel Uranium to the closest Kiev ally.

According to reports, through the first 11 months of 2023, US paid Russia $1,017 billion for fuel Uranium imports.

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The US gets Uranium from four countries, namely Russia, UK, Belgium and Japan. Reports suggested that as of 11 November, 2023, the US purchased fuel Uranium from these four in the following order: Russia ($96 million); a quarter of the supply ($1 million) from the UK; 4 per cent (nearly $48,6 million ) from Japan; and Belgium accounted for 22 per cent worth $44 million USD.

Akin to situation decades before Ukraine war, Russia, in November 2023, again became the US number one supplier of enriched Uranium supplies. According to the US statistical agency, Russia exported Uranium worth $96 million to the US.

In the previous few months, Russia ranked second to fourth in terms of Uranium supplies to the US.

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It is worth mentioning that the US remained heavily dependent on enriched Uranium from Russia even after latter began invasion of Ukraine.

Why US imports Uranium from Russia?

For decades, Russia has been sending almost a quarter of the nuclear fuel that are being used in the Americas commercial reactor fleet.

The US uses Russian-enriched Uranium to fuel its 92 commercial nuclear reactors and escaped legislative action till December 2022 when the US House of Representatives passed a ban on purchase of Russian Uranium to add pressure on Moscow for its war on Ukraine.

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As per experts, Russia is the only commercially available source of special highly enriched reactor fuel known as Haleu, that is being used in a new breed of advanced nuclear reactors that are under development.

US trying hard to cut down on Russian Uranium

US now wants to cut its dependency on Russia for Uranium. In December last year, the US House of Representatives passed a ban on imports of Russian Uranium as lawmakers wanted to add more pressure on Moscow for its war on Ukraine.

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The bill is waiting for its passage in the Senate and signature by Presideny Joe Biden before becoming a law.

The bill if approved would ban the imports 90 days after enactment, subject to the waivers.

The bill waivers allow the import of low-enriched Uranium from Russia if the US energy secretary determines there is no alternative source available for operation of a nuclear reactor or a US nuclear energy company, or if the shipments are in the national interest.

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Allowed imports of Russian Uranium under the waiver would be gradually reduced to 459 metric tons in 2027 from about 476.5 tons in 2024.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said that China has immediately made solemn demarches to Singapore," akin to a diplomatic reprimand, according to a report

In a public display of disapproval, Beijing has reiterated its one-China stance to Singapore after the city-state congratulated Vice President Lai Ching-te and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party on their election victory.

According to a Bloomberg report, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said that China has immediately made solemn demarches to Singapore," akin to a diplomatic reprimand.

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Earlier, the Chinese embassy in Japan had resolutely opposed Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawas statement congratulating Taiwans new president-elect Ching-te.

In a statement published on the Japanese foreign ministrys website on Saturday, after the results of the Taiwan presidential election were announced, Kamikawa congratulated Lai on his victory, calling the self-ruled island claimed by Beijing an extremely crucial partner and an important friend.

In response, the Chinese embassy in Japan, without mentioning Lai or acknowledging his victory, described Kamikawas comments as a serious interference in Chinas internal affairs, according to a statement published on Sunday on the embassys official WeChat account.

We express strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to this, and have lodged solemn representations with the Japanese side, the embassy said.

Japan, like most countries, does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, a precondition for establishing diplomatic ties with China.

Ching-te from the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won Taiwans presidential election, despite warnings from China  which claims Taiwan as part of its territory  not to vote for him.

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The DPP does not represent the mainstream public opinion on the island, Beijing said after Lai was named the winner of Saturdays vote, adding that the vote will not impede the inevitable trend of Chinas reunification.

Lai, the current vice president, was in a three-way race with Hou Yu-ih from the conservative Kuomintang (KMT) and former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je from the Taiwan Peoples Party (TPP), which was only founded in 2019.

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With votes from all polling stations counted on Saturday, the Central Election Commission said Lai won 40.1 percent, ahead of Hous 33.5 percent.

Hou conceded defeat and congratulated Lai on his victory. He also apologised to KMT supporters for not being able to remove the DPP. Ko also conceded defeat.

With inputs from agencies
Xi Jinping, often regarded as a dictator, aims to solidify control over the military, asserting that he needs officers prepared for actual combat. Experts believe that many existing Chinese generals may be reluctant to engage in war

In a strategic move, Chinese President Xi Jinping is restructuring the countrys military, replacing generals who may be hesitant about engaging in warfare, raising fears of a possible invasion of Taiwan. Military analysts suggest that this shift could draw the United States into a potential global conflict.

Xi Jinping, often regarded as a dictator, aims to solidify control over the military, asserting that he needs officers prepared for actual combat. Experts believe that many existing Chinese generals may be reluctant to engage in war, leading to concerns about a military force with mixed sentiments regarding conflict.

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The focus on Taiwan intensifies as China claims the self-ruled island as its territory. Heightened tensions include hostile rhetoric, simulated blockades, and increased military activity. Despite Xi Jinpings assertion of unification inevitability, doubts persist about the willingness of the current officer corps to support an invasion.

Recent military reforms under Xis leadership involved overhauling Beijings military forces, improving military-civilian cooperation, and restructuring the militarys organization. The removal of nine senior officers in December 2023, initially thought to address corruption, is now seen by analysts as a move to eliminate officers potentially unwilling to go to war.

Experts emphasize Xis concerns about the quality of military personnel and equipment invested in over the past decade. Dismissed commanders, particularly from Chinas Rocket Force, are considered crucial for any military campaign ordered by Beijing.

Chinas recent aggressiveness extends beyond Taiwan, including disputes in the South China Sea, clashes with Japan over the Senkaku Islands, and confrontations with India in the Galwan Valley. The Chinese militarys largest-ever maritime war simulation in September 2023 further raised concerns about potential conflict.

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While Xi Jinpings New Years address reaffirms the commitment to reunification, experts differ on the likelihood of a conflict. Some believe Xi has become more cautious, observing the consequences of Russias invasion of Ukraine. However, concerns persist about the conditions being ripe for a global conflict, reminiscent of the events leading up to World War II.

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Despite uncertainties, military analyst Gordon Chang warns that the potential for World War Three exists, with conflicts escalating globally. Drawing parallels to the 1930s, he suggests that separate regional wars could merge into a larger, global conflict, with East Asia being a potential flashpoint that could involve Western countries.
The first installment on online comic strip was released by Chinas Ministry of State Security on 7 January. It depicts the capture and interrogation of a foreign-looking man suspected of violating Chinas counter-espionage law

China is rebuilding its spy networks amid concerns over alleged foreign spies wandering everywhere. As part of this, the central intelligence agency, the Ministry of State Security, want the entire population across the country on the lookout for spies. Also, an unusual public awareness campaign has also been launched and an online comic strip titled Shenyin Special Investigation Squad has been launched.

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The move was expected to engage people, but critics argue that Chinas response is fueled more by paranoia than genuine vigilance.

The first installment, released by Chinas MSS on 7 January, depicts the capture and interrogation of a foreign-looking man suspected of violating Chinas counter-espionage law. The comic plot unfolds in the Xishan mining area, inspired by real counter-espionage cases, according to the the ministry.

The comic introduces characters like A Zhe, a tech enthusiast fond of bubble tea, and Dan Dan, a long-haired police officer skilled in martial arts. It also has Lao Tan, an experienced agent with unspecified but presumably unique skills. The characters are designed to engage a younger audience, highlighting the MSSs effort to cultivate national security awareness among the youth of the country.

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While the MSS seeks to reinforce the notion of heightened security, such propaganda efforts are often met with indifference or derision. There are arguments that predictable themes and a lack of subtlety is diminishing the impact on the intended audience. The comic strip contributes to the governments narrative that any interaction between Chinese citizens and foreigners should be viewed with suspicion.

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Chinas government, amplifying its anti-espionage stance, expanded the counter-espionage law last year, prohibiting the transfer of information related to security and national interests without clear definitions. This legal ambiguity has impacted the business environment, with the European Chamber of Commerce in China stating it as one of the main reasons for diminishing confidence among its members.

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In a bid to combat espionage, Chinese officials set up a hotline in 2015 for citizens to report suspicions. Local governments offer substantial rewards for espionage tips, contributing to an environment conduitive of increased vigilance. The annual National Security Education Day was established to further bolster awareness. The release of the Shenyin Special Investigation Squad comic coincided with Police Day on 10 January.

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While some view the comic as a valuable piece of propaganda, nationalist commentator Hu Xijin has cautioned against going too far stating that it could isolate China from the world.
Li, a close confidant of Chinese President Xi Jinping, was appointed last March as the countrys No. 2 leader and top economic official. A former party secretary for Shanghai, he enforced a strict zero-COVID lockdown on Shanghai in 2022.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is arriving in Ireland on Tuesday for talks with the Irish leader on Chinas relations with the European Union and other global and bilateral issues.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar will host a lunch and bilateral meeting with Li on Wednesday at Irelands state guest house in Dublin.

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China is a very important political and economic power in the world and becoming bigger all the time in that sense. So its important that we have good relations with China but also some questions we will need to talk about as well, Varadkar said ahead of the visit.

Li, a close confidant of Chinese President Xi Jinping, was appointed last March as the countrys No. 2 leader and top economic official. A former party secretary for Shanghai, he enforced a strict zero-COVID lockdown on Shanghai in 2022.

He made Europe the destination for his first trip abroad last summer, visiting Germany and France, Europes leading economies, for talks on trade and global issues including climate change and the war in Ukraine.

At the time, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejected the idea of decoupling from China and instead called for de-risking  avoiding overreliance on Chinese trade.

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This is the first time a senior Chinese leader has visited Ireland since Lis predecessor, Li Keqiang, visited in 2015.

He is set to arrive late Tuesday from the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, where he was the first senior Chinese official to attend since Xi attended the annual gathering in 2017.

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Bilateral trade between Ireland and China has grown significantly in recent years, with China now Irelands fourth largest trade partner and fifth largest export market.

Asia Matters, an Irish group focused on promoting business links with Asian countries, said one of the topics that could be on Wednesdays agenda is the resumption of Irish beef exports to China.

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The exports were suspended in November after a case of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, was discovered by Irish veterinary officials.
Her acts, according to the lawmakera former human rights attorneywere not a behavior I can explain. Acknowledging that she had not lived up to the expectations placed on politicians, He stated she needed more time to take care of her mental health

Due to allegations of shoplifting, which she claimed was caused by personal stress and trauma, the first refugee elected to the New Zealand parliament resigned on Tuesday.

Police are looking into three charges of theft from boutique clothing stores against Golriz Ghahraman, a center-left Green Party MP and spokesperson for justice.

Her acts, according to the lawmakera former human rights attorneywere not a behavior I can explain.

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Acknowledging that she had not lived up to the expectations placed on politicians, Ghahraman stated she needed more time to take care of her mental health.

She acted in ways that are completely out of character as a result of stress at work. She released a statement, saying, I want to explain, but Im not trying to justify my actions.

The mental health professional I see says my recent behaviour is consistent with recent events giving rise to extreme stress response, and relating to previously unrecognised trauma.

I have let down a lot of people and I am very sorry. Its not a behaviour I can explain because its not rational in any way, and after medical evaluation, I understand Im not well.

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Iran-born Ghahraman, 42, moved to New Zealand as a child with her family when they were granted political asylum as refugees.

After studying law, she became a United Nations human rights lawyer, working on international criminal tribunals before entering parliament in 2017.

The theft accusations surround two alleged incidents at an Auckland luxury clothing store and another at a Wellington high-end clothes retailer  all in late 2023.

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- Extreme mental distress -

Last week, the Greens announced that Ghahraman had stood down from her portfolio responsibilities while a police investigation was ongoing.

Prior to the allegations becoming public, Ghahraman had been criticised for her prominent involvement in a string of pro-Palestine protests.

Green Party co-leader James Shaw said the pressure on his MP had mounted during that period and he believed it intensified the stress that accompanied her through six years in parliament.

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Golriz herself has been subject to pretty much continuous threats of sexual violence, physical violence, death threats, since the day she was elected, Shaw told journalists on Tuesday.

Obviously, if youre living with that level of threat in what is already quite a stressful situation then there are going to be consequences.

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So I have a lot of empathy for the fact that she has identified that she is in a state of extreme mental distress.

Co-leader Marama Davidson said Gharamans resignation was the right decision but lamented the party would lose a lone voice on many of her portfolios.

We have seen the conversation over the past years, especially over the particular treatment of women with public profiles, and in addition, the particular treatment of women of colour with public profiles.

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(with inputs from AFP)
Hu, 51, is the son of former president Hu Jintao, who ruled as Chinas paramount leader for a decade before his successor Xi Jinping rose to power in 2012.

Hu Haifeng, the son of former Chinese President Hu Jintao on Tuesday has been appointed as a vice minister of civil affairs.

This appointment marks a significant leap for Hu, 51, who had previously spent five years as the Communist Party head in the city of Lishui in Zhejiang province before transitioning to his new role in Beijing.

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Hu Haifeng has been named vice head of the countrys human resources and social security ministry, according to a statement on the departments website that provided no further details.

Hu Jintao was at the centre of a political firestorm that erupted at a key Communist Party congress in October 2022 as Xi broke the precedent to secure a third term in office.

The frail former leader was abruptly led off-stage at the events closing ceremony, seemingly against his will and to the shock of the assembled global media.

Officials later said he was experiencing an episode of poor health, but the move sparked speculation that he had been purged on Xis orders.

Hu Haifeng has held a string of mid-level official posts in his career to date, most recently serving as party committee secretary in the eastern city of Lishui, according to his official biography.

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With inputs from agencies.
Europe is preparing for the potential escalation of conflict in Ukraine and the extension of hostilities to NATO member states as revealed in leaked documents from the German Ministry of Defence, according to a report citing German newspaper BILD.

Europe is preparing for the potential escalation of conflict in Ukraine and the extension of hostilities to NATO member states as revealed in leaked documents from the German Ministry of Defence, according to a report citing German newspaper BILD.

According to The New York Post report, citing the German newspaper, the documents indicate that Germanys military is gearing up for a potential hybrid Russian assault in Eastern Europe.

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The leaked document depicts a series of concerning scenarios, notably the Alliance Defense 2025, which may commence as soon as February, involving Russia deploying an extra 200,000 troops. This deployment could be triggered by a reduction in Western financial aid to Ukraine, paving the way for a significant Russian offensive in the upcoming spring, added the report.

The former commander of the United States Army in Europe validates Germanys concerns regarding Russias potential initiation of a global conflict. He underscores the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin could take drastic actions if he deems NATO unprepared.

If nations dont take the threat of Russia seriously and act in alliance then a World War Three could develop in just 18 months, Retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges was quoted as saying.

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According to the report, the documents also discuss the possibility of Russia instigating conflict in the Baltic states around July. This could involve severe cyberattacks and taking advantage of the dissatisfaction among Russian nationals in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. By September, Russia might engage in a significant military exercise called Zapad 2024, involving approximately 50,000 troops in western Russia and Belarus.

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A crucial element of this strategy may include the movement of troops and mid-range missiles to Kaliningrad, a small Russian territory situated between Lithuania and Poland, both of which are NATO members. The plan might encompass a propaganda campaign aimed at creating the perception of an impending NATO attack, with the goal of seizing the Suwalki Gap, a strategic corridor between Belarus and Kaliningrad.

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Towards the end of the year, Russia could take advantage of the US presidential transition period to incite unrest in the Suwalki Gap area. Propaganda may be used to fabricate border conflicts or riots. In response, the scenario suggests the deployment of 30,000 German troops to defend against an estimated 70,000 Russian forces in Belarus. By May 2025, NATO may intervene to deter further Russian advances, potentially leading to direct combat between Western and Russian forces.

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Despite these potential scenarios, both President Putin and Russian officials consistently deny any intentions to expand the conflict in Ukraine beyond its borders. Nevertheless, European allies are treating the threat seriously and preparing for various possibilities.

In the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war that began in February 2022, there have been significant casualties, with an estimated half a million Ukrainian and Russian troops killed or injured. Recently, Swedens Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin and the countrys military Commander-in-Chief Micael Byden have expressed concerns about the possibility of war in Sweden, emphasizing the need for comprehensive preparedness.

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While not commenting on specific scenarios, the German Defense Ministry acknowledged to BILD that considering various potential situations, even unlikely ones, is a routine part of military operations and training.

With inputs from agencies
Following American-led assaults on the rebels, tensions in the Red Sea have further escalated with the attack on the Gibraltar Eagle, which the Houthis subsequently claimed

Houthi rebels fired a missile, targeting a US-owned ship Monday near off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, less than a day after they launched an anti-ship cruise missile against an American destroyer in the Red Sea.

Following American-led assaults on the rebels, tensions in the Red Sea have further escalated with the attack on the Gibraltar Eagle, which the Houthis subsequently claimed. A vital route connecting Asian and Middle Eastern energy and freight exports to the Suez Canal and ultimately to Europe has been targeted by the Houthis strikes, which have disrupted international shipping amidst Israels conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

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Overseeing the seas of the Middle East, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported that the strike on Monday took place around 110 miles (177 kilometres) southeast of Aden. It said the ships captain reported that the port side of vessel hit from above by a missile.

Private security firms Ambrey and Dryad Global told The Associated Press that the vessel was the Eagle Gibraltar, a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier. The US militarys Central Command later acknowledged the strike.

The ship has reported no injuries or significant damage and is continuing its journey, Central Command said.

Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the attack in a recorded television address that aired Monday night.

The Yemeni armed forces consider all American and British ships and warships participating in the aggression against our country as hostile targets, he said.

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The vessel is owned by Eagle Bulk Shipping, a Stamford, Connecticut-based firm traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In a statement to The Associated Press, the company said the strike caused limited damage to a cargo hold but (the ship) is stable and is heading out of the area.

All seafarers onboard the vessel are confirmed to be uninjured, the firm said. The vessel is carrying a cargo of steel products. Eagle Bulk management is in close contact with all relevant authorities concerning this matter.

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Satellite-tracking data analyzed by AP showed the Eagle Gibraltar had been bound for the Suez Canal, but rapidly turned around at the time of the attack.

Central Command said it detected a separate anti-ship ballistic missile launch toward the southern Red Sea on Monday, though it failed in flight and impacted on land in Yemen.

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The US Maritime Administration, under the Transportation Department, also issued a warning of a continuing high degree of risk to commercial vessels traveling near Yemen.

While the decision to transit remains at the discretion of individual vessels and companies, it is recommended that US flag and US-owned commercial vessels stay away from Yemen in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden until further notice, the advisory said.

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Sundays missile launch toward the American warship also marked the first US-acknowledged fire by the Houthis since America and allied nations began strikes Friday on the rebels following weeks of assaults on shipping in the Red Sea.

The Houthi fire in the direction of the USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer operating in the southern reaches of the Red Sea, Central Command said.

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The missile came from near Hodeida, a Red Sea port city long held by the Houthis, the US said.

An anti-ship cruise missile was fired from Iranian-backed Houthi militant areas of Yemen toward USS Laboon, Central Command said. There were no injuries or damage reported.

The Houthis did not acknowledge that attack.

It wasnt presently clear whether the US would retaliate for the latest attacks, though President Joe Biden has said he will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.

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The first day of US-led strikes Friday hit 28 locations and struck more than 60 targets with cruise missiles and bombs launched by fighter jets, warships and a submarine. Sites hit included weapon depots, radars and command centers, including in remote mountain areas, the US has said.

The Houthis have yet to acknowledge how severe the damage was from the strikes, which they said killed five of their troops and wounded six others.

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US forces followed up with a strike Saturday on a Houthi radar site.

Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea, saying they were avenging Israels offensive in Gaza against Hamas. But they have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for global trade.

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Even the leader of the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group, Hassan Nasrallah, obliquely referenced the widening Houthi attacks on ships in a speech Sunday, saying that the sea has become a battlefield of missiles, drones and warships and blaming the US strikes for escalating maritime tensions.

The most dangerous thing is what the Americans did in the Red Sea, (it) will harm the security of all maritime navigation, Nasrallah said.

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Though the Biden administration and its allies have tried to calm tensions in the Middle East for weeks and prevent any wider conflict, the strikes in the Red Sea threaten to ignite one.

Its also affecting shipping for the Middle East nation of Qatar, one of the worlds top natural gas suppliers. Three liquid natural gas tankers that had recently loaded in Qatar and were bound for the Suez Canal remain idling off Oman, while another coming from Europe to Qatar remains off Saudi Arabia. QatarEnergy and government officials did not respond to a request for comment.

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Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemeni government-in-exile that the Houthis are fighting, sought to distance itself from the attacks on Houthi sites as it tries to maintain a delicate detente with Iran and a cease-fire it has in Yemen. The Saudi-led, US-backed war in Yemen that began in 2015 has killed more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, and created one of the worlds worst humanitarian disasters, killing tens of thousands more.

The American military did not specifically say the fire targeted the Laboon, following a pattern by the US since the Houthi attacks began. However, US sailors have received combat ribbons for their actions in the Red Sea  something handed out only to those who face active hostilities with an enemy force.
YEREVAN, JANUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. Armenian speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan on Tuesday received the delegation led by the chairman of the Defense, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee in the Federal National Council of the United Arab Emirates and vice-president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi.

Welcoming the guest, Alen Simonyan noted that the UAE is one of Armenia's reliable and important partners. The results of the high-level political dialogue, friendly relations, and dynamic interaction established between the two countries are evident, the National Assembly of Armenia said in a statement.

According to the results of 2023, the UAE is the second largest trade partner of Armenia. In 2023, the trade volume exceeded 2 billion USD.

The Speaker of the Parliament expressed confidence that the bilateral trade potential is not yet exhausted and affirmed that the Armenian government is ready to assist in promoting the process, reads the statement.

According to the source, an agreement has been reached to enhance the institutional foundations of bilateral inter-parliamentary relations through the signing of a cooperation agreement.

Referring to the current security situation in the South Caucasus and Armenia's efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region, the Speaker of the Parliament emphasized that Armenia has adopted a peace agenda and presented its 'Crossroads of Peace' project.

During the meeting, the comprehensive economic cooperation between Armenia and the UAE was touched upon.
The reported attack follows Iranian strikes on Iraq and Syria less than a day earlier, as Tehran lashes out following a dual suicide bombing this month claimed by the Sunni militant group Islamic State that killed over 90 people.

Iran launched drone and missile attacks on two bases of the Baluchi militant group Jaish al Adl in Pakistan on Tuesday, Iranian state media reported, day after its elite Revolutionary Guards attacked targets in Iraq and Syria with missiles.

The militant group has previously mounted attacks on Iranian security forces in the border area with Pakistan. These bases were hit and destroyed by missiles and drones, Iranian state media reported, without elaborating.

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Confusion followed the announcements as some of the reports soon disappeared. However, any attack inside of nuclear-armed Pakistan by Iran would threaten the relations between the two countries, which long have eyed each other with suspicion while maintaining diplomatic relations.

Irans Nournews, affiliated with the countrys top security body, said the attacked bases were located in Pakistans Balochistan province.

Jan Achakzai, information minister of Pakistans Balochistan province, which borders Iran, declined to confirm or deny the attack. Wait for the response of ISPR, he said, referring to the Pakistani militarys public relations wing.

The reported attack follows Iranian strikes on Iraq and Syria less than a day earlier, as Tehran lashes out following a dual suicide bombing this month claimed by the Sunni militant group Islamic State that killed over 90 people.

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The state-run IRNA news agency and state television had said that missiles and drones were used in the strikes in Pakistan, which were not immediately acknowledged by the Pakistani government.

Jaish al-Adl, or the Army of Justice, is a Sunni militant group founded in 2012 that largely operates across the border in Pakistan. Iran has fought in border areas against the militants, but a missile-and-drone attack on Pakistan would be unprecedented for Iran.

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The militants have claimed bombings and kidnapped Iranian border police in the past.

The state media reports were later suddenly removed without explanation, though the semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies still ran nearly identical stories on their websites Tuesday night. Press TV, the English-language arm of Iranian state television, later attributed the attack to Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

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The reports described the strikes as happening in the mountains of Pakistans Balochistan province, the scene of low-level insurgency by Baluch nationalists for more than two decades. Baluch nationalists initially wanted a share of provincial resources, but later initiated an insurgency for independence.

Authorities offered no explanation of what was happening, though sensitive stories in Iran can suddenly disappear from state media.

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Officials in Pakistan did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Iran long has suspected Sunni-majority Pakistan as hosting insurgents, possibly at the behest of its regional archrival Saudi Arabia. However, Iran and Saudi Arabia reached a Chinese-mediated detente last March, easing tensions.

Late Monday, Iran fired missiles into northern Syria targeting the Islamic State group and into Iraq at what it called an Israeli spy headquarters near the U.S. Consulate compound in the city of Irbil.

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Iraq on Tuesday called the attacks, which killed several civilians, a blatant violation of Iraqs sovereignty and recalled its ambassador from Tehran.

With inputs from agencies.
Iran fired missiles late Monday at what it said was Israeli spy headquarters in an upscale neighbourhood near the sprawling U.S. Consulate compound in Irbil, the seat of Iraqs northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region, and at targets linked to the extremist Islamic State group in northern Syria.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that the country has recalled its ambassador from Tehran for consultations and summoned Irans charge daffaires in Baghdad. This action was taken in a protest against Iranian strikes in northern Iraq that resulted in the death of several civilians overnight.

Iran launched missiles late on Monday, targeting what it claimed to be an Israeli spy headquarters in an upscale neighbourhood near the expansive U.S. Consulate compound in Irbil, the administrative centre of Iraqs northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region. Additionally, missiles were fired at targets associated with the extremist Islamic State group in northern Syria.

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The Iranian attack was a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Republic of Iraq, strongly contradicts the principles of good neighbourliness and international law, and threatens the security of the region, it said in a statement.

Irans Revolutionary Guard said in a statement Tuesday that it launched four Kheibar missiles at IS positions in Idlib in Syria and 11 precision ballistic missiles at the Kurdish region in northern Iraq, where it said it hit a center of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency.

Irans strikes came after the Islamic State group claimed responsibility earlier this month for two suicide bombings targeting a commemoration for an Iranian general slain in a 2020 U.S. drone strike. The attack in Kerman killed at least 84 people and wounded 284 others at the ceremony honoring Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

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Last month, Iran accused Israel of killing a high-ranking Iranian general, Seyed Razi Mousavi, in an airstrike on a Damascus neighborhood.

It was unclear whether the strikes in Syria had, in fact, hit any targets associated with the Islamic State group.

Mounir al-Mustafa, deputy director of the civil defense in northwest Syria, also known as the White Helmets, said one of the strikes in Idlib targeted a medical clinic that was no longer operating in the village of Talteta in northwest Idlib province. Two civilians suffered minor injuries, he said.

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Sami al-Qassim, who lives near the targeted site, said the clinic was empty and there were no militant activities in the area.

The strike in Irbil killed at least four people, among them Peshraw Dizayi, a prominent local businessman with a portfolio that included real estate and security services companies, along with members of his family.

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The United States condemned what State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller described as Irans reckless missile strikes.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said in a statement that the strikes in Iraq and Syria were in line with the resolute defense of the countrys sovereignty and security, countering terrorism, and part of the Islamic Republics punishment against those who threaten the countrys security.

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He said that Iran in a precise and targeted operation, identified the headquarters of the criminals and targeted them with accurate and precision-guided projectiles.

A few hundred demonstrators gathered in Irbil on Tuesday to protest the attacks.

With inputs from agencies.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated on Monday, Hamas, hit badly by the IDF, resorts to bringing psychological torment to the hostages families, leaving the IDF to clarify matters later

Israel accused Hamas of inflicting psychological torment on Monday, as the militant group released a third video within 24 hours, purportedly featuring three hostages held in Gaza, with the latest video suggesting that two hostages may have been killed.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated on Monday, Hamas, hit badly by the IDF, resorts to bringing psychological torment to the hostages families, leaving the IDF to clarify matters later.

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Yesterday, Hamas released a video of Itay, Yossi and Noainnocent civilians being held captive in Gaza.



This is a prime example of how Hamas is weaponizing social media as an instrument of war and continues to exploit the lives of innocents as pawns for their terrorism. pic.twitter.com/V4Q6Kg7GTr  Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) January 15, 2024

The initial video, released on Sunday, depicted Noa Argamani, Itai Svirsky, and an unnamed man speaking to a camera. It concluded with a caption teasing the announcement of their fate the next day.

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A second video, released on Monday, repeated the message, heightening concerns. The third video, later on Monday, seemed to show the lifeless bodies of Itai Svirsky and the unnamed man, with Noa Argamani stating they were killed by Israeli forces.

The authenticity of Argamanis statements remains uncertain, given potential duress and extensive editing, including audio effects and looped words. IDF chief spokesperson Daniel Hagari, in a Monday evening briefing, refuted claims in the third video, asserting that Svirsky had not been hit by Israeli forces.

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Hagari clarified that the IDF did not strike the building where the hostages were held but targeted nearby locations.

Hagari stated, We do not strike places where hostages may be present. We struck targets near their location. We are investigating the event, examining images from Hamas, and considering additional information at our disposal.

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IDF representatives met with the hostages families, expressing grave concern for the fate of two captives. The situation is evolving as Israel denies involvement in the reported deaths, emphasizing ongoing investigations into the circumstances surrounding the hostage crisis.
During weeks of intense urban warfare in Gaza, where Hamas fighters usually have only what they can carry and use hit-and-run tactics against lopsided Israeli advantages in weapons and technology, those weapons have proven deadly

Sniper rifles from Iran AK-47 assault rifles from China and Russia. North Korean- and Bulgarian-built rocket-propelled grenades. Covertly assembled anti-tank missiles in Gaza

In the three months since Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel on October 7, the militant group has amassed a diverse patchwork arsenal of weapons from around the world, much of it smuggled past a 17-year blockade that was intended to stop just such a build-up. This is according to an Associated Press analysis of more than 150 videos and photos taken during the combat.

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During weeks of intense urban warfare in Gaza, where Hamas fighters usually have only what they can carry and use hit-and-run tactics against lopsided Israeli advantages in weapons and technology, those weapons have proven deadly.

Hamas propaganda videos posted over the past few weeks appear to show the shootings of Israeli soldiers recorded through the scopes of sniper rifles.

We are searching everywhere for weapons, for political support, for money, Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad recently said in an interview with Associated Press, declining to discuss specifically who has been providing its weapons or how they were sneaked into Gaza.

Experts who reviewed the images for Associated Press were able to identify distinguishing features and markings that show where many of the weapons wielded by Hamas fighters were manufactured.

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But such an analysis does not provide evidence of whether they were provided by the governments of those countries or purchased in a thriving Middle East black market, with weapons and components listed for sale on social media in such war-torn countries as Iraq, Libya and Syria.

What is clear, however, is that many of the images show Hamas militants toting weapons that appear to be relatively new, evidence the group has found ways of getting arms past the air-and-sea blockade of the Gaza Strip  possibly by boat, through tunnels or concealed in shipments of food and other goods.

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The majority of their arms are of Russian, Chinese or Iranian origin, but North Korean weapons and those produced in former Warsaw Pact countries are also present in the arsenal, said N.R. Jenzen-Jones, an expert in military arms who is director of the Australian-based Armament Research Services.

Despite the build-up, Israel maintains a massive advantage, with a powerful array of modern tanks, artillery, helicopter gunships and an air force of US-made fighter jets.

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Israels military says it has killed more than 7,000 Hamas militants, compared to the deaths of at least 510 of its own soldiers, more than 330 of whom were killed in Hamas initial attack.

The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says more than 24,000 Palestinians have died in the fighting, though it does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

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Imagery reviewed by Associated Press showed a Hamas arsenal featuring weapons ranging from small arms and machine guns to shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles and craft-produced anti-tank projectiles.

Among the most distinctive is the oversized AM-50 Sayyad (Arabic for hunter), an Iranian-made a sniper rifle that fires a .50- calibre round powerful enough to punch through up to an inch of steel. It has previously been spotted on battlefields in Yemen, Syria, and in the hands of Shia militias in Iraq.

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Hamas fighters have also been seen carrying an array of Soviet-era weapons that have been copied and manufactured in Iran and China. They include variants of the Russian-designed 9M32 Strela, a portable heat-seeking anti-aircraft missile system.

Jenzen-Jones said a grip stock on one of the missile launchers a fighter was seen holding is distinctive to a variant manufactured in China and used by the Iranian military and its allies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, a group closely aligned with Hamas.

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Weapons recovered from Hamas fighters by the Israel Defence Forces include what appear to be Italian-designed TC/6 anti-tank mines. However, Sean Moorhouse, a former British Army officer and explosive ordinance disposal expert, said it too had been copied by Irans arms industry.

The Israel Defence Forces and US officials have long accused Iran of supplying money, training and weapons to Hamas and allied militants in Gaza, including the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

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Iranian representatives at the United Nations did not respond to emails from Associated Press about whether their government supplied weapons to Hamas, including AM-50 Sayyad sniper rifles.

However, a week after Associated Press sought comment, Hamas posted a video purporting to show militants in Gaza using machining equipment to make their own copies of the rifle.

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Master gunsmith Don Fraley reviewed that December 20 video and said it would be nearly impossible for Hamas to manufacture a safe and accurate .50-calibre sniper rifle with the rudimentary equipment shown.

Youre going to have to be a rock star at machine shop work. And I didnt see any of that, said Fraley, a former US Army Special Forces soldier and sniper for the Kentucky State Police. These folks are just trying to cover their tracks.

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An Israeli military official familiar with Hamas arsenal said the group uses a combination of smuggled off-the-shelf weaponry, including AK-47s, RPGs and anti-aircraft missiles, as well as a large collection of home-grown weapons often made with easily accessible civilian materials.

For instance, the official said, the group uses lathes to shape metal into rockets and mortars, and fits them with explosives manufactured from fertilisers. Other home-made weapons include a launcher capable of firing 14 rockets simultaneously and the Zuwari drone, an explosives-laden aircraft that was used to strike Israeli observation towers and knock out cameras on October 7.

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There is a huge military/defence industry inside the Gaza Strip, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity under military briefing rules.

The official said most of the smuggled weapons are believed to have been brought in through Egypt and are generally easy to purchase and did not need to be supplied by the country of origin.

One such weapon seen in the hands of Hamas fighters is a version of Chinese machine guns known as the Type 80, a model that has also been copied by the Iranians and renamed as the PKM-T80.

Jonathan Ferguson, the curator of firearms at the Royal Armouries Museum in England, said from what he could see from the photos and videos, versions of the gun made in China and Iran were so similar as to be indistinguishable.

Ferguson was also able to identify a rocket-propelled grenade with marks showing it was made in Bulgaria. Associated Press previously reported Hamas used RPGs with a distinctive red stripe indicating they were made in North Korea.

Among the more sophisticated Hamas home-grown weapons is a copy of a Russian anti-tank rocket called the PG-7VR, which is specifically designed to defeat reactive-armour systems like those used on Israels Merkava Mark VI main battle tanks.

Such tanks are covered with explosive-filed plates that explode outwards to disrupt incoming projectiles.

In propaganda videos posted in October, masked militants are seen assembling a version of the Russian rocket that Hamas has renamed the Al-Yasin 105, in honour of the groups founder killed in an Israeli air strike in 2004.

While the original Russian version can melt through up to two feet of steel armour, experts say its not clear whether the home-brewed explosives in the Hamas knock-off are as potent.

Hamas has posted multiple videos of fighters firing the rockets at Israeli tanks and armoured personal carriers. Those videos are typically cut off after the warhead explodes, making it impossible to independently verify whether the target was destroyed.

Also, in a tactic borrowed from the battlefields of Ukraine, Hamas appears to have obtained or copied Iranian-designed drones that pack warheads that explode when crashed into their targets. Off- the-shelf, Chinese-made quadcopter drones have also been adapted to drop explosives on tanks and troops.

The availability of commercial off-the-shelf unmanned aerial vehicles, these light consumer drones, has radically changed warfare in recent years, Jenzen-Jones said. Weve seen them, obviously, in Syria, in Yemen, in Iraq, in Ukraine, and now in Gaza.
After more than 100 days of warfare, the international community has put tremendous pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus administration to stop the conflict as the number of civilian casualties is rising and the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is getting worse

Following the announcement by the militant groups health ministry that the number of deaths in the territory had exceeded 24,000, Israel said that its operations against Hamas in southern Gaza will shortly transition into a less aggressive phase.

After more than 100 days of warfare, the international community has put tremendous pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus administration to stop the conflict as the number of civilian casualties is rising and the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is getting worse.

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Fears of an escalation outside the Gaza Strip have been aroused simultaneously by fatal shooting in the occupied West Bank, gunfire across Israels border with Lebanon, and US military attacks on Iran-backed Yemeni rebels who are supporting Hamas.

UN chief Antonio Guterres on Monday reiterated calls for a stop in the combat, saying: We need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to ensure sufficient aid gets to where it is needed, to facilitate the release of the hostages, to tamp down the flames of wider war  because the longer the conflict in Gaza continues, the greater the risk of escalation and miscalculation.

Since October 7, when Hamas militants launched an unprecedented offensive on Israel that left nearly 1,140 people dead, largely civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data, fighting has raged throughout Gaza.

That day, militants also took around 250 captives back to Gaza; 132 of them, according to Israel, are still there; at least 25 of them are thought to have died.

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According to the health ministry of the Hamas government, as of Monday evening, Israels ground offensive and bombardment of the Gaza Strip had killed at least 24,100 Palestinians, nearly 70% of them women, small children, and adolescents. This number would equate to approximately one percent of the territorys total population.

Hamass press office said Tuesday morning that Israeli strikes had killed another 78 people overnight.

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The Israeli military also announced early Tuesday the death of one more soldier in Gaza, bringing the total number killed since its ground invasion began to 189.

The next phase

With the army having shifted its focus from Gazas devastated north to the southern cities of Khan Yunis and Rafah in recent weeks, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told a news conference on Monday that intense operations would soon be winding down there as well.

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We made it clear that the intensive manoeuvring stage would last for approximately three months, Gallant told a news conference, adding that stage was already being reached in the northern Gaza Strip.

In southern Gaza we will reach this achievement and it will end soon, and in both places, the moment will come when we will move to the next phase, he said, without specifying a time frame.

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Israels army confirmed that one of its four divisions operating in the territory completed its withdrawal on Monday.

However, Israeli officials, including Netanyahu over the weekend, have repeatedly warned the fighting in Gaza will go on for months.

Looking ahead to Gazas eventual post-war administration, Gallant said: Palestinians live in Gaza and therefore Palestinians will govern it in the future. The future Gaza government must grow out of the Gaza Strip.

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Only debris

The UN says the war has displaced roughly 85 percent of Gazas population, many of whom have been forced to crowd into shelters and struggle to get food, water, fuel and medical care.

We were displaced with the people who fled, first to schools, then to Deir al-Balah, said Umm Jihad, who had returned to visit her home in central Gazas Al-Bureij on Monday.

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Theres no life at all, theres no house, and theres nothing left, she added. Its depressing and dismal, there is only debris  thats Al-Bureij.

AFPTV footage showed smoke billowing on Monday over Al-Bureij and Khan Yunis, southern Gazas main city, and explosions could be heard from nearby Rafah, on the territorys southern border with Egypt.

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As temperatures plunge, families living in makeshift tents in Rafah have resorted to burning plastic to ward off the chill, despite the noxious fumes.

At night, I feel like were going to die from the cold, said Haneen Adwan, 31, a mother of six children who was forced to flee from central Gazas Nuseirat refugee camp.

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Psychological warfare

The Israeli public, meanwhile, has kept up intense pressure on the government to secure the return of the hostages seized by Hamas on October 7, with the militant group on Monday announcing the deaths of two more captives.

Hamass armed wing released a video showing a woman hostage, speaking under duress, revealing that two men she was held with had been killed in captivity.

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In a statement released with the video, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades blamed the Zionist armys bombing for the deaths of the hostages.

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari rejected the cause of death as a lie, but added: We know that we hit targets near the location where they were held, saying an investigation was under way.

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Hagit Chen, the mother of one of the hostages, said at an event in Berlin that it was hard to live, to sleep, to breathe, to eat because she had heard nothing from her son Itay, 19, since Hamas took him captive on October 7.

Red Sea attack

Violence involving regional allies of Iran-backed Hamas  considered a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union  has surged since the war began.

Yemens Huthi rebels, who say they act in solidarity with Gaza, claimed a missile strike on a US-owned cargo ship on Monday, just days after the United States and Britain bombed scores of targets inside the country in response to repeated attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

Early Tuesday, the British maritime security agency UKMTO reported a fresh incident in the sea, with a ship saying a small craft had circled it but departed after warning shots were fired.
Maersk and other large shipping lines have instructed hundreds of commercial vessels to stay clear of the Bab al-Mandab Strait near Yemen, sending vessels on the longer route around Africa in response to attacks on shipping by Iranian-backed Houthi militants.

According to the Danish company and ship tracking data, Maersk has dispatched two container ships through the Red Sea carrying goods for the United States military and government.

In response to attacks on shipping by Iranian-backed Houthi militants, Maersk, along with other major shipping lines, has directed hundreds of commercial vessels to avoid the Bab al-Mandab Strait near Yemen. Instead, these vessels are taking the longer route around Africa to ensure the safety of their cargo and personnel.

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The two U.S.-flagged vessels, Maersk Sentosa and Maersk Kensington sailed from Salalah in Oman through the Bab al-Mandab Strait and were headed north through the Red Sea, according to LSEG ship-tracking data.

Both vessels passed the strait with their AIS tracking system turned off to avoid detection. The Maersk Kensington reappeared at 0818 GMT on Tuesday, while the Maersk Sentosa was seen to have switched on AIS at 2211 GMT on Monday, the data showed.

Maersk Sentosa and Kensington, with capacities of 6,500 and 6,200 twenty-foot containers, respectively, are part of Maersk Line Limited, a U.S. subsidiary of the Danish company.

With a fleet of 20 smaller container vessels, the unit ships goods for U.S. agencies including the Department of Defense, State Department and USAID, Maersk said.

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The few Maersk Line Limited-vessels making the crossing are doing so in the near proximity of U.S. Navy assets, which have reduced the risks to the crews and cargo, Maersk said in an email to Reuters.

A U.S.-led coalition was established last month to safeguard commercial traffic in the Red Sea. The U.S. and Britain launched dozens of air strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen on Jan. 11 and Jan. 12 in retaliation for attacks on shipping by the Houthi militants.

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With inputs from Reuters.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the North Korean leader further said that Pyongyang would not recognise the Northern Limit Line, which serves as the two nations de facto sea boundary

As Pyongyang disbanded organisations that managed cooperation and reunification, Kim Jong Un issued a military warning against South Korea if even 0.001 mm of the Norths land was infringed, according to state media on Tuesday.

According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the North Korean leader further said that Pyongyang would not recognise the Northern Limit Line, which serves as the two nations de facto sea boundary. He also called for constitutional amendments that would let the North to occupy Seoul in the event of a conflict.

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Speaking to his cabinet in Seoul, President Yoon Suk Yeol promised that South Korea will respond multiple times stronger to any provocation from the nuclear-armed North, citing his militarys overwhelming response capabilities.

The hawkish rhetoric on both sides of the border follows a sharp deterioration of inter-Korean ties in recent months, with Pyongyangs November spy satellite launch prompting Seoul to partially suspend a 2018 military agreement aimed at defusing tensions.

Pyongyangs decision to jettison the agencies charged with overseeing cooperation and reunification with the South was announced by the Norths rubber-stamp parliament, KCNA said, part of a string of recent measures that have escalated tensions, including live-fire artillery drills and missile launches.

In a speech delivered at the Supreme Peoples Assembly, Kim called for drawing up new legal measures to define South Korea as the most hostile state, KCNA reported.

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In my opinion, we can specify in our constitution the issue of completely occupying, subjugating and reclaiming the ROK (Republic of Korea) and annex it as a part of the territory of our Republic in case a war breaks out on the Korean peninsula, Kim said.

If the Republic of Korea violates even 0.001 mm of our territorial land, air and waters, it will be considered a war provocation, he said.

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Principal enemy

The decision comes shortly after Kim labelled South Korea the principal enemy and stated that continuing to seek reconciliation was a mistake.

In their constitutions, both North and South Korea claim sovereignty over the whole of the peninsula.

The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea and Republic of Korea  the North and Souths official names  were founded 75 years ago but still technically regard each other as illegal entities.

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Until now, what passed for diplomatic relations was handled by Seouls Unification Ministry and Pyongyangs Committee for Peaceful Reunification  one of the agencies the Supreme Peoples Assembly has now declared abolished.

The two most hostile states, which are at war, are now in acute confrontation on the Korean peninsula, the decision adopted by the assembly said, according to KCNA.

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The reunification of Korea can never be achieved with the Republic of Korea, it added.

Analysts said Kims shift in approach to the South was reckless and a rejection of years of official state policy.

For decades, North Korea has been telling its people that the completion of the revolution was reunification and that Kim Il Sungs wish was reunification, said Cho Han-bum, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, referring to the countrys founding leader and Kims grandfather.

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Now (Kim Jong Un) is denying everything that his predecessors have done, he told AFP.

Weapons tests

At Pyongyangs year-end policy meetings, Kim threatened a nuclear attack on the South and called for a build-up of his countrys military arsenal ahead of armed conflict he warned could break out any time.

On Sunday, the North launched a solid-fuel hypersonic missile, just days after Pyongyang staged live-fire exercises near the countrys tense maritime border with South Korea, which prompted counter-exercises and evacuation orders for some border islands belonging to the South.

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Kim also successfully put a spy satellite into orbit late last year, after receiving what Seoul said was Russian help, in exchange for arms transfers for Moscows war in Ukraine.

Traditional allies Russia and North Korea have boosted ties recently, with Kim making a rare overseas trip to see President Vladimir Putin in Russias far east in September.

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On Monday, a North Korean government delegation headed by Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui arrived in Moscow for an official visit, KCNA reported.
A number of European states, concerned Arab countries and the US are collaboratively developing a framework for a cohesive Palestinian government aimed at garnering reconstruction funds, said Norways Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide in an interview in Davos

A number of European states, concerned Arab countries and the United States are collaboratively developing a framework for a cohesive Palestinian government aimed at garnering reconstruction funds, said Norways Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide in an interview in Davos.

A number of countries are working with us trying to build a broad unity government, Reuters quoted Espen Barth Eide as saying, without naming the specific countries.

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Norway expressed the perspective that a unified Palestinian territory should be governed by the Palestinian Authority, emphasising that the ultimate decision must align with the wishes of the Palestinians.

Norway played a facilitative role in the 1992-1993 negotiations between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), culminating in the Oslo Accords of 1993.

Following the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority, established as a result, has limited self-rule in the West Bank and engaged in talks with Israel regarding a Palestinian state until the discussions collapsed in 2014.

The Gaza Strip has been under the rule of the Islamist Hamas since 2007, and they are committed to the destruction of Israel.

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In the aftermath of the Oslo talks, Norway has chaired the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), a donor group coordinating international aid to the Palestinian territories.

Norway has actively collaborated with others in attempts to revive diplomatic channels between Israel and the Palestinians. Barth Eide highlighted the increasing urgency of working towards a two-state solution, given the escalating conflict in the region.

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However, he noted that influencing Israels position lies primarily within the purview of the United States and the Israeli people.

What we can do is work on Palestinian unity, and think about models with interested countries, Barth Eide said.

Calls for a two-state solution have grown in the wake of attacks on Israel on 7 October in which Hamas gunmen killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages, prompting an Israeli bombardment and ground offensive against Hamas-ruled Gaza in which health authorities in the territory say more than 24,000 people have been killed.

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A two-state agreement would create a state for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip alongside Israel. Israel has said a Palestinian state must be demilitarized so as not to threaten its security.

With inputs from agencies
Dismissing a report suggesting Russias preparations for an open attack on NATO, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov on Monday labeled the document as a mere hoax

Dismissing a report suggesting Russias preparations for an open attack on NATO, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov on Monday labeled the document as a mere hoax.

German newspaper BILD in an article on Sunday said that it had reviewed a secret German Defence Ministry document which provided a month-by-month outline of a possible _"_path to conflict" between Russia and the West.

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The German newspaper said that the documents indicate that Germanys military is gearing up for a potential hybrid Russian assault in Eastern Europe.

The leaked document depicts a series of concerning scenarios, notably the Alliance Defense 2025, which may commence as soon as February, involving Russia deploying an extra 200,000 troops. This deployment could be triggered by a reduction in Western financial aid to Ukraine, paving the way for a significant Russian offensive in the upcoming spring, the outlet added.

It also claimed that the documents also discuss the possibility of Russia instigating conflict in the Baltic states around July.

This could involve severe cyberattacks and taking advantage of the dissatisfaction among Russian nationals in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. By September, Russia might engage in a significant military exercise called Zapad 2024, involving approximately 50,000 troops in western Russia and Belarus, it added.

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A crucial element of this strategy may include the movement of troops and mid-range missiles to Kaliningrad, a small Russian territory situated between Lithuania and Poland, both of which are NATO members. The plan might encompass a propaganda campaign aimed at creating the perception of an impending NATO attack, with the goal of seizing the Suwalki Gap, a strategic corridor between Belarus and Kaliningrad, said the report, citing the documents.

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Towards the end of the year, Russia could take advantage of the US presidential transition period to incite unrest in the Suwalki Gap area. Propaganda may be used to fabricate border conflicts or riots. In response, the scenario suggests the deployment of 30,000 German troops to defend against an estimated 70,000 Russian forces in Belarus. By May 2025, NATO may intervene to deter further Russian advances, potentially leading to direct combat between Western and Russian forces, it added.

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Responding to the queries of journalist on the report on Monday, Peskov said, I wouldnt even comment on this report by Bild.

_"_Recently, this outlet also doesnt shy away from publishing various hoaxes," Russia Today quoted him as saying.

According to the report, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, earlier in the day, labeled the report last years powerful zodiac forecast. She suggested it was the German Foreign Ministry, headed by Annalena Baerbock, that had actually helped the Bundeswehr come up with such a scenario, the report added.

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In the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war that began in February 2022, there have been significant casualties, with an estimated half a million Ukrainian and Russian troops killed or injured. Recently, Swedens Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin and the countrys military Commander-in-Chief Micael Byden have expressed concerns about the possibility of war in Sweden, emphasising the need for comprehensive preparedness.

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While not commenting on specific scenarios, the German Defence Ministry acknowledged to BILD that considering various potential situations, even unlikely ones, is a routine part of military operations and training.

With inputs from agencies
Khan, who previously was married to socialite Jemima Goldsmith and journalist Reham Khan, and his current wife have both denied that they violated the three-month waiting period.

A Pakistani court on Tuesday formally charged former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife with violating Islamic law by remarrying within three months after their 2018 marriage, according to his lawyer.

Imran Khan refuted the charge, and his lawyer, Intisar Panjutha, characterised the case as one of several politically motivated attempts to impede Khans participation in Pakistans upcoming general elections next month.

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Khans wife Bushra Bibi, who is a spiritual healer, was previously married to a man named Khawar Maneka who has claimed that they divorced in November 2017, less than three months ahead of Khans Jan. 1, 2018 marriage, which was announced in February of that year. But Bibi has said the divorce was in August of 2017.

Khan, who previously was married to socialite Jemima Goldsmith and journalist Reham Khan, and his current wife have both denied that they violated the three-month waiting period.

Khan pleaded not guilty Tuesday when charges were read out to him by a judge at Adiala prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. Bibi was not present at the time of indictment, though she has previously denied the charge.

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Everyone knows hes being charged and incarcerated in bogus cases to keep him out of electoral race, however people of Pakistan dont seem to be giving up on him, Khans lawyer, Panjutha, said.

Khan, who was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April 2022, is currently serving a prison term in a graft case. Khan has also been embroiled in more than 150 cases, which include inciting people to violence after his arrest in May 2023.

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During nationwide riots in May, Khans supporters from his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party attacked the militarys headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, stormed an air base in Mianwali in the eastern Punjab province and torched a building housing state-run Radio Pakistan in the northwest.

The violence subsided only when Khan was released at the time by the Supreme Court.

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On Tuesday, police arrested Khan ally Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on charges of inciting people to violence in May in the city of Rawalpindi. Ahmed served as interior minister in Khans government until his ouster.
Jailed ex-PM Imran Khan and hundreds of his party colleagues are being tried under multiple cases, including one under the stringent Official Secrets Act in connection with the May 9 violent protests by his supporters that damaged key military installations across Pakistan.

The military trials of most of the 103 civilians, allegedly involved in the May 9 attacks on key defence installations across Pakistan, are almost complete, and in 90 per cent of cases, the suspects have been found guilty, according to a media report on Tuesday.

Jailed former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party founder Imran Khan, 71, and hundreds of his party colleagues are being tried under multiple cases, including one under the stringent Official Secrets Act in connection with the May 9 violent protests by his supporters that damaged key military installations across Pakistan.

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The military trials of most of 103 civilians, allegedly involved in May 9 attacks, have almost been completed. In around 90 per cent of such cases, the suspects have been found involved in the May 9 attacks on military installations, The News International newspaper reported, quoting an informed government source.

However, the verdicts in these cases are not being announced because of the Supreme Courts order, it said.

Khans party workers vandalised a dozen military installations, including the Jinnah House (Lahore Corps Commander House), Mianwali Airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad. The Army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi was also attacked by the mob for the first time.

Convicted in the Toshakhana corruption case, Khan is incarcerated at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. Earlier on January 6, the Pakistan government set up a cabinet committee to find out the masterminds, plotters, facilitators, and executioners of the May 9 violent incidents, called a criminal conspiracy by the police.

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The committee report, expected to be submitted in 14 days, will give recommendations for stopping such incidents in the future and review the immediate and long-lasting impacts of the May 9 incidents.

The Supreme Court, in mid-December 2023, had adjourned the hearing of the case till the third week of January 2024. Before that, while suspending its prior decision to invalidate the military trials of 103 civilians, the apex court had conditionally allowed these trials.

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The Supreme Court had observed that the military courts would not issue a verdict against the suspects till its final ruling on the matter. The majority 5-1 verdict, reached by a six-member bench, was the consequence of a series of intra-court appeals, contesting the previous unanimous ruling nullifying the military trials. These appeals were filed by the caretaker federal government and the provincial governments of Balochistan, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

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Earlier in October 2023, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court had declared the trial of civilians in military courts as null and void and had ordered that the 103 accused in cases relating to the violence on May 9 and 10, 2023 be tried under the ordinary criminal laws.The court had also declared certain clauses of the Army Act as ultra vires the Constitution and of no legal effect, The News said.

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The verdict had not only upset the government for nullifying the military trial of 103 May 9 suspects but more so because of striking down certain tough Army Act provisions, which were part of the statute for the last over five decades.

Under the Army Act, innumerable civilians have been tried during the past five decades. Those found guilty by military courts not only have the option of challenging their convictions within the military setup but they can also appeal in high courts and later in the Supreme Court, the newspaper explained.

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During Imran Khans government, nearly two dozen civilians were convicted by the military courts. Against their convictions, these civilians had filed petitions in high courts, it said.
The three soldiers entered Rwandas Rubavu district, which borders the main eastern DRC city of Goma, around 1:10 am (2310 GMT) on Tuesday, the RDF said.

The Congolese soldiers crossed at Rubavu town, with one shot dead when he fired at a patrol and the other two arrested as tensions simmer over violence in the Democratic Republic of Congos volatile east, the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) said in a statement.

The soldiers had an AK-47 gun, four magazines with 105 rounds, a protective vest and sachets of cannabis, it said.

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The three soldiers entered Rwandas Rubavu district, which borders the main eastern DRC city of Goma, around 1:10 am (2310 GMT) on Tuesday, the RDF said.

The FARDC soldiers had in their possession one AK-47 gun, four magazines with 105 rounds, one protective vest and cannabis sachets, the RDF said.

The third soldier was shot dead when he fired at the patrols. No one on the Rwandan side was injured.

Eastern DRC has been plagued by decades of violence by rebel groups, including the Tutsi-led M23, which has seized swathes of land since launching an offensive in late 2021.

The government of the DRC and several Western nations including the United States and France, say the M23 is backed by Rwanda, though Kigali denies this claim.

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The fighting has pitted the M23 rebels against the Congolese army and armed militias known locally as wazalendo.

A Congolese security source told AFP on condition of anonymity: The information is true but we do not know if they are wazalendo or FARDC.

The East African Community bloc deployed troops in the eastern DRC in November 2022, at the invitation of the countrys authorities, to free areas taken by M23.

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But Kinshasa refused to extend its mandate, leading to a phased withdrawal in December after President Felix Tshisekedi and local residents accused the multinational force of cohabiting with the rebels rather than forcing them to lay down arms.

The DRC has also called for the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers by the end of this year, with the UN Security Council voting in December to accede to Kinshasas demand.

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On Saturday, Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula said the pull-out of the MONUSCO mission, which arrived in 1999, has commenced.

Kinshasa considers the UN force to be ineffective in protecting civilians from the armed groups and militias that have plagued the eastern DRC for three decades.

With inputs from agencies.
After the eruption of war last October between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas that rules Gaza, Saudi Arabia put on ice U.S.-backed plans for the kingdom to normalise ties with Israel, two sources familiar with Riyadhs thinking said, in a swift reordering of its diplomatic priorities.

Saudi Arabia could recognise Israel if a comprehensive agreement were reached that included statehood for the Palestinians, ambitious talk as the war between Israel and Hamas shows no sign of easing, the foreign minister said on Tuesday.

We agree that regional peace includes peace for Israel, but that could only happen through peace for the Palestinians through a Palestinian state, Prince Faisal bin Farhan told a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Asked if Saudi Arabia would then recognise Israel as part of a wider political agreement, he said: Certainly.

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Prince Faisal said securing regional peace through the creation of a Palestinian state was something we have been indeed working on with the U.S. administration, and it is more relevant in the context of Gaza.

Securing a normalisation deal with Saudi Arabia would be the grand prize for Israel after it established diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, and could transform the geopolitics of the Middle East.

The Sunni Muslim kingdom, the most powerful country in the Arab world and home to the most sacred sites in Islam, wields considerable religious clout across the globe.

After the eruption of war last October between Israel and the militant Palestinian group Hamas that rules Gaza, Saudi Arabia put on ice U.S.-backed plans for the kingdom to normalise ties with Israel, two sources familiar with Riyadhs thinking said, in a swift reordering of its diplomatic priorities.

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The two sources told Reuters there would be some delay in the U.S.-backed talks on normalisation of Saudi-Israel ties, which is seen as a key step for the kingdom to secure what it considers the real prize of a U.S. defence pact in exchange.

PALESTINIANS

Before Oct. 7, when Iran-backed Hamas fighters launched an attack on southern Israel, both Israeli and Saudi leaders had signalled they were moving steadily towards establishing diplomatic relations that could have reshaped the Middle East.

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The Palestinians want a state in territories captured by Israel in a 1967 war, with East Jerusalem as their capital. U.S.-sponsored negotiations with Israel on achieving that stalled more than a decade ago.

Among the hurdles have been Israeli settlement of occupied land and feuding between Western-backed Palestinian authorities and Hamas Islamists who reject coexistence with Israel.

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There is a pathway towards a much better future for the region, for the Palestinians, and for Israel, that is peace, and we are fully committed to that, said Prince Faisal.

 a ceasefire on all sides should be a starting point for permanent sustainable peace, which can only happen through justice to the Palestinian people. Israels hard-right government has played down the prospect of it making significant concessions to the Palestinians as part of any potential normalisation deal with Saudi Arabia.

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The war in Gaza started when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages. Israel says more than 130 remain in captivity.

Israel responded to Hamas assault with a siege, bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza that have devastated the tiny coastal territory and killed, Palestinian health officials say, more than 24,000 people.

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The war has raised fears of wider regional instability. Lebanons Iran-backed Hezbollah have frequently clashed along the border with Israel, while pro-Iranian militias have attacked U.S. targets in Iraq.

Attacks by Yemens Iran-aligned Houthis have disrupted shipping in the Red Sea and they say they will not stop until Israel halts its bombardment of Gaza.

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With inputs from Reuters.
American troops are deployed in South Korea as part of both nations efforts to deter North Korea, which has been accelerating its nuclear and missile programmes

In an effort to come to an agreement before Donald Trump may be reelected, South Korea and the US have decided to initiate early negotiations on how to split the costs of maintaining US soldiers in the nation, according to local media on Tuesday.

During his administration, Trumpwho is currently the clear favourite to win the Republican presidential nomination in the 2024 electionaccused South Korea, a significant ally in Asia, of free-riding on American military might and demanded that it pay up to $5 billion year for US deployment.

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Under the Trump administration, negotiations for the Special Measures Agreement were stuck for months. The agreement was finally reached after South Korea consented to raise its payment by 13.9%, the largest yearly increase in over 20 years.

The contract is scheduled to expire in 2025. According to anonymous diplomatic sources cited by the news agencies Yonhap and Newspim, discussions between the US and South Korea have agreed to begin this year in order to extend the agreement to 2026 and beyond. Talks often take place right before the current agreement is about to expire.

Spokesman for the South Korean Foreign Ministry Lim Soo-suk said that the administration will get ready for the next talks in a systematic, strategic way but declined to comment on the reports.

The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

American troops are deployed in South Korea as part of both nations efforts to deter North Korea, which has been accelerating its nuclear and missile programmes.

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South Korea began shouldering the costs of US deployments, used to fund local labour, the construction of military installations and other logistics support, in the early 1990s.
Yemens Iran-backed Houthi rebels have since November attacked ships in the Red Sea, part of a route that accounts for about 12% of the worlds shipping traffic, in what they say is an effort to support Palestinians in the war with Israel.

Sri Lankas Colombo port has experienced a significant increase in container volumes in recent weeks as vessels steering clear of tensions in the southern Red Sea have found it a convenient transit point, officials said on Tuesday.

Since November, Yemens Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been attacking ships in the Red Sea, a crucial route responsible for approximately 12% of global shipping traffic. They claim these actions are in support of Palestinians in the conflict with Israel.

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In response to the heightened risks, certain shipping companies have directed vessels to take the longer and more expensive route around Africas Cape of Good Hope.

Due to Colombos strategic location, stopping at the port gives ships convenient access to the Middle East, South Asia and East Asia, said Lal Weerasinghe, a senior official at the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA). When ships come past South Africa, Colombo is the first hub they meetSingapore is further away. So this is the easiest port to access, Weerasinghe said.

Port of Colombo is a key port between Africa, the Middle East and East Asia and handled 6.94 million 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) in 2023, a 2% jump for the year, SLPA data showed. In December, TEUs jumped 15% on year.

Over the last four to six weeks, shipping lines requested more berthing windows at the ports three terminals and transhipment volumes from neighbouring India also grew, two terminal operators said.

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We typically handle about 5,000-5,500 TEUs (per day) but since late last year there has been an increase of about 1,000 TEUs per day, said Weerasinghe.

We were forced to decline requests from about four shipping lines to increase traffic because it would cause delays for existing customers.

As much as 50% of the uptick is from Mediterranean Shipping Company, the leading container shipping company, Weerasinghe added.

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Shipping companies are also increasingly using Colombo as a relaying port, sometimes offloading their entire cargo to a different ship, he added.

Vessel calls have risen at other Colombo port terminals too.

There is a lot of transhipment from India. We are hoping increased traffic will help Colombo port edge closer to double-digit growth in the first quarter, said an official from a privately-run terminal.

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He declined to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

With inputs from Reuters.
In a legal lawsuit, a jury this year concluded that Trump had sexually assaulted Carroll in the 1990s before labelling her a liar in 2022

If the former US president decides to testify in a defamation trial that is scheduled to start this week, his legal team said on Sunday that he should not be forced to admit his own wrongdoing or subject to severe cautions about crossing lines in his statements.

As primary elections for the former presidents 2024 Republican nomination begin, Trump is expected to face a federal jury in New York this week to decide how much he should pay the writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her in 2019. This is just one of many legal issues he is battling.

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In a legal lawsuit, a jury this year concluded that Trump had sexually assaulted Carroll in the 1990s before labelling her a liar in 2022.

Several judges have attempted to impose restrictions on Trumps ability to speak and engage in diatribes.

Carrolls attorneys contended last week that, should Trump choose to appear in his own defence, he ought to be compelled to declare, outside the jurys sight, that he acknowledges he assaulted her and that he need to be cautioned against defying the courts orders restricting his remarks.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan this month ruled that the former president may not tell the jury he did not rape Kaplan.

It would be a manifest injustice to require President Trump to proffer his guilt, under oath, for acts that he maintains did not occur and which were not proven beyond a reasonable doubt, attorney Alina Habba wrote.

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Habba also argued that, despite pre-set limits on his testimony, Trump would be free to testify about the context in which he made his remarks about Carroll as evidence showing whether he did so with hatred or ill will.

He can do this without opining on the actual underlying events, she wrote.
The size of Trumps accomplishment is still being determined, but fans of the former president braved a historic and life-threatening cold snap to attend caucus sessions held in schools, churches, and community centres around the state

Donald Trump won the Iowa caucuses on Monday, a key victory at the start of the Republican primary that strengthens the former presidents ties with his partys members even as he faces severe legal battles that might hinder his drive for re-election.

The size of Trumps accomplishment is still being determined, but fans of the former president braved a historic and life-threatening cold snap to attend caucus sessions held in schools, churches, and community centres around the state.

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The results are just the beginning of what will be a months-long campaign for Trump to clinch the Republican nominee for the third time in a row. However, they crystallise the problem facing Trumps Republican opponents and send a clear message to the Republican Party that the candidature is his to lose.

The two most well-known opponents of Trump in the primary are Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. In order to get some momentum going into next races, they are hoping to place second in Iowa. Both have already changed their priorities. Haley is prepared to fight hard in New Hampshire in the lead-up to the Jan. 23 primary, where she hopes to have better success with the states independent voters. DeSantis, on the other hand, is travelling first to South Carolina, a bastion for conservatives where the fight on February 24 may be crucial, before moving on to New Hampshire.

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Iowa is an uneven predictor of who will ultimately lead Republicans into the general election. George W. Bushs 2000 victory was the last time a Republican candidate won in Iowa and went on to become the partys standard-bearer.

Trump has spent much of the past year crafting a far more professional organization in Iowa than the relatively haphazard effort he oversaw in 2016, when Texas Sen. Ted Cruz carried the caucuses. His team paid special attention to building a sophisticated digital and data operation to regularly engage with potential supporters and ensure they knew how to participate in the caucuses.

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For months, the former president predicated a commanding Iowa victory with a 30- or 40-point blowout that he argued would render the rest of the primary essentially unnecessary. His aides have privately focused on meeting or beating Bob Doles nearly 13-point win in 1988, the largest margin of victory ever in a contested Iowa Republican caucus.

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The former president campaigned in Iowa sporadically and largely abandoned the states tradition of intimate appearances in living rooms and small community venues. He instead relied on larger campaign rallies where he more often listed grievances over the past, most notably his lie that the 2020 election was stolen, rather than articulating a detailed vision of the nations future.

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The challenges confronting Trump will intensify in the weeks ahead as he balances the demands of a campaign against multiple legal threats. He has said he will return this week to a New York City courtroom where a jury is poised to consider whether he should pay additional damages to a columnist who last year won a $5 million jury award against Trump for sex abuse and defamation. The US Supreme Court is weighing whether states have the ability to block Trump from the ballot for his role in sparking the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol. And hes facing criminal trials in Washington and Atlanta for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
In a televised address following a Cabinet meeting, Erdogan said Turkish jets had struck a total of 114 targets in Syria and Iraq in operations launched in the last five days.

Days after an attack on a Turkish military base in Iraq killed nine Turkish soldiers, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared on Tuesday his commitment to expanding military operations against groups associated with Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria.

Following the attempt to infiltrate a military base in the northern Iraq semi-autonomous Kurdish region on Friday, Turkish warplanes and drones have been conducting airstrikes on targets in Syria and Iraq believed to be linked to the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The attack claimed the lives of five soldiers initially, with an additional four succumbing to critical injuries later on.

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In a televised address following a Cabinet meeting, Erdogan said Turkish jets had struck a total of 114 targets in Syria and Iraq in operations launched in the last five days.

A further 60 infrastructure and facilities were destroyed in separate operations by Turkeys intelligence agency, the president added.

Erdogan said Turkey was determined to eliminate the threat from Kurdish militants at its source in Iraq and Syria. It was not clear if Ankara, which has carried out land offensives in the past, is contemplating a new ground operation.

Our operations will continue until every inch of the mountains in northern Iraq that have become the source of terrorist actions  are secured, he said. In the same way, we will not stop until the terror nests in Syria  are completely destroyed.

The Turkish leader continued: God willing, in the coming months, we will definitely take new steps in this direction, regardless of who says what, what threats they make or what their plans are.

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On Monday, Kurdish led-authorities said Turkish shelling and airstrikes have targeted dozens of infrastructure facilities in northeast Syria over the past days wounding at least 10 people and cutting out electricity and water supplies in wide areas held by the main U.S.-backed group in the war-torn country.

The PKK, which maintains bases in northern Iraq, is considered a terror organization by Turkeys Western allies, including the United States. Tens of thousands of people have died since the start of the conflict in 1984.

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Turkey also considers Syrian Kurdish groups as terrorist organizations but the U.S. disagrees with that status and regards them as allies in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria.

With inputs from agencies.
Since taking office in October 2022, the prime minister has made record-low levels of both regular and irregular migration a condition of his political survival. A crucial component of that commitment is his governments Safety of Rwanda bill

With the general election just around the corner, lawmakers will be debating Britains controversial plan to send migrants to Rwanda on Tuesday, which will put leader Rishi Sunaks authority to the test.

Since taking office in October 2022, the prime minister has made record-low levels of both regular and irregular migration a condition of his political survival.

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A crucial component of that commitment is his governments Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill.

However, Sunak will have to fight to get the legislation passed into law because it has reopened divisions between right-wing and moderate members of his ruling Conservatives.

The plan is Sunaks answer to a unanimous UK Supreme Court ruling in November that deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda is illegal under international law.

It would compel judges to treat Rwanda as a safe third country and proposes giving UK ministers powers to disregard sections of international and British human rights legislation.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reiterated this week that the legislation and a recently signed treaty with Kigali designating Rwanda safe were not compatible with international refugee law.

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Meanwhile the bill has triggered deep factional Tory infighting not seen since the wranglings over Brexit.

Sunak faced down party rebels last month and won a knife-edge parliamentary vote on the Rwanda legislation. He must do so again, in a vote expected on Wednesday night.

First, beginning on Tuesday, MPs will debate a series of amendments to the legislation. They are unlikely to be passed but will reveal the extent of opposition that Sunak faces.

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- Resolve this issue -

More than 50 Tory MPs have publicly backed right-wing amendments that toughen up the bill, including by disapplying international law and restricting asylum seekers rights to appeal against deportation.

They include two Tory deputy chairmen, who are testing Sunaks mettle for party discipline amid calls for their dismissal from the roles.

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If the UK leader agrees to right-wingers demands, then the bill would almost certainly be scuppered by party centrists, who oppose any violations of international law and say the legislation already pushes the limits.

Sunak said on Monday he was talking to all my colleagues and was determined to get this new legislation on to the statute book so we can get our Rwanda scheme up and running.

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Im confident that the bill we have got is the toughest that anyone has ever seen and it will resolve this issue once and for all, he told reporters.

Sunak says the law is essential to deter migrants from considering travelling to the UK via unauthorised routes, particularly on small boat crossings from France.

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Around 30,000 asylum seekers crossed the English Channel on rudimentary vessels last year. Five died trying to make the journey this past weekend.

Sunak has yet to announce the date of the UKs general election but has said it will be held this year.

Some opinion polls put the main opposition Labour party more than 20 points ahead of the Tories, suggesting the ruling party is heading for a landslide defeat.

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(with inputs from AFP)
The Nauruan administration said earlier on Monday that Taiwan will henceforth be recognised rather as an inalienable part of Chinas territory rather than as a separate country, a move that supports Beijings goals in the region

The tiny South Pacific island of Nauru changed its diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China, which displeased the United States, which expressed its disappointment on Monday.

While the Government of Naurus action on January 15 to sever its diplomatic relationship with Taiwan is a sovereign decision, it is nonetheless a disappointing one, the State Department said.

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Taiwan is a reliable, likeminded, and democratic partner. The PRC often makes promises in exchange for diplomatic relations that ultimately remain unfulfilled, it said, referring to China by its official acronym.

The Nauruan administration said earlier on Monday that Taiwan will henceforth be recognised rather as an inalienable part of Chinas territory rather than as a separate country, a move that supports Beijings goals in the region.

Nauru was one of the last nations to formally recognise Taipei diplomatically, thus Beijing is expected to view this move as a huge win.

China has promised to take control of Taiwan one day, using force if necessary, and claims democratic, self-governing Taiwan as its own land.

With a population of 12,500, Nauru is among the smallest countries in the world, situated around 2,500 miles (4,000 km) northeast of Sydney.

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Taiwan and China have engaged in a diplomatic tug-of-war to lure allies in the Pacific region, offering generous aid packages and assistance in agricultural and educational development.
Getting up close and personal with one of Australia's most deadly creatures might not be everyone's idea of a good time. But 26-year-old Nick Volpe couldn't contain his excitement when he came within centimetres of a "highly venomous" sea snake.

The Dawrin local, who moved from Melbourne five years ago, was looking for mudskippers in the mangroves at the popular East Point Reserve when he encountered the distinctive and striking black-ringed mangrove snake, which is endemic to the northern parts of Australia  and like all sea snakes, can be deadly.

The spine-tingling moment was captured on camera by his partner Lucyna Kania who was filming as another friend watched on. The video shows Volpe, a nature enthusiast, lying with his back in the murky mud when suddenly he jumps up in "shock" at the sight of something moving swiftly toward him.

Photographer Nick Volpe had a close encounter with a deadly black-ringed mangrove snake in the mangroves at East Point in Darwin. Source: Nick Volpe

"It all happened pretty quickly and it was a bit of a shock, but we were so excited because it was the first one we'd ever seen of that species, Volpe, who studied environmental science," told Yahoo News Australia, adding that he was "elated".

"That snake is usually found in estuaries or rivers where crocodiles are found, and one you dont get to often see. So to see one up close and fairly safely, we were pretty happy about that. It's an amazing opportunity to see it, and the best surprise ever."

Explaining how it all unfolded, the wildlife photographer said he first noticed a shrimpgoby, a type of fish that lives in the burrows.

"It jumped out in front of me and I got a bit of a shock  that was my initial reaction," he said. But that's when he noticed the venomous snake slithering right beside his head.

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Sea snakes far more deadly than land snakes

In general, sea snakes are 10 times more venomous than land snakes, including eastern browns and the inland taipan, veterinary nurse Belinda Donovan told Yahoo. Venom from sea snakes attacks the nervous system of a victim and can result in convulsions, paralysis and cardiac failure.

But the scream heard in the video shared to Twitter this week was not caused by fear, but pure joy Volpe claimed. So much so that they stuck around and watched it for a little longer.

"We went right up close to it and I got some cool pictures," said the 26-year-old. "We followed it and saw it going down fish burrows.

"Its a pretty rare opportunity to watch a sea snake hunt in the mangrove. So we made the most of it," he added. "We weren't threatened by it at all. It was such good fun".

The black-ringed mangrove snake, like all sea snakes, are highly venomous and can be deadly with just one bite. Source: Nick Volpe

Most 'concerning' animal in Australia

The wildlife enthusiast insists his engagement with such animals is done "as safe as possible" but he "definitely can't recommend" that anyone does the same. And while he admits he isnt much concerned about the potential dangers of some species living among us, crocodiles are the one animals in Australia that "concern" him.

"Crocodiles are something you don't want to really mess around with. I was fishing once at night and was stalked by one along the river," he explained. "Its quite a freaky thing knowing that animal wants to eat you. It just kept following us and just waiting for us to fall in, so they're pretty serious".

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The aircraft is equipped with a powerful radar on its fuselage that spins six times per minute, along with an abundance of surveillance equipment that allows it to detect missile launches, aerial bombing missions, and other military operations throughout the fight

Ukraine, struggling for its life in the distant Viewed from this vantage point, inside the fuselage of a French air force reconnaissance aircraft circling Romania, the wintry scenery appears surprisingly serene.

The clouds conceal the dead from Russias war, the destroyed cities in Ukraine, and the mutilated battlefields.

However, the view from French military technicians seated farther back in the plane, who are watching displays that show the word secret when they are not in use, is significantly more revealing. The aircraft is equipped with a powerful radar on its fuselage that spins six times per minute, along with an abundance of surveillance equipment that allows it to detect missile launches, aerial bombing missions, and other military operations throughout the fight.

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With the second anniversary of Russias invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, drawing closer, The Associated Press was granted exclusive access to the massive Airborne Warning and Control System, or AWACS, aircraft. It flew a 10-hour surveillance operation from central France to Romanian airspace and returned, carrying 26 military officers and an AP journalist. Using electronic eyes, it peered across southern Ukraine and the Black Sea to Russian-occupied Crimea and beyond.

At 34,000 feet (10 km) in the air, the aircraft with a proud cockerel emblazoned on its tail was circling on autopilot, providing ground-based controllers with real-time intelligence.

Its job for NATO on the European side of the thirty-one-nation military alliance also effectively drew a line in the sand that no one was allowed to cross.

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The planes sustained presence high above eastern Romania  seeing and also being seen by Russian forces  signaled how intensely NATO is watching its borders and Russia, ready if necessary to act should Russian aggression threaten to extend beyond Ukraine.

Shields for NATO, pieces of aviation history

Regular surveillance flights, together with fighter patrols, ground-based radar, missile batteries and other hardware at NATOs disposal, form what the commander of Frances AWACS squadron described as a shield against any potential spill-over.

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The ultimate goal is, of course, no conflict and deterrence, said the commander, a lieutenant colonel named Richard. Because of French security concerns, the AP was only able to identify him and other military personnel by their ranks and first names.

We need to show that we have the shield, show to the other countries that NATO is collective defense, he continued. We have the ability to detect everywhere. And we are not here for a conflict. We are here to show that we are present and ready.

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Frances four AWACS are among a variety of surveillance aircraft, including unmanned UAV drones, that gather intelligence for NATO and its member nations. Lt. Col. Richard said the French E-3F-type AWACS see for hundreds of kilometers (miles) with their distinctive black-and-white rooftop radar domes, although he wouldnt be precise.

E-3s are modified Boeing 707s. The 707 first flew in 1957 but stopped carrying passengers commercially in 2013, so E-3s are also flying examples of aviation history.

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We can detect aircraft, we can detect UAVs, we can detect missiles and we can detect ships. Thats true, for sure, in Ukraine, especially when we are at the border, Lt. Col. Richard said.

As the plane loitered and scanned, the crew detected a distant Russian AWACS above the Sea of Azov, many hundreds of kilometers away on the Crimean Peninsulas eastern side. The Russian aircraft also seemingly spotted the French AWACS: Sensors along the fuselage picked up Russian radar signals.

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We know that they see us, they know that we see them. Lets say that its some kind of a dialogue between them and us, the French co-pilot, Major Romain, said.

Hawk-eyed AWACS on call to safeguard the Olympics

NATO also has its own fleet of 14 AWACS, also E-3s. They can detect low-flying targets within 400 kilometers (250 miles) and higher-flying targets another 120 kilometers (75 miles) beyond that, the alliance says. It says one AWACS can surveil an area the size of Poland; three can cover all of central Europe.

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Able to fly for 12 hours without refueling, French AWACS arent limited to surveillance, communications and air-traffic control missions for NATO. They expect to be deployed as part of the massive security operation for the Paris Olympics, providing additional radar surveillance with what Lt. Col. Richard called their Gods-eye view.

Russian pilots have at times made clear that they dont like being watched.

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In 2022, a Russian fighter jet released a missile near a British air force RC-135 Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft that was flying in international airspace over the Black Sea, Britains government said. The US government released video in March 2023 of a Russian fighter jet dumping fuel on a US Air Force surveillance drone. The drone crashed into the Black Sea.

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Rivet Joints are particularly capable spy planes, and Russian authorities really hate their ability to snoop on the Ukraine war, said Justin Bronk, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute defense think tank in London.

As well as gathering real-time intelligence that theoretically could be shared with Ukrainian partners, the planes also furnish fantastic insight about how Russian forces actually operate in a real war, Bronk said in a phone interview.

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So of course, the Russians are furious, he said.

In the skies, regular encounters

NATO also scrambles fighter jets to scope Russian flights. It says allied aircraft took to the skies more than 500 times in 2022 to intercept Russian aircraft that ventured close to NATO airspace. The number of such encounters dropped to more than 300 in 2023, according to the Brussels-headquartered alliance.

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The strengthening of Ukrainian air defenses with Western weaponry may partly explain the decrease, with shoot-downs seemingly making Russian pilots warier. NATO observed reduced activity by manned Russian flights over the western Black Sea last year. NATO says the vast majority of aerial encounters between NATO and Russian jets were safe and professional and that Russian incursions into NATO airspace were rare and generally short.

Aboard the French flight, the co-pilot, Major Romain, said Russian planes havent intercepted a French AWACS for a long time and that if they did, French pilots would try to defuse any tension.

Our orders are to be, lets say, passive, he said. For a civilian, lets say polite.
Leaked text messages have reignited tension between the ABC and journalist Antoinette Lattouf who was fired last month for sharing social media posts about the Israeli-Palestinian war, and in doing so was accused of breaching the ABC's social media policy.

The journalist believes the leaked messages, obtained by The Age newspaper, were exchanged between Jewish lawyers in a private group chat and indicate the national broadcaster was pressured to get rid of her, claiming racism was part of its reasoning behind the decision.

Lattouf, who is of Lebanese descent, was a fill-in host for ABC Sydneys morning radio show and was reportedly told she was doing a good job hours before she was notified the ABC was terminating her employment last month.

Leaked texts about ABC journo Antoinette Lattouf who was fired last month show lawyers were putting pressure on the national broadcaster to fire her. Source: The Sydney Morning Herald and Twitter

The journalist filed a complaint to the Fair Work Commission stating she was "humiliatingly fired for expressing a political opinion and because of her race and has hired workplace lawyer Josh Bornstein to investigate further allegations of systemic discrimination at the ABC.

Lawyers for Israel group chat messages leaked

Messages from Lawyers for Israel private group chat published by The Age newspaper show lawyers questioning why the journalist is employed by the ABC given her stance on the conflict in Gaza.

One member in the chat said she had contacted the national broadcaster implying it faced an actual legal threat due to her employment, before later admitting there may not one. It is understood Lattouf believes the lawyers were trying to bluff the ABC into getting rid of her.

The message reads: "I have basically written to them and told them I expect a proper response, not a generic one, by COB today or I would look to engage senior counsel," it read. "I know there is probably no actionable offence against the ABC, but I didnt say I would be taking one  just investigating one. I have said that they should be terminating her employment immediately."

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In the messages the lawyers encouraged each other to complain to the ABC saying "the more complaints the better" with another saying they wanted the journalist "gone". Alongside her lawyer, Lattouf will move forward with expanding her Fair Work Commission complaint.

Political reporter resigns over Israeli-Palestinian war coverage

The situation continues to play out after political reporter Nour Haydar resigned from the ABC on Friday due to the national broadcaster's coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian war.

"I have resigned from the ABC. This was not a decision that I made lightly, but one I made with total clarity," she said. "Commitment to diversity in the media cannot be skin-deep. Culturally diverse staff should be respected and supported even when they challenge the status quo."

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Look closer at an image of a euycalyptus that was shredded during wild weather and youll see a tiny koala clutching to its destroyed trunk. At least four others died nearby when their trees crashed to the ground as wild weather pummelled the Gold Coast.

The future of surviving koalas is far from secure, and some are asking how much more they can bear. Several struck by cars after the Christmas Day tornado are believed to have ventured onto roads in search of new territory.

Eucalyptus trees left standing are now crucial to koala recovery in the north of the region, as the species is already declining due to widespread chlamydia infection, and habitat destruction. But the people living under them are concerned branches could come crashing down and destroy their homes or even kill them. Now there's a growing trend of homeowners calling for many of the remaining trees to be felled.

A koala in Helensvale was photographed clinging to the top of a tree that lost its canopy during the Christmas storms. Source: Supplied

Scared is how some residents say theyve been left feeling by the trees that remain standing over their homes. Dozens have taken to social media forums, saying they value the environment but are worried for their safety.

Some have suggested replacing the towering eucalyptus with smaller native plants, however, doing so would create a problem for the regions surviving koalas who rely on mature trees for food. Arborists warn removing trees could actually make the area less safe because the canopy helps reduce wind speeds.

How likely am I to be killed by a tree in my home?

While theres no doubt that some decaying or diseased trees and branches do pose a risk to humans and their homes, the chance of being killed by a tree in Australia is 1 in 5 million.

The likelihood of accidental tree failure killing you in your house is even lower at 1 in 189 million. Compare that with dying from melanoma  1 in 13,500, being killed by an animal  1 in 830,000, or even winning Saturday Lotto  1 in 8.1 million.

Consulting arborist Mark Hartley specialises in keeping trees healthy and manageable. The risk of death from a tree is so low, he suspects felling one that had been sheltering a playground could actually increase mortality, because the extra sunshine's potential to trigger a melanoma would be more of a risk than the tree ever was.

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Theres a perception the risk from trees is high, but the reality is the risk from trees is about 12 times lower than the risk associated with beds in Australia, he said. If we look at the mortality rate per tree, its one death per every 10 million trees in areas adjacent to high urban use.

Arborist Mark Hartley has used official sources to compare the threat of trees to animals, murder and asthma. Source: Mark Hartley/Supplied

Most of the tree damage Hartley sees is in areas where microburst weather events have occurred  usually less than within a 2km radius, but widespread social media and news coverage can lead those not on the ground to believe the damage is more widespread.

We extrapolate it out. We say look, 10 trees, or 100 trees have come down in this area and the expectation is thats it's uniform, so the human brain thinks thats going to happen here, Harley said. The actual risk is so small that its absurd.

Why trees left standing after storm are a good sign

Sam Hardingham from Everyday Arbor agrees with Hartley's risk assessments. He notices a spike in calls from people living close to extreme weather events who will ask for perfectly healthy, low-risk trees to be removed.

The clean-up on the Gold Coast continues, weeks after the region was hit by wild weather. Source: AAP

Some Helensvale residents are understandably scared by the trees that survived the storm. Source: AAP

There are knee-jerk reactions. But what a lot of people do is count the trees that fell over, rather than the ones left standing, he said.

If a tree has weathered one storm then he believes it's "a pretty good sign it will survive the next one, but also the weather-power needed to topple a healthy tree is unlikely to occur twice in the same lifetime.

But I empathise with homeowners. I can see that it's easy to start catastrophising and say I can imagine that falling over and it would cause a lot of damage. But the reality is its very unlikely to happen.

Future of koalas under threat

The Gold Coast still contains some well-maintained corridors of bushland. Some residents frustrated by the slow process of cleaning up after the storms have taken matters into their own hands and begun removing trees and branches seen as threats.

Koala rescuer Amy Wregg said she understands local fears, but shes also concerned about the future of the regions wildlife. Shes continuing to tend to animals struggling with weeks-old fractures from the storms, and even healthy koalas are finding it difficult to find food on some streets.

A lot of old mature trees have come down. Its not like a bushfire where they can just regenerate new leaves. They're being completely uprooted, she said. I feel like its going to be dire for these guys now.

A mother and baby koala could not be saved after they were hit by a car metres from where several trees had fallen in the storms. Source: Amy Wregg/WildCare/WIRES

She's particularly concerned about the animals living in the storm-hit Gold Coast suburbs of Helensvale and Coombabah. They're particularly important because koalas living north in Coomera are losing large swathes of bushland to new roads and houses.

In less than a decade, prime habitat has been replaced with a Westfield, a KFC, a McDonalds, and the state government is planning to remove even more trees to build a new hospital and a major road. During that time the species has been listed as vulnerable to extinction, and then uplisted to endangered.

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Tributes are flowing for "an amazing young man" who was killed during a workplace accident this week, with the Aussie being remembered as "an absolute legend".

Luke O'Brien, 27, was killed while working at the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance's (BMA) Saraji mine in Dysart, about 200 kilometres south-west of his hometown of Mackay in Queensland. The young Aussie had been working with another man when it's understood he was pinned between a ute and fuel tanker on Monday.

Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) confirmed that two men were working in a fuel bay area of the mine at 12pm when an "interaction with two vehicles" left O'Brien with devastating "crush injuries".

"The worker was transported to hospital, but sadly he later passed away in the evening," RSHQ chief executive Rob Djukic said. RSHQ will continue to investigate the incident.

Luke O'Brien was crushed while working at BMA's Saraji Coal Mine near Moranbah. Source: Facebook

Young worker trapped between two vehicles

Reports suggest the ute moved backwards instead of forwards resulting in the tragic death. Operations at the mine have now been suspended.

Resources Minister Scott Stewart said safety needs to be a top priority across the industry.

"Our expectation as a government, as a community is that when workers go to work they come home the same way they leave, they come home safe and they come home as healthy as what they leave," he said. "This is just tragic, it tears families to pieces."

Friends and family have shared heartfelt tributes for the young racing enthusiast. O'Brien's father Terrence was among those to share an emotional tribute for his youngest son on social media.

"For those that dont know it is with my broken, sinking and heavy heart that my youngest son Luke OBrien 27 passed away yesterday after the incident at Saraji Mine," he wrote, The Courier Mail reported. "Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us in this difficult time. Love you mate RIP."

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Others that knew and loved him shared their devastation over his death.

"Some very, very dear friends of mine lost their son in a mining accident I am so devastated for them," family friend wrote, describing O'Brien as an "amazing individual".

Luke O'Brien, 27, died during a mining accident in Queensland earlier this week. Source: Facebook.

"Im so sorry he was an absolute legend," said another. "He was an amazing young man and we who knew and loved him will be forever better for having him in our lives he will forever live in our hearts and memories," another mourner wrote, while one friend summed up the situation as "just horrible".

Industry shocked by Luke O'Brien's death

The Mining and Energy Union said the whole mining community was shocked and saddened by the incident. "This is the worst news we can ever receive," union district president Mitch Hughes said.

"We are devastated that a coal miner is not returning home at the end of their shift.

"We will ensure no stone is left unturned in understanding what has occurred and preventing future fatalities and injuries," he said.

Townsville MP Scott Stewart said his heart also goes out to the family. "My heart goes out to the friends, family, and workmates of the man who tragically lost his life yesterday during an incident at the Saraji mine," he said. This is a terrible tragedy which should never have happened.

"Every worker deserves to go home from every shift safe and well  any death is simply not acceptable in our mines or in any Queensland workplace."

with AAP

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The Cayuga County District Attorney's Office has announced the addition of four new staff members.

As previously reported by The Citizen, the office has hired Courtney Venditte, Amanda Raub and Mark Moody, who all previously worked at the Oswego County District Attorney's Office.

Joining them is Alan Berlucchi, who comes to the office as a certified law associate. He will become an assistant district attorney upon admission to the New York State Bar, District Attorney Brittany Grome Antonacci said in a news release Tuesday. Berlucchi received his law degree from Syracuse University, and while there was vice president of the Syracuse Animal Legal Defense Fund.

Venditte joins the office as a senior assistant district attorney. Also a Syracuse University graduate, she has been a prosecutor for more than 10 years. As an assistant district attorney in Onondaga County, she specialized in the handling of special victim cases. Assistant District Attorney Raub, who has more than four years of experience, received her law degree from Liberty University School of Law.

Moody joins the Cayuga County office as special counsel to the district attorney. He has more than 25 years of experience as a prosecutor, and was previously acting district attorney of Oswego County.

After several resignations, Cayuga County DA's Office adds four Four new hires are joining the Cayuga County District Attorney's Office following the recent departure of three prosecutors who resigned within days of each other.
Belal could become an 'intense tropical cyclone' as it passes over the island or its immediate vicinity
Nathan graduated with his journalism degree from Auburn University in 2017. After growing up in the flatlands of rural Alabama with his parents and older sister, Nathan enjoys Western Colorado's natural resources and recreational opportunities. He currently covers education and business for The Daily Sentinel.
Saturday Night

Partly cloudy skies early followed by increasing clouds with showers developing later at night. Low 43F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Lawmakers and a union representing New York corrections officers are criticizing Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposal to close more prisons in the next fiscal year.

Hochul, a Democrat, included the plan in her $233 billion state budget proposal. She wants the authority to expedite the closure of up to five prisons with 90 days' notice.

The budget does not detail which correctional facilities could be closed if the language is part of the final spending plan. A briefing book released by the Hochul administration explains the proposal would allow the state to "act expeditiously to right-size and eliminate excess capacity."

The state, which has 44 correctional facilities, has closed 24 prisons since 2011 due to a declining incarcerated population. After topping 72,000 in 1999, the prison population is down to 32,766, according to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

Hochul did not pursue prison closures in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 budgets. But her plan to shutter more correctional facilities ranked the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, a union that represents corrections officers in state prisons.

Hochul wants to close up to 5 NY prisons Gov. Kathy Hochul's 2024-25 budget proposal includes a plan to close more state prisons.

NYSCOPBA's leadership worries that more closures will increase prison violence at a time when it's at record levels  DOCCS reported there were 1,671 assaults on staff and 2,107 assaults on incarcerated individuals in 2023  and force staff to either relocate or leave their jobs.

"As the violence increases and staffing levels plummet, mandatory overtime for correction officers and sergeants has spiked to record highs," NYSCOPBA President Chris Summers said. "This overtime is well documented and it is unsustainable. Continuous mandates are straining members' physical and mental health, their families and their quality of life. Members are burning out at alarming rates."

Summers continued, "How can the state of New York demand that our members continue working in these conditions and have the mental and physical ability to keep incarcerated individuals and staff safe? Members need relief."

NYSCOPBA urged Hochul to keep prisons open and to add more staff.

The union's message is supported by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Assemblyman Billy Jones, a Democrat and former corrections officer, and Republican state Sen. Jim Tedisco.

In a statement, Jones said he is "highly disappointed" that Hochul wants to close more prisons. He prefers a different approach  one that focuses on making the job safer for correctional staff.

Tedisco opposes the "willy-nilly closing of correctional facilities" because, he said, it will lead to overcrowding in the remaining prisons.

State Sen. James Skoufis, a Hudson Valley Democrat, also opposes Hochul's plan to close more prisons. State correctional facilities are woefully understaffed, he said. He supports increasing pay and hiring more corrections officers.

"At a time when our correctional officers feel undervalued and demoralized, it is high time to focus on increasing safety in our state facilities and paying a living wage," Skoufis said.

The prison closure proposal will be one of many policy ideas debated during budget negotiations. Hochul will work with legislative leaders to negotiate the budget, with the goal of finalizing the spending plan by April 1  the start of the next fiscal year.
Houthis fire anti-ship cruise missile toward U.S. warship

U.S. Central Command

USCENTCOM

Jan. 14, 2024

Release Number 20240114-01

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TAMPA, Fla. -- On Jan. 14 at approximately 4:45 p.m. (Sanaa time), an anti-ship cruise missile was fired from Iranian-backed Houthi militant areas of Yemen toward USS Laboon (DDG 58), which was operating in the Southern Red Sea. The missile was shot down in vicinity of the coast of Hudaydah by U.S. fighter aircraft. There were no injuries or damage reported.



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Vietnam's top leader attends party meeting amid health concerns

Nguyen Phu Trong made a short appearance at the National Assembly after missing meetings with Indonesian, Lao leaders.

By Mike Firn for RFA 2024.01.14 -- Vietnam's top leader Nguyen Phu Trong attended an extraordinary session of the country's National Assembly Monday, after speculation that the Communist Party General Secretary's health was suffering, state media reported.

The appearance has failed to address concerns though, as Trong left the session with the help of aides after the chair's opening remarks, according to Reuters. The meeting is due to last two-and-a-half days.

Trong, 79, who has been at the helm of the party since 2011, is the most powerful leader in Vietnam's one-party political system and regularly hosts visiting foreign officials in private meetings.

However, he did not meet Indonesian President Joko Widodo during his three-day state visit, which began Friday.

Trong was also not on the list of Vietnamese leaders to receive Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone over the previous weekend.

Before Monday's appearance, Trong had not been seen in public since Dec. 26, when he met with the head of the Japanese Communist Party Kazuo Shii in Hanoi.

Trong, who also served as Vietnam's president from Oct. 2018 to April 2021, was chosen to serve a rule-breaking third five-year term as party secretary in 2021.

His term will expire in 2026 when the Communist Party's 14th National Congress is expected to take place. The party secretary is supposed to recommend a successor who then needs to be approved by the Central Committee.

Vietnam-watcher Carl Thayer pointed out that the country's domestic media was silent about rumor's that Trong had been hospitalized at the end of last year but heavily publicized his reappearance in public on Monday.

"Vietnam must get its public information act together and respond more swiftly in future cases when a key leader falls ill," said the emeritus professor at the Australian Defense Force Academy in Canberra.

"At the same time Vietnam Communist Party leaders should make explicit the line of succession and the protocols that are in place to maintain continuity in leadership. But first, given Trong's early departure from the National Assembly meeting, responsible Vietnamese officials should make clear whether or not Trong will resume official duties."

Edited by Taejun Kang and Elaine Chan.

Updated to add comment from Carl Thayer.

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Experts urge Philippines to remain restrained after longest pause of provocation in South China Sea

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun Published: Jan 15, 2024 08:23 PM

It has been apparently more than one month since the Philippines last sent ships to trespass into waters off China's Ren'ai Jiao (also known as Ren'ai Reef), marking the longest pause in Manila's provocations since August.

This is a situation that marked a temporary de-escalation in tensions in the South China Sea after China displayed its determination in safeguarding its sovereign security and maritime rights with legitimate measures, experts said on Monday

But experts also warned that the Philippines, along with the US that stands behind it, will not easily give up their goals in the long term, with the Philippines having announced plans to develop islands in the South China Sea to make them more habitable for troops.

The latest round of Philippine provocation off Ren'ai Jiao took place in December 10, 2023, when the China Coast Guard (CCG) took restriction measures against Philippine vessels that attempted to send illegal construction materials to the Philippines' illegally grounded warship on Ren'ai Jiao, the CCG announced at the time.

The Philippines has made a total of seven similar attempts since the first one on August 5, 2023, followed by provocations on August 22, September 8, October 4, October 22, November 10 and December 10, on intervals mostly shorter than a month.

Over one month has passed and with no new information coming from the CCG, another round of the Philippines attempting to send construction materials to its illegally grounded warship at Ren'ai Jiao has apparently not taken place as of press time, marking the longest pause since the start of this round of tensions, observers said.

Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday that the tensions in the South China Sea have eased up recently, and one of the main reasons is that the Chinese side has firmly made its position known and displayed its determination in safeguarding its sovereignty over its islands and reefs as well as its maritime interests.

In addition to the legitimate, professional and restrained restriction measures applied by the CCG, the Chinese People's Liberation Army also held routine patrols and exercises from January 3 to 5 in the South China Sea when the Philippines and the US conducted provocative joint military maneuvers in the region from January 3 to 4.

The Southern Theater Command said at the time that any military activities that upset the situation or create tension in the South China Sea were completely under control.

Xu said that China has issued stern warnings to the Philippines and demanded that it is not to go too far.

Another reason behind the de-escalation is that the international community has also urged the Philippines not to play with fire in the South China Sea issue, including other ASEAN member states that also have interests when it comes to peace and stability in the region, Xu said.

The US military also scaled down the joint patrol with the Philippines at the start of the month, according to media reports.

As it was the US that has instigated the Philippines in provoking China, it also does not want the Philippines to go so far that a conflict could break out, a Chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Monday.

If the US joins such a conflict, the risks are too big for the US to bear, and the US is not willing to sacrifice its interests for the interests of the Philippines; but if the US does not join the fight, then it will lose trust and influence over its allies, the expert said.

But neither the US nor the Philippines has given up their goals, with the US still scheming to contain China using the Philippines as a foothold in the region, and the Philippines still eyeing to seize Ren'ai Jiao, experts said.

The Philippines will develop islands in the South China Sea that it considers part of its territory to make them more habitable for troops, Manila's military chief Romeo Brawner said on Monday, Reuters reported.

The issue is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon, and another round of provocation by the Philippines should not be ruled out, analysts said, urging the Philippines to remain restrained, or the tensions could rise again.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Monday that regardless of the current easing situation, China should enhance management and control over Ren'ai Jiao.

If the Philippines insists on building infrastructures on Ren'ai Jiao, tensions will surely escalate further, and China will take more measures in deterring the Philippines' attempts, Song said.

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Statement in English by IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, January 15th, 2024

IDF Press Release

Official Statement

15.01.24

IDF

On October 7th, Hamas invaded Israel, murdering, raping, mutilating, and kidnapping people who only moments before were celebrating life.

38-year-old Itay Svirsky was visiting his parents on Kibbutz Be'eri, celebrating the Jewish holiday Simchat Torah. Itay's parents were murdered by Hamas. Itay was taken hostage into Gaza.

56-year-old Yossi Sharabi was at home with his family. He hid with his wife and children in their home on Kibbutz Be'eri. He was kidnapped in front of their eyes.

26-year-old Noa Argamani was with her friends celebrating peace at the Nova Music festival before being seized by Hamas. The image of Noa on the back of a motorcycle, surrounded by Hamas terrorists, crying out for help  shook the world.

Itay, Yossi, and Noa are some of the innocent civilians being held in Hamas captivity. Yesterday, Hamas released a video of them, as though their innocent lives are pawns in Hamas's twisted reality show of terror.

Hamas is weaponizing social media as an instrument of war. Hamas wages psychological warfare to terrorize and torment the hostages, their families, and the world.

This is a new benchmark in barbarism set by Hamas.

Humanity's response to this form of terror must be as determined  as Hamas's tactics are cruel.

We have gathered valuable information that we are currently looking into. We are in contact with the hostage families involved.

Noa Argamani's mother is terminally ill. Her dying wish is to see her daughter once again. Noa was meant to be released and reunited with her mother as part of the Hostage Release Agreement that Hamas had agreed to.

But on December 1st, Hamas chose to violate its obligation, break the agreement, and reignite this tragic war.

Hamas is dedicated to death and destruction, while Israel is dedicated and determined to sanctify life and fight for every one.

Every life is an entire world.

Every minute is critical as we fulfill our critical mission: To bring our hostages home.

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Hezbollah targets 3 Israeli military bases with missile

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 15, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- The Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance movement has targeted three Israeli military bases in northern occupied lands.

Hezbollah said in a statement on Monday that its fighters targeted three military bases, including Birket Risha, Al-Mutela, and Ramim with missiles.

The statement maintained that the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the Birket Risha site with Burkan missiles, achieving direct hits.

In support of the Palestinian people and resistance in Gaza and in light of the Israeli aggression on the various South Lebanon villages, the Islamic Resistance continued striking the Zionist occupation sites near the Lebanon border.

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Iran condemns UK foreign secretary's unfounded remarks

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 15, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani has strongly condemned unfounded remarks made by UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron about tensions in the Red Sea.

Kanaani on Monday characterized Cameron's remarks as a futile attempt to justify the recent aggressive actions by the United States and the United Kingdom in the Red Sea and to deviate global public opinion away from the Israeli regime's genocidal acts in Gaza.

"Those who began the new millennium by starting bloody wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and, without learning a lesson for the past, are now complicit in the current crimes of the Zionist regime against the oppressed people of Palestine in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, are too disgraceful to be able to make allegations against Iran," he said.

The US and the UK carried out coordinated airstrikes against Yemen on Friday amid heightened tensions in the Red Sea, where the Yemeni armed forces have been attacking Israeli-linked vessels in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza.

Cameron said on Sunday that Iran must "talk with its proxies" to ease tensions in the Red Sea.

Iran has asserted that resistance groups in Yemen and elsewhere in the region act independently and make their own decisions.

Kanaani emphasized that the military aggression by the US and the UK against Yemen violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent country, contravened the UN Charter and the principles of international law.

He suggested that such actions will only encourage the Israeli regime to commit more war crimes and expand the scope of tension in the region.

Kanaani said that the Islamic Republic sees immediate action to halt Israeli atrocities in Gaza as only way to prevent further tension and establish peace and stability in the West Asian region.

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Israeli regime fired at with 11K missiles during Gaza war: Army statement

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 15, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- The army of the Zionist regime admits thousands of missiles have been launched against its targets during the Gaza war.

Lebanese media Elnashra cited an Israeli army statement on Monday showing that resistance groups in Gaza and Lebanon had fired some 11,000 missiles at targets controlled by the Zionist regime since the start of the war in Gaza October 7, 2023.

Of those missiles, some 9,000 have been fired from Gaza and another 2,000 from southern Lebanon, said the report.

It said the Israeli army have called up to 295,000 members of its reserve forces, with average period of service reaching 61 days.

Over 9,000 Israeli soldiers have suffered mental problems because of the war in Gaza.

Latest figures released by the Israeli military shows that some 514 soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the regime's ground offensive against Gaza in late October.

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Ansarullah: Yemen to become graveyard of Americans after US aggression

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 15, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- Ali al-Qahoum, a top official of Yemen's ruling Houthi Ansarullah movement, has said that the US has opened "the doors of the hell to itself" by committing aggression against Yemen, pledging that Sana'a would give a painful response that would turn Yemen into "the graveyard of the Americans".

"We tell the Americans that your actions against Yemen will be defeated and we will confront you with all of our power. After this aggression, Yemen will turn into the graveyard of the Americans and they will leave the region in humiliation," Al-Qahoum, a member of Yemen's Ansarullah Political Bureau, said on Monday in an interview with IRNA International Desk.

He made the comments as tensions are running high following US-led Western airstrikes that have targeted different areas across Yemen in the past few days over what Washington and its allies have described as threats to international shipping in the Red Sea.

Yemen has rejected the allegation and said that its attacks have only targeted Israeli-linked ships in an effort to force the regime to stop its military campaign in Gaza where nearly 24,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7.

The Ansarullah official said that the US-led airstrikes violated international law and Yemen's sovereignty and were aimed at opposing the Arab country's national stance on supporting Gazans and on the strategic operation in the Red Sea.

With this aggression, al-Qahoum said, the US and its allies began a war with Yemen and they should await "strategic blows and a more painful response" from the country.

They will definitely regret their decision to commit this act of aggression and will pay a heavy price, he stressed, adding that "Yemeni leaders, armed forces and people are fully prepared to enter a direct and all-out war with the Great Satan to defend Palestine."

The Ansarullah official reiterated that operations against Israeli-linked ships will continue until the aggression against Gaza ends, with Yemen being proud of standing by the Palestinian nation until final victory and the annihilation of the Israeli regime.

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CENTCOM: Missile fired from Yemen downed in Red Sea

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 15, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- US Central Command (CENTCOM) has claimed that it shot down a missile targeting one of its warships in the Red Sea that had been fired from Yemen, as tensions mount in a waterway crucial for international shipping and amid the Israeli regime's war on Gaza.

CENTCOM said in a statement early Monday that US fighter jets had shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired from Yemen at the USS Laboon operating in the southern Red Sea.

The missile was downed close to Yemen's western port of al-Hudaydah on Sunday afternoon, with no report of injuries or damage, according to CENTCOM, which is responsible for US military activities in the West Asia region.

The incident happened as tensions run high following joint US-UK bombings of Yemen in the past few days which the two have justified as a response to the Arab country's operations against Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea.

Late on Sunday, Yemeni media reported fresh strikes by Washington and London, saying that the attacks hit areas in the western province of al-Hudaydah.

Yemen has described as "criminal aggression" the strikes which began on Friday (Jan. 12) and left five Yemeni armed forces killed that day. The same day, the Yemeni army issued a statement, saying that the aggression would not go unpunished.

Since mid-November, Yemen has been attacking Israeli vessels or those bound for ports in the occupied Palestine in a bid to exert pressure on the regime to stop its bloodshed against the Palestinians in Gaza.

Yemen has rejected claims by the US and its allies that its operations threaten international shipping, and said that it would continue its anti-Israel attacks until the genocide of Palestinians ends.

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Israeli army acknowledges effectiveness of Hezbollah attacks

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 15, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- A spokesman for the Israeli regime's army has admitted the success of missile attacks by Lebanon's resistance movement Hezbollah on northern territories of occupied Palestine.

According to Lebanese news website Elnashra, spokesman for the Israeli regime's army Avichay Adraee acknowledged that Hezbollah's missile attack on the northern occupied territories left two Israeli troopers killed.

The spokesman noted that the two Israelis were killed by an anti-tank missile fired by Hezbollah fighters in Kfar Yuval town.

Some Israeli media outlets had also reported death of two Israelis as a result of a missile attack from Lebanon.

Following the onset of the Israeli regime's aggression against the Gaza Strip and the relentless bombardment of residential, educational, and medical centers in the besieged area by the Tel Aviv regime's fighter jets, which has so far left around 24,000 martyrs, mostly children and women, several Islamic resistance groups in the region such as Lebanon's Hezbollah, Yemen's Ansarullah, and Iraq's resistance movements got involved in direct combat against the Israeli regime, which can be seen as one of the best achievements of the Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, which has inflicted irreparable damage upon the occupying regime.

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3 armed drones downed near U.S. military base in northern Iraq

Xinhua) 16:53, January 16, 2024

BAGHDAD, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Defense systems downed three armed drones on Tuesday near the military bases hosting U.S. and other international troops at the Erbil International Airport in northern Iraq, Iraqi regional counter-terrorism service reported.

The statement from the service of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region did not say if there were any casualties or damage to infrastructure due to the attack.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Hyundai Creta facelift: First look video

2024 Hyundai Creta facelift LIVE Updates: Check the first look of new Creta With the unveiling of the pricing of the new Creta, the launch event comes to an end. To read more on the all-new 2024 Hyundai Creta facelift, check here. That's all from the launch event. Thank you for staying tuned to us. To get more updates on the world of cars and bikes stay tuned to HT Auto.

2024 Hyundai Creta facelift LIVE Updates: New Creta is here with a host of updates Check the introductory price list of the new Creta.

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2024 Hyundai Creta facelift LIVE Updates: Creta launched at a starting price of 11 lakh The Hyundai Creta facelift comes at a starting price of 10,99,900 (ex-showroom), which is introductory. The pricing goes up to 19,99,900 (ex-showroom).

Quick recap The new Hyundai Creta facelift comes re-energising the midsize SUV segment with a significantly updated design and a wide range of new convenience and safety features.

2024 Hyundai Creta facelift LIVE Updates: Multiple drive modes The new 2024 Hyundai Creta facelift offers multiple driving modes. The three driving modes are Eco, Normal, and Sport. Additionally, the updated iteration of the midsize SUV features three traction modes, including Snow, Mud, and Sand. These modes provide the SUV adaptability for diverse driving conditions.

2024 Hyundai Creta facelift LIVE Updates: Dimensions Dimensionally, the 2024 Hyundai Creta facelift measures 4,330 mm in length, 1,790 mm in width and 1,635 mm in height with the roof rails. It also comes with the same 2,610 mm wheelbase as the predecessor. Clearly, the midsize SUV has not changed much on the dimension front.

2024 Hyundai Creta facelift LIVE Updates: SUVs propelling growth Hyundai claims SUVs accounted for 9 per cent of the total sales of Hyundai India in 2015, and now it is at 60 per cent. The Creta sits alongside other SUVs of the brand including Venue, Kona Electric, Alcazar, Venue N Line, Exter.

2024 Hyundai Creta facelift LIVE Updates: One Creta sold every five minute Hyundai claims its Creta SUV has sold one unit every five minutes across India over the last eight and half years, helping the brand to be a major player in the country's rapidly bulging SUV space. Hyundai also claims the Creta contributes 31 per cent to overall midsize SUV sales in India.

2024 Hyundai Creta facelift LIVE Updates: Safety first For passenger safety, the all-new 2024 Hyundai Creta facelift gets six airbags, disc brakes on all four wheels, Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), a 360-degree camera offering surround view of the car and much more. Significantly, the model comes equipped with Level 2 ADAS (advanced driver assistance system) with as many as 19 features. Hyundai also claims the new Creta comes with improved structural rigidity ensuring better energy absorption of the bodyshell. The floor and side sill too claim to have been improved to offer better crash protection.

2024 Hyundai Creta facelift LIVE Updates: Loaded with features The 2024 Hyundai Creta facelift gets a host of fresh features inside its cabin. The features introduced to the updated iteration of the midsize SUV include dual-zone climate control, Level 2 ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) with as many as 19 connected features, a 360-degree camera, and a fully digital drivers display. The rest of the features, such as the Bose sound system, ventilated front seats, and powered drivers seat should be carried forward into the new model from the predecessor. The new model gets automatic climate control for the rear occupants.

2024 Hyundai Creta facelift LIVE Updates: Heavily revamped cabin The 2024 Hyundai Creta facelift gets a significantly revamped interior. Stepping inside the 2024 Creta the first thing that grabs attention is the new dashboard layout, inspired by Hyundai's latest models sold abroad. Another highlight of the cabin is the twin 10.25-inch display setup for the touchscreen infotainment system and the digital instrument panel. It gets multi-colour ambient lighting further elevating the premium vibe of the cabin. The dashboard layout has been revamped significantly with new layout and features.

2024 Hyundai Creta facelift LIVE Updates: Deep delving into engine bay The 2024 Hyundai Creta facelift would come with three different engine options. The 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine would be available with transmission options of a six-speed manual gearbox, while there would be a six-speed iVT on offer as well. This engine would come churning out 113 bhp peak power and 144 Nm of maximum torque. The other petrol motor on offer will be a 1.5-litre turbocharged unit, which will be available with a seven-speed DCT unit. This engine will be able to generate 157 bhp peak power and 253 Nm of maximum torque. On the other hand, the 1.5-litre diesel engine would be available with an option of a six-speed manual gearbox and a six-speed automatic unit. This power mill will be able to pump out 114 bhp of peak power and 250 Nm of maximum torque.

2024 Hyundai Creta facelift LIVE Updates: Whats powering the SUV The 2024 Hyundai Creta facelift will be available in seven different variants and will be offered with three different engine options, including a 1.5-litre petrol, a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol and a 1.5-litre diesel unit. Transmission options for the updated iteration of this popular midsize SUV will include a six-speed manual, a six-speed iVT, a six-speed iMT, a six-speed automatic and a seven-speed DCT unit. This means the buyers of the new Creta will be spoilt with choices of a variety of engine and transmission options. The 2024 Hyundai Creta facelift gets three different engine options

2024 Hyundai Creta facelift LIVE Updates: What's in the base variant The entry-level variant of the 2024 Hyundai Creta facelift was recently spotted at a dealership. The base variant of the SUV seems to have been accessorised enough to offer an upmarket vibe. While it doesn't come with dual LED headlamps, the variant features projector lamps and L-shaped LED daytime running lights. Besides that, it also features black plastic cladding and silver wheel caps. However, it misses out on features like roof rails, keyless entry, rear wiper and defogger. Inside the cabin, the base variant of the new Creta gets a dual-screen setup, albeit a smaller eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system along with a fully digital instrument cluster. Other features include manual AC, electric ORVMs and manually adjustable IRVM.

2024 Hyundai Creta facelift LIVE Updates: Creta vs rivals It may be rather lonely at the top but Hyundai Creta has still had to fend off some very serious and credible attack from rivals. While Creta toppled Duster from its pedestal in 2015-16, its own crown has been under constant attack from rivals. Kia made its India debut with Seltos in 2019 and updated the model in 2023. Seltos is a technical twin of Creta and fares strongly in the market here. In fact, it is solely responsible for allowing Kia to gain a solid foothold in India. Then there is the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara and Toyota Hyryder  late to the party but playing very strong. Both models also offer strong hybrid technology which is a major shot in the arm. The likes of Skoda Kushaq and Volkswagen Taigun have helped the brands spread their wings in India while Mahindra Scorpio-N, Tata Harrier and MG Astor also compete in this same space.

2024 Hyundai Creta facelift LIVE Updates: Whats in a face? When initial rounds of rumours regarding an updated Creta for India were doing the rounds, it was speculated that the company would bring the design language that is on the Creta sold in Indonesia. This design element primarily sees the parametric-jewel pattern on the front grille, complete with the angel-wings DRL scheme. This is also close to what the Tucson has on its face at present. But the India-spec Creta instead gets a block-chain grille on the face and an entirely new DRL pattern. Company officials say that this is more in line with the latest design language being pushed out globally and is also the result of an extensive feedback session from buyers here. This is not the Creta India is getting. Here is the Creta on sale in Indonesian market and do note the grille on the face is similar to the one on the Tucson SUV.

Quick recap With 9.80 lakh units sold, Creta - launched first in 2015 - is a mid-size SUV segment leader. It is offered in both petrol and diesel motor. There have been two generations of the SUV and the upcoming model is a facelift.

2024 Hyundai Creta LIVE Updates: Why persist with diesel? At a time when several manufacturers are ditching diesel engines, Hyundai continues to back its diesel also strategy. Of course, the company does not have hybrid technology in the country so far but it also claims that there is genuine demand for diesel variants for its SUVs like Creta and Tucson. On the new Creta, the 1.5-litre CRDi diesel motor has been carried forward.

2024 Hyundai Creta LIVE Updates: Creta in numbers Around 9.80 lakh Hyundai Creta units have been sold in the Indian market since 2015. Just last year, Hyundai managed to sell around 13,000 units of Creta each month, finishing the calendar year with a pending order bank of around 25,000 units. Considering that the facelift version has been in the offing for a while, these are some seriously impressive numbers. Creta is one of the few mid-size SUVs in the Indian market that continues to come with both petrol as well as diesel engine options. This is a file photo of second-generation Hyundai Creta.

Colour options on Creta vs Creta 2024 The 2024 Hyundai Creta is set to come in six single-tone colour options as well as one dual-tone shade. Of these, Robust Emerald Pearl is absolutely new. Also, whille some shades like Galaxy Blue will be discontinued on the latest model, a few other colour shades have been tweaked. These were the colour options on the existing Creta SUV model so far. Do note that this does not include the Ranger Khaki that was also subsequently introduced on the second-gen model.

Hyundai's current India model lineup Hyundai's product lineup at present has changed since the Creta was first launched. Back in 2015, Santro was the smallest Hyundai money could buy and was still faring decently well. The Santro now has been taken off the shelves and it is the Grand i10 Nios that is the smallest Hyundai in India. Then there are the more expensive Hyundai models like Elantra executive sedan and Santa Fe SUV that too have exited India. Joining the family have been cars like Venue (first launched in May of 2019), Aura sedan (launched in January of 2020), Kona EV (launched in July of 2019), Ioniq 5 EV (launched in January of 2023) and Exter (launched in June of 2023). The likes of Verna and Tucson have persisted even as Creta remains the champion in the family.

Ever wondered what Creta means? Hyundai models tend to have names that take you on a world tour. Wheter it is the Tucson (city in the US), Kona (western district of Hawaii) or Santa Fe (city in New Mexico). As such, even the 'Creta' name is an ode to the Crete islands in Greece. Of course, the car doesn't go by this name everywhere - sold in China as iX25. And this could be either because of marketing strategy or name trademark-related issues.

2024 Hyundai Creta LIVE Updates: Journey so far The first-generation Creta was launched in India back in 2015. It was a time when Renault Duster ruled the segment and was praised for its robust build and solid drive credentials. But here was a model from the Koreans that instantly connected with potential buyers because of its catchy styling, spacious styling and relatively generous feature list. The petrol motor was reliable and the diesel unit had a whole lot of spirit. Having an automatic transmission version also helped. The first-generation Creta was a big hit which helped the facelift model  launched in 2018  build on sales numbers. Then there was the second-generation Creta brought in in 2020, complete with a far more rounded exterior design language. The transition from sharp lines to a rounded design approach may have divided opinions but there was no slowing down the popularity of the model. And it is now time for the 2024 Hyundai Creta to potentially extend its dominance in the segment The first-generation Hyundai Creta set the ball rolling for the company in the SUV space, much like how Santro had helped it establish a firm foothold in the Indian automotive space in the late 1990s.
West Bank unrest can harm goals in Gaza: Israeli minister

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 15, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- Israel's Minister of Military Affairs, Yoav Gallant has warned against an increase in unrest in the West Bank amid the regime's brutal raids across the occupied territories as well as its genocidal war on the besieged Gaza Strip.

According to Al Jazeera, Gallant said a strong Palestinian Authority is in the interest of Israel but added that the regime must not allow the Gaza war to lead to an increase in operations throughout the West Bank.

"The tension in the West Bank should be prevented in any way, including by resolving the issue of Palestinian workers and the financial resources of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority because the unrest there can harm Israel's goals in Gaza", he said.

The warning comes as the West Bank remained over deadly Israeli raids in Palestinian cities and towns on almost daily basis.

The Zionist regime has intensified its incursion and demolition drive across the occupied territories since the beginning of a genocidal war on Gaza.

Over the past 100 days, more than 340 Palestinians have been killed by the hands of Israeli forces and settlers. The regime has also abducted hundreds of Palestinians there ever since.

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Biden vows diplomacy to release Israeli captives

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 15, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- US President Joe Biden says he will keep communicating with Qatar, Egypt and the Zionist regime for the release of captives held by Palestinian resistance fighters.

Biden in a statement posted on the White House website on Sunday, said that his administration has been seeking the return of Israeli captives through diplomacy since October 7, without mentioning the return of Palestinians illegally held in Israeli jails for months and years.

The US president also tried to take credit for the return of two Americans freed by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in October. Biden said his action paid off their return, adding that the US also coordinated closely with Qatar, Egypt and the Israeli regime for a seven-day ceasefire and the release of 105 captives in November.

He further emphasized that the recent visit of Anthony Blinken, the Secretary of State to the West Asian region was aimed at striking an agreement for the release of all captives.

The Israeli regime and its main backer the United States are under intense pressure as they have failed so far to get captives freed despite flattening Gaza with aerial and ground bombardments.

According to the Israeli regime, some 240 people were taken captive by Hamas on October 7 when the Palestinian resistance movement launched its unprecedented Operation Al-Aqsa Storm.

Israel has been witnessing protests almost on a daily basis, with people calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the return of Israeli captives from Gaza.

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Resistance forces in region act independently: Iran FM

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 15, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says the Islamic Republic doesn't give orders to regional resistance forces, including Yemen rather they act independently within the framework of own interests.

While presenting a report on the latest foreign policy situation and the development in the international arena, Amir-Abdollahian focused on the role of the resistance axis in the West Asian region.

"In the complex world where the resistance plays a role today, the world has witnessed that the only one group, Hamas, could cause the collapse of political, military structure and psychological state of the occupying regime in the October 7 operation", the foreign minister told the representatives of Iran's Supreme Leader as well as heads of Friday prayers who had gathered from across the country at the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini to renew their allegiance to the late founder of the Islamic Republic.

He accused the US, the Zionist regime and some western countries of portraying the October 7 operation as a terrorist act. "The Al-Aqsa storm was an anti-occupation operation by a liberation movement against an illegitimate occupation regime".

The Iranian foreign minister also touched on 100 days of Israel's genocidal bombing and shelling campaign in Gaza that has claimed nearly 25,000 lives of innocent Palestinians, mostly women and children. He said that the Zionist regime did not achieve any of its declared goals in the attacks on Gaza.

Amir-Abdollahian decried the US support for the Zionist regime, calling it a big mistake on the part of the American government. "The Israeli regime and its backers were mistaken with their thought that they could destroy Hamas in a short period of time", he noted.

"Of course, the Islamic Republic from the beginning of the Israeli regime's genocide in Gaza has said that the war is not the solution and resistance will act with force", he clarified.

The top Iranian diplomat also explained the power of activism of non-governmental groups and said the resistance movements now have the power to strengthen peace and security in the region.

4399

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Resistance rockets rain down on US bases in Syria, Iraq

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 15, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- Three American military bases in Syria and Iraq have come under fresh rocket attacks amid heightened tensions in the region over Washington's support for the Israeli regime's deadly onslaught on the Gaza Strip.

Iraq's Islamic Resistance has claimed responsibility, saying its fighters launched rocket attacks on "three occupation bases in Iraq and Syria" namely Kharab Al-Jir Base, Erbil Airport Base, and Koniko Base.

"Attacks are in continuation of our path in resisting the American occupation forces in Iraq and the region, and in response to the Zionist regime's massacres of our people in Gaza", the Islamic Resistance said in a statement.

Just two days ago, the same US base in the Koniko natural gas field in Syria's Deir ez-Zor province was targeted with missiles and rockets by resistance groups.

According to the Al-Mayadeen TV network, at least 10 rockets were fired at the Kharab al-Jir military base located in the northeastern countryside of al-Hasakah province.

Sabereen News which operates its own media channels on Telegram reported that a column of smoke was seen rising over these 2 American military facilities in Syria.

There were no immediate reports of possible casualties or damage from the latest attacks on these bases.

Since the onset of the Zionist regime's war on Gaza, resistance groups in the region have been targeting Israeli and American facilities in a show of support for the oppressed Palestinians.

Iraq's Islamic Resistance has targeted US bases in Iraq and Syria more than a hundred times in retaliation for the Israeli regime's crimes against Palestinians in Gaza.

4399





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Abu Obeida: Israeli claims of seizure, control are 'ridiculous'

ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency

Mon / 15 January 2024 / 12:21

Al-Qassam Brigades Military Spokesperson addresses Palestinians and the people of the Ummah on the 100th day of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and promises close victory.

Tehran-ISNA- Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades has received messages from its allies in Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen, in which Resistance factions have revealed their intent to intensify military operations against the Israeli occupation, Abu Obeida, the military spokesperson for Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades, stated.

In a broadcast videotaped address, marking the 100th day of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, Abu Obeida emphasized that the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood is a critical point in the history of the Palestinian people and the Ummah, saying it is a "scream that resonated [deeply], freeing the [entire] nations and colonized people."

The spokesperson highlighted great disparities between the Resistance and the Israeli occupation, in terms of military capabilities, in which the Palestinian Resistance was able to overcome these difficulties and deal heavy blows to the occupation. He stressed that the operation launched on October 7 came as a response to the Israeli "massacres that sought to crush our people."

Abu Obeida said the Resistance in the Gaza Strip inflicted significant losses on the enemy and continues to do so. He said that the losses incurred by the occupation, throughout its invasion of the Gaza Strip, surpass those inflicted on it on October 7. He added that the ground operations conducted by the Resistance fighters, in the context of the ongoing battle, "will go down in our Ummah's history as one of the greatest and holiest struggles."

Gaza's greatest product: Palestinian fighters

In terms of numbers, the spokesperson said al-Qassam fighters destroyed and targeted around 1,000 Israeli military vehicles in the Gaza Strip. He stressed that most of the weapons used by the faction's fighters were homegrown weapons, which included improvised explosive devices, rocket-propelled grenades, claymores, explosively formed penetrators, sniper rifles, and bullets, among other equipment.

However, Abu Obeida emphasized that these weapons would have been futile were it not for the "most crucial [locally produced] product," which is Palestinian fighters, who creatively utilized these tools to bravely confront occupation forces, despite the harsh conditions.

"Al-Qassam Brigades and these [weapons] would not have been of any benefit against the dirty American arsenal were it not for the most crucial product, which is the Palestinian fighter, whose will and determination stand as an unstoppable force on the ground."

Ceasefire or nothing

Addressing future operations and the main goals of al-Qassam Brigades, the spokesperson made it clear that any talks that do not revolve around a commitment to stop the aggression against the Palestinian people "have no value." He also highlighted that the Resistance's operations would keep on expanding on a daily basis until the occupation halts its hostilities.

As for the multiple Israeli captives held by the Resistance in the Gaza Strip, Abu Obeida stressed that the fate of many captives has recently become unknown, indicating that many of them have likely been killed. He held the occupation responsible for their fate, reaffirming that "the enemy failed to achieve its objectives and could not free any captive held by the Resistance."

In response to the occupation, Abu Obeida clarified that the enemy's alleged achievements were "laughable". He pointed specifically to claims made by the Israeli occupation forces regarding strikes on loaded multiple rocket launchers and weapon depots, saying the Resistance had taken precautionary measures on October 7 to distribute stored weapons, a statement which debunks Israeli lies.

Messages received; operations to expand

"We extend greetings to the fighters in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and all fronts of the Ummah. We mourn their martyrs, and the world has witnessed how the forces of darkness (the collective West) formed alliances and struck those who support the people of Gaza," Abu Obeida said, addressing people outside Palestine.

The spokesperson revealed that al-Qassam Brigades has "received messages from [Resistance factions] in the region indicating that they will expand their operations in the coming days, amid the continued aggression on Gaza."

Furthermore, Abu Obeida urged the Mulsim Ummah to rise against the Israeli occupation, which seeks to "control al-Aqsa [Mosque]."

"It is our duty to inform billions of Muslims around the world that the Zionist enemy has destroyed most mosques in the Gaza Strip," Abu Obeida highlighted in his call to action.

Finally, the spokesperson concluded by saying, "The dawn of freedom for all our people is approaching by the will of Allah. The efforts and blood of our people will not be in vain."

End Item

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Iran FM: Israel fell apart on October 7

ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency

Mon / 15 January 2024 / 12:11

Iran Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says Israel's political and security structure suffered a collapse after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas launched its military operation against the regime in October.

Tehran-ISNA- Speaking during a ceremony on Sunday, Amir-Abdollahian said that in such a complicated world, everyone witnessed that only Hamas succeeded in destroying Israel's political and security structure through its Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, launched on October 7.

He added that Israel changed its goal after failing to defeat Hamas and put the discovery of tunnels and the release of prisoners by resorting to military power.

However, the regime faced another defeat also in this field and now is pursuing a path towards political solutions, he said.

The top Iranian diplomat emphasized that Israel achieved none of its goals through its attacks against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

He noted that Operation Al-Aqsa Storm was an operation by a liberation movement against the occupation of an illegitimate regime.

"The United States, the Zionist regime (Israel), and some Western countries tried to introduce the October 7 operation as a terrorist act, which was dispelled by the constructive diplomacy of the resistance," Amir-Abdollahian argued.

The Iranian minister said the United States made a "big mistake" by providing Israel with extensive support, adding that it was a complete miscalculation by Israel and its allies who thought they could destroy Hamas in a short period of time.

He once again reiterated that the resistance forces in the region act "independently and based on their own interests" and receive no order from Iran.

"Since the beginning of the Israeli regime's genocide in Gaza, the Islamic Republic of Iran said that war is not a solution and that the resistance will act strongly," Amir-Abdollahian said.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance carried out an unprecedented operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

So far, the Tel Aviv regime has killed nearly 24,000 people, mostly women and children, in Gaza.

End Item



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Hezbollah: Israel stuck in failure, We ready for any war

ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency

Mon / 15 January 2024 / 11:47

Israel is stuck in "failure" and in "a deep hole" it has dug in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said.

Tehran (ISNA) - Speaking at the one-week anniversary of the martyrdom of Resistance leader and martyr Wissam Tawil (Hajj Jawad), on Sunday, Sayyed Nasrallah hailed the Resistance of Gaza and its people, calling their steadfastness "legendary".

"For one hundred days, Gaza and its people continue to steadfastly resist, in a legendary manner [that history has not witnessed]," the Lebanese Resistance leader confirmed.

Pointing to the role the Palestinian Resistance's Military Media had to play in archiving and publicizing the events, resistance operations, and battles in Gaza, Sayyed Nasrallah said, "Gaza's Resistance has creatively responded to the aggression, and the Military Media has had a major role in revealing its heroism in contrast to Israeli secrecy [on developments]."

"Israel is mired in failure and stuck in a deep hole it has dug in the Gaza Strip, as its analysts confirm, and it has not achieved any victory or even an 'image' of victory," the Secretary-General of Hezbollah explained, highlighting Israel's military failures in the Gaza Strip.

The enemy, according to Sayyed Nasrallah, is still fighting to achieve some sort of "achievement" before moving to the third phase of the war in which it will reposition its deployed forces.

100 days of legendary Resistance and mounting Israeli losses

Reflecting on the mounting Israeli losses, Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that this point is further confusing the occupation, especially considering the reports revealed by Israeli media regarding the presence of "4,000 disabled soldiers in its military ranks in [only] 100 days, a number that may rise and reach 30,000."

When the war stops, the enemy will have to deal with the catastrophe that befell it as a result of the Resistance in Gaza and other supporting fronts, the Lebanese Resistance leader stressed.

"The occupation's human losses are accumulating in [Gaza, the West Bank, and the Lebanese-Palestinian border], in addition to the economic losses and the cost of displacement," he said.

In this context, Sayyed Nasrallah emphasized that "any hope of forcefully retrieving Israeli captives from the Palestinian Resistance has been laid to rest."

On inner Israeli dynamics and politics, the Lebanese Resistance leader said the Israeli public has become confident that "their government is incompetent and must be replaced and so does their President," which, according to Sayyed Nasrallah, is "a clear admission of failure."

Commenting on Israel's prosecution in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), after South Africa filed a lawsuit condemning the occupation of genocide, Sayyed Nasrallah said Israel's real face has been exposed to the world, as revealed in the Hague earlier.

Effective support of the Axis of Resistance

Addressing the developments across the multiple fronts supporting the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah's Secretary-General said if the current failures mount for the Israeli occupation in the West Bank, Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq, paired with losses incurred in Gaza, the Israeli occupation's government will be forced to accept the conditions set by the Resistance for a ceasefire.

"The Americans and many Western countries worked over a period of one hundred days to silence, subjugate, and thwart the other fronts," Sayyed Nasrallah revealed, as he highlighted the integral role that the US has played in prolonging the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

Turbelant Red Sea

Sayyed Nasrallah then delved into the details of the major events that have occurred on specific fronts in the region.

On Yemen and the Red Sea, the Lebanese Resistance leader spoke of "American and British foolishness" as well as contradictory American policy and actions, in relation to the recent US-UK-led aggression on several Governates in Yemen.

In fact, the Resistance leader said the aggression by the US would only harm the security of international maritime navigation, as the attack would turn the Red Sea into a battlefield.

Hezbollah undeterred by US threats; ready for war

Sayyed Nasrallah further emphasized that the threat of war should be a concern for Israel, not Lebanon. He stressed that the Resistance has been ready for any war imposed on Lebanon for the past 99 days.

"We have been ready for war for (the past) 99 days and we are not afraid of it. We will fight without restrictions or boundaries [if war is imposed on us]," the Resistance leader concluded.

End Item





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U.S. navy shoots down anti-ship missile fired from Yemen: Central Command

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 16:30, January 15, 2024

SANAA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. navy airforce shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen toward a navy battleship, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement on early Monday morning.

The missile, which was fired at approximately 4:45 p.m. (1345 GMT) on Sunday toward a destroyer of the U.S. navy operating in the southern Red Sea, was intercepted in the vicinity of the coast of Hodeidah by U.S. fighter aircraft, said the central command, adding that no injuries or damage were reported.

Nearly at the same time on Sunday, the Houthis claimed that a warplane of the U.S.-Britain maritime coalition hit a camp of the group in northern Hodeidah port city. But U.S. officials reportedly denied the allegation.

The Houthis have escalated their attacks in the Red Sea since the Israel-Hamas conflict flared up on Oct. 7. They said the attacks targeted Israel-linked commercial ships in a bid to pressure Israel to end the conflict and siege of the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip.

The Iran-backed Houthi group seized much of the country's north, forcing the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces out of the capital Sanaa and the strategic Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.

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UN chief calls for immediate Gaza ceasefire, says humanitarian situation 'beyond words'

Iran Press TV

Monday, 15 January 2024 11:21 PM

The United Nations secretary general has called for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip, which has been under Israel's genocidal war for more than three months.

Antonio Guterres made the remarks at a press briefing in New York on Monday, which marked the 101st day of the regime's brutal onslaught.

Israel's ferocious military aggression began on October 7, 2023, after Gaza's resistance groups staged Operation al-Aqsa Storm against the occupied territories.

The Israeli genocide has so far claimed the lives of more than 24,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, leaving thousands of others wounded and millions homeless. According to the world body, the war has displaced roughly 85 percent of the territory's population, forcing them into crowded shelters.

The regime has been also enforcing an all-out siege against Gaza that has prevented the flow of food, water, fuel, and medicine into the territory.

"We need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to ensure sufficient aid gets to where it is needed," Guterres said, describing the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip as "beyond words."

With aid deliveries struggling to get through to a "traumatized people," Gaza now faces "the long shadow of starvation," he said.

The "vast majority" of the UN's Palestinian staff have fled their homes and 152 staff members have been killed, Guterres said, calling the death toll from the Israeli onslaught "the largest single loss of life in the history of our organization."

"Nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people," the UN chief stressed.

He said the ceasefire was also required "to tamp down the flames of wider war because the longer the conflict in Gaza continues, the greater the risk of escalation and miscalculation."

The Israeli regime has also carried out sporadic attacks against southern Lebanon during the course of its aggression on Gaza, which have sparked a firefight with Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement.

Ever since the beginning of the war in Gaza, Iraqi and Yemeni forces have carried out many operations against targets across the occupied Palestinian territories in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

Guterres warned about what he said was escalating spillover of the conflict, saying, "This risks triggering a broader escalation...and profoundly affecting regional stability."

He added that a ceasefire is also needed in order to "facilitate" the release of Israeli captives in Gaza.

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has frequently ruled out any talks on releasing the regime's captives as long as the brutal onslaught on Gaza has not come to a full stop.

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In Numbers: 100 days of Israel's genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza

Iran Press TV

Monday, 15 January 2024 8:12 PM

By Press TV Website Staff

The Israeli regime's genocidal war on the blockaded Gaza Strip has completed 100 days.

From corpses lying unattended on the streets to hospitals and schools reduced to rubble to children made orphans and tens of thousands of people rendered homeless, the gory events unfolding in the besieged territory since October 7 are a textbook example of genocide and ethnic cleansing.

The death toll in the coastal territory since the Israeli regime launched its indiscriminate aerial and ground attacks exactly 100 days ago is now close to 24,000, most of them children and women.

Almost all hospitals and medical centers in the Gaza Strip have become defunct due to infrastructure damages as well as the lack of electricity and fuel to keep the essential services running.

Schools and universities have also been bombed. Bakeries remain shut. Almost all refugee camps have been rendered uninhabitable due to random strikes, forcing people to sleep under the open sky.

The 100 days of Israeli genocide in Gaza, based on the data released by the Gaza government:

The most important statistics of the genocidal war waged by the "Israeli" occupation regime on the Gaza Strip since October 7.

100 - the number of days of the latest genocidal war on Gaza

24,000 - the total number of fatalities in Gaza since Oct. 7

1,993 - the number of massacres committed by the regime since Oct. 7

30,843 - the number of people killed or missing since Oct. 7

23,843 - the number of people who were declared dead in hospitals

10,400 - the number of children killed since Oct. 7

7,100 - the number of women killed since Oct. 7

337 - the number of doctors and paramedics killed since Oct. 7

45 - the number of civil defense personnel killed since Oct. 7

117 - the number of Palestinian journalists killed since Oct. 7

7,000 - the number of people missing, 70 percent of them children and women

60,317 - the number of people injured since Oct. 7

6,200 - the number of injured people who need to travel for treatment

10,000 - the number of cancer patients who face the risk of death

99 - the number of health practitioners who have been arrested

10 - the number of journalists arrested since Oct. 7

2 million - the number of displaced people in the Gaza Strip

400,000 - the number of people with infectious diseases as a result of displacement

134 - the number of government buildings destroyed since Oct. 7

95 - the number of schools and universities completely destroyed since Oct. 7

295 - the number of schools and universities partially destroyed by the occupation

145 - the number of mosques completely destroyed since Oct. 7

243 - the number of mosques partially destroyed since Oct. 7

3 - the number of churches targeted and destroyed since Oct. 7

69,300 - the number of housing units completely destroyed since Oct. 7

290,000 - the number of housing units partially destroyed since Oct. 7

65,000 - tons of explosives dropped by the occupation on Gaza since Oct. 7

30 - The number of hospitals taken out of service by the occupation since Oct. 7

53 - the number of health centers that have become non-functional since Oct. 7

150 - the number of health institutions partially destroyed since Oct. 7

121 - the number of ambulances destroyed by the occupation army since Oct. 7

200 - the number of archaeological and heritage sites destroyed since Oct. 7

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Beijing (Gasgoo)- The Beijing-based major automaker BAIC Group recently unveiled its operating performance for the year 2023, reporting a remarkable annual vehicle sales figure exceeding 1.708 million units, marking a 17.6% year-on-year growth.



Photo credit: BAIC Group

The group achieved an operating income of 480.3 billion yuan and an in-Beijing production value of 292.4 billion yuan.

In 2023, BAIC Group witnessed substantial growth across its key segments. The groups wholly-owned brands passenger vehicle sales soared 69.1% from a year ago to 190,000 units, while commercial vehicle sales saw a 36.7% year-on-year surge, totaling 634,000 units. With 190,000 vehicles sold in overseas markets, BAIC Group boasted a 73.5% spike in annual export volume.

Among the groups subsidiaries, BAIC Motor underwent a comprehensive transformation encompassing brand image, technology, and ecosystem, and achieved a 60% annual auto sales increase compared to that of the previous year while witnessing remarkable international sales growth.

The groups new energy vehicle arm, BAIC BJEV, focusing on scenario-based vehicle manufacturing, doubled the annual sales of its ARCFOX premium electric vehicle brand last year.

Meanwhile, BAICs Foton Motor, leading the commercial vehicle industry, surpassed the 11 million-unit milestone in cumulative production and sales throughout 2023. With a strategic push in new energy commercial vehicles, Foton Motor sold over 40,000 new energy vehicles in the past year, representing an 84% year-on-year leap. The truck maker launched its New Energy Strategy 2.0, aiming for over 50% of new energy commercial vehicle share by 2030 and full carbon neutrality across the value chain by 2050.

BAIC Groups joint ventures, Beijing Mercedes-Benz and Beijing Hyundai, all witnessed successful outcomes in 2023, with new models contributing to an enhanced driving experience for Chinese consumers. Notably, Beijing Hyundai successfully rolled off the 12 millionth vehicle at the end of 2023.
US-owned cargo ship targeted with anti-ship ballistic missile off Yemen coast

Iran Press TV

Monday, 15 January 2024 7:08 PM

A US-owned cargo ship has been targeted by a missile off the coast of Yemen, amid heightened tensions in the Red Sea over Washington's unrelenting support for the Israeli genocidal war against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on Monday that the US-owned and -operated dry bulk ship Gibraltar Eagle had been struck with an anti-ship ballistic missile.

The vessel's US-based operator Eagle Bulk Shipping said that it was hit by an "unidentified projectile" while sailing 100 miles off the Gulf of Aden and suffered limited damage to its cargo hold, but no seafarers were injured.

"As a result of the impact, the vessel suffered limited damage to a cargo hold but is stable and is heading out of the area," Eagle Bulk said, adding that it was carrying a cargo of steel products.

Meanwhile, Yemeni Armed Forces in a statement confirmed the attack on the US vessel.

"The Yemeni Armed Forces' Navy, with the help of Allah Almighty, carried out a military operation targeting an American ship in the Gulf of Aden, using a number of suitable naval missiles, achieving a precise and direct hit," read part of the statement.

The statement added that the attack was "in support of the oppressed Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, who are still subjected to the worst kinds of massacres by the Zionist entity, and in response to the American-British aggression on our country."

Earlier in the day, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British security agency and maritime risk company, reported on its website that a US-owned vessel had been "hit from above by a missile," without providing further details.

The ship was reportedly en route to the Israeli-occupied territories, with the agency linking the attack to the US and UK raids on Yemen last week.

Since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza in early October, the United States and its Western allies have been providing financial and logistical support to the occupying regime in its ceaseless bombardment campaign against Palestinians in the besieged territory.

As part of support for the Palestinians, Yemen's Armed Forces and popular Anasrullah resistance movement have over the past month targeted several Israeli-owned and -bound ships in the strategic Red Sea after multiple warnings.

On Friday, the US and British warplanes targeted five regions of Yemen with 73 missiles, including the capital Sana'a, killing at least five people and wounding six others.

Brigadier General Yahya Saree, spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, said the United States and the United Kingdom bear full responsibility for the "criminal aggression," and the attack against the country would not go "unanswered and unpunished."

Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine's struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7 after the territory's Palestinian resistance movements carried out a surprise retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the occupying entity.

The relentless Israeli military campaign against Gaza has killed more than 24,000 people, most of them women and children, and left over 60,000 others injured.

The Tel Aviv regime has also imposed a "complete siege" on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.

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UNRWA: In Gaza, largest displacement of Palestinians since 1948

Iran Press TV

Monday, 15 January 2024 6:47 PM

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) says Israel has forcibly displaced a considerably large number of Palestinians during its continuing genocidal campaign in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The UN agency on Monday provided some updates about the Israeli bombardment in 100 days and the ensuing displacement of masses.

In a statement posted on X, UNRWA said, "An entire generation of children is traumatized, thousands have been killed, maimed, and orphaned. People live through the unliveable."

The UN agencies and aid groups say almost two million people, nearly 90 percent of the population, have been displaced since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its aggression against the besieged territory.

UNRWA also posted a video that went through 100 days of hostilities in Gaza in 100 seconds.

Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA chief, recently labeled Israel's onslaught on the besieged Palestinian territory a stain for humanity.

"The massive death, destruction, displacement, hunger, loss, and grief of the last 100 days are staining our shared humanity."

In a statement released on Sunday, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said 100 days have passed "and the Israeli occupation has turned Gaza into an uninhabitable place, committed horrific crimes, and forcibly displaced approximately 2 million people."

On May 15, 1948, some 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly evicted from their land by Israeli forces and took refuge mainly in the occupied Wes Bank, the Gaza Strip and Palestine's neighboring states. Today, around 5 million Palestinians are still displaced and are denied the right to return to their homeland.

Israel has killed nearly 24,000 people in Gaza since early October.

The civilian infrastructure there has sustained extensive damage as a result of the relentless Israeli bombing.

Latest figures show nearly 100 schools and universities and more than 140 mosques in the Gaza Strip have been completely destroyed. More than 80 hospitals and health centers are already out of service.

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ICJ must take urgent action to end Israel's aggression: Palestinian PM

Iran Press TV

Monday, 15 January 2024 4:23 PM

The Palestinian Authority's Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh says the International Court of Justice needs to take urgent action to stop Israel's genocidal campaign in the besieged Gaza Strip.

During a cabinet session in the city of Ramallah on Monday, Shtayyeh said, "We will demand that Israel in international courts bear the full costs of everything it destroyed in the Gaza Strip, and bear full responsibility for the lives of our people it has committed crimes against."

The prime minister said Gaza has been subject to ethnic cleansing, starvation, abuse, torture, and daily killing.

He said 101 days have passed and Gaza remains without electricity, water and medicine.

Israel shut off electricity to Gaza on October 11 and has not resumed the supply. People living in the Gaza Strip have been enduring a near-complete communications blackout.

The Palestinian official said he hoped international media would be allowed into Gaza, so that the Israeli crimes would be documented.

The Palestinian prime minister also called on the Red Cross to work for reaching the detainees held by Israel in unknown places.

On January 11, the International Court of Justice in The Hague began hearings over a charge that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

South Africa, in an 84-page suit filed against Israel at the top UN court on December 29, asked the top court to urgently declare that the regime has breached its responsibilities under international law since October 7, 2023, when it launched hostilities in the besieged territory.

Israel has killed over 24,000 people, mainly women and children, in Gaza since that October day.

It's estimated that virtually 7,000 people remain unaccounted for.

UN rapporteurs say half of the population in Gaza is starving. Schools, mosques, churches, hospitals and ambulances have been a frequent target of strikes.

Despite all this, Israel has failed to achieve any of its declared objectives in removing the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas or releasing its captives.

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UN agencies urge rapid access to aid in northern Gaza amid looming famine

Iran Press TV

Monday, 15 January 2024 3:35 PM

3 United Nations agencies have called on Israel to provide faster and easier access to aid in the northern Gaza Strip to avoid famine and deadly disease outbreaks in a besieged Palestinian territory that has been witness to Israeli savagery since early October.

The World Food Program (WFP), UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a joint statement on Monday that the use of the port of Ashdod, located north of the Gaza border, is "critically needed by aid agencies."

The agencies said "a fundamental step change in the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza is urgently needed."

Allowing humanitarian agencies to use that port, they said, "would enable significantly larger quantities of aid to be shipped in and then trucked directly to the badly affected northern regions of Gaza, which few convoys have managed to reach."

"We need border crossings in the north to open, so we can more regularly access the north, where the food security crisis is even deeper," said Corinne Fleischer, the WFP's regional director for West Asia.

Israel has further tightened a crippling siege on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.

According to the Gaza Media Office, 800,000 residents "in the governorates of Gaza and northern the enclave" are facing death because of Israel's policy of starvation and thirst. It said the two governorates "need 1,300 food trucks daily to overcome the hunger crisis, with 600 trucks for the north and 700 for Gaza City."

"People in Gaza risk dying of hunger just miles from trucks filled with food," said the WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain.

"Every hour lost puts countless lives at risk. We can keep famine at bay but only if we can deliver sufficient supplies and have safe access to everyone in need, wherever they are."

Citing the regime's "deliberate and intentional efforts to cause a real famine in Gaza city and northern the enclave," the Media Officer hold the "international community, the United States, and the occupation" fully responsible for the catastrophic and deadly consequences of famine and thirst.

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In stern warning to US and UK, Iran says war against Yemen must end

Iran Press TV

Monday, 15 January 2024 3:17 PM

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has issued a stern warning to the United States and the United Kingdom, saying the aggression against Yemen must end.

"Iran severely warns the US and Britain to stop the war against Yemen and also warns the US and Israel to end the war in Gaza," Amir-Abdollahian said in a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Tehran on Monday.

The US cannot talk about its intention to stop the war and at the same time take action against Yemen, he noted.

Amir-Abdollahian also cast doubt on US claims of fighting terrorism, saying the United States cannot claim to be fighting Daesh as it created the terrorist group itself.

He also said that Washington cannot call for restraint as tensions rise in the region while supporting Israel's genocidal war in Gaza.

Amir-Abdollahian reminded the United States and its Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the Gaza war cannot end through military options, advising US officials not to tie the security and national interests of the American people to the fate of the apartheid Israeli regime and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He noted that Iran and India have consensus on the need to end genocide in Gaza and prevent the war from spilling over to other parts of the region.

Addressing the situation in the Red Sea, the top Iranian diplomat said Tehran fully supports maritime security in the strategic waterway.

Yemen's National Salvation Government has assured Iran that the Arab country would not disrupt maritime security but it insists that it would not allow the Israeli ships to pass through the strategic region as long as the war and genocide continue in Gaza, he added.

The US and Britain, backed by Bahrain, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands, struck more than 60 targets at almost 30 locations in Yemen on Friday, killing five people and injuring six others.

On Saturday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that a "follow-on action" was conducted against a Yemeni radar facility by the Navy destroyer USS Carney using Tomahawk land attack missiles.

The illegal assaults prompted Yemen's Supreme Political Council to issue a statement, saying "all American-British interests have become legitimate targets."

Israel waged its brutal war on Gaza on October 7 following a historic operation by the Palestinian Hamas resistance group against the occupying entity.

In solidarity with the Palestinians in besieged Gaza, the Yemeni armed forces have targeted ships in the Red Sea with owners linked to Israel or those going to and from ports in the occupied territories.

In response, the US has formed a military coalition against Yemeni forces in the Red Sea and endangered maritime navigation in the strategic waterway.

India very concerned about deplorable situation in Gaza: Jaishankar

The Indian foreign minister, for his part, reiterated his country's stance on the importance of stopping the killing of civilians and said New Delhi is deeply concerned about the deplorable situation in Gaza.

Jaishankar added that India welcomes the delivery of humanitarian aid to the war-stricken people in Gaza.

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Israel makes no 'strategic achievement' in Gaza; atrocities cause its downfall: Iran

Iran Press TV

Monday, 15 January 2024 8:57 AM

Iran warns Israel that the heinous crimes it has committed against the Palestinian people in Gaza over the past 100 days will not help the regime survive its doomed fate and ultimate collapse.

Marking the 100th day of Israel's onslaught on Gaza, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan'ani wrote in an X message on Monday that the regime's atrocities against the people of Gaza have killed over 23,000 people and injured more than 60,000 others in Gaza.

This leaves another "dark and disgraceful" stain on Israel's record that will go down in history and bring the fake Israeli regime and the US government to the court of human conscience, he added.

Kan'ani further said Israel, without any strategic achievement in its onslaught on Gaza, cannot survive its ultimate demise.

He reiterated that Israel's atrocities will cause the regime's downfall and bring more disgrace and for its well-known sponsors.

"Future belongs to Palestine and its innocent, yet also patient and resistant, nation," the spokesman emphasized.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance carried out an unprecedented operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Per data by the Palestinian Health Ministry, more than 24,000 Gazans have been killed, mostly women and children, and many more wounded or left unaccounted buried under the ruins of what remains of Palestinian homes.

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Jan. 14: 'Axis of Resistance' operations against Israeli occupation

Iran Press TV

Monday, 15 January 2024 8:48 AM

By Press TV Website Staff

Resistance groups in Palestine and across the region continue their operations against Israel and its Western backers amid the regime's genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, which has claimed the lives of almost 24,000 Palestinians, mostly children and women.

The operations carried out by the Palestinian and regional resistance groups on Sunday, January 14, are as follows:

Qassam Brigades' operations on Jan. 14:

Targeted a Merkava tank with an 'Al-Yassin 105' shell and engaged in clashes with a special Israeli regime force using machine guns in the city of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip.

Targeted concentrations of Israeli forces infiltrating the Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip with mortar shells.

Targeted a gathering of Israeli military vehicles as well as regime soldiers in the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza with mortar shells.

Bombed the Israeli-occupied city of Ashdod with M75 rockets.

Targeted an Israeli military infantry force with an anti-personnel shell, killing and wounding several of its members, south of Khan Yunis city.

Hezbollah's operations on Jan. 14:



Eastern sector:

At around 10:30 local time, Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Al-Marj site were targeted with missiles.

At around 12:00 local time, the sniper force targeted the surveillance equipment in the vicinity of the Metulla site.

At around 12:42 local time, Israeli soldiers were targeted in the Kafr Yuval settlement with appropriate weapons.

At around 14:00 local time, Al-Asi's site was targeted with appropriate weapons

Western sector:

At around 10:00 local time, Israeli artillery positions in Khirbet Maar were targeted with missile weapons.

At around 12:30 local time, the Birkat Risha site was targeted with appropriate weapons.

At around 12:30 local time, an Israeli drone above Merwaheen was downed with appropriate weapons.

At around 13:00 local time, Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Hadab Yaron site were targeted with missiles.

Iraqi resistance's operations on Jan. 14:

Attacked, using rockets and drones, three US occupation bases in Iraq and Syria, namely Kharab al-Jir base, Erbil Airport base, and Conoco field, causing massive damage.

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Hezbollah vows to continue war of attrition to keep Tel Aviv in 'defeat position'

Iran Press TV

Monday, 15 January 2024 8:40 AM

Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement has vowed to continue its "war of attrition" against Israel in support of Palestinian victims of Tel Aviv's US-backed genocidal war in the Gaza Strip.

Nabil Qaouk, a member of Hezbollah's Central Council, made the remarks on Sunday during a memorial service of one of the movement's members who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon last Wednesday.

Qaouk said Hezbollah has fought "the longest war of attrition" along the border with Occupied Palestine to support Gaza and defend Lebanon, stressing that war is not aimed at achieving any political gains.

"Hezbollah would not fight the longest war of attrition on the border with occupied Palestine for the sake of a political bargain or political gain, but rather for the sake of supporting Gaza and defending the homeland with its sovereignty and protecting its people," he said.

He said the initiatives presented by some countries' delegations to Lebanon are Israeli pleas that do not aim at helping Lebanon, but helping the occupying regime.

"All the US and other initiatives and diplomatic efforts are meaningless for us unless the aggression on Gaza stops."

Qaouk described the US initiatives as an attempt to help Israel get out of the predicament.

"What concerns us is to remain in the field and continue with the war of attrition so that the enemy remains in position of defeat."

The Hezbollah official referred to Kfar Giladi settlement which, he said, is viewed by Israel as "a symbol of settlement steadfastness," noting that it has become deserted and turned into "a symbol of humiliating defeat" due to Hezbollah's missiles and drones.

The Israeli regime launched a devastating war in the Gaza Strip on October 7 after the territory's Hamas-led Palestinian resistance groups carried out a surprise retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the occupying entity.

Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 23,968 Palestinians and injured 60,582 others.

The Israeli military has also been carrying out attacks against the Lebanese territory since then, prompting retaliatory strikes from Lebanon's resistance movement Hezbollah in support of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

The movement has vowed to keep up its retaliatory operations as long as the Tel Aviv regime continues its onslaught on Gaza.

Elsewhere, Qaouk noted that any Arab country that takes part in the US aggression on Yemen is complicit in the Israeli aggression on Gaza.

The US and Britain launched airstrikes on several provinces across Yemen, including the capital Sana'a and Hudaydah, early Friday in response to the Yemeni strikes on vessels linked to the Israeli regime.

In solidarity with the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, the Yemeni armed forces have targeted ships in the Red Sea with owners linked to Israel or those going to and from ports in the occupied territories.

The US has formed a multinational military coalition against Yemeni forces in the Red Sea, through which 12 percent of global trade passes. Bahrain is the only Arab country to join the coalition.

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Yemen's response to US-led strikes will end American hegemony forever: Official

Iran Press TV

Monday, 15 January 2024 7:17 AM

A Yemeni official has warned that his country is preparing to retaliate against recent US-led military strikes in a way that will bring an end to American hegemony forever.

Tawfiq al-Hamiri, an adviser to Yemen's Information Ministry, made the remarks on Sunday, after the United States bombed Yemen on two consecutive days amid frustration with anti-Israel naval operations by the Yemeni armed forces in the Red Sea.

"The acts of aggression by the US and the UK will not go unanswered, and we will make them serve as a lesson for the entire world," he told Russia' Sputnik news agency.

"We are preparing for a response that will end the US hegemony forever."

Hamiri also noted that the current confrontation with the United States is aimed at supporting the Palestinian people, who are enduring a genocidal Israeli war in the Gaza Strip.

The US and Britain, backed by Bahrain, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands, struck more than 60 targets at almost 30 locations in Yemen on Friday, killing five people and injuring six others.

On Saturday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that a "follow-on action" was conducted against a Yemeni radar facility by the Navy destroyer USS Carney using Tomahawk land attack missiles.

The illegal assaults led Yemen's Supreme Political Council to issue a statement, saying "all American-British interests have become legitimate targets."

Hamiri hoped that the US, the UK and Israel will stay away from a battle with Yemenis as it would neither benefit them nor the Arab and Muslim Ummah.

"Today it has become clear to all Arab and Muslim nations that the Americans, the British and Israel are the main enemies of the Arab and Islamic Ummah," he added.

'US, UK opened up gates of hell to themselves'

Also on Sunday, Ali al-Qahoum, a high-ranking official of Yemen's Ansarullah resistance movement, said that the United States and Britain will never achieve their objectives in Yemen.

"Our operations in the Red Sea will continue until the aggression against Gaza stops," he emphasized. "The Americans and the British have opened up the gates of hell to themselves and they will regret it."

Israel waged its brutal war on Gaza on October 7 following a historic operation by the Palestinian Hamas resistance group against the occupying entity.

The US has offered untrammeled support for Israel during the onslaught that has so far killed 23,968 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 60,582 others.

In solidarity with the Palestinians in besieged Gaza, the Yemeni armed forces have targeted ships in the Red Sea with owners linked to Israel or those going to and from ports in the occupied territories.

In response, the US has formed a military coalition against Yemeni forces in the Red Sea and endangered maritime navigation in the strategic waterway.

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Iraqi resistance strikes US bases in Syria, Iraq in retaliation for Gaza war

Iran Press TV

Monday, 15 January 2024 7:08 AM

Iraqi anti-terror resistance groups have carried out a series of attacks against three military bases housing US occupation troops in Syria and Iraq over Washington's support for the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of anti-terror fighters, in a statement published on its Telegram channel claimed responsibility for the missile and drone strikes against the US-run facilities at Kharab al-Jir Airport and Conoco gas field in Syria's eastern provinces of Hasakah and Dayr al-Zawr respectively.

The statement added that it had also targeted the US-occupied installation at Erbil International Airport in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

The group noted that the attacks were carried out in protest at the presence of American occupation forces in Iraq and elsewhere in the West Asia region and in retaliation for US support of Israel's bloody war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

There were no immediate reports about the extent of damage at the military facilities or possible casualties.

The United States, Israel's biggest ally, has provided the regime with a raft of arms and ammunition since the initiation of the Gaza war.

Washington has also vetoed UN Security Council resolutions calling for a ceasefire.

Israel waged the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance groups of Hamas and Islamic Jihad carried out the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm into the occupied territories in response to the occupying regime's intensified crimes against the Palestinian people.

According to the Gaza-based health ministry, at least 23,843 Palestinians have been killed in the strikes, most of them women and children, and another 60,317 individuals injured.

Tel Aviv has also imposed a "complete siege" on Gaza, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.

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Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On January 10th, FUCHS Lubricants China Ltd. and Anhui Zhongding Intelligent Thermal System Co., Ltd. signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Shanghai, establishing a long-term and comprehensive strategic partnership. The collaboration aims to develop advanced thermal management solutions for applications such as data centers, energy storage, and new energy vehicles, promoting the adoption of immersion liquid cooling technology.

Photo credit: FUCHS China

As a global lubrication expert, FUCHS brings deep technical expertise, a well-established R&D system, and a professional R&D team to collaborate with clients on customized R&D services. Zhongding Intelligent Thermal System, as a pioneer in thermal management within the Zhongding Group, has made breakthrough progress in innovative immersion liquid cooling technology.

This strategic partnership between FUCHS and Zhongding Intelligent Thermal System will involve reaching a series of agreements in new areas related to products, thermal management systems, and market applications. The two companies will engage in extensive cooperation to deliver high-quality technology, products, and services to clients in the data center, energy storage, and new energy vehicle industries.

CEO of FUCHS China, Zhu Qingping, stated, "FUCHS is committed to providing high-quality, outstanding performance immersion thermal management products and integrated lubrication solutions for energy storage and data center industry clients. Zhongding Intelligent Thermal System is a key strategic partner, and we will continue to leverage our technical advantages to collaborate closely, driving industry innovation and delivering more efficient, reliable, and secure products and technologies for the energy storage and data center industries."

Wang Xinyun, General Manager of Zhongding Intelligent Thermal System, commented, "The rapid development of energy storage and data centers is an inevitable outcome of the intelligent and electrified era. With the guidance of the dual-carbon goals, efficient immersion liquid cooling systems have become the mainstream trend. We are delighted to have secured our first order for an energy storage immersion liquid cooling system in January, choosing FUCHS lubricants. Additionally, we will collaborate with FUCHS on joint research for data-center immersive liquid cooling systems. "
Al-Qassam Brigades says destroyed about 1,000 Israeli military vehicles in past 100 days

Iran Press TV

Monday, 15 January 2024 1:39 AM

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says its fighters have destroyed or disabled hundreds of Israeli military vehicles over the 100 days that have passed since the beginning of the regime's military aggression against the Gaza Strip.

Abu Obaida, the spokesman for al-Qassam Brigades, which is Hamas' military wing, made the announcement in a statement on Sunday.

"During these 100 days, we have destroyed or rendered out of service about 1,000 Zionist military vehicles that had infiltrated the Gaza Strip in its north, center, and south," he said.

The regime began its brutal military aggression following Operation al-Aqsa Storm by Gaza Strip-based resistance movements. Its genocidal war has killed nearly 24,000 Palestinians so far, most of them women and children, while leaving over 60,000 others injured.

The spokesperson confirmed that the brigades have conducted "hundreds of successful military operations" throughout the past 100 days, adding that the battle against the occupation forces "is expanding day after day and is burning this enemy and all those who supported and assisted it."

Abu Obaida also scoffed at the Israeli regime's claims about alleged gains during its military aggression on Gaza.

"The alleged achievements that the enemy announces about controlling or destroying what it calls weapons depots, ready-to-launch missile platforms, and kilometers of tunnels are ridiculous...and the day will come when we prove that these claims are false," he said.

Abu Obaida also rejected any prospect of negotiations with the Israel regime before a complete and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, saying, "Any talks before stopping the Israeli aggression are worthless."

Elsewhere in his remarks, Abu Obaida reflected on the situation of Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip.

He asserted that "the fate of many enemy captives has become unknown in recent weeks ... due to the Zionist aggression and most likely, many of them have been killed."

"The rest [of Israeli captives] remain in imminent and significant danger every hour, and the enemy bears full responsibility for their safety," he said.

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Wider Europe Briefing: What To Expect From the EU In 2024

By Rikard Jozwiak January 15, 2024

Briefing 1: A Busy And Potentially Defining Year Ahead For The EU

What You Need To Know: This year the EU will be focused on the European Parliament elections taking place across the 27-member bloc on June 6-9. The vote will open up a scramble for the selection of the top three institutional positions in Brussels: presidents of the European Council and the European Commission and EU foreign policy chief.

It is the prime ministers and presidents of the member states who select candidates for this role, often picking one from among their group. They do this by taking all sorts of parameters into consideration; there needs to be a gender balance and a balance of political allegiances, with the political party that finishes first in the European Parliament elections normally getting a first crack at naming the European Commission's president.

There also needs to be a good geographical spread, meaning ideally the positions will be dished out to people from northern, southern, western, and eastern parts of the union.

This "silly season" of jockeying for positions, both behind the scenes and in public, started early this year with Charles Michel, the president of the European Council -- which defines the political direction and priorities of the EU -- announcing on January 7 that he will run as a candidate for the European Parliament elections.

This surprise announcement will also focus the minds of EU leaders as it opens up the possibility that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- who is involved in various disputes with the bloc about the rule of law in his country and has often been noncooperative with Brussels, especially on Ukraine -- could become president of the council. Amid fears the divisive right-wing Hungarian leader could upset the EU's apple cart, Orban would not be a popular choice in Brussels or in most member states.

Orban could only become council president on a technicality. Under EU rules, if there isn't a permanent president of the European Council -- Michel's current job -- the country that holds the rotating six-month presidency will take over the president's functions. And Hungary is the member state that will hold that rotating presidency from July 1.

It's unlikely to happen, though. Michel, if elected to the European Parliament, would probably take up his seat in mid-July. But with two EU summits already scheduled in June to agree on the trio of top positions, chances are high that a successor will be found.

In European Council votes, there are no veto opportunities for Hungary or any other countries. Decisions are taken via qualified majority voting, thus support from 55 percent of EU member states, representing 65 percent of the EU's population.

Normally, the new council president would take up their position toward the end of the year; Michel's mandate, for example, runs until November 30. But this potential power vacuum between a possible selection of a successor in June and entering office in late fall is unlikely to create a backdoor for Orban, as a chosen successor could start their mandate as soon as the summer. An early start would only require a change to the rules of procedure, which can be pushed through with just a simple majority.

Deep Background: Internal politics aside, there will be several issues to look out for this year pertaining to Ukraine, arms deliveries, enlargement of the bloc, and sanctions on Russia. The most pressing of these issues is financial aid to Ukraine, especially after Hungary blocked a 50 billion euros ($55 billion) package meant for Kyiv.

Ukrainian officials have said the country can survive without the money in the first quarter of 2024, so while the clock is ticking for Brussels to reach consensus on the financial package, there is still time. EU officials, speaking on background, have told me the package is likely to be green-lighted when EU leaders meet for another summit in Brussels on February 1.

It's likely to be pushed through for several reasons. For starters, many believe Hungary overplayed its hand in December 2023 when it blocked the aid package for Ukraine. Notably, Hungary was then the lone naysayer, with Slovakia -- under the rule of left-wing populist Robert Fico since October last year -- not aligning itself with Budapest as some had expected. It appears the country's dire economic situation and the fact that it is a eurozone country moderated Bratislava's response.

The 50 billion euros package, which is meant to cover from 2024 to 2027, is also the largest chunk of a mid-term EU budget increase. Several billions have been earmarked to manage migration, help the bloc combat natural disasters, and provide more economic aid to the Western Balkans -- all initiatives Budapest supports. For this reason, officials in Brussels and some member states are keen to keep it all bundled together -- either all is approved or nothing.

Threats from the other 26 member states could also keep Hungary in line. The most credible one is to simply circumvent Hungary altogether. The 50 billion euros consists of 33 billion euros of loans guaranteed by the EU budget but also 17 billion euros from grants.

It's possible that amount could be covered by the other 26 members states, which would also pay for Hungary's share. The problem with this approach is that it would be time-consuming and risky as all 26 national parliaments would have to give their consent.

However, just the fact alone that other member states are looking at ways of bypassing Budapest could be enough of a scare tactic to secure a deal. Another threat aimed at Budapest could be invoking Article 7 of the Treaty On European Union, which would essentially strip Hungary of voting rights in the Council of the European Union, where government ministers from member states convene to amend and adopt laws and coordinate policies.

For such a drastic option, unanimity would be needed, and it's unlikely countries such as Austria and Slovakia, which are politically aligned with Hungary on many issues, would agree to freeze out Budapest. For EU officials, that would be a nuclear option if Hungary doesn't play ball -- and one Brussels will keep in its back pocket.

Another stick would be postponing Hungary's EU presidency, due to start in July. If four-fifths of the member states agree, Hungary's presidential stint could be postponed, with the country bumped down the list and not getting its chance till possibly as late as 2030. Again, as with the Article 7 route, as far as I understand from talking to EU officials, this is not actively being considered but it could be if there is no agreement at the EU leaders' summit in February.

Along with the sticks, the EU could also offer a few carrots. Brussels is still withholding 20 billion euros of money meant for Hungary. If the money is eventually released, the earliest that would happen would be after the February summit as there wouldn't be enough time for the European Commission to disburse it, especially given Budapest's slow pace of reforms.

The carrot probably wouldn't come in the form of cash, though, as was the case in December when Hungary received 10 billion euros of previously frozen EU funds -- a move many EU watchers believe paved the way for the bloc to green-light the start of accession talks with Ukraine after initial Hungarian resistance.

Instead, to get Hungary to sign off on Ukraine aid, Budapest could be offered more veto opportunities in the future. Hungary has pushed for so-called annual reviews of the cash flow to Kyiv. This means that, in principle, Budapest could stop the dispersal of funds every year, as the 50 billion euros is spread out over a four-year period.

While Hungary could still make trouble under this scenario, officials in Brussels just want to get money flowing to Ukraine as soon as possible, even if it's just a chunk of it for now. It is worth noting here that there is still no agreement on the amount to be dished out to Ukraine annually, and it doesn't have to be an even split of 12.5 billion euros each year until 2027.

Drilling Down:

Instead of targeting Ukraine, Hungary could concentrate any new veto opportunities on the enlargement process. Amid much fanfare, EU leaders in December decided to open accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova. For Bosnia-Herzegovina, there was a partial green light to start talks but only after the European Commission reports back, by March at the latest, on the progress of various reforms.

The issue here is that de facto EU accession talks with Kyiv and Chisinau haven't started yet, and no one really knows when they will. There are, in a sense, two things that need to happen. The first is screening, which essentially means EU officials go to Ukraine and Moldova and comb through the entire EU rulebook, which is divided up into 35 policy areas, known as chapters, and which both countries have to adopt as national legislation. This forms the basis of the EU accession framework, which needs to be adopted at the end of the screening process.

As a recent example, for North Macedonia and Albania, the screening took 18 months. I understand from speaking to EU officials on background that Kyiv thinks it can be done in six months; others in Brussels say that is too optimistic. The issue here is the screening hasn't started yet for either Moldova or Ukraine, something the European Commission must initiate.

According to several diplomats from EU countries who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak on the matter, EU enlargement commissioner Oliver Varhelyi, a Hungarian close to the government in Budapest, isn't too keen to rush Ukraine's EU membership bid. What's more, a number of EU member states are probably not keen to proceed quickly either, stressing the bloc needs to undergo institutional reforms before any further enlargement can take place.

There will also be another European Commission assessment. When it reports back on Bosnia, it will also mention some of the reforms still left for Moldova and Ukraine to complete. This assessment is slated for February 27, although that date could change. If the assessments are positive, there is hope in Kyiv and Chisinau for an intergovernmental conference to be convened in the first half of the year. This would be a symbolic opening of accession talks, but for that, all 27 member states must consent, something far from certain at this stage.

Regarding sanctions on Russia, the EU passed its 12th package just before Christmas, and there is a chance a 13th package could be agreed around the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February. But since the Russian nuclear and gas industries likely won't be targeted, there is not much more that can be sanctioned -- or rather, there is not much more the EU is prepared to sanction. One possibility is for the EU to consider a wider ban of products that aren't allowed to transit Russia, remove or decrease state aid for EU companies still doing business in Russia, and finally use the instrument, so far untouched, to sanction third-country companies doing business with Moscow.

just before Christmas, and there is a chance a 13th package could be agreed around the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February. But since the Russian nuclear and gas industries likely won't be targeted, there is not much more that can be sanctioned -- or rather, there is not much more the EU is prepared to sanction. One possibility is for the EU to consider a wider ban of products that aren't allowed to transit Russia, remove or decrease state aid for EU companies still doing business in Russia, and finally use the instrument, so far untouched, to sanction third-country companies doing business with Moscow. The EU's economic sanctions on Russia need to be formally extended by six months by the end of January. At the EU leaders' summit in December, there was political agreement to prolong sanctions, although in return for their support some members states might get concessions in other policy fields. The same is true of the extension, due in March, of asset freezes and visa bans the bloc has slapped on the nearly 2,000 individuals and firms over the last two years. Hungary has previously used its veto threat to try to remove some names and, back in September, three Russian individuals were delisted.

and, back in September, three Russian individuals were delisted. There is also an estimated 300 billion euros of frozen Russian assets in the bloc. In December 2023, the European Commission presented a plan to seize the profits and use it for Ukraine's reconstruction. Despite concerns from members of the eurozone that such a move could undermine the euro's standing as an international currency, talks are under way among the Group of Seven leading industrial nations, with the United States, United Kingdom, and possibly Japan, indicating they would be on board with the European Commission's plan.

Finally, the EU will try to maintain arms deliveries to Ukraine. It is, however, unlikely this will be done via the common European Peace Facility as Hungary continues to block a 500 million euros tranche, and Germany has questioned the legality of topping up the fund with more cash. Instead, increased bilateral aid seems to be the way forward for now. The big test will be if the EU manages to deliver 1 million rounds of 155-millimeter ammunition to Ukraine by the end March, as promised last year. There have been a few reports that the EU won't make the deadline, and it will largely depend on the EU's capacity and how much pressure Brussels can put on the defense industry in the coming months.

Looking Ahead

How to support Ukraine militarily will also be top of the agenda when NATO's defense chiefs meet in Brussels on January 17-18. Ukrainian officials have briefed the military alliance about the recent Russian missile attacks on the country, and several NATO members have promised to increase the supply of defense and anti-drone systems. There should be more concrete announcements in the weeks leading up to the NATO defense ministers' meeting in mid-February.

Last but not least, the first European Parliament plenary of the year kicks off on January 15. For four days, members of the chambers will debate numerous issues, including Ukraine and rule-of-law concerns in Hungary. On the latter issue, lawmakers look set to pass a nonbinding motion pushing for EU funds earmarked for Hungary to remain frozen.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/wider-europe-briefing-jozwiak-eu- 2024/32775128.html

Copyright (c) 2024. 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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Return Of The Jadids: Central Asia's Soviet-Repressed Groups Getting Fresh Attention From Kazakhs, Uzbeks

By Chris Rickleton January 15, 2024

ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- In Central Asia's two biggest countries,Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, modernist reformers who were repressed in the early Soviet period are now being celebrated in documentaries, television serials, and at high-level conferences.

Yet for the ruling authoritarian elite, the adulation these intellectuals and founding fathers enjoy in their countries seems to be a double-edged sword.

That is partly because history-obsessed partner Moscow -- currently engaged in a protracted and bloody attempt to conquer swathes of sovereign Ukraine -- tends to be quite sensitive about the period.

But these authoritarian regimes have their own reasons for wanting to control the ghosts of their nations' past.

In Uzbekistan, it is the Jadids -- a progressive movement of Muslim intellectuals that emerged around the turn of the 20th century in Turkic-speaking parts of the Russian Empire -- who are back in the spotlight.

Viewed by many people in Uzbekistan not just as forward-thinking founding fathers, but also modern-day role models, it is perhaps unsurprising that Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev is fond of mentioning them.

In the past few months alone, the Jadidist movement and their ideas have been feted in his speeches, in a documentary thick with government messaging, and at a conference where elder daughter and top aide Saida Mirziyoeva gave a keynote speech.

"It would not be a mistake to say that the ideas, dreams, and desires of the Jadids have found their reflection in the policies of President Shavkat Mirziyoev," Mirziyoeva told local and foreign academics at the December 11 conference called Jadids: Ideas Of National Identity, Independence, And Statehood.

"The New Uzbekistan, led by the president, is confidently moving along the path of building a secular legal state and civil society, creating a high-quality education system, ensuring freedom of speech and openness," added Mirziyoev's daughter.

The comparison between the New Uzbekistan brand championed by Mirziyoev and the ideals of the Jadids is one the president has made himself, most recently at a session of the Republican Council for Spirituality and Education in Tashkent on December 22.

Not all modern-day adherents of the Jadids, sometimes called neo-Jadids, are fond of it, to say the least.

In Kazakhstan, it is the Alash national consciousness movement from the same period that recently received a pop culture push.

In fact, the Mirzhaqyp, Oyan, Qazaq! (Mirzhaqyp, Wake Up, Kazakh!) film released in the second half of last year that covers the life and times of key figures in the movement proved so popular that it took authorities by surprise.

With the film backed by state broadcaster Qazaqstan still attracting significant attention, cinemas stopped showing it in early October, provoking public anger.

"We didn't think there would be such interest. And so we chose one window [to show the film] after which, since the audience was interested, we extended it for another week," explained Culture and Information Minister Aida Balaeva at the time.

Balaeva stressed that the film's run was only ended for scheduling reasons and pointed out that it could still be viewed online.

But coincidence or not, the film stopped showing right after an activist in the northeastern city of Semey who watched the film gave an impromptu speech in the cinema hall after it finished.

Eldos Dosanov pointed out the parallels between the repression suffered by Alash members and contemporary activists and called on Kazakhs not to "let history repeat itself."

Later that month, Dosanov was arrested and sentenced to a week in administrative detention after a court ruled that his speech was a call for unsanctioned public demonstrations.

Nation Builders

Unlike Alash, the Jadids cannot be classed as a strictly national movement.

The movement's founder was the Crimean Tatar intellectual Ismail Gaspirali and drew on other Pan-Turkist movements of the period.

But the territory that now makes up Uzbekistan became an important hub of Jadidist activity in the first decades of the 20th century.

For the Jadids, the priority of the day was the modernization of society, including through education, which was dominated by Islamic madrasahs.

Centuries before, cities like Bukhara and Samarkand had been regarded as centers of the Islamic world.

But the Silk Road trading routes that facilitated global exchanges of knowledge as well as wealth died as maritime, rather than overland trade, came to the fore.

And by the late 19th century, the region was under the control of the Russian Empire, which practiced elements of indirect rule, allowing people like Muhammed Alim Khan, the last emir of Bukhara, to govern as part of a Russian protectorate.

Tashkent-born Jadids like Abdulla Avloniy and Munavvarqori Abdurashidkhon built schools that brought them into conflict with religious conservatives, whom the emir backed, and published newspapers that got shut down by tsarist authorities.

Worse was still to come under the Bolsheviks, and Abdurashidkhon was one of the many Jadids arrested and executed during Soviet leader Josef Stalin's murderous purges in the late 1920s and 1930s.

Like the Alash leaders and many other dissidents repressed during the period, prominent members of the Jadidist movement were posthumously rehabilitated in line with Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost policies in the late 1980s.

But authoritarian Mirziyoev, in power since 2016, is perhaps the first independence-era Central Asian leader to identify with any movement from this politically turbulent period so explicitly.

The climax of that effort thus far appears to be Dreamers, a film about the Jadids that was produced by a company -- Blue White and Green Production -- that RFE/RL's Uzbek Service has reported as being linked to the family of Mirziyoev's son-in-law, Otabek Umarov.

Released in November, the film was criticized by some modern-day admirers of the Jadids who argued that authorities are trying to redefine the movement on their own terms and water down the movement's Islamic identity.

Others argued that the colorful costume-rich production, which includes numerous reenactments as well as a singing and dancing cameo from Tajik-Russian Eurovision star Manizha, let Russian tsarist and post-Stalin Soviet authorities off lightly.

Jamshid Muslimov, an Uzbek economic analyst and admirer of the Jadids, for instance, called the documentary's portrayal of Tsar Nicholas II as an agent of modernization in Central Asia "a complete misinterpretation."

"[The documentary] also implies that the Stalin-era repression of the Jadids was just a product of their time, rather than ignoring the true motive, which was [to supress] their stand for independence and nation-building," Muslimov told RFE/RL.

'Alash's Time Will Come'

Given the production's apparent ties to Uzbek regime insiders, some level of forgiveness for Moscow's trespasses is logical.

Today's Kremlin is both a key partner for Central Asian countries and extremely touchy about any suggestion of Russia's past wrongdoings in the region, whether under communism or tsarist times.

Following the release in 2019 of an independently made Kazakh documentary on the 1930s famine that even according to conservative estimates left more than 1 million Kazakhs dead, Russia's Foreign Ministry saw fit to issue a rebuttal, blaming "supporters of nationalist views" in several "Central Asian countries" for suggesting the Soviets engineered or manipulated the famine.

"Considering a tragedy common to the peoples of the U.S.S.R. as the deliberate 'extermination' of certain groups of the population on racial, national, or religious grounds is at least devoid of any basis, and at most a deliberate provocation aimed at inciting anti-Russian sentiment and interethnic hatred in friendly countries with large Russian-speaking populations," the ministry fumed.

To be sure, there was nothing either explicitly anti-government or overly anti-Russia about the film on the Alash movement that was shown in Kazakh cinemas last fall.

The title Mirzhaqyp, Oyan, Qazaq! is drawn from Alash poet Mirzhaqyp Dulatuly's book of poems of the same name, which was banned by tsarist officials in 1909.

Dulatuly would go on to become part of the short-lived Alash Orda (Alash Autonomy) government that was set up during the chaos of the Russian civil war.

Originally shown by state broadcaster Qazaqstan as a serial, it was only later repurposed for cinemas as a feature-length production.

And yet any portrayal of the movement invites parallels that do not always flatter Kazakhstan's modern-day authorities, according to Almaty-based historian Khangeldi Abzhanov.

"Alash was for a more parliamentary form of government. But today we have a super-presidential republic," he told RFE/RL.

"Alash wanted to develop contacts with the most developed countries of the world. But our government is more oriented towards post-Soviet countries. Lastly, Alash was driven foremostly by Kazakh priorities, Kazakh interests, while many of our present-day officials think in the Russian [language] and want to see Kazakhstan close to Russia," he argued.

Still, Kazakh officials continue to pay lip service to the group.

Marking the 155th anniversary of his birth in 2021, President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev credited Alikhan Bukeikhan and the Alash government that Bukeikhan headed as prime minister for giving Kazakhstan "an example of statehood."

At a conference commemorating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Alash government in 2017, Toqaev's predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbaev, was even more effusive.

"The passionate ideas of the Alash movement are the instructions of our ancestors for creating a sovereign state and freedom in general. The dreams of that time about freedom and independence have now come true. Our generation has achieved this," he boasted.

Abzhanov questions the sincerity of such expressions.

"Any Kazakh government will punish itself if it refuses to give tribute to Alash, which is so popular and respected among the Kazakh people," Abzhanov said.

"To some extent, Alash remains in the shadows," the historian added. "But Alash's time will come again."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/central-asia-soviet- repressed-groups-kazakh-uzbek/32775455.html

Copyright (c) 2024. 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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Latvian President Says Conscription Needed In Face Of Potential Russia Threat

By Current Time January 15, 2024

Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has made the reintroduction of mandatory military service in Latvia a necessity even though the Baltic country is already a member of NATO, President Edgars Rinkevics told Current Time on January 15.

Amid warnings from NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and military experts that Russia could pose a real threat to the Baltic states, compulsory military service became mandatory for Latvian men at the start of this year after parliament voted in April 2023 to reintroduce the draft after having abolished it in 2006.

"I have spoken to young men from the first draft, and we all understand that protecting our state will not be possible based on a voluntary basis [military service] alone," Rinkevics said.

Latvia, together with the other two Baltic states, Lithuania and Estonia, became a NATO member in 2004 following the regaining of independence from Moscow in the waning days of the Soviet Union.

Rinkevics said that Latvia sought membership in NATO because it always feared Moscow could attempt to reannex the three Baltic republics.

"Why are we in NATO? Because we realized from the first days, weeks, months after regaining independence that sooner or later we might face a similar situation, and the idea of a possible threat from Russia has always been in our mental perception," Rinkevics said.

Under the new legislation, able-bodied men aged 18 to 27 must serve 11 months in the regular armed forces or National Guard.

After completing the compulsory military service, they will become reservists in the National Guard for another five years, where they will have to complete a minimum of 21 days of individual training and a maximum of seven days of collective training annually.

Women aged 18 to 27 can also voluntarily apply for military service.

In parallel with the reintroduction of mandatory military service, Latvia, whose 1.9 million population includes an almost 25 percent-strong ethnic Russian minority, has moved to beef up its domestic legislation against cyberattacks and other crimes against the state.

Government and private sites in all three Baltic states have been increasingly subjected to Russian cyberattacks since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.

According to Microsoft data, Latvia ranks fifth in the number of cyberattacks related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine behind the United States, Poland, Britain, and Lithuania.

Rinkevics said that toughening punishments for such crimes will send a strong signal to the perpetrators.

"Now some punishments for crimes against the state, in my opinion, are inadequate," he said.

"Monetary fines, community service -- well, what kind of community service can a spy do? Will he clean documents in the state security service or somewhere else?

"Establishing a minimum threshold of punishment, which was not specified in the previous version of the criminal law...is a certain signal that the state is paying more attention to this [crime]."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/latvia- russia-military-draft/32775234.html

Copyright (c) 2024. 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 in Contact With Iraqi, Kurdish Officials Following Recent Missile Attacks

Sputnik News

20240115

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States is in contact with senior Iraqi and Kurdish officials following the recent missile attacks in northern Iraq and northern Syria, a White House National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement to Sputnik.

"We have seen the reports and we tracked the missiles, which impacted in northern Iraq and northern Syria," the spokesperson said on Monday. "No US personnel or facilities were targeted. We have been in touch with senior Iraqi officials as well as officials in the Kurdistan Region."

There were no US casualties at the consulate, but the United States will continue to assess the situation, the spokesperson said.

The initial indications are that this was a "reckless and imprecise set of strikes," the spokesperson also said.

Iran claimed responsibility for this attack undertaken in response to the terrorist attacks on the Iranian cities of Kerman and Rask, with a focus on the Islamic State* terror group, the spokesperson added.

* The Islamic State (IS/ISIS/ISIL) is a terrorist organization banned in Russia and many other countries.

 Sputnik

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Houthis Confirm Missile Strike at US-owned Ship in Gulf of Aden - Spokesman

Sputnik News

20240115

DOHA (Sputnik) - The Houthis in Yemen on Monday confirmed that its missile hit a US-owned ship in the Gulf of Aden, the movement's military spokesman Yahya Saria said.

Earlier in the day, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that the US-owned and operated container ship has been hit by a missile fired from the Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

"The Yemeni navy conducted an operation against a US ship in the Gulf of Aden. During the operation, several anti-ship missiles were used, which directly hit the target," the spokesman said on air of the Houthi-controlled Al-Masirah broadcaster.

Saria added that the movement now considers all American and British ships which are participating in a "military aggression" against Yemen as legitimate "enemy targets."

 Sputnik

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US CENTCOM Confirms Houthi Missile Hitting US Container Ship in Red Sea

Sputnik News

20240115

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A US-owned and operated container ship has been hit by a missile fired from the Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Reuters reported, citing a UK maritime security firm Ambrey, that a missile hit a US-owned ship off Yemeni coast.

On January 15 at approximately 4 p.m. local time (1 p.m. GMT), "Houthi militants fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and struck the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned and operated container ship. The ship has reported no injuries or significant damage and is continuing its journey," CENTCOM said on X (former Twitter).

A US-owned and Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier has reportedly come under a missile attack near the Gulf of Aden.

In November 2023, the Houthis announced their intention to attack any ships associated with Israel, urging other countries to recall their crews from the vessels. The Houthis vowed to continue their attacks until Israel ended its military actions in the Gaza Strip.

On December 19, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the establishment of a multinational operation to secure the Red Sea, saying that the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles, and Spain would take part in the mission. The Houthis vowed to attack any ships that join the US-led maritime coalition.

In the early hours of Friday, the US and UK military carried out 23 airstrikes on targets in four provinces in different parts of Yemen, including the capital of Sanaa and the cities of Al Hudaydah, Taizz and Sadah, local government sources told Sputnik. Later in the day, the US Air Forces Central said that US strikes against the Houthis in Yemen had hit more than 60 targets in 16 different locations.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria later said that the US and the UK had carried out 73 strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, killing five fighters and injuring six others. A member of Houthis' high political council, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, described the Western attacks as "barbaric terrorism" and "deliberate and unjustified aggression."

 Sputnik

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Houthis Fire Cruise Missile at US Navy Destroyer in Red Sea

Sputnik News

20240115

In December, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the establishment of a multinational operation to secure the Red Sea, saying that the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles, and Spain would take part in the mission.

US Navy destroyer the Laboon was attacked by a cruise missile fired from a Houthi militant area of Yemen, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

"On January 14 at approximately 4:45 p.m. (Sanaa time), an anti-ship cruise missile was fired from Iranian-backed Houthi militant areas of Yemen toward USS Laboon (DDG 58), which was operating in the Southern Red Sea. The missile was shot down in vicinity of the coast of Hudaydah by US fighter aircraft. There were no injuries or damage reported," CENTCOM said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).

In the early hours of Friday, the US and UK military carried out 23 airstrikes on targets in four provinces in different parts of Yemen, including the capital of Sanaa and the cities of Al Hudaydah, Taizz and Sadah, local government sources told Sputnik. Later in the day, the US Air Forces Central said that US strikes against the Houthis in Yemen had hit more than 60 targets in 16 different locations.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria later said that the US and the UK had carried out 73 strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, killing five fighters and injuring six others. A member of Houthis' high political council, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, described the Western attacks as "barbaric terrorism" and "deliberate and unjustified aggression."

In December, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the creation of a multinational operation to secure the Red Sea, saying the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles, and Spain would participate in the mission. The Houthis vowed to attack any ships joining the US-led naval coalition.

In November, the Houthis announced their intention to attack any ships affiliated with Israel and called on other countries to recall their crews from the vessels. The Houthis vowed to continue their attacks until Israel ended its military campaign in Gaza it had launched in retalitaion to Hamas' attacks on its territory back in October, 2023.

 Sputnik

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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

15 January 2024

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

** Israel-Gaza

Alright, good afternoon all. Further obviously to what the Secretary-General just said on the 100 days, Philippe Lazzarini, our Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was in Gaza yesterday.

In a statement, he said that the past 100 days had seen the largest displacement of the Palestinian people since 1948. Overcrowded and unsanitary UNRWA shelters have now become "home" for more than 1.4 million men, women and children. In those shelters they lack everything, from food to hygiene to  of course  any privacy.

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, said that what has been unfolding in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory is a war conducted with almost no regard on impact on civilians. Mr. Griffiths also noted that the families of the hostages have been waiting for the release of their loved ones for at least 100 days, or at least some information about their well-being. Unfortunately, he said, since November, no hostages have been released and he reiterated his call for humane treatment and immediate release of all hostages.

Meanwhile, the heads of the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), in a joint statement, said today that getting enough supplies into and across Gaza now depends on more trucks being allowed through border checks every day; fewer restrictions on the movement of humanitarian workers; guarantees of safety for people accessing and distributing aid; and the opening of new entry routes.

The agencies said that it is critical that Israeli authorities allow aid agencies to use border crossing points into northern Gaza, as well as a working port close to the Gaza Strip.

Access to Ashdod port in Israel would enable significantly larger quantities of aid to be shipped in and then trucked directly to badly affected areas in regions of Gaza, which few convoys  as you know  have managed to reach.

And just to keep you updated on your expected question of where Sigrid Kaag [the Senior Humanitarian and Reconstructor Coordinator for Gaza] is, I can tell you that she was in Jordan yesterday and early this morning. She has now arrived in Cairo, in Egypt, and she will be visiting Al Arish in the north, obviously near Rafah, and we will keep updating you on her travels as we get information.

** Trip Announcement

Also, just to announce to you some travels by our Secretary-General, he will be leaving tonight to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, in Switzerland.

On Wednesday, he will be delivering a special address on the "State of the World", where he will highlight two existential threats to our planet: the climate crisis and the development of artificial intelligence without any guard rails.

He will warn leaders that geopolitical divides are preventing us from coming together around global solutions to these threats and causing people to lose faith in Governments, institutions, financial and economic systems.

The Secretary-General will call on leaders to prevent further damage by pushing for reform of our institutions and rebuilding trust to get our world back on track to safety, prosperity, and peace.

While at the Forum, the Secretary-General will have bilaterals with various international leaders and also leaders from the private sector. We will update you on those bilaterals as they happen.

Thursday, he will head to Thun, also in Switzerland, where he will attend the annual retreat of all his Special Representatives, heads of peacekeeping missions and political missions.

** Guatemala

A couple of things I also wanted to share with you.

On Guatemala, the Secretary-General congratulates President Bernardo Arevalo of Guatemala on his inauguration. He welcomes that the democratic will of voters has been respected and notes the President's declared commitments to advancing peace, social justice, human development, transparency, and democratic reform. The Secretary-General reaffirms that the United Nations stands ready to accompany Guatemala and Guatemalans in these efforts.

** Ukraine

Also, turning to Ukraine, we and our partners today appealed  at an event in Geneva  for a combined $4.2 billion this year to support war-affected communities in Ukraine, Ukrainian refugees and their host communities in the region.

We need $3.1 billion to help 8.5 million people inside the country and $1.1 billion to support 2.3 million refugees and their host communities.

Nearly two years since the war's rapid escalation, 14.6 million people need humanitarian aid in Ukraine  that's about 40 per cent of Ukraine's population. Some 6.3 million people have fled the country and remain refugees, most of them have stayed in Europe.

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, stressed at the event the profound impact of the war on children, saying that this alone should compel a collective effort to significantly increase humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

He also emphasized that, as the war continues unabated, the very fabric of Ukrainian society is under attack with devastating consequences.

For his part, the High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said that although the plight of millions of Ukrainian refugees is no longer in the headlines, they still need our urgent support, adding that host countries continue to extend protection, including them in society, but many vulnerable refugees still need help.

For its part on the ground, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us that attacks are continuing across Ukraine. Yesterday alone, more than 40 homes, several education facilities and other civilian infrastructure were reportedly damaged, and several civilians injured in the front-line of Donetsk and Kherson Regions, that's according to what national authorities are telling us.

The recent wave of attacks underscores the devastating civilian cost of the war, with winter ratcheting up the urgent need for life-saving humanitarian aid.

And we hope that donors will contribute in cash generously to the appeal launched today.

** Yemen

Let's go back to the Middle East, a couple of updates there.

You may have seen that over the weekend, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, issued a statement expressing his concern about recent developments involving Yemen.

He noted with serious concern the increasingly precarious regional context, and its adverse impact on peace efforts in Yemen, stability and security in the region.

Mr. Grundberg urged all involved to exercise maximum restraint and to prioritize diplomatic channels over military options and calls for de-escalation.

He reiterated the Secretary-General's call for all involved to avoid actions that would worsen the situation in Yemen, escalate the threat to maritime trade routes, or further fuel regional tensions at this very critical time.

** Lebanon

And our head of peacekeeping, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, visited the Truce Supervision Organization in Jerusalem over the weekend, otherwise known as UNTSO.

In meetings with Israeli Government and military officials, he discussed the work of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, the Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) and of course UNTSO. He reaffirmed their commitment to implementing their mandates and their efforts to prevent further escalation.

As we told you last week, he was in Lebanon, and including in Southern Lebanon, to visit UNIFIL for himself.

In his various engagements in Lebanon, he stressed the need for all actors to cease fire, recommit to resolution 1701, and work towards a durable political and diplomatic solution. He of course, as the Secretary-General just did, warned of the risk of a larger and more devastating conflict increases with the continued exchanges of fire each day across the Blue Line.

Mr. Lacroix thanked all his colleagues who are working in the Middle East missions he visited, thanked them for their service for peace, and he is on his way back to New York.

** Democratic Republic of the Congo

Moving on to Africa. Our peacekeeping colleagues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo  MONUSCO  informed us that they just wanted to flag on Saturday (13 January), the Head of our peacekeeping mission there, Bintou Keita, held a press conference with Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DRC Christophe Lutundula, and that was focused on the disengagement plan jointly developed and agreed upon with the Congolese and Government forces in November.

Ms. Keita reiterated that we continue to work closely with Congolese authorities to accelerate the progressive and responsible disengagement of the peacekeeping mission from South Kivu while consolidating the peace gains. The SRSG informed that the first phase of the disengagement of MONUSCO has begun and will lead to the complete withdrawal of MONUSCO from South Kivu by June 2024, together with the simultaneous strengthening of State authorities in the province. During this phase, our peacekeeping colleagues' bases in South Kivu will be handed over to the Government in line with the usual standard of practice.

The next phases, which will include MONUSCO's withdrawal from North Kivu and Ituri, will be based on a careful assessment of the situation in these provinces, together with the Congolese authorities, an evaluation of the first phase.

** South Sudan

And South Sudan. Our Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, has allocated $10 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to support men, women and children fleeing from Sudan to the neighbouring country, South Sudan.

The funds will be used to build shelters, offer cash assistance, build water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, and support onward transportation for new arrivals who are currently staying at overcrowded transit sites.

We are anticipating thousands of additional people may cross the borders into South Sudan from Sudan over the next six months, stressing a system that is already under stress.

In just the past month, more than 60,000 people have arrived in South Sudan, following the outbreak of clashes in and around Wad Medani, Sudan's second-largest city.

And as of today, about half a million people have crossed into South Sudan since mid-April.

** Afghanistan

And the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said today it is concerned about the survival of 96,000 children in Afghanistan impacted by the earthquakes that struck the country over 3 months ago. It called for greater health care, clean water and sanitation services for children, amidst harsh winter conditions.

UNICEF has already done a lot in support of the victims in the aftermath, but much more needs to be done.

They confirmed that the rehabilitation work on destroyed classrooms will begin shortly. In the meantime, it has set up 61 temporary learning spaces, 61 child friendly spaces, where almost 3,400 children, more than half of them girls, are able to continue basic education.

** Honour Roll

We will have one of our half-baked quizzes today. This time we honour a particular bread, because we are "on a roll". Yes, these are all very, very bad jokes.

In 2014, UNESCO inscribed lavash bread on its List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Lavash bread is known as a culinary tradition, which country? Who said Armenia?

Alan, congratulations. South Caucasus, we don't thank geographical areas, we thank Member States, so we thank our friends in Yerevan, and Alan for participating in the tournament of champions.

** Questions and Answers

Spokesman : I will now take some questions. Alan, you played, you win.

Question : Maybe you could cover just a couple of words, the working plan of the USG during that was from his, especially I'm interested in his bilateral meetings. Is he going to meet some Ukrainian officials?

Spokesman : There will be a number of bilateral meetings. The reason I'm not listing them because Davos is a complicated place to schedule a meeting, [meetings] will be finalized once he's there. But obviously, it's an opportunity for the Secretary-General to meet with senior Government leaders. That will be there and of course, some members of the private sector notably on issues of artificial intelligence and social media. But as soon as I have details, I will share those with you.

Question : Thank you. China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, yesterday said that he's calling for International Peace Conference dealing with Gaza and Israel and a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry called on or said that they would support the UN's role in this. Has the Secretary-General had any conversations with China at any level about this yet?

Spokesman : Not in the last few days that I'm aware of.

Question : Presumably, Secretary-General would welcome this and engage?

Spokesman : I think the United Nations has a role to play given the number of resolutions, General Assembly, Security Council resolutions, dating back to the creation of the state of Israel that have been violated, but that also support the, the legal framework for the two-State solution.

Question : Ask one more.

Spokesman : Yep, of course.

Question : The Secretary-General in his comments mentioned something about when aid convoys are held up and one item is not allowed, the whole convoy needs to be rechecked again. Basically, those aren't, he said it more eloquently, obviously, is that, that seems like a big problem and the fact that he mentioned that here in his, in his remarks seems like he's quite concerned about that. Has, has Secretary-General or someone at the UN been engaged with Israel about why they're doing this and how they can stop?

Spokesman : I mean, you are correct Gabriel, the fact that he mentioned it underscores the importance of the, of the... We are continuously engaging with Israeli authorities, especially on the ground at the working level, to try to make this a simpler process, to try to make this a quicker process, to try to make this a more effective process. This is, of course, also within the remit of, of [the Senior Humanitarian and Reconstructor Coordinator for Gaza] Sigrid Kaag.

Question : So to develop on that question, how would you characterize Steph if the relationship between the United Nations and Israel, we see the consistent criticism from the Israeli envoy directed, not only at the person of the Secretary-General, but the organization of the whole, the examples of the struggles we're seeing in terms of a deliveries getting into Gaza at scale doesn't seem to be happening. So you talk about these communications that really don't seem to be delivering what the UN is seeking to achieve in Gaza. What does that say about the relationship between Israel and the United Nations today?

Spokesman : I'm trying to think of the one word, but maybe we'll use two, complex and challenging. We are trying to deliver humanitarian aid in the middle of a conflict, that is always a challenge. That is always dangerous not only for those who are delivering aid, but also for those who are receiving aid. We're also trying to deliver aid in the midst of a conflict in a highly difficult political situation. Nothing about this is easy. But what I would stress when, I mean, because you raised Israel, I think the lines of communications are open. The relationship I think remains complex and challenging.

Question : A question on the DRC. In terms of the withdrawal that we're going to see. I've, I've read that it's about 2000 troops by April that will leave MONUSCO, which countries will be directly affected in terms of TCCs?

Spokesman : We'll try to get a bit of granularity on that, or you may contact our peacekeeping colleagues who would have more details. Thank you, Dezhi.

Question : Complex and challenging the relationship. Is that why the Secretary General still has no chance to talk with Prime Minister Netanyahu?

Spokesman : I understand the interest for that. But I think that is not...

Question : Because that would be a big signal. Right?

Spokesman : That is not the end all and be all. As I said, we have daily and I'm sure probably hourly discussions with Israeli counterparts on the delivery of aid in Gaza, on the situation in the West Bank. [Israeli Ambassador] Gilad Erdan just and Sigrid Kaag just had a meeting last week, which by all accounts was productive.

Question : How, how does that that meeting was productive?

Spokesman : I would say productive is, I don't know if you were here on Friday, but I did say that Ms. Kaag had received a visa to go to Israel, so she will go to Israel in the near future.

Question : But the Ambassador, Erdan is also the one who said UN is the one who should sit in the trial in the Hague. [cross-talk]

Spokesman : You're welcome to speak to him and what, you know, what I always say, when people say the UN ask which UN you talking about?

Question : Okay. Sorry. one last question.

Spokesman : One more question.

Question : No. Maybe one, maybe two more questions. I don't know.

Spokesman : There you go. There you go.

Question : I'm just wondering where Mr. Tor Wennesland is? His last tweet was 22 December, which is re-tweeting what SG said. His own words, that's 27 November.

Spokesman : [Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland] has been briefing the Security Council. Last week he and Jamie McGoldrick, our Humanitarian Coordinator, met with the minister Gilad, the Minister of Defence in Israel. So he continues his work and his interaction, and I know he's deeply involved in what is going on. Just because he's not tweeting doesn't mean he's not working.

Okay. I will leave you because I don't see any question. Oh, Abdelhamid. Sorry. Oh, I'm sorry. let me, you go first and then we'll go to Abdelhamid.

Question : As you know, Bangladesh successfully held its general election at the beginning of this month in fair, inclusive and transparent manner. However, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the main opposition, BNP, tried to vandalize the election through their terrorist activities.

Spokesman : I don't need a recount what happened. What is the question?

Question : Just a second. They killed a large number...

Spokesman : Sir, if, if you could ask me...?

Question : Would you please share your comments on the BNP's terrorist activities during the national election of Bangladesh?

Spokesman : We were asked by one of your colleagues about the elections. I think our call  and I'll repeat what I said  is that we call on parties to reject all forms of violence and to ensure that all human rights and the rule of law are respected.

Question : Does the United Nations consider killing people, setting fire to crowded buses and trains under the guise of a democratic movement as a violation of human rights?

Spokesman : Sir, we do not condone any violence regardless of who is committing it.

Okay. Abdelhamid.

Question : Thank you, Stephane. I don't know. I think something wrong with my camera, but...

Spokesman : I know what, I know what you're looking like, Abdelhamid, it's okay and I recognize your voice, so I know it's you.

Question : Okay, what happened last night, around midnight, settlers went into the town or village of Burin near Nablus, and they glanced at the whole town, they destroyed cars, they torched many places and again, they are instilling fear in everyone in the village. Are you aware that, does anyone UN official know what happened last night, around midnight?

Spokesman : I have not, Abdelhamid, I have not seen these reports, the ones you specific ones you're mentioning. We will look into them. But I think the Secretary-General was very clear in his reference to the situation on the West Bank in his opening remarks.

Question : Thank you.

Spokesman : Alright. Madame, I see two madame. Madame and gentlemen, Hasta manana!

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UN chief reiterates Gaza ceasefire call, condemns 'collective punishment' of Palestinians

15 January 2024 - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has emphasized the imperative of establishing "basic conditions" to facilitate safe and full-scale aid delivery to civilians in Gaza while stressing that only a ceasefire will prevent the crisis from escalating.

Addressing reporters at UN Headquarters in New York on Monday, the UN chief expressed deep concern about the "unprecedented" level of civilian casualties and the "catastrophic" humanitarian conditions in the enclave.

"There is one solution to help address all these issues. We need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire," he stressed.

Release hostages

He recalled the 7 October terror attacks by Hamas and other militants on Israeli civilians and the taking of hostages, demanding their immediate and unconditional release.

He further called for a thorough investigation and prosecution of allegations of sexual violence committed by Palestinian militants.

Commenting on the Israeli forces' actions in the Gaza Strip, Guterres noted that the "onslaught" had resulted in "wholesale destruction" and an unprecedented rate of civilian killings during his tenure as Secretary-General.

"Nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is beyond words. Nowhere and no one is safe."

Aid workers doing their best

According to the UN agency assisting Palestine refugees (UNRWA), 1.9 million Gazans - 85 per cent of the enclave's population - have been displaced, some multiple times. As per Gaza's Ministry of Health, over 23,700 Palestinians have been killed and some 60,000 more injured.

The crisis has also claimed the lives of 152 UN staff members - the largest single loss of life in the history of the Organization.

"Aid workers, under enormous pressure and with no safety guarantees, are doing their best to deliver inside Gaza," the UN chief said.

'Obstacles to aid are clear'

Mr. Guterres outlined clear obstacles hindering aid into Gaza, identified not only by the UN but also by officials globally who have witnessed the situation.

He emphasized that effective humanitarian aid delivery is impossible under the heavy, widespread, and unrelenting bombardment, citing significant hurdles at the enclave's border.

Vital materials, including life-saving medical equipment and parts which are critical for the repair of water facilities and infrastructure, have been rejected with little or no explanation, disrupting the flow of critical supplies and the resumption of basic services.

"And when one item is denied, the time-consuming approval process starts again from scratch for the entire cargo," Mr. Guterres added, noting other obstacles including denials of access, unsafe routes and frequent telecommunications blackouts.

'We need basic conditions'

Stressing that the UN's efforts to increase aid, Mr. Guterres called on the parties to respect international humanitarian law, "respect and protect civilians, and ensure their essential needs are met."

There must be an immediate and massive increase in the commercial supply of essential goods, he added, noting also that necessities should also be available in markets to the entire population.

Cauldron of tensions 'boiling over'

The Secretary-General also warned of rising tensions in the wider Middle East.

"Tensions are sky-high in the Red Sea and beyond - and may soon be impossible to contain," he said, voicing concerns that exchanges of fire across the Blue Line - the demarcation separating Israeli and Lebanese armies - risks triggering a broader escalation between the two nations and profoundly affecting regional stability.

Expressing that he is "profoundly worried" by what is unfolding, the UN chief stressed that it is his "duty" to convey a simple and direct message to all sides:

"Stop playing with fire across the Blue Line, de-escalate, and bring hostilities to an end in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1701."

'Tamp down the flames'

Only a ceasefire can "tamp down the flames of wider war", because the longer it continues the greater the risk of escalation and miscalculation.

"We cannot see in Lebanon what we are seeing in Gaza", he concluded "and we cannot allow what has been happening in Gaza to continue."

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Shanghai (Gasgoo)- ZEEKR, the premium electric vehicle brand under Geely Auto, officially put the refreshed ZEEKR 009 MPV model onto the market on January 15. Coming with two trim levels as well, the WE version sees a modest increase in price, now standing at an even 500,000 yuan, while the ME version maintains its pricing at 588,000 yuan.

Photo credit: ZEEKR

In terms of exterior design, the new model continues the style of its predecessor, with a striking chrome-plated closed-off front grille that exudes a strong visual impact and dominance. The unique split-type light design on both sides significantly enhances recognition. Regarding interior design, the ZEEKR 009 inherits the family design philosophy of the ZEEKR 001, featuring a suspended central control screen and horizontally integrated air vents, presenting a simple yet technologically advanced layout.

Photo credit: ZEEKR

In the realm of intelligent driving, the new car is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 smart cockpit computing platform, enabling coordinated control of 68 ECUs. The entire lineup comes standard with two 7nm Mobileye EyeQ5H chips, along with seven 8-megapixel HD cameras (with a maximum visible distance of 600 meters), four 2-megapixel panoramic cameras, one long-range millimeter-wave radar (with a detection distance of 250 meters), and twelve short-range ultrasonic radars, among other high-end hardware devices. This significantly enhances algorithm processing capability and perception accuracy.

Streaming rearview mirror; photo credit: ZEEKR

Third-row double-layer soundproof glass; photo credit: ZEEKR

The comprehensive upgrade of the ZEEKR 009 is evident in the significant improvements in the driver's cabin and business cabin amenities. The driver's cabin now includes standard features such as streaming rearview mirrors, electrically adjustable steering wheel, and a comfortable package for the front passenger seat. The front passenger seat boasts 12-way electric adjustment and pneumatic massage function, while the third row is specially equipped with double-layer soundproof glass.

In the power system, the new car adopts a dual-motor four-wheel-drive system, achieving a rapid 0-100 km/h acceleration in just 4.5 seconds. The battery pack offers two capacity options: 116 kWh and 140 kWh, corresponding to CLTC ranges of 702 km and 822 km, respectively.
WHO appeals for $1.5 billion to deliver healthcare in crises

15 January 2024 - The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday launched a $1.5 billion emergency appeal to provide care to more than 87 million people this year in 41 ongoing crises, including in the occupied Palestinian territory, Ukraine, Sudan, Syria and the Horn of Africa.

The appeal comes at a time when climate change, drought and other extreme weather events, are fuelling food insecurity, conflict and displacement, causing deeper and increasingly complex health emergencies, leaving healthcare is increasingly under fire.

Every humanitarian crisis is a health crisis, WHO said, and each dollar invested in its lifesaving work nets a return on investment of at least $35.

Small price to pay

Speaking from the UN agency's headquarters in Geneva, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged donors and governments to step up support.

"There are only two ways to reduce the human suffering caused by health crises: increase the funding or reduce the needs. Neither is happening at the moment," he said, warning against inaction.

The UN Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, fully endorsed the appeal, saying it represented "a very small price to pay to protect the health of the most vulnerable and to prevent deepening of the global health crisis."

For example, he said nine months of war in Sudan has stretched the country's health system far beyond its capacity, affecting people who depend on everyday care as well as civilians injured in the fighting.

Additionally, weak disease surveillance and low vaccine coverage for preventable diseases have contributed to recurrent measles outbreaks.

Similar situations have occurred in Haiti, Somalia, Yemen, and many other countries, where infectious diseases such as cholera are both being driven by and exacerbating the broader humanitarian crisis. One billion people worldwide are now at risk of the deadly waterborne disease.

Healthcare in the crosshairs

Meanwhile, "global health is under threat like never before," said Mr. Griffiths. Last year, 1,300, attacks on healthcare across 19 countries were reported, leading to more than 700 deaths and 1,100 injuries to health workers and patients.

Since the start of the current hostilities between Hamas and Israel, there have been more than 624 attacks on healthcare in the occupied Palestinian territories, he said, resulting in the deaths of 619 health workers and patients, and another 826 injured.

Dr. Mike Ryan, the head of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, echoed this concern.

A 'weapon' of war

"We are witnessing an era in which attacking healthcare has become a tactic of war - not euphemistically referred to before as collateral damage or accidental damage, but actually fundamentally a weapon that is used to increase the terror and to deny people the health service that they need," he said.

Next month marks two years since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where healthcare is "not just a service", according to the UN's top humanitarian official in the country, Denise Brown.

"The availability of healthcare holds a community together," she said, speaking from Geneva. "So, I would argue that the loss of healthcare also is the beginnings of the loss of a sense of community."

Support is fundamental

Citing WHO, she said there have been more than 1,400 attacks on health infrastructure in Ukraine since the war began, and 14 have occurred since 29 December of last year.

Ms. Brown praised the dedicated healthcare professionals in Ukraine who continue to require immediate support from WHO and other institutions, but voiced concern over a potential decrease in humanitarian funding this year.

Earlier on Monday, the UN launched a $4.2 billion humanitarian appeal for the country.

"The war is not over, the suffering continues, and the support of Member States continues to be absolutely fundamental to the work that we do, including in healthcare," she said.

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World News in Brief: Emergency funds for Sudan refugees, democracy prevails in Guatemala, climate change in Iraq

15 January 2024 - Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, has allocated $10 million from the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support men, women and children fleeing the conflict between rival militaries in Sudan, across the border into neighbouring South Sudan.

The funds will be used to build shelters, offer cash assistance, build water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, and support onward transportation for new arrivals who are staying in overcrowded transit sites, said the UN Spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, briefing reporters on Monday.

"We are anticipating that thousands of additional people may cross the borders into South Sudan from Sudan over the next six months, stressing a system that is already under stress", he said.

Exodus continues

More than 60,000 people have arrived in South Sudan during the past month, following the outbreak of clashes between Government troops and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia fighters in and around Wad Medani, Sudan's second-largest city.

In all, around half a million people have crossed into South Sudan since mid-April 2023, when the rival armies began fighting following the collapse of their longstanding alliance, stretching back to the brutal conflict in Darfur during the early 2000s.

The UN warned last week that amid "horrific abuses" against civilians around 25 million Sudanese will need humanitarian support through this year, but intensifying fighting is making aid delivery nearly impossible.

"The war has unleashed the world's largest displacement crisis, uprooting the lives of seven million", warned Mr. Griffiths.

Guatemala: Guterres congratulates new president, says 'democratic will' has prevailed

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday congratulated the newly sworn-in President of Guatemala, following months of legal manoeuvres reportedly aimed at preventing him from taking office.

President Bernardo Arevalo won the election in August by a clear margin but the country's attorney general sought to invalidate his win through months of legal procedures.

The swearing in was reportedly delayed by ten hours on Sunday, and after finally taking office, President Arevalo acknowledged the country's large indigenous population which around 40 per cent of Guatemalans belong to.

Indigenous groups supported the president strongly during the turbulent post-election months, and in his inauguration speech, he reportedly said that there can't be democracy without social justice, and social justice will not prevail without democracy.

Speaking to reporters at the regular daily briefing in New York, Stephane Dujarric spoke on behalf of the Secretary-General:

"He welcomes that the democratic will of voters has been respected and notes the President's declared commitments to advancing peace, social justice, human development, transparency, and democratic reform."

Mr. Guterres "reaffirms that the United Nations stands ready to accompany Guatemala and Guatemalans in these efforts", Mr. Dujarric added.

WFP signs agreement to support climate adaptation in Iraq's Basrah region

A new climate change adaptation initiative is due to get underway in southern Iraq, after the Basrah Gas Company (BGC) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) signed an agreement on Monday in support of local farmers in the Al Zubair district of the regional capital.

The initiative is designed to increase incomes and boost agricultural production.

The project will introduce tested solutions to combat desertification and support water conservation in the farming sector. WFP and BGC will collaborate closely with the Directorate of Agriculture, the Farmers' Association, and local farmers in the implementation phase, the UN agency said in a press release.

The initiative will train farmers on applying smart agriculture techniques, modern farming methods such as so-called "soilless farming" and water-saving irrigation systems.

Empowering women in the field

The project will also focus on empowering female farmers by building capacity and self-employment in cooperation with the designated local authorities in the district.

This collaboration, which was finalized during the COP28 climate change conference in Dubai last month, comes at a critical moment for global transformative climate action.

"Our strategic approach in Al-Zubair aligns with the urgent need to combat the effects of climate change in southern Iraq. Al-Zubair district is one of the regions in Basrah most affected by climate change. There are frequent sandstorms, heatwaves, water scarcity, pollution, and salinity," said WFP Country Director and Representative for Iraq Ally-Raza Qureshi.

"This project underscores our joint commitment to promoting sustainable livelihoods, community cohesion, and effective adaptation strategies for the evolving agricultural landscape in Basrah."

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UNRWA

15 Jan 2024

1. Key points

The Gaza Strip

As of 12 January 2024, the total number of UNRWA colleagues killed since the beginning of hostilities has increased by four to 150. Since 7 October 2023, up to 1.9 million people (or over 85 per cent of the population) have been displaced across the Gaza Strip, some multiple times. Families are forced to move repeatedly in search of safety. Following intense Israeli bombardments and fghting in the middle areas, more than half of the IDPs (approximately 270,000) have moved again further south. Due to the security situation tracking the latest IDP movements is becoming increasingly difficult.

As of 12 January, nearly 1.4 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are sheltering in 154 UNRWA facilities across all five governorates of the Gaza Strip, including 160,000 in the north and Gaza City, and more than 500,000 are in close vicinity of these installations and receiving assistance from UNRWA. A total of 1.9 million1 IDPs are receiving assistance from UNRWA. Significant population movements towards the south continue.
Israeli Forces Strike Across Gaza Strip as Gaza Health Ministry Says Death Toll Tops 24,100

By VOA News January 15, 2024

Israeli forces launched new airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Monday, while the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said Monday that Israeli attacks killed more than 130 people during the past day.

Israel's military said its operations included killing five militants in northern Gaza "who were attempting to locate weapons," along with airstrikes and ground attacks that destroyed weapons storage facilities in southern Gaza's Khan Younis area.

The Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its casualty totals, said Monday that the number of dead from Israel's military campaign had risen to at least 24,100, with more than 60,000 others injured.

Israel began its military campaign to wipe out Hamas after Hamas fighters crossed into southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 people hostage in the terror attack.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres renewed his appeal Monday for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, saying it is urgently needed to get aid to Palestinians, facilitate the release of hostages held by Hamas, and halt the spread of the war throughout the Middle East.

"I am profoundly worried by what is unfolding," Guterres told reporters at the United Nations.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong called Monday for a "sustainable cease-fire" in Gaza as she became the latest diplomat to travel to the region to discuss the conflict and humanitarian efforts.

"No cease-fire can be one sided and no cease-fire can be unconditional," Wong said at a news conference ahead of her departure on the trip that includes stops in Jordan, Israel, the West Bank and the United Arab Emirates.

A temporary cease-fire in late November included militants in the Gaza Strip releasing more than 100 hostages, while Israel set free 240 Palestinian prisoners.

The World Food Program, World Health Organization and UNICEF warned Monday the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza is "far short of what is needed to prevent a deadly combination of hunger, malnutrition, and disease."

The agencies called for new routes for aid to enter Gaza along with more trucks allowed in each day, as well as fewer restrictions on aid worker movements and better safety protections.

"People in Gaza risk dying of hunger just miles from trucks filled with food," WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain said in a statement. "Every hour lost puts countless lives at risk. We can keep famine at bay but only if we can deliver sufficient supplies and have safe access to everyone in need, wherever they are."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue his country's war against Hamas until victory.

Netanyahu said at a news conference late Saturday that Israel will not be deterred by accusations that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians.

"No one will stop us, not The Hague, not the Axis of Evil, no one," he said, referring to Hamas fighting Israel in Gaza, Iran-backed Hezbollah militants who have been firing on Israel from Lebanon, and Houthi militias who have been launching drones and missiles to attack commercial vessels in the Red Sea as a show of support to Hamas.

The Israeli prime minister spoke after a two-day hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, where South Africa accused Israel of genocide in a case before the court. Israel has rejected the accusation as libelous and hypocritical.

Israel says that ending the war now would mean victory for Hamas, an Islamic militant group that has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Britain, among others. Hamas has ruled Gaza since 2007 and says it is bent on Israel's destruction.

An interim ICJ ruling is expected in a few weeks. Rulings are binding but difficult to enforce.

Israel faces growing international pressure to end the war, which has led to widespread suffering in addition to the death toll. According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, about two-thirds of the dead are women and children.

Since the start of Israel's ground operation in late October, 186 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,099 more have been injured in Gaza, according to the military. More than 85% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million have been displaced due to Israel's air and ground offensive, and vast swaths of the territory have been leveled.

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

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Opposition Condemns Designation of Chad's Military Ruler as Presidential Candidate

By Moki Edwin Kindzeka January 15, 2024

Opposition parties in Chad are condemning the entry of the country's military ruler into the 2024 presidential race. General Mahamat Idriss Deby seized power after his father's death, declared himself interim president, and pushed through a new constitution which enables him to run for president in this year's delayed elections.

In the nationally televised broadcast Saturday, Mahamat Zene Bada, secretary of Chad's former ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement or MPS party, said that military ruler Mahamat Idriss Deby is the party's candidate for the central African state's presidential elections expected later this year.

Bada said Chad is lucky to have Deby, an understanding leader who he said listens to his people and works for peace, development and national concord as transitional president.

Baba said members of MPS designate Deby as their candidate for presidential elections so Deby can continue the work he has been doing to stop armed conflicts and political tensions and make Chad an emerging economy by 2030.

However, Chad's opposition and civil society groups are condemning Deby's designation and candidate for the presidential race. The opposition and civil society groups say Chad is not a Deby dynasty that can be ruled only by a single family.

Albert Pahimi Padacke, opposition leader of Chad's National Rally for Democracy, contested and lost Chad's 2006 presidential election.

Padacke says he is certain the younger Deby asked the MPS, Chad's former ruling party, to name the military ruler as candidate for presidential elections expected this 2024.

He says Deby, who wants to conserve power and continue his late father Idriss Deby Itno's three decades iron fisted rule, should save Chad from descending into violence by not single handedly appointing people loyal to the military ruler to manage elections, instead of people who are independent, neutral and have the confidence of all Chad's political actors.

Padacke spoke on Chad state TV on Monday. He said Chad has remained poor and is devastated by armed conflicts and political tensions since the Deby family took power in 1990.

General Mahamat Idriss Deby became leader of Chad's Transitional Military Council in April 2021 after his father, Idriss Deby Itno, died on the frontlines of a fight against northern rebels.

The younger Deby was to head an 18-month transitional council but in October of 2022, he dissolved the council and declared himself interim president.

Deby organized a December 17 constitutional referendum he said paved the way for a return to civilian rule and Chad's supreme court announced that the new constitution was approved by 86% of voters.

Chad's opposition and civil society groups called the constitutional referendum a sham to prepare for an eventual election of Deby, a 39-year-old military general.

Opposition parties, including the Rally for Democracy and the Union of Democrats for Development and Progress, said the referendum should have barred Deby from becoming a candidate.

Meantime, interim president Deby has been designated honorary president of the MPS by a resolution of congressmen.

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Eastern DRC Hopes for Peace During Tshisekedi's Second Term

By Zanem Nety Zaidi January 15, 2024

Felix Tshisekedi is set to be inaugurated for a new term as president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, after the constitutional court confirmed his victory in last month's election. In the eastern part of the country, residents hope he will focus his attention on bringing peace and security to the volatile region.

Bashinge Esperance is a war-displaced woman who fled a month ago from Masisi territory, where the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo are fighting the rebel group M23.

Esperance is a widow, her husband having been killed by the rebels while working in his field. She says she hopes that Tshisekedi, in his second term, will focus on bringing peace to the region.

She says that the president, who will soon be sworn in, should be stronger to bring peace, because in the camp where she lives, she says she is suffering and would like to return to her village.

Esperance sews to support herself and her 4-year-old child. She is pregnant and expecting a baby in about a month.

She says doesn't want to give birth in the displaced persons' camp because life is so difficult; she'd like to give birth in her village. She says that if peace were to return, the DRC could be even better and the people would live better.

The same hope was expressed by Sadiki Willy, a displaced person who has been living in the Kanyaruchinya camp, north of the city of Goma, for over 10 months. He hopes the president will show concern for the difficult living conditions of the displaced in the camps.

He says that the first thing the president should focus on in his second term is peace, and that he should care about the war-displaced and do his best to get them back home. He says they used to live better at home, in their houses, but here they live in dilapidated shacks with no security.

The DRC already has a record number of internally displaced people. In October 2023, the number was estimated at 5.6 million, with most living in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri and Tanganyika.

Rebel groups have fought the government and each other in eastern Congo for decades, battling for political dominance and control of the region's rich mines.

Congolese law professor Tresor Makunya has some ideas about how these armed conflicts could be resolved.

"The Congolese government has mainly relied on the U.N. and a few regional organizations such as the East African Community to resolve conflicts and security problems in eastern DRC ... instead of strengthening its own armed forces," he said. "The government has also relied on bilateral military agreements with, for example, Burundi Rwanda and Uganda. I believe that the national army needs to be enhanced, and that it can be enhanced in a number of ways. Firstly, we need to increase [the] military budget and ensure that it is used wisely and appropriately. Finally, we need to ensure that military personnel and soldiers involved in wrongdoing are held to account."

Tshisekedi's swearing-in ceremony will take place January 20 in Kinshasa, the Congolese capital.

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Somali, Palestinian Delegations Push Demands Ahead of Non-Aligned Summit in Uganda

By Halima Athumani January 15, 2024

The summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) got underway this week in Uganda's capital, Kampala, where delegations from Somalia and the Palestinian people are lobbying members for support. While the Palestinians are calling on members to find a way to end the conflict in Gaza, Somalia says it needs support to maintain its territorial integrity.

Ninety-three out of 120 NAM nations are represented in Kampala for the 19th summit of the movement.

For the plenary session that began Monday, Arab nations made clear that Gaza must be the focus of the meeting.

Delegates said the NAM summit must find the right language to address what they called "the violent and savage aggression by the state of Israel in perpetuating a genocide" in Gaza.

A delegate from Mauritius said the summit must make a political declaration on the war, which broke out October 7 after the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostage, 105 of whom were released in November. Israel's military response reportedly has killed more than 24,000 Palestinians.

Riyadh Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, said he does not expect any country to disagree with calling for a cease-fire and humanitarian assistance for the 2.3 million Palestinians displaced from their homes.

"We are not asking for anything other than standing with us against this aggression," he said. "We are facing a massive calamity. I don't think it's an exaggeration from us to expect support from our brothers and sisters from the movement."

Uganda recently took over chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement from Azerbaijan.

Vincent Bagiire, the permanent secretary at the Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says the agenda for the plenary session will be decided by consensus.

"We have not subjected the matter of Palestine and Gaza to whether it should be the major topic that we discuss," he said. "So, Uganda will focus on creating cohesion within the movement to ensure that we can work together as a movement for the good of humanity."

Delegates from Somalia are calling for the 120-state movement to support its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Early this month, Ethiopia signed an agreement with Somaliland, a breakaway region from Somalia, giving Ethiopia access to the sea. In return, Ethiopia would consider recognizing Somaliland as an independent country.

Hamza Adan Haadow, permanent secretary in the Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says the agreement "violates our rights, our integrity and our unity." "So, that's why we are pushing, and we believe that the peace that we had will continue if the Non-Alignment Movement stands with us," he added.

Both the Somali and Palestinian representatives have five days to convince delegates to prioritize their concerns and come up with resolutions before heads of state fly to Uganda for the summit at the end of this week.

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Israel Says Intensive Phase of War With Hamas Will Soon End

By VOA News January 15, 2024

Israel's defense minister said Monday that the intensive phase of Israel's war with Hamas would soon end, but he ruled out a cease-fire.

At a news conference, Yoav Gallant said the "intense maneuvering stage" that the Israeli military has been carrying out in southern Gaza "will end soon." He said the military had recently ended its intensive ground operation in northern Gaza.

"In both places, we will reach the moment for the next stage," he said.

Gallant said Israel could not fully stop its military operations in Gaza because Hamas would not agree to release any more hostages without military pressure.

Gallant's comments came as Hamas announced the deaths of two of the Israeli hostages it abducted during its October attack.

In a video Hamas released Monday, the group showed the dead bodies of two people it said were Israeli hostages. In a statement accompanying the video, Hamas said the Israeli military killed the hostages.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari denied that Israeli forces caused the deaths.

"That is a Hamas lie," he said.

Earlier Monday, Israeli forces launched new airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, while the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said that Israeli attacks had killed more than 130 people during the past day.

Israel's military said its operations included killing five militants in northern Gaza "who were attempting to locate weapons," along with airstrikes and ground attacks that destroyed weapons storage facilities in southern Gaza's Khan Younis area.

The Gaza health ministry, which does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its casualty totals, said Monday that the number of dead from Israel's military campaign had risen to at least 24,100, with more than 60,000 others injured.

Sparked by October 7 attack

Israel began its military campaign to wipe out Hamas after Hamas fighters crossed into southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 people hostage in the terror attack.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres renewed his appeal Monday for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, saying it was urgently needed to get aid to Palestinians, facilitate the release of Hamas' hostages and halt the spread of the war throughout the Mideast.

"I am profoundly worried by what is unfolding," Guterres told reporters at the United Nations.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong called Monday for a "sustainable cease-fire" in Gaza, becoming the latest diplomat to travel to the region to discuss the conflict and humanitarian efforts.

"No cease-fire can be one-sided, and no cease-fire can be unconditional," Wong said at a news conference ahead of her departure on a trip that includes stops in Jordan, Israel, the West Bank and the United Arab Emirates.

During a temporary cease-fire in late November, militants in Gaza released more than 100 hostages, while Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Also on Monday, the World Food Program, World Health Organization and UNICEF warned that the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza was "far short of what is needed to prevent a deadly combination of hunger, malnutrition and disease."

The agencies called for new routes for aid to enter Gaza, along with more trucks allowed in each day, as well as fewer restrictions on aid worker movements and better safety protections.

"People in Gaza risk dying of hunger just miles from trucks filled with food," WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain said in a statement. "Every hour lost puts countless lives at risk. We can keep famine at bay, but only if we can deliver sufficient supplies and have safe access to everyone in need, wherever they are."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue his country's war against Hamas until victory.

Netanyahu said at a news conference late Saturday that Israel would not be deterred by accusations that it was committing genocide against Palestinians.

The prime minister spoke after a two-day hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, where South Africa accused Israel of genocide in a case before the court. Israel has rejected the accusation as libelous and hypocritical.

Israel says that ending the war now would mean victory for Hamas, an Islamic militant group that has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Britain, among others. Hamas has ruled Gaza since 2007 and says it is bent on Israel's destruction.

An interim ICJ ruling is expected in a few weeks. Rulings are binding but difficult to enforce.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

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Preventing famine and deadly disease outbreak in Gaza requires faster, safer aid access and more supply routes

15 January 2024

Joint News Release

Rome / Geneva / New York



As the risk of famine grows, and more people are exposed to deadly disease outbreaks, a fundamental step change in the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza is urgently needed, United Nations agencies warned today. The heads of the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) say that getting enough supplies into and across Gaza now depends on: the opening of new entry routes; more trucks being allowed through border checks each day; fewer restrictions on the movement of humanitarian workers; and guarantees of safety for people accessing and distributing aid.

Without the ability to produce or import food, the entire population of Gaza relies on aid to survive. But humanitarian aid alone cannot meet the essential needs of the Gaza people. The United Nations, international aid agencies and non-governmental organizations have so far managed to deliver limited humanitarian assistance in Gaza, despite extraordinarily difficult conditions, but the quantities fall far short of what is needed to prevent a deadly combination of hunger, malnutrition, and disease. The shortage of food, clean water, and medical assistance is particularly severe in the northern areas.

Humanitarian action is seriously limited by the closure of all but two border crossings in the south and the multi-layered vetting process for trucks coming into Gaza. Once inside, efforts to set up service points for people in need are hampered by bombardments and constantly shifting battle fronts, which endanger the lives of ordinary Gazans and the UN and other humanitarian personnel striving to help them.

"People in Gaza risk dying of hunger just miles from trucks filled with food," said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain. "Every hour lost puts countless lives at risk. We can keep famine at bay but only if we can deliver sufficient supplies and have safe access to everyone in need, wherever they are."

The latest Integrated Food Security and Nutrition Phase Classification (IPC) report found devastating levels of food insecurity in Gaza and confirmed that the entire population of Gaza - roughly 2.2 million people - are in crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity. Virtually all Palestinians in Gaza are skipping meals every day while many adults go hungry so children can eat, and the report warned of famine, if current conditions persist.

WFP has been providing food to people inside Gaza every day since 7 October and reached more than 900 000 people with food assistance in December. This has required pivoting to new ways of operating with local partners, including finding safe sites for distributions, channeling wheat flour into bakeries so that they can resume production, and distributing special food supplements to help children fight off malnutrition. On Thursday, WFP's first food convoy to North Gaza since the humanitarian pause delivered food supplies for around 8000 people.

The conflict has also damaged or destroyed essential water, sanitation and health infrastructure and services and limited capacity to treat severe malnutrition and infectious disease outbreaks. With Gaza's 335 000 children under 5 years of age especially vulnerable, UNICEF projects that, in the next few weeks, child wasting, the most life-threatening form of malnutrition in children, could increase from pre-crisis conditions by nearly 30 per cent, affecting up to 10 000 children.

"Children at high risk of dying from malnutrition and disease desperately need medical treatment, clean water and sanitation services, but the conditions on the ground do not allow us to safely reach children and families in need," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. "Some of the material we desperately need to repair and increase water supply remain restricted from entering Gaza. The lives of children and their families are hanging in the balance. Every minute counts."

UNICEF has been warning since November that children in southern Gaza are accessing only 1.5 to 2 litres of water per day, well below the recommended requirements for survival. To address this, UNICEF and partners have provided safe drinking water to over 1.3 million people, but much more is needed to address the desperate conditions. UNICEF has also provided medical supplies, including 600 000 doses of vaccine, nutritional supplements and vitamins to children and pregnant women, and humanitarian cash transfers to over 500 000 households.

Since the start of the hostilities, WHO and partners have been supporting the health system in Gaza with deliveries of medical equipment and supplies, medicines, fuel, coordination of emergency medical teams, and disease surveillance. There have been more than a dozen high-risk missions to deliver supplies to hospitals in northern and southern Gaza. WHO and partners helped establish two kitchens at Al-Shifa hospital, now serving 1200 meals a day and delivered medical supplies to support treatment for up to 1250 children with severe acute malnutrition, and the establishment of therapeutic feeding centres.

"People in Gaza are suffering from a lack of food, water, medicines and adequate healthcare. Famine will make an already terrible situation catastrophic because sick people are more likely to succumb to starvation and starving people are more vulnerable to disease", said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "We need unimpeded, safe access to deliver aid and a humanitarian ceasefire to prevent further death and suffering."

Israeli authorization to use a working port close to the Gaza Strip and border crossing points into the north is critically needed by aid agencies. Access to Ashdod port, roughly 40 km to the north, would enable significantly larger quantities of aid to be shipped in and then trucked directly to the badly affected northern regions of Gaza, which few convoys have managed to reach.

"The flow of aid has been a trickle in comparison to a sea of humanitarian needs," said Phillipe Lazzarini, Commissioner General for the UN Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA). "Humanitarian aid will not be enough to reverse the worsening hunger among the population. Commercial supplies are a must to allow the markets and private sector to re-open and provide an alternative to food accessibility."

The agency heads emphasize the urgent need to lift the barriers and restrictions on aid delivery to and within Gaza, and for commercial traffic to resume. They reiterated the call for a humanitarian ceasefire to enable this vitally important roll-out of a massive, multi-agency humanitarian operation.



Note to editors

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.



UNICEF works in some of the world's toughest places, to reach the world's most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. For more information about UNICEF and its work for children visit www.unicef.org



UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The United Nations General Assembly established UNRWA in 1949 with a mandate to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestine refugees in the Agency's area of operations pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. UNRWA operates in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, The Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. https://www.unrwa.org



Dedicated to the well-being of all people and guided by science, the World Health Organization leads and champions global efforts to give everyone, everywhere an equal chance at a safe and healthy life. We are the UN agency for health that connects nations, partners and people on the front lines in 150+ locations - leading the world's response to health emergencies, preventing disease, addressing the root causes of health issues and expanding access to medicines and health care. Our mission is to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. www.who.int

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Vicinity of US consulate in Erbil targeted: Source

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 16, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- An Iraqi security source says the vicinity of the US consulate in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan, has been targeted with missiles and drones.

ABC News channel reported Tuesday morning, quoting the Iraqi source that eight points near the American consulate in Erbil were targeted, with some of the attacks being very intense.

The source told that three drones were shot down near Erbil Airport but he did not specify possible casualties or damage there.

According to him, the drone attack prompted the air traffic control to stop arrival and departure of flights in Erbil.

Sky News Channel's Arabic network says the target of attack at Erbil International Airport was the US military base that is located in the airport premise.

Some unofficial sources have been also cited as saying that that some facilities belonging to the Zionist regime in Erbil have been targeted, as well.

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Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On January 15, Audi announced a key change in its top leadership for the Chinese market. Starting April 1, 2024, Johannes Roscheck will assume the role of President of Audi China, taking over the reins from Jurgen Unser, who has skillfully overseen Audi's operations in the world's largest auto market.

Johannes Roscheck; photo credit: Audi

Johannes Roscheck, currently serving as the Head of Corporate Controlling & Finance at AUDI AG in Ingolstadt, will bring a wealth of experience to his new role. Having led Audi operations in Brazil as CEO from 2017 to 2022, he has held various management positions within the Volkswagen Group across Hungary, the United States, and Germany. With a background in mechanical engineering and a PhD in economics, Roscheck boasts over 25 years of experience in finance and production within the automotive sector.

Jurgen Unser; photo credit: Audi

Jurgen Unser, who has skillfully managed Audi's activities in China since January 2022, leaves a lasting legacy in the electrification strategy's advancement. Under his leadership, plans for the new production site of Audi FAW NEV Co. have been implemented, set to produce all-electric vehicles for the Chinese market by the end of 2024. Other notable milestones achieved during Unser's tenure include the expansion of joint-venture partnerships and the establishment of an Audi-branded charging infrastructure in China.

As per the initial plan, Jurgen Unser is returning to Germany after two years in Beijing, preparing for new responsibilities within the Volkswagen Group.
US-UK illegal attacks on Yemen could escalate tensions: Iran FM

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 16, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has told the Secretary General of the United Nations that the US-UK aggression against Yemen lead to the escalation of tensions in the West Asian region.

Amir-Abdollahian in a phone call with Antonio Guterres on Monday described the military actions of the United States and Britain as "illegal" as well as "strategic mistake".

The top Iranian diplomat and the UN chief also discussed and exchanged views on the need to stop the Israeli regime's crimes in Gaza and the recent developments in the Red Sea.

While appreciating the efforts and stance of Guterres, especially his call to stop the killing of citizens in Gaza, Amir-Abdullahian once again emphasized the need to end the Israeli onslaught on Gaza and announced Iran's readiness to send humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian people.

On the Red Sea, the Iranian foreign minister clarified his country's principled position on maintaining the security of shipping and seafaring but underlined that the Yemeni army's actions against Israeli-bound ships are aimed at stopping the regime's crimes and genocide in Gaza.

During this telephone conversation, the UN Secretary-General once again condemned the war on Gaza and emphasized the need to stop the mayhem and allow humanitarian aid into the blockaded Palestinian strip.

Antonio Guterres also touched on the recent developments in the Red Sea and expressed concern about the spread of conflicts in the region. He said the efforts of the United Nations are to stop the war and minimize the suffering of the people in the region.

Guterres urged all parties to pay attention to the United Nations Charter and stay away from war. He also called on the Islamic Republic of Iran to help strengthen peace and stability in the region.

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Nation's efforts to mediate conflict win recognition

People's Daily Online

By Zhou Jin (China Daily) 08:18, January 16, 2024

China has signed two joint statements on the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, respectively with Egypt and the Arab League, as its fair and balanced stance has received wide recognition.

The core of the two joint statements includes urging an immediate and comprehensive cease-fire, calling for enabling humanitarian access and implementing the two-state solution.

The statements were issued on Sunday during Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to Egypt, where he held talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Ahmed Aboul Gheit, secretary-general of the League of Arab States, in separate meetings.

Observers said the release of the two joint statements is China's latest effort through various diplomatic channels to resolve the conflict, which has dragged on for over 100 days and killed more than 23,800 people and displaced 1.9 million civilians.

Liu Zhongmin, a professor of Middle East studies at Shanghai International Studies University, said China and Arab countries share common aspirations and similar positions on promoting the de-escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, protecting civilians and resolving the Palestinian issue in a just manner.

The joint statements, along with China's position paper on the conflict and a United Nations Security Council resolution under China's presidency focusing on humanitarian concerns and the protection of children, have clearly reflected the country's stance on the conflict, he said.

Although the joint statements could not lead directly to a ceasefire due to the complexity of the Palestinian-Israeli issue, they show China's ongoing efforts to seek consensus, he said.

"China has not given up diplomatic efforts to promote peace, although ending violence between the two sides faces challenges," he said.

The statements also expressed concern over the escalation of the situation in the Red Sea and called on relevant parties to cool down the situation to prevent further spillover effects.

Gong Xiaosheng, China's former special envoy on the Middle East issue, said in a recent interview with the Paper that the Middle East is not far away from China, and what happens in the Middle East will affect regional and international security, as well as China's interests.

But he stressed that China's interests in the region are different from those of some countries, such as the United States. China's interests are not to be realized at the expense of others, and it seeks to achieve common interests featuring peace, cooperation and common development, Gong said.

The new round of conflict has also brought the Palestinian issue back to the center of Middle East politics, while the two-state solution was highlighted in the two joint statements during the foreign minister's visit.

The joint statement between China and the Arab League also calls for convening a larger-scale, more authoritative and effective international peace conference, and formulating a specific timetable and road map for the implementation of the solution, in order to resume peace talks between Palestine and Israel.

China has been closely following the Palestinian issue and is a strong supporter of the two-state solution, which has been recognized by Palestine and the Arab countries, said Liu from Shanghai International Studies University.

The current conflict is the result of failing to implement the two-state solution, he said, adding that after the conflict, it requires all parties involved to change their attitudes as well as the ways of dealing with each other, to address the issue and seek peace through negotiation.

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China, Arab League call for Gaza ceasefire

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 08:42, January 16, 2024

CAIRO, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- China and the Arab League states on Sunday called for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire in the conflict-ravaged Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

The two sides also urged the implementation of relevant UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions on the situation in Gaza and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, said a joint statement, adding that all forms of violence against civilians, as well as violations of international and humanitarian law, must be stopped.

The consensus was reached during a meeting between Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese foreign minister, and the League of Arab States Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

The two sides oppose the forced transfer of Palestinian civilians and demand the immediate release of all those held captive, the establishment of a humanitarian coordination mechanism, and humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip via a sustainable, rapid, safe, and barrier-free mechanism.

Any arrangement concerning the future and destiny of Palestine should follow the principle of "Palestinians governing Palestine," said the statement, stressing that the two-state solution has always been the basis for any future arrangement concerning the fate of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank (including East Jerusalem).

The two sides express deep concern over the recent escalation of tensions in the Red Sea region, emphasizing the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yemen while ensuring the security of international commercial routes in the Red Sea.

The Chinese side appreciates the important role played by the Arab side in cooling down the regional situation and avoiding a comprehensive humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

The Arab side highly appreciates the efforts made by the Chinese side to defuse the Gaza conflict, realize a ceasefire and support the just cause of the Palestinian people, and appreciates the Position Paper of the People's Republic of China on Resolving the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict.

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U.S.-owned commercial ship reportedly hit by missile near Yemen

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 11:15, January 16, 2024

ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- A missile attack on Monday targeted a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen, a senior Yemeni coast guard official told Xinhua.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the Marshall Islands-flagged ship M/V Gibraltar Eagle was struck by a missile while sailing 95 nautical miles off the coast of Aden in international waters.

The U.S. Central Command confirmed the attack, saying that on Jan. 15 at approximately 4 p.m. local time (1300 GMT), "Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and struck the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned and operated container ship. The ship has reported no injuries or significant damage and is continuing its journey."

It was reported that at approximately 2 p.m. local time (1100 GMT), U.S. forces detected an anti-ship ballistic missile fired toward the southern Red Sea commercial shipping lanes. The missile failed in flight and impacted land in Yemen. There were no injuries or damage reported.

Since November 2023, Yemen's Houthi group has been carrying out military operations targeting ships in the Red Sea, which it says are bound for Israel. The operations came amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.

Last Friday, the United States and Britain launched a series of airstrikes on Houthi targets in Sanaa and other areas of Yemen in response to Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.

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Seizure of U.S. oil tanker to warn against bullying Iran: commander

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 11:14, January 16, 2024

TEHRAN, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian Navy's Commander Shahram Irani said on Monday the force's recent seizure of an American oil tanker well cautioned the United States and its allies that they were not allowed to bully Iran in the region.

He made the remarks in an address to reporters in the southern Iranian province of Bushehr while commenting on the Iranian Navy's seizure of the "St Nikolas" tanker in the Sea of Oman on Thursday, which was to retaliate against U.S. "stealing" of Iran's oil in April 2023, according to the official news agency IRNA.

Quoting remarks by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Irani said "the era of hit-and-run is over," and "we will not allow bullying against our country in the region."

The Iranian Army said in a statement on Thursday that the country's naval forces had taken control of the "St Nikolas" tanker earlier in the day following a judicial order and confirmation from Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization, and the tanker is being transferred to Iranian ports for subsequent handover to judicial authorities.

The vessel, previously named "Suez Rajan," had "stolen" an Iranian oil cargo under U.S. guidance last year, the statement said, adding that the Iranian oil was then transferred to U.S. ports and handed over to the United States.

Media reports citing Ambrey, a British maritime security firm, affirmed the oil tanker was identified as the Marshall Islands-flagged "St Nikolas," which once "was seized by the U.S. government for having transported a million barrels of Iranian oil in connection to a U.S. company."

The U.S. Justice Department admitted last September that it seized a tanker loaded with Iranian oil in April 2023, identifying it as "Suez Rajan," a Greek-managed tanker that carried 980,000 barrels of crude oil.

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Aviators take on air combat training in Nevada

By Flight Lieutenant Claire Burnet

15 January 2024

Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aviators have joined counterparts from the United States and United Kingdom on Exercise Red Flag Nellis 24-1, considered one of the world's toughest air combat training environments, to hone their war-fighting skills.

About 150 RAAF personnel and six F-35A Lightning II aircraft are participating in the exercise, running 15 January to 2 February at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, United States.

The members are from 3 Squadron, 1 Combat Communications Squadron, 3 Control and Reporting Unit, 114 Mobile Control and Reporting Unit, 87 Squadron and 1 Security Forces Squadron

Exercise Red Flag was established by USAF in 1975 after the Vietnam War revealed the first 10 combat missions to be the most dangerous for aircrews. The first 10 missions of a modern air campaign are recreated in Red Flag to provide an invaluable experience for all participants.

RAAF's Commanding Officer of 3 Squadron Wing Commander Adrian Kiely said this is the first time RAAF F-35As have participated in Exercise Red Flag Nellis.

"Generations of RAAF aviators have come to this exercise since 1980, and it continues to evolve and reflect the threats and challenges faced on modern operations," Wing Commander Kiely said.

"Missions are conducted to the nearby Nevada Test and Training Range, and further to the southwest of the United States where we can integrate with maritime units.

"Exercise Red Flag Nellis will test every facet of our F-35A capability, allow us to integrate with our American and British allies, and practice how we project force on combat operations."

This year's exercise involves about 3000 personnel and up to 100 aircraft conducting large force employment missions in a range of scenarios.

The exercise is renowned for its use of 'aggressor' forces including simulated enemy fighter aircraft, ground-based radars and simulated surface-to-air missiles - and even cyber and space-based elements that simulate threats for each mission.

Commanding Officer of 114 Mobile Control and Reporting Unit, Wing Commander Peter Mole, will lead the RAAF Tactical Command and Control Team in the exercise.

"There is a large number of aircraft all fulfilling different roles across each mission at Exercise Red Flag Nellis, but no single aircraft is the 'silver bullet' that can do it all alone," Wing Commander Mole said.

"The Tactical Command and Control team's role is to manage and control all of those aircraft, alongside other elements and units working in the ground, maritime, cyber and space-based domains, to accomplish the mission.

"The scale and complexity of Exercise Red Flag Nellis cannot be replicated elsewhere, which makes it an outstanding place to build experience and reinforce our close working relationship with the United States and United Kingdom."

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Former chairman of China Everbright Group arrested

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 13:29, January 15, 2024

BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) has ordered the arrest of Tang Shuangning, former chairman of China Everbright Group, for alleged embezzlement and bribery.

The arrest of Tang, who was also the secretary of the company's committee of the Communist Party of China, followed the conclusion of an investigation carried out by the National Commission of Supervision, the SPP said on Monday.

Further investigations into this case are under way.

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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning's Regular Press Conference on January 15, 2024

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China

2024-01-15 20:26

AFP: US senior delegation met with Lai Ching-te and Tsai Ing-wen in Taiwan today. What is your response to this?

Mao Ning: The elections in Taiwan are the affairs of a region in China. China firmly opposes the US having any form of official interaction with Taiwan and interfering in Taiwan affairs in any way or under any pretext. We urge the US to have a clear understanding of the extreme complexity and sensitivity of the Taiwan question, earnestly abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiquAs, and act seriously in accordance with the commitments that have been reaffirmed multiple times by the US leaders to not supporting "Taiwan independence", "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan", and not seeking to use the Taiwan question as a tool to contain China. The US needs to exercise extreme prudence in handling Taiwan-related issues, and must not obscure and hollow out the one-China principle in any form or send any wrong signal to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces.

CCTV: The government of the Republic of Nauru officially announced its decision to recognize the one-China principle, break the so-called "diplomatic ties" with the Taiwan authorities and seek to reestablish diplomatic ties with China. What's your comment?

Mao Ning: As an independent sovereign country, the Republic of Nauru announced that it recognizes the one-China principle, breaks the so-called "diplomatic ties" with the Taiwan authorities and seeks to reestablish diplomatic ties with China. China appreciates and welcomes the decision of the government of the Republic of Nauru.a

There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, and the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. It's what has been affirmed in Resolution 2758 of the UN General Assembly and is a prevailing consensus among the international community. China has established diplomatic relations with 182 countries on the basis of the one-China principle. The Nauru government's decision of reestablishing diplomatic ties with China once again shows that the one-China principle is where global opinion trends and where the arc of history bends. China stands ready to work with Nauru to open new chapters of our bilateral relations on the basis of the one-China principle.

CCTV: After the results of the two elections for 2024 in the Taiwan region were released, the Spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said that the Russian side opposes any form of Taiwan's independence, and called on all outside forces to refrain from provocative actions undermining regional stability and international security. What is China's comment on this?

Mao Ning: We appreciate the remarks of the Russian side. In fact, aside from Russia, many countries and international organizations, including Indonesia, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Laos, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Nepal, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Serbia, Hungary, Papua New Guinea, Cuba, Venezuela, the SCO and the Arab League, have, through issuing statements and press communiquAs or answering questions from the press, publicly reaffirmed their commitment to the one-China principle, their firm support for China's effort to safeguard the nation's sovereignty and territorial integrity, their opposition to any form of "Taiwan independence" and their support for China's cause toward reunification. This is the voice of justice and peace from the international community. It reflects the extensive consensus of the international community in firmly upholding the UN Charter and the basic norms governing international relations, and embodies the trend of the times and of history. We thank these countries for their understanding of and support for China's just position.

Whatever changes take place in Taiwan, the basic fact that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China will not change. Taiwan has never been a country and will never be one. We believe that the international community's prevailing consensus on upholding the one-China principle and long-standing and overwhelming adherence to this principle will become more solid. The Chinese people's just cause of opposing "Taiwan independence" separatism and external interference and striving for national reunification will win more understanding and support.

Phoenix TV: Taiwan's foreign affairs office said that China's reiterated groundless remarks in response to questions concerning the elections of Taiwan that "the Taiwan question is China's internal affairs" were not in line with the perception of the international community and the cross-Strait status quo. It called on the Chinese government to respect the results of the elections and face up to the reality. What's your comment?

Mao Ning: The elections of the Taiwan region belong to the affairs of a region in China. Whatever the results of the election, the basic fact that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China will not change; and the international community's prevailing consensus on upholding the one-China principle will not change.

Both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China. Taiwan is part of China's territory. The Cairo Declaration issued by China, the US and the UK 80 years ago stipulates clearly that all the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Taiwan, shall be restored to China. Article 8 of the Potsdam Proclamation jointly published by China, the US, the UK and the Soviet Union in 1945 stipulates that the terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out. Later Japan accepted the Potsdam Proclamation and announced unconditional surrender. These legally binding international instruments provide the historical and jurisprudential basis for the fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. Although the two sides across the Taiwan Strait have yet to be reunified, the sovereignty and territory of China has never been severed and the legal status and fact that Taiwan is part of China's territory have never changed. This is the real status quo of the Taiwan question. China will achieve national reunification and Taiwan will inevitably return to the embrace of the motherland.

NHK: Why did the government of Nauru announce the decision to cut diplomatic relations with the Taiwan authorities after the elections in Taiwan?

Mao Ning: The government of Nauru announced that it recognizes the one-China principle, breaks the so-called "diplomatic ties" with the Taiwan authorities and seeks to reestablish diplomatic ties with China. This is a choice made independently by Nauru as a sovereign country. It shows that the one-China principle is where global opinion trends and where the arc of history bends.

China News Service: According to media reports in Taiwan, the US, Japan and several European countries said that they plan to send delegations to the Taiwan region to "express congratulations" following the elections. What's the Foreign Ministry's comment?

Mao Ning: The elections of the Taiwan region are China's internal affairs. Regardless of the result, the basic fact that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China will not be changed.

The one-China principle is the political premise on which China establishes and develops diplomatic relations with other countries, a universally recognized basic norm in international relations and a prevailing consensus among the international community. Anyone in the international community who violates the one-China principle is interfering in China's internal affairs and infringing upon China's sovereignty, and will face the joint opposition of the Chinese people and the international community. China deplores and strongly opposes relevant countries' wrong practices violating the one-China principle, including issuing statements and "expressing congratulations". We've lodged serious dAmarches.

I noted that following the elections in the Taiwan region, many countries and international organizations have publicly reiterated their commitment to the one-China principle, expressed opposition to "Taiwan independence" in any form and supported China's reunification. This is the voice of justice and peace from the international community. We believe that the international community will continue to adhere to the one-China principle, and support the Chinese people's just cause of opposing "Taiwan independence" separatism and striving to achieve national reunification.a

Global Times: On January 14, in response to media queries on the elections in the Taiwan region, the Singaporean Foreign Ministry spokesperson "welcomed" and "congratulated" the elections. What's China's comment?

Mao Ning: China has immediately made solemn dAmarches to Singapore. Singaporean leaders stated on multiple occasions that the Taiwan question is "a deep red line" for China. China values this statement and hopes that Singapore will strictly abide by the one-China principle and uphold the overall friendly relations between China and Singapore with concrete actions.

Dragon TV: It's reported that Ghana's Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said in an interview on January 11 that Ghana has received a draft term sheet on debt relief from its official creditors that is sufficient for the International Monetary Fund to disburse USD 600 million to it. Could you brief us on the latest development?

Mao Ning: China attaches great importance to Ghana's debt issue and has played an active coordinating role since the establishment of the Creditor Committee. Recently, China has called upon all parties to overcome technical difficulties and bridge differences, and finally led all parties in the Committee to basically agree on Ghana's debt treatment proposal at the fourth meeting of the Committee on January 8. Some of the Committee members are going through internal procedures in sync. The Chinese side will keep in close contact with all parties and continue to play a positive role in the settlement of Ghana's debt issue.

News 1 Korea: The DPRK announced that it successfully test-fired an intermediate-range solid-fuel ballistic missile carrying a hypersonic warhead on January 14. What's China's comment?

Mao Ning: We noted the reports. All parties need to face the crux of the Korean Peninsula issues squarely, advance the political settlement of the issues through dialogue and consultation and safeguard peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

The Paper: It is learned that former Vice Foreign Minister and former Under-Secretary-General of the UN Liu Zhenmin has succeeded Xie Zhenhua as China's special envoy for climate change. Can you confirm this and share more information?

Mao Ning: As was decided by the Chinese government, former Vice Foreign Minister and former Under-Secretary-General of the UN Liu Zhenmin succeeded Xie Zhenhua as China's special envoy for climate change. Mr. Xie Zhenhua, while serving as the special envoy, made important contribution to China-US cooperation on climate change and global green and low-carbon development, and has won wide recognition from the international community.

Special envoy Liu Zhenmin is a senior diplomat. He took part in multilateral negotiations on climate change as the head and major member of the Chinese delegation multiple times and, while serving as Under-Secretary-General for the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, presided over the work in areas of climate change and sustainable development. We believe that in his new post, special envoy Liu Zhenmin will continue stepping up dialogue and cooperation with all parties and contributing to the global transition to green and low-carbon development and the building of a community of life for humanity and nature.

Reuters: A Taiwan official just said that China has lured Nauru with monetary support. May we know how much money is China going to give Nauru?

Mao Ning: As a sovereign country, the Republic of Nauru independently made the right choice to announce that it recognizes the one-China principle, breaks the so-called "diplomatic ties" with the Taiwan authorities and seeks to reestablish diplomatic ties with China. This fully shows that the one-China principle is where global opinion trends and where the arc of history bends.

Reuters: Ukraine has said over the weekend that China needs to be involved in talks for peace. Has Ukraine asked China to be involved in talks with Russia to end the Ukraine war? And has Ukraine requested for a meeting between President Zelenskyy and Premier Li Qiang in Davos?

Mao Ning: China's position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear, which is centered on promoting talks for peace. Since the full escalation of the Ukraine crisis, China has been keeping in touch with relevant parties, including Ukraine. We will continue to work with the international community to play a constructive role for the political settlement of the crisis and we welcome and support all efforts conducive to realizing peace.

On the talks that you mentioned, I have no information to offer.

Beijing Youth Daily: Yesterday marks the 100th day of the outbreak of the latest Palestinian-Israeli conflict. During his visit to Egypt, Foreign Minister Wang Yi exchanged opinions with the Egyptian side on the Palestinian-Israeli situation. During his visit, China-Egypt Joint Statement on the Palestinian Issue and Joint Statement on the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict Between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and the Secretariat of the League of Arab States were issued. Could you further share with us China's views on the situation in Gaza? What measures will China take to advance a comprehensive, just and sustainable settlement of the Palestinian issue?

Mao Ning: China is gravely concerned that the escalating conflict in Gaza causes massive casualties of innocent civilians, a severe humanitarian disaster and expediting negative spillover effects. Since the outbreak of the latest Palestinian-Israeli conflict, China has all long stood on the side of equity and justice and done our best to realize a ceasefire, restore peace and protect civilians.

As stressed by Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Egypt, ceasefire is the prevailing priority, humanitarian aid is the imperative moral responsibility, the future arrangement of Gaza must fully respect Palestinians' aspiration, and the two-state solution is the sure path to a just settlement of the Palestinian issue. China will continue to take an impartial stance, play its role as a major responsible country, and relentlessly work with the international community for a comprehensive, just and sustainable settlement of the Palestinian issue at an early date.

Reuters: China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has again called for a larger-scale, more authoritative and more effective international peace conference to end this Gaza crisis. Where should this conference be held and who should host it? Would it be in China?

Mao Ning: China calls for the convening at an early date of an international peace conference with extensive participation to display international authority, promote the formulation of a binding roadmap, implement the two-state solution and, on this basis, advance the resumption of peace talks between Palestine and Israel and work for the peaceful co-existence between the two countries, so as to realize the comprehensive, just and sustainable settlement of the Palestinian question and bring security and peace to the people of the region. As to when and where to host the conference and who will host it, this needs to be decided through consultation by all parties. China welcomes the UN to play a positive role in this.

Reuters: The Wall Street Journal reported that China has asked the country's airlines to conduct precautionary safety inspections on the Boeing 737 MAX fleets after the Alaska Airline's incident with the MAX 9. The newspaper has also said that Beijing is holding off from making further substantive moves as it waits for more clarity from US investigations into the accident. Would the ministry have any comment on this?a

Mao Ning: I'd refer you to competent authorities.

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N Korea confirms new hypersonic missile test as minister heads to Russia

Pyongyang claimed that its test was safe for neighbors and unrelated to regional security.

By Lee Jeong-Ho for RFA 2024.01.14 -- North Korea has confirmed testing a hypersonic ballistic missile with a new type of engine as its foreign minister embarked on a visit to Russia amid accusations that both nations are engaged in arms trading.

"On the afternoon of Jan. 14, the Missile General Bureau of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea conducted a test launch of an intermediate-range, solid-fuelled ballistic missile [IRBM], equipped with a hypersonic gliding maneuvering warhead," North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Monday, referring to the nation's formal name.

"The test launch was successful," KCNA added, noting that it was aimed at compiling data for strengthening the "glide and maneuver capabilities," as well as the "newly engineered multi-stage, high-output solid fuel engines."

The state media also claimed that the test launch had no impact on the safety of neighboring countries, stressing that it was conducted independently of the regional security situation. However, the United Nations bans North Korea from launching any ballistic rockets, even if it claims that these launches have no impact on other nations.

The North's missile test comes as South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff detected North Korea launching what appeared to be an IRBM near Pyongyang, off its eastern coast, at around 2:55 p.m. Sunday. The North Korean missile flew approximately 1000 kilometers (621 miles) before landing off its eastern coast, the JCS said.

Pyongyang had already announced that it had developed a new high-output solid fuel engine for its new IRBM in November. The North's IRBM, including its Musudan missiles, can reach Guam, where U.S. strategic assets, including B-52 strategic bombers, are located. In addition, solid-fuel ballistic missiles require less time for fueling, posing a challenge for the allies to detect the launch.

In a separate KCNA report on Monday, North Korea also issued a direct threat to South Korea, calling the Yoon Suk Yeol administration a "reckless," "puppet gangster regime."

"If you keep trying to ignite wet wood, eventually it will catch fire. Even more so, in the case of the most hostile of nations, a single spark can act as a catalyst for a massive physical confrontation," the KCNA said, referring to the inter-Korean relations.

Pyongyang on Monday has also escalated threats on the diplomatic front.

In another KCNA report, it said its foreign minister Choe Son Hui left Pyongyang for Russia Sunday, without elaborating further.

But apparently, Choe was invited by her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and expected to stay in Russia from Jan. 15 to 17, according to a Sunday KCNA report.

Choe's visit to Russia came amid accusations that Pyongyang and Moscow are engaged in arms trading, with Ukraine alleging that North Korean missiles have been used in Russia's aggression against Ukraine - a claim that both Pyongyang and Moscow have denied.

According to South Korea's National Intelligence Agency briefings in November, however, Moscow has likely offered Pyongyang technological advice for its satellite launch, as it has received more than 1 million artillery shells from North Korea since early August.

Edited by Taejun Kang and 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 January 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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DPRK: Statement by the Spokesperson on the launch of a ballistic missile

European External Action Service (EEAS)

15.01.2024

EEAS Press Team

The EU strongly condemns the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) launch of a ballistic missile on 14 January.

The EU calls on the DPRK to cease all illegal actions that undermine international peace and security in its region and beyond.

The only route to sustainable peace and security on the Korean peninsula lies in the DPRK engaging in dialogue with relevant parties and complying with its obligations under UN Security Council resolutions to abandon its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.

The EU is ready to work with all partners in promoting a meaningful diplomatic process aimed at the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.



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KCNA Commentary on Traitor Yoon Suk Yeol's Confrontation Hysteria

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK

Pyongyang, January 15 (KCNA) -- The Yoon Suk Yeol-led puppet regime goes to extremes in its confrontation hysteria from the outset of the new year.

Traitor Yoon, who started his job for the new year by talking about "completion of the reinforced south Korea-U.S. extended deterrent system within the first half of this year" and "strong establishment of ROK-style three-axis defence system," sent a "message of encouragement" to the puppet army, calling for maintaining firm security posture in the new year, too.

The puppet defense minister, the puppet chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and other military gangsters inspected units of the puppet army on the first day of the new year to let out such confrontational language as "immediately, strongly and to the end." Saying that someone's "provocation" would just be a prelude to destruction, the gangsters urged its inferiors to completely frustrate someone's will and capability to commit additional "provocation".

Such belligerent bombast of the Yoon-led clique of traitors encouraged actual military provocations.

The puppet ground force launched new year's first firing and maneuvering drill involving more than ten units including the puppet capital mechanized infantry division, the second quick response division and the second armored brigade. Meanwhile, the puppet navy kicked off the maritime firing and tactical maneuvering exercises in the east, west and south seas.

The joint combat firing drill, staged by the "lightning" brigade of the puppet capital mechanized infantry division together with the U.S. second infantry division and the "striker" brigade of the U.S.-puppet south Korea combined division in Pochon of Kyonggi Province for a week from December 29 last year, involved more than 110 pieces of military equipment including armed cars and fighter jets.

The puppet military gangsters, terming the responsive action of the DPRK army against the frantic north-targeted war drills along the border a "provocation", cried out for resuming firing drills in the relevant zone, saying no-hostility zones do not exist any longer on the ground and in the east and west seas.

Such behavior of the traitor Yoon-led clique, which is stirring up the atmosphere of confrontation with the DPRK through bluffing and gunfire from the outset of this year, clearly proves whom the arch criminal deteriorating the situation of the Korean peninsula is.

Frequent wind brings rain. Any tiny spark may trigger an enormous physical clash between the two hostile countries.

The reckless moves of the traitor Yoon-led clique are no more than bluffing of those stunned by the DPRK's tremendous military muscle and toughest stand of struggle against the enemy, and a last-ditch effort to tide over its ever-worsening ruling crisis by causing an extreme military conflict.

Misjudgment of the reality, miscalculation of "strength" and wild ambition for escalating the confrontation between social systems push the puppet scoundrels of the Republic of Korea to plunge the ever-worsening security environment of the Korean peninsula into an irretrievable war crisis. Such moves further aggravate their security uneasiness only.

The public in the region of south Korean puppets get increasingly vocal in their criticism of the puppet Yoon regime, deploring "Yoon regime's tough policy aggravates the danger of military conflict" and "the extreme confrontation may escalate into a nuclear war any time".

They say "the current situation strikes war phobia into their hearts and reminds them of the nightmare of the Yonphyong Island 10 years ago."

The more the gangsters of the Yoon-led regime spout bombastic rubbish to incite confrontation, the sooner it will meet the miserable self-destruction. -0-

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Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un Makes Policy Speech at 10th Session of 14th SPA

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK

Pyongyang, January 16 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un , general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, made an important policy speech "On the Immediate Tasks for the Prosperity and Development of Our Republic and the Promotion of the Wellbeing of Our People" at the 10th Session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) of the DPRK on January 15.

He said:

Dear Comrade Deputies,

Respected Comrade Chairman of the SPA Standing Committee and Comrade Chairman of the SPA,

Comrade observers,

The 10th Session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly is being held at an important time when the DPRK, our motherland, proudly reviewed 2023, specially recorded as a year of great turn and change in its history of development, and started the advance of 2024 to ensure the practical guarantee for the fulfillment of the five-year plan set forth by the Eighth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea.

As we all have experienced, last year was an unforgettable year when our Party, government and people displayed their utmost efforts and fighting spirit in the face of manifold difficulties and registered important successes and events in history with pride.

It is rare that the nearly 80-year-long history of the DPRK witnessed such a clear advance in increasing our national power in an all-round way and the full-fledged demonstration of our national sovereignty and prestige as in 2023.

The successes achieved in all fields of politics, economy, military affairs and culture last year were already reviewed and evaluated at the 9th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. So there is no need to mention them again. But it is clear that as all the members of the state actively supported and upheld the leadership activities of the Party and the government, the cumulative strenuous efforts of several years have finally resulted in good fruitions.

It was proved through our 2023 struggle that the Party and the government of the Republic correctly adopted the line and administrative policy on achieving the comprehensive development of socialist construction in the right time and they not only overcame manifold difficulties and crisis and staunchly maintained the set course of state development, coordinating the state affairs in a flexible and vigorous way every year, but also achieved a sure upward trend by rousing the patriotic enthusiasm and heroic devotion of all the people.

The confrontation hysteria of the hostile forces has driven the situation to an extreme phase, but we turned it to our advantage and more boldly carried out the undertakings for bolstering up the self-defence capabilities and military counteractions. This was not merely a demonstration of our will to safeguard our national interests or of our overwhelming power.

Internally, it lifted the spirits of all the people and the service personnel of the armed forces of the Republic, and externally, made the country emerge as an absolute entity to be reckoned as a military power and brought about a dramatic change not only in its national prestige but also in the world geo-political landscape.

It is the fact to be held dearer than anything else that our people have once again confirmed the justice of their cause of building a powerful country they have chosen and pushed ahead with, realized in actuality the period of overall development of socialist construction and hardened their faith in it through the current growth of our country.

All these valuable successes are associated with the efforts of you, Comrades Deputies who have strived for the proper exercise and development of our state power, always mindful of the people's expectations.

I express my thanks to you, deputies who have made efforts to fulfill your responsibility and duty with loyalty to the sacred cause of the Party and the state and in the spirit of devoted service for the people.

Comrade Deputies!

Of course, all these are not enough for us to be satisfied and we have just taken the first step in realizing our ideal for building a powerful country and winning a victory of socialism.

The issue of making continuous development and success in 2024 after gaining valuable achievements in 2023 and providing the next-term government with a solid foothold was a key agenda item of today's session which will discuss the state affairs for the new year.

The 9th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Party Central Committee defined 2024 as a decisive year of determining the victory in attaining the goals of struggle set forth at the 8th Party Congress by further raising the offensive spirit on all fronts of socialist construction, and unanimously adopted scientific and feasible resolutions.

The resolutions comprehensively deal with the long-cherished desire of our Party for the beloved people and children and policies for the uninterrupted development of our great state social system.

The Party's resolutions are the guidelines for state building and activities and the political task the government of the Republic should carry out without an inch of deflection. Only through their thorough implementation, a radical turn in the economic construction and improvement of the people's living standard, elevation of the national power, defence of the national interests and enhancement of national prestige are guaranteed.

We should regard the Party decisions as the lifeline in all fields of state affairs and carry them out perfectly without any mistake and without any shortcomings, thus continue to write the sacred development history of the Republic with more definite and innovative successes.

An important task facing the government of the Republic at present is to continue to increase the trend of upturn in the national economy and thus firmly put the overall economy of the country on the track of stable and sustainable development.

The economic front is the basic front of socialist construction and without the strong and modern support of the self-supporting economy, it is impossible to think of the high dignity and independent development of our state and the rich and civilized life of the people.

As we all have seen with our own eyes and felt with our own hearts, the struggle of our Party and people to implement the five-year plan is progressing successfully while steadily following the steps of progress and development, which are in sharp contrast to each year, despite unprecedented trials.

We should further boost the rising phase of the national economy and the spirit of dynamic advance which has been achieved through dear efforts, blood and sweat, and thus fully prove that our ideal is a reality ahead of us not the one in the distant future.

All sectors of the national economy should put steady spurs to the growth of production and concentrate their efforts on finishing the work of reinforcement and readjustment.

Last year we set it as the main task of economic work to mainly finish the plan for reinforcement and readjustment decided by the Party Congress while revitalizing the production of the overall sectors and units of the national economy and conducted vigorous struggle. But there are some incomplete projects.

Since the fulfillment of the plan for reinforcement and readjustment is a conclusion of the struggle to implement the resolutions of the Eighth Party Congress, we should continue to intensify this work, irrespective of the conditions and the changing situation, and thus bring about good results this year, too.

Consistent is our Party and state's policy of attaching primary importance to the key industrial sectors and bringing about a rapid upswing in the overall economy by further fostering independence and modernizing them.

The metallurgical and chemical industrial sectors should accelerate the completion of the projects now underway and ensure that they are in normal operation in a substantial way so as to further strengthen the pillars of the self-supporting economy, while consolidating the successes already achieved in the work of making them Juche-oriented and modern.

The power industrial sector is now striving to meet the country's demand for electricity despite difficulties, but decisive measures should be taken to increase production in keeping with the expansion of economic and the progress of many construction projects.

If we make the use of the existing generating capacity to the maximum and accelerate the construction of the Tanchon Power Station and several other power stations, and operate atomic and tidal power stations in the future, we can solve the problem of power shortage as we want.

The coal and mining industrial sectors should not slacken their high fighting spirit but carry out their production plans without letup, thus fully supplying raw materials and fuel necessary for the major production sectors, and vigorously pushing ahead with the work of reinforcing and readjusting production processes and increasing their capacity.

The machine-building industrial sector should play a special role in economic work this year.

The machine-building industrial sector should vigorously push ahead with the work of turning the Ryongsong Machine Complex into a standard and model of modernization and, at the same time, produce and supply the machines and equipment needed at different sectors of the national economy in good time and qualitatively, thus actively supporting the upsurge and development of overall national economy.

The successes achieved by our Party and state in recent years by concentrating efforts on construction work are certainly laudable, but we can never rest on such laurels.

In particular, housing construction is an important affair directly related to the Party's authority and the people-oriented character of the government of the Republic. And it is the nature and duty of our Party and the government to unconditionally keep the promise made with the people, however harsh trials they may face.

Since the number of houses to be built in the remaining two years, including the completion of the construction of 50 000 flats in Pyongyang Municipality, is considerable, we should make thorough preparations and continue to make vigorous offensive so as to live up to the expectations of the people.

We should make more strenuous progress in rural construction to eliminate the centuries-old backwardness and thus make the joy of our agricultural workers moving into new houses be filled in the whole country this year, too.

In addition, the construction sector should make full preparations from now for the planned gigantic operations such as the remodeling of provincial seats and the construction of a large canal connecting the East and West Seas.

In order to step up the construction of houses and public buildings and industrial establishments on a nationwide scale, the building-materials industrial sector should continue to bring about a surge in production.

It is necessary to increase cement production by revitalizing the newly built or expanded building materials production bases and to massively produce and supply tiles, building stone, glass, vinyl wallpaper and other various building fixtures so as to prevent any practices of interrupting the schedule of construction.

The upward tendency of the overall economy inevitably results in an increase in the volume of freights transport and this requires further enhancement of the role of the railways, the main transport means of the country.

The railway sector should improve the organization and command of transport and direct efforts to maintaining the current state of railways to meet the demands of the national economy for transport without fail and successfully carry out the work for cementing the material and technical foundations of the railway industrial establishments.

Provinces, cities and counties adjacent to railways should always pay attention to the maintenance of railways and ensure the timely supply of necessary manpower and materials, thus contributing to increasing the stability of railway operation.

And the sectors of the IT industry, land and environment protection and urban management should also steadily push ahead with the fulfillment of the immediate tasks and long-term plans for continuously improving the conditions and environment necessary for state management, economic growth and the people's civilized life, as required by the overall development of socialism.

In order for the socialist economy to give full play to its advantages and might, it is essential to thoroughly ensure the unity in the guidance and management of the economy and establish strict discipline and order that all sectors unconditionally obey the decisions and instructions of the Cabinet of the Republic.

Gone are the days when economic sectors fomented with impunity imbalance and disorder in the state economic affairs through their pursuance of self-centeredness and improper implementation of the administrative orders by the government.

The Cabinet should exercise all the authority granted by the Party and the state in a responsible manner and take revolutionary measures to set right the administrative and economic work system and order.

The Cabinet should proactively and dynamically conduct all the work by putting the overall economy of the country under its firm control and continuously improve the phase of the overall development by displaying strong leadership, controlling ability and executive power.

The Cabinet should make sure that no unit is out of its control, and intensify the struggle against the practices of unit specialization and egoism so as to make the climate of giving priority to the interests of the state and the whole society definitely prevail throughout the country.

Moreover, it should correctly predict the important factors of economic development such as economic infrastructure, population and manpower management, take necessary measures and establish a system for developing the work of the state economic organs in a far-sighted way so as to promote the stable and sustainable development of the overall national economy.

Comrade Deputies!

The supreme task, to which the DPRK government should attach the utmost importance and pay great efforts at present, is to stabilize and improve the people's living as early as possible.

Our people always and invariably support the Party and the government and accept any policy as their own and uphold it with absolute and unconditional executive ability. This is because they firmly trust in the Party and the government of the Republic, which have put forward the promotion of the people's well-being as the supreme principle of state activities.

It is reality that the Party and the government yet fail to meet even the simple demand of the people in life although they are said to be striving to live up to the people's deep trust without fail.

The foremost important task in improving the people's living standard is to do farming well.

Kim Jong Un said that confidence and enthusiasm has been increased in the agricultural sector through the attainment of the grain production goal last year and only when such a victory is sustained for several years, can the people's living be put on a normal track and the people's trust in the Party and government be consolidated. He continued:

Like last year, the Cabinet and economic guidance organs should give priority to the supply of fertilizer, agricultural chemicals, fuel and other farming materials so as to provide the farms with adequate conditions for doing farming with ease. And the whole country should raise a hot wind of supporting the countryside from the beginning of the year so as to encourage the agricultural sector ideologically, morally, materially and technically.

The agricultural sector should further arouse patriotic enthusiasm and collective spirit of the agricultural workers, raise a strong wind of scientific farming on the basis of advanced agricultural science and technology and push ahead with increasing soil fertility and perfecting irrigation systems so as to unconditionally make this year a year of rich harvest again, in disregard of climatic conditions.

At the same time, it is needed to change the structure of grain production by expanding the fields under wheat cultivation, push ahead with the construction of wheat processing bases, the mechanization of agriculture and the reclamation of tideland on a full scale and develop vegetable farming, stockbreeding, fruit farming and industrial crops farming simultaneously.

In particular, we are going to provide our people with more eggs and meat by building another modern poultry farm in Pyongyang Municipality within this year and farms in every province in the future.

It is necessary to develop the fisheries, too, in order to diversify fishing in keeping with the ever-changing fishing conditions, conduct fish farming and aquaculture on a large scale and thus increase the output of marine products. And practical measures should be taken properly to ensure an even distribution of seafood to the people.

An important issue arising in improving the people's living standard at present is to tackle the differences between the capital city and the provinces and the imbalance between regions.

It is the immutable principle of our Party and government that there may be differences between regions in their geographical setting, resources, economic potentials and living environment, but there should be no backward region in the aspect of the people's living in the territory of our Republic.

At present, there is a great disparity of living standards between the capital city and provinces and between towns and the countryside. Such a gap also exists in every province, city and county according to their conditions.

We can never ignore such phenomena that run counter to the idea of the comprehensive development of socialist construction, and we should take strong state support measures to improve the overall regional economy.

It is true that we, of course, built the Jungphyong Greenhouse Farm and the Ryonpho Greenhouse Farm, gave complete face-lifts to the regional industrial factories in Kimhwa County in recent years, push ahead with the construction of rural dwelling houses across the country, focus on helping Kaesong Municipality live on its own efforts and carry on other projects for the people in provinces, but this is still too insufficient.

The implementation of important policies adopted at the central level during the seventh- and eighth-term Party Central Committees has been successfully pushed ahead with without a moment's delay to bring about many changes, but the work for developing the regional economy was not so.

The recent plenary meeting of the Party Central Committee specified in its resolution a decision to put the regional industrial factories in the urban districts of Kaesong Municipality, Jaeryong, Yonthan and Usi counties on the level of those in Kimhwa County and step up preparations for future construction in the remaining cities and counties. I think we can never develop the regional economy and bring about a marked change in the people's standard of living with such passive attitude.

Referring to the successes Kimhwa County achieved by concentrating on the work to supply by itself raw materials needed for the normal operation of modern regional industrial factories after the inauguration of those factories,

Kim Jong Un said that cities and counties would face not a few problems to be immediately resolved in order to build modern regional industrial factories and keep high-rate production with locally available raw materials. But if they are determined to push ahead with the construction of regional industry factories and the establishment of raw materials production bases at the same time like Kimhwa County, they can improve their regional economy as much as they want and bring about a substantial change in the living of regional people, he added.

In general conclusion, we have no ground or reason to view and approach the present backwardness of provinces from an onlooker's viewpoint and fail to take important measures for the development of regional industry under the pretext of economic conditions, he noted, adding all cities and counties are similar in their conditions and situations and the point is to secure the possible way of building regional industrial factories and ensuring their successful operation.

He continued:

If we do not work hard, waiting only for improved situation and conditions, when will we remodel the regional industry factories and who will bring about the possibility of raw materials supply?

We have to candidly ask ourselves in agony about when we will develop the overall regional industry, if we fail to take revolutionary measures, merely paying lip-service to building new factories and improving their capacity in the future as we have done so for decades.

As for the Changsong Joint Conference, how many years have passed since then?

In the 1970s and 1980s, too, many policy issues on the development of regional industry directly related to the people's living standards were discussed, but no revolutionary measures were taken on a nationwide scale, and due to the wrong viewpoint and attitude of our officials, many people-oriented policies and Party policies remained merely as paragraphs of resolutions or policy documents, and no fundamental change was witnessed in the actual standard of living of the regional people.

It is easy to reflect ideals and ideas in writing but they don't come true at all with supernatural power or the lapse of time.

They can be realized only when we have correct fighting policy and proper methodology, make a revolutionary decision and put it into bold practice.

There is no iconic regional factory meeting the requirements of the times in provinces.

We should no longer ignore this fact but face up to it.

The Party and the government, being aware that the regional economy directly related to the life of regional people is in such a bad state as having no elementary conditions, have neither justification nor right to approach the matter later.

The 80th founding anniversary of our Party is close at hand and 75 years have passed since the establishment of the power of our Republic.

To our Party and government, which are obliged to be concerned of the life of regional people and prioritize the policy of regional development more than any other countries in the light of the idea of the Party founding, the main objective of its struggle and the nature of our power, it is a very serious problem that they have not yet eliminated the century-old backwardness of regions but taken a hands-off approach toward it.

I think that to create and proactively use locally available economic resources and raw materials of cities and counties and provide elementary living convenience and conditions to the people by always supplying citizens in every province with quality condiments, foodstuff and consumer goods is an urgent task, the fulfillment of which brooks no further delay, for our Party and government obliged to open up a period of comprehensive development of socialism.

It is an immediate task facing our government and a long-cherished desire of our Party to liquidate the century-old backwardness, decrease the gap between the capital city and provinces, develop the regional economy in a comprehensive and balanced manner, while accelerating the peculiar economic development in each province and making a competitive trend of development.

The recent plenary meeting discussing the implementation of immediate national economy plan failed to focus on making the fulfillment of such urgent tasks related to the people's living a policy. So feeling deeply responsible for having not lived up to the great expectations of the people, I am determined to proposed this crucial issue to the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee and make it a policy.

We have accumulated such excellent experience as building modern regional industry factories as icons in Kimhwa County and operating them by itself. This is actually essential for improving the people's living standard in the county and other cities and counties can cultivate such capabilities and this is an issue which should be resolved without fail any time in the future, I think.

Of course, it would be right to determine the order of constriction in the light of the capabilities of cities and counties and start it in those counties capable of operating such factories first. We can set an order of construction but we should not prioritize someone or discriminate against others by documenting or setting such order in taking care of the living of the citizens in this country and in implementing the resolution of our Party and the policy of the government of our Republic for the settlement of this problem.

I am going to make our Party keep hold on the construction of modern regional industry factories in 20 counties every year as an unerring policy task, carry it out successfully on such level as Kimhwa County and thus raise on one stage the basic material and cultural living standards of the people in all cities and counties and, in another word, across the country within ten years.

In addition to the line for rural prosperity, I am going to call this policy of our Party to develop onto a higher stage the basic material and cultural living standards of regional people across the country at the earliest date possible by pushing forward with the regional industrial development "local development 20A10 policy", and push ahead with its implementation.

This is another gigantic change and revolution, not just empty words, to eliminate the century-old backwardness of regions, realize the long-cherished desire of regional people and bring about a turn in the realm of our people's understanding.

Kim Jong Un said that the Party would continue to provide funds, labor force and materials annually and compulsorily to each county on the basis of the experience gained in the course of building regional industrial factories in Kimhwa County as an example, and referred to the measures for establishing a state guidance work system.

He went on:

And I think of setting up a section for guiding regional industry construction in the Organizational Leadership Department of the Party Central Committee and reviewing its work on my own responsibility and pressing ahead with it.

To this end, I am going to convene an enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee soon and discuss and decide on the "regional development 20A10 policy".

We should take big substantial measure to achieve our centuries-old desire so as to push ahead with our Party's far-reaching plan for building a socialist power.

We should take this heavy responsibility by ourselves and fulfill our own responsibilities with confidence and certainly live up to the expectations of the people by bringing about such a substantial change.

Is this possible? It's quite possible.

We have enough ability, possibility and will to implement this plan.

I think that if we adopt the issue of turning all the regional industry factories in cities and counties to the level of those in Kimhwa County as an important state policy and push ahead with this project, the regional people will be pleased and confident.

Noting that regional industry factories should push ahead with the work to increase the production of consumer goods and improve their quality as intended by the Party Central Committee, Kim Jong Un stressed that what should be specially improved in implementing this year's socialist policies is to decisively raise the quality of school uniforms, bags and shoes as the Party Central Committee strongly reviewed and assigned at the 9th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Party Central Committee.

We took a measure to newly build the factories specializing in the production of school uniforms and shoes to meet the needs in provinces as factories for producing school bags were built in all the provinces, he said, adding that the deputies and the officials of the government bodies should render a special sincerity to the work of providing skilled workers and equipment to those factories and improving the quality so that the policies of the Party and the state can reach any regions, town or mountainous area, on an equal footing.

He stressed the need to take state measures to reduce regional lopsidedness in the people's living and foster the independence of relevant regions so that they can live by themselves.

The Party has already stressed the need for provinces, cities and counties to secure funds for the people's living by making rational use of the characteristics and resources of their regions, but the economic, practical and legal follow-up measures needed to guarantee this have not been taken in time, the procedures and processes of approval are intricate, many restrictions have been placed and other different factors made the regions not benefit from it clearly, he said, and went on:

After eliminating such evil practices on a nationwide scale, we should take practical measures to make the people in the coastal areas turn the sea to good account and those in the mountainous areas make the good use of mountains while encouraging them to offer tourist services and effectively exploit and mobilize resources, so as to contribute to improving their living conditions.

In this way we should bring about substantial improvement in our people's clothing, food and housing.

On behalf of the Party Central Committee, I have already defined the happy laughter of our people and the younger generation as a symbol of the socialist system, the mightiness of the Korean-style socialism and a criterion deciding the position of a powerful country.

We should bring about changes and innovations in the overall space of socialist construction and the improvement of the people's livelihood in a multi-stage, three-dimensional and offensive way by further hastening the struggle and conducting continuous struggle for greater successes.

Comrade Deputies!

The present reality, in which every field of socialist construction is aspiring to an overall development, requires the might of science and technology and vehement activities of talents as never before.

In order to make the sci-tech sector which plays a great role in our revolutionary work for national prosperity fulfill its responsibility, we should further strengthen the state's integrated control over the development of science and technology.

When adopting the state strategy for the development of science and technology and setting the important tasks and research goals of the state, we should properly establish the political standard, correctly determine the order of priority for investment and make the most rational and effective use of the existing scientific and technological forces in the economic development and the improvement of the people's livelihood.

We should continue to take additional state measures to provide the scientists and technicians with conditions for their research work and to generalize their sci-tech achievements.

For the state's prosperity and development, it is ideal to make the climate in which everyone is willing to learn science and is most proud of contributing to the prosperity of the country by dint of science and technology prevail throughout the country.

We need to reexamine the existing laws of the state, system of talent management and all sorts of regulations and renew them if necessary such as strengthening the political and material assessment system to make all the people take active part in the sci-tech researches and technological innovations for the progress of the state and society.

In order to build a highly civilized and powerful country which is developed in a comprehensive way, education and public health should be duly put on the advanced world level.

In recent years our Party and the government of the Republic have made great efforts to correct the educational structure of the country, improve the contents and methods of education and modernize the educational conditions and environment, but the educational revolution in the new century has only taken the first step.

In particular, the educational level and environment in the local areas are still in poor conditions.

The educational sector should conduct the work for raising the quality of primary and secondary education and higher education to a higher level in a planned and long-term way as required by the Party's educational policy and step up the on-going construction of the comprehensive educational equipment and materials factory to increase the capacities for supplying teaching tools and equipment for experiment and practice.

Importantly, central educational institutions should direct efforts to training talents with clear edge in the world competition and, at the same time, should develop rural schools and other regional educational institutions under the state assistance, thus decisively reduce the difference between urban and rural educational levels.

The public health sector, too, should improve the quality of medical services for the people.

If the Pyongyang General Hospital is completed and start its operation and a modern general hospital is built in Kangwon Province at the same time this year, models of health facilities suited to the new era will be provided.

Modern general hospitals should be built in other provinces every year and good hospitals be built in cities and counties in the future in order to make all the people receive advanced medical service everywhere.

At the same time, we should improve the material and technical foundation of the public health sector by modernizing pharmaceutical factories and medical appliances factories and pushing ahead with the work to build a central Koryo medicine pharmaceutical factory, and direct attention to properly carrying out the medical care system based on the health insurance fund which is expanding on a nationwide scale.

Comrade Deputies!

Our Republic is a peace-loving socialist state and remains unchanged in its desire for taking the road of independent development in a peaceful and stable environment free from aggression and interference and we have paid dearly for it.

But our country's security environment has been steadily deteriorated, far from being eased, and today it has become the world's most dangerous zone with the risk of the outbreak of a war.

The frequent remarks made by the U.S. authorities about the "end of our regime", vast nuclear strategic assets stationed in the peripheral area of the DPRK nearly all around the year, ceaseless war exercises with its followers staged on the largest scale, the military nexus between Japan and the Republic of Korea boosted at the instigation of the U.S., etc. are seriously threatening the security of our state moment by moment.

The policy of confrontation with the DPRK pursued by the U.S. century after century and the suicidal acts of such servile states as the ROK unconditionally submitting to the U.S. inflame the enmity of our Republic and at the same time offer reasonable and full justification for strengthening the military capability and more rapidly improving the overwhelming nuclear war deterrent.

The U.S. and its stooges are now buoyed with war fever.

We should invariably cover the road of bolstering up our military capability for self-defence to ensure wellbeing of the country, the people and the posterity.

The deputies present here should not regard the indiscriminate war holocaust in the Middle East as a matter of other but do their best to bolster up our military capability for self-defence to the maximum, cherishing the firm belief that military strength is the security, dignity and prestige of the state and people.

Once again, I emphasize that our army should keep a sharp watch on even the enemy's slight military move and make confident and full preparedness to thoroughly and mercilessly control and frustrate provocative acts of any type through overwhelming counteraction, mindful of its noble mission which is to devotedly defend the security of the country and the wellbeing of the people.

As preparations for a great event have become urgent reality and our army has been entrusted with the important mission of ensuring it through a powerful military action, every level of the entire army should sincerely study and implement the spirit of the plenary meetings of the Eighth Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission of the Party, intensify training under the simulated conditions of an actual war and, at the same time, direct great efforts to the political and ideological education as usual so as to prepare itself enough to surely win in the confrontation with the enemies by dint of political, ideological, military and technological superiority.

Kim Jong Un said that the People's Army's preparations for war are unthinkable without modernization of its military hardware.

He set forth the strategic tasks to be maintained and carried out by the munitions industry in its responsible struggle for bolstering up the DPRK's nuclear war deterrent and augmenting the national defence capacity this year as required by the prevailing situation and the developing revolution and referred to other issues.

He went on:

All citizens living on this land should regard national defence as the greatest patriotic work and turn out in it voluntarily.

It is our Party's strategic plan to defend the country and greet a great revolutionary event through all-people resistance.

The civilian defence sector should draw a serious lesson from the fact that it had conducted the work for perfecting the preparedness for war in a formalistic and blindfolded way in the past, taking it as routine in the past, and make strenuous efforts in a revolutionary way with the viewpoint and attitude that it makes a new start.

As the work for strengthening the country's defence capabilities and military muscle is a nationwide undertaking both in name and reality, all institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens in the territory of the Republic should have a correct view of military affairs and regard it as an immutable iron rule to provide everything needed for strengthening the military capability on the top-priority basis and in the highest quality.

The people's government organs at all levels should take thoroughgoing measures to immediately switch over to the wartime system in case of emergency and make full material preparations for all-people resistance.

The deputies to the Supreme People's Assembly should regard it as their due duty to play a key role in strengthening the country's defence capability, and carry out the military tasks entrusted to their sectors and units without fail and promptly make an issue of practices of neglecting the military affairs to thoroughly overcome them.

Comrade Deputies!

Today the Supreme People's Assembly newly legalized the policy of our Republic toward the south on the basis of putting an end to the nearly 80 year-long history of inter-Korean relations and recognizing the two states both existing in the Korean peninsula.

As solemnly clarified at the 2023 December Plenary Meeting of the Party Central Committee, our Party, government and people had shown great magnanimity and tireless patience and made sincere efforts always with the view that those of the ROK are still the fellow countrymen and compatriots in the long period of history and even discussed with them the great cause of national reunification in a candid manner.

But it is the final conclusion drawn from the bitter history of the inter-Korean relations that we cannot go along the road of national restoration and reunification together with the ROK clan that adopted as its state policy the all-out confrontation with our Republic, dreaming of the "collapse of our government" and "unification by absorption," and lost compatriotic consciousness, getting more vicious and arrogant in the madcap confrontational racket.

The north-south relations have been completely fixed into the relations between two states hostile to each other and the relations between two belligerent states, not the consanguineous or homogeneous ones any more. This is the present situation of the relations between the north and the south today caused by the heinous and self-destructive confrontational maneuvers of the ROK, a group of outsiders' top-class stooges, and the true picture of the Korean peninsula just unveiled before the world.

We have formulated a new stand on the north-south relations and the policy of reunification and dismantled all the organizations we established as solidarity bodies for peaceful reunification at the current session of the Supreme People's Assembly which discusses the laws of the DPRK. It can be said this is an indispensable process that should take place without fail.

As the southern border of our country has been clearly drawn, the illegal "northern limit line" and any other boundary can never be tolerated, and if the ROK violates even 0.001 mm of our territorial land, air and waters, it will be considered a war provocation.

In this regard, I think it is necessary to revise some contents of the Constitution of the DPRK.

I have already recalled at the recent plenary meeting that the so-called constitution of the ROK openly stipulates that "the territory of the ROK covers the Korean peninsula and its attached islands".

Recently I studied the constitutions of some other countries and found that they clearly stipulate the political and geographical definition of the territorial parts in which state sovereignty is exercised, the territorial land, territorial waters and territorial airspace in other word.

There is no provision specifying such definition in the existing constitution of our country. Since our Republic definitely defined the ROK as a foreign country and the most hostile state after completely eliminating the original concept contradictory to reality that the ROK is the partner for reconciliation and reunification and the fellow countrymen, it is necessary to take legal steps to legitimately and correctly define the territorial sphere where the sovereignty of the DPRK as an independent socialist nation is exercised.

In my opinion, we can specify in our constitution the issue of completely occupying, subjugating and reclaiming the ROK and annex it as a part of the territory of our Republic in case of a war breaks out on the Korean peninsula.

And I think it is right to specify in the relevant paragraph of our constitution that such linguistic remnants misinterpreting the north and the south as fellow countrymen as "3 000-ri tapestry-like land" and "80 million compatriots" are not used in the political, ideological, mental and cultural life of our people, and that education should be intensified to instill into them the firm idea that ROK is their primary foe and invariable principal enemy.

Besides, in my view, it is necessary to delete such expressions in the constitution as "northern half" and "independence, peaceful reunification and great national unity".

I think the constitution of the Republic should be revised in consideration of such matters and the issue should be discussed at the next session of the Supreme People's Assembly.

The constitutional revision should be followed by timely practical measures to get rid of the remnants of the past era which may be seen as symbols of "north and south Koreas with consanguineous and homogeneous relations", "By Our Nation Itself" and "peaceful reunification".

For the present, we should take strict stepwise measures to thoroughly block all the channels of north-south communication along the border, including the one of physically and completely cutting off the railway tracks in our side, which existed as a symbol of north-south exchange and cooperation, to an irretrievable level.

We should also completely remove the eye-sore "Monument to the Three Charters for National Reunification" standing at the southern gateway to the capital city of Pyongyang and take other measures so as to completely eliminate such concepts as "reunification", "reconciliation" and "fellow countrymen" from the national history of our Republic.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to make clear once again the revolutionary character of the work for strengthening the self-reliant military capabilities, which our Republic firmly preserves as its own life, unfazed by any changes of situation.

I reaffirm that the strongest absolute strength we are cultivating is not a means of preemptive attack for realizing unilateral "reunification by force of arms" but the capabilities for legitimate self-defence pertaining to our right to self-defence, which should be bolstered up without fail definitely to defend ourselves.

In the present world where jungle law prevails, and to our country located in the hot spot where the danger of war have lingered for decades, the possession of powerful military muscle is an inevitable process of struggle to be indispensably chosen to defend the destiny of our country and nation and a historic task to be accepted as a fate.

Despite the worst difficulties accompanied by the enemy's persistent pressure and sanctions, we have remarkably bolstered up our self-reliant military capabilities and nuclear war deterrent to be strongest without any slightest vacillation. As a result, any aggressor forces on the earth have long dared not push the situation to such worst phase as the outbreak of a war.

Explicitly speaking, we will never unilaterally unleash a war if the enemies do not provoke us.

The enemies should never misjudge this as our weakness.

Then, will we confine our national self-defensive capabilities to serving the purpose of only defending ourselves and preventing war?

Absolutely not.

I have already clearly mentioned the second mission of our nuclear force, in addition to its basic duty of deterring war.

A level-headed judgment of the special environment, in which the most hostile state, the Republic of Korea, exists in our nearest neighborhood, and of the situation, in which instability of the regional situation is soaring due to the U.S.-led escalation of military tensions, has found that the danger of the outbreak of a war to be caused by a physical clash has considerably aggravated and reached a red line.

We do not want war, but we also have no intention of avoiding it.

There is no reason to opt for war, and therefore, there is no intention of unilaterally going to war, but once a war becomes a reality facing us, we will never try to avoid it, and we will take perfect and prompt action we thoroughly prepared in order to defend our sovereignty, security of the people and right to existence.

The war will terribly destroy the entity called the Republic of Korea and put an end to its existence.

And it will inflict an unimaginably crushing defeat upon the U.S.

Our military capabilities, already in readiness to do so, are being rapidly updated.

If the enemies ignite a war, our Republic will resolutely punish the enemies by mobilizing all its military forces including nuclear weapons.

Comrade Deputies!

Anti-imperialist independence is justice and truth, and dignity and sovereignty, peace and security can be firmly defended only in this way.

It is the foreign policy stand of our Party and state to safeguard justice and peace, aspire toward progress and development and promote friendship and solidarity.

The DPRK will never tolerate the heinous infringement on its sovereignty by the U.S. which is wantonly trampling down and plundering world peace and stability with illegal double standards, regarding anti-imperialist independence as its immutable and consistent first national policy, but will strive to realize international justice based on respect for sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit and establish a new international order.

The external affairs sector should strategically and positively conduct the work to cope with the rapid change in the international political structure and security environment on the initiatives, so as to create conditions and circumstances favorable for our revolution and prevent any deviation or concession in the principle of defending national rights and interests.

It should set the development of relations with socialist countries as its primary task, further strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation, launch a courageous anti-imperialist joint action and joint struggle on an international scale, and achieve new progress in the work for further expanding the sphere of external relations of the country, uniting and cooperating with all countries and nations aspiring after independence and justice, irrespective of ideology and social system.

The above-said tasks are the immediate major policy to be maintained and carried out by the government of the Republic without fail.

The result of the sacred tasks to be carried out for the dignity of the state, the well-being of the people and the victorious advance of socialist construction depends largely on the role of the people's government organs.

Our people's government is a powerful political weapon for socialist construction and an executor of the Party's lines and policies.

All the people's government organs should establish a steel-like work system and order of unconditionally remaining faithful to the idea and leadership of the WPK, completely eliminate the manual and meditative attitude and implement the Party's policies set forth before their regions and units with a high sense of responsibility and with due care.

In conformity with their original mission of existing for the people and serving the interests of the people, they should display boundless sense of responsibility so that the people-oriented policies of the Party and the state can reach our children and every citizen correctly and turn the work for solving problems in improving the people's standard of living into the one for giving people real benefits, not for being in one's favor.

They should be burdened with the urgent tasks of solving the economic problem of the country, including the work for boosting the local economy, by themselves and carry them out to the last and thus make a tangible contribution to the development of the state.

The people's government organs should play a due role in defending, maintaining, consolidating and developing the socialist system.

In the course of organizing and guiding the activities of all units and inhabitants, they should always pay attention to strengthening the single-hearted unity and encouraging and developing the people's patriotic spirit and strictly preserve the socialist character of our society and thoroughly guarantee the smooth function of the state through principled control and management.

The mission and responsibility of the deputies are important in the new year's advance for further advancing and developing the socialist construction and promoting the people's well-being as they were before.

The deputies to the Supreme People's Assembly and other people's assemblies at all levels are political activists who are elected by the support of the people, participate directly in state affairs, reflect the will and demands of the people in the government's policies, lead their correct implementation and propose to take timely measures for correcting the deviations that appear.

Only when they are properly aware of their position and authority as representatives of the people and fulfill their duty, can the Party, the government and the people form an organic body, the overall state and social life become active and the lines and policies for the people be carried out thoroughly.

They have no right to be in a state of self-protection or idleness and indolence even for a moment but should ensure the execution of state affairs through active and substantial practice.

Comrade Deputies!

I emphasize again that our state now has the bright prospect of overall prosperity under a sure guarantee with the prestige and authority reckoned by the world thanks to the precious blood, sweat and devotion of the great people who have devoted their all to the victory of the socialist cause firmly believing in only the Party and the government of the Republic even in difficult times.

In comparison with the expectations of the people who have absolutely supported and wholeheartedly upheld the policies of our Party and the government of the Republic, the successes achieved so far are too small and we have no right to spoil the devotion and efforts of the people made despite extreme difficulties.

The stronger our national power and our confidence grow, the further we should redouble our efforts, not forgetting even a moment the journey of hard ordeals our people have traveled, and bring without fail the rich and civilized era in the near future which we have promised to the people.

There are still many difficulties and trials to be faced, but our ideals and cause are truth and science and we are full of courage and spirit to win victory.

Let us all unite firmly with patriotism and fight vigorously for the eternal prosperity of our dignified state, for the happiness and glory of our great people and for the overall development of our style of socialism.

Long live the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, our great state! -0-

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10th Session of 14th SPA of DPRK Held

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK

Pyongyang, January 16 (KCNA) -- The 10th Session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) took place at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in the capital city of Pyongyang on Jan. 15.

The session was convened at an important time when all the people in the country courageously launched an offensive to carry forward the victory and glory of last year full of great struggle and proud successes more brilliantly and vigorously to this year when the victory in attaining the goal set by the Eighth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) should be confirmed.

Present there were deputies to the SPA. Attending it as observers were officials concerned in the capital and local areas, including those of the Party Central Committee, the SPA Standing Committee, the Cabinet, ministries, national institutions and armed forces organs.

Its platform was taken by Presidium members of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee Kim Tok Hun, Choe Ryong Hae and Ri Pyong Chol and other senior officials of the Party, the government and the military, the chairman and vice-chairmen of the SPA, members of the State Affairs Commission and vice-chairperson, the secretary general and members of the SPA Standing Committee.

Pak In Chol, chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly, made an opening address.

The national anthem of the DPRK was played when the session was declared open.

The 10th Session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK brought out the following agenda items:

First, on the fulfillment of the DPRK state budget for Juche 112 (2023) and the state budget for Juche 113 (2024)

Second, on abolishing the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country of the DPRK, the National Economic Cooperation Bureau and the Kumgangsan International Tourism Administration

Kim Jong Un , general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, appeared on the platform to clarify the policy of the DPRK government.

All the participants broke into thunderous cheers of "Hurrah!", looking up to him, the supreme representative of the dignity of our Party, state and people who is dynamically ushering in a new era of overall prosperity of the country powerful with independence in politics, self-support in the economy and self-reliance in national defence while guiding the historic struggle for building a rich country with strong army, our noble idea and our sacred cause, always along the road of victory.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un made an important policy speech "On the Immediate Tasks for the Prosperity and Development of Our Republic and the Promotion of the Wellbeing of Our People".

He expressed deep thanks to the deputies who had worked hard to fulfill their duty with loyalty to the sacred cause of the Party and the state and the spirit of devoted service to the people. And he put forward in an overall way the main agenda of the session discussing the new year's state affairs, the important tasks facing the DPRK government in bringing in a multi-stage, three-dimensional and offensive way great changes for the comprehensive development of socialist construction, and the principled issues to be maintained in carrying them out.

The supreme task of the WPK and the DPRK government, which set forth the promotion of the people's well-being as the supreme principle of state activities, is to improve the people's living as early as possible, he said, declaring the new regional industry development policy for a great revolution in eliminating the centuries-old backwardness of localities and realizing the long-cherished desire of the regional people, and the important measures for its implementation.

He sternly analyzed and estimated the security environment of the DPRK, which turned into the most dangerous zone with risk of war outbreak in the world, and the danger of the confrontation racket by the U.S. imperialists and their followers, and clarified the orientation of struggle against the enemy and the militant tasks to be carried out most thoroughly and uncompromisingly.

His speech clarified the political issues for adhering to the principle of defending the national sovereignty and interests in the external affairs in keeping with the dignity and prestige of the DPRK which adopted the anti-imperialist independence as its first state policy, immutable and consistent.

All the participants listened in great excitement to the speech of Kim Jong Un who set the basic guidelines for building a powerful country as a solid pillar, clearly looking forward to the future of accomplishing the socialist cause.

His historic policy speech, full of the great sense of mission and confidence in sure victory, is a militant banner and an immortal great revolutionary programme that enables our Party, state and people to bravely overcome manifold difficulties and crisis with their heroic dignity and indomitable stamina and further accelerate the victorious advance toward a powerful country.

The session discussed the fulfillment of last year's state budget and the draft state budget for the new year as the first agenda item.

A report was made by Deputy Ko Jong Bom, minister of Finance.

Then, speeches were made by deputies Pak Jong Gun, Jon Hak Chol, Ri Yong Chol, Han Nam Chol and Kim Myong Chol.

Speakers expressed full support for the report submitted to the session, noting that last year's implementation of the state budget was correctly reviewed and settled and the new year's state budget has been formed on the principle of financially supporting the struggle to secure a clear practical guarantee for the fulfillment of the Five-Year Plan in the spirit of the 9th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.

They analyzed and reviewed in detail the successes, experience and shortcomings made in their sectors and units last year and proposed measures to settle the knotty problems arising in reality in conformity with the changed circumstances and situation and ensure the smooth promotion of the long-term development.

They expressed their determination to fully display the responsibility and activeness in this year's struggle of great significance in the successful implementation of the WPK's programme and thus guarantee the steady development of socialist construction with courageous and substantial practices.

The session adopted with unanimous approval a decision of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK "On approving the fulfillment of the DPRK state budget for Juche 112 (2023)" and an ordnance of the SPA of the DPRK "On the DPRK state budget for Juche 113 (2024)".

The session discussed the issue of abolishing the mechanisms in charge of affairs with the south as the second agenda item.

Deputy Maeng Kyong Il, vice-chairman of the SPA, proposed a draft SPA decision which stipulates the validity and legality of the immediate abolition of the mechanisms which had existed for north-south dialogue, negotiation and cooperation.

The session unanimously approved the SPA decision of the DPRK "On abolishing the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country of the DPRK, the National Economic Cooperation Bureau and the Kumgangsan International Tourism Administration".

Pak In Chol, chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly, made a closing address.

The 10th Session of the 14th SPA successfully concluded its work amid the extraordinary political enthusiasm of the participants to fulfill their responsibility and duty as representatives of the people and masters of the state affairs in the van of the decisive struggle to firmly guarantee the dignity, sovereignty and independent development of the DPRK and its people and elevate and expand the epochal phase for national prosperity. -0-

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German Army Orders Over $54Mln Worth of Decoy Flares From Rheinmetall

Sputnik News

20240115

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - German defense firm Rheinmetall said on Monday that it signed an agreement worth about 50 million euros ($54.7 million) with Germany's Bundeswehr (armed forces) for the production of decoy flares to protect aircraft from infrared-guided missiles.

"The Bundeswehr has awarded Rheinmetall a substantial order for decoy flares for protecting aircraft ... Covering the period December 2023 to December 2029, the contract is worth nearly a50 million," the statement read.

The German armed forces will be provided with over 470,000 of Rheinmetall's Birdie decoys, which are ejected from helicopters, transport aircraft and jets to distract infrared-guided missiles from their targets, the company added.

A Sputnik

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Iran, Russia FMs call for finalizing strategic cooperation agreement

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 15, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in a telephone conversation have urged the necessity of finalizing the comprehensive and strategic cooperation agreement between the two countries.

During a telephone conversation on Monday, Amirabdollahian and Lavrov exchanged views on some issues of mutual interest, as well as regional developments, including the latest situation in the Red Sea.

Emphasizing the determination of the two countries to develop and strengthen cooperation between Tehran and Moscow, Amirabdollahian expressed hope that the implementation of the remaining agreements between the two countries would be carried out seriously.

Referring to the significant developments in the region, especially in Gaza, the top Iranian diplomat reiterated that the continuation of the Zionist regime's attacks on Gaza and the US interventionist role in the Red Sea will create more insecurity in the region.

Describing attacks on Yemen as a strategic mistake for the US, Amirabdollahian underlined that the US is looking to militarize the Red Sea under the pretext of imposing a new resolution, but undoubtedly such actions will increase insecurity in the region.

Lavrov, for his part, termed Tehran and Moscow's ties as strategic and friendly, noting that Russia is firmly committed to Iran's sovereignty and territorial integrity, including in the case of Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf. "This is Moscow's unchangeable position and should never be questioned."

Pointing to the current situation in the Red Sea, he highlighted that it is the result of escalation in Palestine which has created a tense situation for the region and other countries.

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'No need for presence of extra-regional forces in region'

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 15, 2024

Bandar Abbas, IRNA -- The commander of the First Naval Region of the Islamic Republic of Iran says the security of the region will be safeguarded by the countries of the region and there is no need for the presence of extra-regional countries anymore.

Second Flotilla Admiral Qader Vazifeh made the remarks on Sunday evening at a ceremony in Bandar Abbas to consolidate the relations between the Iranian and Pakistani naval forces.

The sea is a great opportunity for advancement and preservation of national interests, he said, pointing out that the activities of the Iranian Navy have expanded to the open seas.

The relations between the navies of Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran are at a very high level, and the implementation of joint exercises has created an opportunity for greater coordination to implement any joint operations, he added.

For his part, Pakistan Navy Fleet Commander Admiral Bilal said the brutal campaign in Palestine is a serious threat to peace in the region and the world.

We are concerned about the situation of our Palestinian brothers and sisters in Gaza, and there is an urgent need to end the suffering in Gaza, he added.

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IRGC missiles hit anti-Iran terrorists' bases in Syria, Mossad espionage center in Iraqi Kurdistan

Iran Press TV

Monday, 15 January 2024 10:10 PM

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says it has fired barrages of ballistic missiles at Syrian bases of terrorists who were involved in recent attacks in Iran, as well as an Israeli espionage center in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.

The IRGC said the first missile strike targeted gathering places of commanders and main elements of recent terrorist attacks in the Iranian cities of Kerman and Rask.

It added that the strike came after gathering points of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group were identified in the occupied territories of Syria and destroyed with a number of ballistic missiles.

The Takfiri group claimed responsibility for two explosions that killed nearly 100 people and wounded scores of others at a memorial for Iran's top anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani in the southeastern Iranian city of Kerman on January 3.

Last month, another terrorist attack hit a police station in the southeastern Iranian city of Rask, killing 11 police officers and injuring at least six others.

The IRGC said in a later statement that another missile strike has been launched at a main espionage center of the Israeli regime's Mossad spy agency in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.

It said the strike was a sign of the IRGC's full intelligence superiority over the Zionist regime's bases and activities in the region.

The IRGC added that its missile strike on the Iraqi Kurdistan Region has totally destroyed the Mossad center there.

It noted that the Mossad center was used "to develop espionage operations and plan acts of terrorism" across the region, especially in Iran.

The missile strike against the Mossad center, the statement said, was in retaliation for the recent assassinations of the resistance front's commanders, especially those of the IRGC, by the Zionist regime.

The IRGC also assured "the great nation of Iran" that it will find "the malicious terrorist groups" that are active against the Iranian nation "wherever they are and will punish them for their shameful deeds."

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US committed 'strategic mistake' by attacking Yemen, Iran FM tells Lavrov

Iran Press TV

Monday, 15 January 2024 4:44 PM

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that a decision by the United States to attack Yemen last week was a strategic mistake.

Amir-Abdollahian told Lavrov in a phone conversation initiated by the Russian side on Monday that the US is seeking to militarize the Red Sea after it managed to persuade the United Nations Security Council to pass a resolution to condemn attacks on shipping in the region.

The resolution came amid attacks by Yemen's ruling Houthi Ansarullah movement on ships linked to the Israeli regime and in response to continued Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

In retaliation, US and British warplanes, ships and submarines launched dozens of airstrikes across Yemen on Friday, killing five people and injuring six others..

"The continued Israeli attacks on Gaza and US interventionist measures in the Red Sea will fuel instability in the region," warned Amir-Abdollahian.

Lavrov said in response that the current condition in the Red Sea is an outcome of intensified tensions in Palestine.

He also reiterated Russia's unconditional commitment to respect Iran's territorial integrity, especially with regards to the country's sovereignty over three islands in the Persian Gulf on which some Arab countries have raised claims.

The remarks come nearly a month after Iranian officials voiced deep anger at a statement adopted at the end of a Russian-Arab summit in Morocco in which Moscow had approved Arab calls for settlement of what it described as a dispute over the three islands.

This is Moscow's unchangeable stance and should never be doubted, said Lavrov in the phone call with Amir-Abdollahian, according to remarks covered by Iran's official news agency IRNA.

The two foreign ministers also discussed bilateral issues between Iran and Russia and emphasized the need for expansion of trade relations through increased activity on cargo transit routes in the two countries and in the region.

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Iran's IRGC Claims Responsibility for Missile Attacks on Iraq's Erbil

Sputnik News

20240115

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) took responsibility on Tuesday for missile attacks on Iraqi Kurdistan's capital of Erbil, claiming that it targeted bases of anti-Iranian terrorist groups.

Earlier in the day, a security source in Iraq told Sputnik that several explosions occurred in Erbil near the US Consulate General and Erbil International Airport.

"In response to the recent terrorist attacks by Iran's enemies, spy headquarters and enemy headquarters of anti-Iran terrorist groups in parts of the Middle East region were attacked with several IRGC ballistic missiles," the IRGC was quoted as saying by the Tasnim news agency.

The report added that the IRGC fired ballistic missiles at one of the main headquarters of the Israeli Secret Intelligence Service (Mossad) in Iraqi Kurdistan and destroyed it. The headquarters was reportedly the center for developing special operations and planning terrorist attacks in the Middle East region, in particular in Iran.

Four people were killed as a result of a missile strike conducted by the IRGC on Iraqi Kurdistan's capital of Erbil, ABC News reported on Tuesday, citing an Iraqi security source.

No US facilities have been damaged by the missile attack in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, Reuters reported citing a US official.

A Sputnik

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Condemnation of Iran's Attacks in Erbil

US Department of State

Press Statement

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

January 15, 2024

The United States strongly condemns Iran's attacks in Erbil today and offers condolences to the families of those who were killed. We oppose Iran's reckless missile strikes, which undermine Iraq's stability. We support the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government's efforts to meet the aspirations of the Iraqi people.

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On January 15, 2024, the Government of the Republic of Nauru announced that it will recognize the one-China principle that is in line with UN Resolution 2758 which recognizes the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government and will sever "diplomatic relations" with Taiwan.

Nauru is a tiny oval-shaped island situated 42 kilometers south of the equator. Phosphate mining is Nauru's main source of economic revenue. The people of Nauru consists of 12 tribes and English is their official language.

The Nauru government also declared that it will recognize Taiwan as an inalienable part of China's territory and will no longer develop any official relations or official exchanges with Taiwan.

"China appreciates and welcomes the decision of the government of the Republic of Nauru. China has established diplomatic relations with 182 countries on the basis of the one-China principle. The Nauru government's decision of reestablishing diplomatic ties with China once again shows that the one-China principle is where global opinion trends and where the arc of history bends. China stands ready to work with Nauru to open new chapters of our bilateral relations on the basis of the one-China principle," stated a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

Three days earlier, the outcomes of Taiwan leadership and legislature elections revealed. China's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council commented that the elections will not change the basic landscape and development trend of cross-Strait relations, will not alter the shared aspiration of compatriots across the Taiwan Strait to forge closer ties, and will not impede the inevitable trend of China's reunification. The Democratic Progressive Party cannot represent the mainstream public opinion on the island. China's stance on resolving the Taiwan question and realizing national reunification remains consistent and China's determination is as firm as rock.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi remarked during his visit to Egypt that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China. Taiwan has never been a country. It was not the case in the past, and it will never be in the future. The Taiwan regional election is China's internal affairs and the results won't change the general consensus of the international community to adhere to the one-China principle. He restated that China will eventually achieve reunification and Taiwan will return to the motherland.
Iranian missiles destroy Mossad HQ in Iraqi Kurdistan: IRGC

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 16, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps confirms it has targeted the espionage headquarters of the Zionist regime in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region with ballistic missiles as part of an operation against anti-Iran terror groups and networks in the region.

The IRGC in three separate announcements linked the overnight operations to terrorists and their backers involved in the recent terror attacks in the Iranian cities of Kerman and Rasak.

Two earlier statements published by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps clarified that it fired a number of missiles on spy centers and the gathering of anti-Iran terrorist groups in parts of the region, including in Syria.

A third statement addressing to the Iranian nation, the IRGC announced the targeting and destruction of the Mossad headquarters in Iraq's Kurdistan with ballistic missiles for its role as well as the plot the Israeli regime's spy agency hatched to assassinate Iranian and resistance commanders.

"In response to the recent evil acts of the Zionist regime in martyring IRGC and resistance commanders, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, with its nobility and intelligence, targeted and destroyed one of the main headquarters of Israel's spying agency Mossad in Iraq's Kurdistan region by firing ballistic missiles", the IRGC statement said.

"This Mossad headquarters has been working for espionage operations and a center for terror attacks planning in the region, especially against our beloved country", the statement added.

Also, the IRGC statement once again assured the Iranian nation that Iran's operations will continue until the last drops of martyrs' blood are avenged.

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PM Netanyahu Meets with Czech President Petr Pavel

Israel - Prime Minister's Office

The 37th Government

15.01.2024

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today , at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, met with Czech President Petr Pavel and welcomed him on his first visit to Israel as President of the Czech Republic.

The Prime Minister updated the Czech President on developments in the war and thanked him for the Czech government and people's unwavering support for the State of Israel in its just fight against the Hamas terrorist organization.

The two leaders discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation in security, energy, agriculture and innovation. An MOU between the two countries regarding cyber will be signed tomorrow.

The following officials participated in the expanded meeting:

For the Israeli side - the Director of the National Security Council, the Prime Minister's Foreign Policy Adviser and the Israeli Ambassador to the Czech Republic.

For the Czech side - the President's Military Secretary, the Foreign Ministry Director General and the Czech Ambassador to Israel.

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Israeli cabinet allocates $15 billion for Gaza war despite budget deficit

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 16, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- The far-right coalition cabinet of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved 15 billion dollars more for the Gaza war despite indications that the regime's economy is struggling.

The Netanyahu office confirmed the news on Monday about the cabinet's approval of a revised draft of the 2024 budget, a major part of which is for military affairs and compensation for those affected in the Gaza war.

"We have changed the priorities so that every reserve military force and personnel, as well as their families, should know our supports for them," Bezalel Yoel Smotrich, the Finance Minister of the Zionist regime said after the approval of amended budget after a day-long debate in the cabinet.

According to Israeli media reports, a number of Israeli ministers walked out the cabinet meeting in protest against provisions of the 2024 budget plan, leading to the failure to approve the draft last night.

"Despite Netanyahu's pledge to continue the cabinet session until reaching the agreement on the budget draft, the meeting quickly turned tense and the cabinet members insulted each other, with some leaving the place angrily", report said.

Some ministers were worried over reduction of the budget to other sectors. Shlomo Karai, the Minister of Communications also warned in a letter to Netanyahu that the reduction of the budget of his ministry could endanger the lives of Israelis.

According to some reports, the war on Gaza costs the Zionist regime some $269 million per day that has already aggravated the economic crisis, with the central bank chief warning to the prime minister about the complexity of the crisis.

Previously, Israel's Ministry of Economy also predicted that the Gaza war would leave a budget deficit of about 18 billion dollars for this regime.

4399

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Kazakh Officials Unexpectedly Allow Commemoration Of Nazarbaev Nemesis

By Merhat Sharipzhan January 15, 2024

Kazakhstan's authorities have unexpectedly allowed an event commemorating the 80th anniversary of the birth of the late opposition politician Zamanbek Nurqadilov, an outspoken critic of the Central Asian nation's former president, Nursultan Nazarbaev.

On January 14, politicians, public figures, lawmakers, and celebrities gathered for an event to commemorate Nurqadilov at a restaurant in central Almaty, the country's largest city. Special letters by President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev and the chairman of the Senate, Kazakh parliament's upper chamber, Maulen Ashimbaev, were read at the ceremony praising Nurqadilov's contribution to the building of Kazakh statehood.

Nurqadilov, was once mayor of Almaty and chairman of the Emergency Situations Agency before he turned into a fierce critic of Nazarbaev and his government in 2004. He was found dead with two bullets in his chest and one in his head at his home in Almaty in November 2005. Official investigators ruled the death was a suicide, sparking a public outcry at the time.

Toqaev's letter said a monument to Nurqadilov will be erected in his native Kegen district in the Almaty region, while one of local schools will be named after him and a plaque honoring him will be placed at the house in Almaty where he lived.

Nurqadilov's former associate, businessman Bolat Abilov, called the event commemorating Nurqadilov "a political, historical, and moral rehabilitation" of the politician, adding that all the Nazarbaev monuments across the nation must be demolished and memorials to honor Nurqadilov and other politicians and journalists who died amid suspicious circumstances must be built instead.

Nurqadilov's death occurred around the same time as a series of deaths of opposition politicians and journalists.

Among them are the deaths of opposition leader and former Kazakh ambassador to Russia, Altynbek Sarsenbaiuly, and his two associates, who were found shot dead near Almaty in February 2006, three months after Nurqadilov's death.

Both politicians were interviewed in July 2004 by prominent independent journalist Askhat Sharipzhanov, who was found later the same day as the interview beaten and unconscious with a fractured skull. He died three days later in hospital.

Police said Sharipzhanov had been hit by a car, but friends and colleagues said his injuries suggested he had been struck in the head and hands before being hit by a vehicle.

Sarsenbaiuly's killing was officially declared to have been motivated by personal enmity. A former chief of staff of the Kazakh parliament, Erzhan Otembaev, was convicted of ordering the slaying and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

However, in 2013, Otembaev's sentence was annulled after Kazakh authorities announced that the case had been sent for review based on newly obtained evidence they said indicated that Rakhat Aliev, Nazarbaev's former son-in-law, had ordered the killing.

Aliev, who was deputy chief of Kazakhstan's National Security Committee when the slaying took place and became an outspoken opponent of Nazarbaev in 2007, was in self-imposed exile in Europe at the time.

Aliev was later arrested by Austrian officials at the request of authorities in Kazakhstan, who accused him of involvement in the kidnapping and murder of two Kazakh bankers.

In February 2015, Aliev was found hanged in a Vienna jail.

Austrian officials ruled Aliev's death a suicide, but many in Kazakhstan believe he was murdered while in Austrian custody.

With reporting by zakon.kz

NOTE: RFE/RL correspondent Merhat Sharipzhanov is a brother of the late journalist Askhat Sharipzhanov.



Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakhstan-nurqadilov- commemoration-nazarbaev-nemesis/32775011.html

Copyright (c) 2024. 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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Myanmar's junta threatens to raze villages to bolster army numbers

Soldiers have already targeted over 50 villages across central Myanmar, residents said.

By RFA Burmese 2024.01.15 -- Myanmar's military junta is recruiting locals across more than 50 villages in the country's central areas, locals told Radio Free Asia on Monday.

Up to 50 residents per village are required to serve in the regime's militia in Bago region chosen through a raffle system, they added.

The junta is recruiting civilians between the ages of 18 and 60 heavily from western and eastern Bago. Twenty villages in eastern Bago and 28 villages in western Bago have already been targeted, residents said. Village administration appointed by the regime has required eligible members of each household to enter a raffle system, where those selected must attend a month-long military training course.

If villagers don't cooperate, soldiers have threatened to burn down their villages, said a resident in western Bago region who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons. To be excused from service, they must pay between 800,000 kyat [US$380] and one million kyat [$476].

"The [junta] ordered one person per household to enlist. If not, the village will be burned down. When [soldiers] say something like that, people are afraid because they are villagers. They cannot afford to give people from every single house," he said.

"People did not want their village to be burnt, so they agreed with the raffle system. Also, a soldier changed the requirement later to only 10 people from every single village who had to serve for the militia. But people who got selected by the raffle system to serve also do not want to join the militia."

To be exempt from the raffle, residents are required to pay 100,000 kyat [$47] per household, they said.

The military junta began asking for 50 people per village in eastern Bago starting from Friday, said a man from Hpa Yar Gyi village.

"The [junta] is asking for between 50 and 60 people from our area. Let's say there are 10 people in this village's section - if two people are selected to join, they must go when the junta calls, whether they are at work or not," he told RFA. "They have to join militia training. The junta just says joining training, but they have to go to the frontline after."

The military has advertised that those who join the militia will be paid 120,000 kyat [$ 57] and provided a bag of rice per month, residents said.

The junta started to implement the scheme after a meeting between military chiefs and pro-junta political parties on Jan 6.

Bago's junta spokesperson Tin Oo told RFA Thursday that this method allows locals to protect their communities, adding that participating would help increase stability and public security.

"No one wants terrorism," he said. "[Serving in the militia] allows them to defend their homes and that depends on them preventing People's Defense Force terrorists from getting into their villages."

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

Copyright 1998-2024, 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 January 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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Setbacks to junta mount as Operation 1027 spreads in Myanmar

A commentary by Zachary Abuza 2024.01.15 -- With a wine toast, six Myanmar army brigadier generals negotiated the orderly withdrawal of nearly 2,400 troops and over 1,000 dependents from Laukkaing on Jan. 4, with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army.

The junta submission to a member of the Three Brotherhood Alliance in Kokang Self-Administered Zone in northern Shan state was the largest surrender in the history of Myanmar's military and the latest blow to the regime from the ethnic army trio's 10-week-old Operation 1027.

A fellow alliance member, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), has continued their offensive capturing 13 towns along Highway 3.

The Arakan Army (AA), the third member of the Three Brotherhood Alliance, has continued their own offensive capturing several towns and over 100 small military encampments in Rakhine. In the latest, some 200 soldiers surrendered.

On Jan. 14, a spokesperson for the AA said it had conquered Paletwa, a port town in western Chin state that plays a vital trade and transport role with neighboring India and Bangladesh.

The fall of the river hub came six days after the AA attacked a naval base at the Chinese-invested Kyaukphyu special economic zone.

The Kachin Independence Army has joined their ally the TNLA in some assaults. They have quietly been moving in on the jade-mining center of Hpakant. Last week, they claimed to have shot down a MiG-17 helicopter.

The parallel Karenni Operation 1111 in Kayah State has seen significant gains, even though they have still not completed the liberation of the capital Loikaw.

Nonetheless, Karenni forces are getting close to fully liberating Kayah and the revolutionary state government that they established has been delivering basic human services and expanding its reach.

Signs of desperation

Since late October, over 400 military outposts have fallen to opposition hands, and with it, a large supply of weapons and ammunition.

There are several implications from the ongoing Operation 1027 offensive, named after its Oct. 27, 2022 launch date..

First, the military junta's promised counteroffensive has not happened. The best the Tatmadaw can muster is long-range artillery and airstrikes. Indeed, a captured pilot acknowledged that the Myanmar Air Force is intentionally targeting civilians, while the commander of the 101st Light infantry Division who was captured by the TNLA acknowledged ordering war crimes against civilians.

While such tactics can sow fear, as was seen in a recent bombing in Sagaing that killed 15 people, it's insufficient to retake territory.

Second, while there has been public criticism that the opposition National Unity Government (NUG) has been responding to events on the ground, the NUG's planning and financing of the operation began over a year ago. Coordinated operations around the country would be extremely difficult without the shadow NUG Ministry of Defense serving as a focal point.

Third, over 4,000 troops and police have surrendered since Operation 1027 began. An entire ethnic Kachin border guard force surrendered to the KIA.

Opposition treatment of POWs has been exemplary, with no credible allegations about mistreatment or abuse. This is in stark juxtaposition to the SAC, which continues to torture and kill people taken on the battlefield, including the most recent attack in Sagaing's Kawlin.

Military manpower is clearly stretched thin. The military has abducted urban youth, fraudulently conscripting youth through false job advertisements, and dragooned men at rural checkpoints. Convicts are being released in return for enlistment.

Enter the Wa?

Likewise, retired military officers are being called up, and family members given garrison duties. The dismal state of the economy has helped recruitment into the junta's proxy Pyu Saw Htee militias.

While there is some concern that the 2,400 junta troops who surrendered on Jan. 4 were not taken as POWs, shepherded out of Kokang on the back of flatbed trucks, leaving them to be deployed elsewhere, the costs of an urban assault on the estimated 22 light infantry brigades in Laukkaing would have been too high. It also would have also resulted in even more Air Force attacks on the city.

It also reflects the lack of resources on the part of the Three Brotherhood Alliance to care for captured troops.

The troops were moved to Lashio, now the junta's defensive perimeter. But a counter-offensive out of the city would require helicoptering in a significant amount of arms and ammunition, and their lift capacity is limited.

The military also destroyed at least one bridge into the city to prevent an assault by the Three Brotherhood Alliance.

There is hope that the humiliation of the surrender, along with their total disarmament, will cause a total breakdown of confidence in the military's leadership.

Fourth, for the first time, the United Wa State Army (UWSA) joined Operation 1027, deposing junta forces in Hopang, in a joint operation with the MNDAA.

The powerful UWSA has been neutral since the coup, neither endorsing the NUG nor explicitly condemning the military's seizure of power. While the well-equipped Wa army may not seek to broaden the war, or move against other Shan state groups, it is another setback for the regime.

Should the UWSA bandwagon in earnest, they are the largest ethnic resistance organization with some 30,000 troops. More importantly, they field shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles, which could challenge the SAC's air dominance.

Chinese concerns

Fifth, the Three Brotherhood Alliance now controls almost all towns along highways 3 and 34, to the border. Apart from Lashio, the only town that the junta controls in northern Shan State is Muse, giving the Three Brotherhood Alliance control over border trade with China, a key source of revenue.

TNLA forces captured a military camp in Nawnghkio, which is only 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Pyin Oo Lwin, home of the Defense Services Academy. Demonstrating that the regime views the town as a must-hold, the Myanmar Air Force has intensified airstrikes to drive the TNLA from Nawnghkio.

Sixth, a third Chinese-brokered ceasefire agreement, struck last week, has broken down. While the Three Brotherhood Alliance may be close to China, they have agency and have shown no willingness to accommodate Beijing because the Operation 1027 offensive is in their strategic interests.

Nonetheless, the MNDAA has been working to allay Chinese concerns by proving to be a committed partner in shutting down the internet scam centers.

Since September, some 40,000 Chinese nationals have been returned from northern Shan state, while the five families who dominated transnational crime in Laukkaing have been arrested or are on the run. China has issued arrest warrants for 10 key figures.

Despite opposition gains, there's still reason for caution.

The offensive has come at an enormous cost to civilians. The rate of civilian casualties in November was seven times higher than the previous month. The military has responded to the capture of towns with more indiscriminate bombings and shellings and massacres of civilians.

The MNDAA estimates that over 40 civilians have died in the past six weeks in Kokang alone, while some 40 civilians were killed and 100 were wounded in one month of fighting in western Rakhine state.

Casualties, manpower woes

Moreover, casualties among opposition fighters have also been high. The capture of Namhsan in Shan state alone cost the TNLA at least 49 men, and an undisclosed number of wounded. This is not an insignificant number for a force that has 8,000 fighters at most.

The MNDAA has, likewise, taken casualties. Offensive operations will be unsustainable if the Three Brotherhood Alliance continues to take casualties at similar rates.

The high cost of the campaign has also led to allegations that the Three Brotherhood Alliance is also forcibly conscripting people.

Finally, we should never underestimate the State Administrative Council, as the junta is formally known. The current iteration of the military regime that has run Myanmar for 50 of the country's 75 years since independence from Britain is determined and hell-bent on maintaining power.

They genuinely believe that without themselves in charge, the country will "break into pieces," a threat that many in the international community glom onto, including neighboring Thailand and ASEAN chairman Laos.

The elite-level recriminations and infighting are happening as losses mount and the economy continues to atrophy. On Jan. 8, the SAC replaced the national security advisor and commander of the Eastern Region.

Despite reports that junta chief Min Aung Hlaing himself signed off on the withdrawal from Laukkaing, the six generals are now facing capital charges.

That will only lead to more generals turning on him, raising the question of at what point does the junta vice-chief Soe Win make his move.

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.

Copyright 1998-2024, 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 January 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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Russia Plans to Build Over 600 Homegrown Planes in Next 6 Years

Sputnik News

20240115

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia is planning the production of more than 600 fully domestic passenger aircraft in the next six years and has allowed tapping the sovereign wealth fund to help plane manufacturers scale up their output, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Monday.

"Over the next six years, a total of over 600 completely domestically-produced jetliners are to be built," he told deputy prime ministers during a meeting.

The Russian fleet will consist mainly of the SSJ-New, -21-310, Il-114-300, Tu-214 and Il-96-300 aircraft models.

Mishustin added that "owning a modern air fleet" is important for keeping the vast swathes of Russia interconnected.

The Russian prime minister also said that the government had adopted a comprehensive program to expand the production of aircraft, engines and equipment, which can be financed through the Russian National Wealth Fund. He added that companies would be able to attract over 280 billion rubles ($3.18 billion) for these purposes on a repayable basis.

The program provides for the technical rearmament of production plants, increasing production capacities and conducting construction work, which includes developing new materials and electronic component base.

The Russian prime minister also spoke about the need to boost domestic car and bus production in the coming years under the strategy for automotive industry development until 2035.

"The Russian automotive industry faces major tasks a in the coming few years [we have to] boost domestic car and bus production, including through relaunching the sites of foreign companies that exited [the Russian market], and also through deepening localization and stimulating [our] own scientific engineering competencies, competitive production," the prime minister said.

He said that the production of cars with advanced motor systems such as electric, hybrid and hydrogen engines should be set up.

Western countries rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Russia after it launched its special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The European Union banned the supply of civil aircraft and spare parts to Russia and obligated lessors to terminate contracts with Russian airlines. Aircraft maintenance and insurance services have also been banned. EU countries along with the United States, Canada and a number of other countries have closed the skies for Russian aircraft.

A Sputnik

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Russia Intends to Further Develop Partnership With North Korea in All Areas - Kremlin

Sputnik News

20240115

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia intends to further develop relations of partnership with North Korea in all areas, a dialogue will continue at all levels, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

A delegation from North Korea headed by Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui will pay a visit to Russia from January 15-17.

"First of all, North Korea is our neighbor, our closest neighbor, our partner with whom we are developing and intend to further develop partnership in all areas ... Dialogue with North Korea will continue at all levels," Peskov told reporters.

A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's foreign minister is not excluded, the spokesman said, adding that Moscow expects fruitful and intense negotiations with the North Korean delegation.

Moscow hopes that Putin's visit to North Korea will take place in a foreseeable future, Peskov said, adding that the dates will be agreed on through diplomatic channels.

A Sputnik

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IRGC hits terrorists involved in Kerman attacks with missiles in Syria

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 16, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says it has targeted and destroyed espionage centers and gathering of terrorist groups in the region with ballistic missiles late Monday.

The IRGC issued two separate statements following the strikes, which it said, were in response to recent terrorist attacks in Iran, a reference to terror bombings in the southeastern city of Kerman as well as a terrorist attack on the Rasak police station in Sistan and Baluchistan province.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in its second statement confirmed the missile attacks on gathering places of the leaders and key elements involved terrorist attacks in Kerman and Rasak. It said the part of the missile operation targeted terror hideouts in Syria.

"The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in response to the recent crimes of terrorist groups and their unjust killing of our countrymen in Kerman and Rasak, identified and destroyed a number of key terror commanders and elements, especially Daesh, in the occupied territories of Syria by firing a number of ballistic missiles", read the statement issued late on Monday.

The IRGC further said that it assures the Iranian nation that it will find out the malicious terrorist groups wherever they are and will punish them accordingly for their shameful deeds.

Nearly 90 people were killed and hundreds more injured in two terrorist blasts near the burial site of Iran's General Qassem Soleimani in the city of Kerman during a ceremony marking his fourth martyrdom anniversary earlier this month.

In December last year, members of the so-called Jaish al-Adl terrorist group ambushed the police headquarters in the city of Rasak, killing 11 personnel and leaving seven more wounded.

Iran has already pledged to nab and punish the perpetrators and hatchers of the crimes no matter they are inside or outside of the country.

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Taiwan's president-elect hopes US can continue to support the island

Lai Ching-te's remarks came during a high-level United States delegation's visit to Taiwan for a three-day trip.

By Taejun Kang for RFA 2024.01.14 -- Taiwan's president-elect Lai Ching-te told a visiting delegation of former senior U.S. officials on Monday that he hopes the United States can continue to support Taiwan.

Lai added his administration will continue to defend peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, according to media reports.

Lai from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) became Taiwan's president-elect on Saturday, beating Beijing-favored Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang (KMT) and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan's People Party (TPP).

His remarks came during the meeting with the high-level U.S. delegation's three-day trip to the self-governed island to exchange views on bilateral issues and prospects.

The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the U.S.'s de facto embassy in the island, said in a statement on Sunday a delegation made up of former senior officials, including former National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley and former Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg, would be in Taipei and would meet with "a range of leading political figures" on Monday.

The delegation also met incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen at the presidential office on Monday morning, where Hadley conveyed the American people's congratulations on the election.

"Taiwan's democracy has set a shining example to the world," Hadley said, in comments released by Tsai's office.

"We are honored to have the opportunity to meet with you today to reaffirm that the American commitment to Taiwan is rock solid, principled and bipartisan and that the United States stands with its friends," said Hadley, adding that he looked forward to meeting Lai and other political leaders.

"We look forward to continuity in the relationship between Taiwan and the United States under the new administration, and for common efforts to preserve cross-strait peace and stability."

Lai, the incumbent vice-president, has vowed to continue outgoing President Tsai's efforts to bolster diplomatic ties with democratic allies and protect the island from "threats and intimidation" by China, which claims Taiwan as its own.

Key strategic allies of Taiwan extended congratulations following his triumph and the elections. Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, commended Taiwan for its "strong democratic system and electoral process," while Japan acclaimed the "seamless execution" of the democratic election.

However, Beijing said the DPP "did not represent mainstream public opinion," referring to Lai garnering only 40% of the vote and the DPP failing to retain a majority in the legislature, adding that the result would not stop "the inevitable trend of China's reunification."

The Chinese foreign ministry on Sunday rebuked the U.S. State Department's statement on the election as "seriously" in breach of the one-China principle, sending a wrong signal to the "Taiwan independence separatist forces".

The ministry's statement reiterated the "Taiwan question" - which Beijing calls the political foundation of bilateral relations - as the first red line that must not be crossed in US-China ties.

Separately, China's mouthpiece publication, Global Times, warned on Sunday that China has "both the strength and determination to resolve the Taiwan question once and for all once Lai crosses the red line," noting that the initiative on solving the Taiwan question firmly lies with the Chinese mainland.

The AIT said in a statement on Sunday the unofficial visit will "convey congratulations from the American people to Taiwan on its successful elections, support for Taiwan's continued prosperity and growth, and our longstanding interest in cross-Strait peace and stability."

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said on the same day that the delegation symbolizes bipartisan government support for Taiwan and demonstrates that democratic values are key factors in "propelling Taiwan towards the international stage and embracing the world," according to the ministry.

When asked to comment on Taiwan's election during a press briefing on Saturday, U.S. President Joe Biden reiterated Washington's position of not supporting Taiwan independence.

In contrast to Beijing's "one China principle," which holds that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and that it should be governed from Beijing, Washington espouses a "one China policy" that takes no position on sovereignty over Taiwan. While acknowledging Beijing's position, Washington does not take a stance on its validity.

Edited by Elaine Chan and Mike Firn.

Updated to add remarks made by the president-elect Lai Ching-te and former U.S. National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley.

Copyright 1998-2024, 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 January 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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Winter weather conditions continued to cause problems in the area throughout the weekend and into the week.

Gage County Emergency Manager Lisa Wiegand said this winter storm brought snow, wind and cold.

This storm brought the heaviest snowfall, high winds and extreme cold that Gage County has experienced in quite some time, she said.

Gov. Jim Pillen declared a State of Emergency for eastern Nebraska on Saturday. Wiegand said this allows for additional resources and the Governors Emergency Funds to be used.

As a state, the priority has been to assist the Nebraska Department of Transportation with equipment to open the highway and interstate travel routes, she said. Gage County is assessing our needs and will evaluate on whether we also declare an emergency.

She noted that the biggest challenge ahead is the task of clearing roads in the rural areas.

Current status, as reported by Gage County Roads Department, is that county-maintained roads are one to one to one and a half lanes opened, she said. However, that status changes hourly due to winds and temperatures. Our townships have begun the task of opening roads; however, many are reporting the challenge of the time it takes for snow to be pushed back. Both county and townships report that equipment gelling with cold temperatures has been an additional problem.

Gage County Sheriffs Office posted on Facebook repeatably throughout the weekend encouraging people to stay home and not travel, if possible.

Beatrice Police Director Jay Murphy said they have handled several weather-related complaints.

The Beatrice Police Department handled several complaints pertaining to the weather including vehicles not being moved off the street, people shoveling or blowing snow into the street, vehicles being stranded due to the weather and numerous vehicle accidents, he said. Please be cautious when traveling, even though it does not appear that bad. There are plenty of slick spots still on the side roads as well as the main roads in town.

Murphy said there has also been a string of attempted vehicle thefts due to people warming up their vehicles and leaving them unlocked.

Beatrice Street Superintendent Jason Moore said his department worked long hours.

My guys at the street department worked 18 hours on Friday, 13 hours on Saturday and nine hours on Sunday, he said. This last storm we saw lighter, fluffier snow and it was harder to deal with due to the snow and the high winds.

We did have some drifting on a few of our locations in town such as on Highway 77 and Sergeant, Industrial row and Bridgeview. Friday evening and Saturday most of what we were working on would blow shut right behind us.

He said the main goal was to make certain that emergencies and priorities routes were opened and to try and prevent them from completely closing.

BPS Superintendent Jason Alexander said winter weather has been challenging for schools.

Weather has been a challenge, but everyone is having to deal with it across the state, he said. I think everyone understands that we are doing the best we can and keep everyone safe.

He said the school calendar has two days built in for snow. There are options available to make up time later in the school year if needed.

Most area schools were closed or had a late start on Tuesday. Beatrice Public Schools started two hours late and did not have bus service due to the extreme cold and problems with the diesel gelling in the buses.

There is a small chance of snow on Thursday for the area. Varying degrees of cold with frigid wind chills are expected to last through this week and improve next week.
Taiwan, Nauru end diplomatic relations

ROC Central News Agency

01/15/2024 02:25 PM

Taipei, Jan. 15 (CNA) The Republic of China (Taiwan) has terminated diplomatic relations with the Republic of Nauru with immediate effect after the Pacific island nation announced Monday it would recognize the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the announcement at a press conference in Taipei at 2:24 p.m.

Deputy Foreign Minister Tien Chung-kwang (caa) said that Taiwan's government had terminated diplomatic ties with Nauru after the country announced it would sever diplomatic ties with the ROC in line with U.N. Resolution 2758 and the "one-China" principle.

"In order to safeguard national sovereignty and dignity, Taiwan has decided to terminate diplomatic relations with Nauru effective immediately as well as comprehensively cease bilateral cooperation plans, withdraw our embassy staff and technical mission personnel, and request that Nauru close its embassy in Taiwan," he said.

The severing of diplomatic ties came two days after Vice President Lai Ching-te (ea) of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was elected president, and leaves the ROC, the official name of Taiwan, with 12 diplomat allies.

China, which sees Lai as favoring Taiwanese independence, has stepped up pressure on the DPP administration in the run-up to the Jan. 13 presidential and legislative vote.

(By Sean Lin)

Enditem/ASG

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China's post-election poaching of Nauru 'an assault on democracy': MOFA

ROC Central News Agency

01/15/2024 06:12 PM

Taipei, Jan. 15 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Monday accused China of plotting to poach diplomatic ally Nauru two days after Taiwan's presidential election as part of a calculated "assault on democracy."

At an emergency press event, Deputy Foreign Minister Tien Chung-kwang (caa) denounced Nauru's announcement earlier Monday that it would cut ties with Taiwan, officially named the Republic of China (ROC), in favor of establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing.

Tien blasted Beijing over the timing of the switch, describing it as a "despicable act by China" as well as "an assault on democracy and a challenge to international norms."

As the world's democracies congratulated Taiwan over the holding of another round of democratic elections, Beijing chose this way to suppress Taiwan, Tien said.

"In order to safeguard national sovereignty and dignity, Taiwan has decided to terminate diplomatic relations with Nauru effective immediately, as well as comprehensively cease bilateral cooperation plans, withdraw our embassy staff and technical mission personnel, and request that Nauru close its embassy in Taiwan," Tien said.

The severing of ties comes two days after Vice President Lai Ching-te (ea) of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was elected president, and leaves the ROC with only 12 diplomatic allies.

It was also the 10th diplomatic ally Taipei has lost to Beijing since President Tsai Ing-wen (ee) took office in May 2016.

Tien told reporters Monday that Taiwan has learned since last year that former President Russ Joseph Kun, who became president in September 2022, was considering changing allegiance to Beijing as early as in 2023.

Kun was later ousted following an Oct. 25 vote of no confidence and was replaced by David Adeang, who, according to MOFA, was considered to be more Taiwan-friendly.

The bilateral relations were then temporarily stabilized with Adeang taking office, according to Tien, who oversees Pacific island affairs at MOFA.

According to Tien, Nauru's government had asked for a large sum of money prior to the switch - a request that Taiwan refused.

While not giving an exact figure, Tien said Nauru had requested a high amount of economic aid from Taiwan, in part to cover the financial gap left by the closure of the Nauru Regional Processing Center (RPC, an offshore Australian immigration detention facility).

It also needed funding to build stadiums for the 2026 Micronesian Games it will host and deal with the impending departure of Australia's Bendigo Bank from Nauru, Tien said.

Nauru's government, therefore, was actively comparing the aid proposals provided by Taiwan and China, Tien said.

However, Tien described Monday's announcement as an "ambush."

According to Tien, Taiwan sent a delegation to Nauru on Jan. 12 to solidify ties while Nauru also sent a congratulatory message to Lai's election victory on Sunday, which made the timing of the switch a surprise.

Earlier Monday, Nauru President Adeang announced his government's decision to switch ties in the best interests of its government and its people.

"This means that the Republic of Nauru will no longer recognize the Republic of China (Taiwan) as a separate country but rather as an inalienable part of China's territory, and will sever 'diplomatic relations' with Taiwan as of this day and no longer develop any official relations or official exchanges with Taiwan, according to the statement.

The decision marks the second time Nauru has cut ties with the ROC.

The ROC first established diplomatic relations with Nauru in 1980 before the Pacific island cut ties with Taipei and recognized Beijing in July 2002.

In May 2005, the ROC and Nauru reestablished diplomatic relations and opened embassies in each other's capitals. Beijing consequently severed its relations with Nauru.

Chinese foreign ministry, meanwhile, said on Monday it appreciated and welcomed the decision of Nauru.

"China has established diplomatic relations with 182 countries on the basis of the one-China principle. The Nauru government's decision to reestablish diplomatic ties with China once again shows that the 'one-China' principle is where global opinion trends and where the arc of history bends," said in a statement.

(By Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/ASG

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Government, opposition parties denounce Nauru's diplomatic pivot

ROC Central News Agency

01/15/2024 06:31 PM

Taipei, Jan. 15 (CNA) Taiwan's government and opposition parties condemned Nauru on Monday for its decision to shift diplomatic recognition to China, a move that came shortly after the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) secured a third term in power.

In a statement, Presidential Office spokesperson Olivia Lin () said the Pacific island country's decision was highly regrettable.

Influenced by Beijing, Nauru has made a "wrong decision" that is not in the interests of the people of Nauru and Taiwan, and is also detrimental to regional stability, Lin said.

She tied the timing of the decision to Taiwan's presidential election held Saturday, which was won by Vice President Lai Ching-te () of the DPP.

Beijing's diplomatic suppression, occurring at a time when the world is congratulating Taiwan for a successful election, is a "retaliatory act against democratic values and a clear challenge to the stability of the international order," Lin said.

Despite Beijing's suppression, however, it cannot stop Taiwan's people from engaging globally or change the reality that the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China are not subservient to each other, she said.

In line with the Presidential Office's position, Vincent Chao (), chief of the DPP international affairs department, agreed with Lin that China was trying to limit Taiwan's international space through diplomatic means after the election.

But Taiwan, he said, will not yield under pressure.

Meanwhile, the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), strongly criticized Nauru's decision to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan, saying that it "cannot agree with or accept" such a move.

In a statement, the KMT blamed the DPP administration for causing multiple diplomatic challenges, while calling on Beijing not to suppress the international space of the ROC.

The KMT said the DPP government needed to realize that the severing of diplomatic relations between Nauru and Taiwan underscored the lack of awareness within the diplomatic system that a problem was imminent.

On Monday, Ko Wen-je (), chairman of the smaller Taiwan People's Party (TPP) and former Taipei mayor, also called Nauru's move regrettable.

The chairman of the TPP, who has accused the government of resorting to dollar diplomacy to retain Taiwan's diplomatic allies, said in a statement that his party advocates transparency in foreign aid and opposes participating in "vicious diplomatic competition with China."

Ko said it was also necessary to maintain diversified exchanges with non-diplomatic countries to create common interests and strengthen cooperation on economic, scientific and technology issues and build influence with them.

(By Chung Yu-chen and Yeh Su-ping)

Enditem/ls

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Nauru's financial demands key to breaking ties with Taiwan: Official

ROC Central News Agency

01/15/2024 10:13 PM

Taipei, Jan. 15 (CNA) Nauru asked Taiwan for around 125 million Australian dollars (US$83.23 million) to keep an immigration detention facility going but it switched diplomatic recognition to China before Taipei gave a final answer, a Taiwanese diplomatic source said.

The unnamed source, who was directly involved in Taiwan-Nauru issues, disclosed the funding request amount after Deputy Foreign Minister Tien Chung-kwang (caa) said earlier Monday that a key to Nauru's move was Taipei not responding positively to the request.

Tien, however, did not give an exact number during his press conference Monday afternoon when he announced Taiwan's decision to end diplomatic relations with Nauru, following Nauru's announcement to make the diplomatic switch.

The unnamed source said the 125 million Australian dollars was meant to cover a financial shortfall left by the temporary closure of the Nauru Regional Processing Center (RPC), an offshore Australian immigration detention facility.

The source, however, said Taiwan's government could not afford the large sum of money requested by the ex-ally "all by itself."

"We cannot waste taxpayer money," the source said.

But before Taipei was able to give a final yes or no answer to the Nauru government, as it was still engaged in talks with other like-minded partners to jointly support the RPC project, Nauru "ambushed" Taiwan early Monday by ditching Taipei for Beijing, the source said.

"I would say the RPC project is the straw that broke the camel's back [the Taiwan-Nauru relations]," the source said.

The source believed that was when China finalized its offer on the RPC project, which was accepted by the Nauru side, and they were simply waiting for the right moment to announce the switch.

The severing of ties came two days after Vice President Lai Ching-te (ea) of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party was elected president, and it left the Republic of China, Taiwan's formal name, with only 12 diplomatic allies.

At Monday afternoon's press event, Tien blasted Beijing over the timing of the switch, describing it as a "despicable act by China" as well as "an assault on democracy and a challenge to international norms."

As the world's democracies were congratulating Taiwan over its latest democratic elections, Beijing chose this way to suppress Taiwan, Tien said.

Meanwhile, the source indicated that there were strains in bilateral relations between Nauru and Taiwan even before the Pacific ally mentioned the RPC project to Taiwan.

That is also why the foreign ministry decided to replace former ambassador Benson Lin (zeZc) with Joseph Chow (aec) in December, a more seasoned veteran who previously served in Nauru as ambassador from 2014 to 2019.

But Chow only arrived in Nauru on Jan. 12 and had yet to meet any senior Nauru officials before the Pacific island country announced the switch, the source said.

Nauru was the 10th diplomatic ally Taipei has lost to Beijing since President Tsai Ing-wen (ee) took office in May 2016.

(By Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/ls

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'Major reforms' needed for KMT to return to power: Ex-VP candidate

ROC Central News Agency

01/15/2024 09:10 PM

Taipei, Jan. 15 (CNA) The Kuomintang (KMT) needs to undertake "major reforms" and clarify its messaging if it wants to win future elections, Jaw Shau-kong (), the vice presidential candidate on the KMT's ticket in Saturday's presidential election, said Monday.

In a Facebook post, Jaw, a former lawmaker and well-known television host, reflected on his 50-day run as New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih's () running mate, a role he said he "never imagined" he would find himself in.

The reason he accepted the offer to join Hou on the KMT ticket was to remove the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) from power, he said, while conceding that the chances of doing so became much smaller after talks on a joint ticket with Taiwan People's Party (TPP) candidate Ko Wen-je () fell through.

Jaw said the experience of running for vice president was "10 times harder" than being at the top of the ticket since he had to make sure he was always on the same page with Hou and was not stealing the spotlight.

If he had been at the top of the ticket, he would have given himself freer rein and tried to bring "more excitement" to the campaign, he said.

Reflecting on the Jan. 13 election, Jaw said he originally estimated the KMT could consolidate the 5.52 million votes won by the KMT and the 600,000 votes won by the People First Party in the 2020 presidential election.

Even adjusting for voters who died over the past four years, Jaw said, he thought that if the KMT won 5.8 million votes, it would have a chance of winning.

As it happened, the KMT received only 4.67 million presidential votes, falling 1.13 million short of his estimate, due to voters either not turning out or opting to instead support the TPP's Ko, Jaw said.

DPP candidate Lai Ching-te () won the election with around 5.586 million votes, or 40 percent of total votes cast, followed by the KMT with 33.5 percent and the TPP with 26.5 percent.

On the lessons he took from the loss, Jaw said that if the KMT wants to win future elections, it will need to return to the values on which it was founded, becoming more "idealistic, forward-looking, revolutionary, and even incorporating a bit of socialist [messaging] on wealth equality."

Structurally, the party's membership needs to better reflect Taiwan's demographics, and its nomination system needs to be democratized and made more transparent, Jaw said.

"If the party doesn't undertake major, decisive reforms, and clearly state how it wants to lead the country's future development and direction, it will receive fewer and fewer votes, making it increasingly difficult to win an election," Jaw said.

(By Hsieh Chia-chen and Matthew Mazzetta)

Enditem/ls

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U.S. to keep working with Taiwan for regional peace: Ex-U.S. officials

ROC Central News Agency

01/15/2024 05:25 PM

Taipei, Jan. 15 (CNA) Two former U.S. officials met with President Tsai Ing-wen () in Taipei on Monday, two days after Taiwan's presidential election, and affirmed the United States' policy of working with Taiwan for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Lai Ching-te () of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won Taiwan's presidential election on Jan. 13, giving the DPP an unprecedented third consecutive presidential term. Tsai could not run for reelection, having nearly completed two four-year terms.

To show support for Taiwan following the vote, the U.S. government sent former U.S. national security adviser Stephen Hadley and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg "to travel in their private capacity to Taiwan," according to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT).

They were accompanied by AIT Chairperson Laura Rosenberger, who is based in Washington D.C.

During the meeting with Tsai at the Presidential Office, Hadley said Taiwan's democracy has set a shining example for the world, calling it a democratic success story based on transparency, the rule of law and respect for human rights and freedoms.

The former U.S. official also said the American commitment to Taiwan is "rock solid, principled and bipartisan."

"We look forward to continuity in the relationship between Taiwan and the United States under the new administration and for common efforts to preserve cross-strait peace and stability," he added.

The trip, Steinberg said, was aimed at underscoring support for Taiwan "based on our unofficial but warm relationship, our insistence on exclusively peaceful means to address cross-strait issues, the importance of dialogue, and the avoidance of unilateral efforts to change the status quo."

He praised Tsai for "her extraordinary leadership over the past eight years in achieving remarkable progress for the people of Taiwan, and for U.S.-Taiwan relationship and partnership."

Tsai, who will leave office on May 20, said the delegation's visit demonstrated U.S. support for Taiwan's democracy and highlighted the close partnership between Taiwan and the U.S.

In addition, she expressed the hope that Taiwan and the United States will resolve the issue of double taxation and that Taiwan-U.S. relations continue to serve as a driving force in regional and global prosperity and development.

The U.S. delegation met with President-elect Lai and Vice President-elect Hsiao Bi-khim () later Monday.

During that meeting, Lai pledged to continue safeguarding peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait based on the foundation laid by Tsai, and he hoped the U.S. will continue its support for Taiwan and deepen bilateral cooperation.

(By Yeh Su-ping and Evelyn Kao)

Enditem/ls



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Nauru to sever 'diplomatic ties' with Taiwan region, showing one-China principle a prevailing consensus

Global Times

By Chen Qingqing, Zhao Juecheng and Bai Yunyi Published: Jan 15, 2024 09:31 PM

Chinese Foreign Ministry said China appreciates and welcomes Nauru's decision of severing "diplomatic ties" with the Taiwan region, which was announced on Monday on the heels of the regional election in the island, reflecting that the one-China principle is a prevailing consensus among the international community. The decision is also considered a slap in the face to some ill-intentioned moves made by very few US-led Western countries aiming to turn the Taiwan question into an international topic and to continue playing "the Taiwan card" in containing the Chinese mainland, experts said.

They also believed that Nauru has made such a correct choice based on its own national interest, and with the rise of the influence of China and its international status, most countries have made a clear judgment about what diplomatic choice they will make regarding the Taiwan question. Also, the secessionist moves of the DPP authorities have sped up some countries' resolve to sever diplomatic relations with the island, experts said, warning that if the DPP authorities continue advocating "Taiwan independence" and provoking confrontation in the future, Nauru's cutting "diplomatic ties" will also serve as a starting point.

Shortly after the Nauru government said it will cut "diplomatic relations" with the Taiwan region, noting that it's "in the best interests" of the Pacific island nation and its people to seek resumption of diplomatic relations with China, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said China stands ready to work with Nauru to open new chapters of bilateral relations on the basis of one-China principle.

There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, and the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. It's what has been affirmed in Resolution 2758 of the UN General Assembly and is a prevailing consensus among the international community, the ministry said.

China has established diplomatic relations with 182 countries on the basis of the one-China principle. The Nauru government's decision of reestablishing diplomatic ties with China once again shows that the one-China principle is where global opinion trends and where the arc of history bends, it noted.

The State Council Taiwan Affairs Office also expressed its appreciation on Monday on Nauru's decision, saying that it made the right decision in response to the general trend. Facts have repeatedly proved that adhering to the one-China principle is the aspiration of the people and the prevailing trend, said Chen Binhua, spokesperson of the office.

Correct choice

The decision made by the Nauru government is in line with the current international landscape and the prevailing trends considered that China is the world's second largest economy, and its mutually beneficial cooperation with countries in the Pacific region has achieved great success, Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Centre of East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Monday.

The Belt and Road Initiative has improved the economic level and people's livelihoods of many countries in the region. These solid achievements are acknowledged by the government and the people of Nauru, which also recognized that China is a reliable and trusted partner, Chen said.

Since Tsai Ing-wen took office as Taiwan regional leader in 2016, a total of 10 countries have severed "diplomatic relations" with the Taiwan region, leaving the number of countries that maintain the so-called relations with the region to 12, media reported.

In recent years, there have been fewer and fewer countries that have maintained so-called diplomatic ties with Taiwan region, and the direct cause is the secessionist actions of the DPP authorities, Zheng Jian, deputy director of research study committee of China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification and professor of Taiwan research institute of Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Monday. "None of the 12 countries that have so-called diplomatic ties with Taiwan region have maintained solid relations with the DPP authorities."

"If Lai Ching-te takes office and continues advocating 'Taiwan independence,' instigating confrontation across the Straits, Nauru's decision will only serve as a starting point," Zheng said, noting that as more stubborn Lai's position becomes, more countries will make the correct choice by defying the pressure.

The 1992 Consensus is the key to Taiwan's "international space," some experts said. Only by returning to the 1992 Consensus can the status of the Taiwan authorities in NGOs and the "international space" for economic, social and cultural exchanges with other countries have a future, and Taiwan will have a future, Zheng said.

It was the choice made by Nauru as a sovereign state, which also shows that the one-China principle is the aspiration of the people and the trend of the times and is unstoppable, Mao Ning, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told at a press conference on Monday.

"Making the choice of breaking the so-called diplomatic relations with Taiwan also showed that some countries become immune to the DPP authorities' 'dollar diplomacy' or some delusion of maintaining the relations through various means," Xin Qiang, deputy director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Monday.

David Adeang was elected as Nauru's new leader in October 2023. Its former president Russ Kun, who had led a delegation to Taiwan, that month, was ousted from office in a legislature vote of no confidence.

Kun's foreign policy has been widely questioned in Nauru, and his departure shows that the "pro-Taiwan" forces are unpopular in Nauru, which also showed that although the DPP's manipulation with economic aid as bait may achieve some short-term results, it cannot change the general trend of the one-China principle, experts said.

Nauru has been facing severe economic challenges such as high unemployment rates and has to tackle the climate change as one of the pressing issues while China's cooperation with other Pacific countries such as Papua New Guinea (PNG), Fiji and Vanuatu has set good example for the region, Yu Lei, chief research fellow at the Research Center for Pacific Island Countries of Liaocheng University, told the Global Times on Monday.

"New generation of politicians in Nauru are also dissatisfied toward the Western control over the country's politics. All those factors led the Pacific island nation to make the correct choice," Yu said.

International consensus

In contrast to very few Western countries that had extended so-called "congratulations" to Taiwan's regional election, an ill-intentioned move aiming to turn the Taiwan question into an international question, most countries openly reemphasize the one-China principle, firmly support China in safeguarding its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, oppose any form of "Taiwan independence" and support China's reunification.

Not only Russia, but also many countries and international organizations, including Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Nepal, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Serbia, Hungary, PNG, Cuba, Venezuela, Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Arab League made those comments, Mao said.

"This is the voice of justice and peace of the international community, reflecting the broad consensus of the international community in firmly upholding the UN Charter and the basic norms governing international relations, which represents the trend of the times and the general trend of history," the spokesperson said.

No matter how the regional political landscape in the island evolves, achieving complete reunification of China will be accomplished, experts said, noting that the mainland is always in high vigilance and fully prepared against the risks of "Taiwan independence" and their collusion with external forces to instigate cross-Straits conflicts.

The Chinese embassies in Canada, Japan, France and the UK as well as Mission of China to the EU expressed their strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to countries and regions that "congratulated" the island on the regional election.

"Those few countries, especially the US, 'congratulated' the election out of many considerations, including geopolitical competition and ideological confrontation, against China," Xin said, noting that other countries are not eligible to make such comments on the regional election as Taiwan is part of China.

On Monday, a delegation of former US officials met Taiwan regional leaders such as Tsai Ing-wen and Lai, toward which the Chinese Foreign Ministry also expressed the firm opposition as the election is China's regional affairs.

"The immediate dispatch of a so-called unofficial US delegation to Taiwan doesn't hide Washington's satisfaction and serves primarily to encourage the DPP authorities, reassuring them of US support," LA Xiang, research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday.

However, the relatively low level of the delegation also suggests that the US is not seeking an escalation of the Taiwan question, LA said.

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Results of Taiwan regional elections spur concerns over cross-Straits business, trade

Global Times

By Yin Yeping Published: Jan 15, 2024 09:08 PM

Following Taiwan's regional elections, concerns have risen regarding cross-Straits trade, given the island's new leaders' adoption of a hostile and separatist policy toward the Chinese mainland.

Business representatives from the Taiwan region and experts urged the new authorities of the region to abandon the previous approach of provoking "independence" and confrontation. They emphasized that this shift has steered the island away from peace and prosperity, leading it toward conflict and recession.

Taiwan's leadership and legislature elections were held on Saturday. The candidate of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Lai Ching-te and his running mate Hsiao Bi-khim, won the leadership election.

Lai, notorious for his separatist stance, has made remarks to advocate the fallacy of "Taiwan independence."

Teng Tai-Hsien, secretary general of the Straits Economic & Cultural Interchange Association, told the Global Times on Monday that considering the political atmosphere, his outlook on cross-Straits economic prospects is quite pessimistic.

Taiwan has imposed long-standing trade restrictions on mainland-related products, with an expanding scope. As of November 2023, the island had banned imports of 2,509 mainland products, "a measure that may violate the spirit of the World Trade Organization," Teng said.

Lee Cheng-hung, president of the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland, told the Global Times in a previous interview that he's worried about the DPP's lack of study of trade issues with the mainland.

"If the DPP remains in power, it will undoubtedly severely impact cross-Straits economic and trade cooperation," Lee said.

On another note, experts said that the US is likely to pursue more intervention over Taiwan, such as limiting trade in advanced chips, which partially contributed to a 15.4 percent year-on-year decrease in imports from the Taiwan region to the mainland, its major trading partner, in 2023.

Teng said that Taiwan's economic growth was just above 1 percent in 2023, and cross-Straits economic ties may shrink, causing Taiwan's economy to gradually decline even further, especially given Lai's non-recognition of the "1992 Consensus" and the DPP's refusal to abandon its pro-independence stance.

The Chinese mainland is the island's largest trading partner and source of its trade surplus.

"Without the mainland, Taiwan would face a significant trade deficit, potentially leading to negative economic growth," Liu Ying, a researcher from the Institute of Taiwan Studies of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

Western concerns about peace in the Taiwan Straits affecting chip supply highlight the vulnerability of Taiwan's semiconductor industry to geopolitical conflicts, Liu said, noting that the ongoing political tensions posed by the DPP are a growing risk to the outflow of industries in which the island has advantages.

The DPP's pursuit of "economic autonomy" and attempts to decouple the island's supply chain from the mainland has intensified over the past few years under Tsai Ing-wen.

With Lai repeatedly stating that he will follow Tsai's policy, which relies more on the US to take the opportunity to decouple and break the link with the mainland, experts believe that the trend may continue and even get worse.

"There is a risk of continuous declines in cross-Straits trade and investment and stagnant industrial cooperation, ultimately resulting in significant harm to the interests of people and businesses in Taiwan," Liu said.

Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, said on Saturday that Taiwan is China's Taiwan, noting that the elections will not change the basic landscape or development trend of cross-Straits relations, will not alter the shared aspiration of compatriots across the Taiwan Straits to forge closer ties, and will not impede the inevitable trend of China's reunification.

Chen said the mainland will work with relevant political parties, groups and people from various sectors in Taiwan to boost cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation.

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Elections won't change fact that Taiwan belongs to China: Beijing

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 15, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has reiterated his country's sovereignty over Taiwan, saying the recently-held election and its results there will not change the basic fact that the self-ruled island is a part of China.

Wang, in reaction to the victory of William Lai Ching-te in Taiwan's presidential election, said that there is only one China in the world and Taipei is part of it.

"Taiwan's regional election is part of China's internal affairs, and its results do not change the general consensus of the international community to adhere to the One China principle", he added.

The Chinese Foreign Minister emphasized further that Taiwan has never been a country and this issue has not been raised in the past and will never be raised in the future and independence of Taiwan will not occur.

Wang, however, issued a stern warning to those who are in pursuit of independence. "Whoever seeks Taiwan's independence disintegrates China's sovereignty and will be punished by history and law", he said.

In Saturday's presidential and parliamentary elections in Taiwan, Lai won as the island's new head of government, but his party failed to win a majority in the legislature.

China considers Lai to be a separatist and had announced prior to the vote that this election is a choice between war and peace.

Taiwan's election attaches great importance due to its disputed situation as China claims its sovereignty over the island and wants to link it with the mainland and has not ruled out the possible use of force to achieve its goal.

4399

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Nauru severs diplomatic ties with Taiwan, to seek full relations with China

Nauru's government said recognition of Beijing will help with the island country's development

By Stephen Wright for BenarNews 2024.01.15 -- Nauru will switch its diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taiwan, the government of the Pacific island country of 10,000 people said Monday, reducing Taiwan's diplomatic allies to just a dozen nations.

The announcement by Nauru's president David Adeang follows Taiwan's election on the weekend in which Lai Ching-te from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party emerged as president-elect, beating Beijing-favored Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People's Party.

"The Republic of Nauru will no longer recognise the Republic of China [Taiwan] as a separate country but rather as an inalienable part of China's territory, and will sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan as of this day," a Nauruan government statement said. Nauru will seek full diplomatic relations with China, it said.

China's government has courted Pacific island nations for the past two decades as it seeks to isolate Taiwan diplomatically and gain allies in international institutions. Beijing regards Taiwan, a democracy and globally important tech manufacturing center, as a renegade province that must be reunited with the mainland.

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nauru's government had demanded "huge" amounts of economic assistance from Taiwan following Adeang's election in October.

"China has been actively contacting Nauru's political figures for a long time and used economic assistance to induce the country's diplomatic change," it said in a statement.

"This is a retaliation against democratic values aaand a blatant challenge to the international order," the statement said.

A statement from China's foreign ministry welcomed Nauru's decision and said it showed the trend of global opinion in favor of the One China principle. China is ready to open a new chapter of relations with Nauru, it said.

The Pacific island nations of Solomon Islands and Kiribati severed ties with Taiwan in 2019 and the central American country of Honduras ended diplomatic relations with Taiwan last year.

The Solomon Islands, in particular, has benefited from diplomatic relations with Beijing. China largely bankrolled the 24-nation Pacific Games that were held in the Solomon Islands capital Honiara in November and has significantly increased other aid to the country.

Nauru's decision, announced by Adeang in a live streamed speech, means only 12 nations including the Holy See recognize Taiwan instead of China.

In the Pacific, Taiwan's remaining allies are the Marshall Islands and Palau-both allied to the United States-and Tuvalu, which is seeking more than $1.0 billion in climate-adaptation funding from the international community for land reclamation that would double the size of its most populated island.

The Nauruan government's statement said its recognition of the One China principle is in the best interests of Nauru's people.

"Our government remains focused on moving Nauru forward and this policy change is a significant first step in moving forward with Nauru's development," it said.

Nauru, northeast of Australia, is the world's third smallest state after the Vatican and Monaco with an area of 21 square kilometers. More than half of its government revenue comes from hosting Australia's offshore migrant detention center.

Its sole island is pockmarked by a phosphate mining industry that on paper made Nauru among the world's richest nations in the second half of last century.

The phosphate is now exhausted and Nauru turned to problematic money-making schemes such as selling passports and offshore banking that earned it international notoriety in the 1990s and 2000s.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.

Copyright 1998-2024, 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 January 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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Nauru Severs Diplomatic Relations With Taiwan, Moves to One-China Principle

Sputnik News

20240115

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Republic of Nauru (island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean) has decided to sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan in line with the UN resolution that recognizes China as the sole legal government representing the whole of China and seeks to resume full diplomatic relations with China, the country's government said.

"The Government of the Republic of Nauru today announces that, in the best interests of the Republic and people of Nauru, we will be moving to the One-China Principle that is in line with UN Resolution 2758 which recognises the People's Republic of China (PRC) as the sole legal Government representing the whole of China and seeking resumption of full diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC)," the government wrote on social media.

On Saturday, Lai Ching-te of Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was named the winner of the election for the island's head after securing 40.05% of the vote. The DPP itself, however, lost 11 seats in the island's parliament as a result of the elections.

After Taiwan's general elections, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterated that Taiwan is "an indivisible part of the country and will not become a separate state, it will return to China.

"Taiwan has never been a country. It wasn't in the past, and it certainly won't be in the future," Wang said in a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry after voters on the island elected pro-sovereignty candidate Lai Ching-te as regional leader.

Taiwan has been governed independently of mainland China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan a a territory with its own elected government a maintains that it is an autonomous country but stops short of declaring independence. Beijing opposes any official contacts of foreign states with Taipei and considers Chinese sovereignty over the island indisputable.

A Sputnik

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Taiwan Loses Nauru to China Following Ruling Party's Election Victory

By William Yang January 15, 2024

Taiwan announced that it will sever diplomatic ties with Nauru effective immediately Monday after the Pacific island nation announced its decision to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China.

In an official statement, the Nauru government said the diplomatic switch is in line with the "One China Principle," which mandates that the only legal government representing the whole of China is the People's Republic of China, and announced that Nauru will stop developing any official relations or official exchanges with Taiwan.

During a news conference in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, Taiwan's Deputy Foreign Minister Tien Chung-kwang said Taipei will immediately withdraw embassy staff and personnel from its technical mission in Nauru and asked the Pacific island nation to close its embassy in Taiwan.

"Since 2023, we have obtained information indicating that China has been actively reaching out to political figures in Nauru and trying to use financial aid to induce a diplomatic shift in Nauru," Tien said during the news conference.

Tien told reporters that Nauru began to consider a diplomatic switch to China during the tenure of the country's former president Russ Joseph Kun last October. Despite a brief period of calmness in bilateral relations after David Adeang became Nauru's new president on October 30, 2023, Tien said Nauru continued to ask Taiwan for a huge amount of financial aid that surpassed what Taiwan would normally provide to diplomatic allies.

Tien said Nauru's decision to establish diplomatic ties with China despite the wide range of assistance that Taiwan has provided over the years is regrettable. He also condemned China's decision to poach another diplomatic ally from Taiwan following Taiwan's presidential election on January 13, describing the move as intentional and an attempt to deal a blow to Taiwan's democracy and freedom.

"At a time when democracies around the world congratulate Taiwan on the success of the election, Beijing has chosen to suppress Taiwan in such a way," Tien said, adding that the move is a retaliation against democratic values and a blatant challenge to international order.

While Taipei urged Beijing to abandon confrontation and return to the international order, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it welcomes Nauru's decision to break "the so-called diplomatic ties" with Taiwan.

"There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, and the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China," said an unnamed spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in a statement, adding that Beijing "stands ready" to work with Nauru.

The news comes only two days after Taiwan held its presidential and legislative election, during which the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP,) which favors Taiwan maintaining its sovereignty, won an unprecedented third consecutive presidential term.

Following the election, the Chinese government claimed the election outcome didn't reflect the mainstream public opinion in Taiwan and emphasized that the result couldn't change the fact that Taiwan is a part of China.

Some analysts say Beijing's decision to poach Taiwan's ally is a victory that the Chinese government can claim after it repeatedly used tough language to warn Taiwan of the possible consequence of electing the candidate from the DPP as the new president.

"[The Chinese government] needs to follow through on [their tough language] with some sort of response so this might be the first of a number of measures to come," Amanda Hsiao, a senior China analyst at the International Crisis Group, told VOA by phone.

Since China has previously used similar moves to retaliate against Taiwan, some experts say Monday's news is unsurprising. "Many of us saw poaching a diplomatic ally as a tool in China's repertoire for how to punish Taiwan for another DPP victory and it's a means that they're willing to do," Lev Nachman, a political scientist at National Chengchi University in Taiwan, told VOA.

While Monday's development leaves Taiwan with only 12 diplomatic allies, Nachman said Taipei can neutralize the impact of Beijing's retaliation by repeating the narrative that these incidents are examples of "Beijing bullying Taiwan."

"As long as Taiwan stays on this messaging, I still think Taiwan will come out looking stronger than Beijing," he said, adding that the Chinese government's attempt to poach Taiwan's diplomatic allies will make Beijing look like a bully rather than making the DPP look weak.

Since the new government led by Taiwan's president-elect Lai Ching-te won't be sworn in until May 20, Hsiao from the International Crisis Group predicted that Beijing might adopt more non-military measures to put pressure on Taiwan in the coming months since Monday's move shows that the Chinese government doesn't want to be seen as "excessively provocative."

"This response is to show Beijing's strong displeasure with the election results and I think it's possible that they might adopt more non-military responses," she told VOA.

"They could easily remove more Taiwanese products from the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement between Taipei and Beijing or fly more military aircraft on the median line. There's a lot of things they can do," Hsiao added.

And while the U.S. and China have been competing for influence in the Pacific region over the last few years, some experts think Nauru's switch from Taiwan to China will have limited impact on Washington's efforts to counter Beijing's expansion of influence in the region.

"Nauru is one of the smallest countries in the Pacific region and since the point of U.S.-China competition in the South Pacific is about access, Nauru may not be that important in the bigger scheme of things for the U.S. strategy," Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, told VOA by phone.

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PM statement on defending the UK and its allies: 15 January 2024

The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak updated the House of Commons on military strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, as well as his recent visit to Ukraine.

15 January 2024

I would like to update the House on the action that we took on Thursday night against Houthi military targets in Yemen.

Since 19 November, Iran-backed Houthis have launched over 25 illegal and unacceptable attacks on commercial shipping in the Red sea, and on 9 January they mounted a direct attack against British and American warships. They fired on our ships and our sailorsait was the biggest attack on the Royal Navy for decadesaand so we acted. We did so in self-defence, consistent with the UN charter, and to uphold freedom of navigation, as Britain has always done.

Alongside the United States, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands, we ordered the RAF to strike two Houthi military facilities in Yemen. I want to be clear that these were limited strikes. They were carefully targeted at launch sites for drones and ballistic missiles to degrade the Houthis' capacity to make further attacks on international shipping. I can tell the House today that our initial assessment is that all 13 planned targets were destroyed. At the drone and cruise missile base in Bani, nine buildings were successfully hit. A further three buildings were hit at Abbs airfield, along with a cruise missile launcher caught in the open. We have seen no evidence thus far of civilian casualties, which we took great care to avoid. I know the whole House will join me in paying tribute to the incredible bravery and professionalism of all our servicemen and women.

The need to maximise the security and effectiveness of the operation meant that it was not possible to bring this matter to the House in advance, but we took care to brief Membersaincluding of course you, Mr Speaker, and the Leader of the Oppositionabefore the strikes took place, and I have come to the House at the earliest possible opportunity. I do not take decisions on the use of force lightly. That is why I stress that this action was taken in self-defence. It was limited, not escalatory. It was a necessary and proportionate response to a direct threat to UK vessels, and therefore to the UK itself.

Let me be absolutely clear why the Royal Navy is in the Red sea. It is there as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian, protecting freedom of navigation as a fundamental tenet of international law. The Houthis' attacks on international shipping have put innocent lives at risk. They have held one crew hostage for almost two months, and they are causing growing economic disruption. Global commerce cannot operate under such conditions. Containers and tankers are having to take a 5,000-mile detour around the Cape of Good Hope. That pushes up prices and imperils the passage of goods, foods and medicines that the British people and others rely on.

We have attempted to resolve this through diplomacy. After numerous international calls for the attacks to stop, a coalition of countries gave the Houthis a clear and unambiguous warning two weeks ago. Last week, the UN Security Council passed a resolution condemning the attacks and highlighting the right of nations to defend their vessels and preserve freedom of navigation, yet the Houthis continued on their reckless path.

We should not fall for the Houthis' malign narrative that this is about Israel and Gazaathey target ships from around the world. We continue to work towards a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza and to get more aid to civilians. We also continue to support a negotiated settlement in Yemen's civil war, but I want to be very clear that this action is completely unrelated to those issues. It is a direct response to the Houthis' attacks on international shipping. We should also recognise the risks of inaction. It would weaken international security and the rule of law, further damage freedom of navigation and the global economy, and send a dangerous message that British vessels and British interests are fair game.

There is another point here, which is often overlooked. The Houthis' attacks risk worsening the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen itself. The UK helps to feed around 100,000 Yemenis every month, with aid arriving via the very sea routes that the Houthis have in their sights. The threats to shipping must cease. Illegally detained vessels and crews must be released, and we remain prepared to back our words with actions.

But dealing with that threat does not detract from our other international commitments; rather, it strengthens our determination to uphold fundamental UN principles. If our adversaries think they can distract us from helping Ukraine by threatening international security elsewhere, they could not be more wrong. On Friday, I travelled to Kyiv to meet President Zelensky and address the Ukrainian Parliament. I took a message from this House to the Rada that we will stand with Ukraine today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes. If Putin wins in Ukraine, he will not stop there, and other malign actors will be emboldened. That is why Ukraine's security is our security. That is why the UK will stay the course, and it is why I am confident that our partners share our resolve.

Far from our resolve faltering, our military support to Ukraine will increase this year. We will provide the biggest single package of defence aid to Ukraine since the war began, worth A2.5 billion. That will include more air defence equipment, more anti-tank weapons, more long-range missiles, thousands more rounds of ammunition and artillery shells, training for thousands more Ukrainian servicemen and women, and the single largest package of advanced drones given to Ukraine by any nation. All of that is on top of what we have already provided to support Ukraine.

In total, since the war began, the United Kingdom will have provided almost A12 billion of aid to Ukraine. We were the first to train Ukrainian troops, the first in Europe to provide lethal weapons, the first to commit main battle tanks, the first to provide long-range missiles, and now we are the first to keep the promise made at last year's NATO summit, alongside 30 other countries, to provide new bilateral security commitments. Ukraine's rightful place is in NATO, and NATO will be stronger with Ukraine in it, but these commitments will help bridge the gap until that day comes.

Under the new agreement that we signed with President Zelensky, we are building Ukraine's military capabilities; and if Russia ever invades Ukraine again, we will provide swift and sustained assistance, including modern equipment across land, air and sea. Together with our allies, the UK will be there from the first moment until the last. For all of this, I bring a message of thanks from President Zelensky to the British people. Today, I hope that the House will join me in sending a message back to the Ukrainian people: that we stand together as one in support of these firm commitments.

We are building a new partnership with Ukraine, designed to last 100 years or more. Yes, it is about defence and security, but it is also about trade, investment, culture and more. There could be no more powerful sign of our unique bond than Ukraine's decision to adopt English as the language of business and diplomacy. So, through the British Council, we are going to fund English language training for the Ukrainian people.

In dangerous times, we are investing in defence, hardening our critical infrastructure and building our alliances. We are resolute in our principles: international security; the rule of law; and freedom to determine your own future. An attack on those principles is an attack on everything that we believe in and on which our lives and livelihoods depend. As the home of parliamentary democracy and a leader in collective security, it is our responsibility to defend those principles and to defend our people. That is who we are. That is what Britain does and will always do. I commend this statement to the House.

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Switzerland Agrees To Zelenskiy's Request To Host Peace Summit

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service January 15, 2024

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on January 15 after arriving in Switzerland that Ukrainian representatives have started preparations for holding a global peace summit in Switzerland.

The summit should take into account "everything that has already been achieved" and should determine that the end of the war "should be exceptionally fair" under international law, Zelenskiy said at a press conference in Bern, Switzerland.

Zelenskiy spoke after meeting with Swiss President Viola Amherd. Neither Zelenskiy nor Amherd provided any details on when or where in Switzerland the summit might take place.

Switzerland agreed to host the summit at Zelenskiy's request, a Swiss government spokesperson said, adding that further details were being worked out.

Zelenskiy said plans would call for "all countries that respect our sovereignty and territorial integrity" to be represented at the peace summit.

"We would like the Global South to be present.... It is important for us to show that the whole world is against Russia's aggression, and the whole world is for a just peace," he said.

While in Switzerland, Zelenskiy is due to meet other world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He is expected to meet with representatives of the EU and NATO as well as with leaders of states and big businesses to look to strengthen the country's defense and economic stability.

"I will also discuss the return of Ukrainian children stolen by Russia, sanctions, ways to use frozen Russian assets, humanitarian mine clearing, financial assistance, and recovery," Zelenskiy said on X, formerly Twitter.

Zelenskiy is also scheduled to meet with security officials representing 81 countries and international organizations who are in Davos to discuss his 10-point "peace formula."

With reporting by Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-zelenskiy- switzerland-davos/32775285.html

Copyright (c) 2024. 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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UN Appeals For $4.2 Billion In Humanitarian Aid For Ukraine This Year

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service January 15, 2024

The United Nations has asked donors for $4.2 billion this year to provide humanitarian aid for Ukrainians in the war-wracked country as well as for those who sought refuge abroad as Russia's unprovoked invasion nears the two-year mark.

More than 14.6 million Ukrainians inside the country, or some 40 percent of the total population, require humanitarian assistance this year, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in Geneva on January 15.

Additionally, the war also forced about 6.3 million Ukrainians to find refuge abroad, and as of the end of last year, 5.9 million refugees from Ukraine were recorded in Europe," the OCHA said as it presented its Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for 2024.

"Hundreds of thousands of children live in communities on the front lines of the war, terrified, traumatized and deprived of their basic needs. That fact alone should compel us to do everything we can to bring more humanitarian assistance to Ukraine," OCHA chief Martin Griffiths said.

Ukraine has been subjected to a particularly intense campaign of Russian air strikes since the start of the year, adding to the hardships of an unusually harsh spell of cold weather for Ukraine's civilians.

"In front-line towns and villages, people have exhausted their meagre resources and rely on aid to survive," the OCHA said.

"In the Donetsk and Kharkiv Regions, families shelter in damaged houses with no piped water, gas or electricity. Constant bombardments force people to spend their days in basements," it said.

The UN relief agency said that $3.1 billion, or 75 percent of the total, is to be allocated to support some 8.5 million people inside Ukraine, while the remaining $1.1 billion would be directed to cater to the needs of refugees and host communities in the countries that have received them.

"Although their plight is no longer in the headlines, millions of refugees from Ukraine still need urgent support," said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. "Host countries continue to extend protection and include them in society, but many vulnerable refugees still need help."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-un-appeals- humanitarian-aid-4-2-billion-2024/32774886.html

Copyright (c) 2024. 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 Rights Commissioner Says Only 517 Children Out Of Almost 20,000 Taken By Russia Have Been Returned

By RFE/RL's Russian Service, Current Time January 15, 2024

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost two years ago, only 517 children of some 20,000 who were illegally taken and held in Russia have been returned, Ukrainian Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said.

According to official data issued by the Ukrainian authorities, at least 19,546 children had been taken from Ukraine to Russia as of the end of last year. The number refers only to those cases that were officially recorded, and the real figure is believed to be considerably higher.

.

Lubinets, addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 14, said 2,828 adults were also returned, including 150 civilians.

"Our task is to return everyone," Lubinets said, calling on the international community to "immediately step up efforts in this direction."

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued arrest warrants in March last year against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Moscow's commissioner for children's rights, on war crimes charges related to the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children, along with the unlawful transfer of people to Russia from Ukraine since it invaded in February 2022.

The ICC said Putin and Lvova-Belova were accused of "having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others."

The ICC said Putin had failed "to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts, or allowed for their commission, and who were under his effective authority and control, pursuant to superior responsibility."

The ICC decision was backed by the United States and most EU countries, but a joint EU decision was blocked by Hungary.

The Kremlin has rejected accusations of forced deportation. Russian authorities claim that they "saved children" from hostilities and are ready to return those whom their parents and guardians ask for.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-20000-children-taken- by-russia-517-returend/32774646.html

Copyright (c) 2024. 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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UK Trained Over 60,000 Ukrainian Troops Since 2014 - Defense Minister

Sputnik News

20240115

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Over 60,000 Ukrainian servicemen have received training in the United Kingdom since 2014, UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said on Monday.

"We've convened some 10 countries to help Ukrainians train here in the UK. And today I can announce that our programmes have now trained over 60,000 Ukrainian troops since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2014," Shapps told a press conference.

In 2014, Crimea became part of Russia after a general referendum in which 96% of voters chose to secede from Ukraine. Kiev and its Western supporters, including the UK, have denounced the referendum as unlawful.

Western countries have been providing Ukraine with military aid since the start of Russia's special military operation in February 2022. The support evolved from lighter artillery munitions and training to heavier weapons, including tanks and jets. Last July, an international coalition was formed to provide Ukrainian pilots with training to fly F-16s, the fighter jets of its choice, spearheaded by Denmark and the Netherlands.

On Friday, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the largest aid package of 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) for Ukraine for the next fiscal year during his visit to Kiev. Sunak also signed a 10-year security cooperation agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

A Sputnik

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Ukraine Loses Over 200 Soldiers in Donetsk Direction in Past Day - MoD

Sputnik News

20240115

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukraine has lost more than 200 soldiers in the Donetsk direction over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday.

Over the given period, the Russian armed forces have repelled one attack in the Krasny Liman direction, the ministry said in a statement.

"The enemy lost over 200 military personnel, a tank, three infantry fighting vehicles, an armored personnel carrier, thirteen cars, as well as two Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems [in the Donetsk direction]," the ministry said.

Ukraine has also lost more than 160 soldiers in the Krasny Liman direction and over 140 soldiers in the South Donetsk direction, the ministry added.

A Sputnik

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Russia Opens Over 4,000 Cases Related to Kiev Regime Crimes Against People of Donbass

Sputnik News

20240115

Chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin assured that Russian investigators will make a criminal-legal assessment of the actions of all those who committed crimes against the residents of Donbass.

"I can say with confidence that the Investigative Committee, for its part, will give a criminal-legal assessment of the criminal actions of all those who participated in the preparation and implementation of criminal plans against the civilians of Donbass and Novorossiya," Bastrykin said in an interview with Sputnik.

The legal official noted that the task was extremely important not only from the criminal law perspective, but also from a historical point of view, as future generations should know what the residents of Donbass went through.

"We will continue to thoroughly investigate the criminal actions of the armed formations of Ukraine, including high-ranking officials. Many of them have already been indicted in absentia," the head of the agency added.

Bastrykin also said that Russia's Investigative Committee has opened more than 4,000 criminal cases related to atrocities in Donbass since 2014.

"More than 200 Ukrainian servicemen have been sentenced by the courts to long prison terms, including life imprisonment, for the murder of civilians, cruel treatment of civilians and prisoners," he said. "Among them are several dozen members of the banned Azov* regiment," he added.

Since the illegitimate coup in Ukraine in 2014, the Kiev regime has committed crimes against civilians in Donbass. It was in response to those atrocities that Russia launched its special military operation on February 24, 2022. According to President Putin, the operation is aimed at protecting the population of Donbass from Kiev's genocidal actions.

*The Azov battalion is an extremist organization banned in Russia.

A Sputnik

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In Davos, the Ukrainian delegation held meetings with representatives of Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania

President of Ukraine

15 January 2024 - 20:48

On the sidelines of the fourth meeting of national security and political advisors on the implementation of the Peace Formula in Davos, the Ukrainian delegation, including Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak and his deputies Andriy Sybiha and Ihor Zhovkva, as well as Deputy Foreign Minister Mykola Tochytskyi, held a series of meetings with representatives of Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania.

In particular, the Ukrainian delegation met with Deputy Head of the Strategic Security Bureau of the Kingdom of Bahrain Ali bin Nasser Abdullah Al Fadel. The Ukrainian side thanked Bahrain for joining the Davos meeting and noted that despite global challenges, the Gulf countries' participation in the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula is extremely important. The parties paid special attention to the discussion of global food security, in particular, the importance of Bahrain's participation in this process and its accession to the Ukrainian humanitarian initiative Grain from Ukraine was noted. The parties also reaffirmed the importance of increasing the intensity of bilateral relations and expanding the dialogue.

Representatives of Ukraine met with Deputy Secretary General of the National Security Council of the State of Qatar Hamad Hamis Al Kubaisi and thanked for Qatar's assistance to our country, particularly in the humanitarian sphere. Separately, Ukraine thanked Qatar for its active participation in the process of returning Ukrainian children illegally deported and forcibly displaced by Russia. The parties exchanged views on further coordination of efforts in this area. The interlocutors also discussed Qatar's participation in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine and the implementation of the Ukrainian initiative Grain from Ukraine.

The Ukrainian delegation in Davos also met with Secretary General of National Intelligence and Security Services of the Republic of Rwanda Joseph Nzabamwita. The parties had a substantive exchange of views on Rwanda's involvement in the implementation of certain points of the Ukrainian Peace Formula. The interlocutors also emphasized the need for further development and practical content of Ukrainian-Rwandan relations, which will be greatly facilitated by the opening of the Embassy of Ukraine in Rwanda.

In addition, the Ukrainian delegation met with Director of the Center for Strategic Studies and National Security of the State of Libya, Mukhtar Abu Saa. The participants discussed ways to intensify bilateral political dialogue. The Ukrainian side invited Libya to join the Grain from Ukraine initiative, which aims to increase food supplies to Africa and Asia and ensure global food security. It was agreed to continue contacts to exchange information on the implementation of the issues raised at the meeting.

During a meeting with Chief Advisor to the President of Brazil Celso Amorim, Andriy Yermak thanked Brazil for its consistent support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, including at the UN level. The interlocutors discussed in detail the cooperation between Ukraine and the Latin American region, as well as important issues of the bilateral agenda, including the prospects for economic cooperation between the countries.

The Ukrainian delegation also met with Argentina's Deputy Foreign Minister Marcia Rosa Levaggi. The Ukrainian side thanked Argentina for its hospitality during the recent visit of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The high expectations of the Ukrainian side for the successful implementation of the agreements reached between the two leaders were emphasized. Ukraine's representatives highly appreciated Argentina's support for the possibility of organizing a Ukraine-Latin America summit and discussed with the Argentine side the prospects for economic cooperation in the near future.

The Ukrainian delegation also met with Mexican Deputy Foreign Minister Jennifer Feller. Ukraine thanked Mexico for participating in the consultations on the Ukrainian Peace Formula in Davos and expressed hope that Mexico would join the implementation of this peace initiative. Special attention was paid to Ukraine's cooperation with the countries of the Latin American region. The Ukrainian side invited Mexico to support the initiative to hold a Ukraine-Latin America summit this year.

The Ukrainian side also met with Ambassador of Chile to Switzerland Frank Tressler Zamorano. The parties emphasized the high level of relations at the level of the two presidents, including the meeting in September in New York. The Ukrainian side expressed gratitude to Chile for its participation in the implementation of the Peace Formula and political support for Ukraine.

The Ukrainian delegation met with Alejandra Costa, Deputy Director General for Political Affairs of the Uruguayan Foreign Ministry. The interlocutors discussed the importance of implementing the agreements reached at the December meeting of the two presidents.

During a meeting with Australian Ambassador to Switzerland Elizabeth Day, the Ukrainian side expressed gratitude for Australia's support and assistance. The interlocutors discussed Ukraine's defense needs, further cooperation in attracting Australian security support, including practical cooperation in the field of humanitarian demining. The interlocutors paid special attention to the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula, organization of the Global Peace Summit and preparation of security commitments for our country.

At a meeting with Ambassador of New Zealand to Ukraine Alana Hudson, the Ukrainian side thanked New Zealand for its military, financial, and humanitarian assistance in the face of Russia's full-scale invasion. The parties discussed Ukraine's defense needs, taking into account the current situation at the front, further cooperation in humanitarian demining, and New Zealand's involvement in projects to restore our country. Key attention was paid to the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and preparations for the Global Peace Summit.

In Davos, the Ukrainian delegation also met with representatives of Switzerland, the United States, Canada, Denmark, India, Japan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, and the United Nations. In total, the Ukrainian side met with representatives of more than 50 countries and international organizations. The talks focused on the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula, strengthening global security, including food security, and bilateral cooperation on a wide range of issues of mutual interest.

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Ten Nebraska Army National Guard soldiers arrived at Eppley Airfield on Saturday after 10 months spent helping train Ukrainian soldiers in Europe.

The 10 soldiers, as well as two others who also returned to the state Saturday, are part of the 1-134th Cavalry Squadron. They were deployed with Task Force Bowie, which was made up of around 160 soldiers in total, as part of the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine in March 2023.

Task Force Bowie was the 13th group to deploy in support of the training group, which was created in 2014 after the Russian invasion of Crimea and Donbas.

Gov. Jim Pillen spoke to the soldiers and their families as they congregated outside the terminal at Eppley Airfield, welcoming them back to Nebraska.

We just can't thank you enough for your service, Pillen said. What you've been through, I can't comprehend it all, but what I do know is you guys have built an incredible team."

The soldiers were primarily stationed in Grafenwoehr, Germany, where they mentored and advised Ukrainian troops in a combat training center. This included training them on U.S. weapon systems and other equipment, logistical and operational planning processes and leader development, Maj. Scott Ingalsbe said.

Altogether, Task Force Bowie directly trained or supported training for about 7,500 Ukrainian soldiers, Ingalsbe said.

Lt. Col. Rob Schepers said he hears praise for the work of Nebraskan soldiers time and time again, and this operation was no exception. He said positive feedback on the task force made it all the way up to the secretary of defense.

Whether it's domestic, overseas, training, operations ... always Nebraska sets the standard," he said. "You set the standard in Europe for everybody to follow to train Ukrainians, Schepers said.

Capt. Jon Gronewold said he was glad to be home after reuniting with his wife, Emily, and 2-year-old daughter, Ada, on Saturday, but he hopes people keep the Ukrainians on their mind as they continue to fight against Russia.

Its tough to leave the Ukrainians we trained behind, he said. I know a lot of them are back on the front lines right now."

Some of the families gathered at Eppley Saturday morning held signs welcoming their soldier home. Wyatt Cade, 5, held a sign welcoming his dad, Maj. Cody Cade, home that read, Ive waited 285 days for this moment.

Wyatts mom, Elaine Cade, said she had surprised him by saying they were picking up a friend from the airport, when in reality it was his dad.

We wanted him to be completely caught off guard, and it worked, Elaine said.

Photos: 10 members of the Nebraska Army National Guard return home after deployment training Ukrainian Troops
Volodymyr Zelenskyy following the negotiations with Viola Amherd in Bern: Ukraine has friends who are helping, and Switzerland is among them

President of Ukraine

15 January 2024 - 20:42

During a working visit to Switzerland, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held talks with President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd.

The Head of State thanked Switzerland for its concern for the Ukrainian people and assistance in safeguarding lives.

"For you, being neutral does not mean ignoring reality. And you are morally truthful. You honestly assess what is happening in Europe and help us to safeguard lives. I am grateful for your principled political support of Ukraine from the first day of Russia's full-scale invasion. I thank you for joining the European sanctions packages. And, of course, for our joint work on the implementation of the Peace Formula," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, addressing Viola Amherd during a meeting with media representatives following the talks in Bern.

He emphasized that Switzerland's position is always of global importance and expressed gratitude for helping to promote justice and restore a fair peace.

The President of Ukraine also praised the humanitarian and financial assistance provided by Switzerland, assistance in reconstruction, political and sanctions support. According to him, a new program of long-term support was also discussed today.

"The urgent issue is the future of Russian assets that have been frozen in various jurisdictions around the world. The world majority agrees that Russian aggression is an unprovoked and criminal war that violates the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and literally every fundamental rule of international law... Using the assets of Russia and its affiliated persons to protect against Russian aggression is not only effective as a punishment for the aggressor, but also quite fair. The one who unleashed this war must pay the highest price for it," Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.

During the talks in Bern, considerable attention was paid to the issue of justice and, in particular, Switzerland's involvement in the creation of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Russian Aggression against Ukraine, which will ensure full accountability of Russian war criminals, as well as the political and military leadership of Russia.

The President of Ukraine thanked Switzerland for its work on demining. According to him, during the meeting, they discussed holding two conferences on demining in the spring and fall of this year.

"Today, 174,000 square kilometers of our territory are contaminated with Russian mines and unexploded ordnance. And it would be very difficult for any country in the world to cope with this task alone. Fortunately, Ukraine has friends who are helping. Switzerland is among them," the Head of State said.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also emphasized the importance of continuing joint work on sanctions pressure on Russia, which must be effective. According to him, Ukraine counts on Switzerland's support in global efforts to block all schemes to circumvent sanctions.

"I invite Switzerland to work as actively as possible with all partners and the international sanctions group to put pressure on Russia to block its terrorist potential. Together we save lives," the President of Ukraine noted.

Viola Amherd, for her part, drew attention to the fact that today's meeting in Bern was the third bilateral meeting between the Presidents of Ukraine and Switzerland in the last three years, which demonstrates the strengthening and deepening of bilateral relations.

She noted that Switzerland pays great attention to the issue of rebuilding Ukraine, which is of strategic importance for the stability of the whole of Europe.

"The political compass for reconstruction is the Lugano Principles, laid down at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in July 2022," she said.

According to the President of the Swiss Confederation, Switzerland has planned to allocate CHF 1.5 billion in support of Ukraine for the period 2025-2028.

Viola Amherd noted that one of the key elements in the recovery of Ukraine is demining. Humanitarian demining is a prerequisite for displaced persons to return to their homes and for agricultural land to be cultivated again.

"If such a large exporting country as Ukraine harvests less, it will have global negative consequences," the Swiss President emphasized.

That is why, according to her, a conference on humanitarian demining will be held in Geneva in October 2024.

Viola Amherd also reminded that her country has joined the Register of Damage for Ukraine, initiated by the Council of Europe, and is part of a group of states working on the establishment of a Special International Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.

"The ties between our countries are longstanding. I thank you for your visit to Switzerland and look forward to further cooperation between our countries," the President of the Swiss Confederation summarized.

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Ukraine and Switzerland start preparations for the Global Peace Summit at the level of leaders - Volodymyr Zelenskyy following the meeting with the President of Switzerland

President of Ukraine

15 January 2024 - 19:23

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd agreed to start preparations for the Global Peace Summit at the level of heads of state in Switzerland.

"At today's meeting, we noted the successful work in the format of advisors on the Peace Formula yesterday. Switzerland effectively organized the meeting the day before. There was a significant expansion of representation - over 80 states and international institutions are involved already, as Mrs. President said. We appreciate that. And I am grateful to Mrs. President and her team for the agreement that our teams will start preparations for the Global Peace Summit at the level of leaders in Switzerland starting tomorrow," the Head of State said during a meeting with media representatives following the negotiations with Viola Amherd in Bern.

The President of Ukraine emphasized that this summit should provide the momentum for everything that has already been accomplished and make it certain that the end of the war can only be just and that the restoration of the force of international law must be truly comprehensive.

"Switzerland is our partner in this. Thank you," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

For her part, Viola Amherd emphasized that Switzerland supports the peace process.

"Switzerland is ready to organize the Summit. We have agreed that we will be deeply involved in this issue to make the peace process successful, and our teams will start working on it immediately. On our side, we have already appointed a person to be in charge of this issue," she said.

"Switzerland will continue to advocate for a lasting and sustainable peace in Ukraine. Switzerland is pleased to be able to contribute to this," added Viola Amherd.

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President of Ukraine met with the Presidents of both houses and heads of factions of the Swiss Parliament

President of Ukraine

15 January 2024 - 17:58

As part of his visit to the Swiss Confederation, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President of the National Council of the Swiss Federal Assembly Eric Nussbaumer and President of the Council of States Eva Herzog, as well as with the heads of parties and factions of the Swiss Federal Assembly.

The Head of State thanked for the significant support of the Swiss Confederation for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as for the humanitarian assistance to our country in the wake of Russia's full-scale aggression. It was emphasized that Switzerland became the first venue for the international conference on Ukraine's recovery, which took place in Lugano in 2022.

The interlocutors discussed in detail the support of Switzerland for the Ukrainian Peace Formula and further steps towards its implementation. The President expressed gratitude for the successful holding of the meeting of national security and foreign policy advisors held in Davos on January 14 and attended by representatives of more than 80 countries and international organizations.

The President informed the Swiss parliamentarians on the situation on the battlefield and emphasized the importance of efforts of the partner states to help defend our country.

The Head of State emphasized the importance of Switzerland's participation in the Special International Tribunal for the Crime of Russian Aggression.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked for the adoption of a powerful statement by the Swiss Parliament at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion.

The interlocutors noted the importance of the address of the President of Ukraine to the Federal Assembly and the people of Switzerland, which the Head of State delivered in the summer of 2023 to rally support for our country.

The Head of State also raised the issue of the Swiss Federal Assembly's recognition of the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as genocide of Ukrainians.

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Ukrainian delegation met with representatives of European countries in Davos

President of Ukraine

15 January 2024 - 17:39

As part of the fourth meeting of national security and political advisors on the Ukrainian Peace Formula in Davos, the Ukrainian delegation, led by Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, met with representatives of a number of European countries.

During the meetings with representatives of the European Union member states, attention was paid to bilateral cooperation in the context of the implementation of the Peace Formula and preparation for the upcoming Global Peace Summit, as well as to the issue of Ukraine's European integration with a focus on further macro-financial support for our country and measures to facilitate the negotiation process for EU accession.

The Ukrainian delegation met with Diplomatic Advisor to the Prime Minister of Italy Fabrizio Saggio. Ukraine thanked its Italian partners for their comprehensive assistance in countering Russia's armed aggression and called for strengthening defense capabilities, including air defense, to save Ukrainian lives and ensure the safety of Ukrainian cities. The interlocutors coordinated joint efforts in the context of this year's Italian presidency of the G7 and discussed joint work on bilateral security guarantees within the framework of the G7 Joint Declaration.

The delegation also met with Undersecretary of State, Head of the International Policy Bureau under the President of Poland Mieszko Pawlak. The Ukrainian side thanked the Polish partners for their comprehensive assistance and solidarity with Ukraine in countering Russia's armed aggression. The parties emphasized the need to rally the world around the implementation of the Peace Formula as the only way to end the war. The interlocutors discussed in detail the issue of blocking by European countries of Ukrainian grain exports by land after September 15 last year. It was noted that Ukraine counts on a balanced and unified approach of the EU in supporting our country, which courageously resists Russian aggression, rather than hasty unilateral measures.

In Davos, the Ukrainian delegation also held a bilateral meeting with State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania Iulian Fota. The interlocutors highly appreciated the decision on strategic partnership between Ukraine and Romania and emphasized the importance of working together to further fill it with practical results. Bilateral defense cooperation was discussed in detail, including aspects of training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets at a training center in Romania.

The Ukrainian delegation also met with Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of the Slovak Republic Jana KobzovA and thanked her for supporting and strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities in countering Russian aggression. They also discussed further defense cooperation between the two countries. The interlocutors also discussed the issue of European countries blocking Ukrainian grain exports by land. The Ukrainian side counts on a balanced and unified approach of the EU in supporting Ukraine, which courageously resists Russian aggression.

The Ukrainian delegation also held a bilateral meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic Jan Marian. Ukraine praised the Czech Republic's comprehensive assistance and solidarity in countering Russia's armed aggression and discussed defense cooperation between the two countries.

The Ukrainian delegation also met with Bertrand Buchwalter, Advisor to the President of the French Republic on Eastern Europe and TArkiye. The Ukrainian side thanked the French partners for supporting Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations and the capabilities of the Ukrainian army in the fight against the aggressor.

During a meeting with Jens PlAtner, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Federal Chancellor of Germany, Andriy Yermak thanked Germany and Jens PlAtner personally for their continued participation in consultations on the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula. Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak highly appreciated Germany's continued support for the Ukrainian Peace Formula. The parties discussed in detail the current situation on the frontline and the security needs of our country. The Ukrainian side thanked Germany for its significant contribution to the historic decision of the European Union to start negotiations with Ukraine. The important role of Chancellor Olaf Scholz in this matter was emphasized.

The Ukrainian delegation also met with Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs at the Cabinet of the President of the Spanish Government Emma Aparici. The Ukrainian delegation highly appreciated Spain's comprehensive assistance and solidarity with Ukraine in countering Russia's armed aggression and discussed defense cooperation between the two countries.

The Ukrainian side met with Adriaan Eiselstein, Acting Foreign and Security Policy Advisor to the Office of the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Ukrainian delegation expressed gratitude to the Dutch partners for supporting the capabilities of the Ukrainian army in the fight against the aggressor and for the important joint work to bring the aggressor to justice. The interlocutors discussed the work on bilateral security commitments within the framework of the G7 Vilnius Declaration and the measures of bilateral political dialogue in the nearest future.

In Davos, a bilateral meeting was held with John Debono, Ambassador of Malta to Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Ukraine with residence in Malta. The Ukrainian delegation expressed gratitude to the Maltese side for organizing the previous meeting of national security advisors on the Ukrainian Peace Formula in Malta.

At the meeting with Dragomir Zakov, Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria on Foreign and Security Policy, the Ukrainian delegation expressed gratitude for the support of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and readiness to contribute to its practical implementation. The role of Bulgaria as a co-leader in the implementation of the environmental security clause of the Peace Formula was noted and further joint actions to achieve progress in this area were discussed. During the meeting, special attention was paid to the discussion of security issues and the current needs of Ukrainian defenders. The interlocutors also discussed the security of the Black Sea region and the protection of the alternative "grain corridor" from attacks by Russian terrorists.

The Ukrainian delegation met with Alija Kozljak, Advisor to the Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and discussed the intensification of political dialogue between the two countries. The parties also exchanged views on further steps towards European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During the meeting with the State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia, Filip Tosevski, the Ukrainian side expressed gratitude for the unwavering support of Ukraine. The interlocutors discussed further defense support from North Macedonia, taking into account the priority needs of Ukrainian defenders. They also discussed further steps to implement the Peace Formula. Special attention was paid to further support from North Macedonia on the path of Ukraine's integration into the EU and NATO. The representatives of the Ukrainian state expressed gratitude for North Macedonia's accession to the G7 Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine and emphasized the importance of starting negotiations on a bilateral agreement between Ukraine and the Republic of North Macedonia.

In addition, the Ukrainian delegation met with the State Secretary for Foreign Policy of the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Vojko Volk. The parties exchanged views on the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and the possibility of involving as many countries as possible, including Slovenia, in this process.

Ukraine's representatives noted that Slovenia could make an effective contribution to the implementation of certain points of the Formula, in particular in the area of food security. The interlocutors also discussed the possibilities of expanding bilateral cooperation, positively noting Slovenia's participation in the Grain from Ukraine initiative. The parties emphasized the importance of further strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities. Special attention was paid to further support from Slovenia on the path of Ukraine's integration into the EU and NATO.

The meeting with National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic Thanos Dokos was devoted to further steps towards the preparation of the Global Peace Summit and practical involvement of Greece in the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula. The Ukrainian side thanked Greece for its recent decisions to join the implementation of the points of the Ukrainian Peace Formula on food security and combating ecocide. The parties discussed the mechanisms of cooperation in the context of deterring the aggressor, in particular, further strengthening of the EU sanctions against Russia and preventing the aggressor state from circumventing sanctions. The Ukrainian side also thanked Greece for its political, humanitarian and military assistance to Ukraine and expressed hope for Greece's support in the context of European integration.

During a meeting with National Security Advisor to the President of the Republic of Latvia Aivars PuriAA, the interlocutors discussed further defense support from Latvia, emphasizing the priority of launching the full-fledged work of the Drone Coalition. The parties discussed further steps to implement the Ukrainian Peace Formula and to engage in the practical implementation of several of its points.

Special attention was paid to the issue of the G7 Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine. Ukraine's representatives thanked Latvia for its readiness to negotiate a bilateral agreement on security commitments.

At the meeting with Director General of the Department for Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Marge Mardisalu-Kahar, the parties discussed cooperation between the two countries in the context of the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and preparation for the upcoming Global Peace Summit. The Ukrainian delegation thanked the Estonian side for supporting Ukraine and effectively strengthening our country's defense capabilities during the unprovoked Russian aggression. The Ukrainian delegation also expressed gratitude to Estonia for its leadership in creating an IT coalition in support of Ukraine. The parties discussed the prospects of concluding a bilateral agreement on security commitments before Ukraine joins NATO. Estonia confirmed its readiness to start practical consultations on this issue.

The Ukrainian delegation met with Stanislav Secrieru, Advisor to the President of the Republic of Moldova on Defense and National Security, Secretary of the Supreme Security Council of the Republic of Moldova. The interlocutors discussed the issues of cooperation between the two countries in the context of the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and preparation for the upcoming Global Peace Summit. The parties exchanged views on topical issues of regional security, challenges and threats from Russia and emphasized the importance of strengthening bilateral cooperation in this area. They also coordinated further European integration steps of the two countries in the context of the start of negotiations on EU membership.

The Ukrainian delegation also met with Andrea Bacher, Foreign and Security Policy Advisor to the Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs. The Ukrainian side expressed gratitude to Austria for its support of the Peace Formula and readiness to join the implementation of its individual points. Ukraine also called on Austria to join the G7 Joint Declaration adopted on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Vilnius. Ukraine's representatives expressed their expectations for Austria's support in matters related to the launch of Ukraine's negotiations with the EU.

During the meeting between the Ukrainian delegation and Director of the Diplomatic Directorate of the Office of the President of Hungary KristAf Altusz, the parties discussed Ukraine's progress on the path to European integration, including the recent adoption of a number of important European integration bills by the Verkhovna Rada. The representatives of Ukraine emphasized the importance of Hungary's support for Ukraine, in particular, in the fight against the Russian aggressor, as well as on the path to the European Union and NATO. The parties discussed in detail the issues of cooperation between the two countries in the context of the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula, the schedule of further political contacts and topical issues of cross-border cooperation.

During the meeting with the UK delegation headed by National Security Advisor Timothy Barrow, the parties discussed the results of the recent visit of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to Ukraine and emphasized the importance of the bilateral security agreement within the framework of the Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine adopted in Vilnius in July 2023 by the G7 countries. The parties also discussed further prospects for the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula. The parties exchanged views on the current security situation in the Black Sea. The parties emphasized their readiness to continue active cooperation to ensure freedom of navigation in the region.

The Ukrainian delegation also met with the Diplomatic Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ireland, Helen Blake, to discuss Ireland's practical involvement in the implementation of certain points of the Peace Formula and preparations for the upcoming Global Peace Summit. The Ukrainian delegation thanked Ireland for its consistent political and humanitarian support of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in countering Russian aggression. The parties also coordinated their positions in preparation for the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU.

During the meeting with the Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister of Iceland, Sesselja SigurdardAttir, the results of the second Ukraine-Northern Europe Summit held in Oslo last December were discussed. The Ukrainian delegation thanked Iceland for the important defense support provided by this Scandinavian country to Ukraine within the framework of multilateral cooperation formats. Special attention was paid to Euro-Atlantic integration and support for Ukraine's accession to NATO.

In Davos, the Ukrainian side also met with the Norwegian delegation headed by Director General of the Department of International Affairs of the Office of the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway Kjersti Andersen. The parties emphasized the effectiveness of the established cooperation in the Ukraine-Northern Europe format and stressed the readiness to continue its functioning. The parties also discussed the current situation on the battlefield and the priority areas of cooperation between the two countries in the defense and security spheres.

During the meeting with the Finnish delegation, headed by Director of Foreign and Security Policy to the President of the Republic of Finland Jani Raappana, the parties emphasized Helsinki's active support for the Ukrainian Peace Formula and participation in the implementation of its six points. The Ukrainian side thanked Finland for 21 defense assistance packages worth about a3.6 billion and expressed hope for further deepening cooperation in the security sector in 2024.

In addition, the Ukrainian delegation in Davos met with representatives of the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament. The focus was on Ukraine's further progress toward full membership in the European Union, as well as on ensuring long-term support for Ukraine from European institutions in repelling Russia's armed aggression.

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Andriy Yermak on the results of the meeting of advisors in Davos: We still have a lot of work to do, but we are united on the key principles of peace for Ukraine and the whole world

President of Ukraine

15 January 2024 - 10:32

At the meeting of national security advisors and foreign policy advisors to the heads of state on the implementation of the Peace Formula in Davos, Switzerland, the key principles of achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine were discussed in detail and a press communiquA of the meeting co-chairs was adopted. This was reported by Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak.

"The fourth meeting of national security and foreign policy advisors took place. We had a record number of participants: more than 80 states and international organizations were represented. This event is a logical continuation of our meetings held in 2023 in Copenhagen, Jeddah and Malta. We have once again gathered to work on developing a joint international plan based on the Ukrainian Peace Formula," said Andriy Yermak at a meeting with media representatives in Davos.

He reminded that during the consultations in Malta, the first five points of the Peace Formula were discussed, namely: nuclear safety, food and energy security, release of prisoners and deportees, restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. Five more points of the Formula were presented in Davos: the withdrawal of Russian troops and the cessation of hostilities, the restoration of justice, environmental safety, the prevention of escalation and recurrence of war, and the issue of confirming the end of the war.

In addition, two special sessions were held on food security and humanitarian aspects of the war, respectively.

"Open and constructive negotiations were held, during which the key principles of achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine and the whole world were discussed in detail. Such a peace should be based only on the UN Charter, relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly and key principles of international law," the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine noted.

"It would not be entirely true if I said that absolutely everyone has the same position. And that's good, because, as you know, the uniqueness of the Peace Formula is a combination of different positions and approaches. But we are extremely united around the main principles based on international law and the norms of the UN Charter," he added.

Andriy Yermak expressed gratitude to Switzerland for holding events that are significant for the entire humanity.

"I would like to emphasize that Councillor Ignazio Cassis, BArge Brende, Klaus Schwab and their teams have made great efforts to rally the nations for the sake of dialogue and peace in Ukraine," he said.

The Head of the Presidential Office also thanked the co-chair of the International Task Force on the Environmental Consequences of War, former Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Margot WallstrAm and co-chair of the International Task Force on the Return of Illegally Deported Children, Baroness Helena Kennedy, for their participation in the meeting and presentation of the task forces' work.

"We still have a lot of work to do, but we are all on the same page. And this is very inspiring. For two years of this terrible war, Ukraine has been living and fighting. And it will undoubtedly win," emphasized Andriy Yermak.

He reiterated that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his team will not accept any form of frozen conflict on the territory of Ukraine. He also noted that in the two years since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, Ukraine has done so many remarkable things that there is no doubt that our country will win this war.

"Today we have completed the presentation of all ten points of the Peace Formula. Based on the results of the consultations, we want to develop a joint plan of responsible states of the world. The next step may be the first global summit at the level of heads of state and government, which will launch a top-level political process to develop and agree on a single, joint peace plan. And if the aggressor state really demonstrates its willingness to end this war and return to respect for international law, we will have a joint peace plan for such a moment," said the Head of the Presidential Office.

Following consultations in Davos, Switzerland and Ukraine, co-chairs of the fourth meeting of national security and foreign policy advisors, agreed on a joint press communiquA.

It states that Ukraine's security is an integral part of global and regional security, and that the war against our country is one of the main destabilizing factors in the world.

"Due to this, peace efforts must be significantly strengthened in order to end the war in a just and comprehensive way. The task of the world community shall not only be to end the war, but also to overcome the consequences of all those crises that were caused by it throughout the world," the communiquA reads.

It also notes that a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace for Ukraine and the entire world can only be based on the UN Charter, the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly and the key principles of international law.

"This meeting laid the necessary prerequisites for the preparation of a summit of state and government leaders, which can initiate a high-level effort to establish a common and universal basis for achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine based on the Ukrainian Peace Formula. The leaders' summit may also give rise to the set of thematic meetings in different countries at the ministerial, parliamentary, expert and other levels to prepare detailed proposals for the leaders," the communiquA reads.

Press communiquA of the co-chairs Switzerland and Ukraine of the 4th Meeting of National Security and Foreign Policy Advisors on Key Principles of Peace for Ukraine - pdf - 190.97 kb

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With no let-up for war-affected Ukrainians, UN launches humanitarian and refugee plans to respond in 2024

UNHCR - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Joint UNHCR/OCHA press release

15 January 2024

GENEVA - The United Nations and partners today asked donors for a combined $4.2 billion to support war-affected communities in Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees and their host communities in the region throughout 2024.

Nearly two years since the war's rapid escalation, 14.6 million people need humanitarian assistance in Ukraine - a staggering 40 per cent of the population. Some 6.3 million people have fled the country and remain refugees, mostly across Europe.

A recent wave of attacks underscores the devastating civilian cost of the war, while a bitter winter is ratcheting up the urgent need for life-saving humanitarian aid.

In front-line towns and villages, people have exhausted their meagre resources and rely on aid to survive. In the Donetsk and Kharkiv Regions, families shelter in damaged houses with no piped water, gas or electricity. Constant bombardments force people to spend their days in basements. Children cannot play outside, let alone attend school.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) coordinates the response inside Ukraine. This Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan requests $3.1 billion for 2024 and targets 8.5 million people. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, coordinates the Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP), which requests $1.1 billion and targets 2.3 million refugees and host communities.

In total, the two highly prioritized UN plans aim to support some 10.8 million people in Ukraine and the region.

"Hundreds of thousands of children live in communities on the front lines of the war, terrified, traumatized and deprived of their basic needs. That fact alone should compel us to do everything we can to bring more humanitarian assistance to Ukraine," said the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, who is also the head of OCHA.

"Homes, schools and hospitals are repeatedly hit, as are water, gas and power systems. The very fabric of society is under attack with devastating consequences. Our response plan, implemented with national NGOs and volunteers, includes the full range of assistance."

Ukrainian refugees in neighbouring countries also need increased and sustained support. Despite efforts for inclusion, only half of school-age refugee children are enrolled in schools in host countries, while a quarter of refugees in need struggle to access health care. Only 40 to 60 per cent are employed, often below their qualifications, and many remain vulnerable with no means to support themselves.

"Although their plight is no longer in the headlines, millions of refugees from Ukraine still need urgent support," said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. "Host countries continue to extend protection and include them in society, but many vulnerable refugees still need help. They shouldn't feel pressed to return because they cannot make ends meet in exile. All refugees must be helped and given opportunities to use and build their talents to prepare them for eventual voluntary return when the situation allows."

Note to editors

Despite extreme access challenges, especially to areas occupied by the Russian Federation, aid workers reached nearly 11 million people in Ukraine in 2023, with the support of the international donor community. Humanitarian organizations made every effort to increase assistance in the front-line communities, including through 105 inter-agency convoys, complementing the Government's response and the efforts of volunteers, civil-society organizations and other local groups.

Neighbouring countries have generously hosted Ukrainian refugees for almost two years, but they urgently need more international support. In 2023, RRP partners reached more than 2.5 million refugees with support and protection, working to include them in national systems until it is safe to return.

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Ukraine war: UN humanitarians launch $4.2 billion appeal for most vulnerable

15 January 2024 - Nearly two years since Russian forces launched a "full-blown war and occupation" of Ukraine, UN relief chief Martin Griffiths on Monday issued an urgent appeal together with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) for $4.2 billion.

Today, some 14.6 million people in the country need humanitarian assistance - or 40 per cent of the population - and 6.3 million have fled beyond its borders as refugees.

"We must stay the course" with the people of Ukraine, Mr. Griffiths told journalists in Geneva, adding that "no place" had been untouched by the war "and the wave of attacks that began just before the new year".

Amid "constant bombardment" along the front line with Russia and in Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, Mr. Griffiths highlighted the devastating civilian cost of the war, particularly in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, where families shelter in damaged houses with no piped water, gas or electricity.

Resources spent

People in the most exposed villages have now exhausted "their own meagre resources" and rely on aid deliveries to survive, in close coordination with the Ukrainian government's own efforts, the UN emergency relief chief continued.

Reported drone and missile strikes have also forced people and particularly the elderly to spend their days in basements. Children cannot play outside, let alone attend school, according to UN humanitarian coordination office, OCHA.

To ensure the UN and hundreds of aid partners inside Ukraine can reach 8.5 million of the most vulnerable individuals, a total of $3.1 billion will be required this year.

In 2023, aid workers reached nearly 11 million people in Ukraine, with the support of the international donor community and despite "extreme access challenges" especially to areas occupied by the Russian Federation, OCHA said.

Worst of the war

Ukrainian refugees in 11 neighbouring countries also need increased and sustained support, said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, as he appealed for an additional $1.1 from donors in 2024 to help 2.3 million people displaced by the conflict, along with host communities.

"Most likely what we have seen in the last month I would say is one of the worst periods of the war in terms of impact on civilians," Mr. Grandi said, as he insisted that "the priority" remained helping people in Ukraine.

Together with the six million who fled the country in the first few months of the conflict, some 10 million are now "not in their homes", making this still the largest displacement crisis in the world, the UNHCR chief insisted.

Citing UN migration agency (IOM) data, the UNHCR chief said, that 900,000 people initially uprooted by the war are estimated to have returned to Ukraine.

But some are still displaced and require assistance since they are unable to return to their homes that have been either destroyed or are on the frontline and too dangerous to live in, he explained.

Managing expectations

The fact that the UNHCR 2024 appeal is lower than last year's $1.7 billion ask reflected "diminishing" needs and "exemplary" support from governments in the European Union (EU), where the bulk of Ukraine's displaced have found shelter, Mr. Grandi said.

Nonetheless, needs remain high in Moldova - a non-EU country - where refugees need to work and require sustained access to education and health services.

"Despite efforts for inclusion, only half of school-age refugee children are enrolled in schools in host countries, while a quarter of refugees in need struggle to access healthcare," UNHCR said. "Only 40 to 60 per cent are employed, often below their qualifications, and many remain vulnerable with no means to support themselves."

Latest data from the UN human rights office, OHCHR, indicates 27,449 confirmed civilian casualties in Ukraine, comprising: 9,701 killed and 17,748 injured. The actual figures are likely considerably higher, OHCHR said, citing delays linked to intense hostilities and corroboration in places including Mariupol (in the Donetsk region), Lysychansk, Popasna and Sievierodonetsk (Luhansk region).

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UN Appeals for $4.2 Billion for Ukraine and Ukrainian Refugees

By Lisa Schlein January 15, 2024

The United Nations is appealing for $4.2 billion to support war-affected communities in Ukraine, as well as Ukrainian refugees and host communities in the wider region, as Russia steps up its bombing campaign in the blistering cold weather to inflict maximum pressure on the Ukrainian government and its people.

"Next month we are entering a third year of full-blown war and occupation," said Martin Griffiths, undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator. He noted that while the war started 10 years ago in eastern Ukraine, "the escalation in 2022 rushed in a whole new level of death, destruction and despair and, of course [the] outflow of refugees."

U.N. agencies report at least 10,000 civilians, including more than 560 children, have been killed and more than 18,500 injured since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

They report more than 4 million Ukrainians are internally displaced and some 6.3 million people have fled as refugees, most to neighboring European countries.

Griffiths said 14.6 million people a "a staggering 40 percent of the Ukrainian population" awill need aid this year, in addition to the millions of refugees living in 11 countries in the region.

Among those in desperate need, he said, are 3.3 million people who live in front-line communities in the east and south where the war goes on under relentless bombardment.

"Now that is really a shockingly high number even these days," said Griffiths. "No place in Ukraine is untouched by the war ... add to that the harsh winter, which is sweeping across Ukraine and ratcheting up people's need for lifesaving support a heating, proper shelter, warmer clothes, and sufficient calorie intake because of the winter."

He noted that people in small front-line towns and villages in Donetsk and Kharkiv have exhausted their meager resources and are relying on aid for survival.

"Families live in damaged houses with no piped water, gas, or electricity in the freezing cold. Constant bombardments force older people to spend their days in basements.

Children a terrified, traumatized a have lived the last three years under these circumstances trapped indoors and many, many of them with no schooling," he said.

The United Nations aims to support 8.5 million of the most vulnerable people inside Ukraine and 2.3 million refugees and the communities hosting them in the region.

"The total displacement today is about 10 million people if you add the almost 4 million estimated people who are displaced inside Ukraine and the over 6 million estimated to be refugees worldwide," said Filippo Grandi, U.N. high commissioner for refugees.

"So, we are over 10 million people not in their homes, which remains, by the way, the largest displacement crisis in the world."

Grandi said most of the refugees fled Ukraine in the first few months of the war, but the outflow of people slowed dramatically when they realized that it was safe to remain in Ukraine.

He said the refugee situation is very fluid in that people often leave and then go back to Ukraine, which is quite unusual in most refugee situations.

The International Organization for Migration estimates some 900,000 refugees have returned to Ukraine.

Grandi said it is important to understand that the pendular movement is possible in Ukraine and not possible in other refugee situations "because these people are not fleeing from their government. They are fleeing from the occupation and the invasion and the Russian bombing."

"They are still refugees. That is how we call them because they flee war, but they are not refugees from their government," he said.

The UNHCR reports the majority of refugees plan to remain in their current host countries and will require continued support to meet their basic needs, including education for children, physical and mental health care, skills, and language training, as well as protection.

According to a UNHCR survey, 62 percent of the refugee populations are women and girls, and 36 percent are children. The survey said, "This age and gender composition, together with the high number of single-parent families, highlights the heightened risk of gender-based violence."

Speaking at the joint launch of the U.N.'s multibillion-dollar humanitarian and refugee response plan for Ukraine, Denise Brown, humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, told donors that the U.N. responds to every bombing incident that occurs a big or small.

Within days of the incident, she said, "We bring psycho-social support. We bring immediate supplies to people whose doors and windows have been completely destroyed by massive explosions."

Weeks after a bombing takes place, she said the U.N. begins work on rebuilding the damaged homes, removing the rubble and, in many cases, supporting small businesses in reopening.

"The war is not over. The suffering is not over. We continue to require your support," she said, warning, "If the funding is not coming, we will have to dismantle the humanitarian system."

In appealing for continued donor support, Iryna Vereshchuk, deputy prime minister of Ukraine, spoke about the resilience of her people and their determination to fight on until the war was won.

"The enemy counts on our being exhausted because the enemy knows that they cannot win militarily. They really count that sooner or later our civilians will get exhausted, and we cannot allow this to happen.

"We have to keep supporting civilians. We have to keep supporting IDPs who move within Ukraine and people of Ukraine who move outside, running from the war by withstanding and resisting evil and oppression," she said.

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Zelenskyy Hails Switzerland's Involvement in Upcoming Peace Summit on Ukraine

By VOA News January 15, 2024

During a working visit in Bern, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to Switzerland, a country of "global importance," for its support of Ukraine and for its efforts to promote justice and "fair peace."

"I am grateful for your principled political support of Ukraine from the first day of Russia's full-scale invasion. I thank you for joining the European sanctions packages. And, of course, for our joint work on the implementation of the Peace Formula," Zelenskyy said, addressing his Swiss counterpart, Viola Amherd, during a meeting with media representatives following their talks in Bern.

The two leaders agreed to start preparations for the Global Peace Summit on Ukraine in Switzerland. Planning for the event will start as early as Tuesday.

Zelenskyy hailed Switzerland's partnership in organizing the upcoming summit and also in holding a conference on Ukraine's 10-point peace plan on Sunday, prior to the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Monday. Over 80 countries participated in Sunday's convention.

China was absent from the talks.

During the news conference, Zelenskyy also urged China, a Russian ally and global power player, to participate and help resolve the conflict with Russia.

"We would very much like China to be involved in our [peace] formula, as well as in the summit," he said. "But not everything depends on our wishes."

Zelenskyy did not provide an extensive list of the participants but said, "We are open to all countries that respect our sovereignty and territorial integrity at the peace summit."

Zelenskyy also extended the invitation to countries from the Global South, some of which maintain diplomatic relations with Russia.

"We would like the Global South to be present. ... It is important for us to show that the whole world is against Russia's aggression, and the whole world is for a just peace," he said.

Russia, which is absent from the World Economic Forum being held in the Swiss resort of Davos this week, refuses to heed to Ukraine's peace proposal.

"Without our participation, any discussions are devoid of any prospect of any results," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday when asked about the discussions on Ukraine in Davos.

"This is simply talking for the sake of talking," he added.

Peskov said Moscow will continue its military operation in Ukraine until it achieves all its goals.

Ukraine said it will not rest until every Russian soldier leaves its territory. Zelenskyy has decreed that any talks with Russia are illegal.

The Ukrainian president said that Russia's leaders "believe that with their violence and terror, they can enforce some other kind of order, a predatory one, without any rules or security guarantees."

The Kremlin casts the war in Ukraine as part of a much broader global struggle with the West, which it believes aims to split Russia apart and steal its resources. The West denies it wants to destroy Russia.

North Korean visit to Russia

Meanwhile, North Korea's foreign minister is on a three-day visit to Russia, as international concern grows over an alleged arms cooperation deal between the two countries.

A delegation led by Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui arrived in Moscow on Sunday, according to North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. She will meet with her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on Tuesday, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

Choe is visiting at Lavrov's invitation, the ministry said.

The United States and South Korea say North Korea has provided Russia with arms, including artillery and missiles, to help its fight in Ukraine.

The Biden administration said it has evidence that North Korea provided Russia with missiles that have been used in Ukraine. In a joint statement last week, the U.S., South Korea and their partners said North Korea supplied missiles to Russia's war in exchange for valuable technical and military know-how from Russia.

War in Ukraine

The Ukrainian air force said Monday it shot down a Russian Beriev A-50 surveillance plane and an Ilyushin Il-22 airborne command post in the Sea of Azov area.

These spy planes relay information to ground troops and help orchestrate Russian battlefield movements in Ukraine. Shooting them down, if confirmed, would be a landmark feat for Ukraine in its defensive war against Russia, as fighting along the front line is largely bogged down in trench and artillery warfare.

General Valeryi Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, didn't disclose how the two aircraft were downed. Ukraine has received sophisticated air defense systems from its Western allies.

Zaluzhnyi also did not say where the interceptions occurred, although he attached a video to his social media post with an airplane tracker showing two targets disappearing above the Azov Sea, which lies between Ukraine and Russia, north of the Crimean Peninsula and the Black Sea.

Reuters was unable to verify his statement independently.

There was no immediate official comment from Moscow. Russian war bloggers said both planes had come under friendly fire, but they presented no evidence of that. They claimed the Il-22 was damaged but made a successful landing.

The A-50, which was outfitted with radar, typically carries a crew of 15.

The Russian defense ministry said early last year that the modernized A-50 had been carrying out missions during the war and can detect more than 300 targets simultaneously, as well as detect and track a missile launch at a distance of 800 kilometers and ground and sea targets at 300 kilometers.

The Ukrainian defense ministry valued the A-50 at $330 million. The Russian air force reportedly has been operating a fleet of nine such aircraft.

Some material for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

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Selbyville, Delaware , Jan. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Growlers market value could cross USD 762 million by 2032, as per a recent study by Global Market Insights Inc.

As per the report, The growlers industry experiences a surge in demand attributed to relaxed government regulations. In May 2022, Minnesota legislators reached an agreement to permit breweries and distilleries to sell growlers, six-packs, and full-size liquor bottles directly to consumers. This bipartisan plan grants every existing brewery the ability to offer beer growlers, cans, or bottles of their brew for off-site purchase. Additionally, distilleries gain the authority to sell standard 750 ml bottles of spirits, such as gin and vodka, on their premises, departing from the state's current requirement for slender bottles. The emphasis on sustainability and reducing single-use packaging contributes to the growlers market expansion.

Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/6350





Glass materials to gain prominent shares

Glass materials in the growlers industry could exhibit a decent growth rate over 2024-2032, claims the report. Consumers favor glass growlers for their ability to preserve beer freshness, preventing flavor alteration often associated with other materials. The inert nature of glass ensures the purity of the beer's taste, appealing to craft beer enthusiasts. Additionally, the aesthetic appeal and reusability of glass growlers align with sustainability trends, attracting environmentally conscious consumers seeking durable, recyclable packaging for their favorite brews. These factors collectively drive the growlers market growth from glass materials.

Non-alcoholic beverages application to expand market demand

Non-alcoholic beverages application segment will register a noteworthy CAGR from 2024 to 2032, as per the report. As the market for craft sodas, kombuchas, and other non-alcoholic drinks expands, so does the need for convenient, eco-friendly containers. Growlers provide an ideal solution, accommodating these diverse beverages while offering sustainability and freshness. Consumers seeking healthier alternatives are drawn to the convenience of refillable growlers for their favorite non-alcoholic options, aligning with their lifestyle choices and contributing to the market's upward trend.

Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @ https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/6350

Asia Pacific to witness a high revenue share

Asia Pacific growlers market will register a robust CAGR from 2024 to 2032, owing to evolving consumer preferences and a burgeoning craft beer culture, there's a significant upsurge in demand for growlers. As the region embraces artisanal and specialty brews, breweries capitalize on this trend, offering diverse, fresh pours directly to consumers. The convenience and sustainability of these refillable containers resonate with environmentally conscious consumers, contributing to the growlers business expansion in Asia Pacific, and catering to the region's growing affinity for unique craft beverages.

Growlers Market Players

Klean Kanteen, DrinkTanks, YETI, Miir, Lifeline, Igloo, Stanley, Manna, Hydro Flask, Fifty/Fifty. Companies in the growlers industry are employing various strategies to enhance their market presence, by participating in product launches at several expos and events that are aimed at showcasing potential in the construction industry.

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About Global Market Insights

Global Market Insights Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider, offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy, and biotechnology.
A Helena man admitted Tuesday to illegally possessing homemade bombs and a silencer after being accused of attempting to attack Helena High School in May 2022, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Logan Sea Pallister, 25, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to the possession of unregistered destructive devices and to the possession of an unregistered silencer.

In May 2022, the Helena Police Department received information from an individual that Pallister possessed multiple bombs, had access to multiple firearms and had been making threats of committing an attack at a local high school.

He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release on each charge at his May 22 sentencing by U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris.

Pallister was arrested at his residence May 31, 2022, where authorities found eight firearms, including three semi-automatic rifles and five handguns. He was walking toward his car from his residence, wearing a black trench coat and carrying a bag.

His arrest came a week after a teen gunman entered a school in Uvalde, Texas, and killed 19 children and two teachers.

Some of the firearms found had threaded barrels which could be used to attach a silencer, authorities said.

Pallister was seen in photos found by police holding weapons in the trench coat, which aligned with the witnesss statements as the Columbine shooters were known occasionally as, the "Trench Coat Mafia."

Agents during the arrest and search found survivalist literature with one catalog that sold devices to speed up the rate of fire in semi-automatic rifles, authorities said.

The government said in court documents that the Helena Police Department received information from a person that Pallister had multiple bombs and access to multiple firearms.

The documents said Pallister had been making threats to attack Helena High School.

The person who reported Pallister said he discussed wanting to commit a Columbine-style attack at a high school and he had ammunition in his car and purchased a black trench coat similar to those involved in the Columbine shooting. Twelve students and one teacher died in the 1999 shooting in Colorado. The two teen gunmen killed themselves.

Pallister showed the individual a small propane canister with a fuse sticking out of one end, while he proceeded to threaten the individual and said he would kill them if they said anything about the bomb, documents state.

"We are grateful to the individual who bravely alerted law enforcement to Mr. Pallister, and to our Helena Police Department whose response led to his apprehension and arrest," Helena Public Schools superintendent Rex Weltz said.

Weltz continued to say that the district has made significant safety strides in recent years and it will continue its efforts.

"I can't emphasize this enough, if you see something, if you hear something, say something," Weltz said.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the court will determine any sentence after considering the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Dublin, Jan. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Ophthalmic Femtosecond Lasers Market by Type (Photocoagulation Lasers, Photodisruption Lasers, Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty), Product (Diode Lasers, Excimer lasers, Femtosecond Lasers), Application, End User - Forecast 2023-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Ophthalmic Femtosecond Lasers Market size was estimated at USD 219.79 million in 2022, USD 235.08 million in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 7.41% to reach USD 389.55 million by 2030.





The detailed segmentation of the Ophthalmic Femtosecond Lasers Market provides a profound look into various components driving growth. Within this sphere, products such as Diode Lasers, Excimer lasers, and notably, the Femtosecond Lasers, are among the key contributors. Comprehensive studies across different types further include Photocoagulation Lasers, Photodisruption Lasers, and Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty, the latter seeing an upsurge in market share along the forecast timeline.

Breakthrough Applications Trigger Expansion

Applications in cataract surgery, glaucoma surgery, and refractive error correction stand out as pivotal segments.





End-user analysis highlights ambulatory service centers, eye clinics, and hospitals, each playing a crucial role in market progression.

Regional analysis underscores the relevance of the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa, each examined for market impact and growth aspects.

Key Market Influencers



This analysis shines a spotlight on the technological trends, regulatory frameworks, and product developments shaping the future of ophthalmic femtosecond lasers.

A detailed profile of market protagonists provides insights into strategies, growth, and product portfolios. The report addresses the crucial questions stakeholders are pondering, from market sizes and forecasts to strategic windows for opportunities. The insights offered through this comprehensive report are set to guide the ophthalmic femtosecond lasers market through a phase of dynamic evolution and sustained growth from 2023 to 2030.



Key Attributes:

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 193 Forecast Period 2023 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2023 $235.08 Million Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $389.55 Million Compound Annual Growth Rate 7.4% Regions Covered Global



Companies Mentioned

Abbott Laboratories

Alcon Laboratories, Inc.

Bausch & Lomb Incorporated

Carl Zeiss AG

Ellex Medical Lasers Limited

IMRA America, Inc.

Iridex Corporation

Johnson & Johnson Service Inc.

KMLabs Inc.

LENSAR Inc.

Menlo Systems GmbH

NIDEK Co., Ltd.

NKT AS

Spark Lasers SAS

Ziemer Ophthalmic Systems AG



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/xlgt2j

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Attachment
Dublin, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Dental Insurance Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Coverage (Dental Preferred Provider Organizations, Dental Health Maintenance Organizations), Type (Major, Basic), Demographic, Region, and Segment Forecasts, 2023-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global dental insurance market size is expected to reach USD 390.3 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 9.3%, according to the report. The expansion can be attributed to dental care awareness, rising cost of dental treatment, and an aging population requiring constant dental care. According to the World Health Organization, oral health differs over the entire course of life starting from early life until old age. Thus, it is one of the integral parts of general health as well as providing support to individuals. Elevating awareness regarding dental health can provide confidence and also help an individual maintain good oral health. Thereby this trend directly impacts the demand for dental insurance as individuals are opting for good dental treatments.







Aging population is expected to drive market growth in the coming years. Dental issues in the elderly population are high. For instance, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2021 almost all adults aged 65 years and above had a tooth cavity and every 1 in 5 individuals had untreated tooth decay.

The elderly require more dental care due to increased incidences of tooth loss and other oral diseases as compared to the younger individuals and hence they seek dental insurance coverage to manage the costs associated with the treatment. Thereby, such factors are elevating the growth of the dental insurance industry.



Dental Insurance Market Report Highlights

Based on coverage, the DPPO segment dominated the market in 2022. The dental preferred provider organizations deliver various dental services to the members through a network of contracted dental care providers. The plan covers most of the dental preventive as well as diagnostic services

Based on type, the preventive segment dominated the market in 2022. Preventive care includes various services that can prevent an individual from developing dental diseases hence it is one of the most opted treatments individuals prefer

Based on demographics, the senior citizen segment dominated the market, accounting for over 41.0% of the total revenue. The key factors contributing to the growth include the high incidence of dental & gum diseases and tooth loss among them

The adult segment is expected to show significant growth during the forecast period. This is attributed to the changing awareness trends toward oral care and higher demand for preventive treatments

North America held the largest market share of 43.0% in 2022. Advanced healthcare infrastructure, regulatory expertise, and high research and development investments are some major contributors to regional market growth

Key Attributes:

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 150 Forecast Period 2022 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2022 $194.13 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $390.3 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 9.3% Regions Covered Global

Key Topics Covered:



Chapter 1. Methodology and Scope



Chapter 2. Executive Summary

2.1. Market Snapshot

2.2. Segment Snapshot

2.3. Competitive Landscape Snapshot



Chapter 3. Market Variables, Trends, & Scope

3.1. Market Segmentation and Scope

3.2. Market Lineage Outlook

3.3. Market Trends and Outlook

3.4. Market Dynamics

3.5. Market Driver Analysis

3.6. Market Restraint Analysis

3.7. Business Environment Analysis

3.8. COVID-19 Impact Analysis



Chapter 4. Coverage Business Analysis

4.1. Dental Insurance Market: Coverage Movement Analysis

4.2. Dental Preferred Provider Organizations (DPPO)

4.3. Dental Health Maintenance Organizations (DHMO)

4.4. Dental Indemnity Plans



Chapter 5. Type Business Analysis

5.1. Dental Insurance Market: Type Movement Analysis

5.2. Major

5.3. Basic

5.4. Preventive



Chapter 6. Demographics Business Analysis

6.1. Dental Insurance Market: Demographics Movement Analysis

6.2. Senior Citizens

6.3. Adults

6.4. Minors



Chapter 7. Regional Business Analysis

7.1. Dental Insurance Market Share by Region, 2022 & 2030

7.2. North America

7.3. Europe

7.4. Asia Pacific

7.5. Latin America

7.6. MEA



Chapter 8. Competitive Landscape

8.1. Company Categorization

8.2. Strategy Mapping

8.3. Participant's overview

Cigna

AXA

AFLAC

Allianz

Aetna

Ameritas Life Insurance Corp

United HealthCare Services

Metlife Services & Solutions

Delta Dental Plans Association

HDFC Ergo Health Insurance

United Concordia

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About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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SEOUL, KOREA, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recently, NOUHAUS announced the launch of its premium massage chair ORBIT at the CES show in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOUHAUS, a life curation living company in South Korea, is a young, thriving furniture brand that has outreached $150 million of accrued revenue since its first launch in 2019. NOUHAUS became viral in their first year with the best-seller, New Classic massage chair, widely known as "beautiful massage chair" or "Nouhaus massage chair."





Award-winning product, ORBIT, will be unveiled for the first time in CES 2024

NOUHAUS successfully launched the brand in the U.S. in about the same period, making a notable revenue of $50 million with their office chairs in Amazon. More so, last July NOUHAUS held a LUNA (recliner massage chair) launch party in Barbie Penthouse located in Beverly Hills and opened a pop-up space during the "Annual Block Party" in L.A. The invited guests  Hollywood celebrities, influencers, and many other esteemed guests altogether exalted NOUHAUS massage chairs for their incomparable qualities.





Nouhaus LUNA launch party in Barbie Penthouse, Beverly Hills L.A. California

Massage chairs may not be a commonly bought furniture in the U.S., yet many experts' outlook is that with the market-leading experiences, significant design, and innovative technology, NOUHAUS is ready to take on the massage chair market in America as well.

Having successfully showcased their products at the recent CES show, from Jan. 9 to 12 in Las Vegas, Nevada, NOUHAUS unveiled ORBIT, its newly launched premium massage chair to the public.

ORBIT is the first premium massage chair with exquisite speakers that presents quality relaxation with personalized dynamic massage and modern design expressed through artistic linear edges. It has won the honor in the Red Dot Design Award 2022 and K Design Award 2023, certifying the brilliance in both design and function.

The chair is equipped with the finest quality speakers designed and directed by Prof. Kukil Yu, also known as the "maestro" of tuning sounds. Prof. Yu is renowned as the most experienced expert regarding sound and speakers in Korea and sustains collaboration with 'Accuton' He has not only won over 130 global awards including the Red Dot Design Award, IF Design Award, but also has been recognized as the best amongst all entries in over 100 projects.

For the ORBIT, he designed two convertible modes  Normal Mode and Speaker Mode which are controlled with an APP. At default, the speaker is adjusted to deliver the most optimal sound for the person seated. The sound orbits around the user, leading them to their personal concert hall. At Speaker Mode, the speaker amplifies and diffuses sound, perfect for users when doing other activities while still listening to their favorite music.

Also, NOUHAUS collaborated with 'Sound Vaccine', a company with Digital hearing loss treatment technology, to equip ORBIT with another significant function, TSC (Threshold Sound Conditioning) which helps improve the hearing. This technology, developed by neuroscientists at Stanford School of Medicine over four years, has been certified for its safety and effectiveness by SCIE-level international academic journals in 2020.

Furthermore, the ergonomically designed massage chair recognizes the user and adjusts the shoulder height for perfectly customized comfort. Users can choose from 14 different dynamic and refreshing massage functions to relieve stress on a daily basis.

The CES event provided NOUHAUS with a significant opportunity to showcase the technological advancements of ORBIT and its other product lines, including best-sellers and accessories. Detailed information about the ORBIT and its innovative features was revealed to the public, further solidifying NOUHAUS's reputation for quality and innovation in the furniture industry. The NOUHAUS booth, located at Tech West, Venetian Expo, Level 2 (booth number 54753), attracted considerable attention and was a highlight of the show.

Media Contact

Company: NOUHAUS

Email: sk.shim@nouhaus.co.kr

Website: http://nouhausglobal.com

SOURCE: NOUHAUS
Only one antibiotic effective to treat Gonorrhea infections

OMV based vaccine to prevent Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection

BILTHOVEN, The Netherlands, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intravacc, a world leader in translational research and development of preventive and therapeutic vaccines, today announced that it has been awarded a funding that may total US$ 633K from CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator) a global non-profit organisation, for the development of a preventive vaccine against Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG). This vaccine will be developed on Intravaccs proprietary outer membrane vesicle (OMV) platform technology.

The Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacterium causes gonorrhea, the second most reported bacterial STI. Approximately 82 million people were infected globally in 2020. Patients with gonorrhea can face serious health effects, including pelvic inflammatory disease, chronic pain, infertility, and an increased risk of contracting HIV. If left untreated, gonorrhea can spread to the bloodstream, which can be fatal. Since patients do not always exhibit symptoms, reported cases may only capture a fraction of the true burden.

Erin Duffy, PhD, R&D Chief of CARB-X says:

Resistant strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae have evaded all but one existing antibiotic (ceftriaxone), Vaccines are powerful tools in the prevention of bacterial infections. With an appropriate vaccination strategy, Intravaccs vaccine project, if successful, could prevent the disease, and significantly curb the spread of resistant bacteria across the globe.

The CARB-X award supports the development of Intravaccs meningococcal outer membrane vesicle (OMV) vaccine that carries several important gonococcal antigens aimed to prevent infections by Neisseria gonorrhoeae (gonococci). Through the tailored gonococcal antigens on the surface of the meningococcal OMV, Intravacc anticipates a significant enhancement in the vaccine candidates efficacy against gonorrhea.

Dr. Jan Groen, Intravaccs CEO, says:

This CARB-X project allows us to combine our science and OMV expertise for the development of a vaccine against gonorrhea infections. We believe the outcome of this vaccine project could be an important contribution to the worldwide antimicrobial resistance epidemic.

CARB-X funding for this research is supported by federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority; under Agreement number: 75A50122C00028, and by awards from Wellcome (WT224842), Germanys Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the UK Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) funded by the UK Government Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The content of this press release is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of any CARB-X funders.

About Intravaccs OMV platform technology

For the development of vaccines, Intravacc has designed and developed a platform based on outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) - spherical particles with intrinsic immune-stimulating properties. The OMVs can be designed with immunogenic peptides and/or proteins that stimulate effective adaptive immunity. The OMV carrier has been optimized to induce a more effective immune response against these newly introduced antigens. Intravacc has also developed genetic tools to increase the yield of the OMVs, reduce the toxicity and achieve the desired antigenic composition. Intravacc's OMV platform is scalable and allows rapid and efficient modification of the antigen composition, either through genetic modification of the bacterial host or by associating antigens with stored OMVs.

About Intravacc

Intravacc, located at Utrecht Science Park Bilthoven in the Netherlands, is a leading global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for infectious diseases and therapeutic vaccines. As an established independent CDMO with many years of experience in the development and optimization of vaccines and vaccine technologies, Intravacc has transferred its technology world-wide for many vaccines including polio, measles, DPT, Hib and influenza. Approximately 30% of childhood disease vaccines are based on Intravaccs know-how and proprietary technology. Intravacc offers a wide range of expertise for independent vaccine development, from concept to Phase I/II clinical studies for partners around the world, including biotech and pharmaceutical companies, governmental agencies and NGOs. With its innovative vaccine platforms OMV-VaccT, Cell-VaccT, Con-VaccT, E.co-VaccT and good manufacturing procedures (GMP) facilities the company is well positioned to address the unmet needs in the vaccine and immune therapy market.

About CARB-X

CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator) is a global non-profit partnership dedicated to supporting early-stage antibacterial research and development to address the rising threat of drug-resistant bacteria. CARB-X supports innovative therapeutics, preventatives and rapid diagnostics. CARB-X is led by Boston University and funded by a consortium of governments and foundations. CARB-X funds only projects that target drug-resistant bacteria highlighted on the CDCs Antibiotic Resistant Threats list, or the Priority Bacterial Pathogens list published by the WHO, with a priority on those pathogens deemed Serious or Urgent on the CDC list or Critical or High on the WHO list. https://carb-x.org/ | X (formerly Twitter) @CARB_X.

Contact info

Intravacc

Dr. Jan Groen, CEO

P: +31 30 7920 454

Sander Hagemans, Media relations

P: +31 30 7920 579

E: press.office@intravacc.nl
TORONTO, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wallbridge Mining Company Limited (TSX: WM, OTCQX: WLBMF) (Wallbridge or the Company) today announced a fully-funded 2024 exploration program that prioritizes upgrading gold resources at Martiniere Gold (Martiniere) and Fenelon Gold (Fenelon), as well as the testing of priority grassroots exploration targets on the Companys extensive and highly-prospective Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend Property (the Property) in Northern Abitibi, Quebec.



Highlights of 2024 Program

Drilling program of 23,000 metres, including: 13,000 metres of resource and exploration drilling at Martiniere 5,000 metres of resource and exploration drilling at Fenelon, and 5,000 metres allocated to grassroots exploration drilling elsewhere on the Property.

Continuing technical studies to optimize the economics for a combined Fenelon/Martiniere Preliminary Economic Assessment ( PEA ).

). Exploration costs are fully-funded with cash balance of approximately $29.8 million at year-end 2023.

Based on the 2023 PEA, Fenelon alone has the potential to produce 200,000 ounces of gold annually for 12 years, but we see this as only the beginning of the story. Martinieres promising geology and proximity to Fenelon may offer economic synergies which we need to fully evaluate in preparation for a combined Fenelon/Martiniere PEA by early 2026. At the same time, we recognize that the rest of our 830 square kilometre land package has also tremendous potential for discovery. As such, we will continue to test exploration targets at Fenelon and elsewhere on our dominant property position on the Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend, said Brian Penny, Interim President & CEO of the Company.

Our main objective in 2024 is to advance and de-risk Martiniere and test a number of targets within or near the Fenelon deposit footprint, with the primary objective of finding additional near surface gold mineralization to potentially improve the economics of the project. Regionally, on our extensive underexplored land package, we will continue to advance our grassroots exploration targets and test the most compelling drill-ready targets in search for new discoveries, added Attila Pentek, Vice President Exploration.

2024 Exploration Program

Approximately 55% of the planned 23,000 metres of drilling will be devoted to infilling and expanding the mineral resource at Martiniere, with the balance allocated to Fenelon and regional grassroots exploration. In addition, funding has been allocated for technical studies at Martiniere and Fenelon for the delivery of a PEA in a realistic timeframe that further evaluates the potential economics of both the Fenelon and Martiniere deposits.

2024 Work Program Description Budget Martiniere  resource and exploration drilling (includes $900,000 of technical and environmental studies) 13,000 metres $8.9M Fenelon  expansion of known mineralization and exploration drilling (includes $900,000 of technical and environmental studies) 5,000 metres $4.5M Regional exploration  exploration drilling, geophysics and other 5,000 metres $3.6M Capital expenditures $0.2M General & administrative costs $4.0M Total $21.2M



Martiniere Exploration Program

Martiniere currently has a mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 0.68 million ounces of gold in the Indicated category and 0.63 million ounces of gold in the Inferred category (see Wallbridge press release dated January 17, 2023). The budgeted drilling in 2024 will be carried out in two phases: Phase 1 of approximately 7,500 metres is scheduled for March and April 2024, with Phase 2 of approximately 5,500 metres planned for the third quarter of the year.

The Phase 1 program is designed to increase confidence in the MRE by collecting representative material for metallurgical test work and doing down-hole geotechnical imaging to further improve our understanding of the structural controls on gold deposition. Phase 2 will be targeting extensions of known gold zones both laterally and down-plunge at depth in order to further expand the deposit. The Company also plans to sample in-fill drill core (approximately 5,000 metres) from historic drilling programs that has not been previously analyzed to potentially identify further gold mineralization in the deposit area.

Technical studies for Martiniere, including metallurgical test work, geomechanics and hydrogeology are scheduled to start in early 2024.

Fenelon Exploration Program

The PEA for the Fenelon project resulted in an average annual gold production of 212,000 ounces over a 12-year mine life (see Wallbridge press release dated June 26, 2023) based on the current MRE of 2.37 million ounces of gold in the Indicated category and 1.72 million ounces of gold in the Inferred category (see Wallbridge press release dated January 17, 2023). The 5,000 metres of drilling planned for Fenelon in 2024 is mainly designed to test gold mineralization in the vicinity of the PEA mine design where there is potential to improve the projects overall economics.

Several technical studies are also planned in 2024 at Fenelon with the goal of further enhancing the economics of the project.

Regional Exploration

Regionally, approximately 5,000 metres of drilling is planned for 2024 with the objective of discovering new mineralized gold zones on high-priority targets located within Wallbridges massive land package on the highly-prospective Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend. Field work (outcrop mapping and prospecting) and some geophysical work is also planned.

The Qualified Person responsible for the technical content of this press release is Francois Chabot, Eng., the Companys Manager of Technical Services.





Figure 1. Wallbridges Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend land package highlighting the currently planned 2024 exploration target areas.

About Wallbridge Mining

Wallbridge is focused on creating value through the exploration and sustainable development of gold projects along the Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend in Quebecs Northern Abitibi region while respecting the environment and communities where it operates.

Wallbridges most advanced projects, Fenelon Gold (Fenelon) and Martiniere Gold (Martiniere) incorporate a combined 3.05 million ounces of indicated gold resources and 2.35 million ounces of inferred gold resources. Fenelon and Martiniere are located within an 830 square kilometre exploration land package controlled by Wallbridge.

Wallbridge has reported a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) at Fenelon that estimates average annual gold production of 212,000 ounces over 12 years (see Wallbridge press release of June 26, 2023).

Wallbridge also holds a 15.9% interest in the common shares of Archer Exploration Corp. (Archer) as a result of the sale of the Companys portfolio of nickel assets in Ontario and Quebec in November of 2022.

For further information please visit the Companys website at https://wallbridgemining.com/ or contact:

Wallbridge Mining Company Limited

Brian Penny, CPA, CMA

Interim CEO

Tel: (416) 716-8346

Email: bpenny@wallbridgemining.com

Victoria Vargas, B.Sc. (Hon.) Economics, MBA

Capital Markets Advisor

Email: vvargas@wallbridgemining.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

The information in this document may contain forward-looking statements or information (collectively, FLI) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. FLI is based on expectations, estimates, projections and interpretations as at the date of this document.

All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are FLI that involve various risks, assumptions, estimates and uncertainties. Generally, FLI can be identified by the use of statements that include, but are not limited to, words such as seeks, believes, anticipates, plans, continues, budget, scheduled, estimates, expects, forecasts, intends, projects, predicts, proposes, "potential", targets and variations of such words and phrases, or by statements that certain actions, events or results may, will, could, would, should or might, be taken, occur or be achieved.

FLI in this document may include, but is not limited to: statements regarding the results of the Fenelon PEA; the potential future performance of Archer common shares; future drill results; the Companys ability to convert inferred resources into measured and indicated resources; environmental matters; stakeholder engagement and relationships; parameters and methods used to estimate the MREs at Fenelon and Martiniere (collectively the Deposits); the prospects, if any, of the Deposits; future drilling at the Deposits; and the significance of historic exploration activities and results.

FLI is designed to help you understand managements current views of its near- and longer-term prospects, and it may not be appropriate for other purposes. FLI by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such FLI. Although the FLI contained in this document is based upon what management believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders and prospective purchasers of securities of the Company that actual results will be consistent with such FLI, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, and neither the Company nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any such FLI. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake, and assumes no obligation, to update or revise any such FLI contained in this document to reflect new events or circumstances. Unless otherwise noted, this document has been prepared based on information available as of the date of this document. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on the FLI, or information contained herein.

Furthermore, should one or more of the risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in FLI.

Assumptions upon which FLI is based, without limitation, include: the results of exploration activities, the Companys financial position and general economic conditions; the ability of exploration activities to accurately predict mineralization; the accuracy of geological modelling; the ability of the Company to complete further exploration activities; the legitimacy of title and property interests in the Deposits; the accuracy of key assumptions, parameters or methods used to estimate the MREs and in the PEA; the ability of the Company to obtain required approvals; geological, mining and exploration technical problems; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; the evolution of the global economic climate; metal prices; foreign exchange rates; environmental expectations; community and non-governmental actions; and, the Companys ability to secure required funding. Risks and uncertainties about Wallbridge's business are discussed in the disclosure materials filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada, which are available at www.sedarplus.ca.

Cautionary Notes to United States Investors

Wallbridge prepares its disclosure in accordance with NI 43-101 which differs from the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Terms relating to mineral properties, mineralization and estimates of mineral reserves and mineral resources and economic studies used herein are defined in accordance with NI 43-101 under the guidelines set out in CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Council on May 19, 2014, as amended. NI 43-101 differs significantly from the disclosure requirements of the SEC generally applicable to US companies. As such, the information presented herein concerning mineral properties, mineralization and estimates of mineral reserves and mineral resources may not be comparable to similar information made public by U.S. companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements under the U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.

A figure accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/018a9c9c-8f1f-4251-97a2-cfcfd65fe7b3
MONTREAL, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Osisko Metals Incorporated (the "Company" or "Osisko Metals") ( TSX-V: OM ; OTCQX: OMZNF ; FRANKFURT: 0B51 ) is pleased to announce the remaining results from the 2023 drilling program at the Pine Point Mining Limited (PPML) Joint Venture Project, located in the Northwest Territories, Canada. The reported results are from the C2 Zone, N1 Zone, NE1 Zone, and the NE2 Zone. Results are all from near-surface, tabular-style deposits, and these will be incorporated into a new Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) that will be released in Q1 2024 and will be integrated into a Feasibility Study (FS) that is also planned to start in Q1 2024.



Highlights of Drill Hole Assay Composites:

K51-23-PP-004: 11.00 metres grading 12.48% Zn and 2.23% Pb (14.71% Zn+Pb)

K51-23-PP-005: 5.00 metres grading 8.47% Zn and 1.02% Pb (9.49% Zn+Pb)

K52-23-PP-020: 4.95 metres grading 11.36% Zn and 1.07% Pb (12.43% Zn+Pb)

T37-23-PP-004: 4.00 metres grading 8.08% Zn and 1.21%Pb (9.29% Zn+Pb)

X49-23-PP-014: 4.10 metres grading 9.72% Zn and 1.67% Pb (11.39% Zn+Pb)

X49-23-PP-027: 5.00 metres grading 5.85% Zn and 1.30% Pb (7.14% Zn+Pb)

X59-23-PP-014: 5.50 metres grading 12.80% Zn and 1.38% Pb (14.18% Zn+Pb)

X60-23-PP-003: 6.00 metres grading 16.47% Zn and 1.42% Pb (17.89% Zn+Pb)

X68-23-PP-014: 8.00 metres grading 7.86% Zn and 1.13% Pb (8.99% Zn+Pb)

X68-23-PP-016: 6.50 metres grading 6.38% Zn and 0.93% Pb (7.30% Zn+Pb)

Y62-23-PP-003: 8.00 metres grading 6.81% Zn and 0.63% Pb (7.44% Zn+Pb)



Robert Wares, CEO and Chairman of the Board, commented: Drill results over the last five years at Pine Point have met or exceeded expectations, and now that the definition drilling program is essentially completed, we will have an updated Mineral Resource Estimate this quarter. This MRE will comprise mostly indicated resources and will be updated to take into account higher estimated mining and energy costs. This winter, we will focus on drill-testing new prismatic-style exploration targets at Pine Point with a significant drill program. With an updated MRE in hand, our joint-venture with Appian Natural Resources Fund III LP is successfully advancing Pine Point as we enter the feasibility stage of the project.

Recent advancement in the geological understanding of Pine Point has greatly enhanced the favorability of the underlying stratigraphy (Pine Point Formation) for hosting high-grade prismatic-style deposits in addition to the remaining potential in the Sulphur Point Formation. An exploration program is currently underway using modern induced polarization surveys (IP) to search for these high-value deposits. A significant number of exploration targets will be tested with a $3 million drill program slated to start this month.

Drilling was conducted as part of PPMLs Joint Ventures larger 2023 definition drilling program designed to achieve an average drill spacing of approximately 30 metres within the currently modelled mineral resources reported in the 2022 PEA. This spacing is intended to upgrade the resources presently classified as Inferred to the Indicated category so that they can be included as the resource base for the upcoming FS.

Table 1: Drill Hole Assay Composites*.

Hole Name

Zone

Deposit

From To Drill width True Width Zn Pb Zn+Pb (m) (m) (m) (m) % % % K51-23-PP-004 C2 K51 34.00 45.00 11.00 10.98 12.48 2.23 14.71 K51-23-PP-005 C2 K51 16.30 19.00 2.70 2.69 11.25 1.11 12.36 K51-23-PP-005 C2 K51 36.00 37.00 1.00 1.00 3.33 0.02 3.35 K51-23-PP-005 C2 K51 40.00 45.00 5.00 4.98 8.47 1.02 9.49 K51-23-PP-009 C2 K51 39.00 41.00 2.00 2.00 2.60 0.30 2.90 K52-23-PP-003 C2 K52 37.00 38.00 1.00 1.00 2.73 0.38 3.11 K52-23-PP-004 C2 K52 35.00 36.00 1.00 1.00 3.23 0.26 3.49 K52-23-PP-004 C2 K52 39.00 40.00 1.00 1.00 8.99 1.11 10.10 K52-23-PP-004 C2 K52 42.00 43.00 1.00 1.00 3.34 0.23 3.57 K52-23-PP-005 C2 K52 41.00 44.00 3.00 3.00 2.31 0.49 2.80 K52-23-PP-009 C2 K52 37.00 38.50 1.50 1.50 3.03 0.63 3.66 K52-23-PP-009 C2 K52 43.00 44.50 1.50 1.50 6.77 0.94 7.71 K52-23-PP-010 C2 K52 35.00 37.00 2.00 1.99 4.64 0.34 4.99 K52-23-PP-010 C2 K52 44.00 46.00 2.00 1.99 1.61 0.93 2.53 K52-23-PP-014 C2 K52 43.00 44.00 1.00 1.00 3.54 1.48 5.02 K52-23-PP-016 C2 K52 38.00 39.00 1.00 1.00 4.66 0.01 4.67 K52-23-PP-017 C2 K52 41.00 42.00 1.00 1.00 1.89 4.95 6.84 K52-23-PP-020 C2 K52 41.05 46.00 4.95 4.94 11.36 1.07 12.43 M48-23-PP-001 C2 M48 36.00 37.50 1.50 1.50 4.55 0.17 4.72 M48-23-PP-003 C2 M48 33.00 35.00 2.00 2.00 5.07 0.49 5.56 M48-23-PP-003 C2 M48 37.00 43.00 6.00 5.99 10.94 1.95 12.89 T37-23-PP-001 NE1 T37 6.50 7.15 0.65 0.65 3.12 0.02 3.14 T37-23-PP-002 NE1 T37 8.00 11.00 3.00 3.00 5.25 1.58 6.83 T37-23-PP-003 NE1 T37 14.00 17.00 3.00 2.99 4.16 0.92 5.07 T37-23-PP-004 NE1 T37 18.00 22.00 4.00 3.99 8.08 1.21 9.29 T37-23-PP-005 NE1 T37 23.00 25.00 2.00 1.99 2.18 5.66 7.84 T37-23-PP-006 NE1 T37 29.00 32.00 3.00 2.99 1.09 0.85 1.95 T37-23-PP-007 NE1 T37 9.00 11.00 2.00 2.00 3.67 0.08 3.74 X18-23-PP-003 NE2 X18 35.00 38.00 3.00 2.99 5.15 1.11 6.26 X18-23-PP-003 NE2 X18 42.00 43.00 1.00 1.00 2.43 0.00 2.43 X18-23-PP-003 NE2 X18 47.00 48.00 1.00 1.00 2.43 0.01 2.44 X49-23-PP-003 N1 X49 22.00 23.00 1.00 1.00 2.63 0.38 3.00 X49-23-PP-005 N1 X49 15.00 20.00 5.00 4.99 2.43 1.60 4.03 X49-23-PP-013 N1 X49 17.90 18.95 1.05 1.05 17.15 2.67 19.82 X49-23-PP-013 N1 X49 21.00 22.00 1.00 1.00 5.95 5.13 11.08 X49-23-PP-014 N1 X49 19.70 23.80 4.10 4.10 9.72 1.67 11.39 X49-23-PP-014 N1 X49 26.00 27.00 1.00 1.00 0.22 1.79 2.01 X49-23-PP-017 N1 X49 17.00 24.00 7.00 6.99 2.80 0.48 3.28 X49-23-PP-020 N1 X49 18.00 21.00 3.00 3.00 5.11 0.88 5.99 X49-23-PP-025 N1 X49 21.00 24.00 3.00 3.00 3.11 0.40 3.52 X49-23-PP-026 N1 X49 20.00 24.00 4.00 3.99 3.36 0.50 3.86 X49-23-PP-027 N1 X49 20.00 25.00 5.00 5.00 5.85 1.30 7.14 X59-23-PP-002 N1 X59 36.25 37.00 0.75 0.75 4.14 2.11 6.25 X59-23-PP-004 N1 X59 49.00 50.00 1.00 1.00 8.43 0.02 8.45 X59-23-PP-004 N1 X59 52.00 59.00 7.00 6.99 3.09 0.18 3.27 X59-23-PP-005 N1 X59 49.50 50.50 1.00 1.00 1.74 2.15 3.89 X59-23-PP-006 N1 X59 34.00 35.00 1.00 1.00 2.06 0.00 2.06 X59-23-PP-007 N1 X59 30.00 32.00 2.00 2.00 4.38 1.40 5.77 X59-23-PP-011 N1 X59 35.00 36.00 1.00 1.00 2.78 1.11 3.89 X59-23-PP-014 N1 X59 28.00 33.50 5.50 5.49 12.80 1.38 14.18 X59-23-PP-017 N1 X59 31.85 33.35 1.50 1.50 7.99 1.13 9.12 X60-23-PP-003 N1 X60 23.00 25.00 2.00 2.00 2.08 0.14 2.22 X60-23-PP-003 N1 X60 30.00 36.00 6.00 5.99 16.47 1.42 17.89 X60-23-PP-003 N1 X60 44.00 45.00 1.00 1.00 3.19 1.04 4.23 X60-23-PP-004 N1 X60 32.00 36.00 4.00 4.00 8.12 1.52 9.64 X60-23-PP-005 N1 X60 42.00 43.00 1.00 1.00 9.86 1.34 11.20 X60-23-PP-007 N1 X60 31.00 35.00 4.00 4.00 2.87 0.82 3.69 X60-23-PP-007 N1 X60 49.00 50.00 1.00 1.00 6.75 2.96 9.71 X60-23-PP-009 N1 X60 35.00 36.00 1.00 1.00 3.15 0.04 3.19 X61-23-PP-001 N1 X61 45.00 46.00 1.00 1.00 3.54 0.89 4.43 X61-23-PP-002 N1 X61 39.00 40.00 1.00 1.00 1.73 0.39 2.11 X61-23-PP-002 N1 X61 42.00 46.00 4.00 3.99 6.07 1.92 7.99 X61-23-PP-002 N1 X61 52.00 53.00 1.00 1.00 2.83 0.38 3.21 X64-23-PP-005 N1 X64 38.00 41.22 3.22 3.21 12.86 2.61 15.46 X64-23-PP-007 N1 X65 38.00 42.00 4.00 3.99 4.21 0.28 4.49 X64-23-PP-008 N1 X66 60.00 61.00 1.00 1.00 2.66 0.00 2.66 X68-23-PP-006 N1 X68 40.00 41.00 1.00 1.00 2.05 0.46 2.51 X68-23-PP-007 N1 X68 31.00 35.37 4.37 4.36 2.47 0.65 3.12 X68-23-PP-009 N1 X68 34.00 35.00 1.00 1.00 4.94 0.11 5.05 X68-23-PP-013 N1 X68 40.00 41.00 1.00 1.00 2.31 0.30 2.61 X68-23-PP-014 N1 X68 33.00 41.00 8.00 7.98 7.86 1.13 8.99 X68-23-PP-015 N1 X68 34.00 36.00 2.00 2.00 7.21 2.09 9.30 X68-23-PP-015 N1 X68 38.00 39.00 1.00 1.00 2.01 0.03 2.04 X68-23-PP-016 N1 X68 36.00 42.50 6.50 6.49 6.38 0.93 7.30 Y55-23-PP-003 N1 Y55 20.00 21.00 1.00 1.00 2.29 0.22 2.51 Y55-23-PP-005 N1 Y55 23.00 25.00 2.00 2.00 2.90 0.41 3.31 Y55-23-PP-006 N1 Y55 22.00 23.00 1.00 1.00 2.13 0.41 2.54 Y55-23-PP-006 N1 Y55 25.00 26.00 1.00 1.00 4.14 0.66 4.80 Y55-23-PP-007 N1 Y55 19.00 21.00 2.00 2.00 21.43 0.28 21.71 Y55-23-PP-010 N1 Y55 17.00 18.00 1.00 1.00 2.33 0.00 2.33 Y55-23-PP-012 N1 Y55 17.00 18.40 1.40 1.40 19.90 13.65 33.55 Y55-23-PP-014 N1 Y55 22.00 23.00 1.00 1.00 6.33 1.58 7.91 Y57-23-PP-001 N1 Y57 9.60 13.00 3.40 3.39 2.59 1.04 3.63 Y57-23-PP-001 N1 Y57 15.00 16.00 1.00 1.00 3.97 0.02 3.99 Y57-23-PP-003 N1 Y57 15.00 19.00 4.00 3.99 2.92 0.07 3.00 Y57-23-PP-003 N1 Y57 24.00 26.00 2.00 2.00 2.48 0.11 2.59 Y57-23-PP-005 N1 Y57 13.00 17.00 4.00 4.00 3.75 0.11 3.86 Y58-23-PP-004 N1 Y58 25.00 26.00 1.00 1.00 1.34 0.72 2.05 Y58-23-PP-005 N1 Y58 21.00 22.00 1.00 1.00 5.70 0.01 5.71 Y58-23-PP-005 N1 Y58 24.00 26.00 2.00 2.00 5.28 0.11 5.38 Y58-23-PP-007 N1 Y58 22.00 23.00 1.00 1.00 3.04 0.01 3.05 Y62-23-PP-001 N1 Y62 34.00 40.00 6.00 5.97 4.49 1.19 5.68 Y62-23-PP-001 N1 Y62 45.00 46.00 1.00 0.99 1.65 0.52 2.17 Y62-23-PP-002 N1 Y62 38.00 41.00 3.00 2.99 7.22 0.83 8.05 Y62-23-PP-002B N1 Y62 36.90 42.00 5.10 5.09 4.35 0.56 4.90 Y62-23-PP-002B N1 Y62 44.00 46.00 2.00 2.00 5.67 0.87 6.54 Y62-23-PP-003 N1 Y62 42.00 50.00 8.00 8.00 6.81 0.63 7.44 Y68-23-PP-001 N1 Y68 18.00 19.00 1.00 1.00 2.03 0.06 2.09 Y68-23-PP-001 N1 Y68 44.00 45.00 1.00 1.00 1.48 0.52 2.00 Y68-23-PP-003 N1 Y68 38.00 39.10 1.10 1.10 2.65 0.06 2.71 Y68-23-PP-003 N1 Y68 45.00 46.00 1.00 1.00 3.66 0.40 4.06 Y68-23-PP-003 N1 Y68 48.00 49.00 1.00 1.00 1.70 0.32 2.01 Y68-23-PP-003 N1 Y68 51.00 52.00 1.00 1.00 2.10 0.15 2.25 Y68-23-PP-006 N1 Y68 47.00 49.00 2.00 2.00 2.17 1.13 3.29

*Drill holes not reported in this table with a collar location tabulated in Table 2 contained no significant assay results. Results are mostly from the K51, K52, M48, T37, X18, X49, X59, X60, X61, X64, X68, Y55, Y57, Y58, Y62, and Y68 deposits in the C2 Zone.

Qualified Person

Mr. Robin Adair is the Qualified Person and the Senior Technical Advisor for Pine Point Mining Limited. He is responsible for the technical data reported in this news release and is a Professional Geologist registered in the Northwest Territories.

Quality Assurance / Quality Control

Osisko Metals adheres to a strict QA/QC program for core handling, sampling, sample transportation, and analyses. Drill core samples from the Pine Point project area are securely transported to its core facility on-site, where they are logged and sampled. Samples selected for assay are shipped to ALS Canada Ltd.'s preparation facility in Yellowknife. Pulps are analyzed at the ALS Canada Ltd. facility in North Vancouver, BC. All samples are analyzed by four acid digestion followed by both ICP-AES and ICP-MS for a multi-element suite with a 1% upper detection limit for base metals. Samples reporting over 1% for Zn and 1% for Pb are analyzed by assay grade, four acid digestion, and ICP-AES analysis with an upper detection limit of 30% and 20%, respectively. Samples with Zn >30% and or Pb >20% are analyzed by traditional titration.

Table 2: Drill Hole Collar Locations (NAD83 (CSRS) Zone 11).

Hole Name Zone Deposit Easting Northing Elevation Azimuth Dip Length K51-23-PP-001 C2 K51 635037 6747936 213 0 -90 50 K51-23-PP-002 C2 K51 635056 6747910 213 0 -90 57 K51-23-PP-003 C2 K51 635082 6747918 213 0 -90 44 K51-23-PP-004 C2 K51 635062 6747859 213 0 -90 46 K51-23-PP-005 C2 K51 634833 6747777 213 0 -90 49 K51-23-PP-006 C2 K51 634839 6747741 213 0 -90 49 K51-23-PP-008 C2 K51 634985 6747868 213 0 -90 53 K51-23-PP-009 C2 K51 634963 6747791 213 0 -90 52 K52-23-PP-001 C2 K52 635249 6747538 215 0 -90 47 K52-23-PP-002 C2 K52 635203 6747528 214 0 -90 47 K52-23-PP-003 C2 K52 635186 6747502 215 0 -90 43 K52-23-PP-004 C2 K52 635170 6747528 214 0 -90 44 K52-23-PP-005 C2 K52 635119 6747501 214 0 -90 49 K52-23-PP-006 C2 K52 635104 6747526 214 0 -90 41 K52-23-PP-007 C2 K52 635089 6747498 215 0 -90 42 K52-23-PP-008 C2 K52 635070 6747474 215 0 -90 46 K52-23-PP-009 C2 K52 635047 6747444 215 0 -90 46 K52-23-PP-010 C2 K52 635058 6747504 215 0 -90 49 K52-23-PP-011 C2 K52 635026 6747501 214 0 -90 43 K52-23-PP-012 C2 K52 635011 6747528 214 0 -90 43 K52-23-PP-013 C2 K52 635226 6747596 214 0 -90 50 K52-23-PP-014 C2 K52 635178 6747578 214 0 -90 56 K52-23-PP-015 C2 K52 635043 6747528 214 0 -90 43 K52-23-PP-016 C2 K52 635074 6747532 214 0 -90 50 K52-23-PP-017 C2 K52 635170 6747480 215 0 -90 47 K52-23-PP-018 C2 K52 635152 6747512 214 0 -90 46 K52-23-PP-019 C2 K52 635206 6747576 214 0 -90 44 K52-23-PP-020 C2 K52 634893 6747512 213 0 -90 65 M48-23-PP-001 C2 M48 636391 6747718 218 0 -90 48 M48-23-PP-002 C2 M49 636440 6747754 218 0 -90 51 M48-23-PP-003 C2 M50 636480 6747835 218 0 -90 45 T37-23-PP-001 NE1 T37 640677 6757978 181 0 -90 25 T37-23-PP-002 NE1 T37 640713 6758003 181 0 -90 36 T37-23-PP-003 NE1 T37 640779 6758026 182 0 -90 30 T37-23-PP-004 NE1 T37 640821 6758039 182 0 -90 27 T37-23-PP-005 NE1 T37 640850 6758072 184 0 -90 30 T37-23-PP-006 NE1 T37 640882 6758104 183 0 -90 33 T37-23-PP-007 NE1 T37 640700 6757938 182 0 -90 33 X18-23-PP-003 NE2 X18 650113 6764586 181 0 -90 57 X18-23-PP-008 NE3 X19 650089 6764561 181 0 -90 21 X49-23-PP-001 N1 X49 636108 6754449 181 0 -90 38 X49-23-PP-002 N1 X49 636103 6754468 181 0 -90 29 X49-23-PP-003 N1 X49 636093 6754480 181 0 -90 38 X49-23-PP-004 N1 X49 636058 6754469 181 0 -90 26 X49-23-PP-005 N1 X49 636065 6754458 181 0 -90 41 X49-23-PP-006 N1 X49 636072 6754435 181 0 -90 26 X49-23-PP-007 N1 X49 636074 6754408 181 0 -90 38 X49-23-PP-008 N1 X49 636038 6754391 181 0 -90 41 X49-23-PP-009 N1 X49 636025 6754374 181 0 -90 23 X49-23-PP-010 N1 X49 636000 6754333 181 0 -90 41 X49-23-PP-011 N1 X49 635971 6754307 181 0 -90 41 X49-23-PP-012 N1 X49 635941 6754314 182 0 -90 41 X49-23-PP-013 N1 X49 635932 6754332 181 0 -90 29 X49-23-PP-014 N1 X49 635938 6754354 181 0 -90 41 X49-23-PP-015 N1 X49 635855 6754278 181 0 -90 29 X49-23-PP-016 N1 X49 635697 6754266 181 0 -90 29 X49-23-PP-017 N1 X49 635679 6754231 181 0 -90 32 X49-23-PP-018 N1 X49 635673 6754215 181 0 -90 41 X49-23-PP-019 N1 X49 635653 6754186 181 0 -90 32 X49-23-PP-020 N1 X49 635633 6754228 181 0 -90 26 X49-23-PP-021 N1 X49 635593 6754227 181 0 -90 32 X49-23-PP-022 N1 X49 635616 6754181 181 0 -90 32 X49-23-PP-023 N1 X49 635618 6754164 181 0 -90 41 X49-23-PP-024 N1 X49 635591 6754148 181 0 -90 32 X49-23-PP-025 N1 X49 635475 6754108 181 0 -90 26 X49-23-PP-026 N1 X49 635448 6754084 182 0 -90 29 X49-23-PP-027 N1 X49 635435 6754111 182 0 -90 29 X49-23-PP-028 N1 X49 635367 6754143 182 0 -90 38 X49-23-PP-029 N1 X49 635358 6754159 182 0 -90 38 X49-23-PP-030 N1 X49 635326 6754154 183 0 -90 38 X49-23-PP-031 N1 X49 635336 6754120 182 0 -90 20 X59-23-PP-001 N1 X59 631479 6752139 178 0 -90 58 X59-23-PP-002 N1 X59 631436 6752117 178 0 -90 58 X59-23-PP-003 N1 X59 631500 6752094 178 0 -90 58 X59-23-PP-004 N1 X59 631541 6752092 178 0 -90 62 X59-23-PP-005 N1 X59 631519 6752056 178 0 -90 61 X59-23-PP-006 N1 X59 631605 6752072 178 0 -90 46 X59-23-PP-007 N1 X59 631658 6752040 179 0 -90 40 X59-23-PP-008 N1 X59 631602 6752046 178 0 -90 40 X59-23-PP-009 N1 X59 631572 6752039 178 0 -90 58 X59-23-PP-010 N1 X59 631546 6752026 178 0 -90 55 X59-23-PP-011 N1 X59 631498 6752039 178 0 -90 61 X59-23-PP-012 N1 X59 631524 6751996 179 0 -90 55 X59-23-PP-013 N1 X59 631510 6751971 179 0 -90 58 X59-23-PP-014 N1 X59 631497 6751944 179 0 -90 37 X59-23-PP-015 N1 X59 631458 6751973 179 0 -90 58 X59-23-PP-016 N1 X59 631471 6751930 179 0 -90 52 X59-23-PP-017 N1 X59 631458 6751904 179 0 -90 58 X60-23-PP-001 N1 X60 631373 6751833 179 0 -90 50 X60-23-PP-002 N1 X60 631328 6751849 179 0 -90 41 X60-23-PP-003 N1 X60 631350 6751795 179 0 -90 50 X60-23-PP-004 N1 X60 631318 6751808 179 0 -90 56 X60-23-PP-005 N1 X60 631298 6751773 179 0 -90 50 X60-23-PP-006 N1 X60 631270 6751825 179 0 -90 51 X60-23-PP-007 N1 X60 631238 6751832 179 0 -90 50 X60-23-PP-008 N1 X60 631195 6751860 179 0 -90 38 X60-23-PP-009 N1 X60 631215 6751808 179 0 -90 39 X60-23-PP-010 N1 X60 631241 6751751 179 0 -90 50 X60-23-PP-011 N1 X60 631145 6751731 179 0 -90 35 X61-23-PP-001 N1 X61 630345 6751380 179 0 -90 55 X61-23-PP-002 N1 X61 630338 6751414 178 0 -90 53 X64-23-PP-001 N1 X64 628897 6750521 178 0 -90 61 X64-23-PP-002 N1 X64 628875 6750538 178 0 -90 61 X64-23-PP-003 N1 X64 628869 6750561 178 0 -90 61 X64-23-PP-004 N1 X64 628856 6750553 178 0 -90 60 X64-23-PP-005 N1 X64 628784 6750513 178 0 -90 61 X64-23-PP-006 N1 X64 628775 6750528 178 0 -90 60 X64-23-PP-007 N1 X64 628764 6750515 178 0 -90 61 X64-23-PP-008 N1 X64 628740 6750516 178 0 -90 61 X64-23-PP-009 N1 X64 628749 6750503 178 0 -90 61 X64-23-PP-010 N1 X64 628737 6750491 178 0 -90 60 X64-23-PP-011 N1 X64 628717 6750492 178 0 -90 60 X68-23-PP-003 N1 X68 627020 6749056 179 0 -90 35 X68-23-PP-005 N1 X68 627270 6749099 180 0 -90 46 X68-23-PP-006 N1 X68 627290 6749108 180 0 -90 44 X68-23-PP-007 N1 X68 627263 6749131 180 0 -90 47 X68-23-PP-008 N1 X68 627284 6749155 180 0 -90 45 X68-23-PP-009 N1 X68 627363 6749149 180 0 -90 41 X68-23-PP-010 N1 X68 627387 6749091 180 0 -90 41 X68-23-PP-011 N1 X68 627355 6749100 180 0 -90 42 X68-23-PP-012 N1 X68 627623 6749239 180 0 -90 74 X68-23-PP-013 N1 X68 627615 6749220 180 0 -90 72 X68-23-PP-014 N1 X68 627594 6749229 180 0 -90 72 X68-23-PP-015 N1 X68 627598 6749251 180 0 -90 72 X68-23-PP-016 N1 X68 627053 6749008 179 0 -90 74 Y55-23-PP-001 N1 Y55 632906 6752384 181 0 -90 36.6 Y55-23-PP-002 N1 Y55 633013 6752356 181 0 -90 30.8 Y55-23-PP-003 N1 Y55 633027 6752405 181 0 -90 32 Y55-23-PP-004 N1 Y55 632984 6752424 181 0 -90 24 Y55-23-PP-005 N1 Y55 633000 6752474 181 0 -90 32 Y55-23-PP-006 N1 Y55 633028 6752489 181 0 -90 32 Y55-23-PP-007 N1 Y55 633053 6752447 181 0 -90 32 Y55-23-PP-008 N1 Y55 633106 6752428 181 0 -90 27 Y55-23-PP-009 N1 Y55 633154 6752414 181 0 -90 32 Y55-23-PP-010 N1 Y55 633130 6752469 181 0 -90 32 Y55-23-PP-011 N1 Y55 633176 6752453 181 0 -90 23 Y55-23-PP-012 N1 Y55 633190 6752486 181 0 -90 50 Y55-23-PP-013 N1 Y55 633159 6752488 181 0 -90 26 Y55-23-PP-014 N1 Y55 633137 6752526 181 0 -90 32 Y57-23-PP-001 N1 Y57 634929 6752403 186 0 -90 23 Y57-23-PP-002 N1 Y57 634968 6752390 186 0 -90 20 Y57-23-PP-003 N1 Y57 634984 6752419 186 0 -90 30 Y57-23-PP-004 N1 Y57 635000 6752390 186 0 -90 20 Y57-23-PP-005 N1 Y57 635037 6752396 186 0 -90 23 Y57-23-PP-006 N1 Y57 635013 6752413 186 0 -90 20 Y57-23-PP-007 N1 Y57 635039 6752427 186 0 -90 23 Y57-23-PP-008 N1 Y57 635036 6752458 186 0 -90 20 Y58-23-PP-001 N1 Y58 633982 6751885 186 0 -90 32 Y58-23-PP-002 N1 Y58 633980 6751910 185 0 -90 29 Y58-23-PP-003 N1 Y58 633985 6751941 184 0 -90 29 Y58-23-PP-004 N1 Y58 633957 6751959 184 0 -90 29 Y58-23-PP-005 N1 Y58 633958 6751930 184 0 -90 32 Y58-23-PP-006 N1 Y58 633956 6751900 185 0 -90 29 Y58-23-PP-007 N1 Y58 633928 6751948 185 0 -90 29 Y62-23-PP-001 N1 Y62 629976 6751086 179 0 -90 47 Y62-23-PP-002 N1 Y62 629783 6751085 184 0 -90 41 Y62-23-PP-002B N1 Y62 629783 6751085 184 0 -90 56 Y62-23-PP-003 N1 Y62 629810 6751118 183 0 -90 53 Y68-23-PP-001 N1 Y68 628070 6749763 179 0 -90 58 Y68-23-PP-002 N1 Y68 628095 6749760 179 0 -90 58 Y68-23-PP-003 N1 Y68 628113 6749788 180 0 -90 55 Y68-23-PP-004 N1 Y68 628120 6749765 179 0 -90 55 Y68-23-PP-005 N1 Y68 628145 6749773 179 0 -90 55 Y68-23-PP-006 N1 Y68 628154 6749822 179 0 -90 55



About Osisko Metals

Osisko Metals Incorporated is a Canadian exploration and development company creating value in the critical metals space, more specifically copper and zinc. The Company is a joint venture partner with Appian Capital Advisory LLP for the advancement of one of Canada's premier past-producing zinc mining camps, the Pine Point Project, located in the Northwest Territories, for which the 2022 PEA (as defined herein) has indicated an after-tax NPV of C$602 million and an IRR of 25%, based on long-term zinc price of US$1.37/lb and the current mineral resource estimates that are amenable to open pit and shallow underground mining. The current mineral resource estimate in the 2022 PEA consists of 15.7Mt grading 5.55% ZnEq of Indicated Mineral Resources and 47.2Mt grading 5.94% ZnEq of Inferred Mineral Resources. Please refer to the technical report entitled "Preliminary Economic Assessment, Pine Point Project, Hay River, Northwest Territories, Canada" dated August 26, 2022 (with an effective date of July 30, 2022), which was prepared for Osisko Metals and PPML by representatives of BBA Engineering Inc., HydroRessources Inc., PLR Resources Inc. and WSP Canada Inc. (the "2022 PEA"). Please refer to the full text of the 2022 PEA, a copy of which is available on SEDAR ( www.sedar.com ) under the Osisko Metals' issuer profile, for the assumptions, methodologies, qualifications and limitations described therein. The Pine Point Project is located on the south shore of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories, near infrastructure, with paved highway access, an electrical substation, as well as 100 kilometres of viable haulage roads.

In addition, the Company also acquired in July 2023, from Glencore Canada Corporation, a 100% interest in the past-producing Gaspe Copper Mine, located near Murdochville in the Gaspe peninsula of Quebec. The Company is currently focused on resource evaluation of the Mount Copper Expansion Project that hosts an Inferred Mineral Resource (in accordance with National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects) of 456Mt grading 0.31% Cu (see April 28, 2022 news release of Osisko Metals entitled "Osisko Metals Announces Maiden Resource at Gaspe Copper  Inferred Resource of 456Mt Grading 0.31% Copper"). Gaspe Copper hosts the largest undeveloped copper resource in Eastern North America, strategically located near existing infrastructure in the mining-friendly province of Quebec.

About Appian

Appian Capital Advisory LLP is a London-headquartered investment advisor to long-term value-focused private capital funds that invest solely in mining and mining-related companies.

Appian is a leading investment advisor in the metals and mining industry, with global experience across South America, North America, Europe, Australia and Africa and a successful track record of supporting companies to achieve their development targets, with a global operating portfolio overseeing nearly 6,700 employees. Appian has a global team of 81 experienced professionals with presences in London, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, New York, Lima, Belo Horizonte, Perth, Mexico City and Dubai. The Appian team, through its private capital funds, has a long history of successfully bringing mines through development and into production, having completed 9 mine builds in the last 6 years.

For more information, please visit www.appiancapitaladvisory.com , or find us on LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

For further information on this news release, visit www.osiskometals.com or contact:

Robert Wares, Chairman & CEO of Osisko Metals Incorporated

Email: info@osiskometals.com

www.osiskometals.com

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves predictions, expectations, interpretations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and constitute forward-looking information. This news release may contain forward-looking information pertaining to the closing of the Gaspe Copper Project Definitive Agreement or the Pine Point Project. For Pine Point, statements including, among other things, the results of the 2022 PEA and the IRR, NPV and estimated costs, production, production rate and mine life; the expectation that the Project will be a robust operation and profitable at a variety of prices and assumptions; the ability to identify additional resources and reserves (if any) and exploit such resources and reserves on an economic basis; the expected high quality of the Pine Point concentrates; the potential impact of the Pine Point Project in the Northwest Territories, including but not limited to the potential generation of tax revenue and contribution of jobs; the Pine Point Project having the potential for mineral resource expansion and new discoveries; the timing and ability for the Pine Point Project to reach construction decision (if at all(; the estimated costs to take the Pine Point Project to construction decision (if at all); the ability of the Company to realize the anticipated benefits of the Transaction; and the impact to the Company of the disposition of ownership interest and control in the Pine Point Project, which is a material property of the Company. There can be no certainty on the timing, costs and ability for the joint venture parties to take the Pine Point Project to reach a construction decision or pursue planned exploration and development as presently contemplated.

Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management, in light of management's experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, including, without limitation, assumptions about: favourable equity and debt capital markets; the ability and timing for the parties to fund cash calls to advance the development of the Pine Point Project and pursue planned exploration and development; future prices of zinc and lead; the timing and results of exploration and drilling programs; the accuracy of mineral resource estimates; production costs; operating conditions being favourable; political and regulatory stability; the receipt of governmental and third party approvals; licenses and permits being received on favourable terms; sustained labour stability; stability in financial and capital markets; availability of equipment; the economic viability of the Pine Point Project; and positive relations with local groups. Forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information are set out in the Company's public disclosure record on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) under Osisko Metals' issuer profile. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.

Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

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Dublin, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Latin America Green Data Center Market - Industry Outlook & Forecast 2023-2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The Latin America green data center market is expected to attain a value of $1.64 billion by 2028, up from $890 million in 2022, growing at a CAGR of 10.75% from 2022-2028.

Among Latin American countries, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Columbia, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay have actively adopted renewable energy for most of their energy requirements. The Mexican government plans to produce 35% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2024. This objective is part of the efforts to reduce the country's reliance on fossil fuels and to enhance the stability of the electric grid by minimizing the occurrence of power interruptions.

Hyperscale operators such as Google and Microsoft are actively driving renewable energy adoption in Latin America. For instance, in January 2022, Microsoft announced plans to develop a cloud region in Chile at an investment of over $315 million. The cloud region will be powered by 100% renewable energy.





KEY TRENDS

Innovations Data Center Cooling and Power Technologies Are Driving the Market for Green Development

In Latin America, innovations in data center power technology include the adoption of lithium-ion and smart grid UPS systems and DRUPS systems.

Fuel cell-based power backup is also expected to enter the Latin American market in the long term, driving down investments in inefficient diesel generators and the market for efficiencies.

Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) Fuel is among the emerging trends concept in the data center market. However, data center operators in Latin America didn't adopt this technology. Still, there is the development from some of the oil companies involved in the development of the HVO fuel stations, wherein it is witnessed that during the forecast period, at least some operators will introduce HVO in their data center facilities.

A tropical test bed is currently in the testing phase in Singapore to make data centers more efficient in a tropical climate. If successful, this can also positively impact the Latin American market and bring down the PUE of facilities further.

Free cooling is also being adopted by data center operators in facilities in countries like Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and the Caribbean, at least partially. For instance, Equinix uses free cooling in its SP3 data center in Sao Paulo.

Government Push Toward Sustainability

Various Latin American governments, including those of Chile, Brazil, and Uruguay, are actively working toward increasing the adoption of renewable energy in the country.

The Development Bank of Latin America has approved a loan of USD 300 million to Uruguay to strengthen its electricity grid and modernize it, driven by the government.

Deployment of Modular Data Centers and Sustainable Materials Gathering Steam

In Latin America, many operators have limited funds for data center development, making it an attractive proposition for deploying modular data centers. Some of the companies in Latin America are involved in investing in the development of Modular facilities. The cost of operating a modular data center is around 30% less than that of a traditional data center facility.

The environmental impact of modular data center deployment is also lower since it entails lower or no usage of concrete and can be constructed in a phased manner, eliminating the need for additional labor.

Plant-based and other sustainable materials such as wood, hemp, and Mycelium, which can revolutionize the construction process for data centers, are also being adopted by data center operators.

Key Attributes:

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 229 Forecast Period 2022 - 2028 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2022 $0.89 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2028 $1.64 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 10.7% Regions Covered Latin America

Green Data Center Metrics

Policy Drivers

Paris Agreement & Science Based Targets Initiative (Sbti)

Long Duration Energy Storage (Ldes) Council

Re100

Circular Economy

Energy Certifications

Market Opportunities & Trends

Innovative Data Center Power Technologies

Adoption of Advanced Ups Batteries

Software-Defined Data Centers (Sddcs) & AI in Power Monitoring

Microgrids

Sustainable Innovations in Data Center Power Technology

Eco-Diesel Generators

Natural Gas Generators

Fuel Cells

Hvo

Nuclear Energy Generation

Other Innovations

Advanced Data Center Cooling Technologies

Tropical Data Center Test Bed

Free Cooling

Underwater Data Centers

Floating Data Centers

Other Innovative Cooling Technologies

Liquid Immersion & D2C Cooling Adoption Driven by AI & Hpc Applications

Adoption of Advanced IT Infrastructure

Renewable Energy Initiatives

Data Centers Targeting a Pue of < 1.5

Government Push for Green Data Center Development

Market Growth Enablers

Renewable Energy Initiatives by Hyperscale & Cloud Operators

Renewable Energy Initiatives by Colocation Operators

Automation & Intelligent Monitoring Solutions

Deployment of Modular Data Centers

Market Restraints

Rising Carbon Emissions from Data Centers

Increased Water Consumption by Data Centers

Lack of Skilled Professionals

Location Constraints on Green Data Centers

Prominent Data Center Investors

Ascenty (Digital Realty)

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Ava Telecom

Claro

EdgeConneX

Equinix

Google

HostDime

Huawei Technologies

KIO Networks

Lumen Technologies (Cirion)

Microsoft

ODATA (Aligned)

Oracle

Scala Data Centers

Telecom Italia Sparkle

CloudHQ

Renewable Energy Providers

Acciona Energia

EDP Renewables

Enel Green Power

Engie

Elera Renovaveis

Faro Energy

GreenYellow

HDF Energy

Iberdrola

Mainstream Renewable Power

RZK Energia

Shell

The AES Corporation

TotalEnergies

Segmentation by Infrastructure

Electrical Infrastructure

Mechanical Infrastructure

General Construction

Segmentation by Electrical Infrastructure

UPS Systems

Generators

Other Electrical Infrastructures

Segmentation by Mechanical Infrastructure

Cooling Systems

Racks

Other mechanical Infrastructure

Segmentation by Cooling Systems

CRAC & CRAH Units

Chiller Units

Cooling Towers, Condensers & Dry Coolers

Economizers & Evaporative Coolers

Other Cooling Units

Segmentation By General Construction

Core and Shell Development

MEP & Architectural Design Services

Physical Security & Fire Safety Systems

DCIM/BMS Solution

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/qxhi4y

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ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Attachment
Emergex has entered into an agreement with DEKA Research & Development (DEKA) to assess the compatibility of Emergexs T cell-priming set-point immunotherapeutic candidates with DEKAs Intradermal Therapeutic Applicator. The collaboration builds on previous data showing satisfactory loading and stability of Emergexs therapeutic candidates when incorporated with the Intradermal Therapeutic Applicator.

The collaboration also covers completion of a preclinical study to compare the pharmacokinetics of [i] Emergexs Dengue treatment candidate by syringe-based microneedle technology, which have been used in previous preclinical and clinical Emergex studies, with [ii] DEKAs Intradermal Therapeutic Applicator.



Pending preclinical study results, the agreement allows for the possibility of advancing the Intradermal Therapeutic Applicator as an administration device for Emergexs pipeline of treatments for viral diseases.



ABINGDON, United Kingdom, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Emergex Vaccines Holding Limited (Emergex, or the Company), a clinical-stage biotechnology company addressing major global infectious diseases through the development of synthetic T cell-priming set-point immunotherapy-based treatment candidates, today announced that the Company has entered into an agreement with DEKA to assess the compatibility of Emergexs immunotherapeutic candidates with the DEKA Intradermal Therapeutic Applicator.

The Intradermal Therapeutic Applicator incorporates hollow microneedle technology into a convenient self-administration device. This agreement builds on previous data showing satisfactory loading and stability of Emergexs product candidates when incorporated into the Intradermal Therapeutic Applicator.

Laurens Rademacher, Chief Technology Officer at Emergex, added: We are delighted to announce this important collaboration with DEKA. Intradermal/Epidermal delivery is critical to the mechanism of our T cell-priming product platform. The use of microneedles, which have been utilized in all our previous preclinical and clinical work, paired with the ease-of-use of the Intradermal Therapeutic Applicator is a perfect complement to our own technologies.

The agreement covers completion of a preclinical pharmacokinetic study to compare the delivery of Emergexs DengueTcP1 product candidate by syringe-based microneedle technology versus the DEKA Intradermal Therapeutic Applicator. Pending completion, if promising data is obtained, the agreement allows for the possibility of advancing DEKAs Intradermal Therapeutic Applicator as a device for administration of Emergexs T cell-priming set-point immunotherapeutic product candidates in the pipeline.

Dean Kamen, Founder and President, of DEKA Research & Development, commented: The partnership with Emergex is a meaningful step forward in patient therapeutic delivery. The combined technologies of our novel intradermal therapeutic delivery platform along with Emergexs products can open a new route to intradermal drug administration in a patient friendly, easy-to-use, painless way. We are excited by the potential of our combined technologies in saving numerous lives.

About DEKA Intradermal Therapeutic Applicator

DEKAs technology leverages hollow microneedles that offer a unique design with flexible features for efficient therapeutic delivery, self-administration and minimal pain. With a simple push of the top button on the device, the petal design spreads outward, thereby stretching the skin and enabling a consistent insertion of the microneedles into the skin. The continued downward motion then activates the trigger that applies pressure to the reservoir to expel the therapeutic agent into the intradermal region. Numerous advantages of this device include self-administration, dose-sparing and less overall waste than conventional needles.





About DEKA Research and Development

Based in Manchester, NH, DEKA Research & Development Corp. is a technology development organization. The company was founded in 1982 by Dean Kamen.

Find out more online at www.dekaresearch.com.

Visit our LinkedIn page for updates.

About Emergex

Emergex is a clinical-stage, privately held biotechnology company, headquartered in Abingdon, UK, with an operating subsidiary in Doylestown, Pennsylvania and a GMP manufacturing facility in Fremont, CA, USA. The Company is pioneering the development of 100% synthetic, T cell-priming immune set-point vaccine candidates designed to mimic the bodys natural T cell immune response to destroy and to clear pathogen-infected cells, using cytopathic or non-cytopathic mechanisms, in order to protect against some of the worlds most urgent health threats. The candidates are also specifically designed for administration using novel micro-needles via skin immunisation into the epidermal layer, intended to reduce the burden and logistics associated with conventional preventative measures. Emergexs first indications pursued are against infectious diseases: [i] viral infectious diseases, amongst which are Betacoronaviruses, Dengue Fever and Universal Influenza (including pandemic influenza) candidates, as well as [ii] intra-cellular bacterial infectious disease, such as tularemia caused by Francisella tularensis. Emergex has a growing proprietary pipeline of innovative candidates with potential to deliver rapid, broad (strain and variant agnostic) and long-lasting prevention to reduce serious illness associated with infectious diseases.

Find out more online at www.emergexvaccines.com.

Visit our LinkedIn page or Twitter account for updates.

For further information, please contact:

Emergex

Storme Moore-Thornicroft, Executive Director

Phone: +44 (0) 1235 527589

Email: smt@emergexvaccines.com Media Inquiries

Rachelle Babb, Senior Account Executive

Phone: +1 (929) 325-7559

Email: rachelle.babb@russopartnersllc.com

1 Trademark application submitted

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New York, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to the market.us, the homeopathic veterinary medicines market size is expected to reach around USD 212.4 Million by 2033, showing a significant increase from USD 110 Million in 2023. This signifies a consistent growth rate of 6.8% from the year 2024 to 2033.

Veterinary homeopathy, a holistic approach utilizing minimal doses of natural substances, is gaining global traction among veterinarians. Particularly effective for chronic pet conditions like allergies and infections, it aims to boost immunity and address ailments at their roots. Favored for its success against recurring animal diseases, the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy asserts its efficacy in treating various conditions with minimal side effects, from skin allergies to epilepsy. The market for homeopathic veterinary medicines is expanding due to a surge in animal diseases and a growing pet population. Despite this growth, challenges persist, including limited understanding among veterinarians, regulatory hurdles, and a lack of robust research supporting clinical efficacy.

Gain expert insights and supercharge your growth strategies. Request our market overview sample now@ https://market.us/report/homeopathic-veterinary-medicines-market/request-sample/





Key Takeaway:

Market Growth: Homeopathic veterinary market is expected to reach USD 212.4 million by 2033 , growing steadily at 6.8% annually from 2024 to 2033.

Homeopathic veterinary market is expected to reach , growing steadily at annually from 2024 to 2033. Distribution Channels: Veterinary clinics lead with 71.4% market share, Pet Specialty Stores contribute significantly, and Online Retail experiences remarkable growth.

Veterinary clinics lead with market share, Pet Specialty Stores contribute significantly, and Online Retail experiences remarkable growth. Product Dominance: Oral Homeopathic Medicines hold a 48.1% market share in 2023, followed by Topical and Injectable segments, catering to specific treatment needs.

Oral Homeopathic Medicines hold a market share in 2023, followed by Topical and Injectable segments, catering to specific treatment needs. Animal Type Contribution: Companion Animals lead with a 38.7% market share in 2023, reflecting diverse market dynamics involving Livestock, Poultry, and Exotic Animals.

Companion Animals lead with a market share in 2023, reflecting diverse market dynamics involving Livestock, Poultry, and Exotic Animals. Pet Ownership Impact: Approximately 67% of U.S. households owning pets drive the market, prioritizing non-invasive remedies and seeking holistic healthcare solutions.

Approximately of U.S. households owning pets drive the market, prioritizing non-invasive remedies and seeking holistic healthcare solutions. Regional Dominance: North America leads with 39.1% market share, driven by proactive veterinary healthcare and awareness initiatives.

Factors affecting the growth of the Homeopathic Veterinary Medicines industry

Increasing Demand for Natural Approaches: The industry experiences growth propelled by a rising preference among pet owners for natural and holistic veterinary treatments. This heightened awareness of the potential benefits of homeopathic veterinary medicines contributes significantly to increased market demand.

The industry experiences growth propelled by a rising preference among pet owners for natural and holistic veterinary treatments. This heightened awareness of the potential benefits of homeopathic veterinary medicines contributes significantly to increased market demand. Regulatory Environment and Credibility: The regulatory landscape plays a pivotal role in shaping the industry's growth. A supportive regulatory framework fosters confidence in the sector, encouraging the development and commercialization of homeopathic veterinary medicines. Clear guidelines contribute to the credibility of these products.

The regulatory landscape plays a pivotal role in shaping the industry's growth. A supportive regulatory framework fosters confidence in the sector, encouraging the development and commercialization of homeopathic veterinary medicines. Clear guidelines contribute to the credibility of these products. Research Advancements and Collaboration: Ongoing research and development efforts, including clinical studies and efficacy trials, contribute to the industry's expansion. Collaborations between manufacturers, veterinary practitioners, and research institutions drive innovation, leading to the development of new products and broadening market reach.

Ongoing research and development efforts, including clinical studies and efficacy trials, contribute to the industry's expansion. Collaborations between manufacturers, veterinary practitioners, and research institutions drive innovation, leading to the development of new products and broadening market reach. Market Dynamics and Economic Influences: Economic factors, such as disposable income levels, pet ownership trends, and the globalization of pet care, collectively impact the growth of the homeopathic veterinary medicines industry. Additionally, the competitive landscape, technological advancements, and distribution channels shape market accessibility and overall industry dynamics.

Regional Analysis

In 2023, the Homeopathic Veterinary Medicines Market witnessed distinct regional dynamics, with North America emerging as the dominant player, holding a substantial 39.1% market share and generating an annual revenue exceeding USD 43 million. This stronghold can be attributed to North America's proactive stance on veterinary healthcare, coupled with a growing awareness of holistic treatments.

The region's well-established research and development infrastructure, alongside a thriving pet care industry, further fueled market expansion. Following closely, Europe secured a notable position in the market, driven by its inclination toward eco-friendly healthcare solutions and a rising interest in holistic veterinary practices, supported by stringent regulatory frameworks.

Asia-Pacific experienced remarkable growth in the Homeopathic Veterinary Medicines Market, fueled by an increasing adoption of alternative veterinary treatments. Factors such as a burgeoning livestock sector, rising pet ownership rates, and a growing middle class with disposable income contributed to this progress. Latin America made a substantial contribution to the global market, leveraging an expanding agricultural sector and a heightened awareness of holistic animal healthcare.

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Scope of the Report

Report Attributes Details Market Value (2023) USD 110 Million Forecast Revenue 2033 USD 212.4 Million CAGR (2024 to 2033) 6.8% North America Revenue Share 39.1% Base Year 2023 Historic Period 2018 to 2022 Forecast Year 2024 to 2033

Market Drivers

The surge in pet ownership, currently embraced by around 67% of U.S. households, has become a driving force in the homeopathic veterinary medicine market. This trend is particularly evident in the increased demand for alternative approaches to pet healthcare. Pet owners, displaying a heightened awareness and inclination towards gentler treatments, are steering the market towards homeopathic pet health products. These offerings cater to the growing desire for less aggressive medical options for beloved animal companions. Notably, the preference for non-invasive solutions is a key factor shaping this landscape.

Additionally, the regulatory landscape for homeopathic veterinary medicines is evolving, with increasing recognition from international bodies. The implementation of stringent regulations enhances consumer trust and expands governmental support, contributing to the overall acceptance and market growth of homeopathic remedies in veterinary care.

Market Restraints

The efficacy of homeopathic veterinary medicines encounters skepticism, with a notable demographic questioning their therapeutic benefits due to a lack of substantial empirical studies. The absence of large-scale research, as underscored by systematic reviews and meta-analyses, contributes to hesitancy in embracing these treatments, impeding market penetration. Additionally, the market faces challenges in navigating intricate regulatory landscapes across diverse regions. Variances in safety and efficacy regulations between countries create complexities for manufacturers targeting broad distribution. The unpredictability of regulatory environments leaves potential customers uncertain about product choices, impacting both consumer confidence and market expansion. The inconsistent standards call for cautious approaches from producers and consumers alike. These challenges highlight the need for concerted efforts to address skepticism and streamline regulatory frameworks for the wider acceptance of homeopathic veterinary medicines.

Market Opportunities

Investing in research and development is crucial for enhancing the credibility of homeopathic veterinary medicines. Allocating funds towards validating efficacy and safety studies generates scientific evidence, fostering trust between veterinarians and pet owners and potentially driving widespread adoption. Industry trends indicate that increased R&D spending directly correlates with market expansion. Rigorous studies can lead to an upturn, boosting the visibility and credibility of homeopathic solutions in veterinary care.

A notable trend shaping the veterinary medicine landscape is the growing demand for organic and natural products globally. This shift significantly impacts homeopathic remedies, known for their natural composition, as consumers increasingly prefer organic solutions. The homeopathic veterinary medicine market has an opportunity to capitalize on this trend by tailoring treatments specifically for health-conscious pet owners seeking safer, natural healthcare options for their animal companions.

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Report Segmentation of the Homeopathic Veterinary Medicines Market

Product Type Insight

In 2023, the Oral Homeopathic Medicines category took the lead in the Homeopathic Veterinary Medicines market, capturing a significant market share of 48.1%. This success was attributed to its user-friendly formats like tablets, powders, and liquids, gaining popularity among both pet owners and veterinarians. The ease of oral administration facilitated seamless integration into pets' daily routines. Simultaneously, the Topical Homeopathic Medicines segment made strides with creams, ointments, gels, and sprays, valued for targeted application and localized effectiveness.

Injectable Homeopathic Medicines also played a crucial role, offering a direct and efficient treatment method with precise dosage control. The Combination Products segment saw increased demand for its comprehensive approach, blending multiple remedies into a single formulation. As the Homeopathic Veterinary Medicines market evolves, these segments cater to diverse preferences and medical needs, underscoring the commitment to accessible healthcare solutions for animals.

Animal Type Insight

In 2023, the Homeopathic Veterinary Medicines market witnessed a remarkable shift, with Companion Animals claiming a dominant 38.7% market share. This surge was notably driven by the positive impact of homeopathic medicines on pets like dogs and cats, highlighting their profound influence on overall well-being. Simultaneously, Livestock played a crucial role, emphasizing the importance of holistic healthcare solutions in agriculture, especially for large animals such as cows, horses, and pigs.

Poultry farming emerged as a dynamic market segment, showcasing a rising acceptance of homeopathic interventions for chickens and other fowl, addressing health and productivity concerns. Furthermore, the interest among Exotic Animal owners in holistic healthcare solutions led to increased sales for reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals, expanding the scope of holistic veterinary medicine beyond traditional pets and farm animals. This diverse landscape underscores the unique contributions of each animal type to the evolving dynamics of the Homeopathic Veterinary Medicines market.



Distribution Channel Insight

In 2023, the Veterinary Clinics and Hospitals segment dominates the Homeopathic Veterinary Medicines market with a commanding 71.4% market share. This success is attributed to their crucial role as primary care providers for pets, earning trust and driving significant sales of homeopathic veterinary medicines. Pet Specialty Stores also played a notable role, offering a diverse range of remedies and establishing a strong market presence.

The Online Retail segment witnessed remarkable growth due to the increasing trend of digitalization in consumer purchasing behavior. Pet owners found convenience in sourcing homeopathic medicines online, contributing to the segment's expansion. As time progresses, collaboration among Veterinarian clinics, pet specialty stores, and online retail is crucial for meeting the evolving needs of pet owners, creating a dynamic landscape in the Homeopathic Veterinary Medicines market.

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Recent Developments in the Homeopathic Veterinary Medicines Market

In October 2023 , Boiron Laboratories introduced a novel line of pet pain relief gels featuring arnica and calendula for joint and muscle issues.

, Boiron Laboratories introduced a novel line of pet pain relief gels featuring arnica and calendula for joint and muscle issues. In July 2023 saw the collaboration of Goel Vet Pharma and Omida AG, focusing on canine digestive health nutraceuticals.

saw the collaboration of Goel Vet Pharma and Omida AG, focusing on canine digestive health nutraceuticals. In May 2023 , animalEo expanded its product portfolio and European distribution network through the acquisition of a French homeopathic veterinary medicine producer.

, animalEo expanded its product portfolio and European distribution network through the acquisition of a French homeopathic veterinary medicine producer. In December 2022, CURE WELL HOMOEO PHARMACY launched a groundbreaking telemedicine platform, providing global pet owners with online consultations with qualified homeopathic veterinarians for convenient and accessible care.

Market Segmentation

Product Type

Oral Homeopathic Medicines Tablets Powders Liquids

Topical Homeopathic Medicines Creams Ointments Gels Sprays

Injectable Homeopathic Medicines

Combination Products

Animal Type

Companion Animals

Livestock

Poultry

Exotic Animals

Distribution Channel

Veterinary Clinics and Hospitals

Pet Specialty Stores

Online Retail

By Geography

North America US Canada

Europe Germany France The UK Spain Italy Russia Netherland Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific China Japan South Korea India New Zealand Singapore Thailand Vietnam Rest of APAC

Latin America Brazil Mexico Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa South Africa Saudi Arabia UAE Rest of MEA



Competitive Landscape

In the dynamic Homeopathic Veterinary Medicines Market, a blend of traditional and innovative strategies is defining its evolution, with key players contributing distinct strengths. Boiron Laboratories, a standout participant, is renowned for its unwavering commitment to quality and adherence to stringent standards, positioning itself as an industry leader. Another influential player, AnimalEo, has revolutionized the market with cutting-edge research and innovative solutions, focusing on animal wellbeing. Dorwest Herbs Ltd, with its botanical expertise, brings a unique dimension by specializing in herbal formulations tailored for animals. Freemans Homeopathy Pharmacy excels with a diverse product portfolio and a customer-first philosophy, offering competitive prices. Together, these players and others shape the vibrant landscape of the market, united by a common goal of expanding homeopathy in veterinary care.

Market Key Players

Boiron Laboratories

animalEo

Dorwest Herbs Ltd.

Freemans Homeopathy Pharmacy

Goel Vet Pharma

Guna SPA

Helios Homeopathy Ltd.

Hivet

Omida AG

CURE WELL HOMOEO PHARMACY

Dr. Reckeweg & Co. GmbH

Biologische Heilmittel Heel GmbH

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NASSAU, the Bahamas, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OKX, a leading crypto exchange and Web3 technology company, has issued updates for January 16, 2024.

OKX to Adjust the Minimum Order Quantities for Several Futures



In a continuous effort to improve the trading experience and reduce costs for traders, OKX is set to adjust the minimum order quantities for some perpetual and expiry futures. The update will take place between 6:00 am - 10:00 am UTC on March 14, 2024. Corresponding adjustments to the step size will also be implemented.



The adjustments will affect several trading pairs, including LTC/USDT and SHIB/USDT, among others. For instance, the minimum order quantity for the LTC/USDT trading pair for both the expiry and perpetual futures will be reduced from 1 to 0.1.



This update is a part of OKX's commitment to providing the best possible trading conditions for its users. All traders' activities, including order placement, fund transfers and leverage adjustments, will remain unaffected during the adjustment period for step size and minimum order quantity.



For more information about the specific adjustments and the impact of changes in step size and minimum order quantity, please click here.



For more information, please visit the Support Center .



For further information, please contact:

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About OKX

OKX is a leading global crypto exchange and innovative Web3 company. Trusted by more than 50 million global users, OKX is known for being one of the fastest and most reliable crypto apps in the world.

As a top partner of English Premier League champions Manchester City FC, McLaren Formula 1, Olympian Scotty James, and F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo, OKX aims to supercharge the fan experience with new engagement opportunities. OKX is also the top partner of the Tribeca Festival as part of an initiative to bring more creators into web3.

The OKX Wallet is the platform's latest offering for people looking to explore the world of NFTs and the metaverse while trading GameFi and DeFi tokens.

OKX is committed to transparency and security and publishes its Proof of Reserves on a monthly basis.

To learn more about OKX, download our app or visit: okx.com



This announcement is provided for informational purposes only; for further information, please refer to OKX's disclaimer.
Blacksburg, Va./Stuttgart, Germany, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As Torc Robotics and Daimler Truck AG enter their fifth year of partnership, the companies are focused on bringing top talent into the organization and building and innovating through industry collaboration and partnerships. The goal of the collaboration is to commercialize Level 4 autonomous trucks for long-haul applications, bringing them closer to a reality in the U.S.

Over the past four years, we have seen the results of our strong collaboration with Daimler Truck and look forward to continuing to build upon the momentum and successes to bring us closer to the clear path of commercialization and safe deployment of autonomous trucks for long-haul applications, said Peter Vaughan Schmidt, Torc Robotics CEO.

Joanna Buttler, Head of Global Autonomous Technology Group at Daimler Truck, adds: Working with Torc, we have always managed to combine our ideas for the right solutions. The result is a fully integrated state-of-the-art autonomous truck that can safely handle highly complex traffic situations. In this spirit of authoring the future, we are looking forward to bringing SAE Level 4 autonomous trucks for hub-to-hub operations to the US market by 2027 together.

Milestones

Team Growth

Over the past year, Torc has brought on some of the brightest innovators in the autonomous technology space with the goal of continuing to build out a dynamic leadership team that positions Torc and Daimler as leaders in autonomous driving system development, innovation, and fleet testing.

King joins as Chief Engineering Officer

In May, C.J. King joined the Torc leadership team as chief engineering officer. King, who was previously vice president of software engineering at HERE Technologies, brings more than 18 years of engineering, software, hardware, and autonomous expertise to the company. His leadership is driving the unification of all Torcs engineering efforts to align with the companys roadmap and key milestones. Kings experience on a global scale also supports Torcs engineering team in its preparations for the commercial launch of Torcs autonomous truck solution. King has extensive expertise in product development, managing global, diverse teams, technology optimizations, and new-system implementations as a result of his previous roles at HERE Technologies, Amazon, Ford, and Toyota.

Michelle Chaka joins as Senior Vice President, Safety and Regulatory

In February, Michelle Chaka joined Torc as senior vice president, safety and regulatory, bringing more than 25 years of safety and regulatory expertise to the company. Chaka serves as the safety champion for Torc, fostering a culture that values safety, data-driven and evidence-based approaches, and transparency. Chaka has experience leading automated driving research projects sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety (NHTSA) from which NHTSA published the learnings to all stakeholders. In her 25 years in the industry, Chaka has a unique mix of experience from her work at General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, and most recently, Locomation.

Scanlon joins as Vice President of Product Management

In August, Sheila Scanlon joined Torc as the new vice president of product management. Scanlon brings over 20 years of experience in the technology and autonomous driving industry to the Torc team. In her role, she works alongside Torc leadership to foster a customer-centric culture and data-driven mindset, leading the product planning and prioritization activities in alignment with engineering. Scanlons experience covers a broad range of applications across the autonomous driving space, including leadership roles at Aptiv, HERE Technologies, Mercedes Benz, and RRAI.

Capabilities and Technology

Torc acquires leader in computer vision and machine learning

In an effort to strengthen core competencies required for commercialization of Level 4 autonomous trucking, Torc acquired Algolux, a leader in computer vision and machine learning, in February 2022. The acquisition brought together Algolux's end-to-end artificial intelligence (AI) stack, along with Torcs groundbreaking autonomous-driving technology. Robust perception technology is key to helping Torcs autonomous system correctly identify objects during difficult visual conditions such as low light, fog or bad weather. Algolux's software is currently running on autonomous ready Freightliner Cascadia test vehicles.

Partnerships and Collaboration

Torc and C.R. England join forces on long-haul autonomous trucking pilots

Early this year, Torc announced a strategic collaboration with C.R. England, one of North Americas premier transportation companies. The partnership allows Torc to implement a pilot program leveraging C.R. Englands temperature-controlled loads and Torcs fleet of Level 4 autonomous test trucks for long-haul applications. The collaboration is Torcs first expansion into refrigerated freight. The pilot will provide select customers with temperature-controlled capacity and world-class service, while giving unique insights to help guide the development and ongoing commercialization of autonomous trucks for long-haul applications.

Dutch organization joins Torc for scenario-based safety validation

In late 2022, Torc announced a partnership with the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) that would allow Torc and TNO to work together to substantiate the safety of self-driving trucks using scenario-based safety validation. TNOs StreetWise, a safety validation methodology based on a real-world scenario database, provides a large collection of driving events designed to test and validate autonomous driving systems performance according to the latest safety requirements. The resulting scenario information enables Torc to apply thorough, virtual validation, according to state-of-the-art international safety assessment processes.

For more information on Torc, please visit www.torc.ai.

About Torc Robotics

Torc Robotics, headquartered in Blacksburg, Virginia, is an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG, a global leader and pioneer in trucking. Founded in 2005 at the birth of the self-driving vehicle revolution, Torc has over 18 years of experience in pioneering safety-critical, self-driving applications. Torc offers a complete self-driving vehicle software and integration solution and is currently focusing on commercializing autonomous trucks for long-haul applications in the U.S. Torc operates test facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and engineering offices in Austin, Texas; Stuttgart, Germany; and Montreal, Canada. Torcs purpose is driving the future of freight with autonomous technology. As the worlds leading autonomous trucking solution, we empower exceptional employees, deliver a focused, hub-to-hub autonomous truck product, and provide our customers with the safest, most reliable, and cost-efficient solution to the market.

About Daimler Truck

Daimler Truck is the pioneer of truck automation. In 2014, the worlds leading truck manufacturer presented the Mercedes-Benz Future Truck 2025, the worlds first automated truck, and was the first to demonstrate the technological opportunities and great potential that automated trucks offer customers and society. In 2015, Daimlers Freightliner Inspiration Truck obtained the first-ever road license for a partially automated commercial vehicle demonstrating the promise of automated driving on the highways of Nevada. Today, Daimler Truck offers partially automated driving features (SAE Level 2) with the Mercedes-Benz Actros, the Freightliner Cascadia and the FUSO Super Great.

Daimler Truck North America has developed the autonomous-ready Freightliner Cascadia  the foundation of a smart autonomous driving system. The Class 8 truck is equipped with redundant functions that enable the deployment of autonomous trucking and are ideal for the integration of autonomous software, hardware, and compute. Designed and developed with a second set of critical systems, such as steering and braking, the vehicle meets Daimler Trucks uncompromising safety standards. As part of the Autonomous Technology Group, DTNA is also researching the infrastructure required for the operational testing of initial application cases. DTNA is contributing to the successful development of autonomous driving technology and vehicle integration for heavy-duty trucks.

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CEO & Head of Reactor Development James Walker to be Closing Keynote Speaker on Opening Day

New York, N.Y., Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. ("NANO Nuclear"), an emerging microreactor and advanced nuclear technology company led by a world-class nuclear engineering team developing proprietary, portable, and clean energy solutions, is pleased to announce that it is a Co-Host Sponsor the upcoming 2024 Nuclear Financing Summit, hosted by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI).

To be held at the New York Marriott Marquis in the heart of New York City on January 3031, 2024, the NEI Nuclear Financing Summit will bring together stakeholders from the financial community, new customers and members of the nuclear technology industries together to generate conversation, connections and create opportunities for attendees, including exploring the investment potential of nuclear energy and technology.

NANO Nuclear Energys Chief Executive Officer and Head of Reactor Development James Walker will present the Closing Keynote at 4:30pm EST on the opening day, January 30, 2024.

NEI is delighted to welcome NANO Nuclear as our co-host of the upcoming 2024 Nuclear Financing Summit, said Maria Korsnick, President and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute. NANO Nuclears leadership team comprises capital markets and financing professionals, which makes them a natural fit for the summit. Demand for new nuclear power has been growing rapidly in recent years and the value nuclear provides as the most reliable source of clean energy is finally being recognized by both the public and private sectors. This trend was underscored just last month as world leaders pledged to triple nuclear energy during COP 28. Meeting that pledge is going to require innovative companies, like NANO Nuclear, to lead the way.

Figure 1 - NANO Nuclear Energy Participates and is a Co-Host Sponsor of Nuclear Energy Institutes Nuclear Financing Summit 2024, to be held on January 30-31, 2024 in New York City

We are truly excited that NANO Nuclear will be sponsoring and participating in the upcoming NEI 2024 Nuclear Financing Summit, said Jay Jiang Yu, Founder and Executive Chairman of NANO Nuclear Energy. This gathering will provide an opportunity to forge enduring impressions, establish collaborations, meet with institutional investors and connect with highly knowledgeable industry experts. We look forward to attending and taking advantage of the opportunities.

The NEI Nuclear Financing Summit is expected to provide a dynamic platform and opportunity for attendees to actively contribute to the discourse and establish valuable connections at the forefront of nuclear innovation. Attendees are expected to include nuclear industry executives, private equity, family offices and bankers, government representatives and consumers.

I am thrilled to be a part of the upcoming NEI Nuclear Financing Summit," said James Walker, Chief Executive Officer of NANO Nuclear Energy. It's a chance to explore innovative ideas, share insights, and collaborate on advancing sustainable nuclear energy solutions. Kicking off the new year at this amazing event feels like the perfect start for us, and I'm honored to be the closing keynote speaker on opening day of the summit.

About NANO Nuclear Energy Inc.

NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. is an emerging microreactor technology company seeking to become a commercially focused, diversified, vertically integrated technology-driven nuclear energy company. NANO Nuclear is led by a world-class nuclear engineering team developing smaller, cheaper, and safer advanced portable clean energy solutions utilizing proprietary novel reactor designs. NANO Nuclear's products in technical development are "ZEUS", a solid core battery reactor, and "ODIN", a low-pressure coolant reactor, each representing advanced developments in portable, on-demand capable, advanced nuclear microreactors. HALEU Energy Fuel Inc., a NANO Nuclear subsidiary, is focusing on the future development of a domestic source for a High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) fuel fabrication pipeline for the broader advanced nuclear reactor industry and providing fuel to power NANO Nuclear's microreactors.

For more corporate information please visit: https://NanoNuclearEnergy.com/



For further information, please contact:

Email: Info@NanoNuclearEnergy.com



Business Tel: (212) 634-9206

PLEASE FOLLOW OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES HERE:

NANO Nuclear Energy LINKEDIN



NANO Nuclear Energy YOUTUBE



NANO Nuclear Energy TWITTER



NANO Nuclear Energy INSTAGRAM



Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This news release and statements of NANO Nuclears management in connection with this news release or related events contain or may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In this context, forward-looking statements mean statements related to future events, which may impact our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", potential, "will", "should", "could", "would" or "may" and other words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this news release and represent management's current views and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, events or results and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond our control. For NANO Nuclear, particular risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include but are not limited to the following which are, and will be, exacerbated by any worsening of global business and economic environment: (i) risks related to our U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear fuel manufacturing submission and the development of new or advanced technology, including difficulties with design and testing, cost overruns, development of competitive technology, (ii) our ability to obtain contracts and funding to be able to continue operations; (iii) risks related to uncertainty regarding our ability to commercially deploy a competitive advanced nuclear reactor technology, (iv) risks related to the impact of government regulation and policies including by the DOE and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and similar risks and uncertainties associated with the business of a start-up business operating a highly regulated industry. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this news release. These factors may not constitute all factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in any forward-looking statement. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a predictor of actual results. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this news release, except as required by law.

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New York, NY, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- South Street Securities Holdings, Inc. (South Street) is pleased to announce the successful completion of its acquisition of GX2 Systems, LLC including GX2's wholly owned broker-dealer subsidiary, GX2 Spread Markets, LLC ("GX2"). This marks a significant step in South Streets transformation as a leading technology-enabled provider of multi-asset class securities financing, processing, execution, analytics and information services.

GX2 is an innovative financial market software engineering company specializing in the development and implementation of next-generation U.S. Treasury (UST) securities liquidity and related analytical solutions. Through a proprietary platform installed on the desktop of its institutional clients and offered on a platform as a service (PaaS) basis, GX2 provides algorithmic, agency brokerage and principal execution liquidity solutions to its growing network of users, along with direct exchange connectivity, real-time pricing of cash and futures markets and post-trade reporting services.

This milestone is not just about growth; its about integrating GX2s unique capabilities with our robust infrastructure," commented James Tabacchi, Chief Executive Officer of South Street Securities Holdings, Inc. "Our focus now shifts to integrating our businesses and harnessing the synergies between GX2's innovative solutions and our proven expertise. This integration will empower us to provide enhanced services to our clients and play a pivotal role in the evolution of algorithmic, agency brokerage and principal market making liquidity solutions in U.S. Treasuries."

Since GX2s 2015 commercial launch of ExMode, a robust and fully-hosted execution platform for UST spreads, it has impressively grown to serve over 380 unique users in prominent financial institutions, including primary dealer banks, institutional fund management firms, hedge funds, proprietary trading firms and regional broker-dealers. This expansion demonstrates the platform's significant impact and industry acceptance. The acquisition of GX2 by South Street is a strategic move, reinforcing its commitment to providing a comprehensive suite of impactful solutions and exceptional service.

David Jaberg, GX2 President & Chief Executive Officer, declares that The team at GX2 Systems and GX2 Spread Markets is thrilled to become a part of the South Street family of companies. The rich domain experience in securities finance, broadened product reach, and enhanced balance sheet will provide many pathways to develop and deploy our technology in new ways that will bring value to clients across the full South Street spectrum.

About South Street Securities Holdings

South Street Securities Holdings, Inc. operates through its subsidiaries, including South Street Securities LLC, a registered broker dealer specializing in repo financing of U.S. Treasuries, Agency MBS, TBA mortgage origination hedging and equity finance; Matrix Applications, LLC, a technology and back-office services company; South Street Capital Management, LLC, an asset management company; and AmeriVet Securities, Inc., a service-disabled veteran and minority owned broker dealer.

About GX2 Systems

Formed in Chicago in 2013, GX2 Systems, LLC is a financial market software engineering company specializing in the development and implementation of next-generation U.S. Treasury securities liquidity solutions across the spectrum of agency brokerage, principal market making and algorithmic trading. Through a state-of-the-art proprietary platform as a service, offered as a desktop application or through a FIX API, GX2 provides its institutional clients direct exchange connectivity, real-time pricing of UST cash and futures markets, and post-trade reporting services. GX2's software was developed internally by an experienced team of software engineering and trading veterans with the objective of delivering high quality, low latency, market microstructure-based execution to each of our users. All business activities requiring a regulated environment are conducted through its wholly owned broker-dealer subsidiary, GX2 Spread Markets LLC, a FINRA/SIPC member broker-dealer and CFTC/ NFA registered introducing broker.

South Street Media and Investor Relations Contacts

James (Jim) Tabacchi +1.212.803 5050, james.tabacchi@cmetllc.com

Karsten Berlage +1.646.809 6982, karsten.berlage@sssnyc.com

GX2 Systems Media and Investor Relations Contacts

David Jaberg +1.312.471 6302, djaberg@gx2spreadmarkets.com

Jennifer Drag Carson +1.312.471 6299, jenn@gx2spreadmarkets.com

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Dublin, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Electronic Laboratory Notebooks (ELNs) - Global Strategic Business Report" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global Electronic Laboratory Notebooks (ELNs) market is set to experience significant growth, projected to reach a robust $934.5 million value by 2030. This expansion reflects a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.1% from 2022 through to the end of the forecast period. Within this burgeoning market, the "Cross-disciplinary" segment is capturing the spotlight, expected to advance at a CAGR of 5.4% to reach $743.4 million.

The U.S. Leads the Charge in ELNs Adoption

The United States' ELNs market is currently valued at an impressive $266.3 million, and it epitomizes the technological adoption and innovation wave sweeping across the nation's vast research landscape. As we look to the East, China's impressive forecast predicts a 6% CAGR, marking the nation as one of the fastest-growing regions in the ELNs space.

Global Economic Conditions Fuel Market Growth

Positive global economic indicators and GDP growth projections are providing tailwinds to various sectors, including electronic laboratory solutions. The report reveals an increasing readiness to embrace new technologies fundamentally transforming corporate landscapes and investment frameworks.

Segments and Key Players

Specific ELNs segment set to grow at a CAGR of 4% over the next eight years

Diverse geographic markets like Japan and Canada forecasted for a robust CAGR of 4.5% and 5%, respectively

Europe's market, anchored by Germany, anticipates a strong 4.9% CAGR.

A selection of 64 notable companies are featured in the report, representing a variety of firms contributing to the dynamic growth of the ELNs sector.

Comprehensive Coverage and Value-Added Insights Key Report Features

Insightful discussions on the evolving economic climate influencing market conditions

Competitor analysis and market share breakdowns

Geographic market presence analysis

Interactive and collaborative peer updates

One-year complimentary update service

The report provides a multifaceted view of the opportunities and challenges facing the ELNs market. It unravels the complexity of global innovation trends and their economic implications, offering a valuable compass for companies navigating this changing landscape.



Key Attributes:

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 310 Forecast Period 2022 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2022 $626.3 Million Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $934.5 Million Compound Annual Growth Rate 5.1% Regions Covered Global

A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes

Agaram Technologies (Private) Limited

Agilent Technologies, Inc.

Arxspan, LLC

Benchling, Inc.

BioData Inc.

Bruker Corporation

Codon Software Private Limited

Dassault Systemes SE

eLabNext

Eppendorf SE

KineMatik Inc.

ID Business Solutions Ltd. (IDBS)

Lab-Ally

LabCollector

LabLynx, Inc.

LabVantage Solutions, Inc.

LabWare, Inc.

PerkinElmer, Inc.

STARLIMS Corporation

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.

Waters Corporation





For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ov5kxi

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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New York, New York, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In their latest release of insights, the CheapOair MilesAway blogsite has published an in-depth analysis of the evolving landscape of the travel industry. This comprehensive overview not only addresses the current trends but also sheds light on the innovative strategies that are set to define the future of travel.

A central theme explored is the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) in shaping the future of travel experiences. The article anticipates a transformative era where advanced AI algorithms and immersive VR technologies will revolutionize the way people plan and enjoy their journeys. The CheapOair MilesAway team delves into the potential of personalized travel experiences driven by AI's data analytics, and the immersive nature of VR, offering travelers a unique and tailored adventure.

The article also sheds light on the increasing role AI is playing in customer service and support. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can provide customers with round-the-clock assistance, handling inquiries and providing trip planning support.

Glenn Cusano, Fareportal President and Chief Financial Officer, comments, Technology is a critical component of the online travel industry. Our brands, CheapOair and OneTravel, are deeply engaged in technological innovation, and AI plays a large part in many aspects of our customer interactions in travel planning, booking, and post booking customer support.

For those seeking a deeper understanding of the identified trends and the future of travel, the complete release can be found on CheapOair MilesAway. The blogsite serves as a hub for in-depth explorations of the latest trends, insights, and stories in the world of travel, making it a valuable resource for both industry professionals and avid travelers.

About CheapOair

CheapOair is an online travel agency that specializes in providing cheap flights and great last-minute flight deals for travelers worldwide. Consumers can book online, on mobile apps for iOS and Android, by phone, or by live chat. Part of Fareportals family of travel brands, CheapOair bridges the gap between an online travel agency and a traditional agency with travel agents available worldwide to help find great deals on flights to global destinations on over 500 airlines, a million lodgings, and 100s of car rental companies. Follow CheapOair on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for travel inspiration and helpful travel tips.

About Fareportal

Fareportal is a travel technology company powering a next generation travel concierge service. Utilizing its innovative technology and company-owned and operated global contact centers, Fareportal has built strong industry partnerships providing customers access to over 500 airlines, a million lodgings, and hundreds of car rental companies around the globe. With a portfolio of consumer travel brands including CheapOair and OneTravel, Fareportal enables consumers to book online, on mobile apps for iOS and Android, by phone, or by live chat. Fareportal provides its airline partners with access to a broad customer base that books high-yielding international and domestic flight, hotel, and other travel and add-on ancillaries.

About CheapOair MilesAway

CheapOair MilesAway is a leading blogsite dedicated to unraveling the latest trends, insights, and stories in the world of travel. With comprehensive releases, thought-provoking articles, and a focus on the future of travel, MilesAway offers a unique platform for industry enthusiasts and curious travelers alike.
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) today announced the launch of the Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting service by Block Advisors . This service was created to help the more than 32 million business owners impacted by Beneficial Ownership Information reporting rules recently enacted by the U.S. Treasury Departments Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ( FinCEN ).

As of Jan. 1, 2024, many business owners are required to report detailed ownership information to FinCEN. Limited liability companies (LLCs), corporations, limited partnerships, foreign entities, and other organizations that qualify as reporting companies registered to do business in any U.S. state are subject to the new Beneficial Ownership Information reporting rules. Qualifying companies established on or after Jan. 1, 2024 must file within 90 days of entity formation. Those formed before 2024 have until Jan. 1, 2025 to file.

Block Advisors provides millions of small businesses comprehensive support with tax preparation, business formation, bookkeeping, and payroll services all year. Our clients are among the large number of businesses being impacted by this new mandate, said Jamil Khan, Chief Strategy and Small Business Officer at H&R Block. Block Advisors introduced its Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting service to help small business owners navigate this new reporting requirement, so they are compliant and avoid costly penalties.

Willfully failing to file a Beneficial Ownership Information Report could lead to civil penalties of up to $500 per day for ongoing violations with a maximum penalty of $10,000. Individuals might also face criminal penalties, including imprisonment for up to two years.

Block Advisors Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting service was created with the client experience in mind and even includes a quiz to make navigating compliance easier. The quiz guides business owners through a few short questions to confirm they are required to report. After confirming the entity is required to report beneficial owners, the user enters business details and selects either one-time reporting for $99 or an annual compliance subscription for $149 per year, which includes unlimited Beneficial Ownership Information Report filings and updates for a single company.

Small business owners must navigate so many complex issues and challenges each day from staffing and payroll to balancing their books and paying taxes. New regulations only add to their workload. Block Advisors provides business owners with expert help at an affordable price so they can focus on what they do best and grow their business, said Khan.

To learn more about Block Advisors, visit www.BlockAdvisors.com and the Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting service at www.BlockAdvisors.com/beneficial-ownership-reporting .

About H&R Block

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) provides help and inspires confidence in its clients and communities everywhere through global tax preparation services, financial products , and small-business solutions . The company blends digital innovation with human expertise and care as it helps people get the best outcome at tax time and also be better with money using its mobile banking app, Spruce . Through Block Advisors and Wave , the company helps small-business owners thrive with year-round bookkeeping, payroll, advisory, and payment processing solutions. For more information, visit H&R Block News or follow @HRBlockNews on X.

Media Contacts:

Media Relations: Erika OShea, (816) 585-6058, erika.oshea@hrblock.com Investor Relations: Michaella Gallina, (816) 854-3022, michaella.gallina@hrblock.com

Jordyn Eskijian, (816) 854-5674, jordyn.eskijian@hrblock.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c811a1e9-772a-4637-89bc-a16cd412bfa0
Dublin, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global 4K Medical Imaging Market by Type, End User, Regional Analysis, Key Company Profiles, Financial Insights, and Recent Developments - Forecast to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global 4K medical imaging market is projected to reach US$ 2.21 billion by 2030

4K medical imaging is an advanced imaging technology that allows healthcare professionals to capture and display high-resolution images and videos of the human body. 4K imaging gives four times the precision of traditional HD medical imaging, providing clear and high-quality image with greater sense of depth and excellent color distinctions that empower radiologists to discover smaller lesions, subtle abnormalities, and complicated anatomical structures with unprecedented accuracy.

The increasing demand for high-resolution imaging solutions, coupled with advancements in display technology, has contributed to the growing adoption of 4K imaging systems in healthcare settings. Besides this, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases, the rising geriatric population, and the shifting consumer preference for minimally invasive surgeries are fueling the demand for advanced medical imaging systems that can provide accurate and detailed images for diagnosis and treatment, thereby positively impacting the market growth.

Recent Developments

In November 2023, EIZO Corporation launched the CuratOR MIR-1, its first medical imaging recorder for archiving video and still images captured by endoscopy, microsurgery, or surgical field cameras in high-quality 4K UHD resolution (3840 x 2160 pixels) and 60 fps (frames per second).

In August 2023, Viseon Inc. commercially rolled out the 4K MaxView System in the US and announced the initial clinical use of the 4K advanced visualization system for minimally invasive spine surgery.

In November 2022, LG Electronics launched its first 27-inch, 4K surgical monitor with Mini LED technology (Model 27HQ710S) at MEDICA 2022, the international tradeshow for the medical sector took place in Dusseldorf, Germany.

In September 2022, Olympus Corporation announced the launch of VISERA ELITE III, its newest surgical visualization platform that addresses the needs of healthcare professionals (HCPs) for endoscopic procedures across multiple medical disciplines.

By Type: Global 4K Medical Imaging Market - Key Takeaways

The 4K X-ray segment dominates the global 4K medical imaging market owing to the rising utilization of X-rays in diagnostic centers and hospitals. 4K X-ray imaging is used across medical disciplines, including orthopedics, cardiology, oncology, and emergency medicine, to visualize anatomical structures and identify anomalies.

4K computed tomography refers to a digitalized X-ray imaging procedure used to diagnose the internal organs, bones, soft tissue, and blood vessels by creating their detailed image.

4K MRI System uses non-invasive imaging technology to function and investigate the anatomy of the body in both healthy and diseased conditions. It is useful for the early detection, diagnosis, and treatment monitoring of many chronic diseases. Constant technological advancements, such as the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in MRI, is expected to contribute to the market growth.

A high focus on the development of portable ultrasound devices is expected to expand the applications of this modality in diagnostic imaging centers as well as emergency care. Integration of artificial intelligence into ultrasound systems to automate the process of image quantification and selection, is also expected to influence the market growth.

By End User: Global 4K Medical Imaging Market - Key Takeaways

Hospitals dominates the global 4K medical imaging market, owing to increased adoption of advanced medical imaging technologies in hospital settings, such as MRI and CT scanners coupled with availability of highly experienced medical specialists.

The diagnostic imaging centers is anticipated to experience highest growth over the forecast period owing to increased adoption of advanced technology, improved infrastructure, and substantial funding for these centers' expansion.

The rising focus on healthcare and increasing investments in healthcare infrastructure development are expected to drive market for clinics end user segment.

By Region: Global 4K Medical Imaging Market - Key Takeaways

North America dominated the global 4K medical imaging market in 2022, and will continue to maintain its dominance over the forecast period.

Europe captured second highest share of the global 4K medical imaging market in 2022, driven by growing demand for superior visualization quality in the medical sector.

Asia Pacific is likely to witness fastest growth over the forecast period, owing to presence of large patient pool suffering from chronic diseases, rising geriatric population, and improving healthcare infrastructure.

South America and Middle East & Africa are competing closely to grab maximum share of the global 4K medical imaging market.

This 208 page report with 124 figures and 6 tables has been analyzed from 8 view points:

Global - 4K Medical Imaging Market & Forecast (2018 - 2030)

Global - 4K Medical Imaging Market Share & Forecast (2018 - 2030)

By Type - Global 4K Medical Imaging Market & Forecast (2018 - 2030)

By End User - Global 4K Medical Imaging Market & Forecast (2018 - 2030)

By Region - Global 4K Medical Imaging Market & Forecast (2018 - 2030)

Global 4K Medical Imaging Market - Key Company Profiles

Global 4K Medical Imaging Market - Recent Developments

Global 4K Medical Imaging Market - Growth Drivers & Challenges

Key Attributes:





Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 208 Forecast Period 2022 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2022 $964.4 Million Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $2210 Million Compound Annual Growth Rate 10.9% Regions Covered Global

Global 4K Medical Imaging Market - Key Company Profiles, Recent Developments, Financial Insights

Stryker Corporation

Smith & Nephew PLC

Conmed Corporation

Medtronic

Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.

Sony

Fujifilm

EIZO Corporation

Siemens Healthineers

Olympus Corporation

B. Braun Melsungen AG

Barco N.V.

Innolux Corporation

Sharp NEC Display Solutions Ltd.

Ikegami Tsushink

Global 4K Medical Imaging Market - Growth Drivers

4K Medical Imaging Advantages over Traditional Imaging Drives Market Growth

Increasing Prevalence of Chronic Diseases, Rising Geriatric Population and Growing Demand for Minimal Invasive Procedures Drives Market Growth

Technological Advancements

Global 4K Medical Imaging Market - Challenges

High Cost of Medical Imaging Systems

Requirement of Greater Bandwidth Connectivity

By Type - Global 4K Medical Imaging Market & Forecast

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Computed Tomography

X-Ray

Ultrasound

Other Types

By End User - Global 4K Medical Imaging Market & Forecast

Hospitals

Diagnostic Imaging Centers

Clinics

Other End User

By Region - Global 4K Medical Imaging Market & Forecast



North America

United States

Canada

Mexico

Europe

Germany

United Kingdom

France

Italy

Spain

Switzerland

Belgium

Netherlands

Turkey

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

Japan

China

South Korea

India

Australia

Rest of Asia Pacific

South America

Argentina

Brazil

Rest of South America

Middle East & Africa

UAE

Saudi Arabia

Israel

South Africa

Rest of Middle East & Africa

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/3op0zq

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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Dallas, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The highly successful Dickeys Barbecue Pit Crew from Sao Paulo, Brazil are heading to North America for some Legit. Texas. Barbecue. competition.

On January 26th  28th, Dickeys Barbecue Pits Master Franchise partner in Brazil, Franchise Americana, who is led by pit-master Mr. Bruno Gallucci, will pack up their pit and travel to San Antonio, Texas to participate in the highly popular Rodeo Bar-B-Que Cook Off & Festival, featuring some of the worlds most competitive barbecue teams. The competition will take place at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo located at 723 Frost Bank Center Parkway, San Antonio, TX 78247.

Im honored that Bruno and his Pit Crew are bringing their strong, pit master skills and their hickory pellets to San Antonio to showcase and represent Dickeys Barbecue Pit all the way from Brazil, said Jim Perkins, EVP Dickeys International Development. "Im very proud of the entire team and wish them the very best as they unveil their unique style and Dickeys mouth-watering, smoked meats.

After multiple barbecue contest awards under their belts in their homeland of Brazil, this team is expected to smoke the competition at the BBQ cook-off.

After receiving an invitation from one of the most important Barbecue contests in the United States, we felt really proud and couldn't miss the opportunity to continue to spread the Barbecue culture in our Country, said Bruno Gallucci, Owner/Operator of Dickey's Barbecue Pit Brazil. We are passionate about the art of great Barbecue, we love Dickey's, and it's a great way to show all Brazilians that we can accomplish Texas Barbecue the same way that Texans and Americans do. We will show Brazil that We are the Experts!

Dickeys Barbecue Pit is excited to continue their expansion throughout Brazil in 2024 and beyond.

To learn more about Dickeys, follow the brand on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Download the Dickeys Barbecue Pit app from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

For Dickeys Virtual Concepts follow Wing Boss on Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok; Trailer Birds on Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok ; and Big Deal Burger on Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok .

About Dickeys Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

Dickeys Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the worlds largest barbecue concept, was founded in 1941 by the Dickey family. For the past 82 years, Dickeys Barbecue Pit has served millions of guests in 41 states Legit. Texas. Barbecue. At Dickeys, all our barbecued meats are smoked onsite in a hickory wood burning pit. Dickeys proudly believes theres no shortcut to true barbecue and its why our name isnt BBQ. The Dallas-based, family-run barbecue franchise offers eight slow-smoked meats and 12 wholesome sides with No B.S. (Bad Stuff) included. Dickeys Barbecue has over 500 restaurants across the United States.

Dickeys was named to Newsweeks 2022 Americas Favorite Restaurant Chains list and USA Today 2021 readers choice awards. Dickeys won first place on Fast Casuals Top 100 Movers and Shakers list, been named a Top 500 Franchise by Entrepreneur and named to Hospitality Technologys Industry Heroes list. Led by CEO Laura Rea Dickey, who was named among the countrys 50 most influential women in foodservice in Nations Restaurant News, was recognized by Fast Casuals Top 100 Movers and Shakers list and honored by Dallas Business Journal. Dickeys Barbecue Pit has also been recognized by Fox News, Forbes Magazine, Franchise Times, The Dallas Morning News, The Wall Street Journal, People Magazine and QSR Magazine. Dickeys Barbecue is part of Dickeys Restaurant Brands which has more than 700 restaurants nationwide including brands Wing Boss, Trailer Birds, Big Deal Burger and bbqathome.com. DRB is led by CEO Roland Dickey Jr. For more information, visit dickeys.com.

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AMSTERDAM, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The newly appointed board members, Hanita van der Meulen, Wieneke Brandt and Tjerk de Greef, bring a wealth of expertise and diverse perspectives to the table. Hanita van der Meulen joins as the Director of Markets & Clients, Wieneke Brandt assumes the role of Director of Product Management & Delivery, and Tjerk de Greef takes on the position of Director of Tech & Data. Their collective experience in publishing, technology, and international marketing and sales will play a pivotal role in further developing IBFDs position as the home of international taxation.

Jan Maarten Slagter, CEO of IBFD, expressed his enthusiasm for the new directors, stating, We are dedicated to delivering high quality knowledge and research on international taxation in effective and user-friendly formats. The addition of these highly skilled individuals to our executive board reflects our commitment to doing this in the most customer-focused and innovative ways.

IBFD would also like to extend its heartfelt gratitude and bid farewell to Maarten Goudsmit, Director Publishing. His hard work and unwavering dedication have significantly contributed to moving the organization forward over the last two decades. As Maarten embarks on a well-deserved retirement, IBFD expresses its sincere appreciation for his contributions and wishes him the very best in all his future endeavours.

For more information on the executive team, visit https://www.ibfd.org/about#executiveteam.

Contact information: Phil Windus, Senior Marketing Coordinator: p.windus@ibfd.org.

About IBFD

The International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) is a leading independent, non-profit organization specializing in tax research and education. With its high-quality research, training, and information services, IBFD serves corporates, advisors, governments, international organizations and academia in over 150 countries.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cca44a3b-bbe5-4c50-bcc1-435c56175cc3
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a year where student journalists are playing an increasingly crucial role in the news ecosystem, the Student Press Law Center ( SPLC ) celebrates its 50th anniversary as the sole legal organization exclusively devoted to supporting student journalists. As student press freedoms face unprecedented challenges, this year's Student Press Freedom Day on Feb. 22, adopts the theme Powerfully Persistent.







SPLC's half-century milestone underscores the critical need to safeguard the First Amendment rights of student journalists who are navigating a landscape fraught with challenges, said Gary Green, SPLC's executive director and a veteran journalist. As they navigate the complexities of censorship, these students not only fill critical news gaps, but also redefine the future of journalism, proving that their voices are not just vital, but indispensable.

SPLC empowers student journalists with confidence, countering censorship and other press freedom challenges through a legal hotline, pre-publication review, attorney referral network, advocacy and ongoing support. Its initiatives include comprehensive training and resources to equip students with the legal knowledge necessary to report boldly in their communities and to champion the First Amendment.

Many school administrators attempt to water down stories or apply pressure on students to avoid hot-button topics and paint the school in a positive light, but that is not journalism, said Green. Student media are essential in informing their campus community and are also playing an increasingly larger role in covering local news, especially in news deserts where their presence fills the void.

Beyond being a source of information for millions of Americans , student-reported news holds a transformative power. It not only shapes the stories they write, but leaves an enduring imprint on the journalists they become.

SPLC helped me when I was a troublesome high school journalist and the board shut down our paper, said Nicholas Kristof , a Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign and domestic opinion columnist for The New York Times and author of  Chasing Hope  (Knopf, May 2024). SPLC's support in my early student journalism years significantly boosted the confidence that defines my current journalistic path.

Programs like the SPLC-coordinated New Voices movement play a pivotal role in restoring and protecting student press freedoms. It empowers students to advocate for state laws that counter the impact of the 1988 Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier Supreme Court decision, which created a First Amendment carve-out for student journalists and permits school administrators broad discretion to censor them.

Recent instances of student journalists exhibiting Powerfully Persistent actions in telling important stories or advancing the New Voices movement include:

Mountain View (California) High Schools student journalist, Hanna Olson , whose newspaper staff faced pressure to censor a story about sexual harassment at school. After publishing the story and facing repercussions, including the removal of their adviser, the students persisted and SPLC intervened , connecting them with a local attorney to demand restoration.





Wisconsin high school junior Simon Mehring , who, after attending the SPLC New Voices Student Leaders Institute , spearheaded the latest round of advocacy for the New Voices bill in Wisconsin. As a result, the bill has gained tremendous momentum , and if successful, will make Wisconsin the 18th state to restore student press freedom.





As SPLC celebrates its 50th year, the organization appeals for contributions at www.splc.org/donate to promote, support and defend the rights of student journalists and faculty advisers nationwide. SPLC remains committed to championing the First Amendment, educating high school and college students on the law, and ensuring their voices contribute to a healthy democratic society.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:



https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0323b796-a0c9-404f-9fb8-39e5073eddb9

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f43361e9-d043-48d9-acaa-6a50483ce941

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Editors note: Valley Credit Union and The Billings Gazette are featuring 16 seniors throughout the 2023-2024 school year. We want to help students who are not typically eligible for scholarships and financial aid awarded to those attending a 4-year program. At the end of the year, Valley will award one $5,000 Valleydictorian grant to a deserving student.

To be considered for the grant, students must show a clear career path for their future after high school in the form of an industry certification, technical associates degree, City College, trade school or apprenticeship. Students are nominated by a teacher, counselor, or principal from their high school.

Hannah Hull

Absarokee High School

What are your plans after high school?

After high school I plan to attend cosmetology school in the fall of 2024. I then will graduate the following fall of 2025. Once I am done with my schooling I will have to take the state board exam and that will get me my beauty license. Once I pass the exam, I plan to return home and start to work at a local salon to build my client base. With that in mind, I hope that will lead me to open up my own shop. I want a local shop that I can run with a family friend of mine that is now going to school to be an esthetician. As we grow our business and create a well based plan, we will start the salon together. We will continue to get more clients and hope to then hire more people to help us with the workload and create a fun and energetic work environment.

What is your favorite class in school and why?

My favorite class in school is shop class. As I am in FFA, this gives me time to work on my competitions and get prepared for them. I also love this class in particular because we build many things which allows us to work with our hands. Whether it be welding, wood working, or even working in our local greenhouse, there is always a hands on job that needs done. If you want to work at a salon and study beauty, you need to love working with your hands. This is why this career field fits me so well. Not only do I love working with my hands but I love to make things look good. When I am in the shop, I strive to do the job to the best of my ability and make it look as good as possible so we can either sell it or I can give it as a gift. With cosmetology, I am making people feel that best they can in their own skin and giving them the confidence that everyone deserves.

Who inspires you and why?

The person that inspires me the most is my family friend Mindy. She is a strong and beautiful women and we are alike in many ways. She has always been there for me whenever I need her and others as well. The thing that inspires me most about her is that I know she has been through many hardships and heartaches throughout her life. As I know the things she has been through, she is always there to lift someone up before herself. She will always have a smile on her face and she never gives up. As she is struggling, she continues to do anything she can to help the community and make someone smile. If I could have one gift, it would be just that. To be able to stay strong even when things get tough. To never give up and keep pushing forward and keep up other peoples spirits even when your own are so low. That is what makes Mindy stand out above the rest.

What are some things you enjoy outside of school?

As I said before, I am in FFA and love what I do in my chapter. We have a large amount of students that participate with FFA contests and I love to see the younger generation excited to continue in their FFA careers. As I continue to learn new things at every FFA event, I grow outside of my comfort zone and that helps me to make new friends and make me learn more about agriculture and how it works. FFA is not the only interest that allows me to work with kids and be outdoors, I also volunteer at Beartooth Christian Camp. Most of my volunteer work in being a camp counselor. I am with the kids all day during the day games, chapel, night games, and all meals. I then sleep in the cabin with them and help these kids throughout the week. As this job is all day and all night for 5 days, I grow to love these kids and love that I can help them with problems they are facing. It is all worth it when I can be there for them, no matter how tiring the week can be. I also stay after the week and help to clean up camp for the next group that will come in.

What would make you feel successful in your career/work after school?

As there are many things that would make me feel successful in my career, the main thing would be that I am happy. I want to be excited to go to work and not have miserable days all the time. And yes, there are all good things and bad things about a job, but I want it to be as good as it can be. I want to be able to brag about how good my job is and not suffer for the rest of my life in a job I dont care for. Another main thing that will make me feel successful is that I will be able to provide for my family. I truly believe family is the most important thing in peoples lives and if I can provide for them, I know I will be successful in my career.

If you win the $5,000 grant, how will you use the money to help you reach your goals?

This grant will go towards my tuition for cosmetology school so I can graduate without any student loan debt. Once I graduate debt free, this will allow me to begin working on my business and I will be able to open my salon quicker without the worry of having to pay for my schooling.

Do you have a personal motto or inspirational saying that motivates you that you would like to share?

The inspirational saying that motivates me the most would be I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me, (Philippians 4:13). Since my family and I are religious and I have always been raised in a religious family, this Bible verse is a big part of my upbringing. When I refer back to this verse it reminds me that God is always with me and I know I can get through anything when I have Him by my side. When I am going through something, when I dont feel enough, or when life just gets in the way, I have this motto to comfort me and it lifts my overall mood and attitude towards the situation.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring three things, what three things would you bring and why?

If I was stranded on a desert island and could only bring three things I would have to choose a fishing pole, a lighter, and a large knife. The reason I would choose a fishing pole is because I would be able to get food for myself and provide what I need to survive. I also love to fish as a hobby so I would never be bored because I would be able to have fun while fishing. I would also bring a lighter so I can provide a warm fire and be able to cook my food. This would help me to stay warm and make the food I catch with the fishing pole edible. Finally, I would bring a large knife. Not only will this be used to protect myself from anything dangerous on the island but it will help me to cut trees down so I can make a shelter for myself. I can also cut my food and hunt if I may need.

If you had to choose between hamburgers or pizza, which would you choose and what would be on it?

If I had to choose between pizza or a hamburger I would for sure pick pizza. My favorite pizza toppings include white Alfredo sauce, grilled chicken, fresh mozzarella balls, basil, chopped garlic, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, spinach, and then I put a pesto drizzle on top after it is cooked. This has been my favorite pizza for a while because it has so many different flavors and once they are all put together they make the best pizza ever made.

Any other information about yourself you would like to share?

I am a dedicated student. I am currently my teachers Teacher Assistant for the high school library and have played a vital role in helping my teacher reorganize the library. I do this for no credit but for extra volunteer experience. I have also helped her each year for the last two years in our Say Yes to the Prom Dress event. We hold this annual event and give prom dresses to everyone at no cost. I am also an integral part of FFA. I am the parliamentarian for our FFA team. I am also the secretary/treasurer for Pep Club and the Special Events Coordinator for Student Council.

My leadership and volunteer activities do not stop at school. My parents manage the Beartooth Christian Ranch and have for the past 3 years. I have spent the past three summers helping with the summer camps and assisting the kids with activities. Prior to running the Beartooth Christian Ranch, my family and I have fostered a total of 13 kids through ministry. In fact, this school year we had a foreign exchange student who lost their host family. My family quickly stepped up to take him in.

Although my family has wonderful, generous hearts, their income is limited. This grant would make an incredible difference in my future. My future plans include starting my own hair salon. With less college debt, this makes my dream possible.

I want to be a cosmetologist and run my own business in Montana. In fact, I am so excited about this career plan that I am currently working on a business plan for my future business. As my family is in Montana, I would like to stay in Montana. I am passionate and enthusiastic about my career in cosmetology. I have completed several job shadowing experiences and am currently working on my application to several cosmetology schools. I am an asset to the school and my community. This scholarship will allow me to continue my wonderful contributions and help the future of small Montana businesses as a business owner.
Derbyshire, UK, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Equip Outdoor Technologies UK Ltd. (Equip), home of technical outdoor apparel and equipment brands Rab and Lowe Alpine, has announced the appointment of Richard Leedham to lead the business into an exciting new chapter.

Richard, former President of the Berghaus brand and founder and director of Outdoor Gear for Good will take up his new role as Chief Executive Officer at Equip on 5th February 2024. He will succeed Matt Gowar, who announced in November 2023 that he would be stepping down following 30 years developing the business and its brands, Rab and Lowe Alpine.

Richard brings a wealth of experience from over 30 years in the outdoor industry, having worked within multiple roles at Pentland Brands and serving on their executive team. During his tenure, he held responsibility for the Outdoor Division as President of the Berghaus brand from 2013-2018.

Richard served for many years on the boards of the European Outdoor Group and the Outdoor Industries Association in the UK. He is also the founder and director of the non-profit Outdoor Gear for Good, which diverts excess stock from the industry from going to landfill. From 2019 through to the end of 2023, Richard worked with the womens outdoor brand ACAI delivering substantial growth through product development and new sales channels.

This appointment will bring new experience and leadership to Equips existing board, leveraging the strength and reputation of the business to drive the five-year strategic plan; committing to increase turnover, further its leadership in CSR and continue to grow share in core markets.

Matt Gowar will remain active within the business, retaining executive responsibility at Equip Board level for his areas of speciality and passion, including CSR, supplier sourcing and supporting the development in North America.

I am proud and excited to take up the position of CEO at Equip Outdoor Technologies. Already I am enthused by the energy and passion of the people I have met.

I have massive respect for the work that Matt and the team have put into the development of the business and both the Rab and Lowe Alpine brands. This is particularly impressive when you factor in the global challenges the industry has faced over the last few years. The team has identified some compelling opportunities for developing award-winning technical products, creating an industry-leading CSR agenda, as well as driving sustainable growth across global markets. Im looking forward to getting started and advancing these plans.

I have been privileged to work across a variety of leadership roles in outdoor businesses. This position allows me to capitalise on my experience in an industry that I love. With my background, Matts support, and working with the excellent team in place, I see a smooth transition that will demonstrate to our partners that Equip remains the outdoor company to do business with.

- Richard Leedham, incoming CEO

I am delighted to welcome Richard to the business. His product knowledge, understanding of the outdoor industry, and experience of board operations enables me to hand the CEO role to someone who I know can move the business forward at the pace and scale needed. This frees my time up to concentrate on the areas of the business where I have the most expertise and also allows me the chance to do the things I have missed out on whilst building the business. - Matt Gowar, Owner and current CEO, Equip Outdoor Technologies (UK) Ltd

Debbie Read

- Head of Corporate Communications and CSR -

Eric Henderson

- PR & Communications Manager

About Equip Outdoor Technologies Ltd.

Equip Outdoor Technologies UK Ltd is an international business with the head office based in Derbyshire, UK. We are proud to own both the Rab and Lowe Alpine brands. We design exceptional product to meet the needs of our active customers. We encourage our teams to thrive and be part of our success. Our passion for the outdoors and adventurous spirit sets the foundation for what we do. We are proud to be a certified climate neutral company since 2020 and a Fair Wear Leader brand www.equipuk.com/

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Dublin, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Modular Data Center Market by Component, Organization Size, Vertical and Region - Forecast to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global modular data center market is expected to grow from USD 25.8 billion in 2023 to USD 81.2 billion by 2030 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 17.8% during the forecast period. The market has excellent growth opportunities, such as deployment in disaster-prone areas, demand from colocation providers, and demand for data centers in space and underwater.

Market Dynamics

Drivers Increased Demand for Rapidly Scalable and Deployable Data Centers Growing Need for Energy-Efficient Data Centers Easy Implementation of Redundant Data Centers Easy Compliance in Modular Data Centers Proliferation of Data Center Colocation Facilities Globally Data Center Optimization Initiatives to Address Critical Infrastructure Inefficiencies

Restraints Transportation of Modular Data Centers Vendor Lock-Ins to Limit Buying Options Emergence of HCI

Opportunities Deployment in Disaster-Prone Areas Demand from Colocation Providers for Modular Data Centers Demand for Data Centers on the Moon Demand for Underwater Data Centers Demand for Data Centers in Space Establishment of Data Centers in Iceland

Challenges Implementing Effective Cooling Systems Reliance on PUE as Sole Efficiency Measure



By component, the solutions segment to have a higher market share during the forecast period

The requirement for flexible cabinets to hold this equipment will only grow as more businesses construct their data centers to exact performance and cost goals. The growing data needs of end-users are beyond the capabilities of the current IT infrastructure. Adaptable and adequate infrastructure is desperately needed to meet the performance requirements of modern data centers. Managers can store, cool, power, manage, and secure essential IT equipment with modular data centers and enclosures. Major market vendors offer data centers of different sizes and provide features like cable and airflow management accessories to support enterprise and data center requirements.

By solutions, the all-in-one modules segment is expected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period

The all-in-one module is a highly integrated containerized data center facility for enterprise data management, oil exploration, and disaster relief. It is a temporary module usually implemented in cases wherein data center mobility is a concern, as it comprises modules with cooling, power, and IT systems built inside a single container. These containerized modules are portable and energy-efficient and provide on-site, ready-to-deploy solutions, reducing installation costs and time.

They also enable scalability and flexibility to the IT infrastructure to adjust to the design and size for future deployments. This advantage of the all-in-one module, wherein organizations can implement scale-out infrastructure, is expected to fuel the market for modular data centers. Modular data centers provide exceptional value for organizations looking to implement an edge computing strategy by combining power, cooling, and IT infrastructure into a single solution.

By vertical, the BFSI segment is projected to record the highest market share during the forecast period

The BFSI industry is rapidly adopting electronic banking, paperless storage, and virtualization, which has increased the demand for safe, resilient, cost-effective, and energy-efficient modular data center solutions. As the BFSI industry deals with vast amounts of customers' data regularly, it requires reliable IT equipment to store and manage it.

Reliable data centers must offer uninterrupted financial services and improve the response time for running end-user applications. Modular data centers provide high computing power, reduce computational time for BFSI institutions, and ensure business continuity by focusing on management, scalability, efficiency, and energy efficiency. Therefore, modular data center solutions are essential in minimizing business continuity risk and providing cost-effective solutions in the BFSI sector.

The Asia-Pacific is expected to have the highest growth during the forecast period

The Modular Data Center market in the Asia-Pacific region is poised for significant growth during the forecast period, driven by several key factors. As the demand for data storage and processing capabilities continues to soar across IT, healthcare, finance, and telecommunications industries, the need for flexible and scalable data center solutions becomes increasingly crucial. Modular data centers offer a compelling solution by providing a modular and easily expandable infrastructure that can be deployed quickly to meet evolving business requirements.

In the Asia-Pacific, where rapid urbanization and digital transformation are driving the need for efficient and resilient data management, modular data centers offer a strategic advantage. Additionally, the region's diverse climate conditions necessitate adaptable and energy-efficient solutions, further emphasizing the appeal of modular data centers. With the escalating adoption of cloud services, IoT, and big data analytics, the demand for modular data centers is expected to surge, making the Asia-Pacific market a hotspot for growth in the foreseeable future.

North America to hold the largest share in the global Modular Data Center market

The Modular Data Center market in North America is a dominant force in the global landscape, and various factors underpin its sustained growth. The region's robust technological infrastructure and a thriving ecosystem of tech-driven industries have fueled an insatiable demand for scalable and adaptable data solutions. As businesses across sectors continue to embrace digital transformation, the need for modular data centers has surged due to their ability to provide rapid deployment, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness.

North America's leadership in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and other data-intensive technologies has further driven the demand for modular data centers, positioning the region at market dominance. Moreover, the region's stringent regulatory environment and a heightened focus on sustainability have prompted organizations to adopt modular data centers, which often boast energy-efficient designs. The combination of technological prowess, business agility, and environmental considerations cements North America's position as a critical player in the Modular Data Center market, with continued dominance expected in the foreseeable future.

Research Coverage

The market study covers the Modular data center market across segments. It aims to estimate the market size and the growth potential across different segments such as component, organization size, vertical, and region. It includes an in-depth competitive analysis of the key players in the market, their company profiles, key observations related to product and business offerings, recent developments, and key market strategies.

Some of the key players operating in the modular data center market are - Dell Technologies (US), Vertiv (US), Schneider Electric (France), IBM (US), Huawei (China), Eaton (Ireland), Rittal (Germany), HPE (US), Silent-Aire (Canada), and Eltek (Norway).

List of Companies Mentioned in the Report

365 Data Centers

Apple

Asperitas

AWS

Baselayer

Bladeroom

Box Modul

Cannon Technologies

Coresite

Cupertino Electric, Inc.

Dell Technologies

Eaton

EdgeMCS

Eltek

Equinix

Fiberhome

HPE

Huawei

IBM

Kstar

Meta

Microsoft

Oracle

PCX

Rahi Systems

Retex

Rittal

Scalematrix

Schneider Electric

Silent-Aire

Stulz

Vertiv

Case Study Analysis

Case Study 1: Energy Vertiv Provided Data Center Cooling Optimization for One of World's Greenest Colocation Operators

Case Study 2: Schneider's Flagship Platform Helped Telco with Building Its Competitive Advantage

Case Study 3: Scalematrix Aided Aerospace & Defense Industry to Reduce Wastage and Deliver Required Resources

Case Study 4: Nini Distribution Center Enhanced Operational Efficiency by Deploying Vertiv Solution Suite

Key Attributes

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 300 Forecast Period 2023-2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2023 $25.8 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $81.2 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 17.8% Regions Covered Global

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/2nj2e0

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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Dublin, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "New Zealand Cards and Payments - Opportunities and Risks to 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The report provides detailed analysis of market trends in the New Zealand cards and payments industry. It provides values and volumes for a number of key performance indicators in the industry, including cards, cash, credit transfer, direct debits and cheques during the review-period (2019-23e).



The report also analyzes various payment card markets operating in the industry and provides detailed information on the number of cards in circulation, transaction values and volumes during the review-period and over the forecast-period (2023e-27). It also offers information on the country's competitive landscape, including market shares of issuers and schemes.



The report brings together the research, modeling, and analysis expertise to allow banks and card issuers to identify segment dynamics and competitive advantages. The report also covers detailed regulatory policies and recent changes in regulatory structure.



The report provides top-level market analysis, information and insights into the New Zealand cards and payments industry, including -

Current and forecast values for each market in the New Zealand cards and payments industry, including debit, credit and charge cards.

Detailed insights into payment instruments including cards, cash, credit transfer, direct debits and cheques. It also, includes an overview of the country's key alternative payment instruments.

Ecommerce market analysis.

Analysis of various market drivers and regulations governing the New Zealand cards and payments industry.

Detailed analysis of strategies adopted by banks and other institutions to market debit, credit and charge cards.

Comprehensive analysis of consumer attitudes and buying preferences for cards.

The competitive landscape of the New Zealand cards and payments industry.

Key Highlights

To reduce the dependence on cash, as part of its Payments Modernisation Plan 2030, Payments NZ has introduced various measures that are being adopted by commercial banks and payment services providers. The plan includes improving financial inclusion, promoting acceptance of card payments by merchants, and supporting competition and innovation to give consumers more choice in the payments space. As a result, volume, value, and frequency of card-based transactions are all set to increase over 2023e-27.

BNPL services are gaining prominence in New Zealand as an alternative credit option, mostly driven by tech-savvy millennials. Afterpay leads the market both for online and in-store payments. In October 2022, Afterpay partnered with retailer James Pascoe Group, enabling customers to use Afterpay for purchases and split the amount into four interest-free installments. Meanwhile, Zip is also a leading player in this space, available to customers at over 3,000 online and in-store stores.

The number of POS terminals recorded a CAGR of 2.4%, rising from 180,930 in 2019 to 199,289 in 2023e. This reflects the growing preference among consumers for electronic payment methods. In addition to conventional POS terminals, mobile POS terminals are also offered in the country. In May 2021, EFTPOS launched a portable Android-based POS terminal in New Zealand. The terminal accepts both contactless and chip and PIN-based card transactions as well as NFC-based mobile payments. Meanwhile, in August 2022, Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) launched the BNZ Pay POS mobile app, enabling merchants to covert their smartphone into a POS terminal.

Key Topics Covered:

Market Overview

Payment Instruments

Card-Based Payments

Ecommerce Payments

In-Store Payments

Buy Now Pay Later

Mobile Payments

P2P Payments

Bill Payments

Alternative Payments

Payment Innovations

Job Analysis

Payment Infrastructure and Regulation

Company coverage:

ANZ

ASB

Westpac

BNZ

Kiwibank

EFTPOS

Mastercard

Visa

American Express

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/oycgwq

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.
JEFFERSONVILLE, N.Y., Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jeffersonville Bancorp, Inc. (OTCQB - JFBC) announced today that a special cash dividend in the amount of fifteen cents ($0.15) per share on the common stock of the company was declared at the January 16, 2024 meeting of the Board of Directors. The dividend is payable on February 5, 2024 to stockholders of record at the close of business on January 29, 2024.



"The Company had an exceptional year in 2023 due to steady loan growth, improved credit quality, and low core funding costs. In addition, the higher rate environment contributed significantly to interest on loans and balances at the Federal Reserve," said George W. Kinne, Jr., President and CEO. The Board of Directors is pleased that with our positive results and strong capital position, they are able to reward our loyal shareholders with this special cash dividend."

Jeffersonville Bancorp is a one-bank holding company, which owns all the capital stock of Jeff Bank. Jeff Bank maintains ten full-service branches in Sullivan and Orange County, New York located in Anawana Lake Road/Monticello, Eldred, Callicoon, Jeffersonville, Liberty, Livingston Manor, Monticello, Port Jervis, White Lake, and Wurtsboro.

For More Information, call: 845-482-4000
Dublin, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Key Trends in Car Rental (2023)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



This key trends reports focuses on global car rental industry, honing in on 60 major markets across the world. This report will provide comprehensive data insights on and analysis of key market trends, disruptors in the sector and some of the strategies developed by car rental companies during the COVID-19 pandemic.



Key Highlights



In the car rental market, the year 2022 can be characterized as a narrative of unwavering determination and strategic adaptation. Following the widespread impact of the pandemic in 2020-21, the industry experienced a notable resurgence, driven by a renewed sense of adventure and an overwhelming craving for unrestricted travel experiences.



Although the market did not fully recover to its pre-pandemic levels, it displayed a noteworthy resurgence, demonstrating a projected Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 30.3% (2020-2022). The car rental sector has undergone a substantial transformation over a period of time.



It has seen a rise in demand for rental cars, primarily driven by technological advancements and evolving consumer preferences. In the contemporary market, consumers are actively seeking out car rental companies that exhibit a high level of efficiency in order to effectively address their transportation requirements.



Report Scope

The 'Key Trends in Car Rental', looks at the different types of car rental products, current key trends within the industry, business models and strategies and the impact of COVID-19. In addition this report includes case studies, new product developments, and challenges and opportunities within this space.

Gain an insight into the car rental industries leading players.

Understand how they have adapted to the threat of COVID-19.

Understand the key traveler types car rental companies can look to attract.

Look at the key product developments and why they appeal.

Gain a detailed understanding of the key trends, issues and challenges facing car rental operators

Key Topics Covered:

Snapshot

Market Trends and Themes

Disruptor

Leaders

Mergers and Acquisitions

Challenges and Opportunities

Company Coverage:

Hertz

turo

SIXT

Lyft

Uber

Didi Chuxing

Avis

Enterprise Holdings

Alamo

National

Advantage

Greenmotion

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/vbq0hi

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.
Falls Church, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Falls Church, Virginia -

Brusco Vision stands as a beacon of excellence in the realm of vision correction, particularly in LASIK eye surgery. Led by the expertise of Dr. Brusco, the clinic has become synonymous with patient-centered care, a trait that, coupled with the latest advancements in technology, positions it as a leader in ensuring high-quality LASIK procedures. The commitment to offering personalized care not only enhances vision but also ensures overall well-being and safety.

The significance of quality control cannot be overstated when considering LASIK eye surgery. This is a clear indicator of quality and safety, showcasing a clinic's ability to meet rigorous standards. Brusco Vision, under Dr. Brusco's guidance, has earned its esteemed status as a top-tier LASIK provider, partly through its adherence to stringent standards set forth by bodies like the Joint Commission International (JCI) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). These accreditations are a testament to the clinic's dedication to patient safety and care quality.

Meeting and maintaining these standards is an ongoing process at Brusco Vision. The clinic undergoes a rigorous review cycle, typically annually, to ensure that it consistently meets and often surpasses the evolving standards in LASIK surgery and patient care. This commitment to excellence assures patients that they are entrusting their vision to a clinic that is continually striving to uphold and enhance its standards of care.

In the landscape of LASIK surgery, the certification and expertise of the surgeon are paramount. Dr. Brusco, a symbol of trust and competence in the field of LASIK surgery, is certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology. This certification is a reflection of his unwavering commitment to excellence in ophthalmology, particularly in LASIK surgery. With 14 years of experience, Dr. Brusco brings a depth of knowledge and skill to each procedure, a factor that significantly contributes to the high success rates and patient satisfaction at Brusco Vision.

His expertise is further enriched by his commitment to continuous learning. Dr. Brusco regularly engages in specialized training and continuing education, ensuring that he remains at the cutting edge of LASIK surgery technology and methods.

The maintenance of equipment in LASIK surgery is as vital as the surgeon's skill. Brusco Vision, understanding this crucial aspect, prioritizes the upkeep of its state-of-the-art equipment, including advanced Excimer and Femtosecond lasers. The meticulous maintenance schedule and reliance on expert technicians ensure that each piece of equipment functions optimally for every procedure.

The cleanliness and sterilization of the operating room are critical in any surgical procedure. Brusco Vision adheres to stringent cleaning protocols and sterilization methods, including the use of autoclaves, chemical sterilizers, and UV light sterilization, to ensure an impeccably clean and sterile environment.

Beyond advanced equipment and rigorous cleanliness standards, Brusco Vision integrates several other quality assurance elements. These include a thorough patient screening process to identify suitable candidates for LASIK, a comprehensive follow-up protocol post-surgery, and a systematic approach for reporting and addressing adverse events. The clinic also maintains detailed outcome statistics and conducts regular patient satisfaction surveys, all of which contribute to their high standards of patient care.

In summary, Brusco Vision, spearheaded by Dr. Brusco's expertise, offers a safer LASIK procedure for patients in Washington D.C. The clinic's dedication to quality assurance in every aspect, from surgeon certification to meticulous equipment maintenance and operating room sterilization, guarantees patient safety and satisfaction. To learn more about Brusco Visions efforts in quality assurance, read their article on the subject here: https://www.bruscovision.com/lasik/lasik-quality-assurance-in-d-c-means-a-safer-procedure-for-you/

Choosing Brusco Vision for LASIK surgery is not just about selecting a clinic; it's about entrusting one's vision to a team that provides the highest standard of care, tailored to the latest advancements in the field. Contact Brusco Vision today to schedule a consultation and embark on one's journey towards clearer vision with a clinic where one's vision is their mission.

###

For more information about Brusco Vision, contact the company here:



Brusco Vision

Michael Brusco, MD

(571) 755-2020

info@bruscovision.com

Brusco Vision

3120 Fairview Park Dr Ste 100

Falls Church, VA 22042
Dublin, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Laundry Detergent Pods Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2018-2028F" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

A comprehensive analysis on the Global Laundry Detergent Pods Market has been released, highlighting the market's substantial growth trajectory from 2018 to 2028. The report delves into the factors propelling the market's expansion, forecasting a robust compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.7% through the end of the forecast period.

The Global Laundry Detergent Pods Market, which reached an impressive valuation of USD 11.4 Billion in 2022, is expected to maintain its growth momentum, driven by the increasing need for convenience in household chores and an overarching trend towards sustainable consumer products. These single-use, water-soluble packets have revolutionized the way consumers approach laundry, offering a no-measure, mess-free solution that aligns with the fast-paced lifestyle of the modern consumer.

Current market dynamics suggest that convenience is not the sole driver of the increased adoption of laundry detergent pods. Environmental considerations are playing a pivotal role in consumer purchasing decisions, with a growing demand for products that promise a reduced ecological footprint.

Many brands within the market are responding by introducing biodegradable, water-soluble pods and are using packaging made from recycled materials or designed to be recyclable.

Trends Shaping the Future of Laundry Detergent Pods

Product Innovation: As manufacturers innovate to offer advanced formulations that cater to a variety of consumer needsincluding those related to sensitive skin, allergies, and fabric carethe market expands to include a more diverse product range.

As manufacturers innovate to offer advanced formulations that cater to a variety of consumer needsincluding those related to sensitive skin, allergies, and fabric carethe market expands to include a more diverse product range. Changing Lifestyles: The compact design of pods is particularly appealing for urban residents with limited living space, enhancing the products convenience for a growing demographic.

The compact design of pods is particularly appealing for urban residents with limited living space, enhancing the products convenience for a growing demographic. Regional Market Developments: North America continues to dominate the market, while the Asia Pacific region is set to grow rapidly, thanks in part to burgeoning industries in China and India. The impact of e-commerce extends the reach of laundry pod products, making them more accessible to a global audience.

North America continues to dominate the market, while the Asia Pacific region is set to grow rapidly, thanks in part to burgeoning industries in China and India. The impact of e-commerce extends the reach of laundry pod products, making them more accessible to a global audience. Marketing and Branding: Effective marketing strategies, including targeting the hospitality industry and leveraging celebrity endorsements, have helped to build product awareness and drive market growth.

Despite the market's strong growth, challenges such as safety concerns due to accidental exposure, especially in children, regulatory compliance across different regions, and increasing competition remain focal points that require industry attention and innovative solutions.

The comprehensive report encompasses a detailed market analysis, segmented by product type, end use, distribution channel, and geographic region, offering insights into both current market conditions and future opportunities. By examining key drivers, market challenges, and prevailing trends, the report provides an in-depth understanding of the laundry detergent pods market, essential for businesses and investors looking to capitalize on this dynamic segment of the consumer goods industry.

The report presents an extensive market analysis and forecasts trends that are influencing the growth of the laundry detergent pods market globally.

Key Attributes:

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 182 Forecast Period 2023 - 2028 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2023 $11.4 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2028 $15.8 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 5.7% Regions Covered Global

Report Scope:



The Global Laundry Detergent Pods Market has been segmented into the following categories:



Laundry Detergent Pods Market, By Product Type:

Non-Biological

Biological

Laundry Detergent Pods Market, By Application:

Household

Commercial

Laundry Detergent Pods Market, By Distribution Channel:

Hypermarkets/Supermarkets

Convenience Stores

Online

Others

Company Coverage:

Procter & Gamble

Unilever

Ecozone

Waitrose & Partners

ASDA

J Sainsbury plc

Morrisons Ltd

Tesco

MaddieBrit Products, LLC

Dapple Baby

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/nx6ib0

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Attachment
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Locus Technologies (Locus), the pioneer in water, Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) compliance and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) software solutions, announces expansion of its water management SaaS platform to include management of produced water within the oil and gas industry. This cutting-edge solution, seamlessly integrated with Locus' suite of applications, underscores the company's unwavering commitment to driving sustainable practices while optimizing operational efficiency.

Locus has engineered a comprehensive application designed specifically for the efficient and sustainable management of produced water. This latest addition to Locuss suite of water solutions aims to address the complex demands of the oil and gas industry while ensuring compliance, conservation, and operational excellence.

The new application is seamlessly interoperable with other Locus solutions catering to the oil and gas sector, such as ESG, air emissions, waste management, and water quality management. Locus software empowers organizations to make informed decisions, mitigate risks, and enhance overall efficiency across their operations by streamlining data integration and providing actionable insights.

Locus CEO, Neno Duplan, emphasized the company's dedication to delivering comprehensive water management solutions while driving advancements in technology for the beneficial reuse of water beyond the realms of the oil and gas, and energy industries. "We remain focused on delivering comprehensive water management solutions to our customers while advancing technologies for the beneficial reuse of water inside and outside of the oil and gas industry, which holds the promise of further improving the sustainability of our customers operations," stated Duplan.

With a proven track record in providing leading-edge EHS and ESG software solutions, Locus continues to spearhead advancements in compliance, sustainability, and corporate responsibility across diverse industries and geographies.

About Locus Technologies

Locus Technologies, the global environmental, social, governance (ESG), Sustainability, and EHS Compliance software leader, empowers companies of every size and industry to be credible with ESG reporting. From 1997 Locus Technologies pioneered enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) for EHS Compliance, water management, and ESG credible reporting. Locus apps and software solutions improve business performance by strengthening risk management and EHS for organizations across industries and government agencies. Organizations ranging from medium-sized businesses to Fortune 500 enterprises, such as Chevron, Sempra, Corteva, DuPont, Chemours, San Jose Water Company, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Port of Seattle, Onto Innovations, and Los Alamos National Laboratory, have selected Locus.

Locus Technologies' headquarters is in Mountain View, California.

For further information regarding Locus Technologies and its commitment to excellence in SaaS solutions, please visit www.locustec.com or email info@locustec.com.
Perth, Jan. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --



QUARTERLY REPORT INVESTOR WEBINAR / CALL

Perth, Western Australia/January 17, 2024/Perseus Mining Limited (ASX/TSX: PRU) is hosting an investor webinar and conference call to discuss its December 2023 Quarterly Results, which are anticipated for release around 8:30am AEDT on Wednesday January 24, 2024.

CALL DETAILS

Australia: Wednesday January 24, 2024



Perth  6:00am



Sydney/Melbourne  9:00am Canada: Tuesday January 23, 2024



Vancouver  2:00pm



Toronto  5:00pm UK: Tuesday January 23, 2024



London  10:00pm





Register for the investor webinar at the link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3puWYfHcSVyB8ddNzb2ytA

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

To join the webinar via telephone, please use one of the following numbers and enter the Webinar ID: 893 3014 5956

For higher quality, dial a number based on your current location:

Location Australia Singapore Canada USA New Zealand United Kingdom Dial in Number +61 8 7150 1149



+61 3 7018 2005 +65 3165 1065 +1 778 907 2071 +1 669 900 9128 +64 9 884 6780 +44 203 901 7895





ASX/TSX CODE: PRU



REGISTERED OFFICE:



Level 2

437 Roberts Road

Subiaco WA 6008



Telephone: +61 8 6144 1700

Email: IR@perseusmining.com



ABN: 27 106 808 986



WWW.PERSEUSMINING.COM CONTACTS:



Jeff Quartermaine

Managing Director & CEO

jeff.quartermaine@perseusmining.com



Nathan Ryan



Media Relations

nathan.ryan@nwrcommunications.com.au





International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/keGBWoa4iM

A recording of the conference call will be made available via Perseuss website at www.perseusmining.com.

This announcement was approved for release by Jeff Quartermaine, Executive Chairman.




Cary, North Carolina, USA, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hummingbird Creative Group, a brand strategy and creative agency in Cary, North Carolina, announced the promotion of Morgan Gustafson to the position of Jr. Art Director. This promotion reflects her outstanding growth beyond her role as a graphic designer, as well as her contributions and dedication to Hummingbird.

The Junior Art Director is a key creative team member and has a vision about the importance of the creative product to the future success of the agency clients. As a Junior Art Director, Gustafson will be involved in collaborating with the creative team to enhance big ideas and execute them across all channels, including the social and digital space.

Morgan is a huge asset to the team here at Hummingbird, and we are so proud of the amazing award-winning branding projects she has taken a major role in for our clients, stated Wendy Coulter, CEO/President of Hummingbird Creative Group. Her most notable work this past year has been for the 2029 World University Games, which has won multiple prestigious Platinum design awards, as well as her work on Stillwater Developments new branding and Kramden Institutes new branding and website design. Morgan always steps up and exceeds expectations on any project that she is a part of!

Guftafsons key responsibility as Jr. Art Director will be to work with the Creative Director and account team to create and deliver insightful, intuitive, innovative and inspired creative that wow users, drive results, and enhance their experience with our customers products and services, executing creative projects from concept to completion.

The Hummingbird team congratulates Morgan on this well-deserved promotion and looks forward to her continued success.

About Hummingbird Creative Group:

Headquartered in Cary, NC, Hummingbird Creative Group is a boutique full-service branding agency serving admired brands nationwide to build business value through clear communication of brand differentiation. The agency works primarily with leaders of manufacturing/distribution, healthcare, B2B, non-profits, retail and service businesses to define brand strategy, develop sustainable branding campaigns and implement sales enablement programs. The Hummingbird teams passion is to strengthen each client's promise, presence and profitability over time to help their client brands TAKE FLIGHT AND SOAR! To learn more about Hummingbird Creative Group, visit https://hummingbird-creative.com/.
Editors note: This story from former Gazette reporter Ed Kemmick was first published in 2006. Questions raised in the article are still being debated.

Beneath the signature of William Clark etched into the sandstone at Pompeys Pillar National Monument, an interpretive sign explains the significance of the artifact.

It reads: The ground on which Clark stood has weathered away but his signature has not. Because of this remaining physical evidence, the site is one of the few places along the entire Lewis and Clark Trail where you can be assured of standing in the footsteps of William Clark and other members of the Expedition.

No one is likely to challenge the second part of that statement, since Clark wrote in his journal on July 25, 1806, that he carved his name and date on the remarkable rock.

The first sentence, however, is not entirely true. Capt. Clarks signature is clear and easily legible now, but only because it has been restored and deepened  or possibly re-created  on at least two occasions, and possibly three or four.

Nearly obliterated

The signature hasnt always been so legible. Nearly 125 years ago, one writer said Clarks handiwork had become nearly obliterated, and 100 years ago another writer described it as now hard to decipher. Most intriguing of all, a National Geographic writer who followed the Lewis and Clark Trail down the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers in the 1920s stopped at Pompeys Pillar and said he failed to find any trace of the letters themselves.

Of course, the sandstone landmark is historically important for more than just Clarks signature, as we were reminded during the four-day Signature Event at Pompeys Pillar in July. In the words of Dick Kodeski, manager of the monument for the BLM, the pillar has long been a crossroads of people, places and cultures.

Still, as the three-year commemoration of the Lewis and Clark Expedition nears its end  the final Signature Event will be Sept. 20-24 in St. Louis, Mo.  it is worth asking what we are really looking at when we see Clarks signature, described by one authority as the only surviving physical evidence of the expedition along its route.

Delving into history

That question and others have been raised by John Phillips, who worked as a Bureau of Land Management ranger at Pompeys Pillar from 1996 to 2003 and who now works for the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks at Bannack State Park in southwestern Montana.

Interesting story

Phillips said hes not trying to rain on anybodys bicentennial parade. He just happens to believe the convoluted, contradictory, inconclusive history of Clarks signature is at least as interesting as the signature itself.

Phillips, who earned a degree in history before working as a ranger, tour guide and Clark re-enactor at Pompeys Pillar, said his interest in the signature grew naturally.

For me, it was working there and developing my own tour of the rock and learning as I went along, he said. There was no ax to grind for me or anything.

He had plenty of time to read, particularly during the two years when he pitched a tent near the pillar and lived on site from March through November. He read everything he could find regarding Clark on the Yellowstone and accounts of the subsequent history of the

Yellowstone Valley. As he read, he kept stumbling upon odd stories and surprising revelations, including evidence that the Clark signature had perhaps worn away to nothing at least once, and had been heavily refurbished on several occasions.

He thought it was important to be able to tell the deeper story of the pillar, especially since he would occasionally deliver his spiel to visitors who had done their own research and asked pointed questions about possible restorations of the signature.

Phillips kept gathering materials, thinking he would get around to writing up his own findings and conclusions someday, but the project just kind of fell by the wayside. Ive been out playing Clark and running around and just trying to make a living.

It was during a chance meeting with a reporter during the Signature Event at Pompeys Pillar that Phillips mentioned his research and suggested the subject might be a fitting one to look into during the waning days of the bicentennial commemoration.

Preservation efforts noted

Although public materials at the pillar dont acknowledge the restoration the Clark signature has undergone, it has been officially recognized by the BLM. In 2001, the federal agency commissioned Linda Olson of Minot State University in North Dakota to document all the rock art, including Clarks signature, on Pompeys Pillar.

After several years of research, Olson and her assistant produced a fivevolume study that meticulously documented some 2,000 separate names, dates, initials, graffiti and pictographs on 147 panels on the monument.

A steady stream of trappers, surveyors, soldiers, settlers, ranchers, farmers, and even picnickers engraved their names on Pompeys Pillar, Olson said in the report. They left no accessible section of the butte untouched.

A lengthy section of the report details the documented history of the Clark signature and concludes: Likely, Clarks signature only survived through intervention.

What no one can say with any certainty is how substantial that intervention has been. Olsons report notes that James Stuart, a brother to prominent Montana pioneer Granville Stuart, visited the pillar in 1863 and saw the names of two other members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition  Sgt. York and Pvt. Shannon  carved in the rock near Clarks signature. Yet no trace of those signatures remains.

In 1875, according to a biographer of steamboat captain Grant Marsh, Marsh viewed Clarks inscription and found it to be as clearly defined as when chiseled there by the illustrious explorer, sixty-nine years before. Olsons report said an article in the Billings Gazette, the date of which was given only as 1940, asserted that soldiers from Ft. Buford could have recarved the signature in 1875, before Marsh saw it.

Another description of the signature was made by E.S. Topping in his book The Chronicles of the Yellowstone. The book was published in 1883, but Topping gave no indication in the book when he last saw Pompeys Pillar. All he said is that the signature and date engraved by Clark by the vicissitudes of weather and vandalism have become nearly obliterated.

Protection from vandals

There must have been considerable damage and graffiti, because in 1882, Col. J.B. Clough, an engineer with the Northern Pacific Railway, had a heavy iron screen made and placed over the signature to protect it from further damage. An article in the Great Falls Tribune on Dec. 12, 1954, reported that when the grate was placed over the site, the signature was engraved a bit deeper in the rock to offset the erosion that occurred. No documentation was given for that claim.

In The Trail of Lewis and Clark, published in 1904, author Olin D. Wheeler said the railroads protection was needed because the name is now hard to decipher, for the irrepressible fool has been there, and has scratched and cut his names all around it, and even over some of the letters between the lines.

Vandals and thoughtless visitors, however, werent responsible for all the damage. As Olson says in her report, the panel on which Clark carved his name has experienced severe wind and water erosion as the cliff face is directly below a water channel. Nearly all the higher elements are completely eroded away because of sheet wash.

The next milestone in the history of the signature occurred in 1926 and involved the best-documented restoration work done on the site. It was reported in The Gazette on Oct. 13 that year that the Shining Mountain Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution had prevailed on the Northern Pacific to deepen the inscription.

Due to weather conditions  the sandstone has been gradually wearing away and Clarks handwriting was in danger of being entirely obliterated, the story said. As a result, the railway authorized the hiring of the Billings Marble and Granite Works to cut the letters deeper.

The story ended on this confusing note: The deepening of the letters has restored the inscription to its original state and it can now be easily read from the railroad tracks. What that could possibly mean no one knows. The railroad tracks, then as now, are several hundred yards south of the pillar, and Clarks signature is on a north-facing side of the pillar.

Another reference to the D.A.R. restoration appeared in the Oct. 25, 1926, Billings Times, which reported that Clarks name had become quite obscured but the railroad recently rechiseled the inscription deeply in the rock.

Article sparks questions

At any rate, it was the 1926 restoration that really piqued John Phillips interest. In his researches, Phillips came across an article in the July 1928 National Geographic by Lewis R. Freeman titled Trailing History Down the Big Muddy. Freeman followed the path of the Lewis and Clark Expedition from Livingston to St. Louis in a folding steel skiff and wrote a lengthy account of his adventures.

After quoting from Clarks journals about what the explorer saw from the top of Pompeys Pillar (which Clark actually named Pompys Tower), Freeman wrote: Add the telegraph poles of a distant railway and a picnic booth littered with watermelon rinds, and Clarks description of what was unrolled to him from the top of Pompeys Pillar would stand to-day. I located the place where his name had been carved, by a grating which the Northern Pacific engineers had erected to protect it from vandals; but I failed to find any trace of the letters themselves.

At first, Phillips couldnt understand how that could possibly be, since the D.A.R. deepening project had taken place in 1926. But then he noticed that Freeman gives no indication as to when he piloted his skiff down the Yellowstone. The article says he embarked on the last day of June and the journey took two months, so it couldnt have been undertaken in 1928.

If it wasnt 1928, it could have been 1927, or even earlier. A researcher at the National Geographic Society recently said, in response to inquiries from The Gazette, that he had not been able to ascertain when Freeman made the trip.

What if Freeman visited the pillar in the summer of 1926, and what if somebody locally learned that he found no trace of the signature and intended to report that in National Geographic? Enter the D.A.R. and the Northern Pacific  and a restoration of the signature by the fall of 1926.

Phillips doesnt question the motives of any of the people who restored the signature.

People thought they were doing a good thing by making us think it was always there, he said. At the same time, they lost other parts of the history.

Some of what was lost were the other inscriptions around and intertwined with Clarks name. In addition to the deepening, some of the restoration work also included erasure. Most of the sandstone now preserved under a glass plate has been rubbed clean of anything but Clarks inscription.

Phillips concluded that the D.A.R.-sponsored engraving was more of an extreme reproduction than a restoration. My guess is that it was pretty substantial of complete renovation, he said.

Another touchup

After the 1926 deepening, the signature apparently underwent at least one more deepening. The area around the pillar was originally owned by Henry Macer, who sold it to Martin Tschida in 1924. Don and Stella Foote began leasing the land from Tschida in 1953 and purchased it outright in 1955. The Great Falls Tribune published in 1954 centered on the Footes plans to preserve the signature and make the pillar into a tourist attraction.

The Tribune reported: As the Footes develop the site, they propose to remove the iron grille, carve the name deeper again, then to place a shatter-proof glass over the signature in a bronze frame securely anchored to the rock.

Stella Foote said the signature was still legible when she and her late husband replaced the grille with the bronze and glass casement. She also said she doubts the deepening was ever more than a touch-up.

Im sure it was never totally gone because there are too many records of people who said they saw it, she said. At first Foote said she couldnt recall whether she and her husband had the signature restored, but then she said they probably did, adding, but Im sure we had somebody good who would respect the historical integrity of the artifact.

Kodeski, the monument manager for the BLM, said he believes the signature was only enhanced a little bit, as it had to be to preserve it.

Its just like the Sistine Chapel, he said. It couldnt stay there without a little restorative work.

Gary Leppart is a former president of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation and a retired BLM employee who worked on the agencys acquisition of the monument from the Foote family in 1991. He said authenticity is in the eye of the beholder.

It depends on the individual, he said. When Im in a museum, I want to see old things. And when it comes to Lewis and Clark, hed rather see actual artifacts than reproductions of boats, clothing and other equipment. But the signature is in a class by itself.

Ive known for years that the signature has been enhanced at least two times, and it hasnt really bothered me, he said. If it hadnt been enhanced, it wouldnt be there. There wouldnt be anything there.

Leppart believes the signature was never erased entirely. He figures there was always enough left of the letters that later restorers could follow Clarks original grooves.

Kodeski said debating the degree of authenticity in Clarks signature is a little like arguing over the correct spelling of Lewis and Clarks Shoshone interpreter, alternately known as Sacagawea, Sacajawea and Sakakawea. BLM employees dont tell people how to spell the name, Kodeski said; if somebody makes a case for one spelling or another, they respond, Thats certainly a good starting point for discussion.

Clarks signature, whatever its history, is too important a landmark to ignore. K. Ross Toole, one of the states premier historians, wrote in 1956 that Montana has no more legitimate historic site than Pompeys Pillar.

Linda Olson, in her report for the BLM, concluded, The value of the Clark signature, even with the vagaries of its conservation and preservation, is indisputable.

Maybe the last word should be had by Stella Foote, whose family did so much to preserve the signature. Even those who cant share her optimism might admire her enthusiasm. She said the bronze case and shatterproof glass she and her husband installed provide valuable protection for the signature.

Im sure it will stay that way forever now, she said.
CONCORD, NC, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire  Hydromer, Inc. (OTC: HYDI)

Hydromer, Inc. (the Company) is pleased to provide the following update to shareholders regarding the Companys progress toward stability and profitable growth. Much has been done since the spring of 2023 in reducing the Companys overhead and operating costs, which management believes will lead to improved profitability in the current fiscal year. Additionally, investment in new product innovations and Sales & Marketing activities are anticipated to fuel pipeline development and revenue growth in this and future fiscal years.

Major Elements of the Initiatives

Revised Fiscal Year: Revised fiscal year from June 30 to December 31 with intent to publish audited financial statements for FY23 in 2024.

Reduced Overhead: The Company has successfully reduced its overhead burden by 33% while maintaining a steady state of operation for the business. Further opportunities are being explored.

Expense Reduction: Expense spending is expected to be reduced by 10%.

Sales: The Company is pleased to announce the addition of a seasoned sales executive who will join its team in early February 2024. This individual will be responsible for aggressive and high-level prospecting in both the Medical Device and Industrial Products markets that we serve. Additionally, he will be charged with developing international distributorships in select overseas markets. The Company hit sales of $4.1M for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023, reflecting an increase of 5% over the prior year.

Marketing: Several direct marketing efforts are underway which are anticipated to bring a strong uptick in lead generation. These include email and LinkedIn marketing, Google AdWords, and SEO for the Companys updated website, www.Hydromer.com

Product Development: The Company is pleased to announce the relaunch of its legendary SeaSlide hydrophilic watercraft coating. The new and improved Super SeaSlide is expected to be available to the market in March 2024. The Company plans to attend numerous boat shows during the year to promote this unique product. Additionally, new product additions including UV-cured coatings and more durable thermally cured coatings are planned for later 2024.

Company Restructuring and Culture Improvements

The Company has adopted a strong growth mentality with particular emphasis on closer contact with Key Accounts. Its CEO, Michael Torti, will be visiting with its largest customers on a regular basis, starting this month. Additionally, incentive plans, aligned with new account attainment, have been put in place for all sales personnel. All employees have made an increased commitment to supporting the Companys needs while adhering to its revised time and attendance policies. Indeed, the Company can brag about its highly motivated and committed team members.

The Company is at all times committed to the safety and security of its employees. During 2023 we identified areas of improvement in our ventilation system and retained a third-party expert to conduct an air quality review and make recommendations for improvements. We will allocate sufficient resources to close all gaps and anticipate full implementation in 2024.

Together with its new Chairman, Braeden Lichti, Director, George Kovalyov, and CEO Michael Torti, the Company has a cohesive Board of Directors, working closely together to deliver positive results for its shareholders and employees.

About Hydromer, Inc.

Hydromer has been a leader in hydrophilic, thromboresistant, and antimicrobial coating technologies for medical devices for over 40 years. As a trusted partner to large and small companies worldwide, the Companys coating solutions add value to our clients products so that they can stand out in the marketplace. We are an innovation-driven, customer-centered organization with a focus on meeting our clients needs. The Company operates an FDA, GMP/ISO 13485, and ISO 9001 production facility located in Concord, North Carolina.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on Hydromer inc.s current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that are difficult to predict and that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or anticipated. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Hydromer, Inc. undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Contact:

Hydromer, Inc.

800-326-5976 ext 214

info@hydromer.com
16th January - Rockport, Ontario - New Age Metals Inc. (TSXV:NAM); (OTC:NMTLF); (FSE:P7J.F) ("NAM" or the "Company") in conjunction with its Farm-in/Joint Venture agreement with Mineral Resources Ltd. ("MinRes") is pleased to announce that as part of our $7 million 2023/2024 exploration budget it has commenced drilling operations at its Winnipeg River-Cat Lake Lithium project in Southeast Manitoba. The exploration program is being carried out by Platinum Diamond Drilling Inc. ("Platinum") with technical and geological oversight by Axiom Exploration Group Ltd. ("Axiom").

2024 Drill Program Overview

The 2024 winter drill program has commenced and will comprise up to 15,000 meters of planned exploration drilling. Drilling will be conducted over four of the Company's properties within the project area including Lithium Two, Bird River, Lithman West, and Lithman East.

The program will focus on high-priority targets identified from the extensive 2023 geochemical and geophysical surveying program. Targeted drilling is aimed at quantifying and expanding the existing spodumene mineralization on the Lithium Two and Bird River properties. Additionally, significant meterage will be allocated to exploration drilling on the Lithman East and West properties that are contiguous with the Tanco Mine property and share similar geological and structural settings. These properties host numerous pegmatites with anomalous geochemical indicators that align with demagnetized trends and dilation zones that could serve as structural conduits for LCT pegmatites.

Chairman and CEO Harry Barr commented; "After extensive project development and planning to get to this point, we are proud to announce the commencement of our most aggressive drill program to date for our Lithium Division. Together with our partners from Mineral Resources and consultants from Axiom, we have systematically developed our understanding of the project area over the last few years and now have well-defined, high priority targets that give us great confidence for this program. On behalf of New Age Metals, we wish for a safe drill program for our contractors and consultants and look forward to positive results."

Project Highlights

Targeted drilling, aimed at expanding the existing surface spodumene mineralization on the Bird River Lithium and Lithium Two Properties.

Exploration drilling of the Rush Lake trend extending 7 km from the Tanco Mine property following up on elevated lithium and cesium in rock samples on the Lithman East Property.

Numerous priority geophysical targets on the Lithman West property that correlate with elevated lithium values in MMI samples and could indicate blind LCT-style pegmatites occurring at depth.

All drill areas are road accessible and are located within a 25 km radius of the Tanco Mine which has commercially produced tin, tantalum, cesium, lithium, and rubidium since 1969.

NAM has an active exploration agreement with the Sagkeeng First Nation and will be working in partnership with Sagkeeng on its winter drilling program.

The Company's exploration activities are being funded by Mineral Resources Ltd., a top 5 global lithium producer.



Click Image To View Full Size

Figure 1: New Age Metals Southeast Manitoba Property Overview

About NAM

New Age Metals is a junior mineral exploration and development company focused on the discovery, exploration, and development of green metal projects in North America. The Company has two divisions: a Platinum Group Element division and a Lithium/Rare Element division.

The PGE Division includes the 100% owned, multi-million-ounce, district-scale River Valley Project, one of North America's largest undeveloped Platinum Group Element Projects, situated 100 km by road east of Sudbury, Ontario. In addition to River Valley, NAM owns 100% of the Genesis PGE-Cu-Ni Project in Alaska and plans to complete a surface mapping and sampling program in 2023.

The Company's Lithium Division is one of the largest mineral claim holders in the Winnipeg River Pegmatite Field, where the Company is exploring for hard rock lithium and various rare elements such as tantalum, rubidium, and cesium. Exploration plans for 2024 include up to 15,000 meters of diamond drilling following up on the anomalous results from the geochemical samples collected during summer 2023 and geophysical/structural interpretation. The Company has a partnership with Mineral Resource Limited (MRL, ASX: MIN), a top global lithium producer to explore and develop the Company's lithium project portfolio in Southern Manitoba. Our philosophy is to be a project generator with the objective of optioning our projects with major and junior mining companies through to production.

The Company is actively seeking an option/joint venture partner for our newly acquired Northman and South Bay Lithium Projects in northern Manitoba, and its road-accessible Genesis PGE-Cu-Ni Project in Alaska.

Investors are invited to visit the New Age Metals website at www.newagemetals.com where they can review the company and its corporate activities. Any questions or comments can be directed to info@newagemetals.com or Harry Barr at Hbarr@newagemetals.com or Farid Mammadov at faridm@newagemetals.com or call 613 659 2773.

Qualified Person

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Lynde Guillaume (Senior Geologist, Axiom Exploration Ltd.), an independent consultant of the Company, and a "Qualified Person" as defined by NI 43-101.

Opt-in List

If you have not done so already, we encourage you to sign up on our website (www.newagemetals.com) to receive our updated news.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"Harry Barr"

Harry G. Barr

Chairman and CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements: This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results and are based on current expectations or beliefs. For this purpose, statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements include statements in which the Company uses words such as "continue", "efforts", "expect", "believe", "anticipate", "confident", "intend", "strategy", "plan", "will", "estimate", "project", "goal", "target", "prospects", "optimistic" or similar expressions. These statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of important factors, including, among others, the Company's ability and continuation of efforts to timely and completely make available adequate current public information, additional or different regulatory and legal requirements and restrictions that may be imposed, and other factors as may be discussed in the documents filed by the Company on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), including the most recent reports that identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to review or confirm analysts' expectations or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Copyright (c) 2024 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
MONTREAL, Jan. 16, 2024 /CNW/ - (Sydney, January 17, 2024) - Champion Iron Ltd. (TSX: CIA) (ASX: CIA) (OTCQX: CIAFF) ("Champion" or the "Company") announces that it will be hosting a conference call and webcast on January 31, 2024, at 9:00 AM (Montreal time) / February 1, 2024, at 1:00 AM (Sydney time) with its senior management, during which they will review the Company's financial and operational results for the third quarter ended December 31, 2023, of the financial year ending March 31, 2024.

Champion's financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for the third quarter ended December 31, 2023, will be released prior to the conference call and webcast, and will be available in the "Financial & Regulatory Reports" section of the Company's website at www.championiron.com, under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on the ASX at www.asx.com.au.

A live audio webcast of the conference call will be accessible for a period of 90 days through Champion's website at www.championiron.com/investors/events-presentations.

Access to the Conference Call:

Tel. local & overseas: (+1) 416 764 8688 Tel. North America: (+1) 888 390 0546 Tel. Australia: 1800 076 068 Webcast: www.championiron.com/investors Replay overseas: (+1) 416 764 8677 Replay N. America: (+1) 888 390 0541 Replay pass code: 228228 # Replay expiration: Wednesday, February 7, 2024, at 11:59 PM (Montreal time) /

Thursday, February 8, 2024, at 3:59 PM (Sydney time)

About Champion Iron Limited

Champion, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Quebec Iron Ore Inc., owns and operates the Bloom Lake Mining Complex, located on the south end of the Labrador Trough, approximately 13 km north of Fermont, Quebec. Bloom Lake is an open-pit operation with two concentrators that primarily source energy from renewable hydroelectric power. The two concentrators have a combined nameplate capacity of 15 Mtpa and produce low contaminant high-grade 66.2% Fe iron ore concentrate with a proven ability to produce a 67.5% Fe direct reduction quality iron ore concentrate. In January 2023, the Company announced the positive findings of a study evaluating the upgrade of half of the Bloom Lake mine's capacity to a direct reduction quality pellet feed iron ore and approved an initial budget to advance the project. Bloom Lake's high-grade and low contaminant iron ore products have attracted a premium to the Platts IODEX 62% Fe iron ore benchmark. The Company ships iron ore concentrate from Bloom Lake by rail, to a ship loading port in Sept-Iles, Quebec, and has sold its iron ore concentrate to customers globally, including in China, Japan, the Middle East, Europe, South Korea, India and Canada. In addition to Bloom Lake, Champion owns a portfolio of exploration and development projects in the Labrador Trough, including the Kamistiatusset Project, located a few kilometres south-east of Bloom Lake, and the Consolidated Fire Lake North iron ore project, located approximately 40 km south of Bloom Lake.

For additional information on Champion Iron Ltd., please visit our website at: www.championiron.com.

This press release has been authorized for release to the market by the CEO of Champion Iron Ltd., David Cataford.

SOURCE Champion Iron Ltd.
TSX-V: MSR

TORONTO, Jan. 16, 2024 - Minsud Resources Corp. (TSXV: MSR) ("Minsud" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Minera Sud Argentina S.A. ("MSA"), the Company's indirect Argentinian subsidiary through Minsud Argentina Inc. ("MAI"), has signed an agreement to transfer MSA's ownership of the early stage La Rosita gold and silver project comprising of 6,000 ha in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina (the "La Rosita Project") to an arm's length acquirer. In exchange for the transfer, which is expected to be completed within 30 days, MAI will receive a 2.5% net smelter royalty on the La Rosita Project (the "Royalty"). The acquirer has the option to acquire 50% of the Royalty for US$1,500,000. The transfer of the La Rosita Project is being made in preparation for South32 Aluminium (Holdings) Pty Ltd.'s ("South32") upcoming acquisition of a 50.1% ownership interest in MSA. No significant exploration or investment has been made by the Company on the La Rosita Project as its primary focus has been the Chita Valley Project, which it continues to avidly pursue with its partner South32.

About the Chita Valley Project, San Juan Province:

The Chita Valley Project is a large exploration stage porphyry system with classic alteration features, widespread porphyry style Cu-Mo-Au and polymetallic Ag-Pb-Zn mineralization hosted by Hydrothermal Phreatic Breccias and associated gold and silver-bearing polymetallic veins of intermediate sulfide composition that conformed an outcropping porphyry system at Chita and a lithocap of a porphyry system at Chinchillones. San Juan Province of Argentina has a robust mining sector and recognizes the important economic benefits of responsible development of its substantial Mineral Resource endowment.

About Minsud Resources Corp.

Minsud is a mineral exploration company focused on exploring its flagship Chita Valley Cu-Mo- Au-Ag-Pb-Zn Project, in the Province of San Juan, Argentina. The Company's shares are listed on the TSX-V under the trading symbol "MSR", and on the OTCQX under the symbol "MDSQF".

About South32

South32 is a globally diversified mining and metals company. The company's purpose is to make a difference by developing natural resources, improving people's lives now and for generations to come. South32 is trusted by its owners and partners to realize the potential of their resources. South32 produces commodities including bauxite, alumina, aluminium, copper, silver, lead, zinc, nickel, metallurgical coal and manganese from its operations in Australia, Southern Africa and South America. With a focus on growing its base metals exposure, South32 also has two development options in North America and several partnerships with junior explorers around the world.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION:

This news release includes certain information that may constitute forward-looking information under applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements about strategic plans, spending commitments, future operations, results of exploration, anticipated financial results, future work programs, capital expenditures and objectives. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information including, but not limited to: fluctuations in the currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar, Argentina peso, and the U.S. dollar); changes in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in Canada and Argentina or other countries in which the Corporation may carry on business in the future; operating or technical difficulties in connection with exploration and development activities; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration and development (including environmental hazards or industrial accidents); risks relating to the credit worthiness or financial condition of suppliers and other parties with whom the Company does business; presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining, including those currently enacted in Argentina; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities; availability and increasing costs associated with operational inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities; business opportunities that may be presented to, or pursued by, the Company; challenges to, or difficulty in maintaining, the Company's title to properties; risks relating to the Company's ability to raise funds; and the factors identified under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Filing Statement dated April 27, 2011. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. All forward-looking-information contained in this news release is given as of the date hereof and is based upon the opinions and estimates of management and information available to management as at the date hereof. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Minsud Resources Corp.
More than 2,000 signatures were collected on a petition calling for Sen. Steve Daines to meet publicly with his constituents regarding legislation he introduced to remove 100,000 acres in Montana from Wilderness Study Area protection.

Its not asking much for the senator to meet with us before he introduces a bill that would change these places forever, said Jennifer Buszka, a recreationist and public lands advocate from East Helena, in a press release from Wild Montana announcing the petition.

Daines introduced his legislation in July, asking Congress to remove three WSAs: 81,000 acres in the Middle Fork Judith in the Little Belt Mountains managed by the Forest Service; 11,580 acres in the Wales Creek WSA; and 11,380 acres in the Hoodoo Mountain WSA.

The Wales Creek and Hoodoo Mountain WSAs are managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Both are located in the Garnet Range east of Missoula in Powell County.

The legislation cites enhanced sportsmen opportunities in the backcountry of Montana; improved public access; and the conduct of wildlife habitat and wildfire mitigation projects as some of the reasons for removing WSA protection.

The legislation also noted the Forest Service and BLM, in planning that involved public input, have recommended removing WSA designation from the lands.

In its 2021 Forest Plan, the Helena-Lewis & Clark National Forest decided not to recommend the Middle Fork Judith for wilderness due to existing uses occurring adjacent to the area that impact solitude, according to the agencys Decision Notice. However, the agency also stated the WSA meets the intent of the 1977 Wilderness Study Act, and as such would remain eligible for inclusion in the wilderness system.

In 2020 the BLM released a proposed Resource Management Plan that encompassed its two areas, identifying them as not having wilderness characteristics because they did not have 5,000 acres of roadless and contiguous BLM-managed land. The plan was challenged by the state of Montana because the decision was authorized by William Perry Pendley. At the time, Pendley was only the acting BLM director and was never confirmed by the U.S. Senate. A federal judge agreed.

A 1984 U.S. Geological Survey report identified the southwest corner of the Wales Creek WSA as having high potential for gold and base metals. Mining occurred in the area in the 1890s.

Wild Montana pointed to a 2022 survey of Montanans by the University of Montana Crown of the Continent and Greater Yellowstone Initiative that found 72% of respondents would like to see the states seven WSAs protected.

Daines drew fire in 2022 and 2017 for his proposals to withdraw protections for WSAs in Montana. Both measures failed to advance out of committee.

In 2020, the Environmental Quality Council, an interim legislative group, released a report on WSAs that never called for a specific action but highlighted the states past efforts to reach solutions collaboratively.

Supporting local and collaborative solutions for WSAs isnt some fringe thing, said Laurie Lohrer  a hiker, hunter, and outdoor enthusiast from Lewistown  said in Wild Montanas press release.

In announcing his most recent legislation, Daines touted participation from groups such as Judith Basin County Commissioners, Powell County Commissioners, Montana State Senate Leadership, Montana Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, Montana Farm Bureau, Montana Outfitters and Guides Association, Blue Ribbon Coalition, Great Falls Bicycle Club, Montana Logging Association, Northern Rockies Wildland Fire Contracting Association and American Forest Resource Council.

In September, Daines Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act and Sen. Jon Testers Blackfoot-Clearwater Stewardship Act moved to the Senate floor on a combined voice vote in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Although neither bill was amended, Daines said during the brief hearing that he looked forward to advancing these two lands bills together.

Tester has said he is opposed to amending or linking his Blackfoot-Clearwater bill to Daines Montana Sportsmen bill.
Wolff inks new deal to stay Mercedes boss

Toto Wolff will remain in charge of the Mercedes team he co-owns until at least the end of 2026.

Toto Wolff, Azerbaijan GP 2022

 Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.

Bild newspaper, the specialist Auto Motor und Sport and Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport say the 52-year-old Austrian, with a one-third share of the Formula 1 team, has signed a new contract.

I'm staying here at least until 2026, La Gazzetta dello Sport quoted Wolff as saying.

Auto Motor und Sport, however, said the Brackley based team was yet to officially confirm the news. Wolff co-owns Mercedes along with the German carmaker as well as Ineos boss Jim Ratcliffe, with all three parties holding 33.3 percent.

In the end, the three of us decided 'Let's keep going', Wolff is quoted as saying.

Mercedes' 2024 car will be officially launched on 14 February, and Wolff said simulator driver Anthony Davidson is confident it is better than the ill-fated 2022 and 2023 machines.
A high-risk sex offender sought by North Dakota Parole and Probation is back in custody after 11 days of being unaccounted for.

Department spokesperson Kayli Richards in a Tuesday statement said Calvin Payne, 32, was arrested by Mandan police Monday evening. No further details were provided.

Payne had been sought since Jan. 4 when he apparently removed a GPS monitoring bracelet. Payne had been under the department's supervision for failure to register, drug possession and possession of narcotic equipment.

Payne pleased guilty in 2014 to luring minors by computer and possessing meth. The charges were filed after the mother of a 14-year old girl approached authorities. As part of his sentence, Payne is required to register as a sex offender for life.
Two workshops are planned in coming weeks for people considering running for local elected offices in Bismarck-Mandan.

The Bismarck Mandan Chamber EDC, Bismarck Mandan Board of Realtors and North Dakota Association of Realtors are hosting a Candidate Training session on Wednesday, Jan. 24, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum, at 612 E. Boulevard Ave. in Bismarck. There is a $50 registration fee. For more information or to register, go to https://bit.ly/2024candidatetraining.

The success of our communities depends upon business-minded professionals that are willing to step up to run for elected office, Chamber EDC President & CEO Brenda Nagel said. With the openings on Park Board, City and County Commissions and School Boards, as well as legislative vacancies due to term limits, we have a lot of opportunity for people to serve their community."

A free workshop is planned in Mandan. The Empowering Tomorrows Leaders workshop is Wednesday, Feb. 7, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Mandan City Hall, 205 Second Ave. NW. It will be conducted by the Mandan Tomorrow: Leadership, Pride and Image Committee in partnership with NDSU Extension Morton County. Registration is requested by Feb. 4 at cityofmandan.com/register or by calling 701-667-3478.

Our goal is to promote interest in leadership so the public has more candidates than the number of positions available to choose from (for) each open position with the city and county commissions as well as school and park boards, Committee Chair Laurie Leingang said. Contested elections encourages voting, stimulates debate and conversation, which helps bring new ideas and perspectives."
Two Stark County brothers including one serving on a Morton County school board face a multitude of felony charges stemming from alleged possession of sexually explicit images of minors.

Joel Opp, 42, of Richardton, and Joshua Opp, 48, of Dickinson, were in custody at the Southwest Multi-County Correctional Center in Dickinson on $100,000 cash bonds. Court records do not indicate attorneys for either.

Joel Opp is a vice president of the Hebron School Board. School Superintendent Myron Schaff said the charges shocked the school community.

"Clearly they are very serious allegations," Schaff told the Tribune. "The administration and the rest of the school board are working with our school district attorney to determine how best to proceed."

A review of the school district's website Tuesday afternoon showed Joel Opp was no longer listed among board members, but Schaff said that was an error.

"To date, Mr. Opp has not resigned," Schaff said.

Joel Opp faces five counts of possession of certain materials prohibited. State law defines that offense as knowingly possessing any motion picture, photograph, or other visual representation that includes sexual conduct by a minor. Each count is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Joshua Opp is charged with 10 counts of possession of certain materials prohibited and five counts of promoting or directing an obscene sexual performance by a minor. A conviction on the latter charge carries a 20-year maximum sentence.

Joshua Opp's preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 5, while Joel Opp's preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 12. Both suspects could enter pleas during their court appearances.
Samsung's big unveiling event for the Galaxy S24 family is taking place this Wednesday, on January 17. So now, with mere hours to go, the last-minute leaks are starting to pour in. This one right here seems to have originated Samsung's Austrian arm - someone sharing a screenshot of its internal systems.

This lets us know that, as a pre-order promo, in Austria (and presumably in a lot of other EU or at least Western European countries), you will get a storage bump for free. So if you buy the 128GB model, you'll get the one with 256GB instead. And so on - pay for 256GB, get 512GB. It even works for the 1TB version of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which you will receive if you pre-order the 512GB iteration.

That being said, the 1TB option is limited to only 2,000 units across all participating retailers in Austria, and it might be similarly limited in other countries where the same promo will apply.

Moving on, if you trade-in an old smartphone or tablet you will get a guaranteed 100 bonus on top of whatever the trade-in value is determined to be. This offer will run from January 17 to January 30.

The Galaxy S24 and S24+ will be offered in these exclusively online colors: Jade Green, Sapphire Blue, and Sandstone Orange. The S24 Ultra's exclusively online hues will be Titanium Green, Titanium Blue, and Titanium Orange.

Via
There are less than 24 hours before the Galaxy Unpacked event for the S24 series starts and we expect that pre-orders will begin immediately after. This means that now is your last chance to secure a $50 Samsung Credit by reserving a phone right now.

Essentially, you fill in this form with your name and email (and optionally your phone number) and you will get an email to remind you when the actual pre-order begins. This email also give you the $50 credit. Note: the credit can't be applied towards the phone's cost, but you can pick up, say, an accessory for it.

If you change your mind you can always just drop the whole thing  theres no deposit or any commitment to complete the purchase. We will have detailed reports on the new Samsung Galaxy S24 trio tomorrow, so check back with us.

There might be some major changes, e.g. rumor has it that Samsung could follow Google in offering 7 years of support for the new flagships. Other things might not change, e.g. we expect to see the same free storage upgrade that Samsung has offered in the last few years.

The most interesting thing will be the trade-in credit  that will be up to $970 based on what the reservation page says. This could make an upgrade from a recent Galaxy S or iPhone quite cheap.
A former Guam Police Department colonel, Mark C. Charfauros, is considering running for Hagat mayor, while some incumbent senators and mayors plan to seek reelection.

Theyre among the first ones to pick up candidate packets for the 2024 elections, since the Guam Election Commission made the packets available online or in person on Jan. 2. Some got their packets picked up for them.

Those who are able to gather the required number of petition signatures early could start filing their candidate packets with GEC on Feb. 26.

The office of the mayor should be more than just cutting grass and putting up holiday decorations, Charfauros, a Democrat, told the Pacific Daily News on Tuesday.

He could be facing incumbent Hagat Mayor Kevin Susuico in the mayoral race.

Charfauros said the Hagat mayors office can do more to push for home delivery in the village, funding to help the villages youth programs including tutoring, stimulate entrepreneurship, and push for improved utility services after flooding, typhoons and other disasters.

While they are tall order, I will do my best if elected mayor, the former police colonel said.

About a year ago, Charfauros lost his appeal to the Supreme Court of Guam, which said that GPD didnt violate his rights when it fired him in 2016 for publicly discussing an ongoing investigation. The case is related to a 2016 incident in Hagat where he questioned and yelled at police officers responding to a report of fireworks in the village.

Besides Charfauros, there are others considering challenging incumbent mayors.

They include Michael Gumataotao, who is eyeing the Hagatna mayors post. He was the very first one to personally pick up a candidate packet on Jan. 2.

Talofofo Mayor Vincente S. Taitague also picked up a candidate packet, while Tamuning Mayor Louise C. Rivera, Tamuning Vice Mayor Albert M. Toves and Humatak Mayor Johnny A. Quinata got their packets picked up for them.

Candidate packets have also been picked up for Sen. Jesse Lujan, Vice Speaker Tina Muna Barnes, and Sen. Frank Blas Jr.

A petition for Sen. Dwayne San Nicolas to run a second term has also been circulating.

Heres the list of those who have already picked up candidate packets and those whose packets were picked up for them, as of Jan. 12, as well as those who have petitions for them to run that started circulating:

Picked up packets for mayor and vice mayor: (Some didnt return calls for more info about their plans)

Michael Gumataotao, Republican, for Hagatna mayor Talofofo Mayor Vincente S. Taitague, Democrat, incumbent Tamuning Mayor Louise C. Rivera, Republican, incumbent Tamuning Vice Mayor Albert M. Toves, Republican, incumbent Anthony Junior Duenas San Nicolas, Democrat, Santa Rita-Sumai mayor Ethan Cruz, who picked up a packet for another person, but declined to name the potential mayoral candidates name as of press time Janalu Lizama Salvador, Republican, Santa Rita-Sumai mayor Debbie M.P. Lujan, Republican, Yona mayor Franklin J. Champaco, Malesso mayor Pedro Blas, Democrat, Yigo vice mayor Brian BJ Terlaje, Democrat, Yona mayor Stephen M. Cruz, Democrat, Malesso mayor Brandon Salas, mayor Hill Junior Leon Guerrero, Democrat, Santa Rita-Sumai mayor Humatak Mayor Johnny A. Quinata, Republican, incumbent Mark C. Charfauros, Hagat mayor Wayne S.N. Santos, Democrat, Chalan Pago-Ordot mayor Debbie P. Lujan, Republican, Yona mayor

For senator:

Vice Speaker Tina Muna Barnes, Democrat, incumbent Vincent Borja, Republican Sen. Jesse Lujan, Republican, incumbent William Eric Lee, Republican Rafaelle M.J.P. Sgambelluri, Republican Committee to Draft Eulogio Shawn Gumataotao for Senator William Ray Gibson, Republican Ramon Quinene, Democrat Sen. Frank Blas Jr., Republican, incumbent Don A.A. Edquilane, Republican Jonathan Savares Sen. Dwayne San Nicolas, Democrat, incumbent

The last day to file candidate packets is May 3, three months before the Aug. 3 primaries. The general election is Nov. 5.
The Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center has announced a groundbreaking partnership with the Department of Public Health and Social Services.

The alliance heralds the launch of the Empowering Families Initiative, an assortment of programs meticulously crafted to empower children and families across Guam, a press release from the center said.

With a generous funding of $4.9 million, the initiative underscores the agencies unwavering commitment to providing comprehensive, accessible services that address diverse needs without financial barriers.

Every family in need deserves support; this collaboration ensures they receive it, Theresa Arriola, director of GBHWC, said in a statement.

Public Health Director Art San Agustin said his department is proud to partner with GBHWC to launch the Empowering Families Initiative, which he describes as a visionary project that will transform the lives of many children and families in Guam.

Key programs

Autism services program: Tailored interventions and training for children with autism, their caregivers, and educators. A forthcoming request for proposals will identify a local organization to spearhead this pivotal service.

Mobile crisis and family stabilization: A 24/7 responsive team offering in-home crisis management and post-crisis skill-building sessions for up to 90 days, ensuring sustained family wellbeing.

Therapeutic foster care  Home-based program: A sanctuary for children with behavioral health needs in the welfare system; trained therapeutic foster caregivers paired with therapists ensure holistic care.

Juvenile justice program: Comprehensive therapeutic supports for youth in the Department of Youth Affairs transitioning back into the community; fostering reintegration through family and community engagement.

Were not just responding to crises; were nurturing mental health awareness and fortifying families, according to Dr. James Cooper-Nurse, administrator of GBHWCs Child/Adolescent Services Division.

For inquiries or further information, contact the GBHWC directors office at (671) 647-1901.
Guam Department of Agricultures Forestry Aide Bruno Cases heads down a fire break trail with a flapper in hand to extinguish flames attempting to cross, as he and other emergency personnel respond to a grass fire at the Buena Vista Subdivision in Santa Rita-Sumai on March 14, 2022.
The financial crisis at the Guam Memorial Hospital has stabilized since $50 million in public money was pumped into the facility three months ago, but concerns remain about cash, mold and safety during a legislative oversight hearing on Tuesday.

Hospital leadership told senators that GMH has paid off the majority of the $30 million debt that they owed to vendors.

GMH is now working to get back on good terms with suppliers of medicine and equipment and service providers, some of whom had put the hospital on a credit hold over unpaid bills, officials said.

A full $30 million in local tax dollars to deal with the debt, and another $20 million in federal American Rescue Plan to deal with maintenance and repairs were diverted to GMH following a legislative oversight hearing last September.

GMH Administrator Lilian Perez- Posadas walked out of the September hearing, hinting at her resignation, and Lt. Gov. Joshua Tenorio shortly after placed the hospital under the financial supervision of Adelups fiscal team.

Tuesdays oversight hearing was less adversarial, though not without criticism or questioning from lawmakers about practices at GMH.

Most of the outstanding debt the hospital incurred has been paid out, hospital Chief Financial Officer Yukari Hechanova told senators. Vendors that had GMH on credit hold, along with pharmaceuticals vendors, got paid first, she said.

All thats still unaccounted for from the $30 million cash infusion is about $1.7 million, most of which is being held up due to technical issues with certain purchase orders, Hechanova said.

The hospital is now working to rebuild relationships with certain contractors so they get the ball rolling on repair, maintenance, and improvement work, according to GMH Assistant Administrator of Operations William Kando.

Many of our contractors hadnt been paid prior obligations for over a year. So now, were actually having trouble bringing them back to the table, he said.

According to Kando, the hospital needs to spend on:

The replacement of two 450-ton chillers, a 265-ton chiller, and two cooling towers: $7 million

Structural and architectural improvements, including wall hardening and window replacements: $7 million

Other ventilation and air cooling system improvements: $3 million

Upgrades for the previously hacked IT network: $3 million

Billing and collections

The hospitals billing has increased in the first few months of fiscal 2024, which started in October, but GMH still collects about $2.5 million less a month than it needs to keep up with operational costs, according to Hechanova.

GMH has sent out about $23 million in bills a month since October, up from an average of $19.4 million a month in the last fiscal year.

But collections total around $9 million each month, compared to $11 million GMH is targeting.

Theres also $25 million worth of bills that havent even been sent out yet, due to a two-month backlog on processing insurance claims or, coding, Hechanova said.

Much of the delay is caused by sickness, holidays, or other staffing problems that leave the hospitals nine coders working in billings and collections unable to work, according to Hechanova.

To that end, GMH is thinking about contracting out the work to catch up on coding.

Dr. Hoa Nguyen of American Medical Clinic said he has between a dozen and 15 certified coders working on insurance claims for him at any given time.

Nguyen called the hospitals collection rate horrible, its unacceptable.

Questioned by Sen. Frank Blas Jr., Hechanova said the hospital has $360 million in accounts receivable backlog dating back to 1997 that its currently trying to clear out.

Most of that, or about $280 million worth of billings, is for self-pay patients that dont have insurance.

Mold, cooling problems

The question of a still unreleased mold report drew criticism from Sen. Chris Barnett.

GMH commissioned a mold assessment after Typhoon Mawar damaged and flooded much of the facility last May, but it has yet to release the findings.

Perez-Posadas said the report is still in a draft form, and that management wants to give the hospital board of trustees a chance to review the full report.

Was there anything in the draft report about the potential health effects that may be brought on by the presence of this mold? Barnett asked.

The industrial hygienist professional did not really say what those risks are, for  the patient, but, just the facts as far as what the contents, you know, in the environment, Perez-Posadas said.

GMH spokesperson Cindy Hanson earlier this month told the Pacific Daily News that the levels of mold at the hospital did not constitute a threat.

Mold samples were taken from 40 sections throughout the hospital and analyzed, according to Perez-Posadas.

All Im saying is, when you have to do this much to mitigate the presence of mold, it to me seems very serious. And thats all Im saying is that the people have a right to know, Barnett said.

A hospital-wide duct cleaning is ongoing, along with a number of other steps including ceiling tile replacements.

The senator said he was concerned the veil of the report being a draft was being used to withhold it.

I take it very seriously, Perez-Posadas said, adding that there had been no fungal infection at the hospital.

Blas pressed the GMH leadership about the presence of new air conditioners in the obstetrics ward that are not operational.

The situation has left some new mothers using fans to cool themselves, the PDN reported last week. Split AC units, the type used in a household, have been installed around the hospital to compensate for issues with the HVAC system.

According to Kando, there are between 25 and 30 AC units that were installed to deal with warm air in the OBV ward that do not have power. The installation was about 60 to 90 days ago, and the hospital was working to get them powered up, Kando said.

A contract to get the AC units powered up would hopefully go out by next week, according to Kando. Though a design to tap the AC units into the hospitals electrical system was completed, previous bids to actually power them up came in overpriced, he said.

I just find it unacceptable. And really disturbing that we were going to put in units and  I dont see that theres any urgency in trying to get them up and ready, Blas said.

Barnett, meanwhile, said a relative of his recently had a baby and was informed beforehand by hospital staff that they should bring their own fan to GMH.

We actually prefer that they not bring their own electrical fans, because they would need to be checked (because) it could be an electrical safety hazard, Kando said.

We have a pretty good-sized inventory of fans, he added.
Port Authority of Guam General Manager Rory J. Respicio said partnerships are key to the Ports successes, while also emphasizing that a current lack of quorum has left the agency without a governing board.

Respicio addressed the Rotary Club of Northern Guam as the first speaker in the clubs 2024 luncheon series coinciding with Rotary Internationals Vocational Service Month at the Hotel Nikko Guam.

At the meeting, Respicio lobbied the group to get former Port board members confirmed by the Guam Legislature.

Respicio said that the Port is currently left without a governing board because there is no quorum.

He recognized the contributions of board members Dot Harris and Conchita Taitano, former board chair Frank Santos, former board member Judi Guthertz, and former Deputy General Manager Luis Baza.

Respicio also gave special acknowledgements to Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero and Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio for their leadership in modernizing the islands infrastructure.

In his presentation at the Rotary Club meeting, Respicio emphasized the Port as a cornerstone of the islands economy and a hub for commerce and global connectivity. He highlighted the Ports ecosystem where professional dedication and strategic vision drives growth and opportunities across the island.

A key aspect of the Port Authoritys success is the robust relationship with the Port Users Group, led by Joe Cruz from Cabras Marine, said Respicio. This partnership, built on mutual respect and shared goals, has been central in navigating challenges and leveraging opportunities for innovation and sustainability in the supply chain industry.

Respicio also reaffirmed the Ports commitment in upholding its role as a strategic port, fostering economic growth, enhancing regional and global connectivity, and contributing to the communitys well-being.

He adds that this vision also aligns with the governor and lieutenant governors framework in addressing the Guam buildup.

The address concluded with a presentation on the Ports 2024 Look Ahead, which outlines the Ports initiatives and plans.
Some lawmakers want to push investment on public property by letting government agencies lease public land for terms up to 10 or 30 years.

Theres currently a five-year limit on GovGuam land deals laid out in law, meant to ensure proper handling of land that the government owns.

But some members of the public and private sector have complained that the current five-year limit discourages investment.

Leasing out public property for longer than five years is possible, but requires a number of steps, including legislative review and approval of any land deal.

Two separate measures meant to extend the five-year limit were heard at the Guam Congress Building on Tuesday.

Sen. Telo Taitagues Bill 223-37 would allow for lease terms up to 10 years, while Sen. Roy Quinatas Bill 103-37 would allow terms up to a full 30 years.

Officials from the port and the airport on Tuesday supported a longer lease term on government land.

Chilling effect

The five-year cap on leases has caused a chilling effect on economic opportunity, according to Port Authority of Guam General Manager Rory Respicio, who testified in support of an extension to 10 years.

This bill is crucial for sustainable economic development, providing investors with a realistic timeframe to recoup their investments and achieve a favorable return on investment, Respicio stated.

It also balances the need for government oversight, he wrote.

Adjusting the five-year cap upwards was a move in the right direction, Guam International Airport Authority General Manager John Quinata told lawmakers.

But a term of up to 30 years would better entice investors, and give them a chance to make a return on investing in airport property, John Quinata said.

Airport Deputy General Manager Artemio Ricky Hernandez said the airport has had little luck in landing long-term contracts since the law was changed in 2013, requiring the Legislature to approve any lease past five years.

The airport lost out on big opportunities due to the limit, Hernandez said.

A company from Vietnam, for example, wanted to invest $280 million to build an aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility. But the company was hesitant to start the investment, since it wasnt guaranteed that the Legislature would approve the deal, according to Hernandez.

Airport Authoritys Quinata said the company even wanted to partner with the Guam Community College or the Guam Trades Academy to train aircraft mechanics locally.

Speaker: Not convincing

But Speaker Therese Terlaje questioned how much of the issue was caused by the need for the Legislature to approve land deals.

I dont find that to be very convincing, with all due respect, Terlaje said.

She said airport management could work ahead of time to identify what pieces of their land they wanted to designate for long-term lease contracts.

Sen. Roy Quinata, pushing for up to 30-year lease terms, noted that local businesses were among those that had asked for a change in the law during a roundtable discussion last year.

Besides attracting off-island businesses to Guam, it will also help local businesses establish themselves and provide stability for their operations in the long run, Sen. Quinata said.

Sen. Taitague, advocating for a shorter adjustment, said the government shouldnt jump in to lengthy land deals.

Besides opening the door to bad actors, it could also cause GovGuam to lose out on money, she said.

When you have a 30-year lease, theres no opportunity for appraisal of that property, Taitague said. It goes up in value, that amount stays stagnant through the whole 30-year lease.
Its a sad day in the wonderful world of music due to the tragic news of Grammy-winning artist Jo-El Sonniers passing.

Over the weekend, Texas country music promoter Tracy Pitcox shared a post on Facebook revealing Sonnier went into cardiac arrest after performing at the Llano Country Opry at the Lantex Theater, 13 W. Main St., Llano, Texas, on Saturday night. He was 77 years old.

In the post, Pitcox wrote: Jo-El Sonnier had just completed an incredible show at the Llano Country Opry in Llano, Texas ... He had entertained over an hour and ended with his signature, Tear Stained Letter. He received a standing ovation and I asked him to do Jambalaya as an encore. He performed a rousing rendition of that classic. Jo-El mentioned that he needed to rest for just a few minutes before signing autographs.

Unfortunately, he suffered cardiac arrest and was air flighted to Austin where he was pronounced deceased. It is never easy to lose a legend, but he truly spent his final day doing what he loved  entertaining his fans with his loving wife Bobbye by his side.

In 1946, Sonnier was born into a French-speaking family in Rayne, Louisiana, showing interest in music from an early age. Per Pitcoxs Facebook post, Sonnier began to play the accordion at the age of 3. By the time he was 11, Sonnier was making music recordings and even released several independent singles and albums as a teenager.

He signed on with Mercury Nashville as a country artist in the 1970s but pivoted to Cajun music after moving to an independent label called Rounder Records. However, Sonnier seemingly couldnt resist country music and returned to the scene in the 1980s after signing with RCA.

With RCA, Sonnier released chart-topping singles like 1987s No More One More Time and Tear Stained Letter, the latter of which was originally recorded by Richard Thompson.

In the 1990s, Sonnier returned to Cajun music and once again signed on with Rounder Records. In 2015, Sonnier won a Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Album thanks to his album, The Legacy.
FARGO  Adnan Akyuz was an enthusiastic harbinger of weather trends as North Dakotas state climatologist.

Akyuz also taught weather classes at North Dakota State University, including his popular Wonders of Weather course that attracted hundreds of students, one of the most popular on campus, according to Greg Lardy, vice president of agricultural affairs.

Akyuz died Jan. 5 at the age of 62 from cancer, just days short of his 63rd birthday.

He was always so positive, said Lardy, who announced the death in an email to the campus community. Just had a very bright outlook on life. Its just kind of infectious with him.

He often injected humor into his presentations, and one of his hallmarks was an image of galloping power lines when lecturing about wind.

Many of his colleagues at NDSU had been unaware that he was battling terminal cancer, and he continued to work in his office until mid-December, seemingly energized by his contact with students, Lardy said.

Akyuz always made himself accessible to reporters to talk about weather and climate. In fact, just days before his death, Akyuz took a call while in hospice care from a reporter who was unaware of his illness, said Daryl Ritchison, director of the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network.

He did his best to keep up with all of his work right up to the end, Lardy said. He loved the students. Were definitely going to miss him.

As state climatologist, Akyuzs duties included helping to compile damage reports for weather disasters that were used in applying for federal disaster relief, work that helped to bring hundreds of millions of dollars to the state, Lardy said.

He would routinely be recognized by state government officials, he said.

Since becoming North Dakotas state climatologist in 2007, Akyuz brought the citizen weather-reporting network, CoCoRaHS, to the state -- the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network -- to provide precipitation reports that augment the NDAWN network.

Before joining the School of Natural Resource Sciences at NDSU, Akyuz earned meteorology degrees at the University of Missouri and Istanbul Technical University in Turkey, his native country.

He had worked as state climatologist in Missouri before taking the position at NDSU.

Outside of his work, Akyuz was an avid rock climber. He was photographed wearing a green NDSU Bison T-shirt and holding a Go Bison! banner on top of Devils Tower in Wyoming.

Akyuz is survived by his wife, Tanya, and had two grown children. His family asks that memorials be directed to the NDSU Foundation (P.O. Box 5144, Fargo, ND 58105) for the Akyuz Family Memorial Fund for Students Under Cancer Treatment.




Haiti - Politic : Guy Philippe's activism supported by an outside hand ?





Edwin Paraison, former consul of Haiti in the Dominican Republic and Director of the Zile Foundation, declared that Haitians are experiencing a situation of great confusion after the call for civil disobedience launched by former senator-elect Guy Philippe.



"Since Guy Philippe returned to the country, he has maintained a clear and 'very strange' political activism, because if he did not have the support of 'an outside hand', it would be difficult for him to return and, time in the country, to devote himself to this type of active politics," declared Edwin Paraison in the Dominican press.



He believes that Philippe launched a civil disobedience movement on Monday, to see what level of popular support he receives.



Following the call for civil disobedience launched by former Senator-elect Guy Philippe to force the departure of Prime Minister a.i. Ariel Henry and his Government... Monday January 15, 2024, in certain cities of the country including Jeremie, Les Cayes, Ouanaminthe, Miragoane and Petit-Goave, barricades of burning tires were erected on several access roads while others were blocked by trucks... Public and private schools, public and commercial banks and stores kept their closed doors in these cities...



"As part of his (Philippe) movement calling on the population to civil disobedience and to occupy state offices, including that of the Prime Minister. Note, there is still no reaction from the ruling party, nor have we seen any movements from the national police to guarantee security and avoid clashes [...]"



"It is important to emphasize that unlike the 2004 movement where a good part of Aristide's opposition supported Philippe's movement, the political class is today largely silent, it has received the support of this or that political figure, but without much relevance and from one pastor to another," he declared.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-41440-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-41418-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-41374-haiti-politic-guy-philippe-sends-a-message-to-the-dominican-republic.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-41367-haiti-insecurity-guy-philippe-promises-to-solve-the-gang-problem-in-90-days.html



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - FLASH : Scholarship in Romania, registrations open





Every year, the Romanian Government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, offers a certain number of scholarships in Romania to nationals of non-EU countries.



Applicants can select their study program in all fields except medicine, dentistry and pharmacy.



For bachelor and master levels, only study programs in Romanian are available, thus promoting the Romanian language and culture. A preparatory year in Romanian is also granted before enrolling in the study program of one's choice, for those who do not speak Romanian.



At the doctoral level, candidates can also opt for a program in English or in a foreign language set by the doctoral school.



To be eligible, the scholarship applicant must :



Submit a complete file;



Respect the application submission methodology;



Present study documents from accredited/recognized educational institutions in the country where they were obtained;



Respect the submission schedule



Have good results in education, respectively an average of years of study of at least 7 (seven) corresponding to the grading system in Romania or the qualifier "good", where applicable.



The candidate can choose one of the following three study cycles at accredited higher education institutions in Romani a:



Bachelor's degree: bachelors degree programmes are addressed to graduates of high school studies or pre-university studies at the end of which they obtained a baccalaureate degree or equivalent, as well as candidates applying for further university studies in Romania. The complete programme runs for a period of 3-6 years, depending on the specialization followed and ends with a bachelor's exam;





bachelors degree programmes are addressed to graduates of high school studies or pre-university studies at the end of which they obtained a baccalaureate degree or equivalent, as well as candidates applying for further university studies in Romania. The complete programme runs for a period of 3-6 years, depending on the specialization followed and ends with a bachelor's exam; Master's degree : masters degree programmes are addressed to undergraduates, run for a period of 1 year, 1.5 years or 2 years and end with the dissertation exam;





masters degree programmes are addressed to undergraduates, run for a period of 1 year, 1.5 years or 2 years and end with the dissertation exam; PhD : doctoral programmes are addressed to graduate students or equivalent and run for a period of 3-5 years, depending on the profile of the chosen faculty and end with the presentation of a PhD thesis. In order to be admitted to doctoral studies and to obtain the scholarship, it is compulsory that, prior to submitting the application, the candidate should get the written agreement of the Doctoral Tutor, which must be a member of the doctoral school, and also that he/she passes the admission interview.'admission.



Submit application files:

Application files are sent only through the Study in Romania platform: https://scholarships.studyinromania.gov.ro . The platform can be used in English or French.



Create your personal account: https://scholarships.studyinromania.gov.ro/scholarship-create-account



Calendar:

The registration period begins on January 16, 2024. The deadline for submitting applications is March 16, 2024.



The results of the scholarship selection process will be announced by email, around July 15, 2024 to each candidate who applied for the scholarship. Upon selection, additional formalities, such as obtaining a visa, will be required.



All the details on the scholarship program (Eligibility conditions - How to submit application files? - Necessary documents - Formalities for admitted candidates - Rights and obligations of scholarship holders... ): https://scholarships.studyinromania.gov.ro/scholarship-about#prog



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





Attack and escape at a police station

Sunday January 14 in the evening, heavily armed individuals attacked the Saint-Michel de l'Attalaye police station. Several detainees held in police custody, including an individual arrested for pretending to be a police officer, escaped, according to Me Pedro Joseph. The latter denounces that this attack and this escape occurred without any opposition from the police officers who were on duty.



Martin Luther King Day

Monday January 15, 2024, day dedicated to the memory of Martin Luther King, the Odette Roy Fombrun Foundation unites with the Haitian people to celebrate the legacy of this great defender of civil rights who inspired the world with his vision of equality, of justice and fraternity. "May this day be an opportunity to reflect, engage and work together to build a future where peace and justice reign for all."



DR : DINEPA recovers 30t of materials

The National Directorate of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DINEPA) thanked Victor Bisono, the Dominican Minister of Industry and Commerce, for facilitating the exit of the 30 tons of hydraulic equipment blocked in the Dominican Republic. DINEPA reiterated its desire to continue to acquire R&D equipment.



Jacmel Carnival : The PNH ready

During the official launch of the 32nd edition of pre-carnival activities in Jacmel, the Departmental Directorate of the South-East Police took the opportunity to present its plan to strengthen the security system during this period, where strategic axes will be occupied by agents order in order to secure and facilitate the movement of carnival-goers. Carnival date February 14, 2024 theme "February 14, 2024, which will take place this year around the theme 'Pandan nap danse, ann planifye yon nouvelle ayiti'"



Arrests in the assassination of Saintamene Mervilus

Monday, the South-East police announced the arrest in Marigot of five individuals including a woman accused of involvement in the assassination of Saintamene Mervilus, on December 27, 2023, in Pointe-a-Raquette (Ile de La Gonave) .



Dr. Berhony Francois released against ransom

Saturday January 13, 2024, Dr. Berhony Francois responsible for the ELOHIM medical complex, kidnapped on January 11 from rue de la Reunion in Port-au-Prince, was released by his captors against ransom.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















We all benefit from a strong oil and natural gas industry. The billions of dollars in taxes and royalties paid to the state of North Dakota each year pay for education, infrastructure and social services across our great state. In fact, over 50% of all tax revenue collected by North Dakota is paid by the oil industry. We also employ almost 50,000 people in high-paying jobs and careers. And the oil we produce here helps make our nation more energy secure and less dependent on unfriendly foreign suppliers.

Industry investments in the North Dakota Bakken oilfield continue to be strong. We have a stable rig count and the number of producing wells continues to increase. North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources reported that our state recorded a new all-time high of 18,619 wells averaging 1.245 million barrels of oil per day in October 2023.

New technologies continually reduce the effects of drilling for and producing oil. Three-mile lateral wells, advances in innovation, improved practices, and inventions have helped our industry lessen our impact on the environment while increasing the efficiency of exploration and drilling activities. North Dakota oil and natural gas companies lead the world in the design and implementation of clean and efficient oil and gas exploration, development and production technologies.

North Dakota producers are now using satellites, global positioning systems, remote sensing devices, unmanned aerial aircraft and 3D seismic technologies to assist with oil recovery, resulting in fewer exploratory wells. The adoption of emerging technologies such as AI and real-time analytics is expected to pick up as companies seek to enhance environmental safeguards and operational efficiency.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that up to 3.3 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil are still available in the Bakken Formation. Industry experts are even more optimistic and estimate the recoverable oil left in the Bakken is more like 7-10 billion barrels of oil. New technologies are opening the door for our state to take advantage of this great natural resource to the benefit of North Dakota and the nation.

The key to the long-term, environmentally sound, and efficient production of the Bakken resource is the use of new and evolving technologies. The use of EOR (enhanced oil recovery) techniques is critical to our future success. By injecting CO2 in wells as they decline in productivity, EOR will substantially extend the life of a well and the amount of oil that can be recovered from that well.

Improvements in horizontal and directional drilling technology, including new three-mile lateral wells, will make it possible for a single well to produce oil from a much larger area. Doing so reduces the number of wells necessary to develop the Bakkens tremendous oil resource while further protecting wildlife and the Bakkens natural beauty.

The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) has also developed the Bakken Production Optimization Program which shows how state lawmakers, state regulators, landowners and the industry can work together for the benefit of mineral owners, shareholders and taxpayers.

We are looking forward to another good year in North Dakotas oil industry. In fact, we will be celebrating the milestone of having produced 5 billion barrels of oil in the Bakken by midyear in 2024. Come join the celebration at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference on May 14-16, 2024, at the Bismarck Event Center. We will be showcasing our industry, its leaders, its best practices, and new technologies coming soon to the oil and gas industry. Learn more at wbpcnd.com.
Havre Police Department

A caller at 7:35 a.m. Friday reported seeing a juvenile walking with no shoes on on First Street West.

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Joseph Bradley Brekke of Bozeman, 44, was issued a summons on charges of theft from buildings and vandalism, and Kevin Michael Pearson of Bozeman, 47, and Michael Justin Clark of Bozeman, 49, were each issued a summons on a charge of vandalism after a caller at a First Street business asked Friday at 9:29 a.m. to speak to an officer.

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A vehicle crash was reported at 10th Street and Fifth Avenue Friday at 10:51 a.m.

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A written or verbal warning was issu...
Human trafficking is not just a big city problem. Its happening right here in Montana.

Which is why, during National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, Im encouraging Montanans to learn the signs of human trafficking and report it if they see it.

If folks dont know what it is and how to report it, they cant help us stop it.

Lets call human trafficking what it is: modern-day slavery. Traffickers  often organized criminal enterprises  are profiting at the expense of adults and children who are forced to perform labor or engage in commercial sex. Its a heinous crime...
Of the total funding, 599 million was directly granted to businesses, highlighting the country's focus on nurturing corporate innovation.

Business Finland , in a strategic move to bolster the nation's competitive edge and sustainable growth, allocated a total of 726 million in funding last year, with a substantial 416 million earmarked specifically for innovation. This substantial investment reflects Finland's commitment to fostering a thriving environment for groundbreaking ideas and technologies.

Additionally, research initiatives received 127 million, underlining the importance of research and development in driving forward national progress.

Nina Kopola, Director General of Business Finland, emphasized the vital role of innovation funding in creating competitive advantages for Finland. "Productivity growth, a key issue for our nation, springs from new ventures and the commercialization of innovations by companies. Success is born at the intersection of insightful product and service ideas and growing markets," she stated.

According to Kopola, companies benefiting from research, development, and innovation funding tend to invest more of their own capital. During 2021-2022, these companies doubled their R&D investments (16.4%) compared to the general growth rate (5.9%). This trend was also consistent in the previous year.

In a significant development, Nokia Solutions and Networks received the largest portion of innovation funding last year, totaling 48.9 million. This funding concluded a flagship project involving 120 partners, with total investments in R&D activities surpassing 200 million over 2020-2023.

A notable initiative has been the Deep Tech funding pilot launched last year by Business Finland. This program, which allocated nearly 7 million to 17 startups, aims to accelerate the commercialization of research findings in the Deep Tech sector. Deep Tech startups, with their potential to revolutionize entire industries, are crucial in addressing societal challenges like climate change and cybersecurity threats.

Despite challenging global trade conditions, Finnish companies, especially startups and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), have shown resilience in exports. Risto Vuohelainen, Director in charge of export promotion services at Business Finland, reported that exports from previously funded startups, particularly the top performers, have reached up to 2 billion. SME exports have grown steadily, accounting for about 25% of total exports. Vuohelainen also highlighted the importance of expanding into new, growing markets as traditional markets may show declining trends.

In addition to direct funding, Business Finland's systematic two-year export promotion projects have generated hundreds of millions of euros in new sales and over two billion euros in business opportunities. These projects, involving 215 Finnish companies, focused on areas like low-carbon construction in Europe, port investments in the USA, and the digitalization of public services in South America. The companies utilized various services, including 29 delegation visits to target markets and other Team Finland network services.

Vuohelainen sums up the effort: We work tirelessly across our global network of 38 offices to provide Finnish companies with the best possible conditions for international business growth.

In 2023, Business Finland granted a significant 321.9 million in innovation funding to the Uusimaa region, spread across 652 different projects. This investment underscores the region's role as a hub of innovation and technological advancement in Finland.

HT
The investigation involved collecting 177 sushi samples from 59 restaurants and 30 stores offering self-made, unpackaged sushi either as self-service or service sales.

A comprehensive study conducted in 2023 by the Helsinki City Environmental Services, along with Espoo Regional Environmental Health, Central Uusimaa Environmental Center, and Porvoo Environmental Health Care, has revealed encouraging results regarding the microbiological quality of sushi in the Helsinki capital region.

This included 118 samples from restaurants and 59 from stores, with an additional 13 samples retested due to initial poor results.

The samples were analyzed for total aerobic microbial count, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus. Sushi containing fish and shellfish was also tested for Listeria monocytogenes. A preliminary sensory evaluation and pH level assessment were conducted for all samples, along with investigations into production timing and temperature control.

The findings were quite reassuring: 80.2% of the sushi samples were of good microbiological quality, 12.4% were rated as satisfactory, and only 7.4% were deemed poor. The satisfactory samples were still considered fit for consumption. No significant issues were noted in the preliminary sensory evaluations.

Comparatively, the 2023 results showed a slight decline from a similar study conducted in 2012, primarily due to higher total aerobic microbial counts. Only one poor sample was attributed to Bacillus cereus, a bacterium indicating the thoroughness of vegetable washing and effectiveness of cooling, while Staphylococcus aureus, indicative of hand hygiene quality, was not found in any poor sample. Listeria monocytogenes was detected in three samples, but at levels below 100 cfu (colony forming units) per gram, posing a low risk of illness.

Terhi Juppi, a food inspector from the Helsinki City Environmental Services, advised, Those in risk groups, such as pregnant women and the elderly, should be aware of the potential presence of Listeria in sushi.

The study highlighted that the use of uncooked ingredients in sushi could partially explain the instances of poor quality. Hygienic handling and storage of raw materials, along with the use of fresh ingredients, are crucial for maintaining sushi quality. It was also noted that sushi quality was slightly better when stored at temperatures up to 12 degrees Celsius and at lower pH levels, both factors known to inhibit microbial growth in food.

HT
Before Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Finnish public opinion on NATO membership was divided,

A new study has shed light on the dramatic shift in the Finnish Twitter discourse regarding NATO following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The research , conducted jointly by Aalto University and the University of Helsinki, reveals a significant change in the attitudes of Finnish Twitter users, particularly those identified as left-leaning, towards NATO.

with only 20-30% in favor, predominantly along left-right political lines. However, the study shows a notable depolarization in citizen opinion post-invasion, as observed in Twitter conversations. Depolarization here refers to the convergence of opposing societal views.

Yan Xia, a doctoral researcher at Aalto Universitys Department of Computer Science, explains, Before the invasion, we identified three distinct groups in our study: NATO supporters, left-leaning NATO opponents, and conspiracy theory-influenced NATO opponents. We used trends in retweets to classify these ideological groups.

Post-invasion, there was a noteworthy shift. The left-leaning NATO-opposing group broke out of their retweeting bubble, aligning closer to NATO supporters, irrespective of previous left-right divisions. However, the conspiracy theorists' group remained insulated, largely confined to their retweeting bubble, Xia adds.

The convergence between left-leaning NATO opponents and NATO supporters was marked by a unified condemnation of Russia's invasion and shared democratic norms. The researchers suggest that external threats can break down societal divisions, but echo chambers based on conspiracy theories and disinformation are resistant to even severe external threats.

Tuomas Yla-Anttila, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Helsinki, notes the durability of these echo chambers. Their persistence is likely due to the communication network structure: people in disinformation bubbles interact minimally with others, predominantly encountering views that reinforce their existing beliefs.

Yla-Anttila further explains the phenomenon of confirmation bias among individuals with strong, unconventional opinions. They are more likely to cling to their beliefs and easily overlook viewpoints that contradict their own.

This polarization is not exclusive to NATO discussions. Understanding these disinformation bubbles is crucial for democratic decision-making. They are a part of political reality in Finland, and entities benefiting from them, like Kremlin's propaganda machinery, are likely fueling them actively, Yla-Anttila asserts.

The research team, comprising network scientists from Aalto University and political researchers from the University of Helsinki, used network theoretical methods to measure structural polarization in discussions and automatically identify different bubbles and structures in social media conversations.

Unlike survey studies, this approach lets us precisely track the evolution of discussions over time, even retrospectively, which was crucial for this study to be timed around Russia's invasion, says Mikko Kivela, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Aalto University.

The study, recently published in the European Physical Journal Data Science, highlights the evolving dynamics of political discourse in social media, providing insights into public opinion shifts in times of geopolitical crises.

HT
In a positive sign of recovery for Finland's aviation sector, Finavias airports saw a significant 19% year-on-year increase in passenger traffic in 2023, with a total of 18.3 million passengers. However, these numbers still lag behind the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.

It handled 15.3 million passengers, accounting for a similar 19% increase. Notably, the winter season in Lapland contributed to this surge, setting new records for tourist arrivals.

Petri Vuori, Finavias Senior Vice President responsible for route development, underscored the concerted efforts to enhance Finland's connectivity. "Our focus has been on strengthening flight connections in collaboration with airlines and tourism organizations. In 2023, we offered around 130 direct routes globally, with significant passenger growth on European, North American, and Asian flights."

The year 2023 marked a robust recovery in international travel, with 80% of passengers on international flights and the remaining 20% on domestic routes. The top destinations from Finavias airports included Stockholm, London, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Paris, with Germany, Spain, Sweden, the UK, and Italy being the most popular European countries. Outside Europe, the United States, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, and India attracted the most travelers.

Despite the uptick, the shadow of the pandemic and geopolitical tensions, such as the war initiated by Russia and the subsequent closure of Russian airspace, continue to affect the aviation industry, particularly impacting transfer travel between Asia and Europe.

Lapland airports, including Rovaniemi, Kittila, Ivalo, Kuusamo, and Kemi-Tornio, experienced an 18% rise in passenger traffic, with Rovaniemi Airport alone witnessing a 29% increase. The popularity of these destinations during the NovemberDecember 2023 tourist season underscores their appeal to international visitors.

Vuori further highlighted the importance of regular scheduled flights to Lapland's attractiveness. "These flights are vital not only for local residents and the business community but also for attracting a broader passenger base due to the extensive onward connections they offer."

Regional airports under Finavia also saw an 18% increase in passenger traffic, further indicating a gradual rebound in Finland's aviation sector. However, the journey to pre-pandemic passenger levels continues, with the industry closely monitoring and adapting to the evolving travel landscape.

HT
Minister of Climate and the Environment Kai Mykkanen (NCP) stated to the daily newspaper earlier this year that the government is preparing to ban the import of Russian liquefied natural gas as soon as 2025.

THE TRANSPORT of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to terminals in Pori and Tornio in Finland could end in 2025, reports Helsingin Sanomat.

I dont want to promise any specific date, but hopefully well be in a situation next year that the ban is in effect, he said on 5 January.

Gasum, the state-owned natural gas company of Finland, has continued to import liquefied natural gas from Russia throughout Russias war of aggression in Ukraine. It has justified the purchases with contractual obligations arising from its long-term supply contract with Gazprom, the state-owned natural gas company of Russia.

The contract is a so-called take-or-pay contract, which obligates the company to pay for a certain amount of natural gas every year regardless of whether it collects of the gas or not. Neither the duration nor the terms of the agreement have been disclosed in public.

Should we decide not to collect this amount, we are still obligated to pay for the gas and have to source the same amount of LNG again from another supplier to fulfil agreed deliveries to our customers, reads a bulletin on the website of Gasum.

The company added that it has only collected the minimum amount of natural from Gazprom since February 2022, the month in which Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Both Gasum and the Finnish government view that there are no legal grounds for discontinuing the purchases because natural gas or liquefied natural gas deliveries from Russia do not fall within the purview of EU sanctions.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
The primary objective of this new clinic is to advance the treatment of severe trauma-related stress disorders.

The Helsinki University Hospital (HUS) has announced the opening of a specialized Trauma Psychiatry Clinic in the Meilahti hospital area, set to launch in January. This clinic is poised to provide critical consultation and treatment services for patients suffering from trauma-induced stress disorders, a condition prevalently found among refugees and asylum seekers.

Refugees and asylum seekers, having often experienced extraordinarily traumatic events, are at significant risk. Psychological trauma is not only a risk factor for many psychiatric symptoms but is also a prerequisite for the diagnosis of trauma-related stress disorder.

"The Trauma Psychiatry Clinic offers consultation services and non-urgent diagnostic and treatment periods primarily for psychiatric unit patients suffering from trauma-related stress disorder," explains Dr. Tanja Laukkala, Chief Physician at HUS Psychiatry.

Another innovative aspect of the clinic's services will be the introduction of eConsultations in trauma psychiatry, initially serving the Uusimaa region. Once established, these eConsultations are expected to expand into a national service. In addition, the clinic will work in conjunction with the Defense Forces' psychiatric clinic, which has its national special tasks, further enhancing its capability.

The HUS Trauma Psychiatry Clinic is not just a treatment center; it's a hub of expertise focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of trauma-induced stress disorders. The staff is actively involved in drafting national treatment guidelines, serving as experts in various networks, including emergency preparedness, and outlining treatment pathways that extend to basic healthcare levels. They also play a crucial role as trainers and are instrumental in development projects, ensuring that issues related to psychological trauma are integrated into the healthcare system and addressed in wider societal contexts.

HT
Investigation clears officers in arrest at fatal shooting scene outside bar

A large party at the Orchard Bar & Grill in the early morning hours on the day after Thanksgiving had the ingredients of a holiday celebration that would end tragically.

Shortly after the private party inside the bar ended, dozens of people spilled out into the parking lot of the shopping center, on Four Seasons Boulevard at Dana Road. There was a report of two women shouting at one another. As many as 40 cars were in the parking lot at the time, and it appeared few belonged to partygoers ready to go home. Two men got in a fist fight. Minutes later, one of them, Elijah Edwards Timmons III, fired at the other. He missed. The man Timmons shot at returned fire. He did not miss. Timmons died instantly of a gunshot to the forehead.

Police declined to charge the shooter, and Timmons mother wants to know why.

I didnt ask for the situation to happen to me, Patricia Ann King told the Hendersonville City Council on Jan. 4. I was called in the middle of the night to check on my son. I came to do just that and I should have been able to do that.

Instead, she claimed, I was treated unfairly with disregard and disrespect for the fact that I was watching my son die on the pavement. She was arrested and charged with misdemeanor counts of resisting a law officer and assaulting a law officer. The arrest record said she punched sheriffs deputy Dakota Wolfe in the face with a closed fist.

King told the City Council that she doesnt know why police and prosecutors determined that the man who shot Timmons did so in self-defense and would not be charged.

I was arrested on the scene but this man who killed my son was not arrested, and its sickening, she said.

After King spoke, Mayor Barbara Volk offered the citys condolences.

We are very sorry about your son, she said. It is being investigated, going through the police channels.

Fist fight becomes gun fight

Police Chief Blair Myhand and District Attorney Andrew Murray announced the no-charge decision on Dec. 10. The police channels Volk referred to was an internal affairs probe into Kings complaint about how law officers treated her. Myhand closed that investigation last week with a finding of no wrongdoing after he and internal affairs officers reviewed all available video, he said in an interview with the Lightning on Jan. 10, the day he closed the case.

Blair MyhandWhat we do know is that Mr. Timmons was involved in a physical altercation with another male that ultimately resulted in his death after he fired a gun at the other male and that male returned fire, striking Mr. Timmons in the forehead and killing him instantly, he said. They were fist-fighting in one area of the parking lot and the shooting happened in another area  all of it on surveillance video.

The gun Timmons fired, a 9mm pistol that turned out to be stolen, was recovered within minutes.

There was a North Carolina trooper around the corner  heard the gunshots, went over, he actually saw the gun in Mr. Timmons hand and retrieved it from his hand, and so we have that gun, Myhand said.

Myhand, who was present at the Jan. 4 council meeting, said he found nothing to support Kings accusations of excessive force.

What I would say is, her son was not dying, he said. When she arrived there, Ms. King arrived about 25 minutes after the first unit arrived on scene. Elijah, unfortunately, was dead.  I feel very confident and Im very proud of saying that I think my officers did an exceptional job trying to express to Ms. King their understanding and their empathy of the situation that she was in and asked her to calm down. She refused to do so and at some point had to be removed from the scene because it was making a chaotic scene more chaotic.

Shooter is not identified

Neither Myhand or Murray have released the identity of the man who fired the fatal shot that night. Police officers talked to the shooter and his attorney during the investigation, Myhand said.

Elijah TimmonsTimmons, 30, had been charged on July 22 in Asheville for failure to appear in court on two counts of speeding, reckless driving and four counts of driving while license revoked, among other charges, WLOS-TV reported, and had been charged in 2019, with communicating threats, two counts of felony probation violation, driving while license revoked, reckless driving and fleeing to elude arrest in a motor vehicle.

His obituary said he enjoyed frequent fishing trips with his dad, sons and cousins, in addition to working on cars and riding a motorcycle. The father of four sons, he also left behind three brothers and four sisters, his mother, father and stepfather.

We want to help you

Myhand said multiple tapes show officers trying to de-escalate an emotional situation.

My folks that were there initially had no interest in arresting Ms. King for entering the crime scene, assaulting the deputy, he said. They worked very hard for over 10 minutes to calm her down and  understanding that the situation that she was in  her child was under a sheet 40 feet away. The officers told her, If youll just calm down, we will take the handcuffs off. We want to help you, and they worked very hard to get other people to help calm her down, to no avail. And ultimately, I support their decision in removing Ms. King from the crime scene. They were just forced with no other option to do that.

If he regrets anything, the chief said, it is that not a single potential witness has come forward to describe what happened. If someone offered new evidence, he said, he would be open to investigating further.

There were dozens and dozens of people in the parking lot at the time of this shooting, he said. I even understand that there are some cell phone video footage out there that we have not been able to get access to  no ones provided it to us. We have really tried to reiterate in every communication weve had with the media and the public: If you have information please give it to us. Im happy to continue to investigate this case. But right now the only piece of evidence we have is surveillance video with no audio that clearly shows that Elijah Timmons fired his gun and then immediately fell to the ground, which we presumed to be the gunshot from the other man.

Despite the outcome of the case, Myhand said he wanted the public to know that hanging out at a club, mixing alcohol and firearms and ultimately shooting at each other in the parking lot is not OK in my book.

While I dont have the outcome in this case that I would like to have had, were still going to investigate people vigorously who get involved in this type of activity, and well file whatever charges we can to prosecute people that are responsible, and hopefully discourage other folks from doing the same thing, he said. I dont want people to think that this sort of behavior is okay and that you can get away with it in the city of Hendersonville. As long as Im chief here, I will do my best to make sure that we bring the right people to justice and charge them for crimes inside the city.

Murray, the district attorney, said he reviewed the videos, too, and found no evidence that would support charging the shooter who fired back at Timmons. And, like Myhand, he said hed be willing to review any new evidence that police might gather that suggests this changes everything.

We were not cold, callous officers

With the investigation into his officers conduct now closed, Myhand said he would invite King to meet with him so he could share the decision and the reasons why.

My hope would be that she recognizes what happened and is satisfied with the outcome, he said. Based on our conversations with her, I dont think that shell ever be satisfied with the outcome.

What I would want to say is that its unfortunate we were forced into a situation to arrest Ms. King the night of her sons death, he said. I think the officers were trying very hard not to arrest the mother of Elijah, whos lying on the ground. We were not cold, callous police officers who couldnt care less about this woman. They worked very hard. They were very sympathetic with her. They were trying to help her in a very difficult situation.
The Amritsar-rural Police have booked two travel agents in Nicaragua human trafficking case, said officials on Monday. Handcuffs - Handcuff

Senior superintendent of police Satinder Singh said, The cases have been registered against the accused under zero-tolerance policy towards the criminal and anti-social elements.

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Kanwarman Singh of Talwandi Nahar village informed Jhander Police that a travel agent, namely Tarsem Singh, misled him by saying that he would be sent to Nicaragua from where he would be granted a visa of United States. He left for Nicaragua on December 21. When their flight landed in France, they were stopped at the airport. The French authorities deported us from the airport after finding our visa fake, said the complainant.

The Jhander Police registered the case under Section 420 (cheating), 120B (criminal conspiracy), Section 13 of Punjab Travel Agent Act. Similarly, on complaint of Damanpreet Singh of Butter Sivian village falling under Mehta Police station, another travel agent namely Tarsem Singh was booked under same charges. Under the deal, the accused was supposed to send the complainant to Australia via Portugal, but failed.
After failing thrice due to stiff opposition from residents, the municipal corporation (MC) on Monday finally managed to open the controversial carcass utilisation plant in Noorpur Bet area. Ludhiana MC team reached the spot to open the carcass plant. (Manish/HT)

Local residents had been protesting the move since Sunday, expressing health and environment-related concerns, but called off their demonstration after assurances from authorities that the plant would initially remain operational until January 22, 2024 only.

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The news of the plants opening had stirred unrest among residents of at least 10 neighbourhood villages  including Noorpur Bet, Rasulpur Patti, Rajapur, Ghorsian, Khaira Bet, and others  prompting them to join the on-site sit-in that began at 7 pm on Sunday.

MC officials, accompanied with police personnel, arrived at the site around 2.30 am on Monday. Municipal commissioner Sandeep Rishi said it was important to get the carcass utilisation plant operational as the illegal hadda-rodi (carcass disposal point) functional on the banks of Sutlej were polluting the river and had to be closed.

He said the plant was made operational in consensus with the villagers and they have been assured that the operations of the scientific plant will not cause any foul smell or pollution in the area.

The plants contractor disposed of a few carcasses in presence of the officials and no foul smell or pollution was witnessed due to the operations.

Civic body officials said the next hearing regarding the carcass plants operation is scheduled for January 22 and the chief secretary is expected to appear in person to address concerns.

Former sarpanch of Rasulpur village, Balbir Singh, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the decision, saying, A similar plant has been established in Jodhpur and foul smell covers a 6-km radius in the area. This is a big concern as it poses serious health risks to people living in close proximity to the plant.

Former legislator Kuldeep Singh Vaid, who joined the protesters, also voiced his opposition to the plants opening, citing its close proximity to residential areas.

Jaspreet Singh, another resident, said the protests highlight the potential adverse consequences of the plants operation. Other residents, meanwhile, doubled on staging another protest if the operations are not shut by January 22.

The new plant, set up under the Smart City Mission, is equipped with modern and scientific equipment and machinery. Cattle carcasses would be disposed of/processed to create poultry feed supplements and fertilisers at the facility.

The plant, situated near the Sutlej, remained non-operational for two years before the civic body initiated the process to reopen it in December 2019. Delays, exacerbated by the pandemic, pushed the completion to June 2021, incurring a cost approximately of 7 crore. However, when former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu was set to inaugurate the plant in July 2021, villagers vehemently opposed its operation.

Despite the National Green Tribunals request for an action-taken report, and the MC commissioners order to operate the plant in collaboration with other departments, the matter remains unresolved. The plant, designed to process 150 dead animals daily, focusing on larger animals, continues to be a point of contention.
In the closing stages of the academic session, the release of substantial grants for school and student welfare has become a daunting challenge for principals. The grants encompass financial allocations for educational tours, restroom repairs, boundary walls, Learning Enhancement Programme and tech upgrades among other purposes. (HT Photo)

The Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan office, overseeing fund disbursement, revealed that a minimum of 20 grants were disbursed to schools from late December to mid-January.

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These encompass financial allocations for educational tours, restroom repairs, boundary walls, Learning Enhancement Programme (LEP), installation of CCTV cameras, and the purchase of toolkits for vocational students, among other purposes. Despite being credited after a prolonged delay, authorities have reportedly urged principals to expend these funds expeditiously, with the deadline set for January 31.

In the midst of the exam season, school principals express their concerns about the added burden. One principal, speaking anonymously, stated, It is the exam season, and the school students and faculty are already preoccupied with so much, ranging from setting exam papers to organising revision sessions.

They have released grants for educational tours for Classes 9 and 10. Will they prepare for board exams or embark on such trips, especially in such weather conditions where every other person is falling sick due to bone-chilling temperatures? the principal questioned.

Haste makes waste

Some principals allege that they are instructed to spend the received grant on the same day it is credited, raising concerns about the haste. Another principal said, Within minutes, a directive is issued in the WhatsApp group to utilise the grant immediately.

We need time to get quotations from different vendors, discuss it with the school management, and then commence construction. But the authorities want us to spend it in the blink of an eye. As responsible individuals, we cannot squander the funds randomly, as it may later take a toll on quality and bring us to the test, the principal added.

Many schools suggest that the grants should come with a calendar, making them date-bound to allow schools to plan expenditures, ensuring optimal benefits for both students and school infrastructure.

Highlighting the importance of timely disbursement, a principal from another senior secondary school stated, Given that these grants significantly benefit schools and students, it would be an absolute success if they are disbursed promptly. This enables schools to plan their expenditure in time, extracting the best value for both the school and students.

District education officer (DEO, elementary) Baldev Singh Sarabha clarified that schools receive the funds within a week of allocation from higher authorities, emphasising that the jurisdiction of releasing grants lies entirely with higher authorities.

We try to disburse them as soon as we get them, not taking more than a weeks time to credit the funds to these schools, he added.
Designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on Tuesday gave a veiled threat to Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann and police chief Gaurav Yadav as he asked gangsters in the state to join the banned outfit Sikhs For Justice and stop top political leaders from attending the Republic Day parade. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun

In an email sent to some journalists and two videos accessed by PTI, Pannun compared Mann with former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, who was assassinated in a bomb blast on August 31, 1995. The blast, which claimed the lives of 17 others, was carried out by the banned terror group -- Babbar Khalsa International.

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ALSO READ: US court seeks Biden administration's reply on plea by Indian charged with plot to kill Khalistani terrorist Pannun

Pannun also equated Yadav, the director general of Punjab Police, to assassinated police officer Gobind Ram, who was killed in a bomb blast in 1990.

Punjab Police officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Pannun and his organisation have issued threats in the past as well and all necessary precautions have been taken to ensure tight security for all VIPs in the state.

In one of the purported videos of Pannun, he dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the Republic Day parade without security.

I dare Modi, you come to Delhi without your security. If you are a popular leader, come to Delhi on R-Day without security and SFJ is going to avenge the assassination of Shaheed Nijjar by raising the Khalistan flag, he is heard saying in the video.

Nijjar was killed by unidentified assailants at a gurdwara in Canadas Surrey.

In another video, Pannun asked gangsters in Punjab to join the SFJ, participate in a referendum for Khalistan, and also prevent CM Mann from hoisting the tricolour on Republic Day.

The email sent to journalists, however, deviated slightly from the videos where Pannun, besides giving a call to Punjab gangsters to join the SFJ, also asked them to get recognised as shaheeds (martyrs).

Pannun had been designated as a terrorist by the Union home ministry under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Sikh for Justice banned in 2020.

Tightening its noose around US and Canada-based designated individual terrorist Pannun, the NIA in September last year confiscated a house and land of the self-styled general counsel of the outlawed SFJ outfit in Punjabs Amritsar and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

ALSO READ- India remains strategic partner, 'plot to kill' serious: US official on indictment

The properties confiscated include 46-kanal (5.7 acres) of agricultural land at Khankot village in Amritsar and a one-fourth share of a house in Chandigarhs sector 15/C.

Pannun has been on the NIAs radar since 2019 when the anti-terror federal agency registered its first case against the terrorist, who has been playing a major role in promoting and commissioning terror acts and activities, and spreading fear and terror in Punjab and elsewhere in the country through his threats and intimidation tactics.

Non-bailable warrants of arrest were issued against Pannun by the Special NIA Court on February 3, 2021, and he was declared a Proclaimed Offender on November 29 last year.

Investigations have revealed that Pannuns organisation, Sikhs for Justice, was misusing cyberspace to radicalise gullible youth and instigate them to undertake terrorist crimes and activities, an NIA spokesperson had said.

The official said the investigations have further revealed that Pannun was the main handler and controller of the SFJ, which was declared an Unlawful Association by the Centre on July 10, 2019.

ALSO READ- No Republic Day parades in stadiums with synthetic tracks: Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann

Punjab Police said Pannun is a habitual offender and often issues such threats.

The state police is capable enough of dealing with such threats. We keep analysing such threats vis-a-vis security protocol and its not a big challenge, said a senior Punjab Police official.
A Nihang Sikh, Ramandeep Singh, murdered an unidentified youngster at Gurdwara Chaura Khooh in Phagwara early on Tuesday on the suspicion that he had committed a sacrilege, police said. Police at Gurdwara Chaura Khooh in Phagwara, where a Nihang Sikh murdered a youngster early on Tuesday. (HT Photo)

The incident occurred at 3.15am and the police managed to recover the 35-year-old victims body from a bathroom on the gurdwara premises at 10.10am. The Nihang Sikh was arrested around 12.15pm.

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Also read: NGT issues notice to Punjab over illegal mining in Rupnagar

The area was cordoned off as Ramandeep Singh locked himself inside the gurdwara after uploading the video of the murder on social media.

Deputy inspector general of police S Bhoopati and Kapurthala senior superintendent of police Vatsala Gupta reached the gurdwara, where members of Sikh organisations gathered in support of Ramandeep Singh.

Nihang Ramandeep Singh and the unidentified victim. (Video grab)

The accused, who stays on the gurdwara premises, made the video that shows him confronting the youngster on the purpose of his visit late in the night before overpowering and brutally killing him with a sword. The victim had locked himself in the gurdwara bathroom before the Nihang confronted him, asking him if he was sent to commit sacrilege.

Police said they did not have footage of the victim approaching the sanctum sanctorum of the gurdwara and that the Nihang admitted to have acted on the basis of suspicion. They booked him for murder under Section 302 of the IPC.

SSP Gupta said police are still verifying whether the accused had come for committing sacrilege or not. We got intimation about the incident early in the morning following which the police swung into action. The accused has been arrested, while the process is on for identifying the deceased, Gupta said.

Sacrilege refers to an act of showing disrespect towards something regarded sacred or holy. This can encompass the violation of religious sites, artefacts, or symbols, or engaging in conduct deemed offensive to a religious community.
New Delhi [India], January 16 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shehzad Poonawalla launched a pointed critique against the Congress-Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alliance preceding the Lok Sabha elections, asserting that the coalition exemplifies a case of 'friendship with benefits'. HT Image

Attacking the opposition, BJP National spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla in an address to the media, said "On one hand Congress & AAP are doing dosti in Delhi & on other hand they do kushti in Punjab & accuse each other of corruption & more".

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"Now Sidhu, who is close to Priyanka Vadra, accuses AAP government of doing illegal sand mining in Punjab & accumulating a sum of Rs39,000 crores. Earlier Bhagwant Mann said Ek Thi Congress & Congress responded by saying Ek Tha Joker. Can such alliances be trusted?", Poonawalla said.

"The AAP which once held the Congress responsible for the 1984 riots and demanded Rajeev Gandhi return his Bharat Ratna, is now making an alliance. Now who is doing compromise? Has the AAP forgiven the perpetrators of the 1984 riots?" he added.

Shehzad Poonawalla's remark arises in the midst of discussions between AAP and Congress regarding potential seat sharing in Delhi and Navjot Singh Sidhu's recent criticism of the AAP government.

Congress leader Navjot Sidhu on Monday, accused the Aam Aadmi Party's government ministers of being involved in illicit sand mining in Punjab. He emphasized that this is a grave issue that poses a threat to the state's economy.

The comments were made following the issuance of a notice by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday to the Government of Punjab, the District Magistrate, and relevant officials. This notice was in response to a plea filed by Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu and others, seeking directives to halt all purported illegal sand mining in Punjab's Rupnagar.

"This issue has not just come from Ropar, but from Pathankot and Moga as well, and people have testified as eyewitnesses with proof. The Punjab government has been imposed with a penalty of 630 crores, which they haven't paid," he said.

Navjot Sidhu went on to criticize the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), alleging that before the elections, the party had made promises to the public, assuring recovery of nearly 20,000 crores annually, which would be distributed among women in Punjab. (ANI)
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday hit out at Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who attended Sundar Kand' recitation organised by the Aam Aadmi Party at a temple in Delhi. "Sundar Kand" is one of the chapters in the Ramayana devoted to Lord Hanuman.



Video shared by news agency ANI showed Kerjiwal along with his wife Sunita attending the Sundar Kand recitation in Rohini area of the capital. The Sundar Kand recitation began on Tuesday at all 70 assembly constituencies of Delhi.



Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj had announced that the recitation will be held every Tuesday at the zonal level, on every second and last Tuesday of the month at the ward level and every first Tuesday of the month at the assembly constituency level.



It is not the first time when the AAP has asserted its religious leanings in a bid to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal with wife Sunita Kejriwal joins Sunderkand path at Prachin Balaji Mandir in Rohini, in New Delhi.(Sanjeev Verma/HT photo)

During his Dussehra address last year, Kejriwal had said that Lord Ram was the ideal for his party and the Delhi government was trying to serve the people taking inspiration from the ideals of "Ram Rajya".

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In 2022, the chief minister suggested printing images of Goddess Laxmi and Lord Ganesh on currency notes to boost the economy.

Political compulsion, says BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party hit out at the Delhi chief minister over his Sundar Kand recital, calling it a political compulsion.

This is the same Arvind Kejriwal who said that his maternal grandmother has said that the (Ram) Temple should not be built there (in Ayodhya) if there was a mosque there. This is the same Kejriwal whose Deputy CM Manish Sisodia questioned the construction of the (Ram) temple (in Ayodhya). It (organising 'Sundarkand Paths' in Delhi) is their political compulsion now, BJP leader RP Singh told PTI.

Arvind Kejriwal is the same person who said that Ram Mandir shouldn't be built here. Those who were once not in favour of Ram Mandir, today they are attending Sundarkand Path, Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi was quoted by PTI as saying.
The appeal was made following a meeting of the Naga apex bodies and church organisations in Dimapur district under the banner of Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) on Monday. HT Image

According to a statement issued by FNR here, the Naga bodies asked the two groups holding separate negotiations with the Government of India to resolve the Naga political issue to walk the statement 'Nagas Are Moving Ahead' declared on January 23, 2023.

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"In the spirit of sincerity and realism, the gathered bodies asked the NNPGs, which is composed of at least seven different Naga groups, and the NSCN-IM to come to a meeting without delay and honour their commitments of 'September Joint Accordant' made on September 14, 2023; the "Kolkata Meeting" of October 18, 2022; and 'Nagas are Moving Ahead' declared on January 14, 2023", it said.

"This point was emphasised with a high note and urgency and expected the NNPG and the NSCN/GPRN to listen to the call of the Naga people," FNR said.

Following the "September Joint Accordant" inked on September 14 the NNPGs and the NSCN-IM have agreed to form the "Council of Naga Relationships and Cooperation" led by the convener of NNPGs and the chairman of NSCN, to explore, at the earliest, realistic ways for Nagas to move forward on the basis of Naga historical and political rights.

The two Naga groups on January 14 last year also declared their unconditional commitment to collaborate for the resolution of the Naga political issue with the Government of India.

However, with no positive outcome, Monday's meeting of the Naga bodies and churches also marked notwithstanding, their regional aspirations for growth and Nagas from every side must cooperate with each other without compulsion, the FNR said.

"In case, due to personal reason(s), one is unable to cooperate, we must respect their position. The Nagas at large shall not allow room for undermining nor overbearing anyone. In everything, we seek peace with all and for all", the FNRs press release stated.

Besides, the meeting also agreed to organise events in order to call upon the Government of India to accelerate the Naga political agreements before the general elections, it said.

The FNR along with Naga apex bodies and churches also called upon Naga people and respected citizens of the land to render support to the forms of transformative changes being dreamt of in accordance to global relevance.

The Centre has been holding separate negotiations with NSCN-IM since 1997 and the WC NNPGs since 2017.

More than eight years have passed since the signing of the acclaimed Framework Agreement on August 3, 2015 with NSCN-IM and another six years have gone by following the inking of Agreed Position on November 17, 2017 with WC NNPGs.

The NSCN-IM has remained adamant on its demand for a separate flag and constitution for the Nagas as well as integration of Naga inhabited areas spread over four states of India - Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland and also Myanmar.

However, the Government of India is not willing to grant the demand.

On the other hand, the WC of NNPGs has expressed their willingness to accept whatever is granted for now and continue with the talks.
LUCKNOW The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Lucknow unit, is likely to confiscate more properties worth 15 crore of jailed former minister Gayatri Prajapatis family members in Mumbai, in connection with the disproportionate assets case lodged against him, said officials here on Tuesday. ED teams searched these properties on Monday and further process to confiscate had been initiated. (Pic for representation)

A senior ED official confirmed that six flats in Mumbais Malad and Borivali worth 15 crore were found in the name of the former ministers two sons Anurag and Anil Prajapati and their wives. Four of these were in Crescent Society in Malad while two flats were in Balaji Society in Borivali.

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ED teams searched these properties on Monday and further process to confiscate had been initiated.

The agency had so far attached properties worth 60 crore of the former minister. These were confiscated in the form of flats, plots and commercial complexes in Amethi, Sultanpur, Lucknow, Kanpur and Delhi. The ED registered the DA case against him on January 15, 2021 based on findings that surfaced during searches conducted at seven locations of the former minister, his family members and aides in Lucknow, Kanpur and Amethi on December 30, 2020.

Prajapati was the mining minister during Samajwadi Party government between 2012 and 2017. He is in jail since March 2017, after a woman lodged an FIR of gangrape and sexual harassment against him and his associates in 2016 at Gautampalli police station of Lucknow.
PRAYAGRAJ: Students enrolled in government-run primary schools of Uttar Pradesh will now also learn the Tamil greeting Vanakkam (hello) along with Pranam and Salaam. Students studying in a government-run upper primary school in Prayagraj (HT FILE)

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) books of English, Hindi and Mathematics of classes 1 and 2 are to be used in more than 1.14 lakh government-run primary schools running under the UP Basic Education Council in the state. Customising these books in the context of UP, a report was sent to the NCERT headquarters by the State Institute of Education (SIE)-Prayagraj recently.

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In the context of UP, permission was sought to use the words Pranam and Salaam in place of Vanakkam in Chapter 2 on Greetings of Class 1 English textbook. NCERT has given permission to print the words Pranam and Salaam but has also asked to include Vanakkam so that students can be introduced to the diversity of the languages in India, as per officials of SIE-Prayagraj .

Similarly, permission was sought to write Kheer in place of Gudok, a food item of the north-east , in the book. On this too the NCERT has asked SIE to write Gudok along with Kheer in the book for the same reason.

In the same book, permission was also sought to use halwa instead of idli to which NCERT pointed out that that today Idli was a popular food item of south India, known all over the country and hence it should not be left out of the book.

SIE, a unit of State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), UP, would now finalise the books as per NCERT guidelines, paving the way for UP students to learn and understand many new words and their meanings in classes 1 and 2 from the next academic session, the officials said .

Permission was sought to write the word Maa in place of Avva (mothers name common in more than one language) and Shanti in place of Onshangla in the Class 2 English textbook. However, NCERT advised not to exclude these words from the book.

Similarly, there was a request to publish the word halwa in place of upma in the class 2 textbook, but NCERT again advised to teach Upma also. Permission was sought to print the names of Makar Sankranti, Holi, Diwali and Eid in place of some festivals like Phuldei, Adi Perukku and Pang Lhabsol. The council has given permission to add new names but has asked that the already existing names be retained too.

Assistant deputy director of education, State Institute of Education (SIE), Deepti Mishra said the books were being now written in the context of UP as per the instructions of NCERT.
GORAKHPUR Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday gave momentum to the BJPs wall-writing campaign that was initiated by party president JP Nadda on Monday, signalling the commencement of the election campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath paints the partys Lotus symbol during the launch of the Wall Writing programme for Lok Sabha elections, in Gorakhpur on Tuesday. (ANI Photo)

He first drew a lotus flower on the wall of Shri Vishwakarma Bhagwan Panchayat temple in Jatashankar crossing and wrote the slogan below ek baar phir Modi sarkar, is baar 400 paar for the campaign, which aims at enthusing BJP workers ahead of the LS polls.

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Addressing party workers at the event organised by the BJP, Adityanath exhorted them to take the campaign to new heights of success like the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra and stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would hold conversation with voters in days to come and address three big election rallies in Uttar Pradesh.

Adityanath urged all MPs, MLAs, representatives of the panchayat and municipal bodies to play their role with full responsibility.

Draw the lotus and write the slogan underneath it, wherever there is space on public buildings. However, permission must be taken before writing on someones personal property. Efforts should be made to ensure that no space is empty of slogan, he said.

Emphasizing the importance of strengthening booth management, Adityanath said, The stronger our booths are, the more effective our dialogue with the voters will be, with our candidates winning with huge margins.

He claimed that government welfare schemes had consolidated confidence of common people in the double engine government apart from generating new hope. The CM emphasized that the BJP government has not only announced development projects but implemented welfare programmes strictly and advised party workers not to hesitate in highlighting the governments achievement among masses.

He added that BJP president JP Nadda has, by launching this campaign on Monday, given a new resolution to the country from Delhi.

LAND GRABBERS SHOULD NOT BE SPARED

The chief minister attended to 250 complainants during Janata Darbar at Digvijayanath auditorium here and directed officials that land grabbers should not be spared under any circumstances.

He said the government is determined to provide justice to all victims without any discrimination and instructed officials to deal with criminals with an iron hand.

A few visitors, who had reached here from Santkabir Nagar, had prayed to the CM to free their land from encroachers and land mafias. Adityanath forwarded their applications to officials concerned with instructions to report on it in a week.

Many others seeking financial help for treatment of complex diseases were assured of the required budget. Adityanath directed district magistrate Krishna Karunesh to contact respective hospitals/doctors for making the estimate at the earliest.
Strap: We assumed the bird had been released since the hospital had sent us a letter in this regard: Police officer Mumbai, India - Jan. 16, 2024: Bought on 18th May 2023 by RCF Police personnel, due to the message written in red and green on his wings , suspected to be Chinese language, the pigeon has in custody of BSPCA animal hospital ever since. With no communication from RCF police station , it will continue to stay in cage there indefinitely, at Parel, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, January 16, 2024. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, January 16, 2024. ( Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Among the eight birds safely ensconced in cages at Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospital for Animals in Parel is an uninvited guest - a pigeon with no injuries or no signs of sickness. But its fault is it was caught in the wrong place with a message inscribed on its wings in an illegible language.

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Suspecting the language to be Chinese, police handed it over to the hospital to run a medical test on the bird while they sent the two rings on its leg for a forensic examination to rule out the possibility of it spying in the Indian territory.

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It was eight months ago.

Since then, the hospital has given the bird a clean bill of health. Even the message on its wings has gradually faded. However, the poor creature is counting its days in the four confines of the cage.

The pigeon was given to us on May 18, 2023, by the RCF (Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers) police in Chembur where it was caught, Dr Mayur Dangar, the hospitals manager, said.

It had two rings on its leg, one copper and the other aluminum, he said. A message in Chinese or a similar language was imprinted on its wings - in red on one side and green on the other.

To be sure, RCF is one of the vital installations.

Dr Dangar has his own reason to keep the bird at the hospital. As the pigeon has been given to us in police custody, and were the only animal hospital in the city, we cannot refuse it or set it free till the police say so.

However, he added, the hospital has not received any communication from the police as to what should be done to the bird.

When contacted, assistant police inspector Ravindra Patil from RCF police station expressed surprise that the pigeon was still in the hospitals custody. We had received a letter from them regarding setting it free, so we assumed it was released.

Ruling out the spy angle, the officer said the pigeon was a racing bird and it had accidentally arrived in the city by a ship from Taiwan where it is used for the sport that takes place in open waters.

I will send a letter to the hospital this week letting them know they can set it free, Patil added.

The hospital has only eight cages, and the bird has eaten into the space that could be used to house other injured or sick birds.

On Makar Sankranti, the hospital received 11 pigeons caught in the kite strings.

Birds that have infections cannot be kept in the same cage, Dr Dangar said. But we occasionally have to keep more than one bird in a single cage. Three cages are currently occupied by the pigeons injured by kite strings while the remaining are out in the aviary. This pigeon has taken up an important room that could be used to take in other birds.

ALSO READ: Crackdown on nylon manja intensifies, police booksellers, stockists

Now with the police clearing the bird of all charges, it can be released in the open soon.

The hospital is no stranger to animals sent by the police. They have had two cows - one from Malwani police station and the other from Wadala police station, as well as two horses in their custody for years.

The hospital that was once known as the Bombay Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals takes in animals that have suffered cruelty and keeps them till they are adopted or die naturally.
The high-decibel political drama in Maharashtra in the last two years has revolved around two regional parties, the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), splitting. While these splits are unprecedented in their scale and design, this is not the first time that the state has witnessed such political rebellions.

The first major political split that rocked the state was in 1978 when Sharad Pawar broke away from the Congress along with 38 MLAs to form the Progressive Democratic Front government in alliance with the Janata Party and the Peasants and Workers Party. At 38 years, Pawar then emerged as the youngest chief minister that Maharashtra has witnessed, so far. While this has some echoes of the Sena split by the now CM Eknath Shinde in terms of its impact of toppling the incumbent government and getting the top ministerial chair, the similarities end there. This breakaway faction did not claim to be the original Congress party, it called itself the Indian National Congress (Socialist) or the Congress (S).

Pawars Congress (S) merged back with the parent party in 1986. The second time Pawar split from the Congress was in 1999 with the support of 22-odd MLAs and around nine sitting MPs. This time around, he formed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The grounds for the split at the time were the foreign origins of Sonia Gandhi and that of Marathi asmita or pride. The NCP contested the 1999 elections on its own and won 58 seats but post-polls struck an alliance with the Congress to form the government.

NCP splits

The Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra ruled from 1999 to 2014. In 2004, NCP faced a challenge though not in Maharashtra when one of its founding leaders PA Sangma broke away along with the Meghalaya unit and claimed to be the real head of the party. Sangma wanted to align with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and not the Congress in the 2004 polls. This tussle over the party symbol and leadership was fought in the Election Commission.

NCP faced a rebellion in 2019 when Pawars nephew Ajit Pawar in a secret early morning ceremony took oath as the deputy chief minister with BJPs Devendra Fadnavis as the chief minister. But, this coup backfired when Ajits supporters were successfully recalled by senior Pawar.

Sena splits

The Sena faced its first big challenge in 1991 when one of its senior leaders Chhagan Bhujbal broke away claiming the support of 17 out of the then 52 MLAs. This coup was unsuccessful as all but one MLA returned back to the fold. Bhujbal joined the Congress under Pawars mentorship and went on to fashion himself as one of the tallest Other Backward Class (OBC) leaders in the state.

The second challenge for the Sena was in 2006 when founder Bal Thackerays nephew, Raj Thackeray, upset at being sidelined, resigned from the party and set up his own political party, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). While Raj did not engineer a party split by breaking away MLAs, MNS won the support of many Sena party workers, leaders and the party vote share in the next polls. In the 2009 polls, MNS won 13 legislative seats in Maharashtra. However, MNS failed to make a bigger dent in the Sena post its initial wins and Uddhav Thackeray managed to successfully steer his fathers party until Shinde arose as a challenger.

Despite claims made by political leaders and parties, Mrudul Nile, professor in the department of civics and politics at Mumbai University, points out that all political splits so far were the result of internal factionalism and power struggles with breakaway leaders eyeing greater political power, posts and money. No split can be credited to ideology, ideals or welfare of people," Nile added.

The difference between then and now

However, there are two significant differences in the way these current political splits were designed and will play out and shape political futures.

Prior to 2022, barring Sangmas claims, disgruntled factions or leaders, who split the parties, did not claim the right to the original party. The groups or leaders broke away to form their own outfits or joined another party. Eknath Shinde and then Ajit Pawar, have however claimed that their factions represent the original party," said Abhay Deshpande, political analyst and commentator.

This strategy is to avoid disqualification under the Anti-Defection Law (amended in 2003), which does not recognise a split in the legislature party. Prior to the amendment, if one-third legislators of a political party broke away to form a separate faction, they were exempted from disqualification. The amendment provides an exemption from disqualification only when at least two-thirds of party legislators break away and merge with another political party.

The other major difference is the central role played by another political party, the BJP, in the current NCP and Sena split.

In no earlier political party split has another political party played such a decisive role. The Sena and NCP rebellions have been engineered and managed by the BJP, using its clout. The Sena rebellion could be successful largely because of the role played by BJP leadership, specifically Devendra Fadnavis," said Mrunalini Naniwadekar, associate editor of Sakal newspaper and a political commentator. The Sena split was both a payback for humiliation and loss the BJP suffered when Uddhav Thackeray formed the MVA government with Congress and NCP, and a part of the 2024 electoral strategy, she added.

The NCP split, similarly, is to ensure that the BJP retains its seat share in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra. The state elects 48 MPs to the Centre; in 2019, BJP-Sena together won 41 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats. Despite these splits, the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra are still not a done deal for the BJP.

Impact on state polity

For one, Nile points out, there is confusion and chaos for voters with both factions in the NCP and Sena claiming to be the original party. The identity lines are blurring. What do each of these factions stand for in terms of ideology or issues? How do voters make a choice? This kind of politics erodes the political consciousness of people. We are increasingly moving towards a monolithic polity, he said.

Naniwadekar also believes that these splits point to shrinking space for family-run regional parties like NCP and Sena in Maharashtra. It will be difficult for these parties to retain their relevance and separate identity. The future of Sena is more uncertain than NCP unless Aditya Thackeray manages a fresh, new lease for the party, she said.
The Mumbai Police has issued a warning after several people were seen stopping by and clicking pictures at the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link recently inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. People are seen taking selfies at the Atal Setu in Mumbai.(X/Roads of Mumbai)

We agree that Atal Setu is definitely worth a watch but it's also illegal to stop on it & click photos. You will face an FIR if you stop on MTHL, the Mumbai Traffic Police wrote on social media X, along with a collage of pictures of people flouting the rules.

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''Atal Setu, Not a 21.8 km long picnic spot'', the text on the picture posted by Mumbai Police read.

Reacting to the post, a user commented, Put cameras and some offices there on 26Jan weekend and you get crores as fine. Meanwhile another wrote, Thanks finally much needed action.

In photos and videos shared by netizens, vehicles lined up at the Atal Setu as people flocked to the bridge to capture photos of themselves and their family members. Sharing one such video on X, a user wrote, It's a picnic at #AtalSetu. Meanwhile, another mocked, Bhel Puri aur Pav Bhaji ke stalls missing hain.

"Really hope this is just an initial craze. Should die down in few months," a third user wrote.

The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link or Atal Setu was inaugurated by the Prime Minister on Saturday. It is the country's longest sea bridge which connects Mumbai to Navi Mumbai, significantly reducing travel time between the two cities.

Spanning 21.8 km in length, the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link is a six-lane bridge comprising a 16.5 km stretch over the sea and an additional 5.5 km on the land.

(With inputs from agencies)
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday challenged Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar for a public debate on which faction is the real Shiv Sena.



Thackeray's challenge comes a day after he moved the Supreme Court against Narwekar's decision of declaring Shinde's faction as the real Shiv Sena. Sanjay Raut, Uddhav Thackeray and Aditya Thackeray during "Janta Nyayala" discussing the decision given by speaker Rahul Narvekar, at NSCI Dome in Mumbai. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

I trust and respect the Supreme Court but I am now taking this battle to the people's court, Thackeray said.

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 Some people say I should not have resigned. I didn't want to stay. We know what happened after that. Governor had called an unconstitutional session. He was part of the conspiracy. This battle is now to decide whether there will be democracy in the country, Thackeray said at a briefing in Mumbai.



ALSO READ: Sena versus Sena: Final round between Thackeray and Shinde begins



On January 10, Narwekar ruled that the Shinde faction was the real Shiv Sena and Thackeray had no power to remove Shinde as the legislature party leader, as per the party's constitution.

If I was not chief of Shiv Sena, why did the BJP take my signature for support in 2014 and 2019 after the Lok sabha elections? the former chief minister asked.

BJP chief Nadda once said only one party will remain in the country. After that attempts were made to finish Shiv Sena and later NCP, Thackeray added, referring to the vertical split in Sharad Pawar's NCP last year, resulting in Ajit Pawar joining the Shinde government as deputy chief minister.

Efforts to spread misinformation about verdict





Maharashtra speaker Narwekar reacted to Thackeray's remark, alleging efforts to spread misinformation about his verdict.



"Efforts being made to spread misunderstanding about the verdict I have given. They have passed remarks against Supreme Court, Speaker, Governor and Election Commission. It seems they (Shiv Sena-UBT) don't trust any institution," Narwekar said.



The power struggle within the Shiv Sena erupted in 2022 when Shinde with support of 50 MLAs had rebelled against then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. He went to Assam with his supporters and later staked a claim to form government with the help of BJP.

The Supreme Court had ordered a floor test after the Maha Vikas Aghadi government was reduced to a minority following the rebellion. But Thackeray resigned before facing the floor test. Shinde became the chief minister and won the floor test.



In February last year, the Election Commission gave the bow and arrow symbol to the Shinde faction.



(With bureau inputs)
GUWAHATI: A total curfew has been imposed in Tengnoupal district of strife-torn Manipur from Tuesday following an attack on security forces and arrest of two persons believed to be involved in killing a police officer last year. Tengnoupal, which is dominated by people from the Kuki tribe, and the district headquartes of Moreh, which is close to the Myanmar border, has been witnessing sporadic incidents of violence for over two weeks now. (Representative Image)

The move comes just two days after the district administration had relaxed curfew hours to facilitate the general public to purchase essential items including medicines and food items.

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Tengnoupal, which is dominated by people from the Kuki tribe, and the district headquartes of Moreh, which is close to the Myanmar border, has been witnessing sporadic incidents of violence for over two weeks now with several instances of attacks on security forces by armed miscreants.

There are inputs that there is likelihood of breach of peace, disturbance of public tranquility and grave danger to human lives and property within the revenue jurisdiction of Tengnoupal district, said the curfew order issued by district magistrate Krishna Kumar, which HT has seen.

It mentioned there would be total curfew in the entire district from 12am of January 16 but government agencies involved in maintenance of law and order and essential services will be kept outside its purview.

On Monday, two persons stated to be among the main suspects behind the assassination of a Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) were arrested from Moreh, located about 110km south of Imphal.

The arrest of the duo identified as Philip Khikholal Khongsai of New Moreh Ward number 8 and Hemkholal mate of K Moulsang village were made during an operation after two suspected individuals who opened fire on vehicles of security personnel during a patrolling near Moreh College around 4.30pm on Monday, police said.

On being fired upon, the security forces immediately retaliated and cordoned off the suspected houses near Moreh College, said the police control room in a press note late Monday night. During the operation, the two suspicious individuals were chased and overpowered using minimum forces and were detained for verification.

One pistol along with 2 live rounds, one Chinese hand grenade,10 live rounds of AK ammunition and 10 detonators with fuse were recovered from the arrested persons, the press note said.

The arrested persons are among the main suspects behind the assassination of late Ch Anand, MPS, SDPO Moreh. A case has been registered in this regard for investigation, the note added.

Chingtham Anand, a resident of Imphal West district was killed after he was shot by suspected armed miscreants while the police officer was inspecting a newly constructed helipad at Moreh on October 31.

Two prominent Kuki groups, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) and Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU), have condemned the arrests of two Kuki persons by Manipur Police from Moreh on Monday and stated that attempts to link them to the death of a police officer was a blatant lie.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the two groups stated that the arrested duo were with a group of women who were protesting against a proposed commando outpost at Chikim village in Moreh when policemen suddenly fired live rounds at unarmed protesters injuring two women and detaining the two men.

The statement said that there was a vicious campaign to vilify them by claiming that weapons were found in their possession and that they were among the suspects in the killing of the Moreh, SDPO, last year.

Manipur has been roiled by ethnic clashes between the Meitei and the tribal Kuki-Zo communities since May last year. The violence has claimed at least 200 lives and displaced around 50,000 people.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Patna on Monday terminated the service contract of a Delhi-based firm after its personnel allegedly swindled 3 lakh from patients by tampering their hospitalisation bills, using software tools to edit and inflate them, said top officials. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna. (File)

The decision comes four days after HT flagged the matter to its executive director-cum-chief executive officer Dr Gopal Krushna Pal through an e-mail on January 11, seeking an official reaction.

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On Monday, two days after his return from AIIMS-Gorakhpur, where he holds additional charge, Dr Pal terminated the service contract of the Delhi-based firm, which had given around 33 staff to man the 28 registration and billing counters at AIIMS-Patna. The three-year service contract of the firm was to end on March 21 this year.

Over 25 cases, each having a variation between 1,000 and 6,000 in the total amount of the actual bill reflecting in the hospital information system (HIS) and the fudged bill presented to patients at the time of their discharge, have so far been detected since January 2, when the matter first came to light at the AIIMS, said officials.

The lid over the unholy nexus of cash counter staff tampering with hospital in-patient bills, by first downloading them on their computer and then using software tools to edit and inflate the amount in the PDF copy of the consolidated bill, before presenting it to the patients or their attendants at the time of discharge, was blown off when a man, seeking reimbursement of hospitalisation charges of his mother through an insurance firm, submitted the bill to the AIIMS for verification. The officials then detected the discrepancy in amounts, as mentioned on the bill and the one in the hospital information system, said officials familiar with the matter.

Subsequently, a random scrutiny of hospitalisation bills of patients either discharged or having died in course of treatment since last July, revealed tampering of many bills, amounting to over 3 lakh.

An investigation by HT revealed a difference of 6,000 in the bill presented to Ravi Shankar Singh, having been charged 87,859.79 against an actual bill of 81,859.79. Md Gajanafar paid 5,000 in excess of the actual bill of 37,744.75; Nakhat Shaheen and Aditya Narayan paid an additional 4,000 each, with Shaheen having been charged 56,777.82 against an actual bill of 52,777.82, while Narayan paid 82,410.52 against an actual bill of  78,410.52.

Bhiran Sahni, whose actual hospitalisation bill was 1,05,779.96, Vikram Kumar ( 43,643.86), Nishna Kumari ( 13,316.17) and Kanchan Devi ( 6,309.75) paid 3,000 in excess of their actual bill.

Similarly, Manisha Singh ( 12,708.99), Nitish Kumar ( 28,293.32), Sheelal Singh ( 20,596.29), Kewla Devi ( 1,79,804.28) and Bimal Kumar ( 62,504) paid 2,000 in excess of their actual bill, while Joga Devi was charged 2,334 in excess of her actual bill of 1,51,183.

We have suspended the cash counter clerks of outsourced firm, allegedly involved in the fraud, and also terminated the contract of the firm from today (January 15). We will take further action based on the findings of an internal committee, which is investigating the matter, said Dr Pal.

Though the AIIMS was quick to blame the outsourced agency for the wrongdoing, its finance wing was caught napping for not reconciling accounts on a daily basis. The accounts team of AIIMS did not keep tabs of the daily remittance through its cash counters and the daily consolidated account summary in its hospital information system, leading to the fraud, said an official familiar with the matter.

The issue of discrepancy in in-patient bills, as reflected in the hospital information system and the amount collected from patients, was detected by our Medical Records Department (MRD) on January 2. A fact-finding committee has been constituted and is investigating the matter. I took the decision to terminate the services of the firm as soon as I returned to Patna from AIIMS, Gorakhpur. on January 13, said Dr Pal.

Efforts to reach the head of human resources at the firm in question proved futile as he did not respond to HTs calls or text messages on his mobile phone. The landline telephone of the firm went unanswered on Monday evening.
Amidst acute housing affordability crisis fuelled by accommodation demand by foreign students, Canada is considering a cap on the number of international students allowed to live in the country, Immigration Minister Marc Miller has announced. The final intake numbers as well as date of implementation has not been announced yet. With reduced intake and high visa application rejection rates, Canada might no longer be the most feasible study abroad destination (AFP)

According to official data the number of study permit holders in Canada has tripled in the past decade, from 300,000 in 2013 to nearly 900,000 in 2023..Among them, in 2022, Indian students accounted for around 40% of all enrolment, making them Canadas largest international student group.

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Also read: 10 international summer programs that every Indian student should know

The Immigration minister announced a slew of new requirements for foreign students wanting to come study in Canada including proof of more accessible funds. Under the current system, prospective students must show that they have $10,000 in addition to money for their first year's tuition and travel expenses. Under the new system, the $10,000 is increased to $20,635, according to a report by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). The amount will be adjusted annually based on a Statistics Canada benchmark for living costs, the report added.

The intake curtailment announcement is not the sole deterrent for Indian students aspiring to study in Canada. Toronto Star recently reported that in the second half of 2023, nearly 40% of student visa applications from India were rejected, the highest refusal rate among all countries. The rejection reasons were categorised as other or unspecified. Some visa applications are denied because the applicant doesnt meet the financial requirement, or an officer may not believe the applicant will leave the country if they lose their status. It could also come down to an application being incomplete, a missing payment, or the submission of fraudulent documents.

With reduced intake and high visa application rejection rates, Canada might no longer be the most feasible study abroad destination. What are the other options for Indian students?

With students more concerned about affordability than ever before, Karunn Kandoi, Chief Experience Officer at ApplyBoard, predicts that in 2024 students will increasingly look at options beyond the big four (Canada, US, UK, Australia) to plot out a study abroad journey that fits their budget. Kandoi cites Ireland, South Korea and Taiwan as some of the top countries competing for international students this year, and explains the reasons for the growing popularity of these countries.

Ireland: Indian students are increasingly considering Ireland as a go-to study abroad destination. With all of its universities ranking among the top 3% globally, Ireland is known for its high-quality education. Additionally, Ireland's focus on STEM and technology, strong support from government and institutions for international students, post-study work opportunities, and more affordable costs compared to other destinations make Ireland a stand out choice.

South Korea: During the summer of 2023, the South Korean Ministry of Education announced its South Korea 300K Project a collaborative strategy between institutions, local businesses, and government to attract 300,000 international students by 2027. This project aims to reduce language barriers by introducing more lenient testing measures and streamline permanent residency applications, allowing eligible students to obtain Permanent Residence (PR) after three years instead of six.

Taiwan: Taiwan is planning to recruit over 320,000 students by 2030 and increase its post-graduation retention rate from 40% to 70%. The Taiwanese Ministry of Education will also facilitate the establishment of special fast-track courses, especially in STEM fields, encompassing double bachelor programs, two-year bachelor degrees, and two-year masters and doctoral programs, added Kandol.

Mamta Shekhawat, Founder, gradding.com, on the other hand, picks Malta, Hungary and Italy as very feasible options. Hungary is a very good option because of affordability, quality, and variety of programs and renowned universities to choose from. Annual tuition fee in Hungary is about 2,000 with monthly accommodation rent being in the range of 90-150. Italy can also be a great choice - monthly rent ranges between 200 and 300 while the annual tuition fee is between 900 and 4,000. Malta is getting very popular, too. Here, the monthly rent is around 700 and annual tuition fee is between 5,000 and 7,500, added Shekhawat, who suggests that while selecting a study abroad destination, it is imperative for students to take into account cost of living, scholarships, part-time, among the mandatory visa & tuition fees.

Explore Germany, where a thriving academic landscape and remarkable affordability have led to a 107% increase in Indian student enrolment. Spain, with its faster visa process (30-60 days) and lower cost of living, is a welcoming option. For those seeking vibrant cultural experiences, Dubai stands out with its streamlined visa procedure (15-20 days) and dynamic educational infrastructure. Singapore is Asia's academic powerhouse, has witnessed a tenfold increase in Indian students within a year. France has also dedicated to host 30,000 Indian students by 2030 New Zealand and Ireland are also emerging as attractive options and Malta is booming, with a 103% increase in student numbers in just one year, says Mayank Maheshwari, COO & Co-Founder, University Living.
Admissions are open at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IIT Gandhinagar) for its postgraduate programme in Society and Culture for the academic year starting from July 2024. Students with bachelor's degree in any discipline can apply for this postgraduate programme.(HT Photo)

According to a press release by IIT Gandhinagar, the postgraduate programme will enable students to prepare for a variety of roles in various fields. Students with bachelor's degree in any discipline can apply for this postgraduate programme.

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The MA in Society and Culture program encourages students to develop varied perspectives on social and cultural issues, enabling a deeper understanding of different academic disciplines' interconnections, said Prof Vikrant Jain, Head, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Gandhinagar.

Also Read: BITS Pilani takes step to boost research, launches School of Interdisciplinary Research and Entrepreneurship

According to the institute, various career opportunities and research options are available to the students who enrol for this course, like working with NGOs, policy think tanks, Journalism, Teaching, International PhD opportunities and much more.

For students seeking financial support, On-Campus Employment Opportunities are available for the students at IIT Gandhinagar. Students are also encouraged by the institute to present their research work at international conferences abroad and travel scholarships of up to INR 60,000 is provided, informed the media release.

The deadline to apply for MA (Society and Culture) at IIT Gandhinagar is 10th February 2024. For more information, visit the official website.
Amid Solo Leveling's soaring popularity, a recent report has left its fandom concerned. Based on a South Korean webcomic of the same name, the Solo Leveling anime series first premiered on January 6. With only two episodes released so far, animation studio A-1 Pictures has garnered praise for the latest anime. However, a voice actor reportedly coughed up blood while recording an intense scene. The news has stirred the internet, leaving fans worried about the cast member's health. Solo Leveling voice actor reportedly coughs up blood while recording(A-1 Pictures)

Solo Leveling voice actor coughs up blood amid intense scene

Shortly after the premiere of Solo Leveling, social media was abuzz with reports about voice actor Taito Ban reportedly coughing up blood while recording an intense scene involving loud screams. Captivated by the brilliant animation of the brand-new anime series, fans dug up a pre-release interview with director Shunsuke Nakashige.

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In the interview, Nakashige highlighted the dedication of Solo Leveling's voice actors, explaining how Ban fully immersed himself in the scene during the recordings. It appears that Ban resorted to method acting to deliver a more authentic performance by resonating with his character, Jinwoo's emotions and overall mindset, per Otakukart.

Solo Leveling fans react to Taito Ban coughing up blood while recording

While some fans have lauded the voice actor's efforts and his dedication to the series, many expressed their concerns about Ban pushing his voice to unhealthy extremities.

One Solo Leveling fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter, Coughing up blood? First I've ever heard of method voice acting. Another fan appreciated Ban's dedication to his acting, saying, Im telling you Japanese VAs are on another level.

However, one fan wished the actor a speedy recovery, saying, I hope the VA heals his voice. Yet another X, formerly Twitter user said, That is terrifying and concerning, at least it paid off. One more said, May his voice get healed soon.
Kangana Ranaut has shared a post about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has shared her thoughts on what she thinks makes him extraordinary. She said it's the intensity in his intent and action that makes him stand apart from the crowd. She took to Instagram Stories to share a picture and point out the intensity in his eyes. Also read: Kangana Ranaut attends Ira Khan-Nupur Shikhare's wedding reception, poses with Aamir Khan after calling him bechara Kangana Ranaut has shared a post about PM Modi.

Kangana on Modi

Sharing the picture on Instagram, Kangana wrote, We all know Modi ji is one of us, what is it that makes him so extraordinary? In my opinion it's the sheer intensity of his intend, emotion and action... so it's the intensity. Look at this picture from today, look at his eyes it's just a look.... But more sharper and sparkling than a blazing sword...

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The Prime Minister was in Kochi on Tuesday for a roadshow and to launch new initiatives in Kerala.

Kangana prepping for Emergency

Kangana is back in Mumbai for post-production work on her upcoming film, Emergency. She had recently shared a glimpse of herself from the dubbing session for the film. The picture featured Kangana sitting with her folded legs on a chair and looking at the script. Sharing the picture, she wrote, "Dubbing day, release date announcement coming soon ...#emergency."

Emergency revolves around the life of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and features Kangana in the titular role of the late politician. The film marks Kangana's first solo directorial film. Apart from Kangana, the film stars Anupam Kher, Mahima Chaudhry, Vishak Nair, Milind Soman, Shreyas Talpade and the late Satish Kaushik in prominent roles.

Kangana on Emergency

Opening up about the delay in Emergency release, Kangana had written on X, "Dear friends, I have an important announcement to make, Emergency movie is the culmination of my entire life's learnings and earnings as an artist. Emergency is not just a film for me it's a test of my worth and character as an individual. A tremendous response that our teaser and other units got from everyone encouraged us all."

She had added, My heart is full of gratitude and wherever I go people ask me about Emergency's release date. We have announced the Emergency release date as 24th November 2023 but because of all the changes in my back-to-back releasing films calendar and over-packed last quarter of 2024 we have decided to shift Emergency to next year (2024). A new release date will be announced soon, please bear with us, your anticipation, curiosity and excitement for the film means a lot. Yours truly Kangana Ranaut.

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Comedian-actor Vir Das recently applauded a cabin crew who stood up alone in front of a passenger who assaulted an Indigo pilot for a 13-hour delay of their flight. After his tweet, someone told Vir to try travelling in the economy. The Emmy-winner in his sassy reply, revealed that he has been travelling economy. Also read: Vir Das jokes about Indian celebrities and influencers being 'terrified to post' Maldives pics Vir Das, on X, aka Twitter, commented on Indigo pilot assault incident.

Vir Das on Indigo pilot Assault incident

Vir initially tweeted, Shoutout to the lady from Indigo cabin crew who stood up to that idiot like a boss. Responding to him, an X user said, Sometimes travel economy and wait 16 hours delay flight and we talk afterwards.

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The comedian wrote back, Travel economy all the time. Heres how it works genius. If youre upset that your travel is delayed, and you assault someone, youre further delaying your travel. If you thought you were late before try getting arrested.

The Delhi-Goa flight fight

The incident happened when dense fog in Delhi impacted operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, leading to many flights being diverted, cancelled or delayed.

This is when a passenger, Sahil Kataria, on the IndiGo flight number 6E 2175, between Delhi and Goa, assaulted the co-pilot, Anup Kumar, when he was announcing a delay in takeoff at the Delhi airport, the police said on Monday. The passenger was arrested. A video of the incident has gone viral. Currently, the matter is being investigated. As per the flight tracking website flightradar24, the said flight took off from Delhi at 6pm after a delay of more than 10 hours.

Sonu Sood at airport

Meanwhile, several more flights and trains across the country have been impacted due to fog. Actor Sonu Sood, too, faced a similar situation when he was stuck at Mumbai airport.

He had posted, The weather Gods have their own moods, beyond human control!! I have been patiently waiting for the last 3 hours at the airport. I know its difficult but request everyone to be polite with the airlines crew. They are doing their best! Often times I see visuals of people behaving very rudely with them. We need to understand some situations are beyond anyones control and everyone deserves to be respected.

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The 75th Emmy Awards was one of the most awaited ceremonies of the year. Long delayed due to the actors and writers strike, the Emmys returned to dazzling form with a number of predictable winners and heartfelt moments on stage, that lead to several standing ovations. (Also read: Emmy Awards 2024 full list of winners: Succession and The Bear tie with six wins each) The 75th Emmy Awards celebrated the best of Television on Monday night.

Our five picks from the night are here:

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Christina Applegate gets emotional after a standing ovation

As Emmy host Anthony Anderson introduced the first (surprise) presenter of the night Christina Applegate, the audience sprung on their feet to give her a standing ovation. The actor, who announced in August 2021 that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), fought back tears as she presented the first award of the night to The Bear actor Ayo Edibiri for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Thank you so much, Applegate said to the audience as they cheered. Oh my god, youre totally shaming me with disability by standing up. Its fineBody not by Ozempic. Okay, lets go!

Niecy Nash-Betts thanks herself during her acceptance speech

Five time Emmy nominee Niecy Nash-Betts finally won the Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series for Ryan Murphys Dahmer  Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. The actor's rousing and heartfelt acceptance speech was one of the best of the night, earning the loudest cheers from the audience.

After thanking co-star Evan Peters, creator Ryan Murphy and her partner Jessica Betts, Niecy thanked herself. And you know who I want to thank? I want to thank me  for believing in me and doing what they said I could not do. And I want to say to myself in front of all these beautiful people, Go on girl with your bad self. You did that. she said.

Niecy, who won for her portrayal of the ignored neighbor Glenda Cleveland in the Netflix shocker, went on to dedicate her win to every 'over-policed' Black woman. She added: Finally, I accept this award on behalf of every Black and Brown woman who has gone unheard yet overpoliced. Like Glenda Cleveland. Like Sandra Bland. Like Breonna Taylor. As an artist, my job is to speak truth to power, and baby, Ima do it til the day I die. Mama, I won!

Pedro Pascal jokingly blames Kieran Culkin for his injury

The light-hearted beef between Pedro Pascal and Kieran Culkin took another turn on the Emmy stage. After Kieran told Pedro to suck it at the Golden Globes stage last week after winning Best Actor, a sweet revenge was served. The Last of Us star, who presented the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, took a moment to acknowledge himself. He said, "Before we get into the nominees for best supporting actor in a drama series, I'd like to take just a second and make this about me. A lot of people have been asking about my arm; it's actually my shoulder. And I think tonight is a perfect time to tell everyone that Kieran Culkin beat the s**t out of me." The camera panned to Kieran only to catch his deadpan expression!

Kieran ended up beating Pedro Pascal once again--metaphorically--when he won the Best Actor in a Drama Series again today for Succession. Pedro was also nominated in the category for The Last of Us.

The Bear seal their Best Series win with a kiss

The Bear was the big winner of the night- tying for a leading six with Succession. The show won outstanding comedy series, beating other nominees Abbott Elementary, Barry, Jury Duty, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Only Murders in the Building, Ted Lasso and Wednesday. As the cast went on stage to accept the honor, costars Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Matty Matheson had a moment with a big kiss, that got a big cheer from the audience.

And all of us here get to make a show together, and we get to make people feel good  or filled with anxiety, or triggered  But this is really amazing. It's beautiful, Matty added.

Jennifer Coolidge thanks the evil gays

These gays these gays are trying to murder me! said Tanya McQuoid, the character Jennifer Coolidge played in the second season of The White Lotus. The actor won her second Emmy for the part, and gave a shoutout to Tanya in her hilarious acceptance speech. Coolidge thanked show creator Mike White for the dramatic and doomed end to Tanya and said, "Thank you for giving me this opportunity to play this incredible character. And he says I'm definitely dead so I'm going along with it." She then added, I just want to say, I want to thank all the evil gays. Yes. Paolo, Francesco and Bruno, thank you.

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Noah Schnapp faced severe backlash last year after a video of him distributing stickers with controversial slogans went viral. In the video, Schnapp was giving out stickers with phrases like Zionism is Sexy and Hamas is Isis. The 19-year-old stars actions left netizens furious, calling out producers to cancel the Stranger Things actor. However, the 19-year-old actor finally addressed his stance on the Israel-Hamas war. Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp breaks silence on controversial video

Noah Schnapp breaks silence after call to boycott the Stranger Things star

In a TikTok video shared on Monday evening, Schnapp revealed that he wanted to take some time out to discuss everything that's been going on online. He added, I feel like my thoughts and beliefs have been so far misconstrued from anything even close to what I believe, and I wanted to just state from my heart how I feel. I only want peace and safety and security for all innocent people affected by this conflict.

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The Bridge of Spies star explained how he had learned more about the Israel-Hamas war after talking about it with his friends. I've had many open discussions with friends from Palestinian background, and I think those are very important conversations to have, and I've learned a lot, he said.

Schnapp continued, One of the takeaways I've had is that we all hope for the same things, that being those innocent people still being held hostage in Gaza to be returned to their families and equally hope for an end to the loss of innocent life in Palestine, so many of those people being women and children, and it's horrible to see.

I think anyone with any ounce of humanity would hope to an end to the hostility on both sides. I stand against any killing of any innocent people, he said. And I just hope to one day see those two groups to be able to live harmoniously together in that region.

And I hope for 2024 online to see people be a little more understanding and compassionate and recognize that we're all human regardless of our race, of our ethnicity, of our background, of our country of birth, even of our sexuality, of anything, Schnapp said.

We are all human, and we're all the same and we should all love each other for that and support each other and stand together. And stand together for humanity and for peace, he concluded.
Twitch CEO Dan Clancy has addressed the companys situation after revealing that more than 500 employees will be laid off. Twitch is laying off more than 500 employees, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, as the company looks to get to a more appropriate size, according to the streaming platform's CEO Dan Clancy. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)(AP)

The streaming platform announced earlier this week that it will reduce its staff by about 35%, adding to the 400 cuts made last year. Clancy wrote in a blog post that we still have work to do to rightsize our company.

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He explained that Twitch is still meaningfully larger than it needs to be given the size of our business. He said that Twitch paid over $1 billion to streamers in 2023.

So while the Twitch business remains strong, for some time now the organization has been sized based upon where we optimistically expect our business to be in three or more years, not where were at today.

ALSO READ| Amazon-owned streaming platform Twitch lays off 500 employees

As with many other companies in the tech space, we are now sizing our organization based upon the current scale of our business and conservative predictions of how we expect to grow in the future, he cited.

We arent profitable at this point: Clancy

In a livestream, Clancy admitted that Twitch is not making a profit and that Amazon, its parent company, has been backing it up.

Ill be blunt: we arent profitable at this point, Clancy said.

Amazon has been extremely supportive of Twitch. Big thing for being sustainable over time is ensuring we dont lose money. Thats a big part of my job because thats going to be what makes sure we can be here for the long term.

ALSO READ| Ninja was the highest-earning Twitch streamer in 2023 with a whopping $500,000 per month, report claims

Trouble for Twitch is not over yet

Twitch has faced competition from rivals like Kick, which has lured away some of its popular streamers with lucrative contracts. For example, xQC, also known as Felix Lengyel, signed a huge multi-year deal with Kick last year, reportedly worth around $100 million.

Clancy said Twitch was not interested in offering such deals to streamers, arguing that they are not economically viable.

The cost of retaining those streamers would have been far more than the revenue generated from them, he said.

That is something weve been very clear about. We dont want to do that.

ALSO READ| Can X beat YouTube? MrBeast's 'direct' video on X may end Elon Musk's advertising exodus

Clancy also assured that there is no danger of Amazon shutting down Twitch, despite its lack of profitability.

The answer is emphatically no, Clancy answered to a question from chat. Not at all. Amazon is very bullish on Twitch. Theyve been investing heavily in Twitch.

Twitchs troubles are not over, as the San Francisco Chronicle reported this week that Twitch is looking to shrink its expensive San Fran headquarters.
Mankhurd, an independent feature film directed by Praveen Giri, doesn't hold back. It tells the story of a Muslim father and daughter in Mumbai, where they get wrongfully accused of an attack. After its premiere at the Chennai International Film Festival, the director sat down for exclusive chat with Hindustan Times where he opened up about the process of making the film within a tiny budget but without an iota of compromise. Excerpts. (Also read: Merry Christmas to Killer Soup: The deadly common thread between them) Praveen Giri talked about the journey of his debut feature film Mankhurd.

I watched Mankhurd and it kept me awake. It was so hard hitting. Talk to me about the journey of the film.

Being an independent filmmaker, we didn't have a proper budget to finish our film. We were working on a collaboration basis with the artists and actors. The actors who performed in the film are not trained actors. We picked for the part who showed passion to act. We trained them for 2-3 months. As we didn't have proper budget to star professional actors, so we worked in that way.

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It took me 3 months to complete the writing of Mankhurd. Post that, we went for location recce. We shot the film within 7-8 days. Then we took time for post production. We also did live recording but editing and colour grading took the longest time. Amidst this, I shot another short film called Nightingales in the Cucoon, which I submitted to the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. I thought that if I attended the festival, I could get connections to co-produce Mankhurd. Unexpectedly, our short film got awarded and that was completely out of the blue. That prize money helped me complete the post-production work of Mankhurd.

I'm surprised that you chose the setting of Mankhurd to be in Mumbai, whereas you belong from Tamil Nadu? Was it a deliberate choice to situate the film in Mumbai? Was it a real life incident that inspired the story?

Yes, most of the incidents which I show in Mankhurd is inspired from true events only. Even the aspect of the railway station is based on a true story- even I was surprised to see those things there. I was researching about the place from an year ago, and I got to know that a certain number of people who live in Mankhurd are from Tamil Nadu. I wanted to show the rooted life they live, without any sense of compromise. When people from Mumbai came to Chennai International Film Festival and saw the film, even they were surprised by these points. Because in films generally, we see a very different Mumbai and we wanted to show a different side to the city. Even Nightingales in the Cucoon (his short film) is shot in Dharavi.

Since you mentioned about the issue of budgeting in Mankhurd, talk to me a little about the journey of the film and what were your takeaways from this experience.

Our production banner is named Unchained Pictures. We had a perception that if a film has to be made we must have a fixed sum, with which we need to complete it. But that stereotype is not true, a film can be done with a minimum budget... one just needs a good story and a passionate team. I was almost supposed to be making a film with a proper production house, but I don't know if it would be made in the way I wanted, without any restrictions. So with my production, I know exactly what to show in the film.

Talk to me a little bit on the choice of ratios in Mankhurd. Was it always a deliberate choice on your part?

Yes. That was intentional. We decided that aspect during shoot, because I wanted to put the audience into a box. They should feel the suffocation. In the film, that part is drawn out through the response to the suffering- there was no deliberateness to that emotion. They are conveyed through the performances, and shrinking of the screen reflects that exact feeling. The intention was there from the beginning.

I wanted to know about your references as a filmmaker, about some of the directors who have inspired your work.

I think the narrative boldness comes from director Pa Ranjith. He is a revolutionary filmmaker. His stories are for the people, and I got that confidence from him as a filmmaker. I write when an incident or a story impacts me a lot. I am also inspired by the works of director Bala. Also, PS Vinothraj. He made a film without any lead actor or without any production house, which gave me a lot of confidence. No established actors to be in the front, just a solid story and execution and the film will click.

How do think the market for independent films has evolved in the last few years? Do you see change?

I don't know if I will be able to pitch Mankhurd to the theatres, because their market is completely different. At least if I am able to release it in OTT, I would be able to recover the funds.

I don't have any film background and I don't know how the OTT market works. I am not sure how to pitch this film to the censor board or whether it will get cleared. Recently a Tamil film also got removed from a streaming site. I don't know whether OTT would be interested in my film, not because of its politics but also for the template that is attached to projects. We don't have established actors so there is no commercial template attached to Mankhurd. Even now, 90 minute-long films are bracketed as short films. Feature films are considered to be two hours long or more. For instance, Pebbles is just 70 minutes-long. The audience also has to take the onus and it's a collective process at the end of it. Only then will we be able to see more films. If Mankhurd succeeds I will be able to begin my next project. One is not able to present the film on a platform, since we don't have a market for such kind of films. That needs to be positioned foremost.

Take a look at the Malayalam industry- where we can see mainstream cinema exist beside a film like Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam or Jallikattu. These films are backed by the superstars of the industry. This is a practice which must be in every industry, not just in the Tamil industry. In that regard, Mammootty sir has been instrumental in creating a market for independent films. Last year it was Mammootty's year, with the kind of support for independent cinema. Only then will the market be in place.

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Bigg Boss 17 is all set to host their final episode and declare this season's winner. Ahead of the much-anticipated moment, actor Mrunal Thakur extended her love and support to contestant Ankita Lokhande, who is in the Bigg Boss house with her husband Vicky Jain. Ankita and Mrunal worked together in Pavitra Rishta, where they played sisters. Also read: Ankita Lokhande tells Vicky Jain main jari hu teri zindagi se Ankita Lokhande and Mrunal Thakur starred together in Pavitra Rishta.

Mrunal to Ankita Lokhande

Mrunal posted a photo of Ankita Lokhande in a gorgeous pink saree. In the caption, she wrote, Ankita my gurl the strongest (raising hands emojis). Sending you strength and love. Ankita has been gaining a lot of support from several friends and celebrities. She is among the strongest players of this season.

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Bigg Boss 17

Currently, there are nine contestants in the house, including Ankita and Vicky. Bigg Boss 17 is hosted by Salman Khan. However, in the recent episode of Weekend Ka Vaar, Karan Johar took over as a guest host. He praised Ankita and her game while also confronting Vicky about his behaviour amid their never-ending fights in the show.

Rakhi supports Ankita Lokhande

Only a day ago, Rakhi Sawant, ex-Bigg Boss contestant, came out in support of Ankita and taunted Vicky Jain's mother. She said in a video that even though Vicky's mother, who is in the limelight for her controversial interviews against Ankita, has been misbehaving with Ankita Lokhande, when the actor wins Bigg Boss 17, she'll celebrate.

Rakhi told Vicky's mother, "Vicky and Ankita got married, but why are you coming in between their fights? What are you doing, mother-in-law? Be at peace, have good food, enjoy your life. Why are you doing this?"

Ankita will anyway win the trophy. She will win Bigg Boss, it's my prediction. Our Marathi girl Ankita will win the show. Then you will celebrate by saying, 'My daughter-in-law won.' Don't do like this, Ankita's mother-in-law. Don't speak so much between your son and daughter-in-law. We also had a lot of fights at my home. My mother never interfered. Respect your daughter-in-law, only then will people respect your daughter, she also added.

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A final public engagement meeting will soon be held to discuss 1,300 responses to a survey designed to provide input on a Buffalo 5/14 memorial.

The meeting was scheduled for Tuesday night, but it was postponed due to weather. Officials plan to announce a new date later in the week.

The memorial will honor the 10 people killed and three wounded during the racist mass shooting at the Jefferson Avenue Tops Markets on May 14, 2022, as well as others affected by the massacre.

The 5/14 Memorial Commission conducted the survey in Buffalo and across the metro region to gain insight and give those impacted by the tragedy the opportunity to share thoughts about the design, look and feel of the memorial.

The racially-motivated mass shooting that occurred at the Jefferson Avenue Tops was an act of hate and white supremacy. Its impact will be felt for years to come, Mayor Byron W. Brown said in a news release. Thats why its important to make sure the memorial we create both honors the lives taken, and honors the survivors and wishes of the community.

Along with conducting the survey, commission members met with the families of those who died in the shooting and engaged in many conversations to incorporate their vision for the memorial.

The commission last year shared preliminary results from the survey on its website, buffalony.gov/1609/514-Memorial-Commission. Final results will be available on the website following the public meeting.

The commission was established by Gov. Kathy Hochul and Brown in October 2022. Pastor Mark Blue, as chairman, leads the 11-member group.

Its tasks have included finding an appropriate site to build the memorial, acquiring land and engaging the community and the families impacted by the mass shooting. It also has worked to select an architect and design concepts, as well as fundraising, maintaining the memorial and beautifying the surrounding area.

Buffalo counts itself as one of several communities where racist mass shootings have taken place in the U.S. and other parts of the world in recent years. The president, vice president, other elected officials and many others visited the city in the weeks and months afterward to share grief that spilled far beyond Western New York, and offer support on the journey toward healing.

Payton Gendron in November 2022 pleaded guilty in Erie County Court to domestic terrorism, 10 counts of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree attempted murder as a hate crime and one count of second-degree weapons possession. He received 10 life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it will seek the death penalty in the federal case against Gendron, who lived in suburban Binghamton at the time of the shooting and has admitted he chose a grocery store with a large Black population for his shooting rampage.

Federal prosecutors shared U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garlands decision with families of the victims last Friday in U.S. District Court in Buffalo before they did so publicly.
American actor Steven Yeun was adjudged as the outstanding actor in a limited series or movie at the 75th Primetime International Emmy Awards on Monday. The 40-year-old actor was honoured for his commendable act as Danny in the Netflix show titled Beef. Steven Yeun with his award at 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday

Yeun, who'd shot to fame with The Walking Dead, had "a lot of people to thank" in his Emmy acceptance speech. He expressed his gratitude and thanks "for this immense honour and blessing." He mentioned that a lot of people looked out for him on his way to even get to be in the business.

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(Also Read: Emmy Awards 2024 full list of winners: Succession and The Bear tie with six wins each)

(From left) Steven Yeun, Alan S. Kim, Yuh-Jung Youn, Yeri Han, and Noel Cho in a scene from Minari.(AP)

The actor, who'd previously earned widespread acclaim for his outings in Minari and Burning, said that there were days when it became extremely difficult for him to "live in Danny's skin," and added that there were times when he wanted to judge him while on some occasions he wanted to make fun on him as well. Yeun then shared that Andrew Cooper, the on-set photographer of Beef, had once told him to "Never bail on Danny."

The actor went on to add, "I wanna thank Danny for teaching me that judgment and shame is a lonely place, but compassion and grace is where we can all meet."

(Also Read: Niecy Nash-Betts' heartfelt speech to The Bear guys kissing on stage: Five best moments from Emmy Awards 2024)

Steven Yeun in Beef(File Photo)

Yeun was nominated for the Emmys along with Evan Peters for Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Kumail Nanjiani for Welcome to Chippendales, Daniel Radcliffe for WEIRD: The 'Weird Al' Yankovic Story, Michael Shanon for George & Tammy, and Taron Egerton for Black Bird.

Netflix's popular show Beef stars Yeun as one of the protagonists (Danny) along side Ali Wong who portrays Amy Lau. The repressed anger within them takes extreme forms as they go to great lengths to hit back at each other after being involved in an incident of road rage.
There is a thin line between love and hate. Boy meets girl and the battle lines are drawn, it's hate at first sight. But, life and fate work in strange ways, and the enemies cannot resist the push and pull of attraction. Love blossoms and the rest is history. Here are five K-dramas where we see the classic enemies-to-lovers trope. (Also read: Loving Song Kang's My Demon? Four more K-dramas with a juicy contract marriages trope) Ji Chang Wook and Nam Ji Hyun in Suspicious Partner.

Love To Hate You

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When a man-hating lawyer and a matinee star who distrusts women meet, its a given that they are a match made in hell. Kim Ok Bin and Past Lives Yoo Tae Ho bring a perfect

breezy rom-com which has all the tropes and cliches associated with the genre. Their chemistry is super hot and gives you some intense moments.

Where To Watch: Netflix

Emergency Couple

Marry in haste and repent at leisure. Song Ji Hyos Jin Hee and Choi Jin Hyuks Chang Min get married as soon as they meet. But once together, their honeymoon does not last long and they divorce soon after. Years later, the two meet yet again, this time as medical interns in a hospital, and could kill each other than be seen together.

Where To Watch: Viki

Secret Love

Yoo Jung (Hwang Jung Eun) took the fall for her boyfriend, and gets imprisoned for a crime she didnt commit. Min Hyuk (Ji Sung) blames her for killing his girlfriend. As he sets out to ruin her life, he finds himself falling in love with her instead.

Where To Watch: Viki

Innocent Man

Kang Ma Ru (Song Joong Ki) is a medical intern, whose life changes when he takes the blame for his selfish girlfriends crimes.

Imprisoned and back, his career over, he plans the perfect revenge. His bait is his former girlfriends stepdaughter, but instead, he turns into a pawn in his own game.

Suspicious Partner

Prosecutor Noh Ji Wook (Ji Chang Wook) avoids Eun Bong Hee (Nam Ji Hyun) since it was defending her in court which had caused turmoil in his life. But as danger looms ahead of them, the two end up protecting and falling for each other.

Where to Watch: Netflix
Huma Qureshi is back as Maharani aka Rani Bharti who has now cleared Class XII exams. The teaser of Maharani season 3 is out and shows her announcing it loud and clear: Hum chauthi fail they to aap sab ki naak mein dum kar diye, graduate hojayenge to ka hoga aap sab ka (I made life difficult for you when I was just a school dropout, what will happen to you when I become a graduate). Also read: Hansal Mehta reacts as Omar Abdullah objects to Maharani shoot at Jammu and Kashmir assembly: Why is it a shame? Huma Qureshi as Rani Bharti in Maharani season 3.

The teaser description read: Pareeksha ki tayyari hai jaari. Phir aa rahi hai #Maharani (we are prepared to face the exams as Maharani is coming once again)!

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What's in Maharani season 3 teaser

The Maharani teaser opens with Amit Sial's Naveen Kumar saying during his speech at a function in the jail in Hindi, Gandhiji used to say that one must hate the sin, not the sinner. Amid chants of Navin Kumar zindabad, a woman approaches Amit Sial with a plate of halwa. Looking impressed, he asks the police officer accompanying him if the dessert is being distributed in the honour of his arrival or to celebrate the release of prisoners. The police officer informs him that the dessert is being distributed by Rani Bharti as she has cleared her Intermediate exam. Amit Sial puts back the plate into the tray on hearing about Rani Bharti.

The teaser then goes on to show Rani Bharti arriving at the jail in handcuffs. She can be heard warning her enemies about all that she would be capable of if she becomes a graduate.

Maharani

Maharani has been created by Subhash Kapoor and is directed by Saurabh Bhave. Subhash Kapoor has written the show along with Nandan Singh and Umashankar Singh. It also stars Vineet Kumar, Pramod Pathak, Kani Kusruti, Anuja Sathe, Sushil Pandey, Dibyendu Bhattacharya and Sohum Shah.

Huma plays a school dropout whose life takes a 360 degree turn when her husband and chief minister is sent to jail and she ends up heading the state government. In season 3, she is now back after completing her school education and prepping to do her graduation.

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The world of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan will be getting an exotic touch of Jordan with the whole team of the Bollywood film, including Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff, ready to fly out to the foreign location to shoot for three song sequences. Akshay Kumar will be seen alongside Tiger Shroff in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan

I am very excited about shooting in Jordan. Ive never been there but Ive heard its a beautiful country, Kumar says with excitement, adding, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan has superb action and requires a certain terrain. Vashu (Vashu Bhagnani) ji and the director, Ali (Ali Abbas Zafar), have chosen Jordan with a lot of thought for this schedule. Earlier we shot in Mumbai, London, Scotland and Abu Dhabi for the film. And Jordan, here we come now.

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According to a source, the songs will be choreographed by Bosco Martis. The makers are going all out to make the songs a visual spectacle for the audiences to experience on the big screen. They plan to capture different moods and shades of Jordan through the songs. They are taking a crew of 400-500 people, which includes around 200 dancers. So, one can imagine the scale of the songs that they are planning, adds the insider.

With the move, the film has become one of the very few Bollywood films to be ever shot in Jordan. The shoot will happen between January 19 to February 2.

When we reached out to producer Jackky Bhagnani, he shared the thought behind locking the location.

As we embark on this cinematic journey, Jordan becomes more than just a backdrop; it becomes a character in our story, contributing its timeless allure to every frame. Jordan not only compliments the magnanimity of the film but also its stellar star cast, Bhagnani shares, adding, We hope after the songs come out and the film is released, there will be more shootings there. We hope we can set a trend.

Ask him if he is going with the team, and Bhagnani quips, I am not dancing in front of the camera but I am going.

Going to Jordan to shoot comes as a bold decision on the part of the makers as the country is surrounded by three conflicted zones.

Written and directed by Zafar, the film will release on Eid next year. The action thriller also stars Prithviraj Sukumaran, Sonakshi Sinha, Manushi Chhillar and Alaya F. Several portions have been shot in India, England, Scotland, and Abu Dhabi.

Opening up about going to Jordan, Zafar says, The idea with the film is to do everything which is big and visually very appealing. We have shot the whole film, and just left with the filming of the three songs, which will be shot in Jordan. Thats because the visual scale of the place is very beautiful, and has not been explored widely yet.

The team will be shooting across the country, shooting in the desert, by the sea, town, and historic places. Every song will come with a different palate. We want to cover the whole brown canvas of desert and blue of the water, Zafar exclaims.

When it comes to the film, the anticipation among the fans is running high as it unites Kumar and Shroff together. Zafar understands the frenzy.

It is a big ticket film coming on a big day. It is meant to be witnessed on the big screen. And the most challenging aspect is that it stars true blood action heroes, so the action, and music need to max that hype. All the sequences we have done so far, be it action or dance, have shot on real locations, especially action which has been fully executed by Akshay and Tiger together without the use of too much VFX and body double. That is the edge that the film has. So, we are going all out to make it appealing for the audiences, Zafar ends.
Cake is an integral part of our birthday tradition that we all hold dear. However, it is only partially true, as different parts of the world celebrate birthdays with unique food traditions. Let's explore a few of these fascinating culinary customs: For representational purpose

Ghana: Oto

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In Ghana, birthdays are marked with a delectable breakfast dish called Oto. Traditionally served with hard-boiled eggs, this recipe features locally sourced yams, which are boiled and mashed with a delightful blend of spices and seasonings such as onions, salt, and powdered shrimp.

Netherlands: Vlaai

The Dutch have their own birthday tradition in the form of Vlaai, a grand pie resembling a large tart. This sweet spectacle is filled with an assortment of delicious ingredients like berries, plums, and apricots.

Brazil: Brigadeiro

Brazilian birthdays are incomplete without the presence of Brigadeiro, delightful sweet balls that are crafted from condensed milk, butter, and chocolate, then adorned with colorful sprinkles and nuts. Brigadeiro is a must-have delicacy that brings joy to every Brazilian birthday celebration.

Argentina: Sandwiches De Miga

Argentina offers a birthday tradition that not only satisfies the soul but also tantalizes the taste buds with its Sandwiches de Miga, a hearty sandwich layered with meats, eggs, cheese, tomatoes, green peppers, tuna, lettuce, and butter and a thin, crustless bread called Miga.

China: Longevity Noodles

In Chinese culinary culture, birthdays are celebrated with a special noodle recipe known as "Longevity Noodles." These noodles are made with wheat flour, eggs, soy sauce, vegetables, and oriental spices.

South Korea: Seaweed Soup

Seaweed soup is an essential part of South Korean culinary culture, particularly on birthdays. However, this soup is rich in nutrients and not sweet in taste.

Mexico: Arroz con Leche

In Mexico, it is customary to serve a type of rice pudding called "Arroz con Leche" during birthday celebrations. This dessert can be served either hot or warm and is a must-have at any birthday gathering.

Denmark: Fdselsdagsboller

In Denmark, the go-to birthday treat is a bun called "Fdselsdagsboller," which is typically enjoyed during breakfast. These buns consist of a delightful mixture of flour, sugar, and butter, and they taste amazing straight out of the oven.
The bare structure of a pandal standing on the playground of Dr BR Ambedkar Secondary School silently announced that puja festivities were over. A gaggle of geese emerged from the adjacent lake where fishermen on rafts were busy casting nets. Some kids playfully dashed down the main road 50 metres away.

At Kamduni, a sleepy fish farmers village located barely 10 kilometres away from New Town, Bengals information and technology hub in North 24 Parganas district, nothing seemed amiss. However, a deep scar lies beneath its surface.

Ask any resident about the 20-year-old college student whose mutilated body was found on the outskirts of the village on the morning of January 8, 2013, and it becomes visible.

Nobody in her family had ever been to school. The girl was a ray of hope. The lives of our people changed forever the day she was raped and murdered, said a homemaker from the extended family of the victim whose uncles and cousins live in a far corner of Kamduni.

Now the family is gearing up for a legal battle at the Supreme Court. In October 2023, the Calcutta high court revised the death penalty verdict delivered by a sessions court to three of the accused. The family of the victim was recently in New Delhi to seek the help of SC lawyers for a protracted legal battle to challenge the high courts decision. They moved out of the village long ago  only a two-man outpost of the police near their house remains.

The victim was my uncles daughter. Months after the incident, her parents, both of whom have been ailing ever since, and her two brothers left Kamduni for good. The state government gave a permanent job to her elder brother and a temporary contractual service to the younger one as compensation, said one of the victims cousins. In 2013, the village residents  and this cousin  started a campaign to seek punishment for the nine men named in the first information report (FIR).

The trial, which initially started at the Barasat sessions court was transferred to the city sessions court in Kolkata. In 2016, the sessions court judge described the Kamduni crime as rarest of the rare, and announced a death sentence for the accused, Saiful Ali, Ansar Ali and Amin Ali and 10 years of imprisonment for Sheikh Imanul Islam, Aminur Islam and Bhola Naskar. Of the nine accused, Rafiqul Islam Gazi and Noor Ali were acquitted due to lack of evidence and Gopal Naskar died during the trial in which the prosecution examined 31 witnesses.

These were the first death sentences passed in a rape case in Bengal after the Centre enforced the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance 2013 in view of the Delhi incident.

Charges were framed under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) such as criminal conspiracy (section 120B), gang rape (376D), murder (302), rape and causing physical injuries leading to death (376A), removing evidence (201), abetment (109) and wrongful confinement of the victim (342).

In October 2023, the Calcutta high court division bench set aside the death sentences. The bench of justice Joymalya Bagchi and justice Ajay Kumar Gupta turned the death sentences faced by Saiful and Ansar into life imprisonment. Amin Ali was acquitted, citing a lack of evidence. Imanul, Aminur and Bhola were also released against a bail bond of 10,000, as each had already served their sentence during the trial.

The state failed to prove conspiracy and prior concert in the crime beyond reasonable doubt. It has also not led evidence to rebut the possibility of reformation and rehabilitation, the order stated.

On the other hand, the conduct of the appellants in the correctional home is satisfactory and other unrebutted materials before this court give rise to a reasonable belief that there is a high possibility of reformation and rehabilitation of the appellants. Alternative punishment of life imprisonment for the remainder of natural life is a more humane substitute that adequately addresses societal concerns of recidivism," the order added.

It is a historic order, said lawyer Phiroze Edulji who represented the convicts.

The family prepares to move SC

On June 7, 2013, the victim, a second-year undergraduate student at a college in Kolkata, was returning home after an exam. It was raining. Usually, her brothers would pick her up from the bus stop, but this time, no one was around so the young woman started walking home. On the way, she was abducted and dragged to a three-room structure on an empty farmland, the documents produced in court stated.

The victims body with several injuries was found on high ground by local people the following morning.

Days after the crime, protests broke out in Kolkata and the district prompting the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government to hand over the case to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

When chief minister Mamata Banerjee visited Kamduni on January 18, 2013, she was confronted by angry crowds, upset that she had visited 10 days after the crime. Banerjee, who was to launch the panchayat poll campaign, walked away alleging that the protest was a conspiracy by the CPI (M) against her.

I am sorry to say CPI(M) is doing politics because the culprits are all CPI(M) supporters, she said.

Soon, Kolkata and other parts of the state witnessed sporadic agitations under apolitical banners. The movement drew the attention of the local and national media. Padma Vibhushan and Magsaysay awardee author Mahasweta Devi, who died in 2016, demanded exemplary punishment for the accused. The vernacular press began to call the protestors, Kamdunir protibadi.

Meanwhile, the victims family didnt let up their campaign to seek justice  they visited Delhi and met former President Pranab Mukherjee to seek justice.

The contents of the CIDs chargesheets came under question when the high court said the prosecution failed to prove conspiracy in the crime. Moving the Supreme Court was our only option, said the victims cousin who was also examined as a witness.

The state, too, has filed a petition before the Supreme Court, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said, refuting allegations of laxity levelled at the government by the victims family.

On October 19, the Supreme Court heard separate petitions filed by the Bengal government and the victims family and ordered that the acquitted persons cannot relocate to any other place as long as the case is being heard. Also, they must report to the local police station every week, the apex court ordered.

Sentenced served, life still on hold

While Saiful Ali, Ansar Ali, Amin Ali, Imanul Islam and Aminur Islam live in small settlements spread within a three-kilometre radius of Kamduni, the tile-roofed home of Bhola Naskar is the solitary structure on the northern outskirts of the village.

Dadu (grandfather), someone has come to see you, a child playing by the rickety fence shouted when this correspondent asked for Naskar.

The sole window facing the road was slammed shut by someone from inside. After almost 10 minutes, a woman emerged from the semi-pucca structure that appeared to be in desperate need of repairs.

My father is not home. He doesnt stay here. The lawyers have asked us not to talk to strangers, she said.

At Kharibari Paschim Para, where Saiful Ali lives, the villagers stopped this correspondent from visiting his home. They even refused to say whether he was seen after his release.

At Matiagachha, where Ansar Ali lives, the folks appeared more hostile to strangers asking questions.

We are feeling insecure since the day these men were released from jail. Two policemen are posted at Kamduni but we have to travel every day for work, said the victims cousin.

We dont have the money and resources to fight a case at the Supreme Court. So, we approached all the opposition parties. Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suvendu Adhikari readily agreed to help. We approached the states top Congress and CPI(M) leaders as well. They said they cannot bear such expenses with Lok Sabha elections approaching but advised us to accept the BJPs offer, 64-year-old Pradip Mukherjee, a primary school teacher who taught the victim, and mobilised people for the movement, said.

Although a permanent resident of Madhyamgram, located 14 km away, Mukherjee remains a prominent face of the Kamduni movement together with the victims friends, Mousumi and Tumpa Koyal.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi, responding to the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) announcement of organising Sundar Kand Path, a segment of the Hindu epic Ramayana, in all Vidhan Sabha constituencies of Delhi, raised concerns on Tuesday about the how the party was any different from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President Asaduddin Owaisi. (ANI)

Speaking to news agency ANI on Tuesday, Owaisi said, When I saw that the Delhi CM and his government have decided that there will be Sunderkand Path and Hanuman Chalisa recitation every Tuesday, I asked how are you different from the BJP? There is no difference between BJP-RSS and you.

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On Monday, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj announced that Sunder Kand will be chanted in every Vidhan Sabha constituency of Delhi on the first Tuesday of each month. Additionally, he mentioned plans to organise Sunder Kand Path and Hanuman Chalisa at approximately 2,600 locations in the upcoming days.

Owaisi alleged that the AAP was being hypocritical and claimed that they were aligning themselves with the same Hindutva stance as Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He added, Look at their hypocrisy. Some say that they will go to the Saryu river, some say that this Path will be included in educational centres and in hospitals...You are walking the path of Narendra Modi. You want to do what he is doing. So what is the difference between you and the BJP-RSS.

Owaisi stated that the current trend in politics revolved around competitive Hindutva, with many parties focused on securing the votes of the majority community. He said, Most parties are bent on winning the majority of community votes. The politics of competitive Hindutva is being adopted. I appeal to all Muslims in the county to observe this. If even now our secular Hindu brothers and Muslims do not notice this, who will be at fault?

Responding to Owaisi's remarks, AAP leader Bharadwaj said, We (AAP) don't need to answer (Asaduddin) Owaisi. We will pray to Lord Hanuman to bless him.

On Monday, Owaisi said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, Chhota Recharge of RSS has decided that Sunderkand Path will be organised in every assembly constituency of Delhi on the first Tuesday of every month. This decision was taken because of the inauguration on January 22. Let me remind you that these people had maintained silence on the issue of Bilkis Bano and had said that they only want to talk on issues like education and health. Is Sunderkand lesson education or health? The real thing is that they are afraid of justice. Giving full support to the agenda of the Sangh. Let us not even talk about Babri, you keep playing the flute of justice, love, so-and-so and at the same time keep strengthening Hindutva. Wow!

Responding to it, Bharadwaj said, I don't think I should respond to him. I would pray to Lord Hanuman to bless him as well. No political party should object to a good program like Sunderkand Paath recitation. If they are objecting, it is not right.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday responded to Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati's statement calling him a chameleon. A file photo of Akhilesh Yadav with Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati.

Mayawati, while announcing her decision of BSP contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections alone, warned her party leaders to be careful of Yadav, alleging he changed colours like chameleon to mislead them'.



Party workers need to be aware of how SP (Samajwadi Party) chief changed his attitude towards the BSP chief like a chameleon, to mislead BSP regarding the INDIA alliance, she had said on Monday.

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Responding to her attack, the Samajwadi Party chief said,"The Samajwadis have always made efforts to unite all the parties. A lot of rumours were being spread through newspapers and television. We will always strive to strengthen the INDIA alliance and include more parties into its fold."



As far as the Bahujan Samaj Party is concerned, Samajwadis accorded respect. I remember the time when Samajwadis took the resolve that the Prime Minister should be from the section that has faced the evils of society for several years, Yadav was quoted by PTI as saying.



Samajwadi Party was dreaming of making (her) the PM, and we worked towards it. But this language... she is talking about 'changing colours'. She must be saying so because of being under pressure, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.





The BSP's decision to contest Lok Sabha elections alone has jolted INDIA bloc's efforts to bring it to the fold.

""Regarding the elections, I want to make it clear again that our party will fight the the Lok Sabha polls alone on the strength of the poor and marginalised sections, especially Dalits, tribals, Muslims and people of other religious minority communities," Mayawati had said.



The BSP had fought the 2019 elections in an alliance with the SP under the mahagathbandhan. Each of the parties had contested 38 seats in Uttar Pradesh and did not field their candidates against the Congress in Amethi and Rae Bareli seats. While the BSP had won 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh, the SP had won five seats under the 'mahagathbandhan'.
The Kerala high court on Monday asked the Centre to file by Friday the order of its probe into complaints about the financial transactions between a firm owned by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayans daughter and a Kochi-based private minerals firm. Centres counsel told the court that the order was issued under Section 210 of the Companies Act, referring to the inquiry announced by the Union corporate affairs ministry on January 12 into alleged violations by firm owned by Vijayans daughter Veena (PTI)

The central governments counsel, RV Sreejith, told the court that the order was issued under Section 210 of the Companies Act, referring to the inquiry announced by the Union corporate affairs ministry on January 12 into alleged violations by Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd owned by Vijayans daughter Veena T, Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) and Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation, which has a stake in CMRL.

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In such scenario, I direct the central government counsel to file the order now stated to have been issued by the Government of India, which shall be done not later than this Friday (19.01.2024), a bench of justice Devan Ramachandran said.

The order came on a petition filed by advocate and Kottayam district panchayat member Shone George, demanding a probe by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office into the case. George is a member of the Kerala Janapaksham (Secular) party, which has indicated its willingness to join the National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The high court also directed the lawyer to obtain specific instructions, if any further action by the SFIO has been ordered or found warranted by the next posting date.

The director general of corporate affairs at the central ministry has appointed a three-member team to probe the alleged violations and submit a report within four months.

On the basis of a complaint, an inquiry of Exalogic Solutions Private Limited was conducted by the registrar of companies, Bangalore under the provisions of Section 206(4) of the Companies Act, 2013 which highlighted various violations and offences under the Act while recommending an investigation into the affairs, the order issued on January 12 said.

A report submitted by the registrar of companies in Ernakulam to the Centre was also quoted in the order as saying, It emerged that either replies furnished by CMRL are vague and evasive in nature to the allegations or the reply is not furnished by the KSIDC with respect to the notices issued by the registrar of companies on the basis of the complaints.

The row over suspicious financial transactions between Veenas firm and CMRL first erupted in July last year following a ruling of the Income Tax Interim Settlement Board. It found that Veena and her firm Exalogic received monthly payments to the tune of 1.72 crore from CMRL in a three-year period even though no services were rendered by her firm. The board ruled that the payment could not be considered as a business expense of CMRL as the services were not rendered by Veenas firm.

The department has demonstrated with clinching evidence the fact that applicant has made payments through banking channels to persons connected with a prominent person and thereby claim it as a deductible expense and by claiming to compensate a service which has not been rendered or received, the board had said in its order dated June 12, 2023.

On Sunday, following the announcement of the Centres probe into the case, Communist Party of India (Marxist) state secretary MV Govindan said, There is nothing new in this case and everything has been said before. Let the investigation take place and the party has nothing to fear. It is politically motivated. If you subtract the chief minister from the equation, there is no (motive for the) probe.
New Delhi Thirty-year-old Henthinthang Haokip is running out of time. He is a soldier in the Indian Armys elite Rashtriya Rifles (RR) unit, posted near the crucial and often volatile India-China border in Ladakh. For the past two months, Haokip has spent his days next to a bed at the Armys 151 Base Hospital in Guwahati, where his father, 65-year-old Manglun, has been lying almost completely still, struggling to recover from a murderous attack.

Haokip has waited patiently for two months, looking for any sign of progress. But his leave is running out, and he must return to his post. What has kept him in Guwahati isnt just his father, but the desperate desire for some news, any news, of his mother and cousin, among at least 37 people who have gone missing in the ethnic violence that has roiled Manipur for the last eight months.

ALSO READ- Manipur: Curfew imposed in Tengnoupal district after attack on security forces

On November 7, Manglun, his wife Nengkim and three others family members  all Kukis  were on their way to Leimakhong to meet a relative when they were stopped by an irate mob of over 700 people in Kangpokpi. They came under vicious attack; Manglun was beaten, and left for dead. The others were handed over to a group of armed militants. A day later, Mangluns sister-in-law Neilam and nephew Jamkothang were found dead in Imphal, their bodies riddled with bullets. His wife Nengkim and their cousin John Thanjalam have been missing since.

I have been living in the hospital since November. The authorities in Manipur say they are trying to trace my mother, but I am losing hope, Haokip said.

On January 13, the Manipur Police summoned his sister for a DNA test after they found a womans body in Churachandpur. The results are awaited. Pushed to desperation, and resigned to the fact that his mother is likely dead, Haokip says he half-wishes that body is his mothers. I hope the DNA test confirms it. At least we will get her body, Haokip said.

Since the beginning of May last year, Manipur has been ravaged by ethnic clashes between Kuki and Meitei groups that have left at least 200 dead, and over 50,000 people displaced from their homes. The violence has birthed new armed militias ostensibly guarding their own villages and new boundaries within the state; there are Kuki areas in the hill districts where the Meiteis dare not tread, and in the Imphal valley where the Meiteis are dominant, Kukis cannot enter.

These factors, as well as a challenging topography that is both hilly and heavily forested has meant that not only do attacks between the communities continue unabated, but there are many that have gone missing without a trace. Kuki groups say that there are about 15 people who are unaccounted for. Meitei representatives peg the number of people missing at 22.

HT spoke to at least 15 families across both communities, each with their own stories of tragedy, loss, and the painful quest for closure.

ALSO READ- Fuel leakage at Manipur power unit likely due to unwanted human activity: Official

Spate of incidents

On November 5, two days before Haokips family was abducted, Meitei teenagers Maibam Avinash, 16, and Ningthoujam Anthony, 18, were travelling on a motorcycle when they were kidnapped from the outskirts of Sekmai, near the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district. A day later, the Manipur Police arrested two men, and said that they suspected the involvement of cadres of the Kuki Revolutionary Army. In subsequent investigations, they found the motorcycle and two mobile phones, but the teenagers remain untraced. My brother was not kidnapped during the peak of the ethnic clashes but in November when the situation was ostensibly better. Police told us that the bodies may be buried in the jungles in Kuki areas. But despite so many security forces, they are unable to find them, said Antonys elder brother Ningthojang Thebum said.

But if these two cases happened in November, there are families that have been dealing with this absence of information for over eight months. On May 6, for instance, three days after violence first erupted, Atom Somarendra Singh and his friend Yumkhaibam Kirankumar Singh, two Meitei men, went missing. They had left Somendras Imphal home in a car that day, and were last seen near a Kuki village on the foothills of Kangpokpi.

For seven months, their families waited. Then on December 15, unable to control their grief any longer, they conducted the last rites of both men. Instead of their bodies, they used tree trunks.

The issue of these missing people has been raised several times in the state over the past few months. On January 4, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), an umbrella body of Kuki groups, wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah submitting the list of 15 people missing between May and December 2023. Ginza Vualzong, spokesperson of ITLF, said, They are all feared killed. We cannot even travel to Imphal valley to find their bodies. We wrote to the home minister and also raised our concern with lieutenant general of Eastern Command in a recent meeting.

The Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (Cocomi), a Meitei organisation, has also published the list of 22 missing members from the community. The prevailing security arrangement has failed. The glaring inadequacies of the 70,000 strong central forces deployed in state raises questions about their effectiveness in preserving civilian lives and property, said Khuaijam Athouba, spokesperson of Cocomi.

Fraught with danger

Manipur government spokespersons did not respond to requests for comment but security officials on the ground said that the situation continues to be uniquely challenging, and the missing people could be anywhere  their bodies buried in the forests or the foothills. One official, who asked not to be named, said: Even in the recent case on January 10, when four men were killed at the Bishnupur-Churachandpur border, the bodies were taken up to the jungles by the militants. While three bodies were thrown in one place in a forest, the fourth was in another part.

ALSO READ- Manipur CM questions Rahul Gandhi's Yatra: 'Did he come to mess with?

The official said that they were continuing to hunt for the missing, but it would take time, particularly because even a search exercise is now fraught with danger. On Friday, too, when security forces were trying to find the fourth body in the foothills, militants fired from the hills. Fortunately, no one was injured, he said.

A second official said that they have also come across cases where newly resuscitated militant groups may be carrying out abductions for extortion. These groups need money to exist, so they are using the cover of ethnic clashes to abduct people, and are indulging in extortion. We have foiled several such cases.

Among the most high-profile people to go missing are Meitei students P Hemanjit Singh, 20, and a 17-year-old girl. They first disappeared on July 6, but the case sparked outrage after photographs that showed them prone on the ground in what looked like a militant camp with armed men around them emerged on September 25. There has been a charge sheet in the case by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and five arrests under the charges of kidnapping and murder. But their bodies have never been found.

When our case made headlines, everyone promised us the moon. The CBI director came to Imphal and we even met the chief minister. The CBI officials said that they have not been able to locate the exact place where the militants may have buried the bodies because they are yet to arrest the main killers, said the father of the 17-year-old girl.

Emotional as he talks about his daughter over the phone, the tearful man urged the Indian Army conduct a massive search operation in the foothills. Maybe they will find more bodies. It may be just one case for them, but for us, all we want is closure, he said. Six months have passed, and we still dont know what happened to our children.
Gov. Kathy Hochul in her state budget proposal has put dollar amounts to the economic development initiatives she laid out in her State of the State address last week.

Heres a look at what the governor is proposing:

Workforce training centers. Hochul proposes committing $200 million toward creating a series of workforce training centers, called the One Network for Regional Advanced Manufacturing Partnerships, known as ON-RAMP. The plan calls for four workforce development centers in high-impact areas along the I-90 corridor, with a flagship facility in Syracuse.

The centers are designed to provide credentials and training for advanced manufacturing jobs, with a focus on disadvantaged populations. Hochul has cited the Northland Workforce Development Center as a model.

Shovel-ready sites. Hochul proposes $100 million in grants through a program  called FAST-NY  designed to prepare and develop sites, to increase their appeal for large-scale economic development projects in areas like manufacturing, logistics and distribution. Business recruiters say more such big sites are needed to compete for these projects. The new investment would follow a $200 million commitment to the program in 2022.

Regional economic development councils. Hochul would commit $150 in new capital grants and $75 million in Excelsior tax credits through Empire State Development, the states economic development arm. The councils set economic development priorities for 10 regions around the state.

Empire AI. Hochuls proposal calls for the state to invest $275 million in capital grants and other funding, complemented by over $125 million from private partners, for the Empire AI initiative. Hochul said she wants to secure the states place at the forefront of the artificial intelligence industry. The University at Buffalo is hoping to be named the site of a new consortium that will launch an AI computing center in upstate New York.

Tourism. Hochul wants to provide $58.5 million for the states tourism and advertising campaigns, including $15 million for a new round of competitive funding through the Market NY program.

Downtown revitalization. Hochuls budget calls for $100 million for another round of the states Downtown Revitalization Initiative. Participating communities are nominated by the states 10 regional economic development councils; each winning community is awarded funding to develop a downtown strategic investment plan and implement key projects. Dunkirk was a recent recipient of funding.

Smaller communities. Hochul proposes $100 million for New York Forward, which is akin to the Downtown Revitalization Initiative but aimed at smaller and rural communities. Lancaster was a recent awardee of New York Forward funding.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday hit out at the Congress after Rahul Gandhi dubbed the Ram temple consecration ceremony a political Narendra Modi function.



If Rahul Gandhi would have gone there, it would not have got any political flavour. We allow you to attend it so that it remains an apolitical function. But you and your close associates have boycotted it, thereby making it a political function which it was not, Sarma said while replying to a reporter's question at a press conference in state capital Dispur. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma addresses a press conference, at Dispur in Guwahati on Tuesday.(ANI)

Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi while addressing a briefing in Nagaland's capital Kohima, the stoppage of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, had said,"The RSS and the BJP have made the 22nd January function a completely political Narendra Modi function. It's a RSS BJP function and I think that is why the Congress President said that he would not go to the function. We are open to all religions, all practices".

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Continuing his attack on the Gandhi family, Sarma said,"Rahul and Sonia Gandhi, because of their anti-Hindu notion, are making it political. Only the Congress party is politicising an event which is otherwise being viewed as a triumph of Indian civilisation."

"Everyone will go, have darshan of Ram Lalla and return. I don't think anybody will give any political speech or anti-Congress speech. For other people, it is a triumph of Indian civilisation," Sarma added.



Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar had also attacked Gandhi over his remarks, saying that the Congress MP is in La La world. The people of India are wise enough. They understand Rahul Gandhi's politics ...And we will leave it to the people of India to decide what answer they should give to Rahul Gandhi, the minister had said.



The Congress party's top leadership including Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will not be attending the Ram temple's consecration ceremony, that will be presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22.
Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party president BY Vijayendra has announced major changes in the partys organisational structure in the state with the appointment of 39 district presidents ahead of Lok Sabha elections, a move that comes three weeks after a reshuffle of top functionaries of the party. Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party president BY Vijayendra has announced major changes in the partys organisational structure in the state with the appointment of 39 district presidents ahead of Lok Sabha elections. (PTI)

According the appointment orders issued by the BJP, only nine incumbents were retained, entrusting fresh faces with the responsibility of the remaining positions.

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With an ambitious vision, Vijayendra has gone ahead with a transformation by replacing over 75% of the partys district heads. The idea is to bring young leaders at the partys grassroots level, said a senior party leader familiar with the development.

The restructuring at the district level assumes importance given the BJPs thrust on booth-level support mobilisation for elections, the party leader said, wishing not to be named.

In 2019, the BJP won 25 out of 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka. The party has geared up to repeat the performance despite losing assembly poll, party leaders familiar with the matter said.

The reshuffle is notable for its inclusion of new faces, as several Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and former MLAs make way for emerging leaders. Among the appointees, only two MLAs have found a place in the list of district presidents -- CK Ramamurthy of Jayanagar and Dr Shivaraj Patil from Raichur.

Further diversifying the leadership cadre, three former MLAsL Nagendra, CS Niranjan Kumar, and Arun Kumar Pujarhave been named district presidents in their areas.

The state BJP past presidents in key districts, including Chitradurga, Chikkaballapura, Vijayapura, Tumakuru, Shivamogga, Bagalkot, Kalaburagi Rural, Vijayanagar, and Kolar.

This is a forward-looking approach of the BJP leadership. This has ensured a continuity amid change,  a senior party leader said, wishing anonymity.

Among the notable appointments are Thippanna Majjagi as the president of the Hubballi-Dharwad unit, Ningappa Suttagatti in Dharwad Rural, Sathish Kumpala in Dakshina Kannada, and Devaraj Shetty in Chikkamagaluru. Former deputy mayor of Bengaluru, S Harish, has been entrusted with the presidency of Bengaluru North, while BJPs Gandhi Nagar assembly constituency candidate, Sapthagiri Gowda, assumes the role of Bengaluru Central president.

With an eye on replicating its stellar performance in the 2019 elections, where the BJP secured 25 out of 28 Lok Sabha seats, the party is gearing up for an increased seat share through strategic alliances, including one with the JD(S), the party leader quoted above said.

On December 25, the party had announced a list of key positions, including 10 state vice-presidents, 10 state secretaries, four general secretaries, and chiefs for various morchas.

Former minister Murugesh Nirani, a prominent Panchamasali Lingayat leader from North Karnataka, emerged as a significant figure among the 10 state vice-presidents. The move is a counteraction to Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, a vocal critic of the BJPs national leadership and the appointment of Vijayendra as the state president last month, a senior BJP leader had said.

In a bid to accommodate diverse factions within the party, several leaders associated with the BS Yediyurappa camp found a place, while detractors such as Yatnal and V Somanna were absent from the list. The state general secretaries include former minister V Sunil Kumar, who is considered close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), along with P Rajeev, NS Nandeesh Reddy, and Preetham Gowda.

The roster of 10 state secretaries introduced young and fresh faces like Shailendra Hebbale, DS Arun, Basavaraju Mathimod, C Muniraju, Vinay Bidare, Captain Brijesh Chouta, Sharanu Thallikeri, Lalitha Anapura, Lakshmi Ashwin Gowda, and Ambika Hulinaykar.

The chiefs for various morchas included AS Patil Nadahalli (farmer morcha), Anil Thomas (minority morcha), Raghu Koutilya (backward classes morcha), S Manjunath (SC morcha), Bangaru Hanumanthu (ST morcha), Dhiraj Muniraju (yuva morcha), and C Manjula (womens morcha).

Subbanarasimha has been appointed as the state treasurer.
A high-level team of officers from the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI), Enforcement Directorate(ED) and National Investigation Agency(NIA) would soon be heading to the UK to expedite the extradition of India's most-wanted fugitives, including Kingfisher Airlines promoter Vijay Mallya, arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari and diamond trader Nirav Modi, reported news agency ANI on Tuesday. Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya(PTI)

Mallya, Bhandari and Modi are wanted in India for various charges including money laundering. All three have escaped trial in India and are in the United Kingdom. Indian government authorities have been involved in legal negotiations in the UK to extradite them to India.

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ALSO READ| Centre calls for steps aimed at passenger comfort at airports amid fog delays

Vijay Mallya

Vijay Mallya faces charges of money laundering and bank loan default to the tune of over 9,000 crore linked to the collapse of his Kingfisher Airlines in 2012. He is also under investigation for financial crimes. He fled India in March 2016.

In 2022, the Supreme Court sentenced him to four months in jail in a contempt of court case for not honestly disclosing his assets and secretly transferring $40 million to his family members. He allegedly didn't reveal $40 million he had received from British liquor major Diageo Plc after his resignation as Chairman of United Spirits Limited in February 2016.

Nirav Modi

Diamond merchant and former billionaire Nirav is facing charges in India for fraud and money laundering. He is wanted in an estimated USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan scam case. He also allegedly interfered with evidence and witnesses in the CBI proceedings against him.

Nirav is lodged in HMP Thameside in south-east London. He was arrested on an extradition warrant in March 2019.

Sanjay Bhandari

Businessman and arms dealer Bhandari is wanted in India for charges of money laundering and tax evasion. The ED has been investigating several allegations against Bhandari and his alleged links with congress leader Priyanka Gandhi's husband, Robert Vadra. During the UPA era, Bhandari allegedly took commission and purchased properties in London whose beneficial owner was Vadra. However, Vadra has denied these charges.

Bhandari has a Red Corner Notice (RCN) issued against him.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member of Parliament (MP) Raghav Chadha on Tuesday said the January 18 Chandigarh mayoral polls will be a curtain raiser to the INDIA bloc versus the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) battle and will set the tone for the Lok Sabha polls results. The AAP and the Congress, two bitter political rivals, have come together in the Chadnigarh polls to take on the BJP. Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha. (File)

INDIA alliance is going to contest its first election. The Chandigarh mayor election is not an ordinary election. It will change the political course and fate of the country. It will lay the foundation for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. It will be known as the first election of the BJP versus INDIA. INDIA alliance will register a historic win in the Chandigarh mayor polls. The victory will not be limited to Chandigarh but will spread across the country, said Raghav Chadha at a press conference at the AAP headquarters in the national capital.

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I believe that the people will help India win the Chandigarh polls. The January 18 clean sweep will be a curtain-raiser for the Lok Sabha polls. It will set the tone for the results of the future INDIA versus BJP battles in future. The election will also establish that when the INDIA alliance fights the election together, its strength gets magnified. People want to get rid of the dictatorial BJP government, and only INDIA alliance will help the people get rid of the dictatorial BJP government, said Chadha.

There was no immediate response from the BJP to Chadhas remarks.

In the Chandigarh poll, the AAP has kept the mayors seat while the Congress has kept the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor posts in the alliance.

AAPs Kuldeep Dhalor will take on the BJPs Manoj Sonkar for the Chandigarh mayors post. The Congress and AAP have got 20 votes combined together against the BJPs 15 votes in the 35-member MC House, along with ex-officio member MP Kirron Khers vote.

The two parties, who have held multiple rounds of seat-sharing discussions, are yet to finalise their seats for the Lok Sabha polls. The AAP has sought Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, Haryana, Goa, and Gujarat, and the two parties have so far not revealed whether the discussions also included seat-sharing in Punjab, where the AAP is the ruling party and the Congress is the main opposition party.

INDIA alliance parties and leaders have left their ambitions and personal differences and decided to come together in the interest of the country. In which states the seats will be shared and in which states seats will not be shared will be announced after the seat-sharing talks are over. Non-stop regular commentary on seat sharing is not possible, but as soon as an important decision is taken we will share, said Chadha.

On the seat-sharing talks, Chadha said: The meeting was very significant, and strengthened our collective resolve to save India and to ensure the departure of incompetent, corrupt and dictatorial regime led by the BJP.
Dense to very dense fog enveloped Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and Eastern Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday leading to cold wave to severe cold wave conditions across most parts of Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, as reported by the Meteorological Department. Commuters out on cold and foggy morning. Foggy morning challenges Delhi-NCR with intensifying cold wave. (Hindustan Times)

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) classification, 'very dense' fog occurs when visibility ranges from 0 to 50 meters, 'dense' fog is between 51 and 200 meters, 'moderate' is within 201 and 500 meters, and 'shallow' fog is in the range of 501 to 1,000 meters.

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The IMD said on Tuesday night, Fog very likely to become more dense and likely to extend over remaining parts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Punjab and some more parts of north Rajasthan and north Madhya Pradesh during the night.

Cold wave to severe cold wave conditions persisted across numerous parts of Punjab, East Madhya Pradesh, northwest Rajasthan, and West Uttar Pradesh.

Temperature readings were recorded below normal (-1.6 degrees Celsius to -3 degrees Celsius) in many locations across Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal, Karnataka, Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, with near-normal temperatures observed in other regions of the country.

Weather forecast for next few days

The Meteorological Department forecasts a gradual rise of 2-3 degrees Celsius in minimum temperatures likely over Northwest India in the next four to five days. A rise by 3-4 degree Celsius in minimum temperatures is anticipated over East India during the same period.

Cold-day conditions are expected in a few pockets over Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, The IMD predicted that dense to very dense fog is likely at a few places over Punjab, Haryana Chandigarh-Delhi, with dense fog in a few places over Bihar, and isolated areas in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, and Sikkim on January 17.

For January 18, dense fog is likely in a few pockets over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand, with cold wave conditions anticipated in isolated places over Rajasthan.

On January 19 and 20, dense fog is likely in a few pockets over Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, and isolated areas in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand.

Dense fog across North India

At 8:30 am, Ayanagar and Safdarjung in the national capital recorded visibility at 25 meters each, while Ridge and Palam areas reported visibility at 50 meters each.

Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh reported zero meters visibility at 5:30 am, and Lucknow, the state capital, recorded 25 meters of visibility. Gwalior in West Madhya Pradesh reported a visibility of 50 meters.

Dense fog persisted over West Rajasthan, with Ganganagar reporting a visibility of 50 meters. In Bihar, Gaya and Purnea stations recorded a visibility of 200 meters in dense fog. East Madhya Pradesh reported dense fog, with Khajuraho, Satna, and Rewa stations each registering a visibility of 50 meters at 8:30 am.

Jammu Division reported dense fog with a visibility of 50 meters at Jammu airport, and Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim also experienced dense fog.

Flights and trains affected

Airport authorities reported delays for approximately 30 flights departing from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, while 17 flights were cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.

This morning, the Delhi airport issued an advisory, stating, "Low visibility procedures are currently in effect at Delhi airport. Presently, all flight operations are normal. Passengers are urged to contact their respective airlines for the latest flight information."

As a result of low visibility caused by fog, a total of 30 trains bound for Delhi experienced delays.

Schools closed

An official order from the district magistrate has declared the closure of all schools in Patna for students up to class 8 until Saturday, January 20, due to the prevailing cold weather conditions in the capital city of Bihar. For classes 9th to 12th, regular sessions will be held from 9 am to 3:30 pm as per the schedule, with no educational activities permitted beyond 3:30 pm.

As per an official order issued by the district's Basic Education Officer, all schools in Gautam Buddha Nagar were to remain shut for students up to class 8 until Tuesday, January 16.

On Sunday, the Punjab government announced the extension of the closure for primary schools until January 21. Nonetheless, schools for other classes will resume normal operations starting January 15. However, classes 6 to 12 opened from January 15, with operating hours scheduled from 10 am to 3 pm.
The residents of Delhi on Tuesday once again woke to dense fog and bone-chilling cold that also hit flight and rail operations, leaving thousands of passengers waiting for hours at the airport and railway stations. A dense blanket of fog enveloped Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.(HT_PRINT)

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city's Palam(VIDP) and Safdarjung Airports recorded visibilities within 500 metres in the morning, while around 30 flights departing from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) were delayed, and 17 flights were cancelled due to low visibility amid dense fog, news agency ANI reported citing the airport officials.

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The weather agency said a fog patch can be seen over the northern and north-eastern states with low visibility areas recorded in the airports situated in these states.

Layer of fog is seen from Punjab to northeast India across Haryana, North MP, UP, Bihar and West Bengal at 0530 hrs IST. The patches of fog are also seen along the east coast of India as shown in the attached Satellite Imagery, the IMD said in a post on X.

Airports visibility data shows the following visibilities in dense to very dense fog conditions: Varanasi 00m; Agra 00m; Gwalior 00m; Jammu 00m; Pathankot 00m; Chandigarh 00m; Gaya 20m; Prayagraj 50m; Tejpur 50m; Agartala 100m; Vijaywada 100m; Bagdogra 100m, it added.

The passengers were facing difficulty at the airport over long delays and cancellations of flights. "My flight was about to depart at 8:40 am but it is now scheduled to depart at 10:30 am...The reason they have given is mainly due to weather & fog...," a passenger shared his experience at IGI airport.

On Monday, five flights were diverted and over 100 flights were delayed at the Delhi airport due to adverse weather conditions.

Several passengers were left stranded at New Delhi Railway Station as around 30 trains including Rani Kamalapati- Hazrat Nizamuddin Vande Bharat and Howrah-Delhi Rajdhani Express were running late due to dense fog engulfing the national capital and coldwave conditions.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 3.5 degrees Celsius on Tuesday while it dipped to a seasons low of 3.3C on Monday. The cold waves and fog will likely prevail over the next few days as the IMD issued an orange alert over Delhi for Tuesday and Wednesday. The capital city clocked a maximum temperature of 19.7C on Monday.

Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD, said no significant change in the weather is expected over the next 48 hours, with the minimum likely to hover in a similar range.

An orange alert has been issued for cold wave conditions to continue. We will also continue to see dense to very dense fog in the early hours, which can impact flights, trains and road travel, he said.

Meanwhile, the air quality in the national capital was recorded in the "severe" category on Tuesday with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 401 in Anand Vihar area as per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). On Sunday, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoked Stage 3 of measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to curb the pollution levels.

On Monday, visibility was recorded as 'zero for the first time this winter season in Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan, Patiala, Ambala, Chandigarh, Palam, Safdarjung (New Delhi), Bareilly, Lucknow, Bahraich, Varanasi, Prayagraj, and Tezpur, as per the weather department.

(With inputs from agencies)
As the tensions between India and Maldives continue to remain high, travel and tourism platform EaseMyTrip responded to some of the accusations of "instigating" the diplomatic row between the two countries by suspending the flights. Nishant Pitti, co-founder and CEO, EaseMyTrip (Image courtesy: @nishantpitti/X)

EaseMyTrip CEO Nishant Pitti defended the decision of his company to suspend flight bookings to the island nation amid the India-Maldives row, claiming that some people on social media accused his company of taking a political stance.

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Nishant further said some X users were accusing his travel company of "instigating" the tensions between India and Maldives. Backing his company's stance, Nishant said he would have done the same even if some other government was in power in India.

"Read some tweets, saying we instigated India-Maldives Standoff. Here is a brief history: Nov 2023, President of Maldives won election on plank of "India Out" campaign. They wanted India & its tourist OUT, since last few years. Being 2nd largest tourism provider to Maldives, we merely fecilitated what majority Maldivan asked for. This new Maldivian govt has been clearly pro-China, and it's only fair that they earn money from Chinese tourist rather than Indians now," the EaseMyTrip CEO wrote on X.

He added, "Remaining 5% folks seem aggravated, as they are seeing it politically, and probably it's not matching with their political ideology. Perhaps, we would have done the same, no matter which govt was ruling in India, as it just made sense to uphold the dignity of our country."

Maldives asks India to withdraw troops

As the tensions between the two countries escalated, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu recently asked India to withdraw its troops the Indian Ocean archipelago by March 15. Muizzu said that all Indian military personnel should be called back by this deadline, while New Delhi said that more discussions in this regard will be held for a resolutions.

"Indian military personnel cannot stay in the Maldives. This is the policy of President Mohamed Muizzu and that of this administration," Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, principal secretary to the Maldivian president, said during a media briefing.

These developments were reported weeks after three Maldivian ministers were suspended by the government for insulting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media, when he posted photos of his visit to Lakshadweep.
The situation in Gaza and the attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and parts of the Arabian Sea were on Monday the focus of discussions between external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Tehran, with the Indian minister flagging concerns about a perceptible increase in threats to the safety of maritime traffic in the region including attacks in the vicinity of the Indian coast. External affairs minister S Jaishankar calls on the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi on Monday. (ANI)

The foreign minister also called on President Ebrahim Raisi and expressed condolences over the Kerman terror attack on January 3in which nearly 100 people were killed. Apprised him (President Raisi) of my productive discussions with the Iranian Ministers. Value his guidance for further development of ties, Jaishankar wrote on X.

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Jaishankar also met secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Akbar Ahmadian and discussed a variety of bilateral and regional issues

The fraught situation in the seas is not to the benefit of any party and this must be recognised, the minister said at a joint press conference with Iranian minister Amir-Abdollahian.

This is a matter of grave concern to the international community. Obviously, it also has a direct bearing on Indias energy and economic interests, Jaishankar told reporters.

The Indian Navy has stepped up surveillance in the troubled region substantially and deployed task groups consisting of around 10 warships in the face of the recent attacks on India-bound merchant vessels including MV Chem Pluto and MV Saibaba.

The drone attack on MV Chem Pluto took place around 220 nautical miles south-west of Porbandar, while the other vessel was targeted in the southern Red Sea.

Houthi militia has been targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea with missiles and drones after the Israel-Hamas conflict began on October 7. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels declared their support for Hamas. Several shipping companies have suspended their operations in the Red Sea following the Houthi attacks, which have forced mariners to change course and take longer routes around the southern tip of Africa.

Jaishankar said it was important that the issue be speedily addressed.

The minister also said that both India and Iran were concerned about the recent events in West Asia and emphasised the need to prevent further escalation of violence and hostilities. India has a long-standing and uncompromising position against terrorism, he said. This remains so very much. At the same time, we strongly believe that it is imperative to avoid loss of civilian life in any conflict situation.

Jaishankar added that loss of civilian lives, especially that of women and children, was the primary focus. There is a visible humanitarian crisis that needs to be addressed and the creation of sustainable humanitarian corridors is the need of the day, he said.

On the issue of Palestine, he reiterated Indias long-standing support for a two-State solution, where the Palestinian people can live freely in an independent country within secure borders. India has backed a two-State solution to resolve the decades-old Israel-Palestine conflict and bring lasting peace to the troubled region where war erupted again after Hamas militants launched an audacious assault against Israel on October 7 and the West Asian nation responded with a massive bombing campaign and ground invasion of Gaza.

I stressed on the need for all parties to avoid provocative and escalatory actions, and to facilitate movement towards dialogue and diplomacy, Jaishankar said.

Today, I hosted Indian FM S Jaishankar, we held talks over the latest regional and international developments, especially the Zionist regimes genocide & crimes against Palestinians. We discussed the expanding bilateral & multilateral ties within the Shanghai Org and BRICS, the expansion of Chabahar Port and the north-south transit route, the Iranian foreign ministry quoted Amir-Abdollahian as saying in a post on X.

Regional connectivity

Jaishankar and Amir-Abdollahian also discussed the situation in Afghanistan and cooperation on developing the Chabahar port and the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a 7,200km multi-mode route spanning 13 countries.

Regional connectivity has been a critical pillar of India-Iran relations and was naturally prominent in the discussions, Jaishankar said. I reiterated Indias interest in benefiting from Irans unique geographical position to access markets in Central Asia, Afghanistan and Eurasia. We discussed the prospects of energising INSTC. In particular, we discussed Indias involvement in the development and operation of the Chabahar port, a joint project with a joint vision of connectivity.

He emphasised Indias commitment to the project, and discussed how the two countries can establish a firm, sustainable and long-term road map for Indias continued involvement over the coming years. Given the importance of this project for both nations, I emphasised the need to monitor its progress under the direct supervision of the political leadership.

Cooperation on the Chabahar port also figured in Jaishankars talks with Irans minister of road and urban development Mehrdad Bazrpash.

Began my engagements in Tehran by meeting Minister of Roads and Urban Development @mehrdadbazrpash. Detailed and productive discussion on establishing a long-term cooperation framework with respect to Chabahar port. Also exchanged views on the International North-South Transport Corridor, Jaishankar wrote on X.

Bazrpash and Jaishankar have reached a final agreement to develop Chabahar port in southeastern Iran, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Chabahar port, where an Indian state-run firm operates a terminal, is a key part of Indias plans to enhance connectivity to Afghanistan and the Central Asian states. The port played an important role in shipping humanitarian aid to Afghanistan amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

I underscored the importance of security in intl waters for Iran &said that the White Houses continued support for war crimes by the Zionists paves the way for the spillage of instability across the region, the Iranian minister said.
New Delhi: Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday said that apart from the new SOPs (standard operating procedures) introduced on Monday, the government has taken six additional steps to mitigate passenger inconvenience during fog- induced flight disruptions. Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. (PTI)

In a post on X, Scindia said, In addition to these SOPs, we have sought incidence reporting thrice daily for all the 6 metro airports.

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He also said that the government will monitor the implementation of all the directives, SOPs and civil aviation regulations (CARs) and ensure that they are reported to relevant authorities.

War Rooms will be set up by airports and airline operators at the six Metro Airports to address any issues with regard to passenger inconvenience with immediacy, Scindia said. He said that the government will ensure availability of sufficient Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) staff round-the-clock.

Also Read: Navi Mumbai Airport to be Indias first with multimodal connectivity: Scindia

This comes after over 600 flights were delayed and 100 cancelled as dense fog shrouded the Capital, with visibility at times dropping to zero metres, a condition in which even specialist low-visibility instruments are unable to maintain operations.

This led the government to implement SOPs for airlines to mitigate the trouble caused to the passengers.

On Tuesday, Scindia also assured that the operationalisation of runway 10/28 as CAT III at the Delhi airport after re-carpeting will also be undertaken.

Runway29L, the airports third runway, was facing some navigational issues due to a crane stationed on the flight path, which was said to be affecting flight operations. The issue has been sorted, airport officials said.
Karnataka BJP chief BY Vijayendra on Monday demanded a probe by a special investigation team (SIT) into the alleged gang rape incident in Haveri district and arrest of all accused even as chief minister Siddaramaiah said there was no question of sparing anyone involved in the case. Karnataka BJP chief BY Vijayendra demanded arrest of all accused in the Haveri gang rape case. (PTI)

Vijayendra alleged that the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government is not taking the Haveri gang rape incident seriously. What is happening in our state is very unfortunate. The Haveri gang rape incident happened on January 7, and it came to light on January 10. Police have been unable to catch all the accused till now, and even the government is not taking this incident seriously. It is evident that the state government is trying to hide many facts in this case, he told reporters.

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The BJPs only demand is to constitute an SIT (Special Investigation Team) and let them take up this case. The culprits need to be behind the bars soon, he added.

A Muslim woman was allegedly raped by six men from the same community at Hangal in Haveri.

Siddaramaiah said the BJP has alleged that attempts are being made to hush up the case. We have arrested all the accused persons. Investigation is going on. We will not allow anyone to take law into their hands irrespective of the faith and caste they belong to, the chief minister told reporters.

Regarding the BJPs demand for setting up a special investigation team (SIT), Siddaramaiah said that those investigating the case now are police and those who will be part of the SIT will be police only.

Investigations are going on. Let the preliminary investigation report come out. Just because former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai has demanded an SIT probe, we will not form it, the chief minister said.

Meanwhile, the Hangal police have arrested two additional suspects in connection with the gang rape case, bringing the total number of arrests to seven individuals. According to the police, all the individuals named in the first information report (FIR) have now been taken into custody. The arrests follow the inclusion of gang rape charges in the FIR after the wpman, who had previously filed a statement, appeared before a magistrate last week.

The woman , having recorded her statement, has returned to her village in Sirsi taluk, demanding stringent action against the accused.

In her statement to the police, the woman recounted the traumatic incident where she was deceived into taking a bike ride, supposedly to a bus stand, but was instead taken to a forest area. There, she was assaulted by several individuals, with three of them taking turns raping her. Subsequently, she was transported to another location where four men assaulted her.

The woman expressed frustration with the police, accusing them of delaying the arrest of the main culprits, claiming that the two individuals seen in a video were among those who assaulted her, but the police detained others not involved in the case.

Initially categorised as a moral policing case on January 10, the police altered their stance when the woman alleged gang rape. Her subsequent appearance before a magistrate led to additional sections of the Indian Penal Code being appended to the FIR.

With a total of seven individuals now in custody, the police are conducting interrogations to gather information about others who might have been present during the incident.
Prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of 17 shotguns, 17 rifles, five handguns, 3,848 rounds of ammunition and 13 boxes of ammunition in connection with arrests related to the death of a witness in the Pharaohs strip club case.

The U.S. Attorneys Office is also seeking the forfeiture of the home in Wellsville where government witness Crystal Quinn died of a drug overdose Aug. 1.

Sixteen of the guns and 1,844 rounds of the ammunition were seized by federal agents from the Lancaster residence of John Ermin, who has been identified by prosecutors as manager of Pharaohs Gentlemens Club in Cheektowaga and the international president of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.

Quite frankly, all of the guns were mostly shotguns and I think some long rifles  all used for hunting, George Muscato, defense attorney for Ermin, told a judge during a December detention hearing.

There was nothing illegal about any of the firearms Ermin had, Muscato said, and not any indication that these guns that were found in my clients house was used in any kind of illegal activity.

Most of my clients family was from Pennsylvania and are hunters, and this is where he got these firearms from, Muscato said at the hearing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Tripi acknowledged Ermin holds a hunting license but has doubts over whether he actually hunts.

He has not reported killing any deer, bears or turkeys, Tripi told Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford at the recent court proceeding. So we submit that the cadre of weapons is really for the preparedness of use in the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.

FBI agents also seized a shotgun and 133 rounds of ammunition from the Wellsville home of Simon Gogolack, who is accused of intentionally giving Quinn, 37, a fatal drug overdose to prevent her from testifying against Pharaohs owner Peter Gerace Jr.

Federal prosecutors claim Quinn was targeted for retribution because she testified last year before a grand jury investigating alleged narcotics and human trafficking activities, including prostitution at the strip club.

Ermin, Gogolack and Michael Roncone of the Rare Breed Motorcycle Club were named in a 28-count superseding indictment unsealed last week as part of a conspiracy to obstruct justice by targeting Quinn to keep her from testifying against Gerace.

Gerace faces federal sex- and drug-trafficking and bribery charges, and Quinn had entered a formal cooperation agreement with federal prosecutors.

Ermin now faces charges of obstruction of justice, witness tampering, witness retaliation and an unlawful user of controlled substances in possession of firearms.

Twenty-four of the guns and 1,629 rounds of ammunition were seized at the Rare Breed Motorcycle Club clubhouse in Wellsville and the Lancaster home where Roncone lived, authorities stated in court papers.

That is a lot of firearms when you couple that with the evidence of drugs in the residence, Wolford said at Roncones detention hearing.

Wolford released Roncone from custody under certain conditions as his case proceeds in court.

Roncone faces an obstruction of justice conspiracy charge connected to Quinns death in addition to a firearms charge and a charge of making false statements to the FBI.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Cooper, at Roncones detention hearing, cited a poster hanging on a wall of the Rare Breeds Buffalo clubhouse that reads: Due to the rising cost of ammunition, Im no longer able to provide a warning shot.

Given the Rare Breeds role as a support club for the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, this poster evinces a belief within members of the group a willingness to use firearms ... to shoot individuals  not to hunt or target practice, Cooper said.

Attorney Paul Dell, who represents Roncone, told Wolford all of the guns were legally possessed.

Scott Barnes, a member of the Outlaws who was living at the Outlaws Buffalo clubhouse, faces firearms charges but no counts related to Quinn.

When the FBI searched the clubhouse, they found a stolen Glock semi-automatic pistol the government also intends to seize.

Agents found it on a bedside table near his keys, wallet and cellphone.

It doesnt take a rocket scientist to know that the defendant lied to the agents when they asked him if there were any firearms or weapons inside the clubhouse, Cooper said.

Attorney David Cotter, who represents Barnes, noted at a court hearing what the government hasnt said about the gun.

It doesnt say its in his pocket, Cotter said. It doesnt say it has his DNA. All we know is that there is a gun in this clubhouse.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that the INDIA bloc is taking on BJP very well and expressed confidence that the alliance of the like-minded parties will win the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Nagaland.(X/INC)

Gandhi made the remarks at a press conference in Nagaland's Chiephobozou as part of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. The Congress leader kickstarted his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Manipur on January 14, which reached Nagaland on Monday evening.

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Here's what more Rahul Gandhi said in Nagaland:



"The status of the INDIA alliance is very good. We are in conversation with our partners. The issue of seat-sharing is being taken up. Those discussions are ongoing." I think they are going quite wellThey are not complex discussions and they are relatively easy discussions to have. So, I am quite confident that they will be resolved."

I see the INDIA alliance placed very well in taking on the BJP in 2024. The Yatra is an ideological Yatra, it is designed to place certain issues on the table - frankly to place on the table huge amount of injustice that is taking place in this country...

I wanted this to be a yatra on foot. But that would have been very long and there was not much time. So, this is a hybrid yatra...

This is Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Its goal is social justice, economic justice and political justice, about raising issues. We started from Manipur, there was a thought behind it as grave injustice has been done to Manipur.

"For the first time, violence went on for months in an Indian state and the PM & people of BJP didn't even visit it. We then went to Nagaland. PM had committed to the people of Nagaland too. That commitment too was not met..."



Also Read | Rahul Gandhi's political Narendra Modi function barb at Ram temple consecration ceremony

| Ram temple consecration is apolitical event, BJP-RSS giving election flavour to it and that is why it's difficult to attend.

It's an RSS-BJP function and I think that is why the Congress President said that he would not go to the function. We are open to all religions, all practices. Even the authorities of the Hindu religion, the biggest authorities of the Hindu religion have made their view public about what they think about the 22nd January function that it is a political function.

The Congress has said that the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is not an electoral one but is being taken out as the BJP-led Union government did not give it a chance to raise people's issues in Parliament. It said that the march is aimed at re-establishing the principles of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity enshrined in the Constitution.

The Yatra will travel through 100 Lok Sabha segments in 15 states before it culminates in Mumbai on March 20 or 21.

Besides Manipur, the yatra will cover four northeastern states -- Nagaland (257 kms in two days), Arunachal Pradesh (55 kms in one day), Meghalaya (five kms in one day) and Assam (833 kms in eight days).
China and Indias disagreement, noted Hung Tran, non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Councils GeoEconomics Center in an essay, "regarding membership expansion will shape the prospects of aspiring BRICS countries and the organizations future. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with China's President Xi Jinping. (Reuters File Photo)

Its a sound piece of crystal ball gazing. In August 2023, at the 15th BRICS Summit, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, announced that six emerging market group countries  Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirate (UAE)  had been invited to join the bloc. Full membership was scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2024.

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Rush of new Brics members

Even though Argentina has withdrawn, South African authorities have announced that 22 countries have formally applied to join the BRICS group, and a similar number of countries have expressed their interest.

While such an expansion has added to the groups stature, it also gets a potentially ticklish issue on the table: admitting too many new members risks diluting the BRICS group, making it ineffectual as far as arriving at a consensus is concerned.

Clearly, there are two groups here. China and Russia prefer a quick expansion of the BRICS group to strengthen their influence in important developing countriesmany of whom also see the organization as an opportunity to get closer to China , economically.

Indias concerns are different and based on its national interest. It does not want to lose its influence if the BRICS group admits too many new members closely aligned with Chinas agenda. But basically, both the Asian countries are keen to woo the Global South, a point which New Delhi underlined during the G20 meeting in September last year.

Given the three-year standoff at the Ladakh border, as well as a rivalry with Beijing for regional influence, New Delhis worries are understandable.

Not so fast

Against this backdrop, India has insisted on the `criteria for membership, before the new admissions. After the South African announcement on the new members, an Indian official was quoted as saying that ``India took the lead in forging a consensus on membership criteria and the selection of new members, and that its efforts were guided by our objective to incorporate our Strategic Partners as new members.

Former Indian Ambassador to China and Pakistan, Vijay Nambiar, believes the BRICS expansion is ``an unmixed blessing. ``While there is no doubt that the original motto of the group has been diluted with the inclusion of new members, India will find that more countries from the Global South are allied to it and will widen the opportunities for cooperation. In a way, this expansion was inevitable and it offers opportunities, he told this reporter.

The political ambitions of China and Russia, which is heading the BRICS chair in 2024, and would like to enforce a blatantly anti-US and West position, are not the only irritants. As the BRICS bloc grows, this year could bring about greater renminbi use across emerging marketsthanks in part to the growth of renminbi financial channels across BRICS countries. With Moscow at the helm and China by its side, policy initiatives across the bloc aimed at dedollarization emerging markets appear to be more feasible options.

India in particular, has appeared to be increasingly reluctant to embrace the renminbis rise. Last year, Reuters quoted an Indian official directly involved in the matter who said New Delhi is "not comfortable" with foreign trade settled in yuan or renminbi but appeared ``OK with the dirham. He said that India could not possibly allow settlement in yuan till the relations between the two countries improve. And that appears a tall order, now or later.

India has reportedly asked banks and traders to avoid using Chinese yuan to pay for Russian imports. Adds Ambassador Nambiar: ``China has been promoting its currency, the renminbi, for a long time now, not just for the countries in the Global South but all over the world, including developed capitals of the world like London. So, certainly, the competition is in-built.

The Pakistan factor

Another traditional Indian bug bear is Pakistan, which has formally sought membership in BRICS, at a time when the body is fast gaining the status as the leading bloc of the Global South. Calling BRICS an important group of developing countries, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, spokesperson for Pakistans foreign ministry, told reporters last year that the country has made a formal request to join the group.

An Indian diplomat, who preferred anonymity, said that there was no serious effort as yet to include Pakistan, ``and even if there is a clash of interest here, it is a long-term proposition that has the backing of Islamabads ``all weather friend, China.''

The founding countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China held the first summit in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in 2009, with South Africa joining the bloc a year later. Originally identified to highlight investment opportunities, the grouping evolved into a cohesive geopolitical bloc, with their governments meeting annually at formal summits and coordinating multilateral policies since 2009.

Ranjit Bhushan is a senior journalist.
Four more Kannada-populated villages have joined approximately 30 villages in south and east Maharashtra, appealing to the Karnataka government to supply water to them, people aware of the matter said, adding that they have even urged for merger with the southern state to overcome their woes. Kannada-dominated villages in Maharashtra bordering Karnataka complain of neglect. (ANI)

The four villages -- Gugawad, Basaragi, Sindur, and Umarani -- are in Jat taluk of Sangli district in Maharashtra,

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Like in previous years, Kannada-populated villages on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border are facing acute water shortages this year. We receive tanker water only once a week, while other villages in the taluk, with a higher Marathi population, receive daily tanker water. The supplied water is insufficient to meet our needs, said Appasab Mulla, an elderly resident of Umarani.

In response to the allegations, Jat taluk tehsildar Jeevan Banasode said that he was unaware of the villages receiving water only once a week. He added that water supply to villages in Maharashtra is based on daily requirements and population. The four villages complaint will be looked into. If there are lapses on the part of the administration, we will correct them soon, the officer said.

Banasode has asked villagers to file a written complaint for redressal of the water problem. He said, The state treats everyone equally and does not discriminate on linguistic or religious grounds. He acknowledged the drought conditions in Jat taluk but added that every affected village receives at least a tanker of water daily.

Kallappa Patil, 80, from Umarani village pointed out larger Kannadiga population in Solapur, Ichalkaranji, Sangli, and Kolhapur in south Maharashtra. As our population is larger than that of Marathis in this part of the state, we are denied our lawful basic facilities, Patil said.

The Kannada-populated villages in south Maharashtra remain the same as in the early years of the nations independence. Neither the roads, streetlights, schools nor the electric and water supply facilities have been improved. As hundreds of our representations to panchayat members to legislators and MPs were not addressed, we have stooped making efforts. We are now relying on Karnataka, which is our last resort, he said.

Patil pointed out the disparities in facilities, alleging neglect towards Kannada schools in Maharashtra. He accused the Maharashtra government of attempting to close down Kannada schools by not providing adequate teachers and timely textbooks.

In response to the villagers plea, Karnataka Congress minister MB Patil, with the Maharashtra governments permission, has been supplying water through underground pipelines to border villages for approximately five years. The Karnataka minister, having started the initiative at his own expense from Vijayapur district, addressed the water needs of needy villages in Maharashtra.
Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on Tuesday issued fresh threats ahead of the 75th Republic Day celebrations, reported news agency ANI. Several photos pro-Khalistani graffiti reportedly painted across New Delhi threatening to "avenge" the death of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar surfaced on social media. Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.(HT_PRINT)

Nijjar was killed outside a Gurdwara in Canada's Surrey in June 2023. Pannun has been actively exhorting gangsters and young people over social media to stand for Khalistan.

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The Sikh For Justice (SFJ) founder, who was declared a 'designated individual terrorist' by the Centre in 2020, has issued such threats against India in the past, too.

Last month, Pannun released a video in which he threatened to attack Parliament on or before December 13, the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attacks.

In November, Pannun urged the Sikh community not to fly on Air India after November 19, as their lives could be under threat. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has registered a case against him over the Air India threat video.

In September, he asked Hindu Canadians to leave Canada amid tensions over the diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of Nijjar.

The government has banned the SFJ-- a group campaigning to establish Khalistan carved out of India -- as an "unlawful association" in 2019 citing its involvement in "anti-national and subversive" activities.

Pannun has been on NIA's radar since 2019 when the probe agency lodged its first case against the terrorist, who has been playing a major role in promoting and commissioning terror acts and activities. Non-bailable warrants were issued against Pannun by the NIA Special Court on February 3, 2021, and he was declared a 'Proclaimed Offender (PO)' on November 29, 2022.

Meanwhile, the US authorities indicted an Indian national, Nikhil Gupta, for his alleged involvement in a plot to kill Pannun in the US in November last year. According to US officials, Gupta had agreed to pay $100,000 to an assassin to carry out the killing. Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic on the request of US authorities.

(With inputs from ANI)
Over hundred thousand pilgrims thronged the hill shrine of Sabarimala on Monday evening on the occasion of the Makaravilakku festival. Makaravilakku festival is observed on the day of Makar Sankranti in Kerala. The festival of Makar Sankranti marks the transition of the sun to the Makara rashi (Capricorn) from the Dhanu rashi (Sagittarius). It is said that the northward journey of the sun (Uttarayan) begins on this day, making the celebrations quite auspicious. Lord Ayyappa devotees witness the 'Makra Jyothi', at Sabarimala in Pathanamthitta (PTI)

On the first day of the Malayalam month of Makaram, the auspicious Deeparadhana was performed at the temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa after the deity was adorned with the thiruvabharanam (sacred jewellery) brought from the Pandalam palace.

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The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which looks after the temple administration had arranged 10 vantage points in different parts of the shrine for pilgrims to view the Makaravilakku.

Following multiple complaints of mismanagement of crowds and absence of basic amenities during the Mandalam season which concluded in December, the TDB had taken steps to strengthen security measures and limited both virtual queue as well as spot bookings on January 14 and 15 to ease the pressure on pilgrims.

The board had asked women and children to avoid visiting the shrine on these dates considering the anticipated crowd.

The temple will remain open for the pilgrims till the evening of January 20. On the morning of January 21, after a representative from the erstwhile Pandalam royal family offers prayers, the temple will shut its doors marking the conclusion of the annual pilgrimage season.

The Sabarimala temple is built on a 40-foot-high plateau and is dedicated to Lord Ayappa.
NEW DELHI: The ministry of home affairs (MHA) has constituted tribunals under the terror law, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act or UAPA, to adjudicate whether the ban on two Kashmir-based organisations, Muslim League and Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, was justified. The Home ministry is required to refer the ban to a tribunal within 30 days (FILE PHOTO)

Justice Sachin Dutta of the High Court of Delhi will preside over the two tribunals.

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The home ministry banned the Muslim League, led by Masarat Alam Bhat, and Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, founded by deceased separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, under UAPA on December 27 and December 31, 2023, respectively.

The ministrys order on the formation of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal headed by justice Sachin Datta was issued on Tuesday. An identical notification to nominate the judge to head the tribunal to decide if there were sufficient grounds to ban the Muslim League was issued late on Monday.

Once the tribunal receives a reference from the MHA, the tribunal issues a show-cause notice to the organisations concerned to present their version on the government decision.

The proceedings before the tribunal involve the recording of statements of investigating officers, and experts, evidence against the activities of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat and Muslim League by the MHA as well as recording the arguments of the organisation concerned.
Nirmohi Akhara, a Hindu religious sect, has received an invitation for the pran prathishtha ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, scheduled for January 22 amidst speculations of not being invited. The sect representing one of the akharas of the Ramanandi order in the Vaishnava sect, dedicated to the worship of Hindu God Vishnu, clarified their participation. The 'pran prathishtha' ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya is scheduled to take place on January 22.

Speaking to ANI, Nirmohi Akhara Mahant Dinendra Das said that all 13 Mahants of the Nirmohi Akhara have been invited by Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra. Every Mahatma and political leaders are being invited on behalf of our trust... There are currently 13 panch in the Akhara. All of them have been invited. Other saints of the Akhara have also been invited and everyone is coming too, he said.

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A video shared by ANI displayed the invitation cards received by Nirmohi Akhara, featuring the names of the invited members, including Mahant Dinendra Das, Sarpanch Mahant Raja Ramchandrachraya, Sarpanch Mahant Narsingh Das, Panch Mahant Ghanshyam Das, Panch Mahant Samrat Das, Panch Sitaram Das, Panch Madan Mohan Das, Panch Mahant Ramswaroop Das, Mahant Jagdish Das, Mahant Radhe Radhe, Mahant Ram Manohar Das, Mahant Bhagwan Das (Sringari) and Mahant Ram Sewak Das.

Nirmohi Akhara, belonging to the Ramanandi order of the Vaishnava sect, worshipping Hindu God Vishnu, is one of the three historic Ramanandi akharas, alongside Nirvana and Digambari.

Much like the prolonged history of the Ayodhya dispute, Nirmohi Akhara has a significant and century-old involvement in the legal proceedings related to the matter.

Nirmohi Akhara's role in Ayodhya case

In 1949, the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site became a focal point when Ram idols were discovered there. This event prompted the Uttar Pradesh government to take control of the disputed site, restricting access for both Hindus and Muslims. Subsequently, Nirmohi Akhara initiated legal action in 1959, challenging the attachment and claiming historical possession, control, and management of the site.

In their case filed in 1959, Nirmohi Akhara argued against the attachment and contended that the idols were always present. Even if placed there, they asserted the right to do so as the rightful custodian of the site. The suit sought possession of the entire property, including inner and outer courtyards, alleging dispossession in 1949.

Despite the legal proceedings, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to provide representation to Nirmohi Akhara in a government-formed body. In 2010, the Allahabad High Court divided the disputed site among the three parties  the Sunni Muslim Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara, a Hindu group, and the symbolic Lord Rama designated as Ram Lalla Virajman (the deity). However, the Supreme Court later dismissed their case, overturning the 2010 judgment.

Both the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court ruled that the limitation law barred Nirmohi Akhara's case. The courts argued that the government's actions in 1950, contested by Nirmohi Akhara in 1959, fell outside the six-year window allowed by the limitation law. Consequently, the case was rejected on grounds of being filed three years beyond the stipulated period.
Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday hit out at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for calling the Ram temple consecration ceremony a political Narendra Modi event.



Rahul Gandhi lives in this 'la-la' world, in my opinion...The people of India are wise enough. They understand Rahul Gandhi's politics ...And we will leave it to the people of India to decide what answer they should give to Rahul Gandhi, Chandrasekhar said at a press briefing.



They understand Rahul Gandhi's politics. And we will leave it to the people of India to decide what answer they should give to Rahul Gandhi. His guru, Sam Pitroda, also said the same thing a few days ago. So he can think whatever he wants but it's a deeply felt emotional issue for crores of Indians, the minister added. Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Rahul Gandhi thinks that our faith can be manipulated by somebody else. He (Rahul Gandhi) wants to believe that he's free to do that but, that is not the case. Indians are going to make a beeline at some point in their lives to Ram temple in #Ayodhya. They (devotees) will do that not because of anything else but just because of the deep faith they have in the God they worship, he added.



The minister's remark comes after Gandhi at a briefing in Nagaland called the January 22 Ram temple pran pratishtha ceremony a BJP-RSS event. The RSS and the BJP have made the 22nd January function a completely political Narendra Modi function. It's a RSS BJP function and I think that is why the Congress President said that he would not go to the function. We are open to all religions, all practices," the former Congress president said.



The Congress top leadership, i.e party president Mallikarjun Kharge, former chief Sonia Gandhi and party's floor leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will not be attending the consecration ceremony to be presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.



The seven-day rituals of the ceremony began on Tuesday morning and will culminate with the main event on January 22.
Highlighting the menace posed by online financial frauds, Kerala Police has said that last year alone it resulted in a total loss of around 201 crore to 23,753 people in the state. Over 20,000 people in Kerala lost  201 crore in online frauds in 2023: Cops(Representational image)

Police said that its Cyber Wing was able to recover 20 per cent of this amount and also blocked 5,107 bank accounts, 3,289 mobile numbers, 239 social media accounts and 945 websites that were used to commit the frauds.

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In a release issued by the State Police Media Centre, the police urged people to report online financial frauds within two hours of the incident to 1930 number. This would increase the chances of recovering the amount lost by the victim of the fraud, it said.

"Delay in making complaints is a major problem faced by Kerala Police. If the information is reported to the cyber helpline number 1930 within two hours of the loss of money, the chances of recovering the money are very high.

"But often the police receive complaints after 10 days of depositing the money. This gives the fraudsters enough time to withdraw the amount," it said.

Giving details of the modus operandi of the fraudsters, police said that such scams of inviting investment by promising huge profits are started through popular social media platforms.

"The scammers make people who contact them through social media join their Telegram group. They then ask for deposits through a fake website.

"Initially, exorbitant profits are given to those who deposit a small amount so that they have more faith in the fraudsters and are willing to invest a larger deposit," it said.

Those who are in league with the scamsters pose as investors and post fake screenshots of the huge profits they got on the Telegram group. This convinces the victims to deposit huge amounts, and then they get a notification stating that they have earned profits two to three times more than what they invested, it said.

However, when they seek to withdraw the money, they are told that they have to invest more in order to withdraw the principal amount and dividends.

The fraudsters also take more money under the guise of GST and tax to withdraw the deposit, police said, adding that such investment frauds of crores of rupees were taking place in the state on a daily basis.

The police have advised people to check the website of the Reserve Bank of India and ensure the credibility of the institutions before investing money in order to avoid such investment scams.

The credibility of the institutions can also be verified by contacting any nearest bank branch, it said.

It requested the public to be vigilant against cyber scams and to report incidents of online frauds on the 24-hour cyber helpline number 1930.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday attacked the Ram temple consecration ceremony, calling it a political Narendra Modi function. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi addresses a briefing during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Kohima. (ANI)

The RSS and the BJP have made the 22nd January function a completely political Narendra Modi function. It's a RSS BJP function and I think that is why the Congress President said that he would not go to the function. We are open to all religions, all practices, Gandhi said at a briefing during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Nagaland's capital Kohima.

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Even the authorities of the Hindu religion, the biggest authorities of the Hindu religion have made their view public about what they think about the 22nd January function that it is a political function. So it is difficult for us to go to a political function which is designed around the Prime Minister of India and designed around the RSS, Gandhi added.

Gandhi's statement comes days after the Congress declined the invitation for the Pran Pratishtha ceremony, saying that its party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, former president Sonia Gandhi and Cong floor leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will not attend the event.



In its statement, the Congress had said,The inauguration of the incomplete temple by the leaders of the [ruling] BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] and [its ideological fountainhead] the RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] has been obviously brought forward for electoral gain."



The seven-day rituals for the Pran Pratishtha ceremony began on Tuesday. The main consecration ceremony will be held on January 22 and will be presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The grand event will be attended by prominent saints, celebrities including sportspersons, actors and industrialists.



"The 'anushthan' has started and will continue till January 22, the day of the consecration ceremony. Eleven priests are performing the rituals invoking all the "devis and devtas" (goddesses and gods)," Ram temple chief priest Acharya Satyendra Das told PTI.
A 29-year-old Wheatfield woman died Tuesday from injuries suffered when her car was struck by an Amtrak train in North Tonawanda.

The woman stopped the Hyundai Elantra she was driving on the tracks at about 7 a.m. at the railroad crossing on Witmer Road near River Road, close to Gratwick Park, city police said on Facebook. The vehicle was struck by a train carrying 11 passengers and three crew members. No one on the train was injured, police said.

The woman died shortly after 9 a.m. at Erie County Medical Center, police said. She was the sole occupant of the vehicle. Her name had not been released as of late Tuesday afternoon, pending family notification.

It was unclear if weather contributed to the crash. An investigation into the cause is continuing, police said. CSX Police, Amtrak Police and Twin City Ambulance joined North Tonawanda police and fire departments in the response.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday the Congress had declined to attend the consecration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22, because the BJP had turned it into a political event centred around Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking in Nagalands Chiephobozou town on the third day of the Congress Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra, he also downplayed fissures in the oppositions INDIA alliance and said that seat sharing discussions between partners in the political bloc were progressing well. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi greets locals during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Kohima. (ANI)

Gandhi said that the pran-pratishtha ceremony that the Congress top brass has declined to attend was a RSS-BJP function. I think that is why the Congress president(Mallikarjun Kharge) said he would not go to the function. We (Congress) are open to all religions, all practices.... It is difficult for us to go to a political function which is designed around the Prime Minister of India and designed around the RSS, Gandhi said.

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ALSO READ- On Rahul Gandhi's Modi event barb at Ram temple consecration, BJP responds

Gandhi said that anyone who wanted to go to the function, even from within the Congress, was free to do so. But we cannot be a party to a political function, it becomes very difficult for us when the PM of India and the RSS are principal opponents and have captured a function and turned it into an election function, he said.

The Wayanad member of parliament said that only those who dont truly believe in religion, need to wear it on their shirt. My thinking is that the one who really believes in religion keeps a personal relationship with religion. That person uses religion as a way of lifeI try to live by the principles of the religion. So I behave well with people, I respect people and if someone says something to me then I dont respond with arrogance, I listen to that person. I dont spread hate, this is the Hindu dharma for me and I follow that in my life, Gandhi said.

ALSO READ- SC hits pause on survey at Shahi Eidgah mosque

The former Congress president also said that he was confident that the opposition alliance would defeat the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls, and that any small issues between the partners will be resolved.

The BJP however attacked the Congress and the Gandhis and said that they were communal because they were anti-Hindu. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, If Congress had attended (Ram Mandir inauguration), we would not have got any political benefit. We asked you to be present so that it becomes an apolitical event, but you and your close associates have boycotted it. Thereby you have made it a political event, which it was not, Sarma said.

On the third day of the Congress yatra, which will traverse 100 Lok Sabha constituencies across 15 states and culminate in Mumbai on March 21, Gandhi visited the Kohima War Cemetery, and addressed two brief public gatherings in Kohima. In his speeches, he said that Prime Minister Modi had left unfulfilled commitments made when the Centre signed a framework agreement with the NSCN(IM) in 2015 for a resolution of the decades long Naga political issue. Ive been speaking to Naga leaders, and they are perplexed as to why no progress has been made. Were not even clear about what the Prime Minister envisions in terms of a solution. Clearly, there is a problem that will require conversation, listening to each other, and working on implementing a solution, and that is lacking as far as the Prime Minister is concerned... The Prime Minister promises things without thinking them through, Gandhi said.

ALSO READ- Ram Temple pran prathishtha: These states will observe holiday on Jan 22

Under PM Modis BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, the Centre had signed the Framework Agreement with NSCN-IM and an agreed position in 2017 with a conglomeration of several Naga national political groups (NNPGs). Since then however, talks have been at a broad stand-still despite intermittent discussions, with the NSCN(IM) continuing to insist on a separate Naga flag and constitution.

(With inputs from Utpal Parashar)
External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Monday described the recent attacks on ships in the vicinity of India as a matter of grave concern to the international community and said such threats directly impact the nation's energy and economic interest. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar speaks during a joint press conference with Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Tehran. (via REUTERS)

Addressing a joint press conference in Tehran with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian, Jaishankar said the fraught situation would not benefit any group.

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We have even seen some attacks in the vicinity of India. This is a matter of great concern to the international community. Obviously, it also has a direct bearing on India's energy and economic interests. This fraught situation is not to the benefit of any party and this must be clearly recognised, the EAM said.

Referring to the recent merchant vessel attacks in the Red Sea by Iranian-backed Yemen's Houthi rebels amid the Israel-Hamas war, Jaishankar stressed the fact that the issue should be speedily addressed.

The external affairs minister's remarks came a day after Houthis struck a US-based ship off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden. A day earlier, Houthi fired an anti-ship cruise missile toward an American destroyer in the Red Sea. The US and the UK last week launched air strikes targeting the Houthi positions in Yemen.

Jaishankar, who arrived in Tehran for the high-level exchanges between the two sides, said that both India and Iran are concerned about recent events in West Asia and emphasise the importance of preventing further escalation of violence and hostilities in the region.

He said the "deeply concerning" situation in Gaza amid Israel-Hamas was a subject of discussion.

"The loss of civilian lives, especially that of women and children was our primary focus. There is a visible humanitarian crisis that needs to be addressed and the creation of sustainable humanitarian corridors is the need of the day," he said.

"India itself has delivered shipments of relief material to Gaza and contributed to the UNRWA," he added.

Meanwhile, the Union government has set up an interministerial group anchored at the commerce ministry to monitor the crisis in the Red Sea.

Most Indian exporters, including shippers of merchandise and basmati rice, are already taking a longer route to access European and Middle-Eastearn markets, going around the Cape of Good Hope, which has increased shipment costs, officials said.

The inter-ministerial committee, led by an additional secretary-level officer, met exporters and logistics providers last week to discuss plans to keep shipments going, Union commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal said. The committee consists of representatives from ministries of defence, shipping and external affairs.

The Indian Navy has also enhanced the deployment of its frontline ships and surveillance aircraft for maritime security operations in view of the maritime environment in the critical sea lanes including the North and Central Arabian Sea.

Over the issue of the Israel-Hamas war, Jaishankar reiterated Indias support for a two-state solution, where the Palestinian people can live freely in an independent country within secure borders.

"I stressed on the need for all parties to avoid provocative and escalatory actions, and to facilitate movement towards dialogue and diplomacy," he added.

(With inputs from PTI)
Sahil Kataria, the unruly passenger who allegedly punched an IndiGo Airlines pilot when he was announcing a delay in takeoff at the Delhi airport due to fog, was heading to Goa with his wife for their honeymoon on Sunday. The passenger has been identified as Sahil Kataria,

In a purported video, which has gone viral online, Sahil Kataria can be seen hitting co-pilot Anup Kumar as he was announcing the flight. According to flight tracking website flightradar24, the IndiGo flight took off from Delhi at 6pm after a delay of more than 10 hours.

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Who is Sahil Kataria?

Sahil Kataria, 28, runs a stationery and toy shop in South Delhis Amar Colony,

Kataria lives with his family in East of Kailash.

After the video surfaced of the incident, Kataria was arrested and later released on bail by the Delhi Police after a notice was served to him under Section 41 of CrPC.

So far, he has not been placed on any no-fly list.

In the short video clip of the incident inside the flight, other crew members can be seen shouting at Kataria, in a yellow jacket, after he hit the pilot.

Kataria could be heard saying that they had been sitting in the plane for long and that they should be allowed to deboard if it was not taking off.

Chalana hai to chala, nahi to mat chala, khol de (If you want to fly the plane, do so; otherwise, open the aircraft door)," Kataria is purportedly heard saying in the video clip.

Later, in another video clip, Kataria is seen being taken out of the aircraft by security personnel even as he apologised for his conduct.

The police said the co-pilot of flight number 6E 2175 and other security personnel lodged a complaint regarding the passenger assaulting and misbehaving with them on the flight.

Kataria misbehaved and hit co-pilot Anup Kumar and created a nuisance inside the aircraft, the complaint stated.

(With inputs from agencies)
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Hindu women plaintiffs in the Gyanvapi mosque case to move a proper application for demanding an archaeological survey of a section in the mosque where the Hindu side insists a Shivling has been found, while the Muslims says it is part of a fountain in an ablution tank. A bench, led by CJI Chandrachud, asked senior counsel Madhavi Divan to file a formal application. (File photo)

A bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, asked senior counsel Madhavi Divan to file a formal application after the latter made a request for a survey of the area has remained sealed under the order of the top court.

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You file a proper application and then, we will see, the bench, which also comprised justices JB Pardiwala and Manj Misra, told Divan, who appeared for the Hindu women plaintiffs. To be sure, an order of survey would mean modification of the May 2022 order of the top court.

By an order in July, the Varanasi district court had ordered an extensive survey of the Gyanvapi mosque by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to ascertain whether the mosque was built over a pre-existing Hindu temple, holding that the scientific investigation was necessary for the true facts to come out.

The court order excluded the sealed area.

While the high court upheld this order, the top court, in September, refused to halt the ASI survey of the mosque and added that the agency will carry out its survey only using non-invasive methods. The ASI survey has since been completed.

Also Read: ASI plea for not disclosing Gyanvapi report for 4 weeks partially allowed

Divan, on Tuesday, told the bench that her clients want to press for a survey of the area that has remained sealed following the order of the top court in May 2022.

The area that is sealed is of utmost sacredness to us because our case is that it has a Shivling. A survey was ordered by the trial court but the area under seal has been excluded. We will be making a request for a survey of the sealed area, she said.

Responding, senior lawyer Huzefa Ahmadi, representing the Gyanvapi mosque management committee, said that they would respond to the application after it is filed by the other side.

Meanwhile, the bench on Tuesday allowed a plea by the Hindu women plaintiffs, seeking a directive to the Varanasi district magistrate for cleaning a section in the mosque where the Hindu side insists a Shivling has been found, while the Muslims says it is part of a fountain in an ablution tank.

Four of the five women plaintiffs, who had filed a suit in a local court in Varanasi in 2021 pressing for their right to worship deities inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex complained of the dead fish in the tank, causing foul smell.

The court took on record that there was no objection from the mosque management committee to the cleaning of the water tank in the area sealed under the orders of the court. It directed that the tank be cleaned under the supervision of the Varanasi district magistrate.

The application, filed by advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain on behalf of the Hindu side, stated, Since there exists Shivlingam which is sacred to Hindus and should be kept away from all dirt, grime, dead animals, and must be in clean condition, is currently in the midst of dead fish which is hurtful to the sentiments to the devotees of Lord Shiva.

The Supreme Court is seized of a bundle of petitions filed by the mosque management committee, challenging the spot inspection and order of scientific survey of the mosque complex, as well as order upholding the maintainability of the suits.

Through its petition, the mosque management committee endeavours to bar all claims over the access to the mosque or title of the Gyanvapi complex, relying on the 1991 law.

Section 3 of the Act imposes a prohibition on individuals and groups of people against converting, in full or part, of a place of worship of any religious denomination into a place of worship of a different religious denomination -- or even a different segment of the same religious denomination.

It had earlier sought to get the case thrown out under Order VII Rule 11 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC). But last September, the Varanasi district judge dismissed the committees application.

This judgment was upheld by the Allahabad high court in May, compelling the committee to approach the Supreme Court.

The other petition by the committee has challenged the May 2022 order of the Varanasi court directing a full survey of the mosque complex through an advocate commissioner. After the committee challenged this before the top court, the bench declined to stop the survey but directed that the section of the complex where the Shivling was reportedly found shall remain protected, adding Muslims will also have the right to offer namaz in other sections of the mosque without any hindrance.

On May 20, 2022, the Supreme Court transferred the suit from a civil judge to the Varanasi district judge, citing the complexities and sensitivities involved in the matter.

It further asked the district judge to decide on priority the application of the mosque management committee under Order VII Rule 11 of the CPC that challenged the maintainability of the suit.

In September 2023, the apex court refused to halt the ASI survey of the mosque, observing that it cannot find fault with the district courts order of July 21, nor would it interfere with every interlocutory direction passed in the case.

While the mosque management committee banks on the provisions of the 1991 Act to challenge all proceedings relating to the religious character of the Gyanvapi mosque, the law has, however, not prevented a spree of litigations in recent months, which include several suits regarding the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi and Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute in Mathura.

The Varanasi district judge is holding a joint trial of eight suits claiming the existence of Hindu idols inside the Gyanvapi mosque whereas there are 10 suits pending before a Mathura trial judge relating to Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute.

Meanwhile, a batch of petitions  some seeking to scrap the 1991 Act and some others asking for tight enforcement of the same law, have remained pending before the top court since March 2021.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday delivered a split judgment on a petition by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu for quashing a case filed against him by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) in the alleged 371 crore alleged development scam. Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu walked out of Rajahmundry jail on interim bail on October 31. (TDP)

Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi dissented on the point of law whether a prior approval from the competent authority was required before the initiation of the investigation and the registration of the FIR against Naidu under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.

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While justice Bose held that the authorities needed to obtain prior approval of the authorities before initiating an enquiry or an inquiry or an investigation against a public servant when the charges relate to the discharge of official duties, justice Trivedi maintained that the need for such approval under Section 17A of the PC Act would arise only with respect to offences that were relatable to the 2018 amendments when the provision was notified.

Drawing from his conclusion, justice Bose quashed the charges levelled under the PC Act against Naidu. Justice Trivedi, in his dissenting view, upheld the invocation of the corruption charges.

Both the judges, however, remained unanimous that there were no infirmities in the remand order under which Naidu was arrested and sent to police custody in September last year. The judges noted that apart from the charges under the PC Act, the TDP chief was also booked for offences under the Indian Penal Code and therefore, the remand order could be upheld.

The matter has now been referred to the Chief Justice of India on the administrative side for constitution of a three-judge bench for an authoritative decision on the corruption charges against Naidu.

Naidu contended that the FIR against him was registered without obtaining the prior approval of the competent authority in the case, and, therefore, his arrest was illegal. His petition emphasised that mandatory approval under Section 17-A of the PC Act was necessary before the FIR against him since all the alleged acts in the case were relatable to the decisions taken by him in the discharge of his official duties as chief minister.

While Naidu argued that Section 17A was applicable in the case as the inquiry started in December 2021, the Andhra Pradesh government countered his plea, contending that the inquiry in the case began in 2017 when section 17-A, a new provision, had not kicked in.

Section 17A was introduced by an amendment with effect from July 26, 2018. It requires a police officer to seek prior approval from the competent authority for conducting any enquiry or inquiry or investigation into any offence alleged to have been committed by a public servant under the PC Act.

The state government further contended that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was seized of the matter even before the present government came to power in May 2019 and that a subsequent registration of an FIR in December 2021 will not make it mandatory for the police to take prior approval before arresting Naidu.

The investigation against Naidu centres around allegations that government funds intended for a skill development project were diverted into various shell companies through fraudulent invoices, which did not correspond with the delivery of services.

Naidu was arrested on September 9 last year for allegedly misappropriating funds from the Skill Development Corporation when he was the chief minister in 2015, causing a purported loss of 371 crore to the state exchequer. Naidu has denied the allegations. The Andhra Pradesh high court on November 20 granted him regular bail in the case.

On October 17, the top court reserved its verdict on Chandrababu Naidus plea challenging the high court order of September 22 refusing to quash the FIR against him in the case. The high court had said there was no case to interfere with the proceedings when the probe in the case was at the fulcrum of attaining finality. It added that since the former CMs alleged actions are unconnected with his official duties or functions, the requirement of prior approval or sanction under Section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act was inapplicable.

Senior advocates Harish Salve and Sidharth Luthra, appearing for the 73-year-old TDP chief, had earlier argued that the entire investigation and arrest of their client was illegal since no sanction under Section 17-A of the PC Act was obtained.

Naidu claimed that the present scenario of regime revenge and political vendetta is exactly what Section 17-A seeks to restrict by protecting innocent persons, adding the initiation of investigation without such approval vitiates the entire proceedings since inception and the same is a jurisdictional error. He further alleged the Andhra Pradesh CID was acting at the behest of the ruling party to hurt TDPs chances in the state election due early next year and called it a clear example of regime revenge.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday put in abeyance a survey of the Shahi Eidgah mosque abutting the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura by an advocate-commissioner, observing that the plea made by the Hindu side for the survey was very vague and that some important legal issues also arise in the matter. Shahi Eidgah

Your application for commissioner was very vague. It had to be specific. This is wrong... You have to be very clear what you want him (commissioner) for, but you leave it to the court. It was an omnibus application, observed a bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta.

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ALSO READ- How the Sangh Parivar's campaign for Mathura's Janmabhoomi evolved over the years

Staying the Allahabad high court order of December 14 for the appointment of an advocate-commissioner to oversee the survey of the mosque, the bench was emphatic that the plea of the Hindu plaintiffs did not specify the rationale behind the plea.

You cannot say that appoint a commissioner in terms of the prayers in the plaint. You must be specific about what exactly you are asking for. Can an application be made like this? We have reservations about the application. Its so vague... You cannot make an omnibus application like this, the bench told senior counsel Shyam Divan, who appeared for the Hindu plaintiffs in the case.

The bench added: We are staying the proceedings in terms of the appointment of commissioner. We will examine it.

On December 14, the Allahabad high court ordered a survey of the mosque that Hindu plaintiffs say holds signs proving that it was a once a Hindu temple, opening a new chapter in the decades-old dispute that is part of a raft of cases where Hindu petitioners are pushing for legal change to gain rights over Islamic holy sites. It also acquires huge political significance at a time when the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is scheduled to be consecrated on January 22, and a survey has already been carried out at the disputed Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi.

Tanveer Ahmed, the secretary of Intezamia (management) committee of Shahi Eidgh Masjid in Mathura, welcomed the order. Supreme Court took strong view of lacking in application moved to seek survey by advocate commissioner. We too had been highlighting that application moved and allowed for survey by Allahabad High Court was vague and carried no proper ground for having survey. The Apex Court rightly granted stay against order by Allahabad High Court, said Ahmed, who has been defending cases on behalf of Mosque Committee filed in Mathura Courts and transferred to Allahabad Court in May 2023.

The matter is to be taken up yet again on January 23 before the Supreme Court which has observed today that application moved for seeking survey by advocate commissioner is vague in itself. We will make effort to make the application more specific as desired by Apex Court. May be later, but we are confident that Supreme Court will be convinced that survey by advocate commissioner is much needed to highlight the Hindu symbols still present in Shahi Eidgah premises, said Mahendra Pratap Singh, a lawyer who had filed one of the suits on this issue at Civil Court in Mathura on December 23, 2020.

During the proceedings on Tuesday, while Divan protested a complete stay on the order, adding the high court may be allowed to at least work out the modalities of the survey, the bench replied that the commission shall not be implemented for now.

ALSO READ- Remaining two Ram Lalla idols will also be enthroned in Ram temple: Trust

The court further said that apart from the questions over the application for the appointment of an advocate-commissioner, legal issues over passing an interim order without rendering a prima facie satisfaction regarding the maintainability of the suit also arose in the case. Advocate Tasneem Ahmadi appeared for the Idgah committee and the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Waqf Board.

The bench fixed the next hearing of the case on January 23 when the other batch of petitions, challenging the high court order deciding to hear nearly 18 suits relating to Krishna Janmasthan-Shahi Eidgah land dispute by transferring them to itself from various civil courts in Mathura, will also be taken up.

The Supreme Court is seized of the challenge to a May 26 order of the Allahabad high court that transferred to itself all suits filed by Hindu parties claiming right over the mosque land. The mosque committee has argued that it did not have the financial wherewithal to defend the suits in the Allahabad high court which is 600km away and would prefer having it in Delhi which is only 150km away.

The May 26 order by the high court came on a plea by Bhagwan Shrikrishna Virajman at Katra Keshav Dev Khewat Mathura (deity) through the next friend, Ranjana Agnihotri, who is also an advocate, and seven others. Next friend is a legal representative of someone incapable of maintaining a suit directly. The Hindu plaintiffs requested that the original trial be conducted by the high court as the matter involved is of national importance.

Multiple suits regarding the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah Mosque land dispute pending before various courts in Mathura have a common demand to reclaim the 13.37-acre land on which the mosque stands for the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust. The mosque abuts the temple and the suits have sought to annul a compromise entered between the mosque committee and Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sangh in 1968 allowing it to continue at the place where it currently stands.

The mosque, in its petition before the top court, questioned the maintainability of the suits after prolonged delay. It further argued that the suit is barred by the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 which protects the character of all places of worship existing as on August 15, 1947 (barring the Ram Janmabhoomi land at Ayodhya) and prohibits filing of any lawsuits to alter the character of any place of worship.

ALSO READ- Ram Temple pran prathishtha: These states will observe holiday on Jan 22

On July 21, the top court observed that it would be in the interest of all stakeholders if the matter is decided at the earliest because pendency in such sensitive cases create disquiet. Adding that it would lay down norms for hearing the clutch of suits related to the dispute, the court had directed the high court registrar to send details of all such pending cases. On the day, the court had also remarked that it would be more appropriate for a high court judge to apply his mind considering the complex nature of the case.

The Gyanvapi case is also pending since May 2022 before the Supreme Court, which has so far refused to stay the proceedings before the Varanasi district judge. In that case, too, the civil court first appointed an advocate-commissioner and then July last year, a full scientific survey of the mosque premises by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was ordered to determine if the 17th century structure was built upon a pre-existing temple. The Supreme Court, at different points in time, refused to stay these orders when appealed against by the Gyanvapi mosque committee.

A batch of petitions  some seeking to scrap the 1991 Act and some others asking for tight enforcement of the same law  are also pending before the top court since March 2021. Last September, Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, while hearing the Gyanvapi case, observed that the religious character of a site also had to be led by evidence.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the criminal defamation proceedings pending in a Gujarat court against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member of Parliament Sanjay Singh over his remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modis academic degree. AAP leader Sanjay Singh. (HT PHOTO/File)

A bench of justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta passed the order while declining to entertain Singhs request to transfer the trial outside Gujarat. ...request the high court to hear the appeal for a stay or at least the prayer for interim relief within four weeks, it said. Till the time the high court decides on grant or refusal of interim relief, proceedings [in the trial court] shall remain stayed.

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Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has also been named as an accused in the defamation case. On December 28, the Gujarat court sought the production of Singh even as it was informed that he was under arrest in connection with an alleged money laundering case.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Singh, said the intent is to hold his client guilty and disqualify him even as his appeal seeking stay is pending before the high court. He added Singh has not spoken a word against the Gujarat University, which is the complainant in the case.

The bench told Singhvi if a disqualification order is passed, the Supreme Court is there to take care of it. We will direct the high court to decide the matter within one month. The trial proceedings otherwise too have to be stayed as long as he [Singh] is in custody. In a defamation case, the accusation has to be read over to the person.

Singhvi said the university is state government-funded and overall under the Union governments control. The bench asked: Why should you have apprehension... Singhvi added, It is about the overall system. Although in the petition I have requested for transfer to Kolkata, it can be anywhere else. I said Kolkata as it is a state where my political party is not affiliated.
As cold wave conditions persist across several parts of north India , authorities have taken the proactive measure of temporarily shutting down schools. The decision aims to prioritise the safety and well-being of students in wake of drop in temperatures. School-going children find their way through heavy fog on a winter morning.(HT Photo/Vipin Kumar)

Here's a list of states where schools remained shut:

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Uttar Pradesh:

Schools remained temporarily closed in response to the dense fog and cold wave prevailing in various regions of Uttar Pradesh, including Noida, Greater Noida, and Ghaziabad. In Gorakhpur, classes up to the 12th grade will stay shut until January 18.

Haryana:

Given the prevailing cold conditions in the state, the Haryana government also ordered the closure of schools for classes from 1-3. The schools will remain closed till Thursday. Earlier schools were closed in the state from Jan 1-Jan 15.

Bihar:

Schools will remain closed for classes 1-8 in Patna till January 20 due to the persistent cold wave conditions, Patna District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh said in an official order. Singh said that classes beyond grade 8 will remain open from 9 am to 3:30 pm. However, no educational activities will be permitted after 3:30 pm.

Punjab:

In light of the ongoing cold wave in the area, the Punjab government has decided to extend the closure of primary schools until January 21. Nevertheless, middle schools (class 6 to 8), high schools (class 6 to 10), and senior secondary schools (class 6 to 12) will resume regular operations starting January 15. The operating hours for these schools will be from 10 am to 3 pm.

Schools in Chandigarh have been temporarily closed for students from classes 1 to 8. The closure is set to extend until January 20. Authorities are actively monitoring the situation, and updates regarding the reopening of schools will be provided as deemed appropriate based on weather conditions.
New Delhi/Mumbai: Both factions of the Shiv Sena have legally challenged the Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekars recent verdict in a batch of petitions seeking disqualification of rival camps legislators under the anti-defection law. While the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction moved the Supreme Court against Narwekar declaring as the real political party the bloc headed by chief minister Eknath Shinde, the latter challenged the speakers decision to not disqualify 14 Shiv Sena (UBT) legislators before the Bombay high court. Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar pronounced his verdict in Shiv Sena MLAs' disqualification petitions on January 10. (ANI)

On January 10, Narwekar ruled that Eknath Shindes party was the real Shiv Sena and turned down demands to disqualify either factions lawmakers, marking a significant victory for the ruling coalition in the fractious battle for control of the regional outfit.

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The faction led by Thackeray, in a petition filed by its chief whip Sunil Prabhu in the apex court on Monday, described the speakers January 10 verdict as colourable exercise of power based on extraneous and irrelevant considerations. On the other hand, Bharat Gogavale, the chief whip of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, filed petitions in the high court on January 12, challenging the legality, propriety and correctness of the verdict and sought the court to declare the ruling as bad in law, quash it and disqualify all 14 MLAs of the Shiv Sena (UBT) from the state assembly.

The finding that the group which enjoyed support of a majority of legislators represented the political party effectively amounts to bringing back the concept of split under the erstwhile para 3 of the Tenth Schedule [of the Constitution], which had been consciously omitted from the Tenth Schedule, the petition filed by the Thackeray faction said.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) named Shinde as the sole respondent without making speaker or the rebel MLAs as parties to the petition and sought an urgent listing of the matter. The order (of the Speaker) is a complete colourable exercise of power and is based on extraneous and irrelevant considerations, it said, pointing out how the verdict went against the May 11, 2023 decision of the top court which left it to the speaker to decide on disqualification pleas.

In its May 2023 judgment, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court held: The Speaker must not base their decision as to which group constitutes the political party on a blind appreciation of which group possesses a majority in the Legislative Assembly. This is not a game of numbers, but of something more.

This is in the teeth of the judgment of the top court, the petition filed through advocate Nishanth Patil said. Despite the direction of this Court, the Speaker has based his decision on who the political party is, only on legislative majority of the Shinde faction.

In the pleas before the high court, Gogavale said that on July 3, 2022, he had issued a whip to all Shiv Sena members to vote in favour of the Shinde-led government for the confidence motion in the assembly on July 4, following a split in the party.

However, the 14 legislators of the Thackeray faction not only violated the whip, but also voluntarily gave up the membership of the Shiv Sena political party by their acts and omissions, the petitions said.

The petitions argued that since Narwekar, in his January 10 order, has held Shinde represents the real Shiv Sena and that Gogavale was the legally appointed chief whip of the party, the speaker should have disqualified the 14 Sena (UBT) legislators.

The pleas said the final order passed by the speaker erroneously concludes that the grounds as raised by petitioner (Gogavale) are mere allegations and assertions on the part of the petitioner.

The pleas further said that the conclusion by Narwekar was ex facie illegal and cannot be sustained.

The high court is likely to take up the matter on January 22.

Reacting on the developments, speaker Narwekar said: My verdict was not to please or hurt anybody, but it was according to the constitutional provisions and the Supreme Court guidelines given in its verdict. Any aggrieved party is free to move court, but it should prove that the ruling was illegal, or unconstitutional...
Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy left for Davos on Monday to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF), where he is scheduled to meet CEOs and heads of top global companies. The 54th WEF is scheduled to be held on January 19. Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy will also join the panel discussion on transforming healthcare digitally, which is among a key priority for the state (PTI)

Since the formation of Telangana in 2014, this is the first time that the chief minister will lead the state governments delegation to the forum. The panel was, so far, being led by then former industries and information technology minister KT Rama Rao. This year, IT and legislative affairs minister D Sridhar Babu is part of the delegation, along with top officials of the industries and IT departments.

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In a statement issued on Sunday night, Babu said that the CM and the IT minister would meet the top management of the WEF, including its president Borge Brende and sector heads, during his visit to Davos.

We are leaving no stone unturned to make it a successful and productive trip. We expect to sign several MOUs and close significant investment deals in different sectors like pharma, electronics, data centres, defence and aerospace, food processing, and renewable energy. We will be sharing details about the developments everyday from Davos, the minister said.

Babu added that the CM would meet heads of companies like Novartis, Medtronic, AstraZeneca, Google, Uber, Mastercard, Bayer, LDC and UPL, among others, to seek investments in the state. The CM would also hold discussions with officials from Indian firms, including Tata, Wipro, HCL Tech, JSW, Godrej, Airtel, Bajaj, etc, he said.

Besides, the delegation will interact with leading business chambers like Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Nasscom, as well as media networks, the statement said.

Reddy will also join the panel discussion on transforming healthcare digitally, which is among a key priority for the state.

He will also be attending another high-level WEF event on Food Systems and Local Action, where he will speak about the impact of climate change on agri-economy and measures to promote climate-resilient agriculture while protecting farmers livelihoods, the minister said.
The rising cost of K-12 education and Medicaid will create ballooning future budget deficits if more isnt done to rein in state spending on these and other programs, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday.

Hochul proposed a 2024-25 state budget that raises spending within state operating funds by $5.9 billion, or 4.5%, from the current $130 billion. The overall budget would rise by $1 billion to $233 billion  the highest such figure in New York history.

Spending on education would rise by 2.7% and spending on Medicaid would rise by 10.9% under the governors proposed budget.

Hochul also would provide $2.4 billion toward the expense of assisting the tens of thousands of asylum-seekers who settled in New York.

In addition, the budget provides billions of dollars toward priorities and programs Hochul announced in her Jan. 9 State of the State address.

The governor said she and her administration worked carefully to balance the budget while addressing the states critical needs and priorities.

Hochul would not raise income taxes under the budget and would maintain the states rainy day reserves, which would exceed $19 billion.

We cant spend like theres no tomorrow because tomorrow always comes, Hochul said in Albany.

The State Legislature has until April 1 to approve the budget, though negotiations frequently continue past this date.

Hochul said the states financial position grew stronger over the last two years, thanks in part to Covid-19 relief aid and high investment returns. The state used this money to bolster mental health programs, house asylum seekers and fund school districts and public universities, Hochul said.

However, tax collections dropped sharply in the current fiscal year, down 7.8% from the previous year, amid softening economic activity. They are expected to rebound, but only by 2.5% in 2024-25.

In response, Hochuls administration in September had ordered a spending freeze for state agencies.

Our discipline now will keep us out of a deeper hole in the future. And yes, I know its a lot more pleasant to say yes to everybody. But now were called upon to make the tough decisions, Hochul said Tuesday. And there are significant challenges.

The average annual growth rate for tax receipts  which support 80% of operating fund spending  is projected to be 4% in the coming years, while spending is expected to rise by 5% annually, creating a structural imbalance, according to the governors office.

Looking ahead, state officials anticipate budget gaps of $5 billion in 2025-26, $5.2 billion in 2026-27 and $9.9 billion in 2027-28.

Those numbers reflect an improvement from the mid-year budget update that predicted even larger deficits through 2028.

Now, if the 25-26 budget is balanced with recurring savings, officials said, the 26-27 budget gap could be eliminated and the 27-28 gap could be cut in half.

Governor Hochul is telling it like it is: New Yorks school aid and Medicaid spending are out of line with national norms and raising income taxes again isnt the answer, the Empire Center for Public Policy, a nonprofit that advocates for fiscal restraint, said in a statement.

While the budget takes some important initial steps to reduce spending growth, significant additional restraint will still be needed to close the States structural budget imbalance, Citizens Budget Commission President Andrew S. Rein said in his own statement.

Here are more areas of interest in the governors spending plan:

MedicaidNew York spends more per capita on Medicaid, the healthcare program for the poor and people with disabilities, than any other state.

Medicaid spending has risen 40% over the past three years, Hochul said. It has risen as more people  particularly an aging population enrolled in managed long-term care  use the program, she said.

The federal government pays some of this cost but Hochul would raise the states share by $3 billion, or nearly 11%, to $30.9 billion next year. This figure reflects proposed annual savings of $1 billion.

EducationNew York also ranks the highest in the nation in per-student spending, Hochul said, at $26,571 as of the 2020-21 school year, or 85% higher than the national average.

Hochuls office said state aid to schools rose by an average of 7.7%, or $2.3 billion, annually between the 2020-21 and 2023-24 school years.

This state aid has risen even as the number of students enrolled in New York public schools has fallen by 10% since the 2013-14 school year.

This years budget plan would raise spending on K-12 schools by 2.7%, or $921 million, to $35.3 billion for the upcoming school year.

Other priorities

$4.8 billion on improved care for people with mental health issues, up 45% from the $3.3 billion this year.

$67 million toward harm-reduction programs, medication treatment and other strategies to respond to the opioid crisis.

$323 million for Upstate New York transit systems.

$47 million to plant 25 million trees across New York by 2033.

$250 million in buyouts for people who volunteer to relocate from flood-prone areas.

$2.4 billion, including $500 million from state reserves, to help pay for the cost of the 69,000 asylum seekers in the state.

$10 million to train 20,000 teachers in the best, evidence-based methods for helping children learn how to read.

$160 million to build new pools, hire lifeguards, offer more swim lessons and otherwise provide safe swim options statewide.

$500 million to build 15,000 new housing units on state-owned land.
May 1945. The dust of World War 2 has started to settle and the theatres of conflict stare at a tall transition after six years of bloodshed. But closer home, a then colonial India, on the cusp of freedom, is negotiating at a separate challenge  fortifying its nascent defence forces and training young cadets of the three services.

A high-powered committee that month got to work on sketching out a British proposal to integrate Indias defence services. The discussions gave birth to the inimitable National Defence Academy (NDA), which turns 75 on Tuesday and has for decades been the cradle of the countrys military brass and a bulwark of its defence forces.

The committee transformed the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun in 1946, naming it the Armed Forces Academy and splitting it into two wings  the Inter-Services Wing (later known as the Joint Services Wing) and the Military Wing.

Eventually, the joint-training for all three services began in the Inter-Services Wing in January 1949, working out of Dehradun for exactly six years, before moving to the current NDA in Khadakwasla, near Pune, on the same day in 1955.

To be sure, though NDA operated out of Dehradun for six years and has been based out of the Khadakwasla complex for 69 years, the army is considering January 16, 1949 as the institutions foundation day.

Congratulating the academys staff and alumni, Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar, commandant, NDA, said, The illustrious National Defence Academy has completed its 75 glorious years of service to the nation on January 16, 2024. I convey my heartfelt wishes to the staff and alumni of the prestigious institute on this historic moment. To commemorate the milestone, a series of activities in the arena of sports, adventure, academia and ceremonial domains have been conducted over the last one year.

In its seven-and-half decades, NDA has churned out over 42,000 officers for the Indian armed forces and about 1,000 officers for friendly foreign countries.

Its alumni have been conferred with the nations highest gallantry awards, both during peace and wartime. NDA also holds the distinction of having trained the chiefs of three services respectively from the same batch three times  1991, 2020, and 2023.

Indeed, all of Indias three incumbent service chiefs  General Manoj Pande, Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari and Admiral Hari Kumar  walked out of NDAs distinguished corridors. The nations first Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, who died in a helicopter crash on December 8, 2021, was also an alumnus of NDA. In all, NDA has given India 40 service chiefs  14 of the Indian Army, and 13 each of the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy.

The sprawling Khadakwasla complex, spread over 6,780 acres, was chosen in 1947 for its space and potential to serve as a combined warfare school for allied troops.

Then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone of the academy on October 6, 1949, even as operations continued out of Dehradun. The institution near Pune was inaugurated on January 16, 1955 by Morarji Desai, who was chief minister of Bombay State at the time.

Cadets who have walked out of the academys hallowed halls have played crucial parts in the battles and wars India has fought since Independence.

Over the years, the institution has produced stalwarts who have selflessly dedicated their lives to the service of our nation. The academy continues to train young boys, and now girls also, not only in aspects of prosecution of war, but also in diverse fields that make them excel at the national and international level, said Kochhar.

The institute last year also marked a milestone moment, as the first batch of woman cadets participated in the passing out parade (PoP), reviewed by President Droupadi Murmu on December 31 last year.

The 19 female cadets admitted in the first batch tri-service training institution during June 2022 are being trained in gender neutral manner alongside their male counterparts. The current batch is part of the 148th course, slated to graduate in May 2025.

Kochhar said NDA has moved in lockstep with the evolution of warfare over the years, embedding technology in its welfare programmes.

We have adapted to the changing dynamics of warfare, embraced technology, and redefined our training methodologies to ensure our cadets are equipped to face the challenges of the modern world. Looking ahead, the NDA will continue to strive for excellence and innovation and our cadets will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to tackle the complex security threats that our nation and the world is likely to face, he said.

Rear admiral SK Grewal (retd), former deputy commandant of NDA, said the institute has evolved with churning global military scenarios.

It was supposed to be the commissioning academy and later transformed into a top-most military foundational training academy. Earlier, students used to come after matriculation, but now they join after Class 12. The academic training is on par with top technical training institutions in the country. It has been the most sought-after academy which shapes up the value system in cadets based on strong ethics and team leadership, he said.

The academy has produced thousands of bravehearts who have fearlessly led their team in the most demanding situations in both war and peace with unparalleled success, thanks to the knowledge, values, camaraderie and motivation imbibed during three years of one of the most gruelling training schedules possible NDA is truly one of the jewels of our nation of which every Indian can be justifiably proud, said Lt Gen Sanjeev Kanal, who also graduated from the academy.
Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar, defending his decision to recognise chief minister Eknath Shinde's faction as the legitimate Shiv Sena on Tuesday, emphasised that his actions were in line with the guidelines provided by the Supreme Court. Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar (ANI)

Following a press conference by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray where he criticised Narwekar's January 10 ruling on disqualification petitions filed by both Shinde and Thackeray camps against each other's MLAs after a split in the party in June 2022, the speaker addressed the media.

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In his ruling, Narwekar had maintained that the Sena's 1999 constitution would be the valid one for determining the authentic Shiv Sena faction.

Narwekar said, On 10th January, I read judgment on disqualification (of MLAs). For the last six days, some political leaders and workers have been misleading people about my judgment. Shiv Sena (UBT) is using derogatory language against me. They don't even respect the Assembly speaker. It's really harmful to the democratic structure.

Narwekar explained his decision to reject the undivided Shiv Sena's amended constitution of 2018. He pointed out that at that time, the party had informed the Election Commission only about Uddhav Thackeray being the party chief without submitting the amended constitution.

Narwekar said that the rules established by a party should not merely exist on paper but must be effectively put into practice.

He said, My actions were based on the Supreme Court's guidelines.

On Tuesday, Thackeray openly challenged Shinde and Narwekar to engage in a public debate with him to determine the authentic Shiv Sena faction.

Former Maharashtra CM Thackeray questioned the rationale behind the BJP seeking his support in 2014 and 2019 after the Lok Sabha elections if he was not the Shiv Sena chief.

I am taking this battle to the people's court, he said.

Highlighting the significance of the ongoing battle between his party and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Thackeray asserted that this conflict would ultimately decide whether democracy would endure in the country.
The Disabled War Veterans (India) (DIWAVE) has raised serious concerns regarding the re-initiation of massive litigation by the Defence Ministry (MoD) against war veterans with disabilities and has asked the MoD and law ministry to revoke the insensitive and ill-conceived order immediately. The association said that none of their concerns has been addressed by the Defence Ministry. (File)

In a statement issued by DIWAVE president Captain (retd) NK Mahajan on Monday, which coincides with Veterans Day, the association has said that the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (DESW) of the MoD has re-opened cases against war-disabled/disabled veterans, widows of the Armed Forces, and other pensioners. The litigation involves cases that were previously decided in favour of the veterans by various Benches of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT).

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Talking to HT, Mahajan said, Theres a letter from the ministry in October which has not been made public. The directive within the letter mentioned instructs the reopening of all cases, anticipating a significant increase in their number. Notably, the defense minister had explicitly stated in 2014 a commitment to not contest the rulings of the AFT, high court, or Supreme Court. However, there is a current defiance of this stance. Presently, two cases are actively progressing in the Punjab and Haryana high court.

Secretary of DIWAVE, Lieutenant General (retd) VK Kotnala said that the ministry has taken this step to delay the payments that are to be made by the Controller Defence Account (CDA) and will cause harassment and fatigue amongst war veterans with a disability.

He said, The government has started these measures to file the counter affidavit on the cases and people who have won these cases are very agedthis is one of the tacticsof the defence ministry to delay the payments to be made by the CDA.

Upon enquiry, if the MoD has responded to the associations concerns, Kotnala responded that none of the concerns have yet been addressed despite multiple letters sent to defence minister Rajnath Singh.

In 2014, the then defence minister Manohar Parrikar, declared the need to stop the practice of filing appeals against disability benefits for military veterans. A committee under the Law Ministry criticised the MoD for initiating unnecessary and ego-driven litigation against its former employees and mandated the withdrawal of such appeals. Following stern rebukes from the Supreme Court in 2018, the law ministry formed another committee that issued similar directives. In 2019, the defence minister at that time, Nirmala Sitharaman, withdrew all such appeals, aligning with the National Litigation Policy.

To be sure, The Ministry of Defence (MoD) in November decided to challenge numerous disability pension cases for retired soldiers in court, following the tightening of eligibility rules. Acting on MoDs instructions, the Adjutant Generals branch directed legal cells of all Army commands to initiate writ petitions in jurisdictional high courts against various judgments from the AFT. This decision follows the introduction of the Entitlement Rules for Casualty Pensionary Awards to the Armed Forces Personnel-2023 in September, aimed at recalculating disability pension for veterans.

An internal assessment by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) revealed that 40% of officers were claiming disabilities to secure higher pensionary benefits. The new rules are expected to save approximately 4,000 crore annually from the existing pension outflow of about 10,000 crore.

Veterans argue that pressured by officers from the defence accounts department and the finance wing of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the ministry resumed filing appeals in 2023 in the same resolved matters previously withdrawn. They said that this decision not only contradicts the Supreme Courts rulings but also goes against the recommendations of two expert committees and the directives of both the law and defence ministers.

The chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan had said in October that the idea is not to save money for the government but to manage the armed forces cadre efficiently. What message do we send by having a large number of people in low medical category,

The rules have been revised to streamline the procedure for assessment and entitlement without any ambiguity to avoid litigation, the defence ministry had stated in October.

The CDS had also responded to the concerns and said that the revised policy will not put armed forces personnel at a disadvantage vis-a-vis their civilian counterparts.

Mahajan responded to the ministrys stance and said that the government acknowledges the overwhelming number of anticipated cases, involving extensive legal processes and financial burdens for war-disabled and disabled individuals. Reopening cases from 2015 and 2013 raises questions of potential harassment and a lack of commitment to justice. The inherently stressful lifestyle of military personnel, coupled with health issues, demands accountability. Challenging even Supreme Court decisions adds to concerns, suggesting a possible undermining of the justice system meant to protect the rights of those who served their nation.

HT also learnt that a hearing related to two cases pending in the Supreme Court on the matter has been adjourned on Tuesday at the request of MoD.

Retired wing commander Anuma Acharya took to Twitter to express her discontent and said, We fully understand that such dishonesty is not only unethical and cruel to these disabled soldiers, but is also a serious betrayal of the interests of the soldiers who are fighting fearlessly and dedicatedly on the countrys borders. Correct this dishonesty with immediate effect.

Brigadier(retd) V Mahalingam also took to Twitter and said, If this is true, I would recommend that you step in to stop filing of appeals & writs against the disabled & widows. Having served the country risking their lives & limbs without any consideration for their old parents, young wives & children of impressionable age, they definitely dont deserve such a treatment.

Filing cases would mean, the disabled & the widows running around lawyers & courts for those few thousands of rupees. Kindly see through the costs of litigation both for the individual & the government.  He further asked PM Modi to get involved in the matter.

DIWAVE has expressed concern about the disinformation campaign against disabled soldiers and the lack of understanding about the impact of military service on soldiers health. It also mentions the potential negative repercussions on the morale of war-disabled/disabled veterans, their families, widows, and the defence community.

The appeal urges the current Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal to withdraw the orders for such massive litigation, citing the settled decisions by the Prime Minister, successive Defence and Law Ministers, High-Level Committees, the National Litigation Policy, and the judiciary. The release warns that continuing with these legal actions may have significant consequences, affecting the morale of the defence community, burdening the exchequer, and causing a backlog in the courts.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at the Veerbhadra Temple in Lepakshi, Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday. The temple is dedicated to the deity Veerabhadra, the fiery form of Lord Shiva. The temple is closely associated with the Ramayana. In the temple complex, idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses- Vishnu, Papaneswara, Lakshmi, Ganesh and Durga are also present. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Veerbhadra Temple in Lepakshi, Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday. (ANI)

A video of PM Modi offering prayers at the temple was shared by news agency ANI on X(formerly Twitter). In the video, the prime minister dressed in traditional attire, is seen performing "aarti" of the deity. In the temple, he also heard verses from the Ranganatha Ramayan which is in Telugu.

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In another video, PM Modi was seen singing 'Shri Ram Jai Ram' bhajan at the temple. Notably, The Lepakshi temple is closely associated with the Ramayana. It is believed that the bird Jatayu, fell at the place after being fatally wounded by Ravan. Jatayu had tried to stop Ravan while he was fleeing after having abducted Goddess Sita.

According to folklores, after Lord Ram reached the spot, he was moved by the condition of the bird and uttered the words, Le Pakshi, which means Rise, bird, in Telugu. The dying Jatayu revealed that Sita was indeed taken south by Ravan and was then granted Moksha by Lord Ram.

ALSO READ| IndiGo Airlines begins two direct Ayodhya-Mumbai daily flights: Details here

PM Modi's two-day visit to Andhra Pradesh and Kerala

In Andhra Pradesh, the prime minister will inaugurate the new campus of National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics in Sri Sathya Sai District.

During this visit to south India, PM Modi will also hold a road show in Kochi, Kerala on Tuesday. In Kerala, he will perform pooja and darshan at Guruvayur Temple on the morning of January 17.

In Kochi, Modi will inaugurate three major infrastructure projects worth more than 4,000 crore, which includes the New Dry Dock (NDD) at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL); the International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) of CSL; and LPG Import Terminal of Indian Oil Corporation Limited at Puthuvypeen, Kochi.
A Russian model and actor, Evgenia Belskaia, who was on the Delhi-Goa flight with her team when the co-pilot was attacked by an unruly passenger on Sunday, said the passengers were livid due to the 13-hour delay and partly blamed the captain for aggravating the situation. Russian model and actor Evgenia Belskaia was on the Delhi-Goa flight with her team.

In a video posted online, Evgenia Belskaia said, of course, hitting the pilot was wrong but the passengers were very angry and nervous due to the long delay.

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A passenger, Sahil Kataria, on the IndiGo flight number 6E 2175, between Delhi and Goa, was arrested after he assaulted the co-pilot, Anup Kumar, and when he was announcing a delay in takeoff at the Delhi airport, the police said on Monday.

In a purported video, which has gone viral on social media, Sahil Kataria, a resident of Delhi's Amar Colony, can be seen hitting Anup Kumar as he was announcing the flight. According to flight tracking website flightradar24, the IndiGo flight took off from Delhi at 6pm after a delay of more than 10 hours.

Sharing the video clip on Instagram, Evgenia Belskaia wrote, My team was waiting 10 hours for their flight then one guy got fed up and after this they had to wait 3 more hours! Police took the guy and they had to change pilot also! Crazy really!

While condemning the assault, the actor said, The pilot came and said you are asking too many questions and we missed our turn because of this The pilot blamed the passengers for the delay.

Belsakaia said she was flying her team to Goa from Delhi and had reached the airport early to board the flight, which was scheduled to take off at 7:40am. "The IndiGo team was saying that the flight had been delayed by an hour. It went on for at least 10 hours until we were allowed to board the plane," she said.

Belsakaia added that after boarding the flight, the passengers were told that the flight had been delayed by two hours. "The passengers were angry and started asking questions from the crew and the pilot," she said.

Belsakaia admitted that while it was wrong to hit the pilot, she also questioned the pilot for blaming the passengers for the delay. "Everyone was nervous and instead of supporting them you made it worse," she added.

The incident took place on a day when dense fog majorly impacted operations at the Delhi airport leading to many flights being diverted, cancelled or delayed.

Aviation minister says unruly passenger behaviour 'unacceptable'

Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said reacted sharply and said unruly passenger behaviour is unacceptable and "will be dealt with strongly" in line with existing legal provisions.

Scindia also said the Director General of Civil Aviation will issue an SOP OR standard operating procedure for airlines on better communication and facilitation of passengers to minimise discomfort in view of flight cancellations and delays due to poor weather conditions.

DGCA issues SOP

Later, the DGCA issued an SOP, instructing all scheduled airlines to comply with it regarding flight delays and cancellations.

As per the SOP, airlines shall be required to publish accurate real-time information regarding delays of their flights on the respective website of the airline and provide advance information to affected passengers by SMS, WhatsApp and email. It also said in view of the prevalent fog season and adverse weather conditions, airlines may cancel, sufficiently in advance, such flights that are anticipated to be delayed or consequentially delayed on account of such conditions beyond a period of 3 hours with a view to obviate congestion at the airport and mitigate passenger inconvenience.

Passenger Sahil Kataria arrested, gets bail

In a statement, IndiGo Airlines said Kataria, who has a toy business, "assaulted" the co-pilot and that the matter had been referred to an independent internal committee for his inclusion in the "no-fly list".

In the short video clip of the incident inside the aircraft, other crew members could be seen shouting at Kataria, in a yellow jacket, after he hit the pilot.

Kataria can be heard saying, "Chalana hai to chala, warna gate khol" (fly if you want to, otherwise open the gate).

In another video clip, that too went viral, Kataria was seen being taken out of the aircraft by security personnel even as he apologised for his conduct.

The accused was then taken to a police station where he was arrested but later released on bail.

A case under sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and 290 (punishment for creating public nuisance) of the IPC and section 22 of the Aircraft Rules has been registered against the passenger and investigation taken up, another police officer said.
Bengaluru: The incident occurred near Siddapura village when the woman from Assam was working in the coffee estate with other workers (HT Archives)

A woman labourer was injured in a wild elephant attack in a coffee estate in Virajpet taluk of Kodagu district on Monday, forest officials said.

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The incident occurred near Siddapura village when the woman from Assam was working in the coffee estate with other workers. The injured has been identified as Amiran (35).

Siddapura range forest officer (RFO) B Devaiah said, Soon after receiving information, we, along with Rapid Response Team (RRT) members, rushed to the spot and chased away the elephant to the forests. He said the wild elephant came from the forests at night in search of fodder and, while returning it attacked a woman. We have instructed labourers to be cautious at night and in the mornings as elephants cross forests at that time, he added.

According to an eyewitness, The elephant suddenly attacked a group of women while they were working in the estate. Others fled but not Amiran; the elephant trampled her leg. She sustained leg and head injuries.

The woman was shifted to Siddapura primary health centre and then to Madikeri district government hospital. After doctors advice, she was taken to Wenlock Hospital in Mangaluru, Virajpet DCF Sharana Basappa told HT.
In a seaside village in eastern Uruguay, well-heeled tourists saunter through a crowded art fair sipping crisp local rose wine as they marvel at the area's burgeoning creative scene. Between seemingly endless golden Atlantic beaches and undulating grasslands, this remote corner of South America has become an unlikely hub for art, culture, and gastronomy. Here, in the bucolic countryside, is Uruguay's leading contemporary art museums, galleries, film and photography festivals. And last week, the village of Jose Ignacio hosted the tenth edition of the Este Arte international art fair. A visitor takes snapshots at the Quimera Gallery of Argentina, during the inauguration of the 'Este arte' exhibition at Vik Pavilion in Jos Ignacio, Maldonado, Uruguay, on January 6, 2024. The bucolic countryside in eastern Uruguay, between seemingly endless golden beaches and undulating grasslands where cows outnumber residents, has become an unlikely hub for art, culture, and gastronomy, being home to Uruguay's only contemporary art museum.(Photo by Santiago MAZZAROVICH / AFP)

"When we started, most of the people that I talked to thought: 'In Uruguay you cannot do that. We are not like Argentina or Brazil. There will not be enough buyers," said Uruguayan art curator Laura Bardier. One of the smallest countries in South America, Uruguay is home to three times as many cows as people, and half of its population of 3.5 million lives in the capital, Montevideo, a three-hour drive from Jose Ignacio.

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Nevertheless, Este Arte receives thousands of visitors each year, including amateurs and major art collectors. Artworks fetch prices ranging from $300 to $2.5 million apiece. Most cost around $20,000-$50,000. Visiting for the first time from New York, neurosurgeon Rafael Ortiz and his pediatric dentist wife Emille Agait snapped up a painting for their home in the Hamptons -- a seasonal hotspot to which Jose Ignacio is sometimes compared.

Agait said she can't wait to tell her art collector friends about the town. "It's understated, relaxed, but chic and fun. Everybody is beautiful," she gushed.

'Art desert'

For decades, Uruguay's eastern city of Punta del Este has been the favored summer location for South America's elite -- its frenetic nightlife and seafront high-rises drawing comparisons to Miami or Monte Carlo. However, in recent years, those seeking a more under-the-radar sophistication have fled to sleepy villages further east.

Jose Ignacio now boasts eye-wateringly expensive properties in a town made up of a few dirt roads, with excellent restaurants and vineyards nearby. In the eighties, "Jose Ignacio was empty... only fishermen and local people" lived there, said gallery owner Renos Xippas. Up until a decade ago, the region was "an art desert".

He said people flocked to live in the Uruguayan countryside during the Covid pandemic, seeking out its relative tranquillity. This helped fuel an art boom he describes as revival of "a very long tradition" that died out during the country's 1973 to 1985 dictatorship. "Uruguayans are very cultivated people and very cool," he said of what has become one of Latin America's most politically and economically stable countries.

Nothingness and quiet

"There has been a sort of revolution," said Uruguayan sculptor Pablo Atchugarry, 69, covered in dust from the marble he is shaping. This space has been the epicenter. Atchugarry in 2022 opened Uruguay's leading contemporary art museum, MACA, further west of Jose Ignacio: a massive ship-like structure surrounded by a 40-hectare sculpture park in the middle of nowhere. He describes the area as a sort of Uruguayan Cote d'Azur, attracting a public with "a very high purchasing power and a cultural interest in art."

He and other artists also wax lyrical about its inspirational energy. "What attracted me was the light, the space, the nothingness and the quiet. I think it's the perfect place to create," said American photographer Heidi Lender who lives even deeper in the countryside in Pueblo Garzon, a tiny former railway town 35 kilometers (21.7 miles) north of Jose Ignacio.

Here she runs a non-profit, Campo, which hosts residencies for artists from around the world. With less than 200 permanent residents, Garzon is now home to a handful of galleries and a restaurant run by fire-obsessed Argentine chef Francis Mallman, who featured on Netflix's Chef's Table. But, some, like Austrian art collector Robert Kofler who moved to Jose Ignacio, are concerned that developers will ruin their slice of paradise.

Kofler owns a boutique hotel where he has built an art installation he says helped put Jose Ignacio on the world map. He convinced American artist James Turrell to bring to the village one of his Skyspaces -- a dome of pure white marble through which visitors observe the sky at twilight while artificial light twists the perception of its colors.

Kofler says he is constantly fighting off attempts to build beach clubs or high-rises. "What brings people to fly 12 to 14 hours to come here? It's this beauty and energy and this quietness and slowness. It's getting away from what you know in Saint-Tropez or Monaco or Malibu. "That's why it's so important to preserve that."
One of the Founding Fathers of the United States, Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts and is remembered as one of the most versatile and accomplished figures of the American Enlightenment whose ideas, inventions and contributions to the founding of the USA have left a lasting legacy hence, his birthday is celebrated as Benjamin Franklin Day. He invented the lightning rod to protect buildings, the Franklin stove, the glass armonica and other significant contributions to science, particularly in the understanding of electricity, having developed the concept of positive and negative electrical charges. Benjamin Franklin Day: 10 inspiring quotes by Benjamin Franklin (File Photo by REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/Illustration)

From his early life of working as a printer who published the successful newspaper Pennsylvania Gazette and a writer who wrote and published "Poor Richard's Almanack", which contained numerous aphorisms and advice to playing a crucial role in the American Revolution and being a part of the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin was a polymath who excelled in many fields.

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Ahead of Benjamin Franklin Day this Wednesday, here are 10 inspiring quotes by him as we mark his birth anniversary:

"Well done is better than well said."

"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."

"Lost time is never found again."

"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail."

"He that can have patience can have what he will."

"Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight."

"Energy and persistence conquer all things."

"Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances."

"Diligence is the mother of good luck."

"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."

Bonus - Do not squander time for that is the stuff life is made of. Benjamin Franklin passed away on April 17, 1790, at the age of 84, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
A couple in the United Kingdom celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at Hickorys Smokehouse in Southport in August 2023. When the bill came, the couple were in for a surprise as the restaurant didnt let them pay for their meal. The couple initially planned a grand celebration for their 50th wedding anniversary but decided to have dinner at a restaurant in the UK. (Representational image/Pexels)

Paul, who met his wife on a blind date, shared their story with the Liverpool Echo. He recounted how they initially planned a grand celebration for their anniversary but decided to go for a cosy dinner at Hickorys Smokehouse.

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When I booked the table they asked if it was something special, so we put down that it was our anniversary. When they seated us they had put down a sign celebrating our anniversary, Paul told the Liverpool Echo.

He added, Our waiter, James, asked us about our anniversary and asked us when we began dating and about our life together. In the end, we told him that Ive got terminal cancer.

After the couple had their meal, they asked for the bill, only to find out that the restaurant paid for their meal. When he put the bill down, we opened it, and it said happy anniversary, the bill is on us. It was an 80 quid bill, too. We were gobsmacked. We had to go and find the bloke. We said youre joking, arent you? Paul further said.

When they spoke to the restaurants general manager about the bill, he told them he was deeply moved by their story and Pauls ongoing health battle. Paul reflected on his wifes emotional reaction, I just saw the look on my wifes face from across the table and thought, have they got this wrong? She more or less broke into tears.
X user @AuthorPrajnaa was travelling with IndiGo when her flight got delayed by eight hours. Upon learning about the extensive waiting period, the passenger demanded accommodation from a customer service agent. However, soon the woman became agitated and spoke 'rudely' with the staff. After the video of the incident went viral on X, IndiGo also replied to it. IndiGo airline staff telling the passenger about flight delay rules. (X/@AuthorPrajnaa)

"It was the middle of the night, and the flight was delayed by more than 8 hours. Despite being a rule from the airlines that the customers are entitled to accommodation, the IndiGo manager denied providing one. She was very rude before I took this video," wrote @AuthorPrajnaa in the caption of her post. She also shared the video of her conversation with the staff member, Nethra. (Also Read: Vijay Shekhar Sharma reacts to IndiGo passenger slapping pilot over flight delay)

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The clip shows @AuthorPrajnaa telling Nethra that since her flight is delayed, she is supposed to get free accommodation. In response, Nethra informs her that the hindrance is due to bad weather conditions. She also apologises to her and tries to explain the situation.

Watch the video here:

This post was shared on January 14. Since being posted, it has garnered more than 1.3 million views. The share also has numerous likes and comments. IndiGo also took to the comments section of the post and replied to her. The airline said that they regretted the discomfort caused to her. (Also Read: After 12-hour delay, passengers of Goa-Delhi IndiGo flight dine on Mumbai airport tarmac)

Here's what people said about this post:

An individual wrote, "Kudos to Nethra for handling this so well

Its a pity that @AuthorPrajnaa did not know the rules fully - in case of bad weather & acts of God, the airlines are not bound to provide accommodation. Lets all be more understanding with airlines over the crisis they encounter in the face of such fog delays! Buying travel insurance always helps madam!"

A second said, "You are rude and screaming. The 6E staff is treating you with courtesy."

"In this case, the lady from the airline was right. Bad weather delays do not entitle you to a hotel room," posted a third.

A fourth said, "Not a fan of @IndiGo6E, but Nethra representing it, handled this well. You are not entitled to accomodation when the flight is delayed due to bad weather."

A fifth commented, "Why blame the staff? It is

@IndiGo6E, which is at fault. Right? The service of the airline has been consistently falling over the last couple of years."
A judge has rejected a request for a shorter prison sentence from a former schoolteacher who admitted receiving help from a federal agent, Joseph Bongiovanni, in trafficking marijuana into Buffalo and its suburbs.

Michael Masecchia, who in May 2022 was sentenced to seven years in prison, recently wrote the federal court in Buffalo seeking a retroactive sentence reduction and a court-appointed lawyer to help him make his case for the reduction.

Masecchia based his request on sweeping changes to sentencing guidelines by the U.S. Sentencing Commission that took effect in November.

The changes lowered the guideline sentencing ranges for defendants under certain conditions, including those who did not have previous criminal convictions. Judges must consider  but are not bound by  the guidelines.

The new guidelines allow for shorter sentences, as long as there are no aggravating factors.

Buffalo teacher was a drug dealer with organized crime ties, prosecutors say Prosecutors say a respected teacher at Grover Cleveland High School ran a marijuana trafficking ring with connections to Buffalo's organized crime family.

U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra Jr. pointed to one such factor in turning down Masecchias request.

Although the defendant has zero criminal history points, he possessed a firearm in connection with the instant offense, Sinatra said in his Jan. 8 ruling. Specifically, the defendant was convicted of possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. As such, he is not eligible for a sentence reduction under the amended guidelines.

Masecchia remains incarcerated in a medium-security prison in Butner, N.C., with a release date of May 24, 2028.

Sinatra sentenced Masecchia on his guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking  convictions that could have put him in prison for 10 years. The plea agreement between Masecchia and the U.S. Attorneys Office recommended a prison term of seven to eight years.

A longtime teacher who taught English at Grover Cleveland High School, Masecchia admitted running a marijuana growing facility in rural Cattaraugus County and trafficking in pot beginning around 1999.

Feds tie former DEA agent to drug dealer and 'Italian Organized Crime' Former DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni is accused of protecting drug dealers with ties to the local mob. And now, for the first time since his arrest, federal prosecutors are naming names. A new grand jury indictment against the former agent also names Michael Masecchia, a former Buffalo school teacher described in court papers as a longtime drug dealer and

Masecchia, 57, told law enforcement officials that he and others in the drug trade had help from Bongiovanni, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent at the time. He said Bongiovanni helped him and other drug traffickers avoid arrest by providing law enforcement-sensitive information, including the names of potential cooperating witnesses.

The U.S. Attorneys Office agreed to a reduced sentence for Masecchia because he acknowledged that fact publicly, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi said at the May 2022 sentencing hearing.

Prosecution court papers include a copy of a 2013 email from an unidentified federal agent to Bongiovanni, stating that Masecchia is an associate member and possibly a made member of the Buffalo Mafia family. Masecchia made no admission of being a member of the Mafia in his plea agreement.
Indian-American biotech entrepreneur and GOP leader Vivek Ramaswamy on Tuesday announced the suspension of his 2024 presidential campaign and endorsed former President Donald Trump saying that the nation needed an America-First patriot in the White House. Republican presidential candidate businessman Vivek Ramaswamy(Getty Images via AFP)

After finishing fourth in Iowas leadoff caucuses, the first contest of the 2024 Republican presidential race, Ramaswamy announced to pull out of the White House race.

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This entire campaign is about speaking the TRUTH. We did not achieve our goal tonight & we need an America-First patriot in the White House. The people spoke loud & clear about who they want. Tonight I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Donald J. Trump and will do everything I can to make sure he is the next U.S. President. I am enormously proud of this team, this movement, and our country, he said in a post on X (formerly Twitter)

Ramaswamy had praised Trump as the best president of the 21st century in the past. He also called Trump to congratulate him on his victory in Iowa. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis came in second, with former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley securing the third position.

Trump, meanwhile in his victory speech, commended Ramaswamy for his "helluva job". Born in Ohio, to immigrant parents from southern India, Ramaswamy was one of the surprises of the 2024 Republican race and was dominated by former president. He has now announced his support to Trump and said that he would appear with Trump in New Hampshire and suggested DeSantis and Haley should follow suit" in withdrawing from the race.

However, Ramaswamy had recently taken a harder stance against Trump, claiming that the former presidents legal woes and political enemies made him a weak candidate. Trump responded by attacking Ramaswamy on social media, calling his campaign deceitful and very sly, in the first sign of hostility between them.

The Iowa caucuses development projected that the former president, even at 77 years old and under multiple criminal indictments, still dominates Republican politics and remains the overwhelming favorite to win the GOP nomination for the third consecutive time.

(With inputs from agencies)
An estimated 3.5 million Britons living overseas will from Tuesday be eligible to vote in UK general elections, in one of the biggest increases in the country's electoral franchise in a century. The expansion in the electorate follows a change in the law, approved by parliament in 2022(Rep image)

The expansion in the electorate follows a change in the law, approved by parliament in 2022, scrapping a previous curb on UK citizens voting if they had lived overseas for over 15 years.

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Implemented ahead of an election set for later this year, it is the most significant change to the voter rolls since a 1928 law granted women equal voting rights, and a 1969 move to lower the voting age to 18 from 21.

Britons worldwide will now be able to register to vote online, regardless of how long they have been overseas.

Under UK election law, once registered they will also be permitted to donate to political parties and campaigners.

Around 233,000 overseas voters were registered for the last election in December 2019, a significant Brexit-attributed bump on the numbers seen in previous contests.

The government estimates Tuesday's change could enfranchise around 3.5 million people -- nearly treble the 1.3 million votes that was the winning margin in the 2016 referendum on European Union membership.

It is also greater than the difference in the vote totals for Britain's two main parties -- the Conservatives and Labour -- in five of the last six general elections.

But UK elections ignore the parties' overall vote counts, instead electing lawmakers under the first-past-the-post system in 650 individual constituencies.

Every corner of the world

It remains unclear how many of the newly eligible 3.5 million UK citizens living overseas will successfully register to vote.

They will need to provide details of the address and time they were last registered to vote or living in Britain.

Local authorities, which are responsible for the electoral roll in their areas, must be able to verify an applicant's identity and past connection to the area, according to the Electoral Commission.

Unlike some countries, there is no provision for in-person voting overseas and all ballots have to be cast by post or by using a proxy in the UK.

The Electoral Commission is launching a publicity campaign and working with partner organisations to raise awareness of the rule change.

"We know there are eligible voters in every corner of the world so we're calling on those with friends and family abroad to help spread the news," communications director Craig Westwood said.

Research by Britain's Office for National Statistics suggests the largest numbers of British emigrants are in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and European Union member countries.

The election law change follows campaigning by various advocates, including the long-running "Votes for Life" campaign led by an overseas arm of the Conservatives.

Heather Harper, chair of the Conservatives Abroad group, said it put Britain on a par with the United States, France, Italy and New Zealand "in recognising the importance of their citizens worldwide".

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak must call an election by January 2025 at the latest, and said earlier this month that his "working assumption" was to have the contest in the second half of this year.
US president Joe Biden has invited the top four congressional leaders and other lawmakers to the White House on Wednesday as members have struggled to reach agreement on U.S. aid for the Ukraine war. Republicans have insisted on pairing it with their own demands for securing the U.S. border. US president Joe Biden(AP)

A bipartisan group of negotiators in the Senate has been working for weeks to find an agreement that would provide wartime money for Ukraine and Israel and also include new border policy that is strong enough to satisfy Republicans in both chambers. The talks appeared to slow last week as senators said significant disagreements remained.

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ALSO READ- Ukraine's Zelensky at Davos amid Russia war: Who did he meet

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that the lawmakers  including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.,  were invited to meet with Biden "to discuss the critical importance of his national security supplemental requests.

Bidens top budget official warned earlier this month about the rapidly diminishing time that lawmakers have to replenish U.S. aid for Ukraine. Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, stressed that there is no avenue to help Ukraine aside from Congress approving additional funding to help Kyiv as it fends off Russia in a war that is now nearly two years old.

ALSO READ- 83 countries hold Ukraine peace talks without Russia: Here's what happened

While the Pentagon has some limited authority to help Kyiv absent new funding from Capitol Hill, Young said at the first of the month, that is not going to get big tranches of equipment into Ukraine."

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the World Economic Forums annual meeting in Davos this week. In an appearance Tuesday following the meeting, Sullivan said he remained confident the Biden administration would come to an agreement on Ukraine aid in the coming weeks.

What I will say is that weve got to be able to deliver the necessary resources to Ukraine for the weapons that it needs to be able to achieve the results that it needs, Sullivan said in conversation with Brge Brende, president of the World Economic Forum. I continue to believe and express confidence that we willafter a lot of twists and turns ultimately get there.

Biden has faced staunch resistance from conservatives to his $110 billion request for a package of wartime aid for Ukraine and Israel as well as other national security priorities. Republicans have demanded that the funding be paired with significant border security changes.

ALSO READ: Swiss diplomat advocates Chinese involvement to end Russia-Ukraine war

The Biden administration has been directly involved in the talks as the president tries to both secure support for Ukraines defense against Russia and also make progress on border policy.

Biden, who is up for re-election this year, has come under significant criticism for his handling of the historic number of migrants seeking asylum at the U.S. border with Mexico.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Tuesday the country's economy was expected to have grown by around 5.2 percent in 2023, as he addressed an annual meeting of global elites in Davos. Li Qiang, China's premier, delivers a special address on the opening day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. (Bloomberg)

The figure would represent an improvement on the three percent recorded in 2022, when tight zero-Covid curbs hammered business activity.

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But it would still mean the lowest growth since 1990, excluding the years of the pandemic.

"The Chinese economy generally rebounded and improved last year," Li said in a speech at the World Economic Forum.

"Our GDP growth is expected to be around 5.2 percent, higher than the target of around five percent that we set at the beginning of last year," Li said.

Despite lifting health restrictions, the world's number two economy is still weighed down by a lack of business confidence and sluggish consumption.

A debt crisis in the crucial property sector and soaring youth unemployment have added to the malaise.

"No matter how the world situation changes, China will adhere to its basic national policy of opening up to the outside world," Li said.

He added that "the door to opening up will only get wider and wider".

"Choosing the Chinese market is not a risk but an opportunity," he told the audience.
At least 1.4 million lives have been saved in Europe thanks to Covid vaccines, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, recalling that the virus was "here to stay". Europe must continue to invest in its healthcare systems, WHO said.

The WHO European region -- which covers 53 countries including those of Central Asia -- has registered more than 277.7 million cases of Covid-19 and more than 2.2 million deaths, according to the organization's most recent data, from December 19, 2023.

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"Today, there are 1.4 million people in our region -- most of them elderly -- who are around to enjoy life with their loved ones because they took the vital decision to be vaccinated against Covid-19," WHO Europe regional director Hans Kluge told reporters.

"The first booster doses alone saved an estimated 700,000 lives."

Kluge said it was essential for people to protect themselves, especially those most vulnerable, during the winter.

"As we learn to live with Covid-19 and other respiratory viruses, it's absolutely vital for vulnerable populations to stay up to date with their Covid-19 and influenza vaccinations as recommended."

Europe must continue to invest in its healthcare systems, he said.

"We may be unprepared for anything out-of-the-ordinary, such as the emergence of a new, more severe Covid-19 variant or a yet unknown pathogen."

He called for more funding to resolve shortages of healthcare workers and basic medication.

"I am deeply concerned that health is slipping from the political agenda and that we are failing to address the ticking time-bomb facing our health and care workforce," Kluge said.
European Union member states on Tuesday added Yahya Sinwar, the political leader of Hamas, to their sanctions list in response to the group's surprise attack on Israel last October. Israel-Hamas War: Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas in Gaza, greets his supporters upon his arrival at a meeting in a hall on the sea side of Gaza City.(AP)

Yahya Sinwar is now subject to the freezing of his funds and other financial assets in EU member states, while EU operators are prohibited to make funds and economic resources available to him.
Attacks by Houthi militants in Yemen on ships in the Red Sea have led to soaring costs for European coffee roasters, though these are unlikely to be passed onto consumers soon, coffee traders and industry analysts said. Israel-Hamas War: Yemens Houthi rebels have fired their largest-ever barrage of drones and missiles targeting shipping in the Red Sea.(AP)

Container freight rates have jumped by some 150% on the Asia-Europe route and many bean deliveries to Europe from top robusta producers such as Vietnam and Indonesia have been delayed by up to three weeks as ships take a detour through the Cape of Good Hope.

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The situation is leading roasters to seek substitute beans from places including Brazil and Uganda. Brokers say they have, as a result, seen a jump in regional prices there, which again means higher costs for roasters.

Still, traders and industry analysts said they did not expect roasters to pass these costs through to consumers in the near term because of intense price competition in supermarkets.

Many global firms are seeking alternatives to shipping through the Red Sea, which is linked to the Mediterranean by the Suez Canal, creating the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia. About 12% of world shipping traffic transits the canal.

"We are seeing a drop in new orders (from Europe) as buyers are bearing the (higher) shipping cost. We are very concerned. Normally, coffee exports peak during this time of the year," said an executive at one of Vietnam's largest coffee exporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

He said around 60% of his coffee heads to Europe every year.

Global container availability has yet to suffer the major impact witnessed at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, traders said, but believed the risk remained.

A Europe-based trader downplayed the upside risk the Red Sea shipping disruptions pose to benchmark global robusta prices longer term.

"It supports (nearby) prices, but in the mid to longer run, it's just hiccups, the coffee is actually there, it will arrive," he said.
China is gearing up for a record number of trips during Lunar New Year and has vowed efforts to ensure safety as hundreds of millions of people take to the skies, roads and rails. China lunar new year: Passengers arriving at Hankou railway station in the Lunar New Year holidays in Wuhan.(AFP)

According to our estimation, a record high 9 billion trips will likely be made during the 40-day holiday travel period, Vice Transport Minister Li Yang said at a briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.

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The next Lunar New Year, the Year of the Wood Dragon, is officially celebrated in mid-February but the holiday rush will start from Jan. 26 and last more than a month as workers in the cities travel home to visit family and friends.

Driving will be the most popular form of transport, according to Li, with some 7.2 billion self-driving trips expected and 1.8 billion trips made via other forms of transport, including water.

As one of the most traditional travel methods, Chinas railway system is expected to see 480 million passenger trips during the holiday period, an increase of 38% from 2023, when people were still getting back to travel after Covid, and 18% from 2019, Huang Xin, a senior official with China State Railway Group Co., said.

With so many people crisscrossing the vast nation, officials also pledged efforts to ensure safety.

Safe Chunyun is the major theme for us this year, Li said, using the Chinese name for Lunar New Year. Weve urged local governments to conduct safety checks on major transport infrastructure.

Authorities have also required the comprehensive inspection and maintenance of all vehicles, ships and transport facilities before the holiday rush, Li added, without elaborating.

Bloomberg reported on Monday that Chinas aviation regulator has temporarily halted the restart of Boeing Co. 737 Max jet deliveries to the nation as the US planemaker grapples with a raft of safety issues.

Chinese airlines fly scores of 737 Max jets, single-aisle planes that have long been workhorses of the skies.

An accident involving a different type of Max model, a 737 Max 9, rocked Boeing earlier this month when a desk-sized door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines flight as the plane was ascending. Fortunately noone was sucked out of the hole but the incident has rattled consumer confidence in other Boeing models.
This week, South Africa brought a case before the International Court of Justice in the Hague, charging Israel with genocide for its ongoing campaign in Gaza. It is a pivotal moment in which many precarious elements of the international order hang in the balance.

South Africas case is based on the 1948 Genocide Convention, which over 150 countries have ratified, including the United States, Israel, and Russia, making it one of the few such instruments to have such near universal support around the globe.

Yet South Africas actions carry a touch of irony for they themselves were once brought before the world body for their actions.

And the Convention on which their current case rests almost never came to be.

That it did, based on the idea that no state can hide behind domestic sovereignty to violate basic human rights, can be traced back in large measure to the actions of one particularly capable and tenacious woman, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, a barrier-shattering politician and diplomat who helped build much of the post-war international world order we today take for granted.

In 1944, Raphael Lemkin, an international lawyer of Polish-Jewish descent who had come to the United States as a refugee, coined the term genocide to mean the destruction of a nation or ethnic group. He had been hoping that the Nuremberg Trials taking place in Germany would create a precedent for a formal convention aimed at preventing genocide to stop the kind of atrocities that had occurred during the war from happening again. But as verdicts from the trials came in in the late spring of 1946, he had found his most modest expectations thwarted.

Later in the fall, a Pulitzer-winning journalist encouraged him to push ahead at the nascent United Nations nonetheless. The plan he came up with in its entirety rested on merging the support of a Latin American country, which would rally the region, with one from Asia with the moral and cultural standing to bring everyone else along.

Having secured the votes of Panama and Cuba he was unsure of his next move, until Dame Ashby, a British feminist and politician, urged him to consult with Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, the leader of India's delegation. Lemkin laid out a vision of the unity of mankind in diversity. Hearing the values her own country cherished, Pandit replied without hesitation, We [in India and the world] are many races and creeds. Still, we have a concept of oneness. She signed on, providing the requisite legitimacy he needed. From there, Lemkin rushed his resolution over to the office of Trygve Lie, the secretary-general, to be put before the General Assembly. After some discussion, the resolution was unanimously adopted, declaring genocide a crime punishable by international law, and instructing a relevant convention to be drawn up.

At the same moment that Lemkin initiated his efforts at criminalizing genocide, Pandit was charging the country of South Africa with violations of the United Nations Charter, for its treatment of Indians inside the country. She was up against Jan Smuts, the eminent statesman, who was supported by many of the worlds greatest lawyers, including Sir Hartley Shawcross, Britains lead prosecutor at Nuremberg, and Charles Fahy, the former solicitor-general of the United States.

But none of these men were a match for her silver-tongued oratory, as members of the press noted. In a series of public and private debates, she outmanoeuvred her rivals and won a striking two-thirds majority vote in the General Assembly.

Mine is an appeal to conscience, to the conscience of the world, which this Assembly is, she concluded. W.E.B. Du Bois, the leading Black intellectual in the United States, praised her for framing her remarks in universal terms. She was, Du Bois asserted, the leader of the successful assault upon the colour line. It was a landmark event with long-term consequences.

As the assistant secretary-general, Henri Laugier, observed in inaugurating the new Human Rights Commission in early 1947, Pandits actions helped establish the precedent on which international human rights laws and norms would be based.

That same year, as tensions between Palestinians and Jewish representatives were on the rise, she found herself playing peacemaker. Committed to fostering amity between communities, she became involved with the Ad Hoc Committee for Palestine, which had been established by the UNGA in September. She put forward alternative proposals to solve the crisis in a way that fairly addressed the needs of Jews, especially those harmed by the recent war (World War II), and the needs of Palestinians, who were emerging as independent from the post-World War I British mandate. She faced life-threatening pressure to stand down but pressed ahead. While her proposals would not carry the day, she won the admiration of many within the Arab world while also maintaining good relations with the Jewish representatives.

At this fraught juncture, the world has much to learn from Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, one of the 20th centurys most renowned and respected figures. She charted a path that even today might allow us to move forward together.

Manu Bhagavan is professor of history, human rights, and public policy at Hunter College and the Graduate Center-The City University of New York. He is the author of a new biography of Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (Penguin/Allen Lane). The articles consulted for this piece include a piece in The Conversation, titled The landmark Genocide Convention has had mixed results since the UN approved it 75 years ago, a piece from the Holocaust Encyclopedia of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum titled, Coining a word and championing a cause: The story of Raphael Lemkin, and an article on Lemkin on the UNHRC website.
Donald Trump, who scored a record-setting win in the Iowa caucuses on Monday in the run-up to the US presidential elections with his rivals languishing far behind, heaped praises on Indian-origin Vivek Ramaswamy, who dropped out of the 2024 Republican race after finishing fourth. Donald Trump and Vivek Ramaswamy

"He did a hell of a job. He came from zero, and he has a big per cent, Donald Trump hailed the 38-year-old Indian-American entrepreneur in his speech.

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Trump's praise comes a day after he trained his sights on rival Ramaswamy, casting him as a threat to his Make America Great Again movement in what appeared to be a shift in strategy two days before the Iowa caucuses.

Vote for TRUMP, dont waste your vote! Vivek is not MAGA, Trump said as he arrived in Iowa. The comments, which appeared in a social media post, ended what had been an informal marriage of convenience with the 38-year-old Ohio entrepreneur and first-time political candidate.

Ramaswamy, on the other, endorsed the former president and urged Republican voters to put an "America First patriot" in the White House.

Taking to social media platform X, Ramaswamy stated, "This entire campaign is about speaking the TRUTH. We did not achieve our goal tonight, & we need an America-First patriot in the White House. The people spoke loud & clear about who they want. Tonight I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Donald J. Trump and will do everything I can to make sure he is the next U.S. President."

Iowa is the first of the state-by-state contests where Republican party voters pick their candidate who will almost certainly face President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the November 5 elections.

Trump, 77, won the Iowa caucuses in a landslide with governor Ron DeSantis of Florida securing a critical but distant second-place finish in the contest that took place amid a blistering cold.

Trump won the Iowa Republican caucuses by winning 51 per cent of the votes, an unprecedented margin, kickstarting his bid to win his partys third consecutive presidential nomination. The American business tycoon's victory was the largest margin in the history of Iowa's Republican presidential caucuses, easily surpassing the previous winning margin of 12.8 per cent set in 1988 by the late Senator Bob Dole.

While, DeSantis finished a distant second, just ahead of former UN ambassador Nikki Haley.

The results left Trump with a tighter grip on the GOP nomination, though it could take several more months for anyone to formally become the partys standard bearer. The magnitude of Trumps victory, however, posed significant questions for both DeSantis and Haley. Neither candidate appeared poised to exit the race, though they leave Iowa struggling to claim making much progress in trying to become Trumps strongest challenger.

A shrinking field will compete there after conservative entrepreneur Ramaswamy suspended his campaign after a disappointing fourth-place finish and endorsed Trump.
I can look out the window as I write this and see the Christmas tree, forlorn, set out by the curb. We took it down a little late this year, not out of foot-dragging sentiment but because it was a Yuletide that from beginning to end seemed to slip away.

Sean Kirst: Martin Luther King Jr.'s almost forgotten speech in Buffalo In 1956, at a celebration at the old Statler Hotel for the 50th anniversary of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, 27-year-old Martin Luther King inspired the crowd in a speech, The Birth of a New

The holiday season came and went too fast. It was one of those years when I felt like I never really got ahold of it. We decorated late and had some illness in the family and whatever invisible measure I set up internally that says, This should be Christmas, well 

It seemed like I never quite reached it, and it was over.

That is why, on the January day set aside this week to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., I was thinking of both King and one of his many profound mentors, Howard Thurman.

I learned of Thurman years ago from an old friend, Phil Prehn. I had written a column regarding the Epiphany, Jan. 6, the day within the teaching of many Christian churches on which the Yuletide ends with the coming of the three kings. I wrote about my mother, raised near the tracks on Wex Avenue in Buffalo, who had been orphaned as a 3-year-old and then lost her own oldest child as a toddler, and how she always embraced the Christmas season as a torch, a kind of beacon.

She refused to confine the celebration to one day. She rejected the notion of the frantic buildup to Christmas itself, the whole idea of rushing into the holiday, then stuffing it into a dusty bargain bin by Dec. 26. My mother had seen what desolation means, and she understood  in the silence of a winter sky, in the bright stars at night  how the bedrock of hope that is supposed to define Christmas was not about the plastic gifts you rip open on one morning.

It was about a running start toward the Epiphany, which became the strength and solace that could take her through the year.

As I grew older, I learned she was not alone, that many within her generation  shaped by depression and world war  had come to see that season and that day in the same way. Yet it was this friend named Phil, upon reading that column, who sent me a poem called The Work of Christmas by Thurman, a revelation that put words to a feeling in the air:

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flock,

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations,

To bring peace among others,

To make music in the heart.

There it was, the message I had tried to figure out since childhood, taken from a Thurman book called The Mood of Christmas, published toward the end of a tireless lifetime of writing and reflection.

For some perspective on that collection of essays, reflections and poetry, I turned to Walter Earl Fluker, professor emeritus in Boston Universitys school of theology. He described that book  and particularly the whole bridge linking Thurman, King and the Epiphany  as a reminder of the trajectory of Flukers own life:

My whole academic career has been a journey with Thurman and King, said Fluker, 72, now the Howard Thurman professor at the Hartford International University for Religion and Peace.

Thurmans long and distinguished career included serving as dean of BUs Marsh Chapel, a tenure  along with Kings attendance at that university  that played a central role in why Fluker made the choice to go there, in the first place.

Thurman and King are the guys who brought me to the party, Fluker said, and Im going home with them.

What Thurman saw in Christmas, Fluker said, was a form of spiritual reaction to what he saw in his own nation. He was born in Florida in 1899, an African American child raised in the apex of Jim Crow segregation and racist terror. Fear was gripping the soul of our country, Fluker said, and Thurman understood and witnessed how fear and hatred often grow from the same seed.

His response was to preach community, acceptance and love with an emphasis on shared humanity across race, cultures and denominations  a kind of moral courage he saw exemplified by the life and death of Christ.

Sean Kirst: 'He was a visionary': Recalling and honoring the Buffalo educator who helped create MLK holiday Almost 55 years after Buffalo educator Samuel Woodard was among the first to suggest a national holiday for Martin Luther King Jr., hundreds of students, educators and members of the community will pack the City Honors auditorium as part of the tribute Woodard helped create.

Thurman had direct connections to this region, Fluker said: Not only did he visit Buffalo to speak, he also received his bachelors degree in divinity from the Rochester Theological Seminary, now the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School.

It accelerated an academic journey that began for Thurman at Morehouse College  the school King would later attend, and where Thurman knew Kings father  and led him toward his role as serving as a dean at Howard. He went on to create a groundbreaking interracial congregation in San Francisco before eventually accepting the position at BU.

There is so much in Thurman, Fluker said, you cant tell it all.

In 1936, he became the first African American leader to guide a delegation to a meeting with Gandhi in India, a meeting that built into a memorable conversation on nonviolent resistance.

When King himself arrived at BU to do his doctoral work, he would often show up to hear Thurman preach  words that Fluker said helped shape Kings philosophy on equality and universal dignity.

Thurmans persona was far more low-key than the passionate oratory that will always be linked to King. Still, King was listening when Thurman, a guy Fluker describes as a mystic, spoke of a light in a time of great darkness, and finding hope in the empathetic potential  too often obscured by fear and rage  that exists in humankind.

In that way, to Fluker, it makes complete sense for the celebration of Kings birthday to so closely follow the Yuletide and the Epiphany  because they all intertwine with the same purpose.

The Work of Christmas was not a momentary burst of revelation, Fluker said. A mystic finds deep wells of the emotional, through what we say now is a kind of social or emotional intelligence, and this was the mood in which Thurman lived his life. He saw Christmas as a mood, a quality, a symbol  proof for humanity that the very best of us has yet to arrive.

That is not something, then, to ever pack up in the attic.

Fluker, raised in Chicago, was the youngest of 10 children born in Mississippi, and the first among his siblings to go on to college. He experienced the cruelties of a segregated America, witnessed the rise of the civil rights movement and is keenly aware of a resurgent, crawling shadow of fear and intolerance, though Thurman  with whom Fluker corresponded before Thurmans death, in 1981  never promised those struggles would somehow, miraculously, go away.

His larger message of unquenchable hope, even in shadow, was embraced by King  who lived it until the moment of his death in Memphis. The way Fluker perceives it, the fundamental meaning of the January day set aside in Kings honor is proof of the mood King and Thurman embraced, the exact opposite of the sadness I draw from that old tree next to the curb, and the whole point my mother tried to make for us, beyond her grief:

This season does not end The Work of Christmas. It ignites it.
Iran launched attacks Tuesday in Pakistan targeting what it described as bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl, state media reported, potentially further raising tensions in a Middle East already roiled by Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Iranian flag(REUTERS)

Confusion followed the announcements as some of the reports soon disappeared. However, any attack inside of nuclear-armed Pakistan by Iran would threaten the relations between the two countries, which long have eyed each other with suspicion while maintaining diplomatic relations.

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ALSO READ- Senior Iraq official says Iran claim it hit Mossad base false

The state-run IRNA news agency and state television had said that missiles and drones were used in the attack, which was not immediately acknowledged by Pakistan.

Jaish al-Adl, or the Army of Justice, is a Sunni militant group founded in 2012 which largely operates across the border in Pakistan. Iran has fought in border areas against the militants, but a missile-and-drone attack on Pakistan would be unprecedented for Iran.

The militants have claimed bombings and kidnapped Iranian border police in the past.

ALSO READ: Iraq recalls ambassador from Iran over missile strikes in Kurdish region

The state media reports were then suddenly removed without explanation, though the semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies still ran nearly identical stories on their websites Tuesday night. Press TV, the English-language arm of Iranian state television, later attributed the attack to Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

The reports described the strikes as happening in the mountains of Pakistan's Balochistan province, the scene of low-level insurgency by Baluch nationalists for more than two decades. Baluch nationalists initially wanted a share of provincial resources, but later initiated an insurgency for independence.

Authorities offered no explanation of what was happening, though sensitive stories in Iran can suddenly disappear from state media.

Officials in Pakistan did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Iran long has suspected Sunni-majority Pakistan as hosting insurgents, possibly at the behest of its regional archrival Saudi Arabia. However, Iran and Saudi Arabia reached a Chinese-mediated detente last March, easing tensions.

Late Monday, Iran fired missiles into Iraq at what it called an Israeli spy headquarters near the U.S. Consulate compound in the city of Irbil, the seat of Iraqs northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region, and at targets linked to the extremist Islamic State group in northern Syria.

Iraq on Tuesday called the attacks, which killed several civilians, a blatant violation of Iraq's sovereignty and recalled its ambassador from Tehran.
Iraq recalled its ambassador from Iran on Tuesday, condemning as a "clear act of aggression" deadly missile strikes by its ally on its autonomous Kurdish region. Emergency services clear the rubble of the house of Peshraw Dizayi that was hit in Iranian missile strikes in Irbil, Iraq, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. Dizayi, a prominent local businessman, was killed in one of the Irbil strikes along with members of his family. (AP)

Iraq challenged Iran's claim that the strikes targeted Israel's intelligence services in response to recent Israeli assassinations of Iranian and pro-Iranian commanders.

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It said it would lodge a complaint with the UN Security Council over the Iranian "attack on its sovereignty".

ALSO READ- Iran says it has launched attacks on what it calls militant bases in Pakistan

Later Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani said the strike was "a clear act of aggression" that could undermine relations between the two allies, in remarks to Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Iran's strikes, which also hit alleged Islamic State group targets in Iraq's western neighbour Syria, came with tensions high across the Middle East as Israel battles Iran ally Hamas and drew condemnation from the United States.

Four people were killed and six wounded in the strikes on Iraqi Kurdistan, the region's security council said.

The dead included prominent real estate magnate Peshraw Dizayee who was hit by a strike on his family home, the region's leading party, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, said.

Iran defended its missile strikes in Iraq and Syria, saying they were a "targeted operation" and "just punishment" against those who breach the Islamic republic's security.

"The Islamic republic, with its high intelligence capability, in a precise and targeted operation identified the criminals' headquarters and hit it with precision weapons," foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said.

ALSO READ- Senior Iraq official says Iran claim it hit Mossad base 'false'

'Blood of the martyrs'

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had destroyed the "Zionist regime's spy headquarters in the Kurdistan region of Iraq".

The strike came "in response to the recent vicious actions of the Zionist regime which martyred the commanders of the Revolutionary Guards and the resistance front," a Guards statement carried by Iran's official IRNA news agency said.

Senior Guards commander Razi Moussavi was killed in a strike in Syria last month that was widely blamed on Israel. This month, Hamas deputy Saleh al-Aruri was killed in a Beirut strike that Lebanese officials blamed on Israel.

The Guards said their reprisals "will continue until the last drops of blood of the martyrs are avenged".

But after a visit on Tuesday to the scene of the strike, Iraq's National Security Adviser Qassem al-Araji dismissed Iran's claim it had hit an Israeli intelligence base, saying it struck a businessman's family home.

"Concerning the alleged presence of a headquarters of Israel's Mossad, we visited the house, we inspected every corner of it and everything indicated that it was the family home of an Iraqi businessman," Araji told Kurdish television station K24.

Reckless

The Kurdistan region's Prime Minister Masrour Barzani met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Davos on Tuesday, where the Kurdish leader criticised the attacks as "unjustified and illegal" and called on the international community "not to remain silent", his office said.

The US State Department condemned the "reckless" Iranian strikes, saying they undermined Iraq's stability.

Iraq has seen a surge of unrest since Hamas militants launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, prompting devastating Israeli retaliation carried out with US support.

Iran-backed militant groups in Iraq and Syria have carried out a spate of attacks on military bases in the two countries used by soldiers of a US-led coalition against IS.

Washington has responded with missile strikes targeting the Iran-backed groups that have also drawn condemnation from Baghdad as a breach of its sovereignty.

ALSO READ- Iran lodges case against journalists day after release: Werent wearing hijabs'

In November 2022, Iran launched missile strikes against the northern Iraqi bases of Iranian-Kurdish rebel groups it accused of fomenting a wave of protests that swept the country after the death in custody of Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini.

In March 2022, the Guards carried out missile attacks in Arbil that it said targeted a "strategic centre" operated by arch foe Israel.

Contacts with Israel are outlawed in Iraq but some politicians and businessmen in Arbil have in the past been accused of maintaining informal ties. The Iraqi Kurdish authorities deny any contacts.

In Syria, the Guards said the strikes against alleged IS targets were in response to recent attacks in Iran.

On January 3, IS suicide bombers struck crowds gathered near the tomb of Guards general Qasem Soleimani in Kerman, killing around 90 people.

In December, an attack claimed by jihadist group Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) killed at least 11 police officers in Iran's southeast.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards claim to have attacked Israel's spy headquarters in Iraq, state media reported on Monday. The Guards claimed that they destroyed the headquarters near Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region with ballistic missiles. Members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards (Reuters File Photo)

"In response to the recent atrocities of the Zionist regime, causing the killing of commanders of the Guards and the Axis of Resistance ... one of the main Mossad espionage headquarters in Iraq's Kurdistan region was destroyed with ballistic missiles," the Guards said in a statement as quoted by news agency Reuters.

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"We assure our nation that the Guards' offensive operations will continue until avenging the last drops of martyrs' blood," the Guards' statement said further.

The latest attack on Israel's resources comes after Iran had vowed to avenge the killing of three members of the Guards in Syria last month. Notably, Iran also backs the Hezbollah militants in Lebanon who have been involved in exchange of fire with Israeli forces on the border.

ALSO READ| Vivek Ramaswamy quits 2024 presidential race, endorses Donald Trump

What Iraqi security sources said

Multimillionaire Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee and several members of his family died in the attacks

One rocket fell on the house of a senior Kurdish intelligence official and another on a Kurdish intelligence center

Air traffic at Kurdistan's Erbil airport was halted.

How the US reacted

The US State Department has condemned the attacks which happened near Kurdistans capital Erbil. However, the US revealed that US facilities or personnel were not targeted.

"We tracked the missiles, which impacted in Northern Iraq and Northern Syria. No U.S. personnel or facilities were targeted," Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement.

"We will continue to assess the situation, but initial indications are that this was a reckless and imprecise set of strikes," she said, adding: "The United States supports the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Iraq."

Tension in the Middle East

Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, the Middle East region in under tension with countries like Lebanon, Iran, Yemen extending their support for Hamas in Gaza.

The situation has caused worry of a wider conflict and the international community including the US are trying to avoid such an escalation.

Notably, Houthi militants in Yemen have been targeting ships in the Red Sea, claiming attacks on vessels linked to Israel. Houthi-attacks has severely affected commercial shipping in the region. And as a retaliatory measure, forces of the US and the UK recently performed airstrikes on Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen.
Qatars prime minister warned of the massive destruction inflicted by Israel as he criticised Israeli defense ministers rejection of a cease-fire in Gaza. The war which was sparked by Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel that triggered a humanitarian catastrophe in the enclave, displacing most of Gaza's 2.3 million population, as per United Nations. The was has continued for more than 100 days as the death toll in Gaza crossed 24,000 while in Israel around 1,200 people have been killed. Israel-Hamas War: Qatar's PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani looks on.(Reuters)

Qatars prime minister criticised Israel and the international community over the ongoing Israeli war on Hamas. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as Qatars foreign minister, said a two-state solution was required to end the conflict . The Israeli response showed the region could not go back to the way it was before, he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

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Gaza is not there anymore. I mean, there is nothing over there, he said, adding, "Its carpet bombing everywhere.

Talking about ongoing tensions in the West Bank, he urged for an end to Palestinian divisions, saying, We cannot have a two-state solution without having a government and politicians in Israel who believe in coexisting together side by side peacefully and we cannot have all this ongoing without ending this war.

Warning that a military confrontation in the Mideast waterways will not contain the attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels, he said, What we have right now in the region is a recipe of escalation everywhere."

This comes as UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said that Gaza faces the long shadow of starvation and the risk of disease. He said he was deeply troubled by the clear violation of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing" but the UN and its partners cannot effectively deliver humanitarian aid while Gaza is under such heavy, widespread and unrelenting bombardment.
Kenyas top prosecutor on Tuesday ordered that 95 people from a doomsday cult be charged with murder, cruelty, child torture and other crimes in the deaths of 429 people believed to be members of the church. Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, (C) who set up the Good News International Church in 2003 is accused of inciting cult followers to starve to death "to meet Jesus".(AFP)

The country's director of public prosecutions, Mulele Ingonga, was responding to pressure from a magistrate in the coastal county of Kilifi who told the prosecution to charge the suspects within two weeks or the court would release them.

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For months since the arrests last April, prosecutors had asked the court for permission to keep holding church leader Paul Mackenzie and 28 others while they looked into the case that shocked Kenyans with the discovery of mass graves and allegations of starvation and strangulation.

Principal Magistrate Yousuf Shikanda declined the latest request to hold the suspects for an additional 60 days, saying the prosecution had been given enough time to complete investigations.

The case emerged when police rescued 15 emaciated parishioners from Mackenzies church in Kilifi county in Kenyas southeast. Four died after the group was taken to a hospital.

Survivors told investigators the pastor had instructed them to fast to death before the world ends so they could meet Jesus.

A search of the remote, forested area found dozens of mass graves, authorities have said. Autopsies on some bodies showed starvation, strangulation or suffocation.

Other charges that the suspects will face include manslaughter, radicalization, assault causing grievous bodily harm and engaging in organized criminal activity.

Mackenzie is serving a separate one-year prison sentence after being found guilty of operating a film studio and producing films without a valid license.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were "not told the entire truth" by King Charles to avoid a huge feud, a new book claimed. Prince Harry was unaware that Prince William's wife Kate Middleton had personally chosen not to travel to Balmoral after the death of late monarch Queen Elizabeth. Prince Harry, then, was placated by the fact the Kate Middleton was not coming as he had been furious after his father King Charles told him not to travel to Scotland with his wife Meghan Markle. Prince Harry-Meghan Markle: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex are seen.(AP)

Royal biographer Robert Hardman claimed in his new book that King Charles had not asked Kate Middleton to stay away. This is something Prince Harry did not know as Kate Middleton chose to be in Windsor with her three children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five.

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A royal aide claimed as per the biographer that "it was by luck rather than judgment, but it made it a lot easier to tell Harry that he was coming alone." It was also claimed in the book that "like the late Duke of Edinburgh, she [Queen Elizabeth] did not like a queue of family well-wishers flocking to her bedside when ill".

The new royal biography Charles III: New King, New Court also includes never-before-seen documents from the Royal Archives, including information about how Queen Elizabeth felt "no pain" during her death.

The book notes that on September 8 when Queen Elizabeth died, Prince Harry's father personally called him when he and his wife Meghan were in the UK to inform them about the same. Prince Harry then texted Prince William to talk about travel plans but he never received a response, the Duke of Sussex claimed in his memoir Spare.

Robert Hardman wrote of this interaction in his book as well. He explained, "Clearly, Prince William did not regard this as the appropriate moment for the intensely difficult conversation he needed to have with his brother."
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that South Korea is primary foe as he warned that Pyongyang did not intend to avoid war if it happens. The North Korean leader also called for the constitution to be changed in a speech to North Korea's parliament. Unification with South Korea was no longer possible as Seoul seeks regime collapse and absorption, Kim Jong Un said, asserting that the constitution should be amended to educate North Koreans that South Korea is a primary foe and invariable principal enemy. North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un speaking at a session at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang.(AFP)

North Korea should define territory as separate from the South, he said, adding, We don't want war but we have no intention of avoiding it.

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North Korea should plan for "completely occupying, subjugating and reclaiming" South Korea in war and South Koreans should also no longer be referred to as fellow countrymen, Kim Jong Un said as he called for ending all inter-Korean communication and the destruction of a monument to reunification in Pyongyang.

Three organisations dealing with unification and inter-Korean tourism would also be shut down, it was reported after South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol said that Pyongyang was being "anti-national" for calling the South a hostile country.

This comes amid a series of missile tests by North Korea. Lim Eul-chul, professor of North Korea studies at South Korea's Kyungnam university said that Kim Jong Un laid out plans in his speech to improve livelihoods of North Koreans while the US is distracted with other crises.

Won Gon Park of Seoul's Ewha Womans university said as per news agency Reuters that Kim Jong Un appeared to feel threatened by ties between US and South Korea.

"Kim Jong Un's increasingly aggressive language appears to show he feels he's lost the upper hand in the inter-Korean relationship," Won Gon Park said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that were the South to violate less than a millimeter of his country's territory, it would be considered a provocation for war, state media said Tuesday. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un(AFP)

"If the Republic of Korea violates even 0.001 mm of our territorial land, air and waters, it will be considered a war provocation," he said, adding that Pyongyang would not recognise the de facto maritime border between the two countries, the Northern Limit Line.
Sri Lanka's Colombo port has seen a big jump in container volumes in recent weeks as vessels steering clear of tensions in the southern Red Sea have found it a convenient transit point, officials said on Tuesday. Fishermen boats as seen off the coast in al-Khokha district on the southern edge of the Red Sea city of Hodeida. (AFP)

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have since November attacked ships in the Red Sea, part of a route that accounts for about 12% of the world's shipping traffic, in what they say is an effort to support Palestinians in the war with Israel.

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In response, some shipping companies have instructed vessels to sail around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, a slower and more expensive route.

Due to Colombo's strategic location, stopping at the port gives ships convenient access to the Middle East, South Asia and East Asia, said Lal Weerasinghe, a senior official at the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).

"When ships come past South Africa, Colombo is the first hub they meet...Singapore is further away. So this is the easiest port to access," Weerasinghe said.

Port of Colombo is a key port between Africa, the Middle East and East Asia and handled 6.94 million 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) in 2023, a 2% jump for the year, SLPA data showed. In December, TEUs jumped 15% on year.

Over the last four to six weeks, shipping lines requested more berthing windows at the port's three terminals and transhipment volumes from neighbouring India also grew, two terminal operators said.

"We typically handle about 5,000-5,500 TEUs (per day) but since late last year there has been an increase of about 1,000 TEUs per day," said Weerasinghe.

"We were forced to decline requests from about four shipping lines to increase traffic because it would cause delays for existing customers."

As much as 50% of the uptick is from Mediterranean Shipping Company, the leading container shipping company, Weerasinghe added.

Shipping companies are also increasingly using Colombo as a relaying port, sometimes offloading their entire cargo to a different ship, he added.

Vessel calls have risen at other Colombo port terminals too.

"There is a lot of transhipment from India. We are hoping increased traffic will help Colombo port edge closer to double-digit growth in the first quarter," said an official from a privately-run terminal.

He declined to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media.
The results of the Republican primary battle in Iowa on Monday kept one Indian-American candidate, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, in the race for the partys nomination and led to the exit of the other candidate, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley looks on as fellow candidate businessman Vivek Ramaswamy passes by, during a break at the fourth Republican candidates' U.S. presidential debate of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S. December 6, 2023. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (REUTERS)

With 19% of the votes, Haley, 51, finished third in the race behind Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (21%) in a contest where former president Donald Trump appears to have locked in the nomination already, taking over half the votes (51%) in the first primary. Ramaswamy dropped out of the race after he garnered a dismal 7.7% of the votes.

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Haleys political future now appears to rest either on the consolidation of the anti-Trump and non-Trump votes or the collapse of Trumps candidacy itself. In contrast, Ramaswamys political future rests on Trumps success after a campaign that broadly endorsed the former presidents political positions. On Monday, he formally endorsed Trump after exiting the race.

For Haley, the aim, as distant as it may seem at the moment, remains the White House. Ramaswamy has several other options: either a top spot in the Trump administration, a chance to be his running mate (vice-president), or a seat in the US Senate. The contrasting political fortunes, platforms and ambitions of the two candidates are a reflection of their radically different backgrounds.

Haleys rise and challenge

Haley is now the top Indian-American politician within the Republican Party (GOP). She is a Christian, who also acknowledges her Indian roots. Haley has served as the governor of South Carolina, a conservative southern state where she decided to remove from government grounds in 2015 the Confederate flag  a symbol of slavery  after an attack on a Black church in the city of Charleston. Under Trump, she served as the American ambassador to the United Nations, a cabinet level position in the administration.

She has adopted political positions which echo that of the older Republican establishment, including a call for tax cuts, debt reduction, and responsible federal spending; a commitment to American global leadership and continued support for both Ukraine and Israel; a nuanced opposition to abortion in recognition of how the issue has alienated voters; and a commitment to tackling illegal immigration, but not in the extreme ways that Trump has suggested.

For those used to the older, centre-Right orientation Republican Party, Haleys positions make her sound like the only adult in the Republican field. Her campaign is premised on drawing in independent voters, and even Democrats who may be disillusioned with Biden, but dislike Trump  a fact that has led Democrats to keep a watchful eye on her prospects.

The problem for Haley however is that the non-Trump segment remains a minority within the GOP, and because she is seen as a part of the older Republican establishment, she finds it more challenging to win over the new Republican white working-class base. Her identity as a woman of colour probably doesnt help either. She is expected do better next week in New Hampshire, where early polls showed her closing the gap with Trump, and then her home state of South Carolina next month. But none of this makes much of a difference, given the overwhelming Trump lead in the primaries. Her opposition to Trumps politics and position, which is her campaign USP, and Trumps demand for complete loyalty, also make it unlikely that he will opt for her as vice-president, even though it might boost the winnability of the Republican ticket.

Ramaswamys imprint

By contrast, the man who made being a Trumpist his campaign USP doesnt have these struggles anymore.

The 38-year old entrepreneur-turned-politician, Ramaswamy, was almost unknown in the American public sphere till last year. He ran a largely self-funded campaign and banked on being a glib talker, attaining, in the process, a high degree of visibility. Ramaswamy owned his Hindu roots, and in a bid to appeal to the Republican white Christian base, claimed that Hindu values were aligned with Christian-Judeo values.

Ramaswamy also adopted a campaign platform that echoed that of Trump and the new Republican Party, which Joe Biden refers to as the Maga Republicans, an allusion to the Make America Great Again slogan of the Trump campaign. He called himself the America first candidate. His ten-point campaign manifesto  which included precepts like God is real, there are two genders, and human flourishing requires fossil fuels  didnt work to boost his numbers, but turned him into prominent Republican political figure, letting him seamlessly switch to Trump on Monday.

Irrespective of the political fate that awaits Haley and Ramaswamy, the participation of two powerful Indian-American figures in the 2024 Republican race shows the political rise of the community, the diversity within the community even when they are a part of the same party, and the challenges they face in navigating a largely white Christian conservative political field.
Two Erie County farms with a combined 957 acres of land will be preserved through the New York States Farmland Protection Program, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced this week.

Stefan Hay Farm, a cash crop operation in North Collins, was awarded $1.06 million for 647 acres.

Vacinek Farm, a dairy, beef, crops and wood products operation in Sardinia, was awarded $551,191 for 310 acres.

Both farms entered into conservation easements with the Western New York Land Conservancy that will prevent their farmland from being developed for other purposes in the future.

The majority of people in society are not able to grow food and feed themselves, so we are reliant on our nations remaining farmers, said Rachel Chrostowski, farmland protection specialist. The farms in most cases in Western New York are small, family-owned businesses, and by permanently protecting their land we are helping to support that industry that we all rely on.

The grant pays the farmer for the lands assessed value for development, ensuring it will always be available for agricultural use. The funds also cover the costs associated with the purchase.

In all, the governor announced $5.5 million for seven projects that will set aside 2,119 farmland acres, bringing the total of protected farmland statewide to 113,650 acres.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said that he met with executives of JPMorgan- the largest US lender- and other major international investors on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Ukrainian leader said, It is important for us to attract private capital to the reconstruction of Ukraine. We hope that JP Morgan will help attract a large number of global investors and corporations to the Ukrainian economy. Zelensky at Davos: Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky attending a meeting during World Economic Forum in Davos.(AFP)

His office said that the Ukrainian president met JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) CEO Jamie Dimon, other senior JPMorgan executives and top management of BlackRock, Bridgewater Associates, the Carlyle Group, Blackstone, Dell and ArcelorMittal. Ukraine's economy ministry said about 100 senior executives joined the meeting. It s focus was rebuilding of Ukraine and modernising the economy of the country which has been devastated by nearly two years of Russia's war. Last year, Ukraine's economy performed better than expected as officials estimated gross domestic product growth at about 5% in 2023 after a 28.8% fall in 2022. The government expects GDP growth at 4.6% this year, it has earlier said.

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During the meeting, Zelensky talked about the need to develop and implement financial instruments blending both private and public capital, his office said. Yulia Svyrydenko, first deputy prime minister and economy minister, said Kyiv was working to expand war insurance for businesses and wanted to strengthen its air defence further.
Former US President Donald Trump is maintaining a lead over his successor Joe Biden by 8 percentage points among registered voters in Georgia, according to a survey conducted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that shows 45 percent of Peach State voters would back the Republican, compared to 37 percent who would support the Democratic incumbent, if the presidential elections were conducted today. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and US President Joe Biden (AP)

The poll comes as an alert for Biden, who turned Georgia blue in 2020 for the first time in nearly 30 years of Republican dominance. It is to note that Trump won his first 20 delegates in the race for the Republican nomination after receiving 51% of the vote in the Iowa Caucus.

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As the White House race shifts to next weeks primary in New Hampshire, many respondents were still undecided about their support for either candidate, with 6.5 percent stating they would back another candidate, over 6 percent saying they would not vote, and roughly 6 percent saying they were unsure.

According to the poll, a sizable portion of independent voters stated they would either not support Biden (13.8%) or are still unsure of their choice (10.7%).

Even if Biden continues to lead among independents and moderates, his backing is insufficient to overturn Trump's advantage in Georgia, where there are more registered Republican voters than Democrats.

About half of moderates stated they prefer Biden in comparison to 26.4 percent who support Trump and 10.2 percent who say they back another candidate.

Also Read: Billionaire Bill Ackman donates $1 million to this leader for challenging Biden

Why is Biden struggling?

Following Trump's resounding win on Monday in the first nominating contest of the 2024 election cycle, the poll revealed that over 20% of Georgians were unsure about who to support in the presidential battle, which has shifted from Iowa.

Biden lacks support among many Democratic and independent voters who played a key role during his narrow 2020 victory over Trump in Georgia, including 10% of Black voters who say they won't be voting in the White House contest at all.

Low approval ratings in Georgia are a major disappointment for Biden. A small majority of registered voters say they "strongly disapprove" of the Democrat, and over 62% of them are dissatisfied with the president's performance in office.

Biden's woes don't end here as his backing among independents is dismal. Only 37% of them think highly of him, while 54% are unhappy with his performance. Additionally, there is disagreement among Black voters, which is the most loyal constituency of Democrats.

Does Trump need to worry?

In a state where Trump has waged war on Republican incumbents who rejected his calls to nullify the election results in 2020, the ex-US president confronts his own difficulties. Approximately 25% of Republicans say they are undecided or skeptical of the plan to support Trump's re-election.

Trump has four criminal court cases looming, one of which is in Georgia, where he and eighteen former allies are accused of defying the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act by attempting to influence the 2020 election results in the state.

Around 1,007 registered voters participated in the poll, which was conducted by the University of Georgias School of Public and International Affairs from January 3 to January 11.

The AJCs November poll had hinted a near tie between Trump (45%) and Biden (44%). In the last presidential elections, Biden secured win in Georgia by less than 12,000 votes.
Business Insider is facing a lawsuit from Bill Ackman, the billionaire hedge fund manager, after the publication accused his wife, Neru Oxman, of plagiarism in her doctoral thesis from 2010. On Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024, Business Insiders top executive and parent company said they were satisfied with the fairness and accuracy of stories that made plagiarism accusations against Bill Ackman's wife, a former MIT professor. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)(AP)

Oxman, a renowned designer and ex-MIT professor, was alleged to have copied sentences and paragraphs from various sources, including Wikipedia, other scholars and technical documents, in her 330-page dissertation at MIT.

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Business Insider published two articles on Jan. 4 and 5, exposing the plagiarism by Oxman and linking it to the recent resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay, who was also accused of academic dishonesty in her writing.

Ackman, who had been vocal in his criticism of Gay and her handling of a congressional hearing on antisemitism, said Business Insider was hypocritical and defamatory in its reporting on his wife.

ALSO READ| Bill Ackman channels inner Maximum Deridus in Gladiator-style warning to Business Insider

I mean lawsuit, to be clear

He said he was given less than two hours to respond to the allegations and that an Israel-born editor at the publication was biased against Oxman.

He also said the articles caused his wife severe emotional harm and could have literally killed her without the support of her loved ones.

She has suffered severe emotional harm, he wrote on X, and as an introvert, it has been very, very difficult for her to make it through each day.

Ackman said his wife acknowledged four missing quotation marks and one omitted footnote in her dissertation, but denied any intentional plagiarism.

He threatened to sue Business Insider and its parent company, Axel Springer, for their false claims and defamation.

By complaint I mean lawsuit, to be clear, Ackman said on Monday.

He also posted a scene from the movie Gladiator with the quote At My Signal, Unleash Hell on X, implying that he was ready for a legal battle with Business Insider.

Business Insider, however, stood by its stories and said they were factual, well-documented and newsworthy.

ALSO READ| Billionaire Bill Ackman donates $1 million to this leader for challenging Biden

The publications CEO, Barbara Peng, issued a statement on Sunday, saying there was no personal, political or religious agenda behind the stories and that they were done with editorial independence.

There was no unfair bias or personal, political and/or religious motivation in pursuit of the story, Peng said.

Business Insider supports and empowers our journalists to share newsworthy, factual stories with our readers, and we do so with editorial independence, Peng added.
Donald Trump has won the Iowa caucuses, strengthening his status as the front-runner in the Republican primary. Trump notably won despite spending just around $44,000 on advertisements targeting Iowa voters on Facebook and Instagram in the week that led up to the caucuses, data from the Meta ad library revealed, as reviewed by CNBC. The amount is a little less than what Vivek Ramaswamys campaign spent  $45,000. Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage during his Iowa caucus night watch party in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., January 15, 2024 (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)(REUTERS)

A source familiar with Trumps travel plans said that the former president is set to follow up his Iowa victory with a trip to New York on Tuesday, January 16. He will be there to attend his civil trial in a defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll. He will then travel to New Hampshire for a rally.

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In last weeks final NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll, a whopping 48% of likely caucus-goers selected Trump as their first choice. Nikki Haley was chosen by 20% and 16% chose Ron DeSantis. Ramaswamy, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Texas pastor Ryan Binkley ran in single digits.

Earlier on Monday, January 15, before the caucuses, Trump had high hopes. I dont know about the total number of votes because, you know, it is a little cold out there, but not really, and remember, everybody is indoors, he said during an interview with Jeff Stein on News/Talk 1540. So youre not standing outside. So I think its going to be very close to record-setting, maybe even record-setting.

Donald Trumps mounting legal troubles

While running for his campaign, Trump is navigating a heap of legal troubles. Last year he became the first US president in history to have a mugshot taken. On August 24, he turned himself in to Georgia authorities after facing 13 felony charges handed down by a Fulton County grand jury. His mugshot was taken while being booked at an Atlanta jail for allegedly trying to reverse the 2020 election results in Georgia.

In 2023, the Georgia indictment was the fourth brought against Trump. There were multiple federal cases over the former presidents attempts at overturning the 2020 election in Washington, DC, as well as for allegedly mishandling classified documents in South Florida.

Trump was also indicted for allegedly falsifying business records in an attempt to conceal hush money paid to Stormy Daniels before the elections in 2016. He was accused of doing this to keep Stormy from speaking up about an affair he allegedly had with the porn star.
Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out of the 2024 presidential race following a poor performance in the Iowa caucus on Monday. Upon his exit, the 38-year-old entrepreneur announced his full endorsement of Donald Trump. Despite the former US president's brutal social media rants, Ramaswamy showered Trump with praises, calling him the best president of the 21st century. Ramaswamy's exit from the race in a bid for the Trump presidency has garnered appreciation from many, including famous influencers like Tristan Tate and Jake Paul. Jake Paul and Tristan Tate address Vivek Ramaswamy's exit from presidential race

Influencers rally behind Ramaswamy after his exit

Famous figures took to social media to shower Ramaswamy with praise for his decision to drop out. Controversial influencer Andrew Tate's brother Tristan lauded Ramaswamy's decision on X, formerly Twitter.

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This man is only 3 years older than I am. A year ago very few people knew who he was and he is now a household name worldwide. This has been an incredible campaign and he has launched himself into the forefront of republican politics. I believe one day Vivek will be president, Tristan wrote.

Internet personality Savanah Hernandez, who is famous for her podcast Slightly Offens*ve, also appreciated Ramaswamy's decision. Vivek just suspended his campaign for President. This decision only confirms that he truly does care about listening to the wants of the American people & understands the importance of unification ahead of the 2024 elections, Hernandez wrote.

Famous YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul also expressed his contentment with the biotech entrepreneur's decision. Super proud of Vivek for taking the political world by storm and shaking up the broken system. As the youngest and sharpest out there, I know this is just the start of his story. the Truth always prevails he wrote.

Social media personality Ada Lluch wrote, Vivek is once in a lifetime candidate. His work ethic, intelligence and values are unmatched. He is genuinely an amazing human being which is rare in politics. After running an incredible campaign and working harder than any other candidate, he just endorsed President Trump.

Trump deserves to run this country for 4 more years and shut the rest of the World up. But Vivek is the future. And when Trumps time is over, Im sure he will be the strongest advocate to continue the America First movement. And by the way, Nikki and De Santis, you can go f**k yourself, Lluch added.

Journalist Ashley St. Clair also expressed her appreciation for Ramaswamy, saying, Im not even upset about Vivek dropping Winning was a Hail Mary He ran a historic campaign, revived purpose + hope for many Americans, and showed what American work ethic is supposed to look like. Im excited for the next season of Vivek Ramaswamy & hope the rest of America tunes in as well.

Meanwhile, podcaster Josie Glabach wrote, Vivek is one of the most brilliant and inspiring people Ive ever had the privilege of getting to know. His future is so bright and I wish him and his team all the best.
Former president Donald Trump asked a climate protester to go home to mommy after the person accused him during a rally in Iowa of taking millions from oil and gas executives as president. Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump visits a caucus site at Horizon Event Center in Clive, Iowa, U.S. January 15, 2024 (REUTERS/Sergio Flores)(REUTERS)

Trump, youve taken millions! a demonstrator yelled on 14 January, interrupting the former presidents speech being held a day before the Iowa caucuses. Thank you, darling. Thank you, Trump answered mockingly,

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As the crowd booed at the protester, Trump seemed to grin. Go home to mommy. Your mommys waiting, Trump told him. Go home to mommy.

Trump went on to call the demonstrator young and immature. Another protester later calledthe GOP front-runner climate criminal, and was forced out to chants of USA! USA! USA!

Trump was eventually joined by North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) at the rally, following which one protester yelled, Donald Trump claims to speak for my generation, but he is sold out by oil and gas billionaires. Our homes are burning, our homes are flooding!

You are digging a grave with your fossil fuel money! the woman screamed.

Anonprofit advocating for political action to fight the climate crisis, The Sunrise Movement, has admitted that it was responsible for creating the interruption at Trumps rally. We just interrupted Trump's rally to call him out for what he is: a climate criminal who cares more about the oil and gas millionaires who bankroll his campaign than our generation's future, they said in a post on X.

In a separate post, they wrote, Today we asked Trump: do you represent ordinary people like us, or the oil and gas millionaires who bankroll your campaign? He said: Go home to your mommy.

Back in November, The Washington Post reported that the former presidentreceived campaign funds from hundreds of people from the gas and oil industry. Some individuals reportedly even handed $23,000 for a photo with Trump.
Hundreds of tourists in Hawaii were left stranded after flight operations were halted at Kona International Airport due to runway safety concerns. On Monday, multiple fights were diverted or delayed after cracks were found on the runway. While the cracks were a previously known issue, they worsened due to recent heavy rainfall. Due to safety concerns, authorities were forced to enforce an indefinite closure of the airport. Kona International Airport to remain closed until further notice due to runway safety concerns(Hawaii Gov)

Kona airport closed due to cracks on the runway

Hawaii Department of Transportation said about the incident, Cracks had developed and the runway pavement degradation had accelerated due to the recent rains.

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The airport will remain closed until further notice as the full extent of the impact is not yet known. According to Hawaii News Now, passengers flying to and fro Kona on Tuesday were urged to check with their airlines.

Although there is no fixed timeline set for repairs, the department said in a statement, HDOT is measuring the usable runway length and will provide the information to airline operators to determine how to reopen the runway while restricting planes from the damaged areas.

HDOT is also working with contractors to mill and resurface the affected area, the statement added.

Hawaii Tourism Authority pledges to help stranded tourists

In the wake of this unprecedented airport closure, the Hawaii Tourism Authority has pledged to help the stranded tourists. Our partners at the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii on each island are standing by to assist further if needed, the authority said.

We are looking at how we can further support passengers in Kona who cannot depart this evening, as well as passengers in the air headed to Kona diverted to other airports, they added.

The travel authority is working alongside travel bureaus and the state department of transportation to provide the necessary help to those who were left stranded.
House Republicans will once again subpoena US President Joe Biden' son Hunter Biden after he agreed to give testimony to Congress if the House Oversight and Judiciary committees issue new summons. President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden(AP)

In a letter to Hunter Bidens lawyer Abbe Lowell, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said they would be like to subpoena him a second time if that meant his cooperation in their investigation.

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"The committees welcome Mr. Bidens newfound willingness to testify in a deposition setting under subpoena," the letter said.

"Although the Committees subpoenas are lawful and remain legally enforceable, as an accommodation to Mr. Biden and at your request, we are prepared to issue subpoenas compelling Mr. Bidens appearance at a deposition on a new date in the coming weeks," it added.

Hunter disobeyed a congressional subpoena last month in order to appear privately for a deposition before Republican investigators who are looking into his financial dealings. He maintained he would only testify in public, arguing that information from closed-door testimony can be selectively leaked and manipulated.

Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what I have to say, he said outside the Capitol in a rare public statement. What are they afraid of? I am here.

Also Read: US House approves impeachment inquiry into President Biden, they are choosing to waste time', he says

Hunter Biden ready to sit for deposition with new subpoena

As a result, the GOP members have drafted a resolution placing him in contempt of Congress.

Demands for a deposition were deemed "invalid" by his lawyer, Abbe Lowell, because the House did not formally vote to approve an impeachment inquiry until December. However, Hunter Biden made a U-turn on Friday.

You have not explained why you are not interested in transparency and having the American people witness the full and complete testimony of Mr. Biden at a public hearing. If you issue a new proper subpoena, now that there is a duly authorized impeachment inquiry, Mr. Biden will comply for a hearing or deposition. We will accept such a subpoena on Mr. Bidens behalf, Lowells letter to the committee chairs said.

Reacting to it, James Comer and Jim Jordan said: We are heartened by the shift from Hunter Bidens legal team. However, they added that he must comply with their subpoena.

For now, the House of Representatives will move forward with holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress until such time that Hunter Biden confirms a date to appear for a private deposition in accordance with his legal obligation, the statement read.

Republicans have been pursuing an impeachment probe to link President Joe Biden to his son's business dealings. However, they have not yet been able to find evidence that Joe Biden is guilty of any misconduct.

There is no evidence to support the allegations that my father was financially involved in my business because it did not happen, Hunter Biden said.

The White House has labeled the entire process as a partisan smear campaign that Republicans are pursuing further with despite the fact that members of their own party have admitted there is no evidence to support impeaching President Biden.
Nikki Haley has now turned her attention to New Hampshire after coming third in the Iowa caucuses. As per a CNN poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire, Haley stands within seven percentage points of Donald Trump, who won the Iowa caucuses. Nikki Haley, former ambassador to the United Nations and 2024 Republican presidential candidate, speaks during a caucus night watch party in West Des Moines, Iowa, US, on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 (Photographer: Rachel Mummey/Bloomberg)(Bloomberg)

"When you look at how we're doing in New Hampshire, in South Carolina and beyond, I can safely say tonight Iowa made this Republican Primary a two-person race," Haley said in West Des Moines.

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Earlier, before finishing third, Haley called on Iowa caucus goers to reconsider supporting Trump. She said the GOP must choose a "new generational leader, adding that "you dont defeat Democrat chaos with Republican chaos."

"I trust all of you. Iowans do their homework. They know their issues," Haley said. "But more than that, youre patriotic, God-fearing, hardworking Americans and this is your chance to show the power of your voice. And this is your chance to lead the way to get our country back on track."

Trump, nevertheless, won the Iowa caucuses, strengthening his status as the front-runner in the Republican primary. He notably won despite spending just around $44,000 on advertisements targeting Iowa voters on Facebook and Instagram in the week that led up to the caucuses, data from the Meta ad library revealed, as reviewed by CNBC.

Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken the second place in the Iowa Republican caucuses, a race call by The Associated Press said. He appreciated Iowa voters after taking second place in the caucuses. They threw everything but the kitchen sink at us, DeSantis said. They even called the election before people even got a chance to vote, he added as the crowd booed.

Because of your support, in spite of all of that they threw at us, everyone against us, we got our ticket punched out of Iowa, the governor said.
On Monday night, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke to his supporters after securing the second spot in the Iowa caucus, trailing behind former President Donald Trump. He claimed that he had his ticket punched out of Iowa. Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis gestures on stage at his Iowa caucus watch party in West Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., January 15, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid(REUTERS)

He said that his opponents had tried everything to stop him, spending nearly $15 million on negative ads and prematurely declaring the winner before the voting was over.

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He added, I am not going to make any excuses, and I guarantee you this: I will not let you down.

The Florida Gov. defied the polls that had him in third place behind Trump and Nikki Haley. He managed to get the runner-up position, while Trump won by a huge margin.

One of his prominent supporters, evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats, said that DeSantis had earned the right to continue his campaign. He said, you punch two tickets out of Iowa.

ALSO READ| Vivek Ramaswamy quits 2024 presidential race, endorses Donald Trump

DeSantis was confident with Iowa result

DeSantis had been confident of his chances in Iowa, citing his strong ground game and organization. He had visited every county in the state and engaged in grassroots campaigning to win over voters.

He did not let the harsh weather conditions deter him, as he held multiple events every day over the weekend. He hoped that his loyal supporters would turn out for him in the caucus, despite the low turnout.

He kept reaching out to voters until the last minute, visiting various caucus sites. He expressed his optimism and said he was glad that people saw him as an underdog.

ALSO READ| Iowa caucus: Watch how the voters celebrated Trump's victory amid big chill

DeSantis campaign accused the media of interfering in the election by announcing Trumps victory before the polls closed. His Communications Director Andrew Romeo said in a statement, It is absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote. The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet.

DeSantis pledged to keep fighting in the next states and planned to fly to South Carolina, Haleys home state, on Tuesday morning. He would then head to New Hampshire in the afternoon.
It is crunch time for the tech hub bid consisting of Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse.

The three-region team has about a month and a half left to develop and submit proposals that could be awarded up to $75 million in federal funding.

Tech hub partners in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse team up for $75M funding push Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse realized their best shot at getting designated as a federal tech hub was by working together. When it comes to chasing economic development, it's a different tack for them.

The joint bid  under the NY SMART I-Corridor banner  focuses on building the semiconductor industry.

It is a competitive process: A total of 31 areas around the country were designated tech hubs last year, which put them in contention for funding. But only five to 10 of them are expected to be awarded money.

Three business-related groups  the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, ROC2025 in Rochester and CenterState CEO in Syracuse  are guiding the process, with support from hometown federal lawmakers, including U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Empire State Development.

Eyes on the prizes: Tech hub winners focus on securing funds for Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse While Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse succeeded in their joint effort to be named a "tech hub," they are now pursuing the big prize: potentially tens of millions of dollars in federal funds to support their plans.

The hope is to secure funding that will stimulate growth of the semiconductor industry, creating more jobs for trained workers and boosting activity at research institutions. The point of the federal program is to promote innovation outside of places such as Silicon Valley.

Here is what is happening as the Feb. 29 application deadline approaches:

Developing detailed plans. Last year, in the first phase of the competition, the three regions jointly made a case for why they were worthy of tech hub status based on the assets they had. They believed their best chance of success was to collaborate, rather than compete against each other.

The NY SMART I-Corridor bid  and 30 others  cleared that hurdle. Now, the designated tech hubs have to submit applications, containing three to five proposals each, explaining how they would put federal funding to work. The U.S. Commerce Departments Economic Development Administration expects to announce the winners this summer.

The three-region team hired the McKinsey & Co. consulting firm to analyze gaps in the resources the upstate regions have, compared to places such as Silicon Valley, and investments that could be made to fill those gaps, said Dottie Gallagher, the Partnerships president and CEO.

Those investments would help bring the upstate regions closer to where they aspire to be as a world-class technology center, said Joseph Stefko, president and CEO of ROC2025.

The proposals are likely to call for investments capitalizing on the resources the regions have, rather than building a new facility in one particular city.

Its using the existing framework to do new work, work thats not being done, Gallagher said.

Setting priorities. To develop proposals, working groups are concentrating on three areas: innovation  related to research universities and startups  the supply chain and workforce.

We know that we need to train, up-skill and connect both incumbent residents and new talent that will come to our region to fill these new economic opportunities that will be created here, Stefko said.

Stefko said the tech hub bid received a boost from Gov. Kathy Hochuls State of the State proposal to open upstate workforce development centers modeled on Buffalos Northland Workforce Development Center.

How to stand out. With only a few of the applicants expected to win funds, the NY SMART I-Corridor bid will have to distinguish itself from the others. And a few others are submitting bids related to the semiconductor industry, too.

Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse are centering their bid on building up an I-90 semiconductor corridor, with Micron Technology anchoring the eastern end, near Syracuse. Micron has announced plans to invest up to $100 billion in a chip-making complex.

Benjamin Sio, senior vice president of strategy, policy and planning for CenterState CEO, said a project like Microns is a critical asset.

But its not the only (chip fabricating plant) that will be built in the U.S. in the next 10 years, he noted. How were thinking about this, how do we position the entire region to participate better in that larger industry, yes, in connection with Micron, but not just in connection with Micron.

Chasing funding. While the tech hubs proposals will be submitted as one package, the EDA will evaluate each of those proposals individually, and could choose to accept some of those proposals, and reject others.

Gallagher said she believes the Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse bid is rooted in sound strategy, but cant take anything for granted.

We have to hit this on all cylinders, she said. We have to demonstrate that we know what were doing, that the opportunity is here, and that were ready to roll, she said. I feel confident that that is true. Its not something were trying to polish on to that.

While the funding award could go as high as $75 million, the EDA has provided guidance to the tech hubs that the awards could be $60 million to $75 million, and more likely in the lower end of that range, Stefko said.

The EDA expects to announce the funding winners in the summer.

Regardless of the final dollar amount, the tech hub partners say they view the federal funding as akin to startup capital, and would aim to attract investment from other funding sources to support their plans.

Teamwork. The tech hub partners expect their collaboration to pay dividends beyond the current competition. Gallagher said the process has worked well because weve taken the provincialism out of it.

What were doing through the tech hub process is building a different way to work together, on many things, she said. These things that the tech hub is really focused on  innovation, workforce and supply chain  are the basis of a lot of growth opportunities as we move forward, even outside of microchips.

Outlook. One of the bids boosters is a vocal  and powerful  one: Schumer, who championed the legislation that created tech hubs.

With the deadline a few weeks off, how do the programs partners feel about their chances of winning funding?

This program was tailor-made for our region, and my sense of that has only gotten stronger as weve gotten into the throes of the phase two development process, Stefko said.

Sio said he gets more excited in and more confident in this work every single day.

Gallagher described herself as cautiously optimistic.

I think we deserve it, and I think were doing everything we can to make it as easy a decision (for the EDA) as possible, she said.
On Monday, former President Donald Trump's victory in the Iowa caucuses marked a significant turning point in the contest for the Republican Party's 2024 presidential nominee. Despite leading polls for over a year, the Iowa race poses a crucial test to assess whether he can leverage this lead for a triumph return to the White House or if he will trail behind other candidates. Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during his caucus night watch party in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., January 15, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder(REUTERS)

On the other hand, after a lackluster showing in the Iowa caucuses, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy announced on Monday that he is withdrawing from the campaign. He expressed his intention to support his former competitor, ex-President Donald Trump. In a statement, he said, As of this moment we are going to suspend this presidential campaign. Theres no path for me to be the next president absent things that we dont want to see happen in this country.

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Also read: Vivek Ramaswamy quits 2024 presidential race, endorses Donald Trump

Netizens react to Donald Trump's Iowa Caucus win

Also read: Iowa caucus 2024 live updates: Donald Trump wins first Republican contest, delivers speech at Des Moines

The internet is filled with mixed reactions, and opinions are divided on whether Trump should make a comeback and if he would be a strong candidate worth voting for. Someone wrote, It was one of the fastest caucus decisions in recent history. This will no doubt be a historic year. Nothing could stop what has come., the storm is here., another one chimed in, YEAHHHHHHH TRUMP WON!!!!!! ALL YOU TRUMP HATERS CAN SHUT IT UP!!!, few spoke about the numbers, NO Republican has won a contested Iowa Caucus by more than 12.8%. Tonight, Donald Trump won by 30, and predictions of course, Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee and he will retake the White House in November.

Check out:

Trump congratulates DeSantis, Haley, and Ramaswamy

As he stood on stage, Trump thanked his family and supporters, realizing that he had already earned an overwhelming majority of the vote. He also mentioned how fiercely Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley were vying for second place. As it turned out Ron DeSantis clinched the second position.
US President Joe Biden on Monday acknowledged that Donald Trump was the "clear front runner" to be the Republican candidate in the presidential elections after his landslide victory in Iowa. He also urged his supporters to donate to his campaign in the wake of Trump's win. GOP frontrunner Donald Trump and US President Joe Biden(AP)

Looks like Donald Trump just won Iowa. Hes the clear front runner on the other side at this point, Biden wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

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He termed the 2024 White House race as "you and me" versus the "extreme Maga Republicans".

But heres the thing: this election was always going to be you and me vs. extreme MAGA Republicans. It was true yesterday and itll be true tomorrow, POTUS added, attaching a link to a fundraising page.

Trump won 51% of the vote of registered Republican voters in the partys first primary caucus in Iowa. With this victory, Trump solidifies his hold on the Grand Old Party and establishes favorable circumstances for a potential rematch with Biden.

Also Read: Iowa caucuses: Donald Trump trounces Republican rivals, but praises Vivek Ramaswamy

Trump takes stage for victory speech after Iowa win

In his Iowa caucus victory speech in Des Moines, Trump called on US citizens to "come together" and support him. He also congratulated his top rivals Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, saying they performed well.

"I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a good time together. We're all having a good time together," Trump said.

He highlighted that his priority will be to end the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and oversee the mass deportation of illegal immigrants if he secures the second term in the White House.

"We have an invasion of millions and millions of people that are coming into our country. I can't imagine why they think that's a good thing. It's a very bad thing. I think it's a group of people that's probably larger in number than New York state," he said.

Ramaswamy drops out of WH race, backs Trump for next US president

After finishing fourth in Iowas leadoff caucuses, GOP leader Vivek Ramaswamy announced the suspension of his 2024 presidential campaign and endorsed Trump stressing that the nation needed an America-First patriot in the White House.

Indian-American biotech entrepreneur congratulated Trump on his victory and said that he would attend a rally with him in New Hampshire on Tuesday.

This entire campaign is about speaking the TRUTH. We did not achieve our goal tonight & we need an America-First patriot in the White House. The people spoke loud & clear about who they want. Tonight I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Donald J. Trump and will do everything I can to make sure he is the next U.S. President. I am enormously proud of this team, this movement, and our country, he said in a post on X.
Donald Trump cemented his position as the Republican front-runner during the Iowa caucuses on Monday. His victory drew mixed responses from supporters and protesters alike. Following his drastic win, MSNBC host Joy Reid accused White Christian Iowans of supporting Trump. During the on-air meltdown, the 55-year-old correspondent also blamed racism for Nikki Haley's loss. Joy Reid blasts 'White Christians' in Iowa for supporting Trump

Joy Reid slams White Christians in Iowa for supporting Trump

During the live broadcast, Reid began the discussion about White Christians who were behind the Iowa caucus results. She claimed that the state has a majority population of Whites in contrast to other communities, These are white Christians. That this is a state that is over represent overrepresented by white Christians... Iowa is about 61% white Christian, Reid said, adding, The country as a whole is approximately 41% white Christian and in Iowa we're talking about evangelical white Christians.

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Expanding her viewpoint, Reid continued, All the things that we think about, about electability, about what are people gaming out, but none of that matters when you believe that God has given you this country, that it is yours, and that everyone who is not a White, conservative Christian is a fraudulent American, is a less real American. Then you dont care about electability. You care about what God has given you.

Joy Reid claims Nikki Haley lost Iowa due to racism

Reid's claims were not limited to the White community being in favour of Trump as she also declared that Haley lost Iowa because of racism. She went on to say during her on-air meltdown, Its the elephant in the room. Shes still a brown lady thats got to try to win in a party that is deeply anti-immigrant, and which accepts the notion you can say immigrants are poisoning the blood of our country.

After labelling the GOP as anti-immigrant, Reid further claimed that Haley is getting birthered by Donald Trump. She continued, And I dont care how much the donor class likes her, which will ramp up a lot the better she does in New Hampshire, its still a challenge.

I dont see how she becomes the nominee of that party with Donald Trump still around. I cant picture it happening. Maybe it could happen. Ron DeSantis only argument for staying in it is hes the white guy, that he can still make the appeal to white evangelicals, Reid added.
Former adult film actress Mia Khalifa, who has drawn massive flak online for her unwavering support to terror attack by Hamas in Israel, shared a video on social media on Tuesday, claiming that an Israeli woman hurled slurs at her and continued to follow her the entire time she was waiting for a cab. Former adult film actress Mia Khalifa

In a 43-second long video posted by Mia on X (formerly Twitter), a woman can be heard saying "Am Yisrael Chai", which translates to The people of Israel live in Hebrew.

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As Mia captures the video, the woman comes closer to her to reiterate Am Yisrael Chai. Reacting to it, Mia asked her to get away from me, adding your breath smells awful.. Oh my god! You smell like knock off falafel.

The Zionists are losing the plot. She followed me through the lobby calling me slurs and didnt stop the entire time she was waiting for her UberPool at the Antique Jewelry Fair. Shes a vendor- something she made abundantly clear so I guess this is what her business stands for, Mia wrote.

She has often condemned Zionists and expressed support for Palestinians, justifying it as their right to end Israeli occupation.

Mia Khalifa mocks the slaughter of Jews in sick jokes

In recent past, Sarah Joe Chamoun, also known as Mia Khalifa, has made a bold statement in solidarity with Palestine. In a post on X, she said, If you can look at the situation in Palestine and not be on the side of Palestinians, then you are on the wrong side of apartheid, and history will show that in time.

The 30-year-old repeatedly supported the Hamas' bombings and kidnappings to her five million followers on X, urging the aggressors to film horizontally so she could better watch the carnage.

Can someone please tell the freedom fighters in Palestine to flip their phones and film horizontal," the Lebanese-American wrote.

She made light of the brutal war, joking about a "Zionist apartheid regime being brought down by guerrilla fighters in fake Gucci shirts".

Along with that, Mia posted a picture of terrorists seated in the back of a pickup truck, referring to it as a "Renaissance painting."

In an attempt to justify her stand, she even reposted a message saying the United States of America is also a terrorist state and slammed American media personality Kylie Jenner for sharing and then deleting a message in support of Israel.

If true journalism exists, the next person to talk to Kylie Jenner will ask for her opinion on geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and not break eye contact until she can string one coherent sentence together since she wants to take a stance to her 400M followers so badly, Mia wrote on X.

Meanwhile, the Israel-Hamas conflict continues to rage on with over 1,200 casualties on both sides.
The teenage years are a rollercoaster ride for most youngsters, filled with the joy of success, sorrow of losses, blooming romance and perfect friendships. In the United States, National Good Teen Day is observed on January 16 every year. It is a day dedicated to all the teens working hard and making life a little better and easier for those around them. The teenage years are a rollercoaster ride for most youngsters, filled with the joy of success, sorrow of losses, blooming romance and perfect friendships (Pixabay)

History of National Good Teen Day

People began to use the word teenager to describe societys youth toward the end of World War II, in the middle of the 1940s. National Good Teen Day was founded by a group of students and teachers at the Salem City Schools in Salem, Ohio. The day was first celebrated in January 1992.

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The aim of the celebration was to stress the fact that teenagers should not only be considered as problematic. It was an effort to appreciate the good efforts that teens around us consistently make.

The US Congress, along with president Bill Clinton, eventually signed a joint resolution to make this day a day to encourage society's teens and focus on their positive qualities.

President Bill Clintons proclamation

In a 1995 proclamation, then-president Clinton wrote, For many of the 24 million teenagers in the United States today, the future can seem uncertain and distant. Confronted with challenges the likes of which their parents could scarcely have imagined, many of our young people are too busy with the trials of daily life to spend much time hoping and dreaming. But empowered with the courage to try, all teenseven those who may feel troubled and losthave the potential to succeed.

He continued, In return for all they give, teens need our understanding, compassion, and love. They require our attention, and they deserve our respect. America's young people have so much to look forward to, so much to share with our world. With firm guidance and gentle reassurance, we can help teenagers to recognize their strengths and realize their dreams.

Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim January 16, 1995, as National Good Teen Day. I urge all Americans to observe this day with appropriate programs and activities, he added.
National Nothing Day is celebrated in the US on January 16 every year, and the day is about doing nothing at all. Our daily routine can be extremely exhausting, and managing work and household chores can appear to be difficult tasks. To break the monotony of life, doing nothing for a day is not a bad idea after all. National Nothing Day is celebrated in the US on January 16 every year, and the day is about doing nothing at all (Pixabay)

History of National Nothing Day

Late American newspaper columnist Harold Coffin was the first to propose the day. The objective was simple  do nothing, be non-productive and let yourself be yourself. The day is a celebration of life, a day to remind oneself that sometimes, giving yourself time and relaxing is fine too.

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National Nothing Day, in a way, can also be considered an act of rebellion. The world always wants us to be on our feet. Society wants us to keep working, earning, running errands and be productive. Celebrating this day means showing the world that for at least a day, you have the licence to slow down, sit back and give yourself time.

Wishes and messages for National Nothing Day

Here are some messages you can share with your friends and family on National Nothing Day:

A very Happy National Nothing Day to you. There is nothing you have to do on this day which makes this day an extra special one.

Sometimes it gets really exhausting as we keep celebrating something or the other but National Nothing Day is all about celebrating nothing. Warm wishes.

The good thing about National Nothing Day is celebrating nothing and enjoying your life without a reason or occasion. Warm wishes on National Nothing Day.

On the occasion of National Nothing Day, let us celebrate nothing and simply enjoy what we have. Wishing you a very Happy National Nothing Day to you.

The occasion of National Nothing Day reminds us that we dont really need any occasion to wear a smile or enjoy our life. Happy National Nothing Day.

Life is pretty good even when we are not celebrating it but just embracing it the way it is. Wishing you a very Happy National Nothing Day to you.
Adult film actor Stormy Daniels is "set to testify" in the hush money trial of former President Donald Trump in Manhattan this March. This announcement comes as Joe Tacopina, a defence lawyer for Trump, has withdrawn from two of his key legal battles, including the Manhattan trial. A combination photo shows adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels and US President Donald Trump (REUTERS)

In the most recent episode of her podcast Beyond the Norm, Daniels said: Obviously, things have been next level crazy since I am set to testify in, at this point in time, March.

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Meanwhile, Daniel's lawyer told ABC News that he could not comment on her potential testimony. That will be their call, Clark Brewster said, refusing to say whether Daniels met with prosecutors to prepare for possible testimony.

"I have no clue as to their timing, strategy, and whether they will call her as a witness," Brewster said.

In April, Trump pleaded not guilty in New York City to a 34-count criminal indictment accusing him with fabricating business records in relation to a hush money payment made to Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election. He has denied all wrongdoing.

Trump's top lawyer Joe Tacopina quits the ex-president's legal team

Tacopina, who is well-known for taking on high-profile cases, has pulled out of two of Trump's most significant court cases.

In a notice submitted to the court on Monday, Tacopina stated that his company, Tacopina Seigel & Deoreo, has withdrawn from its position representing Trump in the hush money lawsuit.

Additionally, he issued a letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan announcing that he will not be representing Trump in the latter's appeal against author E. Jean Carroll, to whom the former president is required to pay a $5 million payment.

"I withdrew on all matters," Tacopina told ABC News.

Meanwhile, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung issued a statement regarding Tacopinas withdrawal. President Trump has the most experienced, qualified, disciplined, and overall strongest legal team ever assembled as he continues to fight for America and Americans against these partisan, Crooked Joe Biden-led election interference hoaxes," he said in a statement.

While Judge Juan Merchan has tentatively set a trial date of March 25, he has indicated that he may reschedule the date to avoid a clash with other criminal cases involving Trump.
After a poor performance in the Iowa caucuses, the first contest of the 2024 Republican presidential race, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy announced on Monday that he is dropping out of the campaign. Republican presidential candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy speaks as he visits a caucus site at Horizon Event Center in Clive, Iowa, U.S. January 15, 2024. REUTERS/Sergio Flores(REUTERS)

Ramaswamy, who is 38 years old, threw his support behind his former competitor, ex-President Donald Trump. He had praised Trump as the best president of the 21st century in the past, while also urging Republican voters to choose fresh legs and take our America First agenda to the next level.

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The rich political newcomer followed Trumps example in his own run, presenting himself as a charismatic, outspoken populist who constantly attacked his rivals.

He said, Tonight, I have to face the truth. It was hard for me to accept, but we have looked at the facts. And the fact is, we did not get the result we hoped for tonight.

ALSO READ| Donald Trump sweeps Iowa caucuses, cements position as front-runner

That is why I have decided to suspend this presidential campaign, He continued.

Ramaswamy said he will campaign with Trump in New Hampshire

After ending his campaign, Ramaswamy announced his support for former President Donald Trump.

He said, I called Donald Trump earlier tonight to congratulate him on his win. And from now on, he will have my full backing for the presidency. He added,

Tomorrow, I will join Donald Trump at a rally in New Hampshire to share our vision for the countrys future.

We will work to make sure Donald Trump is next president, the Indian-American former presidential hopeful vouched for Trump even after the former President's last week scathing remark.

Last week, Trump attacked Ramaswamy as deceitful

Before the Iowa caucuses, where Trump was expected to win, former GOP presidential hopeful Ramaswamy toned down his criticism of the former president and tried to appeal to the states voters as he spoke right after Trump.

Ramaswamy had recently taken a harder stance against Trump, claiming that the former presidents legal troubles and strong political enemies made him a weak candidate. Trump responded by attacking Ramaswamy on social media, calling his campaign deceitful and very sly, in the first sign of hostility between them.

ALSO READ| How tall is Barron Trump?

Ramaswamy had been one of Trumps biggest supporters during the campaign. He had praised Trump as the greatest president of the 21st century and stood by him despite the numerous criminal charges and obstacles to his candidacy.
In an unexpected turn following the results of the Iowa Caucus, Vivek Ramaswamy, a political newcomer known for his outspoken personality in debates, declared the wrap-up of his 2024 U.S. presidential campaign on January 15. The 38-year-old Ramaswamy decided to support his former opponent, ex-President Donald Trump. Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and former US president Donald Trump. (AP)

The Indian-American entrepreneur entered the race in February 2023 and garnered support from Republican voters for his strong views on immigration and prioritizing America. Yet, he has now pulled out of the presidential race following a disappointing showing in the Iowa Caucus.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

Vivek Ramaswamy drops out of Presidential race

On Monday, the Iowa caucuses witnessed a crucial shift in the race for the Republican Party's 2024 presidential nominee, with former President Donald Trump securing a notable victory. In the standings, Ron DeSantis secured the second position, surpassing Nikki Haley and Vivek by a considerable margin. Following the result, Ramaswamy wasted no time in declaring the conclusion of his presidential run.

Also read: Iowa caucus: Watch how the voters celebrating Trump's victory amid big chill

In a statement, he said, As I've said since the beginning, there are two America first candidates in this race and I called Donald Trump to tell him that. He further added, I congratulated him on his victory and now going forward he will have my full endorsement for the presidency, and I think we're gonna do the right thing for this country.

Stating that he will join Trump in his rally, he added, Tomorrow, I will join Donald Trump at a rally in New Hampshire to share our vision for the countrys future.

We will work to make sure Donald Trump is the next president, Even in the wake of the former President's scathing remarks from last week, the Indian-American former presidential candidate stood with Trump.

Netizens react to Vivek Ramaswamy's Iowa caucus decision

Political enthusiasts are now reacting to the major decision. Someone wrote, Vivek Ramaswamy made a very mature and statesmanlike announcement tonight in endorsing President Trump. Ramaswamy is a brilliant entrepreneur with a great future. Another one said, Congratulations to Vivek Ramaswamy. For a man with near zero name recognition, he showed that he belongs as a voice on the political stage, and he did a tremendous job shifting the narrative on DEI and other critical issues facing this country. Some more chimed in, Now, having made his point, he has dropped out to make sure no more time or resources are wasted on a primary that is over. It's time the other candidates did the same., Going to miss Vivek Ramaswamy who had a lot of memorable lines.
Perry in Iowa is still struggling to deal with the tragic deaths of a student and the principal of Perry High School, who died after a gunman opened fire on January 4. Before the Iowa caucus started, Dallas County Republicans moved caucus sites out of Perry High School. Raymond Knapp, Dallas County GOP committee member, decided that the caucus would take place at Perry Elementary School instead, out of respect for the community. A medical examiner enters the school as police respond to a school shooting at the Perry Middle School and High School complex in Perry, Iowa, U.S., January 4, 2024 (REUTERS/Cheney Orr) (REUTERS)

"There's a lot of people and it's hard to imagine how many feelings it brings up of people who didn't even have children in the school at the time," said Knapp, according to ABC.

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"In fact, I myself am going to put in a plank in for the platform committee to somehow provide financing for schools to take and train teachers ... to be able to carry, and not allow them to say this is a gun-free area," he said. "And so I have always felt that we need to make sure that our teachers have equal power to protect the children that they dearly love and care about. And that's the thing Dan stood between the shooter and kids because that was what he was trying to do. But all he had was to give his life."

Perry High School principal Dan Marburger died ten days after being shot during the tragedy. The shooting also killed Ahmir Jolliff, 11, and injured many others. The shooter, Dylan Butler, 17, then turned the gun on himself.

Before Marburgers death, the Uvalde Foundation For Kids, a national nonprofit organisation formed in response to the Uvalde massacre in May 2022, had announced that it had started an emergency fund to assist with his medical bills because of his heroic actions. Marburger reportedly died while trying to save his students.

Butler reportedly had plans to murder many others, but the shooting took place before the school day had started, and therefore there were not many students and staff in the building.
Last month marked one year since Winter Storm Elliot hit the Northeast, tragically claiming the lives of 43 Western New Yorkers with 106 total casualties. The storm left hundreds of thousands of homes without power, resulting in the deaths of 11 Western New Yorkers without heat. The importance of reliable energy during New York winters cannot be overstated. It saves lives  yet Gov. Kathy Hochul and radicals in Albany continue to chip away at access to natural gas in our state.

Winter Storm Elliot is not the first time our state has experienced a devastating cold-weather cyclone, and it wont be the last. It is up to local, state and federal officials, paired with private energy partners, to ensure we are prepared for future winters. In November, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) released a full report of their analysis of what went wrong to cause the widespread outages during Elliot and how we can fortify our natural gas infrastructure.

The issues highlighted in the report are nothing short of alarming, and illustrate that our state narrowly avoided a much larger energy crisis. The report states, In the wake of massive natural gas production declines, and to a lesser extent, declines in natural gas processing, the natural gas fuel supply struggled to meet both residential heating load and generating unit demand for natural gas ...  The report also noted that large numbers of natural gas-powered generating units failed as they were not prepared for the cold weather, and electric grid operators were unprepared to meet demands.

Its clear that we have a lot of work to do at the state and federal levels to establish winter weather reliability standards for our natural gas infrastructure. However, addressing the need for increased domestic energy production and pipelines would be one of the largest factors to increase supply and reliability. Unfortunately, the needs of the constituents in our state face an ideological wall held up by Democrats in Albany.

Hochul has been vocal about where she stands and has implemented the policies to prove it  she would rather appease the radical environmentalists of New York City than ensure New Yorkers access to safe, dependable natural gas. The governor and State Assembly have already instituted an unconstitutional ban on natural gas hookups in new construction, perpetuated an all-out fracking ban and set unrealistic standards to push our state cut emissions to zero, though we only account for 0.4% of global emissions.

We have ample opportunity to not only prevent future tragedies, but also put our state at the forefront of natural gas production  the Southern Tier sits on the Marcellus Shale, one of the largest sources of untapped natural gas. For political reasons, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo banned fracking while our neighbors in Pennsylvania are safely extracting this resource while transforming their local economy and pulling those communities out of poverty. Reversing this ban and the subsequent infrastructure that would follow would increase winter storm readiness significantly.

Since 2016, Democrats in Albany have played a role in the cancellation of major interstate natural gas pipeline projects  including the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Penn East Pipeline, Colonial Pipeline and Constitution Pipeline  that would have provided important natural gas distribution improvements in New York State, as well as throughout the Northeast.

Hochuls administration has also championed the implementation of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, a law that is intended to eliminate the utilization of natural gas and other sources of energy in our state by 2040. This law will increase utility bills and push New Yorkers away from a source of energy and heat  natural gas  that has worked affordably and reliably for decades.

These Green New Deal policies dont include a plan for a winter cyclone or the true weight of the stress that a natural gas ban would put on the electric grid. Its a pipe dream. I ask Hochul to come to the table to address the danger our state is facing head-on and to put the lives of New Yorkers ahead of her opportunities to score political points. We need a major departure from this way of thinking and must turn toward an all-of-the-above approach to our states energy question, leveraging new innovations in renewable energy while still enabling reliable energy sources that are irreplaceable during an emergency.

Im proud to lead a letter to Governor Hochul, urging her to address the concerns outlined in the FERC/NERC report and to work with us to implement their recommendations. This letter was signed by House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (NY-21) and Reps. Anthony DEsposito (NY-04), Mike Lawler (NY-17), Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11), Mark Molinaro (NY-19), Claudia Tenney (NY-24) and Brandon Williams (NY-22).

We have an opportunity to secure the well-being of our constituents by taking decisive action to fortify our energy infrastructure. Winter Storm Elliot laid bare the vulnerabilities in our natural gas supply and the consequences of political ideologies trumping practical solutions. The safety and resilience of New Yorkers should always be our top priority, transcending party lines and personal agendas.

Nick Langworthy represents New Yorks 23rd Congressional District.
The son of a former Chinese leader Hu Jintao who was dramatically escorted out of a major political meeting in 2022 has been appointed to a senior ministerial position, the government said on Tuesday. Chinese President Xi Jinping(AP)

Hu Haifeng has been named vice head of the country's human resources and social security ministry, according to a statement on the department's website that provided no further details.

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Hu, 51, is the son of former president Hu Jintao, who ruled as China's paramount leader for a decade before his successor Xi Jinping rose to power in 2012.

Hu Jintao was at the centre of a political firestorm that erupted at a key Communist Party congress in October 2022 as Xi broke precedent to secure a third term in office.

The frail former leader was abruptly led off-stage at the event's closing ceremony, seemingly against his will and to the shock of the assembled global media.

Officials later said he was experiencing an episode of poor health, but the move sparked speculation that he had been purged on Xi's orders.

Hu Haifeng has held a string of mid-level official posts in his career to date, most recently serving as party committee secretary in the eastern city of Lishui, according to his official biography.
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky said that the West should show unity as he called for more support to ensure that Russia does not prevail in the war. In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Ukrainian leader said that the West's worries about escalation had lost Kyiv time in its fight against Russia but Russian president Vladimir Putin would pursue his invasion of Ukraine even if fighting pauses on the sprawling front. Zelensky At Davos: Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks at the Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.(AP)

"After 2014, there were attempts to freeze the war in Donbass. There were very influential guarantors, the Chancellor of Germany, the President of France. But Putin is a predator who is not satisfied with frozen products," he said.

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"If anyone thinks this is only about us, this is only about Ukraine, they are fundamentally mistaken. Possible directions and even timelines of new Russian aggression beyond Ukraine become more and more obvious," he alleged.

Zelensky's speech comes at a time on the battlefield in Ukraine when Kyiv's counter-offensive has largely failed and its allies in Washington and Brussels are struggling to secure financial aid.

What Zelensky said on US aid?

He also said that he had received 'positive signals' on financial support from the European Union while he hopes that the US would approve further aid within weeks.

Seeking help to gain air superiority over Russia, he said, We must gain air superiority for Ukraine. Just as we gained superiority in the Black Sea, we can do it. This will allow progress on the ground ... Partners know what is needed and in what quantity.

What Zelensky said on Ukraine's economy?

International partners could strengthen the Ukrainian economy with much-needed investment, he said.

"Only our people and your investments can build a strong economy ... We need normal investments from predictable, transparent companies," he said, adding, "Strengthen our economy, we will strengthen your security."
Hanno Kirner most recently led the battery programme at Tata Group - Gisela Schober/Getty Images

Sir James Dyson has turned to a car industry veteran to run his gadget empire, years after he sank 500m into a doomed attempt to build an electric vehicle.

Hanno Kirner, who has had executive stints at Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin, will become Dysons new chief next month, replacing Roland Krueger after four years.

Sir James Dyson famously announced plans to build an electric car in 2017 but abandoned the project two years later, saying it was not commercially viable.

Mr Kirner, a German who has spent the last 20 years working in the UK car industry, most recently led the battery programme at Jaguar Land Rovers (JLR) parent company, Tata Group.

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The Indian conglomerate last year announced plans to build one of Europes biggest gigafactories in the UK with a 4bn investment.

Mr Kirner is also on the board of trustees at the Faraday Institution, a battery research body

His appointment comes as Dyson invests heavily in batteries. Last year it announced plans to build its own cells in a next-generation factory in Singapore that promises lighter and longer-lasting devices.

Sir James has not totally given up on the idea of manufacturing an electric car - Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

In an online article about its battery operations, Dyson says it hopes to double our portfolio of products and enter entirely new fields by 2025  taking us beyond the home.

Sir James said Mr Kirner would bring a wealth of experience across multiple industries.

Previously, Mr Kirner was JLRs corporate and strategy director. In contrast to the Leave-backing Sir James, Mr Kirner had warned about the dangers of a hard Brexit on JLRs business.

Before joining JLR he was the chief financial officer of Rolls-Royces land and sea division, Aston Martins chief financial officer, and a finance director at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

Dysons current chief executive Roland Krueger will take a board role when Mr Kirner joins.

Mr Krueger took charge of Dyson shortly after it moved its headquarters from the UK to Singapore in 2019.

He was made chief executive after Dyson had scrapped the vehicle project and has since focused on areas such as beauty technology by expanding the companys range of hairdryers and straighteners.

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It has also committed to opening an artificial intelligence facility in Bristol.

Sir James said: The extraordinary leadership of Roland Krueger took the company through one of the most difficult times of recent memory.

Roland has successfully transformed the operation of the company and built a strong team that will be the foundation for the next steps of Dyson.

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Asia-Pacific's foremost hospitality management group, Cross Hotels & Resorts, renowned for its array of stylish properties spanning boutique retreats to opulent resorts, proudly announces the signing of a momentous double agreement with PT Sunset Studio One, a subsidiary of PT Bhuwanatala Indah Permai Tbk (BIP Group), to launch the chic Cross Vibe brand in Indonesia.

Set to redefine current hospitality standards, Cross Hotels & Resorts secures its footing in Indonesia with the launch of the vibrant and trendy Cross Vibe brand. The highly anticipated debut of Cross Vibe Paasha Atelier Bali Kuta marks a significant milestone in the company's commitment to delivering unparalleled guest experiences across diverse travel segments.

The 175-key Cross Vibe Paasha Atelier Bali Kuta is an exquisite contemporary hotel located on Jalan Raya Kuta and just a brief 10-minute drive from Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport. Within walking distance of the iconic Kuta beach, guests can relax on pristine beaches, explore bustling shopping hubs and captivating local attractions by day and then enjoy the vibrant nightlife and an array of dining experiences that define the dynamic essence of Kuta.

Accommodation options at Cross Vibe Paasha Atelier Bali Kuta include Superior, Superior Pool View, Duplex, Junior Suite, Deluxe Pool, and Deluxe Pool Suites with each guest room featuring modern furnishings and the latest amenities. The low-rise property also features an extensive range of facilities such all-day international dining, a stunning tropical swimming pool, a day spa, and a modern gym.

Renowned among experience-seeking travellers for its catchy "Stay Chill Enjoy" tagline, Cross Vibe brings a cool and trendy experience across multiple demographics. With three thriving hotels already operational in the Thai gateway cities of Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Pattaya, Cross Vibe now expands its portfolio with its latest addition to Kuta, the buzzing beach town in Bali.

Cross Hotels & Resorts continues to be seen as APAC's Hotel Management operator of choice for owners seeking an innovative alternative to the global hospitality chains. Its brands cater to specific segments of the travel market, such as leisure, business, luxury, and lifestyle. The group is at the forefront of hospitality trends and technology, which it leverages for enhanced guest experiences and operational efficiency.

Cross Hotels & Resorts current portfolio includes 28 hotels under six distinct brands - Cross, Cross Vibe, Away, Lumen, Cross Collection and Kaura - across four countries, namely Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, and Vietnam.

Hotel website
Servus! The Hox is waltzing into Vienna in April 2024. Settling into a Carl Appel-designed modernist landmark in the heart of the 3rd district, a stone's throw from the city's beautiful Stadtpark, The Hoxton, Vienna draws stylistic cues from its 1950 architecture, with a layered aesthetic that mixes mid-century Austrian design with rich textures, geometric forms, and bold and playful tiling. Set behind the striking original marble facade, the hotel has 196 bedrooms, a double-height lobby with an original terrazzo floor and ridged steel columns; Bouvier, a Paris-meets

New York inspired bistro; a basement speakeasy named Salon Paradise, and a rooftop bar and pool with views over neighbouring the Stadtpark and St Stephen's Cathedral. The Apartment meeting and events space embraces classic cafe culture with a welcoming gasthaus vibe, and, marking an exciting first for The Hoxton, the Auditorium is primed to host everything from comedy gigs to acoustic sessions. A city stuffed full of cool indie restaurants, natural wine bars, vintage stores and progressive galleries, Vienna is recognised as the world's most liveable city, making it the perfect spot for The Hoxton's sweet sixteen. Mach dich bereit, Wien, the Hox is coming to town.

AIME Studios is responsible for the interiors, which are inspired both by Appel's mid-century aesthetic and the Wiener Werkstatte movement. The building's architectural heritage has been preserved and celebrated; the expansive, double-height lobby is framed by the original travertine-clad walls and terrazzo flooring, while the back-lit staircase adds a touch of drama to the space, which was formerly home to the Austrian Chamber of Commerce. Throughout the hotel, locally sourced vintage furniture and bespoke rugs add to the homey vibes, complemented by a calming colour palette of muted blues and greens.

The 196 bedrooms come in classic Hox categories including Shoebox, Snug, Cosy, Roomy and Biggy. Each guestroom references early 20th-century Austrian design, from the geographic patterned curtains influenced by iconic Wiener Werkstatte fabrics to the statement ruched headboards inspired by renowned architect Adolf Loos' inimitable style. All the Hox favourites are present and correct, including a sparkling new Viennese edition of the famous Survival Guide, Roberts radio, and Blank toiletries.

The Hoxton, Vienna is bringing a fresh new restaurant concept to the city with Bouvier, a Parisian-inspired bistro with NYC edge serving up modern French food and natural wine. Heading to the basement and tapping into the city's legendary nightlife scene, Salon Paradise is a standalone cocktail bar that captures the essence of the creative, free spirited Beat Generation. Up top, the Hox turns the dial up with Cayo Coco, a rooftop bar inspired by the golden age

of travel to Cuba. Overlooking the city's rooftops, the bar sits between a glorious pool deck designed for sun-soaked lazing and an open top barbecue for smoky snacks.

A Hox staple, The Apartment is a hybrid events space set on the ground floor of the hotel. Set around an open pantry (as every good party starts in the kitchen), The Apartment comprises three private rooms which can be hired individually or collectively to host anything from presentations and meetings to dinners and parties. The design is chic yet cosy, referencing Viennese cafe culture with warm timber panelling and floorboards, mohair upholstered chairs and sofas, fluted furniture and chrome finishes. The Hoxton, Vienna will also play host to the Auditorium, providing an intimate setting for the creative community to come together for live music sets, comedy gigs and theatre.

The Hoxton, Vienna is putting down roots in the capital's 3rd district, a neighbourhood known for housing some of the city's best design and art schools and museums, as well as a serene swathe of greenery thanks to neighbouring Stadtpark. The historic 1st district is just a stone's throw for those looking for a Sissi and schnitzel fix, otherwise the vintage stores and indie restaurants of the 6th and 7th districts are just a 15-minute walk away.

Bookings are now open, with rates starting from 119 for a Shoebox, 189/ Cosy and 199/ Roomy.

Hotel website
Rag & Bone has brought a well-respected creative on board to design its menswear: Robert Geller.

Geller has been quietly working for the brand since last fall and his first collection as head of menswear design for the New York-based company will be for fall 2024. It will be shown in New York, Chicago and Paris.

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The German-born Geller, who has been spending a lot of time in Portugal since before the pandemic, said he was approached by Andrew Rosen, chairman of the board of Rag & Bone, about coming on board. It just felt right, he said. Our brands were in a lot of the same stores and I could relate to it.

Geller graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2001 and worked for Marc Jacobs and Cloak before launching his own collection in 2007, which was nominated for several awards, including the CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year Award in 2017. Geller launched a denim collection in 2015.

Rosen said: I am pleased to announce Robert Geller as Rag & Bones new menswear designer. Robert has been working with the team since September 2023 and his creative vision will undoubtedly lead Rag & Bone toward a new and very exciting chapter. I came to know Robert in 2010 when he was a finalist for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund and followed his career ever since. Rag & Bone has long been recognized for innovation and leadership in American menswear, blending traditional craftsmanship with modern cultural references. The brands authentic style has contributed to its preeminence in the American fashion scene, and I believe Roberts appointment gives us the opportunity to take the brand to the next level.

Robert Geller

Geller said hes been a fan of Rag & Bone since it was created, and cited the menswear that is rooted in quality and authenticity. My objective with the collections is to introduce a renewed sense of ease, and to evolve the beloved core pieces by incorporating refined and innovative fabrics into well-made clothes that will enable men to move through life confidently, matching the grit and edge of the New York City spirit.

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For his inaugural collection, Geller said he put a focus on the fit and overall silhouette. We have integrated the ready-to-wear collection with our Pursuit sportswear, while bringing a more fashionable side to the denim in a way that satisfies all of mens wardrobing needs, celebrating comfort.

He said Pursuit, which was launched last year, sat outside the main collection, and his goal was to integrate it with the other product offerings, notably the denim. Rag & Bone is a denim expert but we wanted to bring the sportswear into the collection and continue the aesthetic. He added that at the same time, he brought more fashion into the denim collection by introducing denim-on-denim dressing and other pieces.

He also pointed to updates to the outerwear, including statement pieces such as a wool parka as well as more transitional items.

Kyle M. Sweeney, senior vice president of mens design and merchandising for Rag & Bone, said he believes the appointment of Geller will help to accelerate innovation and drive new creative energy to our whole process. The partnership is one of many actions we are taking to help shepherd in the next generation of the Rag & Bone menswear collection, while honoring the brands rich and illustrious history.

Rag & Bone was founded in New York in 2002 by Marcus Wainwright and David Neville who met as teenagers in England. They had no design training but thought it would be fun to make clothes, so they found a factory in Kentucky to create jeans. The brand expanded into sportswear in 2005 and Rosen became a partner in 2006.

Neville exited the brand in 2016 to work more closely in the beauty industry with his wife Gucci Westman and her brand. Wainwright stepped down as chief brand officer last summer.

Although its heritage is in menswear, today Rag & Bone offers a wide range of mens and womens ready-to-wear. It is best known for its denim and workwear-influenced tailoring but also creates a range of accessories and footwear. The company operates 36 stores in the U.S. and U.K., and is also available in specialty and department stores in more than 53 countries.



Best of WWD
Mandarin Oriental, Singapore is delighted to announce the appointment of Jill Goh, the property's first female General Manager. A veteran hotelier with over three decades of experience in the global luxury hospitality industry, Jill brings a wealth of expertise and knowledge in hotel operations and management to her new role as she takes reins at the newly transformed Mandarin Oriental property in the iconic Marina Bay precinct in Singapore.

Jill is no stranger to Mandarin Oriental, Singapore, having served as Resident Manager before moving on to Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London in the same capacity. After a short corporate stint as Corporate Operations Manager for the Asia region, Jill transferred to Mandarin Oriental, Macau as the property's General Manager before her most recent appointment as General Manager of The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong. During her tenure, she was recognised as Hong Kong's Best General Manager at the Travel+Leisure Luxury Awards for two consecutive years in 2022 and 2023, a testament to her leadership and dedication to delivering exceptional experiences.

Hailing from Malaysia, Jill holds an Executive MBA from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia, and a diploma in Hotel Management from HotelConsult in Switzerland. She speaks fluent English, Mandarin, Bahasa Malaysia and Cantonese. A travel enthusiast and an avid fan of yoga and fashion, Jill is thrilled to return to where she first started her career with the Group in 1993.
Matt McClelland has joined OTO Development as chief operating officer, bringing a dynamic depth and breadth of operations experience to the hotelier's C-suite. He replaces former COO David Ward, who retired on December 31 after 18 years with the company.

OTO Development, part of The Johnson Group, owns and/or operates approximately 65 select-service and lifestyle hotels across the country, many with proprietary restaurant concepts.

McClelland will oversee operations across the company, with an emphasis on elevating the guest experience, increasing efficiency, and maximizing profitability.

A 34-year veteran of the hospitality industry, McClelland began his career as a guest service representative with Marriott. He was steadily promoted over the next eight years to on-property management positions before being recruited in 1997 by Concord Hospitality.

His tenure at Concord spanned more than 25 years, taking him from a hotel director of operations to corporate roles of increasing responsibility focused on facilities, capital assets, development, and operations. In 2016, he was promoted to Executive Vice President of Operations at Concord, a company with 146 properties encompassing 29 brands, seven franchise systems, five independent hotels, and 30 destination F&B outlets in the United States and Canada.

Committed to fostering strong partnerships, McClelland has served over the years on advisory councils for Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and AHLA. His people-focused leadership style helped Concord earn an array of industry accolades, including multiple Developer of the Year awards from major brand partners and Marriott's Serve 360 Award for community service.

As OTO's new COO, McClelland will be based out of the company's corporate headquarters in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Away from the office, McClelland enjoys family time and traveling. He has been married to his high school sweetheart, Jen, for 33 years. They have five children  Thad, Parker, Jonah, Izabelle, and Jazmin  and now share their empty nest with a bluetick hound named Burt.
BluHost is entering 2024 with a new enterprise accounting solution backing its portfolio of select service and ultra-luxury hotels and a mix of fine dining to casual restaurants. Jose M. Suarez, president and CEO of the Puerto Rico based hospitality management company, selected PVNG by Aptech because of past positive experiences with the company.

When BluHost was founded, it began looking for a unified financial system that could be leveraged across our many hotels and restaurants. Mr. Suarez has always been a big fan of Aptech. As a relatively new and growing management company supporting multiple business owners, we constantly need instant access to reports without having to purchase a lot of user licenses and the ability to quickly copy and share information between properties. The cloud based PVNG system is easy to use, economical, and gives remote access to whomever needs it. Time is money, and as far as BluHost is concerned, this is the perfect accounting system for our developing hospitality environment. Lissette Rivera, BluHost director of finance

PVNG features the Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, General Ledger, Statistics, Financials, and Bank Reconciliation that todays hotel operators are seeking with much-needed browser navigation. Its automated invoice processing, myriad of payment options, drill-down capabilities in financial statements and reports, ability to handle single or multi-property accounting, and the fact that it can be deployed as a hosted service, explains why this accounting solution is in such high demand.

Giving our staff the ability to work any time and from anywhere is a real plus, Rivera said. So is Aptechs responsive 24/7 support. Even though there is a one-hour time difference between Puerto Rico and Aptechs Pittsburgh headquarters, I am 100% confident that if I send a support email to their help desk after hours or leave a voice message, I will receive a response  and a solution to the problem  instantly. The client support team really knows their stuff. Even if an owner requests a report that doesnt currently exist, we can still deliver on that request thanks to the support teams immediate turnaround. Being able to give our owners what they need as soon as they ask for it is something that sets BluHost apart from other management companies. We owe that to Aptech.

Relationship Building

Aptech has been a pioneer of hospitality software technology for more than 50 years. The company is focused on connecting people with computers and information to solve significant problems in the hospitality and service industries. PVNG was just named a finalist in the "2024 Hotel Tech Awards" by Hotel Tech Report in the category of "Best Finance & Hotel Accounting Software."

Like Aptech, BluHost is focused on building relationships, not only with its guests but also with owners. Their success is achieved through excellence in execution, integrity, and transparency. Aptech is helping BluHost achieve these goals through excellence in financial management. As BluHost continues to grow, we plan to introduce additional Aptech solutions for business intelligence and budgeting and forecasting in hopes of taking their successes to new heights. Innovation is in our blood, and we are dedicated to keeping our customers aware of industry changes in technology. We are delighted that BluHost has joined our family of happy PVNG customers. Aptech Vice President Jill Wilder

Aptech is an IBM software value plus partner and premier solution provider as well as a Prophix premier business partner. The company is also a proud member of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG), the American Hotel and Lodging Assn. (AHLA), and Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI).

For more information on Aptech solutions, visit http://www.aptech-inc.com.

About Aptech Computer Systems Inc.

Aptech Computer Systems, Inc., based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the only provider of a fully integrated enterprise accounting, business intelligence, and planning ecosystem to the hospitality industry. All clients are companies like yours, which own or manage hotels. Its solutions help customers at both the corporate and property levels understand their financial and operational data for faster goal achievement. The company is renowned for introducing business intelligence into the hotel industry and offers a solid resource of hospitality professionals. Aptech is an IBM Software Value Plus partner and Premier Solution Provider, as well as a Prophix Premier Business Partner. Incorporated in 1970, Aptechs state-of-the-art back office, true business intelligence and enterprise planning solutions are 100% hotel specific. Solutions include PVNG, Execuvue and Targetvue. Clients comprise over 3,500 properties  including large chains, multiple-property management companies and single-site hotels. Execuvue is registered to Aptech Computer Systems Inc. All other trademarks are owned by their respective holders. For more information, please visit www.aptech-inc.com.

Barbara Worcester

+1 440 930 5770
iVvy, the leading cloud-based venue management software, has released Billing Automation and the iVvy Pay payment platform powered by Payrix to clients in Australia, New Zealand, and the USA.

With the introduction of Billing Automation, iVvy clients gain the ability to seamlessly automate the creation and dispatch of invoices for multi-payment bookings. This groundbreaking feature saves up to 10 minutes per booking invoice, giving users hours back in their day.

When combining iVvy Pay with Billing Automation, customers automatically receive invoices via email at a specified period before the payment deadline. These invoices include a user-friendly instant payment button that offers a range of payment options, including Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Google Pay*, and Apple Pay*.

Lauren Hall, CEO of iVvy, expressed her enthusiasm for the company's latest offering, stating, Automation is the way forward, and we couldn't be more excited to introduce iVvy Pay and its Billing Automation superpower to our users. This product empowers venues to concentrate on their core operations while effortlessly managing financial processes. The potential time savings and efficiency enhancements are truly remarkable."

iVvy Pay is designed with competitive fees in mind, making it a cost-effective solution for venues looking to optimise cash flow and when used with Billing Automation to save time by automating the collection of payments. Venue operators have control over most transaction fees, allowing them the flexibility to absorb these costs, pass them on to customers, or find a combination that aligns with their business strategy.

For more information, visit ivvy.com/ivvy-pay

For media inquiries, contact:

Brittany George

Content Marketing Manager

[email protected]

* Google Pay and Apple Pay are currently only available in Australia and New Zealand.

About iVvy



iVvy is a leading global SaaS cloud-based technology solution designed to streamline booking and event management operations for venues worldwide. Our comprehensive platform offers a range of powerful features, including instant booking functionality and centralised function diary, to enhance the efficiency and productivity of venue operators.

With an integrated revenue management and distribution platform, iVvy equips hotels, restaurants, stadiums, and universities with the necessary tools to seamlessly manage inquiries, bookings, and event logistics. Including advanced reporting and analytics features, iVvy offers venues greater visibility into their business performance. This invaluable data empowers decision-makers to make informed choices, optimise revenue, and maximise the utilisation of group rooms, meeting spaces, and event facilities.

iVvy's scalable solutions cater to the unique needs of the travel, MICE, and events industries. Our global team, available 24/7, provides dedicated support to clients in five countries, ensuring seamless operations and prompt assistance whenever required.

We are proud to serve some of the world's most renowned hospitality groups, major corporations, travel companies, governments, associations, stadiums, universities, and nonprofit organisations.

To learn more about iVvy and our comprehensive product suite, visit ivvy.com

Brittany George

Content Marketing Manager
Three of Australias top hospitality innovators have launched a new venture poised to advance the hotel industry in Australia and New Zealand. Scott Boyes, Tony Ryan and Grant Alchin are combining their hospitality experience to deliver hotel owners and hotel brands an alternative way to run their business, where all parties are playing to their strengths.

Before founding Trilogy Hotels, Scott Boyes spent almost 30 years with Accor rising as a graduate front office manager to become its Senior VP of Operations, Pacific North. By the end of his tenure, he was responsible for 85 hotels across NSW, ACT, QLD and the NT. Tony Ryan has provided commercial and legal advice to the hotel industry globally for more than 35 years. He specialises in complex and major transactions and helped to deliver Accors US$940m takeover of Mantra Group. Another alum, Grant Alchin built a reputation for consistently transforming underperforming hotels into profitable operations for Accor and IHG. More recently he oversaw strategic asset management at one of Asias largest diversified real estate groups, CapitaLand.

The trilogy of owners, guests, and team members sits at the heart of Trilogys business. Each of the founders shares a genuine belief that hotels can change lives, supported by their own experiences. The central purpose behind Trilogy Hotels is to positively impact the lives of these three core stakeholder groups.

Trilogy Hotels provides hotel owners and hotel brands with an operating platform for investment-grade assets where hotel operations are managed independently by Trilogys experienced team. Hotel brands may, under a franchise agreement, provide strong globally established branding, marketing, distribution, and loyalty programs. Trilogy manages the hotel operations and drives the operational and profit performance on behalf of an owner. The company also provides access to operational systems, training, and team development.

Here in Australia and New Zealand, the industry has relied heavily on the traditional hotel management agreement model where hotel owners engage with a particular hotel brand for both their distribution and operating capability. However, in the US and Europe the independent management model, with brand support under a franchise agreement is the predominant model preferred by hotel owners and hotel brands alike, says Scott Boyes, CEO of Trilogy Hotels.

We are expanding that model further and tailoring it for the Australian and New Zealand market to help hotel owners feel more connected with their investment, whilst partnering with and utilising the exceptional distribution capability of a global hotel brand. We look forward to collaborating with multiple global brands to deliver great outcomes for owners.

While a relatively unfamiliar business model for Australia and New Zealand, it is well established in the US where Aimbridge Hospitality is the current industry leader. That company began in 2003 with just eight hotels and has rapidly grown to more than 1,500 properties across 23 countries. According to industry source Hotel News Now, at a recent Aimbridge conference, the Global CEOs of Marriott, Hilton, and IHG all reinforced the growth story behind the franchise model and the need for quality independent hotel operating partners in each market.

Sean Hunt is the Area Vice President for Marriott International in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. With the independent hotel management model already proven successful in the US, he believes its only a matter of time until the platform emerges with scale locally.

We commend Trilogy Hotels on their decision to enter the market and have no doubt that their high calibre personnel will offer certain hotel owners a valuable alternative to traditional hotel management models. We anticipate powerful opportunities will exist for Marriott International to bolster Trilogys success by partnering with them under franchise agreements with our global brands. This collaboration will be central to maximising distribution reach and financial performance for assets under Trilogys management, and will deliver genuine benefits to hotel owners, their management company, and our hotel brands, says Hunt.

Gus Moors, Managing Director for JLL Hotels & Hospitality, expresses strong support for Trilogy Hotels' approach to the local hotel marketplace.

In a mature market like Australia and New Zealand, Im very much in support of the approach that Trilogy Hotels is looking to adopt as it lines up with successful investment trends in both Europe and the US, says Moors.

"By blending independent operations with brand support under a franchise agreement Trilogy Hotels offers hotel investors a compelling opportunity. I believe both hotel owners and investors are looking for ways to achieve positive outcomes through more local and bespoke hotel operations while still benefiting from the global distribution and presence of successful hotel brands."

Between them, the three founders of Trilogy Hotels have an unmatched combination of experience in the tourism and hospitality industry in Australia, New Zealand and throughout Asia Pacific. They each share a deep passion for hospitality and a desire to improve the industry overall. Both Boyes and Alchin fondly recall the camaraderie and team dynamics at the start of their professional careers, while Ryan brings unique insights based on his global experience and relationships.

Hotels are spaces where stories intertwine, where dreams are nurtured, and where connections are forged, says Boyes. With an unwavering commitment to our hotel owners, team members, and guests, we also recognise our role in positively influencing the environment and the communities in which we are privileged to operate.

Over the past few weeks, the founders of Trilogy have met with brands, partners, and hotel owners to share their philosophy. The Trilogy team is on the verge of finalising a groundbreaking deal that is poised to transform the industry here in Australia and New Zealand.

About Trilogy Hotels

Formed in 2023, Trilogy Hotels brings independent operational excellence to the hotel industry in Australia and New Zealand for investment-grade assets. Backed by the significant industry experience of each of its best-in-market teams, Trilogy offers a new chapter of growth for the region's hotel industry. Find out more at trilogyhotels.com.au.
Starwood acquires 10 Radisson Blu Edwardian hotels in London

American private equity firm Starwood Capital Group has acquired all 10 Radisson Blu Edwardian hotels in London, UK, from privately held hotel group Edwardian Hotels London. The sale comprised the freehold of the 10 properties, totalling 2,053 rooms, and closed for a total consideration of approximately 800 million (390,000 per room). Most of the assets are located in prime central-London locations across the Marylebone, Soho and Kensington districts. The sale included the Hampshire (127 rooms), Mercer Street (137 rooms), Bloomsbury (175 rooms), Berkshire (149 rooms), Sussex (101 rooms), Kenilworth (186 rooms), Grafton (330 rooms), Vanderbilt (215 rooms), New Providence Wharf (169 rooms) and Heathrow (464 rooms) hotels. Edwardian will continue to operate the portfolio on a transactional basis, and Starwood is expected to invest sizable capital expenditure into the properties. Edwardians three most upmarket hotels were not part of the transaction, being The May Fair and The Londoner in London, and the Edwardian in Manchester.

Travelodge acquires 66 Travelodge-branded hotels in the UK from LXi REIT

British hotel owner-operator Travelodge has acquired 66 Travelodge properties throughout the UK from its largest landlord, London Stock Exchange-listed LXi REIT, for 210 million. The portfolio comprises properties in London, Birmingham, Bath, Leeds, Liverpool and roadside locations. Travelodge is one of the UKs largest economy brands with a footprint of some 600 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Spain. The aim of the sale for LXi was to pay down debt, reducing group LTV to 34%, and reducing the proportion of rent received from Travelodge to 11% of the REITs total rental income. LXi will still remain Travelodges largest landlord following the transaction, with 69 hotels remaining. The acquisition has been financed through a shareholder investment from Golden Tree AM, owner of Travelodge, third-party financing and 35 million in cash from Travelodge. The group is expected to upgrade half of its room portfolio by the end of 2024. Travelodge reported record quarterly earnings in late 2023, with revenue up 16.7% and earnings up 22.4%.

Zeus acquires two hotels in Milan and Thessaloniki from Prodea

Greek group Zeus International Hotels & Resorts has acquired the four-star, 207-room Dolce Milan Malpensa near Milan Malpensa Airport, Italy, and the five-star, 74-room Lazart Hotel Trademark Collection by Wyndham in Greeces second largest city, Thessaloniki, from Greek real estate investment company Prodea Investments, for an undisclosed price. The transaction also included an office building in Athens. The Dolce Milan is located about 7 kms from the Milan Malpensa Airport, northern Italys largest international airport, whilst the Lazart hotel is located in the centre of Thessaloniki on the north coast of Greece. The latter was acquired for 7 million (95,000 per room) by Prodea in 2018. This acquisition increases Zeus owned hotel portfolio to nine properties, with another 11 hotels under management.

About HVS

HVS is the world's leading consulting and valuation services organization focused on the hotel, restaurant, shared ownership, gaming, and leisure industries. Established in 1980, the company performs more than 4,500 assignments per year for virtually every major industry participant. HVS principals are regarded as the leading professionals in their respective regions of the globe. Through a worldwide network of over 50 offices staffed by 300 experienced industry professionals, HVS provides an unparalleled range of complementary services for the hospitality industry. For further information regarding our expertise and specifics about our services, please visit www.hvs.com.
Acquisition of the stake through a capital increase in TMG Holdings hospitality arm, ICON, will help continue the development of the luxury hospitality industry in Egypt

The transaction will also involve the acquisition of a stake in seven iconic heritage luxury hotels in Egypt which are currently owned by the Egyptian Government through ICON

DQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company, and ADNEC Group (ADNEC) today announced the signing of definitive agreements for the strategic acquisition of a 40.5 percent stake in Egypt-based Talaat Moustafa Group Holdings (TMG Holding) hospitality arm, ICON Group (ICON) through a capital increase. ADQ and ADNEC will invest through a special purpose vehicle, with 49 percent equity ownership by ADQ and 51 percent equity ownership by ADNEC.

ICON is a leading player in Egypts luxury and upscale hospitality market, with a track record of building and owning some of the most celebrated luxury hotels in Egypt. The Group owns four operational hotels  Four Seasons Cairo at Nile Plaza, Kempinski Nile Hotel Cairo, Four Seasons Sharm El Sheikh and Four Seasons Alexandria at San Stefano  and has three hotelsand luxury residential real estate assets currently under development, such as the Four Seasons in Madinaty and Luxor and Radisson Collection in Marsa Alam, and one hotel under design, the Four Seasons at The Pyramids.

The transaction represents a major FDI investment in Egypt and marks a strong vote of investor confidence in the Egyptian tourism and hospitality sector.

The investment by ADQ and ADNEC in TMGs Hospitality arm will be used partially to deleverage the existing debt of ICON, with the remaining used for the acquisition of a stake through ICON in the portfolio of seven luxury heritage hotels owned by the Egyptian Government, for which definitive agreements have been signed. The seven hospitality assets include Marriott Cairo Omar Khayyam Zamalek, Marriott MENA House Cairo, Sofitel Winter Palace Luxor, Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Aswan, Steigenberger Cecil Hotel Alexandria, Steigenberger Hotel El Tahrir Cairo and Movenpick Resort Aswan.

Post-transaction, ICON will have a combined portfolio of 15 luxury and upscale hospitality assets with a total of around 5,000 keys in prime locations including Cairo, Luxor, Aswan,Sharm El Sheikh and Alexandria. The acquired hotels in Egypt are managed by best-in-class operators and will continue to benefit from the synergies, resources and in-country expertise of TMG Holding.

With tourism high on the agenda of the Egyptian Government, the sector is anticipated to grow to more than 30 million tourists annually by 2028. Egypt currently has a limited supply of heritage hotels across the luxury and upscale segments to cater to the evolving preferences of a new demographic of travelers.

The transaction reinforces ADQs interest in investing in assets that can provide continued upside growth and sustainable returns. ADQ is a long-term investor in the Egyptian economy;in the past years, ADQ has made investments in market leaders across different sectors, including the acquisition of Amoun Pharmaceutical Company S.A.E., one of Egypts leading pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and exporters.

ADNEC Group has evolved into a full-service tourism solutions provider by creating Tourism365, a leisure tourism arm, which has existing operations in Egypt and hence offers significant synergistic potential with the investment in ICON.

The investment in ICON is an important strategic step for ADNEC Group, as we deliver on our global expansion strategy and will provide ADNEC Group and its portfolio companies with access to Egypts rapidly growing tourism market and reaffirms our commitment to enhance our hospitality and tourism platform. We will work closely with TMG Holding to enhance and grow ICON and create additional value for our shareholders. Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of ADNEC Group

We are delighted to have ADQ and ADNEC join us as strategic partners and shareholders in this landmark transaction and provide for an exciting outlook going forward. Through this partnership we will pursue substantial growth opportunities in Egypts tourism sector and beyond and will unlock further value for our shareholders. Hisham Talaat Moustafa, CEO and Managing Director of TMG Holding

EFG Hermes is acting as the sole financial advisor to TMG Holding on the transaction.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.
Melia Hotels International, Spain's leading hotel company and a global hospitality giant, has announced the signing of its 28th hotel in Andalusia (Spain). This property is slated to be the premier luxury five-star hotel in the historic center of Cadiz city, operating under the distinguished Melia Collection brand. The hotel's launch is scheduled for 2026 and will involve the transformation of two adjacent architecturally protected buildings on Alameda Apodaca, nestled between Zorrilla and General Menacho streets. These buildings, located in the San Carlos neighborhood and parallel to the sea, will give rise to this boutique hotel.

The project involves the restoration of an old baroque palace built for the Marquise of Casa Recano in 1760, and an Elizabethan-style estate from the late 18th century. Both buildings will undergo meticulous restoration to bring forth a luxury hotel that retains classic elegance and historical legacy while seamlessly integrating contemporary 5-star comforts.

The future hotel aims to offer an exclusive experience featuring 40 rooms and an array of luxurious services. Among these are a restaurant boasting a terrace overlooking the Alameda for savoring local cuisine, an exclusive rooftop with a pool affording sea views, a fully equipped gym, and a dedicated space for wellness.

Belonging to the Melia Collection portfolio, this hotel joins a curated selection of luxury hotels with an independent spirit, each breathing the history and personality of its destination. Currently spanning Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, this new addition in Cadiz strengthens Melia's position in Spain's luxury hospitality segment.

Gabriel Escarrer, president and CEO of Melia, expressed pride in their role as the leading hotel chain uplifting the standard of five-star hospitality in key Spanish destinations. He emphasized their commitment to excellence in Cadiz with this new hotel. Property owners Luis Lopez de Carrizosa Caballero and Diana Domecq Delgado also conveyed their satisfaction, seeing the project as pivotal in attracting higher quality tourism to the city.

For Melia, this venture marks its second hotel in Cadiz and the sixth in the province, contributing to a portfolio of over 1,000 rooms. Notable hotels in the region include the Gran Melia Sancti Petri in Chiclana and the recently revamped Melia Zahara Resorts & Villas in Zahara de los Atunes, a benchmark for hotel repositioning in southern Spain.

About Melia Hotels International

Founded in 1956 in Palma de Mallorca (Spain), Melia Hotels International has more than 400 hotels open or in the process of opening in more than 40 countries, and a portfolio of nine brands: Gran Melia Hotels & Resorts, ME by Melia, The Melia Collection, Paradisus by Melia, Melia Hotels & Resorts, ZEL, INNSiDE by Melia, Sol by Melia and Affiliated by Melia. The Company is one of the world's leading hotel chains in the leisure segment and its experience in this area has allowed it to consolidate itself in the growing market of urban hotels inspired by leisure. Its commitment to responsible tourism has led it to be recognised as the most sustainable European hotel company according to S&P Global's Sustainability Yearbook 2024, as well as being a "Top Employer 2024" brand in Spain, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Italy, Germany, France and Vietnam. Melia Hotels International is also part of the IBEX 35. For more information, please visit www.meliahotelsinternational.com
A-1 Hospitality Group, located in Pasco, WA specializes in hotel property management. We are family owned and operated, and pride ourselves on our customer service across a wide range of hotel brands. Since 1997, providing the highest quality guest experience has been our mission. We do this by routinely exceeding our guests expectations. The success of our mission depends upon our employees, so we strive to create a healthy, supportive and positive work environment for them. In doing so, we secure the long-term financial well-being of our company, and deliver excellent returns to our investors. A-1 Hospitality Group, founded by Vijay and Mita Patel, began with the purchase of a single motel property. Through careful investment in our properties and brands, we now own and operate five premier properties in Oregon and Washington State. Our guests choose to stay at our properties because they are clean, modern and deliver consistently superior service. Our goal is always to be the first choice among travelers, who look to us to be their home away from home.
Jersey Banks, an artist turned hospitality entrepreneur, has been a game-changer in the boutique hotel industry. Her unique journey from the world of art to the realm of boutique hotels is a story of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit. Her approach to hospitality is not just about providing a place to stay; it's about creating an experience, an ethos that's deeply rooted in her artistic background. BLLA is thrilled to release the this latest podcast episode with this incredible hotelier.

Listen on Apple

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From the onset, Jersey's artistic sensibilities have significantly influenced the design and atmosphere of her properties. Each hotel under her leadership is not just a building with rooms but a canvas where her artistic vision comes to life. This seamless integration of art and hospitality sets her establishments apart, creating immersive experiences for guests. Her transition from art to hospitality highlights her versatility and an innate ability to infuse creativity into business.

The rise of digital platforms has reshaped many industries, and hospitality is no exception. Jersey recognized early on the potential of social media, particularly Instagram, as a powerful tool for hotel marketing. She harnessed the platform's visual-centric nature to showcase the unique qualities of her properties. Through Instagram, she not only reached wider audiences but also created a narrative that resonated with the modern traveler, one that emphasized aesthetics, experience, and personal connection.

Jersey's approach to property development and branding is characterized by a blend of creativity and strategic thinking. A key moment in her career was the viral success of a unique feature in a Brooklyn cabin - a large, artistically designed bathtub. This feature became a signature element across her properties, illustrating her ability to set trends in the industry. Under her guidance, her company has become a beacon of innovation in hotel management and property development. The establishment of Urban Cowboy is a testament to her commitment to maintaining a fresh and innovative approach in all her ventures.

Central to Jersey's ethos is the importance of staying true to one's creative spark, a theme that resonates deeply in her discussions with Ariela. They share insights on the importance of maintaining creativity and passion in business, overcoming challenges, and rekindling inspiration. This mindset reflects not only in Jersey's approach to her business ventures but also in her personal growth, influencing her decisions and her vision for the future.

Jersey's influence extends beyond her entrepreneurial success; she is a staunch advocate for women's empowerment in the hospitality industry. She recognizes the unique challenges and opportunities for women in this field and is dedicated to supporting and inspiring female entrepreneurs. Her vision includes creating platforms and opportunities that highlight women-owned boutique hotels, aiming to inspire the next generation of women in hospitality.

In summary, Jerseys journey in the boutique hotel industry is a remarkable blend of art, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Her story is a powerful reminder of the limitless possibilities that arise when creativity meets business acumen, and her impact extends far beyond the walls of her hotels. As a visionary in the hospitality sector, Jersey's approach to blending art with entrepreneurship serves as an inspiration to many, demonstrating how passion and creativity can redefine an industry. Her dedication to empowering women in the hotel industry further cements her role as a trailblazer and a role model. Jersey Banks is not just creating unique spaces for guests; she's crafting a legacy that will inspire future generations of entrepreneurs in the hospitality world.

This enlightening episode is available for listening on Apple Podcasts and Spotify Podcasts. The series is proudly sponsored by Solonis, a property management system designed for hotels and a premier partner sponsor of BLLA.
'Its the Puritan tradition. I think thats responsible for Wokery in the States too' - Charles McQuillan

Nobody ever erected a statue to a critic, goes the truism. But its a measure of Terry Eagletons impact on British culture that hes just received a comparable honour: a hospital ward has been named after him in his hometown of Salford. Why? I suspect they name them all after well-known Salford lads and lasses. But the uncharitable answer is: its a psychiatric ward, he says with a gleeful laugh.

Many people over the years seem to have thought a padded cell a more suitable environment for Eagleton than the ancient universities where he spent the bulk of his career. Among them may be counted the King, who once asked a group of Rhodes scholars at Oxford: Who teaches you? Not that dreadful Terry Eagleton, I hope.

Eagleton was chiefly responsible for introducing the continental practice of Critical Theory to British universities, bewildering traditionalists with his focus on structuralism, semiotics and reception theory. In his heyday he was a self-described shamelessly unreconstructed Marxist; and  the ultimate sign of mental confusion, his enemies argued  he combined this with being a Roman Catholic.

He was a Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge, before leaving to lecture at Oxford in 1969. Ive perhaps never really come out about how very roughly treated I was by the English faculty at Oxford, not in any practical way but in terms of sheer unfriendliness, he tells me. They couldnt have isolated me more if theyd met around a table to conspire to do so. The problem was I had lots of ideas, and Oxford was absolutely antagonistic to ideas: it was as bad as having lots of mistresses, or lots of concealed bottles of whisky around your room.

He packed the lecture halls, however, and his 1983 book Literary Theory sold three-quarters of a million copies. In 1992 his star quality secured him promotion to the prestigious post of Thomas Warton Professor of English Literature at Oxford. Should this man be a professor? ran a headline in this newspaper, above a profile that concluded in no uncertain terms: No.

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Eagleton's 1983 book Literary Theory sold three-quarters of a million copies - Charles McQuillan

Now 80, Eagleton was the subject of press attention again in November, when his son Oliver, a 26-year-old New Statesman columnist, was revealed to have been among the group of pro-Palestinian protesters who launched chants of Shame on you at Michael Gove in Victoria Station, resulting in the Levelling Up Secretary being taken home in a police van. Memories of the Theory War years came flooding back as Eagleton Seniors credentials as a subversive influence were rehearsed in the papers for the first time in years.

Eagleton insists that reports that Oliver led a mob to intimidate Mr Gove are inaccurate. He doesnt think anything very major or dramatic happened. Hes a very straight guy. Of course, in order to make sure that he grew up a good Leftist I never mentioned the Left at all  hes very much his own man in that respect.

Oliver is the oldest of three children from Eagletons second marriage; he also has two sons from his first. He is separated from his second wife and these days lives alone, but with family nearby, near the North Antrim coast. As we talk over coffee and biscuits in Derry, about 20 miles from his home, he reflects on the days when he was routinely spoken of as dangerous: That was the first shot in the culture wars, perhaps.

Whats his response to those who say that the educational establishment has now been captured by Marxists? They cant have set foot in a university recently! Or if thats their idea of Marxism, its a very odd one. Its half a century now since the Left was in the ascendant in any sense of the term.

The Real Thing, Eagletons latest book; How to Read Literature, another title by the author

With his ready laugh, Eagleton comes across as more of an amused observer of the world than a firebrand reformer. Does he still stand by the assertions he made about critical theory in the 1980s: for example, any method or theory which will contribute to the strategic goal of human emancipation, the production of better people through the socialist transformation of society, is acceptable?

Im not sure I would defend that any more actually. Theres something in it, but I think its over-emphatic. He doesnt even necessarily identify as a Marxist these days: What matters is that people call themselves Socialists, or at least anti-Capitalists. Marxism is mainly a theory of history, historical materialism mainly  I wouldnt defend that to the death.

Eagletons latest book, The Real Thing, reminds us that for all the innovations of his criticism, he differs from other reforming academics in acknowledging the primacy of the established canon of English literature. Typically lively and witty, it is a study of traditional literary realism, and by and large a defence of its achievements  Im awaiting the reviews from outraged avant-gardists  in celebrating ordinary life and showing the social context in which people live and their relations to institutions. As so often in his work, he takes the opportunity to lay into postmodernism, which he sees as too captivated by the marginal and off-beat to find the life of the majority anything but uncool.

The book salutes the efforts of Dickens, George Eliot and Tolstoy to encompass the world as it really is: but is it possible to write realist literature worthy of the name in our post-post-(if not post-)modern age? In a much lower key. One thinks of Ian McEwan, Colm Toibin: often a very fine realism, but it almost self-consciously lacks the ambition of its forebears.

His favourite living novelist is John Banville, because of the way he plays with language. It sounds a terribly fusty thing to say, but I cant read a lot of American fiction because I just find it doesnt play with language to my satisfaction  they like their fiction rather plain. Its the Puritan tradition. I think thats responsible for Wokery in the States too - theres a long Puritan tradition there of a small, inquisitorial group scrutinising the language of others for flickers of moral impurity.

Terry Eagleton: 'Starmer is a classic petit-bourgeois' - Lucy North

By contrast, one of the nicest things about Ireland is that its not morally self-righteous at all. Im afraid to say I once nicked a salt cellar from a cafe in Dublin - I was in dire need of one  and as I was furtively sliding it under my napkin, I noticed the guy at the next table was staring with great interest at what I was doing. But I knew straightaway that he would never shop me. You wouldnt do that in Ireland.

Born into a working-class family of Irish heritage in Salford, Eagleton was a sickly boy, bedridden with asthma: I could really tug at the heartstrings of your readers here. That isolation led in some way to being an intellectual, I think  because that involves a distance from the world, allowing you to question the taken-for-granted.

He got into Cambridge even though he had to return home before finishing the entrance exams, as his father had died. For many years he drank heavily  although I gave it up 30 years ago - dogged by a sense that although it was what my father wanted for me, going to Cambridge represented a break from him, perhaps even a betrayal. But I must have come to realise that in a sense a lot of what Ive achieved has been in his name or the name of people like him.

Does he think that Labour winning the next election will be a boon for the arts and for education? Id be astonished if that came from Starmer. His first name is about as inappropriate as calling an anti-fascist Adolf. I think Starmer is a classic petit-bourgeois.

Another of Eagleton's betes noires is the celebrity atheist Richard Dawkins - John Lawrence

Another of his betes noires is the celebrity atheist Richard Dawkins. Ive heard that his communications officer  he has such a posh thing  advised him against debating with me. I think Dawkins tended to debate with religious rednecks which was rather convenient for him. Hes gone quiet these days. Eagleton no longer describes himself as a Catholic; his faith, he says, is probably more like Rowan Williamss, whatever Rowans self-description would be.

Eagleton also famously rowed with Martin Amis, criticising him for calling for harsh treatment of Muslims as a response to 9/11: I was effusively thanked by various Muslim academics for responding to his rather outrageous statements. What he said showed the limits of Liberalism, it just wasnt strong enough to deal with this matter.  He admits, however, that those who think he went too far in saying that Amis had inherited his views from his father Kingsley  whom he described as an anti-Semitic boor, a drink-sodden, self-hating reviler of women, gays and liberals - have a point: I think I regret some of those comments. Its a cliche, but they came in the heat of the moment.

Eagleton once urged somebody to invent a contrascriptive to stop him writing so much, but he says now that after 50-odd books he will soon publish his last: on death. I had intended it to be published posthumously, with a note denying that my recent death was a publicity stunt to promote sales. But, he chuckles, the publishers didnt much like that.

The Real Thing by Terry Eagleton is out on January 23 (Yale University Press)

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.
MEININGER Hotel Wien Downtown Franz

MEININGER Hotel Wien Downtown Franz is to be renovated in 2024 following the prolongation of the contract until 2043.

In addition to the renovation of the MEININGER Hotel Wien Downtown Sissi, the MEININGER Hotel Wien Downtown Franz is also set to shine in new splendour next year. The hotel in Leopoldtstadt in Vienna's 2nd district has 131 rooms and 487 beds, a guest kitchen and game zone as well as other typical MEININGER amenities. True to the motto "imperial accommodation", the hotel is to undergo extensive modernisation work as part of a seven-figure investment. The improvements to the public areas and rooms should ensure an imperial welcome by the end of 2024.

Ajit Menon, CEO of MEININGER Hotels, on the reasons for the renovation: "A consistent standard of quality is very important to us. We are therefore investing in the refurbishment of the MEININGER Hotel Wien Downtown Franz to bring it up to our latest standards. This is in line with our sustainability approach and the values we stand for as a company." The decision to renovate followed the contract with the landlord LLB Immo KAG being extended until 2043.

As a subsidiary of the Liechtensteinische Landesbank (Osterreich) AG, LLB Immo KAG has been active in the real estate investment fund business for many years and purchased the property for one of its real estate funds which is certified by the ecolabel UZ49.

"We see MEININGER Hotels as a strong partner, who shares our views on sustainable use of properties. In all measures high attention is paid to sustainability and building material ecology. Focus is here also on obtaining a declaration by ecolabel klimaaktiv" Michael Schoppe, Managing Director of LLB Immo KAG.

Refurbishment works are scheduled to start at the beginning of 2024. "We look forward to further cooperaton and to the result of the refurbishment" Alexander Hauer, Asset Manager at LLB Immo KAG.
Roy Kretschmer - Chief Operating Officer - Valencia Hotel Collection

Kretschmer previously served as VHCs Executive Vice President of Operations

Valencia Hotel Collection (VHC) announced the promotion of Roy Kretschmer as Chief Operating Officer  Valencia Hospitality Group. This move comes in light of Kretschmers exceptional two-decade tenure with the brand, marked by a proven track record of successful hotel openings, prestigious awards, and exhibiting admirable leadership.

Previously serving as VHCs Executive Vice President of Operations, Kretschmer will continue to spearhead initiatives to optimize business operations and collaborate closely with department heads and supervisors; Kretschmer is dedicated to enhancing the day-to-day efficiency of each property within the Valencia Hotel Collection. Part of the larger Valencia Hotel Group, Roy will support VHC by introducing the portfolio to new markets and expanding its property management services.

We are continuously impressed by Roys dedication to the Valencia Hotel Collection brand, said Doyle A. Graham Jr., President & CEO of Valencia Hotel Collection. It has been an honor to work alongside him these past twenty years, and we very much look forward for whats to come as he steps into this new role.
Generative AI Will Go Mainstream in 2024 Driven by Adoption of Specialized Custom Models and Multimodal Tool Experimentation According to GlobalData

Generative AI was a groundbreaking development last year, with the emergence of popular chatbots such as OpenAIs ChatGPT and Googles Bard taking the technology world by storm. However, using the large language models (LLMs) powering these chatbots has several disadvantages, hindering the adoption of the technology. For this reason, LLMs will be gradually replaced by smaller, custom language models in 2024, says GlobalData.

Training and operating LLMs involve steep costs, with expensive computing resources required to process the vast amounts of data used in AI. Specialized models ultimately deliver better value and accuracy. Oftentimes, firms start by experimenting with very large general-purpose models to explore different use cases, only to find out later that the compute cost doesnt justify the scale of the transaction. In 2024, as Generative AI penetrates the enterprise space and business cases become more conspicuous, companies will start leveraging smaller models, and tune them with their proprietary data to get the performance they want for a specific use case, for a fraction of the cost.

Beatriz Valle, Senior Analyst at GlobalData, comments: Enterprises could potentially find themselves in a vulnerable legal position due to potential copyright infringements or privacy violations, for example, because the origin of the data used to train the models is often unknown. For this reason, organizations will opt for deploying small language models (SLMs) instead. These custom models will be trained on proprietary data and render better results with fewer risks involved.

Rena Bhattacharyya, Chief Analyst of Enterprise Technology and Services research at GlobalData, adds: 2024 will see the passage of comprehensive regulatory policies to guide AI project deployments and management. The world will look toward Europe, which is poised to approve groundbreaking legislation via the AI Act, which categorizes the risk of AI applications and bans certain use cases, establishes requirements for the use of high-risk applications, and requires human oversight of computer models and actions. The rest of the world will begin to discuss similar frameworks and the debate around the use of copyrighted content to train AI models will be top of mind for executives.

GlobalDatas report, 2024 Enterprise Predictions: Artificial Intelligence, also revealed that enterprises will begin to explore how they can use multimodal AI to generate improved outputs in a range of industries and applications. In addition, techniques such as RAG (retrieval-augmented generation) which is used to augment LLM prompts and responses with information from reliable internal or external sources, will become more widespread. The use of synthetic data will also become more common among enterprises and AI companies.

Valle continues: Companies such as OpenAI and Cohere will be studying the use of synthetic data as an alternative to real-world data to access high-quality data sets without taking the risk of being sued. For example, The New York Times recently filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, and other similar cases have taken place in the industry. We will also see more agreements and partnerships between AI companies and media companies, like OpenAI recently signed deal with German media company Axel Springer and with the Associated Press.

GlobalData forecasts that the overall AI market will be worth $909 billion by 2030, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35% between 2022 and 2030. In the generative AI space, revenues are expected to grow from $1.8 billion in 2022 to $33 billion in 2027 at a CAGR of 80%.

Generative AI will impact every industry and 2024 will see the number of live AI implementations grow exponentially in the corporate space, particularly in the fields of customer experience and marketing.
Christian Glauser Benz - Head of Development Americas - Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group announced the appointment of Christian Glauser Benz as their new Head of Development for the Americas region. Based in Miami, Christian will play a pivotal role in leading the development and investment initiatives for the Americas region, focusing on the important US, Canada, Latin America and Caribbean markets for the group.

Christian Glauser Benz joins Mandarin Oriental from the Hyatt Corporation where he served as Vice President of development for the Americas region focusing on the Luxury and Lifestyle segments. Prior to that, he played a strategic role in the growth of Dream Hotel Group's luxury and lifestyle brands where he played an instrumental role in growing the company's brand portfolio across the US, Caribbean, and LATAM regions.

Christian has also served as Vice President for JLL's Hospitality Group, a real estate advisory and brokerage firm, overseeing hotel investments and advisory for hotel developers, brands and operators in the Western US and Hawaii regions. His extensive experience in development and real estate started with his profound passion for design and architecture with various leadership roles at global firms such as Oppenheim, Callison, and Frank Gehry.

Christian Glauser Benz's appointment aligns seamlessly with Mandarin Oriental's ambitious goals for the Americas region, reinforcing the company's commitment to key strategic gateway and leisure markets with a particular emphasis to the West Coast and the Mountain West luxury resort destinations as well as other key leisure and urban markets within the Caribbean and Latin America.

Francesco Cefalu, Chief Development Officer of Mandarin Oriental, expressed his enthusiasm about the appointment, stating:

"I am thrilled to welcome Christian Glauser Benz to the Mandarin Oriental family. Christian's international background and languages combined with his in-depth knowledge of the Americas market and sense of luxury, is a perfect fit for our group. I look forward to supporting him throughout our development efforts in the region."
Chicago, IL (60637)

Today

On and off snow flurries are possible along with variably cloudy skies. Temps nearly steady in the mid to upper 30s. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 29F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph.
Hudson, NY (12534)

Today

Overcast. High 46F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. A few flurries are possible. Low 32F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
(ES Composite)

It is December in Marrakesh, and I am sitting in a circle with 30 naked women, staring down the barrel of a heavily vajazzled vulva. The vulva belongs to a woman in the centre of the circle, who is lying on her back and slowly touching herself. A few sobs erupt from other corners of the room. One of the women is holding her unoccupied hand, another gently strokes her hair.

Everyone, watch how Elenas* p***y physically responds to my words, Mama Gena commands the group. She crouches down, face inches away from the vajazzles. Your p***y is divine, it is inspiring, it is a work of art, you are living in your turn on, she whispers, with a distinctive New York twang.

Mama Gena describes herself as an icon, teacher, author, mother and founder and CEO of the School of Womanly Arts (Harvest Series)

I am suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to pee. There is, unfortunately, no subtle way to slip out of a situation like this. I too, am completely naked, and the toilets are on the other side of the hotel complex, a good few minutes walk away. I decide to hold it  theres only half an hour before lunch. One of the women gives me a knowing nod and takes my hand, and I realise she must have mistaken need to pee grimace for a sudden swell of emotion. I smile and nod in return, and we turn back to face the vulva.

It was, I thought beforehand, a slight embellishment to call my upcoming trip a sex retreat. Feminine Power and Sensuality with Mama Gena was vague enough to be dressed up a bit for dramatic effect when I inevitably told everyone I knew during any lull in conversation. But no, would come my follow-up, I dont think its actually a sex retreat. I assume itll be a bit of journaling and meditation, that sort of thing.

Emma at the Jnane Tamsna hotel in Marrakesh where the retreat took place (Emma Loffhagen)

In fact, when trying to explain to my friends (and my understandably curious boyfriend) exactly why I was going to Morocco with a bunch of strangers, I realised there was surprisingly little tangible information to be found about what the retreat actually entailed. What few details were available online were so Gwyneth Paltrow-esque as to make them slightly unintelligible. Join renowned teacher Mama Gena for an experience unlike any other, read the retreats homepage on the Harvest Series website. In this womens only retreat, reconnect with every facet of your sacred feminine through embodied tools and practices. Unleash your deepest desires with guided exercise that will expand you sensually, explore your shadow side and befriend your inner darkness. Four days, three nights  and a yoni-clenching 4520 (3886).

Story continues

While I am sometimes guilty of being a bit of a woo-woo sceptic (I once got kicked out of a breathwork class after laughing when someone farted), what I am is genuinely fascinated by sex. As a 24-year-old woman, I am of a generation who have been encouraged to deconstruct our desire, to interrogate monogamy, to go to sex parties, and explore our sexuality, which I have dived head first into.

Mama Gena with a vulva cushion during one of the workshops (Harvest Series)

But sex was beginning to feel like something I had already completed. I had ticked all the boxes of sex positivity  an easy thing to if youre in a loving and satisfying relationship. I wanted (pardon the pun) to go deeper, and was interested to see if there was anything more that Mama Gena could help me unlock, to discover any boundaries I was subconsciously harbouring.

So I vowed to go into the experience with a completely open mind  any vagina candle preconceptions I might have had were left firmly on the runway at Gatwick.

Even before coming face to face with Elenas vulva, it becomes abundantly clear that journaling and meditation was an wild underestimation. While I hadnt heard of Mama Gena  who describes herself as an icon, teacher, author, mother and founder and CEO of the School of Womanly Arts  until a week before arriving, it is quickly apparent that here, I am in the minority.

Emma Loffhagen (Emma Loffhagen)

As we mingle over drinks on the first evening, many of the women gush at how excited they are to see Mama Gena again, or to be able to come face to face with their hero for the first time. Here, she is a celebrity. I look around and note that I am by some margin the youngest in the group, and I struggle to hear another British accent. Everyone is very earnest but incredibly warm (were all supposed to call each other Sister Goddess, which I keep forgetting to do).

Then, as if on cue, a voice booms apparently from the heavens. Have no fear, it rattles, Mama Gena is here! A woman in her mid-to-late sixties decked out in a full leopard print suit rounds the corner, riding an actual camel. Thank you, everyone, for saying yes to your p***y and the Great P***y in the Sky and joining us here, Mama Gena addresses the group. After going round in a circle and asking us all why our p***ies brought us here, we are introduced to Stephen*, a man in his mid-sixties in a fedora standing next to Mama Gena, and the only vulva-less member of the group.

This is my partner, Stephen, she explains. Hes here at your disposal  you can make appointments with him all weekend. Just as Im wondering what that could possibly mean, she clarifies: Hes an expert in teaching women how to make themselves come. The group breaks out into whoops and squeals. (I am reliably informed throughout the weekend that numerous women follow her advice).

It is halfway through the first of the daily six-hour workshops, after a brief introduction and a dance session involving a giant vulva cushion, that the first clothes come off. Mama Gena is wrapping up a somewhat incongruous ten-minute slideshow about child marriage and human trafficking, when her lace-clad assistants materialise with a tray of jewels and temporary tattoos.

Its time to adorn our p***ies, Mama Gena declares at once. Dress them up, show them off to the group. A woman who owns her p***y owns her life. I look around the room in shock. Was everyone else expecting this? Im suddenly hyper-aware of the faded M&S briefs I hurriedly put on this morning. Some of the more experienced Mama Gena followers already have their pants around their ankles, stark naked and happily sticking on the coloured gems as though this were a perfectly normal Thursday morning activity. Others are a little more hesitant  I lock eyes with a woman attempting to vajazzle with her underwear still on and start to do the same. We are allies now, I decide. No, no, Mama Gena swoops over, pointing at us. Everything off!

At this point, I enter what can only be described as a dissociative state, as I peel off my underwear and gingerly fold it on top of the rest of my clothes. Its not that I feel particularly uncomfortable naked in front of other women. In fact, there is something unexpectedly moving about all of us stood there, bodies of all different shapes and sizes, giggling and clapping for one another as we catwalk one by one across the room. Im also fully aware that the retreats raison detre is to push our boundaries, to release our inhibitions  and I certainly feel less guarded and shy as the day goes on (even though it is odd making small talk at lunch with someone when youve just helped stick jewels on their pubic hair).

We are instructed to take all our clothes off within an hour of the first of Mama Gena's workshops (Harvest Series)

But I still cant shake the feeling that there is something slightly uncomfortable about it all.

Its at dinner the following evening that I put my finger on it. Come in your most empowering courtesan outfit to express your authentic self, the Whatsapp group chat message from the organisers reads. Sat at a candlelit table in our underwear (some women are already fully naked  and crying), after an imposed five minutes of silence, we are instructed by Mama Gena to first to feed the Sister Goddess opposite you (I realise now why all the food is phallic-shaped), to give our neighbour a lap dance, and, as the final flourish, to lick chocolate mousse off each others bodies. At what point had I consented to being touched by the other women?

For the first time, I genuinely consider trying to leave. But Im flanked on either side by five or so women, all of us tightly tucked into the wall. Perhaps a mad dash under the table? It doesnt seem like a very dignified option. And besides, I dont want to offend my designated Sister Goddess, who is waiting expectantly. There is nothing else for it.

Emma Loffhagen (Emma Loffhagen)

Shouldnt we have signed something agreeing to this beforehand, I begin to wonder, lying in bed that night. Or had an explicit opportunity to opt in or out? Many of the attendees are recently divorced, but some are definitely in relationships  how would their partners feel if they knew what was going on? More pertinently, if any reluctance to participate is viewed as a symptom of repression, where does consent fit in? Does it become part of the cage which Mama Gena is trying to break open?

Its not all nipple licking and group masturbation, though, and day two brings some respite from the enforced intimacy. We are introduced to swamping, a (fully-clothed) exercise in deliberately choosing to feel every drop of emotion rather than bottling it up. Think about your deepest grief, Mama Gena commands us. A particularly poignant memory of my grandparents pops into my head, and for a minute or two I forget where I am, enjoying the space to reminisce. Now, add some desire, Mama Gena says abruptly, disrupting the reverie. People begin to writhe on the floor around me. Her voice crescendos. Imagine youre f***ing the grief!. I feel as though Ive definitely picked the wrong memory.

Mama Gena's book, which all the attendees are given in a goodie bag (Emma Loffhagen)

The workshop I unexpectedly find the most difficult centres on the art of bragging. In pairs, we take it in turns to compliment one another, and the only permissible response is thank you, I know. It is an almost physical battle with myself to repel the urge to dismiss the compliment, (being British is definitely a disadvantage here), as well to reject the compulsion to compare myself to the other women in the room. We are then handed feathers, and Mama Gena instructs us to gently stroke one another while lying face to face (naked, obviously) and not breaking eye contact, which may sound like a slight non-sequitur but feels, in a strange way, apt.

A month on from the trip, my feelings about it are still somewhat conflicted. The question that Mama Gena was posing  how can we embrace and celebrate female sexuality?  is definitely worth exploring. Perhaps, then, my discomfort hints at a divide in how that question should be answered.

Attendees at the Mama Gena sex retreat (Harvest Series)

Where I and my generation are interested in interrogating the rigid boundaries of sexuality and gender  and reinforcing the importance of consent  Mama Genas approach feels like the opposite. Rather than critical engagement with why women have been alienated from pleasure, it prioritises vague exercises focused on feeling your aliveness and living your desires, while also indulging in very fixed ideas of the divine feminine, straight from the Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus playbook.

But maybe theory is not always what we need. Is there not, after all, something innately radical in the act of gathering 30 women to Morocco for four days for the sole purpose of talking about their p***ies. Perhaps, behind the chocolate mousse and the vajazzles, a shred of something beautiful?

*Some names have been changed for anonymity
The Rev. Mary Frances Curns, recipient of the 2024 Peacemaker Award, with state Sen. Paul Mark, state Rep. John Barrett III and NBCC Executive Director Amber Besaw at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. The luncheon at the MCLA Church Street Center followed volunteer opportunities in the morning. Serving up chili and pizza for volunteers. Senator Mark and Representative Barrett with MLK Jr. Day of Service Committee member Kathy Keeser. Curns with family and friends. Besaw recalls the longtime volunteers who passed away this year. The Williams College Gospel Choir performs. Longtime volunteer Susanne Walker and Curns. PreviousNext

North Adams Marks Martin Luther King Jr. With Service and Honors



The Rev. Mary Frances Curns of All Saints Episcopal Church urges the gathering to plant 'seeds of light.' NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  This year's recipient of the Peacemaker Award urged the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service gathering to plant seeds of light and seeds of love.

"My friends I'm so glad to be here on this day and to be honored and I'm humbled. But this award is not about just today. This award is about our lives, being the light to those that live in darkness, who have no hope, have no peace and let us be seedlings of light," said the Rev. Mary Frances Curns of All Saints Episcopal Church. "Let us be planters every single day."

The presentation capped the "day on" of volunteer service coordinated by the MLK Jr. Day of Service Committee at locations around North County, including helping sort items at the Flood House, make mittens and prepare care packages, and participate at other service sites like Goodwill and Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity.

The morning began with coffee and registration at the Church Street Center at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and concluded at the center with the luncheon of chili and pizza, speakers and a performance by the Williams College Gospel Choir.

State Sen. Paul Mark visited a number of sites and thanked the group for their community service.

Thinking about King, Mark said it's the last speech, the "I've Been to the Mountaintop" address that comes to mind. Because he was speaking at a labor strike, supporting sanitation workers in Memphis.

"The idea of service, that you serve, and people that are picking up our trash, people that are working for the city are serving all of us," he said. "That you deserve respect. You deserve fairness. You deserve dignity. There's a dignity, in labor, in work and being service to others.

"I think spending a day like today as a holiday where we reflect, and we think about what service means to all of us, and we spend time serving the communities is an amazing thing."

Curns was the 50th recipient of the award, presented by MLK Jr. Day of Service Committee. The award was instituted in 1996 and, said Amber Besaw, executive director of the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, was initially presented to multiple people in its first years.

"I don't remember the first time we met, Mary Frances, but after all of these years, I honestly don't remember not knowing you and being a friend with you," said Besaw.

She said Curns was selected for creating warm and welcoming spaces, providing sustenance and love, promoting peaces and for bringing her faith "outside the walls of your church."

"I've been privileged to be the recipient of your kind words, you're welcoming conversation, and to hear your heart to bring love and peace to the world around you," said Besaw. "Not by changing what can't be changed, but by kindness and creating open doors to welcome anyone who feels unwelcome in a harsh and often too unwelcoming world."

Besaw also recalled the loss this past year of "some of our most influential and steadfast community members" who had taken part in the Day of Service: Shirley Davis, Beverly Goodell, Stephen Green and Dr. Thomas Hyde.

State Rep. John Barrett III noted how the Day of Service had grown since its beginnings three decades ago.

"What makes it so special is we're remembering the legacy, the work of a man who had such an impact not only in his time, but after the fact," he said.

Curns is part of that legacy, Barrett said, and has done outstanding work in the community.

"You've touched the lives of so many people, people who nobody knows about," he said. "The work that she has done for veterans, for the homeless, for those who need food or shelter. She has been there on the front line. That's what giving back is all about."

Curns was caught off guard by the nomination and that, looking around 100 or so volunteers, she was glad she wasn't alone.

"We can be working together to create hope and a feeling of belonging and a feeling of helping people feel worthy," she said, telling a story her mother had told her of how her grandfather had made them leave a restaurant in 1917 because he saw "someone of color" in the kitchen, and how that had profoundly affected her mother.

Her mother would become a nurse and, later, make sure people in the school district where her grandson now teaches did not go hungry.

"That changed my mom's life. My mom told me that 'everyone is the same, Mary.' Everyone every one is the same," Curns said. "That has been held in my heart since I was a young girl."

She recalled watching King on television as a child and feeling inspired to first become a teacher and then a priest.

"Now's the time for us to go out and continue to be the light to the world. Sharing hope, love and peace," said Curns, ending the event with a prayer.
Mount Greylock School Committee Holds Initial FY25 Budget Talk

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  The Mount Greylock Regional School District administration is forecasting a fiscal year 2025 budget with little room for additional programming in the preK-12 district.

"This is likely one of those budget years when we'll be focusing hard on what we have to do and not as much on what we'd like to do," Superintendent Jason McCandless told the School Committee last week. "Any additions, particularly around staffing, will likely have to be met with proportionate reductions elsewhere."

Assistant Superintendent Joseph Bergeron, who also serves as the district's budget director, walked the committee members through what he characterized as a "preliminary, draft, partial" budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1.

Bergeron repeatedly stressed the numerous unknowns  including state funding from the Chapter 70 and 71 programs  and promised greater detail for the committee's two planned meetings in February.

But the gist of Bergeron's lengthy commentary, like McCandless' brief synopsis, was the same: the district is likely to have rising costs beyond its control that will strain its ability to do more "discretionary" spending while meeting the assessment increases sought by member towns Williamstown and Lanesborough.

On the revenue side, districts across the commonwealth are waiting for word from Boston about Chapters 70 and 71. But the indication on federal grants for FY25 already is discouraging.

"We do know the federal government is in discussions around cuts to title grant funding," Bergeron said. "Title 1, for us, is around $150,000. If we were to cut that by 50 percent, we'd be looking at a $75,000 reduction in grant funding."

As for expenses, the district knows it is looking at a 3 percent increase in transportation costs, per the current multi-year contract with its bus provider. And a similar  but as yet unknown  increase is possible for the budget's No. 1 expense: salaries.

"We are trying to finalize our look ahead in terms of retirements and departures of staff moving out of the district," Bergeron said. "By the time we hit February, we will have firm numbers for [full-time equivalents] so we can have intelligent discussions here.

"I will say that based on our contracts and the bulk of staff being known, we're looking at a 2.5 to 3 percent increase on the overall budget in terms of expenditures based on those staff remaining in their positions and naturally seeing increases based on their union contracts."

Much less known  for now  is the impact of a potential increase in the district's cost for employees' health insurance.

"The first figure [indicated in the draft] that hasn't changed yet but almost definitely will is health insurance," Bergeron said, indicating a $3.2 million expense for the district in the current fiscal year.

"Berkshire Health Group will meet in late January to adopt its [FY25] rates. So far, a lot of the rumblings we're receiving are that we'll probably see increases there.  We need to brace for anywhere from 0 to 10 percent, and I don't think it will be 0. I think it will be something that needs to be reckoned with within the rest of our budget."

The School Committee is slated to finalize the fiscal 2025 budget at its March 14 meeting. The district sends a bottom line budget to both member towns for approval at their annual town meetings in the form of an assessment to each town to support operating and capital expenses of the regional school district.

Last Thursday's preliminary look at the budget landscape coincided with the annual budget requests from the district's two elementary schools.

Principals Nolan Pratt of Lanesborough Elementary and Cindy Sheehy of Williamstown Elementary presented the needs identified by each building's School Council, which looked at data and solicited faculty input among other factors.

Pratt said LES is hoping to maintain appropriate staffing, acquire a supportive curriculum for special education teachers and interventionists and continue to roll out short-throw projectors in the classroom.

At WES, teachers have asked to add a math interventionist position and a special education teacher, Sheehy said. But the principal said the school is continuing to look at data to see if it supports the need for additional staff.

She did say the school is seeking a modest budget line to support extracurricular activities.

"Traditionally, at Williamstown, we have not had a wide array of after-school clubs like the middle/high school," Sheehy said. "It's something we've been looking at this year to bridge the gap."

School Committee member Jose Constantine asked McCandless what answer he had for principals looking to add capacity in a year when he said such additions may need to be matched by offsets elsewhere in the budget.

McCandless said additional staffing, "may not be feasible."

"I think we look at what we annually look at when we're faced with these kinds of choices, which is to first take a look at is there any place that, as responsible leaders, we potentially could make adjustments to full-time staffing members or even moving full-time to part-time because we are over-staffed," McCandless said. "I would not want to be put on the spot to talk about that, because  I don't believe we have many, if any, areas where that's a reality.

"My best advice to these folks, as we all work together [is] that we look at, 'OK, that may not be feasible. Are there places in existing employee schedules where we could get some of these services?' And can we continue to make the ground ready to bear riper, better, faster fruit when the time comes that we are able to swing some of these changes?"

In other business on Thursday, the School Committee:

 Heard an update from Director of Curriculum and Instruction Joelle Brookner about the district's efforts to serve multilingual learners, sometimes referred to as "English as a Second Language" learners in other districts. "We're surveying multiple families," Brookner said. "If anyone in the home speaks a language other than English, we reach out to families and screen students. Based on how a student performs, they will be identified or not identified as needing English language instruction."

 Heard from Bergeron about short-term capital improvements needed at the two elementary schools: doors, fire and security systems at WES and exterior doors at LES, where work already has been done to update the fire and security systems. Bergeron said there will be money included in the FY25 budget to address needs at both schools, which are nearing their 25th year of operation.

 Unanimously approved the three-year Unanimously approved the three-year District Improvement Plan as presented by McCandless with the stipulation that he add a column that identifies metrics the district should use to assess progress toward specific goals.

 Signed off on tuition agreements for the towns of Hancock and New Ashford through fiscal year 2026. The towns will see 3 percent increase from FY24 to FY25.
Berkshire Organizations, Schools Awarded Mass Cultural Council Grants

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Mass Cultural Council announced the 299 recipients of the Fiscal Year 2024 STARS Residencies grants.

This $1,502,450 investment will place teaching artists, scientists, and humanists, into schools, bringing cultural enrichment to more than 32,000 Massachusetts students.

"Connecting young people to creativity and a broad range of cultural experiences helps students develop essential skills that set them up for future success," said Michael J. Bobbitt, Executive Director, Mass Cultural Council. "The academic enrichment provided through STARS does exactly that by challenging students in new ways and encouraging them to tap into their inner creative potential to think, learn, and solve challenges."

This year, Mass Cultural Council's STARS (Students and Teachers working with Artists, Scientists, and Scholars) Residencies awards range from $2,500 to $6,100. These grants support residencies of three days or more and provide creative learning opportunities in the arts, sciences, and humanities for students in grades K-12.

In Berkshire County, Flying Cloud Institute of Morningside Community School received a grant.

This multidisciplinary science residency led by teaching artist Angel Heffernan will work with 50 4th grade students over the course of a week at Morningside Community School. Students undergo a hands-on learning experience that covers 4 of their grade-specific physical science energy standards through dynamic movement, investigative science, and artmaking. For example, students explore the concept of mechanical energy through dance by experimenting with how much distance they can move during a timed musical phrase. FCI educators will guide students through Laws of Motion experiments and students will craft original vehicles and test their mass, momentum, speed, and force. This residency will give youth the language to describe the physical movement of their bodies as they interact with each other and the world around them.

Other schools and organizations in the county were also awarded grants including:

Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter Public School ($6,100) - BART Musical Theatre Production: for over 30 students to learn and perform 20+ dance numbers for a spring musical.

Berkshire Theatre Group ($6,100) - BTG PLAYS! In School Residency Program: for the BTG PLAYS! In-School Residency Program to enable students with a variety of learning styles to develop, write, and present their own original plays. Muddy Brook Regional Elementary School, Great Barrington

Berkshires' Academy for Advanced Musical Studies ($3,250) - BAAMS Music Faculty Residency  Florida: for grades 4-8 students to receive instrumental, improvisation, and music composition education. Gabriel Abbott Memorial School, Florida

Craneville Elementary School ($4,750) - Rivers to Sea: Water Keepers and Caretakers: to teach 5th graders about water conservation and empowers them to develop solutions to increase their community's resiliency.

Crosby Elementary School ($6,100) - Life Cycles and Weather in the Berkshires: to connect third grade students with an earth and life science specialist from Mass Audubon for a series of in-person explorations.

Hancock Public Schools ($5,650) One World Festival of Storytelling: to guide students through a series of experiential "playshops" from which they learn, shape, polish, and present folktales from around the world.

Jana Laiz ($2,950) - Inspired By Melville: to introduce students to the rich literary history of Berkshire County, primarily focusing on Berkshire's own Herman Melville, his life and works and his unique perspective of place. Brayton Elementray School North Adams.

Jana Laiz ($3850) - Inspired By Melville: to inspire students to author their own stories by introducing them to the rich literary history of Berkshire County, primarily focusing on Pittsfield's own Herman Melville, his life and works and his unique perspective of place. Williams Elementary School, Pittsfield

Jana Laiz ($2,500) - Pen To Paper  The Art of Writing: for students to learn the mechanics of writing, including storytelling, opening lines, creating realistic dialogue, character development, using rich vocabulary, editing, critiquing, and finishing a story. Undermountain Elementary School, Sheffield

Morningside Community School ($2,500) - SMArt Energy: Where Science Meets Art!: for a hands-on learning experience, which covers grade-specific Physical Science energy standards, to explore the transfer of energy and lead a showcase of learning for their school peers in grades one to three.

Pine Cobble School ($2,500) - Hoosac Tunnel, How It Altered Life in the Berkshires and Beyond: for students to learn how the Hoosac Tunnel was built in the 1800s, the technology developed to execute its completion, and its impact on the diversity and environment of the Berkshires and beyond.

Pittsfield High School ($4,750) - Rooted in Solutions: Trees and Climate Change: to enable environmental science students to complete a forest carbon study on their school grounds.

Robert T. Capeless Elementary School ($6,100) - Water and Weather in the Berkshires: to teach 3rd and 5th-grade students about water and weather through hands-on learning opportunities.

Silvio O. Conte Community School ($4,750) - Weather and Aquatic Life Cycles: to connect 3rd grade students with an earth and life science specialist from Mass Audubon for a series of in-person explorations.

Stearns Elementary School ($6,100) - Water and Weather in the Berkshires: to teach 3rd and 5th grade students at Stearns Elementary School about water and weather through hands-on learning opportunities and empowers them to develop solutions to increase their community's resiliency.

Tamarack Hollow Nature and Cultural Center in Windsor ($5,650) - World music, drum, dance and song cultural exploration: for 4th and 5th grade students to learn traditional West African & Caribbean drum, song and dance.

The Berkshire Museum ($2,650) - Supporting Project Lead the Way Science Education at Hoosac Valley Middle School with Mobile Museum Units: for STEAM-centric Mobile Museum Unit programming to support the Project Lead the Way program. Hoosac Valley Middle School, Cheshire

The Berkshire Museum ($2,500) - Bringing Mobile Museum Units to Hoosac Valley Elementary: bring Berkshire Museum's Mobile Museum Units to Greylock Elementary School, sparking examination, experimentation, and exploration through object-based learning and museum-educator led activation sessions. Greylock Elementary School, North Adams

In this FY24 grant round, Mass Cultural Council reviewed a record 390 applications requesting nearly $2 million in funding, surpassing a previous high set just last year.

To maximize the impact of this limited funding, the program guidelines outlined four priority criteria. In alignment with the Agency's strategic plan and goal to advance equity across the creative and cultural sector with its grantmaking practices, Mass Cultural Council is pleased to note this year:

76 percent of funded residencies are located at schools with student populations that are more than 45 percent low-income

66 percent of funded residencies are located at schools with student populations that are 50 percent or more Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color (BIPOC)

40 percent of funded applications have not received funding from Mass Cultural Council in the previous three fiscal years (FY21-23)

28 percent of funded residencies are located at schools with student populations that are 25 percent or more students with disabilities

"Through these grants, we are expanding the horizon for our students from STEM to STEAM  including the arts alongside science, technology, engineering, and mathematics," said Bobbitt. "Where STEM lays the foundation for innovation, STEAM paints the masterpiece of progress, adding the vital strokes of creativity and imagination to our education system, transforming knowledge into boundless possibilities."

In FY24, STARS Residencies will bring practicing artists, scientists, and humanists to classrooms located within 299 schools across the state. A complete funding list and project descriptions for the FY24 STARS Residencies program is available online.
Cheshire Annual Census Mailed

CHESHIRE, Mass.  The census is mandated by Massachusetts General Law and is valuable to obtain a current and correct count.

The population is important to the Town to apply for state and federal aid and grants. The count is also valuable to Hoosac Valley Regional and Northern Berkshire Vocational School Districts.

Residents are asked to review, correct if necessary, sign and return to the Town Clerk's office in the provided envelope. Make sure all who reside at the address are who are not listed on the form are added with all pertinent information, this would include dependent children.

This form can not be used to register to vote. Any resident may register to vote at the Town Clerk's office or visit the Secretary of the Commonwealth Election Division website and download a registration form.

The census returns may be mailed back or dropped in the drop box located at the Church Street entrance to Town Hall.

Anyone that does not receive a census in the mail or has questions concerning the form please call the Town Clerk's office 743-1690 ext. 104 or email townclerk@cheshire-ma.gov

Failure to respond to the census may result in removal from the active voters list.
West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination 2024 https://career.webindia123.com/career/dates_and_events/entrance/eng/west-bengal-joint-entrance-examination-wbjee.htm Details of West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination 2024 2024-1-2 2024-1-31 https://career.webindia123.com/career/images/exams.png India India West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination 2024 Engineering

West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEEM 2024) - 30th April 2024

West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination : WBJEEM 2024 Category : Medical Admissions 2024 Published : On January 2, 2024 By Webindia123 Editor

Important Dates

Start of online form fill-up 28rd December 2023 Last date of form fill-up and registration 31th January 2024 Publication of downloadable admit card in www.wbjeeb.nic.in - West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination 28th April 2024 Publication of results -

West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations for admission to under graduate courses of Engineering, Medical and other allied disciplines in Universities and Colleges of West Bengal.

Applications are invited from Indian Citizens for admission to undergraduate courses in Engineering/ Technology/ Medical/Dental and Pharmacy in Universities/ Colleges in West Bengal and B. Arch Course in Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur and Jadavpur University for the academic session 2023-2024 on the basis of a Joint Entrance Examination, to be conducted by the "West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations Board".

Examination Centres: To be located in the State of West Bengal and Tripura



Scheme of West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination 2024 (WBJEEM 2024):

Relevant Courses Type of Form Subjects Engineering & Technology / B.Arch. / Dairy Technology / Agricultural Engineering / Pharmacy E Mathematics, Physics & Chemistry. Medical / Dental / Pharmacy

M Biological Sciences, Physics & Chemistry Engineering & Technology / B. Arch. / Dairy Technology / Agricultural Engineering / Pharmacy / Medical / Dental C Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biological Sciences

Schedule of Examination :

Date of Examination Subjects, Marks and Timing 28th April 2024 (Sunday) Physics and Chemistry (100 marks) 02.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m. Mathematics (100 marks)

11.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m

Eligibility:

The applicant must be a citizen of India and should have passed the H.S.(10+2) or its equivalent examination. The general candidates must have to secure at least 50% marks in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics or Biology taken together (40% for SC/ST candidates) and at least 30% marks in English (for all categories). In addition, candidates must secure at least pass marks in the subjects individually including vernacular (or any other fifth subject) as mentioned below :

B.E/B.Tech./B.Arch : Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, English and vernacular or any other fifth subject.

M.B.B.S/B.D.S : Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English and vernacular or any other fifth subject.

Pharmacy : Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics or Biology, English and vernacular or any other fifth subject.

For MBBS and BDS courses : In addition to the aforesaid eligibility criteria, the general candidates must have to secure at least 50% marks in Physics, Chemistry and Biological Sciences taken together (40% for SC/ST) in the Joint Entrance Examination, W.B.

Age Restriction : Candidates must be 17 (seventeen) years of age or above. There is no upper age limit except for the Marine Engineering course for which the upper age limit is 25 years.

Residential Requirements : Candidates desirous of seeking admission to Government Engineering / Technology Colleges, Govt. Medical and Dental Colleges as well as to Private Medical and Dental Colleges, must have been residing in the State of West Bengal continuously at least for last 10 (ten) years as on 28.12.2023 or their parents must be permanent resident of West Bengal having their permanent home addresses in the State of West Bengal.

Reservation : Reservation for SC/ST/PC candidates are as per State Govt. Rules.

Venue of Examination : To be located in the State of West Bengal and Tripura.

How to Apply : Application has to be made by online mode through the official website.

Application Fee Details:

Irrespective of his/her category and gender, a candidate applying for WBJEEM  2024 has to pay Rs. 500/- (Rupees five hundred) only, as application fee, through ONLINE mode. An extra service charge of Rs. 6/- has to be paid by the candidates.

The candidate, on successfully uploading the PERSONAL DETAILS; will be directed to the webpage containing process of payment of application fee. The candidate has the option to choose any one from the following modes of payment:

(a). Payment through Allahabad Bank e-Challan: The candidate has to select Allahabad Bank e-challan to submit the application fee through bank. As soon as he selects it an e-Challan will be generated containing details of the candidate. The candidate has to take a printout of the same and take it to the nearest Core Banking Service (CBS) facility enabled Branch of the Bank for making payment. After payment, the candidate has to login to the system and upload the details written on the e-Challan by the bank official. When the details are uploaded, the Confirmation Page will be generated.

(b). Payment through EPG: The candidate has to select EPG mode if he/she desires to submit the application fee through one of the Electronic Payment Gateway via Debit Card, Credit Card or Net Banking. As soon as t he transaction is completed that a RECEIPT will be generated containing details of the transaction and the Confirmation Page will be automatically generated.

More details can be available from the institute website.

Contact Details Address : West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations Board,

AQ 13/1, Sector-V, Salt Lake City, Kolkata - 700091 Phone : +91-33-23671198, 23671199 Fax : +91-33-23671149 Mobile : E-mail : Contact I, Contact II Website : wbjeeb.nic.in

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Chippewa Falls resident Scott Vaningan was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a woman whose house he set on fire on July 27, 2022. The 59-year-old appeared in Chippewa County Circuit Court on Tuesday by video from custody at Green Bay Correctional.

Vaningan was convicted of intentionally starting a fire at the home he was living at on Superior Street in Chippewa Falls. Lynn Smith, Vaningans girlfriend, was found dead after the fire broke out at the home.

An autopsy showed Smith had puncture wounds on her neck and was not breathing during the fire. No soot was found in her lungs, according to testimony. Smiths autopsy concluded that she was killed before the fire.

Vaningan was arrested July 28, 2022, at a Barron County residence. Police reported that a box cutter with blood was found with Vaningan during his arrest and that Vaningan had what appeared to be blood on his pants and scratch marks on his forearm, consistent with some sort of altercation.

A police report stated that Vaningan appeared to be wearing the same clothing he was observed in after fleeing the scene.

Witnesses told police they often heard arguing from Vaningan and Smith.

Investigators reported finding two places in the home where the fire originated, indicating arson. The fire caused about $125,000 worth of damage to the home.

One count each of arson of a building without owners consent, mutilating a corpse and felony bail-jumping were dismissed but considered for sentencing.

At Tuesday's sentencing hearing, Judge Steve Gibbs ordered the life sentence. Vaningan will be eligible to apply for extended supervision after 35 years. Gibbs ordered restitution of $147,000 be paid with 30 days to file a motion to challenge.

Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matthew Kelm said multiple organizations worked together during the investigation.

Many of our officers were involved, both in the investigation, the administration of how the process went forward, preserving the scene, Kelm said in 2022. We also had investigators from DCI, the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation, the Wisconsin State Fire Marshal's Office and the Chippewa Falls Fire and EMS who were really critical to helping us get that fire under control and preserve that crime scene.

In 1995, Vaningan was convicted of aggravated battery and sexual assault  convictions for which he spent time in prison.

Chippewa Falls house fire aftermath Fire damage Side of house The roof Front of home Investigation and cleanup 1 Investigation and cleanup 2 Fire Investigators Investigators Police and locals Police vehicle Sheriffs vehicle Hazardous Materials Response Cross street
Cyber incidents caused by human factor are usually attributed to occasional employee errors, but one more important element is often overlooked: deliberate malicious behavior by staff. Corroborating this fact, a new Kaspersky study found that in the past two years, 77% of companies around the world have faced cyber incidents, 1/5 of which were caused by deliberate malicious behavior by employees.

A variety of elements can be found when examining the human factor that can negatively affect the running of a business, ranging from ordinary employee mistakes to the misallocation of budget by decision makers. But one of the most important factors that is often overlooked is malicious actions by staff. This crucial finding was revealed in a recent Kaspersky study showing that, in the last two years, 20% of companies worldwide suffered cyber incidents due to malicious behavior for personal gain exhibited by employees.

A recent case occurring at the Tesla company illustrates the dangers insider threats pose to business. Two of Teslas ex-employees leaked the names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of 75,735 current and former employees to a German newspaper. Maine regulators were informed of the incident in a data breach notification on August 18, after the company learned of the breach on May 10 from German news outlet Handelsblatt, and conducted an internal investigation.

Insider threats: what you need to know

What are insider threats?

There are two main types of insider threats: unintentional and intentional. Unintentional, or accidental threats are employees mistakes such as falling for phishing and other social engineering methods, or sending sensitive and confidential information to the wrong person, etc.

In contrast, intentional threats are perpetrated by malicious insiders who deliberately hack into their employers systems. They usually do so for financial gain from the sale of sensitive data or as an act of revenge. Malicious insiders aim to disrupt or stop an organization's regular business operations, expose IT weaknesses and obtain confidential information.

Insiders with malicious intentions are the most dangerous of all employees who can provoke cyber incidents. Threats posed by their actions are complicated by several factors:

Insiders have specific knowledge of an organizations infrastructure and processes, including understanding of the information security tools used.

They are already inside the company's network, and do not need to penetrate the perimeter from outside via phishing, firewall attacks, etc.

They have colleagues and friends within the organization, so it's much easier for them to use social engineering.

Insiders with malicious intentions are highly motivated to harm their organization.

What are the reasons for insider malicious actions?

One of the main reasons for employees to commit malicious actions against an employer is financial gain. Often it means stealing sensitive information with the intention of selling it to a third party: competitors, or even auctioning it on the dark web where cybercriminals buy data to attack businesses.

When employees have been fired, malicious behavior might take place out of revenge. This can be conducted even through connections with current staff, but the worst-case scenario occurs if they still can log into their work account remotely because the organization hasnt removed their ability to access its systems as soon as the employee left the company.

Employees can also act maliciously when they are unhappy with their job or to get even with an employer who didnt give them an expected raise or a promotion, for instance.

Another interesting type of malicious action occurs when one or more insiders collaborate with an external actor to compromise an organization. These incidents frequently involve cybercriminals recruiting one or more insiders to carry out different kinds of attacks. There may also be cases in which third parties, such as competitors or other interested parties, collaborate with staff to obtain the companys sensitive data.

Malicious actors can be discovered anywhere  in huge enterprises or small businesses, you never know. Thats why businesses should build an up to date, resilient, transparent IT-security system, uniting effective security solutions, smart security protocols and training programs for both IT and non-IT staff to safeguard against this threat. Additionally, its crucial to implement products and solutions that will protect the organizations infrastructure. For example, our Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum contains Advanced Anomaly Control which helps detect and prevent suspicious and potentially dangerous activities, both by an insider working in a company or an actor outside the organization, comments Alexey Vovk, Head of Information Security at Kaspersky.

To combat malicious insider threats, Kaspersky recommends:
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Kim Jong-un has reportedly called for North Koreas constitution to be changed to declare South Korea its primary foe and invariable principal enemy in the latest sign of fast deteriorating ties between the two neighbouring countries.

Addressing the Supreme Peoples Assembly  the countrys rubber-stamp parliament  the leader said North Korea will no longer pursue reconciliation with South Korea and called to dismantle all the organisations meant for peaceful reunification.

He also called for the dismantling of a massive reunification monument  the Arch of Reunification  in capital Pyongyang.

The relations between the two Koreas have torpedoed to the worst in recent history following Mr Kims rare visit to Russia and the subsequent launch of North Koreas spy satellite into orbit last year in November.

The historic step to discard the decades-long pursuit of a peaceful unification, which was based on a sense of national homogeneity shared by both Koreas, comes at at time when Pyongyang is strengthening its partnerships with Moscow and Beijing.

The closer ties with Russia and China are seen as attempts to break out of diplomatic isolation and create a united front against the West.

Kim speaks at the Supreme Peoples Assembly of North Korea in Pyongyang on Monday (Reuters)

North Korean state media reports said Mr Kim is abolishing three agencies tasked with managing relations with South Korea: the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification, the National Economic Cooperation Bureau and the Mount Kumgang International Tourism Administration.

The two most hostile states, which are at war, are now in acute confrontation on the Korean peninsula, the assembly said after adopting the decision, according to KCNA. The reunification of Korea can never be achieved with the Republic of Korea, it said, referring to the official name of the South.

Mr Kim suggested the complete removal of the nine-story arch, called the Monument to the Three Charters for National Reunification, calling it an eye-sore.

The Arch of Reunification was completed in 2001 after two years of work to commemorate Mr Kims father Kim Jong-il and grandfather Kim Il-sungs Korean unification proposals.

Kim called for the removal of the Monument to the Three Charters for National Reunification (Getty)

We do not want war, but we also have no intention of avoiding it, Mr Kim announced.

He said that even if South Korea "violates even 0.001 mm of our territorial land, air and waters, it will be considered a war provocation", the KCNA news agency reported.

The war will terribly destroy the entity called the Republic of Korea and put an end to its existence, he said and will inflict an unimaginably crushing defeat upon the US.

The latest developments are expected to put pressure on South Korean leader Yoon Suk yeol who stormed into power in 2022, promising a hardline approach towards Norths provocation.

Kim before the 14th session of the assembly (KCNA VIA KNS/AFP/Getty)

Mr Yoon accused Pyongyang of being anti-national for calling South Korea a hostile country and said they will not be threatened.

If North Korea provokes, we will punish them multiple times as hard, Mr Yoon said at a Cabinet meeting in Seoul.

The latest escalations in the Korean Peninsula have left the neighbours and western allies alarmed.

In a recent publication on the US-based 38 North project last week, former State Department official Robert Carlin and nuclear scientist Siegfried Hecker said that the conditions on the Korean Peninsula are currently more dangerous than it has been at any time since early June 1950, just before the onset of the Korean War.

That may sound overly dramatic, but we believe that, like his grandfather [Kim Il-sung] in 1950, Kim Jong-un has made a strategic decision to go to war.

We do not know when or how Kim plans to pull the trigger, but the danger is already far beyond the routine warnings in Washington, Seoul and Tokyo about Pyongyangs provocations.
Jane Kaushik, 31, was delighted to land a teaching job after several unsuccessful interviews.

She would have to relocate from Indias bustling capital of Delhi to the remote city of Jamnagar, located 1,200km away in the western state of Gujarat. But she didnt mind that, as it gave her a shot at leading a life of dignity.

However, hours before joining she decided to call the JP Modi School, requesting the human resource department arrange her some accommodation. Little did she know that her request would trigger a chain of events that would ultimately culminate in her losing the job, even before she could set foot inside of the schools premises.
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Almost 100,000 children in Afghanistan are in dire need of support, three months after earthquakes devastated the country's west, the UN childrens agency said on Monday.

A 6.3-magnitude earthquake shook Herat province on 7 October and a second strong quake struck the same province days later, on 11 October, killing more than 1,000 people. The majority of those dead in the quakes in Zinda Jan and Injil districts were women and children, and 21,000 homes were destroyed, Unicef said in a statement.

The atmosphere in these villages is thick with suffering even 100 days after the earthquakes in western Afghanistan when families lost absolutely everything," said Fran Equiza, Unicef representative in Afghanistan.

"Children are still trying to cope with the loss and trauma. Schools and health centers, which children depend upon, are damaged beyond repair, or destroyed completely, he added.

An Afghan girl cries in front of her house that was destroyed by the earthquake in Zinda Jan district in Herat (AP)

As if this was not enough, winter has taken hold and temperatures hover below freezing," Mr Equiza said. "Children and families without homes live in life-threatening conditions at night, with no way to heat their temporary shelters.

Unicef said it urgently needs $1.4bn (1.1bn) in 2024 to meet the humanitarian and basic needs of 19.4 million Afghans, half of the population.

An Afghan girl carries donated aid to her tent, while she is scared from the fierce sandstorm, after an earthquake (AP)

The Talibans failure to invest in public services has contributed to the deterioration of basic services, hindering the ability of vulnerable communities to recover from shocks and build resilience, the agency added.

We are grateful to our donor partners who mobilized resources quickly, enabling Unicef to respond within days to the urgent needs of children and their families in Herat, Mr Equiza said.

But more help is needed to ensure that children not only survive the winter but have a chance to thrive in the months and years to come, he added.

Afghan girls and women carry donated aid to their tents in Zinda Jan district of Herat (AP)

Daniel Timme, head of communications for Unicef in Afghanistan, said schools, homes, health facilities and water systems were destroyed.

We have money coming in but its not enough. These communities need to be independent again. Its not enough to put out the fire. We need to make it (Afghanistan) more resilient," Mr Timme said.

Separately and for all of Afghanistan, Unicef said on Monday that 23.3 million people, including 12.6 million children, are in need of humanitarian assistance" in 2024, "mainly due to the residual impacts of a protracted conflict, extreme climate shocks and the countrys severe economic decline.
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Kate Hudson has said she does not force fitness on her children but they want to be a part of it.

The 44-year-old Oscar nominee told People Magazine that her three kids, daughter Rani Rose, 5, and sons Bingham "Bing" Hawn, 12, and Ryder Robinson, 20  all join in on her workouts.

Speaking to the outlet, Hudson said a healthy lifestyle is not taught, its caught, adding that her daughter Rani, comes to my workouts all the time, and its so amazing.

"But I dont force it on my kids. They want to be a part of it, Hudson said.

They see me and my trainer [Brian Nguyen] working hard and cussing each other out and sweating. Its fun," she added.

The Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery star said no matter how busy she gets; she makes sure to carve out time for her children at the end of the day.

"I am busy, I am really busy, but my day is done at 5:00 p.m., and I am in that kitchen making them something.

Still, the Almost Famous actor who shares Rani with fiance Danny Fujikawa, Bingham with ex-fiance Matt Bellamy and Ryder with ex-husband Chris Robinson, says that her busy lifestyle can sometimes make it hard to always spend time with her kids.

"Its hard to get it together when you are a working mom, and it was especially hard when I was a single mom," she admitted.

Hudson also told People Magazine that she strives to teach her children about healthy eating habits and often encourages them to be in the kitchen while she prepares food.

"My kids relationship to food is healthy because I get them in the kitchen," she said.

"I get them chopping with me, we talk about what herbs are. I think its important to really get your kids involved in the things that youre doing.

"Theres no chef in my house, Hudson added.

Hudson rose to prominence in 2000 (Getty Images)

Hudson rose to fame in 2000 after playing Penny Lane in Cameron Crowes Almost Famous.

Over the next decade, she featured in a string of films including How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), You, Me and Dupree (2006), Fools Gold (2008) and Bride Wars (2009).

During an interview with The Independent in 2022, Hudson brushed off a conversation surrounding Hollywoods favouring of nepo babies  stars who have successful parents.

I dont really care, she told The Independent, adding: I look at my kids and were a storytelling family. Its definitely in our blood. People can call it whatever they want, but its not going to change it.

She continued: I dont care where you come from, or what your relationship to the business is  if you work hard and you kill it, it doesnt matter.

Hudson said that, when her career began, if anybody asked me about them, Id always try and change the subject.

I really wanted to have my own career. Once I was a good decade in, though, I realised it just didnt matter. Sometimes talking about my parents was actually a great distraction from talking about the movie I was meant to be promoting.

Hudson said she believes that peoples interest in the topic has an unexpected positive side.

Sometimes talking about my parents was actually a great distraction from talking about the movie I was meant to be promoting, she said.

Read The Independents full interview with Hudson in 2022 here.
A few months after Mary Donaldson met a handsome young Danish man in a bar in Sydney, she travelled secretly to his homeland so the pair could spend New Years Eve together. Until then the advertising executive turned real estate agent had mainly seen her boyfriend wearing shorts and a T-shirt, so on New Years Day when he announced he needed to get dressed for a special dinner, she thought little of it.

But as Mary would later recount to guests at her husband Frederiks 50th birthday, she couldnt believe her eyes when her casual, sports-loving boyfriend returned in full princely regalia. If I had known Danish at the time, she told the audience, I would probably have thought to myself aij, hvor har jeg scoret over evne. The translation: Wow, Ive really scored above my league.

But this week, X years later as that Aussie girl begins her new role as Queen Mary of Denmark, its more evident than ever that just like the Princess of Wales, she has come into her own and is exactly where she deserves to be.
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A new official portrait of King Charles in military regalia which will hang in public buildings across the UK as part of a controversial 8million government-funded scheme has been unveiled.

The picture shows the monarch wearing his Royal Navy uniform as an Admiral of the Fleet with medals and honours on display.

It was captured last year by photographer Hugo Burnand, who also took the King and Queens coronation portraits and their 2005 wedding photos, and will replace those of Queen Elizabeth II at public institutions up and down the country.

But there were criticisms last year when the Cabinet Office revealed the portrait schemes 8m budget.

The image was captured by Hugo Burnand who also took the King and Queens coronosation portraits and their 2005 wedding photos (Hugo Burnand/Royal Household 2024/Cabinet Office/PA Wire)

Institutions across the UK are now able to apply to claim the formal, framed portrait of the monarch for free. Among those eligible to apply are councils, courts, schools, police forces and fire and rescue services.

In February, the scheme will be extended to include town, parish and community councils and Ministry of Defence-sponsored cadet forces.

The Cabinet Office said the move carries on the tradition which saw many institutions display official portraits of Queen Elizabeth II.

It said: His Majestys accession has marked the beginning of a new reign and the UK Government considers it right that public authorities, as part of the fabric of our nation, have the opportunity to commemorate this moment, strengthen civil pride and reflect the new era in our history.

But anti-monarchy campaign group Republic branded the initiative a shameful waste of money when it was announced ahead of the coronation last year.

Charles became King in September 2022 following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II (PA)

Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic, said: At a time when a majority of local councils are raising taxes and cutting public services, when schools and hospitals are struggling, to spend even 1 on this nonsense would be 1 too much.

He added: The Government has lost the plot if they think people want their money spent on pictures of Charles. They need to scrap this scheme and direct the money where its really needed.

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said: The accession of His Majesty The King marked a new chapter in our national story.

Displaying this new portrait will serve as a reminder to us all of the example set by our ultimate public servant and I hope as many eligible organisations as possible will wish to continue this proud British tradition and honour our Kings reign.

On his Admiral of the Fleet (No. 1 Tailcoat), the King is wearing his Garter Collar and Sovereigns badge and Garter Star, his Thistle Star, the Bath Sovereigns badge, his Order of Merit, the Royal Victorian Orders Royal Victorian Chain and GCVO Sash, as well as a host of medals on his medal bar.

The portraits are expected to be delivered between February and April this year.
The Chippewa Falls Police and Fire Commission met in closed session Friday to interview four finalists for the job of Chippewa Falls police chief.

Finalists for the Chippewa Falls police chief position include two candidates from within the Chippewa Falls Police Department.

The finalists are:

Chippewa Falls police lieutenant of field operations Ryan Douglas. Douglas supervises the patrol division, which includes all patrol officers and parking enforcement. The Patrol Division is the largest division in the department and is led by Douglas.

Village of Fall Creek police chief Colin Mumford. Mumford previously served in the Altoona Police Department for eight years, including two years as an investigator. Mumford came to Fall Creek from the Altoona Police Department. He spent eight years there working as a patrol and training officer and two years as an investigator. Mumford is currently an instructor at the Chippewa Valley Technical College Police Recruit Academy.

Chippewa Falls police sergeant Sheridan Pabst. Pabst was promoted to sergeant in 2019. He has been a drug investigator, a SWAT team leader and lead firearms instructor.

Bloomer Police Department police sergeant John Beyer. Beyer has served as the department's school resource officer.

The Chippewa Herald reached out to each police department for comment but did not receive a reply before press time.

The new police chief will replace Matt Kelm, who announced in November he would resign after almost eight years as chief and 24 years within the Chippewa Falls Police Department. He announced his resignation in a letter to the Chippewa Falls mayor and the police and fire commission.

My hope is that my last day will be Feb. 16, Kelm said. "Although that is a plan, not a certainty. I may potentially go earlier than that, just depending on what job opportunities might come up, but my current plan is to give a 90-day notice."

Kelm said at the time that his decision was not tied to any specific event.

Nothing bad happened. Its just time. I feel Ive done what I can with this position, he said. I feel like I've done what I set out to do as police chief, and it's time to turn the reins over to the next person and to take a look at a new challenge and some other things I want to try.

Kelm said though he is leaving the police department, he is not retiring. He plans to keep working, though hes not sure what his next career step will be.

As he gets ready to move on, Kelm said he believes the department is on steady ground.

I think we're in great shape. Also since 2019, we were able to add three more positions to the police department. Prior to that we had just been going down, eliminating positions for many years before that. But from 2019 to 2022 with the referendum we were able to add three positions, including a middle school SRO, which was huge, he said.

Police chief candidates will move on to a second interview scheduled for Wednesday. The police and fire commission will recommend which candidate to hire and send that recommendation to the Chippewa Falls City Council for approval. The commission will meet Thursday to look at the applicants and continue the hiring process afterward.

The police department has 26 officers, up from 23 in 2019. Kelm said he thinks the next chief will need to focus on recruitment and tackling the rising drug epidemic in rural Wisconsin.
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Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Maya Rudolph reunited to watch Feys musical reboot of Mean Girls.

In Poehlers latest TikTok video, the Saturday Night Live alums could be seen bundled up and walking towards a movie theater on 13 January, ready to go watch the new Mean Girls musical. All three of them were smiling as they went up the escalators to the movie theater and posed together in front of a poster for the new movie. Poehler captioned the video, #meangirlsweekend.

Playing throughout the clip is a soundbite from the song Not My Fault, by Megan Thee Stallion and Renee Rapp (the new adaptations Regina George). The song plays during the end credits of the film.

Fey wrote the screenplay and starred as Ms. Norbury in the 2004 original film, meanwhile, Poehler played Regina Georges iconic cool mom June George. Although Rudolph was not in the original film with Fey and Poehler, they have all been steadfast friends since their SNL days and supported each other throughout the years. The Mean Girls writer-producer explained to Willie Geist on the Today show, that oftentimes she and Poehler watch SNL sketches to reminisce about old times.

If its a Saturday, we go to our room, and we watch SNL from the hotel room, Fey shared with Geist. We love watching it together. If were not together, well live text during it. She added. Its like someone who played sports, like, Oh, I see. You know what? I bet this moved up from dress [rehearsal].

Fey reprised her character for the 2024 adaptation and talked to People about how it felt to revisit her Mean Girls role alongside fellow SNL Tim Meadows, who returned as Principal Duvall.

It was fun. Its been nice to see Tim, Fey said of her co-star who also starred in the 2011 TV movie sequel Mean Girls 2, a project Fey was completely unaffiliated with. One of us has aged  the other one of us is Tim Meadows! But its been really nice to get to work with Tim again.

I am reprising my role as Ms. Norbury because we thought, well, teachers work for a long time. So it might make sense if Tim and I did it, she explained. So I called Tim and I was like, Will you do it? Ill do it if you do it.

The 30 Rock star added that they only had one stipulation to join the project, And we said yes, as long as we dont have to sing.
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A lawyer for imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Tuesday that Russian authorities charged her in absentia with participating in an extremist group. The same charges were brought against three other lawyers who represented Navalny and were jailed in October in a move his allies had decried as designed to put additional pressure on the politician.

Olga Mikhailova, who defended Navalny for over a decade and has left Russia, revealed on social media that the charges were brought against her. For 16 years, you defend a person" who was accused of embezzlement, fraud, defamation and and recently (became) an extremist,' so it means you yourself are an extremist, she wrote in a Facebook post, rejecting the charges against her.

Three of her colleagues  Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin and Alexei Liptser  were arrested in Russia on the same charges in October 2023. Upon court orders, they will remain behind bars until at least March 13, pending investigation.

Navalny himself was convicted on extremism charges last year and handed a 19-year prison term. His organizations in Russia  the Foundation for Fighting Corruption and a vast network of regional offices  were labeled as extremist groups in 2021 and outlawed.

According to Navalnys allies, authorities accused the lawyers of using their status as defense attorneys to pass letters from the imprisoned politician to his team, thus serving as intermediaries between Navalny and what they called his extremist group.

Mikhailova said Tuesday she was on vacation abroad in October 2023, when Kobzev, Sergunin and Liptser were arrested. She decided not to return to Russia after that. It makes no sense to return to jail," she said, adding that she and her daughter now live in an undisclosed foreign country without a home and with a load of problems.

Navalny's team has said that by targeting his lawyers, authorities are seeking to increase his isolation further. For many political prisoners in Russia, regular visits from lawyers  especially in remote regions  are a lifeline as it allows their families to know their lawyers have seen them, and also lets the prisoners report any abuse by prison officials.

Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's fiercest political foe, has been behind bars since January 2021, but has still been able to get messages out regularly.

His 2021 arrest came upon his return to Moscow from Germany, where he recuperated from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Navalny has since been handed three prison terms. He has rejected all charges against him as politically motivated.

Behind bars, the politician spent months in isolation over alleged minor infractions. He was recently transferred to a special regime penal colony in a remote town above the Arctic Circle  the highest security level of prisons in Russia  in a move his allies said was designed to further isolate him.
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A French lawmaker on Tuesday made a striking, much-applauded comeback at the National Assembly, after she accused a senator of having drugged her with the aim of sexual assault.

Sandrine Josso, 48, a deputy at France's lower house of parliament, filed a complaint against Sen. Joel Guerriau in November after she said he drugged her as he invited her to his Parisian apartment.

Guerriau, 66, was given preliminary charges of use and possession of drugs, and of secretly administering a discernment-altering substance to commit a rape or sexual assault. He was released under judicial supervision and barred from contact with the victim and witnesses while the investigation continues.

On Nov. 14 last year, I went to a friends house to celebrate his re-election. I came out terrified, Josso told lawmakers during Tuesday's public session at the National Assembly.

I discovered an assailant. I then realized that I had been drugged without knowing it. Thats what we call drug-facilitated assault," she added.

In a rare unanimity, French deputies from the right and from the left stood up to applaud her.

Josso said the issue of drug-facilitated sexual assault concerns each year thousands of victims in France, from children to older people, "at the office, at home, in night clubs and friend parties. She said nine out of ten victims are female.

"Today, Im not talking as an abused woman, but as the nations lawmaker who is outraged that the problem is not being fought back, she said, urging the government to take action.

Aurore Berge, the newly-appointed minister in charge of gender equality, praised Josso's courage to stand up and speak out. She recalled a 2018 law that makes drugging or trying to drug a person a crime whether or not it is followed by a sexual assault.

Berge said more must be done to help the victims psychologically.

Today ... not only do we listen to them, but we tell them that we believe them, and we stand by them, she said.

Josso told French media Guerriau put ecstasy in a glass of champagne he served her, before she left as she started feeling sick.

Guerriaus lawyer said the senator didnt intend to drug Josso to abuse her and has apologized to her.

Preliminary charges under French law mean investigating magistrates have strong reason to suspect wrongdoing but allow more time before determining whether to send a case to trial.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Tuesday to widen military operations against groups linked to Kurdish militants in neighboring Iraq and Syria, days after an attack on a Turkish military base in Iraq killed nine Turkish soldiers.

Turkish warplanes and drones have been carrying out airstrikes on targets in Syria and Iraq believed to be affiliated with the banned Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, since attackers attempted to infiltrate a military base in northern Iraqs semi-autonomous Kurdish region on Friday. Five soldiers died in the attack while four others died later of critical injuries.

In a televised address following a Cabinet meeting, Erdogan said Turkish jets had struck a total of 114 targets in Syria and Iraq in operations launched in the last five days.

A further 60 infrastructure and facilities were destroyed in separate operations by Turkeys intelligence agency, the president added.

Erdogan said Turkey was determined to eliminate the threat from Kurdish militants at its source in Iraq and Syria. It was not clear if Ankara, which has carried out land offensives in the past, is contemplating a new ground operation.

Our operations will continue until every inch of the mountains in northern Iraq that have become the source of terrorist actions ... are secured, he said. In the same way, we will not stop until the terror nests in Syria ... are completely destroyed.

The Turkish leader continued: God willing, in the coming months, we will definitely take new steps in this direction, regardless of who says what, what threats they make or what their plans are.

On Monday, Kurdish led-authorities said Turkish shelling and airstrikes have targeted dozens of infrastructure facilities in northeast Syria over the past days wounding at least 10 people and cutting out electricity and water supplies in wide areas held by the main U.S.-backed group in the war-torn country.

The PKK, which maintains bases in northern Iraq, is considered a terror organization by Turkeys Western allies, including the United States. Tens of thousands of people have died since the start of the conflict in 1984.

Turkey also considers Syrian Kurdish groups as terrorist organizations but the U.S. disagrees with that status and regards them as allies in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria.
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Police are appealing for information after the bodies of seven exotic giant tortoises were found in the woods.

Two bodies were found in a wooded area roughly north-east of Exeter on Monday 8 January and a further five were found nearby on Friday 12 January.

The animals are thought to be Aldabra giant tortoises and police are investigating the circumstances that led to them being disposed of, given the unusual type of incident and the protected status of the animals.

Two bodies were found in a wooded area roughly north-east of Exeter on Monday 8 January and a further five were found nearby on Friday 12 January (Getty)

Aldabras are native to Aldabra Island, northeast of Madagascar and are one of the worlds largest land tortoises. They can reach sizes of up to 550 pounds and ages of up to 150 years old.

We are appealing to members of the public for information to try to establish the circumstances around this discovery and to identify those responsible. We would ask that if anyone knows anything, they get in touch, Inspector Mark Arthurs said.

We would also like to hear from anyone who has recently purchased a giant tortoise in the area or knows of anyone who normally has a large number of tortoises but has fewer now.

Enquiries are under way to identify the owners and establish the circumstances that led to the animals being disposed of.

Officers are appealing to the public to identify further lines of enquiry that may assist in determining the animals origin and in the investigation of potential criminal offences.

If you have any information that could help with enquiries, please contact police here or call 101 quoting 50240006127.

Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling freephone 0800 555111.
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Childcare costs are up to a third higher in London than the rest of the UK, with severe staff shortages and the soaring cost of living to blame, a study has found.

The report, by the London Assembly Economy Committee, found that London has the most expensive childcare costs in the country, with pressured parents forced to fork out between 25 and 33 per cent more in the capital.

Researchers warned the high costs mean it makes no financial sense for some parents to work and that this negatively affects womens careers as well as Londons economy.

Londoners are not just facing sky-high costs for childcare, there is also a lack of childcare spaces (PA)

It comes after recent research by the Centre for Progressive Policy (CPP) suggested that the capitals economy is losing out on around 5bn a year due to the high cost of childcare and the shortage of places. The study found between 27bn to 38bn could have been added to the wider economy each year if mothers had been able to work the hours that a lack of childcare had deprived them of.

The London Assembly Economy Committee said problems plaguing Londons childcare sector could be exacerbated by chancellor Jeremy Hunts new free childcare policy, warning that nurseries and childminders may not be able to handle the surge in demand that his new measures would ignite.

Mr Hunt unveiled a major expansion of free childcare to attract voters last year, with eligible working parents of two-year-olds told they could claim 15 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks. From September 2025, working parents who have children under five will be able to claim 30 hours of free childcare for 38 weeks per year.

The new report found Londoners are not just facing sky-high costs for childcare but there is also a lack of overall childcare spaces, with parents living in the capital more likely to find it hard to access spots for their children than in other parts of England.

Researchers warn the dearth of childcare places is especially bad for parents of children with disabilities or special educational needs, or for parents who do not work usual hours.

Our city is becoming increasingly unaffordable for families to live in. High childcare costs and other huge expenses such as housing are pushing family budgets to the brink Marina Ahmad

Marina Ahmad, chair of the Economy Committee, said: Our city is becoming increasingly unaffordable for families to live in. High childcare costs and other huge expenses such as housing are pushing family budgets to the brink.

Ms Ahmad, a London Assembly member, warned: Soaring costs are causing serious concern among parents, who are worried about their ability to save and provide, as well as impacting major life decisions such as whether to have more children.

She said if new measures were not taken to tackle this problem, even more families would be pushed out of London.

It comes after The Independent revealed last month that thousands of nurseries have shut their doors amid a staffing crisis, sparking fears the governments promise to expand free childcare was doomed to failure.

The Independent also revealed warnings from experts that Mr Hunts Budget childcare pledge was fast unravelling amid chaos over funding arrangements. Some warned the sector has not been given enough cash or support to deliver the promise by April.

The new report noted there has been a substantial fall in the number of childminders in England but London has seen the sharpest decline.

Childcare providers tend to pay more on wages, rent or mortgages in the capital than in other parts of the country, researchers said.

The report has made a number of recommendations, including calling for ministers to re-examine Londons funding rates for early education entitlements to make sure they tally with the true cost of providing high-quality childcare.

Joeli Brearley, founder and chief executive of charity Pregnant Then Screwed, said: The big issue with childcare in London is availability. Parents find it really difficult to secure a place, so much so that the demand for nannies in London is skyrocketing and we have heard from parents who say they try and poach nannies in the school playground.

She attributed the shortage of nursery staff to low wages throughout the childcare sector but explained this is exacerbated by the added problem of a higher cost of living in the capital.

Ms Brearley added: Because families cannot work without childcare, a lack of availability means the percentage of mothers in work is lower in London compared to the rest of the UK. Which of course is all contributing to a higher gender pay gap in London and it is also contributing to higher levels of child poverty.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said: Of course, while its clear that the capital is on the brink of a childcare and early years crisis, we must not forget that providers across the remainder of the country are also grappling with the very same issues.

The Confederation of British Industry has estimated that implementing the governments expanded childcare plans will cost 8.9bn rather than the 4bn ministers have allocated to fund the increase in places.

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said: We are confident in the strength of our childcare market to deliver the largest ever expansion in childcare in Englands history and have increased the hourly funding rates with a 204 million cash boost this year and over 400 million next year.

The rates reflect extensive data gathering on the costs early years providers face and how they vary across the country.
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The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum began in Davos on Monday.

Delegates from big business, governments, civil society, academia and media will spend the week discussing the biggest global challenges.

Here is all you need to know about the event.

 What is the World Economic Forum?

The World Economic Forum (WEF) was founded in 1971 by German economist Klaus Schwab with the aim of encouraging collaboration between the private and public sectors.

Generally, the WEF focuses on emerging and established global problems. One of its primary stated goals is to work towards improving the state of the world, despite the inevitable differences of opinion on how this should and can be achieved.

Importantly, the WEF issued a Davos Manifesto in 2020 which stated it is formally guided by stakeholder capitalism.

This declared corporations should deliver value and benefits to employees, society and the planet, as well as shareholders.

-Why is Davos important?

For both politicians and corporate leaders, Davos is not only an opportunity to engage and influence other powerful public and private decision-makers, but it also creates an impression of stature and respect on the global stage.

As with all conferences, the opportunity to build relationships beyond the keynote speeches is key, but the sheer range of delegates and the scope of their influence takes networking at Davos to another level.

For governments it is an opportunity to try to cement and expand influence and co-operation, while politicians in opposition will use Davos as an opportunity to build new relationships and boost their economic credentials at home and abroad.

The World Economic Forums annual meeting takes place in Davos, Switzerland, this week (Alamy/PA)

-Why are members of the Labour shadow cabinet attending Davos?

The event is clearly a prime opportunity for Labour to further impress on corporations and voters that the party is now firmly pro-business and serious about stimulating economic growth.

There is evidence that this approach is working domestically, with improved relations with the business community and a strong private sector presence at the Labour conference, which some jokingly referred to as the Liverpool Davos.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has spearheaded her partys efforts to court business and will be joined in Davos by shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds.

The pair have lined up a series of meetings, including with Google, Barclays and Ericsson, as well as with other chief executives, investors and financiers.

Ahead of her trip, Ms Reeves reiterated her commitment to boost wealth creation and business investment in the UK.

Drawing clear dividing lines between Labour in its current form, the party under previous leaders and elements in the Conservative Party, she added: There are some in politics, including those of the old left and Conservative right, who have spent the past few years rallying against, or even insulting, business.

I profoundly disagree with them.

In what will be a key message to delegates and others listening in, Ms Reeves said being pro-business and pro-worker are two sides of the same coin.

-Who is attending Davos on behalf of the UK Government?

Rishi Sunak will not be attending the World Economic Forum for the second year in a row.

Number 10 has not provided an explanation for his absence but the Prime Minister is facing significant problems at home.

He is braced for a Commons showdown on Tuesday over his flagship Rwanda plan, as allies sought to play down the damaging prospect of two Tory deputy chairmen joining a backbench rebellion.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron and trade minister Lord Johnson will travel to Davos and may feel there is some damage to the Governments reputation that needs repairing.

For example, the cancellation of the HS2 rail line between Birmingham and Manchester provoked some anger from industry, while concerns have also been raised by businesses over the watering down of net-zero commitments.

Jeremy Hunt (PA Wire)

 What are the main issues that are expected to be discussed in Davos?

Global conflict, the rise of artificial intelligence and climate change are set to be the key themes of discussions at this years gathering.

The WEF said it is focused on rebuilding trust in an era of rapid change and increased fragmentation.

The war in Ukraine, the conflict in Gaza and other geopolitical tensions will be at the forefront of delegates minds, with discussions set to focus on what the organisers describe as a response to profound disruption.

WEF founder Klaus Schwab said: We face a fractured world and growing societal divides, leading to pervasive uncertainty and pessimism.

We have to rebuild trust in our future by moving beyond crisis management, looking at the root causes of the present problems and building together a more promising future.

 Why is Davos controversial?

There are politicians and commentators on both the left and right who are highly critical of the WEF.

Some on the right describe the forums lofty aims as idealistic and the event as an example of counter-productive groupthink.

Others on the left say a gathering of some of the worlds richest individuals and corporations is a sinister example of the global elite asserting its ideology and authority.

There are often protests surrounding the event, while sometimes delegates raise concerns over issues such as tax evasion and corporate greed.

 Where is Davos

Davos is in the Davos Region in the canton of Graubunden, Switzerland.
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The Metropolitan polices war crimes unit met a pro-Palestinian campaign group last week to hear claims of war crimes committed against Gaza by Israel.

On Tuesday the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) said it had given hard drives and dossiers of evidence to the Scotland Yard unit.

Scotland Yard said it was now assessing the evidence to determine whether a formal investigation into the accusations should be carried out.

The pro-Palestine campaign group said they have given evidence related to British politicians of alleged war crimes. They previously also issued intent to prosecute British politicians for aiding and abetting war crimes.

Four senior British politicians have been accused of complicity in alleged Israeli war crimes committed during the countrys on going attack of Gaza (AFP via Getty Images)

Apparent evidence was provided by the group in relation to senior politicians, including government ministers, as well as Israeli ministers and private British individuals.

An Israeli military spokesperson told The Independent: The IDF is fully committed to respecting all applicable international legal obligations, including the Law of Armed Conflict.

The ICJP previously issued Sir Keir Starmer, Emily Thornberry and David Lammy with a public notice of intention to prosecute any UK officials allegedly complict with war crimes.

The group accused the Labour politicians of speaking out in defence of Israels withholding of food, water and electricity to Gaza. Mr Starmer, Ms Thornberry and Mr Lammy were approached for comment.

Scotland Yard confirmed that its war crimes team had received more than 40 referrals in recent weeks, including from people returning from the region.

A Met spokesperson told The Independent: The information within the referral will now be assessed by specialist officers as part of a scoping exercise to determine whether any further action or formal investigation will be carried out.

At this time, there is no UK-based investigation into this matter, or any other matters relating to this particular conflict.

We remain focussed on supporting victims and witnesses who report core international crimes, as well as supporting the UK families of those directly affected by the terrorist attacks in Israel on 7 October last year.
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A pensioner has been killed after a blaze broke out at his 2.5million home in south-west London, with police launching an investigation.

Four fire engines and 25 firefighters were dispatched to Onslow Road in Richmond shortly after 8pm on Monday night to the three-storey Victorian property.

Part of the ground floor was damaged while a man was sadly confirmed to have died. While his exact age is unknown, the Metropolitan Police described him as elderly.

The London Fire Brigade said in a statement: The Brigade was called at 8.08pm, and the fire was under control by 10.05pm. Firefighters from Richmond, Kingston and Twickenham fire stations attended the scene.

Firefighters were called to Onslow Road shortly after 8pm (Google Maps)

The fire is under investigation by the Brigade and the Metropolitan Police Service.

The property remains cordoned off while investigators investigate the cause of the blaze, while neraby residents were evacuated as a precaution until the fire was under control.

A Met Police statement said: An elderly man has died following a fire in Richmond.

Police were called at 20:14hrs on Monday, 15 January to the fire at an address in Onslow Road, Richmond. Some neighbouring addresses were evacuated as a precaution.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown. Police remain at the scene.
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Watch as David Cameron takes questions in the House of Lords on Tuesday 16 January.

The foreign secretary will be questioned on a range of topics, including how a lasting ceasefire arrangement between Israel and Gaza can be secured.

Lord Cameron will be speaking in parliament after Rishi Sunak warned yesterday that the government remains prepared to back our words with actions, as missile attacks continued in the Red Sea despite last weeks air strikes against Houthi rebels.

The threats to shipping must cease. Illegally detained vessels and crews must be released. And we remain prepared to back our words with actions, the prime minister told the House of Commons.

The UK joined the US in targeting Houthi locations in Yemen last week as part of efforts to ensure international cargo vessels can travel through the vital shipping route after assaults by the Iran-backed militants.

It is the latest clash during trouble sparked by the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Starting out the show with some amazing new releases, first one from ABE VAN DAM's SAMUEL ECHO vocal project, this one called 'The Crazy River' out this past week: https://samuel-echo.bandcamp.com/track/the-crazy-river Then we get into some heavy techno with someone introduced to me by ADN MUTANT, Erik Yahnkovf released this on Capricorn this pas week on a 3 tracker EP called Fallas en Sistema aka System Failure, check out this Berlin style banger Falsas Expectativas, track 3: https://www.beatport.com/track/falsas-expectativas/18264940 Then we play a future classic from NY producer CarlBeats who dropped this chunky dark booty shaker out on his very own imprint VORTEX RECORDINGS called Going In: https://www.beatport.com/release/going-in/4398863 Then we get into the mix part of the show with two epic mixes from QUEENYY and BALU, first up QUEENYY takes us on a journey across the world through an extensive series of rhythms. Her passions lie with music, traveling and dance and these allow her to excel when it comes to discovering, selecting, and mixing underground global sounds across multiple sub-genres of House and Techno, Afro Bass, Garage, Breaks, Drum & Bass, Amapiano, Batida, Gqom and much more can be heard throughout her danceable mixes. Queenyys eclectic sound has brought many opportunities performing in here in her hometown in the past 2 years. Playing at Canadian staples such as the National Arts Center and the National Gallery of Canada; You can find her playing monthly at The Speakeasy Afterlight at City at Night during the week; Shes taken over the decks at events such as Basscamp, Debaser and Amashowza; She has demand in Toronto and landed international gigs spinning on DEJAVU FM in London, UK. Queenyy continues to cultivate a unique vibe and sound that only she can deliver and you can catch her this Saturday at White Rabbit for Hoppy Hour at City at Night, things get started at 9PM get there early to hear a decidedly House only set: WHITE RABBIT: https://www.facebook.com/events/3648569942052232 GUIDED MOVEMENT: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ASP/main_enroll.asp?studioid=687092 Then we cap the show with with something appropriately called 'SEISMIC ACTIVITY' with BALU who dropped this bomb of a mix this past week, Enjoy :)
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Rishi Sunaks plan to force his flagship Rwanda bill through parliament was thrown into fresh turmoil as two Conservative Party deputy chairs quit after backing rebel amendments.

Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith resigned after siding with right-wing Tory MPs trying to force the PM to toughen up the bill with last-minute changes.

It came as ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick and other hardliners insisted that they were ready to defy the government at Wednesdays showdown vote after their amendments were voted down.

Lee Anderson backed rebel amendments to Rishi Sunaks Rwanda bill (PA Wire)

Tory rebels told The Independent that there could be more than 30 MPs willing to defy Mr Sunak and hand him a humiliating defeat if he does not make his changes ahead of the vote on Wednesday evening.

Former minister Sir Simon Clarke said he wasnt f***ing around as he vowed to vote against the bill, while Boris Johnson encouraged the insurrection by insisting Mr Sunaks legislation was changed to be made as robust as possible.

Understood to have been pushed out by the government whips over their insurrection, Mr Anderson and Mr Clarke-Smith announced their exit in a joint resignation letter.

The pair said they wanted to strengthen the bill and told the PM they would need to offer you our resignations from our roles. They also argued that Mr Sunak was allowing himself to be bound by a Blair-era legal framework and international agreements which are out of date.

Speaking after his resignation, Mr Anderson told GB News: I dont think I could carry on in my role when I fundamentally disagree with the Bill. I cant be in a position to vote for something I dont believe in. He added he believes the Bill could work and insisted the prime minister still had 100% of his support.

Jane Stevenson, the parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to business secretary Kemi Badenoch, also quit after backing the rebel amendment. She said she did not consider her votes to have been anti-government, but they do warrant resignation.

It is difficult to vote for it unamended. Its very hard to vote for something you dont think is going to work Tory MP John Hayes

In bigger-than-expected rebellions, some 68 MPs  including almost 60 Tories  voted for Sir Bill Cashs amendment aimed at restricting the use of international law to thwart Rwanda flights. And 58 MPs voted in favour of Mr Jenricks amendment aimed at severely limiting individual asylum seekers ability to appeal.

It would take just 29 Tory MPs to overturn Mr Sunaks 56-seat majority and defeat the government at the final Commons vote on Wednesday.

Dozens of senior Tory MPs on the right  including former PM Liz Truss, ex-home secretary Suella Braverman, former leader Iain Duncan Smith and ex-cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg  gathered in parliament on Tuesday night to discuss how to vote.

One senior Tory rebel told The Independent: Even if half of the 65 signatories [to amendments] voted against the bill it would be enough to defeat the government  the government should be aware its possible if they dont accept amendments.

They added: A defeat would be very serious for the prime minister. It would probably mean Labour putting forward a no-confidence vote in the Commons. Nobody in the party wants that.

Rishi Sunak faces a battle to get his Rwanda bill through the Commons (AP)

Tory whips were said to be in overdrive trying to persuade MPs to back the government. The government does not plan to accept any of the rebel amendments  but could still produce its own changes, or even delay the crunch vote if it is facing defeat.

John Hayes, the Common Sense Group leader, told The Independent: It is difficult to vote for it unamended. Its very hard to vote for something you dont think is going to work.

Mr Hayes  often described as Suella Bravermans mentor  said rebel MPs were increasingly enthusiastic about our position. He added: The government could produce their own amendment or delay [the vote]. They would be wise to do so.

Tory rebel Mark Francois, chair of the European Research Group (ERG), did not rule out voting against the government. Asked if the rebels have the numbers to defeat Mr Sunak, he said: All I will say at this stage is I think the numbers [on amendments] tonight speak for themselves.

Mr Jenrick warned in the Commons that attempts by the right to strengthen the Rwanda plan were Mr Sunaks last opportunity to stop small boat crossings.

The ex-immigration minister  who quit over the weak legislation  said he could see no reason why the PM could not accept his amendments and fix the flaws in his Rwanda plan once and for all.

Ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick said Sunak was on last chance to fix the Rwanda plan (PA Wire)

The hardliner said: I am prepared to vote against the bill ... because this bill doesnt work, and I do believe that a better bill is possible.

In a last-ditch attempt to calm hardliners concerns, Mr Sunaks justice secretary Alex Chalk said he has asked more judges to be appointed to the first-tier and upper tribunal to speed up courts dealing with migrant appeals.

It is understood 150 judges could be brought in to deal with cases. The judiciary has identified judges who could provide 5,000 additional sitting days while extra space had been prepared.

But senior Tory MP Danny Kruger, co-founder of the New Conservatives, said rebels were not satisfied by Mr Sunaks assurances that he is prepared to ignore European judges or boost the number of judges.

Im afraid Im not yet satisfied by what weve heard from the PM, he told GB News. We really hope that the government has listened to us and is prepared to concede and ideally adopt the amendments as its own.

Miriam Cates  co-founder of the New Conservatives group  told BBC the desperate courts move showed that the government is expecting a large number of individual claims.

Boris Johnson encouraged MPs to try to toughen up Sunaks bill (PA Wire)

And Mr Johnson  at odds with Mr Sunak ever since he was kicked out of No 10  twisted the knife by offering his support to the Tory rebels. This bill must be as legally robust as possible  and the right course is to adopt the amendments, the former PM said on X, formerly Twitter.

Former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland  a leading One Nation moderate  said Mr Sunak should keep calm and carry on. It would be best advised not to accept any of the amendments from my colleagues on the right.

Earlier, cabinet minister Michael Gove had said that he was pretty sure Mr Anderson would still be in post at the next election. Lee is a friend ... the concerns that Lee has about the bill are the concerns that the country has about migration more broadly, the levelling up secretary told Times Radio.

Labours campaign coordinator Pat McFadden said the resignations showed that Mr Sunak is too weak to lead his party and too weak to lead the country.

The Liberal Democrats said Mr Sunak had again been embarrassed by his own MPs. Home affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said: If the prime minister cant even settle squabbles in his own party, how can he be expected to run the country?
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The Conservative partys deputy chairman Lee Anderson has rocked Rishi Sunaks authority by backing rebel MPs defying the prime minister over his Rwanda bill.

The senior Tory figure has effectively dared Mr Sunak to sack him by announcing that he is supporting the right-wingers who are pushing for last-minute changes to the deportation legislation.

Almost 60 Conservative MPs have now backed amendments by ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick aimed at toughening the bill ahead of a showdown vote on Wednesday.

Mr Anderson announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was backing the hardline amendments tabled by Bill Cash and Mr Jenrick.

I have signed the Cash & Jenrick amendments. I will vote for them, the controversial MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire tweeted.

Asked by if the Tory whips have told him he can still remain in his role as deputy chairman, Mr Anderson told reporters: No, I havent been told that.

Although he did not immediately resign from the job, Mr Andersons allies believe he is more likely to quit before he is fired by Mr Sunak over the act of rebellion.

Earlier on Monday, grilled on whether he would sack Mr Anderson if he rebelled, Mr Sunak said only: Im frustrated about the situation ... Im confident that the bill weve got is the toughest that anyones ever seen.

Hardline MPs are vowing to vote against the government if Mr Sunak refuses to back down by Wednesdays vote  with one telling The Independent that the chances of a seismic defeat that could end his time at No 10 are under-priced.

It would take just 29 Tory MPs to overturn Mr Sunaks 56-seat parliamentary majority and defeat the government at the final Commons vote on Wednesday.

As well as trying to block any role for the European court in deportation cases, Mr Jenrick and others have demanded that Mr Sunak restricts the grounds on which illegal migrants can bring claims.

Lee Anderson with Sunak during visit to school in Ashfield earlier this month (PA)

Hardliners in the New Conservatives and the European Research Group (ERG) met on Monday to discuss their amendments ahead of the crucial third reading showdown.

One senior right-wing Tory MP involved in the discussions said there was a growing feeling it is better not to have any bill than a bill that doesnt work.

And John Hayes, chair of the Common Sense Group, told The Independent: There is significant support for the amendments  its more than I think the government were anticipating. Im hopeful the government will listen.

In an apparent bid to keep right-wingers happy, the Tory leader talked up his willingness to use the bill to ignore any injunctions from the European Court of Human Rights on Rwanda deportations flights.

Mr Sunak told GB News: If youre asking me  are there circumstances in which Im prepared to ignore those rule 39s [section 39 injunctions]? Then yes, of course there are.

No 10 refused to comment on any conversations with Mr Anderson or cabinet minister Kemi Badenoch, who is said to have warned the PMs team that the bill does not go far enough.
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Britain is sending a task force of 20,000 to take part in the biggest Nato exercise since the Cold War which aims to make the alliance battle-ready at an increasingly dangerous time with conflicts raging in the Middle East and Ukraine.

The UK contingent, from the army, Royal Navy and the RAF will provide almost half of the 41,000 service personnel which will take part in Operation Steadfast Defender which will have a multinational deployment of up to 50 warships, and dozens of aircraft, carrying out 700 air combat missions.

The drills taking place across Germany, Poland and the Baltics on Natos 75th year are part of an urgent push for the alliance to change from essentially a crisis-response unit to full combat stance at short notice.

The war games, using real-time geographical data to create more realistic scenarios for troops, will be aimed at countering an enemy coalition led by Russia, named Ocassus for the occasion, carrying out aggression against member states.

But it will also be partly focused on dealing with hostile armed militias and terrorist groups which threatens the alliances interests internationally.

Defence secretary Grant Shapps will warn that Britains adversaries are busily rebuilding their barriers and old enemies are being reanimated.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps will warn Britains enemies are busily rebuilding their barriers (PA Wire)

A US led coalition is at present engaged in military action against the Houthis in Yemen with the US and UK carrying out airstrikes. Although Nato is not part of the mission, a number of member states are involved, and the exercise, it is believed, will help hone interoperability.

As well as 31 member states, Sweden, whose bid to join is yet to be ratified by Turkey and Hungary, will be taking part in the exercise.

Rishi Sunak announced a 2.5bn security assistance package for Ukraine during a visit to meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky last week. Mr Shapps is due to announce the dispatch of the force to the Nato exercise in a major speech at Lancaster House in London on Monday.

The defence secretary is due to say we are in a new era and we must be prepared to deter our enemies, prepared to lead our allies and prepared to defend our nation whenever the call comes.

Rishi Sunak visited Ukraine to pledge 2.5billion in military aid to the war-torn country (PA)

Today our adversaries are busily rebuilding their barriers. Old enemies are reanimated. Battle lines are being redrawn. The tanks are literally on Ukraines lawn. And the foundations of the world order are being shaken to their core. We stand at a crossroads.

I can announce that UK will be sending some 20,000 personnel to take part in Exercise Steadfast Defender. It will see our military joining forces with counterparts from 30 Nato countries plus Sweden, providing vital reassurance against the Putin menace.

The Royal Navy contribution is of eight warships and submarines, and more than 2,000 sailors, including a Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier with F35B Lightning jets as well as helicopters, escort frigates and destroyers.

In addition more than 400 Royal Marines Commandos will be deployed to the Arctic Circle to be the core of an allied amphibious task group designed to land and defend the alliance in the High North, where both Russia and China are making forays.

Around 16,000 troops from the army will be based across eastern Europe from February to June 2024, with them tanks, artillery, helicopters, and airbourne and Special Operations Forces. The RAF will supply F35B Lightning attack and Poseidon P8 surveillance aircraft which will take part in simulated conflict scenarios against enemy fighters, missiles and drones.

Natos military chief, the US Navy Admiral Rob Bauer, said recently: A new era of collective defence is upon us and we need to be prepared to act.

The alliance has agreed to increase the number of its high-readiness forces from 40,000 to over 300,000. At a summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, last summer it agreed to new regional defence plans and the creation of an Allied Reaction Force to provide rapid response when needed.
Squabbling over the Rwanda bill has once again highlighted the remarkable number of factions within the parliamentary Conservative Party. Some in Westminster refer to the major groups as the five families of the party, though the number of sub-groups has mushroomed, particularly on the hard right. The most high profile in recent years has been the European Research Group, chaired by Mark Francois, which made menacing demands of Rishi Sunak about his proposed legislation, albeit they were pretty much ignored. All have one thing in common: a taste for plotting and intrigue amounting to addiction.

If the Conservatives go into opposition, these disputatious parties-within-a-party will become even more fractious; they are both symptom and cause of the splits that have so disfigured the Conservatives. Tory groups used to be dining clubs of like-minded chums (such as the Blue Chips in the 1980s  John Major and Chris Patten) or earnest researchers, such as the Bow Group or the Centre for Policy Studies. Nowadays, the politics are much more raw.

Here is a partial field guide to the different species of Tory MP...
 Close MP's anger at Tata Steel Port Talbot closure

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Tatas decision to axe 3,000 jobs at its plant in South Wales will leave the UK reliant on foreign steel imports for years to come, as an MP warned the move raised serious questions about national security.

Stephen Kinnock, the shadow minister for immigration and Labour MP for Aberavon - home of the Port Talbot steelworks - said the move leaves the UK the only G20 country unable to make its own steel from scratch.

Earlier Tata confirmed plans to close blast furnaces at the plant, with the loss of more than 3,000 jobs. About 2,800 jobs will go over the next 18 months, with a further 300 to be lost after. The Indian-owned firm said the plans were aimed at reversing more than a decade of losses.

The move also sparked outrage among several unions.

A statement by the GMB and Community said: It is an absolute disgrace that Tata Steel, and the UK government, appear intent on pursuing the cheapest instead of the best plan for our industry, our steelworkers and our country.
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Boris Johnson launched an attempt to sabotage Rishi Sunaks Rwanda plan by throwing his support behind right-wing Conservative MPs trying to force the PM into last-minute changes.

A growing number of Tory hardliners have threatened to vote against the government and send Mr Sunaks premiership into crisis if Mr Sunak refuses to toughen up the legislation.

Robert Jenrick and other rebels said they are ready to defy the government at Wednesdays showdown vote on the PMs flagship deportation plan.

Fellow hardliner Simon Clarke said he wasnt f**king around and vowed to vote against the bill if remains unamended. Simple as that, he tweeted on X.

And Mr Johnson  at odds with Mr Sunak ever since he was kicked out of No 10  twisted the knife by offering his support to the Tory rebels. This bill must be as legally robust as possible  and the right course is to adopt the amendments, the former PM said on X, formerly Twitter.

Dozens of senior Tory MPs on the right  including former PM Liz Truss, ex-home secretary Suella Braverman, former leader Iain Duncan Smith and ex-cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg  have gathered in parliament on Tuesday night to discuss how to vote.

Tory rebels claimed there could be more than 30 MPs willing to defy Mr Sunak and hand him a humiliating Commons defeat if he does not back down.

John Hayes MP, the Common Sense Group leader, told The Independent: It is difficult to vote for it unamended. Its very hard to vote for something you dont think is going to work.

Rishi Sunak is refusing to make any changes to flagship Rwanda bill (PA Wire)

Over 65 right-wingers backed the amendments tabled by Mr Jenrick. It would take just 29 Tory MPs to overturn Mr Sunaks 56-seat majority and defeat the government at the final Commons vote on Wednesday.

One senior Tory rebel said Mr Sunaks last-ditch promise of 150 judges to speed up deportation cases had backfired by hardening sceptical MPs against Mr Sunaks plan.

The hardliner told The Independent: Even if half of the 65 signatories voted against the bill it would be enough to defeat the government  the government should be aware its possible if they dont accept amendments.

They added: A defeat would be very serious for the prime minister. It would probably mean Labour putting forward a no-confidence vote in the Commons. Nobody in the party wants that.

Tory whips were said to be in overdrive trying to persuade MPs to back the government. The government does not plan to accept any of the rebel amendments  but could still produce its own changes, or even delay the crunch vote if they are facing defeat.

Mr Hayes  often described as Suella Bravermans mentor  said rebel MPs were increasingly enthusiastic about our position. He added: The government could produce their own amendment or delay [the vote]. They would be wise to do so.

Robert Jenrick said Sunak had last opportunity to fix flawed bill (PA Wire)

Mr Jenrick warned in the Commons that attempts by the right to strengthen the Rwanda plan were Mr Sunaks last opportunity to stop small boat crossings.

The ex-immigration minister  who quit over the weak legislation  said he could see no reason why the PM could not accept his amendments and fix the flaws in his Rwanda plan once and for all.

The hardliner said: I am prepared to vote against the bill... because this bill doesnt work, and I do believe that a better bill is possible.

In a last-ditch attempt to calm hardliners concerns, Mr Sunaks justice secretary Alex Chalk said he has asked more judges to be appointed to the first-tier and upper tribunal to speed up courts dealing with migrant appeals.

It is understood 150 judges could be brought in to deal with cases. The judiciary has identified judges which could provide 5,000 additional sitting days while extra space had been prepared.

But senior Tory MP Danny Kruger, co-founder of the New Conservatives, has rebels were not satisfied by Mr Sunaks assurances that he is prepared to ignore European judges or boost the number of judges.

Im afraid Im not yet satisfied by what weve heard from the PM, he told GB News. We really hope that the government has listened to us and is prepared to concede and ideally adopt the amendments as its own.

Miriam Cates  co-founder of the New Conservatives group  told BBC the desparate courts move showed that the government is expecting a large number of individual claims.

Boris Johnson added to Sunaks woes by backing rebels (AFP via Getty Images)

Former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland  a leading One Nation moderate  said Mr Sunak should keep calm and carry on. It would be best advised not to accept any of the amendments from my colleagues on the right.

Tory deputy chairmen Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith have put their own party posts at risk by backing changes to bill. Michael Gove sought to play down Tory divisions. The levelling up secretary said he was pretty sure Mr Anderson would still be in post at the next election.

Lee is a friend and Im a big admirer of his, the concerns that Lee has about the Bill are the concerns that the country has about migration more broadly, the cabinet minister told Times Radio.

In a further blow to the PM, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the Rwanda bill and recently signed treaty with Kigali was not compatible with international refugee law.

Foreign secretary David Cameron said that the UN Refugee Convention was written for another age as he defended the out of the box and quite unorthodox Rwanda bill in the Lords.

Lord Cameron told peers: We do not believe the Rwanda scheme is contrary to international law  It is within the law, it is novel, but I believe it can work.
 Close Tory MP Simon Clarke vows to vote against Rishi Sunak's flagship Rwanda policy

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Rishi Sunak is staging a last-ditch bid to win over right-wing Conservatives MPs threatening to defeat his Rwanda deportation legislation.

The PM faces a mounting rebellion over the flagship immigration policy, with Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith poised to back rebel amendments to the bill.

Mr Anderson and Mr Clarke-Smith said they would defy the Government by joining more than 60 Tory MPs who are seeking to disapply international law from the Bill and curtail asylum seekers rights to appeal against flights to Kigali.

But any attempt by Mr Sunak to placate them would be opposed by more moderate Tories, who are keen to protect the legislation against breaches of international law.

It comes as the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has concluded after a legal assessment of the UK governments new Rwanda bill that its not compatible with international law.

The UNHCR said the modified Rwanda scheme does not meet the required standards relating to the legality and appropriateness of the transfer of asylum seekers and is not compatible with international refugee law.
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Can the Tories cling to power in 2024? Is Sir Keir Starmer the UKs next Prime Minister? What will be the defining issues of the next election? And when will we actually take to the polls this year?

So many questions swirl around the upcoming 2024 general election - and we want to hear your predictions.

On Monday Rishi Sunak dismissed the significance of a damning opinion poll predicting the Tories are on track for a 1997-style wipeout.

The research, which was commissioned by Tory donors working with arch-Brexiteer David Frost, suggests the Conservatives are facing a humiliating defeat with several senior MPs set to lose their seats.

The YouGov survey of 14,000 people suggests the Tories could retain as few as 169 seats, while Labour would sweep into power with 385  giving Sir Keir Starmer a massive 120-seat majority.

It came as Sir Keir warns Labour MPs that the Tory prime minister could still call a surprise general election in the spring.

The Labour leader told his troops to get ready to campaign within months, despite Mr Sunak saying he wanted to go to the polls later in the year.

Speaking to his MPs at the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) on Monday night, Sir Keir also warned of a potentially dirty election campaign  having vowed to fight fight with fire.

Whether it happens in May or November, we are just months away from taking to polling stations up and down the country.

Share your predictions in the comments and well highlight the best takes as they come in.

All you have to do is sign up and register your details - then you can then take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking log in on the top right-hand corner of the screen.

Make sure you adhere to our community guidelines , which can be found here . For a full guide on how to comment click here.

Join the conversation with other Independent readers below or by clicking here.
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A Florida man has been arrested after he allegedly launched his sandwich at a Subway employee because he was upset with the way it was cut.

Albert De Barros, 54, was charged with battery after the sandwich commotion, which escalated at a Subway in Stuart, Florida, on 9 January.

Police were called to a disturbance at around 5pm at the restaurant.

The employee told Martin County Sheriffs officers that the incident occurred due to Mr De Barros becoming upset with her after finding out his sandwich was not separated, according to an arrest report obtained by Fox Business.

The Subway customer and the employee had a brief verbal exchange that led to Mr De Barros causing a disruptive scene, the report said.

After this, the employee said she would no longer serve him, at which point Mr De Barros made a phone call.

While on the call, Mr De Barros allegedly picked up his sandwich and threw it at the employee, which struck her in her mid-to-lower body, the outlet reported.

The unhappy customer allegedly hurled his sandwich at the employee (Getty)

Mr De Barros then marched out of the sandwich shop. The employee who was allegedly assaulted followed him, capturing a video of him, his demeanour, and his licence plate.

The alleged sandwich slinger was questioned by police and told them he "believed he threw the sandwich at the counter instead of the worker," the affidavit reportedly said.

Police said they saw surveillance footage from the store, which showed Mr De Barros taking his sandwich from the counter and hitting the employee with it.

Mr De Barros was booked into Martin County Jail but was released on Wednesday after posting a $1,000 bail. Records obtained by Fox Business show he will be arraigned on 1 February.

In June 2022, a man was arrested in Atlanta after being accused of fatally shooting a Subway employee because there was too much mayonnaise on his sandwich, WSB-TV reported.

Melvin Williams, charged with murder, among other counts, was denied bond in November while awaiting trial.
 Close Related: Moment Rex Heuermann arrested in Gilgo Beach case

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Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann is back in court today where he is expected to be formally charged with the murder of a fourth victim.

The 60-year-old Manhattan architect appeared in Suffolk County Courthouse in Riverhead, Long Island  a hearing that comes weeks before the accused killer had been scheduled to return to court.

Mr Heuermann was arrested back in July in what marked a bombshell development in the notorious case that had rumbled on unsolved for over a decade, after the remains of 11 victims were found dumped along the shores.

At the time, he was charged with the murders of Megan Waterman, Amber Costello and Melissa Barthelemy  who each vanished after going to meet a client for sex work.

On Tuesday, Mr Heuermann was charged with a fourth murder related to the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.

Together, the four women hes accused of killing are known as the Gilgo Four.

Suffolk County DA Raymond Tierney held a press conference after the court appearance, remarking on the cutting edge technology that led to the new charges.
To earn the prestigious Eagle Scout honor, each Scout must complete a project that benefits the community in some way. When the Columbus Area United Way's Hope Freshour contacted Ian Karges with the idea of building a Free Little Pantry, he took to the idea.

"Hope Freshour at the United Way was the one who had the project idea; she went to Charlie Bahr, my Scoutmaster, and asked if he had any up-and-coming Scouts who needed an Eagle Scout project," Karges said. "He thought of my dad because he's part of United Way and we thought it would be a good project to do."

In total, Karges built and installed four Free Little Pantries. Colfax County's is located at the Schuyler Head Start building at 1014 W. Ninth St. Platte County's is at the Columbus Area United Way, 3214 25th St. Nance County's is at the Nance County Food Pantry in Fullerton, 309 Esther St. Boone County's is at the Boone County Food Pantry in Albion, 1106 W. State St.

The concept is pretty simple  people give to and take from the pantries as needed, and the United Way restocks them when supply gets low. Program Data Coordinator Janet Bouc said the United Way will eventually work with others in the community to keep them stocked.

"Grant funding has been secured to assist with the initial stocking of the pantries until we have established relationships with community organizations and groups to share in the endeavor," Bouc said. "The concept of the pantries is to take what you need, give what you can."

Karges had to gather plans, construct and install the pantries, which will help further the United Way's mission. Bouc said tackling food insecurity is part of how United Way fulfills its mission pillar of financial stability.

"Under the pillar of financial stability, a community goal is to ensure basic needs of food and shelter are met. The little free pantries are one method of providing a measurable amount to food made available to any community member that has a need for assistance establishing food security," Bouc said.

Karges said he hasn't personally witnessed anyone coming up to the boxes, but he can tell they're being used and doing their job.

"Driving by the one in town, it's always stocked and there's different stuff in there all the time so I know it's being restocked," Karges said. "I hear from my grandma, she knows the person who stocks the one in Albion and she said it was being used a lot and it's a really big help for the community."

His Scoutmaster Charlie Bahr said the best part of the Eagle Scout projects is seeing scouts lead the project.

"When we first get the boys in Boy Scouts, they're 10 or 11 and not ready to take on the helm of a big project like that," Bahr said. "It's always been fun and a big pleasure to watch them grow and mature and actually lead those projects."

Bouc said these pantries are another way the Columbus Area United Way can serve their coverage area and improve health, education and financial stability in the area. Karges added that this project serves as an Eagle Scout project because of that community angle.

"The main thing about the Eagle Scout project is it allows a Scout to show they're able to be a leader in their community and with other Scouts by planning and coordinating a project that benefits the community, or anyone the project is for," Karges said.
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Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann has now been charged with the murder of a fourth woman  more than a decade after she vanished from Manhattan, her body later found dumped along the Long Island shores.

The 60-year-old Manhattan-based architect appeared in Suffolk County Courthouse in Riverhead, Long Island, on Tuesday morning where he was hit with a fresh charge of second-degree murder in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.

Brainard-Barnes was last seen alive on 9 July 2007, when she left a motel in Manhattan to meet a client for sex work.

At the time, the 25-year-old was living in Norwich, Connecticut, but had travelled to Manhattan in early July where she was staying at and working out of the Super 8 Motel on 59 West 46th St. She was known to advertise her services on Craigslist, Backpage and other websites under the names of Juliana or Marie.

Just before midnight on 9 July 2007, Brainard-Barnes called a friend in Connecticut to say she would be going to meet a client on an out-call outside of the motel.

She was never seen or heard from again.

Over three years later in December 2010, her remains were discovered dumped in the thick brush along Ocean Parkway, near Gilgo Beach. Her body had been bound by three leather belts, one of which was embossed with the initials W.H. or H.M.

At the time of her disappearance, prosecutors allege that Mr Heuermann was home alone in Massapequa Park, with his wife Asa Ellerup and their two children Victoria and Christopher out of state on vacation.

Documents retrieved during a search of the accused killers storage unit as well as cellphone records reveal that Ms Ellerup and the children checked into a hotel in Atlantic City from 6 July through 20 July 2007, according to the superseding indictment, unsealed in court on Tuesday.

The site along Ocean Parkway where Maureen Brainard-Barnes remains were found (Suffolk County Police Department)

Mr Heuermann allegedly stayed behind in New York.

On 9 July  three days after his family left  Brainard-Barnes disappeared.

Four days later on 13 July, Mr Heuermann joined his family in Atlantic City, according to prosecutors.

Based on the foregoing, the murders of all four victims occurred at times when Defendant Heuermanns wife and children were traveling out of state, which allowed Defendant Heuermann unfettered time to execute his plans for each victim without any fear that his family would uncover or learn of his involvement in these crimes, the superseding indictment states.

Prosecutors also revealed a series of messages sent in March 2020 from a burner phone used by Mr Heuermann to a woman advertising escort work in the Massapequa area.

In the messages, Mr Heuermann appears to be arranging a meeting with the woman based on when his wife is away.

I WAS FREE TODAY MY WIFE IS OUT FOR THE DAY, he allegedly wrote.

The accused killer, according to prosecutors, had several burner phones held in fictitious names and used for illicit activities.

Two burner phones seized from Mr Heuermann at the time of his arrest  one from his person and one from the office of his Midtown Manhattan architecture firm  had allegedly been used by him to contact sex workers between 2020 and 2023.

The court documents also reveal new chilling details about the suspected serial killers use of several online accounts, as well as his disturbing online searches.

Email accounts allegedly used by Mr Heuermann were used to access and/or conduct searches related to pornography, rape, torture, and sex workers several thousand times, prosecutors said.

Among the harrowing searches were: autopsy photos of female, stories of rape audio, escorts manhattan, and very skinny white teen tied up porn.

Rex Heuermann in court on 16 January 2024 (AP)

Prosecutors allege that one of these email accounts was used as recently as July 2021, to access and conduct dozens of searches into the Gilgo Beach homicide investigation.

Hundreds of electronic devices seized following Mr Heuermanns arrest also revealed that he carried out searches for the Gilgo Beach victims and their family members, for serial killers and for software that could wipe or erase data from computers, according to the indictment.

Today, Defendant Rex A. Heuermann stands before this Court charged by the Grand Jury in a Superseding Indictment, which incorporates not only the above counts, but the additional charge of: MURDER IN THE SECOND DEGREE, in violation of New York State Penal Law Section 125.25(1), a class A-I violent felony for the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes on or about July 9, 2007, prosecutors wrote in the superseding indictment.

Mr Heuermann pleaded not guilty to the new charge in court on Tuesday, as Brainard-Barnes sister Melissa Cann looked on from the courtroom. Mr Heuermanns wife Ms Ellerup and daughter Victoria were also in court for the hearing.

The tragic discovery of Brainard-Barnes body was made during the search for Shannan Gilbert, who had gone missing from nearby Oak Beach.

In total, the remains of 11 victims were found in the area, sparking fears that a serial killer or serial killers was on the loose.

Brainard-Barnes and three other women  Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello  together became known as the Gilgo Four.

All four had disappeared in similar circumstances; each working as sex workers who advertised on Craigslist and vanished after going to meet a client. Brainard-Barnes was the first to go missing.

All four were also found in similar circumstances  their bodies dumped within one-quarter mile of each other, bound by belts or tape and some wrapped in burlap along Gilgo Beach.

Mr Heuermann was previously charged with the murders of Waterman, Barthelemy and Costello back in July, when New York law enforcement officials swooped on the suspected serial killer in what marked the first major development in the prolific case.

Maureen Brainard-Barnes (Family handout)

He was also named the prime suspect in Brainard-Barnes murder with outgoing Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison indicating that it would only be a matter of time before he was also charged in her killing.

The initial indictment, unsealed back in July, revealed that Mr Heuermann was tied to the murders through a tip about his pickup truck, a stash of burner phones, sadistic online searches and phone calls taunting some of the victims families.

A hair belonging to Mr Heuermann was also allegedly found on the burlap wrapped around Watermans body.

And, prosecutors said, hairs belonging to his wife Ms Ellerup were found on Waterman, Costello  and on the belt used to bind Brainard-Barnes.

Prosecutors found that the suspects wife was out of town at the time of the murders but that her hair could have transferred to the crime scene through her husbands clothing or through him using items such as tape taken from the family home.

The superseding indictment, unsealed on Tuesday, found that  based on further DNA testing  the hair found on Brainard-Barnes body was 7.9 trillion times more likely to have come from Ms Ellerup than from an unrelated individual.

It also revealed new details about the evidence tying Mr Heuermann to the other three victims.

Prosecutors allege that an analysis of Mr Heuermanns laptop indicates that he used file shredding software on 9 July 2009, not long before he was to meet with Barthelemy.

Investigators believe this was an attempt to shred any digital evidence of the laptop computer being utilized to search for Melissa Barthelemys prostitution advertisement, the documents state.

On 1 September 2010, his laptop was also allegedly used to access Costellos Backpage ad.

Aroung two hours later, a burner phone linked to Mr Heuermann connected to Costellos cellphone and then travelled to West Babylon, where she lived. That day, witnesses say a man matching Mr Heuermanns description sought to hire her  but fell foul to a ruse by Costello and her friend.

Following Tuesdays court hearing, Ms Ellerups attorney told reporters outside court that the new allegations further show that she and their two adult children Victoria and Christopher had no involvement in the murders.

Mr Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.

He has not been charged in the killings of any of the other seven victims whose remains were found along Gilgo Beach.

Rex Heuermann in court (AP)

The discovery that a serial killer was operating in the area came to light back in May 2010 when Shannan Gilbert, a young woman also working as a sex worker, vanished after leaving a clients house on foot near Gilgo Beach. She called 911 for help saying she feared for her life and was never seen alive again.

During a search for Gilbert in dense thicket close to the beach, police discovered human remains.

Within days, the Gilgo Four victims had been found.

By spring 2011, the number of victims rose to 10.

Gilberts body was then found in December 2011.

Her cause of death is widely contested with authorities long claiming that it is not connected to the serial killer or killers but that she died from accidental drowning as she fled from the clients home.

However, an independent autopsy commissioned by her family ruled that she died by strangulation and her family continue to believe she was murdered.

So far, no charges have been brought in connection to the other victims also found along the shores.
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Did he know that his time was up?

His alleged internet searches would certainly seem to suggest so.

In the year between March 2022 and June 2023, the suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann repeatedly looked online for updates in the investigation police say.

He searched for details about the victims and their families.

He googled the use of new phone technology in the case and looked for podcasts and documentaries about the murders.

And he even took a keen interest in the newly-launched task force  headed up by newly-appointed Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison  that was actively hunting for him.

For up to 16 years, police say he had gotten away with brutally murdering young women and dumping their bodies along the shores of Gilgo Beach in Long Island.

As body after body lay undiscovered, he added more victims to his graveyard, prosecutors allege.

Then, in late 2010, a search for another missing woman led authorities to the grim discovery.

But the suspects time still wasnt up.

For more than a decade, the accused killer continued to go about his day to day life  going to work at his architecture firm in Manhattan and coming home to his wife and two children.

He seemed just as baffled by his lack of arrest as the local residents and victims families who questioned why police had not been able to catch the killer.

Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes and Megan Waterman (from clockwise top left) (AP)

He even searched Google for the answers to questions including why could law enforcement not trace the calls made by the long island serial killer and why hasnt the long island serial killer been caught, court documents state.

Was he looking over his shoulder? Did he have an inkling that he was under surveillance?

Or after all this time had passed, did he think that he might never get caught?

Then, on 13 July 2023, as he left his office in Midtown after a days work and walked along a busy Manhattan road, a group of suit-clad men approached and surrounded him.

The gig was finally up.

Rex Heuermann  a 59-year-old married father-of-two, professional architecture, Manhattan business owner and Long Island native  was arrested and charged with the murders of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello.

He was also named as the prime suspect in the murder of a fourth woman Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who was last seen alive in New York City in early June 2007.

Moment Gilgo Beach suspect arrested in crowded New York street

Its taken 13 years but Suffolk County Police finally say theyve caught the serial killer who lured in sex workers, brutally murdered them and then dumped their bound and wrapped bodies along the shores of Gilgo Beach.

What led them to the suspected killer has since been laid out in court documents.

It consisted of a tip about his pickup truck, a stash of burner phones, sadistic online searches, phone calls taunting victims families, his wifes hair  and a pizza crust.

How did they find the Gilgo Beach killer suspect?

A sighting of pickup truck believed to belong to Rex Heuermann

The first piece of the puzzle came when a witness in the Costello case revealed details about a vehicle that a client was driving when she was last seen alive.

Costello, who worked as a sex worker, was seen alive on the evening of 2 September 2010 when she left her home in West Babylon.

One night earlier, witnesses said that a prostitution client had come to her home but the client was subjected to a ruse where a man posing as Costellos outraged boyfriend showed up and made him leave  in a move to swindle the client out of cash. A witness said that the client was driving a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche.

The next day the same client contacted Costello to meet her but said that he wouldnt come to her home because of her boyfriend, the court documents state.

Police remove evidence from home of Long Island serial killer suspect (Patrick Reichart)

Costello left her home and was never seen alive again.

The details of the vehicle came to light last year after a new taskforce was assembled in January 2022 to solve the serial killings once and for all. The taskforce reviewed the evidence gathered in the case and investigators interviewed Costellos pimp in the spring of 2022.

He told officials about the suspect in the green Chevrolet Avalanche, telling them he didnt know the mans name but that you might want to look at him.

In March 2022, a registration search showed that local man Mr Heuermann owned a first-generation model of the truck at the time of Costellos disappearance. He also matched the witness description of the man believed to be the killer: a large, white ogre-like male in his mid-40s, around 64 to 66 tall, with dark bushy hair, and big oval style 1970s type eyeglasses.

As described below, this was significant, because a witness to the disappearance of Amber Costello identified a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche as the vehicle believed to have been driven by her killer, the court documents state.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison told New York Daily News this was the turning point in the investigation  and the moment that authorities zeroed in on Mr Heuermann.

The turning point was the car, he said. Once we got that car, who it connected to, thats when the investigation got legs.

The discovery of the car led investigators to hone in on Mr Heuermann including executing 300 subpoenas, search warrants and other legal processes to obtain evidence to determine his potential involvement in the killings.

Rex Heuermanns alleged stash of burner phones

Mr Heuermanns alleged use of burner phones then led police to make an arrest.

At the time when the three women went missing, they had been in contact with a person who was using a burner phone to arrange to meet them.

People often use burner phones for illicit or illegal activities as they are more difficult to trace.

But, according to the court documents, Mr Heuermann still managed to make a series of critical errors while using them.

The burner phones used to contact the victims always pinged off the same cell towers as Mr Heuermanns legitimate cellphone, the documents show  indicating that while using the burner phones, he was also in possession of his cellphone at the same time.

The burner phones also pinged off cell towers in two key locations  close to Mr Heuermanns office in Midtown Manhattan and close to Mr Heuermanns family home in Massapequa Park.

Rex Heuermann leaves court on Friday (Fox 5/YouTube)

Records show that Mr Heuermanns personal cellphone and the burner phones were in the same locations at the same time  and in the locations that corresponded with the disappearances and murders of each of the three women around Massapequa, Long Island and Midtown Manhattan.

Investigators could find no instance where Heuermann was in a separate location from these other cellphones when such a communication event occurred, the court documents state.

In the days leading up to Barthelemys disappearance, she had been contacted by the same burner phone multiple times.

The last contact from the phone came on 10 July 2009 when she was last seen alive in New York City.

Cell site records show the burner phone traveled from Massapequa Park to Midtown Manhattan that day.

Then, chillingly, Barthelemys own cellphone traveled from Midtown Manhattan to Massapequa Park.

Gilgo Beach victims cellphones and taunting calls to grieving families

The killer took at least two of his victims cellphones after their murders as a trophy  and, in a sick move, called one of the victims families from her phone to taunt them about what he had done.

Prosecutors say the evidence shows this person was Mr Heuermann.

Following Brainard-Barnes and Barthelemys murders, the killer took and used their cellphones.

Barthelemys last cell site location was in the early hours of 11 July 2009 in Massapequa.

Surveillance footage captures Rex Heuermann adding credit to one of the burner phones (via REUTERS)

Throughout the next two months, the killer then used her cellphone to make taunting phone calls to Barthelemys family members.

In at least one of those calls, answered by a devastated family member, the male caller gloated about killing and sexually assaulting Barthelemy.

Prosecutors allege that Mr Heuermann made those cruel calls from or in the vicinity of his Midtown office where his own daughter is now an employee. Records show that each of the taunting calls pinged off cell towers in Midtown Manhattan.

Mr Heuermann also allegedly used Brainard-Barnes cellphone to check her voicemail, the court documents show.

Rex Heuermanns alleged online searches for explicit images  and the LISK investigation

In the years after the murders, Mr Heuermann allegedly continued to slip up in his use of technology  as he allegedly continued to use burner phones to illicit sex from sex workers right up until his arrest.

While it showed a pattern of behaviour, prosecutors also point to other disturbing activity traced to the cellphone numbers.

Court documents show that Mr Heuermann had Tinder profiles and several email accounts under a series of fake names.

He used these accounts  linked to his burner phones  to search for graphic images of young girls and children and sadistic, torture-related pornography.

Selfie taken on one of his fake accounts (via REUTERS)

Searches included girl hog tied torture porn and 10 year old school girl.

As well as the disturbing sexual searches, prosecutors say he also looked up images of the murder victims and their relatives, and researched podcasts, documentaries and news stories on the case.

These included why could law enforcement not trace the calls made by the long island serial killer, and why hasnt the long island serial killer been caught, Long Island killer and Long Island serial killer phone call.

He also looked for information about the new task force on the case.

Knowing he was keeping a close eye on the investigation, police kept the developments close to the vest.

Surveillance footage captured Mr Heuermann adding credit to one of the burner phones  and he had it on him when he was arrested.

How was Rex Heuermanns wifes hair at the crime scene?

In a bombshell twist, hair belonging to Mr Heuermanns wife was allegedly found on the bodies of three of the four victims.

Prosecutors say that two female hairs had been found on Waterman, one of them on the tape which the killer wrapped around her head. One female hair was found on tape used to wrap burlap around Costello and one hair was found in a belt buckle used to bind Brainard-Barnes  who Mr Heuermann is yet to be charged over.

To identify the female who the belonged to, investigators trawled through the trash at the Heuermann home in Long Island.

New York State police officers carry out a large item from the home of Rex Heuermann (AP)

In July 2022, they recovered 11 bottles from the trash and they were swabbed for DNA.

Forensic testing found that the DNA on the bottles matched the female hair found at the crime scene, concluding that the hair belonged to Mr Heuermanns wife.

The accuracy is such that more than 99 percent of the North American female population can be ruled out, according to the court documents.

Prosecutors found that the suspects wife was out of town at the time of the three murders for which he has been charged but that her hair could have transferred to the crime scene through her husbands clothing or through him using items such as tape taken from the family home.

How a pizza crust was used to match DNA evidence

As well as his wifes DNA, Mr Heuermanns DNA was also found on one of the victims.

Prosecutors said that a male hair had been found on the burlap used to wrap Watermans body before the killer dumped her along Gilgo Beach.

When the hair was first retrieved in 2010, it was unsuitable for DNA analysis, according to the court documents.

But that hair was kept safely locked away and was submitted for analysis in 2020. A DNA profile came back.

A pizza box discarded by Gilgo Beach suspect Rex Heuermann was used to link him to the killings through DNA (Suffolk County DA)

Now, to check if it matched Mr Heuermann, investigators needed his DNA to compare the samples.

This January, a surveillance team watching the suspect saw him chuck a pizza box into the trash close to his office in Manhattan.

They nabbed the box and found a leftover pizza crust inside.

The forensics later came back: it was Mr Heuermanns hair found on Watermans body.
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Four people were killed and one suffered critical injuries after a hot air balloon crash in Arizona, according to police.

Thirteen people were aboard a hot air balloon flying over Eloy, Arizona on Sunday when the craft crashed, ABC News reports.

The passengers included eight skydivers, four passengers, and the balloon pilot, according to police.

All of the skydivers managed to exit the balloon safely. They dove before "any issues with the hot air balloon were evidence," according to police.

The crash occurred at approximately 7:50am in the desert outside Eloy, approximately 65 miles south of Phoenix.

The passengers who were killed in the crash were Chayton Wiescholek, 28, of Michigan; Kaitlynn Bartom, 28, of Indiana; and Atahan Kiliccote, 24, of California, police said.

Cornelius Van Der Walt, 37, who piloted the balloon, was also killed in the crash.

One of the victims died at the scene, according to Fox10 Phoenix. Three others survived the impact but later died from their injuries at Casa Grande Hospital.

The youngest individual left onboard, Valerie Sutterheim, 23, of Arizona, survived the crash but was in critical condition.

"The Eloy Police Department extends its deepest condolences to the families and friends of those involved in this heartbreaking incident," the department said in a statement.

The National Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation into the crash, and said in a preliminary report that the balloon suffered an "unspecified problem with its envelope."

"Investigators have not found any mechanical anomalies with the balloon during their examination. They have also separated the balloon from the basket, and everything appears to be intact," the NTSB said on Monday. "Later today, they will be examining the envelope for any anomalies. An electronic device that could have relevant flight information and a video camera have been sent to NTSB headquarters in Washington, D.C., for further analysis."

The NTSB will continue to interview witnesses.

The balloon reportedly was gaining and losing altitude rapidly just before the crash, according to witnesses who spoke to Phoenix broadcaster KNXV.
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Two Boeing planes collided at the Chicago OHare International Airport on Sunday evening.

An All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight was taxiing for departure when its left winglet struck the stabilizer of a Delta Airlines flight, a spokesperson from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement to The Independent. No injuries were reported, and the incident occurred in an area not under air traffic control, the spokesperson said.

The collision occurred as the Delta flight underwent final parking, Emma Johnson, a spokesperson for Delta Airlines, said in a statement to The Independent. Deltas passengers deplaned normally at the gate, she added, and the aircraft is undergoing inspection.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for All Nippon Airways also confirmed their passengers deplaned.

The safety of our customers and flight crew is our top priority, and we apologize for the inconvenience caused to our customers, All Nippon Airways spokesperson Nao Gunji said in a statement to The Independent.

The FAA will investigate the incident, the organizations spokesperson said. It is currently unclear what caused the collision between Deltas Boeing 717 and All Nippon Airways Boeing 777.

A spokesperson for Boeing told The Independent they would defer to the FAA and the airlines involved when contacted for comment.

Boeing recently came under fire after a door plug blew out of a Boeing 737 Max 9 mid-flight. About 171 people  including four minors and three babies  were on board the Alaska Airlines flight, as well as six crew members. The door plug blew out of the plane at 16,000 feet in the air after the plane departed Portland International Airport for California.

Passengers aboard the 5 January flight are now suing Boeing over the incident.

The collision came during a tough day for travellers across the country as yet another winter storm caused travel chaos.

966 flights arriving at or departing the Chicago OHare International Airport were delayed on Sunday, while 273 were cancelled, according to FlightAware. The Denver International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport also saw significant delays and cancellations amid dangerous winter weather.
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Senator Bob Menendez and his wife are seeking separate corruption trials, according to a court document.

Mr Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, and his wife, Nadine Menendez, were charged in September with allegedly accepting gifts including cash, gold bars and a luxury car in exchange for the use of the senators influence to enrich three New Jersey businessmen and benefit the Egyptian government.

Prosecutors said businessman Wael Hana had arranged meetings between Mr Menendez and Egyptian officials, who pressed the senator to sign off on military aid.

In return, Mr Hana put Mr Menendezs wife on the payroll of a company he controlled, prosecutors said.

The senator and his wife were also accused of attempting to cover up the bribery scheme, as well as trying to repay more than $20,000 worth of bribe money under the guise of loans. The couple allegedly used the money to pay for a Mercedes-Benz and home mortgage payments.

Mr Menendez, his wife and the businessmen have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In court documents, lawyers for Mr Menendez asked that he and his wife go on trial separately because he intends to present a defence arguing (in part) that he lacked the requisite knowledge of much of the conduct and statements of his wife, Nadine.

Bob Menendez and his wife are seeking separate corruption trials (AP)

By this defense, Senator Menendezs legal team may have to argue, in effect, that any unlawful conduct  and we are aware of none involved the actions of others (including Nadine), not the Senator, his lawyers wrote.

They argued the senator would face a catch-22 situation if he was forced to go on trial alongside his wife because a joint trial would force Senator Menendez to make an impossible and prejudicial choice between testifying on his own behalf and exercising his spousal privilege to avoid being converted through cross-examination into a witness against his spouse.

In a separate motion, lawyers for Ms Menendez also argued that a joint trial would prejudice her right to defend herself at a fair trial.

They argued a joint trial would likely demonstrate an irreconcilable conflict between husband and wife and that it would be unfair to require either spouse to sacrifice the right to testify fully in ones own defence or the ability to maintain the confidentiality of privileged marital communications.

The charges Menendez and his wife are facing include conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right.

The senator was initially indicted alongside his wife in September for allegedly participating in a scheme connected to the Egyptian government, but has since faced two superseding indictments in October and earlier this month relating to a scheme involving Qatar.

Lawyers for Robert Menendez filed a dismissal motion on 10 January (AP)

The latest indictment alleges Mr Menendez accepted gifts from Fred Daibes, a co-defendant and New Jersey businessman, in exchange for his assistance in securing millions of dollars from an investment fund with ties to the Qatar government.

Mr Menendez allegedly accepted luxury watches, a gold bar and cash, in exchange for introducing Mr Daibes to a member of the Qatari royal family, who was also a principal of the Qatari Investment Company, as well as publicly making positive statements about Qatar.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Mr Menendez accepted the gifts knowing that Mr Daibes expected him to induce the Qatari Investment Company to invest with Dabies which included taking action favourable to the Government of Qatar.

The superseding indictment also alleges a Qatari official provided a relative of Mr Menendezs wife, Nadine Menendez, with tickets to the 2023 Formula One Grand Prix in Miami  at the request of the New Jersey senator.

The latest allegations, which accused him of acting as a foreign agent, add pressure on the embattled senator, who has resisted calls to resign from members of his own party.

In a senate speech earlier this month, Mr Menendez reiterated his innocence, and insisted he had been a patriot for and of my country.
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Donald Trump ended up with what could be described as a best-case scenario after he won the Iowa caucuses by a historic margin.

Mr Trump achieved blowout in the first-in-the-nation contest, with the fight for second being won by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley on Monday night.

Ms Haley had the momentum going into the caucuses, but her progress was stunted by Mr DeSantis, Matt Fuller of The Daily Beast noted before all the votes had been counted. Ms Haleys performance still did not allow Mr DeSantis to hit the ground running going into the New Hampshire primary on 23 January.

Anti-woke biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy also failed to cut into Mr Trumps support even though he at times became a stand-in for the former president at the initial Republican primary debates that Mr Trump declined to attend.

The former president won every single one of Iowas 99 counties, even as Mr DeSantis had made it a major part of his campaign to complete the full Grassley  visiting all of them  a practice named for the states long-serving Senator Chuck Grassley.

Mr Trump is the overwhelming favourite to win the GOP presidential nomination for a third time in a row despite that he faces 91 criminal counts spread across four indictments. His election denialism, rejecting the results of a legitimate election in 2020, led to his second impeachment by the House after his supporters ransacked the US Capitol as Congress was working to certify President Joe Bidens victory.

His attempts to overturn the 2020 election prompted legal action in Georgia and Washington, DC, while his handling of classified documents led to an indictment in Florida. Mr Trump was also indicted in New York in relation to the hush money payment to adult actor Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. The January 6 insurrection is part of an election interference case in Washington, DC.

Mr Trump is also mired in civil cases in New York where the state Attorney General Letitia James is attempting to remove his ability to do business in the state and to impose a hefty fine on the Trump Organization after he and his children were found to have inflated the worth of their assets to attain favourable loans and insurance agreements.

The ex-president is also part of an ongoing second defamation trial from writer E Jean Carroll, who claimed Mr Trump raped her in a department store changing room in the mid-1990s. Ms Carroll argues Mr Trump repeatedly defamed her when accusing her of lying about the incident. In the first defamation trial, Mr Trump was found liable for sexual assault. Hes set to attend the proceedings in the second trial on Tuesday.

Mr Trump has also been criticised for his increasingly authoritarian rhetoric, specifically about immigrants who he has said are poisoning the blood of our country and calling his political opponents vermin.

MSNBC host Lawrence ODonnell noted on Monday night that the worst thing weve learned about the Republican primary electorate is not yet in these entrance poll questions tonight, adding that CBSs final poll before the caucuses shows that 81 per cent of Republican primary voters and caucus participants ... agree with Donald Trump that immigrants are poisoning the blood of this country.

That means that 81 per cent of the Republican primary electorate believe Nikki Haley has poisoned blood and is poisoning the blood of the United States, he added. Ms Haleys parents moved from India to Canada in 1964, before moving to South Carolina five years later.

That as a roadblock for Nikki Haley is impossible, Mr ODonnell said of Trump voters. But it also shows you what youre up against in any kind of campaign against voters like that, the convertibility of voters like that to anything other than the Trump view of the world is impossible. Theres no campaign ad, theres no speech you can make ... Not one of them can be converted.
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Watch live as voting takes place for the Republican nomination for president in Iowa, marking the start of the 2024 presidential election.

The Iowa caucus is the first event in the election calendar, and Republican party members will vote in libraries, schools, churches, fire stations and even private homes, as they make their pick for who will represent their party in the battle for the White House.

Donald Trump stormed to an early victory, according to multiple projections, posting a double-digit victory, eight years after he lost the Iowa caucuses to Sen Ted Cruz of Texas.

The race for seond place between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and for UN Ambassador Nikki Haley is where the real contest is, with the pair neck and neck in polls as voting began.

Follow along live on The Independents liveblog, with coverage from correspondents in Des Moines, Iowa, Washington DC and New York City.
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President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee as well as their joint fundraising committees for the 2024 campaign took in more than $97m in the last three months of last year.

The campaign revealed the figures on Monday, showing that Mr Biden is ahead of where the Obama campaign was at a similar juncture, but behind then-President Donald Trumps 2020 re-election campaign, Politico notes.

During the last quarter of 2019, Mr Trump and the Republican National Committee had gathered more than $154m. In 2011, as then-President Barack Obama was running for re-election, his campaign and the DNC brought $68m during the last quarter.

In the third quarter of last year, Mr Biden and committees connected to his re-election effort gathered $71m. The Biden campaign noted on Monday that it has $117m in cash on hand.

The campaign has held onto much of its cash, holding back on spending, particularly at the beginning of 2023. In the last few months, the campaign has boosted spending, with a focus on TV ads.

Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said it was a historic haul, according to Politico.

Our democracy and hard-fought basic rights and freedoms are on the line in 2024, and these numbers prove that the American people know the stakes and are taking action early to help defeat the extreme MAGA Republican agenda again, she said.

In the last three months of 2023, more than 520,000 contributors donated funds to Mr Biden and the DNC. The campaign noted that 97 per cent of the donations were less than $200. They added that they organised 39 fundraisers during the most recent quarter. The campaign has around 130,000 people who donate every month. A competition to meet with Mr Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris raised more than $3m.

Mr Trump hasnt revealed how much he raised during the final quarter of last year.

Democratic strategist Jessica Tarlov, a pundit on The Five on Fox News, said on the network that they do have a good record run on in terms of winning elections.

She noted that Mr Biden won in 2020 and then Democrats went on to win the midterms, shocked everyone, the red wave that didn't happen.

And we've done super well on all of the ballot referendums that have been going on all over the country, especially in conservative states, fueled by Gen Z voter turnout, she added. So young people seem to be liking Democrats fine.

She went on to note that the Obama people know what they're talking about, about the ground game. We're here in Iowa where Barack Obama became a sensation and shock to everyone when he won Iowa in 2008. And you can learn a thing or two from them.

But for instance, the fundraising numbers came out today, Joe Biden  $97m taken in in Q4, $117m on hand, his team is outpacing what the Obama campaign did in 2011  97 per cent are grassroots donations, she said. I've heard Oh, well, that's, you know, Hunter Biden's friends in Ukraine or in China that are sending that money over  No, it's regular people that want to support Joe Biden for president.

If you look at the Real Clear Politics average, Donald Trump is up by one percentage point now, in the average of the polls, so doesn't seem that bad  within the margin of error. It's going to be close, but the Biden campaign has a lot to be proud of, she concluded.
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Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene threatened to remove the new Republican House Speaker, insisted her colleagues had damning dirt on Joe Biden, and pushed the white supremacist Great Replacement Theory in a Fox News interview.

Ms Greene appeared on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo on Sunday.

She first addressed Hunter Biden's shock appearance at a House Oversight committee meeting last week. Ms Greene compared him to a child throwing a tantrum, according to Mediaite.

I was absolutely shocked that he decided to show up that day, and he looked like a child pitching a temper tantrum when he finally got caught and was going to be in trouble, she said.

Hunter Biden has said he is willing to honour a Republican subpoena to give evidence about accusations concerning his business practices but only in public. Republicans want to hold the hearings in secret.

Ms Greene then spent several minutes railing against the president's son, accusing him of the interstate trafficking of women and insisting that Republicans have more damning evidence against the older Biden than exists in the 91 felony charges that have been brought against Donald Trump.

She said the Democrats could only dream of having this kind of evidence against President Trump and his family".

The conversation eventually shifted to a looming federal appropriations deadline, and Ms Greene's feelings on House Republicans cutting deals with Democrats to keep the government running.

Ms Greene said she did not want to see any continuing resolutions  bills intended to keep the government operating until appropriations legislation can be passed  passed, and was especially opposed to a bill that would provide $60bn in funding for Ukraine. She threatened to vacate the Speakership if Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson took the deal.

I told Speaker Johnson if he made that deal in exchange for $60bn for Ukraine, I would vacate the chair, she said. And I still stand by those words.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was removed from his seat last year by Maga Republican lawmakers for striking a deal with Democrats to keep the government running.

Ms Greene also insisted that any lawmaker, Republican, Democrat, or otherwise, who did not support strict border security measures was in violation of their oath. That led to her repeating the claims of the Great Replacement Theory, which claims Democrats want to fill the country with immigrants in hopes they will then vote for Democratic lawmakers.

The theory is frequently pushed by white supremacists, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Democrats are going to bring in millions and millions of illegals and turn them into Democrat voters, Ms Greene said. Thats their plan, is to replace Americans with millions and millions of illegal aliens.
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Nigel Farage said he believes that American democracy is in better shape than Britains, even as polls show many Americans expect violence to follow the 2024 election, in a possible repeat of the January 6, 2021 insurrection after the 2020 election.

Appearing on the British right-leaning TV news channel GB News from Iowa, the Brexit campaigner said the Trump team are pretty bullish. They really are. If the polls are right ... he's going to win this caucus this evening by quite a big margin.

To be here and to see the enthusiasm for the democratic process in America  it's such a contrast to our country. It really is remarkable that all these people will turn out at seven o'clock tonight to vote and some will vote for Trump or some a vote for Haley or Ramaswamy. But it really is an exciting thing to be part of, he added.

Another side to the enthusiasm Mr Farage, 59, is speaking about is that the strong feelings in US politics at times turn into real-world violence, as seen three years ago during the Capitol riot.

Just 51 per cent of Americans expect the time after the next election to be peaceful, while the remaining 49 per cent think there will be violence yet again, according to a CBS/YouGov poll from earlier this month.

This is seldom polled in Britain, Sunder Katwala of the think tank British Future noted on X.

As many as 39 per cent of Americans dont believe that President Joe Biden is the legitimate leader of the country, according to the CBS/YouGov poll.

When the caucuses take place on Monday night, there will be no polling places. Party activists will instead host meetings in whatever building is available in their precinct  churches, gyms, and peoples living rooms will be used.

A representative from each campaign will get a moment to make their case and voters then write down their preferred candidate on a blank piece of paper.

Volunteers then count the votes and send them along to a central party structure. While Republicans have secret ballots, Democrats physically moved around the space to stand with those supporting their preferred candidates. This year, Democrats will mail in their ballots.

The problems with having a caucus become clear if you consider the logistics. Theyre held at 7pm on a weeknight  this year they happen to fall on Martin Luther King Day  in the middle of winter, which in Iowa often means freezing temperatures and snow, with forecasts for Monday showing temperatures as low as -8F (-22C).

Unlike with a primary, where you can leave after casting your ballot, the process often lasts for hours, making it difficult to attend for parents with young children, pet owners, or those who work at night.

For Democrats in 2020, the process failed so miserably that it took days to produce a result  going against the idea that the caucus is supposed to provide onward momentum for those that do well.

Although, the eventual winner, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana Pete Buttigieg, managed to parlay his primary success into a cabinet post leading the Department of Transportation.
After several days of below-zero weather, hazardous road conditions and high wind, Columbus' weather outlook for Jan. 17-19 is looking slightly up, according to the National Weather Service.

As of Jan. 14, the National Weather Service predicted a high of 9 and a low of -1 for Jan. 16, with a wind chill warning spanning until noon. For Jan. 17, a high of 19 was predicted, with a low of -1 and 20% chance of snow. Jan. 18 shows a high of 11, with a slight chance of snow. Wind is expected to drop down between 10 to 16 miles per hour until Jan. 18, when it can climb up to 26 miles per hour.

Meteorologist Dirk Peterson said that, compared to the below-zero temperatures the area has seen, the double digits will feel warm, but it's still seasonal cold weather.

"We climb out of the freezer into what seems like a chest cooler at -9 for Tuesday, so a little bit warmer, then it'll feel like sweltering heat at 20 degrees Wednesday," Peterson said.

Peterson said that frigid weather and high winds are relatively common, but their severity is unusual if anything.

"More of, it's the magnitude that's really the big part for this one, and it's the jetstream that's up aloft, dipping south, so we have a very strong system here at the surface," Peterson said. "That caused all these winds and everything and the combination of those two have been able to pull down lots of cold air."

The high winds magnify the cold air, and the cloudy weather and snow work in tandem to make things feel cold a little longer, Peterson said. He doesn't anticipate much snow, if any, on the days there is a chance.

"Even at night, the snow does have an effect on the temperatures low and increasing the amount of radiation that gets reflected back out," Peterson said.

As a result of the frigid conditions and snow and ice being difficult to move, Highway 30 between Columbus and Richland was closed for several days, as were many highway routes in eastern Nebraska. On Jan. 14, the Schuyler Fire Department issued a warning to area drivers not to attempt travel on the highway as it puts drivers' and first responders' lives in danger.
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The former governor of South Carolina charged into Iowa as 2024 kicked off with the hopes of knocking off Ron DeSantis and snatching a second-place finish, buoyed by a late-game polling surge.

Instead, she ended the night in a close third  all the while declaring that, despite Mr DeSantis pulling off his own sort-of victory, that it was now a two-person race.

She now heads to New Hampshire, boosted by her rising poll numbers but with her momentum blunted, at least to some degree, by the lack of a result here tonight.

Ms Haley concluded her battle for the state with remarks at a Marriott in Des Moines that doubled as two caucus precincts; she lost both of them, with Ron DeSantis pulling off a near-upset of his own in one. But in her remarks closing down her campaigns caucus-night watch party, the former ambassador and governor projected the image of a candidate on the upswing, headed to friendly territory with the wind at her back.

It remains wholly unclear if any of that is true. Donald Trump remains ahead in all available polling of both New Hampshire and South Carolina, two of the upcoming states most favourable to the Haley campaigns target demographics.

Her unassuming finish in Iowa came despite a usual dose of Iowa shenanigans. This year, turnout was heavily blunted by brutal winter weather and snowy conditions on roads across the state. Ms Haley, unlike any of her opponents, saw her support boosted in multiple precincts by Democratic Iowans who, thanks to state laws, were allowed to switch their party registration on caucus day and vote strategically in the GOP primary; a desperate bid to break the Trump fever gripping the Republican Party.

One of those Democrats was Alan Koslow of Des Moines, who spoke to The Independent after casting his caucus vote for Ms Haley on Monday.

"I see her as a traditional Ronald Reagan Republican... I agree with her almost 100 per cent on her international and national security agenda. I disagree with her, about, probably 92 per cent on her national agenda."

His reason for backing a Trump alternative in the GOP primary was clear: the former president, he says, represents an existential threat to the rule of law.

Former Democrat reveals he registered Republican to vote against Trump in Iowa

"Hes an autocrat. I think hes showing signs of destroying the fabric of American democracy."

Mr Trump was the clear winner of the night, both numerically and in the minds of Beltway pundits. With many questioning whether he would pull off a steep margin of victory, the former president blasted historical precedent aside and tore away more than half of all GOP voters in the state for himself  at press time, he was sitting at 51 per cent in Iowa.

It was a stunning victory  or it would have been for anyone besides Donald Trump. The only thing surprising about the former presidents win was how many pundits, analysts, and even Republicans doubted that his success would be as pronounced as it was. He remains the clear favourite to win the GOP nomination, and his Iowa victory in particular has now set the record for the largest blowout in Iowa caucus history.

Now, in Ms Haleys words, on to New Hampshire. Will the Granite State be the place where Nikki Haley shocks the nation? Or is this just the beginning of the end?
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Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley says she will only attend another debate if its against Donald Trump or President Joe Biden after coming in third place in the Iowa caucuses.

Weve had five great debates in this campaign. Unfortunately, Donald Trump has ducked all of them, Ms Haley said in a statement on Tuesday. He has nowhere left to hide. The next debate I do will either be with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden. I look forward to it.

The former South Carolina governors statement arrives after she garnered the third most support at the Iowa caucuses, trailing behind Mr Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

Still, following the caucuses, Ms Haley said, I can safely say tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race.

Last week, Ms Haley went head-to-head in a debate with Mr DeSantis. Their ratings on CNN were trounced by Mr Trumps appearance at the same time on a Fox News town hall.

Other debates are scheduled for 18 January and 21 January ahead of the first-in-the-nation primary held in New Hampshire.

Mr DeSantis wrote on X that he believes Ms Haley is afraid to debate because she doesnt want to answer the tough questions such as how she got rich off Boeing after giving them millions in taxpayer handouts as governor of South Carolina.

He added, The reality is that she is not running for the nomination, shes running to be Trumps VP.

He said unlike Mr Trump or Ms Haley, I wont snub New Hampshire voters and plan to honour my commitments.
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Nikki Haley has managed to claw back a minor victory in the Iowa caucuses, beating Donald Trump in a lone county and ruining his clean sweep across the state.

The former ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina governor trumped the former president by just one vote in Johnson County, with 1,271 votes to 1,270 and 99 per cent of votes tallied.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis trailed behind both candidates in the county with 755 votes.

Ms Haleys win ultimately wiped out Mr Trumps clean sweep of the Iowa caucuses, leaving him victorious in 98 out of 99 counties.

Overall, the former president enjoyed a monumental win in the first-of-the-nation caucus, with 51 per cent of votes to Mr DeSantis 21.2 per cent and Ms Haleys 19.1 per cent, the Associated Press projected as of 5am ET.

It marks a historic, unprecedented margin of the votes for the former president and firmly cements his position as the Republican frontrunner.

It took less than an hour for him to be projected the winner  coming at a time when he is facing 91 charges across four criminal cases.

In his victory speech, the former president couldnt resist subtly gloating about his monumental win, as he congratulated his GOP rivals for having a good time together at the back of the race.

I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a good time together We dont even know what the outcome of second place is, he said.

Mr Ramaswamy swiftly announced he was dropping out of the Republican primary race off the back of his dismal performance, and threw his endorsement behind Mr Trump.

Nikki Haley in Iowa on Monday ahead of her disappointing performance in the caucuses (AP)

This entire campaign is about speaking the TRUTH. We did not achieve our goal tonight & we need an America-First patriot in the White House. The people spoke loud & clear about who they want, he wrote on social media.

Tonight I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Donald J. Trump and will do everything I can to make sure he is the next U.S. President. I am enormously proud of this team, this movement, and our country.

Following his endorsement, Mr Trump  who has launched a series of attacks against Mr Ramaswamy in recent days  thanked him, posting on Truth Social: Thank you Vivek, a Great Honor!

Mr Trumps Maga allies are now calling on Mr DeSantis and Ms Haley to follow suit, claiming that they are using up valuable donor money in an ultimately futile race.

Florida Rep Matt Gaetz and Georgia Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene joined Mr Trump at his watch party in Des Moines on Monday night, with the former telling CNN that the Republican primary is now over for the other candidates.

Its been real. You know, tip your waitresses on the way out, but this primary is over he said.

This race is over. Donald Trump has consolidated the Republican Party. Ron DeSantis was getting his mail forwarded here. Like he had moved here. What is his argument to continue this campaign?

Ms Greene also told the network that Ms Haley and Mr DeSantis should drop out.

I think donor money is really important. And political consultants are pretty good at talking candidates into staying in races way longer than they actually should, she said.

But both Ms Haley and Mr DeSantis have expressed their refusal to drop out, with the former UN ambassador saying that her sights are set on New Hampshires primary next week.

While they set off for the state in a hope to claw back their campaigns  and offer an alternative to Mr Trump  the former president is headed for New York to face the start of his defamation trial against magazine columnist E Jean Carroll.
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The lopsided landslide blowout that resulted from the year-long primary race between former president Donald Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis unofficially began in November of 2022, when Mr Trump  then planning his next campaign but speaking in support of then-Pennsylvania Senate candidate Mehmet Oz  bestowed a pejorative moniker on the Sunshine State executive.

As he spoke in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Mr Trump referred to Mr DeSantis, who also had not yet announced his candidacy in this years presidential contest, as Ron DeSanctimonious.

For professional Trump-watchers such as your correspondent, the bestowing of a nickname upon an opponent by the ex-president was, at the time, a sign that Mr Trump considered the Florida governor to be a threat to his hopes of regaining his partys nomination to take on the man who beat him in the 2020 election, President Joe Biden, in 2024.

And as 2023 began, Mr DeSantis did indeed appear to be a formidable foe for the twice-impeached, disgraced former president, who had been the focus of a series of blockbuster congressional hearings which laid out how Mr Trump had schemed and plotted to illegally overturn his election loss to Joe Biden  a kind of self-coup  and fomented a violent riot at the US Capitol by a mob of his supporters who assaulted police officers and destroyed property in an effort to prevent final certification of his loss.

The Florida governor, a former GOP congressman whod helped found the House Freedom Caucus, might not have ever been thought of as a challenger to Mr Trump but for the ex-presidents vulnerability after his violent exit from the White House.

As Rupert Murdochs Fox News Channel made every effort to unperson the former president, Mr DeSantis presented a fresh new face whod built a reputation for antagonising the mainstream press and fighting culture war battles that were the just the sort of thing that got Fox viewers going.

After Mr DeSantis won a second term in Tallahassee by a massive landslide over ex-GOP governor turned Democratic congressman Charlie Crist, Mr Murdochs flagship US paper  the New York Post  christened the Sunshine State boss DeFuture of the GOP with a triumphant cover page the morning after the midterms.

Unfortunately for Mr DeSantis, his time as a rising star within the Trump-centric GOP was limited, with a countdown clock ticking down towards an expiration date that would come sooner than anyone had thought.

The Florida governor spent months playing coy with the notion of a presidential campaign, even as he promoted a self-congratulatory memoir which would later become a major exhibit in Disneys lawsuit to stop the state of Florida from taking over the special taxing district encompassing its Orlando-area theme parks.

But although he would stretch his dithering over a campaign launch date until late May of last year, his chances of winning the GOP nomination ended on 30 March 2023, when a Manhattan grand jury indicted Mr Trump on charges related to a years-old hush money scheme hed concocted with his ex-lawyer, Michael Cohen, during the 2016 election.

For most politicians, seeing an opponent on the receiving end of a criminal prosecution is like Christmas, Easter and their birthday all rolled into one glorious package.

But instead of seeing weakness and going straight for Mr Trumps jugular, Mr DeSantis balked.

Rather than hit out at the former president for allegedly committing multiple felonies, the man whod risen to prominence on the strength of his endorsement couldnt bear to speak his name when asked about the charges, telling a reporter: I dont know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair, I cant speak to that.

It was that initial display of weakness  compounded by a bizarre statement in which he pledged to protect Mr Trump from extradition if need be  that set the entire tone for Mr DeSantis ultimately futile presidential run, which he announced two months after Mr Trumps first indictment but just days before the second, a set of federal charges stemming from his alleged unlawful hoarding of classified documents at his Palm Beach, Florida residence.

By that point, Mr Trumps opponents were making it clear that they were all following the lead of Mr DeSantis by refusing to attack the ex-president for his alleged criminality, even though polling data showed those attacks could make a difference.

Instead, the cowardice exhibited by the Florida governor and his other co-Iowa losers (save for ex-governors Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson) allowed Mr Trump to regain his pride of place among Republicans, even as he faces a combined 91 separate felony counts in four separate jurisdictions.

Another Floridian, ex-GOP congressman Francis Rooney, told The Independent last week that the indictments caused Mr Trumps base of support to kind of double with each successive set of charges.

But Mr Rooneys analysis ignores the fact that voters have to be convinced to vote against someone, not just to vote for an opponent.

Its a lesson that the horde of New Jersey Senate hopefuls looking to take on indicted incumbent Bob Menendez appears to be taking to heart, with all of them going out of their way to point out that the Democratic incumbent is (allegedly) a crook.

But Mr DeSantis refusal to point out the (alleged) obvious nearly a year ago set the tone for what transpired in Iowa tonight, a humiliating loss to a candidate who is fighting to make it back to the White House so he can stay out of the big house.
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Ron DeSantiss campaign accused the media of election interference for projecting Donald Trump as the winner of the Iowa caucuses while voting was still taking place on Monday evening.

The Associated Press and other news organisations projected Mr Trump as the clear victor of the first contest in the Republican primary campaign just 30 minutes after voting began, with over 50 per cent of the vote.

At the time of writing, Mr DeSantis was running second with around 20 per cent, while Nikki Haley was close behind in third.

"It is absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote, the campaigns communications director, Andrew Romeo, said in a statement.

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The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet," he added.

DeSantis campaign manager James Uthmeier slammed the appalling decision by the media to call the race before all votes were cast.

I personally spoke in multiple precincts and while Im presenting and delivering the closing argument for Ron DeSantis and actually flipping voters, people start getting alerts on their phones saying the race is over, he told NBC News. One guy said why do we even bother voting, if its already over? That is absurd.

He continued: That challenges the very tenets of our Republican democracy. And that should not happen. We still expect a good night. I know, you know, its going to take a while for votes to come in. But you cant taint the process like that, having a victory declared before people have even voted before arguments have been heard. Thats not right.

We still expect a good night, Mr Uthmeier added.

Iowa conservative Steve Deace, a supporter of Mr DeSantis, echoed the campaigns criticism on X, singling out Fox News in particular.

"People are telling me phones got Fox News alerts Trump won before they even voted. Just criminal levels of voter suppression. That network is a freaking cancer. With friends like Fox, who needs CNN?"

Those words echoed similar statements from Mr Trump in the wake of his election loss in 2020, and ever since, as he has sought to undermine the legitimacy of the electoral process rather than accept defeat. That strategy has been copied by many of his Republican allies .

Mr Trump is currently facing 91 charges across four criminal cases, 17 of which are related to his efforts to overturn the last presidential election.

The Associated Press said in a statement that it declared Mr Trump the winner of the caucuses based on an analysis of early returns and a survey of voters who planned to caucus.

Both showed Trump with an insurmountable lead, it said.

It added that initial results from eight counties showed Trump with far more than half of the total votes counted as of 8:31 pm. ET, with the rest of the field trailing far behind. These counties include rural areas that are demographically and politically similar to a large number of counties that have yet to report.
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Stormy Daniels disclosed that she intends to testify in March in the hush money trial involving former president Donald Trump.

Mr Trump faces 34 charges in New York of falsifying business records relating to the payments he gave Ms Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to keep quiet about an alleged affair. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said in her podcast over the weekend, Obviously, things have been next-level crazy, since I am set to testify in, at this point in time, March  obviously, that can change any moment  in the hush money case. CBS News first reported her comments.

Ms Daniels attorney, Clark Brewster, told ABC News that he was unable to comment on her potential testimony.

Speaking about the prosecutors, he told the outlet: I have no clue as to their timing, strategy, and whether they will call her as a witness.

The trial is set to begin on 25 March and will be presided over by Judge Juan Merchan. After learning of the court date, Mr Trump apparently was not thrilled.

You little f***er! the former president reportedly yelled at his attorney Todd Blanche, according to journalist Jonathan Karls new book Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party. You are going to cost me the presidency!

Mr Trump reportedly began angrily, waving his hands and shaking his head when he heard the court date, adding, Thats in the middle of the primaries! He then apparently told his lawyer, If I lose the presidency, you are going to be the reason!

In November, the former president dropped his bid to move the hush money case from New York state court to federal court.
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A cold, windy morning broke across Iowa on Monday as the three Trump-alternatives running for the GOP nomination made their final cases to voters.

Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Ron DeSantis. Each one is down in the polls and would (currently) lose in a landslide against Donald Trump, both in Iowa and in some imaginary national primary contest combining all 50 states. But in Iowa, these three candidates see a bitter, snowy path forward towards the Republican convention in Milwaukee  however implausible those individual routes may be.

In Urbandale, Iowa, Mr Ramaswamy held the first event of the final day; a packed-to-the-walls town hall meeting at a restaurant known for its farm-to-table commitments. Depending on tonights results, it was either a last gasp of his White House bid, or the springboard that will launch him back into relevancy following his drop-off from the debate stage. At the event, Iowans mingled with famous Ramaswamy supporters including Nigel Farage, the Brexit champion turned cheerleader for Maga candidates. Another familiar face spotted with the struggling GOP challenger was Steve King, the former congressman ousted in a 2020 primary amid accusations of being a white nationalist.

Mr Farage spoke to The Independent while the candidate delivered his remarks, and explained his support for the far-right upstart.

Hes very clear, knows absolutely what he believes in. No confusion about that. Its quite a radical agenda. But its done in a very gentle, very nice, very grown up way, Mr Farage said.

Nigel Farage makes an appearance at Vivek Ramaswamys campaign event in Urbandale, Iowa (John Bowden / The Independent )

I think he represents some of the thinking of the conservative movement for the years to come.

Also spotted in the crowd was Frank Luntz, the conservative polling guru who perplexingly arrived with a cadre of young men hailing from Radley College, a boys-only boarding school in the UK.

Speaking to the crowd, a fired-up Ramaswamy railed against the managerial class and the Deep State in DC. At the same time, the reason for Mr Trumps sudden turning of fire against him became clear, as Mr Ramaswamy made his case that those supposedly sinister forces would never let Mr Trump near the levers of power again.

He exited the event after taking questions from audience members for slightly less than an hour. As he left, he answered a question from The Independent regarding his chances for an upset victory tonight  which in his case would likely mean a third-place finish.

"Im feeling great, were going to shock the world tonight and prove the media wrong, said Mr Ramaswamy.

The polls, to put it very simply, disagreed with that assessment.

Ramaswamy was making a final push ahead of the start of the caucuses (Reuters)

In the final Emerson College survey of Iowa, taken at the end of last week, the entrepreneur and first-time candidate was at 5 per cent, a third of the support registered by his closest rival Ron DeSantis. A poll from Selzer and Co, the Iowa polling specialists, registered him 3 points higher. He has potentially seen a jump in support over the past 30 days; whether that will put him in competition with Ms Haley or Mr DeSantis still seems like an overly hopeful projection, though not an impossibility.

I think thats more narrative than anything, you know, given that we did see him have that bump in polling for Iowa, in particular, several months ago really, he hasnt moved from those single digits that hes been in, said Ashley Koning, who heads up the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling (ECPIP) at Rutgers University.

Most analysts agree: the real question to be answered tonight involves the fates of Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis. The two rivals are neck-and-neck in the race for second place; few expect or even find it possible that either candidate could bump Donald Trump off of the top spot, but both are hoping to avoid the dreaded third-place losers corner. Mr DeSantis in particular is desperate to avoid that label, and has thrown his campaign into full attack mode against Haley while also making increasingly critical remarks about the frontrunner.

Ron DeSantis in particular is desperate to avoid a third-pace finish (AP)

Ms Haley, meanwhile, is ascendant in almost every poll.

The former governor is hoping for an upset victory over Mr DeSantis in the state which has become less of a surprise and more of an expected result over the past two weeks. Polling now shows her edging out the Florida governor and moving into second place in the contest overall, and with that surge the Haley campaign launched a late-game barnstorm of the state in the hopes of locking down victory. The former ambassador and governor is less concerned with beating Mr Trump in the state  though she would very much like to avoid a blowout  and is more interested in setting up a comfortably positive performance that could eviscerate Mr DeSantiss national support and propel her into New Hampshire, where she actually is competitive against Mr Trump, with momentum that could finish the job.

The story [tonight] is, I think, you know, Trump becomes the default winner tonight, said Ms Koning. And the story really becomes about whether or not DeSantis is staying in the race. We know that New Hampshire looks bad for him.

Her campaign spent the last hours of the battle for Iowa doing everything it could to make that happen. She was even slated to attend a tele-town hall scheduled for just two hours before actual caucusing began.

The real winner tonight, unless the polls are wrong in a way they have never been before, will be Donald Trump. But what does an impressive performance look like for a candidate who is, according to some polling, 30 points ahead of his rivals?

Should Mr Trump win by 20 or more points, he will have achieved that messaging victory. But its important to remember  Donald Trump has never actually won a hotly-contested Iowa caucus before; his only past victory was in 2020, when he was the incumbent president and faced no serious GOP challengers.

Dont tell The Donald, though. He spoke briefly to reporters on Monday and erroneously claimed to have won in 2016, before predicting a massive victory in 2024.

The fact remains, though; unless Nikki Haley or Ron DeSantis actually register competitive numbers tonight, the former president remains the favourite to win the whole thing. In fact, he remains the wide favourite even if that does happen.

I do think theres some little bit of burden of proof on him to not just win, but win by a lot. Again, even if he doesnt win by a lot, hes still favored for the nomination. And even if he loses New Hampshire, hes still the favourite for the nomination, said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabatos Crystal Ball at the UVA Center for Politics.

Sure, now, if Trump wins by, you know, 10 to 20 in New Hampshire over Haley, [and] wins both Iowa and New Hampshire  there may not be much of a rationale for others to continue.
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As he arrived at a federal courthouse in lower Manhattan, Donald Trumps Truth Social account released an avalanche of posts attacking E Jean Carroll, who is suing the former president for defamation.

A jury in New York City will determine what damages he owes Ms Carroll, whom Mr Trump defamed by repeatedly calling her a liar and denying that he sexually assaulted her.

Its the second trial stemming from defamation claims brought by Ms Carroll, and a jury already found him civilly responsible for sexually abusing her in the 1990s. He continues to claim that he never met her and has repeatedly mocked and ridiculed Ms Carroll in the wake of that verdict.

Ms Carroll was awarded $5m in that trial. A second trial stems from his remarks about Ms Carroll while he was still in the White House, made in response to her allegations that he raped her years earlier. The judge overseeing the case issued a pretrial judgment last year finding him liable for defamation, leaving a trial to determine how much he will pay.

In a series of posts on his Truth Social on Tuesday, as he was arriving in the courtroom and while he was seated with his attorneys, without his phone, Mr Trump repeated false claims that are at the centre of the defamation cases against him, including his claim that he has never met Ms Carroll, and called the case an unAmerican injustice and that he was wrongfully accused.

He called the case attempted EXTORTION based on fabricated lies and political shenanigans.

The former president has baselessly cast the trial  among a growing list of legal challenges, including criminal charges and lawsuits that threaten his eligibility for 2024 ballots and his ability to do business in the state of New York  as part of a conspiracy from Democratic officials and President Joe Biden to keep him out of the White House.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is overseeing the trial, should put this whole corrupt, Crooked Joe Biden-directed Election Interference attack on me immediately to rest, Mr Trump wrote.

Ms Carroll seeks $10m in compensatory damages and punitive damages to be determined by a jury.

His appearance in the courtroom on Tuesday is his second in-person appearance within a week, after he joined his attorneys and spoke out from the defence table during closing remarks at his civil trial on fraud allegations within his Trump Organization empire. He was not obligated to attend either hearings, but he continues to falsely claim that he is being pulled off the campaign trail to attend them.

In letters to the judge last week, attorneys for Ms Carroll warned that Mr Trump wants to use the proceedings to sow chaos in the case, pointing to his behaviour at his fraud trial.

Under the trials narrow scope, Mr Trump cannot testify that he did not sexually assault Ms Carroll or claim that he does not know her, or make reference to a wide range of other prejudicial, irrelevant, or otherwise inadmissible matters that have featured prominently in his recent public statements about the case, Ms Carrolls attorneys wrote.

If Mr Trump appears at this trial, whether as a witness or otherwise, his recent statements and behavior strongly suggest that he will seek to sow chaos, attorneys wrote. Indeed, he may well perceive a benefit in seeking to poison these proceedings, where the only question for the jury is how much more he will have to pay in damages for defaming Ms Carroll. This Court should make clear from the outset that Mr Trump is forbidden from engaging in such antics and will suffer consequences if he does so.

An attorney representing Mr Trump in this case and in his New York criminal trial on charges of falsifying business records announced he was withdrawing from the former presidents legal team one day before the beginning of the defamation trial.

High-profile defence attorney Joe Tacopina filed court documents accouncing his withdrawal on Monday. He did not provide a reason to The Independent.
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Donald Trumps closing message in Iowa before the first votes of the 2024 presidential election was a familiar one. Hes convinced his supporters that his legal problems are their own, and that hes the only one who can stop them, while stringing along a fake narrative that the 2020 election was stolen from them.

As he targets a key Republican voting bloc of evangelical Christians, the former president is leaning into a fantasy among supporters and social media influencers depicting him as something of a messianic figure, who was sent by God as a shepherd to mankind who ends his week in the Oval Office by attending church on Sunday, according to one video shared by his campaign.

Mr Trump never joined a church during his presidency, nor was he seen attending services more than a handful of times. Nevertheless, he shared the video, from a group of meme creators who have worked closely with the former presidents campaign, hours before votes were cast in Iowa.

The caucuses are your personal chance to score the ultimate victory against his political enemies, he told a rally crowd on 14 January. The Washington swamp has done everything in its power to take away your voice, he said.

His campaign has relied on the mountain of criminal charges and lawsuits against him to cast himself as a victim of political persecution. His evangelical support has cast him as a Biblical David against the deep state Goliath, while he echoes white supremacist manifestos and plots his revenge against the justice system.

In 2016, with evangelical Christian voters making up roughly two-thirds of votes cast, Mr Trump lost the Iowa caucus to Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

Eight years later, polls show the former president consolidating support among evangelical Christians in the state. Fifty-one per cent support Mr Trump. Ron DeSantis, who has spent months in the state visiting every count and courting evangelical support, trails with 22 per cent.

Its disheartening, if not surprising, that Donald Trump and other MAGA politicians have been able to consolidate so much evangelical Christian support in Iowa, following years of lies that portray their violent cause as a holy war, Rev Nathan Empsall, executive director of Faithful America, told The Independent.

In Iowa, the number of people who associate themselves with a congregation has fallen nearly 13 per cent from 2010 to 2020, opening a vacuum for fringe influencers on social media, and making political partisanship  not religion and community  a governing identity.

Roughly half of evangelicals surveyed in an AP-NORC poll in October said they have a favourable view of the former president. That view is even higher among white born-again Christians, at 56 per cent.

When we elected Donald Trump in 2016  we didnt know what we were gonna get, according to Iowas Rob Vander Plaats, the influential right-wing Christian leader of the Family Leader, who endorsed Mr DeSantis.

Mr Vander Plaats argued in an op-ed for the Des Moines Register that the system and sheer number of Trump haters will never allow him to win the presidency, and that Mr DeSantis could ensure justice for Mr Trump. But Mr Trump is similarly arguing to evangelicals that those are the very same reasons he should be elected instead while promising retribution for his supporters, undercutting arguments from a kingmaker among Iowa Christians.

People raise their arms in prayer during a rally for evangelical supporters of President Donald Trump at the King Jesus International Ministry church, Friday, Jan. 3, 2020, in Miami. ((AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

I think they are doing the same thing they did to Jesus on the cross, one Christian voter told the Associated Press.

I am being indicted for you. My first thought went to, Well, Jesus Christ died for my sins. Jesus died for me, another voter told MSNBC. So it connects in my brain that way, like, OK, hes doing this for us  and hes the target, where we dont have to be.

Right-wing Christians achieved a long-held victory with Mr Trumps appointment of three justices to the US Supreme Court, where the new conservative supermajority revoked a constitutional right to abortion care by overturning the decades-long precedent in Roe v Wade. He also recognised Jerusalem as Israels capital and endorsed a plan to annex large swaths of the West Bank, measures he promoted to evangelical Christians as he campaigned for re-election in 2020.

He also has characterised immigrants, civil rights for marginalised Americans, and the federal government itself as threats to Christian America, telling supporters in Iowa this month that Christians and Americans of faith are being persecuted and government has been weaponized against religion like never before.

Those supporters, seeing the criminal indictments against him, are resolute in their support out of loyalty to him, and having his back, and saying, if the governments going against you, if its weaponized against you, its actually weaponised against us, so therefore were going to have your back, according to Mr Vander Plaats.

His support among white evangelicals in Iowa tracks alongside national polling. The Public Religion Research Institutes 2023 American Values Survey found that 44 per cent of white evangelical Republican voters preferred Mr Trump.

People think its all a good-and-evil election and need a strongman, according to Tim Lubinus, executive director of Iowas Baptist convention, speaking to The New Yorker.

Mr Trump was courting evangelical votes in Iowa hours before he was planning to appear for the opening day of a second defamation trial in New York, where a woman he sexually assaulted could be awarded damages for his statements about her. His lawyers spent the weekend trying to convince a judge to postpone the hearing so he could attend his mother in laws funeral. His campaign, however, continued to schedule events through the rest of the week.

He also tried to postpone closing arguments in his civil fraud trial last week for similar reasons. He also attended that, falsely claiming that he was forced off the trail to be there, and then used the courtroom as an extension of his campaign.

Mr Trumps language is echoed by Christian nationalists in Congress and among elected officials across the country, intersecting with rampant election denialism and conspiracy-mongering that risks inflaming threats of political violence, according to a coalition of faith leaders who are warning their congregations about threats to faith communities and democracy from Christian nationalist campaigns.

While most of his opponents may not share his vulgarity or bombast, Donald Trump is not the only dangerous Christian-nationalist candidate in this race, Rev Empsall told The Independent. Most American Christians reject the Christofascism and Christian nationalism that Trump and MAGA stand for, and will continue to do so throughout this election season and beyond.
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Donald Trumps supporters continue to adopt his bogus narrative that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, with nearly 70 per cent of his Iowa caucus voters falsely believing President Joe Biden was illegitimately elected.

Asked whether they believed President Biden was legitimately elected to the presidency in 2020, more than two-thirds of Iowa caucus goers said no, according to entrance polls from last nights caucuses.

That includes 69 per cent of Iowa caucus goers who supported Mr Trump. Only 11 per cent of his supporters in Iowa believe the president was legitimately elected.

Mr Trump has relied on conspiracy theories and a fake narrative that the 2020 election was rigged against him to cast doubt on the legitimacy of elections he lost. Those false claims have since animated Republican campaigns for public offices across the country and GOP-drafted legislation in nearly every state to change how elections are run.

The false claims surrounding the 2020 election and the electoral process fuelled violence at the US Capitol on January 6, and the former president is facing criminal charges in Washington DC and in Georgia for his spurious attempts to overturn election results culminating in a mob that stormed the halls of Congress to do it by force.

Sixty-five per cent of caucus goers, including 72 per cent who supported Mr Trump, believe he would still be fit to serve as president even if he is convicted.

By comparison, a majority of Iowa caucus voters who believe President Biden was legitimately elected supported former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. Among respondents who agreed, 53 per cent voted for Ms Haley, who came in third place among GOP candidates in Iowa.

Both Ms Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who came in second, have stated that Mr Trump lost the 2020 election, but neither have challenged their GOP rival for his elecion lies and the criminal cases connected to them.

His two main challengers acknowledge that his 2020 election defeat was legitimate. And yet neither made this the central part of their case against Trump, or even a major talking point, writes Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law.

In a normal primary, trailing candidates hammer away at a front-runners vulnerabilities. By refusing to hit Trump where hes weakest, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis gave Trump a free pass to lie about the 2020 election, according to Mr Waldman. They didnt tell Iowans the truth, and they made it too easy for voters to believe the Big Lie. This is a moral failure, but the first round of results shows it to be a strategic failure as well.

Roughly 110,000 Iowans  less than 4 per cent of the states population  joined caucuses across the state to cast what are the first votes of the 2024 presidential election. Mr Trump won roughly 51 per cent of those votes, or about 56,000.

Radical-left Democrats rigged the presidential election of 2020, and we are not going to allow them to rig the presidential election of 2024, he told supporters in Iowa on Monday night.

During a rally in the state last month, Mr Trump urged supporters to go into cities to watch how elections are run in cities with large Black populations, raising alarms among elections officials and voting rights advocates bracing for more threats to elections fuelled by baseless allegations of widespread fraud.

His own White House counsel, campaign attorneys, administration aides, the US Department of Justice, judges and state and local officials from both parties have not produced any evidence of such fraud.

Yet persistent claims of fraud or wrongdoing in 2020 elections, under a banner of election integrity efforts from GOP officials, are thriving among elected officials in offices with critical election oversight.

Nearly one-third of members of Congress have denied the elections outcome or promoted bogus claims about elections, including 127 sitting members of Congress who refused to certify 2020 results.

Though the election denialism movement failed to gain any new ground in midterm elections in 2022, at least 25 officials in at least 19 states currently hold a statewide office with election oversight, according to an analysis of nonpartisan democracy advocacy group States United Action.

Those statewide offices  including governor, secretary of state and attorney general  are responsible for certifying results and protecting election workers, among other duties.

Some of the most prominent members of Mr Trumps former inner circle, including attorneys who advanced discredited theories to push so-called alternate electors in states he lost, have also admitted to Georgia prosecutors and to the public that dubious and conspiracy theory-fuelled legal arguments at the heart of their efforts were wrong.

But the dam hasnt broken yet on election denialism, according to Andra Gillespie, a political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta, speaking to The Independent last year. There are going to be people wedded to that idea  despite the fact that some of the key players in the case are publicly admitting, under legal duress, that they made this all up.
Lincoln Sen. Eliot Bostar put forward a proposal Friday morning that would put the state's counties on the hook for the property valuations they assign  and bring county boards into the real estate business.

Under Bostar's bill (LB1183), an assessed property valuation would be considered an offer by the county board to purchase property at the assessed value  meaning a homeowner could sell their house to their county at its assessed value.

"It is against our laws for your property to be valued in excess of 100% of its market value," Bostar said in an interview Friday, which marked the eighth day of this year's 60-day legislative session.

"So, if the valuations are following the guidelines we have within the law, there should never be a problem with having that be potentially executed as a purchase," he said, later adding: "I think it's a good idea."

And it comes with a few caveats.

Valuations of commercial or industrial property assessed at more than $1 million would not constitute offers, nor would residential property that has received an allocation of federal low-income housing tax credits.

But, for the most part, the bill would require counties to put up the money to back their assessments, giving property owners 90 days to accept the offer as long as their house or other property is in "substantially the same condition upon acceptance" as it was when it underwent assessment.

"I think if this bill passed, you would see immediate reduction in property values and you would see property tax relief," he said.

Bostar said he introduced the bill after hearing numerous complaints from constituents who don't believe their homes would sell for as much as their valuations.

And while he acknowledged that county officials who he has run the proposal by offer an "initial negative reaction," he said they "have also been able to identify real opportunities within this that can help counties."

"This has the potential to be good for counties," Bostar said, adding: "If they're doing their job correctly, the majority of the properties that they would have to take ... would net a gain in revenue, because they would turn around and essentially flip the property."

The bill would also eliminate elections for county assessors, instead allowing county boards  which are responsible for balancing their municipalities' budgets  to appoint an assessor.

Eliminating an elected officer wasn't Bostar's goal when he set out to write the bill, he said, but the provision is necessary to "ensure we didn't have an independent assessor going rogue and then bankrupting the county."

"We worked hard to figure out, 'What's the right way to do this?" he said. "If you have a county that's on the hook financially for the results of assessments that are happening, having an independently elected assessor is a liability within that system that makes it unworkable."

Still, that change  which would strip power from voters and divert it to the county board, which is also elected  could raise eyebrows, particularly since Bostar's legislative aide, Sean Flowerday, helped draft the bill and sits on the Lancaster County Board.

"I want to be clear: this was Sen. Bostar's idea," Flowerday said, adding that it "is not endorsed by Lancaster County."

Flowerday said he's unsure what position the County Board might take on the proposal.

Bostar, too, said he's not sure whether counties will view his proposal through the same rose-tinted lens he does, but he's "interested to find out," he said.

"Here's what would make me suspicious: if we see broad opposition from counties, it would make me concerned that they don't have confidence in their ability to set valuations according to our laws," Bostar said. "This legislation introduces accountability into that process. Because right now, there is no accountability."

Jon Cannon, the executive director of the Nebraska Association of County Officials, said the group's board will meet late next week to determine the organization's position on newly proposed legislation  but said the board is "probably not going to look favorably upon" Bostar's proposal.

Cannon did not take particular issue with the appointing of county assessors, though he said he's not sure the process laid out in Bostar's bill "is necessarily the right route" since county boards are not immune from political whims and county board members are not experts in evaluating the qualifications of would-be assessors.

His more urgent concerns are with the administrative challenges that would come with a county board's entrance into the real estate business  and what a sudden recession or housing market collapse could mean for county governments.

Cannon also said that while counties are permitted to own property, they aren't set up to be real estate brokers and haven't historically been a player in the market.

"And I'm not sure we want counties to be in the business of acquiring large swaths of property or potentially large swaths of property," he said.

Bostar's proposal, too, leaves unanswered questions over agricultural land, which state law requires be assessed at 75% of its fair market value. As the bill's written, Cannon said, it's not clear whether counties would be required to pay an additional 25% on top of their valuation for ag land.

He also took issue with Bostar's targeting of valuations themselves, which, Cannon said, are not the driver of high property taxes in Nebraska.

The true culprit, he said, is local governments' property tax rate.

Cannon argued that valuations are "merely a function of what your tax will be," but said property owners seem more inclined to protest their valuations than to lodge opposition to government spending at local budget hearings.

"I don't think this bill really drives at the heart at this disconnect," Cannon said, adding that he's "sure that (Bostar) has some very solid reasons for introducing a bill like that."

And even as he remained skeptical of the somewhat radical proposal and its potential impacts, he lauded the conversation it might start.

"I'm very, very curious to see what comes of this," Cannon said.

Photos: Nebraska Legislature, Jan. 4, 2024
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Former president Donald Trump overwhelmingly won the Iowa caucuses on Monday evening in the first official contest of the Republican presidential primaries.

Mr Trump posted a double-digit victory in Iowa eight years after he lost the Iowa caucuses to Sen Ted Cruz of Texas. The former president far-outpaced his nearest competitors, Florida governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who served as US ambassador to the United Nations in his administration.

Mr Trump had spent the better part of a year criticising Mr DeSantis even before his former protege entered the Republican presidential primary. The governor came a distant second in the first Republican contest to find a candidate to take on Joe Biden in November.

Businessman and anti-woke campaigner Vivek Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in the wake of the caucus results and announced that he was endorsing Mr Trump.

The former president hinted at his resounding victory against the runners-up. I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a good time together, he said. I think they both did very well. We dont know what the outcome of second place is.

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For their part, both Ms Haley and Mr DeSantis made the case for staying in the race. Despite failing to meet expectations, Ms Haley pledged she would stay in the race.

Our campaign is the last best hope of stopping the Trump-Biden nightmare, she said, saying that she will head to New Hampshire later in the evening. Ms Haley has already earned the endorsement of the states governor and some Democrats crossed over to caucus for Ms Haley. Despite this, she only earned third place in the caucuses.

Mr DeSantis, for his part, criticised the fact that media outlets declared Mr Trump the winner before the caucuses ended.

They were just so excited about the fact that they were predicting that we wouldn't be able to get our ticket punched here out of Iowa, Mr DeSantis told supporters. Mr DeSantis campaigned heavily in Iowa, visiting all 99 counties and earning the endorsement of Governor Kim Reynolds and evangelical kingmaker Bob Vander Plaats. Mr DeSantis said his silver medal performance earned him the right to advance.

But I can tell you, because of your support, in spite of all of that they threw at us, everyone against us, we've got our ticket punched out of Iowa.

The former presidents win gives him an on-ramp for another win in the New Hampshire primary, where he leads Ms Haley in all polls and his lead varies depending on which survey. Ms Haley has proven to be a competitive candidate in the Granite State, but Mr Trumps dominance may be difficult to surmount.

In addition, the former president also leads in Ms Haleys home state of South Carolina.

The former presidents victory came despite the fact that his campaign and the super PAC that supported him did not spend as much as those of Ms Haley or Mr DeSantis.

Mr Trump won the first-in-the-nation contest even after he refused to participate in any of the presidential debates and did not participate in the traditional retail politicking associated with the largely rural church-going state.

It also comes despite  or rather, because  of the fact that he faces four separate indictments: one related to his hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels; one federal indictment for his handling of classified documents; a second federal indictment for his attempts to defraud the American people and overturn the 2020 presidential election results; and a fourth in Fulton County, Georgia for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.

None of these legal battles have deterred Republicans from supporting him, though. If anything, Mr Trump has whipped up supporters against the legal system, painting himself as a victim.

The victory also comes as Mr Trump uses increasingly authoritarian language, calling for his opponents to ROT IN HELL on Christmas, saying he would act as a dictator on day one of his administration and saying that immigrants are poisoning the blood of the United States.

The former president alluded to those same words in his victory speech.

We're going to seal up the border because right now we have an invasion, he said his supporters to cheers. They're coming from all over. They're coming from countries that most people have never heard of. And they're coming from mental institutions and insane asylums, they're being emptied out into our country. And they're terrorists.

Mr Trump also alluded to the travel ban that he enacted early in his administration that banned travel from majority Muslim countries.

The former president also said that he got along well with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr Trump added that Russia would have never invaded Ukraine had he been in office, ignoring the fact that he tried to have Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky find dirt on Mr Biden in exchange for arms meant for Ukraine to protect itself against Russia.

Mr Trumps victory in Iowa will break Bob Doles record for a margin of victory of 13 points in 1996 and George W Bushs 10.5-point victory in 2000. Both candidates went on to become the Republican nominee for president, a future that seems all but certain for Mr Trump despite dozens of criminal charges against him.

The former president also surpassed Democrat Walter Mondales margin of victory, winning 51 per cent of the vote with 95 per cent of all counties reporting on Monday evening.

The next contest will be on 23 January in New Hampshire.
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Donald Trump has maintained a sizable lead in the polls ahead of the 2024 primaries  but he faces a growing list of once-allies who have now ditched him, explicitly declaring opposition to a second Trump presidency.

Many people once close to the former president  members of his cabinet, supporters in Congress, and even his own attorneys  have now voiced their opposition to his 2024 candidacy.

They have cautioned against electing him again, concerned about the dangers a Trump second term would pose for democracy.

Whether the tipping point was the January 6 Capitol riot, one of Mr Trumps federal indictments, or something else entirely, each of these former loyalists has arrived at the same conclusion: they dont think Trump should be president again in 2024.

Over the weekend, ex-Trump White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci went so far as to say that if 2024 became another Biden-Trump matchup, he would back the Democratic incumbent.

Although he stands alone in that category, here is a list of every former Trump ally who has said they wouldnt support him in 2024.

Lets start with former members of Trumps White House staff.

Alyssa Farah Griffin

Former White House Communication Director Alyssa Farah Griffin has made it clear that she fears a second Trump term. She told ABC News in December: Fundamentally, a second Trump term could mean the end of American democracy as we know it, and I dont say that lightly.

She reiterated the dangers that another Donald Trump presidency poses this month on The View, where she now sits as a co-host. She warned, Donald Trump in office could spell, frankly, the last election in our lifetime.

Ms Griffin has thrown her support behind Nikki Haley.

Bill Barr

Trumps hand-picked former Attorney General Bill Barr has been very openly critical of Mr Trump. He resigned from his post shortly after the Justice Department found no evidence of voter fraud, contradicting Mr Trumps baseless claims after he lost the 2020 election.

Mr Barr told Fox News in December: One of the reasons Im against Trump as the [Republican National Committee] nominee is I dont think hes going to move the country forward.

The former AG has emphasised that he will not endorse Trump in 2024. When NBC News asked him in July how he would vote if it came down to a Biden-Trump matchup, Mr Barr retorted: Ill jump off that bridge when I get to it.

Anthony Scaramucci

The ex-White House Communications Director, who served just 10 days in the post before being fired, said that if 2024 becomes a 2020 repeat, he would be backing President Biden.

He added, I will do everything I can to make sure that the president stays in office.

Mr Scaramucci outlined the potential dangers of re-electing Mr Trump, like expanding executive power and going after his adversaries using the Department of Justice.

Sarah Matthews

The former White House deputy press secretary sat down with ABC News last month to discuss the risk of a second Trump presidency. She resigned on January 6.

She emphasised to the network that her former boss has not backed down on his 2020 election fraud claims and said that she believes his rhetoric since has become increasingly erratic.

She added, We dont need to speculate what a second Trump term would like because we already saw it play out.

While she characterised a Biden-Trump rematch as a lose-lose scenario for her, Ms Matthews indicated that if it came to be, she would back Biden: Ive never voted for a Democrat in my life, but I think that in this next election, I would put policy aside and choose democracy.

Mick Mulvaney

Mick Mulvaney, one in a line of Trumps many chiefs of staff, previously said that he thinks Mr Trump can win the primaries but lose the general election.

Mr Mulvaney was named the acting chief of staff in January 2019, a position he served until he was ousted in March 2020, shortly after the former presidents first impeachment.

However, Mr Mulvaney was tapped to serve as a special envoy for Northern Ireland. He stepped down from that post after January 6.

He has since discussed his own stance on the 2024 election. I am working hard to make sure that someone else is the nominee, Mr Mulvaney told NBC News in July. I think hes the Republican who is most likely to lose in a general election, of all our leading candidates. If anyone can lose to Joe Biden, it would be him.

Cassidy Hutchinson

The former aide of chief of staff Mark Meadows, Cassidy Hutchinson, stayed in her role until the end of the Trump presidency, but later bravely provided bombshell testimony to the House January 6 select committee about the former presidents behaviour during the Capitol attack.

The insider-turned-whistleblower told ABC News last month that 2024 is a fundamental election to continue to safeguard our institutions and our constitutional republic.

She cautioned against another Trump win. If Donald Trump is elected president again in 2024, I do fear that it will be the last election where were voting for democracy because if he is elected again, I dont think well be voting under the same Constitution, Ms Hutchinson said in November.

She explicitly said she would not be voting for Mr Trump in 2024. Although she refrained from sharing who she planned to vote for, the former aide encouraged everybody to vote for Mr Biden if they want our democracy to survive.

John Bolton

The former national security adviser has said that he will not vote for Mr Trump in 2024, and instead do the same thing he did in 2020: write in a different candidate entirely. In September 2019, the former president said he fired Mr Bolton, who, in turn, said he resigned from his post.

In 2020, he wrote-in a conservative candidate. He told CNN in July: I always like to vote for a conservative Republican. Between Biden and Trump, there was no conservative on the ballot. So I wrote in the name of a conservative, and I would do the same in 2024.

Mr Bolton added, I think in private, honest conversations, almost all of Trumps cabinet members and other senior advisers would agree that Trump is not fit to be president.

In addition to those who served with him in the White House, many of Trumps former attorneys and once-political allies said they wouldnt support his 2024 run.

Jenna Ellis

Donald Trumps former lawyer Jenna Ellis, who took a plea deal after being charged alongside Mr Trump and in the sprawling Georgia criminal case, has now pledged to not support him in 2024.

Ms Ellis said in a radio interview in September that she knows the former president while she has great love and respect for him personallyI simply cant support him for elected office again.

She said that she has distanced herself because of that frankly malignant, narcissistic tendency to say that hes never done anything wrong.

Joe Walsh

Joe Walsh is a former Illinois Republican Congressman turned Trump advocate  who has now turned Trump rival.

One month ahead of the 2016 election, Mr Walsh tweeted that he would be voting for Mr Trump. If Trump loses, Im grabbing my musket, he wrote.

Four years later, he dramatically pivoted and launched a 2020 bid to take on Mr Trump. Although his campaign was short-lived, he said he entered the race because I thought it was really important that there was a Republican out there every day calling out this president for how unfit he is.

Last month, he indicated that he would be backing Joe Biden in 2024. Its my obligation as an American. Its my duty as a defender of democracy, he wrote on X.

Michael Cohen

Donald Trumps former fixer Michael Cohen, who in recent years has been an outspoken critic of his former boss, has indicated that he would vote for Mr Biden in 2024.

When someone on X asked Mr Cohen if he was satisfied with Joe Biden, he replied with a quote that he attributed to former New York City Mayor Ed Koch: If you agree with me 6 out of 12 times, you should vote for me. If you agree with me 12 out of 12 times, you should see a psychiatrist.

He then wrote he agreed with Mr Biden 6 out of 12 times.

Mr Cohen elaborated on his thoughts about his former client to the MeidasTouch podcast in December: Donald Trump is the single greatest threat to democracy.
 Close Trump cancels events in Iowa ahead of caucus as temperatures drop

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The 2024 Republican candidates are eagerly awaiting the results of the Iowa caucuses on Monday  though if polling tells us anything, its that Donald Trump has a predictable commanding lead over the other candidates.

In a survey, conducted by The Des Moines Register, NBC News and Medicom, 48 per cent of potential voters said the former president was their first choice of Republican presidential candidates.

Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley was behind Mr Trump with 20 per cent support followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis with 16 per cent.

Vivek Ramaswamy had just 8 per cent while only 5 per cent of potential voters said they were still unsure.

Of the survey respondents more than half said they had their minds made up regarding who they would cast their vote for.

But for the 32 per cent who could still be persuaded to support a candidate, the presidential candidates are fighting hard to convince them to join their teams.
 Close Private plane makes emergency landing on a highway due to snowy conditions

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At least 89 people have been killed across the country over the past two weeks as severe weather plagues the United States, according to an updated count by CBS News.

The most winter weather-related deaths have occurred in Tennessee after a truck spun out of control due to snowy conditions, causing it to slam into a tractor-trailer.

The governor of Oregon declared a state of emergency as its state is being pelted with freezing rain and winter storms that have led to fallen trees, massive power outages and at least 16 deaths.

Two adults and one teenager died after a power line fell onto a car in northeast Portland on Wednesday morning following a severe storm in Oregon. Officials also found an uninjured two-year-old on the scene whom they took to the hospital.

Now, several inches of lake-effect snow is hitting the Great Lakes region and northeast US, while arctic temperatures settle over the southeast US.

In Florida, meteorologists say low temperatures could impact wildlife, leading to a rare weather-related phenomenon: falling iguanas.

The severe winter storms have also unleashed travel chaos across the country, leading to thousands of flight cancellations and delays across the country.
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New ZealandGreen Party MP Golriz Ghahraman has resigned from parliament after the emergence of multiple allegations of shoplifting against her. CCTV footage of her attempting to steal items from at least two high-end clothing stores in Auckland and Wellington has also emerged.

In the first comments since the allegations were levelled against her, Ms Ghahraman said: It is clear to me that my mental health is being badly affected by the stresses relating to my work. This has led me to act in ways that are completely out of character. I am not trying to excuse my actions, but I do want to explain them.

People should, rightly, expect the highest standards of behaviour from their elected representatives. I fell short. Im sorry. She said: The best thing for my mental health is to resign as a member of parliament and to focus on my recovery and to find other ways to work for positive change in the world.

New Zealand Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman has resigned after being accused of shoplifting (Getty Images)

On 10 January, Newstalk ZB Plus first reported accusations against the 43-year-old MP, claiming she was involved in shoplifting during the festive season at Scotties Boutique, a luxury brand store in the Auckland suburb of Ponsonby. The police acknowledged there was an investigation into the allegation, but were unable to confirm specific individual identities at the time.

The owners and staff of Scotties Boutique refrained from making any public statements regarding the two shoplifting allegations involving Ms Ghahraman and their store.

Police are also currently investigating another shoplifting allegation involving Ms Ghahraman at a Wellington store called Cre8iveworx. It was reported on Monday that the store sent emails to other businesses claiming that they believed Ms Ghahraman was on the premises in October last year. Cre8iveworx, which sells high-end items, reported the incident to the police on 26 October.

Green Party leaders Marama Davidson and James Shaw held a press conference after days of silence and said that they had accepted Ms Ghahramans resignation. Accountability was important, they said. Its important to understand that all MPs are still human, Ms Davidson added.

Mr Shaw said: What we are disappointed about is the circumstances she finds herself in. Its unfortunate and its important to us she takes accountability for her actions and gets the support that she needs. We hope it [the investigation] gets resolved as fast as it can.

He said Ms Ghahraman has faced increased stress during her parliamentary tenure due to physical threats she has received. The two leaders added that Ms Ghahraman has been subject to continuous threats of sexual violence and death threats since the day she was elected to parliament. There are going to be consequences for that. I have a lot of empathy for the fact that she has identified that she is in a state of mental distress.

Everyone will have criticisms about how we handled [the situation]. It doesnt change the outcome. Ultimately, she is taking accountability for her actions and is seeking help.

In her statement, Ms Ghahraman noted: Its not a behaviour I can explain because its not rational in any way and, after medical evaluation, I understand Im not well. The mental health professional I see says my recent behaviour is consistent with recent events giving rise to extreme stress response, and relating to previously unrecognised trauma.

With that in mind, I dont want to hide behind my mental health problems, and I take full responsibility for my actions, which I deeply regret.

Before she entered politics in 2017, Ms Ghahraman served as a human rights lawyer. She was New Zealands first refugee Member of Parliament. In her political role, she held nine portfolios, including justice, foreign affairs, human rights, defence, refugees, and women.
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The worlds oldest ever dog has had his title suspended as his owners claims about his age are investigated by officials.

Bobi the Portuguese mastiff was supposedly 31 years old when he died in in October after being awarded the title in February last year.

Not only Bobi crowned the oldest dog alive at the time, he was also deemed to be the oldest dog that had ever lived, beating out an Australian cattle dog called Bluey, who lived 29 years and five months before his death in 1939.

Bobis age came under scrutiny soon after he was crowned by Guinness World Records, with many questioning the difference in Bobis paws over the years and while genetic testing confirmed the pup was elderly, it did not determine an exact age.

Bobis age came under scrutiny soon after he was crowned by Guinness World Records, with many questioning the difference in Bobis paws over the years (Screengrab/ Guinness World Records)

In December, an investigative article from Wired re-sparked the speculation over Bobis real age - which is the equivalant to 200 human years - with information about official records coming to light.

Now, Guinness World Records have suspended the dogs title. A spokesperson said: While our review is ongoing we have decided to temporarily pause both the record titles for Oldest dog living and ever just until all of our findings are in place.

According to the report in Wired, SIAC - a Portuguese government database for the registration of cats, dogs, and ferrets - does indeed have Bobis records registered.

However, an official said that while Bobis owners declared he had been born in 1992, they had no registration or data that can confirm or deny this statement.

Experts have also cast doubts over Bobis legitimacy. Danny Chambers, a vet and council member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons previously told The Guardian that not a single one of my veterinary colleagues believe Bobi was actually 31 years old.

Bobi with his owner Leonel Costa (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Several vets were also consulted in the investigative article, with one saying Bobis coat appeared to differ between red and brown in some photographs and another casting doubt on how he had been able to live so long when he appeared to be overweight.

The Guinness World Records told The Independent that the investigation is still ongoing and the title removal is temporary until the review has been completed.

At the time he was bequeathed his title, Bobi was described as a calm and sociable pet who enjoys relaxing by the fireplace on particularly cold days.

The dogs owner, Leonel Costa, said: Bobi has been a warrior for all these years, only he knows how hes been holding on  it must not be easy because the average dogs life span is not that high.

If he spoke only he could explain this success.
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Ukraines foreign minister says he felt the urge to punch his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in the face when the two met in the early stages of Moscows invasion.

Dmytro Kuleba made the remarks in an hour-long informal interview with a Ukrainian video blogger published on Monday.

The most difficult talks are those in which you feel simply that you want to go and punch your opposite number in the nose, but you really cant do that, the minister said.

And I can say that this occurred two or three times. One occasion was with Lavrov in (the Turkish resort of) Antalya in spring of 2022, he said.

Delegations of Ukrainian and Russian ministers held several rounds of talks shortly after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2002.

The first set of talks were held near Ukraines border with Belarus and another round of negotiations was held in Turkey later.

At that time Mr Kuleba described the talks in Turkey as difficult, revealing that negotiators discussed a ceasefire and arranging humanitarian corridors.

Officials in Moscow seized opon Mr Kulebas remarks about wanting to punch Mr Lavrov as a potential propaganda opportunity. Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, said they showed Ukraine was being led by uneducated, aggressive people in comments run by Russian daily Izvestia.

No negotiations have been held since those talks in Turkey, with Volodymyr Zelenskys administration saying it will not accept a ceasefire or peace agreement that allows Russia to keep hold of any of the territory it has seized in the nearly two year-long war.

Ukraine has instead presented its own 10-point peace plan that requires the return of all Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean peninsula illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
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World leaders meeting in Davos for the World Economic Forum (WEF) this week are set to discuss concerns about the potential for a future pandemic that could cause 20 times more fatalities than Covid-19.

Its known by the placeholder name of Disease X, with the term used to refer to planning for a hypothetical future international epidemic caused by a pathogen as yet unknown to cause human disease, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

In a session entitled Preparing for Disease X, a panel led by the WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will talk about novel efforts needed to prepare healthcare systems for the multiple challenges ahead if we are to be ready for a much more deadly pandemic, the WEF said.

The WHO ranks Disease X as a priority disease in its awareness campaigning, alongside Covid-19, the Ebola virus, Zika virus, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars).

Disease X was added to the list in 2018 as the WHO sought to open up discussions about tackling a global pandemic in the future.

The WHO has prioritised research and development in an emergency context for all these diseases, stating that the blueprint explicitly seeks to enable early cross-cutting R&D [research and development] preparedness that is also relevant for an unknown Disease X.

Worldwide, the number of potential pathogens is very large, while the resources for disease research and development (R&D) is limited, the WHO had previously said in a statement.

Along with Dr Tedros, the session this Wednesday will feature Brazilian health minister Nisia Trindade Lima, pharmaceutical giant AstraZenecas chair of the board Michel Demare, Royal Philips CEO Roy Jakobs, and Indian hospital chain Apollos executive vice-chairperson Preetha Reddy.

To be clear, scientists dont yet know what kind of virus might lead to the next pandemic  or, in other words, what Disease X will turn out to be.

Many people think it could be a coronavirus  like SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes illness with Covid-19  or a new strain of influenza.

This concept [of Disease X] was one of the lessons we learned from this [Covid] pandemic, said Dr Thomas Russo, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

He said: As mankind breaks down these barriers [between humans and other species] through live animal markets and deforestation, we need continued surveillance and studies and improved biosecurity across the world.

Disease X could also turn out to be a brand new pathogen not yet known even among animals, he warned.

Building readiness to tackle the next pandemic, and working out how to prevent the collapse of national healthcare infrastructure, as was seen in many countries in 2020, has now become a critical objective for the WHO.

UK scientists have said that a vaccine for a new virus with pandemic potential could be developed in as little as 100 days. In August last year, researchers from the University of Oxford announced that they were examining how to adapt the vaccine it created for Covid-19 for Disease X. They will also examine how other vaccines could be developed to thwart future threats.
 Close Moment Russian plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war appears to crash

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At least seven people, including three children, have been killed overnight after a Russian drone hit a petrol station in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv.

The strike caused a massive fire that burned down 15 private houses, while 50 people were evacuated as emergency workers tackled the blaze.

It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sacked army chief Valeriy Zaluzhny and replaced him with Oleksandr Syrsky.

It follows days of speculation that Zelensky was considering dismissing Zaluzhny, who is seen by many Ukrainians as a national hero for overseeing the war effort since February 2022.

We discussed what renewal the Armed Forces of Ukraine need. We also discussed who could be in the renewed leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The time for this renewal is now, Zelenskys statement said on Telegram.

In other developments, Ukrainian troops have shot down a Russian attack helicopter in eastern Ukraine near the city of Avdiivka as soldiers step up street fighting, Kyiv claimed.

Meanwhile, Russian forces launched the second largest combined drone and missile strike on Ukraine this year with around 64 munitions hitting the country, according to a US think tank.
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Shell said Tuesday it agreed to sell its onshore business in Nigerias Niger Delta to a consortium of companies in a deal worth $2.4 billion, the latest move by the energy company to limit its exposure in the West African nation amid long-running complaints of environmental pollution caused by the oil industry.

Shell called it a way to streamline its business in a country it has operated in for decades, facing pushback about oil spills that have fouled rivers and farms and exacerbated tensions in a region that has faced years of militant violence.

This agreement marks an important milestone for Shell in Nigeria, aligning with our previously announced intent to exit onshore oil production in the Niger Delta, Zoe Yujnovich, Shells integrated gas and upstream director, said in a statement. This will help in simplifying our portfolio and focusing future disciplined investment in Nigeria on our deepwater and integrated gas position.

The buying consortium is Renaissance, which consists of ND Western, Aradel Energy, First E&P, Waltersmith and Petrolin, Shell said. After an initial payment of $1.3 billion, the London-based energy giant said it would receive an additional $1.1 billion.

The assets that Shell is selling are largely owned by the Nigerian governments national oil company NNPC, which holds a 55% stake. To finalize the agreement, the government must give its approval. Shell operates the assets and owns a 30% stake, with the remaining share held by France's TotalEnergies at 10% and Italy's Eni at 5%.

The assets include 15 onshore mining leases and three shallow-water operations, the company said.

Activists in the Niger Delta, where Shell has faced decadeslong local criticism to its oil exploration, plan to ask the government to withhold its approval if the company does not address its environmental damage.

It would be a matter of very grave concern if the obvious legacy issues, especially the environmental and decommissioning issues, are not adequately and transparently addressed before and by any eventual divestment, said Ledum Mitee, a veteran environmental activist and former president of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People.

Nigeria heavily depends on the Niger Deltas petroleum resources for its earnings. However, pollution from oil and natural gas production has prevented residents from accessing clean water, hurt farming and fishing, and heightened tensions.

Militants have exploited the situation, and at one time almost halted the oil industry with attacks on facilities and kidnappings of foreign citizens for ransom before a government amnesty package.

Despite joint military operations and a government benefits program for former militants that accompanied the amnesty deal, the Niger Delta remains volatile. The oil industry faces risks of violence, including pipeline vandalism by oil thieves, whom companies often blame for oil spills.

Fyneface Dumnamene, director of the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, urged the Nigerian government to require Shell and the new buyers to provide a plan for addressing environmental damage and compensating communities before granting approvals.

Shell told AP in a statement that the sale has been designed to preserve the company's role to conduct any remediation as operator of the joint venture where spills may have occurred in the past from the joint ventures operations.

If the transaction is approved, Shell will still have at least three subsidiary operations in Nigeria, namely, its Gulf of Guinea deepwater operations, an industrial gas business and solar power for industrial activities.

All are separately incorporated subsidiaries and outside the scope of the transaction with Renaissance, Shell said.
The land John Childears farms near North Platte is sandy and not particularly fertile.

Its value largely lies beneath his feet: the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the largest in the world.

Childears recently harvested corn at 225 bushels per acre, using center pivots and irrigation wells, including one dug before he bought the land three decades ago.

The farmer says he couldnt grow without those pivots  all his land would be far less valuable rangeland.

Water is what gives life, what allows the deer to be there, what allows man to be there, and what allows men to grow crops, he said.

And, in Nebraska, water is a linchpin of the ag economy.

Childears land is even more valuable today because local water regulators no longer allow additional irrigation wells to be drilled. Childears, also a land appraiser for more than 40 years, says he cant put a price tag on water.

I'm a really smart guy, but  I can't tell you what that value is. Except it's a heck of a lot, he said.

As out-of-state investors spend big dollars buying up large amounts of Nebraska farmland, some worry about what that could do to the states water resources. Could these landowners claim, strain and deplete the finite resource and leave Nebraskans out to dry?

Regulators, legal experts and farm brokers say that concern is overblown. Landowners dont own the water in Nebraska, they said. Regulators closely scrutinize water use. They dont allow large amounts of water to be transported across property lines or state lines without a permit.

Most everyone acknowledges that out-of-state buyers are attracted to Nebraska land, and that attraction is largely based on the natural resource beneath it.

Recently, farmland Realtor Steve Linden has seen an uptick in interested buyers from Oklahoma and Texas  states where groundwater is becoming increasingly scarce.

They just continually do not have any crops, Linden said. They don't have hay for their cattle or pasture for cattle to graze, and so they want to come up here.

Oklahoma and Texas treat groundwater rights as property rights, rarely restricting water use  which hastened the aquifers decline in some places, said Dean Edson, executive director of the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts.

It's what I call The guy with the deepest and biggest well wins, said Edson. That doesnt happen in Nebraska.

In Nebraska, landowners instead have the right to use water, often with restrictions, because state leaders designed it that way decades ago.

Surface water falls under the jurisdiction of the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, while local natural resources districts  a system unique to Nebraska  manage groundwater.

NRD leaders monitor water levels, account for water usage in their districts and often lay down restrictions.

Some districts have put into place a well moratorium, where no new irrigation wells can be drilled. Others dont allow a farmer to add more irrigated acres, or limit the amount of water producers can put on crops. These restrictions have often led out-of-state investors to buy irrigated land that comes with a well, Childears said.

The Department of Natural Resources has granted a limited number of out-of-state transfers, said Tom Riley, the agencys director. These transfers were meant to help ag producers use water more efficiently, he said, like allowing a center pivot straddling state lines to irrigate land in a neighboring state.

The South Platte NRD is home to three Panhandle counties that attract some of the highest percentages of out-of-state buyers, according to a Flatwater Free Press analysis of farmland sales data gathered by a UNL College of Journalism and Mass Communications data journalism class.

South Platte NRD manager Galen Wittrock says those out-of-state buyers do come for the water  but only to use it to farm the land.

The NRD system, it's great because within the groundwater controls that we have, we can be proactive and work towards restricting what can and cannot be done, Wittrock said.

Many investors do come to Nebraska knowing the abundance of ground and surface water gives them more yield and offers drought protection, brokers told Flatwater.

Irrigated farmland is worth more than $12,000 an acre on average in eastern Nebraska. Dryland with no irrigation potential is worth about two-thirds of that price, according to a UNL annual survey.

In the Panhandle, irrigation can triple the size of a corn crop  or make it possible to grow corn at all, Childears said.

In parts of Nebraska that ban adding new irrigation wells, dryland fields that cant be irrigated lose roughly 9% of their value, according to initial research by Aakanksha Melkani, researcher at the University of Nebraskas Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute and the National Drought Mitigation Center.

But a water allocation system, including a cap on how much water the landowner can use to irrigate, doesnt appear to impact farmland value, her research shows.

In the North Platte river basin in the Panhandle, farmland with access to both groundwater and surface water costs $1,000 to $1,500 more per acre when compared to parcels with only one type of irrigation, said NRD manager Scott Schaneman.

The dual water source has enabled producers to grow corn, dry beans, sugar beets and alfalfa. It also holds an appeal to potential buyers, Schaneman said.

I think a lot of investors are really starting to look at the western end of the state saying, Hey, the land prices are still pretty reasonable  and they have the capability of growing 200-bushel corn (per acre) with the water. Maybe this is a place I need to look at, he said.

As western states grapple with water shortages and eye Nebraska farmland, Melkani said it may drive up Nebraska's farmland value.

Colorado farmers have been paid to fallow their irrigated acres to cut down water usage.

Some Colorado farmers then moved to Nebraska or bought Nebraska farmland that gives them access to surface water to irrigate, said Dan Lindstrom, Kearney-based water attorney.

In Arizona, the governor terminated a lease with a Saudi-owned company that used groundwater unchecked to grow alfalfa, a violation of their lease terms.

But in Nebraska, NRD managers interviewed by Flatwater said they havent noticed any excessive water use on farms tied to out-of-state owners. Many of these owners employ local operators and farm largely in the same way as others.

In some cases, landowners can sell water rights, striking a deal to transfer water rights on acres theyre not using.

It's not like one guy is selling 20 acres of his water, and then  pump it 5 miles to the other guys property. That is not happening, said Central Platte NRD manager Lyndon Vogt. They're really selling their right to irrigate that ground.

The transfers dont happen regularly, usually involve small plots of land and need NRD approval, NRD leaders and brokers said. In Vogts district, new irrigated acres cant be transferred upstream for more than a mile, he said.

Sometimes the irrigation rights can be transferred to non-ag use too, Vogt said. A Wood River ethanol plant bought irrigated acres and dried up a number of acres to offset the plants own water use. The cities of Gothenburg and Grand Island also acquired irrigated acres because of growing industrial water demand, he said.

Cities water needs will likely expand as industrial developments and urban residents demand more water, said Dave Aiken, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor and extension water law specialist.

With all the challenges that we're going to be dealing with in terms of global warming, we can have a lot worse problems than not being able to irrigate as many acres here and there in Nebraska, Aiken said.

Flatwater Free Press reporter Destiny Herbers contributed to the data analysis used in this story. The series, Whos Buying Nebraska? was made possible by a grant from the Center for Rural Strategies and Grist.

The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraskas first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.

The Journal Star's most memorable photos of 2023
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Watch as Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the World Economic Forum on Tuesday 16 January.

More than 60 heads of state and government and hundreds of business leaders are gathering in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss the biggest global challenges during the annual event.

Mr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, will aim to keep his countrys long and largely stalemated defence against Russia on the minds of political leaders, as Israels war with Hamas has garnered much of the worlds attention.

On Monday, he made a stop in Switzerlands capital of Bern, where president Viola Amherd pledged her country would start working with Ukraine to help organize a peace summit.

Mr Zelensky is following up that visit with his first trip to Davos as president, after addressing the forum by video in previous years.

Nato leader Jens Stoltenberg, Germanys vice chancellor Robert Habeck and US envoy for Ukraines economic recovery, Penny Pritzker, are expected to attend his address.
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US and British forces launched airstrikes against dozens of targets across Yemen on January 11 in retaliation for months of attacks by the countrys Houthi movement on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea.

Those attacks, launched by the Iran-backed group in response to Israels war in Gaza, have wrought havoc on international shipping and drawn the US and its allies into a regional conflict.

The Pentagon said 60 targets were hit using more than 150 precision-guided munitions.

The Houthis, led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, are Shia rebels who have fought Yemens government for nearly two decades and have controlled most of the country for half of that time.

The group is part of a so-called axis of resistance led by Iran, and defined by its opposition to Israel and the US.

Joe Biden lifted the designation of the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen as a global terrorist organisation in 2021 in one of his first acts as president. The group was added to the list by the Trump administration in its final month in power.

Critics of the terror designation argued that it devastated aid and fuel shipments in Yemen, the Arab worlds poorest country, which has often been described as the worlds largest humanitarian crisis.

The following is a timeline of how the conflict between Yemens Houthis and the US and its allies began.

7 October

Hamas launches a surprise attack on southern Israel that kills around 1,200 people. It kidnaps around 200 more and takes them back to Gaza. Israel begins its attacks on Gaza that same night.

19 October

Houthis fire four cruise missiles and 15 drones towards Israel in their first act of violence in relation to the Israel-Hamas war. All of the missiles are intercepted by a combination of Saudi air defences and the USS Carney.

27 October

Houthis launch two drones which Israeli officials say were targeted at Israel. Both of them fall in Egypt, where six people are wounded.

28 October

Israel announces that its ground invasion of Gaza has begun.

A drone view as supporters of the Houthi movement rally to denounce air strikes launched by the US and Britain on Houthi targets, in Sanaa, Yemen (VIA REUTERS)

31 October

Houthis say they launched a large number of ballistic missiles and drones towards Israel and warned of more attacks until the Israeli aggression stops. The incident triggered air raid sirens in the Israeli tourist resort of Eilat and sent residents running for shelter. Israel said it destroyed an aeriel target over the Red Sea.

5 November

Houthis fire an unknown number of missiles towards Israel, all of which are intercepted by Israel.

8 November

Houthis shoot down an American MQ-9 drone that the group claims was carrying out hostile surveillance and espionage activities in Yemeni territorial waters as part of American military support for Israel.

14 November

Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi warns his group will target Israeli ships in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Houthis also fire several missiles towards Israel, which are intercepted by the USS Thomas Hudner.

19 November

Houthis launch a daring helicopter attack to capture the Galaxy Leader, an Israeli-owned and Japanese-operated cargo ship, in the Red Sea. Twenty-five crew members were captured and taken with the ship to Hodeida in Yemen. Houthis released footage of the assault.

22 November

Houthis launch a cruise missile towards Israel. Israeli officials say it is shot down by an F-35 jet.

23 November

US officials say the USS Hudner shoots down drones launched from Yemen.

People take part in a protest in the streets of the Yemeni Red Sea city of Hudeida (AFP via Getty Images)

29 November

The USS Carney intercepts missiles fired from Yemen and shoots down what US officials describe as an Iranian-made drone headed towards it.

3 December

US military officials say three commercial vessels come under attack in international waters in the southern Red Sea, as Houthis claim drone and missile attacks on two Israeli vessels in the area. The USS Carney shoots down three Houthi drones.

9 December

Houthis say they will target all ships heading to Israel, regardless of their nationality, if Israel does not allow the delivery of the food and medicine it needs.

12 December

Houthis target a Norwegian vessel with a land-based cruise missile, causing a fire to break out on board. In response, Israel announces it will deploy one of its most advanced warships in the Red Sea.

Sea Viper missiles are fired in the Red Sea from HMS Diamond (UK MOD  Crown copyright 2024)

16 December

The Pentagon says the USS Carney shot down 14 drones launched by Houthis over the Red Sea.

18 December

Attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea begin to intensify. Houthis announce two more drone attacks targeting cargo vessels in the Red Sea: MSC Clara and Norweigian-owned Swan Atlantic.

23 December

The US shoots down four drones launched from Yemen and headed towards a US destroyer in the Red Sea. Houthis nearly hit a Norwegian oil tanker with a drone and strike an Indian-flagged crude oil tanker.

26 December

Houthis launch a missile attack on an MSC container ship in the Red Sea and an attempt to hit Israel with drones.

28 December

The US shoots down one drone and one anti-ship ballistic missile in the southern Red Sea fired by Houthis. Reuters notes that it is the 22nd attempted attack on international shipping since 19 October.

31 December

US forces kill 10 Houthi naval personnel as they attempted to board a commercial vessel on three boats in the Red Sea.

3 January

The US and 12 allies issue a final warning to Houthis to cease their attacks on vessels in the Red Sea or face military action. Let our message now be clear: we call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews, the countries said. The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the regions critical waterways.

4 January

Houthis launch an unmanned surface vessel that detonated a couple of miles away US Navy and commercial vessels in the Red Sea, US officials say. Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of US Navy operations in the Middle East, said it was the first time the Houthis had used an unmanned surface vessel since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

9 January

Houthi forces launch their largest attack to date, with 21 drones and missiles fired towards the Red Sea. All of the projectiles were shot down by British and US forces. The Pentagon says it is the 26th Houthi attack on commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea since 19 November and British defence secretary Grant Shapps says the situation cannot be allowed to continue."

11 January

Houthis fire an anti-ship ballistic missile into international shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden.

11/12 January

The US and Britain carry out air and missile strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, supported by Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands. The strikes targeted the capital Sanaa, Saada, Hajjah, Hudayadh, and Taiz governorates. The Pentagon says 60 targets were hit using more than 150 precision-guided munitions. "These targeted strikes are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation," US President Joe Biden said.

 With Reuters
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The US and the UK have carried out military strikes with aircraft, ships and missiles against targets linked to the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The attacks came after the Houthis launched their largest attack yet on Red Sea shipping, one of 27 such assaults since 19 November.

Officials said that 21 missiles and drones were fired at warships and commercial vessels near the Bab al-Mandab Strait early last week, the southern bottleneck of the Red Sea, with US and UK warships blowing them out of the sky.

Since the US-UK strikes, the Iranian-backed Houthis have vowed to expand their Red Sea raids to include US ships, and successfully struck an American-owned cargo vessel off Yemen on Monday night.

The ship doesnt necessarily have to be heading to Israel for us to target it; it is enough for it to be American, Nasruldeen Amer, a spokesperson for the Houthis, told Al Jazeera. The United States is on the verge of losing its maritime security.

Here is what we know so far:

What targets were hit in the strikes?

The US said that it carried out strikes at more than 60 targets at 28 Houthi locations, with the Pentagon saying that radar systems, drone and missile storage and launch sites, plus Houthi command centres were all hit. Strikes were reported in the Yemen capital Sanaa - which is controlled by the rebels - as well as the Houthi Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Dhamar and the group's north-western stronghold of Saada.

Britains Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that it had identified key facilities involved in Houthi targeting of HMS Diamond and US Navy vessels earlier this week "and agreed to conduct a carefully coordinated strike to reduce the Houthis' capability to violate international law in this manner".

It said fighter jets conducted precision strikes on two of these Houthi facilities. "One was a site at Bani in north-western Yemen used to launch reconnaissance and attack drones. A number of buildings involved in drone operations were targeted by our aircraft. The other location struck by our aircraft was the airfield at Abbs. Intelligence has shown that it has been used to launch both cruise missiles and drones over the Red Sea. Several key targets at the airfield were identified and prosecuted by our aircraft.

The Houthis said there were more than 70 strikes in total.

How have the Houthis responded?

The Houthis have continued to target ships since the US-UK strikes, saying that as well as Israel-linked vessels they now see British and American ships as legitimate targets.

The US military said it repelled a missile attack on one of its warships over the weekend, an anti-ship cruise missile that was fired by the rebels towards the USS Laboon in the Red Sea. It was drowned by a US fighter jet off the coast of Hodeidah.

And the Houthis also claimed responsibility for a missile attack on a US-owned cargo ship off the south coast of Yemen on Monday 15 January. The attack involved three missiles, one of which struck the Gibraltar Eagle and caused a fire.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which oversees Middle East waters, issued an advisory to all vessels in the region and urged caution during transit through Red Sea.

The assaults have prompted prominent shipping firms to reroute ships from the Red Sea, opting for a more extended journey around southern Africa instead.

On Monday, QatarEnergy, the second-largest oil company globally, declared a temporary halt to shipping through the route as it sought security guidance.

What weapons did the US and UK use?

US Navy warships fired Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles, which are GPS-guided and can be programmed to fly evasively, the US military says.

While no specific figures have been given for how many missiles were fired, the US says more than 100 precision-guided munitions "of various types" were used.

The UK said it sent four RAF Typhoons from Cyprus, carrying Paveway IV guided bombs. It has not said how many were released. The two UK Navy warships in the Red Sea cannot fire land attack missiles, hence the need for aircraft.

The UK and US had non-operational support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands.

Who are the Houthis and why are they attacking in the Red Sea?

The Iran-backed Houthis armed group from a sub-sect of Yemen's Shia Muslim minority, the Zaidis. They take their name from the movement's founder, Hussein al-Houthi. They have been fighting a civil war since 2014 against Yemen's government. The government has been backed against the Houthis by a coalition of Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The Houthis are part of what Tehran labels an axis of resistance against Israel, the US and the wider West which includes Hamas and Hezbollah from Lebanon. A Hamas attack inside Israel on 7 October that killed 1,200 people and saw 240 taken hostage triggered Israel to bombard Gaza aiming to eradicate the group. Health officials in the Hamas-run territory say the Israeli military operation has killed more than 23,000 people. The Houthis claim they are targeting all ships bound for Israel through the Bab al-Mandab Strait in support of the Palestinian people.

The Houthis subsequently began targeting commercial vessels indiscriminately, triggering the mobilisation of a US-led naval coalition at the end of last year to counter this threat.

The Houthis have launched a number of attacks since November, carrying out at least 27 attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea.

Why is the Red Sea important?

It is one of the major waterways for global trade; roughly 12 to 15 per cent of shipping traffic passes through the Red Sea.

Many shipping companies have been forced to reroute their vessels, taking the longer journey around Africa, although several oil majors, refiners and trading houses have continued to use it.

Alternative routes cause delays in supply chains, while increased insurance costs for sailing through the Red Sea threaten to have a knock-on effect to end costs.

Insurance premiums roughly doubled in the wake of the Houthi attacks.

German shipping group Hapag Lloyd said on Tuesday it would continue to avoid the Suez Canal and go around the Cape of Good Hope for security reasons, while its Danish rival Maersk has said it would avoid the route for the foreseeable future.

Thus far, spikes in energy prices as a result of the attacks have been short-lived and increased insurance costs have remained manageable, but experts have warned that if a few ships were sunk by a future assault, the situation could worsen.

What have Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak said about the strikes?

President Biden said the strikes were in "direct response" to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. "These attacks have endangered US personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardised trade, and threatened freedom of navigation," he said.

Mr Sunak said that the action was "necessary and proportionate" to protect global shipping.

"Despite the repeated warnings from the international community, the Houthis have continued to carry out attacks in the Red Sea, including against UK and US warships just this week," he said. "This cannot stand."

Could the attack escalate regional tensions?

A spokesperson for the German foreign ministry said the latest Houthi attacks showed the militant group were clearly focusing on escalation against international merchant shipping. Before the US and UK airstrikes, British defence secretary Grant Shapps described the situation in the Red Sea as unsustainable and said that the HMS Diamond, the British warship stationed in the area, had been specifically targeted in the latest attack.

The Houthis have vowed to continue their assaults until Israel halts the conflict in Gaza, and warned they would attack US warships if the militia group itself was targeted.

Mohammed al Bukhaiti, a senior Houthi official, wrote on X in December: Even if America succeeds in mobilising the entire world, our military operations will not stop... no matter the sacrifices it costs us. But the Houthis have no formal naval warships with which to impose a serious blockade of the waterway, while the defence capabilities of the coalition forces are more than able to cope with the threat of drones and missiles.

However the UK and the US have had to weigh their determination to keep the shipping lane open against the risk of spreading war in the region. The strikes were the first by the United States on Yemeni territory since 2016, and the first time it has attacked the Iran-backed Houthis at any such scale.

Saudi Arabia called for restraint and "avoiding escalation" as it looks to withdraw from the civil war in Yemen. The conflict has lately been in a delicate state of UN-backed peace negotiations. Saudi Arabia have been anxious about any response from the US and others that could complicate those efforts.
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Tensions in the Middle East have risen after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels began striking at ships passing through the Red Sea in November.

Crews extinguished a fire on board a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel on Saturday after it was struck by a Houthi anti-ship missile in the Gulf of Aden, according to commodities trader Trafigura. It is the latest of more than 30 Houthi attacks in the past three months.

The Islamist group claims it is striking the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which is a narrow strip of sea between Yemen and east Africa that is a key international trade route, in a bid to end Israels air and ground offensive against Hamas.

In retaliation, Britain and the US have launched air strikes across Yemen against Houthi forces.

President Joe Biden, speaking after the first round of strikes, said they were a direct response to an onslaught of attacks on Red Sea ships which jeopardised trade, and threatened freedom of navigation.

Mr Sunak said the action was necessary and proportionate.

About eight hours after the incident involving the Marlin Luanda, the US military destroyed a Houthi anti-ship missile that was aimed into the Red Sea and ready to launch, according to US Central Command.

The missile presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region, it said.

The Houthis' Al-Masira television also said on Saturday that the United States and Britain launched two airstrikes that targeted the port of Ras Issa, Yemen's main oil export terminal.

But who are Yemens Houthi rebels? How are they linked to the conflict between Israel and Palestine, and why are they attacking western ships now?

Click here for live updates from the latest on the conflict.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Carney intervened to protect commercial ships under attack by Houthi drones (AP)

Its clearly linked to a broader strategy of Iran, which is the main backer of the Houthis, militant jihadist expert Dr Elisabeth Kendall told The Independent.

It is designed to ramp up pressure on Israel, America and other allies to stop the war in Gaza. The Houthis are armed, sponsored and trained by Iran as part of the so-called axis of resistance, Dr Kendall said.

The Houthis, formed in the late 1990s, developed as political-religious Shia movement and launched a series of guerrilla wars against Yemens national army.

The group seized the countrys capital of Sanaa when the Yemen civil war started in 2014, which caused neighbouring Sunni Islam Saudi Arabia to intervene at the head of a western-backed coalition over fears of growing Shia influence on its border. Since then, the civil war is estimated to have killed almost 400,000 people.

The takeover of the capital prompted Saudi Arabia to intervene in a bid to restore the internationally recognised government, which has a Sunni majority. A Saudi and UAE bombing campaign against Houthi targets was launched in 2015 and drew criticism over civilian deaths, leading to calls for the UK to cease arms exports to Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis have developed an arsenal including ballistic missiles and armed drones capable of hitting Israel more than 1,000 miles from Sanaa. The rebels have fired these missiles at Saudi Arabia dozens of times during the Yemen war. In September, the Houthis displayed anti-aircraft Barq-2 missiles, naval missiles, a Mig-29 fighter jet and helicopters for the first time.

Houthi supporters rally to show support for Palestine in Sanaa, Yemen, on 7 October (REUTERS)

Saudi Arabia and the US have accused Iran of fully enabling the rebel group to attack Israel and Western ships in the Red Sea. Iran denies the allegations, and says the Houthis are autonomous.

But experts say the Houthis, along with Gazas Hamas and Lebanons Hezbollah, form part of Irans axis of resistance - a military alliance built over four decades to oppose Israeli and American power in the Middle East.

Baraa Shiban, a Yemeni human rights activist who previously negotaited with the Houthis during failed peace talks in 2014, said it was clear in the decade since those talks that Iran has been supplying the militants with weapons.

You have a situation where the Houthis have had a constant flow of weapons over the course of 10 years, he told The Independent.

Citing a Houthi military parade last September as evidence of this, he said they showcased a wide range of military capabilities.

If you know anything about how the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) operates, he added, referring to the Iranian military, you can see that those missiles and drones are basically mimics of Iranian weapons.

The axis of resistance comprises a group of violent proxies across Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and Palestine, coordinated by Irans Quds Force, the foreign arm of the IRGC.

The Quds Forces aim is to export Irans 1979 Islamic revolution abroad. The US assassinated the former head of the Quds Force, Qassem Solemaini, in January 2020.

Lebanons Hezbollah, the most powerful group in the axis, boasts 100,000 fighters, has exchanged fire with Israeli forces since Hamas went to war with Israel and more than 70 of its fighters have been killed.

The US also says its troops in Syria and Iraq have been attacked at least 55 times by Iran-backed proxies since Hamass assault on Israel on 7 October.

The war has been viewed as a proxy in a wider conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia as they both seek greater influence across the Middle East.
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After two months of continual Iran-backed Houthi attacks on commercial vessels, the US and the UK have launched more than 100 strikes against the militant groups positions across western Yemen.

Huge explosions were seen in Yemeni cities including Sanaa and Hodeidah in the early hours of 12 January, with the US military saying 60 strikes were launched against 16 sites linked to the Houthis military operations.

Below, The Independent looks at how the attacks unfolded and what weapons were used in the strikes.

An overview

Lt General Alex Grynkewich, a senior Air Force commander overseeing forces in the Middle East, said in a statement that more than 100 precision-guided munitions were used to hit 60 targets at 16 Houthi locations in Yemen overnight.

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) revealed this morning that the Royal Air Force were responsible for hitting two of those sites.

One was a site at Bani in north-western Yemen used to launch reconnaissance and attack drones, the statement read. A number of buildings involved in drone operations were targeted by our aircraft.

The other location struck by our aircraft was the airfield at Abbs. Intelligence has shown that it has been used to launch both cruise missiles and drones over the Red Sea. Several key targets at the airfield were identified and prosecuted by our aircraft.

What weapons were used?

James Heappey, the UK armed forces minister, revealed this morning that four Royal Air Force Typhoon fighters were used in the attack, supported by two Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker aircraft.

The single pilot, twin-engine Typhoon jets are a mainstay of the RAF fleet. They fly at speeds of roughly 1,380 miles per hour (Mach 1.8) and as high as 55,000 feet, according to an RAF fact sheet

The Ministry of Defence (M0D) later confirmed that Paveway IV guided bombs had been used in the strikes. A source at RAF Northolt suggested to The Independent that 18 missiles had been used in the attacks.

An RAF fact sheet describes the 227kg warheads, which cost roughly 30,000 each, as having the ability to engage targets in all types of weather with laser guidance for high terminal accuracy.

Gen Alex Grynkewich said the US fired roughly 100 precision-guided missiles, inlcuding Tomahwaks, from warships and submarines in the region.

The US Navys Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAM), worth up to 1.5 million each, are low-flying cruise missiles capable of delivering a 450 kg conventional warhead hundreds of miles inland.

The bulk of the firepower will have come from US jets. The US has an aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, as well as several air bases in the region.

(The Independent/Datawrapper)

How did the attacks happen?

James Heappey, the UK Armed Forces minister, said the four Typhoons took off at 7.30pm on Thursday evening from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. The base is located on the southernmost tip of the island, about 150 miles from the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

Our source said that UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak phoned Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Thursday evening to request clearance for the Typhoons to fly over the eastern Mediterranean.

The crew then flew west of Israel before descending the Red Sea and carrying out strikes on the Houthi positions in western Yemen.

Mr Heappey said this morning that both targets were successfully prosecuted. The four Typhoons and two Voyagers safely returned to RAF Akrotiri at 3am.

Footage released by US and UK showed fighter jets and aircraft taking off from various locations on Thursday evening.

What targets were hit?

Footage released by the UK MoD shows strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen (Ministry of Defence)

Gen Alex Grynkewich said the strikes hit command and control nodes, munitions depots, launching systems, production facilities, and air defence radar systems.

Our map above shows the exact locations of the strikes.

The MoD claimed the strikes had been a success and that particular care had been taken to minimise risk to civilians in the area.

The detailed results of the strikes are being assessed, but early indications are that the Houthis ability to threaten merchant shipping has taken a blow, a statement read.

How have the Houthis reacted?

Houthi leader warns Sunak and Biden: Your involvement will never go unanswered

A Houthi military spokesperson said 73 strikes had killed five of the groups fighters and wounded six others.

These reports have not been confirmed.

Experts have warned that the Houthis are likely to claim the strikes killed civilians as part of its informational war against the US and the UK.

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi vowed to confront American aggression after the attacks.

Their Iranian backers have also called out the strikes.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said: These attacks are a clear violation of Yemens sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a breach of international laws.

Russia, meanwhile, condmended the strikes and called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Friday to discuss the issue.
 Close Biden and Sunak spoke about Red Sea attacks, Gaza on phone call, according to White House

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Houthi rebels have vowed that the latest round of US and UK strikes against them in Yemen will no go unanswered - as their allies Hamas killed nearly two dozen Israeli soldiers in Gaza.

The US launched their eighth attack on Houthi positions in western Yemen overnight, firing up to 30 munitions. UK defence secretary Grant Shapps said four Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoons were involved in the strikes.

Mohammad Ali al-Houthi, head of the Houthis supreme revolutionary committee wrote on X, after the joint strikes by the US and the UK: Trust well that every operation and every aggression against our country will not be without a response.

It comes as 21 soldiers have been killed in the Gaza Strip in the deadliest attack on Israels forces since the 7 October Hamas raid that triggered the war, the military has said.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu mourned the soldiers but vowed to press ahead with the offensive until "absolute victory" over Hamas was achieved.

The soldiers were killed after a militant fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a tank stationed next to two buildings being prepared for demolition. The area was packed with explosives.
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A Japanese startup has unveiled a plan to shoot down space junk using lasers developed for nuclear fusion power.

Osaka-based EX-Fusion is taking a novel ground-based approach to dealing with the issue of debris in Earths orbit after developing one of the worlds most powerful lasers for the next-generation power source.

The diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) laser was built to blast a hydrogen fuel pellet with a high-powered beam in order to trigger a fusion reaction  the same process that naturally occurs within the Sun.

The startup realised the same technology could be used to knock a piece of space debris out of orbit without sending lasers up to space.

The power of a laser for destroying space junk is an order of magnitude lower than for nuclear fusion, but they share technical challenges such as controlling them via special mirrors, EX-Fusion chief executive Kazuki Matsuo told Nikkei Asia.

The startup has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Australian contractor EOS Space Systems, which tracks space junk from an observatory near Canberra.

Ex-Fusion will initially target small space debris measuring less than 10cm, which has previously been impossible to impact using ground-based lasers.

The beam will be used to slow down the debris until its orbit speed drops enough for it to fall and burn up in the Earths atmosphere.

There are an estimated 100 trillion pieces of old satellites currently circling the planet, with experts warning that the accumulating debris could damage active satellites, hinder astronomical observations, or even prevent rockets from launching into space.

Last year, aerospace and satellite companies called on governments around the world to adopt a highway code to tackle the issue.

The Space Safety Coalition (SSC) said action needed to be taken in order to prevent catastrophe, with 27 signatories urging regulators to implement a rules-of-the-road-style guidebook for satellite operators to adhere to.

An international team of scientists also separately called for a legally-binding treaty to reduce the amount of space debris in Earths orbit.

Writing in the journal Science last March, Dr Imogen Napper from the University of Plymouth argued that space junk should be treated in a similar manner to that of plastic pollution in the oceans.

Taking into consideration what we have learnt from the high seas, we can avoid making the same mistakes and work collectively to prevent a tragedy of the commons in space, she wrote.

Without a global agreement, we could find ourselves on a similar path.
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A baby has been injured following a police raid in Ohio that the boys mother said was targeted at the homes former tenant.

Waylon Price, the 17-month-old child, is currently in the pediatric wing of University Hospitals in Cleveland following the incident in which officials from the Elyria Police Department deployed two flash-bangs.

Courtney Price, the childs mother, told cleveland.com that smoke immediately surrounded the infant but she was unable to take care of him because she was taken into custody. He was on a ventilator at the time.

I kept yelling for my baby, she said. The officers were in the home, searching the home. The baby was clearly laying there suffocating, turning red, blue and they all just walked by him. Nobody went to him.

The baby boy has pre-existing medical conditions and was born prematurely. Mr Price relayed that information to the officers, the outlet reported. Hes since been diagnosed with chemical pneumonitis, has burns all over his body and is struggling to breathe, the woman said.

The incident happened on Wednesday around 2.15pm. Mr Price had driven up from Kentucky to stay with her family so her son could undergo treatment at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children.

Both her and the infant were inside the residence in the 300 block of Parmely Avenue when officers executed a search warrant at the home.

The flash-bangs were activated outside of the home. Police said diversionary devices do not produce a continuous burn and they do not deploy or contain any pepper gas or chemical agent, the outlet reported.

In a news release, the Elyria Police Special Response Team said the address was the correct one on the warrant, which was authorised in connection with an ongoing investigation.

Additionally, the department said officials examined the child for any apparent injuries and determined at the time that the baby boy had not been harmed. The department added that any allegations or lack of medical attention are false.

Redia Jennings, Ms Prices aunt, said officers have repeatedly come to her property looking for a suspect she believes was the previous tenant. The aunt has been in the residence ever since February 2023.

Theres been five different occasions that detectives and CPS and officers have showed up at my house looking for (the suspect). Theyve been told numerous times he does not live here, she said.

Speaking to cleveland.com, Ms Price said she wants the department to acknowledge their mistake.

Theyre trying to cover it up, she told the outlet. At least an apology, something. We have no apology. We had no nothing. They never asked how the baby was.

Theyre denying anything ever happened.

The investigation in connection with the warrant remains ongoing.
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It only comes around once every four years, but this Leap Day, airlines, holiday providers and hotel groups are giving customers an incentive to seize the extra calendar day with some serious sales.

In our opinion its never too early to book ahead for a bargain holiday. Although winter may feel never-ending, evenings are getting lighter and balmy summer days and poolside parasol lounging could be just four months away.

If you cant wait until summer, spring has plenty of calendar events to celebrate with a trip. Whether a foodie city break to chocolate heavyweights, from Belgium to Switzerland, a getaway to some far-flung winter sun destination, or a last-minute retreat to a snow-coated ski resort, penny-pinching off-peak breaks are plenty.

Here are the top travel deals of the week to save hundreds on early bird summer deals and final hour February adventures.

Read more from Independent Travel:

Best Leap Day travel deals:

Southwest Airlines

30 per cent off flights

Save 30 per cent on stateside flights today (Getty Images)

Looking to fly stateside? In honour of the leap year Southwest Airlines has 30 per cent savings on select US flights when code SPLASH is applied at checkout. Book a trip between March and May by the end of 29 February to enjoy the spring travel offer.

Book now

jetBlue Vacations

Savings up to $629 on holidays

Spend over $2,000 on jetBlue for $129 off your holiday (Getty Images)

This Leap Day holidaymakers who spend over $2,000 on a jetBlue Vacation can save $129 with code LEAP129, and the more cash you splash the bigger the savings. Save $229 off $3,500 and up holidays with code LEAP229, $429 off $5,500 and up with code LEAP429, and $629 off holidays worth $7,500 and up with code LEAP629.

Book now

Qantas Airways

$250 off round-trip economy cabin fares

Get airborne in Australia for less this February (Getty Images)

Travellers can get airborne in Australia for a fraction of the price this February with Qantas Airlines. Those looking to go down under can enjoy $250 off round-trip economy cabin fares from the US to Australia and New Zealand with the code LEAPDAY, before 11.59pm on 29 February.

Book now

Hard Rock Hotels

29 per cent off Hard Rock Hotel New York

Celebrate 29 February with 29 per cent off a NYC stay (Getty Images)

Headed to the Big Apple? Hard Rock Hotels NYC hotspot is celebrating the Leap Day with 29 per cent off the best available room rate and a $50 food and beverage credit to use during stays over two nights long  one lucky city breaker will even receive a complimentary upgrade to the Rock Star Suite. The offer ends at midnight tonight for travel until 2 September 2024.

Book now

PLAY Airlines

25 per cent off selected flights from Stanstead and Liverpool

Icelands budget airline has a flash sale until tomorrow (Getty Images)

Transatlantic flights are taking off for 25 per cent less with Icelands PLAY Airlines this leap year. Select routes departing London Stanstead and Liverpool to destinations including Iceland, the US and Canada will enjoy the discount until 1 March for travel between April to May and September to December 2024.

Book now

Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort

29 per cent off with code LEAP29

Theres also breakfast and a one-time $229 resort credit (Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort)

Looking for a leap-year deal in St Lucia? Viceroy Resorts Sugar Beach has 29 per cent off superior villas including breakfast and a $229 room credit. Book before midnight on 29 February for stays before 19 December 2024 using code LEAP29 .

Book now

Graduate Hotels

29 per cent off hotel stays

Save 29 per cent on 33 Graduate Hotel locations (Graduate Hotels)

For one week only, Graduate Hotels have up to 29 per cent off stays taken before 31 May when code LEAPYEAR is applied at checkout. With 33 university-anchored hotels in the UK and US, memorable holidays to Oxford, Cambridge, New York and Nashville are on the cards with a cheaper price tag.

Book now

Marine & Lawn Hotel and Resorts

A complimentary night when booking two night stays

A nights shut-eye at Slieve Donard comes free on 29 February (Marine & Lawn Hotels & Resorts)

Until 3 March Marine & Lawn Hotel and Resorts is offering guests who book two nights or more at any Marine & Lawn hotel their last night entirely free. Impressive properties featured in the offer include Slieve Donard in Northern Ireland, Rusacks St Andrews and Marine North Berwick in Scotland.

Book now

HF Holidays

29 per cent off selected self-guiding walking holidays

Rack up your steps for less with HF Holidays (Getty Images)

HF Holidays leap year offer sees 29 per cent off selected self-guided walking holidays, including weeks in the Shropshire Hills and Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. Full-board ensuite accommodation, a cream tea on arrival day, and easy-to-follow routes await keen walkers who step up to claim the discount.

Book now

loveholidays

Five 1,000 holidays for Leap Day birthdays

Five lucky Leap Day babies could win 1,000 in holiday vouchers (loveholidays)

Those born on 29 February are in luck this Leap Day. They may only get to celebrate their birthday once every four years, but loveholidays has a sweeter. The company has five 1,000 holiday vouchers up for grabs by leaplings who enter before the end of Thursday. You can win a short-haul beach trip, city break, or long-haul package holiday.

Book now

Ongoing February travel deals:

Interrail by National Rail

15 per cent off Interrail Global Passes

Theres 30 savings on Interrail passes until 5 March (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Rail fans keen for a summer on the tracks in 2024 are probably prepping to book their next interrailing adventure. Interrail by National Rail has savings of 15 per cent on Interrail Global Passes until 5 March that are sure to get the wheels rolling across 33 participating countries. With this offer, solo passes are just 155 for sustainable journeys to the Netherlands, Slovenia and Italy during peak travel season.

Book now

Citalia

Save up to 250 on multi-destination trips

Visit Sicily, Sorrento and Lake Como for 250 less this summer (Getty Images)

If the allure of Italy and the dolce vita is just too strong to resist this summer, Citalias savings of up to 250 on multi-destination trips to three or more hotels may appeal. The trips combine the cities, lakes and coastal greats on an epic Italian tour. Theres also up to 150 off when you combine just two and up to 280 savings per couple at Hotel Alpha, Sorrento this May.

Book now

Eurostar

Fares from 39 each way

Roll to classic European capitals with Eurostar from just 39 (Getty Images)

With rail fares from just 39 this winter, Eurostar promises budget journeys to capitals including Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam less than two hours from London St Pancras International. The lowest fare seats are up for grabs now so you can secure a Parisian spring holiday or a canalside cycle in Amsterdam this summer.

Book now

Crystal Ski

Last-minute ski deals from 397pp

Slide past surcharges with a last minute Crystal Ski trip (Getty Images)

Crystal Ski is offering a range of last-minute deals to various European ski resorts in countries such as Bulgaria, Austria and France. Prices to hit the pistes start as low as 397pp for a week-long B&B break in Bansko, Bulgaria, with seven nights self-catering in Pinzolo, Italy, including coach transfers coming in at 408pp.

Book now

Need some travel inspiration? Check out our roundup of balmy winter sun destinations and read up on wheres hot in April to plan your Easter break
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Michael OLeary, chief executive of Ryanair, has revealed the airline complained loudly about faults on newly delivered Boeing 737 Max aircraft  including a spanner found under the floor on one jet.

But the boss of Europes biggest budget carrier offered his full confidence in his opposite number at the troubled US planemaker.

At Boeings request Ryanair has doubled the number of engineers it assigns to the US to check quality of new planes.

Passenger choice? Boeing 737 Max flying for Ryanair, at Faro airport in Portugal (Simon Calder)

On Friday 6 January, a door plug blew out from the fuselage of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 shortly after take off from Portland, Oregon.

The plane immediately depressurised and the pilots declared an emergency. All 177 passengers and crew aboard flight AS1282 landed safely back at Portland.

The entire fleet of Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft flying in the US has been grounded for inspections, which have already revealed loose hardware and bolts that needed additional tightening.

Concerns have been expressed about quality control on fuselages for the aircraft, which are made by Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita, Kansas.

Speaking at a news conference in London, Mr OLeary said: We have been loud in our complaints about the lack of quality control of Boeing over the last two years.

It is not acceptable that aircraft get delivered at less than 100 per cent.

Mr OLeary told The Independent: Coming out of Covid, we were taking aircraft deliveries and finding lots of small defects and things not fitted correctly.

We do a 48-hour check on every aircraft when its delivered into Dublin.

On one plane, a spanner was found under the floor of the aircraft.

The Ryanair chief executive said there had been an improvement over the past few months: The last 12 deliveries we took in October, November, December were the best deliveries weve taken from Boeing.

Results are beginning to come through but clearly more needs to be done.

Mr OLeary praised Dave Calhoun, the recently appointed chief executive of Boeing.

He and Brian West, the CFO, are doing a stellar job. I have the utmost confidence in Calhoun and West.

The Ryanair CEO was speaking shortly after the president and chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Stan Deal, announced immediate actions to bolster quality assurance and controls in 737 production.

Mr Deal said: We are planning additional inspections throughout the build process at Boeing and at Spirit.

These checks will provide one more layer of scrutiny on top of the thousands of inspections performed today across each 737 airplane, and build on the reviews we have implemented to catch potential non-conformances.

Spirit Aerosystems said: As a company, we remain focused on the quality of each aircraft structure that leaves our facilities.

The Ryanair boss predicted the variant of the Max 9 currently grounded would be flying again within days. But he added: If it goes beyond the middle or end of this week, or they find new faults, who knows?

Ryanair has ordered a total of Boeing 737 Max aircraft in a special configuration of the Max 8, seating 197 passengers rather than 189.

The plane has an additional emergency exit because of the increased number of seats. We have a door where they have the plug, Mr OLeary said.

He said there had been no pushback from passengers concerned about flying on Ryanairs all-Boeing 737 fleet since one variant of the jet was grounded after an in-flight emergency.

Ryanair is the safest airline in the world in terms of the number of passengers carried without a single fatal accident.

Mr OLeary said his main concern about Boeing was the delay in delivery of new Boeing 737 Max 8 planes. The carrier was due to get 57 aircraft between September 2023 and May 2024, but delivery dates have repeatedly slipped.

Im reasonably confident well get 50 [new aircraft] by June.

As a result of the delivery delays, the airline has cut its forecast for the number of passengers it expects to fly in 2024 from the original aim of 205 million. The number is expected to be in the range of 200 to 201 million.
Sarah Lande, a resident of Muscatine in the US state of Iowa and an old friend of President Xi Jinping's, nodded with a smile when Xi unveiled an ambitious plan for China-US people-to-people exchanges at a dinner reception in San Francisco in November. "I also wish to announce here that to increase exchanges between our peoples, especially between the youth, China is ready to invite 50,000 young Americans to China on exchange and study programs in the next five years," Xi said in his speech at the welcoming dinner, which was hosted by friendly United States organizations. Lande went home and wrote a letter to Xi, noting that his plan was encouraging, and saying that she hoped Muscatine High School could be part of the program. Xi wrote in a reply letter on Jan 4, "I welcome the students of Muscatine to participate in this project." Lande said she was "honored" to hear from Xi, and that her "heart was warmed" to receive greetings as well from Xi's wife, Peng Liyuan, in the letter. In his reply, Xi said the future growth of China-US ties "needs to rely even more on the two peoples", and he added that he hoped more young people from the US will visit China, see China with their own eyes and "build more bridges "between the two peoples. Lande told China Daily, "The deep, long-term friendship between old friends in China and the US has built a strong foundation for our young people to participate in student exchanges and become the citizen diplomats of the future." Lande, former executive director of the nonprofit organization Iowa Sister States, first met Xi in 1985 when he visited Muscatine as secretary of the Communist Party of China Zhengding county committee in Hebei province. She was one of the organizers of that visit. When recalling the 1985 visit during the November reception in San Francisco, Xi told guests including Lande: "The days I spent with them are unforgettable. For me, they represent America." They first reunited when Xi made a trip to the US in 2012 as China's vice-president and visited Lande's home for a big get-together with people he has affectionately referred to as his "old friends" in Iowa. In 2022, Xi sent a reply after Lande wrote to him and enclosed, as a gift, a copy of her memoir "Old Friends": The Xi Jinping-Iowa Story. "Peace through friendship and trust is the hope for future China-US relations," Lande told China Daily. Xi's recent reply letter "is part of the story about a friendship that has lasted nearly 40 years", Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said. This year also marks the 45th anniversary of China-US diplomatic ties. "Over the past 45 years, it is the reaching out to each other by our peoples that has time and again brought China-US relations from a low ebb back onto the right track," Mao told a news conference on Friday. Those who advocate Sino-US friendship have been impressed by how institutions and communities in China as well as the US are moving quickly to advance the student visits plan. "As we speak, government agencies in China, universities and civil society organizations are gearing up to send out invitations," senior Chinese official Liu Jianchao said when addressing the nonpartisan US think tank Council on Foreign Relations last week in New York. Liu, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said in his speech that "we believe communication is the only way of increasing common understanding". Observers from both countries have highlighted the dire need to secure momentum in the improvement of ties by advancing two-way exchanges, given the political atmosphere in the US and the anti-China voices. Dan Stein, chairman of the Muscatine-China Initiatives Committee and a native of Muscatine, a city with a population of around 24,000, said: "Just totally blasting each other is not going to solve anything. I think you've got to try to talk, and if the US and China can find stable relations, then it makes everything else better and easier for the rest of the world." Wang Dong, a professor and executive director of the Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding at Peking University, said the plan for visits by 50,000 US students over five years is "one of the most visionary measures" included in the con-sensus reached by Xi and US President Joe Biden during their San Francisco summit in November. "The plan could potentially 'revolutionize' China-US relations for years and decades down the road. Should it be accomplished, the ambitious plan will amount to one of the largest people-to-people exchange initiatives in history," he said. By engaging the young generation from the US, China will help cultivate a next generation of US leaders who will be more empathetic to Chinese culture and history, hold fewer ideological prejudices, and be more willing to accept China on an equal footing, Wang added. Earlier this month, a delegation of students from New York-based Columbia University concluded a trip in China. In Chengdu, they joined a China-US Youth Gala Dinner, interacted with Chinese peers, and enjoyed local delicacies, local folk traditions such as face-changing and other intangible cultural heritage. During the gala, many of them went onstage to join in the dancing and singing. "This is just the start of making friends here, so we shared a bit about how our academic courses work, and what it is we are learning at our universities," said Patrick Alexander Fitz, one of the Columbia University students. Speaking to local media, he said that such exchanges are "the first opportunity" for them to forge relationships and bonds. "If we hope for a better tomorrow, a more peaceful tomorrow, it is important that we, the youth, take on that responsibility of learning more about each other and finding ways to work together even in times of difficulty or when maybe we don't agree," he said. Contact the writers at zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn
Binance Launches Digital Asset Exchange in Thailand in Collaboration with Gulf Innova

Binance has unveiled its joint venture crypto exchange Binance Thailand, which comes in collaboration with Gulf Innova, a subsidiary of Gulf Energy Development.

Binance Thailand, abbreviated as Binance TH, provides a platform for digital asset exchange services with Thai baht trading pairs, according to a Tuesday press release.

It has also integrated with local banks in Thailand and forged a partnership with Binance Kazakhstan for brokerage services, all under the watchful supervision of Thailands SEC.

Blockchain technology and digital assets carry the power to bring about financial inclusion, Richard Teng, CEO of Binance, said in a statement.

This is a strategic step forward, setting the stage for Thailands impending role as a key player in the global digital finance landscape.

The initiative received a significant boost when it secured a license from Thailands Ministry of Finance in May of the previous year to establish a regulated crypto exchange and brokerage.

Binance first unveiled its joint venture with Gulf Innova in January 2022.

With Binance Thailand now open for trading, it opens up new opportunities for the people of Thailand to participate in the rapidly evolving world of digital assets, reinforcing the countrys position in the global crypto ecosystem.

We are deeply humbled to finally announce the launch of our local platform to the general public in Thailand, Nirun Fuwattananukul, CEO of Gulf Binance, said.

Over the past year, we have been working closely with Thai regulators, putting substantial effort into detailed planning.

Binances Regulatory Troubles

Binance.US and its global parent company, Binance, have faced regulatory scrutiny in recent months.

In June, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initiated an enforcement action against them, alleging the sale of unregistered securities.

The SEC lawsuit named Binance founder Changpeng Zhao as one of the defendants, accusing him of controlling Binance.US despite claiming it operated independently.

In November, Zhao stepped down as CEO and pleaded guilty to an anti-money laundering violation, agreeing to pay a $50 million fine.

Binance, as a company, also settled with the Justice Department, the Treasury Department, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control, paying a hefty $4.3 billion in penalties.

Amidst these regulatory challenges, Binance.US has experienced executive departures.

Former CEO Brian Shroder left the crypto exchange in September, coinciding with a reduction in staff.

Interim CEO Norman Reed, a former regulator with the SEC and the former Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of Binance.US, has been leading the company since then.

Additionally, the firms Chief Risk Officer, Sidney Majalya, and Head of Legal, Krishna Juvvadi, also departed in November.

Nevertheless, Binance is expected to maintain its position as the dominant global exchange, even after reaching a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
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Since the start of the Israel-Gaza war and amid escalating tensions in the Red Sea, concerns over the safety of travel to Israel and countries in the surrounding region have risen.

Although the FCDO considers most of Jordan generally safe to travel to  bar the area up to 3km from its northern border with Syria  travel guidance has been updated to reflect ongoing events.

As conflict in the Middle East spills into the Red Sea, cruise itineraries could be disrupted beyond the existing restrictions due to conflict in neighbouring Israel and Gaza.

Jordan, a popular winter sun destination for tourists, shares its northern border with both Israel and Syria, and travellers with trips booked may be questioning the wisdom of holidaying there.

Heres the latest travel advice for Jordan, plus all the key questions and answers.

What is happening in the Red Sea?

Houthi rebels, a Yemen-based group backed by Iran, have been fighting a civil war since 2014 against Yemens government. Since 19 November the group have launched 27 assaults on commercial vessels and warships in the Red Sea  claimed to be targeted action against all ships bound for Israel in support of the Palestinian people.

On 11 January, the US and UK militaries mobilised missile strikes against the militant groups sites in Yemen in a naval coalition to protect shipping, and further attacks have followed.

Aqaba, Jordans only seaport, sits on the Gulf of Aqaba at the tip of the Red Sea. Cruise holidays due to dock in Jordan will likely be diverted due to the unfolding Red Sea crisis.

What does the Foreign Office say?

The most recent Foreign Office (FCDO) advice updated on 12 January said: Military activity is currently underway in response to attempts by Houthi militants to prevent movement of international shipping in the Red Sea.

While the area of activity is limited to the Red Sea and Yemen, there is a possibility that Travel Advice for nearby countries could change at short notice.

On 10 October, the FCDO strengthened its stance on travel to Jordan to warn that crossings from Jordan to Israel may be closed at short notice as a result of the conflict and state of emergency in southern Israel close to the border with Gaza.

Large political demonstrations and protests in response to the situation in Israel, often near the Israeli and US embassies, should also be avoided by tourists in Amman.

The FCDO has long advised against all but essential travel to within 3km of Jordans border with Syria.

Its guidance states that the situation in Syria is fragile and security threats in the form of instability or terrorist activity could arise with little or no notice, advising against all travel to the country.

Travellers are also warned to take particular care at all border areas and if crossing into any neighbouring country and remain vigilant to terrorism threats at all times.

What do the Jordan authorities say?

The Jordan Tourism Board said in a statement: In light of the recent developments in Gaza, we want to emphasise that Jordan continues to be a safe and welcoming destination for tourists from around the world.

Our commitment to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all visitors remains unwavering. We want to reassure everyone that Jordans borders are open to tourists, and we are eager to share our extraordinary experiences with the world.

We understand that tensions around the world can raise concerns, but we believe in the power of travel to foster understanding and build bridges between nations.

As always, the Jordan Tourism Board is here to assist and support tourists in making the most of their visit.

Jordans deputy Prime Minister and minister of foreign affairs, Ayman Al-Safadi, stressed the need to stop the dangerous escalation in Gaza and its surroundings and highlighted the ongoing Jordanian effort to launch immediate international action to stop the escalation, the necessity of protecting civilians and respecting international humanitarian laws.

Al-Safadi said that the need to protect civilians, whose killings are condemned by international laws, fuelled Jordanian efforts to stop the escalation and end the war on Gaza, in order to avoid their repercussions on the entire region.

Are Jordan flights continuing?

Flights are operating to and from Jordan, although forced cancellations to Aqaba Airport are active until 31 January from Wizz Air and Ryanair due to operational restrictions beyond their control.

The main airlines that fly from the UK to Jordan include British Airways, easyJet, Tui and Wizz Air out of London Heathrow, London Gatwick and London Luton. From 6 March, Royal Jordanian will depart London Stansted and Manchester for Amman.

Currently, Queen Alia International Airport, south of Amman remains operational  as does King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba, Jordans southernmost point.

In 2021, Jordan and Israel reached a historic agreement to open up the Jordan-Israel air corridor and allow flights that previously flew around Israel to cross over into each countrys airspace, cutting flight times from the West.

An international aviation group, OpsGroup warns: Lessons learned regarding civil operations in conflict zones over the last nine years since MH17 need to be applied. The risk of a passenger aircraft becoming a casualty of this war is high.

What if I have booked a package holiday to Jordan?

Travellers who have booked package holidays to Jordans no go zone as advised by the FCDO can cancel without penalty for a full refund, although the main tourist spots are a fair distance from here anyway.

Outside of the 3km radius between Jordans northern border and Syria, the conditions for cancelling your trip will be dependent on your holiday provider, so its best to contact them if youre looking to postpone. There is no obligation for companies to refund you if you want to cancel and you will not be able to claim on travel insurance due to safety concerns unless FCDO advice changes.
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The dispute between the train drivers union, Aslef, and 14 train operators in England is into its third calendar year.

With no settlement in sight to the long and bitter row over pay and working arrangements, the union has begun its first strikes for 2024.

Train drivers belonging to Aslef are stopping work region-by-region over the course of a week between Tuesday 30 January and Monday 5 February. Thousands of trains will be cancelled on each day.

The effect is exacerbated by a nine-day ban on overtime running from 29 January to 6 February.

Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, says some members have not had a pay rise for five years  and ministers have refused to engage with the union for a year.

He told The Independent: Any industrial action is incredibly damaging, but after 18 months out on strike, and after a year with no one in the government or the [train operating] companies talking to us, we are forced to raise the profile of our issues.

Rail minister Huw Merriman told The Independent: Strikes just hold the railway back. We believe a fair and reasonable offer is there on the table for Aslef if they put it to their members.

These are train drivers that paid an average 60,000 for a 35-hour, four-day week, That pay deal would take them up to 65,000.

We hope that they will take the opportunity to take it. Then we can all talk about the positives of rail.

Separately, the 14 train operators have reached a tentative agreement with the RMT union that has put an end to walk-outs while talks continue on a local level. But the RMT has called two 48-hour strikes in February and March on the London Overground.

These are the key questions and answers.

Which rail firms are affected?

Aslef is in dispute with the train operators that are contracted by the government to provide rail services. They are:

Intercity operators:

Avanti West Coast

CrossCountry

East Midlands Railway

Great Western Railway (GWR)

LNER

TransPennine Express

Southeast England commuter operators:

C2C

Greater Anglia

GTR (Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern, Thameslink)

Southeastern

South Western Railway (including the Island Line on the Isle of Wight)

Operators focusing on the Midlands and north of England:

Chiltern Railways

Northern Trains

West Midlands Railway

ScotRail, Transport for Wales, Transport for London (including the Elizabeth Line), Merseyrail and open-access operators such as Grand Central, Hull Trains and Lumo are not involved. But their services are likely to be extremely crowded on stretches where they duplicate strike-hit companies.

What is the strike schedule?

Monday 29 January: overtime ban begins.

Tuesday 30 January: South Western Railway, Southeastern and GTR (Southern, Gatwick Express, Great Northern and Thameslink).

Wednesday 31 January: Northern and TransPennine Express.

Thursday 1 February: no strike but overtime ban continues.

Friday 2 February: Greater Anglia, C2C and LNER.

Saturday 3 February: West Midlands Trains, Avanti West Coast and East Midlands Railway.

Sunday 4 February: no strike but overtime ban continues.

Monday 5 February: Great Western, CrossCountry and Chiltern.

Tuesday 6 February: no strike but overtime ban continues for a final day.

What are the likely effects of the strikes?

These predictions are based on latest statements from rail firms and The Independents observation of previous strikes. They should be confirmed before travel.

Great Northern (30 January): Shuttle service calling at London Kings Cross and Cambridge only (and probably branded Thameslink) with limited operating hours.

Thameslink (30 January): Shuttle service calling at St Pancras, Luton Airport Parkway and Luton only. The firm says its trains will be extremely busy and that queueing systems will be in place.

You may not be able to board your chosen service, says Thameslink. If you are planning to travel on one of the last trains of the day, please be aware that, depending on the size of the queue, you may not be able to board a service at all, and no alternative transport options will be provided after the last train departs. Please plan ahead and leave plenty of time to reach your destination.

Southern (30 January): No trains except a nonstop shuttle service between London Victoria and Gatwick airport, from 6am to 11.30pm.

Gatwick Express (30 January): The Southern airport shuttle, above, is doing the work.

Southeastern (30 January): No trains.

South Western Railway (30 January): The service is relatively extensive compared with other train operators.

Up to four stopping trains per hour between London Waterloo and Woking.

Hourly semi-fast trains between Waterloo and both Guildford and Basingstoke. A shuttle will run from Basingstoke to Salisbury every 90 minutes.

Two trains per hour will also run between Waterloo and Feltham via Richmond and Twickenham. No trains on the Isle of Wight.

Northern (31 January): No trains. The operator says that it expects two key routes to be very busy on 3 February when East Midlands Railway is on strike: Leeds-Sheffield-Nottingham and Sheffield-Manchester.

TransPennine Express (31 January): No trains. There will be some alterations to evening services on Tuesday 30 January and to early morning services on Thursday 1 February, the company says.

C2C (2 February): No trains. The company warns: Upminster car park will likely become full and close early in the day. Upminster is the eastern end of the District Line of the London Underground, which will be running normally.

Greater Anglia (2 February): Limited service linking London Liverpool Street with Norwich, Ipswich and Colchester; Southend Victoria; Cambridge; and Stansted airport.

LNER (2 February): Regular trains on core routes linking London Kings Cross with Doncaster, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh. First trains will depart at around 8am, with most journeys finished by 7pm. Leeds will have a limited direct service, but connections are available from Doncaster.

Avanti West Coast (3 February): No trains. The operator says: Services on the days either side of the strike will also be affected.

East Midlands Railway (3 February): No trains. The train firm warns: No rail replacement bus services will be provided. Other train operators may be running a reduced service due to an overtime ban.

West Midlands Railway (3 February): No trains, and a warning that services on Sunday 4 February will see widespread delays and cancellations.

Chiltern (5 February): No trains either on the strike day or on the previous day, Sunday 4 February, as the train operator is dependent on drivers working overtime on Sunday to operate any trains at all. The overtime ban means no services will run.

CrossCountry (5 February): No trains.

Great Western Railway (5 February): On the actual strike day, a core service will run between London Paddington and Oxford, Bath and Bristol, with a link from Bristol to Cardiff. A limited service on branch lines in Devon and Cornwall. The Night Riviera sleeper service from London to Penzance will not run for a number of nights.

In addition to the disruption on strike days, trains on adjacent days may be affected. Services on these days are also likely to be extremely busy due to passengers moving their journeys to avoid industrial action.

What about the new minimum service levels law?

Legislation now allows the transport secretary to stipulate minimum service levels (MSLs) on strike days amounting to 40 per cent of the normal service. The government says the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 aims to ensure that the public can continue to access services that they rely on, during strike action.

No train operator is seeking to impose the new law on the train drivers union. LNER said it might do so, and opened consultations, at which point Aslef called a separate five-day strike on LNER alone. Then the train operator said it would not require drivers to work, and the strike was called off.

The BBC reports that the prime minister is disappointed that train operators had not implemented minimum service levels. A Downing Street spokesperson said: Yes, its something that we and the public expect them to use.

Weve been repeatedly been clear that this legislation is available for train operators to use.

The Transport Select Committee has previously warned of potential unintended consequences of the legislation. The Conservative chair, Iain Stewart, said: There is a risk of MSLs worsening worker-employer relations and that, as a result, MSLs could end up making services less reliable.

The minimum service level rules do not apply to union bans on non-contractual rest-day working.

Is there a worst day?

Yes. In terms of sheer number of passengers hit, Tuesday 30 January is the most disruptive. It is aimed at commuters in southeast England, the majority of whom use the affected train operators. Normally Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern, South Western Railway and Southeastern carry around 40 per cent of all passengers.

Intercity travellers will be worst affected on Friday 2 and Saturday 3 February, when the main operators on the East Coast and West Coast main lines, plus the Midland main line, will be hit.

Sunday 4 February is also likely to be severely disrupted mainly because of the ban on rest-day working. Chiltern Railway, which would normally run trains between London and Birmingham, says no services will run at all due to the overtime ban.

Disruption will be heightened by planned engineering work between Birmingham and Wolverhampton on the West Coast main line and between London Kings Cross and Stevenage on the East Coast main line.

What will be the wider impact of the overtime ban?

The overtime ban alone will cause thousands of cancellations. Aslef says no train operator employs enough drivers to provide the service they promise passengers and businesses they will deliver without asking drivers to work their days off.

Sunday is still not part of the working week at a number of train operators, so 4 February will be particularly disrupted by the ban on rest-day working.

GWR says: There will be significant disruption to services and customers should travel on alternative days. No trains will operate on long-distance routes between London Paddington and Bristol, South Wales and Exeter/Plymouth/Penzance.

Several rail firms have announced pre-emptive cancellations due to the previous overtime ban, as follows:

C2C: Severely reduced service at weekends, with many trains also cut on weekdays.

Chiltern: Significantly reduced service on most routes, with no trains at all on some branch lines. Services on all routes will finish earlier than usual. No trains will run on Sunday 4 February.

Gatwick Express: No trains during the overtime ban. Southern trains will link London Victoria and Gatwick airport throughout the industrial action.

London Northwestern Railway/West Midlands Railway: Branch lines between Bletchley and Bedford, Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey, and Leamington Spa and Nuneaton, will be closed on most or all days.

Southern: An amended timetable with fewer services will run. Services may start later and finish earlier than usual.

Thameslink warns: A reduced frequency amended timetable will be in operation.

Some trains may restrict either boarding or leaving trains at certain stations to avoid overcrowding.

What if I need to reach an airport?

London Heathrow will remain accessible at all times on the Heathrow Express, the Elizabeth Line and the Tube.

Passengers using London Gatwick will be significantly affected on the first day of strikes, Tuesday 30 January, when no Gatwick Express nor Thameslink trains will run. But passengers between London and Gatwick will be able to travel on a Southern shuttle service, nonstop between Victoria and the airport. The GWR link from Gatwick to Redhill, Guildford and Reading will run normally on 30 January but not on 5 February.

London Stansted will have an hourly skeleton service from the capital on Tuesday 2 February, with service alterations on all the other days of the overtime ban. The link to Norwich will be axed on 2 February, but CrossCountry trains to Cambridge (and on to Birmingham) will still run. On 5 February, though, no CrossCountry trains will run to Stansted airport or anywhere else.

Luton airport will remain accessible by rail, at least from London, on all days: on the Thameslink strike day, 30 January, Thameslink will have a reduced service from London St Pancras to Luton Airport Parkway. In addition, the East Midlands Railway link will be running. On 3 February, when no East Midlands Railway services are likely to run, Thameslink will be operating.

Southend airport: hourly trains on Friday 2 February with restricted hours.

Southampton airport will not be served by South Western Railway on Tuesday 30 January nor by CrossCountry on Monday 5 February.

Manchester airport will have a drastically reduced rail service on Wednesday 31 January. With Northern and TransPennine Express drivers on strike, there will be only an hourly link on Transport for Wales to and from central Manchester, Chester and North Wales.

Birmingham airport is likely to be inaccessible by rail on Saturday 3 February, except for Transport for Wales from Birmingham New Street.

Will Eurostar be affected?

No. Trains will continue to run as normal between London St Pancras International and Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. But connecting journeys will be difficult on strike days  particularly Tuesday 30 January, when Thameslink and Southeastern are out, and on Saturday 3 February when no East Midlands Railway services are likely to run.

What does Aslef say?

In an exclusive interview with The Independent, Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: When we get to February, itll be half a decade without a pay rise. What do we do? Do we do nothing?

The only thing that is going to get us out of this is a clean deal.

Without an agreement, he says: Its going to get messier. Its going to get worse.

What do the rail firms say?

A spokesperson for Rail Delivery Group, representing the train operators, said: There are no winners from these strikes that will unfortunately cause disruption for our customers. We believe rail can have a bright future, but right now taxpayers are contributing an extra 54m a week to keep services running post-Covid.

Aslefs leadership need to recognise the financial challenge facing rail. Drivers have been made an offer which would take base salaries to nearly 65,000 for a four-day week before overtime  that is well above the national average and significantly more than many of our customers that have no option to work from home are paid.

Instead of staging more damaging industrial action, we call on the Aslef leadership to work with us to resolve this dispute and deliver a fair deal which both rewards our people, and makes the changes needed to make services more reliable.What does the government say?

What does the government say?

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: Its very disappointing to see Aslef continuing to target those who travel to work, school or important medical appointments by train.

Aslef is now the only rail union that is continuing to strike while refusing to put a fair and reasonable offer to its members. The offer that remains on the table and would bring the average train drivers salary up to 65,000.

The Aslef leadership should do the right thing and let their members decide their own future, instead of deciding it for them.

What does the Labour Party say it would do if elected?

Louise Haigh, Labours shadow transport secretary, said: It is a staggering dereliction of duty that the transport secretary hasnt got around the table with the unions to try to resolve it since the Christmas before last.

Labour will take an unashamedly different approach to the Tories, and will work with both sides to reach a deal in the interests of passengers and workers. If the transport secretary took this sensible approach then perhaps we wouldnt still be having strikes on our railways.

The shadow rail minister, Stephen Morgan MP, has previously said: Labour will bring our railways back into public ownership, as contracts expire, and ensure services work in the interests of the passenger.

What are the London Overground strikes about?

Pay. More than 300 members of the RMT will stage two 48-hour walkouts on the London Overground on Mondays and Tuesdays two weeks apart: 19-20 February 2024 and 4-5 March 2024. Among those taking action are security, station, revenue and control staff.

The RMT said that Arriva Rail London, which has the contract for London Overground, has offered a below inflation pay offer.

Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT, said: If this dispute cannot be resolved then RMT is more than prepared for a sustained period of industrial action to get London Overground workers the pay rise they deserve.

The Independent has contacted the Department for Transport and Arriva Rail London for comment.
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More than 45 million fliers across the UK faced disruption when travelling on a plane in 2023, a passenger rights organisation has revealed.

Data from AirHelp found that 34 per cent of the 131 million passengers travelling last year were held up, with 3.8 million people having their flights cancelled altogether.

London Gatwick was ranked the worst offender when it came to disruption, with 42 per cent of passengers affected, while London Stansted came in a close second with a 39 per cent disruption rate. The most punctual airport was Durham Tees Valley Airport, where just 19 per cent of flights were disrupted.

UK airports faced numerous challenges in 2023, with ongoing strikes across Europe, air traffic control failures and extreme weather conditions resulting in a chaotic year for travel.

The AirHelp research ranked London Gatwick to Jeddah Saudi Arabia as the most disrupted route, with 91 per cent of flights affected by delays or cancellations. Routes from London Heathrow to Portland International Airport and Bermuda Airport were the second and third least punctual  73 per cent and 71 per cent of flights were disrupted respectively.

The least disrupted route was Edinburgh Airport to Dusseldorf International Airport, with over 94 per cent of flights departing on time in 2023.

London Heathrow to Tan Son Nhat International Airport was ranked second best in terms of punctuality, with 93 per cent of flights leaving on time, while London Heathrow Airport to Kuala Lumpur International Airport and London Luton to Lublin Airport came in third, both enjoying 92 per cent punctuality rates.

EU Law stipulates that if your flight is disrupted  including flight delays, cancellations, and denied boarding  you have the right to compensation.

Under EU Regulation 261/2004, when a flight lands at its destination more than three hours late, fliers are entitled to between 250 and 600 per passenger. The amount depends on the length of the flight and the extent of the delay. Airlines must also provide assistance and care, including food, drinks and hotel accommodation.

However, airlines do not have to pay out if the delay or cancellation is due to extraordinary circumstances, such as bad weather or air traffic control strikes.
A former Democrat has revealed that he registered as a Republican in a "strategic maneuver" to vote against Donald Trump in the Iowa caucuses.

Alan Koslow spoke to The Independent in Des Moines, Iowa, and said that he had placed his vote for former UN Amabassador Nikki Haley.

"I want to give her a bump coming out of Iowa" Mr Koslow told reporter John Bowden.

"To give her a chance to unseat Donald Trump as the presumptive nominee" Mr Koslow continued.

Follow live Iowa Caucus coverage on The Independent.
But retail arm which supplies homes and businesses sees losses soar to 144m on higher costs

Operating losses at the customer retail arm of energy provider Energia more than quadrupled to 144.3m in its last financial year as its electricity and gas margins shrank due to higher commodity prices.

But the group, including its generating assets and business in Northern Ireland, saw its total operating profit soar to 204.6m from 142.5m a year earlier as it benefited from a surge in profits from flexible generation.

That flexible generation profitability reflected higher availability of Energias Huntstown 2 generating facility in Dublin, which had a partial outage the previous year.

In April 2022, after more than a year of rising wholesale gas prices, Energia hiked its electricity and gas prices by 20pc. In October that year, it raised electricity charges by more than 30pc and gas prices by almost 50pc.

But last year, the company became the first major supplier to cut its prices. Last October, it cut electricity charges by 15pc and gas by 20pc. Smart meter electricity users saw their charges cut by 20pc.

The newly-filed accounts for Energias retail business in the Republic - which supplies residential and business customers - show that its turnover rose 40pc to 1.82bn during the 12 months to the end of March last year.

Energia said that was primarily due to higher non-residential and residential electricity revenue reflecting higher prices and higher non-residential and residential gas revenue with higher prices partly offset by lower volumes.

Average gas prices paid by Energia in its last financial year were 174p a therm  the standard industry measure, priced in sterling  compared to 157p a therm the previous financial year.

It noted that during the last financial year, the government introduced energy supports for residential and business customers.

They have been positive for the companys residential and business customers, noted the directors of Energia in the accounts.

The company saw its number of business electricity customers slip to 47,200 at the end of March last year from 48,000, while the number of business gas customers fell to 2,900 from 3,500.

The total number of residential electricity and gas customers declined to 261,400 from 265,100.

In Northern Ireland, the broader group had an additional 516,000 residential and business customers via its Power NI arm.

Throughout financial year 2023, commodity markets for gas and carbon continued to experience high and volatile prices, albeit the later part of the year did see prices reduce somewhat from the levels earlier in the year, note the accounts.

Energias group annual report notes that total revenue rose to 4.56bn in the last financial year, a 41pc increase on the 354.4m it generated the previous year.

As well as its Huntstown power stations in Dublin, Energia also controlled 309MW of operational wind energy assets at the end of last March.

In February last year, Energia completed the sale of its 4MW bioenergy plant in Dublin. The group incurred a 12.5m impairment in relation to the value of that plant in the 2023 financial year, on top of a 24m impairment recognised the previous year.
The dip in pharma exports to the US and falling computer exports to China continued in November last year, figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show, although goods imports were up.

Total goods exports were worth 16.5bn in November 2023, a decrease of almost 600m on November 2022. But when compared with the previous month, goods exports fell 2bn.

Goods exports for the first 11 months of the year were down by 5pc on the same period in 2022, amounting to 183bn.

Imports, meanwhile, are growing in value.

Total imports were valued at 12.4bn in the month, up 239m compared with November 2022, and they were up 1bn compared with October 2023.

However, goods imports for the first 11 months of the year fell 2pc on the same period in 2022, amounting to 125.4bn.

Carol Lynch, a partner in the customs and international trade department at consultants BDO, said the fall in exports was due to a dip in world trade as a result of ongoing geopolitical issues.

This is a worrying trend as exports were significantly down month-on-month in August and September, while increasing in October, she said.

Larger declines in certain sectors are largely driven by reductions in global trade, especially in organic chemicals and related products exported to the US, along with continued substantial reductions in exports of semiconductors to China.

Goods exports were down by 11pc to in the month between October and November, preliminary CSO figures show. When comparing November last year with the same month a year earlier, there was a 25pc plunge in chemicals exports to the US. Chemicals exports to the US were down 17pc in the first 11 months of last year, coming in at 37.6bn.

Exports of electrical machinery and appliances fell 28pc when comparing November last year with the same month in 2022. The plunge was mainly a result of falling exports to China, which are down 49pc in the first 11 months of last year.

However, there was some good news on exports to Britain and the EU, and on imports.

Exports to Britain grew by 11pc to 1.7bn in November, compared with November 2022, on the back of chemicals and food products. They were up 5pc in the first 11 months of the year.

At the end of this month, Irish food exporters in particular face additional bureaucracy selling products into the British market as the UK introduces its new border controls.

BDOs Ms Lynch said increasing chemicals imports could bode well for the pharma sector.

There was a 196pc increase in the import of organic chemicals in November compared with the same month in 2022.

Organic chemicals are ingredients from which high-value pharmaceuticals are made. This may be indicative of increased activity in the sector in the months ahead, Ms Lynch said.

Exports to the EU are up 2pc in the first 11 months of last year. The EU remained Irelands main export partner in November as the destination for 42pc of Irish goods. The US was second, accounting for 25pc of exports.
Households can expect more energy price cuts this year after Electric Ireland announced a second reduction in its tariffs in the past few months.

Consumers could be in line for another 10pc to 15pc decrease in electricity and gas prices, according to energy scientist Paul Deane of University College Cork (UCC).

He said this would bring the cost of electricity for a typical household down to around 1,500 a year.

This is in contrast to the cost last year of around 2,000 per household.

However, before Russia invaded Ukraine, the annual cost of electricity for a year was around 1,100.

Asked about the latest announcement by Electric Ireland that it was cutting electricity prices and the standing charge by 8pc in March, Dr Deane said: This is the start of a return to normality for electricity prices.

He said a relatively mild winter on the continent and more nuclear energy being produced by France, along with more wind being used to generate power in the EU, were keeping wholesale gas prices down.

A relatively mild winter kept wholesale gas prices down.

Wholesale gas prices were a key determinant of electricity prices in this country because more than half of our electricity is generated from gas, Dr Deane said.

What we have seen is a relatively kind winter that has benefited Ireland. If we have a good spring and summer, there will be more price cuts later in the year.

He said there had been a huge increase in the amount of US wholesale gas coming into Europe  which was helping to keep wholesale prices down.

The conflict in the Red Sea, where Houthis are attacking ships, was unlikely to affect wholesale gas prices because most gas into Europe now came from the US.

But the attacks on ships could have an impact on petrol and diesel prices, he said.

Electric Irelands new reduction in electricity and gas prices  and standing charges  has piled pressure on rivals Bord Gais Energy and Energia and a host of smaller players to now also implement a second round of cuts.

Just before Christmas, SSE Airtricity announced a second price cut from February 1.

New player Yuno Energy trimmed prices for the second time from last week.

Electric Ireland is lowering electricity prices by 8pc from March 1, with the standing charge going down by the same percentage.

Its gas prices are coming down by 7pc, with the gas standing charge falling by the same percentage. This means that Electric Irelands residential electricity customers will save an average of 153 this year.

And its residential gas customers will save an average of 111 on annual bills.

For dual-fuel customers, this works out at an annual saving of 264.

In November, Electric Ireland cut its domestic electricity prices by 10pc and reduced gas charges by 12pc.

Those cuts to both its unit rate and standing charge led to savings of 212 a year on the estimated average annual bill for electricity.

The combined reductions of last November and next March will mean an annual saving of 365 in electricity costs per year for households, and 328 on gas bills, the company said.

Daragh Cassidy of price comparison site Bonkers.ie said the latest Electric Ireland reduction was a sign of some normality returning to the energy market.

Daragh Cassidy of Bonkers.ie said the latest Electric Ireland reduction was a sign of some normality returning to the energy market.

However, he warned that even after the new Electric Ireland decrease, electricity prices still remained around 85pc above where they were in 2020, before Covid and then the war in Ukraine wreaked havoc with energy prices.

Gas prices are still around double previous levels.

He said wholesale gas and electricity prices continued to fall.

Analysts at consultancy firm Cornwall Insight are predicting that energy prices in this country could fall by more than 18pc this year.

Cornwall Insight said higher than anticipated gas storage levels in the EU had reduced concerns that there could be shortages in supply over the remaining winter months.
The Last Priests in Ireland review: Father Teds Ardal OHanlon contemplates why priests are a dying breed

The TV star proves himself a worthy presenter in this thoughtful documentary

Ardal OHanlon makes for an engaging presenter in the documentary The Last Priests in Ireland. Photo: RTE

Pat Stacey Tue 16 Jan 2024 at 03:30

On the face of it, the title The Last Priests in Ireland (RTE1, Monday, January 16) suggests we might be in for the kind of bone-dry, whisperingly solemn and self-important documentary the national broadcaster occasionally feels the need to inflict upon us.
Brid Torrades had never worked in agriculture but when her uncle left her a 40ac farm in Cavan she started a Dexter herd, whose meat she sells in her cafe. She also planted 29ac in native woodland  and was undaunted by her new neighbours opposition

Brid Torrades on her farm at Ballyjamesduff in Co Cavan some of which has been planted with native forestry. Photo Rory Geary

'A local farmer told me that because Dexters are a lighter breed they would be ideal for the land'

Brid Torrades on her farm at Ballyjamesduff in Co Cavan with some of her herd of Dexter cattle. Photo Rory Geary

Brid Torrades on her farm at Ballyjamesduff in Co Cavan with some of her herd of Dexter cattle. Photo Rory Geary

Brid Torrades on her farm at Ballyjamesduff in Co Cavan with some of her herd of Dexter cattle. Photo Rory Geary

Brid Torrades on her farm at Ballyjamesduff in Co Cavan with some of her herd of Dexter cattle. Photo Rory Geary

Brid Torrades on her farm at Ballyjamesduff in Co Cavan with some of her herd of Dexter cattle. Photo Rory Geary

Brid Torrades on her farm at Ballyjamesduff in Co Cavan with some of her herd of Dexter cattle. Photos: Rory Geary

Brid Torrades didnt have any experience of agriculture when she inherited a 40ac farm from her uncle in 2019.

Having grown up in Dublins Malahide, Brid had never worked with livestock  she runs a cafe and wine bar in Sligo town with her French husband Marc  but says she always felt a connection to the Cavan farm her mother had grown up on, having spent her holidays there as a child.

My uncle farmed the land here at Lismeen Farm until his late 80s. He had a suckler herd and unfortunately he lost it to TB at the end of his farming journey, says Brid.

The farm hadnt been stocked since, so when I took it over in 2019, I had to start from scratch.

I had never farmed before but I wanted to keep some livestock and plant some woodland.

Brid planted 29ac in native forestry

Planting 29ac of the 40ac farm in native Irish woodland didnt go down well with Brids new neighbours, however.

They were not pleased to see good land going into forestry, she says. I had no experience farming and their reaction was a worry for me  it made me question if I was doing the right thing or not.

But now that I can see the trees growing, I know I have done the right thing and I hope to plant more. The plan is for the cattle to graze among the woodland as the trees mature a bit more.

Brid, who is also renting 20ac of land from her aunt which adjoins her farm, started with just two in-calf Dexters and has since expanded her herd to 22.

Getting Dexters was on my agenda from the minute I inherited the farm, she says. My uncle had a couple down through the years and I always liked them  they have a great temperament and are a smaller, lighter breed than most.

My uncle was always more into the continental breeds, and when I took on the farm I could see how hard they had been on the land and the damage they left behind.

I spoke to another local farmer who kept Dexters and he couldnt say enough good things about them. He told me that because they are a lighter breed they would be ideal for the land.

'A local farmer told me that because Dexters are a lighter breed they would be ideal for the land'

Theyre very low-maintenance too and with me living away from the farm a lot of the time, I knew they would be more suited to me than other breeds.

Dexters appealed to Brid from a culinary point of view as well, she says as they are a dual-purpose animal, producing top-quality meat and milk.

She now uses the meat from her farm in her Sligo cafe (called Osta) and hasnt ruled out learning to milk her herd to produce cheese and butter.

We started slaughtering the cattle for their meat last year. We slaughtered two two-year-old bullocks to begin with and we got about 150kg of saleable meat from each of them, she says.

Most of the meat went into our cafe but we also sold some of it in 10kg beef boxes. I sold the boxes to colleagues in the catering industry for their own use and they went down really well.

'They have a great temperament'

It was really just to test the market and the response was positive, but I dont think beef boxes are something I will do going forward. I would prefer to start selling directly from the farm in time to come.

Brid hopes to run a foraging event on her farm in the autumn where people will be able to come and choose the cuts of meat they want from a fresh selection and pick their own apples from the little orchard we have planted and mushrooms which are growing on the farm too.

Keeping food miles as low as possible is important to Brid who gets her cattle slaughtered in a local micro-abattoir.

He prepares the meat into the cuts we want and its very convenient but I would like to start doing that myself next year, she says. I hope to have the right facilities in place by then.

Brid has just finished the second year of conversion to organic farming and hopes to have certified organic Dexter meat on her cafes menu soon.

The cattle graze outdoors all year round and theyre fed the silage from the farm  its a circular system because were converting to organic, she says.

Brid in the fields

Weve been farming organically anyway since we took on the farm, using zero inputs, so it hasnt been a change at all for us.

Farming organically is a good way of keeping the costs down as well and the payments arent bad.

Plus, there is a good demand for organic meat and that demand will only increase in the future I believe.

People want to know how the animals they are eating are raised and treated and that standard does tend to be higher in organic farms.

Brid and Marc spend half the week in Sligo managing the cafe and the other half in Cavan managing the farm.

Despite the constant upheaval, they feel they have the best of both worlds and have gotten used to the 1-hour commute from place to place.

I feel like we get the best of both worlds  we live in Skreen in Sligo which is on the coast and I love swimming in the Atlantic, so waking up there is a treat.

Brid also has a pair of donkeys

Then while in Cavan I get to wake up to the cattle grazing outside and experience the farming life I always craved, so I feel very lucky.

Brid and Marc moved to Sligo from France in 1988. They bought an old rectory and converted it into a restaurant with accommodation.

We ran that successfully for 15 years before we decided to close down in 2003, she says. We had been pumping every penny back into it to try and keep it going and it had reached a point where it needed another major renovation that we couldnt justify.

They opened Osta, on the river in Sligo town centre, in 2006, focusing on food from local farmers and food producers.
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire Expects US to Pass Stablecoin Legislation in 2024

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire has expressed his confidence in the United States finally passing long-awaited stablecoin legislation this year.

In a recent interview with CNBC at the World Economic Forums annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Allaire said there is growing momentum in the countrys efforts to regulate digital currencies tied to the US dollar.

I think theres momentum. I think theres a very good chance of seeing this pass into law this year, Allaire remarked during the interview.

Allaire, who leads the company responsible for the popular stablecoin USD Coin ( USDC), highlighted the global trend of central banks and governments embracing digital currencies tied to their national currencies.

He pointed out that other countries had already taken steps to regulate such digital dollar currencies while the United States lagged behind.

Digital dollars are happening around the world, other governments are regulating dollar-digital currencies before the United States. So I think there is a very strong desire to act and assert U.S. leadership and get the right consumer protections involved, he explained.

The US Proceeds With Stablecoin Legislations

Allaires positive outlook is not unfounded, as there have been notable developments on the stablecoin legislative front in the United States.

One of the prominent bills in this regard is the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act, introduced by U.S. Representative Patrick McHenry.

The bill aims to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers, similar to that of traditional financial institutions.

Additionally, the Stablecoin Transparency Act, introduced by Senator Bill Hagerty on March 31, 2022, has also been under consideration in Congress.

Circle, the company behind USDC, has been actively advocating for stablecoin legislation for several years.

They initiated lobbying efforts in late 2021, collaborating with strategic consulting firm Invariant and reportedly spending approximately $760,000 on these efforts.

Jeremy Allaire believes that with the recent approval and launch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the regulatory landscape is evolving favorably.

He anticipates further developments in the cryptocurrency space throughout 2024, citing increased regulatory clarity as a significant driver of growth.

Its been a really powerful time for that, and we think 2024, with things like the spot ETF and world regulatory clarity, is going to open this up even wider, Allaire stated.

Concerns About Use of Stablecoins in Illicit Finance Remain

However, Circles Chief Strategy Officer and Global Head of Public Policy, Dante Disparte, acknowledged potential concerns among lawmakers regarding the misuse of stablecoins for illicit purposes.

Youve seen in the conflict in the Middle East [with] the use of certain digital assets in the space as a vehicle for funding terrorism, Disparte cautioned.

Domestically in the United States, you can see the use of certain assets in the space as a vehicle for funding fentanyl trafficking,

He emphasized that addressing these concerns is crucial to ensure that stablecoin regulation serves the best interests of the country and its economy.

In a recent report released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Tether, one of the worlds largest stablecoin Tether, has been identified as a prominent tool employed by money launderers and fraudsters operating in Southeast Asia.
Buoyant market to continue as prices exceed 100/hd in the last month

The stronger factory prices this week  ranging from a bare 5.05/kg to 5.20/kg  have added greatly to the price of forward 600kg+ cattle. Photo: Stock/Getty Images

Tightening cattle supplies and easing of the cost-of-living crisis across Europe are expected to underpin strong beef prices again this year.

A buoyant beef market has given a significant boost to mart trade in the last month, with prices up over 100/hd in many categories.

Latest forecasts from Bord Bia suggest that finished cattle supplies are set to drop by as much as 40,000hd this year on the back of lower numbers of males born in the dairy herd due to the greater take-up of sexed semen, accounting for a reduction of 68,249hd in male dairy sired calves.

Also, the export of calves increased in 2023 by 36,253hd to a total of 207,915hd.

Data provided by Bord Bia to the Farming Independent indicates a lower number of younger cattle in the system. Up to the end of October, it says there were 84,086 fewer cattle in the 0-24 months age category.

Following a decline of 40,000hd in numbers processed in 2023 to reach 1.78million head, Bord Bia expects there will be a further decline of 30-40,000hd in 2024.

This also reflects strong momentum recently of live exports to Northern Ireland, along with the relatively high weekly kills over the festive period, which resulted in fewer finished cattle on-farm being carried into the new year, a Bord Bia spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, similar declines in cattle supplies are predicted across Europe, with the EU beef herd forecast by the EU Commission to decline by a further 1pc in 2024, with reductions likely across several markets, including France, Spain, Italy and Germany.

UK supplies are expected to show a small decrease in 2024.

Bord Bia also predicts some relaxation in the cost-of-living crisis in 2024, which could help demand for Irish beef and boost prices.

The confidence in the beef trade and demand for cattle is underlined by the strength of the mart trade in the last month.

The stronger factory prices this week  ranging from a bare 5.05/kg to 5.20/ kg  have added greatly to the price of forward 600kg+ cattle.

According to ringside data, the live trade for continentals has increased by 21c/kg on average to 2.99/kg, with the better types up 28c/kg or 168/hd in four weeks to 3.29/kg or 1,974/hd.

Similar Angus and Hereford cattle have also been boosted and last week posted an overall average of 2.78/kg or 1,668/hd, an increase of 102/hd, with the better quality stock averaging 2.98/kg or 1,788/hd.
Farmer is accused of ignoring a notice not to mow his field which was located close to where the protected corncrake was nesting in 2020. Photo: Stock/Getty Images

An Erris farmer has become the first person to face prosecution for mowing his field and being in breach of regulations designed to protect the corncrake in the Mullet Peninsula.

Peter Lavelle of Carne, Belmullet appeared before Belmullet District Court after he was accused of ignoring a notice not to mow his field, which was located close to where the protected corncrake was nesting in 2020.

The case is the first of its kind to be brought by the Minister of Housing, Local Government and Heritage under the European Union (Conservation of Wild Birds (Mullet Peninsula Special Protection Area) Regulations 2013.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - January 16th

Ms Helen Johnson, counsel for the Minister, told Judge Fiona Lydon that the corncrake is a protected species and the area where Mr Lavelles field is located is within a designated Special Protection Area (SPA).

The court heard that in April 2020, a corncrake was located in a field in Emlybeg North on the Mullet Peninsula within the SPA.

In order to protect the corncrake, landowners in an area 250 metres from where the bird was located were notified that under the EU regulations, the mowing of fields was prohibited until September 1, 2020.

Ms Johnson said that Mr Lavelle was made aware that the mowing of grass was prohibited but he mowed his field in June of that year.

Mr Lavelle is contesting the charge on the grounds that only a small corner of his field which was mowed was located within a 250 metre buffer zone of where the corncrake was located.

Ms Johnson told the court that the 250 metre buffer zone was for administration reasons only and Mr Lavelle was not off the hook. She said because the whole of his field is located in a SPA, he was still prohibited from mowing after receiving the notification.

The corncrake is a migratory bird which arrives on Irish shores from Africa in spring and uses traditional hay meadows to nest before returning to Africa in September.

Ms Johnson said that the Mullet Peninsula is one of the last remaining outposts for the corncrake and the regulations were introduced in 2013 in order to protect breeding corncrakes.

Liam Loftus, a Field Officer with the Corncrake LIFE project, explained that the corncrake is rarely seen and identified by the sound of a male bird calling at night.

He said when a corncrake is heard, field officers identify the location and if its still there after the fifth night, they verify the area as a breeding site.

Mr Loftus said he went to the location on April 22, 2020 and listened for the corncrake from midnight to 3am, and, after night five, was able to verify the location.

Mr Loftus then contacted the National Parks and Wildlife Services ranger for the Mullet Peninsula and marked the location of the corncrake on a map with the 250m buffer zone around it.

Mr Loftus said that landowners were then alerted not to mow their grass and notified of a grant they could avail of for not doing so before September 1. He said Mr Lavelle was notified of this grant, but did not avail of it.

When questioned by Mr Peter Loftus, solicitor for Mr Lavelle, Liam Loftus confirmed he did not hear the corncrake every night after first hearing it, but was satisfied he was able to verify its presence on the fifth night.

Liam Loftus also confirmed he never saw the corncrake, but was confident the location was accurate.

This was disputed by Peter Loftus, who claimed it was not possible to triangulate the exact location using the sound of the bird while it was dark and this was not an exact science.

Peter Loftus argued that his client only encroached into the 250m buffer zone by around 10m and if the location of the corncrake was pinpointed 10m to the north, there would have been no restrictions on his client mowing his field.

Ms Johnson refuted this saying there are no exceptions to allow Mr Lavelle to mow the field as his field is within an SPA.

Under the regulations, she said, once he is notified of the presence of the corncrake, he can only mow the field before September 1 with the permission of the Minister, which he did not receive.

Pater Loftus also claimed that there was a degree of double jeopardy about the prosecution as his client has already had 1,600 in farming grants withheld from him as a result of him mowing the field.

During the cross examination of Liam Loftus, it emerged that he had taken notes on the nights between April 22 and 27, which Peter Loftus said had not been made available to him.

He asked for these notes to be disclosed to him so he could examine them.

Ms Johnson apologised to Judge Lydon, saying she had not known about them but would have them produced.

Judge Lydon said that it was unsatisfactory and agreed to adjourn the case until April 10 to allow Peter Loftus to examine the notes.
The Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill seeks to prevent cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses being sent to the continent for slaughter from Great Britain (Owen Humphreys/PA)

MPs have approved a ban on exporting livestock for slaughter and fattening, amid warnings that a loophole could be created by Northern Ireland's exclusion.

The Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill seeks to prevent cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses being sent to the continent for slaughter from Great Britain.

But it will not extend and apply to Northern Ireland, with the UK Government saying this is to ensure Northern Ireland farmers have unfettered access to the UK and Republic of Ireland markets.

Attempts by the DUP to ensure Northern Ireland was incorporated in the Bill, including a bid for the export ban not to apply to the Republic of Ireland, failed on Monday.

The DUP's Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) told the Commons: "As a result of the exclusion of Northern Ireland from this Bill, animals can be taken from Northern Ireland, exported through the Irish Republic, taken on a 23-hour boat journey to the European mainland, and then carried down to the south of Spain, France or indeed further abroad."

Mr Wilson recalled visiting a slaughterhouse while on a motorbike holiday through the Alps and France.

He said: "I hadn't spoken to anybody who could speak English for about two weeks and I noticed a lorry with a Northern Ireland registration number on it."

Mr Wilson added: "I thought there's somebody from Northern Ireland, I'm going to follow that lorry and when it stops at least I'll have somebody I can talk to - I find somebody who speaks English, my sort of English that I'll understand."

Mr Wilson said the lorry stopped at an abattoir and unloaded sheep that had travelled from outside Ballymena, County Antrim.

He said: "This Bill will still leave that route open and the objective which the Government is seeking to achieve will not be achieved.

"And it's ironic that we've got a Bill about animal welfare which ignores the main source of concern about the transport of animals across the continent of Europe."

Mr Wilson said he wished the Bill well, adding: "I hope that it won't be a loophole."

Environment minister Mark Spencer said farmers in Northern Ireland routinely move animals to the Republic of Ireland for slaughter and for fattening.

MPs heard about 3,500 cattle, 17,000 pigs and 337,000 sheep were moved in this way in 2022.

Mr Spencer told MPs: "This Bill must not jeopardise the access Northern Ireland farmers have to the Republic."

Mr Spencer said World Trade Organisation rules would not allow the UK to favour one nation above another in that way, adding: "We would lose in court is the advice that I have been given."

He added: "To try and put forward legislation that we know not to be legally sound is not what the Government is in a position to do.

"And I'm enormously sympathetic to (Mr Wilson's) view. And I agree with him, I don't want to see sheep and cattle moved from Belfast all the way to Madrid.

"That is not what we want to see happen, but we don't have the power to be able to stop that at this moment in time."

He said it would be "devastating" for Northern Ireland's economy if farmers there could not move their livestock to the Republic of Ireland for slaughter and fattening.

He expressed his "frustration" that "we are unable to do this".

The Government has previously said the Bill is only possible now the UK has left the European Union.

There has been no live export of livestock for slaughter since Brexit, experts have said, pointing to practical barriers including EU checks and a lack of suitable border posts, as well as resistance on the part of ferry companies to facilitate the trade.

Elsewhere in the debate, Labour suggested extending the livestock ban to include alpacas, llamas and deer.

Shadow environment minister Ruth Jones said: "It is about future-proofing the legislation and making it fit for purpose."

But Mr Spencer said the Government has received "no evidence" that a ban on other species is "at all necessary".

The Bill received an unopposed third reading and will undergo further scrutiny in the House of Lords at a later date.

PA
The dolphins initially became stranded in Cloghane, north Kerry, on Sunday.

Some of the dolphins stranded in Cloghane

An animal rescue group helped guide 25 dolphins back to the sea after they became beached off the coast of Kerry.

Six common dolphins initially became stranded in Cloghane, north Kerry, on Sunday and the rest of the pod soon followed them to the shallow water.

Volunteers from the North Kerry Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) banded together to refloat and reunite the animals before guiding them out over the sandbars to deeper water.

Sharing photos of the rescue operation on social media, the group praised the response from the local community, listing the names of some of the volunteers who gave up their time to help the dolphins.

What a way to spend a Sunday! ~25 common dolphins back to safety!! a representative from the North Kerry IWDG wrote.

Huge thanks to the local community as always! What amazing team work!! We have tried our best to remember everyone that came and helped but thank you so much to everyone! What a fantastic ending to what could have been a disaster!

Thank you all so much!! We will be all dreaming of dolphins this evening!!

The IWDGs main branch also posted about the rescue and gave some details about the operation.

Well done everyone in todays rescue, they said online.

6 common dolphins initially live stranded in Cloghane, one of the main live stranding hotspots for common dolphins in Ireland.

Then the rest of the pod then came into the shallows. Once all animals were refloated/reunited they were guided out over the sandbars to deeper water. Such a great community, local coordination and volunteer response in Cloghane. Well done.
A senior Sinn Fein TD has said all Ukrainians can stay in Ireland until war with Russia ends, in an apparent contradiction with party leader Mary Lou McDonald.

Ms McDonald suggested to the Irish Daily Mail in a Christmas interview that Ukrainians who are not working critical jobs should not be automatically allowed to stay in Ireland.

She was asked what should happen to Ukrainians who are not working in Ireland when the EU Temporary Protection directive expires in 2025.

She said: You have to differentiate between who wishes to go home and those who wish to stay.

The EUs temporary protection directive, which expires in March 2025, allows Ukrainians to avail of social welfare and housing in EU countries.

However, her partys spokesperson on foreign affairs Matt Carthy said Sinn Fein is not suggesting for Ukrainians to be sent back while the war is ongoing.

Were not suggesting that we would forcibly return people to a conflict zone, he said.

Deputy Carthy said Ukrainian refugees who stay here after the war is over should enter the direct provision system.

The temporary measures are up next March and there will be a review at a European level. That review needs to take into account how you deal with future refugees that come from Ukraine but also in terms of those people, my guess is, post the temporary measures expiring, what we will still have is that the international protection system will still be in place.

That will mean that any Ukrainian who is in Ireland or coming to Ireland, will be entitled to claim international protection, same as other people coming from other parts of the world.

What were talking about is, in a post-war situation, in a post-conflict situation, as is the case in all of these instances, then people will apply either for residency or not. In many cases, their application will be very easy if theyre in frontline employment.

If the conflict is resolved, then of course we will hope that people will return to either Ukraine or elsewhere, if thats where theyve come [from].

Sinn Fein TD Eoin O Broin said the Government has no long-term plan on housing migrants, including the use of commercially renovated buildings, vacant buildings and modular housing.
Child rapist 'cyber stalks' the family of his victim after release from prison

A convicted child rapist who was jailed for abusing his ex-partners daughter stalked his victims family on Facebook within days of his release from prison, the family believes.

Andrew McCarthy (44), who is originally from Saggart, Co Dublin, was jailed for 15 years with three suspended in 2015 after a campaign of rape, grooming and sexual assault against his former partners daughter.

Gardai are investigating a complaint from a parent of McCarthys victim that, within days of his release, he set up a Facebook account and stalked their profile pictures.

It is the familys belief that McCarthy was looking for pictures of his victim, who is now an adult.

The parent of the girl shared a Sunday World news report of McCarthys release on their Facebook page and to their horror saw that McCarthy liked the post.

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The fact he had no hesitation in letting me see his presence shows his grotesque arrogance and total lack of remorse, said the parent. In a short space of time he had already made a long list of friends on Facebook, including another well-known sex offender.

People, especially parents, need to know these people are on social media.

It makes me sick to think of him looking at our family pictures.

The girls parent immediately complained to the guards and also contacted the original investigating garda.

I still havent heard back from the guards so I dont know what they can do. It may not be an offence. But I can tell you I felt harassed, they said.

When sentenced, McCarthy had the final three years of a 15-year sentence suspended on condition he stay away from the victim and undergo 18 months of post-release supervision.

Gardai are investigating whether McCarthy is in breach of his post-release conditions. He has deleted his Facebook account since the incident.

McCarthy, who subjected his seriously ill partners daughter to a seven-year campaign of rape, was released from Arbour Hill prison last November after serving just nine years of a 12-year jail sentence.

He was originally sentenced to 15 years with three suspended in 2015.

With standard remission, he was entitled to release after serving just three-quarters of his sentence.

McCarthy, whose court address was given as Ballymoe, Co Galway, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 11 counts covering the rape, oral rape and sexual assault of the child at houses in Dublin and Galway on dates between May 2006 and January 2011.

The sample counts were from a total of 27 charges within that period.

The predator first raped the girl in 2006 when was she nine years old. He attacked the child that summer after taking her to a seaside amusement arcade where the court heard she had won two big teddies.

He took her back to a relatives house and after sexually assaulting her he told her he was sorry if it had hurt her.

Around Christmas that year he began pestering the child for oral sex.

Sometime in 2009, he raped her after she had said no to him. McCarthy told the child that it would be easier if she just agreed and got it over with.

The court heard McCarthy would take pictures of her partially and fully undressed. He would also take photos and video footage of him raping her.

During this period of abuse, the girls mother was seriously unwell and the court heard McCarthy would tell her not to say anything to her mother about the abuse because it would harm her health further.

The court heard McCarthy began buying alcohol for the victim and her friends, and she later had to be treated in hospital as a result of the physical harm drinking alcohol from an early age had on her.

McCarthy would promise to drive her places, but then later make it conditional on abusing her. He did this 10 times in a three-month period in 2009. The abuse was discovered in March 2011 when the victims mother saw inappropriate messages on her partners Facebook account. In the messages, McCarthy told the child that he loved her and would wait for her.

In a harrowing victim-impact report, the girl said McCarthy took her innocence and childhood from her and left her a broken person.

I dont sleep, I always feel scared and vulnerable, said the victim. I never feel safe. I have contemplated suicide.

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There were dozens of CCTV cameras, but no clue where she is  disappearance of Jean Tighe four years ago was plagued by confusion from the start
Former Law Society president Maura Derivan and her solicitor husband, Patrick, today publicly apologised in court to a Co Tipperary accountant for having published a letter containing incorrect and not true allegations in relation to him.
Daniel Fairley II is passionate about his purpose each day. I want our community to see the young Black boys and young Black men in our community as assets and not liabilities, he said.

Fairley is president of 100 Black Men of Central Virginia, a nonprofit organization that transforms the lives of youth through positive mentorship. Hes the youngest chapter president in the history of 100 Black Men of America. Fairley was 28 when he was first elected; he just turned 32.

Previously a youth opportunity coordinator for the city of Charlottesville focused on Black male achievement, Fairley has taken a new job with the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, a nonprofit charity dedicated to improving the quality of life in Charlottesville and surrounding Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson and Orange counties. He takes on job as donor relations manager for advised competitive grants on Jan. 22.

He is also serves as program director for the M-Cubed Academy, a rigorous summer program led by 100 Black Men of Central Virginia to help Black boys in middle school excel in advanced mathematics. The three Ms of its name stand for Math, Men, and Mission.

In 2023, Fairley was recognized by former President Barack Obamas Obama Foundation for his unwavering commitment and hard work thats affecting countless lives. Fairley was selected to participate in the first cohort of 100 emerging change-makers in the Obama Foundations Leaders USA program where hes been able to share, on the national stage, the meaningful initiatives that are happening in Charlottesville.

Surrounded by positive Black male role models when he was growing up, including his father, stepfather, grandfather and uncle, Fairley said he knew since he was in graduate school that he wanted to dedicate his lifes work to making the same positive difference for others and develop students into future leaders.

It takes a partnership with a supportive community to achieve that, he said. If we aim our experiences and our resources towards helping those students, it helps everyone rise. It cant exist without  them being surrounded by people that all believe in them and have high expectations of what they are supposed to be doing. Focusing our efforts on them really does help the entire community.

To support and encourage students, volunteer mentors the 100 Black Men of Central Virginia offer a Scholar Hour, a study hall held twice a week. Fairley said Saturday academies are also held during which mentors accompany students on tours of the University of Virginias engineering and architecture schools. Scholarships are awarded to Black high school seniors who achieve high GPAs, participate in 100 Black Men community programs and enroll in college.

A new initiative, which began in the summer of 2021, provides free haircuts to young Black men so they can feel confident about starting the school year. The idea came about when Fairley told his barber Fernando Garay how much a haircut always makes him feel better and on top of his game.

The motto of the 100 Black Men is What they see is what theyll be, so we want our kids, every opportunity that we have, to expose them to positive role models over and over and over again, said Fairley.

He credits his colleagues for their commitment to elevating the students. There is not another all-volunteer nonprofit thats doing this type of work focused on Black men in our community. So Im really, really proud of the organization I serve, the people that I work with. This work goes on and continues forward because of their dedication.

Fairley himself is also a source of inspiration for the students; his lifes path has been filled with a multitude of community-focused leadership roles too numerous to list in a single profile of the man. Fairley said he still has to add to that growing resume, including the news that he was just named Boys and Girls Clubs New Board Member of the Year for the State of Virginia.

Jessica Venable said Fairley has sparked her son Isaiahs interest in mentoring others. The young man is a junior at Albemarle High School and enrolled in the Math, Engineering & Science Academy, or MESA. He and his mother met Fairley through 100 Black Men of Central Virginia in 2018. Under President Fairleys mentorship, Isaiah is encouraged, challenged, and guided in many opportunities he would not have experienced outside of this program, said Venable.

Fairley has shown unwavering commitment to bringing young men together weekly, having them network with professionals and professors, and providing hands-on career exploration, leadership development, financial literacy and investing. He has inspired Isaiah to excel academically and stay focused on his educational goals, which has prepared him for college, Venable said.

Her son is also appreciative of Fairleys care and dedication.

Fairley has taught me the importance of education, self-respect, and perseverance. He has shown me that I can achieve anything I set my mind to and that I am capable of greatness. Through his guidance and encouragement, Im taking college-level classes in high school and becoming more confident in myself. I have learned how to set and achieve goals and discovered my passion for engineering, the young man shared. He added that he hopes to pay it forward by becoming a mentor to other young men himself.

Having grown up in Virginia, with relatives in Northern Virginia and Richmond, Fairley said he chose Charlottesville as his home so he could be near family but still have a place to call his own. He lives in the city with his wife and baby daughter. Having a child motivates him even more, he said.

I have a responsibility to build a world and community around her that is going to be supportive and give her the best life possible, said Fairley.

He said he is grateful to Charlottesville. Its a community thats very invested in making sure that it gives its best to the people that are in it. Im just proud to be a part of that, and I want to keep doing that.

Fairley added, My ultimate vision is that the needs of our community and the abundance of our resources find a place to meet.
Prosecutors have been given more time to prepare their case against a man charged with murdering a gunman who carried out a shooting at a steakhouse on Christmas Eve.
Steakhouse killer Tristan Sherry may have tracked target on social media

An associate of the deceased man shared images of champagne bottles arriving at his table in Brownes steakhouse in Blanchardstown on the evening of December 24.

Tristan Sherry died at the scene

Patrick O'Connell Tue 16 Jan 2024 at 11:53

Gunman Tristan Sherry, who shot dead Jason Hennessy Snr during a gun attack at a steakhouse on Christmas Eve, may have tracked the movements of his intended victim through posts on social media.
Ciara Smith, BSc Agriculture, Dundalk IT

Ciara Smith says she made the 'perfect choice' to study Agriculture at Dundalk IT, which has a large practical element. Photo: Ryan Duffy

Ciara Smith grew up on a farm in Wilkinstown, Co Meath, and from an early age, knew she wanted to continue the family tradition of farming. So it was no surprise when she opted for a degree programme in agriculture after finishing St Josephs Mercy Secondary School, in Navan, Co Meath.

Although you can study agricultural science in a number of colleges and universities around the country, Ciara put the BSc (Hons) Agriculture at Dundalk IT down as number one on her CAO form.

A big part of the attraction was the educational partnership with Teagasc, Ballyhaise Agricultural College in Co Cavan. It serves as the outdoor classroom for both agricultural and veterinary nursing students, and Ciara loves the amount of time students on her course devote to hands-on work at Ballyhaise.

It is definitely more practical than other courses, she says. There are three days a week practical experience in Ballyhaise in first and second year, and two days a week in third year. It continues in fourth year for students in the sustainable agriculture stream.

The Ballyhaise experience also means agriculture graduates leave DkIT with their Green Cert, allowing them to meet the requirements of a qualified farmer for the purposes of all Revenue and Department of Agriculture schemes.

In the third year of the four-year programme, students specialise in either sustainable agriculture or agri-food production. It was an easy decision for Ciara, who had developed a passion for the agri-food side.

Agriculture is what got me into the course but once I was on it, I developed a big interest in the food side. I liked the modules I was doing. When I finish, I will have a background both in sustainable farming and food production.

Having completed an eight-week placement in second year with Irish-based food company, Kepak, Ciara wanted to spread her wings for her third-year work experience.

Single-handedly, Ciara organised a 16-week placement in northern Germany, with Landguth, Germanys leading producer of premier pet food.

To fund this adventure, she applied for and was awarded an Agricultural Science Association bursary.

At the end of her time in Germany, Ciara presented her strategic ideas and procurement plans to the CEO of Landguth, and got offered a job heading up a project on sustainability based on her proposals  should she want it  when she graduates in summer 2024.

Ciaras strong commitment to her studies is matched by time given to help other students, and she is both a class rep and an ambassador for agriculture students  a role that includes mentoring first years.

Ciaras advice to any student sitting staring at a blank CAO form is, Dont be afraid to do something different. Dont be afraid to think outside the box, to do something completely different than your friends. I am incredibly proud that I made such a perfect choice for me as a sixth-year student.
Claims college will soon be only for the very well-off if trends continue

The cost-of-living and housing crises have combined to make it difficult for students to find somewhere suitable to live while they study

Up to 32pc more students deferred last year from third-level courses as the annual struggle to find accommodation was further affected by inflation, with concerns college is becoming the preserve of the wealthy.

Of the seven third-level institutions surveyed by the Irish Independent, the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in Dublin was most affected by deferrals. This year the college had 99 deferrals compared with 75 last year  a 32pc increase.

If things dont change, well end up back in a situation where college is only for the very well-off, Union of Students Ireland (USI) president Chris Clifford said.

Its so difficult for students to work hard to get offered a place in college, only to have to defer because they cant afford it, or just cant make it work because they cant find somewhere to live.

USI will keep fighting to make sure that third-level education in Ireland is available to every student who earns their place and not just those who come from wealthy backgrounds.

NCAD said it received 37 undergraduate applicants for deferrals at the admissions stage last year. None of these gave accommodation trouble as a reason but 14 deferred for financial reasons, an NCAD spokesperson said.

Of 13 postgraduate deferrals, one student was unable to find accommodation and eight gave financial reasons.

In 2022, 75 students deferred from the art college  24 were undergraduate applicants, who blamed accommodation trouble, while nine deferred for financial reasons.

Another 10 postgraduate applicants deferred at the admissions stage and 13 students withdrew after registration. Two deferred, saying finding accommodation was the issue.

Another 28 students deferred after registration. One gave accommodation as a reason and nine stated financial reasons.

Constantin Gurdgiev, economist and adjunct professor of finance with Trinity Business School, said the increasing emphasis on in-person classes post pandemic, meant this was further exacerbating the adverse impact of the cost-of-living and housing crises.

Prof Gurdgiev added: If nothing is done to address these issues, were looking at higher education in Ireland falling back into becoming the domain of pursuits by the elites  those from the landed or property-owning upper middle classes. This isnt the way you raise a high-quality, future-facing workforce in a knowledge society.

He added that lucrative international students were also unimpressed with substandard and often uninhabitable accommodation in Ireland.

Such students had more attractive options, he felt, such as Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris and Brussels.

At DCU, 630 students have deferred in the last two years. Last year, 334 undergraduate and postgraduate students deferred until next September  a 13pc rise on 2022, when 296 students deferred. The figures account for Irish and international students.

More deferrals were made by undergraduates. Last year, 240 undergraduates deferred at DCU for 2024, while 213 deferred in 2023.

A total of 94 postgraduate students deferred until this year. In 2022, 83 postgraduate students deferred.

A DCU spokesperson said: While deferral figures show a slight rise compared to the previous academic year, the overall number remains low and should be seen in the context of increased student numbers across both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

DCU doesnt have any evidence to date of deferrals due to lack of accommodation. Were aware from our students union of the significant pressure this housing deficit is putting on students and their families. DCU, like many universities across Ireland, is experiencing an unprecedented demand for on-campus accommodation.

Meanwhile, UCD said it had 222 undergraduate deferrals last year, of which 204 were Irish and EU students, while 18 were international undergraduate students. In 2022, 217 Irish and European students deferred. There was a 2pc increase on deferrals in 2023.

Of a further 222 graduates who deferred in 2023, 41pc stated financial reasons. While 3pc referenced accommodation, 29pc of the undergraduates stated financial reasons.

Trinity College reported a modest drop in deferral requests, with 386 requests for deferrals of CAO places last year, down 6pc from 412 in 2022.

Of the deferrals, 17pc were related to finance or accommodation. This compared to 16pc in 2022, a Trinity spokesperson said.

Maynooth University saw 10pc of its first-year intake defer last year until 2024. The university said there had been a 5pc increase in this number from a year previous.

A Maynooth University spokesperson said: Theres a shortage of purpose-built on-campus student accommodation the private rental market nationally is difficult and this has implications for cost and availability for students.

The University of Limerick said it had a 7pc deferral rate last year, which was a slight drop.

A spokesperson said: Theres no direct evidence to suggest the accommodation issue is having a significant impact on deferral rates. Were monitoring the situation closely.

The University of Galway recorded 307 undergraduate deferrals last year. A university spokesperson said: Of those, 68 cited lack of accommodation as the main issue.

In semester one of 2022, the figure was 335, with about one-third of those citing accommodation as an issue.

Mr Clifford said: The number of students deferring their college places has been increasing in the last few years and thats not at all surprising to us.

Every summer theres a scramble for student accommodation and whatever way you look at it, there just isnt anywhere near enough rooms available. And those that do manage to secure accommodation are paying more than ever. Many others cant get anywhere at all, so feel they have no choice but to defer.

Added to the cost of accommodation is the high cost of living, where along with high rents, students have to pay more for everything  electricity, food, a cup of coffee. To pay for these high costs, students are working more and more, and many are working three to four days, or multiple late nights in jobs.

Trying to balance these rigorous work schedules with a full-time course becomes an overwhelming challenge. This leads to many students being stretched to their limits.

Even with the 1,000 reduction in the student contribution charge that USI, students unions and students, managed to protest for and negotiate, we still have among the highest fees in the EU  and again that reduction was just given on a temporary basis.

A spokesperson for the Department of Further and Higher Education said: Deferrals are offered at the discretion of each higher education institution and guarantee that the applicant will be offered their course again in the next academic year, if they choose to apply for it. Students may opt to defer for a wide variety of reasons.

The department does not collect data on student deferrals.

Meanwhile, the Department of Housing said its role in student-specific accommodation was very limited.

However, a housing spokesperson added: With respect to renting more generally, ultimately we know that the most effective way to reduce and stabilise rents is to increase supply and accelerate delivery of housing for the private and social rental sectors.

Thankfully were beginning to see that taking hold. The department has published data which shows commencement notices for 2,624 new homes were received in October 2023.
It is essential that CAO applicants list their choices in order of preference, but dont be too specific too soon

As Leaving Cert students enter into this very important and busy term of sixth year, managing workload is key to success. Teachers are working hard to ensure that the entire course is completed in a timely manner, and putting pressure on students to get through the last remaining topics.

Students, on the other hand, can be very aware that the mock exams are getting ever closer. Practicals, orals and project deadlines are also fast approaching, leaving even the most organised student feeling like they are trying to do everything at once.

From a career perspective, this term is also chock-a-block. CAO, Ucas and EU colleges all have deadlines in the coming weeks. Students should also be submitting further education applications to bag places in the most popular courses.

Hopefully, students managed to complete much of the hard work in relation to future study options in term one, identifying their maybe courses, attending open days and getting a feel for where they would like to see themselves in the autumn.

For those who have not managed to complete their research or even make a dent in it, it is not too late. Research and reflection are key to making good choices  especially in the case of the CAO.

It may seem obvious but the first step is to decide if college is for you. It takes a lot of hard work and commitment, and there is a range of other paths one can choose to take in order to achieve a qualification and a career that will be fulfilling.

For applicants who are really stuck on where to start, the careersportal.ie website offers an excellent interest test

Many young people enter higher education simply because it is what you do. But most students will benefit from asking the question, Do I really want to go to college and why?

Those who do choose the higher education path should try to remember it is not necessary to look for the dream course. In fact, many are hampered in the process if they become overly fixated on a certain course.

If you are just starting to take your research seriously, try to be as open as possible and find as many maybe courses as you can. Remember, you can list 20 courses on the CAO form (10 on Level 8 and 10 on Level 7/6) and it is best to apply for as many as possible.

It is likely there are a number of courses that would suit you. There is never just one perfect course but the CAO cant offer you something for which you have not applied. Come September, if an offer does not appeal, its not necessary to accept it.

For applicants who are really stuck on where to start, the careersportal.ie website offers an excellent interest test. This tool asks the participant about their preferences in a number of different situations and then suggests their level of interest in broad areas. Students can then use these interest categories as filters in the course search so they will only see courses that are related to these areas. Courses can be saved to a personal file and reviewed later.

It is essential every CAO applicant lists their courses in order of preference only. The CAO will presume courses have been listed in this way and make offers accordingly. It is important to realise that in Round 1, applicants will receive an offer for the highest-placed course on their list for which they meet the entry requirements and cut-off points. That could be their first choice or a lower choice. Then, all courses listed below the one for which they receive an offer are deleted. There is no possibility of receiving an offer for those in a later round. However, its possible for applicants to receive a later offer for a course higher up their list.

If you now have a list of maybe courses, and hopefully a long one, it is time to start focusing on the details and considering which might be the best choice(s) for you. These courses will go at the top of the order of preference list. Then consider what would be the next best option if you do not receive an offer of a place on that course. Keep going until you have exhausted your list. Some courses will naturally fall away at this point.

If you would like to ask some final questions or get a better sense of a particular institution or course, events will be taking place across most institutions over the coming months.

Remember, you can still change your mind and add and remove courses during the CAO change of mind period, from May 7 to July 1, so nothing is set in stone right now. Best of luck.

Aoife Walsh is a guidance counsellor at Malahide Community School, Co Dublin
Up to 50 places are being ring-fenced in medicine across Queens University and Ulster University, as well as courses including occupational therapy and physiotherapy

New opportunities are opening for students from the Republic of Ireland to study in Northern Ireland.

This year, for the first time, up to 50 places are being ring-fenced in medicine across Queens University and Ulster University, for students from the Republic.

The Irish Government is funding the places and also subsidising students who agree to do their internship with the HSE. They will be liable for the standard 3,000 annual student contribution, with the Government paying the balance.

Those who do not sign a such contract will pay the standard Northern Ireland annual fee of 4,710, which works out at about 5,500.

Application is via the UCAS form, and those who list Queens or Ulster University will be followed up with and asked which option they wish to take.

This builds on an initiative launched last year, which saw around 250 places on healthcare courses in the North reserved for applicants from the Republic.

It included 200 places on nursing and midwifery programmes in Queens University and Ulster University, although demand was lower than anticipated, possibly because of new entry routes for nursing in the Republic that also opened last year.

However, there was a big demand for the 50 places designated on courses in other health programmes including occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and physiotherapy and ultimately, 80 places were filled by students from the Republic last year.

There are no fees for some healthcare courses in Northern Ireland.
Writing a personal statement is an essential part of the Ucas application

Ucas is the UKs version of the CAO and the deadline for application to most undergraduate courses in Britain and Northern Ireland is January 31.

A Ucas application involves a lot more work than the CAO form and any other comparable application.

While the most challenging part of completing a CAO application is researching the course and deciding on an order of preference, Ucas requires applicants to submit much more information about themselves, including a personal statement and an academic reference.

The personal statement can be very intimidating for school-leavers and while it is not as challenging and laborious as it may first appear, it does require significant attention, contributions from others and redrafting.

The reference should be academic and, in most cases, will be provided by a teacher in an area related to the course of study you wish to pursue. A teacher will need time to consider the applicant and a copy of your personal statement to provide a reference that will do the application justice, so it is not fair to make this request last minute.

Applicants may apply for up to five courses and offers are made in the spring. Responses are not required until applicants have heard from all institutions to which they applied before accepting one offer and a back-up. Offers are made on the condition that applicants achieve the entry requirements in their final year exams.

Irish students are in a strong position to compete for these places and studying in the UK can offer many benefits including different and, at times, easier to achieve entry requirements.

But fees are higher than in Ireland. Irish students in the UK can expect to pay at the same rate as domestic students, rather than be treated as international students. In England, Scotland and Wales, fees are up to 9,250 and, in Northern Ireland, up to 4,710. A Susi maintenance grant may be payable to eligible Irish students studying in the UK.

Writing a personal statement

Be prepared to write and rewrite your personal statement. Show it to as many people as possible and get advice on how to improve it  whether its a parent or friend, teacher or guidance counsellor, you do not know who might offer a helpful comment.

Your personal statement should not read like a list of what you have done. Make a note of everything you want the college to know about you and make sure you include it, but try and make it flow rather than reading like a CV.

It can be helpful to explain what you learned from an experience and how this relates to your chosen area of study, rather than simply listing experiences. Include work or volunteer experience, academic interests and projects, outside reading and interests.

Your personal statement will go to each institution and course for which you apply, so be careful if youre applying to more than one type of subject area or institution. Avoid naming institutions or talking about things that are not relevant to the particular course for which you are applying.

Avoid using cliches and humour. Think of this as your first introduction to your course. Set a professional or formal tone. As with any application, ensure there are no spelling or grammatical errors.

You should also ensure that your referee has a copy of your personal statement. It is very helpful for them to match the reference to your statement. Additionally, they may not be aware of all your experience or interests, so this will really help them in writing their own reference.
The fact a mechanic survived a large fire at a workshop in Dublin this morning was a miracle, his employer has said.

The owner of the Moto Pitstop motorcycle service centre in Rathgar, south Dublin, Daragh Smith, said his business was now gone, with bikes for sale and repair destroyed in the blaze.

But the most important thing for him was human life and that his employee, a mechanic in his late 40s, had made it out of the premises alive.

He has burns on his legs and hand, Mr Smith said. He told how the mechanic had walked away from the blaze dazed but was doing well in St James Hospital in Dublin.

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Ive just left Jamess Hospital and his partner is in there with him. I wasn't there (at the workshop) at the time this happened, he said.

Its a miracle that he got out. Hes so lucky to have got out. I was out collecting parts in the van and when I came back the whole of Rathgar was closed.

Someone had rang me and said the place was on fire. I thought it was just a bit of smoke (from a repair). But I rang the shop and then his mobile and it went straight to voicemail and that never happens.

So I dumped the van at home and went straight in on my bike. I got there and then I saw what everyone else has seen.

A spokesperson for Dublin Fire Brigade said they were making good progress" and that two fire engines remained at the scene in addition to a foam tender. Earlier, a turntable ladder was deployed to fight the fire from above.

"A water tanker has also been sent to augment water supplies to the fireground. One person has been taken to hospital from the scene, they said.

Road closures remain in place on Terenure Road East, Highfield Road and Orwell Road.

Mr Smith said the intensity of the blaze would have been as a result of the workshop obviously containing a lot of oil.

All my bikes, customers bikes are gone, he said. Its a disaster. I have no idea how much Ive lost but my business is gone.

It was a business that paid its way. I am just worried for (my employee) now. I know he will be OK but itll be a hard time for a while.

The doctors seemed to be happy with him. He doesnt remember an explosion, he just remembers bits and pieces. Im sure he will.

Mr Smith said the mechanic was stable in hospital. He added: I am just trying to get through today and tomorrow now.

An onlooker from a business nearby took video footage of the scene and audible popping sounds could be heard from inside the workshop, where the fire was growing in intensity. Images online show clouds of black smoke rising from the scene of the incident.

Mark Duffy, who works at Howley Souhan Estate Agents across from the workshop, said he and colleagues heard a small explosion about 10.20am.

I don't think anyone quite knows what caused it. A huge amount of smoke came out of the workshop and there was a thick tyre smell, he said.

My female colleague, a manager here, saw a gentleman. I think he was the only one in there at the time. He was walking (down the street) in shock.

The gardai evacuated the street then, so we had to leave. We just hope that poor man is OK. It was all very shocking.

We were worried that there might be other people in there, but it seemed to be just him in there at the time.

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You could hear the popping of the engines of the bikes that were in the shop, there was so much smoke everywhere. It was a really powerful fire. But the fire brigade were there so quickly, thankfully.

A spokesperson for Dublin Fire Brigade said: At 10.18am, Dublin Fire Brigade received reports of a fire in a workshop in Rathgar village.

Firefighters from Donnybrook, Rathfarnham and Dolphins Barn fire stations responded to the location, where a well-developed fire had taken hold.

Smoke is drifting across the locality, and we have asked nearby residents to take precautions if they are affected. Road closures are in place and road users are advised to avoid the area.
Some of the floral tributes

The remains of Tristan Sherry are taken into St Canice's Church, Finglas this morning. Picture: Collins Dublin

A gunman who was killed after opening fire in a Dublin restaurant has been remembered as a big chap with an even bigger heart.

There was a large garda presence in Finglas this morning for the funeral service of Tristan Sherry (26) who was killed inside Brownes Steakhouse, Blanchardstown, on December 24.

The father-of-one entered the packed restaurant and discharged a number of shots, injuring Jason Hennessy Snr (48) who died 10 days later in hospital.

Sherry was confronted at the scene and disarmed before being killed and a number of people are currently before the courts in relation to his death.

Around 50 mourners gathered for his funeral service at St Canices Church in Finglas this morning.

Some of the floral tributes

In a eulogy on behalf of the family, mourner Paddy spoke about Sherrys love of bikes and cars, saying he was a proper rallier.

He told the congregation: Where do I start. You were more than a friend to me, you were family. We stood beside each other through everything, right or wrong no matter what.

Tristan Sherry, who was nicknamed Big T, was described as someone who would tried to help everyone and was good craic.

Floral tributes including a motorbike and a bottle of Grey Goose vodka as well as a toy sports car covered in flowers adorned the coffin of Tristan Sherry

Paddy added: Two or four wheels, you were a proper rallier T. There is not a car in our driveway we didnt rally.

You were a big chap with an even bigger heart. The only good thing to come from this is that your back with your nanny and dad now who we all know meant the world to you.

16/01/24 The remains of Tristan Sherry are taken from St, Canice's Church, Finglas this morning after his funeral mass. Picture: Collins Dublin

Floral tributes, reading Tristo, Big T, Dad and Nephew accompanied the coffin as it was removed from the church.

Gardai maintained a visible presence at the service with a van and uniformed members positioned outside the church during the mass.

Plain clothed detectives and members of the Armed Support Unit also patrolled the area as the funeral service took place.

It's understood that earlier search teams also conducted a sweep of the church as a precautionary measure due to fears of potential reprisal attacks linked to the incident on Christmas Eve.

The funeral service passed off without incident.

After the service, the remains of Sherry, originally from Blanchardstown but living in Finglas, were brought to Glasnevin Cemetery.

A similar garda operation is expected to be in place for the funeral of Jason Hennessy Snr this Saturday.

A death notice on RIP.ie states that Jason (Jay) (Senior) Hennessy died, suddenly, surrounded by his loving family and friends.

It adds: Sadly missed by his beloved wife Veronica loving children, loving mother & father, grandchildren, daughter in law, sons in law, loving sisters, extended family & large circle of friends.

The funeral will take place on Saturday, January 20 at Saint Patrick church, Corduff for 11am followed by crematorium at Glasnevin..

Jason will be reposing home on Thursday at the family home, the notice adds.

The Christmas Eve gun attack made international headlines and more arrests are expected as part of the garda investigation into it.

There has also been an increase in armed garda patrols in the locality because of concerns of revenge attacks.

Sources said machine-gun wielding attacker Tristan Sherry had been the target of a series of attacks over the past year.

Detectives believe the shooting is linked to a dispute between two criminal gangs in west Dublin and that close associates of the 48-year-old gun victim were the primary targets.
The scene of Racket Hall Hotel Roscrea, where crowds have gathered to protest the arrival of families seeking asylum

The Government is to consider using state funds to buy a hotel in Roscrea after a protest over asylum seekers being housed in another hotel in the Tipperary Town.

Fianna Fail TD Jackie Cahill said he has received buy-in for the proposal from the Government leaders after he had a meeting with Integration Minister Roderic OGorman.

The Taoiseach and Tanaiste have said they are open to examining would funds could be used to buy Grants Hotel in the centre of town to be run as a community facility for functions, Mr Cahill said.

He said buying the hotel, which is for sale and currently not in use, could help appease local anxiety over asylum seekers being moved into the Racket Hall Hotel.

Roscrea has witnessed clashes between gardai and protesters over plans to use Rack Hall Hotel as an asylum centre.

Local complained it was the last remaining hotel in the town and was the only venue for family events.

Integration Minister Roderic OGorman has said child asylum-seekers were upset at scenes of protesters clashing with gardai and one arrest as they were moved into the accommodation centre in Co Tipperary on Monday.

Scuffles broke out at the Racket Hall Hotel in Roscrea yesterday as protesters tried to block a bus carrying 17 asylum-seekers  men, women and children  who arrived under garda protection.

A major protest meeting was staged outside the hotel yesterday evening as demonstrators accused gardai of heavy-handed tactics during the tense stand-off.

There were about 200 people at Mondays protest and around 25 of them endured temperatures of -4C overnight in their picket against the placement of up to 160 asylum-seekers in the towns only hotel.

The decision to bring the 17 men, women and children into the property has sparked a five-day round-the-clock protest outside Racket Hall.

Mr OGorman said the site would be used for families and single women.
Funeral details in Waterford confirmed for four-year-old

THE devastated Irish father of a four year old boy fatally stabbed in a frenzied attack in London said that his son "will be on my shoulders forever.

A heartrending funeral notice for little Kobi Macharia-Dooly (4) said the little boy had "danced into heaven" just days before Christmas.

Kobi's funeral will now take place in Waterford, the home county of his Irish father, Ben Dooly.

The funeral will take place in Tramore on Friday after the little boy's remains were released back to his father's Irish family by a London coroner.

Keziah Macharia (41), Kobi's mother, was charged with his murder just days before Christmas.

She appeared before the Old Bailey, having been charged with the murder of Kobi at their London home.

Kobi is the son of Ben Dooly who is originally from Waterford but who has been based in the UK over recent years.

The little boy's Irish father was working outside London when the tragedy occurred.

Mr Dooly is from a highly respected Tramore-based family who have business and sporting interests across the south east.

Friends said he was left devastated by the horrific circumstances surrounding his son's death.

Details of Kobi's Irish funeral arrangements have now been confirmed.

The funeral notice said: "Daddy misses you so much and you will be on my shoulders forever. My love for you is eternal. Take care my sweet angel."

It also said that Kobi "danced into heaven on December 21".

Kobi will repose at Falconer's Funeral Home at Riverstown in Tramore from 4.40pm to 7pm on Thursday.

His Requiem Mass will take place at 12 noon on Friday at the Holy Cross Church in Tramore.

Prior to the Requiem Mass, Kobi's funeral cortege will walk from Tramore Credit Union at 11.50am to arrive at the Church of the Holy Cross.

The funeral notice indicated that Kobi will be laid to rest at a private ceremony at a future date.

Mourners who wished to make donations in Kobi's memory were asked to do so to Bell's Repatriation Fund.

Kobi is survived by his heartbroken father, Ben, his grandparents Wilf and Anne, his aunts and uncles Liz, Zeta, Cathy, Shane, Debbie, Ger and John as well as by his extended family of cousins and friends.

Keziah Macharia is charged with the murder of little Kobi at Montague Road, Dalston in Hackney shortly after 10pm on Wednesday, December 20.

She was initially charged before a sitting of Thames Magistrates Court before being remanded in custody over Christmas to appear again before the Old Bailey.

A special post mortem examination was also conducted on Kobi in London.

The results of the examination were being withheld by the Metropolitan Police for operational reasons.

However, it is understood it indicated that the little boy died from multiple stab injuries.

He was discovered in his cot at his Hackney home when Metropolitan Police officers forced their way into the property.
DAIRY company Kerry Agribusiness faces strike action over claims it is imposing compulsory redundancies.

Siptu said five drivers who work for the company, which is part of Kerry Group, are set to lose their jobs.

Our members have reluctantly voted in favour of strike action after pursuing every other avenue open to them in their efforts to avoid compulsory redundancies of five drivers in the company, said Siptu sector organiser, Denis Gormalley.

He said workers sought a reasonable engagement with the company to avoid any compulsory redundancies.

Mr Gormalley claimed it has refused to enter discussions.

Sharon Ryan, Siptu industrial organiser, said the driver members had dedicated a lifetime of committed work to the company with service ranging from 29 to over 45 years.

She said it is extremely regrettable that they now face compulsory redundancy.

We urge the company to reverse its decision to make our members compulsorily redundant and to provide a window of opportunity to find a resolution to this dispute, she said.

The union represents 100 Siptu workers at Kerry Agribusiness.

It plans to mount pickets at the headquarters of the Kerry Group, at Princes Street, Tralee, in Kerry from 9am tomorrow.

A spokesperson for Kerry Agribusiness said that following a comprehensive review of its milk collection procedures in 2023, Kerry Agribusiness made the decision to transition all remaining milk collection operations to its existing independent hauliers.

Subsequently, Kerry Agribusiness entered a transparent Redundancy Consultation period and began detailed discussions with the six remaining drivers in November 2023. The employment of these drivers terminated on 31 Dec 2023, without mutual agreement between the parties involved.
Mayo County Council has unanimously passed a motion calling on council staff to cease co-operation with the Department of Integration over the housing of asylum seekers and refugees in the county.

The motion, which was endorsed by Fine Gael and Fianna Fail councillors, says the non-co-operation should continue until an agreed strategy is put in place to properly co-ordinate the provision of additional services for the communities hosting refugees and international protection applicants.

While not binding on council authorities, Mayo councillors said the move was in response to mounting frustration over the impact locally of large numbers of Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers being placed in the county over the last two years.

A spokesperson for Mayo County Council said the motion would be circulated to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tanaiste Micheal Martin, Justice Minister Helen McEntee, Integration Minister Roderic O'Gorman, all local Oireachtas members and councillors in other local authorities.

However, the spokesperson would not comment on whether council staff would now comply with the motion and cease cooperation with the Department of Integration

It comes after protesters clashed with gardai outside the Racket Hall Hotel in Roscrea, Co Tipperary, on Monday evening as the first of up to 160 asylum seekers arrived.

Official figures published by the Irish Independent in recent days show Mayo is among the counties to have taken the largest number of International Protection applicants last year with 912.4 per 100,000 population. As of January 7, there were nearly 3,000 Ukrainian refugees in short-term accommodation in Mayo, or 2,125 per 100,000 population.

The big fear is we are going to cause social discord, Fine Gael councillor Peter Flynn said. When jobs start going and services aren't there, the first people who will be blamed are refugees who have no hand, act or part in where the Government bases them. The fact we had cross-party consensus on this will tell you the level of concern there is right now within the county.

The motion states that services that should form part of the strategy should include medical, policing, accommodation, housing, education, transport, training and calls for delivery dates to be set down for the roll-out of these services.

Independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne said the current state response was discriminating against those already living in Mayo including migrants from EU countries who have been based there for the last 20 years. There is no absolutely no communication from Roderic O'Gormans department with the elected members, he said.

We're saying that our people are being discriminated against  all of the people who are here including the new people  we're equally concerned about them, they are shoved into everywhere and anywhere and we're saying that's not good enough.

The council cathaoirleach, Fianna Fails Michael Loftus, said he hoped council officials would respond to the decision of local authority members at a meeting on Monday night.

We've asked the officials to cease cooperation, we can only ask them, we can't dictate to them. We'd like to think they'll get on to the department, that motion is also going to the Government, [and] they'll see the way people in Mayo feel, he said.

While some local TDs were reluctant to comment today, Fianna Fail senator Lisa Chambers, who is seeking to run for her party in Junes European elections, said: What is being said to me by councillors is they feel they have no input into national policy in this area but national policy is having a huge impact on the local communities they represent.

I think the three government parties need to engage more and work more closely with local elected members on the issue of migration and housing refugees.

The motion also calls on the Government to revoke regulations that exempt temporary accommodation for Ukrainians from planning laws and encourages the Government to use lands where planning has been granted but no works have taken place to erect modular accommodation.

It also calls on the Government to cease leasing property that is intended for use as tourist accommodation for use as accommodation for refugees or asylum seekers and that any contracts issued where residency has not been taken up to be paused until the strategy is agreed.

A spokesperson for Mr O'Gorman said that since Russia's invasion of Ukraine "communities across Ireland have participated what is the largest humanitarian response in the States history" and that "people in every county across Ireland have responded with generosity and compassion to the plight of those seeking refuge".

They added: "The department will continue to work with Mayo County Council, as it does councils across the country, in support of this effort."

The vote comes as Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he was asking all ministers to draft a package of measures for the top 10 districts in the country that have taken in the most Ukrainians and asylum seekers. He said this would be in addition to 50m community recognition fund, which is currently available to areas with a high influx of refugees.

Speaking on his way into a Cabinet meeting, he said: I think we need to do more to help out to increase resources around health, around education, around policing, and respond to genuine concerns people have when there is a large increase in the population in their area.

Mr Varadkar said it was ironic that one of the solutions to the labour shortages in some area was migration and said Ireland needed to be open to migration.
Of the 121 people who died while homeless in 2020, more than half were in Dublin. Photo: PA

A total of 121 people who were homeless died in 2020, according to figures published by the Health Research Board (HRB).

The figure represents an increase of more than 31pc on the 92 people who died in 2019.

Of those who died, three in four were male, while more than half of the deaths happened in Dublin.

Half of the men who died were aged 42 or younger while half of the women were 36.5 years old or younger. The majority of deaths in the population as a whole are in the 65 and over age bracket.

Behind each of these numbers is a life lost. The findings of this report highlight the very difficult situation faced by some of the most vulnerable people in our community, said HRB chief executive Dr Mairead ODriscoll.

A large majority (91pc) of those who died had a history of substance use. Heroin (61pc) was the most common drug used, followed by cocaine (56pc) and benzodiazepines (36pc).

The publication of the figures was welcomed by homeless charity Focus Ireland. However, it acknowledged significant problems in comparing 2019 to 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. There was no rough sleep count carried out in 2020.

Focus Ireland director of advocacy Mike Allen said: Eighty three of the deaths in 2020 were of people who were in emergency accommodation, while 23 were among people who were sleeping rough.

Given that around 6,000 adults were in emergency accommodation each night during 2020, and around only 100 were rough sleeping each night, this report reinforces the much higher risks related to sleeping rough.

The 2020 report covers the first year of the Covid epidemic where greater restrictions and two lockdowns combined with increased quality of accommodation and support to homeless individuals as public health measures.

It is notable that deaths were significantly lower during the periods of lockdown and higher service quality, with the highest death rate being in the third quarter (32pc) after the lifting of restrictions in June.

Nearly half of the deaths took place in accommodation for those who are homeless, while one in three happened in a public place.

In 2020 we see the impact of problem substance use and mental health conditions, with the majority of those who died dealing with one or both of these issues at the time of their death, said HRB researcher Dr Suzi Lyons. Our findings show that these cases are complex and that a co-ordinated approach is needed between drug and alcohol treatment services, mental health supports and approaches to harm reduction.
MUCH more on-campus accommodation for students is to be a key aim of new Government policy to be brought to Cabinet today.

Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris wants Government commitment to investment in three key areas, including the construction of on-campus housing for students.

But he also wants the repurposing of vacant and derelict properties into housing, and the continuation of support for homeowners renting a room to students.

The first phase is to activate planning permissions already secured by third level universities.

This is currently supporting the development of up to 1,000 student beds across Dublin City University, Maynooth University, the University of Limerick and UCG, with 61 million in funding approved by Government.

The Department will now engage with UCD, which has planning permission for 1,254 student beds, Trinity College Dublin, which has permission for a further 358 beds and the second phase of construction at DCU, which has permission for 830 beds.

In return for State investment, a percentage of beds funded by the State must be offered to disadvantaged students at below the market rate.

For example, if the State funds 30 per cent of the new beds, those beds must be offered at a reduced rate to students whose household income is less than 100,000.

If the State funds all of the beds, then all must be offered to students at a reduced rate.

Increasing the supply of student accommodation will relieve pressure on the private rental sector, Mr Harris will point out to colleagues at Cabinet.

The new policy will also support balanced regional development through the Technological University (TU) Transformation Agenda, with proposals opening at the end of this month;

One part aims to reduce the cost of delivery of new purpose-built Student Accommodation through standardised design.

Another aims to promote the efficient use of existing stock and the repurposing of vacant buildings.

The next phase is to activate accommodation projects in the regions for student accommodation and to reduce the number of students competing with families for private rental accommodation, a spokesperson said.

This will be done through two means - the construction of student housing with State funding, or private development whereby an allocation is ring-fenced for a targeted cohort of students at below market rates.

An annual grant of between 20 and 40 million could be made available to help universities repurpose buildings which are unoccupied.
A LOT of protesters outside refugee and asylum seeker accommodation are not the Nazis some people would like to portray them as, a Fine Gael minister has told a private party meeting.

Office of Public Works Minister Patrick ODonovan described many of the protesters as decent people with concerns and misgivings, describing them as local people with legitimate fears.

Mr ODonovan told a private party meeting that peaceful protesters should not have fingers wagged at them and should not be lectured to by people who do not live in their area for expressing concerns about changes in their community including huge population growth.

The Limerick TD argued to his party colleagues that it does not make them bad people to legitimately contact their public representative to express their concerns or to protest peacefully.

The immigration issue dominated the first Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting of the new year, which lasted more than four hours in Leinster House on Tuesday.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he will always make the case that immigration is good for Ireland and it would not have the public services it has or as strong an economy without migrants. Mr Varadkar said he wanted a migration system that is welcoming and fair but also firm.

Clare-based senator Martin Conway described the communications strategy on migration as a dogs dinner and said he could not understand the flip-flopping on accommodation centres that were intended to be used for males now being used for women and children.

Former ministers Sean Kyne and Colm Brophy criticised the lack of a plan for accommodation of migrants in communities across the country.

Waterford-based senator John Cummins said the Coalition needs to demonstrate that Irelands rules-based system is being applied and that the more than 800 deportation orders issued last year have been implemented. Dublin Bay North TD Alan Farrell questioned how deportation orders are delivered.

Other contributors included former minister Frank Feighan, who said the Government needed to do better on communication and planning for refugee and asylum seeker accommodation.

Elsewhere, other participants raised concerns about the viability of small businesses amid a looming deadline to pay back Covid-era tax debts. Sources said Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney told the meeting there would be further support for small businesses but did not provide any detail.

He said businesses will receive 250m in grants before the end of March to help overcome challenges and Revenue would be flexible on the repayment of warehouse tax debt.
Ireland will await the provisional findings of the International Court of Justice on South Africa's genocide case against Israel before deciding on its position.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin hit out at misinformation which he said had spread like "wildfire" about Ireland's position on the Gaza bombardment and the controversial Pretoria application to the ICJ.

He warned that Ireland, like all other countries, was awaiting the provisional response of the court in The Hague before deciding on its position and what future steps to take.

Mr Martin also stressed that Ireland had strongly and repeatedly endorsed pleas for a ceasefire in Gaza to avoid further loss of life.

Ireland has also repeatedly called for peace talks in a bid to resolve the overriding issues involved.

South Africa brought the genocide motion against Israel in the ICJ - a move Tel Aviv slated as "ludicrous, offensive and wrong."

Israel insisted it had the right to defend itself after almost 1,500 people were killed in a raid into Israel by Gaza-based Hamas fighters.

However, Pretoria's Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana insisted the ICJ move has global support given the effective destruction of Gaza by the three month-long Israeli bombardment and the horrific loss of civilian life.

During a two-day ICJ hearing last week, South African lawyers lay out arguments alleging that Israels bombardment of Gaza that has caused massive casualties was tantamount to genocide.

South Africa has not done anything unusual by going to an institution which has been established by the United Nations for dispute settlement between nations, and were following rule of law and legal principles in this regard, Mr Godongwana said.

Supporters of Israel of course, including the UK, will say our application is nonsense but there is global support for our view that in fact, our case was substantive and we have argued our case.

The Tanaiste moved to clarify Ireland's position and the ICJ process involved.

"Can I bring clarity to how the genocide convention works? There has been a lot of misinformation about this and Ireland joining (with South Africa). South Africa took the case on its own - they did not invite us to join," he said.

"What happens in situations like this, when a country takes a case to the International Court of Justice in respect of the genocide convention, it asks the court for provisional measures.

"That is before it files its more substantive case. South Africa has asked for provisional recommendations or measures. The court is now going to consider that.

"It is only when the country that has filed the assertion, and files what is called a memorial or substantive case, that countries decide whether they are going to join at that point or not.

"Very often that depends on the initial provisional findings of the court and indeed the memorial itself that the court puts forward.

"Otherwise you don't have a comprehensive legal basis to make any submission on - you have to base your legal intervention on substance."

Mr Martin hit out at speculation about Ireland's position.

"This has spread like wildfire - no country in the world has joined with South Africa yet - not even Palestine - because of the mechanisms by which this works.

"We will consider this. Again there has been misinformation around the Ukrainian situation. We didn't join Ukraine in a convention on genocide against Russia. Russia made a complaint against Ukraine justifying its invasion of Ukraine on the basis that genocide was being committed against various (ethnic populations). Of course Ukraine then responded and invited countries to join their response or rebuttal of the Russian assertion.

"When I said this was complex, it is. But it is the process by which you do this.

"Ireland has already made a very strong submission to the International Court of Justice in respect of Palestine...we have made a very robust legal submission. There is a lot of time to go here yet.

"The court has said it will respond quickly and probably more quickly than normal to the South African application. That could be within the next 10 days so we will have a clearer position then."
People had been protesting since last Thursday after it was announced that Racket Hall Hotel was to be used as an accommodation centreGarda public order unit deployed on Monday and cordon formed as bus driven in

The scene of Racket Hall Hotel Roscrea, where crowds have gathered to protest the arrival of families seeking asylum

Integration Minister Roderic OGorman has said child asylum-seekers were upset at scenes of protesters clashing with gardai and one arrest as they were moved into an accommodation centre in Co Tipperary.

Scuffles broke out at the Racket Hall Hotel in Roscrea yesterday as protesters tried to block a bus carrying 17 asylum-seekers  men, women and children  who arrived under garda protection.

A major protest meeting was staged outside the hotel yesterday evening as demonstrators accused gardai of heavy-handed tactics during the tense stand-off.

Protesters and gardai at the main entrance to The Racket Hall hotel in Roscrea. Photo: Gerry Mooney

There were about 200 people at Mondays protest and around 25 of them endured temperatures of -4C overnight in their picket against the placement of up to 160 asylum-seekers in the towns only hotel.

The decision to bring the 17 men, women and children into the property has sparked a five-day round-the-clock protest outside Racket Hall.

Mr OGorman said the site would be used for families and single women.

My understanding is, from talking to my officials, that theyre settling in but it was a difficult enough experience, children were upset at seeing the scuffles, experiencing the violent tension as they arrived, he said.

He said he respected the right to protest but added that people could express themselves in a way that doesnt impact on vulnerable people.

I dont think it is ever acceptable to block peoples access to the place that theyre staying.

Speaking to RTE radio, he said some locals are motivated by concerns about the towns resources and that his department would be meeting local representatives to see how the region could be supported.

However, he added: I think we also recognise there are people who are travelling around the country  far-right activists  who are looking to stir up anti-immigrant sentiment.

Mr OGorman said he does not currently have plans to visit Roscrea personally.

Integration Minister Roderic OGorman criticised some of the protesters. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA

The minister said he was bringing proposals to Cabinet that are more planned, more structured and more resourced.

He said this would involve building large reception centres, noting that continuing to use properties like Racket Hall was unsustainable.

Mr OGorman did not provide a figure for how many centres would be needed.

On his way into Cabinet this morning, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he would be asking minister to consider how they can support the ten areas in the country with the highest proportion of refugees and asylum seekers, in addition to community recognition funding already provided to areas.

Speaking about events in Roscrea, Mr Varadkar said people were entitled to protest and hold views others find objectionable, but he said violence or stopping people from getting to their place of work or their home was anti-democratic and anti-freedom.

Sitting by makeshift log fires in the heavily frosted landscape on the outskirts of the Co Tipperary town on Tuesday morning protesters were relying on the generosity of locals and local businesses who supplied food and firewood to keep them sustained.

There was a small garda presence in the car park this morning, and nobody was sure if more asylum seekers would be brought to the hotel today.

Standing beside a burning log fire to keep warm, local Independent councillor Shane Lee said the sudden move to turn the functioning hotel into accommodation for asylum seekers was a step to far by government.

Cllr Shane Lee pictured outside Racket Hall, outside Roscrea in Co Tipperary. Photo:Frank McGrath

I just want to be very clear that Roscrea has been playing its part and boxing above its weight for quite some time now. Before integration happened or became part of the Irish system we had a lot of international people in terms of Lithuanians, Latvians, Polish, Hungarians, and they've been here for 20 years, he said.

"We have two big employers here in the meat factory and the bacon factory and that employs a lot of Brazilian people as well. So saying the people of Roscrea are racist is far from the truth. That's far from the people that I represent and what I've been representing here for the last number of days. You have genuine, genuine concerned citizens of the town here, he told the Irish Independent.

This was a fully functional hotel that was operating up until last Thursday. Theyre after removing an amenity from the town. We already have two active sites with the Ukrainian families in the Convent Hill, housing up to 320 or 400 people, and then we also have the Sean Ross Abbey (accommodating asylum seekers), and then we have people in our community inside in the town centre, we have apartments and flats as well.

Asked how the situation turned from a peaceful protest into scenes of tension and scuffles with gardai yesterday, Cllr Lee said a large garda team came in in big numbers and basically blocked up the approach roads into the Racket Hall Hotel.

I just wanted to be very clear in saying that since this protest started the local garda station and gardai have been very welcome here with the people. There hasn't been a bad word exchanged amongst anybody. And to be fair about it they we're here drinking tea and having coffee. So a small bit of a common sense approach would have been appropriate yesterday and I feel that's the way it should have been, he said.

Someone could have came here and spoke to the people and said to them look, listen, this was going on a small bit of cooperation with us and we'll get through it. Unfortunately, that was not the case. They came in very heavy handed. People were knocked on the ground here, people were dragged on the ground here, and that's not what these people are about.

Asked if there had not been a large garda presence did he think the bus with the asylum seekers would have got through unhindered, Cllr Lee said someone should have spoken to the local people, and not doing so broke down the relationship between the local people and the gardai.

Last night there was a meeting called following what had happened yesterday, and the biggest crowd so far turned out. So that's sending me as a local Councillor a very clear message that the people are not going away, he said.

Asked would any other coaches of asylum seekers be allowed gain entry if they arrived today, Cllr Lee said there's a lot of mixed emotions in terms of what happened yesterday, and it had got the gander up more for people.

I don't know what to say in relation to what will happen if more people arrive, because I can't say that until that happens, but communication is definitely wanting, and from the outset of all of this, this has been very, very badly handled, he added.

This comes as locals claim Roscrea has already accepted its share of Ukrainian refugees and international protection applicants and warn that the loss of the local hotel to the tourism and hospitality industry is an economic disaster for the town.

Protesters insisted last night that, had they been informed that women and children were being brought into the hotel, they would have immediately stepped back.

Locals claimed that a government letter indicated to them last week that those to be assigned to the Roscrea hotel would be single males.

Some described juvenile asylum-seekers as being very distressed amid the protest scenes. Gardai were forced to move demonstrators who had formed a human chain in front of the entrance to the hotel, to allow the 17 asylum-seekers to gain entry to their new accommodation.

Gardai, assisted by the public order unit, insisted they acted to maintain safety and order with a measured response by officers, none of whom wore body armour or helmets.

A large garda presence was maintained outside the hotel yesterday evening, supplemented by local private security personnel.

Garda sources said that of the large attendance gathered, up to 50pc were not from the local area.

The number of protesters, many accompanied by children, had swelled to over 200 yesterday evening, with some travelling from as far as Dublin and Cork.

A strategy meeting was staged outside Racket Hall at 8pm and protesters kept warm with two wood-fired braziers erected on either side of the hotels main entrance gate.

Protesters and gardai at the main entrance to The Racket Hall hotel in Roscrea, Co Tipperary. Photo: Gerry Mooney

Despite the freezing temperatures, a cohort of 20 protesters remained outside the main hotel gate around the clock.

Roscrea taxi driver Justin Phelan said the protesters were not racists or anti-asylum-seeker but felt that enough was enough for Roscrea.

Mr Phelan said he was a local worker and father who felt the north Tipperary community had been ignored by the Government.

I dont want this to happen again, Mr Phelan said with reference to the scuffles outside the hotel.

This is a peaceful protest but we want our rights as citizens and taxpayers to be respected.

Mr Phelan claimed that several protesters, including a woman, were knocked to the ground during the confrontation with gardai.

He also claimed that pepper spray was used.

Mr Phelan said losing the 40-bedroom hotel to asylum-seeker accommodation was a body-blow for Roscrea and meant the nearest hotel was more than 25km away.

We are not right-wing or racist. I am a working man, a father, someone who pays his taxes and wants the best for his community. I am someone who is standing up and saying enough is enough for Roscrea, he said.

We just want what is best for our town and community. This place has been starved of resources.

Local resident Justin Phelan at the main entrance to The Racket Hall hotel in Roscrea, Co Tipperary. Photo: Gerry Mooney

Tipperary TD Jackie Cahill appealed for calm and said he would be meeting with Mr OGorman today to discuss extra resources for Tipperary and Roscrea.

The Fianna Fail politician said it was his understanding that further groups of asylum-seekers will be brought to the complex at a future date.

They will be moved in over the near future  I would expect the department to use the full capacity of Racket Hall. There are 40 rooms there, he said.

It has been well documented that Roscrea already has a lot of asylum-seekers and Ukrainian refugees in the town. One of the biggest issues is that this place [Racket Hall] is the only hotel in the town and there is no room for functions or events.

All of these things  gardai, GPs, schools  all have to get extra resources now. The minister now has to step up to the plate for Roscrea and the challenges facing the town.

He said he was not informed of the plan to move the asylum-seekers into the complex.

Mr Cahill said he was warned by one individual last week that the hotel would be targeted for an arson attack  and he reported the matter to Roscrea gardai.

I would hope and pray that there wont be one [attack] at Racket Hall, he added.

Tipperary Independent TD Mattie McGrath said that the actions of the Government and the manner in which the first group of asylum-seekers was brought into the Roscrea facility were worrying.

He also said that there was no need for the garda public order unit to have been deployed. Such a show of strength is unhelpful and it is only raising tensions.

He also appealed for calm and for people to respect property.

Look, a burned building is no good to anybody, he said

At around noon yesterday, numbers swelled as a fleet of garda vans and cars arrived to escort the asylum-seekers inside.

About 40 gardai formed a cordon to protect the bus carrying an initial dozen or so people into the hotel, with more officers stationed on the main road.

Some of the protesters became physically and verbally involved with gardai and scuffles broke out. Tensions remained high as the bus departed to collect the remaining asylum-seekers.

An Garda Siochana put in place an operation at an International Protection Accommodation Centre in Roscrea, said a garda spokesperson.

Shortly before midday, uniformed members of An Garda Siochana supported by soft cap public order personnel provided a cordon at the entrance to the IPAS Centre to facilitate access for transport carrying International Protection Applicants.

Protesters at the Racket Hall hotel in Roscrea, Co Tipperary demonstrating over plans to house asylum-seekers in the hotel. Photo: Niall Carson/PA

During the course of the operation one male was arrested under the Public Order Act. He has subsequently been released and a file will be prepared for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution. A Garda presence remains at the IPAS centre at this time.

One of the protesters said he was there in support of the people of Roscrea. Racket Hall is the towns last fully operational hotel and was due to host a number of weddings, birthdays and family events, all of which have now had to be cancelled for the next 12 months.

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Were in support of the town, said protester Paul McNamara. The Racket Hall is the only amenity that we that have in town for the likes of communions, confirmations, birthday parties and functions. If this closes and the occupants move in today, thats it.

There is nothing left in town, and no disrespect to the small cafes inside in town, theyre brilliant, but they cant cater for what a hotel can cater for.

Were here to let the public know in every town and village throughout Ireland that enough is enough. We have no problem taking refugees, taking migrants, to meet the capacity of the facilities that we have in town.

If thats gone beyond that breaking point, what do we do? Were not getting supported by the Government locally to develop our town. We have to make a stand somewhere.

Mr McNamara said the protesters wanted to express their dissatisfaction with the Government and the Department of Integration for not informing local communities, telling them 24 hours before the asylum-seekers arrived.

If you come here at night, and you take a walk from this entrance in to town, tell me how safe you would feel about that? said Mr McNamara, as trucks and HGVs drove by.

We have had two serious incidents which resulted in deaths within 100 metres of this entrance heading in to town. There is no footpath.

The Racket Hall Hotel in Roscrea, Co Tipperary has been the scene of a protest since last Thursday.

A briefing note from the department shown to councillors said transport would be provided to the asylum-seekers.

However, the so-called bus service that is going to be laid on for them here wont meet everybodys needs, said Mr McNamara. Im not asking the Government to put in a footpath, and well take in more. Im asking them to look after the local community and to develop some kind of enterprise within the town so that the town might benefit from from whats been forced on them.

Schools, medical clinics and other public services are coming under increasing pressure in Roscrea, he added.

Another protester, Kelly, who declined to give her second name, said theyre not racist or far-right, adding that the town of Roscrea cant physically cope.

You take anyone here, they cant get a doctor, they cant get a dental appointment. Were totally full. Enough is enough.

Kelly said she is friends with Brazilians who work in a local factory. Theyre working here but these people theyre bringing in, they are given money. They are given accommodation. They are given food. My fear is that they have 24/7 nothing to do all day. Thats wrong.

Another protester, Michelle, said the closure of Racket Hall to local functions such as weddings would have an impact on the local economy.

If you have a wedding inside, you would have people going into town to get their hair and make-up done, and spending a bit of money in the town. Itll be a complete knock-on effect to all the businesses in the town, she said.

If the hurling club, or any of the clubs in town, want to run a fundraiser, or a dinner dance, or a meeting of any kind, there is nowhere now to gather.

The incident is just the latest in a string of protests over the housing of asylum-seekers in regional towns across the country.

Local representatives said they were shocked at the move to house asylum-seekers there as the hotel was open and it will now result in people having to find alternative employment, and so many events will have to be rescheduled, a Tipperary County Council meeting heard last Friday.

Speaking at the meeting, Roscrea-based Fianna Fail councillor Michael Smith said staff at the Racket Hall hotel were dismayed that they would no longer be working there due to the change of circumstances.

Thats very difficult for families at any time of the year, he said, adding that the way it had been handled leaves a lot to be desired.
In the closing days of 2023, after more than 80 days of near-continuous Israeli bombing of one of the most densely populated areas in the world, South Africa filed genocide charges against Israel in the World Court for its response to the Oct. 7 Hamas raid in the Occupied territories along its border.

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the Israeli State Attorneys office has warned the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff there is real danger Israel will be ordered to cease its attack.

The document makes clear that Israel has made no effort to minimize civilian casualties or choose targets based solely on military value. At the time of its filing, more than 21,000 Gazans had been killed, the great majority of deaths being women and children. Most of the men killed are likewise noncombatants.

Israel has destroyed at least 60% of the homes in Gaza, and displaced 85% of its population.

The military uses 2-ton bombs in residential areas. This weapon has rarely been used since Vietnam, and never in densely populated areas. While these unguided bombs have a kill radius of up to five city blocks, Israel has admitted using them to target single terrorists. Multiple such bombs were dropped on one refugee camp in a single attack.

As stated in the charges, Israel has killed civilians in their homes  in hospitals, in United Nations Relief and Works Agency schools, in churches, in mosques.  They have been killed if they fail to evacuate, in the places to which they have fled, and even while they attempted to flee along Israeli-declared safe routes."

The only designated safe area left is a desolate, trash-strewn beach with no provisions to shelter any of the nearly 2 million Palestinians made refugees by the relentless assault. Statements by Israeli advisers, officials and the military indicate that the intent was to drive the population into Egypt. Though Egypt has not cooperated in this final act of ethnic cleansing, the assault continues.

Meanwhile, an average of 115 children daily die while thousands are left orphaned, limbless and otherwise permanently disabled. All suffer unimaginable psychological trauma from ceaseless violence, hunger and fear.

Israel has targeted not only hospitals, but ambulances and health care workers. Destroying the health care system is one component of the finding of inflicting conditions of life intended to bring about their destruction as a group.

Restricting food so severely that 50% of the population is starving, embargoing critical medical supplies, and poisoning the water supply to the point that there is almost no drinkable water, leading to the threat of cholera epidemic, are others.

An essential element in proving genocide is establishing intent. While generally difficult because most states are careful not to make incriminating statements, many Israeli military and political leaders have freely made public statements indicating genocidal intent.

In one example, when referring to how Israel was going to respond to the Hamas attack, Netanyahu referenced the Biblical story of Amalek, in which Israelites are told, Spare no one, but kill alike men and women, infants and sucklings, oxen and sheep, camels and asses.

In another, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant justified cutting off food, fuel and other necessities to the helpless population with the statement, We are fighting human animals, and we are acting accordingly.

Its time that those who object to the use of the word genocide in relation to Israeli actions stop and take a look at the voluminous evidence cited in the 85-page petition.

History does not judge kindly those who refuse to recognize and intervene to stop an ongoing genocide, whatever their rationalizations.
Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice will hold talks this week with fellow deputies Michael Collins and Richard ODonoghue of the new Independent Ireland party.

Mr Fitzmaurice said it was too early to say whether he would be getting involved but confirmed he already had two meetings with the other TDs.

The Roscommon-Galway TD added: I will be showing them some of my own papers, and I am looking at their policies.

Mr Collins, from Cork South West, and Mr ODonoghue, from Limerick County, officially registered the new party last November.

Mr Collins said he hoped to run between 60 and 70 candidates in next Junes local elections, while discussions were continuing about the European elections.

Mr Fitzmaurice said he wanted to hear more from the two TDs, but had made no commitments and was not yet addressing the issue of whether he might join the group.

But he said rural Ireland needed to stand up for better treatment by the State and Government and in particular had to resist the policies of the Green Party.

Last year, Mr Fitzmaurice said he was drawing up a policy platform to represent rural Ireland. He also said he was in discussions with up to 25 councillors.

The moves began after the farmers movement in the Netherlands, the Boer Burger Beweging (BBB), made big electoral gains.

They are now the third-biggest party in that country.

Mr Fitzmaurice has expressed considerable concern about the Nature Restoration Law drafted by the EU.

Unless the political people in rural Ireland come together, we are in trouble, he said.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - January 16th

A Farmers Alliance has also recently registered as a new political party with the Electoral Commission, but is currently confined to Co Donegal.

Meanwhile, a government department has been forced to reword a statement that led voters to believe they would be taken off the electoral register ahead of the next elections if they didnt submit their PPS numbers.

The issue emerged on RTE Radio 1s Liveline yesterday, with callers who were already registered to vote incensed at the change.

The Department of Housing and Local Government yesterday afternoon clarified that existing voters on the electoral register will be able to cast their ballots as normal in the March 8 referendum and in the local and European elections in June.

It said it would now rewrite a message on the website CheckTheRegister.ie after major controversy on Liveline.

Roscommon-Galway Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice.

The websites home page said: The electoral registration process has changed. Even if you are already registered, you now need to add your PPSN, date of birth and Eircode.

This will allow your local authority to confirm your details and help to ensure the accuracy of the electoral register. The department, which is responsible for the register, later said the additional details were optional and were not required to remain on the register.

It admitted some of the wording was ambiguous, although the statement made clear that it was incorrect.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has been criticised for comments he made about Irelands immigration policies and deportation rates for illegal immigrants.

Mr Varadkar wrote an opinion piece in the Sunday Independent defending the Governments immigration policies.

The Fine Gael leader said it was myth to suggest Ireland has open borders and insisted communities will not be given a veto of who can live in their communities.

He also said the Government has been forcibly deporting illegal immigrants in record numbers but conceded it can be a challenge to ensure people leave.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - January 16th

Deportation can sometimes be difficult to implement, especially if a home country refuses to take someone back, or where there are children involved.

Its a system that can be made to work better, so we are working to improve it, he said.

However, Aontu leader Peadar Toibin took issue with the Taoiseachs claim that Ireland does not have an open border.

An article published on Newstalks website also raised concerns about Mr Varadkars article.

Mr Toibin published figures he received from an answer to a parliamentary question he asked of Justice Minister Helen McEntee which showed 76pc of people who migrated to Ireland last year did not register their asylum application at a port or an airport.

According to the Justice Department data up to September last year, 6,821 migrants registered at the International Protection Office but only 2,056 migrants registered their application for asylum at airports or ports.

The parliamentary question says information on how a person enters the country when not through a designated port, including by travelling over the land border, is not recorded.

This is incredible. The minister does not know how the vast majority of migrants are now coming to Ireland because the ministers policy is not to ask the vast majority of people how they are coming to Ireland, Mr Toibin said.

The only way that migrants can come to Ireland without officially coming through an airport or a port is from Britain via the North of Ireland or as a result of an expired working or holiday visa or being smuggled or trafficked. The Government is incredibly lax, he added.

Mr Toibin said 5,000 asylum seekers arrived in Ireland without any valid travel documentation.

He took issue with the Taoiseachs comments about deportation rates and said Minister McEntees figures show only 15pc of people who received a deportation order are actually deported by the State.

Since 2018, 5,091 people have received a deportation order and Ms McEntees figures show 783 people left the country during that period.

A spokesperson for the Taoiseach said: We reject Deputy Toibins attack on the Taoiseach. In his Sunday Independent article, which was fact-checked by the Department of Justice, the Taoiseach called on all centre-ground politicians to make the case for a good, rules-based and well-managed migration policy.

Its clear from his statement that Deputy Toibin does not want to ally himself with the centre ground, he added.
Could Dun Laoghaire make Living Streets a reality with pedestrianisation plan as deadline looms?

After public consultation ends, councillors will vote on the project which Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council says aims to make our local streets safer and greener, our communities more connected, and to keep our economy vibrant

An artist's impression of the proposed new pedestrianisation of George's Street in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.

Caroline O'Doherty Tue 16 Jan 2024 at 03:35

Car-free urban centres have been talked about and argued over a lot in recent years but one town may be on the verge of making it a reality.
Students from Ballincollig, Blarney, Kanturk, Macroom, Mallow and Mitchelstown were honoured at the event in Dublin

Heather Butler and Isabelle Walsh from Colaiste Choilm Ballincollig, and their project "Parenting with Arthritis; Designing a baby carrier for child carers suffering with Arthritis at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2024 in the RDS Dublin.

Conor Creedon, De La Salle College, Macroom with his project, 'The Evolution of Celebrated Cinema: An investigation into why certain critically acclaimed movies from the last 100 years are so highly praised.'

Ella Healy, from St. Marys Secondary School, Macroom, with her project, 'Only child or lonely child?'-An investigation into societal views of one child families.

Malachy Burns, Zach OLeary and Conor Walsh from Scoil Mhuire gan Smal, Blarney, with their project Connected roads-bridging the vehicle communication gap.

Grace OConnell from Colaiste Treasa, Kanturk Co Cork with her project, 'An investigation into the use of subliminal messages and it's influence of the perceptions and attitudes of people'.

Eugenie Kelleher, St Mary's Secondary School Macroom is presented with the 3rd Intermediate Individual Award in the Social & Behavioural Sciences Category.

Therese Gunning of BT Ireland presents the 3rd Intermediate Group award in the Chemical, Physical and Mathematical Category to Habiba Dar & Shafa Dar, Colaiste Fionnchua Mitchelstown,. Stand: 2517

eFlow STAR (Sustainable Transport Award Recognition) Award presented by eFlow's Roisin Barton-Murray to Ellie Walsh, Leah Bradley, and Tara Lane, of St Mary's Secondary School Macroom Cork.

Aimee O'Dwyer, Sarah Doyle, Erin Comber, Amy McCarthy and Ali Dromey from Colaiste Choilm at the 2024 and 60th BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition.

Some of the best young minds in Cork showcased their innovative research and exciting findings at the BT Young Scientist Exhibition last weekend, with students from Ballincollig, Blarney, Kanturk, Macroom, Mallow and Mitchelstown amongst the events participants.

Pupils hailing from secondary schools based in the aforementioned areas also took home a total of 18 awards from the 60th annual event, which was held at the RDS in Dublin and saw 550 students showcase their projects to judges and over 1,000 visiting students and teachers from January 11 to 13.

Amongst the prize winners were Special Award winners Ellie Walsh, Leah Bradley and Tara Lane from St Marys Secondary School in Macroom.

The team of students were awarded the eFlow STAR (Sustainable Transport Award Recognition) Award for their project titled I cant wait for the bypass!  an investigation into whether the N22 Baile Bhuirne-Macroom bypass really benefits the locals of Macroom.

Remarkably, the same award was also won by students from St Marys in 2023, for a project which modelled transport emissions to inform sustainable transport policy for schools.

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A student from Ballincolligs Colaiste Choilm was also a recipient of a Special Award. Anne ODonovan was honoured with The Science Foundation of Ireland Award for her project ChatGPT-Powered Child Grooming Detection App for Social Media.

Anne would also place in third in the Senior Individual Category Award for her application.

Several other students from north and northwest Cork also had their scientific endeavours awarded in the exhibitions Category Awards.

Eugenie Kelleher, a student of St Marys Macroom, placed third in the Intermediate Individual category for her Investigation into the effect of Artificial Intelligence Aids on learning achievements, creativity and innovative thinking in Irish secondary school students.

A team of students from Colaiste Choilm placed second in the Intermediate Group category for a project focused on the area of biology and ecology. Claire ORegan, Emily McGrath and Rachel OConnor were honoured for their project Is the movement competence element of physical literacy related to general happiness?

Mitchelstowns Colaiste Fionnchua students Habiba and Shafa Dar were awarded third place in the Intermediate Group for their work in the area of chemical, physical and mathematical sciences, An investigation into a new taxonomy of exoplanets.

A group from St Marys Secondary School in Mallow also put forward a project which placed second in the Junior Group category. The work of Anna Duggan, Alvy Fitzgerald and Leah OSullivan was An Investigation into the Mathematical Relationship Between Plant Biomass and Leaf surface Area, as well as the Effects of Stimulated Insect Herbivory on Plant Biomass.

A number of other projects from students who are educated north of Cork city were Highly Commended by the judges of the 2024 exhibition.

Grace OConnell, a student of Colaiste Treasa in Kanturk was commended for her social and behavioural sciences project, An Investigation into the use of subliminal messages and its influence on the perceptions and attitudes of people.

Also hailing from Colaiste Treasa were Ann Marie Healy and Aoife Buckley, who were commended for their project, An investigation into the attitude of Irish consumers towards food preservation by irradiation with the view of identifying and addressing prevailing misconceptions.

In the domain of technology, Davis College Mallow students Alisha Akinola, Mariia Sukhoverkha and Rebecca McCarthy were highly commended for their project titled Smart Embedded Clothing for the Visually Impaired.

Delilah Smigiel Afriyie, Doireann Dempsey, Layla OConnor of St Marys of Mallow were also commended for their project, The Development of Wearable Anti-Drowning Technology with Automated Flotation System and Data Collection Technology.

Amy OMahony, Esme Leahy, Berenice Cronin, also of St Marys, were commended for their biological and ecological-focused project, Cultivating Single-Celled Nutrient Sources to Sustain Astronauts on Long Duration Space Missions and Engineering and Testing a Tubular Bioreactor System.

Of Macrooms St Marys were Amy McCullagh and Ella White, who were highly commended for their work titled Wilder farms-An investigation into farmers attitudes towards rewilding and reforestation of farmland in Ireland.

Students of Scoil Mhuire gan Smal in Blarney, Malachy Burns, Zach OLeary and Conor Walsh, were highly commended for their transport technology-focused project, ConnectedRoads: Bridging the Vehicle Communication Gap.

Colaiste Choilm students Joshua De Burca, Caragh Lynch and Rionagh OLeary were commended for their project which assessed the Antimicrobial Effects of Bacterial Probiotic strains isolated from Various Natural Origins Against Bacterial Species.

Amongst the events six Display awardees was a Colaiste Fionnchua team composed of Serena Faradella and Aime Dunleavy, who worked on a health and wellbeing project titled A study of the benefits gained by adopting a rescue dog.

From Ballincolligs Colaiste Choilm, tech researchers Tori Burns and Amy Slattery were awarded for their showcasing of their Lamh AI Translator.

Cillian OToole, from the same school, was honoured for the display of his IoT Defender device, which is used to prevent botnet DDoS attacks using IoT devices.
A public meeting on home ownership will be held in Buttevant on Monday, January 22.

Fianna Fail councillors Gearoid Murphy and Pat Hayes have announced that they will be hosting a public meeting on home ownership in Muintir na Tire Hall, Buttevant at 7.30pm on Monday, January 22

The meeting will feature information about housing supports for both first-time buyers and existing owners, such as the First Home Scheme, the Affordable Purchase Scheme and the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant.

Senator Mary Fitzpatrick will be on hand to answer questions about these new schemes and there will also be presentations on renewable energy grants from local companies Ashgrove Renewables and Tadhg OKeeffe & Sons Installers at the public meeting.

Cllr Gearoid Murphy said the meeting on home ownership aims to enable local people find out what grants and supports are available. We have seen great interest in some of new grants and supports, such as the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, which grants up to 70,000 towards refurbishing vacant homes and tackles the dual problems of housing and dereliction.

However, there are also some lesser-known schemes which have recently been introduced, particularly those aimed at first-time buyers. This meeting will be a great opportunity for local people to find out about what is available, he added.

The meeting has been organised through the office of Fianna Fail TD for Cork North West Michael Moynihan and follows on from two other very successful presentations in the North Cork area, which drew large crowds in Newmarket and Charleville last year.

All are welcome to attend.
Actress Ayo Edebiri has once again voiced her love for Ireland, this time giving recognition to individual counties during a red carpet interview at the Emmy Awards last night.

The Bear star took home the award for Best Actress in a comedy series at the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday, January 14, where she gave Ireland a shout-out during her acceptance speech.

"To everybody in Boston, Barbados, Nigeria, Ireland in many ways, thank you so much, I love you, she said.

The next day she was back on the red carpet for the 2024 Emmy Awards where she addressed her love for Ireland and began dishing out individual shout-outs to Irish counties, with Cork making the cut.

Shout-out to my people, shout-out to Derry, shout-out to Cork, shout-out to Killarney, shout-out to Dublin, she said.

The Irish references comes as part of a long-running gag from a 2023 interview, when the rising star joked that she played Jenny the Donkey in The Banshees of Inisherin.

She took a stab at an Irish accent and described how she prepared for the role by living in Ireland for four months.

Since that interview, Ayo Edebiri has been embraced by the Irish population with many tweets and social media posts praising her, describing her as Irelands own and the peoples princess.

I dont have Twitter anymore but Im aware of my connection to Ireland. Im grateful for the tweets once theyre positive, she added.

The young actress has been dominating the award season so far, already winning a Golden Globe, Critics Choice award and an Emmy for her portrayal as chef Sydney Adamu in the comedy-drama series The Bear.
Those commuting on the M50 this morning should expect delays on their travel.

A collision has occurred on the M1/M50 southbound between the M1/M50 roundabout just before 8.30am and the Dublin Tunnel blocking the right and middle lanes.

Traffic is said to be back at Junction 2 Dublin Airport and very slow.

Another collision has been reported around the same time on the M2/N2 between Junction 2 St. Margarets and Junction 1 - M50/N2 (Southbound direction).

Today's News in 90 Seconds - January 16th

It occurred just before the M50, blocking the middle lane and the hard shoulder is currently blocked.

Just before 8am, two separate incidents were reported on the M50.

The first one being between Junction 10 Ballymount and Junction 11 Tallaght, southbound direction.

The right lane is moving slowly.

The second collision happened near the port tunnel, between Junction 3 - M1/ M50 and Junction 2, Santry, northbound direction.

The left and middle lane is blocked.

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A breakdown on Whitworth Rd has been reported, eastbound at the junction of Dorset Street.

Meanwhile, with Irish Rail, Delays of up to 20 minutes can be expected for Cork/Heuston and Limerick/Heuston services due to a signalling issue at Dundrum.

More to follow...
The 'no drone zone' over Dublin will operate within the two circles marked TRA

Large parts of Dublin will be a 'no drone zone' for 24 hours. Pic: Stock image/Getty

Large parts of Dublin city and county will be a no drone zone during the visit of Li Qiang, the Premier of the Peoples Republic of China today.

Restrictions will remain in place from 3pm today until 3pm tomorrow, January 17, and includes large parts of south and west Dublin and stretches out into Dublin Bay.

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), who regulate safety, security and consumer interests in the aviation industry, issued a warning to drone operators.

Attention: Flight restriction (No-Drone-Zone) in place over Dublin City from 16-17 January, during the visit of the Premier of the Peoples Republic of China.

All aircraft flying within the confines of the TRAs in contravention of the flight restrictions may be subject to interception or interdiction by the Permanent Defence Forces.

The Minister of Transport has issued a direction to the Irish Aviation Authority to establish areas of temporary restricted airspace over Dublin within which flight restrictions shall apply.

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The arrival of Chinese Premier Li Qiang into Dublin Airport this evening will mark a historic moment for the countrys largest airport.

The Chinese Premier will arrive on a Boeing 747-8, the largest ever commercial aircraft to arrive at Dublin Airport.

It has a wingspan of 68 metres and is 76 metres long and is larger than Air Force One, which arrived here last year for the visit of US President Joe Biden. Air Force One has a wingspan of 60 metres and is 70 metres long.

This will be the biggest commercial aircraft to ever land at Dublin Airport and will join the long list of landmark moments in the long history of the airport, which this week celebrates its 84th birthday, Graeme McQueen, Media Relations Manager at daa said.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - January 16th

The runways at Dublin Airport have just about seen it all over the past eight decades, from numerous US Presidents, through to The Beatles and several Popes.

But this is a first, and the arrival of a 747-8 aircraft will mark yet another significant milestone for the airport, he added.

There will be a number of traffic measures in place to facilitate the arrival of the Chinese Premier. While Gardai said there will be minimum impact to the public, there will be local road closures and traffic diversions in place.

This will include the closure of the Phoenix Park to all access, traffic and pedestrians, from 7pm today to 7pm on Wednesday.
According to the CSO, the average cost of a pint of Guinness is now 5.64. Pic: Getty

Dublin is the home of Guinness, but with food and drink prices rising across the board, its becoming harder and harder to keep the cost of a night out down.

According to CSO stats from November last year, the national average price of a pint of stout in licensed premises was 5.64, up 48 cents compared to November 2022. A pint of lager was 6.07, up 50 cents.

With January being a tight month and an extra week before salaries come in, weve compiled a list of where you can find a pint of Guinness for 5 or less in Dublin.

The Auld Triangle, Dorset Street

The Auld Triangle sells a pint of Guinness for 4.50

Could this inner-city Dublin pub, nestling at the junction of Gardiner Street and Dorset Street, have the cheapest pint in the city? The Auld Triangle sells a pint of Guinness for just 4.50.

Downeys Bar, Cabra

This Cabra pub is selling a pint of plain for 5, and if Guinness isnt your thing, they have other drink specials every night. The pub has music on Saturday nights and Sunday evening, as well as karaoke bingo on Thursdays.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - January 16th

Padraig Pearse, Pearse Street

This local, friendly pub on Pearse Street is among the few pubs in the city serving 5 pints of Guinness.

The Lark Inn, Meath Street

According to this pub in the heart of Dublins Liberties, they charge 5 for a pint of pure deliciousness.

McGowans, Phibsboro

McGowan's in Phibsboro offers 5 pints on Thursdays and Sundays

The popular northside pub is doing all pints for 5 every Thursday and Sunday night.

J.T Pims, Georges Street

This Dublin city cocktail bar has been doing a special offer on Guinness for over a year now. Youll get a pint of plain for 5 every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Gladstone, Skerries

If you fancy a trek to Skerries for a day at the beach or some scrumptious seafood, you can finish the day by getting a pint of Guinness for 5 in Gladstone.
Corvallis is considering a resolution that aims to do what those in Middle East have not been able to accomplish: calling for peace in a way that satisfies supporters on both sides of the Israel-Hamas War.

Deliberations could resume at the Tuesday, Jan. 16, City Council meeting to re-visit a draft peace resolution first read by Ward 5 Councilor Charlyn Ellis at the council's last meeting. The council's agenda, however, suggests the resolution be tabled for discussion at yet a later date.

For three consecutive council meetings beginning Dec. 4, community members have thronged chambers at the Downtown Fire Station, urging council to sign  or not sign  a resolution "affirming support and solidarity with the Palestinian people" amid worsening conflict in the region.

Podcasts 'A Place to Sleep' podcast: Catch all the episodes here Our podcast, A Place to Sleep, explores how Oregon cities are responding to a new law that is meant to provide homeless individuals a place to rest.

The latest draft was drawn up by Ellis and Ward 1 Councilor Jan Napack, two of what Napack said was an initial four-member task force shortlisted to work on the peace resolution. The others were Mayor Charles Maughan and Ward 4 Councilor Gabe Shepherd.

The original resolution, brought forward by the Corvallis Palestine Solidarity group, would join Corvallis with more than a dozen American municipalities where resolutions calling for ceasefire in Gaza and condemning the expenditure of federal taxes on arming Israeli forces have become the subject of impassioned testimonies and oftentimes contentious discourse.

Maughan said at the Dec. 18 meeting the council will not sign the resolution as written by the group because of what several councilors called its divisive language. But he wanted to work with willing councilors to draft a peace resolution and present it to the community for consideration.

The draft peace resolution cites the Corvallis 2040 Vision Statement and acknowledges rising antisemitic and Islamophobic speech and hate crimes across the country.

True peace starts with us, not through accusations or minimizing the suffering on either side but as a community that empathizes with their grief and offers our hands and hearts in compassion, Ellis said, reading from the draft.

The resolution expresses the citys support for efforts in brokering lasting peace in the region and called on residents to educate themselves on the complex issues at hand.

Issuing this resolution is not the substitute for the hard work we must do locally to promote peace, Ellis said, reading from the resolution.

According to Napack, the goal for the task force was to produce a resolution that was neutral in its language.

We cannot pass a resolution that divides our community, Napack said by phone.

In a statement following the meeting, the Corvallis Palestine Solidarity group said: "The language is weak and does not hold Israel accountable.

It goes on to say: Our council members proved that our citys 'progressive' politics and stances do not extend to Palestinians.

Watered-down

The resolution presented to the council by the solidarity group closely models one passed in Richmond, California, the first city to pass such a resolution, on Oct. 24.

The Richmond resolution accuses Israel of engaging in collective punishment and ethnic cleansing against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza in the wake of the Oct. 7, Hamas attacks.

The draft resolution the Corvallis council task force proffered at the Jan. 2, meeting made a concerted effort to stay above the fray, deleting such phrases as ethnic cleansing from its language. It also stopped short of speaking to the U.S. governments role in the war or calling it to action.

It was a little bit watered down, said Loay Abu-Hussein, a Palestinian-American and Hewlett-Packard staffer.

When he first arrived in Corvallis in 2007, Abu-Hussein said he was encouraged through his interactions by the idea that he was in a more liberal part of Oregon, where we have people who can recognize the suffering of others and can recognize the damage that this war has wrought on people and be willing to step up and say not in our name, not in our tax dollars.

But he was "extremely disappointed" with the councils draft resolution and its failure to recognize the pain community members like him feel about the destruction inflicted by Israel in Gaza.

Joshua Soderlund Hough, another member of the Corvallis Palestine Solidarity Group, said the councils draft was divorced from justice in any way.

It has the same value as saying nothing at all. In that sense, no, there's no longer continuity of the city's legacy, Soderlund-Hough said via email, referring to the citys history of passing resolutions regarding global conflicts.

There have been widespread claims of breaches of international law by Hamas and Israeli forces since war erupted after the Oct. 7, attacks which killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in southern Israel. Around 240 people were taken hostage.

Since Israel began retaliatory attacks, the overall death toll in the strip has surpassed 15,200 according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza; 70% of the dead were women and children.

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC said, after a historic visit to Israel and Ramallah last October, that the court was intensifying investigations, which began in 2021, into war crimes committed by both Hamas and Israeli forces.

Most recently, South Africa has formally lodged a landmark case before the International Court of Justice, formally accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians.

Napack said the draft went through seven rounds of revision with some minor changes from Beit Am Rabbi Phil Bressler and text additions sourced from California congressional Representative Katie Porters website, which focuses on a call for peace.

They also looked at similar resolutions passed in other cities, particularly Eugenes. By the sixth draft, it was scrupulously neutral, Napack said.

That was our intent, she said.

While she agrees the resolution could be said to be too mild, Napack said the council did not want to favor one side over the other, especially since both see their specific points of view as right and the other as wrong.

Napack, who is also a member of the local Beit Am community, said the Palestine Solidarity Group, though well-intentioned, failed to see the tropes and insidious antisemitism in its resolution.

While Maughan said, after seeing the second draft, that he wanted it to say more, Napack said there was no further input from him as to what else it should say.

Maughan, who has come out to support the Palestine Solidarity Group in its peace protests in front of the Benton County Courthouse, could not be reached for comments.

Bare minimum

At the Jan. 2 council meeting, Shepherd and Ward 2 Councilor Briae Lewis moved and seconded a motion to amend the resolution to add a call for a ceasefire in Gaza and Israel.

I feel like thats the bare minimum we should pass, Shepherd said.

The motion for amendment failed 4-5.

Kali Doten, who spoke in favor of the Palestine Solidarity Group's resolution at the Jan. 2 meeting, said that outcome was disappointing. It should not be controversial, at this point especially, Doten said.

Calling for a ceasefire, Abu-Hussein said, was one of the crucial elements that should remain in whatever resolution the council approves.

Its a no-brainer, but yet we need to say, he said.

Napack stressed that calling for a ceasefire was going to divide the community further because it is a formal political agreement which takes a lot of work to effect and is beyond the purview of the City Council.

The council cannot take a stand either way; doing so is taking sides. Were putting a wedge between the Jewish community and the Palestine community, and this is in our town, our small little town, Napack said by phone.

Global politics, local community

Opponents of the resolution have urged the council to focus on more local issues as the council has very little to no bearing on global politics or true conflict resolution in Israel or Gaza.

To me, that is beside the point, Abu-Hussein said.

Several proponents of the Palestine resolution have raised Corvallis quick passing of a resolution supporting Ukraine following a Russian invasion in 2022.

This quick turnaround, Shepherd, who drafted the Ukraine resolution, said was in the citys capacity as a sister city to Uzhhorod, a relationship established since 1989.

Steph Newton, a member of the Beit Am synagogue and Albany city councilor, said delving into international affairs  especially one with a long history such as between Israel and Gaza  was only taking away resources and attention from immediate city issues.

"I don't know what the resolution will be, how this will end," Newton said of the efforts to devise a resolution that speaks to both sides.

Doten does not believe that city-level conversations are without impact. If more municipalities passed resolutions calling for a ceasefire, it bettered the chances of communicating to the upper levels of government that the majority are against whats happening, she said.

So I do think that it can at least make a difference in pressuring our federal government by having these resolutions passed by city governments, Doten said.

I really sympathize with people in Gaza," Napack said, "they have been under siege with no freedom to move, I guess, since 2007 when Israel left and Hamas took over.

But she does not believe a city-level resolution will impact the need for a two-state solution, which she said was the only likely path forward.

Both Israel and Palestine should have rights to self-defense, rights to security, right to their existence. Palestinians obviously need a homeland, an independent state if you will, that they can call their homeland. We need to halt Israeli settlement in the West Bank; we need a treaty to cover the entire geographical area, we need all Israeli hostages released, all Palestinians released, and we need monitoring," Napack said.

Our resolution, any resolution including Richmond, Californias, Wilmington, Delawares, anyone else who thought this was a good idea, I guess you can say, is somewhat ambitious. But its not going to help at all, Napack said.

Napack is concerned that the peace resolution may not be accepted by a segment of the community, but she is hopeful that there is a peaceful end to the loud outbursts at the council meetings over the Israel-Hamas War.

Hough said in an email that the Palestine Solidarity Group would no longer "expend any more effort on the City Council" because the chances of "any suitable amendment to what they have now drafted" is negligible.

Council received another possible peace resolution draft from a community member that borrows from the Oct 19, statement on the Israel-Hamas War from the Parliament of World Religions. It neither lays blame on any group nor advocates for any prescriptive or specific actions to be taken.

I really like it, I think everybody should agree with it, Napack said.

At the Jan. 2 meeting, councilors agreed that the draft needed further revision, and Councilor Tracey Yee moved for it to be tabled to the first meeting of February, saying that it did not feel representative of the broad Corvallis community yet.

So far, Napack said she has not heard back from other councilors with suggestions for new revisions.

The draft is back on the agenda for the Jan. 16, meeting where a decision will be made to re-table the resolution.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Ciara Murphy and Saoirse Murphy from Presentation Secondary School Tralee and their project ACT {Aid, Care, Treat}  an immediate, accessible, technological aid to assist in emergencies, supported by a comprehensive repository of medical information at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2024 in the RDS Dublin.

Pictured is Shay Walsh BT Ireland MD with President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina with students Enna Thineaud, Joseph OConnor and James Doody from CBS the Green, Kerry with their project Enhancing soil health and crop growth to natural soil enhancers : A comparative study at the 2024 and 60th BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE).

Therese Gunning, Legal Director BT Ireland presents the 3rd Intermediate Group Award in the Technology Category to Donncha Enright, Ethan Ward, CBS The Green Tralee Kerry for the project Designing and creating an AI platform which can aid in differentiating learning in mixed ability classrooms in a constructive learning setting. Photo by Fennell Photography.

Stripe Chemical, Physical and Mathematical Science Educator of Excellence Award is presented by Kevin Dowling Stripe Site Lead Ireland to Sarah Abbott from Pobalscoil Inbhear Sceine.

Max Hamilton, Sarah Murphy and Deirdre OSullivan, Community College Killorglin Kerry and their project Raising Awareness on Over the Counter (OTC) Medicine Misuse: A Comprehensive Educational Approach at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2024 which took place in the RDS Dublin.

Therese Gunning, Legal Director BT Ireland presents the 2nd Junior Group award in the Chemical, Physical and Mathematical Category to Conan Seino , Feidhlim Kevin Ginty and Torran Millar, Mercy Secondary School Mounthawk, Tralee, for the project How can the mechanics in origami be applied to modern engineering.

David OBrien Oisin Hanley and Jamie Crowley Wharton fron Pobalscoil Inbhear Sceine Kerry and their project Radish Radiance at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2024 in the RDS Dublin.

Therese Gunning, Legal Director BT Ireland presents the 2nd Senior Group Award in the Technology Category to Jim Culhane & Paula-Eve Culhane, Tarbert Comprehensive School, for the project CPR Pedal Chest Compression Device Mark II.

Therese Gunning BT Ireland presents the 3rd Junior Group Award the in Biological and Ecological Sciences Category to Emma OSullivan, Siena Ryan and Una OShea Pobalscoil Inbhear Sceine, Kenmare, for the project Memory Matters: Investigating the Forgetting Curve.

Therese Gunning, BT Ireland presents 2nd Intermediate Group Award in the Health & Wellbeing Category to Kate OConnor, Sophie Ryan, Pobalscoil Inbhear Sceine, Kenmare, for the project Suncream Science: Unmasking SPF Levels, Investigating Harmful Ingredients, and Crafting Custom Sun Protection.

Shay Walsh, Managing Director BT Ireland and Minister for Education Norma Foley TD present the Runner Up Group award to Ciara Murphy and Saoirse Murphy from Presentation Secondary School Tralee for their project ACT {Aid, Care, Treat}  an immediate, accessible, technological aid to assist in emergencies, supported by a comprehensive repository of medical information at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2024 at the RDS Dublin. Photo by Fennell Photography 2023.

Both Ciara and Saoirse Murphy were given a heros welcome upon their return to their school, Presentation Secondary School in Tralee, on Monday morning. Photo by Mark O'Sullivan.

Sisters Ciara and Saoirse Murphy pictured with Principal of Presentation Secondary School in Tralee Mairead Finucane. The siblings were the winners of the the prestigious Runner-Up Group prize for the work on their Aid, Care, Treat (ACT) project. Photo by Mark OSullivan.

It was another strong showing for Kerry students from schools all over the county at the annual BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition which took place at the RDS in Dublin over the weekend.

The weekend saw Kerry students taking home an impressive nine awards in total, just shy of last years tally of 11.

The strongest showing at this years event was by sisters Ciara (16) and Saoirse Murphy (14), both students at Presentation Secondary School in Tralee, who took home the prestigious Runner-Up Group prize for the work on their Aid, Care, Treat (ACT) project which is described as an immediate, accessible, technological aid to assist in medical emergencies, supported by a comprehensive repository of medical information.

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The pair also won a display award as well for this same project.

Both Ciara and Saoirse were given a heros welcome (see video below) upon their return to school on Monday morning as students lined up on either side of the entrance and applauded the siblings as they were met by their Principal Mairead Finucane.

Both Ciara and Saoirse Murphy were given a heros welcome upon their return to their school, Presentation Secondary School in Tralee, on Monday morning. Photo by Mark O'Sullivan.

From here, they were guided through the school  the halls of which were also lined with applauding students  into a packed school hall where the girls were greeted with hugs from their teachers.

Shay Walsh, Managing Director BT Ireland and Minister for Education Norma Foley TD present the Runner Up Group award to Ciara Murphy and Saoirse Murphy from Presentation Secondary School Tralee for their project ACT {Aid, Care, Treat}  an immediate, accessible, technological aid to assist in emergencies, supported by a comprehensive repository of medical information at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2024 at the RDS Dublin. Photo by Fennell Photography 2023.

Speaking to The Kerryman on Tuesday, Mairead had this to say about the girls success: Its such a huge achievment in that they were one of the top projects in the entire country. Were so very proud of them. They took their time and they worked really hard on it. They were working lunchtimes, in the evenings, at the weekends. They worked really well together, she said.

Therese Gunning, BT Ireland presents 2nd Intermediate Group Award in the Health & Wellbeing Category to Kate OConnor, Sophie Ryan, Pobalscoil Inbhear Sceine, Kenmare, for the project Suncream Science: Unmasking SPF Levels, Investigating Harmful Ingredients, and Crafting Custom Sun Protection.

Were absolutely delighted for them because STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) is an area that I am passionate about and that I believe in. Its nice to see young girls and women developing an interest in the area of science and technology because it is the future, she continued.

Therese Gunning BT Ireland presents the 3rd Junior Group Award the in Biological and Ecological Sciences Category to Emma OSullivan, Siena Ryan and Una OShea Pobalscoil Inbhear Sceine, Kenmare, for the project Memory Matters: Investigating the Forgetting Curve.

They had a wonderful teacher and mentor in Helena Madigan who took the girls through the journey from once they applied right through to the end. As part of their homecoming yesterday (Monday), we had a live Q & A session whereby I welcomed them and Helena spoke to the whole school community to explain about the whole project. Then, the other teacher that travelled with them to Dublin, Clodagh Musgrave, she actually the took the school community through the Q & A.

Therese Gunning, Legal Director BT Ireland presents the 2nd Senior Group Award in the Technology Category to Jim Culhane & Paula-Eve Culhane, Tarbert Comprehensive School, for the project CPR Pedal Chest Compression Device Mark II.

She asked the girls questions about their project so that everyone could understand the concept and the journey involved in the project. It was really lovely.

David OBrien Oisin Hanley and Jamie Crowley Wharton fron Pobalscoil Inbhear Sceine Kerry and their project Radish Radiance at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2024 in the RDS Dublin.

The overall individual winner of the event was Sean OSullivan, from Colaiste Chiarain in Limerick for his project VerifyMe. Kerry TD and Education Minister, Norma Foley was on hand to present the award in Dublin at the weekend. Seans mom Tara also happens to hail from Tralee, adding yet another Kerry link to another successful year at the awards.

Therese Gunning, Legal Director BT Ireland presents the 2nd Junior Group award in the Chemical, Physical and Mathematical Category to Conan Seino , Feidhlim Kevin Ginty and Torran Millar, Mercy Secondary School Mounthawk, Tralee, for the project How can the mechanics in origami be applied to modern engineering.

Elsewhere, there was delight for other students from various other Kerry schools as they picked up awards in the Main Awards, Category Awards and Display Awards sections.

Max Hamilton, Sarah Murphy and Deirdre OSullivan, Community College Killorglin Kerry and their project Raising Awareness on Over the Counter (OTC) Medicine Misuse: A Comprehensive Educational Approach at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2024 which took place in the RDS Dublin.

In the Main Awards section, Pobalscoil Inbhear Sceine in Kenmare won the Stripe Chemical, Physical and Mathematical Science Educator of Excellence Award.

Stripe Chemical, Physical and Mathematical Science Educator of Excellence Award is presented by Kevin Dowling Stripe Site Lead Ireland to Sarah Abbott from Pobalscoil Inbhear Sceine.

Torran Millar, Feidhlim Kevin Ginty and Conan Seino from Mercy Secondary School Mounthawk won the 2nd Junior Group award in Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences; the 3rd Intermediate Group award meanwhile in the Technology category was won by Ethan Ward and Donncha Enright from CBS The Green.

Therese Gunning, Legal Director BT Ireland presents the 3rd Intermediate Group Award in the Technology Category to Donncha Enright, Ethan Ward, CBS The Green Tralee Kerry for the project Designing and creating an AI platform which can aid in differentiating learning in mixed ability classrooms in a constructive learning setting. Photo by Fennell Photography.

Jim Culhane and Paula-Eve Culhane from Tarbert Comprehensive School won the 2nd Senior Group award in Technology while Siena Ryan, Una OShea and Emma OSullivan from Pobalscoil Inbhear Sceine in Kenmare won the 3rd Junior Group award in Biological & Ecological.

Pictured is Shay Walsh BT Ireland MD with President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina with students Enna Thineaud, Joseph OConnor and James Doody from CBS the Green, Kerry with their project Enhancing soil health and crop growth to natural soil enhancers : A comparative study at the 2024 and 60th BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE).

The 2nd Intermediate Group award in the Health and Well-being Category went to Kate OConnor and Sophie Ryan from Pobalscoil Inbhear Sceine.

Ciara Murphy and Saoirse Murphy from Presentation Secondary School Tralee and their project ACT {Aid, Care, Treat}  an immediate, accessible, technological aid to assist in emergencies, supported by a comprehensive repository of medical information at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2024 in the RDS Dublin.

Finally, David O Brien, Oisin Hanley and Jamie Crowley Wharton from Pobalscoil Inbhear Sceine, won a display award for their project Radish Radiance.
The ongoing critical GP situation in South Kerry is set to get worse with a second GP to retire in Cahersiveen later this year.

The retirement will leave the entire Cahersiveen area without any resident GP and the Iveragh peninsula with just one, in Waterville.

The population has grown by more than 1,000 due to the arrival of Ukrainian refugees. This, along with a significant influx of people during the summer months, means there are serious concerns about the lack of primary health care in the region, further exacerbated by the peripheral location of the region.

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Following the retirement of a GP in Cahersiveen last year, the HSE has been attempting to replace this GP but has been unable to do so despite five recruitment drives.

The position is temporarily staffed by locum GPs, but this does not provide vital continuity of care.

If the HSE is unable to fill this position after five recruitment campaigns, it is obliged to take over the practice. This means it rents the premises; pays the admin and ancillary staff; and gets a locum GP to cover the practice.

"This is not ideal as it means there is no continuity of care and, as such, there is increased risk to patients as a consequence, says Cllr Norma Moriarty (Fianna Fail).

For the past 12 months, the HSE and Tascforsa Uibh Rathaigh have worked together in a bid to attract a GP to the area. They are now to seek a meeting with the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, who they say must provide the innovative solution needed to ensure that the rural peninsula has proper primary care.

Following a meeting on Friday with Tascforsa Uibh Rathaigh and political representatives, at which the ongoing situation GP crisis was discussed, it is hoped that a potential solution could be found.

Tascforsa Uibh Rathaigh is asking the Minister and the HSE to pay the costs of the GP practice for any incoming GP, as they will have to do so anyway if they have to take the practice into charge.

"We are asking the minister to offer the budget that the HSE will use [to run the practice] to a potential GP. This could mean the difference between attracting and not attracting a GP, explained Cllr Norma Moriarty, who is a member of the Tascforsa.

"We have to be innovative and different to get a result, she said. She added that the areas isolation and the increase in migrant and tourist populations mean that GP care is vital:

"We need adequate primary care and whatever we can to do to unblock the capacity of a GP to take over we need to do.

"The situation is most critical.

Tascforsa Uibh Rathaigh is also planning to launch a media campaign highlighting how beautiful Cahersiveen and Iveragh are, to encourage a GP to practice in the region. It will be similar to a campaign they undertook to attract more families to the area in the face of the declining permanent local population.
The Late Catherine McMullin, founding member of the Kerry Way Walking Trail. Photo by Valerie O'Sullivan

Tributes have been paid to Dr Catherine McMullin who played a key environmentalist activist in Kerry and was the voice of An Taisce in the county.

Dr McMullin who was from Killorglin dedicated her life to environmental causes in Kerry particularly around planning.

In fact such was her dedication to An Taisce the organisation honoured her for her contribution down through the years to the environmental organisation and advocating in the preservation and conservation of Kerry's built and natural heritage.

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Her campaigns including strong criticism of rural planning and holiday home development in the county.

Aside from her role with the environmental organisation she was a dedicated volunteer with several other organisations in Kerry including the Killarney Soroptimists and Kerry Mountain Rescue to name but a few.

She was also a founding member of the Kerry Way walking trail  one of the county's key tourism products that traverses the county.

Dr Catherine McMullin passed away after a long illness last week.

She was the daughter of the late Michael and late Mena McMullin, Killarney and predeceased by her sister Susan, Dublin. Sadly missed by her brothers Bart (Dublin) and Frank (Ennis).

Norman Reidy, on behalf of The Kerry Way Management Committee, on learning of the sad passing paid tribute to Catherine.

"Our heartfelt sympathy to the Family of Dr Catherine McMullin. Catherine is fondly remembered by the Kerry Way Committee as one of its founding members and our environmental officer for many years. She was instrumental in developing its cultural and environmental integration. Her love for and great insight into local areas, her foresight and consideration for our environment in Kerry, and its unique landscape was unwavering, he said.

"She was also involved in the Laune Mountaineering Club and Mountain Rescue and Historical Society. Catherine committed so much of her great energy to our beloved environment and local community. May Catherines gentle soul rest in eternal peace. Ar dheis De go raibh a hanam".

Requiem mass for Catherine took place at St James's church, Killorglin on Monday morning, January 15 followed by private cremation.
In Kildare and across the country there will be strong demand for accounting, insurance, engineering, science, construction, cybersecurity and social care personnel

Co Kildare is expected to see a significant increase in employment opportunities in 2024.

Leading recruitment company, FRS Recruitment has predicted that job opportunities in the county will increase 8% during the course of 2024.

This means that if you are on the lookout for a new job this year and you are wondering which county might be the best to start searching in, Kildare will have more jobs on offer this year, compared to 2023.

2023 was a disappointing year for job hunters in Kildare, as the number of work opportunities declined by 6% in 2023.

The more positive outlook for the coming year is in line with FRS Recruitments national projections, with 8% growth also forecast for the country as a whole over the next 12 months.

If you are looking for a job in the fields of accounting, insurance, engineering, science, construction, cybersecurity and social care you are in for in for a positive job hunt, as predictions show a particularly strong demand for these types of skilled workers on a national basis for the coming year.

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In relation to salaries, it is also expected that upward pressure on salaries in Kildare and the rest of the country will continue over the next 12 months, with the economy at full employment and cost of living challenges still being felt by local employees.

Nationally, FRS Recruitments 2023 Review & 2024 Trend Forecast Report found that Kildare was not the only county across the country to experience a decline in job opportunities in 2023.

On a county by county basis, a staggering 20 of the 26 counties had a decrease in the number of employment opportunities last year. Urban areas also took a hit as Dublin and all the other main Urban areas including Limerick (down 20%), Cork (down 19%), and Galway (down 18%) experienced a significant decrease.

The largest decrease in 2023 was seen in Monaghan which was down by 51%.

The six counties that did buck the national trend in 2023 and reported a rise in the number of opportunities were counties Donegal, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Tipperary and Wicklow.

Lynne McCormack, General Manager with FRS Recruitment, explained 2024 will be a year of employment growth in Co Kildare.

If 2023 was a year of turbulence in the recruitment market locally and nationally, we are anticipating a steady rise in opportunities in Kildare for the year ahead. We are already seeing green shoots of recruitment appear across multiple sectors, several of which experienced a challenging 12 months.

It is fair to say that in 2023, the market in Kildare and the rest of the country got jittery, certainly in the first half of the year. The large job losses announced by the major tech companies seemed to resonate across the market and across most of the country. This had implications for opportunities coming on stream for multiple industries beyond the IT sector.

"Rising costs relating to energy, supply chain expenses and salaries also impacted on the recruitment outlook as many Kildare based employers opted to utilise their available workforce rather than going to the market with new openings.

Thankfully the market recovered in Q3 and was firing strongly again by the end of the year. The signs point to that approach continuing for into 2024.

Ms. McCormack added: The market is already showing significant need for skilled personnel in several sectors. Employers are actively seeking out individuals with qualifications and experience in accounting, insurance, science, engineering, cybersecurity, social care and construction. Such is the pent up demand for this talent we see no shortage of opportunities arising in the next 12 months in Kildare, especially for those sectors.

There are also a lot of temporary roles coming to the market, especially for those interested in manufacturing and production positions, customer service jobs as well as a wide range of opportunities for drivers.

As long as the economy maintains such high levels of employment, there will also be significant upward pressure on salaries, as talented Kildare based employees seek out the most favourable conditions. Leveraging offers of new employment to secure better terms from their existing employers became a regular part of the hiring dynamic nationally, and in Kildare, throughout 2023 and we expect that will continue in the next 12 months.

"Coupled with the significant expenses associated with accommodation and commuting, employers in most sectors can expect to see a push for better remuneration, especially from those employees located throughout Kildare who know there are plenty of other openings available on the market, Ms. McCormack concluded.
Una Bratten being helped down the steps of Longford Courthouse by her solicitor Tim Kennelly.

A Longford woman has appeared in court charged with allegedly stealing tens of thousands of euro from her former employer over the course of a 14-year period.

Sixty-eight-year-old Una Bratten, of Kiltyreher, Carriglass, Longford, was charged with 21 sample counts of theft from McCarricks Cash and Carry, Athlone Road, Longford at a sitting of Longford District Court today (Tuesday).

Detective Garda Clive Glancy gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution before Judge Patricia Cronin.

The court was told Ms Bratten gave no reply when each of the charges were put to her ahead of this mornings court sitting.

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The charges, which date from June 2004 to May 2018, amount to a total sum of over 50,000 and include various items of property the accused is alleged to have stolen from the firm.

Sgt Enda Daly said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had consented for Ms Bratten to be sent forward for trial to the Circuit Criminal Court.

Una Bratten outside Longford Courthouse

He said the State was willing to send Ms Bratten forward on a signed guilty plea provided it was done in accordance with the case being heard on a full facts basis.

He added if those terms werent agreed to by the defence, there was a possibility of further charges being exacted upon the accused.

Those conditions were, however, strongly challenged by Ms Brattens solicitor, Tim Kennelly who accused the DPP of an abuse of process in adopting such a course of action.

He said his client was effectively being told to plead or if you dont we (DPP) will come at you with our entire arsenal.

Mr Kennelly also took issue with the length of time the case had taken to get to this juncture, adding that Ms Bratten had been subject to a High Court injunction in 2018.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - January 17th

Judge Cronin asked Mr Kennelly if he wished to avail of a disclosure order in relation to garda interviews carried out in the course of the investigation, a request he agreed to.

It would be negligent of me not to, he replied.

I know my clients views in respect of this and I think in order for me to properly advise, I should seek disclosure.

Asked as to how long it would take to comply with any disclosure order made, Det Garda Glancy said a very substantial investigation file had been compiled on behalf of the State. Ms Bratten was remanded on bail to a sitting of Longford District Court on February 27 subject to a number of conditions.

Among them included directions for Ms Bratten to sign on once a week at Longford garda station, to surrender her passport and not apply for any duplicate travel documentation and to have no contact direct or indirect with any witnesses linked to the case.
Several community projects in Sligo to benefit from funding announced by Minister Heather Humphreys

The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, has announced funding of over 4.5 million to tackle dereliction and vacancy in Rural Ireland including a project in County Sligo to covert a Garda Station for use by the local community.

The investment, under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, will see 24 old and derelict buildings repurposed for 21st community use.

Among the projects that will be revamped under the initiative include Former Garda Stations, business premises, town centre vacant houses, public houses and vacant sites.

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Deputy Frank Feighan has welcomed the purchase of three buildings in Leitrim and one in Sligo.

In Manorhamilton, the purchase of an office building, a property that had been used as accountancy firm office for many years will be used as a multi-purpose youth hub space.

In Kinlough Leitrim County Council will purchase a two-storey terraced house for use as a social and recreational youth centre.

Also Leitrim Village will see the purchase of a two-storey semi-detached house to create a Blueway Hub.

Sligo County Council will purchase the former Garda Station at Cliffoney for a local Mens Shed Group facility.

I want to acknowledge the local authority staff and management of both Sligo and Leitrim for embracing this great initiative by Minister Humphreys and her team at the Department of Rural and Community Development.

I know that local development groups involved are really excited regarding the proposed plans to create much needed community facilities from these derelict or vacant buildings.

The really great thing is now that many of these groups will now seek further funding through the various schemes the government have to develop these community facilities for the benefit of residents living in rural Ireland, said Deputy Feighan.

The announcement represents the second year of investment under the Town and Village Renewal Schemes Building Acquisition Measure, which is designed to bring vacant and derelict properties back into use in our town and village centres.

Meanwhile, Deputy Feighan has welcomed the allocation of 341,625 in Clar funding for seven projects in County Sligo.

Projects funded under the scheme include, walks, playgrounds, car park improvements and school safety improvements.

This is another significant by government in conjunction with local communities, development companies and the local authority.

Many small rural communities have applied for small and medium projects with some innovative proposals, and I am delighted that this funding follows previous generous allocations for County Sligo, stated Deputy Feighan.

Among the successful projects are: 50,000 for Maugherow Ballinfull Community Partnership to upgrade car park; 44,808 for Moylough Heritage Centre for safety improvements at church, community centre, and primary School; 49,500 for Ballymote Citizen Council Co Ltd for Ballymote playground redevelopment; 47,817 for Community of Lough Arrow Social Project CLG for upgrade of car park; 49,500 for Coolaney Development Company to upgrade of car park at community centre; 50,000 for South Sligo Community Park to upgrade changing room facilities; 50,000 for Geevagh Community Resources to upgrade walkway at Resource Centre

Deputy Feighan added: In conclusion, I wish to congratulate the community groups for their excellent applications and indeed to Minister Humphreys for her and her departments continued generosity to County Sligo in terms of funding allocation.
Minister Stephen Donnelly with Smaran Pandey from Greystones Community College and Colin Dunlea at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition. Photo: Michael Kelly

Viola Formaro, Lily May O'Brien and Marcelina Kulanin from Woodbrook College, Bray at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition. Photo: Michael Kelly

Teacher Joanne English and Eva Duffy from St Mary's College, Arklow with Minister Stephen Donnelly and Colin Dunlea at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition. Photo: Michael Kelly

Wicklow students enjoyed another hugely successful outing at the BT Young Scientist Exhibition in the RDS this year, where inspired minds from four Garden County schools were honoured for their ingenious projects.

Among those in attendance at the annual science extravaganza were students from Woodbrook College and St Gerards in Bray, Greystones Community College, Colaiste Chraobh Abhann (Kilcoole), Avondale Community College (Rathdrum), and Gaelcholaiste na Mara and St Marys College in Arklow.

Projects submitted by students from St Marys College proved to be a resounding hit with judges, with Eva Duffy bringing home both the Housing Agency Award in the special awards category and 3rd Senior Individual in the category awards for her project, which asked: Housing Crisis - Could Retirement Be The Key?

Meanwhile, Im Too Texty for My Car by Ciara Hughes and Bronwyn Crummy received the Road Safety Authority Award in the special awards category and 3rd Intermediate Group in the category award.

Schoolmates Aimee Duggan and Eimear Lawlor also brought a Display Award back to Arklow for their Biological & Ecological project Deodorant 101- A Solution to Pollution.

Honoured in the highly-commended category were Combating Homelessness: How Can Water Help? by Alice Giles and Olivia Coey from St Marys College, Beet It: Anailis ar eifeachtai an su biatais ar bhainistiu siomptoim asma by Cillian O Sullivan and Donncha OReilly from Gaelcholaiste na Mara.

To what extent does post-exercise exhaustion impact memory retention? by Colaiste Chraobh Abhann students Kaya Munez, William Makarus, and Rhys Thompson also received high commendation, alongside Does our menstrual cycle affect our physiological traits? by Woodbrook College students Lily May OBrien, Viola Formaro and Marcelina Kulanin.

Reacting to their school's exemplary performances at this years competition, a spokesperson for St Marys College Arklow said: Once again, our young scientists have excelled at the BT Young Scientist Exhibition.

In the first instance, it was a huge achievement that 11 students exhibiting six projects were selected for the exhibition from a field of almost 2,500 applications. This represents one of the strongest returns from any school in Ireland.

All students performed exceptionally well as they were put through their paces by the judging panels over the last three days, and the quality of our projects is evident in the haul of six prizes at the awards ceremony last evening.

Congratulations girls on another wonderful achievement. We are immensely proud of you all and your teacher, Ms English, who continues to go above and beyond when preparing you for the exhibition.

Sean OSullivan (17), from Colaiste Chiarain, Limerick, was crowned the overall winner of the 60th BT Young Scientist Exhibition for his project focused on artificial intelligence (AI), more specifically ChatGPTs ability to mimic the writing style not of humans generally, but of a given specific author.
Residents look at a crater near their building damaged during a Russian missile strike in Ukraine. Photo: Oleh Tymoshenko

A disgraced former mayor in Russia has joined the militarys operation in Ukraine to shorten his prison sentence.

Oleg Gumenyuk was convicted last year of accepting bribes worth 38 million roubles (396,000) when he was mayor of the far eastern city and cultural hub of Vladivostok, between 2018 and 2021.
Ukraine shoots down 270m Russian surveillance plane

System dubbed flying radar used by Moscow to hunt down jets up to 640km away

A Ukrainian soldier with a 155-mm artillery shell at a position near a front line in Zaporizhzhia. Photo: Reuters

Joe Barnes  Telegraph.co.uk Tue 16 Jan 2024 at 03:30







Ukrainian forces have destroyed a 273m Russian spy plane and badly damaged a second in a significant blow to Moscows air power.
Joe Biden's campaign is searching for better ways to sell the president's economic accomplishments. Photo: Kevin Lamarque

President Joe Bidens 2024 re-election team and his Democratic party said yesterday they raised over $97m (88m) in the last three months of 2023, amid polls showing voter concerns over his age, high prices and handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
Denver Health  the citys hospital safety net  saw $10 million in additional "uncompensated care" in the last year, which the health system largely attributed to the tens of thousands of medical visits from immigrant patients from South and Central America.

The rise in costs coincides with  and health officials attribute to  the unprecedented number of immigrants, who have crossed America's border illegally and arrived in Denver.

Overall, these patients dont have medical insurance, said Dr. Taylor McCormick, associate director of Pediatrics Emergency Medicine at Denver Health. Denver Health is eating the cost for many of these visits.

Uncompensated care includes health services that are provided, but not reimbursed, often because patients lack medical insurance or the ability to afford the cost of care.

Denver Health does not track  nor does it ask  the immigration status of its patients.

This group of patients were identified as new to Denver Health, as those without medical insurance and from one of the following countries: Colombia, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Lion share are from Venezuela, a country in which more than 7 million people have fled the brutal regime.

Its not just adults.

Denver Health is also experiencing record patient volumes among those younger than 18, with a 10% to 15% increase demand in pediatric care.

While the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment performs the bulks of the citys health duties, Denver Health operates as the safety net hospital and consequently is partially funded by Denver taxpayers.

The estimated payment for clinician services to Denver Health this year is $73.1 million, which reflects a 6% increase, said Emily Williams, Denver Public Health and Environment spokesperson.

Work and access to basic needs

Many of these new patients have underlining medical conditions or have run out of or no longer have prescriptions, McCormick said. A large number also suffer from diarrhea, rashes and skin conditions, as well as injuries associated with the nearly 3,000-mile arduous journey from Venezuela to the United States.

Its not surprising when they get to Denver that theres severe and acute health care needs, said Dr. Steven Federico, chief government and community affairs officer for Denver Health.

Health care providers at Denver Health have also seen chickenpox cases among immigrants, many of whom have lived in congregate settings that can foster the spread of disease.

Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease that causes itchy, blister-like rashes and requires about 82% of the population to be inoculated.

Were certainly worried about seeing rises in vaccine preventable diseases, McCormick said.

As of noon Tuesday, Denver had welcomed 37,571 immigrants.

Early in the humanitarian crisis, city officials decided to take on the cost of temporarily providing food and shelter as well as transportation for those seeking to put down roots elsewhere.

Officials have estimated that 70% of these new arrivals do not intend to stay in The Mile High City. Denver has purchased bus, plane and train tickets for fewer than half, an indication that more than three in 10 of the city's newly arriving immigrants may be making Colorados most populous city home.

The city has been reimbursed roughly $14.1 million of the $38 million in associated expenses, meaning Denver taxpayers are picking up most of the tab.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has already asked department heads to find 10%-to-15% in savings to brace what is expected to be a $180 million cost this year, if the crush of new arrivals does not abate.

In the discussions about the need for work permits and additional funding to support these newly arriving immigrants, scant attention has been paid to their health care needs, some have said.

What were not doing on the government side of this is providing them an opportunity to work and access to basic needs such as health care, Federico said. Its put the health care system, like Denver Health, in a real bind. A moral and financial bind.

Difficult dilemma

In 2022, Denver Health saw $125 million in "uncompensated care." Last year, it ballooned to $135 million. In 2020, the price of uncompensated care stood at $60 million.

Featured Local Savings

Federal regulations require hospitals to provide emergency care.

Federico estimated that the bulk of the $10 million difference in uncompensated care between 2022 and 2023 was related to the influx of new immigrants using the health system.

After losing $30 million in 2022, the health system anticipates breaking even in 2023, Federico said.

Its a difficult dilemma of how we best meet their health care needs when health care has not been part of the equation, Federico said.

The surge in new immigrant patients from South and Central America equates to roughly 8,000 people and 20,000 visits, Federico said.

Numbers like that  for an already strained health system emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic  is not sustainable, he said.

Theres going to be a point where the numbers make this very, very hard, McCormick said. Were already past the breaking point, to a certain extent.

It is unclear how far the strain might be felt in Colorado.

While newly arriving immigrants appeared to favor Denver, pockets emerged elsewhere. The mountain town of Carbondale was recently overwhelmed when more than 150 mostly Venezuelan immigrants arrived in search of work.

Located roughly 170 miles west of Denver, the Aspen bedroom community has a population of about 6,400.

The issue does not yet appear to be on the radar of the Colorado Hospital Association.

I havent heard that directly from other systems, but I wouldnt be at all surprised if they are also seeing an increase in ER visits and other care related to the increase in migrants arriving in Denver, Cara Welch, an association spokesperson, said in an email to The Denver Gazette.

We are helping more people get health care

For decades, the United States has struggled to address what many  on both sides of the political aisle  describe as a broken immigration system.

Most, if not all, of Denvers newly arriving immigrants do not have authorization to work legally in the U.S.

That has huge implications for Denver, as it grapples with waves of immigrants who cannot legally work in a country where most people receive medical insurance through their employer.

The city is sheltering  at taxpayer expense  about 4,500 immigrants, who, without the ability to work, won't be able to sustain themselves, let alone pay for health care.

The more patients that we see, that threatens the idea that anybody can come and get excellent care here, McCormick said.

In 2021, Colorado had $78.8 million in emergency health care expenses for immigrants living in the U.S. without authorization, according to Health First Colorado, which administers the states Medicaid program.

An unknown portion of a hospitals uncompensated would be included in this figure.

Colorado also has a program  called OmniSalud begun in 2023  that aims to address, with state funds, the access to care issue that immigrants who are illegally staying in the country face.

In its second year, OmniSalud has accepted 11,000 enrollees at a cost of approximately $73 million, said Vincent Plymell, assistant commissioner for Communications and Outreach for the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies. That translates to roughly $6,600 per person.

It means that we are helping more people get health care for unexpected emergencies, helping more parents get their children regular check-ups and vaccinations, and letting more people access necessary preventive care, while managing chronic conditions, Colorado Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway said in a statement.

What makes this wave of immigration particularly challenging is the pace with which they are coming.

Whats difficult is the volume of people coming in rapid succession to a place where they dont have existing infrastructure, Federico said.
Message welcoming alien visitors beamed to planets 40 light years away

A welcome message has been beamed 39 light years away to aliens who might fancy a trip to the Bluegrass state.

A tourist board in Kentucky has decided to expand their reach and entice extremely far-away visitors  no, not distant countries, in fact, not even to anyone on Earth: their new advertising campaign is targeting something a bit more extra-terrestrial.
Photo courtesy: Facebook/Anantkumar Hegde

Bengaluru/IBNS: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Anantkumar Hegde has been booked after he gave a call for demolition of mosques built on temples, days ahead of the January 22 consecration of Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya, media reports said.

The Kumta Police in Uttara Kannada district has registered a case on its own against Hegde for his "provocative speech".

Also Read: Hands of those who touch Hindu women should be cut: Anantkumar Hegde

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy DK Shivakumar have slammed the MP for his remarks.

Hegde, who had made several controversial remarks in the past, also took a dig at Siddaramaiah over his decision to not attend the Ram Temple consecration.

Also Read: We will change the constitution : Union Minister Ananth Kumar Hegde

Hegde said as quoted by The Quint, "He (Siddaramaiah) first said he didn't receive an invitation to the inauguration of Ayodhya Ram's Mandir.

"Then he said he wouldn't attend it. I would like to say, whether he comes or not, the inauguration of Ram Mandir will happen."

The Congress, which is the principal opposition party in the country, will skip the January 22 consecration event citing religion as a "personal matter".
Photo courtesy: Facebook/Naveen Patnaik

Bhubaneswar/IBNS: The Odisha government will mobilise 10,000 people daily for a month in visits to Puri's Jagannath Temple as a part of a project, which will be inaugurated on Wednesday, media reports said.

As a part of the Jagannath Temple Parikrama project, the heritage corridor around the temple will be inaugurated on January 17.

The collectors have been asked to make sufficient arrangements of buses and plans have been made for the devotees to stay at the transit camps.

A senior government office told The Indian Express, "The Parikrama project is a massive infrastructure push around the Jagannath Temple. Completion of the project will be a historical day for Odisha.

"It will enhance the experience of lakhs of devotees visiting the temple every day. People of the state should see the project."

The project, which has been developed at an estimated cost of Rs. 800-crore, is a free passage of 75 metres around the walls of the shrine.

Photo courtesy: Facebook/Naveen Patnaik

The Opposition has slammed the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government's plan for sending the money from the state exchequer to garner the support of the ruling party, led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

The project will be inaugurated just days ahead of the January 22 Ram Temple consecration in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.

The Patnaik government's plan is widely viewed as a counter strategy to the Ram Temple consecration, which many political pundits believe will give Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) political dividends.

"The BJD has virtually snatched the possibility of playing the religious card from the BJP with a very strong political message in its projects for improvement of the Jagannath Temple besides many other small and big shrines in Odisha," Jayanth Mohapatra, a retired professor of political science in Berhampore University, told The Times of India.

Patnaik, who maintains equal distance from both BJP and Congress-led Opposition coalition, will seek re-election for the sixth term as Odisha heads to its assembly elections along with General Elections this year.
Photo courtesy: Facebook/YS Sharmila Reddy

Amaravati/IBNS: Andhra Pradesh Congress president G Rudra Raju has resigned, sparking speculation that new entrant YS Sharmila Reddy may assume the top post, media reports said.

As per reports, Sharmila may be appointed as the party's state chief to be pitted against her older brother and Chief Minister, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Sharmila, who has recently joined the Congress, has reportedly expressed her willingness to work at any position for the party.

She has recently merged her YSR Telangana Party with the Congress in presence of Rahul Gandhi in Delhi.

The new Congress state unit chief will be announced in a few days' time.

Andhra Pradesh will go to polls along with the Lok Sabha elections in summer this year.
Photo courtesy: Facebook/YS Sharmila Reddy

Vijayawada/IBNS: The Congress has appointed YS Sharmila Reddy as its new president in Andhra Pradesh, a day after G Rudra Raju stepped down from the post.

Sharmila shared the appointed letter on her X profile and thanked Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, top leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and general secretary KC Venugopal.

She wrote,"I promise to work faithfully towards rebuilding the party to its past glory in the State of Andhra Pradesh with total commitment and integrity.

"On this occasion I would also like to thank @manickamtagore ji , and am looking forward to working closely with each and every Congress foot soldier . I also seek the support of @RudrarajuGidugu garu and every other leader of the party in the State , on whose experience and expertise I would like to build on to reach our set goals."

I thank hon'ble @kharge ji , #SoniaGandhi ji , @RahulGandhi ji , and @kcvenugopalmp ji for trusting me with post of the president of @INC_Andhra Pradesh.

I promise to work faithfully towards rebuilding the party to its past glory in the State of Andhra Pradesh with total https://t.co/C6K8cQEz1F  YS Sharmila (@realyssharmila) January 16, 2024

With the appointment, Sharmila will now take on her older brother and Chief Minister, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who is the chief of her party YSRCP, politically.

Sharmila, who has recently joined the Congress, has reportedly expressed her willingness to work at any position for the party.

She has recently merged her YSR Telangana Party with the Congress in presence of Rahul Gandhi in Delhi.

Andhra Pradesh will go to polls along with the Lok Sabha elections in summer this year.
Photo Courtesy: ShareAlike 4.0 International/Wikimedia Commons

As a part of gifts being received in Ayodhya for Lord Ram, who is going to be seated in his grand temple on January 22, 560 kg petha (Indian sweet) of 56 varieties in different flavours has been delivered from Agra as an offering to Lord Ram.

On Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's appeal for public participation, every section of the society is contributing for the Ram temple inauguration, in an expression of their devotion and happiness.

In addition to petha, the temple trust has also received gem-studded dress silver plate, other puja material from various places.

The 56 varieties of petha sent by Panchi Petha were brought by Agra Trade Board and was accepted at Karsevak Puram in the presence of All India contact head of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Ramlal ji and Rajendra Singh Pankaj of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

(With UNI Inputs)
In image chaos at Delhi airport and in flight/ courtesy: videograbs

New Delhi/IBNS: After a harrowing experience with flight delays at Delhi airport, Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday announced a six-point action plan to combat fog-induced disruptions to domestic and international commercial flight operations, which have resulted in the delay or cancellation of hundreds of flights.

In a post on X, Scindia outlined new SOPs, or standard operating procedures, issued to airlines to "mitigate passenger inconvenience".

In addition to these, the Union Minister said the Centre had daily reports from all six metro airports, as well as reports on the implementation of Directorate General of Civil Aviation directives.

"'War rooms' will be set up by airports and airline operators at all six metros to address any issues with regard to passenger inconvenience with immediacy," he said, "Sufficient CISF (Central Industrial Security Force, which handles security at airports) manpower will be ensured round-the-clock."

In view of the fog-induced disruptions, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on mitigating passenger inconvenience were issued yesterday to all the airlines.



1. In addition to these SOPs, we have sought incidence reporting thrice daily for all the 6 metro airports.



2. https://t.co/346YXjxGdH  Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) January 16, 2024

Scindia said Runway 29L at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport had been made CAT III operational, allowing it to handle take-offs and departures even during dense fog scenarios.

He said Runway 10/28 - also with CAT III status - would be made operational soon; the runway, the airport's oldest runway was shut last year, after the G20 Summit was held in Delhi, for maintenance.

On Monday, Scindia issued a strong warning to unruly passengers after a passenger slapped the co-pilot of a Delhi-Goa IndiGo flight.

The incident occurred amid widespread flight delays and cancellations caused by fog.

"It is my earnest request to all travellers to bear with us during this difficult period. All stakeholders are trying their best to minimize passenger inconvenience. Incidences of unruly behaviour amidst this are unacceptable and will be dealt with strongly in line with the existing legal provisions," Scindia tweeted.

Yesterday, Delhi witnessed unprecedented fog wherein visibility fluctuated for several hours, and at times, dropped to zero between 5 AM to 9 AM.



The authorities, therefore, were compelled to enforce a shut-down of operations for some time even on CAT III runways (CAT III  Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) January 15, 2024

He had also assured passengers that all stakeholders were working "round the clock to minimise the fog-related impact".

A video of the incident, which has gone viral on social media, shows the accused clad in a yellow jacket rushing towards a co-pilot and slapping him in the face.

The airline, however, stated that the incident is being forwarded to the independent internal committee for suitable action, including the potential inclusion of the accused passenger on the 'no-fly list' by regulatory guidelines.

The incident happened as the IndiGo pilot was announcing a delay in takeoff at the Delhi airport amid dense fog and low visibility.

The accused Sahil Kataria attacked the pilot during an announcement inside the aircraft.

Following the scuffle, Kataria was immediately deboarded and turned over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

Co-pilot Anup Kumar complained to the Delhi Police about the incident, after which an FIR was registered in the case.

Subsequently, the passenger was sent to a police station and arrested.

He was later released on bail.

The incident took place amid substantial disruptions at the Delhi airport on Sunday, where as many as 110 flights encountered delays and 79 flights were cancelled on the day, as reported by the flight tracking website flightradar24.

The flights were delayed as much as 50 minutes, adding to the mounting frustration among passengers already dealing with extensive flight disturbances.
Photo Courtesy: Pixabay

Police in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region thwarted a late-night attack on the Pezu police station in Lakki Marwat district on Tuesday.

According to District Police Officer (DPO) Tariq Habib, policemen at the Gandi Chowk checkpost suspected the presence and movement of six terrorists around midnight and confronted them, reported Dawn News.

The DPO said the alert policemen forced the terrorists to flee.

A heavy police contingent and an armed personal carrier (APC) reached the site of the incident, the official told Dawn News.

Pakistan is witnessing a spike in terrorist attacks in recent months.

There is a rise in such incidents especially in KP and Balochistan provinces.

The uptick in similar incidents has been reported after the banned militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.
Phoo Courtesy: Unsplash

The US on Tuesday (January 16, 2024) said 'Iranian-backed' Houthi militants have fired a ballistic missile from Yemen which hit an American-owned Cargo ship, escalating the ongoing tension in the region.

The United States military command for the Middle East (Centcom) said the ship, Gibraltar Eagle, reported no 'injuries or significant damage '.

"On Jan. 15 at approximately 4 p.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and struck the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned and operated container ship. The ship has reported no injuries or significant damage and is continuing its journey," Centcom posted on X.

On Jan. 15 at approximately 4 p.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and struck the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned and operated container ship. The ship has pic.twitter.com/gixEMaUiVT  U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 15, 2024

"Earlier in the day, at approximately 2 p.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. Forces detected an anti-ship ballistic missile fired toward the Southern Red Sea commercial shipping lanes. The missile failed in flight and impacted on land in Yemen. There were no injuries or damage reported," the tweet further said.

According to reports, Houthis are attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea that the group says are linked to Israel.

The group claimed the attack was a show of solidarity for Palestinians and Hamas in Gaza.

Israel has continued its campaign on Palestine soil ever since the Hamas group attacked the nation.
Photo Courtesy: Unsplash

Irans Islamic Revolution Guards Corps on Tuesday confirmed it targeted an 'Israeli' espionage headquarters in Iraqs semi-autonomous Kurdistan region with ballistic missiles.

The guard said the attack was carried out as part of an operation against anti-Iran terror groups and networks in the region.

In response to the recent evil acts of the Zionist regime in martyring IRGC and resistance commanders, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, with its nobility and intelligence, targeted and destroyed one of the main headquarters of Israels spying agency Mossad in Iraqs Kurdistan region by firing ballistic missiles, the IRNA news agency reported quoting IRGC statement said.

This Mossad headquarters has been working for espionage operations and a center for terror attacks planning in the region, especially against our beloved country, the statement said.

At least four civilians were killed and six injured in the strikes on Erbil, the Kurdistan governments security council said in a statement as quoted by The Times of Israel, describing the attack as a crime.

The news portal quoting Iraqi security and medical sources said Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee and several members of his family were killed in the strike.

US condemns

The United States, meanwhile, condemned the attack and called the strikes 'reckless'.

"The United States strongly condemns Irans attacks in Erbil today and offers condolences to the families of those who were killed," US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.

" We oppose Irans reckless missile strikes, which undermine Iraqs stability. We support the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Governments efforts to meet the aspirations of the Iraqi people," the statement said.
Orange Group bolstered its position in Romania by signing a deal with the government to form a converged fixed-mobile operator.

In a statement, Orange said the agreement was reached with the Romanian Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalization to merge Orange Romania SA (ORO) and Orange Romania Communications SA (OROC), ORO will absorb ORO into its operations.

The deal follows Oranges acquisition of a 54% stake in OROC, which was formerly Telekom Romania Communications, in September 2021. The new agreement will see Orange hold an 80% stake in the new operator and the government will take 20%.

Orange claimed its Romanian unit is the leading operator in the country and has revenues of 1.2 billion in 2022. ORC was touted as one of the largest fixed players in Romania with reported revenues of 513 million in 2022.

Mari-Noelle Jego-Laveissiere, Executive Vice President, CEO of Orange in Europe, said: "Today is a very important day for Orange Romania and Orange Romania Communications, and the signing of this agreement will strengthen our position on the Romanian market and bring us closer to being a fully converged telecom operator for our residential and business customers.

Julien Ducarroz, CEO, Orange Romania , added:"We are really pleased to announce the conclusion of such a strategic agreement for Orange Romania, which marks a crucial moment in the company's history and confirms the confidence of the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalization in our strategic ambitions, in project and in the team. Now, with united forces, we accelerate towards the fulfilment of the common goal: to be the first option for fixed-mobile services in Romania".
Photo courtesy: Facebook/Donald Trump

Washington/IBNS/UNI: Former US President Donald Trump has convincingly won the Iowa caucuses in the first Republican contest of the US President elections which will be held in November this year, media reports said.

US major networks have reportedly taken only half-an-hour to project the winner.

Results from the Iowa Republican Party showed that Trump had received 51 percent of the votes, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis came in second with 21% of the vote, and former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley trailed in third with 19% of the vote.

Though Trump faces several multiple civil and criminal trials, the former US President has cemented his place as a Republican candidate to challenge incumbent Joe Biden with the win.

Iowa residents flocked to around 1,600 locations to cast their votes braving the winter storm and sub-zero temperature.

After clinching the win, Trump promised his supporters in Iowa that his administration will rebuild and make safe American cities, and for this purpose, police officers will receive immunity to be able to fight record crime.

"We are going to rebuild our cities, we are going to make them safe, and we are going to give our police officers immunity, so every time they do something, they don't get sued, and we can end crime in our cities," Trump said on Monday night after winning the Iowa caucus vote.

More specifically, Trump pledged to rebuild the US capital, Washington, including by introducing "unbelievably" harsh penalties for those who shoot people on the streets and engage in other crimes.

Iowa will send 40 delegates to the Republican National Convention, which is scheduled for July 1518 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

A total of 2,500 people will vote at the convention. To win the Republican Party presidential nomination, a candidate needs to secure the votes of 1,215 delegates.
Fans adored Maharani Seasons 1 and 2, and now Huma Qureshi is back with the third season! The highly anticipated show's teaser has finally been released. The character of Huma, who was criticized for not having an education, says in the teaser that she will shortly be graduating.

Maharani shoot/SonyLiv

She says in the clip shared by SonyLiv, Hum chauthi fail they to aap sab ki naak mein dum kar diye, graduate hojayenge to ka hoga aap sab ka.



The teasers description reads Pareeksha ki tayyari hai jaari. Phir aa rahi hai #Maharani (we are prepared to face the exams as Maharani is coming once again)!



Reacting to it, one wrote, One of the best web series. A second added, Most iconic web series. A third went on to add, Eagerly waiting for this season.

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Hansal Mehtas reaction to Omar Abdullah objecting to Maharani shoot at Jammu and Kashmir assembly

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta has defended those who were criticized for utilizing the state parliament as a set for the show Maharani by former minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah. It was a "shame," according to Omar Abdullah, who further charged that the administration had reduced "the symbol of democracy" to a set. He also voiced his disappointment at a portion in the show where an actor portraying the chief minister was shown.



Sharing pictures of Maharani shoot, Omar wrote on X, The true face of 'the mother of democracy', where once elected representatives of the people from all parties, religions, backgrounds & parts of J&K legislated on matters of great importance now actors & extras use it as a set for TV dramas. What a shame that the BJP driven government in J&K has reduced the symbol of democracy, where they once sat & governed, to this sorry state of affairs. They even have a fake CM coming out of an office I was privileged to occupy for 6 years. What an absolute shame!



Omar Abdullah on Maharani shoot/X

Reacting to this, Hansal wrote, Why is it a shame? How is filming of a drama demeaning democracy or the mother of democracy? Every body on a film set including actors, background actors (called extras by you) are all citizens of this country and have every right to work with dignity and deserve respect and understanding- at least from somebody as educated as yourself.



Hansal Mehta reacts to controversy/ X

He further added, In countries around the world, we are given use of public places, government buildings, council halls and the like for shooting. It is because of this unwelcoming attitude that India is considered an unfriendly shooting location and we often prefer shooting abroad. I have great respect for you but this feels very disrespectful, regressive and myopic."

(To read more such stories related to movies and shows released on OTTs, keep reading Indiatimes BINGE)


Over 7000 people will attend the inauguration of Ayodhya's Ram Mandir on January 22, 2024. Several Bollywood actors, politicians, industrialists, saints, and about 100 representatives from different countries have been invited. Where will they stay? A city of tents has been built for VVIP guests.

Where will Bollywood stars and other celebrities stay in Ayodhya?

tentcityayodhya.com

As the Pran Pratisthan ceremony of Ayodhya's Ram Temple is nearing, the luxury tent city, which is equipped with all kinds of amenities including high-speed internet, ACs and CCTV cameras among others, is almost ready to give the VVIPS a comfortable stay.



Also Read: 10 Indian Actors And Celebrities Who Contributed For The Construction Of Ayodhya's Ram Mandir

Inside Photos Of Ayodhya's Luxurious Tent Cities

#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: Tent cities erected in Ayodhya to accommodate artists & VIPS coming for the Ram Mandir 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony on January 22. pic.twitter.com/sW8ddWJ9Sp  ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) January 14, 2024

The tent city was built by Shri Ram Mandir Teerth Kshetra Trust and Ayodhya Development Authority an arrangement for thousands of devotees who can stay in the grand Ayodhya. The city is reportedly getting a Rs. 57,000-crore makeover and is set to become the new international destination for religious tourism. The luxury tent city has white cottage tents that are equipped with recliner chairs, sofas, LED TVs and more.

The Deluxe AC tents at Saryu, which is 3.5 kilometres away from Ram Mandir has 39 air-conditioned tents and suites.

Twitter

Here's how the Premium AC tents at Brahma Kund, which is zero kilometes away from the Ram Temple, will look like.

tentcityayodhya.com

On the other hand, Amitabh Bachchan has bought a 10,000 square feet plot for around Rs 14.5 crore in Ayodhya that is being developed by Mumbai-based realty firm House of Abhinandan Lodha. It is said that the plot measuring around 10,000 square feet, located in The Sarayu project, has been sold at Rs 14.5 crore. "I am looking forward to embark on this journey with The House of Abhinandan Lodha for The Sarayu in Ayodhya, a city that holds a special place in my heart I am looking forward to building my home in the global spiritual capital," Bachchan said.

Meanwhile, BJP MP Hema Malini will be presenting a dance drama based on the Hindu epic Ramayana in Ayodhya ahead of the grand ceremony. In a video message, the veteran Bollywood actress said, "I am coming to Ayodhya for the first time at the time of the pranpratishtha of Ram Temple for which people were waiting for yearsOn January 17, Ill be presenting a dance drama based on Ramayana in Ayodhya Dham"



Here's a list of actors and celebrities who have been invited to the grand inauguration of Ram Mandir.

For more news and updates from the world of OTT, celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment.


Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti is an annual celebration in India, especially for the Sikh community not just in Punjab but all across the nation. This festive occasion commemorates the birth of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth and last guru in Sikhism.

People joyfully observe this event with fervor and elaborate festivities. Guru Gobind Singh, known for his roles as a warrior, poet, and philosopher, holds a special place in the hearts of the Sikh community. His wisdom and teachings are highly revered.

On Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti, people share stories of his courage, delve into his teachings, and aspire to follow the path he illuminated. It's a day when the spirit of the Guru is celebrated, and his valuable lessons continue to inspire generations.



Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti serves as a moment for introspection, where individuals contemplate the remarkable life of the Guru. His steadfast dedication to the principles of justice and equality is remembered and celebrated during this auspicious time. The festival not only honors his legacy but also highlights his enduring influence on the Sikh faith.

It's a time of communal joy, unity, and reflection on the values that Guru Gobind Singh embodied. The celebration not only brings together the Sikh community but also promotes a deeper understanding of the Guru's teachings and their relevance in today's world.

When is Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti 2024?

In 2024, Sikhs worldwide will celebrate 357th birthday anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh ji on Wednesday, January 17th.



Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti's significance

Guru Gobind Singh was born in Patna, Bihar, on December 22, 1666, according to the Julian calendar, which is no longer in use. His father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, faced a tragic fate as Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb beheaded him for not embracing Islam. Mata Gujri, Guru Gobind Singh's mother, played a significant role in his upbringing.

The birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh is now known as Takhat Shri Harimander Ji Patna Sahib. Guru Gobind Singh Ji founded the Khalsa Panth.

At the tender age of nine, in 1676, Guru Gobind Singh was declared the tenth guru of Sikhs on the auspicious day of Baisakhi. This event marked a crucial moment in Sikh history, as Guru Gobind Singh went on to shape and guide the Sikh community with his teachings and leadership.

History

In 1670, his family moved back to Punjab. Two years later, in March 1672, they settled in Chak Nanaki, now known as Anandpur Sahib, situated in the Shivalik Hills of the Himalayas. It was in this serene place that Guru Gobind Singh received his education, learned military arts, Sanskrit, and Persian to prepare for his life of a warrior.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji, later on, founded the Khalsa Panth, a community that followed a strict spiritual path under his guidance. Members of the Khalsa courageously stood against the Mughal emperors. Besides his role as a leader, Guru Gobind Singh Ji showcased his talents as a poet and writer, leaving behind a rich literary legacy.

In a significant move before his passing in 1708, Guru Gobind Singh Ji declared the Guru Granth Sahib as the permanent Sikh Guru. This sacred text is highly revered by Sikhs and holds a central place in their religious practices.

About Guru Gobind Singh Ji

Guru Gobind Singh Ji was the tenth Sikh Guru and a remarkable leader born in 1666. He played a crucial role in shaping Sikhism and promoting justice, equality, and bravery.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji strengthened the Sikh community by establishing the Khalsa, a group of devoted followers committed to upholding righteousness and protecting the vulnerable. He emphasised the importance of living an honest and virtuous life while defending the oppressed.

Known for his valor and resilience, Guru Gobind Singh Ji stood against injustice and tyranny. He encouraged his followers to embrace a warrior spirit and defend the weak. His teachings centered around unity, compassion, and selfless service to humanity.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji also contributed to the Sikh scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, finalising it as the eternal Guru. He instilled the values of humility and devotion in his followers, promoting a harmonious way of life.

His legacy endures through the teachings and principles he imparted, continuing to inspire millions to lead a life of righteousness, courage, and compassion. Guru Gobind Singh Ji's impact on Sikhism and the broader Indian community is profound and enduring.

When Guru Gobind Singh Ji was just nine years old, the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb issued orders that compelled the Kashmiri Pandits to abandon their faith and embrace Islam. Young Guru Gobind Singh, at that very tender age, convinced his father to stand up for the rights of the Kashmiri Pandits and protect their freedom of religion. The esteemed leader, Guru Tegh Bahadur Singh, laid down his life in the struggle against forced conversion, safeguarding the Hindu religion from the influence of the Mughals.

Following the demise of his father, Guru Gobind Singh was declared the tenth Guru of the Sikhs on March 29, 1676. This marked an important moment in Sikh history, highlighting the commitment to religious freedom and resistance against oppression. The legacy of Guru Gobind Singh continues to inspire millions, emphasising the importance of standing up for one's beliefs and fighting for justice.

Celebration

Celebrating Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti is a special occasion for Sikhs and others who honor the teachings of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Here are some ways to celebrate this auspicious day:

Gurdwara Visit:

Start the day by visiting a Gurdwara, the Sikh place of worship. Attend special prayers and kirtan (devotional singing) sessions held in honor of Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

Nagar Kirtan Procession:

Participate in or organize a Nagar Kirtan, a colorful procession that moves through the streets, usually featuring hymn singing, martial arts displays, and the Guru Granth Sahib being carried in a procession.

Langar Seva:

Engage in selfless service by volunteering at the langar, the community kitchen in the Gurdwara. This embodies the Sikh principles of equality and sharing.

Kirtan and Katha Programs:

Attend or organize kirtan (spiritual music) and katha (discourse) programs that focus on the life and teachings of Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

Akhand Path:

Arrange for an Akhand Path, a continuous reading of the Guru Granth Sahib, which usually takes 48 hours to complete. This is a reverent way to pay homage to the Sikh scripture.

Educational Sessions:

Organize or participate in educational sessions that provide insights into Guru Gobind Singh Ji's life, teachings, and contributions to Sikhism.

Community Service:

Take part in community service activities such as blood donation drives, health camps, or distributing food to the needy, reflecting the values promoted by Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

Decorate Homes and Gurdwaras:

Decorate your home or local Gurdwara with lights and flowers to create a festive atmosphere.

Special Prayers at Home:

If unable to visit a Gurdwara, engage in personal prayers and reflection at home, focusing on Guru Gobind Singh Ji's teachings and their relevance in today's world.

Remember, Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti is a time for reflection, gratitude, and celebration of the values that Guru Gobind Singh Ji embodied. It's an opportunity to strengthen one's commitment to justice, equality, and selfless service.

Inspirational Quotes and Teaching of Guru Gobind Singh Dev Ji

"When all efforts fail, it is righteous to take up the sword."

He who trusts, however, in an oath on God, His Protection also in He; in need, He shows the Path. Guru Gobind Singh, Zafarnama

He alone is a man who keeps his word, Not that he has one thing in the heart, and another on the tongue. Guru Gobind Singh, Zafarnama

If you are strong, torture not the weak, and thus lay not the axe to thy empire. Guru Gobind Singh, Zafarnama

Shed not recklessly the blood of another with thy sword, Lest the Sword on High falls upon thy neck. Guru Gobind Singh, Zafarnama

Inspiring Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti Wishes, SMS, Greetings

On this Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti, I wish for you to find inspiration to lead a life characterized by courage and selfless service.

May Guru Govind Singh Ji grant you the strength and courage to combat evil and stand unwaveringly by the side of truth. Warm wishes for a joyful Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti!

As we mark Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti, may the divine light of his teachings illuminate your path towards truth and righteousness.

Have a happy Gurpurab! May Wahe Guru shower blessings upon you on this Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti. Wishing you and your family a joyous celebration filled with happiness.

Happy Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti! Let this day serve as a reminder to always stand up for justice.

May the name of Waheguru be deeply engraved in your heart, and may the divine love and blessings of Guru Ji accompany you always. Have a blissful Gurpurab in 2024!

May the teachings of Guru Gobind Singh Ji inspire you to lead a life marked by courage, compassion, and righteousness.

Happy Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti! May the joyous celebration of this day fill your heart with love, peace, and gratitude, paving the way for a blessed and prosperous life.

On this auspicious occasion, I extend my wishes for all the principles of Khalsa introduced by Guru Gobind Singh Jifearlessness, compassion, and honestyto become your guiding force in life.

May your celebrations of Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti bring immense happiness and devotion to your heart.

Guru Gobind Singh FAQs

Who was Guru Gobind Singh?

Guru Gobind Singh was the tenth and final human Sikh Guru. He was born Gobind Rai on December 22, 1666, in Patna, Bihar, India. He became Guru at the young age of nine after his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was martyred by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Guru Gobind Singh lived a remarkable life, leading the Sikhs through a period of great turmoil and transforming the community into a vibrant and martial order.

What are some of Guru Gobind Singh's most important contributions?

The creation of the Khalsa : In 1699, Guru Gobind Singh established the Khalsa, a brotherhood of baptized Sikhs who pledged to uphold the principles of equality, service, and sacrifice. The Khalsa is a central pillar of Sikhism and continues to play a vital role in the community today.

: In 1699, Guru Gobind Singh established the Khalsa, a brotherhood of baptized Sikhs who pledged to uphold the principles of equality, service, and sacrifice. The Khalsa is a central pillar of Sikhism and continues to play a vital role in the community today. The compilation of the Dasam Granth: Guru Gobind Singh is also credited with compiling the Dasam Granth, a sacred Sikh scripture that contains hymns, poems, and philosophical writings.

Guru Gobind Singh is also credited with compiling the Dasam Granth, a sacred Sikh scripture that contains hymns, poems, and philosophical writings. The development of Sikh martial arts: Guru Gobind Singh trained and encouraged his followers in martial arts, which helped them defend themselves against persecution and oppression.

For more informative articles on historical and upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events
International Hot and Spicy Food Day is a special day celebrated around the world to appreciate and enjoy spicy dishes. It's a day when people embrace the heat and flavors of spicy food. Whether it's the fiery kick of chili peppers or the zesty blend of spices, this day is all about adding some excitement to your taste buds.



On this day, people gather to savor their favorite spicy treats. From hot curries to spicy snacks, there's a wide variety of dishes to choose from. It's a time to experiment with different spice levels and discover new flavors that make your mouth tingle with delight.

Spicy food isn't just about the heat; it also brings people together. Families and friends often come together to share meals that pack a punch. It's a celebration of bold flavors and the joy that comes with a bit of spiciness in your life.

So, on this spicy day, don't shy away from the heat. Instead, dive into the world of spicy delights and relish the fiery goodness that makes every bite an adventure for your taste buds. Whether you're a spice enthusiast or just curious to try something new, this day is the perfect excuse to spice up your meals and enjoy the bold flavors that hot and spicy food has to offer.

International Hot and Spicy Food Day History

Spicies | Photo: Unsplash

International Hot and Spicy Food Day, is celebrated annually on January 16th. The Spicy Day has a history that dates back more than 6,000 years. This special day celebrates the love for spicy cuisine around the world. This day brings together food enthusiasts who savor the thrill of bold flavors and the warmth that spicy dishes bring.



Spices have played a significant role in various cultures, not only for adding taste but also for their medicinal properties. Over the centuries, people have discovered and shared different spicy recipes, creating a rich tapestry of flavors across the globe.

On this day, food lovers can explore and indulge in a variety of spicy dishes from different cuisines. Whether it's the fiery Indian curries, zesty Mexican salsas, or peppery Thai delights, the celebration embraces the diverse and vibrant world of spicy foods.

Significance of Hot and Spicy foods in India

Hot and spicy foods hold immense significance in Indian cuisine, reflecting both cultural and historical influences. Here are some key aspects that highlight the importance of hot and spicy foods in India:

Cultural Tradition:

Spices have been an integral part of Indian cooking for centuries, contributing to the distinctive flavors that define the diverse regional cuisines. The use of hot spices like red and green chilies is deeply rooted in Indian culinary traditions, with each region boasting its unique spice blends.

Ayurvedic Influence:

In Ayurveda, the traditional Indian system of medicine, spices are believed to have various health benefits. Many spices used in spicy foods are considered to aid digestion, boost metabolism, and have medicinal properties.

Climate Adaptation:

India's hot and humid climate has influenced its cuisine, with spicy foods serving as natural stimulants. Spices are thought to help cool the body by inducing perspiration, making them suitable for the Indian climate.

Preservation Technique:

Historically, spices were used not only for flavor but also for their preservative properties. In a tropical climate like India's, where food spoilage is a concern, the antimicrobial properties of spices play a crucial role in food preservation.

Celebration of Diversity:

India's culinary landscape is incredibly diverse, with each state having its own unique spice combinations and methods of preparation. Spicy foods become a way to celebrate and showcase this rich culinary diversity.

Social and Festive Connections:

Spicy foods are often associated with celebrations and festivals in India. Special dishes are prepared during festivals, and the use of spices adds a festive and aromatic touch to these culinary creations.

Taste and Aroma:

Spices contribute not only heat but also a depth of flavor and aroma to Indian dishes. The combination of various spices creates a sensory experience that is cherished by food enthusiasts.

Popular hot and spicy food in India you must try once in a life

Madras Curry

Madras Curry is a South Indian-inspired dish known for its rich, spicy flavor. Combining aromatic spices like cumin, coriander, and turmeric, it delivers a bold taste. Typically made with chicken or vegetables, this curry offers a delightful balance of heat and depth, making it a beloved choice for curry enthusiasts worldwide.

Chilli Paneer

Chilli Paneer is a popular Indo-Chinese dish, featuring cubes of paneer (Indian cottage cheese) stir-fried with colorful bell peppers, onions, and a flavorful blend of soy sauce and spices. The dish delivers a perfect balance of heat and sweetness, making it a delicious and spicy addition to any meal.

Kolhapuri Chicken

Kolhapuri Chicken is a spicy and flavorful Indian dish hailing from the city of Kolhapur. Cooked with a rich blend of aromatic spices, fiery red chilies, and tender chicken, it delivers a bold taste that tingles the taste buds. This iconic dish is a true delight for those who crave intense and spicy flavors.

Andhra Chilli Chicken

For those who enjoy a bold and spicy culinary experience, Andhra Chilli Chicken is a must-try dish that adds an extra kick to your mealtime. The combination of the marinated chicken and the heat from the green chillies creates a tantalizing flavor that is sure to appeal to spice lovers. Additionally, this dish complements the rich and aromatic flavors of biryani, making it a popular choice among food enthusiasts. So, if you're up for a flavorful adventure, indulge in the zingy delight of Andhra Chilli Chicken for a memorable dining experience.

Laal Maas

Laal Maas is a traditional Rajasthani dish celebrated for its bold flavors and cultural significance. Mathania chillies, known for their intense heat and deep red color, play a crucial role in giving this dish its characteristic taste. The slow-cooking process allows the mutton to absorb the flavors, resulting in a mouthwatering culinary experience. Enjoyed by locals and tourists alike, Laal Maas is a true reflection of Rajasthan's culinary heritage.

Kozhi Curry

South Indian food is rich in flavorful and spicy spices. The folks in the southern part of India have a knack for using these spices well, and one tasty example is Kozhi Curry. This curry, crafted with a mix of spices, holds a special place in the cooking heritage of Kerala's Syrian Catholic community. This dish is not just a meal; it's a celebration of tradition and taste that adds a spicy kick to South Indian gastronomy.

Mirchi Ka Kutta

This classic Rajasthani dish brings together green chillies, turmeric, and amchur powder, simmered in milk and a touch of sugar. But fear not, the milk isn't here to cool things down too much. This fiery Indian delight packs a punch of heat and, undoubtedly, delightful flavors. Mirchi Ka Kutta pairs wonderfully with puris and chapatis. Feel free to relish the spicy goodness without the worry of milk toning down the heat.

For more informative articles on historical and upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Thats the principle of the jet engines that power the planes of your favourite airline.



But displaying a reaction, especially a violent reaction, that too on board your not-so-favourite-anymore-airline, is counter-productive.

In the latest incident, a passenger assaulted a pilot for the delayed flight.

This is akin to throwing your glass at the TV screen when you hear some news you dont like. Useful to vent your anger, but ultimately useless.

I can understand that after a thirteen-hour delay, being cooped up in a cramped cabin with no information and no choice, is very frustrating. But hitting the pilot is certainly not going to speed up the departure.

Passenger attack pilot: Photo: Screengrab

And, as it happened in this case, when the flight eventually did leave, it went without the angry passenger.



In my two decades in civil aviation, I have seen many reasons why flights get delayed. Some are within the control of the airline, and some are not.

And they sure wont tell you about the former. They wont reveal their internal issues like the folks in the Saas Bahu serials washing their dirty designer laundry in public!

Airlines usually try to obfuscate the reasons.

Didnt understand that word? Thats what it is meant to do!

Dictionary defines obfuscate as: to make something unclear or hard to understand.

Sample this tweet.

Photo: X

They have been saying this for many months, when everyone knows the real reason.



So, due to operational reasons is an all-encompassing term that covers everything, from fog to finance!

And fog can delay flights not only before take-off but also after landing.

Here is a tweet from a pilot.

X

If you were waiting for the next flight in this airplane, youd keep waiting...



Choose whoever you decide to blame for this, but can you blame the pilot or the cabin crew?

If you think the airline is at fault, what can you do?

You could decide to avoid flying that airline in the future.

But do we have that choice in India? Im afraid not, because one, we have very few airlines, and two, most of them, especially the smaller ones, do not fly to most domestic destinations.

What, then, is the solution?

The Ministry must ensure that the airlines pass correct and timely information to the passengers, so that they can take informed decisions.

Towards that, the regulator, DGCA, has just issued this directive.

Photo: X

Lets see what effect it has.



But will cancellations help mitigate passenger inconvenience?

Let me narrate a recent incident that tells the true story of Indian aviation.

A flight was to leave from Delhi for Pune at 9:45 PM.

The flight was obviously delayed, but there were no announcements or clear text messages.

Suddenly, with no warning, they cancelled the flight at 11:45 PM.

And fog was not even the reason, as a subsequent headline confirmed.

Photo: TOI

There was no information from the airline staff, no offer of help, no alternative arrangements, and nowhere to go for the passengers at midnight.



Obviously, there was mayhem at the boarding gate. So much, that CISF cops gathered there in strength.

An old man shed silent tears at the counter. He didnt even raise his voice, let alone his hand in violence. He only said he had to go for his brothers funeral, and asked if they could quickly get his checked-in bag.

The airline took two hours to get his bag.

He quietly paid five times the usual fare and flew in the first available flight for the funeral.

He knew that the airline wouldnt help, and any outburst would only worsen the situation, so he had to help himself, wordlessly.

The airline was Air India, and that old man was me.


A woman from Tamil Nadu, who donated her 7 crore land for better development of a school, is all set to be honoured this Republic Day 2024.

And all she asks is - for the new building to be named after her late daughter, Janani.

On what will be India's 75th Republic Day on 26 January 2024, the 52-year-old woman will honoured by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin during the Republic Day celebrations.

dtnext.in

"I believe that education is the only tool to change the lives of people and transform society. A high school here will uplift the lives of rural people here as their children will get better education," Aayi Ammal, also known as Pooranam, told IANS.



Who is Aayi Ammal, who donated her 7 crore land to build a school?

Aayi Ammal alias Pooranam works as a Canara Bank banker and is a Madurai district resident.

Pooranam donated over one acre of land to the Panchayat Union Middle School, Kodikkulam, in Madurai.

Her donation aims to upgrade the school to a high school. She chose the same school she had studied in for the donation.

The land is estimated to be worth around Rs 7 crore and is adjacent to the current school building.

Aayi Ammal has made this donation in memory of her late daughter, U. Janani, who passed away a couple of years ago.

insydfeed

She has already registered the land in the school's name and handed over the documents to the Education Department authorities.



Education - the real, imperishable wealth

Chief Minister Stalin posted on X, "Education is the real, imperishable wealth. Aayi Ammal alias Pooranam, from Kodikkulam, Madurai has donated an acre and 52 cents of her land to build an additional building for the government school... Aayi Ammal shows how the Tamils value education and teaching and will be honoured with a special award from the CM on behalf of the government on the upcoming Republic Day."

Unsplash/Representational image

Pooranam's daughter Janani, who passed away two years ago, was a social worker who was working for the educational upliftment of underprivileged children.



Pooranam will be honoured with a medal on Republic Day.

For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.


Microsoft has announced that Copilot Pro, which GPT-4 Turbo powers, is available to all customers at a subscription fee.

The subscription will add a text-drafting, number-crunching AI assistant to Microsoft's widely used applications, including Word and Excel, and it will give purchasers access to new tools and AI models such as GPT-4 Turbo.

MICROSOFT

What is Copilot Pro?

Previously, the Copilot Pro was only offered to enterprise customers and had a 300-person minimum requirement to buy the software.

The enterprise version of Microsoft 365 Copilot Pro was offered for $30 per month (Rs 2,500 approx) on top of what you're already paying for your 365 subscription.

Features of Copilot Pro

With the Copilot Pro subscription, Microsoft 365 Personal and Family users will be able to make good use of AI in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote across all devices, including Windows, Apple and Android.

MICROSOFT

Copilot Pro subscription

On Monday, Microsoft made Copilot Pro available for $20 (Rs 1,660) monthly in addition to the Microsoft 365 subscription.

Along with the new Copilot Pro, Microsoft has announced more functionality to Copilot for Microsoft 365 and new features to its Copilot chatbot.

Microsoft now expects virtually all of its business customers to sign up, Corporate Vice President Jared Spataro said in an interview.

"I can't imagine a commercial organisation out there that will not buy at least a seat of Copilot to see what it's all about," he said.

Spataro said Copilot Pro would stand apart because it is integrated into applications that "people use every day".

AP

Microsoft had also made a free AI Copilot for its Bing search engine last year.

Why Microsoft made Copilot Pro available to all

The announcement to make Copilot Pro available to all comes at a time when the AI race is heating up.

Microsoft's Copilot Pro is also entering an increasingly competitive consumer market.

ChatGPT's creator, OpenAI, which Microsoft has funded, announced a $20-per-month subscription nearly a year ago called ChatGPT Plus that gives early access to new features and AI models.

Alphabet's Google is also competing with Microsoft in marketing AI for productivity and cloud software to business customers.

For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.
A special 'Tesla light show' honouring the inauguration of Ayodhya's Ram Mandir was seen in Maryland, U.S. recently. With the use of Tesla's cutting-edge technology, the event symbolised the peaceful fusion of modernity and tradition while transforming Maryland's skyline into an amazing sight. In the context of the much-awaited Ram Mandir consecration event in Ayodhya, it was a brilliant spectacle even if miles away.

Who Organised The Tesla Light Show In Maryland For Ayodhya's Ram Mandir Inauguration?

Inauguration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya celebrated with a special Tesla light show in Maryland | Image: X

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) of America staged a stunning Tesla light show in Maryland ahead of the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22.



What Happened At The Tesla Light Show In Maryland?

Over 150 cars were lined up to form the word "Ram," while their headlights went on and off in time to the catchy strains of "Jai Shri Ram."

The Hindu attendees loudly chanted "Jai Shree Ram" and "Ram Lakshman Janki, Jai Shri Hanuman Ki" as they proudly hoisted flags bearing pictures of Lord Ram. The moment, which was captured on camera by news agency ANI, demonstrated the community's passionate involvement in the celebrations.

Software installed from a USB flash drive was used to create the amazing presentation that included the 150 Tesla cars | Image: X

ANI posted amazing pictures of the unique light display from Maryland, where a large number of cars changed from being completely dark to emitting lights in time with the music.



A teenage programmer from Maryland named Satvik Gudipati told ANI that software installed from a USB flash drive was used to create the amazing presentation that included the 150 Tesla cars.

Mahendra Sapa, president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) of America DC chapter speaks to a reporter | Image: X

"The opening of the Lord Ram temple is a source of pride for the Hindu identity," Mahendra Sapa, president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) of America DC chapter told ANI.



"Hindu Americans are increasingly proud of their cultural history and embrace it with confidence. We give thanks to those who made sacrifices, such as the Kothari brothers and thousands of others, whose efforts have now paid off."

The Ayodhya Mandir inauguration is fast approaching, and the Tesla music show in Maryland is a colourful way for the community to demonstrate their dedication and joy.

Watch the video below:

#WATCH | Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) of America organised an Epic Tesla Musical Light show in Maryland ahead of the Ram Mandir 'Pran Pratishtha' in Ayodhya on January 22. pic.twitter.com/8vG8WhHMIO  ANI (@ANI) January 14, 2024

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The Namibian telecoms watchdog has revoked UCOM Mobiles telecoms licence due to unpaid licence fees totalling NAD19.3 million (US$1 million).

The Namibian reported there had been multiple attempts to reach a payment agreement which did not materialise. CRAN chief executive Emilia Nghikembua said the move was to ultimately protect consumers and maintain competition in the Namibian market.

The non-payment of spectrum fees and hoarding are serious violations of licence conditions and grounds for cancellation, said Nghikembua.

UCOM Mobile was also found guilty of spectrum hoarding according to the regulator, by not effectively using its assigned frequencies for mobile services.
A stunning portrait of Lord Ram in his 'parakrami roop' was painstakingly created using 14 lakh colourful diyas (oil lamps) by a group of brilliant artists from Bihar. The masterwork, a brilliant fusion of light and tradition, celebrates Lord Ram's bravery and showcases the artists' talent.

Who Created The Portrait Of Lord Ram In His 'Parakrami Roop?'

Screengrab of drone footage showing the image of Lord Ram And Ayodhya temple | Image: X





What Did The Artists Create?

A group of mosaic artists used a staggering 14 lakh colourful diyas (earthen lamps) to construct a magnificent depiction of Lord Ram in his 'parakrami roop' (valorous form) and the Ayodhya Ram Mandir in Uttar Pradesh, ahead of the long-awaited consecration event on January 22.

The artwork also depicted portraits of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi next to the words "Jai Shri Ram."

Portrait of Lord Ram made using 14 lakh diyas | Image: X

Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey informed a reporter that a group of Bihar-based artists created the artwork over the previous week. He participated in the "Shri Ram Lalla Avirbhav Rath Yatra," which began in Bihar.



Devotees flocked to Ayodhya to view the magnificent work of art made out of diyas.

Where Can You See The Portrait Of Lord Ram?

The portrait depicts Lord Ram in his 'parakrami roop' | Image: X

The brilliant artwork, on show at Ayodhya's Saket College Ground, was created by artists affiliated with the Shri Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas. Choubey founded the trust.



"After being exiled for fourteen years, Shri Ram returned, and in Ayodhya, an image of Lord Ram in his 'parakrami roop' (state of valour) was created."

The minister stated, "This is to send a message to the youth of the new India that they should be 'parakrami' (valourous). Lord Ram appears in the shape he was in before defeating the demon Tadka. It demonstrates him magnificently."

Watch the video below:





#WATCH | Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh: Drone visuals of Lord Ram portrait prepared by Mosaic artist Anil Kumar using 14 lakh diyas at Saket Mahavidyalaya



(Courtesy: Office of Ashwini Chaubey) pic.twitter.com/62XnuHHMbS  ANI (@ANI) January 13, 2024

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The eyewitness who captured the viral footage of an IndiGo pilot being physically assaulted by a passenger on board the plane has detailed the circumstances surrounding the event.

Who spilled the beans?

Russian actress Evgenia Belskaia took to her Instagram stories to share behind the scenes story | Image: Instagram

Evgenia Belskaia, a Russian actress based in India, was on board the IndiGo flight (6E-2175) from Delhi to Goa. The flight was delayed for 13 hours at Delhi International Airport yesterday, causing passengers to lash out at the crew and pilots.



Belsakaia explained, "I was flying her team to Goa from Delhi and arrived early to board the trip, which was due to take off at 7:40 a.m. The IndiGo team said that the flight had been delayed by one hour. It took at least ten hours before we were allowed to board the plane."

When did the passengers become furious?

Screengrab from the video where IndiGo pilot was assaulted | Image: X

"After boarding the airplane, we were informed that the trip had been delayed by two hours. The passengers were furious and began questioning the crew and the pilot," she claimed.

The Russian actress decried the horrible act of physical assault but also criticised the pilot for exacerbating the situation.

What did the pilot tell the passengers?

"The pilot came and said you are asking too many questions and we missed our turn because of this." According to an eyewitness, the "Pilot blamed the passengers for the delay."

Belsakaia's popular video shows a man in a yellow hoodie running up from the last row and hitting Anup Kumar, the flight's co-pilot, who was announcing a further delay.

The accused has been named Sahil Kataria. "It is terrible to attack the pilot; nonetheless, why is he blaming the passengers? Everyone was nervous, and instead of helping them, you made matters worse," Evgenia stated in her video message.

The accused, Sahil Kataria, attempted to hit the co-pilot, Anup Kumar, and the cabin crew rushed to assist the pilot, telling the accused, "You can't do this...you can't do this!"

Kataria responded, "Why can't I do this?" Why can't I? The accused said, "Chalana hai to chala, warna gate khol" (fly if you wish, otherwise open the gate), after assaulting Kumar.

How is the situation now?

The pilot has filed a complaint against him, and the airline is in the midst of opening a formal case. The flier later apologised to the pilot on the tarmac after deboarding the plane, saying, "Sir, I am sorry," to which the captain responded, "No sorry, you raised your hands on me."



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NITI Aayog, which is the policy think tank for the government of India, recently came out with its report on the country's multi-dimensional poverty. The research shows that nearly 25 crore people in our country have managed to escape poverty in the last nine years.



24.82 Crore People Escaped Poverty In Last Nine Years

As a result of Government focused pro-poor initiatives and programmes in the past 9 years:



24.82 crore Indians escape Multidimensional Poverty.



Steep decline in Poverty Headcount Ratio from 29.17% in 2013-14 to 11.28% in 2022-23.



All 12 MPI indicators show significant pic.twitter.com/nju32z7hYz  NITI Aayog (@NITIAayog) January 15, 2024

As per its discussion paper, as many as 24.82 crore people in India have moved out of multidimensional poverty in the last nine financial years, i.e., from 201314 to 202223. This is according to NITI Aayogs report shared on the evening of January 15.



Multidimensional poverty in India declined from 29.17% in 201314 to 11.28% in 202223, the think tanks report mentioned.

Nearly 25 crore people in our country have managed to escape poverty in the last nine years/Deccan Herald

Also Read: India's Richest 21 Billionaires Have More Wealth Than 700 Million Indians, Says Oxfam Indias Report

Parameters To Determine Multi-Dimensional Poverty

Multi-dimensional poverty rate in India/niti aayog

According to NITI Aayog, national multidimensional poverty measures simultaneous deprivations across three equally weighted dimensions of health, education, and standard of living that are represented by 12 sustainable development goals-aligned indicators.



These 12 parameters include:

Nutrition

Child and adolescent mortality

Maternal health

Years of schooling

School attendance

Cooking fuel

Sanitation

Drinking water

Electricity

Housing

Assets

Bank accounts

multi dimensional poverty paramters/niti aayog

Also Read: Indian Startup Karya Is Using Artificial Intelligence To Help The Poor

UP, Bihar & MP Saw Most People Moving Out Of Poverty

Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh topped the list of states that registered the largest decline in poverty. At the state level, UP saw the most number of people escaping poverty, at 5.94 crore, followed by Bihar at 3.77 crore and MP at 2.30 crore.

Here's the complete poverty rate state-wise all across India, as per the NITI Aayog report.

statewise poverty rate india/niti aayog

statewise poverty rates/niti aayog

Govt Aims To Bring Down Poverty From 11% To 1%

Speaking about the governments future vision, NITI Aayogs CEO, BVR Subrahmanyam, said, "The government has a goal to bring down multidimensional poverty to below 1%, and all efforts are being made in that direction. The report by the think tank also mentioned that India is all set to reach single-digit poverty levels during this year itself, i.e., 2024.



india poverty rate nine years/afp

Click here to read the detailed NITI Aayog report.



For the latest and more interesting financial news, keep reading Indiatimes Worth. Click here.
Imagine rejecting a job to someone who goes on to build a bigger rival company. Seems like a decision you would regret, right? This is exactly what happened with Wipros former chairman Azim Premji, who once rejected Narayana Murthy.



When Azim Premji Rejected Narayana Murthy

Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy recently recalled the moment Wipro's former chairman Azim Premji turned down his job application/ET

Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy recently recalled the moment Wipro's former chairman and owner Azim Premji turned down his job application. Azim Premji had later admitted to Murthy that neglecting to hire him was a major mistake. "Azim once told me that one of the biggest mistakes he committed was not to hire me," Murthy revealed in a recent interview with CNBCTV18.



This rejection, as per Murthy, set the stage for the birth of Infosys, which went on to become Wipros rival.

Also Read: Co-Founder Narayana Murthy On Why He Started Infosys

Where Did Murthy Work Before Infosys?

Murthy was forced to close his first venture after it gained very little traction/Forbes

Infosys wasnt Narayana Murthys first venture or job. Murthy began his career at IIM Ahmedabad as a research associate. Later, where he worked on Indias first time-sharing computer system as the chief systems programmer. He created a BASIC interpreter for Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. and put it into operation.



Then Murthy began Softronics, which failed in the mid-1970s. Softronics was a consulting firm offering computer algorithms to Indian companies. At that time, the Indian market was not prepared for something like that, which is why Murthy was forced to close his first venture after it gained very little traction. Subsequently, Murty joined Patni Computer Systems in Pune. After working there for around five years, Narayana Murthy founded Infosys in 1981.

Where They Stand Today: Infosys Vs Wipro

As of January 16, 2024, Infosys has a market cap of 6.77 lakh crore, while Wipros market cap stands at 2.53 lakh crore/Indiatimes

Infosys was started by Narayana Murthy, along with six other co-founders, in the year 1981. Wipro, on the other hand, was started by Azim Premjis father Mohamed Husein Hasham Premji in the year 1945.



As of January 16, 2024, Infosys has a market cap of 6.77 lakh crore, while Wipros market cap stands at 2.53 lakh crore.

Also Read: From Wipro To Infosys-List Of India's Highest Paid CEOs Of 2023

For the latest and more interesting financial news, keep reading Indiatimes Worth. Click here.
A retired school principal, who is yet to be identified has been kidnapped by suspected bandits after he volunteered to deliver the ransom demanded for the release of some abducted individuals in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

According to a former federal lawmaker from the state, Shehu Sani, disclosed this on Tuesday via his X handle, adding that the former principal had endured three days in the terrorists captivity.

He wrote: A retired School principal who volunteered to deliver ransom to kidnappers in order to secure the release of a victim has also been held by the kidnappers in Birnin Gwari LGA, Kaduna State.

READ MORE: Gunmen Kidnap Nasarawa LG Chairman Andaha

Hes been in captivity for 3 days now; the abductors made calls to his family for his ransom.

INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that the case of kidnapping has turned to a lucrative business, especially from the norther part of the country.

In September 2023, residents of Birnin-Gwari raised concerns about a continuous nine-day spate of bandits and criminal activities along the Kaduna-Birnin-Gwari highway.

During this period, over 44 individuals were reported to have been kidnapped by these elements.
An explosion on Tuesday evening, has rocked Bodija, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, throwing residents into panic.

It was gathered that the cause of the explosion has not yet been ascertained by many buildings and properties were reportedly affected by the explosion.

Meanwhile, a University of Ibadan student, who spoke with The PUNCH on the telephone said: It is true. We all heard the sound and it was very loud.

The cloud is cloudy with smoke. it happened at Bodija and we in the UI area could see the smoke.

READ MORE: Two die in Lagos-Ibadan Expressway tanker explosion

Even those at Sango and Ojo heard the sound. In fact, we are all in a room scared for our life.

Another resident of Orogun told Sahara Reporters that she heard the deafening sound, saying: It felt like a tremor that shook the house.

An X user, identified as @WillieWinehouse tweeted: A f***ing bomb just exploded in Ibadan! My entire house and street are in ruins!! What is going on!!
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has vowed that his government will not rest until agents of darkness causing insecurity in the country are completely eliminated.

The President led this out on Tuesday at the official unveiling of the book titled Working with Buhari, Reflections of a Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015-2023), which was written by Femi Adesina, the former spokesperson to former President Muhammadu Buhari.

He added that any unresolved challenges faced by President Buhari in his eight years, his administration will endeavour to resolve them.

Tinubu said: President Buhari gave us the second Niger Bridge. He revamped Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. He gave us the Lagos-Ibadan and Warri-Itakpe Rail lines. He completed Abuja-Kaduna rail line and Lekki Seaport.

READ MORE: Tinubu Constitutes Presidential Panel To Review Social Investment Programmes

He built brand new airports, among many other landmark economic projects. The Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, which he started, will be completed by my administration, by the Grace of God.

Whatever unresolved challenges faced by President Buhari in his eight years, our administration will endeavour to resolve them. As I said during the campaigns, I inherited all his assets and liabilities.

Our administration will continue to work , from where President Buhari stopped, to make our country better, create a vibrant economy and secure the environment to bring more prosperity to our people.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has told residents of Abuja that there is no need to panic over reports of insecurity in the nations capital.

Wike gave the assurance on Tuesday during an emergency meeting with heads of security agencies in Abuja, top officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), council chairmen as well as traditional rulers.

Having acknowledged the challenges, Wike said that the government had taken measures to address the ugly situation.

All of us are aware of the security situation in FCT, particularly in Bwari and some other areas that we have witnessed security challenges. We will do all we can, and we assure Nigerians who reside here that there is no need for panic. We are taking every step to make sure that the challenges are resolved, the Minister said, according to News Agency of Nigeria.

Wike explained that the meeting was to assess the security challenges in the FCT and adopt practical solutions.

According to him, the meeting with the heads of security agencies was expanded to include the Chairmen of the six area councils, because they also have a responsibility in ensuring peace and security in their areas.

READ ALSO: Actor Seun Jimoh Knocks Nigerian Youths Clamouring Justice For Mohbad While Kidnapped Abuja Children Are Ignored

The Minister continued, saying, So, we will put our heads together to come up with solutions; we are not sleeping, the security agencies are not sleeping, we will provide every support that they require to allay the fears of the residents.

He further lampooned the Area Council chairmen saying they abdicate their responsibilities and travel out.

We have gotten reports that the council chairmen travel any time, and if anything happens, they will not call anybodys name but the FCT ministers.

So, council chairmen should know that they must wake up to their responsibilities. It is not everything that happens people will say that the ministers are not taking steps, he added.

In the past few weeks, bandits have ravaged some parts of the FCT, abducting residents from their homes.

The incidents which have created tension became heightened when some residents, including a 13-year-old Secondary School student, were killed over failure to meet the deadline for a ransom payment.
The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), on Monday disclosed it has commenced an investigation into the alleged breach of the code of conduct for public officers by Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Minister of Interior.

Veronica Kato, CCBs spokesperson, said the minister is expected to appear at the bureau headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, January 16.

The bureaus invitation is hinged on its mandate and powers as enshrined in the Third Schedule, Part 1, 3 (e) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, the spokespersons informed.

Recall that, a leaked document showed that New Planet Project Limited, a company founded by Tunji-Ojo got a N438 million consultancy contract from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

READ ALSO: Betta Edu: Tunji-Ojo Has Not Broken Any Laws  Shehu Sani

Denying any wrongdoing, the Minister said he resigned from the company in February 2019 when he was elected as a lawmaker in the House of Representatives.

The company was registered on March 3, 2009, at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)  10 years before he was first elected as a member of the House of Representatives.

Tunji-Ojo said he is no longer one of the directors of the company but admitted that he is still a shareholder.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had also suspended Betta Edu as the Humanitarian Affairs Minister over the controversy.
All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have decided to sign a peace accord, as anticipation builds around the Supreme Courts impending judgment on the contested March 18, 2023, governorship election in Nasarawa State.

Scheduled for today, the Supreme Court will hear the PDPs appeal challenging the Court of Appeals decision that overturned the Elections Petition Tribunals dismissal of Governor Abdullahi Sule.

The tribunal initially declared David Ombugadu, the PDP candidate, the duly elected governor.

The political tension in the State, occasioned by protests against the tribunal and appellate courts decisions, prompted the Nasarawa State Police command to facilitate a peace pact signing involving key stakeholders from both parties.

Representing the APC were Aliyu Bello (State Chairman) and Yarus Dakusa (Secretary), while the PDP was represented by Adamu Bako (Secretary), Yahaya Bunu (Organising Secretary), Stella Oboshi (Woman Leader), and Isa Sule (Zonal Chairman).

READ ALSO: Nasarawa: Appeal Court Reverses Sack Of APCs Governor, Sule

During the signing ceremony in Lafia, the state capital, Commissioner of Police, Umar Shehu Nadada emphasized the importance of maintaining peace.

He warned against any attempts to disrupt peace before, during, and after the Supreme Courts judgment.

This meeting aims to ensure peace before, during and after the Supreme Court judgment. It is also expected that the party leaders will bring this peace agreement to all their supporters and loyalists across the 13 local government areas of the state, Nadada said.

Expressing concerns about potential violent protests, Nadada assured that the joint security forces would remain neutral in their actions. He cautioned that those going against the peace agreement, regardless of their societal connections, would face consequences.

The peace accord, witnessed by other security agencies in the state, aims to mitigate tensions and foster a conducive atmosphere in Nasarawa as the state awaits the Supreme Courts ruling.
Vodacom parent company Vodafone and Microsoft signed a 10-year strategic partnership deal in a move for the operator to tap deeper into generative AI, digital services and cloud.

In a statement, Vodafone said the deal will bolster each sector to boost service for over 300 million businesses, public sector organisations, and consumers across Europe and Africa.

Vodafone detailed that Microsoft's generative AI will be used to enhance customer service, hyperscale its managed IoT connectivity platform and develop new digital and financial services for businesses, particularly SMEs across Europe and Africa. Lastly, it will overhaul its global data centre cloud strategy.

As part of the deal, Vodafone will invest US$1.5 billion over the next decade in cloud and customer-focused AI services developed in partnership with the American technology giant. Additionally, Micoaofrt will use Vodafones fixed and mobile connectivity services.

Vodafones managed IoT connectivity platform will become a separate standalone business by April 2024 and Microsoft will invest an unspecified amount in it.

By tapping into the latest generative AI technology, Vodafone said it will provide a highly personalised and differentiated customer service experience across multiple channels.

Vodafone added newly developed AI technologies will be built on unbiased and ethical privacy and security policies, under the operators framework from ethical AI.

Vodafone CEO Margherita Della Valle said: Today, Vodafone has made a bold commitment to the digital future of Europe and Africa. This unique strategic partnership with Microsoft will accelerate the digital transformation of our business customers, particularly small and medium-sized companies, and step up the quality of customer experience for consumers.

This new generation of AI will unlock massive new opportunities for every organisation and every industry around the world, added Satya Nadella, Microsoft chairman and CEO.

We are delighted that together with Vodafone we will apply the latest cloud and AI technology to enhance the customer experience of hundreds of millions of people and businesses across Africa and Europe, build new products and services, and accelerate the companys transition to the cloud.






The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has reacted as the nation commemorates the heroes who sacrificed their lives during the 15th January 1966 military coup.

The Forum, through its National Publicity Secretary, Tukur Muhammad-Baba, decried attempts to distort history, emphasizing that the North is still grappling with the aftermath of the conflict.

Reflecting on the historical event via a statement, Muhammad-Baba said, January 15th, 2024, marks the 58th anniversary of a dark day in Nigerias political history. It extends beyond a Remembrance Day for the armed forces, as it was on this day in 1966 that the first military coup unfolded, claiming the lives of 21 individuals.

The repercussions of this event have cast a long shadow on Nigerias political development. Executed by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu and others, the coup tragically ended the lives of prominent figures, including Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Premier of the Northern Region, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, he added.

READ ALSO: 63,111 Persons Killed Between 2015 And 2023  Shehu Sani Says, Faults Northerners For Staying Mute During Buharis Era

The ACF emphasized that the date marked a poignant moment for Northern Nigeria, losing some of its most illustrious sons.

The coup, he said, signalled the demise of Nigerias fledgling democracy, negatively impacting the nations political history.

Addressing contemporary challenges, Muhammad-Baba rejected any attempts at historical revisionism, particularly through social media.

ACF will not tolerate efforts to whitewash the facts surrounding the coup. Historical revisionism cannot erase the ethnic complexities evident in the planning and execution of the event, he declared.

The ACF called on the people of the North and the nation to observe January 15th annually as a Day of National Mourning for Democracy, so that such tragic events never recur in the nations history.
A soldier of the Nigerian Army, identified as Boyi Thankgod, attached to the 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, has reportedly killed himself.

It was gathered that Boyi took his life by shooting himself in the head at the standby duty on Armed Forces Remembrance Day, on Monday.

According to a source at the Ogun Barracks, who confirmed the incident while speaking with Daily Trust, revealed that an investigation is ongoing to reveal the circumstances that led to his action, and all the soldiers present at the time of the incident have been taken into custody.

The source said: Yes, its true. The incident happened yesterday (Monday).

READ MORE: Nigeria Army Arrests Fake Soldier In Nasarawa

The incident truly happened. Since yesterday, the military police have been investigating all soldiers that were there when the incident happened, they were taken to the custody, took their statements and all the normal procedures.

We are just waiting for the military police officers to conclude the investigation in order to determine what actually led to the incident.
Quinta Brunson shined on the Emmy red carpet Monday night in a one-of-a-kind tea-length frock, courtesy of Dior.

I love to go old-school glam sometimes, Brunson told Laverne Cox on Es red carpet. It made me feel very 50s classy, like I was supposed to be here.

Like you were supposed to be here? Girl, lets get this straight. You could be wearing a trash bag on any Hollywood red carpet and you should definitely be there.

This vibrant pink, ankle-grazing frock, with its very cinched waist and full skirt, is a great choice. It was definitely among my personal favorites and catapults you into the realm of the nights best dressed. Although we understand the appeal of crushed satin, it just looked wrinkled. We couldnt help but wish the frock was steamed.

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Brunson, a West Philly native, creator, and star of the ABC hit Abbott Elementary, won lead actress in a comedy series at Monday nights Emmy Awards. She is only the second Black woman to win the best comedic actress nod. Isabelle Sanford won in 1981 for her role as Louise Jefferson, in The Jeffersons. Thats more than 40 years ago. Like, we said, girl, you are supposed to be there.

Brunsons red carpet wins are catching up to her trophies.

She wowed the Golden Globe audience earlier this month in a glittery, silver halter gown by Balmain. We cant wait to see what Brunson will wear to the Screen Actors Guild Awards next month. But we know it will be hot. Brunson is up for the best actress in a comedy series award and is also on the ballot for best ensemble in a comedy series.

Im getting to see and celebrate with all of these creatives that I admire, Brunson told Cox. I like being in the same room around all of these people and supporting each other.

And she looks fabulous doing it.
The Department of Labor finalized and issued a new rule that impacts how businesses of any size classifies independent contractors. Read more

The Department of Labor finalized and issued a new rule last week that impacts how businesses of any size classifies independent contractors. It is wide-reaching and significant.

An independent contractor is an individual  usually a freelancer  who performs services for a company. They generally receive a 1099 tax form after the end of the year if they are paid more than $600. They are not considered to be employees and are responsible for their own taxes, benefits, and insurance. Many businesses use independent contractors to perform certain short-term services in lieu of having to hire someone full time.

But thats about to change.

The new rule, effective March 11, 2024, now requires that a business classify that individual as an employee after taking into consideration certain factors, such as the individuals ability to set their own prices, make their own decisions related to the work performed, and choose what work they want to do. Other factors include whether or not the individual can use their own tools and invest in their skills independently and if the work is regular, consistent, and exclusive. In addition, the rule precludes a company from controlling the contractors schedule, how they perform their jobs, and what kind of specialized skills they have.

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One key factor is whether or not an individual is integral to a business, which is defined as being critical, necessary, or central to the potential employers principal business. Independent contractors who perform outside programming, health-care services, transportation, technical work, and support services  or are a core part of a companys services or processes  would likely fall into this category as their work is generating revenue for the company using them.

But Mary-Ellen Allen, an attorney in West Chester says that whether the contractor generates revenue for the business may not always be the central question.

If the work is critical and necessary to the companys principal business, then this factor would weigh in favor of classifying the worker as an employee, she said. A contracted accountant performing services on behalf of an accounting firm is performing work that is an integral part of the business, and the accountant would be an employee under this factor. A worker who performs marketing and business development for the accounting firm may help generate revenue for the firm but is not performing a function that is critical to the principal purpose of the business.

What does this mean for a typical business?

If an individual meets some or all of the above factors, that individual may need to be classified as an employee, and the company would be responsible for that persons employer taxes, benefits, insurance, and other worker rights, including the right to unionize.

Unfortunately, many of the factors are subjective, which means that companies are going to find it challenging to make this determination.

What business owners should do

Of course, it makes sense to reevaluate all existing independent contractor relationships and consider the factors mentioned above.

But some experts are suggesting that business owners take a wait-and-see approach.

Thats because many business groups, including the National Federation of Independent Businesses and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have publicly stated their opposition to the rule, saying that the rule threatens the flexibility of individuals to work when and how they want and could have significant negative impacts on our economy. The Chamber warns that it will carefully evaluate our options going forward, including litigation.

Claude Schoenberg, a labor attorney based in Bala Cynwyd, says that there are already lawsuits contesting an existing worker classification rule. Those suits had been stayed until the new rule was announced. With the new rule published, those lawsuits will resume.

Litigation will continue and likely last through 2025, he said. It will also depend on the election. If President Biden loses then its likely that a new administration could withdraw this rule and simplify the independent contractor test.

Allen agrees and further notes that the final rule pertains to only one statute: the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The Internal Revenue Code and the National Labor Relations Act have their own tests as do many states, she said. For example, New Jersey utilizes a more stringent test for determining whether an independent contractor should be classified as an employee, and employers there need to pay attention to those requirements.

Pennsylvania has its own worker classification guidelines which are generally consistent with rules published by the Internal Revenue Service.

Regardless of potential litigation, Schoenberg is advising his clients to get their finances in order.

He suggests that his clients to revisit their insurance policies, particularly their workers compensation coverage, and calculate how much more in premiums it would cost for each additional person who would now be classified as an employee.

You need to make sure youre prepared to pay more for payroll taxes and benefits, he said. You may need to make adjustments to your contracts in order to cover the cost of these benefits and taxes.
Damien Wilson pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and attempted murder during a hearing Tuesday in Norristown. Read more

A Norristown man pleaded guilty to third-degree murder on Tuesday for killing a bystander in the crossfire of a revenge shooting gone wrong.

Damien Wilson, 19, also pleaded to attempted murder during a brief hearing before Montgomery County Court Judge William Carpenter. Carpenter sentenced him afterward to 27  to 55 years in state prison, accepting the negotiation made with prosecutors that spared Wilson from a trial for first-degree murder.

Wilson shot Anthony Vitelli, a 47-year-old father of two, once in the chest on Oct. 7, 2022, while aiming at Christopher Hall, whose friend had shot Wilson in the ankle months earlier, according to prosecutors. Hall returned fire, but neither he nor Wilson was wounded.

Vitelli, who was walking down Arch Street behind the apartment complex where he lived at the time, was taken by medics to Paoli Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

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His wife, Alyson, told The Inquirer after Wilsons arrest in the spring that Vitelli was in the process of moving to Florida at the time of his death. The couple would have celebrated their 10-year anniversary in July.

He was a great husband and a wonderful father, she said. This was all over a senseless act of violence. It could have been avoided.

Assistant District Attorney Bill Highland said Tuesday that his office sought a significant state prison sentence in the case because Vitelli was truly an innocent bystander who turned the corner at the wrong time.

Unfortunately, our office has prosecuted a number of transferred intent cases now, Highland said. They are truly tragic situations wherein people who are not the intended targets are going about their lives and unfortunately lose their life because they are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Wilsons lawyer, Jim Lyons, said that his client was extremely remorseful for what happened, and that he had no idea Vitelli was nearby when the shots were fired. Lyons called the shooting an accident.

He said Wilson had been living in fear, threatened by rivals who threatened to kill him. After being shot in July 2022, he said, that paranoia escalated.

He was genuinely remorseful, he was hurt, he understands he has to accept responsibility for what he did, and thats what hes doing, Lyons said. I think the sentence is a little bit more, given his age, than really is warranted here, but the alternative is life in prison.

After the shooting, Wilson fled and stayed on the run for months. U.S. Marshals caught up with him in North Philadelphia in May, and took him into custody.

Detectives were able to identify him as the gunman who killed Vitelli through surveillance footage and witnesses, helped in part by the distinctive pink socks he wore during the attack, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest.

His identity was corroborated by a police report from the July 2022 shooting in which Wilson was interviewed by police after being shot in Norristown.

Another witness, whom police did not identify, told investigators of a conversation between Wilson and Deonte Kelly, his cousin, in which they discussed the murder, the affidavit said.

Like his cousin, Kelly, 24, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, robbery, conspiracy, and related crimes in June for his role in a killing.

In that case, Kelly and his accomplice, Dominic Carboni, killed two Pottsgrove High School students in cold blood during a robbery disguised as a drug deal, according to prosecutors.

Kelly is serving a 25- to 50-year sentence in state prison.

The final piece of evidence against Wilson was a text conversation detectives intercepted between him and his ex-girlfriend, in which they discussed ways he could hide from investigators, according to the affidavit.

Wilson also faces criminal charges for attacking that woman during an argument at her home in Norristown in August 2022, court records show. His trial on simple assault, criminal mischief and harassment is pending.
Pedestrians walk through the snow on Monday evening. While many suburban districts delayed opening schools or closed altogether, and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia ordered its schools to pivot to a remote learning day, the Philadelphia School District opened on a normal schedule, frustrating many. Read more

While a host of suburban and archdiocesan schools closed or had delayed openings as the first real snowfall in years complicated morning commutes Tuesday, the Philadelphia School District stood pat, opening schools on a regular schedule.

That decision frustrated  and, some staff said, endangered  many, resulting in spotty student and teacher attendance in Philadelphia schools, and pushback from the district unions that represent teachers and principals.

This was a bad call, said Robin Cooper, president of Teamsters Local 502, the Commonwealth Association of School Administrators, the Philadelphia School District union for administrators. I think we have to re-think what school looks like, especially post-pandemic, when things like this happen.

Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, was watching the Eagles game Monday night when he received a text from Jeremy Grant-Skinner, a district deputy superintendent, saying that Philadelphia schools would not close or open late Tuesday.

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Jordan was alarmed, given that a number of suburban districts had already called delays. Many district staff live outside the city, and would be facing potentially treacherous commutes. When Jordan looked again at the forecast and saw that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia had decided to keep its buildings closed and pivot to a virtual instruction day, he was even more perplexed.

Many Philadelphia parents, especially those with inflexible jobs, rely on schools for child care and to keep their children safe during the day; Jordan said that he is very aware of that. But street conditions and the ability of employees to make it to work must also factor into the decision.

Streets were already very, very slippery, and they were predicting the conditions might be icy, and I thought the district needed to rethink its position, Jordan said. He texted Grant-Skinner back, asking him to reconsider. Cooper also lodged her concerns with the district.

Neither ever received a response.

Monique Braxton, district spokesperson, said in a statement that student and staff well-being and safety is of the utmost importance. To the greatest extent possible, the School District of Philadelphia strives to keep schools open for in-person learning to accelerate student achievement.

Late arrivals were being excused, Braxton said.

In schools across the city, late arrivals were common, but so were student and employee absences.

One teacher at a K-8 school in the Northeast said that more than 20 staff members had called out; of the teachers 26 students, just seven showed up, but this teacher had 12 altogether, because the teacher absorbed the five students who showed up from the class of a colleague who wasnt able to make it into work.

The teacher was incredulous that courts were closed but that schools were open. It was determined to be too dangerous for people accused of crimes to be out, but its fine for the children of Philadelphia? asked the teacher, who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisal.

My school wasnt shoveled properly, and the streets all around the school are a sheet of ice, the teacher said.

At another district school, an elementary in South Philadelphia, a teacher reported small classes and freezing classroom conditions, with buildings shut for three days because of the Martin Luther King holiday.

Its less than 50 degrees in a majority of our classrooms, and I have eight kids in each class so far, said the teacher, who also asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution. The teacher worried about students making their way home on icy sidewalks. This district is criminal.

The principal of one comprehensive high school said that only about 35% of students showed up. Teacher attendance was better, with about three in four teachers reporting to work, but dozens of teachers were late, with administrators and counselors pulled to cover classes.

Its a wasted day of learning, said the principal, who also asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal.

Cooper, the principals union president, was fielding a steady stream of text messages from her members: dozens of staff out, bus routes canceled, students pulled into a gym or auditorium with very little instruction occurring.

Attendance is horrific. Its all about the children, but you need the staff to be able to get there, said Cooper.

Cooper shared a sampling of her members messages: This is unacceptable. Not only are we at risk getting to work, were now at risk because over 20 people called out. Whos supposed to be with the kids? one said. Due to all the call outs, there should have been a plan for [central office] staff to be assigned at schools if instruction is as important as they say!

A photo making the rounds on social media showed the parking lot of the district headquarters at 440 N. Broad Street plowed clean but with few cars. School-based staff were frustrated that apparently central office employees were permitted to work remotely.

Braxton said the picture seems to show a side where school board members and those who do not work from headquarters on a daily basis park, and doesnt correctly reflect the employees or staff who report to 440 N. Broad daily. By mid-afternoon, more cars were parked in that lot, according to those with firsthand knowledge.

Braxton said that central office employees were expected to work from their regular work location today. This includes some staff who work remotely on one or two days per week. As with school staff, there is a higher number of employees taking leave today compared to an average day.

One central office staffer  who also asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal,  said that 440 is a ghost town today. We were not told that it was OK to work from home, at least not officially, but it would seem a lot of people are.
The squat brick building at 1940 Olney Avenue in Cherry Hill may look like any other business park, but it actually holds a special place in New Jerseys craft-beer history: This was the original home of Flying Fish, one of the states first microbreweries, when it opened a taproom in 1996. For the past decade, its been home to Forgotten Boardwalk, a woman-owned brewery specializing in easy-drinking beers and award-winning hard seltzers.

But owner Jamie Queli announced on Instagram last week that Forgotten Boardwalk will close at the end of February, after attempts to extend its lease failed. Queli indicated the brewery was open to alternatives to completely shuttering.

We have vigorously tried to sign a lease extension with our landlord to no avail as our next door neighbor has leased out the space from underneath us, the Jan. 12 post read. While this chapter is coming to an end, we hope that Forgotten Boardwalk will continue, possibly in another form, in the future. In the meantime, we are welcoming any and all business opportunities for Forgotten Boardwalk.

Forgotten Boardwalk taproom will operate on its regular schedule, Thursday through Monday, until Feb. 29. Commenters responded to word of its closing by the hundreds, lamenting the loss and suggesting Queli look for a home either closer to the Shore or across the river in Pennsylvania.

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Queli could not be reached immediately for comment, nor could her landlord, Radnors Endurance Real Estate Group. Queli told the Philadelphia Business Journal that she learned Forgotten Boardwalks neighbor, nonprofit manufacturer Bestwork Industries for the Blind Inc., wanted to expand into the brewerys space last fall and that attempts to negotiate with both companies did not pan out.

The announcement came weeks after Flying Fish, which moved to a larger facility in Somerdale in 2012, filed for bankruptcy protection  months after a sale to Cape May Brewing fell apart for undisclosed reasons. This has been a harder space than ever, Flying Fish president Frank Rio told The Inquirer in October, citing a sea of competitors in the retail sales and distribution space.

While new breweries continue to sprout up and a few markedly successful ones expand, the craft beer market has grown shaky in recent years. Three Pennsylvania craft brewers  Liquid Art, Stickman, and Separatist  shuttered in the space of three weeks last fall, with some owners signaling they had heard of more to closures to come.

Another small local brewery, Bucks Countys Moss Mill Brewing, closed its doors for good on Dec. 31.
What's left of the dune in North Wildwood, between 12th and 15th Street after recent storms. The city is seeking an emergency authorization to build a bulkhead to protect the city's storm sewer runoff system and property on the other side of the brush. Read more

What used to be a dune is now more like a kids sand castle, North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello said Tuesday morning, after yet another storm hammered the shore citys failing dune system.

Once you get a hole in the dune, every high tide, it just keeps growing, Rosenello said. It dramatically accelerates the deterioration of the dune. Thats whats been happening. Every high tide, its coming over.

The city is seeking an emergency authorization from the State Department of Emergency Protection to expand its bulkhead system behind the dunes as another measure of protection, while it awaits a promised large-scale reconstruction of its beaches.

Its still two years out, Rosenello said Tuesday of the large-scale beach replenishment.

Three recent storms in the last week have pounded the citys dunes, finally breaching a hole through the dune altogether.

Rosenello visited the site around midday Tuesday and described a small little sand pile, that is now completely wide open. After the storms, he said, theres nothing structural or shore protection wise, between the ocean and city infrastructure  including North Wildwoods main storm sewer line, an electric utility pole, a motel and the citys beach patrol building.

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Caryn Shinske, a spokesperson for the state DEP, said the department will review the citys application once it is received. The state and North Wildwood have been locked in legal battles over the citys determination to build a bulkhead as it awaits further beach replenishment.

Shinske said construction to replenish the North Wildwood beaches was expected to begin in 2025.

The department continues to work toward obtaining easement for the project for both public and private properties, she wrote in an e-mail.

On Saturday, PJ Hondros, an administrator of the North Wildwood Coastal Processes Facebook page, posted that the dune had been breached.

Rosenello said the city would submit its emergency authorization as soon as Tuesday or early Wednesday, even as another storm bore down on the region.

Mondays snow coated Jersey Shore towns with a few fluffy inches of snow and made roads slippery and snow covered, but by Tuesday morning, rain had washed away most of the snow.

Rosenello said he was most concerned about overwhelming the citys storm sewer line with ocean water and the potential for massive flooding.

A constructed bulkhead, which the state does not generally favor, would solve that immediate problem, he said: the lack of any shore protection at that location.

The state and North Wildwood have sued each other over the citys building of the bulkhead, which the state describes as an illegal 400-foot long steel bulkhead. North Wildwood, in turn, is suing New Jersey for $21 million, saying thats how much it has spent fighting beach erosion the last decade because the state Department of Environmental Protection hasnt been doing its job.
Brentley Long, 8, of Fishtown, hands Sean Beuche, of Northern Liberties, snow to add to the snowman they were buildingn behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. Read more

Deciding to eat snow is very dependent on your situation. Are you clinging to the edge of life searching for water? Are you outside making snow angels and feeling a bit curious? Is the snow yellow?

In most circumstances, its usually recommended not to eat snow, especially the kind found on the ground in Philadelphia, says the citys top doc.

The short answer is no, for people living in the city, I would not eat snow, or at least not snow that has landed. There are a pretty wide variety of substances that could be in it (dog poo anyone?) that shouldnt be consumed, said Philadelphia health commissioner Cheryl Bettigole, who grew up with winters in Buffalo. Anyone who wants to catch it in their mouth as it falls should feel free as long as they are standing somewhere safe when they do it.

Fresh snow is blanketing the Philly region and that means between snowball fights, snow angels, and sledding, curious minds may venture a taste of the frozen water vapor and air. In fact, almost the entirety of snow is made up of air and very little water. In the Philly region for every foot of snow, there is only one inch of water.

Youre sort of eating and drinking air when consuming snow.

Despite the lack of refreshment, the reason health experts and scientists wont advise you to eat snow is because of the plethora of possible pollutants found in it.

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According to Penn State University professor of chemistry, Miriam Freedman, snow is formed when water vapor condenses around a particle in the air. These particles can be dirt, bacteria, or salt (like found on your kitchen table), among countless other particles.

Even in the most pristine conditions, the snow is going to have a tiny bit of salt and its going to be a little bit acidic from carbon dioxide, Freedman said, who studies air particles. To eat a little bit of snow doesnt matter so much, but I wouldnt eat a ton. If youre talking about in a more polluted area, pollutants in the air can end up in the snow and Id be more hesitant.

The more polluted the air, the more polluted the snow is going to be. But what if were talking about a life or death situation  does it matter if the snow might contain pollutants? Dan Wowak, a woodsman and nature survivalist who appeared on History Channels survival show, Alone, says no.

Water is the most important element to survival and the lack of water is one of the first things that can lead to health issues or worse, death, said Wowak, who operates Coalcracker Bushcraft  an outdoor survival school and gear shop  two hours outside of Philadelphia.

Remember, said Wowak, the human body can only go three days without water.

If you do want or need to eat snow, there are a few tips that can make the process more efficient.

First off, snow isnt your best source of water in cold weather, its ice. While snow is mostly made up of air, ice is mostly water and will be easier to hydrate with. But, if you only have snow available thatll work, too  youll just need a lot more of it, said Wowak.

The number one thing is if youre dehydrated and you need water, by all means you can eat snow and you can get some hydration from that, said Wowak. We always advise people in an emergency-type scenario, if you can get ice  which is only about 10% air  use ice by eating that or melting it.

Ice is going to be way more bang for your buck when it comes to finding something in a cold weather environment to actually hydrate yourself. Dan Wowak, woodsman and nature survivalist

The best way to clean snow or ice to drink is to boil it first  all you need is a fire and a pot. However, according to Wowak, thats not going to disinfect the water from chemicals and pollutants.

Youre not going to be able to remove chemical contaminants no matter what we do, unless we use filtering processes, and generally we dont carry things to remove chemicals in the outdoors, he said.

For those looking to get serious about eating snow, or outdoor survival gear, Wowak recommends picking up the Grayl water purifier. These water filters can clean your water in an easy-to-carry portable bottle for around $100.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks while standing with Republican members of Congress on Jan. 3 in Eagle Pass, Texas. The House GOP has proposed anti-immigrant measures that undercut Americas standing as a welcoming nation, writes the Editorial Board. Read more

Republicans have forced the Biden administration to the negotiating table on immigration, holding aid for Ukraine hostage in a bid to enact draconian measures that would further upend the asylum process and pave the way for the kind of anti-immigrant crackdown favored by right-wing hard-liners.

Senate negotiators who are working on a bipartisan compromise must ensure that the U.S. asylum system remains a beacon of hope for those seeking refuge and protect a key presidential authority known as humanitarian parole.

While a steady stream of irresponsible invasion rhetoric and images of immigrant caravans have stoked needless fear, all Americans  regardless of political persuasion  should worry about the situation at the border, which is arguably out of control. Immigration officials reported more than two million unauthorized border crossings in fiscal year 2023. More than 300,000 migrants were processed at the southern border in December alone, an all-time monthly high.

Something must be done to reduce the large number of migrants who continue to brave harrowing conditions  risking assault, injury, and death  as they travel in search of a better life in the United States. However, little of what is being touted by Republicans would improve the situation. If anything, their proposals are likely to lead to more chaos.

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 READ MORE: What I wish for in 2024: A coherent immigration policy | Opinion

Among the proposals are making it harder to seek asylum, expanding expedited deportation of families traveling with children, and establishing the ability to expel migrants without humanitarian screenings when border agents are overwhelmed.

Its no secret that an overtaxed asylum system, which is taking years to process cases, is allowing legal entry to applicants who may not have a strong protection case. However, updating asylum law  born out of Americas dismal actions regarding refugees during World War II  should be done with deliberate care, not as a rushed response to border pressures.

Expelling migrants or denying them the legal process of asylum may send them back to the harm they were fleeing, and violates the spirit of national and international laws. Also, by not addressing the root causes of our immigration problems, it virtually guarantees that desperate migrants will continue to attempt to illegally cross the border.

The Republican wish list also includes limiting the presidents immigration parole power, which the Biden administration has used to grant temporary legal status to hundreds of thousands of immigrants  including Afghan and Ukrainian refugees.

Speaking on the Senate floor last week, Connecticuts Chris Murphy, the lead Democratic negotiator in immigration talks, detailed why this proposal should be off the table.

No other tool at the presidents disposal has been so effective in reducing unauthorized crossings as has parole, he said. Limiting this ability will only push more people to cross in between the ports of entry  exacerbating the very problem that Republicans claim they want to solve.

Although GOP political gamesmanship is undoubtedly to blame for the current immigration stalemate in Congress, President Joe Biden shares responsibility. He has been to Pennsylvania on more than 20 occasions since becoming president. Hes been to the border once.

Biden has failed to effectively communicate his administrations efforts to address the issue, relying on half measures that have resulted in mixed results and have allowed people like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and New York Mayor Eric Adams to dominate the conversation.

 READ MORE: Five ways the Parker administration can help immigrants in Philadelphia | Opinion

There are no quick and easy answers, but some of the more pragmatic and effective proposals  including expanding legal pathways that can help fill millions of available U.S. jobs, supporting refugee processing and resettlement across Latin America, and partnering with nonprofits and local governments to reduce the pressure of new arrivals on resources and infrastructure  are not even part of the current discussion.

Instead, Senate negotiators have to contend with pressure from House Republicans who seem to have no intention of providing a reasonable and humane solution to immigration.

As detailed in House Resolution 2, which passed the GOP-controlled body last year with no Democratic support, Republicans would gut the asylum process, build a border wall, cut immigrant services, end protections for migrant children, and go after immigrants who are working in the country illegally. All measures that undercut Americas standing as a welcoming nation and ignore the vital role immigration plays in the nations success.

Proposals like HR 2 will not fix the immigration crisis at the border, but they offer a chilling preview of what the U.S. can expect if Donald Trump returns to the White House and the worst of Republican policies are unleashed.

The Biden administration must act decisively and convince the public and voters that it is serious about addressing the current problems with immigration. The alternative would be disastrous.
This winter, tourists from southern regions flocked to Northeast China for vacations and were greeted with warm hospitality and attentive care from locals. In a gesture of gratitude, various regions sent their local specialties to the Northeast, and in return, the Northeast reciprocated with its own local products. However, the nature of these specialties turned out to be completely unexpected, even to many locals. For instance, Heilongjiang province sent cranberries to the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, and Sichuan province reciprocated with caviar to Harbin. These unexpected exchanges left not only outsiders unaware of the agricultural products in these regions but also astonished locals, who exclaimed, "So, 'local specialty' actually means intentionally produced behind locals' backs." This wave of surprises has prompted people everywhere to start exploring the hidden agricultural products of their own hometowns. From Xinjiang's salmon to Anhui's foie gras and Shanghai's saffron, it turns out that each region has its own hidden treasures. When it comes to foie gras, many people immediately think of France. However, in Huoqiu county, Lu'an, Anhui province, one can find authentic French-style foie gras. Lu'an has a history of raising geese and is known for the high-quality local white geese. In recent years, the area has started industrial upgrading, introducing the world-renowned Landes goose, a breed specifically used for foie gras production, originally from France. The local soil and climate in Lu'an are suitable for its growth. Huoqiu has become the largest foie gras production base in the country, with over 140 farms raising Landes geese, producing over 5,000 metric tons of foie gras, and with an annual output value of nearly 2 billion yuan ($279 million). When it comes to agricultural specialties from Xinjiang, most people immediately think of Hami melons, Aksu apples, and raisins. However, Nilka county in Xinjiang also produces salmon. With the glacial meltwater from the Tianshan Mountains, Nilka boasts an excellent natural environment for the growth of cold-water fish. In 2014, a local company invested in and built a salmon breeding base in Nilka, importing fish eggs from abroad. Salmon from Nilka is not only sold throughout China but also finds its way to tables around the world. The current trend of uncovering hidden agricultural specialties in various regions began with the exchange of 100,000 boxes of high-quality cranberries from Heilongjiang to Guangxi. This surprise not only shocked locals but also astonished people across the country, who were amazed to learn that Heilongjiang produces cranberries. In the common perception, cranberries are mostly imported from North America. However, as early as 2014, cranberries were introduced from North America to Fuyuan county in Heilongjiang. By 2023, the area under cranberry cultivation had reached 280 hectares, with an output of around 3,000 tons, making it the largest cranberry cultivation base in the country. Fang Qiang, the president of Northeast Agricultural University, explained that Heilongjiang is located in the "world's small berry planting zone," with significant climatic advantages. The region is abundant in small berries such as blueberries, blackcurrants, raspberries, and sea buckthorn. The annual output value of small berry processing enterprises in the province exceeds 3 billion yuan, ranking first in the country. Other surprising local specialties include the caviar from Ya'an, Sichuan, the annual production of which in 2022 reached 50 tons, accounting for 12 percent of the global market; saffron, a precious Chinese medicinal material, from Chongming, Shanghai, which has been made into various products such as masks, alcohols, and cakes in recent years; matcha from Tongren, Guizhou province, which boasts the world's largest single matcha workshop. Moreover, the hairy crabs from Yuncheng, Shanxi province, and the Australian lobsters and South American prawns from Chongqing have also surprised locals. Currently, this fervent exploration of local agricultural products is ongoing. In this process, people are beginning to find more about their own hometowns. Behind the exclamation "How did I not know this?" lies a sense of pride in the vibrant development of one's hometown.
The Nusantara Capital Authority (OIKN) said on Monday that the shared telecoms infrastructure for Indonesia's planned new capital city of Nusantara will be operational by August this year.

The US$30 billion Nusantara project has been under construction since July 2022. While the overall goal is to relocate up to 1.9 million people in Jakarta to Nusantara by 2045, the Indonesian government plans to start moving some key functions from Jakarta to Nusantara in August next year.

That means Nusantaras telecoms infrastructure has to be in place by then, said OIKN deputy for facilities and infrastructure Silvia Halim.

"All must be ready and operate in August this year," she said, according to Antara news agency.

Halim said that OIKN appointed Telkom Indonesia and PLN Icon Plus last year to provide joint telecoms infrastructure, including fibre optic networks and cellular base stations. The only candidates considered were those that already had permits when OIKN tendered the project, and already had infrastructure in the North Penajam Paser district where Nusantara is located, the report said.

The shared telecoms infrastructure is in line with the governments goal of designing Nusantara as a sustainable city, the report added.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has been pushing the project partly as a practical measure to reduce Jakartas population and traffic congestion, and partly as an opportunity to start fresh with a world-class green smart city.

Last November, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison reportedly confirmed that had already installed 30 4G sites in Nusantara, and had invested US$10 million to add another 30 to 40 sites to boost the network. The same month, Telkom Indonesia and KT Corp signed an MoU to collaborate on a smart city project for Nusantara.
The Point Breeze home has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Read more

There is nothing unconventional about Bjorn Henriques latest move, its just that he expresses it more artfully than most.

We came as two, he said, and left as three and a possibility.

Henriques, digital sales manager for a major TV station, and his wife, Rachel, an elementary schoolteacher, were living in an apartment in West Philadelphia when they bought their three-bedroom, two-bath rowhouse in Point Breeze in 2020.

It was the perfect little house, said Henriques, who is also a board member of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.

My wife loved it, loved the kitchen, he said. It was a nice neighborhood with a community feel, and an easy commute to his job in Center City from the nearby Ellsworth-Federal SEPTA station.

But now, with a 2-year-old and a second child on the way, the family has moved to a larger house in Brookhaven in Delaware County.

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The Point Breeze house has an open-concept living room with hardwood floors; recessed lighting; a gas-powered, marble-and-wood fireplace; and a separate dining area.

The kitchen has ample cabinet space, granite countertops, and stainless steel appliances. And there is a fenced-in patio.

The three bedrooms are upstairs with a bathroom.

There is a fully-finished basement, with two wall-to-wall closets with built-in shelving, laundry, and a tiled full bathroom.

Parks, including Wharton Square and Columbus Park, are nearby, along with a wide variety of stores and schools.

The house was built in 1925 and has a total square footage of 1,820.

It is listed by Anthony Castaneda of Opus Elite Real Estate for $369,000.
Homes at 22nd and Bainbridge Streets are within the boundaries of the South of South Neighborhood Association in Philadelphia. Read more

For almost as long as Morgan Rodriguez has lived in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood, shes been civically engaged in her community.

First on her condo board, then as a volunteer for organizations that support local parks, and eventually on the board of the nonprofit South of South Neighborhood Association (SOSNA), where she was elected chair in November.

But this latest role raised some eyebrows, because she is part of a group of SOSNA board members affiliated with OCF Realty, a real estate company based on the edge of the neighborhood. Rodriguez works there as a real estate agent.

After Novembers election, a third of SOSNAs 15-member board is now OCF-affiliated, including the vice chair and treasurer. One of the new members is the companys owner, Ori Feibush, who has developed extensively in this neighborhood on the border of Center City and South Philadelphia.

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It is highly unusual for a real estate company to have such a large presence on the board of a registered community organization (RCO), the official designation for neighborhood groups that developers are required to deal with for zoning matters.

We should not have people on the board that have a conflict of interest, said Linda Evans, a SOSNA board member who bought her house on Christian Street in 1998. Why is a well-known developer on a volunteer RCO in one of the hottest areas in real estate development? Whats the payoff?

The city does not monitor potential conflicts of interest on RCO boards or limit who can be on them. And SOSNAs bylaws allow for members who either live or work within the organizations boundaries.

Evans said that even if no OCF Realty projects come before the board, she fears members of the company will form a voting bloc that will side with development interests over the interests of neighbors.

Feibush himself dismisses the idea that theres anything in these board seats for his company. OCF employees have been on SOSNAs board before, he said, and have made up a majority on the boards of parent groups for local public schools.

Ive been before SOSNA many times over the last 15 years, and Ive never had the zoning committee vote against me in 15 years, he said. Who needs to take something over? We employ people that live in the neighborhood and care about their community: Thats it.

Rodriguez, too, sees concerns as misplaced. And she notes that none of the OCF-affiliated members sit on the groups zoning committee, which is where SOSNA interacts with developers on their projects. Thats where a conflict of interest would be most likely to arise.

People are overestimating the power that SOSNA has, Rodriguez said, and it should very well be noted that if there is ever a conflict of interest, those people will recuse themselves.

The governance of RCOs has been top of mind for municipal policymakers in recent months. One of the last acts of recently retired City Council President Darrell L. Clarke was an attempt to get the city to provide legal protections for these organizations.

But critics have long argued that these publicly sanctioned groups have too little oversight to be provided a municipally paid legal backstop. Although the city government officially recognizes RCOs, it has little real say in their governance, and the rules regulating them are loose. Some RCOs are composed of one or two neighborhood activists with no real constituency. Others are Republican or Democratic political wards.

The city planning commission is not staffed up enough to do really rigorous checking of who the members of our RCOs are, said Gary Jastrzab , who led the Philadelphia Planning Commission when the designation was created in 2012.

Its a rare incidence for that to be happening, where multiple people would be working for a local real estate organization that also develops in the same neighborhood, Jastrzab said. That [the OCF-affiliated presence on SOSNAs board] sounds like a real ethical problem.

A radically changed neighborhood

Its not unusual for real estate companies and neighborhood groups to have antagonistic relationships. But this part of Philadelphia has seen a particularly combustible development environment over the last 15 years, as neighborhoods on both sides of Washington Avenue west of Broad Street saw substantial amounts of new construction for the first time in generations.

OCF played a huge role in the transformation of Point Breeze, on the south side of Washington Avenue, and the neighborhood to the north that became known as Graduate Hospital.

Recent Census data show that area now has the second-highest median income in Philadelphia. Graduate Hospital also saw a dramatic demographic shift in the last 30 years, shifting from vast majority Black to majority white.

At this point, the neighborhood is mostly built out. There are few empty lots or former industrial sites left to develop.

The zoning committee does get a handful of cases like we want to add a third story or we want to add a roof deck type of situations, Rodriguez said. In the years previous, youve had many large projects come through zoning.

In those earlier years, Feibush became a prominent figure not just in these neighborhoods, but also throughout the city for both his development projects and for headline-making clashes with some community groups and local politicians. He has threatened to sue residents. He even ran against district Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson in 2015, which also raised questions about potential conflicts of interest if he had won.

SOSNA and Feibush have had a contentious relationship in the past, too. In 2022, Feibush threatened to sue the organization after his requests for the vote counts for the 2021 board election were denied.

That history is part of why some residents have reacted strongly to the recent election of Feibush; Jon Adler, vice president of investments at OCF Realty; and Liz Scott, a real estate agent at the company.

 READ MORE: Philadelphia has created its first historic district designated to recognize Black history

Their terms end in 2026. They joined board members Melanie Gerchberg and Rodriguez, who are both agents at OCF Realty. (Also on the board is Rodriguezs husband, developer Stephen Rodriguez.)

We make our neighborhood great, keep it clean, keep it green, put on events, make it a great space for everyone to live, Rodriguez said, emphasizing again that no OCF employees handle zoning issues. Maybe people dont understand what the board is versus what the zoning committee is.

A public relations problem

But Jastrzab, formerly of the planning commission, says that board members can still have influence within an organization even if they dont sit on the zoning committee.

For neighborhood critics, the OCF-affiliated presence also is a question of optics. It does nothing to solve what Evans called SOSNAs public relations problem among longtime neighbors who dont feel like they have a say in what happens in the neighborhood.

Evans said she joined the board to look out for the interests of her neighbors. She denies accusations that shes antidevelopment but said construction shouldnt have a negative impact on current residents.

She and others say there should have been more transparency about the new board members jobs.

In October, Keisha Usher-Martin, former SOSNA board vice chair and current alternate member of the organizations zoning committee, pointed out nominees affiliation with OCF Realty in a post in a Southwest Center City Facebook group. She included photos she pulled from the companys website. Liz Scott, an OCF agent on SOSNAs board and administrator of the Facebook group, told Usher-Martin the post made people feel unsafe and removed it.

My issue is the lack of diversity of thought and interests, said Usher-Martin, who has lived in the neighborhood for 16 years and was on the SOSNA board from 2020 to 2023.

Usher-Martin, who emigrated from Belize, said she joined the board to add diversity in a neighborhood where many older Black community members have left and to get remaining Black residents more involved in SOSNAs work.

My focus is all about making sure the people who built this community are still present, still have a voice, are engaged in the process, Usher-Martin said.

A few residents of the neighborhood and a former SOSNA board member said they were worried about the extent of real estate industry influence on the board but were afraid of speaking out.

When you have money, when you have power, you can intimidate others, Evans said.

But Rodriguez said the presence of OCF-affiliated board members is nothing sinister. Its just about civically minded neighborhood residents who want to do right by their neighborhood, she said.

Im not doing this for the purpose of trying to be involved in any type of real estate-related decisions, said Rodriguez. These are people that are doing really good things in the community, and they happen to be the people that run and the people that the community voted for.
A record high tide in Maine washed away three historic fishing shacks that had stood since the 1800s and formed the backdrop of countless photographs.

Michelle Erskine said she was visiting fishermans point at Willard Beach in South Portland on Saturday when she captured video footage of the last two wooden shacks sliding into the ocean.

Oh no. Theyre both going. Oh no! she can be heard saying on the video.

Erskine, who has lived in South Portland all her life, said her son had his senior photos taken at the shacks and wedding parties often visited them.

Its truly a sad day for the community and the residents of South Portland, Erskine said in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday. History is just being washed away.

The shacks, owned by the city of South Portland, had just undergone a facelift in October when they were repainted.

They were the last in a series of fishing shacks that predate the citys incorporation after they were first built along the shore and then moved to their most recent location in the 1880s. Erskine said they once housed lobster traps and fishing gear. Two shacks were destroyed in an earlier storm in 1978.

A record 14.57-foot (4.4-meter) high tide was measured in Portland, Maine, just after noon on Saturday, after a storm surge amplified what was already the months highest tide, said National Weather Service meteorologist Michael Cempa. That broke the previous record of 14.17 feet (4.3 meters) set in 1978 and was the highest since measurements began in 1912. Cempa said the tide gauge measures the difference between the high tide and the average low tide.

The surge flooded some homes in Old Orchard Beach and Kennebunkport in Maine, and Hampton Beach in New Hampshire. It came just days after a previous storm damaged one of Maines most beloved lighthouses which is featured on the state quarter.

Very sadly, all three fishing shacks at Willard Beach have been completely destroyed, the city wrote on its Facebook page.

But the South Portland Historical Society sounded a note of hope, saying on social media that it had prepared for such an event by last year enlisting architects and engineers to create drawings so that everything would be in place to build reproductions of the shacks, if needed.

The society is asking for donations to rebuild.

Photo: A fishing shack floats away into Casco Bay during a storm in South Portland, Maine, Saturday Jan. 13, 2024. A record high tide in Maine washed away three historic fishing shacks that had stood since the 1800s and formed the backdrop of countless photographs. (Susan Young/The Bangor Daily News via AP)

Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Maine
Philadelphia police say a former high-ranking commander fired after he was charged with sexual assault will be reinstated following an arbitrators ruling in the wake of the dismissal of the cases against him.

Carl Holmes will return to his previous rank of chief inspector following an arbitrators ruling in his favor, Sgt. Eric Gripp, a spokesperson for the department, said in an email, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Holmes, who spent nearly three decades on the force and was also a lawyer, was fired in 2019 after he was accused of having sexually assaulted three women at work. The criminal cases involving two of the women were withdrawn in early 2021 and prosecutors dropped the last case in January 2023 after the accuser failed to appear in court.

Roosevelt Poplar, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #5, said in a statement Friday that the union and the city had presented their respective cases to an arbitrator as part of this officers due process rights and the arbitrator ruled in favor of the officers re-instatement.

Gripp said the reinstatement process was still underway and he could not say when Holmes would return to the department.

Holmes was charged after a grand jury probe concluded that he abused his power after mentoring female officers at the police academy and in other roles. The charges came two years after the city settled a female detectives sexual harassment lawsuit involving him for $1.25 million. Holmes denied the allegations.

Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Law Enforcement
Repsol SA is being sued for $1 billion by an English law firm representing around 35,000 alleged victims for its involvement in Perus largest oil spill in 2022.

Tom Goodhead, chief executive officer of Pogust Goodhead, said the lawsuit was filed last week in The Hague, where a company owning Repsols Perus subsidiary is registered. The lawsuit is tied to the 2022 spill in which 10,000 barrels of oil were spilled into the Pacific Ocean as oil was being discharged onto the La Pampilla refinery, owned by Repsol.

The Peruvian government has labeled the incident as the worst ecological disaster in its history and has criticized Repsol for not paying most of the fines fines imposed as a result. Repsol said it has appealed the fines and will pay them if its claims are dismissed. The spill had significant impact on fishing communities near La Pampilla, who have yet to be allowed to resume their activities.

Oil Spill Caused by Massive Waves From Tonga Is Ecological Disaster for Peru

Repsol said in a statement it was aware of the Dutch lawsuit, but dismissed it as meritless. It said Repsol has spent over $270 million repairing damage caused by the spill, including in paying compensation to those affected. Thats much less than what Pogust Goodhead hopes to reap.

The suit is the first filed by Pogust Goodhead since it got a $552 million investment from Connecticut-based Gramercy Funds Management, but it has specialized in international class actions for years. It is scheduled to go to trial this year against BHP, claiming a 36 billion ($45.8 billion) over a dam collapse in Brazil that left hundreds dead.

London-based Goodhead said it had signed on some 35,000 people onto the class action, mostly during the last few months of 2023. He traveled to Lima as part of the effort and said people impacted by the spill feel absolute fury and anger about what happened.

Theres a feeling that unless they took the lawsuit in the Dutch courts that they really wouldnt see justice, he said.

Photograph: Workers clean Cavero beach following an oil spill in Callao, Peru, on Friday, Feb. 18, 2022. Repsols 10,400 barrel oil spill in Peru affected 106 square kilometers, with the company stating they cleaned 98% of the spill. Photo credit: Bloomberg

Copyright 2024 Bloomberg.

Topics Lawsuits Energy Oil Gas
The Japanese government has revoked certification for three Daihatsu Motor Co. vehicles after an investigation found the Toyota Motor Corp. affiliate had been manipulating collision safety test results for decades.

Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito delivered an order of improvement to Daihatsu President Soichiro Okudaira on Tuesday, demanding the company take steps to prevent anything similar from happening again.

Including any ill intentions, the situation is extremely regrettable, Saito said.

Toyotas Daihatsu Unit to Halt All Vehicle Shipments, in Widening Safety Scandal

The safety certification for three variations of the same car, including the Grand Max, Toyotas TownAce and Mazda Motor Corp.s Bongo, were revoked because test results had been tampered with to gain approval, according to the ministry.

Daihatsu was also ordered to recall two models  the Cast and Toyota Pixis Joy  after an additional 14 issues were discovered in December when the ministry raided Daihatsus headquarters in Osaka. This is the governments first major order since then.

This was expected, but it seems unlikely any vehicles besides these three will have their certifications revoked, said Bloomberg Intelligence senior auto analyst Tatsuo Yoshida. The financial burden  of regaining certification, rebooting production and compensating thousands of partners  might be too much for Daihatsu, Yoshida said, in which case Toyota would have to step in.

The discovery in early 2023 that a half dozen models might be affected by manipulated test results ballooned into a full-blown scandal last month, when Daihatsu revealed that an internal probe found 174 irregularities across 64 cars dating back as far as 1989.

The Japanese car manufacturer and supplier had suspended domestic operations until the end of January but that deadline could shift as authorities take action, and the extent of the backlash begins to take shape.

Rather than improving the carmaking process, the reduction of production time itself became the goal, Toyota CEO Koji Sato told reporters Tuesday. The transport ministry ordered Daihatsu to put forth preventative measures in a month, at which point Toyota will announce a new structure for the affiliate moving forward, Sato said.

Daihatsu, which has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota since 2016, is known for its lineup of kei cars and other lightweight vehicles popular across Japan and Southeast Asia.

Suspending shipments will affect vehicles produced in Japan and overseas, and not only at Toyota factories but possibly also at Mazda Motor Corp. and Subaru Corp., given that Daihatsu supplies parts and manufacturing services to a range of other automakers.

Photograph: The Daihatsu Motor Co. Photo credit: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

Copyright 2024 Bloomberg.
Brown & Brown Europes wholesale and specialty brokerage group, Bridge Specialty International, announced it has agreed to acquire Acorn International Network Pte Ltd., a Singapore-based insurance broker.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024, subject to certain closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Established in April 2011, Acorn is licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, led by founder and CEO David Ong, who has over 45 years experience in the industry, including previous senior positions at Willis (Singapore) and formerly as CEO Marsh and McLennan (Singapore). David and his team will continue to run the business post-transaction.

The acquisition will enable Bridge Specialty International to establish a presence in the important Singapore insurance hub and expand its Asia platform, which currently comprises Capstone Insurance Brokers Ltd., a Hong Kong-based specialist financial lines and digital asset insurance specialist. Acorn and Capstone will work closely together to grow in their areas of specialization in both Singapore and Hong Kong.

Acorn is a well-respected and long-established insurance broker in Singapore. David Ong and his team have an outstanding reputation for client engagement and service quality, commented Tim Coles, CEO of Bridge Specialty International. We are delighted to partner with them and for David and his team to lead our entry into the Singapore market. Davids experience and connections will significantly advance our ambitions to grow in Asia.

Joining Bridge Speciality International and Brown & Brown marks a significant milestone for our team and opens up limitless possibilities for our future, said David Ong, founder and CEO of Acorn. Being part of one of the largest global insurance intermediary groups, we are poised to unlock unmatched opportunities for our clients, staff, and business growth.

About Brown & Brown (Europe) Ltd.

Brown & Brown (Europe) Ltd. operates retail broking, specialist MGA, network and Lloyds businesses, enabling the business to serve the growing insurance and risk management needs of its customers. Brown & Brown (Europe) is an operating unit of Brown & Brown, Inc.s Retail segment.

Source: Brown & Brown (Europe)

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Agencies Excess Surplus
The Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) announced the appointment of Rebecca Easland to serve as Deputy Commissioner.

Deputy Commissioner Easland most recently served as Senior Policy Advisor with the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS). During her time with IAIS, she assisted in the development of the global Insurance Capital Standard, worked with the Macroprudential Committee, and provided project management support to the Policy Development Committee. Prior to joining IAIS, Deputy Commissioner Easland worked at OCI for over 15 years as a Financial Examiner and the Director of the Financial Analysis and Examination Bureau.

We are fortunate to have a talented and dedicated leadership team at OCI, and I am excited to welcome Rebecca Easland back to OCI to help us fulfill our mission of protecting consumers and ensuring that our insurance market remains strong and competitive, said Commissioner Houdek.

Deputy Commissioner Easland will be responsible for managing the day-to-day operations and supervising the regulatory and administrative responsibilities of OCI.

Over the past few years, Ive had the opportunity to expand my insurance regulation experience from an international perspective. Im excited to bring my skills home to Wisconsin, reconnect with the OCI team and address the evolving challenges facing the insurance industry, said Deputy Commissioner Easland.

Source: OCI

Topics Wisconsin
The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives on Friday voted to repeal a federal labor board rule set to take effect in February that would treat companies as the employers of many contract and franchise workers and require them to bargain with those workers unions.

The House voted 206-177 to nix the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rule, which has been heavily criticized by business groups. The vote sends the proposal to the Senate where Democrats hold a one-seat majority but Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, has said he opposes the rule.

The resolution was introduced under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to repeal agency rules through a majority vote in both houses.

The White House earlier this week said Democratic President Joe Biden would veto the resolution if it passes both houses of Congress. A two-thirds majority would be required to overcome a White House veto.

The rule would treat companies as joint employers of contract and franchise workers when they have control over key working conditions such as pay, scheduling, discipline and supervision, even if that control is indirect or not exercised.

Related: Added Protection or Opportunity Lost? New Independent Contractor Rule Issued

A company deemed a joint employer must bargain with unions representing contract and franchise workers and can be held liable for violating those workers rights under federal labor law.

Representative Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, the Republican chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, in a speech ahead of Fridays vote called the NLRB policy an anti-freedom, anti-growth rule that would compel small businesses to come under big government regulation and union boss control.

Democratic Representative Eric Sorensen of Illinois countered that Republicans were making misleading claims how the rules affect on small business, saying the issue was simply about whether or not an employer is obligated to come to the bargaining table.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups filed a lawsuit in November seeking to block the rule from taking effect. They claim the rule violates U.S. labor law by defining who counts as an employer too broadly, and will cause disruptions in an array of industries if it takes effect.

The NLRB asked the Texas federal judge who is overseeing the case to rule in its favor last month, arguing that the joint employer rule adopts a long-standing definition of employment and properly balances the rights of workers and businesses.

The board adopted the rule in October, replacing a Trump-era regulation favored by business groups that had required companies to have direct and immediate control over workers in order to be considered joint employers.

The board said the rule, which is supported by unions and worker advocates, was necessary to ensure that businesses that effectively exercise control over workers terms of employment respect their bargaining obligations.

The standard for when companies will be considered joint employers has been in flux since the Obama administration. The new rule is similar to a standard the board had adopted in a 2015 decision.

Critics of the rule, including many Republicans and most major business groups, have said it would be improper to force companies to the bargaining table when they have little control over working conditions.

And groups representing franchise businesses claim it could upend the franchise model by requiring companies such as McDonalds to bargain with the employees of franchisees.

Topics USA
Boeing Co. was sued by passengers on an Alaska Airlines Inc. flight that was forced to make an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon, last week after a mid-air blowout of a so-called door plug on the 737 Max 9 jet.

The suit, filed Thursday in Washington state court by seven passengers, seeks class-action status and unspecified damages from Boeing, which manufactured the plane. The 171 passengers and six crew on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 experienced physical injuries and emotional trauma from the accident on Jan. 5, according to the complaint.

The pressure change made ears bleed and combined with low oxygen, loud wind noise and traumatic stress made heads ache severely, lawyers for the plaintiffs said in the suit. Passengers were shocked, terrorized and confused, thrust into a waking nightmare, hoping they would live long enough to walk the earth again.

Boeing is facing scrutiny from US regulators, who have opened a formal investigation into the companys aircraft operations following the incident. Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun said a quality escape compromised the safety of jet, but the company is still trying to understand exactly what went wrong.

Boeing declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Alaska Airlines took delivery of the Max 9 jet from Boeing around Nov. 11, according to the complaint. Since the blowout on Flight 1282, inspections found some bolts that secure door plugs on similar Max 9 planes owned by Alaska Airlines and United Airlines were loose.

Passengers on Flight 1282 said they experienced a sudden loud explosive noise before the left door plug shot off the aircraft. The cabin suddenly and violently depressurized, according to the suit.

The force of the depressurization ripped the shirt off a boy, and sucked cell phones, other debris, and much of the oxygen out of the aircraft, the passengers claim in the lawsuit, adding that some pieces of seats near the opening were torn off and expelled into the night.

Oxygen masks fell from the ceiling, but many didnt seem to work, according to the lawsuit.

The in-flight emergency response was impaired by the wind noise from the hole in the plane and shouting by passengers on board, according to the suit. One woman shouted: Theres a hole in the plane!

Passengers feared they would not survive the flight, lawyers said in the lawsuit. Some prayed. Some texted family to express their trepidation. Some gripped and clung to one another. Some adult passengers were crying. Most were eerily subdued in their collective helpless state, muted with masks on.

The case is Berry v. Boeing, 24-2-00824-1, Superior Court of Washington (King County).

Topics Lawsuits Aviation Aerospace Alaska
Alabama authorities last week charged a city councilman with insurance fraud, alleging that he falsely claimed he had purchased a BMW vehicle.

Derrick Griffin, a councilman in Prichard, next to Mobile, was indicted by a grand jury in December. He had made fraudulent representations on two different occasions, and the investigation is looking into other allegations, the Mobile County prosecutor said, according to Al.com and other local news outlets.

Further details were not available. Griffins bond was set at $10,000.

Finding Griffin posed a challenge for law enforcement. The councilman could not be found at addresses he had listed, which posed new questions about residency requirements for his council district, according to news reports.

Topics Fraud Alabama
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP)  A former finance manager of a nonprofit organization that assists West Virginia disaster victims was sentenced Thursday to more than three years in prison for the theft of $871,000 from the group.

Benjamin Cisco, 31, of Charleston was sentenced in federal court for his May 2023 guilty plea to two counts of wire fraud. He was ordered to pay full restitution.

Cisco was a finance and operations manager for the state chapter of the Arlington, Virginia-based Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, or VOAD.

Court records showed Cisco transferred money from the nonprofits accounts more than 100 times for his personal use and claimed travel reimbursements he wasnt authorized to receive.

U.S. Attorney Will Thompson said Ciscos actions personified greed. Thompson said Cisco used the charitys money on vacations to Disney World, gift cards to home improvement stores and household items.

Among its work, VOADs state chapter was heavily involved in rebuilding bridges and homes after 2016 floods decimated parts of the state and left 23 people dead.

State lawmakers recently requested an audit of the group, which has received more than $27 million in funding since 2016.

Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Fraud West Virginia
FORT LAUDERDALE Fla. (AP)  The National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday it will investigate two crashes involving Floridas Brightline train that killed three people at the same railroad crossing on the high speed trains route between Miami and Orlando.

The crashes happened Wednesday and Friday at a crossing along the U.S. 1 corridor in Melbourne, on Floridas Atlantic coast, where the high speed train passes through on its daily routes to and from South Florida. Since Brightline launched the 160-mile extension that links South Florida and Orlando in September, there have been five deaths, according to an Associated Press database.

Fridays crash killed driver Lisa Ann Batchelder, 52, and passenger Michael Anthony Degasperi, 54, both of Melbourne. On Wednesday, 62-year-old Charles Julian Phillips was killed when the vehicle he was driving was hit by the train. Three passengers in that vehicle were injured, according to Melbourne police.

Melbourne Mayor Paul Alfrey told reporters at the scene that the SUV tried to outrun the train. He said hes spoken to Brightline officials about doing another public safety campaign to warn drivers not to go around railroad crossings because the train is traveling at higher speeds.

I start by saying if the arm is down dont go around, Alfrey told Orlando television station WKMG. Theres no good outcome with a train. This is an unfortunate situation. We have the loss of life again. Theres safety precautions for a reason, and people need to adhere them.

The bright, neon yellow trains travel at speeds up to 125 mph (201 kph) in some locations. The 3.5-hour, 235-mile (378-kilometer) trip between Miami and Orlando takes about 30 minutes less than the average drive.

The NTSB team was expected to at the scene for several days, beginning Saturday.

Investigators will work to better understand the safety issues at this crossing and will examine opportunities to prevent or mitigate these crashes in the future, NTSB spokeswoman Sarah Taylor Sulick told The Associated Press.

She said a preliminary report will be released within 30 days, and a final report will be issued in 12 to 24 months.

Brightline did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment, but the company has placed warning signs near crossings to alert drivers to the fast-moving trains.

The three deaths in Melbourne this week mark at least 108 since it began operations in July 2017. Thats one death for approximately every 38,000 miles (61,000 kilometers) its trains travel, the worst death rate among the nations more than 800 railroads, an ongoing Associated Press analysis that began in 2019 shows. Among U.S. railroads that log at least 100,000 train-miles a year, the next-worst rate since 2017 belongs to Californias Caltrain commuter line. Caltrain has averaged one death for every 125,000 miles (201,000 kilometers) traveled during that period.

None of Brightlines previous deaths have been found to be the railroads fault. Most have been suicides, pedestrians who tried to run across the tracks ahead of the train or drivers who maneuvered around crossing gates rather than wait.

Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Florida
Starke Agency, an insurance brokerage in Montgomery, Alabama, has acquired University Insurance Agency in Auburn, one of the oldest brokers in the city.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Starke said in a news release that it further expands the agencys presence in east Alabama, an expansion that began in October. Starke President Kyle Drumwright said University has more than 50 years of service in the Auburn-Opelika area.

Starke was founded in 1929. It offers business, home, life and auto insurance products.

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Education Alabama Universities
Check fraud has risen dramatically in the last few years  why are insurance companies still slow to make the leap to more secure payment?

Insurance veterans know that when it comes to collecting payments, checks persist in our industry. But over the last several years, a sharp rise in check fraud has made the checks in the mail back-and-forth a precarious proposition.

I wont bury the lede  if youre still taking physical checks as your default payment method in 2024, both the payer and your business are taking on significant and often unnecessary risk. Does that sound dramatic? Lets consider.

Heres the headline of a 2023 Fortune article  Check fraud has gotten so rampant that postal officials are warning Americans to avoid mailing checks.

Or this one from a December NY Times piece  We cant stop writing checks. Thieves love that.

Annual use of check payments for the average American has been in decline for decades. But not in insurance. In fact, the number of check payments for insurance companies (55%) is more than double the average for other companies (22%), according to CB Insights data.

The aforementioned articles, as well as many others, offer numerous examples of lost and subsequently stolen checks by business owners. CBS News recounts the story of a business owner who put 3 checks  in 3 separate envelopes  into an official USPS mailbox. All 3 were stolen, and one of the fraudulent deposits for $21,000 still wasnt refunded over 2 years later.

These arent just anecdotes. S&P Global Markets reports that suspicious activity reports for check fraud tripled between 2018 and 2022. And while banks are taking on heavier losses from fraud, its ultimately the customers who often end up holding the bag.

It can take banks 50-60 days to discover theyve taken a bad check to begin with (Bank Director), and yet according to another WSJ article, banks can decline refunds in cases of fraud if its not reported within a specific time frame (often 30-60 days). And even recouped funds require long-standing customer service battles; one person from the NY Times article recalled roughly 40 phone calls to achieve resolution.

So why are we still taking so many checks in insurance? Especially when most of these checks are both time-sensitive and high-value (and thus, easier to perpetuate fraud).

Our industry doesnt have a reputation for changing rapidly. We know check payments wont go away overnight, especially for larger insurance orgs. Its why we created CheckMate, our smarter collections and check reconciliation solution just for insurance companies.

But the debatable efficiencies that checks offer some larger insurance companies arent reality for many companies still doing things the ways they always have. After signing up nearly 8,000 insurance companies for online payments, the overwhelming consensus is that a fear of change  as well as an overestimation of how hard it is to switch  is the key culprit.

Many insurance companies assume their payers wont like the switch to online payments, only to find that customers are actually more delighted with the convenience. Countless public reviews show that customers both love and expect online payment options.

And a quick plug: insurance companies love it too, because they can choose to pass on payment fees to the payer and put that savings directly back into their business.

So, do you really want more check payments to deal with in 2024? Whats stopping most insurance companies from putting up the Checks Not Accepted sign in their window, so to speak?

Almost all other industries have moved on from a slow, labor-intensive and increasingly risky payment method. Why not us?

Media Contact:

Justin Jaksha

justin@epay3.com

5129684655
All Government departments are examining the recommendations of the Citizens Assembly on Biodiversity Loss, the Dail was assured.

Agriculture, Food and Marine Minister Charlie McConalogue said the next steps and the most appropriate actions to address this important issue are being considered.

He was replying to Deputy Paul Murphy, who asked for his his views on the impact that inserting the rights of nature into the Constitution would have on agriculture.

Deputy Murphy also asked if he supports the Citizens Assembly on Biodiversitys proposal to hold a referendum on the rights of nature.

Minister McConalogue said the recommendation requires collaborative assessment across Government to identify the impact of actioning it and how such a proposal could be incorporated into the Constitution.

He said the Constitution is the fundamental law of the State and declares the fundamental rights of every Irish citizen.

Any changes to the Constitution require careful and thoughtful consideration across all of Government, he said.

The Minister said the forthcoming Fourth National Biodiversity Action Plan contains a commitment for the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to explore the ways in which the rights of nature could be formally recognised, including the potential for constitutional change.

I am committed to working with my colleagues in NPWS, and across Government, to delivering on this action, he said.
A research project has been awarded almost 4m to fund on-farm testing of a new approach to grassland farming that seeks to eliminate nitrogen fertiliser dependence.

The project, called Project 'NUE-Leg', will exploit innovations in plant breeding, soil microbiology, nutrition, and grassland management to achieve improvements in the capacities of legumes such as white and red clovers to fix nitrogen from fresh air and make this available to grasslands.

The project has been awarded the significant level of funding by the UK Government.

New proprietary legume varieties have also been developed by Belfast and Tipperary-based Germinal and Aberystwyth University in Wales that improve the efficiency of protein uptake by cattle from grassland.

Other varieties have also been developed which contain tannins that reduce methane emissions by cattle.

The objective of the project is to create conditions in commercial farm settings that will enable clover to fix up to 300kg of nitrogen per hectare per year, a large portion of which will be available for grass growth.

At these levels, additional chemical nitrogen fertilisers needed for grass growth could largely be eliminated.

Nitrate losses

Germinal UK and Ireland managing director Paul Billings said that nitrogen is an essential nutrient for growing grass and without it, the grass needed to feed livestock would not grow.

"However, nitrogen fertilisers are also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions in their manufacture and transport, and from in-field losses such as nitrous oxide and ammonia," Mr Billings said.

"They are also a source of nitrate losses to our waterways. They are expensive and farmers have seen huge volatility in prices, particularly in the last two years when price fluctuations have been around 300%."

Agriculture accounts for about a third of Irelands total greenhouse gas emissions. Ruminant livestock is a significant source of emissions in the forms of methane and ammonia.

A near-term sectoral emissions reduction target of 25% has been set for the sector.

A range of measures are proposed to support this target including limits on the maximum amount of nitrogen fertilisers applied on Irish farms of 300,000 tonnes (by 2030).

Government targets

"Governments around the world have rightly said that we need to reduce our reliance on nitrogen fertilisers. We need a solution," Mr Billings continued.

"Legumes such as white and red clovers grown with grass can fix nitrogen from the air, but with no emissions. A grass sward with a good clover content could fix on average between 100 and 150kg of nitrogen per hectare per year.

"The clover will use about 75kg of this for itself. The rest is available to the grass.

But what if we could maximise the capacity of clovers to fix nitrogen by ensuring we have enough clovers that can persist in the sward, and match them with the right soil microbes and the right nutrition?

"We also need to wrap this up in a management approach that supports farmers and gives them the tools and information they need to make this work in a commercial setting, and make a profit."

This is what the new project hopes to achieve, according to Mr Billings - a "threefold increase in the capacity of clovers to fix atmospheric nitrogen up to 300kg nitrogen per hectare per year and thereby eliminate the need for chemical nitrogen fertilisers".

On-farm testing and evaluation will take place across 14 commercial farms co-ordinated by Aberystwyth University and NUE-Leg supply chain partners: Dovecote Park (beef), Pilgrims Pride (lamb), Muller UK & Ireland (dairy) and farming charity LEAF.
Succession and The Bear both scored major success with six wins during the Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, closely followed by Beef which received five on-stage awards.

Hollywood stars descended at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles for the annual awards, which were pushed back from September due to the US actors and writers strikes, to celebrate the best in television.

Succession was named best drama series, while best limited series went to Beef and The Bear picked up best comedy series  which saw Ebon Moss-Bachrach sharing a comical on-stage kiss with co-star Matty Matheson.

Matty Matheson, centre, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach kiss as The Bear wins the award for outstanding comedy series during the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Moss-Bachrach had earlier won the Emmy for best supporting actor in a comedy, alongside Jeremy Allen White, who picked up best lead actor in a comedy, and Ayo Edebiri who was awarded the best supporting actress in the category.

The Bears Christopher Storer also won two Emmy Awards for best directing and best writing on a comedy series, but could not make it to the ceremony.

Meanwhile Kieran Culkin kissed Succession co-star Brian Cox on the lips when it was announced he had won the Emmy for lead actor in a drama series, before announcing he would like more children with his wife, Jazz Charton.

You said maybe if I win, I love you so much, Culkin said.

It came after The Last Of Us star Pedro Pascal playfully took aim at Culkin after the Succession star said suck it Pedro on-stage, after trumping him to a Golden Globe award earlier this month.

A lot of people have been asking about my arm, its actually my shoulder, and I think tonight is the perfect time to tell people  Kieran Culkin beat the s*** out of me, Pascal joked on-stage.

Later in the ceremony, Culkins co-star Matthew Macfadyen was named best supporting actor in a drama series, while Sarah Snook thanked her young daughter during a speech after winning best lead actress in the same category.

Sarah Snook accepts the award for outstanding lead actress in a drama series for Succession during the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

The biggest thank you, I think though, is to someone who wont understand anything that Im saying at the moment, but I carried her with me in this last season and really it was her who carried me, she said.

Its very easy to act when youre pregnant because youve got hormones raging and it was more that the proximity of her life growing inside me gave me the strength to do this and this performance. I love you so much and its all for you from here on out.

The shows creator and director Jesse Armstrong won best writing for a drama series and thanked the creative community in the US.

I come from the UK and the show is about things that are close to the centre of American life and politics and weve always been met with generosity and good faith and thats part of Americas tradition of being very welcoming to outsiders and its very nice, he said.

And, for some reason, the name of Australian-born media mogul Rupert Murdoch comes to mind. I cant speak for him but I am very grateful for the generosity Ive been shown working in this country  it was a great sadness to end this show but it was a great pleasure.

Ali Wong, left, embraces Steven Yeun after he wins the award for outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie for Beef during the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Beef also took home a host of gongs with stars Steven Yeun and Ali Wong winning outstanding lead actor and actress in a limited series respectively.

Wong said: I wouldnt be standing here without my amazing parents, my mother and my father who I so wish were alive to share this moment with me. My hilarious father who loved me unconditionally and taught me the value of failure.

Creator and director Lee Sung Jin made three speeches on the night, also picking up best writing and directing of a limited series.

He said: There is a lot of the suicidal ideation in the show, it was based on stuff I and some of the folks up here have struggled with over the years, so Im really grateful and humbled by anyone who watched the show and reached out about their own personal struggles, its very life-affirming.

I feel like we live in a world designed to keep us separate, even here some of us go home with trophies, other people dont, and I think for some of us when we live in a world like this you begin to think there is no way anyone can understand you, or like you, or much less no potential at being loved.

And so the greatest joy working on Beef has truly been working with the folks up here who I love so unconditionally.

Jennifer Coolidge, winner of the award for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series for The White Lotus, poses in the press room during the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Elsewhere, The White Lotus star Jennifer Coolidge won best supporting actress in a drama series, using her speech to thank all the evil gays  referencing an episode of the show that became a viral meme.

I had a little dream in my little town and it did happen after all, so dont give up on your dream, she added.

An emotional Niecy Nash-Betts won best supporting actress in a limited series for Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, who thanked herself for believing in me.

Finally, I accept this award on behalf of every black and brown woman who has gone unheard yet over policed  like Glenda Cleveland, like Sandra Bland, like Breonna Taylor, she said.

As an artist, my job is to speak truth to power and baby Im going to do it until the day I die  Mumma I won!

The Emmy for best supporting actor in a limited series went to Paul Walter Hauser for Black Bird, the actor rapping his acceptance speech as he dedicated the award to his wife who makes my heart strong and knees weak.

The ceremony also saw Charlie Puth perform the theme tune to Friends as the Emmy Awards remembered those who have died in the industry, including star Matthew Perry.

Murder, She Wrote star Dame Angela Lansbury, Euphorias Angus Cloud and Len Goodman from Strictly Come Dancing were also remembered, alongside Pee Wee Herman star Paul Reubens.
I recently spoke about ADHD at the annual neurodiversity conference at SETU in Waterford. While preparing my presentation, I considered talking about the usual themes of ADHD treatment, such as medication, behavioural supports, and parent training programmes. However, after some deliberation, I decided to talk about self-worth,which is critically important for children with ADHD, and how the school environment can erode it.

Protecting these childrens self-worth is crucially important as, according to US psychologist Emily Swain, research consistently shows that children with ADHD tend to have lower self-esteem than their neurotypical peers.

According to ADHD Ireland, 5% of Irish children have a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which amounts to around 60,000 children.

The main symptoms of ADHD include impulsivity, inattention and hyperactivity, and most interventions tend to focus on improving these behaviours. Stimulant medication like Ritalin is used to build childrens attention span so they can, for example, sit still and concentrate for longer.

Behavioural strategies encourage children to pause before they act, reducing the negative consequences of their impulsivity. Support for parents aims to teach them techniques such as breaking down instructions into bite-size chunks to improve the childs sense of organisation and regulation.

Although these strategies may improve their functioning, interpersonal issues however, like getting in trouble in school or falling out with peers, can continue to arise and erode their self-esteem.

Multiple challenges

The three main areas where children with ADHD struggle are academic environments, social interactions, and mastering daily tasks.

Academic challenges can significantly affect a childs perception of their competence and intelligence, also leading to lower confidence. As a result of their inattention, children with ADHD struggle to adapt to the demands of conventional education environments, often resulting in them zoning out or becoming disruptive.

Social interactions can also present difficulties for children with ADHD. Impulsivity, hyperactivity, and inattention are core features of the condition, which inevitably lead to challenges in forming and maintaining friendships. A lack of understanding of ADHD symptoms in others can lead to multiple experiences of rejection and negative social experiences.

Children with ADHD can blurt out things that are hurtful to others or they can impulsively act in an overly physical way, which is often not welcomed by their peers. The inevitable rejection that follows contributes to feelings of inadequacy, further depleting the childs self-worth.

Daily tasks can be a source of difficulty too. Executive function deficits are part of the ADHD presentation, negatively affecting the childs ability to plan, organise, and complete tasks. Repeatedly falling short in these areas by forgetting to bring their coat home, losing possessions, or not being able to follow rules or instructions can lead to negative self-perception and a sense of incompetence. Difficulties with time management and recurrent failure to complete tasks reinforce these negative beliefs about their abilities.

The school environment can be highly challenging for children with ADHD. Academic expectations, intense social environments, and the requirement to demonstrate good executive functioning mean that most aspects of school highlight these childrens struggles. Traditional school settings often require a child to follow highly structured schedules. Children with ADHD may struggle with transitions between activities and find it difficult to conform to rigid timetables. They also have difficulty sitting still for long periods, paying attention, or remaining engaged in activities that do not provide constant stimulation. Many traditional classrooms do not offer enough opportunities for movement, which can be challenging for children who benefit from physical activity to manage their symptoms. Also, large class sizes can make it difficult for teachers to provide individualised attention and support for children with ADHD.

Furthermore, the expectation of completing homework and studying independently can be particularly taxing for children with ADHD as these tasks often require sustained attention and organisation, creating high levels of stress for the child and their family.

Traditional educational assessment methods like the STens tests that occur in the final term of second, fourth and sixth classes may not fully capture the capabilities of children with ADHD. These standardised educational tests rely heavily on sustained attention, which may not accurately reflect the childs true potential.

The impulsive behaviour and difficulty with self-regulation associated with ADHD often lead to disciplinary actions in schools. Such punitive responses can exacerbate the self-esteem challenges these children face.

The inability of the child with ADHD to feel a sense of belonging in primary school and the emphasis on aspects of functioning they struggle with can negatively shape the childs relationship with education and colour what follows in terms of their 14-year educational journey.

Putting the onus on these children to adapt and cope with the rigidity of the school environment is an unfair ask. Surely there are alternative opportunities for children with ADHD to show their value? Children with ADHD may have skills in creativity and spontaneity, which are often not showcased in a written exam or test.

The narrow lens of the standardised exams to capture childrens ability seems to be a larger scale deficit of the wider system, where the ability to memorise effectively and present ones work in a uniform written format is the most valuable trait in the current educational system. This form of assessment can leave children with ADHD feeling unable  and inevitably  negatively impacts their self-worth and self-esteem.

Early intervention essential

Longitudinal studies have explored the relationship between ADHD and self-worth and repeatedly suggest that early intervention and support can positively influence long-term outcomes.

There is a need to create a more inclusive and flexible learning environment, which could include implementing accommodations like regular movement breaks, providing teacher training on ADHD awareness, fostering a better understanding of ADHD among classmates, and incorporating strategies that support the unique needs of children with ADHD.

Collaboration between parents, educators, and mental health professionals is crucial to creating a supportive and successful educational experience for children with ADHD.

If a child is continually chastised for something they cannot master and reminded of what they cannot do, it stands to reason they will lose interest in trying to succeed at school and give up.

These children often get reputations for being troublesome without anyone taking the time to remind them of their value.

Little changes when the focus is on the behaviour, not the child.

Instead of asking how do we get this child to be able to sit for longer?, why not ask, how can we design our school environments so the child does not have to sit for as long?.

Some worthwhile strategies outlined by ADDitide editor Chris Zeigler Dendy include:

Assigning work that suits the students skill level;

Offering choices, which encourages compliance and reduces negativity;

Providing visual reminders; students with ADHD respond well to visual cues and examples;

Increasing active class participation and creating learning opportunities where children experience things first-hand, like having students write and act out a play or record an assignment on videotape as opposed to writing it out in essay format.

Children with ADHD often struggle to navigate the world. We need to prioritise maintaining their self-worth and find ways to enhance their engagement rather than punish them for not being able to cope with the environments we have designed.

Dr Colman Noctor is a child psychotherapist
The Government is set to examine the debt warehousing scheme in a bid to help businesses still struggling post-covid.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin confirmed Finance Minister Michael McGrath was ready to examine the phased payments element of the scheme in the wake of a spate of restaurants and cafe closures  four in Cork City in the last 10 days alone  all citing soaring business costs.

An estimated 1.7bn is owed in covid-era warehoused tax debt.

But Mr Martin effectively ruled out a Vat reduction for food-led business.

The reduced 9% rate for tourism and hospitality was reintroduced in Budget 2021 at an estimated cost of 401m. It was extended in Budget 2022 to August 2022 at a further estimated cost of 251m, and extended again to March of this year.

He accepted the hospitality sector was facing ongoing challenges post covid, but he defended Government supports for the sector and rejected claims from the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) that the Government is not listening to the concerns of what it says is a sector in crisis.

Weve always been listening and I think that's an unfair assertion by the Restaurants Association of Ireland because they know well during covid-19 we stepped up to the plate and we provided very substantial resources to the hospitality sector, Mr Martin said.

They are going through a lot of pressure. I think what we're witnessing is a more long-term effect of covid. Covid impacted on a whole range of the economy and society it's not gone away."

Stephen Vaughan, owner of the White Rabbit on MacCurtain Street: the restaurant will close on February 4 after nine years in business. Picture: Denis Minihane

But he said the Government could examine the debt warehousing scheme.

That is something I think we can look at and Ill talk to the minister for finance Michael McGrath in respect of that to see if that can be structured in a way. It had already been restructured to some degree in terms of phasing. But our objective is to keep businesses open, he said.

In October 2022, Revenue announced a 12-month extension to the debt warehousing scheme which allowed businesses with warehoused debt to enter into an arrangement with Revenue to deal with that debt by the end of that year  or by May 1, 2023, for those subject to an extended deadline.

Then, against the backdrop of economic uncertainty, Revenue extended that deadline to May 1, 2024.

But the RAI said the sector needed a rescue package that included a 10-year repayment period for that debt, and a reduced Vat rate of 9%.

Mr Martin said the Government provided a 250m business supports package in the budget, and he said when government reduced the Vat rate to 9% during covid, some hotels did not respond as Government had hoped.

The prices went up, as we witnessed across many towns and cities in the country if the truth be told, he said.
A man appeared in court on Tuesday morning charged in connection with the death of journalism student Joe Drennan last year.

Mr Drennan, 21, was standing at a bus stop on Dublin Road, Castletroy, Limerick, at about 9.30pm on Friday, October 13 last when he was hit by a driver of a car and killed.

The driver of the car failed to remain at the scene.

On Tuesday morning, gardai arrested and charged Kieran Fogarty, 20, of Hyde Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick, with three offences relating to the fatal hit and run.

Mr Fogarty, who sat in the dock at Limerick District Court wearing a grey tracksuit and runners, was charged with one count of dangerous driving causing Mr Drennans death, one count of driving without insurance and one count of driving without a drivers license.

Mr Fogartys solicitor Darach McCarthy applied to have a bail hearing heard in-camera.

Sergeant Ashling ONeill of Roxboro Road Garda Station said she was opposed to the solicitors application and the State did not have any reason for having the bail hearing heard in-camera.

Refusing the application, Judge Carol Anne Coolican said: Justice needs to be administered in public.

Members of Joe Drennans family attended court on Tuesday morning.

From Mountrath, Co Laois, Mr Drennan was regarded as one of the countrys rising young journalists and had been shortlisted for Journalist of the Year at the 2023 Student Media Awards.

Mr Fogarty was held in continuing custody and the matter was adjourned for a bail hearing to be heard later on Tuesday.
A young woman who drank vodka with two co-workers after their shop closed at night claimed that she was sexually assaulted when one of the men was pushed into a bathroom behind her and the door was held closed from the outside.

Detective Garda Alan Johnson outlined the allegations in the case at Cork District Court on Tuesday. There was no objection to bail being granted to the two accused on conditions, Det. Garda Johnson said.

The Director of Public Prosecutions directed that it was suitable for being dealt with at district court level. Judge Mary Dorgan agreed to accept jurisdiction to deal with the case at the district court.

There is a court order preventing identification of the parties.

Detective Garda Johnson said that on a date unknown between January 1 and July 20, 2019, at a business premises in Cork the alleged injured party and the two defendants drank vodka together in the premises after it closed.

It is alleged by (complainant) that at one point during the early morning that she went to go to the bathroom. She alleged that the two men followed her and that (the first defendant) pushed (the second defendant) into the bathroom with her and that (the first defendant) blocked the bathroom door so that the injured party could not get out.

It is alleged that (the second defendant) sexually assaulted her to touching her around her body outside her clothes and that she became upset. She exited the bathroom and ran out of the shop.

A man from a neighbouring building observed her in distress and came to see if she was alright, Det. Garda Johnson said.

The first defendant is aged 33 and the second defendant is 36. Both are charged with the same two counts  sexual assault and false imprisonment  for their different parts in the alleged incident.

Second alleged sexual assault

The same complainant alleged that on another occasion  November 20, 2021  she said she was touched inappropriately by a 47-year-old defendant who tried to hug and kiss her.

It is alleged that all contact was outside her clothing after work. He was charged with sexual assault arising out of this allegation.

He appeared in court together with the two accused from the other case involving the same complainant.

Solicitor Eddie Burke represented the three accused and copies of the prosecution statements are to be sent to him.

Bail conditions required each of the three defendants to surrender his passport, supply a phone number to gardai, sign every Monday and Friday at a garda station and have no contact with the complainant or witnesses, directly or indirectly.

Judge Mary Dorgan adjourned the cases until February 27 at Cork District Court, on the application of Sergeant John Kelleher.
A seven-judge Supreme Court will give a decision later on the last ditch appeal by convicted killer Graham Dwyer to overturn his conviction for the murder of Elaine OHara.

His lawyers told the court it was their case there was a breach of Graham Dwyers rights under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in the gathering of mobile phone data which was later used at his trial for the murder of the 36-year-old child care worker.

But counsel for the DPP submitted that there was a significant amount of evidence that allowed the jury in the Dwyer case to conclude that the former architect was the author of text messages, including a special instruction to Ms OHara to go down to the shore and wait.

The core of the prosecution case, Anne Marie Lawlor SC said, was the exchange of text messages and it led to the inescapable conclusion that Dwyer was the author of text messages to Elaine OHara.

Ms O'Haras father, Frank, her brother John and sister Anne were in court for the Supreme Court hearing which was heard over a day.

The Court of Appeal had last March dismissed another of Dwyers appeals against his 2015 conviction on all grounds but a further final appeal to the Supreme Court was allowed.

Elaine O'Hara's remains were found on Killakee mountain and she was identified from dental records. File photo

Dwyer, who is originally from Cork, is serving a life sentence after he was convicted at the Central Criminal Court in 2015 of the murder of Ms OHara. He denied the charge.

The 36-year-old woman was last seen in August 2012 in a park in Shanganagh, south Dublin. Some of her remains were found on Killakee mountain just over a year later and she was identified from dental records.

Dwyers trial was told a Nokia phone found in Vartry Reservoir in Co Wicklow in 2013 was used to send Ms OHara messages, including one about stabbing, culminating in a text dated August 22, 2012  the last day she was seen  to go down to the shore and wait.

This appeal is regarded as his last possible appeal against his conviction in the Irish courts though there may be an application by the Dwyer side to refer further matters to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

Tuesday's proceedings

Opening the case before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Remy Farrell SC for Graham Dwyer said the data retention issue is fundamental.

The Dwyer side contends the data should not have been admitted due to it being retained and accessed under a 2011 Irish law struck down in 2014 by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Counsel said it is obvious the Irish courts are bound by the ruling of the CJEU.

EU law, he said, is not some esoteric system of parallel law. He said it was integral, whether one likes the consequences of the CJEU rulings or not.

Mr Farrell said the question was whether the mobile phone evidence was lawful in the first place.

We know the data should not have been retained. There was a system of mass retention that is impermissible, counsel added.

In dismissing Dwyers appeal against conviction last March, the Court of Appeal agreed with prosecution arguments there was enough evidence to support the conviction, even if the disputed call data evidence had been excluded. The limited call data evidence at issue was not very significant at all and was properly admitted into evidence, it ruled.

There was other evidence to link Dwyer to two phones that formed part of the prosecution case, the appeal court said. There was evidence to the same effect independent of the call data records that was as powerful and perhaps more compelling.
Councillors on Mayo County Council have voted unanimously to pass a motion instructing its chief executive to withdraw cooperation with the Department of Equality.

The motion, which was brought by independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne, calls for all cooperation to be withdrawn "until such time as an agreed strategy is put in place to properly co-ordinate the provision of additional services for the communities hosting refugees and international protection applicants".

About 6,000 asylum seekers have been housed in the county, which has a population of 137,000. Councillors have argued the refugee population makes up 3.84% of people in Mayo, as opposed to 1.53% in Dublin.

Fine Gael councillor Peter Flynn brought an amendment to the motion which "requests the Irish Government to revoke the European Union (Planning and Development) (Displaced Persons from Ukraine Temporary Protection) Regulations 2022".

It also called for a replacement of emergency planning laws for migrant housing with a bill which would extend those laws to affordable housing.

Mr Flynn told the Irish Examiner the "radical" move was necessary to avoid "discord". He said "faceless speculators" were driving Government strategy by purchasing hotels and B&Bs and offering them to Government for use as asylum-seeker housing.

He said the "vast majority" of this accommodation was being used for tourists before the migrant crisis.

"This has been building, we came close to passing something similar last April. There's a lack of a Government strategy around transport, housing, medical facilities. There's also an issue around tourism.

"We've taken 35% of tourist accommodation out of use, which has serious issues on downstream business and makes the base rates of remaining accommodation more expensive. Croagh Patrick visitor numbers are down 50% [on] pre-covid.

The last thing we want is social discord where refugees are blamed for something they're not responsible for. We're two years into this crisis and doing the same things we have been.

"We've asked TDs, ministers and members of Government to intervene. We've taken a fairly radical step, but we felt it was necessary to avoid that societal breakdown which we've warned about."

Earlier this month, there was a protest in Ballinrobe, Co Mayo, outside the former JJ Gannons Hotel after it emerged there were plans to accommodate 50 international protection applicants in the building.

It was stood down after the Department of Integration said it would be used to house families and children.

Earlier on Tuesday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said a special package for the 10 areas that have taken in the highest numbers of Ukrainians and-asylum seekers is to be put in place to support communities.
A GLOUNTHAUNE duplex could be just the ticket for a family looking to keep grandparents close by, or it could equally suit someone looking to run a business from home.

In fact the vendors were intending to run a physiotherapy clinic from the basement unit, until a job opportunity arose in Dublin. They had even gone so far as to get commercial planning and had bought some land to the rear to provide extra carparking.

It means a lot of the legwork is done for a new owner who may be looking for a similar set up to work from home. The duplex, two homes in one at Nos 1 & 2 Gort Fada, is available to buy as a single lot for 550,000, or separately as a three-bed, three bathroom, 96 sq m home for 300,000 or a two-bed, two bathroom, 80 sq m apartment for 250,000.

Nicely positioned at the entrance to Deady Gahan-designed Lane Homes Gort Fada development, just beyond the distinctive dormer homes of 18-house Johnstown Park, the view to the front is of the estuary, with the rail line to Cobh cutting through it.

Whoever buys the three-bed upstairs home will have the view, and theres a generous balcony with glass railing from which to enjoy it.

The downstairs two-bed has double doors from the main open-plan living area to a low-maintenance. walled-in, gravel outdoor space, with a small patio area.

Selling Nos 1 & 2 is John Hornibrook of James Colbert & Co and he predicts good interest as Glounthaune is such a strong area when it comes to demand for homes.

"It's a great spot," he says, pointing to the new cycleway/walkway into Glounthaune village that passes by the property (it will run from Dunkettle to Midleton when complete) and to to the railway line that also passes by, with a train station just down the road, providing onward commuter links to Cork City (less than 10 minutes) in one direction, or Cobh, in the opposite direction.

Ashley McCarthy and Frances McCarthy, Glounthaune at a family fun cycle from Dunkettle to the Glounthaune greenway to celebrate Cycle Week 2023. Picture: Darragh Kane

VERDICT: Ideal for a buyer who wants to run a business close to home or for an intergenerational family. Option to purchase separately may appeal to first time buyers.
Iran has fired missiles at what it claimed were Israeli spy headquarters near the US consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil and at targets linked to the extremist group Islamic State in northern Syria.

Four civilians were killed and six injured on Monday when missiles hit an upscale area near the consulate in Irbil, the seat of Iraqs semi-autonomous Kurdish region, according to the security council of the Kurdish regional government.

Irans Revolutionary Guards said in a statement it had hit a headquarters of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, in the Kurdish region of Iraq.

Another statement said it had fired a number of ballistic missiles at terrorist operations, including Islamic State targets, in Syria and destroyed them.

Iraqi officials near the site where Iranian missiles struck in an area close to the US consulate in Irbil (Rudaw TV/AP)

The strikes come at a time of heightened tensions in the region and fears of a wider spillover of the ongoing war in Gaza.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have launched near-daily drone attacks on bases housing US forces in Iraq and Syria, which the groups have said was in retaliation for Washingtons support of Israel, and in an attempt to force US troops to leave the region.

The US strongly condemns Irans reckless missile strikes in Irbil, state department spokesman Matthew Miller said. He added that the attacks undermine Iraqs stability.

A US defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the US tracked the missilescand no US facilities were struck or damaged in the attacks.

The official said initial indications were that the strikes were reckless and imprecise.

An Iraqi security official said Irbil was targeted with several ballistic missiles but did not give further details.

An official with an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia said 10 missiles fell in the area near the US consulate. He said the missiles were launched by Irans revolutionary guards.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said his country will no longer pursue reconciliation with South Korea and called for the Norths constitution to be rewritten to eliminate the idea of shared statehood between the war-divided countries, state media said on Tuesday.

The historic step to discard a decades-long pursuit of a peaceful unification, which was based on a sense of national homogeneity shared by both Koreas, comes amid heightened tensions where the pace of both Mr Kims weapons development and the Souths military exercises with the United States have intensified in a tit-for-tat.

Some experts say Mr Kim could be aiming to diminish South Koreas voice in regional security matters and communicate more clearly that he will seek to deal directly with America over the nuclear stand-off, which has deepened amid disagreements over the stringent US-led sanctions over his growing nuclear weapons programme.

Declaring the South as a permanent adversary, not as a potential partner for reconciliation, could also be part of efforts to improve the credibility of Mr Kims escalatory nuclear doctrine, which authorises the military to launch pre-emptive nuclear attacks against adversaries if it perceives the leadership in Pyongyang as under threat.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un blamed South Korea and the United States for raising tensions in the region (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service/AP)

The North Korean steps come as Mr Kim has been actively boosting his partnerships with Moscow and Beijing as he attempts to break out of diplomatic isolation and increase his leverage by joining a united front against Washington.

North Korea also abolished the key government agencies that had been tasked with managing relations with South Korea during a meeting of the countrys rubber-stamp parliament on Monday, the Norths official Korean Central News Agency said.

The Supreme Peoples Assembly said the two Koreas are locked in an acute confrontation and that it would be a serious mistake for the North to regard the South as a partner in diplomacy.

The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, the National Economic Co-operation Bureau and the (Diamond Mountain) International Tourism Administration, tools which existed for (North-South) dialogue, negotiations and co-operation, are abolished, the assembly said in a statement.

During his speech, Mr Kim blamed South Korea and the United States for raising tensions in the region, citing their expanded joint military exercises, deployments of US strategic military assets, and their trilateral security co-operation with Japan as turning the Korean Peninsula into a dangerous war-risk zone, KCNA said.

Mr Kim said it has become impossible for the North to pursue reconciliation and a peaceful reunification with the South, which he described as top-class stooges of outside powers that are obsessed with confrontational manoeuvres.

He called for the assembly to rewrite the Norths constitution to define South Korea as the Norths primary foe and invariable principal enemy.

The new constitution should specify that North Korea will pursue occupying, subjugating and reclaiming South Korea as part of the Norths territory if another war erupts on the Korean Peninsula, he said.

He also ordered the removal of past symbols of inter-Korean reconciliation, to completely eliminate such concepts as reunification, reconciliation and fellow countrymen from the national history of our republic.

A TV screen at Seoul railway station shows an image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news programme (Ahn Young-joon.AP)

He specifically demanded cutting off cross-border railway sections and tearing down a monument in Pyongyang honouring a pursuit for reunification, which he described as an eyesore.

It is the final conclusion drawn from the bitter history of the inter-Korean relations that we cannot go along the road of national restoration and reunification together, he said.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said during a Cabinet meeting in Seoul that Mr Kims comments show the anti-national and anti-historical nature of the government in Pyongyang.

He Yoon said the South is maintaining firm defence readiness and will punish the North multiple times hard if it provokes it.

(The North)s fake peace tactic that threatened us to choose between war and peace no longer works, he said.

In his speech at the assembly, Mr Kim reiterated that the North has no intention of unilaterally starting a war, but has no intention of avoiding one either.

Citing his growing military nuclear programme, he said a nuclear conflict in the Korean Peninsula would end South Koreas existence and bring unimaginable disaster and defeat to the United States.

He had made similar remarks during a year-end ruling party meeting, saying ties between the Koreas have become fixed into the relations between two states hostile to each other.

At a political conference last week, he defined South Korea as the Norths principal enemy and threatened to annihilate it if provoked.

The assembly said North Koreas government will take practical measures to implement the decision to abolish the agencies handling dialogue and co-operation with the South.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Kim Jong Uns comments show the anti-national and anti-historical nature of the Pyongyang government (Korea Pool/Yonhap/AP)

The National Committee for Peaceful Reunification has been North Koreas main agency handling inter-Korean affairs since its establishment in 1961.

The National Economic Co-operation Bureau and the Diamond Mountain International Tourism Administration had been set to handle joint economic and tourism projects between the Koreas during a brief period of reconciliation in the 2000s.

Such projects, including a jointly operated factory park in the North Korean border town of Kaesong and South Korean tours to the Norths Diamond Mountain resort, have been halted for years as relations between the rivals worsened over North Koreas nuclear ambitions.

Those activities are currently banned under UN Security Council resolutions against the North that have tightened since 2016 as Mr Kim accelerated his nuclear and missile tests.

The leader has further vowed to expand his nuclear arsenal and severed virtually all co-operation with the South.

He has dialled up his weapons demonstrations to a record pace since the start of 2022, using the distraction created by Russias war on Ukraine to expand his military capabilities.

There is also growing international concern over an alleged arms co-operation deal between North Korea and Russia.

The United States and South Korea say North Korea has provided Russia with arms, including artillery and missiles, to help its fight in Ukraine.
Qatars prime minister offered a stinging criticism of Israel and the international community on Tuesday over the ongoing Israeli-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as Qatars foreign minister, said a two-state solution is required to end the conflict and warned that Hamass October 7 attack and the Israeli response shows the region cannot go back to the way it was before.

Gaza is not there anymore. I mean, there is nothing over there, he told a panel meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Its carpet bombing everywhere.

He also brought up the ongoing tensions in the West Bank, which have also seen Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces, and urged an end to Palestinian divisions.

We cannot have a two-state solution without having a government and politicians in Israel who believe in co-existing together side by side peacefully and we cannot have all this ongoing without ending this war, he said.

Israels Iron Dome air defence system fires to intercept a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip (Leo Correa/AP)

He warned that a military confrontation in Middle East waterways will not contain the attacks by Houthi rebels who on Monday fired a missile which struck a US-owned ship just off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden.

What we have right now in the region is a recipe of escalation everywhere, Sheikh Mohammed added.

Elsewhere, Israel said one of its troops was slightly injured in an exchange of fire along the countrys border with Egypt, which Cairo attributed to drug smuggling. One person in Egypt was killed.

The statement from the Israeli military late on Monday said the fighting happened near the Nitzana border crossing with Egypt on the Sinai Peninsula, and that there were 20 armed suspects.

The Israelis and the suspects exchanged fire, with Israel saying hits were identified among the suspects, without elaborating.

The Israeli soldier who was hit was evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment and her family has been informed, the military said.

The Israeli military did not identify the suspects.

Israeli security forces and property tax officials examine a store in Netivot which was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip (Leo Correa/AP)

An Egyptian military statement on Tuesday described the suspects involved as trying to smuggle drugs. It said one person was killed and six people were arrested afterwards.

Egypt and Israel have had a peace deal since 1979, but Israels months-long war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip has strained ties.

Speaking in Davos, Sheikh Mohammed warned of the massive destruction across Gaza and criticised Israel for rejecting a ceasefire.

Israels defence minister had said a day earlier that the intense offensive in the southern Gaza Strip will soon be scaled back, but ruled out a ceasefire.

More than 100 days into Israels war against Hamas, Palestinian authorities said the death toll in the enclave has passed 24,000.

Hamass October 7 attack from Gaza into southern Israel, which triggered the war, killed around 1,200 people and saw some 250 others taken hostage by militants.

Security forces examine the damage caused in Netivot, southern Israel, by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip (Leo Correa/AP)

Meanwhile, Israel said a barrage of 15 rockets was launched towards southern Israel on Tuesday, damaging a store.

Israeli media said it was one of the strongest bombardments from Gaza in more than a week.

It came a day after Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the Israeli army is expanding military control from northern Gaza towards other part of the strip.

Hamas has continued to fire rockets at Israel throughout the war, even as Israel says it is dismantling Hamass military capabilities in ever-expanding areas of Gaza.

Israeli Channel 12 TV reported that the rockets were launched from the central Gaza town of Bureij.

In the area of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, Israeli troops located approximately 100 rocket set-installations and 60 ready-to-use rockets, the Israeli army said on Tuesday, claiming its forces killed dozens of militants during the activity.
The US military on Tuesday carried out a new strike in Yemen against four Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles, two US officials told Reuters, the latest move against the Iran-aligned group over its targeting of Red Sea shipping.

One of the officials said the missiles were struck because they were being prepared to target ships in the region.

The US strike came a day after Houthi forces hit the U.S.-owned and operated dry bulk ship Gibraltar Eagle with an anti-ship ballistic missile.

Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping have continued even after the US and Britain last week launched an initial wave of strikes to degrade Houthi capabilities.

The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, have claimed their attacks on commercial ships are aimed at supporting the Palestinians in Israel's war in Gaza.

Their attacks have disrupted global shipping and stoked fears of global inflation. They have also deepened concern that fallout from the Israel-Hamas war could destabilize the Middle East.

On Monday, the Gibraltar Eagle's US-based operator Eagle Bulk Shipping said it was hit by an "unidentified projectile" while sailing 160 km off the Gulf of Aden.

The attack caused a fire in a hold of the vessel, which was carrying steel products, but no injuries and the ship was continuing on its way, it said.

Container vessels have been pausing or diverting from the Red Sea that leads to the Suez Canal, the fastest freight route from Asia to Europe. Many ships have been forced to take the longer route via the Cape of Good Hope instead.
Juggling inventory, managing orders, and reaching customers across the webrunning a successful e-commerce business can be a juggling act. But the right tools can make all the difference.

Join us as we explore the e-commerce solutions that are leveling the playing field for small businesses, making it easier than ever to compete and succeed in the digital marketplace.

In this weeks edition of Tech Tuesday, we look at the best seven tools made just for small businesses.

Shopify

A powerhouse in the e-commerce domain, Shopify stands out for its widespread popularity and user-friendly interface. It boasts a plethora of customizable templates, making it an excellent choice for businesses seeking a personalized online presence. With integrated payment options and comprehensive analytics, Shopify empowers small businesses to establish and manage their digital storefronts effectively.

Easy to use and very popular.

Lets you make your online store look the way you want.

Keeps track of your sales and helps you understand your customers.

WooCommerce

As a WordPress plugin, WooCommerce seamlessly integrates e-commerce functionality into existing WordPress websites. Its high level of customization and scalability make it a favorite among businesses of all sizes. Leveraging the vast WordPress community and resources, WooCommerce provides a versatile solution for small businesses looking to expand their online operations.

Works well with WordPress websites.

You can change and expand it a lot.

Many people use it, so you can find help easily.

BigCommerce

Positioned as a robust, all-in-one solution, BigCommerce caters to businesses seeking a comprehensive e-commerce platform. With built-in features like payment processing, it simplifies the setup process for small businesses. Suitable for a range of business sizes, BigCommerce offers scalability and a feature-rich environment.

Does a lot of things in one package.

Helps with money transactions right on your website.

Good for small to big businesses.

Square Online

Designed with integration in mind, Square Online is an ideal choice for businesses already utilizing Square for in-person transactions. Its user-friendly interface facilitates a quick setup, providing a seamless experience for businesses managing both online and offline sales. Square Online is particularly well-suited for those seeking cohesion in their sales channels.

Great if you already use Square for in-person sales.

Sets up quickly and connects online and offline sales.

Makes things simple for businesses using both ways to sell.

Wix eCommerce

Wix eCommerce stands out for its visually appealing website builder, offering a creative and intuitive platform for businesses. With comprehensive e-commerce features, Wix empowers small enterprises to exercise creative control over their online presence. Its a suitable choice for those desiring a visually compelling and user-friendly website.

Helps you make a beautiful website easily.

Gives you many options for selling things.

Good if you want a pretty and easy-to-use site.

Magento

As an open-source platform, Magento boasts a large developer community, providing businesses with high customization potential and scalability. It caters to businesses with specific needs and technical capabilities, making it a favored choice for those seeking a tailored e-commerce solution.

ou can change a lot because its open to everyone.

Many experts use it, so you can get help easily.

Good for businesses with special needs.

Ecwid

Tailored for flexibility, Ecwid seamlessly integrates with existing websites or social media platforms. Its quick setup and user-friendly interface make it an accessible option for small businesses. Whether youre a budding entrepreneur or an established small enterprise, Ecwid offers the flexibility needed to navigate the online marketplace effectively.

Works well with existing websites and social media.

Sets up fast and is easy to use.

Good for businesses that want flexibility in how they sell.

Choco Up

Choco Up is a revenue-based financing company offering e-commerce brands access to fast, flexible, zero-dilution growth capital. For small businesses, cash flow and recurring revenue are the lifeblood. However, traditional financing methods limit founders from keeping up with todays unpredictable and fast-paced nature of doing business.

Ways businesses have used growth capital:

Expansion into new markets

Leverage to negotiate with suppliers

Scale marketing campaigns

Open its first retail space

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Tuesday, Jan 16th, 2024 (1:52 pm) - Score 1,360

Fibre optic network builder Cityfibre has announced that their 50m project to deploy a new 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network across the northern city of Newcastle (Tyne and Wear), which first began at the end of 2019 (here), has now covered 50,000 premises in the city and rising.

Work has now been completed in the Kenton, Arthurs Hill, West Denton, Scotswood, Benwell Grange, Walker, Walkergate, Holystone, St Anthonys and Cowgate areas of the city. CityFibres rollout will now focus on the Fenham, Benton, South Heaton, Chapel House, Lemington, Chapel Park and Kingston Park areas throughout 2024. We assume this is still being supported by civil engineering firm IQA Elecnor, but its not stated.

NOTE: Cityfibre is supported by ISPs such as TalkTalk, Zen Internet, Cityfibre is supported by ISPs such as Vodafone iDNET and others, but they arent all live or available in every location yet.

The work supports CityFibres wider ambition to cover up to 8 million UK premises (funded by c.2.4bn in equity and c.4.9bn debt)  across over 285 cities, towns and villages (c.30% of the UK)  by the end of 2025 (here). The operator has already passed over 3 million UK homes  Ready for Service (built footprint of 3.37m), but theyll need to go a lot faster or acquire a rival or two in order to stand any chance of reaching their current ambition in time.

Paul Wakefield, CityFibres Senior Partnership Manager for Newcastle, said: We are delighted to have over 50,000 premises Ready For Service in our Newcastle rollout, bringing the best digital connectivity available to the city. As we continue our build into even more areas of Newcastle, now is the time to check your postcode and find out if you can also benefit from improved gaming, working and streaming.

The city also has significant gigabit-capable broadband coverage from both Virgin Media (VMO2 + nexfibre) and Openreach, while other alternative networks such as Grain and Hyperoptic can also be found in a number of areas. The original announcement noted that CityFibres own roll-out in the city was planned to complete by the end of 2024.
Tuesday, Jan 16th, 2024 (8:20 am) - Score 1,800

Mobile operator Vodafone has today signed a major 10-year strategic partnership with Microsoft, which aims to benefit more than 300 million businesses, public sector and consumer customers across Europe, the UK and Africa by harnessing various technologies (e.g. generative AI, digital services and the cloud).

Under the deal, Vodafone intends to invest $1.5 billion (1.18bn) over the next 10 years in cloud and customer-focused AI services developed as part of their collaboration with Microsoft to help transform [the operators] customer experience.

At the same time Microsoft aims to harness Vodafones fixed (broadband etc.) and mobile connectivity services, not least by investing in the operators managed IoT (Internet of Things) connectivity platform, which will become a separate, standalone business by April 2024. The new company aims to attract new partners and customers, driving growth in applications and expanding the platform to connect more devices, vehicles, and machines.

The Five Key Areas of Collaboration:  Generative AI: To increase customer satisfaction, the companies will apply the power of Microsoft Azure OpenAI to deliver frictionless, real-time, proactive, and hyper-personalised experiences across all Vodafone customer touchpoints, including its digital assistant TOBi (available in 13 countries). Vodafone employees will also be able to leverage the AI capabilities of Microsoft Copilot to transform working practices, boost productivity and improve digital efficiency.  Scaling IoT: Microsoft intends to invest in Vodafones new, standalone global Internet of Things (IoT)-managed connectivity platform, which connects 175 million devices and platforms worldwide. Vodafone also plans to become part of the Azure ecosystem making the IoT platform available to a vast developer and third-party community using open APIs.  Africa digital acceleration: Microsoft intends to help further scale M-Pesa, already the largest financial technology platform in Africa, by housing it on Azure and enabling the launch of new cloud-native applications. The companies are also launching a purpose-led program that seeks to enrich the lives of 100 million consumers and 1 million SMEs across the African continent. The goal is to enhance digital literacy, skilling and youth outreach programs, as well as offer digital services to the underserved SME market. The partnership aims to boost financial services innovation, building a community of certified developers.  Enterprise growth: Vodafone will extend its commitment to distributing Microsoft services, including Microsoft Azure, security solutions and modern work offerings such as Microsoft Teams Phone Mobile, as part of its strategy to become Europes leading platform for business. This enables business customers to deploy Microsofts cloud-based services at pace with low adoption and running costs, as well as support the estimated 24 million SMEs across Europe through the provision of a managed platform that grows with their business.  Cloud transformation: Vodafone will accelerate its cloud transformation by modernising its data centres on Microsoft Azure. This will improve its responsiveness to customers, while simplifying and reducing the operational costs of its IT estate. As a result, Vodafone will be able to replace multiple physical data centres with virtual ones across Europe, simplifying and reducing the operational costs of its IT estate, as well as reducing energy requirements and helping deliver against its sustainable business strategy.

Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group CEO, said: Today, Vodafone has made a bold commitment to the digital future of Europe and Africa. This unique strategic partnership with Microsoft will accelerate the digital transformation of our business customers, particularly small and medium-sized companies, and step up the quality of customer experience for consumers.

Satya Nadella, Microsofts Chairman and CEO, said: This new generation of AI will unlock massive new opportunities for every organisation and every industry around the world. We are delighted that together with Vodafone we will apply the latest cloud and AI technology to enhance the customer experience of hundreds of millions of people and businesses across Africa and Europe, build new products and services, and accelerate the companys transition to the cloud.

The question of whether or not Vodafones adoption of Generative AI and Cloud, in particular, will really increase customer satisfaction is something well only be able to judge over a longer period of time, although most of the improvements being talked about seem to be more focused on their internal processes.

Often companies will talk a big game about the benefits to customers of such collaborations (our focus in this is more on consumers), when in reality it ends up being more about cost savings and consumers may thus struggle to notice much of a positive difference. Time will tell.
Tuesday, Jan 16th, 2024 (9:48 am) - Score 6,480

Mobile operator Vodafone UK has today highlighted the potentially huge cost challenges involved with adding backup power (batteries etc.) to their network of 12,000+ mast sites across the country, which could be one of the possible outcomes from Ofcoms new probe into the issue of inadequate power backup.

According to Ofcoms probe (here), the amount of battery backup deployed across mobile Radio Access Network (RAN) sites varies by operator (i.e. Vodafone, EE (BT), O2 (Virgin Media) and Three UK), both in terms of the proportion of cell sites that are backed up and for how long.

However, the impact of recent winter storms (i.e. disrupting mobile connectivity due to power loss) and the migration away from traditional (PSTN) landline phones (newer IP / digital-based phones can also go down during power outages, without local battery backup), helps to underline that consumers are placing greater importance upon the dependability of their mobile phones and network, such as for emergency calls.

The regulators existing guidance doesnt yet include measures relating to the provision of additional power backup at mobile sites, but mobile operators are aware that the very fact Ofcom are even seeking feedback on the issue is an indication that this may change. Vodafone suggests the regulator wants operators to ensure their network can function for as long as possible without being connected to the National Grid, thus avoiding a situation where huge numbers of people would also have to make do without connectivity.

Vodafones Concerns and Proposal

The most obvious challenge in all this is one of cost. Power storage solutions, particularly for major network sites, need to be very durable and tend to be quite expensive to both add and maintain (i.e. the cost of ongoing maintenance / replacements and any extra engineer training etc.). So, to the obvious question this raises, who pays?

Nicki Lyons, Vodafone UKs Chief Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Officer, said: The Mobile Network Operators cannot be asked to shoulder this financial burden alone. Building redundancy into every element of the network would be another significant investment, in addition to the 5G and full fibre ambitions that we share with Government. Vodafone is proposing a shared funding model. The Mobile Network Operators would of course be contributors, but so would the Government, the utility companies that we pay to provide secure and reliable energy services, and the cloud companies that have benefitted significantly from the mass adoption of mobile and the countrywide rollout of networks, but have not contributed financially in any material manner. The shared funding model would be holistic, avoiding any disproportionate impact on any one industry or company. The Australian Government has taken an interesting approach. By launching the Strengthening Telecommunications Against Natural Disasters (STAND) programme, Mobile Network Operators were able to apply for grants of up to $7.7 million to deliver enhancements and improved resilience to telecommunications facilities in regional and remote communities affected by natural disasters. This stands in stark contrast to Japan where Mobile Network Operators bear sole financial responsibility for network energy resilience. However, the average amount that Japanese customers pay each month for mobile contracts in 2022 was roughly 27. In comparison, Vodafone customers in the UK paid an average of 14.20 a month  almost half as much.

Vodafone are right to highlight the issue of cost, and the idea of a shared funding model is definitely one that should be fully explored. On the other hand, its notable that the operators shared funding proposal makes no direct mention of customers potentially needing to face higher bills, which we think is likely to be an understandable and inevitable reality (i.e. when the costs of service provision rise, then so to your bills).

The closest we get to this is a dangerously oversimplified comparison with pricing in Japan. But country-to-country comparisons are notoriously tricky and should always be taken with a big pinch of salt, as there can be significant additional differences between economies, competition and market developments, all of which go into influencing end-user pricing. Not to mention differences between individual operators and package features. Suffice to say, its a minefield thats best avoided, unless youre willing to do it properly, which a single paragraph from Vodafone does not achieve.

Speaking of which, Japanese operator Rakuten Mobile offers an unlimited data plan that, at todays rates, costs the equivalent of 17.69 per month (3,278 yen inc. TAX), although some fair use limitations may apply to speeds. This also includes all the usual free domestic calls etc. So in Japan, flexible and affordable mobile packages do exist, regardless of battery provision rules.

The operator also manages to questionably include cloud companies into their cost sharing proposal, albeit without defining precisely what they mean. But the language they use here reminds us of the many Net Neutrality debates over the years, where major mobile and broadband ISPs have demanded that internet content providers (e.g. Netflix, websites, cloud / content providers etc.) pay them for the traffic they carry.

However, we think its always worth remembering that demand for broadband and mobile internet services would not exist without attractive internet content. Some ISPs may complain that the increase in related data usage from these services and others raises their costs, but that is a cost of doing business and is usually reflected in the prices we all pay as end-users. Equally, the internet and ever faster connections wouldnt be worth using if attractive online content and services didnt exist.

At the end of the day, theres still a cost challenge to solve here and, no matter where those costs end up falling, consumers will often still end up paying for it at some point along the chain. Suffice to say, itll be interesting to see how much of a cost impact the operators actually anticipate, since at present we havent seen any hard figures from either Ofcom or the mobile operators. Much will also depend upon precisely what requirements Ofcom ends up setting and whether it will be applicable to all mast sites or only some. The debate is only just getting started.
Google is stopping its free website feature for Google Business Profiles from March 1, 2024.

They shared this news recently, saying that Business Profiles websites will no longer be available. If someone tries to go to these websites after that date, they will be sent to the matching Google Business Profile instead. However, this redirection will only work until June 10, 2024. After that, trying to access these websites will show an error saying page not found. Its a good idea for businesses using this service to make changes before these dates to avoid any issues.

The first step is to check your website setup. If your business utilizes a Google Business Profile website, your websites URL would conclude with .business.site.

If it does, prepare for the transition. The transition will particularly affect the 78% of small businesses that rely on websites as a pivotal component of their marketing strategy, as revealed in Localsearchs recent annual State of Small Business Survey. To assist small business owners in navigating these changes seamlessly, Localsearch, through its Executive Chair Daniel Stoten, offers expert insights and tips.

In preparation for the impending alterations, here are some essential steps that small business owners with Google Business Profile websites should take:

Selecting an alternative solution

Choosing a new website provider is a crucial decision. Small businesses are advised to consider factors such as ease of use, cost, integration capabilities with marketing tools, security features, search-engine compatibility, and the providers reliability track record.

To continue having a website for your business, you could consider using a site builder, such as:

Updating online presence

Once a new website is chosen, it is imperative to promptly update not only the Google Business Profile but also other online platforms, including Localsearch Business Profile, social media accounts, and any other profiles containing the website address.

This proactive measure should be executed before the March 1 deadline to prevent disruptions to online presence.

Adjusting Ad campaigns

For those running Google Ads or social media campaigns linked to their Google Business Profile websites, it is crucial to update the URLs in the ads to reflect the new website address. This adjustment should be completed before March 1 to ensure uninterrupted ad performance.

Customer communication

Business owners should proactively communicate with their customer base about the impending change in website address. Keeping customers informed about the transition will help them seamlessly locate the business online.

Ads campaigns linked to Google Business Profile websites

For Ads campaigns linked to a website from Google Business Profile, it is recommended to change the link before March 1 to avoid disruptions. Alternatively, businesses can opt to pause campaigns until the new website is operational.

Turnoff timeline for Google Business Profile Websites

Come March 1, Google will turn off all websites created through Google Business Profiles. Until June 10, visitors attempting to access the website will be redirected to the Business Profile. However, after June 10, they will encounter a page not found error.

Localsearch Executive Chairman Daniel Stoten says: Maintaining a robust online presence is crucial for businesses in our increasingly digital world. A well-designed website serves as the digital storefront for a business, allowing customers to discover services, gather information, and engage with the brand at their convenience. With Google phasing out websites created through Google Business Profiles, its imperative for businesses affected by this change to act swiftly.

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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.
(Photo : Unsplash/Zachary Keimig)

Mary Barra celebrates her 10th year as the CEO of General Motors on Monday, marking a significant year for the Detroit automaker and her legacy.

Over a decade, Barra has been a dynamic leader, steering the company through notable challenges as the first female head of a major automaker, achieving record profits, cultural shifts, and significant accomplishments, including beating Wall Street earnings expectations in 34 out of the last 35 quarters, as reported by FactSet.

Vehicle Industry's Challenges

Barra is consistently listed among the most influential business leaders globally, praised by past and present executives as a visionary and inclusive leader who stays focused on her responsibilities. Throughout her GM's tenure, her primary goal has been to innovate and reshape the most significant U.S. automaker for lasting success. However, recent business plans, including hers, have not met internal and external expectations.

Electric and autonomous vehicles have faced challenges, with slower-than-anticipated rollout and demand, and the GM majority-owned Cruise is experiencing difficulties, which, along with new software initiatives, were crucial components of ambitious financial goals set for 2025 and 2030. GM claims it will double its 2030 revenue by changing its focus. However, specific plans to achieve this without relying on its previously identified growth drivers have not been provided.

Michelle Krebs, a Cox Automotive's executive analyst who has covered GM since the 1980s, believed the electric vehicle (EV) and autonomous vehicle (AV) strategies were overly ambitious, showing Wall Street they are more of a "tech company" than an auto company, trying to imitate Tesla too much.

Barra's Transformative Legacy

Barra became GM's CEO in January 2014, taking charge as the company was recovering from government ownership following a 2009 bankruptcy and years of mismanagement. Her role was to address GM's historical issues and lead the company towards a more sustainable future.

As CEO and chair since 2016, Barra has tackled problems directly and often emphasized the best time to solve a problem is as soon as it's identified, which has been proven effective in the past decade, making her the second-longest-serving CEO in the company's 115-year history, following its founder.

Barra managed a recall of about 30 million vehicles in 2014 due to an ignition switch defect that resulted in 120 deaths, prompting a complete restructuring of GM's safety operations.

READ ALSO: NHTSA Mass Recall on 52 Million Airbag Inflators Linked to Drivers' Fatalities, Automakers Strongly Oppose

Barra led the company through the 2014 parts crisis and implemented various global restructurings, including exiting unprofitable markets to prepare for anticipated disruptions from the tech and "mobility" industries like Lyft, Uber, Apple, and Google.

Barra successfully defended against two activist-shareholder campaigns, including one from David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital that sought seats on GM's board and proposed splitting GM's common stock into two classes to increase its share price. Einhorn's firm, Greenlight Capital, exited GM in 2020 and declined to comment on those efforts, Barra, or GM through a spokesperson.

Stronger Year Ahead

The recent issues with Cruise, electric vehicle uncertainty, and changing priorities align with Barra's strengths of being discerning in times of crisis and quick to make necessary adjustments.

According to a former GM executive, Gary Cowger, a mentor of Barra's who died last year, Barra is a strong leader and an attentive listener. However, she is also strict when making challenging decisions for the shareholders. As challenges increase and confidence wavers on Wall Street, 2024 could be a high point in Barra's career or an unexpected setback in her record.

In December, when questioned about her time as CEO and legacy, Barra mentioned that she focuses on the present challenges, stating, "I'm humbled and it's a privilege to lead General Motors at this point in time. We're in the midst of this really once-in-a-generation transformation and there's so much that can be done."

RELATED ARTICLE: GM Announces Layoffs for 1,314 Workers at Michigan Plants, Facilitating Transition to Electric Vehicles by Late 2025

 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
From the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in creating deep fakes, to using ChatGPT to make sense of the data captured during a breach, cybercriminals have upped the ante this year in terms of the sophistication of their attacks.

As we head into 2024, leading provider of managed services and cloud solutions, Intelliworx, reveals the trends expected to both help and hinder the role of the cyber security professional in the new year.

ChatGPT or AI? Expect to get cyberattacked

Social engineering through deep fakes, that make use of artificial intelligence (AI) to hide their threats in plain sight, is becoming more common. Both AI and ChatGPT can be used to better mask phishing emails as being from real friends or colleagues  thanks to their ability to replicate the more human elements of online interaction. Because of this, AI will continue to grant cyber attackers more successful access to a businesss online environment.

With that in mind, organisations need to tighten email security (as they should be doing most years) but also consider battening down the digital hatches on their collaborative online environments too. Whats more, cybersecurity teams need to be acutely aware of any AI and ChatGPT tools their own organisation is planning to implement in 2024 and make sure they dont compromise their other digital assets.

In 2024, as AI and ChatGPT continue to evolve and become more prominent, expect cybercriminals to continue to diversify their mediums to reach their victims beyond just plain old email  but also phone, and online help chats, or whatever new vessel AI brings to the fore.

Security regulations will become even more watertight

Day-to-day, security regulation is as much of a help to cybersecurity professionals, as it is another weight around their neck. Its, after all, another hurdle to navigate in an already complex environment. But, as we move into 2024, where cybercriminals are becoming increasingly proficient, cyber professionals will no doubt be grateful to hear theres more to come in 2024. Australias introduction of a Cybersecurity Strategy will be coupled with increased data regulation in the UK and more consumer laws in the U.S.

Regulation provides clear guidelines on how to react to attacks so that there are no more blurred lines or misunderstandings around what should and shouldnt be prioritised. It also offers an opportunity for organisations to identify areas needing improvement in their cybersecurity protections, where needed. And finally, its clear in pointing to which bodies certain incidents should be reported to. Which is useful not just for other would-be victims, but for protecting the critical national infrastructure.

In 2024, cybersecurity professionals will need to be adept at not just navigating these new regulations but also communicating the impact of not doing so to their bosses. In Australia, a single reporting portal on cyber.gov.au will be created to simplify compliance and fresh data retention requirements will come in. While there will be no introduction of further director duties, company leaders will have to demonstrate concrete steps to reduce risk if things go wrong.

Therell be even more skills needed to adequately fight cybercrime in 2024

By the end of the coming year, the cost of cyber-attacks on the global economy is predicted to top $10.5 trillion. This staggering amount reflects the growing need for cyber security to be treated as a strategic priority on an individual, organisational, and governmental level. And with that, theres never been more of a need for an influx of skills in the sector. Growing and professionalising a local cybersecurity workforce is one of the key recommendations from the Australian governments Cybersecurity Strategy.

The truth of the matter is that the cybersecurity industry is evolving at a rate of knots  and we can expect more of the same next year. Unlike other job roles, it requires a constant, ever-evolving awareness of the most current and risky threats  not just across ones own business, or even their own region, but across different regions around the world too.

To acquire that level of knowledge requires in-depth research and investigation in order to achieve optimal protection. Alongside it, theres more need than ever before for cybersecurity professionals to be wonderful communicators. Because its not just about the technology that powers or stops a threat that takes up a big part of the job, its also a need to inform and reassure clients and leaders.

In 2024, cybersecurity leaders must keep a steady pipeline of news and threat intelligence moving from their department up to the very top (and the very bottom) of a business).

Supply chain attacks will continue to grow in volume and strength

Threat actors are increasingly targeting software supply chains to attack organisations on a global basis and becoming far more adept at doing so. So much so that, just recently, the UKs National Cyber Security Centre was forced to issue a joint advisory with South Koreas National Intelligence Service (NIS) to ward against them, while warning about supply chains was one of the most consistent features of the Australian governments Cybersecurity Strategy when it came to forecasts of business disruption.

Furthermore, a number of threat actors are now leveraging more zero-day vulnerabilities and exploits in third-party software to gain access to specific targets, or indiscriminate organisations, through their suppliers. In an increasingly digital and interconnected world, we can expect software supply chain attacks to have an even greater impact in the new year and beyond.

Watch out for cloud-jacking

In recent months, theres been a steep rise in cloud account hijacking the world over. Once a rarity, its now become commonplace. So much so that its increased prevalence should be front of mind for cybersecurity professionals in 2024.

Why? Well, once a cyber attack has made it into the cloud via one account  its likely not far away from accessing them all at the touch of the button. As more organisations move to the cloud, it becomes a much more attractive target for threat actors, and theyre spending more time and resources than ever before trying to get into that environment. Whats more, during traditional attacks targeting onsite servers, malicious hackers typically need their own port-scanning tools to detect what systems are in an enterprise, and where the weak exploitable spots are. But during cloud attacks, those port scanners arent needed.

In the new year, cybersecurity professionals should not just think about protecting individuals, their technology, or simply defending against particular threats, but focusing on protecting their cloud environment above all else. From 17-year-old tech whizzes, to the bigger players pitting attacks against countries national infrastructures, expect all cybercriminals to make a habit of cloud account-jacking next year.

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(Photo : Unsplash/Eduardo Soares)

Kroger, the largest U.S. grocery chain, plans to acquire Albertsons in the first half of the fiscal year 2024 instead of the earlier projection due to the ongoing discussions with federal regulators.

Kroger, Albertsons, and C&S Wholesale Grocers actively discuss with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general, stating, "While this is longer than we originally thought, we knew that our merger agreement and divestiture plan accounted for such potential timing." in a joint statement.

413 Store Divestiture

In September, Kroger agreed to sell 413 stores and eight distribution centers to C&S for $1.9 billion to finalize the $24.6 billion deal where C&S, with regulatory approval, may be required to buy an additional 237 stores. With plans to invest $500 million to reduce prices and $1.3 billion to improve customer experience, the grocery chain will invest an extra $1 billion to increase wages and benefits for all associates once the deal is done. Kroger is the largest grocery chain in the country with almost 2,800 stores, and Albertsons ranks as the second-largest, owning brands like Safeway and Acme.

READ MORE: Kroger Announces Return-to-office, In-person Collaboration to Thrive in 2024

Strong Oppositions Due to Antitrust Concerns

The planned merger has encountered strong opposition from U.S. lawmakers and political leaders due to antitrust concerns that could allegedly result in increased prices, reduced consumers' shopping choices, and job losses due to smaller marketplace competition.

On Monday, Washington's attorney general filed a lawsuit to prevent the proposed merger, calling it "harmful" for shoppers and workers. Kroger and Albertsons expressed disappointment in the attorney general's premature decision while the merger is still under regulatory review.

No Potential Harm to the Grocery Industry

Kroger and Albertsons released a joint statement that preventing the merger would benefit more enormous, non-unionized retailers such as Walmart, Costco, and Amazon, allowing them to maintain and further increase their substantial dominance in the grocery industry. Six lawmakers, including Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, wrote a letter to the FTC in December, arguing that Kroger's plan to sell hundreds of stores to C&S does not adequately address potential harms to consumers, workers, and the grocery industry.

C&S Wholesale Grocers as The New Competitor

To secure regulatory approval for the merger, Kroger and Albertsons plan to sell 413 stores, eight distribution centers, two offices, and five private label brands to C&S Wholesale Grocers, providing access to a retail footprint in 17 states. However, whether the divestment is sufficient to gain government approval and memories of Albertsons' problematic sale of locations to Haggen during its merger with Safeway might raise additional concerns.

Goal of the Merger

The sell-off aims to prevent store closures, maintain employment for frontline associates, and honor existing collective bargaining agreements after the merger. Moreover, it allows C&S to enter new areas and become a new competitor against the merged Kroger-Albertsons business.

RELATED ARTICLE: Amazon To Expand Pantry Service To Provide More Grocery Choices

 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Phuc Sinh, Vietnams largest pepper exporter, has been valued at US$320 million and will receive funding from a European investor this month to build two large coffee processing plants.

Its chairman, Phan Minh Thong, said late last year his company signed a deal for the investment from the fund.

The fund will also help the corporation achieve sustainable agriculture and enhance brand recognition, creating a premise for an overseas IPO. Thong said Phuc Sinh has an annual turnover of around $300 million and over 100 export markets.

Phuc Sinh said it has had an 8% share of the world pepper market since 2007.

Recently the firm entered the coffee industry with exports mainly to Europe. It has a coffee plant each in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak and northern Son La Province with a total capacity of 30,000 tons per year.

Phuc Sinh also runs the K Coffee cafe chain, which it opened with 10 stores in 2023.

According to agricultural export support portal SFV-Export, Phuc Sinh remained to lead Vietnams leading spice exporter with a growth rate of 18% in 2023.
Ven Thi Hoai (R) and Cut Thi Ngoc at a trial in Nghe An Province, Jan. 15, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Hung Le

A woman in central Vietnam has been imprisoned for tricking her parents into selling her 13-year-old sister so that a Chinese man could marry her.

A court in Nghe An Province sentenced Ven Thi Hoai, 21, and Cut Thi Ngoc, 27, to 12 years in jail each for "trading people under 16."

According to the verdict, Ngoc and Hoai used to work together at a factory in the northern Thai Binh Province.

In October 2022, Ngoc told Hoai that there was an acquaintance in China asking her to find Vietnamese wives for Chinese men.

The acquaintance promised her high payments for every successful arranged marriage.

Hoai told Ngoc that she had a younger sister, who was then 13, that could be suitable for the business. Ngoc agreed and sent Hoai VND4.5 million as a deposit.

She promised an extra payment of VND30 million for Hoai and a sum of VND120 million for her family once the arrangement was complete.

In June last year, Hoai returned home in Nghe An and convinced her parents to allow her to take the younger sister to work at a company in the north. She assured her parents that the sister would have the opportunity "to carry out an easy job with high payment."

Around that time, another girl who was friends with Hoai's younger sister, 14 at the time, also asked for her parents' permission to go to work with her friend.

After that, Hoai called Ngoc, informing her of the two candidates she had found and requested a payment of VND60 million aside from a sum of VND240 million for the two families. Ngoc agreed to pay her later.

In July 2023, Hoai took the two girls onto a passenger bus in Nghe An to transport them to localities at the northern border. Before Hoai could reach the border, police approached her and summoned her to the nearest police station as she showed suspicious signs.

Hoai later admitted to the police she was on her way to selling the girls to China. Learning about Hoais detention, Ngoc turned herself in.

The issue of Chinese men trying to buy wives, often from neighboring countries, has been an ongoing problem for the continent.

One of the primary reasons for this trend is the significant gender imbalance in China, largely a result of the one-child policy implemented from 1979 to 2015 and a cultural preference for male children. This has led to a surplus of men in China, making it difficult for many to find local partners.

Women from neighboring countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar are particularly vulnerable to trafficking for marriage. Traffickers often deceive girls and women from poor families in rural areas with promises of employment or a better life in China, only to force them into marriage.
Unless you have tried it, it is probably hard to imagine the taste of furry tofu pizza or a smelly mandarin fish pizza. However, Adrien Brill, a 33-year-old American, has managed to successfully merge the distinctive tastes of East China's Anhui province with the Italian classic, making his small restaurant nestled in Nanxi'nan  a tranquil and picturesque village near the famous Huangshan Mountain  a popular eatery with both locals and tourists. His unlikely culinary adventure is told in the second season ofCrazy Rich Fanatic, a documentary series produced by Beijing-based Boss Zhipin Pictures. Both the first and second seasons are now available on the Tencent Video streaming site. Brill, a native of Arizona, recalls that he and his brother were taken care of by a Chinese babysitter who had accompanied her husband, while he studied for his doctoral degree at the University of Arizona. "She spoke to me in Chinese every day. At such a young age, I had more exposure to Chinese than any other foreign language. I have no memory of her because I was too young. When I was growing up, my parents often told me this story. They always joked that my first language was Chinese," he says. At the age of 15, while Brill was a sophomore in high school, he got an opportunity to accompany his mother, a language teacher, on a project that invited American teachers to universities in Jiangsu province, sparking his interest in Chinese culture. After returning to his hometown and pursuing a major in East Asian Studies at the University of Arizona, Brill decided to return to China and further his language skills at Sichuan University in Chengdu. But what enticed him to leave Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, was his encounter with his future wife, Qiu Tong, a native of Anhui province, during the Strawberry Music Festival in 2014. Brill, who previously worked as an English teacher at Huangshan University in Anhui, discovered his passion for cooking in 2021, and launched an account on Douyin, a popular video-sharing platform, to post short videos of his culinary explorations. His popularity soared, amassing over 130,000 fans and earning around 686,000 likes. As a result, he was invited by local authorities to open Adrien's Little Canteen in Nanxi'nan village, a restaurant that combines the distinctive traits of Anhui's renowned dishes with Western cuisine. The initiative was part of a project to vitalize the countryside. From kneading dough to building an oven and researching how to use the flavors and ingredients of local Chinese dishes as toppings on pizzas, Brill has gradually gained fame in this small village and has immersed himself in China's pastoral life. Wang Xiaoyang, who directed theCrazy Rich Fanaticepisode featuring Brill, says that, hopefully, his story and the other tales in the documentary series will inspire young viewers, showing them that even in the current challenging situation, they can discover new ways to launch a business in their own interesting ways. The second season ofCrazy Rich Fanaticconsists of six stories, including that of a young woman who serves as a special guide, taking tourists on nighttime boat trips to admire the starry skies of Dali's West Lake in Yunnan province, and that of a veteran journalist who left the media industry to focus on growing different species of tomatoes. Xin Ran, the producer of the documentary series, reveals that they conducted extensive research to select the six stories from over 400 candidates. During this process, they discovered that successful startup founders share a common trait  they have the ability to learn quickly and acquire the knowledge they need for their businesses primarily from the internet. Currently, the second season of the documentary has a rating of 8.7 out of 10 on Tencent Video, suggesting that it resonates with many young aspirants yearning for career success.
Students of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology present microchip products at the 2023 International Symposium on Electrical and Electronics Engineering, in October 2023. Photo by Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology

More than 10 universities across Vietnam have introduced courses in integrated circuit design and technology to meet the increasing demand for skills in those fields.

This year the Hanoi University of Science and Technology, the Vietnam-Korea University of Information and Communication Technology, Da Nang University of Science and Technology, Can Tho University, Saigon International University, Hanoi-based Phenikaa University, and FPT University are taking in students for IC design and microelectronics courses for the first time.

The Hanoi University of Science and Technology has announced the setting up of the semiconductor microchip technology department.

The Vietnam-Korea University of Information and Communication Technology is calling for applications to IC design courses and offering scholarships covering 50-100% of fees.

Last year three member universities of the Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City  the University of Technology, the University of Information Technology, and the University of Natural Sciences  had gotten approvals to set up IC design and semiconductor technology departments.

They believe this year is the right time to create those departments to serve the job market and align with Vietnam's semiconductor development policies.

Over 50 microchip companies are operating in Vietnam, including Intel, Marvel, Synopsys, Ampe Computing of the U.S., Japans Renesas, and Taiwans BridgeTek and Faraday.

According to Vietnam's National Science and Technology Information Portal, Vietnam had around 5,000 engineers working in IC design as of 2022, mainly in Ho Chi Minh City (74%), Hanoi (10%) and Da Nang (8%).

The number meets only 20% of the demand, and Vietnam needs an additional 50,000 highly skilled engineers by 2030.

The Vietnam Microchip Community reports that the average after-tax salary for a chip design engineer in their first year is nearly VND220 million (US$9,000) a year and will steadily increase over time.

Professionals with five years of experience can earn over VND330 million per year, and up to VND1.3 billion with 15-20 years of experience.
Weather Alert

...INCREASED FIRE DANGER FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... After coordination with local land managers, a Fire Danger Statement has been issued for Alleghany, Surry and Wilkes Counties in northwest North Carolina, as well as Virginia Counties along and east of the Blue Ridge, and parts of the southern Shenandoah Valley. In these affected areas, gusty winds will coincide with low humidity and dry fuels. Fires will have an easier time starting and spreading. Refer to your local burn-permitting authority on whether you may burn today. If you do burn, exercise extreme caution.
By Lowell Gasoi, Carleton University | 

The current Israel-Hamas war has dominated the news for the past few months. As reports of military machinations and diplomatic efforts have gained attention, the art world has struggled with responses to the horrors of this war.

For example, controversy and calls for transparency and accountability followed the departure of Anishinaabe-kwe curator Wanda Nanibush from the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). The departure was apparently related to her expressed opinions on the war.

After the Royal Ontario Museum tried to change a Palestinian American artists work, Jenin Yaseen staged a sit-in and others protested.

I have been teaching and writing about the art world  what sociologist Howard Becker calls the network of artists, art institutions, funders, patrons and audiences  for years, and researching how artists navigate their thorny relationship with contentious political moments.

Policies and regulations can serve artists, but can also engender a lack of trust and create administrative burdens that impact the healthy functioning of artists and organizations.

Endeavouring to speak truthfully, meaningfully

The Globe and Mail reported some Canadians active in a support group of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem expressed concern to the AGO, and that one signatory to a letter said the letter didnt call for Nanibushs departure but rather for antisemitism training and for the AGO to make use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism.

If the gallery did try to silence Nanibush, critics have reason to be concerned about how they reacted as the curator and others in the art world endeavoured to speak truthfully and meaningfully in a time of crisis.

In a statement, the AGOs director and CEO Stephan Jost expressed the gallerys support for Indigenous artists and a need to reflect on our commitments to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report 



Refugees in their Own Homeland, by Mohammad ElMetmari; Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

He acknowledged cultural institutions are being asked to better define the rights and limits of political and artistic expression in a locally diverse but globally complex environment and that intense discussion also raises questions about good governance.

Rights, limits, regulation and the purpose of artists work are what is at stake in this discussion. An investigation is underway to see how the gallerys policies may have impacted the boards decision-making.

People trying to create and speak truth

How people assess the value of policies and regulation affecting the art world depends on how much they feel the art world should, or should not, reflect political realities.

Some might suggest that artists should entertain and enlighten us but stay away from contentious issues.

I believe artists have a unique role, different than that of journalists, political leaders or even documentary filmmakers. Beyond parsing the facts of a situation or deliberating and brokering political solutions, artists work to bring human richness and complexity to experiences like conflict and strife.

Art and our lives

Thinking about art worlds as patterns of collective activity, as Becker does, helps us to think about art in relationship to our social and political lives, and the conditions under which artists create.

Art schools, professional organizations, galleries and performance spaces all play a part in enabling some artists and their messages to shine, whether through financial support, attention or time  while constraining or even silencing others.

Museum and gallery spaces, frequently dependent on government and philanthropic funding, curate and elevate certain artworks and in so doing mediate relationships and foster cultural dialogue between governments and pluralistic communities of citizens. At the same time, they prescribe behaviours and actions that constrain both artists and the public perception of their work.

In this way, the support systems around artistic work have political implications, just as much as the art itself may have.

Discipline via funding

As I examined in my doctoral research, the Summerworks Theatre Festival briefly lost funding from Canadian Heritage in 2011 after staging playwright Catherine Frids controversial play Homegrown.

The play critiqued the reach of the Anti-Terrorism Act and the use of solitary confinement as it examined the story of one man convicted of participating in a terrorist group. This was after a high-profile 2006 RCMP investigation saw 18 Muslim individuals accused of terrorism. (Charges against seven people were stayed or dropped, while four people were convicted). Some accused the play of being pro-terrorist.

Artists responded to this institutional censure by staging readings of the play to support the festival.

The art world will find pathways to speak its own truth in the face of such pressures.

For instance, as the Globe and Mail reported, the Belfry Theatre in Victoria made a recent decision to cancel its run of the Israel-set play The Runner. But Vancouvers PuSh Festival is sticking by plans to run the play as a part of its program along with other works, including the immersive installation Dear Laila that depicts a model of one artists former home in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp.

When political pressure closes one door, the art world will often seek to open another, though we have yet to see how this might play out in the case of the AGO and Nanibush.

What do we want from our artists?

In the face of numerous wars, the climate emergency, housing and food insecurity, this is a challenging time. People around the world face what some scholars and activists have called a polycrisis.

Artists represent and reflect this social and political upheaval. Banksy scrawls murals on the blasted Ukrainian cityscape. Theatres across the world stage performances or screenings  like The Gaza Monologues  to try to represent Palestinian voices.

Especially in a time when trust in our political leaders and institutions continues to wane, artists, arts leaders and policymakers face daunting but critical questions about making ethically sound decisions.

If the public trusts the art world to do their work with rigour and honesty, artists and arts institutions can be a community of voices expressing diverse perspectives on our collective humanity, reflecting suffering and the power of resistance to violence in this polarizing conflict.

We must critically assess the value of the arts and of artists to perform this important work. And we should be mindful of desires to discipline the art world at a time when its voices are so deeply needed.

Lowell Gasoi, Instructor in communication studies at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa, Carleton University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Human Rights Watch  (Beirut)  Iranian authorities show no signs of ending their brutal repression of peaceful dissent across the country one year after nationwide protests that erupted after the death in morality police custody of Mahsa Jina Amini in September 2022, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2024. The authorities have also consolidated their efforts to increase punitive measures against women who defy compulsory hijab laws and businesses that do not enforce them on their premises.

Iranian authorities have killed hundreds of protesters, arrested thousands of people, and tortured scores of detainees, including women and children. Human rights groups are investigating the killing of more than 500 people, including 69 children, during the protests. The authorities have refused to open transparent investigations into security forces use of excessive and lethal force, torture, sexual assault, and other serious abuses, and have instead pressured families of victims to not hold public memorial services.

For many, everyday life in Iran feels like a battle with a corrupt, autocratic government that has brought down the full force of its repressive machinery to quash dissent, said Michael Page, Middle East deputy director. Iranian authorities should know that anything short of fundamental change will only deepen public anger and frustration against their mismanagement and brutality.

In the 740-page World Report 2024, its 34th edition, Human Rights Watch reviews human rights practices in more than 100 countries. In her introductory essay, Executive Director Tirana Hassan says that 2023 was a consequential year not only for human rights suppression and wartime atrocities but also for selective government outrage and transactional diplomacy that carried profound costs for the rights of those not in on the deal. But she says there were also signs of hope, showing the possibility of a different path, and calls on governments to consistently uphold their human rights obligations.

Scores of human rights defenders, journalists, members of ethnic and religious minorities, and dissidents are serving lengthy sentences after being convicted of national security charges in grossly unfair trials. Detained protesters have died in suspicious circumstances.

In the months leading up to the protest anniversary, Iranian authorities increased their crackdown on peaceful dissent through intimidation, arrests, prosecutions, and trials of activists, artists, dissidents, lawyers, academics, students, and family members of those who were killed during the 2022 protests.

Iranian authorities substantially increased the rates of executions in 2023. During the 2022 protests, judicial authorities drastically increased the use of vaguely defined national security charges that could carry the death penalty against protesters, including for allegedly injuring others and destroying public property. Following grossly unfair trials in which many defendants did not have access to the lawyer of their choice, Iranian authorities issued 25 death sentences in connection to the protests. As of September 20, the authorities executed seven people, though the Supreme Court overturned 11 other cases.

Vice News Video: Inside Iran: What Happened to Irans Women-led Uprising?

Iranian authorities intensified efforts to enforce compulsory hijab laws. They prosecuted women and girls, including actors, who refuse to wear the hijab in public, issued traffic citations for passengers without the hijab, and temporarily closed businesses that do not comply with hijab laws. In recent cases, the judiciary mandated psychological treatment for at least two actresses convicted of not complying with hijab laws, a move Iranian mental health associations protested.

On September 21, the Iranian parliament approved a draft Hijab and Chastity Bill with 70 articles proposing additional penalties, such as fines, increased prison terms up to 10 years for expressing opposition to hijab regulations, and restrictions on job and educational opportunities for hijab violations. The law also expands the authority of intelligence and law enforcement agencies in enforcing the compulsory hijab.

The authorities also intensified pressure on the Bahai religious minority community, arresting and resentencing several prominent members of the community.

Human Rights Watch documented far harsher use of repressive tactics, including arbitrary arrests and excessive use of force, in ethnic and religious minority areas of Kurdistan province and Sistan and Baluchistan province, which have played leading roles during the protests. Over the past year, the authorities have imposed several localized internet shutdowns, particularly in Sistan and Baluchistan province during mass protests.

With rampant systemic impunity inside Iran, the UN Human Rights Council member states should ensure that independent investigations into serious allegations of abuse continue at the UN level, Page said.

Via Human Rights Watch
Istanbul (Special to Informed Comment; Feature)  On October 7, 2023, the day after Hamas attack on Israeli civilians, the Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, announced a complete siege on already besieged Gaza that often described as the largest open-air prison with 2.2 million people squeezed into a small tract of land that had been under a cripplint blockade since 2007. All life support of the Gaza Strip, such as, electricity, food, fuel, clean water, and medicine that was coming from outside before the war, were cut off by government decree. Gallant did not hesitate to use genocidal language, dehumanizing Gazans, calling them human animals. Then he added: No humanitarian aid will be allowed into Gaza. Since then several of high level governmental officials did not hesitate using similar statements reminding Gazans live suports will not be restored unless Hamas is compilitily eliminated, the aim that has no realistic end result.

This collective punishment of Gazans is itself constitutes a war crime. They were utterly unprotected, squeezed in a small, crowded place with nowhere to go, no safe place to shelter, no food, no clean water, bakeries, hospitals, UN Buildings and schools were being constantly bombed.

The death toll is over 24,000, and about half of Gazas 2.2 million people are children. As of early January 11, 2024 over 10,000 Palestinian children have been killed in Gaza, thousands remain missing, and more are are injured. It is estimated that one Palestinian child is killed every 15 minutes. Young children that are still alive, between 0 to 2 unable to survive lengthy periods of hunger are suffering the most.

Since October 7, more than 85% of the population in Gaza have been forcefully removed from the North to the South, further back and forth. The massive distraction of every basic necessities created irreversible humanitarian catastrophe. The Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres calls it: humanities catastrophe, not humanitarian catastrophe making a point that international community failed gravely failed to stop the Israeli atrocity. Gazans live on tents, partly destroyed school buildings, or on streets without any shelter in the cold and wet weather. When rain arrived, broken sewage canals spilled over streets and floors of buildings. A life threatening water borne infectious diseaases started taking toll on children and elderly. Even before the war, Access to water was very limited in Gaza, now it severely constranied, as only one aquifer is functioning. Peoples are surviving less than 2 liters per person per day, falling short by 15 liters of the basic survival level water requirement as per the Sphere Standards.

One of the Gaza residents explaining their conditions as: If we dont die from bombing, for sure, we will die from starvation, or diseases. In late November, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization, repeated the same dire conditions: Without urgent action to repair the Gaza Strips rapidly collapsing health system, more people would soon die from diseases than from Israels bombings. There are no medicines, no vaccination activities, no access to safe water and hygiene and no food. The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) reported on December 6 that 9 out of 10 households in Northern Gaza and 2 out of 3 households in Southern Gaza had spent at least one full day and night without food.

WGN News Video: UN agency chiefs say Gaza needs more aid to arrive faster, warning of famine and disease

The most recent report of the WHO show that humanitarian crisis unfolds in Gaza an umprecendented 93 % population is now grappling with crisis level hunger characterized by insufficient food and alarming rates of malnutrition and dire consequences predicted for the health of the population, especially among vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant and breatsfeeding women, and the elderly. The recent estimates from the Integrated Food Security Face Classification (IPC) reveals that the risk of famine loom larger each day, underscoring the urgent need for immeditae intervention. The WHO staff reports a heartbreaking scenario that people come to hospital not for the medicine but hoping for food. Ironically in the digital age, we are watching daily the horrors of the war in real-time in our living rooms.

Crime of Starvation

There are sufficient international law norms to prosecute Israels action in Gaza including war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes of starvation and specifically the widely ratified Genocide Convention of 1948 are available to hold individuals accountable for the indiscriminately attacking civilians, bombing hospitals, and schools.

More specifically, Israele action clearly and squerlly constitutes a crime of starvation, by way of blocking access to food and clean water as a weapon of war, denying and blocking humanitarian aid, bombing bakeries, food distribution places, depriving the civilan population of objects indispensable to their survival, and even destroying Gazas agricultural land to dirt, proven by the Human Rights Watch satellite images.

In conflict zones, more civilians were killed because of hunger and diseases than by weapons in battle ground. In Gaza, there is no battle ground, everywhere is battle ground, and as one of the Israeli military leaders said: There is no innocent civilians in Gaza! This statement itself carries an intent to eliminate entire Gazans that consitutes crime of genocide conducted against entire population.

Starvation kills people slowly. Besides immediate impact of the war on civilians while the hot war is still going on, there is also, deeper and longer impact of starvation on young children, pregnant women, elderly people, and people that already sick or have underlying conditions. It is a crime that its damages has a traumatizing impact on the generation to come. The UN World Health Organization (WHO) report shows that the impact of a short period of severe hunger (two or three weeks) on children between 0 to 2 years old have a long-lasting effect on physical, emotional and intellectual development. Even war ends today, the impact of destruction of Gazas food systems on current and generation to come will have a devastating impact on young generation. We might not to see immediately the importance of such a longer and deeper impact of severe malnutrition on vulnerable groups in Gaza War now, because current situation is dire and bloody. Therefore, there is an urgent need for immediate seize fire. it seems helpful to articulate the Israeli crime of starvation against Gaza people while it is happening now, with the hope of changing Israeli behavior, which could stop the devastation of this grave violation of human rights, and threat to life with lasting effect. Documenting of the starvation during the war is also vitally important to collect proof for the post conflict judication.

Plenty of crime, but no remedy

Although since the begining of the war, international law principles were mentioned by all parties, it is rather confusing for non-legal experts to grasp it, and evaluate effectiveness. There are various legal remedies to account the perpetretors in case of severe human righst violations, and protection of civialns during the war. In ideal world, international humanitarian law is designed to regulate war, protect civilians, stop war crimes. International human righst law obliges states protect peoples livelihood, such as right to food, housing, health and education, in times of peace and war. As an occupying power, Israel is obligated to respect, protect, and fulfill all peoples rights who live under the occupation. International criminal law prosecute and punish perpetrators of war crimes, and grave violations of human rights through the judicial institutions. Nevertheless we are not living in a world that all these rules properly and indiscriminately implemented, and perpetretors were punished.

As Palestinian legal scholar, and human righst activist Noura Erakat said in an inerview that: there is plenty of crimes is unfording in Palestine, especially the crime of apartheid: a sustained 75 years of settler colonial removal, 56 years of occupation, and 16 years of siege. Apartheit is and will continue to be, the geratest crime against humanity. But the reality is these criminal allegations in the absence of the political will not allow pursue the remedy. Since the Gaza conflict started, the UN Security Council was not able to have a resolution of seize fire to avoid humanitarian catastrophe this one-sided, disproportionate, illegal reoccupation and unfolding genocide of the 21st century because of the US veto power. Moreover, the US and the UK should be accountable along the Israel in these crimes by providing weapons, intelligence, and funding around $3.6 billion a year. However, all these international law remedies just a distant dream not a remedy, despite majority of the world is sided with Palestine.

In concluding, starvation and famine are large-scale violations of the right to food that can adversely affect entire societies while at the same time severely harming individuals and their families. Considering the current condition to slash toward to famine in Gaza, there is a need for a global binding convention that gives States and international community clear legal mandates to prevent famine. Formal recognition of famine as a crime will impede the tendency of Governments to hide behind the curtain of necessity of military operation, self-defense, or state sovereignty to use hunger as a genocidal weapon.[1]

[1] The report of the UNSR on Right to Food, Mrs Hilal Elver to 72 session of the UN General Assembly, A/72/188, 21, July 2017, p.22
Kingston, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 16, 2024) - Delta Resources Limited (TSXV: DLTA) (OTC Pink: DTARF) (FSE: 6GO1) ("Delta" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that it will resume drilling at the Delta-1 Project in Thunder Bay, starting with a 5,000 metre drilling program. The program will be two-pronged with a number of drill holes aimed at increasing the gold inventory at the Eureka Gold Zone, while other drill holes will test new exploration targets defined at the end of 2023.

This drilling program and Delta's future exploration programs in 2024 are fully funded.

In 2023, Delta completed sixty (60) drill holes for a total of 19,620 metres at the Delta-1 project. This brings the total drilling at the property to eighty-six (86) drill holes or 26,288 metres, since Delta's 2019 acquisition of the project. Other exploration work at the property in 2023 include a geological mapping, prospecting and sampling program that covered approximately ten (10) square kilometres as well as a 3D induced polarization geophysical survey and a high-resolution drone magnetic survey.

Qualified Person

Daniel Boudreau, P.Geo. and Manager of Exploration of Delta Resources Limited, is a Qualified Person as defined by NI-43-101, and will be supervising the drilling program. Mr. Boudreau has reviewed the technical information presented in this press release.

Ontario Junior Exploration Program

Delta Resources would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by the Ontario Government via the Ontario Junior Exploration Program ("OJEP"). Delta will be receiving up to $200,000 upon completion of its exploration program at Delta-1.

About Delta Resources Limited

Delta Resources Limited is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on growing shareholder value through the exploration of two very high-potential gold and base-metal projects in Canada.

DELTA-1 is Delta's flagship project, where the company is building gold ounces 50 kilometres west of Thunder Bay, Ontario, at surface and adjacent to the Trans-Canada highway. To date, the gold mineralization is defined over 1.8 km from surface to a vertical depth of 250 m. Highlights include drill intercepts such as 5.92 g/t Au over 31 m (incl. 14.8 g/t Au over 11.9 m), and 1.79 g/t Au over 128.5 m. The property covers 107 square kilometres and Delta has identified a 5 km long corridor of intense alteration and deformation at the property, on strike with the gold zone, that has yet to be thoroughly explored.

The DELTA-2 property covers 194 square kilometres in the prolific Chibougamau District of Quebec. The property holds excellent potential for gold-rich polymetallic VMS deposits as well as hydrothermal-gold deposits. Delta targets VMS deposits such as the LeMoine past producer where 0.76 Mt were mined between 1975 and 1983, grading 9.6% Zn, 4.2% Cu, 4.5 g/t Au and 84 g/t Ag.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DELTA RESOURCES LIMITED.

Andre C. Tessier

President, CEO and Director

www.deltaresources.ca

We seek safe harbor. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The TSX Venture Exchange has not approved nor disapproved of the information contained herein.

For Further Information:

Delta Resources Limited

Andre Tessier, CEO and President

Tel: 613-328-1581

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or

Frank Candido, Chairman,

Tel : 514-969-5530

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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Some statements contained in this news release are "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or variations of such words and phrases (including negative or grammatical variations) or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and involves risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual facts to differ materially. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by management. The forward-looking information contained in this press release constitutes management's current estimates, as of the date of this press release, with respect to the matters covered thereby. We expect that these estimates will change as new information is received. While we may elect to update these estimates at any time, we do not undertake to update any estimate at any particular time or in response to any particular event.
KELOWNA, BC, Jan. 16, 2024 /CNW/ - Cantex Mine Development Corp. (TSXV: CD) (OTCQB: CTXDF) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the close of the final tranche of its financing.

The Company announces that, further to its news releases of December 5, 7, 18, and 29, 2023 announcing a private placement (the "Offering") and the close of the first three tranches, the Company has closed the final tranche of the Offering ("the Final Tranche") and has received proceeds of $200,200 from the issuance of 770,000 units (the "Units"), which includes a participation from our previously announced strategic partner Crescat Capital LLC ("Crescat"). Units were issued at $0.26 per Unit, with each Unit comprised of a non-flow through share and one-half of a non-flow through warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to acquire one common share of the Company at a price of $0.39 for a term of two years from closing.

The Company was charged $14,000 in finders fees in connection with the Final Tranche, which was settled with the issuance of 53,846 Units at a deemed price of $0.26/Unit. The Units issued as settlement of the fees are comprised of 53,846 non-flow through shares and 26,923 warrants; the warrants are exercisable for a period of two years from issuance and have an exercise price of $0.39. The Company also issued 53,846 finders warrants, which have the same terms and conditions as the warrants issued in the Offering. All warrants issued as part of the finders fee are non-transferable.

Combined with the first, second and third tranches, the over subscribed Offering has resulted in gross proceeds of $3,000,190 from the issuance of 8,599,966 FT Units and 1,616,154 Units. FT Units were issued at $0.30 per FT Unit and are comprised of one flow through share and one-half of a warrant; each whole warrant entitles the holder to acquire one common share of the Company at a price of $0.39 for a term of two years from closing. Proceeds from the Final Tranche will be used to fund general operations of the Company.

Combined with the first, second and third tranches, the Company was charged a total of $177,100 in finders fees and issued a total of 647,766 finders warrants, which have the same terms and conditions as the warrants issued in the Offering. Of the $177,100 in fees, $65,100 was settled in cash and $112,000 was settled with the issuance of 430,766 Units at a deemed price of $0.26/Unit. The Units issued as settlement of the fees are comprised of 430,766 non-flow through shares and 215,383 warrants; the warrants are exercisable for a period of two years from issuance and have an exercise price of $0.39. All warrants issued as part of the finders fee are non-transferable.

The securities issued in the Final Tranche are subject to a four month hold period, expiring on May 13, 2024.

About Cantex Mine Development Corp.

Cantex is focused on its 100-per-cent-owned, 20,000-hectare North Rackla project located 150 kilometres northeast of the town of Mayo in Yukon, Canada, where significant massive sulphide mineralization has been discovered. Over 60,000 metres of drilling has defined high-grade silver-lead-zinc-germanium mineralization over 2.3 kilometres of strike length and more than 700 metres depth. The mineralization remains open along strike and to depth. The company is led by Dr. Fipke CM, the founder of Ekati, Canada's first diamond mine.

Signed,

Chad Ulansky

Chad Ulansky

President and CEO

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: Certain of the statements and information in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information", including statements regarding the expected use of proceeds of the private placement. Further, any statements or information that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "estimates", "intends", "targets", "goals", "forecasts", "objectives", "potential" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements or information. The Company's forward-looking statements and information are based on the assumptions, beliefs, expectations and opinions of management as of the date of this press release, and other than as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements and information if circumstances or management's assumptions, beliefs, expectations or opinions should change, or changes in any other events affecting such statements or information. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh left Hanoi Tuesday morning for attendance at the 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF-54) in Davos, Switzerland and official visits to Hungary and Romania.

The PM is accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son, Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai, Deputy Minister of Public Security Sen. Lieut. Gen. Luong Tam Quang, Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Vu Hai San, deputy head of the Government Office Do Ngoc Huynh, and Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Trung.

Convening from Jan. 15-19 under the theme "Rebuilding Trust", the WEF-54 will bring together more than 2,800 leaders from 120 countries.

Vietnam is among the nine partners proposed by the WEF to co-organize a Country Strategic Dialogue on Vietnam, and Chinh is one of the eight leaders chosen for a separate dialogue session with WEF, underscoring the recognition and appreciation from the WEF and multinational corporations towards Vietnams role, international position, achievements and development vision.

After attending the WEF-54 , Chinh will pay official visits to Hungary and Romania until Jan. 23, with the aim of further strengthening political trust, elevating and enlivening the traditional friendship between Vietnam and the European countries, promoting and bringing traditional areas of cooperation between Vietnam and the two countries to a new stage, expanding collaboration in areas of potential and strength, and tightening the friendship between the people of Vietnam and the two countries.

The Vietnamese government leaders visits are also expected to connect Vietnam with the Central and Eastern European region, and foster relations between the two countries and ASEAN, towards closely coordinating in resolving global issues, and contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
VANCOUVER, BC and SYDNEY, Australia, Jan. 16, 2024 /CNW/ -

Highlights

The 2024 drill campaign at the Corvette Property has commenced, targeting a minimum of 45,000 m over the January to April period (the 'winter program').

At least ten (10) drill rigs are planned to be utilized to complete the winter program  making it among the largest lithium drill programs currently in Quebec .

. The winter access road is complete and in operation to reduce the dependency on helicopters for the drilling campaign, which is expected to reduce per metre cost significantly.

Core assay results remain to be reported for more than 125 drill holes, including ~1.5 km of prospective pegmatite trend across the CV5 and CV13 pegmatites.

The Company intends to provide an updated mineral resource estimate to the market in the third quarter of 2024.

Patriot Battery Metals Inc. (the "Company" or "Patriot") (TSXV: PMET) (ASX: PMT) (OTCQB: PMETF) (FSE: R9GA) is pleased to announce it has commenced the 2024 winter drill campaign at its wholly owned Corvette Property (the "Property" or "Project"), located in the James Bay Region of Quebec. Additionally, the Company has completed the construction of a winter road (approximately 20 km in length), extending site access from the all-season Trans-Taiga Road to the CV5 drill area.

The 2024 winter drill program has commenced and is planned to increase to ten (10) drill rigs by the end of January until late April. A minimum meterage of 45,000 m (NQ core size) is anticipated to be completed over the winter period. The primary objective of the program is infill drilling to improve the confidence of the CV5 Pegmatite's geological model to support an upgrade in the confidence of the maiden mineral resource estimate from the inferred category to the indicated category. This is the most aggressive drill campaign undertaken to date by the Company at the Corvette Property. The Company intends to provide an updated mineral resource estimate to the market in in the third quarter of 2024.

Blair Way, Company President, CEO, and Director, comments: "We have another huge year ahead of us with this aggressive drill campaign to upgrade the resource and continue to de-risk the Project. It is an exciting time for the Company."

Qualified/Competent Person

The information in this news release that relates to exploration results for the Corvette Property is based on, and fairly represents, information compiled by Mr. Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geo., who is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and member in good standing with the Ordre des Geologues du Quebec (Geologist Permit number 01968), and with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (member number 87868). Mr. Smith has reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release.

Mr. Smith is Vice President of Exploration for Patriot Battery Metals Inc. and holds common shares and options in the Company.

Mr. Smith has sufficient experience, which is relevant to the style of mineralization, type of deposit under consideration, and to the activities being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as described by the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the JORC Code). Mr. Smith consents to the inclusion in this news release of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

About Patriot Battery Metals Inc.

Patriot Battery Metals Inc. is a hard-rock lithium exploration company focused on advancing its district-scale 100% owned Corvette Property located in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of Quebec, Canada, and proximal to regional road and powerline infrastructure. The Corvette Property hosts the CV5 Spodumene Pegmatite with a maiden mineral resource estimate of 109.2 Mt at 1.42% Li 2 O inferred1 and ranks as the largest lithium pegmatite resource in the Americas based on contained lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), and one of the top 10 largest lithium pegmatite resources in the world. Additionally, the Corvette Property hosts multiple other spodumene pegmatite clusters that remain to be drill tested, as well as more than 20 km of prospective trend that remain to be assessed.

1 The CV5 mineral resource estimate (109.2 Mt at 1.42% Li 2 O and 160 ppm Ta 2 O 5 inferred) is reported at a cut-off grade of 0.40% Li 2 O with effective date of June 25, 2023 (through drill hole CV23-190). Mineral resources are not mineral reserves as they do not have demonstrated economic viability.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

"BLAIR WAY"

Blair Way, President, CEO, & Director

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. In particular and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements pertaining to the Company's plans with respect to incentive compensation awarded to certain of its directors.

There can be no assurance that such information or statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include, among others, the ability of the Company provide an updated mineral resource estimate within the time frames indicated and other risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators, available at www.sedarplus.ca and www.asx.com.au.

The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements as expressly required by applicable law.

No securities regulatory authority or stock exchange, including the TSX Venture Exchange and its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) has reviewed nor accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release.
16th January, 2024  TheNewswire - Rockport, Ontario - New Age Metals Inc. (TSXV:NAM); (OTC:NMTLF); (FSE:P7J.F) (NAM or the Company) in conjunction with its Farm-in/Joint Venture agreement with Mineral Resources Ltd. (MinRes) is pleased to announce that as part of our $7 million 2023/2024 exploration budget it has commenced drilling operations at its Winnipeg River-Cat Lake Lithium project in Southeast Manitoba. The exploration program is being carried out by Platinum Diamond Drilling Inc. (Platinum) with technical and geological oversight by Axiom Exploration Group Ltd. (Axiom).

2024 Drill Program Overview

The 2024 winter drill program has commenced and will comprise up to 15,000 meters of planned exploration drilling. Drilling will be conducted over four of the Companys properties within the project area including Lithium Two, Bird River, Lithman West, and Lithman East.

The program will focus on high-priority targets identified from the extensive 2023 geochemical and geophysical surveying program. Targeted drilling is aimed at quantifying and expanding the existing spodumene mineralization on the Lithium Two and Bird River properties. Additionally, significant meterage will be allocated to exploration drilling on the Lithman East and West properties that are contiguous with the Tanco Mine property and share similar geological and structural settings. These properties host numerous pegmatites with anomalous geochemical indicators that align with demagnetized trends and dilation zones that could serve as structural conduits for LCT pegmatites.

Chairman and CEO Harry Barr commented; After extensive project development and planning to get to this point, we are proud to announce the commencement of our most aggressive drill program to date for our Lithium Division. Together with our partners from Mineral Resources and consultants from Axiom, we have systematically developed our understanding of the project area over the last few years and now have well-defined, high priority targets that give us great confidence for this program. On behalf of New Age Metals, we wish for a safe drill program for our contractors and consultants and look forward to positive results.

Project Highlights

Targeted drilling, aimed at expanding the existing surface spodumene mineralization on the Bird River Lithium and Lithium Two Properties.

Exploration drilling of the Rush Lake trend extending 7 km from the Tanco Mine property following up on elevated lithium and cesium in rock samples on the Lithman East Property.

Numerous priority geophysical targets on the Lithman West property that correlate with elevated lithium values in MMI samples and could indicate blind LCT-style pegmatites occurring at depth.

All drill areas are road accessible and are located within a 25 km radius of the Tanco Mine which has commercially produced tin, tantalum, cesium, lithium, and rubidium since 1969.

NAM has an active exploration agreement with the Sagkeeng First Nation and will be working in partnership with Sagkeeng on its winter drilling program.

The Companys exploration activities are being funded by Mineral Resources Limited, a top 5 global lithium producer.

Figure 1: New Age Metals Southeast Manitoba Property Overview

About NAM

New Age Metals is a junior mineral exploration and development company focused on the discovery, exploration, and development of green metal projects in North America. The Company has two divisions: a Platinum Group Element division and a Lithium/Rare Element division.

The PGE Division includes the 100% owned, multi-million-ounce, district-scale River Valley Project, one of North Americas largest undeveloped Platinum Group Element Projects, situated 100 km by road east of Sudbury, Ontario. In addition to River Valley, NAM owns 100% of the Genesis PGE-Cu-Ni Project in Alaska and plans to complete a surface mapping and sampling program in 2023.

The Companys Lithium Division is one of the largest mineral claim holders in the Winnipeg River Pegmatite Field, where the Company is exploring for hard rock lithium and various rare elements such as tantalum, rubidium, and cesium. Exploration plans for 2024 include up to 15,000 meters of diamond drilling following up on the anomalous results from the geochemical samples collected during summer 2023 and geophysical/structural interpretation. The Company has a partnership with Mineral Resource Limited (MRL, ASX: MIN), a top global lithium producer to explore and develop the Companys lithium project portfolio in Southern Manitoba. Our philosophy is to be a project generator with the objective of optioning our projects with major and junior mining companies through to production.

The Company is actively seeking an option/joint venture partner for our newly acquired Northman and South Bay Lithium Projects in northern Manitoba, and its road-accessible Genesis PGE-Cu-Ni Project in Alaska.

Investors are invited to visit the New Age Metals website at www.newagemetals.com where they can review the company and its corporate activities. Any questions or comments can be directed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Harry Barr at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Farid Mammadov at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 613 659 2773.

Qualified Person

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Lynde Guillaume (Senior Geologist, Axiom Exploration Ltd.), an independent consultant of the Company, and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.

Opt-in List

If you have not done so already, we encourage you to sign up on our website (www.newagemetals.com) to receive our updated news.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Harry Barr

Harry G. Barr

Chairman and CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements: This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results and are based on current expectations or beliefs. For this purpose, statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements include statements in which the Company uses words such as continue, efforts, expect, believe, anticipate, confident, intend, strategy, plan, will, estimate, project, goal, target, prospects, optimistic or similar expressions. These statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of important factors, including, among others, the Companys ability and continuation of efforts to timely and completely make available adequate current public information, additional or different regulatory and legal requirements and restrictions that may be imposed, and other factors as may be discussed in the documents filed by the Company on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), including the most recent reports that identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to review or confirm analysts expectations or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.




VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Prime Mining Corp. (Prime or the Company) (TSX: PRYM) (OTCQX: PRMNF) (Frankfurt: 04V3) announces that CEO Daniel Kunz is retiring effective February 1, 2024, and Mr. Scott Hicks, EVP, will succeed him as Chief Executive Officer at that time and has been appointed to the Board of Directors effective today. The seamless leadership transition completes a succession plan developed by the Board of Directors following Mr. Hicks appointment as Executive Vice President of Prime on August 17, 2022. Mr. Kunz will remain a Strategic Advisor and member of the Board. Mr. Kunz and Mr. Hicks will continue to work closely together.

Daniel Kunz was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Director on June 15, 2020, after serving as Executive Chairman. Since then, he has overseen significant milestones in the Companys advancement, which in 2023 included Primes graduation to the main board of the Toronto Stock Exchange, its updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Los Reyes Project and its inaugural Sustainability Report, as well as significant financings.

Mr. Kunz remarked, Andy Bowering and I worked together to create this valuable company and I now leave the CEO role in Scotts capable hands. As a shareholder, I am looking forward to an exciting 2024 at the Los Reyes gold-silver project as I pursue my other interests.

Murray John, Chair of Primes Board of Directors, stated, On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Dan for his leadership of Prime. His extensive experience in the development and financing of global resource projects has enabled Prime to advance to its current stage. He leaves the Company in a strong financial position, with the people and platform in place for future growth.

Scott Hicks brings over 20 years industry experience to Prime, as an executive, finance professional and engineer. Prior to joining the Company, he served as Senior Vice President of Technical Services with Kinross Gold Corp., with global responsibility for strategic planning, resource and reserve calculations, project studies, business development and talent management. He also held positions of increasing responsibility with Inco Ltd. and Vale in the areas of corporate development, strategic planning and financial evaluation, including several years in Indonesia at one of the worlds largest integrated nickel operations. Mr. Hicks holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mining Engineering from Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, is a Professional Engineer and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder.

We are very pleased to announce Scotts appointment to the role of CEO and welcome him to the Board. said Mr. John. Since joining Prime, he has been actively engaging with the investment community and providing both strategic and technical leadership to the team, facilitating the last financing and driving the delivery of the May 2023 MRE that effectively doubled the resource ounces at Los Reyes. We look forward to his continued leadership as the new CEO of Prime in its next phase of growth.

Scott Hicks added, I have enjoyed working with Dan for the past 18 months at Prime and thank him for the strong financial and technical position that he has created here, and especially for the exceptional team with whom I look forward to continuing our work. The Los Reyes property demonstrates immense resource prospectivity, both in terms of magnitude and quality, and I am excited to lead the team in unlocking its exploration and subsequent development potential over the longer-term.

About the Los Reyes Gold and Silver Project

Los Reyes is a rapidly evolving high-grade, low sulphidation epithermal gold-silver project located in Sinaloa State, Mexico. Since acquiring Los Reyes in 2019, Prime has spent approximately US$32 million on direct exploration activities and has completed over 158,000 m of drilling. On May 2, 2023, Prime announced an updated multi-million-ounce high-grade open pit constrained resource (see below, and refer to the May 2, 2023 press release for more details).

May 2, 2023 Resource Statement

Drilling is ongoing and suggests that the three known main deposit areas (Guadalupe, Central and Z-T) are larger than previously reported. Potential also exists for new discoveries where mineralized trends have been identified outside of the currently defined resource areas.

Historic operating results indicate that an estimated 1 million ounces of gold and 60 million ounces of silver were recovered from five separate operations at Los Reyes between 1770 and 1990. Prior to Primes acquisition, recent operators of Los Reyes had spent approximately US$20 million on exploration, engineering, and prefeasibility studies.

Qualified Person

Scott Smith, P.Geo., Executive Vice President of Exploration, is a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical content in this news release.

About Prime Mining

Prime is managed by an ideal mix of successful mining executives, strong capital markets personnel and experienced local operators all focused on unlocking the full potential of the Los Reyes Project. The Company has a well-planned capital structure with a strong management team and insider ownership. Prime is targeting a material resource expansion at Los Reyes through a combination of new generative area discoveries and growth, while also building on technical de-risking activities to support eventual project development.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Daniel Kunz

Chief Executive Officer

For further information, please contact:

Daniel Kunz

Chief Executive Officer and Director

Telephone: +1-208-926-6379 office

email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Scott Hicks

Executive Vice President and Director

Telephone: +1-604-428-6128 office

email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Prime Mining Corp.

710  1030 West Georgia St.

Vancouver, BC V6E 2Y3 Canada

+1-604-428-6128

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Cautionary Notes to U.S. Investors Concerning Resource Estimates

This news release has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the requirements of the U.S. securities laws. In particular, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the terms mineral reserve, proven mineral reserve, probable mineral reserve, inferred mineral resources, indicated mineral resources, measured mineral resources and mineral resources used or referenced in this presentation are Canadian mineral disclosure terms as defined in accordance with National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101) under the guidelines set out in the 2014 Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines, May 2014 (the CIM Standards). The CIM Standards differ from the mineral property disclosure requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) in Regulation S-K Subpart 1300 (the SEC Modernization Rules) under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act). As a foreign private issuer that is eligible to file reports with the SEC pursuant to the multijurisdictional disclosure system, the Company is not required to provide disclosure on its mineral properties under the SEC Modernization Rules and will continue to provide disclosure under NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards. Accordingly, the Companys disclosure of mineralization and other technical information may differ significantly from the information that would be disclosed had the Company prepared the information under the standards adopted under the SEC Modernization Rules.

Forward Looking Information



This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation as may be amended from time to time, including, without limitation, statements regarding the perceived merit of the Companys properties, including additional exploration potential of Los Reyes, potential quantity and/or grade of minerals, the potential size of the mineralized zone, metallurgical recoveries, and the Companys exploration and development plans in Mexico. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts which address events, results, outcomes, or developments that the Company expects to occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Companys management on the date the statements are made, and they involve several risks and uncertainties. Certain material assumptions regarding such forward-looking statements were made, including without limitation, assumptions regarding the price of gold, silver and copper; the accuracy of mineral resource estimations; that there will be no material adverse change affecting the Company or its properties; that all required approvals will be obtained, including concession renewals and permitting; that political and legal developments will be consistent with current expectations; that currency and exchange rates will be consistent with current levels; and that there will be no significant disruptions affecting the Company or its properties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements involve significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These risks include, but are not limited to: risks related to uncertainties inherent in the preparation of mineral resource estimates, including but not limited to changes to the cost assumptions, variations in quantity of mineralized material, grade or recovery rates, changes to geotechnical or hydrogeological considerations, failure of plant, equipment or processes, changes to availability of power or the power rates, ability to maintain social license, changes to interest or tax rates, changes in project parameters, delays and costs inherent to consulting and accommodating rights of local communities, environmental risks, title risks, including concession renewal, commodity price and exchange rate fluctuations, risks relating to COVID-19, delays in or failure to receive access agreements or amended permits, risks inherent in the estimation of mineral resources; and risks associated with executing the Companys objectives and strategies, including costs and expenses, as well as those risk factors discussed in the Company's most recently filed management's discussion and analysis, as well as its annual information form dated August 21, 2023, available on www.sedarplus.ca. Except as required by the securities disclosure laws and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if managements beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.
WALLACE, ID / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Magellan Gold Corporation (OTC PINK:MAGE) ("Magellan" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce that the company has entered into an agreement with Gold Express Mines, Inc. for the purchase of three copper-focused properties, two of which are in Idaho, and one in Arizona.

The Copper Cliff Property, in Adams County, Idaho, is located about nine miles north of the town of Cuprum, Idaho. The project encompasses 71 unpatented mining claims, and an associated lease on patented mining claims comprising the historic Copper Cliff Mine. This open pit mine produced significant tonnages in the 1970's and 1980's, totaling 876,929 tons of ore, yielding 11 ounces of gold, 349,073 ounces of silver, and 12,547,883 pounds of copper. The property was mined by open pit and underground methods.

The deposit consists of stratiform and stratabound disseminated copper minerals in iron-rich metamorphosed volcanic rocks of the Seven Devils Group. Ore minerals include bornite, chalcopyrite, chalcocite, malachite, chrysocolla, and azurite. The deposits appear to be volcanogenic, with some remobilization of the sulfides during regional metamorphism and shearing of the host rocks.

The Company believes extensions of this historically mined resource may exist at depth and along strike. The company work plans for the 2024 field season will likely include IP geophysics, soil sampling, and possibly drilling.

The Blue Jacket Property in Idaho County, Idaho is located near Lucille, Idaho in the Crooks Corral Mining District, and part of the Nez Perce Forest. The project consists of 79 unpatented claims which are staked adjacent to and around a group of patented claims comprising the historic Blue Jacket Mine. This historic mine is held privately and is not part of the Company land package. The Blue Jacket Mine produced intermittently in the late 1800's to early 1900's with the last records of substantial work date from 1918. The crosscut and drift workings described in historic reports total about 2000 to 2500 feet.

Reports indicate that around 1917-18 an 865-foot tunnel was driven at the canyon level of Kirkwood Creek to intersect mineralization at a lower elevation. Importantly, sampling from the tunnel walls intersected altered quartz porphyry which was copper mineralized.

Recent sampling on the unpatented claims of the Company taken in the fall of 2022 has revealed several highly anomalous copper results along with other elements. Two oxidized copper mineralized showings which were found during claim staking were examined and sampled. Both are located on the steep, south-facing slope of a ridge south of Kirkwood Creek drainage, and approximately an airline kilometer southeast of the historic Blue Jacket Mine.

One of the samples was taken from a four-meter length prospector pit which exposed quartz veining hosted by andesitic, clayey, siltstone with a strong chloritic, foliation fabric. The quartz vein and sericitic alteration envelope strike N60W and dips 65 northeast, cutting across the metamorphic foliation which strikes N60E and dips 70 to the southeast. At the northwest end of the pit, the width of the mineralized zone is two meters and gradually pinches out in a southeast direction. The single sample of vein and wall rock collected was comprised of oxide-copper (malachite) which assayed 5.04% copper, 171 ppm silver with anomalous gold, lead and zinc. Of note, the sample also ran anomalous molybdenum (321 ppm) suggesting the vein is porphyry copper related.

The second prospect sampled is a shallow excavation along a north-northeast trending, steeply dipping quartz vein with colorful oxide-copper (malachite, tenorite). The vein is approximately five centimeters in width. Relict chalcopyrite was also noted. Assay results on the one grab sample ran 6.80% copper with 17 gm/ton silver and anomalous gold and zinc. The analysis by the Company and consultants who have examined the claims, and in consideration of historic data, is that the property has potential to be a substantial copper deposit which could carry strong credits of silver, gold and related base metals.

The Copper Butte Project is located in Pinal County, Arizona near the town of Kearny and nearby the Ray Mine currently operated by Grupo Mexico. The project consists of 57 unpatented claims of the Company located adjacent and easterly to 8 patented claims owned by Grupo Mexico. These patented claims constitute the historic Copper Butte Mine, available records indicate that the mine had a historic production of 100,000 tons at a grade of approximately 3% Cu. The copper mineralization is described to be an exotic copper oxide in conglomerate.

The Company believes it is possible that some of this historic resource may extend onto the unpatented claims of the Company. It is also possible that the copper mineralization contained in the conglomerate rock package could continue onto the unpatented claims of the Company. The Company plans a future work program consisting of soil sampling and short-hole drilling to test these ideas.

On January 7, 2024, Magellan Gold Corporation, a Nevada corporation (the "Company"), entered into a purchase agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") with Gold Express Mines, Inc., a Nevada corporation ("GEM"), pursuant to which, among other things (i) the Company agreed to purchase certain mineral assets owned and controlled by GEM for a purchase price equal to 5,500,000 shares of the Company's common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the "Common Stock"); and (ii) GEM agreed to assign to the Company a certain lease for mineral properties (the "Cuprum Lease") for a purchase price of 500,000 shares of Common Stock (collectively, the "Transactions"). The Purchase Agreement contains representations, warranties and covenants customary for a transaction of this size and nature. The Company expects the closing of the Transactions to occur no later than January 31, 2024, subject to certain closing conditions, including, but not limited to, (i) GEM delivering a quitclaim deed transferring the unpatented mining claims; and (ii) GEM receiving all required consents to transfer Cuprum LOn January 7, 2024, Magellan Gold Corporation, a Nevada corporation (the "Company"), entered into a purchase agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") with Gold Express Mines, Inc., a Nevada corporation ("GEM"), pursuant to which, among other things (i) the Company agreed to purchase certain mineral assets owned and controlled by GEM for a purchase price equal to 5,500,000 shares of the Company's common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the "Common Stock"); and (ii) GEM agreed to assign to the Company a certain lease for mineral properties (the "Cuprum Lease") for a purchase price of 500,000 shares of Common Stock (collectively, the "Transactions").

The Purchase Agreement contains representations, warranties and covenants customary for a transaction of this size and nature.The Company expects the closing of the Transactions to occur no later than January 31, 2024, subject to certain closing conditions, including, but not limited to, (i) GEM delivering a quitclaim deed transferring the unpatented mining claims; and (ii) GEM receiving all required consents to transfer Cuprum Lease.

Transaction Details

The Company recently entered into a purchase agreement with Gold Express Mines, Inc. pursuant to which, among other things (i) the Company agreed to purchase the above described copper-focused mineral assets owned and controlled by Gold Express for a purchase price equal to 5,500,000 shares of the Company's common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the "Common Stock"); and (ii) Gold Express agreed to assign to the Company a certain lease for mineral properties (the "Cuprum Lease") for a purchase price of 500,000 shares of Common Stock (collectively, the "Transactions").

The Company expects the closing of the Transactions to occur no later than January 31, 2024, subject to certain closing conditions, including, but not limited to, (i) Gold Express delivering various quitclaim deeds transferring the unpatented mining claims; and (ii) Gold Express receiving all required consents to transfer the Cuprum Lease.

About Magellan Gold Corporation

Magellan Gold Corporation (MAGE) is focused on the exploration and development of mineral projects in the Western United States. Due to the favorable supply/demand fundamentals of copper and considering recent successful exploration activity in the Seven Devils area of Idaho, the Company's strategy is to focus on its copper projects in that region for the upcoming field season.

To learn more about Magellan Gold Corporation, please watch for future press releases and review the Company public filings. The website of the Company is currently being updated to reflect the recent property acquisitions and other changes.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements contained in this press release, other than statements of historical facts or statements that relate to present facts or current conditions, including but not limited to, statements regarding our cash and financial resources and our clinical development plans, are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "expect," "plan," "aim," "seek," "anticipate," "could," "intend," "target," "project," "contemplate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "forecast," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified and some of which are beyond our control. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: competition, our ability to grow and manage growth, retain our management and key employees; changes in applicable laws or regulations; the possibility that the we may be adversely affected by other economic, business or competitive factors; our estimates of expenses and profitability; the evolution of the markets in which we compete; our ability to implement our strategic initiatives; and the risks and uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" section of our most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.sec.gov. You should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in our forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur, and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Moreover, we operate in a dynamic industry and economy. New risk factors and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all risk factors and uncertainties that we may face. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.

Contacts:

Magellan Gold Corporation

Mike Lavigne, CEO

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VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 16, 2024 /CNW/ - Vizsla Copper Corp. (TSXV: VCU) (OTCQB: VCUFF) (FRANKFURT: 97E0) ("Vizsla Copper" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has acquired, or has agreed to acquire, an additional 16,008 hectares of prospective exploration ground contiguous with the Company's Woodjam Copper-Gold Project (the "Woodjam Project"). A majority of the additional claims were acquired via low-cost staking, while a small portion are to be purchased from an arm's length vendor.

HIGHLIGHTS

Expansion of Flagship Woodjam Project: With the addition of these claims, the Woodjam Project will cover 90,163 hectares of prospective southern Quesnel Terrane.

With the addition of these claims, the Woodjam Project will cover 90,163 hectares of prospective southern Quesnel Terrane. Prospective Geology: The newly staked claims are largely underlain by intrusive rocks of the Takomkane batholith, which hosts porphyry-related copper-gold mineralization at the nearby Southeast deposit. The purchased claims are largely underlain by Nicola Gp. volcaniclastic rocks.

"I am pleased that we've been able to add over 16,000 hectares of prospective geology to the Woodjam Project area," commented Steve Blower, Vice President of Exploration. "High-grade gold and zinc mineralization outcrops on the purchased claims and the newly staked claims extend the Woodjam property over highly prospective and underexplored geology covered by a thin mantle of glacial till. We intend to explore both of these areas in 2024."

The Claims

The claims to be purchased (see Figure 1) total 1,226 hectares and cover a zone of outcropping quartz-carbonate veins in Nicola volcaniclastic rocks with high-grade sphalerite and gold mineralization. Grab samples collected by Vizsla Copper contain up to 26.8% Zn and 9.01 g/t Au over thicknesses estimated to be 0.2 metres, summarized in Table 1 below. No known drill holes have been completed in the area and Vizsla Copper will complete detailed geological, ground geophysical and surficial geochemistry surveys to develop drill targets.

Table 1: Rock chip assays from purchased claims. Sample Ag g/t Au g/t Cu % Zn % C00367757 244.0 9.01 1.54 10.8 C00367758 3.2 3.20 0.67 26.8 C00367759 0.6 0.57 0.14 7.6 C00367760 3.1 3.10 0.66 19.0 C00367761 1.3 1.30 1.01 23.4

These claims will be acquired from an arms-length vendor for 200,000 common shares of Vizsla Copper. The claims will be subject to a 2.0% net smelter returns royalty, of which Vizsla Copper has the right to purchase 1.0% (one-half) for $1.0 million in cash. The acquisition is subject to standard closing conditions, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"), and should close in the coming weeks.

The newly staked claims have an area of 14,782 hectares and are in two blocks contiguous with the southern end of the Woodjam Project. They are largely underlain by intrusive rocks of the Takomkane batholith, the same intrusive complex that hosts the large Southeast porphyry related copper-gold deposit at the Woodjam Project. Outcrop is rare in the area, particularly in the western block, where the highly prospective Takomkane margin is hidden by a mantle of unconsolidated glacial till. Geophysical and soil geochemical surveys will be required to develop drill targets here.

Figure 1  Woodjam New Claims Location

The Woodjam Project

The 90,163-hectare Woodjam Project is located 55 kilometres east of the community of Williams Lake in an area characterized by a low elevation, flat to gently undulating landscape that is easily accessed by logging roads. Geologically, the Woodjam Project is located within the prolific Quesnel Terrane  a large regional depositional belt commonly dominated by alkalic volcanic units and related volcaniclastic lithologies. The Quesnel terrane hosts both alkaline and calc-alkaline porphyry copper+/-gold+/-molybdenum deposits, including the Copper Mountain, New Afton, Highland Valley, Mount Polley, Mount Milligan and Kemess mines.

To date, six zones of porphyry-related mineralization (Megabuck, Deerhorn, Takom, Three Firs, Southeast, Megaton) have been identified at the Woodjam Project by drilling. These six mineralized zones form a cluster approximately 5 kilometres in diameter.

In 2023 Vizsla Copper completed a total of 7,599 metres in 18 holes, successfully extending the Deerhorn and Takom deposits while also intersecting the strongest mineralization to date at the Megaton zone.

About Vizsla Copper

Vizsla Copper is a Cu-Au-Mo focused mineral exploration and development company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. The Company is primarily focused on its flagship Woodjam project, located within the prolific Quesnel Terrane, 55 kilometers east of the community of Williams Lake, British Columbia. It has three additional copper exploration properties: Copperview, Redgold and Carruthers Pass, all well situated amongst significant infrastructure in British Columbia. The Company's growth strategy is focused on the exploration and development of its copper properties within its portfolio in addition to value accretive acquisitions. Vizsla Copper's vision is to be a responsible copper explorer and developer in the stable mining jurisdiction of British Columbia, Canada and it is committed to socially responsible exploration and development, working safely, ethically and with integrity.

Vizsla Copper is a spin-out of Vizsla Silver (TSX.V: VZLA) (NYSE: VZLA) and is backed by Inventa Capital Corp., a premier investment group founded in 2017 with the goal of discovering and funding opportunities in the resource sector. Additional information about the Company is available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) and the Company's website (www.vizslacopper.com).

QA/QC

Samples were submitted to ALS Canada Ltd.'s preparation site in Kamloops, BC before being shipped to the ALS analytical laboratory in North Vancouver, BC. Each sample was fine crushed before a 250 g split was pulverized with greater than 85% passing 75 microns. Samples were analysed using ALS's 30 g Fire Assay Fusion method (Au-ICP21) with an ICP-AES finish for gold, and with a 48-element four-acid digest method (ME-MS61) with an ICP-AES/MS finish. Overlimit values for copper, silver, and zinc were determined using the ME-OG62 method, which involves a four-acid digest followed by an ICP-AES finish.

Qualified Person

The Company's disclosure of technical or scientific information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Ian Borg, P.Geo., Senior Geologist for Vizsla Copper. Mr. Borg is a Qualified Person as defined under the terms of National Instrument 43-101.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. "Forward-looking information" includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including, without limitation, planned exploration activities. Generally, but not always, forward-looking information and statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, among others, statements relating to: completion of the acquisition of mineral claims; the Company's growth and business strategies; and the exploration and development of the Company's properties.

Such forward-looking information and statements are based on numerous assumptions, including among others, that the results of planned exploration activities are as anticipated, the anticipated cost of planned exploration activities, that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner, that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms, that third party contractors, equipment and supplies and governmental and other approvals required to conduct the Company's planned exploration activities will be available on reasonable terms and in a timely manner. Although the assumptions made by the Company in providing forward-looking information or making forward-looking statements are considered reasonable by management at the time, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be accurate.

Forward-looking information and statements also involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual events or results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future events or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or statements, including, among others: negative operating cash flow and dependence on third party financing, uncertainty of additional financing, no known mineral reserves or resources, the limited operating history of the Company, the influence of a large shareholder, aboriginal title and consultation issues, reliance on key management and other personnel, actual results of exploration activities being different than anticipated, changes in exploration programs based upon results, availability of third party contractors, availability of equipment and supplies, failure of equipment to operate as anticipated; accidents, effects of weather and other natural phenomena and other risks associated with the mineral exploration industry, environmental risks, changes in laws and regulations, community relations and delays in obtaining governmental or other approvals.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information or implied by forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or reissue forward-looking information as a result of new information or events except as required by applicable securities laws
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 16, 2024) - Gama Explorations Inc. (CSE: GAMA) (FSE: N79) (OTCQB: GMMAF) ("Gama" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the discovery of four nickel-copper sulphide occurrences via groundwork on the Company's 100%-owned, 625 km2 Tyee Critical Metals Project in North-Eastern Quebec This discovery is in addition to Gama's recent discovery of eight titanium-vanadium-scandium zones that were announced on January 9, 2024.

Highlights:

Four new nickel sulphide occurrences were discovered during Gama's inaugural ground program with associated copper and cobalt grading up to 0.75% Ni, 0.81% Cu, and 0.14% Co

Nickel, copper, and cobalt are required in battery technology and hydrogen fuel cells, and are critical metals required for the green energy transition as defined by the governments of Canada and the United States

The largest occurrence by sampling extent is 367m in length with a larger underlying geophysical anomaly

The Little St. Catherines Target is ideally located being only 15 km away from the Romaine IV hydroelectric dam and a government-maintained road

These results, combined with the eight new titanium-vanadium-scandium zones announced earlier this month, place the Company on solid footing with multiple high-value drill targets for its fully-funded spring 2024 program

"Our first year of exploration on the Tyee project yielded four nickel sulphide occurrences with a sizeable geophysical signature," stated Dr. Jaap Verbaas, interim CEO of Gama. "These occurrences are only 15 km away from the Romaine IV hydroelectric dam and the government-maintained road leading to it. In only one season of exploration, Gama has discovered four zones of nickel-copper sulphides and eight zones of titanium-vanadium-scandium oxides. We are now planning a comprehensive exploration plan to further explore all the new occurrences on the project which will include ground geophysics and drilling. The Company is fully funded for 2024 and primed for the first drill program ever on the Tyee project. We expect to finalize the drill plan in the coming weeks and look forward to an exciting year of exploration."

Figure 1. Little St. Catherines nickel-copper sulphide target with EM anomalies under new nickel showings in green. Also shown are mineralized titanium-vanadium-scandium occurrences on the claim.

Little St. Catherines nickel and copper occurrences

The Little St. Catherines target is comprised of a cluster of EM anomalies, of which four are associated with nickel and copper sulphides grading up to 0.75% Ni, 0.81% Cu, and 0.14% Co (figure 2,3 and table 1). The sample at target LC4 had the highest grade and total amount of combined base metals. Only one sample was collected at LC4 due to the scarcity of outcrop. The largest occurrence by sampling extent is target LC1 and is 367m in length with samples of up to 0.71% Ni and 0.56% Cu and overlies a geophysical anomaly of 550m in extent. The EM anomalies that underlie the mineralization across the Little St. Catherine's targets range in size from less than 200m to over 1,000m.

Figure 2. Nickel grade over the LC1-LC6 EM anomalies. LC1, LC3 and LC4 yielded nickel and copper samples in excess of 0.5%.

Figure 3. Copper grade over the LC1 - LC6 anomalies. LC1, LC3 and LC4 yielded copper in excess of 0.5%

The LC1, LC3 and LC4 targets all yielded considerable base metal grades. Although the other targets also yielded anomalous grades, it is still unclear whether the source of the conductors of these targets has been located. Thin overburden over the majority of the area precludes detailed sampling. Geophysically, the unmineralized conductors appear similar to the mineralized conductors, indicating that more work is required at these targets.

The metals are hosted within primary magmatic sulphides and mostly occur in rusty gossanous rock below a thin veneer of overburden. The process that turns a rock to gossan creates sulphuric acid which leaches metals out of the sulphides and reduces the grade of rock samples at the surface. Gossanous rock samples are therefore likely to return lower values of nickel and copper than their pristine counterparts at depth.

The total sulphide content of the samples as calculated from a peroxide fusion analysis on sulphur (see table 1) ranges up to 62.27% in occurrence LC1 which yielded 0.71% Ni and 0.56% Cu. A sample of similar albeit slightly lower grade in LC3 yielded 0.66% Ni and 0.52% Cu, indicating that the total base metal content in the sulphide assemblages varies considerably between samples.

Table 1. Grades of rock samples over the little St. Catherines target. *Total percentage of sulphide minerals assuming a typical pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite-pentlandite mixture with 35.7% S, calculated using the formula: S% / 0.357.

Occurrence Ni (%) Cu (%) Co (%) Sulphides* LC1 0.71 0.56 0.14 62.27 LC1 0.51 0.48 0.10 47.45 LC1 0.49 0.24 0.07 39.97 LC1 0.23 0.16 0.04 18.29 LC1 0.02 0.02 0.01 1.68 LC1 0.01 0.07 0.01 2.07 Average 0.33 0.26 0.06 28.62 Occurrence Ni (%) Cu (%) Co (%) Sulphides* LC2 0.16 0.15 0.02 8.88 LC2 0.03 0.02 0.01 0.70 LC2 0.02 0.00 0.01 0.67 LC2 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.31 Average 0.05 0.04 0.01 2.64 Occurrence Ni (%) Cu (%) Co (%) Sulphides* LC3 0.66 0.52 0.08 29.92 LC3 0.40 0.11 0.03 13.81 LC3 0.17 0.07 0.01 6.81 LC3 0.07 0.13 0.02 10.48 LC3 0.03 0.00 0.01 0.34 Average 0.26 0.17 0.03 12.27 Occurrence Ni (%) Cu (%) Co (%) Sulphides* LC4 0.75 0.81 0.08 47.76 Occurrence Ni (%) Cu (%) Co (%) Sulphides* LC5 0.07 0.02 0.02 2.21 LC5 0.04 0.02 0.01 1.34 Average 0.05 0.02 0.02 1.78 Occurrence Ni (%) Cu (%) Co (%) Sulphides* LC6 0.29 0.40 0.05 13.17 LC6 0.22 0.17 0.03 10.90 LC6 0.13 0.18 0.03 7.51 Average 0.21 0.25 0.03 10.52

QAQC

Samples were analyzed at Bureau Veritas using a combination of multi-acid ICP-ES and peroxide fusion. Bureau Veritas adds standards and blanks at regular intervals, all of which were deemed to be within acceptable limits.

Qualified person

Ryan Versloot, P.Geo., a "Qualified Person" for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.

HSP Region

The HSP Complex is an intrusive suite of rocks to the north of Havre St. Pierre, Quebec. The complex contains the Lac Tio titanium mine, the largest solid ilmenite deposit in the world, owned by Rio Tinto. Nickel sulphide occurrences were initially discovered in the northernmost part of the HSP Complex in the nineties. These nickel sulphide occurrences were staked by Go Metals in 2019 and subjected to inaugural drilling in the fall of 2022. Since this time, thousands of square kilometers of claims were staked in a regional staking rush. The core of the Tyee Project was staked in March of 2022 after a detailed geological, geophysical, and geochemical review of the HSP Complex and in advance of this staking rush. The first comprehensive exploration program at Tyee in 2023 led to the discovery of several nickel and copper and numerous titanium occurrences.

About Gama Explorations Inc.

Gama is a Canadian company listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE: GAMA), the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE: N79), and OTCQB Exchange (OTCQB: GMMAF). The Company is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties containing metals used in green technologies and the renewable energy sector. The Company owns 100% of the Tyee Critical Metals Project located in North-Eastern Quebec. The Company further has the right to acquire 100% interest in the Muskox Lithium Pegmatite Project located within the Yellowknife Pegmatite Province in the Northwest Territories.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,

Dr. Jacob Verbaas, P.Geo. | CEO

For further information please contact:

Focus Communications

Tel: +1 647 689 6041

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Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements as well as historical information. Readers should not rely on information in this summary for any purpose other than for gaining general knowledge of the Company. The words "expected", "will" and similar expressions are intended to be among the statements that identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that its expectations as reflected in any forward-looking statements, are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates, opinions or other factors should change.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
TORONTO / Jan 16, 2024 / Business Wire / Rupert Resources Ltd (Rupert or the Company) announces that it has appointed Riikka Aaltonen to its Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director, effective immediately. In her role, Ms Aaltonen will sit on the Boards Technical Committee. Susan Milton has concurrently retired from the Board.

Gunnar Nilsson, Chairman of Rupert Resources Ltd said The Board would like to take this opportunity to thank Susan Milton for her contribution since she was appointed in June 2016. Over Susans tenure, Rupert completed the acquisition of its core land package in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt of Northern Finland and commenced the systematic exploration campaign leading to the discovery of the world-class 4Moz Ikkari gold deposit. We are pleased to welcome Riikka Aaltonen as an Independent Director to the Board of Rupert Resources. Riikka will add considerable experience on Finnish legislature, policy and governance as we progress Ikkari through permitting towards production over the next few years.

Concurrent to her appointment, the Company furthermore announces that pursuant to the Companys Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan dated November 9, 2022 (the Plan), a total of 200,000 options were awarded to Ms. Aaltonen (the Options). The Options were granted with an effective date of January 15, 2024 with an exercise price of $3.53 per share, being the closing price of the Companys shares on the TSX on January 12, 2024. The Options are exercisable for a five-year period from the date of grant, with 1/3rd of the Options vesting on each calendar anniversary.

Following the award of the Options, there are 5,293,481 options outstanding under the Plan, representing 2.5% of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company.

Biography of Riikka Aaltonen

Riikka Aaltonen was a Senior Adviser working with permitting and mineral policy from 2008 to 2023 in various departments of the Finnish Government at national level in Helsinki and latterly for the Regional Council of Lapland in Rovaniemi. Prior to this, Riikka worked in exploration and mining in both Finland and Sweden with roles for Boliden and LKAB. Riikka holds an MSc in Geology and Mineralogy from the University of Turku, Finland.

About Rupert Resources

Rupert Resources is a gold exploration and development company listed on the TSX Exchange under the symbol RUP. The Company is focused on making and advancing discoveries of scale and quality with high margin and low environmental impact potential. The Companys principal focus is Ikkari, a new high quality gold discovery in Northern Finland. Ikkari is part of the Companys Rupert Lapland Project, which also includes the Pahtavaara gold mine, mill, and exploration permits (Pahtavaara).

Neither the TSX Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains statements which, other than statements of historical fact constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements with respect to: results of and plans for exploration and development activities. The words may, would, could, will, intend, plan, anticipate, believe, Estimate, expect and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are based on the opinions, assumptions and Estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made, and are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other known and unknown factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These factors include the general risks of the mining industry, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the Company's annual Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended February 28, 2023, available on the Companys website www.rupertresources.com and on SEDAR www.sedar.com . Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, Estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, Estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise.
Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - January 16, 2024) - Amex Exploration Inc. (TSXV: AMX) (FSE: MX0) (OTCQX: AMXEF) ("Amex" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a non-brokered charity flow-through private placement of 11,344,130 charity flow-through shares (each, a "CFT Share") at a price of C$2.35 per CFT Share to raise aggregate gross proceeds of C$26.65 million (the "Offering").

Following completion of the Offering, Eldorado Gold Corporation (TSX: ELD) (NYSE: EGO) ("Eldorado") has agreed to make a strategic investment in the Company through the purchase of 11,344,130 common shares of the Company (the "Strategic Investment") issued pursuant to the Offering, for a purchase price of C$15 million. Upon closing, the Strategic Investment represents approximately a 9.9% ownership interest in the Company's issued and outstanding common shares on a non-diluted basis. In connection with the Strategic Investment, the Company has granted Eldorado a customary anti-dilution right to maintain its equity ownership interest.

Victor Cantore, President and CEO of Amex commented, "We are very pleased to welcome Eldorado as a strategic shareholder and look forward to leveraging their considerable mining expertise as a high-grade, low-cost gold producer in the Abitibi. This investment represents a strong endorsement of the work conducted at the Perron project to date, and leaves us well capitalized to pursue a dual strategy of advancing known zones of gold mineralization while continuing to unlock significant exploration potential through targeting new discoveries. We feel we have only scratched the surface of the gold potential at Perron. In addition, the Company is well funded to produce a resource estimate and follow on Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Perron project."

Each CFT Share will qualify as a "flow-through share" (within the meaning of subsection 66(15) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and section 359.1 of the Taxation Act (Quebec)). The gross proceeds from the Offering will be used to advance the Company's Perron project in Quebec, which will qualify as "Canadian Exploration Expenses" and "flow-through mining expenditures," as those terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada), which will be renounced to the initial purchasers of the CFT Shares with an effective date no later than December 31, 2024. In addition, with respect to Quebec resident CFT Share subscribers who are eligible individuals under the Taxation Act (Quebec), the Canadian exploration expenses will also qualify for inclusion in the "exploration base relating to certain Quebec exploration expenses" within the meaning of Section 726.4.10 of the Taxation Act (Quebec) and for inclusion in the "exploration base relating to certain Quebec surface mining expenses or oil and gas exploration expenses" within the meaning of Section 726.4.17.2 of the Taxation Act (Quebec).

The closing of the Offering is expected to occur on or before February 2, 2024 and is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including receipt of acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a hold period of four months and one day from the date of closing, in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws.

PI Financial Corp. is acting as financial advisor to the Company in connection with the Strategic Investment. Irwin Lowy LLP is serving as legal counsel to the Company.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities issued under the Offering in the United States. The securities issued under 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 and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

About Amex

Amex Exploration Inc. is an exploration company with projects in Quebec.

For further information please contact:

Victor Cantore

President and Chief Executive Officer

Amex Exploration: +1-514-866-8209

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than of historical facts, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including, without limitation, the planned exploration program on the HGZ and Denise Zone, the expected positive exploration results, the extension of the mineralized zones, the timing of the exploration results, the ability of the Company to continue with the exploration program, the availability of the required funds to continue with the exploration and the potential mineralization or potential mineral resources are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "will", "should", "continue", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "to earn", "to have', "plan" or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, failure to meet expected, estimated or planned exploration expenditures, failure to establish estimated mineral resources, the possibility that future exploration results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, general business and economic conditions, changes in world gold markets, sufficient labour and equipment being available, changes in laws and permitting requirements, unanticipated weather changes, title disputes and claims, environmental risks as well as those risks identified in the Company's annual Management's Discussion and Analysis. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described and accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements except as otherwise required by applicable law.
Drilling to date suggests 250 meters of continuous high-grade nickel-copper mineralization in the Raptor Zone

Tamarack, Minnesota--(Newsfile Corp. - January 16, 2024) - Talon Metals Corp. (TSX: TLO) (OTC Pink: TLOFF) ("Talon" or the "Company"), the majority owner and operator of the Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project ("Tamarack Nickel Project") in central Minnesota, provides assay results from various new drill holes within the "Raptor Zone". The Raptor Zone lies to the north of the Company's Resource Area and represents a new area with the potential for significant exploration upside at the Tamarack Nickel Project.

Figure 1: 2.2m of 9.31% NiEq intersected in drill hole 23TK0483 at a depth of 653 meters

Today's results include a 5.93-meter (19.5 feet) intercept of high-grade massive nickel and copper mineralization assaying 2.92% Ni and 1.73% Cu (4.09% NiEq), which includes a 2.2-meter (7.2 feet) intercept of high-grade massive nickel and copper mineralization assaying at 6.84% Ni and 3.80% Cu (9.31% NiEq). Talon's in-house drilling and geophysics teams continue to grow their understanding of the high-grade mineralization potential in the Raptor Zone, as the exploration and drilling within the area progresses into 2024 using Talon's in-house fleet of drill rigs.

Based on drill results to date in the Raptor Zone, drilling suggests a 250-meter strike length of continuous high-grade massive nickel and copper mineralization within the Raptor's Head (see Figure 3 below).

Summary

The new intercept in drill hole 23TK0483 was targeted from an off-hole borehole electromagnetic anomaly (geophysics) from previous drill hole 22TK0430 and represents a 91% increase in thickness of the high-grade nickel and copper mineralization compared to the previously drilled intercept in hole 22TK0430. These results help demonstrate that with more positive drilling results, the potential for a new resource from the Raptor Zone has increased.

Of note, the fact that the mineralization appears to be getting thicker is consistent with how the Company made its previous new high-grade nickel-copper discoveries at the Tamarack Nickel Project (CGO East and CGO West).

Based on drill results to date in the Raptor Zone, drilling suggests a 250-meter strike length of continuous high-grade massive nickel and copper mineralization within the Raptor's Head (see Figure 3 below).

The new drill hole is over 1 km to the north of the Tamarack Nickel Project Resource Area and represents significant potential for additional high-grade discoveries within the Tamarack Intrusive Complex.

On September 12, 2023, Talon and the US Department of Defense announced that Talon received a grant of US$20.6 million to support and accelerate Talon's exploration efforts in both Minnesota and Michigan. Funds from the US Department of Defense will be used to support additional exploration drilling and geophysical studies in the Raptor Zone.

Talon currently has three drill rigs operating in the Raptor Zone. Additional drilling is planned throughout 2024 with the goal of expanding this mineralization in this new and previously untested area.

Table 1: Highlighted Assay Results (see Table 3 for further technical information)

Drill Hole From To Length Assay NiEq (%) (#) (m) (m) (m) Ni (%) Cu (%) Co (%) Pd (g/t) Pt (g/t) Au (g/t) 23TK0482 294.00 297.97 3.97 0.75 0.55 0.02 0.86 1.54 0.30 1.46 23TK0483 648.24 654.17 5.93 2.92 1.73 0.06 0.73 1.23 0.43 4.09 including 651.97 654.17 2.20 6.84 3.80 0.14 1.64 2.84 0.90 9.31 23TK0485 272.71 272.71 2.82 0.68 0.47 0.02 0.46 0.79 0.22 1.17

Figure 2: Analytical signal geophysical plan map over the Raptor Zone showing new drill hole locations in green. See press releases dated July 13, 2023 and April 19, 2023 for further technical information on historical drill holes.

Figure 3: Illustration of potential for a 250-meter strike length of continuous high-grade nickel and copper mineralization within the Raptor Zone (Raptor's Head) (looking southeast). See press releases dated May 28, 2015, July 29, 2015, September 1, 2015, December 13, 2016, June 21, 2018, April 19, 2023 and July 13, 2023 for further technical information on historical drill holes.

QUALITY ASSURANCE, QUALITY CONTROL AND QUALIFIED PERSONS

Please see the technical report entitled "November 2022 National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report of the Tamarack North Project - Tamarack, Minnesota" with an effective date of November 2, 2022 ("November 2022 Technical Report") prepared by independent "Qualified Persons" (as that term is defined in National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101")) Brian Thomas (P. Geo), Roger Jackson (P. Geo), Oliver Peters (P. Eng) and Christine Pint (P.G) for information on the QA/QC, data verification, analytical and testing procedures at the Tamarack Nickel Project. Copies are available on the Company's website (www.talonmetals.com) or on SEDAR at (www.sedar.com). The laboratory used is ALS Minerals who is independent of the Company.

Lengths are drill intersections and not necessarily true widths. True widths cannot be consistently calculated for comparison purposes between holes because of the irregular shapes of the mineralized zones. Drill intersections have been independently selected by Talon. Drill composites have been independently calculated by Talon. The geological interpretations in this news release are solely those of the Company. The locations and distances highlighted on all maps in this news release are approximate.

Dr. Etienne Dinel, Vice President, Geology of Talon, is a Qualified Person within the meaning of NI 43-101. Dr. Dinel is satisfied that the analytical and testing procedures used are standard industry operating procedures and methodologies, and he has reviewed, approved and verified the technical information disclosed in this news release, including sampling, analytical and test data underlying the technical information.

Where used in this news release:

NiEq% = Ni% + Cu% x $3.75/$9.50 x Cu Recovery/Ni Recovery + Co% x $25.00/$9.50 x Co Recovery/Ni Recovery + Pt [g/t]/31.103 x $1,000/$9.50/22.04 x Pt Recovery/Ni Recovery + Pd [g/t]/31.103 x $1,000/$9.50/22.04 x Pd Recovery/Ni Recovery + Au [g/t]/31.103 x $1,400/$9.50/22.04 x Au Recovery/Ni Recovery

For Ni and Cu recoveries, please refer to the formulae in the November 2022 Technical Report. Recovery of Ni to the Cu concentrate was excluded from the NiEq calculation. The following recoveries were used for the other metals: 64.1% for Co, 82.5% for Pt, 69.3% for Pd and 72.6% for Au.

ABOUT TALON

Talon is a TSX-listed base metals company in a joint venture with Rio Tinto on the high-grade Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project located in central Minnesota. Talon's shares are also traded in the US over the OTC market under the symbol TLOFF. The Tamarack Nickel Project comprises a large land position (18km of strike length) with additional high-grade intercepts outside the current resource area. Talon has an earn-in right to acquire up to 60% of the Tamarack Nickel Project, and currently owns 51%. Talon is focused on (i) expanding and infilling its current high-grade nickel mineralization resource prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 to shape a mine plan for submission to Minnesota regulators, and (ii) following up on additional high-grade nickel mineralization in the Tamarack Intrusive Complex. Talon has an agreement with Tesla Inc. to supply it with 75,000 metric tonnes (165 million lbs) of nickel in concentrate (and certain by-products, including cobalt and iron) from the Tamarack Nickel Project over an estimated six-year period once commercial production is achieved. Talon has a neutrality and workforce development agreement in place with the United Steelworkers union. Talon's Battery Mineral Processing Facility in Mercer County was selected by the US Department of Energy for US$114 million funding grant from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the US Department of Defense awarded Talon a grant of US$20.6 million to support and accelerate Talon's exploration efforts in both Minnesota and Michigan. Talon has well-qualified experienced exploration, mine development, external affairs and mine permitting teams.

For additional information on Talon, please visit the Company's website at www.talonmetals.com.

Media Contact:

Todd Malan

1-(202)-714-8187

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Investor Contact:

Sean Werger

1-(416)-500-9891

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements". All statements, other than statements of historical fact that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. Such forward-looking statements include statements relating to future exploration, drilling, assays and the results thereof; the potential for a 250-meter strike length of continuous high-grade massive nickel and copper mineralization within the Raptor's Head; the potential for significant exploration upside at the Tamarack Nickel Project; and the potential for additional high-grade discoveries within the Tamarack Intrusive Complex. Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company.

Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

Table 2: Collar Locations of New Drill Holes

Drill Hole (#) Easting (m) Northing (m) Elevation (masl) Azm Dip End Depth (m) 23TK0480 491900.8 5170337.5 388.0 165.7 -75.6 810.8 23TK0482 491686.0 5170936.0 388.0 307.0 -73.0 670.6 23TK0483 491904.6 5170336.2 388.0 211.9 -85.9 734.6 23TK0485 416686.0 5170934.0 388.0 40.0 -60.0 678.6 23TK0490 491904.6 5170335.0 388.0 87.8 -75.3 695.0

Collar coordinates are UTM Zone 15N, NAD83

Azimuths and dips are taken from survey record at collar unless otherwise noted

Table 3: Assay Results from New Drill Holes

Drill Hole From To Length Assay NiEq (%) (#) (m) (m) (m) Ni (%) Cu (%) Co (%) Pd (g/t) Pt (g/t) Au (g/t) 23TK0482 294 297.97 3.97 0.75 0.55 0.02 0.86 1.54 0.30 1.46 23TK0483 648.24 654.17 5.93 2.92 1.73 0.06 0.73 1.23 0.43 4.09 including 651.97 654.17 2.20 6.84 3.80 0.14 1.64 2.84 0.90 9.31 23TK0485 272.71 272.71 2.82 0.68 0.47 0.02 0.46 0.79 0.22 1.17 23TK0490 651.88 653.58 0.64 6.46 2.99 0.17 0.42 0.38 0.45 8.11 23TK0480 no significant mineralization

Length refers to drill hole length and not True Width.

True Width is unknown at the time of publication.

All samples were analysed by ALS Minerals. Nickel, copper, and cobalt grades were first analysed by a 4-acid digestion and ICP AES (ME-MS61). Grades reporting greater than 0.25% Ni and/or 0.1% Cu, using ME-MS61, trigger a sodium peroxide fusion with ICP-AES finish (ICP81). Platinum, palladium and gold are initially analyzed by a 50g fire assay with an ICP-MS finish (PGM-MS24). Any samples reporting >1g/t Pt or Pd trigger an over-limit analysis by ICP-AES finish (PGM-ICP27) and any samples reporting >1g/t Au trigger an over-limit analysis by AAS (Au-AA26).

NiEq% = Ni% + Cu% x $3.75/$9.50 x Cu Recovery/Ni Recovery + Co% x $25.00/$9.50 x Co Recovery/Ni Recovery + Pt [g/t]/31.103

x $1,000/$9.50/22.04 x Pt Recovery/Ni Recovery + Pd [g/t]/31.103 x $1,000/$9.50/22.04 x Pd Recovery/Ni Recovery + Au [g/t]/31.103 x $1,400/$9.50/22.04 x Au Recovery/Ni Recovery

For Ni and Cu recoveries, please refer to the formulae in the November 2022 Technical Report. Recovery of Ni to the Cu concentrate was excluded from the NiEq calculation.

The following recoveries were used for the other metals: 64.1% for Co, 82.5% for Pt, 69.3% for Pd and 72.6% for Au.
VANCOUVER, BC , Dec. 29, 2021 /CNW/ - 2021 has been an exceptional year in so many ways for all of us. Here, at Mineral Mountain , much has taken place that will have all of us looking forward to 2022. I am passionate in my belief that our Company is on track to discover multiple deposits in the... Read More
The swath of destabilizing activities supported or executed by Iran in the Middle East and beyond is wide.

It encompasses attacks by Irans proxies, the Houthis, against commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden as well as the monitoring and intelligence Iran itself provides the Houthis for targeting ships; the horrific October 7 assault on Israeli civilians by Irans proxy, Hamas; launching drones and other weapons across the Lebanon border into northern Israel by Iran-supported Hezbollah; drone and missile attacks on U.S. counter-ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria by Iran-backed militias; and Irans drones to Russia that kill Ukrainian civilians.

Now the United States is concerned that Iran is also considering expanding its aid to Russias unjustified assault on Ukraine by providing Moscow with close-range ballistic missiles.

U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby noted that while the United States does not believe Iran has delivered the missiles to Russia yet, the two are in actively advancing negotiations.

In September of 2023, Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps  the IRGC  hosted Russian Defense Minister Shoigu in Iran and showcased its Ababil close-range ballistic missile and other missile systems. This event marked the first public display of ballistic missiles to a senior Russian official visiting Iran since February of 2022, he said.

More recently, in mid-December, the IRGC Aerospace Force deployed multiple ballistic missile and missile support systems to a training area inside Iran for display to a visiting Russian delegation. We assess that Russia intends to purchase missile systems from Iran.

Coordinator Kirby said that due to U.S. sanctions and export controls, Russia has become increasingly isolated on the world stage and has been forced to look to like-minded states for military equipment. Those states include North Korea and Iran.

In response, he said, the United States and its allies will raise the issue of these arms deals at the U.N. Security Council. The United States will also impose additional sanctions against those facilitating such deals and will publicly expose them to prevent countries from aiding Russias war machine in secret.

As President Joe Biden has said, the United States continues to work with our partners to address Irans destabilizing activities that threaten regional and global security.
The International Criminal Court said Monday it was delaying its verdict in the war crimes trial of a Malian Islamist leader, as the head judge is unavailable for health reasons.

The ICC gave no new date for the ruling in the case of Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud, accused of torture, rape and sexual slavery through forced marriages, as well as destroying mausoleums in Timbuktu.

"In light of the current health situation of Judge Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua, Presiding Judge of the Chamber, who is temporarily unavailable, the Chamber has no option but to vacate the hearing previously scheduled," said the ICC.

"The Chamber will convey updated information at the earliest opportunity," added the ICC in its statement.

The trial of the 46-year-old father of five opened in 2020, with the ruling originally slated to be handed down on Thursday.

The prosecution called 52 witnesses, while the defence called 22. Lawyers representing 2,196 alleged victims called a further two witnesses.

Prosecutors said Al Hassan committed "unimaginable crimes" as a key figure in the police system set up by Islamic militants for almost a year from 2012.

He is accused of personally overseeing floggings and amputations while arranging for women and girls to be forced to marry militants.

The ancient city of Timbuktu, once known as the "city of 333 saints" for the Muslim holy men buried there, was subject to major destruction while under the control of jihadists in 2012 and 2013.

Al Hassan is the second Malian jihadist tried by the ICC for destroying religious sanctuaries in Timbuktu, which is inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage list.

The court sentenced Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi in 2016 to nine years in prison, which was reduced by two years on appeal in 2021.
During 2023, Colombia's Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) presented its first two indictments in macro cases where it chose not to focus on emblematic crimes, but on specific regions of the country. With them, the special tribunal stemming from the 2016 peace agreement put the spotlight for the first time on how ethnic minorities, both indigenous and Afro-descendants, were especially brutalised over a half-century armed conflict in Colombia.

One of those decisions, unveiled in July, was momentous because it reconstructed the massive victimization suffered by the Awa, perhaps the most targeted of the country's 115 indigenous peoples. The crimes that the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) committed against them, the JEP argued, "were of such gravity that they compromised their existence and physical and cultural survival". For these acts, the JEP accused 15 former FARC regional commanders in Narino, in the southwestern corner of the country, as most responsible for committing 16 war crimes and crimes against humanity, including homicide, forced disappearance, rape, recruitment of minors and landmine use. Among them was a first repeat offender, Pablo Catatumbo, who had already been charged with kidnapping.

"Regardless of the fact that the members of the extinct FARC-EP did not have as a written policy to discriminate against ethnic peoples," justice Belkis Izquierdo wrote in her decision, "the policy of territorial and social control implemented in these places constituted an attack on their existence (....) that affected them in a serious, differentiated and disproportionate manner."

Unfortunately, a spate of killings and attacks have followed the Awa over the past year and a half, continuing to jeopardise their survival. This wave of violence underscores the limitations of the JEP and more broadly transitional justice, which seek justice for the atrocities of the recent past, but remain impotent in the face of today's disputes between illegal armed groups over Awa territory and the persistent violence against them.

A risk of physical, cultural and spiritual extermination

Throughout 1,046 pages, the JEP documented scores of crimes committed by the FARC over a quarter of a century against the Awa, a group of 44,000 indigenous people living in 55 reservations where the Andes mountains descend to the Pacific Ocean, near the border with Ecuador. From murders and forced disappearances to the recruitment of minors, sexual violence and the indiscriminate use of landmines, the guerrillas' cruelty towards them was such that, according to the indictment, "they took them to the risk of physical, cultural and spiritual extermination".

The numbers in the indictment are stupefying: between 1990 and 2016, FARC rebels killed 185 Awa, including 17 children and 11 elderly people. Between 2005 and 2007 alone they caused the massive displacement of 4200 indigenous people and then, between 2012 and 2013, of another 5000. All this in an ethnic group that, as the accusation underscores, has poverty levels of 83 percent.

Beyond the numbers, the accounts of the viciousness with which they were attacked inside their reservations, collectively owned territories that rebels entered without asking for permission and where they searched for their victims with list in hand, are chilling. They often stuffed their victims' bellies with stones and threw their bodies into rivers, forbidding or preventing their relatives from searching for them.

Five indigenous people killed in 2003 were tortured to the point that, in the tribunal's words, they had "their faces savagely disfigured with a bladed weapon". The death of teenager Jose Melandro Pai in 2012, after stepping on a landmine planted 500 meters from his school, caused the displacement of 420 families in the Inda Sabaleta reservation. One woman, referred to as 'victim 33', was routinely raped every week for three months. And in one of the most emblematic massacres for the Awa, guerrillas from the Mariscal Sucre mobile column murdered 11 persons in the Tortugana Telembi reservation in 2009. Among them were two pregnant women, whose wombs and genitals they slit, in what the JEP described as an example of "cruelty against women's bodies". Five of those victims are still missing today, including the two babies baptised Nambi and Telembi after local rivers and whose names the Awa adopted recently as the moniker for their strategy of self-protection and cultural resistance.

Murdering leaders

Several episodes show how the same families were subjected to a continuum of abuses. When a 15-year-old boy who had been recruited refused to attack his family and ran away, the FARC went to his house in Inda Sabaleta to rape seven women, including two girls aged 12 and 13. Another family, who refused to accept a rebel's love affair with their 13-year-old daughter, had two other children recruited and were all then displaced.

Many of FARC's targets were respected Awa leaders. In 2004, they assassinated Efren Pascal, governor of the Cuasbi Yaslambi reservation, denying responsibility for years and never revealing his whereabouts. Two years later, the same fate befell the former governor of the Magui reservation, Jose Antonio Valenzuela, and his brother Jhon Jairo, whose mother was later threatened to stop looking for them and forcibly driven from her home. They went so far as to veto the Awas from wearing t-shirts from Unipa, one of the organizations that represent them politically at the national level. Their goal, the tribunal stated, was to "annul or co-opt the autonomy, self-government and organizational process of the Awa people."

An "intercultural dialogue" pilot

Interestingly, the indictment makes a visible effort to incorporate the vision of the Awa and narrate the damages from their logic - something partially explained by the fact that the case was led by justice Belkis Izquierdo, herself an indigenous Arhuaca and the first indigenous woman to reach a high court in Colombia.

For example, the JEP argued, the FARC's prohibition on recovering bodies has an additional aggravating factor, given the Awa custom of burying their ombilical cords at birth in their home as a way of "sowing for life." "If the Awa are not integrated into their territory, an imbalance is generated," says the judicial decision, which was one of the first pilots of the "horizontal intercultural dialogue" that the peace tribunal set out to weave with ethnic peoples' own legal systems.

A key part of that effort was a project in which seven indigenous and Afro leaders with experience in environmental issues and knowledge of the territory, called 'intercultural experts' by the JEP and nominated by their own organizations, worked with two environmental experts to gather evidence of social and ecological damage.

The JEP also personally notified 11 indigenous and Afro-descendant territories of the contents of the indictment, a novel process that they completed in December. But it also means that - in one of the possible difficulties of this approach - the 15 defendants will have at least until February to decide whether to accept the charges (almost four times longer than other defendants).

The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) personally presented their indictment in several Awa reservations in Narino.  JEP

Crimes against the "big house

For the JEP, the damages didnt only occur against the Awa, but also against the territory they call 'katsa su' - or "big house" in the Awapit language - which the court certified as a victim in the macro case.

According to the decision, FARC's attacks on the Trans-Andean Pipeline and its promotion of illegal gold mining caused serious ecological and social consequences in one of Colombia's most biodiverse areas. Oil spills contaminated hundreds of kilometers of rivers and estuaries, affecting the life cycles of the tarpons and threadfins that the Awa fish and scaring away other animals they hunt. Some reservations, like Palmar Imbi, were left without drinking water for two months. There was also an increase in indigenous suicides - or 'poisonings' in the Awa conception - due to the ingestion of chemicals used in cocaine processing, another activity that financed guerrillas.

Some of these impacts are relayed by the JEP from the Awa cosmovision. For example, oil stains led to a loss in medicinal plants, especially aquatic plants, such as the pichanga used in harmonization ceremonies or the chaguare that cures the bad wind disease, as well as the chutun ritual. River snails, used to treat stomach pains, and iguanas, whose grease relieves birth pain, have also decreased. This contamination also caused - the JEP points out - that the spirit they call kuanka, who lives in streams, abandoned them and that they lost its protection. And it caused the disappearance of sacred sites, such as a tunnel where the elders kept community documents thought to be land deeds.

These losses, the JEP concluded, generated "disharmony" for the Awa and meant that "they were weakened in their inseparable link with the territory, which nourishes them and determines their way of life. Hence, the crimes it charged the 15 former FARC rebels included the war crimes of destruction of nature as a civilian asset and destruction of the territory as a cultural asset and place of worship.

"What happened there responded to a policy"

For the JEP, the crimes committed by the FARC against the Awa, as well as against Afro-descendants and the Eperara Siapidaara indigenous people in that corner of Narino, were part of their policy of social and territorial control. With this strategy they sought, among other objectives, to dominate strategic corridors, finance and swell their ranks, co-opt social organizations and punish those who didnt accept their authority. "What happened there responded to a policy, at times expressly ordered, at others promoted and, in other cases, tacitly authorized by commanders," it argued.

The tribunal arrived at this conclusion by methodically reconstructing - citing FARC plans, manuals and leaflets - how each of the six patterns of macro-criminality it identified originated in orders from the rebel group's leadership, which were then implemented in Narino by the leaders of its Alfonso Cano Western Bloc and three local structures under its command.

It was a strategy that was not only expressed through violent acts, but also through language. The guerrillas used, according to the JEP, "a stereotyped discourse of discrimination and racism" that included unfounded accusations of the Awa and their leaders as violent, drunks and corrupt, traits that allowed them to justify their imposition of "order" and obligatory norms of "coexistence. As one of the accused, Diego Alberto Gonzalez "El Pollo", admitted, "we cannot let people do or be what they want". For this reason, the tribunal charged them with the war crime of persecution.

All of this led the JEP to argue that the FARC sought the extermination of the Awa. "The survival of these peoples cannot be guaranteed with the mere physical existence of its members individually considered, but it is necessary that they can continue as a people, for which they not only need to be alive physically, but to remain in their territories and preserve their cosmovision," it argued.

A new wave of violence across borders

Just nine days after the JEP unveiled its accusation against the FARC, a new act of violence against members of the Awa people occurred. On July 22, a dissident structure of that guerrilla group that decided not to lay down its weapons with the peace process assassinated community leader Camilo Guanga, whom they had already held a year earlier, in the Piguambi Palangala reservation. A week later, armed men killed three indigenous people, including two teenagers, in the Saude Wiway reservation.

These are just two of the cases in a long list of a fateful 2023 for the Awa. In January, 6-year-old indigenous guard Jose Taicus Pascal was gunned down in the Alto Abi reservation. A month later, youngster Alejandro Taicus was murdered in the Gran Rosario reservation and, shortly after, the same occurred to guard Marlon Hernando Garcia in El Gran Sabalo. In the same territory, 20-year-old Carlos Pai was killed in August while unsuccessfully pleading in Awapit with members of an armed group he encountered in the jungle. A month later, Anarceli Preciado was murdered in Hojal La Turbia.

The situation has deteriorated so much that in March the Ombudsman's Offices of Colombia and Ecuador launched, for the first time, a binational early warning that over a six-month period the confinement and displacement of 10,000 indigenous Awas had been reported. In the last four years, attacks have tripled and already equal the highest peaks of the years covered by the JEP investigation, according to the human rights observatory of their organization Unipa. This security risk, which had already led to cautionary measures from the Inter-American Human Rights System in 2021, was what led the court to anonymize the names of all the indigenous who testified, dubbing them simply as 'victim' and assigning them a number.

This is not the first time that a legal achievement has been followed by a flurry of violence. Just nine days after the Constitutional Court determined in 2009 - in a ruling considered emblematic - that the Awa and 29 other indigenous peoples were at "high risk of cultural or physical extermination" due to the armed conflict, the infamous Tortugana Telembi massacre occurred.

"The boldest attempts at legal pluralism in Colombia"

This wave of attacks against the Awa, just when they were working with the JEP to document FARC's crimes against them and when they finally glimpsed the justice that had eluded them, demonstrates the limits of transitional justice in the face of present-day violence. It is hindered by a time constraint on the one hand, since the tribunal can investigate acts committed up to 2016, but also by its focus on certain perpetrators, since it can only focus on FARC and state agents, but not on groups dedicated to organized crime or drug trafficking - two aspects of its mandate meant to give the JEP a bigger chance of delivering justice.

"Ours is a transitional justice scenario where the armed conflict continues, where a guerrilla has demobilized but we are far from the end of war. This, however, does not detract from the sense and value of the paths of justice that have been advanced, which are the boldest attempts at legal pluralism that weve seen in Colombia," says lawyer and historian Gloria Lopera, who has studied the legal history of indigenous territories. The result of this intercultural work is one of the proposals already in place for a restorative sanction, which contemplates the reconstruction by former FARC guerrillas - including the accused but also others - of a house of wisdom and the restoration of the ecosystems in Tortugana Telembi.

For Lopera, these advances are the result of the diverse composition of the JEP - where there are four indigenous and four Afro justices - and its decision to take intercultural dialogue seriously. "They don't come out of nowhere," she says.
Sudan's army-aligned government on Tuesday suspended ties with the east African bloc IGAD, accusing it of "violating" the country's sovereignty by inviting a rival paramilitary chief to a summit.

Nine months after war broke out between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the army has been losing territory while paramilitary leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo has been touring African capitals.

In a further boost to his diplomatic standing, IGAD extended an invite to Daglo to a summit in Uganda on Thursday, which he accepted.

Daglo confirmed his attendance in a statement early Wednesday and called for negotiations "not only between the two sides" but including "national institutions supporting democracy, civil society, religious organisations, youth and all the people".

But the IGAD invitation prompted the foreign ministry, loyal to army chief and Sudan's de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, to announce it was suspending its relationship with the bloc.

It accused IGAD of "violating Sudan's sovereignty" and setting a "dangerous precedent".

The bloc -- in parallel with the United States and Saudi Arabia -- had repeatedly attempted to mediate between the two warring generals, but to no avail.

The ministry had on Saturday accused the bloc of lending Daglo's "militia" legitimacy by inviting it to a meeting that will be attended by member heads of state and government.

Burhan had recently accused the bloc of bias and seeking to intervene in "an internal matter".

Daglo is fresh off a tour of six African capitals including IGAD members, while analysts say the army chief is growing more and more isolated diplomatically as his troops lose ground to RSF advances.

Burhan has reacted angrily to Daglo's growing diplomatic status, accusing African leaders receiving him of complicity in atrocities against Sudanese civilians.

Both sides have been accused of war crimes, including the indiscriminate shelling of residential areas, torture and arbitrary detention of civilians.

The RSF has also been accused of ethnically-motivated mass killings, rampant looting and rapes.

The war has killed more than 13,000 people, according to a conservative estimate by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project.

Around 7.5 million civilians have fled the fighting either abroad or to other parts of the country, according to UN figures.
CARSON CITY  In 2015, Andria Peterson, a clinical pharmacist at a neonatal intensive care unit in Las Vegas, noticed an increase in babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome, or withdrawal from substances.

Half of the babies in NICU were in withdrawal, Peterson said, recalling how a mother in labor was turned away because there wasnt a NICU bed for her. I realized what we were seeing at the NICU was a symptom of a bigger problem, she said.

It was then Peterson realized something needed to improve long before the delivery room. That was when Empowered was initiated. Empowered is a program helping pregnant and postpartum mothers who use or have used opioids or stimulants through a harm-reduction and non-judgmental approach.

It is one of only a handful of such programs known to exist in the nation, said Rachel Mack, a licensed clinical social worker and the associate program director at Empowered.

The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services Office of Analytics estimates an average of 42 babies are born each year with prenatal opioid substance use in Nevada.

While the program initially focused on treating mothers and children with opioid addictions, it has broadened to include all drugs, because many women were using multiple substances or unaware their substance was laced with opioids, Mack said.

The program, which started in 2018 in Southern Nevada, is helping roughly 140 women throughout their pregnancy and postpartum recovery, which can be anywhere from nine months to two years.

By this spring Empowered, which is administered under the auspices of the private Roseman University of Health Sciences, will also operate in Washoe, Lyon, Carson City, Dayton and Fernley counties, an expansion made possible by a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant of $894,497 for Nevada.

The program also received $230,360 per year through the Fund for a Resilient Nevada, established to distribute the states portion of opioid litigation settlements.

Overdoses are the leading underlying cause of pregnancy-related deaths in the state, according to the most recent Maternal Mortality and Severe Maternal Morbidity Nevada report, released by DHHS in December 2022.

But preventing overdose deaths isnt as simple as treating substance use alone  the bulk of the population that Empowered serves also struggles with food and housing insecurity, a history of experiencing domestic violence, mental health conditions, and lack of a support network.

If a client is not in a safe space or has something to eat and [doesnt] feel safe in the space and environment, theyre not thinking about scheduling appointmentsbecause their basic needs are not met, and thats usually housing, food, all those social determinants that impact their ability to take care of themselves, Mack said.

Peterson, who now serves as the executive director of the Empowered program, started to help meet mothers who struggle with substance use where theyre at, and with the needs the mothers deem most urgent, which may not always be addiction treatment.

Empowered helps connect those mothers with medical treatment, peer recovery, mental health services, and health insurance. The program also helps clients obtain food and housing assistance and access to other services, including government IDs, education and job training.

Unique, broader approach

According to SAMHSA, recovery from a substance use disorder rests on four pillars: health, including mental health; having a stable and safe place to live; having a purpose, including a job; and making connections to a community.

While Empowereds model emphasizes those priorities, many programs for recovery make sobriety a condition of assistance  making it hard for those who may relapse to recovery or enter a program.

Most of the 140 women served by Empowered in Southern Nevada are in their mid-30s, with previous children, and over half of the program participants have experienced domestic violence, Mack said.

Amani Wilson, a former client who was recently hired as a program coordinator at Empowered, started using meth at 30 when a friend offered it to her.

I thought, whats the harm in trying it this one time? she said, noting that it helped take the stress off the tumultuous relationship with her first childs father. In the four years since that encounter, Wilson became pregnant with her daughter, has been incarcerated, homeless, and relapsed. She joined the Empowered program in May 2021 on a judges recommendation.

She periodically relapsed while in the program. However, because support services offered through Empowered were not tied to her sobriety, she said she ultimately learned to identify  and cope with  her triggers.

You have to change your people, places, and things, Wilson said, noting that it took time for her to leave old connections, find a home that wasnt in a place where other people were using, and fill her time with activities that would address her trigger of boredom. She said she has been sober for a year.

Wilson, by her own account, came from a well-supported family. Her parents are still married and had custody of her son while she was in the Empowered program. Since finishing the program, she regained custody of her son and appreciates the everyday moments they have together  doing chores, completing homework, or making cherry jello after work.

The program is also offered to those who have had their children removed by and have active cases with the Clark County Department of Family Services.

Empowered completed a needs assessment of Northern Nevada  noting that while each individuals needs for recovery are different, the services a person receives is contingent on what services are offered in their community or region.

In Washoe and the rural Northern Nevada counties, the biggest barriers to substance use recovery for pregnant and postpartum people are limited prenatal and medical care, housing assistance, transportation, assistance in obtaining government-issued IDs, job placement, food, hygiene products, clothing, including for job interviews, and baby necessities, according to the research by Empowered.

Other gaps include access to child care, long waits for care for Medicaid populations, providers not knowing how to screen for substance use properly, and stigma faced by mothers with substance use problems, not merely from the public but from law enforcement and policymakers.
Jackie Porter is shown in a handout photo. As a certified financial planner and financial advisor, Porter is an expert in getting people comfortable with the idea of talking about their money. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO
A BC Hydro substation in the Fraser Valley is seen encased in ice in this undated handout photo. Despite heavy electricity demand last weekend as temperatures fell to record lows across B.C, the utility was still able to export power to Alberta and some U.S. states.
The flag flies outside the Embassy of the Russian Federation to Canada in Ottawa on Monday, March 26, 2018. Federal officials were wary of creating a chill within ethnic communities and rattling Canada's bilateral relations as they fleshed out next steps to secure vital scientific research, internal documents show. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang




Tuesday, January 16, 2024 - Chief Justice Martha Koome now wants to have a roundtable meeting with President William Ruto.

This follows his attack on the Judiciary and the subsequent threat by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to file a petition seeking to remove Justice Esther Maina for her rulings against him.

Addressing journalists outside the Supreme Court yesterday in her capacity as Chairperson of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), Koome maintained that the body mandated to investigate the conduct of judicial officers was ready to receive the petition and act on it appropriately.

She further revealed that the JSC had developed the code of conduct for judges and magistrates which was approved by Parliament in 2020.

Laws governing petitions are still undergoing the approval process.

"I urge our politicians to stop discussing live matters in public to allow the judges to engage with the matters objectively. If somebody is dissatisfied, follow the appeal," she stated.

"I think someone said in the news yesterday one (a petition) will be filed on Thursday. We are ready to receive it even if it comes earlier than Thursday.

"That is what we do. Even after hours, you can file online and we will receive it the next day."

In her address, the CJ further noted that JSC was cognisant of complaints by Ruto over the conduct of some judges and had since written to him requesting for a meeting. They are yet to receive a response.

"We have written requesting an appointment with His Excellency the President so that we as the Commission can have a dialogue to discuss and find out the real issue," she added.

"He might have received reports because we have various machineries charged with the responsibility of collecting information. We want to engage him for that information."

According to the conduct, a judge, magistrate, or Judicial officer can be removed after showing an inability to perform functions due to their mental or physical state, abuse of conduct, bankruptcy, incompetence, or gross misconduct.

The Kenyan DAILY POST
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and his spouse arrive in Zurich, Switzerland to attend the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), January 16, 2024 - Photo: VGP

He was welcomed by Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Phung The Long, Ambassador, and Head of the Permanent Mission of Viet Nam to the United Nations (UN), WTO and other international organizations in Geneva Le Thi Tuyet Mai and other Vietnamese officials and expatriates living in Switzerland.

During his working visit, Pham will attend and deliver his remarks at events within the framework of meeting, including a seminar on development cooperation in semiconductors, artificial intelligence and automobiles; WEF's Country Strategic Dialogue on Viet Nam; Policy dialogue session "Viet Nam: Orienting a global vision"; a seminar on promoting new growth drivers in Viet Nam; and a discussion on promoting the role of global cooperation in ASEAN.

The occasion, the Prime Minister will meet Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the WEF, and hold bilateral meetings with foreign leaders and representatives of international organizations and businesses.

He will also attend and address a seminar on experiences and models for developing Switzerlands international financial center, as well as meeting CEOs of leading Swiss corporations and businesses.

The Prime Minister's attendance at this year's WEF annual meeting is an important opportunity to grasp and take advantage of new opportunities and trends; and share views and visions on global issues, affirming Viet Nam's proactive participation and responsible contributions.

The trip also creates a chance to introduce Viet Nam's achievements and development orientations, thereby attracting resources to serve the country's development and step up collaboration in areas of practical interests with Switzerland./.
Tuesday, January 16, 2023 - A Kenyan woman, identified as Connie Mburu, has paid tribute to her late daughter, Sharon Muthoni, who died after she was brutally assaulted by her boyfriend.

He dumped her body at Mama Lucy Hospital in Kayole after killing her.

Read the emotional post.

It's been 8 years since my daughter left us.

On the 14th of January 2016, my daughter Julie Sharon Muthoni's lifeless body was dumped by her boyfriend Salim Serem at Mama Lucy Hospital Kayole.

In her memory, I started a group to walk with families who have lost their loved ones.

We have done so much without making big announcements on social media.

I have also been accompanying some of our members to Court and visiting them in their homes, as a group to comfort and counsel them.

I decided to start something intentionally so that I can keep my daughter's memory alive because I wouldn't want to forget her even for one single day.

In life every parent hopes to die before their Children but not the other way around.

Also as a parent, we believe in protecting our children against any danger but trust me, death is final.

Standing by the side of your child's grave and seeing the casket being lowered down and thereafter covered with heaps of soil, leaves any parent feeling desperate and hopeless, for being unable to protect them.

May you continue resting with angles my baby girl because you were truly one of them.

It's been 8 years but no day has ever gone, without remembering you, because we shared so much and we meant the world to each other.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.




Tuesday, January 16, 2024 - President William Ruto has followed through on his threat to sell Western sugar companies to the highest bidders to prevent them from incurring losses.

Ruto advanced his plan to privatise sugar companies after the Ministry of Agriculture advertised bids from private investors.

In a notice in the local dailies on Tuesday, the State Department for Agriculture indicated leasing public sector-owned sugar companies.

It thus demanded a deposit of Ksh10 million from prospective investors as security during the bidding process.

The Head of State first made public his plans to privatize sugar companies in October last year, arguing that the move would make them profitable and revitalize the sector.

During a public address at the time, he insisted that the state would ensure prudent management of the factories to safeguard the interests of farmers.

Ruto insisted that the terms of engagement with the private investors will centre around providing value to farmers and increasing their earnings.

We will agree with them to install new machines and pay farmers on time, he told a congregation.

In the latest advertisement, interested parties were asked to pick detailed documents at Kilimo House after parting with a non-refundable fee of Ksh5,000.

For the better part of his first year in office, the Head of State revealed that he was on a mission to improve public sector sugar millers which had been reeling under a mountain of debt.

In August last year, he authorized the state to write off Ksh117 billion owed by five government-owned companies.

The sugar companies set to be sold include Mumias, Chemelil, South Nyanza, Nzoia, Muhoroni, and Miwani sugar factories.

The Kenyan DAILY POST
Tuesday, January 16, 2024 - Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has spoken after a section of Mt Kenya leaders endorsed Kiharu legislator, Ndindi Nyoro, as President William Rutos successor when his tenure ends in 2032.

Last weekend, over 15 Members of Parliament from the region allied to the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party threw their weight behind Nyoro to take over from Ruto

However, speaking in Bomet on Monday, Gachagua slammed Kenya Kwanza leaders for promoting 2032 succession politics.

Gachagua wondered why leaders were interested in succeeding Ruto, yet he was barely two years in office.

"Those who want to succeed President William Ruto should continue, but we want him to succeed.

"But I am asking youthful people: William Ruto was elected recently. He has nine years to go. You are talking about succeeding him.

"You young people, what's the problem?" DP Gachagua posed.

Speaking in Bomet County during the burial of Senator Hillary Sigei's father, Gachagua said it was disrespectful to talk about succession politics nine years before the election.

"The president has just been elected, and people are already talking about succeeding him in 2032; that is so disrespectful.

"Someone has not yet settled down, and you are talking about succeeding him; who said you will be alive after the next nine years?" he added.

The Kenyan DAILY POST
Tuesday, January 16, 2024 - Mumias East Member of Parliament, Peter Salaysa, has announced that he is planning to end his bachelor's life by marrying a sultry NTV presenter.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Salasya who was arrested over the weekend for slapping an MCA, said he wants to marry NTV journalist, Smirti Vidyarthi, who blasted him after the incident.

The journalist, while delivering a parting shot, blasted the first-time lawmaker for slapping the MCA, terming the incident which happened during a funeral as primitive and uncouth.

"Mr Salasya stops dancing on people's graves and seeking to draw political points out of them. Have a heart. Style up. Some may say "grow up" Smirti said.

In reaction, the MP stated that he fell in love with Smirti Vidyarthi after she blasted him on live TV.

"I want to marry this news anchor.

"She is beautiful and mature enough to be married... Huyu ako sawa kabisa mtu anipe number take..

"Thank you so much #NTV. I can see you have mentored a good wife for me.

"Am ready to be married to this beautiful presenter. Please tag her for me. I have fallen in love with her," Salasya wrote

The Kenyan DAILY POST.


Monday, January 15, 2024  A young man identified as Angrez Singh, was caught after he disguised as a woman to write an exam for his girlfriend in Punjab's Faridkot, India.

According to local media, on January 7, 2024, a multi-purpose health workers exam was conducted by the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences at DAV Public School in Kotkapura.

Angrez Singh from Fazilka decided to write the exam by donning the guise of his girlfriend, Paramjit Kaur.

Decked out in red bangles, a bindi, lipstick, bangles and a ladies' suit, Angrez Singh walked into the examination hall as if he were Kaur.

However, the stage was set for Punjab's most unexpected comedy act as university officials quickly caught wind of the charade and filed a complaint with the police.

According to the police, Angrez Singh went all out in his effort, utilising fake voter and Aadhar cards to prove he was Paramjit Kaur.

The plan seemed foolproof until the fateful moment when his fingerprints failed to match those of the genuine candidate on the biometric device.

The genuine candidate, Paramjit Kaur, unfortunately, had her application turned down by the administration.

Meanwhile, legal action has been initiated against Angrez Singh.




Tuesday, January 16, 2024

- Controversial lawyer and barrister, Miguna Miguna, has reacted after former Prime Minister Raila Odinga castigated communities in the country who take circumcision seriously.

While Speaking in Busia County on Monday, Raila, who is also the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader, said that those who take the rite of passage seriously are fools.

Circumcision is only a Kenyan Bantu thing. It is a trivial matter that comes with religion. It was introduced in Kenya to the Bantus through religion.

"Bantus in DRC do not circumcise the same as in Cameroon and South Africa.

"Anyone that takes circumcision seriously is a fool, Raila said.

Reacting to Raila Odingas statement, Miguna, who is a fierce critic of the opposition leader, said he agrees with the former premier.

On this, I agree with the conman, Miguna stated.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.


Monday, January 15, 2024  A Palestinian man killed one woman and injured up to 18 others in a stabbing and car-ramming attack in the central Israeli city of Raanana today, Israeli media said.

'A wounded woman who arrived in a critical condition after having been hit by a vehicle has died of her injuries despite our efforts to save her,' said a statement from Meir hospital, near Raanana.

Army Radio said the incident may have been a car-jacking during which the stolen vehicle crashed, citing witness testimony.

An official police statement said the suspect had been detained and the incident is now being investigated.





The suspected attacker was described as a Palestinian from the West Bank city of Hebron, with police telling Israeli media he stole a total of three cars.

A second man, a relative of the suspect has also been arrested.

The incident came amid heightened security tensions over Israel's war with Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza.

Eli Levy, police spokesperson, told Army Radio: 'We still cannot declare with certainty that this was a terrorist attack.'

He said he it was also unclear exactly how many people had been involved in the incident.




Tuesday, January 16, 2024

 Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga was forced to temporarily halt his speech after a rowdy group became unruly, disrupting a rally he was holding in Busia County.

Raila was forced to plead with the group to calm down.

He would later accuse unknown people of planning to instigate chaos well before the rally.

Nonetheless, the former Prime Minister remained defiant, stating that ODM was prepared for anything thrown its way.

"Sit down, there is no need to run young men. We are used to this chaos, this is normal in politics," Raila stated.

During the fracas, a few people on the podium were seen holding up their seats which ended up causing a commotion.

Those on the ground were heard shouting but it was hard to decipher what the chants were about. Their voices got louder making Raila's voice inaudible.

Following the chaos, leaders on the podium attempted to calm the crowd down for the rally to continue.

"As ODM, we are peaceful, we do not insult others or engage in violence. Whoever is planning this distraction is wrong, and we cannot be distracted. Our strength comes from the people," Raila remarked.

During the rally, Raila reiterated that ODM has the people's interest at heart, unlike the Kenya Kwanza government.

Raila also called upon the youth to join ODM to further strengthen the party. He added that ODM was readying to take over the government in 2027.

He accused President William Ruto of lying to Kenyans during the campaigns.

He trolled the projects initiated by Ruto, including the Hustler Fund and the Housing Fund, adding that the current regime had failed.

The former Prime Minister opined that Ruto was to blame for the high cost of living burdening a majority of Kenyans.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.




Tuesday, January 16, 2024  President William Rutos attack on the Judiciary has not gone down well with many people both within and without Kenya.

After Azimio Leaders, led by Raila Odinga, criticized Ruto for his tirade against Chief Justice Martha Koomes Judiciary, African Judges have also voiced their concerns.

Africa Judges and Jurists Forum (AJJF) faulted Ruto's description of the judiciary as tyrannical and riddled with impunity.

In a statement, AJFF further condemned Ruto for accusing Chief Justice Martha Koome-led Judiciary of collaborating with some opposition figures to frustrate the government agenda.

AJFF regretted that the utterances by the President were an attack on the independence of the Judiciary and also posed a threat to its existence.

Rutos utterances concerning the Judiciary have the effect of intimidating judicial officers from exercising their functions impartially, especially considering that the courts are currently seized with cases in which the legality of certain government policies is being challenged, the statement read in part.

Additionally, AJFF interpreted the attacks as erasing public confidence in the independence of the Judiciary.

Explaining its reasoning, AJFF argued that should the courts rule in favour of the government's agenda, it would be interpreted by the public as bowing to Rutos threats.

President William Ruto and other members of the Kenya Kwanza administration have persistently painted the Judicial Service Commission as inept in dealing with corrupt judges.

The judges, similar to CJ Martha Koome, urged Ruto to follow the laid down procedure for removing corrupt judicial officers from office.

Instead of playing to the court of public opinion, he was requested to table any evidence he had on corrupt judges and magistrate.

The Kenyan DAILY POST




Tuesday, January 16, 2024

 President William Ruto and his government have continued to terrorize the Judiciary, and now want to completely paralyze it.

This is after Mogotio MP Reuben Kiborek threatened to cut the Judiciary's budget in the next financial year over the case challenging the implementation of the Social Health Insurance Act 2023.

Speaking during the burial of Bomet Senator Hillary Sigei's father Philip Tonui at Kapsio yesterday, Kiborek, a member of Rutos UDA Party, said they have started the budget process for the 2024/2025 financial year and will cut the Judiciary's budget if it stops the implementation of the Social Health Insurance Act 2023.

"The Judiciary has decided to superimpose itself on all branches of government, but we have a remedy.

"We are just beginning the process of setting the budget for the Republic of Kenya.

"If they have decided that the money will not go to NHIF and UHC, we will cut their entire budget and allocate it to NHIF," said Kiborek.

The UDA MP's comments come as President William Ruto has accused some judges and judicial officers of being beneficiaries of graft and sabotaging his legacy projects of universal health care and affordable housing.

The president has vowed to tackle corruption in the Judiciary, saying its independence should not be used to deny Kenyans their rights.

Chief Justice Martha Koome on Friday urged the executive to file complaints against judges accused of graft instead of making public statements.

Koome, however, noted that complaints against judges and judicial officers must be lodged in the manner prescribed by the Constitution.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.
PM Pham Minh Chinh (R) meets Hungarian President Katalin Novak within the framework of the COP28 in Dubai (Photo: VNA)

Chairman of the Vietnam-Hungary Friendship Association in Ho Chi Minh City Prof. Le Minh Triet underscored Hungary's historical significance as one of the first countries to recognise Vietnam's independence.

Throughout the span of over 73 years, Vietnam has never forgotten the invaluable support extended by the Hungarian people during the crucial period of national construction and defence.

Noteworthy was Hungary's commitment during January 26, 1973-May 9, 1975 when it dispatched 636 military personnel, border guards, and civil and diplomatic staff to Vietnam for a peacekeeping mission. Tragically, two of them sacrificed their lives in April 1973 during their service. Hungary further contributed by providing training for nearly 3,500 sci-tech officers in Vietnam and waiving the country's debts dating back to 1973, a testament to the enduring friendship between the two nations.

The official visit to Hungary by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in 2018 marked the elevation of bilateral relations to a comprehensive partnership. Hungary is now the sole comprehensive partner of Vietnam in the Central Eastern Europe.

During a joint press conference with Party General Secretary Trong, PM Orban introduced Hungary's "Opening to the East" policy to adapt to changes in the global landscape, including its strategic cooperation with Vietnam.

Trade relations have flourished, with two-way trade surpassing 355 million USD in 2017 and exceeding 785 million USD in the first 11 months of 2023. Vietnam is the sole Southeast Asian nation exporting a substantial volume to Hungary.

Both nations are actively promoting trade through the effective implementation of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and enhancement of the Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation mechanism. They aim to create favourable conditions for their goods to enter each other's markets and encourage Hungarian firms to increase investments in Vietnam, particularly in sectors of Hungarys strength, such as pharmaceuticals, animal farming, food processing and renewable energy.

Hungary was among the first EU member countries to ratify the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), showcasing their commitment to fostering economic ties.

To date, Vietnam has successfully negotiated and signed three framework agreements on financial cooperation with Hungary, totaling 535 million EUR.

President of the Hungary-Vietnam Friendship Association Botz Laszlo speaks at a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the Paris Agreement signing (Photo: VNA)

Bilateral ties have expanded beyond trade, with significant collaboration in national defense and security, healthcare, education and training, and locality-to-locality ties. Hungary, unique in Eastern Europe, has consistently increased scholarships for Vietnamese students, reaching a notable figure of 200 scholarships.

The community of around 6,000 Vietnamese studying, living, and working in Hungary also serve as a vital bridge in fostering bilateral relations.

Furthermore, Hungary was at the forefront in supporting Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses and various medical equipment, aiding Vietnam in overcoming the crisis and reviving its economy.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Hang emphasised that PM Pham Minh Chinh's visit is poised to enhance political trust and revitalise the enduring and friendly relations between the two nations.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse, and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation will attend the 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland and pay official visits to Hungary and Romania from January 16-23./.




Tuesday, January 16, 2024

- President William Ruto has today said he is ready to dialogue with Chief Justice Martha Koome over endemic corruption in the Judiciary.

Speaking in Nandi on Tuesday, Ruto said he is more than ready, hours after CJ stated that she is ready to dialogue with the president to end the current war of words between the Executive and Judiciary.

Mimi nataka nimwambie madam Chief Justice mimi niko tayari kwa hayo mazungumzo, Ruto said Tuesday in Nandi.

He has, however, said the discussion will involve the leadership of the three arms of government.

Mkutano kati ya executive mimi nikiongoza, judiciary ikiongozwa na Chief Justice and legislature led by the Speakers. I am ready for the conversation on how we are going to deal with vested interests, incompetence, and corruption, Ruto said.

He said regardless of whether the vice exists in the government, it has continued to delay, derail, and sabotage the progress and the potential of the country.

The head of state noted that they are committed to fully addressing the problem which he said has continued to affect the potential of the country.

He argued that the nation has continued to lag because of poor leadership, bad governance, and corruption.

However, Raila Odinga who is the opposition leader, has opposed the dialogue between Koome and Ruto, saying this will compromise the independence of the Judiciary.

Chief Justice Martha Koome says she wants to dialogue with Ruto. That will mark the start of compromising.

"There is no need for the Judiciary to hold talks with Ruto. The law says that if you disagree with a court decision you appeal," Raila stated.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.




Tuesday, January 16, 2024 - Last year, President William Ruto visited Bungoma County for a development tour and launched the affordable housing project, which he promised would offer job opportunities to the local youth.

Ruto said his government was committed to constructing 20,000 houses in Bungoma, adding that the project will offer employment opportunities to about 40,000 youths in the county.

As we are dealing with the program of affordable housing, we want to commit to constructing 20,000 affordable houses in Bungoma, those 20,000 houses will require approximately 30,000 to 40,000 youths to work on the project here, Ruto said during the launch.

It is now emerging that the head of state was issuing an empty promise to the residents.

A resident of Bungoma visited the land where the affordable housing project was launched by Ruto and found out that the project had not started.

The land has been abandoned and the construction equipment that was brought to the venue during the launch taken away.





Watch the video.

In Bungoma ;



Charlene Ruto s father launched affordable houses , and even had a stone there , then left with everything including the houses 



It's sad out Kenya Kwanza is faking everything

William Ruto manenos



Salasya Tanzania pic.twitter.com/UdnX0laMSF  Sholla  (@Haaland_sholla) January 13, 2024

The Kenyan DAILY POST.




Tuesday, January 16, 2024

 President William Rutos move to raise more revenue through The National Social Security Fund has hit a dead end after Lawyer Ndegwa Maina moved to court to stop the increased deductions expected to be rolled out in February 2024.

In a petition filed at the High Court, Ndegwa sought to have the case certified as urgent.

Ndegwa listed top officials in Rutos government as respondents including; Labour Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore and Social Protection Principal Secretary Joseph Mogosi Motari.

Others listed as respondents include; the NSSF Board and Attorney General Justin Muturi.

I Maina Ndegwa do certify the application attached and filed herewith to be of uttermost urgency requiring to be placed before the Judge on a priority basis for the reason that the third respondent (NSSF Board) has placed notices in newspapers having wide circulations on January 12, compelling all employers to implement the Year 2 Contribution Rates 2024, the petition read in part.

Ndegwa in his petition stated that the Year 2 contribution rates in 2024 were colossal and unreasonable.

He argued that it was wrong for the government to increase deductions at a time when many Kenyans were struggling with the high cost of living.

Ndegwa further told the High Court that salaried Kenyans were already burdened by other statutory deductions.

Burdened Kenyans have minimal earning capacity and unless this honourable court intervenes, the employed cadre of Kenyans will continue to suffer immensely, he told the Milimani-based court.

Should the High Court dismiss Ndegwas petition, Kenyans will pay between Ksh420 and Ksh1,740 in the new deductions.

The Kenyan DAILY POST




Tuesday, January 16, 2024 -

Kisii County Governor, Simba Arati, has revealed the reason why there have been fights and chaos in the expansive county.

For the last six months, chaos and pandemonium have rocked Kisii County with Kenya Kwanza Alliance leaders clashing with Governor Arati and his supporters.

On Tuesday, Arati attributed the latest political heat in the region to his purge against graft.

The Governor revealed that some political figures are fanning chaos in Kisii for being locked out of lucrative county tenders.

Arati noted that some are staging chaos after he refused to pay them for supplying nothing to the county.

There some people who wanted to be paid for supplying nothing.

"So my wrangles have been caused by my purge against corruption, Arati stated.

The Kenyan DAILY POST


Monday, January 15, 2024  A boyfriend will appear before Giyani Magistrate's Court in South Africa on Monday, January 15, 2024, for the murder of his 21-year-old girlfriend, Nyikiwe Maranda Chauke.

The police in Giyani opened a case of murder following the discovery of the lifeless body of the young woman in the nearby bushes of Gawula village outside Giyani on Thursday, January 11, 2024.

The police said that the suspect, who is the boyfriend of the deceased, came to the Community Services Center (CSC) at the police station to report that he killed his girlfriend and left her body in the nearby bushes of Gawula village.

He then gave the police the contact numbers of the person who witnessed the incident when it happened, and he will show them the scene of the crime," said Giyani Police Spokesman Sergeant Ridgewell Rikhotso.

"The Police quickly summoned the K-9 Unit and they met with the witness who accompanied them to the scene of the crime. Upon arrival, the K-9 Unit managed to recover the body of the deceased.

"A preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect and the deceased were boyfriend and girlfriend. The suspect is currently enrolled in one of the colleges in Free State while the deceased is currently enrolled in TUT.

"The deceased was identified as Nyikiwe Maranda Chauke (21) who resides in Gawula village. The suspect is a 24-year-old resident of the same village.

"The motive of the killing is not yet known, but domestic violence cannot be ruled out", Sergeant Rikhotso added.




Tuesday, January 16, 2024

- An outspoken Nairobi-based lawyer has slammed Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for petitioning the removal of High Court Judge Esther Maina over allegations of corruption.

On Sunday, Gachagua accused Maina of being part of a corrupt cartel in the Judiciary, sensationally claiming that she unfairly ruled against him in a graft case involving Sh 200 million.

But in an interview with one of the local dailies, lawyer Evans Ondieki equated Gachagua's public rants against a High Court Judge to childhood tantrums that do not befit a person of the calibre of the office he holds.

"Why should a deputy president react like a village boy? It justifies saying he came into office by mistake because he behaves rogue.

"There is no place for Gachagua in Kenya's leadership if this is how he will be.

"It looks like it was an accident for him to become deputy president because he is not doing justice to that office.

"As we deal with this accident that happened to us as Kenyans, the DP should change how he talks about and represents the three arms of government," Ondieki said.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.


Monday, January 15, 2024  A Georgia district attorney accused of hiring her lover to prosecute former US President Donald Trump broke her silence on the controversy, saying she and the prosecutor were targeted because they are black.

They only attacked one, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said on Sunday at Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta.

First thing they say, Oh, shes gonna play the race card now.

But no God, isnt it them thats playing the race card when they only question one?

The comments were Willis first time addressing the allegations publicly  but she neither confirmed nor denied the relationship claims levelled at her and special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who helped secure an indictment against Trump in an election interference case.

She called Wade a great friend and a great lawyer, along with a superstar, but failed to mention him by name once during her more than 30 minute speech, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade was allegedly having a relationship with Willis when he was appointed to the case.

Wade and Fani were accused by Trump co-defendant Michael Roman of having a clandestine and improper affair when appointments were made for the 2020 election interference case.

Roman, a former official on the Trump 2020 campaign, argued in a court filing last week that the integrity of the case had been compromised by their alleged affair and asked that all charges against him be dropped.

The district attorney chose to appoint her romantic partner, who at all times relevant to this prosecution has been a married man, the filing read.

Roman contended in the filing that Wade used some of the $654,000 in legal fees hed earned on the case to take Willis on vacations to Napa Valley, California, Florida and the Caribbean.

Willis pointed out during her speech on Sunday that the other two prosecutors assigned to the case, Anna Green Cross and John Floyd, both are white, and noted that allegations have only emerged targeting the two prominent black members of the prosecution  her and Wade.

Isnt it them playing the race card when they constantly think I need someone from some other jurisdiction in some other state to tell me how to do a job Ive been doing almost 30 years? she asked.

Trump's co-defendant, Roman was unmoved by Willis accusations of the charges being racially charged.

The biggest difference between Ms. Cross, Mr. Floyd and Mr. Wade is that Ms. Willis is not in a relationship with Ms. Cross and Mr. Floyd, he said in a statement to the Constitution-Journal on Sunday.

Fana Willis is planning to file an official response to the allegations, her spokesperson said.

Once that filing is in, Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said he would schedule a hearing to address the matter.


Monday, January 15, 2024  A doctor called Chiemezie Okwara has taken to X to state that the real masculine flex is a man funding his wife's business instead of leaving her to do the normal 9-5 jobs.

The real masculine flex is saving your wife from working a 9-5 job and funding her to run a small creative business that makes losses every month."


Monday, January 15, 2024  A US commercial ship was hit by a missile off the coast of Yemen on Monday, according to US and UK officials.

US Central Command said Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and struck the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned and operated container ship.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) first reported there had been an 'incident' 95 nautical miles southeast of Aden, though details of the incident remain scarce.

That report only said the ships captain reported that the 'port side of vessel hit from above by a missile,' but did not identify the ship or elaborate. It is currently not known who was behind the attack and an investigation has been launched.

Private intelligence firm Ambrey said a US-owned bulk carrier carrying a Marshall Islands flag had been hit by the missile. The firm claimed the vessel remained seaworthy and there were no injuries.

It comes less than a day after Yemen's Houthi rebels launched an attack against an American destroyer in the Red Sea.


Monday, January 15, 2024  American rapper, Yo Gottis brother, Anthony Big Jook Mims, was reportedly shot dead on Saturday.

According to several reports, Mims and another unidentified person were fatally shot outside of Perignons Restaurant & Event Center on Saturday, January 13.

In a statement, Memphis Police Department confirmed that police officers were flagged down at 4:15 p.m. on a shooting at 6385 Winchester. on Saturday.

A male was located on the scene and exported to St. Francis where he was pronounced deceased, they added.

A second male arrived at St. Francis by private vehicle. He is listed as critical.

Police sources confirmed it was the older brother of the Rake It Up rapper who was shot dead.

Fox news also reported that the second individual was later airlifted to Regional One Health in Memphis in critical condition.

Chief Deputy Paul Wright shared in a press conference that Memphis PD does not have a clear suspect identified at this time, but that they are evaluating video evidence from the incident.

Wright also stated that the police department suspects Mims and the second person were possibly targeted by the suspect.

Mims had attended a funeral for a relative earlier that day, according to a report by TMZ.

In Mims last Instagram Story posts, he had posted tributes to a family member who had passed.
Kuleba: All Russia's attempts to misinform world about possible misuse of US aid to Ukraine are fake

All attempts by Russia to misinform the world about a possible diversion of United States aid to Ukraine turn out to be fake, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview with the American ABC television channel.

"Every attempt by Russia to disinform the world about the alleged misuse or illicit use of U.S. weapons into other parts of the world turned out to be fake. So don't believe in fakes, believe in Ukraine," Kuleba said.

The Foreign Minister promised the American public that "everything you give to us is used for the best purpose of ending this war with Ukraine's victory as soon as possible."

In addition, Kuleba as warned that "time is running out" for Congress to pass a new funding deal for more military aid for Ukraine.

According to the channel, investigations conducted by the United States and the European Union have not revealed any evidence that Western military aid sent to Ukraine was misused.
Tuesday, January 16, 2024 - Controversial Mumias East Member of Parliament, Peter Salaysa, stormed St Gabriel Isongo Secondary School in the company of angry parents and ejected the principal from the school over poor KCSE results.

The parents came in droves, some on foot and others on motorbikes.

They went straight to the principals office and frogmarched him out of the school compound.

The students joined in the melee and cheered as the principal was being mishandled.

The principal was forced to run for his dear life on a motorbike as he begged for mercy.

Huyu mwalimu akikuja hapa mean score ilikua 5 saa hii amerudisha chini mpaka imefika 2. Hii shule ni kubwa sana anaangusha shule. Kubadilisha walimu wa board kila mwezi, said an angry parent.

The area member of parliament, Peter Salaysa, blamed the principal for students poor grades.

We want commitment from the principals that's why we have called for that meeting, no you have to go home. No, acha niweke some sympathy, you have to transfer, he said.

Sasa kama wewe ni principal, watoto wanakuja kwa shule, wazazi have done their part, bursary nimelipa then. You have not delivered, then it means you cannot whip your teachers to deliver, added Salaysa.

The incident comes barely a week after furious parents stormed Mafuta Secondary School in Uasin Gishu County and ejected the principal over poor KCSE results.

Watch video of the dramatic incident.





Dear ministry of education my mum is a head teacher please let's stop this madness. Teachers are good people. If schools don't perform, find informed and civil solutions. A stampede could easily lead to deaths in such a scene to both teachers, students and villagers. pic.twitter.com/bPef6MYXBM  steve Biko osur (@wuodosur) January 14, 2024

The Kenyan DALY POST.




Tuesday, January 16, 2024

-

Chief Justice Martha Koome has castigated President William Ruto and his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, for attacking the Judiciary.

Addressing the press on Monday, Koome, who is also the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) chairperson, stated that it is bad for the Head of State to attack the judiciary since it will bring chaos and anarchy into the country.

"It is regrettable that the leadership of the Executive and the Legislature, in the recent public declarations, have threatened not to obey court orders because of corruption.

"These threats and declarations are extremely serious and a monumental assault on the Constitution.

"It is also an assault on the rule of law and the ability of the nation and can lead to chaos and anarchy in our motherland," Koome said.

The President of the Judiciary also slammed the President for making corruption allegations against judicial officers without following the right channels.

The Kenyan DAILY POST




Tuesday, January 16, 2024

 COTU Boss Francis Atwoli has announced that COTU will protect the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) from attacks from the President and his Kenya Kwanza government.

In a statement, Atwoli, who was speaking during the opening session of the training for the courts judges on International Labour Standards, said he will not allow attacks on the ELRC judges that will affect their service delivery.

COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli has assured judges of the Employment and Labour Relations Court that the labour movement will protect them against any attacks that will impede on their delivery of service, read the statement in part.

He pointed out that there should be no blanket attacks on judges, many of whom are performing their duties with diligence.

The COTU boss in a separate statement told the judges they have a responsibility to ensure the effectiveness of International Labour Standards in Kenya by referring to the same in their various judgments.

As such, the ongoing training on ILS is timely considering the need to raise the capacity of our judges to understand the various International Labour Standards, Atwoli stated.

President William Ruto, his Deputy Rigathi Gachagua and politicians from the Kenya Kwanza coalition have in recent days called out the Judiciary over claims that some corrupt judicial officers (cartels) and judges are sabotaging the Universal Health Care and Affordable Housing projects.

However, Chief Justice Martha Koome defended the Judiciary, noting that the trend of attacking and criticizing judges in public in ongoing cases is a way of intimidating them.

The Kenyan DAILY POST
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Medical aid in dying (MAID) is poised to be one of the hottest political health care issues of 2024. As in 2023, more than a dozen states will hold both impassioned hearings in legislative chambers and equally fervent debates in the community. Already, nearly twenty states have introduced bills to authorize MAID this year. They seek to join the eleven states that already authorize MAID for 73 million Americans (California, Colorado, District of Colombia, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington).

All these new bills are closely patterned on the 1994 Oregon Death with Dignity Act. On the one hand, this makes sense. The Oregon model has a solid patient safety track record and has served as a template for other U.S. and foreign laws. On the other hand, such feckless duplication is inexpedient. Many sponsors of the 2024 bills have taken a too-simplistic copy and paste approach. The Oregon model is dated. Over the past 30 years old, states have made significant innovations and amendments to their MAID statutes.

Accordingly, prospective states drafting their first MAID legislation should gather and consider more recent data and evidence. They should evaluate how MAID has been working in more than 100 years of combined experience in the existing 11 states. They should evaluate whether safeguards in the original Oregon model are still appropriate and effective. And they should examine innovations in other states and consider whether those changes are worth adopting.

One innovation is permitting non-physician professionals. For decades, only physicians could provide MAID. But it became increasingly obvious that this limited access. Especially in rural areas, physicians werent always available. So, when New Mexico enacted its MAID statute in 2021, it also authorized advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants to provide MAID. In 2023, Hawaii and Washington followed suit. Prospective states should consider authorizing not only physicians but also APRNs and PAs.

A second innovation is shortening or waiving waiting periods. One of the traditional safeguards in U.S. MAID statutes required that the patient make two separate oral requests, the second after a waiting period of at least 15 days. The rationale was to permit patients to calmly reflect and deliberate about their decision. But decades of experience with MAID shows that many patients cannot wait that long. Since many patients dont seriously consider MAID until the late stages of their illness, they either die or lose decision-making capacity before the end of the 15-day period. In short, the waiting period frequently constitutes an undue burden.

In response, several states have either shortened or waived the waiting period. Both California and New Mexico reduced their waiting periods from 15 days to 48 hours. Hawaii, Vermont, and Washington also reduced their waiting periods. A pending New Jersey bill proposes similar reductions. In addition to, or instead of, shortening the waiting period, some states exempt patients from having to satisfy the waiting period, however long it is, when the patient isnt expected to survive that period. New Mexico, and Oregon, have already enacted such waiver laws. Prospective MAID states should consider this too.

A third innovation is removing the residency requirement. Traditionally, states limited MAID to their own residents. Many patients have been able to satisfy these residency requirements by, for example, briefly renting an apartment in the MAID jurisdiction. But while surmountable, residency requirements still pose an obstacle. Consequently, physicians and patients brought federal lawsuits challenging residency requirements in Oregon and Vermont as violating the privileges and immunities clause of the U.S. Constitution. After settling the lawsuits, those states removed the residency requirement. That opened the door to patients traveling to Oregon and Vermont for MAID from other states. A new lawsuit is proceeding in New Jersey. Prospective MAID states should consider whether they should (or constitutionally can) limit health care services to their own residents.

Admittedly, some states are undertaking a more careful and deliberate examination of MAID legislation. In January 2024, a task force of the New York State Bar Association published a 60-page report assessing various policy approaches for the legislature. North Carolina legislation calls on its state Institute of Medicine to study developments in MAID legislation. And in March 2024, a major academic conference in Salt Lake City will compare leading approaches to regulating MAID.

We now have a substantial and growing body of evidence on the effectiveness of different models of MAID legislation. More states should evaluate this evidence when crafting their own legislation.

Thaddeus Mason Pope is a foremost expert in medical law and clinical ethics. He maintains a special focus on patient rights, health care decision-making, and end-of-life options. A Hastings Center Fellow and a former Fulbright Scholar and Brocher Foundation Researcher, Pope is a law professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in Saint Paul, MN. While he serves in various consulting capacities, Pope has been particularly influential through his extensive and high-impact scholarship.

Ranked among the Top 20 most-cited health law scholars in the United States, Professor Pope has over 300 publications in leading medical journals, bioethics journals, and law reviews.

Pope authors topics in medical jurisprudence for The Merck Manual, co-authors the definitive biannually-updated reference book The Right to Die: The Law of End-of-Life Decision Making, and co-authors Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking: A Compassionate Widely Available Option for Hastening Death. Pope also manages the Medical Futility Blog and can be reached on X @ThaddeusPope.
Why physicians should care about the False Claims Act [PODCAST]

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He discusses the KevinMD article, In the crosshairs: The False Claims Acts new targets in health care.

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Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova hopes that Ukraine will soon receive additional assistance from the United States, noting the continued strong bipartisan support for Kyiv in Congress.

"Based on my discussions at Capitol Hill, I can say clearly that we continue to have very strong bipartisan support despite these very difficult discussions, despite the fact that discussions are ongoing and we were unable to see passage of a relief package before Christmas, and discussions are still ongoing. But there is great progress in this," Markarova said during a panel discussion at the Ukraine House in Davos on Monday.

The ambassador emphasized that there are no discussions in Congress about whether to help Ukraine or not, but the question is about the issue of the southern border, which is tied to the aid package to Ukraine and Israel.

"And we are praying and talking to all our friends and allies and asking them to find a solution as quickly as possible so that we can move forward and get the support that we need, because we needed it yesterday," Markarova added.

She noted that now the issue of not only defense support, but also budgetary support is very important for Ukraine, since this is necessary for economic development and ensuring investment.

"I can tell you that Americans understand this fight and support it because we are fighting for the values on which America was founded. Now, how to move from support, from understanding to decision-making and getting the support that we need transformed into dollars and weapons, is the number one challenge. And I really hope that we have come to the end of this process and will soon receive additional support from Ukraine," the ambassador emphasized.

Markarova pointed out that discussions are ongoing in democratic countries, and also "this is a very difficult election year." Therefore, as the diplomat explained, the question is how to go through democratic processes, "but at the same time, how to quickly make decisions."

"Because Iran, North Korea, Russia, Hamas are showing that they are capable of making quick decisions, helping each other and committing their terrible war crimes. Now the question is for democratic countries: can we do this? And I think that's one of the biggest discussions," she said.

In October, U.S. President Joseph Biden sent a request to Congress for financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $61.4 billion for a year, as well as $14.3 billion to strengthen Israel's defense. In addition, Biden has requested $13.6 billion to secure the U.S.-Mexico border and $7.4 billion for other national security priorities. In total, the U.S. President asked Congress for approval for additional funding in the amount of $106.7 billion.
The Kampala High Court adjourned the hearing of an application filed by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Jane Frances Abodo, seeking to review criminal proceedings in businessman, Henry Katangas murder case.

The DPP accuses the Nakawa Magistrates Court of exceeding its authority by accepting pleas and setting a bail hearing for a capital offense, which can only be tried and granted bail by the High Court.

The postponement came after Chief State Attorney Jonathan Muwaganya informed presiding Judge Isaac Muwata that the DPP needs to amend the application to include Martha Nkwanzi Katanga, the deceaseds daughter, who was recently charged.

The DPPs complaint is that Nakawa Chief Magistrate Elias Kakooza lacked jurisdiction to entertain pleas for the four jailed suspects, as they are listed on the same chargesheet with Molly Katanga, the widow, who faces the capital offense of murder.

The four suspects include; Katangas two daughters, Martha Nkwanzi and Patricia Kakwanza; the familys shamba boy, George Amanyire; and a medical practitioner, Dr. Charles Otai.

They are charged with destroying evidence and being accessories after the fact in the shooting of patriarch Henry Katanga on November 2, 2023, at their Mbuya home.

While the prosecution awaits the courts decision on its application, defense lawyers will present bail applications for the respective accused tomorrow before Justice Isaac Muwata.
The Director of Criminal Investigations in Kenya is investigating a case of a 25-year-old woman who was brutally murdered in a rental apartment in Roysambu, Thika Road, in Nairobi county by an unknown assailant on Sunday morning.

A police report confirmed the incident, noting that the prime suspect, a middle-aged man, booked and checked into the apartment on Saturday (January 13, 2024) afternoon.

The body of the woman which was found dismembered and stuffed into a polythene bag, was dumped into a dustbin before the assailant walked out of the apartment after returning the key.

An unknown person who checked in the house is suspected have murdered an unknown middle aged female Of about 25 years, a police report filed at Kasarani Police Station read in part.

Kenyans have raised alarm over the rising cases of deaths, witnessed in the country after a lady identified as Starlet Wahu, was also killed in another rental apartment barely a week ago.
By Winnie Watenya

The Minister of Energy and Mineral Development Ruth Nankabirwa has assured all foreign investors who would wish to invest in Energy and Mineral Development in Uganda of all the necessary policies and supportive legislations.

Minister Nankabirwa talked about the energy strategy that was passed by Cabinet to increase the countrys energy among others.

She was speaking at the ongoing East Africa Trade and Business Investment Forum at Serena Hotel in Kampala.

The East African Trade and Investment Forum as part of the ongoing Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit. The forum which is expected to be graced by President Museveni brings together different business communities in the NAM countries.

Over 100 investors are expected to seal investment deals worth Shs378b with Uganda Investment Authority, Private Sector Foundation of Uganda, and, the Uganda Chambers of Commerce and Industry, among.
Opposition politicians under the United Forces of Change (UFC) group have expressed strong dissatisfaction with the declining state of democracy and governance in Uganda. At a joint press conference held at Dr. Kizza Besigyes Katonga Road office in Kampala, they urged Ugandans to rise up and fight for their rights.

The conference was attended by prominent figures, including National Unity Platform leader Robert Kyagulanyi, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Katonga faction president Erias Lukwago, former FDC leader Dr. Kizza Besigye, and Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) leaders led by Winnie Kiiza. Representatives from Uganda Peoples Congress, Democratic Party, Congress Party, and PPP were also present.

Presenting a joint statement, ANT program coordinator Winnie Kiiza called for national unity and collective action to end what she described as a reign of terror characterized by a sinking economy, poor public services, military trials of political opponents, crumbling infrastructure, and human rights violations.

She emphasized that the struggle for change requires collaboration from religious leaders, professionals, civil society organizations, and the wider Ugandan population.

Kiiza further revealed the UFCs plan for various activities aimed at bringing about change. These include highlighting the countrys poor infrastructure to a visiting delegation of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) leaders later in the week. This initiative will involve symbolically planting trees in the city.

Additionally, joint prayer meetings are planned for Iganga on Monday and Lira on Tuesday.
BY THE CITIZEN

In a tit-for-tat move, the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) has suspended all Kenya Airways (KQ) passenger flights between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam with effect from January 22, 2024.

Kenya Airways operates 33 scheduled flights per week between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.

This is in response to Kenyas recent rejection of Tanzanias request to allow its airline, Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL), to operate cargo flights between Nairobi and third countries.

The TCAA cited the Kenyan authorities refusal as a violation of Section 4 of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Air Services signed between the two countries in 2016. This section provides for reciprocal treatment of airlines from both countries.

Read: Why inter-city flying in the region is costly and tiring

This decision is based on the principle of reciprocity, following the refusal by the Kenyan authorities to grant approval for ATCLs cargo flights despite the clear provisions of the MoU, stated TCAA Director General Hamza S. Johari in a public notice.

Johari further emphasised Tanzanias commitment to international aviation regulations and bilateral agreements, stating, The United Republic of Tanzania shall always strive to adhere to the principles of Chicago Convention 1944 and Bilateral Air Services Agreement between States.

The sudden suspension of KQ flights is expected to significantly impact passengers travelling between the two countries.

Thousands rely on this route for business, tourism, and family connections. While alternative airlines operate on the route, the loss of KQs flights will undoubtedly lead to reduced options and potentially higher fares.

The dispute between Tanzania and Kenya over air travel rights has been simmering for several months.

In August 2020, Tanzania banned KQ flights for a brief period after Kenya excluded Tanzanians from a list of countries whose citizens could enter without quarantine restrictions.

The ban was later lifted, but tensions remained high.

The current situation raises concerns about the future of air travel between the two countries. Both Tanzania and Kenya stand to lose from this disruption, particularly the tourism and business sectors.
Almost 51% of drug importers in nine months of 2023 have no licenses  Accounting Chamber

Almost 51% of importers of medicines had no licenses to import medicines based on the results of January-September 2023.

As the Accounting Chamber reported based on the results of an audit of the effectiveness of planning, accrual and receipts of VAT on operations for the import of medicines and medical products into the customs territory of Ukraine, in the absence of control by the State Customs Service in 2021, almost 70% of importers did not have such licenses, in 2022 - 59%.

"The State Service on Medicines and Drugs Control did not check such entrepreneurs. As a result, there are risks of selling low-quality, counterfeit medicines on the Ukrainian market," the chamber notes.

According to auditors, during random checks of customs declarations at Volyn, Dnipro, Lviv and Odesa customs, 46 cases of unjustified application of the 7% VAT rate and unjustified application of certain VAT tax benefits were identified, as a result of which almost UAH 24 million were not received into the state budget.

Moreover, at Lviv customs, when taxing VAT on imported goods under the same code, different rates were applied - 7% and 20%, as a result of which "there is a risk only due to the established fact of a shortfall of UAH 70 million to the state budget."

The auditors in the report also noted the risks of production and circulation of counterfeit, low-quality, expired medicines and medical products due to the unlawful use of VAT tax benefits by taxpayers.

"After the introduction in March 2022 of a moratorium on inspections by the State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs Control, inspections decreased sixfold (compared to 2021), the level of fines increased from 16.3% to 33.3%. The number of inspections of the quality and safety of medicines in 2022 and January-September 2023 decreased by more than four times compared to 2021, the volume of accrued fines in January-September 2023 increased by almost 19% compared to the annual figure for 2022," the auditors cited statistics.

The auditors remind that during 2021-2022 and nine months of 2023, the pharmaceutical industry was supported through complete tax exemption for certain types of transactions on these goods, as well as a reduced VAT rate of 7%. Benefits were provided for UAH 28.2 billion.

"The corresponding incentives slowed the rise in prices for pharmaceutical products, but their effectiveness was low," the auditors noted.
Kilkenny's Linda Codoul has taken up the role of National President of Network Ireland 2024, following the groups AGM at the weekend.

Her aim for this year is to promote the growth of the organisations 17 branches around the country, as she succeeds Kildares Emma Early Murphy.



A business support specialist, Linda spent 10 years working in the banking sector before leaving in 2022 for an administration role with US healthcare company Abbott. She has Master's in management, a degree in finance and qualifications in project management and relationship manager support.



She joined Network Ireland in 2017 and was Kilkenny Branch President in 2021. Despite being in lockdown for most of the year, branch membership doubled due to increased direct membership contact.



A Step Ahead is Lindas theme for 2024 and she believes that being a member of Network Ireland will help give anyone a boost in their career.

I firmly believe that I would not be the person I am today, and my career would not be where it is if I was not a member of Network Ireland. If you want to be A Step Ahead of your peers, you should consider becoming a member of Network Ireland which creates connections with women from a large variety of businesses all over the country.

"Ive received invaluable advice and support from other members since joining the organisation and this has had an incredible impact on my life and, in particular, my career. Having a support network outside of my employment and family offers a fresh perspective without bias. Network Ireland now has 1,200 members and I want to help our branches grow stronger this year.



Linda has chosen The Rise Foundation as this years charity partner. The Rise Foundation supports families impacted by a loved one's addictive behaviour through awareness, education, and therapy.

Linda has paid tribute to outgoing president Emma Early Murphy. Emma was an incredible President and with her strong leadership skills, energy, drive and commitment to the role led many positive influential changes for our organisation as we Step Ahead into 2024. She was a fantastic role model for all our members, new and old, and achieved so much over the past year, most notably an increase of 35% in our membership base as well as the establishment of the All Island Grow It Programme in collaboration with our colleagues Women In Business in Northern Ireland supported by IntertradeIreland. I would like to personally thank her for the dedication she showed in 2023 and I look forward to continuing to work with Emma in 2024.



Network Ireland has confirmed that it will continue its ongoing partnership with AIB. Elaine Downey, Head of Products, Retail Banking at AIB, said: I am delighted that AIB and Network Ireland will continue to work together through our long established partnership. AIB is a strong supporter of women in enterprise and we see our partnership with Network Ireland as a great fit as we continue to back female led businesses. Network Ireland is a wonderful resource for female entrepreneurs and with AIBs presence across Ireland, we will continue to proactively support the organisations members.
It was with great aplomb that Minister Malcolm Noonan warmly welcomed the arrival of the Kilkenny Naturalists Field Club in Butler House on Monday.

Just over 30 people braved the frozen elements to support and be a part of this new club, established to informally discover Kilkennys rich natural heritage. There have been many changes in the county, both in urban and rural Kilkenny, and indeed Minister Noonan has witnessed many of them in later years.

Field clubs occur sporadically around the island of Ireland, with Belfast leading as far back as 1863, with Dublin Cork and Limerick following on. The purpose of the field club is to seek to record, through citizen science, our various fauna and flora, on outings and through presentations. Government bodies, such as NPWS, the EPA, and Coillte, cannot cover all habitats, at all times, but with a small, yet dedicated, army of enthusiasts it is hoped to add collectively to the knowledge of the state of Kilkennys natural environment, over time.

Attendees last night were treated to the guest speaker Mr. Sean Ronayne of Irish Wildlife Sounds. Sean has recently been a guest on the Tommy Tiernan show and we all were enthralled by Seans knowledge, passion, and dedication to his studies of birds. From Senegal to the high Artic, we were transported via various bird calls, with a range of fascinating facts and examples of where Irish birds hold secrets that Sean is now beginning to unlock.

With new club and members, a few excursions around the county with some key speakers, throughout the year are now planned.

Anyone seeking to find out more, or to join, membership is for anyone over 18 years of age, and it attracts a small cover charge of 10.00 to assist with cost outlays. Further information can be found on our Facebook Page: Kilkenny Naturalists Field Club page
Some of Kilkennys best up and coming craft and design businesses will be part of over 100 businesses from across Ireland who will get a chance to meet with buyers from all over the world as part of the Local Enterprise Showcase at the 2024 Showcase event in the RDS, running from January 21 to 23.

An initiative of the Local Enterprise Offices, the Local Enterprise Showcase, is a special area at Showcase that houses a range of Irelands newest design talent. This year, Kilkenny is represented at Showcase by three locally based businesses; Anne Healy of Biddys Good Luck Horse Shoes produces beautiful pieces of Irish Good Luck from Genuine Horse Shoes. Siadbh Duffy handcrafts crystal amulets using 14ct gold filled, 9ct recycled solid gold or recycled silver materials to pair with each crystal. Geraldine Walsh produces original oil paintings, fine art prints and cards of the beautiful Irish landscape.

The event, which is a pinnacle event in the global design and crafts calendar, will open its doors to thousands of buyers from across the world, including Ireland, the UK, USA, mainland Europe, Asia and Africa, generating millions of euros of sales orders during the show.

Showcase is presented on behalf of Design & Crafts Council Ireland, with support from Enterprise Ireland in promoting the trade show internationally through their network of offices overseas, and the Local Enterprise Offices nationwide.



Local Enterprise Office Kilkenny has been working with Anne, Siadbh and Geraldine on merchandising for their stands, marketing, and sales techniques to ensure they maximise opportunities at the three-day event.

Acting Head of Enterprise with Local Enterprise Office Kilkenny, Aileen McGrath believes this is an opportunity like no other for up-and-coming craft and design clients looking to make that break through.

To be exposed to this many high-quality buyers in one place is an incredible opportunity for any business starting out. If things go well at this event, a business could fill their book for the year and may well establish a partnership that could extend longer than that and help them grow.

While that wont happen for every business, just to be here, see other clients, get new ideas and develop their skills in marketing and sales will stand by them going forward,she added.

showcaseireland.com
Russia is failing on strategic goals, having defeats in military, economic and diplomatic terms, this indicates that Ukraine can prevail in this war, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has said.

"Of course, like in all democracies, our freedom comes with risks. There will always be those who try to exploit our openness, both from within and without. There will always be attempts to push us off track for example with disinformation and misinformation. And nowhere has there been more of that than on the issue of Ukraine. So let me provide some real information. Russia is failing on strategic goals. It is first and foremost a military failure," she said during a special address at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Tuesday.

The President of the European Commission said when Russia invaded Ukraine, many feared that Kyiv would fall in just a few days, and the rest of the country within weeks; that did not happen.

"Instead, Russia has lost roughly half of its military capabilities. Ukraine has driven Russia out of half the territories it had captured. Ukraine has pushed back Russia's Black Sea Fleet and re-opened a maritime corridor to deliver grain to the world. And Ukraine has retained its freedom and independence," she said.

Von der Leyen also said Russia's failure is also economic. In particular, Russia's failure is also economic and sanctions have decoupled its economy from modern technology and innovation; Russia is now dependent on China.

"And, finally, Russia's failure is also diplomatic. Finland has joined NATO. Sweden will follow soon. And Ukraine is closer than ever to the European Union. All of this tells us that Ukraine can prevail in this war. But we must continue to empower their resistance," the President of the European Commission said.

She said Ukrainians need predictable financing throughout 2024 and beyond; they need a sufficient and sustained supply of weapons to defend Ukraine and regain its rightful territory.

"They need capabilities to deter future attacks by Russia. And they also need hope. They need to know that, with their struggle, they will earn a better future for their children. And Ukraine's better future is called Europe. It was with immense joy that last month we decided to launch the negotiations for Ukraine's EU membership. This will be Ukraine's historic achievement. And it will be Europe responding to the call of history," von der Leyen said.
At the beginning of the new year, Hefei International Land Port has entered a busy working mode, ushering in a "good start." So far in 2024, the China-Europe freight trains from Hefei have operated 43 trips, with an average of 3 to 4 trains per day. The total number of operating trains and the number of return trains have both increased significantly compared to the same period last year. Since the beginning of this year, the total number of China-Europe freight trains from Hefei has doubled compared to the same period last year. Among them, 22 trains were sent outbound, and 21 trains returned, achieving a balance between outbound and inbound services, providing strong support for companies to carry out import and export services. Furthermore, the China-Europe freight trains from Hefei have expanded their network. In January, five new routes, including Isakogorka, and Kresty, were added, along with one new station. The responsible person of Hefei International Land Port expressed that in the new year, Hefei International Land Port will further integrate deeply into the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. It will continuously build new platforms, open up new space, fully invest in the construction of Hefei's large-scale logistics system, and strengthen the fundamental, strategic, and leading role of train operations. It will explore the operation of "dual-cycle" trains integrating domestic and foreign trade, further enhance the integration of resource elements, promote trade through transportation, and promote transportation through trade, and focus on serving the high-quality development of Anhui Province's opening-up. In the past year, the China-Europe freight trains from Hefei operated 868 trips, with a year-on-year growth of 13.02%. Among them, the number of trains in the return direction reached 339, showing a year-on-year growth of 32.91%. Since its operation in 2014, the China-Europe freight trains from Hefei have continuously enriched their routes, improved quality, and expanded capacity. They have operated over 3,600 trains, covering 126 cities and stations in 18 countries across the Eurasian continent.

Source: anhuinews.com
The Polish Ministry of Infrastructure on Tuesday signed an agreement with protesting Polish truck drivers to end the blockade of three Polish-Ukrainian border crossing points (BCPs) that began on November 6 until March 1, Polish Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak said on Tuesday.

"We have signed an agreement with representatives of the Polish transport industry, which will result in the cessation of protests at road border crossing points in three places until March 1: Korczowa, Hrebenne, Dorohusk," Klimczak said.

As Poland's Ministry of Infrastructure stated in a press release on its website, the parties entered into mutual agreements to create conditions for the continuation of activities aimed at solving the problems of the Polish transport industry and restoring balance in the international road transport market between Poland and Ukraine.

The agreement contains seven points, among which, in particular: legislative work aimed at changing national legislation, proposals to amend the EU-Ukraine agreement, monitoring the implementation of agreements reached between the Polish and Ukrainian sides, including in terms of improving border control registration of empty vehicles from Ukraine, strengthening the control system of Polish services to identify unauthorized transport not covered by the EU-Ukraine agreement, as well as analysis of possible financial support.

As part of the agreement, representatives of the Protesters Committee were invited to work in a team created by the Ministry of Infrastructure to solve problems on the Polish-Ukrainian border.

"I hope that by March 1, 2024, it will be possible to implement the actions specified in the agreement we had signed. My goal is to achieve a balance in the international road freight transport market between Poland and Ukraine and ensure appropriate protection of the interests of domestic road haulers," Klimczak said.

In turn, the leader of the Polish protesters, Rafa Mekler, said on Facebook after the signing of the agreement that the protesters expect the government to fulfill its obligations and comply with the terms of the agreement.

The protest of Polish truckers with the blockade of Yahodyn - Dorohusk, Krakovets - Korczowa and Rava Ruska - Hrebenne BCPs began on November 6, and on November 22 the blockade extended to Shehyni - Medyka BCP, while only points for passing empty vehicles and points for light-duty vehicles remained unblocked.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Davos on Tuesday to discuss the further bilateral defense cooperation between their countries.

"I had a substantive meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. We discussed the further defense cooperation between Ukraine and the United States. Air defense and long-range means are of major importance for our country," Zelenskyy said on the Telegram channel.

He thanked U.S. President Joseph Biden, the Congress and the entire American nation for their unwavering and strong support for Ukraine.

The meeting was also attended by National Security Advisor to the President of the United States Jake Sullivan and U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery Penny Pritzker, the press service of the Ukrainian president said.

The parties discussed preparations for the NATO anniversary summit to be held in the United States, and the issue of attracting international investment to Ukraine, particularly in defense production.

"The interlocutors noted that the goal of cooperation is to increase Ukraine's self-reliance and reduce its reliance on foreign military and financial aid," the press service said.

Zelenskyy briefed Blinken on the situation on the battlefield, as well as on the priorities of the Ukrainian Defense Forces for the current year and the means to fulfill them.

The participants of the meeting emphasized the importance of working on a bilateral document within the framework of the G7 Joint Declaration adopted at the previous NATO summit in Vilnius.

In turn, Blinken promised the continuation of the U.S. support to Ukraine, while the negotiations in the Congress on the validation of a new assistance package have stalled.

"We are committed to maintaining our support for Ukraine and we are working very closely with the Congress. I know our European colleagues will do the same," Le Monde quoted him as saying.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, the press service of the Ukrainian president has said.

"The President of Ukraine and the President of the European Commission agreed to start screening Ukrainian legislation, which is another step towards the opening of negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the European Union," it said.

The interlocutors discussed the key priorities of the EU-Ukraine agenda for the near future, as Ukraine approaches the actual opening of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU.

Particular attention was paid to the importance of unblocking the decision to provide EUR 50 billion of EU assistance to our country at an extraordinary session of the European Council to be held on February 1, 2024. Zelenskyy expressed hope for a consensus on this issue.
The chief nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold talks in Seoul this week on North Korea's latest military provocations amid its growing ties with Russia, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.

Kim Gunn, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, will meet with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Jung Pak and Hiroyuki Namazu, respectively, for three-way talks Thursday.

Kim will also hold separate bilateral talks with Pak earlier that day and with Namazu on Wednesday.

The three "plan to share their assessments of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, including North Korea's recent provocations and escalating tensions, its military cooperation and exchanges with Russia, and discuss measures to respond," ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a press briefing.

The planned talks come as North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui was set to hold talks with her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Moscow on Tuesday. Kremlin said it intends to further develop its partnership with Pyongyang "in all areas."

Choe's visit came amid concerns the North has been providing weapons to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine in return for Moscow's technical assistance in advanced arms development.

On Sunday, the North test-fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile into the East Sea, in its first ballistic missile launch this year, after the firings of artillery shells near the western sea border on Jan. 5 and 7.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called in a key parliamentary meeting Monday for stipulating in its constitution that South Korea is an "invariable principal enemy," warning he will not avoid war if he has to.

The upcoming talks among the nuclear envoys will also mark the first of its kind since Pak, previously the deputy U.S. nuclear envoy, took over the post from Sung Kim, with the new title of "senior official for the DPRK." The DPRK is the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. (Yonhap)
Norway is halting adoptions of children from the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan and South Korea pending an investigation into several allegedly illegal cases, a Norwegian newspaper reported Tuesday.

The Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs told the VG newspaper that families already assigned a child from the the Philippines, Thailand or Taiwan will be allowed to complete the adoption process, but only after an assessment by the agency.

Couples who received approval to adopt from South Korea also will be permitted to proceed even if they were not yet matched with a child, the newspaper said.

A majority of the children adopted in Norway come from South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and Colombia, according to national statistics.

The head of the directorate, Hege Nilssen, said earlier this month that an examination of the adoption system was needed following media reports of allegedly illegal adoptions. VG reported that some children in the Philippines were sold and given false birth certificates.

The risk of document forgery is so great that we cannot be sure that the childrens legal security is safeguarded, VG quoted the directorate as saying in announcing the suspension of adoptions from the four countries.

In November, the same agency also stopped adoptions from Madagascar, citing a lack of security to ensure they would "be carried out in accordance with international principles for adoption.

Sweden's only adoption agency said in November that was halting adoptions from South Korea following claims of falsified papers on the origins of children adopted from the Asian country .

Norway has three private adoption agencies. Verdens Barn handles adoptions from Thailand, South Korea and South Africa; Inoradopt arranges adoptions of children from Hungary, Taiwan, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic; and Adoptionsforum facilitates adoptions of children from the Philippines, Colombia and Peru. (AP)




Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Variably cloudy with snow showers. Temps nearly steady in the low to mid 30s. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 60%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. A few flurries are possible. Low 27F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.
Angola, IN (46703)

Today

Cloudy with snow. Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 90%. Snow accumulations less than one inch..

Tonight

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. A few flurries are possible. Low 26F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.
It is better to put an end to Russian President Vladimir Putin's war strategy now before his aggression is spread to the other territories, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday.

"The full-scale war in Europe has been ongoing for nearly two years. Counting the time since Russia's illegal annexation of our Crimea, it's been almost 10 years. And for almost 10 years, Russia has been interfering in African countries, from Sudan to Mali. The Syrian war, still bleeding because of Putin's decision to prove something to the world, has been ongoing for almost 13 years," he said.

Zelenskyy also said Putin "has stolen at least 13 years of peace replacing them with pain, pain, pain and crises that impact the entire world. Putin is trying to normalize what should have ended in the 20th century  mass deportations, cities and villages razed to the ground, and the terrifying feeling that the war may never end."

"In fact, Putin embodies war. We all know that he is the sole reason why various wars and conflicts persist, and why all attempts to restore peace have failed. And he will not change. He will not change," he said.

"And he will not change. He will not change. We must change. We all must change to the extent that the madness that resides in this mans head or any other aggressor's head will not prevail," the president of Ukraine said.

Zelenskyy emphasized that "Putin is frank about what he wants, what he does, and who his targets are. His answer to the limits of chaos in the world is the boundless support of terrorist forces. He enjoys conflicts that cause suffering to others."

"Regimes like his exist as long as they wage wars. And we  we all in the free world  exist as long as we can defend ourselves. If anyone thinks this is only about Ukraine, theyre fundamentally mistaken," he said.

Zelenskyy asked, addressing the participants of the forum, which European nation today can provide a combat ready army on par with that of Ukraine, holding back Russia.

"And how many men and women are your nations ready to send to defend another state, another nation? If one must fight against Putin together in the years ahead, isn't it better to put an end to him and his war-strategy now, while our brave men and women are already doing it? They are the worlds chance. They are," he said.
Auburn, IN (46706)

Today

Variable clouds with snow showers. Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 80%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. A few flurries are possible. Low 27F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.
SEVENTEEN recently held a two-day concert in Bulacan, the Philippines. While CARATs were excited for the show, the group and concert-goers had to endure several accidents, spurring backlash against the organizers.

Keep on reading for all the details.

Live Nation Draws Flak for Numerous Accidents During SEVENTEEN's Concert in the Philippines

After finishing their schedules in Japan and attending the 2024 Golden Disc Awards, SEVENTEEN continued on to the next leg of their Asian tour, "Follow." Their most recent stop was Bulacan, the Philippines, with a two-day concert from January 13 to 14.

The concert was held at the Philippines Arena and was attended by tens of thousands of fans filling the seats. Here, CARATs experienced unique and immersive moments with their favorite idols.

However, a number of organizational accidents and unfavorable weather conditions occurred during the two-night show, leading to several accidents.

One of the biggest issues CARATs had to endure was the stadium deteriorating. Many of the seats were cracked, and one whole bench fell out of the seating area. There was also broken cement everywhere, leaving concertgoers terrified. Fans took to social media to share images of the venue, sparking controversy concerning the safety of people who attended the concert.

Additionally, the hot and humid weather in the Philippines caused several inconveniences for concertgoers. One unspoken rule for event organizers is to provide an ample amount of drinking water.

Previously, the organizers of Taylor Swift's concert in Brazil sparked backlash after several fans fainted due to dehydration and heat stroke. Since then, many have urged concert organizers to make sure attendees can buy or receive water.

However, this did not happen. Many fans attending SEVENTEEN's concert complained that the local organizations did not provide enough water at the stadium. Since concertgoers were not allowed to bring their own food and drinks that were not bought from the venue, many slammed Live Nation for being negligent.

Realizing that fans in the stadium were suffering from dehydration, the SEVENTEEN members took it upon themselves to toss water bottles to fans in the standing area.

The first day of SEVENTEEN's two-day concert saw most of the tragedy. During the concert, fans were seen fainting, likely due to crowding or dehydration. Spotting this, members Hoshi, Wonwoo, and The8 immediately sprung into action.

Hoshi urged security to assist the fan who fainted. The other members tried to calm down concertgoers while also reminding them to take care of their health, step back, and be respectful of other people who were watching the concert with them.

While many praised SEVENTEEN for caring so much for their fans, people could not hide their dissatisfaction with the organizers. The tickets were already criticized for being too expensive, and yet the conditions people had to endure were not up to par with expectations.

SEVENTEEN Seungkwan Leaves Concert Mid-Way Due to Health Reasons

During day one, many were saddened when member Seungkwan had to leave the concert early. S.Coups and Jeonghan were already not in attendance due to health reasons, so Seungkwan's absence was felt by all those in attendance.

Thankfully, Seungkwan recovered and was able to join the members for the second day of the concert.

In mid-2023, Seungkwan took a hiatus from activities due to health reasons. After a short break, he returned to activities in October 2023. Though SEVENTEEN always shows their best sides, many hope the group is not sacrificing their health due to their busy schedule.

FOR YOU:ASTRO Cha Eunwoo, NCT Jaehyun, MORE - Korean Teens Name Their Ideal Type Among Male Idols

Following their "Follow" tour, many hope SEVENTEEN will have a long break to recuperate.

KpopStarz Owns This

Written by Alexa Lopez
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has held a meeting with King Philippe I of Belgium and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo in Davos, the press service of the head of the Ukrainian state reported.

"In Davos, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with His Majesty King Philippe I of Belgium and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. The interlocutors discussed the priorities of Belgium's presidency of the Council of the European Union, primarily in the context of Ukraine's approach to the actual start of the negotiation process on EU accession," the presidential press service said on its official website on Tuesday.

The President reportedly thanked His Majesty King Philippe I and Alexander De Croo "for the significant defense support of our state from Belgium. Zelenskyy noted Belgium's decision to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, training of Ukrainian pilots by Belgian specialists, as well as the recent 15th package of defense assistance."

Zelenskyy "highly appreciated Belgium's leadership role in creating a Fund to support Ukraine in the amount of EUR 1.7 billion, which will be filled from taxation of income from frozen Russian assets." The President reportedly stressed the importance of creating an effective mechanism for the confiscation of the aggressor's frozen assets.

The parties also discussed Belgium's participation in the implementation of the provisions of the Ukrainian Peace Formula.
Warming centers still available for those who need them
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has held a meeting with President of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam, at which he invited Singapore to join the Peace Formula and prepare for the Global Peace Summit.

First meeting with Singapore's President Tharman Shanmugaratnam. I am grateful to Singapore for its humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, as well as its support for sanctions and UN resolutions, Zelenskyy said on X Tuesday evening.

Zelenskyy also informed that he invited Singapore to join the Peace Formula and the Global Peace Summit preparations.

We discussed prospective areas of cooperation, such as cybersecurity and agriculture. I emphasized Ukraine's successful defense of free navigation in the Black Sea, which allows us to remain a global food security guarantor, the President said.

Ukraine is interested in developing ties with Singapore and other countries in the region, Zelenskyy noted.
BusinessWire India

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 16: 37 years of legacy in the business, Ashwin Sheth Group (ASG), a renowned brand name in the Indian real estate sector, is thrilled to announce the implementation of global technology leader, SAP S/4HANA along with the help of the implementation partner, Highbar Technocrat, across all the projects and it will be live from July 2024. SAP, the global leader in enterprise application software and cloud application, offers an end-to-end real estate and property management software, built on smart cloud ERP (enterprise resource planning) with best-in-class UX. Addressing the specific needs of the real estate sector, SAP's solutions empower industry players to achieve cost-effective digital transformation and sustainable growth. A trusted SAP implementation partner, Highbar Technocrat's comprehensive solutions portfolio spans the entire real estate value chain - pre-construction, project planning & budgeting, project construction & management, Finance and sales & marketing. Commenting on the partnership, Prabhakar Azad, Chief People and Process Officer, of Ashwin Sheth Group, said, "At Ashwin Sheth Group, we remain committed to the adoption of innovative best practices and digital tools to deliver exceptional value to all our stakeholders. SAP is the gold standard when it comes to ERP solutions, and its implementation will significantly strengthen our status as a technology-led real estate leader. We look forward to working closely with the team at Highbar Technocrat on this endeavour in the months ahead and the partnership is a testament to always staying ahead of the industry. As part of the 2024 expansion plans, we at Ashwin Sheth Group will be adopting many such cutting-edge tech platforms and be a technology-driven company." Commenting on the tech implementations, Bhavik Bhandari, CSMO, of Ashwin Sheth Group, added, "The technological transformation in the Indian real estate sector has undergone a transformational change over a couple of years and the future of real estate will depend on the tech platforms. We have already implemented the apps for CRM, Finance, Sales & Marketing and HR. In the year 2024, it is our brand's vision to be a completely tech-led company and we are already working on the same to implement such apps in the company that ease the process. I'm extremely confident that the partnership with SAP and Highbar will help to achieve and drive the success of the company." Mangesh Wadaje, Chairman & CEO, Highbar Technocrat, added, "We express our sincere appreciation to the Ashwin Sheth Group for placing their trust in us for a crucial role in their digital transformation with SAP. The collaborative journey has commenced, and our anticipation for what lies ahead is boundless. Your endeavour to go ahead on SAP S/4HANA signifies not just a technological shift, but a testament to your commitment to innovation and progress. The enthusiasm to embrace cutting-edge solutions demonstrates a forward-thinking approach that is admirable and sets a precedent for the real estate industry." As one of the most technology-driven enterprises in the real-estate sector, Ashwin Sheth Group prides itself on its adoption of leading-edge digital solutions to streamline and automate business processes. In line with this digital push, the company recently implemented HONO, SMART APP, and SFDC to name a few.

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NewsVoir

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], January 16: With its continued upwards march of growth, and an estimated 35% contribution to India's $7 trillion economy by 2030, the southern states continue to be the powerhouse of India's growth story. To help the South sustain its impressive industrial growth rate it would continue to require highly-skilled managers with a global outlook and vision. Hyderabad's newly launched Badruka School of Management says it's ready to foster world-class managers to steer the success saga.

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The 73-year-old Badruka Educational Society has recently launched the Badruka School of Management (BSM) and also introduced AICTE-approved 2-year Post Graduate Diploma in Management in its continued commitment to excellence.

The program is also aimed at addressing the gap in institutions offering quality management education in Southern India. Despite four management institutions from the South in the top 25 rankings of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), none hail from Telangana or Andhra Pradesh. BSM is designed to address the disparity in the availability of top-tier management education in South India.

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"With a legacy of pioneering higher education in Hyderabad, we are dedicated to filling this void through BSM. Our institution will serve as a talent powerhouse to meet the rising needs of Hyderabad, now the most sought-after destination for Indian and global businesses," said Srikishan Badruka, Secretary of the Badruka Educational Society.

The inaugural batch for the AICTE-approved 2-year Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDBM) will commence classes in August at the expansive 14-acre campus in Hyderabad's Medchal district. Admissions for the program have already commenced.

"BSM aims to be a nurturing ground for the upcoming generation of professionals and entrepreneurs who excel in their respective domains, champion ethical values, and contribute to sustainable progress. Our curriculum at BSM is tailored to meet the demands of today's dynamic industries. We engage top-notch experts to mentor and inspire our students," added Badruka.

Dr Prabhu Aggarwal, the School's Dean and a renowned academic, formerly VC with Bennett University, NIIT University, and OP Jindal University, shared, "At BSM, our vision is clear: to provide a transformative educational experience transcending conventional boundaries. Our curriculum is dynamic, integrating real-world challenges, experiential learning, and the latest industry insights. Our objective is to nurture skilled professionals and ethical leaders capable of navigating complexities with integrity and foresight."

The new-age multidisciplinary curriculum at BSM merges core management principles with modules tailored to emerging industry demands. These include courses in Entrepreneurship, Design Thinking, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning, and Sustainable Business, ensuring students possess versatile skill sets for the contemporary workplace. In addition to these foundational courses, BSM will offer specialised tracks in the second year: Finance, Marketing, Strategy, Data Analytics & Digital Technologies, and Innovation & Entrepreneurship. These courses will be taught by leading domestic and international faculty members, allowing students to gain insights from both industry and academia.

Beyond academics, BSM will be committed to sustainability. The School has integrated eco-friendly practices on campus, featuring a meditation centre where students can unwind and connect with nature. Additionally, initiatives like waste management and solar panelling demonstrate BSM's dedication to fostering an environmentally conscious community.

Visit: badrukaschoolofmanagement.edu.in.

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PRNewswire

Udaipur (Rajasthan) [India], January 16: Indian Institute of Management Udaipur has launched a unique Summer Program in Management primarily designed for MBA aspirants. This program is for students who want to experience student life at an IIM as a build-up to applying for an MBA program and those interested in a one-time experience. This two-week on-campus summer program is the first ever offered by any IIM. The program will be held at IIM Udaipur campus from June 01, 2024, to June 14, 2024.

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The program will cover the essential aspects of management studies, focusing on Business Environment, Innovation and entrepreneurship, Digital Transformation, and Business Communication. The participants will get exposure to the Case Method of teaching and earn an IIM Udaipur - Summer Program in Management - Certificate of Participation on completing the program.

The program provides a unique opportunity to learn from the distinguished faculty of IIM Udaipur, visiting industry experts and their peers from the entire country in a dynamic, supportive, and thriving academic environment. Participants will get an opportunity to network with faculty and MBA students of IIM Udaipur.

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Students above 18 who are either graduates or have completed the first year of graduation can apply for this Summer Program. You can visit the official website of IIM Udaipur (https://www.iimu.ac.in/) to learn more and to apply for the program. Interested students can apply for the program from January 10, 2024, till May 15, 2024.

"IIM Udaipur is offering the first ever Pre-MBA Summer Program in Management by an IIM, which is specifically designed for those students who aspire to study MBA in the future. This program provides a unique opportunity to experience campus life, study and learn at a prestigious IIM. Students will get the opportunity to network with faculty, MBA students and fellow participants from throughout the country, and explore the historic city of Udaipur."- Prof. Rajesh Agrawal, Chairperson, Summer Program in Management

About IIM Udaipur:

IIM Udaipur is well on its way to becoming a globally recognised B-School. It has broken new ground by focusing on world-class research and transforming students into tomorrow's managers and leaders. The Institute arrived on the global education stage by securing accreditation from the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) in merely eight years of its establishment. With this accreditation, IIM Udaipur is counted in the same league of global institutes, such as Harvard Business School, Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and the MIT Sloan School.

IIM Udaipur is ranked 16th by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) Rankings 2023 of the HRD Ministry. IIM Udaipur is the only IIM in the Top 100 of the prestigious FT Masters In Management World Rankings consecutively for 5 Years since 2019. Ranked #5 amongst IIMs in the list of 2023. Indian Institute of Management Udaipur featured in the prestigious Masters in Management (MIM) QS World University Rankings 2024 for the fifth consecutive year. IIMU is also currently ranked 4th in India, after ISB, IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore, for research in management according to the methodology used by UT Dallas, which tracks publications in the leading global journals.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2318392/IIMU_Campus.jpgLogo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2183220/4494404/IIMU_Logo.jpg

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Davos [Switzerland], January 16 (ANI): In a key reach-out at the 2024 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Union Minister Smriti Irani launched the WE-LEAD: Women Leadership Lounge.

The announcement was made via social platform X, with Minister Puri expressing his delight at joining Smriti Irani and industry leaders for the inauguration.

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Minister Puri posted on X, "Was a delight to join my colleague Smriti Irani along with captains of the industry at the launch of the We Lead Lounge at Davos 2024. The Lounge showcases the role of women in economies & is set to have wide-ranging discussions on opportunities in women-led development."

The WE-LEAD Lounge stands out as India's first initiative dedicated to women's leadership, emphasizing the crucial role women play in economies globally.

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Minister Puri's post hinted at the inclusive discussions that would take place, focusing on the vast opportunities within women-led development.

Smriti Irani, posting on a social media platform, provided further insights into the significance of this pioneering initiative.

Smriti Z Irani posted on X, "Honored to announce the inauguration of the groundbreaking WE-LEAD: Women Leadership Lounge, alongside esteemed colleague Shri @HardeepSPuri, at #WEF2024 in Davos. This pioneering initiative, India's first Women Leadership Lounge, aligns with the vision of Women-Led Development championed by PM Shri @NarendraModi. Spearheaded by @MinistryWCD in collaboration with @FollowCII and supported by @gatesfoundation, the lounge reflects India's steadfast commitment to fostering growth propelled by women. Throughout the five-day event at @WEF, the WE-LEAD Lounge will host insightful sessions where global leaders, politicians, development institutions, industry magnates, think tanks and media luminaries will engage in impactful discussions, envisioning a future where women lead, inspire, and propel global economic advancement".

The Women Leadership Lounge aligns seamlessly with the vision of Women-Led Development championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Spearheaded by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and supported by the Gates Foundation, the lounge underscores India's unwavering commitment to fostering growth propelled by women.

The WE-LEAD Lounge's inauguration is a testament to India's progressive stance on gender inclusivity and the active role women can and should play in shaping economic and societal landscapes.

This initiative seeks to create a platform for insightful sessions during the five-day WEF event, bringing together a diverse array of participants.

Global leaders, politicians, representatives from development institutions, industry magnates, think tanks and media luminaries will engage in impactful discussions, envisioning a future where women lead, inspire, and propel global economic advancement.

The collaborative effort between the Ministry of Women and Child Development, CII, and the Gates Foundation reflects a holistic approach toward empowering women.

India's commitment to this cause resonates not only within its borders but also on the global stage, as evidenced by the launch of the WE-LEAD Lounge at Davos.

The lounge's agenda is poised to cover a spectrum of topics ranging from economic empowerment to leadership in various sectors.

By bringing together influential figures from diverse fields, the discussions aim to identify opportunities, address challenges, and forge a path toward a future characterized by gender equality and women taking the lead.

This initiative falls in line with the broader narrative of women's empowerment, a key focus area for India.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has been at the forefront of implementing policies and initiatives that uplift and empower women across the nation.

Collaborating with influential partners like the CII and the Gates Foundation amplifies the impact of these efforts, creating a ripple effect on a global scale.

The insights and outcomes generated during these sessions have the potential to shape policies, influence corporate practices, and inspire individuals and organizations to actively contribute to the vision of a more inclusive and equitable world.

The launch of the WE-LEAD- Women Leadership Lounge at WEF 2024 in Davos marks a significant stride toward recognizing and harnessing the potential of women in leadership roles.

With India taking the lead in this initiative, the global stage is set for conversations that go beyond rhetoric, paving the way for tangible actions that empower women and contribute to holistic economic and social development. (ANI)

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Davos [Switzerland], January 16 (ANI): The World Economic Forum (WEF) and GovTech Campus Deutschland, with support from the City of Berlin and the German federal government, have announced the inauguration of the Global Government Technology Centre Berlin (GGTC Berlin).

Recognising the transformative potential of government technology, the centre will focus on public sector innovation, digital transformation, and the application of emerging technologies in government and public sector organizations.

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Government technology is poised to become the world's largest software market, with an estimated market size exceeding USD 1 trillion by 2028, according to a statement by the World Economic Forum.

The rapid evolution of technology is reshaping the dynamics between citizens, the private sector, and the state, emphasizing the pressing need for collaborative efforts to understand emerging opportunities, address risks, and pioneer innovative solutions.

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The GGTC Berlin represents a groundbreaking initiative, systematically connecting a national GovTech innovation ecosystem with a global network of experts and practitioners.

This collaborative approach aims to inform and inspire GovTech agendas on a global scale.

Klaus Schwab, Founder and Chairman of the World Economic Forum, highlighted the significance of the new centre, stating, "The new centre in Germany will act as a hub for the Forum's GovTech Network and launch workstreams to scale up existing initiatives that are aimed to unlock the massive potential digital technologies hold for more effective public services and for creating new public value. GovTech may become one of the largest software markets in years to come and drive significant productivity gains for those countries that manage to implement and scale global best practices."

GovTech, expected to emerge as one of the largest software markets, holds the potential for substantial productivity gains, particularly for countries implementing and scaling global best practices.

"With its first federal start-up strategy as well as its digital strategy, the federal government is keen to strengthen the GovTech scene in order to modernize government and public administration," said Robert Habeck, Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany.

He added, "The Global Government Technology Centre will have a direct impact on high-priority government initiatives, for example, in bringing forward AI solutions for the public sector. This strong collaboration between start-ups and government can be crucial in developing and testing democracy-compliant AI solutions. And it will offer German start-ups further business cases in the GovTech field."

The centre will leverage the expertise and network of the GovTech Campus Deutschland and the Forum's global communities, fostering multistakeholder collaboration and technological infrastructure for accelerated digital transformation.

Positioned to drive change both at the national and international levels, the GGTC Berlin aims to accelerate the digital transformation of governments and enhance ecosystem value.

Kai Wegner, Governing Mayor of Berlin, expressed the city's enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating, "This partnership between the World Economic Forum and GovTech Campus Deutschland is of great importance for Berlin as a location for innovation and fits perfectly with our city's modernization agenda. It also shows that Berlin is and remains an attractive location for internationally active organizations - not only in a national but also an international comparison."

The Global Government Technology Centre in Berlin is part of the World Economic Forum's Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) Network, reinforcing the commitment to harnessing technological benefits while minimizing associated risks on a global scale.

The network includes centres across the world, each dedicated to advancing collaborative efforts for the betterment of society through technology. (ANI)

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American actor Kevin Costner's ex-wife Christine Costner has been dating financier Josh O'Connor for months, People reported. Josh Connor, a friend and former neighbour to the now-divorced couple, has been dating Christine since she split from Kevin, a friend of Christine's told People. "Josh was initially just a friend," adds the insider. Christine "likes hanging out with him," said the friend of Connor. Noah Schnapp, an Israel Supporter, Is Now Asking for 'Peace' In His New Video on Palestine Crisis - WATCH!

"He is a divorced dad and understands what she's been going through. They both love the ocean and beach life. It's something that makes Christine happy."

During child support hearings in August 2023, Christine's attorney John Rydell refuted rumours of a romance between the two. He maintained at the time that Connor was only a friend amid her divorce from Kevin, 68, and "nothing more than that."

Christine filed for divorce from Kevin in May last after 18 years of marriage. Following months of legal wrangling, the ex-couple completed their divorce in September, reaching "an amicable and mutually agreed upon resolution of all issues pertaining to their divorce proceedings," according to a joint statement from the couple's representatives. 75th Primetime Emmy Awards: The Bear, Succession, Beef Win Big, Check Out Full List of Winners.

Another source in the Costners' circle told People, "Christine and Connor are dating, although they had a strong friendship before that. Because Christine and Connor are in the same place in their lives, they are having a lot of fun together." Christine dropped off Connor at his home in Montecito, California, on Friday, according to images obtained by the DailyMail. Connor appeared to be pulling a suitcase as he walked away from her vehicle in the pictures.

Connor has previously been sighted on outings with Christine. The two were spotted together in July at a villa in Hualalai, Hawaii, in pictures first published by TMZ. Her children joined them for some beach time. Christine and Kevin have three children - Cayden, 16; Hayes, 14; and Grace, 13.
New Delhi [India], January 16 (ANI): In response to the Prime Minister's call for the cleaning up of temples, Union Minister Anurag Thakur cleaned the premises of Hanuman Temple at Connaught Place (CP) in Delhi on Tuesday.

The Union Minister reached the temple at CP in the morning and wiped clean the floor of the temple premises.

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Anurag Thakur, while speaking to media personnel, said, "The dustbin is kept on one side while the garbage has been thrown on the other side. I think this mindset needs to change."

Earlier during the day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh swept the floor of Hanuman Temple in Lucknow. He was in Lucknow to attend the Army Day events.

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Singh reached Hanuman Setu temple near Lucknow University in the morning, where he picked up a broom and cleaned the floor. Thereafter, he offered prayers.

"Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi has called upon all the countrymen to contribute towards cleanliness in the temples around them. Today, I went to Hanuman Setu temple in Lucknow and did Shramdaan under #SwachhTeerth campaign and got the privilege of serving Hanumanji," the Defence Minister said in a post on 'X'.

On Sunday, BJP president JP Nadda launched a nationwide cleanliness drive at temples. The initiative was launched focusing on temples and will continue until January 22, the day of the Pran Pratishtha of Ram Lala at the Ayodhya Ram temple.

Senior BJP leaders, including Union ministers and Chief ministers of various states, picked up the broom and mop across the country to participate in the cleanliness drive.

Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleaned the premises of the Kalaram Temple in Maharashtra's Nashik as part of the Swachchata Abhiyan campaign. Visuals showed the Prime Minister with a mop and bucket mopping the floor of the temple.

The PM appealed to the people to carry out Swachhata activities (cleanliness drives) at temples across the country ahead of the consecration ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

Delivering his inaugural address at the 27th National Youth Festival in Nashik, the Prime Minister reiterated his call for cleanliness campaigns, urging citizens to clean pilgrimage places and temples across the country on 'Pran Pratishtha' day of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the installation of the idol of Ram Lalla at the grand temple on January 22. (ANI)

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Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], January 16 (ANI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday made derogatory remarks on PM Modi, saying that he is betraying Kannadigas and is following the mantra of 'Ignore-Neglect-Sleep-Repeat' when it comes to the Congress ruling state.

Chief Minister targetted Prime Minister Modi alleging that he is sleeping on the important issues that concerns Karnataka.

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"When the Prime Minister dozes, the nation loses! Narendra Modi is always awake for his personal PR and BJP's campaign but is always seen sleeping on issues concerning Karnataka. A stark reality in Karnataka, where Central funds are reduced or denied, aspirations of Kannadigas are neglected, and relief funds from Union govt yet to reach the farmers. His mantra? Ignore. Neglect. Sleep. Repeat!," Karnataka CM posted on X.

He also mentioned that Karnataka BJP MPs are silent on the matters of the state and are allowing "PM Modi to sleep peacefully".

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"BJP MPs mantra? Maintain silence. Fan Modi. Betray Kannadigas. Allow Modi to Sleep Peacefully. Repeat! Wake up, Mr Prime Minister! Time to ensure the rightful share of Karnataka!," he added.

In another post on X, Karnataka CM also alleged that there were COVID-19 irregularities worth Rs 40,000 crore yet PM Modi remains silent on the issue.

"PM Modi, when asked about the corruption committed by BJP leaders, sleeps," Karnataka CM said.

Earlier last week, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah launched a blistering attack on the Central government over denying the state's tableau at the Republic Day parade on January 26.

"The Central Government has insulted the seven crore Kannadigas by denying the opportunity for the state's tableau at the Republic Day parade to be held in New Delhi on January 26th. Karnataka faced a similar situation even last year as our state's tableau was initially rejected. They later permitted keeping Karnataka elections in mind. This time, the central government has again continued its trend of insulting Kannadigas," he posted on X. (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], January 16 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Tuesday summoned the Principal Secretary (PWD) of the Delhi Government in a matter related to non-payment for the construction of the Sardar Patel Covid Care Centre with 10,000 beds in Chhatarpur in 2020.

Earlier, the High Court had directed the chief secretary to take steps in this regard in March 2023.

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Justice Subramonium Prasad summoned the Principal Secretary of the Public Works Department (PWD) and gave four weeks time. The matter has been listed on February 14.

The high court passed the direction while hearing the plea of Shri Balaji Exims moved through advocate Siddharth S Yadav.

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During the hearing, Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur appeared for the petitioner and submitted that the PWD has been taking time since last year.

Earlier, on March 24, 2023, the high court had directed the Chief Secretary, GNCTD to consider the fact that the petitioner has incurred expenses in providing the services of air-conditioning, donning, and doffing of the roof, waterproofing of the roof, electricals to the entire system, infrastructure for the blood banks for constructing the COVID care facility centre as per the spot quotation/tender dated June 27, 2020, issued to them by GNCTD.

Chief Secretary, GNCTD is directed to file an affidavit within three weeks clearly bringing out the stand of the GNCTD in respect of the case of the petitioner, the bench had directed.

"Prima facie, it appears to this court that the respondents are trying to avoid their responsibility for making payments towards the construction of the largest COVID care facility with 10,000 beds," Justice Gaurang Kanth had observed in the order.

The Chief Secretary is directed to process the necessary work order and relevant approval if the case of the petitioner warrants the same, the bench had ordered.

The petitioner stated that he has undertaken the works for the COVID care facility offering 10,000 beds to the patients of the Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre on an emergent basis within 17 days.

The Delhi government took over the project and inaugurated the same on July 5, 2020, with much fanfare and publicity, the petitioner stated.

Political parties took credit for the construction of the first COVID Care Centre in the city, consisting of 10,000 beds, it added.

Senior Counsel N Hariharan for the petitioner has submitted that after the inauguration of the project, it received a lot of global applaud for being the country's largest COVID-19 facility Centre.

He further submitted that When the petitioner approached the respondent for the issuance of a work order and preparation of the necessary and protocol-driven paper work, the respondent went completely silent and non-responsive to the claims of the petitioner.

The petitioner firm sought a direction to the respondents to expeditiously complete & process the paperwork in a time-bound manner including the issuance of work orders enabling the petitioner to submit its bills and invoices for payments for the work already accomplished/completed for constructing and maintaining infrastructure at the Sardar Patel Covid Care Centre offering 10,000 beds to patients located at the Radha Swami Satsang Beas, Chattarpur, New Delhi.

It also sought direction to respondent to expeditiously process the bills & invoices of the petitioner upon its submission in a time bound manner.

The high court had noted, "However, in spite of clear admission, PWD is not processing the petitioner's case for issuance of work order and preparation of the necessary protocol-driven paper work because the administrative approval and expenditure sanction from the Competent Authority is still not available."

The High Court had said that Once it is admitted that the petitioner has undertaken the work of air-conditioning, donning and doffing of the roof, waterproofing of the roof, electricals to the entire system, infrastructure for the blood banks of the Sardar Patel COVID care facility based on the spot quotation/tender dated June 27, 2020 issued by the Government of NCT of Delhi, the petitioner cannot be left to bear the expenses incurred by them subject to the verification aspointed out by the learned counsel for the respondent for creating the World-class COVID Care Centre.

It is to be noted that in an emergent situation, Government of NCT of Delhi had used the services of the petitioner in constructing one of the largest COVID care facility, the bench had said.

The high court had noted, "The construction of COVID care facility was applauded not only within the country but also all across the globe for the commitment which the petitioner has shown towards the citizens of this city.

"In spite of having undertaken the work of providing the services of Air Conditioning, donning and doffing of the roof, waterproofing of the roof, electricals to the entire system, infrastructure for the blood banks for the COVID care facility", the respondents have till date failed to even issue the work order to the petitioner for the work undertaken by it in construction of the so-called largest COVID care facility during such testing times," the bench had said.

"Even after two years of successful completion of the work, the petitioner's case for issuance of work orders has not seen the light of the day and the respondents are passing the buck from one Department to another," the High Court said in a March order last year. (ANI)

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In Ukraine, after January 1, 2025, all unclaimed land plots will be recognized as ownerless, they will be transferred to the municipal ownership of the territorial community in which they are located, Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy for Digital Development, Digital Transformations and Digitalization Denys Bashlyk has said.

"In accordance with Part 4 and Part 5 of Article 13 of the Law of Ukraine "On the procedure for allocating land plots in kind (on the ground) to owners of land shares (plots)", if before January 1, 2025 the owner of an unclaimed land share (plot) or his heir did not register ownership of the land plot, they are considered to have refused to receive the land plot," he explained on Facebook.

The Deputy Minister advised everyone who has certificates for a land share (unit) that have not been replaced with an extract from the Register of Property Rights to ownership of the land plot to urgently register ownership.
Chiephobozou (Nagaland), Jan 16 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that the Ram temple consecration event in Ayodhya has been made into a "Narendra Modi and RSS-BJP function" with an "election flavour", as he strongly defended the decision of his party's top leaders to decline the invite to the ceremony.

Gandhi, whose family and party have been accused of being anti-Hindu by the BJP, also asserted that the Hindu dharma for him is a way of life and he tries to live by its principles, adding that those who "don't believe in it, need to wear it on their shirt".

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"The issue frankly is that the RSS and the BJP have made the 22 January function a completely political, Narendra Modi function.

"It is difficult for us to go to a political function which is designed around the PM and the RSS. We made it clear whoever would like to visit the Ram temple among our partners, among our parties is more than welcome to do so," he said.

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The former Congress chief's remarks at a press conference during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra here came days after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi and the party's leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury declined the invitation to the Ram temple consecration ceremony event on January 22 in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.

Hitting back, the BJP said the Ram temple is a deeply felt emotion by Hindus in every corner of the country and no one wants Rahul Gandhi to interpret how they should practice their beliefs.

"Rahul Gandhi lives in a la-la world. He thinks everything he says is predicated on nobody understanding the truth and he can get away with these atrocious lies," Union minister and BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar told reporters in Delhi.

At the press conference, Rahul Gandhi also asserted there is mutual respect and affection between the leaders of the INDIA bloc and "small problems" in the alliance will be resolved.

He expressed confidence that the seat-sharing issues will be ironed out and claimed that the coalition will defeat the BJP in this year's Lok Sabha polls.

On the Ram temple issue, he said the Congress is open to all religions and practices.

Even the biggest authorities of the Hindu religion have made their view public about what they think about the January 22 function, that it is a political function, Gandhi said.

"It has become an RSS/BJP function and I think that is why the Congress president said he would not go to the function," he said.

"It is difficult for us to visit on the 22nd and say this is the PM's function, this is an RSS function and we are going to attend it. It is not possible," he said.

He alleged the RSS and BJP have given the January 22 function an election and political flavour. That is why the Congress president refused to go there, Gandhi added.

"As far as religion is concerned, we are with all religions. We want to say anyone who wants to go, can go (for temple darshan), from the Congress party, they can go.

"But we cannot be a party to a political function, it becomes very difficult for us when the PM of India and the RSS are principal opponents and have captured a function and turned it into an election function," he alleged.

Asked if he would visit the Ram temple during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Gandhi said the Yatra has a fixed route and they would follow it.

The Yatra would stay for a maximum period of 11 days and pass politically vital areas of Gandhi bastions of Amethi and Rae Bareli and Prime Minister Modi's constituency of Varanasi.

However, Ayodhya was not on the route released by the party.

Asked about criticism of the BJP that the Gandhi family is "anti-Hindu", Gandhi said, "My thinking is that the one who really believes in religion keeps a personal relationship with religion. That person uses religion as a way of life. The one who keeps a public relationship with religion, that person takes advantage of religion."

"I don't try to take advantage of my religion I am not interested in that. I try to live by the principles of the religion. So I behave well with people, I respect people and if someone says something to me then I don't respond with arrogance, I listen to that person, I don't spread hate, this is the Hindu dharma for me and I follow that in my life," the Congress leader said.

He asserted that he doesn't need to wear his religion on his shirt. "Those who don't believe in it, need to wear it on their shirt," Gandhi added.

He asserted that the INDIA bloc is placed very well in taking on the BJP in 2024.

"There is mutual respect and affection between the leaders in the INDIA formation. The INDIA formation is an ideological formation that is placing itself in opposition to the idea of the RSS and the BJP. I am very confident that small problems in the alliance will be resolved. We will fight together and defeat them," Gandhi said.

Replying to a question on the status of the alliance with the Trinamool Congress, he said, "The status of the INDIA alliance is very good. We are in conversation with our partners, the issue of seat sharing is being taken up and I think it is going quite well. A lot of those are quite simple, I am quite confident that they will be resolved."

The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by Gandhi reached Nagaland on Monday evening after it began in Thoubal in Manipur on January 14.

Talking about the Yatra, Gandhi said it was an ideological event designed to place an alternative vision to that of the BJP-RSS combine.

"This is an ideological yatra designed to place certain issues on the table.... A huge amount of injustice is taking place. There will be an election process, we will take part in it, this yatra is to present certain ideas and an alternative vision to what the BJP says, the divisive vision of BJP," the Congress leader said.

The march will pass through 100 Lok Sabha constituencies in 15 states, traversing 6,713 km, mostly in buses but also on foot, and culminate in Mumbai on March 20 or 21.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Ahmedabad, Jan 16 (PTI) As many as 17 persons have complained of partial or complete loss of vision after undergoing cataract surgery at a trust-run hospital in Ahmedabad district, prompting authorities to order a probe, an official said here on Tuesday.

The Gujarat health and family welfare department has formed a nine-member expert committee to conduct an inquiry and also asked the eye hospital at Mandal village not to perform any more cataract surgeries until further orders, said Satish Makwana, deputy director (health and medical services), Ahmedabad region.

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The matter came to light after five persons who underwent surgery at the Ramanand Eye Hospital at Mandal on January 10 were referred to the ophthalmology department at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital on Monday for treatment, he said.

"Twenty-nine persons had undergone cataract surgery at the Mandal hospital on January 10, and of these, 17 developed complications and complained of loss of vision. Five seriously affected patients were referred to Ahmedabad, while 12 were admitted to the same Ramanand Eye Hospital," Makwana told reporters at Mandal.

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Expert doctors were roped in at Ahmedabad and the Mandal-based hospitals to treat the affected patients and conduct an inquiry, he said.

The hospital in Mandal had performed nearly 100 cataract surgeries this month, Makwana said, adding that a camp has been set up at Viramgam town to screen all these patients for complications.

Talking to reporters at the hospital in Mandal, two women, who are among 12 patients undergoing treatment, said they had completely lost vision.

Another woman said the hospital had charged each patient Rs 3,100 for the surgery.

Dr Somesh Aggarwal of the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital's M and J Institute Of Ophthalmology, who is part of the expert committee, also reached Mandal.

"We are examining every patient to check the extent of damage and collecting samples of medicines they were given after the surgery," Aggarwal told reporters.

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New Delhi [India], January 16 (ANI): The Government of India has entered into an agreement with Argentina for the exploration of lithium in the South American nation, as it seeks to delve into the supply of the rare element, which is crucial for the transformation towards an 'environment-friendly' future.

Along with Chile and Bolivia, Argentina has more than half of the world's lithium reserves. The most important use of lithium is in rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras and electric vehicles.

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The agreement was signed between Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) and the state-owned enterprise of Catamarca Province, Argentina.

The agreement was signed in the presence of the Governor of Catamarca, Lic Raul Jalil; the Vice Governor of Catamarca, Eng Ruben Dusso; the Minister of Mines of Catamarca, Marcelo Murua; and the Ambassador of India to Argentina, Dinesh Bhatia.

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The signing ceremony was virtually attended by the Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Coal and Mines, Pralhad Joshi, and Secretary, Ministry of Mines, VL Kantha Rao.

Taking to 'X', Pralhad Joshi wrote, "Under the leadership of PM Shri @narendramodiji, the country achieves a new milestone in securing #CriticalMinerals4India India and Argentina sign an agreement for the exploration and mining of five lithium blocks in Argentina's Catamarca province."

"The agreement has been signed between @MinesMinIndia's Khanij Bidesh India Limited and CAMYEN, the state-owned company of the Catamarca province of Argentina. The project will help India strengthen lithium supplies while developing lithium mining and downstream sectors in both countries. It will also facilitate the diversification of the supply chain for critical materials towards achieving global net zero goals," he added.

According to an official statement from the Ministry of Mines, this is the first ever lithium exploration and mining project by a government company in India. KABIL will start the exploration and development of five lithium brine blocks, viz., 1. Cortadera-I, 2. Cortadera-VII, 3. Cortadera-VIII, 4. Cateo-2022-01810132 and 5. Cortadera-VI, covering an area of about 15,703 hectares, located in the Catamarca province of Argentina.

KABIL is also preparing to set up a branch office in Catamarca, Argentina. The project cost is about Rs 200 crore.

With this agreement, KABIL has obtained the Exploration and Exclusivity Right for 5 blocks to evaluate, prospect and explore, and subsequent to the existence or discovery of lithium minerals, the exploitation right for commercial production.

This will not only boost India's quest for sourcing lithium but will also help in bringing in technical and operational experience for brine-type lithium exploration, exploitation, and extraction. (ANI)

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Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], January 16 (ANI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Tuesday reviewed the major achievements and progress on the implementation of all the 29 projects and sub-projects of the Holistic Agriculture Development Program (HADP) in the Union Territory.

Different Project Grounding and Monitoring Committees (PGMCs) headed by senior officers of the UT administration participated in the meeting. Outstation-based officers participated in the meeting through video conferencing, a release said.

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Besides the Principal Secretary, the Agriculture Production Department, the meeting was attended by the Vice Chancellors, Sher-E-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST); MD, HADP; Deputy Commissioners; Chairmen PGMCs; concerned HoDs; Bank representatives and other officers.

While reviewing the progress on the achievements made in the implementation of this program the Chief Secretary emphasized prompt decision on the fate of applications received on the portal.

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He asked to move ahead from the tendering and other modalities and focus on the establishment of different production units by the eligible beneficiaries.

He directed the two agricultural varsities to make short informational videos demonstrating the essential ingredients and processes of each agricultural activity for the awareness of farmers. He asked each Deputy Commissioner to generate awareness about the benefits of this program in their areas especially on the occasions of Block Diwas held across panchayats and attended by farmers in large numbers.

While speaking about this massive program Dulloo made out that all the projects have been tailored out to bring maximum benefit to the farmers here. He observed that the projects are inclusive of different components for the development of the agriculture sector and many-fold enhancement in the income of our farmers.

He advised making the procedure for submission of applications simple, sticking purely to the guidelines delineated under the program. He asked for close monitoring of the progress by each PGMC chairperson in collaboration with the concerned Deputy Commissioner. He asked to meet targets without fail as per the set timeline of this program.

The Principal Secretary, the Agriculture Production Department (APD) Shailendra Kumar threw light on different parameters and achievements made by the department in the implementation of the sub-projects. He delineated the key steps taken by the department for the successful grounding of different projects of this mega program here.

Kumar revealed that under the first phase of the 'Kisan Sampark Abhiyan' conducted between April 24 and August 31 last year around 5,10,000 farmers were covered across 3,697 panchayats. Moreover, under block level youth orientation programme more than 19,000 youth were contacted to map their skillsets and interests in farming. He also made out that the rest of the panchayats are being covered under phase 2nd to reach out to all the areas of the UT.

Regarding the implementation of the program it was given out that a number of steps had been taken for monitoring and evaluation of the projects, carrying outreach activities, redrafting of loan guidelines, focussed attention on application processing, holistic skilling, coordination between multiple agencies implementing same projects besides making specific interventions for impactful farm mechanization and making eligibility conditions more realistic and practical.

On the occasion, the district-wise ranking as per different parameters of the program was depicted which was said to be a regular feature to be updated each month. It was said that the ranking was done on the number of applications received, approvals given and the percentage of rejections from each district, the release said.

Further, it was made out that till now 52,693 applications have been received on the 'Kisan Sathi' portal with a registration of 50,662 farmers. It was apprised that 43,831 applications have been received in the Agriculture sector, 1,214 in horticulture and 14,472 in Livestock production.

The meeting also discussed the project-wise monitorable indicators, challenges faced in its swift implementation and the possible solutions available for its smooth implementation in the UT. (ANI)

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Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], January 16 (ANI): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted searches at more than half a dozen locations across Rajasthan as part of its money laundering investigation into the implementation of the Centre's 'Jal Jeevan Mission', sources said.

The raids have been underway since morning under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The places searched included the premises of former Minister Mahesh Joshi, said the sources.

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ED's fresh move in the case comes almost two-and-a-half months after it raided 25 locations in Rajasthan including the premises of a senior IAS officer, some engineers, contractors and former state government officials suspected to have links in the case.

The agency had launched the raids in November last year and the places they searched were based in Jaipur and Dausa city of Rajasthan.

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On September 1, the ED also carried out similar raids at several cities in Rajasthan.

The ED's money laundering case is based on a First Information Report earlier registered by Rajasthan Police. BJP Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena had in June alleged a scam of Rs 20,000 crore in implementation of the Central government's 'Jal Jeevan Mission' in Rajasthan.

He had alleged that tenders worth Rs 900 crore were issued to two firms based on fake experience certificates in 48 projects of the scheme.

The 'Jal Jeevan Mission' aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water through household tap connections and is being implemented by the Rajasthan Public Health Engineering Department (PHED). (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, January 16: The Directorate of Estates on Tuesday issued a notice to evict former TMC MP Mahua Moitra, who was expelled from the Lok Sabha last month, from her government bungalow, sources in the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said. The Trinamool Congress leader has been asked to vacate the bungalow immediately, which had been allotted to her as an MP, they said. "Since the eviction notice was issued to her (Moitra) on Tuesday, a team of officials from the directorate of estates will now be sent to ensure that the government bungalow is vacated at the earliest," a source told PTI.

The TMC leader, who was expelled from the Lok Sabha on December 8 last year, was earlier asked to vacate the house by January 7 after her allotment was cancelled. On January 8, the DoE had issued a notice seeking her reply within three days as to why she had not vacated her government accommodation. Another notice was also issued to her on January 12. On January 4, the Delhi High Court asked the TMC leader to approach the DoE with a request to allow her to continue to occupy the government accommodation allotted to her. Mahua Moitra Expulsion Case: Supreme Court Seeks Lok Sabha Secretary Generals Reply, Declines Interim Relief to TMC MP To Attend House.

Justice Subramoniun Prasad, while dealing with Moitra's challenge to an official intimation asking her to vacate the government bungalow by January 7, noted that the rules permitted the authorities to allow a resident to overstay for up to six months on payment of certain charges in exceptional circumstances. The court allowed Moitra to withdraw her petition and noted it has not made any observations on the merits of the matter. Mahua Moitra Expulsion Case: Supreme Court Seeks Response from Lok Sabha Secretary General on TMC MP's Plea.

It said the DoE shall decide her case after applying its own mind. It added that the law mandates issuing notice to a resident before eviction and the government has to take steps to evict the petitioner in accordance with law. Moitra was held guilty of "unethical conduct" and expelled from Lok Sabha on December 8 last year for allegedly accepting gifts from businessman Darshan Hiranandani and sharing her user ID and password of the Parliament website with him.

(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], January 16 (ANI): The Delhi Police on Tuesday opposed the bail plea of accused Neelam Azad, arrested in the Parliament Security Breach case and stated that the material, evidence and other documentary evidence show her complicity in the offence and thus, disentitle her to be released on bail.

Prima facie there are reasonable grounds against the accused person which negate the enlargement on bail considering the fact that the investigation is pending, said Delhi Police.

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The accused persons are powerful and influential which is detrimental to the investigating agency if released on bail. The nature of the offence or gravity of the offence and severity of punishment are also relevant considerations at the stage of consideration of bail, further stated Delhi Police.

Advocate Akhand Pratap Singh appeared for the Delhi Police and Advocate Suresh Chaudhary appeared for the accused Neelam Azad in the matter.

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Neelam Azad has recently moved a bail plea on the grounds of violation of Article 22 by not producing her before the court within 24 hours of the arrest.

After the conclusion of the arguments, the Additional Sessions Judge Dr Hardeep Kaur reserved the order and listed the matter for January 18, 2024, for the pronouncement of the order.

This case pertains to a security breach at parliament on the anniversary of the Parliament attack case on December 13, 2023. All six persons are presently in judicial custody.

The Delhi High Court has recently dismissed a habeas corpus plea moved by accused Neelam Azad in connection with the Parliament security breach case.

Neelam Azad through a plea had sought direction to immediately release her from the custody of Delhi Police. She was arrested along with other accused on December 13.

The case involves a security breach that occurred on December 13, when two youths jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber during Zero Hour, setting off smoke cans and raising slogans.

The probe earlier revealed further that two pairs of shoes were made on a special order in Lucknow, as the accused learned that the shoes of visitors to the new Parliament were not checked and they could hide their smoke cans under their footwear. (ANI)

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New Delhi, Jan 16 (PTI) The Commerce and Industry Ministry on Tuesday said India is reinforcing its status as a resilient global economy and a preferred investment destination at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

India's presence is marked by securing four distinct spaces at WEF, each dedicated to showcasing the India opportunity and its growth story to global investors, it added.

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The four spaces are - India Engagement Centre, Experience India Centre, India Investment Centre, and We Lead Lounge, the ministry said in a statement.

The India Investment Centre, it said, will serve as the centre for Government-to-Business (G2B) and Business-to-Business (B2B) networking, hosting roundtables and sessions.

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Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Rajesh Kumar Singh is participating in the meeting.

"At WEF, a total of 21 sessions will be held over the span of 5 days. India will be showcasing its opportunity and opening doors for discussion on manufacturing, technology, sustainability, mobility, startups, healthcare, and AI," it said.

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New Delhi, Jan 16 (PTI) India is taking a tough stand on non-tariff barriers being imposed on Indian exports by other countries and would also take similar measures on a reciprocal basis, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.

He asked the industry to share a list of such measures so that India can flag them with the respective nations.

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Many of India's exports suffer due to such barriers which include cumbersome prior registration requirements, higher pesticide levels, and unreasonable domestic standards/rules in many countries.

On non-tariff barriers, "I am going tough on other countries. I have told them very categorically that if you will impose these barriers on us, we will put two. This will be reciprocal," he said.

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"Please inform us about these issues so that our negotiating position improves. Today we face issues because we do not have data of their (other countries) non-tariff barriers," he added.

Key Indian exports that routinely face high barriers include -- Chillies, Tea, Basmati Rice, Milk, Poultry, Bovine Meat, Fish, Chemicals Products to EU; Sesame Seed, Black Tiger Shrimps, Medicines, Apparels to Japan; Food, Meat, Fish, Dairy, Industrial Products to China; Shrimps to the US; and Bovine Meat to South Korea.

The minister was speaking at the conclusion of the Board of Trade (BoT) meeting here. The board, headed by the minister, has over 130 members. It has representatives from the Centre, state, exporters and industry associations.

Goyal also sought suggestions from the industry on further improving ease of doing business, cutting down compliance and logistics costs, decriminalisation of minor offences, and ways to attract investments.

Besides, he asked them to look into good utilisation of free trade agreements (FTAs).

He urged the industry not to seek subsidy support and instead stand on their strengths and competitiveness.

"We should come out from that mindset of subsidies," the minister said, adding states are playing a key role in promoting trade and industry.

Goyal also announced the initiation of work on Trade Connect ePlatform, an intermediary platform providing the facility to connect Indian exporters and entrepreneurs with various stakeholders in international trade will commence shortly.

The ePlatform is expected to provide facilitation for exporters, information on various regulations to access markets, sectors, export trends, and facility to address trade-related queries.

The platform is likely to be ready in 3-4 months.

The BoT provides a platform to the Centre for appraising states and UTs about international developments affecting India's trade and the role of States and UTs in promoting exports.

It also remains an important mechanism for deliberations on trade related issues with industry bodies, associations, export promotion councils, and state/UT governments.

Further Goyal said that the meeting is an opportunity to deliberate on the key issues including ways to leverage the FTAs, encourage startups/MSMEs to start exporting, and boost exports from the services sector.

The meeting focused on reviewing the export performance to achieve the USD 2 trillion export target by 2030, and the strategies and measures to be adopted in order to take forward the export growth.

The meeting was attended by various State Ministers and other senior officials of key line ministries and States, all major trade and industry bodies, Export Promotion Councils and industry associations.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Yerevan [Armenia], January 16 (ANI/WAM): Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Defence, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee in the Federal National Council (FNC), who is currently heading the FNC delegation visiting the Republic of Armenia, has met with Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan, Director of the External Relations and Protocol Department of the Mother See.

During his meeting with Archbishop Hovhannisyan, Al Nuaimi, accompanied by several members of the FNC delegation, emphasised the UAE's unwavering commitment to fostering balanced partnerships and promoting values of tolerance and human coexistence on a global scale. He expressed the country's strong belief in the power of cultural and religious dialogue to bridge differences and bring diverse viewpoints closer.

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Al Nuaimi praised the bilateral relations between the UAE and the Republic of Armenia, which are witnessing notable and growing development at various levels and fields, noting that these visits strengthen relations among peoples at a time when human societies face many challenges, the most prominent of which are the spread of hate speech and extremist and racist ideas.

He also emphasised the importance of uniting the efforts of various organisations, international institutions and civil society institutions to achieve security, peace and prosperity for the people of the world.

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Hovhannisyan praised the UAE's attention to preserving cultural heritage, pointing in this regard to the restoration of the Armenian Haghartsin Monastery Complex under the directives of Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, in addition to the UAE's support for a number of Armenian secondary schools in the capital, Yerevan.

He also lauded the UAE's approach and its keenness on enhancing international peace and security, and its role in establishing the principle of harmony and coexistence among followers of different religions, promoting dialogue, tolerance and openness policy, and confronting extremist ideas, hate speech and racism. (ANI/WAM)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Google, continuing to support cybersecurity, will provide 5,000 security keys to the government of Ukraine in 2024, according to a Google press release posted on Tuesday.

"At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Google presented a vision for secure government digitalization and confirmed that in 2024 it will continue to support the cybersecurity of the government of Ukraine and efforts to strengthen online security in Ukraine," Google said referring to Oleh Yakymchuk, Director of Government Relations at Google Ukraine.

As noted, "Google continues to support Ukraine's digital transformation through various initiatives. One of the key initiatives is to provide 5,000 security keys to the government employees."

As it is emphasized, "these devices replace traditional passwords with physical verification, which significantly enhances the security of accounts. This step will help protect critical operations and strengthen the trust and safety of citizens."

"In addition to providing security keys, Google also plans to introduce training programs and trainings to help Ukrainian civil servants understand how to use the full potential of these devices. With the help of educational materials, instructions and trainings, civil servants gain the knowledge and skills necessary to protect their accounts. In addition, Google and the Ukrainian government will collaborate on joint cybersecurity workshops to share best practices and develop new strategies for data protection," Google informs.

Google also reportedly held a high-level round-talk table at Google House in Davos to support the dynamics of Ukraine's digital transformation. This discussion brought together leading experts in Davos and aimed to help accelerate Ukraine's innovation strategy, demonstrate the country's innovative approach to digital transformation and shape a future that will be based on cooperation and progress.

During the World Economic Forum in Davos, Google House visitors have the opportunity to get acquainted with the virtual exhibition "Ukraine is near" on the Google Arts & Culture platform. This exhibition also provides a basis for discussion and further implementation of projects in the cultural and technological fields in Ukraine.
Beijing [China], January 16 (ANI): In swift action after the Taiwan election results, China summoned the Philippines ambassador as Manila congratulated the winner of Taiwan's presidential election, Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday.

It reported that the Chinese side on Tuesday lashed out at the Philippines after President Ferdinand Marcos sent Taiwanese President-elect Lai Ching-te a note on his victory in the recent vote. The highly undiplomatic comments from Beijing, which warned Manila "not to play with fire," will likely deepen the tension between the pair, which have been jousting over contesting territorial claims in the South China Sea.

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In a social media post on Monday, Marcos told Lai, a staunch opponent of China and its claims to Taiwan, that he looks forward to cooperating.

Expressing disappointment over the Manila move, Beijing's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning said, "The Chinese side is strongly dissatisfied and resolutely opposes" Marcos's remarks and urged Manila to give "a responsible explanation".

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The Philippines' Foreign Ministry said that Marcos's remarks were a way of recognising the Philippines and Taiwan's "mutual interests", including the 200,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on the island, Al Jazeera reported.

"The message of President Marcos congratulating the new president was his way of thanking them for hosting our OFWs and holding a successful democratic process. Nevertheless, the Philippines reaffirms its One China Policy," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

However, Mao said the remarks were still a violation of the "one China" principle, a principle that Beijing says provides the basis of its claim to sovereignty over Taiwan.

The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman also said that Marcos's remarks were "a serious breach of the political commitments made by the Philippines to the Chinese side, and a gross interference in China's internal affairs."

"We are telling the Philippine side not to play with fire on the Taiwan issue ... and to stop immediately its wrongful words and deeds on Taiwan-related issues and sending wrong signals to separatist forces for Taiwan independence," she added.

Beijing does not maintain diplomatic ties with countries that recognise Taiwan and opposes official communications with Taipei by other countries.

Independence-leaning Lai secured an easy victory in Taiwan's presidential election on Saturday. The president-elect has also offered to hold talks with China, but Beijing has snubbed the invitation, Al Jazeera reported.

Other leaders that have also congratulated Lai on his victory include US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa.

Recent months have seen Beijing engaged in tense standoffs with the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea.

China has also been ramping up its military activity around Taiwan. China has vowed to seize the island it considers part of its territory by force if necessary. (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, January 16: Designated terrorist, US based Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the founder of the banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), has issued fresh threats ahead of Republic Day. Several pictures that have gone viral on social media show pro-Khalistani graffiti in the national capital. The graffiti contained threats ahead of the Republic Day parade on January 26. It claim that banned outfit SFJ aims to "avenge" the death of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Nijjar was killed outside a Gurdwara in Surrey, Canada on June 18 last year by unknown men. Sikhs for Justice was declared an 'Unlawful Association' by the Government of India on July 10, 2019. Pannun, who was declared a 'designated individual terrorist' by the Government of India on July 1, 2020, has been actively exhorting Punjab-based gangsters and youth over social media to fight for the cause of the independent state of Khalistan, challenging the sovereignty, integrity and security of the country, NIA investigations have shown. Khalistani Threat for Ram Mandir: Gurpatwant Singh Pannun Calls for Shutdown of Airports From Amritsar to Ayodhya Ahead of January 22

Meanwhile, this is not the first time, Pannun has issued such threats against India. In December last year, he threatened to attack Parliament on or before December 13. In November 2023, Pannun asked Sikhs not to fly in Air India aircraft after November 19, as their lives can be under threat. He claimed that Air India would not be allowed to operate on November 19. In September 2023, he asked Hindu-Canadians to leave Canada amid tensions erupted after the diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

The Ministry of External Affairs informed last year, that India has raised the matter of threats issued by Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, with the United States and Canadian authorities. Notably, Pannun has been on NIA's radar since 2019 when the anti-terror agency registered its first case against the terrorist, who has been playing a major role in promoting and commissioning terror acts and activities, and spreading fear and terror in Punjab and elsewhere in the country through his threats and intimidation tactics. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun Assassination Plot: Indian National Nikhil Gupta Faces Human Rights Violations in Prague Custody, Reveals Court Documents

Non-bailable warrants of arrest were issued against Pannun by the NIA Special Court on February 3, 2021, and he was declared a 'Proclaimed Offender (PO)' on November 29, 2022. Last year, the NIA confiscated the house and land of Pannun in Amritsar, Punjab and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. These properties were earlier attached following orders passed by the government in two different cases. NIA investigations have revealed that Pannun's organisation, Sikhs for Justice, was misusing cyberspace to radicalise gullible youth and to instigate them to undertake terrorist crimes and activities. It further emerged during the NIA investigations that Pannun was the main handler and controller of the SFJ.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Tehran [Iran], January 16 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Iran President Ebrahim Raisi discussed speeding up the implementation of Iran-India agreements, including the Chabahar Port Development Plan, and further compensating for delays.

During their meeting, EAM Jaishankar expressed interest in concluding a comprehensive and long-term cooperation agreement with Iran, according to the Iranian President's official website.

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Taking on social media platform X, the Iran embassy in India stated, "The President stressed the need to follow up and accelerate the implementation of the agreements between Iran and India, including the Chabahar Port Development Plan, and the need to compensate for the delay in the implementation of commitments."

https://x.com/Iran_in_India/status/1747085928806690870?s=20

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Moreover, Iranian President Raisi also highlighted the deep-rooted relations between Iran and India.

He emphasised the efforts to fulfil the will of the high officials of the two countries in order to develop and improve the level of relations in various political, economic, science and technology, transportation and energy sectors, the statement published on the Iranian President's wesbite stated.

The main areas of discussion included the importance of the common view of the two countries in the field of combating terrorism and organised crime; the need for cooperation to establish stability and security in Afghanistan; strengthening international trade, especially through national currencies; and the emphasis on maintaining the security of shipping in international waters.

Moreover, in another part of his speech, Raisi highlighted Israel's counter-offensive in Gaza and urged India to help in ending the bombings.

"The President described the crimes committed by the Zionist regime in Gaza as clear examples of war crimes and crimes against humanity and clarified, stopping the attacks on Gaza, punishing the Zionist regime and fulfilling the rights of the Palestinian people is the only way to return stability and security to the region, and it is important for India to play a role in ending the bombings, lifting the blockade of this region and realising the rights of the Palestinian people," the statement added.

Moreover, during the meeting, Jaishankar further expressed condolences and sympathies with the government and people of Iran following the recent terrorist incident in Kerman.

EAM also extended his gratitude to Iran President Raisi for developing relations with the countries of the region and creating a significant change in relations with India.

Lastly, highlighting India's interest in concluding a comprehensive and long-term cooperation agreement with Iran, Jaishankar emphasised "India's complete adherence to its commitments in the Chabahar port development project as well as comprehensive development of cooperation with Iran," according to the statement.

Earlier on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian hosted EAM Jaishankar in Tehran, where the two leaders discussed expanding bilateral and multilateral ties within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and BRICS.

The Iranian Foreign Minister said he and Jaishankar discussed the latest international and regional developments, including the Israel-Hamas war. During the meeting, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian highlighted the importance of providing security in international waterways near Iran.

Jaishankar is in Iran as part of the ongoing high-level exchanges between the two sides, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

During his visit, Jaishankar also held a meeting with the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Akbar Ahmadian.

Moreover, following his arrival in Iran, Jaishankar began his engagements in Tehran by meeting Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Mehrdad Bazrpash. The two leaders held a discussion on establishing a long-term cooperation framework with respect to Chabahar Port. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Dhaka [Bangladesh], January 16 (ANI): India's High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pranay Verma, called on Bangladesh's new Foreign Minister, Hasan Mahmud. The two sides discussed issues to advance bilateral cooperation in the new term of the Bangladesh government.

During the meeting, Pranay Verma conveyed the greetings of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to Hasan Mahmud. Notably, Hasan Mahmud has been appointed as Bangladesh's new Foreign Minister, succeeding Abdul Momen.

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In the previous term, Hasan Mahmud was given the responsibilities of Bangalesh's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

In a post shared on X, the Indian High Commission in Bangladesh stated, "HC Pranay Verma paid a courtesy call on the new FM of Bangladesh H.E Hasan Mahmud on 15 Jan 2024 & conveyed greetings on behalf of India's EAM. They discussed wide ranging issues to advance India-Bangladesh bilateral cooperation in the new term of the Bangladesh Govt."

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On January 8, India's High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pranay Verma, called on Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. During the meeting, he conveyed the warm greetings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India to Sheikh Hasina on her election victory.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated Sheikh Hasina for securing victory in the elections. Underscoring that India is committed to further strengthening the partnership with Bangladesh, PM Modi said, "We are committed to further strengthening our enduring and people-centric partnership with Bangladesh."

In a post shared on X, PM Modi stated, "Spoke to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and congratulated her on her victory for a historic fourth consecutive term in the Parliamentary elections. I also congratulate the people of Bangladesh for the successful conduct of the elections. We are committed to further strengthening our enduring and people-centric partnership with Bangladesh."

Sheikh Hasina registered a historic victory, clinching a fourth consecutive term as the Bangladesh Prime Minister. Her party, the Awami League secured 223 seats to form the government in the elections held on January 7.

She received 249,962 votes, while her nearest rival, Md Atiqur Rahman, got 6,999 votes. Meanwhile, another candidate, Mahabur Mollah, received 425 votes. Sheikh Hasina has won the fifth term, which is also her fourth consecutive term, Dhaka Tribune reported.

Meanwhile, Jatiya Party (JaPa-Ershad), received 11 seats, Bangladesh Kallyan party won in one constituency while independent candidates secured victory in 62 seats.

Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal and Workers Party of Bangladesh won one seat each, according to the report.The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami and like-minded parties observed a strike across the country as they boycotted the elections. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Irbil (Iraq), Jan 16 (AP) Iran announced late on Monday that it had launched strikes against a "spy headquarters and the gathering of anti-Iranian terrorist groups" shortly after missiles hit an area near the US consulate in Irbil, the seat of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

Soon after, a statement from Iran's Revolutionary Guards on state media said it had struck "terrorist operations" including Islamic State targets in Syria "and destroyed them by firing a number of ballistic missiles".

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Another statement claimed that it had hit a headquarters of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, in the Kurdish region of Iraq.

The Islamic State extremist group claimed responsibility earlier this month for two suicide bombings targeting a commemoration for an Iranian general slain in a 2020 US drone strike. The attack in Kerman killed at least 84 people and wounded an additional 284 at a ceremony honouring Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani.

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Last month, Iran accused Israel of killing a high-ranking Iranian general, Seyed Razi Mousavi, in an airstrike on a Damascus neighbourhood.

In Iraqi security official said Irbil was targeted with "several" ballistic missiles but did not give further details. An official with an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia said 10 missiles fell in the area near the US consulate. He said the missiles were launched by Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.

US officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the strike near the consulate.

The strikes come at a time of heightened tensions in the region and fears of a wider spillover of the ongoing war in Gaza.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have launched near-daily drone attacks on bases housing US forces in Iraq and Syria, which the groups have said was in retaliation for Washington's support of Israel, and in an attempt to force US troops to leave the region. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
By Ayushi Agarwal

New Delhi [India], January 16 (ANI): Two iconic figures in the world of jazz, Herbie Hancock and Dianne Reeves, accompanied by the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, performed a special concert and conducted a jazz session to celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr here on Monday.

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Serving as a poignant reminder of King's pivotal role in America, Martin Luther King Jr Day is observed annually on the third Monday of January in the United States. It honours the life and accomplishments of the famed civil rights leader. King's pivotal role in the American civil rights movement, advocating for racial equality, justice, and togetherness, is a sobering reminder of this federal holiday.

Referring to it as an 'amazing day', Jazz legend Herbie Hancock appreciated the fact that Martin Luther King Jr day is being celebrated today.

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Drawing a powerful connection between India and the United States, Martin Luther's journey was deeply influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's principles of nonviolent resistance.

Expressing his excitement over celebrating the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr and the American creation (Jazz), US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti lauded the jazz legends Herbie and Reeves while attending the concert, who is also a big fan of them.

Garcetti said, "As ambassador, I can't endorse any specific businesses, but let me tell you, I love piano man. And we are so excited. In the United States of America, today is one of our most important holidays. It's Martin Luther King Jr Day, which marks a man who, inspired by Gandhi's non-violence here in India, led our country to a better place, to a promised land, to a dream that he had of a world in which we didn't judge each other by how we look, our religion, what we speak, but who we were."

"And so it's fitting today that we are celebrating another great American creation, that of jazz, which this place celebrates all the time, but with two of the greats, Dianne Reeves and Herbie Hancock. These are two of the most extraordinary artists living in any genre anywhere in the world today, and they are here tonight in Delhi for all of you. But more than that, they have brought with them incredibly talented musicians from the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance Ensembles," he added.

Known for soaking up Indian culture, Garcetti too showcased his piano skills and amazed the audience with his pianist skills.

Earlier before the visit, highlighting the importance of the day, Ambassador Eric Garcetti said, "On Martin Luther King Jr Day, let's honour the enduring impact of Mahatma Gandhi's principles, which continue to inspire the pursuit of justice and equality. Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy, advocating profound respect for the inherent dignity of every individual, regardless of background, caste, religion, or social status, echoes the core values championed by Martin Luther King Jr."

Herbie Hancock, Dianne Reeves, and the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA Ensemble will also perform in Mumbai to strengthen ties between artists and people in the United States and India. Celebrated Indian artists such as Sitar Maestro Purbayan Chatterjee and tabla player Swarupa Ananth-Sawkar will also perform in Mumbai. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Balochistan [Pakistan], January 16 (ANI): Ahead of the general elections, a training centre for polling staff was attacked by unknown men in the Kharan district of Balochistan, as reported by Dawn.

The premises of Government Model High School in Kharan were being used as a training centre where the polling staff was getting trained and came under attack on Monday.

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According to the officials, the assailants launched the attack on the school building while officers from various government departments were undergoing training inside.

Reportedly, a handgrenade was thrown into the school premises, which exploded in an open area within the building, according to Dawn.

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The blast shattered the windowpanes of some classrooms, causing disturbances in the vicinity.

According to Dawn, the government officials and election commission staff conducting the training were not harmed in the attack, as the explosion occurred away from the training area, a senior official from the local administration confirmed.

Following the incident, law enforcement personnel, including the police, arrived at the incident spot, cordoning off the area and initiating an investigation.

As per the reports, the attackers were riding a motorcycle and they escaped after attacking the school premises, Dawn reported.

However, security forces have initiated a search operation in the area, but as of now, no arrests have been reported.

In the wake of upcoming general elections, the Sindh government in Pakistan has imposed a 45-day ban on carrying and displaying weapons across the province, as reported by ARY News.

However, the police, rangers and law enforcement agencies will be exempted from the ban, as well as the registered security guards are also permitted to carry arms on duty, according to the notification issued by the Sindh governnment.

Recently, at least five Pakistani soldiers were killed after a security vehicle was blown up by an improvised explosive device (IED) by terrorists in Balochistan's Kech district, ARY News reported quoting Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Saturday.

It was reported that the attack prompted security forces to open retaliatory fire, resulting in the deaths of three terrorists in the Buleda area of Balochistan's Kech district. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Davos, Jan 16 (AP) Swiss President Viola Amherd said on Monday, during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Bern, that her country has offered to organise a peace summit that aims to help bring an end to Ukraine's ongoing war with Russia.

"I confirmed to him that Switzerland is ready to organise a conference," Amherd said during a joint press conference with Zelenskyy. "We have agreed that we will examine the details of the next steps in depth to ensure that the peace process is a success."

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The two presidents said the Ukrainian and Swiss teams will begin preparations for the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland as early as Tuesday. No details were provided about when or how such a summit could take place, and Russia hasn't been involved in the process.

"This summit is intended to infuse the necessary energy into everything that has already been achieved and to determine that the end of the war must be fair, and the restoration of the strength of international law -- complete," Zelenskyy said.

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Talks of a peace summit come as Ukrainian military chiefs said on Monday their forces had shot down a Russian early warning and control plane and a key command centre aircraft, which if confirmed would be a feat for Ukraine in the almost two-year war.

On Sunday, Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, took part in Swiss-hosted talks in Davos among dozens of national envoys about Zelenskyy's 10-point peace formula -- which ultimately aims to feed into the possible peace summit.

As for who might attend, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was open "to all countries in the world that respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity ... So draw conclusions about whom we invite".

He conveyed Ukraine's strong desire for countries from the Global South to be present.

"It is important for us to show that the whole world is against the aggression of Russia and the whole world is for a fair peace," Zelenskyy said. "If countries truly want the war to end, they will support our plan", but added it was an "open plan" that would welcome proposals from other countries.

Switzerland, which has long touted its neutrality, has been at pains to strike the right balance over Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine that began in February 2022. The Swiss have lined up with European Union sanctions on Russian people and interests over the conflict.

Zelenskyy's trip to Switzerland, where he also met with parliamentary leaders on Monday, includes a visit on Tuesday to the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in the eastern town of Davos.

The meeting in Bern came hours after Amherd hosted Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang, who is also on his way to the elite gathering in Davos. It was not immediately clear whether he would meet Zelenskyy there.

Zelenskyy noted China's "significant role in the world" and said Kyiv "would very much like China to be involved in our (peace) formula and engaged in the (peace) summit". However, he added, "not everything depends on our will ... we hope that all civilized countries will be involved in the peace summit". (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kabul [Afghanistan], January 16 (ANI): The Taliban is tightening its grip on books in Kabul. They have visited bookstores with a list of banned books, seizing works by Afghan authors, Khaama Press reported.

A politician and researcher Mujib Rahman Rahimi had his works confiscated by the Taliban during their recent attack on publishing houses and bookstores in Kabul.

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He stated on his official Facebook page, "The Taliban do not realise that in the age of the internet, the information revolution, and the decline of the control and authority of governments and oppressive systems over information, publications, books, scientific articles, etc., they cannot stop information dissemination and book publication."

Before being a spokesperson for Abdullah Abdullah, the head of Afghanistan's High Council for National Reconciliation, Mujib Rahimi was known as the author of books such as "A Critique of the Structure of the Afghan System," "State Formation in Afghanistan: A Theoretical and Political History," and other works.

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Last week, Taliban security forces forcefully detained an employee of the Vajeh Publishing House and Bookstore.

The head of publications at Vajeh Publishing Qasim Farzam reported that the Taliban violently apprehended one of their colleagues.

Meanwhile, reports state that Taliban members severely beat Naser Maqsoudi, the head of Maqsoudi Publications, on Thursday due to his opposition to collecting and confiscating books.

It also mentioned that Taliban members stormed the National Market bookstores in Pul-e-Sokhta and took away numerous books.

The Taliban's Ministry of Higher Education had previously ordered the collection of non-religious books and those influencing people's beliefs from university libraries, as per Khaama Press.

Book publishers said that all publishers and booksellers were required to register all the details of their publications and bookstores on forms provided by the Taliban intelligence department, and after being stamped and signed, deliver them to the Taliban intelligence office.

These incidents underline the ongoing challenges and restrictions facing publishing and education in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, raising concerns about freedom of expression and access to knowledge, as per Khaama Press. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington DC, January 16: Former US President Donald Trump registered a huge victory with unprecedented margin at the Iowa caucuses, further demonstrating the hold he maintains over the party as well as its supporters, as he closed in for a 2020 rematch contest with incumbent Joe Biden. According to the latest figures reported by CNN with 99 per cent results registered, Trump has won 20 out of the 40 delegates from Iowa with 56,250 votes -- a whopping difference of around 32,840 votes.

Notably, Trump kickstarted his bid to win party's third consecutive presidential nomination despite skipping the GOP primary debates. The results also demonstrated how 'devoted' Republicans remain to Trump amid his highly unusual campaign -- one being waged between court appearances, indictments and removal from ballots. Donald Trump Wins Iowa Republican Caucus: Former US President Wins Iowas Leadoff Voting Contest, Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley Battle for Second Place.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis came a distant second with eight delegates and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley finishing not much behind with seven delegates as the contest moves to New Hampshire, where the latter enjoys some clout.

Trump who came one step closer to the Republican nomination, deviated from his usual attacking style and congratulated his GOP rivals. He called DeSantis, Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy as "very smart people, very capable people", CNN reported. But his message to his primary opponents couldn't have been clearer: It's time to get out and get on board. "It's just so important, and I want to make that a very big part of our message: We're going to come together. It's going to happen soon, too," Trump said. Vivek Ramaswamy Drops Out of Republican Presidential Race, Endorses Former US President Donald Trump: Report.

Another major takeaway was the contest turning into a three-way race with Ramaswamy dropping out of his White House bid. However, Trump continues to lead with a whopping margin. The Iowa caucus victory is considered the first step in Donald Trump's bid to claim the Republican nomination in a third consecutive election. Incidentally, Trump had lost in the State eight years ago to Senator Ted Cruz, according to The Hill.

Also, the entrance polls showed the breadth of Trump's support across the GOP's key constituencies 53 per cent of White evangelical Christians backed Trump, to DeSantis' 27 per cent and Haley's 13 per cent -- figures that underscore why Trump is the heavy favourite in South Carolina - where evangelicals make up a huge share of the party's primary electorate - even though it's Haley's home state, according to CNN.

On the other hand, the college graduates split somewhat evenly between Trump, Haley and DeSantis. But Trump dominated those without a college degree, with 67 per cent support. Meanwhile, Haley and DeSantis, while speaking to supporters after Trump had taken his victory lap, both vowed to continue their campaigns.

Notably, Haley, is within a difference of single digits of Trump in New Hampshire, polls show, CNN reported. She's hoping to capitalize on a more moderate primary electorate there -- and use it as a launchpad to effectively clear the field and position herself as the party's lone Trump alternative. "I can safely say, tonight, Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race," she told supporters.

As the race shifts to more favourable territory for Haley, she used her speech Monday night in Iowa to argue she's the 'antidote' to a Biden-Trump rematch. Haley argued that the majority of Americans disapprove of both the current and the former president and insisted that her campaign is "the last best hope of stopping the Trump-Biden nightmare." While she congratulated Trump on his win, she argued that the former president and Biden share "more in common than you think." "Trump and Biden both lack a vision for our country's future because both are consumed by the past, by investigations, by vendettas, by grievances. America deserves better," CNN quoted her as saying.

Florida Governor DeSantis, who was declared the second-place finisher in the caucuses told supporters that he had survived having "everything but the kitchen sink" thrown at him in Iowa, as he vowed to continue his campaign. DeSantis campaigned very hard in Iowa, completed the "full Grassley" -- visiting all 99 counties. He also had the endorsement of the popular governor, Kim Reynolds. But, ultimately, he was able to manage a distant second-place finish, behind a former president who hardly campaigned in Iowa and a late-rising rival who has long been much more focused on New Hampshire, CNN reported.

However, he's entering what could be a 'difficult stretch', with polls showing him far behind Trump and Haley in New Hampshire. "We've got our ticket punched out of Iowa," the Florida governor said. DeSantis is set to visit South Carolina, Haley's home state, on Tuesday before heading to New Hampshire, the arena of next GOP contest.

Although, Haley has served the state as governor, but primary voters there could more closely align with DeSantis' politics, according to CNN. He would be aiming to upset Haley on her home turf in the February 24 primary and propel into Super Tuesday on March 5 with momentum.

Another significant development after Iowa results was Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy dropping out of the 2024 Republican presidential race after finishing fourth in the Iowa caucuses. He has endorsed former President Donald Trump and urged Republican voters to put an "America First patriot" in the White House. Taking to social media platform X, Ramaswamy stated, "This entire campaign is about speaking the TRUTH. We did not achieve our goal tonight, & we need an America-First patriot in the White House. The people spoke loud & clear about who they want. Tonight I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Donald J. Trump and will do everything I can to make sure he is the next U.S. President."

The 38-year-old political novice said at a press conference at Des Moines, "There is no path for me to be the next president absent things that we don't want to see happen in this country," as reported by the Washington Post.

"We did not achieve the surprise we wanted to deliver tonight," Ramaswamy said.

The biotech entrepreneur said he plans to appear with Trump in New Hampshire at a Tuesday evening rally. He further expressed his support for Trump, adding that he is extremely proud of the team, the movement, and the country. "Earlier tonight I called Donald Trump to tell him that I congratulate him on his victory. And now going forward, he will have my full endorsement for the presidency," Ramaswamy said.

Ramaswamy had been one of Trump's staunchest defenders against the four indictments levelled against him. He pledged to remove himself from the ballots in Colorado and Maine after the former president was disqualified from the two states. He even vowed to pardon Trump of all charges on his first day in office.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is leading incumbent President Joe Biden in key swing states that will decide the fate of the 2024 presidential race, The Hill reported. Trump leads Biden in hypothetical match-ups both with and without third-party options on the ballot in states including Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, according to fresh polling.

A CNN poll earlier showed Trump leading Biden by 5 percentage points in Georgia, a state Biden carried in 2020 by roughly 12,000 votes. The poll also found Trump leading Biden by 10 points in Michigan, where Biden won by about 1,55,000 votes in 2020.

However, the road ahead is not easy for the former president as he continues to face substantial challenges to his campaign, including multiple criminal indictments and ongoing legal battles in courtrooms across the country. In a handful of states, he even faces efforts to remove him from the ballot. Last month, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump is 'disqualified' from competing in the race under the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause, finding that he violated his oath with his actions around January 6, 2021. Maine's Secretary of State also disqualified Trump under the 14th Amendment, The Hill reported.

But Trump has framed his legal issues as "political attacks" arguing he is the victim of a "witch hunt" as he vies for another term. The next US presidential election is scheduled for November 5, 2024.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Ukrainian President, Vietnamese PM discuss possibility of intensifying bilateral contacts between countries at different levels

On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh.

The Head of State thanked Vietnam for supporting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, as well as for humanitarian assistance to our country, the press service of the President of Ukraine reported.

"The interlocutors noted the importance of intensifying bilateral relations, since Ukraine and Vietnam share long-term ties. The President called on Vietnam to support the implementation of the provisions of the Ukrainian Peace Formula," the message says.

Zelenskyy and Pham Minh Chinh discussed the possibility of intensifying bilateral contacts between Ukraine and Vietnam at different levels.
San Juan, Dec 16 (AP) Five people were killed in a drive-by shooting in the US territory of Puerto Rico, forcing authorities to close a portion of a highway, police said Tuesday.

Three of the victims were found dead inside a pickup in the eastern coastal town of Ceiba, while a fourth was found on the pavement. A fifth victim died at a hospital while being treated for his wounds, according to a police statement.

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One of the victims is a 16-year-old boy, Police Commissioner Antonio Lopez told WKAQ radio station. He said weapons were found inside the bullet-riddled pickup, and that the victims had just left a cock-fighting establishment in the nearby town of Naguabo.

It wasn't immediately clear what led to the shooting that occurred late Monday, although Lopez said authorities believe it is related to drug trafficking.

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At least 28 people have been reported killed so far this year on the island of 3.2 million people, compared with 30 in the same period last year. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kanpur, January 16: A 15-year-old from Kanpur district in Uttar Pradesh triggered a major security scare when he made a prank call to the Pune airport claiming that he had information that 40 planes would be bombed while flying over residential areas of the city. The teenager has been traced through electronic surveillance and detained for questioning. A case has been filed against him under section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.

Officers involved in the investigation said the teenager made the call because he wanted to become famous. He got the idea after watching Palestine-Israel war videos. He used his fathers mobile phone to search the number of IndiGos registered office at the Pune airport to make the threat call on January 11. After receiving the call, authorities at IndiGo informed Delhi Police who in turn alerted the Intelligence Bureau, which passed the information to the Uttar Pradesh director general of police. Kanpur Horror: Shopkeeper Beaten to Death for Not Serving Golgappa for Free

The Kanpur police swung into action and roped in the crime branch to crack the case. During investigation, the location of the mobile phone was traced to the Sen Paschim Para area of the district. The crime branch team reached the spot and found that the call was made by the teenager. He lives in a rented house with his family and is originally from Kushinagar. Bomb Threat at Indian Museum: Kolkata Police Get Mail Regarding Bomb Threat at 200-Year-Old Iconic Museum, Search Operation Underway (Watch Video)

Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) Salman Taj Patil said, We have taken the boy in police custody and seized the mobile phone. No threat has been found in the primary investigation. The boy took the step out of ignorance. He will be sent back home after counselling his parents and other family members.
Mumbai, January 16: The IndiGo passenger who slapped the pilot of a Delhi-Goa flight was on his way to honeymoon, a report said. As seen in the viral video, the passenger, identified as Sahil Kataria, ran up from his seat in the last row to slap co-pilot Anup Kumar as he announced a further delay.

The Hindustan Times reported that Kataria and his wife were on their way to Goa for the Honeymoon. Kataria, However, lost his temper and attacked a co-pilot who announced a delay due to fog and smog at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. The shocking incident happened on Sunday afternoon after the Katarias had waited for almost eight hours for their IndiGo flight to Goa. The flight was supposed to depart at 7.40 am, but poor visibility grounded over 400 flights till 10 am. IndiGo Pilot Assault Incident: Another Video Surfaces, Shows Passenger Apologising.

IndiGo Pilot Slapped:

When co-pilot Anup Kumar informed the passengers about the delay around 3 pm, Kataria stormed towards the cockpit and shouted, Chalana hai to chala, nahi to mat chala, khol de in Hindi. He then punched the pilot while a female crew member screamed and another passenger restrained him. A video of the assault went viral on social media. IndiGo Pilot Assault Incident: IndiGo Forms Internal Panel, Putting Passenger on No-Fly List Under Consideration.

What IndiGo Said:

IndiGo said that Kataria was handed over to the police and declared unruly as per protocol. This incident is being referred to the independent internal committee for appropriate action and inclusion of the customer on the no-fly list as laid down in regulatory guidelines. The safety and security of our customers and crew are of paramount importance, and we maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards any such unacceptable behaviour," IndiGo said in a statement.

Unruly Behaviour Unacceptable: Scindia

The flight finally took off at 6.30 pm. The DGCA, the aviation regulator, did not comment on the incident or whether Kataria was banned from flying. Kataria was booked under Indian Penal Code sections 323 (causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 290 (committing public nuisance), and sections of the Aircraft Rules. He was arrested on Monday and later got bail, the police said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 16, 2024 08:41 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Amaravati, January 16: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN) institute in Andhra Pradesh's Sri Satyasai district on Tuesday afternoon and also visit the famous Lepakshi temple on Tuesday. Modi will reach Palasamudram on Tuesday afternoon to participate in the scheduled programmes, according to a state government press release.

He will go around different departments at NACIN, plant some saplings there and also interact with construction workers. He will meet some trainee officers and release a book titled 'Flora of Palasamudram'. Further, the Prime Minister will present an accreditation certificate to NACIN and deliver an address. NACIN is an apex institute of the Government of India, which imparts capacity building in the field of indirect taxes, offer training to officers from various countries in customs, drug laws and environment protection. PM Narendra Modi, Russia President Vladimir Putin Engages in Positive Talks, Charts Future Course for Indo-Russian Relations

It is also the World Customs Organisation's (WCO) Regional Training Centre for Asia-Pacific while the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has designated NACIN as a collaboration centre for capacity building in the field of environment protection. Further, the premier training institute under the administrative control of the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC), Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance would also impart training on drug law enforcement to personnel of various Asian countries. Mallikarjun Kharge Takes On PM Narendra Modi-Led Central Government Over Tribal Schemes, Says Trying To Cheat During Poll Season

NACIN Palasamudram will supplement existing such institutes located in Ranchi and Raipur, among others. Before his departure, Modi is also expected to visit the famous Lepakshi Temple. Located in the eponymous temple town of Lepakshi in Sri Satyasai district, the ancient temple renowned for its mythological grandeur has shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva, Vishnu, Papanatheswara, Raghunatha, Rama and other deities. Andhra Pradesh Governor S Abdul Nazeer and Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy will also attend NACIN inauguration.
Prayagraj, January 16: The police have arrested a man for allegedly posting objectionable content on social media on Lord Ram in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagra. The action was taken after locals staged a protest against the post at Kaundhiyara police station. An FIR was registered against the accused under the relevant sections, police officials said. Uttar Pradesh: Man Arrested for Provocative Social Media Posts on Ayodhya Ram Temple

As per reports, Shailendra Kumar Kushwaha, 43, a resident of Gaura village under Kaundhiyara police station, posted an objectionable content against Lord Ram from his Facebook account on Sunday evening. Locals were enraged after the post went viral. Soon a large number of locals and members of some right-wing organisations reached Kaundhiyara police station and demanded action against Kushwaha. Pran Pratishtha Ceremony in Ayodhya: UP Police Partners With Local People, Nishad Community for Flawless Security

On complaint of Vishwa Hindu Parishad s local leader Shivam Mishra, an FIR was lodged against Shailendra. DCP trans-Yamuna Abhinav Tyagi said the accused Shailendra Kumar Kushwaha has been arrested.
A 12-year-old boy died after his throat was slit by a glass-coated kite string while five others were injured in similar incidents in the district, police said on Tuesday.
A trader in Bihars Banka district was bitten by a stray dog on Monday after which the canine paid with its life for the indiscretion as the villagers hunted it down and killed the animal.
Bromley, January 16: A Bromley-based couple in the United Kingdom who stole from gym lockers, used their earnings to live lavish lives. Ashley Singh, 39, and his girlfriend Sophie Bruyne, 20, allegedly stole SIM cards and bank cards from people's lockers while they were working out, according to Metro. Over the course of a year, the pair targeted 18 victims and maxed out credit cards that they took from lockers in changing rooms.

According to Metropolitan Police, the couple used to top up their victim's credit cards on expensive tech items and luxury clothing before selling them and using the proceeds to purchase shoes, luggage, vacations, and a purebred puppy. UK Burglar Sentenced 16-Month Jail for Stealing Handcuffs, Car Keys From Police Station; Judge Calls Case Unusual.

However, the victims experienced extreme stress and financial loss, had money taken out of their accounts, and were unable to use their phones. The happily ever after for Singh and Bruyea came to an abrupt end when a local police officer saw a trend and reported it to detectives who specialise in economic crime.

A Lewisham-based team used CCTV to track down the couple's vehicles, phones, and faces in order to connect them to every incident. On January 27, 2023, the pair was detained at Gatwick Airport upon their return from Paris, carrying 2,000 Euros worth of high-end merchandise. UK Car Theft Video: Robbers Steal Rolls Royce Using Antenna to Pick Owners Key Signal in Essex.

In a release, the Met police stated that a total of eighteen individuals were the focus of what the sentencing judge called a "wicked conspiracy." The court detailed how the two's "wide-ranging spree" had affected individuals, including situations in which people no longer felt comfortable with strangers or experienced stress-related problems at work. In all, 18 fraud reports were received; 14 of them were from the Metropolitan area, one each from Sussex, Hertfordshire, and Cambridgeshire.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 16, 2024 07:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
India will be sending a team of high-level officials from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to the United Kingdom in a bid to speed up the extradition of India's most wanted fugitives, defence dealer Sanjay Bhandari, diamond trader Nirav Modi and Kingfisher Airlines promoter Vijay Mallya. A senior officer from the foreign ministry is heading the team, which is set to meet with UK authorities via the Indian High Commission in London, TOI reported, citing the sources. India Registers Strong Protest Against Visit by British Envoy Jane Marriott to Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, Calls It Infringement of Sovereignty.

India to Send Top Probe Agencies to Visit UK for Speedy Extradition of Most Wanted Fugitives

A high-level team of officers concerned from the Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate and National Investigation Agency would be heading soon to the UK to expedite the extradition of India's most wanted fugitives, including defence dealer Sanjay Bhandari,  ANI (@ANI) January 16, 2024

(SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
Berlin, January 16: Europe, including Germany, is preparing for Russia President Vladimir Putin to expand the Russian war in Ukraine and attack NATO ally countries next year, a leaked military document revealed. The extended attack may result in the outbreak of World War 3.

According to a report by Bild newspaper, based on secret documents from the German defence ministry, Germany is getting ready for a possible war with Russia. The report said that Russia might escalate the conflict in Ukraine and attack other NATO members next year, raising the risk of World War 3. The report came as the tension between Russia and Ukraine continued for almost two years. However, Russian officials denied the report and called it a fake. World War 3 Fears: Russia President Vladimir Putin May Order Nuclear Attack on NATO Countries, Says Ex-CIA Analyst.

The report also claimed that European militaries were preparing for a Russian assault on NATOs eastern border, which could involve a cyber attack. The report outlined a scenario named Alliance Defence 2024, in which the situation would worsen in a few weeks and many German soldiers would join the fight, according to sources from the defence ministry.

The report said that Russia would launch a spring offensive against Ukrainian forces as the Western support for them was decreasing. The report also detailed how Russia would advance and how NATO would resist, month by month. The report said that the violence would intensify in September and that Russian President Vladimir Putin would conduct a massive military drill with about 50,000 Russian troops in Western Russia and Belarus. World War 3 Approaching? Jack Barsky, Former KGB Agent, Warns Russia Could Trigger Nuclear Apocalypse With Accidental Launch.

The report said that Russia could then move troops and medium-range missiles to Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave between Poland and Lithuania, which are NATO countries. The report said that Russia could also exploit the US presidential election in December to spread its propaganda and cause more chaos.

The report said that NATO would respond by taking measures for credible deterrence by May 2025 to counter the Russian build-up and to avoid a clash between Russian and Western forces. Russian news agency TASS asked Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov about the report, but he did not answer. He said that the newspaper often published various fake news items and canards. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova ridiculed the report as last years horoscope.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 16, 2024 12:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Hungary has opposed efforts to revamp the EU budget to channel EUR 50 billion to Kyiv and provide more cash for other tasks such as managing migration, Reuters said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said at a press conference on Tuesday that the EU should help Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion, but without diverting resources from the bloc's budget.

"If we want to help Ukraine, which I think we need to do, we have to do it in a way that doesn't harm the EU's budget  But to give away 50 billion euros from the EU budget for four years in advance is a violation of the EU's sovereignty and national interests. We do not even know what will happen in a quarter of a year," he said.

Orban said any financial facility for Ukraine should be separate from the EU budget. He said Hungary's proposal for creating such a mechanism was based on allocating aid on the basis of gross national income (GNI).

As the Yevropeiska Pravda (European Truth) online publication reported on Tuesday, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, after meeting with Orban in Budapest, said that he supports his "legitimate" fight against changes to the EU budget to allocate EUR 50 billion in aid to Ukraine and that even if these funds are allocated in two or three years nothing will change the front lines, but more soldiers will die on both sides.

"Ukraine needs to be helped, but I would argue that it is being helped in a way that has no effect. We are now paying [Ukraine] EUR 1.5 billion a month from the European Union. We are imposing sanctions on the Russians ... How long should this go on?" Fico said.

As reported, an extraordinary European Council will be held in Brussels on February 1, the main issue of which will be the revision of the EU budget for 2024-2027, taking into account the inclusion of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine for EUR 50 billion. The European Commission proposed such a general budget for the fund: EUR 17 billion in grants and EUR 33 billion in loans.
On 15 January protests took place outside the national palace in Mexico City (CDMX) over the killing of trans activist

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On 15 January Vatican News, the news portal of the Holy See, confirmed that Nicaraguan Bishopsandand 17 other clerics had arrived in Rome after being released from prison and expelled by Nicaraguas government led by Presidentthe previous day.

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On 15 January Chiles labour minister,, announced that the government had struck an accord with non-aligned centrist opposition parties that could break the longstanding deadlock over its proposed pension reform.

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After months of the previous government trying to stop him from taking power, anti-corruption crusader and reformist Bernardo Arevalo has finally been sworn in as the new president of Guatemala.

"We will not allow our institutions to be bent by corruption and impunity," promised Arevalo in his speech after being sworn in as the new president of Guatemala. His swearing-in came hours after a last-ditch effort to prevent him from taking office failed, as protests erupted following the antics of several politicians to delay his swearing-in ceremony.

As Latin Post previously reported, Bernardo Arevalo came out of nowhere to win second place during the primary election and qualify to run against heavy favorite, former First Lady Sandra Torres, during the run-off in August. While Torres represented the status quo of the political elites, the majority flocked to Arevalo, and he would later win a massive landslide against Torres in one of the biggest political upsets in the country's history.

However, his anti-corruption stance has scared many of the country's traditional politicians, with the Attorney General doing everything in her power to bog down the then-president-elect with investigations and accusations. These efforts failed as Arevalo was still sworn in.

Arevalo warned of "a wave of authoritarianism, the spread of intolerance, the restriction of dissent" during his inauguration, according to CBS News. admitting that many believed that their movement was "destined for an authoritarian setback," but Guatemala's "painful passage of uncertainty" was now giving way to hope.

New Guatemala President Bernardo Arevalo Asks Embattled Attorney General To Resign From Office

Ever since he qualified for the run-off election, it was Guatemala Attorney General Consuelo Porras who has been a thorn in new President Bernardo Arevalo's side, launching investigation after investigation, often with no grounds.

After his swearing-in, Arevalo visited the site outside the Attorney General's Office in his first act as president and told the Indigenous protesters who had been protesting outside for over three months to demand Porras to step down that they were defending the country's democracy and applauded them.

READ MORE: Latin America Politics 2023: Election, Conflicts, Other Major Issues in the Region

Arevalo stated that he would request the resignation of the controversial attorney general, who has been sanctioned by the US and is part of a US corruption watchlist. However, the Associated Press noted that it remains unclear if Arevalo can legally get rid of her.

New Guatemala President Bernardo Arevalo Speaks About Challenges Ahead

During his inauguration, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Colombia's President Gustavo Petro, and Spanish King Felipe VI were all in attendance. Chile's President Gabriel Boric was also there but had to leave early after all the delays made by Guatemala's Congress.

After meeting and greeting all of the foreign leaders, the new president also spoke with the media, a TikToker, and various others. He also spoke with the Spanish language newspaper El Pais and admitted that "the six-month transition period has been an obstacle course, in which every morning one got up to see what new atrocity the corrupt had come up with, and it's not over."

He said he would deliver the expectations of other countries, including the US, which helped pressure the previous government to let him take office.

"What they expect from us is behavior consistent with our commitment to the democratic system. What we need is to create institutions that effectively fulfill their function and that, then, begin to address the development challenges that correspond to them," he stated. "The United States, for example, is very interested in a real commitment to the fight against drug trafficking, which is almost impossible in a government that is undermined by corruption."

"Border countries want to talk about issues such as migration and are interested in seeing that a government that is indeed not willing to surrender to the human trafficking networks that are operating," he continued.

READ MORE: Guatemala Elections: Observers Say Political Parties and Justice System Interfered

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Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Bernardo Arevalo sworn in as Guatemala president after opponents delay inauguration | WION
It has been three years since the government injected nearly a billion dollars into the economy through stimulus check payments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite 476 million payments totaling $814 billion, discussions about the possibility of another round of stimulus check payments in 2024 continue to circulate.

However, as 2024 unfolds, it appears that the answer remains the same as the previous year - there will be no new checks, Patriot News noted.

Zack Hellman from Tax Prep Tech emphasized that the focus has shifted towards economic recovery, and additional stimulus check payments are not currently part of legislative agendas.

RED NEXT: Stimulus Check 2022

Previous Stimulus Check Recap

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed three bills that included stimulus check payments, officially termed Economic Impact Payments.

These payments, totaling over $3,000 per person, were dispersed to eligible Americans. The last of these payments occurred in March 2021.

Despite ongoing rumors about a potential fourth stimulus check, a spokesperson for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) confirmed in November 2023 that there were no plans for additional stimulus check 2024, per VERIFY.

The IRS and the U.S. Department of Treasury websites also provide no information about a fourth payment.

For a new stimulus check to be distributed, Congress would need to pass legislation authorizing the payment, and President Joe Biden would need to sign it into law.

As of now, no such legislation has been introduced or approved.

The three previous stimulus check payments were part of larger legislation passed by Congress and signed by the sitting president.

The first check, amounting to $1,200, was included in the CARES Act in March 2020.

The second check, valued at $600, was part of a spending package passed in December 2020.

The third and final check, totaling $1,400, was included in the American Rescue Plan passed in March 2021.

Dispelling Rumors of a Fourth Stimulus Check

Rumors about a potential fourth stimulus check 2024 gained traction with the emergence of the Omicron variant in late 2021 and early 2022.

However, a new wave of rumors, particularly on social media, prompted government intervention to address the misinformation.

Posts circulating on social media falsely claimed that citizens in 10 states would receive stimulus checks payments at the end of November.

The Internal Revenue Service clarified that there is no such check in the works, emphasizing that no stimulus legislation has been approved since 2021, according to Fortune.

While some states mentioned may have state-specific stimulus initiatives, the IRS urged caution, noting that no federal stimulus payments were imminent.

The three rounds of stimulus check during the pandemic, distributed in March 2020, December 2020, and March 2021, aimed to provide financial relief totaling $814 billion.

Individuals who missed out on the third payment or received less than the full amount can still claim a Recovery Rebate Credit with the IRS.

The deadlines to file a return and claim missing or incomplete 2020 and 2021 credits are May 17, 2024, and April 15, 2025.

READ MORE: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Undergoing Cancer Treatment

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: No, the IRS isn't sending a fourth stimulus check - From WCNC
More financial woes for MyPillow CEO and Donald Trump ally Mike Lindell have come as Fox News dropped his ads from being aired. However, Lindell is claiming he had been canceled by the conservative network while also admitting he has not paid them for months.

A Fox News source told Axios that MyPillow has not paid its advertising fee in Fox News since August, prompting the conservative network to finally drop the pillow company from its advertising line-up in a move that shocked many as MyPillow was known as one of the top advertisers in the network as it previously allowed Lindell to spread his unfounded conspiracy theories on air.

Lindell is facing various financial and legal problems as he also owes millions to law firms who represented him in various defamation lawsuits from Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic regarding his false claims that the 2020 elections were stolen.

However, the Fox News source told Axios that "As soon as their account is paid, we would be happy to accept their advertising." This is counter to Lindell's previous claim that the network canceled him, though it seems that this was only a pause in the partnership as Lindell has not paid Fox News yet.

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell Admits He Owes Fox News Millions in Advertising

After Fox News clarified that they dropped Lindell's MyPillow for not paying them, the Donald Trump ally spoke with the Associated Press and acknowledged that MyPillow owes money to Fox Corp. He reportedly admitted that he may have owed them $7.8 million, but he insisted that the sum is "within his credit line with the network."

Lindell added during the interview that his company has "long spent an average of $1 million a week to run its ads" on Fox News, adding that the Murdoch-owned conservative network had "long allowed him 12 weeks of credit until it recently cut that to eight weeks."

READ MORE: Fox News Defamation Lawsuit: Owner Rupert Murdoch Admits Under Oath That Hosts Spread False Information About Election

Lindell is claiming that Fox News wants to silence him "because I want to secure our election platforms," which the network is disputing. He also claimed that the network is "sore" with him because his Lindell TV/FrankSpeech online channel recently hired former Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, who was previously fired from the network for spreading false information on TV.

Lou Dobbs interviewed Donald Trump on the Lindell-owned streaming platform where the former president continued to claim his debunked talking point that the 2020 elections were stolen.

MyPillow Previously Dropped by Other Companies Over Mike Lindell Peddling False Information

This is not the first time that such a large company like Fox News has dropped MyPillow. Previously, several major retailers, including Walmart, dropped MyPillow products from their shelves, but it was more because of Mike Lindell's antics than his not paying them.

According to the New York Daily News, Lindell's peddling of his conspiracy theories regarding the election led to massive backlash, and this backlash led the big retailers to drop MyPillow from their shelves.

Despite the drama surrounding his company these days, however, Lindell is claiming that MyPillow is doing "great" and that his ads are still running on other platforms, including Newsmax, which admittedly does not have the same number of viewership as Fox News.

READ NEXT: Tucker Carlson Admits He Hates Donald Trump 'Passionately' in Private Text Message

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WATCH: Out Foxed: Mike Pillow Lindell joins Bannon as he finally gets all his ads pulled from Fox News - Hal Sparks
Neighborhoods in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, are grappling with severe flooding that persists more than a day after torrential rains wreaked havoc, claiming the lives of at least 12 people, according to ABC News.

The heavy downpour, occurring over the weekend, inundated homes, a hospital, the metro line in Rio, and a crucial section of Avenida Brasil, a main freeway.

The floods proved particularly catastrophic in Rio's northern peripheries, affecting some of the metropolitan's poorest areas.

Reports indicate that people lost their lives through drowning, landslides, and even electrocution.

Civil defense officials have identified 18 towns across the state at "high" risk of further landslides, emphasizing the ongoing danger.

READ NEXT: Colombia Mudslide Kills 34

Emergency Declared as City Grapples With Inundation

Mayor Eduardo Paes declared a state of "emergency" in response to the calamity, urging residents to stay home for their safety while rescue and recovery efforts are underway, Al Jazeera reports.

The flooding caused Brazil torrential rains forced the closure of a dozen bus lines and several metro stations due to waterlogged tracks.

In some parts of the city, the amount of rainfall in just 24 hours exceeded the typical level for the entire month of January.

Acari, one of the worst-affected neighborhoods of Brazil torrential rains, witnessed flooding in the basement offices of the Ronaldo Gazolla Municipal Hospital, and local businesses faced substantial damage.

Alexandre Gomes, working to clear water from his store, described the recurring issue, stating, "Every year, the same thing happens when it rains hard here; it turns into a pool, a lagoon."

A national agency monitoring natural disasters highlighted the persistent high risk of landslides in eight towns in the surrounding Rio de Janeiro state.

Residents Face Devastation and Desperation

Residents in areas like Duque de Caxias, north of Rio, are grappling with the aftermath of over 100 millimeters (3.9 inches) of rain in 24 hours, per NBC 10.

Heloisa Regina, a bar owner in the affected city, expressed the despair felt by many: "We feel like animals. It's not normal to live like this."

She spent the night on a pool table, grappling with the uncertainty of how to repair the extensive damage.

Video footage from Brazil's Globo television network captured residents wading through waist-high water, climbing onto roofs, and calling for help as helicopters surveyed the scene.

Some residents in Duque de Caxias accused authorities of neglect, asserting that conditions have not improved since the floods over a decade ago.

The situation is dire for many, like 80-year-old Eliana Vieira Krauss, who carried her disabled father-in-law to safety through rising waters.

Nizia Maria Geralda Francisco, 70, spent the night on her roof to escape flooding, only to find her belongings soaked the next morning.

In light of previous climate-related disasters in Brazil, including flooding and landslides in Sao Paulo state in February 2023 and cyclone-induced flooding in southern Brazil in September, the recurring crises underscore the need for measures to address the impacts of climate change.

Experts warn that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent due to human-caused climate change, with 2023 marking the hottest year on record.

READ MORE: Brazil: After Taylor Swift Fan's Death, Another Fan Gives Birth During Eras Tour Concert

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WATCH: Brazil Floods | 11 Dead In Rio De Janeiro After Heavy Rainfall Triggers floods, Landslides - From CNN-News18
As expected, Donald Trump is projected to win the Iowa Republican caucus. However, as this is happening, a New York judge surprised many by allowing him to testify in his rape trial, given his penchant for turning his testimonies into campaign speeches and veering into unrelated tangents while not sticking to the facts of the case.

Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote that the former president may be given an additional opportunity to testify in the second E. Jean Carroll defamation trial just days after his defense lawyers rest their case, according to CBS News.

This decision came after Trump's attorney, Alina Habba, requested that the defamation trial, which is scheduled to begin on Tuesday due to scheduling conflicts as Trump would be traveling to Florida on Wednesday and Thursday for his mother-in-law's funeral. However, the judge wrote that a delay "would disrupt and inconvenience prospective jurors, counsel, court staff, and security arrangements."

This changed Trump's plans as the president is now holding a rally in New Hampshire on Wednesday, ahead of the state's January 23 Republican primary election.

Carroll's lawyers have opposed the request and have cited that Trump has a history of seeking delays for his own benefit, saying that "any delay would be severely prejudicial" and that Trump was "near certain to assert scheduling conflicts again" and that he is still defaming Carroll on "a near-daily basis" as he continues campaigning to be president again.

Donald Trump has already been found liable for rape. The judge gave conditions on Trump's testimony, meaning he is not allowed to turn his time on the stand into a campaign speech, and he must adhere to the facts presented in the case.

Donald Trump Projected To Win Iowa as Expected

As Donald Trump may have succeeded in delaying his rape trial, he also received even more good news as he is projected to win the Iowa Republican caucus. His win in the state is rather expected, as he has been leading in the Iowa polls by a wide margin.

READ MORE: Donald Trump Claims He Does Not Know His Rhetoric Mirrored Adolf Hitler, But Reports Say Otherwise

CNN noted that the Trump win places "added pressure on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley ahead of next week's contest in New Hampshire." Haley is looking to win the state as it has a more diverse electorate.

Caucus-goers in Iowa braved snow and freezing temperatures ahead of voting in Iowa, which was one of the hardest-hit areas in terms of snowfall. Votes are currently being counted, but Trump's lead is so big that many media outlets have agreed that he is projected to win the state.

Donald Trump Did Not Sign Illinois Pledge Not To Overthrow the Government

Over in Illinois, Donald Trump is getting blasted for sidestepping the signing of the McCarthy-era voluntary pledge that is part of the Illinois state package of ballot-access paperwork submitted by 2024 electoral candidates last week.

According to The Guardian, the omission came just days before the third anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, which Trump has been accused of orchestrating after he lawfully lost to Joe Biden in 2020.

"For the entirety of our nation's history, presidents have put their hand on the Bible and sworn to protect and uphold the constitution of the United States - and Donald Trump can't bring himself to sign a piece of paper saying he won't attempt a coup to overthrow our government ... We know he's deadly serious because three years ago today he tried and failed to do exactly that," said Biden campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler in a statement.

READ MORE: Donald Trump Received Millions of Dollars From China, Other Countries While US President

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WATCH: CNN projects Trump will win Iowa caucuses - CNN
A group of skydivers faced a devastating incident on Sunday morning when the hot air balloon they had just jumped from crash-landed in the Arizona desert, resulting in the loss of four lives and leaving another individual critically injured, according to local authorities.

The Arizona hot air balloon crash occurred at approximately 7:50 AM in Eloy, a city located about 65 miles south of Phoenix, as detailed in a news release from the local police department.

The crash unfolded in a desert area east of Sunshine Boulevard and Hanna Road, following the completion of a planned jump by eight skydivers and their fellow passengers, according to CNN.

Eloy Police Chief Byron Gwaltney, addressing the media at a press conference, revealed that a catastrophic event took place with the balloon after all the skydivers safely completed their jump.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), currently investigating the incident, indicated that preliminary information suggests the crash resulted from an unspecified problem with the balloon's envelope.

An eyewitness on the ground described the moments leading up to the crash, noting that the hot air balloon's material appeared to be straight up and down, and the impact was substantial.

READ NEXT: Arizona Teen Arrested for Parents' Murder

Rescue Efforts and Community Response

Firefighters responded swiftly to the crash scene, extracting victims from the wreckage, Arizona's Family reports.

Unfortunately, one person died at the scene, and four others were rushed to a hospital.

Three of them succumbed to their injuries, while the remaining individual is in critical condition at a Phoenix-area trauma center.

Eloy Mayor Micah Powell expressed the community's sorrow, emphasizing the unexpected nature of the incident during what should have been a routine Sunday morning activity for skydiving enthusiasts.

Authorities are yet to determine the intended flight plan of the hot air balloon or details about wind conditions at the time of the crash.

Gwaltney highlighted that the hot air balloon, carrying skydivers aiming to jump into the Eloy Municipal Airport, originated from outside Eloy.

He reassured the public that the skydiving community is generally safe and that incidents like this are exceptions rather than the rule.

Identifying the Victims and Investigating the Arizona Hot Air Balloon Crash

Eloy police identified the pilot as 37-year-old Cornelius Van Der Walt, a resident of Eloy originally from South Africa, per USA Today.

The three passengers who tragically lost their lives were Chayton Wiescholek, 28, of Union City, Michigan; Kaitlynn Bartrom, 28, of Andrews, Indiana; and Atahan Kiliccote, 24, of Cupertino, California.

Another person, a 23-year-old from Scottsdale, Arizona, sustained critical injuries.

The hot air balloon was operated by Droplyne Hot Air Balloon Rides, a company based in Eloy, with Van Der Walt being the founder.

The NTSB and FAA are actively investigating the crash, focusing on a Kubicek BB85Z hot air balloon, which hit the desert terrain due to an issue with the aircraft's envelope.

The balloon is rated to carry a pilot and 12-16 passengers, with no identified mechanical anomalies so far.

The NTSB mentioned that an electronic device containing relevant flight information and a video camera have been sent to their headquarters for further analysis.

They have also collected maintenance records for the balloon and information on Van Der Walt's flight experience, with a preliminary report expected in about one month.

The recent balloon crash is noted as the deadliest since 2021, when five individuals lost their lives in a balloon crash in Albuquerque.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has been involved in investigating 30 balloon crashes in Arizona since the year 2000.

The last fatal Arizona hot air balloon crash in the state occurred in 2005, resulting in one fatality and 10 injuries after a hot air balloon crash in Marana.

As the community grapples with the aftermath, Mayor Powell summed up the sentiments, saying, "You don't wish this upon anybody, you know, in a sport like this, in a community like this."

READ MORE: Iowa School Shooting

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WATCH: Scene of deadly hot air balloon crash in Eloy, Arizona - From FOX 10 Phoenix
In a historic moment on Sunday night, 22-year-old Madison Marsh, an officer in the US Air Force, was crowned Miss America 2024 in Orlando, Florida, according to The Denver Post.

Marsh's victory marks a significant milestone as the first active-duty service member to ever hold the prestigious title.

Join us in congratulating #USAF grad 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh on being crowned Miss America 2024.



As well as being the first active-duty @usairforce officer to win the title, Madison is also working on her master's at @Harvard!



Congratulations Madison! pic.twitter.com/Gz8OHqgcOG  U.S. Air Force Academy (@AF_Academy) January 16, 2024

"I'm very excited to get to represent women who can break stereotypes," Marsh said in an interview on the pageant's Instagram page, expressing her excitement.

The competition featured 51 women from across the United States and the District of Columbia, showcasing their skills in a fitness runway walk, a "hot topics" discussion, a talent show, and an evening gown presentation, according to People magazine.

READ NEXT: Why is the Daniel Ortega Government Feuding With Miss Universe Sheynnis Palacios?

Madison Marsh's Achievements

Madison Marsh, currently pursuing a master's in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School through her National Truman Scholarship, had previously won the title of Miss Colorado in 2023, Boston.com noted.

A graduate of the US Air Force Academy with a major in physics, she currently serves as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force and is interning with Harvard Medical School.

Drawing parallels between her military service and participation in pageantry, Marsh commented, "When I put on my uniform, I serve and represent our country. When I put on the crown and sash, I'm serving and representing my community."

Beyond her military commitments, Marsh is the founder of the Whitney Marsh Foundation, dedicated to honoring her mother, who passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2018.

She is also a graduate intern at Harvard Medical School, where she aspires to leverage artificial intelligence for the early detection of pancreatic cancer.

Madison Marsh's Advocacy and Inspiration

Madison Marsh's journey toward Miss America 2024 began with her being crowned Miss Academy.

Prior to the Miss Colorado competition, she used her public platform to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer, testifying before Congress and founding the Whitney Marsh Foundation.

Marsh expressed her dedication to cancer research in an email to 11 News.

"I have since dedicated myself to the cause, including being accepted to the Harvard Kennedy School to obtain my Master's in Public Policy to create a future in which no one has to suffer the way my family did following my mom's passing," she wrote.

She also aimed to inspire other girls and challenge stereotypes surrounding women in the military and the pageant world.

"I especially love showing that women within our nation's military are multi-faceted and capable of serving both the community and our country at the same time," Marsh said.

Following her win, Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade congratulated Marsh in a social media post.

Marsh succeeds Grace Stanke of Wisconsin, the 2023 Miss America, who crowned her on Sunday.

The 51 contestants competed in four rounds, and Miss Colorado, Madison Marsh's victory brings attention to her achievements, including being a National Truman Scholar, two-time National Astronaut scholar, and a graduate of the Kennedy School at Harvard.

In a prior appearance on "Fox & Friends Weekend," Marsh shared her excitement, stating, "I'm a pilot select right now, just graduated from the US Air Force Academy, and everyone has been so, so excited to have me here."

Co-host Pete Hegseth commended Marsh on her extensive list of accomplishments, highlighting her achievements in academics, aviation, and martial arts.

Marsh's historic win as Miss America 2024 underscores her dedication to breaking stereotypes and serving as an inspiration for women nationwide.

READ MORE: Stimulus Check 2024

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: First active military member crowned Miss America 2024 - From 5News
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said he sees no signs of Russian President Vladimir Putin planning peace now and called for continued military support for Ukraine.

But what we can do is to just maximise the likelihood that at some stage President Putin will understand that to continue this war will have a too high price. And then at some stage he has to sit down and negotiate to some kind of just, lasting peace where Ukraine prevails as a sovereign independent nation. And the paradox is that if we want that to happen, a peaceful just end to this war, the way to get there is more weapons to Ukraine, he said during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Tuesday.

So, as the Secretary General stressed, the more credible we are in our military support, the more likely it is that the diplomats will succeed. According to him, what happens around the negotiating table with diplomats is so closely linked to the situation on the battlefield.

There are no indications that Putin is planning for peace now, but he will when he realizes that we will not give up, that we have the military strength to support Ukraine, NATO Secretary General noted.
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I must admit Ive never understood etiquettes requirement to invite people to ones home after being invited to theirs.

When my spouse and I host, we feel that its our idea -- nobody asked us to make a dinner and invite the group. We enjoy cooking and spending time with everyone.

Is it not improper for hosts to expect that they will be repaid with invitations from their guests?

GENTLE READER: Your statement is akin to the frequently argued one that people should give presents because they really want to, and therefore responses from the recipients are unnecessary. So only selfish people feel the need for positive reactions from those they entertain or send presents.

Evidently, you do not care whether the presents were successful, or if your guests liked you enough to initiate seeing you again.

Most of us do. Miss Manners can think of hardly anyone -- or even any business -- not wishing, if not clamoring, for likes and feedback.

However, reciprocating hospitality does not necessarily involve duplicating the original scenario -- what you characterize as repayment in kind. People entertain in different ways, and an invitation to a picnic or a bistro would be full reciprocation for a formal dinner.

What is important is what it says: We were not just looking for a free night out. We enjoyed ourselves and want to see you again.

***

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I love Italian food, especially a good ravioli. But here is my dilemma: An individual ravioli is usually too much of a mouthful to eat in one bite.

What does a proper Italian do? Surely not spear one ravioli, nibble off half from the fork and then, after swallowing, take the final bite. So is it OK to cut the ravioli in half first?

GENTLE READER: A proper Italian acquaintance of Miss Manners points out that a raviolo [sic] that doesnt fit in the mouth differs from ravioli, which are smaller.

Yes, you may cut it with your fork, risking spilling out its contents, but no, you may certainly not nibble.

***

DEAR MISS MANNERS: We have a small galley kitchen and a small adjacent breakfast nook. When entertaining, guests congregate in both.

Their physical presence in these small spaces impedes my ability to prepare the meal, and their attempts to engage me in conversation are distracting -- often leading to me misreading a recipe or not getting something out of the oven in time.

How can I politely and firmly ask them to leave me alone while I work on meal prep? (My wife tells me my own attempts meet the second criteria, but not the first.)

GENTLE READER: Out! Anyone who expects to eat dinner, please assemble elsewhere. I cant cook with all of you in here. Followed, if necessary, by Shoo!

No doubt your wife expects something more gentle from Miss Manners. But if these guests are close enough friends that they feel free to wander backstage, they should understand it to be meant in a jovial fashion.

If your wife fears they will not, she should herd the guests by saying firmly, Please come into the living room. And serve the drinks there.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)
UPDATE: The 30-year-old woman who went missing after jumping into the Delaware River on Monday night in Bucks County was found unharmed, Pennsylvania State Police said. Troopers with state police at Dublin located her in Riegelsville. Trooper Nathan Branosky, public information officer for the Troop M, told lehighvalleylive.com the woman was running from police as the result of an arrest warrant. Charges against the woman are pending, police said. Further details were not immediately available.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: A mother of three went missing Monday after leaving her children behind and jumping into the Delaware River in Riegelsville, Upper Bucks County, state police said.

Trooper Nathan Branosky, public information officer for the Troop M barracks, said the incident unfolded shortly after 6:30 p.m. Monday following a domestic dispute along Durham Street in Riegelsville. Responding troopers with the Dublin barracks found the 30-year-old woman and 34-year-old man involved had left the home, state police said.

The woman, state police said, later was found by investigators with her three children walking on a path along the Delaware River in Riegelsville. The woman jumped into the river as a trooper approached to speak with her, according to state police.

Troopers were able to safety secure the children at the scene, state police said. The 34-year-old man eventually returned home and was taken into custody on an unrelated arrest warrant, Branosky told lehighvalleylive.com.

Authorities attempted to rescue the woman, but couldnt get her back on land. The Riegelsville Fire Dept., Plumsted Fire Water Rescue Team and other authorities spent two hours then searching the river for the woman and couldnt find her, state police said.

The search and investigation continues Tuesday by Pennsylvania State Police in Dublin. Rescuers will be attempting to locate the woman after 4 to 6 inches of total accumulation is expected in the region before a winter storm ends Tuesday. Temps also remain frigid, with wind gusts expected to reach 25 mph Tuesday.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism you rely on and trust.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
The latest regional forecast by the National Weather Service is calling for 3 to 4 inches of snowfall from Monday evening into Tuesday morning.

AccuWeather is making similar predictions, calling for 1 to 3 inches of snow across the region with little to no accumulation along the southern Jersey Shore.

That means the potential for an icy Tuesday morning is leading to a late start  or none at all  for some Lehigh Valley students. Others will be operating virtually or under remote instruction, according to some area districts.

The weather service has issued a winter weather advisory, starting at 7 p.m. Monday, for Lehigh and Northampton counties in Pennsylvania, as well as Warren County in New Jersey. The weather service said in its Monday forecast update a change over to mixed precipitation is likely Tuesday morning.

Hazardous conditions could impact the morning commute, meteorologists say. They additionally note as the storm winds down Tuesday, snow could mix with warm air aloft and change to a wintry mix that could make driving conditions deteriorate quickly.

Motorists are advised by forecasters to take extra precaution, especially in the Interstate 95 corridor and areas southeast of the corridor.

This is a bit concerning and will be watched carefully going forward, the weather service said. This situation means that snow may change over to a period of sleet/freezing rain or wintry mix early Tuesday morning before the event concludes.

Mondays storm also could be the first of two potential snowstorms this week. Forecasters continue to track the potential for a more significant snow event on Thursday night into Friday.

Details, however, remain uncertain with Sarah Johnson, warning coordinator meteorologist for the National Weather Services Mount Holly office, previously telling lehighvalleylive.com meteorologists normally have a better idea three days out. This is due to inherent uncertainty with moisture amounts  and thus snow amounts  forecasting, snow and precipitation amounts, she said.

The following school districts that have announced closures or schedule changes for Tuesday, Jan. 16. Keep refreshing for the most updated information.

Allamuchy Township School District

All schools will be operating on a two-hour delay opening, according to the districts website.

Allentown School District

All schools will be on a flexible instruction day. Students complete assignments independently and should contact teachers for additional information and schedules, according to the districts website.

Bangor Area School District

All schools will operate as a flexible instruction day, according to the districts website.

Belvidere School District

All schools will operate on a delay opening schedule, according to the districts website.

Bethlehem Area School District

All district schools, childcare and offices are closed. Additionally, all after-school activities are canceled, according to the districts website.

Blairstown Elementary School

The school will operate on a two-hour delay opening. All preschool students will attend the p.m. session which begins at 11:45 a.m., according to the schools website.

Catasauqua Area School District

All schools will operate as a Virtual Snow Day. This means all K-8 parents will be contacted via Remind and K-8 students will need to check Google Classroom. All high school students will follow the Virtual Snow Day schedule. All district offices are closed, according to the districts website.

Easton Area School District

All schools will operate as a flexible instruction day. Attendance will be taken by Zoom, according to the districts website.

East Penn School District

All district schools are closed, according to the districts website.

Hackettstown School District

All schools will be operate under a two-hour delay opening, according to the districts website.

Hope Township School District

All schools will be operate under a two-hour delay opening, according to the districts website.

Knowlton Township School District

All schools will be operate under a two-hour delay opening, according to the districts website.

Nazareth Area School District

All district schools are closed. There will be no non-public transportation and no lunches served. Additionally, all after-school activities are canceled and district offices are closed, according to the districts website.

Northampton Area School District

All district schools and offices are closed, according to the districts website.

Northern Lehigh School District

All schools will operate as a virtual instruction day. Students are asked to check for work posted by teachers and for their online office hours. All district offices are closed and will operate remotely, according to the districts website.

North Warren Regional School District

All schools will operate under a delay opening schedule, according to the districts website.

Northwestern Lehigh School District

All schools will be operating under a flexible instruction day. Students are asked to check their teachers websites or announcements to access assignments, instructional activities and any synchronous lessons. Students are expected to participate throughout the day in synchronous lessons (if applicable) and complete assigned learning activities. All school buildings and offices will be closed and no public transportation will be provided, according to the districts website.

Parkland School District

All district schools are closed. Offices will be working remotely. There will be no non-public transportation, according to the districts website.

Pen Argyl Area School District

All schools will operate under remote instruction, according to WFMZ-69 News.

Phillipsburg School District

All schools will be operating on a two-hour delay opening, according to WFMZ-69 News. The districts website indicates the high school also previously had an early dismissal scheduled.

Salisbury Township School District

All district schools are closed, according to WFMZ-69 News.

Saucon Valley School District

All schools were closed already due to an in-teacher service day, according to the districts website.

Southern Lehigh School District

All schools are closed, according to the districts website.

Washington Township, Warren County

All schools will operate on a 90-minute delay opening, according to the districts website.

Whitehall-Coplay School District

All schools and district offices are closed, according to the districts website.

Wilson Area School District

All district schools are closed, according to WFMZ-69 News.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism you rely on and trust.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
The rejuvenation of one of Portlaoise heritage and historic gems features in a special Heritage Council publication featuring stories from heritage officers in every county.

Opening the door to Irelands heritage has been launched to mark 25 years since the Heritage Officer Network was founded. It details one key heritage project from each local authority from the last three years. The Heritage Council says the projects from Laois and other counties collectively highlight the enormous contribution the Network has made to the preservation of our heritage over the last quarter of a century.

The booklet features the story of the rejuvenation of Old St Peters Church and Graveyard in Portlaoise, one of the oldest surviving sites in the town, dating from the 16th century. The church was demolished in or around 1837, leaving just the square tower still seen today. The graveyard was used until the 20th century but, over the years, the entire site had sadly become derelict. As a result, Old St Peters had been closed to the public for many years.

Following an enormous amount of work involving numerous phases and complications, the site was formally reopened in June 2023. The project is award-winning, receiving the Heritage Council Adopt a Monument Mentors Award in 2022. It was awarded to the Portlaoise Tidy Towns Committee in recognition of its remarkable achievement in conserving the site. More below picture.

Pictured: Conservation works in progress in the graveyard.

Thomas Carolan, Heritage Officer for Laois County Council, spoke at the launch of the booklet,

It is deeply satisfying to see documented in this publication the influence of the Heritage Officer Network in shaping our approach to heritage conservation and protection. Although we work as individuals at local authority level, what is clear from these pages is that the real strength of the Network is in the collective.

"These stories cover only a snapshot of recently completed projects from current heritage officers, so when we factor in the hundreds of past projects completed since 1999, it brings into the focus the enormous impact that the Local Authority Heritage Officer Programme has had, he said.

John Mulholland is the Chair of the CCMA Rural Development, Community, Culture and Heritage (RCCH) Committee and CEO of Laois County Council also attended the launch.

What has always stood out to me about the Heritage Officer Network is the range and number of individuals, groups and funders involved in the projects they undertake. It is very difficult to keep such a diverse range of interested parties singing off the same hymn sheet and getting the job done. This is the silent but tireless work of the Heritage Officers at play, to whom we owe a great debt of gratitude. On behalf of the CCMA, I commend them for their dedication, he said.

Pictured: Cllr Thomasina Connell, Cathaoirleach of Laois County Council, cutting the ribbon with guests to officially re-open St Peters. Photo: Michael Scully

The Heritage Council Chairperson is Martina Moloney.

I have had the pleasure of working extensively with our Heritage Officers over many years and am constantly amazed by the shear variety of their work which is excellently captured in this beautiful publication. Not only do they provide advice, guidance, and information on all aspects of heritage, but they also secure funding, undertake research, collect data, and develop and lead a multitude of highly impactful and engaging projects. Raising awareness locally, Heritage Officers inspire communities to value and take ownership of their important local heritage in all its forms.

"What their work achieves, ultimately, is that it opens the door to our heritage for people across Ireland and further afield, so that it can be enjoyed and appreciated by everyone, she said.

In a partnership between the Heritage Council and local authorities, the first heritage officers were appointed in 1999 in Kerry, Sligo and Galway with the aim of raising awareness of heritage issues within the local authority and among local communities. Since then, the heritage officer network has become synonymous with the protection and promotion of Irelands heritage and for the first time in 2021, every local authority in the country had appointed somebody to the role.

While highlighting the important work they do, the stories in the publication also offer a stark insight into what may have been lost were it not for the heritage officers. Mangans Clock in the heart of Cork city may have fallen into disrepair. The most historic buildings in Ballyshannon or Listowel may have been left derelict and allowed to crumble. The natural beach and dune habitats along the coast of Wicklow may have become irrevocably degraded and the craftsmanship of dry-stone walling on Inis Oirr may have receded.

The publication can be read in full on the Heritage Council website here:

www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/files/Opening-the-Door-to-Irelands-Heritage.pdf

More information about the Heritage Officer Network is available here:

www.heritagecouncil.ie/our-work-with-others/county-heritage-officers
Lithuanian President: Now we need speed of implementation of decisions taken to help Ukraine, were lagging behind Ukrainian soldiers needs

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda notes the importance of the speed of implementation of the decisions already taken on military assistance to Ukraine.

I think there are several channels how we can support Ukraine, and I cannot imagine Ukraine's success without one of them. Of course, military support is a key issue. To succeed on the battlefield, we need to support Ukraine as soon as possible and as much as possible. A lot has been done ... and I think we especially need the speed of implementation right now. Because decisions have been made, but implementation, unfortunately, is too slow, and we are lagging behind the needs of Ukrainian soldiers, Nauseda said during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Tuesday.

The second, as Nauseda stressed, no less important point of support for Ukraine is economic. He noted that Ukrainians count very much on the ability of my colleagues in the European Council to make this very important decision on February 1, when we will meet again in Brussels to discuss the allocation of EUR 50 billion for macro-financial assistance to Ukraine.

I hope that no matter if there are 27 or 26 countries, we will come to an agreement. This will be a very significant support for our Ukrainian friends, the Lithuanian leader said.

The third channel, as Nauseda pointed out, is political support for Ukraine. In particular, he noted that political decisions are needed to invite Ukraine not only to the European Union, but also to start accession negotiations as soon as possible, and success in the field of integration into NATO is also needed.

The Lithuanian President expressed hope that the Washington NATO summit would be successful.
Independent TD for Laois Offaly Carol Nolan has strongly criticised what she says are attempts by senior Government figures to dismiss concerns relating to unsustainable levels of inward immigration.

Dep Nolan, who has been outspoken on the issue of immigration, issued a statement after Taoiseach Leo Varadkar set out his views on the state's immigration policies in which she said he described the current policies as firm and tough on those who arrive here illegally.

She said this followed remarks by Minister of State Neal Richmond, who said that talk about documentation being ripped up by those arriving here is feeding into misplaced fears. Its utter rubbish.

Dep Nolan challenged this in her statement.

She asked: How are we going to address this issue with any kind of credibility if members of this Government continue to treat the vast majority of people as absolute fools?

Dep Nolan continued: They are acting and speaking as if they and they alone are possessed of some form of elite insight on these issues".

The teacher by profession claimed that 7 in 10 people arriving at Dublin Airport claimed asylum while having no passport or identifying documentation despite having boarded the plane while in possession of one in 2023.

I have been consistently calling for a fact-based and constructive debate since I broke the self-imposed parliamentary omerta on this matter last year during my debate with Minister Darragh OBrien.

Since then, however, government members have pursued with incomprehensible zealotry the quite frankly bizarre policy of telling people that they are essentially either morons, racist or misinformed whenever they raise concerns. What has that lead to except an ever-deepening level of polarisation and an erosion of the ability to generate trust?

The fact is that the resources of the state are now thoroughly overwhelmed in terms of the provision of accommodation; a situation that is being exacerbated by thousands of people arriving here annually which shows no sign of slowing down.

It is beyond incredible that I, and members of the Oireachtas who share my concerns, must plead for honesty and realism from our own Government. The policy of psychological and political manipulation has failed. Everyone can see that it has failed with the exception of Government, concluded Dep Nolan.

She issued that statement as protests were mounted in Tipperary over the use of Rackett Hall Hotel to house asylum seekers.
Tensions continue to run high in Roscrea as protesters continue to gather in opposition of the government's decision to house 160 asylum seekers in Racket Hall Hotel.

In an interview with Morning Ireland on RTE Radio 1 this Tuesday morning, Minister for Integration, Roderic O'Gorman responded to the protests, acknowledging the concerns raised by the community.

He firstly acknowledged the right to protest but emphasised the need to ensure it does not impact or block people's access to their accommodation.

Regarding the housing of asylum seekers, Minister O'Gorman explained that those to be housed in Racket Hall Hotel will be familes and female applicants.

He acknowledged the distress experienced by asylum seekers, particularly children witnessing scuffles between protesters and gardai, especially after the arrest on one protester, but understands that the group of 17 who arrived this Monday are now settling in.

In Roscrea, James Kirwin, a vocal protester, stated on the radio programme that their issue is not with the asylum seekers, but rather with the government. "We've been here since early yesterday. The hotel is a huge part of this town, it's the only hotel we have left," he stated.

"This is an action against the government of the Republic of Ireland," he added. "Roscrea is now holding 85% of asylum seekers in Tipperary, [and] the knock-on effect is just huge".

Craig Phelan, another protester, spoke of their determination to continue the protest, saying: "Our protest will continue until someone from that government comes to speak to us. The people of Roscrea won't allow it to continue.

"We have done loads, more than our share; it has to be capped. Let the people already here integrate into the town properly."

The minister declared the need for new reception centres to ease the tensions in local areas: "The reliance we have on private accommodation and the likes of Racket Hall is not sustainable."

He suggested new builds, building on state land, and some purchases as a "range of mechanisms to be used to address the issue of capacity.

After gardai this Monday warned of "fake news" being spread across social media, the minister stressed the importance of dispelling misinformation and fostering understanding within local communities.
A young woman has said she can no longer listen to music after being sexually assaulted during a concert at Marlay Park, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard.

In her victim impact statement, the young woman said she got rid of anything that reminds her of the concert in June 2023.

She said she 'dreads' being in public spaces where music is playing in case the next song is by the concert's headline act.

Kartikey Gupta (22) with an address at Tandys Lane, Lucan, County Dublin, who is originally from India, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault during the concert at Marlay Park.

Imposing sentence yesterday (Monday, January 15 last), Judge Martin Nolan said sexual assaults are 'always serious' and noted that this incident caused 'considerable distress' to the victim.

He said this incident 'could be said to be on the less serious end' of sexual assaults as it was 'not too insidious.'

He nonetheless noted it was 'very distressing' for the victim, who continues to be impacted by Gupta's behaviour.

He imposed a 21-month prison sentence which he suspended in full on strict conditions.

An investigating garda told Lisa Dempsey BL, prosecuting, that the victim, who is in her early 20s, attended the particular concert with a friend and was standing towards the front of the large crowd at 8.20pm when she thought she felt someone touching her.

She turned around, but initially didn't see anyone.

The court heard the victim tried to tell herself that it was in her head due to the size of the crowd, but she again felt a hand reach under her skirt.

She felt the hand touch the area of her vagina and buttocks over her underwear around seven or eight times.

The incident lasted around seven minutes, during which she felt very afraid.

She turned around and saw a man, later identified as Gupta, behind her.

She told her friend, who approached Gupta.

A security guard had observed Gupta close behind the victim and initially thought he was taking photos.

He came over when he saw her friend approach Gupta and removed him after the victim explained what had happened.

She went to the garda tent at the event and later made a statement.

She told gardai when she turned around Gupta was staring at her, and other people in the crowd were looking at her and at him.

Gupta was arrested. After caution, he told garda that there was no sexual assault but he was involved in a fight.

He said he touched the victim 'by mistake once' but didn't remember doing it 'more than once.'

During interview, he accepted touching the victim inappropriately once, but denied any further contact. His phone was examined and nothing was found on it.

The court heard Gupta was apologetic during interview and told gardai he had had one beer at the concert and never intended to drink again.

He said he did it 'by mistake' and saw 'no reaction.'

He added that he did not know 'what came into my head.'

A victim impact statement was read to the court by the local garda.

The woman said she 'could not get her head around the idea that something so degrading' had taken place at a concert during daylight.

The woman outlined that she has faced a number of challenges and the concert was intended to be 'one night of small happiness' but this was taken from her.

She said she has suffered with anxiety and finds it difficult to leave the house.

The court heard 2,500 had been offered as a token of remorse, but the victim did not wish to accept it.

Gupta has no previous convictions and had arrived in Ireland to visit family in the days before the concert.

The court heard he intends to return home once the criminal process is concluded.

The garda agreed with defence counsel that Gupta was co-operative following his arrest and made some admissions during interview.

He also agreed that Gupta spent a number of days in custody before being released on bail.

Defence counsel said his client had come to Ireland after finishing college to visit family.

He was given a ticket to the concert by a family member.

Gupta had intended to stay here for a month, but has spent the last seven months in Ireland.

He said a psychiatric report outlined that his client has never consumed alcohol before that day and this had contributed to the offending behaviour, alongside jetlag.

He told the court his client was 'naive' and 'got swept away in the excitement' of going to the show.

His client had been frightened to tell gardai he had been intoxicated at the concert. Gupta was willing to give an undertaking never to return to Ireland.

Judge Nolan further directed that the token of remorse of 2,500 is offered again to the victim and ordered that if she declines it, it should be given to charity.

He noted Gupta's intention to leave Ireland and directed that he must leave the jurisdiction within two weeks and not return for 10 years.

If you have been affected by this article, you can find resources to help you by contacting Samaritans Ireland at jo@samaritans.ie or by ringing 116 123.

You can also find additional resources at the Rape Crisis Centre at http://drcc.ie.
Members of Mayo County Council have unanimously passed a motion calling on the staff of the local authority to immediately cease all cooperation with the Government department responsible for housing of refugees in Mayo.

The standing orders for yesterdays monthly meeting of Mayo County Council were suspended to allow a debate on the motion, which was prompted by protests in Ballinrobe and Castlemacgarrett near Claremorris over the possible arrival of International Protection migrants.

The meeting heard that Mayo had housed its fair share of refugees and asylum seekers and enough was enough, with claims that the fabric of Irish society was breaking down as a result.

Up to 20 members of the public were present in the viewing gallery in the council chamber for the debate, while over a dozen more who could not get in waited in the lobby of Aras an Chontae in Castlebar.

Serious issues

THE cross-party motion which was passed at yesterdays meeting of Mayo County Council which stated that all co-operation ceases immediately, between the staff of Mayo County Council and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth of Ireland, until such time as an agreed strategy is put in place to properly co-ordinate the provision of additional services for the communities hosting refugees and international protection applicants.

The motion was proposed by Independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne, who said that the people on the ground were concerned and that councillors have no say in who arrives in the county and where they stay.

These are serious issues, and we are doing our best to resolve these issues, and to a certain extent we dont know what is happening. We are not told what is happening until the last minute. Sometimes we are not told until it happens. We are extremely concerned, and that is why we are bringing forward this motion to try and make some progress on it. At the end of the day, we dont have a say  if we had things would be different, he said.

The Castlebar-based councillor also claimed that International Protection Applicants were being treated better than Irish people, and it was time Irish people started to come first.

Communication and collaboration

THE motion was seconded by Fianna Fail councillor Damien Ryan, who told the meeting that the lack of a strategy at government level to deal with the migrant crisis was leading to unrest in communities.

As a county we have played our part and the absence of a strategy has created a problem nationwide and not just in this county. A strategy is needed and needed very quickly, and the department can roll it out quickly, he said, criticising the departments lack of communication and collaboration.

An amendment to the motion set down by Fine Gael councillor Peter Flynn, which was agreed by all sides, stated: Mayo County Council requests the Irish Government to revoke the European Union (Planning and Development) (Displaced Persons from Ukraine Temporary Protection) Regulations 2022 and that Mayo County Council encourages government to utilise lands where planning permission has been granted but no works have taken place to erect modular or prefabricated housing for the accommodation needs of refugees fleeing wars and Irish people requiring affordable accommodation.

Cllr Flynn said that the current lack of strategy had allowed faceless speculators who do not give a damn about communities but were seizing the opportunity to make large profits.

The last thing we need is social discourse in our society where people start blaming refugees who have no act or part in what has happened, he argued.

Protests

THE potential use of modular housing at Castlemacgarrett near Claremorris to house Ukrainian refugees was met with protests by local people over the weekend. Cllr Flynn said he would join people at any protests against the arrival of migrants if it goes against the wishes of the community.

It is breaking down the fabric of Irish society, he said. People are concerned and dont want to see single males outside our schools and around creches and around our parks where they go for walks and dont feel safe. You only have to think about other areas where these problems have arisen, and people are aware of these problems.

The whole country is sick with what is going on and as far as I am concerned enough is enough. I understand the concerns of the people, and we echo the concerns of the people. We are going to protest at the venues and make our voice heard for the people. If we make enemies from that, that is good, because we have stood up for something in our lives.

Misinformation

THERE were similar views from a number of other councillors, who stressed that Mayo has more migrants than most other counties and claimed there are not enough services to support everyone.

Fine Gael councillor Ger Deere said a lot of misinformation had been given during the debate on the motion, saying the lack of communication was leading to fear and anxiety.

There is an awful lot of misinformation out there and an awful lot of misinformation here today, and it is naturally creating a degree of fear and anxiety. There has to be a proper communication strategy There is an onus on the Government to do that, he said.

Cllr Deere said he has gotten to know a number of the refugees who are staying around Castlebar through Tidy Towns, and he stressed they want to be part of the community and are doing courses to better themselves.

When Cllr Deere was saying this there was a cry from the public gallery for him to shut up.

Cllr Christy Hyland stated that there was also a lack of awareness about the difference between economic migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, and he claimed social media was to blame for spreading misinformation.

Kevin Kelly, Chief Executive of Mayo County Council told the meeting that the reason there were a lot of refugees arriving into Mayo was because property was being made available to house them. He added that when it comes to government policy he does not have the leeway to ignore it, but he said he would forward the motion to the relevant government minister.
Green Party candidate for the Ballinamore LEA, Adam O Ceallaigh, attended the European Parliament in Brussels, last week, on the invitation of Green Party MEP for Ireland South, Grace OSullivan, and the European Green Party.

Adam O Ceallaigh, the youngest Green Party candidate nationally for the local elections, was selected by the Green Party for the trip, said, "It was fantastic to get an insight into the workings of the European Parliament. I relished the opportunity to learn more about the relevance of EU legislation to our lives at local and national level.

During his visit to Brussels, Adam actively engaged with MEPs to discuss the pressing issue of the proposed EU-Mercosur trade deal. This deal would create a free trade zone between members of the EU and members of Mercosur, the South American free trade area. Conversations centred on strategies to prevent the agreement, given the impact that this would have on Irish farmers.

The youngest Green Party candidate stressed the potential adverse impacts on Ireland, emphasising concerns shared by farmers who fear unfair competition and job losses due to South American products not adhering to equivalent sanitary and environmental standards.

Adam has said, "Despite the clear impact on European farmers, including farmers in Leitrim, that this trade agreement would have, Fianna Fail and Fine Gaels European political parties are in favour of passing this deal. The European Greens are against this deal."

Reflecting on his experience, he expressed gratitude for being invited to Brussels and highlighted the important role that the European Union plays in the lives of Irish people.

The European Union is a driving force for positive change through initiatives like the Common Agricultural Policy and structural funds, the EU ensures fair income for farmers, promotes sustainability, and fuels essential infrastructure development. With a shared commitment to environmental stewardship, the EU stands as a key ally in propelling rural prosperity.

As the 2024 Local and European Elections loom on June 7, Adam O Ceallaigh has called for Leitrim people to engage with the political system and to get out to vote: "With the rise of the far-right across Europe, the upcoming European Elections are of significant importance and will shape the future of the communities we live in. In the North West, we are fortunate to have a fantastic candidate like Pauline OReilly representing the Green Party."
Local Enterprise Offices network supported 155 companies in Leitrim, creating 82 new jobs in 2023.

In Ireland, 6,640 jobs were created, and the Local Enterprise Offices network supported over 38,700 jobs from over 7,000 businesses in 2023.

Last year was the tenth consecutive year of job growth with LEOs supporting companies.

Deputy Frank Feighan said that the network plays a vital role in supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs in the country by providing expert advice, mentorship, and financial support.

From supporting businesses to move online through the Trading Online Voucher Scheme to helping businesses go green with the Green for Business Scheme and the new Energy Efficiency Grant, LEO support can make a huge difference to our small businesses, he said.

Established in 2014 by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, the 31 Local Enterprise Offices nationwide are operated in a partnership between Enterprise Ireland and the Local Authorities. It is now a significant source of job creation and a hub of entrepreneurship across the country.

In Budget 2024, an additional 9 million in funding was secured to ensure that LEOs can continue to support our entrepreneurs across Leitrim, Deputy Feighan added.

Minister Neale Richmond, announcing the job growth, said: With 82% of new jobs created outside of Dublin, it is clear that our LEOs are supporting businesses right across Ireland.

What is also evident is the resilience of Irelands fantastic small businesses that have continued to adapt to an ever-changing business environment.

Fine Gael is backing business, and with Deputy Frank Feighan, we will continue to deliver for businesses and create good quality jobs for Leitrim.
Maropost Hires In-Market Retail Expert to Head Australia and New Zealand Growth and Expansion





Today, Maropost, the commerce software suite built for fast-growing retail and ecommerce brands, named Kristyn Wallace as Country Manager and Vice President of Revenue for Australia. For over a decade, Wallace has lived and worked in the country, helping merchants attract, acquire, and retain customers. In her new role, she will empower the region's retailers to confidently launch, grow, and scale operations.

Most recently, Wallace served as Regional Vice President of Revenue and Country Manager for the Asia Pacific and Japan region at Emarsys, an omnichannel customer engagement platform. In her tenure with the Australian business, the company's business doubled. During that time, Wallace also helped local retailers learn from shopper data, think holistically about their ecommerce and brick-and-mortar storefronts, and get more from their marketing efforts.

At Emarsys, Wallace worked closely with Sean Brady, now Maropost's President and Chief Operating Officer. Having witnessed Wallace's regional dedication and expertise firsthand, Brady is convinced she is the right person to expand the company's presence in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ).

"In 2021, Maropost acquired Neto, Australia's leading unified e-commerce platform. In 2022, we acquired Retail Express, the country's first cloud-based point-of-sale platform," says Brady. "Although Maropost is a global company, we remain committed to providing world-class sales and support to ANZ from in-market experts led by Kristyn. She's not only well-known in the region, she's a retail thought leader with a deep understanding of the market, its merchants, and their customers."

"I am thrilled to build on the home-grown success of Retail Express and Neto in Australia and New Zealand," says Wallace. "As customers know, both products contain a remarkable amount of customer gold. It's my job to help merchants mine it." Considering the work ahead, Wallace notes, "It's remarkable that an international company like Maropost is so serious about investing in ANZ. It's a huge opportunity, and I'm both grateful and excited to lead the charge."

About Maropost

Only Maropost unites the commerce tools and insights growing brands need to engage customers and scale their business. Built on unified customer data and an enterprise-grade infrastructure, Maropost offers a complete, connected suite of marketing, merchandising and search, customer service, ecommerce, and retail solutions.

Since its founding in 2011, Maropost has made multiple appearances on Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 list and G2's leaderboard. A global company, Maropost proudly serves 5,000+ leading commerce brands across North America, Australia, and Europe, including Victoria Beckham, Sandro Paris, Untuckit, Scott Sports, James Perse, and Fujifilm.

Learn more at www.maropost.com.

15 january 2024 at 17:35

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Onera raises over ?30M in Series C funding





Onera Health, pioneer and leader in remote sleep diagnostic and monitoring solutions enabling clinicians to conduct sleep studies anytime, anywhere, announced the completion of its Series C financing round. This latest funding round brings Onera's total investment to date to more than ?55 million.

The round was led by new investor EQT Life Sciences, investing from its EQT Health Economics 3 fund, co-led by new investor Gimv, and joined by existing investors, including Innovation Industries, Invest-NL, imec.xpand, BOM, and 15th Rock.

This strong backing will allow the company to accelerate manufacturing and deployment plans to meet the growing customer demand for its innovative, self-applied, no-wire end-to-end solution. Furthermore, the company intends to use the funds to expedite the clearance of the second generation of its polysomnography (PSG) system in Europe and the United States, further underlining the ambition to position itself as a leader in home PSG (hPSG) within the field of sleep medicine.

"We are delighted that two premier Life Sciences investors, as well as our existing world-class investors, have the confidence to join and support us in the next phase of our company journey," said Ruben de Francisco, Founder and CEO of Onera Health. "This capital infusion will accelerate our ability to scale in the US and Europe. We will continue aggressively investing in R&D, customer success, and geographic expansion to help the medical field provide the much-needed answers for millions of people affected by sleep disorders. We are incredibly proud and humbled by our success to date and look forward to driving growth together with our new partners."

Drew Burdon, Partner at EQT Life Sciences, said: "Onera Health, with its disruptive medical technology, is a perfect fit for the EQT Health Economics strategy. We are dedicated to growing companies with the potential to have a meaningful impact on society, and Onera is strongly aligned with this mission. The company demonstrated a very strong product-market fit with great potential to improve the quality of patient care while also positively impacting the cost of healthcare. We could not be more thrilled to be supporting the next phase of their journey."

"Gimv's Life Sciences' partnership with Onera Health is driven by the shared commitment to addressing unmet clinical needs. Onera is perfectly positioned to support the continued growth potential of hospital-quality care at the patient's home through its innovative sleep diagnostic solution. With its top-notch team and innovative patch-based technology, we believe Onera can and will democratize the gold-standard in sleep medicine," Michael Vlemmix, Partner at Gimv Life Sciences.

Onera Health focuses on breakthrough sleep testing solutions that are quick, convenient, and clinically accurate. The user-centric technology of their PSG system brings clinical-grade PSG diagnostics and monitoring directly to the patient's bed? in the comfort of their own home. The MedTech and Digital Health company operates in the U.S., the Benelux, and the DACH region.

As part of this transaction, Drew Burdon and Michael Vlemmix will join Onera Health's Board of Directors.

Next month, Onera Health will showcase its product and discuss its impact at the AASM (American Academy of Sleep Medicine) event ?Sleep Medicine Trends 2024' on Feb. 23?24 in La Jolla, California.

About Onera

Onera Health is a leader in transforming sleep medicine and remote monitoring. Their breakthrough diagnostic solutions and services are poised to help millions of people struggling with sleep-related ailments while also impacting other medical fields by monitoring various chronic conditions, ultimately improving the health and quality of life of patients worldwide. The company's innovative solutions provide comprehensive sleep test data to physicians in a variety of clinical and non-clinical environments to optimize patient care and reduce healthcare costs. Onera has offices in the Netherlands and the US. For more information, go to onerahealth.com

About EQT Life Sciences

EQT Life Sciences was formed in 2022 following the integration of LSP, a leading European life sciences venture capital firm, into the EQT platform. As LSP, the firm raised over EUR 3.0 billion and supported the growth of more than 150 companies since it started to invest over 30 years ago. With a dedicated team of highly experienced investment professionals coming from backgrounds in medicine, science, business, and finance, EQT Life Sciences backs the smartest inventors who have ideas that could truly make a difference for patients. The team combines deep sector knowledge, analytical skills, and investment experience to provide the added value that inventors seek. For more information, go to eqtgroup.com/private-capital/life-sciences/

About Gimv

Gimv is a European investment company listed on Euronext Brussels. With over 40 years of experience in private equity, Gimv currently has EUR 1.6 billion of assets under management. The portfolio has around 60 companies, with a combined turnover of EUR 3.7 billion and 20,000 employees.

As a recognised market leader in selected investment platforms, Gimv identifies entrepreneurial, innovative companies with high growth potential and supports them in their transformation into market leaders. Gimv's five investment platforms are Consumer, Healthcare, Life Sciences, Smart Industries, and Sustainable Cities. In Life Sciences, Gimv focuses on European R&D-focused companies developing breakthrough solutions that have a positive impact on human health, from early preclinical proof of concept through to late-stage clinical trials. For more information, go to gimv.com

16 january 2024 at 01:35

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TARGA ANNOUNCES 5KM-LONG GOLD ANOMALY FROM OPINACA TILL SAMPLING





CSE: TEX | OTCQB: TRGEF | FRA: V6Y

VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 16, 2024 /CNW/ - Targa Exploration Corp. (CSE: TEX) (FRA: V6Y) (OTCQB: TRGEF) ("Targa" or the "Company") today announced additional analysis and interpretation of the results of its extensive till sampling program on the Company's Opinaca project in Quebec (the "Opinaca Project").

Highlights

Two gold-arsenic-tungsten anomalies identified from till sampling

Central gold anomaly is 5km x 4km and open-ended in the up-ice direction

Staked an additional 41,672ha to cover potential up-ice source

"Finding such a large gold anomaly at the Opinaca Project is a fantastic exploration opportunity for Targa," commented Cameron Tymstra, CEO of Targa. "We now have both lithium and gold targets on this project which speaks to the prospectivity for multiple deposit types in these underexplored regions. As a first mover in this area, we were able to nearly double our land holdings to cover potential up-ice targets that could be the source of these lithium and gold deposit indicator elements. The central gold anomaly consists of overlapping elevated gold, arsenic, antimony, and tungsten values over an area that is up to 4km wide and 5km long and is open-ended in the direction of historic ice movement, representing a very significant target for us to follow up on in 2024."

Opinaca Results ? Gold Anomalies Identified

After identifying a lithium-cesium target from the 2023 Opinaca till sampling program (see the Company's press release dated January 10, 2024 for details of the sampling program) the Targa and Kenorland Minerals technical teams have further identified multiple gold anomalies at the Opinaca Project. Two separate areas of overlapping anomalous values for gold, arsenic, tungsten, antimony, and silver in the till samples have been located on the Opinaca Project with gold values reaching as high as 271ppb and arsenic values up to 193ppm. Multiple samples returned greater than 50ppb from both target areas. Till samples were taken every 150m on lines spaced 1km apart.

The first, larger anomaly sits in the middle of the original Opinaca Project boundary and measures approximately 4km wide by 5km long in the estimated direction of historic glacial ice movement. The second anomaly is approximately 1km wide by 2km in length and is host to the highest gold value from the till program. The second anomaly is located at the southeastern extent of the till sample grid, in a similar position to the previously announced lithium anomaly. Both anomalies appear open-ended in the up-ice direction.

Targa will immediately begin making plans for a Phase 2 till program at the Opinaca Project for early summer 2024 to extend the grid to the northeast of the gold and lithium anomalies in order to locate the head of the till trains and possible source deposits of these elements. A much more detailed mapping and outcrop sampling program in these areas will also be planned for the summer.

"The results highlight the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to exploration," commented John Robins, Advisor to Targa. "Many of the areas we are sampling are historically under-explored and have the potential to host a variety of deposit types. These gold results demonstrate the value of keeping an open mind when it comes to project evaluation. As they say, gold is where you find it!"

Opinaca Project Expansion

As a result of the significant lithium and gold anomalies identified in the sample program, the Company has acquired, through staking, an additional 807 mineral claim cells covering 41,672ha to the north, east, and northeast of the current Opinaca Project limits. This increases the total size of the Opinaca Project to 1,651 contiguous mineral claim cells covering 85,267ha. The additional claims were added to potentially cover any up-ice sources of the anomalous lithium and gold deposit indicator elements and cover the northwest-southeast structural framework that has been interpreted from regional geophysics.

"Looking at other gold occurrences in Quebec, typical gold-in-till trains are often 5 to 10km in length." Mr. Tymstra commented. "With 30km of ground now staked in the up-ice direction from the central gold target and more than 20km above the secondary target, our team and advisors believe there is a very strong probability that the source of these anomalous values lies within our expanded property boundaries. While it is too early to determine what deposit type might be the source, the type of gold deposit we could potentially find in this area may be akin to the Eleonore deposit. Eleonore is located in the vicinity of the Opinaca-La Grande sub-province boundary and is in the presence of similar metasedimentary units such as the 2a/3a Laguiche Complex with a high metamorphic grade."

About the Opinaca Project

The Opinaca Project is located in the James Bay region of Quebec, approximately 40km south of Patriot Battery Metals' Corvette lithium discovery, 45km south of the all-season Trans-Taiga road and 120km northwest of the Renard Diamond Mine. The Opinaca Project covers 85,267 contiguous hectares of the Opinaca geological sub-province, dominantly a metasedimentary region with neoarchean-aged igneous intrusions including of the Vieux Comptoir suite of granites.

Sample Procedure and QA/QC

Till samples were sieved to 230 mesh and sent to Bureau Veritas' lab in Timmins, Ontario. Each sample underwent multi-element analysis by four-acid digestion and analysis packages ICP-AES for major elements and ICP-MS for trace elements. Gold analysis was done by aqua regia followed by ICP-MS. As part of Targa and Kenorland's QA/QC procedures standard and blank samples were inserted every 20 samples. Duplicate samples were also analyzed every 20 samples. Internal lab blanks and standards were also used by Bureau Veritas.

Qualified Person

The disclosure of scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Adrian Lupascu M. Sc. P.Geo., Exploration Manager of Targa Exploration Corp., who is a "qualified person" within the meaning of National Instrument 43 -101- Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Targa

Targa Exploration Corp. (CSE: TEX | FRA: V6Y | OTCQB: TRGEF) is a Canadian lithium exploration company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of lithium mineral properties with headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia. Targa's lithium project portfolio consists of fifteen projects in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan and covers over 400,000 hectares of prospective ground, most of which has never been explored previously for lithium.

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release includes certain "Forward?Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward?looking information" under applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target", "plan", "forecast", "may", "would", "could", "schedule" and similar words or expressions, identify forward?looking statements or information. These forward?looking statements or information relate to, among other things: the exploration and development of the Company's properties.

Forward?looking statements and forward?looking information relating to any future mineral production, liquidity, enhanced value and capital markets profile of Targa, future growth potential for Targa and its business, and future exploration plans are based on management's reasonable assumptions, estimates, expectations, analyses and opinions, which are based on management's experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, and other factors that management believes are relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, but which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the price of lithium and other metals; costs of exploration and development; the estimated costs of development of exploration projects; Targa's ability to operate in a safe and effective manner and its ability to obtain financing on reasonable terms.

These statements reflect Targa's respective current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of other assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward?looking statements or forward-looking information and Targa has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: price volatility of lithium and other metals; risks associated with the conduct of the Company's mineral exploration activities in Canada; regulatory, consent or permitting delays; risks relating to reliance on the Company's management team and outside contractors; the Company's inability to obtain insurance to cover all risks, on a commercially reasonable basis or at all; currency fluctuations; risks regarding the failure to generate sufficient cash flow from operations; risks relating to project financing and equity issuances; risks and unknowns inherent in all mining projects, including the inaccuracy of reserves and resources, metallurgical recoveries and capital and operating costs of such projects; contests over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped properties; laws and regulations governing the environment, health and safety; the ability of the communities in which the Company operates to manage and cope with the implications of public health crises; the economic and financial implications of public health crises to the Company; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining or development activities; employee relations, labour unrest or unavailability; the Company's interactions with surrounding communities; the Company's ability to successfully integrate acquired assets; the speculative nature of exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities or grades of reserves; stock market volatility; conflicts of interest among certain directors and officers; lack of liquidity for shareholders of the Company; litigation risk; and the factors identified under the caption "Risk Factors" in Targa's management discussion and analysis and other public disclosure documents. Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward?looking statements or forward-looking information. Although Targa has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. Targa does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward?looking statements or forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements or information, other than as required by applicable law.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Targa Exploration Corp.

16 january 2024 at 08:00

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BLACK SWAN GRAPHENE AND HUBRON INTERNATIONAL ENTER COMMERCIAL AGREEMENT





TORONTO, Jan. 16, 2024 /CNW/ - Black Swan Graphene Inc. ("Black Swan") (or the "Company") (TSXV: SWAN) (OTCQB: BSWGF) (Frankfurt: R96) is pleased to announce a commercial agreement (the "Agreement"), with Hubron International Ltd. ("Hubron"), specializing in customised solutions in plastic masterbatch and conductive compound manufacturing. This strategic partnership is set to hasten the commercialization of Black Swan's graphene products, leveraging Hubron's 80 years of compounding expertise and market access.

Hubron stands as a global leader in black masterbatch production with over 85% of its products exported worldwide through an extensive network of distributors. Hubron and Black Swan will explore the opportunities to incorporate the use of graphene-enhanced masterbatch for improved functionality where commercially and technically possible. Hubron will also play a crucial role in the manufacturing of graphene enhanced black masterbatch for commercial applications. Black Swan, in turn, will be a preferred provider of graphene for such manufacturing endeavors.

This collaboration is poised to facilitate the integration of graphene into mainstream adoption across automotive, construction, consumer goods, food packaging, and industrial sectors. Hubron's extensive market reach and expertise are expected to drive demand for graphene-enhanced masterbatch and product innovation. The commercial terms of the agreement ensure that products and services exchanged between the two companies will adhere to Hubron's standard terms and conditions, with a commitment from both parties to maintain equitable terms comparable to those offered to their other customers.

This Agreement follows significant advancement in polymer composites using graphene-enhanced masterbatch, details of which will be communicated shortly.

Simon Marcotte, Black Swan's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented: "This collaboration marks a transformative moment where the combination of Black Swan's expertise in graphene and Hubron's mastery in black masterbatch production and customer access are expected to fuel a surge in demand across diverse sectors."

Fergus McKendrick, Managing Director at Hubron, added: "Hubron is excited to embark on this groundbreaking journey with Black Swan. Together we aim to set new standards in customised solutions for a sustainable world, redefining possibilities and meeting the evolving needs of industries worldwide."

About Hubron International Ltd.

Hubron International is one of the world's leading suppliers of black masterbatch with over 85% of masterbatch production exported through a world-wide network of distribution partners. Established in 1934, Hubron has been improving polymers through compounding with carbon black for over 85 years. Hubron started manufacturing of carbon black thermoplastic masterbatches in 1972. Since then, the company has been serving the demands of industries such as film, sheet, pipe, cable and fibre extrusion, moulding, and technical compounding across the world. The company focus is one of providing black masterbatch as its core business, with a clear emphasis on the technical input and guidance into correct product selection. In 2010, Hubron acquired Whitaker Technical Plastics a leader in electrically conductive polymers.

For more information, please visit: www.hubron.com

About Black Swan Graphene Inc.

Black Swan is focused on the large-scale production and commercialization of patented high-performance and low-cost graphene products aimed at several industrial sectors, including concrete, polymers, Li-ion batteries, and others, which are expected to require large volumes of graphene. Black Swan aims to leverage the low cost and green hydroelectricity of the province of Quebec as well as the proximity of the province's emerging graphite industry in order to establish an integrated supply chain, reduce overall costs, and accelerate the deployment of graphene usage. On March 27, 2023, Black Swan, Nationwide Engineering Research and Development Ltd. and Arup Group Ltd. ("Arup") announced strategic partnerships, establishing a fully integrated supply chain, and providing a turnkey solution for the construction and concrete industries. Arup is a multinational engineering consultancy headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with 18,000 experts working across 140 countries. Black Swan's graphene processing technology was developed by Thomas Swan & Co. Ltd. ("Thomas Swan") over the last decade. Thomas Swan is a United Kingdom-based global chemicals manufacturer, with a century-long track record and has been at the forefront of graphene innovation.

For more information, please visit: www.blackswangraphene.com

Black Swan Graphene Inc. on behalf of the Board of Directors

Simon Marcotte, CFA, President & Chief Executive Officer

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Information

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to the TSXV listing, risk related to the failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with the industry; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of feasibility studies, and the possibility that future results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to commodity prices fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Furthermore, performance results of graphene products as additives can vary widely depending on type and the specificity of the target material, the specifics of the graphene product itself, including but not limited to, carbon purity, particle size, surface agent, dispersion behavior, and application and usage methods. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements and initial test results. These forward-looking statements and test results are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections.

SOURCE Black Swan Graphene Inc

16 january 2024 at 08:00

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. I hope the issue of financing clean energy sources in emerging and developing countries will be raised during the COP29 to be held in Azerbaijan, Baku, Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said during a panel discussion within the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trend reports.

"Many things have been discussed at COP28 in Dubai, including the doubling of renewable energy capacities and tripling investments. However, how we are going to finance clean energy investments  this is the question left to be discussed in Baku within COP29. The clean energy sector saw an increase in investments from $1 trillion to $1.8 trillion over the last 5 years. The problem is that most of these investments were made by China. We hope that COP29 addresses this issue," he said.

According to Birol, necessary standards and mechanisms should be applied by all governments around the globe to ensure the effectiveness of these investments.

"We need to triple investments in energy efficiency, which, in most cases, pay back in 2-3 years. It is a very lucrative business; however, governments need to provide incentives, especially for low and middle-income groups, to make the initial investment in buying a heat pump or an electric car. There should be mechanisms in place to ensure that companies, implementing energy efficiency measures, operate in a competitive environment. For consumers, the motivation should not just be about saving energy for the sake of it. We have to help governments understand, primarily for their budget but also for energy security and carbon footprint. About 60 governments were brought together last year in Paris, where we discussed these standards," the IEA director added.

Meanwhile, the decision to host COP29 in Azerbaijan has been officially announced in Dubai on December 11, 2023.

In addition to Azerbaijan, Armenia and Bulgaria put forth their candidacies. However, on December 7, 2023, after direct negotiations between the Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia, Armenia decided to withdraw its candidacy in support of Azerbaijan. Bulgaria followed suit and also withdrew its candidacy.

Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan Mukhtar Babayev has been appointed COP29 president on January 4, 2024.
Housing starts down 7% in 2023 from 2022





OTTAWA, ON, Jan. 16, 2024 /CNW/ - Nationally, actual 2023 housing starts were down 7% in centres of 10,000 population and over, with 223,513 units recorded, compared to 240,590 in 2022, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This decline is primarily explained by a 25% decline in single-detached starts in 2023.

Despite the national decline, actual 2023 housing starts were 5% and 28% higher than in 2022 in Toronto and Vancouver, respectively, driven by higher multi-unit starts. Montreal starts were 37% lower due to large declines in both single-detached and multi-unit starts in 2023.

The six-month trend in housing starts was also lower in December at 249,898 units, down 2.1% from 255,198 units in November. The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total housing starts for all areas in Canada.

The monthly SAAR of total housing starts for all areas in Canada increased 18% in December (249,255 units) compared to November (210,918 units).

Quote:

"Following record and near-record highs in 2021 and 2022, housing starts dipped in 2023, but still significantly outperformed expectations for the year. The decline was driven mainly by a sharp drop-off in single-detached starts and tighter economic conditions affecting multi-unit starts in the year's final quarter. The recent monthly multi-unit volatility is not surprising as we're now starting to see 2023's challenging borrowing conditions and labour shortages in the housing starts numbers and we expect to see continued downward pressure in the coming months," said Bob Dugan, CMHC's Chief Economist.

Key Facts:

The monthly SAAR of total urban (centres 10,000 population and over) housing starts increased 20%, with 234,705 units recorded. Multi-unit urban starts increased 26% to 191,463 units, while single-detached urban starts decreased 2% to 43,242 units.

The rural starts monthly SAAR estimate was 14,550 units.

Total SAAR housing starts were down 35% in Toronto , driven by a significant decline in multi-unit starts. Montreal and Vancouver both posted gains of 66% and 92%, respectively, due to sizeable increases in multi-unit starts.

, driven by a significant decline in multi-unit starts. and both posted gains of 66% and 92%, respectively, due to sizeable increases in multi-unit starts. Monthly Housing Starts and Other Construction Data are accessible in English and French on our website and the CMHC Housing Market Information Portal.

Housing starts data is available on the eleventh business day each month. We will release the January housing starts data on February 15 at 8:15 AM ET .

at . CMHC uses the trend measure as a complement to the monthly SAAR of housing starts to account for considerable swings in monthly estimates and to obtain a clearer picture of upcoming new housing supply. In some situations, analyzing only SAAR data can be misleading, as the multi-unit segment largely drives the market and can vary significantly from one month to the next.

Definitions and methodology to better understand the foundations of the Starts and Completions and Market Absorption surveys.

As a trusted source of housing information, CMHC provides unbiased housing-related data, research, and market information to help close knowledge gaps, and deepen understanding of complex housing issues to inform future policy decisions. Housing starts facilitate the analysis of monthly, quarterly, and year-over-year activity in the new home market. The data we collect as part of our Starts and Completions and Market Absorption surveys helps us obtain a clearer picture of upcoming new housing supply and is used as part of our various housing reports.

CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers objective housing research and information to all levels of governments, consumers and the housing industry.

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Housing Start Data in Centres 10,000 Population and Over



Single-Detached All Others Total







December

2022 December

2023 % December 2022 December 2023 % December 2022 December 2023 % Provinces (10,000+)

















N.-L.

64 48 -25 89 22 -75 153 70 -54 P.E.I.

23 13 -43 35 24 -31 58 37 -36 N.S.

123 148 20 272 468 72 395 616 56 N.B.

47 86 83 89 281 216 136 367 170 Atlantic

257 295 15 485 795 64 742 1,090 47 Qc

254 223 -12 1,757 2,503 42 2,011 2,726 36 Ont.

1,427 1,053 -26 6,927 4,328 -38 8,354 5,381 -36 Man.

107 130 21 321 370 15 428 500 17 Sask.

61 84 38 181 367 103 242 451 86 Alta.

856 1,189 39 1,263 2,302 82 2,119 3,491 65 Prairies

1,024 1,403 37 1,765 3,039 72 2,789 4,442 59 B.C.

511 350 -32 3,939 4,604 17 4,450 4,954 11 Canada (10,000+) 3,473 3,324 -4 14,873 15,269 3 18,346 18,593 1 Metropolitan Areas

















Abbotsford-Mission 21 5 -76 113 11 -90 134 16 -88 Barrie

27 84 211 71 17 -76 98 101 3 Belleville - Quinte West 13 18 38 5 4 -20 18 22 22 Brantford

65 42 -35 33 54 64 98 96 -2 Calgary

410 538 31 670 955 43 1,080 1,493 38 Chilliwack

19 10 -47 10 70 ## 29 80 176 Drummondville 13 20 54 34 60 76 47 80 70 Edmonton

310 513 65 464 1,244 168 774 1,757 127 Fredericton

8 29 263 30 2 -93 38 31 -18 Greater/Grand Sudbury 19 1 -95 19 2 -89 38 3 -92 Guelph

3 6 100 13 136 ## 16 142 ## Halifax

56 94 68 196 385 96 252 479 90 Hamilton

60 28 -53 83 606 ## 143 634 343 Kamloops

2 3 50 64 155 142 66 158 139 Kelowna

54 52 -4 337 329 -2 391 381 -3 Kingston

3 38 ## 0 8 ## 3 46 ## Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo 39 47 21 630 1,460 132 669 1,507 125 Lethbridge

15 20 33 39 7 -82 54 27 -50 London

66 32 -52 140 40 -71 206 72 -65 Moncton

16 26 63 41 216 427 57 242 325 Montreal

62 39 -37 914 1,690 85 976 1,729 77 Nanaimo

15 5 -67 106 13 -88 121 18 -85 Oshawa

25 22 -12 44 19 -57 69 41 -41 Ottawa-Gatineau 116 130 12 201 690 243 317 820 159 Gatineau

1 14 ## 0 6 ## 1 20 ## Ottawa

115 116 1 201 684 240 316 800 153 Peterborough

11 29 164 0 32 ## 11 61 455 Quebec

45 21 -53 303 80 -74 348 101 -71 Red Deer

0 9 ## 16 0 -100 16 9 -44 Regina

14 20 43 33 184 458 47 204 334 Saguenay

2 12 ## 2 200 ## 4 212 ## St. Catharines-Niagara 92 39 -58 141 31 -78 233 70 -70 Saint John

15 22 47 0 44 ## 15 66 340 St. John's

61 39 -36 88 20 -77 149 59 -60 Saskatoon

41 58 41 129 163 26 170 221 30 Sherbrooke

19 13 -32 86 98 14 105 111 6 Thunder Bay

4 5 25 0 4 ## 4 9 125 Toronto

565 329 -42 5,287 1,107 -79 5,852 1,436 -75 Trois-Rivieres

10 4 -60 115 17 -85 125 21 -83 Vancouver

256 154 -40 2,869 3,208 12 3,125 3,362 8 Victoria

40 27 -33 230 617 168 270 644 139 Windsor

38 15 -61 17 12 -29 55 27 -51 Winnipeg

88 104 18 269 305 13 357 409 15 Total

2,738 2,702 -1 13,842 14,295 3 16,580 16,997 3 Data for 2022 based on 2016 Census Definitions and data for 2023 based on 2021 Census Definitions.













Source: CMHC



















## not calculable / extreme value





















Housing Start Data - Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates (SAAR)



Single-Detached All Others Total



November

2023 December

2023 % November 2023 December 2023 % November 2023 December 2023 % Provinces (10,000+)

















N.L.

471 504 7 392 256 -35 863 760 -12 P.E.I.

93 168 81 360 288 -20 453 456 1 N.S.

1,445 1,608 11 10,821 5,599 -48 12,266 7,207 -41 N.B.

767 908 18 4,402 3,351 -24 5,169 4,259 -18 Qc

4,171 3,819 -8 20,686 35,841 73 24,857 39,660 60 Ont.

13,843 13,738 -1 47,331 54,113 14 61,174 67,851 11 Man.

1,823 1,696 -7 5,496 4,440 -19 7,319 6,136 -16 Sask.

1,402 1,107 -21 3,936 4,404 12 5,338 5,511 3 Alta.

15,042 15,135 1 25,841 27,842 8 40,883 42,977 5 B.C.

4,976 4,559 -8 32,286 55,329 71 37,262 59,888 61 Canada (10,000+) 44,033 43,242 -2 151,551 191,463 26 195,584 234,705 20 Canada (All Areas) 53,987 52,426 -3 156,930 196,830 25 210,918 249,255 18 Metropolitan Areas Abbotsford-Mission 194 68 -65 4,488 132 -97 4,682 200 -96 Barrie

571 1,015 78 1,668 204 -88 2,239 1,219 -46 Belleville - Quinte West 342 253 -26 1,320 48 -96 1,662 301 -82 Brantford

341 592 74 864 648 -25 1,205 1,240 3 Calgary

7,043 6,634 -6 14,568 11,460 -21 21,611 18,094 -16 Chilliwack

227 144 -37 227 840 270 1,307 984 -25 Drummondville 122 284 133 1,092 720 -34 1,214 1,004 -17 Edmonton

6,384 7,125 12 10,068 14,928 48 16,452 22,053 34 Fredericton

253 299 18 888 24 -97 1,141 323 -72 Greater/Grand Sudbury 20 24 20 24 24 - 44 48 9 Guelph

93 122 31 96 1,632 ## 189 1,754 ## Halifax

686 913 33 9,624 4,620 -52 10,310 5,533 -46 Hamilton

248 359 45 828 7,272 ## 1,076 7,631 ## Kamloops

22 51 132 12 1,860 ## 34 1,911 ## Kelowna

367 447 22 240 3,948 ## 607 4,395 ## Kingston

164 387 136 0 96 ## 164 483 195 Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo 880 704 -20 3,888 17,520 351 4,768 18,224 282 Lethbridge

199 232 17 0 84 ## 199 316 59 London

633 385 -39 1,392 480 -66 2,025 865 -57 Moncton

208 385 85 3,084 2,592 -16 3,292 2,977 -10 Montreal

998 832 -17 11,764 20,392 73 12,762 21,224 66 Nanaimo

613 78 -87 300 156 -48 913 234 -74 Oshawa

25 568 ## 4,932 228 -95 4,957 796 -84 Ottawa-Gatineau 1,357 1,950 44 8,760 8,280 -5 10,117 10,230 1 Gatineau

29 248 ## 324 72 -78 353 320 -9 Ottawa

1,328 1,702 28 8,436 8,208 -3 9,764 9,910 1 Peterborough 424 402 -5 192 384 100 616 786 28 Quebec

479 402 -16 2,688 960 -64 3,167 1,362 -57 Red Deer

109 79 -28 0 0 - 109 79 -28 Regina

275 251 -9 1,380 2,208 60 1,655 2,459 49 Saguenay

98 171 74 384 2,400 ## 482 2,571 433 St. Catharines-Niagara 848 562 -34 1,080 372 -66 1,928 934 -52 Saint John

172 229 33 60 528 ## 232 757 226 St. John's

348 364 5 288 240 -17 636 604 -5 Saskatoon

1,058 834 -21 2,280 1,956 -14 3,338 2,790 -16 Sherbrooke

285 191 -33 972 1,176 21 1,257 1,367 9 Thunder Bay 36 89 147 168 48 -71 204 137 -33 Toronto

4,281 4,335 1 22,620 13,284 -41 26,901 17,619 -35 Trois-Rivieres 194 102 -47 888 204 -77 1,082 306 -72 Vancouver

2,338 2,100 -10 18,792 38,496 105 21,130 40,596 92 Victoria

372 346 -7 5,220 7,404 42 5,592 7,750 39 Windsor

289 221 -24 756 144 -81 1,045 365 -65 Winnipeg

1,494 1,390 -7 5,340 3,660 -31 6,834 5,050 -26 Data for 2022 based on 2016 Census Definitions and data for 2023 based on 2021 Census Definitions.













Source: CMHC



















## not calculable / extreme value





















SOURCE Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)

16 january 2024 at 08:15

News published onand distributed by:
Global Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Infection Treatment Market Report 2023 and 2024-2030: North America and Asia Pacific Earmarked for Exceptional Growth Trajectories - ResearchAndMarkets.com





The "Global Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Infection Treatment Market" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Infection Treatment Market is valued at USD 2.34 billion in 2023 and is expected to surge to USD 4.07 billion by 2034, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.18%

As healthcare systems worldwide grapple with the growing challenge of antibiotic resistance, the global pseudomonas aeruginosa infection treatment market is poised for significant expansion. A comprehensive research publication, now available, reveals an estimated market size of .

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa - a multi-drug-resistant bacterium, often leads to critical infections and has seen an uptick in prevalence due to chronic diseases like cystic fibrosis and various cancers. The weight this pathogen places on the healthcare system underscores the imperative for innovative infection treatments.

The report uncloaks nuanced market trajectories and dynamics, providing insights into the promising developments toward antibiotic resistance. Particularly noteworthy is the efficacy of combination therapies that have dominated the market, primed to advance at the fastest-growing CAGR. These therapies are spotlighted for their comprehensive immune responses, instrumental in combating the protean nature of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections.

The intravenous route of administration is shown to garner the highest revenue due to its effectiveness in delivering drugs and achieving high bioavailability. Gilead Sciences, Inc.'s strategic acquisition of Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals highlights the segment's continuous ingenuity?securing novel avenues for managing resistant bacterial infections.

Carbapenems Lead Market by Drug Type

According to the research, carbapenems lead the market by drug type, backed by broad-spectrum antibacterial activity that is crucial in treating severe bacterial infections. Emerging players and continuing studies by established companies like Novartis AG are expected to inject new momentum into this segment.

Distribution channels form a pivotal link to market growth, with the hospital pharmacy segment anticipated to capture the highest revenue in 2023. The online pharmacy segment, though, is projected to experience the sharpest upswing in CAGR, a nod to contemporary trends in digitization and online healthcare services.

Navigating Geographical Landscapes

In geographical analysis, the North American region is marked to dominate revenue shares with its formidable healthcare infrastructure and supportive regulatory systems. Innovations elevate the market prospects for this region, with Asia Pacific not far behind. Predicted to rise rapidly, the Asia Pacific market's growth orbit is propelled by heightened healthcare awareness and escalating healthcare investments.

Intravenous and combination therapies driving significant market growth.

Drug types like carbapenems fortifying the core of infection treatments.

Rising digital platforms catalyzing the online pharmacy segment's surge.

North America and Asia Pacific regions earmarked for exceptional growth trajectories.

Key Attributes:
TNDC's HEO Program Receives $600,000 Grant From TD Bank Group





DEASE LAKE, British Columbia, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tahltan Nation Development Corporation (TNDC) is pleased to announce that its Heavy Equipment Operator (HEO) Program has received a grant in the amount of $600,000 from TD Bank Group (TD).

Tahltan Territory is in remote Northwest British Columbia and includes 70 per cent of BC's Golden Triangle ? a world class mining jurisdiction with a thriving mineral exploration sector. The Tahltan HEO Program is a multi-faceted training program that includes drivers license support, HEO mentor training, and HEO development. This innovative program builds a bridge between Tahltans and industry shortages, by combining training in Tahltan Territory with on-the-job practical work experience. Building off the success of the inaugural year-one pilot, the Tahltan HEO Program is moving forward with its expanded program framework to increase the impact in enhancing skills capacity of Tahltan individuals. The grant of $600,000 will be broken into $300,000 to cover year 2 and year 3 of the Tahltan HEO pilot program.

"TNDC is excited to work with TD and is grateful for its commitment and belief in our HEO program," says Carol Danielson, Chair, TNDC. "By investing in educating and empowering individuals, we can build stronger, more resilient Tahltan communities and create a brighter future for all. Through this grant, TNDC's HEO Program will be able to expand its reach and impact into years 2 and 3 of the program, enabling TNDC to provide vital educational support to a larger number of deserving individuals, unlocking their potential and opening doors to brighter futures."

"At TD, we want to help prepare people for the jobs of tomorrow by investing in organizations that offer skills training geared towards improving income stability," says Doris Bear, Vice President, Indigenous Banking, TD Bank Group. "We recognize the positive impact and value that programs like the Tahltan HEO Program can bring to communities and local economies. That's why through the TD Ready Commitment, we're proud to support this initiative aimed at helping address skill shortages in the Territory while also providing hands-on work experiences for participants."

Through the Bank's corporate citizenship platform, the TD Ready Commitment, TD has been targeting C$1 billion by 2030 towards community giving in four areas that support change, nurture progress, and contribute to making the world a better, more inclusive place.

ABOUT TNDC



Tahltan Nation Development Corporation (TNDC) ? the business arm of the Tahltan Nation ? is owned by its shareholders ? Iskut Band, Tahltan Band and Tahltan Central Government. TNDC was founded in 1985 by visionary, progressive Tahltan leaders who wanted to ensure the Tahltan Nation benefit from the economic activities and development occurring within Tahltan Territory and to provide employment, training, and contracting opportunities to Tahltan members. From its roots in residential construction, TNDC's services have expanded to heavy construction, earthworks, camp services, air support, aviation, forestry, transportation, and fibre-optic communications services. To learn more, visit www.tndc.ca

ABOUT THE TAHLTAN HEO PROGRAM



The Tahltan HEO program is a multi-faceted program designed to build capacity in our communities across several areas: Drivers' Licenses and driving for employment; Developing new heavy equipment operators; Continuing to grow current heavy equipment operators into mentors, trainers, and instructors. The program has been developed in partnership with industry, industry training authorities and funding partners, with most training occurring in Tahltan Territory. It helps to address skill shortages within our region while also providing on-the-job practical work experience to set participants up for success.

The HEO program has been developed with the following partners and funders partners: Provincial Government, TD Bank, CAT Finning, Newcrest, Arrow Transportation, Bandstra Transportation, Centre for Training Excellence in Mining ? BC (CTEM), Contact North BC (CNBC), Iskut Band, Mining Industry HR Council (MiHR), Procon Mining & Tunnelling, Tahltan Band, Tahltan Central Government and Thompson Rivers University (TRU). To learn more, visit www.tahltanheo.com

16 january 2024 at 12:00

News published onand distributed by:
Yahya Sinwar, leader of the Palestinian Hamas Islamist movement takes part in a rally organized to mark the movement's 35th founding anniversary. MOHAMMED TALATENE/DPA/REUTERS

The European Union on Tuesday, January 16, added Hamas Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar to its "terrorist" sanctions blacklist over the October 7 attacks on Israel. The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas is already listed as a "terrorist" organization by the EU.

The move means that the accused mastermind of the attacks is subject to an asset freeze in the 27-nation bloc and bans EU citizens conducting transactions with him. Sinwar, 61, has not been seen since October 7.

Read more Subscribers only How Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is using Israel's weaknesses to his advantage

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz welcomed the move in a statement. The decision is a result of "our diplomatic efforts to strangle the resources of the Hamas, to delegitimize them and prohibit all support to them. We will continue to eradicate the root of evil, in Gaza and wherever it raises its head," Katz said.

The Hamas chief was added to the US list of the most wanted "international terrorists" in 2015, as was Mohammed Deif, commander of Hamas's armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, who is another alleged October 7 mastermind.

Read more Subscribers only 100 days of war in Gaza: An appalling toll and no end in sight

The EU has struggled for a united response to Hamas's attacks and Israel's subsequent devastating offensive in the Gaza Strip. At least 24,285 Palestinians, about 70 percent of them women, children and adolescents, have been killed in Gaza in Israeli bombardments and ground operations since October 7, according to the Hamas government.

The October attacks, the worst in Israel's history, resulted in about 1,140 deaths, mostly civilians,. Militants also dragged about 250 hostages back to Gaza, 132 of whom Israel says are still in the Palestinian territory, including at least 25 believed to have been killed. After the attacks, Israel's military declared Sinwar a "dead man walking."
A MAN has been charged with dangerous driving causing the death of 21-year-old student Joe Drennan in Limerick last October.

At Limerick District Court this Tuesday morning, Garda Oliver Gee gave evidence of arresting, charging and cautioning Kieran Fogarty, aged 20, of Hyde Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston prior to the court sitting.

Mr Fogarty is charged with three offences - dangerous driving causing death, driving without insurance and driving without a driving licence - at Dublin Road, Limerick on Friday, October 13, 2023.

Garda Gee said Mr Fogarty, who was wearing a light grey tracksuit in court, made no reply to the charges after caution.

Darach McCarthy, solicitor for Mr Fogarty, asked Judge Carol Anne Coolican to grant legal aid due to the "seriousness of the matter".

Judge Coolican granted the application before putting the matter back to later in the day for a bail application, on behalf of Mr Fogarty, to be made by Mr McCarthy.

Members of Mr Drennan's family were in court for the short procedural matter.

The late Mr Drennan, who was originally from Mountrath in County Laois, was an award-winning fourth year journalism student in University of Limerick and editor-in-chief of the Limerick Voice publication.
A NIGHT of feast and revelry and tipsy dance and jollity are in store next week as Robert Burns night is celebrated in Dolans.

From 8pm on Thursday, January 25, the Dock Road pub will put on a typical Scottish meal to mark the night celebrating Scotlands national poet.

Mungret man Michael Potter will once again compere the event he organises, while people will be invited to recite a few of Robbie Burnss classic poems, including his famous Tam OShanter!

The night will also see haggis and sandwiches served, along with neeps and tatties (parsnips and potatoes), alongside violin music.

There will be poems and songs - and those who wish to throw in a piece of literature are more than welcome to do so.

There will be the singing of Scottish songs, and recitals of poetry as part of the event, set to be attended by many.

All are welcome at the event.

Pictured above at last years Burns Night celebration were John Loftus, who hails from near Glasgow, the then deputy mayor,

Cllr Tom Ruddle, Michael Egan of Limerick City Pipe Band and Michael Potter, who has organised the event for many years.
THE BOOKS you could not find in all the libraries here are now available to you up above. You deserve your reward.

One of many heartfelt tributes paid to well-loved Limerick historian Joseph Lennon who has sadly passed away.

Joseph, or Joe as friends knew him, hailed from Caherconlish, but he had lately lived at Shannon Arms complex in Henry Street in the city centre.

He died peacefully in Milford Care Centre, surrounded by his loving family.

Joe was in the midst of writing what University of Galways history faculty described as a groundbreaking thesis on Munster in the 17th Century.

A well-respected academic, Joe had also traced the history of Limericks own King John Castle - and the origins of that eponymous name.

A graduate of the former Limerick Institute of Technology, and University of Limerick, for the last decade, Joe has been compiling a comprehensive archive of images documenting the castles and tower houses of Limerick.

He could often be found perusing the local studies archives in Limerick City Library.

Executive librarian Mike Maguire recalled through an online tribute how Joe would be always challenging me to unearth the most obscure of history texts! We became good friends over the years.

A fine historian and a good friend, was how the curator of the Limerick Museum remembered Joe.

Another person said he was always with a great sense of trend and fashion and immaculately dressed.

Tributes also came from TD Kieran ODonnell and councillor Elisa ODonovan among others.

Joe is survived by his partner Daiva, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, other relatives, friends and neighbours.

He is predeceased by his parents Eileen, Jimmy, and brother Patrick.

His funeral took place in Caherconlish last week.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. Ensuring financing mechanisms at COP29 is extremely important, said Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trend reports.

"Given its complexity, COP28 was a resounding success. The deliverable outcomes include an emphasis on improving energy efficiency, increasing the volume of renewables, and transitioning away from fossil fuels. Given all of this, it can be deemed a success. It was made feasible by hard labor," said the minister.

He noted that as the host of COP29, Azerbaijan also understands that there is a certain bar of expectations.

"This is a responsibility to continue the process in a similar successful way. The main thing is ensuring the financing mechanisms. This is extremely important," added Jabbarov.

The decision to host COP29 in Azerbaijan was officially announced in Dubai on December 11, 2023.

Besides Azerbaijan, both Armenia and Bulgaria nominated their candidatures. However, after direct negotiations between the Office of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia on December 7, 2023, Armenia decided to withdraw its candidacy in favor of Azerbaijan. Bulgaria followed suit and also withdrew its candidacy.

On January 4, 2024, Mukhtar Babayev, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, was appointed as President of COP29.
A DAIRY farmer in Bruree has been fined after an incident which resulted in the death of a roofing contractor.

Judge Patricia Harney imposed a fine of 2,500 at Kilmallock District Court on Tuesday after guilty pleas to breaches of the Safety, Health & Welfare at Work Regulation 2013.

The case arose following an incident that occurred on December 13, 2022, when a roofing contractor suffered fatal injuries after falling from the roof of an extension to an agricultural shed under construction on a farm located at Lacknagrour, Bruree.

The farmer pleaded guilty to Section 6(1)(b) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013 contrary to section 77(2)(c) and Section 80(1) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.

Lacknagrour Farm Limited pleaded guilty to Section 6(1)(b) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at work (Construction) Regulations 2013 contrary to section 77(2)(c) of the Safety, Health and Work Act 2005.

The role of a project supervisor construction stage (PSCS) is to manage and coordinate the various construction work activities in such a way as to ensure the safety of all persons on site and compliance with the Safety, Health & Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulation 2013.

Adrienne Duff, Assistant Chief Executive, HSA, stated: "Working at height is a well-known hazard in all workplaces.

"It is vitally important that employers carry out risk assessments in advance of the work activities commencing, in order to ensure appropriate control measures are identified and put in place to prevent an incident. Failure to do so in this case has unfortunately led to a preventable workplace fatality."

The HSA have recently published specific guidance for farmers on how to make construction appointments on farms which is now available on HSA.ie
Lawyers for Graham Dwyer have told the Irish Supreme Court that his rights were breached through a system of mass surveillance involving the retention of mobile phone data which was used to support his conviction for the murder of childcare worker Elaine OHara in 2012.

Dwyer was convicted on March 27 2015 after a lengthy high-profile trial.

Data held in the Cork-born architects work phone was used in the trial to demonstrate how it placed the device at specific places at particular times and dates.

However, in April 2022, Dwyer won a case in Europe about the mobile data retention practices used in the case against him.

The Court of Justice of the EU ruled that law in the union precludes the general and indiscriminate retention of traffic and location data relating to electronic communication for the purpose of combating serious crime.

Dwyer subsequently launched an appeal in Ireland on numerous grounds, including the admissibility of the mobile phone data evidence.

This was dismissed by the Irish Court of Appeal in March, which found that the admission of the call data was very limited and could not be perceived as arising to a miscarriage of justice in the case  but the matter was further brought to the Supreme Court.

The contents of 2,620 text messages and data retained by mobile phone companies for billing purposes in relation to five phones were used in the trial.

The phones included what was referred to as Dwyers work phone, a phone attributed to Ms OHara that was left in her apartment, an additional green phone that the prosecution sought to attribute to Dwyer, as well as a master phone and slave phone, which the prosecution said could be attributed to Dwyer and Ms OHara respectively.

The user of one of the phones had arranged to meet Ms OHara on August 22 2012 with the purpose of taking her up the mountains to be stabbed and or punished.

She was last seen alive on that date.

At the Supreme Court in Dublin on Tuesday, Dwyers lawyers said call data relating to the work phone could not have been lawfully collected.

Remy Farrell SC said the regime for collecting the information at the time had resulted in the general and indiscriminatory retention of mobile phone data which was in contravention of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

Mr Farrell said the prosecution came into possession of substantial amounts of evidence that should not have been gathered and which was in contravention of the charters respect for private life and protection of personal data.

He said: The question is whether the prosecution can be permitted to employ in evidence material that should not have been gathered in the first place.

He said the main question in the appeal was not about the accessing of the data but what he described as systemic mass surveillance through the retention of mobile phone data at the time of the investigation and trial.

He said the extent to which a mobile phone operates, in practical terms, as a tracking device by recording where people are, who they talk to and when they do it was almost tantamount to surveillance.

Under the EUs 2002 ePrivacy Directive, there are exceptions for specific and targeted retention of data for a range of purposes, but Mr Farrell argued that if the retention of Dwyers work phone data had not been general and indiscriminate, it would have been of no use to the prosecution in the case.

Mr Farrell said it was obvious that Irish courts are bound by and are essentially subordinate to the European Court of Justice, meaning there must be a full acceptance of its rulings in a full-throated way.

He said EU law is not some esoteric system of parallel law as it had appeared to have been treated by the trial judge in Dwyers case.

Dwyers lawyers also argued that the significance of the data linking the phones was a central and integral part of the prosecution case.

Michael Bowman SC said the phone data was inextricably interwoven into the tapestry of the case.

He said the prosecution was able to present a case based upon access to records of Dwyers work phone.

He said the defence had used thousands of communications from the call data of the work phone as a foundation in its case.

The Director of Public Prosecutions did not dispute that it played a role in the case, but said the part it played was relatively minor.

It put forward that while there was evidence from the parallel movements of the work phone with other mobiles in the case, there was separate evidence that independently verified Dwyers movements at key points.

For the State, Sean Guerin SC did not concede that there had been a breach of the charter.

He said the appellants case lacked any appreciation for the intricacies or sophistication of EU law.

He said Mr Farrell had sought to undermine an essential distinction between the directive which creates a right to the destruction of data for the protection of privacy, which is effective in Ireland, and the charter right which is not directly effective.

He also said that it was perfectly clear that there were circumstances under the charter by which data could be retained on a person, without a link to criminality.

He said this could be a geographic basis, for example national security purposes on individuals located near Government Buildings.

For the DPP, Anne-Marie Lawlor SC said the call-data records were not so inescapably integral to the jurys verdict.

She said the key to whole case was determining the author of the text messages and that there was other overwhelming evidence that allowed the jury to conclude it was Dwyer.

The Irish courts have heard that Ms OHara had experienced certain mental health difficulties since her teenage years.

Evidence has been given as to what was described as a very unusual sexual relationship, which included acts of stabbing perpetrated on Ms OHara.

In the weeks before her disappearance, she had been admitted to hospital.

It was the prosecutions case that with the ending of Ms OHaras hospital admission, Dwyer began to put in place a plan to use her for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification by stabbing a woman to death.

A decision on the appeal will be made at a later date.
A man who raped a woman in a secluded lane after she thought he was recording them having sex says he is prepared to accept whatever punishment the judge gives me.

Ivan Kelly (23), of Buttercup Avenue, Esker Hills, Portlaoise was convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury following a trial last October. He had pleaded not guilty to the rape in a Laois town on December 27, 2017.

Detective Garda Michael Esmond told Lorcan Staines SC, prosecuting, that the woman initially contacted Kelly to buy drugs off of him.

They met in the town and walked to a secluded lane where they had what started as a consensual sexual encounter.

The woman saw a flash on Kelly's phone and thought he was videoing her. He became more and more forceful and removed her iPod from her pocket.

The woman told him to stop and Kelly became violent. He pushed her, causing her to bang her head, stood on her ankle and raped her from behind.

When the assault ended, the women met her friends and immediately reported what had happened. She later told her parents who called the gardai.

The court heard that a medical examination found the woman had bruises and scratches to her neck, shoulder and vaginal area, consistent with the report of rape and assault.

Kelly was arrested and questioned but said the sexual intercourse was consensual and had occurred somewhere else. He denied that he raped the woman.

He was released, but left Ireland and went to England. He was later extradited back. Kelly has been in custody since June 29, 2022.

In a victim impact statement handed in to the court, the woman said: After the rape, I felt like nothing. I lost who I was. I lost the hopes and dreams that I once had.

I felt empty every day. I felt nothing but sadness and loneliness, she said, I just wanted to be happy but nothing made me feel happy. For a very long time I was very afraid as to what could happen if I let my guard down or trusted the wrong person.

The woman said the rape made her feel dirty and disgusting and that My Christmases were never the same. She said she began using drugs to deal with the emotions resulting from the rape.

I still stand up with my head held high, she wrote, I was young and innocent and that innocence was taken for me. I am worth fighting for like so many others.

Damien Colgan SC, defending, said his client fully accepts the verdict and expresses remorse.

He said Kelly was a juvenile at the time of the rape and answered all questions put to him during gardai interview.

Mr Colgan said his client was willing to engage with any services that the court deems necessary.

Defence counsel read from a letter written by Kelly to the victim in which he apologised for what happened. I never wanted it to get out of hand the way it did. I was in a very dark place and I'm now prepared to accept whatever punishment the judge gives me.

Kelly has 27 previous convictions for possession of knives, possession of drugs, theft, handling stolen property, criminal damage, failure to appear, assault and road traffic offences.

Justice Michael McGrath adjourned the case until February 13 for finalisation.
Met Eireann has issued a Status Yellow - Snow-Ice warning for four counties, in addition to the low temperature warning for the entire country.

The snow and ice warning has been issued for Donegal, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo this evening by Met Eireann.

The national forecaster has predicted snow showers leading to some accumulations for these counties.

Potential impacts include difficult travelling conditions and some travel and service disruption.

This latest warning, issued at 4.08 pm on Tuesday evening is in addition to a low temperature and ice warning for the entire country which remains in place until 11am on Wednesday, January 17.

After that, Ireland could wave goodbye to the current cold spell and say hello to a "conveyor belt of storms" from the Atlantic over the next couple of weeks.

That's according to weather forecaster Alan O'Reilly from Carlow Weather who is monitoring some "nasty" systems headed out way next week.

Alan said: "The Atlantic conveyor belt of storms will come roaring back after this cold spell. Firstly for the weekend and then risk of some nasty systems coming our way next week. Sunday and Tuesday likely to see first two systems with Tuesdays looking potentially nasty."
Chinas second most powerful man has landed in Dublin as part of a brief diplomatic visit.

Li Qiang, the premier of the Peoples Republic of China, arrived on a Boeing 747 Max 8  the largest commercial aircraft to land at Dublin Airport.

He was presented with red roses by a Chinese official upon landing.

He was also greeted by Transport and Climate Minister Eamon Ryan and Irelands ambassador in Beijing Ann Derwin.

There was a heavy Garda presence at the airport for the visit.

Mr Lis trip comes hours after he spoke at the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland.

He is the first high-ranking Chinese government official to attend the annual gathering since President Xi Jinping in 2017.

The visit comes amid efforts by EU figures and China to develop ties.

Despite the strong Sino-EU trade, with both regions the others second biggest trading partner, political tensions remain.

China has angered the EU by taking a neutral stance in what most European countries see as a Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

Some Western countries have also avoided using or criticised technologies linked to the Chinese state over security concerns: including TikTok and Hikvision, the latter of which manufactures CCTV cameras used in the Irish parliament.

Mr Li is to meet with Irish president Michael D Higgins on Wednesday morning before a joining Irish premier Leo Varadkar for a working lunch at Farmleigh House.

Speaking ahead of the visit, Mr Varadkar said China is a very important political and economic power in the world.

So its important that we have good relations with China but also some questions we will need to talk about as well, the Taoiseach said.

Mr Varadkar did not elaborate on the questions or issues he will raise with Mr Li.

The Ireland-Asia think tank Asia Matters has said it is hoping the ban on beef exports to China will be on the table when the two leaders meet.

Beef exports from Ireland to China were suspended when a case of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) was discovered by Irish veterinary officials in November.
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US Economic Data - Davos day one: Zelenskiy, von der Leyen and Li Qiang to address WEF amid economic uncertainty  business live 16-01-2024 01:58



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BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. Obviously, the people coming to the polling stations for upcoming presidential election in Azerbaijan will be higher than during previous elections, chairman of the Public Association "Progress and Democracy" Ahmed Gashamoglu told Azerbaijan's Central Election Commission (CEC), Trend reports.

He also said that the activity of the electorate was also observed during the presidential election on April 11, 2018.

"At that time, 74.52 percent of voters came to the polling stations and voted. And now there are factors contributing to the growth of this figure. For example, the past six years have seen dramatic changes in Azerbaijan's destiny. Our occupied lands have been liberated, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country have been restored. Large-scale construction work is being carried out both on the lands liberated from occupation and on the territory of the country," Gashamoglu said.

He noted that just as the population believes in its present, it wants a reassuring guarantee of its future.

"The foundation for the success of our future will be formed at the upcoming election," the sociologist noted.

Gashamoglu emphasized that the introduction of technical innovations in the electoral process is also one of the factors contributing to the increase in the number of voters.

"The transformation of the electoral process into a digital environment is being organized. Factors such as online name verification in the voter lists, elimination of registration problems, observation of the process through webcams, and more are crucial for election day. The introduction of these and other technologies also stimulates electoral activity," he said.

On December 7, 2023, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on holding an extraordinary presidential election in the country on February 7, 2024.

Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Tech billionaire and richest man in the world Elon Musk took to his social media site X (formerly known as Twitter) to express discomfort with his current shareholding in electric car manufacturer Tesla .

"I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having ~25% voting control. Enough to be influential, but not so much that I cant be overturned. Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla. You dont seem to understand that Tesla is not one startup, but a dozen. Simply look at the delta between what Tesla does and GM. As for stock ownership, itself being enough motivation, Fidelity and others own similar stakes to me. Why dont they show up for work?" he wrote.

Also Read | Tesla gets a $94 billion reality check as EV winter sets in

Voicing concern over the need for a minimum 25 percent voting control in the company, Musk said he wants enough stock "to be influential", but not so much "that I can't be overturned". He also praised the Tesla board adding that his concern was due to the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics at the company.

Musk holds 13 percent of Tesla, and is willing to explore a dual-class voting structure to achieve the desired 25 percent voting control, as per his posts on X. He however said this structure would be a challenge to implement after the initial public offering (IPO) in Delaware.

"I should note that the Tesla board is great. The reason for no new compensation plan" is that we are still waiting for a decision in my Delaware compensation case. The trial for that was held in 2022, but a verdict has yet to be made. I put compensation plan" in quotes, because, from my standpoint, this is primarily about ensuring the right amount of voting influence at Tesla. If I have 25%, it means I am influential, but can be overridden if twice as many shareholders vote against me vs for me. At 15% or lower, the for/against ratio to override me makes a takeover by dubious interests too easy. I would be fine with a dual-class voting structure to achieve this, but am told it is impossible to achieve post-IPO in Delaware," he added.

Also Read | Hertz, Tesla and the perils of CEO groupthink

Diversifying Tesla's Focus

Musk highlighted Tesla's diverse projects, including the development of the Optimus robot and investments exceeding $1 billion in the Dojo supercomputer project. The latter aims to enhance machine-learning models for Tesla's self-driving systems, potentially adding substantial value to the company.

At Tesla's AI Day in 2021, Musk underscored the company's role as a leader in real-world AI, going beyond its identity as an electric car maker. As the single largest shareholder, Musk addressed concerns about his motivation, stating his discomfort in leading AI and robotics without maintaining approximately 25 percent voting control.

Tesla Faces Shareholder Discontent

After a remarkable doubling in 2023, Tesla shares have declined by 12 percent in the current year, resulting in a loss of over $94 billion in market valuation. Musk grapples with shareholder dissatisfaction on various fronts, from succession planning to accusations of distraction by his involvement with X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Also Read | Will Elon Musk's Tesla to set up its first India factory in Gujarat?

Responding to users on X, Musk also clarified a lawsuit concerning his compensation package.

Shareholder Richard Tornetta filed a lawsuit in 2018, alleging that Musk and the board colluded to secure an oversized compensation package without requiring Musk to work full-time at the electric car manufacturer. The legal proceedings are ongoing.

Tesla did not respond to any queries from Reuters or Bloomberg.

(With inputs from Agencies)

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New Delhi: Juniper Hotels, gearing up for a late January or early February IPO, is setting its sights on developing more large-scale luxury hotels in key metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. This strategy is in line with its departure from the mid-market segment, which it has deemed less profitable and increasingly crowded.

The companys CMD Arun K. Saraf, in conversation with Mint, said that in the upper-upscale and luxury hotel categories, the industry has seen a steady average increase in demand of about 10% year-on-year since the early 2000s. But because of a negligible projected increase in supply of new hotels in the luxury category over the next five years, the company is positive that there will be strong growth prospects for it. IPO-bound Juniper Hotels will also look at developing more assets in Goa and Hyderabad with large convention facilities.

This move reflects the companys focus on maximising returns in a market that is seeing a rise in competition. Starting 2014, we pivoted away from mid market inventory hotels. Our focus remains solely on asset ownership and development. There is a lot of opportunity right now and we would like access to fresh capital of 1,800 crore (through the IPO) to grow rapidly. Of this, 1,500 crore will be a capital raise to deleverage and future growth. We will use the remaining 300 crore for general corporate purposes and will deploy that later. The hospitality opportunity in India is staring us right in our faces," said Saraf. He referred to the company selling off a mid-market hotel opportunity it had earlier begun to develop in Ahmedabad. Following this, it invested in a larger scale development in the same city.

Junipers business model extends into developing commercial areas within its hotels, venturing into serviced apartments and even office spaces when feasible. This strategy leverages land holdings and maximises potential revenue streams. The company has about 1,950-keys across its hotels. Saraf will transfer about 1,000-keys from his other businesses into this portfolio by 2027.

The company, co-owned by Saraf Hotels and Hyatt affiliate Two Seas Holdings, plans to bring in fresh capital via the IPO without altering ownership structures. This marks a continuation of a long-standing partnership dating back to 1998, when the two entities collaborated on the Grand Hyatt Mumbai hotel project.

Juniper is directly linked to the global hospitality company Hyatt Hotels which had direct investments from its founding family in the USthe Pritzkers. The same family has also invested in Juniper. When Hyatt Hotels Corp. became a listed entity in the US in 2009, Juniper also moved into the Hyatt Hotels Corp. as a part of the business.

Since then, Juniper moved on from owning one hotel in Mumbai to having six other hotels, either directly or through its subsidiary. This company, he clarified, will also be brand agnostic and will look to tie up with any Indian or international hotel management firms and not just Hyatt.

The goal of the company is looking at owning profitable big-box or large hotel assets in every market that we operate in and focus on Ebitda and capital appreciation. That is how our strategy has worked so far with each of our seven assets, he added.

Firm has key metros like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru in its sights; focus on asset ownership, development

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MUMBAI : Livspace, a new-age home interiors solutions provider backed by private equity firm KKR, is planning to shift its domicile back to India, and list on local stock exchanges. Currently based in Singapore, the firm has initiated internal processes with the aim to go public in 2025, three people in the know of the development said.

The company is looking to hit profitability by the end of the current financial year and is eyeing a listing opportunity in 2025, one of the three people cited above said, seeking anonymity.

In February 2022, Livspace raised $180 million in a funding round led by KKR at a valuation of $1.2 billion, to join the coveted unicorn club. The startup has so far raised about $450 million.

It has begun work internally and is likely to apply for regulatory approvals and flip back the company in the next 9-12 months," the second person said.

Livspace joins a long list of startups that domiciled overseas with the hope of targeting global pools of capital, but want to now flip back to India. This move is fuelled by the dynamic and robust nature of the domestic equity capital market. Other startups considering a pivot to India includes PhonePe, Razorpay, PineLabs and Groww among others.

A majority of these companies feel, their story will be best understood in a market where they have established a customer base. Valuations too have improved domestically," the second person added.

Livspace, founded in 2014 by Ramakant Sharma and Anuj Srivastava, is an omni-channel home interiors and renovation platform with operations across Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East.

Driven by a cash reserve of over $100 million on its balance sheet, it is actively pursuing inorganic growth through strategic acquisitions, which will facilitate its entry into private labels and niche categories. Our investments are in line with creating a comprehensive ecosystem in the home interiors and renovation sector and to be closer to our customers while delivering a complete spectrum of services," said Ankit Shah, the chief strategy officer of Livspace in an emailed response.

In terms of acquisitions, we are looking at only buying companies which are significantly value accretive. This means, we are in conversations with companies that are significantly profitable, have a strong growth trajectory, are well capitalized and have strong management teams."

Shah, however, refused to share details of the companys listing plans.

The firm achieved a top-line growth of 85% across its diverse businesses, reporting revenue of nearly 1,100 crore in FY23, on the back of strategic expansions, enhancing its supply chain and investments in branding and experience centres, Mint had reported in September.

Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization margin, excluding employee stock options, narrowed from -95.2% in FY22 to -50.7% in FY23, resulting in an Ebitda loss before Esops of about 581 crore, compared to around 600 crore in FY22. The firm is looking to break-even by the end of FY24. We are most excited about the private label space, within which we are looking at growing assets with a strong balance sheet and adequate capital," Shah said.

We are not at this stage focused on buying distribution assets- given that we are the dominant player in this category and feel we can continue serving a broader set of customers through extensions of our market leading brand," he added to clarify rumours about its plans to acquire another vertical home interior solutions provider.

We are extremely excited about building and creating a high growth and sustainable business with a strong focus on profitability and are doing everything internally to get the company ready for any potential outcomes," Shah added.

In India, the company competes with a large part of the market that is unorganized and in organized sector it is pitted against HomeLane, Design Studio among others.
Vodafone Group Plc and Microsoft Corp . entered a ten-year agreement, involving a $1.5 billion investment, to advance various business sectors, including artificial intelligence, digital payments, and the Internet of Things, on January 16.

Within the terms of the deal, Vodafone will employ OpenAI technology on Azure to elevate customer service operations, incorporating improvements to its consumer chatbot. Moreover, Vodafone staff will gain access to Microsoft Copilot, as disclosed in a joint statement.

The agreement is expected to offer scale digital platforms to more than 300 million businesses, public sector organisations, and consumers across Europe and Africa.

This new generation of AI will unlock massive new opportunities for every organisation and every industry around the world," said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, of Microsoft. We are delighted that together with Vodafone, we will apply the latest cloud and AI technology to enhance the customer experience of hundreds of millions of people and businesses across Africa and Europe, build new products and services, and accelerate the companys transition to the cloud."

Microsoft is actively seeking more users for its Copilot AI assistants following a $13 billion investment in OpenAI. Corporate customers are billed $30 per user per month for Copilot access, nearly doubling the typical cost for Microsofts Office suite of products, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Microsofts investment in Vodafones standalone global IoT-managed connectivity platform is aimed at connecting 175 million devices worldwide, while Vodafone becomes part of the Azure ecosystem. The agreement is aimed at scaling M-Pesa, Africa's largest financial technology platform, on Azure and launching a purpose-led program to enrich the lives of 100 million consumers and 1 million SMEs across the continent.

Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group chief executive, said: Today, Vodafone has made a bold commitment to the digital future of Europe and Africa. This unique strategic partnership with Microsoft will accelerate the digital transformation of our business customers, particularly small and medium-sized companies, and step up the quality of customer experience for consumers."

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Indian startups witnessed remarkable growth despite various challenges including funding issues during the last financial year. The country now stands at the third spot in the startup ecosystem globally. The government's proactive stance in fostering entrepreneurship, notably through initiatives like the Startup India scheme, has played a pivotal role in this success.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier declared January 16 as National Startup Day' which recognizes the extraordinary growth and contributions of the startup community to the Indian economy. Celebrating National Startup Day on January 16, key figures in the startup ecosystem shared insights on the challenges and opportunities for entrepreneurs in India.

'Challenges for startups in India'

Startups in India grapple with several challenges, including the critical issues of talent acquisition and retention as they strive to build and scale their teams, said Mahankali Srinivas Rao, CEO of T-Hub, the government of Telangana incubator.

Investor caution, spurred by governance lapses, underscores the imperative for transparent governance and robust risk mitigation strategies. Regulatory complexities add another layer of difficulty, demanding ongoing vigilance and impacting operational efficiency," Rao told LiveMint.

However, Sourceinfi founder Paras Thakkar believes that every obstacle encountered is a chance to innovate. In the vast realm of dropshipping and B2B import, startups face challenges like finding reliable suppliers, limited categories, inventory management, low-profit margin, and delayed fulfillment."

Prakhar Singh, cofounder of Relax Company also urged entrepreneurs to embrace these challenges by not viewing them as obstacles but as golden opportunities to revolutionize.

Startups tackle challenges with a commitment to addressing accessibility issues and developing sustainable solutions through technology, driven by creativity and positive change, Ravi Reddy, CSO of Simplify3X told us.

He said managing startups involves adapting to tight budgets, limited resources, and intense competition, with success relying on continuous innovation, customer engagement, and cautious approaches to AI investments.

LEO1 founder Rohit Gajbhiye said challenges, like navigating regulations and nurturing talent, persist but require a collaborative approach. Despite hurdles, optimism prevails as India's demographic advantage, coupled with a government focus on digital transformation, sets the stage for entrepreneurial success."

Opportunities for startups in India

Within these challenges, many opportunities lie to revolutionize traditional models, leverage cutting-edge technology, and forge partnerships that redefine efficiency, Thakkar said, adding that D2C startups have the unique opportunity to not only meet the nation's increasing demand for trending products at competitive rates but to also lead in the D2C segment.

India remains a robust economy, projected to grow at 6.3 percent in 202324 despite these challenges. The government's unwavering support through initiatives like Startup India and Atal Innovation Mission provides startups with essential resources, mentorship, and favorable policies.

Rao stated that the rise of tech startups in Tier-II and III cities reflects the resilience and inclusivity of the startup landscape.

The robust momentum in IPOs, with 18 tech companies going public in 2023, and the landmark achievement of surpassing 100,000 registered startups through the Startup India initiative, underline India's position as a global startup hub," the T-hub CEO added.

On the other hand, Vibcare Pharma CEO Siddharth Singhal believes that the entrepreneurial spirit is a vital force in driving industry advancements, particularly in fields as crucial as healthcare.

It's not just about building a successful business; it's about making a meaningful impact on lives and contributing positively to society. To the young entrepreneurs of today, I say embrace the challenges, stay committed to your vision, and remember that your work has the potential to make a profound difference," Singhal said.

He said each new venture brings with it the possibility of innovation and positive change, especially in sectors as impactful as healthcare.

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Trade is swinging back to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach after a period in which pandemic-driven shipping disruptions and broader shifts in manufacturing pushed supply chains more heavily toward Gulf Coast and East Coast ports.

The Southern California ports in September, October and November recorded year-over-year increases in containerized imports of between 17% and 31%, according to ports data. At the same time imports fell at East Coast gateways such as Georgias Port of Savannah and the Port of New York and New Jersey.

Logistics executives say the neighboring Southern California ports, long the anchor of U.S. supply chains built on trade with Asia, are winning back business in part because of improved labor relations with dockworkers following resolution of long-running contract talks last year.

More recently, disruptions at the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal, both of which feed East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, have led importers to route their goods through California to avoid longer transit times and higher costs.

For many importers, California ports are cheaper and easier to ship through because they are closer to Asia and have extensive truck and rail connections to other parts of the country, said Jamie Bragg, chief supply-chain officer at Tailored Brands.

The parent company of Mens Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank diverted most of its imports from Southern California to Houston during the pandemic.

Bragg said the longer sailing time and higher costs to ship to Texas through the Panama Canal were worth it to avoid California, where a massive backup of containerships delayed cargo in 2021 and 2022 and contentious labor talks in 2022 and 2023 threatened work disruptions.

Bragg said Tailored Brands moved back to Southern California after the labor talks concluded in the summer of 2023, avoiding the impact of a drought in Panama that has started affecting the number of containers that ocean carriers can ship via the canal.

The West Coast, which gained its prominent role in import supply chains as U.S. trade with China skyrocketed in the 1990s, has been losing its grip on seaborne trade for years.

The question now is whether this trend continues or is finally starting to bottom out," said Jason Miller, a professor of supply-chain management at Michigan State University.

East Coast ports have attracted importers with their proximity to fast-growing population centers and growing factory activity in the Southeast and their better access to growing overseas manufacturing hubs such as India. The widening of the Panama Canal a decade ago helped by allowing larger containerships to reach the region from Asia.

Importers have also expanded to the East Coast and Gulf Coast as part of a strategy to reduce risk in supply chains by shipping through multiple ports. Goetz Alebrand, head of ocean freight at DHL Global Forwarding Americas, said that strategy now is making it easier for shippers to divert cargo because of disruptions.

Cargo is a little bit like water," Alebrand said. It will always follow the path of least resistance."

Twenty years ago, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach handled 50% of U.S. containerized imports. That share fell to 40% by 2019 and plunged to 33% last year, said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles.

Now, he said, the ports are back to 36% of market share and are going to be as aggressive as ever" in chasing more.

East Coast and Gulf Coast ports face further challenges this year.

Importers are concerned about labor disruptions across the region as the ports now take their turn on contract talks. The leader of the union that represents dockworkers has threatened a strike if his union fails to reach agreement with employers on a new multiyear contract before the current agreement expires at the end of September.

Write to Paul Berger at paul.berger@wsj.com
Close to 250 million Indians escaped multidimensional poverty in the nine years ending 2022-23, federal policy think tank Niti Aayog said on Monday, referring to an index it uses to track the various ways that economic poverty affects life. Multidimensional poverty uses measures of health, education and standard of living, and the development could help reduce the share of Indians deprived on this metric to single digits in 2024, the think tank said.

More than half of Indias population was multidimensionally poor in 2005-06, going by National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data for that period. This fell to about a quarter of the population by 2015-16, and to 14.96% by 2019-21, Niti Aayog said, quoting a discussion paper written by member Ramesh Chand with inputs from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Reacting to the data, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X: Very encouraging, reflecting our commitment towards furthering inclusive growth and focussing on transformative changes to our economy. We will continue to work towards all-round development and to ensure a prosperous future for every Indian."

The think tank has projected an 11.28% figure for multidimensionally poor in 2022-23 based on past trends, and expects that to fall below 10% in 2023-24.

The intensity of poverty, which measures the extent of deprivation suffered by the poor, declined from about 55% in 2005-06 to 47.14% in 2015-16, and then to 44.39% in 2019-21.

The multidimensional poverty index is computed by considering both the headcount of poor persons and the intensity of poverty. This index has declined from 0.304 to 0.117 in about 10 years after 2005-06 and then to 0.066 in the next 4.5 years to 2019-21, the paper said.

The paper also showed that the pace of decline in poor persons as a share of population was faster between the NFHS periods of 2015-16 and 2019-21 than between 2005-06 and 2015-16.

The fastest reduction in the proportion of poor was seen in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan, the paper said.

The intensity of poverty declined at a slightly lower rate between the family health survey periods 2015-16 and 2019-21 compared to the previous decade, but the multidimensional poverty index showed a higher reduction after 2015-16 than before.

Niti Aayog chief executive B.V.R. Subrahmanyam attributed the faster pace of poverty reduction to economic growth and the governments targeted welfare schemes. He added that the report was about the decline in multidimensional poverty, which was a matter of pride.

In response to a question on rural consumption remaining less impressive than urban consumption, Chand explained that consumption of services such as air travel, etc., are not limited to urban consumers as these are driven by the need for faster mobility and better affordability in both rural and urban areas.

The biggest segment of rural economy is agriculture. Growth in agriculture during the last nine years has accelerated compared to (the pace in) any other previous decades. I do not think that rural areas did not benefit as much as urban areas," said Chand, adding that industrialization is now happening in rural areas due to scarcity of land in urban centres.

The reports findings are likely to be debated among experts as poverty reduction is a function of the management of the economy as well as social transfers.

To be sure, the multidimensional poverty index is based on indicators in the areas of health, education and living standard covering nutrition, schooling, access to drinking water, electricity, etc., unlike the household consumption survey, which indicates patterns of income and spending.

As such, the multi-dimensional poverty should not be seen as a measure of poverty, which is traditionally measured in economic terms.

The multidimensional poverty index is constructed in such a way that it is biased in one directiontowards (recording) improvement, unless there is a big calamity," said Pronab Sen, former chief statistician of India.

Sen said that the Niti Aayog papers observation about the faster rate of poverty headcount reduction and slower rate of decline in the severity of deprivation in the family health survey period between 2015-16 and 2019-21 compared to the preceding decade was an interesting one.

He explained that it takes a lot of effort to bring those far away from the poverty cutoff line closer to it, though it may not lead to an improvement in the poverty headcount ratio; getting a person closer to the poverty threshold to cross over takes less effort but adds to the headcount ratio reduction.
Its that time of year. Corporate chieftains, policymakers, NGO warriors, journalists and intellectuals are heading to the Swiss Alps for the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. If the delegates are serious about this years theme, Rebuilding Trust," some hard conversations lie ahead.

On both the far left and the far right, conspiracy theorists see the WEF and its allies as an all-powerful network successfully imposing a nefarious agenda on the rest of the world. This reading gets Davos exactly wrong.

The real scandal of Davos isnt that its taking over the world. Its that its failing. The Davos agendaa global security order, an integrated world economy and progress toward objectives including decarbonization, gender equality and the abolition of dire povertyis controversial in some quarters and on some points but is neither secret nor particularly nefarious. But far from imposing this agenda on a captive world, the Davos elites are wringing their hands as the dream slowly dies.

Last year was another tough year for the Davos agenda. Russias war in Ukraine ground on, with Moscow holding an edge in what looks like a war of attrition. The Middle East erupted into chaos, with shipping disrupted in the Red Sea as the conflict escalates and expands. Relations between China and the West continued to deteriorate, with the Taiwan election results pointing toward further tensions in the coming year.

Conflict is bad for free trade, and the breakdown of the global security order is undermining the economic integration at the heart of the Davos agenda. The rift between China and the West is driving a decoupling on both sides. With both the European Union and the U.S. introducing restrictions on imports aimed at limiting the effect on domestic manufacturing of low-wage, low-regulation production in China and elsewhere, the goal of free trade recedes further into the distance every year.

Unsurprisingly, both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are forecasting a slowdown in global economic growth. Predicting that global trade flows will be only 50% of the average in the pre-pandemic decade, the World Bank warns that the 2020s could be a lost decade for the world economy, with poor countries hardest hit.

As war spreads and the global economy slows, chances for progress on the Davos social agenda are fading. Topics like the energy transition and gender justice, however worthy and important, drop down the priority list when countries are waging or preparing for war. The number of desperate refugees, currently estimated at 114 million, inexorably grows. Violence against civilians accompanies the rising tide of war. Under these circumstances, human-rights groups and other social campaigners must focus on humanitarian crises rather than existing social problems.

Given this background, the Davos hills are alive with the sounds of failure. Davos conversations that used to be about how to take advantage of the level global playing field that U.S. presidents and allies sought to build after World War II and 1990 have shifted. The question now is how companies, and countries, can manage the risks of a disrupted world order. How do you manage supply chains in an era of U.S.-China rivalry? How do you adjust to the effective closing of the Red Sea, and perhaps the Strait of Hormuz, by Iran and its proxies? How does your country manage its security policy in a world where U.S. power seems to be waning and the comfortable assumptions of the past no longer hold?

The meetings Rebuilding Trust" theme acknowledges that something has gone wrong. That is a good start, but it doesnt go far enough. Lying Russian propagandists and Chinese attempts to influence American opinion are problems that need addressing, but people arent losing trust in their leaders because disinformation has muddled their brains. They are losing confidence because they sense that the establishments approach to the chief problems of the day isnt working.

This isnt, at its core, a crisis of trust. It is a crisis of competence. Why would voters expect an expert class" that was so wrong for so long about Russia, China, Iran and Covid to know how to cope with a challenge as difficult and multifaceted as the energy transition? Why would they trust European and American politicians who are failing so woefully to handle massive illegal migration to manage the rise of artificial intelligence?

The emperor has no clothes!" is the cry of populists everywhere. To render this message ineffective, Davos Man doesnt need image consultants and disinformation specialists. He needs to get dressed.
All schools in Patna will remain closed for students up to class 8 till Saturday i.e. January 20, in view of prevailing cold weather conditions in the capital city of Bihar, said an official order issued by the district magistrate.

The school closure has been extended in response to the ongoing cold wave situation, which poses risks to the health and well-being of the students, an order issued by Patna District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh said adding that the order included pre-schools and anganwadi centres. The classes for 9th to 12th standards will be conducted from 9 am to 3.30 pm as scheduled and no educational activities will be allowed after 3.30 pm. Also Read | Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia refines SOPs amid airport chaos The Patna District Magistrate order further said that special classes for the upcoming Bihar Board Examination and 'Mission Daksh' (Dynamic Approach for Knowledge and Skill) will be excluded from the above order.

Earlier on Saturday, the district administration ordered the closure of all government and private schools for students up to Class 8 till January 16 as cold wave swept the state on Friday with the mercury dipping below 10 degrees Celsius in the district. The administration has also rescheduled the class timings for the higher classes.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted extreme cold weather conditions and dense fog for the next few days in Northern India including Bihar. The temperature has dropped below 10 degrees Celsius in several districts. As per the weather department report, Gaya recorded the lowest temperature in the state at 4.9 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature will remain between 9 to 12 for the next few days in various parts of the state including Patna.

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Canada is considering imposing a cap on the number of international students due to a housing affordability crisis exacerbated by high demand from foreign students.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller recently announced a slew of new requirements for foreign students wanting to come study in Canada including proof of more accessible funds. The previous $10,000 proof of accessible funds has been raised to $20,635, with adjustments based on Statistics Canada's living cost benchmark. This change aims to ensure students have adequate financial resources for their education and stay.

Apart from the intake curtailment announcement, Toronto Star recently reported that in the second half of 2023, nearly 40% of student visa applications from India were rejected, the highest refusal rate among all countries. The rejection reasons were categorised as other or unspecified.

Amid uncertainties, if you need to look at countries beyond the US and the UK (considering the humungous tuition fees) that offer great courses that are also affordable, here is the list compiled by World's Education Service.

5 countries that offer good courses at affordable fees:

Norway: The best thing about studying in Norway is that higher education is free in Norway (from both within and outside the EU) at public universities, except for a few specialized courses.

Apart from that, there is a high number of locals who are proficient in English and at all levels, students will find English-taught programs.

The only downside is that the cost of living is high in Norway, a student would need around 1.4 crore per year to stay there

Taiwan: Some of the best universities today are in Taiwan and high-quality courses are offered at great prices. For example, at National Taiwan University, the nations leading university, UG programmes for liberal arts start around 3 lakh.

Plus, more than 120 courses are taught in English at over 40 universities

Germany: Like Norway, tuition fees are not charged for undergraduate and PhD level programmes at all public universities, excluding those in Baden-Wurttemberg.

Master's degree students who have not studied for their undergraduate degree in Germany are likely to pay around 19 lakh. But, you also apply for scholarships.

France: Tuition fees for both domestic and international students are around 20,000 per year for bachelors (licence) programs, 25,000 for most masters programs and 40,000 for PhDs. Fees are considerably higher at highly selective institutes.

However, living costs are extremely high in some cities, especially Paris.

Mexico: Tuition fees vary, with private universities charging more, and average around 5 lakh for international undergraduate students in the capital, Mexico City, which was named one of the worlds top 100 cities for students.

Although the main language of instruction is Spanish, Mexican universities are offering more English-taught courses to attract international students.

Moreover, the living costs are reasonably low.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has made a trip to the Lankaran district, Trend reports.

The head of state viewed the conditions created in the newly established citrus orchard owned by Lenk Fruit Limited Liability Company (LLC) in the village of Separadi in the Lankaran district.

Director of Lenk Fruit LLC Namig Jabiyev briefed President Ilham Aliyev on the new citrus orchard. The orchard, spanning a total area of 150 hectares, is home to 141,000 citrus fruits, peach and nectarine trees, mainly imported from Turkiye. The Entrepreneurship Development Fund granted a preferential loan of 1 million manats, and the Agrarian Credit and Development Agency under the Ministry of Agriculture provided an interest-free loan of 148,000 manats for the project with a total cost of 10.7 million manats.

In a groundbreaking initiative, 15 pieces of special equipment, valued at $2.2 million, were installed in the orchard to combat frost during winter months, protecting 9 hectares of land per unit. It is planned to install five more such pieces of equipment in the coming years.

The orchard is dedicated to cultivating tangerines, lemons (110 hectares), peaches (20 hectares), nectarines (5 hectares), and berry gardens (7 hectares). Anticipating a productivity of 35-40 tons per hectare, the orchard aims to exceed local varieties by 2-3 times.

In the economic year 2023-2024, 3,000 tons of crops were harvested, with ongoing harvesting efforts. The fruits not only meet domestic demands but are also exported to Russia.

The enterprise employs 140 people.
Despondency stalks boardrooms and corner offices of private banks, as the regulator keeps top-level compensation under its thumb to prevent risk-taking of the kind that led to the global financial crisis of 2007-08. In several instances, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has refused to approve a pay hike, delayed approving higher remuneration or even directed an outright pay cut.

For instance, six months after he was promoted as executive director at IDFC First Bank Ltd, Madhivanan Balakrishnan stepped down in December. In his resignation letter, Balakrishnan, who joined IDFC First in 2019 as chief operating officer, said he plans to pursue an opportunity in healthcare that matches his long-term plans for his family and offers higher pay.

Two bankers aware of the matter said on condition of anonymity that RBI had approved his new salary with a 25-30% cut (from above 3 crore earlier) after he was elevated as whole-time director in June 2023. The central bank felt Balakrishnan was already drawing a high package based on his previous experience at ICICI Bank Ltd (where he was chief technology and digital officer), and IDFC First being a smaller bank could not pay as much, they said.

The logic that RBI gave in Balakrishnans case was that IDFC First Bank was in the second cluster of banks. The regulator is doing benchmark comparison based on the size of banks," the first banker said.

The issue gains importance because such oversight by RBI could lead to a talent crunch in the top management of private banks. Balakrishnans exit has touched a raw nerve. The main question is, how to retain talent in banking if RBI continues to be so stringent with compensation," said a former chief executive officer (CEO) of a private sector bank.

When contacted, Balakrishnan said, The opportunity that I am exploring has a higher compensation, which would certainly be beneficial given the last few years of my career. But I would like to reiterate that the primary reason for moving out is the bigger entrepreneurial opportunities that could open up for me and my family."

Then, Sumant Kathpalia, CEO of IndusInd Bank Ltd, has not received a pay hike since he was appointed to the post four years ago, the banks annual reports showed. Meanwhile, Pralay Mondal, currently CEO of Catholic Syrian Bank, had to take a 52% pay cut to 1.85 crore after he was promoted as deputy managing director from head of retail banking in 2021, the banks FY23 annual report showed.

Queries sent to RBI and the banks cited in this article, except IDFC First Bank, remained unanswered till press time.

In the past several years, corporate India has seen salary increases run ahead of increases in revenues and profits. As a consequence, there is a pushback on executive compensation," said Amit Tandon, founder and managing director of proxy advisory firm Institutional Investor Advisory Services India Ltd.

Tandon pointed out that in 2022, one in three resolutions relating to executive compensation was approved only because promoters voted for their own salary increase. Against this background, compensation levels in banks are seen as being tempered, which is something that investors welcome. This and the regulatory oversight give investors much-needed comfort," he added.

The central bank issued compensation norms for whole-time directors and CEOs of private, foreign, payments and small finance banks in November 2019, pointing to the need to curb excessive risk-taking. It said executives were often rewarded for increasing short-term profit without adequate recognition of the risks and long-term consequences of their actions. The rules took effect in April 2020. In the US and the UK as well, rules on bank executives compensation were tightened in the wake of the global financial crisis.

Bankers complain that approvals for remuneration are delayed as well. HDFC Bank Ltds FY23 annual report said the remuneration of its current CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan and executive director Kaizad Bharucha for performance in FY22 was approved by RBI only in March 2023.

RBI has been cutting salaries severely," the human resources (HR) head of a private bank said on condition of anonymity. It has become a problem. Several of them have accepted because they feel that being a whole-time director can compensate for it in terms of prestige, responsibilities and recognition. As it (scrutiny) increases, more and more, there could be a flight of talent. RBI is aware, but is not too worried at this stage."

While the compensation of top officials had to be approved by RBI even earlier, the scrutiny has increased since 2020. In August, Mint reported about severe attrition levels at lower levels in private banks, with HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank and ICICI Bank witnessing 34.15%, 51% and 30.9% attrition in FY22. RBIs compensation rules for the top levels, while well-intentioned, could worsen the flight of talent from the banking sector.

Many senior executives do not seek a promotion as their compensation will come under RBIs scrutiny once they become executive directors, the former HR head of another private sector bank said.

At Indias largest private lender, HDFC Bank, former CEO Aditya Puris last salary at the end of FY20 stood at 18 crore. In contrast, Jagdishan, who succeeded him and continues in the role, drew a salary of 10.5 crore in FY23.

Before 2019, most banks saw a higher average increase in remuneration of key management personnel compared to non-managerial staff, a Mint analysis of various banks annual reports showed.

Directors at private sector banks raised the compensation issue with central bank officials at a meeting in May 2023, the bankers cited earlier said. However, RBI justified the decision saying compensation comes under regulatory purview, they said.

RBI has been hard-nosed about compensation packages over the last two years," the head of a private sector bank said. They feel that bankers should earn less, and hence do not approve salary hikes recommended by the boards. The question is, what is the relevance of these boards and shareholders if RBI itself is taking the final decision? How can the salary of CEOs be decided based on the size of the bank? If the bank has announced an 8% bonus, then maybe the CEO gets only 1%," the banker said.

The guidelines mandate that a minimum of 50% of variable pay should be in the form of non-cash including employee stock options or share-linked instruments. It also capped variable pay at not more than 200% of fixed pay, with 60% of the total variable pay and at least 50% of the cash component of variable pay to be deferred.

The guidelines also allow for clawback of CEO salaries if any misconduct comes to light later. Former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar was asked to pay back past bonuses after it was found that she did not follow the disclosure norms on conflict of interest. Similarly, former Yes Bank Ltd CEO Rana Kapoors past bonuses were clawed back over governance issues and poor performance.
Soon after spot bitcoin ETF was approved by the US markets regulator Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), there has been a surge in the bitcoin price , which had hit $49,000 soon after. The bitcoin on Tuesday was trading 1 percent higher at $42,837.

Several industry spokespersons representing Indian crypto exchanges have given a thumbs-up to the move.

The introduction of a Bitcoin ETF is  undoubtedly  an encouraging factor, contributing to the growing belief in this asset class. Given that crypto is borderless, the SECs ETF approval will impact overall market sentiments. In the immediate term, the focus is on Bitcoin's price, which has surged over 60% since early October," said Sumit Gupta, Co-founder, CoinDCX.

Participation in foreign stock and ETF markets by Indian investors is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India's Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS). Under this scheme, investors from India can allocate up to $250,000 for investments, including in US ETFs.

However, despite the encouraging words, Indian investors have much more to consider amid repeated words of caution given by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the recent past.

So, investors continue to grapple with the question as to whether one should invest in this cryptocurrency or not? There are numerous reasons for intending to invest in bitcoins.

Reasons investors in India can consider investing in bitcoins:

1. The cryptocurrency is borderless and the decisions taken by the US regulator will see their impact on the prices, acceptability and cash inflows around the world.

2. When the price starts moving upward, a number of investors will be incentivised to earn quick bucks in the short term trading by selling the rallies.

3. Although cryptocurrencies are yet not legal in India via any explicit set of regulations, they are not illegal either. The government even rolled out 1 percent TDS and capital gains tax on virtual digital currencies (VDAs) in 2022, thus setting the tone of legitimacy and regulatory framework.

4. India investors can invest in bitcoin ETFs via Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS).

Nevertheless, the jury is still out on this when it comes to making hay while the sun shines on cryptocurrencies.

Reasons Indian investors may not want to invest in bitcoins:

1. The approval of spot ETF was given by the US market regulator SEC, and it obviously does not apply to Indian crypto exchanges. Although Indian investors can invest via LRS, not everyone would want to take that path.

2. By their very nature, cryptocurrencies are highly volatile. And so are bitcoins. They fluctuate wildly and touched $68,789 in November 2021.

3. They are yet not regulated in India and the overall sentiment for their regulations is not positive. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has issued statements condemning the mania of bitcoins.

No wonder then some experts continue to bat for regulatory clarity over bitcoins before going ahead with investing into them.

It may be prudent to await clear regulatory developments before considering investments in cryptocurrencies. The launch of a Bitcoin ETF was anticipated to inject billions into the crypto economy, but instead, we've witnessed a trend of investors liquidating their holdings, causing prices to hover around $47,000, far from the peak price of $60,000. It is recommended to prioritise regulatory clarity over Wall Street events, as the latter may not fully capture the essence of decentralised Bitcoin," says Gaurav Mehta, CEO and co-founder of Catax  Simple Crypto Taxes.

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday opened bidding for a new tranche of sovereign green bonds. The Centre has issued 5,000 crore worth of 30-year bonds, with another similar tranche scheduled for the end of the month. That will complete the plan to issue 20,000 crore worth of sovereign green bonds for the current fiscal year. The government had issued five-year sovereign green bonds worth 5,000 crore in November and 10-year paper worth 5,000 crore in December.

India joined the sovereign green bonds club in January of last year with an 8,000 crore issuance, followed by a similar tranche in February. Plans to raise funds via green bonds were first announced in the Union Budget for 2022-23. After that, the finance ministry published the Sovereign Green Bond Framework. The Union budget, to be presented on 1 February, may propose issuance of sovereign green bonds worth at least 20,000 crore as part of the borrowing programme for fiscal year 2025 (FY25).

How are sovereign green bonds different from other bonds issued by the government?

Sovereign green bonds are distinct, as they fund public sector green infrastructure projects aimed at reducing carbon emissions and meeting India's Paris Agreement and net-zero commitments. The funds can be allocated in the form of investments, subsidies, grants-in-aid, or select operational expenses, even covering expenditures from the previous 12 months. The goal is to allocate proceeds to projects within 24 months, with unutilized funds rolling over to the next year for green initiatives.

In line with standard government accounting practices, the proceeds are deposited into the Consolidated Fund of India, with subsequent transfers to eligible green projects. The finance ministry maintains a separate account to ensure transparent tracking of the funds.

What qualifies as a green project?

The finance ministry has clearly outlined the criteria for green project eligibility under the sovereign green bonds scheme. Projects that enhance energy efficiency, reduce emissions, foster climate resilience, and support natural ecosystems and biodiversity, in line with India's Sustainable Development Goals, are eligible. Renewable energy, low-carbon buildings, public transport electrification, and efficient water systems are among the projects that qualify. However, fossil fuel production, nuclear power, large hydropower plants, and waste incineration are excluded.

Can investors expect better returns from green bonds?

Not really. Investors in green bonds typically see lower yields compared to traditional bonds, given the focus on sustainability. The yield gap, known as greenium, reflects the environmental value of these bonds.

A finance ministry official, as reported by Mint, had indicated that green bonds should offer lower yields than conventional bonds, with a target yield below 6.8% if traditional bonds yield between 7-7.2%.

However, the yield difference has been marginal in past issuances. For instance, the November green bonds had a modest discount of 2 basis points, and the January 2023 issue offered a coupon rate about 5 basis points lower than sovereign yields.

Projects supported by sovereign green bonds so far

In fiscal year 2022-23, the 16,000 crore raised through green bonds was primarily allocated to renewable energy projects, with 6,200 crore dedicated to this sector. Additional funds were earmarked for initiatives under the ministries of railways, housing and urban affairs, and environment, forest and climate change, demonstrating the bonds' significant contribution to sustainable development in India.
PSU stocks IRFC, RVNL and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders surged up to 13 percent in intra-day deals on Tuesday to hit their respective new highs ahead of the 2024 Interim Union Budget.

Indian Railway Finance Corporation surged 12.7 percent to its new high of 146.69. It has now soared over 476 percent from its 52-week low of 25.45, hit on March 28, 2023.

Meanwhile. Rail Vikas Nigam also advanced 5 percent to its new peak of 231.80. The stock has now skyrocketed 313 percent from its 52-week low of 56.15, hit on March 1, 2023.

Mazagon Dock jumped 6 percent to its RECord high of 2,490. It has also risen 306 percent from its 52-week low of 612.80, hit on March 27, 2023.

As per media reports, IRFC witnessed multiple block deals worth 250 crore in early trade today.

Overall, PSU stocks have been on the rise, giving multi-bagger returns in the last 1 year.

IRFC surged 189 percent in the last 1 year and has already jumped almost 41 percent in January 2024 so far, extending gains for the 3rd straight month since November 2023. It rose 33 percent in December 2023 and 2.8 percent in November.

Meanwhile, RVNL also more than doubled investor wealth in the last 1 year, rallying over 178 percent. It has advanced 25 percent in January 2024 so far after a 10.5 percent gain in December 2023.

Mazagon Dock has also soared 201 percent in the last 1 year and has added almost 7 percent in January so far, rising for the third straight month since November 2023. It was up 13.3 percent in December 2023 and 2.3 percent in November.

The prospect of the BJP's potential re-election next year is generating positive expectations for sustained capital expenditure, contributing to the increased attractiveness of PSU (Public Sector Undertaking) stocks.

This sentiment is reinforced by the noteworthy performance of the BSE PSU index in 2023, which saw a substantial surge of 55 percent, outperforming the benchmark BSE Sensex index's return of 18.74 percent. This robust performance is indicative of the strong performance and market confidence in public sector enterprises, underlining their appeal to investors. The re-election anticipation appears to be a key factor influencing market dynamics and investor sentiment, contributing to the favorable outlook for PSU stocks.

These stocks have experienced robust gains propelled by substantial order inflows, reflecting the government's emphasis on initiatives such as Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India. This positive trend has extended to other PSUs, contributing to their notable gains as well.

However, despite such stellar returns, brokerage house Kotak Institutional Equities expressed its skepticism regarding the market's optimistic expectations surrounding the privatisation of PSUs, citing concerns related to policy, practical implementation, and pricing.

"We are not sure if the privatisation thesis for PSUs is an ex-ante reason for or a post facto justification for the sharp run-up in stock prices of PSUs in the past few months. We are surprised by the privatisation argument for PSUs in light of (1) the stated policy of the government for PSUs, (2) the practical challenges seen in the attempts to privatise BPCL, CCRI and (3) high prices (inflated valuations) of the PSUs with many PSUs trading at a large premium to their private sector counterparts, presumably the bidders for the PSUs," stated the brokerage.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisio

INDIAN RAILWAY FINANCE CORPORATION More Information

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Shares of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), India's largest life insurer, soared 5.30% in today's intraday to touch 900 apiece, a level not seen since its listing in May 2022. This also represents the stock's new 52-week high. The insurance behemoth was listed on the Indian stock exchanges on May 17, 2022, at 875.25 apiece as compared to the issue price of 949.

Post-listing, the shares experienced significant downward pressure until March 2023, reaching an all-time low of 530. However, a notable turnaround occurred in the subsequent months, with a particularly robust upward momentum observed in November, marking a gain of 12.83%.

This positive trend continued into the following month, with an impressive rise of 22.52%. In the current month, the stock has shown a further increase of 7.51% so far. At current levels, the stock is just 6.21% away from its IPO price.

Also Read: NALCO, Hindustan Copper shares gain up to 7% on India's first lithium exploration deal

From November until now, the company's market capitalisation has surged by 1.84 lakh crore, reaching the current level of 5.64 lakh crore.

In December, the government granted a one-time exemption to LIC to achieve the required 25% minimum public shareholding (MPS) within 10 years. The originally required to meet the 25% MPS rule by 2027.

The government held a 96.5% stake in the company at the end of Q3 FY24, while retail investors and domestic institutional investors each held 2.4% and 1% stake, respectively.

Also Read: Medi Assist IPO: Here are key risks to know before subscribing to issue

In November, LIC introduced a new non-par product, LIC Jeevan Utsav, featuring a combination of limited pay (516 years) with lifelong income. Analysts suggest that the non-par segment is value-adding, and an increase in its share can enhance LICs overall margins.

Regarding financials, the company reported a net profit of 17,469 crore in H1FY24 as compared to a net profit of 16,635 crore in the same period a year ago.

Its new business premium (individual) for H1FY24 jumped 2.65% to 25,184 crore from 24,535 in H1FY23. New business premium is the premium due in the first policy year of a life insurance contract.

Also Read: IRFC, RVNL, and Mazagon Dock jump up to 13% to their respective new highs

The assets under management (AUM) increased to 47,43,389 crore in H1FY24 as compared to 42,93,778 crore in the same period last year, registering an increase of 10.47% year on year.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

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The markets have been on a roll since the beginning of the new year, spreading cheer among Indian investors. That, though, offers no solace for many non-resident Indians (NRIs) who have been wanting to dabble in the Indian equities markets. A host of rules have made it nearly impossible for them to invest in Indian companies that are household names like the Reliance or Tatas.

Take the case of Tani Tayal, a 31-year-old NRI based in the US. She first thought of investing in the Indian stock market four years ago but dropped the idea midway after being asked to produce a number of documents to open an NRI demat account.

To be sure, an NRI demat account is mandatory for transacting in equities for Indians who reside outside the country and meet eligibility conditions that classify them as NRIs. They can, however, invest in funds that have an exposure to the Indian markets.

I am already exposed to the US market through the stock options we get but I still feel connected to my roots and want to participate in Indias growth story," said Tayal , a senior HR business partner, Amazon Devices. Opening a demat account requires me to be physically present in India. And that has not been possible."

View Full Image Graphic: Paras Jain

Most NRIs visit India on short holidays and would rather spend that time with friends and family than running around to open a demat account.

Abhinav Mitaal, a Dubai-based NRI, said a broker asked him to fetch notarized documents for opening the demat account. How can I get my documents notarized when Im in Dubai," said Mitaal. It is a lengthy process and I dont want to go to the embassy just for this," he added

Another UAE-based NRI, Malay Zota, 33, a finance and tax manager with automobile group Mena, managed to open a demat account but that came with a rider barring transfer of funds outside India. The process of opening these so-called non-repatriable demat accounts are slightly less cumbersome and the charges lower than opening an account with repatriation facility. The latter allows money to be transferred from India to a foreign country. Both Tayal and Mitaal wanted to open a repatriable demat account.

View Full Image Graphic: Paras Jain

Two ways to invest

Before initiating the process of opening an NRI demat account, applicants need to change their regular savings account to a non-resident external (NRE) or a non-resident ordinary (NRO) status. In adherence to the guidelines outlined by the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), it is not permissible for an NRI to maintain a savings account in India.

People opt for an NRE account when they want to have the flexibility to repatriate their funds to a foreign country where they are staying. The NRO account is less flexible when it comes to repatriation. In an NRE account, both the principal and interest earned can be repatriated abroad. The NRO account allows only the interest amount to be repatriated. To be sure, up to $1 million can be repatriated in a financial year from the NRO account under the liberalised remittance scheme but this requires permission from the banking regulator, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

No tax is levied on the interest earned in the NRE account but that accrued in the NRO account incurs a 30% tax rate. For NRE accounts, deposits are allowed only in foreign currency and withdrawal in Indian rupee. In the NRO account, deposits can be in foreign as well as Indian currency whereas withdrawals have to be in Indian rupee.

After opening an NRE or an NRO account, an NRI has to decide whether to open a demat account using the portfolio investment scheme (PIS) or the non-portfolio investment scheme (non-PIS). The decision to go with a PIS or a non-PIS account will have implications on how they can invest and dabble in Indian stocks.

The PIS status allows repatriation of money to the foreign country but the privilege comes with caveats. Firstly, only a handful of big banks have the licence to issue the PIS status and the applicant needs to get permission from RBI to open a PIS account. This involves a cumbersome documentation process.

On the other hand, opening a non-PIS account is a relatively straightforward process. RBI approval is not required and all regulated banks offer non-PIS status. However, the downside of a non-PIS account is that the funds cannot be repatriated to the foreign country.

There are other limitations too. In PIS, future and options (F&O) trade is not permitted. Some brokers like Zerodha do not yet support MF investments in PIS accounts. F&O trading is allowed in the non-PIS route. Note that both PIS and non-PIS demat accounts dont allow intraday trades, trading in currency and commodity segments, and buying sovereign gold bonds. Also, there are restrictions put in place by RBI that specify how much amount can be invested in each stock or sector. If this limit is breached, PIS account holders cannot invest further in those stocks. No such restrictions exist in the non-PIS route.

Transaction charges are also higher in the PIS route. This is mainly because, unlike in the normal demat account where the funds can be transferred directly to your brokerage account to buy stocks, the PIS account funds cannot be transferred to the brokerage account. The funds need to be transferred first from the savings account to the PIS account and when this happens, the banks intimidate the brokers about this information. After the broker gets this information, the account holders can buy stocks, the value of which cannot exceed the amount thus transferred. Thereafter, the broker executes the trade and sends a copy of it to the banks for trade settlement. All this back and forth incurs an extra cost which the PIS account holder has to bear.

In certain cases, we make an exception by permitting individuals to submit evidence of the fund transfer to the PIS account. We promptly facilitate margin provision through this manual process. But this process is manual and we cannot extend this facility all to all if we get too many requests," said Kazi Rehman, head of NRI investments at Zerodha.

To be sure, if NRIs want to invest only in mutual funds, they can do so without having to open a demat account. They can open an account directly with any asset management company (AMC) or a fintech firm that doesnt use the services of a stock broker and buy mutual fund units in demat format.

The US and Canada have certain restrictions on advertisements of foreign mutual funds, hence only a handful of AMCs are available to serve US and Canadian NRIs. The seven AMCs that are allowed to take investments from these countries are Sundaram Mutual Fund, L&T Mutual Fund, UTI Mutual Fund, Aditya Birla Sun Life MF, Navi MF, ICICI Pru MF, and SBI MF.

Documentation

Unlike resident Indians who can easily open a brokerage account without physical paperwork, opening an NRI demat account is mostly a semi-online process. The NRI has to be physically present either at a bank branch or at a brokers office or will need to courier the signed documents to the brokers office after which the verification of documents is done.

We first check if all documents are in order online and then tell them to courier us the physical copies," says Rahman. If this process is shifted online totally, we might just see a spurt in NRI demat openings. Todays biggest roadblock is the KYC process for NRI clients, where clients must send their documents via courier. To help clients optimize the onboarding time, we have built a semi-automated process where clients can fill up the form, print only once the form is verified by us, and then courier it to us. This ensures no lapse in the details provided when the application is received," said Rahman.

An Aadhaar-led KYC would help the industry attract the NRI crowd. We see immense potential and interest from clients asking if they can digitally onboard. We believe this would be the next big step for our industry to attract investments and help our Indian economy and the markets to grow," he added.

As of now, a number of documents are required to open an NRI demat account, be it PIS or non-PIS. Zerodhas website lists out the documents needed and these include the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) declaration and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) declaration, notarized copies of supporting documents such as passport and PAN card, besides proof of income and addressboth Indian and overseas addresses and a copy of the immigration document if the client is in India and visiting the branch. To start a PIS account, NRIs also need to submit a PIS approval letter from the bank. A webcam or in-person verification is also mandatory.

In a PIS account, the bank deducts and pays the applicable capital gains tax when stocks are sold in the form of tax deducted at source (TDS) whereas in the non-PIS account, the individual needs to take care of the tax filings. Zerodha takes care of the TDS deduction for its non-PIS clients. Short-term capital gains attract a 15% tax rate and long-term capital gains attract a 10% tax above Rs.1 lakh of gains. This also includes cess.

Conclusion

For NRIs, the option of choosing a non-PIS or PIS account depends on what they want in terms of repatriability of funds. Zerodha recommends the non-PIS route due to the low charges and relatively straightforward way of opening the account. Rehman told Mint that only 35% of NRI investors open an account through the PIS route.

Separately, some startups like US-based iNRI have started a mutual fund platform exclusively catering to NRIs. No one caters to the needs of the NRIs. They use the mutual fund distributor route to sell MFs and the account opening process is less cumbersome than a demat account," said iNRI founder Hemant Gangolia.

Tayal is now considering opening an account with iNRI instead of going the demat route.
WhiteOak Capital Mutual Fund announced the launch of the WhiteOak Capital Banking & Financial Services Fund, an open-ended equity scheme, offering investors the opportunity to benefit from the multi-year growth opportunities in the banking and financial services sector.

The scheme opened for public subscription on January 16, 2024, and will close on January 30, 2024. The scheme re-opens for ongoing subscription and redemption within five business days from the date of allotment of units.

What kind of mutual fund scheme is this?

This is an open-ended equity scheme investing in the banking and financial services sector. This product is suitable for investors who are seeking

Long-term capital appreciation

Investment predominantly in equity and equity-related instruments in the banking and financial services sector.

What is the main objective of investing in this fund?

The primary objective of the scheme is to provide long-term capital appreciation by investing predominantly in equity and equity-related instruments of banks and companies engaged in the financial services sector. However, there can be no assurance that the investment objective of the scheme will be realised.

How may one invest in this scheme?

Investors can invest under the scheme with a minimum investment of 1,000 per plan/option and in multiples of Re 1. There is no upper limit for investment.

Under normal circumstances, the asset allocation of the scheme will be as follows:

Instruments Indicative allocations (% of total assets) Risk Profile Minimum Maximum Equity and equity-related instruments of companies engaged in the financial services sector 80% 100% Very High Equities and equity-related securities other than above 0% 20% Very High Debt Securities and Money Market Instruments 0% 20% Low to Medium Units issued by REITs & InvITs 0% 10% Very High

Are there similar mutual funds in the market?

To date, many asset management companies (AMCs) have launched such banking and financial services funds. These include:

Mutual Fund House Name of the Fund TATA Mutual Fund Tata Banking And Financial Services Fund SBI Mutual Fund SBI Banking & Financial Services Fund Baroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund Baroda BNP Paribas Banking and Financial Services Fund Taurus Mutual Fund Taurus Banking and Financial Services Fund ITI Mutual Fund ITI Banking and Financial Services Fund Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund Aditya Birla Sun Life Banking and Financial Services Fund Nippon India Mutual Fund Nippon India Banking & Financial Services Fund Mirae Asset Mutual Fund Mirae Asset Banking and Financial Services Fund ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund ICICI Prudential Banking and Financial Services Fund HDFC Mutual Fund HDFC Banking and Financial Services Fund IDBI Mutual Fund IDBI Banking & Financial Services Fund Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund Kotak Banking & Financial Services Fund LIC Mutual Fund LIC MF Banking & Financial Services Fund Source: AMFI (As of January 16, 2024)

How will the scheme benchmark its performance?

The scheme would be benchmarked at Nifty Financial Services Total Return Index (TRI). The Nifty Financial Services index is designed to reflect the behaviour and performance of the Indian financial market which includes banks, financial institutions, housing finance, insurance companies, and other financial services companies.

Are there any entry or exit loads to this scheme?

This scheme involves no Entry Load", which means that investors do not have to pay anything to park their earnings in this scheme. The Exit Load" would be charged as under:

- In respect of each purchase / switch-in of units, an Exit Load of 1.00% is payable if units are redeemed/switched out within one month from the date of allotment.

- No Exit Load is payable if units are redeemed/switched out after one month from the date of allotment.

Who will manage this scheme?

Trupti Agrawal, Piyush Baranwal, and Ramesh Mantri are dedicated fund managers of this scheme.

Does the fund contain any inherent risk?

The scheme involves Very High Risk" as per the details mentioned in the Scheme Information Document and is best suited to investors willing to understand that their principal will be subject to very high risk. However, investors should consult their financial advisors if they doubt whether the product is suitable for them.

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Google Doodle in honour of Teachers' Day today in Thailand released an illustration today dedicated to educators across the country. The doodle depicts the teacher as the sun nurturing plants, precipitating their growth. A teacher or mentor is one who nurtures students to become the best version of themselves.

Teachers Day history of Thailand

Thai Teachers Day is celebrated on January 16 because on this day the Teachers Act was published by the Royal Thai Government Gazette in 1945. The Secretariat Office of the Teachers Council of Thailand first declared this day as a holiday, when it was held at the National Stadium of Thailand in 1957.

According to Thailand's Ministry of Education, the purpose of Teachers Day is to express gratitude towards teachers and others who contribute to Thai education.

In Thailand, teachers are referred to as mae phim khong chart which means the mould" or role models" of the nation. The national organising committee for Teachers Day declared the orchid to be the symbolic flower of Teachers Day in 1996. This decision was inspired by the poetry of ML Pin Malakul who served as Thailands Minister of Culture from 1957 to 1958 and Minister of Education from 1957 to 1969.

Significance

National Teachers Day known as Wan Kru in Thailand is celebrated every year on January 16. On this day, students express their gratitude and appreciation for their teachers while the day is observed as a Thai school holiday.

Thai Teachers Appreciation Day known as Wan Wai Kru is observed on the second Thursday of June every year. Thai Teachers Day is altogether very different from Thai Teachers Appreciation Day as it is seen as a secular, policy-based occasion, whereas Thai Teachers' Appreciation Day is observed with elaborate and cathartic ceremonies.

This year's Teachers' Day motto in the country states, Good teachers teach well, and good students learn well, together in happiness."

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Top automakers from India and abroad are expected to turn up at the three-day Bharat Mobility Global Expo, the industrys newest coming-out party that may turn out to be an annual affair, multiple industry executives said.

The commerce ministry has offered New Delhis Bharat Mandapam venue at concessional rates to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to encourage wide participation in the expos debut edition on 1-3 February, the people said on condition of anonymity. About 27 domestic and international OEMs have confirmed their participation.

An email sent to a commerce ministry spokesperson remained unanswered till press time.

There is also a strong likelihood that the Auto Expo, which is held once every two years, might be merged into the wider umbrella of the Mobility Show, the people cited above added.

Synergies with the Auto Expo, including a possible merger, are being explored by the government and industry bodies like the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA). The logic is that the Bharat Mobility expo brings together many more stakeholders of the automotive supply chain, from OEMs and suppliers to battery manufacturers, steel and tyre makers, e-bus service providers and participants in the circular economy.

ACMAs after-market expo, Automechanika, has been merged with the Bharat Mobility Global Expo this year. This show will be an ecosystem orchestra, and several participants of Automechanika have also taken up additional space in the show," Vinnie Mehta, director general, ACMA, said. Theres going to be a lot of international footfalls at the show as it brings together multiple aspects of the automotive value chain under one roof, including technology players."

The government intends to make the Bharat Mobility show a multi-venue exhibit, styled along the lines of German auto shows in Frankfurt and Munich, the people cited above added. While the industry is yet to finalize plans for further shows, it is expected that the event may tap into venues like the Yashobhoomi convention centre (India International Convention & Expo Centre) in Dwarka.

At an event to release the Mobility Expos logo earlier this month, Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal underlined the significance of such mega-exhibitions, noting their international scale and ambition. The exhibitions aim to present Indias strengths to the global market and position the country as an international player across industries, Goyal said.

In the coming years, the show may also be planned as a travelling exhibition, held in major metros outside Delhi, for instance, in Chennai or Mumbai.

The Society of Manufacturers Electric Vehicles (SMEV), and the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) will also take part in the event.

This show stands out for its inclusive approach, involving EEPC (Engineering Exports Promotion Council) for global reach, SIAM and ACMA for industry representation. Unlike typical auto expos, it goes beyond showcasing cars, including components and exploring battery tech with the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA). The focus is on holistic mobility, involving startups in the EV sector," one of the people cited above said.

However, unlike the Auto Expo where OEMs take up large spaces to display new vehicles, this time the exhibits are smaller, and focused more on technology and new innovations than on new vehicles, one of the people cited above said.

The Bharat Mobility Global Expo will be spread over 100,000 sq. m, slightly larger than the venue of the Auto Expo at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noida. The Mobility Expo is expected to draw over 80,000 visitors, and participants from more than 50 countries.

According to the people cited above, Prime Minister Narendra Modi may be expected to visit the expo, but there is no confirmation of him inaugurating it as the show kicks off on the same day as the vote-on-account for the FY25 budget in Parliament.

All leading OEMs, including those who gave the Auto Expo a pass in 2023, are putting up exhibits at the Bharat Mobility Expo, including passenger vehicle OEMs Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Honda Cars, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, MG Motor India and Kia India, as well as German luxury and premium carmakers Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Skoda Auto Volkswagen India.

The show will also draw prominent two-wheeler makers Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor and Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, and pure EV makers Ather Energy, Ola Electric, Tork Motors, Eka Mobility and VinFast.

Vietnams VinFast is pegged to be a big draw at the Mobility Expo, even as it lines up large-scale investments in the country in setting up a manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu, establishing a dealership network, and setting up product and sales teams in the country.

The electric mobility company, part of Vietnams largest conglomerate, is looking to participate not just in the countrys electric car market, but also its 20-million-unit market for two-wheelers with its range of electric scooters, a source aware of the developments said.

Mint was the first to report on 16 November that multiple industry bodies like EEPC, SIAM and ACMA will bring out the Bharat Mobility Expo at the Pragati Maidan fair grounds between 1 and 3 February.
The Supreme Court delivered a split verdict on Tuesday in connection with a plea filed by former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. The court rejected Naidu's plea to quash FIR in the Skill Development Corporation scam, but delivered a split verdict on Section 17A PC Act, Bar and Bench reported. The bench has now referred the matter to the Chief Justice of India (CJI).

The plea filed by Chandrababu Naidu had challenged the high court order refusing to quash the FIR against the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) in the Skill Development Corporation scam case.

A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi delivered a split verdict on the interpretation and applicability of section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act in the case.

ALSO READ: N Chandrababu Naidu: Money trail clearly points to skill development scam in Andhra Pradesh, claims CID

According to news agency PTI, Section 17A was introduced by an amendment with effect from July 26, 2018. The provision under this section stipulates a mandatory requirement for a police officer to seek prior approval from the competent authority for conducting any enquiry or inquiry or investigation into any offence alleged to have been committed by a public servant under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.

The split verdict: What SC judges said

Justice Bose said prior approval for conducting probe for the alleged offences under the PC Act against Naidu was needed. "However, I refuse to quash the remand order. The lack of approval will not make the remand order non-est," Justice Bose was quoted by PTI as saying, while granting liberty to the state to seek such approval.

Meanwhile, Justice Trivedi said section 17A will not apply retrospectively and upheld the high court order refusing to quash the FIR. "The impugned order of remand and impugned judgement of the high court does not suffer from any illegality," Justice Trivedi said while dismissing Naidu's appeal.

According to the Hindustan Times, while, Justice Bose quashed the charges levelled under the PC Act against Naidu, Justice Trivedi upheld the invocation of the corruption charges.

The judges noted that apart from the charges under the PC Act, the TDP chief was also booked for offences under the Indian Penal Code and therefore, the remand order could be upheld. The bench said in view of divergent opinions, the matter be placed before the Chief Justice of India for appropriate directions.

The Skill Development Corporation scam

TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu was arrested on September 9, 2023, for allegedly misappropriating funds from the Skill Development Corporation when he was the chief minister in 2015.

According to officials, the case pertains to the establishment of clusters of Centers of Excellence (CoEs) in the state of Andhra Pradesh, with a total estimated project value of 300 crore. The agency officials also claimed that the alleged fraud has caused a huge loss to the state government in excess of 300 crores.

As per CID, the investigation has revealed irregularities such as before any expenditure by private entities, the then state government provided an advance of 371 crores, representing the entire 10% commitment by the Andhra Pradesh government.

Most of the money advanced by the government was diverted to shell companies through fake invoices, with no actual delivery or sale of the items mentioned in the invoices, CID officials said.

In its remand report, the CID said that according to the investigation so far, the total amount spent by private entities on six skill development clusters is sourced exclusively from funds advanced by the Government of Andhra Pradesh and AP Skill Development Center, totalling 371 crore.

However, Naidu has denied the allegations.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court had on November 20 last year granted him regular bail in the case. The high court had also dismissed Naidu's petition to quash FIR.

Naidu had then moved the Supreme Court challenging the high court order dismissing his petition for quashing the FIR against him in connection with the alleged scam.

While dismissing his petition, the high court had said criminal proceedings ought not to be scuttled at the initial stage and quashing an FIR should be an exception rather than the rule.

(With inputs from PTI)

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. Following the second Karabakh war and the subsequent anti-terrorist measures, Azerbaijan has fully secured its borders and eliminated separatism on its territory. Some Armenian separatists surrendered, others were captured while trying to escape.

All this should have been a lesson to Armenia and its patrons. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijani army, and the Azerbaijani people are capable of returning and defending their historical lands.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijani people are already on the verge of a major milestone. The extraordinary presidential election is to be held in the country on February 7, 2024. This year, however, it will be special.

In this regard, President Ilham Aliyev said:

"The first reason is, of course, the full restoration of our sovereignty. The elections mark the end of an era. In September, we concluded such an era, which was an epochal event. I think that there has been no similar Victory in the centuries-old history of Azerbaijan. Considering all the factors  political, military, the 30-year occupation, the natural terrain of the territory, the number of defense lines  I think that this is the most brilliant Victory of our people and state. Of course, when this new era begins, a presidential election should mark the beginning of this new era. Because every period is a certain period of time, and the liberation of the territories occupied for 30 years and the full restoration of sovereignty are the beginning of a new period. This is the first reason.

The second reason is that for the first time in our independent life, an election will be held in every part of our territory. Since presidential election is the most important election compared to all other elections, I thought that the first election to be held in all territories should be the presidential election. If we were to hold this election on time, i.e. in April 2025, then municipal elections would be the first to be held. I thought that would not be right. The presidential election should be the first election to be held in liberated territories and every part of our country.

Another reason is that my activities as President have passed the 20-year mark. This is also a certain period, and we must treat this as a conclusion in itself, and the holding of a presidential election again after 20 years, of course, represents a justification for this chronological period. So, these are the main reasons. But I have arranged these reasons according to their importance. The first reason, of course, is the beginning of a new era, and the presidential election will provide a blessing for this new era as well."

On this occasion, Trend News Agency prepared a report from Aghaly village of Zangilan district about the first presidential election in liberated Karabakh:
Shaurya, a cheetah translocated from Namibia, died at Kuno National Park on Tuesday, news agency ANI reported. With the death of Shaurya, seven adult cheetahs and three cubs born in India have died since March 2023.

The Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (APCCF) and Director of Lion Project said in a statement that late in the morning the tracking team observed incoordination and staggering gait" in the animal following which Shaurya was tranquilised. Post revival the tracking team noticed complications. The Namibian Cheetah failed to respond to CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and died around 3.17 pm. The cause of death can be ascertained only after post-mortem. Today, on 16th January, 2024 around 3:17 PM, Namibian Cheetah Shaurya passed away. Around 11 AM in the morning, incoordination and staggering gait was observed by the tracking team following which the animal was tranquilized and weakness was found. Following this, the animal was revived but complications arose post-revival and the animal failed to respond to CPR. Cause of death can be ascertained after post-mortem," APCCF & Director Lion Project said.

Cheetah, the fastest land animal, was declared extinct in the country in 1952. The relocation of cheetahs from Africa and Namibia is part of the government's ambitious plan to revive their population in the country.

Under the Cheetah Reintroduction Project, eight Namibian cheetahs - five females and three males - were relocated to the Kuno National Park in September 2022. In February 2023, another 12 cheetahs were brought to the national park from South Africa. Since March 2023, seven adult cheetahs have died in Kuno National Park due to various reasons, taking the total death count of felines in the park, including three cubs, to 10.

Also Read | Bihar: Schools in Patna closed till January 20 for students up to Class 8

In May 2023, while voicing concern over the death of the big cats, the Supreme Court asked the Union government to file a detailed affidavit explaining the reasons behind the deaths and remedial measures taken to prevent the deaths.

Later, the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the National Tiger Conservation Authority told the apex court that the death of adult cheetahs and cubs at Kuno National Park is troubling, but not "unduly alarming", and the surviving big cats are being captured and medically examined as a precautionary measure.

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Omaha, Nebraska: In May 2018, 11-year-old Shavani was attacked and mauledallegedly by a stray dogwhen she stepped outside her house in Uttar Pradeshs Tikariya village.

Three years earlier, in May 2015, Rampal Saini, a forest guard in Rajasthans Ranthambore National Park, was preyed upon, allegedly by a male tigerlocally known as Ustad or the masterwhose territory included the area where Saini was killed.

And in Tamil Nadus Kanchipuram district, a farmer was bitten by a snake when he was gathering hay for his cattle. For a while, said Gnaneswar Ch, a herpetologist with the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust who questioned the mans companion, the victim thought he had scratched his hand against a nail. But after about 10 minutes, his companion saw a spectacled cobra nearby. By then, the man had begun to show snakebite symptoms. He was taken to a local faith healer and, when that didnt work, rushed to a local hospital where he was administered 20 vials of antivenin. The farmer succumbed, just a couple of hours after being admitted.

The three incidents, despite the different species of animals involved (India in 2022 had an estimated 3,682 tigers, about 60-80 million stray dogs and nobody has counted the number of snakes), share one commonality: the reality of human-animal conflict in India.

Apart from tigers, dogs and snakes, 1.4 billion Indians share this land with an estimated 307 million cattle, the only surviving population of Asiatic lions, growing numbers of the Asian elephant and leopards, among other animals.

The US, the worlds third most populous country, has 336 million in an area that is seven times larger.

Conflict Country

View Full Image A research paper on leopard-human conflict shows that in Himachal Pradeshs Hamirpur district, there were 74 instances of attacks on humans between 2004 and 2015. (HT)

Maharashtra already had 27 leopard attacks by April last year and has since then reported several more, including a leopard that wandered into a film set, one that was seen roaming the streets of Nashik and several attacks on young children. A research paper on leopard-human conflict in the journal People and Nature shows that in Himachal Pradeshs Hamirpur district, there were 74 instances of attacks on humans between 2004 and 2015. Three of them were fatal. Citing compensation records of the state forest department, it notes there were 239 attacks on livestock between 2010 and 2016. And all of this in a district that has no reserve forests. The leopards of Hamirpur were living in mixed-use landscapes."

It isnt just leopards, although the big cats do feature prominently in any narrative of human- animal conflict in India. They appear in environments as diverse as big cities (Mumbai, Bengaluru) and the villages of Hamirpur.

On 26 December, a tiger walked into a village in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, and rested casually atop a wall, surrounded by hundreds of curious humans who recorded the animal. The resultant video went viral. The cat was captured.

There have also been tiger attacks. Even the herbivorous elephant and gaur have attacked humans. In Shimla, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has asked the state government to do something about the citys monkey menace.

But it is not just wild animals that are on the rampage. Like in Sitapur district, free-ranging packs of dogs have been implicated in multiple killings. In Kerala, 1,631 dog bites were recorded in one three-day period in July last year. This included a three-year-old who was so badly mauled that her face needed plastic surgery.

That kind of thing is happening elsewhere too. In February, again last year, stray dogs dragged down a four-year-old outside his house in Hyderabad. Visuals of that attack, caught on a neighbourhood CCTV camera, flooded news shows on television.

And then, there are the snakes. A research paper in the journal ELife estimates that roughly 58,000 people die annually of snakebites. Globally, they account for more than 130,000 deaths annually while crocodiles, hippopotamuses, elephants, lions, wolves and sharks put together cause around 2,500 deaths a year.

God and Man

View Full Image In Keralas Attappady, the Irula tribals believe that when a wild elephant raids a field, the yield from the destroyed land would double the next year. (AP)

Nowhere in the world is man, his gods and animals as intertwined as in India. The rooftop macaques of Jaipur who live near temples (made famous by documentaries like Monkey Thieves) and Rajasthans famous Karni Mata temple, known for its rats, are examples.

But, perhaps the most popular is Bon Bibi, the forest goddess of the Sunderbans. A landscape where mangrove forests cover the mouths of a mosaic of rivers flowing into the Bay of Bengal, the Sunderbans is famous as an area where wild Bengal tigers prey upon humans who venture into the mangroves to collect honey, beeswax or cut firewood.

Locals who share that landscape with tigers and who enter its territory first pray at shrines dedicated to Bon Bibi. The belief is that the goddess protects those who enter the forest from tigers. The legend of the forest goddess even forms a plot in writer Amitav Ghoshs 2004 novel The Hungry Tide.

In an article in Scientific American, Vidya Athreya, director of the India chapter of the Wildlife Conservation Society, cites the case of Junnar, a geography in Maharashtra that is home to leopards and people and cattle. Athreya, who was in Junnar in the 2000s for her PhD research, wrote that the region had always had leopards, but the attacks nearly tripled after the government introduced a programme to capture and release the felines in protected national forests.

To illustrate the nonchalance with which locals dealt with leopard encounters, she tells the story of a tug-of-war between an old lady and a leopard that was trying to kill one of her sheep. The leopard, which had grabbed one half of the animalthe lady grabbed the othergave up and went away, Athreya wrote. In another incident, she recounted annoying a local when she asked about problems due to leopards and then found out that the annoyance was likely due to the fact that the locals worshiped Waghobaa large cat deity.

There are other beliefs. On a reporting trip to Keralas Attappady (which resulted in this story), this writer met the Irula tribals who recounted their long-held belief that when a wild elephant raided one of their fieldsa common occurrence in these areasthe yield from the fields destroyed would double the year after.

The tribals also recounted stories of how the crop-raiding elephants would drop grain at the door of poor people as a sort of a gift. Another story involved elephants breaking branches noisily in the forest to signal their presence in that area and indicate to people that they did not want to be disturbed.

At the time, this writer took it to be attempts at casual explanation by people who had to share the landscape with wild elephants. But Athreyas work, and that of other biologists, make these stories more nuanced. These stories may be helping the tribals deal with the fact that they share their landscape with the animals who they might run into in the course of ordinary jobs.

India has had a cultural history of shared spaces and we are unique which is why we have so much wildlife," Athreya told Mint.

The research paper on Hamirpurs leopards cited earlier shows the nuances of human reactions to potentially dangerous predators in their landscape.

Interviews revealed that our participants had numerous experiences with leopards and these rarely resulted in human injury or human death, indicating that nonaggressive humanleopard interactions are more a norm than a rarity in this landscape," the paper stated.

Trespassing is dangerous

View Full Image A leopard at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai. Leopards live inside the park and use edges of Mumbai city for foraging. (SGNP website)

But why are the animals attacking?

Our long-term studies clearly show that natural habitats are still critical for survival of leopards and human-leopard co-existence," said Sanjay Gubbi, wildlife biologist and author of Leopard Diaries: The Rosette In India.

Gubbi uses the example of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park on the outskirts of Mumbai where in 2017, leopards from the national park attacked many people in Aarey Colony.

Even in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, leopards live inside the park and visit the fringes of Mumbai city for foraging. I wonder if leopards would survive if Sanjay Gandhi National Park is converted to high-rise buildings?" Gubbi asked.

Gubbi is most famous for the role he played in the capture drama of a leopard that was filmed in 2017 by closed circuit cameras walking along a schools corridors. When the leopard was cornered and trapped the next day, Gubbi found himself in the path of the cornered animal, which attacked. The attack left him with gashes and bites.

Importantly, this is not unique for Mumbai as projected in the media. Leopards and many other large carnivores live on the fringes of many other cities in India and elsewhereBengaluru, Bhopal, Jaipur, Mysuru, New Delhi, Nairobi, Windhoek, and others," he added.

After Rampal Saini, the forest guard in Ranthambore National Park, was killed, Ustad the tiger was captured and translocated to Udaipurs Sajjangarh Biological Park.

While villagers appeared relieved Ustad had allegedly killed four humans in allactivists protested, citing the lack of hard evidence implicating Ustad. All the killings were in the tigers territory and not in the villages around the park. There were legal challenges to Ustads translocation.

All of this is narrated by filmmaker Warren Pereira in his documentary Tiger 24.

Pilgrims are allowed to walk through T24s (Ustads) territory on certain days" to visit a Shiva temple, Pereira narrates in the documentary. The temple is of religious and cultural significance to the villagers and the walk through the forest is a fulfilling ritual for them," Pereira said in response to emailed questions.

Humans are attacking back

View Full Image File photo of stray dogs attacking a child in Hyderabad in February 2023. (PTI)

Media reports, over the years, have chronicled humans avenging animal attacks. The News Minute, in October 2016, reported that people in Thiruvananthapuram went on a reckless killing spree by beating 27 strays to death" after a 90-year-old man died from a dog attack. And in May 2018, Hindustan Times reported that villagers in Uttar Pradeshs Sitapur killed eight dogs in retaliation after some strays attacked locals.

Certainly, sharing space with wildlife that can adversely impact human lives and livelihoods is testing," said Pranav Chanchani, lead species specialist at WWF-India. That tigers, elephants and other large mammals have persisted against many odds is testimony to the willingness and ability of people to accommodate wildlife and also the result of decades of conservation. As India advances economically and technologically, the state and its people bear an ever-greater responsibility to sustain biodiversity and maintain the integrity of fragile ecosystems," he added.

Abi T Vanak, director of the Center for Policy Design and a senior fellow at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, said there were around a 100 dog maulings a year and a further 18,000 fatalities because of rabies.

In the case of dog attacks, it was likely because of increasing human and dog populations, Vanak said, adding that in the case of elephants, habitat loss also contributed.

The story of Indias complicated relationship with its animals can perhaps best be described by the travails of a wild elephant locally known as Arikomban (a portmanteau of the Malayalam words Ari, meaning rice and komban, meaning tusker).

In April 2023, news crews cut into regular programming with visuals from Keralas Idukki district, where, according to Malayalam TV channels, an operation was being mounted to catch the elephant.

Television cameras showed foresters preparing for the operation" as they called it. Yet others tracked the veterinarian mixing the tranquilliser. There were shots of tranquilliser guns being loaded. Four kumkis, as the specially trained domesticated elephants are called in Malayalam, were deployed to manoeuver the darted and drowsy Arikomban to a truck.

The animal was eventually caught, moved away from the area. For some days after, it was tracked by local news channels, which followed its slow return to the forests of its birth. But on the way, it again raided a village in an adjoining state, was captured again and relocated.

Rahul Chandran is working on a book about human-animal and other types of conflict set in Keralas Attappadi.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on 16 January said that its construction arm has bagged a 'mega order' to construct 508 route km of high-speed electrification system for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project. The company added that the order has been bagged from an authorised Japanese agency.

"The railways strategic business group of L&T Construction has secured a mega contract to ....construct 508 route km of high-speed electrification system works for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project, popularly referred to as the bullet train project," the company said in a filing to BSE.

Upon completion, this electrification system will enable trains to travel at speed of up to 320 kilometre per hour.

The company added that this project is being funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and is being implemented by an authorised Japanese agency acting for and on behalf of National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd.

While L&T did not disclose the exact value of the contract, it counts an order as 'mega' when it is valued between 10,000-15,000 crore.

Meanwhile, earlier on 11 January, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said that the progress of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is quite satisfactory. The minister, however, refused to give a deadline for the project's completion when asked by reporters.

"We proceed section by section in a linear project. It is a complex project and the work is going on at a very good speed," he said.

"After reviewing the project, I am quite satisfied and impressed with its progress," the minister said.

Out of the total 508-km-long project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, viaduct has been raised on a length of 272 km. There are eight rivers on the route and bridges have been built over five of them, Vaishnaw said. The minister reiterated that the deadline to complete the 50-km-long section between Surat and Billimora is 2026 and the work is progressing according to the schedule. Vaishnaw said the bullet train corridor will integrate big economic centres such as Mumbai, Thane, Vapi, Surat, Vadodara, Anand and Ahmedabad and is good for the country's economic growth.

The project announced in 2017, the country's first high-speed train corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad will see bullet trains running at a speed of 320 kmph. In 2017, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited, which is executing the project, had given a deadline of 2022 for completing the whole project, however, the deadline was subsequently extended.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Preesha Chakraborty, a nine-year-old Indian-American schoolgirl, has been named in the "worlds brightest" students list by the Johns Hopkins Centre for Talented Youth, based on the results of above-grade-level tests of over 16,000 students across 90 countries.

Preesha Chakraborty goes to Warm Spring Elementary school in Fremont, California, and took the US-based Johns Hopkins Centre for Talented Youth (JH-CTY) test in Summer 2023 as a Grade 3 student, a media release said on January 15.

Preesha Chakraborty figured in the list after the results of above-grade-level tests of over 16,000 students from more than 90 countries around the world were assessed, it said.

She was honoured for her exceptional performance on the SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test), ACT (American College Testing), School and College Ability Test, or similar assessments as part of the CTY Talent Search.

Less than 30 per cent of students qualify each year for either High Honors or Grand Honors/SET based on their test scores.

She aced in the test's verbal and quantitative sections - on par with the 99th percentile of advanced Grade 5 performances - and bagged the Grand Honors, according to the press release.

The achievement qualifies Chakraborty for more than 250 Johns Hopkins CTY's Online and On-Campus Programmes for advanced students in grades 2-12 in mathematics, computer programming, chemistry, physics, reading, and writing.

Chakraborty is a lifetime member of the universally renowned Mensa Foundation, the oldest high-IQ society in the world, where membership is open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test.

She achieved this accomplishment at age six by securing 99 percentiles in the national level NNAT (Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test), which assesses K-12 students for gifted and talented programmes. Chakraborty loves travelling, hiking, and mixed martial arts outside of studies.

According to her parents, Chakraborty has always been passionate about learning and has consistently displayed exceptional academic abilities.

"This is not just recognition of students' performance on one test, but a testament to their curiosity and capacity for learning," Amy Shelton, Executive Director of the CTY, said.

"These students have demonstrated enormous potential, and now we encourage them to seek out experiences and communities that help them challenge and stretch their knowledge, connect with other young scholars, understand diverse perspectives, think critically, and pursue their goals confidently," Shelton said.

Founded in 1979, CTY is a centre for innovation dedicated to advancing the field of gifted education through research on testing, programmes, and other support for advanced learners.

(With Inputs from PTI)

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Less than six months into power, the new Maldives government, led by President Mohamed Muizzu, seems to have already taken steps to reduce  what many in social media call  "India's influence in Maldives". On Sunday, Muizzu set a " deadline for the withdrawal of Indian military personnel stationed within Maldivian territory".

But this is not it. After returning from China last week, the Maldivian President announced some projects, reportedly aimed at freeing the archipelagic nation of its dependence on India. A few of these measures include:

In healthcare services

Several Maldivians come to India and Sri Lanka for healthcare services under the government-sponsored free health program. However, in his recent statement, Muizzu said Maldivians will now be able to also go to hospitals in Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.

ALSO READ: Maldives sets 15 March deadline for India to pull out its troops

A press release by the Maldives President's office on January 13 said, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has announced improvements to the Governments universal healthcare insurance scheme, Aasandha, with an imminent expansion of coverage to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Thailand."

He was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that medicines will be imported directly from manufacturers in Europe and the United States.

ALSO READ: Indian vs Chinese tourists in Maldives: The rise and fall in last 10 years

Without naming India, the press release added, The President conveyed that the enhancements would diminish reliance on confined medical facilities in a select group of countries, enabling patients to pursue finer healthcare."

On January 15, the Maldives President officially inaugurated the Minimum Medical Requirements Facility "as a part of his initiatives to create facilities equipped with healthcare services at locations hosting major national and international sporting events".

According to India Tourism statistics 2022, Maldives contributed 1.7 per cent to the total Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during 2021, and occupied 11th position. Out of the total arrivals from Maldives, 85.8 per cent were for the purpose of Medical - the highest among all the other puposes mentioned in the India Tourism statistics 2022.

Reducing import of staple foods

In another press release on January 13, Muizzu announced that agreements to assist the Maldives in expanding agricultural growth to cater to food security were signed with the Chinese government. "The President further remarked that the Government would end its dependence on one country for imported staple foods such as rice, sugar, and flour," the release said.

"Speaking on the agreements signed between the China and Maldives, President Muizzu stated that deliberations were conducted to initiate a specific agricultural scheme at Uthuru Thila Falhu (UTF)," the press release added.

Many of the countrys staple foods are imported from India, the Associated Press reported. According to OEC data (till 2021), the exports of India to Maldives increased at an annual rate of 10.4 per cent  from $31.6 million in 1995 to $416 million in 2021. However, data release by Indian authorities show that India exported products worth $317.35 million in 2021.

Here's a look at India-Maldives Trade Figures

Indias Exports To Maldives (in million US$)

View Full Image Source: High Commissions of India (hci.gov.in)

ALSO READ: India-Maldives row: Why does Maldives want Indian troops out | Explainer

A move to woo China?

Muizzu and the First Lady of Maldives paid their state visit to China from January 7 to 13. While speaking to reporters at Velana International Airport (VIA) upon his return to the Maldives, the President said that China-Maldives relations are based upon four principles: mutual respect, sovereign equality, territorial integrity, and non-interference in internal matters.

In his address on Sunday, he added that his county's small size is not a license for anyone to bully the Maldives. His comments were an apparent response to social media calls in India to boycott Maldives tourism. He added that the Maldives' ties with all countries are based on the aforementioned four principles".
Iran's Revolutionary Guards launched missile attacks on multiple terrorist" targets in Syria and Iran's autonomous Kurdistan region, the official IRNA news agency reported on Tuesday as quoted by AFP.

The attacks destroyed a spy headquarters" and a "gathering of anti-Iranian terrorist groups" in Arbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. Four people were killed and six others wounded in the attack, according to Iraq's Kurdistan security council.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party stated that prominent businessman Peshraw Dizayee was among several civilians who were killed in the attack.

The IRGC also hit targets in Syria with ballistic missiles, including the "gathering places of commanders and main elements related to recent terrorist operations, particularly the Islamic State group", their Sepah News service reported.

It added that the strike on Syria was in response to recent attacks by terrorist groups that killed Iranians in the southern cities of Kerman and Rask, as per AFP reports.

Explosions were heard in Aleppo and its countryside, where "at least 4 missiles that came from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea" fell, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.

On January 3, suicide bombers struck crowds gathered near the tomb of the revered IRGC general Qasem Soleimani in Kerman, killing around 90 people. The attack was later claimed by IS.

In December, at least 11 Iranian police officers were killed in an attack on a police station in Rask. The jihadist group Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice), which was formed in 2012 and is blacklisted by Iran as a "terrorist" group, claimed responsibility.

Regional tensions have spiked during the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, drawing in Iran-backed armed groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.

In March 2022, the IRGC carried out missile attacks in Arbil, claiming to target a "strategic centre" belonging to arch-foe Israel.

On December 25, Iran said an Israeli strike killed the senior Guards commander Razi Moussavi.

(With AFP inputs)

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ALBANY, N.Y.New York state officials said they would direct another roughly $2 billion to fund the cost of caring for migrants in New York City, adding to the fiscal toll of a crisis that has overwhelmed the citys normal network of homeless shelters.

Both Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday will unveil proposed budgets for the next fiscal year. Particularly in the city, the cost of caring for tens of thousands of migrants who have come to New York, usually after crossing the southern border illegally, has come to dominate municipal spending calculations.

The extra state funding from Hochul will be welcomed by city officials, who project the cost of providing food, shelter, medical care and other services to the migrants to reach around $10 billion through the summer of 2025. The number of people in the citys care has steadily increased to around 69,000 since Republican officials in border states began sending migrants north on charter buses in the summer of 2022.

Adams faces a $7.1 billion deficit that he said was exacerbated by the cost of caring for the migrants. In November, the Democratic mayor announced budget cuts that forced the closure of libraries on Saturdays and would have reduced the police force through attrition.

Adams on Tuesday is set to provide details on restorations to some of those cuts. The mayor last week said that the city was able to reduce the projected cost of migrant care by more than $1 billion, in part by kicking people out of shelters after a period of 30 or 60 days.

We are in a tough financial position and have to make hard choices," Adams said Sunday in a post on X.

Adams will negotiate with the city council over a final spending plan, of roughly $114 billion, for the city fiscal year starting July 1. He has repeatedly called on the state and federal government to provide funding to cover the citys costs related to the migrants. New York has helped migrants file 23,000 work authorization, Temporary Protected Status and asylum applications, Adams said in December.

Hochul, also a Democrat, will include at least $1.9 billion of migrant spending in her budget for the state fiscal year beginning April 1, state Budget Director Blake Washington said. State officials approved a similar amount of funding for migrants last year. The money will pay for tent cities on Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn and a state psychiatric hospital in Queens as well as work by members of the National Guard, he said.

The governor will propose a $233 billion budget that closes a $4.3 billion deficit. Washington said that estimates on tax revenue have ticked up since the states most recent projections in the fall, covering some of the shortfall. Hochul will also propose to scale back planned increases in aid to school districts, to reflect declining enrollment and cash balances that some districts are holding.

Hochul isnt proposing any income-tax increases, Washington said. Progressive members of the Democrat-controlled legislature have already begun pushing for additional taxes to increase spending on healthcare and climate programs.

Were using the resources that we have on hand to address a humanitarian crisis," Washington said. Were taking the facts as they come to us, not as we wish them to be."

Write to Jimmy Vielkind at jimmy.vielkind@wsj.com
ISLAMABAD : A Pakistani court on Tuesday indicted former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in a case of solemnising their marriage against Islamic laws, according to a media report.

Khan, the 71-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder who was removed from power in April 2022, and his wife have denied all charges in the case registered by Bushra's former husband, Khawar Maneka, last month, Geo TV reported.

Senior Civil Judge Qudratullah read out the charges in the court set up in the high security Adiala Jail, with Khan in attendance. However, his wife did not appear, which annoyed the judge as previous indictments were postponed because of her absence, the channel said.

The development comes a day after the Islamabad High Court reserved its verdict on Bushras plea seeking dismissal of her former husband's case.

Also Read | Minister Gadkari blames engineers, poor DPRs for rising road accidents

In her petition, Bushra contended the admissibility of Maneka's petition saying that a trial court has no jurisdiction to hear it while also urging the court to declare "null and void" the order of the additional sessions judge East on January 11.

Last month, Maneka moved a district and sessions court in Islamabad challenging Khan and Bushra's marriage. His plea was submitted only a day after petitioner Muhamad Hanif withdrew a similar petition challenging the nikah of the PTI chief due to technical reasons".

Also Read | Ayodhya hotels sold out for 22 January! Where to stay if you are planning to visit Ram Mandir

Furthermore, she has also stressed that her ex-husbands complaint was filed under malice for nefarious purposes, falsely alleging marriage during iddat on the basis of false and fabricated documents.

In their judgments, the high courts declared marriages in iddat to be irregular, not annulled, the plea noted.

Iddat is a waiting period that a Muslim woman must observe on account of the death of her husband or dissolution of the marriage.

During Monday's hearing, Bushra's lawyer underscored that Maneka, in his petition, claimed that his wife was a fornicator. The counsel wondered why the ex-husband was raising this issue six years after their marriage had ended.

The controversy surrounding Khan's marriage escalated when Maneka, in an interview with a private news channel, said that Khan and Bibi had married during iddat.

Also Read | Was an ancient bacterium awakened by an industrial accident?

In 2015, Khan divorced his second wife Reham Khan through email.

Khan has been facing a slew of cases since his ouster from power in April 2022. He is currently incarcerated in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

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2024 US Presidential Elections: Vivek Ramaswamy announced his Republican presidential bid after a disappointing finish in Iowa, said his spokesperson as quoted by the news agency AFP.

Ramaswamy, 38, endorsed his rival, former President Donald Trump. He has previously called Trump the best president of the 21st century" even as he tried to convince Republican voters that they should opt for fresh legs" and take our America First agenda to the next level."

The wealthy political outsider also modeled his bid on Trump's run, campaigning as a fast-talking, headline-grabbing populist who relentlessly needled opponents.

Donald Trump secured a resounding victory in the first 2024 Republican presidential contest in Iowa on Monday, asserting his dominance over the party despite a litany of legal troubles as he seeks a rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden, Reuters reported.

"THANK YOU IOWA, I LOVE YOU ALL!!!" Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Ramaswamy also endorsed Trump as the former US president sought to reclaim the White House in November.

I looked at every which way, and I think it's true that we did not achieve the surprise that we wanted to deliver tonight... As of this moment, we are going to suspend this presidential campaign. There is no path for me to be the next president," Ramaswamy said as quoted by PTI.

As Ive said since the beginning, there are two America First candidates in this race. And earlier tonight I called Donald Trump to tell him that I  congratulate him on his victory, and now going forward, you will have my full endorsement for the presidency," he added.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finished well behind in second place, Edison Research projected, edging out former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley as they battle to emerge as the chief alternative to Trump.

With nearly 90% of the expected vote tallied, Trump had 50.9%, while DeSantis was at 21.4% and Haley 19.0%, according to Edison. The largest margin of victory for an Iowa Republican caucus had been 12.8 percentage points for Bob Dole in 1988.

It was too early to say whether Trump would exceed 50%, a psychological figure that would further weaken his rivals' argument that his march to the nomination could be derailed, as per Reuters reports.

Both DeSantis and Haley had been aiming for a strong second-place finish to convince donors and supporters that their challenges to Trump remain viable.

Trump has aimed to create an air of inevitability around his campaign, skipping all five of the Republican debates thus far and largely eschewing the county-by-county politicking that most candidates do ahead of the Iowa vote.

(With inputs from agencies)

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As the leading global policy makers and thought leaders gather in Davos for the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2024, there is heightened anticipation about the scheduled discussions on critical global issues dealing with the economic, technological and environmental trajectory for the coming years. The WEFs recent report on the 10 Global Risks provides a guide for the conversations that will take place at Davos this year.

I can see a few key themes that will take centre stage in WEF 2024. The rising dominance of artificial intelligence (AI) is of course on the top of the mind of all participants. The economic outlook and strategies for global growth and sustainability are two other issues that will be in the limelight. Increased private sector engagement may also be in the spotlight. I also anticipate more nuanced discussions of geopolitical and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) issues.

AI takes centre stage

The past six months has seen the rise of AI dominating headlines across the world. It is therefore fitting that Davos is hosting an AI House to recognize the increasing role of AI in shaping the global agenda. Multiple sessions on the official WEF programme have been set aside to have focused discussions on understanding and managing AIs impact on various sectors and also the dangers of misinformation. AI also dominates several of the private sessions by companies that have a stake in the disruptive technology.

Economic outlook

Fears of a global slowdown and a recession in some parts of the world have not yet receded. I expect extensive discussions at Davos this year on the headwinds and tailwinds influencing the economic outlook for 2024. There is a lot of dialogue on navigating protracted challenges and finding solutions to propel global growth amidst geopolitical turmoil.

Sustainability at the forefront

Sustainability remains a steadfast agenda item at Davos and the global business community has acknowledged the urgency of addressing environmental issues. Europe has been the leader in environmental issues and commitments, with the US following suit. India and China, despite their economic development goals, are at the forefront of clean and renewal energy generation.

Surge in private sector engagement

Over the past few years, many big businesses had chosen to have a muted presence in Davos. This year, a surge in registrations, surpassing pre-covid levels, shows a heightened level of engagement. This is a clear signal of the desire among businesses to actively participate in addressing significant global challenges.

Shift in agenda: Geopolitics and DEI

Surprisingly, geopolitics seems to have been pushed to the background compared to previous years. There are fewer discussions around ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Israel/Gaza as compared to the debates in early 2022, immediately after the Ukraine-Russia conflict had begun. Similarly, there are fewer official sessions around DEI though there are several private events addressing these, demonstrating how organizations are prioritizing the agenda.

Rajiv Memani, EY India chairman and regional managing partner, writes exclusively for Mint from Davos.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has examined the conditions created in the newly constructed modern penitentiary complex of the Ministry of Justice in Lankaran, Trend reports.

Minister of Justice Fikrat Mammadov briefed the head of state on the penitentiary complex.

The penitentiary complex, designed to accommodate up to 1300 individuals, consists of two zones and includes seven cell blocks equipped with various amenities. Facilities such as a library, TV room, and a sports field are provided to ensure productive leisure time for inmates.

The penitentiary complex houses a medical point, prayer room, kitchen, dining hall and a laundry.

Special rooms equipped with the necessary tools for remote participation in court hearings through video conferencing, as well as for phone calls and video meetings for detainees, were established.

During the tour of the complex, the head of state was introduced to the EN TEZ (Emergency Electronic Call to the Ministry of Justice) Service platform installed in the complex.

This platform was implemented in First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva-initiated DOST, as well as "ASAN xidmet" centers and Heydar Aliyev International Airport.

A multi-story residential building with 30 apartments was constructed on the complex's premises to accommodate staff members.

President Ilham Aliyev also received information about the newly commissioned penitentiary complex in the Umbaki settlement of Baku.
The number of Indians with annual earnings exceeding $10,000 has soared from 24 million in 2015 to 60 million, now constituting 4.1% of the nation's population, a Goldman Sachs report on Friday said. The significant increase in the value of financial and physical assets in the past three years is what has powered this new affluence.

Consequently, the global brokerage house anticipates that Indian companies dealing in premium goods will surpass their global counterparts a narrative it has dubbed as Affluent India.

There will be takers for it globally, no doubt, given the international luxury market is going through a chill. The economic woes in China and projections of slowdown in advanced economies have cut short the excellent run the luxury houses were having until recently. British luxury fashion brand Burberry has issued a profit warning for the full year, its second in three months, after store sales dropped in double digits in the Americas and South Korea.

Luxury brands were once thought to be recession-proof but are suffering a global slowdown. Farfetch, the e-commerce company focused on luxury clothing and beauty products, couldnt raise capital amid rumours of looming bankruptcy and has just been rescued by a South Korean acquirer, the e-commerce company Coupang that gave it a $500 million lifeline.

Just two years ago, in 2021, Farfetch, a proxy for luxury consumption demand, had been valued at $23 billion. Luxury group LVMH, which owns storied brands like Louis Vuitton, Dior, Fendi and Tiffany, reported US markets quarterly sales being down 2% in October. LVMH competitor and owner of Gucci and YSL, Kering, also reports a slowdown in sales.

Global luxury powerhouses that are, thus, on the lookout for newer markets are naturally beginning to explore Indias nouveau riche. Italian luxury brand Bvlgari launched its first-ever India-only jewellery piece in 2023. The French giant Louis Vuitton unveiled a footwear collection in the Indian colour Rani Pink. UKs global fashion sensation Jimmy Choo offered a Diwali collection.

The frenzy is greased by dazzling projections such as one by Bain & Co projects that says Indias luxury consumption would have skyrocketed to $200 billion by 2030.

Its of course early days still for India to fill up the gap left open by the US and Chinese slowdown in the luxury consumption market. The Goldman Sachs report does make a note of the fact that Indias GDP per capita is less than $3,000 a year. While more than 960 million debit cards have been issued in India and 93 million have post-paid cell phone connections, Goldman says that only 30 million Indians can afford a vehicle.

Yet, the Affluent India narrative affords India the opportunity to make a bid for our homemade luxury traditions to be integrated into global brand strategies  be it the rich handloom silks, soft pashminas or soothing ayurvedic therapies. Indias been home to a culture of luxuries from the time of the Maharajas.

The skills survive, having been passed on from generation to generation, but the products dont fetch as much commercially as do Europes famed artisanal workshops and specialised clusters of production, from watchmaking in the Jura Arc of Switzerland to shoemaking in the Veneto region of Italy. Nor do Indian luxury products artisans command the unrivalled reputation for elegance and luxury the Europeans have built.

European artisans have for decades catered to the exacting standards of the luxury industry, which has taken up stakes in the suppliers to keep tight controls over production. The deal about luxury is exclusivity. You cant just walk into a store and pick up a Birkin bag that can sell for up to $45,000. If you are not a long time Hermes client, the wait for one of these bags can last years. The French company deliberately keeps them in short supply  boost up the luxe quotient.

Europe dominates the global luxury market is also due to its reputed heritage for fine taste and arts -- from wines to paintings and statues. Even American luxury brands such as Ralph Lauren are not seen in the same class.

European luxury has old ties with Indian artisans. It is said that during Louis XIVs reign, France banned the import of Indian textiles to save the French textile market that was losing out to Indian chintz and calicos that were being used for tailoring everything from petticoats to curtains. European luxury brands started sourcing from Indian artisans a fee decades ago, including through local companies such as Milaaya Embroideries and Les Ateliers A2.

The potential for scaling up the collaboration between the European luxury industry and Indian suppliers is immense. This could be achieved through partnerships between Indian and European design schools or by introducing Indian craftsmanship to the global fashion scene. Who knows the worlds wealthiest who are not looking too willing to spend may just be enticed to do so by Indian craftsmanship. Before it becomes a consumer of global luxe, India must sell it to the world.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi resumed the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Kohima, Nagaland, on Tuesday. In a press conference, Gandhi spoke on a host of topics  from Ram temple inauguration to discussion within the INDIA bloc to the "hybrid" nature of his latest yatra. Here's in detail what he said during the press conference on Tuesday:

1. On Ayodhya Ram Temple Pran Pratishtha ceremony Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) "have made the 22nd January function a completely political Narendra Modi function". He added, It's become a RSS-BJP function and I think that is why the Congress president said that he would not go to the function." ALSO READ: Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra: You will need THIS to hop on to Rahul Gandhi's 'Mohabbat Ki Dukaan' bus. Read here Rahul Gandhi said his party members "are open to all religions, all practices. Even the authorities of the Hindu religion, the biggest authorities of the Hindu religion have made their view public about what they think about the 22nd January function that it is a political function". "So it is difficult for us to go to a political function which is designed around the Prime Minister of India and designed around the RSS...," Gandhi added.

2. On being called "anti-Hindu"

Rahul Gandhi said those who keep a public relation with religion, try to take advantage of it. In contrast, "...Someone who actually believes in religion keeps a personal relation with it. He uses religion in his life," Gandhi added.

ALSO READ: Gimmick to keep Rahul Gandhi busy...': BJP on Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra

"I do not try to take advantage of my religion, I have no interest. I try to live as per the principles of religion. I behave nicely with people, and I respect them. When says something to me, I don't respond with arrogance, I listen to them. I don't spread hatred. For me, this is the Hindu religion. I follow this in life. But I don't need to wear it over my shirt. Those who do not believe in it, need to wear it over their shirt," Gandhi said.
Rifts among Israels war cabinet are spilling into public view, threatening to undermine the countrys military strategy in Gaza at a crucial stage in the conflict.

The small collection of wartime decision makersPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and former head of the Israeli military, Benny Gantzare diverging publicly on the two biggest dilemmas they face: whether Israel should negotiate to end the conflict and free the hostages, and who should govern the bombed-out strip once the war is over.

The divisions in Israels cabinet reflect long-standing personal and professional disagreements between the lawmakers, who came together after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 Israelis to form a national unity government to prosecute the war and reassure Israelis.

They were united by a common enemy in Hamas. But as pressure has mounted from the Biden administration to limit Palestinian civilian deaths in Gaza, and the government has failed to return all the hostages, divisions between the leaders have reemerged.

Under pressure from the families of hostages held by Hamas and other militants in Gaza, Gantz, the head of the National Unity Party, and his deputy, Gadi Eisenkot, are pushing to enter talks with Hamas to bring home the roughly 130 captives still held in the enclave, according to Israeli media reports widely discussed among political analysts.

Netanyahu and Gallant, both in the ruling Likud party, meanwhile, say that maintaining military pressure on Hamas will force the group to make concessions, according to the reports.

Theres clearly a distinction here between the two sides," said Reuven Hazan, part of the political-science department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. If it was up to Gantz and Eisenkot, and tomorrow Hamas made an offer of ending the conflict in exchange for releasing all of the hostages, they would go for it. Netanyahu would say no."

While the prime minister and his defense minister are in agreement on continuing the war, they are increasingly at odds over who should govern Gaza after ita question becoming more urgent as Israel moves to a lower-intensity phase of its war and seeks to prevent a vacuum emerging in the enclave.

Gallant in a news conference on Monday warned that political indecision" about who would take responsibility for postwar Gaza would hurt the military campaign.

In a plan he articulated earlier this month, the defense minister has called for Palestinian self-governance and a multinational task force led by the U.S., with European and Middle Eastern partners, to oversee the rehabilitation of the strip. The U.S. wants a revitalized Palestinian Authority to take over with help from Arab states.

Netanyahu, under pressure from his far-right coalition partners to block the Palestinian Authority from governing in Gaza, hasnt so far articulated a vision for post-war governance there.

The end of the military campaign must be based on a political act," Gallant said Monday.

Spokespeople for Gallant and the prime ministers office didnt immediately respond to requests for comment.

Hamas appears to be seeking to exploit the war cabinets divisions. It released a video Monday of what it said were dead bodies of two of the hostages held in Gaza. A third hostage, Noa Argamani, 26, was shown alive in the video, saying that the two dead hostages had been killed in Israeli airstrikes and calling on the Israeli government to end the war.

Gallant on Monday said the most intensive phase of fighting is complete in northern Gaza, adding that the Israeli military is close to completing intense fighting in the south, around the city of Khan Younis.

It isnt clear that the entire Israeli security establishment agrees with that assessment. When asked later Monday about Gallants comments, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari pushed back, saying that fighting in the south will take us time." The military had more work to do both above ground and below ground in the vast tunnel network built by Hamas, Hagari said.

Mairav Zonszein, the senior Israel analyst for the International Crisis Group, said that the divisions in the countrys war cabinet are creating a kind of paralysis that is preventing the government from executing an effective strategy.

That, she said, could end with Israel re-occupying the Gaza Strip, much as it occupied southern Lebanon for 15 years from the 1980s. There is no exit strategy," she said.

Now in its fourth month, the Israeli campaign has destroyed swaths of the enclave, displaced nearly 2 million people and resulted in widespread shortages of food and medicine. More than 24,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, the majority of them women and children, according to Palestinian authorities whose numbers dont distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Israel says it has killed thousands of Hamas fighters and disrupted the groups ability to launch attacks against Israel. But Israel hasnt achieved its initial war aim of destroying Hamas completely. The Israeli military is still seeking to find and destroy tunnels where Hamass leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, and others are believed to be hiding.

Gallant is likely driven by a mix of political and military calculations when he publicly challenges Netanyahu for refusing to discuss plans for a day after, Zonszein said.

I think he feels a responsibility towards sending 20-year-olds on a mission that is clearly failing," she said.

Write to Rory Jones at Rory.Jones@wsj.com and Dion Nissenbaum at dion.nissenbaum@wsj.com
SEOULNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country would rewrite its constitution to label South Korea as its principal enemy, opening a new and perilous chapter as tensions rise between the two countries.

The change would break with decades of North Korean doctrine, under Kims father and grandfather, that sought to unify with the South through peaceful means, even while signaling a readiness for war.

Pyongyangs policy pivot thrusts inter-Korean ties into unfamiliar territory as militarization accelerates across the region. North Korea has drawn closer to Russia, supplying its war effort in Ukraine, and revived trade with China. South Korea has expanded its military cooperation with the U.S. and Japan.

In a Monday speech, Kim said he had concluded that peaceful reunification was no longer possible and accused South Korea of seeking the collapse of the North Korean regime. The 40-year-old dictator ordered the abolishment of three government agencies working on inter-Korean affairs and vowed to tear down a reunification arch that had been built by his father, Kim Jong Il.

Kim, the third-generation leader, said the country would scrub any reference to South Koreans as fellow countrymen or partners for reconciliation. Instead, North Korean law would reclassify its southern neighbor as a foreign country, a hostile state and one that constitutionally should be occupied, subjugated and reclaimed in the event of war.

North Korean rhetoric is often menacing but some Kim regime observers have concluded that the latest shift in tone goes beyond Pyongyangs typical bluster, signaling a change after formal engagement with the U.S. broke down years ago.

If, as we suspect, Kim has convinced himself that after decades of trying, there is no way to engage the United States, his recent words and actions point toward the prospects of a military solution," wrote Robert L. Carlin, a former U.S. negotiator with the North, and Siegfried S. Hecker, who has visited the North Korean nuclear facilities, in 38 North, a website dedicated to North Korea news.

Others caution that the latest shift is likely part of a familiar playbook for North Korea. Given the political landscape, North Korea is looking for new and novel ways to ramp up tensions," said Jean H. Lee, a visiting fellow at the East-West Center, a Honolulu-based think tank. Calling South Korea Enemy No. 1 is a tactic Kim Jong Un may hope will spark some anxiety in the region and unease among South Koreans."

Over the decades, the North has generally vacillated between engagement with left-leaning South Korean administrations and confrontation with conservative ones. The current tensions fit that pattern, with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative, saying he believes peace can only be achieved through strength.

Should North Korea provoke us, we will punish them multiple times as hard," Yoon said at a Tuesday cabinet meeting, in response to Kims remarks.

Nonetheless, Kims new shift in rhetoric and policy would codify the regimes threatening stance toward Seoul regardless of who is in office.

We do not want war, but we also have no intention of avoiding it," Kim said at a Monday address to the countrys Supreme Peoples Assembly, the countrys top lawmaking body. Explicitly speaking, we will never unilaterally unleash a war if the enemies do not provoke us."

Taking such an aggressive approach with South Korea may have seemed unimaginable to North Korea not long ago, though tighter bonds with Russia and China seem to have given the Kim regime greater latitude to behave provocatively, said Gordon Flake, a Korea specialist at the Perth USAsia Centre in Australia.

But Kims stated desire to avoid conflict suggests the South Korean policy shift is largely focused on defensive posturing, Flake added. This is Bullying 101," he said. This is North Korea from a position of insecurity making sure that they do not allow the perception of weakness, so theyre hollering."

The possibility that the sharp shift in North Korean rhetoric and doctrine could translate into action remains a top concern among U.S. and South Korean officials. Inter-Korean clashes have occurred between the two Koreas in the past, notably with the shelling of a border island and the sinking of a South Korean naval ship in 2010.

Washington and Seoul, with superior conventional forces, would overwhelm Pyongyangs outdated military hardware in a war, security officials say. In addition, President Biden and other South Korean officials have warned that any North Korean nuclear attack on the U.S. or its allies would result in the end of the Kim regime.

Pyongyangs aggression toward Seoul has been building. In June 2020, the Kim regime blew up an inter-Korean liaison office operating in the border town of Kaesong. Ties worsened further after Yoon took office in May 2022, replacing a left-leaning predecessor, Moon Jae-in, who gave priority to engagement. Within months, North Korea slammed Yoons proposal to revive inter-Korean ties as an absurd dream."

Last November, the two Koreas backed away from an inter-Korean accord meant to tone down hostilities, leading to both countries rearming soldiers along the Demilitarized Zone. At an end-of-year plenary speech, Kim admitted he had abandoned hope in the South as a partner for peace.

The Yoon administration, for its part, has sought to take a tough stance against North Korea. A defense white paper released last year cast North Korea as the enemy for the first time in six years.

Yoon has admonished North Korea over its spree of weapons tests and accelerated the rollout of the countrys new missile defenses. Based on a pact made between Yoon and Biden last year, U.S. nuclear assets in recent months have made port visits to South Korea. The U.S., Japan and South Korea recently knitted together their missile-radar systems for the first time to counter the North Korean threat.

Earlier this month, Pyongyang fired artillery shells at western border islands of South Korea. North Korea carried out its first missile test of the year on Sunday, launching what state media called a medium-range hypersonic missile.

Ahead of Novembers U.S. presidential election, North Korea is likely to continue trying to heap maximum pressure on whoever takes the White House next year, and possibly gain bigger concessions to achieve peace, said Sung-Yoon Lee, a specialist on North Korea at the Wilson Center.

Whereas a professional athlete enhances their net value by elite performance on the field, the hyper-militarized-rogue-pariah state that is North Korea enhances its leverage by exporting threats and insecurity," Lee said.

Write to Timothy W. Martin at Timothy.Martin@wsj.com
West Bengal chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee will lead an interfaith rally across Kolkata on 22 January, the same day the Ram Temple will be inaugurated in Ayoddhya. The rally will cover mosques, temples, churches, and gurdwaras along the way, she highlighted.

Speaking about it, Banerjee said, I will do a rally on January 22. It will begin from Kali Mandir, where only I will visit to offer prayers to Maa Kaali. Following that, we will hold an interfaith rally from Hazra to Park Circus maidan and hold a meeting there. We will cover mosques, temples, churches, and gurdwaras along the way. Everybody is welcome to join the rally. People of all faiths will be there at the rally"

The TMC supremo also announces, on the same day, TMC party members will hold a rally in every block, in every district at 3pm.

Many people have been asking me about various temples but I have nothing to say. I have always said Dhorma Jaar Jaar, Utsob Shobaar (Religion is personal, festival is universal) "

Thousands of VIP guests receive invitation for Ram Temple opening

The 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony of the Ram Temple will be held on January 22. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the installation of the idol of Ram Lalla at the grand temple on that day. As per temple officials, the ceremony will be held for seven days starting on January 16.

Thousands of VIP guests have received invitations from Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for the ceremony. The Trust has made elaborate arrangements to welcome and honor all attendees, presenting them with gifts that include 'Ram Raj.' As part of the celebration, Teerth Kshetra Trust will also distribute special 'Motichoor laddus' made from desi ghee as 'Prasad' to the guests.

A member of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust shared that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, set to attend the event, will be presented with a 15-meter picture of the Ram temple enclosed in a jute bag featuring an image of the sacred structure.

More than 11,000 guests nationwide have received invitations from the Trust for the Pran Pratistha ceremony, with special arrangements underway to provide memorable gifts to all attendees.

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Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar hit back at Opposition MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday and said the Congress leader lives in his own "la-la" world. Chandrasekhar also said that Gandhi will be unsuccessful" if he tries to define "our beliefs". Chandrasekhar's comments came in response to Gandhi's remark during the Bharat Jodo Yatra that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) "have made the 22nd January function a completely political Narendra Modi function". "...Rahul Gandhi lives in this 'la-la' world, in my opinion...He thinks everything he says is predicated on nobody understanding the truth and he can get away with these atrocious lies...The people of India are wise enough. They understand Rahul Gandhi's politics," said Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who is also a BJP leader. In his conversation with news agency ANI, Chandrasekhar hit out at the Congress leader who said recently that the aim of his party's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' is social justice, economic justice and political justice. Reacting to this, Chandrasekhar said, "No matter what he (Rahul Gandhi) says, the whole country knows about the atrocities they (Congress) were doing to the poor for the last 65 years. Twenty-five crore people got to come out of poverty only after PM Modi came to power."

The Union minister of state also took a dig at Gandhi for saying that "those who keep a public relation with religion, try to take advantage of it".

Chandrasekhar said, "Our faith is a matter of our beliefs...if Rahul Gandhi goes on to define our beliefs...his try will be unsuccessful...We know what is our faith and what is our belief, and we certainly don't require Rahul Gandhi to interpret how I should practise my faith and how I should practise my belief in my god."

ALSO READ: We want to listen to your Mann ki Baat your pain: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra

Earlier on Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi said that the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony has turned into a BJP-RSS function and this is the reason the Congress rejected the invite for the event.

"The RSS and the BJP have made the 22nd January function a completely political Narendra Modi function. It's an RSS-BJP function and I think that is why the Congress President said that he would not go to the function. We are open to all religions, all practices," Rahul Gandhi said in Nagaland as he resumed his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.

ALSO READ: Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra: Congress releases route map, objectives of Rahul Gandhi's march  5 things to know

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the installation of the idol of Ram Lalla at the grand temple in Ayodhya on January 22.

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Over the last few days, Asaduddin Owaisi, chief of All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), expressed concerns about the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) political approach, stating that there is no difference between BJP-RSS and AAP.

In a recent interview with ANI, Owaisi accused AAP of hypocrisy, claiming that despite their claims of being distinct, AAP is essentially following the Hindutva line, similar to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He pointed out their varied statements about the Saryu River and the inclusion of Path in educational centres and hospitals. Competitive Hindutva Politics The AIMIM leader highlighted the current trend of competitive Hindutva politics, where parties are vying for the votes of the majority community. Owaisi urged Muslims in the country to take notice of this political shift and called on secular Hindu brothers to be vigilant. Earlier, Owaisi referred to AAP as "RSS ka chota recharge" and questioned the timing of organizing Sundar Kand Path ahead of the Ram Temple inauguration in Ayodhya. He criticized the decision to conduct the recitation in every assembly constituency of Delhi on the first Tuesday of every month. "Chhota Recharge of RSS has decided that Sunderkand Path will be organized in every assembly constituency of Delhi on the first Tuesday of every month. This decision was taken because of the inauguration on January 22. Let me remind you that these people had maintained silence on the issue of Bilkis Bano and had said that they only wanted to talk about issues like education and health. Is Sunderkand lesson education or health? The real thing is that they are afraid of justice. Giving full support to the agenda of the Sangh. Let us not even talk about Babri, you keep playing the flute of justice, love, and so-and-so and at the same time keep strengthening Hindutva. Wow!" he wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Speaking to ANI on January 16, the leader again reiterated his stance, When I saw that the Delhi CM and his government have decided that there will be Sunderkand Path and Hanuman Chalisa recitation every Tuesday, I tweeted this - how are you different from the BJP? There is no difference between BJP-RSS and you. Look at their hypocrisy...You are walking the path of Narendra Modi. You want to do what he is doing...The politics of competitive Hindutva is being adopted..."

Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on January 15 said that Sunder Kand would be recited in all Vidhan Sabha constituencies of Delhi on the first Tuesday of every month. He also announced the organization of Sunder Kand Path and Hanuman Chalisa at approximately 2,600 locations in the near future.

(With inputs from ANI)

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Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray challenged Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar to have a public debate with him on the question: Which faction is the real Shiv Sena?". Thackeray's comments came even as Narwekar announced last week that the faction led by Shinde was the "real Shiv Sena" when the split happened in 2022.

"We have moved the Supreme Court against the judgement given by those fraud people. I challenge Rahul Narvekar and (Eknath) Shinde to appear before people and answer the question of whom Shiv Sena belongs to," Thackeray said on Tuesday.

ALSO READ: Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena real, rules Speaker | 10 points

On January 10, Narwekar held in a long-awaited ruling that the Shinde faction was the real Sena, while dismissing disqualification petitions filed by both Shinde and Thackeray camps against each other's MLAs following a split in the party in June 2022.

Uddhav Thackeray's faction of the Shiv Sena moved the Supreme Court on Monday against the Maharashtra speaker's order rejecting the plea to disqualify MLAs of Shinde's faction and declaring the latter as the real Shiv Sena".

"I am taking this battle to the people's court," Thackeray was quoted by PTI as saying at a press conference in Mumbai.

Before this, Eknath Shinde's faction had moved the Bombay High Court against the Maharashtra speaker's decision to not disqualify members of Uddhav Thackeray's faction of the Shiv Sena.

Amid the political uproar in Maharashtra, Speaker Rahul Narwekar said on Tuesday that for the last six days, "some political leaders and workers have been misleading people about my judgment". He accused Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders of "using derogatory language" against him. "They don't even respect the Assembly speaker. It's really harmful to the democratic structure," Narwekar said.

"The Supreme Court never said that appointment of Bharat Gogawale as whip (of Shinde faction) was wrong. SC said that the speaker must recognise the real Shiv Sena. Because I received claims from both sides, I gave my judgement according to the Supreme Court order," Narwekar was quoted by ANI as saying.

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NEW DELHI : India is taking a tough stand on non-tariff barriers being imposed on Indian exports by other countries and would also take similar measures on a reciprocal basis, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.

He asked the industry to share a list of such measures so that India can flag them with the respective nations.

Many of India's exports suffer due to such barriers which include cumbersome prior registration requirements, higher pesticide levels, and unreasonable domestic standards/rules in many countries.

Also Read | Mahindra calls for EV level playing field amid Tesla's India entry plans

On non-tariff barriers, "I am going tough on other countries. I have told them very categorically that if you will impose these barriers on us, we will put two. This will be reciprocal," he said.

"Please inform us about these issues so that our negotiating position improves. Today we face issues because we do not have data of their (other countries) non-tariff barriers," he added.

Key Indian exports that routinely face high barriers include  Chillies, Tea, Basmati Rice, Milk, Poultry, Bovine Meat, Fish, Chemicals Products to EU; Sesame Seed, Black Tiger Shrimps, Medicines, Apparels to Japan; Food, Meat, Fish, Dairy, Industrial Products to China; Shrimps to the US; and Bovine Meat to South Korea.

The minister was speaking at the conclusion of the Board of Trade (BoT) meeting here. The board, headed by the minister, has over 130 members. It has representatives from the Centre, state, exporters and industry associations.

Goyal also sought suggestions from the industry on further improving ease of doing business, cutting down compliance and logistics costs, decriminalisation of minor offences, and ways to attract investments.

Besides, he asked them to look into good utilisation of free trade agreements (FTAs).

He urged the industry not to seek subsidy support and instead stand on their strengths and competitiveness.

"We should come out from that mindset of subsidies," the minister said, adding states are playing a key role in promoting trade and industry.

Goyal also announced the initiation of work on Trade Connect ePlatform, an intermediary platform providing the facility to connect Indian exporters and entrepreneurs with various stakeholders in international trade will commence shortly.

The ePlatform is expected to provide facilitation for exporters, information on various regulations to access markets, sectors, export trends, and facility to address trade-related queries.

The platform is likely to be ready in 3-4 months.

The BoT provides a platform to the Centre for appraising states and UTs about international developments affecting India's trade and the role of States and UTs in promoting exports.

Also Read | Budget 2024: Govt plans incentives for affordable housing ahead of LS polls

It also remains an important mechanism for deliberations on trade related issues with industry bodies, associations, export promotion councils, and state/UT governments.

Further Goyal said that the meeting is an opportunity to deliberate on the key issues including ways to leverage the FTAs, encourage startups/MSMEs to start exporting, and boost exports from the services sector.

The meeting focused on reviewing the export performance to achieve the USD 2 trillion export target by 2030, and the strategies and measures to be adopted in order to take forward the export growth.

The meeting was attended by various State Ministers and other senior officials of key line ministries and States, all major trade and industry bodies, Export Promotion Councils and industry associations.

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Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech company founder who spent heavily from his own fortune to finance his Republican presidential bid, suspended his campaign in the 2024 primary race Monday after a disappointing finish in the Iowa GOP caucuses

Having failed to sell himself as a next-generation version of former President Donald Trump, Ramaswamy endorsed Trump as he left the contest.

We did not achieve the surprise that we wanted to deliver tonight," Ramaswamy told supporters in Iowa. He added: There is no path for me to be the next president absent things that we dont want to see happen in this country."

Looking forward, Ramaswamy said he had called Trump and that the former president has his full backing. Im going to ask you to follow me and take our America First movement to the next level," he said.

The 38-year-old son of Indian immigrants campaigned with a strong disdain for identity politics and focused heavily on his opposition to business efforts to advance political, social and environmental causes, while also selling himself as an outsider and government skeptic.

He echoed Trumps apocalyptic rhetoric and called his policy agenda America First 2.0," following the nationalist slogan the former president adopted in his 2017 presidential inauguration speech. After earning a biology degree from Harvard University and a law degree from Yale University, Ramaswamy made his fortune as a hedge-fund investor who bought undervalued pharmaceutical stocks that later skyrocketed. He founded a biotech startup now valued at $9 billion, called Roivant Sciences, to advance drugs that big drugmakers deprioritized.

Ramaswamy has lent his campaign significant amounts from his own fortune. Securities and Exchange Commission filings show that Ramaswamy recently sold more than $33 million worth of stock in the biotech company he founded. He said just days before Iowa that he would be in the presidential race until the very end."

As his campaign progressed, Ramaswamy focused on floating conspiracy theories on a variety of topics. In a recent ad, he asserted that the media and other forces were working to keep him from telling the truth about what really happened" during the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol, among other subjects. Ramaswamy is unlikely to fade completely from conservative politics. While he has never held elective office or worked in government, he has a knack for pursuing media coverage and is an active author. His swagger and contrarianism were displayed in the primary debates, where he routinely got into arguments with his fellow Republicans. Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, was often involved in the exchanges.An exasperated Haley called him scum" in the third debate, after he said her daughter had used TikTok, amid a discussion about banning the widely popular Chinese app. In the second debate, she told him: Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say."

Write to John McCormick at mccormick.john@wsj.com and Catherine Lucey at catherine.lucey@wsj.com

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. Another cache of ammunition was found during the review of abandoned buildings in the Karabakh economic region after the local anti-terror measures conducted by the Azerbaijan Armed Forces, the country's Defense Ministry said, Trend reports.

"Boxes containing weapons and ammunition, shells for various types of grenade launchers, anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, and missiles were recovered from the civilian facility utilized by the Armenian armed forces and illegal Armenian armed detachments for military objectives," the ministry added.

Previously, during the inspection of a civilian facility once used by Armenians in Ortakend settlement in Karabakh region, a significant number of various types of mines, homemade explosive devices, and a large amount of other ammunition were found on December 26, 2023.

In order to ensure the provisions of the Trilateral Statement (signed by Azerbaijani, Armenian, and Russian leaders following the 2020 second Karabakh war), prevent large-scale provocations in the Karabakh economic region, disarmament, and the withdrawal of Armenian armed formations from Azerbaijani territories, anti-terror measures of a local nature were carried out in the region on September 19-20, 2023.

As a result of the anti-terror measures, Azerbaijan restored sovereignty and constitutional order in these territories. The armed formations of Armenia located in the Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan were disbanded and left the territory of Azerbaijan.

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THE WAR in Gaza is exacting a brutal toll on civilians. The Hamas-run health ministry says that more than 8,000 people have died . The number of children among them, more than 3,000, exceeds the annual death toll for children in all wars in each of the preceding three years. The Economist estimates , from satellite imagery, that over a tenth of Gazas housing stock has been destroyed, leaving more than 280,000 people without homes to which they can return. In many ways that fits with the norm of urban warfare, which is unusually destructive. But Israels war in Gaza is also distinctive.

Read all our coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas

War in built-up areas is always bloody. Americas first assault on Fallujah in 2004 killed as many as 600 civilians, or 0.2% of the population, compared with 0.3% in todays war in Gaza. A second assault later in the year killed around 800 more and left the majority of the citys buildings damaged. A battle for Sadr City, a suburb of Baghdad, is thought to have killed nearly 1,000 people in March and April 2008, out of a population of around 2m, not dissimilar to that of Gaza.

The largest urban battle in recent years was the assault on the city of Mosul, which had been seized by the Islamic State (IS) group, by an American-led coalition including Iraqi and Kurdish ground forces. At least 9,000 civilians were killed in Mosul during 2016-17, according to Airwars, a non-profit organisation that tracks civilian harm. That amounts to 0.6% of the population at the time. Of the buildings that were damaged, more than 80% were residential.

These cases might suggest that the war in Gaza, though destructive, is not unusually so by historical standardsat least not yet. Yet there are also key differences. The first and biggest is the status of civilians. In Mosul, IS attempted to prevent civilians from fleeing, firing at them and mining corridors out of the city. Many left nonetheless. Between October 2016 and June 2017 nearly 900,000 departedalmost half of the pre-war population. Even Russia, during its siege of Mariupol in Ukraine between February and May 2022, negotiated humanitarian pauses in which some civilians were permitted to leave. Israel has thus far rejected calls, by the European Union and others, for such pauses.

Gazas geography is less permissive than any of these cases. Israel has told around 1.1m civilians to evacuate from the north of Gaza, but around a third of those have remained in place. Many residents are already refugees from other places and fear that if they leave they might never be allowed to return to their homes. Those who do want to escape cannot go south to Egypt, which does not want to take responsibility for refugees and has so far refused to open its border.

Israel is still striking parts of southern Gaza, albeit in more limited fashion than the north. Locals cant really get away, nor can fighting really occur in open areas away from urban centres," says Amos Fox, an expert on urban warfare who has written extensively about Mosul. The urban fight [in Gaza] is self-contained and likely far more costly than anything weve seen in the past few years." Even those civilians who have moved south face a growing humanitarian crisis. Gazas health-care system has capacity for only 3,500 beds, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres, a humanitarian group, far short of what is needed.

In Mosul, by contrast, the World Health Organisation was able to establish trauma stabilisation points to provide urgent medical attention within 10-15 minutes of the front line, with larger field hospitals another hour away. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have a small number of humanitarian affairs officers" embedded in its fighting units whose role it is to try and address the needs of the local population, but these are far from sufficient for dealing with the needs and scale of misery resulting from a ground offensive. Israeli politicians have said they will not send aid for civilians until all hostages are released, though officials acknowledge that may change as the offensive develops.

A second difference is the degree to which civilian and military infrastructure is intermingled in Gaza. In Iraq, IS had held Mosul for little over two years when the battle to remove them began. Even in that short period, the group had established impressive multi-layered defences, drawing on Western military doctrine, says Rupert Jones, a retired British major-general who was deputy commander of the anti-IS coalition.

Hamas, in contrast, was founded in Gaza in 1987 and has much earlier roots there, dating back to the foundation of the welfare organisation Mujama al-Islamiya (Islamic Centre") by Ahmed Yassin in 1973. For half a century it has been fully integrated into Gazas social fabric and has run the strip for 16 years. Its defences have been built aroundand underthe territorys civilian infrastructure. Part of the ease with which Hamas seized Gaza from Palestinian rivals in 2007 was down to the fact that its fighters were recruited from the streets.

A third difference is tactics. Israels armed forces say that they place considerable emphasis on civilian protection. Nonetheless, Israels bombardment of Gaza has been intense by historical standards. It dropped 6,000 bombs on the territory in the first six days of the war, a rate of ordnance far exceeding American and Western counter-terrorism campaigns. In Mosul, for instance, the American-led coalition dropped 7,000 over two months in the most intense period of bombing. On October 30th a former deputy commander of the IDFs Gaza Division told the Financial Times: When our soldiers are manoeuvring we are doing this with massive artillery, with 50 aeroplanes overhead destroying anything that moves."

Tactics are shaped by how an army views the stakes of a war, the nature of the enemy and that of the surrounding civilians. For Israel, the war in Gaza is existential in a way that even Mosul or Marawi werent", says Anthony King of Exeter University, referring to a battle between the Philippines army and IS in 2017. Israeli officials increasingly describe Hamas as akin to ISan enemy with which compromise is no longer possible. Nor does the IDF have the same affinity with Palestinian civilians that Iraqi forces did with the compatriots they were liberating from IS rule.

In Mosul, Iraqs political leadership, from the prime minister down, insisted that great emphasis be placed on civilian protection. Lieutenant General Basim al-Tai, a senior Iraqi officer, was in charge of the humanitarian operation. He was carrying the weight of the Mosul population on his shoulders," says General Jones. He cared deeply about the civilians." Caroline Baudot, an adviser in the civilian-protection unit in the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, agrees: The commanders intent in Mosul was extremely clear."

Even then, the experience of different parts of Mosul is instructive. The east of the city, viewed as the more intellectual and urbane part, suffered less damage. The old city in the west, where IS made its last stand, was viewed by Iraqi forces as more conservative and IS-friendly and emerged far worse. The mindset in which you fight affects your planning, your conduct, and even the reconstruction," says Ms Baudot. If you operate on your own territory [as opposed to] in another territory you might not have the same care for civilians."

The role of medical facilities is especially contentious. In the previous rounds of warfare, Palestinian hospitals and other civilian relief centres were marked on Israeli military maps as non-strike areas. Some were hit in past wars, but none intentionally, claims Israel. In this war, Israel has ordered the evacuation of northern Gaza, including hospitalswhich it says are used as Hamas command posts. Under the laws of war, hospitals lose their special protection if they are used for military purposes. But, even then, armies can only attack them after due warning" and a reasonable time limit".

Mosul, again, provides a point of comparison. IS used the citys hospital as a stronghold. Commanders spent weeks deliberating whether it could be attacked, says General Jones, considering other options such as the use of snipers. Slowly, over time, it became clear it was no longer a functional hospital." Ultimately it was struck only with the approval of Iraqs then prime minister. Ive never heard of any case where you have a few days to evacuate and dismantle an entire hospital," says one veteran expert on wartime civilian harm, reflecting on the Gaza case. Its just not possible."

A fourth and final difference is the nature of battlefield intelligence. At the outset of this war the IDF would have had considerable intelligence on Hamass infrastructure in Gaza, collected over years. But many of those targets would have been struck in the first week of the campaign. Air forces must then move to dynamic" targetingfinding and striking targets that were not known at the start of the war and have to be developed in relatively short order. This is where most cases of civilian harm occur, says the expert.

In Mosul, local civilians, many of whom hated IS, provided a wealth of human intelligence, or HUMINTinformation passed on by sources on the groundto Iraqi forces, helping them to target IS fighters. In contrast, during the battle for Raqqa, a Syrian city held by IS, in 2017, commanders, with fewer infantry forces on the ground, were starved of local information" and found themselves reliant on aerial surveillance, incapable of seeing inside buildings, according to a report by the RAND Corporation, a think-tank.

Israeli intelligence has already suffered one serious intelligence failure in Gaza, having missed sufficient signs of Hamass preparations for the attack of October 7th. It will have good electronic intelligence on the strip, aided by the phalanx of American aircraft patrolling in the eastern Mediterranean. But Hamas is likely to have the intelligence advantage on the ground, argues Mr Fox, with locals offering a steady flow of HUMINT to the group as the IDF advances. This flips the HUMINT situation that we saw in Mosul on its head," he says. The IDF will have to methodically fight through better planned and prepared defencesthan they otherwise would." The result will be more civilians killed. The last three weeks have been hard on civilians in Gaza. The coming weeks could be even harder.

 2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com
Joanna Goddard is starting over. She wants you to know you can too.

The lifestyle blogger built a successful brand around her idyllic Brooklyn life with Cup of Jo, the site she launched in 2007. Her posts chronicled falling in love, building a family and navigating everyday challenges. And her readersmost of them womenwere on that journey with her.

Then, last February, she announced that she and her husband of 13 years were getting divorced. WOW, Gut Punch!!" read one of the blog posts 1,400 comments.

I feel strongly that there should be out-loud examples of people who get divorced and are doing well," Goddard, 44, said in a conversation in the fall. Thats the goal of her new media venturea Substack newsletter where shell be sharing the details of her freshly single life.

Im not going to pick through my marriage," she said of her plans for the newsletter. That wouldnt be appropriate. But I do feel like people want to hear that its not always easy. And that, whatever happens, its going to be OK."

Goddard was sitting in the living room of her Cobble Hill brownstone, a home as familiar to avid Cup of Jo readers as their own, wearing flare jeans and a striped button-down shirt. A gallery wall displayed baby photos of her children and some neighborhood scenes where her wedding photos once hung. In the open kitchen, Goddard had plated freshly baked cookies and a spread of hummus and pita.

Aspirational yet approachablethink Madewell denim and dinner-party hosting tipsGoddards blog is one of the few from the mid-aughts that still commands a devoted web following, with 4.2 million monthly page views and over $2 million in annual revenue. Fans who appreciate Cup of Jos practical approach to relationships, fashion and travel say the blog offers them a sense of comfort, like consuming a digital bowl of warm oatmeal.

Born to English parents and raised in Michigan, Goddard has Midwestern manners and British taste. Shes warm and affablequick to smile and share an anecdoteand polite about steering the conversation away from her ex-husband, Alex Williams, a New York Times reporter, who declined to be interviewed.

Goddard said she launched her Substack, Big Salad, to diversify the companys revenues as the business of paid newsletters picked up. For $5 a month, subscribers get a weekly newsletter from her. Non-paying subscribers receive a monthly edition. Her total subscriber count tops 100,000; she declined to say how many are paying. Shell still be running Cup of Jo, which has three employees, and earns money from affiliate links, sponsored content and ads.

Goddard said having a paywalled newsletter felt like a safer way to talk about the more vulnerable parts of her new life, like first dates.

This is kind of messy and scary," she said. I just wanted it to be a little more contained."

To many, Goddard is the blueprint for a certain type of affluent Brooklyn mom. Robyn Purdie, a teacher living in Almaty, Kazakhstan, said she reads Cup of Jo for its shopping picks and gift guides. She said she particularly enjoys that she can follow Goddard without having to feel the mean-girl envy" that can come from following other influencers.

Agatha Khishchenko, a 42-year-old Brooklyn lawyer whos been reading Cup of Jo for over a decade, called it the safest space on the internet." She isnt a mother herself but cited a series about moms around the world as an example of why she finds the site so endearing.

Its a lovely site and brings a dose of peace and tranquility," Khishchenko said.

Goddard, a twin, spent her early childhood in England before moving to Michigan. She said money was always tight in her family. She said she paid for ballet lessons and airfare with her own babysitting money growing up, and that wealth still doesnt feel natural to her.

She moved to New York in 2001 and worked in publishing and at magazines like Glamour.

She started a Blogspot in 2007 as a hobby, writing about art, style, food and relationships. She met Williams two months in. The couple married in 2009 and have two sons, ages 10 and 13.

Cup of Jo grew through Blogspot referrals. By 2010, the site was making around $85,000 per yearmore than Goddards magazine salarymostly from banner ads. She quit her job to focus on Cup of Jo and hired her first employee in 2014.

The readers are women in middle age who want to make meaning in their lives," said Catherine Newman, a contributor based in Amherst, Mass. Christine Pride, who writes a column about race for Cup of Jo, said its a rare digital space where you dont have to brace yourself for a certain level of vitriol."

In the comments section, where a simple question like what random finds do you swear by yields 800 answers, readers are eager to share tidbits of their vulnerable experiences," Pride said.

The reader feels like they are in a group chat, getting recommendations from trusted friends," said Sara Petersen, the author of Momfluenced," a book about the online culture of motherhood.

The blogs approachable tone was what drew in Gail Simmons, the Canadian food writer and Top Chef" judge.

While other publications approach the topics she covers with an assumed authority, Joanna has a certain level of humility in the process," Simmons said. She doesnt claim to be an expert."

Monica Shulman, a 46-year-old artist in New Yorks Westchester County, said Joanna feels like someone Id want to be friends with." Shulman said the blog covered topics like infertility before other womens outlets did.

You form relationships with people in the comments section," she said. You cant do that reading Vogue."

Goddard stayed consistent with the blog, even as many personalities have pivoted to YouTube and TikTok. She still Instagrams flowers in mason jars, blogs quick dinner ideas and publishes essays about adult friendship. It should feel like a hug," Goddard said of her web presence.

Over the years, Goddard has opened up about postpartum depression, anxiety and grief, deepening her relationship with her readers. She felt she owed them the truth about her marriage, but said she needed to wait until both she and Williams were ready.

People have asked, Was your marriage all a lie? Nothing was untrue, but there was also other stuff happening," she said. Ultimately, she said, they grew apart.

She wasnt sure how her fans would take the news. Would it ruin my site?" she recalled wondering. Will it be a fall from grace?"

But the response from readers was supportivethe kind of virtual hug Goddard had always strived to give them.

Aside from a few swipes on Bumble, Goddard hasnt dabbled in dating apps but said shell probably try them soon. Some friends want to set her up. Shes been noticing which dads around the neighborhood she finds attractive. Recently, she said she spotted a cute guy at a funeral but knew it wasnt the right setting to court a new beau.

More than anything, she said, I would love to kiss somebody on a street corner."

Write to Chavie Lieber at Chavie.Lieber@WSJ.com
Samsung is finally launching its much-awaited flagship S24 series at the Galaxy Unpacked event tomorrow. The event will see the launch of 3 new smartphones: Galaxy S24 , Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24 Ultra. The event is set to take place on January 17 at 1 pm ET (11:30 PM IST) in San Jose, California and the South Korean phone maker may introduce new innovative 'Galaxy AI' features.

Heres a look at all you need to know ahead of the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event on January 17:

AI related features:

Samsung is reportedly planning to engage audiences with its Galaxy AI features. Drawing inspiration from the positive reception of AI in 2023, Samsung may look to rival the Pixel 8 by integrating AI-driven functionalities. One noteworthy tool, similar to Magic Editor, enables users to modify and improve photos, including the removal of undesirable elements. Another enticing prospect is the real-time translation of phone calls facilitated by AI.

Longer software support:

According to a report by Android Headlines, the Galaxy S24 series may receive support for 7 years of software and OS upgrades, meaning that the flagship smartphones will be eligible for updates up to Android version 21. Samsung has been promising four years of major OS upgrades and five years of security updates for its flagship and some mid-range smartphones since 2020.

Expected specifications:

A recent report by German website WinFuture.de had revealed the specifications of the upcoming Galaxy S24 series. The report noted that Samsung Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus will feature the Samsung Exynos 2400 chipset in Germany and Europe and Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC in the global market. Meanwhile, Galaxy 24 Ultra will feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset in all markets.

Galaxy S24 specs:

The vanilla Galaxy S24 is expected to feature a 6.2 inch Full HD+ Dynamic AMOLED display with a resolution of 1,080x2,340 pixels. In terms of optics, the Galaxy S24 may come with a triple camera setup to the back with a 50MP primary sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide angle lens and a 10MP telephoto sensor with 3x optical zoom. The phone is expected to house a 4,000 mAh battery which could be charged with a 25W wired charger and 15W wireless charger.

Samsung Galaxy S24+ specs:

The Galaxy S24+ may sport a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with a resolution of 1,440x3,120 pixels and a refresh rate ranging between 1Hz to 120Hz. The smartphone is also expected to come with a triple camera setup with a 50MP primary sensor, a 10MP telephoto sensor and 12MP ultra wide-angle camera. The S24+ could house a 4,900 mAh battery with support for 45W wired charging and 15W wireless charging.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra specs:

The Galaxy S24 Ultra could sport a 6.8-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED display with a resolution of 3120 x 1440 pixels and a refresh rate of 120Hz. The higher-end Galaxy device will feature a quad camera setup with a 200MP primary sensor with a Super Quad Pixel autofocus, OIS and Super Clear lens, two telephoto lenses with a 50 MP sensor with support for 5x optical and a 10MP sensor with support for 3x optical zoom. Moreover, there is expected to be a 12MP ultra wide-angle camera sensor with a 120 field of view

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Search giant Google is planning to lay off several hundred" of employees in its advertising sales unit, Business Insider reported Tuesday citing an internal memo. The tech giant had last week announced that with would be eliminating hundreds of positions in its voice-activated Google Assistant software and a similar number of roles in the Devices and Services team.

Google's chief business officer Philipp Schindler told staff in an internal memo that the plans to cut hundreds of roles from its advertising sales unit as part of a restructuring, adding that the lay-offs were the result of the changes made in the operational procedure of the sales team.

The memo said that the tech giant is planning to automate more of its processes through artificial intelligence (AI) software which can determine how advertisers' money should be spent across products.

"Going forward GCS will be our core channel for scaling growth by dynamically delivering the right treatment to every customer - while LCS will focus on transformational growth for our largest, most sophisticated customers," Business Insider quoted Schindler as saying in the memo.

"While I'm confident we're doing the right thing for our customers, partners, and ultimately for our business, this will be very hard for many, especially across our LCS teams," the memo read.

Every year we go through a rigorous process to structure our team to provide the best service to our ads customers," a Google spokesperson told BI Business Insider

"We map customers to the right specialist teams and sales channels to meet their service needs. As part of this, a few hundred roles globally are being eliminated and impacted employees will be able to apply for open roles on the team or elsewhere at Google," he added.

Last week, the tech giant announced the elimination of hundreds of positions in its voice-activated Google Assistant software and a similar number of roles in the Devices and Services team.

Among the affected workers were those working on the voice-based Google Assistant and at the augmented reality hardware team. Workers in the companys central engineering organization were also hit by the cuts, the company said as reported by Bloomberg.

Also Read | Govt set to notify new IT rules on deepfakes for social media: Chandrasekhar

"Throughout second-half of 2023, a number of our teams made changes to become more efficient and work better, and to align their resources to their biggest product priorities. Some teams are continuing to make these kinds of organizational changes, which include some role eliminations globally", Google spokesperson told Reuters in a statement. As of September 2023, Alphabet had 182,381 employees across the world. 

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New Delhi: The ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) is planning a pilot test for direct-to-mobile (D2M) broadcast transmissions. However, talks of the pilot remain at early stages for a technology that has so far received considerable pushback from telecom operators and other technology companies.

D2M broadcasting, as defined in a paper by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur in 2022, proposes a mechanism for multimedia broadcasting without relying on data connectivity. The mechanism is already in use for emergency broadcasts of government notifications, but the latest proposal showcases its use in bringing television and multimedia content broadcasting directly to smartphones, thereby bringing content-driven services to users who still do not have direct access to mobile data.

Information and broadcasting secretary Apurva Chandra said that talks of a pilot D2M broadcasting project have commenced across 19 cities using the digital terrestrial transmission network of Prasar Bharati."

Industry challenges, however, will persist. The pilot launch will be the first stepyou need a certain chip in devices. Weve to see how that adoption takes place. Then, weve to see how much content is being consumedwell take all of this into consideration before launching at a mass scale. As of now, were not mandating any smartphone company or telecom operator, since this is only a pilot," Chandra added.

The move means that in order to support the technology, smartphones will require either a specialized chip, or an add-on dongle. Bengaluru-headquartered Saankhya Labs on Tuesday unveiled one such chip, claiming to hold the potential to tap millions of users for D2M broadcasting.

The key to bringing the technology to a wider audience will lie in achieving scale. We are already in talks with original design manufacturers (ODMs), but we wont need to partner with chipmakers for this. Our objective is to reach a scale of 10 million-odd users to distribute the technology with, which should be possible given that the market has over 1 billion devices and users. At such a scale, the addition of our chip in Android smartphones will only lead to a cost addition of around $2.5 (~ 200) per device," said Parag Naik, chief executive of Saankhya Labs.

Our plug-and-play dongle, which will also support D2M broadcasts, is already being marketed in the US, and well bring it to India in about six months to one year at around 600-800," Naik added.

Saankhyas plans, at present, remain at a very nascent stage, and will hinge upon talks of the Centre backing a pilot D2M broadcast in the coming months.

Naik did not name any ODM or brand partner that they have associated with or received interest from so far, stating that they remain in talks" at the moment.

Industry stakeholders, too, have raised concerns. S. P. Kochhar, director-general of industry body, Cellular Operators Association of India (Coai) on Monday said that concerns around the technology remain on the aspects of level playing field, spectrum allocation, network integration and regulatory and cost arbitrage, in favour of the proposed public-private partnership model and against the telecom service providers."

Building a dedicated D2M network by earmarking spectrum specifically for the broadcasting infrastructure, providing competing or complementary services, would lead to a breach of level playing field. Offloading cellular networks also requires a close integration of broadcasting capabilities with cellular networks, so that the spectrum and infrastructure can be optimally leveraged for broadcasting and IMT services as per the demand. A dedicated D2M network, built by a third party, will not be able to achieve these aspects optimally," Kochhar further added.

A senior telecom industry consultant, who requested anonymity, further added that value-added services such as content subscriptions, which are offered along with bundled data plans, could be hit with D2M broadcasts infringing upon an area where telcos can earn".

The entire telecom industry is principally against any form of D2M broadcasts, and multiple entities including chip and infrastructure makers have clarified that it would not be as simple a move as just adding a chip and a feature for users. Indias cost of data is also dwindling, which is further pushing telcos to protest against the D2M pilot," the consultant said.

Chandra, however, affirmed that a legitimate use case remains for D2M broadcasting. There are about 280 million households in the country, of which only about 190 million have TV. This means that still, nearly 90 million households do not have televisions. At the same time, the number of smartphones in India is 800 million, and is expected to rise to 1 billion. This is why D2M broadcasts offer tremendous opportunities. This can also lead to an increase in data consumption, which is expected to reach 43.7 exabytes per month this year. Nearly 69% of this data consumption occurs because of video content streaming. Even if 25-30% of it can be offloaded to D2M broadcasts, this can tremendously help reduce loads on 5G networks," he said.

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SAN FRANCISCOBidding on a nearly 6-foot-tall statue of a hashtag that was being auctioned off from the longtime Twitter headquarters seemed like a fun idea to former Twitter data scientist Lauren Fratamico.

Over $500 later, Fratamico won the statue. Then she had to figure out what to do with it. She enlisted her boyfriend and parents and hired two movers. They managed to lug the hefty hashtag up three flights of stairs and situate the hardly subtle piece of decor in a corner of her apartment in San Francisco.

Fratamico, 32, was one of thousands of Twitter employees who were laid off shortly after Elon Musk acquired the social-media platform in late 2022. She wanted a relic of the company shed loved working at, even though owning a giant hashtag isnt exactly practical. When plugged in, it blazes with glittering lights. It emits heat," Fratamico said. Its definitely warm and non-energy-efficient."

Its also one of the many Twitter relics now scattered around the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Musk hasnt only renamed the company to X since taking over, but also jettisoned the jovial blue bird that was Twitters longtime logo.

Months after Musks takeover, the company began auctioning off hundreds of items. The offerings included mundane supplies such as desks and power strips and nicer perks such as kegerators and espresso machines. Also up for grabs was a bevy of Twitter-specific decor, including a wooden bird-shaped coffee table, a 34-foot-long optical-illusion art piece, and several bird, hashtag, and @ symbol signs and statues.

Insiders and curious onlookers fired off tweets and chattered about the sales. Many asked: Where did the items end up?

It turns out that several people who had worked at Twitter over the years were among those who snagged items from the sale. So did a podcast producer and frequent X poster who has applauded Musks handling of the social-media platform. The whereabouts of other items remain a mystery.

Mike Davidson, 49, was vice president of design at Twitter from 2012 to 2016. Perusing the online auction, he recognized a painting he remembered walking by at the office. It depicted a photo of Barack and Michelle Obama hugging, which Obamas account had tweeted when he won re-election. The image was notable for breaking a record at the time as the most retweeted post in Twitter history.

Davidson said he paid just over $2,300 for the painting, and said it reminds him of the role Twitter played in historic moments.

There were a lot of items on there that I thought were really cool, but I didnt buy them because they were too Twitter," he added about the sale. I couldnt see myself putting up a giant Twitter logo in my den."

Jon Ball, 41, an engineering manager at Twitter from 2016 to 2019, got two phone-conferencing systems for his medical-technology company for about $250 each from the sale.

He also made a less practical purchase. Ball doled out about $500 for a roughly 3-foot-tall hashtag statue, which now sits in his home office north of San Francisco. He sometimes shows it off during video calls. I think I got a pretty decent deal on that," he said. My wife doesnt think so."

Balls wife, Vina Vongvarotai, 41, said she had Covid and was isolating from the rest of the family at the time. Im not sure we would have the hashtag if I wasnt sick," she said. I think he took a good opportunity to have fun with the auction." She said she still wouldnt pay that much for it.

Omose Ogala, 28, who worked at Twitter as an engineer from 2017 to 2022, won from the auction a painting of Ellen DeGeneress famous Oscar selfie.

That photo, taken in 2014, quickly became the most retweeted post ever at the time, breaking the record held by the image of the Obamas hugging. The same artist, Debbie Faas, made both paintings.

Ogala has been house-hunting in the New York City area. Im trying to find the right house that will suit me, but then also that will be perfect to hang the photo up," he said.

Theres a long history of people coveting relics of corporate dramas. Some two decades ago, after the Enron Corp. scandal led to the company collapsing into bankruptcy in 2001, equipment and other Enron-related items were auctioned off. One of the most recognizable items, a big tilted E" sign, went for $44,000.

Ad executive Lou Congelio, 68, got a different Enron sign for $8,500. He displayed it at the office of his advertising agency in Houston.

After a few years, Congelio said he got a mysterious call" from someone representing an unnamed buyer in New York. He sold the sign for $35,000. Id love to still have it," he said. But he added: When somebody offers you thirty-five thousand for something that you only paid eighty-five hundred for, youd be kind of dumb not to at least look at the offer."

After Silicon Valley Bank failed in March 2023, people clamored for company swag, spurring a rash of online listings for items like an SVB-branded blanket or a cheese board.

Alex Lorusso, an executive producer for a right-leaning podcast whose account was reinstated after Musks acquisition, said on X that he snagged from the post-acquisition sales a bird-shaped sign and an @" sign from Twitters headquarters.

In December, Fratamico, the former Twitter data scientist, threw a hashtag-themed party in place of a typical holiday gathering. She dubbed the occasion #party," decorated the cocktail menu with hashtag icons, and turned on her giant hashtag souvenir so guests could admire its sparkling marquee lights. It definitely added color," she said.

Fratamicos boyfriend, Will Bertelsen, 33, said the statue looks great in the apartment. He also said that although hed known the statue would be big, seeing it in person when they went to move it was still something. Reality sunk in."

Twitters signs have become a symbol of the chaotic rebrand from Twitter to X. One weekend in July, Musk abruptly announced the platforms new name in a series of tweets. Soon after, workers arrived with a crane to dismantle signage outside the building.

Matt Graves, 49, worked as a communications director at Twitter from 2010 to 2012. His wife, Adi Wise, 45, also worked at Twitter for several years starting in 2012, though they never met at work. The couple successfully bid for a mixed-media piece from Twitters headquarters by artist Andre Petterson showing an erupting typewriter.

Itd be like if somebody you love went bankrupt and then youre bidding on the remains," Graves said. Theres some sadness there."

Many onetime employees are still curious to know where some of the more unusual pieces from their former office are now, such as a large, cabinlike structure from the fifth floor of Twitters headquarters. If anyone wants to buy a vintage 1800-era log cabin (no, really) that served as a meeting room at the Twoffice, it can be yours for $800," Graves posted on X at one point, with a link to the listing. What happened to it couldnt be learned.

Write to Alexa Corse at alexa.corse@wsj.com
BYD, the Chinese automaker, marked a significant expansion with the maiden voyage of its first-ever vessel, BYD EXPLORER NO.1, at a port in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. The vehicle carrier vessel, leased to BYD, carries over 5,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs) and is destined for the ports of Vlissingen in the Netherlands and Bremerhaven in Germany.

The vessel, part of BYDs growing shipping fleet, was constructed by China International Marine Containers (Group) Co., Ltd. (CIMC) for international ship management company Zodiac Maritime. It represents BYDs entry into the league of Chinese automakers operating their own shipping fleets to expedite car exports.

Chinas General Administration of Customs reported a significant surge in auto exports, reaching 5.22 million vehicles in 2023, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 57.4%. As Chinas automobile industry shifts toward increased exports, automakers face challenges such as rising rents, shipping capacity constraints, and fierce competition for available car carriers.

Major Chinese automakers, including BYD, Chery, and SAIC, have responded by establishing their own shipping fleets to navigate these challenges. The move aims to enhance control over logistics and counter the impact of soaring shipping costs.

Global shipping research institution Clarksons Research noted a substantial increase in one-year time charter rates for car carriers from August 2020 to the end of November 2023. The rate for a 6,500 Car Equivalent Unit (CEU) pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) surged from $10,000 per day to $115,000 per day, highlighting the intense competition for shipping capacity.

Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Limited successfully fulfilled an order for two BYD PCTCs in January 2023, contributing to BYDs growing shipping capabilities. Other automakers, such as Chery and SAIC, are also venturing into establishing their global shipping fleets to address the challenges posed by the dynamic shipping market.

In recent years, the global automobile shipping market has been dominated by automakers in Japan, South Korea, and other countries. However, with the flourishing shipbuilding industry and surging automobile exports, Chinese automakers are increasingly utilizing domestically-built ships for transportation.

Chinese shipyards, including Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Limited, have secured the majority of new orders for car carriers globally. As the trend continues, Chinese shipping fleets are expected to significantly increase their global proportion of car carrier capacity, potentially reaching the fourth position globally.

Industry experts emphasize the strategic significance of establishing shipping fleets for Chinese automakers. Beyond cost competitiveness, these fleets enhance the stability of the supply chain, ensuring timely product delivery to overseas customers.

Xie Xiaowen, an expert with the China Communications and Transportation Association, highlights that acquiring ships symbolizes the continuous development and internationalization of Chinas automobile industry. This strategic move not only reduces transportation costs but also ensures the stability of the export business.

Chen Jia, a researcher at Renmin University of China, notes that Chinese automakers shipping fleets have the potential to break the longstanding monopoly of foreign shipping companies, laying a solid foundation for their global trajectory. The move underscores the determination of Chinese automakers to navigate challenges, secure their supply chains, and bolster their global competitiveness.

Shayne Heffernan
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has inspected the operations of a confectionery manufacturing enterprise owned by Laran Limited Liability Company (LLC) in Lankaran, Trend reports.

Director of the Laran LLC briefed the head of state about the conditions created at the facility and products manufactured on-site.

The Entrepreneurship Development Fund extended a soft loan of 1.2 million manats as state support for the project, which has a total value of 5 million manats. The production capacity of the facility, currently producing 1500-1800 tons, is 2000-2500 tons and includes 5 types and 56 varieties, such as caramel, Turkish delight, chocolate-covered Turkish delight, marmalade, and chocolate-covered marmalade.

The equipment installed is sourced from Brazil, Turkiye, China, and Russia. Besides serving the domestic market, the facility exports its products to Russia, Israel, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Moldova, and Iraq.

Currently employing 120 people, the facility covers a total area of 4900 square meters, housing a main building, boiler room, transition zone, anti-fire water tank, and a transformer substation. The premises also feature a spacious green area.
House Speaker Mike Johnson at the US Capitol on January 12, in Washington, DC. Lawmakers are racing the clock to avert a partial shutdown with just four days left until funding for key government agencies expires.
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The Chairperson of ICMSAs Dairy Committee, Noel Murphy, has said that Co-ops can and should be paying 39cpl for milk supplied to them in December.



While he noted that the volumes produced in December were traditionally low, Mr Murphy said that there was little doubt that the 2023 production was particularly low as farmers had dried off early in the face of an unacceptably slow price rises and stubbornly high inputs.



Mr Murphy said that ICMSA would never accept the argument that merited price rises did not matter for low volume periods like December, he said that it must always be an operating principle that Co-ops paid the highest milk price possible.

There is no doubt that 39cpl is a absolutely realistic price for Co-ops to reach for December payments and the markets for the last quarter of 2023 prove as much.



Milk supplies are tight in exporting nations and if farmers are to be encouraged to produce long term, in the volumes that the Co-ops already know they will require, then prices that reflect a rising global market and demand have to be paid to the primary producers.



Our feeling is that if the Co-ops try to be smart about this and shortchange the farmers now then they will come to profoundly regret this later in the year.

Its up to the Co-ops to show their farmer-suppliers that they (the farmers) can produce on the basis that milk price is going to move up and past these stubbornly high inputs, Mr Murphy.



Noting the market trends since summer of 2023 and describing them as unmistakeable, Mr Murphy said that the GDT index is up over 20% since its lowest offering and European quotes for butter are up by almost a quarter in that same time period.

This translates into quotes on the European and Dutch auction returning equivalent farmgate prices of 42cpl for the different product mixes.



In fact, spot prices have been above the 40cpl mark since late October giving Co-ops and milk purchasers, according to Mr Murphy, ample opportunity to strike deals for their product.

Its up to the Co-ops to recognise those signals and act on them. They have to be bold and begin restoring the farmer confidence that has been so badly shaken by 18 months of cruel margin-squeeze and really damaging cave-in by the Irish Government to anti-dairy elements both here and in the EU.



That needs to start this moth and it needs to start by a decision to pay at least 39cpl for the milk supplied in December, concluded Mr Murphy.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. Armenia propagated a fake regarding the postponed visit of Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel to Azerbaijan, a diplomatic insider told Trend.

Armenians are attempting to spin it as a harbinger of a probable deterioration in relations between Azerbaijan and the EU. However, no specifics were offered.

According to reports, Mariya Gabriel's visit to Azerbaijan, where she was meant to attend an Azerbaijani-Bulgarian strategic dialogue conference set for January 24, has been postponed due to the country's pre-election proceedings.

Bulgarian-Azerbaijani cooperation is progressing rapidly. Bulgaria, in particular, has been getting Azerbaijani gas since 2021 under a 25-year contract with the Shah Deniz consortium, which was agreed in 2013.

Bulgaria's contracted gas purchases from the Shah Deniz gas field reached their peak in 2023, totaling 1 billion cubic meters annually.

Furthermore, in the fall of 2023, Bulgaria's government requested that the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) supply free amounts of gas.

Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Students from St Mels College in Deanscurragh, Longford visited ABPs stand at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition 2024 at the RDS in Dublin. This marks the tenth consecutive year that the company has been involved in the event.

ABP staff were on hand to discuss some of the benefits of beef with visitors. Attendees learned about some of the health benefits of eating beef, which is a source of protein and vitamins. The stand also showcased the sustainability credentials of Irish beef, and how its production supports communities all across the country.

This year ABP was sponsoring the new Sustainable Farming Practices category at the exhibition. The company has extensive experience with research in Irish agriculture including its demonstration farm in Carlow, which aims to help beef farmers reduce their carbon emissions.

ABP is one of Europes leading privately owned agribusiness companies. It is the largest beef processor in the UK and Ireland.

The company also operates substantial renewable (Olleco), pet food (C&D) and protein divisions. ABP employs over 11,000 people and has 47 manufacturing plants in the Ireland, UK, Denmark, Poland, Austria, Holland, France and Spain.
Students from Ballymahon Vocational School in Longford were announced as the overall winner of the ABP Sustainable Farming Practices Award at the 2024 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE) with their innovative project, Are cow collars worth the hype?.

Grace Cassells, Keira Hopkins and Lara Flood impressed judges with their innovative and forward-thinking project.

The project - Are cow collars worth the hype? - aimed to explore if cow collars can benefit farmers by reducing labour and improving cows health and well-being.

The new award category promotes sustainable innovation and excellence in agriculture.

The students were intrigued by the benefits of cow collars, and as part of the award submission they wanted to obtain a first-hand understanding of what farmers thought of these devices, and whether were they worth the hype.

The students examined the current labour input on Irish farms and the increasing age profile of Irish farmers.

For the tenth consecutive year, ABP has sponsored a category at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.

Stephen Connolly, Agriculture Sustainability Manager for ABP Ireland & Poland, said: On behalf of ABP, I would like to congratulate Grace Cassells, Keira Hopkins and Lara Flood on their innovative project, which has deservedly been recognised with this years Sustainable Farming Practices award. The award aims to encourage and celebrate the next generation of innovators who are dedicated to finding sustainable solutions for the challenges facing modern agriculture.

ABP has a long history in researching and promoting sustainable practices in Irish agriculture.

At its demonstration farm in Carlow, the company is working with Teagasc and ICBF to help beef farmers reduce their emissions. Trial results have shown the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of beef, by reducing the age of slaughter and through better genetics and better feed efficiency. Results from the trials n have been empirically tested and involve over 6,000 animals. The learnings are now being put to good use through exciting farmer initiatives such as the ABP Advantage Programme.

Prior to this, ABP sponsored the Farm Safety Award, which year-on-year has produced ground-breaking projects from students across the country.

The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is one of the largest and longest-running STEM events in the world with the 2024 exhibition being the 60th edition of the event.
Minister for Integration Roderic OGorman has said child asylum seekers were upset at scenes of protesters clashing with gardai as they were moved into an accommodation centre in Co Tipperary.

Scuffles broke out at the Racket Hall Hotel in Roscrea on Monday as protesters gathered while asylum seekers were being taken into the premises.

Demonstrators have been gathered outside the property since Thursday after news broke that the hotel was to be used to house asylum seekers.

Gardai, including members of the public order unit, formed a cordon at the entrance to the site while the international protection applicants were bussed to the hotel.

A man was arrested during the incident.

The building is to provide accommodation for around 160 applicants as the State struggles to house refugees,

Mr OGorman said the site would be used for families and single women.

The minister said women and children being accommodated at the hotel on Monday witnessed the clashes.

He said: My understanding is, from talking to my officials, that theyre settling in but it was a difficult enough experience, children were upset at seeing the scuffles, experiencing the violent tension as they arrived.

He said he respected the right to protest but added that people could express themselves in a way that doesnt impact on vulnerable people.

Mr OGorman said: I dont think it is ever acceptable to block peoples access to the place that theyre staying.

Speaking to RTE radio, he said some locals are motivated by concerns about the towns resources and that his department would be meeting local representatives to see how the region could be supported.

However, he added: I think we also recognise there are people who are travelling around the country  far-right activists  who are looking to stir up anti-immigrant sentiment.

Mr OGorman said he does not currently have plans to visit Roscrea personally.

The minister said he was bringing proposals to Cabinet that are more planned, more structured and more resourced.

He said this would involve building large reception centres, noting that continuing to use properties like Racket Hall was unsustainable.

Mr OGorman did not provide a figure for how many centres would be needed.

He said the Government was working on a robust communication campaign to tackle what he described as substantial myths about immigration.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said there are some questions he will discuss with Chinese premier Li Qiang during his visit to Ireland this week.

Chinas second most powerful politician after President Xi Jinping will meet Mr Varadkar for bilateral talks in Dublin on Wednesday.

He will arrive in the city later on Tuesday for his first visit.

He will also meet President Michael D Higgins at the Aras an Uachtarain on Wednesday morning.

During their working lunch at Farmleigh House, Mr Varadkar and Mr Li will discuss a number of issues including EU-China relations.

He will arrive on a Boeing 747 Max 8, which is the largest commercial aircraft ever to land at Dublin Airport, on Tuesday evening after speaking at the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum at Davos in Switzerland.

He was the first high-ranking Chinese government official to attend the annual gathering since Mr Xi in 2017.

Speaking hours ahead of the Chinese premiers visit to Dublin, Mr Varadkar said China is a very important political and economic power in the world.

Mr Varadkar added: Well greet the prime minister of China in Dublin tomorrow. Hes arriving today, thats an important visit.

China is a very important political and economic power in the world and becoming bigger all the time in that sense. So its important that we have good relations with China but also some questions we will need to talk about as well.

Mr Varadkar did not elaborate on the questions or issues he will raise with Mr Li.

However, Martin Murray, executive director of Ireland-Asia think tank Asia Matters, previously said he said he hopes the ban on beef exports to China will be on the table when the two leaders meet.

Beef exports from Ireland to China were suspended when a case of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) was discovered by Irish veterinary officials in November.
Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: January 16 2024

Peter Galantino kicked four-pound Yorkie named Mocha in March 2020; dog suffered skull fractures, liver fracture and broken ribs.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Hempstead man was convicted by a jury today of aggravated cruelty to animals for kicking a Yorkshire terrier and killing the animal in March 2020.

Peter Galantino, 62, was convicted by a jury today before Judge Howard Sturim of Aggravated Cruelty to Animals (an E felony), Overdriving, Torturing and Injuring Animals (an A misdemeanor) and Criminal Mischief in the Fourth Degree (an A misdemeanor). Upon conviction, the NCDA asked for $50,000 bail and Judge Sturim released the defendant on his own recognizance. Galantino is due back in court on March 19, 2024, and faces a potential maximum of two years in jail.

Openings in the trial occurred on January 4 and closings were January 10. The jury deliberated for approximately seven hours.

This defendant sadistically punted a four-pound Yorkie named Mocha and cracked the animals skull in two places, while fracturing her liver and three of her ribs, said DA Donnelly. Mocha bravely fought for her life, but the blunt force trauma was too much for her little body and she was put to sleep after suffering five heart attacks. Defendant Peter Galantino, during his trial testimony, blamed everyone but himself for what happened to Mocha. He deliberately kicked a defenseless animal, and, with todays verdict, a jury of his peers has found him guilty of aggravated animal cruelty. This office will aggressively prosecute anyone who harms animals.

DA Donnelly said that, according to the indictment and investigation, on March 14, 2020, a verbal confrontation ensued between Galantino, who was walking his dog, and a married couple that was walking two of their animals  a Yorkshire Terrier and a German Shepherd  in the Hempstead area. The defendants dog defecated on the street, and the married couple insisted that the defendant clean up after his dog. The confrontation escalated and Galantino kicked the couples Yorkie, named Mocha. According to Galantinos trial testimony, he needed to defend himself from the dog and he kicked it approximately six to seven feet.

The dog was left limp and unresponsive and taken to a nearby animal hospital. Mocha suffered a fractured liver, three rib fractures, and a skull fracture in two places. Approximately two-thirds of the dogs blood pooled in her abdomen due to internal bleeding. Mocha suffered five heart attacks and was euthanized after a recommendation from the veterinarian.

Galantino was arrested on March 24, 2020, by members of the Nassau County Police Department.
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: January 16 2024

Michael Owen was convicted in July of strangling death of Kelly Owen in Farmingdale.

Michael Owen (right), 30, has been sentenced to 25 years to life for killing his estranged wife, Kelly Owen (left), 27, in 2020. Photo Credit: NCPD

Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a St. James man was sentenced today to 25 years to life in prison for the murder of his estranged wife in January 2020.

Michael Owen, 30, was convicted of Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I felony) on July 28, 2023, at a trial before Judge Robert McDonald.

Michael Owen drove to his estranged wifes house on January 15, 2020, with the intention of killing her, said DA Donnelly. Kelly was a young mother and pregnant with Owens child at the time of her brutal murder. She worked with children and had dreams of becoming a nurse. Michael Owen stole those dreams, and now he will pay for his crimes in prison. Our thoughts remain with Kellys family as they continue to mourn her loss.

DA Donnelly said that on January 15, 2020, Kelly Owen was at her apartment on First Avenue in Farmingdale. The 27-year-old nursing student lived on the same property as her parents and shared custody of her then-six-year-old child with her husband, Michael, from whom she was separated. Kellys father walked the child to school that morning.

At the time, Kelly Owen worked as an aide at an aftercare program at a local elementary school between the hours of 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. When she did not show up for work, a co-worker called Kellys parents, and her parents discovered the womans lifeless body.

Kelly Owen was strangled with a rope-like object, and it was determined that she was in the early stages of pregnancy with Michael Owens child.

Video surveillance revealed that the defendants vehicle was in the victims neighborhood at approximately 9:30 that morning. Michael Owen  who was employed as a cell site technician  parked two blocks away from Kellys home and turned his phone off before arriving in Farmingdale, making his cellphone location undetectable.

DNA evidence from the defendant was discovered around the victims neck.

Michael Owen was arrested by members of the Nassau County Police Departments Homicide Squad on January 28, 2020.
Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: January 16 2024

Governor Unveils Balanced Budget with Record Investments, No Income Tax Increases.

Governor Kathy Hochul presents the Fiscal Year 2025 Executive Budget in the Red Room at the State Capitol. Photo Credit: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the highlights of the FY 2025 Budget. This budget reflects Governor Hochuls commitment to making New York more affordable, more livable and safer  while utilizing a fiscally responsible approach that keeps the State on a steady path for years to come.

This budget makes it clear that fiscal discipline can co-exist with progressive, people-driven policies, Governor Hochul said. I am committed to fight the right fights on behalf of New Yorkers, and to pursue the common good with common sense  by seeking common ground.

A Balanced Budget

Governor Hochuls FY 2025 Executive Budget includes significant investments to make New York more affordable, more livable and safer. All funds spending is $233 billion, growing 4.5 percent. Governor Hochul prioritized bolstering the States reserves, which currently sit at just over 15 percent of operating costs. Under Governor Hochuls leadership, New York State maintained a bond rating of AA+, reducing borrowing costs.

Improving Public Safety and Cracking Down on Crime

The FY 2025 Executive Budget makes targeted investments in initiatives that will strengthen efforts to keep New Yorkers safe. Spending for New York States public safety agencies includes:

$347 million investment in programs to prevent and reduce gun violence.

$290 million to restore the effectiveness of the continuum of the criminal justice system.

$120 million in victim assistance funding.

$40.2 million to address retail theft and bring relief to small businesses.

$40.8 million to reduce assaults with a focus on domestic violence.

$35 million for the next round of the Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes program.

$5 million for the Commercial Security Tax Credit to help business owners offset the costs of retail theft.

New legislation to strengthen the Cannabis Law, helping the Office of Cannabis Management and local governments seal or padlock unlicensed businesses.

Transforming the Mental Health Continuum of Care

New Yorks mental health system has been underfunded for decades, but the FY 2025 Executive Budget raises state investment up over 45 percent, from $3.3 billion in 2022 to $4.8 billion over the entire continuum of care. These investments include:

$55 million to create 200 new inpatient psychiatric beds.

$45 million for youth mental health including school-based services and peer-to-peer counseling.

$43 million to keep supportive housing units for people in need of mental health services.

$42.2 million to increase reimbursement for mental health treatment services.

$37 million to build new programs for unhoused individuals living with mental illness

$24 million to help people with mental health problems who are in the criminal justice system.

Record-Breaking Investments in Public Education

Since taking office, Governor Hochul has increased school funding by record amounts  a total of $6 billion over two years  and includes a proposal to ensure every school district utilizes instructional best practices grounded in the Science of Reading. This year, Governor Hochul is proposing the highest amount of school aid in New York States history:

$35.3 billion in total school aid, an increase of $825 million (2.4 percent) from FY24. This includes a $507 million increase in Foundation Aid.

$10 million to train 20,000 teachers and teaching assistants in best practices for evidence-based literacy instructional practices.

4-year extension of Mayoral Control over New York City public schools.

The Executive Budget continues to implement Governor Hochuls vision to transform the States public higher education system to become the best and most equitable statewide system of higher education in the country:

$1.2 billion for SUNY and CUNY capital projects.

$207 million for SUNY and CUNY operations.

$2.75 million for the SUNY Empire State Service Corps, offering students community service work opportunities.

$2.5 million for the operating costs of SUNYs participation in the Empire AI consortium.

$2 million for SUNYs role in NY SWIMS.

$1.5 million for the State Weather Risk Communication Center at the University at Albany.

Supporting New Yorks Health Care System

Health Care is the largest single expense in New York States budget. Governor Hochul is proposing record funding to keep New Yorkers healthy, while also setting the Medicaid program on sustainable long-term fiscal footing.

$35.5 billion for Medicaid, along with targeted and transformational changes to ensure the long-term solvency and sustainability of the Medicaid program.

$315 million to provide health insurance subsidies for individuals up to 350 percent of the federal poverty line enrolled in Qualified Health Plans.

$67 million from the Opioid Settlement Fund for harm reduction, prevention and recovery services.

$45 million for disability services and independent living opportunities.

$25 million to catalyze innovation in research and treatment for ALS and other rare diseases.

$6.7 million to become an employment first state for the disability community.

The Executive Budget Includes $7.5 billion in funding over the next three years ($6 billion Federal, $1.5 billion state) through an amendment to New Yorks Medicaid Section 1115 Demonstration program to support a comprehensive series of actions to advance health equity, reduce health disparities, and strengthen access to primary and behavioral health care across the state.

Makes available capital support and provides regulatory flexibilities to help transform safety net hospitals to achieve sustainability.

To advance health equity, reduce health disparities, and support the delivery of social care.

To incentivize continued delivery system transformation, improve population health and quality, improve the integration of services, and advance health-related social need (HRSN) services.

The waiver also includes $550 million in annual funding to support the transition of distressed providers to a new model of care utilizing global budgeting.

Promoting Economic Growth and Opportunity Continued investment in New Yorks economic recovery is a key component of the FY 2025 Executive Budget. Governor Hochuls economic development vision focuses on industries where innovation is vital to success leading to the advancement of regional economic priorities through strategic investments in communities across the state.

$500 million in capital resources to support the States $1 billion commitment to expand and modernize the NY CREATES Albany NanoTech Complex.

$200 million for the One Network for Regional Advanced Manufacturing Partnerships (ON-RAMP) initiative to establish a network of four new workforce development centers along the I-90 corridor in upstate New York

$100 million for the FAST NY program to develop shovel-ready sites to ensure New Yorks continued attractiveness to large employers and high-tech manufacturing companies.

$50 million for the Restore New York Communities Initiative to remove blight, reinvigorate downtowns, and generate economic opportunity in communities statewide.

$150 million in new capital grants and $75 million in new Excelsior tax credits to fund projects coordinated and planned by Regional Economic Development Councils.

$100 million for another round of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative.

$100 million for New York Forward to support the states rural communities.

$275 million to support the to support the Empire AI Initiative over multiple years, complemented by more than $125 million in multi-year financial commitments from private partners.

$56.5 million for tourism and advertising campaigns.

$50 million to support an additional round of NYSCA's grant program for capital projects of all sizes at arts organizations across the state.

Safer Roads, Better Transit

The FY 2025 Executive Budget includes investments to continue road, bridge and safety improvement across New York including:

$7.9 billion in State operating aid for the MTA, which Governor Hochul saved from the fiscal cliff in last years budget.

$7.6 billion for the third year of the five-year $32.9 billion Department of Transportation Capital Plan, the largest in New Yorks history.

$577.8 million in funding for the Consolidated Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) and the Marchiselli Program.

$551 million for non-MTA transit in the downstate region.

$323 million for transit systems in upstate New York.

$100 million for the Pave our Potholes (POP) Program

$45 million for engineering on the Interborough Express

$16 million to move forward with the planning of the Second Avenue Subway extension to Broadway.

Introducing a comprehensive safety package to address the remaining legislative recommendations from the Stretch Limousine Passenger Safety Task Force.

Fighting Climate Change and Promoting Resiliency

New Yorks climate goals are among the most ambitious in the nation. The FY 2025 Executive Budget proves Governor Hochuls commitment to taking decisive action, meeting the scale and urgency of the climate crisis while growing our economy and protecting consumers.

The Executive Budget includes proposals that will accelerate New Yorks transition to clean energy. The Affordable Gas Transition Act will protect utility customers from bearing the cost of unwarranted investments in fossil fuel infrastructure and establish new rules and guidelines applying to the extension of gas service in alignment with the Climate Act. The Executive Budget also includes the Renewable Action Through Project Interconnection and Deployment (RAPID) Act, which will create a one-stop-shop for the environmental review and permitting of major renewable energy and transmission facilities within the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES), streamlining the siting of green infrastructure necessary to meet the State's climate goals. The Executive Budget also includes a proposal to expand the Climate Smart Communities program by increasing the maximum grant award to help localities meet the economic, social, and environmental challenges posed by climate change.

The Executive Budget includes:

$500 million for clean water over two years.

$435 million into resiliency projects to protect communities from severe floods, including $250 million for a voluntary buyout program.

$400 million for the Environmental Protection Fund.

$100 million for the State Superfund Program.

$160 million invested in invested in NY SWIMS to address the disinvestment in swimming facilities and lifeguards in underserved communities and an additional $446 million to invest in our State parks and pools.

$47 million to plant over to plant over 25 million trees across New York by 2033, as announced in the Governors 2024 State of the State Address.

Addressing the Migrant and Asylum Seeker Crisis

Ever since migrants and asylum seekers first began arriving in New York City in record numbers, Governor Hochul has taken a leading role helping the City manage this crisis.

After allocating $1.9 billion over the past fiscal year for this issue, Governor Hochul will increase State support of the Citys efforts to $2.4 billion. This includes $500 million drawn from the States reserves which are intended for use during one-time emergencies.

Continued Focus on Housing

Governor Hochuls FY 2025 Executive Budget includes initiatives to address the housing crisis throughout New York.

Require that localities receive Pro-Housing Community certification to access up to $650 million in state discretionary funding

$500 million in capital funds dedicated to developing up to 15,000 housing units on state-owned property.

Legislation to increase the housing supply in New York City including new tax incentives, authority for the city to lift outdated residential density restrictions where appropriate, incentives to encourage affordable housing in office conversions, and a path toward legalizing basement and cellar apartments

Legislation to increase protections for affordable housing providers by prohibiting insurance carriers from raising premiums on property owners based on tenant source of income, the existence of affordable housing units, or the receipt of government assistance

Legislation to protect homeowners by creating a clear definition of the crime of deed theft to help enhance enforcement and other measures to prevent against this heinous crime

Strengthening and Promoting Agriculture

New investments in New Yorks agriculture industry and climate resilience.
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: January 16 2024

DNA from Heuermann's daughters discarded energy drink can helped tie him to the slayings, DA says.

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced on Tuesday that Massapequa Park resident Rex Heuermann, the man who has been charged with the murders of three sex workers on Gilgo Beach, New York, has been charged with a fourth killing after evidence in the form of DNA from his daughter's discarded energy drink can assisted in tying the suspect to the killings.

Heuermann, 59, made national headlines when he was arrested on July 13, 2023, as a suspect in the Gilgo Beach case; he was charged the following day in the murders of three of "the Gilgo Four" victims: Amber Lynn Costello, 27, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, and Megan Waterman, 22.

On Tuesday, DA Tierney unsealed additional charges against Heuermann at the Suffolk County Courthouse in Riverhead, tying him to the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, a fourth woman whose remains were discovered near Gilgo Beach; Heuermann was already the prime suspect in her death.

Tierney noted that Heuermann may have have been responsible for other victims discovered at Gilgo Beach, although he is not currently suspected in the deaths of all 11 individuals whose remains have been discovered there between the years of 1996 and 2011.

Heuermann, who attended Tuesday's court appearance, pleaded not guilty to the new charges. Also in attendance was Asa Ellerup, his estranged wife who filed for divorce after her husband was initially charged in July.

Heuermann's attorney, Michael Brown, later said at a news briefing that his client intended to prove his innocence in a court of law.

Hes looking forward to fighting these charges and were doing that, Brown said.

DA Tierney also held a news conference after the new charges were unsealed, saying that the fourth victim, suspected sex worker Maureen Brainard-Barnes, was a good person who was mounred by her family, including a daughter who was only 7 years-old at the time of her disappearance.

"She was a devoted sister, mother, daughter," Tierney said. "She is sorely missed by those that loved her. It has been an honor and a privilege to work these cases and provide that small measure of closure for the family members."

According to court documents released by the DA 's office Tuesday, Heuermann was tied to Brainard-Barnes' murder via hair discovered on the buckle of one of his belts.

The documents also noted other evidence that authorities used to implicate the former NYC architect to the killings he has been accused of, including cellphone data, DNA obtained from a discarded slice of pizza, and even DNA from a can of Java Monster energy drink discarded by his 26-year-old daughter after undercover officers followed her onto a Long Island Rail Road train.

The documents also revealed other disturbing information about Heuermann, including an internet search history on his computers rife with violent, bondage, and torture pornography, in addition to numerous searches related to prostitution.

Heuermann is due back in court on February 6.
The Iranian backed Houthis have launched at least three attacks on international shipping and a United States warship after the U.S. and the United Kingdom targeted Houthi offensive capabilities over the weekend. The Houthis have vowed to continue attacks and singled out U.S. and U.K. shipping.

Today, a anti-ship ballistic missile launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen struck the Merchant Vessel Gibraltar Eagle, U.S. Central Command reported. The M/V Gibraltar Eagle was not significantly damaged and no casualties were reported. Two hours earlier, the Houthis launched an anti-ship ballistic missile towards the Red Sea, however the missile failed in flight and impacted on land in Yemen, according to CENTCOM.

On Jan. 14, the Houthis launched an anti-ship cruise missile at the USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer, however the missile was shot down by U.S. fighter aircraft patrolling the region.

The Houthis have conducted at least 30 attacks on international shipping and coalition warships since Nov. 19, 2023, according to figures released by CENTCOM. The attacks have forced a significant percentage of merchant vessels to bypass the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, and take a longer, more costly route around the Horn of Africa.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree vowed that attacks in the Red Sea and the Bab Al Mandeb Strait would continue until Israel ended military operations and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted. The Houthis, which are hostile to both the U.S. and Israel, are part of Irans Axis of Resistance and are attacking shipping as part of Irans goal of forcing Israel to prematurely end operations against Hamas as well as drive U.S. forces from the region.

The Houthis also said that it consider all American and British ships and warships participating in the aggression against our country as hostile targets within the target bank of our forces, and vowed that a a response to the American and British attacks is inevitably coming.

The U.S. and U.K., backed by several other countries, attacked Houthi missile launch sites, airfields, weapons storage facilities and air defense sites on Jan. 11 as part of an effort designed to degrade capability and try and restore deterrence, a Western official told PBS Newshours Nick Schifrin. The Jan. 11 strikes were followed by a small secondary strike on Jan. 13.

Attacks on Houthi sites have since ceased, indicating that the U.S. and U.K. led coalition is not conducting a campaign to destroy Houthi capabilities, but is hoping to deter Houthis from conducting future attacks. The Houthi response indicates that deterrence has not been restored.

Joe Truzman is a research analyst at FDD's Long War Journal focused primarily on Palestinian militant groups and Hezbollah. Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.
An IDF tank in Gaza at sunset. (IDF)

The Israel Defense Forces published extensive data collected from the last three months of fighting Hamas in Gaza. The data also includes information on the threats Israel has faced from Hezbollah and Iranian-backed terrorist groups in Syria. This information is released as Israel is transitioning its Gaza operations into lower intensity conflict and bringing home some of the reservists who had fought for more than 90 days against Hamas.

The IDF data is mostly relevant for the dates October 7 to January 9, covering three months of war. The IDF says it has struck 30,000 targets in Gaza, including 22,000 targets that were struck by December 10, illustrating that the number of targets struck did not decline greatly in the last weeks of December. However, the size or quality of the targets may have changed. 750 targets have been struck in what Israel calls the northern arena. This includes Lebanon and may also include Syria, although the IDF does not specify. The IDF has waged a campaign between the wars in Syria over the last decade, and has not often specified the number of targets struck there. The number struck in Syria is in the thousands according to details released in 2019.

In Gaza, the IDF has eliminated an estimated 9,000 terrorists, according to the new data. This includes 19 Hamas battalion commanders and over 50 Hamas company commanders. This would appear to mean that Hamas has lost a significant number of its mid-level commanders, but Hamas still has up to 20,000 fighters in Gaza. Hamas has lost control of northern Gaza and parts of central and southern Gaza. In strikes on Hezbollah and other terrorist groups in the north, the IDF estimates it has eliminated 170 terrorists. More than 9,000 rockets have crossed into Israel from Gaza. Some rockets do not launch properly and fall inside Gaza, meaning the real number of rockets launched by Hamas and other terror groups is likely higher. There have also been 2,000 rockets launched into Israel from Lebanon and 30 from Syria since October 7. The data on Lebanon does not distinguish between rocket fire and anti-tank missile fire, and a lot of the munitions used by Hezbollah have been ATGMs.

The IDF also says that 522 soldiers have been killed since the war began, 188 of them since ground operations began on October 27. A total of 2,536 IDF soldiers have been injured, 388 of them severely. More than 400 IDF soldiers are still in Israeli hospitals due to their injuries.

The data set was released as the IDF continued to fight on multiple fronts. In Khan Younis in Gaza, the IDF said it identified two terrorists on January 15 and called in an air strike to eliminate them. In another incident the IDF found a compound for manufacturing mortar shells and producing rockets in the area of Nuseirat in central Gaza.

Threats to Israel continued from Lebanon. On January 14, two civilians were killed in Israel by anti-tank missile fire. The IDF also identified a group of terrorists along the Lebanese border seeking to infiltrate the Mount Dov area. This area includes a mountain on the Lebanon-Israel-Syria border. Hezbollah claims the area is part of Lebanon and has often threatened Israeli forces patrolling the mountain. IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said IDF soldiers guarding the Har Dov area for the past three months identified a terrorist cell that had infiltrated from Lebanese territory. The soldiers acted professionally, under challenging weather conditions and limited visibility, engaged the enemy, and eliminated the three terrorists. The terrorists were found with AK-47s and grenades.

While the threats in the north and in Gaza are now known to Israel, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned on January 14 that Israel may also face escalation in the West Bank: Hamas is trying to tie Gaza, and Judea and Samaria, and to ignite the arena. We must do everything possible to prevent this, he said.

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.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. The Azerbaijani people, by participating in the presidential election, will express their trust and vote for their happy future, a Turkish political expert, Professor Hasan Oktay told Azerbaijan's Central Election Commission (CEC), Trend reports.

He said the holding of elections is necessary to continue improving the governance and security concepts of the region.

The professor connected the holding of the extraordinary presidential election in Azerbaijan with the new realities that arose after the 2020 second Karabakh war.

Azerbaijan, having achieved a glorious victory, liberated its territories from occupation. As a logical continuation of this, it fully restored its sovereignty by carrying out anti-terror measures of a local nature in September 2023. This factor gave rise to a new positive trend in the realities of the region. Based on these realities, the announcement of an extraordinary election was an absolutely correct and logical decision, Oktay emphasized.

On December 7, 2023, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree calling for an extraordinary presidential election in the country on February 7, 2024.

On December 19, the CEC approved the candidacy of Ilham Aliyev, nominated by the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP), for participation in the extraordinary presidential election.

A total of 17 candidates have been registered to run in the extraordinary presidential election. Azerbaijan has seven registered presidential candidates.

Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Arendt has opened an office in Frankfurt, from where it will advise clients on Luxembourg-related matters, the Kirchberg-based law firm announced on Monday.

The new representative office will provide expertise on Luxembourg law, tax, regulatory, consulting and investor services. Arendts representative offices serve as a communication channel between clients abroad and the Luxembourg firm, but do not engage in local law matters.

The Frankfurt office is set to become the main contact point for German-speaking clients and clients interested in presenting products for the German market, Arendt said in a press release.

Arendt opened the branch to be closer to clients, a spokesperson told the Luxembourg Times.

We are also looking forward to strengthening our ties even further with our peers from major international and local law firms and continue to serve them with respect to all Luxembourg matters, the Frankfurt Head of Office, Constanze Jacobs, said in the statement.

Arendt also has representative offices in Hong Kong, London, New York and Paris.

The law firm employs 450 legal experts and lawyers, of which a third are German speakers.

It made a profit of 1.7 million for the financial year 2022-23 which ended in March, Luxembourgs company register shows.
European Parliament Vice President Marc Angel (second from right) gestures on Monday as fellow parliamentarian Isabel-Wiseler Lima (left), Luxembourg Family Affairs Minister Max Hahn (second from left) and MEP Tilly Metz (right) promote voting in Junes European elections.

European Parliament Vice President Marc Angel (second from right) gestures on Monday as fellow parliamentarian Isabel-Wiseler Lima (left), Luxembourg Family Affairs Minister Max Hahn (second from left) and MEP Tilly Metz (right) promote voting in Junes European elections.  Photo credit: Chris Karaba

European Parliament Vice President Marc Angel (second from right) gestures on Monday as fellow parliamentarian Isabel-Wiseler Lima (left), Luxembourg Family Affairs Minister Max Hahn (second from left) and MEP Tilly Metz (right) promote voting in Junes European elections.  Photo credit: Chris Karaba

A leading Luxembourg politician in Brussels is urging a strong voter turnout for EU elections in June to stem the growth of right-wing political power.

We must explain the risk of the far right coming to power when it governs with the center, European Parliament Vice-President Marc Angel said on Monday.

The socialist lawmaker also warned of increasing disinformation campaigns to discredit the EU, brushing off claims like one that bureaucrats decide the proper size of vegetables, Virgule reported.

Also read:

All change at top of EU politics in 2024

Angel made the comments as he and other Luxembourg members of the European Parliament joined Family Affairs Minister Max Hahn to encourage voting in the European elections on 9 June.

Luxembourgers are automatically registered on the electoral lists.

Citizens of all EU member states can cast ballots in Luxembourg if they register on the electoral rolls via www.guichet.lu or with their municipal administration by 15 April. EU citizens living in Luxembourg could alternatively vote in their home country and need to contact their embassy or consulate for details, the Grand Duchys government said on Monday.

Also read:

EU backs Luxembourg's limit on foreigners in elections

About eight in ten residents without Luxembourg citizenship come from an EU member state, Hahn said. Only 13.2% of residents are currently registered to vote, up from 11.7% after the 2019 European elections, his ministry said.

An awareness-raising campaign by the ministry includes posters, leaflets, signs at public transport shelters, a website in five languages, video testimonials and a social media barrage.

(This story was originally published by Virgule. Translation and additional reporting by Emery P. Dalesio)
New prime minister Luc Frieden says country will stand side-by-side with Ukraine, in first meeting with president Volodymr Zelensky

Luxembourg will continue to stand side-by-side with Ukraine, Prime Minister Luc Frieden told the countrys president Volodymyr Zelensky during their first meeting on Tuesday.

It was important for me as the new head of government to tell Ukraine that we stand by their side and will continue to stand [by them], Frieden told the Luxemburger Wort after the meeting of the two leaders during the World Economic Forum in the Swiss city of Davos.

Frieden emphasised that he had assured Zelensky that Luxembourg could well understand what it means when a country is invaded by a large neighbour, because our ancestors, our grandparents experienced that in the Second World War.

I told him that we will support Ukraine politically, militarily and also economically, said Luxembourgs prime minister, who took office following elections in October.

Luxembourg currently spends 16% of its defence budget on supporting Ukraine, although a deal for an EU aid package worth 50 billion recently collapsed due to resistance from Hungary. In an interview with Politico on Tuesday, Frieden said he wanted to get to know [Hungarys prime minister] Viktor Orban better and help build bridges between Brussels and Budapest.

Zelensky, who addressed Luxembourgs parliament during the tenure of the previous prime minister Xavier Bettel, thanked the country for its support and assistance with refugees, in a message on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

The Ukrainian leader also invited Luxembourg to take part in preparation for a planned peace summit on the future of his country.

In the run-up to the World Economic Forum, more than 80 countries and international organisations discussed Ukraines proposals for lasting peace.

A ten-point plan from Kyiv calls for the withdrawal of all Russian troops, punishment of Russian war criminals, legal responsibility for Moscow politicians and officers responsible for the war, reparations and security guarantees.



(This story was originally published by Luxemburger Wort. Translation and additional reporting by John Monaghan)
Employees to be given additional day off to compensate for two public holidays falling on 9 May

Luxembourg workers will receive an additional day off this year, due to two public holidays falling on the same day on May 9

Luxembourg workers will receive an additional day off this year, due to two public holidays falling on the same day on May 9  Photo credit: Shutterstock

Luxembourg workers will receive an additional day off this year, due to two public holidays falling on the same day on May 9  Photo credit: Shutterstock

Luxembourg workers are set to benefit from an additional holiday this year, after parliament approved an extra days annual leave to be granted to employees as compensation for two public holidays falling on the same day in May.

Europe Day and Ascension Day, which are both public holidays in Luxembourg, will be celebrated on Thursday, 9 May.

Also read:

How to use 28 days leave to get 63 days off in 2024

Employees who find themselves working on the day will be given a day in lieu, as well as payment at Sunday rates, according to the law passed by the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday.

Workers who are due to be off on 9 May will be given an additional days leave, to be taken within three months, the legislation states.

(This story was originally published by Virgule. Translation and additional reporting by John Monaghan)
Manchester, VT (05254)

Today

Cloudy skies. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Temps nearly steady in the mid to upper 30s. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Variably cloudy with snow showers. Low 27F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 50%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev participated in the ceremony for the commissioning of the drinking water supply systems in the city of Neftchala, Trend reports.

Chairman of the Azerbaijan State Water Reserves Agency Zaur Mikayilov briefed the head of state on the project.

The reconstruction project for the drinking water supply and sewage systems in Neftchala is funded by the state budget. Geared towards the development perspective until 2035 for the Neftchala region, the project aims to enhance the drinking water supply for 89,000 people.

Thanks to the newly created infrastructure, the problem of providing drinking water to 39 residential settlements along with the city of Neftchala grappling with water scarcity has been effectively addressed. In an effort to enhance water supply for a total of 17 residential settlements, including the remaining 11 in Neftchala district and 6 villages in Salyan district, a comprehensive project has been initiated. This project involves the construction of a 76-kilometer-long pipeline, a reservoir with a capacity of 7500 cubic meters, and a water pumping station.

Presently, 64 kilometers of the water pipeline have been laid, and construction activities for the reservoirs and pumping stations are currently in progress.

President Ilham Aliyev launched the drinking water supply systems in the city of Neftchala.
More than 100 flights have been canceled at Boston Logan International Airport on Tuesday as of just before 1 p.m. as another snowstorm overtakes the entire state.

The airport had issued a warning at 8:20 a.m. on Jan. 16, that due to weather, flights will be impacted.

Passengers were advised to check with their airlines before heading to the airport, and could check their flight status by checking the Boston Logan status page on the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) site.

The Federal Aviation Administration, or the FAA, said about an hour later at 9:42 a.m. that snow may lead to delays at Boston Logan.

As of just before 1 p.m., just over 100 flights in and out of the airport had been cancelled, according to tracking site FlightAware.com. In addition, more than 290 flights were delayed at that time.

Republic Airways, Cape Air and United Airlines were the airlines with the most cancellations, while JetBlue, Delta and Republic Airways were the top-three delayed airlines as of just after noon, the site showed.

In the Boston area, snow is expected to begin changing by early afternoon on Tuesday to a wintry mix of rain, freezing rain or sleet, according to National Weather Service forecasters.

Read more: Speed limit reduced on all of Massachusetts Turnpike during snowstorm

The mix will then go back to snow before tapering off between 5 and 7 p.m., forecasters said, and the weather service is warning evening commuters to plan on slippery road conditions in the evening.

Jennifer Mehigan, Massports media relations director, stated the flight impacts expected today were not only due to the snow falling in Massachusetts  weather-related ground stops in Chicago and New York may also impact Logan flights.
Worcesters UMass Memorial Health and Milford Regional Medical Center have signed a definitive agreement for corporate affiliation, the companies announced Tuesday.

Milford Regional is a 148-bed, nonprofit, acute care facility that serves over 20 towns with more than 300 primary care and specialty physicians, a statement from UMass Memorial Health said. In 2015, it opened a 78,000-square-foot building that houses a new emergency department, intensive care unit and private patient rooms.

Read more: New studies look at Springfield public health and growing good foods

Both medical centers have had a strong collaboration since 1991, the statement read. This was when Milford Regional Medical Center became the first hospital to be clinically affiliated with UMass Memorial Medical Center.

Following a $15-million operating loss in 2023, among several years of losses, a deal with UMass Memorial was on the horizon to overcome financial straits and grow patient care in needed areas, Worcester Business Journal reported.

We are excited to take this step forward in the process to form a corporate affiliation with Milford Regional, which will build upon UMass Memorials longstanding collaboration with this exceptional organization, said UMass Memorial Health President and Chief Executive Officer Eric Dickson in the statement.

The agreement was in the works since September 2023, in which a non-binding letter of intent made it possible to explore the possibility of corporate affiliation, the statement read.

Together, (UMass Memorial) and Milford Regional will be better positioned to provide outstanding care to patients and support the health and wellbeing of communities across Central Massachusetts, Dickson said in the statement.

Milford Regional and UMass Memorial Health leaders anticipate the regulatory approval process to take nine months, the statement said. If approved, Milford Regional Medical Center and Milford Regional Physician Group will formerly join the UMass Memorial Health system.

Read more: Los cuidadores de Baystate Health brindan consejos para una mejor salud en 2024

UMass Memorial and Milford Regional said in the statement that the core tenets of the affiliation agreement include:
WEST SPRINGFIELD  Residents and families are pursuing a petition to reverse the School Committees Jan. 9 vote to close the Mittineague Elementary school.

In an interview, Town Councilor Michael J. LaFlamme said his constituents from District 2 have expressed deep concerns about the transparency of the entire process. The closure comes as a drastic change, he said.

The issue (for families) is that there is lots of confusion, and the process is moving too fast, LaFlamme said.

An outside review of West Springfields enrollment and school building conditions found that it would be fiscally irresponsible to continue to operate the Mittineague and John Ashley elementary schools.

Earlier this month, the School Committee voted 4-2 to close the school.

The public hearing was in December, a vote was taken in January, the holidays were in between, and next month we are supposed to vote on recommending a statement of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority. We dont know much about the plan, and we have to do this by April, LaFlamme said. It is worth it to slow down and take a year to get public input and pose it as a ballot question to gauge where public interest is.

According to the town charter, after the Town Council or School Committee votes to approve a measure, a petition signed by 12% of voters within 30 days would force the council or committee to take another look, LaFlamme said.

If it is not rescinded after a second vote of confirmation, the Town Council could then call for a ballot question at a special election to be held during the next general election, LaFlamme said. The next is in the fall.

According to official election results previously provided from the town clerk, there were about 20,110 voters in West Springfield registered during the last election. About 12% of registered voters means approximately 2,400 signatures are needed for the reconsideration, LaFlamme told The Republican.

LaFlamme said so far only one resident has spoken to him in support of the closure. Additionally, he said residents wanted more input in the process.

A survey would have been a great way to garner the towns opinion. When retail marijuana was proposed, there were two votes and a survey to solicit public interest. One vote was in 2016, where it was on the ballot, and when the second vote came to the Town Council, Mayor William C. Reichelt put out a survey and got public response, he said.

Reichelt, the chair of the School Committee, School Committee member Kira Thompson and parents are now heading a transition team that will meet within the next couple of weeks. LaFlamme said he was asked to be part of the group but declined the offer.

I did not feel that it was the right message to send out to parents.  I stand with the families, he said. This will have a huge impact on ... West Springfield schools.

In a previous statement, Reichelt said, while he understands that parents are disheartened, there will never be a right time to close a school. The School Committee has a responsibility to the entire district, and the recommendations will improve education in West Springfield, he said.

Julie LaBarre is one of 320 members in the We are Mittineague public Facebook group. According to LaBarre, the group found the path forward after speaking with LaFlamme.

Bottom line, we simply want to keep our neighborhood schools, LaBarre wrote on Jan. 14. Let the residents decide the future structure of our elementary schools.

The groups next steps are to collect signatures of registered voters, work on how to break down neighborhoods and districts, and develop a schedule for members to stand at public locations to gather the required names.

This effort is timeboxed, so we will need to do this over the next handful of weeks.  We are looking for folks to engage with us on this effort, LaBarre wrote.

LaBarre further said questions still linger with families around moving students out of Mittineague by redrawing boundary lines, and then reopening the building for use as a universal full-day preschool.

Group members also raised concerns about moving younger students into the building that they understand is not compliant with The Americans with Disabilities Act.

Other concerns include impact on property values, busing, fire safety guidelines and the effects redistricting will have on other school populations.
Stranger Things actor Noah Schnapp has broken his silence after fans were calling for a boycott of the shows upcoming season because of comments he made about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In a TikTok video posted on Tuesday, Jan. 16, the 19-year-old said that he has felt that his comments surrounding the conflict have been so far misconstrued by people on social media.

Ive had many open discussions with friends from Palestinian backgrounds and I think those are very important conversations to have, Schnapp said. One of the takeaways Ive had is that we all hope for the same thing. That being those innocent people still being held hostage in Gaza to be returned to their families, and equally hope for an end to the loss of innocent life in Palestine.

The Jewish American actor came under fire when shared a message to his Instagram saying how he was heartbroken over the murders of innocent civilians by Hamas

The Palestinian militant group invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, firing rockets into the country, storming southern Israeli cities and towns across the border of the Gaza Strip and killing innocent citizens.

The attack killed around 1,200 people and saw some 250 others initially taken hostage by Hamas, according to The Associated Press. Palestinian authorities said the death toll in the Gaza Strip has passed 24,000, the news outlet reported on Monday, Jan. 15.

Read More: Hamas militant group launches unprecedented operation against Israel with rockets and infiltration

I hope we can agree that Hamas are a recognized terrorist organization, Schnapp said. They dont represent the Palestinian people when they value murdering Israelis more than protecting their own.

However it was the line that read, You either stand with Israel or you stand with terrorism that appeared to have caused an uproar. In the TikTok video, Schnapp clarified that he does not support the killing of people on either side of the conflict.

I only want peace and safety and security for all innocent people affected by this conflict, Schnapp said. I think anyone with any ounce of humanity would hope for an end to the hostility on both sides. I stand against any killing of any innocent people and I hope you guys all do too.

People were even more upset after a video of the 19-year-old actor surfaced on social media not long after the Oct. 7 attack.

In the video, which was posted by PopCrave on Nov. 13, Schnapp is seen smiling, laughing, and recording those around him who held up stickers reading Zionism Is Sexy and Hamas Is Isis.

The video of Schnapp drew criticism from viewers with one person commenting, This shows that he really doesnt care about anyones lives.

I just hope to one day see those two groups be able to live harmoniously together in that region and I hope for 2024 online to see people be a little more understanding and compassionate and recognize that were all human, Schnapp said in the Jan. 16 TikTok. We are all human and we are all the same and we should all love each other for that and support each other and stand together.

Many fans of Stranger Things were upset that Schnapp, who plays Will Beyers in the popular Netflix show, would be returning in season five of the show. The production for the final season of Stranger Things was announced on Monday, Jan. 8 with a photo of the cast on Instagram, including Schnapp.

They have taken NO action against him. Im appalled. Completely and utterly appalled, one X user said. I will not be watching season 5 and I urge everyone else to do the same.

Schnapp isnt the only member of the Stranger Things team who has been criticized for his comments on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Actors Brett Gelman and Cara Buono, who play Murray Bauman and Karen Wheeler, respectively, have also been criticized. Additionally, producer Shawn Levy and the Duffer Brothers, who created the show, have also come under fire by fans.

We will be boycotting the writers, Noah Schnapp and Brett Gelman being Zionists, another X user said. I hope this season flops so hard they never get a job again.

The upcoming season marks the last for Stranger Things, which has become one of Netflixs flagship series since it debuted in 2016. It has received numerous nominations and awards and has inspired an animated spin-off series that is currently in development, according to Variety.
A second man has been arrested in connection with an armed robbery of a butcher shop in Milford that happened a week ago, according to the Milford Police Department.

Lucas Morreira Fontenelle, 21, of Framingham, was taken into custody at the Holiday Inn Express on Fortune Boulevard at 10:50 p.m. on Jan. 15, police said.

Fontenelle was connected with an armed robbery of Aroma Brazil on Jan. 9 after an investigation and surveillance by the Milford Police Detective Bureau, police said. The 21-year-old was taken into custody at the hotel Monday without incident.

Just hours earlier and during a prolonged standoff with officers at his home, Daniel Generoso, 26, was also arrested in connection with the armed robbery at 2:30 p.m., police said.

His arrest followed an investigation by the Milford Police Detective Bureau and its department, along with members of the SWAT team from the Central Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council and subsequent search warrant, police said.

State and Hopedale police assisted Milford by shutting down West Street, or Route 140, between Prospect and Asylum streets, which was first announced at 2:26 p.m. Monday.

The investigation into the case is ongoing, police said.
If you plan to vote in the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary, you will want to check your voter registration.

Voters will have a chance to head to the polls on Tuesday, Jan. 23, and vote to select the Republican Party nominee for president. Former President Donald Trump already has a head-start with an overwhelming victory after the Iowa caucus on Monday.

Read more: Trump wins Iowa caucuses in crucial victory at the outset of the Republican presidential campaign

But can Democratic and independent voters, if they so choose, vote in the GOP primary?

Registered independent voters can take part in the primary voting process so long as they choose which partys primary to vote in, according to the New Hampshire Secretary of States website. Democratic voters who choose to vote in the GOP primary need to have switched their party registration, a deadline which passed on Oct. 6.

Independents who vote on a party ballot in a presidential primary become registered members of that party, the secretary of states website said. This is the case unless undeclared voters fill out a card or sign a list to return to being undeclared with polling place supervisors.

Democratic and Republican voters cannot vote in the other partys primary, yet they can write-in the name of any candidate they want. However, these votes will not count toward a write-in candidates overall vote if they are indeed in the race, according to New Hampshire Public Radio.

While President Joe Biden is the incumbent president and is seeking a second term, the Democratic Party and New Hampshire started 2024 squaring off over whether or not the primary mattered.

This resulted in New Hampshires state attorney general issuing a cease-and-desist order to the National Democratic Committee Rules and Bylaws Committee after it sent a letter to the state party to educate the public that the primary was meaningless.

The attorney generals office said that the Rules and Bylaws Committee calling the primary meaningless were false, deceptive, and misleading.

This comes a year after Biden directed the Democratic National Committee to overhaul the primary calendar and place South Carolina ahead of New Hampshire, NBC News reported. The effort failed and the party will not recognize the Democratic primarys results, especially with Biden prohibited from the ballot according to party rules.

In New Hampshire, Trump holds a 43.5% aggregate lead over former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley at 30.6%, according to FiveThirtyEight. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis trails at 5.4% in third place.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. A meeting of a press group under the Central Election Commission (CEC) has been held in connection with the extraordinary presidential election scheduled for February 7 in Azerbaijan, Trend reports, referring to the CEC.

During the meeting attended by CEC members, representatives of relevant media structures within the group, and an international observer, information about the progress of pre-election campaigning related to the presidential election was presented.

It was noted that the pre-election campaigning began on January 15 and will conclude 24 hours before the start of voting. Seven candidates nominated by various political parties and those participating independently are involved in the election.

Besides, it was emphasized that all necessary opportunities and conditions have been provided for conducting pre-election campaigning. For instance, presidential candidates and the political parties from which they are registered are allocated 139 open and 139 closed venues for meetings with voters - a total of 278 venues in 125 electoral districts. In these venues, which are free of charge for all campaign subjects, meetings with voters can be held without obtaining any authorization, merely by notifying the relevant district election commission to avoid overlapping with meetings of other candidates and political parties.

The Electoral Code also establishes the possibility of using other venues not prohibited by law. If requested by candidates, the provision of other venues by the district electoral commissions, in cooperation with local institutions, is envisaged, respecting the principle of equality and on an equal basis for all subjects of the electoral campaign.

It was also emphasized that during this election, in addition to "Azerbaijan," "Khalq," and "Bakinskiy Rabochiy" newspapers, the publication is provided in "Respublika," and thus the number of periodicals in which election campaigning can be carried out free of charge has been increased to four. The receipt and fulfillment of 44 media requests for pre-election promotion on a paid basis is an indicator of the high activity of the media in the upcoming election as compared to previous years.

In addition, it was noted that Public Television (ITV) allocated 6 hours of free airtime per week, which is twice the amount stipulated by law. The eligible persons can use three hours of this time in the format of a round table on television and three hours on radio. The first debate was held at ITV on January 15, with no incidents of violation of the law. The airtime will be presented regularly in prime time - three times a week for one hour at 21:00 (UTC +04:00) on TV and the same amount on radio. For the first time, the debates are broadcast directly from the official account of ITV on social networks, which plays an important role and serves as an additional tool in bringing the electoral programs of the candidates to a wider audience.

The functions, powers, and duties of the press group under the CEC were once again outlined at the meeting. It was noted that control over the observance of the rules of pre-election promotion in the media is carried out by the press group, whose activity is regulated by the Electoral Code and the relevant regulation adopted by the CEC. Most of its members are specialists working in the field of journalism. In its activities, the group is guided by the legal requirements for campaigning as well as by other regulations adopted by the CEC. The press group also takes measures to comply with the established rules and methods of campaigning in the media and, if necessary, submits its proposals to the CEC for discussion.

The press group meeting also touched upon the role and responsibilities of the media in the election. It was noted that the mass media participated freely and without hindrance in the election and made an important contribution to informing the public. In addition to the rights, the legislation defines the duties and responsibilities of the mass media, both to ensure openness and transparency of the processes at the stage of pre-election promotion and in carrying out their professional activities on the day of voting. All participants in the electoral process must strictly observe the requirements of the Electoral Code and the relevant legislation.

The possibility of holding the next meetings of the press group in case of necessity or upon request was also brought to the attention of those present.

Following the press group meeting, extensive discussions were held on various issues related to media coverage of the election, general requirements for pre-election promotion, and the roles and responsibilities of the subjects entitled to participate in this stage. In connection with the functions of the press group, numerous questions of the participants were answered.

On December 7, 2023, President Ilham Aliyev of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree calling for an extraordinary presidential election in the country on February 7, 2024. On December 19, the Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan (CEC) approved the candidacy of Ilham Aliyev, nominated by the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP), for participation in the extraordinary presidential election. A total of 17 candidates have been registered to run in the extraordinary presidential election. Azerbaijan has seven registered presidential candidates.

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A Milford man was arrested on Monday afternoon in connection with the armed robbery of a butcher shop after a SWAT team and local police descended on the town, according to the Milford Police Department.

Daniel Generoso, 26, was taken into custody at 2:30 p.m. following a prolonged standoff with officers at his home that started with a search warrant, the department said.

The arrested followed an investigation by the Milford Police Detective Bureau and its department, along with members of the SWAT team from the Central Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council.

Generoso was taken into custody in connection with the armed robbery of Aroma Brazil on Jan. 9, police said. No further information was released on the incident.

State and Hopedale Police assisted Milford by shutting down West Street, or Route 140, between Prospect and Asylum streets, which was first announced at 2:26 p.m.

The investigation into the case is ongoing, police said.
Boston police are asking the public for help locating a missing Boston man whose family last spoke to him the day before Thanksgiving.

John Wesley, 57, spoke to his family on Nov. 22, 2023, around 7 p.m. and told them he was going to Braintree to visit a friend for Thanksgiving the next day, Boston police said. He did not appear at the gathering and has not been heard from since.

Wesley was reported missing on Dec. 4, 2023, and an alert immediately went out to authorities, police said. On Tuesday, Boston police alerted the public of Wesleys disappearance.

Police described Wesley as a Black man about 6-foot-3 in height and weighing about 300 pounds. He is bald, wears a mustache and has green eyes. He typically wears jeans and a sweatshirt and sometimes frequents Broadway Street in Malden.

Anyone with information about Wesleys whereabouts or disappearance is asked to call police at 617-343-5619 or submit a tip anonymously by calling 1-800-494-TIPS.
SPRINGFIELD  In a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., state Rep. Bud L. Williams encouraged local children to continue to have a dream and dont let anyone or anything get in the way of that dream.

Want to be a lawyer? Thats great. A doctor? You can do it. A mayor or a state representative? Sure, hes an example of that. How about an educator? Go for it.

Weve had a lot of monumental tasks that we have done in this country, but theres plenty of work to do, said Williams, D-Springfield. Our youth must continue dreaming and break barriers in the process.

Hundreds of people gathered at the MassMutual Center for the citys 11th Martin Luther King celebration to honor the civil rights leader who was assassinated in 1968. Black business owners set up tables to introduce the crowd to their products, and nonprofit groups also handed out informational pamphlets about services offered.

As is tradition, highlights included student performances from the Community Music School, the MLK Festival Bucket Drummers, the MLK Festival Orchestra and the Kings Kids Dance troupe entertained the crowd in between speeches from community leaders, including clergy and politicians.

The theme for the event was Living the Legacy. Continuing the Dream.

Dr. Kings legacy is immortalized by his call for civil and economic rights for all people in his iconic Dream speech. His reminder that an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere compels us to reflect on the progress we have made and the challenges that still lie ahead, state Sen. Adam Gomez, D-Springfield, said during the event.

State Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, D-Springfield, also called on the community to fight gun violence, saying it was possible if everyone worked together.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno looked around at the hundreds who filled the audience and said he believes the city has one of the largest, if not the largest, Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations in the country.

During the event, he also announced the plan to promote Deputy Police Chief Lawrence Akers, a Springfield native and graduate of Commerce High School, to replace Police Superintendent Cheryl C. Clapprood when she retires in the spring.

Akers, who has worked on the department for 38 years, will be the first Black man to head the citys Police Department.
The Petco in North Andover will be closing next month and a sale is happening to help clear out the stores inventory.

The store will close for good on Sunday, Feb. 25, a Petco spokesperson told MassLive. The store is having a liquidation sale with some items up to 30% off, a store employee told MassLive Tuesday.

At Petco, were constantly evaluating our real estate portfolio to ensure locations are conveniently located to best serve our customers, Petco said in a statement sent to MassLive. We value the relationships weve built with pet parents in the North Andover community and look forward to continuing to serve them through petco.com, our Petco app and at nearby pet care centers.

The North Andover location offers grooming, veterinarian visits, vaccinations and training.

Petco has more than 1,500 stores in the United States, Mexico and Puerto Rico, according to the companys website. Petco did not say that any other Massachusetts locations would be closing.

The store is located at 790 Waverly Road, and is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
SPRINGFIELD  On what would have been the 95th birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., city residents learned the next police superintendent will be the first Black man to lead the department.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno announced the promotion of Deputy Chief Lawrence Akers to police superintendent to the hundreds of people who gathered at the MassMutual Center for the annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration.

Im proud to be the first Black person to lead the Police Department. For the younger people coming up, I think they see a face that they can relate to, that maybe they have never been able to relate to in the past, Akers said.

While Sarno said he is thrilled to appoint the first Black police superintendent, he said it is Akers honor, ethics and experience, not his skin color, that made him believe there was no reason to look outside the department to find the successor to Superintendent Cheryl C. Clapprood, who is retiring this spring.

I am very impressed with Deputy Chief Akers street command presence, dealing with some very difficult situations, and just as important, his compassion and empathy he exhibits to all in our community, Sarno said. He has the respect of the rank and file under his command.

In his 38 years as a police officer, Akers has worked in nearly every unit in the department in one capacity or another, including serving in the Traffic and Motorcycle Unit, overseeing the citys Metro Unit and supervising the Special Victims Unit. He was also named the first head of the Gaming Enforcement Unit when MGM Springfield came to the city five years ago.

I wont change the way that I do my job. I want to help everyone that is out there. I am going to be a police superintendent for all the people of Springfield, Akers said. At the same time, I want to open my doors to people that maybe were shut out before.

The appointment comes at a challenging time when gun violence has been at an all-time high, with a record 31 homicides committed in 2023 and a record number of firearms confiscated by police.

I dont think there is any perfect time to come in. We are having a tough time, murders are up, but that is something that every city in the country is going through, Akers said.

He declined to discuss any future proposals, saying that would be disrespectful to Clapprood, whom he has worked closely with for years. The two will work side-by-side over the next few months to ensure a smooth transition.

In a written statement, Clapprood thanked Sarno for his friendship and support over her 44 years on the job and said Akers has excelled in a leadership role as deputy chief.

I have the utmost confidence in his abilities to continue to move our Springfield and the department forward with all of the numerous reforms, initiatives and programs, she said. His passion to serve is second to none, and he will be a good police superintendent.

Sarno said he has been talking to Akers off and on about the possibility of him taking the helm of the department once Clapprood retires, but they only formally agreed on the promotion late last week. He joked that he was impressed his incoming superintendent was able to keep it a secret over the weekend.

Along with the increase in gun violence, the citys Police Department is also operating under a federal Department of Justice consent decree. It is the result of an investigation into the department that produced a scathing report, criticizing the now-defunct Narcotics Bureau for routinely using excessive force against suspects.

Sarno said he talked to compliance evaluators about his plan to appoint Akers and did not get any pushback.

When he made the announcement, he was joined on the stage by state Reps. Bud L. Williams and Carlos Gonzalez, and state Sen. Adam Gomez, all of whom lauded the appointment.

A brother, one of us  I mean one of us from Springfield that happens to be part of the diversity that makes the city great and this nation even greater, Gonzalez said. We are going to have a Martin Luther King year, because we are going to fight together, to fight against the gun violence in this city, in this country, as a community.

Williams added Springfields first Black police superintendent to other firsts in the country, such as the first Black president and the first Black woman Supreme Court Justice. But there is still plenty more work to do.

Sarno will need their support. His plan is to have Akers sign a three-year contract to serve as superintendent, but since the deputy chief is already 64 and the state mandatory retirement age for police is 65, Sarno must receive legislative approval for the extension.

To do so, he will have to get a home rule passed by the City Council and the state House and Senate. Already, Williams has agreed to sponsor it and oversee it through the House and Senate in time for Akers to take the job, Sarno said.

City Councilor Michael Fenton said in a written statement that he supports the appointment. Deputy Chief Akers brings a wealth of experience and respect, not only from within the department but in our community, too.

Akers confirmed that he is healthy and energetic, and said he loves his job and really thinks he has more to give.

I love working for the city, (and) I love helping people, Akers said. When you get to my level that is what you are doing: You are out there helping people. You are helping the young officers on the job, you are helping the supervisors on the job, and that is what I want to do. That is my passion.

Historically critical of the Police Department and some officers use of force, especially against young men of color, the Rev. Talbert W. Swan II, longtime president of the Springfield regional chapter of the NAACP and bishop of the Vermont Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ, said Sarno talked to him as he was contemplating the promotion.

Swan said he thought Akers is the right person for the job, especially as the department continues to be monitored by the Department of Justice.

I think he is an upstanding individual, fair-minded, and I think he has the potential to turn this Police Department in a new direction, he said. It is not just about him being Black. It is about him being a person of integrity, and someone we believe is open-minded enough to make the types of changes we need for the Police Department.

Akers is married to his wife, Mary, and they have four children and eight grandchildren. He holds a bachelors degree in criminal justice and holds multiple honors and commendations.
BOSTON  For some communities in Western Massachusetts, the ability to better meet the capriciousness of climate change begins with a culvert.

Last week, the Healey-Driscoll administration announced it awarded nearly $1 million for ecological restoration projects across the state. The Department of Fish and Games Division of Ecological Restoration, which sponsored the grants, said they were aimed at strengthening the states efforts to combat climate change and improve habitat and water quality.

And among those funds, $124,361 was allocated to replacing culverts in four Western Massachusetts towns: Chester, Huntington, South Hadley and Belchertown.

Through a competitive process, the (Culvert Replacement Municipal Assistance) Grant Program helps municipalities replace undersized and deteriorating culverts with stream crossings that meet improved design standards, the Department of Fish and Game said in its Jan. 9 statement announcing the awards. These improved crossings help people and nature adapt to climate change, restore natural river processes, improve passage for aquatic organisms, and increase climate readiness and public safety by reducing flood hazards.

The town of Chester will receive $55,361 to replace two culverts over Abbott Brook on Abbott Hill Road.

The Town of Huntington is the beneficiary of $34,000. And $25,000 will be going to South Hadleys culvert replacement over Elmer Brook on Pearl Street. The Massachusetts Wildlife Climate Action Tool identified the Elmer Brook crossing as being in the top 5% of crossings that should be replaced.

Belchertown was awarded $10,000 for its culvert replacement for Hop Brook.

We are proud to support these powerful and diverse restoration projects through technical assistance, technical services, and funding. Working together with many dedicated and knowledgeable partners, we will continue to drive restoration efforts forward and see the innumerable benefits of this work now and into the future, said Beth Lambert, the director of the Division of Ecological Restoration, in a statement.

Altogether, the state awarded funds for eight culvert projects. Additionally, the state awarded funds for three regional restoration partnership programs and five priority projects that include returning two former cranberry bogs to wetlands and streams, one in Harwich and the other on Nantucket.
The New Year is underway, and many have made getting fit a top priority. The wayward weather can sometimes be a barrier to finding ways to get fit.

The Republican surveyed local community organizations to see how residents in Western Massachusetts are getting healthy in 2024, despite wintery conditions.

Once a month, the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition hosts a group ride to teach bike riders safety, signals and how to ride in traffic, said Jessi Byrne, the groups health and wellness coordinator.

Additionally, riders can actually earn a bike for transportation through their participation.

The program gives participants three ways to get a bike: monetary payment for a discounted rate, earning it through volunteering or community service or by combining the first and second options, Byrne said.

Classes are run weekly, every first and second Wednesday and from May-Oct.

The coalitions abundant stock of toddler bikes, classic bicycles, road and mountain bikes are secondhand. Many come from students who left them behind at Williams College, Byrne said.

All ages are welcome to join the program to learn how to fix bikes. The program also encourages community service.

We believe that time is money. Once we had a father in the program that had done some free landscaping work for a neighbor and he earned a bike that way, Bryne said. As long as people give something back.

The program has one bike mechanic and instructor, and the class size ranges from one to 20 people at a time.

You never know, Bryne said. The program is open all people that live, work and play in the Berkshires.

Indoor track in West Springfield

Recently, the West Springfield Park and Recreation Department announced that the indoor track located at West Springfield High School will be open to West Springfield residents for walking and jogging during specific hours.

The schools indoor track opens a few days a week for residents whod like to take a walk or jog by themselves, official said.

Residents aged 14 and up who present a valid ID at sign-in can use the track. Residents under the age of 13 must be accompanied by an adult.

Aerobics and yoga classes are hosted by Lynn McCarthy in the UNICO Building, at 1 UNICO Way in Mittineague Park.

Adult aerobics classes are designed to help residents get in shape, improve cardiovascular endurance, burn fat, tone muscles and increase flexibility.

Intermediate or beginner yogis can join McCarthy for Yoga and Mat Pilates to improve and increase coordination and range of motion. Techniques include controlled deep breathing. Both classes have resident and non-resident fees under $50.

Greenfield trails

Christy Moore, recreation director in Greenfield, said use of the communitys parks and trails system has increased since the pandemic.

There are many lovely trails in the system to walk on, Moore said. A link to maps and trails is on the citys website.

Springfield options

The Raymond A. Jordan Senior Center in Springfield normally has a walking club, but thats been paused because of the weather.

But on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the senior center hosts a walk-and-stretch class and a chair exercises class in the centers multipurpose room.

The Springfield Parks Department offers evening gym hours from 5:30 8:30 each night at Brookings and Milton Bradley elementary schools and the Forest Park, Chestnut and John F. Kennedy middle schools.

Walkers in Ludlow

The Ludlow Senior Center has a walking group, but it is not organized, officials said. As early as 7:30 a.m., residents can join the informal group at the centers River Walk entrance.
Walmart will shut down two stores next month, according to media reports.

Walmart is closing two stores in San Diego County, California on Feb. 9, according to the San Diego Tribune. One of the stores is a Walmart Neighborhood Market in San Diego, while the other is a traditional store about 20 minutes away in El Cajon, the Tribune reported.

The store closures are due to Walmart not being able to reach an agreement with the property owners, which resulted in the company not renewing their leases, according to Al.com.

We are grateful to the customers who have given us the privilege of serving them at our San Diego and El Cajon stores, said Walmart Communications Director Brian K. Little in an emailed statement to the Tribune. We look forward to continuing to serve them at any of our many locations across the area, on walmart.com and through delivery to their home or business.

Employees of these stores  125 of which work in San Diego and 232 in El Cajon  will have the chance to relocate to another Walmart store, according to The Tribune.

Last year, Walmart closed 22 stores across 14 states due to poor financial performance, the Tribune reported.

There are 48 Walmarts throughout Massachusetts, according to the companys website.
A Rhode Island man has been accused of fleeing police in a U-Haul van while wearing an orange ski mask after trying to break into a storage facility in Billerica, according to Massachusetts State Police.

Alexander Encarnacion, 29, of Providence, R.I. was arrested and faces a multitude of motor vehicle charges, along with not stopping for police and resisting arrest.

It was 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 15 when local officers informed state troopers they were in pursuit of a 2008 Ford Econoline U-Haul van, and had gone from local roads onto the southbound side of Route 3.
Gov. Maura Healey will press for major investments into the long-strained early education and care sector despite her administrations muted forecast for state finances, pitching the spending as an economic and competitive necessity.

Healey on Tuesday announced plans to pursue about $113 million in new child care spending in her fiscal year 2025 budget proposal, which will also request another $475 million in grants to continue supporting early education providers.

Altogether, the governor outlined more than half a billion dollars she wants to deploy to help more Bay State families access and afford child care, particularly in lower-income areas and communities of color.

We recognize that the cost of child care is high, is out of reach for so many. We know that too many providers are hanging on or barely hanging on. Too many educators struggle, Healey said after touring child care facilities in Malden.

We know that there are predominantly women, especially immigrants and women of color, impacted by this. Its an equity issue for sure. We know that too many parents have had to make a hard choice to not work, to not leave the home and work simply because they cannot afford child care, the Democratic governor said.

Child care, as I said, is a linchpin. Its foundational, its central to our agenda, both for families, for education, for workforce, for business development. It is that important, she added.

Healeys newest plan features four components: expanding a universal preschool program into all 26 gateway cities by 2026, making more low- and moderate-income families eligible for child care assistance, funding another year of the Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grants, and an executive order calling for a whole-of-government approach to boosting access to child care.

A spokesperson said the fiscal 2025 budget Healey must file by Jan. 24 will propose using $75 million in revenue from the new income surtax to increase the eligibility threshold for the Child Care Financial Assistance (CCFA) program.

Currently, families must earn no more than 50 percent of the state median income to qualify for the financial aid, meaning $49,467 annually for a family of two or $61,106 for a family of three, according to Healeys office.

Her proposal would change that to 85 percent of the state median income, equivalent to about $84,094 for a family of two or $103,880 for a family of three.

Officials estimated the higher threshold would help about 4,000 more families receive support.

Healey also wants to expand the states Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative into every gateway city in the state. The initiative is behind preschool programs in various communities and provides subsidies to help families enroll children at low or zero cost,

The program currently operates in a dozen gateway cities: Brockton, Fall River, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, New Bedford, Salem, Springfield and Westfield. State law defines gateway cities as mid-sized communities with lower-than-average incomes and educational attainment rates.

Healeys proposal would expand the preschool initiative into the 14 other gateway cities by the end of 2026, starting with a $38.7 million investment in the fiscal 2025 budget using combined general fund and surtax money.

The program currently operates in a dozen gateway cities, which state law defines as mid-sized communities with lower-than-average incomes and educational attainment rates. Healeys proposal would expand it into the 14 other gateway cities by the end of 2026, starting with a $38.7 million investment in the fiscal 2025 budget using combined general fund and income surtax money.

Look, the goal is to get to universal pre-K for every 4-year-old in the state. That is the goal of our state, Healey said in Malden. What were going to work to do is that by the end of 2026, every 4-year-old in every gateway city in this state will have access to universal pre-K. Thats not too far away, so weve got work to do, but thats how committed we are to this.

Healeys office said her annual budget will also propose $475 million in C3 grants using a combination of general fund and surtax revenues, mirroring the amount to which the governor and Legislature agreed in fiscal 2024.

C3 grants launched during the COVID-19 pandemic with federal funding before Massachusetts elected officials opted to keep the program going using state dollars. Last year, Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler warned that allowing the funding to expire would lead to a serious swath of child care closures.

Healeys office said C3 grants have supported more than 42,000 educators, kept more than 7,000 programs open, and added about 10,000 slots for children.

Tutwiler on Tuesday described the combined package of proposals as a down payment to the future success of our children.

For years, child care and early education has been viewed as an accessory, a private decision between families and a provider, a nice-to-have but not a basic necessity, U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark D-3rd District,, who joined Healeys team in Malden, told reporters Tuesday.

It took a global pandemic to show everyone what so many in this room already knew: that child care makes all other work possible, and it empowers not only kids to learn, but parents to thrive and our business community to grow, Clark said.

Healeys Tuesday announcement previews one major slice of the fiscal 2025 budget proposal she plans to unveil next week. Other hints or proposals are likely to come on Wednesday, when she delivers her first State of the Commonwealth address.

With tax collections running short of expectations, Healey last week cut $375 million from the current state budget. Her budget team and top legislative Democrats expect fiscal 2025 tax collections to grow about $1.1 billion, or about 2 percent compared to its latest estimates.

Much of the spending push Healey outlined Tuesday would make use of surtax revenues, which voters approved to be earmarked just for education and transportation revenues, with some additional money from the states general fund.

Asked if the governor saw any need to increase taxes or fees to cover the additional investments, Healey spokesperson Karissa Hand replied, The Governors Gateway to Pre-K agenda is a fiscally responsible proposal that draws on available Fair Share and general funds to make child care more affordable and accessible.

Massachusetts has some of the highest child care costs in the country, and a lack of available, affordable slots imposes strain on the states economy by preventing many -- especially women -- from working. Many Bay State business leaders have urged policymakers to address the issue, arguing they need better child care options to attract and retain workers.

Kerry Bryant, the director of strategic initiatives at biopharmaceutical firm Takeda, joined Healey and members of the Cabinet at Tuesdays event, where she recounted signing up for seven different child care waitlists a full year before she needed care.

It wasnt until shortly before I was supposed to return to work that we were offered a spot at one center -- one of seven, Bryant said. Fortunately, our local YMCA has proven to be the best early learning option for our family, but the irony is there was no option. We didnt have the luxury of choosing a center. We felt lucky simply to have a spot. But parenting and the early education of our children shouldnt rely on luck.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. US Ambassador Designated Mark Libby returned to Baku after a short absence, Trend reports via the US Embassy.

"ln the spirit of Azerbaijans Year of Solidarity for a Green World and Bakus hosting of COP29, Ambassador-designate Libby and his wife Danusia traveled back from Washington to Baku this past weekend with net zero carbon emissions through offsets secured by our embassys purchase of sustainable aviation fuel," the embassy wrote on X (Twitter).

In early January the ambassador left for Washington.

On January 4, he took the oath of office at a ceremony attended by US Assistant Secretary of State Julieta Noyes. His wife Danusia and son Andrew were also present at the event.

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Former U.S. Sen. John Kerry, of Massachusetts, will join President Joe Bidens re-election campaign later this winter, leaving his post as the Democratic White Houses special climate envoy, according to published reports.

Kerrys move to Bidens political operation underlines the 80-year-olds thinking that Bidens re-election is the single biggest difference that can be made this year to advance the cause of fighting climate change, a source close to the administration told Axios, which was first to report the news.

Kerry is expected to tell the climate story in the context of Bidens campaign, Axios reported. Hes working with White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients on transitioning out of government in the coming months (before spring). the online news organization further reported.

Kerry briefed his staff on Saturday about the decision after informing the White House last week, the Guardian reported, citing Reuters.

Biden tapped Kerry, who mounted an unsuccessful White House bid in 2004, for the post in November 2020, MassLive previously reported. The new role within the National Security Council emphasized the then-incoming administrations intent to address the impacts of climate change.

Kerry brought previous experience to the table, playing a key role in the Obama administrations efforts to combat climate change, including signing the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015. He also launched a bipartisan organization aiming to reach net-zero carbon emissions in the U.S. by 2050.
Air Mauritius informs the general public of the cancellation of the following flights due to the closure of SSR Intl Airport today 15 January 2024 until further notice.

Once the SSR Intl Airport is operational, flights will be rescheduled.

We make an appeal to all Air Mauritius passengers not to show up at the airport until they have been informed of the timings of their rescheduled flights.

Air Mauritius will keep its passengers informed of affected flights through its Call Centre, on its website at airmauritius.com, on its social media platforms and through regular communiques.

Air Mauritius regrets any inconvenience caused by this situation beyond its control.
A senior Mayo County Council official has dismissed rumours of a former nursing home in Charlestown being used to house refugees as spurious rumours.

Tom Gilligan, Mayo County Councils Director of Services for Housing, told The Mayo News that the St Annes in Charlestown is being used to provide emergency accommodation for homeless people.

The nursing home closed in June 2023 with the loss of 39 jobs and is now sheltering homeless families.

Local Sinn Fein county councillor Gerry Murray said he had received representations regarding the potential re-purposing of the property as refugee accommodation.

Cllr Murray told The Mayo News that the facility would have to be closed for a longer period for it to be considered eligible for accommodating refugees.

Speaking at the time of its closure, Director of nursing at St Annes, Karen Dewsall, said Inadequate funding under the Fair Deal scheme made it no longer viable for the home to operate.

St Annes had 25 residents at the time of its closure and had been run by Kathleen Smyth for four decades.

The residents were subsequently moved to another nursing home.
Blinne Ni Ghralaigh recently made headlines for her gripping closing arguments at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where she argued South Africa's case against Israeli forces over the genocide in Gaza.

Born in Ireland, the barrister spent her early years around the town of Glencalry, Glenamoy before the family moved to London. The clan led a classic London-Irish lifestyle, often travelling back to Ireland during the summer. Despite living across the pond for years, Ni Ghralaigh's Irish identity remained strong. Her name echos Blathnaid (flower), and her Gaelicised surname, Ni Ghralaigh (Grealy), reflect this identity.

Her family's homestead provided a backdrop to her upbringing, a period marked by the warmth of Irish culture and the values instilled by her mother, Neasa.

Neasa, who eventually became the deputy head teacher of Tufnell Park Primary School in London, raised both of her daughters, Blinne and her sister, with a focus on strength, determination, and a keen sense of social justice.

Despite living in north London's Holloway later in life, Ni Ghralaigh's Irish identity remained strong.

Additionally, Ni Ghralaigh is fluent in the Irish language, and engrossed in Irish dancing and music, all due to her cultural upbringing by her Mayo born mother Neasa.

Interest in justice and human rights is deeply embedded in the family's history. Ni Ghralaigh's journey into the legal world began following her work on the Bloody Sunday Inquiry in London, however the roots of her career go much further back. Ms Ni Ghralaigh told Rosemary Gallagher of Irish Legal News, that when she was 12 years old, she found a pamphlet about Majella O'Hare'', a 12-year-old schoolgirl who was shot in the back by a British paratrooper while walking to church in Whitecross, in August 1976. Ni Ghralaigh explains how she saw the picture of the young girl on the front, and saw her age, and I read it from cover to cover. The fact that nobody had been held accountable, and the circumstances of the killing particularly outraged [her] convent school-girl sensibilities at the time.

Ms Ni Ghralaigh went to her mother in tears and asked how such a terrible thing could be allowed to happen. Her mothers response to her young daughter was: Do something about it. Ms Ni Ghralaigh says these words struck a very profound chord.. The very same pamphlet is framed above her desk to this day as a reminder of what brought her to where she is today.

Since joining Matrix (a barristers' chambers in London), she has become a leading figure in the field, specialising in human rights, public international law, criminal law, and public law.

Her recent high-profile case at the ICJ, has brought her international acclaim. She stated that the current ongoings in Gaza is "the first genocide in history where its victims are broadcasting their own destruction in real time in the desperate so far vain hope that the world might do something." The poignancy of this reality was portrayed excellently by Ni Ghralaigh.

Her stunning closing argument made waves on social media, with many users expressing their pride in being Irish following Ni Ghralaighs deliverance.

See her argument in full here.
An Irish farmer living with bipolar disorder is set to feature on Ear to the Ground this week.

Sheep farmer Martin Galvin lives in one of Ireland's most breathtaking areas, the picturesque Leenane in Mayo, but for a long time his health challenges overshadowed the beauty of his surroundings.

In this week's episode (Thursday, January 18), Ear to the Ground co-presenter Ella McSweeney spends the day with him to discuss the depths of his struggles and occasional peaks, as well as the impact on his family.

He speaks candidly on the show in the hopes of shedding light on the nuances of living with the difficult condition, and reveals his turning point came when his concerned daughter stepped in.

Speaking to McSweeney in a promo clip released by RTE, Martin said, "You can't solve this on your own, you have to get the help, and the help is there."

Check out the first look below:



Additionally, co-presenter Maeve Dineen will visit a Mexican woman, Sonia Viridiana, who manages a quaint farm just outside Dunmanway in West Cork, and co-presenter Darragh McCullough will undertake a comprehensive investigation in Carlow on the future of the vital Whitethorn hedgerow species.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. Presidential election is very important and significant in the history of every nation, an Adviser to the Academy of Public Administration under the President of Azerbaijan, the Chairman of the Baku Political Science Club Zaur Mammadov told Trend.

He noted that this year is crucial for the Azerbaijani people.

The presidential election in Azerbaijan, a country that has liberated its territories from occupation, will take place for the first time across the entire territory, including the liberated cities of Khankendi and Khojaly, the expert said.

"At the same time, very complex geopolitical processes are taking place in the region and around it. We are witnessing the emergence of conflict hotspots worldwide. Such a period requires us to be safe from the consequences of conflicts between major geopolitical players," Mammadov pointed out.

"It's no secret that President Ilham Aliyev is a leader who always makes the right choices, achieves set goals, advocates for equal cooperation, and demonstrates principled positions. The date of February 7, 2024, will be the most crucial in the new stage that began in September 2023," he added.

On December 7, 2023, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on holding an extraordinary presidential election in the country on February 7, 2024.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has successfully united Azerbaijani society around common development goals with his strong political leadership and outstanding qualities such as excellent education, high intelligence, willpower, broad-mindedness, and benevolence, CEO of the Institute of Political Studies Sergei Markov told Trend.

"During his presidency, Ilham Aliyev successfully addressed a number of critical issues for Azerbaijan. First and foremost, he devised and successfully implemented a strategy for the entire restoration of the Karabakh region. This momentous move represented a significant win for Azerbaijan and received international recognition," the Russian political scientist said.

According to Markov, one of the key moments in solving the challenges was the creation of a strong and modern military, which defeated the Armenian army during the Second Karabakh War in 2020 and demonstrated its effectiveness during the anti-terrorist activities of local character in 2023.

Markov emphasized that another important task that President Ilham Aliyev successfully implemented was the building of a strong economy in Azerbaijan, which not only ensured impressive economic growth, reaching at times up to 30 percent per year, but also demonstrated stability in various sectors, including oil and gas as well as other industries.

He noted that President Ilham Aliyev has also created political stability in the country, which has ensured, among other things, the unification of Azerbaijani society around common development goals and the return of the Karabakh region.

According to the political scientist, the formation of a multicultural society, representing a modern community with European-type institutions and profound respect for traditions, was another task successfully accomplished by President Ilham Aliyev.

"In addition, another distinctive feature is interaction with neighboring countries, such as spiritually close countries as Turkiye, countries of the Islamic world, and the post-Soviet region," Markov said.

Sergey Markov emphasized that President Ilham Aliyev is not only an outstanding statesman of our time but also a strong diplomat. The head of the Azerbaijani state masterfully carried out great diplomatic work, building constructive relations with various countries, including those that were in conflict with each other. This applies to relations with Russia and the United States, as well as EU countries.

"It is especially worth mentioning that Azerbaijan, personally President Ilham Aliyev, played an important role in restoring friendly ties between Turkiye and Russia during the crisis in relations between the two countries," he concluded.

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by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, January 16, 2024

When Google CEO Sundar Pichai said "competition comes from nowhere" during a conference in California back in 2022, he was referring to TikTok.



You know, none of us were talking about TikTok three years ago," Pichai said at the time. Now a study from Adobe suggests that among Gen Z consumers and business owners, one in 10 say they are more likely to rely on TikTok than Google as a search engine.

Adobe surveyed 808 consumers and 250 business owners to understand how TikTok is reshaping search behavior and marketing strategies, despite the pushback from U.S. government agencies.

Some 49% of millennials and 29% of Gen X say they have used TikTok as a search engine, but only 14% of Baby Boomers can say the same.



The top five search topics range from cooking to workout routines. Some 36% of survey participants said they search TikTok for new new recipes, while 35% look for new music, 34% look for DIY tips, 30% search for fashion advice, and 29% look for fashion advice.

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Whats the attraction to TikTok? The Adobe survey shows that 44% cite short-form video formats because they are easier to view.

Some 34% cited storytelling in the videos, while 31% cited more personalized content, 29% cited information in current events, 29% cited interactive and immersive experience, 27% believe the platform is more integrated with social media browsing habits.

Some 62% cite video tutorials as the content consumers prefer most when using TikTok as a search engine, followed by product or service reviews at 39%. Personal stories and anecdotes came in at No. 3 at 38%.

Consumers participating in the study rate TikTok low when it comes to providing authoritative content, although it received high marks for expertise and experience. Adobe used Googles search engine optimization (SEO) concept called E-E-A-T (expertise, experience, authorization, and trustworthiness) to evaluate the ranking systems on whether they provide helpful and relevant information.

The study also showed that about 1 in 10 consumers rely on ChatGPT to search for information, with 1 in 20 going as far as asking it for personal finance advice.

Adobe also surveyed business owners, who said they navigate TikTok to meet search intent. The data looks at how entrepreneurs leverage TikTok, comparing it to traditional search engine results pages (SERPs).

The findings show 54% of business owners surveyed use TikTok to promote their business, posting an average of nine times monthly.

Some 22% said video tutorials outperformed traditional SERPs, followed by 21% cited creative tangential content related to company products, 18% said product or service reviews, 15% said trending challenges of memes, 12% said personal stories or anecdotes, 10% cited short slide shows, 7% guides, 7% Q&As, and 6% influencer recommendations.

One in four small businesses have used TikTok influencers for product sales or promotions, but only 33% have converted TikTok engagement into sales, 32% have increased followers, 29% created content that appealed to a diverse user base, and 29% said there are time constraints require to consistently product content.

Business owners on average, per the studys findings, allocated 15% of their marketing budget for TikTok content creation.

The types of content they have invested in includes product or service reviews, 36%, video tutorials, 35%; personal anecdotes, 29% and trending challenges or memes, 25%.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, January 16, 2024

YouTube reportedly makes millions of dollars annually from advertising on channels that the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) says makes false claims about climate change as content creators find new ways to evade the social media platform's policies to combat misinformation.

The report -- published Tuesday by the CCDH -- says the creators used artificial intelligence (AI) to review transcripts from 12,058 videos during the past six years on 96 of YouTube channels that promoted content.

Google disagrees. Our climate change policy prohibits ads from running on content that contradicts well-established scientific consensus around the existence and causes of climate change," a Google spokesperson told Media Daily News via email. "Debate or discussions of climate change topics, including around public policy or research, is allowed."

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But when content crosses the line to climate change denial, the ad platform stops serving ads alongside YouTube videos. The company said it also displays information panels under relevant videos to provide additional information on climate change and context from third parties.

The content, according to the CCDH, undermines scientific consensus on climate change that human behavior is contributing to long-term shifts in temperature and weather patterns.

The CCDH is a nonprofit organization with the stated goal to protect human rights and civil liberties by holding social-media companies accountable.

YouTube is potentially making generating up to $13.4 million annually in ad revenue from channels studied in this report, according to the CCDH.

"Thirteen million dollars is a drop in the bucket for Google, one of the biggest and most profitable corporations in history  but has an outsized impact on the future of our planet," the report states. "They should expand their definition of climate denial to include New Denial. and other platforms should follow suit."

YouTube's parent company, Google, has policies that should prevent advertising money from being generated by content that rejects the scientific consensus about the existence and causes of climate change.

Imran Ahmed, CEO for the Center for Countering Digital Hate, called the policies ineffective in the introduction of the report.

The organization analyzed the arguments used in more than 12,000 YouTube videos from 96 channels published from January 2018 through September 2023. The content was believed to feature information around climate change denial, such as videos from Blaze TV, a conservative media channel, and the Heartland Institute, a free-market think tank.

The research notes the denials in the past five years have shifted. Where they once concentrated on comments such as global warming is not happening or that human-generated greenhouse gasses are not causing global warming, they now focus on the impacts of global warming are beneficial or harmless, that climate solutions wont work or that climate science and the climate movement are unreliable.

The report gives the example that the Blaze TV's YouTube channel has transitioned from old to new denial rhetoric such as "Climate change as a conspiracy."

CCDH's AI model processed YouTube transcripts to identify whether particular climate denial themes were present. Independent evaluators were used to check text in the transcripts, then graded the models for accuracy. The evaluators reported finding claims about 78% of the time.

Update: The story was updated with a comment from a Google spokesperson.
by Gord Hotchkiss , Featured Contributor, January 16, 2024

This post comes to you from Edmonton, Alberta, where the outside temperature right now is minus forty degrees Celsius. If youre wondering what that is in Fahrenheit, the answer is, It doesnt matter. Minus forty is where the two scales match up.

If you add a bit of a breeze to that, you get a windchill factor that makes it feel like minus fifty Celsius (-58 F). The weather lady on the morning news just informed me that at that temperature, exposed flesh freezes in two to five minutes. Yesterday, an emergency alert flashed on my phone warning us that Albertas power grid was overloaded and could collapse under the demand, causing rotating power outages.

I dont know about you, but I dont think anyone should live in a place where winter can kill you. Nothing works as it should when it gets this cold, humans included. And yet, Albertans are toughing it out. I noticed that when it gets this cold, the standard niceties that people say change. Instead of telling me to have a nice day, everyone has been encouraging me to stay warm.

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Theres a weird sort of bonding that happens when the weather becomes the common enemy. Maybe we all become brothers and sisters in arms, struggling to survive against the elements. It got me to wondering: Is there a different sense of community in places where its really cold in the winter?

When I asked Google which countries had the strongest social ties, it gave me a list of nine: Finland, Norway, Canada, Denmark, Switzerland, Australia, Netherlands, Iceland and Italy. Seven of those places have snowy, cold winters. If you look at countries that have strong social democracies -- governments established around the ideal of the common good -- again, youll find that most of them are well north (or south, in the case of New Zealand) of the equator.

But lets leave politics aside. Maybe its just the act of constantly transitioning from extreme cold to warm and cozy places where theres a friendly face sincerely wishing youll stay warm that builds stronger social bonds. As I mentioned in a previous post, the Danes even have a name for it: hygge. It translates loosely to coziness.

There are definitely physical benefits to going from being really cold to being really warm. The Finns discovered this secret thousands of years ago when they created the sauna. The whole idea is to repeatedly go from a little hut where the temperature hovers around 80-90 C (176-194 F) to then jump through a hole youve cut in the ice into waters barely above freezing. A paper from the Mayo Clinic lists the health benefits of saunas in a rather lengthy paragraph, touching on everything from reducing inflammation to clearer skin to fighting the flu.

But the benefits arent just physical. Estonia, which is just south of Finland, also has a strong sauna culture. A brilliant documentary by Anna Hints, Smoke Sauna Sisterhood, shows that the sauna can be a sacred space. As Estonias official submission to the Oscars, its in contention for a nomination.

Hints documentary shows that saunas can touch us on a deeply spiritual level, healing scars that can build up through our lives. There is something in the cycle of heat and cold that taps into inner truths. As Hints said in a recent interview, With time, deeper, deeper layers of physical dirt start to come up to the surface, but also emotional dirt starts to come up to the surface."

While I didnt visit any saunas on my Edmonton trip, every time I ventured outside it was a hot-cold adventure. Everyone turns the thermostat up a little when it gets this cold, so youre constantly going through doors where the temperature can swing 75 degrees (Celsius, 130 degrees Fahrenheit) in an instant. I dont know if theres a health benefit, but I can tell you it feels pretty damned good to get that warm welcome when youre freezing your butt off.

Stay warm!
Highlights: Depression can lead to weight gain, with a higher likelihood in obese people

Rise in depressive symptoms increases weight gain, about 45 g in a month

Prompt treatment of depressive symptoms may contribute to maintaining a healthy body weight



Resolving depression symptoms could be key to preventing weight gain, which will ultimately improve mental and physical health. #depression #weightgain #obesity #medindia

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The relationship of within-individual and between-individual variation in mental health with bodyweight: An exploratory longitudinal study



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From Depression to Overweight - What is the Link?

Read More to Know About Home Remedies for Depression

Insights on Mental Strain and Weight Gain

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The relationship of within-individual and between-individual variation in mental health with bodyweight: An exploratory longitudinal study - (https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0295117)

As mental health and obesity continue to pose significant public health challenges, understanding the dynamics between them becomes paramount. Depression , a pervasive mental health condition affecting millions worldwide, is commonly associated with a range of symptoms, including persistent sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, and changes in sleep and appetite.Traditionally, depression has been associated with weight loss due to decreased appetite and disrupted eating patterns. However, a significant number of individuals grappling with depression experience the opposite effect  an unexplained and often perplexing weight gain.A new research from the University of Cambridge highlights an association between increased symptoms of depression and subsequent weight gain, particularly among individuals with overweight or obesity ().The study, conducted as part of the Fenland COVID-19 Study, analyzed data from over 2,000 adults in Cambridgeshire, UK, over nine months during the COVID-19 pandemic.Participants used a mobile app to complete monthly digital questionnaires on mental well-being and body weight. The study focused on symptoms of depression, anxiety, and perceived stress, with higher scores indicating greater severity.Notably, this effect was observed exclusively in individuals with overweight (BMI 25-29.9kg/m2) or obesity (BMI over 30kg/m2). Those with overweight showed an average weight gain of 52g for each incremental point increase in their depressive symptoms score, while individuals with obesity experienced a comparable weight gain of 71g. No such effect was observed in individuals with a healthy weight.Dr. Julia Mueller, the first author of the study, emphasized that even small weight changes, particularly among those with overweight or obesity , can lead to more significant long-term consequences. Addressing depressive symptoms in these individuals could play a crucial role in preventing further weight gain, ultimately benefiting both mental and physical health.Senior author Dr. Kirsten Rennie highlighted the potential of mobile apps to gather frequent and extended data on individuals' well-being, offering valuable insights into how changes in mental health may influence behavior, particularly in those with overweight or obesity. The research suggests that timely interventions could be developed based on this understanding.Contrary to previous suggestions, the study found no evidence that weight predicted subsequent symptoms of depression, underscoring the complexity of the relationship between mental health and body weight.In conclusion, depression may trigger a person to gain weight gradually, especially if they are overweight or obese. Treating depression symptoms can help prevent weight gain and improve both mental and physical health.Source-Medindia
Rediff.com

Forget fancy menus and far-flung flavors! Bihar beckons with a rustic symphony of wholesome delights, where every bite celebrates nature's bounty. Dive into a land where crispy litti dumplings waltz with vibrant vegetable chokha, a tango of textures and nutrients fueled by the sun-kissed soil. Embrace sattu, the mighty flour that packs an energy punch, whether kneaded into parathas or sipped as a creamy drink.





So, ditch the culinary tourist traps and embark on a Bihar food safari  your taste buds will thank you for it!


The past couple of days have been a delight for Aamir Khan, his family and well the paps. Aamir Khans daughter Ira Khan recently tied the knot to Nupur Shikhare in a glorious ceremony which was attended by the whos who of the Hindi film industry. From the Ambanis to the Khans and Kapoors, a lot of A-listers were spotted at the wedding celebrations.

However, one person in particular who stirred some old controversy by simply being there was Aamir Khans brother Faissal Khan who was also seen alongside Aamir Khan and Twinkle Khanna in the film Mela.

Faissal Khan didnt have a thriving or a very long career in Bollywood. After the flop of Mela, Faissal continued his career with menial roles in small-budget films until 2007 when news about him being mentally unstable started to make rounds. There were rumours that Faissal even went missing for almost 2 days during that time.

Faissal spoke about how his brother Aamir believed he was mentally ill and eventually had to fight him off in court, to be able to refute the claims from his family that was willing to declare him mentally troubled.

In 2008, he had spoken to HT saying, Frankly, I was never ill.. what has been said so far was speculative and spread by my elder brother Aamir Khan and other family members. In fact, I was kidnapped.. I was under house arrest, unwanted drugs were given to me. On the judgment day, judge saab announced that Im not suffering from any illness.. and that Im normal and capable of handling life on my own. I should be treated as a normal person.

In fact, during one of his interviews with Etimes, Faissal also openly spoke about how he was once caged in brother Aamir Khans house. He said, Qaid hone mein mazaa nahin hai (theres no fun in being caged). I have been caged once in Aamirs house. I dont intend to get caged again. I want to live free and flow like water.

In another interview with Mukesh Khanna, the former actor spoke about how he may not have forgotten what went down between him and his brother but has forgiven him nonetheless.

Faissal Khan was spotted at Ira Khans wedding functions posing with Aamir Khans son Junaid Khan.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. Azerbaijan takes necessary measures to protect the rights and interests of Farid Safarli, said spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Aykhan Hajizada, answering questions about Azerbaijani citizen Farid Safarli being arrested in Iran, Trend reports.

According to the press releases of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan dated March 9, June 2, and August 2, 2023, since the receipt of information about Farid Safarli, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Tabriz have been working to obtain information about his fate and state of health, to clarify the issue from the Iranian side, to protect the judicial and procedural rights of the Azerbaijani citizen, as well as to provide him with a lawyer.

Hajizada noted that during the court session on July 19, 2023, the charge of "espionage" brought against Safarli was replaced by the charge of "attempted espionage."

"During the next stage of the court decision, he was sentenced to two years' arrest. Employees of the Consulate General of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Tabriz regularly meet with Safarli in prison, and phone communication was established between him and his family members. The Government of Azerbaijan continues to take necessary measures to protect the rights and interests of Farid Safarli," he said.

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RAFAH, Gaza Strip  Palestinian militants battled Israeli forces in devastated northern Gaza and launched a barrage of rockets from farther south on Tuesday in a show of force more that 100 days into Israel's massive air and ground campaign against the tiny coastal enclave.

The fighting in the north, which was the first target of Israel's offensive and where entire neighborhoods have been pulverized, showed how far Israel remains from achieving its goals of dismantling Hamas and returning scores of hostages captured in the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war.

Meanwhile, Gaza's humanitarian crisis is worsening, with 85% of the territory's 2.3 million Palestinians having fled their homes and U.N. agencies warning of mass starvation and disease. The conflict threatens to widen after the U.S. and Israel traded strikes with Iranian-backed groups across the region.

Israel has vowed to crush Hamas military and governing capabilities to ensure that the Oct. 7 attack is never repeated. Militants stormed into Israel from Gaza that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing around 250 people. With strong diplomatic and military support from the United States, Israel has resisted international calls for a cease-fire.

Nearly half of the hostages were released during a weeklong truce in November, but more than 100 remain in captivity. Hamas has said it will not release any others until Israel ends the war.

Strikes and counterstrikes across the region

The longer the war goes on, the more it threatens to ignite other fronts across the region.

Iran fired missiles late Monday at what it said were Israeli spy headquarters in an upscale neighborhood near the sprawling U.S. Consulate in Irbil, the seat of Iraqs northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region. Iraq and the U.S. condemned the strikes, which killed several civilians, and Baghdad recalled its ambassador to Iran in protest.

Iranian-backed groups in Iraq and Syria have carried out dozens of attacks on bases housing U.S. forces, and a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad killed an Iranian-backed militia leader earlier this month.

Elsewhere, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have resumed their attacks on container ships in the Red Sea following a wave of U.S.-led strikes last week. The U.S. military said Tuesday that two Navy SEALS are missing after a raid last week on a ship carrying Iranian-made missile parts and weapons bound for Yemen.

Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group have exchanged fire along the border nearly every day since the start of the war in Gaza. The strikes and counterstrikes have grown more severe since an Israeli strike killed Hamas' deputy political leader in Beirut earlier this month, raising fears of a repeat of the 2006 war between the two longtime foes.

Militants keep fighting in Gaza's hard-hit north

In Gaza, the Israeli military said its forces located approximately 100 rocket installations and 60 ready-to-use rockets in the area of Beit Lahiya, a town on the territory's northern edge. Israeli forces killed dozens of militants during the operation, the military said, without providing evidence.

Mahmoud Abdel-Ghani, who lives in Beit Lahiya, said Israeli airstrikes hit several buildings on the eastern side of the town.

Hundreds of thousands of people fled northern Gaza, including Gaza City, following Israeli evacuation orders in October. Israel shut off water to the region in the opening days of the war, and hardly any aid has been allowed into the north, even as tens of thousands of people have remained there.

Residents reached by phone Tuesday described the heaviest fighting in weeks in Gaza City.

The bombing never stopped, said Faris Abu Abbas, who lives in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood. The resistance is here and didnt leave.

Ayoub Saad, who lives near Shifa Hospital downtown, said he heard gunfire and shelling overnight and into Tuesday and saw dead and wounded people being brought to the hospital on carts.

After weeks of heavy fighting across northern Gaza, Israeli officials said at the start of the year that they were scaling back operations there and focusing on the southern city of Khan Younis and built-up refugee camps in central Gaza dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation.

But there too, they have encountered heavy resistance. The military said at least 25 rockets were fired into Israel on Tuesday, damaging a store in one of the strongest bombardments in more than a week. Israel's Channel 12 television said the rockets were launched from the Bureij camp in central Gaza.

A spiraling humanitarian crisis

Gazas Health Ministry said Tuesday that the bodies of 158 people killed in Israeli strikes have been brought to hospitals in the past 24 hours, bringing the war's overall death toll to 24,285. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths but says around two-thirds of those killed were women and children.

Senior U.N. officials warned Monday that Gaza faces widespread famine and disease if more aid is not allowed into the territory. While they did not directly blame Israel, they said aid delivery is hobbled by the opening of too few border crossings, a slow vetting process, and continuing fighting throughout the territory  all of which is largely under Israel's control.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said U.N. agencies and their partners cannot effectively deliver humanitarian aid while Gaza is under such heavy, widespread and unrelenting bombardment. At least 152 U.N. staffers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war.

Israeli officials say they have placed no limits on humanitarian aid and have called on the U.N. to provide more workers and trucks to accelerate delivery.

Israel completely sealed off Gaza after Hamas Oct. 7 attack and only relented under U.S. pressure. The U.S., as well as the U.N., have continued to push Israel to ease the flow of aid.

Israel blames the high civilian death toll on Hamas because it fights in dense residential areas. Israel says its forces have killed roughly 8,000 militants, without providing evidence, and that 190 of its own soldiers have been killed in the Gaza offensive.

___

Magdy reported from Cairo. Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel.
A jailed member of the Proud Boys extremist group was sentenced on Friday to more than four years in prison for his role in a mob's attack on the U.S. Capitol three years ago, court records show.

William Chrestman, a U.S. Army veteran from Olathe, Kansas, brandished an axe handle and threated police with violence after leading other Proud Boys members to the perimeter of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Chrestman pleaded guilty in October to obstructing the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress for certifying the Electoral College vote. He also pleaded guilty to a second felony count of threatening to assault a federal officer during the Capitol riot.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly sentenced Chrestman to four years and seven months in prison, according to court records.

Prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of five years and three months, arguing that he played a significant role during the riot due to his presence and conduct at pivotal moments during the day.

Indeed, Chrestman regularly presented himself as a leader among the rioters including when he was part of the tip of the spear that created the breach at the Peace Circle, encouraged other rioters to move to the police barricades, told rioters to stop the arrest of a rioter, and thanked them for supporting the Proud Boys, prosecutors wrote.

Chrestman has been jailed since his arrest in February 2021. He'll get credit for the nearly three years he already has served in custody.

Defense attorney Michael Cronkright argued that Chrestman never used his axe handle to do anything remotely violent on Jan. 6.

To date, the worst thing that the government has asserted is that he used it to touch a security gate that was already going up, Cronkright wrote.

Chrestman also had a gas mask, a helmet and other tactical gear when he traveled to Washington with other Proud Boys members from the Kansas City, Kansas, area. On Jan. 6, he marched to the Capitol grounds with dozens of other Proud Boys leaders, members and associates.

Chrestman and other Proud Boys moved past a toppled metal barricade and joined other rioters in front of another police barrier. He shouted a threat at officers and yelled at others in the crowd to stop police from arresting another rioter, according to prosecutors.

Facing the crowd, Chrestman shouted, Whose house is this?

Our house! the crowd replied.

Do you want your house back? Chrestman asked.

Yes! the crowd responded.

Take it! Chrestman yelled.

Chrestman also pointed his finger at a line of Capitol police officers, gestured at them with his axe handle and threatened to assault them if they fired pepper ball rounds at the crowd of rioters, according to a court filing accompanying his guilty plea.

Also on Friday, a man who briefly ran an unsuccessful campaign for governor of Oregon after storming the Capitol was sentenced to nearly four years in prison. Reed Knox Christensen, 65, charged at a group of police officers outside the Capitol and assaulted five of them before rioters breached the police line, prosecutors said.

Christensen captured less than 1% of the votes cast in Oregon's May 2022 Republican primary for the governor's race. Prosecutors said he used the campaign to obtain free publicity and brag about his participation in the riot."

Christensen also wrote a self-published book about his experiences prior to and including January 6, according to his attorney, Troy Nixon.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth sentenced Christensen, an engineer from Hillsboro, Oregon, to three years and 10 months in prison, court records show.

More than 1,200 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. About 900 of them have pleaded guilty or been convicted after trials decided by a jury or judge. Over 750 of them have been sentenced, with nearly 500 receiving some term of imprisonment, according to data compiled by The Associated Press.

Dozens of Proud Boys leaders, members and associates have been arrested on Jan. 6 charges. The group's former national chairman, Enrique Tarrio, was sentenced to 22 years in prison  the longest for a Capitol riot case so far. A jury convicted Tarrio and three lieutenants of seditious conspiracy charges for a failed plot to keep Donald Trump in power after the Republican lost the 2020 election.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. Azerbaijan successfully ended the 30-year Armenian occupation of its lands, not relying solely on international law, which the West often follows in theory. Instead, the accomplishment stemmed from dedicated efforts of the Azerbaijani Army. Achieving this was not a simple task. Crucial factors included substantial progress in building a robust army, securing new avenues for strengthening, and ensuring the Azerbaijani Army had access to modern weaponry. Additionally, enhancing the material capabilities and advancing the military knowledge of army officers were pivotal steps in this endeavor.

From the outset of his presidency, Ilham Aliyev, as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, actively addressed this matter and took substantial strides toward modernizing the armed forces. The annual allocation of funds from the state budget to the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan raised concerns not just in Armenia but also among certain Western groups. Consequently, President Ilham Aliyev found himself facing pressure from both the West and pro-Armenian circles.

Nevertheless, President Ilham Aliyev remained steadfast in the face of this pressure, both during the Second Karabakh War and the subsequent post-conflict period. Despite Armenians occupying 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territories and Armenia's political decisions legitimizing the occupation, which resisted negotiations for territory return, President Ilham Aliyev's focus on strengthening the army proved to be a logical and well-timed initiative. The tangible outcome of this strategic emphasis became evident during the Second Karabakh War and the local anti-terrorist measures on September 19-20 last year.

President Ilham Aliyev, taking office as president in 2003, initiated extensive and enduring efforts to prioritize the development of the military as a key area of governance. Over the 20 years of his presidency, Azerbaijan has emerged as a leading state in the South Caucasus, and it is important to acknowledge the emphasis placed on the continuous development and modernization of the armed forces during this period. These processes are still ongoing at a rapid pace today.

President Ilham Aliyev, placing significant emphasis on prioritizing the development of the army, along with the establishment and expansion of its material-technical base and defense-industrial complex, has unequivocally demonstrated to the world that Azerbaijan is on the right path with his forward-thinking policies.

One needs to take a glance at the dynamics of the growth of Azerbaijan's defense spending over the past 20 years to understand the state's commitment to this area. In this period, Azerbaijan's military budget has surged from $135 million to $3.1 billion  the highest since its declaration of independence in 1991.

The Ministry of Defence Industry of Azerbaijan, established in 2005, played a crucial role in strengthening, developing, and diversifying the material and technical base of the Azerbaijani Army. Since that time, Azerbaijan's defense budget has seen a significant increase, driven by oil revenues. The army's material and technical base has undergone modernization, new weapons have been acquired, and military and military-technical cooperation has been broadened. The Armed Forces actively participated in peacekeeping operations as part of NATO multinational forces in Kosovo and Iraq until 2008, and in Afghanistan until the summer of 2021. This engagement has helped expand international cooperation.

Furthermore, the groundwork was laid for bilateral military exercises between Azerbaijan and Turkiye since 2012 and trilateral military exercises involving Azerbaijan, Turkiye, and Georgia since 2013.

Azerbaijan allocated $20 billion for military needs between 2009 and 2019. According to another source, the country spent between $24 and $42 billion on army development from 2010 to 2020. These statistical facts serve as clear evidence of the state's commitment to the development of its military forces.

During the past three years, Azerbaijan has focused on developing its military capabilities in the post-war period, adopting a mini-model inspired by the Turkish army. Commando-type military units have been established in Azerbaijan, and, overall, approximately 200 military facilities underwent comprehensive repairs or reconstruction following the Second Karabakh War.

The successful restoration of the country's sovereignty, achieved through targeted anti-terrorist measures taken by Azerbaijan last September, has set the stage for further advancement in the international ranking of armies for Azerbaijani Armed Forces, now holding significant positions among the world's strongest military forces.

President Ilham Aliyev's two-decade-long commitment to military development underscores Azerbaijan's achievement in establishing a robust, modern, and highly skilled army adept in meeting the demands of contemporary warfare. The country's exceptional level of national security and territorial integrity stands as a testament to this success.

In the present day, Azerbaijan consistently updates its weapons arsenal with new models and places special emphasis on domestically producing defense weapons. The remarkable victories over the past two decades affirm that Azerbaijan, and its people, made the right decisions and chose the correct path during a time when political upheavals in various global hotspots resulted in unjust military conflicts and occupations. As Azerbaijan's military strength and political influence continue to grow on the international stage, it becomes increasingly evident that these assertions are grounded in real, tangible facts.

It is under President Ilham Aliyev's leadership and supreme command that Azerbaijan successfully liberated its territory from Armenian occupation, achieving a historic victory that saw the Azerbaijani flag proudly raised in every corner of Karabakh years later.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Capt. Zeita Merchant, commander of The Port of New York, will make history in April when she attains the rank of rear admiral, becoming the highest-ranking African American woman in the U.S. Coast Guard's (USGC) 233-year history.

After a lengthy confirmation process, Merchant was approved in December 2023 by Congress and will assume the rank during the Coast Guard's Change of Command exercises in April. At that time, she will assume a new position in USCG Headquarters in Washington, D.C

At the USCG Sector One, based in Rosebank, Merchant is commander of one of the nation's busiest port complexes, managing more than 1,000 personnel in 12 commands daily over an area spanning more than 6,000 square miles. She and her staff are tasked with keeping the waters of New York and New Jersey safe daily for both travelers and hundreds of billions of dollars in cargo.

Calling the USCG a close-knit family, Merchant thanked her superior officers along the way, praising the "climate for success" fostered in the nation's only military branch in the Department of Homeland Security.

She said working in New York City has been the "assignment of a lifetime," one she could never have envisioned herself in as a young college kid from the South, who admittedly joined the Coast Guard solely for college debt assistance.

"When I joined, I was focused on the three-year obligation, and even that was hard to swallow," she says with a laugh, recalling how she then quickly recognized the impact she could have on the nation's homeland defense every day  and all that changed.

"Those years went by so fast, and the impact I was making (with) my unit was one that I wanted to continue to experience," she recalled. "I remember having the conversation . . . 'What do I have to do to stay in?' "

Today, she's considered one of the USCG's top certified emergency managers leading large-scale, multi-jurisdictional incident responses.

Breaking barriers

Merchant has quickly ascended the USCG ranks during her nearly 27-year career. She also continued her education and earned a great many commendations  while tearing through color and gender barriers along the way.

In most of her leadership roles in the USCG she's either been the first minority or the first woman to hold the position  and most times she was both.

Merchant quickly praises the many who have understood her vision during her career.

"At any point there could have been a barrier, but I was truly blessed to have people that supported me and gave me a climate in which I could bring my best self to work every day," she said. "That's my goal: to give others the same environment."

Her promotion, she hopes, will shine a light on the Coast Guard for young African American women who are unfamiliar with it, as she was while growing up in Mississippi.

"People on the outside then get to consider the Coast Guard because they see someone that looks like them . . . and are, in turn, inspired by it,' she said. "That is what I see. I'm giving them something that I didn't have."

Her current position is also historic for the Coast Guard, as she's the first-ever minority to hold the position of captain of the Port of New York.

A graduate of Tougaloo College, Merchant holds a master's degree in public administration from The George Washington University and both a master's degree and a doctorate from the former National Graduate School at New England Institute of Business.

She's also graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Executive Education Leadership in Homeland Security Course, and is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT) Seminar XXI National Security and Foreign Affairs Fellow.

During her career, she's commanded maritime operations at Marine Safety Unit Chicago, served as executive officer of Marine Safety Unit Texas City, chief of port operations at Sector Miami and as a marine inspector and port operations officer at the Marine Safety Office in New Orleans.

She's also received personal military honors, including three Meritorious Service Medals, six Coast Guard Commendation Medals, three Coast Guard Achievement Medals, three Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medals and four Commandant's Letters of Commendation, among others.

And Merchant was recently named a Hero of the Harbor by the non-profit Waterfront Alliance, which celebrates the importance of coastline decision makers. She also was honored as a Woman Who Moves the Nation by the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials for her contributions to the nation's transportation industry.

As she eyes the next chapter of her career, her fourth move to the nation's capital, Merchant is enthusiastic.

"I'm excited about the opportunity to serve at the senior executive level for the Coast Guard, really making a difference," she said. "It really is a pinnacle for me."

___

(c)2024 Staten Island Advance, N.Y.

Visit Staten Island Advance, N.Y. at www.silive.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
After a hunt filled with challenging conditions, 97 elk were harvested last month, officials said.

During Michigans late-season elk hunt in December, 63% of hunters filled their tags, according to a news release from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The hunt is designed to manage elk population numbers across the entire management unit, the DNR said. There were 160 licenses issued, including 110 antlerless and 50 any-elk.

After nine days, the harvest included 41 bulls, 51 cows and five calves  97 animals, the release said.

RELATED: DNR reveals how many elk hunters found success during Michigans early-season

This second hunt period definitely had atypical weather conditions, said Chad Stewart, a deer, elk and moose specialist with the DNR. During that nine-day season, the weather was unseasonably warm with very little snow cover. When combined with the heavy acorn crop from the fall, it seems like the distribution and activity of elk were different than in previous years, which likely influenced overall success rates for our hunters.

In total, 171 elk were harvested in 2023. That includes both hunting periods and the Pure Michigan hunt winners.

Robert Beaudry, of Kingsford, a Pure Michigan Hunt winner, harvested a six-by-six bull elk weighing 521 pounds.

Ive never been so excited to go hunting as I was for this elk hunt, Beaudry said. You just have to have patience for a good shot placement. This hunt was a dream come true.

Michigans elk herd is estimated to have a population between 870 and 1,684 animals, according to the 2022 elk survey. Elk are important to the states ecosystem and provide opportunities for recreation through viewing and hunting, according to the DNR.
AUBURN HILLS, MI -- Police are searching for three suspects who made off with approximately $11,000 in jewelry Saturday in a smash-and-grab robbery at the Helzberg Diamonds inside Great Lakes Crossing mall. According to Auburn Hills police, the thieves used hammers to break the glass cases before grabbing the jewelry and fleeing the mall.

The suspects then got into a black SUV and left the mall parking lot by turning onto Baldwin Road. No employees or customers were injured in the theft which took place around 5 p.m.

Several shoppers were able to capture videos of the robbery, but so far no suspects have been taken into custody. Police are continuing to look for the suspects and are asking anyone with information to contact the Auburn Hills Police Department at 248-370-9460

Similar thefts have become more common in recent years, including in 2022 when a robbery took place at the Oakland Mall. In that case, police were eventually able to find four of the five suspects and they were arrested in connection with the robbery.
WEXFORD COUNTY, MI  A Michigan man is accused of abusing three children in Wexford County.

Michigan State Police in Cadillac began investigating 25-year-old Hayden Kyle Rose of Manton after being contacted by the Wexford County Prosecutors Office in August 2023.

The children allegedly had bruising and were being punished for having minor issues such as diarrhea, police said.

An arrest warrant was issued for Rose on Jan. 3. He was located at a residence on N 39  Road in Cedar Creek Township but did not respond to calls from troopers to exit the home and surrender.

Police entered the home, but Rose did not comply with verbal commands and physically resisted, according to police. A police dog and a taser was used complete the arrest.

He was lodged in the Wexford County Jail. Rose was arraigned last week on two counts of third-degree child abuse and one count of fourth-degree child abuse.

His next scheduled court appearance is at 2 p.m. on Jan. 30.
UTICA, MI - A public memorial will be held to honor Michigans Snake Guy, Brian Barczyk, who has lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. The family informed the public of his death today on his Facebook page and we also confirmed his death with the church where is public memorial will be held.

Nine days ago, Barczyk, who owned The Reptarium in Utica, posted his final YouTube video, This is Goodbye. In it, Barczyk, who has more than 5 million YouTube subscribers, thanked family, friends and viewers for their love and support as he mentioned how painful battling pancreatic cancer had been.

More than the guiding light of our organization, Brians fervent passion for reptiles and wildlife, along with his steadfast dedication to education, has touched innumerable hearts and minds globally, The Reptarium team wrote on Facebook. Weve lost an exceptional individual  a visionary, mentor, and friend. For those of us who had the privilege of working alongside him, Brians absence leaves an immeasurable void.

The Barczyk family is holding a public memorial walk-through to honor his memory on Wednesday, January 17 at Heritage Church, located at 44625 Schoenherr Road in Sterling Heights. The memorial is from 1-3pm.

The family also encourages people to show their support by visiting The Reptariums website where people can leave a message for the family.

Barczyk and his team had been working to expand The Reptarium at a 30,000 square foot facility across the street which will be called LegaSea Aquarium. No opening date has been given. Barczyk said in his goodbye video that he badly wanted to be at the opening.

Listen, I wanted to be there and greet you guys at the open and thats all I dreamt of. Unfortunately, I gotta tell you, that is not going to happen. Im not going to be there to see the open. Im not even going to be there to see it done.

The Reptarium team says Barczyks handprints will be at LegaSeas opening, allowing visitors to place their hands in his.

I pray that you guys will continue to watch the Vlog and continue to follow along because nothing is going to change, Barczyk added in his goodbye video. Our messages will be the same. The difference is, youre not going to see me.

Here is his goodbye video in its entirety:
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. A presentation of the Master Plan of Baku's Development until 2040 has been held in the city's Executive Power, Trend reports.

The event was attended by top officials from the Executive Power of Baku and the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture, scientists, urban planning experts, architects, prominent public figures, representatives of non-governmental organizations, settlements in Baku, and the media.

Welcoming the event participants, Head of the Executive Power of Baku, Eldar Azizov said that the conceptual Master Plan of Baku's Development until 2040 was approved on December 30 of the previous year.

He noted that the master plan, prepared at the instruction of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, meets all modern requirements and is accepted as the overall development strategy for the city.

During the event, a video about the new master plan for Baku was shown, along with a comprehensive presentation highlighting the advantages of the document.

The Head of the Department of Construction, Urban Planning, and Municipal Economy of the Cabinet of Ministers Feyruz Mustafayev, Chairman of the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture, Anar Guliyev, Chairman of the Azerbaijani Union of Architects Elbay Gasimzade, Rector of Azerbaijan University of Architecture and Construction Gulchohra Mammadova, Chief of the State Service for the Protection, Development, and Restoration of Cultural Heritage Sabina Hajiyeva, representative from the Mardakan settlement in the Khazar district Ilgar Mugbilov, architect Nariman Iamamaliyev, and others shared their thoughts and ideas regarding the master plan.

It was mentioned that the master plan, prepared by a group of local and foreign specialists, is a highly significant document for the future development of the capital. The document contains information about extensive work planned for Baku until 2040, the city's development prospects, the creation of new infrastructure, parks, and more.

The speakers expressed sincere gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva for the work done and care aimed at turning Baku into one of the most beautiful cities in the world through further improvement and modernization.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
OSCODA COUNTY, MI  Police are investigating an apparent murder-suicide in Northern Michigan.

According to the Oscoda County Sheriffs Office, three bodies were found at a residence on E. Royal Oak Road in Fairview at approximately 6:11 p.m. on Monday.

Two people, a 75-year-old woman and a 51-year-old woman, were found dead in the home. Police say they are possible victims of a homicide. The person in the garage, a 54-year-old man, was found with a pistol near him and police believe he may have died from a self-inflicted gunshot.

Deputies initially responded to the home for a well-being check. Family members granted access to the home around 11:40 p.m., and it was filled with heavy black smoke.

The Fairview Fire Department entered the home discovered the bodies. All three people were related, police said.

The incident and fire is under investigation by the Michigan State Police. There is no danger to the public.
YPSILANTI, MI - An Eastern Michigan University building had to be evacuated after a laundry room caught fire on Monday evening.

Students evacuated around 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 15 from Pittman Hall, 805 Pittman Road in Ypsilanti, according to Jeff Schulz, captain of the Ypsilanti Fire Department. Crews from Ypsilanti Fire Department called to the scene for an alarm found a fire in the buildings laundry room.

A dryer in the laundry room was on fire, Schulz said.

Pittman Hall is a residence hall for Eastern Michigan University students, according to the universitys website. The laundry room is located on the 10th floor.

No one was injured in the fire, Schulz said. The building sustained minor damage, primarily limited to smoke damage in the laundry room.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, although early investigation showed the dryer was grossly overloaded with clothes, Schulz said.

It was just packed, way overloaded with clothes, Schulz said.

The laundry facilities were temporarily shut off, Schulz said. The building was reoccupied the same night.

This occurrence is not uncommon when dryers are overloaded, Melissa Thrasher, spokesperson for Eastern Michigan University, told MLive in an email. Students were relocated for an hour before being admitted back into Pittman Hall.

Crews were on scene until roughly 8 p.m. The Ypsilanti Fire Department was aided by crews from Superior Township and Ann Arbor Township fire departments.

Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page, the Ypsilanti-area news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Ann Arbor daily newsletter.
OTTAWA COUNTY, MI  A dog is recovering after falling through thin ice on Cedar Lake East.

Georgetown Township firefighters rescued the dog, a black Labrador retriever named Hazel, on Monday, Jan. 15. The lake is just south of Fillmore Street near 24th Avenue.

Georgetown Township firefighters rescue a dog that had fallen through thin ice. (Photo provided by Matt DeWitt)Provided by Matt DeWitt

The dogs owner tried unsuccessfully to reach the dog before Ottawa County sheriffs deputies sought help from the fire departments dive team.

Firefighters used ropes and surface-rescue suits to go into the water and bring the dog to shore.

Georgetown Township firefighters rescue a dog that had fallen through thin ice. (Photo provided by Matt DeWitt)Provided by Matt DeWitt

The dog was extremely exhausted and had ice forming on its face and nose when we arrived, Fire Chief Matt DeWitt said.

He said that the dog was reunited with its owner and is making a good recovery. No one was injured during the rescue.

With heavy snow falling in recent days, DeWitt urged residents to be aware that children and pets can mistake snow-covered thin ice for solid ground.
OTTAWA COUNTY, MI -- Ottawa County commissioners have agreed to hire a separate attorney for one commissioner ahead of a Friday, Jan. 19, court hearing on a disputed $4 million settlement with the county health officer.

Commissioners voted 10-1 to approve a lawyer with Foster, Swift, Collins and Smith to represent Commissioner Jacob Bonnema.

Bonnema asked for separate legal counsel, saying he believes county corporate counsel David Kallman has mischaracterized what happened during a Nov. 6 meeting surrounding the settlement.

Bonnema said it was his belief that commissioners were deciding -- and voting upon -- whether to have Kallman write up a settlement deal with Health Officer Adeline Hambley. The vote was 7-3 following a closed session.

Kallman says commissioners were only voting to accept the recommendation of counsel to continue settlement negotiations with Hambley.

Related: Lawsuits, childhood innocence, $4M settlement talks: How far-right board shook up Ottawa County

The Friday hearing before Muskegon County Circuit Judge Jenny McNeill is intended to sort out what actually happened.

Hambleys attorney, Sarah Howard, has issued subpoenas to county Clerk Justin Roebuck, Board Chair Joe Moss and commissioners Bonnema, Roger Bergman and Doug Zylstra.

An offer was made from the board. An offer was accepted from Howard and Hambley, Bonnema said. To me, that is an agreement.

Bonnema said the recommendation, as discussed in closed session, was for Kallman to write up the $4 million settlement deal. Bonnema was one of the three people to vote no on the recommendation.

We voted no because we didnt want them to write up the settlement agreement. Its really not more complicated than that, Bonnema said.

Bonnema said he wants a lawyer separate from Kallman to guide him at the Friday hearing.

Related: Ottawa County makes $4M offer for embattled health director to resign

He said he plans to testify truthfully, but wants a lawyer to protect his ability to give my full testimony, unencumbered by a difference of opinion that Ive learned in public, that exists with corporate counsel.

Hambleys future with the county has been in question since January 2023, when a majority of commissioners voted to replace her with a new person. That vote was stymied when Hambley filed a wrongful termination lawsuit.

The county board majority is controlled by commissioners affiliated with an ultra-conservative group called Ottawa Impact.

Commissioners in October went forward with a termination hearing against Hambley, but in early November revealed they had been in settlement talks to ensure Hambleys resignation.

Several commissioners at the Tuesday, Jan. 16, meeting said they were conflicted about approving a separate lawyer for Bonnema.

Commissioner Rebekah Curran, who voted no, worried the move would set a precedent for other commissioners in the future who might want separate legal counsel. Others questioned the potential cost.

But Chair Joe Moss said the right to a separate attorney for commissioners, under certain circumstances, is set out in board policy.

Attorney Jack Jordan, who serves as co-counsel with Kallman, also said the cost will likely not be excessive because the outside attorney should only be needed for a few hours.

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SOUTH HAVEN, MI -- The finish line of an overnight sailboat race across Lake Michigan will return to South Haven this summer.

The 85th annual Queens Cup will depart from South Shore Yacht Club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on June 28. Racers sail toward a different club on Lake Michigans eastern shore each year.

South Haven Yacht Club will host finish line festivities this year. SHYC hosted the event in 2012, 2015 and 2017, according to city documents. The club expects about 100 boats to enter the harbor throughout the evening of Friday, June 28, and early hours of June 29.

Normally, the club at 401 Williams St. is only open to members and their guests. During this event, anybody will be welcome, co-organizer Lisa Kozicki said. There will be no charge for admission, but food and drinks are available for purchase.

SHYC will welcome racers and the South Haven community with a celebration from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, June 29. Many details are still in the works, Kozicki said, but there will be awards, live music and food trucks.

Events that involve our beaches, harbors or downtown are always exciting for our community, Assistant City Manager Griffin Graham said. This is an event weve hosted several times in the past. Its good for the reputation of our harbor and continues to show the welcoming nature of our community.

The city of South Haven has approved the clubs request to house boats and race officials at the Southside Municipal Marina during the event.

Kalamazoo Gazette/MLive offers free email news alerts. Click here to sign up for alerts or for the daily 3@3 Kalamazoo news roundup. Bookmark the local Kalamazoo news page here.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Gryphon Place CEO Maricela Alcala has stepped down from the Kalamazoo Public School Board of Trustees.

Alcala submitted her resignation following a a board meeting on Thursday, Jan. 11, according to a press release from the district. A reason was not given for Alcalas resignation.
MUSKEGON, MI -- Construction is on the horizon for Muskegon State Park.

A deteriorating public access walkway has been identified as a federal project through the Federal Coastal Zone Management Act.
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The Supreme Court refused to review a lower courts decision to allow a transgender student in the boys restroom at an Indiana middle school on Tuesday.

The court rejected without comment or published dissent an appeal from Metropolitan School District of Martinsville. The family of the transgender student sued the school district when officials barred him from using the boys restroom in 2023. Tuesdays decision leaves a federal appeals court ruling favoring the student intact.

Human rights advocates praised the decision on social media.

This case is about the fundamental right of every student to a safe and inclusive learning environment, and the freedom of transgender youth to be themselves. Were thankful the Court allowed this momentous victory for the transgender youth of Indiana to stand, ACLU of Indiana wrote on X Tuesday.

VICTORY



The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a federal court ruling in favor of a transgender student challenging a discriminatory restroom policy at an Indiana public school.



A lower courts ruling remains in place requiring the school to treat trans students equally.  ACLU of Indiana (@ACLUIndiana) January 16, 2024

U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a student last year but Judge Diane Wood said she anticipated the Supreme Court would intervene eventually, as litigation over transgender rights proliferates throughout the country. In the meantime, the court will adhere to standards applied in a 2017 ruling out of Wisconsin.

Ashton Whitaker, a trans highschooler, and his mother sued Kenosha Unified School District after school officials refused to let Whitaker use the boys restroom. A U.S. District Judge granted Whitaker permission to continue using the boys restroom, but the school district appealed the decision, arguing it would disproportionately harm other students. A unanimous three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit rejected the appeal.

At issue in Metropolitan School District of Martinsville v. A.C. is whether bathroom restrictions violate the Constitutions equal protection clause and a law prohibiting discrimination in schools that receive federal funding.

Court documents in the case state A.C., a transgender child at John R. Wooden Middle School, grew angry, humiliated and depressed over the school districts policy which requires him to either use the girls bathroom or sign a permission slip to use a single-user restroom in the schools health office.

The Supreme Court has declined to weigh in on similar cases before. In 2021, the high court rejected a petition from a Virginia school board after a 4th Circuit Appeals Court ruled the schools bathroom restrictions violated Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause by prohibiting transgender student Gavin Grimm from using the same restrooms as other boys and forcing him to use separate restrooms.

The decision set a precedent covering schools in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. Certain state and municipally owned land plots in the administrative territories of Absheron and Khizi districts have been designated as renewable energy territories, Trend reports.

The corresponding decree was signed by Prime Minister Ali Asadov,

According to the document, to build a 240 MW Khizi-Absheron wind power plant, there are 8.0052 hectares of state land in Absheron district, 6.1763 hectares of Pirekeshkul-Gobustan municipality in Absheron district, 3.7665 hectares of state land in Khizi district, and 18.8293 hectares of land in Sitalchay municipality in Khizi district. A total of 36.7773 hectares of land are defined as the territory of Renewable Energy Sources (RES).

The Ministry of Energy will implement activities for the selection of electricity producers in the renewable energy territory defined by this decree by the requirements of the "Procedure for Selection of Electricity Producers in the Renewable Energy Territory." Since the date of entry into force of this decree, the permit for the construction of a wind farm on the land plot of 36.7773 hectares defined as the territory of renewable energy sources (RES) for the production of electricity will be adopted within the period stipulated by the law "On the Use of Renewable Energy Sources in Electricity Production," following the Urban Planning and Construction Code.

The State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture, according to this decree, must notify the Cabinet of Ministers within three days from the date of issuance of the construction permit, and in case of refusal to issue the construction permit within the prescribed period, within three days afterward.

Control over the implementation of this resolution is entrusted to the Department of Agrarian and Environmental Policy of the Cabinet of Ministers Apparatus.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. New conditions for issuing notes were approved by the decision of the board of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) dated December 27, 2023, Trend reports via the Baku Stock Exchange (BSE).

According to the BSE, restrictions for secondary market players have been eased under the new rules.

This means that any individual or legal body can buy and sell CBA securities, as well as conduct repossessions and other transactions. The new rule, which expands investment opportunities, makes these assets more available, the BSE noted.

There are also no restrictions on the amount of a competitive offer that a participant can submit at the CBA notes auction, according to the BSE.

Securities turnover on the Baku Stock Exchange (BSE) hit 27.3 billion manat ($16 billion) in 2023, an 83 percent increase from 2022.

Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, January 16. Turkmenistan and Afghanistan discussed the start of practical work within the framework of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, Trend reports.

The meeting on the matter took place in Kabul between Chairman of the Board of Directors of TAPI Pipeline Company Ltd. Muhammetmyrat Amanov, Ambassador of Turkmenistan Khoja Ovezov and Acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum of Afghanistan Shahabuddin Delawar.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the importance of the TAPI transnational gas pipeline project, the allocation of land for the construction of the pipeline and the dispatch of a technical group from Turkmenistan to Kabul.

Shahabuddin Delawar described the TAPI project as useful not only for Afghanistan, but also for all participating countries, stressing that the people of Afghanistan support this large-scale economic project and the country is open to any kind of cooperation in this direction.

Following the meeting, the parties stressed the need to continue technical meetings to accelerate work on the project.

Turkmenistan is making significant efforts in the development of the TAPI gas pipeline, seeking to strengthen its role as a leading supplier of natural gas in the region. Turkmenistan's strategic participation in this project highlights its commitment to diversify export routes and strengthen energy security.
Dinesh Unnikrishnan is Editor-Banking & Finance at Moneycontrol. Dinesh heads the Banking and Finance Bureau at Moneycontrol. He also writes a weekly column, Banking Central, every Monday.
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BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) consortium will test its asset materials for hydrogen supplies this month, TAP AG told Trend.

"We are in the process of assessing the degree to which TAP can technically accommodate transporting a blend of natural gas and hydrogen. In 2021, an Initial Hydrogen Readiness study confirmed that TAP has the potential to transport hydrogen blend. We will start the testing of our asset materials this month and we expect the initial results for the offshore pipeline towards the beginning of Q2 2024," said the consortium.

TAP AG said its ambition is to develop the asset to allow transportation of hydrogen, initially in the form of a blend with natural gas.

"We envisage hydrogen concentrations being increased in incremental steps in line with the development of the hydrogen market and relevant demand, as well as the evolving regulatory framework both at EU and member state levels," said the consortium.

TAP transports natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea to Europe. The 878 km long pipeline connects with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border in Kipoi, crosses Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Southern Italy.

TAP facilitates gas supplies to South Eastern European countries through existing and prospective interconnectors. TAP is connected to Interconnector Greece Bulgaria (IGB) which started its commercial operations in October 2022, providing Caspian gas to Bulgaria, enhancing security of energy supplies in one more European country.

Follow the author on X: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Meghna Mittal MEGHNA MITTAL is Deputy News Editor at Moneycontrol. Meghna has experience across television, print, online and wire media. She has been covering the Indian economy, monetary and fiscal policies, Finance and Trade ministries. She tweets at @Meghnamittal23 Contact: meghna.mittal@nw18.com
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Pratim Ranjan Bose is an independent columnist, researcher, and consultant. His Twitter handle is @pratimbose. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. Europe will soon launch industrial SMR (small modular reactors) alliance, European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said, addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trend reports.

In Europe weve finalized all the legislative basis that will set our targets for 2030. We know what needs to be done to achieve a significant share in our overall energy mix to be covered by renewables. We will prioritize all the technologies that help us to save energy, she said.

The commissioner pointed out that the lesson learned from the past two years is that despite the fact that European consumers could replace lots of Russian fossil fuels by alternative suppliers, they dont want to do that.

That could create unwanted consequences across the globe. We prioritize savings, we did so, in 2022 we saved 18 percent of gas usually consumed by our consumers on average. Now, we are at the final stage to set our target for 2040. We will of course, prioritize renewables, but we will also need low carbon technologies that will help us to cut emissions. After two weeks, when we will present our 2040 targets, we will also accompany our communication on carbon removals, and we will also launch industrial SMR (small modular reactors) alliance, she added.

Follow the author on X: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Srinath Sridharan is Author, Policy Researcher & Corporate Advisor, Twitter: @ssmumbai. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.
All eyes are on which political parties are going to join the consecration programme at Ayodhya on 22 January and which parties are not.

The Congress has certainly taken a risk by deciding to boycott the consecration event of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya on 22 January. But what other option did it have? Joining a show that celebrates the triumph of the BJP and all it stands for would not get the Congress any extra votes and it may indeed lead to a dilution of its minority and secular votes.

The risk is that the BJP will use the boycott to
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Christin Mathew Philip is an Assistant editor at moneycontrol.com. Based in Bengaluru, he writes on mobility, infrastructure and start-ups. He is a Ramnath Goenka excellence in journalism awardee. You can find him on Twitter here: twitter.com/ChristinMP_
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, January 16. The government of Kazakhstan is committed to further deepening cooperation with the World Bank, said Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, Trend reports.

He made the remark during a meeting with World Bank Regional Director for Central Asia Tatyana Proskuryakova.

The sides discussed issues of carrying out joint projects in the field of economic development, digitalization implementation, environmental protection, etc. For more than 30 years of cooperation, 48 joint projects worth over $8 billion have been successfully implemented in the country. Today, there are 6 actively operating projects.

According to him, the partnership with the World Bank is aimed at supporting reforms carried out in Kazakhstan to achieve more inclusive and sustainable development. "A striking example of this is the Joint Economic Research Program, which has been successfully implemented for more than 20 years", he noted.

In turn, Proskuryakova noted that the World Bank has intensified the preparation of new projects for Kazakhstan, which was facilitated by negotiations held in August last year. This also applies to the

governments program to connect remote settlements to the Internet."This will be a very good example for all Central Asian countries. I think that Kazakhstans role as a regional leader will strengthen," she noted.

Meanwhile, the WB operates in Kazakhstan under the current Country Partnership Framework for 2020-2025. The CPF aligns with the government's reform program and Kazakhstan's 2050 development strategy, aimed at expediting the transformation of Kazakhstan into a modern society with a knowledge-based, diversified, and private-sector-driven economy.
Manik Sharma is an independent entertainment journalist. Views expressed are personal.
Sandipan Deb is former managing editor of Outlook, former editor of The Financial Express, and founding editor of Outlook Money, Open, and Swarajya magazines. He has authored books such as 'The IITians: The Story of an Extraordinary Indian Institution and How its Alumni Are Reshaping the World', 'Fallen Angel: The Making and Unmaking of Rajat Gupta', and 'The Last War'. The views expressed in his column are personal, and do not reflect those of Moneycontrol. You can follow Sandipan on Twitter @sandipanthedeb
Nivedita Jayaram Pawar is a Mumbai-based freelance journalist, who writes on food, art, design, travel and lifestyle.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. The Committee for Veterinary Control and Supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan from January 16 cancels previously imposed restrictions on foot-and-mouth disease, avian influenza, nodular dermatitis, smallpox of sheep and goats on the importation of several goods from 26 regions of Russia, Trend reports.

"Deliveries of live animals and birds, meat, dairy and all kinds of poultry products, ready-made products, hatching eggs, genetic material, feed and feed supplements for birds and live animals, non-food and untreated leather raw materials and products obtained from the slaughter of animals and birds, used equipment for their maintenance, slaughter, and processing, as well as hunting trophies, are allowed," the report reads.

In addition, from some regions cattle, living sheep, and goats might transit carried out through the territory of Kazakhstan.
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, January 16. The cooperation between the European Commission and Kyrgyzstan can be strengthened in terms of financial and economic partnership, said Vice President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, Trend reports.

He made the remark during a meeting with Kyrgyzstan's President, Sadyr Japarov, in Bishkek, confidently noting the benefits of the partnership.

The discussions encompassed a broad spectrum of topics, including priority projects for Kyrgyzstan, investments, financing, prospects for banking relations, and regional security issues.

Schinas emphasized the importance of positive changes in Central Asia and said that the European Commission is ready to deepen cooperation with Kyrgyzstan. The VP highlighted that his visit to Kyrgyzstan is focused on climate projects, issues of digitization, and the development of transport corridors. He underscored the European Commission's readiness to support Kyrgyzstan's development in these areas.

During the meeting, President Japarov positively noted the active dynamics of Kyrgyzstan's collaboration with the EU, both at the interregional and bilateral levels. The president emphasized the significance of the upcoming Investors Forum for Kyrgyzstan, scheduled to take place in Brussels on January 29-30, with a focus on developing transport connections.

Additionally, the President of Kyrgyzstan highlighted the active civil society, freedom of the press, and unrestricted access to the internet, emphasizing the importance of reliable information in the online space.
Amid chaos over flight delays and cancellations due to adverse weather conditions, the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) on Monday allowed airlines to cancel flights that are likely to be delayed beyond three hours, an official said, adding the aviation watchdog has also issued new standard operating procedures (SOPs).

The SOP states: "Facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights, and delays in flights."

The SOPs lay down a framework that mandates airlines to adhere to specific measures to alleviate the inconvenience faced by passengers during extended delays, especially in the wake of adverse weather conditions.

One of the key provisions of the SOPs is the requirement for airlines to prominently display the reference of the CAR -- civil aviation requirement -- on all flight tickets.

This ensures that passengers are made aware of their rights and the procedures to be followed in the event of flight cancellations or delays.

Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport in the last two days has experienced significant disruptions with nearly 600 flights delayed, and 76 flights cancelled due to dense fog and poor visibility.

This has caused a ripple effect across airports in the country.

As per sources, the primary reason for the chaos is the limited operational capacity of the airport's runways.

The India Meteorological Department on Monday said that dense to very dense fog conditions are likely to continue to prevail across north India during the next three days and dense fog thereafter.

Disclaimer: Information, facts or opinions expressed in this news article are presented as sourced from IANS and do not reflect views of Moneylife and hence Moneylife is not responsible or liable for the same. As a source and news provider, IANS is responsible for accuracy, completeness, suitability and validity of any information in this article.
The forthcoming census could be the first digital census in the history of India. For this monumental and milestone-marking task, I have allocated Rs3,768 crore in the year 2021-22.

- Nirmala Sitharaman, Union finance minister, 1 February 2021, Lok Sabha

Census 2021 and the related field activities have been postponed until further orders. The forthcoming Census is to be the first digital Census and there is a provision for self-enumeration. Mobile Apps for collection of data and a Census portal for management and monitoring of various Census related activities have been developed. The intent of the Government for conducting Census 2021 was notified in Gazette of India on 28th March, 2019. Subsequently, a notification under Citizenship Rules was published in the Gazette of India on 31st July, 2019 to prepare and update the Population Register along with the first phase of Census i.e. House listing and Housing Census. However, due to outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the conduct of Census 2021, updating of National Population Register and the related field activities have been postponed until further orders.

- Nityanand Rai, Union minister of state in ministry of home affairs, 7 February 2023, Lok Sabha

The Office of the Registrar General (of National Population Register) and Census Commissioner of India has informed that there is no plan to use Aadhaar data for census.

-Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union minister of state for electronics and information technology, 5 April 2023, Lok Sabha

The UIDAI will also partner with the Registrar General of India (RGI)  who will prepare the National Population Register through the Census 2011  to reach as many residents as possible and enrol them into the UID database. This may require incorporating some additional procedures into the RGI data collection mechanism, in order to make it UID-ready.

-p.17, UIDAI Strategy Overview: Creating A Unique Identity Number for Every Resident of India, Unique Identification Authority of India, Planning Commission of India, April 2010

There are three references to census in the 547-page landmark unanimous verdict of the nine-judge Constitution bench delivered on 24 August 2017 in the unique identification (UID)/ Aadhaar number scheme-related case. Its leading order was authored by Dr justice DY Chandrachud. The Court has recorded that Tushar Mehta, the additional solicitor general, mentioned the Census Act, 1948 to argue that this statute already protects the privacy rights of individuals; therefore, it is unnecessary to read a fundamental right of privacy into part III of the Constitution.

The word 'census' has been mentioned on nine occasions in the 1,448-page order dated 26 September 2018 on UID/ Aadhaar number database scheme delivered by a five-judge Constitution bench. The order includes the majority order authored by justice AK Sikri (now retired), the concurring order by justice Ashok Bhushan (now retired) and the dissenting order by Dr DY Chandrachud. Recognising that some of the concerns raised by the Aadhaar scheme have arisen for the first time in India, comparative jurisprudence and judgements of foreign jurisdictions on census have been deemed appropriate because many of the measures prescribed under the Aadhaar Act are similar.

Dr Chandrachuds 481-page order draws on the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court of the Federal Republic of Germany which dealt with a challenge to the German Federal Census Act, 1983, which paved the way for unlimited census. His order has been vindicated by the decision dated 13 November 2019 by a five-judge constitution bench in Rojer Mathew vs South Indian Bank Ltd. Notably, justice Bhushans order also dwells on the decision of the German court in the matter of unlimited census.

This German law provided for the collection of citizens basic personal information, including inter alia, source of income, occupation, supplementary employment, educational background and hours of work. There were certain provisions in the law which provided for transmission of statistical data to local governments for the purposes of regional planning, surveying, environmental protection and redrawing of election districts. The German court struck down provisions permitting the transfer of statistical data to local authorities on the grounds that they enabled authorities to compare census data with local housing registries. The German court observed that the combination of statistical data and a personalised registry could lead to the identification of particular persons which would lead to a chilling effect on individuals right to informational self-determination.

The German court observed that distinct silos of data can be pieced together with other data collections particularly when individual integrated information systems are built up  to add up to a partial or virtually complete personality profile. This creates an architecture wherein the person concerned has no means of controlling its truth and application. It took note of the technical means of storing individual statements about personal or factual situations of a certain or verifiable person with the aid of automatic data processing. It implies that the extent of processing individuals data is unlimited and the data can be retrieved in a matter of seconds, irrespective of the distance.

Tracing the origin of the unique identification (UID)/ Aadhaar project, in his verdict, justice Sikri (now retired) refers to the planning commissions processes committee that was set up on 3 July 2006 to suggest the process for updation, modification, addition and deletion of data and fields from the core database to be created under the UID for the BPL families project. The processes committee, on 26 November 2006, prepared a paper known as Strategic Vision Unique Identification of Residents.

The fact is that it is one of the earliest documents which refers to UID. It is a 14-page document which was admittedly prepared by Wipro Ltd and submitted to the processes committee of the planning commission. The processes committee did not prepare it. This document envisaged the close linkage that the UIDAI would have with the electoral database.

On 4 December 2006, the prime minister Manmohan Singh had constituted an empowered group of ministers (E-GoM) comprising A Raja, the then minister of communications & information technology, the minister-in-charge responsible for UID and related others on the basis of this strategic vision document. Therefore, factual misrepresentation in the order with regard to the origin of UID/ Aadhaar project assumes great significance.

The use of the electoral database mentioned in Wipro Ltds document remains on the agenda given the fact that aggressive attempts have been made to link the voter ID number with UID/ Aadhaar number. Justice Sikris order does not refer to Wipro Ltd, which prepared the vision document, although this vision document was submitted by the government in the course of the judicial proceedings. Prior to the hearing in the court, this vision document was not in the public domain. Its vision statement reads: Creating a unique identification system of all residents in the country for efficient, transparent, reliable and effective delivery of various welfare and private services to the common person.

The cover page of the vision document mentions the names of institutions and the private firm namely, the National Institute for Smart Government, department of information technology and Wipro Consulting and states that Wipro Ltd is the consultant for the design phase and program management phase of the pilot UIDAI project, the Strategic Vision on the UIDAI Project. This is the first document of November 2006 which refers to UIDAI for the first time. UIDAI took birth in January 2009.

What is stated in Wipros vision document with regard to electoral database finds echo in justice SIkris order wherein it is stated that A core group was set up to advice and further the work related to UIDAI.Meetings of the core group took place from time to time. The core group, inter alia, decided that it was better to start with the electoral roll database of 2009 for undertaking the UIDAI project. It further states, This and other steps taken in this direction culminated in issuance of notification dated July 02, 2009 whereby Mr Nandan Nilekani was appointed as the chairman of UIDAI for an initial tenure of five years in the rank and status of a cabinet minister. He assumed charge on July 24, 2009. Thereafter, the Prime Ministers council of UIDAI was constituted on July 30, 2009 which held its first meeting on August 12, 2009 where the chairman of UIDAI made detailed representation on the broad strategy and approach of the proposed UID project. Interestingly, only within 20 days of joining UIDAI after resigning as CEO, Infosys Ltd, Mr Nilekani became competent enough to give detailed representation on the broad strategy and approach of the proposed UID project. His appointment letter addressed him as CEO, Infosys Ltd. Later, Mr Nilekani headed the technology advisory group (TAGUP), and recommended the setting up of the national information utilities (NIU) to deal with complex information technology (IT) systems and projects. This TAGUP report refers to the UIDAI strategy overview document prepared by WIPRO Technologies Pvt and published by UIDAI.

Notably, Infosys Leadership Institute (ILI) had set up the Jawaharlal Nehru Leadership Institute (JNLI) in 2008 for training the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) and National Students' Union of India (NSUI) with GK Jayaram as its chief mentor. Mr Jayaram's Bangalore-based Institute of Leadership and Institutional Development (ILID) was a consultant to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Contemporary Studies.

Subsequently, a web-based Pehchaan (identity) platform was set up "as a mechanism to identify and promote elected office-bearers (EOBs) at every level." The text of a resolution in this regard reads, "Every EOB is allotted a unique ID and password and given the opportunity to share their work and connect with the organisation at various levels."

Mr Jayaram, the chief mentor for training IYC and NSUI, was formerly associated with the US Navy Post-Graduate School and worked in US firms like AT&T. It may be noted that in 2006, the Electronic Frontier Foundation lodged a class action lawsuit alleging that AT&T had allowed agents of the national security agency (NSA) to monitor phone and internet communications of AT&T customers without warrants in violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 and the first and fourth amendments of the US constitution.

It is apparent that those who pushed the idea of unique identity before the ruling political leadership have been involved with foreign defence and private firms whose past merited deeper scrutiny. Justice Sikri could not see through the incestuous relationship between domestic and foreign private firms with UIDAI because he has refrained from naming the firm which conceptualised its strategic vision.

Notably, the comptroller and auditor general has reported in August 2016 that Wipro, Indias third largest software exporter, has been given 'undue favours' of Rs4.92 crore by the competent authority in UIDAI. Wipro was given a contract by UIDAI in May 2011 for Rs134 crore for installing security systems in the data centres of UIDAI in Bengaluru and Delhi/ NCR region. Besides undue favour garnered by Wipro, it is apparent that it created business for itself through its preparation of the strategic vision for the UIDAI project, a classic case of manifest conflict of interest.

Given the fact that the prime ministers council of UIDAI was directly overseeing the execution of the UID/ Aadhaar project, it is pertinent to note what the then-prime minister said. He observed, "We live in a world of uncertainty and ex-post whether it is the comptroller and auditor general, whether it is a parliamentary committee then they analyse post facto. They have a lot more facts which were not available to those who took the decision."

In the face of several years of the existence of a controversial public institution like UIDAI, justice Sikri should have asked the comptroller and auditor general of India to 'analyse post-facto' the work of UIDAI and the involvement of its key office bearers in awarding contracts to private firms, some of which have already come under CAGs scrutiny instead of deliberately omitting the role of private firms like Wipro in his order. Wipros case is just the tip of the iceberg which got detected and caught by CAG.

The concerns over the breach of citizens data prompted several state governments to halt the ongoing data collection process for a national population register (NPR). The fear is that the information sought under NPR is much wider in scope and could potentially be used to target any section of society.

What the anti-NPR advocates did not realise is that there are more solid reasons to fear the NPR because it is not just a census exercise, but a larger data convergence scheme. NPR's linkage with Aadhaar number plays a central role here. In fact, NPR of the ministry of home affairs and UIDAI's CIDR of UID/ Aadhaar numbers under the ministry of electronics and information technology (MEITY), are aimed at creating an architecture for indiscriminate mass surveillance of the present and future voters. They are being structurally coerced to give their consent to the immoral and illegitimate exercise of their profiling for unlimited times.

Both these exercises have turned every newborn citizen into a suspect. There is a file being created to track and profile him/ her for good. Like the Indian national security advisor's threat to his adversaries about having a file on them, having a UID/ Aadhaar number and NPR automatically creates a file of all the residents of India. Even infants are not spared in this cruel scheme of things.

Here are some reasons for scrapping the Aadhaar database scheme and repealing the Aadhaar Act:

1. The majority order of the Supreme Court's five-judge Constitution bench on 26 September 2018 has pointed out that the UID/ Aadhaar number project and NPR project are part of the one database convergence scheme. NPR has been mentioned at least on eight occasions in the order to underline it. A centralised database is the most vulnerable entity in the digital world. The leakage of the database of UKs children has revealed the old maxim, If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear, has been given a very public burial. This has been thoroughly debunked. This maxim is attributed to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. Database State, a report from the UK, states: In October 2007, Her Majestys Revenue and Customs (Department) lost two discs containing a copy of the entire child benefit database. Only blind faith in a utopian state can persuade people to think that they have nothing to fear after trusting their personal sensitive information to a database state and non-state actors like Safran, Ernst & Young and Accenture.

2. One of the earliest documents that refers to UIDAI, a 14-page document titled 'Strategic Vision: Unique Identification of Residents' prepared by Wipro Ltd for the government, envisaged the close linkage that the UIDAI's Aadhaar would have with the electoral database. The use of the electoral database mentioned in Wipro's document remains on the agenda of the proponents of UID/ Aadhaar.

3. The 41-page Wikileaked document titled 'Creating a unique identity number for every resident in India' that declared itself to be a 'Confidential- property of UIDAI' reveals that, from day one, the Union government wanted to create a file on each of '1.2 billion residents'; the division of work between the ministry of home affairs (MHA)'s NPR and the ministry of electronics and information technology (MEITY)'s UID/ Aadhaar was/ is merely an attention diversion tactic to outwit citizens scrutiny.

The ongoing merger of the electoral database with UID/ Aadhaar number debunks UIDAI's claim in the confidential document that UID/ Aadhaar number 'will not contain intelligence' and 'the location of the person.' From these disclosures, it seems that the government has adopted an adversarial role vis-a-vis Indians and acting beyond its constitutional mandate in order to pander to the interests of the commercial czars, non-state actors and foreign intelligence companies.

4. In an RTI (right to information) reply dated 25 October 2013, UIDAI shared a truncated contract agreement with Ernst & Young. The contract agreement states that "the unique ID will be a random 12-digit number with the basis for establishing uniqueness of identity being biometrics." It announces that "we will provide a Unique Identity to over 113.9 crore people."

This is evidently a fraudulent announcement because UIDAI, with which the agreement has been signed, had the mandate to provide unique identity to only 600mn (million) residents of India, and not to 1,139mn people.

It is evident that while the government kept Ernst & Young informed about its motive, it kept states, citizens, the parliament and the Supreme Court in the dark. The contract agreement reveals that "biometric systems are not 100% accurate" and "uniqueness of the biometrics is still a postulate." This admission pulverises the deceptive edifice on which MEITY's UID/ Aadhaar and MHA's NPR rests.

5. Section 57 of un-amended Aadhaar Act, 2016 stated that "Nothing contained in this Act shall prevent the use of Aadhaar number for establishing the identity of an individual for any purpose, whether by the State or anybody corporate or person, pursuant to any law, for the time being in force, or any contract to this effect."

It implies that UID/ Aadhaar of 'over 113.9 crore people' has been shared with foreign private body corporates like Ernst & Young. It is only after the horse had escaped the barn that the door was closed through section 25 of Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Act, 2019 in compliance with the court's order dated 26 September 2018.

Section 25 of the Amendment Act 2019 states that section 57 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 has been omitted with effect from 24 July 2019.

6. In paragraph 8 of the majority order authored by justice AK Sikri, it is recorded that "a Processes Committee was set up on 3 July 2006, to suggest the process for updation, modification, addition and deletion of data and fields from the core database to be created under the Unique Identification for BPL Families project.

This Committee, on 26 November 2006, prepared a paper known as 'Strategic Vision Unique Identification of Residents'. Based thereupon, the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) was set up on 4 December 2006, to collate the National Population Register under the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Unique Identification Number project of the Department of Information Technology.

Subsequently, a committee of secretaries was formed. The said committee gave its recommendations which were discussed by EGoM. After approving the Aadhaar scheme in principle, it instructed the Cabinet secretary to convene a meeting to finalise the detailed organisational structure of the UID.

After considering the recommendation of the Cabinet secretary, notification no. A-43011/02/2009-Admn.I was issued on 28 January 2009, by the government of India which constituted and notified the UIDAI. Annexure 1 of this notification that constituted UIDAI deals with the role and responsibilities of UIDAI. The fourth point in this notification reads: 'implementation of UID scheme will entail' taking 'necessary steps to ensure collation of NPR with UID (as per. approved strategy)'.

7. The minutes of a meeting of the committee of secretaries held under the chairmanship of the Cabinet secretary on 23 November 2015, talk of "integrating the twin approaches under NPR and Aadhaar."

The "integrating the twin approaches under NPR and Aadhaar" which is referred to here is the same as taking "necessary steps to ensure collation of NPR with UID (as per approved strategy)" underlined in the notification mentioned in the Aadhaar Act.

8. A ministry of home affairs communication dated 19 July 2019, states that "The National Population Register (NPR) thus prepared, was seeded with Aadhaar number during its updation exercise in 2015 along with a collection of demographic details of new household members. Approx. 60 crores Aadhaar numbers have been seeded in NPR Database."

This communication discloses that "It has now been decided by the Ministry of Home Affairs to update the existing NPR database during April 2020 - September 2020 along with House listing & Housing Census phase of Census 2021. While updating the NPR, the Aadhaar number of all the individuals whose Aadhaar number is not available in the NPR Database will also be collected along with various other items. Necessary notification for updating NPR in 2020 will be issued shortly."

9. The court's order reveals that "A core group was set up to advise and further the work related to UIDAI...The core group, inter alia, decided that it was better to start with the electoral roll database of 2009 for undertaking the UIDAI project." If an UID/ Aadhaar-enabled biometric attendance system is indeed a digital equivalent of an age-old attendance register, why did the National Human Rights Commission object to a radio collar which can also be argued by sophists to be a digital equivalent? It may be recalled that the Union ministry of external affairs had agreed with the NHRCs assessment. The Union minister of external affairs informed parliament that some 18 students were detained and released in the US with radio monitoring devices on their ankles, pending completion of investigations for possible involvement in irregularities. We have also strongly protested the radio collars as unacceptable, which should be removed immediately. If the digital equivalent means biometric equivalent as well, then radio collar and DNA-based identity and attendance will also be deemed equivalent to the age-old attendance register. It is quite evident that such claims are deeply misleading.

10. The reference to such other biological attributes in Section 2 (g) of Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, and the definition of biometrics under the Information Technology (Reasonable security practices and procedures and sensitive personal data or information) Rules, 2011 under section 87 read with section 43A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 underlines that it includes the technologies that measure and analyse human body characteristics, such as 'fingerprints', 'eye retinas and irises', 'voice patterns', 'facial patterns', 'hand measurements' and 'DNA' for authentication purposes. It is abundantly clear that the plan of UID/ Aadhaar-based surveillance does not end with the collection of fingerprints and iris scans, it goes quite beyond it.

The confidential document of UIDAI reveals that "One way to ensure that the unique identification (UID) number is used by all government and private agencies is by inserting it into the birth certificate of the infant. Since the birth certificate is the original identity document, it is likely that this number will then persist as the key identifier through the individual's various life events, such as joining school, immunizations, voting, etc." Notably, there has never been any occasion wherein there was an all-party meeting to seek the consent of all the political parties with regard to the merger of UID/ Aadhaar database with 'electoral roll database'. It is evident that the provision of electoral bonds in the Companies Act, 2013 and the merger of voter-ID number and Aadhaar number through an amendment in the Aadhaar Act is an exercise in the merger of the electoral database and the Aadhaar database which will lead to the extinction of the political and civil rights of present and future generations.

The justice Sikri-authored order of the Supreme Courts constitution bench missed the opportunity to save present and future Indians from the dictatorship of faceless donors created through the Finance Act 2017 and the Finance Act 2018 which has compromised national security and almost all the public institutions. He has made citizens and natural persons residing in India naked and transparent in a legal system in which artificial persons, and the opaqueness of body corporates has been legalised. The order committed a Himalayan blunder by ruling that the right to have natural and human rights of citizens can be made conditional. This is being done by the government at the behest of the beneficial owners of ungovernable technology companies who have turned ruling political parties into puppets through their limitless and anonymous transnational donations.

This creates a compelling reason for the states to un-sign the MoUs they have signed with UIDAI and discontinue both, the UID/ Aadhaar and NPR exercise. This is required to resist the emergence of an unlimited government, unlimited by the constitution of India and constitutionalism. The Aadhaar database scheme is an unlimited census in disguise. It is naturalising mass surveillance and mass spying in myriad disguises and through diverse kinds of fish baits.

There is a compelling logic for setting up a high-powered commission of inquiry to probe the ongoing bartering of citizen's databases and transfer of national data assets to foreign entities. In the face of assault on citizens rights and the emergence of a regime that is making legislatures and judiciary subservient to automatic identification, big data mining and artificial intelligence companies, the order of justice Sikri undermined the constitution and the sovereignty of the citizens who framed it. If the flawed order is not reversed by the seven-judge constitution bench, India's social policies will be guided by biometric and genetic determinism and eugenic thinking of beneficial owners of unaccountable and admittedly undemocratic institutions.

In a country where no intelligence chief or official has been held accountable for the assassination of three of its prime ministers and for betraying the nation's secrets, can it be hoped that all those who have compromised India's data security will be made liable for their treacherous acts of transferring the sensitive data of present and future citizens including ministers, legislators, soldiers and judges?

(The author is a law and philosophy researcher and a practising lawyer. He had appeared before the parliamentary committee that examined the National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010 which was withdrawn in 2016 and enacted later as Aadhaar Act, 2016.)
Rejecting the contention of the Life Insurance Corporation of India Ltd (LIC) that ventral hernia surgery is not covered under the list of major surgical benefits under its Jeevan Arogya policy, the national consumer disputes redressal commission (NCDRC) directed LIC to pay Rs1.60 lakh as claim for medical treatment to the policyholder.

In an order last week , the NCDRC bench of Dr Inder Jit Singh (presiding member) says, "We are not in agreement with the contentions of the petitioner (LIC) that 'ventral hernia' is not covered under the list of major surgical benefit. We also do not agree with the contentions of the petitioner that there was any suppression of material facts by the respondent herein. Under the policy, major surgical benefit sum assured is equal to 100 times the applicable benefit in any policy year for each insured. Surgery or surgical procedure means a medically necessary procedure or intervention performed by a qualified medical practitioner and carried out through a natural orifice or approached by cutting or penetration of any part of the body to treat a disease deformity or injury."

The case is related to a Jeevan Arogya insurance policy bought by Tripura-based Purbita Gupta. The policy also covered her father, Purnendu Gupta and mother Sumita Gupta. During the subsistence of the policy, Mr Gupta, the father of Purbita, underwent ventral hernia surgery on 18 July 2016 at Apollo Hospital in Chennai.

After completion of treatment, the Gupta family returned to Agartala, and Ms Gupta submitted a claim of Rs2.17 lakh being the cost of treatment of her father under the policy along with medical prescriptions, bills and vouchers with a forwarding letter addressed to the chief manager of LIC at Agartala branch.

After receiving the claim, LIC's manager for health insurance from its Silchar divisional office sought some clarification from Ms Gupta. On 14 September 2016, she replied to the queries. On 12 January 2017, the chief manager from the Agartala branch personally visited the Guptas' house and did physical verification of the claim and related documents.

However, on 27 March 2017, LIC's manager for health insurance from its Silchar divisional office informed Ms Gupta that her claim was reduced to Rs17,100 as other surgical benefits under the Jeevan Arogya policy.

According to Ms Gupta, she has fulfilled the terms and conditions of the policy but, in spite of that, LIC denied her justified claim on the grounds that 'ventral hernia' surgery is not a major surgery.

Being aggrieved, she filed a complaint before the West Tripura district consumer disputes redressal forum. On 28 June 2019, the district forum partly allowed the complaint. It says, "Admittedly, the hernia surgery of the father of Ms Gupta was performed in the year 2017, which is five years after the date of purchase of the policy. As per the policy, the specific waiting period for getting benefits out of the policy for treatment of hernia is two years."

"Moreover, it is on record that the father of Ms Gupta remained as an indoor patient for five days in the Apollo Hospitals for undergoing the surgery. This is a significant aspect to make us understand the health condition of the father of Ms Gupta at the pre-and post-operation stages, who is also a senior citizen. Having regard to this position, we are of the opinion that Ms Gupta should not be deprived of getting insurance benefits for the ventral hernia surgery, which was undertaken by her father at the Apollo Hospital, simply on the ground that such a surgery does not find place in the list of major surgical benefit," the district forum ruled.

Being aggrieved by the order, LIC filed an appeal before the Tripura state consumer disputes redressal commission. On 18 January 2020, the state commission dismissed the petition filed by LIC.

In its order, the state commission observed that while Ms Gupta had filed a claim of Rs2.17 lakh, the district forum directed LIC to pay Rs1.60 lakh. The district forum did not allow other charges like equipment, medical administration, and non-pharmaceutical material and also did not allow the entire actual cost of treatment.

"Though according to us, the complainant is entitled to get the entire cost of treatment. We are of the opinion that if surgery like a ventral hernia comes within the purview of the policy in question, then an insured is entitled to get the actual cost of treatment, but there is no appeal before us by the complainant. Thus, we are not in a position to provide the actual cost of treatment..," the state commission says in its order.

LIC then filed a revision petition before NCDRC.

During the hearing, the counsel for LIC argued that the state commission had not given independent reasons in the order but had merely endorsed the reasons of the district forum. "As per the terms and conditions of the policy, the surgery is not included in the list of surgery charts and, therefore, no amount is payable. No amount of premium has been paid by Ms Gupta on underwriting the risk. Further, at the time of taking the policy, she was fully aware that surgery conducted upon her father is not covered under the policy," the counsel says.

The amicus curiae, on behalf of Ms Gupta, argued that LIC arbitrarily paid Rs17,100 by wrongfully considering the claim under other surgical benefits where the same should have been allowed in totality under major surgical benefits. "The medical condition of her father first arose after the commencement of the policy, after the prescribed waiting period of two years."

He further argued that vide a letter dated 11 September 2017, for the first time, LIC provided a list of major surgeries and day care procedures allowed under the plan; however, these things are already there in the policy bond, although in a very small size.

After going through the orders of the state commission, district forum, other relevant records and rival contentions of the parties, NCDRC noted that the state commission and district forum had passed well-reasoned orders. "We find no illegality or material irregularity or jurisdictional error in the order of the state commission; hence, the same is upheld. Accordingly, the revision petition (filed by LIC) is dismissed," Dr Singh says in the order.

(Revision Petition No724 of 2020 Date: 12 January 2024)
Last Tuesday, the shares of Polycab, which had a market-capitalisation of Rs80,000 crore and sales of over Rs16,000 crore, slumped 9% on the news of income-tax (I-T) searches at its offices for alleged tax evasion. The stock stabilised for a day and then collapsed 21% on Thursday when the I-T department issued an unusually detailed press release saying that it had discovered undeclared cash sales of Rs1,000 crore; the release did not name Polycab. The release also mentioned uncounted cash payments of about Rs1,000 crore in fake expenses and undeclared transactions of Rs500 crore.

Polycab denies any wrongdoing but its market-capitalisation had fallen by 25% in just a few days because it was considered a rock-solid stock and was in the portfolio of many institutional portfolios and mutual funds.

In the past six weeks, after the recent state polls, unbridled enthusiasm had gripped the stock market on the expectation of a huge win for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming general elections, an outcome that companies and investors are looking forward to.

At the same time, a slew of very large, well-regarded, blue-chip companies have received notices from I-T and goods and services tax (GST) departments for tax violations. While Polycabs case seems more serious than others, here is an extraordinary list of large companies that have been slapped with notices for different kinds of 'violations' and 'short-payments'.

Government-controlled Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) got a Rs806 crore notice from the Maharashtra government on 1st January for alleged short payment of GST in financial year (FY)17-18. The move appears to have inspired GST offices in other states and Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and Gujarat came up with demand notices totalling Rs667 crore on LIC; Telengana chipped in with a Rs116 crore demand and Telengana had already sent a Rs183 crore notice in December.

LIC is not alone. From 1st January, tax demands have rained on dozens of blue-chip companies. Hindustan Lever has a GST demand of Rs447.5 crore from five states. Software biggie LTIMindtree got a Rs206 crore notice. Others targeted were: Asian Pains, Eicher Motors, ICICI Prudential and Nestle.

Earlier, the gaming industry got a tax demand of around Rs1.5 lakh crore; the insurance industry is already contesting a demand of over Rs5,500 crore and the real estate sector, one of over Rs2,000 crore.

In November 2023, the directorate general of GST intelligence (DGGI) issued demand notices to Zomato and Swiggy, asking them to clear pending tax dues of Rs400 crore and Rs350 crore, respectively. According to a media report, around 33,000 GST notices have gone out for returns filed in 2017-18 and 2018-19 financial years, while Rs1.45 lakh crore GST demand notices have gone out to about 1,500 businesses in December alone.

Not to be left behind, the I-T department slapped demand orders of Rs3,528 crore for each of the assessment years (AYs) between 2012-13 to 2019-20 and another Rs1,371 crore for AY11-12 on LIC alone. What is going on?

Obviously, tax officials believe that all these tightly regulated companies, including government ones, have all short-changed the government. But why the rush? Because the GST deadline to recover any money for the FY17-18 period was 31 December 2023.

A media report says GST authorities also believe that, in general, tax recovery based on earlier demand notices has been weak. It quotes GST officials saying that only about Rs18,541 crore was recovered from notices aggregating Rs1.51 lakh crore, while the internal 'target' was Rs50,000 crore. So, they compounded the perversity by sending out more notices.

If you think that revenue officials are going berserk, acting on their own, while the government chants the mantra of ease of doing business, you would be wrong. These moves appear to have the full official backing.

Last week, the government upped the ante by giving GST officers more time to issue demand notices for discrepancies in annual returns for FY18-19 and FY19-20. On Thursday, the government extended the deadline for the FY18-19 fiscal year to 30 April 2024 and for FY19-20 to 31 August 2024.

This means more and more companies will be wasting time and costly resources to untangle long-running disputes.

It is hard to believe that these blue-chip companies, with the best tax and legal expertise and multiple layers of compliance mandated by regulators, would indulge in tax evasion of this magnitude. They are all aware of the reputational damage and financial dent that would follow along with directors liability (given the draconian GST laws).

So, what is the reason for this gulf between the department and blue-chip companies? One tax expert says, The GST law is so loosely and hurriedly drafted that every officer can take a new view and put penalties beyond the capacity of assesees.

The most vicious aspect of taxtortion is that the disputes wont be settled anytime soon. Unlike income-tax, GST laws have no process for out-of-court settlement through a settlement commission. These notices will be contested before the adjudicating authority. If the companies lose, they will appeal to the higher courts.

Given the magnitude of demand and question of law involved, each case would probably go up to the Supreme Court. All this will take years and involve enormous high-quality time and effort. The courts are still hearing matters pertaining to service tax and excise (predecessors of GST), so newer issues will take at least three to five years to be resolved. The main beneficiaries would be tax experts and law firms.

Ease of doing business can get compromised in many ways. Taxtortion is among the worst. Finally, if this goes out of hand, investors may panic, assuming the worst. If more stocks meet the fate of Polycab, it will have serious multiple implications.

(This article first appeared in Business Standard newspaper)
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, January 16. Kyrgyzstan plays a crucial role as a bridge between Europe and Asia, Akylbek Japarov, Chairman of Kyrgyzstans Cabinet of Ministers, said, Trend reports.

He conveyed this insight during a meeting with Vice President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, in Bishkek. Japarov informed the VP of the European Commission about significant infrastructure projects in the country, such as the construction of the "China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan" railway.

The Chairman emphasized the dynamic development of collaboration between Kyrgyzstan and the European Union, both at the interregional and bilateral levels in 2023. He noted that another meeting of leaders from Central Asian countries and the EU took place over the previous year, along with the first official visit of European Council President Charles Michel to Kyrgyzstan.

"It's gratifying that 2024 begins with a high-level meeting with our European partners. I am confident that this aligns with the tasks set by our leaders during the Central Asia-EU Summit in June 2023 in Cholpon-Ata," he said.

Margaritis Schinas, in turn, expressed gratitude to Kyrgyzstan for the hospitality and warm reception. He emphasized a commitment to furthering the development and strengthening of bilateral relations in mutually beneficial directions.
Reporter

Andrew Roberto was raised his whole life on Saipan. He graduated from Saipan Southern High School, holds a degree from Northern Marianas College, and a BA in English from the University of Guam. He once worked for KUAM, UNO Magazine, and the Guam Daily Post.
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, January 16. A total of 5,010 tourists from Tajikistan visited Azerbaijan in 2023, which is an 83.1-percent increase compared to the same period in 2022 (2,736 tourists), Trend reports.

Data from the State Tourism Agency of Azerbaijan indicates that this figure rose by 45.2 percent compared to the pre-COVID-19 year of 2019, when 3,450 citizens of Tajikistan visited Azerbaijan.

In December 2023, Azerbaijan welcomed 599 Tajik citizens, which is 2.2 times more than in December 2022 (263 tourists). In comparison, 338 tourists from Tajikistan visited Azerbaijan in December 2019.

The visits of Tajikistani tourists to Azerbaijan in 2023, broken down by month, are as follows: January (165 tourists), February (177 tourists), March (317 tourists), April (294 tourists), May (299 tourists), June (452 tourists), July (691 tourists), August (507 tourists), September (534 tourists), October (428 tourists), November (547 tourists).

Overall, Azerbaijan was visited by 134,589 tourists from Central Asian countries in 2023, which is 82.31 percent higher from 2022 (73,823 people).
The chairman of the House Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications, Rep. Vincent S. Aldan, left, the vice chairman, Rep. Angelo Camacho right, and House legal counsel Joe Taijeron listen to the remarks of Rep. Marissa Flores  not in photo  during a meeting in the House chamber on Tuesday.
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, January 16. Turkmenistan and Afghanistan have reached an agreement on holding bilateral trade meetings that promote direct interaction between entrepreneurs of both countries, Trend reports.

This agreement was reached during a meeting between the Ambassador of Turkmenistan in Kabul, Khoja Ovezov, and the acting Minister of Commerce and Industry Nooruddin Azizi.

During the meeting, the parties paid special attention to the organization of an exhibition in the capital of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, which should become a key platform for the demonstration of Afghan products.

The upcoming exhibition, scheduled to take place shortly, is designed to provide Afghan enterprises with an opportunity to showcase their products and establish contacts in the Turkmen market.

Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to increasing Afghanistan's exports to Turkmenistan and discussed strategies to improve the trade balance between the two countries.

In particular, the Turkmen side has shown great interest in the import of Afghan marble, which opens up perspective opportunities for the development of the Afghan marble industry.

Meanwhile, the turnover of goods between Turkmenistan and Afghanistan reached approximately $481 million last year, with Turkmenistan exporting electricity, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas, while Afghanistan reciprocated by sending various items such as marble and certain agricultural products.
Calaveras, CA Sergeant DeAyrian Greaves has successfully graduated from the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute (SLI), a accomplishment celebrated by the Calaveras County Sheriffs Office. The graduation ceremony took place on December 10th, when Sergeant Greaves stood amongst 18 students in her graduating class.

The SLI is a demanding program established by the California Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training. Geared towards enhancing leadership, ethical decision-making, and personal growth among law enforcement supervisors in California, the program employs experiential learning techniques. Initiated in 1988, the eight-month program consists of eight 24-hour sessions totaling 192 hours. Participants are engaged in extensive reading, paper authoring, projects, and presentations.

Sergeant Greaves expressed her perspective on the program, stating, The training has profoundly helped me to grow. Its not just about the skills Ive gained but also about how I can positively impact our community with this knowledge.

The Calaveras County Sheriffs Office has expressed confidence that Sergeant Greaves leadership will inspire others in the organization to pursue excellence in their professional endeavors. They look forward to the positive impact she will continue to make in her role.
Senator Mitch McConnell View Photo

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered remarks on the Senate floor regarding national security priorities.

McConnell was Tuesdays KVML Newsmaker of the Day. Here are his words:

As I noted earlier this week, the Senates first major business of the year is addressing an historic array of national security challenges.

For the first time since 1945, theres a land war in Europe.

A Russian imperialist is deploying North Korean and Iranian weapons in his assault on Ukraine, with additional support from the Peoples Republic of China.

After the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, theres a land war in the Middle East.

Iran, the worlds most active state sponsor of terror, is living up to its title  underwriting multi-front aggression against Israel, brazen attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria, and a growing war on global commerce in the Red Sea.

And just today, Iran itself has reportedly hijacked an international oil shipment on the high seas  a further reminder that the Biden Administrations failure to impose serious costs and restore credible deterrence is emboldening Iran.

Our single greatest strategic adversary is supporting this worldwide challenge to the West, interfering more aggressively with peaceful neighbors, and investing relentlessly in the capabilities to outcompete us.

Meanwhile, record-setting illegal arrivals have rendered Americas own southwest border functionally non-existent.

This is the most serious crisis of American credibility in decades. And I dont use the word crisis lightly  it implies that a situation requires urgent action.

Of course, thats exactly why the Biden Administration spent years twisting itself in knots to avoid acknowledging the record-shattering humanitarian and security crisis that unfolded on their watch, and because of their policies, at the southern border.

Remember how the White House engaged in damage control back in 2021 when the President, himself, slipped up and called the situation facing CBP and ICE a crisis? It was a big deal  because a crisis is something that requires action.

Well, right now, the Senate is very close to an opportunity to finally do something meaningful to address the Biden Administrations border crisis.

Thanks to our colleague Senator Lankford, were inching closer to a chance to restore sanity, commonsense enforcement mechanisms, and the rule of law.

Our colleagues efforts are the foundation of supplemental legislation to address each of the glaring national security challenges that we face.

Securing Americas sovereign borders. Investing heavily in American leadership and strength. And equipping Americas military with critical capabilities and expanding our defense industrial capacity to deter threats from major adversaries like China.

These requirements go hand-in-hand. And the world is watching to see whether were willing to meet them.

With an arsenal stocked by North Korea and Iran, Russia literally mocks the Western hesitation.

With brazen terrorist aggression, Iran defies American strength.

With intense focus, China bets against Americas resolve.

So none of the challenges we face  from our southern border to the Red Sea  get any easier the longer we wait to address them.

Unfortunately, our allies and adversaries alike have every reason to doubt us. Three years of this Administrations hesitation, self-deterrence, and half-measures have exacted a steep price.

So our work this month is the clearest possible test of Americas credibility as a global superpower. As the leader of allies. And as a nation capable of upholding our own sovereignty.

The Senate simply must not fail this test.

The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.
Beitbridge man at large after allegedly attacking spouse over infidelity suspicions

In a distressing incident, a 41-year-old man from Beitbridge is currently on the run from the police after allegedly assaulting his spouse amid accusations of infidelity. The Matabeleland South province police released a statement yesterday, shedding light on the incident involving Muraka Moyo and his partner, Retsoho Tlou.

According to the authorities, the assault took place on January 6, following a heated argument between the couple. The simmering tension eventually erupted into a violent brawl.

During the altercation, the suspect reportedly grabbed a machete and viciously struck Retsoho Tlou three times, causing injuries to her leg, arm, and body. Following the assault, a report was promptly filed with the police. However, the alleged perpetrator managed to evade capture and is presently at large.

The suspect was making allegations of infidelity on the complainant during the time he worked and lived in South Africa, read the statement.

Tension reportedly then escalated, leading to a violent brawl.

The two quarrelled and the suspect took a machete and struck the complainant three times on the leg, arm and body. A report was made and the suspect escaped and is currently on the run. The victim was referred to Beitbridge District Hospital for treatment, the police said.

Breaking News via Email
By Lambert Strether of Corrente.

Patient readers, I apologize for being late. Some things took longer to nail down than I expected. But enjoy! lambert

Its been a long time since Ive looked at the events of January 6, 2021. (See The Class Composition of the Capitol Rioters and The Organizational Capacity and Behavioral Characteristics of the Capitol Rioters.) Lets begin with a photo of the (Democrat-led) January 6th Committee (full name: The United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol):

(Photo credit is to AP; Ill try to supply original sourcing throughout, but its not easy.) The photo is one representation of the subject of this post: The gallows of January 6. You will notice that this is a telephoto shot, and with the compression characteristic of that lens, the putative relation between gallows, noose, and Capitol dome is self-evident; this is the story the Democrats are telling themselves, and the voters. After a moment to absorb the (undeniable) impact, you will also notice that there is no context at all; you cannot tell where the gallows is located with respect to the Capitol. Nor is there any indication of scale; how big is the gallows, really? After closer inspection, you may notice that both gallows and noose look a little flimsy, very much unlike this image of an actual, working gallows:

(Pretzelpaws at WikiMedia commons). Following this train of thought might lead you to find the House Committees Jumbotron view, and with it, the media coverage in which such images are embedded, less self-evident than you had thought at first.

The media coverage Ive read after searching on January 6 gallows  and Ive plowed through a lot of aghastitude  falls into three buckets. The first, and most honest, is lacks agency: A somewhat flimsy gallows was erected on the Capitol steps (Governing. This refers to an Agence France Presse photo from Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, who, God bless him, seems to have gotten the words flimsy or mock into his caption, which many venues picked up); A gallows and noose built in front of the Capitol (New York Times); The ghosts were rising up from across the American centuries. Solemn-eyed Christians with their wooden cross. The gallows with its noose (The Intercept); An image of a mock gallows on the grounds of the Capitol (Associated Press, but wrong; the gallows is not on the Capitol grounds); A noose is seen on makeshift gallows as supporters of President Donald Trump gather (Associated Press). The second, less honest, asserts agency without evidence:  Protestors erected a gallows outside the U.S. Capitol (Military Times); Capitol mob built gallows (Associated Press); A noose and gallows erected by Trump supporters (National Geographic). If you go to any of those links, you will see no sourcing for the assertion; its taken for granted, conventional wisdom. The third asserts agency without evidence and butchers the timeline:  As rioters bludgeoned, beat and berated police inside the Capitol and out, a gallows with a bright orange noose was erected  (NBC Washington; in fact, the gallows seems to have been erected near dawn, certainly before the riot began); Shocking new video taken inside the Capitol during the January 6 riot shows the moment a MAGA mob rifled through paperwork in the Senate chamber as they searched for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi before erecting gallows outside the building (Daily Mail; again, the gallows was erected well before the Capitol was breached, as we say).

So with a wildly tendentious photo at the January 6 Committee, and ghastly error-riddled press coverage, you might hazard a guess that the origin story of the January 6 gallows is yet to be written (at least publicly). And you would be right! There are timelines for the events of January 6 at Wikipedia, NPR, CNN, CBS, and [genuflects] the New York Times. None of them mention the gallows at all, let alone when it was erected.

The focus of this post will be very, very narrow: The gallows itself. I will show where the gallows was located (not evident from the telephoto image projected before the House); what materials it was made of; how it would have worked (or, more precisely, not have worked), and then ask why it was not dismantled by law enforcement, and who assembled it. Not all these questions can be answered, unfortunately. A caveat: The who question has a good deal of right-wing activity around it just now, and I am not at all expert in those sources, so Im wary of them. Most liberal and left sources I can properly discount, but not these.

Where Was the Gallows Located?

Here is a non-telephoto shot of the gallows that gives a reasonable approximation its position:

(Agence France Press). That would place the gallows roughly here:

(The gallows appears to be placed atop a freeway, but the freeway is underground.) As you can see, the gallows is, in fact, quite far away from the Capitol, making most of the aghastitudinizing photos at best tendentious, or even grossly deceptive, like this telephoto shot from WaPo:

Indeed, since the Capitol Grounds are bounded by First Street NE/SE on the east, and First Street NW/SW on the west (see yellow highlights on the map), the gallows are not within the demonstration areas of the Capitol Police at all, but on the National Mall, which is under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service (NPS), a fact that will become relevant in a moment.

From What Materials Was the Gallows Constructed?

Here is a photo of a gentleman drilling the crossbeam, presumably nail or screw it in place. This shows the scale of the gallows and its construction:

Here I quote from a long thread on Democratic Underground, of all places. All of the features desribed here can be seen in the various photos: The lumber, the bolts, the construction:

I am guessing it was mostly pre-assembled with the braces loosely attached on single posts, and there were pre-drilled holes on the other posts so that the braces could swing in place and be secured with bolts using the pre-drilled holes. The main beams look like 48 fence posts that were cut to size. The two main posts are treated 4x4s. Agreed that it looks like it was mostly pre-assembled then the parts put together quickly on site. Braces and platform frame appear to be 24. Stairs may be 26. Agreed that it looks like it was mostly pre-assembled then the parts put together quickly on site. Braces and platform frame appear to be 24. Stairs may be 26. I dont see any evidence of nails. It looks like it was precut, drilled and then just bolted together.

And of course the $64,000 question:

If Someone Erected It On The Spot Or Carried It In. a journalist with a camera  I think  would have deemed that newsworthy and take a picture of the construction or set-up. Im not a journalist or a news cameraman  but if I saw such a thing happening  I would have thought it was newsworthy and taken a picture of the happening. With all the footage we have of the J6 insurrection. With just about everyone carrying a phone with a camera now  I just cant understand why weve never seen a picture of it being set-up or erected with the people that brought it to the so-called party.

One obvious answer is that the gallows was erected very early in the morning (and the need for speed would indicate maximum pre-assembly; leaving open the question why drill the crossbeam later?).

Perhaps carpenters and builders in the readership will wish to comment here.

How Would the Gallows Have Worked?

Shorter: It would not have. Here is how a gallows works. From the Brittanica:

In the traditional usage of the gallows, the condemned stands on a platform or drop (introduced in England in 1760), the rope hangs from the crossbeam, and the noose at its end is placed around the neck. Hanging is achieved when the body drops several feet, the knot in the noose being so adjusted that the spinal cord is broken by the fall and death is instantaneous.

Here is a photo of the gallows from another angle:

(Via Twitter.) As to the drop, as you can see that the gallows is, in fact, shorter than a short-ish human (being, as AFP captioned it, a mock) gallows). Its difficult to see how a drop of several feet could be achieved. (I dont see a trap door, but given the flimsy construction, I doubt there is one.) As to the knot in the noose, Democratic Underground once more:

Being a former Boy Scout, I know a thing or two about knots. That is not a hangmans noose. Its a loop of red rope. Then, someone wound some more red rope around a beer can to attempt to simulate the coils of a real knot. The shiny beer can is visible in other photo angles.

(You can see a white object, possibly a beer or soda can, in other images in the post.) A Redditor comments:

It looks like they literally stopped at a home depot on the way in and bought the tiny remainder of rope off of the cheapest spool available on the shelf.

So, as you can see, the mock, flimsy gallows is too small to be functional, and the hangmans knot wouldnt have worked anyhow. The gallows was purely performative and symbolic. Mike Pence need not have concentrated his mind.

Why Was the Gallows Not Dismantled by Law Enforcement?

Above, we saw that the gallows was located on the National Mall, and hence under the jurisdiction of the NPS (not the Capitol Police). Here is another photo of the gallows:

(Via Twitter.) There are two salient features: One is that the gallows is placed directly on the turf; the second is the sign on the left side of the frame, which says THIS IS ART (by R. Mutt, presumably). Let us take each in turn.

Here is what the National Park Service Event Planning Guide has to say about turf. Im putting myself in the shoes of an NPS officer trying to find the right bucket to throw a gallows into. He might consider it a stage. If so, section 4.1.3 would apply:

The stage must be arranged so that as much turf can be protected as possible, this is accomplished by utilizing hardscape areas. Plywood, because of its ability to be modified to the proper size, is allowable for protection of turf from screw jacks or ballasts. Event planners should plan on some turf replacement with thick cut sod where the plywood is used.

And:

All structures must minimize all points that come in contact with the turf, structures on the turf should be on a riser with as few points as possible touching the turf, if not on the protective decking, these points should have Enkamat and plywood pads underneath

Or our perplexed officer might have applied section 4.1.4, considering the gallows a temporary structure. If so:

Protective decking (guidelines above) will be installed slightly larger than the footprint of the structure and pedestrian pathways to the tent entrance(s).

In other words, what the gallows builders should have done was put a couple of sheets of plywood under the gallows, so the legs didnt dig into the turf. Entirely reasonable, if you ask me, but more centrally: If the NPS wanted  or had been told  to get rid of the gallows, there was ample justification in the regulations. They did not. (The word gallows does not appear in the Inspector Generals Report on January 6 for the Interior Department.)

As far as the This Is Art sign, I would speculate that it was a hasty attempt to regularize the display of the gallow given this language from the NPS permit:

As part of a permitted event, ethnic arts and crafts may be displayed but may not be sold.

But, says the NPS officer, I dont care if its art. Its legs are digging into my turf. Get it outta here!

Who Assembled the Gallows?

We now enter the longed-for speculative phase of this post. Questions have been percolating about the gallows for some time. From a Medium post in 2021:

Forget for a moment whether it is properly constructed, and hefty and stable enough to hang someone from. To me it looks to be about 10 feet tall, and unless someone really faked us out by making balsa wood look like substantial 4 by 4s (at least), the lumber used to make this thing was pretty heavy; and based on sheer size were just not carried around in some guys pocket or backpack. How did whoever brought the wood and tools, and the rope, know to bring them? The corollary: someone was in touch with someone else, likely well before the Stop the Steal Rally got underway.

Eminently sensible question and corollary!

From Daily Kos in May, 2022:

Who exactly built the gallows? That is one question that I hope the Jan. 6 committee is investigating. Because I have spent my life in theater and know that it is not an easy spur of the moment thing to erect a gallows complete with hanging noose in front of the US Capitol building. So someone had a plan to do that. And they had specifications at the ready. They went to Home Depot and purchased the supplies they needed to erect a platform, hang a noose from it, not easy to make a noose, have you ever tried it? Jan. 6 committee, get the Home Depot receipts while you are at it.

Well, its easy to make a noose if you have a beercan. But should you really leave the beercan inside the hangmans knot?

From the Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, December 2022:

Other posts on TheDonald.win included specific plans to build gallows outside the U.S. Capitol. Gallows are simpler and more cost effective, plus theyre an American old west tradition too, one user wrote on December 22, 2020.[360] A week later, another wrote: Lets construct a Gallows outside the Capitol building next Wednesday so the Congressmen watching from their office windows shit their pants.[361] Another said that building a hanging platform in front of Congress on the 6 should send a strong message.[362] The site hosted a diagram showing how to tie a hangmans knot,[363] with one site member writing that they should build gallows so the traitors know the stakes.[364] On January 5, 2021, hours before the attack began, a user posted an image of gallows and titled it, Election Fraud Repair Kit.[365] Text messages between Trump Campaign Senior Advisor Jason Miller and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows show that these kinds of posts reached deep into the Presidents inner circle. Miller sent Meadows a text on December 30th, declaring, I got the base FIRED UP.[366] The thread contained a link to a TheDonald.win comment thread filled with reactions to a post by Miller promoting January 6th.[367] Users in the thread made comments such as gallows dont require electricity, and that millions will bust in through the doors if they try to stop Pence from declaring Trump the winner, all in response to Miller.[368]

All very well, and these are not very nice people at all, but on a message board, nobody knows youre a gumshoe, and in any case nobodys been charged or even interviewed. Further, I looked at note [363]. Here is the diagram:

As you can see yet again, a proper hangmans knot is nothing like the knot on the gallows; wheres the beer can, for starters? If anything, [363] is proof that this particular site member wasnt involved at all; could the whole thing just have been a winger bull session, like those poor fools in Michigan?

Finally, there is this slick effort from Open.Ink, whose About Page is extremely uninformative, but whose videos get immediate play with Steve Bannons War Room. From Open.Ink Continues to Receive Credible Tips from Gallows Video: Questions Remain:

The Gallows Is Built Early Morning Jan. 6 Five individuals, three of whom arrive in a white van and two others who appear to arrive by taxi, emerge to assemble the gallows around 6:30 a.m. Three of them take out wooden pieces [on wheels no less] of what would later be assembled into the gallows. The gallows do not appear to be an afterthought but, rather, a well-thought-out prop. After all, it is later strategically placed, perfectly framed by the Capitol in the background. Dutch journalist Michael Persson, who picked it up, giving it to the FBI after protesters departed, said, The gallows was too small and weak to be used. It was erected as a symbol. One of the involved individuals is referred to in the video as Mr. Coffee because of his multiple trips to get coffee as the gallows are being built. Many questions remain: What are the identities of Mr. Coffee and the other four individuals?

Heres the video; good idea, since theres CCTV everywhere in Washington, DC; hard to see how the brain geniuses on the January Six committee missed that part. That said, all I see is a grainy blur, like the worst black-and-white television in the world; I dont have a microscope, so I dont see any gallows at all. In any case, digital evidence is not evidence, especially not in the days of Project Veritas and deepfakes. And Mr. Coffee. Open.Inks idea is that Mr. Coffee went to get his stimulant of choice very early in the morning, so not much was open, and where did he go? To [drumroll] a coffee shop opposite FBI headquarters. Which proves either that Mr. Coffee was from the FBI or  follow me closely, here  wanted to appear to be from the FBI. The whole gallows story is extremely odd, but Im not sure that Open.Inks video, excellent though its production values are, makes those oddities go away.

Conclusion

The New York Times commented in 2022:

No one has publicly claimed responsibility for erecting the gallows or been charged with setting it up.

Also from the New York Times:

Prosecutors have called the riot inquiry the largest in the history of the Justice Department, and there is no doubt it is vast by any measure. Every week, a few more people are arrested. As of December, about 1,240 people had been arrested in connection with the attack, accused of crimes ranging from trespassing, a misdemeanor, to seditious conspiracy, a felony.

So, the Justice Department and alert citizens having hunted down so many, but not those who built the gallows? Odd. Surely we can charge them with something?

This gap in our knowledge is very, very curious; perhaps even dangerous. For example, the petition from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) in Anderson v. Griswold (the case where the Colorado Supreme Court disqualified Trump from the Presidential ballot) asserts:

The mob assembled gallows on the Capitol grounds as an intimidatory display.

But theres no evidence the mob assembled the gallows, assembled them on the Capitol grounds, and the gallows was on the National Mall in any case. So CREWs brief has a gaping hole.

Recall also that both the Colorado Supreme Court and Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows treated House testimony as the functional equivalent of evidence. So when theres testimony like this

Mr. Raskin. That they used terrorism to stop a specific piece of democratic business, fellow Americans beat and bloodied their own police, they stormed the Senate floor, they tried to hunt down the Speaker of the House, they build a gallows and chanted about murdering the Vice President. They did this because they have been fed wild falsehoods by the most powerful man on Earth because he was angry he had lost an election. Do you disagree with any of that? Mr. Miller. I agree that it was an act of terrorism.

 falsehoods can get grandfathered into the record as factual.

I dont especially like that the gallows question is being inserted into the discourse either by Bannon or by Representative Loudermilk (R-GA). That said, theres too much about the story that doesnt add up (especially since the NPS could have ordered the gallows taken down at any point during the day, perhaps sparing Mike Pences nerves). Horrid media coverage, oddles of aghastitude, unanswered questions, but no prosecutions, and not even a hint of an investigation. Why?

APPENDIX

Not only do we not know who erected the gallows, we dont know who dismantled it, either.
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, January 16. Turkmenistan and Italy discussed topical aspects of bilateral cooperation in priority areas of political, diplomatic, trade, economic, cultural, and humanitarian spheres, Trend reports.

These issues were discussed during an online meeting between Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Turkmenistan to Italy Toyli Komekov and Director for International Relations and European Affairs of the Regione del Veneto Annalisa Bisson.

During the discussions, the parties placed particular emphasis on the effective implementation of bilateral visits, recognizing them as pivotal instruments for fostering stronger diplomatic ties, enhancing mutual understanding, and promoting collaborative initiatives.

Ambassador Komekov underscored that consistent engagement at the highest echelons is not only important but also a pivotal factor driving the upward dynamics of relations between the countries.

Recognizing regular contacts at the highest levels as a key element, he emphasized their instrumental role in fortifying diplomatic bonds, cultivating mutual trust, and facilitating positive developments in the bilateral relationship.

In conclusion, the parties reaffirmed their commitment to fostering an active and ongoing dialogue, aiming to sustain and deepen the bilateral relations between Turkmenistan and the Veneto region.

Stay up to date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Note to readers: For the past 24 hours I have had a rather unpleasant stomach bug that has made writing this post, particularly the later stages, a bit of an ordeal. Apologies in advance for any typos or other errors.

The answer, it seems, is nothing. But some governments, including the UK and Australia, are now modifying their laws to make sure it is no longer illegal.

In October last year, the UKs Minister of Policing (and former McKinsey & Company consultant) Chris Philip unveiled plans to create a vast facial recognition database out of passport photos of people in the UK. It was as brazen and as egregious an example of mission creep as youre likely to find. Forty-six million passport holders who had given their facial images for travel purposes alone will soon have that data used by police to conduct facial recognition searches without their consent.

It now turns out that British police departments have been doing this all along, without public knowledge or approval, for years. The covert practice has been going on since at least 2019, according to documents obtained by The Telegraph and Liberty Investigates.

The facial recognition searches were conducted despite the fact that Philip did not raise the possibility of using the passport database in this way until October 2023. Now the UK government wants to make legal a covert practice that has already been going on for years. Also, in December it was revealed that police forces will soon be able to conduct facial recognition searches on a database of Britains 50 million driving licence holders, and have already been carrying out similar searches of the UK immigration database, which holds information on foreign nationals.

No Explicit Legislative Basis

Most of the biometric searches of the passport database took place during the first nine months of 2023 when law enforcement agencies used the technology to comb through passport images more than 300 times. The Home Office has defended the practice, noting that the searches were conducted for the most serious offences. But there are serious questions about its legality.

The UK still lacks a dedicated legal framework with some experts questioning whether the use of the technology has a sound legal basis, notes an article in Biometric Update, an industry publication on the global biometrics market. In December, the UK Parliaments Justice and Home Affairs Committee conducted a probe against police deployment of live facial recognition.

David Davis, a former Conservative cabinet minister, said there was no explicit legislative basis for using facial recognition technology in the UK:

The data on both the UK passport database and the immigration database was not provided for these purposes. For the police to act like this undermines the data relationship between the citizen and the state. At the very least, the House of Commons should be informed precisely who authorised this and who carried it out.

As regular readers are aware, the UK Government is determined to make full use of facial recognition technologies as part of its crackdown on political protests crime, including minor offences such as shoplifting. In early August, we reported that live facial recognition (LFR) surveillance, where peoples faces are biometrically scanned by cameras in real-time and checked against a database, is being used by an increasing number of UK retailers amid a sharp upsurge in shoplifting  with the blessing, of course, of the UK government.

Police forces are also being urged to step up their use of LFR, even as the UKs facial recognition lead recently conceded that they do not have the legal powers (yet) to deploy this technology:

"Just to be clear, there is no specific legislative authority for the deployment of this technology?" "No there isn't" Baroness Chakrabarti grills the UK's facial recognition lead on the democratic justification for rolling out this extreme biometric surveillance. pic.twitter.com/nTnmVvFTtl  Big Brother Watch (@BigBrotherWatch) December 14, 2023

The governments new Data Protection and Digital Information Act, expected to become law in the coming months, seeks to abolish the roles of the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commission (BSCC), an independent advisory board that was, to some extent, helping to hold the public sector to account for its use of AI. In its bid to eliminate the BSCC, the government clearly wants to have even freer reign to surveil and control the lives of British. The outgoing Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner, Professor Fraser Sampson, described the move as shocking and tantamount to vandalism.

A Similar Case Down Under

But the UK is not the only country where the government and/or law enforcement agencies have been using biometric identity or surveillance systems illegally, or without public disclosure. In Australia, one of the countries in the Collective West furthest along the path to launching a fully fledged digital identity system, government departments were accused in October last year of conducting hundreds of millions of identity checks illegally over a period of four years. From The Guardian:

Identity verification services are used by government departments and businesses  such as credit card providers and power companies  to combat fraud and identity theft. Legislation to allow the identity verification service was abandoned by the former Morrison government in 2019 after the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security recommended it be redrafted over concerns there were insufficient privacy safeguards for the proposal. However, the service began operating and, four years on, the Albanese government has pushed through new legislation in the House of Representatives. It is now under review in the Senate. Part of the rush, according to witnesses at the Senate inquiry on Monday, was that verification services linking up the state and territory ID systems to businesses carrying out ID checks appeared to have been operating without a legislative framework. This would make them illegal. The Greens senator David Shoebridge asked the Digital Rights Watch chair, Lizzie OShea, if the speed at which the legislation was being pushed through parliament was to shield the government from unlawful practice of the service. I think theres a real question about the legality of the scheme, and the haste is about protecting the government from liability, OShea said.

In a submission to the inquiry, the Human Rights Law Centre senior lawyers Kieran Pender and David Mejia-Canales said there was no clear federal legislative basis for its Document Verification Service or its Facial Verification Service.

It is extraordinary that the Australian government is, it seems, presently using identity-verification services on a mass scale without a lawful basis, said Ponder. And it is all the more extraordinary that the Australian government would seek to rush through such important legislation, with minimal opportunity for parliamentary scrutiny, in these circumstances.

That was back in late October. Now, two and a half months later, the government is closer than ever to creating a national digital identity system after introducing fresh legislation to the countrys senate on 30 November. The government recently said the newly-introduced Digital ID Bill puts in place a legislative framework to create an economy-wide digital ID system in Australia and that digital ID was a critical capability and one of the ways the government is keeping Australians safe and responding to the increase in third party data breaches.

So not only has the Australian government essentially got away with infringing the privacy rights of millions of Australian citizens with no apparent legal basis, it is now on the verge of setting up a digital ID system that will provide government departments (and presumably, third parties) with the legal basis to systematically infringe the privacy rights of Australian citizens on a far larger scale.

Transforming Video Surveillance into Active Intelligence

It is not just governments in Five-Eye nations that are getting up to these sorts of dirty tricks. In November last year, the investigative journalism group Disclose reported that French law enforcement agencies had for the past eight years been using secretly acquired surveillance video image analysis software from the Israeli spyware company Briefcam:

According to internal documents from the Ministry of the Interior obtained by Disclose, law enforcement has been using Briefcams systems since 2015, in utmost secrecy. The software in question, called Video Synopsis, can track a person across a network of cameras, for instance, by the color of their sweater. It can also track a vehicle using its license plate or analyze several hours of video in just a few minutes. Briefcams slogan, acquired by the photo giant Canon in 2018: Transforming video surveillance into active intelligence. Eight years ago, the Seine-et-Marne Departmental Directorate of Public Security (DDSP) was chosen to experiment with the Israeli software. Two years later, in 2017, the application was deployed more widely. Police services in Rhone, Nord, Alpes-Maritimes, and Haute-Garonne were also equipped. As well as the Interministerial Technical Assistance Service (SIAT), a police unit responsible for infiltrations, wiretapping, and monitoring serious crime. Subsequently, it was the judicial police services, the police prefectures of Paris and Marseille, public security, and the national gendarmerie that were equipped with Briefcams software on dedicated computers. This massive installation was carried out outside the legal framework provided by a European directive and the French Data Protection Act. Before using such intrusive technology offered by Briefcam, the Ministry of the Interior should have conducted an impact analysis on data protection and submitted it to an independent authority: the National Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties (CNIL). However, the Directorate General of the National Police (DGPN), under the direct authority of Gerald Darmanin, had still not conducted this impact analysis by May 2023. Nor did they notify the CNIL. Therefore, at the end of 2020, a police official suggested discretion: Some services have the Briefcam tool, but since it is not declared to the CNIL, it seems preferable not to talk about it. Or this message sent a few months later by another senior officer, recalling that legally speaking () the Briefcam application has never been declared by the DGPN.

As in the UK and Australia, there does not appear to be any punishment or consequences of any kind for the government and law enforcement agencies wanton abuse of their powers. It is also worth recalling that this time last year, Emmanuel Macrons government was pushing for the introduction of AI-empowered surveillance systems for the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, the French parliament initially rejected a provision of the Olympics law that would have authorised it. But five months later, the same Senate voted to adopt a draft law that will allow judicial investigators and intelligence services to use remote biometric identification in public for three years.

The draft law specifies that real-time facial recognition use in public will be limited to tracking down terrorists by intelligence services, child abductions and tackling particularly serious crimes. But these are the same intelligence services and law enforcement agencies that have been illegally using facial recognition and other biometric technologies without the knowledge or consent of the French citizenry over the past eight years. Amnesty International warned that approval of the new bill would legalise the use of a pervasive AI-powered mass video surveillance system for the first time in the history of France  and the European Union.

EU U-Turn

Which brings us to the EU, which has been aggressively rowing back many of the commitments the European Parliament had made regarding facial recognition-empowered surveillance. As readers may recall, the European Parliament in June voted to ban the use of facial recognition and biometric technologies in public spaces while maintaining its use for border control as part of the EUs Artificial Intelligence Act. The proposed restrictions on AI-empowered surveillance were broadly celebrated by civil rights groups but were ultimately short lived.

Under concerted pressure from the European Commission and EU national governments, the limits on the use of biometric surveillance and control systems have been significantly diluted. The result is a compromise that, according to critics (in German), opens the door wide open to biometric surveillance. In December, Amnesty International lambasted the EU for setting a devastating global precedent:

The three European institutions Commission, Council and the Parliamentin effect greenlighted dystopian digital surveillance in the 27 EU Member States, setting a devastating precedent globally concerning artificial intelligence (AI) regulation. It is disappointing to see the European Parliament succumb to member states pressure to step back from its original position which offered strong protections including an unconditional ban on live facial recognition. While proponents argue that the draft allows only limited use of facial recognition and subject to safeguards, Amnestys research in New York City, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Hyderabad and elsewhere demonstrates that no safeguards can prevent the human rights harms that facial recognition inflicts, which is why an outright ban is needed. Not ensuring a full ban on facial recognition is therefore a hugely missed opportunity to stop and prevent colossal damage to human rights, civic space and rule of law that are already under threat throughout the EU. Lawmakers also failed to ban the export of harmful AI technologies, including for social scoring, which would be illegal in the EU. Allowing European companies to profit off from technologies that the law recognizes impermissibly harm human rights in their home states establishes a dangerous double standard.

A couple of final observations. First, this is happening at the same time that governments in the West are hurriedly taking action to beef up online censorship. The EUs Digital Services Act and the UKs Online Safety Bill are two particularly pernicious examples. Online anonymity is also in their scopes. Governments and central banks are also pushing hard for the creation of central bank digital currencies and digital identity systems while paying lip-service to public concerns about the sweeping ethical, privacy and economic implications.

As Ive said before (but it bears repeating), these digital systems of mass surveillance and control, if allowed to take root, will represent one of the biggest collective trade offs of modern history. We are essentially being asked  or rather, not asked  to trade in a system, however imperfect and degraded, of rights, laws and freedoms for one of centralised, automated, top-down technocratic control.

Second, whatever biometric data EU and other NATO-aligned governments collect on their citizenry will almost certainly end up on a database somewhere in the US. As we have previously reported, the US is seeking to establish Enhanced Border Security Partnerships that will entail systematic and continuous exchanges of sensitive personal data between participating states. Washington is currently in bilateral negotiations with dozens of vassal states whose ultimate goal is to extend US surveillance capabilities across these jurisdictions.

The 40 states involved are all participants of the US governments Visa Waiver Program (VWP), including most of the EUs 27 Member States, three of the US four fellow members of the Five Eye Alliance (United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia), Japan, Israel and South Korea. According to a recent report in the Norwegian newspaper Bergens Tidende on the ongoing negotiations between Washington and Oslo, the USA wants free access, so that it can freely search various registers and extract information. It will give the US very extensive access to sensitive personal data.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg participated in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday (16 January 2024), underlining the importance of continued support to Ukraine.

While acknowledging that the battlefield situation is extremely difficult, with the Russians now pushing on many frontlines, Mr Stoltenberg underlined that there is also cause for optimism. He pointed to Ukraines impressive achievements in liberating territory; opening a corridor for grain export in the Black Sea; and overall its survival as a sovereign, independent nation. Conversely, he said that Russia has lost what they wanted to achieve with the war, and that was to control Ukraine; Ukrainians are now firmly oriented to the West, aspiring for membership in NATO and the European Union. The Secretary General also stressed that support for Ukraine is not charity; its an investment in our own security. Pointing to the increasingly global nature of security, Mr Stoltenberg noted that close NATO partners Japan and South Korea are also concerned about Russias war against Ukraine, as a victory for President Putin would increase the likelihood of Beijing using force elsewhere.

The Secretary General spoke at a panel on Securing an Insecure World alongside Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, and US Senator Chris Coons. The discussion was moderated by the President of the World Economic Forum, Brge Brende.

Earlier in the day, the Secretary General participated in a dialogue between political leaders, CEOs and other officials to discuss the role of the global private and public sectors in Ukraines long-term reconstruction, alongside President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

While in Davos, the Secretary General will also address a closed-door session of the International Business Council. He is also holding meetings with a number of world leaders, including President Zelenskyy, Polish President Andrzei Duda, Swiss President Viola Amherd, and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani.
(As delivered)

Brge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum

Jens Stoltenberg, first well come back to Ukraine. I asked Senator Coons a question about the US and China but also the West and China. And last year, the Secretary General of NATO spoke about China. That was the first time I've heard [that]. So I think NATO is of course, first and foremost, a transatlantic treaty organisation looking at defending its member countries, but I think you also have enlarged also the things that you do address. And how do you react to what Senator Coons said about US relationship with China and how do you think the West should deal with China?

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

So first of all, you are right that NATO is a transatlantic alliance, Europe and North America. And we will remain a regional alliance. But the transatlantic region faces global threats. Security is no longer regional; security is global. So what happens in Asia matters for Europe and what happens in Europe matters for Asia. And therefore of course, we don't regard China as an adversary. But China's heavy investments in modern military capabilities, including war and more advanced nuclear weapons, China's way of behaviour especially in the South China Sea, and the way China is actually violating core principles for NATO democracy, the rule of law, journalism, freedom of expression, as we have seen in Hong Kong, all of that matters for NATO.

And we also have to understand that this is not about NATO moving into Asia, but instead about the fact that China is coming close to us. We see them in Africa. We see them in the Arctic, we see them trying to control critical infrastructure. Not so many years ago, I had a big discussion about 5G and many Allies said this is only a commercial issue. No, it's also an issue about our security.

So therefore, for all these reasons, of course, NATO has to address what happens in Asia, not because of global security lines, but because what happens there not just for us, and vice versa. I visited Japan and South Korea, close partners of NATO. They are concerned about what happens in Ukraine, because they know that the more success Putin has in Ukraine, the more likely it is that Beijing will use force. So we have to have a global approach even though we are regional countries, regional organisations. The world is interconnected. And of course NATO has taken the consequences of that.

Brge Brende

Thank you. We were at a session together this morning with President Zelenskyy. Are the Ukrainians winning or would you say not losing the war in Ukraine?

NATO Secretary General

The situation on the battlefield is extremely difficult. The Russians are now pushing on many frontlines. And of course the big offensive that the Ukrainians launched last summer didn't give the results we all hoped for. And we see how Russia is now building up how they are acquiring drones from Iran, actually building their own drone factory to produce their own drones in Tatarstan, with help from Iran, how they get ammunition and ballistic missiles from North Korea. And they have also demonstrated a high tolerance for casualties. So overall, Russia is pushing hard. And this is serious and we should never underestimate Russia.

Having said that, I really believe that there is also cause for optimism. First of all, we have to remember when this war started with a full fledged invasion back in 2022, then most experts believed that Russia was going to take Kyiv within days and control Ukraine within weeks. That didn't happen. The opposite happened. The Ukrainians pushed back; they liberated the north, east, and the south, Kherson. They have made big military victories in the Black Sea, opened up a corridor so now they're actually able to export grain and other stuff to the Black Sea. And we have seen how they've been able to hit both the Russian Air Force and the Russian Navy. These are big military victories for Ukraine.

The most important thing is that Ukraine has survived as a sovereign independent nation, which is a big win for them. And Russia is losing, meaning that Russia has lost what they wanted to achieve with the war, and that was to control Ukraine. Ukraine, the people of Ukraine, have never trust Russia less than they do today. And they want to be part of the West, of the European Union and NATO, and theyre closer to us than ever before. And this is a big loss for Russia. We have to support them. And I'm also quite confident that NATO Allies will continue to provide support because support for Ukraine is not charity.

Support for Ukraine is an investment in our own security, and therefore Allies have provided unprecedented support. Now we are ramping up production. There was just an agreement now to acquire close to 1,000 new interceptors for the Patriot batteries, one example how Allies are stepping up to refill their own stocks but also be able to support Ukraine in the future. So we just have to stand by Ukraine. At some stage Russia will understand that they're paying a too high price and sit down and agree to some kind of just peace, but we need to stand by Ukraine.

Brge Brende

Thank you. You're also a Secretary General of NATO. You're on top of all the juicy intelligence. We heard this morning that Russia has lost more than 300,000 soliders and half of their tanks and of course also having severe impact on their economy. It's said in the morning it's a war economy so you can then use the traditional measures. But with what you're hearing also as Secretary General of NATO, are the Russians aware that this war did not go as planned and are aware of all the casualties? For a nation that has lost half of their tanks and 300,000 soldiers, that's not a minor thing. Is there something happening in Russia or is it just not?

NATO Secretary General

I'm very careful predicting about both how the war will develop. Wars are, by nature unpredictable, and I'm even more careful about predicting what will happen inside Russia. We saw Prigozhin last year, surprises may happen. But we don't have any indications when any big changes inside Russia but of course there can be surprises.

Again, I think what really matters is what we do, and we just have to do what we can to increase the price for Russia. And of course when they have lost 300,000 soldiers, casualties, thousands of armed vehicles, hundreds of planes. This is something that matters for Russia and for ordinary Russians. Their economy is struggling. They are paying a high economic price. They are paying a high political price. They're more politically isolated, also in the near abroad, in Caucasus and Central Asia. And so what we can do is not to predict with certainty what will happen. But what we can do is to just maximise the likelihood that at some stage President Putin will understand that to continue this war will have a too high price. And then at some stage he has to sit down and negotiate to some kind of just, lasting peace where Ukraine prevails as a sovereign independent nation.

And the paradox is that if we want that to happen, a peaceful just end to this war, the way to get there is more weapons to Ukraine. So the more credible we are in our military support, the more likely it is that the diplomats will succeed. Because what happens around the negotiating table with diplomats is so closely linked to the situation on the battlefield. There are no indications that Putin is planning for peace now, but he will when he realizes that we will not give up, that we have the military strength to support Ukraine. And then we'll sit down and the diplomats can take over. Thank you.
Ermold v. Davis case could overturn Supreme Court same-sex marriage ruling

The legal case against a former Kentucky county clerk who refused to sign the marriage licenses of same-sex couples in 2015 due to her religious belief that marriage is between a man and a woman may overturn a Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage nationwide

In 2015, Kim Davis, a devout Christian, cited religious grounds as justification for her refusal to sign the marriage license of David Ermold and David Moore, despite a prior Supreme Court ruling  Obergefell v. Hodges  declaring that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right. This led to the current case against her, Ermold v. Davis. (Related: Matt Walsh challenges Joe Rogan on same-sex 'marriage' and surrogacy: 'Mom is not expendable.')

In September 2023, after years of legal proceedings, a jury in the District Court of Eastern Kentucky awarded $50,000 in damages to each plaintiff. In addition, Judge David Bunning granted the couple an extra $260,000 to cover attorney's fees and other expenses.

According to Mat Staver, the founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, a conservative Christian legal foundation representing Davis, this case has the potential to challenge Obergefell v. Hodges. Liberty Counsel argues that the damages awarded were based on insufficient evidence, violating the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

"Then they switched over to they had hurt feelings and they did not present any evidence of that. You can't get damages based on hurt feelings without showing some evidence, corroborating evidence, medical evidence and psychological evidence. They presented nothing," Staver said.

As a response, the Liberty Counsel is set to formally request that Bunning reverse the jury's verdict. Should this motion be denied, the legal foundation plans to escalate the matter to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals and, if necessary, onward to the Supreme Court.

Liberty Counsel contends that prior 6th Circuit decisions emphasize the need for documented evidence of harm rather than mere testimony regarding emotional distress. The foundation aims to present a case not just against the damages awarded but to argue for the broader issue of religious liberty.

"This case has the potential to extend the same religious freedom protections beyond Kentucky and to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, which was wrongly decided and should be overturned," Staver said.

Biden gave federal protections to same-sex marriages when he signed the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022

In December 2022, President Joe Biden made it more difficult to overturn same-sex marriage when he signed the Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA), which extends federal protections to same-sex marriages.

The RFMA mandates that states honor the validity of out-of-state marriage licenses, including those for same-sex and interracial unions, and repeals the Defense of Marriage Act, which previously defined marriage as between a man and a woman.

The legislation received bipartisan support in Congress, with 39 Republicans joining the then-Democratic majority in the House of Representatives. In the Senate, the bill passed with a filibuster-proof majority of 61 to 36.

"Everyone should have the right to answer those questions for themselves without government interference. America takes a vital step toward equality, for liberty and justice, not just for some, but for everyone," said Biden during the signing ceremony.

Visit CultureWars.news for more stories about same-sex marriages.

Watch the video below that talks about the signing of the Respect for Marriage bill into law.

This video is from the Wake Up channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Biden signs Respect for Marriage Act into law, granting federal protections to same-sex marriage.

Corporate media hypes Pope Francis' support of SAME-SEX MARRIAGE.

Panama Supreme Court rejects legalization of same-sex 'marriage,' says it's not a 'human right.'

Viktor Orban gets standing ovation at CPAC for defending family values and the institution of marriage.

EU trying to force all member states, including resisters Hungary and Poland, to accept same-sex "marriage."

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

FoxNews.com

SCMP.com

Edition.CNN.com

Brighteon.com
Israel and South Africa face off at the International Court of Justice over Gaza genocide case

Tensions reached a boiling point at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague as South Africa and Israel faced off in a two-day hearing over allegations of genocide in Gaza.

On Dec. 29, 2023, South Africa filed a case against Israel at the ICJ for violating the 1948 Genocide Convention and committing acts that meet the threshold of genocide under international law. South Africa claims that Israel failed to uphold its obligations under the Genocide Convention, accusing it of committing acts with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group  referring to Palestinians in Gaza.

During the hearing period on Jan. 11, South Africa claimed that the ground and air assaults of Israel on Gaza were aimed at the "destruction" of the Palestinian population. Lawyers for South Africa urged the ICJ to order Israel to suspend its military operation in Gaza to protect Palestinians.

"Israel's genocidal acts and omissions within the broader context of Israels 25-year apartheid, 56-year occupation, and 16-year siege imposed on the Gaza Strip. Israel deployed 6,000 bombs per week  No one is spared. Not even newborns. United Nations (UN) chiefs have described it as a graveyard for children. Nothing will stop the suffering, except an order from this court," South African lawyer Adila Hassim said in their opening statement. (Related: Genocide case against Israel gets underway at International Court of Justice.)

Israel vehemently denied the accusations, dismissing the entire case as absurd. The Israeli government accused Pretoria of siding with Hamas and labeled South Africa an "advocate of the devil" for the terrorist organization.

Government spokesperson Eylon Levy called it "tragic that the rainbow nation that prides itself on fighting racism will be fighting pro-bono for the anti-Jewish racists." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused South Africa of hypocrisy, pointing out that charges were not brought against Hamas, despite the terror group's charter advocating the destruction of Israel and the killing of its people.

"The hypocrisy of South Africa screams to the heavens," Netanyahu said. "We are fighting terrorists; we are fighting lies. Today we saw an upside-down world. Israel is accused of genocide while it is fighting against genocide."

On the second and final day of the hearing on Jan. 12, Israel argued that its military actions in Gaza were acts of self-defense, specifically targeting the militant group Hamas rather than the Palestinian population. The country denied displaying genocidal intent and emphasized its compliance with international humanitarian law.

ICJ's final decision on genocide charges could take several years

Israel argued that the Genocide Convention, to which both countries are signatories, was designed to address exceptional circumstances and not the impact of intensive hostilities on civilians during warfare. Tal Becker, representing Israel, acknowledged the historical context of the convention, rooted in the Holocaust, but contended that the term "genocide" was being weaponized against Israel.

The ICJ, established after World War II, heard the case based on South Africa's request for provisional measures, akin to a restraining order, to halt the conflict while the court considers the full case. Israel called for the dismissal of the case, asserting it was groundless. Israel presented evidence of Hamas' actions, describing them as "carnage and sadism," and argued that if there were acts resembling genocide, they were perpetrated against Israel. The court was shown a video where a Hamas leader stated, "We will do this again and again," following an attack on October 7.

The conflict escalated when Israel launched a military operation against the Hamas terror group in Gaza, responding to a surprise attack on October 7, where Hamas killed over 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostages. South Africa, while condemning the Hamas attacks, argues that the response of Israel is disproportionate and unjustifiable.

According to the court filings, South Africa accused Israel of failing to provide essential humanitarian assistance, including food, water and medicine, to Gaza. The sustained bombing campaign is cited as responsible for over 23,000 casualties, according to Gaza health authorities, without distinguishing between combatants and civilians.

Furthermore, South Africa points to the statements of some Israeli leaders as indicative of their "genocidal intent." Several high-profile Israeli politicians have recently made incendiary comments, calling for the destruction of Gaza.

The ICJ is not empowered to enforce its rulings, and a final decision on the genocide charges could take several years. However, a decision on South Africa's request for "provisional measures" compelling Israel to cease its military campaign could be reached within weeks. Non-compliance might result in UN sanctions, although a U.S. veto could potentially block such measures.

Visit IsraelCollapse.com for more stories about Israel's war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

Watch Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounce the ICC as "antisemitic" for its intent to investigate Israel's war crimes.

This video is from The Prisoner channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

South Africa accuses Israel of violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention.

BRICS core member South Africa urges ICC to PROSECUTE Israel for war crimes.

ALONE IN THE DESERT: South Africa, Chad join DIPLOMATIC BOYCOTT of Israel, adding to the growing list of countries protesting against Israels genocide in Gaza.

Israel preparing to defend itself against South Africas genocide accusations at International Court of Justice.

U.S.-based rights group calls on ICC to investigate Israeli commanders WAR CRIMES.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

AlJazeera.com

MSN.com
After shooting Ashli Babbitt, Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd LIED on radio claiming he was fired at first

Statements made by U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd in a radio report after he shot Ashli Babbitt during the January 6 "insurrection" at a Trump rally in Washington, D.C., are said to be false in that Byrd was never fired at as he initially claimed.

A federal lawsuit alleges that Byrd lied in claiming that shots were being fired at him in the Speaker's Lobby just after his shooting of Babbitt. Byrd claimed, allegedly falsely, in a radio report that he was "prepared to fire back" after shooting Babbitt in the left shoulder with his Glock 22 .40-caliber pistol.

The previously undisclosed radio dispatch, which is the subject of the suit, also contained an audio recording exclusively obtained by The Epoch Times of the "OPS2" dispatch channel that Capitol Police were using on January 6. It contains other revelations previously unknown.

The federal lawsuit, filed on January 5, contains further information about the recordings. It was filed by Babbitt's widower, Aaron Babbitt of San Diego, who with the help of Judicial Watch is seeking $30 million from the U.S. government for his late wife's wrongful death.

The suit says Byrd fired his weapon wrongly because he was not being shot at as claimed.

"In fact, no shots were fired at Lt. Byrd or his fellow officers," the suit alleges. "The only shot fired was the single shot Lt. Byrd fired at Ashli. He heard the loud noise of the gunshot. He saw her fall backward from the window frame."

(Related: Did you catch our earlier coverage about how the journalist who captured Ashli Babbitt's shooting on tape was sentenced to home detention?)

Byrd recently promoted to captain with U.S. Capitol Police

Just prior to Byrd shooting Babbitt, another police dispatcher allegedly reported that "they're taking shots into the House floor."

"Lt. Byrd erroneously believed and acted on a false radio call and/or false report of shots fired on the House floor occurring before he left the House floor and moved across the Speaker's Lobby to the adjacent Retiring Room," the suit states.

"A reasonably prudent officer in Lt. Byrd's position would have been aware that, in fact, the report was false and the sound heard on the House floor was glass breaking, not shots fired."

Since the incident, Lt. Byrd has been promoted to Captain.

It remains unknown why Byrd falsely claimed that he was taking fire and was prepared to fire back at the time when he shot Babbitt. The radio dispatch in question occurred nearly a full minute after he shot her, it is important to note.

"The facts speak truth," the lawsuit adds. "Ashli was ambushed when she was shot by Lt. Byrd. Multiple witnesses at the scene yelled, 'You just murdered her.' Lt. Byrd was never charged or otherwise punished or disciplined for Ashli's homicide."

Video footage further supports the suit's claim that Byrd came out shooting and was not being shot at when he emerged into the Speaker's Lobby hallway in a shooting stance with both hands holding his Glock.

Byrd has only made a few public statements about the incident, and not to investigators but rather to an NBC television anchor. In these statements, Byrd never once mentioned his radio dispatch, nor did he claim that shots were being fired at him or other officers when he shot Babbitt.

Just before 2:43 pm when Byrd's shots fired announcement was made, another unknown U.S. Capitol Police officer reported that shots were fired. That announcement also turned out to be false.

The latest news about the January 6 "insurrection" can be found at FalseFlag.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

NaturalNews.com
Swedish government calls for population to be READY FOR WAR with Russia

Swedish officials are calling on their military and civilians to be ready for war with Russia, with many young Swedes claiming in interviews that they are prepared to fight for their country

Sweden, with its policy of armed neutrality, has not been involved in hostilities since the Napoleonic era more than 200 years ago. But now, conservative Minister of Civil Defense Carl-Oskar Bohlin is warning Sweden about the possibility of conflict with Russia as it urges the population to join volunteer defense organizations. (Related: Germany to permanently deploy 4,800 troops in Lithuania  the first German foreign troop deployment since World War II.)

"There could be war in Sweden," said Bohlin during an annual defense conference in Sweden on Sunday, Jan. 7, as he warned Swedes against being complacent. "Who are you if war comes?"

"Russia's war against Ukraine is a step, not an end goal," claimed Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces Gen. Per Micael Byden. "For the ambition [of Moscow is] to establish spheres of influence and tear down the rule-based world order."

Echoing Bohlin, Byden noted how Swedes need to "mentally prepare for war." During his speech, he showed the mostly Swedish crowd pictures of burnt-out and bombed houses in Ukraine and asked the audience: "Do you believe that this could be Sweden?"

Sweden ending military neutrality by aligning with NATO

Sweden ended two centuries of neutrality and military non-alignment in 2022 when it applied to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In early December last year, Stockholm signed a pact with the United States to eventually pave the way for American forces to operate in Sweden.

Sweden has also committed to sending "ground combat units" to take part in NATO operations along the Russian border.

While the country waits for accession to NATO, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Stockholm will participate in NATO operations in Latvia on the military bloc's eastern frontier.

"Sweden and its neighbors are living in the direct shadow of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. But Russia's threats, disinformation and cyberattacks are an attempt to destabilize the whole of Europe," said Kristersson. Reports indicate that around 800 Swedish soldiers supported by armored vehicles will be deployed to Latvia by early 2025 to join the Canadian-led NATO battalion in the Baltic nation.

At home, more and more young Swedes are stating that they are ready to defend their country, with some openly sharing their eagerness to be conscripted. Since 2017, Sweden has had partial conscription for both men and women.

"I am prepared to fight for my country if needed, and although I wasn't conscripted when I was younger, I am ready to do my bit," said Lukas Stahl, 25, a sandwich shop worker from Sodermanland in the Swedish southeast. "In Sweden, you can be called into service up until the age of 30, so I have five years left and I am more than willing to protect our people."

"I am the right age for conscription and the ideal candidate, but I haven't been selected yet," said Dino Fors, 19, from central Stockholm. "If I get called up then so be it. I will happily defend my country I think Putin will be making a big mistake if he does attack Sweden as we have lots of powerful friends."

"Of course, I would be prepared to fight for my country. Why wouldn't I?" said Yngue Ericsson, 27, a carpenter in Stockholm. "You should fight if your freedom is threatened. Putin is just a bully and he deserves to be treated like one."

The Swedish government noted that around 28,000 young Swedes will be conscripted into the armed forces this year, far more than in the last few years due to previous shortfalls in recruitment.

People called up for conscription and have completed their nine to 12 months of mandatory service will be placed in the reserves and could be called up for any potential military conflict for the next 10 years or until they turn 47.

Watch this clip from "Vantage with Palki Sharma" as she reports on Sweden bracing for the possibility of a war against Russia.

This video is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Western nations deploy ships to protect underwater infrastructure following Balticconnector pipeline incident.

Sweden recruits military to help police amid surge in migrant gang violence.

Finland builds first section of BORDER FENCE with Russia.

Estonia to expand bomb shelter program to shield 730,000 people by 2034.

Russia's Gazprom CUTS OFF gas supply to Latvia after it refused to pay in rubles.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

Barrons.com

Newsweek.com

KrisInformation.se

Brighteon.com
Texas takes control of park in Eagle Pass along the U.S.-Mexico border to halt endless flow of migrants

Texas has taken control of a public park in Eagle Pass due to its strategic location near the Rio Grande following a massive spike in illegal crossings in December.

Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas, a Democrat, said officials from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) informed him on Wednesday, Jan. 10, that state authorities have taken "full control" of Shelby Park as part of an operation to combat unprecedented illegal border crossings. (Related: 50 Texas counties have now passed resolutions declaring an INVASION.)

In a video livestreamed to his official Facebook account, Salinas noted that the city government had not made any kind of formal request for the state to take control of Shelby Park. "This is not something that we wanted," he said. "This is not something that we asked for as a city. I want to make that clear."

In his statement, Gov. Greg Abbott indicated that the measure is a means of strengthening the state's deterrents against migrants making their way to the border from Mexico.

"As caravans of migrants are moving through Mexico toward the U.S. border, we are making clear that Texas will be a tough place to cross," said Abbott.

Shelby Park lies at the western edge of Eagle Pass, facing the Rio Grande. It is a known staging area for Border Patrol, Texas National Guard and DPS agents. In recent weeks, Border Patrol has been using the park to hold migrants in an outdoor staging area before they are transported for further processing.

After seizing control of Shelby Park, Abbott deployed Texas National Guard units and vehicles to the area and erected fences blocking public access to the park. In one video circulating on social media, at least two National Guard vehicles can be seen standing guard behind a newly erected gate and are blocking Border Patrol agents from entering the park.

White House brings Shelby Park incident before the Supreme Court

On Thursday, Jan. 11, the Department of Justice filed a complaint before the Supreme Court citing the state government of Texas for preventing Border Patrol agents from accessing the 2.5-mile stretch of the southern border found in Shelby Park.

The Justice Department is asking the Supreme Court to weigh in on an emergency request from the White House seeking permission for the Border Patrol to remove all fencing and razor wire installed by the state of Texas in Shelby Park and along a 29-mile stretch of border with Mexico in the area.

The administration is arguing that states do not have the authority to prevent federal officials from carrying out their duties, and that federal not state officials have the primary responsibility for immigration policy and enforcement along the border.

"Texas's new actions demonstrate an escalation of the State's measures to block Border Patrol's ability to patrol or even to surveil the border and be in a position to respond to emergencies," said the Justice Department.

Watch this clip of Texas National Guard troopers preventing Border Patrol agents from accessing Shelby park.

This video is from the HaloRockTM channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

RINO TRAITOR: Rand Paul unleashes on Mitch McConnell for aligning with Biden to allow 5,000 illegals per day into U.S., $735M in funding for "path to citizenship."

Texas DPS spokesperson states the obvious: There are criminal networks operating in America that are involved in human smuggling.

NEW RECORD: Border Patrol reports 302,000 illegal migrant encounters in December alone.

Sen. Ron Johnson accuses the Biden administration of intentionally pursuing open border policies TO DESTROY AMERICA.

INVASION USA: Swarm of military-aged immigrants arriving in Texas, citizen journalist warns.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

CBSNews.com

ABCNews.go.com

Brighteon.com
Turkish smugglers advertise services on social media, offering visas and transportation directly to the U.S.-Mexico border

A review of posts on Telegram and TikTok has revealed that Turkish smugglers are exploiting social media platforms to "help" migrants from various countries illegally enter the U.S. through the southern border.

The illegal activity was reported by investigators from the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) which reviewed posts on these social media platforms.

According to federal data, there has been a record-breaking number of illegal border crossings in the last few years. Records revealed that there have been more than 2.2 million encounters in fiscal year 2022 and more than 2 million in fiscal year 2023.

Turkish smugglers are advertising various services that include travel arrangements, visas and transportation directly to the U.S.-Mexico border for illegal migrants coming from Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

One advertisement from Telegram promises a "GUARANTEED PASS" for a whopping $10,000. The package includes a flight from Istanbul to Cancun, a Mexican visa and entrance to Cancun.

The pricey package also comes with hotel accommodations, taxi service and "delivery" to the Tijuana border. Additionally, the Telegram post mentions routes for those unable to obtain a Mexico visa, instead recommending alternative travel through Nicaragua.

Several messages and videos on these Telegram channels show migrants thanking individuals such as "Volkan," a Turkish name.

Many videos feature migrants showing their gratitude to this man and other people, with one person calling "Volkan" the "king man."

"This is the border. Thanks to you, we have arrived in the U.S.," one illegal immigrant said in a TikTok video taken next to the border wall.

There's also a video of a man walking across the border while saying that "Volkan" can be trusted to get them into America. "When it looks like no one can let you through the doors  you always leave the door open for everybody," the man said.

Both the names "Volkan" and "Burak," another Turkish name, are mentioned in various Telegram messages.

In a private Telegram conversation between the DCNF and Burak, the alleged smuggler claimed he helps people from all over the world enter the U.S. by obtaining Mexican visas or helping them travel through Nicaragua or El Salvador. Burak communicated in Turkish, which the DCNF had translated for the report.

According to internal Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, the increase in migrants from "Special Interest" countries has skyrocketed by almost 600 percent to 25,627 in fiscal year 2022 compared to the previous year. The CBP views the illegal immigrants from "Special Interest" countries as "potentially having connections to terrorism." (Related: Mexican president asks U.S. to grant visas to 10M Hispanic migrants and $20B in cash to help curb illegal immigration.)

Smugglers use social media to avoid federal investigations

A Border Patrol official, who requested anonymity, said smugglers earn much more from "Special Interest Aliens" because of fees based on country of origin. The official emphasized the significant increase in migrants from Turkey, with encounters increasing from about 1,300 in fiscal year 2021 to an alarming 15,400 in fiscal year 2023.

Turkish smugglers use encrypted apps like Telegram to their advantage because these social media platforms are an obstacle for federal investigators.

According to two anonymous U.S. intelligence officials, Telegram's cooperation with U.S. law enforcement is limited to terrorism cases. This allows smugglers to recruit new clients openly using Telegram.

The two officials also explained that most immigrants pay at least $10,000 for smuggling to countries bordering the U.S., knowing that they can claim asylum upon arrival and be released without facing consequences.

Responding to DCNF's inquiry, Telegram claimed that since its creation, the company "has actively moderated harmful content" on the platform. Telegram spokesperson Remi Vaughn insisted that the platforms moderators use a combination of proactive monitoring and user reports to remove content violating their terms of service.

CBP previously sent a memo about a smuggling route involving Chinese migrants obtaining Mexican visas in Istanbul. A CBP spokesperson also informed the DCNF about groups pretending to be travel agencies in Senegal that manage migrant travel to the U.S.-Mexico border through the European Union.

The Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not respond to a request for comment on the smuggling allegations.

Visit BorderSecurity.news for more updates about the ongoing migrant crisis in America.

Watch the video below as groups of illegal aliens enter the U.S. through a border wall breach made by smugglers.

This video is from the GalacticStorm channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

INVASION USA: Swarm of military-aged immigrants arriving in Texas, citizen journalist warns.

NYC still provides FREE hotel rooms to ILLEGALS, despite Mayor Eric Adams claiming that the Big Apple is out of room.

Sanctuary city mayors admit being at the breaking point with migrant crisis, but they blame Texas Gov. Abbott instead of Bidens open borders.

Sources include:

YourNews.com

DailyCallerNewsFoundation.org

Brighteon.com
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, January 16. Vice-President of the European Commission Margaritis Schinas will visit the capital of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat city, on January 17 this year as part of a working visit to five Central Asian countries, Trend reports.

The visit was strategically planned with the overarching objective of fortifying and enhancing diplomatic ties between the EU and the nations comprising Central Asia.

During his working visit to Ashgabat, the Vice-President of the European Commission is expected to meet with President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov.

The visit highlights the growing importance of the partnership between the EU and Central Asia, which promotes opportunities for mutual growth and development.

Meanwhile, the visit precedes the upcoming Global Gateway Forum on sustainable transport EU - Central Asia, which will be held on January 29-30 this year in Brussels city, Belgium.

The trade turnover between Turkmenistan and the EU member states from January through October 2023 amounted to more than 1.5 billion euros, while Turkmen exports during this period amounted to almost 962.4 million euros, and imports of goods from EU countries amounted to 543.3 million euros.

The total trade turnover between Turkmenistan and EU countries from 2018 through 2022 exceeded 4.68 billion euros, with the highest volume observed in 2021, reaching 1.35 billion euros.

Stay up to date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
U.K. cash cow: PM Sunak announces $3.2B in military aid for Ukraine

United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's announcement of a 2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) military assistance package for Ukraine is the highlight of his recent visit to Kyiv.

Against the backdrop of political tensions on both sides of the Atlantic, the aid package is positioned as the U.K.'s most substantial annual commitment since Russia's offensive started in February 2022.

The decision to provide enhanced military assistance comes at a critical juncture as Ukraine faces challenges not only on the battlefield but also regarding financial support.

Sunak, in a resolute message from the Ukrainian capital, asserted the U.K.'s unwavering support for Ukraine, stressing that Britain will stand by its ally through challenging times and beyond.

The aid package, set to commence in the upcoming financial year in April, is more than just financial assistance; it is framed as the initial step toward a long-term, "totemic" security agreement between the U.K. and Ukraine, indicative of a robust and enduring partnership.

The bilateral accord, formally known as the U.K.-Ukraine Agreement on Security Cooperation, goes beyond mere financial aid. It outlines a range of measures that include security guarantees from the U.K. for Ukraine and a commitment to provide rapid and sustained defensive assistance in the event of another Russian attack. This comprehensive agreement signifies the mutual understanding that the security of one nation is intricately linked to the security of the other.

The aid package itself is strategically crafted, addressing critical needs in Ukraine's defense capabilities.

Allocating significant funds for long-range missiles, air defense and artillery ammunition, the U.K. aims to bolster Ukraine's military capabilities.

Notably, a substantial portion of the aid, 200 million ($254.6 million), will be dedicated to military drones  a vital contribution that underscores the evolving nature of modern warfare.

In addition to military support, the aid package includes a humanitarian dimension, with 18 million ($22.9 million) allocated for humanitarian aid.

This multifaceted approach reflects a commitment not only to Ukraine's defense but also to addressing the broader challenges faced by the country, including the well-being of its citizens.

However, the announcement also raises questions about the broader geopolitical landscape.

The political dynamics in Europe and the United States, including dissent among lawmakers over the effectiveness of financial assistance in Ukraine, pose challenges. The White House's acknowledgment that support for Ukraine has "ground to a halt" underscores the complexities involved in sustaining international backing.

U.K.'s support a big shot in the arm for Ukraine

The U.K. support is seen as a big shot in the arm for Ukraine, whose current outlook is far less optimistic. A long-anticipated Ukrainian offensive in the south has seen minimal progress. And Russia, seemingly resilient to international sanctions, has transformed its economy into a war machine. (Related: Ukraine purchases 50,000 womens uniforms amid worries that females could be conscripted.)

The Russian approach to war, characterized by absorbing substantial losses while intensifying the fight, has blunted Ukraine's military advantages.

The Ukrainian military's tactical and technological edge has diminished, as acknowledged by its top general in a recent candid essay. Moscow remains grimly determined, with the Kremlin signaling skepticism among Western backers about Ukraine's ability to reclaim the 17 percent of its territory still occupied by Russian forces.

Putin, in a year-end news conference, scoffed at Ukraine's current state, claiming it produces almost nothing and relies heavily on Western assistance.

Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's blocking of a $55 billion European Union financial aid package for Ukraine has raised concerns, with some likening it to having Putin at the table.

This financial setback poses risks to Ukraine's government spending on essential areas, such as salaries and healthcare. Zelensky, facing increasing challenges and admitting his fatigue, finds it challenging to sustain Ukraine's international prominence amid shifting global priorities.

Watch Ukraine say there is no Plan B if the West doesn't send weapons.

This video is from the White Knight channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Ukraine-bound tanks sent by Germany are OUTDATED and NON-FUNCTIONING, official admits.

Ukraine's largest mobile network operator hit by massive cyberattack amid ongoing conflict with Russia.

Ukraine grapples with power interruptions as winter approaches.

Sources include:

RT.com

Brighteon.com
U.S. and U.K. warplanes bomb Houthi targets in Yemen in another significant escalation of Gaza war

Fears of the Israel-Hamas war expanding have now become a reality as U.S. and U.K. warplanes have been striking Houthi targets in Yemen in response to their recent commercial shipping attacks in the Red Sea.

President Biden said the strikes are being conducted in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea.

He said in a statement that the operations were focused on targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the worlds most vital waterways and added that he will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.

U.S. Air Forces Central Commander Lt. General Alex Grynkewich announced that American and coalition forces launched more than 100 precision-guided munitions at more than a dozen locations used by Houthi militants, including depots, munitions, production facilities and radar defense systems.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak characterized the strikes as self-defense with the goal of easing tensions and bringing stability back to the region.

Joint strikes were carried out involving American aircraft, submarines and ships with support from Australia, Canada, Bahrain and the Netherlands against a number of Houthi targets in Yemen. The strikes came from Tomahawk missiles and fighter jets and were aimed at eroding the Houthis ability to carry out their attacks on Red Sea vessels.

A spokesperson for the Houthi rebels, Yahya Saree, claimed that five people have been killed in the attack and six have been wounded. He added that the strikes will not stop them from carrying out more attacks on shipping interests in the Red Sea.

Crucial shipping waterway in Red Sea under constant attack

The strikes illustrate the growing concern around the world about the ongoing threats to the crucial shipping waterway. The Houthis, with backing from Iran, have been attacking commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea with missiles and drones for several weeks.

Although U.S. navy ships regularly intercept them and shoot them down, the problem is so extensive that numerous major shippers have started avoiding the area entirely and rerouting their ships around the southern tip of Africa, which is adding significant time and expense to their routes.

The Houthis say the attacks are a way of showing support for Palestinians in Gaza. They claim they will not let up until Israel permits medicine and food into the enclave, and experts say they may be hoping the economic damage they are causing to Israels allies will be enough to push them to pressure the Jewish state into stopping its military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Demonstrators chant "Death to America"

Pro-Houthi demonstrators carried out protests in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on Friday against the airstrikes, with some chanting God is great, death to America, death to Israel, curse the Jews, victory to Islam.

Houthi leader Abdul Malek Al-Houthi said that American attacks on Yemen will not go unanswered and claimed that their response will be much more than attacks on American ships in the Red Sea.

Although the U.S. previously tried to avoid striking Yemen directly and stoking tensions, the situation in the Red Sea has been growing worse. Officials have been warning in recent days that there would be consequences for continued attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stating that if it doesnt stop, there will have to be consequences. And unfortunately, it hasnt stopped.

He is reportedly telling regional leaders on his current trip to the Middle East that any military action the U.S. takes against Houthis will be defensive rather than escalatory. Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has issued a resolution calling on the Houthis to stop their attacks immediately.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

CNN.com
USDA starts the new year RAIDING an organic dairy farmer in the D.C. area

Over the past decade, the federal government has targeted an Amish farm in the Washington, D.C. area. In 2015, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched an investigation into Miller's Organic Farm and began harassing the owner, Amos Miller, for selling raw milk and other unpasteurized products.

Now, as 2024 begins, Mr. Miller faces new charges. The USDA started the new year conscripting the Pennsylvania State Police to RAID Mr. Miller's farm. According to the USDA, Mr. Miller has spread a food borne pathogen in the community and faces charges for never licensing his retail operation.

Millers Organic Farm persecuted for serving nutritious, whole foods to thousands of informed consumers

Members of Miller's Organic Farm can pay a small fee for access to clean and nutritious foods produced straight from the farm. These unpasteurized products are not processed in a USDA meat or dairy facility. Food clubs like the one run by Mr. Miller ultimately cut into the profits of the larger farming operations that are regulated and protected by the USDA. Millers food club had grown to nearly 4,000 people before it was raided.

Among the products Miller produces and sells are meats, dairy products and eggs. Even though the food club is legally justified in selling directly to informed club members, USDA officials are upset that the products are being purchased outside of their control and oversight. The government contends that unpasteurized raw milk poses a risk to the community. Therefore, the USDA has been looking for ways to shut down the farm for many years now. The Feds have harassed Mr. Miller repeatedly, and Mr. Miller has been falsely accused of selling tainted raw milk and other products.

(Related: FOOD SUPPLY ATTACK: U.S. government raided and shutdown Golden Valley Farms, an independent meat producer in Virginia.)

Weaponized USDA shutting down independent farmers over improvable allegations

On January 4, 2024, Mr. Miller was faced with new allegations, an arrest warrant and a surprise raid on his farm and personal property. USDA officials were accompanied by Pennsylvania State Police in the raid of Millers Organic Farm. Their warrant claimed that his farm had exposed the public to a dangerous food borne pathogen and was connected to two cases of illness in the community. The agents seized raw milk and eggnog products from his farms and claimed that "Miller has never licensed his retail operation."

Millers attorney, Robert Barnes, issued a statement lambasting the raid. He claims the raid was a violation of his clients constitutional rights. "The Department of Agriculture of the State of Pennsylvania suddenly came, without notice, raided Amos farm and detained everything Amos had in the farms freezer. They did so in a lawless manner, without appropriate authority, in violation of their own rules and regulations," Mr. Barnes said.

Other raw dairy farmers are speaking up on behalf of Mr. Miller.

Peter Bartlett, who own Bartlett Farms in North Dakota, also sells raw dairy products. He spoke to the Epoch Times about the governments real motivations behind these unlawful raids. He says the governments actions have nothing to do with protecting public health and have everything to do with criminalizing independence.

"Regulators will tell you this is for the safety of the American public. But if that were true, then why dont they go after every Mexican or Chinese restaurant after people eat their food and get sick," Mr. Bartlett said. "The truth is they feel threatened by anyone acting independently from the system and that is why the government has decided to target this particular farmto make an example of him, to scare people."

While food safety and hygiene is important -- raiding, terrorizing people and seizing their property is not how a government should handle these situations.

"If they can make an example out of this small Amish farm, then they can send a powerful message of compliance throughout the rest of the independent farming community," he added. "The USDA and FDA have been lobbied over the years by the industrial food system while small and independent farmers are not well represented."

Mr. Bartlett concluded, "What we are now seeing come to fruition through a regulatory process that tilts the scales to criminalize independence."

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

TheEpochTimes.com

NaturalNews.com
Biden plans to revise climate-related criteria for approving LNG export terminals to win support of climate-minded voters

High-ranking officials from the administration of President Joe Biden recently met to discuss the potential revision of climate-related criteria used in approving new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals.

In 2023, the United States was the world's largest exporter of LNG. The country currently has five new LNG export facilities under construction, including Calcasieu Pass 2 in Louisiana, with several others permitted and awaiting final investment decisions. The plants, which convert natural gas into liquid form for easier transportation, have been a significant part of the U.S. energy landscape since 2016.

A panel of government officials, convened by White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi and including Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm, evaluated the climate, geopolitical and domestic economic implications of the proposed projects. The focal point of the discussion was the potential revision of climate-related criteria used in approving new LNG export terminals.

According to several reports, the administration faces the dilemma of fulfilling commitments to provide more gas to Europe even after the beginning of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, and addressing the concerns of Biden's more climate-minded voters who are crucial to his reelection bid. This reassessment coincides with heightened scrutiny of every fossil fuel project currently under approval by Biden's administration, given the growing emphasis on climate issues in electoral discourse. (Related: Hoarding: China securing more deals to import massive amounts of LNG.)

These deliberations follow the recent United Nations COP28 climate summit in Dubai, where the U.S. and nearly 200 other nations agreed to an eventual transition away from fossil fuels. The DOE, responsible for issuing export permits, is reportedly reviewing its processes to ensure the proper accounting of the climate impact of proposed LNG plants.

Biden, who has been briefed on the LNG export facilities, has not yet made a final decision, but the outcome of these discussions could carry substantial implications for both domestic energy policy and international relations.

U.S. LNG export policy sparks clashes between politicians and environmentalists

This high-stakes meeting transpires amid clashes between politicians and environmental groups.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who is vehemently opposed to any attempt to curtail U.S. LNG exports due to the crucial role they play in his home state's economy, dubbed proposals for more stringent climate rules "shortsighted." He argued that restricting natural gas exports would hinder the shift from coal-fired power to the cleaner-burning alternative of natural gas.

"If we limit the export of natural gas, we limit the ability to substitute cleaner-burning natural gas for coal," Cassidy said at an American Petroleum Institute (API) event in Washington. He further argued that the construction of new multi-billion-dollar LNG export terminals and associated infrastructure could entrench decades of additional natural gas usage, discouraging the pursuit of emission-free alternatives.

However, API Chief Executive Mike Sommers worries about the implications of these delays on the nation's standing as a reliable LNG partner.

"The signal that sends to our allies is very, very concerning: Is the United States going to be a source of LNG and a reliable partner into the future? Our allies are going to start asking that question if they make this determination," he said in an interview.

Some Democrats and environmental groups also urge Biden to reject any further export licenses due to climate concerns.

For instance, Third Act, a climate activism group, has announced plans for a sit-in protest at the DOE headquarters in Washington, D.C. The protest seeks to sway the decision-making process at DOE, underscoring the urgency of climate action and urging a halt to the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure.

Environmental activist Bill McKibben, known for his past efforts against the Keystone XL oil pipeline, has now turned his attention to LNG exports. Alongside fellow climate activists, McKibben is organizing a three-day demonstration at the Department of Energy in February. The sit-in's website includes a sign-up form, gauging participants' willingness to risk arrest in support of their campaign against expanded LNG exports.

So far, the DOE has refused to listen to thousands of letters and ignored petitions signed by hundreds of thousands of people. So we need to go to DC to drive home how serious this crisis is, McKibben wrote in a letter specifically addressed to CP2, a proposed plant from Venture Global LNG Inc. in Louisiana

Watch this video that talks about the pipeline wars.

This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

TRADE WAR: China restricts export on gallium and germanium after Biden regime mulls broader semiconductor chip export ban.

New offshore natural gas deposit discovered in Egypt.

German prosecutors launch probe into possible SABOTAGE of LNG pipeline.

EPA report concludes that natural gas 'fracking' causes groundwater contamination.

China settles first LNG trade using YUAN  a major blow to the petrodollar.

Sources include:

YourNews.com

Bloomberg.com

Brighteon.com
Whistleblower documents reveal U.S. censorship-industrial complexs efforts to control public discourse

Investigative journalists uncover details from whistleblower documents on the U.S. censorship-industrial complexs attempts to police and criminalize divergent opinions.

(Article republished from YourNews.com)

Investigative journalists Michael Shellenberger, Alex Gutentag, and Matt Taibbi have brought to light documents from a highly credible whistleblower. These documents expose the workings of a vast U.S. censorship-industrial complex, comprising over 100 government agencies, private firms, academia, and nonprofits, focused on policing and repressing what they term as wrong-think.

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, the trio wrote on their Substack, Public. 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).

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 documents, named the CTIL files after the Cyber Threat Intelligence League, provide an in-depth look at the creation and operation of modern digital censorship programs. They reveal the involvement of the U.S. military, intelligence agencies, civil society organizations, and commercial media in these censorship efforts. Techniques used include the creation and deployment of sock puppet accounts for spying and influencing online discourse, propagation of specific narratives, and active discrediting of dissenters.

One of the key strategies detailed in these documents is the weaponization of the financial industry, particularly by the CTIL. This strategy aimed to cut off financial services to individuals who organize rallies or events, effectively stifling dissent by financial means. The documents indicate a deliberate attempt to bypass the First Amendment by outsourcing censorship tasks to the private and non-governmental sectors, with the understanding that if such actions were not legally challenged, they were considered legal.

The whistleblower highlights CTILs role in a counter-disinformation project intended to prevent events like the Brexit vote and Donald Trumps 2016 election victory, both perceived as failures of information control. This initiative was not merely about combating false information but was a direct effort to manipulate and control democratic processes.

Further, the documents reveal the CTILs involvement in broader surveillance and censorship activities. For instance, a law enforcement channel was established specifically to monitor and track social media users posting anti-lockdown hashtags, and CTIL maintained detailed records of such users.

The CTIL files also exposed that the weaponization of the financial sector originated with CTILs explicit intent to impede financial transactions of those organizing events contrary to their narrative. The framework developed by CTIL was later utilized by entities like the World Health Organization for countering anti-vaccination campaigns in Europe.

Within one month of the CTILs founding in March 2020, this supposedly all-volunteer group had grown to 1,400 by invitation only members in 76 countries and officially partnered with the U.S. Department of Homeland Securitys Cybersecurity and Information Security Agency (CISA). As reported by Public:

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.

Public continues:

The documents also show that Terp and her colleagues, through a group called MisinfoSec Working Group, which included [Stanford Internet Observatory research manager Renee] 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  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 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.

We are indeed hackable animals, as proposed by Yuval Noah Harari, and the censorship-industrial complex has been hacking into the very brain structure of billions of people for the last four years already. Gutentag even touches on this in a December 3, 2023, article:

What was once considered a conspiracy theory that military and intelligence forces were manipulating public opinion through inorganic interventions, has now been confirmed. Our study of the Censorship Industrial Complex has exposed a far-reaching plan to subvert the democratic process and engage in activities that have a basis in military techniques and which are tantamount to attempts at thought or mind control.

The CTIL files also show there was a clear intent to circumvent the First Amendment by outsourcing censorship to the private and nongovernmental sector. According to the whistleblower:

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.

The "Middleware" Plan To Restructure The Censorship Industry 1. Middleware = 'censorship as a service' orgs 2. Morphing from top-down to middle-out 3. Regs + middleware = disinfo compliance market pic.twitter.com/lDPqH72HrD  Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) August 1, 2023

The complexity and scope of these operations underscore a significant shift in censorship tactics, moving from direct government action to more covert methods involving public-private partnerships. This shift represents a strategic circumvention of constitutional limitations on government censorship.

This expose marks a crucial moment in understanding the extent of government-sanctioned censorship efforts and their impact on public discourse and democratic processes. It highlights the need for vigilance and accountability in the face of increasing attempts to control and manipulate public opinion under the guise of fighting disinformation.

READ THE FIRST CTIL FILES HERE

READ THE MOST RECENT CTIL FILES HERE

Read more at: YourNews.com
Be careful what you wish for: European commissioner wants EU to welcome ONE MILLION MIGRANTS each year to offset declining workforce

European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson has urged the European Union to welcome an additional one million migrants each year to counter the bloc's shrinking citizen workforce.

Speaking at a conference in Greece, Johansson, who previously served as Sweden's Employment minister, emphasized the need for an orderly and controlled increase in legal migration to achieve this consistent influx.

"Legal migration works very well, but its not enough," she said, noting that while legal migration has been successful, it is no longer sufficient to address the demographic shift occurring in the European Union.

According to Johansson, the EU is witnessing a workforce decline of approximately one million people each year. A European Commission document suggests that without migration, the working-age population of the EU could plummet by over 100 million, from 334 million back in 2014 to just 238 million by 2060.

Eurostat, a statistical office of the EU, projects a peak population of 453.3 million in 2026, followed by a gradual decline to 447.9 million by 2050. The decline is expected to accelerate, reaching 419.5 million by 2100, with the labor force retracting at an even faster pace due to an aging population.

Meanwhile, in 2023, migration to the EU reached 3.5 million, including more than 300,000 irregular entries, indicating a substantial increase from previous years.

The commissioner stressed the importance of cracking down on illegal migration, particularly the dangerous routes used by hundreds of thousands of people from Africa and the Middle East. Irregular arrivals peaked at over one million in 2015 before slowly decreasing. But these have been steadily rising once more since the onset of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, reaching more than 260,000 in the past year.

As a response, Johansson called for member states to prevent irregular arrivals and emphasized the need for a "global alliance" to combat smuggling networks. The EU has already committed to sharing the costs of hosting migrants more equitably and has pledged to limit arrivals through smuggling routes.

Hungary stands firm against attracting millions of migrants

Hungary, the lone dissenter against the EU's "Blue Card" initiative for attracting migrant laborers, poses a potential obstacle to the migration plans of the EU.

The Blue Card Directive, revised and agreed upon by members of the European Parliament along with respective national government ministers in mid-2021, seeks to encourage skilled workers from outside the EU to come to the continent and contribute to the European workforce.

This would involve the issuance of the eponymous Blue Cards, which are valid for up to four years and allow holders to bring their family members to live with them in the continent. This has seen success in other EU member states, particularly Germany, which attracted the most Blue Card holders in 2022.

In the same year, Eurostat revealed that Hungary granted only 18 Blue Cards, the third-lowest among member states, following Cyprus with zero and Slovakia with just 14, despite Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban acknowledging the need for 500,000 new workers in the coming years.

Instead, Orban insisted that the problem should be solved internally. "We cannot give foreigners an advantage over Hungarians," he said.

Visit Migrants.news for more stories about illegal immigrants.

Watch this video from InfoWars as Alex Jones discusses the hell unleashed upon the United States by the tsunami of illegals crossing the border.

This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

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'Death trap': UK starts housing illegal migrants in controversial barge 'Bibby Stockholm', as it surfaces government spends 7M per day on asylum seekers in hotels.

European border agency Frontex confirms: 92% of illegal migrants arriving in EU are fighting-age MEN.

WATCH as Mike Adams and Michael Yon discuss the great replacement of Americans with illegal "migrants."

Sources include:

TheNationalPulse.com

MSN.com

AmericanRenaissance.com

Brighteon.com
Houthi missile hits U.S.-owned cargo ship, says U.S. government

The United States is reporting that a Houthi missile struck a U.S.-owned cargo ship just hours after a U.S. aircraft shot down a ballistic missile fired at an American destroyer in the Red Sea.

Gibraltar Eagle, the vessel in question, reported "no injuries or significant damage," according to the United States military command for the Middle East (Centcom). Despite the damage, the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel is continuing its journey through the Gulf of Aden.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG) is claiming responsibility for the attack, which is a clear escalation of the situation in the Middle East and a spillover from the conflict in Gaza.

Iranian-aligned armed groups continue to blame the U.S. for the ongoing conflict, which stems from the U.S.'s unconditional support for Israel, including in its war on Gaza.

The IRG and other Iranian-aligned armed groups not only want all support for Israel to stop, they also want all foreign troops to leave Iraq, including coalition and U.S. troops.

(Related: Check out the top 10 politicians who are accepting blood money from Israel to unconditionally support the Jewish state.)

Global commerce sees major disruption due to Middle East crisis

At the time when it was struck by a Houthi missile, Gibraltar Eagle was carrying steel products. Shipping company Eagle Bulk Shipping said the vessel was located about 100 miles offshore in the Gulf of Aden when it was hit.

The container "suffered limited damage to a cargo hold but is stable and is heading out of the area," reports indicate.

Hours before the attack, Centcom announced that another missile was fired in the direction of a U.S. destroyer in the Red Sea, but was intercepted and shot down by a U.S. fighter jet.

Each one of these attacks by the Houthis is aimed at commercial ships in the Red Sea that the group deems as being linked to Israel in some way, including by having Israeli ports as their destination.

Each attack is also considered to be a show of support for the Palestinians in Gaza, which continues to face relentless attack by Israel as part of a full-scale military campaign to clear out the territory and make it part of Israel.

Ambrey, a British maritime security firm, analyzed the attack and found that the Gibraltar Eagle was "assessed to not be Israel-affiliated," even though a senior Houthi official said even American vessels are considered to be valid targets due to the U.S.-Israel best-friendship.

"It is enough for ships to be American for us to target them," said Nasr al-Din Amer.

Many of the world's largest shipping companies have changed course to avoid the Red Sea ever since the Houthi attack began back in November. This is causing major disruption to global commerce at a time when the remnants of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) "pandemic" are still a problem.

In response to all this, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a maritime alert, recommending "that U.S. flag and U.S.-owned commercial vessels" steer clear of specified areas of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden for the time being.

QatarEnergy, the world's second-largest oil company, also announced that it will pause all shipping via the route while seeking security advice about how to proceed.

Last week, in retaliation for all these attacks on shipping vessels, the U.S. joined forces with the U.K. to strike Houthi targets in Yemen. The joint forces, in coordination with their allies, carried out dozens of air and sea strikes on Houthi missile launch sits and air defense systems located inside the boundaries of Yemen.

The latest news about the Israel-Gaza war can be found at Chaos.news.

Sources for this article include:

AlJazeera.com

BBC.com

NaturalNews.com
Hunter Biden set to go on trial in California for 9 federal TAX charges

Hunter Biden, the only remaining son of President Joe Biden, is set to go on trial on June 20 in a federal court in Los Angeles for charges of tax crimes

Hunter is being accused of nine tax-related charges  three felonies and six misdemeanors  for allegedly failing to file taxes, evading a tax assessment and filing a fraudulent tax form. If convicted, Hunter could face a maximum of 17 years in prison. (Related: Influential Democratic donors spent a suspicious amount of money to purchase art pieces from Hunter Biden.)

On Thursday, Jan. 11, Hunter appeared before Judge Mark Scarsi of the United States District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles to enter a not-guilty plea. Scarsi then set a June 20 trial date, which neither the defendants nor the prosecution opposed.

However, Hunter's legal team was "not quite as certain" regarding the timing of the trial because Hunter is also being indicted in Delaware on felony gun charges.

During the approximately 30-minute hearing, an attorney representing Hunter expressed frustration with the trial because of the failure to agree on a plea deal, saying: "We had a resolution of this case in 2023 and then things happened." Prosecutors argued that pleas fail all the time.

Hunter's next hearing is set for March 27. Motions are due on Feb. 20. Hunter was released on the condition that he not possess any firearms, alcohol or drugs. He must also submit to drug or alcohol tests if necessary.

Hunter accused of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes

The president's son was indicted last month on nine tax-related charges accusing him of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2019.

The indictment on tax charges from December stems from a years-long federal investigation into Hunter's tax and business dealings that were expected to wind down following a plea deal that fell apart last summer.

Following this investigation, federal prosecutors published their allegations that Hunter earned millions of dollars from foreign entities in China, Romania and Ukraine and "spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle at the same time he chose not to pay his taxes," including on luxury hotel stays, luxury car rentals and expensive escort services. The back taxes were eventually paid in 2020 by a third party.

In response to the tax charges, Abbe Lowell, an attorney on Hunter's team, claimed in December following the tax indictment that it included no new evidence. "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.

Following the end of the hearing in Los Angeles, Lowell accused the Republican Party  who has been pushing for charges against the president's son  of caring "little about the truth" and trying to "hold someone in contempt, who has offered to publicly answer all their proper questions."

"Hunter Biden was and is a private citizen," said Lowell. "Despite this, Republicans have sought to use him as a surrogate to attack his father."

Learn more about Hunter and his other alleged crimes at BidenCrimeFamily.news.

Watch this clip from Fox News discussing in more detail Hunter's not guilty plea to nine tax charges in California.

This video is from the News Clips channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Tom Fitton: Congress HAS THE POWER to ARREST Hunter Biden.

"Guilty" Joe frustrated over Congressional probe of his son Hunter and accusations of bribery, kickbacks.

Hunter Biden INDICTED on 9 tax charges, could spend up to 17 years in prison.

SMOKING GUN: Hunter Biden sent Joe Biden "direct monthly payments" from a business account that received funds from China.

POLL: 60% of Americans believe Joe Biden actively helped Hunter in his foreign business dealings.

Sources include:

Breitbart.com

ABCNews.go.com

APNews.com

Brighteon.com
Tens of thousands of illegal Chinese migrants detained at U.S. border in major national security threat

As the border crisis continues to spiral, Border Patrol officers are reporting a spike in the number of Chinese migrants apprehended while trying to enter the U.S. illegally, underscoring the threat to national security posed by President Bidens open borders policy.

Since October 1, around 16,000 Chinese nationals have been detained by Border Patrol agents after illegally crossing the border at various ports of entry. They report that nearly 10,000 such migrants were apprehended in October and November, which means that roughly 6,000 have been arrested since December.

This does not include the 40 illegal migrants who were recently detained by Mexican authorities while on their way to the U.S. by bus in southern Mexico, nor does it include the 180 migrants they apprehended the same day coming from Central and South America toward the United States.

The problem has grown so dramatically that the mainstream media can no longer ignore it, with the New York Times and CNN recently reporting on the problem. An in-depth report by CNN revealed that more than 31,000 Chinese citizens had been apprehended by authorities crossing illegally into America from Mexico during the first 11 months of 2023, which is a notable rise over the average of just 1,500 per year during the previous decade.

Although Chinese president Xi Jinping has claimed that China is in the midst of a national rejuvenation, many of those fleeing the country have said they are struggling to survive. Many people there have been left without work after three years of pandemic-related lockdowns and other restrictions, and the rebound many hoped would be seen when restrictions eased never materialized. Meanwhile, the Communist partys control over every aspect of their lives has led to widespread misery. Crackdowns on free speech and religion is also playing a role, with some Chinese migrants telling CNN that they left for the simple reason that they are Christians.

Chinese nationals becoming the quickest-growing group making border crossings

An analysis by the news outlet indicated that Chinese people are poised to become the quickest-growing group of individuals making border crossings, and the network helping them make their journey to the U.S. has been growing.

Many of them are reportedly beginning their migration in Quito, Ecuador, which has seen a sharp rise in the number of Chinese nationals entering the country. While 13,000 of them entered Ecuador in 2022, 2023 saw more than 45,000 Chinese nationals entering in just the first 11 months of the year.

Numerous businesses are helping them make their journey, offering everything from pickups at the airport to stays in Chinese-run hostels for those who can afford their high price. People with Chinese signs offering help reaching the Colombian border are waiting outside bus stations there, while shops are selling the gear they need to make their trek through the jungle, and groups are handing out maps and instructions in Chinese explaining how to reach the United States.

Vetting process reduced from 40 to 5 questions

This week, the Daily Caller published an internal email from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that instructed officials to reduce the number of questions Chinese migrants are asked in interviews after being apprehended for illegally crossing into the U.S. from a list of 40 questions to just five. This essentially fast-tracks their release into the U.S. while preventing agents from performing due diligence in determining national security threats.

After reviewing the email, a retired CBP deputy patrol agent in charge, J.J. Carrell, told the publication: I believe the government recognizes the threat of Chinese soldiers and spies that are pouring into America, and they want to try and identify these individuals. However, the same government does not want to stop the flow of illegal aliens or Chinese nationals  just the bad ones, which is impossible.

Sources for this article include:

TownHall.com

CNN.com

DailyCaller.com
Illegal immigrant charged with VEHICULAR HOMICIDE in Colorado had already been deported FOUR TIMES

An illegal immigrant with a history of being deported has been charged with vehicular homicide following a tragic accident in Broomfield, Colorado.

On Dec. 12, 37-year-old Jose Menjivar, originally from El Salvador, crashed his vehicle into another car, claiming the lives of Melissa Powell, 39, and her 16-year-old son, Riordan. He was immediately arrested by the Broomfield Police Department after being released from the hospital.

Menjivar faces charges of vehicular homicide reckless, vehicular homicide DUI (driving under the influence) and being a habitual offender. The authorities speculate that alcohol and speed may have played a role in the accident. (Related: Group of young migrants attack German children and teens with sticks.)

According to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson, Menjivar had reportedly entered the United States at an unknown time and place, with an immigration judge issuing a final removal order on April 14, 2009 and being deported in June of the same year. However, Menjivar managed to enter the country multiple times after that: in June 2012, November 2014 and finally in January 2015.

ICE Denver lodged a detainer with Broomfield County on Dec. 18, 2023, indicating its intent to seek the arrest of Menjivar. The spokesperson emphasized that Menjivar had shown "no regard for immigration law" based on ICE records.

"As part of its routine operations, ICE targets and arrests noncitizens who commit crimes and other individuals who have violated our nations immigration laws. All noncitizens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention, and, if found removable by final order, removed from the United States, regardless of nationality," stated the ICE spokesperson.

Furthermore, court records from Boulder County revealed that Menjivar has a history of prior convictions for drunk driving offenses spanning from 2007 to 2019. Boulder County is known to be a sanctuary jurisdiction, which adds another layer of complexity to the case given the ongoing debate over local authorities' cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Non-detained illegal immigrants in the U.S. exceed 6 million

A 2023 report from ICE has revealed a grim picture of the escalating border crisis, with the number of non-detained illegal immigrants within the United States exceeding six million.

The data shows a 30 percent increase over the past few years, with the number of non-detained illegal immigrants rising from 4.7 million in 2022 to a worrisome 6.2 million in 2023. This surge is attributed primarily to the fear of individuals unlawfully crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The number of detained illegal immigrants also witnessed an increase, climbing from 26,299 in 2022 to 36,845 in 2023.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported a record-setting November with 242,418 encounters at the southern border, surpassing even the highest month under former President Donald Trump. Authorities deported over 142,000 illegal immigrants in 2023, nearly doubling the figure from the previous year. In other words, the rise in deportations only means that the number of illegal immigrants entering the country continues to grow.

Former President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans, along with some Democrats, continue to hold President Joe Biden responsible for the ongoing border crisis.

For instance, in a recent interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump predicted a drastic increase in illegal immigration. He said: "We have prisoners coming in. We have mental patients coming in by the thousands. Really, by the millions. Because you take a look, I believe that number will be 15 million people. Maybe more than that by the time Biden leaves office."

Moreover, the former president has repeatedly labeled the influx of illegal immigrants as a national security crisis. A group of Republican senators backed this claim when they discovered improvised explosive devices and caught some illegal border-crossers carrying explosives designed for potential terror attacks during their visit to the border in October.

As a response, Trump has pledged to implement stringent border security measures if successful in winning the 2024 presidential race.

Visit Migrants.news for more stories about migrant crime and violence in the United States and other countries.

Watch this GB News report about how the United Kingdom's "imported violence"  courtesy of African migrants  is a threat to public safety.

This video is from the CONSERVATIVE POLITICS & NWO channel on Brighteon.com.

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Migrant gangs are blowing up ATMs in Germany at record pace.

MIGRANT VIOLENCE: Rioters in France DESTROY one of worlds oldest public libraries.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com 1

TheEpochTimes.com 2

Brighteon.com
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, January 16. Vice President of the European Commission Margaritis Schinas will pay a working visit to Uzbekistan, Trend reports.

According to the EU delegation in Uzbekistan, Margaritis Schinas will arrive in Uzbekistan on January 16, 2024.

During the visit, the European Commission representative will hold meetings with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev and Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov.

Margaritis Schinas will also visit other countries in the region.

The visit will take place on the eve of the Europe-Central Asia Investors Forum, which will be held in Brussels on January 29-30.

Earlier, Uzbekistan and the European Commission expressed interest in signing the agreement on enhanced partnership and cooperation between Uzbekistan and the EU, initialled on July 6, 2022, as soon as possible.

This was discussed during a meeting between the special representative of Uzbekistan's President on Foreign Policy Abdulaziz Kamilov and the Director for Political Coordination and Management at the European Commission, Jivka Petkova in Brussels.
Rep. Kat Cammack: Biden administration is complicit in cartel trafficking of people, drugs

The Biden administration is complicit in the cartel trafficking of people and drugs in the southern border of America. This was the assessment given by Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida during a recent interview with investigative reporter Alex Newman.

"The cartels are 100 percent involved in the trafficking of individuals and drugs across the border into the United States. And the Biden administration is complicit in completing the trafficking circle on behalf of the cartels. It's big business every single month. The cartels are making over a billion dollars just in the human trafficking that they are engaged in," Cammack told Newman in the interview aired on "The Sentinel Report" show. (Related: Smuggling ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS into the U.S. is now a $13B a year business.)

The award-winning journalist and educator asked Cammack about her opinion on what is happening in the border and why the Biden administration was allowing this. Cammack said the American people need to keep the border crisis at the forefront because every town in America today has been turned into a border town as a result of President Joe Biden's open border policies.

The congresswoman knows what she's talking about as she has been at the border nine times. She has also experienced working night shifts there with agents from the Texas Department of Public Safety and Border Patrol.

America is seeing an assortment of problems at the southern border

"You are seeing a humanitarian crisis, a public health crisis and a national security crisis. This is a crisis that has now resulted into a staggering statistic  there are more illegals coming through the southwest border now than there are children being born to American mothers," Cammack said.

"There are more illegals now today that have come through the southwest border under Joe Biden's tenure than there have been American children born. That right there should send a red flag up in every American's mind because of the pressures that are being placed on communities where these people are coming to."

She added that Americans are seeing a total erosion of their constitutional rights with the entry of illegal immigrants, and this has a resulted in 151 different nationalities being seen every single day at the border.

The congresswoman warned that it is only a matter of time before America suffers another terrorist attack. She said thousands of suspected international terrorists on the international watchlist have been apprehended and many more likely got away.

"There will be some very, very troubling things happening in the future. And if we don't get a handle on this, we risk losing our national security and sovereignty," Cammack said.

Newman then asked Cammack what the Biden administration's possible pretext could be for allowing this migrant invasion to happen.

Cammack commented that the 117th Congress under former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi passed HR-1 For the People's Act, which lowered the voting age to 16, got rid of the voter ID and made non-citizens eligible to vote.

In other words, Cammack believes the Democrats want to guarantee future victory in future elections with the help of illegal immigrants.

"And it makes you wonder why are there so few Democrats that speak up and speak out against the atrocities that are taking place at the southwest border. They won't even bring themselves to go there. They won't bring themselves to acknowledge that the Biden administration has lost 85,000 children into trafficking," Cammack said.

"They won't acknowledge the horrible assaults. They won't acknowledge the fentanyl crisis that's taking place. Why? It makes you wonder if this is all about votes and continuing that agenda of dependency and control. And that all starts with elections."

Follow Migrants.news for more news about the influx of illegals at the southern border.

Watch the video below that talks about how the Biden administration is complicit in the cartel trafficking of people and drugs.

This video is from the PATRIOT.TV channel on Brighteon.com.

More related articles:

ACT NOW: US Rep. Kat Cammack sounds alarm  Dems breaking all the rules to end free and fair elections forevermore  hiding HR1 in a NASA bill  contact senators now  list attached.

MIGRANT INVASION: Biden administration has let in over 4 MILLION ILLEGALS since January 2021.

Texas DPS spokesperson states the obvious: There are criminal networks operating in America that are involved in human smuggling.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken: Drug trafficking, immigration are crisis MUTUAL RESPONSIBILITIES of the U.S. and Mexico.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

Cammack.House.gov
ESCALATION: U.S. strikes Iran-backed Houthi rebels after Iran hijacks oil tanker in Gulf of Oman

The U.S. and U.K. have carried out strikes against numerous targets in areas of Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels following the seizure of an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman by Iran.

The seized vessel is an oil tanker known as the St. Nikolas that bears Marshall Islands flags. Previously known as the Suez Rajan, the tanker was part of a major dispute between America and Iran last year that resulted in the U.S. seizing more than a million barrels of unauthorized Iranian crude oil that they claimed was being illegally sold to China.

The ship was on its way to Turkey with 145,000 tons of crude from Iraq when Iranian naval forces boarded it at around 3:30am and seized it, forcing it to change its course and head toward Iranian territorial waters in a flagrant violation of international law.

Reports by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations authority state: "Unauthorized boarders are reported to be wearing military-style black uniforms with black masks. CSO reports that the vessel has altered its course towards Iranian territorial waters, and communications with the vessel have been lost."

The ships automatic identification system was turned off, and its last known position was roughly 50 miles east of Sohar, Oman.

Western military forces strike more than 60 Houthi targets

In response to the hijacking, the U.S. and U.K. militaries carried out a series of strikes aimed at more than 60 targets in 16 Houthi militant locations. Targets included munitions depots, production facilities, drone storage sites, radar systems for air defense, command centers and missile launching systems.

A senior military official said that the assets destroyed in the strikes were significant and stressed that efforts were taken to minimize collateral damage.

We were absolutely not targeting civilian population centers. We were going after very specific capabilities, in very specific locations, with precision munitions, the official clarified.

In a statement released by the White House, President Joe Biden announced that he had ordered the strikes in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea.

The statement said that the U.S. and U.K. received support from countries such as the Netherlands, Canada, Australia and Bahrain and added that the U.S. will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.

Shortly before the incident, U.S. navy warships shot down dozens of drones and missiles in the Red Sea in what has been described as the largest-ever barrage of drones and missiles targeting shipping in the Red Sea attack.

Fears of escalation as Iran and U.S. take direct action

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have been carrying out a series of attacks in the Red Sea in the past several weeks in what they claim is a show of solidarity for Palestinians as Israel continues to carry out military operations in Gaza. Until now, the only action Iran has taken directly was sending a naval vessel to the area. Numerous drones and missiles fired by the rebels have been shot down by the U.S. and other western navies in the past few weeks.

In response to the ongoing attacks by rebels, a number of international shipping companies have been diverting their vessels away from the Red Sea, lengthening their journey significantly as they travel south around Africa to avoid the dangers of the Red Sea shortcut.

Until recently, the U.S. had been trying to avoid direct strikes against Yemen to prevent escalating tensions in the region, which are already on edge as the war between Israel and Hamas continues. Fears are growing that the violence is expanding to the Strait of Hormuz, the worlds biggest oil chokepoint, which sees around 20 percent of the worlds daily oil consumption pass through it each day.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

FoxNews.com

CNN.com
Experts warned that new eruptions could emerge in Iceland's volcano due to the continuous magma movement.

The Iceland MET Office said that new fissures could emerge on the surface of Grindavik in the coming days. Authorities said that the hazard assessment map has already been updated.

Decreasing Lava Flow

Based on the webcam footage, experts noted that it is evident that the lava flow has decreased from the eruptive fissures, which opened yesterday.

They observed that the flow from the southern eruptive fissure, which emerged around noon yesterday near the town's border, seems to have ceased.

Officials said that the majority of the remaining lava flow is now directed southwest along the protective barriers, and its trajectory seems to have stabilized.

Still, the Iceland MET Office assessed that it is still difficult to estimate how long the volcanic eruption will last.

Seismic activity has decreased, and GPS measurements had indicated that the rate of deformation in the area has reduced. However, deformation is still detected near the southernmost part of the magma conduit beneath Grindavik.

Furthermore, measurements indicated that there has been a displacement of up to 1.4 meters in the past 24 hours, which is distributed across numerous fissures within the town's boundaries.

On the other hand, fresh fissures have developed, and existing ones have expanded.

Read Also: State of Emergency: Evacuation Ordered in Iceland Town Near Blue Lagoon as Experts Warn Impending Explosive Eruption of Nearby Volcano

Additional Fissures May Emerge

It is possible that additional fissures may emerge on the surface in the next few days, according to the Iceland MET Office.

As previously stated by authorities, the eruption sites are extremely hazardous, and the possibility of new fissures emerging without warning cannot be dismissed.

This assessment was backed and demonstrated by the eruptive fissure that appeared near the border of Grindavik yesterday, which provided no recognizable warning signs on the monitoring equipment.

So far, there is a mild wind from the northeast at the eruption sites, but it is seen to pick up speed later in the day.

Due to this development, gas pollution is drifting southwest towards the ocean.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the area will experience winds from the north reaching 10-18 m/s, causing the gas to drift south.

The Iceland MET Office continues to monitor the area and is in direct contact with civil protection and response teams in the region about the progression of the event. This is to ensure the safety of residents in the area.

The Iceland MET Office's weather forecast for gas distribution from the eruption at Hagafell indicated that the direction is north and northeast, with a speed of 3-8 m/s, with the weather is dry and bright at present.

Experts said that it would be cloudy at times with minor snowfall late tonight and tomorrow morning. It will clear up in the afternoon tomorrow. Pollution from the eruption is spreading south and southwest.

To recall, an intense series of earthquakes began at the Sundhnuksgigar crater row on January 14.

During that time, more than 200 earthquakes have been measured in the area, and the seismicity has moved towards the town of Grindavik.

So far, the largest recorded earthquake is 3.5 in magnitude, and it was measured at 04:07 UTC at Hagafell.

Both real-time GPS measurements and borehole pressure readings have shown major changes since the onset of today's earthquake activity.

These observations, in addition to the ongoing seismicity, confirm that magma has been moving within the region.

Related Article: Iceland Volcano on the Verge of Erupting With Massive Lava Fountains, Geologists Warn
A deadly landslide in Colombia resulted in 37 casualties after heavy rains triggered the large land to fall from the mountain, according to a recent report.

Rescuers immediately responded to the calls to save survivors trapped in the widespread landslide in Northwestern Colombia. Search teams were also deployed to help with the affected residents.

In mountainous areas, the heavy rains can help trigger devastating mudslides and landslides. People are advised to stay updated with the latest forecasts and watch out for falling debris.

37 People Died From Deadly Landslides

In the latest news report, the landslides occurred in the Choco area near the Northwestern area in Colombia. Main roads were also impacted in the region, including in the Medellin and Quibdo.

The incessant rainfall became challenging for residents which caused more landslide threats in the region. Helicopters were also deployed in the landslide-affected area to help with the ground rescuers and search teams.

Meanwhile, Vice President Francia Marquez offered condolences to the impacted communities and casualties. Authorities are expected to conduct preliminary reports about the landslide.

Furthermore, motorists should be extra careful in navigating the roads due to the landslides and mudslides. Checking the road conditions is important to keep safe from the challenging weather in Northwestern Colombia.

When the rain becomes severe, motorists and commuters should stay at home until the weather finally becomes better.

Also Read: Alarming Ocean Heating Can Supercharge Weather Conditions Due to Global Warming

Landslide Preparedness And Safety: What Can People Do?

Landslides can happen anytime due to severe thunderstorms. The situation can become life-threatening in an instant, especially for the flood and landslide-prone areas in Colombia.

As a result, landslide preparedness and safety are crucial to stay safe from injuries and accidents. Homeowners should stay alert for the landslide warning signs, and immediately evacuate to safer shelters or areas.

Here are essential reminders to keep safe from deadly landslides:

Residents should keep an eye on the warning signs, such as new cracks on pavements or grounds, broken water lines, increasing creek water levels and rumbling sound of trees cracking.

When a landslide occurs, people should stay alert for debris flow. It is best to keep away from the flooded areas or debris.

Homeowners can also store emergency bag kits that they can carry during evacuations or emergency concerns.

The recommended emergency kits are bottled water, a small radio, a mobile phone, medicine kits and extra mobile phone.

After the landslides, people should be careful in returning. Watch out for falling and hazardous materials.

Related Article: Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki Erupts, Spews Ash Clouds Prompting Authorities To Raise Highest Alert Level

For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News
The blue whale is considered by scientists as the largest living animal in the world. It surpasses the size of other creatures alive today and even the majority of prehistoric animals, including the now-extinct oceanic predator megalodon, whose estimated size ranges up to almost 60 feet. Despite its gargantuan size, the blue whale is vulnerable to human activities and predators like orcas or killer whales.

Blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) are found across all of Earth's oceans except the Arctic Ocean. In the northern hemisphere, they are regularly spotted in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, as well as off the coasts of Monterey, California, and Baja California, Mexico. In the southern hemisphere, these massive marine mammals and baleen whales live in the Southern Ocean, around the icy continent of Antarctica.

How Big is a Blue Whale?

Blue whales, as mentioned earlier, are the world's largest animals simply because they can grow at a length of up to 90 feet weighing more than 100,000 pounds; this has been observed in the North Atlantic Ocean and North Pacific Ocean, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries (NOAA Fisheries).

Meanwhile, in Antarctic waters, these marine animals can grow of up to 110 feet and weigh over 330,000 pounds, says the NOAA Fisheries, adding that female blue whales are generally larger than their male counterparts, like many other baleen whales. To give a complete picture, scientists estimate that the size of blue whales is comparable to a full airplane or three long school buses.

Also Read: Community Fears 80-Ton Blue Whale Carcass Will Explode on its Shore

Why Did Blue Whales Get So Big?

No one alive today witnessed first-hand the transition of blue whales from small animals into its giant form that we know today. However, ancient fossils show that it was evolution and biology, as well as the abundance of food resources that paved the way for blue whales to get so big. This phenomenon occurred approximately 10 million to 5 million years ago, according to scientists.

Multiple sources show that the blue whale is not only the world's biggest living animal but to have ever existed. In August 2023, a media release from the University of Pisa in Italy revealed that a giant ancient whale that lived 40 million years ago is larger than the blue whale. This prehistoric monster is called Perucetus colossus, which means colossal whale from Peru.

Global Blue Whale Population

Formidable as they may seem and having an average lifespan of 80 to 90 years, blue whales are on the brink of a dwindling population, which is depleted by commercial whaling activities globally. As a result, these sea creatures are protected under the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Australia, there may have been as many as 250,000 blue whales before whaling. Currently, the global blue whale population is estimated to be between 10,000 and 25,000, with the majority of biologists considering the species B. musculus as the most endangered among the great whales on Earth, WWF Australia says.

Related Article: Blue Whales Return to Indian Ocean Decades After Being Driven Out by Whaling
The outbreak of arctic air will bring colder temperatures to parts of the US, including in the Northeast, Northern Plains, Midwest, West Coast and Southeast. Prolonged exposure to cold is not advisable due to the risk of hypothermia.

The winter conditions unleashed heavy snow, blizzards and wind chills this January. Although Americans are used to winter, it can still become deadly for homeowners. People are advised to stay updated with the latest winter forecasts, especially if they have any travel plans.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned of icy surfaces and slippery conditions due to the colder weather. Parents should always look at their children to avoid ice injuries. Wearing the proper winter footwear is important, especially for any outdoor plans.

In Tennessee and Memphis, the unusually heavy snow and sleet conditions are likely with low temperatures. About 80 million people in the US are at risk of cold-related warnings this winter. The extreme cold is accompanied by strong winds.

Weather in the Southern US with Heavy Snow

In the latest report, homeowners should watch out for a mix of ice and snow in the Southern US. The main concerns are power outages and widespread travel disruption.

On the midweek, colder conditions are expected to spread over the following areas:

Wichita

Oklahoma City

Little Rock

Dallas

Jackson

Montgomery

Atlanta

Nashville

Cincinnati

Jackson

Jacksonville

New Orleans

Houston

Corpus Christi

Lubbock

Richmond

Raleigh

In Florida with the usual rain, temperatures can drop from 20 to 40 degrees. Record lows can also unfold in Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis, San Antonio and Houston.

In Houston, a wind chill advisory is likely in the city with dropping temperatures. Residents are advised to wear proper winter clothes for any outdoor plan.

Meanwhile, dangerously cold temperatures and wintry patterns can unfold over Chicago on Thursday and the weekend.

In other parts of the US, the forecast monitors the impact of lake-effect snow in the early week. The arctic air outbreak can bring waves of cold weather in Boston, New York, Washington, Buffalo and Cincinnati.

Also Read: NWS Weather Forecast: Hazardous Winter Weather to Impact Great Lakes, Southern US

Dangerous Cold Snap Safety Tips in the US

Freezing temperatures and cold snap can occur anytime in the US due to the winter and stormy conditions. Homeowners should limit any travel plans, and it is best to bring pets inside homes.

Turning on a home's heating system can reduce the risk of hypothermia and frostbite. People should also cover any exposed skin, including lips. Freezing plumbing and pipes is possible.

The heavy snow and winter storms can affect road conditions in the US. In addition, Americans should have winter kits in times of emergency due to blizzards and snow.

Related Article: NWS Weather Forecast: Dangerous Cold Temperatures To Bring Hypothermia, Frostbite to Pacific Northwest

For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News
Scientists from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that this year has a one-in-three probability of being even hotter than 2023, which was already the world's hottest on record.

El Nino Phenomenon

In its annual global climate report, the agency validated EU scientists' estimates that 2023 was the warmest year since records began in 1850, with temperatures 1.35 degrees Celsius (2.43 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre industrial levels.

The amount of heat trapped in the upper layers of the ocean hit a record high last year.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) also verified that 2023 was a record year and that the world has warmed 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.16 degrees Fahrenheit) beyond the preindustrial baseline, based on the ten-year global average temperature from 2014 to 2023.

The exceptional warmth has been caused by the use of fossil fuels and deforestation, and it follows a streak of hotter-than-average years in recent decades.

According to NOAA, each decade over the last 40 years has been warmer than the previous one, with the most recent ten years including the hottest ten years ever recorded.

El Nino, a recurrent climatic occurrence that heats up areas of the Pacific Ocean and raises global temperatures, contributed to last year's record heat.

It is projected to last until at least April, raising the possibility that 2024 will be another record year.

According to NOAA, 2024 has a one-in-three chance of being warmer than 2023 and a 99% chance of being among the five warmest years on record.

"It's highly likely (El Nino) will persist until April, possibly May, and then beyond that we're not sure - it becomes less certain," said Christopher Hewitt, WMO head of international climate services.

Authorities are on high alert for heatwaves, dryness, and wildfires as summer approaches in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Bureau of Meteorology in Australia issued high heat warnings for Western Australia this week.

"We're really concerned about the potential for dry spells in January and February, with a high likelihood of below-average rainfall," said Lark Walters, a decision support adviser for the Famine Early Warning System Network.

Read Also: It's Official: 2014 Was Hottest Year Ever Recorded

Aggressive Action

The demolition of the previous annual temperature record has heightened calls for more aggressive action to address the climate catastrophe.

Governments gathered in Dubai for United Nations climate talks in December and agreed to "transition away" from fossil fuels, but there is little evidence that this is occurring on the scale required, with last year setting a new record for global warming emissions and major, climate-breaking oil and gas drilling projects planned around the world.

Climate-related disasters took a heavy toll in 2023, from deadly wildfires in Hawaii to devastating flooding in Libya, according to NOAA.

In 2023, the United States alone saw a record number of extreme weather disasters, resulting in at least $1 billion in losses.

"Twenty twenty-three was a mere preview of the catastrophic future that awaits if we don't act now. We must respond to record-breaking temperature rises with path-breaking action," said Antonio Guterres, secretary general of the UN.

The 1.5C limit is anticipated to be reached within the next decade, with some scientists claiming that the process is already underway. Researchers are apprehensive after an extraordinary year.

Related Article: 2023 Has 50% Chance of Becoming the Hottest Year on Record: NOAA Says
Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time, affecting every aspect of life on Earth. But how is it impacting forests, which are vital for biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human well-being?

In this article, we will explore how climate change is reshaping forests across the United States and the world, and what we can do to protect them.

The Silent Struggle: Forests in the Face of Climate Change

Forests are not only beautiful and diverse, but also essential for the planet. They store carbon, regulate water cycles, prevent soil erosion, provide habitat for wildlife, and support livelihoods for millions of people.

However, forests are also under threat from climate change, which is altering their structure, function, and health.

According to a recent study by University of Florida researchers, climate change is affecting forests differently across the United States, with the Western region experiencing a significant decline in productivity, while the Eastern region showing a slight increase. Productivity is a key indicator of forest health, as it measures tree growth and biomass accumulation.

The study, which used U.S. Forest Service data from 1999 to 2020, found that rising temperatures, droughts, wildfires, and disease outbreaks have taken a toll on trees, especially in the West, where forests are more vulnerable to water stress and fire risk.

The researchers warn that these changes could have negative consequences for forest carbon sequestration, which is the process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Also Read: Plants Capture More Carbon on the Weekends When Industrial Production Is Decreased, and Fewer People Commute

The Global Implication

While the study focused on U.S. forests, it also has implications for forests around the world, which are facing similar or even worse challenges from climate change.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), forests globally store about 45% of the terrestrial carbon, and sequester about 25% of human carbon emissions annually. However, their ability to do so depends on the balance between the positive and negative effects of climate change.

Some effects, such as carbon dioxide fertilization and longer growing seasons, may enhance forest growth and carbon storage.

However, other effects, such as heat stress, water scarcity, pests, and fires, may reduce forest growth and carbon storage, or even turn forests into carbon sources. The IPCC estimates that climate change could reduce the global forest carbon sink by 10-20% by 2030

This means that forests may not be able to keep up with the increasing carbon emissions, and may contribute to further warming and climate change. Therefore, it is crucial to protect and manage forests in a way that enhances their resilience and adaptation to climate change, as well as their mitigation potential.

Some of the actions that can help achieve this goal include:

Reducing deforestation and forest degradation, which account for about 10% of global carbon emissions.

Restoring degraded forests and expanding forest cover, which can increase carbon sequestration and provide other benefits, such as biodiversity conservation and soil improvement.

Promoting sustainable forest management, which can improve forest health and productivity, as well as reduce the risk of fire and pest outbreaks.

Supporting forest research and monitoring, which can improve our understanding of forest dynamics and responses to climate change, and inform better policies and practices.

Forests are a precious and irreplaceable resource that we cannot afford to lose. By taking action to safeguard them from climate change, we can also safeguard our own future and the future of generations to come.

Related article: Fungi and Their 'Necromass': A Surprising Source of Soil Carbon Sequestration
The Aegean Sea is a popular destination for tourists and travelers who want to enjoy the beauty and culture of Greece. But beneath the serene surface of the water lies a turbulent past that has shaped the history of the region and the world.

A recent discovery by an international team of scientists has revealed evidence of one of the largest explosive eruptions ever recorded in the southern Aegean Arc, a volcanic chain that includes the famous island of Santorini.

A New Discovery of an Ancient Catastrophe

The scientists, who were part of the IODP expedition "Hellenic Arc Volcanic Field", drilled into the seafloor at seven sites around Santorini and found giant pumice deposits that indicate a massive submarine eruption that occurred around 520,000 years ago.

This eruption, named the Archaeos Tuff, was six times larger than the Late Bronze Age eruption of Santorini that happened around 3,600 years ago and is believed to have triggered the collapse of the Minoan civilization on Crete.

The Archaeos Tuff is the largest known eruption in the Christiana-Santorini-Kolumbo volcanic field, which consists of more than 20 volcanoes along a 60-kilometer rift zone that cuts across the island arc.

The eruption produced a huge volume of magma and ash that covered an area of about 20,000 square kilometers and created a caldera that is now filled by the sea.

The eruption also had a global impact, as the ash plume reached heights of up to 40 kilometers and spread over Europe, Asia, and Africa.

The discovery of the Archaeos Tuff challenges the previous assumptions about the explosiveness and frequency of eruptions in the Hellenic Arc, which is considered one of the most active and hazardous volcanic regions in the world.

The scientists estimate that the recurrence interval of such large eruptions is about 100,000 years, which means that another one could happen in the near future

Also Read: Largest Explosive Eruption of the 21st Century: Hunga Tonga Broke Through Mesosphere 'Like a Shotgun Blast,' Expert Says

The Implications for Volcanology and Society

The findings of the IODP expedition have important implications for volcanology and society, as they provide new insights into the mechanisms and triggers of explosive volcanism in island arcs.

The scientists suggest that the Archaeos Tuff eruption was caused by the interaction of two different types of magma: a basaltic magma that originated from the mantle and a rhyolitic magma that was stored in the crust.

The mixing of these magmas created a highly explosive and voluminous eruption that was enhanced by the presence of seawater

The scientists also propose that the eruption was influenced by the tectonic setting of the Hellenic Arc, which is located at the convergent boundary of the African and Eurasian plates.

The subduction of the African plate under the Eurasian plate creates extensional stresses that thin the crust and facilitate the ascent of magma.

The scientists hypothesize that the Archaeos Tuff eruption was triggered by a major earthquake that occurred along the Hellenic trench, a deep-sea trench that marks the subduction zone.

The discovery of the Archaeos Tuff also has implications for the assessment of volcanic hazards and risks in the Aegean Sea and beyond.

The eruption shows that the Hellenic Arc is capable of producing much larger and more devastating eruptions than previously thought, which poses a serious threat to the millions of people who live in the vicinity or visit the area.

The eruption could also have significant environmental and climatic effects, as the ash and gases could alter the atmospheric composition and temperature.

The scientists hope that their research will contribute to a better understanding and monitoring of the volcanic activity in the Hellenic Arc and other similar regions around the world.

They also hope that their research will raise awareness and preparedness among the public and the authorities for the potential consequences of a future eruption.

As Dr. Steffen Kutterolf, one of the co-chief scientists of the expedition, said: "We need to be aware that nature can be much more powerful than we are used to. We should not underestimate the forces that lie beneath our feet."

Related article: Rapid and Explosive Eruptions Possible From Dormant Volcanoes, New Study
Fog may seem to be a mundane weather phenomenon that affects morning commutes and reduce visibility in general. However, this is not the case for India in recent days as a thick fog has blanketed different parts of the country. In New Delhi, a cloud of smog was enough to impact flights and cause a chain of reaction between the Indira Gandhi International Airport and other airports across India.

Now, emerging reports indicate that at least dozens of apparent Indian passengers took to social media to vent out their frustrations against the flight cancellations and flight delays nation. This comes after India's aviation regulator asked airlines as part of an advisory to cancel flights in advance and inform their passengers about delayed flights immediately.

Aside from air travel, foggy conditions have also affected train services across India after several trains were delayed. India weather authorities predict that the dense fog will persist in Delhi and other cities in the north for several days, it was reported on Tuesday, January 16. India is currently in its winter season, which spans from December to February each year.

India's Delhi Fog

Amid India's travel chaos, the Delhi airport issued an advisory to the public, urging passengers to contact their airlines before traveling as a blanket of dense fog continues to cover the country's capital city. On Tuesday, it was reported the India Meteorological Department (IMD) is expecting the likely continuation of very dense fog conditions over North India in the next four or five days.

Reduced visibility is the main travel hazard caused by the fog that prohibits flight operations to continue. According to the IMD, some airports like the Delhi Palam and Safdarjung reported a visibility of 500 meters at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Due to the Delhi fog, approximately 30 departure flights from Delhi airport were delayed and 17 other flights were cancelled due to the foggy weather. Local reporting describes the condition as a "blinding fog" that leads to flight delays and flight diversions.

Also Read: Fog Leads to Multi-Vehicle Crashes on I-57 Highway in Mississippi County, Missouri; At Least Six People Killed

India Travel Chaos

Furious passengers, as mentioned earlier, took to social media amid the flight cancellations, delays, and diversions. On the other hand, the travel chaos has also witnessed violence inside the plane itself, as shown in a viral video.

Labelled as the "Indigo flight fight," the viral video was uploaded on YouTube and shows a passenger allegedly assaulting a pilot over the fog-related flight delay that has been going around. In the clip, the passenger on board an IndiGo Airlines flight lunged toward the plane's pilot or co-pilot, who was seemingly in the middle of announcing the disruption.

The man's flight in the video was on Sunday, January 14, but was delayed for more than 10 hours. Another video also shows that stranded passengers were seen eating food while sitting on the tarmac of Mumbai airport. Since Sunday, hundreds of domestic flights in India have been delayed due to the thick fog blanketing Delhi, according to updated reports.

Related Article: Thick Fog Blanketed Moscow, Causing Flight Delays and Cancellation
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, January 16. Uzbekistan and UK discussed current state and prospects for development of cooperation, Trend reports.

The discussion took place during a meeting between ambassador of Uzbekistan Ravshan Usmanov with Director of the Department for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the UK Foreign Office Chris Allan on January 15.

During the meeting, the British side was provided with detailed information on the large-scale changes being undertaken in Uzbekistan in all spheres of society and state life.

Special attention was paid to the matters of intensifying political dialog at high and upper levels, expanding interparliamentary cooperation, diversifying interaction in trade-economic and investment spheres, as well as strengthening cultural and humanitarian cooperation, particularly in the field of education.

The sides agreed to continue diplomatic communications to discuss practical steps to realize the considerable potential for expanding cooperation in the above-mentioned areas.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, January 16. The budget deficit should not exceed 4 percent in 2024 and this task will be achieved by strengthening financial discipline, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev said, Trend reports.

He spoke at a meeting devoted to the government's priorities for economic development for 2024.

Many state enterprises failed to send 8 trillion soums ($647.9 million) to the budget in the form of dividends and tax payments in 2023.

It was emphasized that in Sirdarya and Jizzakh tax revenues increased by 20 percent, while in Khorezm, Bukhara and Kashkadarya this indicator did not even reach 7 percent.

Out of 18,000 public catering enterprises with the status of a legal entity, only 2,300 are VAT payers.

At the meeting, the work of tax authorities in the field was criticized.

In general, it was noted that it is time for a radical revision of the tax system and the activities of tax officials.

In particular, the work with 40,000 budget organizations will be transferred from the regions to the newly created Inspectorate of Budget Organizations under the Tax Committee. This Inspectorate will be fully digitized and integrated into the electronic system of the Treasury.

An Inspectorate for collection of tax debts will be created. The Inspectorate will have the same powers as the Bureau of Enforcement.

A separate system will be created that will work with 80 of the largest enterprises and 35 commercial banks, which provide 50 percent of tax revenues to the Uzbek budget.

For this purpose, a new structure will be created within the Inspectorate for Large Taxpayers, which will work directly with the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
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Earlier this month Intel partnered with investment firm DigitalBridge to form a software spin-off specializing in the deployment of large language models (LLMs) and other machine learning technologies. The new company, called Articul8, creates an independent software services firm using Intels AI IP library. The Articul8 platform can be deployed on-prem, in the cloud, or in a hybrid scenario.

Of course, the new company will push Intels AI hardware offerings, such as its Xeon Scalable processors, GPU Max, and Gaudi AI accelerators, but Articul8 will also support a range of hybrid infrastructure alternatives, including Nvidia GPUs.

This, Intel claims, will make it easier for businesses to securely train and run models based on their enterprise data.

The Articul8 launch allows Intel to continue focusing on its core business and long-term strategy of delivering best-in-class compute options to its customers, and as an independent company supported by industry investment, Articul8 will be able to accelerate its go-to-market strategy and scale its product offerings for the broader GenAI ecosystem, the company said in a statement.

Addison Snell, CEO of Intersect360 Research, which specializes in the HPC market, said the move helps position Intel in terms of leadership in AI software without getting into the complete vertical integration game, where they would be competing with their own customers.

Intel, to the extent that its enabling AI, to me is stating that they want to do it more as a supplier or partner, and not as a vertically integrated competitor to the server vendors or the cloud or the hyperscale companies, he told me.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. The attacks aimed at several targets in Erbil, the administrative center of Iraqi Kurdistan (an autonomous region in northern Iraq), are a response to recent terrorist attacks carried out on Iranian territory, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said, Trend reports.

Today, the IRGC launched ballistic missile attacks on the US Harir Air Base and Erbil International Airport in Iraq. Several explosions also occurred near the US Consulate.
Actor Ranvir Shorey slams IndiGo Airlines for 10-hour flight delay

New Delhi, Jan 15

Bollywood actor Ranvir Shorey took to social media on Monday and expressed his frustration and disappointment at IndiGo Airlines after enduring a flight delay that lasted over 10 hours.

Shorey and his group of eight passengers checked in two hours prior, only to be informed at the last moment that the flight was delayed by three hours due to bad weather, specifically fog.

"Our flight was scheduled for 2 p.m. All 8 of us checked in 2 hours prior as stipulated, and only then were we informed that the flight is 3 hours late due to bad weather (fog). We were not intimated prior to reaching the airport. Still, we did not complain, thinking there must have been a communication issue and were completely understanding, as we were aware that at this time of the year these things happen sometimes," his post read.

Despite understanding the weather-related challenges, Shorey and his companions became increasingly concerned as the flight's departure time continued to be pushed back.

The actor revealed that after being checked in for over three hours, they were told the flight, initially rescheduled for 5 p.m., would now depart at 8 p.m.

"The flight was scheduled for 5 p.m.. at 3 p.m., after being checked in at the airport for more than 3 hours, we were told that the flight will now depart another 3 hours later at 8 p.m! This seemed fishy to us, as the 'fog' should be clearing up, not getting worse as the day progresses," the post read.

"One of my friends looked up the Indigo website to check the routing of our aircraft. It very clearly said that the aircraft that was supposed to fly us was coming in from Kolkata, which had reported no fog issues, and had already arrived at Bangalore. When we confronted the Indigo staff with this information, he simply said that the website has not been updated properly, and gave us his 'personal guarantee' that the flight will take off at around 8 p.m." the post read.

As the time progressed, the flight time was adjusted multiple times, causing distress for Shorey.

The actor emphasised the airline staff's failure to provide clear and accurate information, leading to panic and frustration among passengers.

The breaking point came when at 8 p.m., they were informed that the flight would depart after 10 p.m.

Shorey, who had earlier been assured by a staff member that the flight would take off at 8 p.m., found that the delay was due to the absence of a pilot.

The actor expressed his sense of helplessness as the situation unfolded and accused the airline of continuous lies and deceit.

"This was important for me as my child would be alone at home if I did not get back by around 10-10.30 p.m. At about 7 p.m., the flight time was changed to 9 p.m. I began to panic as this would leave me in a spot as a parent, but still did not complain and somehow managed the situation. the new staff assigned to handle me tried the same, usual airline platitudes and lies to try to pacify me, and I told him not that it will not work with me anymore, as it is obvious that the delay is not due to fog! I appealed to his personal integrity as a human being instead of being a mouthpiece for the airline. Only after this he made a few calls and finally told us the real reason, which was that they did not have a pilot for the flight! He assured me that a pilot has now been assigned and the flight will take off by 10.30 p.m.," he wrote on 'X'.

Ultimately, the flight took off at around midnight -- 10 hours after the initially scheduled departure time.

Shorey concluded his social media post by announcing their intention to file a complaint against IndiGo for the trauma and inconvenience experienced during this prolonged delay.

IndiGo Airlines is yet to respond to the post.

(IANS - Posted on 16 January 2024)

Actor Ranvir Shorey slams IndiGo Airlines for 10-hour flight delay

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. At least four people were killed as a result of attacks by the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on targets in the city of Erbil, the administrative center of Iraqi Kurdistan (an autonomous region in northern Iraq), Trend reports.

Today, the IRGC launched ballistic missile attacks on the US Harir Air Base and Erbil International Airport in Iraq. Several explosions also occurred near the US Consulate.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Some snow flurries during the morning hours will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. High 39F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Mainly clear. Low 27F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.
Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5i)-an erectile dysfunction drug sold under the names Viagra, Levitra, Cialis, and others are a common medical treatment for erectile dysfunction (ED) in men with cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, a new Swedish study published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests that patients are at higher risk for morbidity and mortality over time when PDE5is and nitrate medication are both prescribed.

Study: Risk of Death in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease Taking Nitrates and Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibitors. Image Credit: New Africa / Shutterstock

Erectile dysfunction is a common condition in middle-aged and older men and is a strong predictor of coronary artery disease. Nitrates are medications commonly used to treat angina or chest pain. Both can cause drops in blood pressure, so they are contraindicated for use together. However, there is little real-world data on the implications of using both, and the number of people who are prescribed both is growing.

Serving as an update to previous studies using the same Swedish national dataset from the Swedish Patient Register, this research analyzes the association between PDE5i treatment and cardiovascular outcomes in men with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) who are being treated with nitrates. It aims to resolve the conflicting results regarding the impact of PDE5i treatment on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

"Physicians are seeing an increase of requests for erectile dysfunction drugs from men with cardiovascular diseases," said Daniel Peter Andersson, MD, PhD, Associate Professor at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and senior author of the study. "While there is a positive association of ED medication for men with CVD, patients taking nitrates may experience an increased risk of negative health outcomes."

The study included 61,487 men with a history of myocardial infarction (MI) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) who had received two nitrate prescriptions within six months. Exposure was defined as having received at least two filled prescriptions of any PDE5i medications. Among these men, 55,777 men were treated with nitrates and 5,710 were treated with both nitrates and PDE5i. The median follow-up time for the entire cohort was 5.7 years in nitrate-only users and 3.4 years in nitrate users with PDE5i treatment. The nitrate plus PDE5i group was younger at 61.2 years compared to 70.3 years in the nitrate-only users.

The researchers conducted multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression to estimate the hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for various health outcomes, including all-cause mortality, cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortality, myocardial infarction (MI), heart failure, cardiac revascularization and major cardiovascular events (MACE).

The results of the study indicate that the combined use of PDE5i treatment with nitrates is associated with a higher risk for all health outcomes compared to those taking nitrates alone. In those taking both PDE5i and nitrates, few events occurred 28 days after dispensing the PDE5is, with lower incidence rates than in subjects taking nitrates, indicating that there is a low immediate risk for an event.

"Our goal is to underscore the need for careful patient-centered consideration before prescribing PDE5i medication to men receiving nitrate treatment," Andersson said. "Furthermore, it justifies our efforts for continued research into the ambiguous effects of ED drugs on men with CVD."

Limitations of the study include the inability to know a patient's compliance and medication habits and the inability to infer causality of death from the data. Researchers assessed usage by filled prescriptions but did not know how compliant patients were or what their medication habits were. Also, the patient population included high-risk individuals who already had experienced MI or revascularization. They were also prescribed nitrates at least twice and despite guideline recommendations also prescribed PDE5i at least twice; thus, results may not be entirely generalizable to the general population. Further investigation is needed to fully understand the effects of the combination of treatments.

In an accompanying editorial comment, Glenn N. Levine, MD, Baylor College of Medicine and the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, said in patients with ischemic heart disease and only mild angina with reasonable exercise ability, ED PDE5i are reasonably safe  if the patient is not on chronic nitrate therapy. However, in those on chronic oral nitrate therapy, the use of PDE5i is ill-advised at best and generally contraindicated.

"ED and CAD are unfortunate, and all too common, bedfellows," Levine said. "But, as with most relationships, assuming proper precautions and care, they can co-exist together for many years perhaps even a lifetime."
A study led by researchers from A*STAR's Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS) has found evidence suggesting that children exposed to elevated levels of early life adversity (ELA) exhibit an accelerated pattern of brain development during the preschool years. When exposed to ELA, such as a mother's mental and physical health challenges during pregnancy, the child's brain undergoes accelerated development in order to adapt to the adverse circumstances. This hastened pace of brain development could lead to a higher risk of adverse cognitive and mental health outcomes. The paper, "The influence of early-life adversity on the coupling of structural and functional brain connectivity across childhood" was published in Nature Mental Health on 4 January 2024.

Exposure to ELA is a recognized risk factor for poor health outcomes throughout life. This includes an increased risk of cognitive impairment as well as the development of mental health disorders such as major depressive disorders. Exposure to ELA in the prenatal period triggers changes in the pace of brain development across childhood, most prominent during the preschool period  a crucial time window whereby experience-dependent learning and adaptation set the stage for future brain function. Previous studies suggest that 'accelerated brain development' is an adaptive mechanism to early life challenges and may mediate the association between ELA and poor mental health and cognitive outcomes.

To effectively quantify the impact of ELA, the research team adopted a scoring framework created by Professor Patricia Silveira at McGill University, to produce a composite score of ELA which considered factors that extend across a population. These factors focused on exposures experienced before birth, encompassing the mother's mental and physical health during pregnancy as well as the family's structure and financial circumstances. When we add up or combine different risk factors, it gives us a better prediction of child's outcome. Using this composite score, the study team stratified the GUSTO cohort into different levels of cumulative ELA exposure. The pace of brain development was then examined across children exposed to different levels of ELA.

To model the pace of brain development across childhood, the study team utilised multi-modal MRI scans from the GUSTO birth cohort. These MRI brain scans were acquired from 549 children at three time-points, ages 4.5, 6.0 and 7.5 years, allowing the study team to examine the link between ELA and brain development in a longitudinal manner. As most mental health disorders have roots in childhood, the study of developmental trajectories in a longitudinal manner is strongly relevant. In this study, a measure which combines structural connectivity and functional connectivity of the brain was used to provide insights into the association between brain structure and function. This measure, known as structure-function coupling (SC-FC), reflects a child's potential for neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to adapt and reorganise itself to learn, recover from injury, and adjust to new experiences. In early childhood, the brain is expected to be less specialised and more adaptable, matching a decreasing trajectory of SC-FC over childhood.

Led by Dr Tan Ai Peng, Principal Investigator with A*STAR's SICS and clinician with National University Hospital, along with Dr Chan Shi Yu, a researcher at A*STAR's SICS, the study found that exposure to high levels of ELA is linked to a faster decline in SC-FC between ages 4.5 and 6, indicating accelerated brain development. This accelerated pattern of brain development is likely an adaptive mechanism when exposed to environmental cues that requires 'maturity'. Although this is meant to be a 'protective mechanism' against adversity, it does have negative implications in the long term as it results in a shorter window of neuroplasticity and adaptive-learning. Notably, results from this study pinpoint the period between ages 4.5 and 6 years as a potential window for early intervention to improve outcomes for children who were exposed to ELA.

Our study provided evidence that exposure to early-life challenges affects the pace of brain development across childhood. This, in turn, has significant effects on future cognitive and mental health outcomes. If we can develop screening tools to detect accelerated brain development, we will be able to implement interventions earlier, and prevent cascading consequences of accelerated brain development for mental health." Dr Tan Ai Peng, Principal Investigator with A*STAR's SICS and clinician with National University Hospital

Already looking forward, the researchers have identified important areas for future investigation  determining whether ELA's effects on accelerated brain development across childhood set the stage for premature brain ageing in later stages of life, and the effectiveness of intervention strategies that could mitigate the effects of ELA exposure such as the promotion of psychological resilience through cognitive behavioural therapy.
In a recent article published in BMC Public Health, researchers developed a Health Messenger Questionnaire to measure the preferences of medical students in selecting health messengers for acquiring health-related information.

Study: Which educational messengers do medical students prefer for receiving healthinformation? Development and psychometrics of using health messengers questionnaire. Image Credit: yurakrasil/Shutterstock.com

Background

Mobile devices and social media have increased access to health information, but the choice of source to acquire it varies from person to person.

Individuals have different preferences for sources of health-related information depending on their age, gender, living conditions, and education.

For instance, medical students acquire health knowledge to transmit to their patients and families and improve their knowledge base.

Earlier, people believed that students are relatively healthy due to their age (youth); however, research shows that unhygienic behaviors have become prevalent even among medical students. Even they are reluctant to adopt healthy lifestyle habits, such as physical activity.

Moreover, the evidence suggests this problem is now a significant global issue. A study conducted on medical university students in Saudi Arabia reported unsatisfactory health-promoting lifestyle scores of students.

Likewise, studies conducted in the United States and the United Kingdom have shown similar results. Thus, health policies should pay attention to promoting healthy lifestyles among students.

Using mobile-based approaches to disseminate health messages could greatly enhance health education and awareness in this group of individuals.

Mobile applications, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Instagram are great platforms for transferring and strengthening health education.

Here, students can communicate with others, discuss and exchange opinions, and share the content (images/videos) they like.

Thus, these channels may help promote healthy behaviors among students whose health behaviors are important as they will impact the quality of their future lives and how they will run the world.

About the study

In the present study, researchers designed a descriptive survey in electronic format for all undergraduate and postgraduate students of the 20212022 academic year studying at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS) in Iran.

It comprised 15 items categorized into six components, as follows:

i) academic sources (two items);

ii) formal news sources (two items);

iii) mass media (three items);

iv) internet search (two items);

v) social media and messenger applications (four items); and

vi) informal conversation (two items).

Before its dissemination among medical students, ten educational experts reviewed its face validity. Moreover, the researchers determined the validity of its content using the Content Validity Ratio (CVR) and Content Validity Index (CVI).

Further, they determined the reliability of the questionnaire dimensions (components) to investigate the impact of each item on the overall reliability.

The team emailed the questionnaire link to all participating students in the second half of the academic year.

In response, they had to indicate their preferences for various health messaging media by selecting their choices. Next, they collected data and analyzed it anonymously.

Before implementing the factor analysis, the team tested the questionnaire on two variable appropriateness criteria using Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and Bartlett's Sphericity tests.

The first test confirmed the relative correlation between the study variables, and the second measured the adequacy of the number of samples.

Finally, the team used the exploratory factor analysis method to analyze the construct validity or psychometric measurement of the study instrument (in this case, a questionnaire) and factor loading of each component.

Results

The authors received 500 completed questionnaires from 200 male and 300 female students, most of whom were undergraduate students (n= 181).

In the face validity review, experts recommended no changes in the questionnaire.

In the reliability review, Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the questionnaire was 0.818, indicating that the items had a high internal consistency.

A KMO of 0.810 and Bartlett's sphericity index of P<0.0001 confirmed the suitability and saturation of the questionnaire. Five factors extracted in the factor analysis of the questionnaire explained ~64% of the construct.

Social media-based health messengers had the highest factor load; thus, they were the first choice of the study population (28.92%).

In these, respective factor loads of Telegram, Instagram, and WhatsApp were 0.85, 0.79, and 0.71.

Other preferred sources for health information for medical students were official and unofficial health and academic sources, internet searches, and mass media, with respective shares of 10.76%, 9.08%, 8.18%, and 7.13%.

Conclusions

Overall, the study results confirmed that medical students prioritized mobile-based methods, free from time and space restrictions and easy to access, for acquiring and spreading health information.

Therefore, health policies should pay attention to virtual capabilities, especially mobile-based approaches, to develop health knowledge and awareness among students.

The other most preferred sources of health information for all medical students were official, unofficial health, and academic sources.

Thus, it seems necessary to also periodically update medical science websites.
A new dust testing methodology developed by University of Queensland researchers offers workers better protection from diseases such as black lung and silicosis.

Leader of the Dust and Respiratory Health Program at the Sustainable Minerals Institute Nikky LaBranche said the escalating prevalence of dust lung diseases, especially among young Australians, made the scientific community realise a new approach was needed.

"Exposure monitoring for dust and silica is currently based on the weight of particles but this overlooks many details that we are beginning to understand have significant health effects," Ms LaBranche said.

"The methodology we have developed takes an in-depth look at particle characteristics such as size, shape, and mineral makeup, along with their potential to group together.

"These things weren't possible previously because of cost and technology but we have used a Mineral Liberation Analyser which is a specialised type of scanning electron microscope.

"It can measure the size and shape of individual particles and create a mineral map across them.

"This is important because the lighter and smaller particles are more easily breathed in to pose a health hazard, something which is overlooked in conventional weight testing.

"We could also see that the mineralogy of dust at sizes small enough to enter the lungs is generally of different concentrations than the dust source because some minerals break into the size of concern more easily."

Since 2019, Queensland Health has recorded at least 885 cases of Queensland workers being diagnosed with a dust-related lung diseases, mostly in the mining and quarrying, construction, and manufacturing industries.

Ms LaBranche said within each industry workers could be exposed to dust particles of a variety of mineralogies and sizes.

Some mines have already contacted UQ to undertake this testing to better understand the dust risks on their sites. UQ is now offering it as a service to industries that would benefit from this type of information." Nikky LaBranche, Leader of the Dust and Respiratory Health Program at the Sustainable Minerals Institute

Co-author Professor David Cliff from SMI said the new methodology would also contribute to research into the connection between the characteristics of particulates and the development of respirable dust diseases.

"By understanding the mineralogy and shape of respirable dust particles, it will be possible to simulate their impact on the lungs so we can more accurately identify the risk factors for workers and tailor effective controls," he said.

The research is published in Minerals.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. Iranian armed forces attacked two headquarters of the terrorist group Jaysh al-Zolm, Trend reports.

According to the information, drones and missiles were used to attack the headquarters located in Pakistan. No other details were provided.

On the night of January 10, terrorists from the Jaysh al-Zolm group attacked a checkpoint between the cities of Rask and Jangal in the provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan in southeastern Iran. One policeman was killed as a result of the attack.
A new paper in the journal JAMA Neurology examines whether coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines cause or exacerbate autoimmune and neurological diseases.

Study: SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination and Neuroimmunological Disease: A Review. Image Credit: Tirachard Kumtanom / Shutterstock.com

Rare side effects of COVID-19 vaccines

The COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March 2020 and was subsequently accompanied by restrictions on public interactions and travel in an attempt to limit the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Many different vaccine platforms were developed to combat COVID-19, including adenovirus vector- and messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based vaccines to introduce the viral spike protein, the primary immunogen, into the human body. The novelty of mRNA vaccines led to many concerns about the possibility of unforeseen neurological sequelae, such as Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), which is an acute autoimmune disease affecting multiple nerve roots causing sudden paralysis.

Most epidemiological studies have failed to provide evidence of the role of vaccines in neuroimmunological disease. Nevertheless, vaccine-associated immune thrombosis and thrombocytopenia (VITT), characterized by cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, have been identified to be caused specifically by the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Janssen adenovirus vector COVID-19 vaccines. These rare side effects have been reported in up to 15 people for every one million after the first dose of an adenovirus vaccine.

What did the study show?

The researchers used data from multiple international studies to examine the potential for a link between COVID-19 vaccines and the incidence of GBS. To this end, adenovirus vector vaccines were associated with an increased risk of GBS.

One United Kingdom study reported a three-times greater risk of admission or death from GBS following Oxford adenovirus vaccine administration. Moreover, the risk of developing GBS within one to 1.5 months of vaccination was increased to about 30 cases for every one million vaccination doses. Most cases occurred after the first dose.

This link was not observable with the Pfizer mRNA vaccine.

The U.K. National Immunoglobulin Database/NHSE IVIG identified a maximum of 140 cases of GBS in excess of the expected number, peaking 24 days from the first dose of the Oxford vaccine. The excess risk was about 0.6 cases for every 100,000 vaccine doses. However, a prospective study covering many centers in the U.K. failed to identify any GBS cases post-vaccination.

German researchers showed a three to four-times rise in GBS cases with adenovirus vector vaccines. In France, there were six additional cases reported for every one million first doses of either adenoviral vaccines, all above 50 years of age, and including only hospitalized cases.

Small studies conducted in the United States suggest an increase in GBS rates by over 30 times. Comparatively, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) identified an increase in incidence by 6.4 cases for every 100,000, with another study indicating an increase in GBS risk by 3.8 times.

Only one study, a large population-based cohort study from Mexico, showed a link between the Pfizer mRNA vaccine and GBS incidence, which was increased two-fold at 1.9 cases for every 100,000 doses as compared to 3.9 cases for the Oxford vaccine.

India reported an increase of up to tenfold between mid-March to mid-April 2021 in three districts of Kerala; however, the study size was small as compared to the overall vaccinated population. Another report suggested a three- to four-fold rise in GBS incidence with adenovirus vaccines as compared to mRNA vaccines after the first dose.

A potential association between mRNA vaccines and Bells palsy has been reported. This potential increased risk was initially reported during phase III clinical trials, during which the risk was found to be equivalent to that following the administration of other vaccines.

Other illnesses affecting the nervous system, such as myasthenia gravis or demyelinating disease of the brain or spinal cord, have not been associated with these vaccines.

It is possible that vaccination may rarely trigger a relapse or worsen symptoms or first presentation in already-diagnosed or susceptible individuals.

What are the implications?

Current evidence indicates that there is a small increased risk of GBS following adenovirus vaccination against COVID-19. It is difficult to identify the putative autoimmune trigger; however, the spike protein does not appear to be responsible.

Mouse models have not shown autoimmunity induced by repeated injections of the recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Thus, some other component in the adenovirus vaccine may be responsible for this autoimmune response.

Further investigation is essential to understand whether adenovirus vaccines lead to specific T-cell receptor and antibody responses in GBS cases as compared to other individuals who receive the adenovirus vaccine.

Considering the small associations observed between the COVID-19 vaccines, GBS, and Bells palsy, there is no reason to modify current vaccination recommendations or change guidelines for vaccinating those with pre-existing neurological disease due to autoimmune causes.
ARIES

Ganesha says today will be moderately fruitful. Business owners can seek advice from their father for solutions, strengthening their financial position. Expect changes in your personality, surprising even your family. If you lend money, it may be difficult to recover. Consult a family member before doing so. Youll be happy if your spouse finds a new job today. An evening puja or hawan ceremony is possible.

Lucky Colour: Bronze

Lucky Number: 5

TAURUS

Ganesha says today will be very fruitful. Those starting new ventures will find success. Students receive full support from teachers, easing educational woes. If considering a business partnership, avoid blind trust. People in love life experience newfound energy and good news might arise in married life.

Lucky Colour: Gold

Lucky Number: 3

GEMINI

Ganesha says today is an ordinary day. You prefer knowledge-enhancing work over talking, but beware of misleading individuals. If planning a trip, drive cautiously to avoid accidents. Spend your evening listening to your childs problems and discussing them with your partner.

Lucky Colour: Green

Lucky Number: 2

CANCER

Ganesha says today brings favorable results. Discord may arise in married life, but remain silent to navigate through it. Attend a wedding ceremony with your family in the evening. If borrowing for business, wait as repayment might be difficult. Enjoy desired results from your children, bringing you happiness.

Lucky Colour: Blue

Lucky Number: 11

LEO

Ganesha says your health may be slightly weak, so be mindful and not careless. Existing illnesses might worsen, prompting a doctors visit. Unnecessary worries will cloud your mood and affect your work, but stay focused on your job to avoid reprimands from superiors. Sad news from a relative may reach you in the evening.

Lucky Colour: Cream

Lucky Number: 13

VIRGO

Ganesha says today brings delightful results. Students seek advice from teachers or seniors to overcome educational challenges. Expect changes in love life, leading to upset and arguments. If a family member is eligible for marriage, their proposal might be approved today, bringing immense joy to the family. Discuss future plans with your father in the evening. Youll succeed in resolving an old dispute with your brother.

Lucky Colour: Mauve

Lucky Number: 8

LIBRA

Ganesha says today brings good results for family life. Disagreements will dissipate, and unity strengthens. Your father might face health issues, so warn him against outside food. If planning a trip, wait for some time. Control your increasing expenses to avoid financial trouble.

Lucky Colour: Lavender

Lucky Number: 12

SCORPIO

Ganesha says youll impress those around you, attracting them to friendship. However, prepare for disappointing news from your child. Students in government jobs who postponed legal work must address it today. Business owners rejoice at recovering long-stuck payments. Students can expect positive exam results in the evening. Youll find solutions to obstacles hindering your siblings marriages.

Lucky Colour: Off White

Lucky Number: 17

SAGITTARIUS

Ganesha says bitterness-to-sweetness conversion is key for business success today. You can also soothe any existing family tensions. Be mindful of potential stomach issues. Dont lose your temper if tasks go undone  avoid family tension.

Lucky Colour: Clay

Lucky Number: 4

CAPRICORN

Ganesha says today is a confusing day, demanding your full attention. Seek expert advice, not just any, for your struggling business. Shopping with your partner requires budget mindfulness. Business news might be positive, and good results await stock market or lottery investments. Consider postponing new ventures today.

Lucky Colour: Red

Lucky Number: 3

AQUARIUS

Ganesha says politicians may receive promising news, possibly a political position that solves issues. Business owners, however, should avoid following external advice  it could be harmful. A marital dispute arises but you succeed in resolving it. Good news from foreign ventures brings joy.

Lucky Colour: Amber

Lucky Number: 15

PISCES

Ganesha says your influence increases temperatures today. Investing for the future yields future benefits. Business opponents try to create obstacles, potentially stalling deals. Keep a watchful eye on all opponents, even those disguised as friends. Enjoy a fun evening with friends.
Republic Day is just around the corner, and the railway authorities in Jammu have been put on high alert for January 26. In a move to provide seamless and smooth transportation, it has been reported that special arrangements have been made, where police were directed to keep an extra eye on the busy locations and spots.

A meeting regarding the same also has been chaired, where top officials emphasized round-the-clock patrolling, jointly by officials of the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF).

Jammu Railway Security on R-Day

It has been reported by the PTI that extra security measures have been taken for rail tracks, tunnels, bridges, and other installations. Police personnel will keep a close check on the leading spots, ensuring a tight security scenario on the forthcoming Republic Day.

Heres What Official Says

PTI also quoted an official, where he says All the officers were asked to remain alert to avoid any untoward incident given the Republic Day function on January 26.

In addition, it also has been informed that the maximum use of security equipment at railway stations, putting visitors to pass through extensive checking. All these steps are being taken to avoid any kind of obstruction, violence, or terrorism on the day.

Delhi Metro Security Beefed Up

Meanwhile, the security arrangements at metro stations in Delhi metro also have been beefed up. To provide an easy and smooth travel experience on January 26, more than 8,000 police personnel have already been deployed in the national capital.

Police said they are keeping a close check on the busy locations stations and spots from the CCTV control room.
Royal Enfield launched the Shotgun 650 motorcycle in India on January 15, priced at roughly Rs 3.5 lakh.

This new addition strengthens the brands presence in the middle-weight motorcycle segment, which has seen increased demand. The Shotgun 650 becomes Royal Enfields fourth motorcycle powered by a 650 cc engine, joining the Interceptor, Continental GT, and Super Meteor 650 models.

At the EICMA 2021, Royal Enfield revealed the SG650 concept. The company then introduced the Shotgun 650 Motoverse Edition motorcycle in 2023, which was the production version of the SG650 Concept and created a significant buzz at the Motoverse event. Now, the Shotgun 650 has been officially launched in the Indian market.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Royal Enfield (@royalenfield)

Royal Enfield Shotgun 650: Design, Features, Engine And Others

While the Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 shares design elements with the Super Meteor 650, it distinguishes itself with unique bodywork. From the large 13.8-litre fuel tank to the side panels and rear fender, the motorcycles design stands out.

A contemporary touch is introduced with the aluminium cowl covering the headlamp. Overall, the bike exudes a luxurious, modern feel infused with a retro aesthetic. Its noteworthy that the motorcycle initially presents a cruiser appearance, but a simple pull-out rear seat allows it to transform into a bobber.

The Shotgun 650 and the Super Meteor 650 exhibit numerous similarities in terms of equipment. Both bikes share the same headlight, taillight, indicators, instrumentation, switchgear cubes, and adjustable brake and clutch levers. However, the Shotgun 650 features a smaller 18-inch front wheel, a new addition, along with a larger 17-inch rear wheel.

Regarding suspension, the twin shock units are now longer but have nearly the same travel as the Super Meteor 650. The front fork length has been shortened while maintaining the same suspension travel. That being said, the new Shotgun 650s braking system is completely new.

The Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 is propelled by the same 648 cc air-oil cooled parallel twin engine that powers other 650 cc bikes in the lineup. The engine can produce up to 46 bhp of peak power and 52 Nm of maximum torque when mated to a six-speed gearbox. About 22 km/l is what this motorbike is supposed to offer.
The International Monetary Fund warned that the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) could impact nearly 40% of jobs worldwide, potentially exacerbating global inequality.

In a Sunday blog post, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva called for governments to establish social safety nets and offer retraining programs to counter the impact of AI, a report by CNN said.

Also Read: Strategic Move: TCS To Skill Up Entire Staff In Upcoming Gen AI Expertise

In most scenarios, AI will likely worsen overall inequality, a troubling trend that policymakers must proactively address to prevent the technology from further stoking social tensions, she wrote ahead of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, where the topic is set to be high on the agenda.

As the summit kicked off on Monday, Davos, the ski resort town, was adorned with AI advertisements and branding.

Georgieva highlighted in her blog that as AI becomes more widely embraced by both workers and businesses, it is anticipated to have both positive and negative impacts on the human workforce.

Reiterating concerns expressed by other experts, Georgieva stated that the anticipated effects are likely to have a more profound impact on advanced economies compared to emerging markets. This is partly attributed to the perception that white-collar workers are more vulnerable than manual labourers.

In advanced economies, up to 60% of jobs could potentially be influenced by AI. About half of these jobs might experience positive effects through the increased productivity facilitated by AI, according to her statements.

For the other half, AI applications may execute key tasks currently performed by humans, which could lower labor demand, leading to lower wages and reduced hiring, wrote Georgieva, citing the IMFs analysis.

In the most extreme cases, some of these jobs may disappear.

In emerging markets and lower-income nations, 40% and 26% of jobs are expected to be affected by AI, respectively, CNN reported.

Emerging markets refer to places such as India and Brazil with sustained economic growth, while low-income countries refer to developing economies with per capita income falling within a certain level such as Burundi and Sierra Leone.

Many of these countries dont have the infrastructure or skilled workforces to harness the benefits of AI, raising the risk that over time the technology could worsen inequality, noted Georgieva.

She cautioned that the utilisation of AI might escalate the risk of social unrest, especially if younger and less experienced workers adopt the technology to enhance their productivity, leaving more senior workers struggling to keep pace.

AI emerged as a prominent subject at last years WEF in Davos when ChatGPT gained widespread attention. The chatbot sensation, driven by generative AI, initiated discussions on its potential to reshape global work dynamics by showcasing its capacity to compose essays, speeches, poems, and beyond.

Since then, upgrades to the technology have expanded the use of AI chatbots and systems, making them more mainstream and spurring massive investments.

Some tech firms have already directly pointed to AI as a reason they are rethinking staffing levels.

While workplaces may shift, widespread adoption of AI could ultimately increase labor productivity and boost global GDP by 7% annually over 10 years, according to a March 2023 estimate by Goldman Sachs economists.

Georgieva, in her blog post, also cited opportunities to boost output and incomes around the world with the use of AI.

AI will transform the global economy, she wrote. Lets make sure it benefits humanity.
Stocks To Watch On January 16: GIFT Nifty on the NSE IX traded 54.5 points, or 0.25 per cent, lower at 22,089, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for negative start on Tuesday. Heres a slew of stocks that will be in focus today for various reasons.

Q3FY24 earnings: HDFC Bank, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, L&T Technology Services, Federal Bank, Gallantt Ispat, Goa Carbon, Hathway Cable & Datacom, Himadri Speciality Chemical, ICICI Securities, Jindal Saw, Lotus Chocolate, Bank of Maharashtra, C E Info Systems, Credo Brands Marketing, Network18 Media & Investments, Newgen Software Technologies, and TV18 Broadcast.

HDFC Bank: Indias largest private sector bank, HDFC Bank, may see a flattish quarterly earnings performance in Q3FY24. According to analysts, HDFC Banks net profit growth may come in anywhere between -1.6 per cent and 1.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) as against a profit of Rs 15,976.1 crore in Q2FY24.

Jyoti CNC: Shares of Jyoti CNC will debut on the bourses today. The issue price is Rs 331.

Jio Financial Services: Mukesh Ambani family-owned Jio Financial Services on Monday reported a net profit of Rs 293.8 crore for the December quarter (Q3) on a consolidated basis, down 56 per cent from Q2, due to fall in income and rise in expenses. The companys total income fell by 31.9 per cent to Rs 414.33 crore.

Angel One: It reported a 14 per cent year-on-year rise in third-quarter profit at Rs 260 crore, aided by a jump in orders and client additions. The companys daily orders, on average, rose 57.3 per cent in the December quarter, while client acquisition surged 149.1 per cent. Its average daily turnover soared 148.5 per cent to Rs 36 trillion.

Housing Finance Companies: The Reserve Bank of India has decided to align HFCs with the same regulatory regime on deposit acceptance as currently applicable to deposit-taking NBFCs. It has proposed that all deposit-taking HFCs need to maintain liquid assets equivalent to 15 per cent of public deposits held by them.

Nalco, Hindustan Copper: Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL), a joint venture between Nalco, Hindustan Copper, and Mineral Exploration Company, signed an agreement with Argentina-based CAMYEN SE for the first-ever Lithium exploration and mining project.

Aster DM Healthcare: Aster DM Healthcare will distribute a majority of proceeds of its stake sale in Gulf business as dividend of as much as Rs 120 per share.

RVNL: Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. has emerged as the lowest bidder for a power transmission project in Madhya Pradesh worth Rs 251 crore.

Patanjali Foods: In a December quarter business update, the company said the prices of edible oils in India remained stable against the downward pressure witnessed in the first half of the financial year.

There was single-digit sequential as well as Y-o-Y growth in volumes during the quarter.
Tata Motors Share Price: Tata Motors became the third Tata company to have crossed Rs 3 lakh crore market capitalisation after the stock price of the company along with Tata Motors DVR hit a new high on the bourses.

A combined market cap of Tata Motors (Rs 273,985 crore) and Tata Motors DVR (Rs 27,940 crore) touched Rs 3.02 trillion in intra-day trade today. Shares of Tata Motors (Rs 825.15) and DVR (Rs 549.50) are up 1.5 per cent, hitting a new high. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.13 per cent at 73,231 at 09:28 AM.

Yesterday, Tata Motors informed the BSE that the meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled on 02/02/2024, for considering and approving the audited standalone financial results and unaudited consolidated financial results (With limited review) For the third quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2023.

Should You Invest?

In a report last week, JPMorgan said that one of the primary reasons behind the upgrade on Tata Motors was the better-than-expected margin and free-cash-flow (FCF) delivery at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). JLR reported a free cash flow of 300 million during the September quarter.

Other analysts are also bullish on the Tata Group stock.

Shiju Koothupalakkal  Technical Research Analyst, Prabhudas Lilladher said, The stock after the clear breakout above Rs 735 has once again maintained the strong uptrend with next target visible at Rs 820 levels and thereafter with strength sustaining can achieve the Rs 880 zone. The near term support is at Rs 760 zone.

Gaurav Bissa, Vice-President, InCred Equities said, Tata Motors witnessed a 8-year breakout on the monthly charts around Rs 550-560 levels and has run up strongly since then. It has shown strong outperformance against its 4-wheeler peers. While the stock has potential to go higher, short term traders are advised to book profits. The long term targets are seen around Rs 900 levels where a cluster count target on point and figure charts is placed.

The Tata Group firm reported a net profit of Rs 3,764 crore in the September quarter against a loss of Rs 944.61 crore in the September 2022 quarter. Revenue climbed 32% to Rs 1.04 lakh crore in Q2 against Rs 78,846 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal. Operating margin in percentage terms rose to 13.19% in the September quarter against 7.67% in the September 2022 quarter.

EBITDA surged 86.4% to Rs 14,400 crore.

Earnings per share rose to Rs 9.81 in Q2 against (minus) Rs 2.47 in the September 2022 quarter. Debt to equity ratio fell to 2.23 in Q2 of this fiscal against 5.21 in the September 2022 quarter.
The Delhi University has directed its colleges to install CCTV cameras outside womens toilets and changing rooms during fests in the aftermath of an incident in which some women were secretly filmed while changing in IIT-Delhi, officials said on Friday. In a recent advisory, the administration also asked its colleges and departments to ensure that CCTV camera arrangements were made at all gates of the institutes and hostels to avoid any mishap.

After recommendations by the Delhi Police, we have made relevant additions to fest guidelines in view of the recent incident at IIT-Delhi. We have asked colleges to make CCTV arrangements in front of ladies washrooms and dressing rooms during fests for the safety of students, DU proctor Rajni Abbi told PTI. Last October, about 10 students of Delhi Universitys Bharti College complained that they were secretly filmed while changing in an IIT-Delhi washroom during a fashion show at the institutes fest.

Police arrested a 20-year-old contractual sweeper in the case and sent the person to judicial custody. A case under section 354C (voyeurism) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Kishangarh police station. Under the revised guidelines, the colleges have been asked to conduct an assessment of their boundary walls before any big event and install low concertina wires to prevent outsiders from scaling the walls.

The advisory also suggests a centralised public announcement system at all gates of the institute. Before any big event where students from outside are invited to any institute, the administration must hold an advanced security liaison meeting with all stakeholders.

The advisory also puts a cap on the strength of students allowed during fests, suggests a check on the structural stability of the stage during a concert, hiring of door frame metallic detectors and making proper light arrangements to cover dark patches. Entry to the events should be regulated through Google Forms, copies of which have to be submitted to the police along with other departments concerned.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) declared the results for the Chartered Accountants (CA) Final examination on January 9, 2024. The CA final exams were held in November last year. Candidates can check their CA final results by visiting the official website at icai.nic.in. To download the results, candidates will have to enter their roll number and registration number on the login window.

Madhur Jain secured first place by scoring an impressive 619 marks and achieving All India Rank (AIR) 1. Sanskruti Atul Parolia received AIR 2 and Tikendra Kumar Singhal and Rishi Malhotra bagged AIR 3 together.

Surprisingly, four women from Jharkhands Koderma have brought glory to the district by passing the Chartered Accountant final exam this year. According to reports, Saloni Jain, Honey Saraf, Drishti Jain and Shreya Verma have earned the distinction of becoming CAs. The elated young women who passed the exam stated that if one is determined to do their best despite limited resources, success is guaranteed by overcoming all obstacles through hard work, reports add.

Who is Saloni Jain? Her Struggles And Achievement

Saloni Jain, the daughter of Kamal Jain and Sulekha Jain, who live on Station Road in Jhumri Tilaiya, has become the familys first daughter to pass the Chartered Accountant final exam. Salonis father owns a small clothing shop. Her parents stated that after seeing their daughters improved performance in school, they gave her every possible support to pursue higher education as she desired.

Salonis mother, Sulekha Jain, stated that in 2016, her daughter was the Koderma district commerce department topper. The Class 12 results boosted his morale. She then went to Kolkata to complete her graduation. Salonis family in Jharkhand experienced a financial crisis as a result of the additional expenses. However, Salonis grandfather Kailash Chand Jain, maternal grandfather Prabhu Dayal Jain and other relatives provided significant assistance and support to Salonis parents, reports add.

Salonis mother, Sulekha Devi, fell ill and had a kidney transplant while Saloni was studying for her graduation. The surgery was very expensive and the family was concerned about Salonis future (education and marriage).

After finishing her graduation, Saloni began preparing for the Chartered Accountant examination. During this time, she continued her preparation by working for a private company. She used to study at night after her working hours from 10 am to 5 pm. To prepare better, Saloni had taken leave from the company two months before the exam and was completely focused on doing well.

Saloni achieved this success despite the financial crisis, thanks to the support of family and relatives.
The Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) announced the release of the admit cards for the interview process for the lecturer positions in 13 different disciplines under the Odisha Technical Education & Training Service Cadre (Group-B). Candidates can obtain their hall tickets for the Lecturer positions by visiting the official website at opsc.gov.in.

The dates of the OPSC lecturer examination are set for January 20, 21, and 28. A total of 224 lecturer seats are up for grabs with the OPSC recruiting campaign of 2024. Candidates can access the admit card by entering their PPSAN admit card number and date of birth on the portal.

OPSC lecturer group B admit card 2023: How to download

Applicants may download the OPSC lecturer group B admit card 2023 by following these steps.

Step 1: Visit opsc.gov.in, the official website.

Step 2: Navigate to the OPSC lecturer group B admit card 2023 link on the official website.

Step 3: When a new window appears on the screen, enter your login information, including your birthdate and registration number, and click the submit button.

Step 4: The screen will show your OPSC professor group B admit card 2023.

Step 5: Download the hall ticket and print a copy of it for future use.

An interview and a written exam are part of the OPSC lecturer recruitment procedure. The interview round is worth a total of 50 marks. General Knowledge, General English, and the relevant subject papers I and II will be covered in the written exam which is conducted for a duration of 3 hours. Those who correctly answer will receive one mark, while those who dont will receive a deduction of 0.25 marks.

The OPSC has also posted job openings for Additional Veterinary Assistant Surgeons (AVAS) and Veterinary Assistant Surgeons (VAS) positions to qualified individuals in the in the meantime. Starting on January 25, interested individuals who meet the requirements can apply for these positions via the Odisha Public Service Commissions official website, opsc.gov.in. The application form must be submitted no later than February 26, 2024. OPSC hopes to fill 539 positions within the organisation through this recruitment drive.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. Iran's missile attack on certain positions in Iraq and Syria was aimed at strongly defending the country's security and power, spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nasser Kanaani said, Trend reports.

He made this statement today while commenting on the missile attack of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Iraq's Erbil province and Syria's Idlib province.

According to Kanaani, Iran has always been a supporter of peace, stability, and security in the region and is committed to respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of countries. At the same time, it will not hesitate to use its legal right to respond seriously to those who threaten national security and the citizens of the country and to punish the criminals.

"With the ability to obtain high-security information, Iran determined the locations of criminals within the framework of a precise and targeted operation and hit the intended targets with precision missiles. "This is part of Iran's reaction against those who take steps against the country's national security," he said.

Kaanani said that terrorism is a global threat. Iran has a strong will to fight terrorism within the framework of regional and international cooperation.

Last night, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) responded to the explosions in Iran's Kerman province by striking the headquarters and bases of terrorists in Iraq and Syria with ballistic missiles.

On January 3, two explosions occurred in two directions on the way to the cemetery where Iranian general Ghasem Soleimani was buried. As a result of the explosion, 90 people died and 248 people were injured.

In 2020, General Ghasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed as a result of the US attack in Iraq.

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Follow the author on X (Twitter):@BaghishovElnur
The Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC) 2024 event is scheduled to occur on Monday, January 29, at Bharat Mandapam, ITPO, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. This years PPC 2024 will adopt a town hall format, commencing at 11 am. Anticipation is high among students, teachers, and parents nationwide as they look forward to the upcoming interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The event serves as a valuable opportunity for educators and students to engage in meaningful discussions, providing students with a unique chance to meet the prime minister. During this annual gathering, PM Modi shares advice and extends support to students, teachers, and parents as they navigate the challenges of exam preparation.

Those who wanted to participate in Pariksha Pe Charcha 2024 could register themselves for the event. It is conducted for school students from Classes 6 to 12. The online registration period was open from December 11, 2023, and closed on January 12, 2024.

Dreaming big, aiming high!Record-breaking spirit as 22.6 million students register for #ParikshaPeCharcha2024!Get ready for an enlightening session on Jan 29, 2024, as young minds engage with the Honble Prime Minister @narendramodi. #PPC2024 pic.twitter.com/A9ZCaRzQ01  Ministry of Education (@EduMinOfIndia) January 14, 2024

This year, over 2 crore people registered for the seventh edition of PM Modis Pariksha Pe Charcha 2024 through the MyGov portal. According to the official notification, 22,631,698 students have registered for this years session. More than, 14 lakh teachers and 5 lakh parents have signed up for the session, as per the MyGov portal. Furthermore, almost 4,000 people will interact with the Prime Minister during the programme.

Pariksha Pe Charcha 2024: All About The Event

Pariksha Pe Charcha is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modis broader Exam Warriors initiative. The goal is to create a relaxing environment for young people. This initiative, led by Prime Minister Modi, aims to bring together students, parents, teachers, and society to create an environment that values and supports each childs unique qualities. This movement was inspired by Prime Minister Modis influential and popular book, Exam Warriors.

The Union government organises the event each year to help students reduce exam stress and motivate them to succeed. The event encourages interaction between teachers and students, giving them the opportunity to meet and speak with the Prime Minister.

Additionally, the Exam Warriors module on the NaMo App incorporates an interactive technological component into the Exam Warriors movement. This module is appropriate for both children and parents/teachers.

Every winner is to be honoured with a uniquely designed Certificate of Appreciation. Winners will receive a distinctive Pariksha Pe Charcha kit as a token of appreciation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday emphasised the BJPs significant focus on the opposition-dominated Kerala in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections by conducting a massive roadshow in this port city, marking the second such event in the state where the party has had no success in the previous polls.

Thousands of BJP workers and local residents lined both sides of the 1.3 km road to welcome the Prime Minister, who visited the city for private, public, and party functions in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts on Wednesday.

Commencing from the KPCC junction at 7:45 pm, the open vehicle carrying Modi, accompanied by BJP state president K Surendran, traversed at a slow pace, captivating party workers who showered flowers and chanted slogans.

The procession covered a distance of 1.3 km in approximately 25 minutes.

Following the rousing welcome he received during the roadshow, Modi, in a post on social media platform X, said, Humbled by the affection in Kochi. Sharing some glimpses and shared photographs of the enthusiastic public response to his arrival in the southern state.

Thousands of people, including avid BJP supporters with flowers, garlands, and party flags, lined both sides of the 1.3-km roadshow route from KPCC junction here to the Ernakulam government guest house, where he would be staying.

The crowds gathered hours ahead of the Prime Ministers arrival, creating a festive atmosphere along the route of the roadshow.

Modi, wearing a waistcoat and a saffron nehru cap with lotus symbols, rode in an open vehicle and reciprocated the excitement by waving both hands at the cheering crowd on both sides of the brightly lit route.

The PM was showered with flowers throughout the route by people of all age groups, and he too threw flowers at the ardent supporters many times.

Enthusiastic BJP workers and supporters carrying party flags, wearing party hats or caps, and holding placards with Modis photograph were lined up on both sides of the road and cheered him on with chants of Modi-Modi.

The slowly moving vehicle reached the Ernakulam government guest house around 8.15 pm, bringing the roadshow to an end.

The entire route was under a tight security net, with thousands of police personnel being deployed to ensure Modis safety.

There had been traffic restrictions in place in the port city, especially along the roadshow route, since Tuesday afternoon.

This visit of Modi, to attend the marriage of daughter of actor-turned politician Suresh Gopi at the Guruvayoor temple on Wednesday, shows the significance the BJP national leadership places on the Thrissur seat, which is currently represented by Congress leader T N Prathapan.

The BJP strengthened its voter base in Thrissur during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with the candidacy of Suresh Gopi.

Despite making sincere efforts since the 1980s, the saffron party has not been able to make much electoral progress in the southern state, where power has consistently been held by the CPI(M)-led LDF or the Congress-led UDF.

To break their streak of not winning elections in the southern state, the BJP is capitalising on the growing popularity of the Prime Minister in Kerala.

They recently held a big roadshow and a large gathering of women in Thrissur in early January as part of their efforts to gain votes in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Earlier on Tuesday, the PM was accorded a warm welcome by Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan after he arrived at the Cochin International Airport in Nedumbassery at 6.50 pm in a special aircraft of the Indian Air Force.

Thereafter, he left for the airport at the INS Garuda Naval Base by helicopter at 7 pm.

On Wednesday, at 6.30 am, Modi will leave for Guruvayur, where he will offer prayers at the famous Lord Krishna temple and attend the marriage of actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopis daughter, party sources said.

He will also offer prayers at Triprayar Sree Rama Swami Temple in Thrissur district and then return to Kochi, the sources said.

On Kochis Willingdon Island, he will dedicate to the nation the Cochin Shipyard Ltd international vessel repairing centre and a new dry dock, they said.

Subsequently, at 11 am, he will address a party meeting of around 6,000 in-charges of shakti kendras, each comprising two to three booth-level areas, at Marine Drive here.

He would return to Delhi by evening, the sources added.
As Bigg Boss 17 approaches its grand finale, the latest episode delivered an unexpected twist with the surprising eviction of Samarth Jurel, also known as Chintu. Alongside the intense competition, the focus has shifted to the relationship dynamics between Vicky Jain and Ankita Lokhande. Despite being married for over two years, the couples on-screen chemistry has garnered attention, but theyve also been frequently seen engaging in arguments over various issues. In the recent weekend ka vaar episode, host Karan Johar addressed Vickys behaviour towards Ankita, leading to further disagreements between the couple and causing concern among fans. Actor Aamir Ali and former Bigg Boss contestant Rajiv Adatia have also shared their perspectives on the ongoing controversy surrounding Vicky and Ankita.

In a recent episode, Karan criticised Vicky for not supporting his wife, Ankita, while she was apologising to his mother during the family week. After Karans exit, the couples conversation about the incident escalated into a more intense quarrel, rather than finding a resolution. The ongoing drama between the couple has raised concerns among fans and fellow TV artists about Vicky and Ankitas tumultuous relationship inside the Bigg Boss house.

Sharing his views on the matter, Rajiv Adatia wrote, My heart goes out to Ankita and Vicky. They both just defending their parents. They both want thing to be ok which they will be. However I will say BB should not brought this topic up. Its not for them to interfere. All will be ok guys.

My heart goes out to Ankita and Vicky! They both just defending their parents! They both want thing to be ok which they will be! However I will say BB should not of brought this topic up! Its not for them to interfere! All will be ok guys! @anky1912 @jainvick  Rajiv Adatia (@TheRajivAdatia) January 14, 2024

While Aamir Ali shared, Galti dono ki nahi hai, ho jata hai when youre in a relationship, but beech main phasta husband/son hi hai.

Galti dono ki nahi hai, ho jata hai when ur in a relationship.. but beech main phasta husband/son hi hai #vickyjain @ColorsTV @BiggBoss #BigBoss17 pic.twitter.com/tfwuIWLyWS Aamir Ali (@ali_aamir) January 15, 2024

Stepping into the controversial Bigg Boss house together, Vicky Jain and Ankita Lokhande quickly found themselves entangled in significant conflicts over their gameplay on the show. Viewers began expressing concern about Vickys perceived demeaning behaviour towards his wife, Ankita. The couple even hinted at the possibility of parting ways and taking a break from their relationship after the conclusion of the show. During the family week, when Vickys mother, Ranjana Jain, entered the BB House, she was observed expressing grievances to Ankita, alleging misbehaviour and inadequate care for her son.

After Samarth Jurels eviction from the Bigg Boss 17 house, the final contestants, including Mannara Chopra, Munawar Faruqui, Arun Mashetty, Isha Malviya, Ankita Lokhande, Vicky Jain, Abhishek Kumar, and Ayesha Khan, are now just a few days away from the highly anticipated grand finale.
Divya Agarwal is all set to get married next month, February 2024. The TV star is currently enjoying in Goa with her girl gang. From partying to a Yacht trip, Divya is having a gala time with her friends. A few days back, the actress had asked for suggestions about things to do and places to explore in Goa.

Besides the fun, Divya gifted customised gift hampers to her bridesmaids. Divya Agarwal had earlier disclosed her plans about travelling amid Maldives row and said, Planning my bachelorette party to honeymoon all in India. Many Indian celebrities including Divya have shared posts on Instagram amid the India-Maldives row.

Check The Post Here:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ayesha Kapoor Adlakha (@ayeshaadlakha)

Divya Agarwal had also expressed her inclination towards celebrating events in India. She emphasised Indias diverse landscapes, advocating for domestic tourism and hospitality, echoing the sentiment of Atithi Devo Bhava. The actor took to Instagram and posted a picture from oceanside.

Divya captioned the post: Just before the entire Maldives mess up, I was very keen on getting married in our own country India.. from my bachelorette party to the honeymoon, I want it all in India.. We are blessed with everything that the rest of the world has! BEACHES, MOUNTAINS, FORESTS, DESERTS!!! Our beautiful nation has the best of the best weather throughout the year from monsoons to snow! INDIA WELCOMES EVERYONE WITH LOVE AND RESPECT we have been taught Atithi Devo bhava. We continue to do it.

Earlier, many celebrities took to their respective social media handle to promote the Indian Islands, using the hashtag Explore Indian Islands. Actors like Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Shraddha Kapoor, and Kangana Ranaut promoted Lakshadweeps natural beauty and urged travellers to explore Indias hidden gems.

Divya Agarwal grabbed the headlines when she made major revelations about her breakup with Varun Sood. The actress openly acknowledged her role in the breakup with Varun. Later, she got engaged to Apurva Padgaonkar. An engineer-turned-businessman, Apurva is a renowned name in Mumbais hospitality industry. He owns four restaurants in Mumbai  two of them are in Vashi and the other two are in Bandra and Chembur.
South Africa has said more than 50 countries have expressed support for its case at the United Nations top court accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in the war in Gaza.

Countries including United States, a top ally of Israel, have strongly rejected South Africas allegation that Israel is violating the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Many other nations have remained silent.

The worlds reaction to the landmark case that was heard Thursday and Friday at the International Court of Justice in The Hague shows a predictable global split when it comes to the inextricable, 75-year-old problem of Israel and the Palestinians.

The majority of countries backing South Africas case are from the Arab world and Africa. While in Europe, only the Muslim nation of Turkey has publicly stated its support.

Countries in Support of Israel

US Calls it Meritless Allegations

US has rejected South Africas allegations as unfounded. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on a visit to Israel a day before the court proceedings began that South Africas allegations are meritless and that the case distracts the world from efforts to find a lasting solution to the conflict. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said genocide is not a word that ought to be thrown around lightly, and we certainly dont believe that it applies here.

UK

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron disagreed with South African decision to take Israel to the International Court of Justice and says Israel has no case to answer at the ICJ.

Cameron denied the possibility of intent when it comes to genocide allegations and added that he doesnt believe Israel as a democratic country with the rule of law could commit genocide.

German Support For Israel

Germanys announcement of support for Israel has symbolic significance given its history of the Holocaust, when the Nazis killed 6 million Jews in Europe. Israel was created after World War II as a haven for Jews in the shadow of those atrocities.

Israel has been defending itself, German government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said. His statement also invoked the Holocaust, which in large part spurred the creation of the UN Genocide Convention in 1948. Germany said it intends to intervene in the case on Israels behalf.

Nations Backing South Africas Case

Turkey

Turkey, which is in the process of joining the EU, was a lone voice in the region. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country provided documents that were being used against Israel in the case. With these documents, Israel will be condemned, he said.

Spain

The hard-left party in Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchezs coalition government on Thursday backed South Africas genocide case against Israel at the UNs top court, calling it a necessary step.

South Africas lawsuit against Israel is a necessary step to prevent genocide. It is urgent and necessary for the International Court of Justice to order precautionary measures to achieve a permanent ceasefire, the Sumar party wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Arab Countries

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation was one of the first blocs to publicly back the case when South Africa filed it late last month. It said there was mass genocide being perpetrated by the Israeli defense forces and accused Israel of indiscriminate targeting of Gazas civilian population.

The OIC is a bloc of 57 countries that includes Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt. Its headquarters are in Saudi Arabia. The Cairo-based Arab League, whose 22 member countries are almost all part of the OIC, also backed South Africas case.

South Africa drew some support from outside the Arab world. Namibia and Pakistan agreed with the case at a U.N. General Assembly session this week. Malaysia also expressed support. Malaysias Foreign Ministry demanded legal accountability for Israels atrocities in Gaza.

China And Russia Silent

China, Russia  which is also facing allegations of genocide in the world court have largely remained silent, seemingly aware that taking a stand in such an inflammatory case has little upside and could irreversibly upset their relationships in the region.

Somewhere in The Middle

A handful of South American countries have spoken up, including the continents biggest economy, Brazil, whose Foreign Ministry said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva backed South Africas case. However, the ministrys comments did not directly accuse Israel of genocide but focused on the need for a cease-fire in Gaza.

South Africas case against Israel is two-fold: It wants the court to say Israel is committing genocide and to issue an interim ruling ordering an end to its military campaign in Gaza. The court said it would decide on an interim ruling soon but, reflecting the gravity of the case, it could take years for a final verdict on the genocide charge.

Brazil said it hoped the case would get Israel to immediately cease all acts and measures that could constitute genocide.

Other countries have stopped short of agreeing with South Africa. Ireland premier Leo Varadkar said the genocide case was far from clear cut but that he hoped the court would order a cease-fire in Gaza.

(With inputs from Associated Press)
The central government on Tuesday announced a new action plan as heavy fog disrupted fight operations across north India, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at airports for hours.

As part of the plan, war rooms will be set up by airports and airline operators at all six metro airports to address any issues with regard to passenger inconvenience immediately.

The Civil Aviation Minister also sought incidence reporting thrice daily for all the six metro airports  Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Chennai.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said implementation of directives, SOPs and CARs of the aviation watchdog DGCA will be monitored and reported regularly.

The minister also informed that sufficient CISF manpower availability will be ensured round-the-clock. This came after a passenger assaulted an IndiGo pilot on Sunday after his flight was delayed by 12 hours.

Informing about the new rules, Scindia said that Delhi airports Runway 29L had been made CAT III operational, allowing it to handle take-offs and departures even during low-visibility scenarios. Runway 10/28  also with CAT III status  would be made operational as soon as re-carpeting is concluded, he added.

In view of the fog-induced disruptions, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on mitigating passenger inconvenience were issued yesterday to all the airlines.1. In addition to these SOPs, we have sought incidence reporting thrice daily for all the 6 metro airports. 2. https://t.co/346YXjxGdH  Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) January 16, 2024

The new rules were issued after widespread criticism was witnessed by the passengers amid extensive delays in flight operations. Operations at the Delhi Airport on Sunday were significantly impacted by dense fog resulting in diversion, cancellation, and delay of many flights.

Tensions escalated on Sunday when a high-voltage drama erupted from the Delhi Airport, which included passengers having to sit inside planes lined up on runways for hours. In fact, a video of an IndiGo passenger went viral on social media on Sunday after he assaulted the captain of a Goa-bound flight. The passenger was later taken into custody for his unruly behaviour.

DGCA Issues SOP to Airlines As Fog Disrupts Ops

In the wake of massive flight cancellations and delays at various airports, including Delhis IGI Airport, due to the fog and adverse weather conditions, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DCGA) has issued a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the airlines. The SOPs will have to be mandatorily adhered by the airlines with immediate effect and were issued in public interest.

As per the aviation watchdogs guidelines, the airlines should publish accurate real-time information regarding delays in their flights. There should also be appropriate sensitisation of the airline staff at the airports to suitably communicate with and continuously guide and inform the passengers about flight delays.

In addition to this, the DGCA in its release asked the airlines to display of updated information regarding flight delays to passengers waiting at the airports.

Scindia on Delhi Airport Chaos

Scindia on Monday condemned the unruly behaviour of passengers on planes and stated that such incidents will not be tolerated. He attributed the chaos at Delhis Indira Gandhi International Airport on Sunday to unprecedented fog that caused delays and cancellations to over 150 flights.

Scindia further assured that authorities had prioritised passenger safety during the foggy conditions and said that incidents of unruly behaviour during flight delays are unacceptable.
The auspicious Pran Pratishtha of Lord Ram Lalla will take place on the upcoming Paush Shukla Kurma Dwadashi, Vikram Samvat 2080, falling on January 22 (Monday) in the Vikram Samvat 2080 calendar.

Followed by the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla in the sanctum sanctorum (Garbha griha) on January 22, the temple will be open for the devotees from January 24.

The Ram temple complex, built in the traditional Nagara style, will be 380 feet in length (east-west direction), 250 feet in width and 161 feet in height, Rai had said earlier. Each floor of the temple will be 20 feet high and have a total of 392 pillars and 44 gates. No iron is used anywhere in the construction of the temple.
The Maharishi Valmiki Airport in Ayodhya will perhaps be the most sought-after airport come January 22. It has been inundated with requests for nearly 50 VIP planes to land on January 21 and 22 as guests come from around the country for the Pran Pratishtha (consecration ceremony) of Lord Ram.

Not just that. Airlines have also started making a beeline to Ayodhya. Before News18 arrived in Ayodhya from Delhi on the only IndiGo flight to the airport on Monday, a maiden IndiGo flight from Mumbai also landed in Ayodhya before us. Air India starts a flight from Delhi to Ayodhya on Tuesday and from Bangalore and Kolkata on Wednesday.

Ram Temple trustee Champat Rai told News18 that nearly 100 planes could land in Ayodhya between January 18-22, including at least 25 chartered VIP aircraft on the 22nd. The Ayodhya airport has been asked to make all arrangements, Champat Rai said.

For January 21 and 22, over 100 VIPs are expected to land in Ayodhya on nearly 50 special flights ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi arriving at 11am. These special VIP planes may need to be parked at nearby airports in Gorakhpur, Lucknow and Kushinagar as the PMs aircraft will park in Ayodhya.

Flying to Ayodhya

We are flying to the pavan dharti of Prabhu Sri RamJai Sri Ram, announced the IndiGo pilot to a loud cheer as the flight took off from Delhi on Monday.

The 560-km long journey takes about 50 minutes as it passes over Aligarh, Lucknow and flies over the Ghagra and Saryu rivers to land in Ayodhya.

Fliers go on a selfie spree once at the airport in Ayodhya  and we find Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak there to receive senior BJP leader Tarun Chugh and RSS leaders Ram Lal and Krishna Gopal who have arrived on the same flight at Ayodhya.

With its beautiful wall paintings, the airport is a sight to behold.

I feel like I have landed in heavenI will try my luck in Ayodhya to find an invite for the January 22 ceremony, said our co-passenger Ashish Singh, an NRI who has come from Seattle, US to see the Ram Temple. I am marvelling at this beautiful airport. I have seen many airports in the US and this one is better than all of them. I have never seen such beautiful paintings.

Mangilal Solanki, another passenger, said he had visited all Jyotirlings, as well as Kailash Parvat and famous temples in Nepal. I have finally got the good fortune of coming to Ayodhya and praying to Ram Lalla. It is a great feeling, he said.

A Sikh gentleman, Kishan Singh, arrived at Ayodhya airport after travelling from Ludhiana in Punjab. Jai Sri Ram! I will stay here till January 22 and want to pay obeisance to Lord Ram who has called me here. I never thought I would be able to come to Ayodhya by a flight this is all due to Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath, Singh said.

A pre-paid taxi counter has become operational at the airport for the convenience of passengers. The flight was packed on Monday with not a seat to spare. Many passengers told News18 that they wanted to travel to Ayodhya before January 20 as otherwise it would become difficult to be in the town later for the January 22 Pran Pratishtha event.

Leaders Speak

Sri Ramjanmabhoomi and Ayodhya have become the worlds capital in spirituality and tourism. Maximum tourists and those seeking spirituality will come to Ayodhya and hence this airport is so important. That is why Prime Minister Narendra Modi envisioned a grand airport and railway station here, senior BJP leader Tarun Chugh told News18 at the airport in Ayodhya. Chugh said road connectivity, too, had been improved and all this has made it much easier for people to come to Ayodhya.

Deputy CM of Uttar Pradesh Brajesh Pathak said Ayodhya was being developed as a global tourist destination. Soon after Pran Pratishtha, people will get a grand darshan of Ram Lalla. It will be an unforgettable sight for anyone who comes here, Pathak said.
Road, rail and air traffic continued to be hit as parts of north India remained under a thick layer of fog, hampering travel plans and the daily lives of people. The winter has not shown any signs of receding even after three days of Lohri, as historically, the temperature starts rising upwards following the harvest festival.

Videos of fliers stranded at airports are doing the rounds on social media as flight operations remained affected on Tuesday as well, leaving passengers enraged at airlines. However, the Civil Aviation Minister took note of the passengers inconvenience and asked airlines to follow measures like informing their customers regarding real-time information about flights. The situation has improved a bit since the new action plan has been put in place.

Moreover, it seems that the weather situation is not going to change this week as well, with the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting dense to very dense fog conditions over North India during the next 5 days.

Delhi-NCR has been experiencing sunlight during the day for the past two days but residents felt cold day conditions for the fifth consecutive day in early morning and night. The minimum temperature in the national capital settled at 3.5 degrees Celsius on Tuesday morning and a thick layer of fog was visible in several parts of the city.

Intense cold wave conditions also prevailed in other North Indian states like Punjab and Haryana with dense fog being witnessed at many places, including Mohali, Patiala and Fatehgarh Sahib.

At the same time, Delhis air quality index (AQI) showed a marginal improvement from the previous days average reading. According to the data of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the AQI was recorded at 351 (very poor) at around 9 am.

Air, Rail and Road Traffic Hit Amid Foggy Weather

Railways

According to railway officials, at least 30 Delhi-bound trains or those having a route through the national capital were running late due to foggy conditions, as on January 16.

Around 30 trains to Delhi from various parts of the country were reported to be running late due to dense fog on Tuesday morning, a spokesperson for the railways said.

Flights

Hundreds of passengers, from old and sick to young children were stuck at airports across the country after their flights were delayed by up to 13 hours, diverted or cancelled.

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia also met with all ministry officials to discuss the matter. In a statement on Monday, he said the government is taking a slew of steps to improve the situation and assured people that all stakeholders are working round the clock to minimise the fog-related impact.

The Delhi airport was asked to expedite the operationalisation of the CAT III-enabled fourth runway in addition to the existing CAT III-enabled runways. Generally, CAT III compliance refers to flight operations in low visibility conditions.

Roadways

Four people were injured in a multi-vehicle pile-up in Greater Noida on Tuesday amid dense fog in the region, police said. The accident took place in the Dadri police station area around 8.45 am, they said.

In Uttar Pradeshs Muzaffarnagar, two people were killed when their tractor fell into a canal amid reduced visibility due to a thick fog cover, police said on Tuesday. The accident took place on Monday night near the Alem bridge in Shamli district.

IMD Predictions For Upcoming Days

Dense to very dense fog conditions are very likely to prevail for a few hours overmany parts of Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi till January 18 and insome parts till January 21.

In Uttar Pradesh, dense to very dense fog conditions are also very likely to prevail for a few hours in the night/morning till January 18 morning.

Dense to very dense fog conditions are very likely to prevail in morning hours in isolated pockets over Uttarakhand and north Madhya Pradesh till January 18 and in isolated pockets of Bihar, and north Rajasthan till January 21.

Schools Shut Across Northern States Amidst Winter Fog

School authorities across Northern states of India have instructed shutdown of classes for children, amidst the prevalent foggy weather. The decision comes to ensure the safety and well-being of students amidst the drop in temperature.

Schools in various parts of Uttar Pradesh, including Noida, Greater Noida, and Ghaziabad, remained temporarily closed due to the dense fog conditions and cold wave, as per a Hindustan Times report.

The Haryana government have also ordered the closure of schools for students of classes 1-3 and will remain closed till Thursday.

Similarly, the Punjab government has also taken a decision to extend the closure of primary schools until January 21, as per the Hindustan Times report.

(with agency inputs)
Gearing up for the pran pratishtha ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22 and the Republic Day celebrations, the Delhi Police is making adequate security arrangements, including using drones, across the national capital, officials said on Tuesday.

Security has been beefed up across the national capital ahead of pran pratishtha and the Republic Day. Our forces are already taking out flag march in several sensitive areas identified by the department, a senior police officer said.

The officer added the Delhi Police is keeping an extra vigil in those sensitive areas and using drones to monitor security.

More than 8,000 police personnel have already been deployed in Delhi for the January 26 parade across the national capital.

The night patrolling staffers, who have been directed to check hotels, guest houses and Dharamshala, are checking security measures in place at these facilities, particularly near the railway stations and inter-state bus terminals, and their records to know who is visiting the national capital and for what purpose.

Different markets of Delhi like Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazaar, Chawri Bazaar, Khari Baoli, Kashmiri Gate, Naya Bazaar, Connaught Place, Lajpat Nagar, Sarojini Nagar, Bhagirath Place, Kinari Bazaar and several other big or small markets are making their arrangements for January 22, the police officer said.

Several temples like Prachin Hanuman Mandir, Jhandewalan Mandir, Birla Mandir and Kalka Ji temple will celebrate pran pratishtha. We are also expecting high footfall and additional security forces will be deployed to maintain law and order situation, he added.

Action is being taken against anyone found to be violating rules under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), police said.

Another senior police officer said the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued directions for verification of tenants and servants, border checking, security of vital installations, malls and markets, and patrolling in areas drawing heavy footfalls.

Those who are not following the orders, we are taking strict action against them and registering the FIR, he added.

The police said that they used drones to monitor the sensitive areas of the northeast district on Tuesday, adding a flag march was taken out on Monday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) Joy Tirkey said the Delhi Police is fully prepared for January 22 and 26.

We have already strengthened security at different pickets, drones are being used, flag march and double-layer security will be there, he added.

The Delhi Police is conducting mock drills to check its response preparedness and how to control riot-like situations.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. Strikes by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the city of Erbil, the administrative center of Iraqi Kurdistan (an autonomous region in northern Iraq), are reckless, White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said, Trend reports.

"This was a reckless and inaccurate series of strikes. The United States supports the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Iraq. No American troops were injured," Watson said.

Today, the IRGC launched ballistic missile attacks on the US Harir Air Base and Erbil International Airport in Iraq. Several explosions also occurred near the US Consulate.
The Supreme Court has asked courts to be highly circumspect in granting bail to repeat offenders in cases lodged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in Punjab as the state has already been reeling under a drug menace. The SC noted that the problem had grown due to some pharmaceutical companies, police officials, and other affluent people being involved in international drug trafficking.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta declined to extend interim protection granted to an accused beyond three weeks and asked him to seek regular bail as his name surfaced in another case.

After hearing the parties, the bench said, We are of the considered view that the parameters of granting bail in a case under special statutes like NDPS Act may not be liberally construed in the instant case. We say so taking notice of the fact that the State of Punjab is reeling under the grip of drug menace. There are several drug lords whose roots are identifiable in the State of Punjab, and who operate in the cross-border drug racketing and organised trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

It is a matter of common knowledge that a huge cache of illicit drugs is smuggled across the border. Some local Pharmaceutical Industries, State police officials and other affluent people have been suspected to be involved, at occasions, in international drug trafficking. The drug addiction has posed a serious threat to the once vibrant state of Punjab, the bench added.

The appellant Parwinder Singh alias Parminder Singh alias Vicky was one of the accused in an FIR lodged on October 21, 2022, under sections 21, 62, and 85 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 at Police Station Shimlapuri, Ludhiana.

It was alleged that the three accused, including the appellant, were apprehended in a raid and 20 grams of heroin was recovered from them kept in a plastic bag. An Alto car and two motorcycles were also taken into possession. While the appellant managed to escape, two of his co-accused were apprehended from the spot.

The appellant later applied for anticipatory bail, which was declined by the Special Judge. He then approached the High Court, where interim protection against arrest was granted on December 2, 2022. At the time of the final hearing, the High Court was apprised of the fact that the appellant had been involved in one more case under the NDPS Act registered on March 28, 2023.

The bench said it was apparent that the appellant misused the concession of interim bail granted to him on December 02, 2022, as his name surfaced in another case while he was on interim bail. The High Court consequently dismissed his plea, prompting him to approach the Supreme Court.

It further noted it to be true that it was a case of recovery of a non-commercial quantity of the contraband and as such rigours of section 37 of the NDPS Act were not attracted.

A coordinate bench of the court had granted interim protection to the appellant on October 6, 2023, and he joined the investigation, and the charge sheet had also been filed.

The question before the court for consideration was whether the appellant deserved an extension of the benefit of pre-arrest bail in a case of recovery of contraband like heroin while also being found to be involved in one more case under the NDPS Act.

The bench said the courts ought to be highly circumspect while granting bail, especially to a repeat offender. The appellant, as it seems from the allegations, is a drug peddler and there is every likelihood of his returning to the same illicit trade once he is allowed the privilege of pre-arrest bail, it said.
Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the implementation of the Allahabad High Court order appointing advocate commissioners to inspect the mosque in connection with Mathuras Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Masjid dispute case.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta stayed the implementation of Allahabad High Courts December 14, 2023 order by which it had agreed to the appointment of court commissioners to oversee the survey of the mosque premises which, the Hindu side claims, hold signs suggesting that it was a temple once.

The stay by the SC puts a pause on the implementation of the survey pending further judicial proceedings.

Expressing reservations about the manner in which the commission application was filed, Justice Khanna said, We have reservations about the application. Look at the prayer. Its so vague. Read it. You cannot make an omnibus application like this. You have to be very clear what you want the local commissioner to do.

There are legal issues that arise. That apart, the application for local commissioner is very vague. Can an application be made like this? We are staying the operation of the impugned order to the extent of the commission being executed, he added.

The top court further said that proceedings before the High Court can continue but the commission will not be executed in the meantime.

The top court was hearing a plea of the Committee of Management, Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah challenging a high court order that allowed a court-monitored survey of the Shahi Idgah.

The mosque committee, in its plea, has submitted that the high court ought to have considered its petition for rejection of the plaint before deciding on any other miscellaneous applications in the suit.

The committee had sought rejection of the plea on the grounds that the lawsuit is barred by the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which puts a bar on change of character of religious places.

Earlier on December 15 2023, the Supreme Court refused to stay the High Courts December 14 order which allowed the primary survey of mosque by a court-monitored three-member team of advocate commissioners.

Over a dozen petitions are pending before the High Court regarding the Eidgah complex, with the Hindu side claiming that the mosque was constructed by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb by demolishing a temple on 13.37 acres of Lord Krishnas birthplace.
At least three persons lost their lives after a motorcycle collided with a dumper vehicle on Mumbais Parel Bridge on Tuesday. All three, aged between 22 and 25 years, were college friends.

Two of the deceased have been identified as Tanish Patange and Renuka Tamrakar.

A police team was present at the scene of the incident. Bhoiwada Police suspect that the sleepiness of the two-wheeler rider could have been the reason behind the incident. Further investigation into the matter is underway, an officer said.

Just yesterday, four members of a family were killed after the autorickshaw they were travelling in, collided with a car in Telanganas Mahabubabad district.

The accident occurred as the autorickshaw and a car coming in the opposition direction collided at Kambalapally village in the Mahabubabad Mandal late on Sunday.

While two persons died on the spot, the rest two succumbed to their injuries at the Government Area Hospital in the region.

Last week two Delhi police officer were killed after their car collided with a truck near the Kundali border in Haryanas Sonipat district, officials said. The two were returning to their Sonipat homes in a personal car, police said, adding that their bodies had been sent for post-mortem.

Initial probe suggested that their car collided with a stationery truck, which was not visible to them due to foggy conditions.

A 32-year-old woman and her two-year-old son died after they were hit by a motorcyle near the Madipur Metro Station on January 8.

The rider of the two-wheeler was also injured in the incident, officials noted.

Police had received a PCR call about the accident and a team was immediately sent to the spot.

They found the motorcycle near the accident scene, following which they were informed about three medicolegal cases by the Maharaja Agrasen Hospital.

An FIR was registered against the vehicle and owner under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304A (causing death by negligence).

(With PTI inputs)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the historic Veerabhadra temple, which has immense significance in Ramayana with its Jatayu episode, on Tuesday and offered prayers.

Modi chanted songs in praise of Lord Ram, listened to special hymns sung in Telugu extolling the deity, and also witnessed a puppet show on the epic Ramayana featuring Ram, Lakshman, Sita and Ravana, according to live visuals streamed on an official Youtube channel.

The PM offered special prayers at the temple, located in Sri Satyasai district. The shrine has immense significance in Ramayana and the Hindu religion and his visit comes exactly six days prior to the Pran Pratishtha (consecration) ceremony of the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Besides participating in the rituals, guides also explained the significance of the temple to the Prime Minister.

The legend has it that Lepakshi is the place where the mythical vulture Jatayu fell after being grievously wounded by demon king Ravana who had abducted Sita.

The dying Jatayu told Lord Ram that Sita was indeed taken south by Ravana, and was then granted Moksha (salvation) by him.

The ancient Lepakshi temple complex is renowned for its mythological grandeur and also has shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva, Vishnu, Papanatheswara, Raghunatha, Rama and other deities.

Prior to Lepakshi, PM Modi had visited Shree Kala Ram temple in Nashik in Maharashtra. A few days ago, he had visited Panchvati on the banks of the Godavari river in Nashik. He offered prayers at the Kala Ram Mandir and listened to the Marathi verses about Ayodhya aagman (arrival in Ayodhya) of Lord Ram from Ramayan.

Before his arrival in Lepakshi, Modi posted a message on X, saying he will be visiting the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala in the next two days.

Over the next two days I will be among the people of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Today, 16th January, I will have the opportunity to pray at the Veerabhadra Temple, Lepakshi. I will also listen to verses from the Ranganatha Ramayan, which is in Telugu, he said.

The PM also inaugurated the new campus of National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes & Narcotics at Palasamudram in the state.

On Wednesday, Modi said he will pray at the Guruvayur Temple and Thriprayar Shree Ramaswami Temples in Kerala and address a public meeting in Kochi, apart from the inaugurations of some key projects.

On his arrival in Andhra Pradesh at the Puttaparthi airport earlier in the day, the PM was accorded a grand welcome by Deputy Chief Minister Narayana Swamy, Hindupur MP Gorantla Madhav and other leaders and dignitaries.
Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) leader and Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on Tuesday allegedly threatened to kill Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and DGP Gaurav Yadav. Pannun asked gangsters to come together for attacking Mann on Republic Day  January 26.

Strict actions against gangsters in Punjab is said to be the reason behind the death threat. Earlier, the Punjab Police adopted a zero tolerance policy against gangsters.

This comes a week after Pannun threatened the Indian government on the consecration ceremony of Ayodhya Ram Temple on January 22. He even urged the Muslim community to oppose the ceremony, which, according to his claims, is built on Babri Masjid.

ALSO READ | January 22 is Operation Bluestar Against Muslims: Pannun Issues Threat on Ram Temple Opening

Intelligence sources told News18 that Pannun has called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a global enemy of Muslims. He claimed that the temple is built on the bodies of thousands of Muslims, who were forced into conversion.

The January 22 consecration ceremony at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is the most unholy, ungodly, unrighteous ceremony, he supposedly said. January 22 is Modis Operation Bluestar against Muslims.

Indian intelligence sources suggested that Pannun is seeking mileage out of the current situation as his attempt to start a referendum for a separate Khalistan has failed, and he is in panic mode.

On January 1, Pannun had made provocative calls for Indias economic destruction by targeting the Bombay Stock Exchange from March 12, 2024, the 31st anniversary of the Mumbai serial blasts in which the BSE building was one of the targets.

ALSO READ | Target BSE on Anniversary of 1993 Mumbai Blasts: Khalistani Terrorist Pannuns Latest Threat

Pannun, declared a terrorist by India, called for dumping Indian stock and purchasing American stock before March 12. He also identified banks and corporates that trade internationally among the targets.

Further earlier, Pannun had also made a threat against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, instigating Muslims to stop the PMs Ayodhya roadshow on December 30, offering a reward of $100,000 for it.
Sahil Kataria, who was arrested by the police for assaulting a co-pilot of an IndiGo flight, has been granted bail by the authorities. In a viral video, Kataria was purportedly seen assaulting the pilot of the Delhi-Goa flight following a delay of over 12 hours.

He attacked the pilot while he was announcing a delay in the flights takeoff at Delhis Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Who is Sahil Kataria?

Thirty-five-year-old Kataria, who recently got married, was reportedly heading to Goa with his wife for their honeymoon.

Kataria, a resident of South Delhis East of Kailash, runs a stationery and toy shop in the neighbouring Amar Colony area, according to a report by Indian Express.

After the incident, which took place Sunday evening, Kataria was arrested under sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and 290 (punishment for creating public nuisance) of the IPC and section 22 of the Aircraft Rules.

He was released on bail after a notice was served to him under Section 41 of CrPC.

He had recently got married and was going on a vacation with his wife on Sunday she was also deboarded from the aeroplane by CISF and aircraft officers at Delhi Airport after the incident, the IE reported quoting senior police officers.

As per the report, Kataria told police that he was frustrated over the delay and the irresponsible behaviour of cabin crew members which made him lose his calm and assault the pilot.

After the assault video, another clip surfaced online, where Kataria can be seen apologising apparently to the pilot with folded hands. He can also be heard saying Sorry sir to the person who is recording the video while he was being taken away by the authorities on the tarmac.

Not going to lie  expected this to happen. Did not know it would happen so soon.Context: a passenger punched an Indigo pilot because the flight was delayed. And since there are no strong laws in India to prevent this, it will happen again. pic.twitter.com/P3bnTSGAGD  Ravi Handa (@ravihanda) January 15, 2024

He and his wife apologised after the incident to the staff and before police an FIR has already been lodged and the case will be taken to court, the officer reportedly added.

Katariya May Be Put On No-Fly List

Meanwhile, IndiGo Airlines on Monday formed an internal committee to address the matter, news agency ANI reported.

As per officials, the committee is tasked with determining appropriate actions and will specifically discuss putting the accused passenger on the no-fly list under the category of unruly behaviour.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met World Economic Forum president Borge Brende, NASSCOM president Debjani Ghosh and other dignitaries during his ongoing visit to the WEF meeting at Davos.

Reddy discussed with the WEF president how governments, businesses and others can work together to improve human conditions for a better life, the CMO said on X.

Chief Minister Sri @revanth_anumula met with @wef President Mr. @borgebrende at #Davos, Switzerland today on the sidelines of #WEF2024, the CMO said.

The two leaders discussed how governments, businesses and other stakeholders can work together to improve human conditions for a better and prosperous life and make the planet more sustainable, it said.

The chief minister also met Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia Demeke Hassen. Reddy is leading a Telangana delegation to WEF 2024 and meeting business and government leaders to attract investments into the state.

He also met NASSCOM president Debjani Ghosh on Monday and discussed the way forward for focus on skill development in the state. State Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu was also present during the meeting.

Chief Minister Sri @Revanth_Anumula on Monday met with @nasscom President Ms. @debjani_ghosh_ at #Davos2024, the CMO said.

The two, along with @Min_SridharBabu and officials of #Telangana delegation, have discussed the way forward for renewed focus on skill development in the State. Deliberated on making college students of Telangana State, both from Engineering and Degree courses, more value-driven and employable, it said.
Two persons were arrested for allegedly being involved in the killing of a sub-divisional police officer at Moreh in Manipurs Tengnoupal district, police said on Tuesday.

They were apprehended on Monday evening by special commando teams at the border town, a police statement said. During patrolling near Moreh College, security personnel observed two suspected individuals who fired at the vehicles of security personnel and ran into a cluster of houses.

The security forces immediately retaliated and cordoned off the houses near Moreh College, the police said. During the operation, the two persons were overpowered and detained for verification, the statement said. They were arrested after a firearm and ammunition were seized from their possession, it said.

A group of women, however, staged a demonstration in front of the Moreh Police Station, demanding the release of the two persons.

According to the statement, the arrested persons are among the main suspects in the killing of Moreh SDPO Chingtham Anand in October last year. Anand was shot dead when a police team led by him was inspecting the newly constructed helipad at the Eastern Ground in the border town dominated by people belonging to the Kuki-Zo community.

The incident came weeks after several civil society organisations, particularly those based in Moreh, demanded the removal of state forces from the border town. Manipur has been rocked by ethnic violence since May last year and over 180 people were killed.

The violence erupted on May 3 after a Tribal Solidarity March was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei communitys demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipurs population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.
HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that causes anogenital and oropharyngeal disease in both males and females. HPV vaccination benefits the male recipients by safely protecting against cancers that can result from persistent HPV infection. HPV types 16 and 18 cause nearly 90 percent of anal cancers and substantial proportion of oropharyngeal and penile cancers.

Vaccination also protects against anogenital warts which are caused by HPV types 6 and 11.

The overall burden of cancers and precancers is less in males compared to females but additional population benefits from herd immunity.

There are bivalent , quadrivalent and 9-valentine vaccines available:

Quadrivalent vaccine ( Gardasil) targets HPV types 6,11,16 and 18. HPV 9-valent vaccine ( Gardasil 9) targets HPV types 6,11,16,18,31,33,45,52,58 HPV bivalent vaccine(Cervarix) targets HPV types 16 and 18.

The greater HPV-type coverage is provided by the 9-valent compared to human papillomavirus quadrivalent and bivalent vaccines.

Although it is not clear that greater HPV-type coverage by the 9-valent would substantially improve male cancer prevention, it would likely further reduce the risk of cervical cancer in females indirectly through the herd immunity.

The recommended dosing schedule depends on the age of the patient at vaccine initiation .for individuals between 9-14 years, two doses of HPV vaccine should be given at 0 and at 6 to 12 months.

For individuals with 15 years and older, three doses of HPV vaccine should be given at 0, 2 and 6 months.

For immuno compromised patients, three doses of HPV vaccine should be given at 0, 1 to 2, and 6 months regardless of age.
NTR Jrs Devara, Pushpa 2: The Rule starring Allu Arjun, and Salaar: Part 1  Ceasefire featuring Prabhas are part of Netflixs 12 Telugu films slate, which will be available on the streamer in 2024 after their theatrical exhibition.

This year Netflix will also be home to other Telugu titles such as Buddy, Gangs of Godavari, Tillu Square, Vijay Devarakondas 12th film, Nandamuri Balakrishnas 109th movie, separate untitled projects starring Sidhu and Karthikeya as well as the ninth production of Ga2 Pictures.

These movies are scheduled to be available on Netflix this year after their theatrical exhibition, granting fans the opportunity to enjoy them in cinemas initially and then relive the magic of their favourite actors performances in the comfort of their homes, across the world, a press release said.

Monika Shergill, VP  Content, Netflix India, said this year the company is looking forward to making the best of Telugu cinema available to its subscribers.

The 50% YoY (year-over-year) growth in Netflixs South content viewing reflects the strong appeal of our Telugu movie offering. This years lineup, packed with the best of Telugu blockbuster cinema and industrys biggest stars, is set to captivate audiences worldwide. Were thrilled to bring the finest of Telugu cinema to viewers in India and across the globe, Shergill said in a statement.

Salaar: Part 1  Ceasefire, also featuring Prithviraj Sukumaran, hit the screens on December 22.

Devara is scheduled to be released in cinema halls on April 5, with Pushpa 2 set to arrive on August 15. The shooting for the latter is currently underway in Hyderabad. Written and directed by Sukumar, it also stars Rashmika Mandanna besides Allu Arjun. Reportedly, Sai Pallavi has also joined the sequel of Pushpa. The makers are also planning to get on board a Bollywood actor too. However, no name has been officially announced as of now.

Out of the 12 films, Hi Nanna is already streaming on Netflix. The film, starring Nani and Mrunal Thakur, was released in cinema halls on December 7.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. The Yemen's Ansar Allah movement (Houthis) claimed responsibility for the attack on the Greek cargo ship Zografia off the coast of Yemen, the military representative of the movement Yahya Sariya wrote in his Telegram channel, Trend reports.

He noted that several missiles were fired at the crew of a ship heading to Palestinian ports.

Sariya added that the crew did not respond to warning signals.
Sushant Singh Rajputs sister Shweta Singh Kirti has come out in support of Ankita Lokhande. On Tuesday, SSRs sister took to her Instagram stories and shared throwback pictures of herself with the Pavitra Rishta actress. She also penned down her support for Ankita and wrote, We love you, Anki! You are the best and the purest.

This comes at a time when Ankita Lokhande is being questioned by a section of social media users for allegedly using the late actors name to gain sympathy. Recently, Ankitas mother, Vandana Lokhande, also defended her daughter when she told India Today, It is not a strategy or way to gain sympathy. They have been together for eight years and she has lived that journey with him. Even when they broke up, she has always thought well of him and how it was his way to move ahead in his career. And when he passed away, she was completely broken as they had that kind of bond.

In another interview, Ankitas mom revealed that SSRs family members are still in touch with the actress.

Previously, Ankitas mother-in-law accused the actress of using Sushants name to gain sympathy for herself. Ankita has been naming Sushant. Looks like she is trying to gain sympathy for herself. Sushant is anyway gone, Vicky Jains mother told Saas Bahu Aur Saajish.

For the unversed, Ankita Lokhande and Sushant Singh Rajput made their acting debut together with Pavitra Rishta when they fell in love with each other. The two dated for seven years before they broke up. Sushant was found dead in his Mumbai apartment in June 2020.

Ankita is often seen talking about Sushant on Bigg Boss 17. In one of the previous episodes, the actress recalled Sushants death and told Munawar, When I saw him, I felt everything was over. So many films he watched, and everything was over. There was this one picture of him which was very bad.
Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone starrer Fighter trailer has finally been released. And it has created a lot of excitement among the fans. They are eagerly waiting for the film to hit the silver screen. Well, many celebrities also expressed their excitement for the trailer. Joining the trend, Arjun Kapoor also took to his social media account and lauded the trailer.

Arjun Kapoor shared a note on his Instagram stories. He wrote, The patriotic fever rises. What a trailer !!! All set for the big screen experience Lord Sid & the entire team hitting it out of the park. Can not wait for Republic Day!!! He also shared the Fighter trailer. He had even praised their teaser. Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone play Airforce Officers in Siddharth Anands aerial action film. The film promises to bring a power-packed action spectacle that has never been seen before on the big screen.

Take a look here:

The trailer features Anil Kapoor assembling a skilled team of IAF officers to avenge India after the deadliest ever attack. He brings together the top aviators to show the terrorists responsible for the attack that Indians will not sit quietly by. He asks his team to forge interpersonal relationships as that will help them during the war. The trailer shows Hrithik and Deepika flying helicopters and fighter jets in intense action scenes. It also gives us a glimpse into their romance, set against the backdrop of picturesque Kashmir.

The buzz around the film is high as people are excited to watch Hrithik and Deepikas chemistry unfold on screen for the first time. The films teaser has already made fans eager with anticipation. Besides the action, Hrithik and Deepikas sizzling romance in the film has also caught the fans attention. Their chemistry in songs like Sher Khul Gaye, Ishq Jaisa Kuch and Heer Aasmani is palpable and fans cannot stop gushing over the duo.

The film also stars Anil Kapoor, Sanjeeda Sheikh and Karan Singh Grover in key roles. Directed by Siddharth Anand and presented by Viacom18 Studios in association with Marflix Pictures, Fighter epitomizes cinematic brilliance. This film promises to seamlessly intertwine heart-thumping action and patriotic fervour. Brace yourself for an epic journey as Fighter takes flight in theatres on January 25, 2024.
BigHit Music, the management agency of South Korean music septet BTS, on Monday, said that members RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook have entered the military for mandatory service and will soon perform their duties at the training camp. Jin, the oldest BTS member, enlisted in 2022, followed by J-hope last April. Suga, the third member, started his service in September 2023.

The remaining four members  RM, Jimin, V and Jung Kook  initiated the enlistment process in November 2023. In a statement shared on fan community forum Weverse, BigHit Music expressed gratitude towards ARMY, the fan group of the band, for supporting BTS over the years.

Thanks to your kind consideration and support this past December, BTS members RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook have entered the military and will soon be performing their duties at the training camp. Thank you for your interest and support on their enlistment day, the agency said in the statement. BigHit Music also appealed to fans to refrain from sending gifts to the serving members as it could lead to problems with storage and even misplacement.

The military barracks are communal spaces shared by military personnel for training together. If a large number of letters and gifts from the fans arrive at the center all at once, it would be difficult to store them and they could be easily lost. Therefore, we kindly ask that fans refrain from sending anything by mail, it said. Fans can instead send messages to the artists on Weverse, added BigHit Music.

The agency also asked for ARMYs cooperation during the members recruit training graduation ceremony. In order to prevent any issues that might occur from crowding, we ask fans to please refrain from visiting the site. Instead, we ask you to keep your heartwarming words of support and farewell in your hearts.

We ask for your continued love and support for the BTS members until they complete their service and return. Our company will also strive to provide every support they need during this time, the statement said.

BTS, which debuted in 2013, had announced their hiatus in June 2022. The members hope to reconvene as a unit around 2025 following their service commitment. In South Korea, all able-bodied men aged 18-28 are required to serve in the military for about two years. All BTS members were allowed to put off starting their military service until they turned 30.
All seven BTS members are brand ambassadors of international luxury fashion brands. However, for a long time the fans of the South Korean supergroup have associated certain clothes with the members, be it Vs preference for tan-coloured formals, J Hopes red crossbody bag, or Jungkooks bucket hats. For quite some time in 2023, Suga (Min Yoongi) was spotted wearing a fluffy leopard print hat. Recently, in the latest episode of his chatshow Suchwita, Suga revealed that he lost his leopard print hat. This admission has caused much buzz within the BTS fandom, also known as ARMY.

On January 15, Suga had a chat with Jung Yonghwa, a veteran idol and actor from South Korea. Yonghwa, who is the vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock group CNBLUE, spoke to Suga about the music industry, touring, and reminisced about BTS early days.

Five minutes into the chatshow, Suga and Yonghwa began talking about the last time when they met. Suga said that they met before the release of his album D-DAY and Yonghwa pointed out that when they met and went out for a meal Suga was wearing a leopard pint bucket hat. This prompted Suga to recall where he kept that hat. Suga added that he lost that hat and it is not in his home even though he remembers wearing it often. Yonghwa then asked Suga, Wasnt that sort of your trademark? To this Suga said, Thats not why I wore it.

Yoongi: I don't have it at home: The leopard print bucket hat?Yoongi: Yeah its gone: Wasn't that sort of your trademark?Yoongi: That's not why i wore it but # #SUGA #SUCHWITA #BTS pic.twitter.com/UGsCTU5CAM Jiya LOVE WINS  (@BTSTJ4SR) January 15, 2024

yoongi and his leopard print bucket hat pic.twitter.com/BmQ6VGG0Kz sen (@sugatradamus) January 15, 2024

WHERE IS YOONGI'S LEOPARD PRINT BUCKET HAT?! pic.twitter.com/5ZKtW5vwZV Carterrr (@ughmane) January 15, 2024

This episode of Suchwita was so good. We even got to hear #SUGA's audition story, found out that he lost his famous hat and learnt that he really wanted to show off his band more and even proposed they could do solos on stage!! paula (@sugatheartist) January 15, 2024

They should create a special detective crew to search our Suga's hat. It's VERY important!! ~ (@taaahseen) January 15, 2024

Both then move to another topic but BTS fans are now fixating on Sugas leopard print hat and expressing dismay that it is lost. Referencing the episode, a BTS fan exclaimed on X, WHERE IS YOONGIS LEOPARD PRINT BUCKET HAT?!. Another person wrote, They should create a special detective crew to search our Sugas hat. Its VERY important!!

Back in 2018, BTS member J-Hope gave away his red crossbody bag to a fan when they performed at Citi Field stadium in Queens, New York.

Thank you @yunxxx951 for capturing this moment of Hoseok giving me his pouch and holding my hand  pic.twitter.com/unNwFoeL0Z jackie (@svnshinehobi) October 8, 2018

Jacqueline Montoya, from New Jersey, was the lucky fan who got the bag personally from J-Hope. She told Metro UK, My friends and I arrived at Citi Field on 1 October, five days before the concert. For camping, we took turns with it and went about our lives with school and work. My experience from the time I arrived until concert time was beyond amazing.

Talking about the moment when she got the bag, she said, I did hype him up a lot throughout the concert and he noticed. He also noticed me crying towards the end of the concert, which is when he approached me to give me his bag.
Mahesh Babu, his family and co-stars came together to celebrate Makar Sankranti. The actor, who recently appeared in Guntur Kaaram, hosted a success party at his home in Hyderabad to commemorate the occasion. Attendees included co-stars Sreeleela and Meenakshi Chaudhary. His wife Namrata Shirodkar, and daughter Sitara also joined the celebrations.

Mahesh Babus Makar Sankranti celebrations have garnered attention as inside glimpses from the occasion are now going viral on the internet. In one of the images, Mahesh Babu, adorned in a pink shirt paired with black pants, posed for a group photo alongside Namrata Shirodkar, Meenakshi Chaudhary, Sreeleela, and other attendees. Mahesh Babu shared the pictures on social media with the caption, Happy Sankranthi. Blockbuster celebrations. Guntur Kaaram, as he captured the joyous moments and success of the occasion.

Meanwhile, Namrata Shirodkars sister, Shilpa Shirodkar also participated in the celebration. She shared glimpses from the event on her Instagram Stories and captured some priceless moments with Namrata, Sitara, and other attendees. In one set of photos, she wrote, Celebration continues as she posted a selfie with Namrata and Sitara. In another picture, she clicked a selfie with Namrata and a friend and dropped the photographer with the caption, About last night. Additionally, she shared a photo highlighting the festive decor at Mahesh Babus residence for the special occasion.

The Trivikram Srinivas-directed film Guntur Kaaram hit the screens on January 12, 2024. The movie, featuring Mahesh Babu, received a mixed response from audiences and critics alike. Sreeleela played the main female protagonist in the film, adding to the ensemble cast. Notably, Guntur Kaaram marks the third collaboration between Mahesh Babu and director Trivikram Srinivas. Their previous ventures include Khaleja and Athadu.

In the movie Guntur Kaaram, Mahesh Babu takes on the role of Rowdy Ramana. The storyline centers around the journey of a son, portrayed by the superstar, who is disowned by his mother, played by Ramya Krishnan, for reasons undisclosed. As the narrative unfolds, the film explores the protagonists transformation, detailing how he evolves into Rowdy Ramana. Meanwhile, Sreeleela plays the love interest in this tale.
After being delayed last year due to the writers and actors strike, the 75th Emmy Awards was finally held at the Peacock Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California. While fans have been waiting with bated breaths to watch their favourite stars win and dazzle in what can be said to be the most auspicious and celebrated night of television, the complete list of winners is also out now. Among all the stars who won big last night, actress Jennifer Coolidge bagged her second Emmy after winning the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her popular television show The White Lotus.

Coolidge made it to the top after competing with her co-stars Meghann Fahy, Sabrina Impacciatore, Aubrey Plaza, and Simona Tabasco, along with Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul), Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown), and J. Smith-Cameron (Succession). However, it was her acceptance speech that got everyones attention.

Immediately after taking to the stage, Cooligde began by noting that she does not have the strength to hold the award, thus going on to put it down next to her before beginning her speech.

I got the hook last year I talked to you, so I am going to be so fast, she continued as she began by shouting out to her director, Mike White. Jennifer thanked him for allowing her to play the incredible character of Tanya McQuoid.

And he says I am definitely dead, so I am going along with it, the actress quipped.

Notably, Tanyas fate came to a dramatic end after her character died suddenly at the end of the second season.

Jennifer Coolidge thanks all the evil gays

Without forgetting to give her murderers a shot out, the 62-year-old actress, in one of the vital moments of her character, said, I just want to say, I want to thank all the evil gays. Yes, Paolo, Francesco, and Bruno, thank you.

In the very last few moments on stage, she delivered a sweet message for all and concluded by saying, I had a little dream in my little town, and everyone said it was impractical and far-fetched. But it did happen after all, and so dont give up on your dreams. Thank you.

For the unversed, Mike Whites The White Lotus has been a fan favourite since its HBO debut in 2021. Both the first and second seasons have been praised for their performances and have also gotten some major award nominations, like the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild. Coolidge also became a household name for her role as Taya in the debut seasons, going on to win a Golden Globe, two Critics Choice Television Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and an Emmy in September 2022.
Fans of Jr NTR were treated with a wonderful surprise on January 8. The first glimpse of the actors upcoming film Devara: Part 1 was released. Apart from the dark and grim visuals, many were impressed by Jr NTRs fierceness and rugged avatar in the visual clip. Kannada actor Kiccha Sudeep was also all praise for Devara. During an Ask Me Session on X (formerly Twitter), the Vikrant Rona star answered some of the burning questions from his admirers. When one individual quizzed Kiccha Sudeep whether he watched Devaras first glimpse, the actor reacted to the question in the best way.

Have you watched Devara Glimpse?? Much love to you from NTR fans," asked the X-user. Replying to the individual, Kiccha Sudeep lauded the yet-to-be-released Jr NTR-starrer and wrote, Of course. An epitome of energy." Soon after, the official X account of Devara expressed their gratitude for Kiccha Sudeeps kind words. Thank you, Sir," they wrote.

Ofcourse An epitome of energy. https://t.co/cym8vbiaqR Kichcha Sudeepa (@KicchaSudeep) January 16, 2024

Fans too marked their presence in the comment section. While one user rightfully pointed out, Sudeep sir always shows his unconditional towards Jr NTR. Love you anna," another Jr NTR fan chimed in, Heartful wishes this is. Thank you so much Kiccha Sudeep Anna." Fan of you Ur words and acting sir," noted a third individual.

Sudeep sirr always shows his unconditional towards @tarak9999 Love you anna   Ajay (@MassesNtr) January 16, 2024

Heartful wishes this is Thank you so much @KicchaSudeep anna   Ethan (@TarakFreak_) January 16, 2024

Fan of you Ur words and acting sir Thank u so much  Suni Tarak (@Sunil4ntr) January 16, 2024

Devaras first glimpse opens with a fleet of boats sailing in the grey sea on an overcast night sky. Soon, the people on the boats attack a ship, climbing onto the vessel in large numbers. Thats when Jr NTR makes a powerful entry, slashing the throats of enemies and killing them mercilessly with a spearhead. Exuding an intense gaze, he continues assassinating them one by one, turning the grey waters into a sea of blood. After an amazing display of strength, the one-man army aka Jr NTR washes the weapon in the blood-soaked sea as the dead bodies of the enemies lie on the shore.

Apart from Jr NTR, Janhvi Kapoor has been roped in to play the female lead in Devara: Part 1. Although she did not appear in the maiden glimpse, her first look from the film, draped in a saree and sitting on the banks of a stormy sea grabbed multiple eyeballs.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Janhvi Kapoor (@janhvikapoor)

Directed by Koratala Siva, Devara: Part 1 is touted to be a period drama. Also starring Saif Ali Khan in an important role, the action-adventure is expected to hit the big screens on April 5.
Rhea Chakraborty opened up about everything that she experienced after Sushant Singh Rajputs death. The actor died in June 2020. Rhea was accused of money laundering, and purchasing and financing marijuana. The actress was put on public trial while questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), and CBI. She was eventually arrested by NCB and put in jail. In a recent interview, Rhea recalled the events that unfolded then and said she was ready to go to jail to prove her innocence.

Speaking with Chetan Bhagat on his show, Deep Talk With Chetan Bhagat, Rhea said she wanted everything sorted out, even if that meant going to jail. It had become a show and my life was on display. I was like, stop it. I thought, ye ho hi jaaye toh better hai (let it happen). Let me go to jail. So many people were after me, that existence was not okay for me. I preferred everything gets clarified, even if that means going to jail, she said.

Rhea was arrested in September 2020 and spent close to a month in jail. In the same chat, the Jalebi actress revealed that one of the hardest parts about being in jail was the lack of good toilet facilities. But her mental trauma overpowered her physical trauma. Mental trauma is so much harder than the physical trauma starts paling in front of it. You think Ganda bathroom toh manage kar lungi (I will manage the dirty bathroom), she said.

In September 2020, Rhea Chakraborty was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau in connection with Sushant Singh Rajputs death. The actor was found dead in his Mumbai apartment in June 2020. The two were dating at the time of the latters death, leading to Rheas 28-day imprisonment before being granted bail. Her brother, Showik Chakraborty was also arrested in the same case.
Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani are one of the most adored couples in Bollywood. They are one such couple that will make you believe in love and all things dreamy. Hence, on Sidharth Malhotras 39th birthday, we are taking a comprehensive look at the timeline of his relationship with his wife Kiara Advani- from acting days to now being husband-wife.

How It All Began

Sidharth and Kiaras bond grew on the Shershaah set when they first met. The buzz around their relationship became strong after pictures from their secret getaway to South Africa in 2019 went viral. Solo pictures from a wildlife safari had fans speculating about a shared holiday. Their frequent party appearances fueled more excitement, adding to the speculation about their secret affair.

Together At Maldives

Following Shershaah, the duo jetted to the Maldives to celebrate New Year 2021, capturing moments at various scenic spots. Kiara posted a stunning picture on her Instagram profile, dressed in a sparkly beige outfit with a hat in her hand. Meanwhile, Sidharth Malhotra also teased fans with a picture from Maldives. The couple was photographed together at the Mumbai airport, marking their first public appearance.

Birthday Appearance

Shortly after, on Kiaras 29th birthday, Sidharth made a stylish entrance, and the two departed together from the party venue. Kiara had even shared a birthday video where Sidharth made a brief appearance in the background for just a moment.

Lets Reel Our Love!

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sidharth Malhotra (@sidmalhotra)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sidharth Malhotra (@sidmalhotra)

During Shershaahs promotion in 2021, their chemistry in the film continued to make headlines. Sidharth and Kiara further fueled speculation about their offscreen romance by creating delightful reels to the films songs, hinting at a blossoming love between them. At this point, fans were convinced that these two were undeniably dating.

The One Where Parents Were Involved

Adding to the speculation, the Govinda Naam Mera actress was once spotted at Bandra-Kurla Complex restaurant alongside her rumoured beau and his parents, who had flown in from New Delhi to spend time with the couple.

Lets Manifest On Koffee Couch

The couples rumoured romance took centre stage when they appeared on separate episodes of Karan Johars talk show, Koffee with Karan Season 7. Karan hadnt hesitated to probe them with questions about their romance on his show in 2022. They had subtly hinted at their relationship and eventually admitted to being more than just friends. Sidharth, manifesting optimism, had shared, I am manifesting a brighter and happier future," with Kiara affirming that they were more than friends."

Tying The Knot- Finally!

After months of speculations and reports backed by anonymous sources, the two actors tied the knot in a beautiful and closely guarded ceremony on February 7, 2023, in Jaisalmer. The wedding was attended by their close family and friends, including Karan Johar, Shahid Kapoor, Mira Kapoor, and more.

Kiara Advani wore a stunning rose Manish Malhotra lehenga, and Sidharth Malhotra complemented her with a golden sherwani. The bridal look was adorned with many heartwarming details that held special significance for the couple.
Actor Vijay Deverakonda celebrated the auspicious festival of Sankranti with his family. He took to Instagram and posted a string of family pictures on the occasion with the caption, wishing his fans A very happy Sankranti. In the first picture, the Liger actor wore a white shirt with a yellow dhoti matching shawl, and in the second solo picture, he posed with a big smile. The actor looked cute in a traditional outfit. His mother wore a pink and blue saree while his father donned a white kurta and dhoti.

Check the post here:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vijay Deverakonda (@thedeverakonda)

The celebration with his family was well-received by his fans. Some fans even expressed their hopes of seeing Vijays rumored girlfriend, Rashmika Mandanna, in his family pictures next year. The comments reflect excitement and admiration for the actors family moments and anticipation for future updates.

Many fans are assuming he has returned from a vacation in Vietnam with his rumored girlfriend Rashmika Mandanna. The couple explored Vietnam before their rumored engagement in February. Rashmika Mandanna shared photos of herself from Vietnam on Instagram, where she was seen wearing a local hat and visiting different places. Vijay Deverakonda also shared a post from Vietnam, where he was seen outside a cafe enjoying dinner at a street stall. The couples trip has sparked excitement among their fans, who are eagerly awaiting an official announcement.

It has been seen that these two people have been dating for a very long time and now all their fans are waiting for the official announcement of their engagement and making their dating news official.

Vijay Deverakonda is a popular actor in the Telugu film industry. He made his debut in 2011 with the film Nuvvila and gained popularity with his performance in the film Arjun Reddy. He has since acted in several successful films like Geetha Govindam, Taxiwaala, and Dear Comrade. Vijay is also known for his philanthropic work and has been involved in several charitable initiatives.

Rashimka also shared a picture

Rashimka also shared a solo picture, wearing a pretty red lehenga with very minimal makeup and wishing all his darlings a very happy Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Lorhi. Her fans commented Rashimak weds Vijay.

Vijay was last seen with Samantha Prabhu in the film Kushi and has VD12 in his kitty. Rashimka is currently celebrating the success of Animal where she played the role of Geetanjali. She will be seen in the second part of Pushpa.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 17. The strikes carried out by the Iranian Armed Forces on the territory of Pakistan are a violation of the country's airspace, Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement, Trend reports.

The Foreign Ministry noted that this could entail significant consequences.

"Pakistan strongly condemns the unprovoked violation of its airspace by Iran and the strike inside Pakistani territory which resulted in death of two innocent children while injuring three girls. This violation of Pakistans sovereignty is completely unacceptable and can have serious consequences," the ministry noted.

On January 16, Iranian armed forces attacked two headquarters of the Jaysh al-Zolm terrorist group. Drones and missiles were used to strike the headquarters located in Pakistan.
Tamil superstar Ajith Kumar is currently shooting for his upcoming movie Vidaa Muyarchi. It is one of the most highly anticipated movies written and directed by Magizh Thirumeni. The first phase of the shoot has concluded and now the second phase of the shoot has begun in full swing. Meanwhile, the crew also took a break during the New Year to celebrate with their loved ones. The actor has been grabbing the headlines for his various interactions with fans and hotel staff while he was in Dubai. However, the gesture of one fan is winning the hearts of the internet.

Currently, Ajith Kumar is shooting in Azerbaijan for Vidaa Muyarchi. The movie has an interesting cast ensemble featuring actors like Trisha Krishnan, Sanjay Dutt, Regina Cassandra and Arjun Sarja in key roles. Amidst the shoot, the actor came across a fan who had the sweetest gift for him. A fan offered him two red roses, and the actor humbly accepted it with a great smile.

The caption read, A fan offering flowers to Ajith sir. The video has already garnered more than 70,000 views on X. Fans rushed to the comment section to express their opinion. A user wrote, Ajith sir is one of Indias greatest actors and a genuinely good man. Eagerly waiting for his movie Vidaa Muyarchi.

Another user commented, Wow! Name is Ajith Kumar.

One more user happily commented, My dear Thalaa (eye-heart emojis).

The Tamil actor celebrated New Years Eve in Dubai along with his family. A video of the actor dancing with hotel staff has gone viral on social media. Fans were ecstatic to see their favourite star dance enthusiastically to the video of the Thunivu star.

On the work front, Ajith Kumar was last seen in the movie Thunivu, which was hailed as a thriller and marked the third consecutive collaboration between the actor and H. Vinoth and is produced by Boney Kapoor. The movie also stars Manju Warrier in a key role. It is a heist movie that will focus on financial scams.
Disturbing trends by passengers in Air Travel

In a shocking incident in Delhi, a passenger aboard a commercial flight assaulted the pilot while he was announcing the delay, causing concern among the passengers and the aviation community in general. The incident unfolded during a routine flight when the irate passenger allegedly became aggressive and from one of the last rows came running and did what he did. This sudden and unprecedented act of violence sent shockwaves through the aviation industry, prompting immediate intervention from the cabin crew and other passengers to restrain the individual.

The swift response from the flight crew and fellow travellers ultimately prevented a potential catastrophe, and the flight was able to continue its journey safely to its destination after the unruly passenger was subdued and handed over to the authorities upon landing.

This is not the only one-off incident, however, may be the only one in India in the recent past. Over the past couple of years, in the rest of the world, there have been several distressing incidents involving passenger assaults on pilots. One such incident occurred on July 19, 2002, when a passenger assaulted the captain of American Airlines Flight 1238 during a flight from Chicago to Los Angeles. Another alarming event took place on October 15, 2013, when a passenger attacked the co-pilot on a Lufthansa flight from Munich to Budapest.

These incidents have spurred airlines and authorities to implement stricter security measures and training programs for handling disruptive passengers, emphasising the crucial importance of ensuring the safety of both crew members and fellow travellers in the skies.

Rule Position on the subject

Tokyo Convention

The Tokyo Convention, known formally as the Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft, is an international treaty that holds great significance in the realm of aviation safety and security. This convention was adopted in 1963, reflecting a global commitment to combat crimes committed on board aircraft while they are in flight (the definition of in-flight is from the time doors are closed for taxi to take off to the time doors are opened after landing).

In the context of India, adherence to the Tokyo Convention plays a pivotal role in safeguarding our skies and ensuring the well-being of passengers and crew. It empowers our law enforcement agencies to take appropriate action against individuals involved in unruly behaviour, hijacking, or other unlawful acts on board aircraft registered in India or operating in our airspace. Through its principles and provisions, the Tokyo Convention underscores the importance of international cooperation in maintaining the safety and security of civil aviation, aligning with Indias commitment to upholding the highest standards in aviation operations and safety.

Montreal Convention

The Montreal Convention, officially known as the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, holds great significance in the field of international air travel, and its impact extends to India as well. Adopted in 1999, this treaty modernises and unifies the rules governing the liability of airlines in cases of passenger injury, baggage loss, or damage during international flights.

India, as a signatory to this convention, benefits from the harmonisation of regulations concerning air travel, making it easier for passengers to seek compensation in the event of mishaps during their journeys. The Montreal Convention reinforces the rights and protection of air travellers in our country, in that sense, it is a pro-travellers convention reflecting Indias commitment to providing safe and reliable air transport while aligning with international standards for aviation. This treaty embodies the spirit of cooperation and accountability in the global aviation community and strengthens the confidence of Indian travellers in the safety and reliability of international air travel.

Aircraft (Amendment) Act, 2020

In India, the law on dealing with unruly passengers aboard aeroplanes is governed primarily by the Aircraft (Amendment) Act, 2020. This legislation empowers both the airline crew and law enforcement agencies to take swift and decisive action against individuals who engage in disruptive behaviour during flights.

Unruly actions such as verbal or physical abuse, interference with flight operations, or endangering the safety of the aircraft and its occupants are considered serious offences under this law. In addition, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued guidelines and procedures to address unruly behaviour and impose penalties and, a no-fly list, including fines and imprisonment, on offending passengers.

Indias commitment to ensuring the safety and security of air travel is reflected in these robust legal provisions, sending a clear message that disruptive conduct onboard aeroplanes will not be tolerated and will be met with legal consequences to safeguard the flight safety and well-being of both passengers and crew.

Understanding Nuances of What Airlines/Pilots/Air Traffic Control Centres Do

Low Visibility Takeoff

Low Visibility Takeoff operations, often referred to as LVTO, are critical procedures in aviation that are employed during adverse weather conditions such as fog, heavy rain, or low clouds when visibility on the runway is significantly reduced. In such circumstances, pilots and air traffic controllers rely on advanced instrumentation and specialised training to ensure the safe departure of an aircraft. Almost all pilots are trained for LVTO.

Key components of LVTO include the use of precision navigation equipment, enhanced runway lighting systems, and strict adherence to established departure procedures. These operations are designed to mitigate the risks associated with poor visibility and enable aircraft to take off safely, even when natural visibility is limited. The successful execution of LVTO is a testament to the aviation industrys commitment to ensuring passenger safety and minimising disruptions caused by adverse weather conditions. Typically, the visibility requirement for LVTO is more than CAT III landing, with nearly 70-150 per cent depending on the runway and aids that are there.

CAT III Landing Operations

CAT III (Category III) landing operations represent the highest level of precision and automation in aviation for landing an aircraft in extremely low visibility conditions, such as heavy fog or dense rain. This advanced system utilises specialised ground-based instruments and onboard aircraft equipment, including autoland systems, to guide the aircraft safely to the runway with minimal visibility for the flight crew.

CAT III operations were, in the past categorised into three sub-levels: CAT IIIA, CAT IIIB, and CAT IIIC. However, today, CAT III has only two sub-categories namely CAT III (with DH) and CAT III (without DH), both are typically an Autoland scenario. Each with varying levels of allowable visibility and decision heights for the pilot. These highly sophisticated systems provide an added layer of safety and efficiency, allowing flights to continue even when natural visibility is severely compromised. CAT III landing operations exemplify the remarkable technological advancements in aviation, enabling safe and reliable landings in adverse weather conditions, and enhancing both passenger safety and air travel reliability.

How is visibility measured?

It is measured by automatic equipment called a transmissometer, which is a critical instrument used in meteorology and aviation to measure the attenuation or reduction of light or laser beams as they pass through the atmosphere. This instrument is essential for assessing visibility conditions, particularly in situations of low visibility due to fog, mist, smoke, or other atmospheric obscurants.

Transmissometers provide real-time data on visibility levels that are crucial for pilots during takeoff, landing, and taxiing. They work by emitting a light beam and measuring how much of it reaches a receiver after passing through the atmosphere. This data aids aviation authorities in determining the appropriate category of instrument landing systems (ILS), such as CAT III. The accurate and timely information obtained from transmissometers plays a vital role in enhancing aviation safety and efficiency.

What if the visibility is low?

Its simple. If the visibility is low, but not low enough for CAT III landing to take place, landings will continue. However, if the visibility is low for LVTO and not for CAT III landing, take-offs will not happen, however, landings will continue. If the visibility is very low, no take-offs or landings can be carried out, in the interest of aircraft and passenger safety.

When visibility at the airport is low, and take-offs are not permitted due to adverse weather conditions, both air travellers and airlines need to take appropriate actions to ensure passenger safety and minimise disruptions. Passengers should stay informed about flight status updates through airline apps or airport announcements and be prepared for potential delays or cancellations. Its advisable for travellers to check weather conditions at both their departure and destination airports before heading to the airport, allowing them to make informed decisions.

What should air travellers and airlines do when the visibility is low and take-offs are not permitted?

Passengers should check the weather and leave home only when they get an assurance that they wont be stuck at the airport. At the airport, they should remain calm and go with the flow. After all, we cant fight the nature and weather. Airlines, on the other hand, should prioritise passenger comfort and safety by providing timely and transparent information regarding flight delays or cancellations. They should offer affected passengers alternative flight options, accommodations, and meals, as required.

Additionally, airlines should have contingency plans in place to manage the situation effectively, including rebooking passengers on the next available flights and providing clear communication channels for passengers to seek assistance or information. Ultimately, collaboration between passengers and airlines during such adverse conditions is essential to ensure a smoother and more comfortable airport experience when take-offs are not permitted due to low visibility.

Be calm, be kind and make logical decisions. Remember, sar salamat, toh pagdi hazaar.

Group Capt MJ Augustine Vinod VSM (retd) tweets at @mjavinod; Vineet Maliakal is COO, AutoMicroUAS. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
After ensuring last-mile connectivity through central schemes, that is, connecting all households and villages with the power grid, the Indian government is contemplating setting a goal of providing uninterrupted 247 electricity supply throughout the country by March 2025. Following the success of two flagship schemesthe Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) and the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya) which have connected all villages and households with the power grid in the last decade, the government is now focused on facilitating unrestricted power supply in both rural and urban India.

This strategic goal is part of an initiative aimed at significantly improving the reliability and accessibility of electricity services for the entire population. The proposed deadline underscores the governments commitment to ensuring a consistent and continuous power supply on a national scale, which would contribute to the overall socio-economic development and illuminate Indias path to becoming a developed country by 2047. Government insiders indicate that if the current administration is re-elected, the pursuit of 247 electricity will be seamlessly incorporated into the ongoing agenda of implementing reforms.

Indias strides in renewable energy capacity in the last decade have enabled the country to dream big when it comes to electricity supply. This is also in tandem with the improving health of state-owned DISCOMs even as challenges remain.

Pursuing Power For All

Indias commitment to power generation and universal electrification has been a stepping stone for the countys power revolution, paving the way for Amrit Kaal. In the last decade, DDUGJY and the subsequent Saubhagya Yojana have achieved last-mile connectivity. These schemes have ensured that electricity becomes accessible to all.

All states declared the electrification of every village on April 28, 2018, under DDUGJY, and all willing households were declared electrified by March 31, 2019, under Saubhagya. A total of 18,374 villages were electrified through DDUGJY, while Saubhagya facilitated the electrification of approximately 2.86 crore households.

The governments endeavours to promote energy efficiency have yielded noteworthy outcomes. Through the Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) initiative, the cost of procuring LED bulbs saw a substantial decrease of nearly 90 per cent between 2014 and 2019, dropping from Rs 310 to Rs 39.90. To date, more than 36.86 crore LED bulbs have been disseminated through this program. This not only lowered electricity expenses for households but also fostered domestic manufacturing of LED bulbs, aligning with the objectives of the Make in India campaign. Consequently, India has experienced widespread adoption of energy-efficient lighting solutions, contributing to a reduction in energy consumption and a more environmentally friendly landscape.

Unlocking the Power of Renewables

With more households connected to the power grid, the government recognised the need to cater to a soaring demand while sticking to its sustainable development goals. This made it imperative for the nation to unlock the power of renewables.

Indias journey towards enhanced power generation while remaining committed to a greener future has gained global recognition. With the addition of over 175 GW of generation capacity in the past nine years, India has transitioned from a power deficit to a power surplus nation. The countrys commitment to renewable energy sources has played a pivotal role in achieving this feat.

As of November 2023, India successfully achieved a significant combined installed capacity of 179.57 GW in renewable energy sources, encompassing diverse elements such as wind power, solar power, biomass/co-generation, small hydropower, waste to energy, and large hydro. This remarkable progress aligns with Indias ambitious targets, including a goal to reduce the carbon intensity of the nations economy by over 45 per cent by the end of the decade.

Additionally, the country aims to achieve 50 per cent of its cumulative electric power from renewables by 2030 and aspires to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. A pivotal part of this green energy initiative involves working towards installing an impressive 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by the year 2030, showcasing Indias commitment to sustainable and environmentally friendly energy practices.

The remarkable growth of solar and wind energy capacity has cemented Indias position as a global leader in renewable energy adoption. Today, India stands 4th globally in Renewable Energy Installed Capacity, with 43 per cent of its total installed electricity capacity coming from non-fossil energy sources.

Solar power currently accounts for about 38 per cent of the total renewable energy capacity. India ranks third in Asia and fourth in the world in terms of its solar power generation. It also ranks 4th globally in terms of wind power capacity. India is home to some of the worlds largest solar parks India. Meanwhile, the country has crossed almost 4 GW of rooftop solar capacity this year and will be adding another 4 GW in the next two years.

Improving DISCOMs

Prolonged power cuts are a major point of contention for the general public as well as for industries looking to set up power-intensive manufacturing units. In the last decade, power cuts in many states have been reduced considerably but remain a challenge in states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Himachal Pradesh where rural power supply hours remain inconsistent.

A significant challenge arises from the financial stability of state-owned distribution companies (DISCOMs), responsible for investing in and ensuring a continuous power supply. If round-the-clock power supply is to be ensured to the masses, the health of state-owned DISCOMs must be reined in.

Officials emphasise that efforts to reform DISCOMs have gained momentum, primarily driven by three key initiatives: the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), Late Payment Surcharge (LPS), and modifications to the open access scheme. The RDSS mandates DISCOMs to improve operational efficiency, cautioning about the potential loss of grants for various central schemes if enhancements are not implemented. The LPS is geared towards ensuring prompt payments to power generators, while the open access scheme facilitates power supply beyond the scope of DISCOMs.

The Modi government has placed tremendous importance on electricity in the last ten years and has achieved significant milestones in the process. With an enhanced round-the-clock cover of electricity supply, India will not only be a better place for its households but will be more adept at attracting major industries and businesses which rely on unrestricted electricity for their operations.

Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
Thank the Lord that in the new year, some people are beginning to learn that Nepali Gorkhas are not being recruited in the Agniveer scheme truncated from 15 years to 4 years service and that in the near future, the famed diminutive Gorkha warriors wearing Gorkha hats at a slant and Khukuris slung around the waist will be missing on Republic Day parade on Kartavya path.

For five years including the Covid ban, the Gorkha Brigade has been deficient of 10,000 soldiers. Strangely neither India nor Nepal is willing to discuss the impasse; partly due to ego and for Nepal, mainly, as it is bad in terms of engagement. Nepal Foreign Minister NP Saud told BBC last year in August that consensus is needed on any change to the 1947 Tripartite Treaty on recruitment between Nepal, the UK and India. In 2022 similarly, former Defence Minister Bhim Rawal mentioned in parliament that the Tripartite treaty had been violated. Former Foreign Minister PK Gyawali told BBC, We cant accept Agniveer, but we can resume recruitment on old plan. Both leaders are from the Opposition CPN (UML) party. India has said nothing.

On January 4 this year, at the 7th Joint Commission in Kathmandu, foreign ministers of both countries S. Jaishankar and NP Saud met to discuss a host of bilateral issues but not the strategic stalemated Agniveer. Quite baffling.

On December 11 last year, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda said, Our Nepali citizens are not only serving the Russian Army but also reportedly serving in the Ukrainian Army. Nepal has urged Russia to stop their recruitment  almost 200 Nepali citizens have joined the Russian Army under dubious circumstances and six Nepalis have been reportedly killed  and to investigate the number of Nepalis fighting for Ukraine. Some have also joined the French Foreign Legion, such is the adverse effect of Nepal apparently rejecting Agniveer.

Nepal has issued directions that no Nepali citizen will join the armies of Russia or Ukraine. It has also not allowed Gorkha Recruiting Depots at Gorakhpur to conduct rallies in Nepal for recruitment since mid-2022 when Agniveer was announced.

Former Army Chief Gen Mukund Naravanes book Four Stars of Destiny spills the beans over the ownership of the Agniveer scheme. As we have known, it was thrust on the three services by PMO and NSA Ajit Doval as Rahul Gandhi had stated in parliament. Originally designed by late General Bipin Rawat, it was to be a pilot project for 5000 Army personnel but the transformative reform took all three services by surprise, says Naravane. For the Navy and IAF, it was a bolt from the blue. Despite this, the governments manipulation of incumbent service chiefs in praising the Agniveer project is astounding.

I strongly recommend they watch the biopic Sam Bahadur on Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw on how service chiefs must deal with directions from the government, especially on military matters. What no government or military official has revealed is the stalemate over the recruitment of Nepali Gorkha Agniveers since June 2022 including the Covid embargo period. Had General Rawat, a second-generation Gorkha officer been alive, Agniveer in its current avatar would not have materialised.

I spent all of last November in Pokhara, Nepal, the heartland of Nepal Domiciled Gorkhas (NDG) recruitment, interacting with ex-servicemen and other stakeholders. Not a single NDG has been recruited or become an Agniveer for nearly five years. Nepal has not communicated to India any reason for not subscribing to Agniveer. In June 2022, India announced the Agniveer scheme without consulting Nepal. In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the Gorkhas for shedding their blood to protect the territorial integrity of India.

For India, Gorkhas joining the Indian Army is much more than recruitment. It represents the strategic bonding between India and Nepal and the ex-servicemen represent a strong pro-India constituency.

Nepals Congress-led government in 2022 passed on the decision on Agniveer to the new Maoist-led government which said it was seeking political consensus  diplomatic euphemism for rejecting Agniveer. In Nepal, the public view on the scheme is divided. Most find Agniveer deeply flawed but their bottom line is firmly centered on pensionary benefits.

The generous One Rank, One Pension (OROP) scheme has transformed the quality of life of the ex-servicemen in Nepal. The minority view  something (Agniveer) is better than nothing  highlights the need of job-seekers even if it is for four years sans pension. But politics has trumped strategic and financial factors. In last years elections, Communist parties  CPN UML, CPN Maoist and CPN Socialist  captured 68 per cent of the vote. The Maoists 40-point demand in 1990 prior to the civil war demanded the abrogation of foreign recruitment especially in the Indian Army.

No government in the current coalition era  that has become inevitable under the new constitution  can oppose Communist thinking, especially on Agniveer. The hope that under the power-sharing agreement, after one year, the Nepali Congress-led coalition will accept Agniveer is unrealistic. Recently, Nepal Army Chief Lt Gen Prabhu Sharma, who is also an honorary General in the Indian Army said that he is not against recruitment in Indian Army but he is against recruitment as Agniveer.

In 1974, an unstrategic project to terminate Gorkha recruitment was aborted. Then Army Chief General Gopal Bewoor from 11 Gorkha Rifles persuaded former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to dump the lunatic scheme. Today, we have a CDS General Anil Chauhan from the same Gorkha Regiment but the manner of his deep selection has compromised his strategic autonomy.

India for now is determined not to budge on Agniveer. Two reasons are offered  first, the government wants to end Gorkha recruitment as there is sufficient MRP (male recruitable population) in India. The more compelling reason is the Modi governments policy of dismantling the colonial legacy  recruitment of foreign soldiers. The real reason though is financial  salary and pension costs. Agniveer is designed to reduce the strength of the Army and cut pension bills. The latter alone in 2021-22 accounted for Rs 1.21 lakh crore which was more than allotment for modernisation.

Av (Agniveer) is the rank prefix of a soldier and is the lowest rank in PBOR (Personnel Below Officer Rank). This is a new rank and tenable by Agniveers. Nepal is conveying to India that Agniveer is breach of the Tripartite Agreement of 1947 and consensus is required between original signatories to change terms of engagement; and in order to accept Agniveer, the ruling government is seeking political consensus. None of this has been officially communicated to Delhi.

The future of the Gorkha Brigade and its 38 battalions is bleak, given the inflexible positions of both countries. Last year, after returning from Nepal, following his appointment as honorary General of the Nepal Army, Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pandey said this on Gorkha recruitment: If they dont decide soon, their vacancies will be given to others. As there has been no recruitment for five years, the shortfall in Gorkha regiments is being made up by Kumaonis, Garhwalis and now Nagas while other tribals are being considered. Gen Pandey is mulling over reducing Gorkha battalions. Indian Domiciled Gorkhas who constitute 40 per cent of recruitment are not a match for NDGs.

In 2017, 6/1 Gorkha Rifles was raised comprising 100 per cent IDGs as a test bed for the present curtailment of NDGs. But it has become difficult now to preserve 6/1 GRs IDG content and sanctity as few IDGs meet the qualitative requirements even after lowering standards and fewer are willing to join. So the plan to fill up the NDG shortfall with IDGs is a non-starter as is the quixotic idea to replace NDG Battalions with IDGs.

As neither Nepal nor India has cared to call for talks on Agniveer, it is clear neither will blink. Both are reconciled to ending the special relationship. But it is India that needs the strategic cement to bind ties. On January 16, the Colonel of Gorkha Brigade, Lt General Ajai Kumar Singh who is also General Officer Commanding (GOC) in C Southern Command and has served in Nepal 25 years ago as Pension Paying Officer, is visiting Nepal as President of the Gorkha Brigade and will meet cabinet ministers and government officials besides ex-servicemen to try to break the impasse.

It is a stunning irony that just when India is celebrating the biopic Sam Bahadur on Field Marshal Manekshaw, who became a household name in India and Nepal owing to his bonding with Gorkhas, their downsizing and ultimate phasing out is becoming a reality.

By 2030, there will be no pure Gorkha battalions, and by 2037, none at all. Ending foreign recruitment will snap the strategic connect with the most crucially located neighbour while opening the door to China which has been seeking parity with India. It will create problems for Nepal, especially with cuts in remittances from India on salaries and pensions. Substantial loss in pensions will lead to disaffection in society and will lead to anti-India sentiment becoming a regular feature in India-Nepal relations which will never be the same.

Ashok K Mehta is a retired Lt General of the Gorkha Regiment, Indian Army & Columnist. He writes and speaks extensively on defence and strategic affairs. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
For days altogether, it has been drilled into us (the pious and the not-so-devout) that the Pran Pratishtha of the Ram Lalla idol in the garbhagriha of the still incomplete Ram Mandir is a great defilement. An act of impiety. Why? Because an idol can be installed supposedly only when work on the temple is entirely complete.

We are told the reason the Pran Pratishtha is happening now and not after the temple has a roof and a Kalash is because of PM Narendra Modis fear of electoral failure. That the Prime Minister, uncertain of his prospects in the Lok Sabha elections, wants to use the Ram Mandir as a political crutch to consolidate Hindu votes. And that, too, even if it means disrespecting ancient Hindu customs.

For this unimpaired insight, the defenders of the Hindu tradition must owe their gratitude to the venerable Uttarakhand Jyotish Peeth Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand. Speaking from his exalted position as pontiff of all things pious in Hinduism, his eminence the Shankaracharya has opined that a temple is the body of God, the temples peak represents Gods eyes and the kalash represents the head. The flag on a temple is Gods hair. It is not right to instil life (pran pratishtha) in the body without its head or eyes. This goes against our scriptures. Hence, I will not be going there because if I go there, people will say scriptures have been violated in front of me.

The Congress that wasnt exactly chomping at the bit to attend the Pran Pratishtha found the perfect excuse to bow out and target Modi. And it didnt hold pull its punches.

But it now turns out that the Shankaracharya may have been selective with the facts, and if not, then perhaps he was at the very least ignorant of the Somnath precedent. That precedent resides in the well-thumbed pages of the annals of the Somnath Temple Trust. The document details that even this great monument to the restoration of Hindu dignity was built in stages. Consequentially, the Shivlings Pran Pratishtha happened as soon as the garbhagriha was constructed. In fact, the temple was only fully completed 14 years later.

Lets go over an excerpt that tellingly states, On May 8, 1950, the foundation stone for Somnath temple was laid by Somnath trust chairman Jamsaheb Digvijaysinhji. The floor was made of stone and the sanctum sanctorum was constructed on top of it. On May 11, 1951 at 7:47 am, Shivalinga of Lord Somnath was consecrated by President Rajendra Prasad. Pandit Saraswati ji did Mahapooja. The Abhishek ceremony was done with water from 108 Teerths along with a 101 gun salute. The sky echoed with chants of Jai Somnath. Afterwards Somnath trust chairman, Maharaj Jamsaheb Digvijaysinhji guided the construction of the new temple. On May 13, 1965, construction of Sabha mandap and Shikhar was completed & Digvijaysinhji performed Maharudra yagna at 12:30 in the afternoon, after consecrating the Kalash, Digvijaysinhji hoisted the holy Kausheya flag.

Not leaving anything to chance this writer decided to look for corroboration and it came through the good offices of the chief architect of the Ram Mandir. Chandrakant Sompura confirmed the chronology of events at Somnath. He ought to know as his grandfather was the chief architect of the Somnath Temple.

The facts prompt many questions. Why did the Uttarakhand Shankaracharya oppose the Pran Pratishtha when no one ever complained that the installation of the Shivling in a yet-to-be completed Somnath temple was an act of impiety? Why did the Shankaracharya object to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), allegedly blurring the lines between politics and spirituality when his predecessor often conflated the two?

There are no simple answers, but it might have something to do with politics.

Indeed, the Shankaracharyas predecessor Swamy Swaroopananda was not well disposed towards PM Narendra Modi. As a long-time Congress party sympathizer, he would often criticise the Modi governments policies, even supporting candidates contesting against the BJPs poll mascot.

When Swaroopananda passed away, his successor Avimukteshwaranands elevation to the position of the Peeths head pontiff was opposed by the Niranjani Akhada. In fact, the Akhada succeeded in getting a court mandated stay on Avimukteshwaranands ascension.

The Niranjani Akhada has been reported to have come out in support of PM Modis work.

Is Avimukteshwaranand, one dare says, getting his back on Modi now?

While the Uttarakhand Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand has clearly decided to risk his credibility, its rather fool hardy of the Congress to have followed suit.

Has the Congress party made up its mind to risk the goodwill of the Hindu community by using flimsy pretexts to not attend the Pran Pratishtha? And if so, is it because of its over dependence on minority votes?
The wound of the Ram Janmasthan mandir is a long festering one for Hindus. While there are innumerable evidences, both literary and archaeological, of the presence of a temple below the so-called Babri masjid, the Left and Islamist historians have always hotly contested this fact, claiming that the existence and demolition of any such temple on the site prior to the building of the mosque is a complete myth.

As the day for Pran Pratishtha nears, giving shape to the dreams of millions of Hindus in India and worldwide, this article will take a brief look back at the debate of the Ram Janmasthan issue, and various evidences that were presented by experts like Harsh Narain, Abhas Chatterjee, BB Lal, Sita Ram Goel, Arun Shourie, etc. that proved the existence of a temple prior to the building of the mosque and clinched the case for the Hindus. That an 11th century CE temple was present at the site, before it was partly demolished and converted into a mosque, was a historically known fact acknowledged by all, before the post 1947 left-Islamists belonging to the JNU roll-call of historians turned it into a myth.

Before we go into the debate and evidences, it is necessary to look into the Muslim claim that Shariah does not allow the building of mosques on land illegally grabbed or acquired, using which it was claimed by the JNU coterie that it was impossible to have a temple below the Babri masjid. Muslim intellectuals (eg: Sayyid Shahabuddin Abdur Rahman, a historian) show to the non-Muslims a verdict of Shariah that as per theological-juristic rulings no mosque can be built on land grabbed or illegitimately acquired (check Fatawa-i Alamgiri, Vol. 16, p.214). The ground reality is however different, and the foot soldiers of Islam take a completely opposite path, following a Hadith verse on the same issue.

A closer analysis reveals that the Shariah verdict given above stands nullified for land acquired in Jihad, because the Prophet had clearly stated that all land belongs to God or the Prophet, and through the Prophet, to all Muslims (Bukhari, II, Kitab al-Jihad was-Sivar, Hadith 406). Iqbal puts this beautifully in a Persian verse: Har mulk mulk-i mast ki mulk-i Khuda-i mast. Translated it means: all land belongs to the Muslims, because it belongs to their God. Thus, jihad gives back to the Muslims what is rightfully theirs, and with this Hadith ruling, the Muslims feel they have the moral right to take away any land in jihad from non-Muslims. Thus, destroying a Hindu temple and building a mosque in its place is a possible act under the Hadith ruling, and has been taking place in India right from the start of Islamic invasions.

The following are the three core debates centring around the issue of a Hindu temple below the so called Babri masjid:

Ram and Ayodhya are fictional

Regarding Valmikis Ramayana, the left-Islamists at that time had claimed that Since this is a poem and much of it could have been fictional, including characters and places, historians cannot accept the personalities, the events or locations as historically authentic unless there is other supporting evidence regarded as more reliable by historians (refer A.R. Khans article In name of History, Indian Express, 25th February, 1990). Thus, attempts were made to cast aspersions on Ayodhyas association with Ram and turn it into a mythical thing. Doubts were also expressed about Ayodhyas location by the river Sarayu, and claims were made that Ayodhya was supposedly a city by the river Ganga, with evidences cited from few random texts.

The JNU nexus furthermore said that Ayodhya was previously known as Saketa and was an important centre of Jainism and Buddhism, and Ayodhyas fame as centre of Rams worship was only of recent origin, apparently starting from around 13th century with the rise of the Ramanandi sect. These claims were made despite the 7th century Chinese traveller Hsuan Tsang clearly stating in his travel records about existence of Hindu shrines in Ayodhya. The name Saketa was changed to Ayodhya by Skanda Gupta in late 5th century, to draw on the tradition of the Suryavanshi kings, a lineage to which Ram belonged. Thus, 1600 years back, a Gupta king renaming a town as Ayodhya, hoping to gain popularity, only shows the importance of Ayodhyas association with Ram, and the strong belief already entrenched in the minds of the common people about this association, as early as 5th century CE.

Temple never existed

The JNU historians, self-declared secular scholars, and politicians (Romila Thapar, Sarvepalli Gopal, Bipan Chandra, Harbans Mukhia, etc) at that time came up with the theory that existence and demolition of a temple at the janmasthan site was a myth/lie floated by the British in the 19th century following their divide and rule policy. Syed Shahabuddin and many other maulvis further added that Babar would never demolish a temple to build a mosque, as that would go against Shariah verdict, and would be demolished by the Muslims themselves. However, this was a blatant lie, and many independent Muslim sources clearly showed that the masjid had indeed been built over a destroyed temple.

One such source was a letter of application filed by Muhammad Ashgar on November 30, 1858, where the applicant requested to file legal proceedings against Bairagiyan-i janmasthan. Here the masjid was referred to as masjid-i janmasthan and the courtyard around it as maqam janmasthan ka. The letter also mentions that Hindus have been performing worship at this place for hundreds of years (refer: Harsh Narains article, Ram Janmabhoomi Temple: Muslim Testimony, Indian Express, 26 January 1990).

Now taking into context the inscription in the mosque that says Mir Baqi built the mosque in 1528 under Babars orders, along with this letter of application that mentions masjid-i janmasthan, it is quite clear that there was some earlier Hindu religious structure that was destroyed and converted into a mosque by Mir Baqi, and it was for that reason the Hindus clung on to it and offered worship for hundreds of years.

That the Hindus continued worshipping at the site even after the destruction has been documented by many foreign travellers, prior to the 19th century British creating Hindu-Muslim divide theory as floated by the Marxist historians.

In early 17th century, William Finch (1608-1611), an English traveller, wrote of Hindu presence at the site, while talking of Ramkot (Babri masjid-Ram mandir is within Ramkot), and described acts of worship and other religious rituals performed by the Hindus at the site. In mid-18th century an Austrian Jesuit priest Joseph Tieffenthaler, travelled Awadh between 1766 to 1771. In his travel diaries he described the presence of a vedi (crib for a newborn, referring to Vishnu born as Ram), 14 black carved temple pillars inside the mosque, Ramkot that was destroyed by Aurangzeb, and the destruction of a temple inside the premises of Ramkot over which was built a Mohammedan temple with three domes. Tieffenthaler further wrote that on the 24th of the month of Chait a gathering of the Hindus take place to celebrate the birthday of Ram, and this is famous across India.

In 1828, Walter Hamilton in his Gazetteer wrote about the large number of pilgrims who come to the site, and mendicants who walk around the various adjoining temples, bathe in holy waters, and perform various rituals at the site, which Hamilton described as the capital of the Great Ram.

Interestingly the 14 Hindu temple pillars inside the Babri masjid, seen by Tieffenthaler in the 17th century, on a closer inspection have revealed carvings at the base showing purna kalashas, held by four yakshas with overhanging creepers from which decorative lotuses rise up. On the octagonal sides of some of the pillars are carved apsaras/surasundaris standing in tribhanga pose, some of them being badly mutilated. During later excavations many more sculptures were found, which placed the site as being a Hindu temple originally.

The presence of a Janmasthan temple at Ramkot is found mentioned in the Sanskrit text Ayodhya Mahatmya, which is a part of Skanda Purana, and composed well before Babars invasion. It praises the sacredness of the site, terming it as the among the most sacred spots in Ayodhya, and gives the benefits of worshipping at the holy site especially on Ramnavami day. The other sacred sites named along with it, such as Goptarghat, Swargadwar, Maniparvat, etc are still present and much venerated sites.

Distorting the 1855 riot

Besides the facts that carved Hindu temple pillars were used for construction inside the mosque, with evidences of Hindus carrying on worship on the site even after the mosque was built, there are also records of riots over the site ownership, which again goes to prove the fact that the site was always a Hindu religious place, and to retain which Hindus have died fighting.

In 1855 a jihad was led by Amir Ali Amethawi during Wajid Ali Shahs reign to capture Hanuman garhi (just few yards away from Babri masjid). Here a Mirza Jan, who had taken part in the jihad and was an eye witness, tells us Wherever they found magnificent temples of the Hindus ever since the establishment of Sayyid Salar Masud Ghazis rule, the Muslim rulers in India built mosques, monasteries, and inns, appointed muazzins, teachers, and store-stewards, spread Islam vigorously, and vanquished the Kafirs. Likewise, they cleared up Faizabad and Avadh, too, from the filth of reprobation (infidelity), because it was a great centre of worship and capital of Rams father. Where there stood the great temple (of Ramjanmasthan), there they built a big mosque, and, where there was a small mandap (pavilion), there they erected a camp mosque (masjid-i mukhtasar-i qanati). The Janmasthan temple is the principal place of Rams incarnation, adjacent to which is the Sita ki Rasoi. Hence, what a lofty mosque was built there by King Babar in 923 A.H. (1528 A.D.), under the patronage of Musa Ashigan! The mosque is still known far and wide as the Sit ki Rasoi mosque. And that temple is extant by its side (refer: Narains article, Ram Janmabhoomi Temple: Muslim Testimony).

Regarding this 1855 riot, Carnegie s report (1870) and the old Oudh Gazetteer (1875) tell us that the Muslims started the riots with forced possession of the Janmasthan, followed by an attack on Hanumangarhi where they wanted to offer their namaz. The Hindus repelled them, counter-attacked and took back the Janmasthan at the third attempt, losing 11 of their men. Shah Ghulam Hussain, leader of the Muslim attackers, escaped with a few followers jumping over the walls of the Janmasthan leaving behind their 70-75 dead men.

H.R. Neville in his report (Faizabad District Gazetteer, 1905, p.168) tells us, The desecration of the most sacred spot in the city caused great bitterness between Hindus and Mussalmans. On many occasions the feeling led to bloodshed, and in 1855 an open fight occurred, the Mussalmans occupying the Janmasthan in force and thence making a desperate assault on the Hanuman Garhi. They charged up the steps of the temple but were driven back with considerable loss. The Hindus then made a counter-attack and stormed the Janmasthan at the gate of which 75 Mussalmans were buried, the spot being known as the Ganj Shaheedan or the martyrs resting place.

The JNU historians and Muslim scholars in their fanatic zeal to prove Babar had not destroyed any temple to build a mosque, not only distorted facts and argued using half-truths, they also tried turning Ram and Rams association with Ayodhya into a myth. At such time it were stalwarts like Sita Ram Goel, Harsh Narain, Abhas Kumar Chatterjee, Arun Shourie, Koenraad Elst, BB Lal, AR Khan, Rizwan Sultan, Ram Swarup, along with many others that stood their ground and proved that masjid-I janmasthan (Babri masjid) was indeed originally a Hindu temple, thus paving way for Ram to come back to his place of birth, and a grand pran pratishtha on January 22, 2024 in the newly built Ram mandir.

The author is a well-known travel and heritage writer. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
Maldivian President Mohammad Muizzu, known for his pro-China stand, assumed power in November last year, defeating the pro-India Solih government. Breaking the traditional norm whereby the newly elected President takes the first official overseas visit first to India, Muizzu visited Turkiye and then went for a five-day visit to China. Calling the communist nation, a valued ally and integral collaborator, Muizzu signed several agreements with China.

Muizzu, however, is not the first Maldivian President who is known for being pro-China. His earlier close associate Abdulla Yameen (2013-2018), too, exhibited a pro-China approach during his presidential tenure. The archipelago nation of 1,200 islands in the Indian Ocean saw a change in the government recently. This change naturally entails curiosity among countries with an interest in the Indian Ocean region as to what new policies and approach Male would adopt under the new leadership and how it would serve the island nation and its neighbours. It is predicted that Muizzus presidency, given his pro-China attitude, is likely to strengthen Chinas significance in the region. In this context, it is important to look into Chinas interest in Maldives.

Even though diplomatic relations between China and Maldives were officially established in 1972, Chinese involvement in the region, so far limited, has undergone a change during the last decade when it inaugurated its embassy in Maldives in 2011, while the latter was undergoing a democratic transition and political crisis. However, Beijings influence in Male rapidly strengthened when Abdulla Yameen assumed the presidency in 2013. The 2014 historic visit of Xi Jinping in Maldives paved the way for the signing of a joint agreementthe Maritime Silk Road (MSR)which also indicated Maldives entry into Chinas Belt and Road (BRI) initiative. Thus started Chinas investment in the archipelago nation, mainly in two sectorsinfrastructure and tourismto realise its aim of utilising the islands ports, given Maldives strategic position in the Indian Ocean region.

The Chinese investments witnessed its peak during Abdullah Yemens presidential tenure as the latter had an ambitious plan of expanding the size of the island. China assumed the position of Maldives biggest creditor and got involved in Chinese-funded projects in Maldives, prominent being the construction of 11,000 apartments ($549.9 million), electricity grid ($180.9 million) in Hulhumale and airport expansion ($ 421 million) serving Male and Hulhumale. A $210 million flagship project launched in 2015, known as China-Maldives Friendship Bridge, completed in 2018 was also majorly funded by China ($126 million) which also provided an additional $68 million concessionary loan. The confidentiality of the agreement of the flagship project raised concerns for Yameens successor Ibrahim Mohammad Solih government regarding the island nations debt to China as its Finance Ministry found out that Chinese loan provided mostly in the form of sovereign guarantees to Maldivian companies amounted to $935 million, in addition of $600 million directly owed to China. However, Chinese sovereign loans of $646 million to Maldivian state company Housing Development Corporation, responsible for Hulhumale development, raised the biggest concern for the clueless Solih government.

Under Yameens tenure, Maldives became a signatory of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Beijing in 2017, whereby both agreed a reduction of tariffs of over 95 per cent goods to zero and a commitment to boosting Maldives fishing industry. The real concern, however, is that the agreement was Yameens unilateral decision. No prior access was given to MPs of the 1000-page document for review, a move perceived by the then opposition as a compromise with sovereignty and towards a debt-trap with China. Ex-Maldivian President Mohammad Nasheed (2009-2012) also claimed that Maldives Chinese debt stood at $3.4 billion during Yameens tenure, which is over 70 per cent of its foreign debt. It soared to one-fifth of its GDP. This debt burden was later inherited by the Solih government. These debts included government-to-government loans, loans to state enterprises and Maldivian government-guaranteed private sector loans. Moreover, Nasheed opined that Chinese-funded projects costs were deliberately inflated on paper and only about a billion dollars were received in reality. This was naturally disputed by Beijing which claimed Nasheeds figure to be highly exaggerated . China continued to claim that Male owed Beijing about $1.1-1.4 billion. Considering Maldives GDP was around $5 billion during Yameens tenure, Beijings demand is quite significant.

The World Bank, in its October 2023 report, warned Maldives of repercussions the island nation would face by taking more loans from China as Male already owes the Asian giant $1.37 billion, the public debt share being 20 per cent. These investments on infrastructural projects also happen to be on islands which are popular tourist destinations.

In fact, in 2015 Yameen made a controversial constitutional amendment to overturn the prohibition on land ownership by foreigners and permitted foreigners to purchase land in Maldives only if they can invest more than $1billion, which critics claimed to benefit only China as it is the only country to possess both finance and land ownership experience. Chinese companies thus seem to receive 50-year lease on tourist destination islands at excessively cheap prices which were found to be dredged for possible military activities under the guise of commercial development.

Former Maldivian President Mohammad Nasheed has alleged Beijing of acquiring 17 northernmost atolls from Maldives at lower price for the development of these tourist sites while at the same time providing no clarity of its activities in the islands to Maldives local authorities. Yameens conviction on charges of corruption and money laundering tells of Chinas involvement in the rising corruption cases in the island nation. Yameens tenure saw a surge in corruption as per Transparency Corruption Index, especially in 2017 and 2018.

The current Maldivian President, Dr. Mohammad Muizzu who was the Interior and Housing Minister during the presidency of Abdullah Yameen, in 2021 was summoned by the Anti-Corruption Commission for questioning on the corruption cases during his ministerial ship. Earlier in 2019, Muizzu was probed in Noomadi case on accusation of giving false statements in the arbitration case against the Resort and Residences company. Given Chinas predominant investment in housing projects, building more than 10,000 housing units, the charges against Muizzu also reflect Chinese connection in Maldives corruption cases. During his previous Male city council mayor ship, Muizzu received gift of 3000 street lights from Beijing in 2022 and last year, with Chinas support, launched Smart Street Lights installation across Male city, equipped with free Wi-Fi, digital LED screens, speaker systems, CCTV cameras and anchoring sensors that can detect climate change. This, however, raised concern of possible mass surveillance and threat to public privacy, which only aggravated when Muizzu refused to disclose specifications of the street lights, and further expressed his intention of selling the Chinese-donated street lights in the market.

It remains to be seen how China-Maldives relations will unfold under President Muizzus tenure. The past tells that China has done more harm than good for the island nation when the leadership overtly took a pro-China approach. The previous Solih government has done much damage control to save Maldives from its Chinese debt trap as well as corruption seenYameens tenure. The apprehension now is that under Muizzu, given its pro-China stand, Maldives is going to fall into the verge of another debt trap by China, coupled with corruption, which might escalate into another political crisis in the island. Muizzus decision of revising the FTA is apprehended to be the first step towards that downfall.

The writer is an author and columnist and has written several books. His X handle is @ArunAnandLive. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
January is all about Ram and Nyay. It is going to be a defining month for both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc. In fact, the month is more significant and politically sensitive for the Oppositions coalition than it is for the BJP. The Pran Pratishtha of Ram Temple and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra are set to be major political events that will surely determine Indias course as the country readies for the crucial general election.

ALSO READ | Congresss Temple Turn: Wrath of Ram Devotees or Partys Pratishtha? Tough Choice for Leaders

With the INDIA bloc boycotting the Pran Pratishtha ceremony in Ayodhya early next week, Ram and Ram Temple have organically been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and BJP. Now, it is to be seen whether Rahul Gandhis Nyay Yatra will be able to occupy enough space and earn enough political currency to fight the Ram temple narrative.

NYAY YATRA, BUT NO SANDHI BANDHU

Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party colleagues, with the active support of the RSS, have successfully built an election narrative that is primarily revolving around Lord Ram and the temple, the INDIA bloc is still embroiled in regional rivalries, lack of consensus over seat-sharing and personal or political hatred among senior leaders.

The delay in decision making for seat-sharing or announcing the name of a national convener, regular disagreements on dates for ally-meetings or even for virtual meetings indicate how the coalition is still struggling to get on the election track.

ALSO READ | Rahul Gandhis Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra Reaches Nagaland

Four months ahead of the election, the decision of the Congress to take out a Bharat Yodo Nyay Yatra, from Manipur to Maharashtra shows that the grand old party is still working on its own and for its own sake. The skirmishes, disagreements and public spats between allies also reflect the lack of unity and will to start a united poll campaign across states.

A senior leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) said that the Congress is still going on its own trip. Why did they plan the Nyay Yatra as a Congress poll project? Why did they not consult the allies and make it an INDIA yatra? Had it been done it would have given a beautiful impression of unity among the allies. Instead, we are still disagreeing with each other over almost everything. Just a few months before the election, how a major alliance partner is holding a national poll campaign across states without even consulting its regional allies? Nyay Yatra without the Sandhi Bandhu," he asked.

IN THE NAME OF RAM

As the Opposition scrambles for a common agenda, PM Modi and his party are leaving no stone unturned.

In the run-up to the Pran Pratishtha ceremony, PMs visit to other Ram temples in the country, feeding a special breed of cow on the day of Makar Sankranti, his temple-cleaning pledge, his teary-eyed emotional speech for the temple and visuals of the PM chanting mantra have already established him as an unapologetic nationalist Hindu leader, who has an eye for development and reforms.

Meanwhile, his outreach to Muslims and Christians, holding meeting with spiritual leaders and intellectual personalities from both communities also reflect his efforts to represent his idea of inclusivity.

Unlike the last general elections, this election will not be fought over nationalism and Pakistan. This year, he has more things to showcase. The prime is of course Ram Temple in Ayodhya, which is a culmination of decades old temple movement by the RSS, Jan Sangh and later the BJP.

The abrogation of Article 370 and managing Jammu and Kashmir in a certain administrative way adds another feather in his cap. Replacing the colonial criminal-justice system with a new criminal code adds to his penchant for reforms.
In a major breakthrough for the Oppositions INDIA bloc, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress have forged an alliance for the upcoming Chandigarh mayoral polls.

Under the arrangement, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will fight for the mayors seat while the Congress will contest the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, according to senior Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal.

After announcing the alliance of his party with the AAP for the January 18 polls, Bansal said, This is the beginning of the end of the BJPs misrule in Chandigarh. Chandigarh Congress president H S Lucky said AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar Tita will contest the polls for the mayors post while Congress nominees Gurpreet Singh Gabi and Nirmala Devi will fight for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor respectively.

Congress candidate Jasbir Bunty has withdrawn his nomination for the mayors post, while AAP nominees Neha Musavat and Poonam have withdrawn their candidatures for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor respectively.

With the AAP and the Congress deciding on a tie-up for the Chandigarh mayoral polls, the contest is going to be two-way and observers believe that the two parties will have an edge over the BJP.

Speaking on the alliance with the Congress, the AAPs Chandigarh in-charge Jarnail Singh said, Together, we will easily win this election and finally, Chandigarh will have a mayor from a party other than the BJP. Singh said the mayoral polls will set an example that the AAP and the Congress together can defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

To end the dictatorship of the BJP, the AAP and the Congress have decided to fight this election together. The BJP has done nothing for the welfare of Chandigarh and its people but now, all of it will change. With the AAP mayor, Chandigarh will see new heights of development and public welfare projects, he said in a statement.

Chandigarh mayoral polls

In the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, the BJP has 14 councillors. It also has an ex-officio member MP who has voting rights.

The AAP has 13 councillors and the Congress seven. The Shiromani Akali Dal has one councillor in the House.

The polls for the posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor will be held on Thursday.

The mayor is elected by the councillors through secret ballots. Hence, the possibility of cross-voting cannot be ruled out.

The Congress abstained from voting in 2022 and 2023, leading to the BJPs victory in the mayoral polls.

Elections for the three posts are held every year during the five-year term of the House. This year, the mayors seat has been reserved for the Scheduled Caste (SC) category.

INDIA Bloc

The development came amid the two constituents of the INDIA bloc holding talks over seat sharing for this years Lok Sabha polls. But the state units of both parties in Punjab appear reluctant so far to make any concession to the other side.

The Congress and the AAP have been separately claiming that they will win all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday organised recitations of the Sunderkand in various assembly constituencies of Delhi.

While AAP minister Saurabh Bhardwaj participated in the event at Chirag Delhi, Greater Kailash, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with his wife participated in the one at the Balaji temple in Rohini. The AAPs move comes ahead of the grand pran pratishtha ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22. AAP MLA Somnath Bharti also participated in one such paath in the Hanuman Mandir, New Market, Malviya Nagar.

The chief minister reached a little after 3 pm and sat through the recitation of the entire Sunderkand. The recitation was also followed by a Havan in which Kejriwal and his wife participated. The chief minister was seen reading the text of the Sunderkand. This was followed by chanting of various mantras with prayers for the wellbeing of all. The Sunderkand paath ended with Bhimsen Joshis mile sur mera tumhara toh sur banege humara, which was a a rage during the 1990s on public broadcaster Doordarshan. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak, MLAs Rajesh Rishi were among the others who were present. AAP Rithala MLA Mahindar Goyal was also present with his wife at the Balaji temple in Rohini. The programme saw a robust attendance of people  primarily women from nearby areas.

It is our resolve (sankalp) that on the first Tuesday of every month, we will organise the recitation of Sunderkand. With this (Sunderkand paath), everyone will progress, will get peace and happiness, Delhi will be filled with auspicious vibrations. We will get the blessings of Hanuman ji and Prabhu Shri Ram, Kejriwal said, ending the address with chants of Jai Bajrangbali and Jai Siyaram.

AIMIM leader Assaduddin Owaisi had earlier posted on X: Chhota recharge of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has decided that Sunderkand paath will be recited in every assembly constituency of Delhi on the first Tuesday of every month. This decision was taken because of the inauguration (of the Ram temple) on the 22nd. Let me remind you that these people had maintained silence on the issue of Bilkis Bano and had said that they want to talk on issues of health and education only. Is Sunderkand paath part of education or health? The real issue is that they are far from issues of justice. They are supporting the agenda of the sangh fully. We are expected not even to raise the issue of the Babri masjid. And you, will keep talking on issues of justice, brotherhood etc and yet strengthen the forces of Hinduvta ! Wow!

Asked to respond , AAP MP Raghav Chadha refused to comment. Instead, he said that Kejriwal was a great devotee of Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman and begins all important tasks by invoking their blessings. He also said that as Shravan Kumar of Delhi, the chief minister has enabled various people of Delhi to embark on pilgrimages. Chadha declined to respond specifically to Owaisis post. He also did not respond to the comment of Anurag Thakur.

The BJP also targeted the AAP with the imposter syndrome, with BJP leaders targeting the Delhi CM for changing stand on the Ayodhya Ram Temple.

BJP leader and Union Minister Meenakashi Lekhi said, Arvind Kejriwal is the same person who once said Ram temple should not be built, this is Babri Masjid. I would like to remind them, that since 1858, more than five lakh people have lost their lives to reclaim the temple and get it reconstructed Those who opposed the construction of Ram temple, today are organising Sunderkand Paath They can see the whole country is soaked in spiritual fervour, so they have tried to soak themselves in the colours of Lord Ram. If it were Babris turn, they would have been dancing to the tunes of Babar

However, Kejriwal has declared himself to be a Hanuman bhakt, who is inspired by lord Ram and wants to work towards establishing a Ram Rajya in Delhi. Clearly, the AAP does not want the BJP to monopolise the majoritarian sentiment of Hindus or alienate them.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday predicted that the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) will emerge as the single-largest party in the upcoming Lok Sabha 2024 elections. He, however, said the BJP can be stopped from achieving the feat by significantly bringing down its seat tally and forcing its allies to lose confidence in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

According to a PTI report, speaking at the Kerala Literature Festival in a session, India: The Future is Now, Tharoor said the BJPs numbers can be brought down to stop it from forming a government.

I still expect that the BJP will emerge as the single-largest party. But I do believe their numbers can be brought down to a level where their potential allies required to form a government may no longer be willing to ally with them and may be willing to ally with us. So we have to give it a try, the former Union minister said.

Tharoor further said defeats in certain seats can be avoided if the INDI bloc reaches a seat-sharing agreement with its allies in sufficient states.

Thats the best thing they can do, and if it so happens, and there is enough divergence of views, maybe the BJP candidate will win. But thats democracy in our first-past-the-post system, he added.

The Congress leader further stated that in Kerala, it was not possible for the CPI(M) and the Congress to agree to a seat-sharing agreement.

In Kerala, it is almost impossible to imagine the two major opponents here of the INDIA alliance, namely the CPI(M) and the Congress, ever agreeing on seat-sharing, but right next door in Tamil Nadu, the CPI, CPI(M), Congress and DMK are all allied together and there is no debate, no dispute. They already fought the last election together. They are likely to fight this one too, he said.

The INDIA alliance has had seat-sharing talks in several states recently. On Saturday, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge was selected as the chairperson of the alliance after Nitish Kumar refused to become the convenor.

As many as 28 opposition parties have come together under the banner of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) to take on the BJP and defeat it in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

(With PTI inputs)
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday hit out at PM Narendra Modi for sleeping on the issues concerning the state and alleged that the Centre has neglected the aspirations of Kannadigas.

In a post on micro-blogging site X, the Chief Minister accused the Prime Minister of being awake for his personal PR and dozing off when it comes to the matter related to Karnataka.

When the Prime Minister dozes, the nation loses! Narendra Modi is always awake for his personal PR & BJPs campaign, but is always seen sleeping on issues concerning Karnataka, he said.

Siddaramaiah uploaded a morphed image of Modi taking a nap on a chair with a caption that read Karnataka endures it worst drought in 47 years, suffers Rs 30,000 crore loss. Instead of addressing Karnatakas plight, PM is sleeping tight.

The post on X also read, A stark reality in Karnataka, where central funds are reduced or denied, aspirations of Kannadigas neglected, relief funds from Union govt yet to reach the farmers.

His (Modis) mantra? Ignore. Neglect. Sleep. Repeat! BJP MPs mantra? Maintain silence. Fan Modi. Betray Kannadigas. Allow Modi to Sleep Peacefully. Repeat! Wake up, Mr Prime Minister! Time to ensure the rightful share of Karnataka! Siddaramaiah said. Another post A glimpse of @narendramodi, smiling in his sleep, while giving sleepless nights to Kannadigas, had the image of Prime Minister with a caption Vital projects like Upper Krishna & Mahadayi left high and dry. While Karnataka thirsts for action, PM naps on solutions.

Siddaramaiah also took a dig at Modi, saying he sleeps when asked about the corruption committed by BJP leaders. The caption read, Rs 40,000 crore COVID-19 irregularities. Rs 45 masks sold for Rs 485. It a time of masks and fears, PMs response disappears.Contractor coerced for bribes by BJP minister forced to commit suicide. A life in despair, PMs response lost in thin air, the post showed PM sleeping on the table.

The Chief Ministers jibe at Modi comes days after BJP posted similar content on X showing Siddaramaiah sleeping.The BJP Karnataka unit had posted an image of the Chief Minister with a caption, which said Siddaramaiah is sleeping in the face of farmers suicides, government transportation stalled, frequent power cuts, severe drought, declining startup funding and Foreign Direct Investment inflow, deteriorating law and order and corporates turning away.

Their mantra? Loot. Ruin. Sleep. Repeat! Once a thriving Karnataka has become a night-time lullaby under this #sleepingsarkar. Wake up, Mr CM! Time to put this nightmare to bed! the party had said in the post.
The Congress should not have shunned the Pran Pratishtha or consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22 as it is not a political event, former Union minister Milind Deora who recently exited the party told News18 in an exclusive interview.

Deora, former Mumbai South MP, resigned from the primary membership of the Congress on Sunday morning, ending his familys 55-year-old association" with the grand old party. Hours later, he joined the Shiv Sena at the official residence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Deora later posted a statement on his social media account on X (formerly Twitter) listing reasons for quitting Congress.

As my valued voters, supporters & well-wishers, it is my duty to explain why I have chosen to depart from @INCIndia & align myself with @Shivsenaofc under the leadership of @mieknathshinde Ji. pic.twitter.com/Dj575Z1t8P Milind Deora |    (@milinddeora) January 14, 2024

In his first comments on the Congress controversially skipping the historic Ram Temple inauguration on January 22, Deora told News18 the party has lost cultural connect with the people of India".

The Congress has certainly lost its cultural connect with the people of India. In my opinion, the Ram Temple inauguration is the issue which has been settled after 500 years by the Supreme Court of India. This issue is not a political event. Its not an event for the Hindu community or the Muslim community. It is an event for the world. Its an event for humanity. The story of Ramayana transcends religion. It transcends nationality. You can argue it transcends even species. Its a spiritual story. Its a moral story. I dont know why the party did what it did," Deora said.

He also criticised the Congress for not understanding the aspirations of young India", and said he had failed to convince the party on it. Economically, India is changing today. Indians are aware. Common people, whether they are highly educated or not highly educated, know whats happening. Everyone has a smartphone. Everyone has an internet connection. Everyone has WhatsApp. Everyone has YouTube. Everyone has access to information. People are aware of whats happening around the world. People have aspirations. People want to do some things. People want India to move forward. The Congress should have aligned with those aspirations with a more constructive agenda," he said.

Deora added that he was also unable to convince the Congress leadership that it should not deviate from its core stand on issues like Uniform Civil Code and Article 370.

I was unable to convince the powers that be that the Congress should maintain its stand on certain issues. It shouldnt deviate from its core ideology. UCC, Article 370 these are the issues that the Congress espoused back in the day and look at where the party has moved today."

Milind Deora, son of Congress veteran late Murli Deora, was said to be upset since Congresss ally Shiv Sena-UBT staked a claim on the Mumbai South parliamentary constituency for the upcoming elections.

Deora was elected to Lok Sabha from Mumbai South in 2004 and 2009. He lost in 2014 and 2019 to Arvind Sawant who contested as a Shiv Sena (undivided) candidate on both occasions.

While admitting that his decision to part ways with Congress is deeply emotional, Deora has stated that he aspires to collaborate with a leader who values constructive ideas, acknowledges his credentials and aims to leverage his abilities in Parliament for the progress of the nation and state.

Eknath Shinde ji believes in my potential and embodies the belief that hard work can achieve the impossible," he said.
Taking a leaf out of the book of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has said in many BJP meetings recently that the only caste one needs to focus on in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections is GYAN (Gareeb Yuva Ananadata and Mahila), the party after reaching out to the youth and women through various programmes will now have a special focus on rural voters, especially the poor, sources have told CNN-News18.

The initiative Go to the villages is expected to start around the end of this month. This gram parikrama (visit to villages) will focus on reaching out to all potential voters across every village in rural India. The drive, which is expected to go on for nearly two months, will see BJP leaders reaching out to at least five to eight villages each day in every district. The attempt is to cover close to 1.4 lakh villages across the country.

Ministers, MPs, MLAs, state leaders, and office bearers of the party will knock on every door possible, to explain to the people the work that has been done for the upliftment of the rural regions by Prime Minister Narendra Modis central government.

Leaders will hold chaupals and interesting campaigns using technology, street corner meetings, etc, including spending a night in the villages to understand the challenges faced by rural India, a source aware of the plans told CNN-News18.

Not only will the leaders who go on the ground check for possible beneficiaries who have not availed of central schemes so far, but also understand from them and get feedback on how to make these programmes more effective and implementable, said another source.

The message that will go on to the ground is that this is a government that has worked tirelessly for the poor and marginalised by introducing schemes like Swachh Bharat Mission, Ayushman Bharat Yojana, Pradhan Manri Ujjwala Yojana, etc.

A recent NITI Aayog report revealed that 24.82 crore people escaped multidimensional poverty in the last nine years. Findings of the discussion paper Multidimensional Poverty in India since 2005-06 give credit for this remarkable achievement to significant initiatives of the government to address all dimensions of poverty between 2013-14 and 2022-23.

According to the discussion paper, India has registered a significant decline in multidimensional poverty from 29.17% in 2013-14 to 11.28% in 2022-23, i.e., a reduction of 17.89 percentage points. Uttar Pradesh registered the largest decline in the number of poor with 5.94 crore people escaping multidimensional poverty during the last nine years, followed by Bihar at 3.77 crore, Madhya Pradesh at 2.30 crore, and Rajasthan at 1.87 crore.
The INDIA bloc will sweep the Chandigarh municipal polls and the win will be the curtain raiser for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, AAP leader and Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha said on Tuesday.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress  both INDIA bloc members  forged an alliance on Monday for the January 18 mayoral polls in the Union Territory.

Chadha told a press conference here that he was sure that the INDIA bloc will defeat the BJP in the elections in Chandigarh.

The Chandigarh municipal polls will be the first big face-off between the BJP and the INDIA bloc. It will set the tone for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he said.

The MP said that this election is going to change the picture and direction of politics in the country. The INDIA bloc will contest the Chandigarh municipal elections with full strength and register a historic and decisive victory. This victory will not be limited to Chandigarh, but will extend from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Manipur to Mumbai, Chadha said.

The scorecard after the Chandigarh mayoral elections will be 1-0 in favour of the INDIA bloc. Whenever Team INDIA (bloc) has faced off with any other team, the people of the country have always ensured that team INDIA (bloc) wins, he asserted.

Under the alliance arrangement for the mayoral elections, the AAP will fight for the mayors seat while the Congress will contest the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. The INDIA bloc was formed by opposition parties, including the Congress, the AAP, the TMC and the Samajwadi Party, to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.

During the press conference, Chadha was also asked about the Enforcement Directorates summons to Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal for appearing before the agency on January 18.

Kejriwal is consulting his lawyers on the matter, Chadha said.

After he failed to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Kejriwal has been summoned for the fourth time in less than three months by the agency for questioning on January 18 in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case. The 55-year-old leader had refused to depose before the ED for the third time on January 3, citing Rajya Sabha polls and Republic Day preparations.

Kejriwal had also questioned the motive behind the EDs actions, citing legal objections to the summons and accusing the agency of assuming the role of judge, jury and executioner.
Rahul Mamkootathil, Kerala state president of Youth Congress, currently in jail for his involvement in a protest march to the Secretariat that turned violent last month, has been arrested again by the police investigating the case, police said on Tuesday.

According to an officer from the Thiruvananthapuram Cantonment police station, Mamkootathil is now facing charges in three additional cases related to the march.

These cases involve incidents such as the damages of police vehicles during the protest, the officer said.

Currently held at Poojappura Central prison, Mamkootathil is expected to be brought before court on Tuesday.

This development occurred as a local court was set to consider his bail plea on Wednesday regarding the cases filed against him in connection with the clashes during the Secretariat march.

The march, organised last month, aimed to draw attention to the alleged attacks of Youth Congress workers by police and workers of the youth outfit of the ruling CPI(M) during the state governments Nava Kerala Sadas programme led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress (TMC) Chief Mamata Banerjee will on January 22  the day of Ayodhya Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha  visit Kalighat Mandir for a pujo, from where she will head to Hazira for a Sarba Dharm rally, taking along people from all communities and religious places. The rally will end at Park Circus Maidan.

I will hold a rally on January 22. I will perform Kali Pujo in Kalighat and then with people of all religions will join my rally upto Park Circus. This is my partys program and any common person can come and join us. On that day, block-wise rallies will be held across Bengal with one theme  all religions are equal. People across religions and communities will be present at the rally, she said.

According to party insiders, Banerjee is clearly trying to give a message of communal harmony on the day of inauguration of the temple.

Projecting the Pran Pratishtha as a political gimmick, she said, The Metro rail has asked the WB government to relocate the skywalk for Metro expansion. The skywalk is a bridge through which pilgrims can reach Dakhineswar directly. I protested saying I will not relocate the skywalk. We built skywalk for pilgrims, but we did not do pran pratishtha because only priests can do it.

BJPs Amit Malviya posted on X: On the auspicious 22nd Jan 2024, when Bharat will be witnessing Pran Pratistha at Ram Mandir in Ayodhyadham, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, in brazen disregard of Hindu sentiments, has announced Sarba Dharm rally, a political program in Kolkata and at blocks across Bengal.This is nothing but preparing ground for communal confrontation(s) on a day when Hindus will be fasting, observing rituals and visiting Temples. Everyone has seen how she allowed Ramanavami Shobha Yatras across Bengal to be stone pelted, when no such incident occurred during Hanumanotsav, just six days later, when central forces were deployed. We saw how sadhus were lynched in Purulia, just last week, while a criminal like Sheikh Shahjahan continues to abscond.

Mamata Banerjee should avoid stoking communal tension for political gains and reconsider her decision to hold political program(s) on the 22nd Jan. Law and order of the state is her responsibility and she alone will be responsible for any untoward incident(s) on that day.
Apple Watch sales were banned in the US recently as the company was battling a patent case with Masimo in its home market. In fact, the latest Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 were taken off the shelves in the region because of the ongoing case. But it seems Apple has finally found a work around to the case and soon it will be able to sell the Apple Watch models without fearing any further actions.

However, Apple will have to sacrifice one of the important health features which could make it less of a sell for iPhone users. The company has managed to convince the US Customs that disabling the blood oxygen sensor on Apple Watch via a software update will make it possible for the wearable to be sold in the country.

As per the patent case, it was suggested that Apple would have to make serious hardware changes to comply with the orders and open to selling the smartwatch but it seems the new move is enough to get the Apple Watch models back on shelf once again.

It must be said that the ban is currently not applicable as people are able to buy Apple Watches in the US thanks to the companys appeal against the ban order. But experts pointed out that unless Apple makes some changes, the ban will be reinstated anytime.

Removing the blood oxygen sensor will take care of those concerns and Apple will be able sell the Watches without any further restrictions. Having said that, the company will have to make sure that people dont try to import Apple Watches from other countries where the ban isnt in effect, but if they decide to use it in the US, the feature will have to be locked in the country.

It is interesting to see a giant like Apple being forced into making drastic changes to comply with the law, even if it is limited to one region. But the fact that the US government didnt cave into the companys demands suggests it will not toe the line of the law if someone really is found guilty of any wrongdoing, which Apple seems to have admitted to in this case.
HONG KONG: Technology company Baidu on Monday refuted a newspaper report that said its artificial intelligence chatbot Ernie was linked to Chinese military research.

Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post on Friday cited an academic paper from a university affiliated with the Peoples Liberation Army cyberwarfare division. The paper stated that the division had tested its artificial intelligence system on Baidus Ernie and on artificial intelligence firm iFlyTeks Spark, both of which are language-based AI chatbots similar to ChatGPT.

After its Hong Kong-listed stock plunged more than 11.5% Monday, Baidu denied the allegations, saying in a statement that it had not engaged in a business collaboration with the paper's authors or their affiliated institutions.

Ernie Bot is available to and used by the general public, the Chinese company said in its statement.

The academic paper from the PLA Information Engineering University detailed how researchers had given Ernie Bot prompts to generate simulated military response plans for Libyan troops in response to a U.S. military attack.

Baidu said that if the authors employed large language models such as Ernie Bot, they would have used the functions available to any user interacting with such AI tools.

Like ChatGPT, users can pose questions or requests to Ernie Bot, which would then generate content based on the initial prompt. Like many other internet services in China, Ernie Bot is also subject to censorship rules and will not answer questions deemed politically sensitive or taboo by the Chinese government.

The South China Morning Post report initially described a physical link between Ernie and the PLA division. The reference has since been amended to say that the PLA lab had tested its system on Baidus AI model.

The plunge in Baidus stock price underscored fears from investors that Chinese technology firms linked to the Chinese military or government could be sanctioned by the U.S. in a similar fashion to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, which the U.S. sees as an espionage risk.

Relations between China and the U.S. have declined in recent years over disagreements on trade, technology and issues related to Taiwan, a self-ruled island and U.S. ally that China regards as a renegade province to be taken by force if necessary.

Baidu, which operates Chinas leading search engine and is one of the countrys leading artificial intelligence firms, made Ernie Bot available to the public in August 2023 amid a race among Chinese technology firms to produce Chinas ChatGPT equivalent.

The Beijing-headquartered firm said in December that it had more than 100 million users for Ernie Bot.
Remember Microsoft Bing Chat, the companys own GPT-powered AI bot? It was rebranded as Microsoft Copilot some time ago, and now, the technology giant has announced Copilot Pro, a new subscription that gives users access to the most advanced features of Copilot AI. Copilot Pro costs $20 per month per user, and users can now actively subscribe to it.

Microsoft states that Copilot Pro will assist users with writing, research, coding, and even learning. It comes with a set of exclusive features that are not available in the free version.

Microsoft Copilot Pro: Heres Whats New

For starters, with Copilot Pro, all users will be able to access Copilot inside the Microsoft Office suite of appsWord, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote on PC. Notably, these features were already available for Business users since November, but now, individuals, too, can use them. However, just the Copilot Pro subscription wont be enough. You will need to be subscribed to Office 365 Personal or Family, and have access to the aforementioned Office apps.

Further, Copilot Pro users will receive priority access to the latest OpenAI models. This includes OpenAI GPT-4 Turbo, which will provide users with faster performance even during peak times. Microsoft will also soon open up the ability to toggle between modes, allowing users to choose between the free version and the Pro version.

Copilot Pro also provides improved AI image creation with Image Creator from Designer, and now you can perform 100 boosts per day while delivering higher quality and images in landscape orientation as well. Do note that that regular users are limited to just 15 boosts per day.

Microsoft notes that users will have a single AI experience across devices, whether on a smartphone or on the web. The company regards it as a premium subscription that provides users with a higher tier of service for AI capabilities. In many respects, it is comparable to OpenAIs ChatGPT Plus, but Microsoft has the advantage of being able to easily integrate models like GPT-4 Turbo into applications like Excel and Word, creating more use cases for the AI.
Passengers in India have been experiencing inconvenience due to numerous flight delays in recent weeks, primarily attributed to fog and adverse weather conditions. Many of them even called out airlines for communication delays, refunds and rescheduling issues, and poor service. Contrary to this, a passenger recently took to X to share about how Vistara Airlines managed a six-hour delay with impressive professionalism. An X user Akshay Chaturvedi praised Vistara Airlines for communicating all delays and developments clearly. He added that out of six hours of delay, three hours were spent inside the plane. The airline staff made sure that the plane ventilation and AC were working properly and ran food and refreshment services for close to an hour.

https://twitter.com/Akshay001/status/1746495231892103576

He wrote, My @airvistara flight today was 6 hrs late, of which over 3 hrs were inside the plane waiting on the runway. BUT, the way they handled the mini-crisis was super incredible! First, 100/100 on honest communication, whats in their hands and whats not, apologising profusely, smile on their face. Second, ACs / ventilation etc on throughout, not even for a second trying to cut corners from what their standard brand experience is. Third, timed this so to say plane-trap pretty well; food service ran for 45 mins to an hour, then some external safety drill, then something else .. passengers start getting frustrated when they see inaction but this was the simple Indian show-honest-effort-hack .. ki kuch toh chal raha hai yaar, koshish kar rahe hain Never easy being on the other side. Shoutout to Shreshtha, Nikitha, Jyoti on the UK 963 today, you folks are true rockstars.

Commenting on this post, another X user praised Vistara Airlines and wrote, @airvistaras crew is just the best! I flew from Blr to Hyd on Saturday and our flight faced a delay of 45 mins in Blr due to fog. The way the captain explained the whole situation, apologized for no fault of hers, and reducing the delay from 45 mins to 20 mins in this flight.

An X user praised Chaturvedi for crediting the airline staff as their actions often go unappreciated and wrote, At least someone is there to understand & share the other side of the story  Being empathetic & grounded are some of the trait of a right leader.

Another person wrote, Enjoy it while it lasts. Theyre merging it with Air India and the only worthwhile brand we had will be gone. It should have been the other way around as Vistara is such a great brand compared to the parent. No expectations from Air India until 2030.

This incident made headlines after a video of a passenger assaulting an IndiGo flight pilot went viral on social media.
Republican voters in the US heartland state of Iowa on Monday gathered in school gyms, fire houses and churches to cast the first ballots in the 2024 White House race.

Donald Trump, the frontrunner for his partys nomination, is expected comfortably to see off a challenge from former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the first nominating test ahead of the November election.

Iowa Republicans kicked off the nominating contests for Novembers US presidential election in an Arctic blast Monday as Donald Trumps rivals bid to confound polling by giving the runaway favorite a competitive race.

Bundled up residents shuffled into more than 1,600 voting locations which opened at 7:00pm (0100 GMT), launching a blockbuster evening that presents the sternest test yet of Trumps promise to ride a year of enormous polling leads to a stunning White House return.

But the Hawkeye State is anticipating its coldest ever caucuses, with wind chills of -40 degrees (Fahrenheit and Celsius) forcing candidates to cancel events at the last minute and aides to fret over turnout.

Barring an unprecedented polling failure, Trump expects to be able to lock in victory with an earlier announcement than usual as he leads former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by almost 30 points.

The margin of the ex-presidents victory is likely to be the only unknown quantity, and the tycoons team has been lowering expectations, telling reporters a 12-point win would make for a good night.

Brave the weather, go out and save America, Trump beseeched supporters at his only rally on Sunday.

Iowa accounts for less than two percent of the delegates awarded nationwide in the process to pick a party flagbearer, so a big night by no means guarantees success in the rest of the nominating season.

Well-oiled

But a strong showing is essential for candidates hoping for a springboard to New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, and plenty of promising campaigns have crashed and burned in the frigid Upper Midwest.

The Trump machine looks much more well-oiled than it did when the former reality TV star lost in 2016, with boots on the ground across the state.

The candidate himself was off the trail in the final week, however, as he made voluntary appearances in some of the many court cases making his tilt at the White House a campaign like no other in history.

Hes running a campaign about putting himself and his issues first. Thats what he cares about, DeSantis said in an interview with ABC.

You can be the most worthless Republican in America but if you kiss the ring, hell say youre wonderful.

Iowa is critical for DeSantis, who has bet all his chips on a strong ground operation, shifting significant resources to the state and spending months wooing voters in all 99 counties.

Analysts say anything short of a second-place finish would be disastrous for the hard-line conservative, yet the influential final Des Moines Register Iowa poll out Saturday showed Haley beating him by four points.

The surging Haley has tried to downplay expectations in Iowa and says she is looking simply for a strong performance ahead of the primary next Tuesday in her preferred state of New Hampshire.

Target

She has repeatedly touted her electability over Trump, pointing to the chaos of his criminal cases and reminding Iowans that Republicans have lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections.

But the other camps have questioned the commitment of her supporters  especially given the weather  after the Iowa poll found that just nine percent feel extremely enthusiastic about her candidacy.

I think weve always had a target on our back because weve been the one moving up, everybody else is going down and thats a great thing, Haley told Fox News.

Caucuses  a quirk of the US election calendar  are town hall-style meetings involving speeches and debate that a handful of states stage instead of the regular primary votes.

Armies of volunteers have fanned out through Iowa in recent weeks, knocking on doors or manning phone banks, while candidates dominated the air waves with talk show appearances and a relentless barrage of campaign ads.

The caucuses feature some low-polling candidates too, including biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson.

Caucuses also are being held by Iowas Democrats, along with voting by mail until March, with President Joe Biden facing two challengers but no serious threat.
Kim Jong Un threatened South Korea with war if even 0.001 mm of the Norths territory is violated, as Pyongyang abolished agencies that oversaw cooperation and reunification, state media said Tuesday.

The North Korean leader also said Pyongyang would not recognise the two countries de facto maritime border, the Northern Limit Line, and called for constitutional changes allowing the North to occupy Seoul in war, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

In Seoul, President Yoon Suk Yeol told his cabinet that should the nuclear-armed North carry out a provocation, South Korea would hit back with a response multiple times stronger, pointing to his militarys overwhelming response capabilities.

The hawkish rhetoric on both sides of the border follows a sharp deterioration of inter-Korean ties in recent months, with Pyongyangs November spy satellite launch prompting Seoul to partially suspend a 2018 military agreement aimed at defusing tensions.

Pyongyangs decision to jettison the agencies charged with overseeing cooperation and reunification with the South was announced by the Norths rubber-stamp parliament, KCNA said, part of a string of recent measures that have escalated tensions, including live-fire artillery drills and missile launches.

In a speech delivered at the Supreme Peoples Assembly, Kim called for drawing up new legal measures to define South Korea as the most hostile state, KCNA reported.

In my opinion, we can specify in our constitution the issue of completely occupying, subjugating and reclaiming the ROK (Republic of Korea) and annex it as a part of the territory of our Republic in case a war breaks out on the Korean peninsula, Kim said.

If the Republic of Korea violates even 0.001 mm of our territorial land, air and waters, it will be considered a war provocation, he said.

Principal enemy

The decision comes shortly after Kim labelled South Korea the principal enemy and stated that continuing to seek reconciliation was a mistake.

In their constitutions, both North and South Korea claim sovereignty over the whole of the peninsula.

The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea and Republic of Korea  the North and Souths official names  were founded 75 years ago but still technically regard each other as illegal entities.

Until now, what passed for diplomatic relations was handled by Seouls Unification Ministry and Pyongyangs Committee for Peaceful Reunification  one of the agencies the Supreme Peoples Assembly has now declared abolished.

The two most hostile states, which are at war, are now in acute confrontation on the Korean peninsula, the decision adopted by the assembly said, according to KCNA.

The reunification of Korea can never be achieved with the Republic of Korea, it added.

Analysts said Kims shift in approach to the South was reckless and a rejection of years of official state policy.

For decades, North Korea has been telling its people that the completion of the revolution was reunification and that Kim Il Sungs wish was reunification, said Cho Han-bum, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, referring to the countrys founding leader and Kims grandfather.

Now (Kim Jong Un) is denying everything that his predecessors have done, he told AFP.

Weapons tests

At Pyongyangs year-end policy meetings, Kim threatened a nuclear attack on the South and called for a build-up of his countrys military arsenal ahead of armed conflict he warned could break out any time.

On Sunday, the North launched a solid-fuel hypersonic missile, just days after Pyongyang staged live-fire exercises near the countrys tense maritime border with South Korea, which prompted counter-exercises and evacuation orders for some border islands belonging to the South.

Kim also successfully put a spy satellite into orbit late last year, after receiving what Seoul said was Russian help, in exchange for arms transfers for Moscows war in Ukraine.

Traditional allies Russia and North Korea have boosted ties recently, with Kim making a rare overseas trip to see President Vladimir Putin in Russias far east in September.

On Monday, a North Korean government delegation headed by Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui arrived in Moscow for an official visit, KCNA reported.
Former US President Donald Trump on Tuesday praised his fellow Republican Vivek Ramaswamy after the latter dropped out of the US presidential race in 2024, saying he did a hell of a job.

The development came after Trump scripted a landslide victory in the Iowa caucuses, confirming his status as the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination to challenge Democrat Joe Biden in the November election.

The 77-year-old Republican won the Iowa caucuses by registering 51 per cent of the votes with Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida securing a critical but distant second-place finish in the contest that took place amidst blistering cold.

Iowa is the first of the state-by-state contests where Republican Party voters pick their candidate for the November 5 presidential election in the United States.

Trump Wins Iowa Caucuses

Trumps victory was the largest margin in the history of Iowas Republican presidential caucuses, easily surpassing the previous winning margin of 12.8 per cent set in 1988 by the late Senator Bob Dole.

With about 94 per cent of the results that have been recorded, CNN reported that Trump will receive 20 of Iowas 40 delegates. DeSantis is estimated to get eight delegates, Haley to get seven delegates and Vivek Ramaswamy will receive two delegates. There are 3 delegates unallocated.

There are a total of 2,429 delegates up for grabs in the Republican primary season. A candidate needs the backing of at least 1,215 delegates to win the nomination.

Thanking the great people of Iowa, Trump said it would be so nice if we could come together and straighten up the problems of the world. Its going to happen soon, he said, amidst cheers from his supporters.

Trump Praises Ramaswamy

Trump also sought to patch things up with Ramaswamy and said, He did a hell of a job. He came from zero, and he has a big per cent.

Out of the total votes, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis came in second with 21.2 per cent of the votes polled, as against 51 per cent by Trump. Indian-American former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley came a close third with 19.1 per cent of the votes polled.

Meanwhile, 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur Ramaswamy suspended his presidential campaign following his poor showing in the Iowa Caucus and announced his endorsement of its winner Trump. Ramaswamy was a distant fourth with 7.7 per cent of the votes polled.

I looked at every which way, and I think its true that we did not achieve the surprise that we wanted to deliver tonight As of this moment, we are going to suspend this presidential campaign. There is no path for me to be the next president, Ramaswamy said in the Iowa as the results of the Republican presidential caucus came in.

The Iowa Caucus formally kicked off the 2024 race to the White House. Former President Trump won the Iowa Caucus, consolidating his place to bag the partys nomination for the November presidential elections to challenge incumbent Joe Biden.

(With inputs from PTI)
Iran on Tuesday launched attacks in Pakistan targeting what it described as bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl.

Missiles and drones were used in the attack on Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni militant group which largely operates across the border in nuclear-armed Pakistan, as per state-run IRNA news agency.

Jaish al-Adl is a Sunni militant group operating across the border in nuclear-armed Pakistan.

Jaish al-Adl

Jaish al-Adl is a Sunni Salafi separatist militant organization operating mainly in southeastern Iran, having a concentration of Sunni Baluchis and a porous border with Pakistan.

The group, formed in 2012 and designated as a terrorist organisation by Tehran, has launched multiple attacks on Iranian security forces in recent years.

Pakistan Reacts

A Pakistani military official familiar with the developments said that the two missiles fired from Iran landed in the villages of Sabsko and Chedgi of Panjgur district of Pakistan. The person mentioned above, who is an official in the Pakistan Southern Command, said the armed forces of the nation are still ascertaining the facts.

Pakistan summoned Tehrans top diplomat in Islamabad to protest the unprovoked violation of its airspace and said that the airstrikes were illegal. The nations foreign ministry said that two children were killed and three others were injured in the airstrikes.

The Pakistan foreign office did not reveal where the strikes took place but Pakistani social media accounts reported that the blasts happened in Balochistan province where Iran and Pakistan share a 1000-km border.

This violation of Pakistans sovereignty is completely unacceptable and can have serious consequences. It resulted in the death of two innocent children while injuring three girls, the Pakistan foreign ministry said.

It is even more concerning that this illegal act has taken place despite the existence of several channels of communication between Pakistan and Iran. Pakistan has always said terrorism is a common threat to all countries in the region that requires coordinated action, Pakistans foreign ministry said.

(With AP and AFP inputs)
Irans Revolutionary Guards have launched missile attacks on multiple terrorist targets in Syria and in Iraqs autonomous Kurdistan region, state media reported Tuesday.

 #Iran has attacked eight sites near the U.S. consulate in #Iraq's Erbil with ballistic missilesThis was reported by Reuters, which quoted Iranian state media as saying. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it was launching ballistic missile strikes against "spy pic.twitter.com/wDCsJZ5pLp  NEXTA (@nexta_tv) January 15, 2024

The attacks destroyed a spy headquarters and a gathering of anti-Iranian terrorist groups in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, the official IRNA news agency reported, quoting a statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Four people were killed and six others wounded in the attack, according to Iraqs Kurdistan security council.

The prominent businessman Peshraw Dizayee was among several civilians who were killed, the Kurdistan Democratic Party said.

The IRGC also hit targets in Syria with ballistic missiles, including the gathering places of commanders and main elements related to recent terrorist operations, particularly the Islamic State group, their Sepah News service reported.

It added that the strike on Syria was in response to recent attacks by terrorist groups that killed Iranians in the southern cities of Kerman and Rask.

Explosions were heard in Aleppo and its countryside, where at least 4 missiles that came from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea fell, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.

On January 3, suicide bombers struck crowds gathered near the tomb of the revered IRGC general Qasem Soleimani in Kerman, killing around 90 people. The attack was later claimed by IS.

In December, at least 11 Iranian police officers were killed in an attack on a police station in Rask. The jihadist group Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice), which was formed in 2012 and is blacklisted by Iran as a terrorist group, claimed responsibility.

Israeli spy operations

The IRGC also said it had struck alleged Israeli spy headquarters in Iraqs autonomous Kurdistan region, Irans IRNA news agency reported.

It said the headquarters had served as the centre for developing espionage operations and planning terrorist actions in the region, naming Israels Mossad spy organisation.

The Guards said the strike was in response to recent attacks on Iran and the axis of resistance of Iran-aligned groups, which have raised concerns about violence spreading from Israels war in Gaza.

Regional tensions have spiked during the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, drawing in Iran-backed armed groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

In March 2022, the IRGC carried out missile attacks in Arbil, claiming to target a strategic centre belonging to arch-foe Israel.

On December 25, Iran said an Israeli strike killed the senior Guards commander Razi Moussavi.

And on January 8, Israel killed Wissam Hassan Tawil, a top commander of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon, according to a security source.

His death came shortly after an Israeli missile strike on Beirut killed Saleh al-Aruri, a senior leader of Hamas which is also supported by Iran.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday told the Davos summit that Russian President Vladimir Putin would pursue his invasion of Ukraine even if fighting paused on the sprawling front.

Moscows invasion of Ukraine  nearing its two-year anniversary  has triggered fierce and costly fighting but the front line has barely shifted in the last year.

After 2014, there were attempts to freeze the war in Donbass, Zelenskyy said in reference to the industrial east of his country.

There were very influential guarantors  the chancellor of Germany, the president of France.

But Putin is a predator who is not satisfied with frozen products, he told the worlds political elites.

Zelenskyy was referring to the Minsk negotiations between Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia, which aimed to bring an end to fighting between Ukraines military and Kremlin-backed separatists, who had occupied swathes of east Ukraine in 2014.

Ukrainian officials have routinely pointed to those rounds of talks in the capital of Belarus as evidence that negotiating with Moscow is pointless, since the Kremlin ordered the invasion of Ukraine despite ceasefire accords.

Zelenskyy used the stage in Davos to tell the audience that the Russian leader had expansionist aims beyond even Ukraines borders.

If anyone thinks this is only about us, this is only about Ukraine, they are fundamentally mistaken, he said.

Possible directions and even timelines of new Russian aggression beyond Ukraine become more and more obvious, he alleged.

Zelenskyy said that in order for Kyiv to defeat Moscows forces in Ukraine, his forces needed help from the West to bolster its military capabilities in the air.

We must gain air superiority for Ukraine, ne stressed.

Partners know what is needed and in what quantity, he said, adding: This will allow progress on the ground.

Zelenskyys speech comes at a difficult time on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Kyivs counter-offensive last summer was largely unsuccessful and its allies in Washington and Brussels are struggling to secure financial aid for Ukraine.
The United States Military on Tuesday carried out a new strike in Yemen targeting anti-ship ballistic missiles in a Houthi-controlled part of the country. This is the latest military action initiated by the US against Iran-backed group over its targeting of Red Sea shipping.

The strike on Tuesday targeted four anti-ship missiles, reported Reuters citing two US officials.

Notably, the Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping have continued even after President Joe Biden last week ordered an initial wave of strikes to degrade Houthi capabilities.

Earlier on January 13, the US military struck another Houthi-controlled site in Yemen that it had determined was putting commercial vessels in the Red Sea at risk. The attack came a day after the US and the Britain launched multiple air strikes targeting Houthi rebels. The US on the first day of the strikes on January 12 hit 28 locations and struck more than 60 targets.

According to the Pentagon, the US-British assault reduced the Houthis capacity to launch fresh attacks.

The Houthis, who control most of Yemens Red Sea coast, have claimed their attacks on commercial ships are aimed at supporting the Palestinians in Israels war in Gaza.

The Houthi movement has pledged to expand its targets in the Red Sea region to include US ships and has vowed to keep up attacks after US and British forces carried out dozens of strikes last week against radar and missile capabilities.

(With agency inputs)
Vivek Ramaswamy, the biotech entrepreneur, running for the White House, dropped out of the race on Tuesday and decided to back former US president Donald Trump. The Republicans decision to drop out of the race for the White House came after a disappointing finish in Iowas leadoff caucuses.

As of this moment we are going to suspend this presidential campaign. Theres no path for me to be the next president absent things that we dont want to see happen in this country, Ramaswamy said..

Live from Des Moines, IA | Vivek 2024 Caucus Night Press Conference https://t.co/ykH9wRlSKL Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) January 16, 2024

I called Donald Trump to tell him I congratulate him on his victory, and now going forward he will have my full endorsement for the president, he further added.

Ramaswamy earlier praised Trump as the best president of the 21st century. However, he urged that Republicans should back fresh legs and take our America First agenda to the next level.

Ramaswamy spoke to reporters and supporters at the Surety Hotel in Des Moines and livestreamed the caucus night press conference. Dozens of supporters thronged the Republican presidential candidate, as seen in the video livestreamed on X, and urged him to keep working for the people. Some of his supporters were visibly emotional and assured him that they would keep supporting him.

Ramaswamy said that he will be headed to New Hampshire later this week where he said he would campaign for Donald Trump and urged his supporters to make sure that he is made the next US president.

A report by the Associated Press pointed out that Ramaswamys failure shows that it appears quite difficult for other Republicans other than Trump to push the bounds of party orthodoxy. It pointed to the little political reward for Ramaswamys take on wars in Ukraine and Gaza, where he opposed aid for both Ukrainian and Israeli militaries.

The son of Indian immigrants, Ramaswamy entered politics at the highest level after making hundreds of millions of dollars at the intersection of hedge funds and pharmaceutical research, a career he charted and built while graduating from Harvard University and then Yale Law School.
World leaders convening in Switzerlands Davos for the World Economic Forum (WEF) this week will discuss concerns regarding the potential for a future pandemic that could kill 20 times more than the Covid-19 pandemic. The disease is currently known by the placeholder name of Disease X.

Disease X is a term used to refer to planning and preparation for a future international epidemic caused by a pathogen which is not yet known to cause diseases in humans.

WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will lead a panel consisting of Brazilian health minister Nisia Trindade Lima, pharmaceutical giant AstraZenecas chair of the board Michel Demare, Royal Philips CEO Roy Jakobs, and Indian hospital chain Apollos executive vice-chairperson Preetha Reddy on Wednesday in a session Preparing for Disease X. There they will discuss novel efforts needed to prepare healthcare systems for the multiple challenges ahead if the world needs to be ready for a much deadlier pandemic, the WEF said.

The meetings are being held to encourage the development of platform technologies, including vaccines, drug therapies and diagnostic tests, so that in case a pandemic breaks out, skills and knowledge learned during these preparations could be applied and deployed to combat the sickness.

The attendees are holding the meeting because there are vast reservoirs of viruses circulating in the wildlife that pose potential threat to human health as they have the potential to spill over from animals to humans.

When Did Preparations for Disease X Start

The WHO cites the 20142016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa as a main reason for enabling early cross-cutting R&D preparedness that is also relevant for disease X. The global health agency highlights that 11,000 lives were lost because health agencies lacked products ready to deploy in time to save those lives during the Ebola outbreak.

The WHO then released a list of priority diseases and created an R&D Blueprint to accelerate development of a range of tools for these diseases. The diseases in WHO priority list are: Covid-19, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus disease, Lassa fever, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and SARS, Nipah and henipaviral diseases, Rift Valley fever, Zika, Disease X.

Research on Disease X in 2017 helped scientists to develop the first vaccine against Covid-19 326 days after the release of the genetic sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Researchers from Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), as part of the research on Disease X, are working on rapid response vaccine platforms which can develop new immunizations within 100 days of a virus, which has the potential to cause a pandemic, emerging, under a $3.5 billion plan.
On Tuesday, January 16, Hollywood stars stepped onto the red carpet of the Emmy Awards 2024 to show off their fancy looks and boast of their taste. Unfortunately, not everyone managed to impress the audience, and some of the dresses looked terrible.

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Any red carpet is a kind of fashion show, as stars try to impress the audience with their creativity, which is not always successful. That's why Daily Mail has collected the worst images of the 2024 Emmy Awards that looked inappropriate and sometimes even funny.

Laverne Cox , who starred in the TV series Orange Is the New Black, wore a revealing black floor-length dress, but chose the wrong fabric. The dress had a shine typical of garbage bags. In particular, it also contained bizarre pieces of fabric on both sides of the skirt that resembled fish gills.

Calista Flockhart, Harrison Ford's wife, chose a dress with a voluminous skirt with colored inserts, which reminded the Daily Mail editorial team of a circus director. The top of the dress looked like a part of a tuxedo with bright blue sequins and ruffles.

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Sabrina Impacciatore, the star of The White Lotus, became a "bear victim". The actress looked as if she had been attacked by a wild animal due to the large cutouts in chaotic places. The openwork sleeves and glitter fabric were supposed to add elegance to the look, but it did not improve the impression of the dress.

Actress Alex Borstein made a bad choice in her look, as she appeared in what the DailyMail says was a terrible dress that looked like a flamenco dancer who decided to become an exotic Moulin Rouge.

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Screenwriter Issa Rae appeared on the red carpet at the 2024 Emmy Awards as a bird. She wore a yellow dress with feathers, which had a high neck, long sleeves, and a floor-length bottom.

One of the guests, businesswoman Francesca Zocchi, made a bad choice with the dress she was wearing. The Daily Mail stated that in a purple sequined outfit with a plunging neckline and voluminous feathered sleeves, she looked like a host for a horrible game show in Las Vegas.

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Nisi Nash was equated with Ursula from The Little Mermaid. To match her natural dark hair color, the actress chose a velvet dress that emphasized her entire figure, with a loose hem and closed arms.

Writer and producer Cody Geller's dress may have been a reference to Barbie, but with the pink color, she went overboard. According to the Daily Mail, the overly simple design resembled a prom dress, and the neon pink heels made her look like a Bratz doll.

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Marla Gibbs turned into Motricia from The Addams Family for one night with her black long velvet dress with a fancy off-the-shoulder neckline and gothic sleeves.

The dress of Real Housewives of New York City star Jenna Lyons was also on the list of the most unsuccessful, as the thin fabric, through which a black bra was visible, drew attention to itself.

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GOVERNMENT has approved plans for the development of the Manhize smart city in the Midlands province to go along with the establishment of the US$1,5 billion steel plant by Dinson Iron and Steel Company (Disco).

The new town, which is set to be a game changer for the country, will be established for about 30 000 residents.

The integrated iron and steel plant being constructed in Mvuma by the Chinese firm, Disco, which is envisaged to be one of the biggest in Africa, represents a huge stepping stone in Zimbabwes modernisation and industrialisation agenda.

Plans are also underway for the construction of a university and a foundries centre at Manhize  a development that will result in the employment creation of over 20 000 people.

Riding on the fact that iron ore, the main component in steel production, has reserves lasting over 200 years, the town will not turn into a ghost town.

The first phase of production at the giant steelworks is scheduled to start at the end of April.

The opening moves Zimbabwe into its position of being a steel manufacturing giant and expanding the mining industry as all raw materials are mined locally.

The iron ore is very close to Manhize thus creating thousands of new jobs at the expanding steelworks and in downstream heavy industry with Zimbabwean industrialists tapping local steel.

Also, under the Second Republic, old mines which had shutdown, are being reopened, giving impetus to the attainment of an empowered upper middle-income economy by 2030.

President Mnangagwa presided over a ground-breaking ceremony at Disco two years ago paving way for construction works that started in 2022. The plant is 95 percent complete and ready for commissioning.

A subsidiary of Chinese iron and steel giant Tsingshan Holdings, the Disco plant started taking shape in June 2022, when preliminary works started on the site.

Disco is projected to produce 600 000 tonnes of products in the first phase, rising to 1,2 million tonnes in the second phase. It will then rise to 3,2 million tonnes in the third phase and ultimately 5 million tonnes per year in the final phase, supplying a full range of steel products to the Zimbabwean and international industry.

It will earn the country millions of dollars in exports as it becomes a major regional supplier and takes advantage of being located inside the Africa Continental Free Trade Area.

Products that the company will eventually produce include pipes, billets, bolts and nuts, smaller slags, rolled tubes, fences, shafts, wires and bars among others.

Among other infrastructural development projects to come as a result of the Manhize steelworks, is the construction of a 50-kilometre railway line from Mvuma to the steel plant.

Disco has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government to undertake refurbishment and construction of a 1000-km long railway system to provide a dedicated, reliable, uninterrupted, and efficient railway line to facilitate the movement of the companys products for local and export-imports routes.

In an interview, Disco public relations manager Mr Joseph Shoko said plans for Manhize town are taking shape.

Exciting times are on the horizon for the people of this area. The new town will be called Manhize, and it will have the modern style or standards of a smart city characterised by high-rising buildings, schools, a university, shops, and banks, he said.

We are not planning on having a ghost town because the mineral resource here will last for 200 years, which is the lifespan of this steel plant. We will build a very big dam for tourism activities and even if the resource runs out, the university will still be there as well as the dam for recreational activities to attract tourists.

Mr Shoko said the steel plant will also benefit downstream industries thereby contributing to Vision 2030.

We are going to witness the agglomeration of industries here and there will be downstream industries that will breathe life to this area. Government has approved this town and what we are waiting for is a ground-breaking ceremony on a date to be announced, he said.

Chief Chirumanzu commended the Second Republic for spearheading socio-economic development in his area.

I am excited to note the positive development that has been ushered in by the Second Republic under President Mnangagwa. Who would have guessed that we can have a new town in this area? This is good for us as our children are now employed and we expect more to be employed, he said. Herald
Communities across the nation celebrated the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday with acts of service, prayer services, and parades. But with the November presidential election as a backdrop, some events took on a political turn. In King's hometown of Atlanta, several speakers at the 56th annual commemorative service at historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King served as pastor, touched on the nation's divisive partisan climate, the AP reports. Former US Republican Rep. Liz Cheney had harsh words for Trump, whom she did not mention by name. "A former president refuses to acknowledge that he lost, and he has convinced millions that our elections and our democracy no longer work," she said. "He threatens the foundations of our nation and everything Dr. King persevered to save."

US Sen. Raphael Warnock, longtime senior pastor of Ebenezer, told the audience, "You better stand up and vote!" to rousing applause. "If your vote didn't count, why are folks trying so hard to keep you from voting? Stand and use your voice. Stand up and use your vote. Speak up!" Bernice King, daughter of the late civil rights leader, warned that "our humanity is literally under attack." But she noted that her father's legacy of nonviolence taught that "we can defeat injustice, ignorance and hold people accountable at the same time without seeking to destroy, diminish, demean or cancel them."

Speaking at the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia, Vice President Kamala Harris said young people two or three generations removed from King have seen their freedoms shrinkciting laws restricting voting and abortion as well as the ever-present threat of gun violence, especially in schools. Harris urged young people to regain those rights through voting and action. In Philadelphia, President Biden marked the day by volunteering at Philabundance, a nonprofit food bank. He stuffed donation boxes with apples and struck up chatter with workers at the organization, where he volunteered for the third time as president or president-elect to mark the January day of service, per the AP.

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A dangerously cold winter storm limited some planned activities. The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis announced that it would be closed on Monday because of icy roads but would still hold a virtual celebration of King. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the Tennessee-North Carolina border also closed, canceling a campground cleanup event. Observed federally since 1986, the holiday occurs on the third Monday of January, which this year happens to be King's actual birthday. The slain civil rights leader would have been 95 on Monday. This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act and King's Nobel Peace Prize.

(More Martin Luther King Jr. stories.)
"It is catastrophic ... the largest die-off for the species, period." That's how Martin Mendez, a marine biologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society, describes to the Washington Post the fate of hundreds of elephant seals last fall in Argentina, found dead along the shore of the Valdes Peninsula. The Post notes that 17,000 elephant seal pups perished there in 2023, stricken by bird flu in an "unprecedented" wildlife pandemic that has afflicted more than 300 species of birds and animals. As humans dealt with the COVID pandemic over the past few years, wildlife has done the same with the H5N1 "panzootic," with millions of birds on US poultry farms among the casualties.

Other animals that have contracted H5N1 include red foxes, coyotes, tigers, lions, raccoons, and grizzly bears, though marine mammals seem to be the ones experiencing mass die-offs from it. The Post notes this particular influenza "raged through domestic and wild animal populations on every continent except Australia and Antarctica." Birds and mammals near Antarctica, however, have also been hit with H5N1: Reuters reports that fur and elephant seals on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, as well as a variety of local seabirds, have succumbed to the infectious disease there, which is especially worrisome. "Given Antarctica is such a unique and special biodiversity hotspot," this development "is sad and concerning," one scientist tells the news agency. Experts believe migratory birds from South America likely brought the flu to the southernmost tip of the world.

In Alaska, meanwhile, the first polar bear death from this strain of bird flu has been logged, reports Live Science. Scientists say the bear, found dead in the remote town of Utqiagvik in October, likely contracted the illness after feasting on birds that had itand they think that more likely have the flu as well. "This is unlikely to be an isolated event," University of Saskatchewan professor Douglas Clark tells the outlet. What scientists are most concerned about, however, is the possibility of H5N1, first identified in China in 1996, eventually wreaking havoc among the human population. That type of incident doesn't seem imminent, but due to the sometimes unpredictable nature of such diseases, it remains a possibility. "Every year that this doesn't happen, we're being lucky," Mendez tells the Post. (More flu stories.)
Josef Fritzl , the Austrian man who kept his daughter Elisabeth prisoner for nearly a quarter century, raping her repeatedly and fathering seven children with her, was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes, which also included manslaughter for one of those children he fathered. In Austria, however, prisoners with a life sentence are eligible for parole after 15 yearsand as the now-88-year-old was thrown behind bars in 2009, his lawyer says he should now be released, though she'd like to see him placed in a nursing home, reports Sky News .

"I am already in the process of obtaining a conditional discharge for him," attorney Astrid Wagner informed a local news outlet, per the New York Post. Fritzl, who's currently being held in a high-security unit in the Stein prison in the town of Krems, reportedly has dementia, and a new psychiatric assessment on Fritzl says he no longer poses a danger to the public, according to Austrian broadcaster ORF. Wagner says her client, who has "distortions of reality," should be treated with "human dignity," per Sky. She also notes that Fritzl has "genuine, deeply felt remorse," and that a nursing home is a much better place for him at this point than a prison.

It's not clear when a decision will be made on the matter. Local media reports note that Fritzl now gets around with a walker after falling multiple times and "appears to be confused, regularly talks to a TV, believes he is a pop star, and discusses visits from family members that never happened," per the Post. Elisabeth Fritzl, meanwhile, who has since changed her name, is said to be living in a secure location in the Austrian countryside with her six surviving children, now ages 17 to 31. She's also said to have found love with a much-younger bodyguard who was watching over her.

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That relationship is believed to have helped her overcome the trauma from the decades of horror she endured at the hands of her father, per the Mirror. "This is vivid proof of love being the strongest force in the world," one of her psychiatrists noted in a report. "With the approval of her doctors she has ceased psychiatric therapies while she gets on with her life. ... She lost the best years of her life in that cellar; she is determined that every day remaining to her will be filled with activity." Josef Fritzl also reportedly changed his name while in prison, per the BBC. (More Josef Fritzl stories.)
An architect charged in a string of slayings known as the Gilgo Beach killings was accused Tuesday in the death of a fourth woman, a Connecticut mother of two who vanished in 2007 and whose remains were found more than three years later along a coastal highway in New York. Rex Heuermann was formally charged in the killing of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, reports the AP , months after having been labeled the prime suspect in her death when he was arrested in July in the deaths of three other women. In court, Heuermann wore a dark suit and didn't say anything during the proceedings. He'll continue to be held without bail. The judge set the next court date for Feb. 6. Suffolk County DA Raymond Tierney and other law enforcement officials planned a news conference following Tuesday's hearing.

Brainard-Barnes, 25, who was once employed as a dealer at the Foxwoods Resort Casino, left her hometown of Norwich, Connecticut, on July 9, 2007, and headed to Manhattan for sex work, with plans to return the following day, according to friends who became concerned when she uncharacteristically stopped using her phone. She never came back. Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to killing Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Lynn Costello, three women who authorities say also were sex workers. Brainard-Barnes was the first of the four women to disappear. Their remains were found along the same quarter-mile stretch of parkway in the Gilgo Beach area of Jones Beach Island in 2010. Additional searching found the remains of six more adults and the toddler child of one of the victims.

(More Long Island serial killer stories.)
There won't be another debate featuring Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis alone. Haley, one of only three Republican candidates remaining in the 2024 race as of Tuesday , says she will participate in future debates only if they feature former President Trump, the GOP frontrunner who easily won Monday's Iowa caucuses with 51% of the vote , or Democratic incumbent President Biden, per the Hill . Trump, who refused to participate in any of the five GOP primary debates, needs to stop hiding, the former UN ambassador says in a statement . Two more debates had been planned ahead of New Hampshire's primary next week: ABC News was to host one Thursday, followed by CNN on Sunday. Given Haley's statement, it's unclear whether either will take place.

Trumpwith a rally scheduled for Sunday, per Politicoisn't expected to participate in either debate, leaving DeSantis on his own. The Florida governor, who already accepted his debate invitations, claims Haley is "afraid ... to answer the tough questions." "I won't snub New Hampshire voters like both Nikki Haley and Donald Trump, and plan to honor my commitments," he says. "I look forward to debating two empty podiums in the Granite State this week." Haley, meanwhile, accuses Trump of running scared. "He has nowhere left to hide. The next debate I do will either be with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden. I look forward to it," she says. Haley, who finished just behind DeSantis in Iowa, is polling well in New Hampshire, but still trails Trump by double digits. (More Nikki Haley stories.)
Greek organized crime boss Vangelis Zambounis survived an attempt to kill him in 2018 when a would-be assassin's Kalashnikov jammed. He wasn't so lucky early Sunday morning, when he was killed by a hail of more than 90 bullets from a better-functioning Kalashnikov. The 44-year-old was gunned down outside a gas station he owned in southern Athens, the BBC reports. Two police officers were arrested the next day for leaking video of the killing, which shows two men firing at Zambounis as he got into an armored BMW. After one man fired the assault rifle at the driver's window at close range, a second man opened the door and fired more shots with a handgun.

The suspects are still at large. After the killing. they drove away in a Lexus that police said had been stolen in Italy months earlier. The burnt-out vehicle was later found on the outskirts of Athens. The motive for the killing is unclear, though Zambounis had plenty of enemies. Some have speculated that the killing is linked to tensions between tobacco-smuggling gangs, while others believe it is payback for the killing of rival gangland figure Vassilis Roubetis last year, reports the BBC. Nea Kriti reports that Zambounis had been accused of crimes including robbery, extortion, and plotting to murder a judge. (More Greece stories.)
UPDATE

Jan 16, 2024 8:39 PM CST

Club Q shooter Anderson Aldrich plans to plead guilty to new federal charges for hate crimes and firearm violations under an agreement that would allow the defendant to avoid the death penalty, according to court documents made public Tuesday. The 23-year-old made a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to 50 hate crime charges and 24 firearm violations, the documents show. Aldrich would get multiple life sentences in addition to a 190-year sentence under the proposed agreement, which needs a judge's approval. The Jan. 9 plea agreement was unsealed by the court after Aldrich had pleaded not guilty in court during an initial appearance on Tuesday afternoon, the AP reports. The gun charges can carry a maximum penalty of death, according to the agreement.

Jan 16, 2024 4:59 PM CST

The shooter who killed five people and endangered the lives of over 40 others at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs appeared in federal court Tuesday to face hate crime and firearm charges. Anderson Aldrich, 23, pleaded not guilty to 50 hate charges and 24 firearm violations. The charges come after Aldrich pleaded guilty last June in state court to five counts of murder and 46 counts of attempted murderone for each person at Club Q during the attack on Nov. 19, 2022. Aldrich, who identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, also pleaded no contest to state charges for hate crimes under a plea agreement. The plea was an acknowledgment there was a good chance Aldrich would be convicted of those crimes without admitting guilt.
A "suspicious item" reported to police in Hakatere/Ashburton earlier on Tuesday was found to be no threat, a police spokesperson said.

Officers have since lifted the cordons placed earlier around Tancred Street, and all roads are open again.

"A suspicious item reported to Police at 3:20pm has been checked and found to be of no concern," the spokesperson added.

"Police would like to thank the public for their assistance."

It's unclear what the "item" was.
It took 797 containers wrapped in tape to conceal the three-and-a-half tonnes of methamphetamine.

For a drug normally measured in grams, it's hard to overstate the scale of this bust.

"I mean this is next level," New Zealand National Organised Crime Group director Greg Williams said.

"It would create $3 billion worth of social harm in this country if it ever got here, so it's extraordinary."

The drugs were found in a vacant house in the city of Nadi, and Fiji officials are confident they were en route to Australia and New Zealand.

New Zealand Customs declined a request for an interview, however, in a statement to Newshub they confirmed a portion of the methamphetamine was likely destined for our shores.

They also said the drug causes "devastating harm" in every country and community it enters.

Fiji's become a key part of what's known as the 'Narco Highway'. It's used as a stopover for drugs heading for bigger Pacific markets.

"We've had a belief and we've been aware that the islands have often been used as trade shipment hubs," Williams said. "I think that is pretty definitive. That's probably what this is."

Once the drugs land in Fiji, some of them make their way into the community, and locals are getting hooked.

Fiji Home Affairs Minister Pio Tikoduadua told media: "I will be the first to admit, we have an issue. A really big issue. It's killing our people, it's killing our people."

Drug-Free Fiji founder Kalesi Volatabu described it as a crisis that's getting worse by the week.

"The demand is in the US, Australia and New Zealand, and because of that we've now got a market here," Volatabu said.

"We don't have the facilities to cater for that, we don't have the drug and alcohol rehab to cater for that."

She said the impact it's having, especially in regard to needle use, has been massive even with children.

"We are not even a million in population. We've lost 20 people in the last six months. Yes, just to AIDS and HIV," Volatabu explained.

"We were finding needles and meth in the school. We've got kids in the street - one in three - [becoming] mules. They've been targeted."

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was not available to comment on the calls for support on Tuesday.

While New Zealand is involved with joint drug-fighting initiatives like a dog detector programme and the sharing of intelligence, Volatabu said it's simply not enough.

"Definitely, huge responsibility, pleading to the diplomatic court," she said. "You know, we need the help."

Fiji is left waiting for aid to fight a problem that New Zealand's drug addiction helped create.
For more than a month now, Manuel Oliveira, an ordinary 33-year-old Portuguese man, has been traveling across Ukraine by bicycle. He has traveled about 4000 kilometers to reach the country that has been bravely fighting the Russian occupiers for ten years.

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In his Instagram blog, the traveler shows how Ukrainians live during a full-scale war, tells his followers about bomb shelters and food prices, and explains why he considers men in Ukraine to be friendlier than women. OBOZ.UA had an exclusive conversation with Manuel Oliveira.

- Manuel, tell us a little about yourself. How did you get the idea to travel the world by bike?

- I served six years in the Special Forces in Portugal. And one day I decided that I wanted to see the world not on TV, but in reality. So eight years ago I got on a bike and traveled to 19 European countries. I really enjoyed it, so I decided to continue. I have already visited Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and South America. In total, it's 42 countries. I usually work as a bartender in the south of Portugal in the summer and spend the rest of the time traveling.

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- In 2016, you visited Ukraine for the first time, and you were in Mariupol, which was not yet occupied by Russia. How did the locals react to you and did you communicate with them?

- They wondered what I, a tourist, was doing here. After all, the war in the east has been going on since 2014. But in general, I met friendly people and those with whom I managed to communicate did not want Russia.

- Why did you decide to go to Ukraine again at this difficult time for the country?

-That's why I decided to come back, to show Ukraine in this difficult time. Because I have the impression that for Portugal the war in Ukraine is over! The war in Israel has begun, and there is much less talk about Ukraine. I decided to go to show my followers how Ukrainians live during the war and that we should not forget about them and not stop helping them. Ukraine is a wonderful country with delicious cuisine, which I love, especially varenyky, and a rich culture. And that the comparative security in Ukraine and why it has not succumbed to Russian occupation is all thanks to the titanic efforts of the Armed Forces. And what annoys me the most is that the war is right under Europe's nose, and few people are doing anything. It is very sad.

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- What is the hardest part of your journey?

-The cold (smiles). God, it's so cold here! I have never been as cold as in Ukraine. People ask me why you went to Ukraine during the war, and in winter? I answer that I don't look for easy ways.

- You are currently in Kyiv. What is the end point of your trip through Ukraine?

- I plan to leave Kyiv for Izyum, then Dnipro and finally Zaporizhzhia, where the cyclists' association will meet.

- Don't you think it's not a very safe route right now?

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- A Ukrainian friend of mine is supposed to meet me in Izyum and give me a ride to Zaporizhzhia, where I will meet the Ukrainians I met on the way to Ivano-Frankivsk.

- And then you're going back to Portugal?

- No, I don't. From Zaporizhzhia, I plan to go to Mykolaiv, then Odesa, Izmail, and from there I'll get to Romania, and then by ship to Georgia, Armenia, and Iran. Then-I don't know, maybe I'll go back to Portugal.

- Do you plan to visit the Russian-occupied territories of Georgia?

- I don't know. I'm still thinking about it. On the one hand, I would like to show how people live there, what they say, but on the other hand, it's about supporting tourism there.

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- In one of your videos, where you are riding a bicycle, the first sirens for you are activated and it is clear that you are confused and do not know what to do. How do you react now?

- Now, unfortunately, like most Ukrainians, I'm used to it. It's not normal, but it's true.

- Are you looking for a bomb shelter and is there a shelter in the hostel where you are staying?

- No, I am not looking for a shelter. The nearest shelter from my hostel is one kilometer away, so I prefer to stay inside at this point, away from the windows, rather than going outside.

- Do you think there are problems with bomb shelters in Ukraine?

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- Of course there are! But what can I do...

- What can you say about prices in Ukraine?

- For a Portuguese, it's okay. But for Ukrainians with a minimum wage of 170 euros, it is very expensive. For example, a kilogram of chicken breast costs more than 4 euros, while in Portugal it costs 7 euros with a minimum wage of 860 euros. I don't know how Ukrainians survive.

- What are your favorite cities in Ukraine?

- Ivano-Frankivsk and Kyiv. Ivano-Frankivsk is not only a beautiful and cozy city, but also the cheapest of all the cities I've been to in Ukraine. I also remember a story when I was traveling by train to Tatariv (Ivano-Frankivsk region) because my bike broke down and a lady stubbornly refused to let me go inside with it. It was at this point that a man stood up for me, and we became friends. From this I concluded, I don't want to offend anyone, of course, but... Ukrainian men are friendlier than women.

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More than half of Iowa voters stuck with Trump, propelling him toward what looks set to be a close and acrimonious rematch against Democratic President Joe Biden, 81, in the campaign for November's presidential election.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, 45, finished well behind Trump in second place in Iowa, pushing former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, 51, into third.

Trump has spurned debates with the other two, and on Tuesday, Haley said she would skip any future Republican debates unless Trump attends. Two such debates are due to take place in New Hampshire on Thursday and Sunday night.

Haley, a former South Carolina governor who has previously spoken of how voters in New Hampshire can "correct" the Iowa result, is polling second to Trump in the New England state, with DeSantis far behind.

"The next debate I do will either be with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden," she wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. DeSantis accused her of being afraid to answer tough questions ahead of New Hampshire's Jan. 23 contest.

The Northeastern state is well-known for its relatively moderate, libertarian-minded brand of Republicanism.

Moreover, the primary contest in New Hampshire is "semi-open," meaning voters that are not registered with any party can participate, which can reward candidates perceived to be centrists.

Trying to take advantage, Haley has campaigned heavily in New Hampshire while DeSantis bet heavily on Iowa.

Haley was to hold a rally in New Hampshire on Tuesday with the state governor, Chris Sununu, who has endorsed her. DeSantis is set to hold a town hall event after first stopping in Haley's home state of South Carolina, and Trump will deliver remarks at a country club.

Trump is the only current or ex-U.S. president to be charged with criminal activity, but he won by an unprecedented margin for an Iowa Republican contest, strengthening his case that his nomination is a foregone conclusion given his massive lead in national polls.

His Iowa triumph showed his enduring popularity among Republicans even after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters and his 91 criminal charges he tried to overturn the 2020 election, retained classified documents and falsified records over hush money payments to a porn star.

He won 51% support in Iowa, a Midwestern farm state  a victory margin that far surpassed the previous record of 12.8 percentage points for Bob Dole in 1988.

DeSantis won 21% and Haley 19%, with 99% of the expected vote tallied, according to Edison Research. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out after securing just 8% of Monday's vote and endorsed Trump. Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson ended his campaign on Tuesday, CNN reported.

Trump is hoping to fast-track the normally months-long Republican selection process with a series of convincing early primary wins to force out his rivals.

LEGAL WOES

Biden used Trump's decisive Iowa win to frame the November election as a battle against "extreme MAGA Republicans," a reference to Trump's Make America Great Again slogan, and urged supporters to donate to his re-election campaign.

Trump claims falsely that his 2020 election loss to Biden was due to widespread fraud and has vowed, if elected again, to punish his political enemies and introduce new tariffs on imports.

He has drawn criticism for increasingly authoritarian language, including comments that undocumented immigrants were "poisoning the blood of our country." He has also vowed to end the Ukraine-Russia war in 24 hours, without saying how.

Trump has used his legal travails to fundraise and boost his support as he protests his innocence and says he is the victim of a "witch hunt." He holds a 37-point lead among Republicans, according to the most recent nationwide Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Nearly two-thirds of Iowa caucus-goers embraced his false claims about voter fraud in 2020, saying they did not think Biden legitimately beat Trump. More than 60% said Trump would still be fit to serve as president even if convicted of a crime.

Trump faces four prosecutions, setting up the unprecedented prospect of a president being convicted or even serving from behind bars, with the courts almost certainly weighing in at every stage.

"Absent a quick consolidation of the field, Trump appears to be on a fast track to the nomination," said Jimmy Centers, an Iowa-based Republican strategist.

Still, both DeSantis and Haley vowed to press ahead.

"We've got our ticket punched out of Iowa!" DeSantis told supporters in West Des Moines on Monday.

But DeSantis' campaign is in trouble and he risks funding problems going forward after failing to deliver a breakthrough performance in Iowa despite heavy campaigning there.

Iowans braved life-threatening temperatures to gather for the state's first-in-the-nation caucus, as the 2024 presidential campaign officially got under way after months of debates and rallies.

"Trump is very narcissistic, he's very cocky, but he's going to get stuff done," said Rita Stone, 53, a Trump backer who attended a caucus at a West Des Moines high school.

Reuters
Reuters was unable to verify his statement independently.

Hours after Zaluzhnyi's statement, a Russian military blog posted an image of the shrapnel-riddled tail section of an Il-22 standing on tarmac and lauded the crew as "real heroes".

Kyiv's air force spokesman reposted the image, saying the plane appeared to have made it to the Russian town of Anapa, but that it was beyond repair as it had been on fire. He added that the A-50 had been Kyiv's priority target.

The A-50, which first came into service near the end of the Soviet era, is a large Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft that can scan an area several hundred kilometres across for enemy aircraft, ships and missiles.

Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine's southern military command, told a briefing that Russia had used the plane extensively to prepare for and conduct long-range missile strikes on Ukraine in a war that nears its second anniversary.

"We expect such a strike (on the A-50) to be fairly painful and, at least, to delay powerful missile strikes," she said.

Some Russian military bloggers said the downing of the A-50 would be a huge loss for Russia's air force, since there was a limited number of the planes in service.

"It will be another dark day for the Russian Aerospace Forces and Air Defense," wrote Rybar, a blogger with nearly 1.2 million subscribers that supports and provides running commentary on Russia's war in Ukraine.

"There are not many A-50s. And the specialists operating them are generally rare. If an aircraft of this type is hit, the crew will not be able to escape."

The Ukrainian defence ministry valued the A-50 at NZD$532 million.

Ukrainian military spy chief Kyrylo Budanov told the Financial Times that Russia had eight A-50s left.

London-based think tank IISS said in a 2021 report that Russia had nine A-50 aircraft in operation, including four modernised A-50U planes.

The Russian defence ministry said early last year that the modernised A-50U had been carrying out missions during the war in Ukraine.

The aircraft, which goes by the NATO reporting name of Mainstay, can detect more than 300 targets simultaneously, it said. It can detect and track a missile launch at a distance of 800 km and ground and sea targets at 300 km.

Reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv, Yuliia Dysa in Gdansk, Lidia Kelly in Melbourne, Max Hunder in London; writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Peter Graff, Hugh Lawson, Nick Macfie and Tomasz Janowski.

Reuters
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TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, highlighted the influential and constructive role played by the Kingdoms diplomacy throughout its history in advancing Bahrains interests through its core values of peace, tolerance, dialogue, and coexistence as foundations for its international relations.

HRH Prince Salman emphasised that Bahraini diplomacy is the nations bulwark in that it protects the nation and highlights its achievements and its cultural image in the regional and international arenas. He noted that the Kingdoms diplomacy is a valuable endeavour and national responsibility.

HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister made the statement as he met yesterday with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, and several Ministry officials and heads of Bahrains diplomatic and consular missions in commemoration of Diplomatic Day of the Kingdom of Bahrain, at Gudaibiya Palace.

The Deputy Prime Minister, HE Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, the Minister of Finance and National Economy, HE Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, and several senior officials also attended the meeting.

Partnerships

His Royal Highness Prince highlighted the importance of further building on the Kingdoms relations with its allies through bolstering and bridging partnerships that uphold security and development, in line with His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifas far-reaching visions.

HRH Prince Salman commended the Ministrys efforts in serving citizens abroad, promoting the Kingdoms sovereignty, and strengthening relations with its allies per the Kingdoms foreign policy and international laws, customs, and conventions.

He extended his gratitude to the Kingdoms diplomatic professionals who continue to perform their national duties in line with international law and on par with the Kingdoms desired goals. His Royal Highness affirmed the Kingdoms commitment to further strengthening its diplomatic endeavours, which are based on global peacebuilding efforts.
On January 16, 2024, the famous British supermodel Kate Moss celebrates her 50th birthday. Having started her career more than 30 years ago, the star became associated with the so-called "heroin chic" aesthetic, as well as with the title of the most scandalous person in the fashion world of the XX century.

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Undoubtedly, Moss has come a long way, with ups and downs, but the fame of the "party girl" is still with her to this day. In honor of the celebrity's anniversary, OBOZ.UA has compiled a selection of facts about the supermodel that you might not know.

A modeling agency spotted her at the airport

Future stars of the fashion industry are found everywhere: in shopping centers, at parties, and even on the streets. For her part, Kate Moss boasts an original story. In 1988, the 14-year-old girl was spotted at the airport by the founder of the Storm modeling agency, Sarah Dukas. Who knew that in 20 years she would be included in Time magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World and become one of the highest paid models of the 90s and 2000s.

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Heroin chic

Kate Moss became an icon of so-called "heroin chic" because of her appearance. This aesthetic was characterized by thinness, tired eyes, and pale skin, as it was closely associated with the popularity of drugs in the 90s.

The model's photo shoot for the Calvin Klein brand became a landmark. Even the then US President Bill Clinton reacted to it, speaking out against the trend. "It was just the time. It was a transition from more full-breasted girls like Cindy Crawford, and people were shocked," Moss once said.

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The most scandalous model of the XX century

The star received this status in 2005 after being accused of using illegal substances. Back then, the Daily Mirror published photos and videos of Moss taking cocaine. The footage spread across the media and caused a lot of controversy. Subsequently, H&M, Burberry, and Chanel dropped Kate. But this did not last long, because very soon she again graced the covers of fashion magazines, earning millions of dollars.

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Personal life

Since becoming a star at the age of 16, Moss has been engaged three times and married once. The most famous of the model's gentlemen is the actor Johnny Depp. They met when she was 20 and he was 31. Having met for the first time in a fashionable New York establishment, the celebrities fell in love with each other at first sight. "From the first moment we spoke, I knew we would be together," Kate once said. Then, after a stormy romance and engagement rumors, the couple broke up in 1997.

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Moss's daughter is a model

It is no surprise that Leela Moss, Kate's daughter, followed in her mother's footsteps by choosing a career in modeling. Her father is Jefferson Heck, creative director and co-founder of Dazed Media. Heck reportedly met Kate Moss during an interview for Dazed & Confused magazine in 1999, and they were romantically involved for the next four years.

Moss gave birth to a daughter at the age of 27. Now Lily is 21 years old. The girl first made a name for herself at the age of 14, exactly the same age as her mother. In the following years, the British modeling career gained momentum: she became the face of Marc Jacobs Beauty at the age of 16.

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In 2023, the young star made her debut on the catwalk of Paris Fashion Week, opening the Miu Miu show. Since then, Leela Moss has modeled for many high-end brands.

Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
TORONTO, Jan. 16, 2024 /CNW/ - In a region that's home to a remarkable variety of established industries and renowned institutions, Southwestern Ontario is making its mark when it comes to creating progressive workplaces and forward-thinking human resources initiatives. The best of these initiatives were recognized for the first time today, as Southwestern Ontario's Top Employers (2024) were announced by Mediacorp Canada Inc., organizers of the annual Canada's Top 100 Employers project.

"We are honoured to be able finally to bring readers stories about the best employers in Southwestern Ontario," says Anthony Meehan, publisher of the Canada's Top 100 Employers project. "The region tells a compelling story through its history, its people, and the wide variety of industries that make up Southwestern Ontario's employment landscape  many of our editorial team live or have lived in the region, so we know it well. We've been collecting stories on its employers for over a decade, now we're confident that we can showcase the very best in the region."

"Southwestern Ontario has much to offer, for employees and the nation as a whole," adds Kristina Leung, managing editor at Mediacorp. "At the employer level, there is remarkable support for employee training and development. We see the best employers putting in place organizational practices that will stand the test of time, so these organizations will improve alongside their employees. It mirrors the long economic history of Southwestern Ontario itself."

Employers are evaluated on eight selection criteria: (1) Workplace; (2) Work Atmosphere & Social; (3) Health, Financial & Family Benefits; (4) Vacation & Time Off; (5) Employee Communications; (6) Performance Management; (7) Training & Skills Development; and (8) Community Involvement. Trends at this year's winners include: support for employees who want to start a family; significant opportunities for professional development and investments in training, such as generous tuition reimbursement; and incentives for employees to be active in their community, such as paid time off for volunteering. The competition is open to any employers having its head office in Southwestern Ontario, which is the region between Lake Huron/Georgian Bay and Lake Erie, excluding Greater Toronto and Niagara  the same area that roughly comprises the '519' telephone area code.

Some of the local initiatives singled out by the editors this year include:

Health insurance provider GreenShield, based in Windsor , has developed a listening culture through annual employee surveys and recognizes exceptional employees with a variety of awards programs (including peer-to-peer recognition, on-the-spot awards and its annual 'EPIC Award' for top-performing employees).





, has developed a listening culture through annual employee surveys and recognizes exceptional employees with a variety of awards programs (including peer-to-peer recognition, on-the-spot awards and its annual 'EPIC Award' for top-performing employees). Western University in London , helps employees plan for the future with retirement planning assistance services along with a defined contribution pension plan the university also extends its health benefits plan to retirees, with employer-paid premiums and no age limit.





in , helps employees plan for the future with retirement planning assistance services along with a defined contribution pension plan the university also extends its health benefits plan to retirees, with employer-paid premiums and no age limit. Waterloo-based accounting firm MAC LLP offers a reduced (37.5 hour) work week and allows employees convert any additional time worked into extra pay at the end of the year, or transfer it to their RSP.





When designing their employee wellness program, Collingwood-based engineering firm C.F. Crozier & Associates reached-out to employees to survey their needs  as a result, a formalized wellness committee developed a program to include all aspects of wellness: emotional, physical, financial, intellectual, environmental, and spiritual.

Founded in 1992, Mediacorp Canada Inc. is the nation's largest publisher of employment periodicals. Since 1999, the Toronto-based publisher has managed the Canada's Top 100 Employers project, which includes 19 regional and special-interest editorial competitions that reach millions of Canadians annually through a variety of magazine and newspaper partners, including The Globe and Mail. Mediacorp also operates Eluta.ca, one of Canada's largest job search engines, used by millions of job-seekers annually to find new job postings and discover what the nation's best employers are offering.

The full list of Southwestern Ontario's Top Employers (2024) was released today by the editorial team at Canada's Top 100 Employers. Detailed reasons for selection for each of this year's winners, as well as additional stories and photos, were published today by the editors and are accessible via the competition homepage.

Join the conversation about today's announcement on our LinkedIn page and elsewhere on social media: #SWOTopEmployers #TopEmployers2024

SOURCE Mediacorp Canada Inc.

For further information: Stephanie Leung, Editor, [email protected]
"The sugar markets in both Canada and the United States are experiencing steady, long term, sustainable growth, and Sucro is investing to supply these growing market demands," said Jonathan Taylor, Founder and CEO of Sucro Sourcing. "We have a customer base that is loyal and growing, benefiting from the new competition we are bringing to the market."

"Despite steady demand from an expanding food processing sector, overall refining capacity in both Canada and the United States has been stagnant for years", said Taylor. "Especially in Ontario, where the demand for sugar is growing at one of the fastest rates in North America."

Ontario's food and beverage manufacturing sector is the third largest in North America with manufacturing revenues of more than $48 billion. The sector has more than 45,000 establishments in the province, employing over 104,800 people.

Sucro Can's focus on improving its customers' supply chains is one of the keys to its success, and a key reason for choosing the Port of Hamilton as the location for its new refinery.

"HOPA Ports is thrilled to be working with Sucro Can to make this historic investment a reality," said Ian Hamilton, President & CEO of HOPA Ports. "We worked closely with Sucro Can to understand its location and logistics needs, and those of its customers. The new refinery in the heart of southern Ontario's food processing cluster, has access to marine, rail and highway transportation options. The facility's new capacity and reliability will give Ontario food processors the confidence to invest in their own operations. For us this is a huge win: driving a resilient and efficient supply chain, growing the economy and creating jobs."

"Hamilton is proud to be chosen as the home for what will soon be Canada's largest sugar refinery. I look forward to working with Sucro Can Sourcing and HOPA on this important new facility and ensuring this $135-million investment helps Hamilton continue to shine as the centre of Ontario's vital food cluster." Mayor Andrea Horwath, City of Hamilton

"Ontario leads the nation in terms of food and beverage manufacturing and Sucro Can's investment in a brand new sugar refinery is a proof point that our provincial agriculture and food industry generates valued jobs as well," said Lisa Thompson, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. "Sucro Can's new facility at the Port of Hamilton also highlights the importance of the added advantage we have in Ontario given the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway  our H2O highway," added Thompson.

"Hamilton is delighted to be the chosen location for the expansion of Sucro Can. With this expansion, Hamilton will now host Canada's largest sugar refinery. This is an important industry that employs over a hundred thousand workers in Ontario. The impact of Sucro Can's new plant will be felt across the region and beyond. We thank Sucro Can for their hard work and look forward to the creation of more jobs and the strengthening of economic growth." The Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario & Member of Parliament for Hamilton West  Ancaster  Dundas

About Sucro Can Sourcing

Since its inception in 2014, the company has achieved significant growth by creating value for customers, continuous process innovation and supply chain re-engineering. While focused on the industrial sector, Sucro's supply chain advantage creates a unique opportunity in the retail sector. Sucro has established an extensive production, sales and sourcing network throughout North America with two refining locations and an additional value-added processing facility. The company has offices in Miami, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Cali, Guayaquil, and Port of Spain.

About HOPA Ports

As an integrated port network, the Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA Ports) offers port and marine assets in Hamilton, Oshawa and Niagara. By investing in high-quality infrastructure and prioritizing sustainability, HOPA helps build prosperous working waterfronts in Ontario communities. Overseeing more than 1,400 acres and more than 160 tenant companies, 40,000 Ontario jobs are connected to the cargo that passes through HOPA's integrated ports.

More hi-res images available at https://www.hopaports.ca/sucrocan-sourcing-and-hopa-ports-announce-plan-to-build-canadas-largest-sugar-refinery/

SOURCE Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority

For further information: Larissa Fenn, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, HOPA Ports, [email protected]
On January 14, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark officially abdicated after her 52-year reign, and her son Frederik X became the country's new king. Thousands of people gathered at the Christiansborg Palace to greet the new sovereign, but it was not so much Frederik X who managed to draw all the attention to himself as his 13-year-old daughter, Princess Josephine.

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Body language experts have already nicknamed the girl the Danish "version of Prince Louis." As you know, the son of Kate Middleton and Prince William always becomes the star of such events due to his funny and sometimes daring behavior. Meanwhile, Josephine, although she behaved with restraint, did not always control her own facial expressions and emotions, the Daily Mail writes.

The published photos show a teenage girl waving to the public from the palace balcony without much enthusiasm. Her face seemed to show a certain indifference, which was probably a reaction to serious changes in her life. Now the 13-year-old princess will receive much more public attention than before, because she is the daughter of the king.

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Body language expert Adrianne Carter noted that Josephine "stole the attention" of the public with her sweet audacity.

"Her brother touches her gently to remind her that she must control her behavior," the expert said, referring to the girl's twin brother, Prince Vincent.

Josephine was a bit shy at first and even hid behind her mother. The newly minted Queen Consort Mary quickly reassured her daughter by putting her arms around her waist.

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In general, Josephine had a calm appearance, which charmed the audience. And when she smiled sincerely, everyone around her melted.

As you know, the King and Queen of Denmark have four children: Prince Christian, 18, who is now the first in the list of heirs to the Danish throne, Princess Isabella, 16, and twins Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent, who celebrated their 13th birthday on January 8.

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They live away from the glare of publicity, attend public schools, and stay close to their maternal Australian side of the family, including their grandfather, math professor John Donaldson. Incidentally, the children seem to like to poke fun at their mother's Australian accent, describing her Danish pronunciation as "funny" in a movie made in honor of her 50th birthday in 2022.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote about the new King of Denmark Frederik X. In his youth, he was considered a playboy, and not so long ago he was accused of cheating on his wife with a Mexican socialite and model.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!




Former Super Eagles captain Nwankwo Kanu is rooting for the Super Eagles to beat hosts Cote dIvoire.





The Elephants and Super Eagles will battle in one of the heavyweight contests at the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations on Thursday.





The hosts won their opening fixture 2-0 against the Djurtus of Guinea-Bissau.





The Super Eagles on the other hand held Equatorial Guinea to a 1-1 draw.





Kanu has predicted a Nigeria victory at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium.





All the teams fear Nigeria, the two-time CAF Player of the Year told reporters.





We believe we have a team of top talents who have a good chance against Cote dIvoire in their next game.





I will back them to win this game.
Several persons were feared killed and dozens others hospitalised on Tuesday at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State, following an explosion that rocked the Ibadan metropolis.

There was serious panic in the ancient city around 8 pm over the explosion, whose cause could not be confirmed on Tuesday night.

Among the affected areas were a section of the Governors Office, Secretariat, Oyo State House of Assembly, the residence of the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, some buildings at Ologuneru, Apete, New Garage, Bashorun, Akobo, Sango and Eleyele.

Our source at the scene of the explosion that occurred at Adeyi Avenue, Bodija Estate, Ibadan, Oyo State capital on Tuesday, reported that dozens of bodies were recovered from the site and taken away in ambulances.

As of press time, rescue workers believed that some persons were still trapped under the rubble and efforts were ongoing to rescue them.

A social worker at UCH, who did not want his name in print because he had no authority to speak on the matter, told one of our correspondents that the hospital had received no fewer than 15 victims.

The victims will not be less than 15, he said.

Glass windows, doors and ceilings were shattered in the affected areas.

Major roads were deserted while residents were forced indoors by security operatives, including the police, Western Security Network, code-named Amotekun, and local vigilantes, who took over the affected areas.

The cause of the blast could not be confirmed. Some residents of the affected areas claimed it was caused by a blast of an Improvised Explosive Device.

Thick smoke rented the air in the affected areas which resulted in the hospitalisation of the victims in various hospitals.

Security vehicles were sighted conveying the victims to some selected hospitals in the state capital for medical attention. it was also gathered that at least three buildings collapsed as a result of the explosion.

In separate videos seen by NigerianEye a white pickup van with the inscription Bodija Patrol van was seen conveying what was suspected to be the dead bodies of some of the victims, though the state police command told our correspondent via a WhatsApp message that casualties could not be ascertained.

Another short video also showed some of the places affected by the explosion, with an accompanying male voice calling for help.

Please, we need help here. These are the people. We need help. Police, Army, and everybody else should come and rescue people here, the male voice pleaded.

Another person, who claimed he escaped with his wife and two daughters, recounted how the house they were in practically caved in due to the explosion.

Also seen at the supposed site of the explosion was a mangled body as the sympathisers around the victim lamented the absence of police and emergency responders.

In a statement, the state government, through the Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, confirmed the explosion.

He said, There are various interpretations of the incident but it is important for us to state categorically that the state government has taken over and is in full control of the unfortunate occurrence in order to mitigate the incident.

All security service chiefs, including paramilitary chiefs and fire service operatives, have been deployed by the governor to reign in the spillover from the explosion.

The Governor, Seyi Makinde, therefore, implores citizens to calm down and rest assured that their interests are being looked after.

Also, on its verified X handle, the Oyo State Government urged residents to remain calm, noting that an investigation was underway to unravel the cause of the explosion.

The Oyo State Government is aware of reports of an explosion in Ibadan. Residents are urged to remain calm as security agencies are investigating this to determine the source and cause of the incident, the X post read.

The police spokesman, Adewale Oyefeso, said the explosion happened around Dejo Oyelese Street Bodija Ibadan around 7:44 pm.

He said the cause of the explosion was unknown, and no casualty could be confirmed as the search continued on Tuesday night.

The Commissioner of Police Oyo State Command, in the company with some senior officers and other responders, is on the ground for on-the-spot assessment and rescue operation.

The Oyo State Police Command has also deployed armed and plainclothes officers to forestall any breakdown of law and order, the police spokesman said. site of the blast in Ibadan, confirmed the incident to one of our correspondents on Tuesday night.

Several videos obtained online showed a dusty cloud and burning houses and cars.

Apparently it was the Gasland around Bodija !! My friend sent me these videos of his house in ADEYI Bodija ! At the back of ace mall !



Viewers discretion  pic.twitter.com/qVOL5oXZP1  IG: lordozii ( ALARIWO OF AFRICA ) (@RealOzii) January 16, 2024

I was sitting on that chair guys I don't know how I'm not hurt.#Ibadan pic.twitter.com/g0hCiSeLzF  Michael Akinsete (@AkinAbayomi_) January 16, 2024

I Escaped!!!

I still dont even know whats happening here in ibadan but we are safe 

All we heard was a massive blast pic.twitter.com/VVy2caZZti  Ade  (@shurley_bankz) January 16, 2024

This is the aftermath of the explosion that happened at Dominos in Bodija, Ibadan 



pic.twitter.com/56Yq2rkgUI  Bayo Otedola (@mister_ade5) January 16, 2024




The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested a former Minister of Commerce and Industry, Charles Ugwu, for alleged conspiracy and loan fraud to the tune of N3.6 billion.





Ugwu was appointed minister by late President Umaru YarAdua and was sacked after a cabinet reshuffle that affected 19 other ministers.





According to a statement by the Head of Media and Publicity of the commission, Dele Oyewale, on Monday, the ex-minister was arrested with Chief Geoffrey Ekenma on January 11, 2024, at No.2, Musa Yar Adua Way, New Owerri, Imo State.





The arrest of the two suspects was said to have followed a petition to the commission from a new generation bank on the alleged fraud perpetrated through a company, Ebony Agro Industries Ltd., linked to the ex-minister.





The statement read, Investigations revealed that Ugwuh and Ekenma, Managing Director, Ebony Agro Industries Ltd., allegedly obtained a loan facility from the bank for the purchase and production of polished rice.





However, the suspect, according to the petitioner, failed to meet his obligations to the bank, and all efforts to get him to repay the loan facility proved abortive. The suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.





Ugwu was elected chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Imo State. He returned unopposed as other aspirants from the Okigwe zone, where the position was zoned to, stepped down for him.





Three years after his election as the party chairman, he was suspended over alleged misconduct.




At least eight bodies of dead passengers have so far been recovered out of 100 from the boat mishap that occurred at Tungan Leda around Shagunu Village in the Borgu Local Government Area of Niger state on Sunday.

The boat took off from Dugga Mashaya in Dugga ward carrying an estimate of 100 passengers and heading towards Wara market in Kebbi State when it occurred.

Confirming the rescue, the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, NSEMA, Public Relations Officer, Ibrahim Hussain, said eight bodies have so far been recovered through ongoing rescue operations.

He explained that the eight bodies comprised of five females and three males, adding that many travellers were rescued while the search and rescue efforts are on.

However, in a message issued by the Niger State Governor, Farmer Mohammed Umaru Bago, and signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Bologi Ibrahim, reiterated the need for relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, to rise to their responsibilities to ensure that safety precautions in water transportation are observed in riverine communities to avert incessant boat mishaps.

The governor, sympathizing with the Borgu Emirate and residents of Borgu LGA, described the incident as unfortunate and pathetic.

According to him I feel your pains and sorrow over the sad and unfortunate news. It is truly pathetic.

While praying to Allah to repose the souls of the departed and grant quick recovery to those injured, he also prayed to Allah to comfort the families of the victims, the Emir of Borgu Kingdom and the people of the local government.

He commended the efforts of the officials of the local government and NSEMA for quickly engaging in rescue operations in collaboration with local divers.

Bago noted that boat mishaps in recent times are becoming one too many in the State hence all hands must be on deck to reverse the ugly trend.

Recall a boat carrying 100 passengers and goods such as grains and sugar cane from Dugga in Kainji under the Borgu LGA to Wara in Kebbi capsized in Tungan Leda around Shagunu Village in the same Borgu Council.
Daniel Bwala, a former aide to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate in the last election, Atiku Abubakar, has expressed hope that President Bola Tinubu will find a lasting solution to the evil of banditry and kidnapping.

Bwalas optimism is coming amid reports of bandits abducting some residents of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and demanding ransom of about N700 million.

The Sagwari Layout Estate Dutse in Abuja was thrown into confusion after kidnappers who abducted ten persons from the area killed three of their victims.

On January 7, the daredevil gunmen invaded the estate with highly sophisticated weapons and abducted at least ten persons.

But reports said the terrorists have killed three of the ten victims to send a strong warning to their relatives negotiating ransom payment.

Our correspondent also gathered that the assailants have increased their demand from the initial N60 million per person to N100 million, now totalling N700 million, as the only condition for their release.

Reacting, Bwala urged the heads of intelligence organizations and security agencies to think outside the box to resolve the carnage.

Posting on X, Bwala wrote: The crisis economy is testing the resolve of this administration.

Amidst the rising spat of banditry and kidnapping for ransom, I am convinced that @officialABAT would galvanize a consensus of national security brains to find a lasting solution to this evil.

The constitution of a national security advisory council consisting of 7 members who would be serving and/or retired heads of security and intelligence organisations such as SSS, DIA, NIA, Police etc to think outside the box would be key.
Akim Apachev, a rapper from Mariupol, who cynically sings the modified song "Plyve Kacha" at all propaganda events in Russia, calling the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers "demons," assured that he had never experienced harassment because of the Russian language in his hometown. Realizing that his answer had shaken perhaps the most important narrative of Kremlin propaganda, the traitor quickly justified himself, but it sounded even more ridiculous. Apachev began to make up stories about how he suffered because of his Russian-speaking in Vinnytsia.

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The rapper revealed his shameful lies in an interview with Ksenia Sobchak for her YouTube channel. The host asked her guest: "Were there any language problems in Mariupol that Russian propaganda is so fiercely shouting about?"

Apachev, forgetting that he was supposed to be playing along with the Kremlin, replied: "There were never any language problems. I spoke both Ukrainian and Russian perfectly. I watched movies and only halfway through realized whether they were in Ukrainian or Russian. There was never anything."

Sobchak clarified with her interlocutor: "You do realize that the main thesis of Russian propaganda is that 'we are going to liberate them because they ban the Russian language'. You are now refuting this thesis."

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Realizing that he had evaded the Kremlin's methodology, Apachev quickly changed his tune and assured that "they do ban it," but they started doing so only in 2014.

"After 2014, of course, they began to squeeze out the Russian language. But before that, in the east, we did not have this. The east has always been Russian," the traitor assured.

The interviewer began asking clarifying questions, hinting that the Russian language was banned after Russia annexed Crimea and launched an armed invasion of Donbas.

Apachev pretended not to have heard these comments from Sobchak and, feeling that he had almost destroyed one of the biggest and most absurd myths of Putin's propaganda, began to spout nonsense about the west of Ukraine and the "Banderization" of Ukrainians in 2004.

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"I served in western Ukraine in 2004. As if it was Vinnytsia. It was the Orange Revolution, which would bring Yushchenko to power and further begin the "Banderization" of Ukraine. In 2004, officers sent me to the police station because I spoke Russian. That is, I felt pressure because of the Russian language. That is, in western Ukraine, there has always been pressure to speak Russian. In the east, people spoke Russian and Ukrainian perfectly. We treated this with understanding. This is part of our rich culture-the triune Holy Rus! That's it!" the "Mariupol resident" shamefully lied, sucking up to the Z-patriots in the end.

It should be noted that for many years Apachev has been working in good faith for Russian propaganda, supporting the war and genocide of Ukrainians. Even his track, which the native of Mariupol sings everywhere, he could not write without mistakes in Ukrainian words.

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Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote that on New Year's Eve, when an apartment building in Odesa was burning as a result of a Russian drone hit, the pro-government Channel One in Russia played the song "Plyve Kacha", which was covered by Akim Apachev in his own way. In the song, the Putinist sang the praises of Russian terrorism in Ukrainian and called Ukrainian soldiers "demons."

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
President Bola Tinubu has celebrated Bisi Akande, former interim national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who turned 85 years old on Tuesday.

Speaking at an event to mark Akandes birthday, Tinubu said the former governor of Osun is a respected elder statesman in Nigeria who continues to offer rare insights and counsel for effective governance.

The president said he has benefited immensely from Akandes knowledge and perspectives on various issues.

As an astute politician, Chief Akande has been part of every political epoch in our country since the Second Republic. He was one of the eminent Nigerians that drafted the 1979 constitution which the amended 1999 constitution, currently in use, largely mirrors, Tinubu said.

Beyond his sagely contributions to our national development and political evolution over the decades, the most enduring aspect of his enviable life is his forthrightness, integrity, reliability and spartan life which he imbibed from his leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

All these attributes have served him well in all the positions he had the rare honour to occupy in his illustrious life.

Baba Akande is a sharp and brilliant accountant. He was a former Secretary to the State Government and later Deputy Governor of old Oyo State. He dutifully served the people of Osun State as the Governor with tremendous success from 1999 to 2003.

A committed democrat, die-hard progressive, and prudent yet compassionate leader of men, Chief Akande has done much for this country and for the progressive family.

He has been a prominent architect of our nations progressive political parties.

The president said Akande has been a mentor to younger politicians across the country particularly in the south-western part of the country.




The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike, has frowned at constant travels by area council chairmen in the wake of security challenges in the city.





Recall that there has been a spike in the abduction and killing of residents by bandits, especially in Kuje and Bwari area councils.





The minister on Tuesday described the constant travels as unacceptable.





He said, This time around, we will not be happy where area council chairmen will abdicate their responsibilities and travel out.





We have gotten reports that the council chairmen travel any time, and if anything happens, they will not call anybodys name but the FCT ministers.





So, council chairmen should know that they must wake up to their responsibilities. It is not everything that happens people will say that the ministers are not taking steps.








Betta Edu, suspended minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, received N3 billion of COVID-19 funds for the verification of the national social register.

In a letter dated September 18, 2023 with reference number SH/145/A/220, Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff of President Bola Tinubu, told Edu that her request to obtain N3 billion from the COVID-19 funds had been approved by the president.

Please be informed that Mr. President has approved the expenditure of N3,000,000,000.00 (three billion naira) only, from the Covid-19 Palliative Fund for verification of the National Social Register, Gbajabiamila wrote.

Please accept the assurance of my highest regards.

The N3 billion was disbursed to nine companies, including one linked to Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of interior. The minister said he resigned from the company in 2019.

Edus approval came about two months after the National Economic Council (NEC), presided by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, dropped the social register compiled under Muhammadu Buhari, immediate past president, for lacking credibility.

DUMPING THE SOCIAL REGISTER

During the meeting of July 20, NEC resolved that the implementation of the cash transfer programme for states should be based on their social registers and a cash reward policy for public servants for six months.

Speaking with journalists after the meeting, Chukwuma Soludo, governor of Anambra, said NEC agreed that states should come up with their own registers using formal and informal means.

But there was some pushback from citizens and the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO).

There were arguments that so much money had already been sunk into getting the data in NASSCOs custody, and that it would be wasteful to dump it.

The coordinating office clarified that the countrys social register is an aggregation of state registers.

The national social register is an aggregation of state registers built by each of the 36 states and the FCT, NASSCO posted on X on July 21 following NECs decision.

States build the register using a community-based targeting approach undertaken by targeting teams and enumerators engaged by states and overseen by their ministries of planning.

NASSCO and the NBS Nigeria work collaboratively on a number of fronts around poverty, most notably on the national living standards survey (NLSS).

Here were some complaints on NECs decision to discard the national social register.

COVID-19 FUNDS AND STARVING CITIZENS

As the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the world in 2020, some international agencies, corporate organisations, and individuals donated billions of naira to enhance the federal governments response to the disease.

In August of the same year, the World Bank approved $114 million for Nigeria that was meant to be shared by the federal capital territory (FCT) and the 36 states.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also created a N100 billion credit support intervention for the healthcare industry.

These funds were meant to provide food relief items and boost the healthcare sector.

However, not long after, mobs began looting warehouses in different parts of the country for COVID-19 relief items, while accusing the authorities of hoarding them.

In November 2023, the house of representatives issued a 72-hour ultimatum to Oluwatoyin Madein, accountant general of the federation (AGF), to submit a detailed report on the utilisation of a N100 billion COVID-19 intervention fund.

Bamidele Salam, chair of the house committee on public accounts and sponsor of the motion that led to the resolution, said Madein had refused to comply with an earlier resolution of the lower legislative chamber to provide details of the expenditure.

As we speak, that input has not been received from the office of the accountant general of the federation, Salam had said.

That is a very important document that will guide our proceedings on the investigation the house mandated us to carry out within a timeframe.

Nothing has been heard since the ultimatum was given.

HOW IT ALL STARTED

The humanitarian affairs ministry came under intense scrutiny after a memo wherein Edu had asked Oluwatoyin Madein, accountant-general of the federation, to transfer N585 million to a private account, began making the rounds.

A nationwide outrage ensued in the wake of the revelation.

Rasheed Zubair, media aide to Edu, said the leaked memo was a blackmail tactic after the fraud in NSIPA had been exposed, adding that the embattled ministers request followed due process.

Thereafter, President Tinubu suspended Edu and ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe the finances of the ministry.

Phone calls and text messages to get Ajuri Ngelale, the presidents spokesperson, to react to this report were unsuccessful.
President Bola Tinubu on Monday exchanged warm greetings and shared a hug with former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Owerri, Imo State.

The duo met during the swearing-in of Governor Hope Uzodimma.

This was the first time Tinubu and Obasanjo will be meeting after the 2023 presidential election.

Recall that in the past, Tinubu and Obasanjo had a strained relationship, but they appeared to have reconciled before the 2023 presidential election when Tinubu visited the former president in Ota, Ogun State.

However, despite Tinubus visit, Obasanjo supported Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, during the last election.

The event: Tinubu, who was earlier at an event in Abuja for the 2024 Armed Forces Remembrance Day, landed at the Sam Mbakwe Airport in Owerri around 1 pm.

He was accompanied by some government officials and was welcomed by Uzodimma and other Imo leaders.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas also attended the event. The Anambra governor Charles Soludo was represented by his deputy, Onyekachi Ibezim.

Residents of Imo State disregarded the sit-at-home movement in the Southeast and turned out in large numbers for the swearing-in ceremony. They marched to the Dan Anyiam Stadium through the streets while donning vibrant clothing.

Mondays inauguration came about two months after Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won a second term in office, defeating his closest rivals Samuel Anyanwu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP)s Athan Achonu.

The governor got 540,308 votes, the PDP candidate secured 71, 503 votes, and Nneji Achonu polled 64,081 votes.
President Bola Tinubu says his administration will not rest until agents of darkness causing insecurity in the country are completely eliminated.

Tinubu spoke on Tuesday at the official unveiling of the book titled Working with Buhari, Reflections of a Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015-2023).

The book was written by Femi Adesina, ex-spokesperson to former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The presidents comment comes amid the rising insecurity in many parts of the country, especially in Abuja, the nations capital.

On January 5, gunmen raided a community in the Bwari area council of Abuja and abducted scores of people, including a family of six sisters.

On Sunday, the abductors killed Nabeeha, one of the six sisters, purportedly as a warning to the family for failing to pay the ransom of N60 million.

On Tuesday, Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), held a meeting with heads of security agencies in Abuja.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari says Femi Adesina, his erstwhile spokesperson has done the nation a favour by writing a book in his honour.

Buhari spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at the book launch of Adesinas book titled Working with Buhari: Reflections of A Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015-2023).

Another book titled Muhammadu Buhari: The Nigerian Legacy (Volume 1-5) was also launched alongside Adesinas book.

Buharis presence at the book launch was his first official visit to Abuja since he left for Daura, his hometown in Katsina state, after handing over power to President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023.

The former president said he felt delighted returning to Abuja, noting that the book launch was worthy of temporarily bringing him out of his resting in his native Daura back to the federal capital territory (FCT).

The two publications launched today; Working with Buhari: Reflections of a Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, 2015  2023, written by Femi Adesina, who served as my Media Adviser for eight years, and a volume of five books, Muhammadu Buhari: The Nigerian Legacy (2015  2023), edited by Dr. Udu Yakubu, are worthy to temporarily bring me out of resting in my native Daura, back to the city, Buhari said.

These books presented today once again exemplify the sanctity of records, and the role they play in documenting facts and figures, achievements and milestones, either in our personal lives, or in the life of a nation.

I told Adesina when he visited me in Daura with an advance copy of his book, he has done the nation a favour in writing it, as he has provided a one-stop shop on our stewardship to the country. The same has also been done by Dr. Udu Yakubu and his colleagues.

Without documentation, revisionism wins. Human beings often have short memories, and unless events are recorded in cold print, some people would come and attempt to either distort or even obliterate recent history.

Buhari further said Tinubus administration has his full support and confidence in the quest to have the Nigeria of our dreams.

He also said he is committed to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Government is a continuum. It is like a relay race. You run your course, and hand over the baton to the next person, Buhari added.

This we have done, and the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration has my support and confidence, in the quest for us to have a country of our dreams, where there is emancipation for our teeming population.

With the cumulative achievements of government after government, I believe we will get there in no distant time.

In our journey to the desired destination, there will be hard decisions taken, and the people would bear some costs.

We can only seek their understanding, and state that there was no intention to deliberately inflict pain and anguish on anyone.

I remain committed to our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the leadership of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The former president added that he has abiding faith in the strength, unity and future of Nigeria.
New Jersey is expanding the number of students eligible for free breakfast and lunch in school for the second time in two years, adding another 60,000 children to the mix, under a law Gov. Phil Murphy signed Tuesday.

The question now is whether the state will ultimately make government-funded meals open to all students in the state  a goal of two top state lawmakers.
The 75th Emmy Awards marked its big milestone by inviting the casts of TV series past and present to the stage.

There were reunions for Cheers, Martin, Ally McBeal and All in the Family, complete with design that evoked the iconic sets of those series. There was a tribute to Greys Anatomy, the longest running primetime medical drama (now in its 20th season).
Three third-prize Powerball tickets ranging in value from $50,000 to $150,000 were sold in New Jersey for the two most recent lottery drawings, officials said.

A Powerball ticket worth $150,000 was purchased by a player using the Jackpocket app for Mondays drawing. A $50,000 ticket was also bought at Welsh Farms on River Road in New Milford, New Jersey lottery officials said.

Each ticket matched four numbers plus the Powerball. The $150,000 ticket was bought with the Power Play option for an extra $1.

Mondays winning numbers were: 13, 30, 35, 49 and 59, and the Powerball number as 4, with a Power Play of 3x.

No one across the country hit the $89 million jackpot.

In addition, a Powerball ticket worth $100,000  also bought with the Power Play option  was purchased for Saturdays drawing at ShopRite on Old Book Road in Emerson.

Saturdays winning numbers were: 13, 31, 33, 51, 58. The Powerball drawn was 15, with a Power Play of 2X. No one nationwide won that $78 million jackpot.

Neither jackpot had any big winners for the secondary, $10 million Powerball drawing.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.
Dozens of volunteers gathered Monday at a dilapidated house in Camden  where local researchers say Martin Luther King Jr. lived while he was a student  to clean up the site and begin the long-awaited process of turning the residence into a museum.

The fate of the two-story, abandoned row house at 753 Walnut St. once seemed uncertain as local residents struggled to garner support to preserve the space that local historians say King lived in while he was a seminary student.

The house, with gaping holes in its structure, had been deteriorating for years. Then an overnight fire in March 2023 caused the roof to collapse, further damaging what could be saved.

Now, with a new sign placed in front of it reading The Future Home of the MLK Museum, the Walnut Street house is officially on its way to being restored and turned into a museum, supporters say.

The goal is to create a walk-through exhibit at the house to showcase Camdens role in the Civil Rights Movement and Kings time in the city. The future civil rights leader lived in Camden from 1949 to 1951 while he attended the now-closed Crozer Theological Seminary about 20 miles away in Chester, Pennsylvania, local researchers found.

Advocates hope a recent grant will help pave the way for funding for a museum. A $99,789 grant was awarded to Camden from the New Jersey Historic Trust in 2021 to research and identify Civil Rights sites in the city.

The Walnut Street home will be listed as one of these sites, which could help designate it as a historic landmark, said Amir Khan, who heads a nonprofit group leading the project.

This is an exciting time, its bringing history to Camden, New Jersey and all the greatness that came out of Camden, Khan said. The grant is not just for this house, but all the other great, historical places in the city.

A March 11 fire at a vacant row house on 753 Walnut St. in Camden burned through the roof. Advocates have been trying to get the house declared a historic site since 2015 because local historians say Martin Luther King Jr. once lived there.Patrick Duff

As Kings speeches played in the background over a speaker, volunteers, including First Lady Tammy Murphy, collected trash from the surrounding area. Meanwhile, others organized donated coats by sizes to distribute to people in need within the city.

We are all in this together, Murphy said to the volunteers. Im thrilled youre here, again on this bitterly cold day to remember an amazing man.

More than 30 students from Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Camden and Rutgers-Camden came to assist with the cleanup efforts.

We feel really privileged to be in this community learning medicine, said Kelly Lambert, a second-year medical student at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. The people of Camden give us so many opportunities to learn. This is kind of our opportunity to give back to them.

Efforts to clean up and rebuild the house are just starting. This month, contractors will begin tearing down the fire-damaged parts of the building while saving important elements, including the steps and door, the group said.

Once the museum is finalized, the nonprofit group also wants to turn the 10,000-square-foot lot next door into the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Social Justice, a facility that will support community initiatives and hold more information about the citys civil rights movement, Khan said.

Khan, a Cherry Hill resident who lived in Camden up until the 1960s race riots, acquired the house in 2021 when the previous owner, Jeanette Lilly Hunt, sold it to his nonprofit group in hopes that it would be preserved.

The Walnut Street house belonged to Hunts father-in-law during the time when King and his roommate Walter McCall stayed there while they both attended theology school, Hunt said.

According to Hunt and local researchers, the house holds historical significance because it was the place where King resided when he planned his first sit-in at the now-shuttered Marys Cafe in nearby Maple Shade in Burlington County.

Martin Luther King Jr. graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta in 1948 at age 19, a few months before he moved north to study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania. (Photo courtesy of Morehouse College).Morehouse College

In 2015, Haddon Heights resident Patrick Duff began uncovering historical documents about the incident. Historical records indicate that in 1950 King, who was 21 at the time, went to Marys Cafe with McCall and two friends and asked to be served alcohol even though they were told Black diners would probably not be welcome in the area.

The owner allegedly refused, saying he could not sell packaged goods on Sunday after 10 p.m. King then asked for ginger ale and the owner refused, according to a June 1950 police statement. The owner then allegedly threatened the group with a gun.

King and McCall reported the incident to police, according to a municipal court complaint signed by both. The complaint included the 753 Walnut St. address, which local researchers say supports the claim that King was living in Camden at the time.

Duff included the information in his first attempt to have the Camden house recognized as a historic site. However, in 2020, the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office rejected his application, citing a lack of evidence showing King as a long-term resident of the home.

Instead, the historic preservation office recommended using the 2021 civil rights survey grant to help designate the house as one of the prominent sites in the Civil Rights Movement in Camden.

After years of delays, the path to restoring the house and eventually creating a museum seems possible, supporters said.

Its an exciting time because we have finally got everything approved with the city for the permits and got the contract, Khan said.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Nyah Marshall may be reached at Nmarshall@njadvancemedia.com.
Members of the royal family in exile, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, seriously angered the late Elizabeth II back in 2021 by naming their daughter after their great-grandmother, Lilibeth. The couple claimed to have received the Queen of England's blessing, which was never actually given.

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When Elizabeth II learned of the lie, she was "as furious as she had ever been," according to British journalist and author Robert Gardman in his new biographical book, Charles III: New King. A New Court. The Inside Story". In June 2021, Prince Harry and Meghan announced the birth of their second daughter, confirming that they had decided to name her Lilibet Diana, Hello! In her youth, Elizabeth II was called this because she could not fully pronounce her name.

Only a few people could use this form of address to the Queen: her parents, sister Princess Margaret, husband Prince Philip, and close friends. Back in 2021, the BBC reported that Elizabeth II had not been asked for permission to name Lilibeth in her honor, Hello! writes, but a spokesperson for the royal family claimed that the decision was approved by the monarch.

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In his book, Gardman denied this, saying that one of the staffers "privately recalled that Elizabeth II was 'as furious as I've ever seen her' in 2021 after the Sussexes announced that she had given them her blessing to name their child 'Lilibeth,' the Queen's childhood nickname."

Interestingly, Prince Harry and Meghan have promised to sue anyone who tries to suggest that their actions are "illegal." However, when the couple tried to enlist the support of their version of the royal palace, they were refused.

As OBOZ.UA reported earlier, Netflix paid $100 million for a documentary about the couple Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and The Hollywood Reporter called the couple the biggest losers of 2023.

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Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
UPDATE: Jersey Shore town pleads for emergency bulkhead to stop ocean from flooding its streets

The mayor of North Wildwood was brief in his assessment of 13th Avenue.

The dune has breached, Patrick Rosenello remarked, while water flowed through a sandy gape on the ever-eroding beach.

For decades, the Jersey Shore town has faced significant coastal erosion, defined by the National Geographic Society as the wearing away of rocks, earth, or sand on the beach due to waves, strong storms and sea level rise.

Climate change, which fuels larger and more consistent storm systems with higher waves, has been shown to speed up this process.

North Wildwood officials have taken temporary measures to fend off the encroaching tides during recent winter storms but must wait until spring 2025 or longer for a massive U.S. Army Corps of Engineers beach replenishment to bolster the shoreline.

This month, Rosenello has monitored particular sections of his shore including between 12th and 15th avenues where a dune was recently rebuilt.

After a powerful storm earlier this month brought fierce winds and considerable rainfall to New Jersey, the mayor said all of the 36-block beach was at risk and 10 of those blocks were inaccessible at high tide.

After more harsh weather followed, the first breach of that vulnerable section  at 13th Avenue  was reported over the weekend. A resident, PJ Hondros, posted a video of the breach.

Now that its open it could just get wider at every high tide. Whatll happen is that thing will just keep growing, Rosenello said Tuesday morning, unable to confirm the latest at the scene amid the ongoing snowstorm.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and North Wildwood have been pitted against each other since 2020 over the future of the citys slice of shore.

So far, the state has cited the city for unauthorized beach repairs and issued a fine  which has been folded into a larger ongoing $33 million legal battle.

The state declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.

North Wildwood advised the NJDEP last week that they plan to apply for an emergency authorization for a bulkhead. The department will review the application once it is received, department spokeswoman Caryn Shinske said Tuesday morning.

READ MORE:

North Wildwood has not had its beach replenished with sand for roughly a decade, linked to delays for a wide-spanning federal project also slated to benefit Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and Lower Township. That project is set to begin construction next year but must overcome additional hurdles including public and private real estate easements, an Army Corps spokesman confirmed.

North Wildwoods attorney plans to appeal to the state this week for an emergency steel bulkhead at 13th Avenue, similar to one that stretches from 3rd to 12th avenues. Another structure like it wraps around the citys beach patrol headquarters.

We have zero shore protection at that location. A moderate noreaster could cause significant infrastructure damage, Rosenello said Tuesday morning of the area around 13th Avenue. A major noreaster, youre talking about a public safety (concern)... its an immediate threat.

Without approval from the state for emergency beach work this week, Rosenello said the city may appeal to the judiciary.

Coastal erosion, made worse by early January 2024 storms, requires emergency beach fixtures, according to local officials.Photo courtesy of John W. Harkins Sr.

Coastal erosion, made worse by early January 2024 storms, requires emergency beach fixtures, according to local officials.Photo courtesy of John W. Harkins Sr.

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Steven Rodas may be reached at srodas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X at @stevenrodasnj.
When administrators at McManus Middle School in Linden first introduced a new cell phone policy last fall  requiring students to lock their phones in pouches during the school day  some students struggled to part with their devices.

I can remember four or five students in particular that literally broke down crying because they couldnt handle it, Principal Michael Walters said. The only word I could use is withdrawal. It seemed like it was that emotional. It was that tough at first.
A body has been recovered in New Jersey after police received reports of someone jumping off the Outerbridge Crossing Monday afternoon, Port Authority Police told NJ Advance Media.

Port Authority Police said they received a report of a person jumping off the Outerbridge Crossing at about 2:55 p.m., and the body was found within the confines of Perth Amboy.

No information about the jumper has been released, but Port Authority Police said an investigation underway.

The Outerbridge Crossing  a 96-year-old bridge that connects Perth Amboy and Staten Island, spanning the Arthur Kill  was the scene of another incident on Monday. One person was hurt in a three-car crash that forced the closure of two lanes on the bridge in the morning, according to a report by SILive.com.

The victim was taken to Staten Island University Hospital, an FDNY spokesperson told SILive. Details about the persons condition were not available.

Editors note: NJ Advance Media typically limits reporting on suicides to those that occur in crowded public places, involve public figures or, in special circumstances, where there is a larger public impact. Suicidal thoughts and behaviors can be reduced with the proper mental health support and treatment. If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Jeremy Schneider may be reached at jschneider@njadvancemedia.com and followed on Twitter at @J_Schneider and on Instagram at @JeremyIsHungryAgain.
Six-day (Tuesday through Sunday) print subscribers of the Watertown Daily Times are eligible for full access to NNY360, the NNY360 mobile app, and the Watertown Daily Times e-edition, all at no additional cost.

If you have an existing six-day print subscription to the Watertown Daily Times, please make sure your email address on file matches your NNY360 account email. You can sign up or manage your print subscription using the options below.
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Snow showers. Temps nearly steady in the mid to upper 30s. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 100%. Snow accumulations less than one inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with snow showers mainly during the evening. Low 27F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 50%.
Residents of the aggressor country of Russia, which has been waging a bloody war against Ukraine for almost two years, have once again threw a tantrum over the UAV attack. They didn't like the fact that drones fly into their territory as they don't let them sleep "peacefully."

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This time, the reason for the complaints was the explosions in Voronezh on the night of January 16. In local Telegram channels, Russians complained about dictator Vladimir Putin, who assured them that "everything was going according to plan."

It is worth noting that the drones "made their way" to Voronezh on Tuesday after midnight, and about 15 explosions were heard there. Locals complained that they started waking up to the hits, and then reported fires and broken windows and balconies.

At first, the governor of the region, Alexander Gusev, claimed that there were no casualties, but later admitted that a child had been injured. For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry said that its air defense system "destroyed five and intercepted three Ukrainian drones" over the territory of Voronezh region.

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However, the Russians reacted to the information about another "successful" operation of Russian air defense with distrust. In this context, they recalled Putin's words about the "missile defense" that "goes according to plan." They also warned that after such "clapping" people would not vote for him in the spring elections.

"The special military operation is right on schedule. Everything is going according to plan  Vladimir Putin", "Why start a war if you can't even defend your people and your borders?", "This will have a bad effect on the elections in March, these regions will definitely not vote for Putin", Russians said.

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Russians also complained that their country has no one left to fight because "all the disabled and tuberculosis patients have been taken away and soon it will be grandmothers."

At the same time, many Russians still continued to call on the Kremlin to take revenge against Ukraine.

"For each victim, those nazis should die without any pity and on a large scale, these are the same cattle that support attacks on civilians," residents of the Russian terrorist state cynically said.

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Only verified information is available on our Telegram OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Professor Longhair was playing on the car radio and I had king cake on my mind when I came around one of the bends of Metairie Road. There it 
Five countries of the European Union (EU) - Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary - are demanding that the European Commission reintroduce import duties on grain from Ukraine. The reason is allegedly unfair competition.

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This was stated by Hungarian Minister of Agriculture Istvan Nagy, the press service of the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture reports. "That is why Brussels should take measures that will protect the markets of the member states bordering Ukraine and at the same time enable them to use their export potential. One such option could be to impose tariffs on the most sensitive agricultural products," he said.

He also added that Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary share a common position aimed at ensuring that Ukrainian agricultural exports do not have a negative impact on the European market.

"Therefore, Brussels must also ensure that EU agricultural standards are applied consistently to all products offered to European consumers. We call on the European Commission to present a report on the compliance of Ukraine's production standards with EU agricultural standards," Nagy added.

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On September 15, 2023, the European Commission announced that it would not extend the restrictions on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine to five neighboring EU countries (Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia) with some conditions to avoid a new surge in supplies.

What do we know about the situation

The restrictions were introduced in May 2023 and applied to imports of wheat, rapeseed, sunflower and corn. The above countries argued that Ukrainian agricultural products, when imported duty-free to the EU, settle in their countries and harm the local agricultural sector.

After the restrictions were lifted, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia introduced unilateral bans. Poland expanded its list of banned products to include rapeseed cake and meal, as well as corn bran, wheat flour, and derivatives. Hungary has expanded the list to 24 commodity items.

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Napoleon, OH (43545)

Today

Occasional snow showers. High 39F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 40%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. A few flurries are possible. Low 27F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph.
A poop-filled diaper and nowhere to change it has led to an initiative to make bathrooms in Sisters businesses more family-friendly.

For small business owners, installing a diaper changing table might not always be affordable or top-of-mind. A new program by Age Friendly Sisters Country (AFSC) has created an action team to make it easy to add changing tables.

The action team's aim is to help them out by offering free sourcing and installation of changing tables and other kid-oriented bathroom amenities, such as handwashing stools, wipes, and diaper starter packs. Storefront window stickers inform patrons that there is a baby changing station inside. Support from Citizens4Community's (C4C) Momentum Grant, and the City of Sisters Community Grant, provided funding for the initial round of restroom enhancements. You can check out first installations at Fika Sisters Coffeehouse, Luckey's Woodsman, Suttle Tea, High Camp Taphouse, and Eurosports.

Team leaders for the project are Kellen Klein and Jane Cartwright. Klein is the executive director of C4C, and Cartwright is a staunch community volunteer, having a long career with corporate icons like Nike, North Face, and Echo HealthStream.

Klein explained the genesis of the program: "This all started one day when I had to change my son's poopy diaper on the floor of two local businesses due to their lack of changing tables. My wife and I figured we could either complain, or turn it into something positive. We chose the latter, and Family Friendly Restroom Team was born. We're so grateful to AFSC for giving us the guidance and infrastructure to make this project possible and help local caregivers and business owners."

Cartwright added: "Parents and caregivers do such hard and important work, and unfortunately they often don't get the credit they are due. The changing stations we're providing are one small way to make their work easier, and help them feel seen in our community."

The couple is also exploring opportunities to work with other local organizations to develop a map of Sisters Country's changing stations, and plans to create an "action toolkit" to guide others eager to catalyze similar work in their own community.

The cost is about $250 per restroom and AFSC hopes to add 15 more installations this year, to be funded by donations.
Travel is a luxury that not all can afford. Education Tours is an organization that aids in the funding and organization of student travel programs worldwide. At Sisters High School, these tours used to be a tradition, but when COVID-19 shut down travel, the school had to put their plans on hold.

This coming spring of 2024, introduces the first official EF Educational Tours trip Sisters High School students have been involved in since 2020. This tight-knit group of eight are visiting five different countries over 11 days. These countries included Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Estonia.

"I've never been outside the country, so I'm super excited to be able to go on this trip," said senior Abigail Christopher.

Trips have been historically guided by teachers Samra Spear and Gail Greaney; this year is no different. Originally taken over from a previous Spanish teacher at SHS, Janis Quiros, Spear, and Greaney have carried on this tradition for 10 years.

"We love working with EF because they truly try to immerse you as much as they can into the culture. Whether it be trying out the foods or having local guides, the kids really get to experience the culture and not just be a tourist," said Spear.

The planning for this trip began in March 2023, giving the students and teachers time to pay for and organize the trip. Their tour begins in Oslo Scandinavia for three days before they take an overnight ferry to Copenhagen. The students will get the chance to sightsee the Christiansborg Palace and climb the 17th-century Round-Tower before moving on to Stockholm, Helsinki, and Tallinn.

Many of them have never ventured outside of America, but are eager to explore these new places and introduce themselves to new people and alternative ways of living. Neither Greaney, Spear have visited Scandinavia either, which will make this a new experience for all of them.

"This is my first time traveling globally. I'm most excited to visit Denmark, see their culture, eat different foods, and just travel," said senior Presley Adelt.

With the majority of students being a part of the senior class, there are no doubts as to how memorable this excursion will be.

"This is a very special group of kids, we know them well, and it's my daughter's class," said Greaney That combination of hearing about these places but never having been there before is all very exciting,"

"Because a large part of the group is seniors it'll be nice to just have fun with my friends. It's a great transition before college and graduation. We're all just excited to see this new part of the world," said senior Molly Greaney.

In addition to this tour, Greaney and Spear are planning for their following trip to Portugal which will take place during spring break of 2025.
In the five years between 2017 and 2021, 721 elk and mule deer were killed in collisions with vehicles on the Highway 20 Bend to Suttle Lake corridor. The heaviest concentration was east of Sisters, and in the Black Butte Ranch stretch there were higher numbers.

Numbers for 2022 and 2023 are not yet available.

The removal of dead animals on state roadways is undertaken by Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).

"ODOT is responsible for removing road hazards on state highways, including animal carcasses. Our maintenance crews do a great job of recording when and where large wildlife are moved off the highway. But the data are very conservative since just as many animals that are struck wander off the highway and die elsewhere," Cidney Bowman, wildlife passage coordinator for ODOT told The Nugget.

ODOT is working with partner state and federal agencies and non-profit organizations on a privately funded feasibility study between Bend and Suttle Lake. The density of wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) is quite high - among the highest in the state - and portions of the highway pass through U.S. Forest Service lands. The Oregon Wildlife Foundation is leading the contract for the study, but Central Oregon LandWatch is one of the main leaders of this effort.

"Mitigating collisions is a bipartisan effort," said Jeremy Austin from LandWatch, citing a Pew Research Study that found 86 percent of all Oregonians favored action to reduce the toll.

"Over a period of time, the Oregon legislature has provided $12 million in various funding rounds to find solutions to the problem," Austin said.

The feasibility study to be completed this summer will give planners tools and options to work with by which time more data will have been released.

"We have very good data on migration patterns," Austin said, indicating that they knew where and when Cervidae (deer, elk) roam.

There are about 1.5 million deer and car collisions a year causing more than $1 billion in damage losses. Some 10,000 motorists a year are injured in such encounters with 175 to 200 resulting in death.

With deer and elk frequently on the move during breeding season and migration to winter ranges in the fall and back to summer feeding grounds in the spring, more wildlife are crossing roads statewide.

Oregon has 79,045 miles of roadways across the state, including 4,295 miles of national highways. Drivers travel over 35.8 billion miles on these roads each year. A 2019-2020 report on Animal Collision Likelihood listed Oregon in the "medium risk" category nationwide, with an overall collision rate of 1 in 180, although it has the highest rate of WVCs when compared to other West Coast states, according to the legislature.

In Deschutes County, there is already one active wildlife passage corridor near Sunriver. "The Lava Butte wildlife underpass near Bend is frequented by all sorts of wildlife from elk and deer to bobcats and badgers. As expected, the crossing saves the lives of wildlife and drivers. For instance, deer-vehicle collisions in the area are down by 90 percent," said Celeste Meiffren-Swango, state director of Environment Oregon.

A commissioned study on the other hand shows mixed results when factoring in all the tactics for this corridor that include 13 foot exclusion fencing and jump-outs, a ramp deer can use to get back if they somehow jumped into the highway.

"In conclusion, it appears that the wildlife crossings have provided a means of safe passage for mule deer and other wildlife that routinely cross Route 97; however, the fence and jump-out configuration may be limiting the overall effectiveness of the project," said the report's authors Western EcoSystems Technology.

Most commonly, underpasses (tunnels) or overpasses ( bridges) are used to direct animal crossings across major highways.

The Black Butte Conservancy has a keen interest with the problem as some 200 elk make their home on Black Butte Ranch, and regularly cross Highway 20 in some cases multiple times a day getting from the Ranch to Green Ridge.

Tom Sawyer, a BBR resident and Conservancy member, imagines his group supporting the initiative and lending volunteers to the project as it moves from study to implementation - likely in 2025, possibly 2026.
Schools will update their curricula starting in September 2024. These changes are due to Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. In particular, the lessons on the subject "Defense of Ukraine" will be strengthened and textbooks on the history of Ukraine will be supplemented.

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The transformation was announced by the Ministry of Education and Science. It notes that these subjects take on a new meaning in times of war.

"This is not abstract knowledge, but very specific skills that students see the need for every day. These are the ability to behave in critical situations, basic first aid skills, knowledge of how to protect oneself and others in case of danger, how to handle explosive devices, use the latest equipment, etc. All of this can save the lives of students who are about to enter adulthood. And, of course, this is such a relevant national and patriotic education, which is part of the fight against Russian aggression," said Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Oksen Lisovyi.

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The UAH 1.74 billion allocated by the Cabinet of Ministers will be used to upgrade the qualifications of teachers of the "Defense of Ukraine" subject, purchase teaching aids and computer equipment for classrooms.

In this way, the Ministry of Education and Science plans to make the lessons more practice-oriented and ensure effective learning in accordance with the updated program.

Earlier, the head of the education ministry said that starting September 1, 2024, 11th grade students will receive updated textbooks on the history of Ukraine, which will be supplemented with materials about a full-scale war. It is also planned to change the approach to teaching this subject in schools by teachers. In particular, teachers will have methodological materials on how to talk about the war with students of different ages.

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November 24, 1930  December 15, 2023

Our beloved husband, dad, uncle and grandfather Werner left us suddenly on December 15, 2023. He had recently celebrated his 93rd birthday - quite a milestone!

Werner Sebastian Heinrich Storch was born November 24, 1930, in Tiefenort, Germany. The oldest of four children, he was quickly followed by Hannelore, Heinz and Anneliese. The family ran a butcher shop - a business that Werner was expected to overtake. In October 1948, however, at age 17, Werner had an argument with his father so severe that his father demanded he leave. He left with only the clothes on his back, 10 German marks and a cardboard briefcase. This was three years after the end of World War II, and he knew that he needed to head to the West to avoid being caught in what would soon become East Germany. Werner escaped by train and was helped by family in the West to start a new life. He worked as a bricklayer in Aachen before pursuing his love for math, geometry, physics and chemistry at the Ingenieurschule fur Bauwesen in Berlin, where he earned his engineering degree. After graduating in 1955, Werner obtained a job in Duesseldorf. This is where he learned of The World Council of Churches accepting applications to immigrate. They were looking for candidates that escaped from behind the "Iron Curtain." His application was selected by The Rose City Methodist Church. So, in 1957, he and his first wife, Gitta, boarded a ship to the USA, ending their journey in Portland, Oregon.

Werner's first job was working for Pacific Northwest Bell, but his goal was to become a civil and structural engineer. Though he spoke little English, he studied when he could to take the Professional Engineer's Exam  a 16-hour exam that had a 60 percent failure rate. Although the English-German dictionary he was allowed to use was missing most of the "E" section, he passed the exam on his first try. While living in Portland, Werner and Gitta had four children- Andrea, Craig, Danielle and Tyson.

Werner was able to start Storch Corporation Engineers in 1960. He started with two employees, which soon grew to 20. He helped design and build steel and grain mills, cement plants, and perhaps most famously, Portland's Fremont bridge. For several years this was the longest free span bridge in the world. He had projects in Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Alaska and Ohio. Then came international projects in China, Germany, Indonesia and the Philippines.

In July of 1991, Werner married Dolores O'Conner, bringing two more sons into the family - Scott and Mark. Werner and Dolores were happily married for over 32 years. They enjoyed remodeling various homes in Central Oregon, Washington, and California. They traveled extensively, returning often to Germany, and participating in the 875th birthday celebration of the city of Tiefenort.

Werner enjoyed reading, classical music, traveling, fly fishing and spending time with his family. Werner leaves behind his beloved wife Dolores, children Andrea (Jeff), Craig (Norma), Danielle (Kevin), Tyson (Melissa), Scott and Mark (Julie Anne) and nine grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be held at Black Butte Ranch in Sisters, Oregon on August 10, 2024. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude's Hospital for Children.

"What was once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose. For all that we love deeply becomes a part of us." - Helen Keller
An exhibit that was at the world-renowned Field Museum in Chicago will next be displayed in Northwest Indiana.

The "Calumet Voices, National Stories" exhibit was shown for more than a year at the prestigious natural science museum, which draws up to 2 million visitors a year.

"In March, at the exhibit hall, we have 'Calumet Voices, National Stories' coming up," South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority interim CEO Niki Lopez said. "It ties in really closely with our Region here. It just recently came down at the Field Museum. It's going to be down in the exhibition hall from March to October."

The "Calumet Voices, National Stories" exhibit aims to tell the story of the Calumet Region. It's a collaboration of more than 15 museums and libraries across the Calumet Region along the Calumet River watershed in Northwest Indiana and Illinois.

The exhibition showcases the Region's culture, industrial heritage, steelmaking, ethnic diversity, biodiversity, dunes landscapes and communities.

"It's new but it ties in well here," Lopez said. "We're securing sponsors right now. It fits very well, us being a visitors center and people traveling throughout the state."

The 6,500-square-foot W.F. Wellman Exhibit Hall at the Indiana Welcome Center just off the Kennedy Avenue exit of the Borman Expressway used to regularly host exhibitions throughout the year before the coronavirus pandemic but scaled back to just the popular "A Christmas Story Comes Home" exhibition during the holiday season over the last few years. Last summer, it was revived with the The American Adventure Jamestown Exploration of 1607 Role-Playing Exhibit, a traveling educational exhibit that taught visitors about how difficult and deadly it was for European settlers to establish colonies in what would become the United States.

The exhibit includes art, maps, photomurals, woodcuts, lunch pails, steelworker uniforms, steel mill signage and a recently rediscovered 10-foot-tall steel slab with welding by women who became steelworkers during World War II. It includes a number of displays, including a woodwork by local artist Corey Hagelberg that shows the flow of the Calumet River and a massive 1973 tapestry commissioned by Bethlehem Steel.

"It was be a curation of what was at the Field Museum," she said. "We hope to have all the items but that's still the details we're working out with them."

Portions of the "Calumet Voices, National Stories" exhibit were previously displayed at the Porter County Museum, the Pullman National Historical Park, the Hammond Public Library and the Gary Public Library and Cultural Center.

The exhibit highlights prominent Region figures like Jean Shepherd and the Jackson 5 while also telling the story of blue-collar workers, including steelworkers, oil refinery workers and ice cutters who harvested ice for the Union Stockyards in Chicago and State Line Slaughterhouse in Hammond.

"It seems like it would have drawing power to me," SSCVA board vice president Brent Brashier said. "It's one of the most famous museums in the country. To have an exhibit from the Field Museum in our exhibit hall is a huge win."

The exhibit is tentatively slated to open in the second week of March, but dates have not yet been finalized.
VALPARAISO  On April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. told a crowd of striking sanitation workers that, though the road to progress would not be easy. they all had "the opportunity to make America a better nation."

King was assassinated the next day.

Morgan Medlock quoted King's final speech during Valparaiso University's MLK Day celebration, Monday.

"I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land," Medlock repeated the civil rights icon's famous words.

If Dr. King could endure what he endured, if that generation could endure what they endured, then, our hour has not passed," Medlock said.

This year Valparaiso chose to organize the MLK Day celebration around the theme "Realizing the Dream Through Healing and Resilience." Medlock, the director of community outreach and engagement for Howard University Hospitals psychiatry department, was VU's keynote speaker.

Before Medlock's speech, VU President Jose Padilla, gave out the Faculty and Staff MLK Award and the MLK Drum Major Instinct Community Award. Adjunct professor of sociology and criminology Samantha Burgett received the faculty and staff award. Burgett received her masters in social work from VU in 2020 and became the Valparaiso Police Department's first social worker in 2021. Burgett now works for the Porter County Sheriff's Department.

Vanessa Allen-McCloud, president and CEO of the Urban League of Northwest Indiana, received the Drum Major Instinct Community Award. Allen-McCloud has a doctorate in educational leadership and has worked as an administrator at Purdue University Calumet, at South Suburban College and at the Gary Community School Corporation. In 2010, she was named president of the Urban League, an organization that provides resources related to education, financial literacy, public health and more to Northwest Indiana Residents. Allen-McCloud also sits on the Gary Community School Corp. Board of Trustees.

"Were commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, but were also remembering those shoulders that we stand on," McCloud told the crowd on Monday. "Those who fought, bled and died so that we can vote, so that we can have a better quality of life."

Angela Vidal-Rodriguez, VU'S assistant vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, said the university chose to focus on resilience during this year's celebration because of the recent politicization of diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives in academic settings.

In these challenging times, where the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion face adversity, it becomes hard to persevere in the struggle," Vidal-Rodriguez told attendees to always remember that the goal of achieving fairness in society is certainly worth the effort."

During her speech, Medlock said she's had to be especially resilient in recent months.

In 2022 Medlock was tapped to lead Colorado's newly-formed Behavioral Health Administration. The Behavioral Health Administration was created to better coordinate the state's mental health and addiction programs, however Medlock was fired from her position in April of 2023. She has filed a federal complaint alleging she was fired due to racial discrimination.

"Recently, I endured a public act of racism, so what I am sharing with you today is not a sanitized call to action about how to overcome," Medlock said. "It is in fact the real wrestling of a human being with her own suffering and her resilience."

Medlock said she's tried to use her struggles to inspire her work as a psychiatrist and as an educator. She repeated King's famous quote, "unearned suffering is redemptive."

VU's MLK Day celebration also included a campus-wide service project, a collaborative art project and a number of focus sessions that touched on topics like the role social media plays in social justice and how racism impacts mental health.

PHOTOS: Hammond hosts annual MLK Day commemoration Hammond's annual Martin Luther King commemoration Hammond's annual Martin Luther King commemoration Hammond's annual Martin Luther King commemoration Hammond's annual Martin Luther King commemoration Hammond's annual Martin Luther King commemoration Hammond's annual Martin Luther King commemoration Hammond's annual Martin Luther King commemoration Hammond's annual Martin Luther King commemoration Hammond's annual Martin Luther King commemoration Hammond's annual Martin Luther King commemoration Hammond's annual Martin Luther King commemoration Hammond's annual Martin Luther King commemoration Hammond's annual Martin Luther King commemoration Hammond's annual Martin Luther King commemoration Hammond's annual Martin Luther King commemoration Hammond's annual Martin Luther King commemoration Hammond's annual Martin Luther King commemoration Hammond's annual Martin Luther King commemoration Hammond's annual Martin Luther King commemoration
For many workers, their job is more than merely a place to earn a living or explore a career. Its a daily gathering place to see coworkers who they may spend more time with than their own families. Its where they share their joys and sadness, their gripes and pettiness.

The workplace can be a second home, an escape or refuge from the storms of daily life. For others, it can be a prison where they feel incarcerated, shackled by their fears to leave or move on. The only reason they stay is to remain with their coworkers.

Its everything to me, said Amy Brinkley, who works for the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors. I have more in common with work relationships than anyone at home. Without some of my friends at work I wouldnt be here. My work is my life purpose and my family is so far removed they dont get it.

Work colleagues often serve the role as a lifeline or a life preserver when things get challenging or overwhelming. Just seeing their face in the morning or spotting their car in the parking lot can lighten a dark day. Regardless of the daily grind at the office, just knowing youll be sharing the same air space offers a reassuring peace of mind.

This is something Ive said for years, said Kate DeRolf, an employee at WorkOne Northwest Indiana, which serves seven counties. My rationale was you spend more waking hours at work than at home so it must be inviting.

When she directed program sites for Geminus Head Start, she made sure to equip rooms with emergency chocolates and other thoughtful touches to make teachers feel more comfortable.

I always decorated my schools the second I took over to help create a cozy environment, DeRolf said. My desk now is the same way as is my home office.

Just think of all the personal experiences that coworkers share with each other in the workplace. From baby showers to bridal showers, from weddings to funerals, from raising children to burying parents. Theyre there to mourn with you, complain with you, laugh with you and confide in you.

If youre lucky, the laughter is so hard you cant stop, even if customers or patients are nearby. Or you have an entire conversation with a close coworker without saying one word. Its simply how you look at each other in silence. Its knowing youre not alone in the hourly chaos of a workplace.

Im actually good friends with some of my office coworkers, and I retired a decade ago, said Mary Neely, an artist and photographer. We got along great, even as we vehemently disagreed on some things.

When Joci Gillan was hired by a large corporation, her supervisors brought up the fact that employees ate lunch together.

This lunch environment is so important that they wanted to make sure I would also eat lunch with them, Gillan said.

She works in a small office with 10 other employees.

We are very close, she said. I think what helps is that we have always eaten lunch together in the conference room. There we are able to share what we are doing in our job as well as vent about all the corporate (stuff) that surrounds us.

The workplace environment is crucial for workers with developmental disabilities who seek inclusion outside of their home.

The workplace is the second most important social unit an individual has outside of family, said Lillian Clarke, a human resources specialist for Indiana University, citing academic studies. Ensuring that the workplace is a good space where employees can connect with one another is something that HR works to build.

This task usually falls to employees as they bond with each other, day after day, month after month, year after year. For some workers, it continues decade after decade. My colleague, Sharon Ross, recently marked her 50th year in employment with The Times. Imagine that, five decades of workplace relationships.

Im lucky to have worked with her during both of my stints here even though we dont often see each other in the office. We stay connected via email and social media. Digital platforms have replaced traditional office spaces for tens of millions of Americans.

Leaving or switching jobs can be a stressful, anxiety-ridden change for longtime employees in any workplace. The process can feel like going through a divorce or a messy break-up. Jumping ship from one employer to another may seem like jumping straight into icy waters. No life raft, no rowboat, no wooden board to float upon.

Job status within a company greatly matters. Executives can receive golden parachutes. Lower level workers feel forced out of the plane at 30,000 feet with a broken ripcord.

Its also difficult to know when its time to move on from one job to another. Perhaps, its when your favorite coworker leaves or when your once familiar workplace surroundings begin looking foreign.

My wife left her job as a dental hygienist after 22 years at the same office. She started at a new office Monday, feeling like a nervous young kid switching schools in a different city.

She left her old job with no pension, no severance offer, and no goodbye cake or card. Just tearful hugs, a glance through the rear view mirror, and a trunk filled with fond memories. Similar to most workers at any job in any field, she will miss some of her former colleagues more than the brick-and-mortar workplace.

This is the hidden job perk behind any office door. If youre lucky, earning a living transforms into enjoying a life.
Nominations were announced six months ago. The ceremony was supposed to take place in September. So why on earth are the Emmys happening now?

The delay is a result of Hollywoods labor problems last year. More than 11,000 television and movie writers went on strike in May. Then tens of thousands of actors went on strike in July, creating the first simultaneous actor and screenwriter walkouts since 1960.

Emmy organizers concluded that the ceremony had to be postponed until January to give the industry time to resolve the labor disputes. The screenwriters called off their 148-day strike in late September, and the actors ratified their new deal with the studios in December.

The delay represents the most significant postponement of the Emmys since the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. (The 2001 ceremony took place in November.)
This year, there was an extra line item in the Emmys budget: for intricate recreations of some of the most iconic sets in television history, down to the red bar seats from Cheers, the dark green living room couch where much of the action in the 1990s sitcom Martin took place and the beeping patient monitor in Greys Anatomy.

To honor the 75th anniversary of the Emmys, the show reunited the casts of several beloved series, with Michael Imperioli and Lorraine Bracco appearing as a nod to The Sopranos before the spotlight was on Martin, a pioneering Black sitcom that centered on the stand-up Martin Lawrence as a disc jockey in Detroit.

Joining Lawrence onstage in a recreation of his living room were Tisha Campbell, the actress who played his girlfriend, an accomplished public relations professional with a way of softening Martins blustering personality, as well as Carl Anthony Payne II and Tichina Arnold, who played two of the couples friends. (Campbells appearance alongside Lawrence was perhaps more significant that the rest: Campbell filed, and then settled, a sexual harassment lawsuit against Lawrence shortly before the series ended in 1997. Lawrence dismissed the allegations in a 2020 interview with GQ, but Campbell has said she has worked to forgive and reconnect with him.)

The Martin actors reminded the audience that despite the shows cultural impact and five-season run, it never received a single Emmy nomination.
Thanks to our ability to evolve, humanity has been able to cope with any global crises that have come our way throughout the existence of our species. But there is a flaw that may prevent us from coping with one of the greatest challenges in history.

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This is according to a study by scientists who have been studying human evolution. They sought to understand whether humanity can meet the challenge posed by the growing climate crisis.

Dr. Tim Waring, an assistant professor at the University of Maine in the United States, and his colleagues Eors Satmari and Zach Wood published their findings in the scientific journal Philosophical Transaction, warning that there are both encouraging and depressing results.

"I want to add hope for humanity, but the point of this paper is not to be artificially positive, but to accurately describe the challenge we face," Waring told Euronews.

During their research, the scientists analyzed the resources that people used, the impact they had on the environment, and the development of cultural characteristics over the past 100,000 years.

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They found that humanity has successfully found solutions to the problems it has faced time and time again, so it is not surprising that people have the impression that the climate change crisis will not be a problem either. But this is probably where the public is wrong.

The authors of the study found that traditionally, our response to crises has been to use resources more intensively and on a larger scale when we needed them. But in the case of the climate crisis, our main task is to reduce the consumption of resources that lead to the greenhouse effect, which can turn the Earth into a hellish world.

Another flaw of humanity is that our species usually finds the right solution only when problems are already out of control. In the context of climate change, this may not work, as we have only one planet to live on.

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Waring noted that international efforts to counter global warming, such as the Montreal Protocol to protect the ozone layer, are important, as are efforts that have been made to benefit local, sub-global groups such as countries and companies.

But, according to the scientist, we have demonstrated the ability to solve problems between groups in the past, but now we are facing a crisis of such scale and complexity as never before. Therefore, solutions must be truly global, "even if it is against the interests of existing groups."

At the same time, the authors of the study do not consider climate change to be a problem that humanity will be unable to solve. For example, things would be much worse if we had to deal with the destruction of ecosystems that could occur if the climate crisis is not overcome.

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"We've been destroying species, poisoning and altering the environment around the world for a long time, and we don't know how this might affect the stability of the ecological system," Waring explained.

But even solving the climate crisis will not create a completely safe space for humanity, as we will need to keep an eye on our evolutionary characteristics and prevent competition for resources, as the planet is no longer as healthy as it used to be.

Researchers are concerned that there is no way around this destructive behavior that once made us one of the most advanced species on the planet.

"There is no long-term solution for human evolution on the planet that doesn't involve unpleasant conflict, and we have to try to solve this problem," Waring emphasized.

He noted that the model of cooperation and coordination that humanity has used over the past millennia has proven to be unsustainable. Therefore, if humanity wants to survive as a species, it must change the way it develops.

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To do this, scientists write, systems of self-restraint and market regulation must appear to "bind human groups around the planet even more closely into a functional unit."

Subscribe to OBOZ.UA 'sTelegram and Viberchannels to keep up with the latest developments.
The Baltimore Sun, the largest newspaper in Maryland, has been sold to David D. Smith, the executive chairman of the nationwide Sinclair network of television stations and other media.

Mr. Smith, who grew up in Baltimore, bought Baltimore Sun Media, which includes The Sun, in a private deal from Alden Global Capital, an investment firm that has become the countrys second-largest newspaper operator. Sun Media also includes The Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Md., and several other Baltimore-area publications.

It was unclear how much Mr. Smith paid for Baltimore Sun Media.

Triffon G. Alatzas, the publisher and editor in chief of The Sun, said in an email to the newsroom on Monday that Mr. Smith had bought The Sun to support his hometown newspaper. Mr. Alatzas said Mr. Smith would meet the staff at The Sun on Tuesday.

In an interview with the paper, Mr. Smith said, We have an absolute responsibility to serve the public interest, adding, I think the paper can be hugely profitable and successful and serve a greater public interest over time.
Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey and his wife, Nadine Menendez, were both charged last fall in a broad federal corruption case in which they were accused of accepting cash and gold bribes.

Now their marriage itself is the centerpiece of a new legal argument.

Both Mr. and Ms. Menendez are seeking to split their case and have separate trials, according to papers that each of their lawyers filed late Monday.

In her request to a federal judge, Ms. Menendez said she understood that the senator might decide to testify at their trial, which is set to start in May in Manhattan. His testimony, her lawyers wrote, could include revealing confidential marital communications with Ms. Menendez that Senator Menendez deems essential and material to his defense.

Husbands and wives cannot typically be forced to testify against each other. And Ms. Menendez wants to maintain the confidentiality of her communications with her husband, her lawyers wrote to the judge, Sidney H. Stein, of Federal District Court.
After being postponed because of labor strikes in Hollywood, the Emmy Awards returned on Monday night and with the ceremony came what might be the television industrys biggest fashion show.

Though the carpet was gray, there was no shortage of red, a color that also proved quite popular at the Golden Globes this month. Bows, an inescapable accessory of 2023, held on as a favorite embellishment: Riley Keough had a black bow in her hair, while her Daisy Jones and the Six castmate Suki Waterhouse and the Abbott Elementary actress and screenwriter Quinta Brunson each had them on their gowns. (Ms. Waterhouses sat beneath her baby bump.)

The ceremony was honoring television programs broadcast last year and in 2022, which gave viewers a chance to catch up with casts like that of White Lotus Season 2. Some of its members seemed to use the occasion to pay homage to the shows setting by wearing Italian designers: Meghann Fahy chose a rosette-laden strapless gown by Armani (that was red); Simona Tabasco donned full-skirted, floral Marni; and Jennifer Coolidge wore a sheer dress by Etro.

Amid a carpet full of feathers, beads, sequins, diamonds and plenty of well-tailored suits, the following 15 outfits stood out from the rest (for better or worse).
To people accustomed to voting in primaries by walking into a polling site, privately completing a ballot and walking out  which is to say, most of the country  caucuses may seem bewildering.

They certainly did to Mary Doyle when she went to her first caucus more than 20 years ago, after moving to Iowa from Illinois. I had no clue what was going on, she said. It was all brand-new. These people get up and talk, and everybodys talking, and I didnt know anybody.

Like many Iowans, Ms. Doyle  who will be a precinct captain for former President Donald J. Trump at a caucus site in western Des Moines on Monday night  came to love the caucus process, with its open expression of candidate preferences and attempts at last-minute persuasion.

Caucuses also have their critics, who note that the process makes voting inaccessible for some people and tends to lead to lower turnout than primaries.
Before the forecasts for severe weather, some of the campaigns had been preparing for a record turnout of more than 200,000. But a brutal snowstorm and persistent severe weather conditions dashed those predictions. The National Weather Service office in Des Moines reported that the highest temperature recorded on Monday barely rose above zero to 1 degree, about 15 degrees colder than the previous coldest caucus day in 1972.

Turnout appeared to drop severely across Iowa  with thousands staying home in the most populous counties compared to 2016.

For example, Woodbury County  which includes Sioux City on Iowas western edge  recorded 2,763 votes compared to 4,426 in 2016, dropping by more than a third. Turnout also fell in Scott County  which includes Davenport on Iowas eastern edge  recording 5,797 votes compared to to 7,946 in 2016.

Iowans in some locations had overcome the frigid wind chills and snowy roads to make a strong showing at their precincts, with organizers hurriedly reaching for extra chairs, looking for ways to open additional space and scrambling to search for additional registration forms for first-time caucusgoers.

In Sioux Center, a city in northwestern Iowa with a population of about 8,400, the wind chill went down to 31 degrees below zero. But the caucus site, an event center housing three separate precincts, was filled with roughly 400 voters. Some were left standing.
Vice President Kamala Harris warned on Monday that American freedom was under profound threat in a speech honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in South Carolina, amplifying a message that the Biden administration has made a rallying cry of its re-election bid.

Ms. Harris used her keynote address at a South Carolina N.A.A.C.P. event to highlight curbs placed on civil rights by Republican lawmakers and the Supreme Court in recent years. She urged the crowd of more than 100 to continue to fight for the constitutional promises Dr. King spent his life holding America accountable for.

If he were here, I think Dr. King would be the first to say that yes, we have come far, and though we have come far, in this moment it is up to us to continue that fight to cash that promissory note, she said, making a reference to his I Have a Dream speech.

Ms. Harris criticized extremists who have passed laws rolling back voting rights and reproductive rights, orchestrated book bans and denied parts of the nations Black history.
Donald J. Trump won the Iowa caucuses in a landslide on Monday, a crucial first step in his bid to claim the Republican nomination in a third consecutive election as voters looked past his mounting legal jeopardy and embraced his vision of vengeful disruption.

Mr. Trumps record-breaking triumph, called by The Associated Press on Monday night only 31 minutes after the caucuses had begun, gave the former president an important win in a state that had rejected him eight years ago.

But on a bitter cold night, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida finished in a distant second place, according to The A.P. His narrow edge over Nikki Haley in a state where he had increasingly banked his candidacy could provide him some much-needed money and momentum in the battle for the mantle of Mr. Trumps chief rival.

With Mr. Trump far ahead in most polls, much of the focus heading into the caucuses had been on the race for second, as Mr. DeSantis and Ms. Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations, spent as much time and money attacking each other as they did the front-runner. With Mr. DeSantis finishing ahead of Ms. Haley in Iowa, and her leading him in New Hampshire, the possibility of a two-person race remains elusive for foes of Mr. Trump, who fear a split field will ease his path to the nomination.
Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen have launched a fresh round of attacks in shipping lanes critical for global trade, damaging a U.S.-owned commercial ship on Monday after attempting to hit an American warship the day before.

The strikes came just days after the U.S. and British militaries unleashed a powerful barrage on militant sites in Yemen, and the Houthi response made clear how difficult it might prove to remove the threat posed to shipping in and around the Red Sea.

U.S. forces are bracing for much larger retaliatory attacks from the Houthis, who began targeting ships after the war in the Gaza Strip began and are preparing escalating responses, senior U.S. military officials said.

After the United States and Britain hit more than 60 Houthi targets last week with more than 150 precision-guided munitions, U.S. officials said the militants still retained about three-quarters of their ability to fire missiles and drones at ships transiting the Red Sea. Many of their weapons systems are on mobile platforms and can be readily moved or hidden, the officials said.
Irans Revolutionary Guards launched a missile attack against what they called anti-Iranian terrorist groups in a northern Iraqi city, setting off large explosions and sirens, including at the American Consulate, around midnight on Tuesday.

The strike in the city of Erbil killed at least four civilians, according to the Kurdistan Regional Security Council in Iraq, and air traffic was diverted briefly, officials said.

A separate ballistic missile attack hit targets in Syria connected to the Islamic State, the Guards said.

A statement by the elite Revolutionary Guard Corps said that the missile strike in Erbil had been aimed at the destruction of espionage headquarters and places that anti-Iranian terrorist groups used to plan a suicide bombing attack in Kerman, Iran, that killed 86 people this month at a memorial procession for Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani. The Guards also cited an assault in December on a police headquarters in Rask, Iran, that killed at least 11 officers.
Fifty years into the history of hip-hop, street to stage transfers remain tricky. Hip-hop dance is diverse and globally dominant, but when its put on concert stages, something often gets lost.

Over the past two weekends, the citys newest theater, the marble cube of the Perelman Performing Arts Center, hosted Motion/Matter, a festival of street dance. Sampling both local artists and international ones, from Africa, Europe and Asia, it focused on theatrical productions in several styles but also hedged its bets and honored roots by finishing with an all-styles dance battle. If the range was more impressive than the individual entries, the festival was still valuable, bringing news of whats happening around the world along with reminders of bars already set by earlier generations.

The first selection, Afrikan Party, was intriguing but confusing. The four dancers of Supa Rich Kids  from Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Spain, led by Oulouy  began caked in white powder, two inert on the ground, the third dragging the limp body of the fourth. Later, they all got goofy, laughing and whacking one another like the Three Stooges or doing silly duck walks, as if death (if thats what the limp bodies and powder signified) were a joke.

Sometimes, they seemed to fight, their dancing like fragments of James Brown footwork topped by twitches. Then they changed into wild outfits, screamed African party! and pulled members of the audience into the dance. Was this ironic? Cathartic? The tone was hard to read.
One of the main trends of last year was Barbie-core, which took over the fashion and beauty world after the premiere of the hit movie Barbie. Of course, the interest in this aesthetic and its popularity was fueled by the film's lead actress, Margot Robbie. However, at the Critics Choice Awards 2024, the actress appeared not in her usual delicate pink look, but in a red dress, which was called "hot Barbie glamor." The star's manicure was also devoid of pink hints, but, according to experts, it fit even better into the overall concept.

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Margot Robbie demonstrated the nail art that is inherent in real Barbie dolls. It was made for the Hollywood beauty by the star manicurist Tom Bachik, who shared it on his Instagram.

For the past six months, Robbie has been recreating the images of the iconic blonde dolls. She managed not only to dress up in Barbie dresses and costumes, but also to do identical hairstyles and makeup. Her manicure was no exception. For the Critics Choice Awards 2024, Tom Bachik gave his celebrity client the "most realistic" Barbie manicure imaginable.

So, to create a "true" manicure for the doll, the master used two beige shades of Chanel Les Vernis Legende and Ballerina on Robbie's short nails. He commented: "Our inspiration for the manicure was light glamor. We wanted the nails to match her skin tone to help visually narrow her nails and lengthen her fingers, almost like a mannequin."

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Allure expert noted: "As a person who was an avid collector of Barbie dolls in the 80s, I can say that Margot's nails remind me not so much of a mannequin as a real Barbie hand. You see, the Barbies I know never wore "nail polish". In fact, you can barely see a real nail on her tiny hands - that's what makes Robbie's short manicure look so neat and match her skin color. And you can't tell me that her huge diamond ring by Lorraine Schwartz isn't an homage to the big sparklers Barbie was known to wear."

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This nod to Barbie was more restrained than many of Robbie's previous looks, but fans are hoping that it won't be the last. After all, the awards season is far from over, so we can assume that the actress will continue to delight the public with spectacular Barbie-esque looks at least until the Oscars.

Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
The 2023 Emmys finally happened. In 2024.

Delayed from September by the dual strike of Hollywoods actors and writers, the belated ceremony, hosted by Anthony Anderson, took place on Monday night at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. On an evening in which the broadcast competed with coverage of the Iowa caucuses and an N.F.L. playoff game  and just a week after the Golden Globes honored many of the same shows  the Emmys made for pleasant, if rarely necessary, viewing.

Most of the awards went to favored artists and shows, with Succession, The Bear, Beef and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver dominating. (Better Call Saul, nominated for 53 Emmys over its six seasons, failed to earn even one statue.) Still, the show did have a few surprises.

There was Niecy Nash-Bettss impassioned speech, Elton Johns newly minted EGOT status and the presenter Joan Collinss timeless smolder. Kieran Culkin, a winner for Succession, used his speech to petition his wife for another child. Ebon Moss-Bachrach celebrated the best comedy win for The Bear by planting a long kiss on his co-star Matty Matheson. And Andersons mother, Doris Bowman, killed as the evenings shadow co-host, heckling winners who took too long with their speeches.

Here are some of the evenings high and lowlights.  Alexis Soloski

Least Surprising Wins: All of Them?

Most of them, anyway. Its nice when an awards show allows for a little envelope-opening suspense. This year, the Emmys had nearly none. With a very few exceptions, three shows swept the awards: Succession for drama (six Emmys); The Bear for comedy (six Emmys); and Beef for limited or anthology series or movie (five Emmys). Throw in two for Late Night With John Oliver  the eighth consecutive time it has won Emmys in a variety series category and for variety writing  and that was pretty much the winners list.
A Houthi missile hit a U.S.-owned ship

An anti-ship ballistic missile fired by Houthi fighters struck the Gibraltar Eagle, a U.S.-owned cargo vessel, off the coast of Yemen yesterday. The ship and its crew, which had been headed toward the Suez Canal, were not seriously harmed, according to the U.S. militarys Central Command. The ship turned around to leave the area.

The Houthis, an Iranian-backed militia, have claimed that they are acting in response to the Israeli military response in the Gaza Strip. Their attacks have disrupted a vital trade route to and from the Suez Canal and prompted U.S.-led airstrikes last week. The group considers all American and British ships to be enemy targets, a Houthi spokesman said, and he warned that its response is coming.

The strike came a day after the U.S. said it had shot down a missile that Houthi fighters fired at one of its Navy ships in the Red Sea. Senior U.S. military officials are bracing for much larger Houthi retaliatory attacks and are preparing a set of escalating military responses should President Biden order more strikes.
If there was any question whether Donald Trump was on track to win the Republican nomination, it was answered Monday night by the voters of Iowa.

The first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses delivered him a sweeping victory, offering the most concrete proof yet of his dominance over the Republican Party.

With nearly all the votes counted, Trumps share was 51 percent. Ron DeSantis finished a distant second at 21 percent, with Nikki Haley at 19 percent. (See maps of the results.)

The result is not surprising or even unexpected, but Trumps victory is still noteworthy. A year ago, Iowa looked more difficult for the former president. In an upset eight years ago, Iowa voters rejected Trump in favor of Ted Cruz. And unlike the rest of the country, the Iowa political establishment has refused to get in line behind Trump.
Chinas second-highest leader said Tuesday that his countrys economy had grown around 5.2 percent last year, providing an unusual early glimpse of important economic data a day before its official release.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Premier Li Qiang, the second-highest official in China after Xi Jinping, said China had beaten its target last year of economic growth of about 5 percent. He also insisted that China had managed to expand the economy without using risky or short-term measures, like large spending or credit programs.

In the course of economic development, we have held to avoiding major stimulus, and have not sought short-term growth at the price of accumulating long-term risks, he said.

Mr. Lis comments were consistent with publicly available estimates of economic growth for last year. China will announce the official number in Beijing on Wednesday.
Goldman Sachs on Tuesday reported its second consecutive quarter of steady profits, a return to form for the bank, which has struggled with management missteps that tarnished its once untouchable reputation on Wall Street.

The banks fourth-quarter profit of $2 billion was roughly equal to what it earned in the third quarter, but that was a sign of accomplishment. Until recently, the bank had been dogged by a drumbeat of losses from its unsuccessful stab at consumer banking and soured real estate portfolio, among other problems.

Helping the bottom line: Goldman cut 3,200 employees over the course of 2023, a 7 percent trim in its head count. It is on a long list of multinational companies that have cast off staff in recent months.

Goldmans stock rose less than 1 percent, bringing the gain to roughly 9 percent over the past year. But shares are still lower than their 2021 peak, and the banks full-year profit of $8.5 billion last year was the lowest since 2019.
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked JetBlue Airways proposed $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines, a victory for the Department of Justice, which argued that the deal would harm travelers.

In his 109-page ruling, Judge William G. Young of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts sided with the Justice Department in determining that the merger would reduce competition in the airline business.

The proposed merger would have created the nations fifth-largest airline. The Justice Department argued that smaller, low-cost airlines like Spirit helped reduce fares and that allowing the company to be acquired by JetBlue, which tends to charge higher prices than Spirit, would have hurt consumers.

The four largest U.S. airlines  American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines  control about two-thirds of the market. The merger would have given JetBlue a market share of 10 percent, still shy of United, the fourth-largest U.S. airline, which has 16 percent.
As Succession cast members marched up to the Emmy stage on Monday night to grab their statues for the shows final season, they used it as one last opportunity to say goodbye.

Kieran Culkin, after kissing his co-star Brian Cox on the lips, gave a tearful speech while accepting the award for best actor in a drama. Matthew Macfadyen and Sarah Snook, who each won acting awards as well, gave loving tributes to fellow cast members. And Jesse Armstrong, the creator of Succession, capped off the night by accepting the best-drama award for the third and final time and noting: We can now depart the stage.

It all punctuated an end-of-era feeling at the Emmy Awards on Monday night. Succession was one of many nominated shows that had farewell seasons, joined by a list that included Ted Lasso, Better Call Saul, Barry, Atlanta and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

But that was not the only reason that there was an elegiac theme to Monday night. The ceremony felt in many ways like a bookend to the so-called Peak TV era itself.
More than 40 countries that are home to about half of the worlds population  including the United States, India and South Africa  will be electing their leaders this year.

My colleagues at The Times report that its one of the largest and most consequential democratic exercises in living memory, which will affect how the world is run for decades to come.

Climate is front and center on many of the ballots. The leaders chosen in this years elections will face daunting challenges laid out in global climate commitments for the end of the decade, such as ending deforestation, tripling renewable energy capacity and sharply reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Here are the issues and races to watch closely:

Major climate policies at stake

Climate change is one of the issues on which Republicans and Democrats are farthest apart.

President Biden signed what many called the most powerful climate legislation in the countrys history. Former President Trump, who is likely to be the Republican presidential candidate  especially after his victory in the Iowa caucuses  withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement, the 2015 treaty that guided much of the worlds progress in curbing climate change.
The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on Wednesday that, on paper, are about a group of commercial fishermen who oppose a government fee that they consider unreasonable. But the lawyers who have helped to propel their case to the nations highest court have a far more powerful backer: the petrochemicals billionaire Charles Koch.

The case is one of the most consequential to come before the justices in years. A victory for the fishermen would do far more than push aside the monitoring fee, part of a system meant to prevent overfishing, that they objected to. It would very likely sharply limit the power of many federal agencies to regulate not only fisheries and the environment, but also health care, finance, telecommunications and other activities, legal experts say.

It might all sound very innocuous, said Jody Freeman, founder and director of the Harvard Law School Environmental and Energy Law Program and a former Obama White House official. But its connected to a much larger agenda, which is essentially to disable and dismantle federal regulation.

The lawyers who represent the New Jersey-based fishermen are working pro bono and belong to a public-interest law firm, Cause of Action, that discloses no donors and reports having no employees. However, court records show that the lawyers work for Americans for Prosperity, a group funded by Mr. Koch, the chairman of Koch Industries and a champion of anti-regulatory causes.
When the chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph was opening Canje in Austin, Texas, in 2021, he did something he had yet to do as a restaurant owner: He decided to tell his own story. Namely, the story of growing up in Georgetown, Guyana, a South American country with deep ties to the Caribbean through food and culture.

Ten years earlier, when Mr. Bristol-Joseph moved to Austin, he couldnt find a single Caribbean restaurant. So for the Canje menu, he added pepperpot, a Guyanese dish of long-simmered beef with earthy spices like cinnamon and allspice, and heat from Guyanese wiri wiri peppers. The only problem was he didnt have cassareep, a bitter cassava juice that the dish needed to truly taste of Guyana.

So, he called his cousin there, and he put me in touch with another cousin who makes it, and they shipped it to me in Austin, Mr. Bristol-Joseph said. I wanted to showcase Caribbean food in the most respectful and authentic way I couldve.
The James Webb Space Telescope has taken detailed photos of Jupiter. They show the northern lights at the poles, giant storms and winds.

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The images were published on the NASA website on Monday, August 22. As noted, the telescope's observations will give scientists even more information about the inner life of Jupiter.

"To be honest, we didn't expect it to be this good. It's really great that we can see the details of Jupiter along with its rings, tiny satellites, and even galaxies in one image," said astronomer Imke de Pater, professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley.

He led the observations of Jupiter together with Thierry Foucher, a professor at the Paris Observatory, as part of an international collaboration under the Webb Early Release Science program.

As noted, the telescope received two images from the observatory's Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam). It has three specialized infrared filters that show the details of the planet. The infrared light was mapped to the visible range. As a rule, the longest waves appear redder and the shortest waves appear bluer.

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In the first photo, you can see a large bright spot - this is a giant storm that can swallow the entire Earth.

In the second photo, besides Jupiter, you can see its satellites Amalthea and Adrastea, as well as cloud rings.

The launch of the telescope has been postponed several times since 2007. In 2022, it was planned to be launched on December 18, then the launch was postponed to December 22, and then to December 24. The launch took place on December 25 - an Ariane 5 rocket with an orbiting telescope took off from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.

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After the device separated from the spacecraft, it will study the oldest stars and galaxies in the Universe that formed after the Big Bang, as well as search for potentially habitable planets.

The James Webb telescope has many times greater technical capabilities than its world-famous predecessor, the Hubble.

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One piece of Gov. Kathy Hochuls proposed artificial intelligence plan is about to fall into place.

Last week she called for a statewide consortium on artificial intelligence. She outlined a public-private partnership that would be spurred on by $275 million in state money, with a center that would be used by half a dozen public and private universities. Each would contribute $25 million to the project, known as Empire A.I.

Tomorrow, one of the six institutions, the City University of New York, will announce that it is receiving a $75 million gift and that $25 million will be CUNYs contribution to Empire A.I.
After months of warning New Yorkers of an imminent fiscal crisis, Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday proposed a $109 billion budget that he framed as far less dire than expected.

The mayor said the citys chief challenge  a continuing influx of migrants from the southern border  was likely to cost less than forecast after officials adopted certain cost-cutting measures and a less open stance toward giving the migrants shelter.

Mr. Adams said the city had cut the costs of housing and feeding migrants to roughly $10.6 billion over three years, down from about $12 billion, and pushed many migrants out of the citys care.

The mayor announced that the city would be receiving $2.9 billion more in expected tax revenues over the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years than initially expected. The new forecast validated criticism by City Council leaders, who had attacked Mr. Adams for making unnecessary cuts when their predictions showed that the city would receive $1.5 billion more in revenues than expected.
When Rex Heuermann was arrested and charged in July as the Gilgo Beach serial killer, prosecutors outlined a narrative against him that his defense lawyer, Michael Brown, attacked as cherry-picked and DNA evidence that Mr. Brown derided as shaky.

Mr. Heuermann, 60, had been charged with murdering three of the so-called Gilgo Four, a quartet of women who in 2010 were found bound with burlap, belts and tape on the Long Island oceanfront.

Prosecutors said they were awaiting the DNA testing they needed to charge him in the killing of the fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, of Norwich, Conn.

But when those charges finally came on Tuesday, just over six months later, prosecutors used the occasion to deliver their version of a knockout punch in the case.
By the time he pulled over the Mazda in November 2018, drivers were handing Bianchi these cards six or seven times a day. But this womans card was a little older, a little tattered-looking. It was difficult to make out the contact information of the officer who had given it to her, which is usually written on the cards back. So Bianchi did the wrong thing, which is to say, the right thing: He wrote the woman a ticket.

Though Bianchi didnt know it then, he had just begun what would become a yearslong struggle to do the job the way he thought it should be done. He had inherited his moral obligations  and a strong dose of stubbornness  from his grandmother, who raised him on Staten Island. But he had no family in the Police Department, and no one who could tell him what to do when its leadership began to turn against him.
At an informal gathering last summer at the Executive Mansion in Albany, N.Y., Gov. Kathy Hochul shared an anecdote about making an unpleasant discovery there, not long after taking residence: a painting depicting the marriage of Pocahontas.

The governor thought Pocahontas looked young and frightened, and had the painting removed. In its place went what she considered to be a more tasteful portrayal of Native people in Niagara Falls.

But surely she was aware of a far more inflammatory display of art, just outside her executive office in the State Capitol: a century-old mural showing the French explorer Samuel Champlain victorious in combat with an accompanying caption, Champlain Killing First Indian.

No, Ms. Hochul replied. She and her top lawyer, Liz Fine, said they were unfamiliar with that artwork in the governors reception room, also known as the War Room for its many battle depictions. Ms. Fine said the matter would be looked into.
Donald Trumps victory in the Iowa caucuses was resounding enough to make the race for the Republican nomination look essentially finished at the start. But it wasnt resounding enough to remove the sense that it could have been otherwise, that yet again his opposition within the Republican Party made things ridiculously easy for his candidacy.

Trump is essentially running an incumbents campaign, presenting himself as the default leader of the party, declining to debate, rolling up endorsements. But his opposition combined, it appears, for reasonably close to 50 percent of the caucus vote. And for a normal incumbent, losing almost half the vote in an early state would be a sign of danger, weakness, disarray.

Eugene McCarthys 42 percent of the New Hampshire primary vote in 1968 forced Lyndon Johnson out of the race. Ted Kennedys 31 percent in Iowa and 37 percent in New Hampshire in 1980 betokened a long and bitter campaign for Jimmy Carter. Pat Buchanans 38 percent against George H.W. Bush in New Hampshire in 1992 was regarded as a political earthquake, even though Bush cruised thereafter.
They met in the 1990s, at an event about the North American Free Trade Agreement, where they were the only people arguing against it. He was a conservative trade lawyer who filed anti-dumping cases on behalf of American steel companies and predicted that the treaty would hurt American jobs. (It did.) She was a liberal activist with a consumer advocacy organization who planned protests featuring giant puppets. Her worry was that NAFTAs rules would hurt working people and override U.S. legal standards on food safety and the environment. (They did.)

These two had something else in common: Both had grown up in Midwestern towns that suffered when manufacturing moved overseas. She hailed from Wausau, Wis., where her family had run a scrapyard. He grew up in Ashtabula, Ohio, and his father put himself through college by working in a steel mill. After that first meeting, they kept in touch, swapping notes on how to throw sand in the gears of a free trade machine that seemed unstoppable.

Thirty years later, this unlikely friendship  between Bob Lighthizer, Donald Trumps U.S. trade representative, and Lori Wallach, the director of the ReThink Trade program at the American Economic Liberties Project, a nonprofit research and advocacy group  continues. And it played a role in bringing about one of the biggest shifts in U.S. trade policy in decades: the astonishing reversal of U.S. support for the international trading system that American officials had long championed.
Patrick Page and Paige Davis met in the mid 1990s, during New York rehearsals for the first national tour of the musical Beauty and the Beast. But with Mr. Page working on his scenes in one studio (he played Lumiere), and Ms. Davis, an ensemble member, singing and dancing in another, they didnt really get acquainted until performances began in Minneapolis.

We started hanging out as friends, and weve been hanging out ever since, said Mr. Page, 61. The couples 2001 alfresco nuptials were chronicled on the TLC series A Wedding Story.

For several years, the vivacious Ms. Davis, now 54, was the host of TLCs Trading Spaces, a home improvement show (wherein neighbors, backed by a design team, would redo a room in each others homes on a $1,000 budget), and later returned to her theater roots, starring in Chicago on Broadway. Recently, she completed an indie short film thats due out this year.
The Manacacias park is six hours from the nearest town, San Martin. To reach it, one must navigate unmarked roads across an undulating sea of green prairie grass, seldom seeing another vehicle. Cellphone signals die as the sky widens and the ubiquitous zebu cattle grow sparse.

On a ride into the nascent park in late November, just days before it was legally declared, Thomas Walschburger, the chief scientist for the Nature Conservancy in Colombia, explained why it was needed so urgently. Cattle rearing, the traditional livelihood of the region and one that was easier on its rivers and soils, was giving way to a new agricultural frontier. Fields of African oil palms, and white-trunked eucalyptus trees, were encroaching ever closer to the parks boundaries.

The sandy, acidic, nutrient-poor soils of the llanos can support these commercial crops only when doused with fertilizers and calcium carbonate. But intensive agriculture compromises the water, and the ability to sustain life, in a key transition zone between the llanos and the Amazon. The hope is that by protecting this small puzzle piece of savanna, a whole lot more can be saved.
Christopher Abbott was about halfway through a performance of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea when he felt something go wrong. The 37-year-old actor had been sitting onstage  his character, a brutish trucker, proposing marriage to a tormented woman played by Aubrey Plaza  and as he went to get up, he couldnt straighten his leg.

That early December injury  he had a bucket handle meniscus tear  was followed in short order by a case of Covid and arthroscopic surgery. And then he returned to the stage, performing for several weeks on crutches, through the end of the shows 11-week run on Saturday night.

The play, a two-hander, is a 1984 drama by John Patrick Shanley about two hardened people who meet in a Bronx bar and wind up spending a night together. The run, staged Off Broadway at the 295-seat Lucille Lortel Theater, was unusually bumpy.
Former two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) favors Ukrainian Oleksandr Usik (21-0, 14 KOs) in a fight with British Tyson Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs). At the same time, the Watford native admitted that he would like his compatriot to win the fight on February 17 to be able to fight him and take all the belts of the division.

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Joshua said this in an interview with Sky News after the announcement of his fight with Francis Ngannou (0-1, 0 KOs), which will take place on March 8. According to the British boxer, he doesn't care who wins the fight between Usik and Fury, but it is indeed a highly anticipated and intriguing fight, from which he wished both of them to come out without injury.

"I think it will be a good fight. I don't care about the result. I just want them to be healthy. It's a tough fight. So, the only thing I want is for them to leave the ring healthy. But I think Usik has the advantage. Good luck to both of them. But I would probably prefer to fight Tyson Fury. I think it's the best fight for the fans and for me," said Joshua.

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If there was any question whether Donald J. Trump was on track to win the Republican nomination, it was answered Monday night by the voters of Iowa.

The first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses delivered him a sweeping victory, offering the most concrete proof yet of his dominance over the Republican Party.

With nearly all the votes counted, Mr. Trumps share was 51 percent. Ron DeSantis finished a distant second at 21 percent, with Nikki Haley at 19 percent.

The result is not surprising or even unexpected, but Mr. Trumps victory is no small feat. A year ago, Iowa did not look as if it would be easy for the former president. In an upset eight years ago, Iowa voters rejected Mr. Trump in favor of Ted Cruz. And unlike the rest of the country, the Iowa political establishment has refused to get in line behind Mr. Trump.
When she arrived in Congress last year, Representative Anna Paulina Luna, a hard-right Republican from Florida, joined the rest of her party in staunchly opposing proxy voting, a practice adopted by House Democrats to allow for remote legislating during the pandemic.

Then, in August, she gave birth to her first child and her perspective changed. Now, Ms. Luna is pressing to allow new mothers in Congress to stay away from Washington immediately after giving birth and designate a colleague to cast votes on the House floor on their behalf.

Given Republicans deep opposition to proxy voting, the bill Ms. Luna plans to introduce on Tuesday to make the change faces long odds to even be given a floor vote. But it raises a novel issue for a male-dominated institution where the average age is nearly 58  a place that is largely exempt from workplace laws and is still behind in bringing some of its arcane practices in line with modern expectations.

Ms. Luna, 34, is only the 12th member of Congress to give birth while in office. Despite her intention to have what she referred to as an all-natural granola delivery and quickly return to her duties on Capitol Hill, things did not go according to plan. She suffered from pre-eclampsia and had to have labor induced, then experienced a difficult delivery and developed mastitis afterward. Pumped full of blood-pressure medication and antibiotics, she was prohibited by her doctor from traveling.
President Biden invited congressional leaders to a meeting at the White House on Wednesday to discuss his funding request for Ukraine, Israel and the border, which has been stalled for weeks on Capitol Hill.

Mr. Bidens request for the $110.5 billion package has been held up by Republicans who are demanding a new crackdown at the border in exchange for their votes.

The president and his aides have warned that failing to approve funding could hand a victory to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, whose forces invaded Ukraine two years ago. The United States authorized the last of its assistance for Ukraine at the end of December.

Asked whether Mr. Bidens invitation signaled that the White House had something new to offer Republicans, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, told reporters that negotiations were ongoing.
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida may have done just enough in the Iowa caucuses on Monday night to argue that he still belongs in the race to defeat Donald J. Trump for the Republican presidential nomination.

But his distant second-place finish had all the feelings of a disaster, given how much time and money he invested in the state, and it calls into question his ability to stay in the nominating contest, with his campaign cash running low and tough tests ahead in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Mr. DeSantis, who entered the field as one of its most compelling contenders, just barely managed to hold off a late surge from Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor.

Mr. Trump defeated both candidates so soundly on Monday night that the race was called in his favor by The Associated Press just 31 minutes after the caucuses got underway. The early call  while some Iowans were still caucusing  gave Mr. DeSantiss team a lifeline to blame the news media for a disappointing performance.
The mood at the Ron DeSantis watch party was anger and disbelief  not at Mr. DeSantiss clear loss to former President Donald J. Trump, but at how early The Associated Press called the race.

Representative Chip Roy of Texas, who spoke for the DeSantis campaign at a well-attended caucus site in Clive, said he was told the results before he even got onstage to make the case for the governor.

Are you kidding me? an animated Mr. Roy told a gaggle of reporters an hour later at the party, held in a West Des Moines hotel ballroom. They havent even started voting yet and heard all the speeches and A.P. calls it?

The A.P. said that its race call, which The New York Times relied upon in reporting its own results, was based on an analysis of early returns as well as results of A.P. VoteCast, its proprietary voter survey system that the outlet said showed Trump with an insurmountable lead.
Former President Donald J. Trumps resounding victory in Iowa significantly raises the stakes of next weeks New Hampshire primary for Nikki Haley and the increasingly desperate contingent of Republicans who want to move on from Mr. Trump.

While Iowa was largely a foregone conclusion at the top, with a spirited battle only for second place, a small but ever narrowing path still exists for Ms. Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, to beat Mr. Trump in New Hampshire. It relies heavily on tens of thousands of independent voters expected to participate in the Republican primary.

Ms. Haley, who got a late start in Iowa, has from the beginning banked her campaign on a strong showing in New Hampshire, and has recently been buoyed by an influx of cash from the super PAC supporting her. The demographic makeup of the state is also much more favorable to her than the more rural and conservative Iowa. She has invested significant money and time here  holding 80 events in the state  and has the support of some its top Republicans, including the popular governor, Chris Sununu.

Shes on the ground, shes in the diner, shes doing the town halls, Mr. Sununu said. Shes answering anybodys questions. Trumps not doing that. Youre lucky to get him to fly in once a week to do a rally and then get the heck out of there.
When Republicans assumed control of the House early last year after winning a narrow majority in the 2022 midterms, Representative Earl Blumenauer, a veteran Democrat from Oregon, made a bold prediction: His party had a slight chance of reclaiming power before the next election  through sheer attrition.

Republicans commanded just a thin edge over Democrats, 222 to 213, Mr. Blumenauer reasoned, and typical turnover in recent years suggested that could shrink further. Plus, a certain new Republican representative from New York by the name of George Santos did not seem likely to survive a cascade of ethics issues and criminal charges.

Still, Mr. Blumenauers prognosticating seemed more like liberal wish-casting given the dominoes that needed to fall to fulfill it. A year later, though still highly unlikely, it suddenly doesnt seem all that far-fetched.

Day by day, thanks to a combination of coincidence, scandal, health issues and political turmoil, the G.O.P. majority keeps getting smaller.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running for president as an independent, announced on Tuesday that he had filed paperwork to create his own political party in six states  an effort to get his name on the ballot with fewer voter signatures than would be required for an unaffiliated candidate.

Mr. Kennedy, an environmental lawyer turned anti-vaccine activist who has promoted conspiracy theories and right-wing misinformation, is seeking to form a We the People party in California, Delaware, Hawaii, Mississippi and North Carolina as well as a Texas Independent Party.

Election offices in North Carolina, Delaware and Hawaii confirmed that they had received the campaigns applications for a new party, as did the Texas secretary of states office. The Mississippi secretary of states office said it had received partial paperwork, and Californias office said it had not received a filing.

Mr. Kennedys campaign said that forming parties in those six states would reduce the number of signatures he needed to get on the ballot in all 50 states by 330,000  about a third of the previous total.
When Hamas unleashed a bloody attack against Israel in October, there was a swift and strong bipartisan clamor of support in Congress for the United States to spare no expense in backing a robust military response by the Jewish state. More than 100 days later, that consensus on Capitol Hill shows signs of fraying, as left-wing Democrats alarmed by the rising human toll of the war in Gaza press to limit aid to Israel or impose strict conditions on it.

The effort has divided Democrats and spurred an intensive lobbying countereffort by pro-Israel groups. It reached a peak on Tuesday, when the Senate voted on a resolution threatening to freeze all U.S. security aid to Israel unless the State Department produces a report within 30 days examining whether the country committed human rights violations in its conduct of the war.

The Senate tabled the measure, forced to the floor by Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, by a vote of 72 to 11. Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, joined Mr. Sanders and nine Democrats in voting to keep the resolution alive.

The result highlighted fissures among Democrats about fulfilling President Bidens request to send a fresh infusion of military aid to Israel, which some on the left say must be limited or otherwise conditioned on changing its approach to the war in Gaza.
Bill Clinton once explained the nations two political parties by saying that Democrats want to fall in love while Republicans want to fall in line.

That adage has not withstood the Trump era. Today, it is Republicans who are besotted.

Donald J. Trumps decisive victory in Iowa revealed a new depth to the reservoir of devotion inside his party. For eight years, he has nurtured a relationship with his supporters with little precedent in politics. He validates them, he entertains them, he speaks for them and he uses them for his political and legal advantage.

This connection  a hard-earned bond for some, a cult of personality to others  has unleashed one of the most durable forces in American politics.

Iowa Republicans, following the lead of party officials across the country, rallied behind the former president despite a list of reasons to reject him. Republicans lost control of the presidency, the Senate and the House during his four years in office. He failed to deliver the red wave of victories he promised in the 2022 midterms. He has been charged with 91 felonies in four criminal cases this past year.
On Tuesday, January 16, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Davos, Switzerland. The parties discussed the situation on the battlefield, the defense needs of our country, further strengthening of the Ukrainian air defense system, and other issues.

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This was reported by the President's press service. The Ukrainian leader expressed gratitude to the NATO chief for the steadfast support of our country in the defense against Russian invasion.

The President informed Stoltenberg about the massive Russian shelling of Ukrainian cities and communities that had taken place recently and emphasized the importance of further strengthening the Ukrainian air defense system.

Zelenskyy and Stoltenberg also noted the importance of concluding a bilateral Security Cooperation Agreement between Ukraine and the United Kingdom, which was adopted at the previous NATO Summit in Vilnius. The Ukrainian leader noted that work on similar documents with other partners is ongoing.

In addition, the talks touched on the preparation of the next NATO summit in Washington. According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine expects decisions that will bring its membership in NATO closer.

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Millions of Texans endured wickedly cold air on Tuesday, but the Texas power grid, which failed spectacularly during a deep freeze in 2021, held firm.

After issuing a request for Texans to conserve electricity on Tuesday morning, a time that posed a crucial test for the power supply, the grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, indicated that it had sufficient power available to handle expected demand for the rest of the day. The situation was expected to further improve with a forecast rise in temperatures.

Wind chills fell below zero in the morning in cities like Austin, Dallas and San Antonio. Many businesses were reopening after a long holiday weekend, but several major school districts, including those in Houston and Dallas, remained closed because of the weather.

By late Tuesday morning, ERCOT had ended its call for energy conservation, saying in a statement that Texans efforts, along with additional grid reliability tools, helped us get through record-breaking peak times today and yesterday morning.
Trumps momentum grows

Donald Trump swept the Iowa caucuses, the first Republican primary of the 2024 election. He got 51 percent of the vote  a clear sign of his enduring command of the Republican Party. Here are takeaways.

His 30-point margin of victory set a record for a contested Iowa Republican caucus. But he still faces 91 felony counts, and has a busy year of court dates ahead of him. Yesterday, he appeared in a New York courthouse for the opening day of his defamation trial. The writer E. Jean Carroll is suing the former president for defaming her after she had accused him of rape.

Then, Trump headed to New Hampshire for a rally. The small, northeastern state is next on the Republican primary list; voters will cast their ballots next week.

Heres the latest.

Looking ahead: Trumps main challengers  Ron DeSantis, Floridas governor, and Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador under Trump  have a tough fight ahead. They lost by a wide margin in Iowa, but DeSantis pulled ahead of Haley, with 21 percent of the vote to her 19 percent.
One plane clipped another at an airport on Japans snowy northern island of Hokkaido on Tuesday, according to the airlines involved, just weeks after a deadly runway blaze in Tokyo.

Nobody was injured in the episode on Tuesday, which involved planes belonging to Korean Air and Cathay Pacific. It happened at around 5:30 p.m. local time at New Chitose Airport, according to NHK, Japans public broadcaster. Footage on NHK of the airport  which had warned earlier in the day of delays and cancellations because of heavy snow  showed a thick coating on the ground.

Cathay Pacific said that its aircraft had been struck by a Korean Air A330, which was taxiing past, adding in a statement that its jet was parked and empty of customers and crew at the time.

Korean Air confirmed that its jet came into contact with the Cathay aircraft during pushback.

There were no injuries and the airline is cooperating with all relevant authorities, Korean Air said in a statement.
A lawmaker from New Zealand quit her job on Tuesday after allegations emerged that she had shoplifted from two clothing stores, actions she said were caused by stress affecting her mental health.

I fell short. Im sorry, said the lawmaker, Golriz Ghahraman, in a statement on Tuesday. The best thing for my mental health is to resign as a member of Parliament.

Ms. Ghahraman, 43, a former United Nations human rights lawyer originally from Iran, rose to prominence when she became the first refugee to be sworn in as a member of the countrys Parliament in 2017.

Image Golriz Ghahraman in 2017. Credit... Hannah Peters/Getty Image

Allegations of shoplifting started appearing in New Zealands news media this month. Some reports also published a CCTV video that appeared to show Ms. Ghahraman taking a handbag from a clothing store. Leaders from her party, the center-left Green Party, confirmed that the police were investigating the episodes, which according to the news reports, happened in the cities of Auckland and Wellington last year.
Vowing to break taboos, deregulate the economy and fight to the last against the extreme right, President Emmanuel Macron presented his vision of a stronger, more just France during a televised news conference that lasted deep into the Parisian night on Tuesday.

We will put an end to useless norms, Mr. Macron said in an appearance before more than 100 journalists, promising to favor those who innovate and create, cut red tape, facilitate hiring and encourage the unemployed to take up job offers. His goal, he added, was a France of good sense rather than a France of hassles.

The president noted that he had defeated Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader and perennial presidential candidate, in 2022 and 2017, and I will do everything to stop her again. He described her National Rally partys program as incoherent and a guarantee of a weaker France.

Until the last 15 minutes of my presidency, I will fight, he said.

In a France already troubled by pro-market changes pushed through in Mr. Macrons first term, which brought unemployment to its lowest level in many years, his promise of renewed deregulation was certain to meet resistance from the many French people attached to a high degree of state-financed social protection.
The debate about Britains asylum system has been cloaked in layers of misunderstanding, misinformation and even propaganda as the issue has become increasingly politicized.

At times, some of the confusion about the system has been amplified by lawmakers from the Conservative government, as they try to push through a controversial plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing and resettlement.

So far, Britain has sent 140 million pounds  about $175.8 million  to the Rwandan government, but not a single person to Rwanda, because of a succession of legal challenges. Legislation designed to change that is being debated in Parliament again this week.

As the legislation, the safety of Rwanda bill, returns to Parliament this week, and as politicians haggle over what shape it will take, heres a look at three common claims about the policy and how it might affect asylum in Britain.
With fighting still raging in Ukraine, and a front line that has barely shifted in more than a year, the countrys president, Volodymyr Zelensky, headed on Tuesday to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, amid a swirl of diplomatic discussions about possible peace talks.

Mr. Zelensky, dressed in olive green pants and a black crew-neck sweater, was greeted with applause when he walked onstage in a room packed with hundreds of people at the forum, a high-profile gathering of business and financial elites.

In his speech, he promoted a Ukrainian peace plan and called for stiffer sanctions on Russia. But in a contrast with his comments to the forum last year, Mr. Zelensky made no direct appeals for weaponry for new offensives on the battlefield.

We need you in Ukraine to build, to reconstruct, to restore our lives, he told the audience of investors. Each of you can be even more successful with Ukraine.
Bobis advanced age was remarkable: Dogs of his breed normally live 12 to 14 years. And although there are many exceptions, smaller dogs in general live longer than midsize ones, who live longer than the largest.

Wired published a skeptical article about his age in December. It noted that while Bobi had been registered on a Portuguese government database, his listed age was based entirely on the owners say-so.

Questions were also raised because the dog appeared to be overweight in photos, not a good sign for extreme longevity.

Not a single one of my veterinary colleagues believe Bobi was actually 31 years old, Danny Chambers, a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, told The Guardian.

Leonel Costa, the dogs owner from Conqueiros, Portugal, could not be reached on Tuesday.

The Guinness book said that it had begun a formal review of the case that would include looking at new evidence and speaking with interested parties and experts. It said that while the timeline could vary, it sought to keep such investigations to three or fewer months.
Iran hit its neighbors Pakistan and Iraq with missile strikes on Tuesday, prompting strong denunciations from both countries and raising fears that upheaval in the Middle East could spiral out of control.

Since the war in Gaza began in October, Iran has used its proxy forces against Israel and its allies. But on Tuesday, it said its latest missile strikes had been in response to terrorist attacks within its borders.

The missile strikes, nevertheless, raised tensions in a region where conflict has now touched at least five nations.

They are contributing to the escalation of regional tensions  and it must stop, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement, after the strike on Iraq. Jake Sullivan, President Bidens national security adviser, also denounced the strike on Iraq.
Hila Rotem Shoshani had invited her friend Emily Hand over for a sleepover in Kibbutz Beeri, Israel. The girls, then 12 and 8, woke early the next morning, Oct. 7, to the sound of thundering booms  the start of the deadliest attack in the history of their country.

For about six hours, Hila and Emily hid in the homes safe room with Hilas mother, Raaya Rotem, 54, as Hamas attackers overran the kibbutz. Then armed gunmen burst in with guns and knives and took the three out into a landscape of horror, past dead bodies and burning buildings, to a car. One of the attackers noticed Hila clutching a stuffed animal. He grabbed it and tossed it aside.

I had it in my hand the entire time. I didnt notice, Hila said on Friday in an interview in New York, before she spoke at a rally in support of the remaining hostages. When youre afraid you dont notice.

Hila was one of more than 30 children kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, and held until late November, when they, along with dozens of adults, were released during a brief truce. Hila, now 13, is the youngest of the returned hostages to speak out about the harsh conditions in which they were held, seeking to highlight the plight of more than 100 hostages who remain in Gaza.

The terrifying drive to Gaza, surrounded by Hamas terrorists, was the first time, Hila said, that she fully realized how really close the territory was to the community she had grown up in.

She said she, her mother and Emily were taken to a home in Gaza, where they were put in a dark room with a couple of other hostages. At first, an armed guard stayed in the room, but eventually moved to the living room.
Bulgaria's military-industrial complex operates 24 hours 7 days a week, and the bulk of production goes to Ukraine. Weapons and ammunition are transferred directly or through third parties.

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This was stated by Todor Tagarev, Minister of Defense of Bulgaria, in an interview with Voice of America on Monday, January 15. According to him, the list of Bulgarian military aid to Ukraine includes old Soviet-era systems and ammunition, which, however, are in good working order.

The Ukrainian military knows how to use such systems without needing additional training.

The Ukrainian military knows how to use such systems without the need for additional training.

"But the most important thing is the production of ammunition, small arms and light weapons in Bulgaria. This is the area of production in which Bulgaria specialized back in Soviet times, and this specialization is still there. Thus, the defense industry operates almost 24/7, and most of the production goes to Ukraine," Tagarev said.

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According to the minister, Sofia will continue to produce Soviet-standard shells and plans to launch additional production facilities for NATO-standard 155- and 105-millimeter ammunition.

Tagarev also noted that Bulgaria provides Ukraine with political, diplomatic and humanitarian support. He is confident that with constant military, political, and financial assistance from its allies, Ukraine is able to defeat Moscow.

In his opinion, providing the Ukrainian army with combat aircraft to reduce Russia's air superiority can play a major role in achieving this goal.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, Tagarev believes that the teaching of history in Bulgarian schools should be cleared of facts that distort the role of Russia in the country's past. In addition, he believes that not only state media but also social networks should be monitored for Russian propaganda.

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AR Seeks PR to Promote Soybeans Mon., Mar. 18, 2024 The Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board is looking to hire a PR firm to educate the public about its activities and the health benefits associated with the "miracle bean."
Twelve pharmacies in Offaly are offering once-off free blood pressure checks next Thursday, 18 January, to support National Blood Pressure Day 2024.

The project is the brainchild of the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) in partnership with RTEs Operation Transformation

High blood pressure affects two out of three over 50s, but it is symptomless. Once detected, high blood pressure is one of the few conditions that can be successfully managed, but only if you know you have it.

Following a quick, easy, and non-invasive blood pressure check, your community pharmacist can provide you with a detailed results card and any necessary health advice or referral.

Encouraging people to avail of the service Clare Fitzell, Head of Strategic Policy, at the IPU said Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a serious health problem in Ireland, and many people are unaware that they suffer from it. Adults should take steps to inform themselves of their blood pressure levels. Those aged over 40 should have an annual check and under 40s should have a check at least every five years.[1]

Risks of allowing high blood pressure to go untreated include higher likelihood of developing a number of conditions including: heart disease, stroke, dementia and problems with eyesight or kidneys.

This year Irish pharmacies are delighted to partner with Operation Transformation to raise awareness of the risks of high blood pressure, and to encourage people to take a few minutes to get checked.

Thankfully, many people who have slightly raised blood pressure can successfully manage this through straightforward lifestyle changes. The key is knowing what your level is and taking appropriate action. However, experience tells us that some people who undergo this weeks tests will be advised to seek further medical attention. This is not something to be feared, as its far better to treat high blood pressure before complications arise than after.

The full list of pharmacies taking part in Offaly is as follows: CGH Allcare Pharmacy, Unit 1/2 Banagher Town centre, Dolans Pharmacy, 5 William Street, Tullamore, HealthPoint Pharmacy Group, Mangans Filling Station, Dublin Rd, Edenderry, Mulhollands Pharmacy, OConnell St, Townparks, Birr, Tullys Lif Pharmacy, 5 Harbour Street, Tullamore, Pettits Allcare Pharmacy, The Square, Clara, Staywell Clonminch Pharmacy, Clonminch Road, Tullamore, Stratus healthcare pharmacy

Tullamore primary care centre , Church View, Tullamore, Rose Finlay totalhealth Pharmacy, Main St., Tullamore, McCormacks Pharmacy, Kilbeggan Bridge, Arden Road, Tullamore, Banagher totalhealth Pharmacy, Banagher primary care centre , Kylebeg, Banagher and Ferbane totalhealth Pharmacy, Athlone Road, Ferbane.

A full list of participating pharmacies across the country is available on the Operation Transformation website at: https://ot.rte.ie/events/national-blood-pressure-day
Roscrea based County Councillor Michael Smith has received what he describes as "vicious messages" on social media in recent days because of his stance on the unfolding protests outside Racket Hall in Roscrea.

"History has taught us several things. We need to learn from the past and not make the same mistakes", Cllr. Michael Smith told the Tribune.

"Many people emigrate to seek a better life. Highly educated individuals, have carved out successful lives in other parts of the world, and are sometimes instrumental in helping us to attract foreign direct investment into this country. My father especially remembers seven members of one family emigrating as they could not find employment in Ireland.

"These were not easy times for those who left or those who stayed behind. Our songs and stories, many young men of twenty said their goodbyes, paint a vivid picture of the reality of those times.

"Few families escaped, we can only imagine how difficult it was to find accommodation and employment. There was no buffer then or entitlement to benefits.

Few could have foreseen a day would come when the business enterprises in Roscrea could not operate without the assistance of over 1,000 migrant workers. Ashbourne Meats, the Bacon factory, Stapletons, Liffey Mills, Adare Transport, Farm Relief, Shopping Centres, Nursing Homes, St Annes among many others, are constantly seeking new workers to maintain their operations", Cllr. Smith continued.

"Hundreds of heavy-laden vehicles leave Roscrea every week with goods and materials destined for different parts of the world. These services are constantly seeking new drivers.

"The people of Roscrea are welcoming people and this has been demonstrated over and over again and particularly in the case of Ukrainians and refugees that have arrived up to now.

"A number of enterprises have been established in our town by migrants and new businesses have developed as a result of their creativity.

"I am constantly working for new initiatives and reliefs to foster more enterprise, big and small.

"The support of the Government and the County Council is essential in generating more confidence and dispelling the negative attitude that sometimes prevails.

"I am working for a better mix of public and private housing and efforts are underway to promote balanced development.

"When the news broke last week that the Racket Hall Hotel was to accommodate 160 international protection applicants, whilst I had no prior knowledge of this decision, I instinctively knew that I could not protest against people who have suffered trauma and seeking shelter.

"Neither could I pretend as a County Councillor that I could prevent this from happening", Cllr. Smith told the Midland Tribune.

"However, I was not ready for the verbal attacks that were made to me personally and the onslaught of vicious messages on social media.

"Naturally, I would have liked to shield my wife and family from this form of abuse but this proved impossible. We all have the right to protest and freedom of speech, with respect to different views and perspectives. Having different opinions should never reach the stage that we lose that respect.

"We know that Roscrea is taking more than its fair share. There is no easy answer to the question of dealing with the accommodation needs of over 100,000 fleeing from war torn countries in one year.

"One liners and quick-fix solutions paraded by opposition politicians does nothing to solve the problem. Trying to hoodwink the public by playing both sides of the coin is no recipe in the short or long term.

"Towns such as Roscrea, hopefully will absorb these applicants and one day they will take up employment, build new enterprises and have a happy life as part of our community. We must be hopeful for the future, learning the lessons of our own history along the way.

"This week, I am meeting with the Minister for Integration, Roderic OGorman T.D., to discuss these issues, the community recognition, acknowledging the part that the people of Roscrea have made in accommodating refugees, asylum seekers and those seeking international protection. We hope that there will be a positive response and a more long-term plan put in place", Cllr. Smith said.

Earlier today there were clashes between Garda public order unit members and protestors at the Racket Hall Hotel as people seeking international protection accommodation entered the hotel building.

Protests are planned to continue into their fifth night at the hotel tonight.

More on this unfolding story as it happens
Ireland is in the grips of an Arctic cold weather blast but a similarly sinister twist is on the cards next weekend with more bad weather set to arrive.

Met Eireann has already been forced to extend weather warnings and a cold weather advisory in place for this week and now experts are monitoring a possible storm next weekend.

Met Eireann's series of Status Yellow low temperature and ice warnings cover the entire country across Monday and Tuesday with northern areas expected to see some snow.

They say it will be "very cold this evening, tonight and on Tuesday morning with severe frost and icy stretches. Coldest over southern half of the country."

In a snow-ice warning for Donegal, they say: "Scattered wintry showers will give way to more widespread sleet or snow for a time overnight with the potential for small accumulations."

Warnings are valid across the country until late on Tuesday morning with a cold weather advisory remaining in place across the whole country until noon on Friday.

That advisory says: "Arctic air will bring winter hazards this coming week. Sharp to severe frosts expected with icy stretches on roads and pavements. Some sleet or snow will occur at times too, mostly for northern areas, and especially for hills."

Night-time temperatures are set to dip as low as -5 degree but Carlow Weather man Alan O'Reilly has said the windchill this week will bring -8 degree cold blasts to parts of the north Midlands.

Alan is also already looking ahead to the end of the cold spell and possibly stormy conditions to follow.

"Weather models have us back to wind and rain next Saturday," he said as he posted an image of wind maps showing strong gusts for Ireland. The stormy conditions could follow our coldest spell for a number of years and bring further hazards.

The windchill forecast for next four mornings in images, youll want the big coat. Many areas will be mainly dry but wintry showers are likely in North and Northwest with some snow there. pic.twitter.com/tG0VpDir3D  Carlow Weather (@CarlowWeather) January 14, 2024

Met Eireann is also making a similar forecast for next weekend. They said it will be "an unsettled weekend but milder, as wet and breezy, possibly windy, weather moves over the country."

Between now and then, their forecast is packed with icy weather, with a risk of icy stretches on roads and a danger to livestock and other animals.

"Tuesday will continue very cold. Frost and ice in many areas, clearing slowly and lingering on places. Some further out breaks of rain, sleet or snow in Ulster, north Connacht and north Leinster, turning mostly to rain. Brighter further south with some sunshine. Highest temperatures of 2 to 6 degrees with moderate southwest to west winds," their forecast said.

"Patchy cloud along with some light rain and drizzle will affect the southern half of the country overnight. Long clear spells developing further north with isolated showers of rain, with sleet and snow possible near northern and northwestern coasts. Lowest temperatures of -4 to -1 degrees with a sharp to severe frost and icy stretches forming. A light northerly or variable breeze will also allow patches of fog or freezing fog to develop.

"A bitterly cold day [Wednesday] with frost, ice, fog and freezing fog at first leading to hazardous travelling conditions, slow to clear through the morning. Otherwise, a largely dry day with good spells of winter sunshine though scattered showers of sleet and snow will affect the north and northwest. Highest temperatures of just 1 to 4 degrees generally, not rising above freezing in some areas, in light northwest breezes.

"Another very cold night [Wednesday night] with widespread frost and icy stretches forming. Dry and clear for most but scattered showers of sleet and snow will mainly affect the north and northwest. Lowest temperatures of -5 to -2 degrees in mostly light northwest breezes."

Looking to Thursday, they predict "a frosty or icy start, followed by another very cold day with scattered wintry showers in the north and northwest. Generally dry and sunny elsewhere with just the odd stray shower possible. Highest temperatures of 1 to 5 degrees in light to moderate northwest to west breezes. Overnight temperatures generally falling between -5 and -2 degrees.

"Another very cold and bright start to the day [on Friday] with widespread frost and some icy stretches. Scattered showers will mainly affect Atlantic counties. Cloud will thicken from the west later in the day. Highest afternoon temperatures of 2 to 6 degrees. Light westerly breezes will back southerly, strengthening through the afternoon and evening."
TIPPERARY county councillor, Nenagh man Seamie Morris, says he plans to urge Tipperary County Council to follow the lead of Mayo's local authority and stop communicating with the Department of Integration on the issue of accommodation for people seeking emergency accommodation.

Today Mayo County Council unanimously passed a motion calling on council staff to cease co-operation with the Department of Integration over the housing of asylum seekers and refugees in the county.

The decision was announced only 24-hours after footage and images of Garda Public Order members tackling protestors outside the Racket Hall in Roscrea have been broadcast around the world and fill the front pages of every national Irish newspaper today.

The motion taken by Mayo County Council was endorsed by Fine Gael and Fianna Fail councillors and says the non-co-operation should continue until an agreed strategy is put in place to properly co-ordinate the provision of additional services for the communities hosting refugees and international protection applicants.

The motion is not binding and Mayo councillors said the move was in response to building frustration over the number of Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers being placed in the West coast county over the last two years.

A spokesperson for Mayo County Council said the motion would be circulated to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tanaiste Micheal Martin, Justice Minister Helen McEntee, Integration Minister Roderic O'Gorman, all local Oireachtas members and councillors in other local authorities.

Tipperary Independent Councillor from Nenagh, Seamie Morris, posted on social media within hours of the decision by Mayo councillors that he will urge his colleagues in Tipperary to do the same.

Councillor Morris said on X (formerly Twitter) he is trying to stop the government's immigration policy which sees local representatives in rural towns receive no consultation or prior warning before accommodation is designated to be occupied by international protection applicants or Ukrainian refugees.

Meanwhile protests in Roscrea are continuing tonight into the sixth night of the demonstration mounted by local people after news began circulating in the town on Thursday last that the owners of Racket Hall had signed a 12-month contract to provide accommodation for 160 people seeking asylum.
Ireland could be blasted by 110km/h winds after a bout of snow and ice this week as weather experts monitor a "conveyor belt of storms coming out way."

Met Eireann has already issued a series of warnings and advisories for cold weather this week, including the threat of snow in four counties.

A Status Yellow low Temperature/Ice warning for the entire country is in place until 11am on Wednesday with Met Eireann warning that it will be "very cold this evening, tonight [Tuesday] and on Wednesday morning with severe frost and icy stretches."

They have also issued a Status Yellow snow-ice warning for Donegal, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo where forecasters say "snow showers could lead to some accumulations."

They foresee difficult travelling conditions and some travel and service disruption in these counties.

Meanwhile, Offaly forecaster Cathal Nolan from Ireland's Weather Channel has given his take on a series of potential storms coming our way, including next weekend and next Tuesday.

"As we see our current cold and setters spells breakdown during Saturday there exists the potential for some stormy weather to develop through Sunday, though theres great uncertainty at present," he said.

"The ECMWF ensemble forecast reveals a deepening storm depression that will sit somewhere off the northwest coast of Ireland, with associated weather fronts crossing the country.

"At the moment the track looks like keeping the worst of the winds to our northwest, with perhaps status yellow warnings likely countrywide for a time on Sunday, with gusts between 90-110km/h, strongest in the northwest.

"There of course is the potential for that picture to change, given that the low pressure in question will only form over the next 72 hours across the Gulf of Mexico.

"At the moment I expect Ireland will miss the worst of the these conditions," he concluded.

According to Alan O'Reilly from Carlow Weather, we could be about to wave goodbye to the current cold spell and say hello to a "conveyor belt of storms" from the Atlantic.

Alan said: "The Atlantic conveyor belt of storms will come roaring back after this cold spell. Firstly for the weekend and then risk of some nasty systems coming our way next week. Sunday and Tuesday likely to see first two systems with Tuesdays looking potentially nasty."

Looking to the weekend first, Alan said that "latest weather models bring a potentially nasty storm near Ireland Sunday with risk of very strong winds and rain," adding, "this one needs careful watching."

Latest weather models bring potentially nasty storm near Ireland Sunday with risk of very strong winds and rain. This one needs careful watching! pic.twitter.com/qqPR5HQWje  Carlow Weather (@CarlowWeather) January 16, 2024

Met Eireann is also predicting some wild weather next weekend. They said it will be "an unsettled weekend but milder, as wet and breezy, possibly windy, weather moves over the country."

Between now and then, Ireland will continue to be gripped by cold weather with overnight temperatures reaching a low as -5 degrees in some places.

"Tuesday will continue very cold. Frost and ice in many areas, clearing slowly and lingering on places. Some further out breaks of rain, sleet or snow in Ulster, north Connacht and north Leinster, turning mostly to rain. Brighter further south with some sunshine. Highest temperatures of 2 to 6 degrees with moderate southwest to west winds," Met Eireann's latest forecast said.

"Patchy cloud along with some light rain and drizzle will affect the southern half of the country overnight. Long clear spells developing further north with isolated showers of rain, with sleet and snow possible near northern and northwestern coasts. Lowest temperatures of -4 to -1 degrees with a sharp to severe frost and icy stretches forming. A light northerly or variable breeze will also allow patches of fog or freezing fog to develop.

"A bitterly cold day [Wednesday] with frost, ice, fog and freezing fog at first leading to hazardous travelling conditions, slow to clear through the morning. Otherwise, a largely dry day with good spells of winter sunshine though scattered showers of sleet and snow will affect the north and northwest. Highest temperatures of just 1 to 4 degrees generally, not rising above freezing in some areas, in light northwest breezes.

"Another very cold night [Wednesday night] with widespread frost and icy stretches forming. Dry and clear for most but scattered showers of sleet and snow will mainly affect the north and northwest. Lowest temperatures of -5 to -2 degrees in mostly light northwest breezes."

Looking to Thursday, they predict "a frosty or icy start, followed by another very cold day with scattered wintry showers in the north and northwest. Generally dry and sunny elsewhere with just the odd stray shower possible. Highest temperatures of 1 to 5 degrees in light to moderate northwest to west breezes. Overnight temperatures generally falling between -5 and -2 degrees.

"Another very cold and bright start to the day [on Friday] with widespread frost and some icy stretches. Scattered showers will mainly affect Atlantic counties. Cloud will thicken from the west later in the day. Highest afternoon temperatures of 2 to 6 degrees. Light westerly breezes will back southerly, strengthening through the afternoon and evening."
A pastoral centre has said that it will stop offering counselling services in Co Donegal after it was not able to get funding for a full-time director of counselling.

The Raphoe Diocesan Pastoral Services said it is the only provider of child and adolescent counselling in the county and that its services ending would create a dangerous void for young peoples mental health services.

It is understood that the centre had helped people affected by the Creeslough tragedy, in which 10 local people were killed at a petrol station explosion in October 2022.

In a statement issued by the centres board of directors on Monday, it said it had received confirmation that the HSE and Tusla would not be funding roles at the not-for-profit organisation.

The rapid growth of the service in response to surging demand for counselling has resulted in an acute necessity for the funding of a full-time director of counselling and a coordinator, it said.

Despite consistent, exhaustive and explorative efforts in recent months to secure much-needed rolling investment from the HSE and Tusla to finance these positions, its now been confirmed that no funding will be made available.

Consequently, the Raphoe Diocesan Pastoral Services CLG has been forced to take the extremely difficult decision to wind down its counselling provision across Donegal.

Services at the pastoral centre in Letterkenny and all outreach centres in the county are to end from mid-March.

The HSEs Community Healthcare Organisation Area said in response that a standard application and negotiation process exists within the HSE for funding non-statutory agencies.

This process is used by the HSE to approve funding to a voluntary/non-statutory agency in relation to health and personal social services through Service Level Agreements. There is currently no such agreement with this agency.

Agencies can apply for this funding through an online application form, it said, linking to https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/publications/non-statutory-sector/application-and-negotiation-process.html

But director of counselling Liam Cannon, who was to leave his one-day-per-week post on January 2, said that the window to apply for that service-level agreement closed four or five months ago.

When Mr Cannon announced his resignation in September, he recommended that he be replaced by a full-time director of counselling since the service was so big it wouldnt be possible to do one day a week.

There were 3,000 counselling sessions delivered across seven locations in the county in 2023, and in six years there have been almost 15,000 sessions delivered.

Mr Cannon is now staying in post temporarily to allow services to continue and try to appoint a full-time director.

Our waiting lists currently have around 360 people on it, and thats growing daily but has ceased from today, he told PA.

The HSE may well quote that they have this national standard.

However, we are taking referrals from the HSE constantly.

Were taking them from psychiatry, psychology, social work, GPs refer to us.

Those are the people mostly referring into us.

They havent quite thought about ok well if this service actually closes, thats going to be another 3,000 sessions that we need to quote for for next year.

The people working in our services do not earn the same level of money at all that they would if they were therapists in the HSE.

So were actually saving the state a huge amount of money.

So to come with a blanket statement, to close the door on this, to me is not acceptable at this point.

The board said in its statement that it was fully aware of the devastation this will cause to clients, people on the waiting list, counsellors, support staff, students dependent on placements, and so many communities across Donegal.

As the only counselling service for children and adolescents in the county, the cessation of this service will have far reaching consequences and create a dangerous void in the provision of mental health services for young people in Donegal.

Its envisaged that the situation will become even more bleak for Donegal communities, as demand for counselling services steadily grows.

The Diocese of Raphoe has funded the service since 1992, with funding also provided through charitable contributions and donations.

In more recent times, Tusla has part-funded service delivery for children and adolescents, but no public funding has been given for adult counselling, management, staffing or administration costs, the organisation said.

In a statement to PA, Tusla said it was disappointed to hear of the centres announcement.

Tusla is one agency that provides funding to Raphoe Diocesan Pastoral Services for counselling services to children, young people and families and it is important to note that Tusla has not reduced funding to the service.

Over the last number of months, Raphoe Diocesan Pastoral Services have indicated that an increase in core funding allocation is required to deliver their current service model.

During this period Tusla has engaged with the organisation regarding its financial difficulties and will continue to engage with the organisation.

We are conscious of the impact of this closure on children, young people, and families, and we will continue to engage with all stakeholders in the community, to look at how existing funding can be utilised to continue to provide supports.
The Taoiseach has described protesters who clashed with gardai as they tried to prevent asylum seekers from entering accommodation in Co Tipperary as anti-freedom and anti-democratic.

Scuffles broke out at the Racket Hall hotel in Roscrea on Monday as protesters gathered while asylum seekers were being taken into the premises.

Demonstrators have been gathered outside the property since Thursday after news broke that the hotel was to be used to house asylum seekers.

Gardai, including members of the public order unit, formed a cordon at the entrance to the site while the international protection applicants were bussed to the hotel.

A man was arrested during the incident.

The building is to provide accommodation for around 160 applicants as the State struggles to house refugees.

Leo Varadkar said he was very disappointed at the scenes that unfolded outside the hotel.

Ireland is a republic, were a democracy, were a free country, and in a republic and in a democracy and a free country, people have the right to protest, they have the right to hold views that other people may find objectionable, Mr Varadkar said on Tuesday.

However, nobody has the right to engage in violence against other individuals, to damage property or to prevent people getting to their home or get into their work. Thats anti-democratic. Thats anti-freedom and thats against the spirit and the values of our nation.

He added: I do want to say this as well  I understand how a lot of people in Roscrea feel, bear in mind only a small minority of people were involved in the events yesterday, and some of them werent from Roscrea. I understand that hundreds of people have been accommodated in Roscrea in the last couple of years, both from Ukraine and people seeking international protection.

Mr Varadkar said the rising number of people in the area has put the towns resources under pressure, adding he understands peoples frustrations.

One of the things we will be doing at Cabinet today is asking all ministers to come together, to take the 10 districts in the country that have the highest proportion of people from Ukraine and people seeking international protection and to put together a special package to help those areas that are under pressure, he added.

Weve done that to a certain extent already with the Community Recognition Fund. But I think we need to do more to help out, to increase resources around health, around education, around policing, to respond to genuine concerns that people have when theres a large increase in the population in their area.

I think we need to do that, need to step up those efforts.

Mr Varadkar said part of the solution to labour shortages in the Republic is migration.

Thats why its important that we continue to be open to migration, but it needs to be migration thats managed well, he added.

That means being fair and welcoming to those who enter the country legally, to study, to work, to join family, it also means being very firm with people who try to enter the country illegally, or try to take advantage of our systems.

We have to step up our efforts there as well.

Meanwhile, Minister for Integration Roderic OGorman said child asylum seekers were upset at scenes on Monday.

Mr OGorman said the site would be used for families and single women.

He said women and children being accommodated at the hotel on Monday witnessed the clashes.

The minister said: My understanding is, from talking to my officials, that theyre settling in but it was a difficult enough experience, children were upset at seeing the scuffles, experiencing the violent tension as they arrived.

He said he respected the right to protest but added that people could express themselves in a way that doesnt impact on vulnerable people.

Mr OGorman said: I dont think it is ever acceptable to block peoples access to the place that theyre staying.

Speaking to RTE Radio, he said some locals are motivated by concerns about the towns resources and that his department would be meeting local representatives to see how the region could be supported.

However, the minister added: I think we also recognise there are people who are travelling around the country  far-right activists  who are looking to stir up anti-immigrant sentiment.

Mr OGorman said he does not currently have plans to visit Roscrea personally.

The minister said he was bringing proposals to Cabinet that are more planned, more structured and more resourced.

He said this would involve building large reception centres, noting that continuing to use properties such as Racket Hall was unsustainable.

Mr OGorman did not provide a figure for how many centres would be needed.

He said the Government was working on a robust communication campaign to tackle what he described as substantial myths about immigration.
Gardai have advised members of the public to 'leave extra time for any journey in Dublin tomorrow,' Wednesday, January 17.

This follows a major operation that is underway in Dublin to facilitate a visit from Chinese premier, Li Qiang on January 16 and 17.

In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter a spokesperson for An Garda Siochana said 'to expect some localised delays' as there may be 'some traffic restrictions in place around the South Dublin area this evening and tomorrow morning.'

As with all visits from dignitaries, we will be on-duty ensuring that Chinese Premier, H.E. Mr. Li Qiang's brief State Visit to Ireland will go smoothly.



There may be some traffic restrictions in place around the South Dublin area this evening and tomorrow morning.#HereToHelp  An Garda Siochana (@GardaTraffic) January 16, 2024

Transport for Ireland said: "In general, traffic restrictions for the visit will be kept to the minimum required and it is intended that any impact on the public will be localised and minimal.

The visit will be concentrated in the Dublin area, including Dublin Airport, the Phoenix Park and Dublin south city centre (including Ballsbridge and Dublin city centre).

Rolling road closures will be in operation throughout the two days of the visit."

Gardai confirmed 'The Phoenix Park will be closed to all access including pedestrians from 7pm this evening for a full 24hrs.'

During the two day visit to Ireland, Chinese premier, Li Qiang is set to meet with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and President Higgins.

Chinese President Xi Jinping nominated Premier, Li Qiang to visit Ireland while President Jiping last visited himself in 2012, before becoming president.
The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, said that after the Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed a Russian A-50 over the Azov Sea, Russia has very few such long-range radar detection and control aircraft left. Only eight of them are now in good condition.

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Budanov said this in an interview with the Financial Times. "The A-50 was shot down and exploded... The IL-22 was heavily damaged and, unfortunately for us, it managed to make an emergency landing in Anapa," he said.

The destruction of one aircraft and severe damage to the other was a significant blow to the enemy air force.

According to Budanov, the loss of the A-50 is likely to affect Russia's ability to operate around the clock and maintain communications in the conflict zone.

It should be reminded that A-50 surveillance aircraft are very valuable to the Russians. They help aim missiles during massive shelling of Ukraine and are worth at least $330 million.

A very valuable and trained crew is also a huge loss for the Kremlin as the A-50 aircraft had about 5 crew members and 10 tactical crew members.

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Only verified information is available on our Telegram OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
JUDGE Andrew Cody refused a request from a shoplifter who sought additional time to pay 17 compensation for stealing cider.

Tullamore District Court heard that Joseph Coughlan (39), The Granary, Tullamore, had brought 70 to court to compensate for the theft of a 69.99 Parkside power tool from Lidl, Main Street, Tullamore on August 28 last year.

The tool had not been recovered and Mr Coughlan pleaded guilty to its theft. He also admitted stealing 17 worth of Linden Village cider from Dolan's filling station in Tullamore on August 26.

Sergeant Brendan Kearns said the accused had 59 previous convictions and in 2016 had received a six-month suspended sentence for criminal damage.

In 2014 he received two separate six-month suspended sentences for a drugs offences and criminal damage and had been disqualified from driving for four years. He had one conviction for theft.

Defending solicitor Patrick Martin said that at the time of the offences last August Mr Coughlan had been off his medication.

He had brought 70 to court and because he was on social welfare, he would pay the 17 compensation for the stolen cider after he received his dole the following Monday.

Judge Cody's response was that because the accused was in receipt of legal aid it would cost 100 to get 17.

It doesn't make sense, remarked the judge on Wednesday morning, ordering that the matter be left stand until later in the day.

When the case was called again later in the afternoon Mr Martin said the full compensation of 87 had been handed in.

The solicitor added that Mr Coughlan had also been having relationship difficulties at the time of the offences.

Judge Cody imposed a fine of 200.
The destruction of the Russian A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft by the Ukrainian Defense Forces is unlikely to significantly affect the occupiers' ability to shell Ukraine. Putin's terrorists program their drones and missiles on the ground and direct them to the targets they want to hit.

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Colonel YuriI Ihnat, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force Command, said this during a national telethon . In addition, he noted that the destroyed A-50 can be replaced by another.

"Will this affect some of the shelling? Well, to a certain extent. But Russian missiles and drones, they don't really need an airplane for long-range missile defense," the colonel noted.

He also reminded that the said aircraft can only detect missile launches by our air defense system and provide information to their command posts.

At the same time, according to Ihnat, the destruction of a plane of this level is a "good sign". This is the first time in history that the enemy has lost a serious aircraft.

"The destruction of the A-50 is a very good sign for both us and the Western countries," the military stated.

As a reminder, on January 14, the Ukrainian Defense Forces shot down an A-50 reconnaissance aircraft over the Sea of Azov and damaged an Il-22 bomber of the Russian military. After the news broke on the morning of January 15, the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Oleshchuk, made an interesting hint with the words: "This is for you for Dnipro!". It should be noted that the day before was the anniversary of the tragic day of January 14, 2023, when Russia launched a missile attack on a house in Dnipro, taking the lives of 46 civilian Ukrainians.

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As reported by OBOZ.UA:

- "The A-50 airborne surveillance aircraft is very valuable for the Russians. It works as a corrector during massive shelling of Ukraine and costs at least $330 million.

- The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, said that after the Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed the Russian A-50 over the Azov Sea, Russia has very few such long-range radar detection and control aircraft left. Only eight of them are now in good condition.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
The ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet continue to disappear from the bays of the temporarily occupied Sevastopol. According to the latest satellite images, the Russian submarine Alrosa, which entered the bay of the occupied city last week, is no longer in Sevastopol.

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However, several ships of the Black Sea Fleet are still detected by satellites. Details and images were published by OSINT analyst MT Anderson.

"The photo is from January 15, 2024. Each time you can see less and less (ships - Ed.). The pier looks empty after the Alrosa submarine of the 877B project called here last week (but there is no 100 percent certainty due to cloud cover)," he said, posting the photo.

The analyst noted that the frigate pier also looks rather empty. The picture shows the Project 12700 Alexandrit minesweeper, the Project 1135 Burevesnyk patrol frigate (Krivak class according to NATO codification), and the Project 1124 Albatross corvette (Grisha class corvette).

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Meanwhile, the Russian submarine Rostov-on-Don, which was hit by Ukrainian soldiers on September 13 last year, and several large Project 775 (Ropucha class) amphibious assault ships are still on dry dock in Sevastopol. Some of them, the researcher noted, are in working order, and some are not.

In the Southern Bay, the MT Anderson spotted the Russian medium-sized reconnaissance ship Ivan Khurs, which was attacked by Ukrainian naval drones in the Black Sea in May 23.

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Earlier, it was reported that the occupiers had deployed a new large amphibious assault ship to Sevastopol . OSINT researchers came to this conclusion after analyzing satellite images.

However, the Ukrainian Navy later denied the report, calling the information false. According to the Navy, the large amphibious assault ship Project 11711 "Ivan Gren" is not in the Azov-Black Sea basin and was not there during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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On January 14, the Air Force of Ukraine shot down a Russian A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft and seriously damaged an IL-22 air control center of the Russian Armed Forces. However, Russia is massively spreading fakes that the damage was caused not by Ukrainians but by Russian air defense.

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The fake about the "human factor" as the key reason for the loss of the aircraft is needed by Russia to convince its pilots that flights over the Black and Azov Seas are still safe for them. This is stated in a new analytical report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Russia has begun to actively deny that it was Ukrainian troops who destroyed the Russian A-50 and severely damaged the IL-22. Instead, Russian propagandists launched a fake that these losses were the result of "friendly fire" by Russian air defense.

ISW emphasizes that such statements are humiliating for the Russian army as a whole.

"The A-50 is used to coordinate Russian aviation and possibly air defense, and the claim that Russian air defense shot down the A-50 would represent a catastrophic failure on the part of the Russian military, if true. A Russian source that focuses on Russian aviation blamed the incident on Russian commanders who lacked the experience required for their positions," the article says.

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At the same time, analysts emphasized that such accusations look strange, to say the least. After all, the commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces, Colonel General Viktor Afzalov, "has extensive experience in Russian air defense operations. Therefore, even if he had never flown a military aircraft himself, his experience, ISW believes, should have been enough to ensure that Russian forces did not shoot down their own command and control aircraft.

Nevertheless, the aggressor state deliberately undermined the reputation of the Russian army.

According to an unnamed employee of one of the Russian special services, ISW writes, the fake about the downing of the A-50 by Russian troops was launched deliberately to convince Russian pilots that it is still safe for them to fly over the Black and Azov Seas. After all, they say, the plane was destroyed as a result of a "human error."

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"It is unclear why Russian pilots should feel better about the idea that their ground-based air defense systems are so incompetent," the analysts added.

They also noted that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had no information about the downed plane and recommended that journalists check with the Russian Defense Ministry for more information. Instead, the ministry, headed by Sergei Shoigu, has remained silent about the heavy losses of Russian military aviation.

As a reminder, on January 15, Ukraine confirmed that the Defense Forces had destroyed a Russian A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft and seriously damaged an IL-22 commando aircraft on the night of January 14.

This statement was made by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who published flight records showing that Ukrainian troops had struck the A-50 and IL-22 over the Sea of Azov.

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Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat also confirmed the downing of two targets. According to him, the first target was an A-50. The IL-22 that followed it managed to reach the airport in Anapa. Ihnat added that it is highly likely that the aircraft is beyond repair and that there are dead and wounded among the crew.

According to Natalia Humeniuk, head of the Joint Coordination Press Center of the Southern Defense Forces, the destroyed A-50 was used to aim Russian missile strikes against Ukraine. Its destruction will at least delay new attacks.

According to the South Command, Russia had three serviceable A-50s out of six. The Defense Intelligence of Ukraine says that Russia has eight.

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According to military observer Kostiantyn Mashovets, Russia began to constantly use A-50s because of the threat of Ukrainian strikes on the Russian Black Sea Fleet and Russian military infrastructure in the temporarily occupied Crimea

Valerii Romanenko, a leading researcher at the Ukrainian State Aviation Museum of the National Aviation University, is convinced that the loss of both the A-50 and its crew is "very painful" for Russia. After all, crew members for such aircraft have been trained for several years.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that he feels a spirit of enthusiasm in Kyiv, even though people are tired. According to him, fatigue is not a reason for people in Ukraine to lay down their arms.

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The Ukrainian diplomat said this in an interview with the Polish edition of Ukad Si. He also answered the question whether this was achieved through a similar impact on society.

"I think it's nuanced. People are tired, but they don't give up because of that tiredness. They realize that they simply cannot afford it. We have to win the war. It doesn't matter if you are tired or not; you have to keep fighting. You can see the determination of people to keep fighting. But if you dig into it, you can see that we are all tired and exhausted. Each of us has a friend or family member who is fighting, has been wounded or killed on the front line. There are air raids every day," the diplomat said in an interview.

According to him, for people in Ukraine, fatigue is not a reason to lay down their arms and raise their hands to the enemy. They know that the enemy probably won't even take them prisoner, but will shoot them on the spot in a trench because Russia does not comply with international humanitarian law.

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"That's how it works in the trenches and that's how it works on social media," the diplomat summarized.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski called on the US Congress and the EU to step up efforts to help Ukraine fight the Russian invasion. He reminded the states of the price they will have to pay if Russia achieves its criminal goals in Ukraine.

To recap, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met with President Andrzej Duda on January 15. The Prime Minister discussed the details of his visit to Ukraine, which will take place in the near future.

In addition, as previously reported, Ukraine will be in contact with the new Polish government at all levels. According to Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Warsaw is "committed to solving problems," and the parties will look for ways to find common ground.

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Natives of Russia have recently begun to apply for Moldovan citizenship more actively. The trend is attributed to Russia's full-scale war against neighboring Ukraine.

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On January 15, Chisinau authorities announced this, noting that it was difficult to cope with the sharp increase in the number of applications. Therefore, they decided to extend the period for processing applications, which was previously 20 days, Reuters reports.

Given the sharp increase in requests for Moldovan citizenship, the relevant agency has asked the government to extend the processing time for applications to six months.

"The geopolitical situation in the region, created by Russia's war against Ukraine, has led to an increase in the number of people wishing to obtain Moldovan citizenship," the statement said.

According to the agency, 70% of the applicants were Russian citizens, and 20% were Ukrainian citizens. At the same time, they did not provide specific figures on the number of people wishing to obtain Moldovan citizenship, which is one of the poorest countries in Europe.

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Reuters reminded that the country's pro-European government has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, during which the debris of missiles fired by Russia at Ukraine often landed on its territory.

Prior to gaining independence, Moldova was part of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, or Romania for approximately 150 years.

The country's Soviet-era population of 4.3 million has now shrunk to about 2.5 million, with the exception of unrecognized Transnistria, which is run by pro-Russian separatists.

As OBOZ.UA reported earlier, the Institute for the Study of War predicted that Russia could organize a false flag operation in Transnistria to destabilize the situation in Moldova. In particular, various figures in the unrecognized republic are instructed by the Kremlin to create information conditions for provocations to "protect" ethnic Russians and Russian speakers.

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If Maduro Quoted Martin Luther King Deploring "Suppression by U.S. Military "Advisors"in Venezuela"





If, On Martin Luther King's Birthday and U.S. National Holiday, President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela would quote from King's mainstream media' long covered up 1967 New York sermon 'Beyond Vietnam - a Time to Break Silence,'[1] which condemned his government's atrocity wars to protect predatory investments, - he might start by quoting what King said about his own Venezuela:





During the past ten years we have seen emerge a pattern of suppression which now has justified the presence of U.S. military "advisors" in Venezuela.





(The full passage of which King spoke was:





The war in Vietnam is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit" we will find ourselves organizing Clergy and Laymen Concerned committees concerned about Guatemala and Peru. They will be concerned about Thailand and Cambodia" During the past ten years we have seen emerge a pattern of suppression which now has justified the presence of U.S. military "advisors" in Venezuela. This need to maintain social stability for our investments accounts for the counter- revolutionary action of American forces in Guatemala. It tells why American helicopters are being used against guerrillas in Colombia and why American napalm and green beret forces have already been active against rebels in Peru.[1])





President Maduro could shock listeners in Venezuela and abroad who only think of Rev. King as a great black civil rights leader. Rev. Martin Luther King, today the only American celebrity with the distinction of a national weekend holiday to honour his birthday, in 1967, made bold print headlines in newspapers across the world of King loudly denouncing his very own U.S. government.[1]





KING CALLS U.S."GREATEST PURVEYOR OF VIOLENCE IN WORLD"[1]

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On Rev. Martin Luther King's Birthday Holiday, a Palestinian spokesperson might well want to draw world public attention to King's 1967 New York sermon 'Beyond Vietnam - a Time to Break Silence' [1] when Martin Luther King, today the only American celebrity with the distinction of a national weekend holiday to honour his birthday, made bold print headlines in newspapers across the world of King loudly denouncing his very own U.S. government..





KING CALLS U.S."GREATEST PURVEYOR OF VIOLENCE IN WORLD"





Why Palestinians?

Firstly, because the U.S. provides the warplanes, weapons and munitions that has made possible the genocide of already 23,000 captive Palestinians under military occupation in Gaza, most of whom are women and children





According The Times of Israel, December 25, 2023, two hundred and forty-four US transport planes and 20 ships have delivered more than 10,000 tons of armaments and military equipment to Israel since October 7.





Secondly, the same CIA-overseen Western media[2] that has for 57 years completely blacked out all memory of King's 1967 'Beyond Vietnam' New York Sermon, while constantly featuring King's earlier 'I Have a Dream speech' instead,

is the same CIA-overseen Western media that continually seeks to justify the massive genocidal annihilation and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza with ever new claims of astonishing atrocities carried out by Palestinian 'bloodthirsty savages' on October 7.





Palestinians exposing U.S. Media Black Out of American Hero King's Attack on his Own Government's Atrocity Wars, Could Cause U.S. and Western Media to Lose Credibility Regarding Israel's 'War' on its Very Own Captive Palestinians





(How strange it is that the African-American community has either openly or indifferently been supportive of white racist regime change, imperialist bombings, invasions and bloody occupations in small nations of people whose skin colour is of various hues, because King condemned those wars as





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Introduction

In this final installment of the "Imagining our Future" series, I will be sharing a few words from individuals I see as thought-leaders on our planet.

Although they come from different walks of life, their basic message is the same: what we need most is an evolution of consciousness, a collective awakening. Their message echoes that of prophets, ancient and modern: "Change your way of seeing and living in the world because the path you're currently walking will lead to disaster."

Planetary Birth

A last image describing our potential as a species is that of "planetary birth." This metaphor uses the archetype of human birth to portray next steps in our evolution. It suggests that we have already embarked on an extraordinarily challenging adventure which is like being squeezed through a birth canal and propelled into a completely new experience.

Framing our situation this way can offer hope in the face of a world convulsed in uncertainty.

We know what giving birth is about. We know how to endure the process and how to help it along. And we know how to love what is born.

At the same time, we need to remember that no birth is ever guaranteed. A baby can be stillborn or simply fail to develop in the womb.

A simple reality - becoming more obvious every day: like any other species, we - "humanity" - can become extinct, perhaps through a nuclear winter or through any number of ecological catastrophes. If we think about it, it seems obvious that, given the vast universe we inhabit, there must be countless failed planets where intelligent life began, but prematurely disappeared.

Instead of giving birth, we may, in fact, become the creators of our own demise, the purveyors of our own species-death.

With this possible reality as a backdrop, we can ask, "What in us might be in an embryonic state? What in us might yet be born?"

Many of us intuitively feel that humanity as a whole can evolve beyond our current state.

Edgar Morin:

"The conscious pursuit of hominization would bring about a new birth of humanity, which although possible, but not yet probable, would bring an end to the 'prehistory of the human spirit."

We are called to become skilled midwives.

At An Evolutionary Crossroads

Thom Hartmann put it this way:

"Because of human actions-- and inaction-- our planet appears to be on a collision course with disaster. We long ago passed a human population number that could be sustained without intensive use of gasoline and oil, so we're burning up a 300-million-year-old fossilized-plant resource (which, if things don't change, is expected to run dry in the lifetimes of our children) in order to feed the [eight] billion humans currently riding spaceship Earth.

"Many more may starve, even more than are starving today. And virtually nothing is being done by governments to offset this very real possibility.

"Perhaps it's too late (by at least four decades, according to many experts) to avoid all of the damage we're headed toward: the death of billions of humans and further extensive destruction of much of the planet's environment through war, natural resource exploitation, and industrial pollution."

***

From an interview with John Seed - a pivotal figure in the Deep Ecology movement - by meditation teacher and political activist Christopher Titmus:

JS: Projections based on satellite photographs show that within the next thirty years all remaining accessible areas of rainforest will have been damaged or destroyed.

CT: Who is destroying these forests?

JS: We all are - due to the lifestyle that we lead.

There are two basic problems. On the one hand, there is the standard of living and rate of consumption in the so-called developed world, where masses of people are living in a luxury that no king or emperor could have dreamed of a couple of centuries ago. Basically, people are consuming the future. At present we are consuming those thousands and millions of years within a few generations"On the other hand there's the question of the growing population of the so-called underdeveloped world, where huge areas of forests are being destroyed by slash and burn agriculture.

CT: As individuals how can we work with these major global issues?

JS: I would suggest that a fundamental change in consciousness right through the human species is necessary. Reforms are useless because the rate of destruction is so fast, and the momentum of the whole human enterprise is so immense.

CT: So, the change cannot be made just by legislation. There has to be a change toward an awareness of our relationship with the earth. In Judaism and Christianity that emphasis isn't so much present. In Genesis it says, 'Man shall have dominion over the earth.'

JS: T he whole basis for our culture is inextricably corrupted by such unecological beliefs. I would say that this belief system is among the most dangerous that exist on earth. There's no possibility other than through a tremendous change in people's understanding. There's no possibility of changing it by physically preventing something that is taking place at the same time everywhere like the tides coming in. People must understand that their self-interest cannot possibly be any different from the interests of the planet as a whole.

***

Primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodhall also believes we face stark choices. She states that, if we cannot get together to change the mindset of humanity (this this especially includes the decision makers in power), we may indeed be doomed.

She adds a corollary: young people will be faced with the enormous task of generating hope and working to create a new world out of our current chaos before it is too late.

***

Our present dilemma includes the emergence of multiple cascading and destabilizing feedback loops: climate change, decrease in agricultural productivity, massive population displacements, species extinctions leading to a dangerous loss of diversity in our biosphere, genocidal wars (including the actual possibility of nuclear exchanges). The list goes on and on.

However, let's remember that - as is true of other species - crises are often a catalyst for evolution. And, to date, humanity has survived many challenges.

Both of these are true: we are on a dangerously unsustainable path, and we have an opportunity to develop a momentum which will create a peaceful, just, and more joyful world. This process will likely take generations and may first involve our "hitting bottom."

However, rather than dwelling on a litany of specific adversity factors, let's instead move beyond these to think about some basic ways we are "stuck" and how we might become unstuck. We can ask: "What is it that needs to be born?"

There are any number of practical actions we can take to realize a positive future for humanity. However, it is a mistake think that our salvation can be found only in what we do in the external world.

Rather, what is clear is that is we need to transform the way we see the world - our thought-forms, narratives, and worldviews.

Beyond the many practical changes that need to happen, what are the most basic mental habits we need to change? Below find two:

Indigenous Wisdom

The first is a worldview from which we can benefit called "indigenous wisdom."

Hartmann has offered a very helpful distinction between "older" and "younger" cultures. Simply, older cultures are more mature. Contemporary technological cultures like ours can be described as less mature or immature.

Like many Native American cultures, authentic nature-based societies inhabit a fundamentally different spiritual universe from younger cultures. People in the former remain connected to nature and to each other. Chellis Glendinning describes nature-based peoples this way: "Their reverent relationship with the Earth [is] rooted in a million-year tradition -- 35,000 generations of low-impact living."

Indigenous wisdom is infused with a feeling of communion with the land and a natural sense of participation in the life force in all that we do.

On the other hand, our younger culture religions and philosophies have proclaimed - both explicitly and implicitly - that all of creation is made only for man. History clearly shows that when our links with nature and the sacred are severed, the human ego tends to devour the land and leave wreckage in its wake. And the simple fact is that, around the world, younger cultures have decimated those that are more mature. The destruction of the Native American culture in North America is only the latest example.

Younger cultures tend to view themselves as existing apart from the Earth -- with dominion over it -- and see the resources of Earth as things to be exploited and then discarded. Nature is not regarded as mother, father, or sibling. Rather, it is often seen an enemy to be conquered and subdued.

We extend these attitudes to our relationships with other people. Slater describes "control culture" as marked by a deep dependence on authoritarian rule, a conviction that order has to be imposed from above and a preoccupation with combat.

Such younger cultures attitudes are so visceral, so embedded in our contemporary worldview, that we often live our entire lives without ever questioning our assumptions about humankind's place in the universe.

This kind of arrogance will cost us dearly. In the near future we will likely be faced with the choice of: 1) becoming willing to revive older culture wisdom --- which sees all of life as interrelated, interdependent --- and sacred; or 2) the demise of much (or even all) of humanity.

If we are to extricate ourselves from the gordian knot constraining us, it is clear that we will need to draw on indigenous wisdom. We do not need to idealize these cultures to recognize that what they offer the modern world is an understanding of the relationship between healing and deep community.

Malidoma Some' was a contemporary West African shaman and author of The Healing Wisdom of Africa :

"The indigenous world can offer to the West are the very things that the modern world is struggling with.

"The general health and well-being of an individual are connected to a community and are not something that can be maintained alone or in a vacuum... the loss of community that we see might be responsible for the loss of healing [or the brokenness] in the modern world. The problems experienced in the West, from the pain of isolation to the stress of hyperactivity, are brought on by the loss of community."

Some' adds:

"Individuality, not individualism, is the cornerstone of community. Individuality is synonymous with uniqueness. It means that a person and his or her unique gifts are irreplaceable."

Some' states that, whether we are raised in indigenous or modern culture, there are two things that people crave: the full realization of our innate gifts, and to have these gifts approved, acknowledged, and confirmed. There are countless people in the West whose efforts are sadly wasted because they have no means of expressing their unique genius. In the psyches of such people there is an inner power and authority that fails to shine because the world around them is blind to it.

In The Spirit of Intimacy - Ancient African Teachings on the Ways of Relationships , Malidoma's wife, Sobonfu Some', beautifully offers a description of a partnership society:

"Community is the spirit, the guiding light of the tribe, whereby people come together in order to fulfill a specific purpose, to help others fulfill their purpose, and to take care of one another. The goal of the community is to make sure each member of the community is heard and is properly giving the gifts he has brought into this world. Without this giving, the community dies.

"When you don't have community, you are not listened to...You don't have people to affirm who you are and to support you in bringing forward your gifts...And without the unloading of our gifts we experience a blockage inside, which affects us spiritually, mentally, and physically in many different ways

Interbeing

A second worldview that may help catalyze a re-birth of humanity can be called "interbeing."

The severing of human beings from nature and each another is rooted in a basic thought-form which can be called "fragmentation." This way of thinking, which usually goes unexamined, treats the world as inherently divided, disconnected, and broken up into smaller constituent parts. Each part is considered to be essentially independent and self-existent.

In contrast, both general systems theory and Buddhism regard all of reality as interdependent and mutually conditioning. Buddhist thought suggests that the nature of reality can be described as "dependent co-arising," where everything exists in relationship and reciprocal interaction with everything else. Nothing exists in isolation.

Philip Slater has argued that fragmentation serves the needs of a "domination mega-culture" that has prevailed on Earth since at least 3000 B.C. Fragmentation feeds and is fed by a "power-over" orientation: men over nature, men over women, men over other men. Put simply, fragments are easier to control.

Philip Slater:

"Perhaps the males in some communities became intoxicated with the power potential of animal breeding and took to a more bellicose life. Whatever the causes, authoritarianism began to appear as a dominant social form in many parts of the world 5 or 6,000 years ago - in the Far East, North Africa, India, and the Middle East - and has continued to be the prevailing mega-culture ever since, spreading to Europe, Africa, Meso-America and most of Asia.

"We begin to find kings, social classes, slaves, standing armies, weaponry, torture, and human sacrifice. Gods are put over goddesses, wives begin to pay deference to husbands and sons to their fathers. Authoritarianism may in fact be defined as a highly centralized social organization developed in order to exercise coercive control over unwilling participants in the community."

**

Today, human beings are increasingly focused on distinctions between people (e.g. race, religion, nation, class, etc.). This tendency itself naturally serves a divide and conquer agenda by power holders.

Due to an inability to perceive totalities, this way of seeing handicaps our capacity to learn; we see parts, but not wholes. We have been taught to separate, compartmentalize and isolate what we learn. Fragmentation and reductionism have led to tangled webs of interconnected problems, The kind of thinking that has created these problems is unable to solve them. Instead of seeing connections and a deeper unity -- our knowledge -- and especially the way we perceive and approach problems --- now forms an unintelligible puzzle.

Edgar Morin:

"Fragmented, compartmentalized, mechanized, disjunctive, reductionist intelligence breaks the 'world-complex' into disjointed fragments, fractures problems, separates what is connected, makes the multidimensional unidimensional. This intelligence is nearsighted and often goes blind. Possibilities of comprehension and reflection are nipped in the bud, the chances of corrective judgement or a long-term view are drastically reduced.

"We find ourselves in a vicious cycle of increasingly multidimensional problems, increasing incapacity to think multidimensionally; the crisis worsens as fast as the incapacity to reflect on the crisis increases; the more planetary our problems, the more they are left unthought. Blind intelligence - unable to envisage the planetary context and complex, makes us unaware, unconcerned and irresponsible."

He goes on to say:

"The twentieth century [has been] lived under the dominion of pseudo-rationality claiming to be the sole rationality, which [in turn has] atrophied comprehension, reflection and long-term vision. Inadequate to handle the most serious problems, this pseudo-rationality created one of the most serious problems ever to face humanity. [This] leaves us with the paradox: the twentieth century produced gigantic progress in all fields of scientific knowledge and technology. At the same time it produced a new kind of blindness to complex, fundamental, global problems, and this blindness generated countless errors and illusions, beginning with the scientists, technicians and specialists themselves."

Recent generations have witnessed a fast-forward transition from a "broken-up" world to one which is broken. Immersed in our younger culture life, we find ourselves racing toward a dismal future: one in which the reality of our profound connection to the rest of life has been subsumed into endless shopping enterprises, clear-cutting forests, toxic wastelands, widespread poverty, and pervasive abuse of power. Modern persons increasingly appear like a flocks of zombies entranced by glowing cell phones. Billions of traumatized people perceive this living death as being the normal human existence.

Our thought-habits are not merely shattering our relationship with the external world; we have become fragmented within our own being. Jung spoke of modern humans' "sickness of dissociation." As Glendinning has observed, it is no coincidence that our era of flourishing ecological annihilation is also an era of flourishing mental illness. Personal and ecological problems mirror each other. She argues that an experience of psychic dislocation, exile, and a sense of homelessness is inherent in modern life.

The Alternative - "Interbeing :"

In his letter from the Birmingham jail, Martin Luther King Jr. put it this way: "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny."



Through the Insight of Interbeing | Dharma Talk by Thich Nhat Hanh, 2012.10.11 Dharma Talk by Thy 2012.10.11.Lower Hamlet (Plum Village). Talk in English. Audio: English Help us caption & translate this ...

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Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh (who King nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize) put it this way:

"I was looking for an English word to describe our deep interconnection with everything else. I liked the word 'togetherness,' but I finally came up with the word 'interbeing.' The verb 'to be' can be misleading, because we cannot be by ourselves, alone. 'To be' is always to 'inter-be.' If we combine the prefix 'inter' with the verb 'to be,' the [perspective] of interbeing reflects reality more accurately. We inter-are with one another and with all life.

"Everything relies on everything else in the cosmos in order the manifest - whether a star, a cloud, a tree, or you and me. We do not exist independently. We inter-are."

Nhat Hanh goes on to reflect:

"There is a biologist named Lewis Thomas, whose work I appreciate very much. He describes how our human bodies are 'shared, rented, and occupied' by countless other tiny organisms, without whom we couldn't move a muscle, drum a finger, or think a thought. Our body is a community, and the trillions of non-human cells in our body are even more numerous than the human cells. Without them, we could not be here in this moment. Without them, we wouldn't be able to think, to feel, or to speak. There are, he says, no solitary beings. The whole planet is one giant, living, breathing cell, with all its working parts linked in symbiosis."

The Buddhist teaching of "no-self" turns out to be a form of deep ecology. Naht Hanh states: "We cannot separate human beings from the environment. The environment is in human beings and human beings are part of the environment. [Even] the distinction between living beings and non-living beings disappears after meditation."

"This kind of enlightenment is crucial to a collective awakening. In Buddhism we talk of meditation as an act of awakening. [We need to] awake to the fact that the earth and living species are in danger.

"There is a revolution that needs to happen, and it starts from inside each one of us. We need to wake up and fall in love with the Earth. Our personal and collective survival depends on it.

Only when we can touch real love for the Earth, he says, will we have the immense energy we need to make the radical changes necessary to save our world.

The growing interest in meditation, psychological healing and ecological awareness is evidence that intimations of interbeing are growing within the human species.

Our psycho-spiritual rebirth will involve the daily experience of our profound interrelatedness. The deep sense of our connectedness - of humanity as a family - would be the fruit of such an awakening.

Conclusion: A World Waiting to Be Born

As has occurred in many cultures in the past, will we ignore the growing number of prophetic voices until predictable disasters strike or will we do whatever we can to give birth to a renewed human endeavor?

Over time, meditation offers us the experience that each of us is united with the universe in which we live: that we live in an undivided reality like a wave in the ocean. This is the basis for the birth of a new world.

Scott Peck writes:

"I sometimes tell [my patients] that the human race is in the midst of making an evolutionary leap. Whether or not we succeed is your personal responsibility. And mine. The universe, this steppingstone, has been laid down to prepare the way for us. But we ourselves must step across it one by one."

(Article changed on Jan 15, 2024 at 4:41 PM EST)

(Article changed on Jan 15, 2024 at 5:38 PM EST)

(Article changed on Jan 16, 2024 at 2:44 PM EST)
"I will optimistically remain in the race and will give it my all."

"- BD3 candidate Janie Dam

After meeting with the Los Angeles City Clerk's office, Janie Dam now agrees "that they followed the guidelines set out by the Election Code" when disqualifying the signatures that she had collected to appear on the March Primary ballot. She believes that "too many of the registered voters who signed [her petition] had moved, and did not re-register under their new addresses." Dr. Dam hopes that a change will be made to the election code so that a signature will still count "if the signer still resides in the same district." While Dr. Dam's name will not appear on the ballot she is continuing her candidacy as a write-in candidate.

In past iterations of the ongoing Candidate Forum series, Dr. Dam has answered questions about PROP-39 co-locations, Special Education policies, and District Governance in prior months. For the December edition of the series, the questions focus on student safety issues. For background information about the questions, please see the introductory article: LAUSD Candidate Forum: Student Safety.

The following are Dr. Dam's responses, published with only minor formatting changes:

In non-emergency situations, should uniformed police officers be operating on LAUSD campuses?" NO COMMITMENT

Emergency situations are occurring too frequently at school. As a teacher I feel much safer on campuses that are prepared for the worst. I don't think we should assume a state of non-emergency and rely solely on LAPD emergency response to prevent violent harm to students and school staff. In too many cases law enforcement arrives on the scene too late; injuries have already been inflicted, lives have already been lost. There should always be security officers visibly present on campus.

At the same time, I strongly denounce police brutality and show of force, especially on school grounds. What kind of example are we setting for our children when we do that? Bullying is already a very big problem.

All things considered, I would advocate for the proper training and deployment of younger cadres of campus officers who reflect the ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity of the student body that they serve. I would support the recruitment, training and mentoring of more female police officers by female police officers to protect school campuses. The body of research shows that female officers get the job done with less use of force and proportionally fewer citizen complaints as compared to their male counterparts. Over time they instill more trust and can gain more cooperation from the community that they serve.

But that is still not enough. Everyone has an important role to play in school safety. We should prioritize funding for more mental health professionals, guidance counselors, wellness staff, restorative justice coordinators.

As a board member I would reach out to LAUSD moms and dads who own firearms. When parents have guns in their home, I hope and trust that they are responsible toward their own childrens' safety. But are they aware and vigilant enough about the safety of the other kids, whom their kids may invite over to their house, or who may be having a conflict with their kids? I think it's critical that we all respectfully work together to sort out these sensitive but incredibly important issues.

The Superintendent has commented "that unacceptable and preventable frequency of vehicular incidents are impacting the health, well-being and safety of our children." Is the District doing enough to prevent these incidents? YES

First of all, I am glad to see that the district acknowledges on its website that traffic collisions are the leading cause of death for children between the ages of 5 and 14 in Los Angeles County. The recently lowered speed limit (15 mph, down from 25 mph), combined with speed bumps installed around school campuses, I think will prove to be life- saving. I would also advocate for celebrating Walk to School Day more often than just once a year in October, to spotlight the importance of traffic safety alongside the health benefits of walking.

Last year an LAUSD student overdosed on fentanyl that was provided to her by a student at a co-located charter school. Do multiple schools that do not share a common leadership structure increase the possibility that hazards will not be fully mitigated? NO COMMITMENT

This question leans toward charter co-location, but that's not the crux of the problem. The crux of the problem is that SB 10 mandates are still not being properly implemented across the board to prevent student harm from fentanyl. Every California public school, whether charter or traditional district, must have a Comprehensive School Safety Plan (CSSP) under which employees are trained on opioid prevention and life-saving response. All students and adults need to understand the growing risk of youth fentanyl exposure, and have access to the resources needed to prevent and effectively respond to fentanyl poisoning and overdoses.

While charter schools are required by policy to notify parents when the district issues a Notice of Violation, families at Granada Hills Charter High School were not specifically told that construction projects had endangered "the health and safety of students, staff, and other individuals." Should the refusal of a charter school to keep parents informed of these types of hazards result in the revocation of the charter? NO COMMITMENT

LAUSD owns the facilities that its schools occupy. Typically charter schools lease facilities from the district. Given that in this case the school did disseminate a notification letter to the community reflecting the exact applicable legal language, I don't think this is the best example for "refusal of a charter school to keep parents informed of these types of hazards". But if the district has grave concerns about potential hazards on its own property, the district has every right to, and should just go ahead and issue a warning to the school community and not wait for its charter school tenant to do so. As a board member I am not keen on school closures and disruptions to student learning. Prior to shutting down a campus, whether it's a traditional district or a charter campus, I think the district should first give the administrative team fair warning and opportunity to remediate, which in this case would be to immediately notify everyone about possible construction hazards.

After a 2008 NBC 4 report exposed the existence of lead In LAUSD Facilities, the District instituted a "stop-gap measure" requiring schools to run "every fountain 'a minimum of 30 seconds' before school each day.'" Fifteen years later, the district still warns users of these fixtures to "flush cold water for 30 Seconds prior to use." As a Board Member would you prioritize removing old fixtures containing lead from all school facilities? YES

The harms of lead poisoning are well-documented. To address this problem I would charge the Superintendent with tapping into federal funding for school infrastructure upgrades.

"Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, who serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him "a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.


Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.

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What a legacy! It has been 56 years since the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and still his spirit and legacy live on. In some ways some of the power of that legacy can be measured in negative terms, by the backlash of racism that has resulted from his influence on racial equality and social justice. By confronting this nation with the realities of second-class citizenship that is afforded our black population, actually, often almost no rights of citizenship for many, he forced us to confront the consequences of our actions as a society.

It is not hard to see the forbearance required for most blacks to live within such a reality. It should not be a surprise that their tolerance has an end and erupts in protest and sometimes violence, it should be a surprise that it does not occur more often. How would we respond to such conditions?

But, in the face of that reality, Martin Luther King, Jr. preached non-violence, understanding; that violence would only give justification to violent responses from the white society as it insisted that the black society was incapable of civility and only dealt with pressure through violence and hence, only a violent response would be understood. But Martin Luther King, Jr, in the tradition of Gandhi, understood that non-violence requires a higher standard of human courage than violence ever could. He understood that this tactic would eventually force the society to confront the issue and deal with it, much as the English were forced to in India.

What is that legacy?

The legacy to about empowering black citizens, but it also includes other disenfranchised and therefore voiceless people in this nation. And he did this from a solid democratizing base of non-violence since violence can so easily justify a violent response, which can be deadly to a minority trying to make its voice heard.

He was not afraid of leadership, of being the lightning rod for opposition as well as a rallying point for supporters. His movements were open and accepting, always looking for help from any quarter, but especially from whites who agreed about the voicelessness imposed by the existing racism.

Dr. King based his principles on Christianity and on equality of all peoples but accepted other faiths as equals in the fight for human rights.

His other legacy was courage, the courage to stand up and be heard even when things got ugly and the courage to sacrifice, even his life as it turned out.

He would be 95 now and his legacy lives on with those issues front and center in our national debate. However. we are still in the midst of that painful transition away from those old racist patterns. Those old patterns and systems, like any old systems that have had power, are still fighting tooth and nail to retain power and often seem like they would rather destroy the entire society, than give up power. (You might recognize this dynamic in many of the Trump supporters.). Part of that resistance is about having to recognize the errors in thinking and mistakes in policy that have been made in the past. Only then can we begin to make corrections. If we insist on justifying our past errors, policies and patterns, we cannot find corrective solutions.

Ultimately, Dr. King's legacy is that of a humanizing and democratizing voice trying to find peaceful solutions to inequality in this nation. (I might add that we have a horrible history of assassinating those who speak with democratizing and humanizing voices.). Martin Luther King, Jr. was a powerful voice for human rights, for peace, for simple human goodness, for the unity of the human race, calling on our better angels in the knowledge that only human cooperation can bring us to the path of redemption as human beings.

As I said earlier, "What a legacy!"
The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu has been in office on and off for 16 years. Well known to the press, he has also been a prevaricator of long standing. So the Gaza war drones on as Netanyahu uses it to bolster his support before the next election. So if one asks how long the war will go on, the only feasible answer is, until Bibi feels comfortable with his electoral support. As an aside, in common north Indian parlance, the word "bibi" is used to address an old woman.

To keep the war going, Bibi has even tried to expand its area of operation by bombing a southern suburb of Beirut and killing Hamas' deputy political chief Saleh al-Aarouri. He was one of the founders of Hamas' military wing and headed it in the West Bank.



The attack on Lebanese soil and a Hezbollah controlled area has angered Hezbollah who have vowed revenge. Hezbollah is Shia and closely allied with Shia Iran. Its leader (Secretary General) Hassan Nasrallah has condemned the 'dangerous,' as he called it, killing of Hamas' deputy leader and if war breaks out, he promises a fight without limits. Has Israel opened a Pandora's box and has Netanyahu, in his electoral greed, bitten off more than he can chew? We will eventually find out.



Hamas is Sunni and looks toward Egypt and North Africa. Thus if a greater war with Israel does erupt, it could engulf almost all the Middle East. And according to the Houthis in Yemen, Gaza is the reason for their attacks on shipping on the Red Sea. Clearly the war is no longer localized to Israel's borders. But then no one likes to see women and children attacked ceaselessly, denied humanitarian aid or adequate provisions and medicine.

A hundred-days war, the question now is whether it can be stopped. The U.S. administration is trying but without much success. The words for peace mean little when it also keeps supplying arms to Israel in what seems like a case of schizophrenia. Coupled with senile dementia and to think Joe Biden is planning on running again!



To return to Bibi's attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon, the latter's allies are responding. The Houthis who are also Shia and like Hezbollah are clients of Iran have decided to hurt Israel's economy by attacking ships in the Red Sea, specifically in the narrow Bab-el-Mandeb Strait near them. Several commercial ships have been hit and owners are now willing to add nine days to the journey by going around the Cape rather than risk losing a ship. Longer travel distance means more expense adding to the cost of goods and hurting the Israeli economy.

Of course, tourism is at a virtual standstill, But the pool of workers has also shrunk as young men are called up to serve in the army. Israel's central bank estimates the cost to be $600 million each week. Economist Joseph Zeira believes the chances of a recession are high and that it will be a deep recession. A professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Zeira believes the cause is the protracted war, the resulting uncertainty, the reduced investment, demand and even tourism



It goes without saying that were elections to be held today, Netanyahu would be out. People would have supported a short punishing engagement but not the 'hide-and-seek' farce being played out in the myriad tunnels dug out by Hamas as preparation for an Israeli onslaught whenever it might happen. 'Know your enemy' is a common saying and it holds true once more. If Netanyahu has a worried look in the latest photos, he has nobody to blame but himself.



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In many ways, the technology mankind developed liberated us from the drudgery of the past.

But technology also presents dangers, and we must learn to regulate to pacify the dangers. Writer Mercy Kuo addressed the issue of nuclear weapons in the current international order in her story "China and East Asia in the Global Nuclear Order." The two largest nuclear arsenals in the world, the United States and the Russian Federation, are rapidly and deliberately dismantling the global nuclear security architecture that allowed for a drawdown of nuclear weapons in the late Cold War and post-Cold War world. The U.S. withdrew from the ABM, the INF, and the Open Skies Treaty. In contrast, the Russian Federation withdrew from the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty and suspended the implementation of NEW START.

The new Cold War has brought more change than just the cancellation of treaties - it's creating a dangerous institutional regulatory vacuum in which countries exploit to reshape their nuclear and conventional forces. The US is in the middle of a $1 trillion nuclear modernization, and the Russian Federation is experimenting with new dual-use capable weapons and delivery systems.

The nuclear order is changing from a bipolar into a tripolar or maybe multipolar world. China's military ascendancy is viewed in the US with great concern due to its instability and unpredictability. Growing regional instabilities in Europe over Ukraine, in the Korean Peninsula, in the Persian Gulf, and around the Taiwan Strait will bear unforeseen repercussions on the global nuclear order. These three vulnerabilities to the global order are connected in complex ways and are challenging to disentangle. As Kuo said: "China's advancements in space and artificial intelligence enhance its nuclear capabilities through improved delivery systems, advanced surveillance and reconnaissance infrastructure, and robust defensive technologies. These technologies will act as important enabling systems for China's nuclear forces along many dimensions. Yet, while critically important, these technologies can also be extraordinarily destabilizing."

China is interested in cooperating with the United States to regulate artificial intelligence in the nuclear domain. Kuo suggests the US should take up this opportunity and work earnestly with China to achieve a verifiable agreement on the safe use of AI in military applications. She doesn't feel that a space agreement is reachable because China relies on space as a position of strength.

The strategy of deterrence - preventing war by threatening your geopolitical adversary through the possible use of some weapon or group of weapons - has been used for a long time. Still, the arrival of nuclear weapons during World War II made things more complicated because of their destructive nature and the possibility of error. As stated by Kuo, deterrence didn't deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine, but it (the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance) kept Russia away from other European targets. Deterrence, in its nuclear form, does little good in the Israel/Gaza war; a nuclear strike by Israel on Gaza would only harm Israel because Gaza is so close.

In our dangerous world, we must remember the importance of the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty, a 1960s era treaty that demands signees work to reduce the number of nuclear weapons in the world. Despite the geopolitical tensions in the world, only nine countries have nuclear weapons, a salute to various arms control treaties and the NPT. In addition, the US has shown a willingness to bring Russia and China to the table for arms control talks, although the efforts have proven fruitless. Russia continues to experiment with new weapons, and China's nuclear forces are expanding. In the realm of arms control and disarmament, the U.S. leadership is contested as many countries point to what they perceive to be American hypocrisy and double standards.

The Europeans are divided on nuclear weapons, and this division will only grow over time. France remains one of the staunchest supporters of nuclear deterrence. However, France must work with Austria and Ireland, two leading nations within the European group on nuclear disarmament issues. These divisions have hampered the EU's ability to provide policy solutions to the problem.

The world is divided amongst competing cultures, as pointed out by Samuel Huntington in his "Clash of Civilizations" thesis, and also competing interests. However, despite the differences, the various civilizations must work together if they don't want to live in a world of continuous arms races. Can the various political formations in our world find a way to work together?


Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

(Image by Wikipedia (commons.wikimedia.org), Author: DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Marianique Santos) Details Source DMCA



"It's the opening of a Pandora's Box," Donald Trump said on January 9, musing on the possibility of a court rejecting his claim that, as a former president, he must enjoy life-long immunity from criminal prosecution for pretty much anything and everything he did while in office.

"[I]f I wasn't given immunity, then other presidents that we talked about today, President Obama with the drone strikes, which were really bad. They were mistakes, they were terrible mistakes. You really can't put a president in that position. ... A president has to have immunity."

Personally, I'd like to see that Pandora's Box opened in precisely the way Trump mentions.

In 2011, then-president Barack Obama ordered the murder of an American citizen -- Anwar al-Awlaki -- in Yemen. Whatever his alleged crimes might have been, he hadn't been charged with, arrested for (or taken in resistance of arrest for), tried for, or convicted of those crimes in the United States. The basis for the murder was a Justice Department memo that wasn't publicly released until 2014.

Later that year al-Awlaki's 16-year-old son, Abdulrahman -- also an American citizen -- died in another Obama-authorized drone strike. When questioned on the matter, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs blamed the victim for having the wrong father.

In 2017, US Navy SEALs murdered yet a third al-Awlaki -- eight-year-old American citizen Nawar, Anwar's daughter and Abdulrahman's half-sister -- in a raid approved by ... hmm ... then president Donald Trump.

What's so outrageous about suggesting that a president who orders American citizens murdered should be held to answer in the same way, and face the same penalties, as a Mafia don who orders a competitor killed, or a regular American who hires a hit-man to murder a spouse?

Over time, American presidents have come to enjoy nearly unlimited power with little likelihood of being held accountable for how they exercise that power, and minimal penalties when they are.

Trump argues that that small likelihood and those minimal penalties should both be reduced to zero.

Don't get me wrong: I believe that former presidents accused of crimes are entitled to the due process of law they denied Anwar, Abdulrhman, and Nawar al-Awlaki.

But broad immunity for real crimes isn't due process of law. In fact, it DENIES due process of law, and justice in general, to the victims of presidential crimes.

Presidents should be held to a higher, not lower, standard of conduct than those they presume to rule.
The head of the Estonian government, Kaja Kallas, believes that the aggressor country Russia could pose a serious threat to the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Alliance in the coming years. In her opinion, Europe has about three to five years to prepare for a possible military threat from Moscow.

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Kallas said this in an interview with The Times, published on Friday, January 15. In her statements, the official referred to information from Estonian intelligence.

She noted that in the case of a hypothetical freezing of the war in Ukraine, Moscow would need three to five years to restore its military potential. Then Russia could be a real threat to NATO's eastern flank.

The situation will largely depend on how Ukraine's allies manage to maintain unity in supporting and assisting the country.

"Russia needs a pause to gather resources and forces. Weakness provokes aggressors, so weakness provokes Russia," she said.

Kallas emphasized that Western countries need to join forces as soon as possible and provide more weapons to the Ukrainian army. Only then will Ukraine be able to deliver a "decisive blow" and permanently deprive Moscow of the ability to threaten neighboring countries.

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In the long run, the Estonian prime minister believes that the Alliance should adopt a Cold War-like strategy of "containment" of Russia. First of all, the defense spending of each NATO member should be increased to at least 2.5% of GDP.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
The US and Israel have been recently carrying out political assassinations in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. The Islamic State (IS) carried out a massive bombing in Iran during the same period, and there is a connection between the IS and the US.

On December 25, 2023, Reza Mousawi, a senior officer in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was assassinated by an Israeli airstrike in the Syrian capital of Damascus. Mousawi was close to former IRGC Quds force commander, Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in 2020 by US President Donald Trump in Baghdad. Israeli airstrikes in Syria earlier in December also killed two other Iranian generals.

On January 2, an Israeli drone strike assassinated Salaeh al-Arouri in Beirut, Lebanon along with seven others.

Al-Arouri was the deputy chief of the Hamas political bureau, and one of the founding members of Hamas's armed wing, the Qassam Brigades. On October 31, Israeli forces destroyed al-Arouri's house in Aroura near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

On January 3, at least 103 people were killed in twin bombings in Kerman, Iran, with 284 wounded, including children. The crowd there was gathered to mark the fourth anniversary of the US assassination of Qassem Soleimani.

On January 4, the Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the two explosions in a statement posted on its affiliate Telegram channels, and said two IS members had detonated explosive belts in the crowd in Kerman.

Experts pointed to the Islamic State branch based in neighboring Afghanistan, known as ISIS-Khorasan, or ISIS-K. Tehran has alleged that ISIS-K has been behind many foiled plots in the last five years.

Most of those arrested were Iranians, Central Asians, or Afghans from the Afghanistan-based affiliate's network.

On January 4, a US airstrike assassinated Mushtaq Talib al-Saidi in central Baghdad, Iraq. The Iraqi deputy commander was killed on Palestine Street, which was the headquarters of an Iraqi military group, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, which has claimed several attacks on US forces.

Hezbollah al-Nujaba falls under the command of the Iraqi army, and had played a vital role in the defeat of ISIS in Iraq. The group immediately condemned the assassination of al-Saidi, and said the US-Iraqi military agreement had been violated.

Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, confirmed that US forces carried out an airstrike in Baghdad, killing a military commander, but excused the killing because al-Saidi was backed by Iran.

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Aggressive politicking, crude electioneering, combative rhetoric, and lofty promises will probably dominate the upcoming general elections. However, with the growing division at home and the uncertainty over the outcome of the elections, it is worth analyzing Pakistan's power standing in the region.

Pakistan's diminished position in regional politics in the last decade has been overshadowed domestically by other pressing issues, such as the vote of no confidence, sovereign default threat, anti-state violence on May 9th, and increasing TTP terrorism.

According to the Lowy Institute's Asia Power Index Report 2023, Pakistan is the 15th-ranked middle power in Asia. The Index ranks 26 countries, led by the US and China, based on 8 broad parameters. They are military capability, defense networks, economic capability, economic relationships, diplomatic influence, cultural influence, resilience, and future resources.

The importance of middle powers in geopolitics has increased in a multipolar and multilateral world. Balanced middle powers have a significant influence and strategic importance to avoid choosing sides in bloc geopolitics. It gives such countries significant leverage in global affairs to build multiple relationships or chart an independent course.

Pakistan's overall score declined relative to 2022, representing a continued drop in each edition of the Index since its inception in 2018. Its diplomatic influence has decreased compared to previous years. Its impact in the region is lower than expected, based on its available resources.

Overall, Pakistan's underperformance in Asia persisted, with its negative power gap, derived from the weighted average of the 8 parameters, worsening slightly in 2023. It is a depressing reflection of a country that punched above its weight on the global stage for many decades.

Unsurprisingly, Pakistan scores low on the Index for economic capability, economic relationships, diplomatic influence, and cultural influence while having higher scores for military capability, defense networks, resilience, and future resources. In a highly competitive world, it has not been enough for Pakistan to have a deeply embedded ideological standpoint and possess natural and military resources to guarantee its status as a middle power.

In contrast, Indonesia, whose political history has similarities to Pakistan, has reversed course from chaos and near disintegration after the collapse of the brutal Suharto dictatorship in 1998 to rank as the 9th-ranked middle power in Asia in 2023.

The critical factors in Indonesia's turnaround are that democracy has found compatibility with Islam, the military is out of politics, politicians collectively focus on development, the economy is doing much better despite systemic corruption, and religious extremism has receded. It is a salutary lesson for Pakistan that political solutions work given the right conditions.

There is no magic wand to enhance Pakistan's middle-power position in Asia. It will not happen by just hope and prayer. The political, economic, and social problems that hobble development and dilute power have many dimensions.

First, Pakistan is a poorly governed hybrid democracy with an unrepresentative system where guns matter more than votes. A rigid and over-centralized governance system exacerbates ethnic, religious, and gender fault lines across the country. Pakistan's military and civilian leaders, in their search for popularity and legitimacy, have not adhered to democratic norms. And security-obsessed strategic thinking has limited policy choices.

Second, boom/bust cycles have resulted from the emphasis on consumption instead of savings and inconsistent economic policies. Economic managers not selected on merit have focused on short-term gimmicks, not long-term sustainable growth. Rentier income and loans, until they dried up, have papered over the obvious structural flaws in the system.

Third, the deficit in human development has become alarmingly high. Human development is a central component of economic development. Pakistan has seen a decline in education, health, and income indicators since the early 1990s. A major national challenge is to find adequate resources to invest in human development amid an economic meltdown and growing security expenditures.

Betting on a reversal in Pakistan's fortunes will be dicey without fundamental reforms. It will need a solid change in the lives of ordinary people for them to have positive aspirations and a stake in the country. Moreover, unless Pakistan addresses corruption, administrative hurdles, and the skill gap in the workforce, international investors will not see value in investing in the country.

Political and economic stability in Pakistan are the key factors that will make it viewed as a reliable geopolitical and economic partner worldwide. It's a tall order, with the best desire in the world.
'Do you condemn Hamas?' is a question so ubiquitous in Western media's coverage of the Israel-Palestinian conflict that it has become a political meme. The question typically demands a condemnation of extremism exclusively from the pro-Palestinian side. In the interest of condemning extremism across the board, it logically follows then to ask: what is the Israeli equivalent to Hamas?

Some may argue that the 'Do you condemn Hamas' question is a prerequisite to having a productive civil discussion. An extremist, by definition, is not one to compromise on their views and as such is detrimental to any well-intentioned peace effort. If that is indeed the criterion, then I would argue that Likud should be very much in the same trench as Hamas. Let me explain.

For context, Likud is the leading right-wing party in Israeli politics. It is also the flagbearer of revisionist Zionism: a form of Zionism that prioritizes territorial expansionism. Menachem Begin, the founder of the party, had also been the leader of Irgun, a Zionist terrorist group responsible for the bombing of the King David Hotel and the Deir Yassin massacre. Other leaders of Likud have included Ariel Sharon, the man primarily responsible for the Israeli West Bank barrier and much of the aspects that are frequently criticized as amounting to apartheid today.

Nowadays, Likud is dominated by one man: the current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In many ways, Netanyahu's extended reign has been a continuation of the Likud's policy of revisionist Zionism. He has boasted about being personally responsible for preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state and has been recorded warning his party members that only he could block a Palestinian state. To put it simply, the West's pontification on the two-state solution is utterly meaningless while Netanyahu remains in power. His revisionist Zionism dictates that support of a Palestinian state is, as he puts it, tantamount to yielding territory for "Radical Islam".

More recently, because of the political deadlock in Israel in the last few years, Netanyahu was forced to forge an alliance with even more extremist Israeli parties in order to form a ruling coalition for his sixth term as Prime Minister. This latest coalition has essentially morphed Likud into an umbrella of extremism under which far-right parties are politically emboldened and ensured representation.

This hardline coalition has produced such characters as Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich. Ben-Gvir has been convicted, by an Israeli court, of incitement to racism and supporting a terrorist organization. Smotrich is arguably worse as he was apprehended on suspicion of attempting to blow up Ayalon Highway in protest against the Israeli disengagement from Gaza in 2005. These are people with a clear association with terrorism according to Israel's own security apparatus and yet they have been legitimized through Likud's brand of mainstream revisionist Zionism.

By all accounts, the extremism of Likud's revisionist Zionism and Hamas's radical Islam are intertwined. The leaders of Hamas need an expansionist Israel to justify their militant existence, which oftentimes comes at the expense of the wellbeing of the Palestinian people. Likewise, Likud needs a militant Hamas in order to maintain the political cover for their expansionist agenda. And I am not just analyzing here. Netanyahu said as much to his Likud colleagues in 2019, asserting that "anyone who wants to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state has to support bolstering Hamas".

That is why it is baffling to me to see one part of the extremism equation condemned while the other is tolerated. I get that some may find drawing an equivalence between Hamas and Likud outrageous. But the comparison isn't far-fetched once you consider the goal at the core of each political ideology. Hamas's goal of a free Palestine from "the River to the Sea" has drawn endless accusations of antisemitism and genocidal intent. But the fact is that Likud's charter states the same goal almost verbatim: "Between the Sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty." Intellectual honesty dictates that we condemn both statements in equal measure. If you are hesitant to do so then you are quite simply a selective enabler of extremism.

Some may argue that condemning Hamas is condemning terrorism. Yet again, I'm not arguing against condemning Hamas but rather for ideological consistency. If our concern is to condemn the use of violence and intimidation against civilians for political aims, then Israel's Likud-led government is just as guilty of terrorism. What else would you call a sustained campaign of violence with a quite transparent goal of de facto forcing Gazans to leave?

Another argument of the 'Do you condemn Hamas' people is that they are avoiding framing the pro-Palestinian side as an extremist monolith by showing the public that there are pro-Palestinians who oppose Hamas's extremism. If that is the case, then I must ask: how come the Israelis are not afforded a similar courtesy?

Even from a pro-Palestinian perspective, it is imperative for our criticism to be pointed and precise to avoid painting all Israelis with a broad brush. As evident by the growing list of countries endorsing South Africa's ICJ case against Israel, the international community is growing increasingly critical of Israel's war on Gaza. My biggest concern is that framing the Israelis as a monolith at this time would only serve to entrench a siege mentality of extremism in the Israeli society.

Two months ago, 35 Israeli Jewish and Arab human rights groups were calling for a ceasefire and an end to settler violence in the West Bank. Yet their calls went largely ignored as Western media was preoccupied with uncritically reporting Likud's opposition to the ceasefire. Just last week, Likud MK Moshe Saada was on TV bragging about how his sentiment of Israel having to "destroy all Gazans" was no longer limited to right-wing circles in Israeli society. The normalization and mainstreaming of Likud's militant extremism is quite evidently marginalizing other Israeli voices, and it is critical that we acknowledge that media is not doing its part in offering the Israelis an alternative.

I recall watching a documentary years ago in which an Israeli young man and his IDF veteran father were in a helicopter flying over Tel Aviv while discussing peace with the Arabs. During the conversation, the young man proclaims, "for peace, I would give them Tel Aviv", while his father watches in disgust. Feel free to side with the father but he has been having it his way for decades and Israel is no closer to a lasting peaceful coexistence. Isn't it time we listened to what the young man has to say?
"The entity 'Yvote!' (which is an abbreviation or social media handle for 'Youth Vote') was utilized to mobilize youth volunteers, some of whom were under-age, as political campaign workers in support of the political campaigns of Efren Martinez and Graciela Ortiz."



-- - Civil Filing, Case No.: 24NVVCV00084



(Image by California Superior Court) Details DMCA



As an LAUSD employee with access to children, Graciela Ortiz was responsible for ensuring that she protected students from harm. According to a recent filing with the California Superior Court, the LAUSD Board District 5 School Board candidate betrayed this trust with one student. The allegations within this lawsuit also raise the possibility that Ortiz improperly used her District position to benefit her political interests.

In the complaint, plaintiff "B.A." states that she met Graciela Ortiz at Linda Marquez High School during the 2018-19 school year. Ortiz served as a counselor at this LAUSD high school. She was also the faculty advisor for the Key Club.

At the time the plaintiff met Ortiz, her school counselor was running in the Special Election to replace convicted felon Ref Rodriguez on the LAUSD School Board. According to the complaint, Ortiz "recruited members of the Key Club to help campaign for her." B.A. phone banked and canvassed house-to-house for the campaign and received "a small cash payment" for her efforts.

While Ortiz lost that race to Board President Jackie Goldberg, she continued to serve as City Councilperson in Huntington Park. According to the complaint, she also "operated or utilized" Yvote!, an astroturf organization that implies that it is youth-led but is actually a vehicle to support Ortiz and her political allies.

Based on "the position of authority and trust that Ms. Ortiz had at B.A.'s public school" and the belief that Yvote! "was an organization promoting youth political power," the plaintiff began volunteering. However, instead of being youth-led, "Graciela Ortiz was the primary person in charge of the campaign." In this role, "Ortiz sent Plaintiff to be one of the subordinates of Billy Valdivia, including time outside of the office where he was unsupervised, and Valdivia was able to be alone with her." The results were disastrous.

The lawsuit states "that Billy Valdivia pleaded nolo contendere in a plea deal and was found guilty of sexually molesting B.A. along with a firearms violation. He used the firearm to intimidate and threaten the victim of sexual battery." The "especially violent" assault took place in a car Valdivia used to take B.A. "to potential voters and driving her home." Valdivia was caught in a sting operation set up by the police after the victim reported the assault to her parents.

The plaintiff alleges that the "great physical and emotional damage" she suffered from the sexual assault and sexual battery was facilitated by Graciela Ortiz's "negligent hiring, supervision, and retention" of Billy Valdivia. She states that a background check would have revealed a previous weapons charge and accusations of domestic violence. It is also questioned why Ortiz did not know that Valdivia was hanging "out with some of [the volunteers] after hours and [purchasing] alcoholic beverages for them even though almost all of them were under 21."

An email was sent to the address that the City Clerk has on file asking Ortiz if she wanted to respond to the lawsuit. As of publication, she had not replied. She has also not provided answers to any of the questions asked in the ongoing Candidate Forum series, including the December edition that centered on Student Safety.

Fidencio Joel Gallardo, Karla Griego, and Victorio R. Gutierrez are running against Ortiz to replace the retiring Jackie Goldberg in LAUSD Board District 5.

Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, who serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him "a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.

(Article changed on Jan 16, 2024 at 1:17 PM EST)
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Hey, here's the good news! Last week, despite a looming congressional budget shutdown, Senate and House leaders actually agreed on the outline of a budget deal that would keep the money flowing. Above all, however parsimonious the Republicans claimed to be, those funds were to be funneled into the Pentagon budget at -- yes! -- record levels. We're talking about almost $900 billion next year for a country that is no longer at war in any significant way globally (and when it was, in this century, spent trillions of your tax dollars on disastrous conflicts as if there weren't" well, for so many there wasn't" any tomorrow). And those funds leave the $772 billion in taxpayer dollars meant for what's called "nondefense" spending in the dust.

Oh, and even though Congress refused to agree to President Biden's request to send $10.1 billion in special military aid to Israel, his administration has been running circles around it, managing in December to send more than $250 million in tank shells and other weaponry to that country in what passes for an "emergency determination" on weapons sales, so that it can keep on devastating Gaza. In fact, according to the Guardian, the Israeli military "dropped 22,000 U.S.-supplied bombs on Gaza in the first month-and-a-half of the war. In that same period, the U.S. had supplied Israel with at least 15,000 bombs, including 2,000lb (900kg) bunker busters, as well as 50,000 155mm artillery shells." To put all of this in context, since Israel's founding in 1948, the U.S. has supplied that country with $124 billion -- no, that is not a misprint! -- in weaponry.

So, while Congress argues over the 2024 budget and Republicans demand far tighter border restrictions in return for any deal, the Pentagon rides high, the military-industrial complex has a field day, and American weaponry enters the world in prodigious quantities. Meanwhile you, the taxpayer, cover it all. With that in mind, let Pentagon specialist and TomDispatch regular William Hartung explore how the Defense Department budget and the giant weapons-makers who profit from it will continue to arm so many places on this planet, while disarming you, the taxpayer. Tom

The Military-Industrial Complex Is the Winner (Not You)

Overspending on the Pentagon Is Stealing Our Future

By William D. Hartung

2023 was a year marked by devastating conflicts from Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine to Hamas's horrific terror attacks on Israel, from that country's indiscriminate mass slaughter in Gaza to a devastating civil war in Sudan. And there's a distinct risk of even worse to come this year. Still, there was one clear winner in this avalanche of violence, suffering, and war: the U.S. military-industrial complex.

In December, President Biden signed a record authorization of $886 billion in "national defense" spending for 2024, including funds for the Pentagon proper and work on nuclear weapons at the Department of Energy. Add to that tens of billions of dollars more in likely emergency military aid for Ukraine and Israel, and such spending could well top $900 billion for the first time this year.

Meanwhile, the administration's $100-billion-plus emergency military aid package that failed to pass Congress last month is likely to slip by in some form this year, while the House and Senate are almost guaranteed to add tens of billions more for "national defense" projects in specific states and districts, as happened in two of the last three years.

Of course, before the money actually starts flowing, Congress needs to pass an appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2024, clearing the way for that money to be spent. As of this writing, the House and Senate had indeed agreed to a tentative deal to sign onto the $886 billion that was authorized in December. A trillion-dollar version of such funding could be just around the corner. (If past practice is any guide, more than half of that sum could go directly to corporations, large and small.)

A trillion dollars is a hard figure to process. In the 1960s, when the federal budget was a fraction of what it is now, Republican Senator Everett Dirksen allegedly said, "A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money." Whether he did or not, that quote neatly captures how congressional attitudes toward federal spending have changed. After all, today, a billion dollars is less than a rounding error at the Pentagon. The department's budget is now hundreds of billions of dollars more than at the height of the Vietnam War and over twice what it was when President Eisenhower warned of the "unwarranted influence" wielded by what he called "the military-industrial complex."

To offer just a few comparisons: annual spending on the costly, dysfunctional F-35 combat aircraft alone is greater than the entire budget of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2020, Lockheed Martin's contracts with the Pentagon were worth more than the budgets of the State Department and the Agency for International Development combined, and its arms-related revenues continue to rival the government's entire investment in diplomacy. One $13 billion aircraft carrier costs more than the annual budget of the Environmental Protection Agency. Overall, more than half of the discretionary budget Congress approves every year -- basically everything the federal government spends other than on mandatory programs like Medicare and Social Security -- goes to the Pentagon.

It would, I suppose, be one thing if such huge expenditures were truly needed to protect the country or make the world a safer place. However, they have more to do with pork-barrel politics and a misguided "cover the globe" military strategy than a careful consideration of what might be needed for actual "defense."

Congressional Follies

The road to an $886-billion military budget authorization began early last year with a debt-ceiling deal negotiated by President Biden and then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. That rolled back domestic spending levels, while preserving the administration's proposal for the Pentagon intact. McCarthy, since ousted as speaker, had been pressed by members of the right-wing "Freedom Caucus" and their fellow travelers for just such spending cuts. (He had little choice but to agree, since that group proved to be his margin of victory in a speaker's race that ran to 15 ballots.)

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Munich-based RegTech company pioneers carbon intensity tracking for industrial products. The 1.3M pre-seed funding round led by Revent and Vireo Ventures will enhance technological development and market penetration. Atmen's innovative technology simplifies and accelerates carbon intensity certification for EU industrial producers. The company starts with hydrogen and e-fuels.  MUNICH, Germany - January 16, 2024 - Atmen, a Munich-based regulatory technology company, announced a successful 1.3 million pre-seed funding round today. The round was 
The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed a court order to take effect that could loosen Apples grip on its lucrative iPhone app store, and potentially affect billions of dollars in revenue a year.

The justices rejected Apples appeal of lower-court rulings that found some of Apples app store rules for apps purchased on more than 1 billion iPhones constitute unfair competition under California law.

The appeal stemmed from an antitrust lawsuit filed by Epic Games, maker of the popular Fortnite video game. Epic lost its broader claim that Cupertino, California-based Apple was violating federal antitrust law, and the justices also rejected Epics appeal Tuesday.

But in turning away Apples plea, the court lifted a hold on an order to allow app developers throughout the U.S. to insert links to other payment options besides its own within iPhone apps. That change would make it easier for developers to avoid paying Apples commissions.

Epic, based in Cary, North Carolina, had claimed that Apples app store  which was launched in 2008, a year after the first iPhone went on sale  had turned into an illegal monopoly that stifles innovation and competition while generating billions of dollars in profit for Apple.

Epic tried to offer an alternative way to get its mobile app, attempting to evade the developer fees inside the app store, which collects a commission of 15% to 30% on subscriptions and other digital transactions.

Apple ousted Epic from its app store after it tried to get around restrictions that Apple says protect the security and privacy of iPhone users while also helping to recoup some of the investment that powers one of the worlds most ubiquitous devices.

Last month, Epic won a jury trial against Google and its Play Store for apps on Android phones in a lawsuit mirroring its action against Apple. A federal judge still must determine what changes Google will have to make to its Play Store.

-- The Associated Press
Drivers spent hours stuck on Interstate 5 as winter weather snarled traffic on Sunday and Monday south of Eugene.

State highway officials required chains on sections of the highway but vehicles lacking the equipment spun out or crashed on ice and blocked the freeway beginning at about 6 p.m. Sunday.

The gridlock continued well into Monday, with hours-long delays reported for northbound traffic, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation.

ODOT spokesperson David House said that despite crews preparing for the storm, laying down more de-icer and sand than in previous years, the severity of the storm hampered driving conditions.

He said an increased number of commercial vehicles, such as semi trucks, were not using chains this year. When those vehicles spin out, he said, they are more likely to block traffic.

It got so bad on I-5, House said, that drivers were simply stopping in traffic lanes to chain up instead of pulling off to the side of the highway. That backed traffic up so much that some drivers just sat in their cars and went to sleep.

We and Oregon State Police had to go and wake people up to get them moving again, House said.

Since then, House said, the weather hasnt gotten better, and traffic has only compounded. Oregon State Police have begun handing out citations for drivers who arent using chains in required areas.

Clare Lewis was coming back from a weekend in California, expecting to reach Portland around 2 p.m. Monday.

She had a time constraint: Lewis was trying to get to Portland for an appointment for her cancer treatment on Tuesday morning. Instead, she got stalled around Cottage Grove.

She turned the car on and off intermittently, trying to save gas but keep warm. But as night fell, she was running out of water and was worried about running out of gas.

She had heard from a friend in Portland that there was an overnight buildup of traffic on I-5, but she didnt think when she left Monday morning that it would still be so bad.

You just feel so hopeless, she said in a telephone interview from her car around 6:30 p.m. Theres no indication of whats going on.

After about five hours, Lewis managed to get to the Cottage Grove exit and began making her way north on Oregon 99.

House, the ODOT spokesperson, urged people to stay off the roads Tuesday, when a final round of icy conditions is expected to hit.

There are no alternate routes, he said. In normal weather, there can be a crash on I-5 and it still takes hours for backed up traffic to catch up. In this kind of weather where you can barely move, if you stop, youll get stuck. If youre not chained up, youll definitely get stuck.

Jayati Ramakrishnan; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com
After three days of suspended service on all TriMet MAX lines, the agency announced limited restart of Blue Line trains about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Update 9:45 a.m.: The Blue Line is now serving all stations along its route.

The Blue Line runs between Gresham and Hillsboro. There is currently no service to the Washington Park MAX Station.

MAX Green, Orange, and Yellow lines remain temporarily suspended as of Tuesday morning. Very limited shuttle bus service is available for travel between stations on those lines. The Red Line is not in service due to construction near Gateway Transit Center.

Tuesdays forecast warns of freezing rain by the afternoon. Transportation and police agencies are urging residents not to travel, if possible. TriMets bus service remains the best option as Blue Line MAX trains will likely not be able to offer regular service throughout the day. Some bus lines are traveling with chains and cant travel more than 25 mph. TriMets WES service is running today. Check trimet.org/home/alerts for details on specific lines.

Riders should dress warmly and be prepared for long delays.
Portland police identified 32-year-old Deante Dean Watts as the man stabbed to death in Northwest Portlands Old Town neighborhood on Friday.

No one has been arrested in the stabbing, which is still under investigation, police said.
Bruce Williams was in his Lake Oswego living room on Saturday when he looked out the window and saw his neighbors tree coming down.

It was headed for his yard, so Williams started yelling for his family. As he ran toward the room where his twin 12-year-old sons were playing video games, the ceiling came down.

After a few seconds of commotion and panic, his sons popped up from the debris.

The tree just missed them, Williams said.

Oregon is known for its abundance of tree-lined neighborhoods, but those lush and coveted canopies that help keep neighborhoods cool during the summer can present serious problems during high winds and winter weather. Williams family is one of several whove been displaced by falling trees during this weekends winter storm. Portland-area residents reported limbs or trees falling on roofs, and two people so far have died in separate incidents of trees falling on homes  one in Lake Oswego and the other in Southeast Portland.

A tree crashed into the roof of Bruce Williams' Lake Oswego home, narrowly missing his twin sons who were in the room.Ashley Williams

Now that Williams and his family are out of the house, theyve got a long wait ahead as they get the roof replaced.

The neighborhood is filled with tall trees, he said  on his property alone there are about 10 massive fir trees, over 150 feet tall. Even though he tries to keep his own trees pruned and have an arborist come out annually to remove dead limbs, the risks still remain.

If one goes down, its not going to stay on somebodys lot, he said. If you get enough ice built up on them or wind, they break loose.

Despite those risks, Williams said theyve run into challenges when trying to get trees removed from their yard. The city of Lake Oswego has a tree code, which requires property owners to get permits to remove trees. The city hasnt always granted them, he said, even when the trees are presenting structural issues.

A tree fell through the roof of Bruce Williams' home, narrowly missing his two sons who were in the room.Ashley Williams

Some in the Portland area wonder how easy it would be to remove old or dangerous trees due to city conservation codes.

Two large trees crashed through the home of Rukaiyah Adams over the weekend. Adams is the chief executive officer of the 1803 fund, a nonprofit dedicated to rebuilding the historically Black Albina community in North and Northeast Portland.

In the block near her Southwest home in the Southwest Hills neighborhood, four large Douglas fir trees toppled down, with two penetrating her roof and the structure of her home. She is currently in a hotel since her home is not livable and the severe weather has prevented tree removal companies from responding.

Adams said her home is in a conservation overlay zone which aims to conserve historical trees and shade cover. She said she isnt sure if these trees should have previously been cut down, but she does wonder how overlay zones might impact homeowner safety and what the citys responsibility is to homeowners.

A city spokesperson said he couldnt answer questions until after the winter storm, but city code for a conservation area appears to indicate trees can be cut down in limited situations, including if the city determines the trees pose an immediate danger.

Imagine the largest Douglas fir tree youve ever seen  two are in my home, Adams said. It is so unsettling.

In Southwest Portlands Bridlemile neighborhood on Saturday afternoon, a 130-foot Douglas fir took out the back corner of Michelle and Jay Rafters detached two-story garage, before falling through the roof of their neighbors unoccupied home.

A row of massive Douglas firs in a Southwest Portland backyard. One tree fell and damaged a freestanding garage before falling through another home's roof.Kate Rafter

They spent the rest of the day making a frenzy of phone calls, to alert their neighbor, and then trying to find tree service providers who could come out to assess the damage. Companies were slammed with callers across the metro area who had downed trees.

The uncertainties piled up, Michelle Rafter said. They didnt know whether the tree had further damaged the garage structure and if it was at risk of falling on their house. They had no way to get their cars out of the garage or see whether they had been damaged.

A service provider came out on Monday and removed the garage door. Both cars were OK, Rafter said, and they moved them out. Now, she said, the tree service is trimming the tree and will slowly cut it into smaller chunks so it can be hauled away.

A massive Douglas fir crashed through a corner of Michelle Rafter's garage before falling through a neighbor's unoccupied house.Kate Rafter

She praised the tree companies for their responsiveness despite the widespread need. But Rafter said the level of damage is still jarring to her.

Within a six block radius of our house I saw five houses that either had trees in the yard, on the roof, or crashed from their house onto the neighbors roof, she said. Weve lived here for 20 years. Ive never seen anything like this.

Jayati Ramakrishnan; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com

Nicole Hayden; nhayden@oregonian.com
A January ice storm spent by the fireplace is an invitation to reflect on the year that was. These are just a few of the 2023 wine moments that came to mind between toasted marshmallows and power failures.

First, the Willamette Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA) turned 40 in December. Despite recent pandemic shutdowns, labor shortages, wildfires, frost and even a face-melting heat dome, Willamette Valley producers continue to make some of the best wines in the world.

The next big 40th birthday bash will be thrown for the Umpqua Valley AVA this year. It should be noted that while their AVA became official in 1984, the Umpqua Valley wine region traces its rich history back to the 1880s.

Part of an industry maturing is the inevitable loss of its pioneers.

In 2023, the Willamette Valley wine community lost Dick Erath of Erath Winery and Knudsen Erath fame, Terry Casteel, a founding partner at Bethel Heights Vineyard, Salem, Peter Adams of the now defunct Adams Vineyard Winery, Portland, and Josef Fleischmann, co-founder of St. Josefs Winery in Canby.

In Southern Oregon, we said our goodbyes to Roger Layne, co-owner of Layne Vineyard, Grants Pass, Scott Henry of Henry Estate Winery in Umpqua, and Ann Wisnovsky, co-founder of Valley View Winery in Jacksonville.

In the Columbia Gorge AVA, we lost Don Bickford, a fifth-generation fruit grower and partner at Mt. Hood Winery in Hood River for the last two decades.

A celebratory wine event in McMinnville called Friendsgiving raised my spirits in 2023. It was my favorite wine event of the year, so Im happy it returns in 2024.

Friendsgiving is the brainchild of Jeanne Feldkamp, who co-owns Corollary Wines with her husband, Dan Diephouse. With the assistance of five other local wineries whose owners also happen to be friends, the event became a reality over Thanksgiving weekend at the beautiful Stillwater event space.

The Friendsgiving wines poured by Arabilis Wines, Cho Wines, Corollary Wines, Hazelfern Cellars, Hundred Suns Wine and Sealionne Wines were clearly made by skilled hands. It was the camaraderie and enthusiasm of the young winemakers, however, that really impressed me.

I walked away from Friendsgiving feeling like the Willamette Valleys future was in good hands.

As 2023 came to a close, I had another highlight of the year moment at Albariza Wine, a wine bar meat up that happens 4-7 p.m. on the last Saturday of every month at Proletariat Butchery. I was at 5820 S.E. Foster Road, but I felt like I had walked into a Spanish tapas bar in Madrid or San Sebastian.

For $25, Albrarizas owner, Emily Salko, will pour you a glass of wine to enjoy with a variety of meat treats prepared by her butcher husband and Proletariat founder Zeph Shepard. The night I was there, roasted potatoes and bread slathered in butchers butter were excellent accompaniments to the meat and German wines.

Additional glasses of wine are available for $14-$20, and something interesting is always coming off the outdoor grill. The next Albariza event on Jan. 27 features wines from Frances Jura region paired with hand-chopped steak tartare. Februarys Albariza offers grilled oysters tacked with butchers butter washed down with French wines from Champagne and the Rhone and Loire Valleys.

Heres a tip  sign up for Salkos monthly wine club packs of 3, 6, or 12 bottles, and Albarizas monthly tasting events are free. No other wine club offers so much fun and meaty goodness.

Speaking of tips, in 2023, I received many emails asking for recommendations on everything from which wineries to visit to wine and food pairings. I enjoyed answering all of them.

Two topics, however, were more popular than others  Oregon pinot noirs that dont break the bank, and the 0 to 5 hot dog scale that I created to review Costco wines. Along those lines, here are two spectacular pinot noir values that I discovered late last year.

Costco is selling the 2022 Cardwell Hill Cellars Estate Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (13.6% ABV) for $16.99. I give it a perfect 5/5 Costco hot dogs. This wine sells for $28 at the winery, so grab some while you can.

Another great value is the 2022 Broadley Vineyards Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (13.3% ABV) that sells for $25 at the winery. If you buy it at Fred Meyer along with five or more other bottles of wine, you can get the Broadley for $22.09.

Now, on to 2024 to see what happens next in the Oregon wine industry. Cheers.

-- Michael Alberty writes about wine for The Oregonian/OregonLive and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. He can be reached at malberty0@gmail.com. To read more of his coverage, go to oregonlive.com/wine
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The first meeting of the Standing Committee for Social Work of the Government of National Unity Tuesday discussed the social initiatives that the committee will be launching over the coming period
Valmet to Supply Key Technology for Shandong Jin Tian He Paper's Board Machine in China

Valmet's delivery will include headboxes, a former and press section, finishing technologies, automation and services. (pictured above) Valmet OptiFlo Fourdrinier headbox. Valmet's delivery will include headboxes, a former and press section, finishing technologies, automation and services. (pictured above) Valmet OptiFlo Fourdrinier headbox.

Jan. 12, 2024 - Valmet will supply key technology to Shandong Jin Tian He Paper's board machine PM 13 food grade folding boxboard line in China. The delivery will include headboxes, a former and press section, finishing technologies, automation and services.

The value of the order will not be disclosed, but such an order is typically worth of EUR 20 million to EUR 30 million, Valmet said.

Valmet's delivery will include three OptiFlo Fourdrinier headboxes, IntelliTop Former forming section, IntelliPress Linear press section, five OptiCoat Roll coating stations, OptiDry Coat air drying technology and two OptiCalender Soft calenders.

The delivery will also include Valmet DNA Machine Controls (MCS), Cross Direction (CD) and Machine Direction (MD) controls, headbox dilution profilers, basic engineering, spare parts packages, and Valmet Industrial Internet solutions with connectivity.

The 6,320 mm wide (wire) PM 13 will produce food grade folding boxboard with basis weight range of 170-400 g/m2 at production speed of 800 m/min.

The start-up of the folding boxboard machine is scheduled for the second quarter of 2025.

Valmet is a leading global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries.

SOURCE: Valmet
Voith and Schumacher Packaging Start-up Rebuilt PM 2 at Myszkow Mill in Poland

The rebuilt PM2  a containerboard machine  enables Schumacher Packaging's Myszkow mill to double production capacity from 500 to 1,000 tons per day. The rebuilt PM2  a containerboard machine  enables Schumacher Packaging's Myszkow mill to double production capacity from 500 to 1,000 tons per day.

Jan. 16, 2024 - Voith and Schumacher Packaging have successfully started up PM 2 in Myszkow, Poland.

The successful rebuild of the PM 2 will significantly increase the production capacity of lightweight containerboard grades. In the interest of the customer, the highest priority was placed on sustainability, machine availability and process efficiency when planning the rebuild, Voith said.

Henryk Drechnowicz, Managing Director at Schumacher Packaging Myszkow Paper Mill, explained, "The rebuild enabled us to double production capacity from 500 to 1,000 tons per day in a way that minimizes waste and reduces fiber, energy and freshwater consumption."

Voith had already modernized the plant's OCC stock preparation line in 2018. To meet the increased production capacity and further increase plant efficiency, the OCC line has now been expanded with additional technologies from Voith's BlueLine portfolio; sensor technology from BTG; and technologies for water, reject, and sludge handling from Meri.

State-of-the-art machine concepts  including a DuoFormer D, MasterJet Pro headbox and DuoShake DG  ensure the best possible quality for profiles and paper strengths. Other advantages include lower operating costs as well as fast and smooth grade changes.

In addition, the press section was renewed and equipped with Voith's NipcoFlex technology for two shoe presses, which significantly increases dry content and capacity and reduces specific steam consumption. A fully automatic VariFlex NG winder with its proven technology rounds off the major rebuild. This features the unique Gecko OneStep system, which enables web separation as well as start and end gluing in just one step. In addition, it ensures stable winding quality at maximum speed thanks to an integrated drive control and the innovative SmoothRun hydro-pneumatic damping system.

About Schumacher Packaging

Based in the Bavarian town of Ebersdorf bei Coburg (Germany), the Schumacher Packaging Group produces corrugated and solid board packaging. As an integrated group of companies, Schumacher Packaging has three paper mills for recycled containerboard, two cartonboard mills, twelve processing plants and various service centers.

Voith Paper, part of the Voith Group, is the full-line supplier to the paper industry, providing a wide range of technologies, services, components and products, and offers paper manufacturers solutions from a single source.

SOURCE: Voith
Photo: (Photo : DAMIEN MEYER/AFP via Getty Images)

A group of doctors in Philadelphia is offering a free MMR vaccine for kids and the elderly amidst the rising cases of measles in the state.

There has been a reported imported case since December 2023 at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Dotors Responds to the Philadelphia Measles Outbreak With Free MMR Vaccine

Due to the rising cases of measles in Philadelphia, a group of doctors, The Black Doctors Consortium, is conducting an initiative to vaccinate both kids and the elderly against measles.

The Black Doctors Consortium will be giving away a free MMR vaccine in their pop-up clinic in northern Philadelphia to help curb the threat of an ongoing uptick of measles cases.

The group of doctors stated that this would be free of charge. Additionally, they will also test patients to see if they have been exposed to measles and provide testing if you are not sure that you are protected against it.

Aside from the MMR vaccine, they are also giving away COVID-19 and flu vaccines, which are going to be distributed at the Dr. Ala Stanford Center for Health Equity. No identification is required, and there will be no out-of-pocket cost, the group said.

Aside from that, the city health department of Philadelphia is also conducting its own free vaccinations that are available to all residents.

However, people who want to avail themselves of the free vaccination need to provide either an ID or a piece of mail with an address to qualify as proof of residency.

For children in Philadelphia, the opportunity to get vaccinated is widely accessible at any city health center.

Appointments can be arranged by contacting the city's call center at (215) 685-2933, facilitating a streamlined process for families to ensure their children's health and well-being.

Adding to the city's health initiatives, Philadelphia is currently hosting walk-in MMR vaccine clinics at three designated city health centers.

This service is a part of the city's response to the measles outbreak and is available to all Philadelphia residents.

The clinics operate on a walk-in basis from Monday through Thursday, with two sessions daily: the first from 10 a.m. to noon, and the second from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. These clinics are located at:

Health Center 3, 555 S. 43rd St.

Health Center 4, 4400 Haverford Ave.

Health Center 5, 1900 N. 20th St.

During these hours, residents can receive the MMR vaccine without an appointment. Again, the city emphasizes the ease of access to these services, highlighting that there is no copay, no fee, and no ID required, although presenting a piece of mail with an address is recommended.

Read Also: Unprecedented Rise in U.S. School Vaccine Exemptions May Revive Measles Threat

Measles Outbreak in Philadelphia

The measle outbreak in Philly began during December 2023, it was declared an imported case after the family travelled overseas.

The child was then confined Children's Hospital of Philadelphia then spread it to another parent and child at the hospital who were hospitalized for different reason.

After it was confirmed that they were infected, the mother was offered medication to treat measles but refused. She was then given quarantine instructions after being exposed.

However, it was reported that the mother sent her child to the daycare for two days and infected other people as a result.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), measles can be highly contagious. It is stated that a person carrying the virus can infect up to 10 people around them, especially if they are unvaccinated against measles and not wearing a mask.

Measles can appear not so serious, one obvious manifestation of it is rashes, however, they could end up being more severe such as pneumonia, brain swelling, and viral sepsis.

Despita MMR vaccine becoming effective in protecting human against the disease, approximately three to four million Americans still gets infected by measles and around 400 to 500 people die from it every year.

Related Article: Philadelphia Grapples with Measles Outbreak: Hospitals on Alert as Cases Rise
The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) is to intensify its initiative aimed at roping in more informal sector and self-employed persons in Ghana onto the state-run Tier One pension scheme.



Riding on the successes of last year when it launched the Self Employed Enrolment Drive (SEED), SSNIT believes that a more aggressive approach to push the initiative will attract more people in that bracket to secure them a better future when they retire.



The Director-General of SSNIT, Dr John Ofori-Tenkorang, who announced the Trusts resolve last Thursday, said We have developed a good initiative that will help many people to guarantee a better future in retirement and we must sustain the campaign this year and beyond.



Expansion



The number of self-employed persons on the SSNIT more than quadrupled in the last two quarters of last year.



From about 14,200 in May, the number sharply rose to over 57,000 as of last month, with more preparing to come on board.



SSNIT attributed the feat to an aggressive campaign by the management of the state-run pension scheme, a move which is expected to be intensified this year and beyond.



The campaign is aimed at roping a large number of workers in the informal sector of the economy into the scheme.



The director-general said although SSNIT had been able to work to enrol tens of thousands of self-employed persons onto the scheme within a short period, the task ahead was still arduous, adding that we will not relent but continue to push harder to increase the numbers into the hundreds of thousands and the millions per our laid down plan of action because we see the potential.



The National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) estimates that about 600,000 of the 6.7 million self-employed people in the country have some form of pension cover.



This implies that a whopping 6.1 million self-employed persons do not have any form of pension cover and that is what the managers of the tier one pension scheme intend to leverage.



Sustainability



On the sustainability of the pension scheme, Dr Ofori-Tenkorang reiterated the efforts of the managers of the scheme to ensure that the pension scheme, which is heavily relied on by workers, formal and informal, is sustained.



He said the scheme was solvent and viable and indicated that it was the responsibility of the Trust to ensure that despite the challenges from various quarters, the scheme is sustained as one of the best state-run pension schemes on the continent.



The SSNIT director-general mentioned, for instance, the SEED initiative and noted that the scheme as it stands now could even be made better if more joined, hence the campaign.



He said SSNIT was also ensuring that its investments were performing to their optimum to return the funds needed to continually honour its obligations to workers on pension.



Dr Ofori-Tenkorang said much as some of the investments of SSNIT were not performing as expected, those equities were minute, however, we are working around the clock to determine the appropriate action to take in the best interest of the scheme, he assured.



He again made a case for those who have not joined the scheme to do so and not use negative speculations about the management of the scheme to stay away.

Source: Graphiconline









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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One of the six sisters abducted in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, over a week ago has reportedly died in captivity, sparking outrage in the country.



Unknown gunmen invaded the residence of the family in the Bwari area of Abuja and shot three police officers before kidnapping the sisters and their father.



One of the sisters, identified as Nabeehah, a university student, was reportedly killed by the abductors on Friday night after the family failed to pay a ransom of $63,000 (50,000).



A relative who has been involved in rescue efforts told Daily Trust news website that the kidnappers have handed over Nabeehah's body to the family.



The abductors warned that they would kill the rest of the siblings if the ransom, which they have increased to $104,000, would not be paid by Wednesday, the relative said.



Two of the three injured policemen hit by bullets during the kidnap have also reportedly died.



Police said "all hands are on deck" to rescue the victims, without confirming Nabeehah's reported murder.



Opposition leader Atiku Abubakar has said Nabeehah's killing "is yet another reminder that kidnappers and bandits are operating unhindered in our country," and called for the country's security architecture to be "rejigged".



Peter Obi, leader of the opposition Labour Party, says the kidnapping in the country's capital "is a clear pointer to how insecure the rest of the country now is.

Source: Graphiconline









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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Identifiable groups at Central Markets in Kumasi of the Ashanti Region have debunked standstill claims made by some traders about the redevelopment of Central Market.



These traders said the government has not sidelined the project as announced by some other traders in an earlier press conference.



In a rebuttal conference, members of the identifiable groups at the Central Market said its unacceptable on the part of those traders calling on the leader of the Movement for Change, Hon Alan Kwadwo Kyeremateng to take over the project to the extent of threatening to boycott the 2024 General elections.



We were happy when the first group of traders earlier announced their intention to call the governments attention on the halted project only for them to twist the entire idea to politicize it one trader said to Sampson Kwame Nyamekye.



These traders have expressed their confidence in the NPP government as far as the completion of ongoing projects in the Ashanti region is concerned.







They recounted how the government over the years has improved on infrastructure and other amenities, especially in the Ashanti Region from road network, schools, and hospitals among others which according to them has depended on their trust in the government when it comes to project provision.



As to whether to participate in the general elections in December or not, they hinted at their willingness to cast their votes.



On Thursday, 2nd May 2019, at Kejetia, President Akufo-Addo cut sod for the construction of the Kejetia Central Market phase 2 project to boost economic growth in the region.



The redevelopment of the Kumasi Central Market is a two hundred and forty- eight-million-euro (248 million) project, and it is being financed by Deutsche Bank of Germany, with export credit guarantee from the United Kingdom Export

Finance (UKEF). The construction will be undertaken by Messrs Contracta Construction Ltd, UK, and will be finished within 48 months.



Upon completion, the redeveloped market will have 6,500 leasable commercial spaces; 5,400 closed stores; 800 kiosks; 50 restaurants; 210 fishmonger and butcher stores; forty 40 livestock stores; and 1,800m2 of community facilities.

Source: Samson Kwame Nyamekye/ Hello Fm









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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About 225 people - including children - have died of starvation in Ethiopias drought-hit and war-scarred Tigray region, local officials have said.



Almost all the deaths - 209 - have been recorded in the town of Edga Arbi, health officials have been quoted by regional TV as saying.



In another area, 16 people, displaced by a brutal two-year civil war which ended in 2022, have lost their lives due to hunger, the officials added.



Tigray officials had previously warned that a famine similar to the one Ethiopia witnessed in the mid-80s, when hundreds thousands of children and adults died, could be on the horizon.



The federal government, however, denies that a famine is imminent, and says it is working to provide aid.



According to the UN, more than 20 million people require food aid in Ethiopia due to conflicts, drought, and flooding.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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In a bid to boost its production capacity, Ghana's wholly Ghanaian owned mining giant, Adamus Resources Limited, with financial support from its parent company, Nguvu Mining Limited, has launched over a dozen Liebeherr brand of haulage trucks at the companys site at Esiama in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region.



The acquisition of the haulage trucks to augment the companys existing heavy-duty equipment forms part of Adamus Mining's expansion drive towards its planned aggressive exploration programme.



Achieving this milestone which has been one of the companys major goals, has strengthened its ground resources.



The colourful event was witnessed by some prominent chiefs of the Nzema Traditional Council led by the President of the Eastern Nzema Traditional Council Awulae Amihere Kpanyinli the Third.



Also at the ceremony were the Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, the District Chief Executive of Elembelle, Kojo Bonzoe and the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of mines, amongst other players of the mining industry.



The Western Regional Minister, Mr Okyere Darko-Mensah praised the management of Nguvu Mining Limited for its continuous investments and immense contribution to the local economy, especially with the employment of over 1,100 indigenes by the company.



He added that without Adamus mining in Elembelle, the local economy would have collapsed.



He said Adamus culture of being a company that listens to the community has led to an interesting stage where the company involves residents in responsible and sustainable community mining operations. He added that the company has made all the necessary arrangements to start community mining on their concessions, and is doing so well in supporting and supervising this project to sustain mining in the Elembelle District.



The Regional Minister said he believes that the new arrangements are more sustainable and will ensure that the people of Nzema own some of the productive mining businesses in their district to generate revenue for themselves and their communities.



As an advocate for mining myself, I do believe that if Ghana has to grow then it means that we have to consistently support the mining sector in this country."



He stressed that it was a fact that without gold, Ghana's economy would have been in tatters after the COVID-19 pandemic, and for that matter, he has been pushing for increased gold production to support the economy of Ghana and all mining communities.



The CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Mr Sulemanu Koney, Commended the management of NGUVU Mining Limited and Adamus for investing latest technology that is expected to help the company achieve its 120,000 ounces per annum target.



He said there is no doubt that this diesel electronic drive has become a benchmark in the 100-ton class for off-highway mining trucks, showcasing top performance, maximizing uptime and low operational cost.



The truck boasts of a design that is embedded with safety considerations for maintenance technicians and onlookers by eliminating various hazards.



Its commitment to the comfort of operators has been well considered with an ergonomic cabin to promote driver efficiency and enhanced superior performance.



We believe that their robust design and advanced technology will undoubtedly contribute to increased operational efficiency at Adamus Mining and further set a new standard for the mining industry in Ghana" said Mr Sulemanu Koney.



Liebherr , a renowned name in the global mining equipment industry has a history of delivering top-notch products that align with the needs of modern mining operations.



Mr Sulemanu Koney said, "The Liebherr 100t T236 trucks are no exception. Im confident that their integration into Adamus Mining Resources operations will reduce downtime with low cost and improve overall performance.



The symbolic key to the trucks was jointly presented to the CEO of NGUVU Mining Limited , Madam Angela List by the Executive Vice President of Liebherr Mining , Dr Jorg Lukowski and Member of the Administrative Board of Liebherr International, Madam Sophie Albrecht.



Speaking after the presentation Dr. Jorg Lukowski thanked the management of NGUVU Mining for their trust in them.

Dr. Jorg Lukowski assured them that Liebherr will work hard to deliver on its promises in terms of training and after-sales services.



Speaking after the launch, the visibly elated CEO of NGUVU Mining Ltd, Madam Angela List said her companys partnership with Liebherr has provided them with an excellent result in terms of top-quality mining equipment, with the latest being the first of its kind in Ghana.



She said looking at various specifications of equipment, the T236, an electric truck with the superior after-sales service and training that Liebherr offers is a huge step for the group.



She said the trucks will help accelerate the movement of the ore from the ground to the processing plant.



Madam Angela List said the company believes in quality human resources and therefore has trained people from scratch especially the community members who had no skills at all including women.



The CEO, who is committed to gender balance expressed joy about the fact that female employees who had no skills in driving, and started with the company as cleaners, have now been trained to become qualified operators.

The women displayed their skills with the trucks after the launch.



According to her, most of the female operators are extremely competent and committed to safety, adding that she wants to see more women excelling in the male-dominated fields of the company.



Madam Angela List said there is a cordial relationship with the host communities because community members have recognized that Adamus' interest goes beyond personal gains. She said the company has the entire community, the various chiefdoms and all the people of Nzema land at heart.



She said their doors are always opened to them for dialogue, discussions of progress, and implementation of corporate social responsibility initiatives, while efforts are made to employ more locals to make life easy for them.

On his part, the President of the Eastern Nzema Traditional Council, Awulae Amihere Kpanyinli the Third, lauded the company for its contributions to the mining industry and the communities in their operational areas.



While pledging the support of traditional authorities for mining activities, he said some people are only against community mining due to environmental challenges such as the degradation of forests and the pollution of water bodies.



Awulae Amihere Kpanyinli the third said traditional authorities support sustainable and eco-friendly community mining for the protection of the environment for future generations.











Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The European continent is preparing for Russian President Vladimir Putin to expand his countrys war in Ukraine and attack NATO ally countries next year, leaked documents published by German newspaper BILD reveal.



According to Bild  which obtained classified military information from the German Ministry of Defense, the countrys armed forces are gearing up for a hybrid Russian attack in Eastern Europe.



Bild detailed how multiple potentially alarming scenarios could unfold in the months ahead.

One such scenario, dubbed Alliance Defense 2025 would start this February, with Russia mobilizing an additional 200,000 soldiers.



Russia, motivated by Western financial support for Ukraine reducing, would then launch a massive spring offensive against Ukrainian armed forces.



The potential scenario reveals how Russia could start waging war in the Baltics by July using severe cyberattacks while stirring up discontent among Russian nationals in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.



By September, those clashes, the classified documents show, could then be used by Russia as a reason to unleash Zapad 2024, a large-scale military exercise that would amass some 50,000 Russian soldiers in the west of the country and Belarus.



From there, the scenario describes, Russia could move troops and mid-range missiles to Kaliningrad, an 86-square mile Russian territory wedged between Lithuania and Poland, who are both NATO members.

According to the documents, Russia could bombard the region with propaganda warning of an imminent attack by NATO forces, with the ultimate goal of conquering an area known as the Suwalki Gap, a narrow Polish-Lithuanian corridor which lies between Belarus and Kaliningrad.



By December, according to the plot  a worst-case-scenario exercise  Russia could then take advantage of the transition period following the US presidential election and use propaganda, proclaiming fictional border conflicts or riots with numerous deaths to incite violence in the Suwalki Gap area and sow unrest, BILD reports.



Following a meeting of the UN Security Council in January 2025, Russia could then falsely accuse Western allies of plotting to move against Putins regime, which he could then use to rally troops to Belarus and the Baltics by March 2025.



The leaked document said in this scenario, 30,000 German troops would be deployed for defense, while an estimated 70,000 Russian forces would have amassed in Belarus. By May 2025, that build-up could prompt NATO to enact measures for credible deterrence to prevent further Russian incursion, which translates as combat between Western troops and Russian forces.

While the plans obtained by BILD are a potential scenario prepared by generals in the German army, European allies take Russias threat seriously and are preparing accordingly.



German Defense Ministry officials would not address specific scenarios laid out in the document but told BILD: I can tell you that considering different scenarios, even if they are extremely unlikely, are part of everyday military business, especially in training.''













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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Deputy Minority Chief Whip Ahmed Ibrahim says the Akufo-Addo-led government spends too much money on his ministers while the masses suffer.



He did not make known the amount government spent on his appointees but noted that too much money is spent than they generate."



The Banda Member of Parliament (MP) suggested a lean government is what Ghana needs to revive its economy, not excessive taxes that will rather burden Ghanaians.



This is what President Mahama will do when elected President, he told NEAT FMs morning show, Ghana Montie, in an interview.



Listen to the interview below





Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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"What I would want to tell the doomsday prophets is that Dumsor is not back," says Deputy Minister of Energy, Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer.



Some parts of the country experienced power outages, popularly known as 'Dumsor', which led to calls for an explanation from the government.



The government has attributed the recent power outages in the country to financial difficulties with the West Africa Gas Pipeline Company (WAGPCo). As a result, WAGPCo was forced to cut off gas supply to Ghana, leading to the power outages.



Egyapa Mercer speaking in an interview on Peace FM's morning show, 'Kokrokoo' gave further details but assured Ghanaians that the challenges have been resolved.



Doomsday prophets



The Deputy Energy Minister however, expressed disappointment over the fact that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) was jubilating over the 'return of dumsor'



"Dumsor is not back. Dumsor is former President Mahamas legacy; it was dead with him and will remain buried with him. Issues regarding the power outages have been resolved he told sit-in host, Nana Yaw Kesseh





Source: Peacefmonline.com









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My attention has been drawn to a video recording in which the Assin Central Member of Parliament, Hon. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong is seen alleging corruption against Hon. Francis Asenso Boakye, the Minister for Works and Housing and Member of Parliament for Bantama.



The said video captures Hon. Agyapong in a campaign meeting with delegates of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Bantama constituency to solicit support for his brother in the upcoming parliamentary primary of the party.



Hon. Ken Agyapong, in the video, alleges that Hon. Asenso Boakye was demanding bribes from foreigners during his tenure as a Deputy Chief of Staff at the Jubilee House. He further claimed that if the delegates doubted his story, they could ask me, Kwabena Asante of Adom FM for confirmation, creating the impression that I knew about the story or had been a witness to the allegations he was leveling against the Hon. Asenso Boakye.



I would like to state categorically that, I have not met or spoken to Hon. Agyapong on anything relating to corruption involving Hon. Francis Asenso Boakye. As a matter of fact, I am not aware of any attempt by the former deputy Chief of Staff to solicit bribes from any foreigner(s).



The public is advised to disregard any such allegation from the Assin Central MP in which my name is mentioned.







Source: Omanhene Kwabena Asante









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Salam Mustapha, the National Youth Organizer of the governing New Patriotic Party, has begged the Assin Central Member of Parliament to extinguish the heat he is bringing to the party.



The vociferous MP has recently descended on the Works and Housing Minister, Francis Asenso-Boakye, who is re-contesting the Bantama parliamentary seat for the party.



The Minister will go head-to-head with Kennedy Agyapong's brother, Ralph Agyapong, on January 27th, and the Assin Central lawmaker has gathered all his arsenals to ensure Asenso-Boakye loses the parliamentary slot to his brother.



Kennedy Agyapong alleged corruption against Asenso-Boakye, claiming he has been collecting bribes and also alleging he masterminded a plot to sell the official residence of the late Justice Samuel Marful-Sau.



"He goes to collect bribes from China and India people...I confronted the people themselves because they were going to disgrace the NPP, and I stopped it. I stopped it. Asenso was charging $20,000. Didn't you recently hear the White person say Asenso charged him 20,000 dollars?" he fumed.



He pledged to bring concrete evidence against the Minister and Member of Parliament for Bantama, cautioning the constituents that "if you vote for him again, he will disgrace you big time. This time, I am not sure, with this evidence I will give, he will become a Minister again when the Vice President wins for him to show us his arrogance".



But Salam Mustapha has pleaded with Mr. Agyapong to cease fire.



"I plead with him to bring the fire down," he said on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" show Monday morning, and he further commended Kennedy Agyapong for his diligence and sacrifices for the New Patriotic Party, saying, "he has a lot of admirers in the party and a lot of young people who look up to him and the legacy he has built in the party; I don't think that anything should wash it away."



Salam also expressed sadness over the latter's decision to exit Parliament, exclaiming, "Kennedy Agyapong, I like him!"



Watch video below





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Salam Mustapha has given a shocking revelation about the Members of Parliament which may form part of the reasons why some have decided to leave the House.



Ghana's House of Parliament will in January, 2025 see the exit of some senior members as 18 long-term law makers have declared their decision not to contest their seats again.



The 18 Members of Parliament are on the side of the New Patriotic Party; it is also rumored that some Parliamentarians on the political divide, particularly the National Democratic Congress, are also planning to follow their NPP colleagues.



The NPP MPs who will not join the next Parliament include the Majority Leader and MP for Suame, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu who has served in the House for seven terms, First Deputy Speaker and MP, Bekwai, Joseph Osei-Owusu with four terms, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, Assin Central with six terms, Joe Ghartey, Essikado-Ketan (five terms), Samuel Atta Akyea, Akyem Abuakwa South (four terms) and Dan Botwe, Okere (four terms) among others.



Contributing to a panel discussion on Peace FM's morning show "Kokrokoo", Salam Mustapha, the National Youth Organizer of the ruling New Patriotic Party, revealed that most of the MPs depend on "pressure pills" in their daily living.



He explained that the MPs receive so much pressure from their constituents and Ghanaians at large that by the time they leave office, they are worn out and due to the amount of pressure on them, they have resorted to taking pills to steady their nerves.



"What happens in the course of service when the pressure comes to take everything away from you and leaves you virtually with nothing?", he rhetorically asked.



"When you go to the House of Parliament, a lot of them are running on pressure pills because everyday they wake up to demands...Any time you will see a former MP, you don't see them in a state that they are happy", he stated.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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State Rep. Dawn Keefers decision to vacate her seat in the House of Representatives to seek a Senate seat has created an opening that three candidates so far are vying to fill.

Democrat Dan Almoney, 46, of Newberry Township is the most recent candidate to announce he wants to represent the 92nd House District in northern York County.

Almoney ran unsuccessfully two years ago and decided to use that experience to try to capture this long-held GOP seat in a Republican-leaning legislative district.

He called his last campaign eye-opening in that he found many of his neighbors share the same concerns, regardless of political affiliation: their jobs, their families and their future.

Among the issues he would like to tackle in the Capitol are development, emergency services, school funding and taxes.

There is so much that can be accomplished working alongside Rep. Carol Hill-Evans and the Democratic majority in the House, he said in a statement. Im running to work, serve and improve the lives of the people in northern York and not advance a billionaires agenda referring to Jeffrey Yass, who donates generously to candidates who support school vouchers.

Its time we had a representative that is more concerned with their constituents than conspiracies. And Its time we had a representative that will stand up for those that cant afford to have a seat at the political table, he added.

Almoney has become active in the community since his last House campaign, speaking out in support of local schools and fighting against Newberry Townships sale of its sewer system, a proposal that got shot down.

Republicans Matthew Davis of Dover and Holly Kelley of Dillsburg are seeking their partys nomination for the seat.

The 92nd District includes all of Carroll, Fairview, Franklin, Monaghan, Newberry, Warrington and Washington townships, part of Dover Township, and Dillsburg, Franklintown, Goldsboro, Lewisberry, Wellsville and York Haven borough.

Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on X at @JanMurphy.
By Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES  Succession secured its legacy with its third best drama series award, The Bear feasted as the nights top comedy, and the two shows about squabbling families dominated the acting awards at Monday nights Emmys.

Historic wins also came for Quinta Brunson of Abbot Elementary and Steven Yeun and Ali Wong of Beef at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day ceremony that was finally held four months late after a turbulent year of strikes in Hollywood.

Succession, the HBO saga of the dysfunctional generations of a maladjusted media empire, won the top prize for its fourth and final season. It also won best actress in a drama for Sarah Snook and best actor in a drama for Kieran Culkin.

We all put our all into it and the bar was set so high, Snook said.

The Bear, the FX dramedy about a contentious family and a struggling restaurant at the center of the life of a talented chef, won best comedy series for its first season. It also made a meal of its acting categories, with Jeremy Allen White winning best actor in a comedy, best supporting actress in a comedy for Ayo Edebiri winning best supporting actress, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach taking best supporting actor. All three were first-time nominees.

This is a show about family and found family and real family, Edebiri said from the stage as she accepted the first trophy of the night at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

Instead of the usual producer speeches, Matty Matheson, a real-life elite chef who plays a kitchen newbie and repairman on The Bear, spoke for the show near the end of the Fox telecast.

I just love restaurants so much, the good and the bad, were broken inside, Matheson said before getting a long kiss on the mouth from Moss-Bachrach.

Brunson won best actress in a comedy for the show she created, ABCs Abbott Elementary, becoming the first Black woman to win the award in more than 40 years and the first from a network show to win it in more than a decade.

Carol Burnett, left, presents Quinta Brunson with the award for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for "Abbott Elementary" during the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

I am so happy to be able to live my dream and act out comedy, Brunson said during her acceptance on the Fox telecast, fighting back tears. The writer-actor was among the stars with standout looks on the Emmys silver carpet.

Succession won six Emmys overall including best supporting actor in a drama for Matthew Macfadyen and best writing in a drama for show creator Jesse Armstrong. The only drama acting category it didnt win was supporting actress, taken for the second time by Jennifer Coolidge of The White Lotus.

The Bear won in every category it was nominated for Monday night, and along with the four it had won previously at the Creative Arts Emmys, took 10 overall, the most of any show.

LANDMARK WINS ON TVS BIG NIGHT

Beef won best limited series, while Steven Yeun and Ali Wong became the first Asian Americans to win in their categories  Yeun for best actor in a limited series and Wong for best actress. Creator Lee Sung won Emmys for writing and directing. It had eight Emmys overall after three wins at last weekends Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Brunson had won a writing Emmy for Abbott Elementary, her mockumentary about a predominantly Black and chronically underfunded grade school in Philadelphia, but this is her first for acting. Isabel Sanford of The Jeffersons was the only previous Black woman to win the category in 1981.

Christina Applegate, left, presents the award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series during the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

The first hour of the show held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day saw three Black women win major awards: Brunson, Edebiri and Niecy Nash-Betts, who won best supporting actress in a limited series for Dahmer  Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

On the Netflix show, Nash-Betts played a neighbor of the serial killer whose complaints to authorities about his behavior go unheeded.

I accept this award on behalf of every Black and brown woman who has gone unheard and over-policed, she said.

Everybody having fun at the chocolate Emmys tonight? host Anthony Anderson said during the show. We are killing it tonight! ... This is like MLK Day and Juneteenth all rolled up in one!

The tweaked awards calendar made for some oddities. Edebiri and White won their Emmy for the shows first season eight days after winning Golden Globes for the second season.

Kieran Culkin accepts the award for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for "Succession" during the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

BABY TALK AMID SUCCESSION WINS

Culkin outshined the older brother and the father to win the final lead actor Emmy for Succession.

He had twice been nominated for best supporting actor for Succession without a win. But in the final season, in which his character Roman Roy goes from sideline wisecracker to emotional disaster at the center of the shows drama, he was put in the lead category and won over castmates Brian Cox, who played his father, and Jeremy Strong, who played his older brother.

He then shifted to his own family, getting big laughs during his speech when he told his wife Jazz Charton that their two young kids werent enough. I want more, he said. You said if I won, we could talk about it.

Snook took her first Emmy in three nominations for Succession and her fictional husband Macfadyen won the second Emmy of his career for playing Tom Wambsgans, the son-in-law that began the HBO series as a hanger-on and ended it as the closest thing it had to a victor on Succession.

The cast and crew RuPaul's Drag Race arrives at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

MANY TEARS, AND ONE CONCERNED MOTHER

Emotions ran high from the start of the ceremony. Edebiri and Brunson were both quick to cry as they took the stage, and the first presenter, Christina Applegate, who said in 2021 that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, got a standing ovation as she came out using a cane, helped by Anderson. She struggled to get through the nominees and winner with the tears in her eyes.

Anderson told the nominees at the beginning of the night that instead of having their speeches cut off by music, his mother, actor Doris Hancox, sitting in the audience, would tell them when it was time to move on. But she more often shouted down her son in the running gag.

Kelsey Grammer, from left, Rhea Perlman, Ted Danson John Ratzenberger, and George Wendt present the award for outstanding directing for a comedy series during the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

OLDER SHOWS RETURN TO SPOTLIGHT

Honoring TV history was the theme at the 75th Emmys. Anderson opened the show on a Mr. Rogers set and performed TV theme songs including Good Times, and several cast reunions were spread throughout the show.

Cast members including Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell from Martin, Ted Danson and Rhea Perlman from Cheers, and Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers from All in The Family, performed short bits from recreations of their sitcom sets before presenting awards.

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler reunited to present an award in the form of their 2001-2005 Weekend Update team-up from Saturday Night Live.

Weve reached the stage in life where well only present awards sitting down, Fey said.

One notable appearance came from Katherine Heigl, who joined Ellen Pompeo and other former Greys Anatomy cast mates on a hospital room set after leaving the show, now about to start its 20th season, on not the best terms in 2010.

Yes, there have been changes over the years, Heigl said with a wry smile, But the one constant is the amazing fanbase.

Associated Press Writers Krysta Fauria and Leslie Ambriz contributed to this report.
Rent in much of the country continues to rise, with residents and businesses alike expressing concerns to officials about high prices.

But while this new year seems to be dragging with it the same old worries, a report has highlighted the United States cities that are showing some promise, rent-wise.

RentCafe  which, according to its about page, is a nationwide listing service ready to help you find an apartment or house rent in the safest and easiest way possible  published this report to its blog about a week ago, first seeding a list of the countrys 150 largest cities to analyze.

From there, researchers graded cities on their rental activity based across four key metrics: Availability Rate, Page Views, Favorites and Saved Searches. Sources such as the the U.S. Census Bureau and RentCafes own proprietary data were used in order to properly assess each area.

Philadelphia ended up ranking 24th overall on the final list with a rental score of 75.2 out of 100. Pittsburgh made it on the list, too  just in the 105th spot with a score of 64.09.

As for the top three cities, those would be, in ascending order: Cincinnati, Ohio; Kansas City, Mo.; and Atlanta, Ga.

With its transformed Midtown and IT brain power source Georgia Tech, Atlanta was on renters radar throughout 2023, elaborates the report. Atlanta listings on RentCafe.com attracted the most attention from apartment seekers (who added properties to their favorites list and saved their personalized searches to make their quest easier), pushing the city to #1.
UTICA, MI - A public memorial will be held to honor Michigans Snake Guy, Brian Barczyk, who died from pancreatic cancer on Monday. The family informed the public of his death on his Facebook page and we also confirmed his death with the church where is public memorial will be held.

Nine days ago, Barczyk, who owned The Reptarium in Utica, posted his final YouTube video, This is Goodbye. In it, Barczyk, who has more than 5 million YouTube subscribers, thanked family, friends and viewers for their love and support as he mentioned how painful battling pancreatic cancer had been.

More than the guiding light of our organization, Brians fervent passion for reptiles and wildlife, along with his steadfast dedication to education, has touched innumerable hearts and minds globally, The Reptarium team wrote on Facebook. Weve lost an exceptional individual  a visionary, mentor, and friend. For those of us who had the privilege of working alongside him, Brians absence leaves an immeasurable void.

The Barczyk family is holding a public memorial walk-through to honor his memory on Wednesday, January 17 at Heritage Church, located at 44625 Schoenherr Road in Sterling Heights. The memorial is from 1-3pm.

The family also encourages people to show their support by visiting The Reptariums website where people can leave a message for the family.

Barczyk and his team had been working to expand The Reptarium at a 30,000 square foot facility across the street which will be called LegaSea Aquarium. No opening date has been given. Barczyk said in his goodbye video that he badly wanted to be at the opening.

Listen, I wanted to be there and greet you guys at the open and thats all I dreamt of. Unfortunately, I gotta tell you, that is not going to happen. Im not going to be there to see the open. Im not even going to be there to see it done.

The Reptarium team says Barczyks handprints will be at LegaSeas opening, allowing visitors to place their hands in his.

I pray that you guys will continue to watch the Vlog and continue to follow along because nothing is going to change, Barczyk added in his goodbye video. Our messages will be the same. The difference is, youre not going to see me.

Here is his goodbye video in its entirety:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  Former President Donald Trump scored a record-setting win in the Iowa caucuses on Monday with his rivals languishing far behind, a victory that sent a resounding message that the GOPs 2024 presidential nomination is his to lose.

Trump was on track to set a record for a contested Iowa Republican caucus with a margin of victory exceeding the nearly 13 percentage points that Bob Dole won by in 1988. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis finished a distant second ahead of former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.

In what was expected to be a low-turnout affair, caucusgoers endured life-threatening cold and dangerous driving conditions to meet in hundreds of schools, churches and community centers across the state.

Haley plans to compete vigorously in New Hampshire, where she hopes to be more successful with the states independent voters heading into the Jan. 23 primary. DeSantis, meanwhile, is heading straight to South Carolina, a conservative stronghold where the Feb. 24 contest could prove pivotal.

Trump has spent much of the past year building a far more professional organization in Iowa than the relatively haphazard effort he oversaw in 2016, when Texas Sen. Ted Cruz carried the caucuses. His team paid special attention to building a sophisticated digital and data operation to regularly engage with potential supporters and ensure they knew how to participate in the caucuses.

His victory party Monday night was dotted with people wearing white Trump Caucus Captain hats like the one the former president donned at a rally on Sunday. Captains were responsible for turning out at least 10 caucusgoers for Trump.

God called us to do that to support Trump, said 64-year-old David Lage, donning a captains hat at the party.

Iowa has been an uneven predictor of who will ultimately lead Republicans into the general election. George W. Bushs 2000 victory was the last time a Republican candidate won in Iowa and went on to become the partys standard-bearer.

But Trump was already looking ahead to a potential general election matchup against President Joe Biden as he addressed hundreds of cheering supporters at a caucus site at the Horizon Events Center in Clive, Iowa.

He is totally destroying our country, Trump said of Biden. We were a great nation three years ago and today people are laughing at us.

Bidens team, meanwhile, announced that he and the Democratic National Committee raised more than $97 million in the last quarter of 2023 and finished the year with $117 million in the bank, an effort to demonstrate how Biden is preparing for the possible rematch while Trump is still competing in the primary.

The Associated Press declared Trump the winner at 7:31 p.m. CST based on an analysis of early returns as well as results of AP VoteCast, a survey of voters who planned to caucus on Monday night. Both showed Trump with an insurmountable lead.

Initial results from eight counties showed Trump with far more than half of the total votes counted as of 7:31 p.m., with the rest of the field trailing far behind. These counties include rural areas that are demographically and politically similar to a large number of counties that have yet to report.

The Associated Press determined at 11:17 p.m. CST that DeSantis will finish a distant second to Trump. With an estimated 10% of ballots remaining to be counted, DeSantis leads Haley by approximately 2,300 votes, or about 2 percentage points. With votes reported in all but one of Iowas 99 counties, Haley isnt doing well enough anywhere to catch DeSantis, based on the number of outstanding votes.

DeSantis and Haley are competing to emerge as the top alternative to the former president. Haley hopes to compete vigorously in New Hampshire, where she hopes to be more successful with the states independent voters heading into the Jan. 23 primary. DeSantis is heading to New Hampshire on Tuesday after a stop in South Carolina, a conservative stronghold where the Feb. 24 contest could prove pivotal.

Before she left, Haley offered a subtle jab at Trump while addressing voters at a same caucus site.

If you want to move forward with no more vendettas, if you want to move forward with a sense of hope, join us in this caucus, she said. I ask for your vote. And I promise you I will make sure every day I focus on what it takes to make you proud.

Several hundred people rose to their feet in applause.

Trump, meanwhile, was expected to fly to New York Monday night so he could be in court Tuesday. A jury is poised to consider whether he should pay additional damages to a columnist who last year won a $5 million jury award against Trump for sex abuse and defamation.

He will then fly to New Hampshire, the next state in the Republican primary calendar, to hold a rally Tuesday evening.

Trump has made courtroom visits a part of his campaign  heading to court voluntarily twice last week while his opponents campaigned in Iowa  in a strategy that so far is working.

Trump showed significant strength among Iowas urban, small-town and rural communities, according to AP VoteCast. He also performed well with evangelical Christians and those without a college degree. And a majority of caucusgoers said that they identify with Trumps Make America Great Again movement.

One relative weakness for Trump comes in the suburbs, where only about 4 in 10 supported him.

AP VoteCast is a survey of more than 1,500 voters who said they planned to take part in the caucuses. The survey is conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson were also on the ballot in Iowa, as was former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who suspended his campaign last week.

Trumps success tells a remarkable story of a Republican Party unwilling or unable to move on from a flawed front-runner. He lost to Biden in 2020 after fueling near-constant chaos while in the White House, culminating with his supporters carrying out a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol. In total, he faces 91 felony charges across four criminal cases.

The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing whether states have the ability to block Trump from the ballot for his role in sparking the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. And hes facing criminal trials in Washington and Atlanta for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump has increasingly echoed authoritarian leaders and framed his campaign as one of retribution. He has spoken openly about using the power of government to pursue his political enemies. He has repeatedly harnessed rhetoric once used by Adolf Hitler to argue that immigrants entering the U.S. illegally are poisoning the blood of our country. And he recently shared a word cloud last week to his social media account highlighting revenge, power and dictatorship.

Trumps legal challenges appear to have done little damage to his reputation. Many of his supporters view the charges through a political lens.

About three-quarters of Iowans responding to AP VoteCast said the charges against Trump are political attempts to undermine him, rather than legitimate attempts to investigate important issues.

Meanwhile, Iowa caucus participants were forced to brave the coldest temperatures in caucus history as forecasters warned that dangerously cold wind chills as low as 45 degrees below zero Fahrenheit were possible through noon Tuesday. The conditions, according to the National Weather Service, could lead to frostbite and hypothermia in a matter of minutes if not properly dressed for the conditions.

___

By STEVE PEOPLES, THOMAS BEAUMONT and HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press

Peoples reported from Washington. Beaumont reported from Indianola, Iowa, and Fingerhut reported from Fort Dodge, Iowa. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in Des Moines, Iowa, Adriana Gomez Licon in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.
WILLIAMSPORT  A Williamsport man is being held on a charge that he violated a protection from abuse order obtained by a woman who was shot and killed early Friday morning.

Troy Bennett Bailey, 57, of Williamsport, was charged with contempt Friday after police said that he admitted having contact with Alisha Charee Seese, 37, of Williamsport, several times after shed obtained the PFA against him.

He has not been charged in Seeses death. Her body and that of Ronald Daily Jr., 37, of Jersey Shore, were found about 12:30 a.m. Friday in a car in the 1700 block of Terrace Place, near the Lycoming Engines plant where both worked.
A proposed bill that is drawing bipartisan support in the Pennsylvania Legislature would ban the misuse of artificial intelligence in political campaigns and establish fines for violations.

State Rep. Tarik Khan, a Philadelphia Democrat, and several colleagues, including one GOP member, issued a co-sponsorship memo for their bill on Dec. 21. So far, Khan said the bill has drawn support from nearly 30 Democrats and a handful of Republicans.

This is technology thats really exciting because it can help us create, communicate, think and adapt in new and exciting ways, Khan said of artificial intelligence, or AI.

Khan told PennLive that he uses AI-generated content to help him wade through the sea of information and news he consumes daily, but the fraudulent use of the technology in campaigns could dupe voters and sway elections.

AI has been used to do that already, noted Khan, who pointed to a controversy last year in which the Ron DeSantis presidential campaign released an AI-generated video purportedly showing former President Donald Trump hugging Dr. Anthony Fauci, famous for clashing with Trump over the COVID-19 pandemic response, according to CNN.

A pro-DeSantis super PAC also used an AI-generated Trump voice in a TV ad last summer in Iowa to verbalize a social media post that targeted the states GOP governor, Politico reported.

Those are just a few early examples where AI has been misused, Khan said.

It can help us to think and create and communicate in novel and exciting ways that are important, but when its misused, like anything, it can be incredibly harmful and deceptive so there have to be guardrails, Khan said. Its a new frontier and the regulations have not evolved.

Last month, 10th Congressional District Democratic candidate Shamaine Daniels campaign announced that it was incorporating Ashley, an AI-generated interactive robocaller, into its voter outreach efforts.

Ashley can have an infinite number of simultaneous and unique conversations with voters, reported Reuters.

That kind of usage does not concern Khan. From what I understand, it sounds like a fair use of AI, he said. I dont have a problem with that.

Other states are addressing the misuse of AI in different ways. According to BloombergLaw.com, Florida is considering a bill to ban so-called AI deepfakes, much as Washington state has done.

Bloomberg reported that California, Michigan, Texas and Minnesota have laws about AI deepfakes but they only cover 30 to 90 days before an election.

The proposed Pennsylvania bill would implement civil penalties, including a sliding scale based on whether a violation occurs in a local, state or federal election.

This bill is going to create those essential protections to keep our elections safe, accurate and free from misinformation, Khan said. Currently, its the wild, wild west in terms of what exists now. There really arent those guardrails.
The entire lower Susquehanna Valley remained in a winter weather advisory through noon Tuesday, with 2 to 4 inches expected. It began piling up Monday evening.

All this, according to the National Weather Service in State College, which is warning of slippery roads and hazardous travel conditions throughout the night and for the Tuesday morning commute.

The advisory covers Franklin, Perry, Dauphin, Lebanon, Cumberland, Adams, York and Lancaster counties. It remains in effect through noon on Tuesday.

In light of the storm, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission issued a reminder to motorists, asking travelers to adjust speeds based on driving conditions, including snow-covered roadways and limited visibility.

According to AccuWeather, temps will fall to a low of 27 degrees tonight, with a high of 32 degrees on Tuesday.

There will be sun on Wednesday, but no break when it comes to the arctic temps. The mercury wont rise above 28 degrees, with a real feel of about 16 degrees due to a stiff breeze, according to AccuWeather.

The best hope of breaking the freezing mark comes on Thursday, when the high is forecast to hit 34 degrees. Still, a few snow flurries could pop up in the afternoon, AccuWeather said.
Environment Canada says a snowstorm is expected to hit Metro Vancouver and Greater Victoria, bringing up to 20 centimetres of accumulation and possible freezing rain. A city worker shovels snow at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, B.C., Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
Ian Simpson Finishes Fourth in $120K XL Winter Series Event at 888poker

January 16, 2024 Matthew Pitt Senior Editor

Popular British grinder Ian Simpson again came close to taking down a $120,000 guaranteed tournament on 888poker, this time in the XL Winter Series. Back in November 2023, during the KO Games, Simpson finished third in the $109 buy-in $120,000 guaranteed Opener tournament, a result worth $5,485. On January 15, Simpson found himself at the final table of the $109 buy-in, $120,000 guaranteed Opening Event of the XL Winter Series but the script didn't go to plan.

The Opening Event saw 1,179 players take to the 888poker baize in an attempt to get the $2 million guaranteed XL Winter Series off to a flying start. Lithuania's "hilips123" will be delighted with their start to the series despite busting in 114th place for $132. The Lithuanian captured a handful of mystery bounties before busting, including one weighing in at $10,000! In total, "hilips123" banked $12,211, more than any other player in the field.

Day 1 concluded when the final table was set. Usually, eight players make up the final table, but the double elimination of "rolixx" and "YetiCara" meant only seven seats were filled.

"Bartu79" sat down as the chip leader with 67 big blinds, and Simpson was third with a 49 big blind stack. Nobody was particularly short stacked, with seventh-placed "RaiseRaiZe" sitting behind 25 big blinds at the restart.

$120,000 XL Winter #02  Opening Event Final Table Chip Counts

Rank Player Country Chips Big Blinds 1 Bartu79 4,005,215 67 2 figalex25 Peru 3,008,966 50 3 Ian "Simpioni" Simpson United Kingdom 2,938,270 49 4 optimusmov Montenegro 2,324,089 39 5 Lolabee United Kingdom 2,175,984 26 6 Tony996 United Kingdom 1,715,988 29 7 RaiseRaiZe Finland 1,516,48 25

"figalex25" was second in chips when the first cards of the final table were pitched, yet they were the first finalist heading out of the door. The Peruvian lost a substantial percentage of their stack when their ace-ten flopped an ace against "Tony996" when "Tony996" held pocket rockets and had flopped a set. They then lost all but 2.5 big blinds when their pocket queens lost a coinflip against the ace-king of "optimusmov" before bowing out a few hands later.

Sixth place went to "Lolabee." They were down to only seven big blinds before busting. Their short stack went into the middle with eight-seven of diamonds from the button, only for "optimusmov" to snap-call with pocket aces! Those aces flopped two pair, which remained best.

"Tony996" clashed with Simpson in a pot that left "Tony996" as the table's shortest stack. The last of "Tony996"'s six big blinds were committed with queen-deuce, which lost to the ace-ten of "Bartu79" despite improving to two pair.

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The final four became three with the untimely demise of the 888poker ambassador Simpson. The action folded to "optimusmov" in the small blind, and they open-shoved with pocket fives. "optimusmov" had played highly aggressively and shown up with some weird and wonderful holdings, which is possibly why Simpson called off his 31 big blind stack with ace-ten. Simpson picked up a gut-shot straight draw on the flop to go with his two overcards, but the turn and river bricked, leaving Simpson to collect fourth-place prize money and give "optimusmov" an unassailable lead.

"optimusmov" had an 83.7 big blind stack going into three-handed play, with "Bartu79" on 16.1 big blinds, and "RaiseRaiZe" bringing up the rear with 10.7 big blinds. Obviously, the chip leader used their colossal stack to their advantage, and emerged a worthy champion.

Finland's "RaiseRaiZe" was the next player to bust at the hands of the hot-running "optimusmov." The Finn jammed 7.6 big blinds with ace-ten but lost to the suited king-jack of the chip leader courtesy of a king on the flop.

Heads-up was over almost as quickly as it began, mainly down to "optimusmov" holding almost nine times as many chips as "Bartu79." Something had to give, and it did when "Bartu79" moved all-in for seven big blinds with king-three, and "optimusmov" called with pocket sixes. The sixes remained true, busting "Bartu79" in second place, and leaving "optimusmov" as the last player standing.

$120,000 XL Winer #02  Opening Event Final Table Results

Rank Player Country Bounties Prize Total Prize 1 optimusmov Montenegro $1,675 $8,766 $10,441 2 Bartu79 $3,475 $6,408 $9,883 3 RaiseRaiZe Finland $458 $4,710 $5,168 4 Ian "Simpioni" Simpson United Kingdom $537 $3,462 $3,999 5 Tony996 United Kingdom $1,075 $2,562 $3,637 6 Lolabee United Kingdom $1,675 $1,908 $3,583 7 figalex25 Peru $554 $1,434 $1,988 8 YetiCara Brazil $696 $1,086 $1,782*

*player was eliminated before the final table

888poker XL Winter Series Results

"ddaubar" was another 888poker player to win big during the XL Winter Series' early stages. They took down the $525 High Roller Opening event for $12,320.

Event Buy-in Entrants Prize Pool Champion Prize #01  Mini Opening Event $55 793 $40,000 BrittneySpew $6,192 #02  Opening Event $109 1,179 $120,000 #03  High Roller Opening Event $525 91 $50,000 ddaubar $12,320 #04  PKO Mini $22 580 $11,600 PMBogdan $2,165* #05  PKO $109 185 $18,500 thechronic99 $3,706*

*includes bounty payments

888poker 2024 XL Winter Series Schedule

Dozens more XL Winter Series events are waiting for you to enter. Eight events and side events take place on a busy January 16 that have buy-ins from $11 to $320. They include two Day 1s for the $162 buy-in $200,000 guaranteed XL Winter Mystery Bounty event, which is going to be huge.

Date Time (GMT) Event Buy-in Tue 16 Jan 4:00 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty Day 1 $162 5:00 p.m. $8,000 XL Winter  Mystery Bounty 11 $11 6:00 p.m. $15,000 XL Winter #06  Mystery Bounty Mini High Roller $55 6:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 7:00 p.m. $8,000 XL Winter Mystery Bounty 22 $22 7:00 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty Day 1 $162 7:30 p.m. $20,000 XL Winter #07  Mystery Bounty High Roller $320 10:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 Wed 17 Jan 4:00 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty Day 1 $162 5:00 p.m. $8,000 XL Winter  Mystery Bounty 11 $11 6:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 6:30 p.m. $12,000 X Winter  Mystery Bounty 55 $55 7:00 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty Day 1 $162 7:00 p.m. $10,000 XL Winter #08  6-Max Mini $22 7:30 p.m. $12,000 XL Winter #09  6-Max $109 10:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 Thu 18 Jan 4:00 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty Day 1 $162 5:00 p.m. $8,000 XL Winter  Mystery Bounty 11 $11 6:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 7:00 p.m. $8,000 XL Winter Mystery Bounty 22 $22 7:00 p.m. $12,000 XL Winter #10  Super KO $55 7:00 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty Day 1 $162 7:30 p.m. $20,000 XL Winter #11  Super KO Mini $320 10:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 Fri 19 Jan 4:00 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty Day 1 $162 5:00 p.m. $8,000 XL Winter  Mystery Bounty 11 $11 6:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 6:30 p.m. $12,000 XL Winter  Mystery Bounty 55 $55 7:00 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bunty Day 1 $162 7:00 p.m. $10,000 XL Winter #12  PKO Turbo Deep Mini $22 7:30 p.m. $12,000 XL Winter #13  PKO Turbo Deep $109 10:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 Sat 20 Jan 4:00 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty Day 1 $162 5:00 p.m. $8,000 XL Winter  Mystery Bounty 11 $11 6:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 6:30 p.m. $12,000 XL Winter -Mystery Bounty 55 $55 7:00 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty Day 1 $162 10:00 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty Day 1 $162 10:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 Sun 21 Jan 11:00 a.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty Day 1 $162 1:30 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty Day 1 $162 4:00 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty Day 1 $162 5:00 p.m. $10,000 XL Winter  Mystery Bounty 11 $11 6:00 p.m. $10,000 XL Winter  PKO Rumble 215 $215 6:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 6:30 p.m. $35,000 XL Winter #14  Mystery Bounty Mini $55 7:00 p.m. $15,000 XL Winter  Mystery Bounty 22 $22 7:00 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty Day 1 $162 7:00 p.m. $10,000 XL Winter #15  Mystery Bounty Micro $11 7:30 p.m. $50,000 XL Winter #16  Mystery Bounty High Roller $525 7:30 p.m. $30,000 XL Winter #17  Mystery Bounty $109 10:00 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty $162 10:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 Mon 22 Jan 1:00 a.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 1:00 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty Turbo Day 1 $162 3:00 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty Turbo Day 1 $162 5:00 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty Turbo Day 1 $162 5:00 p.m. $8,000 XL Winter  Mystery Bounty 11 $11 6:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 6:30 p.m. $12,000 XL Winter  Mystery Bounty 55 $55 7:00 p.m. $10,000 XL Winter #18  Big Shot Mini $22 7:00 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty Hyper Day 1 $162 7:30 p.m. $12,000 XL Winter #19  Big Shot $109 9:00 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty Day 2 10:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 Tue 23 Jan 2:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 5:00 p.m. $8,000 XL Winter  Mystery Bounty 11 $11 6:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 7:00 p.m. $200,000 XL Winter #20  Mystery Bounty Final Table 7:00 p.m. $8,000 X Winter Mystery Bounty 22 $22 7:00 p.m. $12,000 XL Winter #21  Turbo Deep Mini High Roller $55 7:30 p.m. $20,000 XL Winter #22  Turbo Deep High Roller $320 10:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 Wed 24 Jan 2:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 5:00 p.m. $8,000 XL Winter  Mystery Bounty 11 $11 6:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 6:30 p.m. $12,000 XL Winter  Mystery Biunty 55 $55 7:00 p.m. $10,000 XL Winter #23  KO Mini $22 7:30 p.m. $12,000 XL Winter #24  KO $109 10:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 Thu 25 Jan 2:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 5:00 p.m. $8,000 XL Winter  Mystery Bounty 11 $11 6:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 6:30 p.m. $12,000 XL Winter  Mystery Bounty 55 $55 7:00 p.m. $12,000 XL Winter #25  PKO Mini $55 7:30 p.m. $20,000 XL Winter #26  PKO $320 10:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 Fri 26 Jan 2:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 5:00 p.m. $8,000 XL Winter  Mystery Bounty 11 $11 6:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 6:30 p.m. $12,000 XL Winter - Mystery Bounty 55 $55 7:00 p.m. $10,000 XL Winter #27  Big Shot 6-Max Mini $22 7:30 p.m. $12,000 XL Winter #28  Big Shot 6-Max $109 10:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 Sat 27 Jan 2:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 6:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 10:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 Sun 28 Jan 1:00 a.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 12:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 2:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 5:00 p.m. $10,000 XL Winter  Mystery Bounty 11 $11 6:00 p.m. $10,000 XL Winter  PKO Rumble 215 $215 6:30 p.m. $40,000 XL Winter #29  Mystery Bounty $55 7:00 p.m. $25,000 XL Winter #30  Mystery Bounty Mini $22 7:00 p.m. $15,000 XL Winter  Mystery Bounty 22 $22 7:30 p.m. $50,000 XL Winter #31  Mystery Bounty High Roller $525 7:30 p.m. $50,000 XL Winter #32  Mystery Bounty $109 8:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 10:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 Mon 29 Jan 1:00 a.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 1 $25 1:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Turbo Day 1 $25 3:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Turbo Day 1 $25 5:00 p.m. $8,000 XL Winter  Mystery Bounty 11 $11 5:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Turbo Day 1 $25 6:30 p.m. $12,000 XL Winter  Mystery Bounty 55 $55 7:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Hyper Day 1 $25 7:30 p.m. $15,000 XL Winter #33  After Party $109 9:00 p.m. $100,000 XL Winter #35 Mystery Bounty Mini Main Event Day 2 $25 9:00 p.m. $1,000,000 XL Winter #34  Mystery Bounty Main Event Day 2 Tue 30 Jan 7:00 p.m. $1,000,000 XL Winter #34  Mystery Bounty Main Event Final Table

Sharelines Here's how the final table went down in the $120,000 guaranteed XL Winter Series Opening Event.
Elon Musk tried to utilize the power of his social media platform to push Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, posting that he believed the Republican would exceed the polls when the votes were counted. Yet, Ramaswamy suspended his campaign after winning only 7.7% of the votes and just three delegates in the Iowa caucuses.

Ramaswamy ran as a more rabid version of Donald Trump in an attempt to appeal to Trump voters, but they remain true to their Chosen One  the man indicted on 91 criminal counts, who was also found liable for both rape and fraud recently.

Ramaswamy, who defended his repetition of debunked conspiracy theories about January 6th and the great replacement theory, claimed his campaign had been about truth in his statement:

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This entire campaign is about speaking the TRUTH. We did not achieve our goal tonight & we need an America-First patriot in the White House. The people spoke loud & clear about who they want. Tonight I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Donald J. Trump and will do everything I can to make sure he is the next U.S. President. I am enormously proud of this team, this movement, and our country.

Ramaswamy had promised to pardon Trump if elected president and posed with fans wearing Save Trump, Vote Vivek t-shirts.

Ramaswamy is said to share values with Elon Musk and said in August of 2023 that if elected in 2024, he would run the government like Musk runs his companies.

Elon has since been in the news being accused of doing illegal drugs and told major advertisers to Go f*ck yourself during The New York Times annual DealBook Summit after they left his social media platform due to its inability to ensure brand safety due to the proliferation of neo-Nazis and other hate accounts.

Musk referred to advertisers choosing to spend money elsewhere as blackmail. (Its actually capitalism in action, but given that Elon Musks companies take advantage of taxpayer-funded subsidies, he might not understand the concept as much as his Libertarian supporters would like to believe.)

The billionaire owner of X/Twitter, who sees himself as some kind of political pundit now, has amplified racist attacks on Black people in recent days after creating a scandal for amplifying antisemitic posts on his embattled social media platform X (actually known as Twitter). Musk opined in response to low poll numbers for Ramaswamy several days ago: My guess is that Vivek will far exceed the polls when the votes are counted.

Elon didnt leave it there. He also wrote on Sunday I think youre right to an account posting: I truly believe this Monday @VivekGRamaswamy is going to shock the world. This is going to be a major win for the country.

Previously, Elon Musk amplified Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, who launched his campaign on Musks platform, in what turned out to be an embarrassing fail tech-wise.

The fact is Vivek Ramaswamy never had a chance with Trump supporters, because of his name and the color of his skin. But his message of ruling the country like a ruthless business person who maybe does illegal drugs and gets by on taxpayer subsidies while trying to sue the labor board (NLRB) after being accused of trying to silence critical employees and paying off a flight attendant $250,000 for something Musk claims he didnt do didnt seem to resonate, either. To be fair, that message just sounds better to the fascist-inclined when coming from a white man who has established a history of getting away with criminal behavior.

Success in technology does not, it turns out, have any relationship to understanding voters. However, its instructive that Elon Musk cant move the needle, let alone even guess how less than 100,000 of his favored White people will vote, yet thinks he can drive a diverse country made up of 330 million plus people to vote as he sees fit, all because he bought Twitter.

While the pro-fascist experiment of X pushing far Right propaganda is working to silence democratic movements and collective awareness of injustices, it is not working in terms of picking candidates.

A Special Message From PoliticusUSA

If you are in a position to donate purely to help us keep the doors open on PoliticusUSA during what is a critical election year, please do so here.

We have been honored to be able to put your interests first for 14 years as we only answer to our readers and we will not compromise on that fundamental, core PoliticusUSA value.
A well-known location in Aiken  the corner of Whiskey Road and Easy Street  is the inspiration for the name of a new clothing line for men.

Patrick Wacks is the creator of the Whiskey & Easy brand, which the former Aiken resident said focuses on premium performance attire.

The material used to make the polo shirts and quarter zip pullovers is a durable and stretchy blend of polyester and spandex.

You can dress up in it, and you can dress down in it, said Wacks of the apparel.

The quarter zips are blue and black, and the polo shirts are available in nine different color and print combinations.

All the quarter zips and nearly all the polo shirts have small pockets for cigars, a concept that I think is incredible and is patent pending, Wacks said.

A friend, Aiken Realtor and former Lionel Smith Ltd. co-owner Danny Minolfo, gave Wacks the idea for the cigar pockets and offered other advice.

Its been a collaboration, said Wacks, who also has received assistance from other friends and family members.

Seth Ryan, Ron Turner, Wacks wife Margot and Margots sister Melanie LaCava all have made important contributions, according to Wacks.

Margot is my biggest supporter and collaborator, he said.

Tailored Gents Boutique at 345 Hayne Ave. S.W. is carrying the Whiskey & Easy line, and a launch party for the brand will be held there from 6 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 1.
COLUMBIA  To get a new double-murder trial, disbarred attorney Alex Murdaugh will need to show that Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Becky Hill tried to influence jurors  and that her alleged efforts impacted the outcome of the case  former S.C. Chief Justice Jean Toal decided Jan. 16.

Toals ruling is a significant boost to the S.C. Attorney Generals Offices efforts to preserve the murder convictions prosecutors secured against Murdaugh in March, setting a significantly higher bar for him to clear than his attorneys argued for.

Prosecutors and Murdaughs defense team had been arguing for weeks in written briefs about what standard should apply, pointing to ambiguity in how higher courts had handled similar cases. But Toal had not weighed in until the Jan. 16 hearing at the Richland County Judicial Center. The hearing was called to set ground rules for the proceedings that will ultimately determine if Murdaugh will get a new trial.

Prejudice must be proved, not presumed, Toal told attorneys. It may very well be that thats whats going to be shown.

The highly anticipated proceedings, scheduled to last three days, will begin Jan. 29 in Columbia. And despite Murdaughs attorneys calls for a sweeping inquiry into Hills alleged actions, Toal promised a very focused inquiry.
Former North Augusta Human Resources manager J.D. McCauley is now serving in the role of assistant city administrator, having come back to city government Jan. 8 after a year-long stint in the private sector at Baker Tilly.

"This role is the next step in my professional career, McCauley said, adding he was grateful to be back with North Augusta and that the position became available at the right time and place."

North Augustas previous assistant city administrator, Rachelle Moody, left in November for the top administrative position in the town of Lexington after having been with North Augusta since late 2019.

McCauleys background is in both leadership and public administration. He was H.R. manager for North Augusta from 2018 through early last year; prior to this, he was an H.R. generalist for Columbia County Board of Commissioners.

Hes also served as director of the YMCA for the greater Augusta region and for San Diego, his time with the organization stretching from 2006 to 2013.

My focus has always been on service to our community, McCauley said. I now have the ability and responsibility to help effect positive results for our community and its citizens.

McCauley said his priority in coming back to city government is to support City Administrator Jim Clifford and others on the North Augusta city staff in their effort of carrying out the initiatives of North Augustas elected officials.

My other goals involve building and fostering relationships with those who love the city of North Augusta and want it to succeed and see its citizens prosper, he said.

McCauley has a master's in business administration from Georgia Southern and earned his certificate of Public Administration from Clemson where he was also a Ph.D. candidate in the area of policy studies.
The State Ports Authority said fewer containers moved through the Port of Charleston in 2023, although the final annual percentage drop fared better than the nation as a whole and a jump in the number of loaded export boxes helped soften the decline.

Charleston's terminals handled just over 2.48 million 20-foot containers last year  down 11.1 percent from the record of nearly 2.8 million containers set in 2022 when pandemic-era consumers were still in the midst of an import buying binge.

The number of loaded imports entering Charleston's port in 2023 was down 11.7 percent from the previous year to 1.22 million boxes. Nationally, imports fell by an estimated 12.8 percent year over year, according to the National Retail Federation.

Loaded export containers climbed by 5.63 percent to 702,973 as South Carolina manufacturers emerged from the pandemic with increased productivity. The state's automotive sector, led by BMW's manufacturing campus in the Upstate, also strengthened with an increase in the number of vehicles exported from the port's Columbus Street Terminal in Charleston.

That terminal is set to add another customer in coming months. The maritime agency recently signed a deal with automaker Rivian to export battery-powered vans to Belgium through 2025, according to Barbara Melvin, the SPA's president and CEO.

While overall cargo saw a drop in 2023, port officials have said the decline is skewed by off-the-chart numbers recorded during the pandemic, when imports of furniture, electronics and other consumer goods soared to record levels. They point to comparisons with pre-pandemic totals as a more realistic view of the port's success.

Last year's total is "more in line with what we saw in calendar year '19  about a 1 percent increase in growth," said Phil Padgett, the SPA's chief financial officer.

East Coast ports are facing several challenges as the new year begins, with drought conditions at the Panama Canal and Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea limiting access to key passageways between Asia and the U.S. East Coast.
Thirteen years after opening in a former antique mall in Mount Pleasant, Trader Joe's plans to launch a second Lowcountry location.

And it won't be in Charleston or North Charleston or Summerville.

Nakia Rohde, a representative of the California-based, German-owned chain, confirmed Jan. 16 the new store will be in Mount Pleasant.

The grocery store spokeswoman declined to elaborate on details such as the specific location, opening time frame or if a letter of intent has been signed.

The company has been scouting multiple locations across the Lowcountry for several months to relieve pressure from the often-overcrowded and parking-limited location at 401 Johnnie Dodds Blvd., where Hungryneck Antique Mall operated from 1993 to 2011.

The Post and Courier has learned the grocer has focused on one site in particular: part of the former Bi-Lo supermarket building in Sweetgrass Corner Shopping Center near the Isle of Palms connector and Mount Pleasant Towne Centre as the site of the new store.

A spokesman for Continental Realty Corp., the Baltimore-based firm that bought the 90,000-square-foot Sweetgrass Corner in 2022 for $17 million, declined to comment and referred questions to a Trader Joe's representative.

Continental Realty also owns the neighboring Mount Pleasant Towne Centre, which it bought for $147 million in 2020.
BLYTHEWOOD  A little over three months after pausing groundwork amid concerns over environmental impact, Scout Motors was given the go-ahead from federal regulators to continue construction on its massive auto plant, which is expected to bring 4,000 jobs to South Carolina's Midlands.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted the $2 billion electric vehicle factory a permit, announced via a Jan. 12 letter to the South Carolina Department of Commerce, to resume building the site after the project was put on pause in September 2023.

"With this permit now in hand, we are excited to continue moving forward with our plans to construct a state-of-the-art facility in South Carolina, where we will reimagine the iconic Scout brand and hire thousands of South Carolinians to craft the next generation of all-electric trucks and rugged SUVs," the company said in a statement.

In order to obtain the permit, the Volkswagen subsidiary submitted plans to preserve 4,800 acres at the Congaree River Tract and 143 additional acres at the Shelton Island Tract and make efforts to restore streams around the state to offset the effects to the wetlands where the plant is being constructed.

Scout Motors, one of the Columbia-area's most significant economic development wins in history, announced plans to build the 1,100-acre Blythewood plant in March of last year. It's set to produce 200,000 vehicles annually by the end of 2026. When announced, Scout was the fourth auto plant to build electric vehicles in the state  joining Mercedes-Benz Vans, Volvo Cars and its Polestar subsidiary and BMW. Battery manufacturers for those vehicles, like China-based Envision AESC in Florence and e-Vac Magnetics in Sumter, are set to open in the coming years.
LEXINGTON  The first vice chair of the Lexington County Republican Party was unanimously elected as the organizations chair Jan. 15, capping off six months of turmoil and division in what was once one of the states most influential GOP county parties.

I promise to do the best for you all, Mark Weber said shortly after he was sworn in at the Flight Deck restaurant. I want to get us back to where we need to be going, and thats first and foremost to elect Republicans.

The vote comes a month after the state party ousted former Chairwoman Pamela Godwin for a violation of the state party's code of conduct barring any party official from filing a lawsuit against any of their fellow party members.

The election shifts power in the county party from Godwin's faction to Weber's. Now, party officials who remain in Godwin's camp must attend party meetings or could risk removal.

Godwin and her supporters continue to maintain she is the legitimate chair of the party.

No weapon formed against us shall prosper in Jesus name!!! read a post published Jan. 15 on a Facebook page controlled by Godwin's supporters. The Facts are the facts! You can Wish all day or something else but it doesnt make it real!!

Elected at the county convention in April, Godwin and her executive committee quickly adopted a purist approach to the leadership of Lexington's party. But shortly after the new officials took over, the party split, pitting two factions of staunchly conservative Donald Trump loyalists against each other.

One faction, led by Godwin and Second Vice Chair Lanneau Siegling, accused the other of not being "MAGA enough, a reference to former President Trumps slogan Make America great again.

The other faction, led by Weber and Third Vice Chair John Allen, accused Godwin's group of flouting county and state party bylaws and starting personal smear campaigns against other party members.

Weber and the county party were joined by members of the state party and members of the Lexington County legislative delegation Jan. 15. State Rep. Jay Kilmartin, R-Columbia, swore in Weber, and state Sen. Billy Garrett, R-Greenwood, attended the meeting.
CLEMSON  Keeping cars clean in Clemson just got a little easier after a new car wash opened on Highway 93, and it's garnering lots of attention from passersby.

But not just for its cleaning perks.

ModWash, located at 690 Old Greenville Highway, is hard to miss thanks to its bright pink vacuums and a bold blue exterior wall. Some have called it the "Barbie car wash" and others an "eyesore."

Regardless of residents thoughts or need for the facility, Clemson isnt likely to see such bright colors on any future developments. So, why is ModWash allowed to be hot pink?

Blame the '90s.

Clemson City Council approved a planned development that includes Walmart Neighborhood Market, the ModWash, Founders Bank and a few townhomes was approved in 1998. Its original conceptual plan included five buildings, no parking and lots of landscaping on the commercial parcel of Berkeley Place Planned Development.

Clemson Town Center, as the 11.4-acre plot between Berkeley Drive and Highway 93 was named, did have some limits on its building facades and materials. The use of bold colors is limited to accents  which could arguably be vacuuming systems and the limited vibrant green signs and pylons of the Neighborhood Market.

In recent months, the city has changed its ordinances to create a formal meeting process for developers to get feedback from both the Planning Commissions and the Board of Architectural Review, which approves exterior colors and facade components.

That wasnt the case in November 1998 when the overall development was approved, nor in 2011 when Clemson Town Center was split from Berkeley Place for commercial development. Walmart Neighborhood Market opened in January 2015.

Highway 93 is now part of an architectural district that requires BAR review before the city council approves projects. Downtown and parts of S.C. Highway 123 are also architectural districts, city planning director Nathan Woods said.
GREENVILLE  Six best-selling fiction and nonfiction authors will speak at the Southern Author Expo on Jan. 20 for one of the Greenville County Library's biggest events of the year.

The featured-speaker series, which has taken place annually since 2015, will run from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Hughes Main Library.

Critically acclaimed authors will host fiction and nonfiction panels, including Julia Franks, John Lane, Ron Rash, George Singleton and Ed Southern. The event is headlined by Mary Kay Andrews, a journalist-turned-novelist who has written 30 highly read fiction books, including "Santa Suit" and "The Newcomer."

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In addition to the six nationally known authors, 18 locally based fiction, nonfiction, horror, fantasy and poetry writers will also share their work.

The goal is to highlight the wide array of authors here, in this region, who are covering the places, issues, people, words and history that make up the South, such as Lane, who writes about the environment, and Rash, who wrote the Appalachia-based, New York Times best-seller, "Serena. "

Southern culture is just amazingly textured," said Brian Morrison, Access and Discovery director for the Greenville County Library Service. "I think it has really strong traditions, diversity, cultural output in terms of like music and food, the language and dialects of the South. All of that works together to provide really unique inspiration and really great fodder for creative exploration.

One of those authors is Singleton, who has published over 10 novels, short stories and a writing book, earned a Guggenheim Fellowship, taught at the South Carolina Governor's School For The Arts & Humanities and Wofford College.

Southern writing, he said, encapsulates at least 10 subgenres, from Appalachia to Atlanta.
GREENVILLE  After 20 years in downtown Greenville, Smoke on the Water will move to a new location outside the city.

The restaurants last day at its original home at 1 Augusta St. where South Main, River and Augusta streets converge will be Mar. 24, owner Mike Shuler said

Smoke on the Waters new home will be a nearly 5,000-square-foot building at 64 Beacon Drive, a restaurant row on the Eastside where Interstate 85 and Pelham Road converge and includes the likes of California Dreaming and Chophouse '47. The space was most recently home to Red Bowl Restaurant.

The hope is to reopen in the new location in the spring, Shuler told The Post and Courier Jan. 15, a day after announcing the move on social media.

Shuler, with the help of Creative Builders is undertaking what he said is a pretty major endeavor" to update the interior and exterior space. Renovations include expanding the kitchen, transforming a sunroom into a private dining area, adding a new covered space with seating for up to 50 outside and adding an indoor-outdoor bar.

Im very excited, but also a little anxious, Shuler told The Post and Courier. Weve been in the same boat for 20 years and been part of the West End since before it was really the West End, and moving to the east side of Greenville is a big move for us.

News of Smoke on the Waters vacating the space in the heart of the West End District broke last March, when the building's new landlord expressed an intent to renovate and modernize the property.

While negotiations had taken place, Atlantic South Development owner Mitch Norville said an agreement had not yet been reached, which put Smokes future in limbo.
On March 5, special agents with the South Carolina Department of Social Services, Office of Inspector General, arrested a Dorchester County woman in connection with fraudulently receiving $9,584 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Read moreDSS charges Dorchester County woman with food stamp fraud
It was a day for shamrocks and shenanigans on March 16 along Middle Street on Sullivan's Island, as lads, lasses and decked-out canines of all ages celebrated St. Patrick's Day. A swarm of green-clad revelers gathered to ring one of the world's most storied and highly-anticipated holidays at Read moreRocky road to Dublin: Irish eyes smiling on Sullivan's Island
When I was in third grade, my teacher had a vegetable tasting day for us. We each brought in a vegetable from home and shared it with our classmates. I remember coming home, excited, and announcing to my mother that I had fallen in love with rutabaga. After a startled moment or two, she sm Read moreStevens: For the love of rutabaga  and our children
Of course South Carolina doesnt require a runoff in presidential primaries; whoever gets the most votes wins, even if he or she only gets a third of the vote, as Donald Trump did in South Carolina in 2016. but we wisely do require runoffs in the June primaries for county, legislative, congressional and statewide offices to ensure that whoever wins the primary really is the top choice of the electorate: If nobody receives 50% of the vote plus one, we hold a runoff two weeks later between the two top vote-getters, and anybody who cares who represents them has to go back out and vote again. And all of us have to provide the tax money to pay for that additional election. That would make sense if there werent a better option, but there is.

The mathematically challenged and the logically challenged argue theres something nefarious about instant-runoff voting, that it somehow lets some people vote twice without letting others vote twice. It doesnt, because everybody whose candidates remain in the race through subsequent "rounds" essentially have their votes counted anew.

The consistency challenged are actually trying to pass a law to ban instant-runoff voting in South Carolina  for everybody except that small number of people who already are allowed to use it. Never mind that its not currently allowed for anybody except that small number of people who already are allowed to use it. Like we said, consistency challenged.

Clearly, this is an idea that frightens some politicians who are used to getting elected under the current system, and the people who profit from their elections. But then such people usually prefer the status quo, even when it doesnt serve the public.

Heres what you should ask your legislators: Why do you allow overseas residents of South Carolina and South Carolinians who are in the military to cast instant-runoff ballots? Because its a quicker and easier and more efficient way to vote?
FLORENCE  The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. inspires South Carolina Sen. Mia McLeod.

King's courage, principled leadership and selfless service encouraged her to be a pubic servant.

McLeod was guest speaker at the 25th annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration on Jan. 11 at Francis Marion University. The event honored the civil rights leader and showcased the talent at Francis Marion.

The Xi chapter of the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority started the celebration by singing the Black National Anthem. Miss FMU 2023 Jocelyn Franks also performed, while FMU student Artist Allison Ziegenfelder painted a portrait of King.

The Young Gifted and Blessed Gospel Choir also performed at the celebration.

McLeod said she didn't have time to review all the ways King inspired her, but the words "courage," "principled leadership" and "selfless service" are important.

Courage is first because it takes courage to lead. It takes courage to stand on your principles and speak truth to power, and it takes courage to put the interests of others above your own," she said.

It's why she corrects those who call her a politician.

I serve with politicians, but Ive never been one. I am a public servant," she said.

The measure of a man or woman isn't determined in times of comfort and convenience. It's where the man or woman stands at times of challenges or controversies, McLeod said.

"And too many of todays elected officials on both sides of the political aisle dont want to pay the price. They would much rather choose comfort and complacency over courage," she said.

McLeod said the day we stay silent about things that matter, our lives begin to end. Silence is betrayal.

She recalled how she and five other female senators crossed party lines to defeat a total abortion ban in South Carolina. She said she didnt do it because she is pro-abortion but because she cares about the living.

Our concern and compassion dont end when the umbilical cord is cut," she said.
Former Vice President Mike Pence says he will not be backing Donald Trump in the 2024 election. It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year, Pence said in an interview with Fox News Channel Friday. Pence ran against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination but dropped his bid before voting began. The decision makes Pence the latest in a series of senior Trump administration officials who have declined to endorse their former boss. While Republican members of Congress and other GOP officials have largely rallied behind Trump, a vocal minority has continued to oppose his bid. When Trumps supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Pence was forced to flee as rioters chanted, Hang Mike Pence! Read moreFormer Vice President Mike Pence says he's not endorsing Trump
PR-Inside.com: 2024-01-16 15:41:41

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SHERMAN OAKS, CA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / A Petition For Writ of Certiorari was filed on January 11, 2024 in the U.S. Supreme Court to determine the fate of the star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame awarded to "Thanks For The Memory" Oscar-winning lyricist Leo Robin more than 33 years ago but never installed. The grandson of the legendary songwriter brought a civil action on June 30, 2021 against the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, Hollywood Chamber's Board Of Directors, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Walk of Fame Committee for, among several causes, permanent injunctive relief to install the star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame awarded to the legendary lyricist.The factual background in the petition tells how the grandson discovered the star, "It was a fortuitous search on the internet on July 6, 2017 that led Ora to something about his grandfather, the songwriter Leo Robin, that neither his family nor he knew anything about that happened more than 33 years ago-Robin was awarded a posthumous star...on the Walk of Fame in 1990. Stunned, he called the Walk of Fame and they said it was true and he learned that in 1988 both his grandmother, Cherie Robin, and actor Bob Hope sponsored Robin for a star, but sadly his grandmother passed away...more than one year before an acceptance letter...was sent out on June 18, 1990 to Mrs. Robin announcing this award, and Bob Hope was never notified. They informed him nothing like this had ever happened before where a letter was left unanswered and the star was never placed on the Walk of Fame, but unfortunately now in his attempt to see that Robin gets his star, the Hollywood Chamber has failed to honor its contractual obligation." "On May 23, 2019, Ashley Lee from the Los Angeles Times...first breaks news on the giant newspaper's website about the grandson's serendipitous discovery...of Robin's star in her investigated story, Leo Robin never got his Walk of Fame star. Now his grandson is fighting for it. Ms. Lee reported, "The envelope was returned to its sender and has since remained in the Chamber of Commerce's records" and also tweeted at that time, "at first I didn't believe that Leo Robin's star had really slipped through the cracks" with a photo of that acceptance letter and the envelope stamped "Return to Sender." "Throughout the past sixty years, the Hollywood Chamber has successfully kept track of 2,768 honorees...and has seen to it that each and every one of them received a star, which was then successfully installed on the Walk of Fame-except for Robin." The questions presented are: "Plaintiff has tried all possible means ever since his discoveryof lyricist Leo Robin's star to confer with the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to install the star awarded to Robin on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In the end, the Hollywood Chamber ultimately failed do the right thing by not fulfilling its obligation to install the star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in accordance with the binding written contract. During the trial court proceedings the Plaintiff repeatedly argued the waiver of performance of conditions precedent by the Hollywood Chamber. The waiver issue was never fleshed out earlier because the trial court and the Hollywood Chamber failed to acknowledge, overlooked and /or avoided this salient legal argument. The Court of Appeal who generally reviews what has occurred during the trial court has ruled strictly on the Appellant's argument regarding the waiver by the Hollywood Chamber of the conditions precedent." "In this case of perilously profound impression, did the Court of Appeal violate the due process rights of Appellant when it arbitrarily disregarded allegations by the Appellant without a hearing at the eleventh hour based on its contention that those allegations characterize his correspondence with the Hollywood Chamber in a manner that conflicts with the actual text of that correspondence provided in the exhibits to determine that the Hollywood Chamber did not waive performance of the conditions precedent?"Among the reasons for granting the petition, "This case presents an issue of perilously profound impression and consequences with substantial impact on all parties and their cases and the entire judicial system. An important Federal question of law is raised due to the Court of Appeal arbitrarily disregarding allegations of the Appellant. The Court of Appeal tossed out proven facts of the Appellant without a hearing at the eleventh hour on an issue never considered by the trial court "in a way that conflicts with relevant decisions of this Court."...It does not take much imagination to foresee the severe consequences of this type of reasoning, not only for this case, but for all cases and, in fact, for all parties in their pleadings. Any court could strike any allegation on a whim....""The California courts circled the wagons around their elitist-municipal-brethren Hollywood Chamber and trampled the due process rights of the Appellant. These violations of due process rights are extremely troubling given the high-stakes. The judicial system demands "equal protection of the laws." "We the people" don't expect this irrational judicial function in this majestic country with a constitutional government. The Court of Appeal knew better than to overstep its judicial role; it flagrantly torpedoed the Appellant's proven factual allegations and his constitutionally guaranteed rights. The decision by the Court of Appeal is "repugnant to the [rights claimed under the] Constitution"...and a travesty of justice." "This case has far-reaching consequences beyond the individual case with statewide and nationwide historical and cultural significance. The Supreme Court has broad discretion to determine whether to grant review to this case where there are high-stakes for a decision which impacts historical and cultural interests.... In the normal course of events, upon receiving notice of the award, Mrs. Robin would have been elated and immediately would have set the ceremony date. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Mrs. Robin did everything right except live long enough." For more information, visit the official website of Leo Robin at http://leorobin.com/ ###About Leo Robin:The petition gives us background about the legendary songwriter from an article by "Variety . . . released on September 30, 2019 the feature news story, Thanks for the Memory: How Leo Robin Helped Usher In the Golden Age of Song in Film, by pop culture critic Roy Trakin. The piece opens up with "The centerpiece of [the grandson's] . . . apartment is the 1939 Oscar his step-grandfather, the late lyricist Leo Robin, was presented for co-writing "Thanks for the Memory." . . . the trophy sits proudly on the
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Banyan Technologies Group (Banyan) today announced that it has completed an acquisition of Target Marketing Group, (TMG) a top 100 promotional merchandise distributor headquartered in Baltimore, MD.COLLEYVILLE, TX / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Banyan Technologies Group (Banyan) today announced that it has completed an acquisition of Target Marketing Group, (TMG) a top 100 promotional merchandise distributor headquartered in Baltimore, MD. Founded in 1986, TMG has grown into a nationally recognized leader in the branded merchandising and promotional products market. www.tmgroup.com New logo for Target Marketing Group after the acquisition"What sets Target Marketing Group apart from the competition is our people and our absolute commitment to client satisfaction," said John Leahy, Founder & CEO of TMG. "We have established a culture that rewards relentless pursuit of performance excellence and customer service, which is evident from our average employee tenure of 15+ years, and our average client tenure of 15+ years," he added."We are very excited about TMG, especially its people & culture, and honored that John chose Banyan to drive the next phase of its growth journey," said Tanvir Arfi, founder and CEO of Banyan. "We look for quality assets with competent management teams in attractive end markets with no prior institutional capital, TMG checked all of these boxes," he added.Tanvir further added that Banyan is combining Target Marketing Group with its Helm Promotions unit to create one of the industry's premier Branded Marketing and Promotional Products distributors. Helm Promotions [ www.helm.com] and Target Marketing Group will continue to use their existing brands and retain all their existing locations, capabilities, and employees.TMG COO Rob Ross, an industry veteran with over 30 years of experience, has been promoted to President & COO of the combined TMG + Helm Branded Merchandising business. "I'm really excited to bring industry differentiating capabilities including multilingual sales/customer service teams coverage in all 50 states/Canada/Puerto Rico and APAC; fulfillment/distribution capabilities from multiple locations with global coverage; latest ERP/WMS/CRM/eCommerce software solutions, to our clients," said Rob Ross. "Our in-house operational capabilities now include printing/binding/publishing, design, decoration (embroidery, screen printing), digital marketing & a dedicated AI-powered analytics/business intelligence team." John Leahy has also joined the new business in a C-suite capacity where he will continue to drive sales; mentor Rob and advise the Banyan board.About Banyan:Founded in 2018 by industry C-suite executives, Banyan has quickly grown into a major player in the automotive aftermarket. Banyan's current portfolio consists of several industry-leading companies that provide tech-enabled services and software to the best-known brands in the world. www.banyantechgroup.com For further inquiries please contact Danielle Toney, dtoney@ helm.com | 734.468.6300Contact InformationDanielle ToneyMarketing Managerdtoney@ helm.com 734.468.6300SOURCE: Banyan Tech GroupView the original press release on newswire.com
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Lee Fuhr will head the new Creative division of Border continuing to operate Cozy as a sub-brand, focusing on marketing websites, microsite design, digital collateral, and brand designSAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Border LLC, a boutique user experience design and development agency in San Diego, is pleased to announce its recent acquisition of Cozy, a creative agency with a niche in business-to-business and not-for-profit digital design. This acquisition signifies a strategic expansion of Border's design services, strengthening its offering in marketing websites, microsite design, digital collateral, and brand design.Aaron Martlage, General Manager and Design Principal of Border, shared his perspective on the acquisition stating, "Bringing Cozy into our team marks a pivotal step in broadening our service offerings. Their specialization in B2B websites complements our focus on designing and building superior enterprise software experiences. Each division retains its laser focus on its expertise while rounding out the overall offering for our clients." Lee Fuhr, Founder and CEO of Cozy Design, Inc., also sees the potential. "Collaborating with Border represents an exciting chance for us to expand our capabilities and reinforce our commitment to pragmatic design, especially for those often neglected by mainstream agencies. Cozy and Border serve similar clients, engage in overlapping yet distinct project types, and our company values are remarkably aligned." This acquisition allows Cozy to retain its unique identity as a sub-brand within Border, with Lee Fuhr leading the new Creative division. This structure is designed to keep Cozy's specialized services intact while benefiting from the expanded capabilities and resources of Border, including in-house development.The collaboration between Border and Cozy is set to deliver a unique blend of services. Border's expertise in enterprise software design combined with Cozy's prowess in B2B web and microsite development will offer clients a comprehensive suite of digital solutions.This partnership also signifies a commitment to innovation and customer-centric design in the San Diego creative community. Both Mr. Martlage and Mr. Fuhr lead community initiatives in San Diego and know the unique position of their brands are well positioned in 2024; San Diego and Tijuana are joint Word Design Capitals this year as designated by the World Design Organization.For more detailed information about the services and collaborative ventures of Border and Cozy, and to understand how this partnership can benefit your business, visit Border's website and Cozy's website.About Border LLC:Border LLC excels in designing and developing intuitive enterprise software solutions, focusing on delivering engaging and user-friendly experiences across a variety of industries.About Cozy:Cozy is recognized for its creative design and marketing services, particularly in the realm of business-to-business websites and not-for-profits, providing tailored digital solutions to businesses.Contact:Border LLC https://borderux.comhi@borderux.com Cozy https:/ cozydesign.com/hi@cozy.es Contact InformationAaron MartlageGeneral Manager + Design Principalaaron@ borderux.com 619-343-3779SOURCE: Border LLCView the original press release on newswire.com
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THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, NEW ZEALAND OR JAPAN OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BREACH ANY APPLICABLE LAW OR REGULATION.CALGARY, AB / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Canadian Overseas Petroleum Limited and its affiliates ("COPL" or the "Company") (CSE:XOP)(LSE:COPL), an international oil and gas exploration, production and development company with production and development operations focused in Converse and Natrona counties, Wyoming, USA, announces completion on January 15, 2024, of the critical $2.5 million equity financing providing the Company with short-term working capital.Financing Highlights1,312,232,633 common shares of no par value have been issued to the Company's leading equity and convertible bond investor Anavio Capital Partners LLP ("Anavio"). On closing of the financing, Anavio will hold 24.5% of COPL's issued and outstanding share capital. The Company will also grant Anavio 1,312,232,633 common share purchase warrants to be exercisable at 0.0015 per common share, expiring August 26, 2028. The Company's existing convertible bonds and warrants have been amended in accordance with the announcement on December 29, 2023.The Company had urgent liquidity needs and secured the $2.5 million of equity financing, on the same terms previously disclosed on December 29, 2023, to provide short-term working capital to:Retain an independent E&P technical consultant in the United States. The consultant is currently evaluating field operations and future development plans. Appoint a Chief Restructuring Officer, including a team of restructuring professionals and financial advisor; and, Maintain the Company's LSE & CSE public listings while the Company works with the senior lender and professional advisors to determine the best path forward for all the Company's stakeholders.The Company is also exploring ways to allow shareholders and other investors the chance to participate in an equity placing. The Company remains in a precarious financial situation with very limited liquidity. As previously announced, the forbearance agreement with the Senior Lender expires on February 29, 2024 and there can be no assurance that it will be extended or that the conditions of default will be remedied or waived.UK - DTR & LR14 Following the issuance of the 1,312,232,633 common shares the Company will have a total of 2,656,603,131 common shares issued and outstanding. There are no common shares held in treasury and therefore the total number of voting rights in the Company from that date is 2,656,603,131. This figure may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.Applications will be made for the common shares to be admitted to the FCA's Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities within the next twelve months, in accordance with Listing Rule 14.3.4.M.I. 61-101The Company had also determined that the financing was a "related party transaction" pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101") and is exempt from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements applicable to related party transactions defined under MI 61-101 pursuant to the financial hardship exemption under sections 5.5(g) and 5.7(1)(e) of MI 61-101.The Company relied on the above exemptions on the basis that: (i) as described in the Company's announcements of December 20, 2023, December 29, 2023 and January 10, 2024 and January 12, 2024, the Company is in serious financial difficulty and without the financing, it would not have sufficient working capital for its present requirements, (ii) the financing was designed to improve the financial position of the Company, (iii) the transaction was not subject to court approval or court order, (iv) the Board and all independent directors, each of the foregoing acting in good faith, determined that (i) and (ii) above applied and that the terms of the financing were reasonable in the circumstances to the Company, and (v) as at the date hereof, and with the granting of certain exemptions by the Canadian Securities Exchange there is no other requirement to hold a meeting to obtain the approval of the shareholders of the Company for the financing.About the Company: COPL is an international oil and gas exploration, development and production company actively pursuing opportunities in the United States with operations in Wyoming.For further information, please contact:Mr. Tom Richardson, ChairmanMr. Ryan Gaffney, CFO Canadian Overseas Petroleum LimitedTel: + 1 (403) 262 5441Cathy Hume CHF Investor RelationsTel: +1 (416) 868 1079 ext. 251Email: cathy@ chfir.com Charles Goodwin Yellow Jersey PR LimitedEmail: copl@ yellowjerseypr.com Neil Passmore / Mario Doerflinger Financial Advisor/Joint BrokerHannam & Partners +44 (0) 20 7907 8500Email: njp@ hannam.partners / md@ hannam.partners Peter Krens Joint BrokerEquity Capital Markets, Tennyson SecuritiesTel: +44 (0) 20 7186 9033The Common Shares are listed under the symbol "XOP" on the CSE and under the symbol "COPL" on the London Stock Exchange.All $ figures are United States Dollars unless otherwise noted.Market Abuse Regulation disclosureThe information contained within this Announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information pursuant to Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 as amended ("MAR") encompassing information relating to the Financing described above, and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR. In addition, market soundings (as defined in MAR) were taken in respect of the Financing with the result that certain persons became aware of inside information (as defined in MAR), as permitted by MAR. This inside information is set out in this Announcement. Therefore, upon publication of this Announcement, those persons that received such inside information in a market sounding are no longer in possession of such inside information relating to the Company and its securities.Caution regarding forward looking statementsThis ne
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / National plaintiffs law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP encourages investors in ChargePoint Holdings, Inc. ("ChargePoint" or the "Company") (NYSE:CHPT) who suffered losses from purchasing or otherwise acquiring the securities of ChargePoint between June 1, 2023 and November 16, 2023 to contact us immediately regarding a pending securities fraud class action against ChargePoint. The deadline to apply to be lead plaintiff is January 29, 2024.Class Period: June 1, 2023 - November 16, 2023Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: January 29, 2024Case information: lieffcabraser.com/securities/chargepoint Contact us: Email or text investorinfo@ lchb.com or call 1-800-541-7358ChargePoint is an electric vehicle infrastructure company. Its core business involves providing networked solutions for charging electric vehicles, including the ChargePoint cloud subscription platform and charging hardware.The action alleges ChargePoint made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that it was experiencing elevated component costs and supply overruns for first generation direct current ("DC") charging products and, as a result, the Company's business and prospects were much worse than defendants claimed.On September 6, 2023, after the market closed, ChargePoint reported its second quarter fiscal year 2024 financial results, including an "$28.0 million, or 19 percentage point, inventory impairment charge." The Company stated the "inventory impairment charge was taken to address legacy supply chain-related costs and supply overruns on a particular DC product." As a result, ChargePoint reported a second quarter generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") gross margin of 1%, down from 17% in the prior year's same quarter. On this news, the Company's share price declined $0.77 per share, or 11%, from its closing price of $7.06 on September 6, 2023, to close at $6.29 per share on September 7, 2023, on unusually heavy trading volume.Then, on November 16, 2023, after the market closed, ChargePoint released preliminary financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2024, which included an "additional non-cash inventory impairment charge" in the amount of $42 million "related to product transitions and to better align inventory with current demand." As a result, the Company expected to report "GAAP gross margin of negative 23% to negative 21%." ChargePoint also reported revenue had fallen to "$108 million to $113 million, as compared to $150 to $165 million as previously expected." Moreover, the Company's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer were both replaced, effective immediately. On this news, the ChargePoint's share price declined $1.11 per share, or 35%, from its closing price of $3.13 on November 16, 2023, to close at $2.02 per share on November 17, 2023, on unusually heavy trading volume.About Lieff CabraserLieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, with over 120 attorneys in offices in San Francisco, New York, Nashville, and Munich, Germany, is an internationally recognized law firm committed to advancing the rights of investors and promoting corporate responsibility. Recognized as a "Plaintiffs' Powerhouse" by Law360, Lieff Cabraser has litigated some of the most important civil cases in the United States, and has assisted clients in recovering over $129 billion in verdicts and settlements. For over 50 years, Lieff Cabraser has remained committed to ensuring access to justice for all.ContactSharon LeeLieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP415 956-1000 slee@ lchb.com SOURCE: Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
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LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / This Debt Retirement eliminates a total of $4,340,101 in Principal and Interest Repayment Obligations of the Company. This debt reduction was achieved through the repurchase of $3,875,094 in Principal Amount of 8% Debentures at a discount amounting to 60% of Principal, with interest forgiven in the amount of $465,007. The Retirement of the Debentures also resulted in the cancellation of 5,076,371 in warrant rights otherwise available under those Debentures.In conjunction with this significant debt reduction and previous debt cancellation the total debt obligations have been reduced in the past 16 months from $23.5 million to approximately $7.2 million.CLSH also restructured its remaining debt obligations totaling approximately $7.2 million, by extending terms of repayment on all of the debt, and with respect to $3,639,343, of that total, extending repayment of the debt to January of 2028, with monthly payments made in the interim. The retirement of the debt was financed through the issuance of a total of 64,132,135 RESTRICTED shares of CLSH common stock at per share prices of 0.0333 and 0.0345.About CLS Holdings USA, Inc. CLS Holdings USA, Inc. (CLSH) is a diversified cannabis company that acts as an integrated cannabis producer and retailer through its Oasis Dispensary and City Trees subsidiaries in Nevada, with plans to expand production and distribution in other states. CLS stands for "Cannabis Life Sciences," in recognition of the Company's state-of-the-art scientific method of extracting various cannabinoids from the cannabis plant and converting them into products with a higher level of quality and consistency. The Company's business model includes licensing operations, processing operations, processing facilities, sale of products, brand creation and consulting services.Instagram @clsholdingsusa | Facebook: @CLSHoldingsUSATwitter: @CLSHoldingsUSA | LinkedIn: @CLS Holdings USA IncOasis Cannabis has operated a cannabis dispensary in the Las Vegas market since dispensaries first opened in Nevada in 2015 and has been recognized as one of the top cannabis retailers in the state. Its location within walking distance to the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown Las Vegas in combination with its delivery service to residents allows it to efficiently serve both locals and tourists in the Las Vegas area. oasiscannabis.com | @oasisdispensaryFounded in 2017, City Trees is a Nevada-based cannabis cultivation, production and distribution company. Offering a wide variety of products with consistent results, including cannabis concentrates and cannabis-infused products. City Trees products are available in numerous dispensaries throughout the state of Nevada and New Mexico. citytrees.com | @citytreesnvForward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains certain ''forward-looking information'' within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and ''forward-looking statements'' as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, the ''forward-looking statements''). These statements relate to, among other things, the impact of the COVID-19 virus on our business, the results of our initiatives to retain our employees and strengthen our relationships with our customers and community during the pandemic, the effect of our initiatives to expand market share and achieve growth, the expected development of our business and joint ventures, results of operations and financial performance, future liquidity, working capital and capital requirements, the impact of the reverse stock split on our stock price, the effects of the additional dilution in our common stock that may occur as a result of the amendments to our convertible debentures, and anticipated future events. The continued spread of COVID-19 could have, and in some cases already has had, an adverse impact on our business, operations and financial results, including through disruptions in our cultivation and processing activities, supply chains and sales channels, and retail dispensary operations as well as a deterioration of general economic conditions including a possible national or global recession. In some cases, you can identify forward looking statements by terminology such as ''may,'' ''might,'' ''will,'' ''should,'' ''intends,'' ''expects,'' ''plans,'' ''goals,'' ''projects,'' ''anticipates,'' ''believes,'' ''estimates,'' ''predicts,'' ''potential,'' or ''continue'' or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are only predictions, are uncertain and involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, levels of activity or performance to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity or performance expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity or performance. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date that they were made. These cautionary statements should be considered together with any written or oral forward-looking statements that we may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable law, we do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to reflect actual results, later events or circumstances or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. See CLS Holdings USA filings with the SEC and on its SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com for additional details.Contact Information: Corporate:Chairman and CEOAndrew Glashow888-438-9132Investor Relations: investors@ clsholdingsinc.com SOURCE: CLS Holdings USA, Inc.
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC a nationally recognized law firm, notifies investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Dollar General Corporation ("Dollar General" or "the Company") (NYSE:DG) and certain of its officers.Class Definition:This lawsuit seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws on behalf of all persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired Dollar General securities between May 28, 2020 and August 30, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Such investors are encouraged to join this case by visiting the firm's site: bgandg.com/dg Case Details:The Complaint alleges that defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Dollar General stores were chronically understaffed and suffering from logistical and inventory management problems which left stores with tens of millions of dollars' worth of outdated and unwanted inventory, mispriced goods, and lost and damaged items; (ii) large backlogs of unsellable merchandise had built up at Dollar General's stores, which inventory had not been timely written down due to understaffing and Dollar General's failure to manage its inventory; (iii) the allotment of employee hours per store per week imposed by Dollar General management placed employees in virtually impossible situations where assigned tasks, including those necessary to effective store operations, could not be completed within the allotted time; (iv) Dollar General was systematically overcharging customers for items upon checkout above the listed price in violation of state laws, including state law violations identified by state regulators in Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio; (v) Dollar General's reported revenue and earnings during the Class Period were artificially inflated by defendants' over-pricing scheme; (vi) Dollar General's failure to manage store inventories and accurately price items upon checkout risked the loss of customers, lower sales, adverse regulatory actions, and reputational fallout; and (vii) Dollar General was not on track to achieve its guidance during the Class Period and such guidance lacked a reasonable factual basis.What's Next?A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint, you can visit the firm's site: bgandg.com/dg or you may contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Law Clerk and Client Relations Manager, Yael Nathanson of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 332-239-2660. If you suffered a loss in Dollar General you have until January 26, 2024, to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.There is No Cost to YouWe represent investors in class actions on a contingency fee basis. That means we will ask the court to reimburse us for out-of-pocket expenses and attorneys' fees, usually a percentage of the total recovery, only if we are successful.Why Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman:Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a nationally recognized firm that represents investors in securities fraud class actions and shareholder derivative suits. Our firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors nationwide.Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.Contact:Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLCPeretz Bronstein or Yael Nathanson332-239-2660 | info@ bgandg.com SOURCE: Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC
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NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESSWIRE / January 15, 2024 / Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until January 26, 2024to file lead plaintiff applications in securities class action lawsuits against Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG), if they purchased the Company's securities between May 28, 2020 and August 31, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). These actions are pending in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.What You May DoIf you purchased securities of Dollar General and would like to discuss your legal rights and how the case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ( lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com) , or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-dg/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court byJanuary 26, 2024 .About the LawsuitDollar General and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.On August 31, 2023, the Company announced its 2Q 2023 financial results, disclosing among other things, cuts to its FY23 sales and profit outlook, decreases in operating profits of 24.2% and EPS of 28.5%, and that it "expect[ed] an incremental operating profit headwind of up to $170 million in the second half of 2023," consisting of $95 million for markdowns on existing inventory and $75 million on increased store personnel to support inventory and pricing control measures.On this news, the price of Dollar General's shares plummeted $19.16 per share, or 12%, on August 31, 2023, on unusually high trading volume of more than 19 million shares.The case is Washtenaw County Employees' Retirement System v. Dollar General Corporation, et al., 23-cv-01250. A subsequent case expanded the class period, Edmonds v. Dollar General Corporation, et al., 23-cv-01259.About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCKSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California, Louisiana and New Jersey.To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com Contact:Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCLewis Kahn, Managing Partner lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com 1-877-515-18501100 Poydras St., Suite 960New Orleans, LA 70163SOURCE: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
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Premier Health and Safety Company Honored for the 10th Year on Prestigious ListCHARLOTTE, NC / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 /Enviro-Master, the nation's premier health and safety franchise company, proudly announces its inclusion in Entrepreneur Magazine's 45th Annual FRANCHISE 500, a prestigious honor in the franchise industry. Enviro-Master ranks #353 and celebrates its 10th year on this esteemed list.The FRANCHISE 500 is renowned for its rigorous evaluation of franchises across various sectors, assessing factors like unit growth, financial strength and stability, and brand power. Enviro-Master's consistent presence on this list underscores its resilience, innovative business model, and essential role in the health and safety sector."Being named to the Entrepreneur's FRANCHISE 500 for the tenth year is a remarkable achievement for us," says Tod Bierling, CEO of Enviro-Master Services. "This recognition reflects our unwavering commitment to excellence and innovation in the health and safety industry. It's a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team and our franchisees who have been instrumental in our growth and success." Since its inception in 2009, businesses across North America have entrusted Enviro-Master with their health and safety needs. The company's comprehensive suite of services includes the commercial restroom cleaning program, commercial tile and grout cleaning, drain treatment, and the unique Virus Vaporizer electrostatic spraying protection service. Enviro-Master also offers an exclusive line of restroom paper dispensers, along with paper restocking and hand sanitizer services.The recent introduction of the Re-Fresh Commercial Power Washing and RPM Commercial Window Cleaning services further underscores the brand's commitment to innovation. By expanding its service offerings, Enviro-Master solidifies its position as a one-stop shop for health and safety solutions, further cementing its reputation as an industry trailblazer.The FRANCHISE 500 is the dominant competitive measure for franchisors and a primary research tool for potential franchisees. Enviro-Master's continued presence on this list is a clear indicator of its growth, strength, and commitment to providing essential services.To see the ranking, visit https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/directory/enviro-master-services/333982 For more information about franchise opportunities with Enviro-Master, visit: https://franchise.enviro-master.com About Enviro-Master:Enviro-Master is a leading health and safety franchise company specializing in comprehensive solutions for businesses nationwide. With a commitment to cleanliness, hygiene, and environmental sustainability, Enviro-Master delivers a range of services, including commercial power washing, commercial window cleaning, and commercial restroom hygiene, to promote safe and healthy business environments. To learn more about franchising opportunities with Enviro-Master, visit https://enviro-master.com/commercial-cleaning-franchises/ Media Contact: Tammy Delgadotdelgado@919 marketing.com919-459-7147 SOURCE: Enviro-Master
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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / FedEx CorporationThe Salvation Army's support of the emergency services in Kent and Sussex will strengthen after the church and charity got a special delivery from FedEx this week.Photo credit Salvation ArmyThe global delivery company presented representatives from The Salvation Army's South East division with a new Incident Response Unit (IRU) at Rochester Fire Station, the 23rd vehicle FedEx has donated to charities across the world since 2006.The Salvation Army has been supporting emergency services for more than 50 years, providing on site refreshments and emotional support to responders at major incidents.The new vehicle will operate across Kent and Sussex, where Salvation Army teams have previously provided more than 20,000 meals to NHS staff during the pandemic, helped out when an earthquake hit Folkestone and fed stranded lorry drivers. Team members also provided support to people in London after the Queen's death as well as the tragic Grenfell Tower fire.Captain Gary Robb from The Salvation Army's South East Divisional Headquarters said he was delighted to receive the new vehicle and thanked Alun Cornish, FedEx Express Operations Managing Director who was also present.Gary said: "FedEx has worked with The Salvation Army for many years across the globe and together we have been able to provide vital support to communities at times of crisis. Thank you for putting your faith in The Salvation Army and for supporting our work in such a tangible way." Alun Cornish said FedEx Express was honoured to be associated with The Salvation Army.He said: "We're pleased to support the tireless work you do to help our communities. We hope our gift will allow you to help people in the dark hours following a disaster, and to help others in need throughout the year." Guest blog from The Salvation Army UK***Photo credit Salvation ArmyView additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from FedEx Corporation on 3 blmedia.com Contact Info: Spokesperson: FedEx CorporationWebsite: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/fedex-corporation Email: info@3 blmedia.com SOURCE: FedEx Corporation
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By Rasha RehmanOriginally published by TriplePunditNORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Storytelling is central to sustainability and social impact. Issues like warming temperatures or gender equity gaps may sound complex and difficult to understand. But when communicated through the lens of story - and through the eyes of the people and communities affected by these issues and working to solve them - they take on new meaning for engaged audiences.Young leaders looking to accelerate their work in this area have a new opportunity to learn how to tell impactful stories. Launched by the nonprofit organization Girl Rising, the Future Rising fellowship selects 10 leaders annually between the ages of 17 and 25 who are working on gender equity and climate justice issues interchangeably. The fellowship provides financial support, a stipend of $5,000, access to networks of advisors and experts, and skills training such as leadership development, storytelling workshops, speaking opportunities, and other professional opportunities.Girl Rising was established to explore how empowering women and girls with education can combat global poverty, CEO Christina Lowry told TriplePundit. Originally, Girl Rising launched as a film, which later became an organization. Along the way, the founding team kept up with research and trends on girls' education and consistently discovered girls and women are disproportionately impacted by climate change, Lowry said.Girls and women are more susceptible to climate-induced disastersGlobally, women represent 43 percent of the agricultural workforce, a rate that grows higher in parts of Asia and Africa. As such, women play a critical role in environmental sustainability and food security. Yet due to a combination of factors such as cultural gender norms, lack of access to education and resources, poverty, and limits on decision making, they are disproportionately impacted by climate disasters. Women are also susceptible to climate-induced exploitation such as organized trafficking because climate disasters uproot local security and safety for women and children, according to the United Nations Environment Program."We believe, at this moment in time, it is imperative to hand the mics over to girls and young women for us to be able to elevate the voices of those people, young women and young men who really are on the front lines of this work," Lowry said. "So, we decided to create a fellowship program." During their cohort, Future Rising fellows complete a narrative media project that tells the story of their own work or the work of girls and women within the climate and environmental justice space. Fellows also learn the elements of impactful storytelling and are empowered to develop their own stories to tell.The Future Rising fellowship teaches effective storytelling strategies and provides access to a global networkAyomide Solanke is a 2021 Future Rising fellow from Lagos, Nigeria. For her media project, she created a graphic novel that highlights how societal practices and norms such as child marriage affect girls and women and worsen poverty and climate change. The novel has since published locally in Lagos as well as online. "[The fellowship] was an opportunity at the time to be able to see and get my message on a larger and  wider platform," she said.Solanke first discovered the fellowship via X, previously known as Twitter, and applied. "My original manuscript was probably maybe 10 pages at most," she told us. "At the end, I have like 45 to 50 pages." During the fellowship, Solanke and her cohort participated in a series of training sessions and workshops to learn more about storytelling. She learned to incorporate the voice of survivors in her story by speaking with them, while navigating the delicate line of not making them feel re-victimized. And the time spent drafting her story taught her how important using easy-to-understand language can be to getting a message across."I would say that the Future Rising fellowship helped me not just in my project, [but] also in my work as an activist," Solanke said. "I'm able to have a wider platform to grow and evolve and meet other people and share my work with people, and also hear, and see what other people are doing and incorporate and collaborate." Like Solanke, 2022 fellow Geela Garcia of Manila, Philippines, said the fellowship connected her to a global network of individuals to learn from and engage. "I wanted to be in a diverse community with shared goals and perspectives about people and our home," she told TriplePundit. "Since the cohort is global, it exposes me to stories and experiences of people from different cultures and parts of the world. The fellowship reminds me that despite our differences, we are similar in wanting to make a safer and more livable place for all." Girl Rising and HP continue their work to advance digital equity and eliminate challenges to girls' educationGirl Rising has partnered closely with the tech giant HP for nearly a decade - from HP's support of the original Girl Rising film, to a multi-year partnership to advance technology education in the U.S, India and Nigeria, said Michele Malejki, the company's global head of social impact."In 2021, HP made a commitment to accelerate digital equity for 150 million people, and the Girl Rising Future Fellows program, also launched in 2021, was a natural next step in our collaboration - squarely rooted in our Sustainable Impact focus areas of climate action, human rights and digital equity," Malejki told TriplePundit.Digital equity - meaning equal access to technology and knowing how to use it - is essential for combating poverty as education, healthcare and economic opportunities increasingly move online. Women and girls, people with disabilities, aging populations, and other marginalized groups are disproportionately affected by gaps in digital literacy and technology access. HP and the HP Foundation aim to change that by bringing technology solutions and funding to nonprofit partners like Girl Rising."HP and Girl Rising share a common belief that to drive positive, lasting change in the world, women and girls must have access to quality education, which includes amazing learning materials," Malejki said. "Educating women and girls is fundamental to addressing our climate crisis, to strengthening our communities and global economy, and to solving other related issues like population growth and human rights violations." Since 2019, the company and nonprofit have enabled 14.4 million students and teachers in India, Nigeria, and the U.S. with technology solutions and new curriculum, she said.Meanwhile Girl Rising announced the third coh
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NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESSWIRE / January 15, 2024 / Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until January 26, 2024to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Fisker Inc. (NYSE:FSR), if they purchased or otherwise acquired the Company's securities between August 4, 2023 and November 20, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.What You May DoIf you purchased securities of Fisker and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ( lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com) , or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-fsr/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court byJanuary 26, 2024 .About the LawsuitFisker and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.On November 13, 2023, the Company announced its 3Q 2023 financial results, disclosing among other things, a loss of $91.0 million and a $0.27 loss per share, a cut to its production forecast for the year, and also that it would be unable to timely file its Quarterly Report for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 due to material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting. On this news, the price of Fisker's shares plummeted by $0.77, or 18.7%, to close at $3.34 per share on November 14, 2023, on unusually heavy trading volume.Then, on November 20, 2023, the Company disclosed the departure of its chief accounting officer, recently hired on November 6, 2023. On this news, the price of Fisker's shares plummeted by $0.35, or 15%, to close at $2.00 per share on November 21, 2023, on unusually heavy trading volume.The case is Zahabi v. Fisker Inc., et al., 23-cv-09976.About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCKSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California, Louisiana and New Jersey.To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com Contact:Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCLewis Kahn, Managing Partner lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com 1-877-515-18501100 Poydras St., Suite 960New Orleans, LA 70163SOURCE: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
PR-Inside.com: 2024-01-16 16:16:04

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TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Forum Asset Management ("Forum") and Make Space Inc. ("Make Space") announce their strategic joint venture, establishing Forum Make Space ("FMS"), and the launch of their flagship evergreen self-storage fund, the Forum Make Space Storage Fund ("MSSF")."This partnership with Make Space marks an important moment in Forum's 25-year history and development as a multi-strategy private market asset manager. Forum as an investor seeks asset classes with secular tailwinds and attractive risk-adjusted returns. For over 20 years, the team at Make Space has delivered strong results to their stakeholders, and we look forward to accelerating that growth going forward," said Richard Abboud, Founder and CEO of Forum. "Forum is actively seeking to invest in partnerships with leading private market investment firms and teams across real estate, infrastructure and private equity." The joint venture leverages the deep sectoral expertise of Make Space and Forum's institutional-quality asset management, investment, and development experience across real estate asset classes."We are excited to announce this strategic partnership with Make Space and the launch of MSSF. This collaboration leverages the strengths of both organizations and underscores Forum's commitment to providing investors with innovative and reliable private investment opportunities," said Tate Abols, Managing Partner, Corporate Development and Private Equity at Forum.MSSF is an open-ended private REIT that owns and operates a diversified portfolio of 28 high-quality self-storage assets across 5 provinces, representing over $200 million in assets under management and is focused on undersupplied markets within Canada."We see tremendous potential for growth in the fragmented and underserved self-storage market, and our partnership with Forum enhances our capabilities to capitalize on these opportunities," said Danny Freedman, co-owner at Make Space. "The launch of MSSF is a commitment to continuing to deliver value to our investors." MSSF Fund Highlights:Value-added total return focus, with a 12 - 15% targeted annual total net return to investors.1Diversified portfolio of 28 properties located across 5 provinces, and 1.4 million square feet. MSSF is one of the largest owners of self-storage in Canada with over $200 million of assets under management. Significant risk-adjusted returns with self-storage having the highest annualized total return and third lowest standard deviation of returns among the major real estate classes.2Leveraging a 20-year track record in self-storage investments, real estate development and operations and extensive experience in balance sheet investing. Together, Forum and Make Space manage in excess of C$2.0B and employ over 100 people.For more information, please visit www.forumam.com . This communication is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.1Distributions and the annual total return targets are net of expenses and not guaranteed. The expectation, timing and payment of distributions and the annual total return targets are based on various assumptions and subject to certain risks as outlined in MSSF's confidential offering memorandum which can be requested from a representative at mssf@ forumam.com 2Source: NAREIT. Based on Forum's analysis relying upon NAREIT data from 1994 to November 2023.3Based on Forum figures. See our Impact Management Framework for methodology: Forum's Impact FrameworkAbout Forum Make Space Storage Fund (MSSF):MSSF, the flagship evergreen self-storage fund of Forum Make Space, comprises a portfolio of 28 assets spread across 5 provinces. With 1.4 million rentable square feet of storage and $200 million in assets under management, it positions MSSF as a leading owner of self-storage facilities in Canada.About Forum Make Space (FMS):Established in 2004, Make Space (now FMS) has a 20-year track record in storage asset management, property management, and development. Headquartered in the Greater Vancouver Area, FMS is a leading vertically integrated Canadian self-storage investment platform, managing 37 assets and $275 million in assets under management.About Forum Asset Management:Forum is an investor, developer and asset manager operating across North America for over 25 years. Our core purpose is to deliver Extraordinary Outcomes to our stakeholders. Our adaptable, agile, and dynamic team is committed to sustainability and responsible investing, creating value that benefits the communities in which we invest.Our investment focus includes real estate, private equity, and infrastructure. The enterprise value of our assets under management currently exceeds C$1.7 billion. Our investments have attracted a number of top investors. We're proud to have delivered top tier alternative asset returns since 2002, while positively impacting over 10,600 lives.3For MSSF inquiries, please contact:Name: Domenic Gallippi, Executive Director, Alternative AssetsEmail: domenicg@ forumam.com For media inquiries, please contact:Name: Sydney MacDougall, Associate Director, Marketing & CommunicationsEmail: sydneym@ forumam.com Cautionary StatementThe information contained in this news release is for informational purposes only; is not investment, financial or other advice; and is not intended to be used as the basis for making an investment decision. This news release does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for, any securities, nor shall any part of this news release form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract or investment decision in relation to any securities of MSSF, FSM, Forum or Make Space. The offering of units of MSSF is made pursuant to its confidential offering memorandum only to those "accredited investors" in certain jurisdictions of Canada who meet certain eligibility and cannot be sold in Canada to the general public. This news release does not constitute any form of commitment, recommendation, representation, or warranty on the part of any person. No reliance should be placed on the completeness of the information contained in this news release. This news release is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all matters concerning MSSF.This news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "expect", "intends", "anticipated", "believes" or variations (includi
PR-Inside.com: 2024-01-16 23:32:38

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TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Forward Water Technologies Corp. (TSXV:FWTC) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has issued a total of 452,000 common shares in the capital of the Company in settlement of compensation to AGORA Internet Relations Corp. ("AGORA") for certain advertising services provided by AGORA to the Company over the last three months.The Company has received significant exposure through millions of content brand insertions on the AGORACOM network and extensive search engine marketing over the last six months. In addition, exclusive sponsorships of invaluable digital properties such as AGORACOM TV, the AGORACOM home page and the AGORACOM Twitter account have served to significantly raise the brand awareness of the Company among small cap investors.President and CEO, Mr. Honeyman comments, "Over the last three months, AGORA has demonstrated its value as a key partner. We are thrilled to leverage their services as we further our footprint in the clean technology sector." As disclosed in the Company's February 7th, 2023 press release the Company entered into an agreement with AGORA for the provision of marketing services for a period of one year. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement with AGORA, the Company agreed to pay a total fee of $100,000 + HST. The fee is payable, through the issuance of common shares of the Company and the 452,000 common shares being issued are being issued at a deemed price equal to the closing price of the shares:$20,000 + HST Shares for Services at end of Twelfth Month January 1, 2024 ($22,600.00 / $0.05 Closing Price JAN 01/24).The shares are subject to a hold period that will expire on May 2, 2024.About AGORACOMAGORACOM is the pioneer of online marketing, broadcasting, conferences and investor relations services to North American small and mid-cap public companies, with more than 300 companies served. AGORACOM is the home of more than 7.7 million investors that visited 55.2 million times and read over 600 million pages of information over the last 10 years. The average visit of 8min 43sec is more than double that of global financial sites, which can be attributed to the implementation and enforcement of the strongest moderation rules in the industry.About Forward Water Technologies Corp.Forward Water Technologies Corp. ( TSX.V: FWTC) is a publicly traded Canadian company dedicated to saving the earth's water supply using its patented Forward Osmosis technology. The Company was founded by GreenCentre Canada, a leading technology innovation centre supported by the government of Canada. The Company's technology allows for the reduction of challenging waste streams simultaneously returning fresh water for re-use or surface release. The Company's mandate is to focus on the large-scale implementation of its technology in multiple sectors, including industrial wastewater, oil and gas, DLE, mining, agriculture and ultimately municipal water supply and re-use market sectors. In addition, the Company has initiated early-stage R&D for the treatment of food and beverage process streams.For more information, please visit www.forwardwater.com Contact InformationFor more information or interview requests, please contact:C. Howie Honeyman - Chief Executive Officer howie.honeyman@forwardwater.com 519-333-5888Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.Forward-Looking StatementsCertain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws including statements regarding expansion and uptake of the Company's technology and the ability for the Company to achieve its growth strategy and business plan. Forward-looking information is based on plans, expectations and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to certain factors and assumptions, including, the ability to scale the technology and the adoption of the technology by potential customers.Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the impacts from the coronavirus or other epidemics, general economic conditions in Canada, the United States and globally; unanticipated operating events; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility as well as the other risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company as set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure filings filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com . The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, other than as required by applicable law.Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.SOURCE: Forward Water Technologies Corp.
PR-Inside.com: 2024-01-16 11:30:41

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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / GGL Resources Corp. (TSXV:GGL) ("GGL" or the "Company") is pleased to announce results from the fall 2023 exploration program at the Le Champ copper-molybdenum porphyry target ("Le Champ") on its 100%-owned and road-accessible Gold Point Project in the Walker Lane Trend of Western Nevada. The Company is also pleased to announce that it has staked additional claims to better cover the porphyry target and to acquire additional gold-silver veins elsewhere on this district-scale property (Figure 1).Highlights from this Press Release include:Mapping identified six intrusive phases hosting extensive stockworks, sheeted veins and breccia zones, locally containing limonite after sulphides; Soil geochemical anomalies coincide with the stockwork zones and potentially represent a leached porphyry system; The Gold Point property has been expanded to cover 30.1 sq km (7443 acres); and, Induced Polarization (IP) surveys planned for spring, 2024. Quote from Doug Eaton, GGL's CEO:Early-stage assessment of the porphyry target on GGL's Gold Point Project has yielded very encouraging results that demonstrate potential for a porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum system with a buried supergene-enriched core. The age of the intrusive complex is similar to those in major mining districts including Yerington, Nevada, and at new porphyry discoveries, including Hercules Silver's Hercules Project in Idaho.Le ChampDetailed mapping and sampling at Le Champ were completed in late October 2023. During the fall program, 377 soil samples and 27 rock samples were collected. A geology map is presented as Figure 2 with copper and molybdenum results shown on Figures 3 and 4 respectively.Geological mapping identified six separate intrusive phases within the Sylvania Plutonic Complex hosting extensive stockwork and sheeted vein zones. The strongest molybdenum-in-soil anomalies are associated with the stockwork zones. Copper-in-soil geochemistry is moderately anomalous throughout Le Champ with the strongest values near shallowly south-dipping fault structures and stockwork zones.Large magmatic breccias containing limonite altered cubes and clots, often up to 2 cm across, were identified on the north side of the target area near historical workings containing copper mineralization. A float sample comprising limonite clots collected from the breccia returned 6.29% copper and 203 g/t silver. The exact timing of the brecciation is not yet known, but is thought to be a late event as it includes clasts of mafic dykes which are seen elsewhere on surface cutting the other intrusive phases.Only a few small historical workings are located within the vicinity of Le Champ, and most are pits along gently south-dipping fault structures containing malachite and azurite. This copper mineralization is believed to be sourced from deeper in the system and to have migrated to surface along the fault conduits. There is no evidence Le Champ has previously been drilled.The Company believes that the results from this work program are highly encouraging, particularly when added to previously announced results from earlier geochemical and geophysical surveys (see New Releases dated July 12, 2023 and October 5, 2023). It is believed that the abundant stockwork veining and silica alteration seen at surface mark the upper levels of a buried porphyry system. The strongly elevated molybdenum values and more subdued, but still noteworthy, copper results are consistent with a leached system, and suggest that stronger mineralization could be found at depth. Future work will be directed to better understand the extent of the porphyry system, both on surface and at depth. An Induced Polarization survey is planned for spring 2024.Property ExpansionIn November 2023, the Company staked an additional 52 claims around Le Champ to ensure extensions of the stockwork veining and magmatic breccia zones were fully covered.Additionally, 11 claims were staked within an extensive gold-silver vein system located about 3.5 km northeast of Le Champ. These claims are contiguous with the Company's existing claim block and are located 700 m along strike to the west of the main underground workings on the Orleans Vein. There are numerous historical surface and underground workings on the new claims. These workings have not yet been mapped or sampled by the Company, but mineralization closely resembles that found in high-grade veins system elsewhere on the Gold Point property. Systematic surveying and sampling of the newly acquired veins will be undertaken in spring 2024, in conjunction with the IP survey at Le Champ.The Gold Point property now comprises 377 lode claims and 7 patented claims covering a total area of approximately 7,443 acres (30.1 km2).Setting of Le ChampLe Champ is located about 3.5 km west of the gold-rich veins that have been the focus of historical exploration at Gold Point. The porphyry lies within the Late to Middle-Jurassic Sylvania Granitic Complex, a multi-phase intrusive suite that covers an area greater than 400 km2 along the Nevada-California border stretching between Fish Lake Valley to the north and Death Valley to the south. It typically ranges in composition from granite to quartz monzonite, but locally contains more mafic phases. This pluton is similar in age to intrusions that host large porphyry systems in the Yerington district of Walker Lane, 249 km to the northwest.The Walker Lane hosts four significant known porphyry deposits (Yerington, Ann Mason, Bear, and MacArthur), all of which are located near Yerington.The Yerington Mine was operated by the Anaconda Company from 1952 until 1979 and produced approximately 1.744 billion pounds of copper at an average grade 0.54% copper. This deposit, along with the Bear and MacArthur deposit are currently held by Lion Copper and Gold.The Ann Mason deposit is owned by Hudbay Minerals Inc. and contains 2.2 billion tonnes of measured and indicated resources grading 0.29% copper and 67 ppm molybdenum.About Gold PointThe Gold Point Project is accessed by Highway 774. It is situated within the Walker Lane, a major mineral belt that has seen significant historical production from gold, silver, and copper mines. Many companies are actively exploring in the belt including several majors.The Gold Point Project covers several past-producing underground mines that explored along parts of four prominent vein structures. These main structures are paralleled by several other lightly explored structures. The mines operated intermittently from the 1880s to the early 1960s, producing gold and silver from mesothermal veins. The mineralization is strongly oxidized to the bottom of the workings, which reached a maximum depth of 1,020 ft (311 m) downdip.Qualified Person
PR-Inside.com: 2024-01-16 12:31:48

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The global gas-filled tube market report is a comprehensive report that provides a detailed analysis of the current status and future trends of the gas-filled tube market worldwide. This report provides valuable information to industry stakeholders by offering an in-depth perspective on market dynamics, competitive landscape, growth opportunities, and key challenges faced by industry participants.From the perspective of market dynamics, this report explores the factors driving the growth of the gas-filled tube market. This includes the increasing demand for gas-filled tube products due to changes in consumer preferences, technological advancements, and the demand for more efficient and sustainable solutions. Additionally, government regulations and initiatives to promote the adoption of gas-filled tube products also contribute to market growth. On the other hand, this report identifies and analyzes factors that may hinder market growth, such as economic uncertainty, supply chain disruptions, and intense competition in the market.Request for Sample Report:The competitive landscape section of the report provides a comprehensive analysis of the leading companies operating in the gas-filled tube market. It introduces the major companies, their business strategy, product portfolio, recent trends, and financial performance. This analysis provides valuable insights for market stakeholders to understand the intensity of competition in the market and gain an insightful view of the strategies adopted by major market players to maintain their position.Some of the major companies in the Gas-filled Tube market are as follows: Bourns, CITEL, EPCOS/TDK, Huber & Suhner, Littelfuse, Meritek Electronics, Mitsubishi Materials, Phoenix Contrac, Socay Electronics, TE Connectivity, WeidmullerBy segmenting the market, the report provides a detailed understanding of each segment by analyzing market size, growth potential, and key trends within each segment. Through this detailed analysis, industry participants can identify profitable opportunities, develop strategies tailored to specific customer segments, and allocate resources effectively.Market Segmentation:Type: Glass Gas-filled Tube, Ceramic Gas-filled Tubes, OthersApplication: Telecommunications, Cable TV Equipment, Power Supply, OthersIdentifying growth opportunities is crucial for companies operating in the gas-filled tube market. This report focuses on highlighting these opportunities by analyzing emerging technologies, market trends, and changing customer needs that have the potential to shape the future of the market. By identifying untapped market segments, geographies with high growth potential, and innovative product development strategies, this report supports stakeholders in harnessing these opportunities and leading business growth.In addition, this report addresses the key challenges faced by industry participants. It provides insightful information on challenges such as intense market competition, price pressure, regulatory compliance, and technological confusion. By understanding these challenges, companies can develop effective mitigation strategies and adapt to a constantly changing market environment. This enables them to ensure sustainable growth.The regional analysis section of the global gas-filled tube market report thoroughly evaluates the market in various regions, including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. This section provides valuable information on market size, growth potential, and key market trends specific to each region.Market by Regions:North AmericaU.S.CanadaEuropeGermanyU.K.FranceItalySpainRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaIndiaJapanRest of Asia PacificMiddle East & AfricaGCCSouth AfricaRest of Middle East & AfricaLatin AmericaBrazilMexicoRest of Latin AmericaThis report provides a comprehensive assessment of the gas-filled tube market in these specific regions, enabling stakeholders to understand regional differences, market potential, and growth prospects. This provides valuable insights that help make informed decisions related to market entry, expansion strategies, and resource allocation. Additionally, understanding the regulatory landscape and market dynamics in each region is useful for companies to comply with regulatory requirements and adjust their business strategies to fit specific markets.Overall, the global gas-filled tube market report strives to provide comprehensive and practical information to industry stakeholders. By offering a deep understanding of market trends, competitive dynamics, growth opportunities, and potential risks, this report plays a valuable role as a tool for manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and investors. Through this information, they are able to make informed business decisions and execute successful strategies in the dynamic and evolving gas-filled tube market.
PR-Inside.com: 2024-01-16 11:43:08

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The global mineral admixtures market report is a comprehensive report that provides a detailed analysis of the current status and future trends of the mineral admixtures market worldwide. This report provides valuable information to industry stakeholders by offering an in-depth perspective on market dynamics, competitive landscape, growth opportunities, and key challenges faced by industry participants.From the perspective of market dynamics, this report explores the factors driving the growth of the mineral admixtures market. This includes the increasing demand for mineral admixtures products due to changes in consumer preferences, technological advancements, and the demand for more efficient and sustainable solutions. Additionally, government regulations and initiatives to promote the adoption of mineral admixtures products also contribute to market growth. On the other hand, this report identifies and analyzes factors that may hinder market growth, such as economic uncertainty, supply chain disruptions, and intense competition in the market.Request for Sample Report:The competitive landscape section of the report provides a comprehensive analysis of the leading companies operating in the mineral admixtures market. It introduces the major companies, their business strategy, product portfolio, recent trends, and financial performance. This analysis provides valuable insights for market stakeholders to understand the intensity of competition in the market and gain an insightful view of the strategies adopted by major market players to maintain their position.Some of the major companies in the Mineral Admixtures market are as follows: ADCON cc, Air Liquide, AkzoNobel N. V., Asahi Kasei Corporation, Concrete Additives and Chemicals Pvt. Ltd, DowDuPont, Ducon Construction Chemicals, Durgamba Build Solutions Co., Euclid Chemical, Evonik Industries, HA-BE BETONCHEMIE, Henan GO Biotech Co.,Ltd , Linde AG, Mapei S.P.A, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, RPM International Inc., RussTechiInc., SABIC Innovative Plastics USBy segmenting the market, the report provides a detailed understanding of each segment by analyzing market size, growth potential, and key trends within each segment. Through this detailed analysis, industry participants can identify profitable opportunities, develop strategies tailored to specific customer segments, and allocate resources effectively.Market Segmentation:Type: Cementitious Materials, PozzolansApplication: Plain Concrete, Reinforced Concrete, Prestressed Concrete, Air Entrained Concrete, High-Strength Concrete, OthersIdentifying growth opportunities is crucial for companies operating in the mineral admixtures market. This report focuses on highlighting these opportunities by analyzing emerging technologies, market trends, and changing customer needs that have the potential to shape the future of the market. By identifying untapped market segments, geographies with high growth potential, and innovative product development strategies, this report supports stakeholders in harnessing these opportunities and leading business growth.In addition, this report addresses the key challenges faced by industry participants. It provides insightful information on challenges such as intense market competition, price pressure, regulatory compliance, and technological confusion. By understanding these challenges, companies can develop effective mitigation strategies and adapt to a constantly changing market environment. This enables them to ensure sustainable growth.The regional analysis section of the global mineral admixtures market report thoroughly evaluates the market in various regions, including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. This section provides valuable information on market size, growth potential, and key market trends specific to each region.Market by Regions:North AmericaU.S.CanadaEuropeGermanyU.K.FranceItalySpainRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaIndiaJapanRest of Asia PacificMiddle East & AfricaGCCSouth AfricaRest of Middle East & AfricaLatin AmericaBrazilMexicoRest of Latin AmericaThis report provides a comprehensive assessment of the mineral admixtures market in these specific regions, enabling stakeholders to understand regional differences, market potential, and growth prospects. This provides valuable insights that help make informed decisions related to market entry, expansion strategies, and resource allocation. Additionally, understanding the regulatory landscape and market dynamics in each region is useful for companies to comply with regulatory requirements and adjust their business strategies to fit specific markets.Overall, the global mineral admixtures market report strives to provide comprehensive and practical information to industry stakeholders. By offering a deep understanding of market trends, competitive dynamics, growth opportunities, and potential risks, this report plays a valuable role as a tool for manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and investors. Through this information, they are able to make informed business decisions and execute successful strategies in the dynamic and evolving mineral admixtures market.
PR-Inside.com: 2024-01-16 13:29:55

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The global optical lens assemblies market report is a comprehensive report that provides a detailed analysis of the current status and future trends of the optical lens assemblies market worldwide. This report provides valuable information to industry stakeholders by offering an in-depth perspective on market dynamics, competitive landscape, growth opportunities, and key challenges faced by industry participants.From the perspective of market dynamics, this report explores the factors driving the growth of the optical lens assemblies market. This includes the increasing demand for optical lens assemblies products due to changes in consumer preferences, technological advancements, and the demand for more efficient and sustainable solutions. Additionally, government regulations and initiatives to promote the adoption of optical lens assemblies products also contribute to market growth. On the other hand, this report identifies and analyzes factors that may hinder market growth, such as economic uncertainty, supply chain disruptions, and intense competition in the market.Request for Sample Report:The competitive landscape section of the report provides a comprehensive analysis of the leading companies operating in the optical lens assemblies market. It introduces the major companies, their business strategy, product portfolio, recent trends, and financial performance. This analysis provides valuable insights for market stakeholders to understand the intensity of competition in the market and gain an insightful view of the strategies adopted by major market players to maintain their position.Some of the major companies in the Optical Lens Assemblies market are as follows: Beijing Lenstech Science & Technology, Canon, Fujifilm, Kantatsu, Kenko, Kunming Full-wave Infrared Technology, Largan, LightPath Technologies, Nikon, Olympus, Ophir Optronics Solutions, Panasonic, Sigma, Sunny Optical Technology (Group), TAMRON, Umicore, Yunnan Chihong North photoelectricBy segmenting the market, the report provides a detailed understanding of each segment by analyzing market size, growth potential, and key trends within each segment. Through this detailed analysis, industry participants can identify profitable opportunities, develop strategies tailored to specific customer segments, and allocate resources effectively.Market Segmentation:Type: Telecentric Optical Lenses, Collimators, Beam Expanders, Zoom Lenses, OthersApplication: Mobile phones, Cameras, Instruments, OthersIdentifying growth opportunities is crucial for companies operating in the optical lens assemblies market. This report focuses on highlighting these opportunities by analyzing emerging technologies, market trends, and changing customer needs that have the potential to shape the future of the market. By identifying untapped market segments, geographies with high growth potential, and innovative product development strategies, this report supports stakeholders in harnessing these opportunities and leading business growth.In addition, this report addresses the key challenges faced by industry participants. It provides insightful information on challenges such as intense market competition, price pressure, regulatory compliance, and technological confusion. By understanding these challenges, companies can develop effective mitigation strategies and adapt to a constantly changing market environment. This enables them to ensure sustainable growth.The regional analysis section of the global optical lens assemblies market report thoroughly evaluates the market in various regions, including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. This section provides valuable information on market size, growth potential, and key market trends specific to each region.Market by Regions:North AmericaU.S.CanadaEuropeGermanyU.K.FranceItalySpainRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaIndiaJapanRest of Asia PacificMiddle East & AfricaGCCSouth AfricaRest of Middle East & AfricaLatin AmericaBrazilMexicoRest of Latin AmericaThis report provides a comprehensive assessment of the optical lens assemblies market in these specific regions, enabling stakeholders to understand regional differences, market potential, and growth prospects. This provides valuable insights that help make informed decisions related to market entry, expansion strategies, and resource allocation. Additionally, understanding the regulatory landscape and market dynamics in each region is useful for companies to comply with regulatory requirements and adjust their business strategies to fit specific markets.Overall, the global optical lens assemblies market report strives to provide comprehensive and practical information to industry stakeholders. By offering a deep understanding of market trends, competitive dynamics, growth opportunities, and potential risks, this report plays a valuable role as a tool for manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and investors. Through this information, they are able to make informed business decisions and execute successful strategies in the dynamic and evolving optical lens assemblies market.
PR-Inside.com: 2024-01-16 13:01:37

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COEUR D'ALENE, ID / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Idaho Strategic Resources (NYSE American:IDR) ("IDR" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that members from the Company's management team will be participating in both the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC) and the Idaho Mining Day at the Capitol. Idaho Strategic will have a booth at each event with multiple members from the Company in attendance, including its President and CEO, John Swallow.The Vancouver Resource Investment Conference will be held at the Vancouver Convention Center from January 21st-22nd and gives Idaho Strategic the opportunity to meet face-to-face with potential investors, analysts, and others within the mining industry. The VRIC is open to those who register for the event at cambridgehouse.com . The Company would like to encourage conference attendees to stop by booth #310 to speak with members from Idaho Strategic's team.In addition to the VRIC, Idaho Strategic will also have a presentation booth set-up at the Idaho Mining Day at the Capitol on February 1st at the Capitol building in Boise, ID. This event is an opportunity for members from the Idaho Strategic team to meet and present to policy makers and industry stakeholders with a specific focus on advancing Idaho projects and supporting Idaho communities. Idaho Strategic will be presenting an overview of its projects at the House Resources Committee Meeting, as well as hosting local District representatives for lunch.Idaho Strategic's President and CEO, John Swallow stated, "Our approach to industry events has been conservative in the past - which I believe is the right approach when starting small and proving ourselves. That being said, our Company and our team are now at a point where it makes sense to increase our awareness within the industry. The strategic combination of our production-based exploration strategy, and our Company's unique positioning to give investors exposure to both gold as a store-of-value and critical minerals essential for decarbonization and supply chain security is a business plan that I think will resonate well with those willing to listen. I am excited to participate in these events and look forward to increasing Idaho Strategic's awareness in 2024."About Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc.Idaho Strategic Resources (IDR) is an Idaho-based gold producer which also owns the largest rare earth elements land package in the United States. The Company's business plan was established in anticipation of today's volatile geopolitical and macroeconomic environment. IDR finds itself in a unique position as the only publicly traded company with growing gold production and significant blue-sky potential for rare earth elements exploration/development in one Company.For more information on Idaho Strategic Resources click here for our corporate presentation, go to www.idahostrategic.com or call:Travis Swallow, Investor Relations & Corporate DevelopmentEmail: tswallow@ idahostrategic.com Phone: (208) 625-9001Forward Looking StatementsThis release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended that are intended to be covered by the safe harbor created by such sections. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by forward-looking words such as "intends", "potential", "believe", "plans", "expects", "may", "goal', "assume", "estimate", "anticipate", and "will" or similar words suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, assumptions, intentions, or statements about future events or performance. Forward-looking information includes, but are not limited to, the potential for Idaho Strategic to attend either the VRIC and/or the Idaho Mining Day at the Capitol events, the potential for weather and/or travel issues to negatively affect the Company's attendance at either event, the possibility that Idaho Strategic will have constructive conversations at either event, and the potential for Idaho Strategic's awareness to be increased in 2024 as a result of the Company's participation in upcoming industry events. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of Idaho Strategic Resources as of the date such information is provided and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements of IDR to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. The forward-looking statement information above, and those following are applicable to both this press release, as well as the links contained within this press release. With respect to the business of Idaho Strategic Resources, these risks and uncertainties include risks relating to widespread epidemics or pandemic outbreaks, if they occur, including our ability to access goods and supplies, the ability to transport our products and impacts on employee productivity, the risks in connection with the operations, cash flow and results of the Company relating to the unknown duration and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; interpretations or reinterpretations of geologic information; the accuracy of historic estimates; unfavorable exploration results; inability to obtain permits required for future exploration, development or production; general economic conditions and conditions affecting the industries in which the Company operates; the uncertainty of regulatory requirements and approvals; fluctuating mineral and commodity prices; the ability to obtain necessary future financing on acceptable terms; the ability to operate the Company's projects; and risks associated with the mining industry such as economic factors (including future commodity prices, and energy prices), ground conditions, failure of plant, equipment, processes and transportation services to operate as anticipated, environmental risks, government regulation, actual results of current exploration and production activities, possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates, permitting timelines, capital and construction expenditures, reclamation activities. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such information. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from this forwarda%9
PR-Inside.com: 2024-01-16 14:31:11

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Ramps production of Metron3D to address market for in-line sub-nanometer 3D process control of advanced semiconductorsABINGDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 /Infinitesima is pleased to announce the completion of its investment round to expand production of the Metron 3D 300 mm in-line wafer metrology system.Following the first system shipment in early 2023, and the completion of evaluations with leading semiconductor manufacturers, the funding round will enable Infinitesima to capitalise on the significant demand for their next-generation metrology system, the Metron 3D .The Metron 3D revolutionises the throughput capability of automated Atomic Force Metrology, enabling in-line, sub-nanometer, 3D process control of advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Improvements to in-line metrology and inspection are essential to enable production of next-generation semiconductor devices."We are excited about the strong interest from leading semiconductor manufacturers in our revolutionary probe technology. This important financing round enables us to ramp our production capacity, expand our team, and further invest in our roadmap." said Peter Jenkins, CEO of Infinitesima.The investment round was supported by a consortium of financial and semiconductor industry strategic investors comprising: Wonik Investment Partners, Company K Partners, IMM Investment Corp., Marketech International Corp., and Applied Ventures ITIC Innovation Fund, L.P., a fund jointly created by Applied Ventures, LLC, the corporate venture arm of Applied Materials, Inc., and ITIC-Taiwan(Industrial Technology Investment Corporation), the investment venture arm of Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI).Anand Kamannavar, Head of Applied Ventures, commented, "we are excited to support the Infinitesima team with their unique technology as they look to address some very important semiconductor metrology challenges." Michel Chu, Head of ITIC, added, "this is a strategic investment by ITIC to help strengthen Infinitesima's established local partnerships in Taiwan and secure critical metrology to support the production of next generation 3D semiconductor devices".Andrew Dixon, Infinitesima Chairman and founder of ARC InterCapital said, "we are delighted to extend a warm welcome to our new investors whose profound knowledge in semiconductor technology and finance will play a pivotal role in propelling the company forward. This demonstration of support for the technology and the team marks a significant milestone in our exciting journey." About InfinitesimaInfinitesima Limited is a UK-based leader in advanced metrology solutions for the semiconductor industry. The company has pioneered an innovative technology combining the 3-dimensional surface detection capability of atomic force microscopy, with high-speed laser activation, and the accuracy of interferometry, the Rapid Probe Microscope (RPM), protected by an extensive patent portfolio.The company's RPM technology has been integrated as a module by leading semiconductor equipment companies and is in use at leading semiconductor manufacturers.Semiconductor manufacturers increasingly require higher resolution 3D metrology solutions to control next generation processes that cannot be addressed by current optical and electron beam techniques. Infinitesima has introduced a high-speed metrology system, Metron3D, featuring the company's patented RPM technology, to address the growing customer need for in-line sub-nanometer* 3D process control.* 1 nanometer (nm) is 10-9 of a meter (a single silicon atom is ~0.2 nm in diameter).Contact:Peter Jenkins, CEOpeter.jenkins@infinitesima.com +447930053217SOURCE: Infinitesima Ltd
PR-Inside.com: 2024-01-16 05:56:39

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NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESSWIRE / January 15, 2024 / Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have untilFebruary 20, 2024to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE:INSP), if they purchased the Company's shares between May 3, 2023 and November 7, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.What You May DoIf you purchased shares of Inspire and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ( lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com) , or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-insp/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court byFebruary 20, 2024 .About the LawsuitInspire Medical and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.On November 7, 2023, post-market, the Company disclosed disappointing financial results for 3Q 2023, including "a decline in prior authorization submissions for patients seeking Inspire therapy," as well as problems with its highly touted "Acceleration Program" requiring "some corrective action." On this news, shares of Inspire Medical plummeted approximately 20%, from a closing price of $161.74 per share on November 7, 2023, to a closing price of $129.95 per share on November 8, 2023.The case is City of Hollywood Firefighters' Pension Fund v. Inspire Medical Systems, Inc., No. 23-cv-03884.About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCKSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California, Louisiana and New Jersey.To learn more about KSF, you may visit http://ksfcounsel.com/ CONTACT: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCLewis Kahn, Managing Partner lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com 1-877-515-18501100 Poydras St., Suite 960New Orleans, LA 70163SOURCE: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
PR-Inside.com: 2024-01-16 16:01:19

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COLUMBUS, OH / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Military medical equipment supplier JANZ Corporation is expanding into the consumer home medical equipment (HME) market through the acquisition of a Greater Cincinnati medical supply company.JANZ has purchased Mullaney's Medical Supply, a locally owned and operated company that has served the Greater Cincinnati area since 1936. JANZ will assume ownership of Mullaney's Medical Supply locations in Blue Ash, West Chester and White Oak, which together provide a wide range of medical equipment for purchase and rental, including oxygen concentrators, mobility aids, lift chairs, beds, mattresses, respiratory equipment, compression items and injury recovery equipment."Mullaney's Medical Supply has a long history of providing exemplary service to Ohio residents," said JANZ Chief Operating Officer Gordon Pry. "We are excited to continue this tradition and look forward to providing medical supply customers with the same high-quality service they have come to expect from Mullaney's."A service-disabled, veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB), JANZ has previously focused on serving military installations and veterans. The new Ohio locations - which will be known as Mullaney's, a JANZ Medical Supply Company - will join JANZ's 34 existing medical supply stores located in 11 states, seven countries and two U.S. territories."As a local family business serving the Greater Cincinnati area for more than 88 years, we have a very personal connection to our community," said Tom Mullaney, RPh, former owner of Mullaney's Medical Supply and current president of Mullaney's Long-Term Care Pharmacy. "When we decided to sell our medical supply division, it was clear that JANZ was the perfect partner as they share our commitment to customers and a reputation for exceptional service."As we turn our full attention to serving the needs of long-term care communities and their residents," Mullaney continued, "we look forward to having a strong partnership with JANZ." "The Mullaney's Medical Supply acquisition represents a significant expansion of JANZ's products and services," Pry said. By expanding into the consumer HME market, JANZ will add new products and services to its current inventory along with distribution and patient delivery capabilities."Adding this respected local company to the JANZ family will not only enhance our store offerings to our new patients in Ohio," Pry said, "but also benefit our other locations through these additional products and services." JANZ's expansion into the consumer market builds on the company's exponential growth following the receipt of multimillion-dollar contracts from several government agencies. In 2017, JANZ ranked #280 on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing U.S. companies.About JANZ CorporationJANZ Corporation is a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) dedicated to providing exceptional medical equipment, supplies, and therapy services to all levels of the U.S. government. With a strong commitment to serving the needs of the military community, JANZ Corporation has become a trusted partner in delivering essential healthcare solutions. For more information, visit https://janzcorp.com Contact Information:Jennifer LoguePublic Relations Consultantloguestrategiccommunication@ gmail.com 904-686-4039SOURCE: JANZ CorporationView the original press release on newswire.com
PR-Inside.com: 2024-01-16 20:02:52

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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / The Joseph Samuels Scholarship for Visual Arts, established by renowned hedge fund expert Joseph Samuels, is now open for applications. This one-time $1,000 scholarship aims to support and propel talented visual artists on their creative journey. Aspiring artists from diverse backgrounds are invited to apply before the deadline on February 15, 2024, for a chance to be named the scholarship recipient, to be announced on March 15, 2024.The Joseph Samuels Scholarship for Visual Arts, a testament to Joseph Samuels' commitment to fostering creativity, is pleased to announce its inaugural scholarship program. Founded by Joseph Samuels, a visionary financial strategist with a passion for supporting the arts, this scholarship is designed to recognize and empower emerging visual artists.Criteria for the Scholarship: To be considered for the Joseph Samuels Scholarship for Visual Arts, applicants must meet specific criteria highlighting their dedication, creativity, and potential for growth within the visual arts. Applicants should possess exceptional artistic talent, demonstrate a commitment to the visual arts, and express a strong desire for personal and artistic growth.Applicants will be required to submit a thoughtful essay (under 1000 words) describing their artistic journey, emphasizing the evolution of their craft and the envisioned impact on individuals and society. The scholarship celebrates diversity and inclusivity, welcoming artists from all backgrounds and experiences.About Joseph Samuels: Joseph Samuels of Islet Capital, the visionary founder and financial strategist behind this scholarship, brings over five years of experience in managing equity securities and equity-related agreements markets. Born and raised in New Jersey, Joseph developed an early interest in economics and finance. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Rutgers University-New Brunswick and embarked on a successful career in the financial industry.Islet's Joseph Samuels's passion for exploring the potential of the finance world led to the establishment of Islet Capital Management and Channel Partners, two innovative firms offering adaptive and effective investment approaches. His expertise lies in structuring and trading events, catalyst-oriented long/short situations, and identifying and capitalizing on capital markets opportunities.Under Joseph Samuels' leadership, Islet Capital Management has emerged as a pioneering force within the finance industry, delivering optimal results for clients. Joseph actively shares his knowledge through seminars, conferences, and published articles, leaving a lasting impact on the financial community.Application Details: The Joseph Samuels Scholarship for Visual Arts offers a one-time award of $1,000. The deadline to apply is February 15, 2024, with the winner set to be announced on March 15, 2024.To apply and for more information about the scholarship, please visit: https://josephsamuelsscholarship.com Contact Info:Spokesperson:Joseph SamuelsOrganization: Joseph Samuels ScholarshipWebsite: https://josephsamuelsscholarship.com/ Email: apply@ josephsamuelsscholarship.com SOURCE: Joseph Samuels Scholarship
PR-Inside.com: 2024-01-16 17:16:47

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Since its inception, LABS has screened 1.6 million patients, enrolled more than 237,000 people in healthcare programs, and improved more than 100,000 livesNORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, a sister organization of the World Economic Forum (WEF), announced at WEF's annual meeting in Davos today that Ruchika Singhal, president of Medtronic LABS, is the 2024 "Corporate Social Innovator of the Year." For nearly a decade, Medtronic LABS, an independent nonprofit organization supported by Medtronic, has been bringing together health systems, governments, local innovators, companies, and non-governmental organizations to remove healthcare barriers. Medtronic LABS uses data, technology, and partnerships to address some of the world's most pressing health issues - like hypertension and diabetes - in underserved communities in Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Bangladesh, the United States, and Bhutan."When we started LABS, the team was challenged to consider how to use Medtronic's expansive business and health technology resources to find ways to expand access to the nearly half of the world that lacks access to essential health services," Singhal said. "We had lots of ideas early on, and it took us years to engage local stakeholders and truly understand ground level needs and constraints to refine our solutions. Achieving scalable and sustainable impact requires long-term commitment to the mission and our work at LABS is a testament to what's possible. We are truly grateful for the support and recognition." Since its inception, LABS has screened 1.6 million patients, enrolled more than 237,000 people in healthcare programs, improved more than 100,000 lives, and trained more than 8,000 community health workers."The LABS model that Ruchika and her team created dramatically extends our Mission by offering meaningful health solutions to patients we otherwise would not reach with our traditional products and therapies," said Geoff Martha, Medtronic CEO and Chairman. "I'm proud of Ruchika for harnessing her passion and entrepreneurial spirit for the greater good." The 2024 Schwab Foundation Social Innovation Awards recognize 16 organizations, joining a global community of 477 change-makers directly improving the lives of 891 million people. The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship was founded in 1998 by Hilde and Klaus Schwab. In partnership with the World Economic Forum, the Schwab Foundation is the foremost global community of pioneering social innovators driving systemic change.About MedtronicBold thinking. Bolder actions. We are Medtronic. Medtronic plc, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is the leading global healthcare technology company that boldly attacks the most challenging health problems facing humanity by searching out and finding solutions. Our Mission - to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life - unites a global team of 95,000+ passionate people across more than 150 countries. Our technologies and therapies treat 70 health conditions and include cardiac devices, surgical robotics, insulin pumps, surgical tools, patient monitoring systems, and more. Powered by our diverse knowledge, insatiable curiosity, and desire to help all those who need it, we deliver innovative technologies that transform the lives of two people every second, every hour, every day. Expect more from us as we empower insight-driven care, experiences that put people first, and better outcomes for our world. In everything we do, we are engineering the extraordinary. For more information on Medtronic (NYSE:MDT), visit www.Medtronic.com and follow @Medtronic on Twitter and LinkedIn.Any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic's periodic reports on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Medtronic on 3 blmedia.com Contact Info: Spokesperson: MedtronicWebsite: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/medtronic Email: info@3 blmedia.com SOURCE: Medtronic
PR-Inside.com: 2024-01-16 16:01:26

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New Service Helps Clients Ensure Their Microsoft 365 Environment is Secure, Compliant and OptimizedPHOENIX, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / MicroAge, The Digital Transformation Experts, announced today the launch of the MicroAge ManageWise for Microsoft 365 (M365), which provides clients with an expert services team to help ensure their M365 environment is secure, compliant, and optimized for efficiency and performance.MicroAge Launches ManageWise for Microsoft 365 "Our clients often come to us because they are stretched for resources, and managing their M365 environment with frequent software updates, ongoing security challenges, compliance issues, and licensing renewals adds extra complexity, time, and cost," said Larry Fulop, MicroAge Senior Vice President of Marketing and Technology. "With ManageWise for Microsoft 365, they can free up valuable internal resources to focus on high-value tasks while ensuring their environment is secure, compliant, and optimized for efficiency and performance." ManageWise for M365 support provides a comprehensive tenant assessment of the client's M365 environment, including license optimization and license agreement planning, implementation best practices, security and compliance, Identity Access Management (IAM), M365 Admin Portal, Microsoft Entra ID, Microsoft Endpoint Manager, Microsoft Defender, Microsoft Purview, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft OneDrive, and SharePoint Online. Based on these assessments, a comprehensive executive summary report with priority actions is delivered to the internal team. Clients can then select the appropriate level of support for remediation, helping cost-effectively and efficiently optimize and secure their M365 environment without the need for capital expenditures.For more information on MicroAge Managed Security Services, visit microage.com/services/managewise About MicroAgeMicroAge combines a powerful mix of technology services backed by vendor-certified engineers and an acclaimed panel of experts to deliver the competitive edge technology leaders need to lead in a disruptive digital environment. MicroAge is a Microsoft Solution Partner recognized annually by Computer Reseller News (CRN) in the Tech Elite 250, Solution Provider 500, and MSP 500 lists of top-performing technology integrators, strategic service providers, and IT consultants. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, MicroAge has a rapidly expanding national salesforce to support growing demand. To learn more, visit MicroAge.com Microsoft, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Purview, Microsoft Defender, Microsoft Entra, Microsoft Endpoint Manager, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft OneDrive, and SharePoint are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.Contact InformationAndrea HillDirector of Communications & Brand Managementandrea.hill@microage.com 480-366-2468SOURCE: MicroAgeView the original press release on newswire.com
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The organization has been a staple in Santa Ana since 1963, and its owners believe it will continue to thrive because it provides a service residents need.SANTA ANA, CA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 /Orange County Bail Bonds is celebrating its 60th year in the industry in 2023, a remarkable feat that has seen multiple families and generations write bonds in Orange County, California.Orange County Bail Bonds Orange County, California, Bail Bonds Offices in Santa AnaThe business got its start in 1963 and has always been a family-operated company. When current owners Bob and Anne Miller purchased the firm in 1995, they reaffirmed that commitment to family by bringing in Mike Yoakum, their cousin, who has a tremendous amount of industry experience. Yoakum has been in the bail bonds industry all his life. Both of his parents were bail agents, and he received his license in 1988, working as an agent ever since.In the years since, Bob hired Scott Miner to the team. Scott has been with the company since 1998 and provides Spanish translation services for clients. Leah Salazar, the General Manager, came on board in 2009 doing filing and has since moved up to the top of our management team. Ray Reyes started in 2016 and his sister Gaby Reyes is our newest licensed bail agent. It's a family affair.In 2001, Bob Miller bought the building his bail bonds company was operating out of, and things started looking up. However, he experienced even more problems in 2004 when a fire did extensive damage to the second floor, forcing Orange County Bail Bonds to operate out of a parking lot trailer for over two years.The good news was that the new building meets the new earthquake standards and has a green design, so it should stand the test of time. The hope is that this new construction ensures people needing bail bonds in Santa Ana, Anaheim, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, and the rest of Orange County will have access to this building for generations.A key to Orange County Bail Bonds' longevity is the service it delivers. The company is available 24 hours per day, so clients don't have to wait for office hours to get the assistance they require. It's also worth noting that the office is directly across from the Orange County Jail, providing easy access for agents. Not only do they cover all of Orange County from their Civic Center office, but they also have reciprocal agreements with agencies all over the country.The services the Orange County Bail Bonds team provides also benefit Orange County residents. By getting defendants out of jail while awaiting trial, there's less burden on the justice system and less tax money being used on inmates. Police departments also spend fewer resources on fugitive warrants because Orange County Bail Bonds ensures defendants show up in court at the correct time and day.Beyond the benefits for the community, defendants appreciate the discounted rates Orange County Bail Bonds offers, which are the lowest legal rates offered. It can also provide bail without collateral in some scenarios, which is another bonus for those using the service.When a loved one is in jail, it's easy to panic and become overwhelmed by the situation. By offering family-friendly service in Santa Ana, they believe they can reunite families while they await trial and ensure defendants don't have to spend more time away from their homes than is absolutely necessary.As Orange County Bail Bonds celebrates its 60th year in business, owner Bob Miller is proud to reminisce about all their years in business and the families they've helped along the way. While there's no telling if the company has another 60 years in its future, Orange County Bail Bonds will continue serving Southern California for years to come and isn't showing any signs of slowing down.Reach out to Orange County Bail Bonds at 714-224-5688 or visit www.bailall.com to learn about bail bond options and 24 hours of immediate bail service.Contact:Orange County Bail Bonds1043 West Civic Center DriveSuite 100Santa Ana, CA 92703 https://www.bailall.com Contact InformationBob MillerOwnerbail@ bailall.com 714-543-8688SOURCE: Orange County Bail BondsView the original press release on newswire.com
PR-Inside.com: 2024-01-16 13:31:03

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TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Orthogonal Global Group Inc. ("Orthogonal" or the "Company") (CSE:OGG)(OTC PINK:OGGIF)(FSE:KZ2), a diversified investment company focused on furthering initiatives in the wellness, healthcare, AI, digital ownership, deep tech and fintech spaces, announces that it has entered into an agreement dated January 11, 2024 (the "Agreement"), to engage IBC Ventures Ltd. ("IBC Ventures") to provide the Company with various marketing and advertisement services over an initial term of three months (the "Initial Term").IBC Ventures is a seasoned service provider offering a wealth of expertise encompassing advanced systems, techniques, methods, procedures, and practices in the realm of community growth hacking. Leveraging their comprehensive knowledge and skill set, IBC Ventures specializes in crafting distinctive viral giveaways powered by growth hacking strategies."Recognizing the pivotal role that a robust social network plays in amplifying brand awareness, Orthogonal is aligning with IBC Ventures to foster growth within its community, thereby enhancing visibility for both the Company and its projects," said David Nikzad, CEO and Co-Founder of Orthogonal. "We look forward to working with IBC Ventures and growing our audience in a natural and sustained way." Services to be Provided by IBC VenturesIBC Ventures, as the service provider, will deliver a comprehensive suite of promotional services across various platforms for the Company. Firstly, on Mario Nawfal's X account, the Company will be featured as a Spotlight Roundtable Sponsor through an exclusive invitation to selected individuals or groups relevant to the project's audience. This will be complemented by a strategically timed 15-minute Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) style interview during the audience peak, providing a unique opportunity for direct interaction. Additionally, tweet promotion during the AMA segment will include a strategically placed link for customized traffic redirection. The same format extends to two Sponsorship slots on the Roundtable Twitter account, ensuring further visibility.Furthermore, IBC Ventures commits to providing the Company with two Sponsorship slots for the Shark Tank event, integrating exclusive invitations, AMA-style interviews, and tweet promotions. IBC Ventures also agrees to feature the Company's project on its website, with details to be mutually determined.Additionally, IBC Ventures commits to a minimum of four shoutouts and two tweets for the Company's project during various events. Shoutouts may take various forms, including verbal mentions, written acknowledgments, or other recognitions. The Company may also be mentioned during Twitter Spaces events without direct participation. The specifics of shoutouts and Twitter Space mentions will be collaboratively agreed upon by both parties. In a goodwill gesture, IBC Ventures may invite Company representatives to participate in Breaking News events on an ad hoc basis. This comprehensive package underscores IBC Ventures' commitment to elevate the Company's visibility and engagement across diverse channels and events.Under the terms of the Agreement, Orthogonal will pay IBC Ventures a monthly fee of USD $15,000 (the "Cash Consideration") for the marketing and advertisement services rendered. Additionally, the Company will issue 111,000 restricted stock units ("RSUs") to IBC Ventures as part of their overall compensation package. The RSUs will vest in thirds over the Initial Term of the Agreement. Following the successful conclusion of the Initial Term, the Agreement shall continue on a month-to-month basis.IBC Ventures owns shares and stock options of the Company. IBC Ventures contact person, address, email, and telephone number are as follows: Mario Nawfal (director), Trust Company Complex, Ajeltake Road, Ajeltake Island, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands MH 96960, mario@ marionawfal.com , +971 50 515 5848.Visit Orthogonal's newly branded website at: www.orthoglobalgroup.com About Orthogonal Global GroupOrthogonal Global Group Inc. is a Utopian Asset Class focused on identifying, incubating, accelerating, and developing world-class projects and applications in wellness, healthcare and the decentralized web. As a diversified investment company, Orthogonal supports founders and entrepreneurs. The Company's core investment pillars are blockchain-based transparency, secured identity, verified communications, and gamification, focusing on early-stage, small, and medium enterprises.For further information please contact:Orthogonal Global Group Inc.David NikzadCEO and Co-FounderTelephone: 1-866-395-6989Email: investors@ ortho.gg Website: www.orthoglobalgroup.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsCertain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on the estimates and opinions of management on the date the statements are made. In the news release, such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's performance, business objectives, milestones and the potential outcomes from the retention of IBC Ventures to provide the Company with marketing and advertisement services.In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation: the Company's ability to comply with all applicable regulations and laws, including environmental, health and safety laws; the Company has sufficient working capital for future operating activities; the ability of the Company to achieve its business objectives and milestones and the anticipated timing of execution; the Company's ability to continue as a going concern; the Company's ability to achieve profitability in the 2024 fiscal year; the Company's ability to obtain additional financing for continued operations on terms acceptable to the Company outlined herein.The above lists of forward-looking statements and assumptions are not exhaustive. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very n
PR-Inside.com: 2024-01-15 23:42:49

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HOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / January 15, 2023 / Finding the right plastic surgeon with just a few clicks would have previously seemed impossible, until now. The Review Growth Index (RGI) by Doctor Marketing, MD brings a game-changer in data-driven Google Reviews research, curated for patient convenience into Top 10 lists for each major city. Consumers are able to save loads of time when researching plastic surgeons in their local market area for cosmetic procedures they may want done. Up to 87% of potential patients use Google to search for healthcare providers. They often use Google Reviews as a performance measurement. This helps them evaluate local healthcare providers and medical clinics before making a decision. For plastic surgeons, having a larger number of reviews, ratings, and patient satisfaction is essential for their medical practice to get noticed.The Review Growth Index (RGI) curated Top 10 Plastic Surgeon Lists based on Google Reviews. Image Credit: Chaylek / 123RF. Illustration by: Doctor Marketing, MD."Nearly 9 out of 10 patients start their search online, mostly on Google. TheReview Growth Index  (RGI) makes those searches more efficient and meaningful through our data-driven curated Top 10 Plastic Surgeon lists. They serve as recognition to those cosmetic surgery practices that cultivate the highest number of patient reviews and ratings based on quality of care and patient satisfaction," saidMarty Stewart , Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Doctor Marketing, MD."At the same time, the Review Growth Index ( RGI ) makes it very convenient and time-saving for prospective patients researching cosmetic surgery procedures and looking for the best plastic surgeon in their local city. They can quickly read our quarterly-compiled Top 10 Cosmetic Surgeon Lists, all linking to theTop 10 Plastic Surgeons ' practice websites, as well as directly to their Google My Business (GMB) reviews. Patients can read the reviews of the Top 10 and make an informed decision on which surgeon to call," continued Marty Stewart.Prospective Patients Matter to All Surgical Practices"Prospective patients" in the context of healthcare providers and aesthetic medical services refer to individual consumers exploring their options in plastic surgery, cosmetic surgery, or non-surgical aesthetic treatments. These individuals are actively researching and considering various cosmetic procedures, but who have not yet committed to a specific treatment or chosen a particular plastic or cosmetic surgeon.The term is particularly relevant in the field of aesthetic medicine, where patients often weigh multiple options, from traditional plastic surgery to less invasive cosmetic procedures and non-surgical alternatives. These prospective patients are in the decision-making phase, seeking the best fit for their aesthetic goals and medical needs, before they even schedule a consultation.Patient Journey Quick Statistics for 2024: Doctor, Physician, and Plastic Surgeon Google Searches and Google Review ResearchOver77% of patientsuse an online search prior to scheduling an appointment with a healthcare provider. Over 82% of patientsuse search engineslike Google or Bing to find a healthcare provider. Up to 87% ofconsumers reportusing Google and Google Reviews to evaluate and research local businesses, such as plastic surgeons and cosmetic surgery clinics. Understanding the Review Growth Index (RGI) for Plastic SurgeonsThe significance of RGI in theplastic surgery industrycan't be overstated. It acts as a compass, guiding patients through the sea of choices to surgeons who not only excel at their surgical craft but also earn high marks for patient satisfaction, based on the high number of Google Reviews they have.When a plastic surgeon or cosmetic practice lands on the Review Growth Index (RGI) rankings, it opens doors and their visibility soars as potential clients recognize them not just for their surgical skills but also for top-notch patient care and service excellence.When it comes to choosing a plastic surgeon, patients want the best of the best. That's where the Review Growth Index comes in. This robust ranking system doesn't just count star ratings, it dives deep into patient feedback across multiple platforms.RGI rankings shine because they're about consistency and quality over time. By evaluating surgeons based on the volume of reviews and average star ratings, as well as direct indicators of patient satisfaction like communication skills and post-operative care, RGI provides an all-encompassing look at service excellence.Simplifying Patient Choices with RGI RankingsChoosing a plastic surgeon is like navigating through an endless sea of options. The Review Growth Index rankings from Doctor Marketing, MD is a time-saving curated list that spotlights top-performing surgeons based on robust data-driven review analysis.Every review and star rating from major platforms gets meticulously compiled and analyzed to give credit where it's due. Surgeons aren't just ranked, they're celebrated for their dedication to quality pre- and post-operative care, clear communication skills, and overall patient service excellence.Upcoming Top 10 Lists to be Included in the Review Growth IndexIn the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, focus will be on curated lists of plastic surgeon reviews from these major U.S. cities:Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Houston, TX Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in New York, NY Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Chicago, IL Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Phoenix, AZ Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in San Antonio, TX Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Dallas, TX Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Austin, TX Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Jacksonville, FL Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Fort Worth, TX Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Charlotte, NC Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Columbus, OH Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Indianapolis, IN Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Seattle, WA Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Denver, CO Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Washington, D.C. Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Boston, MA Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Nashville, TN Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Tucson, AZ Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Atlanta, GA Top 10 Plastic Surgeons in Miami, FL About The Review Growth Index (RGI)The Review Growth Index (RGI) by Doctor Marketing, MD is an innovative metric designed specifically for the healthcare and medical industries, with current focus on theplastic surgery and cosmetic proceduressectors. It works by aggregating public data from major review platforms like Google Reviews to develop a comprehensi
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SCOTTSDALE, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / In the spirit of giving back, Sharing the Good Life Foundation, a philanthropic arm of MC Companies, is delighted to announce its outstanding achievements in community support over the past year.MC Companies' employees at the MC 2023 Volunteer Day MC Companies' employees from the Scottsdale Corporate office and Phoenix properties joining together to participate in a company-wide volunteer day.In the past 12 months, Sharing the Good Life has extended support to an impressive 72 diverse charities solely through the Employee Grant Program. This initiative is fueled by the active participation of MC employees dedicated to giving back and creating a positive impact in the communities we serve.As part of its commitment to volunteerism, each MC employee is provided with 16 hours annually of paid volunteer hours. Additionally, MC Companies annually closes its doors for a full day, allowing employees to volunteer their time at local food banks. Total VTO hours used this year reached an impressive 2,936. This demonstrates our team's dedication to making a difference beyond the workplace, embodying the values that define our company.The Sharing the Good Life Foundation spearheaded a company-wide food drive collecting a substantial 12,789 pounds of food. Thank you to the generosity of both employees and additional contributions from the Foundation, they were able to help alleviate the immediate needs of individuals and families facing food insecurity."We are immensely proud of the accomplishments of the Sharing the Good Life Foundation and our dedicated team. Our commitment to corporate social responsibility is at the forefront of our values, and these achievements exemplify the positive impact that can be achieved when we unite for a common purpose. As we reflect on the past year's accomplishments, we look forward to furthering our efforts to support communities and drive meaningful change," remarked Ross McCallister, Owner of MC Companies.Sharing The Good Life Foundation aims to inspire a spirit of generosity and compassion that extends beyond the workplace and leaves a lasting legacy of positive change. We firmly believe that by working together and channeling our collective efforts, we can create a profound impact on the communities we serve.Contact Information Caulene FloresMarketing & Communications Managercflores@ mccompanies.com (480) 313-5409SOURCE: MC CompaniesView the original press release on newswire.com
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CALGARY, AB / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Southern Energy Corp. ("Southern" or the "Company") (TSXV:SOU)(AIM:SOUC)(OTCQX:SOUTF), an established producer with natural gas and light oil assets in Mississippi, is pleased to announce the preliminary results from its recent Upper Selma Chalk horizontal well completion in the Gwinville Field. In mid-December 2023, Southern successfully completed the first of its four drilled but uncompleted ("DUC") wells from the Company's Q1 2023 drilling program - the GH 14-06 #3 wellbore. Over the first 20 days of production, natural gas rates from the well exceeded 6.5 MMcf/d and averaged 5.3 MMcf/d under restricted flowing conditions as the well cleans up, recovering approximately 33% of load fluid to-date with gas produced flowing directly to Company owned facilities with all volumes sold.Southern implemented a number of stimulation design changes for this latest Upper Selma Chalk horizontal completion that improved the predictability and efficiency of the fracture operation and, more importantly, reduced the overall completion cost down to US$2.1 million, well below budget estimates. Costs for this completion operation are approximately 40% lower than the two previous 18-10 pad Upper Selma Chalk wells that were completed earlier in 2023.Southern will continue to monitor the early production performance from the GH 14-06 #3 well over the next couple of months before making a decision on the completion timing of the remaining three DUC wells. The remaining DUC wellbores have been drilled in the Lower Selma Chalk (2) and City Bank formations.Ian Atkinson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern, commented:"We are extremely excited to deliver the results of this latest Upper Selma Chalk horizontal well, which we expect to fall in-line with our Gen 2 IP30 type curve estimates. The Southern operations team has successfully analyzed and optimized our early well results to execute what may be our best well to-date, for a fraction of the cost of the prior well completions which bodes well for future well activity. Southern is already selling volumes of gas associated with its latest well at gas prices up over 30% from November lows. Improved production rates at lower capital costs will allow Southern to start redeveloping the Gwinville Field on an accelerated timeline as natural gas prices are expected to improve materially into the second half of 2024.With the success of the completed well, the Company is now looking forward to deploying these successful design changes on our first two Lower Selma Chalk laterals and the next City Bank lateral that remain uncompleted. Our original City Bank horizontal completion at GH 18-10 #1 has shown no decline since being placed on production in July 2023. With these updates we remain eager to highlight the benefits of an optimized completion design performance in this formation delivering value for the business." Qualified Person's StatementGary McMurren, Chief Operating Officer, who has over 23 years of relevant experience in the oil industry, has approved the technical information contained in this announcement. Mr. McMurren is registered as a Professional Engineer with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering (with distinction) from the University of Alberta.For further information about Southern, please visit our website at www.southernenergycorp.com or contact:About Southern Energy Corp.Southern Energy Corp. is a natural gas exploration and production company characterized by a stable, low-decline production base, a significant low-risk drilling inventory and strategic access to premium commodity pricing in North America. Southern has a primary focus on acquiring and developing conventional natural gas and light oil resources in the southeast Gulf States of Mississippi, Louisiana, and East Texas. Our management team has a long and successful history working together and have created significant shareholder value through accretive acquisitions, optimization of existing oil and natural gas fields and the utilization of re-development strategies utilizing horizontal drilling and multi-staged fracture completion techniques.READER ADVISORYMCFE Disclosure. Natural gas liquids volumes are recorded in barrels of oil (bbl) and are converted to a thousand cubic feet equivalent (Mcfe) using a ratio of six (6) thousand cubic feet to one (1) barrel of oil (bbl). Natural gas volumes recorded in thousand cubic feet (Mcf) are converted to barrels of oil equivalent (boe) using the ratio of six (6) thousand cubic feet to one (1) barrel of oil (bbl). Mcfe and boe may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A boe conversion ratio of 6 mcf:1 bbl or a Mcfe conversion ratio of 1 bbl:6 Mcf is based in an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. In addition, given that the value ratio based on the current price of oil as compared with natural gas is significantly different from the energy equivalent of six to one, utilizing a boe conversion ratio of 6 Mcf:1 bbl or a Mcfe conversion ratio of 1 bbl:6 Mcf may be misleading as an indication of value.Product Types. Throughout this press release, "crude oil" or "oil" refers to light and medium crude oil product types as defined by National Instrument 51-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities ("NI 51-101"). References to "NGLs" throughout this press release comprise pentane, butane, propane, and ethane, being all NGLs as defined by NI 51-101. References to "natural gas" throughout this press release refers to conventional natural gas as defined by NI 51-101.Unit Cost Calculation. For the purpose of calculating unit costs, natural gas volumes have been converted to a boe using six thousand cubic feet equal to one barrel unless otherwise stated. A boe conversion ratio of 6:1 is based upon an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. This conversion conforms with NI 51-101. Boe may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation.ShortTerm Production. References in this press release to peak rates, IP30 and other short-term production rates are useful in confirming the presence of hydrocarbons, however such rates are not determinative of the rates at which such wells will commence production and decline thereafter and are not indicative of long-term performance or of ultimate recovery. While encouraging, readers are cautioned not to place reliance on such rates in calculating the aggregate production of Southern.Type Curves. Certain type curves discl
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By Elias Habbar-BaylacNORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Our conviction in Africa's vast potential is part of what fuels the climate investment strategy of the Cisco Foundation. Among our vision, we see the transition to clean energy not just as a necessity, but as a catalyst for inclusive growth and digital innovation. And through the Cisco Foundation's $100 million Climate Commitment, we are investing wholeheartedly in this vision. Our recent investments into early-stage climate ventures SHYFT Power Solutions and Jaza Energy, following our previous limited partnership with The Catalyst Fund, are critical steps on our journey to help build a sustainable future across the continent.Solving Africa's Energy GapsAfrica's energy landscape is confronting a critical shortfall, with roughly 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa still lacking electricity, accounting for over 80% of the global population living without electricity. Due to the impracticalities of expanding grids due to geographical and financial constraints, the focus has shifted towards distributed energy resources. Microgrids, and off-grid solutions are not just alternatives but necessities, particularly in reaching remote and rural communities with affordable and cost-effective energy solutions. Solar mini grids have been at the forefront of this sustainable transformation, with, according to the World Bank, an increase from about 500 installations in 2010 to more than 3,000 in sub-Saharan Africa today, and with plans for a further 9,000. By 2030, it is anticipated that the cost of electricity from mini grids could fall to as low as $0.20/kWh, making it the most affordable option for more than 60 percent of the population. Mini grids could help us achieve the ambitious UN Sustainable Development Goal 7, which aims for universal energy access by 2030.Digitalization in Africa's Energy TransitionIn the realm of digital innovation, we must create seamless integration between off-grid and on-grid systems to ensure reliable and continuous access to electricity. This integration is key to transitioning from intermittent power supplies to a stable and resilient energy infrastructure. Other innovation priorities include the growth of cost-effective, scalable off-grid solutions that can reach the most vulnerable citizens, who are living at or under the global poverty line of $2.15 per day, as defined by the World Bank. Technology and digital solutions are central to this endeavor, as they enable the efficient and effective adoption of renewable energy sources, crucial for closing Africa's extensive energy gap.Internet of Things (IoT) solutions are also essential in enhancing the efficiency and scalability of distributed energy resources, such as off-grid systems, solar panels, and storage solutions. These technologies enable real-time monitoring and management of energy assets, thereby optimizing energy distribution and consumption. The Cisco Foundation is eager to support the potential of information and communication technologies, including IoT and software-enabled off-grid energy, to support the climate transition.Enter our new portfolio investees, SHYFT Power and Jaza Energy. SHYFT Power is pioneering the use of IoT to efficiently manage energy resources, while Jaza Energy is innovating by integrating solar-powered hubs with telecommunications towers. These initiatives illustrate the powerful synergy between connectivity and energy, which play a pivotal role in empowering underserved communities and contributes to a more connected and sustainable future in Africa. As part of the broader Cisco family, these investees of the Cisco Foundation Climate Commitment can access an extensive range of in-kind resources and volunteer advisory. This support not only furthers these technologies but also underscores our commitment to fostering innovative, sustainable, and more inclusive solutions globally.SHYFT Power: Software & IoT Innovation for Reliable Clean EnergySHYFT Power Solutions, a 2017 Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge recipient emerging from Stanford University, is transforming energy management in Nigeria, and has become a key player in the Cisco Foundation investment portfolio. Their advanced platform integrates various power sources to improve energy efficiency and encourage clean energy adoption. The innovation that SHYFT brings to the table is further exemplified by its utilization of IoT, software, and smart meter solutions, which are essential in tackling the energy access and reliability issues prevalent in Nigeria.The positive impact of SHYFT Power has been echoed by its customers, as illustrated by the glowing feedback from Bola Yusuf, General Manager at Wemabod Towers in Ikoyi. He asserts, "As a property and facilities managers of a high-brow building providing 24-hour power, energy efficiency is crucial for us, and SHYFT has been instrumental in achieving transparency. Their smart energy solutions allow us to effectively monitor and optimize consumption, reducing costs, and supporting sustainability. What sets SHYFT apart is their exceptional customer support - prompt, knowledgeable, and they provide solutions tailored to our needs. They have been a valuable partner in our journey towards energy efficiency and cost savings." This direct endorsement underscores the seamless integration of IoT technology within their systems, demonstrating how digital solutions can significantly bolster sustainable energy management. SHYFT's approach is pivotal in reducing carbon emissions and serves as a standard in the management of distributed energy resources. It's with great enthusiasm that we join an esteemed list of climate investors backing SHYFT Power, including Powerhouse Ventures, Third Sphere, and KawiSafi Ventures.Jaza Energy: Empowering Communities with Sustainable EnergyJaza Energy, another new investment portfolio company, is revolutionizing clean energy access in Tanzania and Nigeria with its solar hubs.In Tanzania, 66% of households still use kerosene for energy needs. Jaza hubs offer a sustainable alternative to those reliant on kerosene and generators, illuminating over 11,500 homes and benefiting 90,000 people. Jaza's impactful partnership with IHS Towers, one of the world's largest owners, operators and developers of shared communications infrastructure, integrates energy with telecommunication services, extending its reach.By leveraging digital tools and advanced batteries, Jaza addresses the energy deficit impacting 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, where annual fossil fuel expenditure reaches $27 billion. Stories from Jaza's hubs, like Agineta's in Msambara, Tanzania, showcase
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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Qualcomm Originally published by VentureWellEmpathy can lead to inspiration.Antony Fuleihan was visiting hospitals as part of his Master's Degree studies in biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University when he first considered becoming an entrepreneur. There, he observed patients who were experiencing extreme back pain, the causes of which were often complex and difficult to diagnose. "It became very obvious that there was an overwhelming unmet clinical need: Spine patients need care that is personalized to their specific problems," said Fuleihan. "From that moment, I couldn't stay away. I wanted to make sure that our invention would reach patients and physicians, and that we were actually improving lives." A report by The Washington Postdetailed the widespread issue of doctors dismissing or misdiagnosing their patients' symptoms. "There's a major misdiagnosis opportunity for the spine-every year, over a quarter of a million patients get unnecessary spine surgery," noted fellow Johns Hopkins graduate student and co-founder Evan Haas. "That's terrifying." To solve this challenge, Fuleihan and Haas partnered to launch their startup CurveAssure, developing an at-home, wearable monitoring device that provides physicians with posture analysis data, allowing for faster data-driven patient care and surgical decision-making."What we do is we simplify the pathway," Fuleihan explained. "Once patients see their spine surgeon, they're sent home with a number of wearable sensors that provide more personalized and dynamic data. This allows us to help surgeons figure out what treatment is best for that patient." Since 2022, CurveAssure has progressed through the VentureWell Accelerator, completing the Pioneer and Propel stages of the E-Team Program, the 2023 Ascend Medtech Accelerator, and, most recently, Aspire Medtech 2023. The team spoke on our E-Team Founding Stories panel with other student entrepreneurs and was featured in the OPENminds Innovator Showcase at OPEN 2023, VentureWell's annual conference."It has been awesome to be able to step through our journey of entrepreneurship with VentureWell," Haas told us. "All of the programs [in the VentureWell Accelerator] are seeded in such a way so that we're able to learn more about business as we continue to grow and expand. And the network has been tremendous - we've been finding great mentors and investors." Qualcomm became the inflection point in the team's entrepreneurial journey.Fuleihan was awarded a 2023 Qualcomm Innovator Stipend, which provided an additional $2,500 in funding to help offset the cost of advancing their innovation - a key moment for the venture. "The stipend was really helpful in allowing us to file our first provisional patent," Haas explained. "With medical devices, it's critical - especially in the early stages of the company - to secure intellectual property (IP). We want to make sure that everything is locked down so that our invention is secure for us to continue." The stipend helped CurveAssure reach a critical milestone of filing for IP, which then helped unlock additional funding opportunities through Johns Hopkins like the 2023 President's Venture Fellowship. They also won first place at the International 2023 Stu Clark Pitch Competition for the Graduate Business Plan and Graduate Elevator Pitch. "Over the last two years, our team has honed in on a critical unmet need and a device that has the potential to revolutionize the spine space," Haas said.Tip from a founder: Start early when exploring how to secure the rights to your invention.Patenting has always been top of mind for CurveAssure. "We learned that IP is critical at every step of a company's development," Haas explained. "All of the investors we talk to want to see our initial dive into the landscape through patenting. They want to make sure that they can trust the investment that they place in us, and that we're able to execute and actually capture the market share that we're aiming for." During Pioneer, the first stage of our E-Team Program, CurveAssure received mentorship specifically on the importance of IP. "VentureWell put together a couple of different workshops where [law firm] Cooley came in and talked about all the different ways to tackle IP challenges. They gave some wonderful advice that really helped us out early on." Looking ahead, CurveAssure is working to expand the value of the company. "We filed our provisional patents, and we're looking to convert our patents to a full patent in the next couple of months," Haas told us. "We're looking for ways to expand and secure the other aspects of IP, trademark - all of the pieces that we have within the company." He offered a key piece of advice for early-stage innovators: "Don't be scared of IP. You should dive into it. Be willing to read a bunch of patents, be incredibly confused, ask a lot of questions, then have mentors help you through this process." Hear more from Fuleihan and Haas about their journey as entrepreneurs and how participating in our E-Team Program accelerated the growth of their startup:Expanding Participation Through the Qualcomm Innovator Stipend ProgramIn partnership with Qualcomm, we offered the Innovator Stipend Program in 2022 and again in 2023 to reduce financial challenges for student entrepreneurs, giving them the breathing room they need to develop their products while simultaneously juggling the fiscal responsibilities of school and life - with the aim of further narrowing the patent diversity gap. Recipients were awarded stipends ranging from $1,500 to $4,000 to offset the cost of participation in our E-Team Program as well as for living expenses, materials and physical prototyping, equipment, or expenses associated with patent filing, incorporation, or attorney fees.About the E-Team ProgramThrough the E-Team Program, VentureWell has trained over 540 student teams and more than 1,300 student innovators. The teams have raised over $600 million in follow-on funding and have launched more than 240 ventures since taking part in our program.Learn more about VentureWell's E-Team Program, which supports student-led science- and engineering-based teams from across the nation in bringing their high-impact innovations out of the lab and into the market. Applications for our Spring 2024 cohort are now open!View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Qualcomm on 3 blmedia.com Contact Info: Spokesperson: QualcommWebsite: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/qualcomm Email: info@3 blmedia.com SOURCE: Qualcomm
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Top Five Conveyor Car Wash Company Adds Brand-New Locations in Aiken and Myrtle BeachTHOMASTON, GA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Tidal Wave Auto Spa, one of the nation's fastest-growing express car wash companies, celebrated the Grand Opening of two brand-new South Carolina locations this week in Aiken and Myrtle Beach."The opening of our Aiken and Myrtle Beach washes officially extends our footprint to 230 locations," said Tidal Wave Auto Spa founder and CEO Scott Blackstock. "We're proud to have operated in South Carolina since 2014, and these two new locations mark an exciting milestone on our journey to bring our industry-leading car wash experience to more communities. We're looking forward to providing clean, efficient, and enjoyable car care to folks in Aiken, Myrtle Beach, and the Palmetto State for years to come." To celebrate the Grand Openings, both new locations are offering eight days of free car washes from January 16-January 23. This limited-time promotion provides an opportunity for car owners to experience Tidal Wave's premium wash option, Graph-X4, at no cost. Additionally, any new customer that joins a Clean Club unlimited wash membership plan during Grand Opening week will enjoy their first month of unlimited washes for only $9.97 - saving up to $40.Aiken, SC Location: 96 Old Town Road, Aiken, SC 29803Nearby locations: Augusta, GA, Evans, GAMyrtle Beach, SC Location: 10830 Kings Road, Myrtle Beach, SC 29572Nearby locations: Conway, Myrtle Beach - Dick Pond Rd (Coming Soon)Tidal Wave Auto Spa has operated in South Carolina since 2014 and currently has 21 express wash locations throughout the state. The company plans to open several additional South Carolina locations in 2024, including brand-new locations in Myrtle Beach and Clover opening in the coming months.Tidal Wave Auto Spa is committed to providing every customer with an exceptional car wash experience through industry-leading car care technology, clean and attractive locations, and friendly customer service at every location. Stop by for a single wash or join Tidal Wave's Clean Club for the ultimate experience. Members can wash every day of the month for one convenient monthly payment and save time with exclusive club member wash lanes - plus, memberships can be used at any Tidal Wave location. For those needing to wash multiple cars, Tidal Wave offers discounted monthly family plans and fleet plans for businesses with five or more vehicles.For additional information, including upcoming locations, fundraising, fleet plans, and more, please visit: https://www.tidalwaveautospa.com/ About Tidal Wave Auto SpaTidal Wave Auto Spa is an industry-leading conveyor car wash company founded in 1999 by Scott and Hope Blackstock in Thomaston, GA. Tidal Wave is committed to providing cutting-edge car care technology and exceptional customer service at each of their 230 locations sprawling 23 states across the South, Midwest, and Northern United States. In 2020, Tidal Wave partnered with Golden Gate Capital to facilitate their accelerated growth across the country. Tidal Wave is one of the top five conveyor car wash companies in the country and has been included in the Inc. 5000 list for America's Fastest Growing Companies since 2020. The company was recognized as a 2023 Champion of Charity Honoree by Professional Carwashing & Detailing and has raised over $3 million dollars for organizations in their communities.Contact InformationHeather ColemanMarketing Managermedia@ tidalwaveautospa.com Andrea TraylorSenior Director of Digital Marketingandrea.traylor@tidalwaveautospa.com 2058212220SOURCE: Tidal Wave Auto SpaView the original press release on newswire.com
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Operational Update and 2024 Guidance OutlookSINGAPORE, SINGAPORE / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Valeura Energy Inc. (TSX:VLE)(OTCQX:VLERF) ("Valeura" or the "Company"), the upstream oil and gas company with assets in the Gulf of Thailand and the Thrace Basin of Turkey, is pleased to provide an operational update and its guidance outlook for 2024.HighlightsQ4 2023 average oil production of 19,165 bbls/d, resulting in a full year 2023 average of 20,420 bbls/d, net to Valeura's working interest(1) Net Cash at December 31, 2023 of US$150.9 million(2) Anticipated Capex and Opex performance within or below guidance for the full year 2023(1)(3) Wassana field returned to production in December 2023 yielding total average portfolio oil production to date in January 2024 of approximately 22,600 bbls/d, net to Valeura working interest2024 oil production guidance of 21,500 - 24,500 bbls/d, net to Valeura's working interest2024 Capex guidance of US$135 - 155 million, plus Exploration Expense of approximately US$8 million2024 Opex guidance of US$205 - $235 million, equating to approximately US$26/bbl(3).(1) Pro-forma basis (full calendar year 2023 performance of the assets), including amounts relating to the period January 1, 2023 through March 22, 2023, prior to completion of the Company's Gulf of Thailand acquisition from Mubadala Energy.(2) Net Cash: Is a non-IFRS financial measure which does not have a standardised meaning prescribed by IFRS. This non-IFRS financial measure is provided because management uses the information to a) analyse financial strength and b) manage the capital structure of the Company. This non-IFRS measure is used to ensure capital is managed effectively in order to support the Company's ongoing operations and needs. Financial measures disclosed in this announcement are unaudited.(3) Opex and Opex per bbl: Are a Non-IFRS financial measure and non-IFRS financial ratio, respectively, which do not have standardised meanings prescribed by IFRS. The most directly comparable financial measure to Opex is operating expenses. The measure differs from operating expenses by including the leases that are associated with operations, such as bareboat contracts for key operating equipment, such as Floating Storage and Offloading vessels ("FSOs"), Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessels ("FPSOs"), Mobile Offshore Production Units ("MOPUs"), and warehouses, and adjusting for non-cash items. Opex is divided by production in the period to arrive at Opex per bbl.Operational UpdateThe Company's net working interest oil production averaged 19,165 bbls/d during Q4 2023, resulting in full year pro-forma net oil production from its assets of 20,420 bbls/d. Q4 2023 oil sales totalled 1.987 million bbls; pro-forma full year oil sales from the assets were 7.321 million bbls. At the end of the quarter, production was restarted at the Wassana field, meaning all four of the Company's fields were in active production at year-end 2023. With the contribution of production from the Wassana field, the average production for January 2024 to date has been approximately 22,600 bbls/d.During Q4 2023, Valeura completed an infill drilling programme on the Jasmine field, and thereafter an infill drilling programme on the Nong Yao field, both as previously announced. Valeura drilled a total of 26 wells throughout 2023, with drilling campaigns on each of its fields. All campaigns were successful in adding additional production, and, in all instances, management anticipates that the results of drilling activity will lead to an extension to the economic life of the fields through both sustainment of current production and appraisal successes which give rise to future drilling opportunities. In mid-December 2023, the Company mobilised its drilling rig to the Wassana field, where a production-oriented infill drilling programme of three horizontal development wells is currently underway.Valeura significantly strengthened its balance sheet in 2023, building to a Net Cash position of US$150.9 million(1) as of December 31, 2023, versus a Net Cash position of US$5.0 million at December 31, 2022. During Q4 2023, the Company repaid the final US$12.9 million of its outstanding debt, meaning the December 31, 2023 Net Cash balance is comprised entirely of cash and cash equivalents, including approximately US$17.3 million which is held as restricted cash.The Company intends to release its financial and operating results for the full year 2023 and the three-month period ended December 31, 2023 in mid-March 2024, along with its reserves and resources estimates as of December 31, 2023. Relative to the Company's revised 2023 guidance as announced on August 9, 2023, the Company expects to announce final Opex at the lower end of the guidance range, Capex below the range, and reserves and resources estimates that reflect an extension to economic field lives across the portfolio.2024 Guidance OutlookValeura is forecasting average 2024 full year oil production of 21,500 - 24,500 bbls/d, based on the assumption that Nong Yao C development drilling will start in late Q1 2024 and continue for approximately four months. Accordingly, the Company anticipates higher production in the second half of the year 2024.Consistent with past oil sales from its assets, Valeura is forecasting price realisations approximately equivalent to the Brent crude oil benchmark.Valeura has planned total Capex in 2024 of US$135 - 155 million, in addition to approximately US$8 million in planned exploration drilling (Exploration Expense).Opex guidance in 2024 is US$205 - 235 million, which equates to approximately US$26/bbl. This includes the additional costs to lease and operate the new Nong Yao C production facility. Across its portfolio, the Company has initiated a programme to pursue greater operating efficiencies, while maintaining its high standards for safety and operational excellence. This includes a broad array of endeavours focused on capturing synergies between the businesses it integrated in 2023 and enhancing legacy facilities to improve both cost and emissions intensity.Category2024 GuidanceProduction21,500 - 24,500 bbls/dPrice realisationsApproximately equivalent to the Brent crude oil benchmarkOpexUS$205 - 235 millionCapexUS$135 - 155 millionExploration ExpenseApproximately US$8 millionThe Company intends to fund its 2024 spending through cash on hand and cash flow generated from ongoing operations. All guidance estimates provided above reflect Valeura's net working interest share, relating to the full year 2024. Valeura intends to maintain a strong balance sheet, in support of its growth
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Continued Industry Leadership of Real-Time Data Analytics for Major U.S. HospitalsATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 /Vizzia Technologies, a leading software and managed service provider of real-time location systems (RTLS) for healthcare organizations, delivered a record 112% revenue growth, major new customers, and industry accolades throughout 2023.Vizzia Logo The increasing market interest in advanced RTLS solutions that deliver meaningful results for clinicians and executives has fueled the robust demand for Vizzia's proven Asset Management and analytics services.Andrew L. Halasz, Chief Executive Officer commented, "We are proud to support several of the largest hospitals and health systems in America. Our team has done an excellent job collaborating with health professionals to provide visibility to key processes that reduce costs, streamline operations, and improve patient care." Vizzia Technologies 2023 Highlights:Major New Hospital Contract. A nationally recognized health network selected Vizzia to deliver its Asset Management and Hand-Hygiene solutions across all its acute care hospitals serving 5M patients annually.Industry Recognition. Frost & Sullivan awarded Vizzia RTLS Company of the Year,' while The Healthcare Technology Report named Vizzia a Top 100' (3rd year in a row), and a Power 500' health-tech company.Successful Go-Live. Grady Hospital, one of the largest safety net health systems in the U.S., implemented Vizzia's Asset Management solution in its new $237M outpatient facility.Machine Learning Success. ML pilot achieved a 52% improvement in Asset Management optimization at a state-of-the-art, 500-bed acute care hospital in California.Data Security Milestone. Vizzia is the first RTLS solution provider to achieve the trusted audit standard for the System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 Type II security certification.As highlighted in a recent HIMSS article, more than 85% of health systems are increasing their 2024 spending on digital health and information technology projects. Top investment priorities include advanced analytics, AI, and Machine Learning.Meet Vizzia executives and partners at the HIMSS24 global health conference in Orlando, Florida (March 11-15, 2024). Please contact us to schedule a meeting: info@ vizziatech.com About Vizzia Technologies Vizzia Technologies delivers real-time location systems (RTLS) and advanced process improvement solutions for healthcare organizations. Its innovative InVIEW software platform provides real-time, actionable data and process visibility, empowering hospitals to enhance efficiencies and patient care. Visit the Website and follow on LinkedIn for more information.Contact Information Jim ForbesChief Strategy Officerjim.forbes@vizziatech.com +1-855-849-9421Related FilesVizzia Fact Sheet (Nov 2023).pdfSOURCE: Vizzia TechnologiesView the original press release on newswire.com
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TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Women Funding Women Inc. ("WFW"), a pioneering collective dedicated to addressing the persistent funding gap faced by women entrepreneurs in North America, announces its highly anticipated Launch Event, set to take place on February 7-8, 2024, in Toronto.Imagine a powerful community of trailblazing women and their allies, united by a shared vision of empowering women-led ventures. The Women Funding Women Launch Event is set to be a key gathering focused on addressing the funding gap in women-led ventures. This invitation-only launch event on February 7, 2024, will bring together notable investors, entrepreneurs, and industry advocates, to foster connections, share knowledge, and discuss strategies to support and amplify women's roles in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. A curated group is reconvening on Thursday, February 8, 2024, in a Funder Founder Roundtable, a session designed to foster action and collaboration from the connections made at the launch event."We are thrilled to launch this initiative, bringing together investors, entrepreneurs, and advocates to empower women-led ventures," said Sherry Vanstone, Co-founder of WFW and CEO and Founder of Profound Impact. The event will feature a curated mix of influential women and male allies, fostering connections and showcasing the undeniable value of investing in women-led ventures." The Real Value of Investing in WomenWith the potential to add up to $12 trillion to the global economy by 20251, investing in women is not just equitable but economically savvy. Despite this, women-led ventures remain significantly underfunded, receiving just 1.9% of total venture capital2, even though they outperform male-led companies by 63%. WFW's mission is to reverse this trend by cultivating a robust support network and practical funding strategies for women entrepreneurs."Our strategic alliances bring together organizations and resources committed to empowering women, offering gender equality, and catalyzing economic growth by providing equitable access to funding for women-led businesses," said Lara Zink, Co-Founder of WFW and VP of Client Service and Development at Delaney Capital Management. "WFW is here to activate women angel investors to get behind women-led ventures." The collective's mission extends to empowering women entrepreneurs with resources, fostering collaboration, and building international ties, particularly between the U.S. and Canadian markets."We're not just bridging the funding gap; we're crafting a future where the success of women in business is the norm," said Deborah Rosati, Co-Founder of WFW and Founder & CEO of Women Get On Board. "WFW stands as a beacon of change and innovation, reshaping the landscape of women entrepreneurship." Are You Ready to Bridge the Gap? Learn How to Support the WFW Launch on February 7-8, 2024, in TorontoOur WFW Launch Event is set to be an exclusive gathering of meticulously curated funders meeting founders and bring together influential investors, entrepreneurs, advocates, and aspiring venture capitalists to help bridge the gap in VC funding for women-led ventures. To learn more about this event, and get on the waitlist, contact Madlyn Jacobi at mjacobi@ profoundimpact.com Sponsorship OpportunitiesThank you to WFW sponsors and partners for supporting this launch event:National Founding Partner: OslerCorporate Partner: AWSCatalyst Partners: Profound Impact, Women Get On Board, and Guardian CapitalFriends of WFW: Canadian Women's Network, Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA), irlabs, and The Firehood We extend an invitation to become a sponsor for this revolutionary initiative. Your support will contribute to a larger movement empowering women entrepreneurs across North America. To learn about sponsorship opportunities and partner levels, contact Madlyn Jacobi at mjacobi@ profoundimpact.com Sources:1 McKinsey Global Institute report 2 The 51 Blog: Activating the Trillion-Dollar EconomyAbout Women Funding WomenWomen Funding Women Inc. (WFW) is a dynamic collective dedicated to revolutionizing the funding landscape for women founders in North America. It stands out not merely as a platform or a community but as a mission-driven initiative, focusing on four pivotal goals: facilitating access to funding by connecting women funders with women-led ventures, empowering women entrepreneurs with effective funding strategies and resources for success, fostering a collaborative network to close the funding gap and promote gender equality, and building bridges across borders to link US investors to the Canadian market. This strategic approach aims to activate women investors and create a transformative impact on the economic landscape, ensuring equitable access to funding for women-led businesses and catalyzing growth through gender equality. WFW is not a fund; it is a collective poised to bridge the persistent funding gap in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.ContactsWomen Funding Women Inc. Kathleen McGuire katmcguireco@ icloud.comWFW LinkedIn PageMedia Inquiries Alyssa Barry alyssa@ irlabs.ca SOURCE: Women Funding Women Inc.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) on Monday inspected an illegal crude oil vessel loaded with thousands of metric tonnes of crude oil.

The vessel was intercepted by Tantita Security Services, a private security firm.

The NNPC Ltd, in a statement posted via its official X handle on Monday, said the vessel was intercepted in collaboration with the Nigeria Security & Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), while it was loading directly from an offshore platform in Bayelsa State.

Earlier today, the Group CEO of NNPC Ltd, Mr Mele Kyari, and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, were in Oporoza, Warri, Delta State, to inspect MT Kali, an illegal crude oil vessel loaded with thousands of metric tonnes of crude oil, intercepted by Tantita Security Services, a private security firm, in collaboration with the Nigeria Security & Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), while it was loading directly from an offshore platform in Bayelsa State, the NNPC Ltd said.

It said all 23 crew members onboard the illegal vessel have been arrested.

During the inspection tour of the illegal vessel on Monday, according to the statement, Mr Musa said the military remains committed to working with NNPC Ltd and other government and private security agencies to halt the menace of crude oil theft in the Niger Delta.

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We are committed to stopping all acts of criminality in Nigerian waters. We are also sounding a note of warning to the perpetrators of this crime that enough is enough.

The country is bleeding, and we need all the funds to develop as a nation. It is by stopping these acts of criminality that we will be able to achieve that dream, Mr Musa added.

In recent years, Nigeria has recorded a surge in oil theft incidents in its oil-producing region, which has worsened the nations revenue challenge.

In a bid to curb crude oil theft, the Nigerian government launched an application in August 2022 to monitor cases of theft.

The NNPC Ltd also awarded a multi-billion naira pipeline surveillance contract to a former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, Government Tompolo.

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The Ekiti State Police Command has arrested some suspects linked with the invasion of the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti, on Monday.

Some yet-to-be-identified persons invaded the Accident and Emergency Unit of the hospital and attacked some doctors on duty. They accused the doctors of negligence that led to the death of their relative.

The hoodlums also destroyed some facilities at the hospital and allegedly stole a corpse believed to be a relation of one of them.

Following the security breach, resident doctors in the hospital embarked on an indefinite strike after an emergency congress.

But the police spokesperson in the state, Sunday Abutu, told journalists on Tuesday that those who perpetrated the act have been invited for questioning and some of them are already in custody.

We have some persons with us who are undergoing investigation, those who are fingered to have perpetrated the act. We are still expecting more to arrive. Normalcy has, however, been restored to the hospital; our men are still there, he said.

Mr Abutu disclosed that there was a meeting with all the parties involved.

We had meeting with the parties, including the drivers union, EKSUTH management, led by the CMD, the representatives of government and the family of the deceased.

ALSO READ: Nigerian doctors seek legislation to address organ trafficking

Everybody was present in the CPs office this morning for a roundtable talk to see a way of resolving the matter. The CP has ordered a thorough investigation into it already, he added.

However, the Chairman of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), EKSUTH chapter, Famous Adeyemi, maintained that the doctors would only return to work if the culprits were arrested and prosecuted.

The hospital is calm, but the strike is still on. Our demands are clear: the culprits should be arrested and prosecuted immediately.

I have been told that they have commenced their arrest but until we are sure. If they arrest them, we will call off the strike and return to work, Mr Adeyemi said.

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Two Gambian prison officersLamin Sanneh and Abdou Jammehtestified to torture, and poor food and hygiene conditions at Gambias central prison Mile 2in the crimes against humanity trial of Gambias former Interior Minister Ousman Sonko here on Monday.

Mr Sonko served as police chief under ex-President Yahya Jammeh from 2005 to 2006. In the latter part of 2006, he was appointed minister of interior, a position he held until 2016.

The Swiss Attorney Generals office, along with 10 plaintiffs from Gambia, is accusing Sonko of torture, murder, false imprisonment, rape, and deprivation of liberty, allegedly perpetrated against Gambians during the 22-year rule of Gambias former dictator Mr Jammeh. Sonko was arrested and charged with crimes against humanity here in Switzerland in 2017 after he sought asylum.

Swiss prosecutors are trying to prove Mr Sonkos responsibility for torture through his participation in various investigation panels as inspector general or for ordering or abetting abuse as interior minister.

Earlier testimonies before the court alleged that Mr Sonko served on the investigation panel following the 2006 foiled coup, which oversaw the torture and interrogation of witnesses by Junglersa paramilitary hit squad operating under the orders of Mr Jammeh.

Today, the trials fifth witness, Lamin Sanneh, a prison officer, told the three-member panel of judges that in 2012 torture was widespread in Mile 2, the countrys central prison Jammeh called his five-star hotel.

Most of the time, the Junglers come there and take inmates to the [National Intelligence Agency], and when they return them, you know that these inmates have gone through something, said Sanneh. Some inmates are tortured while they are being taken away. I experienced that also. It is very terrible.

Ousmans knowledge of abuse

Mr Sanneh was the personal bodyguard of David Colley, the longtime former director of Gambias Prison Services, the institution overseeing Gambian prisons, including Mile 2.

Mr Sonko denied wrongdoing and argued that he neither exercised administrative nor operational oversight over the prisons. Mr Sonko said that the Security Wing of Mile 2a barely 2-metre square cell with a face-size window tucked near the roof, was often under the control of the military.

David Colley has operational and administrative responsibility over prison services and all the prisons in the Gambia. As such, he does not need instructions from me, said Sonko in the Monday hearings before the Swiss court. However, Sanneh testified that Sonko and Colley enjoyed a close working relationship and that he had full knowledge of events in the prisons, including Mile 2.

Whatever happens at the prison, the director [David Colley] will feed [Sonko], with information, said Sanneh. I know the Director will not do anything without the notice of the Minister. Anything going on in the prison, he has to inform him.

Abdou Jammeh, another prison officer who was arrested in 2016 and held without charge for 9 months, shared a similar testimony.

Murder of Baba Jobe

Among the series of allegations Mr Sonko is battling in Switzerland is his alleged involvement in the 2012 murder of Baba Jobe, the former majority leader of Mr Jammehs APRCs party.

Mr Jobe was sentenced to a nineyear jail term in 2004 on charges of economic crimes. Barely a year before he was due to be released, Junglers allegedly walked into his room and suffocated him with a pillow, Omar Jallow, a Jungler, testified before the Truth Commission in 2019.

That day, Mr Sanneh said he was asked to guard Colley, who was in the hospital. Colley informed him that military officials were coming for Jobe, and when they came, he should grant them access, he told the court.

READ ALSO: Victims of alleged Jammeh henchman Ousman Sonko welcome Swiss trial

In 2018, David Colley told Swiss prosecutors that he got a call from Sonko to grant Jungler Nuha Badgie access to Jobe. Sonko contested Colleys claim and denied any involvement in the planning and execution of Jobe.

The trial is expected to last until January 30, but the verdict will likely be announced in March. If found guilty, Mr Sonko could face up to 20 years in prison. The trial continues Tuesday.

This was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the West Africa Justice Reporting Project.

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On Tuesday, two books including one by Femi Adesina, former special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, were presented to the public in Abuja, with President Bola Tinubu as a special guest of honour.

The book by Mr Adesina is titled, Working with Buhari: Reflections of A Special Adviser, Media, and Publicity (2015-2023), while the other is in five volumes and jointly written by dozens of authors.

The event, held at the Transcorp Hilton, was the first time former President Buhari and his successor, President Tinubu, appeared publicly together after the handover on 29 May 2023.

Mr Adesinas book chronicles the experiences, stories, and facts revolving around Mr Buharis eight years as a civilian president.

In his remarks, President Tinubu said: I particularly thank Femi for using his memoirs to let us into the challenging eight years of the administration and how his principal steered the ship of State.

In the preface of the book, Mr Adesina makes it clear that his book is not about the hardware of governance  the making of policies  monetary, fiscal, foreign  or even about the fundamentals of government.

Rather, Mr Adesina said, its about the software of governance and a journey to understanding the man who headed that government.

The true narrative about Muhammadu Buhari needed to be told, Mr Adesina added. I found it necessary to write about him because I served in his administration for eight years, which is unprecedented. We worked together seamlessly and I felt everything that happened during this period needed to be documented.

In the 488-page book, Mr Adesina discussed what propelled President Buhari to make certain decisions and why he did. I believe it will help Nigerians to know the real and the true Muhammadu Buhari as opposed to the conjuration we have had over decades, he said.

Then embedded in the book is also the checklist of the achievements of the Buhari administration. About 80 pages of the book are dedicated to the achievements of the Buhari administration.

For me, Buhari is a conviction, and it is very important that records are kept and preserved for posterity, he added. And these are veritable records.

In his remarks, former President Buhari said, Femi Adesina has done the nation a favour in writing this book. He has provided firsthand information on our eight years of stewardship.

Mr Buhari added that the book is an important asset to academia and to anyone interested in knowing the history of what happened during his administration. Without documentation, human beings often have short memories and unless things are documented, they might be distorted or misrepresented.

For us, there was nothing done in secrecy. We were as transparent and as accountable as possible, being aware of the responsibility imposed on us by the people. We kept records of our stewardship, knowing that we would be required to account for the trust entrusted to us. This event is part of the account of our two terms in office, Mr Buhari added.

Former Head of State Yakubu Gowon was the chairman of the occasion, while the co-chairman was another retired army general, I.B.M Haruna. Businessman Mohammed Indimi was also in attendance as the chief launcher.

The programme was also attended by Senate President Godswill Akpabio; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajuddeen Abbas; former first lady, Aisha Buhari; former vice president, Yemi Osinbajo; Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, and Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke. Several former governors and former ministers were also in attendance.

In his remarks, Mr Gowon said, Former President Buhari has done his best in contributing to the development of the country. But there is no doubt that Nigeria is not bereft of critics, and strident criticisms are made on any subject, and that gives the impression as though nothing is achieved.

Mr Haruna also corroborated this stance saying Buhari has served Nigeria diligently both as a military and as a democrat. He preserved the integrity of the Nigerian democratic state.

But, Mr Haruna noted, Despite everything said, President Buhari can never escape the contradiction of people. But I know for a fact that you are a courageous and honest man who will continue to be trusted.

In his review of the book, Shola Oshunkeye, a journalist, said Mr Adesina provides intriguing insight not only into his struggles but also a human side of President Buhari that was never known.

Mr Oshunkeye added that even though Femi is generous and sympathetic to his boss, the book published by Safari limited is an important literature for those who seek to understand the enigma of Muhammadu Buhari.

I recommend the book to researchers, journalists, teachers, and students of history. I was spellbound when I read the book and I am sure you will feel the same when you do, Mr Oshunkeye said.

Second book

The second book presented on Tuesday is: Muhammadu Buhari: The Nigerian Legacy (2015  2023), a five-volume compendium written by over 100 persons.

The contributors were drawn from various segments of academia, the media, research institutes, and independent scholars.

The final copy of the book was edited by Udo Yakubu.

The main objective of this Compendium is to produce a comprehensive story of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, Mr Yakubu said. We started working on this in 2022. But it wasnt until November 2023 that the projects kicked off effectively in terms of the various contributors setting out to do the required research and writing.

The five volumes that we have are a product of this robust team of authors and about a dozen editors. It was not a mean enterprise. And we are happy that we arrived at our destination despite the numerous challenges that we had to confront and overcome, Mr Yakubu said.

This is the authoritative, comprehensive, and the most definitive story of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2023. Not just in terms of the amount of the number of people that contributed to the work. But in several other regards, he added.

There is no work like this in the history of any administration in the country. It is unprecedented. And I will say that without mincing words, in terms of its scope, editorial independence, depth of critical engagements, and labyrinths of authority and scholarship.

The volumes tell the story of the Buhari administration in significantly varied ways. Each volume has its theme and focus. For instance, the first volume focuses on Mr Buharis journey to the presidency, the challenges that confronted the new administration, and the early steps and efforts to change the inherited narrative on governance.

The second volume dwells on the development and management of the economy. The third is on various aspects of social and human development, national security, education, employment, etc.

The fourth is on industry, trade, public infrastructure, housing, transport, aviation, telecommunications, water, resources, power, etc. And the fifth volume focuses on the business of governments, politics, and governance, party politics, and Nigerias relations with the world.

Commenting on the five volumes, President Tinibu said he agreed with Mr Yakubu that the authors gave an authoritative account of the stewardship of President Buhari.

Beyond what the editor of these volumes has recorded as the achievements of President Buhari in his eight years as a democratically-elected President, history will also be kind to him as the leader who promoted local production of goods to grow our economy, the president said.

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President Bola Tinubu Tuesday extolled his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, saying he served Nigeria with dedication and uncommon zeal.

Mr Tinubu stated this at the unveiling of two books titled: Working with Buhari (2015  2023) and Muhammadu Buhari: The Nigerian Legacy  2015  2023 (Five Volumes), in Abuja.

The president said the former Nigerian leader stayed far away after leaving office and does not in any way interfere in the present administration.

After handing over, you (Buhari) said, I will be far away in Daura but if you need me, contact me. I wont intrude on whatever you are doing. I wont interfere. I wont breathe down on your throat, Mr Tinubu said.

The book Working with Buhari was written by a former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Mr Buhari, Femi Adesina, and reviewed by Shola Oshunkeye, a journalist. The second book on the legacies of Buhari was written by more than 100 contributors and edited by Udo Yakubu.

Mr Tinubu said the authors of the books have done justice to the essential Muhammadu Buhari, especially on his tenure and legacy as the 15th President of Nigeria.

He added that rather than interfere, Mr Buhari has partnered with him to make democracy flourish in the country. Weve partnered to make democracy flourish in Nigeria. You dont hear from him (Buhari) either to nominate or intrude in the cabinet or complain about issues. Thank you for being who you are, the president said.

Mr Buhari was Nigerias President between May 2015 and May 2023, a period which President Tinubu described as very difficult for our national life.

President Buhari assumed office at a very difficult period of our national life when the economy was spiralling into recession and Boko Haram had taken over swaths of our territory in the NorthEast. At a point, it appeared even Abuja, the seat of government, would fall into the hands of Boko Haram with the bombing of the UN Building, Banex Plaza, Nyanya and other locations within the Federal Capital Territory.

We cannot easily forget how our armed forces battled the Boko Haram terrorists under the leadership of President Buhari to reclaim our territory and push them to the fringes of Lake Chad where they no longer pose an existential threat to our sovereignty.

I must say the job of securing every inch of our country is yet to be finished. My government will stamp out the remaining vestiges of Boko Haram, Ansaru, banditry, and kidnapping gangs. We wont rest until every agent of darkness is completely rooted out, Mr Tinubu said.

The programme was attended by former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon; Senate President Godswill Akpabio; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajuddeen Abbas; Former First Lady, Aisha Buhari; Former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo; Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, and Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke.

Several former governors and former ministers were also in attendance.

Speaking further, President Tinubu said: It will be said glowingly of President Buhari that in his eight turbulent years, marked by an acute shortage of revenue, the Covid-19 pandemic that shut down the global economy for almost two years, his administration embarked on the most ambitious infrastructural renewal for the country.

President Buhari gave us the second Niger Bridge. He revamped the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. He gave us the Lagos-Ibadan and Warri-Itakpe Rail lines. He completed the Abuja-Kaduna rail line and Lekki Seaport. He built brand new airports, among many other landmark economic projects. The Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, which he started, will be completed by my administration, by the Grace of God.

In concluding his remarks, President Tinubu pledged that whatever unresolved challenges faced by President Buhari in his eight years, our administration will endeavour to resolve them. As I said during the campaigns, I inherited all his assets and liabilities.

Our administration will continue to work, from where President Buhari stopped, to make our country better, create a vibrant economy, and secure the environment to bring more prosperity to our people, Mr Tinubu said.

In his remarks, Mr Gowon said, Former President Buhari has done his best in contributing to the development of the country. But there is no doubt that Nigeria is not bereft of critics, and strident criticisms are made on any subject, and that gives the impression as though nothing is achieved.

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President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, said his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, has not called him to interfere in the running of his administration since he (Buhari) left office on 29 May, 2023.

President Tinubu also said the former president has not nominated anybody for an appointment into his government.

He stated this at the public presentation of two books on his administration.

The books are titled, Reflections of a Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, 2015  2023, written by Femi Adesina, who his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity and Muhammadu Buhari: The Nigerian Legacy (2015  2023), edited by Udu Yakubu.

President Tinubu said Mr Buhari has kept the promise he repeatedly made that he would be far away in his hometown, Daura, and would not intrude in the running of the affairs of the country.

Let me thank the organisers of todays book launch for providing me the opportunity and the ambience to reunite with my predecessor, former President Muhammadu Buhari, since the left office on May 29 2023.

After handing over, you said I will be far away in Daura but if you need me, contact me. But I wont intrude in whatever you are doing. I wont interfere or breath down your throat.

Weve partnered to make democracy flourish in Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari, thank you. Except when I call you to say how are you living, how are you in the farm, we dont hear from you either to nominate or intrude the cabinet or complain about anything. Thank you for being who you are, a civic, he said.

The president said Mr Buhari left many battles and a bunch of tasks for him for continuity, adding that he inherited the asset and liability of his predecessor.

President Tinubu praised Mr Buhari for his dedication and display of uncommon zeal while presiding over the country.

You serve our country with dedication and uncommon zeal. I was talking to somebody last night that I will be at this book launch and he said oh, I remember you sold to us Buhari. And I said, stop where you are, Im not talking to you about a disclaimer. Im talking to you about a programme that I really appreciated and will continue to appreciate, he said.

He also commended Mr Adesina for writing the book, saying The author of the book, they might have done their best. But what Nigeria will gain from the book is what history must do and that history is in the book. And Im glad history has been reproduced, reintroduced and it is part of the curriculum in various schools and it will be emphasised. I promise you.

Among those at the event were former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon and former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.

Read President Tinubus full speech.

Welcome to Abuja. Since you passed the baton off to me, Ive seen many of your jokes and Ive realised its not just a walk in the park.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, Its just a very, very beautiful day.

Let me thank the organisers of todays book launch for providing me the opportunity and the ambience to reunite with my predecessor, former President Muhammadu Buhari since the left office on May 29 2023.

After handing over, you said I will be far away in Daura but if you need me, contact me. But I wont intrude in whatever you are doing. I wont interfere or breath down your throat.

Weve partnered to make democracy flourish in Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari, thank you. Except when I call you to say how are you living, how are you in the farm, we dont hear from you either to nominate or intrude the cabinet or complain about anything. Thank you for being who you are, a civic

When you left the office, you left many battles and a bunch of tasks for me for continuity. And I told people I inherited the asset and liability of my predecessor no matter what you say.

We always joke sometimes, and you say you can never please Nigerians but yours is to focus, work hard and satisfy your conscience. You have done that. It is reflected.

You serve our country with dedication and uncommon zeal. I was talking to somebody last night that I will be at this book launch and he said oh, I remember you sold to us Buhari. And I said, stop where you are, Im not talking to you about a disclaimer. Im talking to you about a programme that I really appreciated and will continue to appreciate.

Being here face to face with you is a great documentation of history, candor, integrity and character.

The author of the book, they might have done their best. But what Nigeria will gain from the book is what history must do and that history is in the book. And Im glad history has been reproduced, reintroduced and it is part of the curriculum in various schools and it will be emphasised. I promise you.

You assumed office at a very difficult time in our nations life. The economy was going into recession. Boko Haram had taken over so many local governments and some parts of our country. It is easy to forget that the United Nations building was attacked here in Abuja.

Its easy to forget the role of armed forces. But if the book is carefully read and taught in terms of substance in our various schools, the job of securing every inch of our nation may not be completed, but you did a wonderful job. And we will not rest, I promise you, until every agent of darkness is completely eliminated. It is a sovereign country.

Im glad to listen to making a commitment to my administration for support and as real politician and democratic that you are, you are still dedicated and committed to our party the largest party in Africa.

Well, Ive emulated you, one of those things is non interference, being a democrat, responsibility for nation building. Staying on course, I am determined to do just that because I campaigned for this job. And you told me in our discussions its not easy. But I went out there dancing for it, making promises, doing Kokomo, doing all collabos, making musics, so I cannot complain. We will be there.

In addition to going through the Niger bridge and other places, many would not realise the interconnectivity necessary for economic growth in our rail project, in our port project, how vital it is to the economic growth of this nation. A silent worker, a man who is a very very organised and disciplined individual. President Muhammadu Buhari thank you.

To many of you, I thank you for coming to this event. It is been a wonderful time for our nation. Very wonderful indeed! We are facing the roller coaster. Same battle too. We removed subsidy, we stopped those people fleecing Nigerians. Yes. I know they will complain. It is same thing all over. The lesson is learned from you. But the milk of kindness for a nations development and prosperity is not fermented from you, it is learnt.

How much I cherish the editions of these book is by promoting it as a subject matter in the history classrooms of our universities and secondary schools. Then according to you a civic subject matter of our nation. I wish you a very successful retirement life but not tired like a prosperous one. I know you wont take a penny from the book launch proceeds but continue to be part of the pillar for our future development.

Thank you

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Former President Muhammadu Buhari says his administration was transparent and accountable, noting that nothing was done under the veil of secrecy.

Mr Buhari stated this in Abuja on Tuesday at the public presentation of two books on his administration.

The books are titled, Reflections of a Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, 2015  2023, written by Femi Adesina, his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity and Muhammadu Buhari: The Nigerian Legacy (2015  2023), edited by Udu Yakubu.

Mr Buhari was in power as democratically elected president on the ticket of the APC between 2015 and 2023.

He handed over to President Bola Tinubu on 29 May after completing his second term.

The former president said his government kept records of its stewardship because its members knew that they would always be required to account for the trust entrusted to them.

But the fact in our favour is that nothing was done under the veil of secrecy. We were as transparent and accountable as possible, being aware of the fact that posterity was the ultimate judge.

We kept records of our stewardship, knowing that we would always be required to account for the trust entrusted to us. This event today is part of accounting for our two terms in office, and I thank those who have laboured day and night, to ensure that this history is recorded for now and

the future, he said.

The former president spoke some days after one of his former ministers, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, was invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the management of the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIP).

Mrs Farouq was the minister of Humanitarian Affairs, disaster management and social development.

Mr Buhari reiterated his support for President Tinubu in the quest to have a better country.

Government is a continuum. It is like a relay race. You run your course, and hand over the baton to the next person. This we have done, and the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration has my support and

confidence, in the quest for us to have a country of our dreams, where there is emancipation for our teeming population, he said.

Mr Buhari said he remains committed to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the leadership of his successor, Bola Tinubu.

He also said he has abiding faith in the strength, unity and future of Nigeria.

I remain committed to our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the leadership of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I have abiding faith in the strength, unity and future of Nigeria, he said.

The former president said the books were worthy to temporarily bring him out of resting in his native Daura, Katsina State, back to Abuja.

Read former President Buharis full speech

ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY MUHAMMADU BUHARI IN THE BOOK

LAUNCH AND THE NIGERIAN LEGACY (2015-2023) PUBLIC PRESENTATION CEREMONY, ON 16TH JANUARY, 2024, AT

CONGRESS HALL, TRANSCORP HILTON HOTEL, FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY, ABUJA

Protocols:

It gives me great pleasure to be in Abuja, seat of the Federal Government, in my first official outing since handing over power on May 29, 2023.

2. I am delighted to be in our Federal Capital Territory, a place that served as home to me between 2015 and 2023 when fate thrust it upon me to be the President of our beloved country.

3. Let me thank the President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for finding time to attend this launching. Our relationship has always been correct and cordial.

4. Let me also take this opportunity to thank all those who took trouble, sometimes undertaking arduous journeys to visit me in Daura. I thank you all.

5. The two publications launched today; Working with Buhari: Reflections of a Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, 2015  2023, written by Femi Adesina, who served as my Media Adviser for eight years,

and a volume of five books, Muhammadu Buhari: The Nigerian Legacy (2015  2023), edited by Dr. Udu Yakubu, are worthy to temporarily bring me out of resting in my native Daura, back to the city.

6. These books presented today once again exemplify the sanctity of records, and the role they play in documenting facts and figures, achievements and milestones, either in our personal lives, or in the life of a nation.

7. I told Adesina when he visited me in Daura with an advance copy of his book, he has done the nation a favour in writing it, as he has provided a one-stop shop on our stewardship to the country. The same has also been done by Dr. Udu Yakubu and his colleagues.

8. Without documentation, revisionism wins. Human beings often have short memories, and unless events are recorded in cold print, some people would come and attempt to either distort, or even obliterate recent history.

9. But the fact in our favour is that nothing was done under the veil of secrecy. We were as transparent and accountable as possible, being aware of the fact that posterity was the ultimate judge.

10. We kept records of our stewardship, knowing that we would always be required to account for the trust entrusted to us. This event today is part of accounting for our two terms in office, and I thank those who have laboured day and night, to ensure that this history is recorded for now and

the future.

11. Government is a continuum. It is like a relay race. You run your course, and hand over the baton to the next person. This we have done, and the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration has my support and

confidence, in the quest for us to have a country of our dreams, where there is emancipation for our teeming population.

12. With the cumulative achievements of government after government, I believe we will get there in no distant time.

13. In our journey to the desired destination, there will be hard decisions taken, and the people would bear some costs. We can only seek their understanding, and state that there was no intention to deliberately inflict

pain and anguish on anyone.

14. This is why I apologized to such people at the end of our time in office. Sacrifices are still being made now, and will continue to be part of our national life and development. Governments will continually seek the understanding and support of the people they lead, for our ultimate good

and goal.

15. Let revisionists not rejoice that they have the ultimate say in the bid to distort history. Facts and records will ultimately prove them wrong. When some people engage in deliberate falsehood and distortion of facts that pertain to our tenure in office, I take solace in the fact that records are there, and will remain inviolable.

16. My Special thanks goes to the Chairman of the occasion, General Yakubu Gowon, GCFR, for always being there for us. The General, Sir, I am most appreciative.

17. Special thanks also goes to the co-Chairman of the Occasion, General I.B.M. Haruna, OFR, for his unflinching support and encouragement.

18. My appreciation also goes to the book launcher, Alhaji Muhammed Indimi, OFR, for his continuous support.

19. I am truly honoured and overwhelmed by those of you that have created time to be with us here today and I cannot thank you enough.

20. I remain committed to our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the leadership of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I have abiding faith in the strength, unity and future of Nigeria.

21. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

I thank you for listening.

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A fire incident, which occurred at Megida Onikanhun Compound, Edun Isale, Ilorin South Local Government Area, left 120 persons homeless, razing 44 rooms of a building and a mosque.

The Head of Department of Media and Publicity of the fire department, Hassan Adekunle, disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Ilorin, the state capital.

He said the Kwara State Fire Service, on 15 January, around 11:08 hours, responded to a fire at Megida Onikanhun Compound, Edun Isale, Ilorin South Local Government Area.

Fire fighters, upon arrival, found the entire compound and Edun Market engulfed in flames due to a late call.

To enhance firefighting efforts, part of the fence was dismantled for better access.

At 11:22 a.m, an SMS message was sent to the Brigade Headquarters for additional manpower, and the proficient firefighters successfully brought the situation under control within an hour before completely extinguishing the fire.

READ ALSO:

Investigations revealed that an unknown person set some refuse on fire but this unfortunately spread to the nearby compound, the statement added.

Mr Adekunle expressed condolences to Magaji Megida Onikanhuns representative, Kuranga Adebayo.

He commended the fire services efforts, but said the incident left over 120 occupants homeless, affecting 44 rooms and a mosque but no casualties were recorded in the 75-room compound.

Kwara State Fire Service Director, Falade Olumuyiwa, urged the general public to always play safe, especially during this period.

He urged the public not to hesitate to call the fire brigade on time whenever there was any fire emergency in their areas, as this would save lives and properties of people in the state.

(NAN)

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Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has stressed that state governors are willing to cooperate with the military in the war against banditry, terrorism and other violent crimes in Nigeria.

Mr Sani stated this on Monday as he laid the wreath in honour of the countrys fallen heroes during the 2024 Armed Forces Remembrance Day.

The governor, who was reacting to a surge in reported cases of banditry attacks in his state and the Federal Capital Territory in the past few weeks, said the fight against banditry and terrorism had suffered setbacks in recent weeks

However, he expressed confidence that the Nigerian Armed Forces would live up to expectations by ending banditry and terrorism in the country.

In an interview shortly after the ceremony, which was attended by the commanders and commandants of military commands and formations in Kaduna, Mr Sani said the country would never forget its heroes who died defending Nigerias territorial integrity.

Todays event offers us the opportunity to honour our veterans. It also allows us to reflect on the sacrifices, bravery and commitment of our fallen heroes who lost their lives in the defence of our territorys integrity.

We also have to appreciate our armed forces generally, the Army, Air Force and Navy as well as all other security agencies in Nigeria for their efforts to ensure peace in our country.

READ ALSO:

Of course, the fight against banditry and terrorism in Nigeria is something that is on course.

In recent weeks we had some setbacks, but I do not doubt in my mind because I have confidence in our armed forces and of course.

 Mr President has also made it clear that we have to come up with a time frame on when this battle against banditry and terrorism has to end.

We are going to cooperate with the armed forces in our capacities as Governors and the Federal Government, to ensure that this war against banditry and terrorism is brought to a successful end, the governor said.

The governor also visited some wounded soldiers at the Nigerian Air Force Hospital, Kaduna and 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital.

During the visits, he donated medical equipment and other items like wheelchairs, blankets and other medical supplies to the hospitals.

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An event commemorating Martin Luther King Jr.s (MLK) Day in Abuja on Monday focused on the need for the Nigerian government and citizens to play active roles in the protection of human and civil rights in the country.

The President of the Centre for Socio-legal Studies (CSLS), the organiser of the event, Yemi Akinseye-George, a Law professor and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, called on the Nigerian government to prioritise the protection of those rights in the nation.

The Senior Advisor for the Bureau of International Narcotic and Law Enforcement Affairs at the United States Embassy in Nigeria, Shaun Gavin, who attended the Abuja event, similarly emphasised, in a statement, the need to create awareness about civil liberties among Nigerians.

MLK Day is officially the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr, an American Baptist minister, who was one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement involved in non-violent protest against racial discrimination in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s.

He was active in the movement between 1955 and 1968 when he was assassinated aged 39.

The movement led to several groundbreaking legislative reforms in the United States. The achievements of the movement gained global reckoning.

Although 15 January is the birthday of Mr King, MLK Day is marked as a federal holiday in the US on the third Monday of January annually. The Day is being asked by different countries and cities of the world.

At the event attended by officials of the US embassy in Nigeria in Abuja on Monday, Mr Akinseye, reiterated the universal nature of the fight for human rights, transcending borders and cultures.

He urged Nigerians to be vigilant and confront challenges courageously while holding the government accountable for offences committed to safeguarding lives and property.

Mr Akinseye-George referenced Mr Kings pivotal roles in the American Civil Rights Movement in emphasising the need for a collective commitment to protecting fundamental rights such as freedom of speech, religion, privacy, and a fair trial.

He said the government and citizens must ensure the protection and prioritization of civil liberties.

The struggle for civil liberties is not confined to any one nation or community; it is a universal endeavour that transcends borders and cultures. This awareness is crucial for promoting justice, equality, and democracy, he said.

He called for punitive measures against wrongdoers, accountability for mishaps, and restitution for victims and marginalised groups in Nigeria.

Also, he encouraged solidarity and active participation from federal and state governments, influential figures, and every citizen.

Mr Akinseye-George also urged both the young and old to champion civil liberties, emphasising their role as the fulcrum of a just and democratic society.

In Nigeria and many parts of the world, there is a need to create awareness about civil liberties to ensure that citizens understand their rights and are empowered to demand them.

Currently, Nigeria faces significant challenges related to civil liberties. These challenges may include government censorship, restrictions on freedom of expression, discrimination based on race, gender or religion, lack of access to justice, and arbitrary detention.

The most pressing challenges include the threat to human lives that currently plagues the country, ranging from the Christmas Eve killings in Plateau State, the bombing of innocent civilians in Kaduna State, the running rampant of kidnappers and unknown gunmen throughout all the sectors of the country, he added.

Mr Gavin, the US embassy official, said in a recent statement shared at the event called on Nigerians to remain vigilant and proactive in safeguarding their rights and freedom.

He underscored the importance of mental liberation rooted in love for one another as the true path to achieving human rights centred on human dignity.

As Nigerians, but furthermore, as Africans, both on the continent and in the diaspora, it is crucial that we unite in advancing human rights and civil liberties. We must rise above the divisions of religion, tribe, ethnicity, race, and colour recognizing them as remnants of a past of struggle designed to fragment our humanity, as one, he stated.

He called for joining hands across continents and oceans, adding. let us commit to nurturing a sense of love and respect that honours our diverse expressions while forging a united.

This unity, love and respect is strength, Mr Gavin maintained, adding they are capable of propelling significant progress across Nigeria and the entire African continent.

Let us rise above our differences and embrace our collective identity, honouring Dr Kings legacy by forging a path of mutual respect, and honour, embracing our collective identity, and honouring Dr Kings legacy by forging a path of mutual respect, honour, and excellence.

In speaking of unity and excellence, its imperative to recognise the extraordinary achievements of Nigerians worldwide. Nigerians are among the most successful and educated immigrant groups in America today!

This is a testament not just to individual brilliance but to a broader culture of excellence that permeates the Nigerian spirit. Whether its in academia, medicine,

technology, or the arts, Nigerians consistently set high standards and achieve remarkable feats, he stated.

Also at the event were the National Programme Officer of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Amina Abdulrahman, and a Senior Law Lecturer at Prince Abubakar Audu University, Martin Idachaba among others.

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A former senator from Zamfara State, Kabiru Marafa, said the Supreme Court affirmed the election of eight governors because President Bola Tinubu refused to interfere in the judicial process.

Mr Marafa, the Zamfara coordinator of the Tinubu-Kashima campaign council in the last presidential election, stated this in a statement on Monday.

The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the elections of eight governors. They are Kabir Yusuf (Kano), Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi State), Alex Otti (Abia) and Bassey Otu (Cross River).

Mr Marafa, who lost his bid to return to the Senate during the 2023 general elections, said the refusal of President Tinubu to interfere in the judgement of the Supreme Court on governorship elections saved democracy and restored hope in the Nigerian judiciary.

He said because Mr Tinubu did not interfere, the Supreme Court judgement allowed the wishes of Nigerian electorates to prevail.

It is a welcome development. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has, by this singular action of non-interference in the Supreme Court judgement, saved the countrys democracy and forestalled the repeat of the 1983 scenario.

You will recall that it was after the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) grabbed states that were hitherto of the opposition that the Second Republic collapsed, he said.

Mr Marafa, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), also commended justices of the Supreme Court for the judgement on the governorship elections.

He noted that the outcome of the courts decisions on the governorship elections has reinforced his belief in the ability and capacity of the Nigerian judiciary to deliver justice in the political space.

The former senator congratulated the governors for their elections and urged them to be fair in governing their respective states.

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The House of Representatives Minority caucus has called for sanctions against judges involved in the controversial judgements that led to the sack of several ex-lawmakers from Plateau State.

The caucus, in a statement by the Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers) on Monday, called for appropriate sanctions against all justices involved in the saga.

The justices who handed them down should be seriously reprimanded to serve as a deterrent to other judges who may want to toe this path in future, he stated.

Plateau State Election Petition Saga

PREMIUM TIMES reported the sack of PDP legislators in Plateau State, both at the national and state levels.

The Court of Appeal had anchored its decision sacking the lawmakers on the alleged failure of the PDP to comply with an order of the Plateau State High Court to conduct fresh congresses before holding primary elections for the nomination of its candidates for the 2023 general elections.

The court, in all of the cases, ruled that the PDP has no structure, therefore, invalidly nominating candidates cannot attract lawful votes.

In the process, all Plateau State House of Assembly and National Assembly members elected on the platform of the PDP were sacked.

The Appeal Court also sacked Caleb Mutfwang on the same ground, however, the Supreme Court tackled the ruling of the lower court and reinstated Mr Mutfwang in a judgement last Friday.

Inyang Okoro who headed the five-member Supreme Court panel, said, My only worry is that a lot of people have suffered as a result of the Court of Appeals decision. It was absolutely wrong. The appeal is allowed.

However, despite the judgement of the Supreme Court, the affected lawmakers cannot appeal the cases because parliamentary election petitions end at the Court of Appeal.

We want sanctions to prevent future occurrences  Chinda

Mr Chinda said the sanction would serve as a deterrent to prevent such injustice from happening again.

While commending the Supreme Court for the courageous decisions handed down, which have vindicated our earlier position, It is imperative to refer to the decisions of the Court of Appeal and the National Assembly and State Elections Tribunals in respect of State Houses of Assembly and National Assembly elections in Plateau state, which sacked several PDP legislators on very questionable grounds.

Grounds that the Supreme Court has set aside through these judgments. Although the said decisions cannot be appealed against even though they occasioned a grave miscarriage of justice, the justices who handed them down should be seriously reprimanded to serve as a deterrent to other judges who may want to toe this path in future, the lawmaker said.

Mr Chinda also congratulated all the opposition governors who won at the Supreme Court.

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The civil society in Yobe State, including lawyers, human rights advocates and the Nigeria Union of Journalists, has demanded justice over the brutal killing of a woman in the state capital, last week.

Ammi Adamu was reportedly killed in her sleep on January 4 at her residence at New Bra-Bara Estate in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital. Her husband, Abubakar Musa, has been taken into custody by the police as the prime suspect in the crime. The couple were staff of Yobe State University, Damaturu.

According to their neighbours, Mrs Adamu was reportedly stabbed in the neck while in bed with her husband.

Since the news of the gruesome murder became public, civil society organisations, individuals and the victims family members have been demanding that the killer be swiftly brought to justice.

The NUJ Yobe State Council, in a statement jointly signed by its chairperson, Rajab Mohammed, and Secretary, Alhassan Mamuldo, condemned the killing and called for a thorough investigation towards bringing the culprit to justice.

The Women-led Civil Society Organisations Network Yobe State (WOLNY), in a statement by its chairperson, Altine Ibrahim, described the incident as deeply troubling and called for a thorough investigation to ensure that the killer faces the full wrath of the law.

READ ALSO: Son arrested for allegedly murdering his father

While we are aware that the alleged perpetrator, Abubakar Musa, has already been apprehended, the distressing and traumatic information indicates that Ammi was sleeping beside her husband when she was violently attacked and stabbed in the neck with a sharp object, resulting in her death, the group said.

It expressed solidarity with members of the victims family, declaring its commitment to sustaining advocacy until justice is fully served on the matter. The group called on other civil society organisations to amplify the call to prevent further occurrences of crime and protect the rights and well-being of women in society.

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A professor of political science, Jonah Onuoha, says the probe of the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu, over alleged financial misappropriation should serve as a red flag to other members of President Bola Tinubus cabinet.

Mr Onuoha, a former head, department of political science, University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Nsukka on Tuesday.

The professor, while reacting to Mrs Edus recent grilling by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), said that President Tinubus action against Mrs Edu was a sign that other cabinet members should tread with caution, as it was no longer business as usual.

I commend Mr President for allowing Edu to be probed by EFCC over alleged financial misappropriation, less than six months after he appointed her as minister.

By this bold step, Tinubu has raised a red flag to other cabinet members that his administration has zero tolerance for bribery and corruption.

The bane of our democracy in the past was corruption, financial misappropriations and diversion of public funds to private pockets, he said.

Mr Onuoha noted that Mrs Edus probe should serve as deterrent to other ministers and political appointees to either shun corruption or be ready to face the consequences.

With this, Tinubus administration has started well in the fight against corruption and if he continues like this, his tenure will restore the confidence of Nigerians in governance, he said.

Mr Onuoha advised ministers and other political appointees to see their appointments as an opportunity to serve their fatherland and contribute their own quota to national development rather than an opportunity to amass wealth illegally.

We should all put patriotism and national interest first whenever we are called to serve our fatherland.

Nigeria is the only country we can call our own; we are they people that will make Nigeria great.

We should always remember that there is no place like home, as we will be treated as foreigners in any other country we find ourselves, said Mr Onuoha, who is also the director, UNN Centre for American Studies.

(NAN)

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President Bola Tinubu has condemned the recent spate of kidnappings and bandit attacks, describing the development as disturbing, ungodly, and sinister.

Speaking when he received a delegation of Jamiyyatu Ansaridden, a highly respected Islamic Movement, at the State House, in Abuja on Tuesday, President Tinubu said while security agencies are acting with dispatch to immediately address the current challenge, all required resources, policies and plans will be rolled out soon for the massive education of Nigerian youths.

The president said education is the antidote to the troubles agitating the nation, adding: There is no weapon against poverty that is as potent as learning.

I can assure you that we are here to change the lives of our people. We are here to promote peace, stability, and economic prosperity.

We are dedicated to building a lasting peace with a focus on the comprehensive education of our children. We will get our teachers and their owners involved in an education process that will be relevant to the future of this country. It is important. Knowledge brought me here with your prayers and your support. Without knowledge, there is nothing to generate hope for mankind, President Tinubu said.

The President also emphasized that it was important to promote updated knowledge through existing Islamic learning institutions for youth in Northern Nigeria to speed up development in the region, in Nigeria, and throughout Africa.

ALSO READ: Amnesty International asks Tinubu to treat kidnappings in Nigeria as emergency

Please embark on special prayers. Embark on proper education for our youths. Kidnapping and banditry are not the way of God. Shedding each others blood is bad. And there can be no development without peace. It is only in the area of peace that we can eliminate poverty. We must work for peace in order for our economy to grow better, the president concluded.

In his remarks, the Jamiyyatu Ansaridden leader, Sheikh Muhammad Lamine Niass, encouraged the president to continue implementing his reform initiatives while affirming that his movement, which is reputed for its promotion of peace and tolerance, would continue to pray for Nigerias peaceful development.

Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

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The remains of a retired broadcaster with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Malachy Ufot, will be laid to rest on Friday, his son has announced.

Mr Ufot was abducted by kidnappers on 15 October 2023, but released on 24 October 2023 after he became unconscious in captivity. He died the next day at a hospital in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

He was 68.

Mr Ufot joined the FRCN, otherwise known as Radio Nigeria, Enugu Zonal Office in 1979 as an Efik translator on the short waves band.

He was transferred to Akwa Ibom State in 2005 where he oversaw the establishment of Radio Nigeria, Atlantic Atlantic 104.5 FM, Uyo. He served as the pioneer general manager of the station.

His son, Victor Ufot, a journalist, told PREMIUM TIMES that the successes recorded by Atlantic FM in Uyo earned his father the trust of the management of the corporation.

Mr Ufot was later transferred to Bayelsa State where he oversaw the establishment of Creek 106.5 FM, Yenagoa. He also served as the pioneer general manager of the radio station until he retired from the service of Radio Nigeria in 2014.

Before joining the service of Radio Nigeria, Mr Ufot had a brief stint in the education sector, where he taught in two Secondary Schools including, Secondary School, and Ikot Essen in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

Late Mr Ufot hails from Ikot Abia Enin in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area.

Throughout his life, Mr Ufot was known for his humility and generosity. He was always willing to lend a helping hand and support those in need. His contributions to society earned him numerous accolades and recognition both within Nigeria, his son said in a statement.

According to Mr Victor, a Vigil Mass will be held on Thursday while his late fathers remains will be interred on Friday at his compound in Ikot Abia Enin.

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An ongoing rivalry between terror groups has decimated the camp of a notorious terrorist, Dogo Gide, residents who live in terrains controlled by the terror groups, and a security official, have told PREMIUM TIMES.

Al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansaru terrorists and members of the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) launched attacks against Mr Gides group, killing many of his gang members, although Mr Gide escaped. The latest fighting between the groups occurred in early December, our sources said.

Ansaru and ISWAP terror groups mainly target security and government officials although thousands of civilians have also been killed in terror activities linked to both groups. However, residents of rural communities in northern Nigeria affected by terror activities told PREMIUM TIMES that both groups also frown at the raids of villages by other terror groups such as that of Mr Gide. Sometimes, they fight and protect rivals from gaining access to villages under their grips.

For instance, the bandits occasionally buy food or other things from local traders and would not want to pay but the ISWAP guys always forced them to pay, Rabiu Alhaji, a displaced resident of Kurebe community in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State said, adding that the refusal to pay sometimes ended in clashes.

In June 2023, Mr Gide lost nine of his footsoldiers including his biological brother following a clash with ISWAP fighters in Kurebe. Local sources told PREMIUM TIMES that the Dogo Gides terror group had earlier killed one of the ISWAP members.

A failed alliance

At the time the terror kingpin was contending with stiff rivalry and attacks by ISWAP fighters in his Niger State strongholds, he moved to foster an alliance with Ansaru in Zamfara State, northwest Nigeria. Mr Gide also controls localities in the fringes of Babban Doka and Mai Tukunyan axes in Dansadau, Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara.

In 2016, some jihadists led by Abu Musab al Barnawi broke away from Boko Haram over what they described as unjust treatment  killing, slavery and kidnapping  of Muslims who do not subscribe to jihadis ideologies. They later pledged allegiance to the global terror group, Islamic State (IS). The schism would later culminate into a strong rivalry that eventually led to the death of Abubakar Shekau, a temperamental leader of Boko Haram in 2021.

The factional split paved the way for criminal collaboration between terror groups, the Institute for Security Studies explained.

Mr Gide leveraged such collaborations, wrote Jacob Zenn, an adjunct assistant professor on African Armed Movements and Violent Non-State Actors in World Politics at the Georgetown University Security Studies Program (SSP) and editor of Terrorism Monitor.

Mr Gides group allied with Ansaru to have access to sophisticated weapons sometime around August last year. Subsequently, the group claimed responsibility for taking down a military helicopter hovering above the sky in Chukuba, Shiroro LGA, killing soldiers who were returning to their base in neighbouring Kaduna State.

According to an intelligence official who works with the military in north-west Nigeria, the alliance Mr Gide entered with the Ansaru, did not last long.

The source, who asked not to be named for security reasons, said Mr Gide gave Mallam Abba, an Ansaru leader in Dansadau, over N200 million for the supply of arms and ammunition but they were not supplied.

The money was squandered and that was the beginning of the problem, he explained.

Following the multiple clashes between his group and fighters loyal to Ansaru and ISWAP, Mr Gide is now laying low in Zamfara, the source said.

Almost all of his boys were killed by Ansaru and the military, said the source who is familiar with banditry activities in Dansadau and other parts of Zamfara. He then relocated to Gajeren Kauye community eastward Dansadau where he intended to continue battling with Ansaru fighters.

Presently Dogo Gide has no boys, he said, explaining the kingpin could barely gather a convoy of 10 motorcycles since the setback.

His recent fight with the Ansaru was not more than 40 days ago inside the forest of Gajeren Kauye bordering Katsina State. He ran away when the Ansaru, again, killed his boys. He came back to his new camp and they also followed him.

Dogo Gide losing

Dogo Gide is facing a major setback recently in his terrorist activities where he has lost hundreds of his footsoldiers in the last two months, said Ishaq Kasai, chairman of Birnin Gwari Emirates of Progressives Union (BEPU).

Birnin Gwari is a terrorist-ravaged area in Kaduna State where Mr Gide and other bandit groups reign mayhem.

This is due to three major factors, he continued. First, clashes with Ansaru in the Kuyello area of Birnin Gwari and ISWAP in Niger State.

Secondly, Mr Kasai said, the mobilisation of community members and vigilantes against the terrorists, locally called bandits, is another thing that led to the weakness of Mr Gides group.

Recently, local vigilantes killed about 40 bandits belonging to the Dogo Gide group in a clash at Katakaki bush of Kakangi in the western part of Birnin-Gwari. Since that clash, his footsoldiers never dare pass through the area, he said.

The ongoing military offensive by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is another factor that has contributed to the kingpins setback, Mr Kasai noted.

President Bola Tinubu recently charged security chiefs to increase their offensive against terrorists, but Mr Kasai said the offensive was not enough.

Operations should be complemented by troops on the ground, he advised. There are still hundreds of bandits camps in Kamuku forest of Birnin-Gwari, Kuduru forest of Chikun, Kuyambana forest of Zamfara and Niger forest covering Rafi and Mashegu LGAs where various bandits groups are using them as their hideouts. Thousands of captives are still in those forests.

The military should organize coordinated operations with airstrikes and troops on the ground to complement the airstrikes to destroy the bandits camps in those forests.

Locals are seeing his movement but even if they inform authorities, no action. The military should liaise with locals to track down the movement of Dogo Gide which is commonly from his original base of Babban Doka in Zamfara to his second base in Niger State.

Dogo Gides Notorious Attacks

Mr Gide was one of the suspected masterminds of the 28 March 2022 attack on a Kaduna-bound train.

In July 2021, the terror kingpin and his ally Kachalla Ali also known as Ali Kawaje kidnapped over 100 students and eight teachers from the Federal Government College (FGC) in Birnin Yauri, Kebbi State. The kidnapped victims were later released in batches after payment of ransom.

The following year, three Chinese expatriates were kidnapped while two security guards and another Chinese national were killed at a construction site of the Zungeru Hydro Electric Power Dam project in Shiroro LGA. Although it was not clear how two of the expatriates regained freedom, one of them was later released from Mr Gides camp.

One of his most recent attacks was in August last year when he shared a video of how his group downed a military aircraft in Niger State.

Mr Gide rose to stardom in 2018 after killing his master, Buharin Daji, who was equally notorious.

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The Police Service Commission (PSC) says no fewer than 136,177 applicants for recruitment as constables have been screened since the exercise started on 8 January.

The Public Relations Officer of the commission, Ikechukwu Ani, said in a statement on Tuesday that details of a total of 108,768 of those screened had been uploaded.

Mr Ani said that the delay in uploading the rest was due to network challenges.

He said the PSC through the Police Recruitment Board, was currently screening 416,270 Nigerian youths who applied to be considered for a career in the Nigeria Police Force.

The candidates are being subjected to physical and credentials screening, a prelude to an aptitude test and other processes, including medical examination.

The commission has, with the ongoing recruitment exercise, upgraded and automated the processes to ensure its credibility and create a measurable standard for final selection of successful candidates.

Results and outcome of the screening exercise are uploaded real time to the commissions portal and monitored by the Situation Room set up and led by commissions chairman, Solomon Arase, retired Inspector-General of Police, he said.

Mr Ani said the chairman commended the officials for the successes so far, but expressed concern that some of the candidates were unable to write their names in spite of their secondary school certificates.

Reports from the field showed a curious development, where many candidates with beautiful Senior Secondary School Certificates (SSSC) and National Examination Council Certificates cannot write their names or ordinarily introduce themselves.

Arase wondered how they acquired such excellent certificates.

He said that aptitude tests coming as a first stage of the recruitment process will help eliminate obviously unqualified candidates and reduce the size of persons that will subsequently appear for screening.

Mr Ani further said the chairman had vowed to ensure that the commission got it right and produce a template for effective and efficient recruitment exercise in Nigeria. When we get it right at the entry point, we would have almost gotten 60 per cent quality in the expected performance of the officers, and that is our objective.

(NAN)

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The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, says the FCT Administration is taking steps to address security challenges affecting some sections of the territory.

Mr Wike gave the assurance while addressing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, before a close door emergency meeting with security agencies and other critical stakeholders in the territory.

The News Agency of Nigerian (NAN) reports that there has been a spike in the abduction and killing of residents by bandits, especially in Kuje and Bwari Area Councils.

The minister, who acknowledged the challenges, urged residents not to panic, as government has taken measures to address the ugly situation.

All of us are aware of the security situation in FCT, particularly in Bwari and some other areas that we have witnessed security challenges.

Yes, I am aware that sometimes too, the press overblows what is happening, but all of us are concerned and we owe a duty to make sure that FCT is safe.

We will do all we can, and we assure Nigerians who reside here that there is no need for panic. We are taking every step to make sure that the challenges are resolved, he said.

The minister explained that the meeting was to assess the security challenges in the FCT and adopt practical solutions.

He said that the meeting was expanded to include the chairmen of the six area councils, because they also have a responsibility in ensuring peace and security in their areas.

So, we will put our heads together to come up with solutions; we are not sleeping, the security agencies are not sleeping, we will provide every support that they require to allay the fears of the residents, he said.

Mr Wike frowned at constant travels by the area councils chairmen in the wake of challenges, particularly the current kidnappings and other security issues in the FCT.

He described the development as unacceptable, saying: This time around, we will not be happy where area council chairmen will abdicate their responsibilities and travel out.

We have gotten reports that the council chairmen travel any time, and if anything happens, they will not call anybodys name but the FCT ministers.

So, council chairmen should know that they must wake up to their responsibilities. It is not everything that happens people will say that the ministers are not taking steps.

(NAN)

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The Supreme Court on Monday, reserved judgment on the appeal filed by Tonye Cole, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 18 March, 2023 governorship election in Rivers State.

Mr Cole is challenging the victory of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

A five-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun reserved judgment in the appeal to a later date that will be communicated to parties in the matter, Punch newspaper reported.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Governor Fubara as the winner of the governorship election in the state.

Mr Fubara polled a total of 302, 614 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Mr Cole, who scored 95, 274 votes.

But Mr Cole, not satisfied with the outcome of the election, filed a petition at the election tribunal in the state, asking that the election result be invalidated, but he lost.

He also lost at the Court of Appeal before approaching Nigerias highest court, the Supreme Court.

Besides the APC appeal, the Supreme Court on the same date dismissed the appeal filed by another political party  Allied Peoples Movement  which had challenged Governor Fubaras victory.

The case was dismissed following an application for withdrawal filed by partys counsel, Innocent Kere, during the court session on Monday.

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A youth leader in Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Yusuf Yunusa, has lamented growing cases of kidnapping across communities in the council area and in Bwari, a local government area in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.

Communities in Bwari Local Government Area of the FCT share boundaries with communities in Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigerias North-west.

Mr Yunusa spoke on Tuesday when he appeared as a guest on Morning Brief, a Channels TVs breakfast programme.

Widespread attacks

The youth leader said residents of the communities in the two council areas daily live in fear, adding that chairpersons of the two local government areas have deserted their communities as a result of frequent attacks by kidnappers and other criminals.

In Kagarko Local Government Area, as a young man, I have severally contributed money just to be able to rescue some of our people from the hands of kidnappers.

In several cases, they have asked us to bring bikes, they have asked us to bring Bajaj, which is about a million naira, foodstuffs. They serve us letters. It has gotten to the point where kidnappers will serve communities letters that they are coming, he said.

Mr Yunusa claimed the Nigerian security agencies have failed to secure the communities, emphasising that when the communities report attacks for assistance, security operatives would only show up after about two days.

The youth leader said it is improper that heads of security agencies provide heavy security to politicians and powerful individuals in the country but leave ordinary Nigerians at the mercy of kidnappers and other criminals.

He said it is strange that the federal government had compelled Nigerians to link their mobile numbers to their National Identification Numbers, but has not utilised it in tracking the hoodlums attacking various communities in the country.

Today, as I speak to you, we can give numbers that the kidnappers (used to) call, yet the government cant tell us where they are.

So, if the government feels they have failed woefully (to secure Nigeria), they should allow all of us access to guns, he stated.

What can be done

Speaking on how to address the growing attacks in the country, Mr Yunusa said the Nigerian government should involve traditional rulers in the recruitment of security personnel.

If the Nigerian security agencies are serious, I want to highly recommend that in every community, they should return to the traditional rulers and ask for recommendations before recruitment of some of these security personnel.

We cannot begin to say we are deploying somebody in a community where he has no idea; he has no much interest why he should protect the grandmother in that village; why he should protect his father in that village or his sisters, he said.

Now, we must mix up with people who are directly from the community; who understand the need to ensure that their people are alive. We cannot continue to spend money on security without getting results, Mr Yunusa added.

Onyekachi Adekoya, a security consultant who also appeared as a guest on the Channels TVs programme, suggested creation of state police as a panacea to the countrys worsening security challenges.

If we dont have state police, there is nothing you can do. Running a professional police structure is how we are harming ourselves.

Every sensible approach to security must be local. We are improvising and that is not working. So, I am saying that we must have state police, then federal police. For federal police, there now has to become specialised tactical crack unit, he said.

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Adams Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State, has disclosed that there are ongoing efforts to trim down the number of aspirants seeking to become the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

Mr Oshiomhole said this on Monday during a meeting at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja.

The meeting, organised by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party had in attendance major APC political leaders.

In his remarks, Mr Oshiomhole, currently the senator for Edo North, said the dialogue has been ongoing for a while but 29 aspirants still remain in the race. He said the party is optimistic about reducing the number.

On our part, we have tried to initiate dialogue among our aspirants. It is no secret, that at the time we had the dialogue, I think they (aspirants) were 27. I learned it has increased to 29 now. The process is ongoing, and the struggle continues. So we are looking forward to a healthy celebration, he said.

Mr Oshiomhole, a former National Chairman of the APC, insisted that the APC only lost the last governorship election in the state because of some elections within the party that worked against it.

We are determined to reclaim Edo State. I used the word reclaim because Edo is ours. We lost it due to several factors some of which were caused by some APC elements, he said.

The APC, last week, announced the sale of the nomination and expression of interest forms pegged at N50 million.

The huge sum has yet to deter many of the aspirants seeking to become the flagbearer of the party in the state.

In his remarks, the National Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Ganduje, said the APC is only on sabbatical in the state, and due to take it over.

Mr Ganduje, a former Kano State governor, expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the ruling party in South-south, noting that it is unacceptable that APC has only one state in the region.

He vowed to support the leadership of the party to reclaim the state during the off-season election scheduled for September.

Edo is an APC State. You know one of us went on sabbatical leave, and he decided to take up a permanent appointment.

Now we have to take Edo back. We have only one state from the South-south for the greatest party in Africa; it is not acceptable. We were able to get only Criss River State. After crossing so many rivers we succeeded in getting Cross River State, Mr Ganduje said.

The APC chairman also spoke on the need for internal democracy within the party, stating that it will inculcate internal democracy in its affairs.

We have to improve our internal democracy, we have to deepen and widen it. We need to understand the party and its manifestoits rules and regulations. We need to understand its philosophy.

READ ALSO: Nigeria harbouring foreign prisoners Oshiomhole

We need to move towards having a party ideology so that we will not be an ordinary political association whereby everybody can come in just to win the election. You have to believe in the doctrine of the party  become a full member of the party, he said.

Salihu Lukman, a former zonal chairman of the party, has been advocating for the reform of the ruling party for years.

Mr Lukman resigned from the partys NWC in July last year following the emergence of Mr Ganduje as the national chairman.

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The Nigerian unit of London-based oil supermajor Shell Plc struck a deal with a consortium of five companies, setting the scene for the latter to acquire its onshore business in the country.

The deal was sealed after years-long setbacks met by the company in its efforts to rid itself of the assets.

Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) will get up to $2.4 billion from the transaction including an initial sum of $1.3 billion.

A further payment of $1.1 billion relating to prior receivables and cash balances is expected at the consummation of the deal, Shell said in a statement on Tuesday.

This agreement marks an important milestone for Shell in Nigeria, said Zoe Yujnovich, Shells director of integrated gas and upstream.

It will help in simplifying our portfolio and focusing future disciplined investment in Nigeria on our deepwater and integrated gas positions, he added.

Renaissance, the buyer, comprises locally-based energy firms  ND Western, Waltersmith, Aradel Energy, Petrolin and First E&P.

The deal is a relief for Shell, which has sought to offload the assets since 2021 because running them has been complicated by sabotage, theft and spills, some of which have sparked litigations and environmental liabilities.

But it will retain its offshore business, being less prone to such operational risks. Shell says the spills are caused almost entirely by theft.

We cannot solve community problems in the Niger Delta, thats for the Nigerian government perhaps to solve. We can do our best, but at some point in time, we also have to conclude that this is an exposure that doesnt fit with our risk appetite anymore, CEO Ben van Beurden told a shareholders meeting in 2021.

Shell got approaches from at least five suitors, all of them Nigerian-based energy companies, in January 2022 to acquire the business including Sahara Group, Seplat Energies, Famfa Oil, Niger Delta Exploration and Production and Troilus Investments Limited.

Heirs Oil and Gas and ND Western reportedly joined the foray later before talks ground to a halt in June 2022 after a court ruling forbade Shell from proceeding with the sale until judgment was given in an appeal over a 2019 oil spill involving the company.

A total of 88 communities in Rivers State are seeking $1.95 billion in compensation from the suit.

This month, the Supreme Court of Nigeria ruled that Shell be allowed a hearing in the dispute, noting that the Court of Appeal did not consider the merits of the case in its verdict.

Shell holds stakes in 19 oil mining leases in the country, where it has been operating since the 1930s.

The deal continues the flight of international oil companies from onshore and shallow water operations in Nigeria.

ExxonMobil is in the process of selling its onshore asset to Seplat, a transaction in the neighbourhood of $1.3 billion, even though the Nigerian Government has withdrawn assent.

Last November, Norwegian state-owned energy company Equinor agreed to sell its 20.2 per cent stake in Chevron-operated Agbami field to local firm Chappal Energies for an undisclosed sum.

TotalEnergies stated in December that it would invest as much as $6 billion in Nigeria in coming years, particularly in gas production, as it plans to cut down investment in hydrocarbons and transition into cleaner energy.

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Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong has slammed some Nigerian governors who praised President Bola Tinubu for not interfering in recent Supreme Court Judgments which affirmed their elections as governors.

The Supreme Court had, on Friday, delivered separate judgements on petitions challenging the victories of governors in eight states of the country.

The states are Lagos, Kano, Zamfara, Ebonyi, Plateau, Abia, Cross River, and Bauchi.

The cases, which started at the election petition tribunals in the various states, got to the Courts of Appeal, and the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court, in its separate judgements, upheld the elections of the eight governors, including those of Kano and Plateau States, who had been sacked by the lower courts.

After the court judgements, some of the governors praised Mr Tinubu for not interfering in their legal battles.

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State, for instance, said in an address on Saturday to mark his victory at the apex court, that Mr Tinubu deserves praise for remaining firm to the resolve that the judiciary should be independent, apparently suggesting non-interference of the president.

If he had not done that, perhaps some of the verdicts that were getting today may have been different.

I believe that his non-intervention in the judiciary has produced positive results for the country today, Mr Otti had said.

Like Mr Otti, Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State had, in reaction to the Supreme Court judgment affirming his election last Thursday, said the ruling was in his favour because President Tinubu did not interfere with it, implying that the president could influence the decision of the court if he so wished.

The governor spoke on Sunday at a church the All Nations Christian Ministry International in Eket, Akwa Ibom State.

I will continue to support President Tinubu. Do you know why? Mr Eno asked the congregants.

No, they chorused.

Because he (Tinubu) does not interfere with the judicial process, the governor said.

Human rights lawyer speaks

Reacting in a post on his X handle on Tuesday, Mr Effiong said the governors, by their praise of the president, were invariably saying that they do not have confidence in the Supreme Court to deliver judgment without interference.

They are telling us that they do not trust the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, he said.

The lawyer said it was ridiculous that Mr Tinubu was being praised by the governors for the Judgments instead of the court judges who delivered them.

Are justices of the apex court answerable to the president? Mr Effiong queried.

The lawyer said, The patronising comments by the victorious governors are sickening and upsetting.

He argued that the actions of the governors were not the right way to entrench confidence in the countrys institutions.

They (the governors) are scandalising the justices with their needless praises of Tinubu, he said.

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About seven months after he left office, ex-President Muhammadu Buhari admitted that he made some hard decisions that caused pain for Nigerians.

He said this is why he apologised to Nigerians at the end of his tenure. But, he said, the decisions were not taken to deliberately inflict pain and anguish on anyone.

Mr Buhari, on Tuesday, said leaders oftentimes make hard decisions and the people are the ones who bear the costs.

He urged Nigerians to be patient with their leaders saying citizens need to make sacrifices in the journey to the desired destination.

This is why I apologised to such people at the end of our time in office. Sacrifices are still being made now and will continue to be part of our national life and development. Governments will continually seek the understanding and support of the people they lead, for our ultimate good and goal, Mr Buhari said.

The former Nigerian leader spoke at the public presentation of two books in Abuja; Working with Buhari: Reflections of a Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, 2015  2023, and a volume of five books, Muhammadu Buhari: The Nigerian Legacy (2015  2023).

The first book was written by Femi Adesina, who served as media adviser for eight years to the former president while the second was written by over 100 authors and edited by Udu Yakubu.

Mr Buhari noted that the two publications exemplify the sanctity of records and the role they play in documenting facts and figures, achievements and milestones, either in our personal lives or in the life of a nation.

I told Adesina when he visited me in Daura with an advance copy of his book; he has done the nation a favour in writing it, as he has provided a one-stop shop on our stewardship to the country. The same has also been done by Udu Yakubu and his colleagues, he said.

Without documentation, revisionism wins. Human beings often have short memories, and unless events are recorded in cold print, some people would come and attempt to either distort or even obliterate recent history.

Mr Buhari said his government operated with transparency and posterity would judge them.

The fact in our favour is that nothing was done under the veil of secrecy. We were as transparent and accountable as possible, being aware of the fact that posterity was the ultimate judge. We kept records of our stewardship, knowing that we would always be required to account for the trust entrusted to us.

Let revisionists not rejoice that they have the ultimate say in the bid to distort history. Facts and records will ultimately prove them wrong. When some people engage in deliberate falsehood and distortion of facts that pertain to our tenure in office, I take solace in the fact that records are there, and will remain inviolable, he added.

The former Nigerian leader also noted that the cumulative achievements of government after government would make Nigeria better.

He said government is a continuum, adding, It is like a relay race. You run your course, and hand over the baton to the next person. This we have done, and the President Bola Tinubu administration has my support and confidence, in the quest for us to have a country of our dreams, where there is emancipation for our teeming population.

Speaking further on Mr Tinubu, Mr Buhari said Our relationship has always been correct and cordial.

Amongst those in attendance at the event were President Bola Tinubu, former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, some former governors and several former ministers.

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Peace in South East Project (PISE-P), an initiative of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, was unveiled in the ancient town of Bende, Abia State, on 29 December 2023. The unveiling, which was also used as a grand reception/homecoming of the Deputy Speaker, attracted many eminent Nigerians from the South-East and beyond, including President Bola Tinubu, who was represented by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima.

In his speech, the Deputy Speaker said the objectives of the PISE-P include promoting the use of non-kinetic (non-military) approach to the insecurity challenges in the South-East as well as facilitating reconciliation among communities and individuals affected by past conflicts. He contended that the journey towards peace is not a destination. It is an ongoing process, one that requires our unflinching commitment and dedication..

In a very impassioned speech at the occasion, the Vice President, speaking for President Tinubu, observed that the terror groups that have held the South East to ransom are not a creation of the people of the region, or of Nigerians from other parts of the country. For him the problem we are here to solve as a community, as an Umunna, is a creation of self-serving criminals who do not represent the interests of the Ndi-Igbo and Nigerians. The Chairman of the South-East Governors Forum and Imo State governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma expressed concerns over the pervasive insecurity in the South East and welcomed the PISE-P initiative.

There are several observations from the unveiling of the PISE-P:

One, there is no doubt that the South- East urgently needs peace and security today more than at any other time since the Civil War. To this extent, the PISE-P is a welcome addition to the number of peace initiatives floated recently in and for the geopolitical zone. The problem however is that quite often many of such initiatives fizzle out after the media headlines. One may for instance want to ask of what has become of the South-East Economic and Security Summit, which was organized under the auspices of the South East Governors Forum, in Owerri, Imo State from 28- 29 September 2023 with the theme, South East Beyond 2023: Time for a Reset? What has become of the Secretariat for the Southeast Governors Fprum, which was announced with fanfare (and is headed by Senator Uche Ekwunife) to coordinate and drive initiatives for the geopolitical zone? And what has become of the Ebubeagu, which was created to tackle the security challenges in the South East? Following from this, a major problem for the PISE-P will be that of institutionalization: how does it survive beyond the headlines and beyond the tenure of Rt Honourable Benjamin Kalu as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives?

Two, while security is a primary concern in the South East (like most parts of the country), there is equally another compelling challenge  the South-East Igbo quest for a re-affirmation of its identity in the country  often from the baseline of their identity before the Civil War. It is true that there are many Igbos who are not from the South East. However, a good number of these, seem to have consciously dissolved their Igbo identity to their new enclaves and states where they are located (especially in the current era of Igbophobia). This means that while most South East Igbos and their cousins in other states of the federation respect and admire each other (even if not always openly) they may not be on the same page in their search for identity affirmation.

Three, I regard the perennial agitation for a presidency of Igbo extraction and separatist agitations for Biafra as part of this masked search for identity affirmation. But the Igbo are not alone in this. Just like some groups in the North (especially Benue and Plateau states) struggle on whether to locate their identity in the North or elsewhere, there are also internal conversations on where to locate Igbo identity: while it seems that most Igbo favour locating their Igbo identity in Nigeria provided they are not discriminated against on account of the Civil war, some, especially the younger ones, believe that they are better off having their own country. There are within the two groups disagreements on strategies. Those pushing for a President of Igbo extraction seem to believe that it will blunt separatist agitations or that it will be an indication of full closure to the Civil War.

Four, some seem to have turned the quest for a President of South East Igbo extraction as an obsession, unwittingly providing an opportunity for some to have a dig on the group under the guise offering unsolicited advice. For instance, when most of the states in the South East were under the PDP, they were told they played bad politics by putting all their eggs in one basket. Now that four parties control the five states in the zone, they are also told that four parties governing five states is a sign of being divided. Another common patronizing gibberish is to tell them to play the right politics and build bridges (often using the South-West and the North as models). But what is forgotten is that apart from 2015, the South East has been criticised for playing politics being at the centre ( the goat follows the man with the palm frond). It should also be recalled that Awolowo went into alliance with the North during the Civil war  just as Tinubu did with the APC. While it did not result in Awolowo achieving his dream of being the President it worked for Tinubu largely because there was a Buhari who had a guaranteed vote bank in the North and who needed a Tinubu who had a substantial leverage in the South West. There was also the Northern Governors who insisted that an agreement purportedly reached with Tinubu should be respected. In essence, the whole talk of any group playing smarter politics than others, is gibberish and patronising because as the Book of Ecclesiastes would put it: I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happened to them all. This is not to discountenance the role of planning in the quest for power because luck is the point where preparation meets opportunity.

Five, owing to the Civil War and the war propaganda of hate and deception on both sides of the conflict, it is natural that an Igbo candidate for the Presidency will not only have to work as twice hard as others to gain the confidence of other parts of the country but also hope for that critical element of luck. Germany, Italy and Japan which were members of the Axis coalition during the Second World war that ended in 1945 (more than 78 years ago) are still viewed with various degrees of suspicions in Europe, especially when they engage in military build-ups. I also feel that the importance of having a President of Igbo or any ethnic extraction is exaggerated  as much as it may bring psychological satisfaction to the ethnic group, it could also paradoxically worsen the profiling of that ethnic group as we saw with the profiling of the Fulani under Buhari. Also contrary to what some people believe, producing the President does not guarantee that your ethnic group will develop more than others (however nepotistic the government wants to be) because development is driven by people and private enterprises, not by the government.

Six, I will argue that the Igbo of the South East is in its Third wave of the search for identity since 1970 when the Civil War ended. The first wave was at the end of the Civil War when, because of the deprivations they suffered during war, pursuit of money became almost an end in itself. During this phase, one of the first things people did when they make money is to go and build mansions in their villages. The mansions also served as social capital in the achievement oriented Igbo culture. They are also seen as statements to ones kindred that no matter how long the owners may live outside the village, they plan to return and settle there someday. It can be argued that this wave lost its steam to a second wave where we have passive investments like hotels and acquisition of large farmlands that are not maximally utilized by the nouveaux riche. The Third Wave which is still in its infancy, appears to be the taking of innovation and business processes back to the South East by Igbos living outside the zone. This wave, which can be said to be inspired by the likes of Innoson living in Nnewi but producing for the Nigerian and global markets as well as the perceived rising Igbophobia in the country, is witnessing heightened activities by individuals trying to turn things around in their communities but remaining away, as if they are waiting for something to happen  before they can do more. This is where initiatives like PISE-P can come in.

Jideofor Adibe is a professor of Political Science and International Relations at Nasarawa State University, Keffi and Extraordinary Professor of Government Studies at North Western University, Mafikenng South Africa. He is also the founder of Adonis & Abbey Publishers and can be reached at 0705 807 8841 (Text or WhatsApp only).

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Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has donated wheelchairs, blankets, and numerous hospital equipment to the 44 Army Reference Hospital and 461 Nigerian Airforce Hospital Kaduna as part of his activities to mark the 2024 Armed Forces Remembrance Day.

The Governor who visited the hospitals shortly after he laid a wreath in honour of the fallen heroes, stressed that the donated items were tokens of appreciation from the state for the sacrifices which the members of the Armed Forces and other security agencies are making to secure the state and the country at large.

Speaking to journalists shortly after the solemn ceremony, which had in attendance Commanders and Commandants of military commands and formation in Kaduna, Governor Sani said, the country would never forget fallen heroes who fought and died in defence of Nigerias territorial integrity.

According to him, Todays event offers us the opportunity to honour our veterans. It also gives us the opportunity to reflect on the sacrifices, bravery, and commitment of our fallen heroes who lost their lives in the defence of our territorial integrity.

We also have to appreciate our armed forces generally, the Army, Air Force, and Navy as well as all other security agencies in Nigeria for their efforts in trying to ensure that we have peace in our country.

Of course, the fight against banditry and terrorism in Nigeria is something that is on course.

In recent weeks we had some setbacks, but I have no doubt in my mind because I have confidence in our armed forces and of course. Mr President has also made it clear that we have to come up with a time frame on when this battle against banditry and terrorism has to end.

We are going to cooperate with the armed forces in our capacities as governors and the Federal Government, to ensure that this war against banditry and terrorism is brought to a successful end, Mr Sani added.

The high point of the occasion was the laying of wreaths by senior government and military officials and 21 gun salutes in honour of the fallen heroes.

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Thousands of supporters and well-wishers welcomed Governor Dauda Lawal in Gusau, the capital city of Zamfara state, on Monday, creating an atmosphere of excitement and jubilation.

The Supreme Court on Friday 12 January reaffirmed Governor Lawal as the winner of the March 2023 Zamfara governorship election, setting aside the Court of Appeals decision that declared the election inconclusive.

A statement issued by the spokesperson of the Governor, Sulaiman Bala Idris, said a massive crowd brought the state capital to a standstill as they celebrated the Supreme Courts decision.

According to Mr Idris, it was a momentous occasion for the people of Zamfara, who were determined to show their support for their leader. The streets are lined with a mammoth crowd, cheering and waving as the governors convoy makes its way through the city, he stated.

The governor rode in an open van called the Bazamfara, waving to the cheering supporters as he moved through Tsafe local government area, Kwatarkwashi, and Damba to the Freedom Square in Gusau, the capital city.

The rally lasted over 10 hours. Thousands of people took to the streets, dancing and singing political songs while raising placards to express their joy over Governor Lawals reaffirmation by the apex court, the spokesperson stated.

During his speech at the Freedom Square, Governor Lawal praised the judiciary for standing with the truth regardless of the challenges, saying:

This decision by the Supreme Court has reignited hopes for an independent judiciary.

I thank the judiciary and the Federal Government for not interfering with the judicial processes, especially the election petitions. This has brought hope for the entire country.

I assure you that security is our top priority, as promised. We are progressing toward addressing our challenges and will continue to do so. Additionally, we have made great strides in education, health, agriculture, the economy, and other essential sectors.

We were denied a venue for our campaigns by the previous administration, even though we followed all the procedures required by law. As a result, we could only gather in this square for our campaigns. Therefore, we have decided to rename this square as Freedom Square.

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As part of its efforts to meaningfully confront the reoccurring security challenges faced by the state, the Kaduna state government has announced that plans to establish the Kaduna State Security Trust Fund. The move was revealed by Governor Uba Sani in his opening remarks at the Kaduna State Core Security Council meeting with traditional rulers and local government chairmen of frontline areas on Tuesday, 16th January, 2023, held in the state capital.

The governor stated, Our administration is fully committed to the security and safety of the whole of Kaduna State, because security is the cornerstone for the realisation of our SUSTAIN Agenda. I have been pursuing the deployment of more boots on the ground through more military formations. I am happy to inform you that very soon, there will be establishment of some Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) in the state. This move will greatly assist the expansion of our campaigns against terrorists and bandits in frontline locations.

Mr Sani said the state government was looking at the possibility of establishing Kaduna state security trust fund as a means of collaborating with corporate organisations, the business community, industrialists, professional groups, individuals and all critical stakeholders. He explained that the move was geared towards enhancing material and logistic support to the security agencies.

While commending the efforts of the agencies in maintaining peace and containing security threats especially during the festive season, the governor called for a renewed intensity and coordination in tackling emerging security challenges.

I must thank the security agencies for helping to maintain the peace all through the festive period and into the beginning of the year, Mr Sani emphasised, adding that the state enjoyed relative peace over this time, with the exception of the unfortunate incident at Tudun Biri.

He said the incident was eventually managed through the efforts of the states traditional and religious leaders, supported by security forces. We are deeply grateful for all the positive steps taken in that regard and in several other key areas, he added.

Concerning the meeting, the governor pointed out: The purpose of this meeting is to brainstorm on the situations in certain areas of interest, notably Kauru, Kajuru, Birnin Gwari, Igabi, Chikun, Kachia, Kagarko and the Kaduna-Abuja Road.

There was security on the Kaduna-Abuja road for about 18 months, until the sudden unfortunate and disturbing attack and kidnapping. The recent occurrences on that axis clearly indicate the need for re-opening of a front on that route.

On the side of security agencies, and in light of the challenges we are confronting, I must state that it has become vital for us to further close ranks, rub minds and revisit our collaborative structures. Deepening and strengthening of human intelligence networks is an obvious area requiring urgent review, towards restoring peace and security along these critical highways, and to the troubled communities. Mr Sani added.

The Kaduna State Security Council Meeting had in attendance traditional rulers and local government chairmen of frontline areas. They include the Emir of Zazzau, the Emir of Birnin Gwari, the Etsu of Chikun, the Agom of Kachia, the Chief of Kufana, the Emir of Kauru and the Chief of Dnata, as well as the Chairmen of Kauru, Kajuru, Birnin Gwari, Igabi, Chikun and Kachia local government areas.

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) says it plans to use direct primaries for the selection of its candidate for the 21 September Edo State governorship poll.

Duro Meseko, the APC deputy national publicity secretary, said this when he spoke with journalists on Tuesday in Abuja at the partys national secretariat.

He said this was part of resolutions at the end of the National Working Committee (NWC) consultative meeting with Edo stakeholders.

He urged the stakeholders to unite in trimming down the number of aspirants already in the race.

Mr Meseko urged aspirants to play by the rules, advising them to explore internal party dispute resolution mechanisms, instead of dragging the party to court at the slightest opportunity.

It was resolved that for the smooth running of the party, all members should ensure strict compliance with their financial obligations to the party in line with its constitution.

The NWC also resolved that for want of time, the e-registration for fresh members be conducted after the primaries in order not to derail its smooth conduct.

The stakeholders were urged to promote unity within the ranks of the party in order to go into the election as one family bound by progressive ideals and fully geared to reclaim its mandate in Edo, he said.

Earlier, Adams Oshiomole, a former APC national chairman, said democracy based on popular participation might be more difficult but could not be faulted.

This, he said, was because it allowed for the building of consensus, conflict and resolution of same with an understanding that the majority would have their way while the minority had their say.

Mr Oshiohmole said the APC was determined to reclaim the state in the September election.

We are determined to reclaim Edo. I used the word reclaim because Edo is ours. We lost it due to several factors some of which were caused by some APC elements, he said.

He said the party stakeholders had initiated dialogue among the 29 aspirants with a view to having a healthy competition.

He lauded Abdullahi Ganduje, the imcumben APC national Chairman for his leadership role and prayed that his effort would lead to victory in Edo.

Speaking, Mr Ganduje said his immediate target was to increase the number of governors and lawmakers on the partys platform.

To do that, we have to work throughout the year, traditionally, especially in developing countries political parties are very weak institutions. But we want to make APC a strong institution.

Therefore, according to our programme, we are working throughout the year, not until when there are elections, and after elections the party becomes dead, he said.

We have to improve on our internal democracy, deepen and widen it, the APC national chairman said.

He tasked party members on need to understand the party manifesto, rules, regulations and philosophy.

We need to move toward having a party ideology so that we will not be an ordinary political association whereby everybody can come in just to win the election, he said.

READ ALSO: APC reacts to Supreme Court judgements on governorship elections

He added that party members had to believe in its doctrine and work toward increasing its followership.

So internal democracy is very important, we have to be transparent and at the same time, we have to also adopt a guided democracy where we can discuss issues so that we limit if possible the number of contests, he said.

(NAN)

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Residents of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, were, on Tuesday at about 8 p.m., thrown into confusion as an explosion rocked parts of the city, leaving people scampering for safety.

Because the explosion was heard in many parts of the ancient city, there was confusion about its exact cause and location. While some residents described the incident as a tremor, others said it could have been a gas explosion or a blast from an improvised explosive device.

Different accounts listed some of the affected areas including Eleyele, Ologuneru, Owalla, Ekerin, Isokan, Apete and parts of the University College Hospital (UCH) where windows were reportedly shattered.

Other affected places included Gbaremu, Mokola, Bodija, Oke-Itunu, Basorun, Akobo and Sango. Sections of the Governors Office, Secretariat, Oyo State House of Assembly and residence of the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, the late Bola Ige, were also reportedly affected.

Roads were also deserted as many residents were forced to stay indoors.

A resident, Dejo Olugbodi, suggested that the explosion might have occured around Dejo Oyelese area behind the secretariat.

I was on my way to visit my friend, whose house is about 300 metres from Dejo Oyelese. By the time I got to Oyelese, I couldnt go further; I had to retrace my steps.

It is an explosion. The house is badly damaged. I saw injured people being moved to the hospital, Mr Olugbodi narrated.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that some victims of the incident have been admitted at various hospitals, including the University College Hospital (UCH).

In a statement by the states Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Dotun Oyelade, the government said there were various interpretations of the explosion, but that its cause has not been ascertained.

Mr Oyelade, however, assured residents that the state government was in control of the situation in the state.

He said security agencies in the state have deployed their officials to contain the spillover from the explosion.

Governor Seyi Makinde implores citizens to calm down and be assured that their interests are being looked after, the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, the Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, Adewale Oyefeso, confirmed that the explosion happened around Dejo Oyelese street, Bodija, Ibadan, at about 7:44 p.m. He, however, could not confirm its cause.

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Half of projected 130,000 tons annual output set for export markets

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Sanoat Energetika Guruhi ("Saneg"), Uzbekistan's largest private oil and gas company, has launched a unique modernization programme to improve the quality of base oils production in the country.

The project, based at Saneg's Fergana refinery (FNPZ), will raise the standard of base oils developed in Uzbekistan to European standards for the first time.

Saneg plans to produce approximately 130,000 tons of base oils in 2024, with half this quantity exported to foreign markets including Italy, the Baltic states and Turkey.

The large-scale programme includes modernizing FNPZ's atmospheric vacuum column, as well as upgrading the on-site plans that produce base oils.

As part of the program's first stage, new catalysts are being used on the base oil hydrotreating column. This unit performs deep cleaning of oil from sulphur, nitrogen, aromatic hydrocarbons and asphaltene substances, which negatively affect the products' oxidation stability, corrosion characteristics and colour.

"The program to improve the quality of base oils is a step forward in Saneg's commitment to innovation and product improvement," said Tulkin Yusupov, Saneg's CEO. "The modernization programme makes it possible to maximize the potential of the hydrotreating plant and produce oils with improved antioxidant and anticorrosive properties that match API standards."

Saneg is now using the HyBRIM group of catalysts at FNPZ, developed by Danish company Topsoe. This new generation of catalysts provides deep purification of oils from sulphur and nitrogen impurities.

The improved base oils will be involved in the production of motor, transmission, hydraulic, gear, compressor and other types of commercial oils marketed under the SEG Motol brand.

About Saneg

Sanoat Energetika Guruhi, Saneg (Jizzakh Petroleum until November 2021) was established in 2017 with the aim of expanding the country's production capacities for the deep processing of hydrocarbon raw materials and the production of high-quality petroleum products, as well as increasing the export potential of Uzbekistan's oil and gas industry.

Saneg is Uzbekistan's largest private oil and gas company which owns the subsoil rights to 103 deposits for geological exploration and extraction, and which accounts for about 80% of oil production in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The company employs over 5,000 people. The production facilities of the company are in Karshi, Mubarek, Fergana and Andijan.
Nationally Trusted Plumbing and HVAC Franchise Ranks #355 in the 2024 Franchise 500 Rankings

PEARLAND, Texas, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- 1-800-Plumber +Air , an industry leading plumbing and HVAC franchise, was recognized as one of the top 500 franchises in Entrepreneur's Franchise 500, the world's first and most comprehensive franchise ranking. For 45 years, the annual Entrepreneur Franchise 500 has been a highly sought-after honor in the franchise industry and recognized as an invaluable resource for potential franchisees. The 2024 Franchise 500 ranks 1-800-Plumber +Air as number 355 for its outstanding performance in areas including unit growth, financial strength and stability, and brand power.

1-800-Plumber +Air provides high-quality support for their franchise owners through its unique, community-like company culture. The brand invests effort, time and training in each and every one of its franchise locations, having implemented innovative technology that allows for an easy and effective training process for all. 1-800-Plumber +Air prides itself on being a needs-based service for its customers, with franchise owners meeting a necessary need for their communities.

"Every brand on the Franchise 500 has its own unique story, but they all collectively make the same statement: Franchising is strong and resilient, is full of innovation and opportunity, and provides a powerful entrepreneurial path for many people," says Jason Feifer, editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine. "Our 45th annual ranking is full of companies with fresh ideas, exciting business models, cultural sway, and the kind of business sophistication that will define the next 45 years and beyond."

In Entrepreneur's continuing effort to best understand and evaluate the ever-changing franchise marketplace, the company's ranking formula continues to evolve as well. The editorial team researches and assesses several factors, including costs and fees, size and growth, support, brand strength, and financial strength and stability. Each franchise is then given a cumulative score based on an analysis of more than 150 data points, and the 500 franchises with the highest cumulative scores become the Franchise 500 in ranked order.

"It is truly an honor for 1-800-Plumber +Air to be recognized in Entrepreneur's 2024 Franchise 500 Ranking," said Mark Collins, CEO of 1-800-Plumber +Air. "We are consistently striving to be the best we can be for both our franchise owners and customers. This honor proves to us that our efforts are not unnoticed, and we are excited to continue our hard work to achieve more growth and success in 2024."

Over its 45 years in existence, the Franchise 500 has become both a dominant competitive measure for franchisors and a primary research tool for potential franchisees. 1-800-Plumber +Air's position on the ranking is a testament to its strength as a franchise opportunity.

To view 1-800-Plumber +Air in the full ranking, visit http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchise500 or pick up a copy of the January/February 2024 issue of Entrepreneur on newsstands now.

About 1-800-Plumber +Air

Franchising since 2018, 1-800-Plumber +Air is an industry leading plumbing and HVAC franchise, providing high-quality plumbing, heating, cooling, and emergency services. Currently operating in over 60 service areas across 20 states, the company is fast-growing and was recognized in Entrepreneur's 2023 Franchise 500 Ranking. The brand remains dedicated to meeting all plumbing and HVAC needs, emphasizing community enhancement, customer well-being, and unwavering support for employees and franchisees. For more information, please visit https://1800plumber.com/

SOURCE 1-800-Plumber +Air
Technological Transformation: Executives express confidence in technology as the driving force behind the future of global trade, with 98% already leveraging AI to enhance supply chain operations  from inventory management to optimizing transport routes

Proactive Adoption: In anticipation of evolving challenges, businesses plan to ramp up technology adoption. A third will focus on advanced automation, 28% on blockchain, and 21% on AI, big-data analytics, and predictive analytics

Supply Chain Adaptation: As geopolitical tensions cast a shadow, more companies are turning to friendshoring and dual supply chain strategies. Over a quarter are opting for fewer suppliers

Economist Impact forecasts a 0.9% drop in global GDP if trade tariffs on high-tech goods increase significantly

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite the challenges of 2023 and escalating geopolitical tensions, business leaders remain surprisingly optimistic for 2024, according to new research from Economist Impact and DP World, unveiled today at the World Economic Forum.

The influence of geopolitical events on trade and supply-chain operations The extent of technology adoption in trade operations

The primary driver is a growing belief that technology will transform the efficiency and resilience of supply chains. Amid escalating concerns about protectionism, global fragmentation and political instability, businesses are reassessing risks within their supply chains and pivoting towards friendshoring and dual supply chain strategies.

The fourth annual Trade in Transition study, commissioned by DP World and led by Economist Impact, captured the perspectives of trade experts and senior executives across a variety of regions and sectors. This period of unprecedented transformation  heightened geopolitical risk, the urgent realities of climate change and significant advancements in technologies  is causing businesses to face complex challenges. Yet there are also opportunities.

2023 was a pivotal year in supply chain innovation as technology drives optimism for 2024

The global survey of 3,500 company executives found technologies that improve supply chain efficacy and resilience to be the main source of optimism for business leaders when asked to assess the future of global trade. At the core of this sentiment is the widespread adoption of AI, with 98% of executives already using AI to revolutionise at least one aspect of their supply chain operations.

From solving inventory management issues and reducing trade expenses to optimising transport routes, executives are taking advantage of integrating AI. A third of businesses are utilising AI to deliver a reduction in overall trade operation costs and the same amount to enhance resource and supply chain planning. Over one-third of companies view boosting the use of digital tools for enhanced inventory management as the most effective strategy in cutting overall trade and supply chain costs.

Businesses expect to ramp up their technological adoption further this year, a proactive approach that underscores a commitment to deploying innovation to navigate the evolving business landscape with increased efficiency and resilience. Of those surveyed, a third will focus on advanced automation and robotics for logistics efficiency; 28% will turn to blockchain for enhanced traceability and data security; and 21% will embrace artificial intelligence, big-data analytics and predictive analytics for real-time insights and disruption forecasting.

Supply chains adapt as geopolitical tensions weigh

In the new era of globalisation, a landscape of heightened geopolitical risk is shaping the contours of global trade as businesses attempt to reduce risks across their supply chains. More than a third of companies are using friendshoring to shape trade and supply chain operations, while 32% are creating parallel supply chains or dual sourcing.

In addition, more than a quarter are opting for fewer suppliers  a 16-percentage point increase from the previous year  as businesses weigh the advantages of consolidation against diversification and control against resilience.

Concerns that political instability, rising trade friction and global fragmentation could hamper growth are increasing. A fifth of businesses are concerned with higher tariffs, or uncertainties around tariffs, in key markets they export to or import from. In fact, 22% of executives emphasised the challenge of political instability in their sourcing markets, while almost a quarter (23%) are concerned about heightened geopolitical uncertainty.

Economist Impact conducted a quantitative trade analysis through the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) platform to estimate the potential global output loss from hypothetical scenarios of further "geo-economic fragmentation." In a scenario focused on significantly increased trade barriers on high-tech goods  a focal point in the current geopolitical climate  Economist Impact projected a 0.9% decline in worldwide GDP.

Speaking at the launch of the report at the World Economic Forum in Davos today, DP World Group Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said:

"The findings in this report reveal a remarkable optimism, despite businesses having to operate in an increasingly uncertain environment. Governments can maximise the significant economic benefits of trade by providing the predictability that businesses need, while reducing trade friction. This entails not only tariff reduction, but also collaborating with the private sector to roll-out technological advancements  most notably in digitalisation, automation and AI  that enable greater efficiency, visibility and adaptability."

John Ferguson, Global Lead, New Globalisation, Economist Impact, added:

"In 2024, amidst heightened geopolitical risk and the rising impact of climate change, there is an observable increase in the variability of approaches businesses are taking to their supply chains. This reflects a growing understanding that no single strategy will meet the needs of different businesses. What's clear is that technology is being implemented across supply chains to ensure business can adapt faster and smarter."

To view the full report, please click here.

About Economist Impact

Economist Impact combines the rigour of a think-tank with the creativity of a media brand to engage an influential global audience.

We partner with corporations, foundations, NGOs and governments across big themes including sustainability, health and the changing shape of globalisation to catalyse change and enable progress.

impact.economist.com

About Trade in Transition

This is the fourth edition of the Trade in Transition report commissioned by DP World and led by Economist Impact. It is a global survey that retrieves data from over 3,500 executives, examining private sector sentiment on international trade and supply chains. More specifically it looks at how factors such as geopolitics, climate change and technology impact trade and supply chains. Trade in Transition also looks into regional (North America, South America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific) and sectoral data (FMCG, industrial, consumer goods, food-and-drink, energy-and-natural resources, health and pharma, and logistics and distribution) to compare and contrast priorities in international trade.

economistimpact.com/trade-in-transition/

For DP World media enquiries, please contact:

Adal Mirza Head of Media Relations [email protected] +971 56 355 0899 Hakam Kherallah Consultant, Media Relations & CEO Communications [email protected] +971 50 552 2610

Follow DP World on

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DP_World

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dp-world

About DP World

Trade is the lifeblood of the global economy, creating opportunities and improving the quality of life for people around the world. DP World exists to make the world's trade flow better, changing what's possible for the customers and communities we serve globally.

With a dedicated, diverse and professional team of more than 103,000 employees spanning 75 countries on six continents, DP World is pushing trade further and faster towards a seamless supply chain that's fit for the future.

We're rapidly transforming and integrating our businesses -- Ports and Terminals, Marine Services, Logistics and Technology  and uniting our global infrastructure with local expertise to create stronger, more efficient end-to-end supply chain solutions that can change the way the world trades.

What's more, we're reshaping the future by investing in innovation. From intelligent delivery systems to automated warehouse stacking, we're at the cutting edge of disruptive technology, pushing the sector towards better ways to trade, minimising disruptions from the factory floor to the customer's door.

WE MAKE TRADE FLOW TO CHANGE WHAT'S POSSIBLE FOR EVERYONE.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2317522/Fig9.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2317523/Fig10.jpg

SOURCE DP World
HTeaO's First Franchisee Opens the Brand's 100th Location After Continued Multi-Unit Success

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- HTeaO, America's largest iced tea franchise, is celebrating a historic brand milestone with the opening of its 100th location on January 20 at 815 Wellborn Rd, College Station, TX. Coming off an impressive year of franchise development, HTeaO opened 34 locations and awarded 124 franchise agreements across the country in 2023. With QSR concepts on the rise, multi-unit owners are flocking to the franchise opportunity wanting to expand their portfolios.

HTeaO's 100th Location in College Station, TX

A full circle moment for the leading iced tea brand, the 100th location is owned by the same franchisee who signed the first franchise agreement with HTeaO five years ago. Bryan Benson, HTeaO's first franchisee, has continued to invest in the brand with four open locations and two more on the way, and says the success speaks for itself.

"It's been amazing to see the growth with HTeaO over the past five years since we signed the first-ever franchise agreement," said Benson. "College Station is a bustling community filled with college students and growing with young families. The vibrant town is the perfect place to bring HTeaO's fun concept. We look forward to bringing another taste of Texas with our freshly brewed, made daily iced tea blends."

To celebrate this momentous occasion, Benson and his team will be hosting a large celebration on Saturday, January 20 from 12:00 PM  3:00 PM at 815 Wellborn Rd. Guests are invited to attend and celebrate with the entire College Station community, and participate in the following festivities.

The celebration will begin with a ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by the College Station Chamber of Commerce with members of the corporate team in attendance.

Chamber of Commerce with members of the corporate team in attendance. The event will have several food trucks including Napa Flats and Raging Bull Street Tacos, and activities for kids including a bouncy house.

Aggie 96.1 will be on site playing country music and hosting their live radio broadcast.

The first 30 guests in line will receive swag bags filled with various HTeaO merchandise inside to commemorate the 100 th location and HTeaO gift cards.

location and HTeaO gift cards. Throughout the day HTeaO will also be conducting giveaways for prizes including; free tea for a year, a Yeti cooler, and limited edition t-shirts.

"As the specialty beverage industry continues to evolve, we are excited to have strong brand recognition as we open our 100th location," said Justin Howe, Founder and CEO of HTeaO. "Building this brand and becoming a household name in a rising industry is rewarding for the entire HTeaO Team and we can't wait to continue to grow in 2024."

Throughout 2023, HTeaO has continued to branch into new states across the nation by securing agreements in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, South Carolina, and Tennessee. This success of the brand has not gone unnoticed, as HTeaO has ranked on the highly sought-after Entrepreneur Franchise 500 ranking four years in-a-row and landed at number nine on the 2023 Top New and Emerging Franchises list.

HTeaO is committed to providing a high-quality product, with all its ingredients fresh and 100 percent natural, in a fun and clean environment. Known for its 26 flavors of ultra-premium teas ranging from coconut to Georgia peach, these caffeinated and decaffeinated tea varieties come in both sweet or unsweet options, and any flavors can be combined to create something unique.

In addition to its wide array of teas and coffees, including a new partnership with Free Rein, each location offers several healthy grab-and-go snacks, home brew kits, ground and whole bean coffee, apparel and accessories. The community-driven organization also believes in brewing purpose. Every cup can make a difference, and locations frequently host promotions to give back.

The brand currently operates in six different states, has over 300 stores in development and projects to have 500 locations open by the end of 2026.

HTeaO is a unique franchise concept that has perfected a simplistic business model, dealing primarily in iced tea. With all natural ingredients, the brand has created its own supply chain, to ensure each store receives all essential products, and helps keep costs low. Striving for precise consistency, each store is equipped with its own proprietary water plant, creating pure and consistent tasting water.

For more information about franchise opportunities, please visit https://hteao.com/franchise/.

About HTeaO

HTeaO is the leading iced tea franchise and is breaking into a niche category within the beverage industry. With a cost-effective business model, the brand operates their own supply chain, significantly lowering the cost of goods. HTeaO serves ultra-premium tea, water and coffee related products to customers in-store and through a drive-thru. 26 handcrafted flavors of sweetened and unsweetened tea are sold at each location, created with a proprietary water filtration system, and 100% all natural ingredients. In early January of 2023, HTeaO announced a minority partnership with two Dallas based Private equity firms: Crux Capital and Trive Capital. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and the partnership will help to ensure HTeaO's stable expansion. HTeaO believes in creating a welcoming atmosphere and makes a large effort to give back to the local community. For more information about the franchise opportunity, visit https://hteao.com/franchise/.

SOURCE HTeaO Franchising
New Partnership Explores Next-Gen Technology's Potential to Transform the US AECO Industry

BELLEVUE, Wash., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In a move set to create a transformative change in construction project delivery in the US, LeapThought, a leader in intelligent construction management software for the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operations (AECO) sector, today announced a strategic partnership with the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture and the Built Environment Application (BETA) Lab at Washington State University (WSU). The partnership aims to explore the potential of Integrated Digital Delivery (IDD) for large-scale construction in the US using LeapThought's advanced FulcrumHQ collaboration platform.

Identifying the Potential of IDD in Project Delivery

IDD uses digital technologies to integrate work processes and connect stakeholders working on the same project throughout the construction and building life cycle. This partnership builds upon IDD's vast potential to elevate the efficiencies and outcomes of construction project delivery. As part of the collaboration, WSU's BETA Lab, in cooperation with LeapThought, will engage prospective AECO partners and introduce them to the potential of IDD to improve project outcomes.

The focus will be strengthening IDD implementation strategies with insights from real-world operations. LeapThought will further ensure the adaptation and optimal utilization of the FulcrumHQ construction collaboration platform by providing training and support services throughout the project execution.

LeapThought and WSU will gather data to inform future strategies that enhance both the FulcrumHQ platform and IDD deployment in the North American market. The research will be documented and shared to encourage wider sector engagement with IDD processes.

Transforming Contemporary Construction Project Delivery

"This collaboration with WSU underscores LeapThought's dedication to fostering innovation in the AECO sector. Through the FulcrumHQ platform, we anticipate unlocking the potential of Integrated Digital Delivery in the US and Canada, transforming contemporary construction project delivery," said Preetham Garikipati, LeapThought's Executive Director of Academic Partnerships. "Building on our experience engaging with leading programs for the built environmentincluding co-developing an IDD curriculum with the globally recognized Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore, we're looking forward to working with WSU students and faculty to drive progress in the domain of built environment technology."

Hongtao Dang, assistant professor in WSU's School of Design and Construction, is leading the research effort with undergraduate and graduate student researchers. "Project delivery has a long research history but a slow adoption. With the workforce shortage and digital integration challenges, we need to work collaboratively and efficiently, leveraging advanced tools and cutting-edge technologies for Integrated Digital Delivery. The partnership will help identify effective IDD practices and benefits through case studies and inform future workforce development and transformative practices in the AECO sector," said Dang.

This partnership between LeapThought and WSU demonstrates a commitment to continually driving innovation and accelerating transformation in the AECO sector.

About LeapThought

LeapThought Corp., a trailblazer implementing digital transformation in the global construction industry, specializes in intelligent construction management. With clients from sectors including transportation, defense, utilities, healthcare, and residential and commercial property development, LeapThought caters to the AECO industry's needs in large-scale construction and infrastructure.

Headquartered in the USA, LeapThought provides unparalleled support to customers worldwide through its offices in New Zealand, Singapore, Australia, and India. Using state-of-the-art solutions like its flagship FulcrumHQ platform and leveraging AI and machine learning, LeapThought is propelling the construction sector toward more sustainable and efficient project outcomes. Discover more at www.leapthought.com.

About WSU and the BETA Lab

Washington State University, a public research university known for its scientific and technological advancements, remains committed to leveraging knowledge for societal benefit. Its Built Environment Technology Application (BETA) Lab pioneers the development of transformative technologies in the built environment. For more information, visit https://labs.wsu.edu/beta/.

SOURCE LeapThought
Artificial Intelligence is threatening the very existence of professional website designers by unveiling the web-based platform, SitesGPT.com. The program allows anyone to instantly generate a stunning website for their business, absolutely free. Learn by going to SitesGPT.com today and watch your amazing new website generate before your eyes.

DALLAS, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- SitesGPT.com, a new web-based platform that allows users to instantly generate a website using artificial intelligence (AI), has been officially launched to the public. The application is free to try, so anyone can go to SitesGPT.com and build a website for any type of business.

With SitesGPT.com, users can create a website in minutes, without any coding or design skills. The platform uses advanced algorithms to generate a unique website based on the user's inputs and preferences. Users can choose from a variety of templates, layouts, and color schemes, and customize their website with text, images, and videos.

"We are excited to launch SitesGPT.com and bring the power of artificial intelligence to website creation," said Michelle Thompson, CEO of SitesGPT.com. "Our platform is designed to make website building easy and accessible to anyone, regardless of their technical skills or budget."

SitesGPT.com is packed with features and tools that make it easy for users to create a professional-looking website. The platform is mobile-friendly, so websites look great on any device. It also includes SEO tools to help users optimize their website for search engines, and analytics tools to track website traffic and performance.

"We believe that SitesGPT.com has the potential to revolutionize the way websites are built," said Eric Young, COO of SitesGPT.com. "Our platform is perfect for small businesses, startups, and anyone who needs a website but doesn't have the time or resources to build one from scratch."

To try SitesGPT.com, simply go to the website and sign up for a free account. Users can start building their website right away, and can upgrade to a paid plan to access additional features and support.

Contact:

SitesGPT.com - AI Website Builder

***@sitesgpt.com

Photo(s):

https://www.prlog.org/13002562

Press release distributed by PRLog

SOURCE SitesGPT.com
NEW YORK, Jan. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The allergy immunotherapies market is expected to grow by USD 1.01 billion from 2022 to 2027. In addition, the momentum of the market will progress at a CAGR of 8.95% during the forecast period, according to Technavio Research. The market has been segmented by product (SCIT and SLIT), type (allergic rhinitis, asthma, food allergy, and others), and geography (Europe, North America, Asia, and Rest of the World (ROW)). Europe is estimated to contribute 53% to the growth of the global market during the forecast period. The growth of the market in this region is being driven by an increasing number of allergy cases in Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom. A large proportion of the adult population in Europe is affected by food allergies. The rapid development of allergy immunotherapies in the region is due to an increasing need for treating these allergic diseases.

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Allergy Immunotherapies Market 2023-2027

This report offers an up-to-date analysis of the current market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. Read a Free PDF Sample Report

Company Profile:

Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corp., Aimmune Therapeutics Inc., ALK Abello AS, ALLERGOPHARMA GmbH and Co. KG, Allergy Therapeutics PLC, Biomay AG, DBV Technologies SA, Desentum Oy, HAL Allergy BV, Immunomic Therapeutics Inc., Jubilant Pharmova Ltd., LETI Pharma SLU, LOFARMA Spa, Merck KGaA, Novartis AG, Optum Inc., Shionogi and Co. Ltd., Stallergenes Greer Ltd., Torii Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., and Viatris Inc.

Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corp. - The company offers allergy immunotherapy named, SYMJEPI which is an injection that is indicated for the emergency treatment of allergic reactions (Type 1- including anaphylaxis) to stinging and biting insects.

To gain access to more company profiles available with Technavio, buy the report!

Allergy Immunotherapies Market: Segmentation Analysis

The market share growth of the SCIT segment will be significant during the forecast period.

Learn about the contribution of each segment summarized in concise infographics and thorough descriptions. View a PDF Sample Report

Allergy Immunotherapies Market: Driver & Trend:

Recent approvals and a strong pipeline

Increasing prevalence of allergies

Growing market consolidation

Recent approvals and a strong pipeline is a key factor driving market growth. The compelling effectiveness and comparatively greater safety of allergy immunotherapies, along with the widespread occurrence of allergies, present an appealing prospect for market participants. These approvals introduce more effective treatments with fewer side effects, increasing patient adherence. Despite recent approvals, the global allergy immunotherapies market faces significant unmet demand due to the limited number of approved therapies relative to the high prevalence of allergies.

Identify key trends, drivers, and challenges in the market. Download a sample to gain access to this information.

The Allergy Immunotherapies market is witnessing dynamic advancements with a focus on various treatment modalities. Subcutaneous Immunotherapy (SCIT), Sublingual Immunotherapy (SLIT), and Oral Mucosal Immunotherapy (OMIT) have gained prominence, leveraging allergen extracts for conditions related to Aeroallergens, Food Allergens, and Mite Allergens. Notable products such as ALVESCO (Ciclesonide) and GRAZAX (Grass Pollen Allergy Tablet) from pharmaceutical giants like Stallergenes Greer, ALK-Abello, Merck KGaA, and others are making significant strides. Regulatory approvals are pivotal, and the market sees a surge in Biologics for Allergy Treatment. Personalized Medicine and Precision Medicine in Allergy Care, particularly for Peanut Allergy Treatments, are driving innovation. Epicutaneous Immunotherapy and Allergoid Immunotherapy are emerging, while market growth is influenced by reimbursement policies and an upsurge in clinical trials. Pediatric Allergy Treatments, along with a focus on emerging markets, are expanding the scope. Digital Health Solutions play a vital role in allergy management, emphasizing patient compliance and education. Immunotherapy Vaccines are gaining traction, aligning with environmental changes impacting allergy prevalence.

Related Reports:

The Global Immunotherapy Drugs Market is estimated to grow by USD 111.35 billion at a CAGR of 11.31% between 2023 and 2028.

The global allergy rhinitis drugs market is estimated to grow by USD 3.17 billion at a CAGR of 3.92% between 2023 and 2028.

What are the key data covered in this allergy immunotherapies market report?

CAGR of the market during the forecast period

Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the allergy immunotherapies market between 2022 and 2027.

Precise estimation of the allergy immunotherapies market size and its contribution to the market in focus on the parent market

Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

Growth of the allergy immunotherapies market across North America, Europe, Asia, and ROW

A thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information about companies

Comprehensive analysis of factors that will challenge the growth of allergy immunotherapies market companies.

ToC:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market Sizing

Historic Market Sizes

Five Forces Analysis

Market Segmentation by Product

Market Segmentation by Type

Market Segmentation by Geography

Customer Landscape

Geographic Landscape

Drivers, Challenges, & Trends

Company Landscape

Company Analysis

Appendix

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contacts

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com

SOURCE Technavio
Family members of fallen soldiers described tears rolling down their faces when they listened to this passionate tribute song to America's heroes for the first time.

ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Chris Nelson, a newly emerged country music artist and retired Army veteran, has struck a chord with audiences nationwide with the release of his new single, "No Flag Higher." This heartfelt and patriotic tribute is an ode to his fellow fallen heroes who sacrificed their lives to defend freedom. "No Flag Higher" was inspired by Chris' own personal military experiences and he penned the song at a local bar in Arlington, VA

Living near Arlington National Cemetery, Chris draws daily inspiration from the poignant visual reminder of the sacrifices made by our heroes since the cemetery was established in 1864. Having served in the Army in various theatres of operations, Chris intimately understands the dedication, sacrifices, and the profound pain of losing comrades in the line of duty.

The song, released in December 2023, has quickly gained momentum, amassing nearly one million streams on Spotify in just three weeks. Chris, who only released his first song in August 2023 has also garnered a growing fan base on social media, a testament to the resonating impact of his powerful lyrics and ability to tell personal stories that resonate with country music fans.

"No Flag Higher" encapsulates the essence of patriotism and the unwavering spirit of those who fought for the United States. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a weary veteran in a small-town bar, reflecting on the memories of comrades who gave their all for their country. The chorus declares: "Ain't no flag flies higher, than the one they raise, Ain't no sacrifice greater, than the one they pay, Ain't no love that's stronger, than the kind of love they gave, For the land of the free, thank God for the brave." Chris says, "those who lost a husband, wife, son, daughter, mother, father, or friend in combat understands exactly the meaning behind the lyrics".

Chris aims not only to honor the our heroes and their families but also to rekindle a sense of patriotism in a nation that he believes has in some ways "lost touch" with why we enjoy the freedoms we have. The song serves as a moving reminder of the selfless sacrifices made by our military, a love like no other.

You can listen to "No Flag Higher" and Chris's other songs on all music streaming apps and social media platforms. Chris plans to release his first album in the Spring of 2024, so be sure and follow him for all the latest updates. Please visit his website for his complete bio and latest music release information.

Contact:

Chris Nelson

***@inkstringer.com



Photo(s):

https://www.prlog.org/13001971



Press release distributed by PRLog

SOURCE Chris Nelson Music
DUBLIN, Jan. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Asia-Pacific Lignofuels Market: Analysis and Forecast, 2023-2032" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Asia-Pacific lignofuels market (excluding China) is projected to reach $405.6 million by 2032 from $203.8 million in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 7.95% during the forecast period 2023-2032.

Ongoing research and development efforts have resulted in more advanced techniques for producing lignofuels, increasing their cost efficiency and efficacy and thereby pushing market expansion. Modern technologies in integrated biorefineries, such as Finland's Neste Porvoo Refinery, demonstrate the use of lignocellulosic feedstock for biofuel production. Globally supportive legislation and incentives are propelling the lignofuels industry's rapid growth.

The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in the United States, for example, requires the inclusion of renewable fuels, including cellulosic biofuels, into transportation fuel, assuring a steady market for lignofuels. The Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) specifies targets for renewable energy in transportation throughout the European Union, encouraging the use of biofuels and lignofuels.



The APAC lignofuel market refers to the Asia-Pacific region's market for renewable fuels derived from lignocellulosic biomass sources such as agricultural leftovers, forestry waste, and specific energy crops. Lignofuels, also known as advanced biofuels, are a viable alternative to traditional fossil fuels that help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.



Concerns about climate change and the demand for sustainable energy sources have led to a rise in interest in lignofuels throughout the Asia-Pacific area. Government initiatives and legislation encouraging the use of renewable energy, together with the region's plentiful biomass resources, have spurred the expansion of the APAC lignofuel industry.



Lignofuels provide various benefits, including lower carbon emissions, increased energy security, and the possibility for rural economic development by employing locally accessible biomass feedstocks. Furthermore, lignofuels can be utilized as a direct substitute for traditional fuels, allowing for a seamless transition in existing infrastructure and automobiles.



Despite increased interest, the APAC lignofuel market is still confronted with constraints such as high production costs, limited commercial-scale implementation, and the need for technological breakthroughs in biomass conversion processes. However, with increased investments in R&D and favorable government legislation, the APAC lignofuel market has great growth potential.

How can this report add value to an organization?



Product/Innovation Strategy: The product segment helps the reader to understand the different sources and processing technology involved in the lignofuels market. The source segment has been segmented into dedicated energy crops, agricultural residue, forest residue, and urban waste. The processing technology segment has been segmented into thermochemical and biochemical. Moreover, the study provides the reader with a detailed understanding of the lignofuels market based on end users, including automotive, aerospace, and marine. The increasing adoption of lignofuels in renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel is expected to fuel market growth in the future.



Growth/Marketing Strategy: The Asia-Pacific lignofuels market has seen major development by key players operating in the market, such as business expansions, partnerships, collaborations, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures. The favored strategy for the companies has been business partnerships to strengthen their position in the lignofuels market.



Competitive Strategy: Key players in the Asia-Pacific lignofuels market analyzed and profiled in the study involve lignofuels manufacturers and the overall ecosystem. Moreover, a detailed competitive benchmarking of the players operating in the lignofuels market has been done to help the reader understand how players stack against each other, presenting a clear market landscape.

Additionally, comprehensive competitive strategies such as partnerships, agreements, acquisitions, and collaborations will aid the reader in understanding the untapped revenue pockets in the market.



Key Topics Covered:

1 Market

1.1 Industry Outlook

1.1.1 Trends: Current and Future

1.1.1.1 Market Competitiveness Promoting Commercial Deployment of Low-Cost Lignofuels

1.1.1.2 Sustainability Standards Playing a Vital Role in Promoting Lignofuels

1.1.2 Supply Chain Analysis

1.1.3 Cost Break-Up of Lignofuels (Cellulosic Ethanol) Plant

1.2 Business Dynamics

1.2.1 Business Drivers

1.2.1.1 Government Policies Benefiting Lignofuels

1.2.1.2 Collaborative Efforts of Government and Manufacturers for Promoting Sustainable Biofuels

1.2.1.3 Availability of Waste and Residues Feedstock to Benefit Lignofuels

1.2.2 Business Challenges

1.2.2.1 Slower Commercialization of Lignofuels

1.2.2.2 Variation in Feedstock Prices Across Regions and Countries

1.2.3 Business Strategies

1.2.3.1 Product and Market Developments

1.2.4 Corporate Strategies

1.2.4.1 Mergers and Acquisitions, Partnerships, and Joint Ventures

1.2.5 Business Opportunities

1.2.5.1 Trade Opportunities to Benefit Lignofuels

1.2.5.2 Mandates for Blending of Bioethanol

1.3 Start-Up Landscape

1.3.1 Key Start-Ups in the Ecosystem



2 Regions

2.1 China

2.1.1 Market

2.1.1.1 Business Drivers

2.1.1.2 Business Challenges

2.1.2 Application, Volume and Value Data

2.1.2.1 End User

2.1.3 Product, Volume and Value Data

2.1.3.1 Source

2.1.3.2 Processing Technology

2.2 Asia-Pacific and Japan

2.2.1 Market

2.2.1.1 Business Drivers

2.2.1.2 Business Challenges

2.2.2 Application, Volume and Value Data

2.2.2.1 End User

2.2.3 Product, Volume and Value Data

2.2.3.1 Source

2.2.3.2 Processing Technology

2.2.4 Asia-Pacific and Japan (by Country)

2.2.4.2 India

2.2.4.3 ASEAN

2.2.4.4 Rest-of-Asia-Pacific and Japan



3 Market - Competitive Benchmarking and Company Profiles

3.1 Competitive Benchmarking

3.1.1 Competitive Position Matrix

3.2 Company Profiles

3.2.1 Praj Industries

3.2.1.1 Overview

3.2.1.2 Top Products / Product Portfolio

3.2.1.3 Top Competitors

3.2.1.4 Target Clients/End User

3.2.1.5 Market Share

3.2.1.6 Analyst View

3.2.1.7 Key Personnel



4 Research Methodology

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/8ky62o

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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SOURCE Research and Markets
With this partnership, Votorantim Cimentos intends to increase renewable energy consumption in Brazil to 75%, strengthening its decarbonization strategy and increasing its competitiveness.

SAO PAULO, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Atlas Renewable Energy, an international leader in providing renewable energy solutions for corporations, and Votorantim Cimentos, a construction materials and sustainable solutions company, have signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to supply and purchase, respectively, 100 MW of solar energy for the next 15 years. The solar energy provided through this agreement will support the energy needs of Votorantim Cimentos' production units and distribution centers located in the South, Southeast, and Midwest regions of Brazil.

ATLAS RENEWABLE ENERGY AND VOTORANTIM CIMENTOS SIGN POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT (PPA) FOR A SOLAR PAK IN BRAZIL

With the new partnership, the project will be responsible for around a third of Votorantim Cimentos' energy consumption in the country, equivalent to supplying energy to 424,000 homes. Through the self-production PPA, the company is advancing its decarbonization strategy, which includes renewable energy as one of its strategic pillars.

The new energy generation will come from Atlas' Luiz Carlos Solar Project, located in the municipality of Paracatu, Minas Gerais, which will have an installed capacity of 787 MWp, of which almost two-thirds (470 MWp) will be destined for Votorantim Cimentos.

"This partnership with Votorantim Cimentos confirms Atlas' repeated ability to partner with blue chip companies of Latin America's industrial sector to help them make the energy transition. It also contributes to building Brazil's sustainable production supply chain powered by clean energy. At the same time, we are proud that our project, Luiz Carlos, will promote Atlas' best-in-class ESG programs targeting true sustainable development," said Carlos Barrera, CEO of Atlas Renewable Energy.

The project is also part of Votorantim Cimentos' investment portfolio to increase its structural competitiveness, ensuring a better long-term position and sustainable growth.

"This project is an important step in our decarbonization journey and is aligned with Votorantim Cimentos' 2030 Sustainability Commitments. In all the regions where we operate, our focus is to intensify efficiency and incorporate the use of renewable energy, increasing the volume of self-produced clean energy we consume and, consequently, our competitiveness, generating benefits for society and the planet," says Alvaro Lorenz, Global Sustainability Director at Votorantim Cimentos.

Luiz Carlos Solar Project

The Luiz Carlos solar project will be located in Paracatu, Minas Gerais, a municipality that is already home to other Atlas solar projects, which will allow the company to continue investing in the development of the region, in environmental and social terms, with an emphasis on hiring local labor.

With the start of construction, Atlas will actively support robust environmental, social, and governance (ESG) programs for sustainable development. Atlas' flagship program, "We are all part of the same energy," during the construction of the Boa Sorte Solar Project, located in the same municipality, trained over 300 women from surrounding towns to contribute to the construction of the solar plants. Additionally, Atlas's award-winning Ed-Mundo program will also be implemented. The program is designed to educate young students from underrepresented communities in programming, IT, robotics and entrepreneurship and empower them to play a central role in social transformation, creating job opportunities and additional sources of income for their communities and families.

INVESTMENTS IN DECARBONIZATION

Votorantim Cimentos' goal is to have 45% of the energy consumed globally come from renewable sources by 2030. With this new project, 75% of the energy consumed by the company in Brazil will come from clean sources.

Since its foundation, Votorantim Cimentos has always been concerned with generating its own energy for the production of its plants. In the state of Bahia, the company operates the concession for the 160-megawatt Pedra do Cavalo Hydroelectric Plant, as well as owning four Small Hydroelectric Plants (SHPs) in other locations and participating in the Machadinho Hydroelectric Plant (HPP) consortium in southern Brazil. In 2022, it also signed an agreement with Auren to build a wind farm in the northeast of Brazil, with a capacity of 220 megawatts, which went into operation in early 2023, adding 55 average MW of renewable energy to its portfolio.

The conclusion of the agreement still depends on the usual conditions for operations of this nature, including the approval of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE).

About Atlas Renewable Energy

Atlas Renewable Energy is an international renewable energy generation company that has developed and built about 5.2 GW of renewable energy assets, of which 2.3 GW are operational. Atlas has specialized in developing, financing, constructing, and operating renewable energy projects since early 2017. The company has an experienced team with a deep global power market and renewable energy expertise, with the longest track record in the renewable energy industry in Ibero-America.

The company's strategy is focused on helping large corporates make the energy transition to 100% clean energy. Atlas Renewable Energy is widely recognized for its high standards in developing, constructing, and operating large-scale projects, as well as its deep and long-standing track record in ESG and sustainable development.

For more details, please visit: https://www.atlasrenewableenergy.com

About Votorantim Cimentos

Votorantim Cimentos is a construction materials and sustainable solutions company with more than 13,000 employees. The portfolio of construction materials goes beyond cement and includes concrete, mortar and aggregates. The company also operates in the areas of agricultural inputs, waste management and co-processing. Votorantim Cimentos units are strategically close to the most important growing consumer markets and are present in ten countries in addition to Brazil: Argentina, Bolivia, Canada, Spain, the United States, Luxembourg, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Uruguay. More information at www.votorantimcimentos.com.br

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2319489/Atlas_Renewable_Energy.jpg

SOURCE Atlas Renewable Energy
AUBURN, Ala., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- VivoSphere, a biomedical engineering start-up founded by two Auburn University chemical engineering researchers that created a precise, cost-effective test bed for high-throughput, pre-clinical evaluation of critical cancer therapy candidates, has been selected as one of the most promising new ventures in the bio-diagnostics industry.

The New Venture Accelerator company was nominated for the Ignite Award Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) International Conference and Exhibition SLAS2024 to be held on February 3-6 in Boston, Massachusetts. VivoSphere co-founders Elizabeth Lipke and Yuan Tian, will be in attendance to meet with potential customers, partners and investors from around the world who are expected to be in attendance.

The SLAS is an international professional society of academic, industry and government researchers, developers and providers of laboratory automation technology and tools that helps drive innovation through international conferences and symposia, scientific publishing and opportunities for continuing education, collaboration, and career advancement.

VivoSphere was born out of a 2021 National Science Foundation-awarded project, "I-Corps: Spheroidal engineered tissues for more efficient drug discovery," for which Lipke, George E. & Dorothy Stafford Uthlaut Endowed Professor in Chemical Engineering at Auburn's Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, served as principal investigator and advisor to co-author Tian, who serves as a post-doctoral researcher in chemical engineering at Auburn.

"We are honored to be nominated for the prestigious Ignite Award and thankful for the extraordinary opportunity it offers us to exhibit on the Innovation AveNEW showcase at SLAS next month," said Tian. "The visibility and industry exposure our young company will get as a result of this featured position will go a long way in support of our efforts to progress our patented technology into market trials."

VivoSphere is addressing the need for more physiologically relevant drug screening models able to perform accurate, cost-effective testing of promising pharmaceutical candidates that also meet the high-throughput requirements drug companies face in bringing lifesaving therapeutics to market. The company's unique 3-dimentional hydrogel scaffold-based tissues provide a robust platform for assessing the efficacy of drug candidates while also identifying any toxicities these potential treatments might generate.

Importantly, the vivospheres at the heart of the new platform are tissues that have been designed to enable pharmaceutical companies to use the same equipment and assays they currently use for traditional 2D and 3D tissue test beds, speeding their adoption and deployment. The company recently won first place and $25,000 in Alabama Launchpad's Cycle 2 concept stage finals.

"Given that 90 percent of drugs that go into the clinical stage fail, the ability to identify those that might work vs. those that don't or that carry debilitating toxic side effects offers a critical benefit to the developers of those drugs and to society as a whole," noted Lipke. "Cancer cells don't grow in isolation from the environments they infiltrate. Tumors exist within complex 3D environments, interacting with neighboring cells and their surroundings. Our tissues do a much better job of replicating these conditions in humans by creating miniature versions of those human tissues, allowing researchers to study the intricate interactions between cancer cells, normal cells and the extracellular matrix. This level of detail is impossible to achieve with 2D cultures or current iterations of 3D testing models."

The company is exhibiting at SLAS in Boston  the home of numerous biotechnology firms, global pharmaceutical companies and biomedical investment firms  to broaden their portfolio of partners and research organizations seeking innovative approaches to critical drug development and testing processes.

To schedule a meeting with VivoSphere during SLAS, please contact Yuan Tian at [email protected].

About SLAS and Innovation AveNEW

Innovation AveNEW, part of the SLAS Ignite program, has been boosting the visibility of startups since its launch in 2007 when a specially designated area of the exhibit floor was set aside for emerging and start-up companies and has grown from a handful of vetted emerging biotech companies to the flourishing, eagerly anticipated showstopper it is today.

To learn more, visit vivospheres.com

SOURCE Auburn University-College of Engineering
MIAMI, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- BioIVT, a global research partner and biospecimen solutions provider for drug and diagnostic development, will exhibit its latest Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) innovations at Advanced Therapies Week, taking place at the Miami Beach Convention Center from January 16-19. Company experts will be at booth 207 to discuss how BioIVT's high-quality, flexible solutions, including its human and animal derived cellular starting materials and ancillary products, are designed to support CGT pipelines from discovery to clinical development.

BioIVT Fuels Future Cell and Gene Therapy Breakthroughs at Advanced Therapies Week

At the event, BioIVT will also unveil the company's latest prints in its "Art of Cell & Gene Therapy" series, a collection of timeless masterpieces reimagined by BioIVT, taking iconic works from legendary painters, and weaving them together with biologic imagery. In the booth, the company will feature the new art, offer themed giveaways, and host a sweepstakes, in which attendees can enter to win a framed art piece from the series.

"Milestone FDA approvals last month capped off what was a monumental year for cell and gene therapies. As we enter 2024 with increasing momentum, CGT is poised to demonstrate continued promise in heralding groundbreaking treatments. However, researchers will need the most advanced tools and resources to address manufacturing issues effectively and accelerate clinical development timelines," said Dr. Parijat Jain, Vice President, CGT at BioIVT. "We are excited to congregate with our industry colleagues at Advanced Therapies Week to showcase how we can not only assist pharmaceutical companies in sustaining progress in CGT, but also propel CGT into an artform. This would be achieved, through our modern, scalable product portfolio and extensive, global network of characterized and recallable donors, and donor diversity."

Why BioIVT

Donor Difference

BioIVT operates a global network comprised of 11 donor centers and 425 clinical sites, which allow it to provide reliable access to a large pool of recallable, highly characterized, normal and disease state donors. The network's broad geographical reach ensures that the company has a wide variety of donors and can collect, process, and deliver materials quickly, thus preserving their biological functions. By maintaining a demographically diverse donor base, BioIVT can also assure researchers that their study results will be valid in a real-world situation.

BioIVT leverages regional donor centers and a global donor management system to maintain product continuity, provide comprehensive quality assurance/quality control and flexibility in its supply chain, and mitigate potential risks to R&D activities. This approach also allows it to adapt to meet researchers' evolving needs.

End to End Product Portfolio

BioIVT provides both research use only (RUO) and good manufacturing practice (GMP) products, so it can support new therapies from discovery through clinical development to commercialization. This approach provides consistency, ensures research integrity, and removes the need to qualify additional providers late in the production cycle, which wastes time, money, and other resources. BioIVT also provides disease state leukopaks and immune cell subsets, while offering extensive customization options so researchers can ensure every product they order is fit for their purpose.

BioIVT's immune cell product portfolio includes human and animal peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), CD34+ stem cells and cell subsets, and human AB serum, and mobilized and non-mobilized leukopaks. Further details can be found here.

Additional information about this conference and BioIVT's attendance can be found here: https://info.bioivt.com/atw-2024.

About BioIVT

BioIVT enables smarter science and accelerates medical breakthroughs by delivering high-quality personalized biospecimen solutions and research services to the life science and diagnostic industries. We specialize in control and disease state samples including human and animal tissues or preparations, ADME-Tox products and research services, cell and gene therapy products, blood, and other biofluids. Our unmatched portfolio of clinical specimens directly supports precision medicine research and the effort to improve patient outcomes by coupling comprehensive clinical data with donor samples. By combining our technical expertise, exceptional customer service, and unparalleled access to biological specimens, BioIVT serves the research community as a trusted partner in ELEVATING SCIENCE. For more information, please visit www.bioivt.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

BioIVT Contact: Charlie Chungu, Vice President of Marketing, [email protected]

Media Contact: Alex Connelly, PAN Communications, 401-486-7437, [email protected]

SOURCE BioIVT
CHICAGO, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Brain Monitoring Market in terms of revenue was estimated to be worth $3.5 billion in 2023 and is poised to reach $4.8 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 6.3% from 2023 to 2028 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. Factors propelling the brain monitoring market include the escalating occurrence and prevalence of neurological disorders, heightened awareness surrounding neurodegenerative diseases, an uptick in traumatic brain injuries, and expanding utilization of brain monitoring in clinical trials.

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Browse in-depth TOC on "Brain Monitoring Market"

595 - Tables

33 - Figures

336 - Pages

Brain Monitoring Market Scope:

Report Coverage Details Market Revenue in 2023 $3.5 billion Estimated Value by 2028 $4.8 billion Growth Rate Poised to grow at a CAGR of 6.3% Market Size Available for 2021-2028 Forecast Period 2023-2028 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered Product, Procedure, Modality, Medical Condition, End User, and Region Geographies Covered North America, Europe, APAC, Latin America, and Middle East Africa Report Highlights Updated financial information / product portfolio of players Key Market Opportunities The increasing demand for non-invasive and minimally invasive devices Key Market Drivers Increasing incidence and prevalence of neurological disorders

The accessories segment is expected to register the highest growth of the brain monitoring market

By product, the global brain monitoring market is categorized into devices and accessories. The accessories segment is expected to register the growth of the brain monitoring market in 2022. The growing population, increasing incidence of neurological disorders, technological advancements, and the rising adoption of novel accessories are expected to propel the growth of this market.

Non-invasive procedures accounted for the largest share of the brain monitoring market

By procedure, the global brain monitoring market is categorized into invasive and non-invasive. The non-invasive segment held the largest share of the brain monitoring market in 2022. Primarily attributed to the factors such as non-invasive techniques are associated with lower risks of complications, infections, and side effects compared to invasive procedures. This safety profile makes them more favorable, especially in cases where continuous or repeated monitoring is required.

Fixed devices accounted for the largest share of the modality segment of the brain monitoring market

By modality, the global brain monitoring market is categorized into fixed, portable, and wearable. The fixed devices held the largest share of the brain monitoring market in 2022. This is due to their established presence and usage in clinical settings such as hospitals, specialized healthcare facilities, and research institutions. These fixed devices are often considered the standard for comprehensive brain monitoring due to their accuracy, reliability, and advanced functionalities.

The traumatic brain injury segment accounted for the largest share of the brain monitoring market in 2022.

Based on medical condition, the brain monitoring market is segmented into traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, dementia, headache disorders, sleep disorders, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, Huntington's disease, and other diseases. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) holds the largest share of the brain monitoring market by a medical condition. One of the primary drivers contributing significantly to the substantial market share of this segment is the increasing global prevalence of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs). This surge in TBIs creates a considerable demand for managing such cases, necessitating the extensive utilization of brain monitoring devices.

Hospitals accounted for the largest share of the end user segment of the brain monitoring market

Based on end-users, the global brain monitoring devices market is segmented into hospitals, neurology centers, diagnostic centers, ASCs & and clinics, and other end users. The hospital segment held the largest global brain monitoring market share in 2022. Brain monitoring necessitates intricate procedures involving costly and sophisticated devices primarily available within hospital settings. Hospitals experience notably higher patient volumes than smaller clinics and other end users. Moreover, the maintenance expenses associated with brain monitoring devices substantially burden healthcare facilities, and hospitals, in particular, can manage such costs. As a result, brain monitoring devices find predominant use in hospitals, contributing to their dominance and larger market share within this segment.

North America accounted for the largest share of the global brain monitoring market

Based on region, the brain monitoring market is segmented into North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America held the largest share of the global brain monitoring market in 2022, while Asia Pacific is projected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The large share of North American brain monitoring market is due to growing number of clinical trials of brain monitoring products, availability of medical reimbursement in US, large patient population for target diseases, the strong presence of device manufacturers in the region, and the availability of significant R&D investments to support brain monitoring development.

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Brain Monitoring Market Dynamics:

Drivers:

Increasing incidence and prevalence of neurological disorders

Restraint:

Research High cost of complex brain monitoring procedures and devices

Opportunities:

The increasing demand for non-invasive and minimally invasive devices

Challenge:

Shortage of trained professional

Key Market Players of Brain Monitoring Industry:

Some of the leading players in the Brain Monitoring market include Advanced Brain Monitoring (US), Masimo Corporation (US), Unilabs Holdings AB (Sweden), Cadwell Industries (US), NeuroWave Systems, Inc. (US), Siemens Healthineers (Germany), Compumedics, Ltd. (Australia), Medtronic (Ireland), Luciole Medical AG (Switzerland), Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA (Germany), Natus Medical, Inc. (US), Nihon Kohden Corporation (Japan), Philips Healthcare (Netherlands), GE Healthcare (US), Nonin Medical, Inc. (US), Integra LifeSciences Corporation (US), and Neurosoft (Russia).

The break of primary participants was as mentioned below:

By Company Type  Tier 135%, Tier 245%, and Tier 320%

By Designation  C-level35%, Director-level25%, Others40%

By Region  North America45%, Europe30%, Asia Pacific20%, Latin America - 3%, Middle East and Africa2%

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Brain Monitoring Market - Key Benefits of Buying the Report:

The report will help the leaders/new entrants in this market with information on the closest approximations of the revenue numbers for the overall market and the sub-segments. This report will help stakeholders understand the competitive landscape and gain more insights to better position their businesses and plan suitable go-to-market strategies. The report also helps stakeholders understand the pulse of the Brain Monitoring market and provides them with information on key market drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities.

Reasons to Buy the Report:

The report will enrich established firms as well as new entrants/smaller firms to gauge the pulse of the market, which in turn would help them, garner a more significant share of the market. Firms purchasing the report could use one or any combination of the below-mentioned strategies to strengthen their position in the market.

This report provides insights into the following pointers:

Analysis of key drivers (increasing incidence and prevalence of neurological disorders, rising awareness of neurogenerative disorders, growing incidence of traumatic brain injuries), restraints (high cost of complex brain monitoring procedures and devices, unfavorable reimbursement policies), opportunities (increasing demand of non-invasive and minimally invasive devices), challenges (the shortage of trained professionals to effectively operate brain monitoring devices).

Market Penetration: Comprehensive information on product portfolios offered by the top players in the global brain monitoring market. The report analyzes this market by products, procedure, modality, medical condition, and end users.

Product Enhancement/Innovation: Detailed insights on upcoming trends and product launches in the global brain monitoring market

Market Development: Comprehensive information on the lucrative emerging markets by products, procedure, modality, medical condition, and end users.

Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about new products or product enhancements, growing geographies, recent developments, and investments in the global brain monitoring market

Competitive Assessment: In-depth assessment of market shares, growth strategies, product offerings, competitive leadership mapping, and capabilities of leading players in the global brain monitoring market.

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About MarketsandMarkets:

MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's best management consulting firms by Forbes, as per their recent report.

MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. We have the widest lens on emerging technologies, making us proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients.

Earlier this year, we made a formal transformation into one of America's best management consulting firms as per a survey conducted by Forbes.

The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing.

Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we work with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies - helping them stay relevant in a disruptive ecosystem. Our insights and strategies are molded by our industry experts, cutting-edge AI-powered Market Intelligence Cloud, and years of research. The KnowledgeStore (our Market Intelligence Cloud) integrates our research, facilitates an analysis of interconnections through a set of applications, helping clients look at the entire ecosystem and understand the revenue shifts happening in their industry.

To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.





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SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
HSINCHU, Jan. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Brain Navi announced the completion of the 100th case utilizing its neurosurgical navigation robot NaoTrac. The 100th case has been performed by Neurosurgery Department Director Dr. Hao-Yu Chuang at Annan Hospital in Tainan, Taiwan.

Brain Navi Completed 100th Surgical Procedure Using NaoTrac

"It is my pleasure to be witnessing this major milestone which shows the continued clinical adoption of NaoTrac surgical navigation robot. I am happy and continue to provide this state-of-the-art surgical technology to my patients," said Dr. Hao-Yu Chuang. "One of the main benefits compared to other systems is that we can accurately register cranial anatomy in any patient position, including lateral and prone positions."

Across Taiwan, there have been already several hospitals installed the system. China Medical University Hospital Neurosurgery Department Director Chun-Chung Chen said, "In the past time, we can only treat the ICH blood clot blindly, now we can plan the pathway, check in real time and complete the procedure perfectly." Another Director Dr. Jeng-Hung Guo said "NaoTrac's fast registration leads to reduce surgical procedure time and faster patient recoveries. The NaoTrac worked very well for intracerebral hemorrhages cases, especially with hematoma volumes less than 30ml but with severe symptoms and providing an alternative solution to those patients rather than waiting for self-absorption."

The very first adopter of NaoTrac surgical robot is Hualien Tzu Chi Medical Center that has been using the system for brain surgeries from the very first clinical case on 7th Nov. 2018. Superintendent Dr. Shinn-Zong Lin said "NaoTrac is just what all neurosurgeons want. It can make the doctor's dream come true and let patients with disability return to life." Professor Tsung-Lang Chiu published the first medical journal article of NaoTrac and showed the efficacy and economic benefits, he said, "NaoTrac robotic system is very easy to incorporate into our practice and workflow and bring efficiencies to our neurosurgeons and hospitals".

To avoid long and frustrating registration process, NaoTrac incorporates machine vision technology, and finishes the patient and instrument registrations within 30 seconds to 3 minutes. NaoTrac system has received CE-mark in April 2021 and Taiwan FDA approval in July 2022 and during the initial market release, along with international congresses, Brain Navi has been able to collect valuable feedback from a large number of neurosurgeons, and continue to integrate those ideas into the NaoTrac platform to meet the market needs.

Dr. Jerry Chen, the CEO of Brain Navi stated "We are very pleased by the fact that all these 100 procedures were completed without any complication. 2024 will be the year that marks the beginning of our international expansion as we started collaborating with partners in USA, Europe, Japan, Middle East, Latin America and Malaysia besides Taiwan. And by doing so, we would be able to bring this technology to more hospitals to streamline their OR workflows, and ultimately benefiting more patients."

About Brain Navi:

Brain Navi Biotechnology, a leading Taiwanese surgical robotic company, specializes in designing and developing innovative navigation and robotic surgery technologies. Their proprietary Surface Mapping Auto-Registration Technology (SMART) represents a significant surgical breakthrough, integrating machine vision, robotics, and artificial recognition for streamlined surgical procedures and real-time imaging, ensuring minimal invasive outcomes. NaoTrac's swift patient registration, and automatic surgical instrument registration enable surgeons to plan trajectories effortlessly, and the robot ensures precise autonomous navigation towards the desired target.

SOURCE Brain Navi Biotechnology Co., Ltd.
NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Swedish luxury designer brand LELO today launched 2 upgrades of its bestselling male sex toys - The HUGO2 , and the HUGO2 Remote vibrating prostate massagers. The latest addition to the portfolio sees LELO furthering a conversation it helped start way back in 2015 on the way we view male sexual pleasure, specifically the anal pleasure.

LELO Hugo

Nowhere near as a decade ago, the recent LELO severe on anal pleasure showed that anal pleasure is still a bit taboo. Almost half of the those participating in the survey were intrigued by anal sex but anxious about actually trying it (*). Most of the anxiousness comes from broaching the subject (15%) or the fear that their partner would not be up to it (29%). When genders are concerned, people believe that stigma is still more attached to male anal pleasure.

Still, the shifting perceptions are best portrayed with those who like anal sex and freely talk about it. Here the reasons vary even more than with those who avoid anal play. Almost 32% do it to increase the level of intimacy in their relationship, while 43% believe they will experience more physical pleasure. One in three says they are doing it to please their partner. Even more interesting is the fact that sex toys are a great way to explore your or your partner's derriere, with one in three having used (occasionally or regularly) sex toys for anal play, no matter if they are partnered or not.

Did you know when it comes to prostate massage:

Anal is the 4th most searched category on Pornhub (**),

For men, this is the third Most Viewed Category (by Gender; **),

71% of men are open to trying it (***),

8 out of every 10 women are happy to perform it (***)

Prostate orgasms are 33% more intense than penile orgasms (***)

Introducing The LELO Prostate Massagers

The HUGO 2 and HUGO  2 Remote are tailored for couples who've got some experience under their belt and are eager to spice things up in their relationship. These people understand that strengthening the emotional and physical connection between them is a journey worth investing in. It's all about taking your intimacy to the next level and enjoying even more satisfying experiences and orgasms together.

The HUGO 2 and HUGO  2 Remote sport two motors for double pleasure. The two synchronized vibrating motors work in tandem, resulting in a dual sensation, both inside and out. The vibrating motors in the base and the tip offer simultaneous perineum and prostate stimulation.

SenseMotion, consisting of two modes, allows you to intensify vibrations by tilting or moving the remote in any direction. Faster movements increase the intensity of vibrations together with you and your partner's pleasure. HUGO  2 Remote offers intuitive play and pleasure control through natural movements, leaving you more present in the moment with your partner.

LELO HUGO 2

16 powerful pleasure settings

Holds more power with prolonged battery life and unlock additional settings with LELO APP for unlimited access to prostate orgasms.

Connect your HUGO 2 via bluetooth to your smartphone to gain greater control over the device and unlock additional modes.

Two motors in the base and tip for double the pleasure.

Colours: black and green

RRP 179 euros

LELO HUGO 2 Remote

8 powerful pleasure settings

HUGO 2 Remote has prolonged battery life, more settings, and a wider range of intensities.

SenseMotion , consisting of two modes, allows you to intensify vibrations by tilting or moving the remote in any direction.

Two motors in the base and tip for double the pleasure.

Colours : black and green

RRP 219 euros

Sources:

*LELO survey conducted in February 2023, 8441 participants worldwide. Survey conducted by Censuswide

** Pornhub stats for 2023

*** LELO survey conducted in 2015.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2317366/LELO_Hugo.jpg

SOURCE LELO
Emerging roofing solution looks to engage aspiring entrepreneurs in the booming DFW area

DALLAS, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Bumble Roofing , a game-changing roofing repair, installation and technology brand, revealed today its plans for strategic entry into the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) market, presenting the area's aspiring entrepreneurs with the opportunity to bring a proven business model in an essential sector to at least 15 new territories within the region. Known for its customer-centric approach and innovative technology, Bumble Roofing aims to revolutionize the roofing industry in DFW by prioritizing customer satisfaction and community impact.

Bumble's accelerated expansion into DFW and beyond follows a year of unprecedented urbanization coupled with record-breaking storms and natural disasters, in which the global roofing industry generated well over $100 billion with no end to continued growth in sight. In Texas alone, hail storms across the state generated $1 billion in damage this past May , and the impact of these storms on DFW in particular highlighted more than ever how invaluable trusted roofing professionals are to this community.

Between the DFW metroplex's high volume need for impact business and its status as one of the nation's fastest-growing regions, Bumble Roofing has identified a prime opportunity to change the roofing landscape for the better with its ethical practices and customer-centric approach. Moreover, Bumble Roofing's expansion into the DFW market will be instrumental in boosting the local economy. The company estimates creating over 300 jobs in the DFW area and generating approximately $100 million per year in economic activity, contributing significantly to the region's growth and development.

"As Bumble Roofing sets foot in the thriving DFW area, we're not just envisioning business expansion; we're committed to becoming an integral part of the community's growth story," said David Bitan, brand president of Bumble Roofing. "Our move to DFW isn't just about roofs; it's about building a network of franchisees and dedicated customers who share our values and passion for excellence. And the best part is, to be a Bumble franchisee, you don't have to know anything about construction or roofing. Just come to us with some prior business experience, and we'll teach you the rest. We're excited to invite entrepreneurial minds to join us in reshaping the roofing landscape while creating meaningful opportunities for employment and positively impacting the local economy."

Bumble Roofing is centered on customer empowerment and fairness while staunchly adhering to a policy of prioritizing its customers' needs, refraining from upselling or price gouging especially during emergency situations. Employing cutting-edge technology, Bumble Roofing utilizes revolutionary scanning and visualization tools to deliver precise roof analysis and estimates. Additionally, the company offers a digital tracker, ensuring customers are informed about the progress of their roof repairs or replacements.

Bumble Roofing encourages individuals interested in business ownership to seize this opportunity to make a meaningful impact while embarking on a rewarding entrepreneurial venture. Total investment for a Bumble Roofing franchise is approximately $164,000  $261,000 including the initial franchise fee. Additionally, U.S. military veterans and first responders receive a special discount on their franchise fee.

For more information on becoming a Bumble Roofing franchisee and establishing a territory in the DFW area, please visit bumbleroofingfranchising.com .

About Bumble Roofing

Established in 2019 by brand president and founder David Bitan, Bumble Roofing is revolutionizing the industry with transparent pricing, advanced technology and customer-centric processes. Following its acquisition by Empower Brands in 2023, Bumble Roofing set out to incubate and franchise its business model to take its modern roofing solutions across the country. As a part of Empower Brands, Bumble Roofing continues to set new standards in the roofing industry, empowering entrepreneurs and providing unparalleled service. Today, Bumble Roofing is not only a leader in quality roofing but also in integrating technology and focusing on the customer experience. Its commitment to excellence is evident in every project, ensuring superior service for homes and businesses.

SOURCE Bumble Roofing
STIC CTC trial data published this November 2023 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) demonstrate that CTC-guided treatment decision confers superior survival benefits in a subgroup of patients with hormone receptor (HR) positive)/human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) 2 negative metastatic breast cancer (MBC), the most common subtype of newly diagnosed breast cancer. Clinical outcomes from this large phase III patient cohort were reported after almost 10 years of investigational work. The STIC CTC trial was sponsored by Institut Curie and funded by the French National Cancer Institute.

BOLOGNA, Italy and HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Menarini Silicon Biosystems, a pioneer of liquid biopsy and single-cell technologies, announced the recent publication of the STIC CTC trial data demonstrating the clinical utility of CTC count as an independent prognostic factor in advanced breast cancer.

More specifically, the STIC CTC trial demonstrates that the use of CTC count as a tool for choosing between endocrine therapy (ET) and chemotherapy (CT) is non-inferior to the investigator's choice in terms of short and long-term clinical outcomes. While approximately 60% of the study participants had a concordant indication between the clinical risk-guided arm and the CTC-guided treatment arm, in the subgroup of patients with a discordant estimate, the use of frontline CT in the CTC-guided treatment arm instead of ET yielded a clinically and statistically significant gain of 16.4 months in median overall survival (OS). Conversely, in the subgroup of patients considered at high clinical risk but with a favorable prognosis according to CTC count, de-escalation to ET allowed to limit the exposure to the side effects and toxicities of chemotherapy without any significant effect on overall survival.

FC Bidard, MD, PhD, Professor of Medical Oncology at the Institut Curie hospitals and who designed the trial mentioned, "the STIC trial is a first-of-its-kind randomized Phase III trial establishing with a high level-of-evidence that CTC-driven choice offers a long-term OS benefit in patients with discrepant estimates between their CTC count and the clinician's choice."

In addition, the Principal Investigator of the STIC CTC trial, Jean-Yves Pierga, MD, PhD, Professor of Medical Oncology, at the Institut Curie hospitals, "the clinical relevance of CTCs as highlighted in the STIC CTC trial, makes it possible to standardize the choice of ET or CT and meaningfully optimize patient care with a 47% reduction in the risk of death in patients with poor prognosis".

In the metastatic setting, expectations regarding confirmatory prospective clinical trials to incorporate CTC data into clinical practice have been high for almost two decades now. According to Massimo Cristofanilli, MD, FACP, Professor of Medicine & Director of Breast Medical Oncology in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine, "The STIC CTC trial is the first robust clinical trial that has met those expectations by demonstrating the usefulness of CTC count as both a prognostic and predictive biomarker. Thus, there is no rational reason to deny women with MBC the right to benefit from this information that can help their physicians prescribe therapies that can more optimally meet their specific needs".

Liquid biopsies aim to provide critical information in real time to enhance the precision oncology approach. Fabio Piazzalunga, President of Menarini Silicon Biosystems, adds that "the confirmed ability of our minimally invasive CELLSEARCH CTC test, to help identify low-risk patients and avoid unnecessary treatments, is currently at the heart of the reimbursement requests, now underway in different countries, for use of this biomarker to tailor treatment strategies in an advanced disease setting". These new activities fully support the company's vision to become a leader in minimally invasive cell-based applications for easier, faster, and more precise diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

About CELLSEARCH

CELLSEARCH CTC Test is the first and only clinically validated blood test cleared by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for detecting and counting CTCs to aid physicians in managing patients with metastatic breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers when used in conjunction with other clinical methods of monitoring. The CELLSEARCH System is the most extensively studied CTC technology, with research published in more than 800 peer-reviewed publications.

CELLSEARCH CTC Test is not cleared or approved for independently guiding treatment decisions. For more information on the full intended use and limitations of the CELLSEARCH system, please refer to the Instructions for Use at http://documents.cellsearchctc.com/ .

In Europe the CELLSEARCH CTC kit is available for In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) Use.

In the US the CELLSEARCH CTC Test is available in MSB's CLIA/CAP/ ISO 15189 accredited laboratory in Huntingdon Valley, Pa.

About Menarini Silicon Biosystems (MSB)

MSB offers unique rare cell technologies and solutions that provide clinical researchers with access to unparalleled resolution in the study of cells and their molecular characterization.

Menarini Silicon Biosystems , based in Bologna, Italy, and Huntingdon Valley, Pa., U.S., is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Menarini Group, a multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostics company headquartered in Florence, Italy, with more than 17,000 employees in 140 countries.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2053506/3984239/Menarini_Silicon_Biosystems_Logo.jpg

Media contact: Linda PAVY, [email protected]
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Channel Key LLC announced it has acquired True Hero, a full-service Amazon agency headquartered in Colorado. The purchase agreement was finalized on January 12, 2024. Channel Key will begin onboarding True Hero's employees and clients immediately.



"True Hero has an excellent track record of helping large retail brands launch and grow on Amazon," said Dan Brownsher, President and CEO of Channel Key. "As a key Amazon partner and agency with the foundation and ecosystem to scale and grow quickly, we saw a great opportunity to bring True Hero into our organization and expand our expertise in the Amazon marketplace."



Channel Key's mission is to provide brand owners and manufacturers with a winning Amazon and/or DSP strategy and the ecosystem and resources to execute at the highest level possible. This acquisition will enable Channel Key to offer best-in-class, turnkey services to a wider client base. It will also provide more resources and deeper category and brand experience for Channel Key's growing team of employees.

Wendi Held, President and Founder of True Hero, will help oversee her agency's team of Amazon experts under the Channel Key brand. True Hero clients will receive complete continuity of service.

"Partnering with Channel Key opens up exciting opportunities for our brands and team," said Held. "This was the natural next step for True Hero and was a decision we did not take lightly. Channel Key will give our clients a deeper and stronger foundation. I am staying on board and committed to guiding overall brand growth and strategy."



About Channel Key



Channel Key is an award-winning full-service Amazon marketplace consulting agency that has partnered with over 250 brands ranging from SMBs to Enterprise companies. As a verified Amazon Partner, Channel Key helps brands unlock their marketplace potential, maximize profitability, and identify growth opportunities on Amazon. Each brand benefits from a team of Amazon experts and receives a customized Strategic Business Plan with defined KPIs that serves as a clear path to success. Our mission is to provide brand owners with a winning Amazon strategy and the ecosystem and resources to execute at the highest level possible. For more information, visit www.ChannelKey.com.

SOURCE Channel Key
Revolutionizing the Conversation Around Women's Health

CHICAGO, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Renowned Chicago-based, board-certified OBGYN, Dr. Sameena Rahman, is set to revolutionize the conversation around women's health with the launch of her groundbreaking podcast, Gyno Girl Presents: Sex, Drugs & Hormones. A fervent advocate for women's empowerment, Rahman is known for her commitment to meeting the diverse needs of women through her practice, the Center for Gynecology and Cosmetics.

Dr. Sameena Rahman

Dr. Rahman, who is South-Asian Muslim-American, has established herself as a tireless champion for women's well-being, in addition to being a leader in the field of obstetrics and gynecology. Through her research and dedication, she is one of the few physicians nationally to receive the designation of ISSWSH (International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health ) Fellow (IF) and is actively involved with cutting edge approaches to sexual pain and sexual dysfunction. Dr. Rahman is also an active member of the IPPS, International Pelvic Pain Society, and specializes in a multidisciplinary approach to chronic pelvic pain. For midlife women, she specializes in menopause management with the designation of Certified Menopause Physician through the North American Menopause Society (NCMP).

Gyno Girl Presents: Sex, Drugs & Hormones is poised to be a trailblazer in the podcasting sphere, tackling crucial topics such as postpartum, menopause, sexual health, pelvic wellness and everything in between. Dr. Rahman's expertise and passion shine through as she demystifies complex subjects, providing listeners with invaluable insights and information while also emphasizing self-love and life improvement.

Through collaborations with leading experts and the personal stories of patients, the podcast provides a platform for knowledge-sharing while also addressing healthcare issues that have impaired women's quality of life. Dr. Rahman will highlight the many influences religion, culture, racial bias, and societal factors have on sexual health experiences.

In an era where women's health is gaining the attention it deserves, Rahman's podcast emerges as a beacon of knowledge, breaking down barriers and fostering a sense of community. By empowering women with knowledge, the podcast aims to inspire informed decisions and transform lives.

In addition to the podcast, Dr. Rahman has created a vibrant and informative space on Instagram (@gynogirl) where she shares the latest news and educates her audience on a wide range of women's health topics.

The first episode of Gyno Girl Presents: Sex, Drugs & Hormones went LIVE on Friday, January 12, 2024. Subscribe now on leading podcast platforms to stay informed and join Dr. Rahman on this empowering journey.

Podcast Platforms:

Apple: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1723087947?ct=rephonic&mt=2

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jwM1hb4xwiBrEJHJKAiU4

Google podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5jYXB0aXZhdGUuZm0vZ3luby1naXJsLXByZXNlbnRzLXNkaC8=

Dr. Rahman's mission is clear  to empower women, challenge societal norms, and redefine the narrative surrounding women's health. Join her on this journey to celebrates the strength, resilience, and wisdom of womanhood.

For more information, please visit www.cgcchicago.com, GynoGirl TV or Instagram @GynoGirl.

Media Contact:

Daphne Ortiz

Statement PR

312-488-3472

371439@email4pr.com

SOURCE Center for Gynecology and Cosmetics
DUBLIN, Jan. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "China Anti Jamming Market, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2018-2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The China anti jamming market was valued at USD 658.63 million in 2022 and growing at a rate of 8.37% to 2028

The China anti-jamming market has witnessed significant growth and development in recent years, driven by the country's increasing reliance on advanced technologies in various sectors, including military, navigation, telecommunications, and transportation. Jamming refers to the deliberate interference with communication signals or navigation systems, which can have severe consequences in terms of national security and economic stability. As such, the need for effective anti-jamming solutions has become paramount in China, leading to a thriving market ecosystem characterized by innovation, investment, and collaboration.



One of the primary drivers of the China anti-jamming market is the nation's burgeoning military and defense sector. The Chinese government has been heavily investing in the modernization of its armed forces, emphasizing the development of cutting-edge technologies to enhance its defense capabilities. As a result, there has been a growing demand for anti-jamming solutions to protect military communication networks, radar systems, and satellite-based navigation systems from hostile jamming attempts. This has prompted domestic and international defense technology companies to participate actively in the Chinese anti-jamming market, offering a wide range of solutions, from jamming detection and mitigation systems to resilient communication platforms.



Additionally, China's rapid economic growth and globalization have increased the country's dependence on reliable navigation and communication systems. The transportation and logistics sectors rely heavily on GPS and other satellite-based navigation technologies to optimize routes, track cargo, and ensure the efficient movement of goods and people. Disruptions caused by jamming can lead to severe economic losses, making it imperative for both the public and private sectors to invest in anti-jamming solutions.

This has created a robust market for anti-jamming technologies in sectors such as aviation, maritime, and land transportation, with a focus on ensuring uninterrupted connectivity and navigation. The telecommunications industry has also played a significant role in driving the China anti-jamming market. With the widespread deployment of 5G networks and the ongoing expansion of critical infrastructure, ensuring the resilience of these communication networks against jamming threats has become a top priority.



In response to these market dynamics, Chinese companies have been actively developing and offering anti-jamming solutions tailored to various industries and applications. These solutions range from hardware-based systems that can detect and mitigate jamming signals to software solutions that enhance the resilience of communication networks. Chinese companies have leveraged their expertise in areas such as signal processing, cybersecurity, and satellite technology to develop innovative anti-jamming products.

Moreover, the Chinese government has encouraged domestic innovation and investment in the anti-jamming sector through various policies and initiatives, further stimulating growth in the market. Collaboration between government agencies, research institutions, and private companies has played a vital role in advancing anti-jamming technologies in China.

Public-private partnerships have enabled the sharing of knowledge, resources, and expertise, fostering an environment conducive to innovation. Government support, including funding and regulatory incentives, has facilitated research and development efforts in the anti-jamming sector, leading to the creation of advanced solutions that can effectively counter a wide range of jamming threats.



In summary, the China anti-jamming market has experienced robust growth in response to the increasing demand for protection against signal interference across various sectors, including military, transportation, and telecommunications. With the continued development of advanced technologies and the government's commitment to innovation, this market is expected to expand further in the coming years.

As China continues to play a crucial role in the global economy and defense landscape, the resilience of its communication and navigation systems will remain a top priority, making anti-jamming solutions indispensable for safeguarding critical infrastructure and ensuring national security.

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the China Anti Jamming Market.

BAE Systems Plc

L3Harris Technologies, Inc.

Furuno Electric Co. Ltd.

U-Blox Holding AG

The Boeing Company

Thales Group

Beijing Novart Electronic Technology Co., Ltd.

Advent Technologies ( China ) Holdings Inc.

) Holdings Inc. Collins Aerospace ( China ) Co., Ltd.

) Co., Ltd. Raytheon Technologies Corporation

Report Scope:



China Anti Jamming Market, By Receiver Type:

Military & Government Grade

Commercial Transportation Grade

China Anti Jamming Market, By Application:

Flight Control

Surveillance & Reconnaissance

Position

Others

China Anti Jamming Market, By Anti Jamming Technique:

Nulling Technique

Beam Steering Technique

Civilian Techniques

China Anti Jamming Market, By End User:

Military

Civilian

China Anti Jamming Market, By Region:

East China

North China

North East China

South Central China

North West China

South West China

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/b7gikl

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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SOURCE Research and Markets
CHENGDU, China, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Chengdu Chipscreen NewWay Biosciences Co., Ltd. (NewWay) announced that on January 5, 2024, the dosing of the first patient for a phase I clinical trial of a PD-1/CD40 bispecific antibody (bsAb), NWY001, at Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center in China, the trial-leading institution. The trial is a multi-center, non-randomized, open-label, multi-dose phase I clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, preliminary efficacy, pharmacokinetic properties, and potential biomarkers associated with NWY001 treatment in patients with advanced solid tumors.

NWY001 is world's first PD-1/CD40 bispecific antibody entering clinical study. Mechanistically, the bsAb targets two targets synergistically and can activate the CD40 pathway in a PD-1 dependent manner, reducing the potential toxicity commonly associated with CD40 agonistic monoclonal antibody (mAb). It is expected that this bsAb can transform "cold" tumors into "hot" tumors, thereby increasing cancer patients' sensitivity to PD-(L)1 immune checkpoint inhibitors, especially PD-(L)1 antibody resistant cancer patients.

Dr. Bin Liu, Scientific Director of Chipscreen NewWay, said:

"Dosing of the first patient marks a significant milestone for the clinical development of NWY001. Its unique mechanism is expected to circumvent the ineffectiveness or toxicity caused by PD-(L)1 immune checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy, CD40 agonists, or their combination therapy, therefore benefiting more cancer patients. We thank the experts at Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center for their great support, the clinical and related teams at Chipscreen for their efforts, and the patients enrolled in this NWY001 clinical trial and their families."

February 27th, 2023 - Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals (Beijing) Co., Ltd. announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Eucure (Beijing) Biopharma Co., Ltd., has reached an exclusive licensing agreement with Chipscreen NewWay Biosciences, a holding subsidiary of Shenzhen Chipscreen Biosciences Co., Ltd. ("Chipscreen Biosciences", SSE: 688321) for the clinical development and commercialization of bispecific antibody YH008 (NWY001) in Greater China (including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan).

About Chipscreen NewWay

Chipscreen Newway, affiliated with Chipscreen, is an innovative and R&D-driven biotech company dedicated to developing large molecules and other novel therapeutic modalities, including antibodies/ADC-centered large molecules, and nucleic acid drugs.

It develops innovative drugs that meet clinical needs and novel mechanisms of action in multiple therapeutic areas such as oncology and autoimmunity while providing patients with innovative mechanisms and globally leading-based new therapeutic approaches and options.

Chipscreen Newway has built a large molecular R&D center of over 3,000 square meters in Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone and has established an experienced antibody and ADC R&D team from the discovery to the early process development, with a number of in-house and cooperation projects in continuous and rapid advancements.

About Chipscreen

Chipscreen is a modern biopharmaceutical company founded in 2001 by a seasoned team of professionals who returned to China after studying in the United States. The company specializes in the development of original new molecular entity drugs and is committed to providing innovative drugs with revolutionary therapeutic effects that are affordable for patients worldwide and are in high clinical demand.

Leveraging its independently created state-of-the-art "Chemical Genomics-Based Integrated Drug Discovery and Early Evaluation Platform", Chipscreen has developed multiple original drug product lines in five significant disease areas, including oncology, metabolic diseases, autoimmune diseases, central nervous system disorders, and antiviral therapies. These product lines include chidamide (Tucidinostat marketed), chiglitazar (Carfloglitazar marketed), chiauranib (Ibcasertib in pivotal phase III clinical trial), and CS12192 (phase I clinical trial currently underway).

Currently, Chipscreen has established a global presence through its headquarters and R&D center in Shenzhen, with a wholly-owned subsidiary "Shenzhen Chipscreen Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd." serving as a GMP production base. Additionally, it has a regional headquarters/R&D center/innovative drug production base - "Chengdu Chipscreen Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd." focusing on the field of small-molecule innovative drugs, and a subsidiary "Chengdu Chipscreen Newway Biosciences Co., Ltd." dedicated to the development of large molecules and other novel therapeutic technologies. The company also maintains branches in Beijing (Clinical Research Center) and Shanghai (Business Center). Furthermore, Chipscreen extends its global footprint, with Chipscreen Biosciences (United States) Limited set up for global clinic development in the United States, embodying a comprehensive globalization strategy.

About Biocytogen

Biocytogen (HKEX: 02315) is a global biotechnology company that drives the research and development of novel antibody-based drugs with innovative technologies. Founded on gene editing technology, Biocytogen leverages genetically engineered proprietary RenMice (RenMab/RenLite/RenNano/RenTCR-mimic) platforms for fully human monoclonal/bispecific/multispecific antibody discovery, bispecific antibody-drug conjugate discovery, nanobody discovery and TCR-mimic antibody discovery, and has established an off-the-shelf library of >400,000 fully human antibody sequences against approximately 1000 targets for worldwide collaboration. As of June 30, 2023, 50 therapeutic antibody and multiple clinical asset co-development/out-licensing/transfer agreements and 42 target-nominated RenMice licensing projects have been established around the globe, including several partnerships with multinational pharmaceutical companies (MNCs). Biocytogen pioneered the generation of drug target knock-in humanized models for preclinical research, and currently provides a few thousand off-the-shelf animal and cell models under the company's sub-brand, BioMice, along with preclinical pharmacology and gene-editing services for clients worldwide. Headquartered in Beijing, Biocytogen has branches in China (Haimen Jiangsu, Shanghai), USA (Boston, San Francisco), and Germany (Heidelberg).

SOURCE Shenzhen Chipscreen Biosciences Co., Ltd.
GRAPEVINE, Texas, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Classic Chevrolet in Grapevine, Texas, celebrates a monumental achievement as the #1 Chevrolet dealership in the world for the year 2023. This accolade is a testament to the dealership's resilience, customer-centric approach, and the robust health of the Texas economy.

"The thriving economic landscape of Texas has played a crucial role in our success," said Tom Durant, owner of Classic Chevrolet. "The state's dynamic business environment and growing consumer confidence have fueled our ability to innovate and excel, even in the face of global challenges. We lean heavily on our Texas values and the grit and determination of all Texans to be the best. Our customers have learned that when we say something, we do it. This is a big win for us and the thousands of customers who have trusted us over the years."

2023 was a year that tested the automotive industry with supply chain disruptions and market shifts. Classic Chevrolet's adaptability and commitment to quality service have allowed it to thrive. The dealership's journey to the top has been marked by a strong focus on customer satisfaction, industry-leading pricing for buyers, a robust advertising message, and a dedicated team, setting it apart in a highly competitive market.

In addition to business excellence, Classic Chevrolet is known for its commitment to the community. Established by the owners of Classic Chevrolet, The Tom and Susan Durant Foundation, has been a significant force in Dallas-Fort Worth, contributing over $4.5 million impacting countless individuals through their unwavering generosity.

Looking forward, Classic Chevrolet aims to continue this legacy of excellence and community involvement, further solidifying its position as a leader in the automotive industry.

About Classic Chevrolet: Classic Chevrolet is located on 63 acres at 1101 HWY 114 W Grapevine, TX 76051, and has one of the nation's largest selections of new and pre-owned vehicles and continues to set the standard for excellence in the automotive industry.

For more information or media inquiries, please contact Seth Wilson at 405-625-6665.

SOURCE Classic Chevrolet
ISPE Board Member, Women in Pharma Chair, and former Director of Business Development at CRB joins CleanSpace's dynamic team.

DOYLESTOWN, Pa., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CleanSpace is a national leader in cleanroom design, manufacturing, and installation. Renowned for its unwavering commitment to producing the highest caliber cleanrooms, the company provides bespoke design-build controlled environments. Serving a diverse range of industries, CleanSpace has become synonymous with delivering controlled spaces essential for critical operations.

CleanSpace Welcomes Jenni McCarthy as VP of Business Development

In a tactical move reinforcing its strategic direction, CleanSpace has welcomed Jennifer McCarthy as the new Vice President of Business Development. Jenni boasts a robust 24-year tenure in commercial construction and design, with an emphasis on the life sciences sector. A trailblazer dedicated to spearheading growth initiatives, Jenni has a particular focus on the West Coast, as well as driving national growth.

Jenni's strategic acumen and vision are perfectly in line with CleanSpace's ethos of excellence. Her role at CleanSpace extends into her active participation in the ISPE San Diego Board, and she is poised to chair Women in Pharma in 2024. A fervent proponent of diversity and inclusion, Jenni is resolute in her mission to uplift women in the pharma industry, creating an environment that nurtures their leadership skills and professional development. Her active involvement in industry organizations and leadership positions is a testament to her commitment to the growth of both CleanSpace and the larger professional community.

Glenn VandeGrift, President of CleanSpace, commented on this appointment, saying, "Jenni's addition to our team marks a significant milestone in our journey. Her expertise and visionary outlook are exactly what CleanSpace needs as we embark on new ventures and expand our horizons."

George Wiker, CEO of CleanSpace, shared his perspective: "Jenni McCarthy is a strategic powerhouse. Her vast experience and deep understanding of this dynamic industry are invaluable as we strengthen our presence nationally and explore new markets. Jenni's leadership will be instrumental in steering CleanSpace towards greater heights of innovation and success."

Brian Bennett, Vice President of Project Development at CleanSpace, also expressed his enthusiasm, stating, "Having Jenni on board brings a fresh and dynamic perspective to our strategies. Her approach to business development is both refreshing and aligned with our core values. I am confident that under her guidance, CleanSpace will achieve new milestones in excellence and innovation."

About CleanSpace

Headquartered in Doylestown, PA, CleanSpace is a leading national firm known for designing, manufacturing, and installing the highest quality cleanrooms. Focused on delivering meticulous, custom-fit environments, CleanSpace is the trusted partner for industries requiring controlled spaces for their critical operations.

Press Contact:

Jonathan Wolff

(609) 947-6294

https://cleanspaceus.com/

SOURCE CleanSpace
DUBAI, UAE , Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CoinMENA, a leading cryptocurrency platform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, announces a strategic partnership with Onramp Bitcoin, an international Bitcoin asset management company built on multi-institution custody. Onramp's platform provides best-in-class products and solutions for HNWI, Family Offices, and Institutions to onboard Bitcoin  the right way. In addition to providing market access, the partnership aims to empower MENA investors with high-quality Bitcoin educational resources such as proprietary written research, rich video content, and analytic tools.

CoinMENA Partners with Onramp Bitcoin to Provide MENA Investors With Institutional Grade Bitcoin Research.

CoinMENA is licensed and regulated by both Dubai's Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) as well as the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) and provides investors with stable on-ramp and off-ramp services between traditional banking and digital assets. As part of the partnership, CoinMENA and Onramp are poised to explore innovative custody solutions designed specifically for institutional investors. The collaboration comes on the heels of Onramp's recent announcement of a partnership with BitGo, CoinMENA's current custody partner.

In a joint statement, CoinMENA's founders, Talal Tabbaa and Dina Sam'an said, "We are excited because this partnership fills a market gap for premium Bitcoin market research, and aligns with our educational approach to empower regional investors to invest in Bitcoin based on sound logic and a deep understanding of its unique and fundamental properties. As Bitcoin evolves into a mainstream international asset class, providing insightful analysis becomes essential for investors and asset managers, guiding them in making confident, long-term investment decisions."

Onramp Co-Founder and CEO Michael Tanguma added "Onramp recognizes that bitcoin is a global asset, necessitating the broad dissemination of valuable bitcoin-focused educational resources across the world  research, podcasts, webinars, data-driven tools like the Onramp Terminal  access to these types of high-quality materials, combined with a first principles approach to custody, is the recipe for successful long-term bitcoin ownership. We are excited to partner with the CoinMENA team to provide tools and education to one of the fastest-growing regions in the digital asset space."

About CoinMENA

Headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain, CoinMENA B.S.C. (c) is licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) as a crypto asset service provider (category-3). CoinMENA FZE, a subsidiary of CoinMENA B.S.C. (c), is licensed as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) for Virtual Asset Broker-Dealer services from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). CoinMENA seeks to empower new and seasoned investors in the MENA region who want access to crypto asset investment options by allowing them to participate in the new digital economy. Through CoinMENA, investors can buy, sell, store, and receive digital assets safely and securely, as well as deposit and withdraw in their local currency. Through competitive fees, high liquidity, and an educational approach, CoinMENA aims to be the simplest and most trusted digital assets exchange platform in the region. For more information, visit: www.coinmena.com .

About Onramp

Onramp is a bitcoin asset management platform built on the foundation of Onramp Multi-Institution Custody. This unique and differentiated custody model allows Onramp to offer a full suite of products and services, tailored for the needs of HNWIs, financial intermediaries, and institutional allocators.

Onramp combines the best of a Bitcoin financial service company with traditional finance experience. Our team hails from Coinbase, Google, Unchained Capital, Bain & Company and we are advised by professionals with tenures at organizations including BNY Mellon, Blackstone, Greenlight Capital, and Deutsche Bank. For more information, visit: onrampbitcoin.com .

CONTACT: Zeid Bataineh - 00971 56 351 9469

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2319294/CoinMENA_Onramp_Bitcoin.jpg

SOURCE CoinMENA
Long-Term Commitment Coincides with Planned Repositioning into World Class Life Sciences Facility

NEW YORK and MORRISTOWN, N.J., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- David Werner Real Estate Investments (DWREI) today announced the signing of a long-term lease extension with Dow, a global materials science company, at its life sciences and office campus in Collegeville, Pa. Dow, whom Newmark Group represents, has agreed to an extension of its lease term for approximately 800,000 square feet that includes the company's Northeast Dow Center, a significant research and development center for the company.

DWREI and its partner GreenBarn Investment Group completed the purchase of the campus this past August from Pfizer Inc., who remains a tenant at the property. Spanning approximately 1.9 million square feet and located just 22 miles northwest of Downtown Philadelphia, the campus includes 14 interconnected office, life science and mixed-use office buildings across 340 acres.

"We are thrilled with Dow's long-term commitment as we embark on a new era in conjunction with our partners at GreenBarn in repositioning this exceptional facility into a world-class center of innovation in life sciences research," said David Werner. "A bedrock of our economy with a major presence in the region, we believe this is an extraordinary opportunity to tap into the sustained growth of the life sciences industry and the consistent demand for best-in-class research facilities. It was a pleasure working with the Dow and Newmark teams on this transaction. We look forward to continuing to serve Dow and Pfizer, a blue-chip organization with a 170-year history centered on innovation in science, medicine and healthcare."

"For more than ten years, we have called the Northeast Dow Center in Collegeville home, bringing together the best R&D and business minds," said Bob Butterick, site leader and TS&D director, Dow Home and Personal Care. "We are excited about the direction of the campus as we focus on attracting and retaining world-class talent as we meet customers' evolving needs while leading the transition to a more sustainable, inclusive future for many years to come."

About David Werner Real Estate Investments

David Werner Real Estate Investments ("DWREI") is a prolific real estate investor based in New York City. Led by David Werner, DWREI has over 40 years of commercial real estate investment experience across the United States. Marquee holdings include numerous office towers in New York City including, 1285 Avenue of the Americas, 237 Park Avenue, 235 East 42nd Street, 3,600 apartment units in the Southeast, Parkmerced Apartments in San Francisco and 540 West Madison in Chicago.

About GreenBarn Investment Group

With offices in Morristown, NJ and New York City, GreenBarn Investment Group is a vertically-integrated investment management firm that utilizes its extensive network and industry experience to acquire and develop real estate assets, make and invest in real estate loans, and invest in CRE credit special situations. GreenBarn is an affiliate of Rithm Capital (NYSE: RITM), an asset manager focused on the real estate and financial services industries.

Media Contact:

Scott Cianciulli

T (212) 739-6753

E [email protected]

SOURCE GreenBarn Investment Group
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Dechert LLP announced today the addition of Cynthia Beyea as a partner in its global financial services group, further bolstering the firm's capabilities in registered funds. Ms. Beyea will be based in Dechert's Washington, D.C. office.

Cynthia Beyea

Joining from Eversheds, Ms. Beyea brings over two decades of experience to Dechert. She specializes in advising mutual funds, closed-end funds, exchange-traded funds, business development companies, investment company boards of directors, and investment advisers. Her expertise extends to issues involving the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and related federal securities laws.

"Providing expert counsel to asset managers around the world is an essential part of Dechert's DNA and we pride ourselves on our unique strengths in the registered funds space. The addition of Cindy, with her deep expertise in closed-end funds, including interval funds, significantly enhances our capabilities and underscores our commitment to serving our clients in this area," said Mark Thierfelder, co-chair of Dechert.

Widely renowned as a leading practitioner in the asset management space, Ms. Beyea has been recognized in the Chambers USA and Chambers Global rankings for registered funds.

"Cindy brings a wealth of knowledge and a robust network of industry relationships to our team," said Christopher Harvey, co-chair of Dechert's global financial services group. "She will undoubtedly contribute to our ability to deliver superior results for our clients, further cementing our position as a leading firm in the global financial services arena."

Ms. Beyea said, "Dechert holds an unrivaled standing in the legal industry for its representation of asset managers. I am eager to collaborate with my new colleagues and leverage my expertise to provide strategic, innovative solutions that meet the unique needs of our existing and prospective registered fund clients."

Ms. Beyea received a J.D. from George Washington University Law School and a B.A. from American University.

With over 200 lawyers, Dechert has one of the largest financial services and investment management teams of any firm. It was the first law firm with a funds practice in all key European fund domiciles, including the U.K., Ireland, Luxembourg, Germany and France, as well as the U.S., the Middle East and Asia. The firm is consistently recognized by independent experts as a leading law firm for investment funds.

About Dechert

Dechert is a global law firm that advises asset managers, financial institutions and corporations on issues critical to managing their business and their capital  from high-stakes litigation to complex transactions and regulatory matters. We answer questions that seem unsolvable, develop deal structures that are new to the market and protect clients' rights in extreme situations. Our 1,000+ lawyers across 21 offices globally focus on the financial services, private equity, private credit, real estate, life sciences and technology sectors.

SOURCE Dechert LLP
Investment will establish a coordinated strategy to encourage and prepare more dental students to practice in rural parishes

BOSTON, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- DentaQuest, part of Sun Life U.S. and the nation's second-largest dental benefits provider by membership, today announced a $20,000 contribution to Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Sciences Center to support solutions designed to bring oral care to rural areas of the state. DentaQuest currently provides dental benefits to more than 1.3 million people enrolled in the state's Medicaid and CHIP programs and has served the state through Medicare, Marketplace and Medicaid adult value-add programs for more than 11 years.

This donation is DentaQuest's most recent investment to support efforts to diversify and expand the dental workforce in this and other states. "We know that oral health is essential to overall health, so ensuring that every Medicaid member has access to a dental provider is crucial," said Steve Pollock, president of DentaQuest. "To do that, we need to expand opportunities and create a more inclusive pathway for people to enter the dental profession, as well as expose Louisiana students to practicing in rural parishes and meeting the needs of a variety of communities."

Part of greater support for efforts to diversify and expand the dental workforce in this and other states. Post this

Dr. Janet Southerland, vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and chief academic officer at LSU Health Sciences Center, agrees. "We need to get more students from rural areas into the LSU dental program and encourage them to return to their home communities and practice," she said. "We need to provide opportunities for advanced training because our state is in desperate need of more pediatric dentists and oral surgeons."

In her current role as Interim Dean for the School of Dentistry, Dr. Southerland will establish a public-private planning committee to develop action plans for strategies including a scholarship program specific to rural care delivery, partnerships with community colleges in high-need regions to enable increased LSU enrollment and evaluating curriculum to ensure all dental graduates have competency in pediatric dentistry and basic oral surgery. Dr. Southerland is also on the board of Remote Area Medical, a nonprofit that hosts free health clinics, and is working to bring at least one of these comprehensive care clinics to counties with the highest unmet dental needs.

DentaQuest previously supported an interprofessional learning project at LSU Health that involved 10 students from various dental and medical degree programs. The two-year program focused on strengthening team coordination and oral cancer screenings.

"As a dental student, I learned that it is essential for dental professionals to communicate the importance of oral health as it relates to systemic health to other members of the health care team," dental student participant Ragan Delrie said when the program concluded. "It was encouraging to witness the eagerness of non-dental students to learn more about how to perform an oral cancer screening and the importance of oral health. It was also very helpful to learn from my team members how different health professions assess and approach the oral health of their patients."

In line with its commitment to improve the oral health of all, DentaQuest will continue investing in the future of Louisiana's dental workforce and specifically plans to provide additional support in 2024 as the program focused on rural parishes develops.

About DentaQuest

DentaQuest, part of Sun Life U.S., is a purpose-driven health care company dedicated to improving the oral health of all. We do this through Preventistry  our inclusive approach to quality care and expanded access built on trusted partnerships between patients, providers and payors. As one of the nation's largest and most experienced Medicaid dental benefits administrators, we manage dental and vision benefits for more than 33 million Americans through a nationwide network of providers in all 50 states. Our outcomes-based, cost-effective dental solutions are designed for Medicaid and CHIP, Medicare Advantage, small and large businesses, and individuals. At the same time, we are expanding our footprint of more than 70 oral health centers in six states to deliver direct patient care in rural and underserved populations. Learn more at www.DentaQuest.com and follow us on Facebook , Instagram and LinkedIn .

Direct Media Inquiries to:

Maya Linson

[email protected]

202-794-3738

SOURCE Sun Life U.S.
Exclusive, limited-edition spirit crafted with fresh raspberry paczki, a cherished Fat Tuesday tradition

Paczki Day Vodka Party returns on February 10

DETROIT, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Just in time to beat back the winter blues, Detroit City Distillery (DCD) announced today that its ultra-popular celebratory spirit, Paczki Day Vodka, will go on sale on Friday, January 26 at 8 a.m. online at detroitcitydistillery.com/shop. Also, this year, DCD will increase supply of Paczki Day Vodka available for direct-to-consumer shipping in select states nationwide via its new partner, Seelbach's, an online distributor of craft spirits.

Detroit City Distillery's Paczki Day Vodka 2024 - Sales begin Jan., 26, 2024 Detroit City Distillery's Paczki Day Vodka 2024

Once again, this year's release will be made with fresh raspberry paczki from Hamtramck's iconic New Palace Bakery. Bottles are $35 each. Customers can pick up their online orders directly on January 26 at 4 p.m. at DCD's Tasting Room at 2462 Riopelle Street in Detroit's Eastern Market.

"It's been amazing to see what started as an experiment to make 20 bottles for just friends and family six years ago became a tradition within Michigan's Polish community and expanded to families and communities across the nation," said J.P. Jerome, master distiller and co-owner of Detroit City Distillery. "We've had people travel from all over the country, visiting us here in Detroit, just to get their hands on this once-a-year spirit so they can celebrate with family back home on Paczki Day, also known as Fat Tuesday."

What Are Paczki?

For the uninitiated, paczki (plural) are rich, filled donuts in various flavors enjoyed on Fat Tuesday before Lent. Paczki resemble donuts but are made with an enriched dough that often incorporates eggs, butter and milk, as well as vodka, which limits the absorption of fats during frying, keeping the exterior crust crisp. Paczki are coated in powdered sugar or glaze and come in traditional flavors like raspberry, strawberry, lemon, plum, apple and custard.

How Paczki Day Vodka is Made

Paczki Day Vodka is made by distilling fresh raspberry paczki in 100 percent potato vodka from Poland and Michigan in a 500-gallon copper pot still. The result is a crystal-clear one-of-a-kind spirit that is smooth, buttery and has a distinct raspberry finish. It can be enjoyed chilled over ice, mixed in a cocktail or as a paczki chaser.

There are no artificial ingredients, flavors or sweeteners commonly used in mainstream flavored vodka. DCD's goal is to make a true craft spirit that highlights the taste of these perfectly handmade, glazed raspberry paczki from Hamtramck's New Palace Bakery.

"We like to think of it as a Paczki Day Party in a bottle," added Jerome. "At 88 proof, it's ultra-smooth, and you can really taste the raspberry and buttery pastry of the paczki."

Paczki Day Vodka Party  February 10

On Saturday, February 10, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., DCD will once again host their annual Paczki Day Party at their Tasting Room at 2462 Riopelle Street in Eastern Market, indoors and outdoors, with limited capacity and free admission. The outdoor patio area encompasses an entire city block. Food, including Polish favorites, will be available for sale, along with PDV cocktails and DCD's regular menu of spirits.

Detroit City Distillery is renowned for their award-winning small batch artisanal bourbon, whiskey, rye, gin, and vodka, crafted using the finest local ingredients sourced from farms near the distillery. The distillery achieved global acclaim at the 2023 World Spirits Competition in San Francisco, where its Butcher's Cut Bourbon and Homegrown Rye whiskies each won a Double-Gold Medal, the event's highest honor. This achievement underscores DCD's commitment to excellence, with Butcher's Cut Bourbon receiving its second Double Gold and Homegrown Rye its third, having previously won in 2020 and 2022. Additionally, DCD's Four Grain Bourbon was awarded Gold for the second time.

To explore Paczki Day Vodka and DCD's diverse range of products, visit www.detroitcitydistillery.com or follow them on social media at @detroitcitydistillery. Please note, customers must be 21 or older to purchase alcohol.

Paczki Day Vodka goes on sale online at detroitcitydistillery.com/shop at 8 a.m., Friday, January 26. Patrons can begin picking up their orders the same day at 4 p.m. at the Detroit City Distillery's Tasting Room in Eastern Market at the Paczki Day Vodka release party. Paczki Day Vodka will also be available at select liquor stores throughout Michigan while supplies last. Increased quantities are also available for direct-to-consumer shipping partnerships via Seelbach's.

Editor's Note:

Detroit City Distillery representatives are available for demonstrations and interviews.

Photos and Video are available here via Google.

SOURCE Detroit City Distillery
BOGOTA, Colombia, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecopetrol S.A. ("Ecopetrol" or the "Company") (NYSE: EC) announced today the tender offer consideration (the "Total Consideration") payable in connection with the previously announced cash tender offer (the "Offer") by Ecopetrol, which commenced on January 9, 2024, to purchase any and all of its outstanding 4.125% Notes due 2025 (the "Securities"), upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in Ecopetrol's Offer to Purchase, dated January 9, 2024 (as the same may be amended or supplemented from time to time, the "Offer to Purchase") and in the related Notice of Guaranteed Delivery (as it may be amended or supplemented from time to time, the "Notice of Guaranteed Delivery"), the terms and conditions of which remain unchanged. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Offer to Purchase.

The Offer will expire today, January 16, 2024, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, unless extended (such date and time, as it may be extended, the "Expiration Time"). The Offer to Purchase contains detailed information regarding the manner in which the Total Consideration was calculated.

The following table sets forth the Total Consideration for the Securities. The Fixed Spread over the Reference Yield listed in the table below is based on the bid-side price of the Reference U.S. Treasury, as calculated by the Dealer Managers (as defined below) at 10:00 a.m., New York City time, today, as described in the Offer to Purchase.

Title of

Securities

CUSIP/ISIN

Number

Outstanding

Principal

Amount

Reference

U.S.

Treasury

Security

Bloomberg

Reference

Page

Reference

Yield Fixed

Spread

(Basis

Points)

Total

Consideration

(1)

(2) 4.125% Notes

due 2025

279158 AK5

/

US279158A

K55

$1,200,000,000

UST

1.125% due

January 15,

2025

FIT4

4.678 % +0 bps

$994.70



















(1) Per $1,000 principal amount of Securities validly tendered and accepted for purchase pursuant to the Offer

to Purchase.







(2) Excludes accrued and unpaid interest on their purchased Securities from the last interest payment date for

the Securities to, but excluding, the Settlement Date (as defined below).

In addition to the Total Consideration, holders whose Securities are accepted for purchase pursuant to the Offer, including Securities tendered by guaranteed delivery, will also receive accrued and unpaid interest on their purchased Securities from the last interest payment date for the Securities to, but excluding, the Settlement Date.

Upon the terms and subject to the conditions of the Offer, the settlement date is expected to be January 19, 2024 (the "Settlement Date"). On the Settlement Date, Ecopetrol expects to accept for payment and pay the Total Consideration for Securities validly tendered and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Expiration Time or delivered by guaranteed delivery prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on January 18, 2024.

Tenders of Securities pursuant to the Offer may be validly withdrawn at or prior to the Expiration Time. If the Offer is extended, tendered Securities may be withdrawn at any time before the 10th business day after commencement of the Offer. Securities subject to the Offer may also be validly withdrawn at any time after the 60th business day after commencement of the Offer if for any reason the Offer has not been consummated within 60 business days after commencement.

The Offer is conditioned upon the satisfaction or waiver by Ecopetrol of certain conditions described in the Offer to Purchase, including the Financing Condition (as defined below), but is not conditioned upon any minimum principal amount of Securities being tendered. Subject to applicable law, Ecopetrol may, at its sole discretion, waive any condition applicable to the Offer and may extend the Offer. Under certain conditions and as more fully described in the Offer to Purchase, Ecopetrol may terminate the Offer before the Expiration Time.

The Offer is being made in connection with a concurrent offering of notes (the "New Notes") by the Company (the "Notes Offering"). The "Financing Condition" means that the Company shall have priced and closed the Notes Offering on terms satisfactory to the Company and resulting in net cash proceeds sufficient to fund the Total Consideration with respect to the Securities validly tendered at or prior to the Expiration Time (regardless of actual amount of Securities tendered), plus accrued and unpaid interest on the purchased Securities from the last interest payment date to, but excluding, the Settlement Date. The Offer is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the New Notes.

The complete terms and conditions of the Offer are set forth in the Offer to Purchase and in the related Notice of Guaranteed Delivery, which holders are urged to read carefully before making any decision with respect to the Offer.

The Offer is open to all registered holders of Securities. A beneficial owner of Securities that are held of record by a broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company, or other nominee (each, a "Custodian") must instruct such Custodian to tender such Securities on the beneficial owner's behalf in a timely manner. Beneficial owners should be aware that a Custodian may establish its own earlier deadline for participation in an Offer.

Global Bondholder Services Corporation is serving as the tender agent and information agent. Requests for documents may be directed to Global Bondholder Services Corporation by telephone at +1 212-430 3774 (banks and brokers) or Toll-Free at +1 855-654-2014.

Copies of the Offer to Purchase and related Notice of Guaranteed Delivery are available at the following web address: at https://gbsc-usa.com/ecopetrol/.

BBVA Securities Inc., BofA Securities, Inc. and Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. are serving as Dealer Managers (the "Dealer Managers") for the Offer. Questions regarding the Offer may also be directed to the Dealer Managers as set forth below:

BBVA Securities Inc. 1345 Avenue of the Americas, 44th Floor New York, New York 10105 United States of America Attn: Liability Management Collect: +1 (212) 728 2446 U.S. Toll Fee: +1 (800) 422 8692 Email:

[email protected] BofA Securities, Inc. One Bryant Park New York, New York 10036 United States of America Attention: Liability Management Group Collect: +1 (646) 855-8998 U.S. Toll Free: (888) 292-0070 Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. 388 Greenwich Street, Trading 4th

Floor New York, New York 10013 United States of America Attn: Liability Management Group Collect: +1 (212) 723-6106 U.S. Toll-Free: +1 (800) 558-3745 Email:

[email protected]

This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to purchase nor the solicitation of an offer to sell any Securities. The Offer is being made only pursuant to the Offer to Purchase and related Notice of Guaranteed Delivery.

No Recommendation

None of Ecopetrol, BBVA Securities Inc., BofA Securities, Inc., Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., Global Bondholder Services Corporation, or the trustee or security registrar with respect to the Securities, nor any affiliate of any of the foregoing, has made any recommendation as to whether holders should tender or refrain from tendering all or any portion of their Securities in response to the Offer or expressing any opinion as to whether the terms of the Offer are fair to any holder. Holders must make their own decision as to whether to tender any of their Securities and, if so, the purchase price of Securities to tender. Please refer to the Offer to Purchase for a description of the offer terms, conditions, disclaimers and other information applicable to the Offer.

About Ecopetrol

Ecopetrol is the largest company in Colombia and one of the main integrated energy companies in the American continent, with more than 18,000 employees. In Colombia, it is responsible for more than 60% of the hydrocarbon production of most transportation, logistics, and hydrocarbon refining systems, and it holds leading positions in the petrochemicals and gas distribution segments. With the acquisition of 51.4% of ISA's shares, the company participates in energy transmission, the management of real-time systems (XM), and the Barranquilla - Cartagena coastal highway concession. At the international level, Ecopetrol has a stake in strategic basins in the American continent, with Drilling and Exploration operations in the United States (Permian basin and the Gulf of Mexico), Brazil, and Mexico, and, through ISA and its subsidiaries, Ecopetrol holds leading positions in the power transmission business in Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Bolivia, road concessions in Chile, and the telecommunications sector.

Disclaimer and Other Important Notices

The Company expressly reserves the absolute right, in its sole discretion, from time to time to purchase any Securities that remain outstanding after the Expiration Time through open-market or privately negotiated transactions, one or more additional tender or exchange offers or otherwise, on terms and at prices that may or may not be equal to the consideration offered in the Offer, or to exercise any of its rights, including redemption rights, under the Indenture governing the Securities.

This press release and the Offer to Purchase do not constitute an offer to purchase or the solicitation of an offer to sell Securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation would be unlawful. In those jurisdictions where the securities, blue sky or other laws require the Offer to be made by a licensed broker or dealer, the Offer shall be deemed to be made on behalf of Ecopetrol by the Dealer Managers or one or more registered brokers or dealers licensed under the laws of such jurisdiction. If materials relating to the Offer come into a holder's possession, the holder is required by Ecopetrol to inform itself of and to observe all of these restrictions.

The Offer to Purchase has not been filed with or reviewed by the SEC, any state securities commission or any other regulatory authority, nor has any such commission or other regulatory authority passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of the Offer to Purchase or any of the accompanying ancillary documents delivered thereunder. Any representation to the contrary is unlawful and may be a criminal offense.

The Offer to Purchase will not be authorized by the Colombian Superintendency of Finance (Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia or the "SFC" by its acronym in Spanish) and will not be registered under the Colombian National Registry of Securities and Issuers (Registro Nacional de Valores y Emisores) or the Colombian Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Valores de Colombia or the "BVC" by its acronym in Spanish), and, accordingly, the Offer to Purchase may not constitute an offer to persons in Colombia except in circumstances which do not result in a public offering under Colombian law and must be carried out in compliance with Part 4 of Decree 2555 of 2010.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including those related to the Offer. Forward-looking information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results in the future, and, accordingly, such results may differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Ecopetrol is not under any obligation to (and expressly disclaims any such obligation to) update forward- looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Investor Relations



Carolina Tovar Aragon

Head of Capital Markets

Carrera 13 No. 36-24, Bogota, Colombia

e-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A.
Fair to feature personalized learning options, face painting, and more

PORT ANGELES, Wash., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- After a successful debut last January, a school choice fair will return to Port Angeles on Saturday, Jan. 20, bringing families a one-of-a-kind opportunity to explore local schools and celebrate K-12 education.

The free event takes place 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Vern Burton Community Center. Featuring booths from more than twenty schools and groups  from classical homeschool organizations to public school districts to private schools  the expo offers community members a taste of the many personalized learning opportunities available in the Port Angeles area.

Besides exploring boothes and meeting school representatives, families can enjoy face painting, balloon art, a DJ, refreshments, and a photobooth.

Organized by Olympic Christian School, in partnership with local educators from Port Angeles, Joyce, and Sequim, the event aims to make navigating school options easier for families. More than 300 community members are expected to attend this year's fair.

"Olympic Christian School is thrilled to host the 2nd Annual Clallam County Education Fair! We are so thankful to partner with the National School Choice Foundation to bring this event back to Port Angeles. Many families who attended the fair last year left newly able to make an informed decision for their child's education. Families were so thankful and wanted to bring the fair back for another year!" said Tiffany Gillespie of Olympic Christian School. "There are so many wonderful options for education here in Clallam County. We hope that you'll be able to come, have fun, and leave with a better picture of what you'd like for your child's education."

The school fair is timed to coincide with National School Choice Week (Jan. 21-27, 2024), which will feature tens of thousands of school choice celebrations across all 50 states, ranging from microschooling meet-ups to landmark light-ups. In Washington, the Columbia Town Center in Seattle will light up for the Week.

Gov. Inslee has issued an official proclamation recognizing Jan. 21-27 as "Washington School Choice Week," stating that "quality education is critically important to the economic vitality of Washington."

The Vern Burton Community Center is located at 308 E. 4th St. in Port Angeles. Families should head to the gym for the festivities.

Families can learn more and RSVP for the free event at clallamcountyschoolfair.com.

National School Choice Week (NSCW) informs, inspires, and empowers parents to discover the K-12 education options available for their children, including traditional public, charter, magnet, online, private, and home schooling. Every January, tens of thousands of schools, organizations, and individuals plan unique events and activities to shine a positive spotlight on effective education options in their communities. The Week is a project of the nonpartisan, nonpolitical National School Choice Awareness Foundation

SOURCE National School Choice Week
NEW YORK, Jan. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The electrical protective equipment market is expected to grow by USD 829.48 million between 2022 and 2027. However, the growth momentum of the market will progress at a CAGR of 3.92% during the forecast period. The market is segmented by end-user (manufacturing, construction, automotive, oil and gas, and others), product (PC, HAPM, HEFPM, and FLP), and Geography (North America, APAC, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and South America).

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Electrical Protective Equipment Market 2023-2027

The increasing power demand is a key factor driving market growth. The increasing consumption of electricity is due to population growth, coupled with fast urbanization and industrial development. Demand for electrical protective equipment will be supported by the growth of electricity infrastructure to cope with increasing energy demand. The need to provide electric protection equipment in industries that expose their workers to different hazards of electricity is driven by the growing demand for energy.

The report analyses the market size and growth and provides accurate predictions on the growth of the market. View Free PDF Sample

Key Highlights:

The report recognizes the following as some of the key players in the electrical protective equipment market: 3M Co., Ansell Ltd., Broner Inc., Burlington Safety Laboratory Inc., CATU SAS, Cintas Corp., Delta Plus Group, DuPont de Nemours Inc., Honeywell International Inc., Lakeland Industries Inc., MSA Safety Inc., National Safety Apparel, ProGARM Ltd., Protective Industrial Products Inc, Radians Inc., Raychem RPG Pvt. Ltd., Sofamel SL, Steel Grip Inc., US Rubber Supply Co., and W.W. Grainger Inc.

Co., Ansell Ltd., Broner Inc., Burlington Safety Laboratory Inc., CATU SAS, Cintas Corp., Delta Plus Group, DuPont de Nemours Inc., Honeywell International Inc., Lakeland Industries Inc., MSA Safety Inc., National Safety Apparel, ProGARM Ltd., Protective Industrial Products Inc, Radians Inc., Raychem RPG Pvt. Ltd., Sofamel SL, Steel Grip Inc., US Rubber Supply Co., and W.W. Grainger Inc. Electrical Protective Equipment Market is fragmented in nature.

Market to observe 3.35% YOY growth in 2023.

Market Dynamics:

Major Trend

The growing women's workforce is the major trend in the market.

The surge in the women workforce in industrial sectors sparks heightened demand for gender-specific PPE.

Companies prioritize the creation of electrical protective equipment designed ergonomically for women.

Significant Challenge

The need to determine the life expectancy of arc-rated protective clothing is a significant challenge restricting market growth.

Employers and employees must assess the lifespan of arc-rated clothing, ensuring it can endure the rated arc flash intensity throughout its useful life.

Inadequate care, improper laundering, or wear and tear can compromise the protective capabilities, leading to diminished protection at lower energy levels and increasing the risk of severe injuries.

The report also covers information on upcoming trends and challenges. Explore detailed information by purchasing a report

Keg Segments:

The market share growth of the manufacturing segment will be significant during the forecast period. Hand protection equipment is crucial to safeguard against potential hazards such as skin absorption of harmful substances, chemical or thermal burns, abrasions, electrical dangers, bruises, cuts, fractures, punctures, and amputations. In the manufacturing sector, commonly utilized electrical safety personal protective equipment includes hard hats, arc-rated hoods and clothing, protective hoods, safety glasses, face shields, earplugs, earmuffs, protective footwear, leather protective gloves, insulating rubber sleeves, and gloves.

Get a glance at the market contribution of the segments, Request a Free Sample Report

The Electrical Protective Equipment market caters to the safety needs of utility workers, electricians, and those in the power generation industry. Key products include insulated gloves, arc flash protection gear, dielectric footwear, safety helmets, voltage detectors, and insulating mats. Compliance with electrical safety standards such as ASTM, IEC, and EN is crucial. The market also addresses live-line working and OSHA regulations, emphasizing the importance of personal protective equipment (PPE), electrical hazard analysis, and adherence to NFPA 70E standards. Lockout/tagout (LOTO) systems, safety barriers, and insulated tools contribute to a comprehensive range of solutions for industrial automation safety in electrical maintenance.

Related Reports:

The Direct Current (DC) Power System Market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 7.7% between 2023 and 2028. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 13.12 billion.

The heat and energy recovery ventilation system market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.17% between 2023 and 2028. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 1.77 billion.

ToC:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market Sizing

Historic Market Sizes

Five Forces Analysis

Market Segmentation by End-user

Market Segmentation by Product

Market Segmentation by Geography

Customer Landscape

Geographic Landscape

Drivers, Challenges, & Trends

Company Landscape

Company Analysis

Appendix

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base 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
HELSINKI, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- VillageWorks, an office hotel, will move into the Erottaja2 property in the heart of Helsinki with a new 1,700 m2 workspace complex, offering Erottaja2 private and shared office space for companies using either traditional office spaces or hybrid workplace models. The new office hotel will open in March 2024. BlackRock owns the Erottaja2 office building, and its Finnish partner, Trevian Asset Management, is responsible for developing and leasing the property.

The Erottaja2 complex, consisting of three buildings, is owned by the global asset management company, BlackRock. In recent years, the property has gained publicity as the main event venue of the 2019 Helsinki Design Week, with more than 14,000 visitors. The tenant mix residing in Erottaja2 include Skanno, known for its international design; the health care group Cor Group; the investment companies Oras Invest and Takoa Invest and Trevian Asset Management, a leading real estate company that also acts as the property's local asset manager.

Khuong Le, CEO of VillageWorks, says 'Our new office hotel in Erottaja2 opens one of Helsinki's most beautiful office buildings for small companies and private entrepreneurs. We want to offer a place where working is efficient and comfortable, and where employees feel good. We invest in the well-being of our community and a pleasant working environment.'

Helena Kangas, Trevian's Head of Office Leasing, says 'It's great to be involved in developing this concept with a renowned operator. Hybrid work has increased interest in flexible workspace solutions, and the city center as an office location has remained attractive. Office hotels offer the opportunity for self-employed people, small companies, and freelancers to be part of a larger community, and they can also serve larger companies as hubs or additional capacity. The cooperation with VillageWorks complements Erottaja2's space and service selection. Erottaja2 is now able to cater for smaller companies too.'

Adam Benjamin Brown, Head of Real Estate Asset Management, Nordics, for BlackRock, says 'We warmly welcome VillageWorks to Erottaja2. Erottaja2 is a very prominent building in Helsinki with a lot of history and we have been proud to develop and restore it back to its former glory. A community operator like VillageWorks is a great addition to the existing tenant mix at Erottaja2 and will complement the existing and future tenants very well. We look forward to seeing VillageWorks open their new flagship office location.'

VillageWorks is a Finnish provider of flexible workspace and has been in operation for 15 years. Erottaja2 is already their tenth location. The company offers flexible workspace solutions with a central location as an essential criterion and has 16,000 square meters of managed space in the Helsinki region. VillageWorks provides a variety of office and workspaces, meeting facilities, event and sauna spaces, and virtual offices. The office hotel opening in Erottaja2 targets smaller companies and the hybrid workspace needs of larger organizations - the office spaces are specially designed for teams of 210 people. The new VillageWorks office hotel will also launch a new Business Lounge concept: flexible working spaces open to all tenants and external customers.

For additional information, please contact:

Helena Kangas

Head of Office Leasing

Trevian Asset Management

+358 400 717 698

[email protected]

Trevian Asset Management is a Finnish investment and asset management company specializing in commercial and residential properties. The company produces actively managed real estate equity funds and asset management services optimized for its customers. The services are focused especially for institutional real estate investors, banks, and other professional investors. Trevian's assets under management near 1.3B. www.trevian.fi/en

VillageWorks is Finland's largest private company providing flexible workspaces. Since its establishment in 2008, VillageWorks has expanded into a multi-location organization, boasting around 2000 members and 500 member companies. The foundation of VillageWorks rests on three pillars  versatile spaces, an extensive range of services, and a close-knit and welcoming community.

The following files are available for download:

https://news.cision.com/trevian/i/erottaja2-office,c3257544 Erottaja2 office https://news.cision.com/trevian/i/erottaja2-interior,c3257545 Erottaja2 interior https://news.cision.com/trevian/i/erottaja2-helsinki,c3257546 Erottaja2 Helsinki

SOURCE Trevian
DUBLIN, Jan. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Europe Agriculture Autonomous Robots Market: Analysis and Forecast, 2023-2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The Europe agriculture autonomous robots market (excluding U.K.) was valued at $276.7 million in 2023, and it is expected to grow with a CAGR of 25.25% during the forecast period to reach $853.1 million by 2028. The increasing demand for efficient and sustainable agricultural techniques is predicted to fuel growth in the worldwide agriculture autonomous robots market.

Agriculture autonomous robots are advanced technologies built for farming without the constant intervention of humans. They are equipped with sensors and artificial intelligence and can plant, weed, harvest, and monitor crops. These robots navigate fields, make choices in real time, and increase agricultural yield by minimizing manual work. Crop harvesting robots, weeding robots, milking robots, and monitoring robots are just a few examples. These technologies, which are transforming farming operations, optimize production, reduce worker dependency, conserve resources, and increase product quality.



The Europe agriculture autonomous robot market pertains to the utilization of autonomous robots in various agricultural activities. These robots are programmed to carry out tasks like planting, harvesting, watering, and monitoring crops, among others, without human intervention. The increasing adoption of advanced technologies in the agriculture sector, such as robotics, AI, and IoT, has driven the growth of this market in Europe.



The use of autonomous robots in agriculture offers several advantages. Firstly, these robots can perform tasks efficiently and accurately, resulting in higher productivity and better crop yields. Secondly, they can operate round the clock, helping farmers save time and increasing operational efficiency. Additionally, autonomous robots can minimize the need for manual labor, addressing the challenges associated with labor shortages in the agriculture industry.



Moreover, these robots can contribute to sustainable agriculture by optimizing resource utilization, reducing chemical usage, and mitigating soil erosion. They can also provide precise data and analysis, enabling farmers to make informed decisions about crop management and harvesting.



With the increasing demand for food, the Europe agriculture autonomous robot market is poised for significant growth. Factors such as government initiatives to promote precision farming and the rising trend of smart farming are expected to drive the adoption of autonomous robots in the European agriculture sector.

How can this report add value to an organization?



Product/Innovation Strategy: The product segment helps the reader understand the different technologies used for agriculture autonomous robots and their potential in Europe region. Moreover, the study gives the reader a detailed understanding of the different solutions provided by the agriculture autonomous robot equipment providers, such as imaging, AI, and analyzing. Compared to conventional agricultural methods, the agriculture autonomous robots market enables more exact targeting of planting, weeding, and harvesting, allowing farmers to save money by maximizing the use of their inputs.



Growth/Marketing Strategy: The Europe agriculture autonomous robots market has seen major development by key players operating in the market, such as business expansion, partnership, collaboration, and joint venture. The favored strategy for the companies has been partnership, collaboration, and joint venture activities to strengthen their position in the Europe agriculture autonomous robots market.



Competitive Strategy: Key players in the Europe agriculture autonomous robots market analyzed and profiled in the study, including their market segments covered by distinct products, applications served, and regional presence, as well as the influence of important market tactics. Moreover, a detailed competitive benchmarking of the players operating in the agriculture autonomous robots market has been done to help the reader understand how players stack against each other, presenting a clear market landscape. Additionally, comprehensive competitive strategies such as partnerships, agreements, and collaborations will aid the reader in understanding the untapped revenue pockets in the market.



Key Market Players and Competition Synopsis



The companies that are profiled have been selected based on inputs gathered from primary experts and analyzing company coverage, product portfolio, and market penetration.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Markets

1.1 Industry Outlook

1.1.1 Ongoing Trends

1.1.1.1 Emerging Climate Smart Agriculture Practices

1.1.1.2 Emerging Sustainable Solution: Agrivoltaics

1.1.2 Ecosystem/Ongoing Programs

1.1.2.1 Consortiums and Associations

1.1.2.2 Government Initiatives and Their Impacts

1.2 Business Dynamics

1.2.1 Business Drivers

1.2.1.1 Need for Organic Food Production

1.2.1.2 Agriculture Labor Shortage

1.2.2 Business Challenges

1.2.2.1 High Initial Investment and Cost

1.2.2.2 Less Adoption among Small-Scale Farmers

1.2.3 Market Strategies and Developments

1.2.3.1 Business Strategies

1.2.3.1.1 Product Development and Innovations

1.2.3.1.2 Market Development

1.2.3.2 Corporate Strategies

1.2.3.2.1 Mergers and Acquisitions

1.2.3.2.2 Partnerships, Collaborations, Joint Ventures, and Alliances

1.2.3.2.3 Others

1.2.4 Business Opportunities

1.2.4.1 Rise of Small Farm Robots

1.2.4.2 Focus on Innovative Solutions

1.2.5 Case Studies

1.3 Funding and Investment Landscape

1.3.1 Funding Analysis (by Year)

1.3.2 Funding Analysis (by Company)

1.3.3 Funding Analysis (by Country)



2 Regions

2.1 Europe

2.1.1 Italy

2.1.2 France

2.1.3 Germany

2.1.4 Netherland

2.1.5 Belgium

2.1.6 Switzerland

2.1.7 Greece

2.1.8 Ukraine

2.1.9 Rest-of-Europe

2.2 U. K.



3 Markets - Competitive Benchmarking & Company Profiles

3.1 Competitive Benchmarking

3.1.1 Competitive Position Matrix

3.1.2 Market Share Analysis

3.2 Company Profiles

3.2.1 Saga Robotics AS

3.2.1.1 Company Overview

3.2.1.2 Product and Customer Portfolio Analysis

3.2.2 DAIRYMASTER

3.2.2.1 Company Overview

3.2.2.2 Product and Customer Portfolio Analysis

3.2.3 GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft

3.2.3.1 Company Overview

3.2.3.2 Product and Customer Portfolio Analysis

3.2.4 Lely

3.2.4.1 Company Overview

3.2.4.2 Product and Customer Portfolio Analysis

3.2.5 Robert Bosch GmbH

3.2.5.1 Company Overview

3.2.5.2 Product and Customer Portfolio Analysis

3.2.6 Trabotyx

3.2.6.1 Company Overview

3.2.6.2 Product and Customer Portfolio Analysis



4 Research Methodology

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/kritxr

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Media Contact:

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SOURCE Research and Markets
DUBLIN, Jan. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Europe Smart Crop Monitoring Market: Analysis and Forecast, 2023-2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The Europe smart crop monitoring market (excluding U.K.) was valued at $1.04 billion in 2023, and it is expected to grow with a CAGR of 16.18% during the forecast period 2023-2028 to reach $2.20 billion by 2028.

The increasing demand for optimum crop yields and effective resource usage in agriculture is projected to fuel the expansion of the crop monitoring market. Furthermore, developments in technologies such as AI, machine learning, and remote sensing are projected to drive crop monitoring growth even further.

Smart crop monitoring is the use of advanced technology such as satellite images, drones, sensors, and data analytics to precisely and efficiently monitor and manage agricultural crops. It entails collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data in real time to optimize many aspects of farming such as irrigation, pest management, fertilizer use, and general crop health. Crop health monitoring enables farmers to make more informed decisions, increase productivity, conserve resources, and implement sustainable agricultural methods, resulting in higher yields and lower environmental impact.



Smart crop scouting and spraying have enormous promise for input optimization and increased crop yields. Farmers may ensure that pesticides and herbicides are used efficiently and effectively by spraying them more precisely, avoiding waste and even improving crop yields.



In response to these problems, demand for smart agricultural monitoring is projected to rise. These technologies can offer farmers with real-time data on crop health and soil conditions, allowing them to apply inputs more precisely and at the right moment. This saves waste while simultaneously improving crop health and production.

How can this report add value to an organization?



Product/Innovation Strategy: In the realm of smart crop monitoring, technological advancements are transforming agricultural landscapes. Smart crop monitoring solutions utilize diverse technologies such as IoT sensors, drones, and data analytics. These tools offer precise insights into crop health, optimizing irrigation, pest management, and harvest times. Innovations such as satellite imaging and remote sensing provide a holistic view of fields, empowering farmers to make informed decisions. The market encompasses a range of solutions, from real-time monitoring platforms to AI-driven predictive analysis, enabling farmers to enhance productivity and reduce resource wastage significantly.



Growth/Marketing Strategy: The Europe smart crop monitoring market has witnessed remarkable growth strategies by key players. Business expansions, collaborations, and partnerships have been pivotal. Companies are venturing into global markets, forging alliances, and engaging in research collaborations to enhance their technological prowess. Collaborative efforts between tech companies and agricultural experts are driving the development of cutting-edge monitoring tools. Additionally, strategic joint ventures are fostering the integration of diverse expertise, amplifying the market presence of these solutions. This collaborative approach is instrumental in developing comprehensive, user-friendly, and efficient smart crop monitoring systems.



Competitive Strategy: In the competitive landscape of smart crop monitoring, manufacturers are diversifying their product portfolios to cover various crops and farming practices. Market segments include soil analysis tools, disease detection systems, and climate analysis solutions. Competitive benchmarking illuminates the strengths of market players, emphasizing their unique offerings and regional strengths. Partnerships with research institutions and agricultural organizations are driving innovation.



Key Topics Covered:

1 Markets

1.1 Industry Outlook

1.1.1 Ecosystem/Ongoing Programs

1.1.1.1 Consortiums and Associations

1.1.1.2 Regulatory Bodies

1.1.1.3 Government Initiatives and Impacts

1.2 Business Dynamics

1.2.1 Business Drivers

1.2.1.1 Need for Input Optimization

1.2.1.2 Growth in Farmland Consolidation

1.2.2 Business Challenges

1.2.2.1 Cyber and Online Data Security

1.2.2.2 Lack of Connectivity and Technical Awareness

1.2.3 Business Opportunities

1.2.3.1 Focus on Sustainability

1.2.3.2 Increase in Number of Cooperative Farming

1.2.4 Ongoing Trends

1.2.4.1 Integration with AI and ML

1.2.4.2 Monitoring Technology-as-a-Service (MTaaS)

1.2.5 Market Strategies and Developments



2 Region

2.1 Europe

2.1.1 Europe (by Country)

2.1.1.1 Germany

2.1.1.2 France

2.1.1.3 Spain

2.1.1.4 Italy

2.1.1.5 Netherlands

2.1.1.6 Switzerland

2.1.1.7 Belgium

2.1.1.8 Rest-of-Europe

2.2 U.K.



3 Markets - Competitive Benchmarking & Company Profiles

3.1 Competitive Benchmarking

3.1.1 Competitive Position Matrix

3.1.2 Market Share Analysis

3.2 Company Profiles

3.2.1 CNH Industrial N.V.

3.2.1.1 Company Overview

3.2.1.1.1 Product and Customer Portfolio Analysis

3.2.2 AGRIVI

3.2.2.1 Company Overview

3.2.2.1.1 Product and Customer Portfolio Analysis

3.2.3 Robert Bosch GmbH

3.2.3.1 Company Overview

3.2.3.1.1 Product and Customer Portfolio Analysis

3.2.4 Airbus

3.2.4.1 Company Overview

3.2.4.1.1 Product and Customer Portfolio Analysis

3.2.5 Small Robot Company

3.2.5.1 Company Overview

3.2.5.1.1 Product and Customer Portfolio Analysis

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ee5acz

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

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Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Research and Markets
LEWISVILLE, Texas, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ever.Ag, a leader in agribusiness solutions, is excited to announce the acquisition of AgencyRoot, a software platform built for the agri-food sector, designed for crop insurance agents. This acquisition signifies Ever.Ag's commitment to enhancing its presence in the crop insurance sector by providing agents with innovative and user-friendly technology.

AgencyRoot

"We are delighted to welcome AgencyRoot into the Ever.Ag family," said Mike Moore, EVP, Ever.Ag Agribusiness. "This acquisition is more than an expansion of our Agribusiness software portfolio; it's a testament to our dedication to equipping crop insurance agents with the best tools to serve their clients effectively. "

With this strategic move, Ever.Ag reinforces its mission to deliver comprehensive solutions across various agricultural sectors. AgencyRoot's system complements Ever.Ag's existing software solutions, enabling the company to offer a more diverse range of solutions tailored to the unique needs of the crop insurance space.

The acquisition of AgencyRoot represents Ever.Ag's growing dedication to investing in technologies that respond to the specific challenges and opportunities within the crop insurance industry. "Our focus is on empowering agents with technology that simplifies their work, enhances their efficiency, and ultimately benefits the farmers they serve," added Moore. "AgencyRoot's platform aligns perfectly with this vision, bringing a level of specialization that agents will greatly appreciate."

"We're thrilled to join forces with Ever.Ag, a company that shares our passion for innovation in agribusiness. This partnership marks a significant step forward in our mission to provide crop insurance agents with the most advanced software solutions. Together, we are poised to make a profound impact on the agricultural sector, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of crop insurance services. Our technology, combined with Ever.Ag's extensive expertise and resources, will create unparalleled opportunities for growth and development in this vital industry. We look forward to a future where our combined strengths lead the way in empowering those at the heart of agriculture - the farmers and their agents." said Denise Webb, CMO, AgencyRoot.

As Ever.Ag continues to grow and innovate, the acquisition of AgencyRoot marks an important milestone in the company's journey. By focusing on advanced software solutions, Ever.Ag reaffirms its commitment to being at the forefront of technological advancements in agribusiness.

About AgencyRoot:

Launched in 2018, AgencyRoot is a cutting-edge SaaS platform designed specifically for crop insurance agents. Our program streamlines the crop insurance process and provides agents with the tools they need to better serve their clients. Our platform supports a wide range of insurance products, including Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI), Crop-Hail insurance, as well as other private products. Overall, AgencyRoot is an essential tool for crop insurance agents looking to better serve their clients and grow their business. With advanced technology, ease of use, and exceptional customer service, our platform is the ideal choice for agents who want to stay ahead of the competition and ensure their long-term success.

About Ever.Ag

Ever.Ag is Everything Agriculture, providing software and services that empower your entire supply chain, from farm to table - and everything in between. The breadth and depth of Ever.Ag's solutions empower dairy, crops, animal protein, and agribusiness customers to feed a growing world. Bringing decades of experience and industry-leading innovation to the table, Ever.Ag's advanced technology, risk management, and market intelligence solutions provide customers with the insight they need to operate more efficiently, sustainably, nimbly, and strategically across the supply chain.

Media Contact

Leslie Poston [email protected]

SOURCE Ever.Ag
Company Reaffirms its Commitment to Improve Life Through Travel

NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Exodus Adventure Travels , the international, award-winning leader in adventure travel, announced it has been certified as a B Corporation (B Corp), further demonstrating its commitment to improve life through travel and a more sustainable future.

This announcement comes as Exodus Adventure Travels celebrates its 50th anniversary. The company, which specializes in small group adventures in 100 countries of the world, has a long history of making a positive impact on the people with whom it works and the places it visits.

Exodus Adventure Travels joins a growing global movement of businesses looking to redefine business success. This B Corp Certification affirms years of industry-leading efforts to meet high standards of environmental and social impact, transparency, and accountability and a continuing commitment to travel to be a more sustainable and inclusive industry. To become a Certified B Corporation, companies undergo a rigorous review of the impact of their operations and business model on their internal teams, company governance, customers, communities, and environment.

"We believe that traveling is a privilege that comes with deep responsibilities including care for the people that we meet and work with, the places that we visit and the long-term health of the planet that we all enjoy," said Sam Seward, Managing Director of Exodus Adventure Travels. "We take immense pride in becoming B Corp certified, as it signals to our customers and other stakeholders that we are running our business in a way that is dedicated to creating positive environmental and social change and acting with and for a greater purpose. It's the perfect start to our 50th birthday celebrations this year."

With decades of experience delivering world-class small group guided tours, Exodus Adventure Travels helps individuals understand how awe-inspiring, horizon-expanding, and life-enriching travel can be. The company's objective is to operate as responsibly as possible, without damaging the environment or disrupting local communities.

Exodus Adventure Travels' initiatives include:

A nature-positive approach, ensuring that it puts biodiversity gain through conservation at the heart of decision-making, trip design and work in destination communities

Measurement and publication of each trip's carbon footprint on ExodusTravels.com.

A "re-wilding" initiative that ensures for every traveler, 100 square meters of land is given back to nature preservation.

A commitment to work with local guides, restaurants, and guest houses to positively impact their communities and to help travelers get closer to the authenticity and heart and soul of the destinations.

Support for grassroots initiatives and regeneration in and through local communities through the Exodus Travels Foundation.

Ethical marketing and procurement policies that are embedded within the business to ensure all teams better understand how their roles align with their principles and practices.

About Exodus Adventure Travels

For 50 years Exodus Adventure Travels has been the leader in active adventures and is known for "improving life through travel." Exodus Adventure Travels is a winner of the National Geographic Traveler Reader Awards and is a recipient of the Conde Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Award, Wanderlust Magazine's Best Tour Leader of the Year, USA Today's Readers' Choice Award, and the British Travel Awards.

Exodus Adventure Travels provides unforgettable journeys and expert insights through more than 500 active adventures to Europe and 100 other countries. Award-winning trips across seven continents include active adventures to the majestic peaks of Kilimanjaro, the ancient wonders of Machu Picchu, the breathtaking beauty of Italy's Amalfi Coast, and other memorable destinations. Committed to providing travelers with unique, authentic, and responsible experiences in all the above destinations, and across its entire portfolio, Exodus' expert guides and carefully crafted itineraries ensure deeper connections to people and place.

With an unwavering commitment to sustainability, Exodus Adventure Travels is dedicated to creating incredible, responsibly run adventures, and understands the importance of regenerative travel. The company is dedicated to creating memorable and responsible adventures so travelers can book and travel with confidence.

Exodus Adventure Travels is part of Travelopia, the world's largest collection of experiential travel brands. Travelopia's 26 award-winning travel brands lead the way in creating unique experiences for guests around the world. To learn more about Exodus Adventure Travels and the company's award-winning adventures visit ExodusTravels.com , or follow the company on social @ExodusTravels.

Editors' note: Rochelle Turner, head of sustainability for Exodus Adventure Travels is available for comment and interviews.

SOURCE Exodus Adventure Travels
First 100 children in attendance to receive free safari hats

TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Embark on a School Choice Safari next weekend at the Tampa Zoo. The safari-themed K-12 fair on Saturday, Jan. 27 will be a day of fun, animal interactions, and learning, shining a light on how Florida's school choices have expanded this year. Come ready to explore more than 30 education options, and stick around for the family fun  including face painting, cotton candy, and photo opportunities with the Zoo's mascots.

The free School Choice Safari will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Tampa Zoo's Saunders Pavilion. Homeschool and microschool communities, neighborhood public schools, public charter options, and private schools will all host booths and hand out information to families. More than 450 participants are expected to attend and "shop" schools. Special prizes will be raffled off throughout the event, including $50 gas cards, children's bikes, and family passes to the zoo.

The event is timed to coincide with National School Choice Week 2024, a nationwide celebration of K-12 learning choices of all types. The Tampa fair will share in the week's celebratory spirit, featuring lawn games, magic, music, and a photo booth, as well as free safari hats for the first 100 children through the doors. Free popcorn, juice, and soda will be available.

Information will be available for families in both English and Spanish through the involvement of Conoce tus Opciones Escolares, a project of the National School Choice Awareness Foundation.

"Florida families have such an abundance of school options and community support providers. Don't miss out on this chance to connect with local Tampa-area resources and enjoy fun as a family during School Choice Week," said Stacy Hahn of GuidEd.

The Tampa School Choice Safari is hosted by GuidEd. GuidEd's mission is to provide unbiased and trusted guidance to families by sharing the tools and information necessary to make the best educational choices for their children.

Zoo Tampa at Lowry Park is located at 1101 W. Sligh Ave. Families should head to the Saunders Pavilion.

Learn more and RSVP for the free event at tampaschoolfair.com.

National School Choice Week (NSCW) informs, inspires, and empowers parents to discover the K-12 education options available for their children, including traditional public, charter, magnet, online, private, and homeschooling. Every January, tens of thousands of schools, organizations, and individuals plan unique events and activities to shine a positive spotlight on effective education options in their communities. The Week is a project of the nonpartisan, nonpolitical National School Choice Awareness Foundation.

SOURCE National School Choice Week
WINDHOEK, Namibia, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A report by CSR-China

Recently, China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN), in collaboration with Research 8020, a think tank, issued a report: Research Report on the Development Trend of Energy Enterprises under Namibia Vision 2030. This report is a guide to the decision makers, entrepreneurs and practitioners in the energy industry to align more effectively with the Namibia Vision 2030 and promote the sustainable development of the energy sector.

Namibia Vision 2030 ("the Vision" for short) is a long-term development plan of Namibia aimed at achieving sustainable development, social justice, and economic prosperity. It is also a driving force for stimulating the development of various industries.

Since 2012, CGN has been investing in and operating the Husab Uranium Mine in Namibia, CGN has established a strong presence in Namibia and leveraged our experience in building, operation and management in the clean energy sector to responsibly engage in uranium mining, working with all parties to achieve harmonious development.

CGN is well aware that the energy industry plays a crucial role as a key driver for achieving Namibia's sustainable development goals. Based on this, CGN prepared the report: Research Report on the Development Trend of Energy Enterprises under Namibia Vision 2030 after performing prospective studies. With a thorough analysis of the current status of Namibia's energy industry and a survey of its performance in climate change, natural capital, pollution and waste, environmental opportunities, human capital, and stakeholder opposition, this research has provided readers with a comprehensive perspective, helping them understand the initial progress made by the energy industry of Namibia in its pursuance of sustainable development. In addition, through analysis, the research has identified the significant opportunities and challenges faced by Namibia's energy industry in the political, economic, and technological contexts, so that readers can assess the pattern of energy development in Namibia more accurately. Meanwhile, this research also pays attention to the latest development trend in Namibia's energy industry. By delving into the development potential of the energy industry, it provides science-based decision support for energy enterprises, aiming to jointly drive Namibia's energy industry towards a more sustainable future.
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF) will host the 13th Annual Glaucoma 360 New Horizons Forum on February 9th at San Francisco's historic Westin St. Francis Hotel.

Attracting nearly 400 participants annually, this unique gathering unites leaders in the field of glaucoma for a full day of informative presentations, stimulating discussions, and valuable networking opportunities. Clinicians, industry leaders, entrepreneurs, venture capital financiers, FDA representatives, key opinion leaders, glaucoma patients  all meet, learn, share ideas, and collaborate at the only event of its kind, aimed at speeding the development of new therapies and diagnostics for glaucoma patients.

Harvard-trained physician-executive, ophthalmic surgeon, inventor and serial entrepreneur, Sean Ianchulev, MD, MPH will deliver the Drs. Henry and Frederick Sutro Memorial Lecture, the Forum's keynote address. Dr. Ianchulev's keynote lecture "The Innovation Journey of an iDoctor" will shed light on recent and on-the-horizon advances in glaucoma care.

In addition to Dr. Ianchulev, more than 50 speakers will be participating from companies and institutions across the US and around the world. Among more than a dozen sessions surveying innovations in glaucoma care, Ike K. Ahmed, MD, FRCSC (University of Utah) will present on "The Future of Interventional Glaucoma," Jeffrey Goldberg, MD, PhD (Byers Eye Institute, Stanford University) will speak during the sessions "Transforming Glaucoma Care: Addressing Unmet Needs" and "Glaucoma Beyond the Office: Maintaining Care Outside the Clinic," a session that will also feature Lama Al-Aswad, MD, MPH, Barbara Wirostko, MD, FARVO, Jason Bacharach, MD, Savas Komban, and Delan Jinapriya, BSc, MD, FRCSC, and Ruth Williams, MD (Wheaton Eye) and Tracy M. Valorie, BS, MBA (TMV Associates) will moderate a session on "Navigating the Evolving Payer Landscape." The complete program agenda can be viewed on the New Horizons Forum website.

New Horizons Forum is the centerpiece of Glaucoma 360, GRF's signature three-day series of events planned for February 8 to 10, 2024.

Glaucoma 360 concludes Saturday, February 10th with two continuing medical education symposia for ophthalmologists and optometrists. At the 28th annual Glaucoma Symposium CME, the Shaffer-Hetherington-Hoskins Keynote Lecture will be presented by nationally renowned ophthalmologist Ronald L. Fellman, MD, founder and President of Glaucoma Associates of Texas, past President of the American Glaucoma Society, and 2022 recipient of the Glaucoma Research Foundation's Catalyst Award.

SOURCE Glaucoma Research Foundation
DUBLIN, Jan. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Market Analysis & Forecast to 2024-2034" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global erectile dysfunction drugs market size was estimated to be USD 2.68 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach at USD 6.89 billion by 2034 with a CAGR of 8.96% during the forecast period 2024-2034

Increasing demand for erectile dysfunction (ED) medications is attributed to the prevalence of sedentary lifestyles and the accompanying stress, growing geriatric population, rising demand for various treatment options for erectile dysfunction, surge in research & development activities, increasing collaborations within market players, growing launch of novel drugs, and rising approval of innovative medications for erectile dysfunction by regulatory authorities are the key elements propelling the market growth.



Rising approval of innovative medications for erectile dysfunction by regulatory authorities is predicted to boost the market growth during the forecast period. Erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs are pharmaceuticals employed to address the condition of erectile dysfunction, characterized by the inability to attain or sustain an erection suitable for sexual intercourse.

These drugs function by enhancing blood circulation to the penis, facilitating the erection process. Consequently, due to the growing demand for innovative treatments, industry participants are emphasizing the development of new medications in this sector. For instance, in February 2022, Adamed has achieved the distinction of being the first Polish company to obtain marketing authorization for Tadalafil MAXON in the over-the-counter (OTC) category.



By product, viagra was the highest revenue-grossing segment in the global Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Market in 2023 owing to increasing research & development activities, growing collaborations within market players, and rising approvals by regulatory bodies. For instance, in June 2023, Futura Medical's topical gel product, Eroxon (MED3000), has been granted Over-the-Counter (OTC) Marketing Authorization approval by the FDA for the treatment of erectile dysfunction in the United States.

Additionally, others is predicted to grow at fastest CAGR during the forecast period owing to the broad range of applications, the availability of erectile dysfunction (ED) medications such as Helleva (lodenafil carbonate), Mvix (mirodenafil), and others, which are used to address the needs of adult patients with ED, and growing approval of over-the-counter (OTC) erectile dysfunction (ED) products provides convenient access to individuals dealing with ED.



By route of administration, oral medication was the highest revenue-grossing segment in the global erectile dysfunction drugs market in 2023 owing to surge in the utilization of oral medications such as Cialis, Stendra, Viagra, & others, as they can be self-administered & are cost-effective and increasing partnerships & collaborations within market players. For instance, in May 2022, Laboratorios Rubio S.A. has sold the prescription drug BANDOL (sildenafil oral suspension) to Aspargo Laboratories, Inc. BANDOL is used for treating erectile dysfunction (ED). Simultaneously with this acquisition, Aspargo has entered into a distribution agreement with Rubio to continue the marketing and promotion of BANDOL in the Spanish market.

Additionally, Aspargo has established a license and supply agreement with Farmalider, S.A. (located in Madrid, Spain) for the provision of BANDOL to the Spanish market. Additionally, injectable medication is predicted to grow at fastest CAGR during the forecast period owing to the increasing prevalence of erectile dysfunction disease, surge in number of patients visiting to hospitals, and growing research & development activities.



By distribution channel, retail pharmacies was the highest revenue-grossing segment in the global erectile dysfunction drugs market in 2023 owing to the accessibility of erectile dysfunction medications via retail pharmacies and increasing number of prescription medication. Additionally, e-pharmacies is predicted to grow at fastest CAGR during the forecast period owing to the growing incidence of erectile dysfunction is driving the adoption of alternative treatments for faster and more effective results and rising launch of advanced platforms.

For instance, in October 2023, Mangoceuticals, Inc., a company dedicated to the development, marketing, and sale of a range of men's health and wellness products through a secure telemedicine platform, including its specially formulated erectile dysfunction (ED) medication under the brand name "Mango," is pleased to introduce its affiliate marketing program through its newly revamped website.



North America region is anticipated for the highest revenue share during the forecast period owing to the rising prevalence of disease, growing healthcare infrastructure, surge in approval of new drugs for the treatment, and increasing focus on development of new products. For instance, in March 2023, LTR Pharma, headquartered in Brisbane, has attained Ethics Approval for a bioequivalence clinical study of its intranasal spray designed to address erectile dysfunction (ED), known as 'SPONTAN.'

This development represents a pivotal milestone in expediting approval for this groundbreaking product with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Additionally, Asia Pacific region is predicted to grow at fastest CAGR during the forecast period owing to the growing introduction of new products, rising approvals of novel drugs by regulatory bodies.

For instance, in March 2022, Lupin Limited has disclosed that it has obtained approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Sildenafil for Oral Suspension, 10 mg/mL. This approval allows them to market a generic equivalent of Viatris Specialty LLC's Revatio for Oral Suspension, 10 mg/mL.

Competitor Analysis

Company Market Share Analysis, 2023

Major Recent Developments

Company Profiles

Eli Lilly and Company

Aspargo Laboratories Inc.

Lupin Limited

Bayer AG

Sanofi

VIVUS Inc.

Adamed

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

Pfizer Inc.

Petros Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Cipla Inc.

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

Segmentation: Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Market Report 2023 - 2034



Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Market Analysis & Forecast by Product 2023 - 2034 (Revenue USD Bn)

Zydena

Viagra

Stendra

Levitra

Cialis

Others

Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Market Analysis & Forecast by Route of Administration 2023 - 2034 (Revenue USD Bn)

Injectable Medication

Oral Medications

Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Market Analysis & Forecast by Distribution Channel 2023 - 2034 (Revenue USD Bn)

Hospital pharmacies

Retail Pharmacies

E-Pharmacies

Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Market Analysis & Forecast by Region 2023 - 2034 (Revenue USD Bn)

North America

U.S.

Canada

Europe

Germany

France

UK

Spain

Italy

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

China

Japan

India

Australia

South Korea

Rest of APAC

Latin America

Brazil

Mexico

Argentina

Rest of LATAM

Middle East & Africa

& South Africa

GCC

Rest of MEA

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/j66g1k

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Research and Markets
BEIJING, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- China's "ice city" Harbin in Northeast Heilongjiang Province has definitely become a tourism sensation this winter, attracting millions of domestic and international travelers. Beyond the lure of ice and snow tourism, the lesser-known diversity and rich cultures of local ethnic minority groups have also been brought under the spotlight during the city's staggering tourism boom.

At the tourist-packed Central Street, a pedestrian street famous for its Western architectures during different eras in downtown Harbin, a group of Aoluguya Ewenki people dressed in their ethnic regalia with a herd of seven reindeer are swarmed by tourists who excitedly take photos and videos as the group sing traditional folk songs while walking down the street.

The Aoluguya Ewenki is the only ethnic group in China that raise reindeer. According to media reports, sometimes people confuse the Ewenki people for the Oroqen people, one of the smallest ethnic groups in China, as both used to be nomadic and hunted in forests. The Aoluguya Ewenki decided to take advantage of the opportunity of Harbin's booming tourism sector to showcase their unique culture and identity to visitors from all over the country.

Since the Aoluguya Ewenki people's public appearance, more and more local ethnic minority groups have made their public debuts, with some from other parts of the nation even journeying to Harbin. "If you want to see China's rich multi-ethnic culture, you should come to Harbin now," netizens state encouragingly on Douyin (China's TikTok).

Local diversity

Heilongjiang has a rich history and diverse cultures with 10 ethnic minority groups having called the region home for generations.

The Hezhes are one of the smallest ethnic minority groups in China, and less than a century ago, their population was so small that they were on the verge of disappearing. Now the group has a population of more than 5,000. They mainly subsisted on hunting and fishing in the past in the Sanjiang Plain and are celebrated for their hospitality and traditional practices, such as offering grilled rare fish to guests and creating ornaments from fish skin and bones.

A group of Hezhe people also came to Harbin, introducing their culture to the public. "We are from Raohe county, Shuangyashan. The well-known folk song, 'Chanty of Wusili' is adapted from a Hezhe folk song," said Xu Jingwen, a young Hezhe woman, dressed in a fish-skin coat.

Following their debut in Harbin, Xu's social media account attracted many followers. As of the time of publication, her Douyin account had 275,000 followers. She has since published more videos to introduce the culture and history of Hezhe people, tourism and local agricultural products in Raohe.

With the surging public enthusiasm toward local ethnic minority groups, the Heilongjiang Ethnic Museum in Harbin has inadvertently attracted more visitors as well. A family visiting Harbin from Tianjin Municipality missed the performance of various ethnic minority groups when they visited the Central Street. They decided to take their child to learn more about their unique culture and history at the museum instead.

Among the visitors were Harbin's own local residents. "I live nearby. Seeing the ethnic minority groups dressed in their traditional clothes on the news reminded me to come here and see if there's any new exhibition," said a local resident.

"The tourism boom in Harbin has attracted nationwide and even global attention. Taking this opportunity to showcase our rich tourism resources as well as our diverse culture should be encouraged. It will enhance the public's knowledge of these areas where ethnic minority groups reside in Heilongjiang, and contribute to local tourism as well," Jiang Yihai, a vice chairman of the Heilongjiang Province Tourism Association and vice chairman of the Heilongjiang Ski Association, told the Global Times.

Nationwide celebration

South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is the autonomous region with the largest population of ethnic minorities in China, which accounts for 37.6 percent of the region's permanent population. This southern region and Harbin have bonded significantly because of the northernmost capital's tourism boom.

It started with 11 preschoolers from Guangxi who toured Harbin. To express gratitude for the great care and hospitality the children received, Guangxi sent nearly 200 tons of fresh tangerines to Harbin as a thank-you gift, to which Harbin sent back more gifts to Guangxi. Aside from several rounds of "gift exchanges," Guangxi announced the offer of free or low-priced admission to tourists from Heilongjiang at some local tourist spots.

A video showing a tourist group from Guangxi singing a Zhuang folk song together upon arrival in Harbin went viral online, receiving more than 43,000 likes and thousands of comments. "We might as well host the Spring Festival Gala in Harbin this year," read a comment pointing to the various performances by different ethnic minority groups brought to Harbin.

"We were very touched by the love and care received by our 'little sugar tangerines' from Guangxi, and the comments from netizens in Harbin were very heartwarming. During our long flight to Harbin, we practiced a Zhuang folk song to express our happiness at visiting Harbin. I am very moved by the exchanges of love between the North and South and among different ethnic groups, sparked by the tourism boom in Harbin. I hope to see such exchanges blossom across every corner of our nation," Lai Ziyin, a member of the group, told the Global Times on Sunday.

As the friendship exchange craze sweeps across the country, more and more ethnic minority groups are traveling to Harbin from different regions across the country.

"It warms my heart to see the tourism boom in Harbin and how it has turned into a celebration of ethnic unity across China. I appreciate the opportunity to introduce the diverse ethnic culture of my hometown here in Harbin and welcome everyone to visit as well," Zeden Drolma from Lixian county, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, told the Global Times.

SOURCE Global Times
The gum, and its modified forms, can find use as a sustainable and biodegradable polymer in food and drug industries

SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Synthetic, non-biodegradable plastics are major sources of environmental pollution and have prompted a rising interest in sustainable, biodegradable alternatives derived from natural polymers. "Tara gum," derived from the seeds of the tara tree (Caesalpinia spinosa), stands out as a promising solution. This natural, water-soluble substance contains polysaccharides (complex carbohydrates), including the widely used "galactomannan," which is employed in coatings, edible films, and as a stabilizer and thickener. The biocompatibility, biodegradability, and safety of tara gum also make it valuable in industries like food and drug delivery. Moreover, the adaptable nature of the groups within tara gum polysaccharides renders it valuable for tailoring physicochemical and mechanical properties for specific applications.

Researchers review the application of tara gum and its modified forms as a sustainable and biodegradable polymer in food and drug industries.

In a recent study, made available online on 29 September 2023 and to be published in Volume 323 of Carbohydrate Polymers on 1 January 2024, a team of researchers, led by Professor Sangkil Lee from Chung-Ang University in the Republic of Korea, has now conducted a thorough and critical examination of modification methods ("grafting") applied to tara gum. The study explores the applications of these modifications in the food and drug industry, including the development of pH-sensitive food packaging and drug delivery systems.

Prof. Lee explains: "Our team has a keen interest in natural polysaccharides and their role in drug delivery, and we have been working on tara gum and other natural polysaccharides to extend their applications. Various researchers have explored the wide range of applications for its various modified forms. However, this is the first review article on recent advancements in tara gum and its modified materials, and their potential role in food and drug delivery."

The team presents a systematic and detailed overview of various advancements in tara gum research. They describe methods for the extraction, isolation, and characterization of tara gum polysaccharides. Additionally, the toxicology and rheological (deformation) behavior of tara gum, along with its behavior in the presence of other polysaccharides, are thoroughly examined.

The review paper also delves into the applications of tara gum and its modified derivatives in the food industry. These include the use in biopolymer packaging, monitoring seafood and milk spoilage, acting as a gelation agent, providing short-term protection of food from oxidation, and safeguarding fatty foods. The applications of tara gum and its modified materials have been detailed for the pharmaceutical industry as well, including the controlled-release of vitamin D-3, antibacterial hydrogel development, iron delivery in both infants and adults, controlled-release of drugs, and restoration of the physiological barrier of the gut.

"The physicochemical property of tara gum and its products can be enhanced using various kinds of monomers, crosslinkers, or other polysaccharides. Furthermore, the improvement of antibacterial properties might be achieved through the incorporation of chitosan or other natural polymers, as well as inorganic materials such as copper and zinc nanoparticles," speculates Prof. Lee.

The study could thus inspire the scientific community to research further on tara gum for the development of various food-related applications as well as effective and safe drug formulations to reduce the global burden of health risks and costs.

Reference

Title of original paper: State-of-the-art advancement in tara gum polysaccharide (Caesalpinia spinosa) modifications and their potential applications for drug delivery and the food industry

Journal: Carbohydrate Polymers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.121440

About Chung-Ang University

Website: https://neweng.cau.ac.kr/index.do

Media Contact:

Sungki Shin

02-820-6614

[email protected]

SOURCE Chung-Ang University
Provides Funds to Materially Advance the Kindersley Lithium Project

Conference call and webcast to be held at 10:00am (MST) on January 17, 2024 to describe the transaction

CALGARY, AB, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - (TSXV: GRD) (OTCQB: GRDAF)  Grounded Lithium Corp. ("GLC" or the "Company") is pleased to announce we entered into a definitive agreement dated January 15, 2024 with Denison Mines Corp (TSX: DML NYSE American: DNN) ("Denison") whereby Denison has the option to earn up to a 75% working interest in the Kindersley Lithium Project ("KLP") by funding in aggregate up to $15,150,000 comprised of both cash payments to GLC of up to $3,150,000 and funding project expenditures of up to $12,000,000 through a structured earn-in option. (the "Agreement").

Figure 1  KLP Area Subject to Mutual Interest (CNW Group/Grounded Lithium Corp)

The Agreement is expected to provide more than sufficient funding for a field pilot (the "Pilot") for the KLP which both the Company and Denison (collectively, the "Parties") plan to advance on a priority basis. Beyond the Pilot, Denison may also provide further capital during the earn-in period to fund other activities as necessary to drive the overall KLP value such as further technical evaluations and studies, drilling, sampling and expenditures to maintain the KLP lands in good standing.

The Agreement highlights are as follows:

Three distinct earn-in options (each, an "Earn-in Option") which include a cash payment directly to the Company along with dedicated expenditures to advance the KLP, as described below. During the earn-in period, KLP expenditures will generally be funded 100% by Denison, and Denison will be entitled to an increased working interest in the KLP as it completes each Earn-in Option phase. Key economic parameters of the Agreement are summarized in the table below:

(all amounts in CAD$000's) Earn-in Option Phase













Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3









Royalty Financing Payment

800



Cash Payments to GLC

- 850 1,500 Cumulative Cash Payments

800 1,650 3,150









Project Expenditures

2,200 3,800 6,000 Cumulative Project Expenditures

2,200 6,000 12,000









Total Contributions per Option Phase

3,000 4,650 7,500 Cumulative Total Contributions

3,000 7,650 15,150









Denison Working Interest in the KLP

30 % 55 % 75 %

Upon funding the total amounts of each Earn-in Option, Denison has the right to either exercise the Earn-In Option and acquire the working interest associated with that Earn-In Option phase or move on to the ensuing option phase;

Should Denison exercise the Earn-In Option and elect to acquire a working interest in the KLP, a formal joint venture will be created to govern the Parties. The joint venture agreement will contain customary language and terms associated with an arrangement of this nature, including but not limited to, governance provisions, rights of first refusals, dilution provisions for non-participation and technical and management committees;

The Agreement terminates on the earlier of (i) Denison electing to acquire its working interest and convert to a formal joint venture, (ii) June 30, 2028 , or (iii) a date as otherwise agreed between the Parties;

, or (iii) a date as otherwise agreed between the Parties; The ability exists for either Party to recommend drilling expenditures, outside of the earn-in option terms detailed above, for which the purpose is to preserve lithium rights associated with the various KLP permits; and

Denison will become the named operator of the KLP during the Earn-In Period, however, to ensure continuity of site activities, the Parties will enter into a two-year site management contract whereby a fee will be paid to the Company to effectively manage the day-to-day site activities of the KLP.

The Company also sold a 5% gross overriding royalty ("GORR") on the KLP to Denison in accordance with the terms of a royalty agreement (the "Royalty Agreement") for a cash payment of $800,000. Pursuant to the terms of the Royalty Agreement, the GORR drops to 2% upon the receipt of all approvals, inclusive of GLC shareholder approval of the Agreement. The GORR is eliminated in its entirety on the date that is fifteen (15) months after the closing of the Earn-In Agreement unless Denison elects to forfeit its rights to exercise an Earn-In Option.

GLC and Denison have established an area of mutual interest in respect of any lands acquired within 10 kilometers of any existing lands contained within the KLP that are prospective for lithium ("AMI Lands"). GLC is free to explore for, acquire and develop lands outside of the AMI Lands for its own account and we currently have developed several prospects which honour our geological model for economic lithium resource plays, while we benefit from intellectual knowledge gained from the technical work on the KLP.

"Grounded remains steadfast in our vision to economically produce battery grade lithium with a focus on low-cost operations and this strategic investment from Denison is a major step in that regard," stated Gregg Smith, President & CEO. "Denison has a considerable operating footprint in Saskatchewan as well as an excellent reputation within the Province, and we continue to be impressed with the diligence and professionalism of the Denison team. We look forward to working together to unlock the full value potential of the KLP for the benefit of our respective shareholders. Further, the strategic investment from Denison in both GLC and the KLP eliminates many perceived or distinct risks in our anticipated path to commercial production."

David Cates, President and CEO of Denison commented, "Denison is excited to acquire a royalty and enter into an earn-in agreement with GLC that supports the further assessment of the KLP in Saskatchewan. Denison has developed a unique platform for the de-risking of mine development projects in the Province with its innovative and highly skilled Saskatoon-based technical, regulatory, and operations teams. Lithium is a complementary mineral to Denison's core uranium business, with both identified as critical minerals needed to support the clean energy transition. Brine extraction also has many similarities to the In-Situ Recovery mining method that the Company has successfully validated for use at its flagship Wheeler River uranium project in northern Saskatchewan. Combining our deep local technical capabilities with the Grounded team's experience on KLP has the potential to create an incredible environment to incubate the KLP to emerge as a premier lithium project in a top mining jurisdiction."

"The transaction with Denison is a great outcome for both parties," commented Greg Phaneuf, Senior Vice President Corporate Development & CFO. "Denison gains exposure to a high-potential lithium brine project in Saskatchewan with similarities to its impressive uranium project development portfolio in the Province while Grounded receives immediate funding and partners with a strategic investor with a much lower cost of capital to advance the KLP without incurring dilution at the corporate level."

The Agreement is subject to the regulatory approval of the TSX Venture Exchange and is subject to receipt of shareholder approval by way of the written consent of shareholders holding over 50% of the current issued and outstanding shares of the Company.

Conference Call Details

Those interested can listen to Company officials describe the transaction with Denison by participating in the following conference call details:

Participant Toll-Free Dial-In Number: 1 (888) 300-4030

Participant Toll Dial-In Number: 1 (646) 970-1443

Conference ID: 5553583

Webcast url: https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/658855672

The Company will post a playback of the conference call on the Company's website.

About Denison Mines Corp.

Denison is a uranium exploration and development company with interests focused in the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan, Canada. The Company has an effective 95% interest in its flagship Wheeler River Uranium Project, which is the largest undeveloped uranium project in the infrastructure rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan. In mid-2023, a Feasibility Study was completed for Wheeler River's Phoenix deposit as an ISR mining operation, and an update to the previously prepared PFS was completed for Wheeler River's Gryphon deposit as a conventional underground mining operation. Based on the respective studies, both deposits have the potential to be competitive with the lowest cost uranium mining operations in the world. Permitting efforts for the planned Phoenix ISR operation commenced in 2019 and have advanced significantly, with licensing in progress and a draft Environmental Impact Statement submitted for regulatory and public review in October 2022.

Denison's interests in Saskatchewan also include a 22.5% ownership interest in the McClean Lake Joint Venture, which owns several uranium deposits and the McClean Lake uranium mill, contracted to process the ore from the Cigar Lake mine under a toll milling agreement, plus a 25.17% interest in the Midwest Main and Midwest A deposits and a 67.41% interest in the THT and Huskie deposits on the Waterbury Lake property. The Midwest Main, Midwest A, THT and Huskie deposits are located within 20 kilometres of the McClean Lake mill.

Through its 50% ownership of JCU (Canada) Exploration Company, Ltd ("JCU"), Denison holds additional interests in various uranium project joint ventures in Canada, including the Millennium project (JCU, 30.099%), the Kiggavik project (JCU, 33.8118%) and Christie Lake (JCU, 34.4508%).

Denison's exploration portfolio includes further interests in properties covering approximately 285,000 hectares in the Athabasca Basin region.

About Grounded Lithium Corp.

GLC is a publicly traded lithium brine exploration and development company that controls approximately 1.0 million metric tonnes of Measured & Indicated lithium carbonate equivalent mineral resource and approximately 3.2 million metric tonnes of Inferred lithium carbonate equivalent resource over our focused land holdings in Southwest Saskatchewan as per the Company's updated PEA. The updated PEA, titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report: Preliminary Economic Assessment Kindersley Lithium Project  Phase 1 Update" dated November 7, 2023 and effective as of June 30, 2023, reports a Phase 1 NPV 8 after-tax of US$1.0 billion with an after-tax IRR of 48.5%. GLC's multi-faceted business model involves the consolidation, delineation, exploitation and ultimately development of our opportunity base to fulfill our vision to build a best-in-class, environmentally responsible, Canadian lithium producer supporting the global energy transition shift. U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the Company on https://www.otcmarkets.com/.

Qualified Person

Scientific and technical information contained in this press release has been prepared under the supervision of Doug Ashton, P.Eng., Alexey Romanov, P. Geo., Meghan Klein, P. Eng., Dean Quirk, P.Eng., Jeffrey Weiss, P.Eng., Chad Hitchings., P.L. Eng., and Michael Munteanu, P.Eng., each of whom is a qualified person within the meaning of NI 43-101.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. The opinions, forecasts, projections and statements about future events of results, are forward looking information, forward-looking statements or financial outlooks (collectively, "forward-looking statements") under the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. These statements are made as of the date of this press release and the fact that this press release remains available does not constitute a representation by GLC that the Company believes these forward-looking statements continue to be true as of any subsequent date. Although GLC believes that the assumptions underlying, and expectations reflected in, these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these assumptions and expectations will prove to be correct. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements pertaining to the advancement of the Pilot and the timing thereof, GLC's expectation of the funding required for the Pilot; Denison's funding to the Company, the timing and amount thereof and the use of proceeds from such funding; shareholder approval of the Agreement activities necessary to drive the overall KLP value; the entering into of the joint venture agreement if at all and the timing and terms thereof; the impact of the Agreement on the shareholders of the Company; prospective lands outside of the AOI Lands and the viability for economic lithium resource plays; and GLC's vision of becoming a best-in-class, environmentally responsible, Canadian lithium producer supporting the global energy transition.

Among the important factors, risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are: GLC's expectation that our operations will be in Western Canada, unexpected problems can arise due to technical difficulties and operational difficulties which impact the production, transport or sale of our products; geographic and weather conditions can impact the production; the risk that current global economic and credit conditions may impact commodity prices and consumption more than GLC currently predicts; the failure to obtain financing on reasonable terms; the risk that unexpected delays and difficulties in developing currently owned properties may occur; the failure of drilling to result in commercial projects; unexpected delays due to the limited availability of drilling equipment and personnel; and the other risk factors detailed from time to time in GLC's periodic reports. GLC's forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

SOURCE Grounded Lithium Corp
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Gunster Strategies Worldwide today announced the addition of Ambassador Omar Arouna as President of Global Public Affairs and Engagement. Additionally, the firm is promoting Jonathan Stember to the position of Partner.

"As Gunster Strategies continues to grow, we recognize the importance of maintaining a strong presence in domestic and international markets. We are committed to providing our clients with the highest level of service consistently," said Gerry Gunster, Founder and CEO of Gunster Strategies. "We welcome Ambassador Omar Arouna to Gunster Strategies with open arms as his extensive knowledge, expertise in global affairs, diplomatic relations, and strategic vision make him an invaluable addition to our team."

As the former Ambassador of Benin to the United States and former representative of the country to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and Organization of American States, Arouna is well-equipped to advance the firm's advocacy efforts. He will focus on working with African countries and leveraging his extensive experience in Washington, D.C., guiding Gunster Strategies in creating impactful digital and social campaigns, creative production, earned media strategies, grassroots and grasstops initiatives, and crisis management efforts.

Jonathan Stember's promotion from President to Partner underscores Gunster Strategies' increasing campaign load and expanding client portfolio.

"I am excited to continue my work with Gunster Strategies, advancing and expanding on the company's mission to drive meaningful change," Stember emphasized. "Within the dynamic intersection of public affairs, diplomacy, and business, I look forward to leading new initiatives that will shape the firm's trajectory nationally and abroad."

About Gunster Strategies Worldwide

Gunster Strategies is an award-winning issue advocacy firm dedicated to shaping the world of international public affairs, issue advocacy, political communications, and ballot measures. For over three decades, Gunster Strategies Worldwide has consistently led the field of advocacy, boasting a legacy defined by shaping some of history's most transformative campaigns. Learn more at www.gunsterstrategies.com

SOURCE Gunster Strategies Worldwide
The largest contributions were presented to The Boys and Girls Clubs of Harford and Cecil Counties, Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna, Harford Community Action Agency, Harford Community College Foundation, Harford Family House, Harford County Public Library Foundation, LASOS (Linking All So Others Succeed), Mason-Dixon Community Services, St. Baldrick's Foundation, The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region, There Goes My Hero, United Way of Central Maryland, and University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health Foundation.

In 2023, Harford Mutual maintained its commitment to supporting organizations championing diversity and equity causes by allocating over $96,000 of its total donation funds to these vital missions. In addition to financial contributions, Harford Mutual actively participated in community campaigns. The company's Inclusion, Diversity, and Opportunity Committee (IDOC) spearheaded a successful Stuff the Bus campaign benefiting the Harford County Education Foundation. Harford Mutual employees generously donated over 600 items, providing essential school supplies to students in need across Harford County.

Recognizing the impact of the winter season, Harford Mutual extended support to 12 food banks, one in each state where it writes business. The company donated $1,500 to each, totaling $18,000. This initiative aimed to alleviate the challenges faced by communities during the harsh winter months.

Tennessee is one of the states in which Harford Mutual writes business. In response to the devastating tornadoes that swept through Middle Tennessee on December 9-10, 2023, Harford Mutual made a $5,000 donation to the Tennessee Emergency Response Fund at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT). This contribution will aid in recovery and relief efforts for those affected by the natural disaster.

Harford Mutual employees have also demonstrated their commitment to community service, collectively contributing more than 400 volunteer hours to various organizations, further reinforcing the company's commitment to giving back.

About Harford Mutual Insurance Group

Harford Mutual Insurance Group, founded in 1842 in Harford County, Maryland, provides commercial property and casualty insurance products and services to a regional market, including monoline workers' compensation through the addition of Clearpath Specialty in 2023. Harford Mutual is a top-performing insurance company (Ward's 50 in 2021 and 2022), ending 2023 with more than $400 million in direct written premium sold through independent agents in twelve states and Washington, D.C. Harford Mutual is rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best. For more information, visit www.HarfordMutual.com.

SOURCE Harford Mutual Insurance Group
HOUSTON, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Hart Energy today announced that Rich Eichler has returned to the Company as its Chief Executive Officer. He succeeds John Hartig, who served in the role for two years.

During Hartig's tenure as CEO, transformation efforts included redesigning Hart Energy's flagship magazine, Oil and Gas Investor, revamping its digital media platforms, and expanding its Rextag data services franchise.

Eichler, a recognized energy industry veteran, steered Hart Energy as CEO for 17 consecutive years. He returns to the helm to spearhead further growth in the Company's industry-leading media and event franchises.

"As disruptive as digital technologies, pandemic effects and the growing impact of energy transitions have been for the energy media sector, it's clear that oil and gas will continue to play vital roles in America's energy independence," Eichler said. "I'm excited to help the company and this industry navigate the market changes ahead."

Hartig, a long-time publishing industry executive, said, "I'm extremely fortunate to have been able to lead this amazing brand and its strong team. Helping reimagine Hart Energy's portfolio and make its digital franchise a daily go-to destination for news, data and analysis has been very rewarding. The inauguration of Hart Energy's Hall of Fame in 2023, coinciding with the Company's 50th anniversary in business, provided further evidence of the deep respect this industry has for the Hart Energy brand."

About Hart Energy

Since 1973, Hart Energy has been the global energy industry's comprehensive multi-channel network providing news, data, insights and events. At Hart Energy, our mission is to create, aggregate, organize and analyze timely and targeted information across platforms in ways that business professionals and investors can trust for making energy-related decisions.

Contact:

Damon Vance, Senior Vice President of Marketing, [email protected], 713.260.4627

SOURCE Hart Energy
CHIANG MAI, Thailand, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Harvest Finance, a trailblazer in cannabis investment, recently made a profound impact with its keynote presentation at the prestigious 4th CISW CMCI Summit World 2023, held in December. As the company gears up for its launch quarter, this event underscored Harvest Finance's commitment to shaping the cannabis industry's future through innovative investment solutions.

Harvest Finance logo Richard Green, Harvest Finance CEO

The CISW CMCI Summit World 2023, held at the end of December, brought together industry leaders, experts, and visionaries in the cannabis and hemp sectors. Harvest Finance's participation and sponsorship were not only pivotal in highlighting its role in the industry but also in setting the stage for its much-anticipated launch.

"Our presence and keynote at the 4th CISW CMCI Summit World 2023 represent a significant milestone for Harvest Finance," said Richard Green, CEO at Harvest Finance. "As we prepare for our upcoming launch, such platforms are invaluable for us to share our vision, forge new partnerships, and gain insights that will shape our journey ahead."

The summit featured a series of engaging discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities, allowing Harvest Finance to showcase its unique approach to cannabis investment. With its innovative model of fractional ownership in Maejo Institute's advanced cultivation facilities, Harvest Finance stands at the forefront of connecting investors with the burgeoning cannabis market.

In the keynote address, Harvest Finance elucidated its strategic goals and the role it envisions playing in the global cannabis landscape. The emphasis was on transparency, sustainability, and the democratization of cannabis investment, resonating deeply with the audience and industry stakeholders.

"We are heading into our launch quarter with renewed vigor and clarity, thanks to the insights and connections made at the CISW CMCI Summit," added Richard Green. "Harvest Finance is not just about offering investment opportunities; it's about being a catalyst for positive change in the cannabis sector."

The company's participation in the summit has been instrumental in reinforcing its position as an industry innovator and a reliable player in the cannabis investment domain. With a focus on ethical practices and sustainable growth, Harvest Finance is poised to redefine how individuals engage with and benefit from the cannabis industry.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Ben Farley

07467012714

About Harvest Finance:

Harvest Finance is redefining cannabis investment with its groundbreaking platform, facilitating fractional ownership in state-of-the-art cannabis cultivation. By leveraging strategic partnerships and cutting-edge technologies, Harvest Finance is committed to revolutionizing participation in the cannabis market, fostering responsible investment, and contributing to industry growth. With its impending launch, Harvest Finance is set to empower a broader demographic of investors to partake in the promising future of cannabis. harvest-finance.io

SOURCE Harvest Finance
STUART, Fla., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Health In Tech, an industry-leading insurtech company that delivers disruptive innovation and re-imagines self-funded health plans, is set to make waves at the Greek House Annual Meeting at the Greek House Annual Meeting at the World Economic Forum 2024 in Davos, Switzerland. Scheduled from January 15 to January 19, this eminent event will bring together over 300 public figures, including 60 heads of state, and feature the participation of more than 1,600 business leaders, 800 of whom are among the world's top CEOs.

Health In Tech is set to take the spotlight among more than 150 Global Innovators, Tech Pioneers, and Unicorns. CFO Julia Qian will play pivotal roles as speakers to contribute to the discussion on "Beyond Currency and the Metaverse Paradigm: The Expanding Horizons of Digital Assets - Redefining Reality in a Digital Age." Her expertise will shed light on the transformative role of digital assets in today's dynamic landscape, reinforcing Health In Tech's position at the forefront of technological evolution.

The conference, set to attract key figures from business, politics, and academia, solidifies Health In Tech's reputation as a thought leader in the healthcare technology space. Notable speakers include Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State; Jake Sullivan, US National Security Advisor; and members of the Senate and House of Representatives.

Health In Tech invites the global community to witness the unfolding future at the Greek House Annual Meeting at the World Economic Forum 2024, where healthcare and technology converge to pave the way for groundbreaking innovation and leadership.

To join the live stream, please visit:

https://greekhousedavos.com/annual-meetings/greek-house-davos-2024

About Health In Tech

Health In Tech is an industry-leading Insurtech company that delivers disruptive innovation and proprietary technology to reimagine risk, underwriting, and self-funding, making processes better, faster, and more efficient for everyone involved. Learn more at healthintech.com/.

Contact Glenn Hillyer, Chief Growth Officer at [email protected].

SOURCE Health In Tech
GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- HomeActions, which provides customizable e-newsletters for the real estate market, as well as for the financial and business markets through its IndustryNewsletters division, announces AIComposer, an artificial intelligence ChatGPT module that it has incorporated into its system.

HomeActions/IndustryNewsletters clients can now create AI-generated articles and add them seamlessly to their newsletters alongside the professionally written articles they already receive.

Without leaving their HomeActions/IndustryNewsletters dashboard, clients can access AIComposer to create a new article, rewrite or repurpose an existing article, create a blog post or create a social media post. Real estate agents can even use AIComposer to write real estate listings. Custom templates mean clients don't need a background in AI or to be familiar with ChatGPT to take advantage of the new module  the system walks them through the creation process, including the development of an image.

"We want to keep our clients on the cutting edge of content creation," said Barry Friedman, founder and CEO of HomeActions/IndustryNewsletters. "Artificial intelligence keeps getting better and better, and we are thrilled to offer this AI-generated option to help our clients take advantage of the latest and most sophisticated technology. With AI alongside hundreds of professionally written articles, there's nothing our clients can't achieve with their newsletters."

Indeed, an article on Forbes.com noted: "When efficiency is your goal, AI content generators can go a long way toward removing the tedious parts of writing so you can get more done." Less time spent on content creation means more time spent doing your job. AIComposer helps clients get there.

About HomeActions/IndustryNewsletters

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IONIQ 6 Features Ultra-Fast 800-Volt/350kW Charging Capability

Battery Charges From 10 to 80 Percent in as Little as 18 Minutes i

EPA-Estimated Range of Up to 361 milesii

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hyundai IONIQ 6iii electric sedan has been named a 2024 EV Pulse Editor's Choice. This award, given by EV Pulse, celebrates an electric vehicle (EV) that combines leading performance, quality, and features into a compelling, balanced package. As a leading voice in the automotive industry, EV Pulse rigorously evaluates and selects vehicles that represent the best in class for these awards. Press releases and specifications for the 2024 IONIQ 6 can be found here.

Hyundai IONIQ 6 is photographed in Irvine, Calif. on July 5, 2023.

"The Hyundai IONIQ 6 delivers on everything we expect from a modern Hyundai," said Chad Kirchner, vice president of content, EV Pulse. "The E-GMP architecture allows for lightning quick recharge times, and the 361 miles of available range crushes most of the competition, regardless of price. When you factor back in price, it is hard to argue the winning formula of sleek sedan design, advanced technology, and the value we've come to expect from Hyundai."

"Receiving such an accolade in this competitive market is a true testament to the hard work of our teams," said Ricky Lao, director, product planning, Hyundai Motor North America. "The IONIQ 6 has led the way for Hyundai, earning numerous industry recognitions. We are proud to see that the vehicle's performance and dedicated E-GMP platform has been so critically acclaimed. IONIQ 6 represents a compelling blend of innovative design, vast range, confident driving dynamics, ample cabin space, and rapid charging."

The EV Pulse Editor's Choice award highlights the pinnacle of electric vehicle innovation and performance. Established in 2020, EV Pulse is committed to delivering in-depth and accessible information, driving the latest vehicles, and researching new technologies to keep its audience at the forefront of the electric vehicle revolution.

Hyundai Motor America

Hyundai Motor America offers U.S. consumers a technology-rich lineup of cars, SUVs, and electrified vehicles, while supporting Hyundai Motor Company's Progress for Humanity vision. Hyundai has significant operations in the U.S., including its North American headquarters in California, the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama assembly plant, the all-new Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (in development in Georgia), and several cutting-edge R&D facilities. These operations, combined with those of Hyundai's 835 independent dealers, contribute $20.1 billion annually and 190,000 jobs to the U.S. economy, according to a recent economic impact report. For more information, visit www.hyundainews.com.

Hyundai Motor America on Twitter | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | TikTok

i Approximately 18 minutes to charge from 10% to 80% on a 350-kW, 800V DC ultra-fast charger. Actual charging time varies based on a number of factors, including current battery charge level, output of the charging unit, vehicle and battery settings, battery temperature and outside temperature. Ultra-fast charging stations are provided by independent companies and availability is not guaranteed.

ii EPA-estimated 361-mile driving range for 2024 IONIQ 6 SE Long Range RWD; EPA-estimated 316-mile driving range for IONIQ 6 SE AWD. All figures are EPA estimates and based on a fully charged battery. For comparison purposes only. Battery capacity decreases with time and use. Actual range will vary based on a number of factors, including vehicle options, driving conditions and habits, vehicle and battery condition, battery temperature and outside temperature.

iii 2024 IONIQ 6 is available at select dealers in select states only. Contact your Hyundai dealer for availability details.

SOURCE Hyundai Motor America
Strong advocate for women in tech and ERP takes on key leadership role for the company

LONDON, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- IFS, the global cloud enterprise software company, has today announced that Stephanie Poore has been appointed as the new Managing Director for its UK and Ireland business, effective immediately. Poore takes over from Alan Laing, who has been appointed Chief Customer Strategist of South West Europe and Latin America and Chairman of UK&I to focus on driving IFS's regional customer success moving forward. These appointments reflect the company's strategic focus and consistent performance to date as it looks to cement its position as a leader in ERP, EAM, FSM, and ESM across its key markets.

The appointment of Poore, who moves from the role of Sales Director UKI, is a testament to her consistent performance since joining IFS in 2016. In her new role, Poore is set to steer IFS UK and Ireland towards continued growth, with a focus on customer-centric strategies and revenue generation. Her appointment is a clear indication of IFS's commitment to nurturing talent and promoting strong, diverse leadership within the company.

During her eight-year tenure at IFS, Poore has demonstrated strong leadership and a deep understanding of customer needs. Poore's impressive track record includes being awarded Global Sales Director of the Year in 2022 and she is the founder of the Women in ERP Podcast, a platform dedicated to advocating for diversity within the technology sector.

Stephanie's promotion to Managing Director for the UK and Ireland follows a series of significant appointments of female leaders at IFS, including Belinda Finch (Chief Information Officer), Cathie Hall (Chief Customer Officer), and Hoda Mansour (Chief Operating Officer, APJ, MEA).

Andre Robberts, President, South & Western Europe & LATAM, said: "We are thrilled to have Stephanie head up our UK and Ireland operations. Her exceptional leadership qualities, coupled with a profound understanding of our industry and market, make her the ideal choice for this role."

Robberts continued: "Stephanie's dedication to advocating for women in technology, including her active position within the IFS Global Women committee, further aligns with our values at IFS. These values include our commitment to supporting the development of women in leadership within technology and providing equitable opportunities based on merit. As IFS continues to grow at an accelerated pace, ensuring we have a diverse talent pool will be key to our differentiation and success."

The leadership change, combined with the strategic move to drive increased customer focus as Alan Laing takes on the position of UK&I chairman, will promote and accelerate IFS's customer success and customer value within the region. IFS expresses deep gratitude to Alan for his significant contributions and instrumental role in the rapid growth of the UK business over the past five years.

Commenting on her appointment, Stephanie Poore, Managing Director, IFS UK and Ireland, said: "I am both honored and excited to step into the role of Managing Director for IFS in the UK and Ireland. This opportunity is not just a professional milestone for me but also a testament to IFS's commitment to nurturing diverse leadership. I look forward to leading our talented team towards continued growth and innovation, while maintaining our focus on delivering customer-centric solutions. Together, we will strive to reinforce IFS's position as a leader in the enterprise software space."

About IFS:

IFS develops and delivers cloud enterprise software for companies around the world who manufacture and distribute goods, build and maintain assets, and manage service-focused operations. Within our single platform, our industry specific products are innately connected to a single data model and use embedded digital innovation so that our customers can be their best when it really matters to their customers  at the Moment of Service. The industry expertise of our people and of our growing ecosystem, together with a commitment to deliver value at every single step, has made IFS a recognized leader and the most recommended supplier in our sector. Our team of over 6,000 employees every day live our values of agility, trustworthiness and collaboration in how we support our 6,500+ customers. Learn more about how our enterprise software solutions can help your business today at ifs.com.

IFS Press Contacts:

MEA& APJ: Adam Gillbe

Corporate Communications

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +44 7775 114 856

USA: Mairi Morgan

Corporate Communications

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +1 520 396 2155

The following files are available for download:
Future Market Insights, Inc. forecasts robust growth for the industrial weighing equipment market, fueled by burgeoning industries, automation demands, and efficiency gains. However, challenges remain, highlighting room for innovation and untapped potential. Explore full report for insights & stakeholder opportunities.

NEWARK, Del., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Industrial Weighing Equipment Market value is expected to increase from US$ 4,622.0 million in 2023 to US$ 8,242.7 million in 2033. By 2033, global demand for industrial weighing equipment is projected to surge at a CAGR of 6.0%.

Request Exclusive Sample Report: Industrial Weighing Equipment Industry Strategic Insights, https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-294

The market for industrial weighing equipment has enormous potential for developing more precise, accurate, and economical machinery. Industrial weighing machines are necessary for every industry in one way or another. Hence, the expansion of several industries is anticipated to fuel the growth of the industrial weighing equipment market.

The market for industrial weighing equipment is anticipated to develop due to the increasing adoption and desire for automation in end-use sectors. The issues with manual weighing machines and rising labor prices are two variables anticipated to propel the industrial weighing equipment market.

Weighing processes are completed faster and with less work with the help of industrial weighing equipment in several sectors. Moreover, rising industry infrastructure investments are anticipated to propel the market internationally.

The market's overall expansion is set to be hampered by a few obstacles and hurdles. The high cost of the materials needed to make sensors is a key factor restricting the market's growth. However, technical advancements offer excellent growth opportunities and unrealized potential in new markets.

Scope of the Report

Attribute Details Estimated Market Size (2023) US$ 4,622.0 million Projected Market Size (2033) US$ 8,242.7 million Anticipated Growth Rate (2023 to 2033) 6.0 % Historical Data 2018 to 2022 Forecast Period 2023 to 2033 Quantitative Units Value (US$ million) and Volume (Units) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Volume Forecast, Company Ranking, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, Trends, and Pricing Analysis Market Segments Covered Industrial Weighing Equipment Market Segmentation By Product Type: Check Weighers

Portable and Bench Scale

Floor Scale

Counting Scale

Weighbridge & Truck Scale

Rail Scale By Type: Analog Weighing System

Digital Weighing System By Capacity: Low Capacity

Medium Capacity

Large Capacity By End-use: Logistics & Warehousing

Agriculture

Industrial

Chemicals



Steel & Metals



Mining



Food & Beverages



Construction Materials



Others By Region: North America

Latin America

Western Europe

Eastern Europe

East Asia

South Asia and Pacific

Middle East and Africa Key Countries Covered United States

Canada

Mexico

Brazil

Chile

Germany

Italy

France

United Kingdom Spain

BENELUX

NORDICS

Poland

Hungary

Balkan and Baltics

Russia

India

Association of Southeast Asian Nations Australia and New Zealand

China

Japan

South Korea

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Other GCC Countries

Turkiye

South Africa

Key Takeaways from the Report

The global market for industrial weighing equipment is projected to thrive at 6.0% CAGR through 2033.

CAGR through 2033. By weighbridge and truck scale segment by product type, it is expected to reach US$ 2,753.0 million in 2033.

in 2033. The United States is anticipated to reach US$ 1,046.9 million in 2033.

is anticipated to reach in 2033. China is projected to attain a valuation of US$ 1,030.5 million by 2033.

is projected to attain a valuation of by 2033. Demand in India is predicted to rise at 6.9% CAGR through 2033.

"The rising demand for precision, efficiency, and technological advancements is projected to propel the industrial weighing equipment market. Increasing emphasis on automation, integration of Industry 4.0 technologies, and the need for accurate measurements across diverse industries are further contributing to market growth. These weighing solutions address evolving operational requirements, aligning with modern industrial processes. A growing trend toward advanced, connected technologies, cloud-based solutions, and sustainability practices further influences the market's trajectory." - says Nikhil Kaitwade (Associate Vice President at Future Market Insights, Inc.).

Competitive Landscape

The global industrial weighing equipment market is fragmented, with leading players accounting for 25% to 30% share. Following are the leading manufacturers and suppliers of industrial weighing equipment listed in the report.

Mettler-Toledo International Inc.

Avery Weigh-Tronix

RADWAG Wagi Elektroniczne

Adam Equipment

A&D Weighing

Minebea intec

Thompson Scale Company

Easiweigh Limited

AFI Group

Rice Lake Weighing Systems

Fairbanks Scales

Ohaus Corporation

Key players focus on expanding domestic production and technology in industrial weighing equipment to provide consumers with cost-efficient solutions. They are also investing in developing new products and innovating existing ones to meet end-user demand.

Purchase this report now to get key companies with their Revenue Forecast, Volume Forecast, Company Ranking, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, Trends, and Pricing Analysis.

Recent Developments-

In November 2023 , Rice Lake Weighing Systems acquired Utilcell, a global load cell and weighing instrumentation manufacturer headquartered in Barcelona , Spain.

, Rice Lake Weighing Systems acquired Utilcell, a global load cell and weighing instrumentation manufacturer headquartered in , Spain. In March 2021, Mettler-Toledo International acquired PendoTECH, a distributor and manufacturer of transmitters, control systems, single-use sensors, and software for monitoring, measuring, and data collection in bioprocess applications.

Get More Insights into the Industrial Weighing Equipment Market Report

In its latest report, Future Market Insights (FMI) offers an unbiased analysis of the global industrial weighing equipment market, providing historical data from 2018 to 2022 and forecast statistics for the period 2023 to 2033.

The study provides compelling insights into based industrial weighing equipment market segment based on product type (checkweighers, portable and bench scales, floor scale, counting scale, weighbridge and truck scale, rail scale), type (analog weighing system, digital weighing system), capacity (low capacity, medium capacity, large capacity), end-use (logistics and warehousing, agriculture, industrial [chemicals, steel and metals, mining, food and beverages, construction materials, others]), and region.

Request to Access the Detail Research Methodology from here!

About Future Market Insights (FMI)  Industrial Automation and Equipment

The industrial automation division of Future Market Insights (FMI) offers a novel approach and innovative perspective in analyzing the industrial automation market. Comprehensive coverage of capital, portable, process, construction, industrial, and special-purpose machinery across the manufacturing sector and distinctive analysis of the installed base, consumables, replacement, and USP-feature-application matrix make us a pioneering voice in the industry. We are preferred associates with established as well as budding industry stakeholders and channel partners when it comes to sustaining, growing, and identifying new revenue prospects.

About the Author:

Nikhil Kaitwade (Associate Vice President at Future Market Insights, Inc.) has over a decade of experience in market research and business consulting. He has successfully delivered 1500+ client assignments, predominantly in Automotive, Chemicals, Industrial Equipment, Oil & Gas, and Service industries.

His core competency circles around developing research methodology, creating a unique analysis framework, statistical data models for pricing analysis, competition mapping, and market feasibility analysis. His expertise also extends wide and beyond analysis, advising clients on identifying growth potential in established and niche market segments, investment/divestment decisions, and market entry decision-making.

Nikhil holds an MBA degree in Marketing and IT and a Graduate in Mechanical Engineering. Nikhil has authored several publications and quoted in journals like EMS Now, EPR Magazine, and EE Times.

Explore FMI's Extensive Coverage in the Industrial Automation Domain:

About Future Market Insights (FMI)

Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in Dubai and has delivery centers in the United Kingdom, the United States, and India. FMI's latest market research reports and industry analysis helps businesses navigate challenges and make critical decisions with confidence and clarity amidst breakneck competition.

Our customized and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. A team of expert-led analysts at FMI continuously tracks emerging trends and events in a broad range of industries to ensure that our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.

Contact Us

Nandini Singh Sawlani

Future Market Insights Inc.

Christiana Corporate, 200 Continental Drive,

Suite 401, Newark, Delaware - 19713, USA

T: +1-845-579-5705

For Sales Enquiries: [email protected]

Website: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com

LinkedIn| Twitter| Blogs | YouTube

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1197648/3531122/FMI_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Future Market Insights
MIAMI, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In a resounding entry to the music scene, Katrilia, the emerging Mexican artist, is making an indelible mark with her latest release, "No Quiero." Translated to "I Don't Want" in English, this track serves not only as a catchy and empowering anthem but also as a compelling narrative urging listeners to prioritize self-worth and embrace solitude over toxic company. Katrilia's musical finesse is rooted in a childhood passion that bloomed at the age of 6.

Katrilia-No Quiero (Official Video) Latin Music Artist - Katrilia Latin Music Artist - Katrilia

What sets Katrilia apart is her hands-on approach to her craft  she not only performs but is also the creative force behind her music. She writes her own songs, crafting narratives that resonate with authenticity, and takes an active role in shaping the harmonies that define her distinctive sound.

With a remarkable journey that started with singing and dancing, Lilia Mendoza Garcia, under her artist's name Katrilia, honed her artistic skills from a young age, setting the stage for her vibrant presence in the music industry today.

Her early experiences extend beyond music. Katrilia, a multi-talented artist, also delved into modeling, showcasing her versatility in the United States as well as her home country of Mexico. This blend of cultural influences and diverse experiences contributes to the richness of Katrilia's artistry, making her a unique force to be reckoned with in the contemporary music landscape.

This journey of self-discovery and artistic exploration culminates in "No Quiero," where infectious beats merge seamlessly with heartfelt lyrics. The track is more than just a song; it's a testament to Katrilia's personal growth and an invitation for her audience to embark on a similar journey of empowerment and resilience.

As audiences across the globe resonate with "No Quiero," Katrilia is already preparing for her next musical endeavor  the highly anticipated "Momentos." This upcoming project promises a captivating exploration of Katrilia's artistic versatility, delving into various facets of life and emotions. With an earnest desire to create music that not only entertains but also directly speaks to the human experience, Katrilia is poised to establish a profound connection with her growing audience.

In a recent statement, Katrilia articulated her aspirations, stating, "I want to keep growing and evolving as an artist. My goal is not only to create great music but to be a positive influence on those who listen. Music has the transformative power to inspire and uplift, and I want to use my platform to make a positive difference in people's lives."

Emphasizing authenticity and relatability, Katrilia is determined to carve her distinctive space in the competitive music industry. Her unwavering dedication to fostering a positive impact through her art sets her apart, and fans can expect more empowering and soul-stirring content in the future.

Katrilia's artistic journey is characterized by passion, resilience, and an unyielding commitment to personal and artistic growth. As she continues to ascend in her career, there's no doubt that Katrilia is on the path to becoming the best version of herself  both as an artist and as an individual.

Beyond the music, Katrilia envisions her artistic platform as a means to advocate for positive change. From promoting mental health awareness to championing inclusivity, Katrilia aims to use her influence to make a lasting impact on society. This vibrant artist warmly invites fans and media alike to join her on this exciting musical journey.

For further information, interviews, or media inquiries, please contact:

Lilia Mendoza Garcia, [email protected], +1 (786) 306-5999

Facebook: @ Katriliamusica | @ Katrilia

Instagram: @katriliamusica

Tik Tok: @katriliamusica

Youtube: @Katriliamusica

Spotify: Katrilia

Apple Music: katrilia

SOURCE Katrilia
CLEVELAND, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- INSIGHT2PROFIT, a leading consulting and software company specializing in price and profitability solutions, has ranked 17th on the Weatherhead 100's annual list of Northeast Ohio's fastest-growing companies. This is the 10th consecutive year that the company has been ranked on this prestigious list.

The Weatherhead 100 Awards, presented by the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, celebrate the region's fastest-growing companies based on revenue growth over the past five years.

Since its inception in 2006, INSIGHT2PROFIT has consistently demonstrated a commitment to delivering cutting-edge pricing and profit optimization solutions that empower businesses to thrive in competitive markets. The company's innovative approach, combined with a client-centric focus, has contributed to its remarkable success and continued recognition by the Weatherhead 100 Awards.

"Being named to the Weatherhead 100 for ten consecutive years is a feat achieved by very few companies" stated Terry Oblander, Chief Commercial Officer. "For INSIGHT, this accomplishment is more than just a milestone  it reflects the passion and dedication our exceptional team brings to the table. Their unwavering commitment to our core values and relentless drive to make a lasting impact on our clients and communities has truly set us apart on this remarkable journey."

INSIGHT2PROFIT helps companies drive sustainable enterprise value through pricing expertise, data science, tailored technology solutions, and relentless execution. INSIGHT2PROFIT has more than doubled its revenue over the last five years. Since its founding, INSIGHT2PROFIT has helped clients realize more than $30 billion in enterprise value creation with an average 15:1 ROI.

To learn more about the Weatherhead 100 awards, visit: https://case.edu/weatherhead/corporate-partners/weatherhead-100/weatherhead-100-winners.

About INSIGHT2PROFIT

INSIGHT2PROFIT, a DFW Capital Partners portfolio company, is one of the largest and fastest-growing price and profitability companies, enabling businesses to seize growth through expertise in strategic pricing, sales force effectiveness, and profitability optimization solutions. INSGHT2PROFIT delivers tangible business results by developing and implementing data-driven pricing strategies and tailored technology solutions to help clients achieve continuous profit improvement.

Headquartered in Cleveland with regional offices in Chicago and Columbus, INSIGHT2PROFIT employs more than 250 professionals. For more information, visit https://www.insight2profit.com.

SOURCE INSIGHT2PROFIT
Rise in global traffic congestion, rise in public-private partnerships, and increase in government initiatives on reducing CO2 emissions drive the growth of the global integrated traffic system market.

WILMINGTON, Del., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, " Integrated Traffic Systems Market by Function (Traffic Monitoring, Traffic Control, and Information Provision & Analysis), Hardware Type (Surveillance Cameras, Boards, Radars & Sensors, and Others), and Application (Urban Traffic and Highways). Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032." According to the report, the global integrated traffic systems industry size generated $28.05 billion in 2022, and is anticipated to generate $66.14 billion by 2032, witnessing a CAGR of 9.03% from 2023 to 2032.

(We are providing integrated traffic systems industry report as per your research requirement, including the Latest Industry Insight's Evolution, Potential and Russia-Ukraine War Impact Analysis)

134 - Tables

76 - Charts

448 - Pages

Download Sample Report - https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/12546

Prime determinants of growth

The global integrated traffic systems market is driven rise in global traffic congestion, increase publicprivate partnership, and increase in government focus on reducing CO2 emissions. Integrated traffic systems are diverse and interconnect systems that are optimally designed to control the flow of traffic. In addition, they improve passenger safety and enhance the competence of the overall transportation industry.

Integrated Traffic Systems Industry Report Coverage and Details:

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 20232032 Base Year 2022 Market Size In 2022 $ 28.05 Billion Market Size In 2032 $ 66.14 Billion CAGR 9.03 % No. Of Pages in Report 448 Segments Covered Function, Hardware Type, Application and Region. Drivers Rise In Global Traffic Congestion Increase In PublicPrivate Partnership Increase Government Focus on Reducing CO2 Emission Opportunities Increase In Penetration of Autonomous and Connected Vehicles Improvement Of High-Speed Internet and Communications Technologies Restraint High Technology Cost

Russia-Ukraine War Scenario

The impact of the Russia - Ukraine conflict has been notably adverse for the automotive sector, not only affecting Ukraine and Russia but also sending ripples across neighboring nations and beyond. Disruptions in supply chains have emerged due to the close proximity of vital manufacturing and supply centers in both countries. This resulted in delays and increased costs for integrated traffic system manufacturers, as they struggle to obtain critical parts or materials required for production. Economic uncertainty, trade disruptions, and geopolitical tensions lead to reduced economic growth in the affected regions and beyond. This resulted in a decreased demand for new Integrated traffic systems.

The traffic monitoring segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period

Depending on function, the traffic monitoring segment held the highest market share in 2022, and it is expected to continue this trend throughout the forecast period. This is attributed to the ability of traffic monitoring system to facilitate smooth flow of traffic, reduce congestion, and improve overall efficiency of traffic. However, the traffic control segment is projected to register the highest CAGR of 9.55% from 2023 to 2032, owing to the ability of traffic control systems to prevent accidents and minimize congestion.

Recent Developments in Integrated Traffic Systems Industry:

Leading industry players enhance their market position through strategic actions like acquisitions, agreements, expansions, partnerships, contracts, and product launches.

On October 19, 2023 , ST Engineering secured a contract for Abu Dhabi's inaugural multimodal intelligent transportation central platform, valid until 2027. The project involves designing and constructing the ITCP, system integration, and overall project management. Leveraging AI capabilities, the ITCP will centralize subsystems, enabling effective multimodal transport strategies, real-time road traffic monitoring, incident detection, automated traffic information dissemination, and traffic congestion prediction.

, ST Engineering secured a contract for inaugural multimodal intelligent transportation central platform, valid until 2027. The project involves designing and constructing the ITCP, system integration, and overall project management. Leveraging AI capabilities, the ITCP will centralize subsystems, enabling effective multimodal transport strategies, real-time road traffic monitoring, incident detection, automated traffic information dissemination, and traffic congestion prediction. On July 27, 2022 , Jenoptik expanded its Uzbekistan road safety project, following the success of the 2018 contract. Delivering over 200 speed enforcement systems, the extended contract includes smart city components addressing new violations.

, Jenoptik expanded its road safety project, following the success of the 2018 contract. Delivering over 200 speed enforcement systems, the extended contract includes smart city components addressing new violations. On July 1, 2021 , Siemens AG launched Yunex Traffic, a standalone brand offering smart mobility solutions worldwide. Yunex Traffic's solutions are deployed in major cities like Dubai , London , Berlin , Bogota , and Miami , and it is the sole supplier complying with major regional standards globally.

Interested to Procure the Research Report? Inquire Before Buying - https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/12546

The surveillance cameras to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period

On the basis of hardware type, the surveillance cameras held the highest market share in 2022 and is projected to reach the highest CAGR of 9.9% from 2023 to 2032, due to rise in demand for accident detection and providing immediate response on highways and freeways. In addition, surge in road construction globally has led to an increased need for surveillance cameras to ensure the safety and security of travelers and the movement of goods.

The highway segment to maintain its lead position during the forecast period

By application, the highway segment accounted for the largest share in 2022 and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. This is attributed to increased construction of highways and expressways across the world and the strong economic growth. However, urban traffic is expected to portray the highest CAGR of 9.56% from 2023 to 2032. Due to the steep increase in population in cities similarly, the migration of people from rural areas to urban areas in Asia-Pacific countries due to better employment opportunities and increased commerce activities has resulted in increased demand for efficient integrated traffic systems.

Asia-Pacific to maintain its dominance by 2032

Region wise, Asia-Pacific held the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2022 and is projected to register the fastest CAGR of 9.92 % from 2023 to 2032. This is attributed to increase in population and development of cities, which are leading to chaotic traffic congestion and prolonged commute times. To address the issue, governments in the region are optimally utilizing integrated traffic systems to improve transportation and make transportation more sustainable.

Key Highlights of the Integrated Traffic Systems Market Study:

Encompassing 14+ countries, the market study conducts a comprehensive analysis, featuring regional and segment insights for each country, assessing values in millions of dollars for the forecast period 2023-2032.

Employing a research methodology that integrates high-quality data, expert opinions, and analyses, along with crucial independent perspectives, the study strives to present a well-rounded perspective of global markets. This approach aids stakeholders in making informed decisions to achieve their ambitious growth objectives.

A thorough understanding of the market is achieved through the review of over 3,700 product literature pieces, annual reports, industry statements, and comparable materials from major industry participants.

Procure Complete Research Report (PDF with Qualitative and Quotative Data, Insights, Statistics, Tables, Charts, Figures) - https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/integrated-traffic-systems-market/purchase-options

Leading Market Players: -

Kapsch TrafficCom AG

Siemens AG

Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc.

Swarco

Teledyne Flir LLC

Jenoptik

Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.

Cisco Systems, Inc.

Iteris Inc

ST Engineering.

The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players in the global integrated traffic systems market . These players have adopted different strategies such as new product launches, collaborations, expansion, joint ventures, and agreements to increase their market share and maintain dominant shares in different regions. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario.

Similar Reports We Have on Transportation Industry:

Air Traffic Management Market Research Report 2023-2032

Unmanned Traffic Management Market Research Report 2023-2032

Space Traffic Management Market Research Report 2023-2032

Air Traffic Control Market Research Report 2023-2032

UAS Traffic Management (UTM) System Market Research Report 2023-2032

About Us

Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of " Market Research Reports " and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

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SOURCE Allied Market Research
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- JELD-WEN Holding, Inc. (NYSE: JELD), a leading global manufacturer of building products, today announced that it is recognized as one of America's Greatest Workplaces for Diversity 2024 by Newsweek magazine and Plant-A Insights Group. The recognition comes after a survey of more than 220,000 individuals resulting in 1.5 million company reviews.

JELD-WEN Holding, Inc. named one of America's Greatest Workplaces for Diversity 2024

"At JELD-WEN, we are focused on creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture where all employees feel like they belong," said Wendy Livingston, EVP and chief human resources officer. "Being recognized by Newsweek as one of America's Greatest Workplaces for Diversity is a testament to the progress we've made in fostering a values-based environment where everyone feels included and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives."

America's Greatest Workplaces were selected through a five-part evaluation process conducted over 2022 and 2023. It included analysis of publicly available data, interviews and discussion with HR professionals, as well as large-scale online surveys of employees from companies in the United States that employed more than 500 employees in 2023 and more than 1,000 employees in 2022.

"Diversity is a widely discussed topic  and it remains a crucial factor as people look for an employer or a business partner," said Newsweek Global Editor in Chief Nancy Cooper. "Newsweek and market-data research firm Plant-A Insights are proud to introduce 'America's Greatest Workplaces for Diversity 2024,' highlighting companies that are committed to offering a diverse and inclusive work environment."

JELD-WEN is dedicated to fostering an environment that celebrates differences and promotes collaboration, ensuring every employee feels supported and has equal opportunities to thrive. Read more about our commitment to diversity in our 2022 ESG Report at corporate.jeld-wen.com/responsibility/social.

About JELD-WEN Holding, Inc.

JELD-WEN Holding, Inc. (NYSE: JELD) is a leading global designer, manufacturer and distributor of high-performance interior and exterior doors, windows, and related building products serving the new construction and repair and remodeling sectors. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, the company operates facilities in 15 countries in North America and Europe and employs approximately 18,000 associates dedicated to bringing beauty and security to the spaces that touch our lives. The JELD-WEN family of brands includes JELD-WEN worldwide, LaCantina and VPI in North America, and Swedoor and DANA in Europe. For more information, visit corporate.JELD-WEN.com or follow LinkedIn.

Media Contact:

JELD-WEN Holding, Inc.

Caryn Klebba

Head of global public relations

704-807-1275

[email protected]

SOURCE JELD-WEN Holding, Inc.
VALLETTA, Malta, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Kindred Group will host the Sustainable Gambling Conference on 20 March in London. The conference aims to gather experts, both from within and outside the industry, to share ideas and views with the goal of ensuring a sustainable and safe industry. The theme of the 2024 conference is 'Safer Gambling: A look into the future'.

Kindred Group plc (Kindred) will host the Sustainable Gambling Conference at the Kia Oval in London on 20 March. The conference has earned its reputation as a hub for meaningful dialogue, bringing together subject matter experts from various sectors, both within and beyond the gambling industry. Renowned international speakers, including representatives from EPIC Global Solutions, Gamban, EGBA, KPMG, Rdentify and TransUnion, will share their insights and experiences. They will be accompanied by this year's keynote speaker, the well-known author Daniel Mate.

"At this year's conference, under the theme 'Safer Gambling: A look into the future,' we will delve into the implementation of AI in the gambling industry, focusing on its potential to advance responsible gambling measures. We will also take a deep dive into what opportunities lie in automation and technology when it comes to affordability and financial risk assessments. One of our panel discussions will spotlight what is next for the White Paper in the UK - a theme that will be of interest for many markets across Europe. With a stellar lineup of highly qualified speakers, I look forward to a conference with valuable insights and discussions for all attendees", says Alexander Westrell, Director of Communications, Kindred Group.

The Sustainable Gambling Conference serves as a catalyst for collaborative efforts within the industry. It aligns with Kindred's overarching ambition to facilitate and contribute to a fact-based and transparent conversation, providing a platform for all stakeholders involved in gambling. The conference will take place on 20 March 2024 at Kia Oval in London.

For more information about the agenda and to register, visit www.sustainablegambling.com/

For more information:

Maria Angell Dupont, External Communications Manager, Kindred Group

[email protected]

+46 72 165 15 17

The following files are available for download:
LONDON, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Clinch, the market leading supplier of recruitment marketing solutions, has announced the appointment of Sarah Callery as Head of Sales for Clinch Europe.

Sarah is a strategic software sales leader with a proven track record within the Talent Acquistion space globally. She has won a variety of awards including Winner Best Software Account Director, Influential Businesswoman awards 2021, Top Ten Business Women to watch 2022 and Software Solutions Account Director of the Year (UK). Sarah brings a wealth of knowledge with over 20 years experience within TA both in direct and indirect sales.

"We are fortunate to have someone with Sarah Callery's background and extensive experience join us to build on Clinch's successful track record and lead its European operations into the future," said PageUp GM Europe Yuval Grauer.

"I'm excited about joining Clinch and successfully implementing our strategy to take advantage of the great market opportunities ahead. The Clinch platform allows organisations to truly enhance their EVP and improve the overall candidate experience. I am thrilled to join the team at Clinch and look forward to working with them and our partners to take the brand to the next level in EMEA " commented Callery.

Sarah will be taking over from current Head of Clinch Europe and co-founder of PathMotion (now Clinch Employee Connections) David Rivel, who will be stepping down after 7 years.

Since co-founding PathMotion in 2016, David has been an inspiring leader who has built a brand that has helped transform hiring experiences around the world. David successfully navigated the sale of PathMotion to the PageUp group in 2021 and its subsequent rebrand as part of the Clinch Recruitment Marketing suite of tools.

About Clinch

At Clinch, we take pride in revolutionising the way companies attract, nurture and convert high quality internal and external talent into leads and successful hires. Clinch is an out of the box solution that plugs and plays with all major ATS' on the market. With Clinch, recruitment teams can do more with less effort, delivering high quality candidate experiences from first engagement, right through to application.

With a high customer retention rate across leading global brands, our focus is on security, ease of implementation and customer success for companies of all sizes. Our offices are in New York, Dublin, London, Paris, Singapore, Sydney and Melbourne.
New campaign from Lincoln Financial and Havas, "The Action Plan," is reframing the way the financial category portrays 50+ and the life they want during retirement

NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Lincoln Financial Group debuted today "The Action Plan," a campaign that reframes the way the financial category perceives and talks about the new era of retirees. Based on the latest research from the firm1 , those in their 50s and early 60s are healthier and more active than any generation priorthey will likely live longer, healthier livesand retirement will not slow them down. With this insight, alongside advertising agency partner Havas and media agency partner, Crossmedia, the new campaign is based on the theme "Make Your Pastimes Last a Lifetime."

"The research and insight that influenced this campaign strategy is important from not only a marketing perspective, but from a human perspective," said Kathy Kavanaugh, SVP, CMO, Individual Solutions & Brand at Lincoln Financial. "We dug deep into the mindset of our pre-retiree audience to understand what they want their retirement to look like  our research revealed that 64% of (affluent) 5060-year-olds say they anticipate spending the same or more amount of time on their activities and pastimes in retirement. All in all, we found that they have no plans to slow down, big dreams for the future, and pastimes they want to explore more."

The research shows that the new generation of retirees will require their money to go further than ever before, but the retirement conversation is broken. Not only so, but the way this demographic is portrayed is broken as well. Two in every three of adults 50+ agree that the media often rely on outdated stereotypes to portray people their age. This opens a completely new conversation around retirement planning and presents an opportunity for Lincoln to showcase retirees outside of category norms.

"Our strategy came to life when we realized this group needs more than a retirement plan, they need an action plan," said Tim Maleeny, Chief Strategy Officer of Havas Creative North America. "We want consumers to be asking: 'Will I have enough money to ensure my pastimes last a lifetime?' And we believe this white space in the category ensures that Lincoln will be the financial services brand for people who never want to slow down."

The campaign urges consumers to rethink the way they approach the concept of retirement, shifting from "retirement planning" to "action planning." The campaign's new reframe of retirement advertising features The Hiking Plan, The Wellness Plan, The Sailing Plan, and essentially any pastime consumers will need to financially plan for.

"The Action Plan campaign challenges people to self-reflect on what their pastimes are, taking an untraditional approach to spark conversations around retirement planning: What am I passionate about doing? What have I always had to make time for in my working years but will have more time to enjoy in retirement?" said Angela Laubmeier, Vice President of Corporate Brand & Advertising at Lincoln Financial. "This campaign is deeply reflective and demonstrates the uniqueness of the individuals that our brand and company help each day."

The "plans," purposefully art directed and designed, are one of the biggest breakthroughs within.

"The thick, slanted, white type in TV and digital out-of-home puts the campaign more in the company of performance brands than stuffy financial brands to appeal to this active audience," said Israel Garber, Creative Managing Director of Havas New York. "Our films are shoutouts to people who didn't let their 50th birthday change what gets them going. It's time someone showed the truth of what we are all doing; not the tropes of our parents' retirement ads!"

The agency will roll out a fully integrated creative campaign across connected TV, social media, digital, and out-of-home in New York and Chicago starting in January. Click here to watch the campaign "Anthem." More of The Pastime Series includes: Culinary Plan, Explorer Plan, and the Sailing Plan.

To learn more about how to take financial action today to help ensure your pastimes last a lifetime, visit LincolnFinancial.com/ActionPlan.

1 Source: Lincoln Financial, Consumer Sentiment Tracker, September 2023

About Lincoln Financial Group

Lincoln Financial Group helps people to plan, protect, and retire with confidence. As of Dec. 31, 2022, approximately 16 million customers trust our guidance and solutions across four core businessesannuities, life insurance, group protection, and retirement plan services. As of September 30, 2023, the company had $290 billion in end-of-period account balances, net of reinsurance. Headquartered in Radnor, Pa., Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE: LNC) and its affiliates, including The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, Fort Wayne, IN, and in New York, Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York, Syracuse, NY. Learn more at LincolnFinancial.com.

About Havas

Founded in 1835 in Paris, Havas is one of the world's largest global communications networks, with more than 22,000 people in over 100 countries sharing one single mission: to make a meaningful difference to brands, businesses, and people. Havas has developed a fully integrated model through its 70+ Havas Villages around the world, covering all communication activities. The teams of the three business unitsHavas Creative Network, Havas Media Network, and Havas Health & You, work together with agility and in perfect synergy to offer tailor-made, innovative solutions to clients who support them in their positive transformation. Havas is committed to building a diverse culture where everybody feels they belong and can be themselves and thrive. Havas integrated into Vivendi, a global leader in media, entertainment, and communications, in December 2017. Further information about Havas is available at www.havas.com.

SOURCE Havas Worldwide, LLC
Corporate Leadership Transition Brings Strong Revenue Forecast for 2024

GREER, S.C., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Loud Beverage Group, Inc. (OTCPK: LBEV), a holding company specializing in the distribution of a diverse range of high quality, innovative, and in-demand products, is pleased to announce its successful acquisition of Surge Distribution Company, LLC, a South Carolina based company.

Surge Distribution is poised to attain a remarkable $5 million in revenue for 2024, with an ambitious projection to double this figure by 2025. Operating from a 30,000 square foot facility in Greer, SC, the company is strategically venturing into high-potential markets including Charlotte, North Carolina, Central Florida, Tampa, FL, and Jacksonville, Florida, in 2024 and 2025. According to recent industry reports, these areas represent thriving markets with significant growth potential in the distribution sector.

Surge Distribution Company, takes great pride in being the preferred supplier for a diverse array of high quality, innovative, and in-demand products. Their commitment extends beyond the mere delivery of goods; they aspire to establish long-lasting partnerships grounded in trust, reliability, and mutual success. Their expansive product range caters to the ever-evolving demands of the market, ensuring their retail partners receive not only quality but also superior customer service to maintain a competitive edge.

Central to Surge Distribution Company's mission is the cultivation of a knowledgeable, motivated, and professional team. They ardently believe that a dedicated team constitutes the backbone of any successful venture. Through fostering a culture of continuous learning, empowerment, and accountability, they ensure that their team is adept in providing unparalleled service to its valued clients.

They prioritize sustained growth for their clients, viewing their success as intrinsic to its own. Through strategic partnerships and an unyielding commitment to a customer-centric approach, they aim to contribute substantively to the prosperity of the businesses they serve. Their commitment to excellence transcends the mere distribution of products; it is ingrained in every facet of their operational endeavors.

"At Loud Beverage Group, we are thrilled about the acquisition of Surge Distribution Company. This strategic move aligns seamlessly with our commitment to transformative growth and unparalleled service in the dynamic distribution landscape," states Brandon Spikes, the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Company.

Chris Selinger, the newly appointed Vice President of Operations, adds, "The pace at which Surge Distribution is expanding is truly remarkable. We are excited about the immense opportunities this acquisition brings and are poised to deliver numerous exciting updates to our shareholders this quarter, as we anticipate rapid and substantial growth."

This marks a historic juncture for Loud Beverage Group, signifying a new chapter in corporate leadership and strategic vision. Effective October 26, 2023, the approval of a change of control provides a comprehensive span of voting control across the executive team. As of this pivotal date, Brandon Spikes assumed the roles of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Company, bringing his transformative vision to guide the company's trajectory. Simultaneously, Chris Sellinger took on the role of Vice President of Operations, steering the operational facets of the organization towards unprecedented success. The aforementioned leadership transition underscores a fresh perspective and a dynamic approach to steering the company towards unprecedented success. Additionally, as of October 26, 2023, the entire previous management of Loud Beverage Group, Inc. has voluntarily resigned from all positions with the Company.

The new management is actively working towards restoring the company's Current Information status with the OTC Markets Group. As of December 31, 2023, all necessary disclosures have been completed. The final step in achieving Current Information status involves obtaining an attorney opinion letter, which is currently pending.

The company remains committed to adhering to all OTC Markets reporting standards to ensure full compliance. This commitment aims to instill confidence among the public stakeholders and demonstrates the company's dedication to transparency and regulatory compliance.

Loud Beverage Group anticipates initiating the uplisting process to the OTCQB tier in the third quarter of 2024. The management team will work closely with regulatory authorities and adhere to the necessary compliance requirements throughout the application process. Pending regulatory approvals, the company aims to complete the uplisting by 2025. Loud Beverage group will keep shareholders and stakeholders informed of any developments and milestones achieved during this transformative journey.

Brandon Spikes, CEO of Loud Beverage Group, Inc., expressed enthusiasm about the decision, stating, "This move is a pivotal step forward for Loud Beverage. Uplisting to the OTCQB tier aligns with our commitment to corporate governance and transparency. We believe that this strategic decision will not only benefit our existing shareholders but also attract new investors who recognize the potential and value of Loud Beverage Group's vision and growth trajectory."

Loud Beverage Group recently launched its shareholder focused corporate facing website. The Company will continue to add functionality and updates to its new website in its efforts to provide current and future shareholders the tools and information they need. The website covers all corporate facets such as company's mission, team highlights, latest news and press releases, along with pertinent information for current and future shareholders and investors.

For further information, please contact:

Investors Relations

[email protected]

877-814-4188

About Loud Beverage Group, Inc.

Loud Beverage Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation, wholly owns subsidiary, Surge Distribution Company, LLC. Surge Distribution Company, LLC, takes pride in being the preferred supplier for a diverse array of appealing, innovative, and cost-effective products, dedicated to meeting the unique needs of its retail partners. Their commitment goes beyond providing goods; they strive to establish lasting partnerships built on trust, reliability, and shared success.

Please visit: https://loudbeveragegroup.com

Please visit: https://surgedist.com

Forward-Looking Statement:

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements by use of the words "may," "will," "should," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "continue," "estimate," "project," "intend," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, general economic and business conditions, effects of continued geopolitical unrest and regional conflicts, competition, changes in technology and methods of marketing, delays in completing various engineering and manufacturing programs, changes in customer order patterns, changes in product mix, continued success in technological advances and delivering technological innovations, shortages in components, production delays due to performance quality issues with outsourced components, and various other factors beyond the Company's control.

SOURCE Loud Beverage Group, Inc.
810 MW gas plant join LS Power's fleet of assets that support the energy transition

NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- LS Power today announced that it has reached an agreement with an affiliate of Platinum Equity to acquire the Hunterstown natural gas-fired power plant in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

The 810-megawatt combined cycle gas-fired power generation facility is located in the PJM Interconnection, and the transaction is expected to close in Q2 2024.

"Hunterstown will join LS Power's fleet of flexible gas-fired generation, a portfolio of assets with the dynamic ramping attributes critical to a successful clean energy transition," said Nathan Hanson, President of LS Power Generation.

"Our flexible generation assets provide firm, low carbon and cost effective supply of reliable electricity as well as providing a vital and complementary service in the energy transition, ensuring the lights stay on when renewable resources are unavailable due to their intermittency, or when extreme weather events destabilize the grid," Hanson said.

LS Power operates a more than 16,000 megawatt gas generation fleet that complements its multiple energy transition platforms focused on wind, hydro and solar power, as well as battery energy storage, demand response, microgrids, renewable fuels, electric transportation and transmission infrastructure.

"In order to decarbonize the electric grid in a reliable, affordable and responsible manner, we will need to continue utilizing efficient, flexible gas-fired generation, for which our fleet is well positioned to help accelerate the clean energy transition by managing the intermittency of renewables." said Paul Segal, LS Power CEO.

"This is particularly critical at a time when demand for electricity is growing at the fastest rate in decades  driven by electrification, the proliferation of data centers and a manufacturing renaissance, amidst a background of coal plants retiring and renewables coming online only gradually. With the grid grappling with greater weather extremes and market volatility, a coherent path toward decarbonization embraces both rapid deployment of low-carbon energy resources and maintenance of sufficient natural gas generation to ensure continued energy security and reliability," Segal said. "This is LS Power's approach, as reflected in our portfolio and priorities."

Accelerating the Energy Transition

LS Power's gas generation fleet spans 12 states and consists primarily of peaking plants along with combined cycle facilities.

LS Power also manages a growing family of energy transition platforms, including:

REV Renewables , a leader in renewable generation and energy storage

, a leader in renewable generation and energy storage EVgo , a fast-charging network for electric vehicles, powered by 100% renewable energy

, a fast-charging network for electric vehicles, powered by 100% renewable energy CPower Energy Management , a leading, national distributed energy resource monetization and virtual power plant provider

, a leading, national distributed energy resource monetization and virtual power plant provider Rise Light & Power , New York City's largest generator, and developer of clean energy infrastructure

, largest generator, and developer of clean energy infrastructure Primary Renewable Fuels, LLC , a renewable natural gas development and operating platform

, a renewable natural gas development and operating platform Endurant Energy , a microgrid developer and provider of distributed energy infrastructure solutions

, a microgrid developer and provider of distributed energy infrastructure solutions LS Power Transmission, leading private transmission owner and developer, with 780+ miles of high-voltage transmission lines operating, and 350+ miles and multiple substation under development or construction

Milbank LLP is serving as legal advisor and Guggenheim Securities LLC and Scotiabank are serving as financial advisors to LS Power on the acquisition of Hunterstown.

About LS Power

Founded in 1990, LS Power is a premier development, investment, and operating company focused on the North American power and energy infrastructure sector, with leading platforms across generation, transmission and energy transition solutions. Since inception, LS Power has developed or acquired 47,000 MW of power generation, including utility-scale solar, wind, hydro, battery energy storage, and natural gas-fired facilities. Additionally, LS Power Grid has built 780+ miles of high-voltage transmission, with 350+ miles and multiple grid infrastructure projects currently under construction or development. LS Power actively invests in and scales businesses that are accelerating the energy transition, including electric vehicle charging, demand response, microgrids, renewable fuels and waste-to-energy platforms. Over the years, LS Power has raised $54 billion in debt and equity capital to support North American infrastructure. For information, please visit www.LSPower.com.

Contact

[email protected]

SOURCE LS Power
First-of-its-kind partnership to create a cannabis journey fostering consumer trust and enhancing the consumer experience

NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Lucid Green , the item-level tracking platform transforming the cannabis supply chain, today announced a strategic partnership with Common Citizen , a Michigan-based cannabis company and lifestyle brand offering safe, high-quality cannabis products for patients and adult-use customers, to empower the state's recreational and medical consumers with seamless and technologically advanced educational tools.

Lucid Green and Common Citizen Lucid Green and Common Citizen

As part of this collaboration, Lucid Green and Common Citizen will implement innovative QR-style tech solutions to enhance transparency in product information access, enabling consumers to make choices better aligned with their preferences and values.

Both Lucid Green and Common Citizen share an unwavering dedication to ensuring that consumers have immediate access to reliable and accurate product information. This new partnership is founded on the shared commitment to fostering trust and transparency across the cannabis supply chain.

Common Citizen, known for its commitment to excellence in product quality, safety and customer experience, echoes this sentiment. "We are excited to join forces with Lucid Green to reinforce the importance of transparency in the cannabis industry," said Michael Elias, Common Citizen CEO. "Together, we aim to set new standards for consumer trust, ensuring that individuals can confidently navigate the cannabis landscape to identify safe, high-quality cannabis products that best meet their unique, individual needs."

"At Lucid Green, we believe that trust is built on transparency," said Larry Levy, founder & CEO of Lucid Green. "Our partnership with Common Citizen reflects our joint commitment to providing consumers with accurate information about cannabis products, fostering a relationship built on trust, and empowering them to make informed decisions."

Click here for the Citizen product experience in the LucidID app:

https://app.lucidgreen.io/products/bVwY3xSXbJ7viUzwJaqNfG/scan/

About Lucid Green:

Lucid Green was founded in early 2018 with a singular mission of building a standard for trust and transparency in the cannabis ecosystem. Lucid Green's platform provides retailers and distributors with a touchless inventory management solution  increasing supply chain efficiencies and cost-savings; and provides brands with a channel to connect directly with consumers. More than 400 brands have outfitted upwards of 45 million products with Lucid Green's intelligent "LucidID" 2D barcode to date. For more information, please visit lucidgreen.io .

About Common Citizen

Common Citizen is a privately owned and operated company, focusing on cannabis production, cultivation, processing, retail and wholesale distribution for both the medical and adult market in Michigan and across the United States. Launched in Detroit in 2018, the Common Citizen brand takes a deliberate, people-first approach to its business strategy  from production to retail. Learn more at commoncitizen.com.

Media Contact

Filip Luneski

[email protected]

332-250-6360

SOURCE Lucid Green and Common Citizen
All Three Ohio Maplewood Communities Recognized for Second Consecutive Year

SUMMIT COUNTY, Ohio, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Caring.com has announced that all three Maplewood Senior Living communities in Ohio  for the second consecutive year  are winners of the Best Senior Living: Caring Stars 2024 awards. These prestigious awards recognize the top-rated senior living communities nationwide.

The 2024 recipients include Maplewood at Chardon in Geauga County, Maplewood at Cuyahoga Falls in Summit County, and Maplewood at Twinsburg, also located in Summit County.

"We are thrilled that for the second straight year, all three of our Ohio communities have been named winners of the Caring Stars 2024 awards," said Shane Herlet, Chief Operating Officer at Maplewood Senior Living. "This ongoing recognition reflects our steadfast commitment to service excellence and enriching the lives of our senior residents."

The Caring Stars Award is widely recognized as an all-important appraisal by which seniors and their families measure the highest-rated senior living communities, nursing homes, and senior care agencies in the United States. Caring Stars recognizes service excellence in senior living and in-home care based on consumer ratings and reviews on Caring.com.

Maplewood Senior Living's award-winning assisted living and memory care communities provide a senior living experience that is truly personal, with concierge services, housekeeping, and assistance tailored to each resident's lifestyle preferences and needs. Each community is distinct and offers warm and welcoming environments that are designed to encourage engagement and feel like home.

Families and residents of Maplewood attest to the community's outstanding qualities and welcoming atmosphere. "My grandfather has been living at Maplewood for almost a year and our family has nothing but amazing things to say about the facility and the staff. The staff that you see are their staff. There are no agencies, which was very important to us," said Crystal, granddaughter of a Maplewood Cuyahoga Falls resident. "They not only take care of the residents but are super supportive of the families and bend over backward for them, and this starts when you walk in the front door."

About Maplewood Senior Living

Maplewood Senior Living is known for its upscale senior living residences, offering a broad range of premier services, amenities, and care to its residents. Based in Westport, CT, Maplewood Senior Living operates 16 senior living communities in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. There is an Upper East Side location in Manhattan, NY, within the company's newest brand, Inspir . This new, senior living offering was launched to provide a luxurious option for seniors looking to join a residential community in major metropolitan areas. A second Inspir location is under development in Washington D.C.'s vibrant Dupont Circle neighborhood. For more information, please call 203-557-4777 or visit http://www.maplewoodseniorliving.com .

Media Contact

Olivia Klein

[email protected]

646-629-0045

SOURCE Maplewood Senior Living
Leader in Math Learning Centers Continues Strong Performance as Demand for Services Surges

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mathnasium Learning Centers, an internationally known franchise with over 1,100 math learning centers worldwide, closed out 2023 with 59 centers opened and 81 franchises awarded. The fast-growing brand has experienced a record increase in student enrollments as the spike in supplemental education continues and math scores show an alarming decline since the pandemic. This paired with its proven 20-year-plus business model, has contributed to Mathnasium's long-standing industry success as it continues to expand its global footprint.

The franchise's impressive performance has earned multiple awards and recognition, most notably ranking No. 80 in Entrepreneur's highly competitive 2023 Franchise 500 ranking, and No. 1 within the math tutoring category. Other notable accomplishments of 2023 include inclusion in Entrepreneur's Top Low-Cost Franchises, Top Global Franchises, and Top Brands for Multi-Unit Owners. The brand was also included in Franchise Business Review's Top Education Franchises, Rock Star Franchise Owners, Top 200, Recession-Proof Franchises, and 10-Year Hall of Fame. Lastly, Mathnasium was included in Franchise Times's Top 400, and Franchise Dictionary Magazine's Top 100 Game Changers.

"As we reflect on the past year, we have seen an increasingly high demand for supplemental education services," said Mike Davis, CEO of Mathnasium. "For students across the globe, there is still a long road of recovery from pandemic-related learning loss ahead, and we are determined to continue leveraging our best-in-class expertise and resources to help students improve their math skills through fully individualized learning plans."

With a bolstered leadership team in place  including Michael Davis as Chief Executive Officer, Michael Stanfield as Chief Marketing Officer, Tyler Sgro as Chief Operating Officer, Kristin Goedke as SVP Field Operations, and Kevin Shen as Chief Development Officer  Mathnasium is hyper-focused on a 2024 vision of driving brand awareness and growing franchisee unit-level volume, while expanding its global footprint with single and multi-center operators.

On a mission to bring the most up-to-date technology solutions to its franchisees, the brand recently partnered with Tinuiti, the largest independent performance marketing firm across search, social, streaming+ and marketplaces, to create an all-new Centralized Digital Marketing program. Additionally, Mathnasium built a data warehouse and BI Dashboards via Amazon.com platforms, Redshift, and Quicksight. These investments were made in an effort to bring to bear the power of the global brand and gain stronger market exposure, qualified leads, and overall number of enrollments.

"We strive to consistently provide enhancements to our franchisees' business management portal and plan to implement new marketing automation solutions to drive higher conversion rates and enhanced customer retention," said Davis. "Additionally, we continue to adapt to the needs of our consumers. Our virtual learning platform is more advanced than ever, giving students the option of a streamlined hybrid in-center and at-home learning experience. Moving away from the traditional five days open to six or seven, and opening our center doors to students before school hours, has resulted in more student enrollments per center than ever before."

Alongside this strong performance, Mathnasium remains focused on franchise development. While continuing to expand domestically, the development team sees vast international growth potential across India, the UK, Australia, the UAE, Vietnam, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, Spain, and Latin American countries, among others. The company recently announced a renewed master franchise agreement in Vietnam for an additional ten years, confirming a commitment to open an additional 25 centers, solidifying Vietnam as the brand's largest international market.

"The development plans in the pipeline are projected to further grow Mathnasium's footprint both domestically, and internationally," said Kevin Shen, Chief Development Officer of Mathnasium. "By continuing to support existing franchisees who are expanding and welcoming new multicenter investors, we will not only achieve our growth goals, but have the privilege to reach more students across the globe with a time-tested business model and curriculum."

With prime territories available, Mathnasium provides franchisees with comprehensive training and support, including an initial training program, ongoing training, a balanced approach between corporate and locally driven marketing to capture the addressable market, and access to proprietary software tools and resources.

Mathnasium Learning Centers specializes in math-only tutoring and is committed to providing the world's best instruction. The goal: teach children math in a way that makes sense to them. For decades the Mathnasium Method  has transformed the way kids learn math  building students' understanding of math concepts through personalized instruction and a customized learning plan  all while producing tremendous results and helping students achieve their full potential in math and in life.

For information about Mathnasium's franchise opportunities, visit  https://mathnasiumfranchise.com/ .

For more information on Mathnasium, visit https://www.mathnasium.com/ , or visit their social pages on Facebook , Twitter , or Instagram .

About Mathnasium

Mathnasium Learning Centers is North America's leading math-only supplemental education franchise. Since 2002, the Mathnasium Method  the result of decades of hands-on instruction and development  has been transforming the lives of children in grades K-12 by offering comprehensive assessments, fully individualized learning plans, and teaching true math comprehension. With more than 1,100 learning centers worldwide in 10 countries, Mathnasium has been ranked on Entrepreneur Magazine's list of top 500 franchises 16 times since 2004. For more information about Mathnasium franchise opportunities, visit https://mathnasiumfranchise.com/ .

Media Contact: Kelly Hammond, Fishman Public Relations, [email protected]

SOURCE Mathnasium
DALLAS, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- McKool Smith announced the return of highly skilled patent litigator Erik Fountain. Rejoining as a Principal, Erik will continue to focus on patent, trade secret, and licensing disputes in a variety of fields, including software, cellular, oil & gas, automotive, and medical device.

"I gained invaluable experience during my years as an Associate at McKool Smith working alongside some of the country's finest attorneys and am excited to be back where I started my career," said Mr. Fountain.

Mr. Fountain represented industry leaders such as Ericsson in a long-running licensing dispute related to unpaid royalties and breach-of-FRAND allegations, as well as numerous ITC investigations, among other matters. Erik has also represented clients including Halliburton, Rovi/TiVo, Nevro, and Freddie Mac in significant commercial and IP disputes.

"We look forward to welcoming Erik back to firm," said McKool Smith Managing Principal and Chairman David Sochia. "He is a talented lawyer and has a wealth of experience in complex IP disputes, including FRAND matters. Our clients will benefit from his skills and capabilities."

Prior to joining McKool Smith, Mr. Fountain served as a law clerk to the Honorable J. Rodney Gilstrap in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division. He was also a law clerk in the Civil Litigation Division in the United States Attorney's Office while attending law school.

With 130 trial lawyers across offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Marshall, New York, and Washington, D.C., McKool Smith has established a reputation as one of America's leading trial firms. The firm has secured 14 nine-figure jury verdicts and 15 eight-figure jury verdicts, obtaining more VerdictSearch and The National Law Journal "Top 100 Verdicts" than any other law firm. These courtroom successes have earned McKool Smith critical acclaim and helped the firm become what The Wall Street Journal describes as "one of the biggest law firm success stories of the past decade." McKool Smith represents clients in complex commercial litigation, intellectual property, bankruptcy, insurance recovery, and white collar defense matters.

For more information, please contact Keith Hill at (903) 923.9005 or email [email protected].

SOURCE McKool Smith
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Meijer opened Fairfax Market in Cleveland today, bringing a mix of fresh, local and convenient food at low prices to customers in Cleveland's Fairfax neighborhood. Fairfax Market is the retailer's fifth neighborhood market, and the first outside of Michigan. The store is part of a broader revitalization project designed to bolster economic activity, add jobs and bring nutritious, affordable food to the Cleveland Innovation District.

Meijer opened Fairfax Market in Cleveland today, bringing a mix of fresh, local and convenient food at low prices to customers in Clevelands Fairfax neighborhood

"Fairfax Market represents another opportunity to serve our customers in a community that offers so much potential for growth. We've spent the last year connecting with local vendors and asking neighbors what they'd like to see in the market," Fairfax Market Store Director Alan Jordan said. "As a result, we've worked to curate requested products and develop programs that will benefit our neighbors, such as multiple delivery options and on-site grocery pick-up."

Jordan and his team welcomed customers into the market with cheers and a round of applause, which was later followed by a ribbon-cutting event featuring remarks from Ward 6 Councilman and Council President Blaine Griffin, Cleveland Clinic CEO and President and Morton L. Mandel CEO Chair Dr. Tom Mihaljevic, Fairfax Renaissance Executive Director Denise VanLeer, Meijer Executive Chairman Hank Meijer and Meijer President & CEO Rick Keyes.

"Meijer is committed to investing in the communities where our customers and team members live and work, and that same philosophy applies to our neighborhood stores like Fairfax Market," Keyes said. "We value the Northeast Ohio community and are excited to continue growing our presence here with our first grocery store in the City of Cleveland."

At 40,000 square feet, Fairfax Market offers a wide range of products, including fresh meat and deli items, fresh produce, a bakery, and Meijer and national brand items. It also carries more than 2,000 local products from 150 local vendors, including Cleveland Cold Brew Coffee, Micah's Supreme Sauce, PUR Spices, Akron Honey, Lemon Waves and beauty care products from Catlin Naturals, a local, black, woman-owned business.

Other market highlights include a 104-foot international section, with products from Cleveland and around the world, a large assortment of local beer and wine, and a floral department and gift shop featuring PaperCutz Vintage greeting cards and posters as well as paper flowers from Love, Anji. A 54-seat cafe space, open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., serves coffee, sandwiches, salads and other items from Saucy Coffee and sushi from Hissho Sushi. The team at Cleveland Mural, led by local artist Glen Infante, designed and painted a vibrantly colored fresh produce mural on the south side of the building, where customers enter from the parking ramp.

Located at 2190 E. 105th St., Fairfax Market offers 90 minutes of free parking for customers in the covered ramp next door, onsite grocery pickup, and delivery through Shipt, Instacart and DoorDash. The store offers the Meijer mPerks rewards program, which allows customers to earn points on purchases toward future savings, and accepts WIC and SNAP benefits. Fairfax Market is open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

"Food insecurity, or lack of access to healthy foods, is a growing problem across the country. As a social determinant of health, it can have a significant impact on a person's overall well-being," said Mihaljevic. "Cleveland Clinic and Meijer share a commitment to improving the health of the communities they serve, and we appreciate their dedication to ensuring healthy food is now accessible in the Fairfax neighborhood."

Meijer opened its first store in Ohio in 1981 and invested heavily in the state ever since. Upon the opening of Fairfax Market today, Meijer now employs more than 11,000 team members at 53 stores statewide and its distribution and manufacturing facilities in Tipp City and has plans for accelerated growth in Northeast Ohio. Approximately 50 team members are employed at the new market, where they earn competitive wages and have access to health and free education benefits, as well as a 401(k) program with a company match.

During the past week, Fairfax Market demonstrated its support of the community by donating to two local organizations. The retailer donated $15,000 to the Fairfax Recreation Center, a community hub playing a central role in the social and physical well-being of the community for more than 50 years. In addition, the retailer donated $10,000 to Karamu House, the oldest, producing African American theatre in the nation, featured in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture and listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

About Fairfax Market: Fairfax Market is a neighborhood grocery store operated by Meijer that focuses on bringing fresh food and value to customers in a market-like setting. Located in the Cleveland Innovation District, Fairfax Market is part of a mixed-use neighborhood revitalization project being developed in partnership with the City of Cleveland, Cleveland Clinic, the Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation and Fairmount Properties. Fairfax Market will provide residents and businesses alike access to fresh food and easily accessible convenience items in a one-of-a-kind store. For more information, please visit www.FairfaxMarket.com or find Fairfax Market news and updates on Facebook and Instagram.

SOURCE Meijer
Seventeen local nonprofits serving their community will receive funding to address guidance programs for children and teens, health access, food insecurity and/or housing in honor of the late Dr. King's birthday and Week of Service.

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- MemorialCare, a prominent nonprofit Southern California integrated health system, has announced the recipients of its Community Benefit Grants Program for Fiscal Year 2024. MemorialCare has granted just under $200,000 to major nonprofits such as Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach, My Sister My Friend Breast Cancer Support, Meals on Wheels Orange County, and Casa Youth Shelter. The financial support benefits local nonprofit public health and human service organizations dedicated to serving vulnerable communities including guidance programs for children and teens, health access, food insecurity and/or housing.

"At a time of economic uncertainty, coupled with the ever-changing health care landscape, it's important now more than ever that MemorialCare support our communities locally, understanding and addressing the social determinants of health," says Barry Arbuckle, Ph.D., president and CEO, MemorialCare. "Supporting organizations that are closest to our vulnerable communities that may likely become patients, helps them provide health education around preventative care, such as routine screenings like mammographs and the importance of flu shots  all of which can help change and even save a life."

MemorialCare's four hospitals Long Beach Medical Center, Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach, Orange Coast Medical Center, and Saddleback Medical Center initiated an annual call for applications through their community benefits grant program. Each not-for-profit or community-based organization went through a rigorous evaluation and review process. The recipient applications focused around addressing key health priorities identified by each hospital's tri-annual Community Health Needs Assessment. The applications were reviewed and voted on by each hospital's Community Benefit Oversight Committee.

Seventeen nonprofits were selected to receive MemorialCare community benefit grants including: Century Villages at Cabrillo, My Sister My Friend Breast Cancer Support, Lutheran Social Services of Southern California, The LBGTQ Center Long Beach, Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach, BreastfeedLA, Long Beach Bar Foundation, The Guidance Center, Tichenor Clinic for Children, Casa Teresa, Hope Harbor, Meals on Wheels Orange County, Orange County Rescue Mission, Camino Health Center, Casa Youth Shelter, The Foundation of Laguna Woods, and Western Youth Services.

About MemorialCare

MemorialCare is a not-for-profit, integrated health care system with 225 care locations including leading hospitalsSaddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, Long Beach Medical Center and Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach; MemorialCare Medical Group and Greater Newport Physicians; MemorialCare Research Program; MemorialCare Select Health Plan; and numerous outpatient health, imaging, surgery, urgent care, physical therapy, breast health and dialysis centers throughout Orange and Los Angeles counties. Accolades include Nation's Best Health Systems and Workplaces, Top 50 U.S. Hospitals and Cardiovascular Hospitals, 10 Largest Children's Hospitals, 100 Best Hospitals - Spine and Prostate Surgeries, Best of Orange County and Long Beach Hospitals and Medical Groups, U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals and "high performing" in 31 clinical categories and Newsweek World's Best Hospitals, Top 100 Hospitals, Best Maternity Hospitals  and more. Visit memorialcare.org.

SOURCE MemorialCare
MVD will distribute innovative cameras to resellers and systems integrators with exclusives on select enterprise-targeted product lines

READING, Pa. and SHENZHEN, China, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Experienced audio/video technology distributor Mobile Video Devices Inc. (MVD) today announced a distribution partnership with innovative camera developer OBSBOT. Under the new agreement, MVD will distribute OBSBOT's conferencing and production camera solutions to systems integrators and resellers across North America, with exclusive distribution rights for OBSBOT's enterprise products including the new Tail Air AI-powered 4K PTZ streaming camera and the award-winning, AI-driven Tiny 2 webcam.

Mobile Video Devices Inc. (MVD) is now distributing OBSBOT AI-powered conferencing and production cameras to North American Pro AV integrators and resellers, with exclusive distribution rights for enterprise products including the Tail Air 4K PTZ streaming camera.

Founded in 2016 as the artificial intelligence camera brand of Remo Technologies, OBSBOT is dedicated to connecting people and the imaging industry to the future through revolutionary technology and innovative products. OBSBOT's newest flagship, the AI-enhanced Tail Air live streaming camera, is captivating the content creation market by combining superior-quality live streaming and recording with unmatched versatility.

Tail Air can shoot 4K video at 30 frames per second or 1080p HD video at 60 fps. Its enlarged 2-micrometer pixel size and advanced camera components enable the capture of brighter frames and finer details with less video noise even in challenging, dimly lit environments. Advanced AI auto-tracking smoothly follows people, animals or objects, while time-of-flight technology enhances auto-focus efficiency in both bright and low-light situations. Dynamic gesture control allows remote starting and stopping of recording as well as zoom adjustments. Additional options for Tail Air add Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) support through a USB-C to Ethernet adapter; NDI HX3 output support for integration into video-over-IP production workflows; and a smart remote control.

In addition to its own RTMP-based streaming capabilities via the OBSBOT Start app, Tail Air is an ideal PTZ camera complement to Magewell's Director Mini all-in-one multi-camera production and streaming system  which is also distributed exclusively by MVD. Each Tail Air unit can serve as an HDMI (with a micro-HDMI to HDMI adapter) or NDI HX3 source to Director Mini, with full pan/tilt/zoom control available through the Director Mini user interface.

MVD has been providing full-service distribution and manufacturer representation for market-leading media solutions since 2006, with an emphasis on live streaming, video production, conferencing, and collaboration technologies. MVD works closely with resellers, system integrators, and OEMs to provide the ideal video solution for each unique application and supports them through all aspects of setup and implementation. MVD is also the exclusive distributor for Magewell solutions in North and South America.

"OBSBOT's earlier cameras have been wildly popular for applications ranging from social media influencer videos to higher education," said Darryl Spangler, President of MVD. "Their new products such as Tail Air and Tiny 2 take video quality and AI-driven automation to a whole new level that make them perfect for environments ranging from classrooms, municipal meeting rooms, small churches and huddle spaces to live event productions. We're ecstatic to add OBSBOT's camera innovations to our portfolio."

"The launch of our latest generation of AI-powered streaming cameras and webcams builds a product ecosystem in live streaming and creates vast new opportunities for our products in a broader range of markets and use cases," said Liu Bo, CEO at OBSBOT. "MVD's proven expertise in the Pro AV, live streaming and professional production markets  plus their close relationships with systems integrators and resellers  will help us expand our reach into the markets and bring the benefits of our innovations to more customers. We're excited to partner with MVD for our future success."

For more information about OBSBOT, please visit https://www.obsbot.com/. For more information about MVD, please visit www.mobilevideodevices.com.

About MVD  Mobile Video Devices Inc. (MVD) provides distribution services and manufacturer representation in the Americas with a focus on technologies for live streaming, video conferencing, collaboration, networking, and video production. Manufacturers, systems integrators, and resellers choose MVD for its industry expertise and extreme dedication to an exceptional customer experience at every level of the supply chain. Learn more at www.mobilevideodevices.com.

About OBSBOT  Founded in 2016, OBSBOT is an innovative imaging technology and hardware brand dedicated to using new technologies such as AI to inject new vitality into the videography market. Learn more about OBSBOT: https://www.obsbot.com/.

Copyright 2024 Mobile Video Devices Inc. All rights reserved. NDI is a registered trademark of Vizrt Group. #NDI

SOURCE Mobile Video Devices
Free filtered water available at the Natural Grocers store for impacted communities until city-issued boil water advisory is lifted

LAKEWOOD, Colo., Jan. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Natural Grocers is offering free filtered water to those affected by a boil-water notice in Topeka, Kansas. Starting Monday, January 15, free water will be available to Topeka residents and nearby communities until the boil water advisory is lifted.

The City of Topeka is under a Boil Water Advisory by KDHE due to low chlorine levels in the city's water. Effective immediately and until further notice, city water customers have been asked to boil their water before drinking it.

Natural Grocers is offering free water from the Topeka, Kansas stores reverse osmosis water filtration machines for those in need.

Natural Grocers is offering free water from the Topeka, Kansas store's reverse osmosis water filtration machines for those in need. The ultraviolet sterilization process used in Natural Grocers' water dispensers disinfects the water with UV light, designed to provide safe, high-quality water that does not need to be boiled before consumption. Additionally, via multiple filtration steps, the reverse osmosis process is intended to filter out suspended particles, chlorine and a wide range of chemicals, salts, lead, impurities, and more.

Due to capacity limitations of the store's water filtration system, which can only pump seventy-five gallons of water every other hour, each person is limited to two free gallons of water [per day]. To fill up on free water from the organic and natural grocery retailer, customers should bring their filled receptacle to the register, along with any items they are purchasing. Customers are urged to bring their own containers to fill, though the store will have a limited assortment for purchase.

"One of our Five Founding principles is a 'Commitment to Community'. We are thankful we have the capability to help folks navigate this situation. Please spread the word to friends and neighbors. Natural Grocers is here for you," said Brian Phillips, Director of Store Operations for Natural Grocers.

For location and hours of the Natural Grocers store in Topeka , KS, click here.

, KS, click here. For media requests, please contact [email protected] .

ABOUT NATURAL GROCERS BY VITAMIN COTTAGE

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NYSE: NGVC) is an expanding specialty retailer of natural and organic groceries, body care products, and dietary supplements. The products sold by Natural Grocers must meet strict quality guidelines and may not contain artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or sweeteners, or partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated oils. The Company sells only USDA-certified organic produce and exclusively pasture-raised, non-confinement dairy products, and free-range eggs. Natural Grocers' flexible smaller-store format allows it to offer affordable prices in a shopper-friendly, clean, and convenient retail environment. The Company also provides extensive free science-based Nutrition Education programs to help customers make informed health and nutrition choices. The Company, founded in 1955, has 167 stores in 21 states. Visit www.NaturalGrocers.com for more information and store locations.

SOURCE Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.
Dozens of new products to premiere at commercial vehicle industry's main event

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- North America's largest work truck event also serves as the world premiere for the biggest stars in the commercial vehicle universe. New EVs, internal combustion commercial vehicles, and the components, equipment and services that make them more efficient and effective for a wide range of vocational applications will debut at Work Truck Week 2024.

Dont miss Work Truck Week 2024  its more than a trade show. North Americas largest work truck event also serves as the world premiere for the biggest stars in the commercial vehicle universe. New EVs, internal combustion commercial vehicles, and the components, equipment and services that make them more efficient and effective for a wide range of vocational applications will debut at #WTW24. Learn more at worktruckweek.com, and register through Feb. 8 for advance pricing. Work Truck Week 2024 runs March 58, 2024, at Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. Register at worktruckweek.com/register. (PRNewsfoto/NTEA  The Work Truck Association)

Work Truck Week runs March 58, 2024, at Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. It encompasses Green Truck Summit, The Work Truck Show, NTEA Annual Meeting, Ride & Drive, educational sessions and more. Green Truck Summit is March 5, educational sessions run March 57 and Work Truck Show exhibits are open March 68. Work Truck Week is produced by NTEA  The Work Truck Association. Register at worktruckweek.com.

"One of the reasons busy industry professionals make time to attend Work Truck Week is to take advantage of the unmatched opportunity it provides for them to not only see, but touch, explore and even drive the latest products from more than 500 exhibiting companies," says Steve Carey, NTEA president & CEO. "Plus, only at Work Truck Week can they meet one-on-one with manufacturer engineers and technical specialists, industry experts and their peers to discuss technology, trends and how to improve their operations."

Many of the biggest product announcements will be made during the more than two dozen press conferences scheduled Tuesday, March 5, through Thursday, March 7. The press conference schedule is available at worktruckweek.com/mediacalendar.

Attendees can review some new products ahead of time by visiting the Product Gallery at wtw24.mapyourshow.com. Register and create a WTW24 Planner to build a personalized calendar including exhibitors, products and educational sessions to maximize time at the event.

An hour before the main exhibit hall opens March 67, see what's new from 25 first-time exhibitors in New Exhibitor Pavilion located in Rooms 137139 across from the Hall I Work Truck Show exhibit hall entrance.

All Work Truck Week attendees can experience commercial vehicles with the latest advanced technology, fuel, sustainability offerings and propulsion systems during Ride & Drive March 67. Featured vehicles incorporate advancements that promote reduced fuel usage, greenhouse gases or particulate matter.

In addition to all the new products on display, Work Truck Week also provides opportunities to look into the industry's future. Green Truck Summit focuses on the evolution of the commercial vehicle landscape as the shift toward zero emissions continues to accelerate. Leading commercial vehicle manufacturers will share their latest chassis specifications and designs, review body and equipment installation options and provide insight into future vehicle plans during 15 Chassis Update Sessions offered as part of the educational program.

For more information, including links to register and book hotel rooms, visit worktruckweek.com or contact NTEA ([email protected] or 800-441-6832). Join the conversation in social media with hashtags #wtw24, #worktrucks24, #greentrucks24 and #worktruckweek.

About NTEA

Established in 1964, NTEA  The Work Truck Association, a 501(c)(6) organization, represents more than 2,100 companies that manufacture, distribute, install, sell and repair commercial vehicles, truck bodies, truck equipment, trailers and accessories. Buyers of work trucks and the major commercial truck chassis manufacturers also belong to NTEA. The Association provides in-depth technical information, education, and member programs and services, and produces Work Truck Week, Green Truck Summit, Commercial Vehicle Upfitting Summit and Executive Leadership Summit. The Association maintains its administrative headquarters in suburban Detroit and government relations offices in Washington, DC, and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

SOURCE NTEA - The Work Truck Association
BOSTON, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Autonomous driving, electric vehicles, connected and software-defined vehicles, and in-cabin monitoring are all megatrends reshaping the automotive industry. Together, these technologies combine to form a US$1.6 trillion opportunity by 2034, nearly a 10-fold increase compared to 2023. The new report from IDTechEx, "Future Automotive Technologies 2024-2034: Applications, Megatrends, Forecasts", brings together a portfolio of IDTechEx's research into a single summary of the biggest changes and opportunities coming to the automotive industry. Much of this potential market revenue will be coming from components required for electrification and automation, but the report predicts that services offered by autonomous and connected vehicles have the most room for growth.

Autonomous driving brings hardware and service revenue opportunities. Source IDTechEx

Service revenue from autonomous cars, connected cars and software-defined cars

Autonomous cars are still in the early days, with commercial testing starting to scale in the US and China, but recent events involving Cruise show that the industry still needs to be apprehensive. There is hope though. In December, Waymo announced it had surpassed 7 million driverless miles across San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix. In this time, it claims to have shown that its vehicles are 6.7 times less likely to be involved in an injury-causing accident compared to human drivers. Despite this success, any incident should and will be scrutinized, and it will take time for regulations and public trust to build. But, over a ten-year horizon, there will be significant growth of autonomous mobility-as-a-service (MaaS), with services spreading to hundreds of cities worldwide and generating hundreds of trillions of dollars in revenue.

While autonomous cars are still finding their footing, connected vehicles are already a reality in the automotive industry. Over the past few years, IDTechEx has seen OEMs bring in new revenue models based on a feature-as-a-service (FaaS) plan. This allows customers to subscribe to some features of their vehicle, like a heated steering wheel, as they need it. IDTechEx predicts that these models and the features on offer will grow more all-encompassing and complex over the next decade. IDTechEx's "Future Automotive Technologies 2024-2034: Applications, Megatrends, Forecasts" report shows that the annual revenue generated through connected and software-defined vehicles will exceed US$700 billion.

With both autonomous mobility services and connected vehicle services being in their infancy today but growing into hundred-billion-dollar industries in ten years' time, it is no wonder the automotive industry is so excited about them. IDTechEx finds that revenue generated through future automotive technology services will grow at a CAGR of 44.4% between 2023 and 2033.

Components needed for future automotive technologies

Electrification, automation, and in-cabin sensing are all creating new component markets and huge revenue opportunities for the automotive industry. In electric vehicles, the motor, battery, and power electronics form a growing market that can expect to see a CAGR of 9.8% between 2023 and 2033. While this is the largest of the component markets, it is not the fastest growing.

The modern transition to electric powertrains has been happening since the late 00s, and while technologies like adaptive cruise control have been around longer, it's only in the last five to ten years that the industry has seen a new push for high levels of automation. Most new vehicles already have a small array of sensors, but new SAE level 3 and above technologies require many sensors per vehicle. In addition to external sensors for environmental sensing, there is an even newer push for internal sensors for occupant and driver monitoring. These technologies will be crucial for keeping road users safe when autonomous systems need to hand off to the driver and be sure they are alert. "Future Automotive Technologies 2024-2034: Applications, Megatrends, Forecasts" finds that the ADAS and automated vehicle sensors market will grow at a CAGR of 13.7% between 2023 and 2033 and sensors for in-cabin monitoring will grow at a CAGR of 14.7% over the same period.

The automotive industry is changing rapidly, with new opportunities and revenue streams evolving. IDTechEx's new report, "Future Automotive Technologies 2024-2034: Applications, Megatrends, Forecasts", can help navigate these changes and prosper.

To find out more about this new IDTechEx report, including downloadable sample pages, please visit www.IDTechEx.com/FutureAutoTech.

Free-to-attend upcoming webinar

The Four Future Automotive Technology Opportunities

Dr James Jeffs, Senior Technology Analyst at IDTechEx and author of this article, will be presenting a free-to-attend webinar on the topic on Tuesday 30 January 2024 - The Four Future Automotive Technology Opportunities.

The webinar will include:

An overview of the megatrends changing the automotive industry

Explanation of what hardware/services are associated with each trend

CAGR growth rates for each of these technologies

Hardware vs services, where the biggest opportunity is

To find out more and register your place on one of our three sessions, please click here. If you are unable to make the date, please register anyway to receive the links to the on-demand recording (available for a limited time) and webinar slides as soon as they are available.

About IDTechEx

IDTechEx guides your strategic business decisions through its Research, Subscription and Consultancy products, helping you profit from emerging technologies. For more information, contact [email protected] or visit www.IDTechEx.com.

Images download:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/o1gx2dlqr8imhigxxa3sz/h?rlkey=hn76fy5vhbwr2owndxkn4kukb&dl=0

Media Contact:

Lucy Rogers

Sales and Marketing Administrator

[email protected]

+44(0)1223 812300

Social Media Links:

Twitter: www.twitter.com/IDTechEx

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/IDTechEx

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2319331/IDTechEx.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/478371/4496498/IDTechEx_Logo.jpg

SOURCE IDTechEx
A surge in demand for school choice follows expansions to school choice in 20 states last year.

MIAMI, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- More than half of U.S. parents (65%) say they wish they had more information about education options for their children, according to a parent opinion survey released today by the nonprofit National School Choice Awareness Foundation (NSCAF) in advance of National School Choice Week (January 21-27, 2024).

Overwhelming parent demand for school choice follows three consecutive years of state-level expansions to public, charter, magnet, private, online, home, and nontraditional education options  including new or enhanced school choice programs in 20 states in 2023 alone.

According to NSCAF's census-balanced survey of 2,595 U.S. parents of school-aged children, conducted January 2-4, 2024, 72% of parents said they considered sending at least one of their children to a different school last year  a 35% increase over 2022.

According to the survey, 43% of parents who have more than one child in their household said that they have chosen different types of schools  such as public, charter, magnet, private, online, home, or microschooling options  for the children in their household. More than half of parents (59%) said they'd chosen a school for their children that was different than the type of school they themselves attended as children.

"Every parent wants their children to succeed and be happy, and they know that every child has unique needs and interests," said Andrew Campanella, NSCAF's President and CEO. "Since the pandemic, parents have shifted their preference away from finding specific types of schools, and instead focused on selecting schools that  regardless of their structure or how they are funded  best fit their children's needs."

NSCAF's survey indicated that strong demand for school choice is matched by strong parent interest in learning more about the education options available for their children, with 64% of parents saying they wish they had more information about available learning options and half saying they discussed schooling options with friends and family in the last week or month.

"Parents today have more choices for their children's education today than at any other time in history," Campanella said. "But if parents want to exercise their choices, they need to start the school process this winter, well before the 2024-2025 school year. The best place to start is to identify the goals you have for your child's learning, and then start making a list of the schools in your area."

NSCAF provides the nation's largest, cost-free, comprehensive portfolio of school navigation resources for parents, including state-specific school choice roadmaps and ultimate guides to topics like special education and microschooling, at schoolchoiceweek.com and in English at opcionesescolares.com.

The National School Choice Awareness Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that informs, inspires, and empowers parents to discover and navigate K12 education options for their children. NSCAF organizes high-impact charitable programs, including National School Choice Week and Conoce tus Opciones Escolares, in collaboration with Navigatethe National School Choice Resource Center, which is also a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

SOURCE National School Choice Week
Unmatched and affordable high-precision solution in the region.

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Nordian , an Austin, TX technology company providing advanced GNSS hardware solutions and services for the South American market, and u-blox (SIX:UBXN), a global provider of leading positioning and wireless communication technology and services, announced today the expanded coverage of the PointPerfect Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) correction service to Brazil, a promising market for high-precision GNSS applications.

The collaboration between u-blox and Nordian will facilitate precise positioning for a diverse range of applications, in particular high-precision agriculture, but also service robots, machinery automation, micro- mobility, and emerging automotive applications such as lane-accurate navigation and telematics.

PointPerfect delivers centimeter-level accuracy, achieving convergence in seconds with a 99.9% uptime reliability. The broadcast ensures uniform coverage on a continental scale. PointPerfect's recently announced Localized Distribution feature, which uses 90% less data than typical network RTK (Real Time Kinematic) services, significantly reduces user data costs. The combination of a low-bandwidth data stream and flexible service plans provides better value for businesses today and easy scalability for future needs.

"Nordian boasts unparalleled experience in delivering and supporting advanced, centimeter-level GNSS correction services across South America," states Carlos Agusti, Sales Director at Nordian. "Our collaboration with u-blox further accelerates our commitment to pushing the limits of precise positioning technology in South America." Nordian CEO Michael Schramm adds, "Integrating u-blox's PointPerfect service with Nordian's extensive GNSS reference network and regional expertise provides our customers a level of reliability, quality, and affordability unmatched by any other provider in the region."

"Entering the Brazilian market together with Nordian marks a pivotal expansion into South America and represents another step in our strategy to globalize the PointPerfect service. PointPerfect is the ideal solution to address the need for high-precision GNSS technology in applications such as autonomous farming," explains Ari Kuukka, Principal Product Owner, Product Center Services at u-blox.

About Nordian

Nordian is a global leader in advanced GNSS and AI-enhanced positioning hardware solutions and services. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Nordian owns and operates South America's largest PPP-RTK GNSS reference network, providing reliable, centimeter-level accuracy in seconds for mass market and specialized, high-value applications. ( www.nordian.com )

Nordian media contact:

Nordian Media, [email protected]

About u-blox

u-blox (SIX:UBXN) is a global technology leader in positioning and wireless communication in automotive, industrial, and consumer markets. Their smart and reliable solutions, services and products let people, vehicles, and machines determine their precise position and communicate wirelessly over cellular and short range networks. With a broad portfolio of chips, modules, and secure data services and connectivity, u-blox is uniquely positioned to empower its customers to develop innovative and reliable solutions for the Internet of Things, quickly and cost-effectively. With headquarters in Thalwil, Switzerland, the company is globally present with offices in Europe, Asia, and the USA. ( www.u-blox.com ) Find us on Facebook , LinkedIn , Twitter @ublox , Instagram and YouTube

u-blox media contact:

Natacha Seitz

Senior Manager PR and Content Marketing

Mobile +41 76 436 0788

[email protected]

SOURCE Nordian Inc.
Number of international travelers reached an all-time high

ONTARIO, Calif., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The number of airline passengers who chose Ontario International Airport (ONT) last year surged to more than 6.4 million, an increase of 12% over 2022 and nearly 850,000 more than pre-pandemic 2019, airport authority officials announced.

The Southern California gateway welcomed more than 6 million domestic passengers and 417,000 international travelers in 2023, increases of 8.4% and 113.5%, respectively. The number of international passengers was an all-time high and broke the previous record of 304,000 set in 2019.

Southern California's Ontario International Airport welcomed 6.4 million passengers in 2023, exceeding pre-pandemic levels for the second straight year.

"The year-end numbers demonstrate why ONT is California's favorite airport among airline passengers," said Alan D. Wapner, president of the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA) Board of Commissions and a longtime City of Ontario Council Member. "Since the transfer of the airport to local ownership in 2016, we have been laser-focused on developing an aviation gateway that appeals to Inland Empire residents and Southern California visitors, drives the regional economy and serves as a hub for commerce."

Ontario officials noted the airport's speedy pandemic recovery in highlighting the strong and steady gains of 2023, which led airports throughout California, along with recent population growth that makes the Inland Empire the 12th largest out of 386 Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the U.S., ahead of San Francisco and just behind No. 11 Boston, according to recent U.S. Census data.

For the month of December, passenger volume was equally robust with the total number of travelers surpassing 551,000, an increase of 15.4% over 2022. Domestic and international travel were higher by 11.7% and 88.9%, respectively.

"December was the 34th consecutive month in which ONT posted year-over-year increases," said Atif Elkadi, OIAA chief executive officer. "Moreover, with the continued confidence of our airline partners and the growth in capacity at ONT, the trend is expected to continue in 2024. Ontario's world class facilities, first-rate amenities and services, together with our industry-leading customer experience, appeal to air travelers and our airline partners, and continue to set an example for airports across the region and the country."

Ontario International led all California airports in the prestigious J.D. Power 2023 North America Airport Satisfaction Study which rated airports on six factors (in order of importance): terminal facilities; airport arrival/departure; baggage claim; security check; check-in/baggage check; and food, beverage and retail.

In addition, the surge in international traffic was a significant factor in the decision by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to open a new Global Entry Enrollment Center at ONT's International Terminal in December 2023, allowing travelers across Southern California convenient access to this popular program.

"We are immensely proud of our performance in 2023 and look forward to more good things to come in 2024," Elkadi said.

Passenger Totals Dec 2023 Dec 2022 Change YTD 2023 YTD 2022 Change Domestic 508,002 454,457 11.8 % 6,012,370 5,544,921 8.4 % International 43,159 22,845 88.9 % 417,663 195,672 113.5 % Total 551,161 477,302 15.5 % 6,430,033 5,740,593 12.0 %



Lower air cargo volume in December and for 2023 reflected ongoing global economic trends with total freight volume down 12.5% for the month and 11.8% over the year. According to a recent report by FreightWaves, "most experts think the market won't really begin to recover from the prolonged downturn until the second half of 2024 because of mixed economic conditions."

Air cargo (tonnage) Dec 2023 Dec 2022 Change YTD 2023 YTD 2022 Change Freight 76,673 85,742 -10.6 % 706,402 798,160 -11.5 % Mail 3,101 5,468 -43.3 % 45,796 55,005 -16.7 % Total 79,774 91,210 -12.5 % 752,199 853,165 -11.8 %



"Ontario is at the crossroads of the goods movement industry in California and ONT will always be an attractive destination for shippers and retailers," Elkadi said.

About Ontario International Airport

Ontario International Airport (ONT) is the fastest growing airport in the United States, according to Global Traveler, a leading publication for frequent fliers. Located in the Inland Empire, ONT is approximately 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles in the center of Southern California. It is a full-service airport which offers nonstop commercial jet service to two dozen major airports in the U.S., Mexico, Central America and Taiwan. More information is available at www.flyOntario.com. Follow @flyONT on Facebook, X (formerly) Twitter, and Instagram

About the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA)

The OIAA was formed in August 2012 by a Joint Powers Agreement between the City of Ontario and the County of San Bernardino to provide overall direction for the management, operations, development and marketing of ONT for the benefit of the Southern California economy and the residents of the airport's four-county catchment area. OIAA leaders include Ontario City Council Member Alan D. Wapner (President), Retired Riverside Mayor Ronald O. Loveridge (Vice President), Ontario City Council Member Jim W. Bowman (Secretary), San Bernardino County Supervisor Curt Hagman (Commissioner) and retired business executive Julia Gouw (Commissioner).

OIAA Media Contact:

Steve Lambert (909) 841-7527 [email protected]

SOURCE Ontario International Airport
Bryant honored again for unwavering commitment to business growth and bettering the lives of diverse communities

ATLANTA, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- John Hope Bryant, the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Atlanta-based Operation HOPE, Inc., has earned a spot on the prestigious Georgia Trend 100 Most Influential Georgians List for the second consecutive year. Georgia Trend Magazine acknowledges Bryant's significant contributions to business and his commitment to enhancing the lives of Georgia residents.

John Hope Bryant- Founder, Chairman & CEO of Operation HOPE and Bryant Group Holdings (PRNewsfoto/Operation HOPE, Inc.)

The 2024 Most Influential Georgians List spotlights individuals who lead by example, making positive impacts through business and service. Bryant joins a distinguished group of doctors, educators, politicians, presidents, CEOs, and economic development leaders from across the state.

Bryant, a visionary entrepreneur, is recognized for his leadership in Operation HOPE, a national nonprofit dedicated to financial literacy and economic empowerment for over three decades. Operation HOPE's annual survey, The HOPE Insider, reveals the organization's consistent success in improving credit scores by an average of 41 points and increasing median savings by $800 for more than 3,500 unbanked and underbanked clients.

"I'm grateful that Georgia Trend has not only recognized me, but also the tireless and enthusiastic efforts of the entire Operation HOPE team," said Operation HOPE Chairman, Founder, and CEO. "As we look ahead in 2024, our goal is to continue educating underserved communities on how they can take advantage of free enterprise systems, develop successful small businesses and achieve overall financial wellness."

Bryant is also the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Bryant Group Ventures, and Founder and Principal of The Promise Homes Company, which is the largest minority-controlled owner of single-family rental homes in the United States. Bryant has also served as a member of the President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy under President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. At the recommendation of Mr. Bryant, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew renamed the former U.S. Treasury Annex Building the Freedman's Bank Building.

Georgia Trend's selection of influential leaders, made by its editorial staff, showcases individuals who embody the best of leadership, service, character, and influence across the state.

About Operation HOPE, Inc.

Since 1992, Operation HOPE has been moving America from civil rights to "silver rights" with the mission of making free enterprise and capitalism work for the underserveddisrupting poverty for millions of low and moderate-income youth and adults across the nation. Through its community uplift model, HOPE Inside, which received the 2016 Innovator of the Year recognition by American Banker magazine, Operation HOPE has served more than 4 million individuals and directed more than $3.2 billion in economic activity into disenfranchised communitiesturning check-cashing customers into banking customers, renters into homeowners, small business dreamers into small business owners, minimum wage workers into living wage consumers, and uncertain disaster victims into financially empowered disaster survivors. For more information: www.OperationHOPE.org. Follow the HOPE conversation on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Media Contacts:

Lalohni Campbell, Operation HOPE

404-593-7145

[email protected]

SOURCE Operation HOPE, Inc.
LOS GATOS, Calif., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In a first-in-human study, researchers at Orlucent, Inc. have demonstrated the viability of a novel handheld point-of-care molecular Skin Fluorescence Imaging (mSFI) System to noninvasively identify and clinically assess the presence of biological tissue remodeling activity associated with the development of melanoma in adults. The unveiling of this breakthrough in early skin cancer detection by Orlucent, an emerging medical device company focused on the clinical assessment of suspicious moles, is presented in a peer-reviewed article published in the January 2024 issue of the dermatology journal Pigment Cell and Melanoma Research.

The mSFI technology has the potential to greatly improve the assessment of molesalso known as nevias well as the selection of which nevi are concerning and may be candidates for biopsy. Melanoma, the most lethal form of skin cancer, has long been a challenge to detect accurately, particularly those cases with the potential for aggressive behavior.

With the current standard of care, melanoma is identified in suspicious nevi using subjective visual clinical evaluations, during which the color, shape, and size of nevi are assessed using the ABCDE criteria (asymmetry, border, color, diameter, and evolution). When moles exhibit only one or two of these atypical features, discerning whether they could develop into melanoma becomes arduous. To avoid missing a melanoma, dermatologists rely on "when in doubt, cut it out" to manage moles which do not overtly classify as melanoma or benign -- the "grey area" lesions -- resulting in unnecessary biopsies, scarring and patient anxiety.

Not all moles presenting these atypical criteria are melanomas and, conversely, some melanomas do not present these criteria. The mSFI technology has the potential to reduce unnecessary biopsies of non-concerning moles while also identifying precancerous nevi with this tissue remodeling activity which would otherwise be dismissed as benign.

To validate this approach, researchers in a pilot clinical study examined 78 moles, of which 44 were confirmed by biopsy and histopathology as benign, 26 as atypical or dysplastic, and 8 as melanoma. mSFI separated melanoma from non-melanoma moles with a sensitivity of 100% (8 of the 8 melanomas tested positive) and specificity of 95.7% (67 of the 70 non-melanoma moles tested negative), demonstrating an ability to distinguish concerning from non-concerning moles.

"Incorporating in vivo molecular imaging into clinical management opens new doors to objectively identifying suspicious moles with the potential of becoming melanoma or melanomas with the potential to be aggressive at the earliest stage," said Catherine Shachaf, Ph.D., the corresponding author of the study and president of Orlucent. "Simultaneously, it can also help alleviate the anxiety linked to the uncertainty of conventional highly subjective diagnostic methods."

The inventive mSFI approach utilizes a handheld imager and a specially designed, topically-applied fluorescent molecular peptide that illuminates and measures v3 integrin - a biomarker protein associated with early invasive melanoma development. The integrin is an indicator for the presence of malignant cells and their interaction with the surrounding structural skin tissue during melanoma's early progression. This "tissue remodeling" conveys the expansion of malignant cells into the surrounding tissue space, and the delivery of nourishment and oxygen.

The Orlucent system will be the first to provide clinicians with a noninvasive direct measure of early intra-cellular activity and shows promise to transform the landscape of identifying melanoma at its earliest stage. Accordingly, mSFI recently was recognized by the FDA as innovative medical technology, receiving the agency's Breakthrough Device Designation.

"I am particularly excited about the ability of the Orlucent in vivo molecular Skin Fluorescence Imaging System to assess aspects of stromal tissue remodeling that are invisible to the human eye clinically through direct examination or traditional pathological examination of nevi, enabling the categorization of lesions of concern more accurately at a very early stage at the point of care," said Sancy Leachman M.D., Ph.D., who is Director of the Melanoma Research Program at the Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute and was not involved in the study. "Further, it will diminish the need for unnecessary biopsies of ambiguous or 'grey area' lesions by equipping healthcare professionals with an additional tool to enhance clinical decision-making."

Encouraged by these findings, Orlucent is continuing research of mSFI and is preparing for FDA submission.

The peer-reviewed article in Pigment Cell and Melanoma Research is titled, "Molecular Skin Fluorescence Imaging: A Tool for Evaluating Early Melanoma Development," and can be found at http://doi.org/10.1111/pcmr.13159.



About Orlucent (www.orlucent.com)

Orlucent, Inc. is developing the Orlucent Skin Fluorescence Imaging System, an in vivo molecular imaging system. Between 2% and 53% of the U.S. population have atypical/dysplastic moles suspicious of melanoma and the Orlucent Imaging System was developed in response to dermatology societies' demand for new clinical tools to assist with evaluation of moles where more information is needed to rule out or rule in the potential of the lesion developing into a melanoma. The Orlucent system provides the physician with information on the mole's biological activity as part of their clinical assessment. The first-of-a-kind product uses a topically-applied, small-peptide fluorescent dye and handheld imager to non-invasively detect a biomarker of early tissue changes and to report the level of potential concern for transition to melanoma.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Jeff Christensen

SignalWest Public Relations

Phone: (831) 566-0275

[email protected]

SOURCE Orlucent, Inc.
DALLAS, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In today's world of massive change, one constant is the value of education. Partnership With Native Americans (PWNA) understands that education is a cornerstone of economic mobility  and it's critical for generations of Native youth growing up in remote reservation communities. Education is a way out of poverty, one that influences racial and social equity too.

Partnership With Native Americans

PWNA is excited to announce that Synchrony awarded $100,000 (over two years, 2023 and 2024) to support Indigenous education through its philanthropic program, Education as an Equalizer. Many people believe college is free for Native Americans. Yet, many Native students feel college is not an option due to funding and even internet barriers. Additionally, only 16% of Native Americans hold a college degree. The recent grant will give more Native students access to higher education and their chance at a college degree.

Synchrony first engaged Partnership With Native Americans during the onset of the 2020 pandemic, supporting provisions of food and other essentials to tribes. In 2022, they began supporting Native education and, in 2023, significantly increased their support.

"Everyone at PWNA is sincerely grateful for this recent funding from Synchrony. For every student we award a scholarship, 10 more are awaiting funding," said Joshua Arce, president and CEO of PWNA. "We are proud of Synchrony for investing in Native education to help build a brighter future for the Tribal citizens and families in this country."

Denise Yap, president of the Synchrony Foundation said, "Our Education as an Equalizer program was developed to provide educational opportunities and equity to underserved and sometimes overlooked students. We believe education and skills building can be key for youth seeking a better future for themselves and their families. We're proud to support PWNA."

The funds will be used to provide tuition scholarships, laptops, and backpacks for disadvantaged graduate and undergraduate students. Under this grant, PWNA is already awarding and providing resources through its American Indian Education Fund program. To learn more about PWNA and its diverse services to Indian Country, visit NativePartnership.org.

About Partnership With Native Americans

Partnership With Native Americans is a national, Native-led nonprofit championing hope for a brighter future for those living on remote, geographically isolated reservations. Established in 1990, PWNA collaborates with Tribal programs to address immediate relief and long-term solutions such as education, emergency preparedness, food security, and more. Together with its Tribal partners and supporters, PWNA improves the lives of 250,000 Native Americans annually. Follow PWNA4hope on Facebook, Instagram and X/Twitter, PWNA on LinkedIn, or visit NativePartnership.org.

About Synchrony

Synchrony is a premier consumer financial services company delivering one of the industry's most complete digitally-enabled product suites. Our experience, expertise and scale encompass a broad spectrum of industries, including digital, health and wellness, retail, telecommunications, home, auto, outdoor, pet and more. We have an established and diverse group of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations and healthcare service providers, which we refer to as our "partners." We connect our partners and consumers through our dynamic financial ecosystem and provide them with a diverse set of financing solutions and innovative digital capabilities to address their specific needs and deliver seamless, omnichannel experiences. We offer the right financing products to the right customers in their channel of choice. For more information, visit www.Synchrony.com.

Media Contact:

Helen Oliff

(540) 825-5950 Ext. 205

[email protected]

SOURCE Partnership With Native Americans
SYRACUSE, N.Y., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Massachusetts (MA) Board of Nursing recently revised the Cosmetic and Dermatologic Procedures advisory ruling to codify that APRNs and RNs may perform PDO thread facial procedures, impacting hundreds of aesthetic nurses in the state. PDO Max, along with leading industry medical professionals Dr. Dina BenDavid, DNP, FNP-C, Audrey Rose, NP, and Lobbyists A10 were all an integral part of lobbying for this ruling to be passed. The entire team behind this regulation change applaud the MA Nursing Board for meeting with key stakeholders, changing the policy and seeing the value and skillset that nurses bring to ensuring the safety of PDO thread procedures.

Prior to passing the revision, on January 11, 2024, nurses in the state could not perform PDO thread procedures. Most other states allow nurses to perform the procedures, with proper physician or nurse practitioner oversight. PDO threads are dissolvable sutures made from a synthetic, biodegradable polymer used in aesthetics to stimulate collagen and reposition tissue that has started to sag. PDO thread procedures are a nonsurgical option for patients who desire a quick and less invasive alternative for skin rejuvenation.

Dr. BenDavid and Ms. Rose, aesthetics medical professionals with years of experience, collaborated closely with all stakeholders to support nurses in the state. For the past two years, they spent hours of heavy research and documentation and presented their findings to the MA State Board of Nursing and Medicine and state legislators.

PDO Max's passion for safety and quality patient care, were key drivers for standing behind the knowledge base of nurses in the state and wanted to support Dr. BenDavid and Ms. Rose's efforts. "I believe all qualified providers should be able to practice within their skill level," PDO Max Founder and CEO Giovanna McCarthy says. "As a manufacturer of PDO threads to aesthetic medical providers, I can assure you that licensed nurses are more than capable of performing this procedure and often are some of our best providers," she says with passion. "This is a huge win for the nurses of Massachusetts, and I congratulate them!"

Dr. BenDavid, owner of Divine Beauty on Martha's Vineyard, is not new to fighting for her profession. She fought for full practice authority at the State House since 2011, which was finally achieved a decade later in 2021. "I've always found it important to fight for what is right," Ms. BenDavid says, "and I couldn't be prouder to have helped make this historic change happen."

Ms. Rose, owner of Audrey Rose Institute in Woburn, is a pioneer in breaking down walls for nurses and helping medical professionals transition into the field of medical aesthetics. "This should inspire nurses everywhere that you can make change happen," Ms. Rose says with excitement. "Every time I see a nurse legally perform PDO thread procedures, I can say we contributed and stood up for this change."

About PDO Max

PDO Max, Inc. is headquartered in Liverpool, NY, and is a woman-owned medical device provider for medical aesthetic needs in the U.S. PDO Max is the trusted provider of medical practices utilizing its proprietary FDA-cleared (K190245) Polydioxanone (PDO) threads- in-cannula, topical serums like PDO AfterGlo, and microchannel infuser Glowpin. PDO Max offers hands-on individual instructional courses along with e-Learning courses, which cover the application of PDO thread techniques. For more information regarding PDO Max threads, to place an order, or to schedule a training, please contact PDO Max at 800-670-0225, visit https://www.pdomax.com, or send an e-mail to [email protected].

Media Contact:

Diana Daly

800-670-0225

[email protected]

SOURCE PDO Max, Inc.
PERSUIT launches Rate Review Pro to ensure fair market pricing by centralizing and automating the tedious rate review process, facilitating negotiations at scale and setting a new standard for visibility and governance.

NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- PERSUIT, the market-leading outside counsel engagement platform, today announced the release of a new product: Rate Review Pro. This new offering addresses the significant challenges faced by corporate legal teams in managing law firm rates efficiently at scale, providing a centralized solution for rate negotiations.

With corporate legal teams facing rate hikes from dozens and sometimes hundreds of firms annually, it's difficult to gauge the spend impact of each firm without a way to compare and calculate benchmarks across all of them.

Current methods involve tracking data in spreadsheets and negotiating in email threads that make it difficult for legal departments to track rates and conversations across numerous law firms.

Agreeing to what may seem like a comparable rate increase for one firm could have a substantial financial impact to the business than another.

"There are so many calculations to run firm-by-firm, timekeeper-by-timekeeper, and different ways of slicing the data. It's extremely time-intensive," says David Falstein, VP Product at PERSUIT.

Rate Review Pro allows legal teams to easily capture, store, and compare rate cards from hundreds of law firms side-by-side. Further, by automating critical calculations, such as weighted average increase and total spend impact, Rate Review Pro empowers legal teams to understand where proposed rate hikes will affect them the most, allowing them to negotiate with precision.

"This is about truly understanding the impact of any firm's annual rate increases. You're eliminating countless hours manually compiling all the calculations and benchmarks, and you're preventing potentially millions of dollars in costs by understanding the impact to the business. That's the power of this product," adds Falstein.

Managing rate negotiations is now one of several use cases the PERSUIT platform provides, along with single-matter or portfolio RFPs, secondments, establishing or refreshing a panel, and RFIs.

"Our vision at PERSUIT has been to help corporate legal teams move towards value-based pricing, outcomes, and results with their law firms," says PERSUIT CEO Jim Delkousis.

"As part of that mission, we've expanded into a number of use cases to help our customers streamline their outside counsel management, especially through the use of alternative fee arrangements (AFAs). Since timekeeper rates are often the baseline for calculating any AFA, giving our customers a seamless way to control and manage annual rate hikes was a natural next step with our vision," he adds.

About PERSUIT:

PERSUIT is how in-house legal teams move from hourly billing to value-based pricing, outcomes, and results. Whether you're negotiating annual rate increases or running an RFP for an individual matter, PERSUIT is how the world's leading corporate legal teams engage with law firms. For more information about Rate Review Pro and PERSUIT, please visit www.persuit.com .

Media Contact:

[email protected]

SOURCE PERSUIT
Event to feature many schools, student activities, prizes, and free snacks

SALEM, Ore., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Butterfly or superhero? Enjoy face painting and explore school options at a free school fair celebration at the Salem Convention Center on Saturday, Jan. 20.

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., just in time to register for school next year, Oregon families and students are invited to learn about scholarship opportunities and local education settings, ranging from traditional public and private schools to homeschool communities and tutoring services. While parents ask questions from education providers and pick up applications, kids can enjoy a photo booth, balloon twisters, light refreshments, and face painting.

The fair takes place as National School Choice Week kicks off nationwide, raising awareness about K-12 options of all stripes  from microschooling to making a transfer between public schools. Tens of thousands of celebrations will take place across the country, including 33 school fairs across 26 states. In total, more than 150 events and activities are planned for Oregon.

The Jan. 20 school fair celebration is planned by Education Freedom for Oregon. Event planners say the fair aims to support parents in understanding all of Oregon's education options and to start conversations about expanding public school open enrollment and private school choice in the Beaver State.

"Families know that their children are unique and learn in different ways. This family-friendly event is the perfect opportunity to start a conversation about why Oregon students and families deserve the right to customize the educational options for their children with school choice and open enrollment," said Donna Kreitzberg of Education Freedom for Oregon.

Families can learn more and RSVP for the free event at salemschoolfair.com.

The Salem Convention Center is located at 200 Commercial St. SE.

Education Freedom for Oregon is bringing hope to Oregon K-12 families by ensuring they have the right to choose and customize their children's education.

National School Choice Week (NSCW) informs, inspires, and empowers parents to discover the K-12 education options available for their children, including traditional public, charter, magnet, online, private, and home schooling. Every January, tens of thousands of schools, organizations, and individuals plan unique events and activities to shine a positive spotlight on effective education options in their communities. The Week is a project of the nonpartisan, nonpolitical National School Choice Awareness Foundation.

SOURCE National School Choice Week
TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Merida Aerospace, a Tampa-based aerospace company is preparing a historic leap forward for space exploration and education in Mexico. The project takes inspiration from the renowned U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and aims to position Mexico as a key player in the expanding space economy.

*Illustrative image of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, United States

The National Rocket and Space Center will be a multifaceted facility, featuring cutting-edge amenities such as a museum, observatory, and immersive experiences for the public. It will also house space camps designed to provide hands-on training for students and individuals interested in space operations. However, the center's significance goes beyond education and public engagementit will serve as an active hub for the development and innovation of astronautical technology through dedicated laboratories.

One of the key objectives of this initiative is to address the absence of a dedicated platform for aerospace engineering studies in the field of astronautics in Mexico. By offering state-of-the-art facilities and educational programs, Merida Aerospace aims to encourage engineers to excel in the space industry, fostering the development of world-class projects. The scope of these projects spans various aspects of the space industry, including launch rockets, propulsion systems, satellite systems, planetary exploration rovers, and robotic systems.

The introduction of specialized curricula in collaboration with local universities is a crucial component of the project. This partnership seeks to cultivate a new generation of astronautical engineers, equipping them with the skills required for space exploration and the development of advanced technologies. The goal is to create a talent pool capable of contributing to the growth of the space industry in Mexico.

The economic implications of the National Rocket and Space Center are significant. The project is expected to generate new employment opportunities for thousands of Mexicans, who can receive specialized training in astronautics from Mexican universities. Moreover, it is poised to attract substantial investments from aerospace companies, particularly in the field of space exploration. Merida Aerospace's planned collaboration with the Mexican Space Agency (AEM) and its intention to establish connections with NASA further underscore Mexico's commitment to becoming a prominent player in the global space community.

The timing of this initiative aligns with optimistic projections for the space economy. Financial institutions, including Bank of America, anticipate a remarkable growth of 230% in the space economy by 2030. This projection positions the space industry to rival and even surpass the entire global tourism industry in the coming years. Merida Aerospace, recognizing this potential, aims to fill a crucial gap in Mexico's educational and research infrastructure, contributing to the nation's competitiveness in the emerging space sector.

As Merida Aerospace embarks on this groundbreaking journey, it extends an invitation to educators, enthusiasts, and space aficionados to participate in shaping the future of space exploration and education in Mexico. This collaborative effort represents a significant opportunity to propel the nation to new heights, fostering innovation, education, and international collaboration.

For media inquiries related to the National Rocket and Space Center project, interested parties can contact Merida Aerospace Mexico office at +52 999 282 9050 or email [email protected].

About Merida Aerospace:

Merida Aerospace is a comprehensive aerospace company offering a range of space products and services. From rockets and satellite manufacturing to data management and planetary rovers, the company provides end-to-end space solutions. With a focus on cost efficiency, shortened production timelines, and elevated construction quality, Merida Aerospace envisions standing out as a global leader in engineering and space products, shaping the future of space technology.

Media Contact:

Carlos Martin

813-408-3264

[email protected]

SOURCE Merida Aerospace
NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomi, a global leader in the tomato industry, proudly announces a comprehensive brand refresh, and the introduction of its innovative with a bold all red new look. This dual initiative showcases Pomi's commitment to environmental stewardship and aligns with contemporary branding trends.

A Bold New Look

Pomi Unveils Unified Visual Identity and Eco-Friendly Packaging in Global Refresh

The brand refresh unifies Pomi's visual identity worldwide while retaining its signature red and white colors. The new wordmark abandons the green leaf accent and the drop shadow, transitioning to a sleek, flat design that resonates with modern branding trends. The font evolves into a bolder, wider serif typeface with uniform thickness, enhancing legibility and presenting a more grounded presence. Simplified to a single bold red hue, the color palette offers stark contrast, emphasizing the brand name without additional graphic elements. This stripped-back approach signifies Pomi's confidence and versatility across digital and physical mediums.

Fabrizio Fichera, Global Director of Marketing and Business Development of Casalasco and Pomi, underlines: "Following the successful launch of Pomi's new visual identity in Italy and Europe in 2023, we feel it's the right moment to bring a unified identity for Pomi" to provide a consistent consumer experience worldwide, attract a younger audience, and engage them in our commitment to a sustainable future." The redesign projects strength, youthfulness, and clarity, ensuring Pomi cuts through the noise as an iconic Italian tomato brand.

Innovative Design Meets Sustainability

Aligned with its refreshed brand identity, Pomi is transforming its packaging design, adopting a modern and environmentally friendly approach. The brand introduces two innovative packaging options: the Signature Full Barrier pack designed for SIG Combibloc carton boxes, and a sustainable, Plant-Based package made for Tetra Pak selections. This initiative reflects Pomi's commitment to sleek aesthetics and reduced environmental impact. Both are designed with sustainability at their core, utilizing reduced polymer content and sugarcane-based materials, signifying a significant advancement in packaging sustainability. The vibrant, all-red design catches the eye on store shelves, while the packaging itself is a testament to Pomi's dedication to the environment. Each box, with Pomi's bold new logo alongside imagery of fresh, perfectly ripe Italian tomatoes, resonates with consumers who prioritize both quality and sustainability. The packaging design honors the authenticity and traceability of the ingredients, emphasizing Pomi's rich Italian heritage and the exceptional quality of the product, all while affirming a modern commitment to environmental responsibility.

Meeting Consumer Expectations

Today's consumers actively seek products that align with their environmental values. This shift is significant, with 57% of consumers willing to change their shopping habits to reduce environmental impact1. Furthermore, 77% consider the sustainability and environmental responsibility of products as important 2. Pomi's new packaging options directly address these preferences, combining the highest quality with environmental responsibility. "Our goal is to lead the tomato industry in eco-friendly packaging, reducing environmental impact while maintaining the quality our customers expect," said Cristiano Villani, CEO at Pomi USA. This is a shared vision for a greener future, aligning perfectly with the current consumer ethos. This initiative resonates with environmentally conscious consumers, offering them a product that is not only of the highest quality but also kind to the planet.

An Industry Game-Changer

Pomi's commitment to sustainability, is propelling the brand to the forefront of the food industry's environmental efforts. Pomi's new eco-friendly packaging now dressed in an all-red, will be available at major grocery retailers and specialty grocery stores across the US and will continue throughout early 2024. To learn more about Pomi's products and sustainability initiatives, visit Pomi USA. To learn more about Pomi's products visit https://www.pomi.us.com

About Pomi

Since 1982, Pomi has stood as a beacon of Italian excellence, offering the original all-Italian tomatoes in a box. Each Pomi tomato springs from the fertile Italian earth, tended by farmers whose families have cherished these lands for centuries. Our 'pomodoro'the Italian word for tomatois not only a staple of culinary delight but also a symbol of our dedication to heritage and sustainability. As a brand owned by the very stewards of our tradition, we carry forward a legacy of quality with every box, sharing Italy's true tomato flavors with the world. For a taste of our story and to join our community, visit us at www.pomi.us.com and connect with us on LinkedIn , Instagram , Facebook and Tiktok .

, "Meet the 2020 Consumers Driving Change  Why Brands Must Deliver on Omnipresence, Agility and Sustainability," "The growing consumer demand for sustainable products." McKinsey & Company.

SOURCE Pomi USA
SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- PRE Security, the world's first company specializing in predictive AI cybersecurity, has successfully closed an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round. This achievement validates the company's ambition to advance cybersecurity beyond the traditional, reactive Detect & Respond models, enabling a more proactive Predict & Prevent approach. This new method leverages the latest advances in predictive and generative AI.

Built By The Channel

In a novel approach, PRE Security's pre-seed round was led by investments from strategic global channel reseller and distribution partners, along with selected angel investors. "I've always looked for ways to show partners my appreciation for the work they do in helping to grow a new company," said Paul Jespersen, CEO and Co-Founder of PRE Security, "This opportunity allows partners to participate from the very beginning and gain financially from our joint success while helping to shape our solutions for their markets from the outset as owners."

"We are excited to get in at the earliest stage of a new technology trend with predictive AI cybersecurity and I am thrilled to be one of the founding partners as well as an investor" said Nam Nguyen Thac, CEO of Nessar Technologies, a leading cybersecurity reseller based in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Due to the strong interest in this "Built By The Channel" offering, PRE Security currently plans to invite select additional partners in a limited, phase 2 of the round before seeking venture funding.

Founding Team

PRE Security is led by co-founders Paul Jespersen, as CEO, and John Peterson, as CTO. Paul and John have worked together multiple times over their careers, starting at US Robotics and Cisco Systems. Since then, they have contributed significantly to a variety of networking and cybersecurity startups leading to 9 acquisitions and 5 IPOs. Their collective startup experience includes roles at NetScreen, Barracuda, Ocular Networks, Zscaler, Comodo, Lastline, and Stellar Cyber, among others. John was most recently Chief Product Officer at zero-trust cybersecurity company Ericom, which was acquired by Ericsson early last year, while Paul was VP Global Sales at Sandfly Security before starting PRE Security.

PRE Security also announced today the addition of Molly Mae Potter, VP, Greenlake Security, Risk, and Compliance at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE,) and a US Air Force veteran to its Board of Directors. "The vision of predicting cyber incidents before they happen, allowing a company to preempt or even prevent attacks is something all enterprises would benefit from, especially in our current compliance environment. I am excited about serving on the PRE Security board" said Potter, who previously also held leadership positions in Security Governance and Oversight, Business Operations, and Strategy at Dell Technologies in Austin, Texas.

PREdictive Vision

For the past decade in cybersecurity vendors have been focused on improving various Detect & Respond (DR) solutions, such as EDR, CDR, NDR, MDR, and XDR. While most vendors and service providers are focused on trying to reduce the Mean Time To Detect or Respond (MTTD/R) towards zero, PRE Security asked instead "Why wait for the attack before alerting at all? Why not predict it before it needs to be detected?"

PRE Security's solutions, built on patent pending AI and ML techniques and a Predictive Risk Engine, are designed to work with and enhance existing SOC solutions including major SIEM, XDR, SOAR, Vulnerability Management, Attack Surface Management, and Security Risk vendors. This gives organizations a greater understanding of their cyber risk and what they can proactively do to improve and protect their operations, ensure their compliance, and reduce their risk through predictive guidance.

About PRE Security

PRE Security is a pioneering predictive AI cybersecurity company with a comprehensive vision of making Predict & Prevent as prevalent as Detect & Respond is today, using the latest advances in predictive analysis and generative AI. PRE Security Inc was founded in 2023 with offices in San Jose, California, and Salt Lake City, Utah. PRE Security is "Built By The Channel" and will be bringing its solutions to market globally with our partners later in 2024. Learn more at www.presecurity.ai.

Contact:

Paul Jespersen

408-218-9668

[email protected]

SOURCE PRE Security
For the second consecutive year, RDA has been awarded the highest honor in Customer Satisfaction for technology consulting services.

HUNT VALLEY, Md., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- RDA, a boutique provider of business and technology services, is proud to have received its second Digital Clarity Group (DCG) VOCalis Award, the only Voice of Customer award for agencies and consultancies in the marketing technology industry.

VOCalis is DCG's Voice of the Customer assessment program that uses customer feedback to bring transparency to the performance of digital agencies, consultancies, and integrators when implementing or servicing marketing technology solutions. "We are delighted, once again, to present the VOCalis Award to RDA. RDA's continued investments into understanding their clients' needs are represented in the data and feedback we have received. Based on their ratings, this award distinguishes RDA as an exceptional provider of marketing technology services according to its clients," said Digital Clarity Group CEO Scott Liewehr.

"Being recognized for providing top-rated services to our clients and helping create the business outcomes they desire is such validation for our team members. We put our clients' best interests and priorities first and always keep them squarely in focus. To our clients, partners, and employees, thank you for entrusting RDA with your vision and enabling us to deliver on your most critical digital initiatives", said Matt Forsyth, RDA's President & Chief Executive Officer.

Businesses today are looking for dependable partners that understand their needs and can help them to build a roadmap for ongoing digital success. Whether it is personalized digital experiences, new commerce channels, application modernization or AI, businesses are seeking trusted partners to design solutions that align to their business goals and objectives.

When it comes to building a strategy, designing intuitive interfaces, and integrating complex cloud applications, RDA delivers. RDA has a long history of successfully working side-by-side with their clients to identify new and effective ways to grow their businesses. As technology continues to evolve and adapt, RDA remains at the forefront of driving innovation with their clients.

"The most important thing we can do as a company is to listen closely to our clients, partners and employees and consistently make improvements. We are very grateful for this award and will continue to build our strategy and delivery capabilities around these insights," said Chad Solomonson, RDA's Chief Customer Officer.

About RDA

RDA is an award-winning digital consultancy on a mission to build solutions that make a difference. Supported by leading technology partnerships, our digital strategists, industry experts, architects and engineers enable businesses to dream boldly and innovate fearlessly to deliver value. We're honored to be consistently recognized as a Certified Great Place to Work and are committed to being our clients' most trusted advisor. Visit us at www.rdacorp.com

About Digital Clarity Group

Digital Clarity Group is a research and advisory firm that helps organizations deliver world-class customer experience through partnerships with best-fit technology vendors and digital partners. We enable client success by bringing unprecedented transparency to selecting, engaging, and optimizing relationships with digital partners and technology vendors. Our guidance draws on our proprietary data about agency and integrator partner performance, on our deep experience with vendor and digital partner selections, and on our roles as industry analysts covering technologies for managing customer experiences. Our promise to our clients is confidence  confidence that they are choosing the best-fit partners for business transformation.

SOURCE RDA
MONTREAL, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is pleased to announce that Esteban Escamilla Prado, PhD, research professor at the Eastern University Regional Center (CRUO) of Chapingo Autonomous University (UACh) in Huatusco, Veracruz, has been named the new chair of the CEC's Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) for 2024.

Esteban Escamilla Prado, PhD, research professor at the Eastern University Regional Center (CRUO) of Chapingo Autonomous University (UACh) in Huatusco, Veracruz, has been named the new chair of the CECs Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) 2024. (CNW Group/Commission for Environmental Cooperation)

Esteban Escamilla Prado is an agricultural engineer with an MA and PhD in tropical agroecosystems from the UACh College of Postgraduates. His doctoral dissertation centered on the study of organic coffee quality in Mexico and he is currently the research director at the National Center for Coffee Research, Innovation and Technological Development (Cenacafe).

"I have had the fortune of working with Esteban this past year on JPAC initiatives. He brings to JPAC a wealth of policy experience, as well as private sector and academic leadership and I am thrilled to continue working alongside him in his new role as JPAC chair for 2024," said Jorge Daniel Taillant, CEC Executive Director. "Previous to his appointment to JPAC, Esteban has worked closely with the CEC on multiple sustainability issues and on traditional ecological knowledge across Mexico and North America. He has been a leading voice among his JPAC colleagues, helping JPAC, the CEC, and its various committees, coordinate North American action on environmental protection. He brings welcome energy to the CEC, to his peers and to his colleagues, through many JPAC and other CEC initiatives. Following the outgoing JPAC chair, Octaviana Trujillo, I am confident that Esteban will continue to expand the constructive JPAC outreach and engagement that we have recently observed with the Traditional Ecological Knowledge Expert Group. I wish Esteban well and much success as the CEC's new JPAC chair."

Aside from his research and teaching responsibilities, Escamilla Prado dedicates part of his time to training and outreach work by offering certificate programs on comprehensive sustainable coffee cultivation, organic agriculture, biodiversity, sustainable land use and agroforestry. Throughout his professional career, he has participated in diverse activities related to comprehensive sustainable coffee cultivation in Mexico and various coffee-producing countries in Central and South America, with a focus on training and advising small-scale and Indigenous producer cooperatives. Since 2019, he has also been active in sustainable community programs focused on environmental recovery, led by Mexico's Ministry of Social Welfare. He is currently participating in an international research program, conducted under the aegis of the World Coffee Research organization, on the genetic improvement of coffee varieties in Mexico and other countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, aimed at making them more resilient to climate change.

"This year, in which the CEC celebrates its 30th anniversary, we have a great opportunity to strengthen North American integration and environmental cooperation while caring for its invaluable biocultural heritage through the promotion of climate justice, social inclusion and sustainable trade. In this sense, Canada, Mexico and the United States have the opportunity to promote a sustainable, supportive and resilient agri-food sector," said Escamilla Prado.

As an organic coffee producer himself, he is a founding member of the "Catuai Amarillo" cooperative and the Federation of High Mountains Specialty Coffees (Incafesam), social enterprises that export organic coffee to the United States and Europe. Moreover, he is a member and the current president of the Steering Committee of the Mexican Certification Authority for Ecological Products and Processes (Certimex).

For more information about the CEC's Joint Public Advisory Committee, visit www.cec.org/jpac. To receive updates about CEC initiatives and news, sign up for our newsletter and follow us on social media.

About the CEC

The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) was established in 1994 by the governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States through the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, a parallel environmental agreement to NAFTA. As of 2020, the CEC is recognized and maintained by the Environmental Cooperation Agreement parallel to the new Free Trade Agreement of North America. The CEC brings together a wide range of stakeholders, including the general public, Indigenous People, youth, nongovernmental organizations, academia, and the business sector, to seek solutions to protect North America's shared environment while supporting sustainable development for the benefit of present and future generations. Find out more at: www.cec.org.

The CEC is governed and funded equally by the Government of Canada through Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Government of the United States of Mexico through the Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, and the Government of the United States of America through the Environmental Protection Agency.

SOURCE Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Rheem Contractor App Wins the "Connected Home Innovation of the Year" IoT Breakthrough Award and Rheem Commercial HVAC Resolute 30 ton G/E and A/C Unit and Rheem Residential Endeavor Line Prestige Series RP18AZ Heat Pump Honored by Good Design

ATLANTA, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Rheem , a leading global manufacturer of water heating and HVACR products, today announced several award wins, IoT Breakthrough Awards and Good Design, recognizing products within its Air Conditioning Division to kickoff 2024. Rheem's Contractor App was selected as the winner of the "Connected Home Innovation of the Year" award in the 8th annual IoT Breakthrough Awards. Both the Rheem Resolute 30 ton G/E and A/C and the Rheem Endeavor Line Prestige Series RP18AZ Heat Pump earned recognition in Good Design's Building Materials 2023 category which was announced at the end of December.

"Rheem is energized and excited to begin 2024 with three award wins for its Air Conditioning Division," said Randy Roberts, vice president of residential business development, Rheem AC Division. "Innovation is paramount at Rheem, and our Air engineers strive to create a tailored approach with our products to directly address the unique needs of our users."

IoT Breakthrough Awards

IoT Breakthrough Awards program recognizes the top companies, technologies and products in the global Internet-of-Things (IoT) market. The Rheem Contractor App is a comprehensive, game-changing solution designed specifically for Rheem contractors and plumbers. Utilizing Bluetooth and a suite of specialized features, it enables contractor professionals to gain access to resources that simplify their work, including product information and learning resources to help them make informed decisions regarding equipment replacement and repair. By integrating Bluetooth technology into Rheem's equipment setup and troubleshooting process, ultimate convenience for contractors is ensured.

Good Design Awards

The Good Design Awards were created more than 75 years ago to generate awareness about contemporary design and honor the most cutting-edge products in design and manufacturing around the world. Each winning entry has set new direction for innovation and pushed the envelope for competitive products in the world marketplace.

Designed for today's demanding commercial applications and the ever-changing preferences of diverse customers, the Rheem Resolute 30 ton G/E and A/C are the industry's first 30 ton packaged systems with standard field-convertible airflow and single-zone and multi-zone Variable Air Volume (VAV), and the smallest and lightest 30 ton packaged units available in the industry. Built on nearly a century of engineering HVAC innovation, Resolute 30 ton units offer numerous benefits for commercial and industrial cooling applications, higher efficiencies, thoughtful serviceability features that result in material advantages for contractors and building owners, and better occupant comfort through zoning capabilities.

"We pride ourselves in delivering practical, innovative products that improve the lives of our customers every day," said Farooq Mohammad, vice president of commercial business, Rheem. "Rheem Resolute 30 ton is the result of our design process that focuses on product excellence, ease-of-use, and sustainability and we are honored to be recognized again with this Good Design award."

Backed by patented industry-first features and a 360+1 design, Rheem Endeavor Line Prestige Series iM Heat Pump (RP18AZ) makes for a versatile solution for every home. Offering precise temperature control to meet ever-changing heating and cooling needs, and boasting high efficiency, RP18AZ was designed by Rheem engineers and designers in response to updated Department of Energy efficiency regulations that took effect in 2023. Furthermore, this unit is ENERGY STAR certified (up to 20 SEER2 / 12.5 EER2 / 8.5 HSPF2).

Additional information on IoT Breakthrough and a complete list of winners can be found here and further details on Good Design are available here.

About Rheem

Founded in 1925, Rheem Manufacturing is a global leader committed to delivering innovative products that save energy and support a more sustainable future. Rheem is the only manufacturer in the world that produces heating, cooling, water heating, pool & spa heating and commercial refrigeration products, and is America's #1 water-heating brand with products available in more than 80 countries. Paloma Co., Ltd. of Nagoya, Japan, acquired the iconic Rheem brand in 1988, and today the company's portfolio of premium brands include Rheem, Ruud, Friedrich, Raypak, Sure Comfort, WeatherKing, Eemax, Richmond, IBC, Intergas, Splendid, Solahart, EverHot, and MHG, as well as commercial refrigeration brands Russell, Witt, ColdZone and Kramer, which are part of the Heat Transfer Products Group (HTPG) division.

About IoT Breakthrough

Part of the Tech Breakthrough , a leading market intelligence and recognition platform for global technology innovation and leadership, the IoT Breakthrough Awards program is devoted to honoring excellence in Internet-of-Things technologies, services, companies and products. The IoT Breakthrough Awards program provides a forum for public recognition around the achievements of IoT companies and products in categories including Connected Home and Home Automation, Connected Car, Industrial IoT (IIoT) and Smart City, Consumer IoT and more. For more information visit IoTBreakthrough.com .

About Good Design

For more than seven decades since its inception, The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and Metropolitan Arts Press Ltd. present the Museum's annual Good Design Awards Program for the most innovative and cutting-edge industrial, product, and graphic designs produced around the world. The Chicago Athenaeum continues the organization of the program to create an awareness about contemporary design and to honor both products and industry leaders in design and manufacturing that have chartered new directions for innovation and pushed the envelope for competitive products in the world marketplace. Good Design was founded in Chicago in 1950 by Edgar Kaufmann, Jr., Eero Saarinen, and Charles and Ray Eames. Mort Goldsholl also created the iconic Good Design logo in 1950.

SOURCE Rheem
The $50 Study is a first of its kind study to measure the impact of direct, unconditional, cash transfers on teens.

NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The $50 Study was named a grant recipient from the City of New Orleans as part of their Economic Mobility in Motion Initiative. Rooted School Foundation (RSF) will receive $1 million to facilitate a multi-year study in which 800+ high school seniors in New Orleans will receive $50 a week for 40 weeks. The impact of these cash transfers will be studied during students' senior year of high school, and for the two years following graduation. This is the first, largest, and most rigorous study of its kind in the world exploring the long-term impact of providing direct cash to teenagers.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell holds a press conference Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)Staff Photo by Sophia Germer

"The programs selected for the Economic Mobility in Motion program truly meet our people where they are and propel them forward, along with their families. We are investing our ARPA dollars to support thousands of New Orleanians who need it most, setting them up for success through improving their financial literacy, career opportunities and overall economic prospects. The selected programs represent a variety of initiatives that are making a real difference for our people, and I express my gratitude to them for ensuring no one is left behind as we move New Orleans forward," said New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

This iteration of the study builds on a multi-year Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) facilitated by Rooted School Foundation in which 156 students across multiple grade levels were given $50/week for 40 weeks. Outcomes from the RCT are directionally promising and suggest that direct cash transfers have positive effects on students' well-being, financial literacy and capability, and academic performance. This study will contribute further to the body of research surrounding direct cash transfers by exploring the impact on postsecondary outcomes (e.g., college enrollment and persistence, employment).

"Improving upward economic mobility in New Orleans, or any city, starts by giving students experience with an income. A $50 a week investment is leading young people to think about their lives differently, to invest in themselves and recognize what is worth  or isn't worth  their time. The early outcomes we're seeing are leading to life lessons that can lead to youth earning more than their parents," said Jonathan Johnson, Founder and CEO of RSF who also works with the Guaranteed Income & Health Consortium at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Rooted Schools Foundation has already seen the impacts of $50 firsthand.

"When I think about the way The $50 Study has changed our student's lives-- by a mere $50 a week!-- I'm floored by what is possible. Whether it is starting a screen-printing business, investing in bitcoin, paying a family light bill, buying a special meal, being able to afford gas for a first car, not having to bother a hard-working parent about the cost of a new pair of shoes, or even just saving every penny for a future aspiration... our young people are exceptionally thoughtful about their money. And not just about spending it. They're deeply introspective about the habits that they are building, and the implications those habits will have on their futures. This experience is one of the best gifts we could ever give young people-- practice and experience in how to manage their money, and ultimately, build wealth. I cannot imagine a better opportunity for our youth," said Kaitlin Karpinski, Executive Director, Rooted School New Orleans.

About The $50 Study

The $50 Study investigates the impact of direct, unconditional cash transfers on reducing financial hardship, enhancing financial capability, and promoting upward economic mobility, as well as the impact on students' academic achievement and post-secondary outcomes. Participating students will receive $50 a week for 40 weeks during the 2024 - 2025 school year. The aforementioned outcomes will be measured during students' senior year of high school, and for the two years following their graduation.

"The '$50 Study' is an innovative tool to expand opportunity for students in New Orleans. Early results have shown that test scores, school attendance, and financial literacy increase for participants. I'm grateful that the City of New Orleans is investing $1 million in seed funding for this initiative to expand it to even more students, and I'm excited to see the results," said Olin Parker, Orleans Parish School Board President & Member, District 3.

During the 2024 - 2025 school year, approximately 1,600 12th grade students from New Orleans high schools will be randomly assigned to one of two groups, one that will receive $50/week unconditionally from 40 weeks (treatment group, ~800 students), and a control group that will not receive cash transfers. The study will collect quantitative and qualitative data for both groups through recipient surveys, transaction data, academic data, and interviews.

"Rooted School's $50 Study program suggests that direct cash transfers have a meaningful impact on students while they are in school. This groundbreaking study, which will examine the impact on high school seniors as they graduate and engage in post-secondary opportunities, will provide new insight into how cash may support young adults in the immediate moment and set them up for success in the long term," said Stacia West, MSSW, PhD, Director, Center for Guaranteed Income Research, University of Pennsylvania, Associate Professor, University of Tennessee College of Social Work

City of New Orleans Office of Economic Mobility

"The mission of the Office of Economic Development is to encourage inclusive economic growth and economic mobility by creating new jobs, revitalizing neighborhoods, investing in people and in priority industries, and creating systems to thrive. We envision a vibrant, equitable, and inclusive city where all New Orleanians  at every stage of their lives and in every neighborhood - enjoy access to economic opportunity, quality jobs, and a high quality of life for themselves and their families." The Economic Mobility in Motion: Moving New Orleanians Forward is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Rooted School Foundation will publish a mid-study report in Spring 2025. Additional storytelling efforts throughout the grant period, including a podcast led by students (Rooted Cash Podcast). Additional study updates are shared via Instagram (@the50dollarstudy); questions can be directed to [email protected]. Go to the50dollarstudy.org for more information on how to get involved.



SOURCE Rooted School Foundation
NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science will help meet a critical need for certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) in Colorado through its Doctor of Nursing Practice in Nurse Anesthesia program  the first program authorized by the Colorado Department for Higher Education to offer classroom, simulation and clinical nurse anesthesia training in the state.

CRNAs are advanced practice nurses who are board certified to administer every type of anesthesia in all healthcare settings. Numerous studies show that CRNAs create value by providing safe, high quality anesthesia care.

Rosalind Franklin University helps meet a critical need for certified registered nurse anesthetists in Colorado. Post this

Colorado faces an anticipated shortage of 10,000 registered nurses by 2026, according to a 2021 analysis by the consulting firm Mercer. Population growth in the state, an aging demographic and increased demand for surgical care are driving the need for CRNAs.

"RFU is expanding access to education and training for the diverse, highly skilled nursing workforce our nation needs," said RFU College of Nursing Dean Sandra Larson, CRNA, PhD. "By taking the educational experience to the nurses in Colorado, we enhance the likelihood they will stay in Colorado following graduation, working at sites where they trained."

The program taps into a subset of nurses who have a minimum of one-year of critical care experience. Classroom and simulation space is provided by University of Colorado at Colorado Springs .

"Colorado-based RFU students stay connected to their North Chicago classmates throughout the didactic phase," said Lori Anderson, CRNA, DNP, director of the Nurse Anesthesia Program. "They then engage in full-time residency training, rotating through seven clinical sites throughout Colorado  and we plan to add more."

"Our residents are exposed to many different anesthesia delivery models and complexity of cases," said Jennifer Greenwood, CRNA, PhD, associate professor of nurse anesthesia. "They experience different team dynamics, develop critical thinking and communication skills, and work as part of interprofessional teams."

RFU's innovative CRNA curriculum includes a focus on regional anesthesia, point-of-care ultrasound and advanced airway management. One of the keys to the program's success is the ongoing clinical practice of its faculty. The program is also aligned with nationally recognized organizations committed to increasing diversity in the profession.

The next application cycle for the Doctor of Nursing Practice-Nurse Anesthesia program begins in August 2024.

More about Rosalind Franklin University

RFU encompasses six colleges and more than 10 research centers and institutes. Learn more at rosalindfranklin.edu .

Contact info:

Office of Marketing and Communications

[email protected]

SOURCE Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
STOCKHOLM, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Safe Life, a Stockholm-based company with portfolio companies across Europe and North America, has expanded its reach in North America by acquiring AED4Life. This milestone builds upon the successful integrations of numerous acquisitions throughout North America, further establishing Safe Life's position to revolutionize the global defibrillation industry.

"We are excited to welcome AED4Life to Safe Life," states Jimmy Eriksson, Safe Life CEO. "The acquisition aligns seamlessly with Safe Life's commitment to bolstering our market presence and enhancing our ability to deliver life-saving technology to our customers worldwide."

AED4Life has been a leader in the Canadian market. Russ and Lori King share their excitement about joining forces with Safe Life: "We are looking forward to partnering with the global leaders. Safe Life will further our mission of delivering life-saving equipment and saving more lives in Canada."

Matthew Spencer, Director of Safe Life North America expressed his appreciation. "AED4Life has been an industry leader and holds significant market share in Canada. We are excited to gain the expertise, leadership, and knowledge that Russ and Lori King bring to the Safe Life family of brands."

By uniting the strengths of Safe Life and its subsidiaries, the company has created powerful alliances, raising the bar for creativity and customer care. Which will contribute to creating safer communities through improving access to essential life-saving devices. Collectively, Safe Life has placed over 500,000 AEDs (Automated External Defibrillator) in the US, Canada, and Europe as the group continues to position itself as the leading AED provider in Europe and North America.

About Safe Life

Founded in 2019, Safe Life is a group of companies focusing on providing life-saving equipment and related training. With a core business in AEDs, Safe Life has acquired numerous companies across Europe and North America since its inception.

CONTACT: Jenna Alvich, [email protected]

SOURCE Safe Life
500+ to attend celebration of all school types

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Public, private, and online school students will unite at the Missouri Capitol next week for a joy-filled celebration of their common goal: putting kids' educational needs first. "The Impact of Options - Celebrating All Missouri Schools" will take place Wednesday, Jan. 24 from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Capitol Rotunda.

The upbeat celebration will feature student dance, band, and choir performances from private and charter students hailing from Kansas City, St. Louis, Lee's Summit, and St. Joseph. After showcasing their skills, students and their families will have a chance to share their school choice stories with legislators.

More than 500 participants are expected to attend the high-energy celebration. The event is timed to coincide with National School School Choice Week 2024, a week of festivities to celebrate learning and spread gratitude for K-12 education options.

While recent years featured multiple smaller events in Missouri during School Choice Week, this year's celebration is a larger, unified effort by a group of education organizations, including Children's Education Alliance of Missouri, Missouri Charter Public Schools Association, Show Me KC Schools, Outreach Christian Education, ActivateSTL, Quality Schools Coalition, and Public School Options.

Organizers hope that the inclusive celebration helps parents feel supported in exploring their learning options, and students feeling proud of their school choice, whatever it may be.

"Bringing together a diverse group of schools and students from across the state for this celebration is exactly what school choice week is about. The event will celebrate the choices families have made in Missouri to find the right fit for their children. And more than that, the day is a firsthand civics lesson for students who will meet their elected representatives and get a look at how laws are made," said Peter Franzen, associate executive director of Children's Education Alliance of Missouri.

In addition to this event, nearly 400 events and activities will take place in Missouri to celebrate School Choice Week, including a homeschool expo in St. Louis and school spirit weeks across the state. To mark the Week, Gov. Mike Parson recently issued a proclamation officially recognizing Jan. 21-27, 2024 as "Missouri School Choice Week."

The Missouri State Capitol is located at 201 W. Capitol Ave.

This celebration is open to the press and the public.

National School Choice Week (NSCW) informs, inspires, and empowers parents to discover the K-12 education options available for their children, including traditional public, charter, magnet, online, private, and homeschooling. Every January, tens of thousands of schools, organizations, and individuals plan unique events and activities to shine a positive spotlight on effective education options in their communities. The Week is a project of the nonpartisan, nonpolitical National School Choice Awareness Foundation.

SOURCE National School Choice Week
ShapeBlue, the CloudStack company, announces a strategic partnership with DIMSI to deliver private cloud services in France, aimed at meeting growing demand in the region.

LONDON, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ShapeBlue, a global leader in delivering CloudStack engineering services and support, is announcing a strategic partnership with DIMSI, a pioneer in delivering innovative cloud services and support in France. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in advancing cloud infrastructure solutions and support for organizations in the region, implementing Apache CloudStack as their IaaS cloud computing platform.

Both companies recognize the significant benefits enterprises can achieve with cloud repatriation and managing their own infrastructure. Building an on-premise cloud environment, guarantees better control over costs in the long term, improved security, an option to maximize your hardware investments, and ensures compliance with national regulations. Orchestrating the IT environment with Apache CloudStack - a proven and powerful open-source solution enables companies to achieve simplicity, and flexibility and utilize the existing IT environment in the best way.

Giles Sirett, CEO of ShapeBlue commented: "We are delighted to be partnering with DIMSI to address the needs of the French market. We have a global footprint as a business, with customers in 19 different countries, but France has remained a challenge to us to date. DIMSI bring local expertise and experience with dealing with a range of procurement models.

We are seeing globally increased demand for our CloudStack-related services: driven by the desire of organisations to repatriate cloud workloads and changes in the virtualisation market. By partnering with DIMSI we aim to repeat the success that we have seen in other markets."

DIMSI and ShapeBlue recognize the rising need for companies building private clouds to have a reliable partner, with proven expertise in building and managing IaaS with Apache CloudStack. They join forces to help companies in France harness the potential of open-source technology backed up by reliable support. While DIMSI brings their expertise in implementing private cloud solutions, ShapeBlue puts on top unbeatable experience with Apache CloudStack, cloud architecture and software engineering and software development services to develop features and integrations for Apache CloudStack.

"For the past eight years, we've had the privilege of collaborating with Shapeblue. I confidently place our trust in Giles, Steve, and their team as we embark on implementing public and private cloud solutions. This marks a crucial step for our clients who seek control over their consumption and aspire to reduce their environmental footprint. We're excited about the journey ahead!", said Gregoire Lamodiere, CEO of DIMSI.

This new partnership allows French customers to benefit from the local presence of DIMSI, their experience as a CloudStack integrator and ShapeBlue's 100s of man-years of experience in designing and building complex cloud, network, and storage infrastructure with globally leading skills in Apache CloudStack.

About DIMSI

DIMSI is a French integrator of Cloud solutions that operates and deploys private and public cloud infrastructures mainly based on the Open Source Apache CloudStack solution.

DIMSI is also the creator of the open-source backup solution Backroll.

With teams strategically positioned in Paris, Lorient, and Lyon, DIMSI offers comprehensive services throughout France, extending its support to include overseas departments and territories.

About ShapeBlue

ShapeBlue is the largest independent integrator of CloudStack technologies globally and a specialists in designing and implementing IaaS cloud infrastructures for both private and public cloud implementations. The company combines 100s of person-years of experience in designing and building complex network, storage and compute infrastructures with globally leading skills in Apache CloudStack. ShapeBlue's services include consulting, integration, training and infrastructure support.
NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Shawmut Design and Construction, a leading $1.6 billion national construction management firm, and its Chair of the Board, Kimberly Bishop, are pleased to announce the appointment of senior construction and real estate executive Paul Praylo to the board of directors. Praylo's experience directing financial and business operations for global companies, including NVR Inc. and AECOM, will help inform the board's oversight of Shawmut during a time of robust expansion across national markets.

Praylo joins the Shawmut board of directors after a 30-year career as a construction executive, including as Chief Operating Officer for Construction Services and Chief Financial Officer for Tishman Construction, an AECOM company. He was instrumental in helping AECOM grow from a $2 billion to $7 billion company through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. Shawmut is taking on larger scale and more complex projects nationwide, a strategy that has propelled the $1.6 billion company's 34 percent increase year-over-year.

"Paul's appointment embodies our commitment to having the insights of the most skilled and trusted leaders governing and informing the strategic direction of our company," said Kimberly Bishop, Chair of the Board of Directors.

"Paul's expertise in the expansion and development of companies and his reputation as a top strategist in this industry will be an enormous asset to Shawmut," said Shawmut Chief Executive Officer Les Hiscoe.

Praylo's expertise aligns with Shawmut's national expansion efforts and steadfast commitment to enhancing the building experience for clients. In recent years, Shawmut has added expertise in the commercial, education, and life sciences sectors nationwide, with a strong focus on New York, South Florida, and Southern California, with significant growth projected for 2024.

Shawmut's portfolio of ongoing projects includes a ground-up Health Sciences Center at St. John's University in New York; a new 370,000 square-foot, 11-floor, Class-A lab building at Boynton Yards in Boston; the 24-story, mixed-use Excel Miami development; and the renovation of the historic Crest Theatre to create the new UCLA Nimoy Theater in Los Angeles.

"Shawmut is well positioned to continue its rapid expansion, and I am thrilled to join the board during this exciting time," Praylo said. "Companies transitioning to the next level and accelerating their growth present an exciting opportunity, and I look forward to seeing Shawmut continuing its success."

About Shawmut Design and Construction

Shawmut Design and Construction is a $1.6 billion national construction management firm with a reputation for completing extremely complex and logistically challenging projects. As a 100% employee-owned company, Shawmut has created a culture of ownership, proactive solution-making, and forward-thinking. Over eighty percent of its business comes from repeat clients, with a strong focus on building lasting partnerships. Shawmut has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Miami, West Palm Beach, and Las Vegas. For more information, please visit www.shawmut.com.

SOURCE Shawmut Design and Construction
2024 LadderUp focus cities will be Birmingham, Boston, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Tampa, Charlotte, Houston, Miami & Ft. Lauderdale

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- It's official! Retail store owners in ten cities across the country can now apply for 2024 grants in Shipt's accelerator program, LadderUp !

LadderUp is an 8-week accelerator program that provides capital, e-commerce-focused education, and mentorship to help small businesses thrive in an evolving marketplace.

As part of Shipt's commitment to boosting local economies, LadderUp helps retail store owners around the country grow and compete in an ever-evolving market. Shipt has heard firsthand from retail store owners that bridging technology gaps and learning how to fully participate in e-commerce platforms are critical for their success and the ability to meet the needs of their communities. And that's exactly what LadderUp is designed to address.

LadderUp launched last year, and over the course of spring and summer 2023, Shipt welcomed and graduated an inaugural class of 10 deserving retail store owners from across the country. All ten retail store owners demonstrated a real enthusiasm for growing their retail businesses, and a deep commitment to their communities.

Selected retail store owners will receive a $5,000 grant from Shipt to go toward their retail business operations. They'll also go through an eight-week course to hear from retail industry leaders on driving sustainable growth, building a financial foundation, improving efficiency, developing better marketing, and learning e-commerce 101. Participants will also have access to virtual mentoring office hours with course instructors. There is a lot of content in a short amount of time but based on feedback from the inaugural class, it's time well spent. Upon program completion, participants will have the tools and resources to successfully navigate today's e-commerce landscape.

"At Shipt, we believe in the power of people and recognize that small business owners build thriving communities," said Khadijah Abdullah, Vice President of Economic and Social Impact. "We understand the challenges retail store owners face in today's ever-changing technological landscape and through LadderUp, we're proud to help them grow and compete. We look forward to meeting this year's participants and learning more about them and the communities they serve."

"LadderUp was a great opportunity for Fresh Houwse to learn firsthand, skills and techniques from leaders within certain industries and individuals from Shipt and how to utilize these resources to bring more opportunity to our community," said Ivy Walls, owner of Houston-based Fresh Houwse Grocery. "If you're a small business thinking of applying and you are ready to expand your reach and your knowledge of retail, LadderUp is for you."

In addition to being a key business and community priority for Shipt, LadderUp follows through on one of the commitments Shipt made at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. Online shopping and delivery expands access to food in underserved communities, particularly for those with mobility or transportation barriers.

Applications will be open for a month and close on February 16, 2024 at 6pm CST. If you are from one of our focus cities of Birmingham, Boston, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Tampa, Charlotte, Houston, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale and are interested in applying or know a grocery, health and wellness, or gifts and floral store owner that should, you can learn more and access this year's application at Shipt.com/LadderUp .

About Shipt

Shipt is a retail tech company that connects people to reliable, high-quality delivery with a personal touch. Through the power of technology, Shipt connects customers to the things they want from the stores they love, workers to new earning opportunities, and retail businesses to more satisfied customers. Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Shipt brings people the flexible solutions they need with the above-and-beyond service they expect. Shipt is an independently operated subsidiary of Target Corp. and available in more than 5,000 U.S. cities. For more information, please visit Shipt's Newsroom.

SOURCE Shipt
LEHI, Utah, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Solutionreach, a leading patient engagement and communication platform, is proud to announce the launch of its advanced dental insurance management capabilities, including Insurance Verification. This innovative addition to the Solutionreach platform aims to empower dental practices to automate a manual insurance-related process with efficiency and accuracy, resulting in faster collections and an enhanced patient experience.

Insurance verification is one of the most critical yet time-consuming and costly priorities in a dental provider's revenue cycle. The average manual verification transaction takes 13 minutes - time often spent by staff on calls with insurance payers or scouring their portals trying to verify patient insurance coverage and decode data. These inefficiencies can often contribute to costly errors resulting in claim denials and resubmissions, high administrative costs and uncollected payments.

"We recognize the current challenges that dental practices face in managing insurance information, and we are thrilled to introduce our dental Insurance Verification product as a solution to simplify these processes," said Ken Ernsting, CEO of Solutionreach. "By incorporating an automated verification process, we aim to empower dental teams to focus on what matters most  delivering exceptional patient care."

With the new dental insurance management features, Solutionreach provides dental practices with a comprehensive solution to optimize their revenue cycle and improve operational efficiency at every step. The key highlights of this release include:

Automated Verification Processes: Streamline administrative tasks with

automated insurance verification workflows that reduce manual effort, minimize

errors, and speed up the insurance verification process.

Enhanced Patient Communication: The solution includes patient

communication features that enable practices to request insurance information

as well as communicate with patients regarding their eligibility status, reducing

confusion and enhancing transparency.

Seamless Integration: Insurance Verification is seamlessly integrated into the Solutionreach platform, allowing dental practitioners and staff to view, request,

and verify patient insurance coverage and status in seconds, ensuring a user-

friendly experience.

This innovation aligns with Solutionreach's commitment to enabling practices with tools that enhance patient engagement, improve operational efficiency, and contribute to their overall financial success.

To learn more about Solutionreach, visit www.solutionreach.com.

About Solutionreach

Solutionreach has been at the forefront of patient engagement for 23 years. The company's easy-to-use communications solution empowers healthcare practices to save time and generate more revenue while transforming the patient experience. The platform pays for itself tenfold by reducing no-shows, increasing appointment volume, and optimizing the value of every patient visit.

Solutionreach serves customers of all sizes in every healthcare sector from single- to multi-location dental, vision, and medical practices and organizations. Its solution has more than 400 PM/EHR integrations with nearly 2 million SMS messages sent daily. Solutionreach has supported over 50,000 customer installations, directly helping one in four Americans experience next-level service and care.

SOURCE Solutionreach, Inc.
QINGDAO, China, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- SOS (NYSE: SOS) (the "Company" or "SOS") announced the launch of an additional 1,500 super-computing mining rigs in its Fort Stockton Texas Super-Computing Center. SOS entered into a hosting contract with Grand Flourish Inc, a company in California, on December 8, 2023 for hosting the 1,500 super-computing servers. This launch represents another step in SOS' North American growth strategy.

SOS has been steadily implementing its mining and hosting business in North America over the past two years. Our Texas Super-Computing Center has completed the construction for producing 42MW of power. Its capacity can be further increased to 200MW and can be able to accommodate 200 mobile smart containers and 60,000 super-computing servers in the future. Currently, our Texas Super-Computing Center is operating 8,483 super-computing servers.

Our Wisconsin Super-Computing Center is currently producing 8.5MW of power and is operating 810 super-computing servers. The site is expected to reach a total power capacity of 25MW, and would be able to accommodate 25 mobile smart containers and 7,500 super-computing servers. Currently, SOS is operating at a total hash rate of 1.35 Exahash (EH/s) in North America.

About SOS Limited

SOS is an emerging blockchain-based service solution provider and also engaged in blockchain and cryptocurrency operations, which currently include cryptocurrency mining and maybe expand into cryptocurrency security. Since April 2021, we launched commodity trading via our subsidiary SOS International Trading Co. Ltd; major trading commodity includes mineral resin, soy bean, wheat, sesame, liquid sulfur, petrol coke and latex etc. For more information, please visit: http://www.sosyun.com/ .

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Federal Securities Act, including but not limited to our expectations of future financial performance, business strategy or business. These statements constitute forecasts, prospects and forward-looking statements and are not performance guarantees. SOS warns that forward-looking statements are subject to many assumptions, risks and uncertainties that will change over time. Forward looking statements may be identified by words such as "may", "can", "should", "will", "estimate", "plan", "project", "forecast", "intend", "expect", "predict", "believe", "seek", "target", "Outlook" or similar words. Specifically, forward-looking statements may include statements related to the following matters of the company:

Ability to implement its business plan;

Changes in SOS product and service market; and

Expansion plans and opportunities.

These forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date of this press release and our management's current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and involve a number of judgments, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

These risks and uncertainties include, but not are limited to, the risk factors described by SOS in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). These risk factors and those identified elsewhere in this press release, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from historical performance and include, but are not limited to:

Local government's policies and regulatory oversight of crypto currency mining operation and our other operations;

currency mining operation and our other operations; SOS's blockchian and supercomputing, commodity trading and marketing solutions businesses are still under development, with many uncertainties in the future direction and integration of these various business segments;

Failure to manage the newly launched commodities trading business effectively;

Loss of key customers in the commodity trading business;

failure to access a large quantity of power at reasonable costs could significantly increase SOS operating expenses and adversely affect our demand for SOS's mining activities;

any significant or prolonged failure in the data warehouse facilities and data mining facilities that SOS operates or services it provides, including events beyond its control, would lead to significant costs and disruptions and would reduce the attractiveness of its facilities, harm its business reputation and have a material adverse effect on its results of operation;

security breaches or alleged security breaches of our data warehouses could disrupt SOS operations and have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition and results of operation; uncertainty in global supply chain and international shipping and

security breaches of our data warehouses could disrupt SOS operations and have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition and results of operation; uncertainty in global supply chain and international shipping and fluctuation in the crypto currency price.

currency price. other risks and uncertainties indicated in SOS's SEC reports or documents filed or to be filed with the SEC by SOS.

Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements in deciding whether to invest in our securities. We do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

SOURCE SOS Ltd.
ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern Home Services, renowned operator of top tier home service companies, is excited to announce the acquisition of ACE Solves It All. Providing plumbing, HVAC and electrical services, ACE Solves It All (ACE) excels in the greater Orlando home services market.

ACE Solves It All and Southern Home Services

"We are thrilled to welcome ACE Solves It All into the Southern Home Services family," said Bryan Benak, CEO of Southern Home Services. "Throughout their 30-years of service to the Orlando and Kissimmee communities, they have consistently demonstrated their commitment to unparalleled customer service and professionalism."

ACE has built a stellar reputation by offering whole-home services and delivering high-quality solutions to its residential clientele. The acquisition of ACE aligns perfectly with Southern Home Services' mission and vision of providing superior customer service and becoming the go-to provider of comfort, safety, and energy solutions for homeowners and small businesses.

Jarrod Brinker, Chief Strategy Officer, expressed his enthusiasm about the acquisition, stating, "Being local to Orlando, we have long admired ACE's reputation for excellence and are happy to have their team join Southern. Our home office support staff will assist the company in achieving their growth objectives while preserving their local identity. We plan on enhancing the operation of the business while maintaining unparalleled customer support."

As Southern Home Services transitions ACE into its fold, the focus remains on preserving the strong reputation and customer satisfaction that they have built over the last 30 years. By combining resources and expertise, Southern Home Services aims to further elevate the customer experience and build lasting relationships with homeowners in the area.

"While it is hard to hand over the reins of a company you've built from the ground, I know that it is in capable hands with the crew at Southern Home Services," says Charles Depari Jr., 30-year owner of ACE Solves It All. "I know Southern will be able to take the operation to the next level and look forward to watching their successes in the coming years."

Under the terms of the agreement, ACE Solves It All will continue to operate under its current name and branding, ensuring a seamless transition for customers and partners. Southern Home Services remains committed to retaining all current employees, recognizing their invaluable contributions to the company's success.

About Southern Home Services

Southern Home Services, a trusted provider of comprehensive heating, air conditioning, plumbing, and electrical services across the United States, has been enhancing home comfort and safety since 2016. Our certified professionals deliver quality solutions with exceptional customer service, upholding our core values of trust, integrity, and southern charm. We are dedicated to ensuring your home systems operate smoothly, offering reliability and peace of mind in every season. For more information, visit www.southernhomeservices.com .

MEDIA CONTACT

Desirae Mills, Director of Communications

[email protected]

417.254.2100

SOURCE Southern Home Services
SOUTH BEND, Ind., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Students at two Indiana voucher-accepting schools will express their enthusiasm for learning  and share why they love going to school each day  at community celebrations hosted by the Institute for Quality Education during National School Choice Week 2024 (Jan. 21-27).

A celebration at 10 a.m. at Resurrection Lutheran Academy (6840 Nimtz Pkwy in South Bend) on Monday, Jan. 22 will kick off the Week. Featuring a school choir performance, student and teacher remarks, refreshments, a photo opportunity, and School Choice Week swag, the pep rally will highlight how finding a good school fit empowers students to learn deeply and give back to their community.

Festivities will continue at Bishop Noll (1519 Hoffman St. in Hammond) at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 24. Juniors and seniors at the school will hear speakers from Big Shoulders Fund and Pastor Eric Boone of Tree of Life Missionary Baptist Church, then enjoy fellowship and snacks at a student rally.

Both private schools participate in Indiana's Choice Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships to qualifying students to make quality education options accessible to all children, regardless of income or zip code.

Organizers hope that both events encourage students to celebrate the power of learning and share with others what their school choice means to them.

"School choice makes a daily difference for families across Indiana, providing parents with opportunities to find learning environments that meet their children's needs, interests, and challenges," said Betsy Wiley, president & CEO of the Institute for Quality Education. "We are excited to celebrate schools' successes this week and to inspire even more families with information about the many educational options available for their children."

Resurrection Lutheran Academy serves students in grades pre-K-8 and seeks to provide a Christ-centered learning environment and academic excellence, cultivating a lifetime of spiritual growth and service to God and to others.

Bishop Noll is a Catholic high school serving the youth of Northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland area; the school is consistently named an A-rated school by the Indiana Department of Education.

These community celebrations are timed to coincide with National School Choice Week (NSCW), which will feature more than 26,000 school choice events across all 50 states to raise equal and positive awareness of the traditional public, public charter, public magnet, private, online, home education, and microschool options available for families. More than 600 of the Week's activities will take place in Indiana.

In addition to these in-school celebrations, the Institute for Quality Education will host a student breakfast with legislators at the Indiana State Capitol during the Week.

National School Choice Week (NSCW) informs, inspires, and empowers parents to discover the K-12 education options available for their children, including traditional public, charter, magnet, online, private, and home schooling. Every January, tens of thousands of schools, organizations, and individuals plan unique events and activities to shine a positive spotlight on effective education options in their communities. The Week is a project of the nonpartisan, nonpolitical National School Choice Awareness Foundation.

SOURCE National School Choice Week
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Summit Funding Inc., a key player in the residential mortgage lending industry, proudly announces the strategic hire of Trey Rigdon as Vice President of Marketing and Branding. With a remarkable 15-year tenure in the mortgage and financial services industries, Rigdon is celebrated for his exceptional leadership and innovative strategies at companies like Wyndham Capital Mortgage and Movement Mortgage.

During his time at Wyndham Capital, Rigdon was instrumental in redefining the company's identity, transforming it into a leading purchase-centric mortgage lender known for its fintech prowess. He spearheaded a complete brand overhaul, emphasizing Wyndham Capital's commitment to financial technology, thus branding the company as a premier fintech mortgage lender. Under Rigdon's guidance, the company experienced a dramatic shift in its business model, moving from reliance on purchased leads to generating over 50% of their channel mix through Loan Officer referrals. This shift in January 2023 led to the creation of the industry's first Purchase Direct to Consumer Business model, marking a significant milestone in the mortgage industry.

Rigdon's impact at Wyndham Capital was profound. From January 2021 to November 2023, his team was instrumental in driving nearly 10,000 locked loans with an impressive 80% fund conversion rate. Under his strategic leadership, the company's employee base expanded from 100 to nearly 1,000, with origination volumes soaring to $6.5 billion and annual revenue reaching $200 million within just two years. Rigdon's innovative efforts and successful internal communication strategies were recognized with the prestigious 43rd Annual Telly Award for General Internal Communications.

"Bringing Trey into our team is a pivotal move to leverage the opportunities in the evolving mortgage market," said Robyn LaVassaur, EVP of Sales at Summit Funding. "His extensive experience and proven success in mortgage marketing and branding are key to enhancing our brand presence and supporting our Loan Officers, ensuring our leadership in the mortgage industry."

Rigdon shared his excitement about joining Summit Funding, "I am thrilled to be part of Summit Funding, a company that not only prioritizes innovation but also shows a strong dedication to borrower education and the professional growth of our loan officers. The current emphasis on loan officer development is crucial, and Summit's commitment to transforming loan officers who are closing 3 to 4 loans a month into those consistently achieving 8 to 12 is inspiring. My goal is to implement forward-thinking marketing strategies that not only elevate our brand but also provide tangible benefits to our Loan Officers and clients, staying ahead with the latest trends in mortgage technology and digital marketing."

Todd Scrima, CEO of Summit Funding, emphasized the strategic importance of Rigdon's appointment, "Trey's track record in the mortgage industry, coupled with his innovative approach to marketing and branding, aligns perfectly with our vision for growth. We are excited about the expertise and creativity he brings to our team."

Summit Funding is poised to harness Rigdon's extensive experience to enhance its market position and provide unparalleled support to its Loan Officers. The company is committed to fostering a culture of innovation and excellence, encouraging Loan Officers and industry professionals to explore the growth opportunities at Summit Funding.

Based in Sacramento, California, Summit Funding Inc. is a privately-held mortgage banker and servicer renowned for its dedication to serving the diverse needs of borrowers nationwide. Established in 1995 by founder Todd Scrima, the company has grown from a small local team to a top 35 retail lender, reflecting its commitment to excellence and customer service. Summit Funding offers a comprehensive range of mortgage products, including conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, jumbo, non-QM, and reverse mortgages, along with down payment assistance (DPA) programs. Operating more than 55 branches with over 250 loan officers, Summit Funding is licensed to conduct business in 48 states, highlighting its expansive reach and deep understanding of the mortgage market. Known for its innovative lending solutions and customer-centric approach, Summit Funding continues to expand and evolve, driven by its mission to help individuals and families achieve their homeownership dreams. For more information, visit www.SummitFunding.net.

SOURCE Summit Funding, Inc.
NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Syska Hennessy Group, the international engineering firm, has appointed Darren Alfano, CPA, as chief financial officer. He is based in the firm's New York City headquarters.

Darren Alfano

Alfano has more than 25 years of experience in all aspects of financial management, accounting, analysis, and controllership. Most recently, he served as chief financial officer at Eastern Communications Ltd., LLC, a telecommunications equipment distributor based in the Long Island City neighborhood of New York City. Previously, he held the same title at TEC Building Systems, LLC, a building technology company, also based in Long Island City. Earlier roles included managing director at Echo Financial Business Consulting in Rockville Centre, New York, where he currently resides, and senior vice president and global controller at IPC Systems, Inc., a technology company based in Jersey City, New Jersey.

"Darren's expertise spans buildings, technology, and consulting, which makes him an ideal fit for Syska's work," says Cyrus Izzo, president and CEO of Syska. "We are also impressed with his strong leadership skills and his hands-on approach to operations and systems implementation. He will help us meet the ambitious financial and organizational targets we have identified for Syska's future as we near our 100th anniversary in business."

Alfano earned a Master of Business Administration in finance from Fordham University in New York City and a Bachelor of Science in accounting from the Binghamton University. He is a certified public accountant in New York State.

Syska Hennessy Group is a leading global, full-service MEP, information and communication technology (ICT), vertical transportation, and commissioning engineering firm. With more than 500 professionals across 20 offices, the company provides a full range of engineering services for projects of every size and budget. Since 1928, Syska has been designing smarter, safer, and more efficient buildings by integrating essential systems that respond and adapt to a changing world.

syska.com

Media Contact:

Michelle Galindez

[email protected]

212.556.3390

SOURCE Syska Hennessy Group
Effort Includes Multiple Voter Sites Which Will Offer In-Person Voter Registration, Voter Education, Absentee Ballot Assistance, Jewish Community Engagement, and Volunteer Opportunities

NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Teach New York State (NYS), a division of Teach Coalition, today announced a new and unprecedented nonpartisan 'Get Out the Vote' initiative focused on the upcoming elections in Westchester County. Teach Coalition advocates for equitable funding and resources for all nonpublic schools including Jewish day schools and yeshivas.

Teach Coalition logo

The Jewish community of Westchester County is mobilizing to counter a wave of anti-Jewish hate incidents and other antisemitic threats and rhetoric in New York in the aftermath of the 10/7 attacks in Israel. Teach Coalition is responding to and providing support for the parents of children in Jewish schools who are concerned about security threats to their children, their educational institutions, and their houses of worship.

As a part of this campaign, Teach Coalition will open a voter site at 1297 North Avenue in New Rochelle, offering residents voter-registration support, absentee-ballot assistance, as well as community outreach to engage current and newly registered voters. The voter site will open in early February. In the following weeks, Teach Coalition will open other field offices for nonpartisan voter mobilization across southern and central Westchester County.

Teach Coalition is preparing to spend up to $1.6 million on voter-registration and voter-turnout operations and has already raised over $1 million to fund the initiative. Teach Coalition has set a goal of registering thousands of new minority voters.

This initiative builds on prior successful 'Get Out the Vote' campaigns organized by Teach Coalition across multiple states and communities. This includes the recent New Jersey election which saw the Jewish community voting in higher numbers than district averages across the state. In Florida, the Jewish community more than doubled average citywide voter turnout in the 2023 Miami Beach and North Miami Beach mayoral elections following Teach Florida's efforts.

"Now more than ever, it is essential that our communities come out and vote," said Dan Mitzner, Director of Government Affairs for Teach Coalition. "We are excited to leverage our expertise in voter engagement to work with the Westchester community at this time. This is a first of its kind effort, and we are confident Jewish communities across the county will do their part to vote and make a difference."

Synagogues, Jewish day schools and Jewish institutions throughout Westchester representing the broad Jewish community have signed on in support of this effort, encouraging their communities to mobilize and vote. The full list of partner organizations is in formation and can be found below.

"These elections hold critical implications for our Jewish communal institutions and especially for our schools," said Rabbi Dani Rockoff, Principal of Westchester Day School. "Right now, it is our responsibility to show up and vote in large numbers in this election. We are grateful for the efforts of Teach NYS to mobilize our communities around this."

Teach Coalition is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and does not support any political party or candidate.

The New York State Primary Election is set for June 25, 2024; Federal Congressional primary election dates are yet to be determined. The New York State General Election is November 5, 2024. For more information, head to: https://teachcoalition.org/votenys/

Schools

Kinneret

Ohavei Torah

SAR Academy and High School

The Leffell School

Westchester Day School

Westchester Hebrew High School

Westchester Torah Academy

Synagogues

Anshei Shalom

Congregation B'nei Yisrael

Hebrew Institute of White Plains

Riverdale Jewish Center

Young Israel of New Rochelle

Young Israel of Scarsdale

Young Israel of White Plains

Organizations

UJA-Federation of New York

Westchester Jewish Council

About Teach Coalition

Teach Coalition, a project of the Orthodox Union, is a nonpartisan, multi-state, grassroots movement devoted to advocating for equitable funding for nonpublic schools. Teach Coalition works to make nonpublic schools better, safer and more affordable. Teach Coalition advocates on behalf of approximately 90% of Jewish day school and yeshivah students nationwide and counts more than 90,000 dedicated volunteers, activists and subscribers among its supporters.

For more information about Teach Coalition, visit teachcoalition.org.

CONTACT: Rebecca Zisholtz

973-280-7582

[email protected]

SOURCE Teach Coalition
Bills on Human Operator Requirements, AV Controls Critical to Safety and Good Jobs

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Teamsters applauded the introduction of two bills in California that are part of the California Automotive Regulatory Standards (CARS) Package, a series of legislative measures that state lawmakers are prioritizing to regulate autonomous vehicles (AVs).

An assembly bill to be introduced at a later date will require a trained human operator behind the wheel of any AV weighing 10,000 or more lbs., and Senate Bill 915 (SB 915) would require AV companies obtain an approval through a local ordinance prior to starting operations in a given municipality. The assembly bill is substantively identical to AB 316, which was introduced by Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) last session, and the local control bill was introduced by Senator Dave Cortese (D-San Jose).

Both bills already have broad support. AB 316 received yes votes from more than 90 percent of the legislature last session, and SB 915 is co-sponsored by the League of California Cities.

To date, AV regulation in California has been left exclusively to regulatory agencies, including the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), while municipalities continue to lack any control over AVs wreaking havoc on local streets. As a result, California remains without proper enforcement of AV safety measures or accountability.

"California cannot afford to outsource the regulation of dangerous technology to Big Tech," said Peter Finn, Teamsters Western Region International Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 856. "California must implement real AV safety standards and ensure local municipalities have a say in AV deployment, especially given the botched regulatory oversight by the DMV and CPUC. We applaud Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry and Senator Cortese for introducing legislation that is essential to keeping our roads safe."

"California's deployment of AVs in 2023 is the perfect case study for what not to do. From Gov. Newsom's veto of AB 316  a bill that received resounding support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle  to the CPUC and DMV, too many people in state government last year chose not to put safety first, and it showed," said Jason Rabinowitz, President of Teamsters Joint Council 7. "Thanks to Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry and Senator Cortese, California has another shot to make things right and pass common sense safety measures to save lives and protect jobs."

The DMV has failed to track at-fault data for collisions involving AVs for several years and driverless vehicles remain immune from receiving traffic tickets. Meanwhile, the CPUC, whose lead Commissioner John Reynolds formerly worked as legal counsel to AV company Cruise, ruled in favor of unlimited expansion of Cruise and Waymo robotaxis on San Francisco roads in August, despite widespread pushback from elected officials and public safety representatives. Cruise later suspended operations nationwide after an incident that left a pedestrian grievously injured. Cruise vehicles also collided with fire trucks, were accused of being responsible for the death of a patient after blocking an ambulance, impeded workers by getting stuck in concrete, blocked waste trucks, caused a massive traffic jam outside of a music festival, and triggered a 20-car pile up in a tunnel. Last year a Waymo robotaxi killed a dog as well.

In spite of the abysmal track record that robotaxis have in California, the DMV recently approved Waymo's permit to expand into additional municipalities in the San Francisco and Los Angeles metro areas. The DMV approval also includes 24/7 access to freeways, highways, parking lots, and all other roads at speeds of up to 65 mph, even in inclement weather.

"Gov. Newsom can continue to cower to Big Tech and put millions of good jobs in jeopardy, or he can grow a backbone and stand up for working people. Either way, the Teamsters are not backing down from this fight," said Lindsay Dougherty, Teamsters Western Region International Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 399. "The Teamsters encourage all state lawmakers to join Cortese and Aguiar-Curry in prioritizing the well-being of Californians and the preservation of good-paying union jobs."

In addition to safety risks, AV technology also threatens the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of hardworking Californians. In California, there are roughly 200,000 professional drivers. Accounting for the ripple effect of automating commercial driving nationally, AVs could eliminate more than 15 million jobs across the U.S. Many of these would be in rural communities.

"The reason that companies like Google and General Motors pour so much money into AVs is because they know they can increase profits by killing jobs through automation," said Chris Griswold, President of Teamsters Joint Council 42. "Corporate America does not work in the best interest of Californians. This is why legislation that protects working people is so urgent. Many California lawmakers have already shown their support for AV regulation, but the Teamsters strongly urge all elected officials to stand up and stand with us to safeguard workers and our communities."

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org to learn more. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:

Zoe PiSierra, (603) 339-0042

[email protected]

Matt McQuaid, (202) 624-6877

[email protected]

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters
The three-day 40th Annual Scientific Meeting takes place on February 22-24, 2024, in New Orleans, with an optional pre-meeting workshop on Ultrasound for Safe Brazilian Butt Lift Surgery & More on February 21

CHICAGO, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS), the world's largest multi-specialty home for physicians dedicated to cosmetic surgery and aesthetic medicine, will present its 40th Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) on February 22-24, 2024, with an optional pre-meeting workshop on Ultrasound for Safe Brazilian Butt Lift Surgery and More, on Wednesday, February 21.

Mo Banki, MD, DMD, Vice President of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery and Program Chair of the 40th Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM), describes the upcoming program, which includes a three-day scientific program, an optional pre-meeting workshop, and enrichment, networking and social activities in celebration of the Academys 40th anniversary.

Deeply committed to educating for patient safety since it was founded in 1985, the AACS will conduct its signature annual Continuing Medical Education (CME) program live and in-person at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. In celebration of the AACS' 40th Annual Scientific Meeting, and the 40-year anniversary of the formation of the Academy and its official publication, The American Journal of Cosmetic Surgery, the meeting includes a comprehensive scientific program, as well as an array of advocacy, enrichment, networking and 40th anniversary celebratory activities.

Offering 41 educational sessions, the 2024 AACS ASM features foremost experts spanning diverse background specialties, such as dermatology, otolaryngology, general surgery, oral, and maxillofacial surgery, ophthalmology, and plastic and reconstructive surgery. The well-rounded program includes keynote presentations and ground-breaking sessions on the latest techniques and developments in cosmetic surgery, some of which include: body contouring, face lift surgery, ultrasound-guided Brazilian butt lift (BBL), breast, rhinoplasty, liposuction, skin rejuvenation and injectables, hair restoration, male and female genitourinary, and more.

This year's ASM features a variety of formats for all types of learners, including short abstract presentations during which colleagues will share their latest techniques, discoveries, and cases; two "GOAT" Panels (Greatest of All Time) to ask questions and have lively discussions with AACS experts on the panel and in the audience (one on post-op protocols and one on liposuction); two Morbidity & Mortality Conferences; sessions on markings and methodology, lymphatic drainage, plus a past-presidents pearls panel, as well as a session with multiple small group discussion tables on a variety of topics, along with the ever-popular scientific poster presentations.

Allied Health providers can participate in a dedicated 3-day track, which includes practice management and clinical topics geared for mid-level providers from considerations when setting up, growing your practice to pitfalls to avoid in accreditation and practice management pearls. There are also special sessions geared for new surgeons and physicians entering the specialty.

The Women in Cosmetic Surgery Section will host a session with keynote Michelle Dresbold, internationally-renowned handwriting expert, on "Secrets Hidden in Your Handwriting: Tips and Tools to Help Clinicians Make More Informed Decisions."

In addition, a States Advocacy Workshop, co-moderated by Drs. Jeffrey Swetnam and J. Kevin Duplechain, will discuss the development of a national network to continue work to protect AACS members' rights on a state-by-state basis to safely and properly perform cosmetic surgery procedures such as the BBL. This effort follows recent legislative victories in New York and Florida to allow licensed and properly trained physicians in those states to safety perform this procedure on a routine basis.

The Opening Session, moderated by Dr. Mo Banki, Program Chair, will focus on Unlocking The Fountain Of Youth: The Beauty Revolution Of GLP-1 Agonists, with a keynote address by Lydia A. Bazzano, MD, PhD, MPH, Professor of Nutrition and Director, Center for Lifespan Epidemiology Research, at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

J. Kevin Duplechain, MD, FAACS, cosmetic surgeon and Immediate Past-President of the AACS and Cosmetic Surgery Foundation, will deliver the prestigious Webster Lecture on Friday, February 23. Dr. Duplechain will also be honored at the Webster Society Gala Dinner later that evening at the World War II Museum.

The Future of Aesthetic Surgery Session on Saturday, February 24, will feature keynote Sonja Sattler, MD, CEO/Medical Director of Rosenpark Klinik in Darmstadt, Germany.

AACS President Alex Sobel, DO, FAACS, comments, "Our 40th Annual Scientific Meeting provides outstanding opportunities for cosmetic surgery practitioners from around the world to learn from some of the Academy's leading experts in cosmetic surgery and aesthetic medicine, gain insights into the latest research and techniques, and exchange ideas. It's a perfect way to celebrate our milestone anniversary and pay homage to our 40-year tradition of advancing the multi-specialty, global discipline of cosmetic surgery and aesthetic medicine, for the benefit of our patients and practitioners."

Scientific Program Chair Mo Banki, MD, DMD, notes, "This year's program beautifully reflects our four decades-long commitment to physician education and patient safety at the highest levels. Patient safety is of the utmost importance to us, and we're proud to present a dynamic slate of expert sessions that will help ensure the best possible outcomes for our cosmetic surgery patients."

The full AACS ASM program can be viewed by visiting here. Details about the Pre-Meeting Workshop can be accessed here.

Cosmetic surgery practitioners may register here for the 2024 AACS ASM.

About the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS)

The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS) is committed to advancing the multi-specialty, global disciplines of cosmetic surgery and aesthetic medicine for the benefit of patients and practitioners. Since its inception in 1985, the AACS has become the leading educational provider for cosmetic surgery practitioners from a diverse array of medical specialties, including dermatology, oral & maxillofacial surgery, otolaryngology, general surgery, ophthalmology, and plastic/reconstructive surgery. AACS is composed of over 1,600 members who pursue educational and training opportunities in cosmetic surgery to ensure consistently high quality patient care.

SOURCE American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS)
CHICAGO, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Arizton's latest research report, the green hydrogen market is growing at a CAGR of 53.53% during 2022-2029. Rising investments in green hydrogen projects, technological advancements & increasing R&D activities, and the emergence of anion exchange membrane are significant trends in the green hydrogen market.

To Know More, Download the Free Sample Report: https://www.arizton.com/request-sample/3679

Green Hydrogen Market Research Report by Arizton

Browse in-depth TOC on "Green Hydrogen Market"

313  Pages

96 - Tables

82 - Figures

The Global Green Hydrogen Market Report Scope

Report Attributes Details Market Size (2029) $84.03 Billion Market Size (2023) $6.42 Billion CAGR (2023-2029) 53.53 % Base Year 2023 Forecast Year 2024-2029 Market Segments Technology, Source, End User, and Geography Geographic Analysis North America, Europe, APAC, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa

Green hydrogen is increasingly recognized as a leading sustainable energy source owing to rapid technological advancements and the declining cost of renewable electricity; some experts, however, are expressing skepticism about its future. Presently, most of the hydrogen derived is from natural gas, which results in gray or blue hydrogen; this type, though cost-effective, fails to align with the carbon neutrality goals. The feasibility of green hydrogen production is currently contingent on the development of demand and the global market growth, both of which remain relatively limited. The total hydrogen production in 2021 was 94 million tons, of which a mere 1 million tons was produced through technologies with low environmental impact. The widespread adoption of green hydrogen can stimulate competitive value chains and create new investment opportunities for nations trying to position themselves in this burgeoning industry.

Despite being in its early stages, the global market for green hydrogen holds significant potential in the energy transition scenario. Green hydrogen, produced via electrolysis and fuel cells using zero-carbon renewable energy, is unique in its ability to be generated at any scale and in diverse locations worldwide. This characteristic feature makes it an attractive option for sustainable hydrogen solutions, especially in developing countries. The green hydrogen market has been gaining significant attention and undergoing dynamic changes. There is a rising global focus on decarbonization and the transition to a low-carbon economy. Governments, industries, and investors recognize green hydrogen's potential as a key player in achieving carbon neutrality goals. Several countries have announced ambitious plans and investments to scale up green hydrogen production, infrastructure, and utilization.

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Recent Partnerships & Developments

Iberdrola: In December 2023, Iberdrola committed to doubling its Innovation, Development, and Research (R&D&I) investment to $4.37 by 2030 and has secured recognition as the world's top private utility in R&D for two consecutive years. The company's strategic emphasis on innovation spans renewable energy, smart grids, digital transformation, green hydrogen, and custom solutions; it also aims to accelerate its decarbonization initiatives. The key projects include offshore wind energy, pumped hydro technology, and green hydrogen development. The company continues to launch competitive products and services, leveraging big data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for customer-driven energy solutions.

ITM Power: In September 2023, ITM and FRIEM collaborated to develop a standardized Power Supply Unit (PSU) design, which has been optimized for ITM's 2MW Plug & Play electrolysis container. This collaboration aims to enhance PSU performance through closer integration with ITM's electrolyzer technology, promoting overall system reliability and cost reduction. ITM specializes in Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolysis, while FRIEM, with 70 years of experience, excels in electric energy conversion systems. The partnership underscores ITM's commitment to advancing PEM electrolysis technology, focusing on improving system performance and cost-effectiveness. FRIEM views this collaboration to strengthen its position in the global green hydrogen market.

The Global Green Hydrogen Market Surges with Unprecedented Investments, Accelerating Transition to Clean Energy and Fostering Sustainable Growth

Over the past year, the green hydrogen market has experienced a significant investment surge, marking a significant trend toward sustainable and clean energy solutions. Governments, industries, and investors increasingly acknowledge the importance of adopting cleaner energy alternatives to reduce carbon emissions. For instance, in 2023, the Board of Directors of the World Bank approved a loan of $150 million to boost investments in green hydrogen projects in Chile. This financial support aims to expedite Chile's progress in green growth, energy transition, and the dedication to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. This marks the World Bank's first loan designed to promote green hydrogen and contribute to the country's initiatives in mitigating climate change. As a result, substantial financial commitments are being made to support green hydrogen technologies' development and scaling up.

Moreover, the demand for green hydrogen is escalating in sectors such as heavy industries and long-haul transportation, where achieving decarbonization through electrification is challenging. Green hydrogen, a versatile energy carrier, can be utilized in industries that are difficult to electrify directly, expanding its potential market applications and driving further investments. As of November 2022, nearly 50 green hydrogen projects in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region were in the planning stages, requiring an estimated investment of at least $155 billion. These projects are primarily focused on the integrated ammonia production facilities running on green hydrogen, with investments allocated to renewable energy plants ($102 billion), electrolyzer plants ($23 billion), air separation units ($14 billion), and civil works ($16 billion). The Cop27 UN climate summit in Egypt fueled momentum, leading to the preliminary agreements for over 23 GW of wind projects and numerous green hydrogen deals.

Key Company Profiles

Nel

ITM Power

ENGIE

Siemens Energy

Air Products and Chemicals

McPhy Energy

Loop Energy

Messer

Elcogen

LONGi

John Cockerill

Plug Power

Cummins

Genvia

Air Liquide

Linde

Bloom Energy

Uniper

FuelCell Energy

Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation

FUSION-FUEL

thyssenkrupp AG

Enapter

rsted

HydrogenPro

Topsoe

Sunfire

H2 Green

NTPC REL

Green Hydrogen Systems

Lhyfe

Iberdrola

Enel Green Power

Beijing SinoHy Energy

GUOFUHEE

Sungrow Power Supply

Shandong AUYAN New Energy Technology

Purification Equipment Research Institute of CSIC

Kohodo Hydrogen Energy

Ohmium

Market Segmentation

Technology

Alkaline Electrolyser

Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzer

Others

Source

Wind Energy

Solar Energy

Others

End Users

Refining

Ammonia

Others

Geography

Europe

Germany



Spain



France



Portugal



Italy

APAC

China



India



Japan



Australia



South Korea

North America

The US



Canada

Middle East & Africa

Egypt



Morocco



South Africa



Saudi Arabia



The UAE

Latin America

Chile



Brazil



Mexico



Argentina

Key Questions Answered in the Report:

How big is the green hydrogen market?

What is the growth rate of the global green hydrogen market?

Which region dominates the global green hydrogen market share?

What are the significant trends in the green hydrogen market?

Who are the key players in the global green hydrogen market?

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SOURCE Arizton Advisory & Intelligence
NEW YORK, Jan. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The thin-film batteries market size is expected to grow by USD 2.58 billion from 2022 to 2027, according to Technavio. In addition, the growth momentum of the market will progress at a CAGR of 26% during the forecast period. North America will account for 40% of the market growth. The smart wearables segment will be significant during the forecast period. To find a preview of the market overviews, market drivers, opportunities, and potentials request a free sample report

Thin-film Batteries Market 2023-2027: Company Analysis

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Thin-film Batteries Market 2023-2027

The thin-film batteries market is fragmented due to the presence of many global and regional players. The market comprises category-focused, industry-focused, and diversified vendors. The global off-grid thin-film batteries market is expected to grow rapidly during the forecast period due to the Increasing occurrences of hearing loss. Hence, the competition among companies is expected to intensify during the forecast. The report analyzes the market's competitive landscape and offers information on several market companies. Angstrom Engineering Inc., Avery Dennison Corp., Coreshell Technologies, Cymbet Corp., EIT InnoEnergy SE, Enfucell, Fujitsu Ltd., Imprint Energy, Jenax Inc., Koch Industries Inc., Kurt J Lesker Co., LG Corp., RRC power solutions GmbH, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Shenzhen Grepow Battery Co. Ltd., Soleras Advanced Coatings BV, STMicroelectronics NV, The Swatch Group Ltd., and Ultralife Corp.

Market Dynamics

Key Driver - The proliferation of IoT devices has driven the demand for thin-film batteries, steering the global market's expansion. Companies like Enfucell, Cymbet Corporation, Blue Spark Technologies, STMicroelectronics, and others have contributed significantly to this growth. These advanced batteries, offered by industry leaders such as Infinite Power Solutions, Front Edge Technology, Ilika Technologies, Excellatron Solid State, BrightVolt, and Solid Power, cater to the IoT sector's specific power needs, spurring the market's upward trajectory.

Leading trend - The rise in cardiovascular ailments significantly influences the trajectory of the global thin-film battery market. This trend aligns with innovations in battery technology, especially in ultrathin batteries and long-lasting energy cells, crucial for portable devices and IoT power solutions. As demand rises for thin-film power generation and storage, companies investing in advanced battery materials and future battery technologies, such as electronic device power, are shaping the market's evolution.

Significant Challenge - The substantial challenge hindering the global thin-film batteries market lies in its high manufacturing cost. This challenge affects the broader spectrum of the microbattery market, flexible battery solutions, and energy storage innovations. While developments in printed electronics and solid-state battery technology continue, the thin-film energy devices sector faces constraints due to the elevated costs. This predicament impacts miniature power sources, wearable electronics power, and the overall thin-film battery industry's growth prospects.

Major Companies and Key Offerings:

Angstrom Engineering Inc.: The company offers thin film battery solutions such as Physical Vapor Deposition systems and Chemical Vapor Deposition systems. Also, the company under this product line offers PVD platforms, systems for specialized processes, space and environmental simulation chambers, glove boxes, and accessories.

Thin-film Batteries Market 2023-2027: Segmentation Analysis

By End-user

The smart wearables segment will be significant during the forecast period. The smart wearable devices market is thriving, yet battery technology lags. Rapidly evolving wearables demand frequent updates, but battery innovation hasn't kept pace. Dependent on wearable unit shipments, this segment spans diverse industries like sports, healthcare, and fashion, driving demand for thin-film batteries and propelling the market's growth.

will be significant during the forecast period. The smart wearable devices market is thriving, yet battery technology lags. Rapidly evolving wearables demand frequent updates, but battery innovation hasn't kept pace. Dependent on wearable unit shipments, this segment spans diverse industries like sports, healthcare, and fashion, driving demand for thin-film batteries and propelling the market's growth. Battery type (rechargeable and disposable).

By Geography

North America will contribute 40% to the growth of the global market during the forecast period. Increasing urbanization and the surge in educational institutions and workplaces in North America are driving the smart card market. Post-pandemic, the demand for smart card holders has risen, boosting the need for thin-film batteries, projected to fuel the thin-film batteries market within the smart cards segment.

will contribute to the growth of the global market during the forecast period. Increasing urbanization and the surge in educational institutions and workplaces in are driving the smart card market. Post-pandemic, the demand for smart card holders has risen, boosting the need for thin-film batteries, projected to fuel the thin-film batteries market within the smart cards segment. APAC, Europe , South America , and Middle East and Africa .



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Imperative Insights on the following aspects:

What was the size of the global thin-film batteries market by value?

What will be the size of the global thin-film batteries market in 2027?

How has industry perform over last 5 years?

What factors are affecting the strength of competition in the global thin-film batteries market?

What main segments make up the global thin-film batteries market?

Related Reports:

The light vehicle batteries market size is expected to increase by USD 34.06 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 12.72%.

The Marine Powerboats Batteries Market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.6% between 2023 and 2027. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 1,826.66 million.

ToC:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market Sizing

Historic Market Sizes

Five Forces Analysis

Market Segmentation by End-user

Market Segmentation by Battery Type

Market Segmentation by Geography

Customer Landscape

Geographic Landscape

Drivers, Challenges, & Trends

Company Landscape

Company Analysis

Appendix

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contacts

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com

SOURCE Technavio
'Together, We Rise' A Night of Insightful Dialogues and Unity Awaits at the House of Trust Promenade on Wednesday, 17 January 2024

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The world is set to witness another impressive convergence of hearts and minds at the upcoming third Africa House Summit, followed by its phenomenal Africa Night. Scheduled to take place in Davos on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, from 19:00 to 02:00 at the House of Trust Promenade 40, 7270 Davos. At the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, over 2000 participants, including world leaders, assemble to tackle pressing global issues.

From left to right: Kojo Annan, Will I Am, Nima Elmi, Ozwald Boateng, Ben Bronfman, Mamadou Toure at Africa House event 2023 Guests including Hyatt Antognini Amin, Debra Fraser Howse, Congressman Gregory Meeks, Kojo Annan, Mamadou Toure, Professor Landry Signe at Africa House 2023

Under the theme "Together, We Rise", this third edition of Africa House Summit will convene changemakers, heads of state, tech futurists, and business leaders from across the globe to transform ideas into action while fostering discussions on the value of interconnectedness within our global communities.

Powered by Ubuntu Tribe and sponsored by the World Indigenous Forum (WIF), CNBC Africa, Forbes Africa, B1 and yeswetrustthe Africa House Summit is a premier event that promises to bring together the best and the brightest minds in deep, impactful conversations about Investments in Africa, Leapfrog Technology, Sustainability & Inclusion, and Creative Industries Africa.

A highlight of the event will be the much-anticipated Fireside Chat with African Heads of State, who will provide their unique points of view on challenges and aspirations that will shape the continent's future.

"This will be our third Africa House Davos Summit, which demonstrates our ongoing commitment to challenging and dispelling myths that impact Africa on the global stage. The world is paying unprecedented attention to our continent, so we're honored to contribute alongside this prestigious gathering during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos," said Kojo Annan, Co-Founder of Africa House and Founder of "B1 (Boardroom 1); a communications software redefining secure collaboration for a brighter more secure".

The first distinguished panelists have been announced, featuring voices such as Kweku Mandela, Philanthropist and Board Member, Global Citizen Festival; H.E Sheikha Alanoud Bint Hamad Al Thani from Qatar, Samaila Zubairu CEO of Africa Finance Corporation; Prince Asante Obeng Oheneba Otchere from Ashanti Kingdom; Ndidi Nwuneli , Founder/Chief Executive, African Food Changemakers; Acha Leke, Chairman, McKinsey Africa and Adebola Williams, Chairman of Red Media Group. These thought leaders and visionaries will delve into important challenges and opportunities facing the continent, discussing innovative solutions and partnerships that can drive forward Africa's growth trajectory.

"This year's event not only highlights Africa's potential, but also exemplifies the spirit of Ubuntu  "I am because we are"  this is a philosophy that emphasizes our interconnectedness and shared humanity," Mamadou Kwidjim-Toure, CEO & Founder of Ubuntu Tribe and fellow Founder of Africa House. "Ubuntu Tribe, an innovative fintech company aiming to unlock Africa's wealth and immense potential by sustainably tokenizing and promoting distributed ownership of Africa's gold and other natural resources."

Following the summit, attendees will be at the heart of the excitement at the high powered mixer Africa Night, an event that celebrates the heritage and cultures of the illustrious continent through music, art, food, and promoting a sense of global community.

For more information and to RSVP, please visit www.africahouse.io

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SOURCE Africa House
RALEIGH, N.C., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Thompson Thrift, a full-service nationally recognized real estate company, announced today the sale of Marketplace at Ellis Crossing, a 71,517-square-foot newly constructed shopping center that is part of a 30-acre mixed-use property under development in the Research Triangle Park area of Raleigh-Durham. Publix Super Markets, the grocery anchor at the center, purchased the shopping center for an undisclosed price. The sale was brokered by Berkeley Capital Advisors.

"We are very pleased to have successfully closed this deal with Publix," said Ryan Menard, vice president of development for Thompson Thrift. "With an industry leader like Publix anchoring the development, Marketplace at Ellis Crossing is not only poised to become the epicenter of connectivity and convenience in Research Triangle Park, but also to be a catalyst for further growth. Thompson Thrift is proud to be able to bring this project to such a dynamic, opportunity-rich region."

Located at the northeast corner of Ellis Road and Watchorn Street, the sale included Publix's first Durham location, approximately 13,000 square feet of inline shop space as well as a pad building with another 11,500 square feet of space. Marketplace at Ellis Crossing is also home to Chipotle Mexican Grill, a popular fast-casual chain restaurant; Sheetz, a leading convenience store company on the East Coast; Lightbridge Academy, an early childhood education and development center; and Mavis Tires, a tire and auto-repair company. Thompson Thrift retained ownership of a 1.4-acre lot that will be home to First National Bank, a proposed hotel lot and a 2-acre lot that fronts Ellis Road and remains available.

Marketplace at Ellis Crossing is ideally situated between two of North Carolina's fastest growing cities. The development sits in the heart of a biotech powerhouse known as Research Triangle Park, a collaborative innovation center set amidst three Tier-1 research universities that is home to more than 264 research companies and over 50,000 high-tech workers. The greater Raleigh area has an additional $1 billion in biotech laboratory construction underway, including Apple's plans to build a 1 million-square-foot campus in the area.

Along with the new Apple campus, road improvements are in place and expected to further drive development in the area, improving access between Research Triangle Park, Durham, and Raleigh-Durham International Airport. To keep up with expansion, several new multifamily and residential developments are currently planned or under construction.

This is Thompson Thrift's fourth development in North Carolina. They have retail centers in Concord and Wilson and a 276-unit multifamily community in Charlotte.

Thompson Thrift is a full-service real estate development company focused on ground-up commercial and mixed-use development across the Midwest, Southeast and Southwest. Since its founding more than 30 years ago, Thompson Thrift has invested more than $5 billion into local communities and has become known as a trusted partner committed to developing high-quality, attractive commercial and multifamily communities.

About Thompson Thrift Real Estate Company

Thompson Thrift is an integrated full-service real estate company with offices in Indianapolis and Terre Haute, Indiana; Denver; Houston and Phoenix. Three business units drive Thompson Thrift's successThompson Thrift Residential which is focused on upscale Class A multifamily communities and luxury leased homes, Thompson Thrift Commercial which is focused on ground-up commercial development, and Thompson Thrift Construction, a full-service construction company. Through these business units, Thompson Thrift is engaged in all aspects of development, construction, leasing, and management of quality commercial real estate projects across the country. The company earned national recognition as a winner of a 2023 Top Workplaces USA award, the latest accolade that reflects the company's ongoing commitment to excellence in the community and workplace. For more information, please visit www.thompsonthrift.com

Contact:

Jennifer Franklin

Spotlight Marketing Communications

949.427.1385

[email protected]

SOURCE Thompson Thrift
SF-based venture capital fund Thomvest Ventures increases its total assets under management to $750M and promotes Umesh Padval and Nima Wedlake to Managing Directors

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Thomvest Ventures , a venture capital firm founded by Peter Thomson, today announced a new $250 million fund and the promotion of Umesh Padval and Nima Wedlake to the role of Managing Director. The new fund brings the firm's total assets under management (AUM) to $750 million, enabling the firm to invest in the next generation of companies across the firm's core focus areas of financial and real estate technology, cybersecurity, cloud and AI infrastructure.

"I started investing in entrepreneurs because of their potential to help shape our collective future," said Peter Thomson, founder of Thomvest Ventures. "We believe that great companies are often born during challenging macroeconomic periods. And given the once-in-a-generation changes that we see happening now because of AI, that potential is as strong today as ever."

Founded more than 25 years ago, Thomvest Ventures has made over 75 investments across early and growth stage startups. Notable investments have included Blend Labs, Carta, Clari, Cohere, Cylance, Harness.io, Kabbage, Isovalent, Ladder, LendingClub, Mynd, SoFi, Skyhigh Networks, ThousandEyes, and Vungle. The firm's stage-agnostic, sector-specific approach is driven by its ongoing market research efforts and extensive operator and advisor network.

Don Butler, the firm's current Managing Director, said "Our experience of investing over the last quarter century means that we've lived through several market cycles. The combination of the current downturn in venture and the opportunities that AI enables make this the right time to be investing in the next generation of leaders in our focus areas."

As part of the new fund, Thomvest Ventures is also announcing the promotion of two investors, Umesh Padval and Nima Wedlake, to the role of Managing Director. The two partners bring significant experience and an impressive investment track record to their respective areas.

Umesh Padval leads the firm's investments in cybersecurity, cloud and AI infrastructure. Umesh has led Thomvest Ventures investments in a number of fast-growing companies including Bolster, Cohere, Clari, Cycognito, Harness.io, Isovalent (acquired by Cisco), Lastline (acquired by VMWare), Skyhigh Networks (acquired by McAfee), and ThousandEyes (acquired by Cisco).

"The disruption caused by generative AI this year provides us with a tremendous opportunity to create the next generation of companies in cybersecurity, cloud and AI infrastructure," said Umesh Padval. "Our firm has been investing in companies that leverage AI for years like Bolster, Clari, Cylance, Harness and Qwiet AI, and our latest investment in Cohere marks our first in generative AI. We are humbled by the trust and confidence placed on us by founders and CEOs who have chosen to partner with us to build large enterprises. Our CEO and extensive board experience, combined with our CXO network, operational expertise, and the deep knowledge of the verticals we invest in, significantly differentiates us in the start-up community."

Nima Wedlake leads the firm's investments in real estate technology. Nima has led the firm's investment in a number of current and emerging industry leaders including Baselane, Blend, Keyway, Maxwell, Mynd, and Obie.

"We continue to see a number of unique opportunities in real estatewe are in the early days of digital transformation within the asset class," said Nima. "I'm thrilled to be able to leverage our deep understanding of the space to support transformational founders and management teams."

About Thomvest Ventures

Thomvest Ventures is a venture capital fund backed by Peter Thomson. The firm is focused on financial and property technology, cybersecurity and cloud and AI infrastructure. Thomvest Ventures has been investing in entrepreneurs for more than 25 years through its offices in Silicon Valley and Toronto. The firm is committed to helping our companies' become leaders in their fields through leveraging our industry expertise and company-building experience. To learn more about Thomvest Ventures, please visit: https://www.thomvest.com/

SOURCE Thomvest Ventures
DALLAS, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Title Resources Group (TRG), one of the nation's leading title insurance underwriters is pleased to welcome Jenny Isgett to the Executive Leadership team, reporting to Chief Executive Officer, Scott McCall.

Jenny will lead business development in many areas of the company, including Builder relationships and National Agents.

Jenny Isgett

"We are thrilled to welcome Jenny to our leadership team. Jenny is a proven leader in the Title Insurance industry and is well known to many of the largest Title Agents in the country." said Title Resources Group Chief Executive Officer Scott McCall.

Jenny has over 20 years of experience in the real estate industry. She is a Past President of the Palmetto Land Title Association and has served on various industry related boards including the Home Builders Association Legislative Committee and the Urban Land Institute Executive Committee.

Currently, Jenny serves as 2nd Vice Chair on RESPRO's Executive Committee and Chairs the Engagement Committee.

Jenny holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Campbell University and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of South Carolina.

About Title Resources Group (TRG)

Title Resources Group  the underwriter built for the real estate industry  is one of the nation's largest title insurance underwriters, according to the American Land Title Association's 2023 market share data. A partnership with Centerbridge Partners, L.P., Anywhere Real Estate Inc. (NYSE: HOUS), HomeServices of America (a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate), and Opendoor Technologies Inc., TRG serves title insurance agents in 37 states and the District of Columbia. Since its inception, in 1984 the company has consistently operated profitably without a net operating loss in any fiscal year. With a mission to provide knowledgeable and responsive underwriting solutions, TRG is dedicated to growing lifelong relationships and maintaining quality through integrity and financial stability. For more information, please visit www.titleresources.com.

SOURCE Title Resources Group
Austin-based off-premises-only concept automates call-in customer service to improve efficiencies and make the most of high-value employee resources

BOSTON, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Voicify, the market leader in conversational AI, today announced it has been selected as the Conversational Voice AI provider for Tso Chinese Takeout and Delivery. Using Voicify, Tso Chinese harnesses voice AI to free up kitchen staff to fulfill orders without neglecting customers who call.

Tso Chinese Selects Voicify

"Despite the fact that Tso focuses mainly on fulfilling online orders from takeout & delivery-only locations, the company still wants to be accessible to answer phone-in questions and requests from guests," said Robert Naughton, CRO at Voicify. "With Voicify, Tso can automate the vast majority of call-in inquiries from guests, so team members spend less time on the phone, and more time preparing delicious Chinese food."

Voicify AI Answering is optimized to handle natural human speech. This means that Tso Chinese customers can speak normally without modifying their speech at all. Voicify AI Answering uses natural language to field customer questions such as 'What hours are you open?'; 'Do you deliver?'; 'Tell me about your menu.'; and 'May I place an order?'. At customer request, Voicify sends an SMS text with a link to the Tso menu, pickup location directions, and online ordering platform.

Tso Chief Technology Officer Angell Tsang has taken his Voicify-powered Voice Assistant to a new level, by training it with much of the company's knowledge base. The result is that Tso Voice Assistants can answer a very robust set of customer questions.

"The Voicify AI Answering platform is incredibly powerful, limited only by your imagination," said Angell Tsang, Chief Technology Officer at Tso Chinese. "We've been completely blown away by how Voicify AI enables us to empower our guests by answering questions common to our menu and off-premises service style such as 'Do you cook with MSG?' and 'Do you offer vegetarian options?'"

Voicify AI Answering is available through an affordable monthly cost that will quickly pay for itself in crew labor savings. As needed or at customer request, the AI Answering assistant can always connect the caller with human store staff. The system continually learns and improves based on customer questions.

About Voicify

Voicify has spent years pioneering an industry-leading platform for natural language understanding and processing. Today, Voicify is the leading voice AI technology company for restaurants. Voicify's suite of tools transforms guest experiences across multiple points of service with seamless deployment and can scale to any size restaurant operation. Designed to deploy quickly and integrate directly with an existing phone, POS, kiosks, and other restaurant technologies, Voicify AI always delivers the polished, on-brand experience that diners expect. Voicify sets the standard for conversational AI by learning quickly and delivering intelligent and reliable performance for any situation. Find out more about Voicify for Restaurants here . To give Voicify AI a try, call 888-910-6525.

About Tso Chinese Takeout and Delivery

Offering a no-tipping policy, Tso Chinese offers one of the most affordable delivery & takeout-only services of fresh Chinese-American food to hungry customers in greater Austin, Texas. By building its business around a no-dine-in, small real estate footprint kitchen concept, Tso enjoys lower operating expenses and passes the savings onto customers. Its goal is to become America's #1 choice for Chinese food delivery and takeout. To learn more about the company, visit https://tso.company . To place an order for takeout or delivery in the Austin/Round Rock, Texas area, visit https://tsochinese.com .

Press Contact

Robert Naughton

rnaughton@voicify.com

SOURCE Voicify
ATMORE, Ala., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- (OTCQX: UBAB)  United Bank has provided $700,000 in soft financing to Vantage Development for the construction of The Villas at York, a 52-unit affordable housing complex for seniors in Birmingham, Alabama. The soft financing is funded through United Bank's 2020 Capital Magnet Fund award from the CDFI Fund division of the US Treasury Department. United Bank is also providing $4.5 million in construction financing to the project through its participation in United Community Bank's $11 million construction facility. Once completed, the complex will offer one- and two-bedroom apartment homes to senior adults ages 55 and over. On-site amenities will include a laundry facility, clubhouse and community center, covered bus shelter, storm shelter, gazebo, a covered picnic pavilion, and a computer center.

About United Bank

United Bank is a $1.3 billion financial holding company that serves Southwest Alabama and Northwest Florida. United is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), which recognizes its commitment to stimulating economic development in underserved communities. UB Community Development (UBCD) focuses on economic and community development through its New Markets Tax Credits, affordable housing, and community facilities programs. Member FDIC.

SOURCE United Bank
Oliver Wyman Forum Finds Challenges Remain in Training Current and Future Workforces

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Oliver Wyman, a business of Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC), announced today findings from a new report entitled " How Generative AI is Transforming Business and Society ," released at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

The report, from Oliver Wyman's think tank, the Oliver Wyman Forum, found that more than half of employees globally now use generative AI at work and that adoption is far higher in some countries. The Forum also found that adoption has not necessarily translated into higher levels of productivity  yet.

"The adoption rate of generative AI has been nothing short of remarkable," said John Romeo, CEO of the Oliver Wyman Forum. "ChatGPT achieved mass adoption in less than one year -- a stark contrast to the internet, which took 17 years, smartphones 21 years, and electricity which took three decades, but training is not keeping up and we are facing an AI productivity disconnect."

Forecasting business impact over the next decade, the report shows generative AI-trained junior employees will climb into management ranks faster than ever before. And senior-level leaders express the greatest levels of concern about losing their jobs to generative AI automation, according to the report.

Key workplace findings from the report are below:

Developing Countries Ahead: India leads 16 countries in employee adoption with 83% surveyed reporting daily or at least weekly use of generative AI. By contrast, weekly use by North American and European employees is below 50%.



Explosive Growth Among Pink & Blue Collars: Between June and November 2023 , generative AI use exploded among white-collar knowledge workers as well as pink-collar workers. Doctors, nurses, and life-sciences employees increased weekly use by 264%. Weekly adoption among pink-collar education employees grew 144%, and blue-collar retail worker use increased by 71%.



Productivity Gains Are Years Away: As many as 20% of employees who report generative AI has not increased their productivity say they are bogged down by corporate guidelines and "unsatisfactory output" which adds review and editing time to projects. The full potential of generative AI's productivity gains is still six to 10 years away, according to the report.



Generative AI Training Gap: Lack of productivity may be linked to insufficient training. Employees at all levels seek more upskilling than employers currently provide. Among white-collar employees, 80% want more or better AI training, but only 64% currently say they receive it. This gap is wider among pink-collar employees.



Job Loss Concern: Across the 17 industries and job types studied, 60% of employees express increasing concern their jobs will be replaced by generative AI. Globally, 30% of all job seekers say generative AI is motivating their job search. Employees who worry about AI are 57% more likely to feel their productivity is declining and 78% more likely to believe they don't matter to their employer, according to recent data from the American Psychological Association.

Consumer findings include:

Bias concerns: In all 16 countries studied, most consumers are concerned generative AI is producing biased content. People are most concerned in India (92%) and least concerned in France (73%) while 83% of US respondents report being are concerned.



Trust is shaken: When asked if organizations using generative AI are untrustworthy, 29% said "yes," with 18% saying generative AI tools "are not trustworthy at all" or "not very trustworthy."



Privacy, cybersecurity and more: Privacy, cybersecurity and overreliance on generative AI are the top three concerns for over 30% of consumers, but many cited additional worries, including job loss (29%), environmental impact (15%) and mental health (14%).

Ana Kreacic, COO of the Oliver Wyman Forum and Chief Knowledge Officer of the Oliver Wyman Group commented: "Automation is no longer just a narrative of blue-collar workers. Many white-collar workers fear their roles will become displaced with generative AI, and this anxiety is having a direct impact on productivity. It's a misconception for businesses to wait a year or two and hope to hire a fully generative AI trained workforce. Companies need to reskill the employees they have now by focusing on areas with the most near-term applications."

About the report

Oliver Wyman Forum conducted the survey to enhance its understanding of generative AI, specifically in the context of the workplace, the consumer economy, and risk. The survey was conducted in June and November 2023 among a total of 25,000 respondents across 16 countries including: the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, China (Hong Kong), India, Indonesia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia.

About Oliver Wyman

Oliver Wyman is a global leader in management consulting. With offices in more than 70 cities across 30 countries, Oliver Wyman combines deep industry knowledge with specialized expertise in strategy, operations, risk management, and organization transformation. The firm has more than 7,000 professionals around the world who work with clients to optimize their business, improve their operations and risk profile, and accelerate their organizational performance to seize the most attractive opportunities. Oliver Wyman is a business of Marsh McLennan [NYSE: MMC].

SOURCE Oliver Wyman
NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Vesey Street Capital Partners, LLC ("VSCP"), a New York-based healthcare services private equity firm, announced that funds managed by VSCP have completed a majority recapitalization of Inceptua Group ("Inceptua", or the "Company"). Inceptua is a leading provider of clinical trial supplies and related services, as well as global early access programs, with over 25 years of specialized industry experience.

Inceptua Group

As part of the transaction, industry veteran Doug Cook, formerly EVP and President of Global Commercialization Services and Animal Health at Cencora, Inc. (f.k.a. AmerisourceBergen Corporation), will be joining the Company as Executive Chairman and working in partnership with VSCP, Inceptua CEO Stefan Fraenkel and the rest of the Inceptua team.

"Vesey Street Capital Partners is both excited and honored to be working with Doug, Stefan and the entire Inceptua team to enhance the Company's value proposition and support future growth initiatives," said Adam Feinstein, Managing Partner at VSCP.

Larry Marsh, Investment Partner at VSCP, added "Having had a long-standing relationship with Doug Cook, we are extremely enthused about working with Doug and Stefan to bring more value to our customers globally as they seek to drive innovation."

Peter Krantz, founder of Inceptua, commented "The partnership with Vesey Street Capital Partners will help Inceptua's strategy of expanding its capabilities within its core business to develop additional and complementary services in-line with our customers' global needs. With VSCP's support and expertise, I'm convinced that Inceptua will reach the next level."

Stefan Fraenkel, CEO of Inceptua, said "I am excited to be working with the VSCP team and Doug, given their experience and expertise in the pharmaceutical services industry, as we continue our successful growth journey. This partnership is a tremendous opportunity to enhance and expand our services to customers around the world."

Doug Cook, Executive Chairman of Inceptua, added "I am thrilled to commence this partnership with VSCP and the Inceptua team, and look forward to leveraging my experience in the space to help grow the business through organic initiatives and strategic relationships."

VSCP and affiliates contributed the equity for the transaction. McDermott Will & Emery served as legal counsel to VSCP. Grant Thornton LLP assisted VSCP in financial due diligence.

ABOUT INCEPTUA GROUP

Inceptua is a global pharmaceutical services company with market-leading capabilities across multiple business areas. Inceptua Clinical Trial Supply provides clinical trial supply, services and logistics, including comparator sourcing of medicines, packaging, labelling, storage, and distribution services. Inceptua Early Access offers strategic advice, design, facilitation, and implementation of global early access programs, and distributes unlicensed and other medicines worldwide.

Inceptua has over 25 years of experience serving life science companies of various sizes, and has global operations with offices across Europe, North America and Asia.

Additional information is available at: www.inceptua.com

ABOUT VESEY STREET CAPITAL PARTNERS

Vesey Street Capital Partners is a private equity firm specializing in buyouts of lower middle-market healthcare services businesses. VSCP invests on behalf of a wide array of Limited Partners, including asset management firms, family offices, pension funds, and other institutional investors. Since its inception, VSCP has consummated 40 transactions across ten platform businesses and has deployed ~$700 million of equity capital. For more information, please visit www.vscpllc.com.

Media Contact:

Tiffany Visconti, Investor Relations

Vesey Street Capital Partners

The Pearline House

428 Greenwich Street

New York, NY 10013

Email: [email protected]

(646) 847-2474

SOURCE Vesey Street Capital Partners
Vodafone and Microsoft to transform the customer experience using Microsoft's generative AI

Vodafone to scale its new standalone IoT business with Microsoft

Partnership will expand M-Pesa to improve financial inclusion across Africa

Vodafone to grow enterprise business with new Microsoft services for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs)

Vodafone to accelerate digital transformation and operational efficiencies in virtual data center migration to Microsoft Azure

LONDON and REDMOND, Wash., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Vodafone and Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday announced a new, far-reaching 10-year strategic partnership that leverages their respective strengths in offering scaled digital platforms to more than 300 million businesses, public sector organizations, and consumers across Europe and Africa.

Vodafone employees can leverage the power of Microsoft Copilot to boost productivity and improve digital efficiency.

Through the partnership, the companies will collaborate to transform Vodafone's customer experience using Microsoft's generative AI; hyperscale Vodafone's leading managed IoT connectivity platform; develop new digital and financial services for businesses, particularly SMEs across Europe and Africa; and overhaul its global data center cloud strategy.

Vodafone will invest $1.5 billion over the next 10 years in cloud and customer-focused AI services developed in conjunction with Microsoft. Additionally, Microsoft will use Vodafone's fixed and mobile connectivity services.

Microsoft also intends to invest in Vodafone's managed IoT connectivity platform, which will become a separate, standalone business by April 2024. The new company will attract new partners and customers, driving growth in applications and expanding the platform to connect more devices, vehicles and machines.

The digital services generated by the new partnership will use the latest generative AI technology to provide a highly personalized and differentiated customer experience across multiple channels. They will be built on unbiased and ethical privacy and security policies under Vodafone's established framework for responsible AI.

Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group chief executive, said: "Today, Vodafone has made a bold commitment to the digital future of Europe and Africa. This unique strategic partnership with Microsoft will accelerate the digital transformation of our business customers, particularly small and medium-sized companies, and step up the quality of customer experience for consumers."

"This new generation of AI will unlock massive new opportunities for every organization and every industry around the world," said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft. "We are delighted that together with Vodafone we will apply the latest cloud and AI technology to enhance the customer experience of hundreds of millions of people and businesses across Africa and Europe, build new products and services, and accelerate the company's transition to the cloud."

The companies have identified five key areas of collaboration:

Generative AI: To increase customer satisfaction, the companies will apply the power of Microsoft Azure OpenAI to deliver frictionless, real-time, proactive and hyperpersonalized experiences across all Vodafone customer touchpoints, including its digital assistant TOBi (available in 13 countries). Vodafone employees will also be able to leverage the AI capabilities of Microsoft Copilot to transform working practices, boost productivity and improve digital efficiency.

To increase customer satisfaction, the companies will apply the power of Microsoft Azure OpenAI to deliver frictionless, real-time, proactive and hyperpersonalized experiences across all Vodafone customer touchpoints, including its digital assistant TOBi (available in 13 countries). Vodafone employees will also be able to leverage the AI capabilities of Microsoft Copilot to transform working practices, boost productivity and improve digital efficiency. Scaling IoT: Microsoft intends to invest in Vodafone's new, standalone global Internet of Things (IoT)-managed connectivity platform, which connects 175 million devices and platforms worldwide. Vodafone also plans to become part of the Azure ecosystem making the IoT platform available to a vast developer and third-party community using open APIs.

Microsoft intends to invest in Vodafone's new, standalone global Internet of Things (IoT)-managed connectivity platform, which connects 175 million devices and platforms worldwide. Vodafone also plans to become part of the Azure ecosystem making the IoT platform available to a vast developer and third-party community using open APIs. Africa digital acceleration: Microsoft intends to help further scale M-Pesa, already the largest financial technology platform in Africa , by housing it on Azure and enabling the launch of new cloud-native applications. The companies are also launching a purpose-led program that seeks to enrich the lives of 100 million consumers and 1 million SMEs across the African continent. The goal is to enhance digital literacy, skilling and youth outreach programs, as well as offer digital services to the underserved SME market. The partnership aims to boost financial services innovation, building a community of certified developers.

Microsoft intends to help further scale M-Pesa, already the largest financial technology platform in , by housing it on Azure and enabling the launch of new cloud-native applications. The companies are also launching a purpose-led program that seeks to enrich the lives of 100 million consumers and 1 million SMEs across the African continent. The goal is to enhance digital literacy, skilling and youth outreach programs, as well as offer digital services to the underserved SME market. The partnership aims to boost financial services innovation, building a community of certified developers. Enterprise growth: Vodafone will extend its commitment to distributing Microsoft services, including Microsoft Azure, security solutions and modern work offerings such as Microsoft Teams Phone Mobile, as part of its strategy to become Europe's leading platform for business. This enables business customers to deploy Microsoft's cloud-based services at pace with low adoption and running costs, as well as support the estimated 24 million SMEs across Europe through the provision of a managed platform that grows with their business.

Vodafone will extend its commitment to distributing Microsoft services, including Microsoft Azure, security solutions and modern work offerings such as Microsoft Teams Phone Mobile, as part of its strategy to become leading platform for business. This enables business customers to deploy Microsoft's cloud-based services at pace with low adoption and running costs, as well as support the estimated 24 million SMEs across through the provision of a managed platform that grows with their business. Cloud transformation: Vodafone will accelerate its cloud transformation by modernizing its data centers on Microsoft Azure. This will improve its responsiveness to customers, while simplifying and reducing the operational costs of its IT estate. As a result, Vodafone will be able to replace multiple physical data centers with virtual ones across Europe , simplifying and reducing the operational costs of its IT estate, as well as reducing energy requirements and helping deliver against its sustainable business strategy.

About Vodafone

For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com, follow us on Twitter at @VodafoneGroup or connect with us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/vodafone.

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

SOURCE Microsoft Corp.
WELL's clinic recruitment, absorption and acquisition program has demonstrated substantial growth and capital efficiency having added two Canadian clinics in Q4-2023 generating approximately $28 million in annualized revenues for total consideration of less than $400,000 and are expected to positively contribute to EBITDA in 2024. WELL now operates 167 clinics in 98 facilities across Canada

in annualized revenues for total consideration of less than and are expected to positively contribute to EBITDA in 2024. WELL now operates 167 clinics in 98 facilities across WELL has initiated an enterprise-wide cost optimization initiative, with a focus on improving cost efficiency and improving operating cashflow. It is expected that the Company will leverage a multitude of strategies including tech enablement, robotic process automation, and artificial intelligence for further cost optimization across its enterprise.

OceanMD continues its successful growth journey and has started its work with the PHSA in British Columbia . WELL continues to expect the full realization of the previously announced $38.5 million contract and is making progress on pursuing new public sector opportunities in its business development pipeline.

VANCOUVER, BC and TORONTO, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - WELL Health Technologies Corp. (TSX: WELL) (OTCQX: WHTCF) ("WELL" or the "Company"), a digital healthcare company focused on positively impacting health outcomes by leveraging technology to empower healthcare practitioners and their patients globally, is pleased to announce multiple updates to its business.

Hamed Shahbazi, Founder and CEO of WELL, commented, "2023 was a landmark year for WELL, marked by significant growth, record revenues and EBITDA but perhaps what encourages us the most is how doctors and clinic owners across the country are proactively approaching WELL for support on managing their clinics. This has caused an unprecedented growth in the inbound interest in our owned and operated patient care business leading to an acceleration in our organic growth. Simply put, our growth is no longer just limited to buying clinics or developing greenfield sites, we are now attracting and recruiting entire clinics with a full roster of patients and providers for nominal consideration. We refer to this as our clinic absorption program. This is because care providers are increasingly trusting WELL and looking to be 'absorbed' by WELL such that they be supported with professional management that allows them focus on delivering the best care possible."

Mr. Shahbazi continued, "We are coupling this shift of rapid growth due to reduced physician and clinic acquisition costs with an emphasis on streamlining and cost optimizing our operations so that we can scale profitably and demonstrate the operating leverage that exists in our business. We believe it is critical for us to do this so that we can meet the industry demand and be able to continue to support our community of patients and providers."

WELL's clinic recruitment and absorption program has demonstrated substantial growth and capital efficiency. In Q4 alone, WELL has added two Canadian clinics generating approximately $28 million in annualized revenues for total consideration of less than $400,000. These clinics are expected to positively contribute to EBITDA in 2024. This includes the addition of the Manitoba Clinic, the largest privately operated clinic in the Province of Manitoba. Overall, WELL's clinic recruitment and absorption program has now resulted in five clinics joining WELL's network in 2023 and generating more than $33 million in annualized revenues for total consideration of less than $400,000. All of which are expected to positively contribute to EBITDA in 2024. WELL's current pipeline of clinic 'absorption' candidates includes 13 clinics which are currently under LOI. WELL's regular non-absorption M&A pipeline of clinics and targets currently includes approximately 30 clinics and targets under LOI.

Eva Fong, CFO of WELL, commented, "WELL hasn't just demonstrated an ability to acquire or absorb clinics, we've also been very focused on integrating and delivering Revenue and EBITDA growth. From inception through to 2022,1 our acquired clinics underwent WELL's clinic transformation program which resulted in average revenue growth of 20% and EBITDA growth by an average of 31%. We look forward to updating our stakeholders on the results of our clinic transformation on our 2023 and 2024 cohorts."

Manitoba's Largest Clinic Joins the WELL Network

On December 1, 2023, WELL completed the absorption of the Manitoba Clinic. The addition of this well-known and trusted clinic enhances WELL's network with a range of specialized services including family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, ophthalmology, and more. With over 40 skilled physicians, Manitoba Clinic broadens the depth and breadth of WELL's medical expertise and extends its reach to over 750,000 residents in Winnipeg, one of Canada's largest cities. This is part of WELL's clinic recruitment and absorption program, which has made significant contributions to WELL's organic growth and reflects WELL's discipline regarding capital allocation.

The incorporation of Manitoba Clinic into the portfolio marks WELL's first entry into Manitoba, representing a significant milestone as the fifth province in Canada where WELL has established a physical clinical presence. This crucial step aligns with WELL's vision of creating a nationwide network of physical and virtual healthcare services. By integrating Manitoba Clinic, WELL not only expands its geographical footprint but also lays a foundation for further clinical expansion within the province. With this acquisition, WELL now operates 167 clinics in 98 facilities across Canada, significantly advancing towards its goal of a widespread, integrated healthcare system serving Canadians coast to coast.

WELL Advances Profitability with Enterprise-Wide Cost Optimization Initiative

WELL has embarked on an enterprise-wide cost optimization initiative, aimed at enhancing operational efficiency and increasing operating cash flow. This strategic move is key to WELL's long-term vision, reflecting a commitment to not only improve financial performance but also to establish a foundation for sustained growth and market leadership.

Central to this strategy, WELL has made significant strides in technology integration, particularly with AI. Earlier this year, WELL established an AI Center of Excellence internally to help expand the use of AI across functions throughout the enterprise. The Company has recently procured several leading-edge AI solutions, some of which are slated for deployment in early 2024. These advancements are expected to increase operational efficiency, provide improved support and care to our valued customers, and enhance the organization's productivity velocity. In tandem with these technological enhancements, WELL is also focusing on the centralization of key vendor relationships. This includes a major initiative in data center hosting, which is anticipated to significantly refine WELL's hosting economics. By optimizing these vendor relationships, WELL is aiming to achieve more favorable cost structures and service efficiencies, contributing to improved scalability, security, and reduced operational costs.

Through these initiatives, WELL is reinforcing its commitment to leveraging technology and strategic operational restructuring. The focus on AI integration and vendor relationship centralization is a testament to WELL's pursuit of excellence in healthcare efficiency and customer service. These efforts are poised to drive enhanced profitability and assert WELL's position as a leader in the healthcare industry, ready to address the evolving challenges of the healthcare sector.

WELL's Continued Focus on Public Sector Success

WELL continues to focus on opportunities to grow its public sector business. OceanMD, a wholly owned subsidiary of WELL, continues to demonstrate significant growth overall and through its ongoing project with the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) in British Columbia. The start of this collaboration signals a significant expansion in OceanMD's role within the Canadian healthcare sector. Central to this collaboration's success is the Ocean Platform, whose effectiveness and innovation are exemplified through services like eReferrals, eConsults, and eOrders. These offerings are set to significantly enhance healthcare efficiency in the province. The collaboration with the BC PHSA represents a significant milestone for OceanMD, further establishing its role in advancing digital healthcare solutions across Canada, and WELL remains optimistic about realizing the full $38.5 million contract. WELL has recently participated in new public service-oriented business development opportunities and looks forward to supporting its public service federal and provincial partners in 2024 and beyond.

Footnotes: 1. WELL's clinic acquisitions that closed in 2023 were excluded from this figure as they were recently enrolled in WELL's clinic transformation program

WELL HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES CORP.

Per: "Hamed Shahbazi"

Hamed Shahbazi

Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and Director

About WELL Health Technologies Corp.

WELL's mission is to tech-enable healthcare providers. We do this by developing the best technologies, services, and support available, which ensures healthcare providers are empowered to positively impact patient outcomes. WELL's comprehensive healthcare and digital platform includes extensive front and back-office management software applications that help physicians run and secure their practices. WELL's solutions enable more than 33,000 healthcare providers between the US and Canada and power the largest owned and operated healthcare ecosystem in Canada with more than 165 clinics supporting primary care, specialized care, and diagnostic services. In the United States WELL's solutions are focused on specialized markets such as the gastrointestinal market, women's health, primary care, mental health, revenue cycle management, and practitioner recruiting. WELL is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "WELL" and on the OTC Exchange under the symbol "WHTCF". To learn more about the Company, please visit: www.well.company.

SOURCE WELL Health Technologies Corp.
BOSTON, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Granata Bio, Inc. a biopharma company focused on invigorating the $3.6B global infertility medication market, today announced the close of a $14M Series A funding round led by GV (Google Ventures). Participants in the funding round include CooperSurgical, Gedeon Richter, Alumni Ventures, Amboy Street Ventures, Vibe Bio and others.

In the United States nearly 1 in 5 women struggle with infertility and are unable to get pregnant after one year of trying according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023. Approximately 1 in 4 women in this group have difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a pregnancy to term. Problems that affect ovulation, and the hormones involved with ovulation, are the most common cause of female infertility and are often treated with infertility drugs as a first step. Yet very little innovation has materialized to meet this growing need.

"Our team is taking a novel approach to address unmet needs in women's health," says Evan Sussman, CEO of Granata Bio Post this

Granata Bio launched in 2018 with a mission to invigorate the stagnant US offerings in the US fertility medication marketplace. The company gained immediate traction by designing innovative clinical development programs aimed at optimizing outcomes for study subjects while assessing the safety and efficacy of investigational products. To date, the company has assembled a portfolio of four medications, ranging from commercialized products to early-stage developments.

"Despite significant growth in patient volume over the last ten years, infertility has been woefully overlooked and under-supported. We're excited about the focus and innovation Granata Bio is bringing to this space and  most importantly  new options for patient care. We look forward to partnering with Evan Sussman and the Granata Bio team as they advance women's health," says Cathy Friedman, Executive Venture Partner at GV.

The Granata Bio leadership team brings more than 75 years of experience in fertility, with expertise in clinical development, regulatory strategy, and commercialization. Granata Bio will leverage the new capital to progress its existing pipeline, evaluate new targets and expand the team.

"Granata is taking a novel approach to both address current market dynamics and to develop unique products targeting unmet needs in women's health," says CEO Evan Sussman. "This funding is an exciting next step toward our mission of creating access for fertility patients with new therapeutic solutions."

About Granata Bio

Granata Bio is a US-based biopharma company focused on women's health and infertility. Founded in 2018, Granata's pipeline includes collaborations spanning four different IVF product classes.

To learn more about Granata Bio, visit www.granata.bio. For all inquiries contact [email protected].

About GV

GV supports innovative founders moving the world forward. We invest across the life sciences, consumer, enterprise, crypto, climate, and frontier technology sectors. With Alphabet as a sole limited partner, GV operates on long time horizons and deals in decades, not rounds. Our operating partners support startups at the earliest stages of company-building across design, equity, diversity & inclusion, talent, and engineering. We also help startups interface with Google, providing unique access to the world's best technology and talent.

Launched as Google Ventures in 2009, GV has over $8 billion in assets under management and 400 active portfolio companies across North America and Europe. Notable investment outcomes include Uber, Nest, Slack, GitLab, Duo Security, Flatiron Health, Verve Therapeutics, and One Medical. GV is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices in Cambridge, New York, and London.

About CooperSurgical

CooperSurgical is a leading fertility and women's healthcare company dedicated to putting time on the side of women, babies, and families at the healthcare moments that matter most in life. CooperSurgical is at the forefront of delivering innovative assisted reproductive technology and genomic solutions that enhance the work of ART professionals to the benefit of families. We currently offer over 600 clinically relevant medical devices to women's healthcare providers, including testing and treatment options.

CooperSurgical is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CooperCompanies. CooperSurgical, headquartered in Trumbull, CT, produces and markets a wide array of products and services for use by women's health care clinicians. More information can be found at www.coopersurgical.com.

SOURCE Granata Bio
Worldline selects Google Cloud technology to boost its digital transformation and continue to streamline its operations

Google strengthens its partnership with Worldline as a payment provider

Worldline and Google to bring innovation to merchants and financial institutions, and to explore the potential of artificial intelligence

The two partners to jointly explore impactful go-to-market opportunities

SUNNYVALE, Calif, and PARIS LA DEFENSE, France, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Worldline (Euronext: WLN), a global leader in payment services, and Google announced today a strategic partnership designed to leverage cutting-edge cloud-based technologies from Google Cloud to take Worldline's digital transformation further. As part of the partnership, Google will also work with Worldline to facilitate seamless online payments for Google's customers in Europe. In addition, both partners will jointly address go-to-market opportunities, and provide new and enhanced digital customer experiences for merchants and financial institutions.

Accelerating digital transformation with the cloud sustainably

Since 2022, Worldline has initiated a "Move to Cloud" program that includes using the cloud to accelerate its digital transformation into a global premium paytech company. Accelerating its trajectory, Worldline now plans to leverage Google Cloud's secure, high-performance, and low-latency infrastructure, enhancing its operational efficiency, optimizing costs, and improving its strategic positioning.

Worldline will also tap into Google Cloud's data analytics and AI capabilities to draw benefits from its own data, and consequently develop new payment products and services. The choice of Google Cloud also results from Worldline's long-lasting focus on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the low-carbon options Google Cloud offers, as a leader in sustainability.

Google strengthens its partnership with Worldline to facilitate seamless payments for its customers in Europe

As part of the expanded partnership, Worldline will also serve as one of Google's key payment providers in Europe and across a selection of countries. Worldline aims to provide Google customers with more advanced payment options, support for more payment networks, improved cross-border conversion, and a more streamlined customer experience.

Combining expertise to benefit merchants and financial institutions worldwide

The strategic partnership between Google and Worldline will ultimately create a powerful ecosystem of improved product offerings, delivering added value to merchants and banks, and setting a faster pace for continued innovation. By combining their expertise and their specialized knowledge and resources, Google and Worldline will be able to deliver improved payment experiences for their respective customers, and accelerate time-to-market.

"Our partnership with Worldline underscores the wide range of opportunities that secure and reliable cloud technology, data analytics, and AI can bring to merchants and financial institutions. By bringing together the strengths of our two companies, we can accelerate innovation in the payment industry," said Thomas Kurian, Google Cloud CEO.

"Innovation and advanced technology are at the core of Worldline's DNA. To trailblaze changing payment environments and not only meet but anticipate customer expectations, it is key to couple our Paytech DNA with the technological capabilities of a true market leader. We are very proud to expand and strengthen our partnership as a payment provider for Google in Europe. Our deep market infrastructure understanding, combined with Google Cloud's technology expertise and scale, will accelerate our time-to-market and drive tangible success for our customers and markets," said Gilles Grapinet, CEO of Worldline.

About Worldline

Worldline [Euronext: WLN] is a global leader in the payments industry and the technology partner of choice for merchants, banks and acquirers. Powered by 18,000 employees in more than 40 countries, Worldline provides its clients with sustainable, trusted and innovative solutions fostering their growth. Services offered by Worldline include instore and online commercial acquiring, highly secure payment transaction processing and numerous digital services. In 2022 Worldline generated a revenue close to 4.4 billion euros. worldline.com

Read our 2022 Integrated Report

Worldline's corporate purpose ("raison d'etre") is to design and operate leading digital payment and transactional solutions that enable sustainable economic growth and reinforce trust and security in our societies. Worldline makes them environmentally friendly, widely accessible, and supports social transformation.

About Google Cloud

Google Cloud provides organizations with leading infrastructure, platform capabilities and industry solutions. We deliver enterprise-grade cloud solutions that leverage Google's cutting-edge technology to help companies operate more efficiently and adapt to changing needs, giving customers a foundation for the future. Customers in more than 150 countries turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to solve their most critical business problems.

SOURCE Google Inc.
2-week treatment beats traditional therapy for PTSD

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is investing over $100 million in evidence-based care for veteran mental health and brain injuries. The funding will make it possible for more post-9/11 veterans to attend a program that can significantly reduce depression, anxiety, and substance use disorder in two weeks.

Jenna Malone and Navy veteran husband Issac, seen with their children, received treatment at Warrior Care Network through Wounded Warrior Project after Issacs suicide attempt.

This is the latest investment by WWP in Warrior Care Network, bringing the total to $336 million. Launched in 2015, Warrior Care Network is a national partnership between WWP and four clinical partners. It aims to make it easier for veterans to get mental health and brain injury care. It offers a customized two-week program at no cost that is faster and more effective than traditional treatments.

"Warrior Care Network was a breakthrough for us. It gave our family tools to navigate our path forward," said Jenna Malone, a military spouse whose husband attended Warrior Care Network at UCLA's Operation Mend Program after two suicide attempts.

Read more about Jenna and Issac's journey.

More than 95% of Warrior Care Network participants would recommend it to others. Results from more than 4,000 participants show:

Veterans entering Warrior Care Network with severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can reduce their symptoms to moderate or mild levels in two weeks, on average. Research estimates typical therapy takes 3-4 months for similar results.

Nine in 10 veterans finish the treatment, a much higher rate than traditional treatments.

This program is just as good at reducing depression symptoms as a standard three-to-four-month program.

Veterans use fewer substances to manage their mood or symptoms. Warrior Care Network treats substance use disorder alongside PTSD.

WWP funding for Warrior Care Network also supports research in virtual reality, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, artificial intelligence, and more to improve treatment for mental health and traumatic brain injuries.

"Veterans tell us that Warrior Care Network delivers results unlike many other treatment programs and that's because of the shared expertise and contributions of our clinical partners," said WWP Chief Program Officer Jennifer Silva. "Wounded Warrior Project is very proud to invest in innovative research and treatments for mental health and brain injury care that are proven to help the warriors and families we serve thrive."

Warrior Care Network partners are Emory Healthcare Veterans Program in Atlanta, Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program in Boston, Rush University Medical Center Road Home Program in Chicago, and UCLA Health Operation Mend Program in Los Angeles.

Learn more about Warrior Care Network.

About Wounded Warrior Project

Since 2003, Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) has been meeting the growing needs of warriors, their families, and caregivers  helping them achieve their highest ambition. Learn more.

SOURCE Wounded Warrior Project
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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
Yemen's Houthis launch fresh missile attack on ship in Gulf of Aden: US Navy. Image Source: IANS News

Sanaa, Jan 16 : Yemen's Houthi group has said that they attacked a US ship in the Gulf of Aden with several missiles.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a statement on the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV that the strike was "accurate and direct", Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier on Monday, the US Central Command said the Marshall Islands-flagged container ship Gibraltar Eagle, owned and operated by a US shipping company, was hit by a Houthi missile at 4 p.m. local time.

The vessel, Gibraltar Eagle, reported "no injuries or significant damage" and is continuing on its journey in the Gulf of Aden, the BBC reported, citing the US military command for the Middle East (Centcom).
Washington, Jan 16 : Former President Donald Trump starts with the early bird advantage against his rivals Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley as the Iowa caucus kicks in on Monday with voters heading for the polling booths with all Gallup polls showing Trump with the highest points.

The weather with icy winds and heavy snowfall with temperatures plummeting to -22 degrees Celsius could test the resolve of the voters to come out of the comfort of their homes to the polling booths.

Trump is expected to win the nation's first nominating contest. But a number of other storylines will be crucial to understanding what happens next, as the race moves to New Hampshire and beyond, media reports said.

The 2024 presidential election kicked off in right earnest, as Republicans in Iowa headed to the polls a" trudging through snow and record-setting frigid temperatures a" to pick their preferred GOP nominee.

Trump is widely expected to walk away as the nominee, for a 3rd time, as the final Des Moines Register (publication of Iowa) poll showed him leading the field by a 28 percentage-point margin a" a number of other storylines will be just as crucial to understanding whether any of his challengers might be poised to break through the former presidentas otherwise iron-clad grip on the nomination.

The question being asked frequently is can DeSantis or Haley convert enough of former New Jersey governor Christ Christie's supporters to eat away Trump's voters? Christie has dropped out of the presidential race.

"Everyone assumes that Trump is going to have a blowout here, and I'm not sure that's going to be the case," says Tim Hagle, political science professor at the University of Iowa.

Yet over the weekend, a widely anticipated poll from the Des Moines Register and NBC News showed Trump with a commanding leading a" garnering support from 48 per cent of likely Republican caucusgoers and leading in every demographic group a" with Haley surpassing DeSantis for the first time and by a notable margin, nabbing support from 20 per cent of the field compared to 16 per cent for DeSantis.

Trump holds the advantage because the new polls reflect the understanding that the former President often benefits from the most devotees and adoring Iowans.

The advantage could go to Trump in that case, with the new poll reflecting the long-held understanding that the former President often benefits from the most devoted and adoring base.

Some 82 per cent of Trump's supporters have made up their minds, compared to 18 per cent who said they could still be persuaded to support someone else. They also voiced the most enthusiasm about his candidacy, with half of them saying they were "extremely enthusiastic" about him and 39 per cent saying they were "very enthusiastic".

Only 11 per cent said they were "mildly enthusiastic", and the number of those who said they were "not that enthusiastic" did not even register.

"It seems unlikely a" not impossible, but unlikely a" for DeSantis to win in Iowa," Hagle says.

"But if he could cut that gap (between Trump and him) in half, that would be good. It would show some momentum, even if he's still 15 points down. The problem there is that he's not doing as well in New Hampshire. Of course, you don't have to do well in both early states to do well overall. But the problem for DeSantis is that Haley's home turf is South Carolina and heas polling behind both her and Trump," he adds.
Los Angeles, Jan 16 : Actor Matthew Macfadyen on Tuesday won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the show 'Succession', where he played Tom Wambsgans.

Actor Pedro Pascal honoured him with the award.

Others in the category included F. Murray Abraham ("The White Lotus"), Nicholas Braun ("Succession"), Michael Imperioli ("The White Lotus"), Theo James ("The White Lotus"), Alan Ruck ("Succession"), Will Sharpe ("The White Lotus") and Alexander Skarsgard ("Succession").

After getting the honour, Macfadyen said: "Thank you very much. Television Academy... Succession family Must make special mention to my onscreen wife Sarah Ruth Snook." Calling his co-actor Nicholas Braun his "second on-screen wife", he added: "Acting with you have been a brilliant thing."
Los Angeles, Jan 16 : Actress Niecy Nash clinched the honour for Outstanding Supporting Actress Limited or Anthology Series for her performance in the streaming series 'Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story' at the currently ongoing 75th edition of Primetime Emmy Awards.

Los Angeles, Jan 16 (IANS) Actress Niecy Nash clinched the honour for Outstanding Supporting Actress Limited or Anthology Series for her performance in the streaming series 'Dahmer  Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story' at the currently ongoing 75th edition of Primetime Emmy Awards.

The official handle of Television Academy took to their official handle on X, erstwhile Twitter, and wrote, "The #Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie goes to @NiecyNash for Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story ( @Netflix )! #Emmys #75thEmmys".

The actress' emotional, moving, political and life-affirming speech gave tough competition to the title of her series, 'Dahmer', and much easier to watch.

She pulled off a Snoop Dogg during her speech as she said, "I wanna thank me, for believing in me".

'Dahmer' is about the life of Jeffrey Dahmer, and how he became one of the most notorious serial killers in America. His murders were executed in Bath Township, Ohio, West Allis, Wisconsin, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin between 1978 and 1991.

The series dramatises instances where Dahmer was nearly apprehended until his ultimate conviction and death. It also explores how police incompetence and apathy contributed to enabling his crimes.

The 75th Primetime Emmy Awards are currently underway at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California. The Indian audience can stream the award show on Lionsgate Play.
Ayodhya, Jan 16 : The existing idols of Ram Lalla and his three brothers, which is being worshipped for the past 74 years now at the makeshift temple, will placed in front of the new idol inside the 'garbh griha' of the Ram Temple on January 22.

Champat Rai, general secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, said: "The worship of the present idol of Lord Ram has been going on since 1950 and it will be seated in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple along with the new idol.

"The worshipping of the idol will continue even after January 22 in the same manner as it has been done so far."

Rai said the Ram Lalla's present idol will also be dressed in new attires.

The 'appearance' of these idols on the night of October 22-23, 1949 inside the disputed site reignited the centuries old dispute, with the Muslim side claiming that the idols were kept by seers led by Hanuman Garhi's mahant Abhiram Das.

However, the public sentiments that this development ignited among Hindus set in motion a turn of events that laid the foundation of a prolonged legal battle that culminated into the Supreme Court's verdict on November 9, 2019 declaring that this was the birthplace of Lord Ram.
Lucknow, Jan 16 : Uttar Pradesh's special secretary, housing and urban planning department, Uday Bhanu Tripathi has lodged an FIR against unidentified people for issuing a fake appointment order from the department.

The FIR has been lodged at Hazratganj police station over the fake appointment order, that was being circulated on WhatsApp.

The police have registered a case under IPC sections, including 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery), and 471 (dishonesty) and initiated probe.

According to police, in his complaint Tripathi said that on December 16, 2023, under-secretary, Urban Development Department Mohammad Wasif told him about a WhatsApp message in which a letter dated July 26, 2023, stated that 21 people were appointed by the department.

"The forged appointment order was issued through fake signature, and it contained the names of 21 persons, who have been deployed in municipal bodies," said the Special secretary in his FIR.

The special secretary also told police that the signature used in the letter was fake as such appointment orders are not issued at the government level.

The special secretary also said in his complaint, that he was transferred much before the fake appointment order was issued.

He took charge as special secretary, Excise Department of the Uttar Pradesh government on July 12, 2023.

Tripathi said on July 26, 2023, he was not even working with the Urban Development Department and hence a thorough investigation should be initiated.
Day of Hamas attack will be remembered as the day its complete destruction began: Israeli Defence Minister (IANS FROM ISRAEL). Image Source: IANS News

Tel Aviv, Jan 16 : Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant claimed that the military has dismantled the Hamas militant group's entire military battalion framework in northern Gaza.

In a statement late Monday, Gallant said that although the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was reducing the intensity of its advances in northern Gaza, the military will continue to eliminate pockets of influence and resistance of the militant group.

He also said that these pockets of resistance would be eliminated through raids, airstrikes, special operations and other focused activites to destroy the remaining terror operators acting on specific and precise intelligence.

Gallant further said that the army will continue its intense operations in central and southern Gaza strip and added that operations will also be expanded to the Ramallah area as well.

He said that IDF was destroying the military industry of Hamas in central Gaza where the militant outfit was engaged in the production of rockets, IEDs and other explosives.

The Defense Minister noted that the army has made major progress in southern Gaza strip and was focusing on destroying the terror groupas senior leadership who are supposedly holed up in the Khan Younis area.

He also said that it was only because of the intense military action carried out by the IDF, that the terror organisation came the mediation table and added that once the fire power was stopped, the hostages would be forgotten by the world and they would remain in captivity.

Gallant said that the 162nd Division of IDF will remain in northern Gaza, carrying out clean-up operations to locate Hamasas infrastructure and kill or capture its remaining operatives.

While the 99th Division is operating in the central part of the besieged enclave, the 98th Division is fighting Hamas in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza.
Bijnor, Jan 16 : A joint team of district administration and police attached property worth Rs 2.3 crore at five places, belonging to Congress party's Bijnor district president Sherbaz Pathan in Uttar Pradesh.

Pathan, who is also the husband of Chandpur Nagar Palika chairperson Zeenat Parveen, said that he had been harassed because of his association with the Congress party and claimed that the attached property was merely valued at Rs 50 lakh.

"I am being harassed because of my association with the Congress," said Pathan, adding that he received a notice for attachment of property at the spot, without any prior notice.

Pathan claimed that he did not have any illegal property and said that he purchased the land with the assistance of his brothers living abroad.

He said that he was implicated in a false case by the administration and police during the NRC movement followed by a dispute with a BJP leader during local body elections.

Circle officer (CO), Chandpur, Bharat Kumar Sonkar said that property worth Rs 2.3 crore was attached, which includes a brick kiln, agriculture land and a plot.

Tehsildar Prabha Singh was appointed receiver of the attached property, the CO added.

The district magistrate court of Bijnor issued the order of confiscation under Section 14(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act-1986, against the accused Sherbaz Pathan.

A team of SDM Manoj Kumar, CO Bharat Kumar Sonkar, Tehsildar Prabha Singh and revenue inspector confiscated a brick kiln situated in Mirzapur Bela village, agricultural land at Khanpur Khadar and Taharpur, and a plot at Basta road in Chandpur.
Kanpur, Jan 16 : A 15-year-old from Kanpur district in Uttar Pradesh triggered a major security scare when he made a prank call to the Pune airport claiming that he had information that 40 planes would be bombed while flying over residential areas of the city.

The teenager has been traced through electronic surveillance and detained for questioning.

A case has been filed against him under section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.

Officers involved in the investigation said the teenager made the call because he "wanted to become famous".

He got the idea after watching Palestine-Israel war videos. He used his father's mobile phone to search the number of IndiGo's registered office at the Pune airport to make the threat call on January 11.

After receiving the call, authorities at IndiGo informed Delhi Police who in turn alerted the Intelligence Bureau, which passed the information to the Uttar Pradesh director general of police.

The Kanpur police swung into action and roped in the crime branch to crack the case.

During investigation, the location of the mobile phone was traced to the Sen Paschim Para area of the district. The crime branch team reached the spot and found that the call was made by the teenager.

He lives in a rented house with his family and is originally from Kushinagar.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) Salman Taj Patil said, "We have taken the boy in police custody and seized the mobile phone. No threat has been found in the primary investigation. The boy took the step out of ignorance. He will be sent back home after counselling his parents and other family members."
Tourist assaulted in Goa for negotiating rate of tender coconut. Image Source: IANS News

Lucknow, Jan 16 : Four miscreants allegedly sexually assaulted three girls on their way home in Vrindavan Yojna colony here, said officials on Tuesday.

The girls, all cousins, were returning to their homes via a mango grove after purchasing medicine on Monday evening, when the miscreants intercepted them and forced them to stop.

The miscreants then forced the girls to accept their proposals and allegedly tried to touch them inappropriately.

When the girls screamed for help, scores of villagers flocked to the scene.

Three of the miscreants fled while one was caught by the villagers who then informed the family members of the girls.

Later, the maternal uncle of one of the girls lodged a complaint with the police.

The police said that efforts were on to arrest the remaining accused.
New Delhi, Jan 16 : Apple became the leader of the global smartphone industry in 2023 for the first time, driven by an all-time high, 20.1 per cent market share for the company, a new report said on Tuesday.

Samsung, which has been the global smartphone leader for years, slipped to the second spot with 19.5 per cent market share.

The global smartphone shipments declined 3.2 per cent year over year to 1.17 billion units in 2023, according to the report from the International Data Corporation (IDC).

"Not only is Apple the only player in the Top 3 to show positive growth annually, but also bags the number 1 spot annually for the first time ever," said Nabila Popal, said research director with IDC's Worldwide Tracker team.

Apple achieved this fest despite facing increased regulatory challenges and renewed competition from Huawei in China, its largest market.

"Apple's ongoing success and resilience is in large part due to the increasing trend of premium devices, which now represent over 20 per cent of the market, fueled by aggressive trade-in offers and interest-free financing plans," Popal added.

The overall shift in ranking at the top of the market further highlights the intensity of competition within the smartphone market.

"Apple certainly played a part in Samsung's drop in rank, but the overall Android space is diversifying within itself," said Ryan Reith, group vice president with IDC's IDC's Worldwide Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers. Chinese brand Xiaomi was third with 12.5 per cent share globally, said the report.
Tel Aviv, Jan 10 : The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday announced the death of another soldier in the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, taking the total number of troopers killed in the ground offensive to 189.

The military identified the deceased soldier as Sgt. First Class (res.) Nitzan Schessler.

The 21-year-old Schessler from Hadera, was in the the 55th Brigadeas 7155th Battalion.

He was killed in a battle in southern Gaza, where two soldiers were also injured.

Of the two injured soldiers, one is from Schessleras battalion and the other one is deployed with the Combat Engineering Corpsa 603rd Battalion

The IDF has now intensified its ground offensive, which was launched on October 27, 2023, on central and southern Gaza as most of the northern part of the Hamas-controlled enclave is under its control.
Jaipur, Jan 16 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday raided several locations in Rajasthan, including the premises of former Congress Minister Mahesh Joshi, in connection with a money laundering case related to the Jal Jeevan Mission scam case.

Around 10 teams of ED from Jaipur, Delhi and Gujarat raided the premises at 6 a.m. This includes two houses of Mahesh Joshi, two contractors of the water supply department and the residences of two officials of the department.

The ED teams were searching Mahesh Joshi's house. He along with two members of his family were being questioned regarding some files.

The ED teams have been investigating the Jal Jeevan Mission scam for the last six months.

If informed sources are to be believed, the investigating agency can also give a notice to Mahesh Joshi to come to the ED headquarters.

The ED has seized a huge amount of fake bills for purchases made for the Jal Jeevan Mission. ED is interrogating officers and contractors, including the former minister, regarding these bills.
Mumbai, Jan 16 : Actress Aditi Sharma, who is leaving no stone unturned to do justice to her role of playing a pregnant woman in the show 'Rabb Se Hai Dua', has opened up on shooting with a prosthetic baby bump which is a completely new experience for her.

The show features Aditi as Dua, Karanvir Sharma as Haider and Richa Rathore as Ghazal.

In the upcoming episodes, the show will take a short seven-month leap where the Akhtar family will be seen hosting a baby shower for Dua.

The twist in the tale is when Ghazal makes a grand entry stating that she is also pregnant with Haider's child.

Talking about the sequence, Aditi said: "This is the third time I am shooting with a baby bump as Dua is seven- months pregnant in the show. But this time the experience is very different from last two time."

"To be honest, it is very challenging to shoot with a prosthetic baby bump and move around with the added weight. I can only imagine how much more gruelling those nine months must be in a women's life, of course it comes with a lot of hope and excitement but hats off to women for being able to go through this phase with positivity," added Aditi.

'Rabb Se Hai Dua' airs on Zee TV.
Kolkata, Jan 16 : The beginning of the trial process against some key accused in the cash-for-school-job case in West Bengal might be delayed because of the lack of necessary state government approval regarding those officials of the state education department who are currently in judicial custody.

Sources said that although the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is investigating the school job case, has submitted its charge sheet at a special court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the matter, officially the court could not accept that charge sheet.

This is because though a number of officials attached with the state government offices like that of West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) and West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBSEB) were named as accused in the charge sheet, the necessary approvals from the state government behind their arrests were not attached with it.

Sources said that despite repeated reminders to the state government, the necessary approval from the latter is yet to reach the office of CBI.

Explaining the legal complexities in the matter, senior counsel of the Calcutta High Court Kaushik Gupta said that despite the investigation being carried out following a direction of the Calcutta High Court; the beginning of the trial process will require approvals of arrest from the state government for those government officials who had been named as accused in the charge sheet.

However, some other legal brains in the state feel that in this process the beginning of the trial process can be delayed for some time but cannot be held back for an indefinite period. "After a reasonable time, the investigating agency can apprise the Calcutta High Court about the reluctance of the state government to give the approval and then act as per the next directions of the court," a city-based legal expert said.
Israel, US suspected over attack on Iranian ship in Red Sea. Image Source: IANS News

Tehran, Jan 16 : Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Tuesday announced that it launched barrages of ballistic missiles against the bases of "terrorists" and Israel's intelligence service Mossad in Syria and Iraq's Kurdistan Region, respectively, in response to recent anti-Tehran "terror" attacks.

The IRGC announced the attacks in three statements published on Sepah News, describing the operations, which it said were carried out at midnight, as responses to recent "terrorist attacks" in the southeastern Iranian provinces of Kerman and Sistan and Baluchestan as well as Israel's assassinations of Iranian and resistance commanders, reports Xinhua news agency.

Four people were killed as a result of the missile strike conducted by IRGC on Iraqi Kurdistan's capital of Erbil, according to the Kurdistan Region Security Council.

At 11.30 p.m. on Monday, the IRGC fired ballistic missiles on "several populated civilian areas" in Erbil, the Council said in a statement early Tuesday.

"Erbil, as a stable region, has never been a source of threat to any party," the statement said, describing the missile attack as "a clear violation of the sovereignty of the (Kurdish) region and Iraq".

The statement also called on the federal government and the international community not to remain silent about such attacks.

The latest developments come more than two week after two "suicide terrorists" detonated two bombs near the tomb of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Kerman on January 3, which resulted in over 90 deaths and 280 injuries.

The Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility for the bombings.
Jaipur, Jan 16 : A one-day training workshop for the newly elected MLAs in the Rajasthan Assembly is being held on Tuesday.

Jaipur, Jan 16 (IANS) A one-day training workshop for the newly elected MLAs in the Rajasthan Assembly is being held on Tuesday.

The MLAs will be given training in different sessions from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar will be speaking in the inaugural session. Dhankhar will share his parliamentary experience. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will share his experiences in the concluding session in the evening.

After the inaugural session, a session regarding the procedures of the Assembly, rules for conducting business and general conduct in the House will be held. It will be addressed by Lok Sabha MP Satyapal Singh and former Assembly Deputy Speaker Rao Rajendra Singh. After this, a session of Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel has been organised regarding the issues to be raised during Question Hour and Zero Hour.

There will be a session of former Assembly Speaker C.P. Joshi on the committees of the Assembly. Rajya Sabha MP Ghanshyam Tiwari will give information on the process of passing the Parliamentary Privileges Bill.

A session has been organised by Assembly and Parliamentary affairs expert Chakshu Rai on budget management and cut proposals. Lok Sabha MP Rajendra Aggarwal will give information on parliamentary motion, adjournment motion and special mention motion.

Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani said that dialogue will be maintained between the party and opposition MLAs. "For this, we will hold an all-party meeting before every session. This time an all-party meeting will be held on January 18," he said.

Devnani said,"My endeavor will be to have more Assembly meetings. Kerala Assembly runs for 60 days and it is also our rule that Assembly meetings should be held for at least 60 days in a year. For the last several years, we have seen that the number of Assembly meetings has been continuously decreasing.

"Many times a deadlock is formed between the party and the opposition in the Assembly. Efforts will be made to break the deadlock through dialogue. In case of any deadlock, we will resolve it by making the parties and opposition sit at one table. My role will be to communicate. There should be meaningful discussion in the Assembly. If public money is spent on the Assembly, its significance is only when there is maximum discussion on issues of public interest."
Losing No.1 ranking is probably the best thing for Swiatek's game, says Mats Wilander. Image Source: IANS News

Melbourne, Jan 16 : World No. 1 Iga Swiatek showcased her resilience and skill, securing a hard-fought victory against former champion Sofia Kenin 7-6(2) 6-2 in the opening round of Australian Open at Rod Laver Arena, here on Tuesday.

The encounter proved to be a stern test of Swiatek's credentials, with Kenin seeking redemption for her loss to the Polish sensation in the 2020 French Open final.

Despite a strong start from Kenin, who broke Swiatek's serve twice in the first set, the determined world No. 1 rallied back, forcing a tie-break and ultimately claiming the set. Swiatek's dominance in the second set paved the way for a convincing 6-2 finish, setting up a second-round clash with Danielle Collins.

Reflecting on her performance, Swiatek acknowledged the initial challenge of finding her rhythm against Kenin's strategic play. She commended Kenin for her efforts in disrupting her flow but expressed satisfaction in elevating her own level as the match progressed.

"It wasn't easy at the beginning to find my rhythm," said Swiatek. "I felt a little bit off and I felt like Sofia really did everything to keep it that way, so huge respect to her."

"She knows what to do. I am happy I managed to get my level up."

Kenin, ranked 41 in the world, showcased moments of brilliance but was unable to sustain her momentum, eventually succumbing to Swiatek's relentless game. The Polish superstar closed the match with an impressive stat line of 30 winners and 21 unforced errors, contrasting with Kenin's 18 winners and 34 unforced errors.

Swiatek's victory extends her remarkable winning streak to 17 matches, emphasizing her current form and determination on the grand stage. Looking ahead, she prepares for a challenging encounter with Danielle Collins, who advanced by defeating 2016 winner Angelique Kerber.
London, Jan 16 : Scientists at the University of Oxford in the UK have launched the first-in-human clinical trial to test a vaccine to protect people against deadly Nipah virus.

Fifty-one people aged 18 to 55 will participate in the trial of the ChAdOx1 NipahB vaccine, developed by researchers at the University of Oxford's Pandemic Sciences Institute, the varsity said in a statement.

Nipah virus is a devastating disease that can be fatal in around 75 per cent of cases. Outbreaks have occurred in countries in South-East Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh and India, with a recent outbreak in Kerala, India in September 2023.

Nipah virus is carried by fruit bats and may also be transmitted by contact with infected animals (such as pigs) or from person-to-person via close contact.

Despite the first outbreaks of Nipah virus occurring 25 years ago in Malaysia and Singapore, there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments.

"Nipah virus was first identified in 1998, and yet 25 years on the global health community still has no approved vaccines or treatments for this devastating disease," said Professor Brian Angus, the trial's Principal Investigator and Professor in the varsity's Nuffield Department of Medicine.

"Due to the high mortality rate and the nature of Nipah virus transmission, the disease is identified as a priority pandemic pathogen. This vaccine trial is an important milestone in identifying a solution that could prevent local outbreaks occurring, while also helping the world prepare for a future global pandemic."

The Nipah virus, which is recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a priority disease requiring urgent research, belongs to the same family of paramyxoviruses as more well-known pathogens like measles.

The scientists produced the vaccine against Nipah virus using the ChAdOx1 platform, the same viral vector vaccine platform that was used for the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, and that has saved an estimated six million lives worldwide.

The project will run over the next 18 months, with further trials expected to follow in a Nipah-affected country.
Mumbai, Jan. 16 : Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday said that the Davos World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting would be a "big chance to showcase Maharashtra" at the global level in the presence of leading personalities from all over the world.

Interacting with the media shortly before boarding for his three-day trip to Davos, Shinde said: "This is a big opportunity Maharashtra will get a chance for branding and showcasing at the international level at WEF, where prominent people from all over the world, including heads of governments come."

Highlighting the willingness of foreign players to invest in Maharashtra, he said that the state offers a huge potential in the form of infrastructure, connectivity and skilled manpower.

"The state's industry policy is very flexible This visit to Davos will be more successful than in 2023, more MoUs will be signed and their conversion will also take place," said Shinde.

Last year, the state signed MoUs worth Rs 1.37 lakh-crore and around 76 per cent have been implemented, and in 2024, the Chief Minister is eyeing MoUs worth over Rs 3.10 lakh-crore across sectors and districts in Maharashtra.

Shinde claimed that before his regime took over, the state had plummeted to the third or fourth slot in the country, but after he took over as Chief Minister, the state reclaimed its numero uno position attracting FDI.

"The Prime Minister's dream of a $5 trillion economy goes through Maharashtra. We have set a target of Rs 1 trillion for the state," he added.

At the 2024 WEF Davos meet (January 15-19), Shinde has lined up an impressive schedule of meetings with top Indian and global corporate honchos, diplomats, world leaders and others attending seminars, besides various WEF programmes.

Soon after landing in Davos on Tuesday, the Chief Minister will inaugurate the state-of-the-art Maharashtra Pavilion set up near the India Hall, where the delegation is expected to hold all important meetings and sign various agreements.

Aiming for effective branding of the state on the world stage, the Maharashtra Pavilion has meeting rooms with all facilities and there will be an audio-visual exhibition providing information on horse-racing in the state.

Officials said that through these MoUs, the state would attract value-adding industries like steel, IT, IT-related sectors, nuclear energy and renewable power, green hydrogens, diamonds and jewellery, data centres, logistics, agro-industrial, agriculture and forest produce, with scope for generating employment and boosting local industries for all-round development of the state.

On Wednesday, the Chief Minister will meet Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, Michael Zahm of Amazon Web Services, Prince of Liechtenstein Hans-Adam II, the top executives of Hitachi Group, Carlsberg, Dassault Systems, Volvo, and more.

Among those slated to meet Shinde are the Industry Minister of Oman, Finance Minister of Saudi Arabia, Energy Minister of South Africa, South Korea's Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-Yeon, executives of DP World, UAE, Louis Dreyfus Company of The Netherlands, Witkowitz Atomica of Czechia, Capgemini SE of France, AP Moller Maersk of Denmark, Ball Corporation, US, and members of the WEF's Agriculture & Food Processing Group.

The CM Chief Minister deliver a speech on 'Challenges in Civil Sector, Innovation & Sustainable Development' at the main event in the WEF convention centre and join a seminar on 'Agriculture, Women's Participation & Food Security', a CII convention and host a banquet for various dignitaries on Wednesday evening.

At the CII conference on Thursday, the state plans to sign 20 MoUs worth around Rs 2.50 lakh-crore, which could increase with major companies, and the investments would come not only to the traditional Mumbai-Pune regions, but also new locations like Raigad, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nagpur, Jalna and the Maoist-hit Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts.

The WEF is an international NGO for public-private sector collaboration in Switzerland, and its 54th annual meeting would provide an opportunity to focus on the fundamental principles driving trust, including transparency, consistency, and accountability.

The WEF will welcome over 100 governments, all major international organisations, 1,000 partners, civil society leaders, experts, youth representatives, social entrepreneurs, and news outlets at the five-day huddle.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in )
Mathura : , Jan 16 (IANS/101Reporters) Bus services connecting every village in Uttar Pradesh have been in the works in the last few months. Uttar Pradesh has 1,06,747 villages as per the 2011 Census. According to a recent news report, 4,593 of the total 59,163 village panchayats lack government bus services.

Making things easier for the public, the Yogi Adityanath government had earlier ensured connection of every district to the state capital through government buses. Moreover, special buses connecting the state's main cities to New Delhi have also been launched. The next plan is to secure connection to all villages in the state.

A survey was announced to assess the villages with no bus services within its two km radius. It determined whether these villages have motorable roads. An assessment of the passenger demand was also planned. Notably, the idea here was not to introduce bus routes exceeding 100 km, but to keep it short and convenient.

"Among the northern states, lately Uttar Pradesh has done a little better. Madhya Pradesh, on the other hand, does not have a state public transport facility. The southern states have always given priority to rural transport. Overall, state transport undertakings have functioned well in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. I think Kerala is a very good example within India, traditionally having very strong and high bus connectivity. Because of that the whole urbanisation pattern is very different there," Dr Geetam Tiwari, Professor, Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, told 101Reporters.

"Uttar Pradesh is a very dense state and there are a lot of small towns and villages in very close proximity... Once you start providing bus routes to villages, basically it increases all kinds of opportunities for people in those villages, including better access to education, work and health facilities. People do not have to move to big cities to avail of all opportunities," she said.

Exploring such a bus service can help gauge the benefits that passengers have received. Last October, the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSTRC) launched a bus service to Barsana from Mathura, both favourite destinations of devotees of Lord Krishna.

Revered as the birthplace of Lord Krishna, Mathura is flocked by lakhs of devotees every day. Aimed at ensuring easy access to Barsana, the birthplace of Lord Krishna's beloved Shri Radha located around 40-km away, the UPSRTC launched a bus service connecting these two holy places.

Goddess Shri Radha is the presiding deity of Shri Radha Rani Temple built on a hill in Barsana. For many years, there had been no arrangements for government bus service on this route. Private vehicles used to operate here by collecting arbitrary fares. The new service has not only saved the tourists from fleecing, but also helped people of both Chhata and Barsana to travel comfortably. Earlier, villagers had to wait for hours to go for agricultural work in Chhata, located 26 km from Barsana.

"We have been connected to the National Highway 19 through this bus service. Reaching the city or Chhata tehsil has become easier. Since I have to travel out of the village to practise law, this new service has saved a lot of my time," said Advocate Sanjay Goswami from Barsana.

According to nursing student Anvi Goswami, she had to get to the national highway by private vehicles and then catch a bus to the nursing college. Now, the bus comes to the village itself, so there is no need to change vehicles. "I reach the nursing college on time and return home on time," she said.

For Parshuram Shrotiya, a farmer from Barsana, ease in collecting fertilisers and seeds has made a difference. "One just needs to board the bus in the village itself. Seated comfortably, one can reach the tehsil to get farm inputs. For administrative work related to farmlands, the same applies," he said.

Bhagat Singh, a resident of Chhata village, said travellers coming from Delhi, Agra and Rajasthan side to visit Shri Radha Rani Temple usually get down on the highway and wait for vehicles to travel to Barsana. With the new bus service, the wait time has come down significantly.

Madan Sharma, Area Regional Manager, UPSRTC, Mathura, told 101Reporters that the 52-seater bus service between Mathura and Barsana has marked an end to the transport woes. "The bus runs from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m."

Bus driver Omveer attested that the bus runs on its full seating capacity all-day long. "Many years ago, a bus used to operate to this rural area under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), but it later stopped service," he informed.

The old service operated during the Congress regime at the centre. Once the scheme expired and the buses fell into disuse, they were put up for auction. Sharma said people had approached Mathura MP Hema Malini seeking a new bus service on this route. Subsequently, she met the then district magistrate, Pulkit Khare, and demanded that the service be launched. Khare informed Mathura MLA Chaudhary Laxmi Narayan Singh, the present Minister of Dairy Development, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, which resulted in the new service.

Ranjit Randhawa from Punjab's Ludhiana comes to Mathura every month to visit Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan and Shri Radha Rani Temple. "I live in Delhi and I come to Mathura by bus. On NH 19, I get a bus bound for Barsana. Unlike earlier days, we save time, resources and money through this facility."

Santosh Aggarwal, an accountant in the transport department, said the department was neither incurring any loss nor making profit from the service. "Some days we earn more and some days we earn less. The only thing is that transportation has become smooth and timely for the public."

(Yogesh Bharadwaj is an Uttar Pradesh-based freelance journalist and a member of 101Reporters, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.)
Jerusalam, Jan 16 : The Israeli Finance Ministry said the government has approved an updated wartime budget for 2024, with significant increases in defence spending amid the raging fighting with Hamas in Gaza.

Jerusalam, Jan 16 (IANS) The Israeli Finance Ministry said the government has approved an updated wartime budget for 2024, with significant increases in defence spending amid the raging fighting with Hamas in Gaza.

The original budget for 2024 was approved by Parliament in May 2023, but the war that began following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attackprompted a new budget to cover the higher costs, reports Xinhua news agency.

The updated budget, which needs parliamentary approval, was set at 582 billion shekels ($155 billion ), including an extra 55 billion shekels for defense to cover combat expenses and strengthen the army.

The Ministry said all ministries' budgets were cut because of the high military spending.

The total budget also includes a 9-billion-shekel grant plan for military reservists, security and protection for localities, support for the mental health system, and rehabilitation of southern areas neighboring Gaza.

The National Unity ministers, the largest opposition faction that joined the war cabinet after the conflict started, voted against the budget, arguing that the new budget "does not reflect the necessary fundamental change of priorities and ignores the heavy consequences of the war".

The faction demanded closing unneeded ministries, freezing the law that allows ministers to resign from parliament to add new lawmakers, freezing lawmakers' salaries, and cutting funds for coalition parties.

According to the Bank of Israel, the war is costing the Jewish nation's economy $600 million a week due to work absences.

This is equivalent to about 6 per cent of the weekly GDP.

On the other hand, Israel's treasury minister said the daily direct cost of the Gaza war to her country is about $246 million.
New Delhi: Media persons at the Supreme Court complex on the day of the court's verdict. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Jan 16 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed an order passed by the Allahabad High Court allowing the appointment of commissioner to inspect the Shahi Idgah premises adjoining the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura.

During the hearing, a bench presided over by Justice Sanjiv Khanna orally observed: "The application for the appointment of local commissioner is very vague Don't implement the order till the next date."

"Let the commission not be executed. Look at the prayer of your application. The prayer to appoint a commission 'in the light of the averment made in the suit' is very vague. You have to make a very specific prayer. You have to be very clear what you want the local commission for. You cannot make an omnibus application," Justice Khanna added.

In its interim order, the bench, also comprising Dipankar Datta, said that the commission will not be executed but trial proceedings pending before the High Court can continue.

Issuing notice on the special leave petition moved by the Shahi Idgah Masjid Management Committee, the apex court asked the other side to file their reply by January 23.

The matter will be heard on the next date of listing along with another plea filed by the mosque committee challenging the transfer of cases by the high court to itself.

On December 14, 2023, the Allahabad High Court allowed the application filed by Hindu devotees for appointment of commissioner to inspect the disputed premise.

A bench of Justice Mayank Kumar Jain of the High Court had said, "So far as the modalities and composition of the commission is concerned, this Court feels it proper to hear the learned counsel for the parties for such purposes."

The decision came in response to an application filed by the deity Bhagwan Shri Krishna Virajman and seven others claiming that Lord Sri Krishna's birthplace lies beneath the mosque and appointment of a commission was essential to unearth the truth.

The application said that there are visible signs of the mosque being a Hindu temple, including a lotus-shaped pillar and an image of Sheshnaag, a Hindu deity associated with Lord Krishna.
Washington, Jan 16 : A Polar Vortex in the North Pole has led to several US cities witness severe cold weather conditions with temperatures dipping in the Midwest and the Northeastern region to a freezing minus -41 degrees Celsius, while 125 million people remain under wind chill advisories.

At least 10 people have died due to weather-relation conditions, including three homeless persons in the Milwaukee area, according to media reports..

The three deaths are being investigated as possible cases of hypothermia cases.

The National Weather Service said temperatures could reach minus 30 degrees, with wind chill in the Plains and minus 50 in Montana and the Dakotas.

The weather in Iowa is having an effect on the presidential campaign, with several events canceled ahead of Mondayas caucuses.

State capital Des Moines is forecast to have wind chills of minus 20 to minus 30.

Another surge of Arctic air is expected to drop south over the Midwest and the northern Plains states, bringing potentially hazardous weather by midweek, NBC reported.

As rough weather was freezing the East Coast, a public transit bus in Philadelphia slid backward down a city street, NBC Philadelphia reported.

The National Weather Service office that serves Philadelphia said the city was likely to get 4 inches of snow overnight.

As people across most of the US turned up the heat and stayed inside amid frigid temperatures, Montana took the title for the coldest temperature in the country, media reports said. .

An area 13 miles north of Sulphur Springs, Montana, recorded a temperature of minus 42 degrees, the National Weather Service said.

The warmest weather was near Sunniland, Florida, around 50 miles southeast of Fort Myers, which had a temperature of 29 degrees, according to the agency.

Meanwhile, 3,071 flights within, into or out of the U.S. were canceled on Monday, according to a flight tracking website, on a day when there were ground stops at some airports due to the winter weather gripping the country.

The most canceled flights were at Houstonas George Bush Intercontinental Airport, where 509 arriving or departing flights were canceled, according to the website FlightAware.

The second hightest was at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, with a combined 441 cancellations, according to the site.

Both airports said that the weather was affecting travel and causing planes to de-ice. They advised passengers to budget extra time.

Snow fell across the South this weekend and Monday, suddenly covering communities better known for brutal summers in a winter's blanket, NBC said.

St. Joe, Arkansas, has so far received 8 inches of snow, while Hendersonville, Tennessee, took in 7.5 inches.

Glencoe, Arkansas, was hit by 6 inches, and Nashville and Fairview, Tennessee, and Piney, Arkansas, all received 5 inches.

Memphis, Tennessee, and Little Rock, Arkansas, both recorded 4 inches.

Mississippi urged residents to stay off roads as ice-slicked roads posed danger to drivers and authorities are asking residents to steer clear of roadways.

As of this morning, "30 counties have reports of ice" on Mississippi roads and bridges, according to the state Transportation Department.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, or MEMA, asked residents to "stay off of the roads if possible and only travel in areas affected by winter weather if necessary".

"Temperatures will reach dangerous cold levels through Wednesday morning, MEMA is asking families to have a disaster go-kit at home and in their vehicle if they must travel," the agency added.
New Delhi, Jan 16 : Shares of Hindustan Copper and NALCO were up on Tuesday after India's KABIL and Argentina's CAMYEN SE signed a landmark agreement for first-ever exploration and mining of Lithium.

New Delhi, Jan 16 (IANS) Shares of Hindustan Copper and NALCO were up on Tuesday after Indiaas KABIL and Argentinaas CAMYEN SE signed a landmark agreement for first-ever exploration and mining of Lithium.

Shares of Hindustan Copper were up 3.7 per cent in trade on Tuesday. NALCO shares were up 2.5 per cent.

The Ministry of Mines announced a significant milestone achieved by Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) by signing an agreement with the state-owned enterprise of Catamarca province of Argentina.

With this Agreement, KABIL has obtained exploration and exclusive rights for five blocks to evaluate, prospect and explore and subsequent to existence/discovery of lithium mineral exploitation rights for commercial production.

This will not only boost its quest for sourcing lithium for India but will also help in bringing in technical and operational experience for Brine type lithium exploration, exploitation and extraction.

A joint venture company namely (KABIL), has been set up with the participation of three Central Public Sector Enterprises namely, National Aluminium Company Ltd. (NALCO), Hindustan Copper Ltd. (HCL) and Mineral Exploration Company Ltd. (MECL) for exploration of critical minerals across the globe, with Navratna CPSE NALCO as the leading partner.

This is a significant step towards critical mineral security for the Nation and a step towards aAatmanirbhar Bharata.

Argentina is part of the 'Lithium Triangle' along with Chile and Bolivia with more than half of the world's total lithium resources and has the distinction of having 2nd largest lithium resources, 3rd largest lithium reserves and 4th largest production in the world.
Karwar : , Jan 16 (IANS) BJP MP and former Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde challenged Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday for an open debate on decency.

Hegde had stirred a controversy by addressing Siddaramaiah as his son while criticising him for issuing statements in connection with Ayodhya's Ram temple.

Karnataka BJP has distanced itself from the MP's provocative speech.

Defending his derogatory statement against Siddaramaiah, Hegde stated, let Chief Minister Siddaramaiah come for a face to face open public debate on matters of decency and culture.

"It is natural that the leaders of the party won't support my statement and my remarks were personal. In matters of decency, CM Siddaramaiah should engage with me in an open debate and people should watch it," he stated.

"When was the last time he spoke with decency? He has spoken indecently against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa. CM Siddaramaiah has also spoken in an unacceptable manner against temples and Hindutva. The Congress leaders have crossed the limits of decency and culture while making comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi," the BJP MP stated.

Hegde had reacted strongly to Siddaramaiah's remarks that he wouldn't attend the Ram Mandir inauguration ('Pran Pratishtha') but visit Ayodhya afterwards. The BJP MP had said, "You (Siddaramaiah) can choose to come or not, the Ram Mandir inauguration won't stop son." Hegde had used Kannada colloquial "magane" -- which is used for son.

Siddaramaiah had reacted, saying "as a MP and former Union Minister Hegde's contribution is zero. He was absconding for three years and he is trying to get attention by issuing such statements. Culture is all about humanity. Humanity should be there."
Hyderabad, Jan 16 : Spoorthi Sthal, a memorial built to honour former Union Minister S. Jaipal Reddy, was dedicated here on Tuesday to mark his 82nd birth anniversary.

The memorial has come up on the banks of Hussain Sagar lake on Necklace Road, next to the memorial of former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao.

State ministers and senior Congress leaders paid rich tributes to Jaipal Reddy, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 77.

The new Congress government in Telangana has decided to celebrate the birth and death anniversary of Jaipal Reddy in a befitting manner. A government order was issued to this effect on January 12.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who is married to the niece of Jaipal Reddy, paid tributes to the late leader.

The chief minister, who is away in Davos to attend the World Economic Forum meeting, posted his tributes on aXa. He described Jaipal Reddy as a symbol of Gandhism and a pride of Telangana.

Ministers Tummala Nageswara Rao, Jupally Krishna Rao and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy paid tributes to Jaipal Reddy at his memorial.

They stated that the former Union minister always stood by his principles and ideology. Nageswara Rao said the late leader enjoyed respect cutting across party lines.

The minister described Jaipal Reddy as a leader who upheld high values in public life. He said that the entire Telangana is proud of Jaipal Reddy, who was also honoured as the best Parliamentarian.

Jaipal Reddy Memorial Foundation has developed Spoorthi Sthal. The Indian Society of Landscape Architects, on behalf of the S.Jaipal Reddy Memorial Foundation, organised a memorial landscape design competition. The best design was adopted and developed accordingly keeping in mind the local environment.
Bengaluru, Jan 16 : Reacting strongly to the BJP's demand for the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the sensational Hangal gang rape case committed by moral-policing vigilantes, Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara on Tuesday stated, "We can't rule the state if we keep fulfilling the BJP's demands." Bengaluru, Jan 16 (IANS) Reacting strongly to the BJP's demand for the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the sensational Hangal gang rape case committed by moral-policing vigilantes, Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara on Tuesday stated, "We can't rule the state if we keep fulfilling the BJP's demands."

Home Minister Parameshwara told reporters, "BJP leaders will demand a SIT and a probe by the CBI, CID and other agencies. We won't be able to govern if we keep meeting all the demands of the BJP. Did they oblige us when in power? How did they respond to our demands when we were in the Opposition?"

"We have promised that we will be a pro-people government and we will keep our word," he stated.

Parameshwara added that the investigation in the gang rape case was going on. "Let the investigation be completed. I won't give my opinion until then. The police have arrested seven to eight people in this regard. Amid this, the victim had wanted to return home and she has been sent back.

"Action will be initiated as per the law. The local Inspector has been suspended in connection with the case. Let the report come after the investigation is complete, then we will see," he said.

Former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai alleged on Monday that efforts had been made to hush up the gang rape case and the Haveri cops offered money to the victim to close the case on the Hangal incident. He demanded that the government constitute an SIT to probe the incident.
New Delhi, Jan 16 : The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) on Tuesday issued a show cause notice to Indigo and Mumbai Airport after a video of passengers eating and sitting on the tarmac at the airport went viral on social media.

In another development, the Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya Scindia also held a meeting with all ministry officials in the late hours of Monday following the traffic congestion at Delhi airport due to dense fog.

As per the notices, both Indigo and MIAL failed to proactively anticipate the situation and arrange appropriate facilities for passengers at the airport. An example of this was the assignment of a remote bay, C-33, to the aircraft instead of a Contact Stand. Contact Stands are designed for passengers to easily walk to and from the aircraft from an assigned boarding gate, ensuring access to basic amenities like restrooms and refreshments at the terminal.

This led to an undesirable and unacceptable experience for the fatigued and distressed passengers. The planning and execution of the flight operation did not consider passenger convenience, established security norms, and operational issues.

According to officials, the show cause notice to IndiGo has been issued for the violation of Rule 51 of the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023, AvSec Order 02/2019 and order dated September 21, 2021 regarding failure to observe due aviation security procedures in respect of Flight no. 6E 2195 which landed at Mumbai Airport at 2321 hrs. on January 14 as a diversion case.

"Indigo allowed disembarkation of passengers from flight 6E 2195 on to the apron and then boarded them on to flight 6E 2091 on January 15 at Mumbai airport, without following the procedure of security screening, which is in violation of the above mentioned orders. Further, the incident was not reported to BCAS by the aircraft operator which attributes to violation of Rule 51 of the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023," as per officials.

The show cause notice to Mumbai airport was issued for the violation of Rule 51 of the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023 has been issued regarding the failure to report an incident in respect of Flight no. 6E 2195 which landed at the Mumbai Airport.

The flight 6E2195, en route from Goa to Delhi, was diverted to Mumbai due to operational issues attributed to low visibility conditions in the capital on Sunday.

The video, shared widely on social media platforms, depicts passengers calmly seated on the tarmac, some enjoying snacks and meals, while others engage in casual conversations.

In response to the incident, IndiGo issued a statement confirming the diversion of flight 6E2195 and acknowledging the inconvenience caused to passengers.

"We are aware of the incident involving IndiGo flight 6E2195 from Goa to Delhi on January 14, 2024. The flight was diverted to Mumbai due to low visibility conditions in Delhi. We sincerely apologise to our customers and are currently looking into the incident. We will take necessary steps to avoid any such instances in the future," the airline statement read.
New Delhi: TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu coming out from the office of the Election Commission of India. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Jan 16 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday delivered a split verdict on a plea filed by Telugu Desam Party supremo and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu challenging criminal proceedings against him in the alleged Skill Development Corporation scam case.

The split judgment was given by a Special Bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi on the question whether proceedings against the former Chief Minister could have been initiated without getting a sanction from the Governor of the state.

In his opinion, Justice Bose said that any action initiated under the Prevention of Corruption Act without obtaining prior approval under Section 17-A of the Act would be "illegal". However, he granted liberty to the state government to obtain fresh sanction for prosecuting the TDP leader.

On the other hand, Justice Trivedi opined that non-obtaining of sanction could not be a ground for quashing the FIR registered against a public servant under the penal code. She upheld the order passed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court in September 2023 dismissing Naidu's petition to quash the criminal proceedings initiated against him and to set aside his judicial remand.

Resultantly, the matter has been referred to the Chief Justice of India for appropriate orders for the constitution of a larger Bench to decide Naidu's plea.

It may be recalled that Naidu was ordered to be released on regular bail on the bail bond already furnished by him by a Bench of Justice T Mallikarjuna Rao of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on November 20 last year.

The Andhra Pradesh Government has moved the Supreme Court questioning the decision of the High Court.
Tel Aviv, Jan 16 : The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday said that it uncovered about 100 rocket installations from a Hamas stronghold in Gaza.

In a post on X, the IDF said the rocket installations and 60 ready-to-use rockets were found by the 401st Brigade Combat Team in northern Gaza's Beit Lahia city, where troops also "eliminated dozens of terrorist operatives during operational activity".

In the North Shati area, "troops directed IAF (Israeli Air Force) aircraft and a helicopter to strike nine terrorist operatives", the military said.

Besides the IAF, the 5th Brigade Team was also involved in this operation.

Meanwhile in southern Gaza's Khan Younis city, the IDF's 7th Brigade Combat Team "directed an aircraft to strike terrorist operatives spotted in the area, directed a helicopter to strike an observational device that endangered soldiers and eliminated armed terrorists identified near soldiers".

Senior Hamas leaders Mohammed Deif and Yahya Sinwar are reportedly hiding in Khan Younis, along with many hostages.
Threat to progressive writers would be taken seriously: Ktaka Home Min. Image Source: IANS News

Bengaluru, Jan 16 : Karnataka Home Minister, Dr G Parameshwara, stated on Tuesday that police would act against the Karwar BJP MP, Anant Kumar Hegde, based on evidence in connection with his derogatory remarks against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Parameshwara told reporters that an FIR had been registered against Hegde on his derogatory remarks against Siddaramaiah.

Answering a question on the chances of Hegde's arrest, Parameshwara maintained that he did not know about any such development.

"Police will initiate action based on the evidence. It is left to the discretion of the police whether to arrest the MP or not. I will not interfere and direct them to arrest or release a person," Parameshwara stated.

"The local police will arrest him if there is provision in the Sections under which he has been charged. Whatever the consequences, it is going to be the decision of the police," he added.

Hegde had reacted strongly to Siddaramaiah's remarks that he would not attend the Ram Mandir consecration event but visit Ayodhya afterwards.

The BJP MP had said, "You (Siddaramaiah) can choose to come or not, the Ram Mandir consecration won't stop magane (son)."

Siddaramaiah had reacted to this by saying that as an MP and former Union Minister Hegde's contribution was zero. He added that Hegde was missing for three years and now was trying to get attention by issuing such statements. "Culture is all about humanity. Humanity should be there," Siddaramaiah had said.

The Karnataka BJP unit has distanced itself from Hegde's derogatory remarks against the CM.

However, defending his statement Hegde said, "Let the CM come for a face to face public debate on matters of decency and culture."
Mumbai, Jan 16 : In a shocking incident, Adv. Rajeev Shukla, a visiting lawyer from Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj allegedly received a vegetarian meal parcel from Barbeque Nation which contained a dead rat and some roaches, as per his social media posts.

Mumbai, Jan 16 (IANS) In a shocking incident, Adv. Rajeev Shukla, a visiting lawyer from Uttar Pradeshas Prayagraj allegedly received a vegetarian meal parcel from Barbeque Nation which contained a dead rat and some roaches, as per his social media posts.

Shukla, 35, had arrived in Mumbai for tourism and placed his dinner order with the Worli outlet of Barbeque Nation -- frequented by the rich and celebs -- for its aClassic Veg. Meal Box Regulara, costing around Rs 641, on January 8.

As the pure vegetarian Brahmin started eating the adal makhania in the meal packet, he noticed a dead rat and some roaches in it.

He suffered food poisoning and had to be admitted to the BMCas BYL Nair Hospital where he spent over three days under treatment.

Adv. Shukla also shot off an email to Barbeque Nation drawing their attention to the adulterated food of which he had consumed a major portion before discovering the rat-roaches.

He claimed that the Nagpada Police Station was not lodging the FIR against Barbeque Nation, and he has tagged along Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Amit Shah and Piyush Goyal, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and others to highlight his plight.

His serial posts read: aI Rajeev shukla (pure vegetarian) from prayagraj visited Mumbai, on 8Jan'24 night ordered veg meal box from BARBEQUE NATION, worli outlet that contained a dead mouse,hospitalised for 75+ hours.complaint has not been lodged at nagpada police station yet.

aI wanted to explore Mumbai and so I did, coming all the way from Prayagraj but possibly, this might be my last trip. I am a Brahmin and a pure vegetarian, but when my Barbeque Nation order arrived, it gave me the shock of my life. The food contained a dead rat and cockroaches. I suffered food poisoning and got admitted to Nair hospital," he said.

So far there has been no reaction from Barbeque Nation.
Gorakhpur , Jan 16 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday launched the Wall Writing Campaign with the slogan 'Ek baar phir Modi sarkar, is baar BJP char sau paar (once again Modi government, this time over 400 for BJP'.

The chief minister first drew a lotus flower on the wall of Shri Vishwakarma Bhagwan Panchayat temple and wrote the slogan below it to start the campaign, which aims at mobilizing party workers ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Addressing the workers present at the event organised by the BJP unit, CM Yogi Adityanath called upon the party workers to take the campaign to new heights of success, like the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra.

He said the campaign is very significant in view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's programmes to communicate with the voters through three massive rallies to be held ahead of the elections.

"Draw the lotus and write the slogan underneath it wherever there is space on public buildings. However, permission must be taken before writing on someone's personal property. Efforts should be made to ensure that no space is empty of slogan", Yogi Adityanath said.

Emphasizing the importance of strengthening booth management, the chief minister pointed out: "The stronger our booths are, the more effective will be our dialogue with the voters, with our candidates winning with huge margins."

He said that the resolution for 2024 is to cross 400 seats and party workers should dedicate their efforts towards achieving this end.

The chief minister told the party workers not to hesitate in talking about the achievements of the double engine government, pointing out that the last 10 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership has earned him people's trust.

"The schemes of the central and state governments have created new trust among citizens.

Infrastructure works of global standards have taken place in the country and state. Highway, railway and air connectivity have strengthened. New AIIMS, IITs have been formed. Many schemes have created new standards. The plans have not just been announced, but have also been implemented to ensure their 100 per cent saturation", he stated.
Des Moines : , Jan 16 (IANS) Former US President Donald Trump has won nearly every voting bloc in the Iowa caucus, leaving his closest rivals Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley struggling for the second spot for the coveted Republican nomination to the White House race.

NBC News entrance poll results revealed that Trump was romping home with a massive victory and a few key groups helped lift the former President to a massive victory Monday night.

Trumpas best showing came from caucus goers who did not have a college degree (67 per cent), those who identified as very conservative (61 per cent), voters over 65 years old (58 per cent) and white Evangelicals (53 per cent).

Trump's showing among those groups was up from 2016, when at that time only two in 10 voters in each group supported.

His support base among white Evangelicals alone went up 32 points, from 21 per cent in 2016 to 53 per cent in 2024.

Trump also won among caucus participants who said they valued a candidate who fights for people like them (82 per cent) and those who made up their mind on which candidate they would support earlier than this month (66 per cent), reports said.

Just less than half (46 per cent) Iowa Republican caucus goers identified themselves with Trump's MAGA, or Make America Great Again, movement and three-quarters of them voted for him.

Two-thirds said they did not think that President Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 election and roughly 7 in 10 of those caucus goers supported Trump on Monday.

Eight in 10 Iowa Republican caucus participants identified as Republicans and 54 per cent of them voted for Trump.

Another 16 per cent identified as independents and Trump secured 42 per cent of their vote (compared to only 22 per cent in 2016), NBC's early poll results showed.

The independents supporting Trump largely did not have college degrees (64 per cent), identified as conservative (51 per cent) and are over 45 years old (50 per cent).

About two-thirds of Iowa Republican caucus participants said that Trump would be fit to be President even if he were to be convicted of a crime.

Among those who said Trump would be fit to be president if he was convicted of a crime, 72 per cent voted for him on Monday.

When asked which candidate quality mattered most in deciding who they would vote for, 4 in 10 Iowa caucus voters said they wanted someone who shares their values.

Another 32 per cent said they valued a candidate who fights for people like them.

Biden's handling of the economy mattered most to Iowa Republican caucus goers, followed closely by immigration.

Trump secured 52 per cent of economy voters and 64 per cent of immigration voters.

When asked if there should be a federal law banning most or all abortions nationwide, 61 per cent of Iowa Republican caucus goers said they would favour a ban and 35 per cent said they would oppose it.

Trump won a majority (55 per cent) of voters who favor an abortion ban.
New Delhi, Jan 16 : Quick service restaurant (QSR) chain, Wow! Momo, said on Tuesday that it has raised Rs 410 crore (around $49 million) in its Series D round led by Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the sovereign wealth fund of Malaysia, and OAKS Asset Management.

Khazanah led the round by investing Rs 350 crore, while existing investor OAKS invested the remaining Rs 60 crore, according to the company.

Wow! Momo said that the funding will be used to grow and expand the QSR brand. It will also invest in distribution, research and development (R&D).

"There is no greater joy for a founder than giving its initial investors (Indian Angel Network and Lighthouse Funds) great partial exits. For us, the Bharat Story has just begun with a huge headway of growth," said Sagar Daryani, CEO and Co-founder of Wow! Momo Foods.

"With Khazanah's investment into the business and their long-term approach, we will strive to become the powerhouse of innovation and transformation in the food space while keeping a strong balance between sustainability, growth and backing breakthroughs," he added.

Khazanah has backed companies like Xpressbees, Flipkart, TransUnion CIBIL and others in India.

Moreover, the company said that it aims to enter more than 100 cities and increase its footprint to over 1,500 stores in the next three years. At present, the company has 630 outlets across 25 cities.

"We aim to encourage the growth of Wow! Momo through enhanced scalability, technological fortification, and focusing on building a strong back-end capability to support its growth," said Dato' Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir, Managing Director, Khazanah.
New Delhi, Jan 16 : Maharatna public sector company REC Limited has successfully issued green bonds worth 61.1 billion Japanese Yen which is the largest ever Yen-denominated issue from India, according to an official statement released on Tuesday.

The 5-year, 5.25-year and 10-year bonds have been issued at yields of 1.76 per cent, 1.79 per cent and 2.20 per cent respectively under REC's USD 10 billion Global Medium Term Notes Programme.

The transaction witnessed interest from both Japanese and international accounts, with the number of orders from each at 50 per cent, international allocation being one of the highest for any other Indian Yen deal, the statement said.

Proceeds from the bonds will be applied to finance the eligible green projects in accordance with the company's green finance framework, RBI's external commercial borrowings guidelines and the approvals granted by it from time to time.

The transaction is also the largest non-sovereign Yen-denominated issuance ever from South and South East Asia.

Chairman & Managing Director, REC Limited, Vivek Kumar Dewangan said: "We are delighted to successfully price our inaugural Euro-Yen Green bonds, which reaffirms REC's position as an established issuer with deep access to global funding, while maintaining the overall cost of funding lower than the industry standards."

The notes will be rated Baa3/BBB/BBB+ (Moody's/Fitch/JCR) and will be listed exclusively on Global Securities Market of India International Exchange (India INX) and NSE IFSC in GIFT City, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. DBS Bank, Mizuho, MUFG, and SMBC Nikko are the joint lead managers for the issue.

REC is a Maharatna company under the administrative control of the Ministry of Power and is registered with RBI as Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC), Public Financial Institution (PFI) and Infrastructure Financing Company (IFC).

--IANS

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'Formidable enough', says SC on steps taken by UP authorities for Mukhtar Ansaris security. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Jan 16 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed satisfaction with the steps taken by the Uttar Pradesh government for the safety and security of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari -- whose son had petitioned the apex court apprehending that there is a plan to assassinate his father in Banda Jail prior to the 2024 polls.

After going through a confidential note detailing the security arrangements made by the state authorities, a bench presided over by Justice Hrishikesh Roy orally observed that the security measures "appear formidable enough".

The bench, also comprising Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, directed "the authorities in Uttar Pradesh state to continue with all the security measures to ensure that detenu Mukhtar Ansari is not visited with any unforeseen situation."

The matter will be taken up for further hearing in the third week of July, 2024 on the request made by senior advocate Kapil, who appeared on behalf of the petitioner.

In the previous hearing, Additional Solicitor General K.M. Natraj, who appeared on state government's behalf, had submitted that if required, an augmentation of security will be undertaken to ensure no harm is caused to Ansari within the precincts of the jail.

In his plea filed before the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution, Mukhtar Ansari's son claimed that "state officials, rival politicians, and persons within the police establishment" have hatched a plan to murder the political figure, who has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), for five-consecutive terms from Uttar Pradesh's Mau.

"As the petitioner's father is from a political party that is in Opposition, politically and ideologically, to the ruling dispensation in the state, the petitioner, the petitioner's father, brother and their family have been targets of persecution by the state," it stated.

Referring to the killing of Atiq Ahmed and his brother on live television and similar incidents, the petition claimed that there is "a disturbing trend of extra-judicial killings" in Uttar Pradesh.
New Delhi, Jan 16 : Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya Scindia said that RWY (runway) 29L at the Delhi airport has been made CAT III operational from Tuesday.

Addressing the issue of fog-induced disruptions, Scindia took to X to share the latest measures undertaken by the aviation authorities.

He said that Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to alleviate passenger inconvenience were issued to all airlines on Monday.

"In addition to these SOPs, we have sought incidence reporting thrice daily for all the six metro airports. Implementation of the @DGCAIndia Directives, SOPs, and CARs will be monitored and reported regularly," the Minister.

To address issues promptly, Scindia mentioned the establishment of 'War Rooms' at the six Metro Airports, where airport and airline operators will work collaboratively.

These war rooms will be dedicated to resolving any problems related to passenger inconvenience in real-time.

Furthermore, the Union Minister assured round-the-clock availability of sufficient CISF manpower to ensure the security and smooth functioning of operations at the airports.

"Sufficient CISF manpower availability will be ensured round-the-clock. RWY 29L at @DelhiAirport has been made CAT III operational today. Operationalization of RWY 10/28 as CAT III at Delhi Airport after re-carpeting will also be undertaken," Scindia added in his post.
New Delhi : Kerala CM and CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan during a demonstration over Israel-Palestine conflict at party office. Image Source: IANS News

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 16 : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his cabinet and the coalition partner lawmakers, will stage a sit-in protest at the Jantar Mantar in Delhi on February 8 against the Centre.

This was informed by the Left Democratic Front convenor E.P. Jayarajan on Tuesday.

He said the protest was against the Centre's 'shoddy' treatment meted out to Kerala on all fronts.

On Monday, CM Vijayan had an online meeting with Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan and deputy, P.K. Kunhalikutty, and sought their support for the Delhi protest.

The two informed Vijayan that they will discuss in the UDF and get back and according to sources, the Congress-led UDF will not take part as they have already said a few times that it was not the Centre alone that is responsible for Kerala's woes as the Vijayan government is equally guilty of absolute misgovernance.

Vijayan will lead the march towards Jantar Mantar from the Kerala House and will do sit-in protest. "We are sure that there will be global attention if a Chief Minister leads the protest and that too in Delhi," said Jayarajan.
Ahmedabad, Jan 16 : An Ahmedabad court on Tuesday acquitted Congress legislator Jignesh Mevani and 30 others in a case relating to allegedly obstructing a train amid a protest in 2017.

Ahmedabad, Jan 16 (IANS) An Ahmedabad court on Tuesday acquitted Congress legislator Jignesh Mevani and 30 others in a case relating to allegedly obstructing a train amid a protest in 2017.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate P.N. Goswami acquitted all the accused, who included 13 women, giving them the benefit of doubt.

Mevani, currently the MLA from Vadgam, and the others were accused of organising and participating in a 'rail roko' demonstration, lasting around 20 minutes, at the Kalupur railway station amid a protest against the state government's policies.

The 2017 incident led to charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including unlawful assembly, rioting, voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servants from their duties, and criminal conspiracy.

Additionally, they were indicted under Section 153 of the Railways Act, a statute concerning the endangerment of railway passenger safety through rash or negligent acts.

A session court had, in 2021 declined to discharge Mevani in this case.

This recent acquittal comes after another legal clearance for Mevani and six others last November in a case, filed in 2016, of alleged unlawful assembly, rioting, and causing damage to public property at the Income Tax crossroads in Ahmedabad.

The 2016 incident involved a demonstration, in support of sanitation workers of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, allegedly organised without police permission, during which a police vehicle was reportedly vandalised.
Kohima, Jan 16 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that the Pran Pratishtha ceremony on January 22 is "an election and political function" and that's why the Congress has decided to skip the event in Ayodhya.

Kohima, Jan 16 (IANS) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that the Pran Pratishtha ceremony on January 22 is "an election and political function" and that's why the Congress has decided to skip the event in Ayodhya.

On the third day of his ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (BJNY) which has now reached Nagaland, the Congress leader said that the event in Ayodhya is a political one as it is an RSS-BJP function.

"It is difficult for us (Congress) to attend the January 22 function because it is Modi's function. They (BJP) always give election flavour to all events and developments, including religious ones. We respect all religions and all religions are the same to us," Gandhi told the media.

He said that top Hindu religious leaders were also questioning the January 22 function as it has been mixed with politics and the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Asked about the ideology of the INDIA bloc, Rahul Gandhi said, "We do not want a divided India. We want a united India with no hatred. Dalit and other Backward Classes would also not be neglected. Their role in governance would get due importance."

To another query, the Congress leader said that seat sharing talks between the INDIA bloc partners were going on smoothly.

"The status of the INDIA bloc is very good. I believe everything will be resolved smoothly. There are a few issues but in most places there are not many complications and the media has been overplaying some issues. There is mutual respect among INDIA bloc partners," he said.

Rahul Gandhi said the alliance was getting ready and it would be well-prepared to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

"The INDIA grouping will fight the elections against the BJP appropriately and win the polls," the Congress leader stated.

Regarding the long-pending Naga political issue, the former Congress President said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given certain commitments nine years ago but they had not been fulfilled as yet.

To a question, Rahul Gandhi said if the INDIA bloc comes to power at the Centre in the forthcoming elections, it would try to resolve the Naga political issue through concerted talks and mutual understanding.

Noting that suitable solutions to the Naga political issue were required, Gandhi said that no progress had been made so far between the Government and the Naga groups and some superficial documents were prepared.

"We are committed to finding suitable solutions to the Naga political issue," he said.

The 66-day-long BJNY, which started on Sunday from violence-ravaged Manipur will culminate in Mumbai on March 20 or 21. The yatra entered Nagaland late on Monday evening after covering Manipur's tribal-dominated Kangpokpi and Senapati districts.

Hundreds of Congress supporters, including women, accorded the Congress leader a rousing reception on Monday evening in Nagaland's Khuzama village, 28 km south of state capital Kohima.

The yatra will cover 257 kms in five districts of Nagaland in two days on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Meta now allows Quest users to tap, swipe in VR without controllers.. Image Source: IANS News

San Francisco, Jan 16 : Meta has brought back the Chromecast support to Quest VR headsets weeks after discontinuing it via a software update.

Several Meta support executives made the announcement in a number of threads on the business' community forum, reports SamMobile. "We restored casting from Meta Quest headsets to Chromecast," a Community Manager stated in a forum where users were voicing their concerns.

Using a software update that includes the firmware number 60.0.0.214.366, Meta has restored the support for Chromecast on Quest VR headsets, which the company appears to have begun pushing out the update last week, the report mentioned.

In the same post, the Community Manager also stated aNote that this feature is not fully supported and may not work properly for everyone".

"We recommend casting to a phone or computer instead for the best experience. Thanks for helping us make Meta Quest better for everyone and we will continue exploring ways to improve the casting experience going forward," it added.

Earlier this month, Meta discontinued Chromecast functionality from Quest VR headsets via a software update with the build number (firmware version) 60.0, which was released last month.

Meanwhile, Meta has announced to lower the price on its mixed reality (MR) headset Quest 2 and its accessories. The price cut came after the launch of Meta Quest 3 almost three months back that starts at $499.99 for the 128GB version.
Chennai, Jan 16 : Tamil Nadu Minister for Water Resources Development, S Duraimurugan, on Tuesday said that the DMK was confident of all its coalition partners sticking with it for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

S Duraimurugan, who is also one of the senior-most leaders of the DMK, made this statement while interacting with media persons at his constituency Katpadi.

Duraimurugan who was a close associate of late DMK leader and Chief Minister, M Karunanidhi said that the party was an ideology-driven one and its cadres and leaders would abide by the decision taken by the top leadership.

When asked about the Leader of Opposition, Edappadi K Palaniswami's statement that there were several power centres in the DMK, he said, "Palaniswami is the Leader of Opposition so what else can he say."

The veteran leader also came down heavily on former Prime Minister, HD Deva Gowda for his statement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the only person who could solve the Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Duraimurugan said that Deve Gowda and his son Kumaraswamy had no other options but to sing Modi's praises. He also accused Deve Gowda of being against the interests of Tamil Nadu, including the days when he was the Prime Minister.

The senior leader also said that the DMK was ready to face the 2024 general elections even if they were held tomorrow.

He also challenged the BJP Tamil Nadu President, K Annamalai, to bring more corruption charges against DMK leaders and said that there was not an iota of truth in the allegations made by him.

IANS

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Chandigarh, Jan 16 : A Nihang Sikh in Punjab's Kapurthala district was arrested on Tuesday on charges of murdering a man over the suspicion that he committed sacrilege at the historical Gurdwara Sri Chaura Khooh Sahib in Phagwara on Monday night.

Chandigarh, Jan 16 (IANS) A Nihang Sikh in Punjabas Kapurthala district was arrested on Tuesday on charges of murdering a man over the suspicion that he committed sacrilege at the historical Gurdwara Sri Chaura Khooh Sahib in Phagwara on Monday night.

The accused, Ramandeep Singh, uploaded a video of the man before allegedly murdering him.

He claimed that the man admitted in a video that he had been sent to the gurdwara to commit sacrilege.

The accused made the video that shows him confronting the man on the purpose of his visit late in the night, before overpowering and killing him with a sword.

The victim had locked himself in the gurdwara bathroom before the accused confronted him and asked him if he had been sent to commit sacrilege.

The police recovered the body from the gurdwara.
Puttaparthi : , Jan 16 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday offered prayers at the historic Veerabhadra Temple at Lepakshi in Andhra Pradesh's Sri Sathya Sai district.

Puttaparthi (Andhra Pradesh), Jan 16 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday offered prayers at the historic Veerabhadra Temple at Lepakshi in Andhra Pradeshas Sri Sathya Sai district.

After reaching Puttaparthi from Delhi, the Prime Minister left for Lepakshi, which is considered a significant place in Hindu epic Ramayana.

It is believed that Jatayu, the giant eagle, followed Goddess Sita to Lepakshi after she was abducted by Ravan.

The priests explained the significance of the temple to the Prime Minister.

He performed various rituals and chanted aShri Ram Jai Rama bhajan and also heard verses from the Ranganatha Ramayana, which is in Telugu.

The Prime Minister also watched a puppet show depicting the events of Ramayana. He went around the historic temple and had a look at Lepakshi handicrafts.

The Prime Ministeras visit to the site comes a week ahead of the inauguration of Ram temple in Ayodhya.

After a visit to Lepakshi, the Prime Minister inaugurated the new campus of National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes & Narcotics (NACIN) at Palasamudram in the same district.
New Delhi : MPs at Parliament House during the winter session of Parliament. Image Source: IANS News

Chandigarh, Jan 16 : BJP National Spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill, along with leaders of Punjab, on Tuesday met Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and raised the demand for resumption of flights from Adampur to Delhi.

He also presented the demand for starting a direct flight from Adampur to Varanasi, the birthplace of Guru Ravidas.

Shergill apprised the minister that looking at the potential and requirement of air connectivity to the Doaba region of Punjab along with adjoining border areas of Himachal Pradesh, the Central Government on May 1, 2018, permitted low-cost airline SpiceJet to operate flights on the Delhi-Adampur sector under the UDAN scheme.

"This flight successfully operated till March 2020. Seeing the positive response and catering to the demands of the sector, you approved the construction of a new terminal building by the AAI with the intent to add Mumbai and Jaipur sectors," he said.

Shergill said despite immense traffic and demand, SpiceJet has not operated any flight in this particular sector since November 2020, barring the two days of operation in April 2021, which is causing inconvenience to flyers.

"In addition, in the absence of any flights the new terminal construction project being undertaken will be an exercise in futility," he told the minister.
New Delhi, Jan 16 : Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu were ranked as the best performing states in India at the startups awards function held here on Tuesday.

Addressing the startup awards and state ranking awards function, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said startups are playing a pivotal role in India's journey towards becoming a developed nation by 2047.

He highlighted the diverse sectors in which startups are making substantial contributions, ranging from MedTech, FinTech, AgroTech to the aviation sector, drones, and simulators. He identified tourism as a sector with untapped potential, encouraging startups to explore innovative ideas around sustainable tourism.

He pointed out that PM Modi had said at the Vibrant Gujarat summit that the priority is New Age Skills, Futuristic Tech, AI & Innovation.

Expressing appreciation for the achievements in sectors like millets and food processing, Goyal urged startups to focus on new areas such as artificial intelligence (AI). He encouraged them to come up with ideas that make life easier and revolutionise existing ways of working.

The minister commended the significant progress made in the startup sector over the last eight years, stating that what was once a novelty has now become an integral part of the national mainstream.

Goyal expressed confidence in the entrepreneurial spirit of both the young and old, urging them to contribute their unique perspectives and ideas to the startup ecosystem. He reiterated that age should not be a barrier to engage with new ideas and foster innovation.

The Minister noted that India has emerged as the third-largest startup ecosystem globally, realizing the dreams of countless entrepreneurs and introducing innovative ways of doing business.

During his address, Goyal outlined key initiatives that will be taken to further support startups, including the categorisation of startups into different sectors for more focused interactions, the sanitisation of data to identify their locations and track development stage of the startups, and efforts to ensure all startups are registered on the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) portal.

The Minister called for greater collaboration and mentoring through the MAARG portal - Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience and Growth of Startup India. He emphasised the importance of outreach and on-boarding startups with the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) as the process for onboarding of startups has been simplified. He encouraged startups to register for patent, copyright, and trademark protections as the fees have been reduced for them.

Goyal announced that aStartup Maha Kumbha is scheduled to be organised in March 2024. He assured continued government support for the startup ecosystem, inviting entrepreneurs to leverage the vast consumer market and work collaboratively to transition from an emerging to a developed startup system.
Kolkata, Jan 16 : West Bengal Police on Tuesday said that they have arrested three more accused in connection with the attack on ED and CAPF personnel which took place at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district on January 5.

The police have identified the accused as Anarul Molla, Ajijul Sheikh and Hazinur Sheikh.

Police said that they were arrested from the Kanmari and Sarberia areas in Sandeshkhali and were presented at a lower court in North 24 Parganas district.

With Tuesdayas arrests, the total number of arrests in the case has risen to seven.

On January 15, police arrested Ali Hossain Gharami and Sanjay Mondal.

On January 12, police arrested Sukamal Sardar and Mehboob Molla.

Police have said that all the accused have been arrested based on the video footage of the incident.

Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan -- the alleged mastermind behind the attack -- at whose residence ED attempted to raid, is still absconding.

The ED has issued a lookout notice against Shahjahan. The border outposts of the Border Security Force (BSF) have also been alerted in anticipation that the absconding ruling leader might escape to neighbouring Bangladesh.

The Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari has alleged that the police is aware about Shahjahan and is providing protection to the absconding leader.
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 16 : Kerala has successfully attracted over Rs 91,575 crore of new investment projects during 2018-19 to 2022-23, completed projects worth Rs 33,815 crores, and generated new job opportunities, direct and indirect, for about five lakh people, according to a study released on Tuesday.

The "Kerala Investment, Growth & Development 2018-19 to 2022-23" study, undertaken by the MSME Export Promotion Council, jointly with Confederation of Organic Food Producers & Marketing Agencies was released by the MSME EPC Chairman Dr D.S. Rawat, a former Secretary General of ASSOCHAM.

The study has stated that the total investment projects outstanding in 2022-23 were of Rs 403,770 crore and under implementation worth Rs 277,957 crore, and once these projects are completed, direct and indirect new employment opportunities are expected to be created for over seven lakh people.

During the period (2018-19 to 2022-23), pending projects of Rs.12,240 crore were revived.

Dr Rawat stressed the need for setting up a high powered committee under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary to expedite the clearances of the projects languishing for clearances from different departments and avoid the escalation in cost.

Kerala, which accounts for 2.8 per cent of Indiaas population and 1.2 per cent of land area, contributes more than 4 per cent to the GDP of India, he said, noting that thus the southern state;s per capita income is 60 per cent higher than Indiaas average.

This has fuelled internal migration to Kerala especially for low-end jobs, even as a large number of Keralites have immigrated mostly to Gulf countries.

The study says that Kerala has recorded an impressive industrial growth rate of 17.3 per cent in the financial year 2021-22, and the achievement of the manufacturing sector is even more impressive recording a growth rate of 18.9 per cent, higher than the national average.

These achievements helped the state register an economic growth of over 12 per cent in 2021-22.

The new investment projects announced by the private sector between FYs 2018-19 to 2022-23 were of Rs 23,232 crore and completed projects of Rs 9,590 crore. During the period 2022-23, the private sector total investment projects outstanding were of Rs 67,271 crore and under implementation of Rs 41,369 crore.

As per the CMIE data information on October 13, 2023, during 2022-23, the new investment projects announced by the private sector were of Rs 398 crore only, completed projects worth Rs 1,825 crore and revived old projects of Rs 3,216 crore.

Kerala, a front runner in the promotion, adoption and usage of information technology, has also become home to over 250,000 IT professionals in 2023, and this number has grown significantly from 78,000 in 2016 registering a growth rate of 31 per cent during the last six years. It is expected that Indian software product industry will touch $100 billion by 2025, and the state government is focusing on to tap the opportunity.

The companies are focusing on investing internationally to expand their global footprint and enhance their global delivery centres.

Keralaas digital eco-system is supported by a strong government commitment to digital transformation, a growing start-up and strong industry participation in the economy, the report said, adding that the ambitious project launched by the state government with the aim of starting one lakh micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) has led to the formation of around 1.34 lakh enterprises with an investment of Rs 8,110 crore and 2.87 lakh employment.

Currently, there are about 300 large and medium industries and 1,66,000 small scale units.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Jan 16 : In a swift operation, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Tuesday rescued 182 pilgrims stranded on a grounded ferry off Kakdwip in West Bengal, an official said.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said that merchant vessel 'Swasthya Sathi' was ferrying about 400 pilgrims from Ganga Sagar Mela at Sagar Island to Kakdwip when it ran aground due to extremely poor visibility.

After receiving a message from the District Magistrate, South 24 Parganas, early Tuesday morning, the operations team of the ICG swung into action immediately and dispatched two air cushion vehicles (hovercrafts) from Haldia and Sagar Island to provide assistance, the ICG said.

The hovercrafts evacuated 182 pilgrims before guiding the boat with the remaining pilgrims to a safe destination, the official added.

The MoD added that to ensure the safety of people during the annual mela, the ICG had already deployed sea borne units at various strategic locations. A rapid lifesaving action team of divers with a Gemini boat is positioned at the Mela site for any eventuality.

In addition, an officer from ICG Ship Frazerganj is positioned at Sagar Island for coordination with the state administration and supervision of seafront safety aspects, MoD said.
New Delhi, Jan 16 : India's trade deficit may turn volatile in the coming months given the supply-side disruptions in the Red Sea due to the attacks on commercial ships by Houthi rebels in retaliation to Israel's action in Gaza, according to a report by Global Investment Bank, Nomura.

The report said that India's merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $19.8 billion in Dec from $20.6 billion in November as exports posted a 0.96 per cent growth while imports contracted by 4.9 percent.

"However, with the escalation in the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, ships are now being forced to avoid the Suez Canal route to Europe. This impact is expected to show up in a slowdown in exports during Jan," the report said.

It said that the sharp rise in transit costs and transportation times are likely to hit Indian trade, especially with Europe and the US, with news reports suggesting that some 65 per cent of exports to Europe are now having to use the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope.

"Surging freight and insurance costs are likely to hit exports, already evidenced by news reports that daily petroleum exports to Europe have fallen by over 70 per cent," it said.

Nomura estimates that the current account deficit (CAD) will widen to 1.6 per cent of GDP in Q4 of 2023-24 from 1 per cent of GDP a quarter ago. Overall, despite the geopolitical tensions, they estimate that CAD will fall to 1.1 per cent of GDP in FY24 from 2 per cent of GDP in FY23.

It said that Europe typically accounts for 15-16 per cent of Indian exports, while the US accounts for 17-18 per cent.

The report said that the rising cost of logistics and a possible escalation in crude oil prices could lead to an increase in the country's import bill.

"If exports fall sharply while the cost of imports escalates, then the merchandise trade deficit can widen," Nomura report said.

--IANS

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London, Jan 16 : Masrour Barzani -- Prime Minister of Kurdistan region in Iraq -- has accused Iran of killing innocent civilians in its strikes on the capital city Erbil, media reports said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards earlier said they attacked an Israeli spy centre in the region, The Guardian reported.

Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos after the attack, Barzani said the Iranian allegations are baseless and added US forces must withdraw from the country.

Iraq on Tuesday condemned Iran's "aggression" on Erbil which led to civilian casualties in residential areas.

The Iraqi government will take all legal measures against these actions that are considered a violation of Iraq's sovereignty and the security of its people, including filing a complaint at the United Nations Security Council, media reports said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have also claimed an attack in Syria. The group said it had fired a number of ballistic missiles at "terrorist operations" in the country -- including IS targets -- and destroyed them.

A US defence official said the US tracked the missiles, which hit in northern Iraq and northern Syria, and initial indications were that the strikes were "reckless and imprecise".

The strikes in northern Syria came after IS claimed responsibility earlier this month for two suicide bombings targeting a commemoration for an Iranian general slain in a 2020 US drone strike. That attack killed at least 84 people and wounded an additional 284 at a ceremony honouring former Revolutionary Guard Gen Qassem Suleimani, The Guardian reported.
Mumbai, Jan 16 : Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar did not adhere to the directives of the Supreme Court in his verdict on the disqualification of MLAs' issue, and "has committed grave contempt of the apex court", a leading constitutional expert contended on Tuesday.

Virtually tearing into the Speakeras January 10 ruling at a massive town hall style meeting in Worli, advocate Asim Sarode accused Narwekar of delaying tactics and finally delivering his verdict with political motives.

"The decision was ready made like Maggi noodlesa The Speaker took aevidencea like a magistrate courta The decision was unnecessarily delayed for so long with political intentions," he alleged.

Sarode held that contrary to precedents and norms, the Speaker accepted the majority of the legislature party (of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde faction) in his decision and ignored the political party which is supreme.

The legislative party has a limited tenure of five years, and later it may change, but the political party is a bigger entity and above the legislature party, which was not considered by the Speaker, he said.

He also pointed out that though the SC had declared the election of Bharat Gogavale (of Shinde faction) as the Chief Whip as "illegal", the Speaker has declared him as a legal appointment, and by doing so, "renamed injustice as justice".

Sarode expressed serious concern at the Speakeras ruling and said that this is not just about an intra-party dispute, but "portends ill for democracy and constitution" in the country.

He said that long before the verdict of January 10, "it was very clear among the people, right till the remote areas, that there would be injustice done" and their apprehensions came true.

Shiv Sena-UBT Chief Spokesperson and MP Sanjay Raut, slamming the Speakeras verdict, said that "he has handed over the Shiv Sena to a bunch of thieves".

"The Speakeras ruling is a blot on the glorious democratic traditions of Maharashtraa Such a decision would not be acceptable even to his (Narwekaras) wife," he said.

Present at the town hall meeting were SS-UBT President and ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray, his wife Rashmi, sons Aditya and Tejas, top party leaders, office-bearers, and activists as the event was live-streamed across the state.
Panaji, Jan 16 : Stating that Uniform Civil Code is applicable in Goa only because the coastal state didn't merge with Maharashtra, Goa Forward Party (GFP) on Tuesday demanded that the 'day' (January 16 -- Opinion Poll Day) should be recognised, at state level here.

GFP President and MLA Vijai Sardesai was speaking during 'Opinion Poll Day' programme in South Goa.

"If Goa was merged, then Uniform Civil Code would have not been applicable here. It would have been a small region of Maharashtra. UCC is now on the agenda of BJP government at Centre, they give the example of Goa showing its importance. There is no other state where UCC is functioning. Hence, this double-engine government should recognise 'Opinion Poll Day' and give state level importance to it," Sardesai, former deputy Chief Minister of Goa, said.

He said that UCC is applicable in Goa only because Goans voted against merger in 1967.

"There are enough reasons for the double-engine government to officially recognise January 16, as Goa Opinion Poll Day. I will move resolution in the upcoming session of Goa Legislative Assembly for the same and will try that this day, having a lot of importance, is celebrated at an official level," he said.

"Goa has a unique identity as Portuguese ruled the state for 450 years. As Goans, we have our own history. We got liberation much later after India got Independence. Hindu, Christian and Muslim stay together here and we never witness communal riots. This uniqueness is because of our history. To protect this identity, our people voted against the merger. We had a comprehensive victory that prevented our state merging in Maharashtra," he said.

Sardesai praised the stalwarts who contributed to protect the identity of Goa. "We have an independent identity because of this fight. It's the only referendum of India," he said.

"After getting liberated in 1961, then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru told the state leadership that for next 10 years Goa will remain as Union Territory. But Maharashtrwadi Gomantak Party was so keen to hastily merge Goa into Maharashtra. Hence they started the process in 1963, but still we got victory. Though it has importance, this government doesn't want to recognise the day," Sardesai said, adding the party which wanted to merge Goa is now running the government along (by supporting BJP) with BJP.
Chandigarh, Jan 16 : Haryana Public Enterprise Bureau Chairman Subhash Barala on Tuesday said the state government is making efforts to increase the income of farmers.

"A policy, Haryana Farmer Producers Organisation, is also being formulated," Barala said during a meeting with the Northern Farmer Mega FPO, an apex body comprising 1,200 farmers, having an annual turnover of approximately Rs 10 crore.

He said that the Northern Farmer Mega FPO of the government's cooperation in the formation of the policy. He also expressed interest in promoting the export of agricultural products.

Barala said that the government is committed to making farmers in the region economically stronger. He said the rules and conditions of the policy, formulated based on the needs of the farmers, will be further simplified.

He said Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar's vision is to increase the income of farmers.

"Strengthening farmers will lead to increased purchasing power in the market, creating an economic cycle that benefits everyone, from farmers to traders and every section of society," he said.
Mumbai, Jan 16 : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday recommended that state governments should consider fixing a ceiling for incremental guarantees that they issue during a year at 5 per cent of Revenue Receipts or 0.5 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product, whichever is less.

The RBI has also recommended that state governments may consider charging a minimum guarantee fee for guarantees extended and additional risk premium may be charged based on the risk category and the tenor of the underlying loan.

It said that besides, state governments may publish data relating to guarantees, as per the Indian Government Accounting Standard (IGAS).

The RBI recommendations also said that the word aGuaranteea should include all instruments, which create an obligation, contingent or otherwise, on part of the state government and the purpose for which government guarantees are issued should be clearly defined.

The implementation of these recommendations made by the RBIas Working Group is expected to facilitate better fiscal management by the state governments.

The RBI has placed the report of the Working Group on State Government Guarantees on its website.

During the 32nd Conference of the State Finance Secretaries held on July 07, 2022, it was decided to constitute a Working Group comprising members drawn from the Ministry of Finance, Government of India; Comptroller and Auditor General of India; and some State Governments.

The terms of reference of the Working Group included, inter alia, prescribing a uniform guarantee ceiling for the States; uniform reporting framework for the guarantees given by the State Governments; assessing the adequacy of statesa contribution to the Guarantee Redemption Fund, etc.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Jan 16 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed cleaning of the 'wazukhana' (ablution pond) in Varanasi's Gyanvapi mosque complex which had remained sealed since May 2022 after a 'Shivling' was stated to be found there.

A Bench, presided over by Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, asked the district administration to supervise the cleaning and removal of dead fish from the water tank.

In their application filed before the apex court, the Hindu plaintiffs said that there was a putrid smell coming from the tank due to the presence of dead fish and the District Magistrate should be directed to get the sealed area cleaned.

"Since there exists a Shivlingam which is sacred to Hindus, it should be kept away from all dirt, grime, dead animals, etc. and it must be in a clean condition. It is currently in the midst of dead fish which is hurtful to the sentiments of the devotees of Lord Shiva," the application read.

Hindu plaintiffs had instituted a suit in Varanasi court demanding the right of unhindered worship at the Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal. However, the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee refutes that the mosque was built over a temple, maintaining the structure at the spot was always a mosque.

Recently, the Archaeological Survey of India after surveying the mosque complex (excluding the 'wazukhana') has filed the scientific survey report in a sealed cover before the district court.
Gurugram, Jan 16 : Haryana government is set to establish a state-level board dedicated to the social and economic security of gig workers involved in delivering goods, services, and food to the doorstep.

The government will present a bill for consideration in the upcoming cabinet meeting titled 'The Haryana Gig Workers Welfare Board Bill-2024'.

Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala on Tuesday engaged in discussions regarding the proposal with representatives from various service-providing companies, officials from industrial and commercial organisations, and senior administrative officials from departments such as labor, transport, taxation, etc in Gurugram.

He said that the unorganised service sector in Haryana comprises approximately 52.70 lakh workers, engaged with e-commerce giants such as Zomato, Ola, Uber, Swiggy, Flipkart, Amazon, etc.

He said that these workers, operating on bikes, scooters, and small vehicles, may work part-time or full-time, yet lack provisions for insurance, provident fund (PF), medical services, or other allowances.

He said that the government's proposal involves establishing a dedicated welfare board for these mobility workers, akin to those for building construction workers.

He said that such a board can offer financial assistance to these workers or their families in unforeseen circumstances.

He also mentioned the Central government's initiative, the e-Shram portal, for worker registration.

He said that numerous schemes are currently in place for the welfare of unorganised sector workers, encompassing financial aid for their children's education, support for daughters' marriages, grants, and allowances for purchasing bicycles, among others.

--IANS

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Chandigarh, Jan 16 : President Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate the 37th International Surajkund Crafts Fair in Faridabad on February 2. Besides, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar will attend the fair on February 3.

M.D. Sinha, Principal Secretary, Tourism-cum-Vice Chairman of Surajkund International Crafts Mela, said this year 40 countries would participate, with ambassadors from numerous nations joining the fair on various occasions.

This time the International Surajkund Crafts Fair would be organised on a more grand scale compared to previous years, he said. In light of this, meticulous preparations for the fair are underway.

Sinha said over 1,000 stalls have been prepared, ensuring the same number of craftsmen will actively participate.

Anticipating a significant increase in attendance, he emphasised the need for top-notch facilities, including cleanliness, road arrangements, lighting, electricity provisions, and toilets.

For enhanced security measures, a notable addition includes the installation of 100 additional CCTVs, bringing the total to 350, to boost security during the event.

To facilitate effective management, the fair complex has been divided into distinct sectors, with the directive to appoint a duty magistrate for each sector.

The fair will commence at 10 a.m. and conclude at 8 p.m.

To address health concerns, additional dispensaries from the health department will be established at the fair site, and ambulances will be on continuous duty across different sectors. The provision of mobile ATMs and foreign currency exchange services will also be made available.

In an effort to enhance visitor experience and streamline operations, an app will be developed to track daily tourist numbers, monitor parking availability, facilitate ticket booking, and manage other arrangements.
Chandigarh, Jan 16 : The Haryana government has initiated the process of monetising old or abandoned properties of the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board.

This step is expected to increase the board's revenue and strengthen the basic infrastructure of markets.

A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar here on Tuesday regarding the auction of abandoned and vacant plots.

Agriculture Minister J.P. Dalal also attended the meeting.

Apprised that the board possesses old office buildings and staff quarters at 35 locations, which are to be auctioned, the Chief Minister directed the officers concerned to create a portal for uploading information about these properties.

After uploading the information, the auction process will be conducted. This will ensure the proper use of these properties and bring additional revenue to the board, he said.

The target is to generate approximately Rs 500 crore in revenue in the next six months.

At the meeting, it was informed that out of 37,364 plots owned by the board, 23,206 plots have already been auctioned or allocated. Currently, 14,158 plots are vacant, and the board has prepared an auction plan for the next six months.
New Delhi, Jan 16 : A Delhi court on Tuesday reserved, for January 18, its order on the bail application of Neelam Azad, one of the six accused in the December 13, 2023, Parliament security breach case.

As Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur of Patiala House Courts heard the matter, the Delhi Police opposed Azadas bail plea, saying that the material and documentary evidence demonstrate her involvement in the offence, making her ineligible for release on bail.

Police argued that there are reasonable grounds against the accused, and considering the ongoing investigation, bail should be denied.

Citing the accused's alleged influence and power, it expressed concern about the potential impact on the investigating agency if she were released on bail.

The nature and gravity of the offence, along with the severity of potential punishment, were stressed upon as relevant considerations in the bail decision.

Azad had sought immediate release from the custody of Delhi Police. Terming her arrest as "illegal", she said it was in contravention of Article 22 (1) of the Constitution.

Azad, along with three other accused persons, was arrested from the Parliament premises on December 13, and had challenged the legality of the remand order dated December 21, 2023, on the ground that she wasnat allowed to consult a legal practitioner of her choice to defend herself during the proceedings.

She has further alleged that she was produced before the court after 29 hours, which was contrary to the law.

Her plea said the court has made a fatal error by adjudicating the remand application first and then asking the petitioner if she wanted to be defended by a legal practitioner of her choice.

"Thus, the right guaranteed under Article 22(1) of the Constitution was grossly violated, making the remand order dated December 21 unlawful," the plea read.

Delhi Police have told a court that the accused in the case were "hardened criminals", consistently altering their statements.

Police have registered an FIR under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against the accused and are investigating the security lapse issue too. It had informed the court that they have included Sections 16 (terrorism) and 18 (conspiracy for terrorism) of the UAPA in the charges against the accused.

There was a major security breach on the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attacks on December 13, when two of the accused jumped onto the floor of the Lok Sabha, released yellow gas, and raised slogans before being overpowered by the MPs present in the House.
US legislators on bi-partisan lines meet top CEOs at WEF in Davos. Image Source: IANS News

New York, Jan 16 : Over 60 heads of state will attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos this year, media reports said.

Some of the dignitaries include Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron and China's second-in-command Li Qiang.

The US will be represented by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, CNN reported.

Business executives including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, will also attend the event.

With several major countries approaching pivotal elections this year (half the world's population is going to the polls in 2024), leaders are concerned about how these events might reshape international alliances and economic policies.

Climate change is a hot topic as leaders meet to discuss balancing economic growth with sustainability.

The WEF summit comes just days after scientists around the globe reported that the average temperatures last year reached a new record high. That change has propelled the world just hundredths of a degree away from a critical climate threshold, CNN reported.

The WEF's Global Risks report, published last week, found climate change to be one of the biggest risks facing the world.

The World Bank said last week that the global economy is likely to slow to its worst half decade of growth in the past 30 years. Without "a major course correction," the bank said, this will be "a decade of wasted opportunity."

With conflict in Europe and the Middle East and growing tensions between the US and China, geopolitics will be another major topic of conversation.

On Sunday, the leaders discussed Ukrainian President Zelensky's 10-point peace plan to end Russia's war with his country. Zelensky is expected to give a speech on Tuesday and meet with JPMorgan's Dimon, CNN reported.

Israeli President Herzog, meanwhile, will participate in a conversation about "achieving security and cooperating in a fractured world," with US Secretary of State Blinken and WEF executive chairman Klaus Schwab later this week.
(DIWALI BECKONS PACKAGE) Mixed bag of luck and a lot of worries ahead for IT, banking stocks. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Jan 16 : Devarsh Vakil - Deputy Head Retail Research, HDFC Securities on Tuesday said that Nifty broke the 5 session's winning streak by falling 65 points to close at 22032 weighed down mainly by realty and IT stocks.

He said that Nifty hit a fresh all time high at 22124 and witnessed minor profit booking during the session. Cash market volumes were higher as compared to the last ten-day's average.

He said that Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 Indices witnessed profit booking at higher levels fell by 0.36 per cent and 0.48 per cent respectively.

"Declining shares outnumbered the advancing shares, as the advance decline ratio stood at 0.53 levels on BSE," he said.

He said that the Australian and Japanese shares slipped, while futures for US equities edged lower after a Monday holiday.

He said that Reliance Industries Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.4 per cent. Divi's Laboratories Ltd. had the largest drop, falling 2.4 per cent.

"Among sectors, Nifty Metal, OIL/GAS and Media gained the most while Reality, IT and Pharma ended in the red," Devarsh Vakil said.

He said that the previous swing high of 21834 is expected to act as a strong support for the Nifty.

"Short term resistance for the Nifty is seen in the zone of 22200-22250," he said.

He said that bank Nifty ended the session with "Doji" candlestick pattern on the daily chart, which indicates indecision amongst the traders.

"A level above 48400 could bring back the bullish momentum in the Bank Nifty," he said.
Man beaten to death in Assam over financial dispute. Image Source: IANS News

Guwahati, Jan 16 : A man in Assam's Cachar district was allegedly been beaten to death by a group of men after a fight broke out between them over financial dispute, the police said on Tuesday.

The police said that the incident occurred late on Monday night when one of the injured, Shakib Hussain, living in the same neighbourhood, was attacked by a group of men led by Anwar Hussain, a local resident.

"Riaz Uddin Laskar aka Babu, 27, sustained serious injuries and was taken to Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH), where he succumbed to injury while undergoing treatment," the police said.

Numal Mahatta, Cachar Superintendent of Police (SP), said that the fight broke out due to a long-running rivalry over money between the families of Anwar Hussain and Shakib Hussain.

"Shakib Hussain and his companions were attacked by a group of persons led by Anwar Hussain with sharp weapons, resulting in Riaz Uddin's injuries and eventual death. Further inquiry is underway and a complaint has been filed," Mahatta added.

Police said that after the incident, a group of angry locals attacked Anwar Hussain's house and vandalised some valuable items, including his motorcycle.

However, the alleged accused men fled before the police reached the spot.

"They escaped from the house after committing the offence but we apprehended one woman Sulbanu Begum, 30, for being involved in this incident," the police added.

Two complaints have been received by the Dholai police station, one about the alleged murder and the other regarding vandalism, according to the Officer in-charge Manoj Barua.

"We are looking into the situation, and cases will be filed under the relevant provisions. The culprits will be caught," the officer added.

Meanwhile, the body of the deceased was sent for an autopsy report at the Silchar Medical College and Hospital.
New Delhi, Jan 16 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned, till January 22, the hearing on a PIL seeking immediate implementation of the Women Reservation Bill before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta proceeded to defer the hearing after no lawyer made an appearance on behalf of the Union government.

Senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for petitioner Jaya Thakur, said that there is an urgency in the matter and 1/3rd quota may be implemented in 2024 polls if the PIL is allowed by the apex court.

Ordering the matter to be listed on January 22, Justice Khanna said: "I am not going to say anything. Let the other side come."

In November 2023, the top court had refused to issue notice in the matter and remarked that it will be "very difficult" to strike down the provision of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam Bill 2023 which provides that the 33 per cent quota for women in the legislature will not be implemented unless decennial census and subsequent delimitation exercise is carried out.

The PIL had contended that there was no requirement of the census and delimitation because the number of seats are already declared and the present amendment gives 33 per cent reservation for existing seats.

The plea said that this is an admitted position in our country that 50 per cent is women population but they have only 4 per cent representation in elections.

On January 12, the Supreme Court refused to entertain a similar plea filed by an advocate saying that it does not want multiplicity of litigation in the matter. However, it asked the petitioner, Yogamaya M.G., to instead file an impleadment application in the pending batch of petitions.
Key sections of Constitution on Lord Ram, Krishna kept out of books: Dhankhar. Image Source: IANS News

Jaipur, Jan 16 : Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday said that key sections of the Constitution which mention about Lord Ram and Krishan have been kept out of book and peoples' attention.

The Vice President said that the Constitution of India is an illustrious document which depicts Lord Ram, Sita and Lakshman in the section on Fundamental Rights while Lord Krishna -- imparting the wisdom of the Gita to Arjuna -- is mentioned in the section on Directive Principles of State Policy.

"I wonder why such key sections are left out of the books and not brought to peoples' attention," the Vice President said while addressing newly elected members of the Rajasthan legislative assembly in Jaipur.

He said that all members of the legislature must work together and transcend party lines for the progress of the nation.

The Vice President said that the legislature plays a key role in ensuring a balance among all organs of state, including the executive and the judiciary.

He said that we must remain vigilant against deliberate tactics of disruption and disturbance, saying that such strategies have 'low shelf life' and lead to loss of opportunities to hold the government accountable in the House.

"Often, people take to the streets with certain grievances because such issues are not given due attention on the floor of the House," the Vice President said.

Referring to the Opposition as the 'spinal strength' of a House, the Vice President said that members should recognise differing perspectives as being intended for public welfare, instead of assuming them to be points of conflict.

"National interest must be given prime importance, and must not be viewed through a political lens," the Vice President said.

Calling upon political parties to respect the non-partisanship of the Presiding Officer, the Vice-President urged them to allow people's representatives to freely present their viewpoints before the House.

Encouraging legislators to emulate the Constituent Assembly in their functioning, the Vice-President appealed to them to uphold 'dialogue, debate, discussion and deliberation' as the foundation of Parliamentary democracy.

Lauding the strides made by India across domains, the Vice-President stressed that this was an outcome not only of the affirmative role played by legislators, but also of the 'blood and sweat' of Indian citizens.

He said that peoples' representatives and civil servants must work together in a spirit of cooperation to take the country forward.
Kohima, Jan 16 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said despite a big tragedy in Manipur Prime Minister Narendra Modi remained silent and despite his commitment nine years ago, he did nothing to resolve the Naga political issue in Nagaland.

On the third day of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (BJNY) which reached Nagaland on Monday evening, the Congress leader said: "Nagaland had been given a commitment by the Prime Minister nine years ago and it has not been fulfilled. I've been speaking to Naga leaders, and they are perplexed as to why no progress has been made."

"We're not even clear about what the Prime Minister envisions in terms of a solution. Clearly, there's a problem that will require conversation, listening to each other, and working on implementing a solution, and that is lacking as far as the PM is concerned. The Prime Minister promises things without thinking them through," he said while addressing a gathering in Nagaland's Wokha.

"It doesn't matter if you're a small state, you should feel equal to all other people in the country."

A delegation of Naga HOHO, one of the most influential organisations in Nagaland, met Rahul Gandhi and expressed their concerns over the government of India's failure to implement the 2015 Framework Agreement.

"We assured them of our unwavering commitment to seek Justice for the people of Nagaland. When PM says something it should be executed," Rahul Gandhi said.

He said that considering the northeast region a most important part of India and after the big tragedy in Manipur, the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra was started from the region to seek justice for all religions, all states and communities in the country.

The former Congress President said that despite tremendous violence, huge bloodshed, and hatred in Manipur, the Prime Minister remained silent and it is a shame for humanity.

Growing unemployment, increasing price rise, social, political and economic inequality and injustice to all are being focused in the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Gandhi said.

"Through Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, we are presenting an alternative vision before the country."

"On one side there is the ideology of 'hatred and injustice' and on the other side there is the ideology of 'brotherhood and justice'. Where only a few people have control over the country's resources, we want everyone's share. And this is possible only when we follow the 'religion of politics' and not 'politics of religion'. It is in the interest of the country that our religious ideals should not be used for political gains but to create a just society."

The Congress leader also visited Kohima War Cemetery and paid homage to the brave hearts who made supreme sacrifice in the line of duty during the second world war.

After halting overnight in Nagaland's Khuzama village, 28 km south of state capital Kohima, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday morning began the third day of his BJNY and passed through state capital Kohima and interacted with the people including a large number of women who had lined up along the route to greet him.

Hundreds of men and women wearing traditional dresses cheered on Rahul Gandhi as his customised Volvo bus made its way along several markets and inhabited areas.

Gandhi also walked for some distance meeting people and enquiring about their issues.

After the night halt in Wokha, the BJNY would resume its fourth-day move on Wednesday and visit other districts of Nagaland.

On January 18, the Congress leader will head to Assam via Amguri.
Kohima, Jan 16 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said despite a big tragedy in Manipur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi remained silent and despite his commitment nine years ago, he did nothing to resolve the Naga political issue in Nagaland.

On the third day of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (BJNY) which reached Nagaland on Monday evening, the Congress leader said: "Nagaland had been given a commitment by the Prime Minister nine years ago and it has not been fulfilled. I've been speaking to Naga leaders, and they are perplexed as to why no progress has been made."

"We're not even clear about what the Prime Minister envisions in terms of a solution. Clearly, there's a problem that will require conversation, listening to each other, and working on implementing a solution, and that is lacking as far as the PM is concerned. The Prime Minister promises things without thinking them through," he said while addressing a gathering in Nagaland's Wokha.

"It doesn't matter if you're a small state, you should feel equal to all other people in the country."

A delegation of Naga HOHO, one of the most influential organisations in Nagaland, met Rahul Gandhi and expressed their concerns over the government of India's failure to implement the 2015 Framework Agreement.

"We assured them of our unwavering commitment to seek Justice for the people of Nagaland. When PM says something it should be executed," Rahul Gandhi said.

He said that considering the northeast region a most important part of India and after the big tragedy in Manipur, the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra was started from the region to seek justice for all religions, all states and communities in the country.

The former Congress President said that despite tremendous violence, huge bloodshed, and hatred in Manipur, the Prime Minister remained silent and it is a shame for humanity.

Growing unemployment, increasing price rise, social, political and economic inequality and injustice to all are being focused in the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Gandhi said.

"Through Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, we are presenting an alternative vision before the country."

"On one side there is the ideology of 'hatred and injustice' and on the other side there is the ideology of 'brotherhood and justice'. Where only a few people have control over the country's resources, we want everyone's share. And this is possible only when we follow the 'religion of politics' and not 'politics of religion'. It is in the interest of the country that our religious ideals should not be used for political gains but to create a just society."

The Congress leader also visited Kohima War Cemetery and paid homage to the brave hearts who made supreme sacrifice in the line of duty during the second world war.

After halting overnight in Nagaland's Khuzama village, 28 km south of state capital Kohima, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday morning began the third day of his BJNY and passed through state capital Kohima and interacted with the people including a large number of women who had lined up along the route to greet him.

Hundreds of men and women wearing traditional dresses cheered on Rahul Gandhi as his customised Volvo bus made its way along several markets and inhabited areas.

Gandhi also walked for some distance meeting people and enquiring about their issues.

After the night halt in Wokha, the BJNY would resume its fourth-day move on Wednesday and visit other districts of Nagaland.

On January 18, the Congress leader will head to Assam via Amguri.
Patna, Jan 16 : A trader in Bihar's Banka district was bitten by a stray dog on Monday after which the canine paid with its life for the indiscretion as the villagers hunted it down and killed the animal.

Patna, Jan 16 (IANS) A trader in Biharas Banka district was bitten by a stray dog on Monday after which the canine paid with its life for the indiscretion as the villagers hunted it down and killed the animal.

The victim was admitted to the common health centre in Rajaun and his condition is stable.

According to an official, around 30 people had been bitten by that dog in Rajaun block in the last few days.

The latest incident, in which the trader was bitten, took place on Monday afternoon in Rajaun block and the angry villagers took the law into their hands and killed the animal.

The official said that the dog was frequently attacking people in the region and around 30 people had been bitten by it.

When they spotted it on Bhagalpur Hansdiha road some of them cornered it and killed the dog.
Press Release

January 16, 2024 Senator Mark Villar successfully leads Committee Hearing on the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) Senator Mark Villar, Chairperson of the Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies successfully led the discussion on 3 Senate Resolutions, 6 Senate Bills, and 1 House Bill, collectively called the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act or AFASA. "There is a dramatic rise in cyber financial crimes such as online selling scams, investment scams, loan scams, and love scams among others. We are made aware that these kinds of schemes and scams are rapidly evolving," Senator Villar said. Senator Mark Villar expresses his distaste for the heinous acts of scammers and opportunists who are continuously victimizing Filipinos. He reiterates the need for a legislative measure that not only provides for a penalty after the fact but one that effectively responds to or even prevents criminals from facilitating these scams. "Trust is the currency of banking and finance. We need to strengthen our financial institutions para mapanatag ang ating mga kapwa Pilipino to conduct their financial transactions," Senator Mark exclaimed. During the hearing, Senator Mark posed inquiries to the stakeholders present including the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Gcash, and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) among others, on the current security measures being used by financial institutions to secure transactions between and among consumers. "We should have a good grasp of the current practices in use so that we could use them to springboard the additional practices that we would include in AFASA. We have to continuously improve our legal system, and if possible, be two steps ahead of the scammers at all times to effectively protect the public from their nefarious acts," Senator Mark insisted. The public hearing of AFASA has been moved to its close as the committee will move to the formation of a technical working group (TWG). The TWG will be conducted to finalize the substitute bill for AFASA.
Kolkata, Jan 16 : West Bengal Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that she will not allow any demolition of the skywalk to Dakshineswar Temple to take place for construction of Kolkata Metro expansion.

The Union Railways Ministry has proposed modification in the skywalk to the iconic Dakshineswar Temple for expansion of Kolkata Metro.

The Chief Minister said that the proposal virtually means demolition of the skywalk. "I will prevent any such demolition till the last drop of my blood," the Chief Minister said.

She said that the Metro Railways should make a relocation plan rather than demolishing the skywalk.

"It is our state's precious jewel," the Chief Minister said.

She said that she is astonished by the arrogance on part of the railway authorities.

"What are they trying to play with? Tomorrow they might ask for changes in the iconic Kalighat Temple. The next day they might seek the demolition of the Nakhoda Mosque in Kolkata," the Chief Minister said.

She said that she will neither listen nor agree to such demands.

"They should discuss it with us. We can suggest an alternative route and also help them to set it up," the Chief Minister said.

She said that her long experience as the railways minister had taught her how to solve such problems.

"There is no point in projecting what the map is suggesting. There should be a ground-level survey and only then there can be a solution," the Chief Minister said.
Guwahati, Jan 16 : Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma asserted on Tuesday that the Congress was the one who, by its boycott, has turned the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya into a political occasion.

Guwahati, Jan 16 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma asserted on Tuesday that the Congress was the one who, by its boycott, has turned the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya into a political occasion.

According to Sarma, the initiative is seen by some as the "triumph of Indian civilisation". He claimed that Rahul and Sonia Gandhi have turned the Ram Mandir event into a political one because of their anti-Hindu stand.

The Chief Minister claimed, "Rahul and Sonia Gandhi are politicising it due to their anti-Hindu beliefs. Only the Congress party was politicising what is normally seen as an achievement of Indian civilisation." His remarks came only hours after Rahul Gandhi claimed in Nagaland that the BJP and the RSS had transformed the ceremony on January 22 into a "political event" centered around Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who would be attending. As a result, it is difficult for the leaders of his party to attend.

"It would not have had any political flavour if Rahul Gandhi had gone there. We let you go so that it doesn't become a political event," Sarma told reporters here.

The consecration ceremony has been "respectfully declined" by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and other key leaders, who blamed the BJP for turning it into a "political project" for electoral benefits. "Everyone will go, receive Ram Lalla's darshan, and then come back. Nobody will, in my opinion, make a political or anti-Congress speech. Others see it as an achievement of Indian civilisation," Sarma said.
Kolkata, Jan 16 : The Trinamool Congress will organise a 'Harmony Rally' in Kolkata on January 22 on the occasion of the Ram Temple's inauguration at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, the party's supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday.

Speaking to mediapersons at the state secretariat, Mamata Banerjee said that the rally would start from Hazra Crossing in South Kolkata and end at Park Circus Seven-Point Crossing in central Kolkata.

The Chief Minister will also address a meeting at the concluding point of the rally.

Mamata Banerjee added that similar harmony rallies would be organised on that day in all the districts in the state by the party's district leaderships there.

"The 'Harmony Rally' will pass by religious places of all faiths. I have always said that while religion is personal, festivals are for everyone. We speak about all religions. That is exactly why the rally will pass by the religious places of all faiths," Mamata Banerjee said.

She added that it would be wrong to perceive this rally as a counter to the Ram Temple inauguration since it is being conducted on the same day.

"The 'Harmony Rally' is not a counter to any other event. I have great respect for the monks and saints. I always listen to them. We are organising the rally to spread the message of unity of all religions, since the next day is the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose," the Chief Minister said.

She also said that she had recently sent a communication to Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising objections over the directive to paint all government offices, including educational institutions saffron. According to her, such a move is inacceptable under any circumstance.
If I wasnt Shiv Sena President, why did BJP seek my support in 2014 and 2019, asks Thackeray. Image Source: IANS News

Mumbai, Jan 16 : Shiv Sena-UBT President and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday asked that if he was not the validly elected (undivided) party President, "then why did the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi" seek his support in 2014 and 2019.

Addressing the media in the "Peoples' Court" to analyse the recent ruling of Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, Thackeray referred to the ruling in which the (undivided) Shiv Sena party constitution of 1999 was upheld.

"If that is true, then why did Prime Minister Modi ask me for support in 2014 and later in 2019? Why did Amit Shah come to my house for support Why did the PM say that in the absence of my father, the late Balasaheb Thackeray, he always turns to me for guidance? With whose support did Devendra Fadnavis become the CM in 2014?" he thundered.

Attacking the Speaker's verdict of January 10 on the disqualification of MLAs by the two rival party factions, Thackeray demanded that the Governor should convene a special session of the state legislature.

"Chief Minister Eknath Shinde should move a no-confidence against the Speaker in the special session we shall support it the Speaker must be removed," he declared.

Throwing the gauntlet at Shinde-Narwekar, Thackeray challenged them "to come out in the open and the people will show you which is the real Shiv Sena".

"I had no lust for power so I quit immediately (in June 2022), I also left the CM's official bungalow. The Shiv Sena was founded by my late father Balasaheb Thackeray (in 1966). It's our party It belongs to all of you, and nobody can grab it from us," said Thackeray grimly.

Vowing to continue the fight for justice, he said that "now our only hope is the Supreme Court", and asked whether the orders of the apex court should be considered or the verdict of "the liars" must be taken into account.

He reiterated that all the relevant documents were submitted to the Election Commission and also the Speaker who did not consider them while giving his ruling last week.

Referring to the BJP President J.P. Nadda's comment in the past, Thackeray said they want to eliminate all political parties and ensure that only one party is left.

"They have started killing democracy in the land of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, who gave us the Constitution The beginning has been made with Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party. The question is whether democracy will survive or the Supreme Court will continue to exist" he said.

Reiterating his confidence in the Supreme Court, Thackeray said from today, the issue will also be raised in the "Peoples' Court", and the masses who are supreme in a democracy would decide, "and if they want me to sit at home, I will do it".

Thackeray's no-hold-barred comments came at a town hall style meeting where his wife Rashmi, sons Aditya and Tejas, top party leaders, office-bearers, legal experts and grassroots activists were present as the event was live-streamed across the state.
Chennai, Jan 16 : Tamil Nadu Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) on Tuesday called upon the AIADMK party workers to work for ousting the DMK government and termed the DMK rule as "tyrannical" and "anti-people".

Chennai, Jan 16(IANS) Tamil Nadu Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) on Tuesday called upon the AIADMK party workers to work for ousting the DMK government and termed the DMK rule as "tyrannical" and "anti-people".

Palaniswami said that the people of the state have been abandoned by the DMK government and called upon the party cadres to work hard to remove the government.

He said that the DMK government under Chief Minister M.K. Stalin is not able to implement welfare projects and schemes in the state as the government is highly "corrupt".

Palaniswami said that the DMK government is not even able to protect the natural calamities victims.

"The DMK government is tormenting the people of Tamil Nadu by increasing electricity tariff, milk price and house tax," he said.
Bengaluru, Jan 16 : Former Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday asked the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's to form the SIT so that a proper probe is carried out regarding the Hangal gang rape case.

"The case has already been diluted. If you want to give justice to the victims then you must constitute a SIT without any further delay," he said.

He said that the Chief Minister has not responded whether the victim has been sent home without proper medical treatment.

He said that the Health Department is also unable to arrange the treatment for the victim.

"Asking the party legislators to arrange for the treatment shows that the government's intention is to hush up the case. They are trying to take absolute control of the victim. Government must take the responsibility of providing treatment to her," Bommai said.

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said that, "We can't rule the state if we keep fulfilling the BJP's demands."

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said that there is no question of protecting anyone regarding the Hangal gang rape case.

"Whoever takes the law into their hands, we will try to punish them," the Chief Minister told media persons.
London, Jan 16 : A Malta-flagged, Greek-owned vessel has been hit by a missile in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, media reports said.

It is the third incident involving the bulk carrier, believed to be named Zografia, in the last 24 hours.

The attack comes after the US military announced that it has seized Iranian-supplied weapons bound for the Houthis during an operation last week, BBC reported.

Reports said that the US has hit more targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

The US and UK launched a wave of airstrikes against dozens of Houthi targets on 11 January following attacks by the Iran-backed group on ships and vessels in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have vowed to retaliate while the US said it had shot down a missile fired towards one of its warships from a Houthi area of Yemen, BBC reported.

Several vessels have been targeted by the Houthi fighters since November in protest against Israel's war with Hamas.

The US said that analysis from the weapons it seized from a ship near the Yemen coast suggested the Houthis had been using the same kind of weapons in their Red Sea attacks.

The seizure took place on 11 January near the coast of Somalia - the same day as the first US-UK airstrikes.
New Delhi, Jan 16 : Delhi government on Tuesday said that it is preparing to construct three new district court complexes in Rohini Sector-26, Shastri Park and Karkardooma.

"After the completion of these three projects, Delhi's District Court will witness an increase of 200 courtrooms," the government said in a statement.

It said that in the recent Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) meeting, the Delhi Finance Minister has approved these three projects.

"Finance Ministry has emphasised that swift and accessible justice is a fundamental right for every Indian, and this is achievable only when there is sufficient infrastructure in the courts," the government said.

It said that at present, there is a considerable backlog of pending cases on judges and courts nationwide, leading to unnecessary delays in case resolutions.

"The commitment of the Delhi government is to provide sufficient judicial infrastructure in the capital is crucial. The government's dedication to building 200 new courtrooms in Delhi proves to be highly significant in strengthening the judicial system," the government added.

It said that these three projects will incorporate better public facilities and there will be an 11-storey new District Court Complex in Rohini Sector-26 will feature 100 new courtrooms and 270 lawyer chambers, along with modern facilities.

"The complex will consist of three basements, a ground floor, and two 11-storey building blocks. It will house 100 courtrooms and 270 lawyer chambers. The total cost of this project is estimated to be Rs 714.19 crore," the government said.

The government said that a new District Court Complex in Shastri Park will include 48 courtrooms and 175 lawyer stations.

"The total cost for this project is estimated to be Rs 184.91 crores," it said.

The Delhi government said that the third project involves constructing an additional court block near the existing court in Karkardooma.

"This new court block will have 50 new courtrooms, and the total cost for this project is estimated to be Rs 199.39 crores," the government added.
San Francisco, Jan 16 : Ride-hailing major Uber is shutting down its alcohol delivery service called Drizly which it acquired for $1.1 billion.

The company had planned to integrate Drizly into Uber Eats but never succeeded.

Drizly brand will be discontinued by March, reports Axios.

"After three years of Drizly operating independently within the Uber family, weave decided to close the business and focus on our core Uber Eats strategy of helping consumers get almost anything a" from food to groceries to alcohol a" all on a single app," an Uber spokesperson said in a statement.

"Weare grateful to the Drizly team for their many contributions to the growth of the BevAlc delivery category as the original industry pioneer," the spokesperson added.

Drizly provided backend technology that let local liquor stores provide their own deliveries.

In 2020, it confirmed a hack that exposed information of around 2.5 million customers. It was the leading on-demand alcohol marketplace in the US, available in more than 1,400 cities.

After alcohol at your doorstep, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi had even planned to deliver cannabis or marijuana when "the road is clear".

The Uber CEO had told CNBC News in 2021 that the ride-hailing company could start delivering weed once federal regulation allows the company to do so.

"When the road is clear for cannabis, when federal laws come into play, we're absolutely going to take a look at it," Khosrowshahi was quoted as saying in the report.

Marijuana still remains illegal under the US federal law, but some lawmakers have expressed a willingness to change the policy.

--IANS

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Rawalpindi, Jan 16 : Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were indicted by a local court in the "un-Islamic" nikah (marriage deed) case on Tuesday, a media outlet reported.

Imran, the former Prime Minister who was removed from power in April 2022, and his wife have denied all charges in the case registered by Bushra's former husband, Khawar Maneka, last month, The News reported.

Senior Civil Judge Qudratullah read out the charges in the court set up in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail, with the PTI supreme leader in his presence. However, Bushra did not appear, which annoyed the judge as previous indictments were postponed because of her absence.

During the Tuesday's hearing the court expressed displeasure about Bushra's absence and questioned how she could leave without the court's permission.

To this, her lawyer Usman Gill said that his client had left for the hospital owing to her ill health, the media outlet reported.

Meanwhile, the prosecution objected to Bushra's medical report saying that it fails to mention any particular treatment -- that the accused has gone through.

"You are repeatedly seeking exemption (from appearing before the court) by submitting medical reports," the court said while addressing Bushra's counsel, adding that exemption is sought by one who is not present in court.

The development comes a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) reserved its verdict on Bushra's plea seeking dismissal of Maneka's case.

In her petition, Bushra -- via her lawyer Barrister Salman Akram Raja -- contended the admissibility of Maneka's petition saying that a trial court has no jurisdiction to hear it while also urging the court to declare "null and void" the order of the additional sessions judge East on January 11.

Last month, Maneka had moved a district and sessions court in Islamabad challenging Imran and Bushra's marriage. His plea was submitted only a day after petitioner Muhamad Hanif withdrew a similar petition challenging the nikah of the PTI chief "due to technical reasons", the report said.
New Delhi, Jan 16 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued an ex parte ad interim injunction restraining Pakistani-American rapper Bohemia from entering into agreements with third parties for sound recordings or musical works without prior written approval from Delhi-based music company Saga Music Private Ltd.

Justice Anish Dayal, hearing a suit filed by Saga Music alleging that Bohemia violated the terms and conditions of a performance agreement signed in 2019. also prohibited Bohemia and his agents from posting defamatory content on social media against Saga Music.

The company claims exclusive rights to Bohemia's literary and musical works and sound recordings for 45 months, as stipulated in the agreement.

Saga Music sought to prevent Bohemia and other third-party producers from infringing on its copyright accrued through the agreement.

The terms outlined Bohemia's exclusive engagement with Saga Music for 45 months, prohibiting collaborations with other music producers worldwide without prior approval.

Any engagement with third parties required contacting Saga Music first, with revenue to be equally distributed.

Saga Music argues that Bohemia breached the agreement by collaborating with third parties, failing to update Saga Music on shows, and uploading songs on YouTube channels without authorisation.

It claims irreparable harm in the music industry due to Bohemia's actions.

Justice Dayal, finding a prima facie case in favour of Saga Music and the balance of convenience in its favour, issued the ex parte ad interim relief.

The court scheduled further hearings for the matter on February 23.
Visakhapatnam, Jan 16 : A MLA of Andhra Pradesh's ruling YSR Congress Party allegedly distributed a bottle of liquor and a live chicken each to people in his constituency here on the occasion of Kanuma festival on Tuesday.

The agiftsa were given to people at an educational institution reportedly owned by Ganesh Kumar Vasupalli, the MLA from Visakhapatnam South.

Visuals of people entering the junior college and coming out with a bottle of liquor and a live chicken weighing two kg each in their hands were widely circulated on social media.

Some people pulled out liquor bottles from bags to pose before cameras.

About 400 people were reportedly given the gifts by the MLAas supporters.

Kanuma is celebrated in Andhra Pradesh as a part of Sankranti festivities and it is dedicated to cattle and other animals considered important for the rural economy.

Vasupalli was elected to the Assembly on a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) ticket for the second consecutive term in 2019. He later defected to the YSR Congress Party.

Simultaneous elections to Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Lok Sabha are due in 2-3 months.

--IANS

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Patna, Jan 16 : A major tragedy was averted due to the presence of mind of the loco pilots of Rajdhani Express as they managed to slow down the train after noticing a big boulder on the tracks in Bihar's Bhagalpur district on Tuesday.

The Agartala-Anand Vihar Rajdhani Express collided with the boulder before Sahibganj railway station, but the loco pilot had managed to slow down the train and stopped it in some time.

Due to the collision, the front portion of the train was partially damaged.

The train started at Malda Town station at 3.13 pm on Tuesday. When it was about to reach Sahibganj railway station, a big boulder was found placed in the middle of the track. The drivers of the train spotted the boulder and slowed down before the collision occurred.

Railway officials believe that it could be the handiwork of miscreants. The driver of the Rajdhani express informed senior officers of the incident. After the train reached Bhagalpur railway station, the driver lodged a complaint with the station master.
Patna, Jan 16 : The principal of a government primary school in Bihar's Kaimur district was shot by her relative, police said on Tuesday

The accused Satish Singh is absconding at the moment, while police arrested a person named Santosh Singh in connection with the crime.

The incident occurred at Laxmanpur village under Ramgarh police station in the district around 9 p.m. on Monday when Jayanti Singh was returning home after visiting her relative's house.

"While she reached the lane of her house, Satish Singh, her nephew, shot her at close range. She was rushed to the hospital where the doctors have declared her dead," her husband Jogindar Singh said.

"During investigation, it appeared that the accused had borrowed money to the tune of Rs 50 lakh from many villagers and was hiding in the house of his relative Santosh Singh. Jayanti passed the information to the lenders about the hideout of Satish Singh. This has made the accused angry and hence he killed Jayanti Singh," Kaimur's DSP, HQ, Saket Kumar, said.

"As soon as we learnt about the incident, our team reached the spot. The deceased's husband said that the accused was hiding in the house of Santosh Singh, and we arrested him for giving shelter to an accused. Satish is currently absconding and we are making efforts to nab him," he added.
Kolkata, Jan 16 : The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday held that appointments in state-run schools of candidates enlisted in expired panels of the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) will not be valid.

A special division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi, constituted to specially hear the matter related to the multi-crore cash-for-school-job cases in West Bengal following an instruction from the Supreme Court, observed that the services of the candidates being appointed from the list of an expired panel will ultimately have to be terminated.

This is applicable for both teaching staff in the secondary and higher secondary level as well as non-teaching staff in the Group C and Group D categories.

The matter will come up for hearing again on Wednesday.

Following an earlier order of the high court, the WBSSC withdrew appointment letters of many candidates on the same ground. A section of the candidates challenged this at the Supreme Court. However, the apex court returned the matter back to the Calcutta High Court, following which the special division bench was constituted to hear the matter on a fast track basis.

On Tuesday, counsel for these candidates challenged the documents provided by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the matter, following which the appointment letters were withdrawn.

He claimed that CBI sleuths did not recover any document pertaining to the panel lists from the Ghaziabad office of NYSA, the corporate entity that supplied OMR sheets to the WBSSC to be used in the written examination for recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in state-run schools.

"Rather those documents were recovered from the residence of a former official of NYSA. So there is every reason to the submission made by CBI in the matter," counsel argued.

At this, Justice Basak questioned whether the WBSSC itself had not retained any record in the matter. The commission representative present at the court informed that there were discrepancies in the data stored in WBSSCas servers with that collected by the CBI from NYSA.
Imphal, Jan 16 : A leader of the ruling BJP and a former soldier were arrested from Manipur's border Moreh town in connection with the killing of police officer Chingtham Anand Kumar last year, police said on Tuesday.

The BJP leader was identified as Hemkholal Mate, 36, treasurer of the party's Tengnoupal unit. Mate is also the chief of K Moulsang village and Finance Secretary of Mate Tribe Union (MTU).

Police said that a joint team of state forces on Monday night arrested Mate and prime accused, Philip Khaikholal Khongsai, an ex-serviceman as well as President of the Moreh Youth Club.

State BJPas senior Vice President N. Nimbus Singh said that the party executive, in its emergency meeting immediately after Mate's arrest, expelled him from the party.

Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Moreh in Tengnoupal district, Anand Kumar was killed by a sniper while he was on duty at Eastern Shine ground at the border town on October 31 last year. The SDPO was shot while he was supervising the cleaning of Eastern Shine Ground for helicopter landing at Moreh and subsequently succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.

Upon the arrest of the duo, people at the border town on Tuesday demanded their release, while Imphal valley witnessed widespread protests demanding handing over the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and giving exemplary punishment of the detainees.

--IANS

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Kolkata, Jan 16 : Kolkata Metro on Tuesday refuted claims that they are seeking demolition of the iconic Dakshineswar Temple skywalk for its expansion.

Hours after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that she would not allow the demolition even till the last drop of her blood, a senior railways official has confirmed that the proposal is about the modification of the skywalk and not its demolition.

"There had never been any proposal for demolition of the skywalk for expansion purposes. But there is a requirement for some additional space for a crossover required for the expansion work, which was exactly communicated to the state government," the Kolkata Metro official said.

According to him, an additional 90 metres of aerospace is required for that crossover. "The Railways do not want to achieve any work by hampering the skywalk. We are hopeful that something will be worked out through discussions with the state government. All we want is some additional hanging place. There is no requirement of additional land for that purpose," the official said.

Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister also said that she is ready to cooperate with the Kolkata Metro Railways authorities in finalizing the relocation plan for the proposed expansion work. "There is no point in projecting what the map is suggesting. There should be a ground-level survey and only then a solution will surely surface," she said.
Mumbai, Jan 17 : The Maharashtra government has signed a MoU with INOX Air Products group in Davos to set up a mega-plant to produce green ammonia in the state, an official said here on Tuesday.

The plant, with a capacity of 500,000 tonnes per annum, will be set up with a planned outlay of $3 billion, and will be commissioned within three to five years, though the location where it will come up is not yet clear.

The MoU was inked in the presence of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Industry Minister Uday Samant, Principal Secretary, Industry, Dr Harshdeep Kamble and INOX Group Promoter and Director Siddharth Jain, besides other officials.

The plant would produce liquid ammonia, which would be a climate-neutral Hydrogen carrier, and with its size and capacity, the new plant is poised to play a critical role in the global value chain for the sustainable and versatile green hydrogen.

As a primary alternative to fossil fuels, green hydrogen is a key to a secure energy future with a capability to decarbonise the economy and reduce carbon emissions substantially.

Shinde, currently in Davos on a four-day trip to the World Economic Forum meet, plans to sign MoUs worth over Rs 3.10 lakh crore across various sectors to benefit different regions of the state.
Tehran, Jan 17 : Iran on Tuesday "obliterated two key strongholds" of a terror group in Pakistan through precision missile and drone strikes, a media report said.

Significant bases belonging to the Jaysh al-Dhulm (Jeysh al-Adl) terrorist group on Pakistani soil were destroyed on Tuesday, Tasnim news agency reported, adding that these bases were "specifically targeted and successfully demolished" by a combination of missile and drone attacks.

The focal point of this operation was the region known as Kouh-Sabz (green mountain) in the Balochistan province of Pakistan, recognized as one of the largest hubs for the Jeysh al-Dhulm militants, the Iranian news agency reported.

According to Iranian media, the terrorist group was responsible for attack on a police station in Sistan and Balouchestan province's city of Rask, southeast of Iran, which resulted in the martyrdom of 11 Iranian Police forces.
New Delhi, Jan 17 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday called upon the Chief Secretary and Finance Secretary of the city government to appear virtually and elucidate their strategy for addressing water-logging in the national capital.

In the previous heating, the court of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet P.S. Arora had expressed dismay at the collapse of the drainage system, stressing the severity of the situation.

Highlighting the issue during a hearing on suo motu petitions addressing water-logging problems and rainwater harvesting in Delhi, the bench had pointed out instances of flooding in newly constructed areas.

On Tuesday, the court stressed the need for an explanation on whether a drainage master plan has been formulated to combat the challenges posed by heavy monsoon rains.

Observing that numerous residential areas experience sewage backflow during monsoons and noting the lack of segregation between stormwater drains and sewage-carrying drains in Delhi, the court expressed concerns over choked drains filled with silt and inadequately- constructed drainage systems.

The bench directed the officials to virtually appear before the court on January 30 for the next hearing.

Moreover, they were asked to provide a concise presentation outlining their approach to tackle water-logging and the status of the drainage master plan, including its implementation progress.

The court had last time criticised the capital's drainage system, describing it as absolutely pathetic and in a very bad state of affairs. The judges had questioned the efficacy of the drainage system, noting that even with advanced technologies, these areas faced water-logging. It has cited specific cases of water-logging in New Delhi, recounting complaints of fishes entering drawing rooms during monsoons and even a snake found inside a bungalow due to flooding.

The court spoke about the broken sewage lines at prominent locations like ITO, near the Delhi Zoo, and near the high court itself, underscoring the callousness of authorities. Expressing frustration with the lack of a common verified plan for the drainage system, the court had said that the annual sight of the Minto Bridge submerged in water during monsoons highlighted the city's drainage challenges.

It had admonished authorities for their negligence, stating, "Things are very very bad, and you agencies cannot be tamed by anyone." Urging immediate action, the court had directed authorities to treat the situation as a "wake-up call" and commence work promptly, rather than waiting for the monsoon season.

The judges had stressed the need for clear instructions and criticised the practice of sweepers dumping garbage into drains without proper guidelines. The court had urged the lawyers representing the involved agencies to engage in a "brainstorming session" with authorities to propose viable solutions. Parties such as the Centre, Delhi government, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi Police, and other relevant bodies are parties to the petitions, reflecting the wide-ranging concern over the city's drainage woes.
Patna, Jan 17 : A BPSC teacher who fraudulently obtained a job and was working in a government primary school at Raghunandanpur in Bihar's Begusarai has been arrested, police said on Tuesday.

An FIR had been registered against accused teacher Numa Kumari following the complaint lodged by the duty magistrate Farman Danish in the Town police station.

The incident came to light when the District Education Officer was scanning of the documents of all newly-appointed teachers in the first phase of recruitment last year and it was found that the photo of the teacher who was working in the school and the photo of the candidate who had given the examination were different.

On that basis, the DEO initiated an inquiry and asked officials to conduct the biometric including thumb impression of Numa Kumari. The thumb impression was also mismatched and this was conveyed to the District Magistrate, who ordered the fake teacher's arrest.

The official said that she will be produced in the local court and she will go to judicial custody.

The Education Department had received complaints about many candidates fraudulently obtaining the job of teacher in the first phase. Keeping this in view, Additional Chief Secretary, Education, K.K. Pathak had ordered biometric tests for newly-appointed teachers.
Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis pitted against each for other for 2nd place in Iowa caucus, eye on 2028. Image Source: IANS News

Washington, Jan 17 : America's twice-impeached former President, who is also facing more than 90 criminal charges, kicked off his bid for the Republican party's nomination for President with a thumping victory in the first of the primaries held Monday in Iowa.

Former President Donald Trump's convincing win in the Iowa caucuses -- 98 of the state's 99 counties -- bore testimony to his continued dominance of the Republican party and showed it was not yet ready for someone else, such as one of his remaining rivals in the race - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and forment Ambassador to US Nikki Haley, who came second and third respectively.

Indian American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy's long-shot campaign did not last the night as he announced he was dropping out of the race and endorsed Trump.

Trump called his victory a "landslide". DeSantis and Haley are both spinning their Iowa performance as proof the nomination is a two-person race between either one of them and Trump.

But, the reality is, the Republican nomination contest remains unambiguously a one-person race.

Iowa caucuses are a unique feature of the US presidential election process. The state is the first to vote in the process. But, starting this year, the first only for Republicans; Democrats have announced a parallel schedule for their primaries, kicking it off in South Carolina.

But, equally, Iowa has a reputation for backing candidates who go on to either lose the nomination or the presidential election  it voted for Ted Cruz, the Texas Senator, in 2016 over Trump, who went on to pick up the nomination and the White House.

Trump's victory advances his claim on the nomination but does not guarantee it. Haley and DeSantis are both hoping to overtake him further down the primaries but the gap between the former President and both his rivals remains too wide.

New Hampshire is the next state in the Republicans primaries and Haley has closed it to Trump in polls and with the backing of the state's popular Governor, Chris Sununu, who has endorsed her, hopes to catch up with the former President. The state after this is South Carolina, her home state where she served as Governor for two terms.

"The race now moves to less Trump-friendly territory. And the field of candidates is effectively down to two, with only Trump and Nikki Haley having substantial support in both New Hampshire and South Carolina," the Haley campaign said in a statement on Tuesday.

"That never happened in the 2016 nominating contest, when a larger field allowed Trump to win many primaries with pluralities rather than majorities."

In a new ad, Haley projected herself as an alternative to both Trump and President Joe Biden, who is seeking a second term.

Though she trails Trump in polls on the Republican primaries race, she has a commanding lead over the President in head-to-head matches, beating him by a wider margin than Trump's over Biden.

"The two most disliked politicians in America?," the narrator says in the ad. "Trump and Biden. Both are consumed by chaos, negativity, and grievances of the past. The better choice for a better America? Nikki Haley."

The former President is facing 93 criminal charges and runs the risk of being disqualified from running in 2024; two states have already struck him off the list of candidates for the presidential nomination.

Both Haley and DeSantis may stay in the race in the hope of Trump being taken down by any one of these cases, but that would depend on their ability to finance their campaigns long enough in the face of Trump's unstoppable run; donors may fade away rather than sink their money in doomed campaigns.
Lucknow: An Indian Army contingent march past during the Army day celebrations at the Parade Ground at 11 GR. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Jan 17 : India has the fourth strongest military globally while the US has the most powerful followed by Russia and China, according to the Global Firepower's recently released Military Strength Rankings for 2024.

The rankings put Pakistan at number nine while Bhutan has the least powerful military in the world.

The Global Firepower keeps track of defence-related information of 145 different countries.

While ranking the military powers of these countries, it takes into account around 60 factors, including the number of troops, military equipment, financial stability, geographic location, and available resources. These factors together determine a PowerIndex score, where lower scores indicate stronger military capabilities.

The Global Firepower military strength report also examines how each nation's ranking has changed from one year to the next.

The rankings placed South Korea at number five, the UK at number six, and Japan at number seven. Turkey, Pakistan and Italy were ranked number eight, nine and 10 respectively.
Agartala, Jan 17 : Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Tuesday asserted that the country is currently experiencing 'Ram Rajya' under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speaking to the media after participating in a cleanliness drive at the Kali temple in the Ker Chowmhuni area of Agartala, Saha praised Prime Minister Modi for "bringing transparency to governance and ensuring all-around development" through the 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' initiative.

The Chief Minister said that the benefits of "this development reach even the poorest of the poor", emphasising that such progress is only possible in the envisioned 'Ram Rajya'.

He further attributed the upcoming Pran Pratishtha ceremony in the newly built Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22 to Prime Minister Modi's efforts.

The ongoing cleanliness drive of temples in Agartala was initiated on December 14 ahead of the Pran Pratishtha ceremony.

Alongside Chief Minister Saha, Agartala Municipal Corporation Mayor Dipak Majumder and local councillors participated in the temple cleaning programme organised by the BJP Mandal committee of the Town Bordwali constituency, from where the Chief Minister has been elected twice.
Panaji, Jan 17 : Goa Congress on Tuesday slammed the BJP-led state government for "failing" to recognise the 'Opinion Poll Day' as a state-level event and alleged that the saffron party is "busy dividing people over religion".

Speaking during the Opinion Poll Day programme at Lohia Maidan in South Goa's Margao, Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao said that the Congress "contributed to the 'opinion poll' of Goa, but never used it for politics".

"This day has importance, but our insensitive government is not ready to celebrate it at the state level. Our youth should come to know about our history and hence it should be celebrated in schools," he said.

"BJP has sold the jobs and has deprived deserving candidates. It is selling our land to crony capitalists and destroying our state. This is a corrupt government," Alemao said.

He further said that the identity of Goa is "under threat as debt has reached Rs 35,000 crore and destruction of the environment is taking place".

Goa Congress President Amit Patkar also hit out at the BJP, saying that the state government has failed in all aspects. "Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Congress stood firm for the identity of Goa. We live in harmony. Goa is known as a peace-loving state and we want to protect our social harmony by defeating efforts of those who try to divide us," he said, adding people's voices are "stifled by the BJP government".

Congress' Goa in-charge Manikrao Thakare said that supporters of Congress will have to stay together and have to win both Lok Sabha seats in Goa. "Congress leaders helped Goa to get its identity. But the current government has failed to protect it. They fail to keep their promises...," he said.
Measures to boost hospitals are among the top priorities for two area lawmakers when the New Mexico Legislature convenes for its 30-day session this week.

On a related note, they also want funding for Quay County so it can build a new Trigg Memori...
In response to Jan. 8s blizzard, Tucumcaris city manager said she would obtain sand and salt, plus a salt spreader, to make streets more passable during future snowstorms.

City manager Paula Chacon said in her report during a city commissio...
Robert Moore Jr. has been working to restore several historic buildings in Tucumcari.

With the help of his wife Heather and brother William Cooke, Moore is buying long-closed businesses in Tucumcari and trying to restore them to their former glo...
A multiagency police operation in Quay County last week netted nine arrests in Tucumcari, including several at the Quay Apartments.

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Finances at the vaccine manufacturer Moderna began to fall almost as quickly as they had risen , as most Americans resisted getting yet another COVID booster shot. The pharmaceutical company, whose pioneering mRNA vaccine had turned it from small startup to biotech giant worth more than $100 billion in just a few years, reported a third-quarter loss last year of $3.6 billion.

Arpa Garay, Moderna: "It really is a vaccine that's relevant across all age groups, she insisted.

In a September call aimed at shoring up investors, Modernas then-chief commercial officer, Arpa Garay, attributed some of the hesitancy pummeling Moderna's numbers to uninformed vaccine skeptics. "Despite some misinformation," Garay said, COVID-19 still drove significant hospitalizations. "It really is a vaccine that's relevant across all age groups, she insisted.

To get past the misinformation and convince the public to take continual booster shots , Garay briefly noted that Moderna was delving down on ways to partner across the ecosystem to make sure consumers are educated on the need for the vaccine.

What Garay hinted at during the call, but didnt disclose, was that Moderna already had a sprawling media operation in place aimed at identifying and responding to critics of vaccine policy and the drug industry. A series of internal company reports and communications reviewed by RealClearInvestigations show that Moderna has worked with former law enforcement and public health officials and a drug industry-funded non-governmental organization called The Public Good Projects (PGP) to confront the root cause of vaccine hesitancy by rapidly identifying and shutting down misinformation.

Part of this effort includes providing talking points to some 45,000 healthcare professionals on how to respond when vaccine misinformation goes mainstream. PGP and Moderna have created a new partnership, called the Infodemic Training Program, to prepare health care workers to respond to alleged vaccine-related misinformation.

The company has also used artificial intelligence to monitor millions of global online conversations to shape the contours of vaccine-related discussion. The internal files -- shorthanded here as the Moderna Reports -- show high-profile vaccine critics were closely monitored, particularly skeptics in independent media, including Michael Shellenberger, Russell Brand , and Alex Berenson. PGP, which was funded by a $1,275,000 donation from the Biotechnology and Innovation Organization, a lobby group representing Pfizer and Moderna, has identified alleged vaccine misinformation and helped facilitate the removal of content from Twitter, among other social media platforms, throughout 2021 and 2022.

Kaitlyn Kkrizanic of PGP: Beware of "reports that Sweden is no longer recommending the vaccine for children."

Emails from that period show that PGP routinely sent Excel lists of accounts to amplify on Twitter and others to de-platform, including populist voices such as ZeroHedge.

The messages also suggested emerging narratives to remove from the platform. "People opposed to vaccines are capitalizing on the NYT [New York Times] article about the CDC withholding vaccine information. The articles do not contain misinformation themselves but are using the news to further prove the CDC is untrustworthy," wrote Savannah Knell, PGP's senior director of partnerships, in an email to a Twitter lobbyist in September 2022. In another email the following month, Kaitlyn Krizanic, PGP's senior program manager, told Twitter to be on the lookout for "reports that Sweden is no longer recommending the vaccine for children." In some cases, conservative accounts expressing outrage at restrictive pandemic policies, such as vaccination passports, were deemed by PGP as misinformation that warranted removal.

The Moderna Reports consistently show the company raising red flags about those reporting documented side effects of the vaccine the biotech company was selling. Such concerns, which may be typical of corporate public relations efforts that want their product shown in the best light, take on a darker cast when it involves medicine injected into peoples bodies.

Like the Twitter Files, the Moderna Reports highlight the push by powerful entities  especially government, Big Tech , and Big Pharma  to identify and brand dissenting opinions about establishment narratives as risky forms of speech. The growing network these efforts rely on shows the growth of what has been called the censorship industrial complex. Modernas faltering financials also suggest, at least for now, the limits of that project.

Public Good Projects and Moderna did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Related: Moderna Is Spying on You by Lee Fang and Jack Poulson

In an internal email sent last July, Moderna notified its team of its latest efforts to shape the vaccine debate. We have partnered with PGP (The Public Good Projects) and Moderna's Global Intelligence, Corporate Security, Medical Affairs, Corporate Communications, Clinical Safety and Pharmacovigilance teams to provide media monitoring for misinformation at scale, Marcy Rudowitz, the company's customer program lead, wrote. If and when a response is needed, our team will notify the appropriate stakeholders with recommendations, she added.

The extent to which the company may intervene to shape content decisions is not clear. PGP continues to boast close relations with establishment institutions, including major medical associations.

The rise of censorship is inextricably connected to the pandemic, which emerged in the U.S. in early 2020. As federal, state , and local governments imposed unprecedented regulations on Americans in the name of public health, efforts arose to discredit counter-narratives that could be spread easily on social media. Early in the pandemic, criticism of policies such as lockdowns and vaccine mandates came almost entirely from independent media, which faced shadowbans and outright censorship on various platforms.

Stephane Bancel, Moderna CEO: As you can see, were losing economies of scale, he said, explaining price hikes.

When they introduced their vaccines in 2021, manufacturers such as Moderna, Pfizer , and Johnson & Johnson also had a powerful financial interest in bolstering such censorship.

Moderna, perhaps more than other drug firms, is overwhelmingly reliant on the continued success of its vaccine. The company announced a price hike of up to $130 a dose this month, far higher than the $15-26 for American federal contracts, according to the Wall Street Journal. Were expecting a 90% reduction in demand, Modena CEO Stephane Bancel said, when he was asked to defend the decision. As you can see, were losing economies of scale.

Far from acting as a neutral arbiter, the Moderna Reports show that the company blurred the lines between public relations and public health. In many cases, Modernas intelligence and communications team targeted accurate information that had the potential to fuel vaccine hesitancy as menacing forms of misinformation in its reports. Given the size and scope and the censorship industrial complex, it can be difficult to draw a clear straight line between Modernas surveillance and actions taken against specific articles, posts , and writers. Instead, as Garay suggested, the company is one stream in an evolving ecosystem aimed at undermining dissent.

Alex Berenson

Berenson: It's nice to know Moderna is watching me. I'm watching them too."

Independent journalist Alex Berenson is a repeated subject of the companys surveillance efforts. A former reporter for the New York Times, Berenson quickly emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of vaccine-related policies. He was among the earliest to cast doubt on the Biden administration's false claim that the vaccinated people could not transmit the COVID-19 virus to others. After government pressure on Twitter, Berenson was banned from the platform in 2021, only to return after successfully litigating against the company.



He appears to still be in the crosshairs. In September 2023, Moderna flagged a tweet from Berenson that highlighted the CDC's data showing that among 1 million mRNA-vaccinated teenagers, there were from zero to a single COVID death and up to 200,000 side effects.



The company cited Berenson's tweet under a report headline "Attacks on pediatric COVID-19 vaccines escalate" and claimed he had "cherry-picked data." However , the company did not directly rebut any of Berenson's claims in its report. Rather, Moderna noted the "high-risk" danger of Berenson's viral tweet related to the potential for low child COVID-19 vaccination rates. "Fears about side effects and long-term dangers are major reasons parents report not vaccinating their children," the report stated. It further concluded that "resistance to COVID-19 vaccines for children can be a gateway to broader anti-vaccine beliefs."



Other Moderna reports flag Berensons tweets for misinformation about mRNA safety and claim that he is a conspiracy theorist for suggesting that health authorities have not properly taken into account the documented risks of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) for young men receiving the vaccine. Such questions have been posed by an increasing number of health professionals, but the misinformation reports dismiss any Berenson criticism as inherently false.



It's nice to know Moderna is watching me, said Berenson, when asked about his response to the revelations. I'm watching them too. mRNA shots carry unacceptably high heart risks for teenagers and young adults. Nearly the entire rest of the world accepts this reality and now discourages or bans people under 50 from taking mRNA Covid boosters. It is unconscionable that Moderna and Pfizer continue to market them to non-elderly adults."

They can call me whatever they like, he noted, but they can't stop my reporting."

Russell Brand

Brand: Moderna warned of his videos "in anti-vaccine spaces where he is viewed as a truth-teller.

Russell Brand, the British commentator and comedian, is also a repeated name in the Moderna misinformation files. The left-leaning populist routinely pillories the pharmaceutical industry for exploiting the pandemic to generate unprecedented profits.



Moderna has closely monitored Brands criticism of the drug industry.



In various low-risk reports produced in August 2023, Moderna flagged videos produced by Brand twice. In one, Moderna noted that Brand had broadcast a monologue about Jonathan Van-Tam, a former senior health official who helped formulate COVID-19 policies in Britain. Van-Tam had just taken a position with Moderna, a move that raised eyebrows with many in the press. In the video, Brand noted that the company had just made a fortune during the pandemic selling vaccines to the government, and that the government worker that bought all those vaccines was now moving through the revolving door.



In another report, Moderna alleged that Brand claimed that COVID-19 vaccine mandates were based on a lie in a recent podcast episode. The video was broadly accurate. The monologue highlights CDC documents that had come to light showing that officials were aware that the virus would break through and still infect vaccinated patients. In an ironic twist, Brand finished the segment with a discussion of efforts to censor debate around the vaccine.



Moderna noted they were not yet taking action on this broadcast, but we are monitoring with our partner, the Public Good Projects.



The following month, several media outlets reported that several women who insisted on anonymity were claiming that Brand had abused them nearly twenty years ago. The ensuing media firestorm, which led to YouTube demonetizing his account, became fodder for other Moderna misinformation reports. The company warned that the cancellation of Brand was sparking a backlash among social media users, who believed that he may be targeted by government and corporate censors for his outspoken opposition to pandemic narratives.

In a Moderna high-risk report, the company noted that speculation was swirling that "allegations are part of a conspiracy to silence the comedian, who has been a vocal opponent of COVID-19 vaccines." The report linked an X video of Brand sharply criticizing Moderna and Pfizer for generating $1,000 of profit every second" in 2021. The specific claim of profiteering was a mainstream claim, a statistic that was produced by Oxfam.

Nowhere in its reports on Brand did Moderna highlight any incorrect information. But the reports noted that they monitored Brand because he "has a large platform with over 6.6 million YouTube subscribers and over 21 million followers across multiple social media platforms." Moreover, his "videos are widely circulated in anti-vaccine spaces where he is viewed as a truth-teller and threat to authority, and that Brand maintained support from Tucker Carlson and Elon Musk.

Michael Shellenberger

Shellenberger: Dismissed by Moderna in internal reports as a known "misinformation author."

The Moderna misinformation reporting system reveals that the pharmaceutical firm maintained an interest in pandemic-related issues that go beyond vaccine policy, overlapping with general issues surrounding the unexplained questions that still swirl around the source of the pandemic.

The company, for instance, flagged discussions around news last year of a congressional whistleblower who came forward with allegations that the CIA suppressed an assessment from analysts that COVID-19 originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The story has garnered widespread coverage in NBC, Science, and ABC News, among other outlets.



But Modernas misinformation alerts flagged Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and journalist Michael Shellenberger for distributing information about the CIA allegation. Shellenberger  with whom this reporter has worked on the Twitter Files  had exclusively reported earlier last year that U.S. government sources believed that the patient zeros of COVID-19 were a group of Chinese scientists at the Wuhan lab  a major revelation later confirmed by the Wall Street Journal.

Despite his work on the issue, Moderna dismisses Shellenberger in its reports as among its known misinformation authors.



"Moderna has spent years spreading disinformation about their vaccines and so it makes sense that they would smear the scientists and journalists who expose them as conspiracy theorists and sources of misinformation, Shellenberger told RCI.



The question is why is Moderna spreading disinformation on the high probability that Covid escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology lab? he added. A company that makes its money selling a coronavirus vaccine shouldn't care where Covid came from.

Others

Moderna closely monitored other independent voices. The company flagged left-wing comedian Jimmy Dore for simply tweeting at a New York Times call for triple-vaccination with the two-word response, Hard pass, as an example of misinformation. The company also warned about the appearance of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the Joe Rogan podcast as well as Lex Fridman, a popular independent podcaster.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Moderna warned of his appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast.

Other reports flag skeptics of vaccine efficiency and potential side effects. In September, Modernas system cited Megyn Kelly, the podcaster and former Fox News host, for a viral clip in which she said she regrets the COVID-19 booster after she developed an autoimmune condition that she believes was caused by the shot.



Moderna warned that such comments could "discourage people who are on the fence about getting vaccinated." In its alert about Kelly, the company noted that her comments added to growing concern around autoimmune disorders and COVID-19 vaccinations. The Moderna misinformation email proceeded to offer data that appeared to reaffirm, rather than debunk, Kellys assertions. The alert concluded with a message about an NIH report that highlights a link between SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and inflammatory and autoimmune skin diseases. Moderna did not dispute the findings of the NIH study, but noted that it "is in rotation in anti-vaccine spaces online."

Megyn Kelly: Moderna warned that her apparently valid comments could "discourage people who are on the fence about getting vaccinated."

The merging of public health and corporate influence peddling has concerned many academics. Jay Bhattacharya, a professor of health policy at Stanford University who says the government violated his free-speech rights by trying to silence his questioning of federal policies regarding COVID, told RCI: We have a problem that social media companies and the government have allied with pharma to treat information flows around the COVID vaccine as a propaganda problem, rather than a medical issue that is best resolved by patients talking with their doctor about what's best for them."

Jay Bhattacharya: Moderna flagged a tweet of his simply linking to an unwelcome FDA finding on child vaccination.

Bhattacharya was one of the most prominent academics who was shadowbanned under the previous owners of Twitter because of his criticism of the lockdowns and masking policy. He is now one of the plaintiffs litigating against the U.S. governments role in shaping content decisions on social media platforms in the Missouri v. Biden case, which is now before the Supreme Court.

Bhattacharyas outspoken advocacy has attracted attention from Moderna as well. In October 2023, shortly after I spoke to him for an interview, Moderna flagged one of the Stanford professors tweets that shared a link to a new Food and Drug Administration preprint study that documented "elevated risk of seizures in toddlers and myocarditis in teenagers associated with covid mRNA vaccination." Moderna did not directly dispute the study findings other than to note that its authors wrote that it should be interpreted cautiously.

In the attached report, Moderna added that it had highlighted the tweet and others like it because concerns about safety and side effects are among the main reasons parents are hesitant about or oppose COVID-19 vaccines for their children.

In other words, anything that might discourage children from vaccinations, despite any risks or lack of benefits, is dangerous information. That suggests a motive far from bringing truth to the vaccine debate, and far more about dominating it for financial gain.

Near the end of the Moderna call last September, as the biotech firm worked to highlight its stepped-up outreach to consumers, James Mock, the chief financial officer, spoke briefly to assure investors of the companys ability to continue to make money.



COVID is a very valuable product line of business and will continue to be, said Mock, and we'll make it more profitable.
When people complain about polarization in America, religious freedom sometimes takes the blame. How can people who disagree about such fundamental questions of life form one nation?

Actually, Americans have been finding ways to live with disagreements for centuriessince before we were a nation. And the religious liberty protections of our First Amendment have been central to our success at navigating such difficult times. That is why I am welcoming the new year with optimism, rather than dread, as I look out on all the ways religious liberty is helping build a stronger and better countryeven amidst all our disagreements. This is true in many areas of the law, including parents rights in education, equal funding for faith-based schools, and protections for religious minorities in the military.

In public schools, religious parents are working to ensure that they can direct their childrens education in accordance with their beliefs. Last year, the Montgomery County, Maryland school board decided to suspend parents ability to opt their elementary-aged children out of reading storybooks that promote one-sided gender and sexual ideology. The school board won't even tell the parents when the books are being read. My firm, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, represents a diverse group of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian parents who sued the Board in federal court last spring. They are standing up against what they believe to be storybooks that are age-inappropriate and inconsistent with their faith. They are not calling for book bans or an overhaul of classroom curriculum; they understand that different parents have different viewpoints. They simply want to know when the lessons are going to take place and the choice to opt their own kids out of lessons that conflict with their deeply held religious convictions. The opt-out was status quo for over fifty years in Montgomery County, until the school board abruptly removed it in violation of their own policies and Maryland state law. Our disagreements over sex and gender shouldnt undermine a basic truth that almost everyone can get behindmoms and dads know whats best for their children and should guide their education.

Thats especially true for parents of children with special needs. You shouldnt have to check your faith at the door when seeking to provide your children with the extra help they deserve and need to thrive. We are trying to make that a reality in Loffman v. California Department of Education, in which a group of Los Angeles area Jewish families and schools are fighting California politicians who are punishing religious parents by blocking state and federal education funding from going to religious schools that educate kids with special needs. Similarly, in Colorado, a Catholic family and Catholic parish preschools are asking a federal court for the ability to participate in the states universal preschool funding program. After promising all Colorado parents of prekindergartners 15 hours of free education per week, the state flip-flopped on its promise and excluded all Catholic preschools in the state.

Both court challenges aim to allow parents to receive the vital resources they need to help educate their children. In a free society, no one should be left out in the cold for wanting to raise their kids consistent with their religious beliefs.

This year will also see religious minorities fighting for equal rights to serve in the armed forces. Military recruitment is down-- the Department of Defense is acknowledging one of the greatest challenges in military recruitment historybut the federal government continues to defend guidelines that exclude Sikhs, Muslims, and Orthodox Jews from maintaining religiously required beards and headgear while serving. Brave Americans like Navy sailor Edmund Di Liscia and Marine Captain Sukhbir Toor should not have to face unconstitutional barriers to defend our nation. Thats particularly important now, with wars raging both in Europe and in the Middle East.

The military context reveals an important truth about our commitment to religious liberty: it is a way to use our differences to make us stronger. We are stronger when we find ways to accept willing and talented Americans of different faiths who want to serve in the military. We are stronger when we allow more schools to serve more children, including our special needs children. We are stronger when we include parents in educational decisions for their own kids.

Religious liberty wont solve every problem that we face in 2024. But we should take heart that it will continue to be part of the solution, and it will help us continue to live with our differences in a way that makes us better.

Mark Rienzi is president and CEO of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and Professor of Law at the Catholic University of America.
U.S. officials have expressed support for Israels position that a ceasefire wherein Hamas remains in control of the Gaza Strip is not tenable but many of the United States traditional allies appear to disagree.

Canadian government officials have made vociferous statements in favour of an immediate and apparently unconditional ceasefire in Gaza. Australia, New Zealand, France, and others have likewise expressed support for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Canada's support for the ceasefire even garnered thanks directly from Ghazi Hamad, a senior leader of Hamas, in an interview late last year.

This represents a significant shift and a deterioration of support for Israel among the United States traditional allies.

The uninformed might be liable to believe that where there is smoke, there is fire  it might seem that, with a majority of nations expressing their support, calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire is the principled and necessary stance.

But this stance is wrong.

Hamas started this war on October 7 in the most vicious and brutal manner imaginable. An army of drugged-up Hamas fighters invaded Israeli towns and killed, pillaged, and raped civilians, including men, women, children, and the elderly. Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 people in the rampage, and violently abducted over 200 back to the Gaza strip. Numerous Israeli and Jewish women were subjected to sexual violence. The details of the accounts are horrific. It was the single most brutal massacre against Jewish people since the Holocaust.

In the aftermath of the massacre, Hamas leadership stated, proudly and publicly, that they will not respect a ceasefire with Israel, and that they will continue to massacre Israeli civilians, as they did on October 7, again and again.

Hamas history of breaking ceasefires with Israel demonstrates that this is no empty threat. Since 2006, when Hamas seized control of the Gaza strip, there have been numerous ceasefire agreements which Hamas has broken. They broke the conditions of last years humanitarian pause multiple times.

The international community, more often than not, does not seem to notice or care when Hamas breaches ceasefire agreements with Israel. Indeed, calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war are often paired with descriptions and criticisms of Israels use of force in Gaza; reference is rarely made to Hamas continued launching of rockets into Israeli territory or their refusal to release the hostages they abducted on October 7.

For decades Hamas has been dedicated to the eradication of both the State of Israel and the Jewish people. Calling for a ceasefire while Hamas remains in power in the Gaza strip is in effect advocating for Hamas to be given that space to do what they say they will do: rearm, reorganize, and plan further atrocities against the State of Israel and the Jewish people.

Of course, Hamas not only massacres Israelis and Jewish people; Hamas also viciously represses and murders Gazan civilians. Yehiya Sinwar, the mastermind behind the October 7 massacre, was previously convicted and imprisoned in Israel not for killing Israelis but for murdering four Palestinians with his bare hands. That case was not unique. Hamas is an autocratic, violent, repressive regime that rules the two million civilians of the Gaza strip with an iron fist. They are a designated terrorist organization  organised and well-funded by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Peace must, as always, be the end goal. However, any ceasefire agreement before Hamas is removed from power would endanger civilian lives on both sides of the border, and further embolden Hamas repression.

The U.S. should remind Western allies that any ceasefire proposal that does not involve Hamas relinquishment of power will only harm civilians, disincentivize peace, and strengthen Hamas, an illiberal, repressive organization that is for all intents and purposes a proxy of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The U.S. should remind Western allies that there is nothing progressive about siding with repressive regimes and there is nothing liberal about siding with illiberal regimes.

Sarah Teich is an international human rights lawyer, a senior fellow at the Center for North American Prosperity and Security, and co-founder and executive director of Human Rights Action Group.
TLC / Reality TV World

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 01/15/2024



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ROB and SOPHIE

ASHLEY and MANUEL

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NIKKI and JUSTIN

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GINO and JASMINE

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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

featured Jasmine dropping a bombshell on Gino that she had lied to him after he reproposed marriage with an upgraded ring, Anali and Clayton breaking their no-sex streak after two months, and Rob and Nikki feeling disrespected by their partners during Sunday night's Season 10 broadcast on TLC.'s tenth season stars returning cast members Gino, a 52-year-old from Michigan, and Jasmine, a 36-year-old from Panama.The season also stars Sophie, a 23-year-old from the United Kingdom, and Robert, a 32-year-old from California; Manuel, a 34-year-old from Ecuador, and Ashley, a 31-year-old from New York; Justin, a 36-year-old from Moldova, and Nikki, a 47-year-old from New Jersey.In addition, features Nick, a 30-year-old from Australia, and Devin, a 23-year-old from Arkansas; Anali, a 26-year-old from Peru, and Clayton, a 29-year-old from Kentucky; and Citra, a 26-year-old from Indonesia, and Sam, a 30-year-old from Missouri.features Americans who have fallen in love with foreigners bringing their fiances to the United States on K-1 visas.However, once the couple is in America together, the American must marry their overseas partner within the 90-day period allowed by the visa or the foreigner has to return to his or her home country."These long-distance, international couples go the distance as they navigate cultural differences, discover surprising personality traits, and process lingering tensions brought on by doubtful friends and families," TLC teased of the new season.Below is what happened on Episode 13 of 's tenth season.Rob had just gotten into a heated exchange with Sophie's mother Claire after taking a joke too seriously and personally. Claire said she had tried hard to like Rob but she wanted to kick him.Sophie was annoyed because she had asked Rob to simply be nice to her mother, and she couldn't believe that Rob couldn't even do that.Rob, however, thought Sophie and Claire were spoiled, and he vented about how he didn't have anyone helping him or supporting him financially. Rob insisted he wasn't living in "squalor" and it was "disrespectful" for someone to walk into his house and tell him what to do.Sophie said she was grateful for her upbringing but Rob was strangely jealous or resentful of how she was raised.Rob just shouted and vented outside, and Sophie asked her mother to just ignore him.Sophie decided to stay at her mother's hotel that night, and Rob didn't put up any type of fight."It feels like Sophie is not on my team... Instead of wondering, 'Is Rob alright?' She doesn't care!" Rob complained in a confessional. "There is not one thought in Sophie's mind, like, 'That's my future husband. Maybe I should be worried about fixing this.'"Ashley told Manuel that his family would have to wait to receive more money because they had a wedding to plan for 26 days from that point and she was "over" talking about it constantly.Ashley felt she had always been sympathetic about Manuel's situation, and she decided to end the conversation and leave the restaurant."I don't feel like I get any empathy back. I got you here on a K-1 with no lawyer or co-signer -- on my own back," Ashley explained to the cameras."You came here with a backpack and I had to clothe you, feed you, make sure you're safe. I'm not asking you to lick my ass. I'm just asking for some acknowledgement."Ashley told Manuel that he kept offending her when she'd appreciate him being grateful for everything she had done for him. Ashley didn't think Manuel was a good listener, nor did he appreciate the money she had already given him.The pair bickered in the parking lot outside of the restaurant, but Manuel reminded Ashley how he loved her and didn't want her to be upset. The couple then made up in the restaurant's bathroom by apparently having sex. Moaning could be heard from outside of the bathroom.Once the pair returned home, Ashley conducted a cleansing ritual to rid them of bad energy.Ashley also attended a dance rehearsal because she planned to dance for him on their wedding day. Ashley couldn't wait to surprise Manuel with the dance because he apparently loved her sexy dancing in the bedroom.Ashley revealed to her dancing pals that she and Manuel had sex in a restaurant bathroom after their fight, and Ashley insisted it was a "sexy" moment as well as an "energetic release."Ashley's friends, however, were concerned that Ashley's relationship was mostly about sex and that there wasn't much emotional depth there.Nikki was shown getting her nails done in Moldova ahead of her engagement party. Nikki opened up to her nail tech and asked questions about Moldovan men, but the woman seemed surprised and a little disengaged in the conversation.Nikki thought Moldovan men were dominant, controlling and closed off, and she said he wouldn't be able to behave like that and have that same mentality in the United States.If Justin acted like that in the U.S., Nikki said they'd probably break up again.During one of Nikki's last days in Moldova, Justin decided to be nice and romantic by surprising Nikki with a swan boat ride on a lake. She had trouble getting into the boat with her pink high heels and green miniskirt, but she managed to get the job done.Justin shared how their relationship was a bit of a rollercoaster, with a lot of ups and downs, but he explained how they'd work as a team going forward, just like they needed to paddle the boat."When he gives me love and affection, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. It's because I do love him and I want it to work," Nikki gushed in a confessional.Nikki explained to Justin how there was no one else she'd rather be with, and Justin acknowledged how he'd give her more intimacy and more sex.Justin admitted to the cameras that he loved Nikki with his heart but his body didn't feel the same way. Nikki then told Justin that if she agreed to have a threesome with another girl, he'd have to agree to have another threesome with a man.Justin said he didn't want to watch another man having sex with Nikki, but she wasn't okay with the double standard. Justin started laughing about the whole thing, and Nikki called him super disrespectful.Nikki started arguing with Justin again, and he admitted she was bringing "too much stress" to his life."You don't like to take accountability for anything you do wrong, and that's a problem," Nikki said.Justin then walked away from Nikki, and she accused him of throwing a little "mantrum." Nikki pointed out how her time in Moldova had been tense, rocky and stressful, and so she didn't know how to proceed.Anali apparently locked herself in a bathroom and cried after Clayton asked her to tell her father about their upcoming wedding and marriage.Anali told the cameras that she was overwhelmed and had reached her limit. She was tempted to just throw in the towel, return home, and run into her mother's arms.Anali didn't think that Clayton understood her or respected her decisions."I'm really tired of it," Anali lamented to Clayton. "If you're not going to respect that, I prefer breaking up."Clayton didn't want to throw their two-year relationship away over a matter he considered small. He just wanted Anali to tell her parents that she was in a happy relationship.Clayton explained to Anali how he didn't like being hidden from her family because he loved her and wanted to be a part of her life. Clayton had also been in a cheating situation before, when an ex-girlfriend allegedly never posted about him on social media.Anali told Clayton that she wanted to make him happy, and so she decided to post a beautiful message about Clayton on social media. She wrote how Clayton made her extremely happy and that she loved him beyond measure.Clayton felt heard and understood, and he said he felt elated.That night, Anali and Clayton had sex, which broke their two-month streak of abstinence. Clayton appeared happy and relieved, and then the couple explored San Diego on a tandem bicycle.Clayton then mentioned how maybe they should move to San Diego and bring his mother with them. Anali's heart dropped in that moment, because she didn't want to continue living with his mom.Anali then started rattling off things she wanted at her wedding, including a llama with a colored scarf. Clayton noted, however, that they'd need to stay on budget and not go too crazy. Clayton wanted to include Peruvian things in his wedding, but to a reasonable extent.Anali and Clayton then FaceTimed with Clayton's sister Brandi, and Anali asked her if Brandi could plan a bachelorette party for her.Brandi said she already had one in the works, and Anali looked forward to a crazy American party with strippers."I deserve a party like that," Anali told the cameras with a big smile.Brandi was happy to help with the wedding, but she apparently felt taken advantage of. Clayton had been asking Brandi to accomplish man of the tasks, such as the cake and the photographer, so Clayton feared he was annoying his sister and demanding too much of her.Sam and Citra only had 10 days before their wedding, and so they decided to "go out on the town" and have some fun.Sam and Citra had some cheap dates in Indonesia, and so Sam looked forward to treating her to a nice evening. Citra said she looked forward to seeing Sam's romantic side.Sam also wanted to have some fun and drink before converting to Islam. He therefore took Citra to a bar and they tried an alcoholic drink together, ordered food, and played a game of pool."I wanted to try [alcohol] for once in my life... My dad will get very angry. We don't need to tell my dad about it. We'll keep it a secret," Citra said.Sam said alcohol, sex and drugs used to be a big part of him and so that lifestyle was sometimes hard to resist. However, he said he was going to do his best to remain strong and sober because he didn't want to screw up his relationship with Citra.The next day, Citra brought Sam to a mosque so she could teach him how to follow the guidelines of her faith and practice it on a daily basis. Sam was shocked once he was inside the mosque and asked himself, "Am I really ready for this?"Sam admitted there was still a lot he didn't know about being Muslim but he was willing to learn. Sam, a former atheist, found himself believing in God again after overcoming addition and serious life struggles.Sam and Citra then discovered they'd need Citra's father's blessing to wed before the ceremony. This news really concerned Sam, and he said he left the mosque feeling more worried than ever.Sam said Citra's father treated him nicely and like his son-in-law, but he worried their relationship was going to crash and burn once he spilled the beans that he could be facing jail time.Sam and Citra then picked up Citra's sisters at the airport. Sam said Citra's sisters could be cruel and bully him sometimes but he still loved them.Citra laughed about how her sisters expected to see American men looking like Ryan Gosling but they were about to meet Sam's dad Brian and discover his belief in aliens.The group then reunited with Citra's father Herman in his hotel room in Kansas City. Sam assured Herman that he was ready to convert and hopefully being Muslim would bring him peace after the many challenges he had endured in life.Herman shared with Sam how marriage is very sacred in Indonesia and he wanted his daughter to be in a happy marriage filled with trust, love and respect.While in Miami, FL, Gino was still looking to regain Jasmine's trust after concealing his bachelor party from her.Gino wanted to prove that he could be Jasmine's "romeo," and so he surprised her with rose petals surrounding a pool that led them to a romantic table.Red roses were on the table as well as wine glasses, and Jasmine was thrilled and said she was speechless.Jasmine told Gino that she never thought she'd end up with a man like Gino because she used to be attracted to muscular guys who are extremely wealthy. But Jasmine assured Gino that what they had was "real love."Jasmine admitted she could be "a b-tch" sometimes but she was going to try to be a better person for Gino, who was already so kind to her.Jasmine said she was going to stop complaining about Gino's family and how she didn't want them to attend their wedding, and that made Gino burst into tears."Why are you crying?" Jasmine asked."I know I really love you. You are the love of my life," Gino replied.Suddenly, Gino stood up from the table and gifted Jasmine a tiny box with a real diamond ring inside."Baby, would you marry me?" Gino asked.Jasmine broke down into tears and responded, "Yes."Gino had initially bought Jasmine a $270 engagement ring, and so he reproposed to Jasmine with an upgraded ring that she absolutely loved.The first ring meant a lot to Jasmine, but she joked about how it was "cheap as f-ck."While packing up their bags in Miami, Jasmine was apparently feeling guilty."I have lied to Gino, and I've been hiding things that I shouldn't have," Jasmine told the cameras.Jasmine therefore confessed a few things to Gino in their hotel room in Miami.Jasmine said she had $8,000 to put toward her $10,000 butt implants -- $4,000 she had saved on her own and $4,000 from Gino -- and so she received a $2,000 loan from her ex-boyfriend Dane.Jasmine said Dane ultimately offered her the money as a wedding gift and said she wouldn't need to pay him back.Gino couldn't believe Jasmine had asked her ex for money, and he complained about hearing Dane's name way too much.Gino said Jasmine had just ruined their trip to Miami and ended it on a sad night. Jasmine apologized and said Gino didn't deserve to be lied to."I thought things were so good, but this is all not good. None of it is good!" Gino lamented in a confessional.Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage!
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On May 7, 1998, the world held its breath as Ross Geller said I do to his bride Emily.... and called her Rachel. That confusion became one of the most iconic scenes of the series Friends, which was already a mainstay during the 1990s and early 2000s. That was the finale of the fourth season, a double episode in which a chaotic wedding in London introduced a plot twist; that was when Monica and Chandler, played by Courteney Cox and the recently deceased Matthew Perry, spent their first clandestine night together and ended up becoming one of televisions most famous couples. With so many great TV moments and a live episode that was watched by nearly 32 million people, one would have thought that the script would have been kept under lock and key. But no. The script turned up in a trash can. Its final fate has been more dignified: it has been auctioned and sold for 22,000 (about $28,000 or 25,500).

A worker at Fountain Studios, located in Wembley, on the outskirts of London, discovered the final four drafts that later shaped the first and second parts of The Ross Wedding episode in a dumpster. The episode was filmed and the wedding chapel was re-created there. After the worker discovered the script drafts, he decided to put them up for sale through Hanon Ross, a British auction house.

The estimated selling price was between 600 and 800, or just over $1,000. But soon the auction started, and it received incessant bidding. It is not known who got the script, but as the BBC reported, it was an international internet buyer. Up to 219 people from all over the world bid on the script, and it was ultimately purchased for 22,000, 28,864 with taxes and fees (33,500 or $36,700). As Hanson Rosss head of operations explained to the British media, the global interest was impressive. I cant believe that result and the impact this discovery has had. Buyers are going crazy for this type of script. Originals are a specialty of Hanson Ross, which has sold a multitude of letters and Christmas cards signed by Princess Diana (some for over $2,000), photographs signed by Queen Elizabeth II, Frank Sinatra and Charlie Chaplin, and one of the first 500 printed copies of the first Harry Potter book for 60,000 (70,000-$76,000).

The 'Friends' castfrom left, Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Helen Baxendale as Emily Waltham, Courteney Cox as Monica Geller and Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbianiduring the episode 'The One with Ross's Wedding,' the fourth season finale, aired in May 1998. NBC (via Getty Images)

We do not know who bought the script, who the first owner was, or how the drafts ended up in the trash, but people at the auction house assume that a member of the cast or a worker on the show must have been the original owner. The Fountain has existed for almost a century, when it had the best and best-equipped sound studios in the UK. Since then, there has been constant activity. In addition to shows and films (the Beatles passed through there and The Princess Bride and David Lynchs The Elephant Man were filmed there), many of the British versions of Masterchef, X Factor and Got Talent have been shot there. The identity of the person who found them is unknown, but they had the script drafts forgotten in a drawer for some time (Hanson Ross does not specify whether they were found in 1998 or later) and now, having found them again, they decided to put them up for sale.

Friends, which became one of the most important and well-known shows of the end of the 20th century, continues to attract millions of fans around the world 20 years after it ended. In Los Angeles, where most of the show was filmed, the Warner sound studio where the main characters apartments and the Central Perk cafe were located has been named after the show. During visits, tourists can see it from the outside, as well as the shows famous fountain and sofa (which is not a sofa as such; it is made of fiberglass) from the opening credits, the cafe set and even a true cafeteria with glasses and cups like those used in Central Perk. And, of course, there are many stores where one can buy all kinds of souvenirs, books and clothes.

Matthew Perrys death last October has increased interest in everything related to the series. As Variety reported, in November Friends not only became the most watched series in the HBO Max catalog in the United States, but also the most watched streaming show in the country. At the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday night in California, Jennifer Aniston encouraged fans to celebrate Perrys life and legacy. When the Emmys take place this Monday, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences will also pay tribute to the five-time Emmy nominee.

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As I do not belong to any of the communities involved, I find it extremely important to educate myself on the entirety of the conflict and try to understand the complexities the best I can. As allies, we should sympathize with all innocent Israeli and Palestinian citizens that face violence despite their own actions. To fully understand their struggles, its important to start by learning about the history of the conflict and lend support to those who need it.
Indias share of total global venture capital (VC) funding fell to 2.9 per cent in calendar year 2023 (CY23)  the lowest since CY19  reaching $7.3 billion as most startups struggled to raise money without compromising on their earlier valuations.

Based on global data by CB Insights on VC funding, funding to Indian startups fell by nearly a third compared to CY22 when it hit $20.6 billion and accounted for 4.8 per cent of the global figure.

While the data shows that the world had 71 new unicorns (21 in Asia), India contributed only two of them, as compared with CY22 when it had 22.

Indias share of total deals also saw a fall, accounting for only 3.6 per cent of all the global deals in CY23, as compared to 4.2 per cent in CY22.

In Q4 2023, India had one deal which was in the list of top 10 global deals: The Udaan fund raiser at $340 million, albeit at a lower valuation.

The funding pattern has also changed. In CY23, the share of late-stage funding accounted for 9 per cent of the money, down from 12 per cent in the previous year.

The share of mid-stage funding also fell by 2 percentage points but went up for early stage funding by 3 percentage points, from 75 per cent in CY22 to 78 per cent in CY23.

Late stage startups have found it difficult to raise funds without reducing their valuations.

Or they were told to come back only when they became profitable.

Most VCs concentrated on funding smaller startups with lower risks.

Despite all the turbulence in its economy, China did much better than India.

It managed VC funding of $27.4 billion in CY23 though it too saw a sharp fall.

The $27.4 billion figure was a fourth lower than the figure in CY22 when China crossed $100 billion.

As a result, the gap between the countries in funding share has narrowed.

The fall in China and India has also pulled down funding which has come to the Asian region.

This has fallen by half from $105.7 billion in CY22 to only $53.4 billion in CY23.

At a global level too, it is clear that funding for startups has dried up.

It fell to $426 billion in CY23 from $426 billion in CY22.

Even though the US was able to garner VC funding of $132 billion in CY23, this was a slight drop from the $132.4 billion the previous year.
'The Supreme Court has now demonstrated its capacity to right its own wrongs, and to place the rule of law above all else.'

'This judgment states loud and clear that if the Supreme Court has made an egregious mistake, it will not hesitate to correct itself in order to render true justice.'

IMAGE: A protest in Kolkata, August 24, 2022, against the remission of sentence granted to the Bilkis Bano case convicts. Photograph: ANI Photo

Senior Advocate Chander Uday Singh tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com why the judgment delivered by Supreme Court Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan annulling the remission granted to 11 convicted rapists by the Gujarat government, despite not setting any new legal principles or jurisprudence, is still a landmark judgement.

Does Bilkis Bano stand vindicated now -- the same Supreme Court rejected her review petition in December 2022 which she had filed against grant of remission to 11 convicts who gang-raped her in the communal violence that devoured Gujarat in February-March 2002 -- after last week's judgement annulling the remission of these 11 rape convicts?

There is no doubt that Bilkis Bano -- now Bilkis Yakoob Rasul -- stands vindicated, but more importantly, it is the judicial system and the judiciary that has vindicated itself.

Having been gulled into delivering the unfortunate judgment of May 13, 2022 that allowed one of the convicts to seek remission of the life sentence from the Gujarat government, and that too under a long-since-defunct policy, and having then committed the egregious error of rejecting Bilkis's review petition in December 2022, the Supreme Court has now demonstrated its capacity to right its own wrongs, and to place the rule of law above all else.

How do you look at Bilkis Bano's fight for justice in the light of the Supreme Court ruling of January 8, 2024?

It's difficult even to imagine the courage and steely resolve that Bilkis has demonstrated over the course of 21 years. The only word that comes to mind is indomitable, but that too seems inadequate.

She has fought back from every reversal, weathered every storm, built up a second life and a family with Yakub Rasul, but even that life has been one of nomads unable to return to their own villages, living in constant fear of reprisals.

But she has never given up hope, never relented on her quest for justice. And justice she has got, despite all the ups and downs: first from the trial court and the Bombay high court in the original trial that led to life sentences for 13 persons, and also lesser sentences for police officials and medical officers who tried to bury the evidence; then from the Supreme Court, which summarily dismissed all appeals in that first innings.

She then got a small measure of succour when the Supreme Court entertained her plea for reparations, and directed the Gujarat government to pay her compensation of Rs 50 lakh and to provide her a safe abode.

And when it appeared that the state had struck back with a vengeance by granting remissions to the 13 perpetrators of these horrific crimes, the Supreme Court finally rose to the occasion with this amazing judgment heralding the New Year.

In your column for The Hindu soon after the Supreme Court judgment of December 13, 2022 rejected Bilkis Bano's review petition you had stated that the Supreme Court had then missed an opportunity to redress an egregious error.

What would you have to say after the Supreme Court's January 8, 2024 judgment annulling the remission of the same 11 gang-rapists?

In my view the Supreme Court has more than redeemed itself.

This is a judgment for the ages; one that I think will define the Court and its capacity for self-correction and dispensing true justice.

What are the most salient points of this judgment that would establish solid legal jurisprudence and help victims of horrendous atrocities -- like Bilkis Bano -- for times to come?

This is not a judgment that creates or lays down new legal principles or a new jurisprudence. It is, rather, a strong and unabashed reaffirmation of the rule of law, using established legal and jurisdictional principles to make it clear that the Supreme Court will not stand for chicanery and fraud, will not allow itself to be misled or conned by unscrupulous litigants.

Most of all, it is a judgment that states loud and clear that if the Supreme Court has made an egregious mistake, it will not hesitate to correct itself in order to render true justice.

Should the Supreme Court have given a period of 15 days for the 11 convicted rapists to surrender?

Why couldn't they have been arrested or put in jail immediately after the Supreme Court judgment became public?

The Bench made it very clear that it was not going to deviate from the principle that sentencing and imprisonment are not for vengeance or retribution, but are most of all an attempt or quest for reformation. The grant of some reasonable time to surrender is entirely consistent with this approach.
51 Muslim couples took their wedding vows at a mass marriage ceremony in Agripada, south central Mumbai, on Sunday. Thousands gathered to witness the event.

Hitesh Harisinghani/Rediff.com captures glimpses from the ceremony.

All photographs: Hitesh Harsinghani/ Rediff.com IMAGE: Mehendi design with the groom's name and wedding date on a bride's hand.

IMAGE: A woman carrying a garland walks past the brides.

IMAGE: A bride sips on Frooti before the wedding ceremony. It was a warm evening in Mumbai.

IMAGE: The grooms await the wedding ceremony.

IMAGE: A doctor checks a bride's blood pressure after she complained of uneasiness.

IMAGE: The gifts that the newly weds will receive.

IMAGE: Brides interact at the wedding ceremony.

IMAGE: Thousands gathered to witness the event.

Feature Presentation: Mahipal Soni/Rediff.com
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged on Tuesday that the Ram temple consecration event in Ayodhya has been made into a "Narendra Modi and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-Bharatiya Janata Party function" with an "election flavour", as he strongly defended the decision of his party's top leaders to decline the invite to the ceremony.

IMAGE: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visits the World War II memorial site during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Kohima, Nagaland, January 16, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo

Gandhi's remarks at a press conference during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Nagaland's Chiephobozoucame days after the Congress top brass declined the invitation to the event at the Ram temple in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.

"The RSS and the BJP have made the January 22 function a completely political, Narendra Modi function. It has become an RSS-BJP function. I think that is why the Congress president (Mallikarjun Kharge) said he would not go to the function. We are open to all religions, all practices. Even the biggest authorities of the Hindu religion have made their views public on what they think about the January 22 event -- that it is a political function," Gandhi said.

"It is difficult for us to go to a political function, which is designed around the prime minister of India and the RSS. We have made it clear that whoever among our partners or our party would like to visit the Ram temple is welcome to do it. It is difficult for us to visit (the temple) on January 22. That this is a prime minister's function and an RSS function and we are going to attend it ... it is not possible," he added.

"We cannot be a party to a political function. It is very difficult for us when the prime minister of India and the RSS, our principal opponents, have captured a function and turned it into an election function.... The BJP and the RSS have given an election flavour to the event," the former Congress chief said.

On the Opposition INDIA bloc, he asserted that the alliance is strong and will defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

"There is mutual respect and affection between the leaders in the INDIA formation. The INDIA formation is an ideological formation that is placing itself in opposition to the idea of the RSS and the BJP. I am very confident that small problems in the alliance will be resolved. We will fight together and defeat them," Gandhi said.

Replying to a question on the status of the alliance with the Trinamool Congress, he said, "The status of the INDIA alliance is very good. We are in conversation with our partners, the issue of seat sharing is being taken up and I think it is going quite well. A lot of those are quite simple, I am quite confident that they will be resolved."

Gandhi asserted that the Opposition alliance will win the Lok Sabha polls expected to be held in April-May.

"I see the INDIA bloc placed very well in taking on the BJP in 2024," he said.

The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by Gandhi reached Nagaland on Monday evening after it began in Thoubal in Manipur on January 14.

Talking about the yatra, Gandhi said it is an ideological event designed to place an alternative vision to that of the BJP-RSS combine.

"This is an ideological yatra designed to place certain issues on the table.... A huge amount of injustice is taking place. There will be an election process, we will take part in it, this yatra is to present certain ideas and an alternative vision to what the BJP says, the divisive vision of BJP," the Congress leader said.

The march will pass through 100 Lok Sabha constituencies in 15 states, traversing 6,713 km, mostly in buses but also on foot, and culminate in Mumbai on March 20 or 21.
At least two previously unknown incidents of skirmishes between the Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) have come to light with citations for gallantry awards conferred on Indian Army personnel mentioning them.

The citations, read out at an investiture ceremony by the Army's Western Command last week, provided brief details of how the Indian troops responded firmly to the aggressive behaviour by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers along the LAC.

The Army's Western Command, which has its headquarters in Chandimandir, had uploaded a video of the January 13 ceremony featuring the commentary on the gallantry award on its YouTube channel but deactivated it on Monday.

The incidents mentioned in the citations had taken place between September 2021 and November 2022.

There was no immediate comment on the matter by the Army.

The Indian Army has been maintaining a very high level of combat readiness along the 3,488 km-long LAC following the clashes in Galwan Valley in June 2020.

There were multiple incidents of skirmishes along the LAC between the Indian and Chinese troops in the last three-and-a-half years following the eruption of the eastern Ladakh border row in May 2020.

The Chinese troops attempted transgression in the Tawang sector of the LAC as well.

On December 9, 2022, PLA troops tried to transgress the LAC in the Yangtse area of Tawang Sector and unilaterally changed the status quo, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in Parliament four days after the incident.

Singh said the Chinese attempt was contested by the Indian troops in a firm and resolute manner.

Sources said several Indian Army personnel who were part of the team that responded firmly to the attempted Chinese transgression were also conferred gallantry awards at the investiture ceremony.

"The ensuing face-off led to a physical scuffle in which the Indian Army bravely prevented the PLA from transgressing into our territory and compelled them to return to their posts," Singh said on December 13 that year.

The scuffle led to injuries to a few personnel on both sides, he said.

"I would like to assure this house that our forces are committed to protecting our territorial integrity and will continue to thwart any attempt made on it. I am confident that this entire house will stand united in supporting our soldiers in their brave effort," Singh said.
Iran has attacked the headquarters of a terrorist group opposed to Tehran with drones and missiles in Pakistan, Al Arabiya News reported citing Tasnim news agency.

Image used for representational purpose only. Photograph: Iranian Army/WANA/Reuters

Two "important headquarters" of Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) in Pakistan were "destroyed," Al Arabiya News reported citing Tasnim News Agency.

The strikes were concentrated in an area in Pakistan's Balochistan where "one of the largest headquarters" of Jaish al-Adl was located, the report said.

Formed in 2012, Jaish al-Adl, designated as a "terrorist" organization by Iran, is a Sunni terrorist group that operates in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, Al Arabiya News reported.

Over the years, Jaish al-Adl has launched numerous attacks on Iranian security forces.

In December, Jaish al-Adl took responsibility for an attack on a police station in Sistan-Baluchistan that claimed the lives of at least 11 police personnel, according to Al Arabiya News reported.

Sistan-Baluchistan borders Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The region has a history of clashes between Iran's security forces and Sunni terrorists, as well as drug smugglers.

Sistan-Baluchistan is one of Iran's poorest regions and most of the population in the region is Sunni ethnic Baluchis, Al Arabiya News reported.

The attacks in Pakistan have been carried out a day after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched missiles into Iraq's Kurdistan region at what it called an Israeli "spy headquarters" and at alleged ISIS-linked targets in Syria, the report said.
A Maoist involved in the killing of three policemen and carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head was killed in a gunbattle with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Tuesday, a senior police official said.

Image used for representational purpose only. Photograph: ANI Photo

The skirmish took place in the forest near Mangnar village under Barsur police station limits, he said.

Personnel of the District Reserve Guard and Bastar Fighters, both state police units, and the Central Reserve Police Force's 195th battalion were out on an anti-Maoist operation after receiving intelligence inputs about the presence of armed Maoists of Aamdai area committee in the Mangnar forest, the official said.

A gunbattle broke out, and after the exchange of fire stopped, the body of Ratan Kashyap alias Salam (31) was recovered from the spot, he said.

Kashyap was the Todma militia platoon deputy commander as well as Aamdai area committee member of the outlawed Maoist organisation, he added.

In 2020, he was involved in an IED blast in which two policemen were killed, and in the murder of a policeman elsewhere in Mardum area of Bastar district, the official said.

Kashyap was involved in a total of nine Maoist violence incidents in Dantewada and Bastar districts, he added.

A search operation is still underway in the area, the official said.
Designated terrorist GS Pannun on Tuesday gave a veiled threat to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and police chief Gaurav Yadav as he asked gangsters in the state to join the banned outfit Sikhs For Justice and stop top political leaders from attending the Republic Day parade.

IMAGE: Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, founder of the outlawed Sikhs for Justice. Photograph: Courtesy X

The blast, which claimed the lives of 17 others, was carried out by the banned terror group -- Babbar Khalsa International.

Pannun also equated Yadav, the director general of Punjab police, to assassinated police officer Gobind Ram, who was killed in a bomb blast in 1990.

Punjab police officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Pannun and his organisation have issued threats in the past as well and all necessary precautions have been taken to ensure "tight security" for all VIPs in the state.

In one of the purported videos of Pannun, he dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the Republic Day parade without security.

"I dare Modi, you come to Delhi without your security. If you are a popular leader, come to Delhi on R-Day without security and SFJ is going to avenge the assassination of Shaheed Nijjar by raising the Khalistan flag," he is heard saying in the video.

Nijjar was killed by unidentified assailants at a gurdwara in Canada's Surrey.

In another video, Pannun asked gangsters in Punjab to join the SFJ, participate in a referendum for Khalistan, and also prevent CM Mann from hoisting the tricolour on Republic Day.

The email sent to journalists, however, deviated slightly from the videos where Pannun, besides giving a call to Punjab gangsters to join the SFJ, also asked them to get recognised as shaheeds (martyrs).

Pannun had been designated as a terrorist by the Union home ministry under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Sikh for Justice banned in 2020.

Tightening its noose around US and Canada-based "designated individual terrorist" Pannun, the National Investigation Agency in September last year confiscated a house and land of the self-styled general counsel of the outlawed SFJ outfit in Punjab's Amritsar and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

The properties confiscated include 46-kanal (5.7 acres) of agricultural land at Khankot village in Amritsar and a one-fourth share of a house in Chandigarh's Sector 15/C area.

Pannun has been on the NIA's radar since 2019 when the anti-terror federal agency registered its first case against the terrorist, who has been playing a major role in promoting and commissioning terror acts and activities, and spreading fear and terror in Punjab and elsewhere in the country through his threats and intimidation tactics.

Non-bailable warrants of arrest were issued against Pannun by the Special NIA Court on February 3, 2021, and he was declared a "Proclaimed Offender" on November 29 last year.

"Investigations have revealed that Pannun's organisation, Sikhs for Justice, was misusing cyberspace to radicalise gullible youth and instigate them to undertake terrorist crimes and activities," an NIA spokesperson had said.

The official said the investigations have further revealed that Pannun was the main handler and controller of the SFJ, which was declared an "Unlawful Association" by the Centre on July 10, 2019.
On January 15, 2024, as part of the 76th Army Day celebrations, a military and combat display 'Shaurya Sandhya' was organised at the Lucknow Cantonment in Uttar Pradesh.

Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh was present as was Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj C Pande, Central Armuy Commander Lieutenant N S Raja Subramani and other military personnel.

Shaurya Sandhya featured martial arts displays like Kalaripayettu, Gatka and a performance by North East Warriors.

IMAGE: Soldiers showed what they can do in combat. All Photographs: ANI Photo

IMAGE: A combat free fall from 8,000 feet was carried out by 12 Indian Army personnel.

IMAGE: The static display included Akash missiles, K9 Vajra, anti-drone equipment, Bofors guns, artillery weapons systems and other equipment deployed by the Indian Army.

IMAGE: An aerial display at the event.

IMAGE: Rajnath Singh and General Manoj C Pande chat about the event.

IMAGE: The Raksha Mantri, CDS General Anil Chauhan, COAS General Pande and his wife Dr Archanaa Salpekar watch the aerial display.

IMAGE: Rajnath Singh presents a memento at the event.

IMAGE: Army Day is celebrated to commemorate this day in 1949 when General K M Cariappa (later field marshal), who led the Indian forces to victory in the 1947 War, took command of the Indian Army from General Sir F R R Bucher, the last British commander-in-chief and became the first commander-in-chief of Independent India's army.

IMAGE: On the right is Central Army Commander Lieutenant General N S Raja Subramani.

WATCH: A view of the 76th Army Day programme

Photographs curated by Anant Salvi/Rediff.com

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
In his autobiography, Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen wrote that when he first started drinking, he got hooked on Chartreuse. The pale, captivating yellow-green liqueur also fascinated characters like F. Scott Fitzgeralds Jay Gatsby, who often offered visitors to his apartment a taste of Chartreuse from a cache hidden in a cupboard.

Hiding your Chartreuse adds a touch of mystique to the liqueur, and these days, more people are doing just that. A shortage in the United States has become unexpectedly drastic at bars from coast to coast, where the coveted elixir is a key ingredient in cocktails like Strawberry Brava, Last Word and Sammys Paradise.

What is the reason for the scarcity of this extraordinary liqueur with medicinal, fever-relieving and digestive properties? The drink is based on a secret recipe of 130 botanical ingredients from an ancient manuscript about the elixir of long life. Its produced in France under the protective embrace of the Isere mountains by the Carthusian monastic order since the 18th century. So, why is it so hard to find? The answer is simple  the monks have steadfastly refused to increase production, turning a deaf ear to the ever-growing demand.

In a profit-driven world, it may seem unusual to consider spiritual rewards. However, the monks of Chartreuse have chosen to remain true to their values and focus on their motto: The Cross is steady while the world turns. Emmanuel Delafon, president of Chartreuse Diffusion, told the French media: Growth for growths sake does not make sense for us. Rev. Michael K. Holleran, a former monk who oversaw Chartreuse production from 1986 to 1990, said in a Terre de Vins magazine article, You cant make that much Chartreuse without upsetting the balance of monastic life. Climate change has also made it more difficult to obtain the necessary quantities of all the botanical ingredients. Inventories are also limited where its produced  the Caves de la Chartreuse in Voiron  and in the surrounding villages.

A recent New York Times article about the Chartreuse shortage focused on Joshua Lutz, a health technology professional from Huntington Woods, Michigan. For over 20 years, he has had a fondness (and reliance) on his favorite liqueur. When he noticed that finding a bottle was becoming increasingly difficult, he started traveling across the country and even abroad in search of Chartreuse.

During the pandemic, when everybody and their mothers suddenly turned into professional mixologists (at home), Chartreuse consumption skyrocketed in the United States to annual sales of $30 million, according to Chartreuse Diffusion.

To grasp Mr. Lutzs store-to-store journey and Americas devotion to this drink, one need only recall the memorable bar scene from Quentin Tarantinos Inglourious Basterds, where friends downed shots of Chartreuse with undeniable gusto and fascination. Tom Waits called it out in his song Til the Money Runs Out, and Frank Zappa did the same in Fifty-Fifty. ZZ Top dedicated a whole song to it: Chartreuse / You got the color that turns me loose / Chartreuse / That color just turns me loose. The name of the song? Chartreuse, of course.

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Launching a broadside against Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar over his decision to recognise the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led party as the real Shiv Sena, rival group head Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said he will take the battle to the people's court.

IMAGE: Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) Chief Uddhav Thackeray addresses the 'Janata Nyayalaya', in Mumbai, January 16, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo

Speaking at a "people's court" and holding a "mega press conference", Thackeray said his fight would decide whether democracy survives in the country.

Defending his decision, Narwekar, at a press conference elsewhere, asserted that his actions were based on the guidelines provided by the Supreme Court, and the people of the state know the truth.

The "people's court" was held in Worli --- the constituency of Uddhav Thackeray's son and former state minister Aaditya Thackeray --- and attended by top leaders of the Shiv Sena UBT and the lawyers who were part of Thackeray's legal team in the Supreme Court as well as before the Election Commission and at the hearings conducted by Narwekar.

Thackeray, a former Maharashtra chief minister, dubbed Narwekar as "deceitful", and challenged him and Chief Minister Shinde to a public debate with him on which faction was the real Shiv Sena.

Narwekar on January 10 held in a long-awaited ruling that the Shinde faction was the real Sena while dismissing disqualification petitions filed by both Shinde and Thackeray camps against each other's MLAs following a split in the party in June 2022.

"I am taking this battle to the people's court," a combative Thackeray said.

Thackeray also relied on old videos of his election as party chief in 2013 and 2018 to buttress his point.

In one of the videos, Narwekar is seen attending the party event when he was part of the undivided Shiv Sena.

If he was not the legitimate Shiv Sena chief, why the BJP invited him to Delhi after the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha poll victories, Thackeray asked.

Targeting the Election Commission, he asked whether it "swallowed" the constitution of the undivided Sena, and said it should reimburse the money spent on 19.41 lakh affidavits of party members, signed on Rs 100 stamp papers, which it had submitted during the hearings before the poll body.

Shiv Sena UBT leader Anil Parab, who is part of the team that takes care of the legal aspect of the case, said between 2018 and 2022, the Election Commission of India communicated with the undivided Shiv Sena and Uddhav Thackeray regularly.

Narwekar, on the other hand, justified his decision not to accept the undivided Shiv Sena's amended constitution of 2018. The party had then informed the Election Commission only about Uddhav Thackeray being the party chief but did not submit the amended constitution, he said.

In his ruling, Narwekar held that the Sena's 1999 constitution was the valid one for deciding which faction was the real Shiv Sena.

"My actions were based on the Supreme Court's guidelines," he said at the press conference.

Justifying his decision not to disqualify Thackeray faction MLAs, Narwekar said the whip issued to them was not sent properly.

Taking a dig at Thackeray, Narwekar said a "part-time president or part-time lawyer" cannot do work, and one has to dedicate himself fully to a party.

Rules framed by a party should not just be on paper but must be implemented, Narwekar further said, adding that running a party is a matter of responsibility.
The race to win the Republican nomination for the US Presidential election this November began in icy Iowa on Monday January 15, 2024, when voters picked their nominee.

Despite facing a number of criminal charges, Donald J Trump, 77, reinforced his frontrunner status with an early and easy victory in the Iowa Republican caucus, the first event in this election cycle.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, 45, was in second place while former South Carolina govenor Nikki Haley, 51, finished third.

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy secured under 8% of the vote, endorsed Trump and dropped out of the race.

IMAGE: Donald J Trump visits a caucus site at the Horizon Event Center in Clive, Iowa. Photograph: Sergio Flores/Reuters

IMAGE: Trump speaks at the Horizon Event Center. Photograph: Sergio Flores/Reuters

IMAGE: Vivek Ramaswamy greets Republican voters at the Horizon Event Center. Photograph: Sergio Flores/Reuters

IMAGE: Nikki Haley speaks to voters on caucus day in West Des Moines, Iowa. Photograph: Marco Bello/Reuters

IMAGE: Haley -- born Nimrata Randhawa of Sikh parents -- greets diners during a campaign stop at the Drake Diner on the day of the Iowa caucus vote. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

IMAGE: A Nikki Haley supporter. The Iowa result was disappointing for Haley who had expected to finish second behind Trump. Photograph: Jeenah Moon/Reuters

IMAGE: Attendees at Ron DeSantis' Iowa caucus watch party in West Des Moines. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/Reuters

IMAGE: DeSantis at a campaign event on caucus day in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa. Photograph: Christopher Reistroffer/Reuters

IMAGE: A DeSantis supporter in Silver City, Iowa. Photograph: Scott Morgan/Reuters

IMAGE: Trump remains the man to beat as he accumulates supporters like this Republican voter at the Fellows Elementary School in Ames, Iowa. Photograph: Cheney Orr/Reuters

IMAGE: Votes are counted at the Fellows Elementary School. Photograph: Cheney Orr/Reuters

IMAGE: The stage is set for Trump ahead of his caucus night watch party in Des Moines. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

IMAGE: Trump takes the stage. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

IMAGE: Trump speaks at his Iowa caucus night watch party. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

IMAGE: Trump flanked by his sons Eric Trump, left, and Donald J Trump, right, at the Iowa event. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

IMAGE: Daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who had high profile roles in the Trump White House, have stayed away from the 2024 election campaign. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

IMAGE: If he wins the Presidential election, Trump will be 78 when he is sworn in on January 20, 2025.

If Biden wins -- which appears a long shot at this point of time -- he will be 82 when he is sworn in for a second term.

In 1980, much was made of Ronald Reagan's age; he was 69 when he began his first term as president. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
The co-passenger who shot the video of the incident of assault against an IndiGo co-pilot on board alleged that the pilot, instead of "understanding and supporting" the passengers' concern, was blaming them for asking questions.

Photograph: Courtesy Evgenia Belskaia on Instagram

In a video posted on her Instagram handle, the Russian model Evgenia Belskaia said that hitting a pilot was unfortunate.

"Of course, it's wrong to hit the pilot, 100 per cent, I will not agree with that. But why was he blaming passengers in this, he was supposed to understand and support them," the model said in the video.

Sharing the initial incident, where the pilot could be seen assaulted by a passenger on board an Indigo flight, she said, "So the story is my team; they had a flight Delhi to Goa...7.40 am. They came to the airport by let's say 6 a.m. They came up very early, they came there. Then the IndiGo flight was saying like every hour, it's a one-hour delay, two-hour delay. So like this, they've been waiting for ten hours."

"Then they told them that they can enter the airplane. They enter the airplane and in an airplane, they'd be sitting for two hours waiting, so people were really angry. And of course, they've been asking questions from the crew, why it's like this (and) when we going to leave and all."

She alleged that the pilot attempted to blame passengers for the delay, which is why according to the pilot the flight got further delayed.

"Then this pilot coming and saying that 'you guys are asking too many questions. Because of you we missed our line/our turm. Now you will have to wait more."

Meanwhile, the accused passenger was declared 'unruly', the airlines said in a statement on Monday. As per an IndiGo statement, the accused passenger was handed over to the local law enforcement agencies for further action.

The statement further mentioned that an internal committee has been formed to address the matter and the inclusion of the passenger in the 'no-fly list' is under consideration.

The incident occurred on Sunday, January 14, inside flight number 6E 2175 which was departing from Delhi to Goa.

In a viral video, the agitated passenger, later identified as Sahil Kataria, was seen punching the co-pilot, identified as Anup Kumar, while he was announcing on board about flight delays.

As per government rules released in 2017 on unruly passengers, if an airline finds a passenger's behavior unruly, the pilot has to file a complaint, which is to be investigated by an internal panel. During the probe, the airline can ban the flyer for a maximum of 30 days.

The committee has to decide on the matter within 30 days and specify how long the flyer can be kept from traveling.
The phenomenon of fog is largely Delhi-centric.

Airlines may think that we only have conditions of extreme fog on a few days every year, and spending a pilot's time and the airline's money on training can add up to its expenses.'

'So, they may prefer holding it for a few days.'

IMAGE: An Indigo passenger hit the pilot on Monday, January 15, 2024, after an over 10 hour delay. Photograph: X

Time-intensive training and a shortage of pilots certified to operate in foggy conditions may be causing flight disruptions during the winter season in Delhi, aviation experts believe.

To train pilots for operating in such conditions, airlines must secure flight simulator slots for CAT III training well in advance, given that these systems are typically booked for pilots' routine licence renewal training.

"CAT III training is a time-consuming process for airlines as simulators in the country are already booked for regular training. The bookings for these systems are not instant as there are challenges with the availability of simulators," Ameya Joshi, an aviation analyst and founder of the aviation blog 'Network Thoughts' told Business Standard.

Pilots need to undergo training programmes, such as CAT III, which refers to a category of Instrument Landing System (ILS), to guide aircraft during their descent and landing in foggy and low-visibility conditions.

Also, only a few pilots could train on these simulators during the pandemic as the enclosed spaces carried a high risk of transmission, exacerbating the challenge with simulator availability today.

"After the pandemic subsided and flight operations resumed, there was a lack of simulator availability as most of them were booked for pilots who couldn't undergo mandatory training for licence renewal. Now, the CAT III training that happens on these simulators got naturally stretched," Joshi added.

A shortage of pilots in the industry also may limit airlines from deploying all their pilots to such training procedures.

"There is a general shortage of pilots in the industry today. Moreover, the ones who are qualified to operate in foggy conditions are a smaller number," said Captain S S Panesar, a former pilot and ex-director of Flight Safety and Training at Indian Airlines.

"An airline will have to take a pilot off-duty during his or her training, which may have an impact on its commercial operations as a lesser number of personnel are deployed for ops.

"Airlines would not prefer to do it," Captain Panesar added.

He explained that a pilot-in-command and a co-pilot should have a minimum flying experience of 2,500 and 500 hours, which is required for the CAT II or CAT III training programme.

"After the completion of CAT II simulator training, which includes sessions of a minimum of three hours, pilots are eligible to undergo a two-hour session consisting of ILS CAT-III approaches.

"This is followed by an actual landing in CAT III-type weather, only after which the pilot is CAT III certified," he added.

In CAT III B, the visibility for landing and take-off for an aircraft ranges from 50 to 174 metres, whereas for CAT III A, the visibility ranges between 175 and 299 metres.

These training programmes can cost around Rs 500,000 per pilot for an airline, an industry source said, requesting anonymity.

IMAGE: A screengrab from a viral video shows passengers of a Delhi-bound IndiGo flight, that was diverted to Mumbai, eating and sitting on the airport tarmac at Mumbai airport on Monday, January 15, 2024. Photograph: ANI on X

"Apart from the time required to train pilots, and the time they're off duty during training, it may get expensive for airlines to train all their pilots for fog-like conditions. Plus, it's a small duration during an entire year when fog sets in, and the occurrence is limited to major northern airports like Delhi only," the person added.

Echoing a similar view, Joshi said the phenomenon of fog is largely Delhi-centric. "Airlines may think that we only have conditions of extreme fog on a few days every year, and spending a pilot's time and the airline's money on training can add up to its expenses. So, they may prefer holding it for a few days," he said.

Delhi airport has two CAT IIIB-compliant runways, one currently under maintenance.

"One can expect for the runway to open up in the first week of January. That way, Delhi will again have two CAT III runways instead of just one improving the condition at the airport," the airport source quoted above said.

Hundreds of flights faced delays between December 24 and 28, out of which 58 had to be diverted due to low visibility conditions at Delhi airport. A similar situatiion occurred on Sunday and Monday.

Of these flights, around 50 were diverted because pilots were not trained to operate in conditions of dense fog, an airport source said.

When responses were sought from the airlines on CAT III compliant pilots in airlines, only IndiGo responded.

"IndiGo has sufficient CAT III qualified pilots. These pilots have been rostered for optimal operations during the winter season.

'As India's largest airline, IndiGo operates more than 2,000 daily flights. In that context, the number of diversion cases represents a very small fraction,' the airline stated.

'We are putting in every effort to minimise inconvenience to passengers in the event of flight disruption due to bad weather,' the airline added.

However, none of the airlines shared the number of CAT III certified pilots they currently have.

Joshi explains that aircraft might have to hold before landing at such airports due to decreased air traffic movement.

"The number of take-offs and landings naturally reduces when visibility decreases. In such a scenario, when there are multiple flights waiting to land, there will be some holding in the skies by aircraft.

"So, even if the pilot and the runway are CAT III compliant, the pilot may have to divert once pilots realise they can no longer hold due to fuel constraints," he added.

Passengers are at the receiving end of delays that happen due to such issues.

"On my flight back to Delhi," said a passenger on a Goa-Delhi flight, "after the pilot had announced and asked the cabin crew to prepare for descent, the flight was hovering in the skies for nearly 20 minutes, presumably due to thick fog. This delayed our landing by 30 minutes."

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
Namibian cheetah Shaurya died at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday, state Forest Minister Nagar Singh Chouhan said, making it the 10th such fatality since the reintroduction of African big cats in India in 2022.

Image used for representational purpose only. Photograph: ANI Photo

The exact cause of the feline's death was not immediately clear and it will be known only after post-mortem examination, said a forest department statement.

When contacted by PTI, forest minister Chouhan said he received a report about the death of Namibian cheetah Shaurya at the KNP in Sheopur district.

The male cheetah was found not walking properly by the tracking team around 11 am after which it was tranquilized and efforts were made to revive the feline, but they failed, said the statement.

Complications arose post-revival and the wild animal failed to respond to cardiopulmonary resuscitation and died at 3.17 pm, it said.

Since March 2023, seven adult cheetahs, including Shaurya, and three cubs have died at the KNP due to various reasons, taking the toll to ten.

The adult cheetahs -- three females and four males -- to have died so far include Sasha (March 27, 2023), Uday (April 23, 2023), Daksha (May 9, 2023), Tejas (July 11, 2023), Suraj (July 14, 2023), Dhatri (August 2, 2023) and Shaurya (January 16, 2023).

One of the four cubs born to translocated Namibian cheetah 'Jwala' died on May 23, 2023, and two others on May 25, 2023.

The total number of surviving cheetahs at the KNP now stands at 17 (six males, seven females and four cubs).

On January 3, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav had shared news about the birth of three cubs to Namibian cheetah Aasha on social media platform X.

In March 2023, Siyaya, later renamed as Jwala, had given birth to four cubs, but only one of them (a female) survived.

Cheetah, the fastest land animal, was declared extinct in the country in 1952. Cheetahs were translocated to the KNP from South Africa and Namibia as part of the central government's ambitious plan to revive their population in India.

Under the Cheetah Reintroduction Project, eight big cats from Namibia -- five females and three males -- were released into enclosures at the KNP on September 17, 2022.

In February 2023, another 12 cheetahs were brought to the park from South Africa.

In December last year, four cheetahs were released into the wild, but two of them were later captured and shifted to bomas (enclosures). One of these two cheetahs, Agni, was tranquilised in Baran district of Rajasthan and brought back to the KNP in December.

In May last year, while voicing concern over the death of felines, the Supreme Court had asked the Centre to file a detailed affidavit explaining the reasons and remedial measures taken.

In response, the ministry of environment and forests and the National Tiger Conservation Authority had told the SC that the death of adult cheetahs and cubs at the KNP is troubling, but not "unduly alarming", and the surviving big cats are being captured and medically examined as a precautionary measure.
A Nihang allegedly killed a young man on the premises of a gurdwara in Phagwara early Tuesday, claiming later that the unidentified victim had come to the shrine to commit an act of desecration.

IMAGE: Nihang Sikhs on the banks of the Sarowar as they look at the Golden Temple on the first day of the year 2024, in Amritsar, January 1, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo

While the Nihang was arrested and booked under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code, the police also invoked Section 295A (outraging religious feelings) against the man who was killed.

The police said there is no evidence so far of any desecration at the gurdwara.

The Nihang, identified as Ramandeep Singh, posted a video on social media in which he took responsibility for the killing and claimed that he acted in self-defence.

In another video uploaded by Singh, the victim is heard saying that he was sent by someone to engage in wrongdoing.

Nihangs belong to a warrior Sikh sect whose members are usually seen in blue robes, carrying traditional weapons. The victim was killed with a sharp-edged weapon, the police said.

As news of the killing came in, senior police officers, including additional director general of police Gurinder Singh Dhillon, rushed to the historic Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi Chaura Khooh.

The police have sent the body of the victim, who appeared to be in his twenties, for a postmortem examination by a board of doctors.

Dhillon told reporters that IPS Section 304 slapped against the Nihang could be converted into Section 302 (murder) following further investigation.

The police also registered an FIR against the victim on the basis of a complaint filed by gurdwara manager Narinder Singh.

The complaint said the unidentified man entered the gurdwara at around 10 pm on Monday and was found hiding in a bathroom at around 2 am.

When the Nihang, who was staying at the gurdwara, confronted the man, he allegedly said he was given money by someone to carry out an act of desecration, which was "foiled".

ADGP (law and order) Dhillon said a preliminary investigation revealed that no incident of desecration took place in the gurdwara.

He said a police team headed by Phagwara superintendent of police Gurpreet Singh will investigate the case.

It will be monitored by deputy inspector general of police (Jalandhar Range) S Bhoopathi and Kapurthala Senior Superintendent of Police Vatsala Gupta.

The team will look into multiple angles including if there was any conspiracy and whether the man was bribed by someone for doing anything objectionable, he said.

He said the police have got the victim's mobile phone number and will be able to fix his identity soon.

It was learnt that he spoke a mix of Punjabi and Hindi, the officer said.

This hinted that he could be from Haryana or Delhi, and perhaps Punjab, he added.

The case will be decided on merit and the director general of police was himself monitoring it, Dhillon said.

He said there was complete peace in the town, and devotees should observe the Gurpurab of the 10th Sikh Guru by visiting gurdwaras without fear, he said.

The birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh falls on Wednesday.

There have been other cases of people being killed on suspicion of sacrilege in recent times.

In October 2021, during the farmers' protest at the Delhi-Haryana border, a Nihang group allegedly lynched a man in Singhu after accusing him of committing an act of desecration. His body was hung from a police barricade.

In December 2021, a man was beaten to death over an alleged sacrilege attempt at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Days later, another man was accused of a similar crime and killed at a gurdwara in Kapurthala.

Last year, a man was beaten up and then handed over to police after he allegedly desecrated the Guru Granth Sahib and assaulted two priests at a gurdwara in Rupnagar.
Of course, since it was in power, the Congress was responsible for the unlocking of the gates. But who in the Congress? The Congress chief minister of UP, or the Congress president and prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi?

Stray remarks to me by the PM indicated he had nothing to do with this tragic farce and was deeply disturbed.

Rajiv Gandhi was not consulted because he would never have agreed to such an unprincipled step.

A revealing excerpt from Mani Shankar Aiyar's fascinating new book, The Rajiv I Knew.

IMAGE: Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi addresses an election campaign meeting in Kishanganj in Bihar on May 5, 1991, 16 days before he was assassinated. Photograph: K M Kishan/Reuters

Writing as I am more than 35 years after these events, I have the advantage of hindsight that Rajiv Gandhi in 1986 did not have.

Yet he spotted that ignoring or surrendering on this issue would promote precisely the kind of majoritarianism that has now overtaken the country, ending, perhaps forever, the secular India that was the quintessence of Mahatma Gandhi's and Nehru's vision of a pluralistic nation, celebrating its diversity instead of being imprisoned in revenge and revanchism, as has turned out to be the case.

After years of reflection as a citizen of my country on the Hindu majoritarianism that has overwhelmed our country in recent years, I have come to believe that it was the unholy alliance struck between the liberal-left and the hitherto 'untouchable' BJP in 1986-90 on Shah Bano and the subsequent Babri Masjid issue that has brought us to the present pass.

So upset were the left-liberals by the huge majority Rajiv Gandhi had garnered in the 1984 election that toppling him, come hell or high water, became their sole objective, with no regard for the consequences in this endeavour of restoring the Sangh Parivar to the mainstream of Indian politics.

It was this that sparked the conflagration of communalism that has since been consuming our country.

In December 1949, a group of about fifty people entered the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, UP, and placed an idol of Ram Lalla (Ram the infant) in the premises. Fearing communal tensions, the UP government locked its gate.

The Pandora's box was opened nearly forty years later when, in February 1986, by the order of a district sessions court in Faizabad, the gates of the Babri Masjid were unlocked.

That is the origin of the dispute that was eventually laid to rest 33 years later by the Supreme Court judgment of 9 September 2019.

The background to the opening of the locks has been explained in detail by Deoki Nandan Agarwal of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. He says that Chief Minister Veer Bahadur Singh visited Ayodhya on 19 December 1985.

A VHP delegation led by retired Justice Shiv Nath Katju met the CM to argue that the locks on the gates of the inner courtyard had not been put under the orders of any court or magistrate.

This 'interfered with the free exercise of the Constitutional rights to worship Bhagwan Sri Rama'.

While the chief minister 'quietly listened' to the delegation, he appears to have ordered 'a close search of the records.'

When the matter was thereafter agitated before the district sessions judge of Faizabad on 1 February 1986, the district magistrate 'candidly admitted' that 'there was no order of any court or magistrate for locking of the premises'.

Then, the DM and senior superintendent of police affirmed respectively that 'the locks were not necessary for preserving the public peace' and that 'law and order' at Sri Ram Janmabhoomi could be maintained 'whether the locks were there or not'.

At which the district sessions judge allowed the appeal and ordered the removal of the locks.

The locks were dismantled within a few minutes of the order being given, and a storm of Hindu worshippers surged in.

Of course, since it was in power, the Congress was responsible for the unlocking of the gates. But who in the Congress? The Congress chief minister of UP, or the Congress president and prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi?

IMAGE: Rajiv Gandhi at an election meeting, May 4, 1991. Photograph: Reuters

Stray remarks to me by the PM indicated he had nothing to do with this tragic farce and was deeply disturbed.

Another PMO officer, Wajahat Habibullah, handled minority affairs; I was neither asked nor consulted by the PM on the matter.

Wajahat Habibullah writes in his memoirs that he 'put to PM the question of the unlocking of the gates'.

Rajiv Gandhi answered, 'I knew nothing of this development until I was told of this after the orders had been passed and executed.'

He regretted that 'he had not been informed of this action' but suspected it was MoS for home affairs, Arun Nehru, and his political secretary, Makhan Lal Fotedar, who were responsible.

He added that he was 'having this verified. If it [is] true, I will have to consider action.'

The political problem he faced in taking action against Arun Nehru was well illustrated by a profile of Arun Nehru in India Today of 31 October 1985, on the occasion of Arun Nehru's elevation as the junior minister in charge of internal security.

Describing Arun Nehru as the 'fastest rising star in the firmament of Rajiv Gandhi's government', the authors heaped cliche after cliche upon him, describing Nehru as being 'in his element' where he 'exudes a sense of power', with a voice that 'will be heard loud and clear'; as 'the fulcrum on which many key central policies will now turn' and 'will undoubtedly leave his impress on the way the Rajiv administration consolidates its base'.

Yet, in October 1986, just a year after India Today's fawning encomium, Arun Nehru was dropped from the council of ministers.

The internal party enquiry RG had ordered as Congress president revealed that while Arun Nehru was behind the conspiracy to open the gates at Ayodhya, Fotedar was not.

So, Arun Nehru was dropped but not Fotedar.

Thus did Rajiv approach this matter with the utmost rectitude: Punishing the one and sparing the other, although much the easier path would have been to spare the politically powerful Arun Nehru and punish the party apparatchik, M L Fotedar.

The question remains: Could Arun Nehru have acted so decisively in such a manner without informing the prime minister?

Of course, such impudence would have been out of the question in the normal course, but as the same issue of India Today wrote, there was an 'awed realization' within the party of Arun Nehru's clout which was 'in evidence when the party legislators in UP unanimously chose Veer Bahadur Singh, his nominee, as the new chief minister'.

The evidence on record appears to indicate that the hitherto obscure Veer Bahadur Singh had been chosen to fulfil Arun Nehru's ulterior aim of getting the locks opened to consolidate the party's base by pandering to Hindu sentiment.

IMAGE: Then President Giani Zail Singh, left, with then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi at Delhi airport, February 3, 1987. Photograph: Richard Ellis/Reuters

Rajiv Gandhi was not consulted because he would never have agreed to such an unprincipled step.

So, the 'formidable cousin' decided to present the prime minister with a fait accompli, unmindful (or, perhaps, conscious) that this would stir the cauldron of communalism.

And another question: Could the prime minister have restored the locks after they had been unlocked by judicial order?

Only the courts could have reversed the district judge's order on an issue that would undoubtedly have gone to the Supreme Court, taking years and years along the way while religious tension simmered.

Besides, the Faizabad session court's judgment had already been challenged in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court by a Sunni Muslim, Mohammed Hashim, and this was followed by the Sunni Waqf Board filing its own petition and the state government of UP also intervening.

Any attempt at reversing the session court's order by executive fiat would have only added fuel to the fire.

Therefore, RG set about trying to see whether a political settlement was possible.

To this end, he deputed Home Minister Buta Singh to visit the town in August-September 1989 to explore the possibility of a site in the immediate vicinity of the mosque where a Ram temple could be built without demolishing the masjid.

Buta Singh succeeded, in concert with the disputants, in identifying a possible location for the Ram temple but either did not know or deliberately suppressed the fact that part of this site lay within the disputed area.

When my former IFS colleague, then a distinguished MP, Syed Shahabuddin, approached me to allege that the home minister was misleading the PM, I told him I could do nothing as PMO work was compartmentalised but recommended that as an MP he was entitled to seek an appointment with the PM to explain matters directly to him.

I do not know whether Shahabuddin took my advice, but the country was soon caught in the flurry of general elections, in which the foundation-stone-laying ceremony of the temple, the shilanyas, became the single most important cause for Rajiv Gandhi's defeat.

Through most of the year following his defeat, Rajiv Gandhi was preoccupied with finding an answer to this temple/masjid crisis.

He closeted himself with a well-chosen cabal of advisers to work out an alternative plan for dealing with the crisis.

I was not part of the cabal and only came in when it was time to draft RG's recommendation to the then PM, Chandra Shekhar.

Siddhartha Shankar Ray, the statesman-jurist, was in the forefront of making the argument that the crux of the issue lay in determining whether Babar's general, Mir Baqi, had in fact destroyed an extant Ram temple to erect the Babri Masjid or whether he had only built the mosque on unused land that was now being claimed as the birthplace of Lord Ram.

He suggested that it be left to the Supreme Court to pronounce its view on this limited but telling question after hearing the historical and archaeological evidence from respected experts.

Ray argued that there were two ways of securing a definitive Supreme Court view on the 'key question': Either by a judgment under Article 142 or by an advisory opinion under Article 143 of the Constitution.

Under Article 142, the Supreme Court view would be expressed as an order that 'shall be enforceable throughout the territory of India'.

If raised before the Supreme Court as a presidential reference under Article 143, the court's finding would be a non-binding 'opinion' expressed to the president.

Ray preferred raising the issue in the Supreme Court under Article 142 as that would result in a 'binding' order.

Another alternative was to request the Supreme Court to convoke a commission of inquiry under Section 3 of the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952, comprising five sitting judges of the Supreme Court, selected by the chief justice of India, to determine the question of fact as to whether, at the site of the dispute, a Ram mandir was in fact destroyed to build a masjid in its place.

If it was held that such a commission could not be established owing to the same question pending before the Allahabad high court, an ordinance or law might be passed under Article 138 enlarging the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

In any case, the saffron argument was that Lord Ram's birthplace was not a matter of 'fact' but of 'faith' (aasthaa).

Some of these alternatives were put to PM Chandra Shekhar by Rajiv Gandhi in writing and others conveyed orally.

Chandra Shekhar finally decided on Article 143, a non-binding opinion on a presidential reference. That could not, by definition, have definitively ended the matter.

This caused RG considerable annoyance and contributed to his withdrawing support to the Chandra Shekhar government.

Had RG lived to become prime minister in the election that followed, I believe he would have followed the Article 142 route. But fate decided otherwise.

Excerpted from The Rajiv I Knew, by Mani Shankar Aiyar, with the permission of the publishers, Juggernaut Books

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
Beautiful music and free-form dancing are found at Inner Heat Yoga on Putney Road in Brattleboro at noon, every second, fourth and fifth Sunday of the year, at Brattleboro Conscious Dance.
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Considerable cloudiness. High 44F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. A few flurries are possible. Low near 30F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Photograph provided by the Press Office of the Miraflores Palace, which shows President Nicolas Maduro during the initiation of the 2024-2025 legislative period, in Caracas, Venezuela. Prensa Miraflores (EFE/Prensa Miraflores)

The Law on Control, Regularization, Operations and Financing of Non-Governmental and Related Organisation  a feared initiative that could undermine the performance of civil associations in Venezuela  has entered a second phase of discussion in the National Assembly. This legislative body has been controlled by the ruling Chavismo since 2020, following an election in which the Venezuelan opposition didnt participate. At least 400 national and international organizations have criticized the law in a joint statement.

At the start of 2024, Jorge Rodriguez  president of the National Assembly  tabled the order of priorities. He asked the deputies to begin the process of public consultations to enrich the bill, which was presented by Chavista strongman Diosdado Cabello in 2023. It was already approved during the first reading.

The law could come into force this year, by the time the elections are set to be held. Its the duty of the National Assembly to consult with all the people of Venezuela and the organizations that are involved in the scope of this law, in order to have a fruitful second discussion, Rodriguez stated during a debate session.

Since the time of Hugo Chavez  who governed from 1999 until his death in 2013  the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) has been publicly debating various legal instruments that could limit or bankrupt Venezuelan NGOs, particularly those that question the performance of the government. Consulted experts warn that the law regarding the supervision of NGOs being discussed in the National Assembly goes much further in terms of controls and regulations than the previous initiatives introduced by PSUV Deputy Eva Golinger more than a decade ago.

With extensive volunteerism, the universe of civil associations and NGOs still has force in the social fabric of Venezuela. NGOs have closely monitored the violations and excesses of the ruling party in matters such as human rights, administrative transparency, corruption, environmental management, freedom of expression, or information on societal violence.

The harsh struggle with the opposition has postponed attempts by the government to exercise control over civil society. According to official propaganda, NGOs are instruments of imperialism, which use the loopholes in the Constitution to conspire against the Bolivarian revolution.

This past week, parliamentarians began consultations on the bill, by listening to the observations of the activists involved. In the world of civil activism, theres a lot of concern. In the sessions, references were made to some of the organizations that most strongly criticize the government  Sumate, Provea, Futuro Presente and Lidera  which were presented as being linked to the opposition parties Primero Justicia (Justice First) and Voluntad Popular (Popular Will).

For Feliciano Reyna  director of Alianza Solidaria  the bill being discussed in the legislature is so radical that it would make the existence of NGOs effectively impossible. This circumstance, he explains, would aggravate the ability to provide humanitarian assistance.

The existing [legislative] project raises unviable issues, he emphasizes. Its not possible to make partial improvements. It seriously violates freedom of association. Youre granted an existence in essence, not in law. New procedures of complex compliance are being proposed to already over-regulated organizations. They want to regionalize the work, with the aim of preventing it from being done from the capital (Caracas). A court ruling could order the dissolution of any organization.

In general terms, for the past several years, the PSUV government has been trying  slowly but steadily  to reprogram the system of legal relations between society and the state, while colonizing civil activism and placing new actors in this space, who are loyal to the regime and its interests.

Empowered by the Constitution, the National Electoral Council (CNE)  theoretically an independent body created to promote democracy and oversee elections, but which is essentially government-controlled  is authorized to assist and guide the holding of elections among unions and other professional groups. By abusing this clause, consultations are advanced or delayed to absurd extremes.

The Central University of Venezuela spent almost 20 years without organizing elections for a new rector. Law associations have gone several decades without organizing internal consultations, [along with] the majority of professional circles in the country, observes jurist Gustavo Linares Benzo, from the Andres Bello Catholic University. The decision by the [Supreme Tribunal of Justice] in 2002 to appoint the rectors of the CNE at the convenience of the Chavista movement is the most serious precedent. Subsequently, almost all political parties have been compelled by the Supreme Courts Electoral Chamber to appoint alternative directors.

Linares Benzo points out that the architecture of the current Constitution makes it possible for the Electoral Chamber to overlap with the functions of the CNE  which involves itself in civil associations  by handing down rulings in favor of the interests of the Chavista state. This has occurred with the Bar Association of the State of Carabobo, the Red Cross, the Chamber of Commerce of the State of Valencia, the Motorcycle Federation, the Venezuelan Surf Federation and, more recently, even with the Communist Party of Venezuela

From 2014 onwards, the courts  controlled by Maduros government  have intervened in the internal processes of political parties (especially opposition ones). This has happened with opposition parties such as Democratic Action, Popular Will, Justice First, COPEI and Vente Venezuela. Similar interventions have been levied against former allies of the government who have distanced themselves from Maduro, such as Patria Para Todos (A country for everyone) and, more recently, the Communist Party of Venezuela.

The violation of the autonomy of unions [by impeding] public consultations is a process that has been in development for a long time, comments Carlos Correa, from Espacio Publico, a human rights NGO. This law effectively eliminates the existence of non-governmental organizations  the bureaucracy of the Venezuelan state unloads all of its weight on them. However, at a time when political negotiations are necessary, Correa isnt so sure how determined the ruling party is to go all the way with such a legal instrument, which would effectively see Venezuela take a step closer towards the model of the Nicaraguan dictatorship.

The internal composition of [the PSUVs] tendencies is different from the reality of Nicaragua, Correa admits. [This legislative] initiative creates pressure, its an instrument [thats being used] to negotiate [with the opposition]. But whatever happens, the Chavistas arent going to give up on having a monopoly [over the NGO sector].

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ARLINGTON  The mother of a 5-year-old girl bitten by a German shepherd/pit bull mix on July 22, 2023 wonders why the dog has not yet been euthanized, despite a Select Board order for it in August.

The incident happened when Nicole Morse and her daughter were standing in a driveway visiting a mutual friend along with Brenna Hurley, who had the dog on a leash. Hurley is the daughter of the dogs owner, Melody Rogers.

The incident occurred on East Arlington Road and all involved live on this road.

The girl had the dog on a leash and we were standing in the mutual friend's driveway, and my daughter had reached her hand on the dog and the dog was fine, Morse said. I was only about three steps away from where the dog and this girl were standing, and my daughter turned towards me and within seconds the dog grabbed her by her hair and yanked her to the ground and just went after her.

The girl had to yank the dog off of her, and she yanked on the dog so hard that it knocked her backwards and she fell on the ground, Morse said.

When the dog got her it got her in the face, she said. It went after her throat but it got her down by the bottom of her cheek on (the) jawline and ripped her face open. We ended up with eight stitches in her face.

Doctors told her to give the healing process about six months to determine whether the child will need plastic surgery.

Morse reported the incident to the Vermont State Police and provided the town with the police report, medical records and photographs.

After an Aug. 7 hearing on the matter, the Select Board signed and issued an order that the dog be destroyed within 30 days. Failure to comply subjects the owner to penalties under Vermont law. By the same statute, the owner had 30 days from receipt of the order to file an appeal with the Civil Division of Superior Court.

Contacted Wednesday, Arlington Town Administrator Nick Zaiac said the matter is in the courts and the towns attorney is working on it.

Morse said her daughter is afraid to play in her yard because of the proximity of the dog across the street and has developed a fear of dogs in general.

The order recounts Rogers testimony at the dog hearing. She admits she was not present at the attack but maintained  based on her daughters recounting of the incident  that the dog, named Elle, was just trying to grab a stick the girl was holding and did not mean to attack the child.

Ms. Rogers confirmed that she is unable to fence in her yard, but asserts that the dog is either on a leash or accompanied by one of its owners at all times, the order states. She acknowledges that the dog is reactive and has bitten a person in the past.

Two children live with the dog, and she has never hurt either of them. Rogers agreed the dog is protective of her family and should not be around children other than the two who live with the dog, according to the order. She said she would be willing to pay medical costs incurred resulting from the attack.

The dog was overdue for licensing but was vaccinated at the time of the attack.

Arlington Animal Control Officer Robyn Champine said she was notified of the incident by a state trooper and a complete report was sent to the town.

The dog had attacked another womans dog, and has been seen running loose in the vicinity of Shires Housing, the order states. Officer Champine characterized the bite as bad and expressed concern that children reside with the dog.

After a deliberative session, the Select Board voted that the dog be put down in a humane way to prevent any danger to the public. The owner was given approval to use her own veterinarian to perform the task.

Morse periodically checks in with Zaiac to check on the status of the matter.

I just dont understand why it's taking this long when they've given her every ample opportunity to put this dog down, she said. And that was the only request she had was that when she puts the dog down, she gets to do it with her vet and she gets to be there.
Kan Xiaoyong, his wife and 4 members are jailed. The unofficial church had gained a wide following.

A court in Dalian, China, has found a pastor and five church members guilty of "using superstition to undermine the law. (X/RFA Chinese)

A court in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian has jailed a prominent online Protestant pastor for 14 years after finding him and five church members guilty of "using superstition to undermine the law," Radio Free Asia has learned.

Dalian's Ganjingzi District People's Court found Kan Xiaoyong, his wife Wang Fengying and church members Chu Xinyu, Zhao Qianjiao, Zhang Songai and Liang Dongzhi guilty of the charge on Jan. 12, a person familiar with the case who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals told RFA Mandarin.

Kan, who is in his 60s, was jailed for 14 years after a deal was struck between prosecution and defense, while Wang was sent to prison for four years, the source said.

"When he was arrested, they thought he would get more than 20 years in prison," they said. "But after strong resistance from his lawyers, the authorities compromised and lowered the sentence appropriately."

"[The prosecution] started out asking for the wife to get 15-18 years, but she wound up getting four," the person said. "They actually all got sentences below the minimum."

Church members and volunteer workers Chu Xinyu, Zhao Qianjiao, Zhang Songai, and Liang Dongzhi received prison terms ranging from three to 10 years, they said.

"It may seem that the defense was a success, but actually none of them is guilty," they said.

Kan came to the attention of the authorities after he and Wang went to live in Dalian from their home city of Wuhan in 2018, setting up an online preaching platform called the Home Discipleship Network.

They were initially arrested by Dalian police along with the four other church members in October 2021.

Unofficial church, huge influence

The source said Kan's activities are seen as a threat by the ruling Chinese Communist Party because his church is unofficial, yet his sermons garnered large numbers of followers among Chinese Christians.

"Firstly, it's a house church [not registered with the government], and secondly, this pastor's online sermons had a huge influence on people, and he has a very good reputation," the person said. "That's why they had to crack down on him."

He said online preachers are highly likely to be accused of running "cults" or peddling "superstition."

Both Kan and Wang told the court that they were tortured by police in Dalian, who wanted them to "confess" to the charges against them.

"During interrogation, a police officer took off their leather shoe and hit Xiaoyong on the head with it, and punched him," the source said. "They made Wang Fengying kneel on the ground and kicked her in the thighs."

"Everyone was tortured for two or three hours, and this was stated orally by the parties involved in court," they said. "There was no official refutation of their account as rumor."

Forced to fragment

Xu Yonghai, an elder of a house church in Beijing, said many of the more popular Protestant churches have been forced to fragment in recent years under pressure from the authorities.

"A lot of churches can only meet if they divide themselves into dozens of small groups," Xu said. "Underground gatherings are now just family gatherings."

"We are now back to the 1980s and early 1990s," he said.

The Chinese government under Communist Party leader Xi Jinping regards Christianity as a dangerous foreign import, with party documents warning against the "infiltration of Western hostile forces" in the form of religion.

The party, which embraces atheism, exercises tight controls over any form of religious practice among its citizens.

Churches are allowed to function if they are part of the government-backed Three-Self Patriotic Association. The three selfs refer to self-governance, self-support and self-propagation  essentially rejecting any foreign influence  and the patriotic refers to loyalty to the Chinese government.

State security police and religious affairs bureau officials frequently raid unofficial "house churches," although member churches have also been targeted at times.

China is home to an estimated 68 million Protestants, of whom 23 million worship in state-affiliated Three-Self churches, and some 9 million Catholics, the majority of whom are in state-sponsored organizations.

The authorities last year rolled out a database of approved religious leaders in a nationwide clampdown on who gets to practice religion, and how.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
The two Peoples Liberation Army corvettes were the first foreign vessels to dock at the newly developed base.



The new pier at Ream Naval Base on Jan. 13, 2024 (left) with two vessels and on Jan. 15 without any vessel. (RFA via Planet Labs)





Two Chinese warships leading a training program for the Cambodian Navy since early December have left the Ream naval base, satellite imagery shows.

Images captured on Jan. 15 and provided by the U.S. earth imaging company Planet Labs show an empty berth at the new pier, where the two Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) corvettes were docked for several weeks.

The ships were still seen as of Jan. 13, 2024.

It is unclear whether the ships have now left Cambodian waters and where they are heading. There has been no coverage in Cambodia's media.

Radio Free Asia reported on Dec. 5, 2023 about the arrival of the PLA vessels  the first foreign warships to gain access to the new China-funded facility with a deep-draft pier that can accommodate aircraft carriers.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said at that time that Washington had serious concerns about Chinas plans for exclusive control over portions of Ream Naval Base, and was watching closely.

The Chinese ships provided on-ship and in-port training to Cambodian navy staff, according to the Ream naval bases social media.

They may have also taken part in confidence-building activities with the local navy and population, according to Carl Schuster, a retired U.S. Navy captain and former director of operations at the U.S. Pacific Commands Joint Intelligence Center.

All port visits have a political element, Schuster told RFA, Allowing ship tours to visitors from the town, working with local naval forces and meeting with local officials often are more important than the training activities.

People-to People Exchange Year

The ships departure took place as Cambodia and China officially launched a new campaign to boost bilateral ties and tourism called The 2024 Cambodia-China People-to-People Exchange Year.

Chinese and Cambodian media reported that a launching ceremony was held last Saturday in Siem Reap. Former Defense Minister Tea Banh, now a member of the Supreme Privy Council to King Sihamoni, and Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Partys Central Committee, presided over the event.

Tea Banh said that the campaign will inject fresh momentum into building a high-quality, high-level and high-standard Cambodia-China community with a shared future in the new era, according to Xinhua news agency.

Cambodian dancers at the launch ceremony of the 2024 Cambodia-China People-to-People Exchange Year on Jan. 13, 2024. (Tea Banhs Facebook)





Cambodia received 2.36 million Chinese tourists in 2019, accounting for 35.7% of total international tourist arrivals.

China and Cambodia have seen a rapid development of their relationship, with Beijing providing Phnom Penh with much needed financial assistance.

Siem Reap is where a new Chinese-financed airport began operations in October.

The airport has a capacity of 7 million passengers a year and serves as a gateway to Cambodias most important tourist destination  the Angkor Temple complex.

The Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport was funded by a Chinese company under Beijings Belt and Road Initiative development plan.

Another big airport near the capital Phnom Penh is also being financed and developed by China.

More than 40% of Cambodias US$10 billion in foreign debt is owed to China, according to the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance.

For its part, Phnom Penh has become one of Beijings vocal supporters. After the weekends elections in Taiwan, Cambodia immediately reaffirmed its strong support for the One-China policy.

In light of the recent developments in Taiwan, the Ministry reiterates Cambodias resolute adherence to the One China policy, recognising the Peoples Republic of China as the sole legitimate authority representing the entirety of China, Foreign ministrys spokesman An Sokhoeun was quoted as saying by local media.

Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.
Ethnic-minority armies couched their campaign as an effort to rid the region of criminal organizations that had frustrated China.

When the Three Brotherhood Alliance of rebel groups in Myanmar started a campaign against junta forces in the northern part of the country they chose a slogan designed to win support from a fourth potential ally: China.

Wipe out the scammers, rescue our compatriots, the group declared in the message.

China, which shares a border with Kokang, a region in Shan state in northern Myanmar, had expressed increasing frustration with organized crime rings that had been allowed to operate in the area by junta-aligned forces. An estimated 120,000 people are being held in Myanmar against their will. Chinese nationals have both been trafficked by these groups and fleeced by them.

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army  which along with the Ta'ang National Liberation Army and the Arakan Army make up the Alliance  had tried and failed twice before to retake the region. This time, however, Kokangs capital of Laukkai fell into rebel hands on Jan. 4.

Since then, China has played a clear role in mediating a truce between the two sides. But the initial success of the rebel campaign has led analysts to speculate that it had, in fact, received Chinese backing.

Chinas leaders may have sought to kill "two birds with one stone, according to Deng Yuwen, a political commentator and former journalist  strengthening Chinas position in the region while removing the destabilizing threat presented by the scam compounds.

"The Chinese government can use the scamming operations as a way to secretly support local forces  and control the area that way," Deng said.

"They solve the scamming problem and cultivate bold agents of the Chinese state at the same time," he said, meaning China believes the new leaders of Kokang will better reflect its interests.

Chinese police arrest Chinese nationals allegedly involved in online scamming operations in Myanmar, Dec. 10, 2023. (Kokang officials)

A king and a coup

Kokang has long been in Chinas orbit, and many of its residents are ethnically Chinese. In the mid-20th century, Kokang served as a base for Myanmar communists.

With the collapse of the Communist Party of Burma in 1989, local warlord Peng Jiasheng  whose nickname was "the king of Kokang  switched his allegiance to the junta. The military granted the region autonomy and allowed Peng to keep his military presence in the area, though China remained an important patron.

In 2009, Peng was ousted in a coup led by his second-in-command, Bai Suocheng, who consolidated his family's control over the state. Bai allowed government troops to be stationed in Kokang for the first time while residents were granted Myanmar nationality.

Bai offered sanctuary to criminal groups in return for huge payouts that also benefited the junta. Eventually, massive, organized scam operations began to thrive in Kokang.

China pushes back

Last year, the Chinese government appeared fed up. In August, it took part in a joint operation with Myanmar and Thailand targeting the scam centers.

Over the intervening months, more than 40,000 Chinese nationals were arrested in Shan state for involvement with online scams, according to data collected by RFA.

A number of powerful Kokang business people were arrested at a trade fair in China in October, and in November, Beijing issued arrest warrants for a well-connected Kokang politician and three family members on allegations of masterminding an online scam ring.

Chinas Ministry of Public Security issued arrest warrants for 10 people, including the former chairman of the Kokang self-administered region, Bai Suocheng [top row, first left], his son Bai Yingcang [top row, second left] and his daughter Bai Yinglan [top row, third left]. (The Kokang)

On Dec. 10, China's Ministry of Public Security put out another wanted list, naming 10 individuals in connection with the scams, including Bai Suocheng, his grown children and a few junta officials.

The move not only showed Beijings growing impatience with Myanmar's handling of the scam rings, but signaled that China favored leaders in Kokang more closely aligned with its national interests.

The princes plans

After he had been dethroned as the king of Kokang, Peng Jiasheng resurfaced as the leader of the MNDAA, fighting Myanmar forces on occasion without significant success.

When he died in 2022, his son, Peng Denren, took over and immediately made plans to reclaim control of his fathers lost territory. The Alliance launched Operation 1027  so-called for the on Oct. 27, 2023, date  offensive against Myanmar military strongholds in northern Myanmar.

Even though the Alliance remained outnumbered by government troops, the rebel forces scored several significant victories early on. Its soldiers have since seized more than 300 military bases, around a dozen towns, and won control of several key trade routes with the neighboring Chinese province of Yunnan.

Members of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army walk past a Myanmar military base after seizing it during clashes near Laukkaing township in Myanmars northern Shan state, Oct. 28, 2023. (Kokang Information Network/AFP)

Suspicion over foreign experts

Myanmar's junta chief in November claimed that the ethnic-minority armed groups were getting outside assistance, according to a report by Agence France-Presse.

He said the rebels had been using "drones with advanced technology" to attack junta positions and were aided by "foreign drone experts," although he didnt specify which country they came from.

Li Jiawen, a spokesman for the MNDAA, denied the offensive was aided by the Chinese. "The situation we have today is the result of nearly 70 years of tyranny by the junta," Li said.

Even Chinas tacit approval of the operation is important, Yun Sun, the director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, said in an interview with RFA.

The biggest support that China has lended to this organization is to not stop them, she said.

Rebel forces were able to retreat over the border to avoid junta artillery barrages. China allowed the flow of money and goods in Shan state that helped to sustain the rebels to continue, Sun said.

And there was likely a psychological effect: The morale of junta forces would have suffered when they realized the difficulty of sustaining control of the area without Chinas approval.

The fact that China did not stop them carries a lot of currency, she said. It sends a message  that China is not completely happy with the junta at this time.

China mediates

Beijing has indicated that its chief priority in Myanmar is stability, which has meant supporting the junta in the broader struggle for control of the country.

China's position is very clear, ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a late December press conference. China will not support any party in provoking trouble. A ceasefire and negotiation are in the interests of all relevant parties in Myanmar and will also help maintain peace on the China-Myanmar border.

After a stray missile landed in a Chinese border town in Yunnan  injuring three Chinese citizens and prompting a strong rebuke from Beijing  China's vice foreign minister, Sun Weidong, flew to Myanmar on Jan. 4. He met with junta leader Min Aung Hlaing and held talks with his Myanmar counterpart, Lun Wu, about the situation in northern Myanmar.

Ta'ang National Liberation Army fighters prepare to launch a drone during an attack on the Myanmar militarys camp in Namhsan township in Myanmar's northern Shan State, Dec. 12, 2023. (AFP)

On the day of Sun's arrival, the junta announced it would transfer control of the Kokang Autonomous Region headquarters to the MNDAA.

The months-long struggle for Laukkai had come to an end.

The formal cessation of hostilities began two days ago, MNDAAs Li Jiawen told RFA on Jan. 6. You could still hear some artillery sounds on Jan. 5, but as of today, the artillery has stopped.

Videos provided by sources close to the MNDAA show Myanmar military personnel, with the Myanmar flag on their chests, handing over weapons and ammunition to the MNDAA before lining up for withdrawal. Kokang chairman and junta Brig. Gen. Tun Tun Myint engaged in what appeared to be friendly conversations with his recent enemies.

The analyst Deng Yuwen said the scene might be an example of junta realpolitik: concede a hard-to-defend territory and appease a powerful neighbor in the process.

This place still needs to develop its economy before it can finally be safe, Deng said. If the economy doesn't grow, other issues will arise over time ... which China doesn't want to see.

Scam crackdown

The MNDAA emphasizes the restoration of law and order in laying out its plans for Laukkai. Li Jiawen said that efforts to crack down on scam operations are ongoing, while most members of the Bai family and their associates have fled to Myanmar's capital.

Telecommunications fraud in Laukkai has been largely eliminated, with only a small number of remnants, Li said. We will continue to investigate and completely root out telecommunications fraud.

Smoke spreads following a missile strike in Nansan, Yunnan province, China, Image released Jan. 3, 2024. (Image from video obtained by Reuters)

He also expressed gratitude to China: This has definitely been fruitful, and China's mediation and involvement will continue in our negotiations with the Myanmar military. I believe that, under the vigorous mediation of the Chinese government, we will have a favorable outcome to those, too.

The junta military meanwhile seems intent on getting back on Chinas good side.

After Taiwanese voters backed a political party that supports an independent Taiwan in the recent presidential race, the junta issued a statement declaring its commitment to a one China policy.

Myanmars military rulers oppose any separatist activities aimed at Taiwan independence and foreign interference in the internal affairs of other states, the junta said in the statement.

Additional reporting by RFA Burmese. Translated by Luisetta Mudie and edited by Jim Snyder and Abby Seiff.
Everyone liked Goofy. He never hurt anyone. It was unclear who his father was  his alcoholic mother left him alone at home for weeks on end. He became a petty thief who stole shirts from clotheslines, a gas cylinder from a clueless housewife, or a soft drink from the corner store, which he hid in his pants. One day, however, he robbed the wrong person in El Arbolito, a neighborhood in Duran, the municipality with the highest homicide rate in Ecuador.

The gang leader in the area  nicknamed Bob Marley  ordered that Goofys right hand be cut off with a machete, at the wrist. Goofy now begs for money from drivers who stop at the traffic lights on a long avenue that leads to Guayaquil, the second-largest city in the country. He shows them his stump through the window.

Bob Marley was arrested in 2020, accused of being behind a wave of murders in El Arbolito. The place is a strategic area for drug trafficking: the river that borders it leads to the sea, where boats set sail to the rest of the world. 60% of global cocaine trafficking passes through here. Criminals in this area have stopped moving by car  they now use motor boats. Ecuadorian gangs  in collaboration with Mexican cartels  have turned El Arbolito into the Amazon of drug exports. The cashflow has made their power grow spectacularly in just three years. The gangs now control prisons, ports, customs and taxi fleets, as well as fruit and fish markets. Theyve managed to infiltrate the police and the army. They have judges and prosecutors on their payroll. Their tentacles have even reached politics, where they have adept mayors and governors doing their bidding. Criminal gangs  almost overnight  threaten to control all the states resources.

The last few governments helplessly assisted the expansion of drug-trafficking. Nothing has been able to stop it. The new president  Daniel Noboa  is the 36-year-old son of the richest man in the country. With barely two months in office, hes declared war on the gangs with an executive order. 22 of these gangs have been classified as terrorist organizations, which has given the army the possibility of confronting them directly. Beyond this, however, Noboa hasnt shown great leadership  his speeches can be counted on one hand. Nobody understands precisely what plan he has in mind to face the greatest security crisis in the history of his country.

Two soldiers arrest a man who has broken curfew in the Flor de Bastion neighborhood of Guayaquil. Santiago Arcos

At the moment, the military patrols the streets. Tonight, soldiers  armed to the teeth  have entered La Peca, a neighborhood of low concrete houses criss-crossed with power lines. The moonlight illuminates everything like a lamp. We know that there are criminal groups in this sector, says Captain Carlos Riofrio. His men hold their long weapons and click their boots against the asphalt. In their wake, the few who have violated the curfew  which begins at 11 p.m.  take shelter in their homes. They lock the doors and bar the windows. A few peek through the curtains, but they hide as soon as they feel that theyre being watched. With their faces hidden behind balaclavas, the soldiers plunge into the night.

There, there! the captain shouts, pointing to a side street.

Four shadows run into the darkness.

The soldiers jump out of the truck and chase them through the neighborhood. Screams and gasps begin to be heard. One of the boys stops running, takes off his shoes and stands against the wall, arms raised. A Heckler & Koch assault rifle is pointed at his chest. His face shows a grimace of terror. Up ahead, a soldier has knocked another person down on the sidewalk, placing his boot on the back of his head and aiming the gun downwards. A third runner throws himself to the ground and surrenders. The last one  fearing death  also gives up.

The soldiers check their arms, backs and chests for tattoos. They want to find drawings of machetes and wolves proof that they belong to the main gangs, Los Choneros and Los Lobos. The boys have nothing on them  no drugs, no weapons, just a few trinkets theyve rescued from the trash. Even so, the soldiers place them in patrol cars to check if they have criminal records.

These days, videos of abuses by the authorities have been leaked. In one, they put three boys in a hole and pepper spray them, without letting them come out. Its one of the tests that soldiers must pass during their military training. One of the concerns of security experts is that the presidents broad approach may lead to human rights violations, as happened in Mexico when Felipe Calderon took the military out of the barracks in 2006, or, more recently, in the case of El Salvador.

We must annihilate the enemy, a soldier shrugs, as he continues the search for gang members tonight.

Two very thin boys  both wearing caps  are hiding between some cars. You can see them with the naked eye you dont have to be very clever to spot them. The soldiers subdue them in an instant, throwing them up against the hood of the patrol car and searching them. Theyre also not carrying anything of importance. A neighbor  upon observing the scene  dares to step out of his house and shouts at the boys: You two wouldnt even make it as criminals!

The resident says that the two youngsters are addicted to drugs. Hes fed up with them, because they wander around the neighborhood to see what they can get. The soldiers let them go and they walk away while pulling up their pants, looking like theyve crossed paths with the devil. In the following hours, the military convoy will come across prostitutes, beggars, people suffering from mental illnesses, drunks and idlers who arent afraid of death. Nobody will be getting a medal for this.

This past week, the government announced that  as it tries to regain control of the nation  the authorities have arrested 1,105 people, dismantled 28 terrorist cells, freed 56 kidnapped people and detained 27 escaped prisoners. Two police officers and five alleged criminals have died along the way, according to the official data.

A power forged in prisons

The power of the gangs  although it sounds counterintuitive  was forged in the prisons. President Rafael Correa (2007-2017) toughened the penal code and multiplied the prison population by four, from 10,000 to 40,000 inmates. His administration drastically reduced homicides. Ecuador was a security bubble in the middle of two countries as violent as Peru and Colombia. However, under the radar, the expansion of the gangs  and their recruitment in prisons  was incubated. Young men  sentenced to prison for dealing drugs or abusing women  had to join gangs as a means of survival. Not doing so meant putting a noose around your neck.

At first, Los Choneros dominated, as they had a charismatic leader: Jorge Luis Zambrano, alias Rasquina. Various criminal groups, such as the Chone Killers, the Tiguerones  former jailers who went into the underworld  Los Lobos and Los Lagartos answered to Rasquina, until he was murdered in December of 2020. This event marked a before and after.

The gangs subsequently broke up and began to fight each other for supremacy. Prison riots took place. In 2021, in a prison in Guayaquil, more than 100 prisoners were murdered with knives and machetes. Those who won beheaded the losers and threw their heads into the toilets. One of them had his chest opened, his heart taken out and bitten while it was still beating. The guards  complicit because of bribery, or simply inept  watched the massacre without being able to do anything.

Two police officers search for weapons and drugs during the curfew imposed in Ecuador in the Flor de Bastion neighborhood of Guayaquil. Santiago Arcos

The day of the riot  when madness reigned  a boy from a non-marginal background tried to make himself invisible, so that nobody would notice his presence. He had been imprisoned months before for illicit association  a fabricated crime, which was used to remove him from his role as one of the student leaders in the protests against Guillermo Lasso. The former president let crime grow like an ivy during his two-and-a-half years in office (2021-2023). Carlos (a pseudonym) entered the Guayaquil prison in the dark, without knowing what he was going to find. His mother  a lawyer  was working to free him. On the first day, he was told that he had to pay $80 a week for protection and access to a bed and food. If he didnt do it, he would end up in El Hoyo, the punishment cell, where the poor, the crippled and the homeless are crowded together without a bathroom.

Carlos paid but those who dont have the funds end up enslaved by the leaders of the pavilions. They wash clothes, clean rooms, cook and serve as sexual objects. Only the poorest boys who kill without regard  those who become hitmen  are saved from such a fate. The prisons are full of inmates whove served more than 60% of their sentence, which should grant them freedom. However, due to the corrupt bureaucratic system that surrounds the process, its very difficult to exit. 90% of those whove exceeded that time period dont manage to leave  they remain in limbo. They need to prove that they havent committed any other offense, pass a psychological report, prove that theyve attended academic or technical courses while incarcerated and present a document  signed before a notary  from a family member or friend, who assures the authorities that theyll provide a roof for them upon their release.

In practice, these workshops dont exist. Psychological tests have to be falsified, because none are administered. And, if the judges secretaries dont receive their bribes, they wont set a date for a release hearing. Practically everyone who sees the light of day gets it by extorting or bribing some official. Carlos  who is now free and wearing a suit  is dedicated to helping several prisoners overcome this process.

The government has recovered some of the most violent prisons in the country, such as those in Guayaquil. But this has happened in the past  the gangs have simply returned to rule over them again. The populations fear is that, after this period of turmoil, everything will return to normal that is, to the rule of the gangs. The cartels have become deeply-rooted in Ecuador, like they are in Mexico, where crime has become part of the landscape.

One of the soldiers  his face hidden behind a balaclava, his assault rifle raised  sums up their existence: Either we kill them, or they kill us. Theres no other option.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the 10th Session of the 14th Supreme Peoples Assembly of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, at the Mansudae Assembly Hall, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Jan. 15, 2024.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has pledged to amend the countrys constitution to declare South Korea as Pyongyangs primary and immutable enemy, a decision that could further escalate tensions on the Korean peninsula and beyond.

During a speech at the Supreme Peoples Assembly Monday, Kim articulated the need to revise the North Korean constitution, proposing the idea to include provisions for the occupation, subjugation, and annexation of South Korea into North Korea in the event of a conflict on the Korean peninsula.

I believe it is right to revise the relevant articles that we will intensify our education and enlightenment efforts to firmly regard the Republic of Korea as the primary and immutable enemy, Kim said, referring to South Koreas formal name, as cited by the Norths state-run daily Rodong Sinmun Tuesday.

Since we have defined the Republic of Korea as a completely separate and hostile nation, abandoning the established notion of it being a partner in reconciliation and reunification, its necessary to establish legal measures to precisely define the sovereign territory of our Republic, Kim said, referring to the North, adding that he no longer sees South Koreans as the same ethnic people.

Hours later, South Koreas President Yoon Suk Yeol dismissed Kims speech, saying that Seoul would punish the North if it continues provocations. In a cabinet meeting convened Tuesday, Yoon said that North Koreas threats are no longer effective, indicating his hardline stance against Pyongyangs intimidation.

The trade of barbs came as North Korea ramped up tensions on the Korean peninsula over the weekend, firing a hypersonic intermediate-range, solid fuelled, ballistic missile off its eastern coast Sunday.

Pyongyang had already announced that it had developed a new high-output solid fuel engine for its new IRBM in November. The Norths IRBM, including its Musudan missiles, can reach Guam, where United States strategic assets, including B-52 strategic bombers, are located.

North Korea has also been raising tensions in the Yellow Sea, with it firing some 200 artillery shells into waters off its western coast earlier this month at the inter-Korean de facto maritime border of the Northern Limit Line, or NLL. The area is near South Koreas Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong islands.

In the latest speech, Kim continued issuing threats in the Yellow Sea and thereby over the South Korea-controlled islands.

Since our nations southern border is clearly defined, we cannot accept any other boundaries, including the Northern Limit Line, as lawful, Kim said. If the Republic of Korea encroaches on our territory, airspace, or territorial waters by even 0.001 mm, it will be regarded as an act of war provocation.

The NLL was established by United Nations Command in 1953 following the Korean Armistice Agreement. North Korea initially did not dispute the decision, but nor did it officially recognize the border.

Since September 1999, North Korea has claimed a more southerly West Sea Military Demarcation Line, which Pyongyang claims is based on international law delimitation decisions, and thus the area has been a frequent flashpoint for naval skirmishes between the two Koreas.

On Nov. 23, 2010, for instance, the North shelled Yeonpyeong island, killing four South Korean nationals and injuring 19, while causing severe damage to the entire island.

Wang Son-taek, director of the Global Policy Center at Seoul-based Han Pyeong Peace Institute, saw Kims speech as an expression of dissatisfaction with Seouls North Korea policy.

It appears to be a violent and aggressive complaint about North Koreas South Korea policy not progressing as desired, Wang said. Specifically, North Korea wants South Korea to accept a reunification under the federal system where both governments exist under the banner of one nation but two systems, to not label North Korea as the main enemy, and to refrain from attempts of reunification by absorption.

Failing this, the speech seems to imply an intention to forcefully bring South Korea in line with North Koreas wishes, Wang added.

Paradoxically, the speech implies that if South Korea complies with these demands, dialogue and the possibility of restoring the fraternity in inter-Korean relations could still take place. This potential reconciliation, however, is being communicated in a notably harsh manner.

Last week, North Korea removed the concept of one people shared with South Korea from its media outlets, redefining South Korea as a separate entity instead of the same Koreans. This change in stance was followed by a complete shutdown of these media outlets shortly thereafter.

Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn.
The junta accused the Brotherhood Alliance of taking part in the attack days after a ceasefire agreement.

An ethnic armed group attempted to capture a city in northeastern Myanmar, residents in the area told Radio Free Asia on Tuesday.

After the Kachin Independence Army attacked Kutkais junta infantry battalion on Monday, about 100 regime soldiers fled the area with their families, sources close to the junta said. Infantry Battalion 123 is located in Kutkai townships Nam Hpat Kar village, roughly 55 kilometers [34 miles] from Chinas border.

A ceasefire was called in northern Shan state on Thursday between junta troops and the Three Brotherhood Alliance, composed of three ethnic armed groups. The alliance is made up of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Taang National Liberation Army, and the Arakan Army.

Despite the ceasefire brokered by China during talks in Kunming, other groups opposed to junta control are continuing to seize territory in the northeast.

The junta claimed the Taang National Liberation Army was involved in the attack on Kutkai.

The Kachin Independence Army launched their attack on Infantry Battalion 123 on Sunday night and captured it the following morning, a Kutkai resident said, asking to remain nameless for fear of reprisals.

The camp has been captured by the KIA since Monday morning. Since the camp was captured, locals in Nam Hpat Kar village fled because the military junta retaliated with heavy artillery and airstrikes, he told RFA. This camp was mainly attacked by the 4th and 10th KIA battalions.

The Kachin Independence Army seized weapons and ammunition from this camp, locals said, adding that bodies of junta soldiers were also found. However, RFA could not independently verify these claims.

A group of more than 50 soldiers in Nam Hpat Kar villages Infantry Battalion 123 often fired at nearby villages with heavy weapons, locals said.

Despite locals claiming the ethnic armed force has succeeded, junta media and the Kachin Independence Army both stated the outcome is still unclear.

The Kachin Independence Armys information officer Col. Naw Bu told RFA that the group shot down a junta fighter jet around 12 pm on Tuesday. Despite this, he added the capture of the base is not official yet.

I have seen posts [about the capture] on social media. The frontline hasnt reported yet that the camp has been captured, he said. But I would like to say that there is nothing impossible under the military situation.

Some of the nearly 100 soldiers fleeing the infantry battalions base had been injured in the attack, independent media outlets reported, citing military officials.

The Kachin Independence Army has not yet captured the base, according to an update on Tuesday from the juntas Defense Service, adding that reports from local outlets were fake news.

The Kachin Independence Army and Taang National Liberation Army attacked the junta base using superior force and drones, the statement said. It added regime soldiers and their family members managed to resist the attacks, and retaliated by shooting only at Kachin Independence Army soldiers responsible for the attack.

RFA called military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun on Tuesday afternoon to learn more about the attack, but he did not respond by the time of publication.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.
Ilham Tohtis daughter says she cant be sure her father is even alive.

Uyghur academic and blogger Ilham Tohti speaks to students at the Central Nationalities University in Beijing in 2009.

The U.S. State Department, lawmakers and human rights groups marked the 10th anniversary of jailed Uyghur academic and blogger Ilham Tohtis arrest on Monday with renewed calls for China to release him, while his daughter urged Beijing to provide proof that he remains alive.

An outspoken economics professor who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, Tohti was arrested on Jan. 15, 2014. While teaching, he regularly highlighted the religious and cultural persecution of the mostly Muslim Uyghur ethnic minority in northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

He was sentenced to life in prison on Sept. 23 the same year following a two-day show trial on charges of promoting separatism and has not been seen or heard from since 2017.

On Monday, the State Department issued a statement calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Tohti, who it said remains in detention simply for advocating for the rights of Uyghurs and other minority groups in China.

His life sentence demonstrates [Chinas] efforts to silence those brave enough to speak out against the governments discriminatory practices and other human rights abuses, which include genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, it said.

The bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China also called for an end to his unjust detention in a post to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

His release must be sought and an end to genocide in #Xinjiang demanded of PRC at #UPR review, the commission said, using the official name of the Peoples Republic of China and referring to the Universal Periodic Review.

The UPR is a Human Rights Council mechanism that calls for each U.N. member state to undergo a peer review of its human rights records every 4.5 years. The review, which will be Chinas fourth, is scheduled to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, on Jan. 23.

At Tohtis sentencing, the court cited his criticism of Beijings ethnic policies, his interviews with overseas media outlets, and his work founding and running the Chinese-language website Uighurbiz.net, which was shut down by Chinese authorities in 2014.

But while Beijing has denounced the academic as a separatist, others have highlighted what they say is his commitment to peaceful interethnic dialogue between members of his ethnic group and Chinas Han Chinese majority.

Last month, Tohti was nominated for this years Nobel Peace Prize, and the academic has received more than 10 international human rights awards since his sentencing, including the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 2016 and the Sakharov Award for Freedom of Thought in 2019.

Tohit was short-listed for the peace prize in 2020 and 2023.

Demand for proof of life

In an interview with RFA Uyghur on Tuesday, his daughter Jewher Ilham, demanded proof of life for her father from the Chinese government, noting that over the past 10 years, her family was only allowed to visit with him once every three months from 2014-2017.

We lost all communication with my father after 2017, so I dont even know if he is still alive, she said, adding that the only time the Chinese government and media mentioned Tohti was in 2019, when they criticized the European Parliament for giving the Sakharov Award to a criminal.

My hope is that my father will be awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize because  [I believe it] will help pave the way for his freedom, she said. Whats most important to me is for my father to return home and reunite with my brothers and me.

Rights groups on Monday marked the anniversary by calling for renewed attention to Tohtis detention, as well as for governments and academic institutions to increase pressure on the Chinese government regarding his case.

Chinas decision [to imprison Tohti] demonstrated an absolute refusal to consider the concerns of the Uyghur people, and his fate warned the entire Uyghur society that even peaceful and moderate voices were no longer tolerated, said Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress.

Uyghur Human Rights Project Executive Director Omer Kanat called Tohtis continued detention a travesty, noting that peaceful, constructive advocates for the Uyghur cause have routinely been brutally and cruelly punished by the Chinese government.

Translated by Alim Seytoff. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.
The two men are accused of causing losses to the government for their role in a high-rise land deal.

A police officer in Ho Chi Minh City reads the arrest warrant for Nguyen Cong Khe [second from left], former editor in chief of the Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper, Jan. 16, 2024.

Police in Vietnams largest city searched the homes and offices of two former top editors of a major newspaper on Tuesday and placed them under arrest on charges related to the construction of a high-rise building, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

Ho Chi Minh City police have detained Nguyen Cong Khe and Nguyen Quang Thong while they investigate accusations they violated regulations on management and use of State assets, causing losses and waste, the ministry said.

The two men, both former editors-in-chief for The Young People (Thanh Nien) Newspaper, were connected to the sale of a plot of land in Ho Chi Minh City where a complex of offices, luxury apartments and a commercial center was eventually built.

The Governments Information Portal reported that in 2008, the newspaper planned to purchase a land lot in Ho Chi Minh City from Sai Gon Tobacco Factory to build the newspapers headquarters.

But later, the newspapers editor-in-chief, Nguyen Cong Khe, signed a cooperation agreement between the Thanh Nien Media Corporation Joint Stock Co. and Vinpearl Tourism and Services Joint Stock Co. to build the high-rise complex.

Thanh Nien, one of the largest newspapers in Vietnam, holds 51% registered capital in the Thanh Nien Media Corporation Joint Stock Co. The land use right was the newspapers contribution to the high-rise project.

The two sides eventually agreed to terminate the contract, and the land lot was transferred to a private owner, which caused losses to the State, the ministry said on Tuesday. It was unclear when the agreement was terminated.

After Vietnams reunification in 1975, Nguyen Cong Khe worked at Ho Chi Minh Citys Youth Union and later worked at the Vietnam Womens Newspaper before joining Thanh Nien.

He was co-founder of the Thanh Nien newspaper and its editor-in-chief from 1988 to 2008, and is now the chairman of the Thanh Nien Media Corporation Joint Stock Co.s board of directors.

Nguyen Quang Thong was editor-in-chief of Thanh Nien from 2009 to 2021.

The newspaper is managed by the Vietnam Youth Federation, which falls under the leadership of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam.

In 2022, Vietnam Communist Party Secretary Generals Nguyen Phu Trong initiated his blazing furnace anti-corruption drive, which has proved popular with Vietnamese people tired of bribery and favoritism.

Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.
Vladimir Putin has claimed a fifth presidential term with a landslide victory in a tightly controlled election that has been condemned by the West as neither free nor fair as the Russian leader seeks to prove overwhelming popular support for his full-scale invasion of Ukraine and increasingly repressive policies.

With 99.75 percent of ballots counted, Putin won another six-year term with a post-Soviet record of 87.29 percent of the vote, the Central Elections Committee (TsIK) said on March 18, adding that turnout was also at a "record" level, with 77.44 percent of eligible voters casting ballots.

The 71-year old Putin -- who has ruled as either president or prime minister since 2000 -- is now set to surpass Soviet dictator Josef Stalins nearly 30-year reign to become the longest-serving Russian leader in more than two centuries.

"This election has been based on repression and intimidation," the European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told journalists in Brussels on March 18 as the bloc's foreign ministers gathered to discuss the election, among other issues.

The March 15-17 vote is the first for Putin since he launched his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 that has killed tens of thousands of Russians and led to a clear break in relations with the West. In holding what has widely been viewed as faux elections, Putin wants to show that he has the nations full support, experts said.

The vote was also held in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, where hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers are located. Moscow illegally annexed the regions since launching the invasion, though it remains unclear how much of the territory it controls.

The Kremlin's goal "is to get as many people as possible to sign off on Russia's war against Ukraine. The idea is to get millions of Russian citizens to retroactively approve the decision Putin single-handedly made two years ago," Maksim Trudolyubov, a senior fellow at the Kennan Institute, wrote in a note ahead of the vote.

In remarks shortly after he was declared the winner, Putin said the election showed that the nation was "one team."

But Western leaders condemned the vote, with a White House spokesman saying they "are obviously not free nor fair," and EU foreign ministers roundly dismissing them as a sham ahead of agreeing to impose sanctions on individuals linked to the mistreatment and death of Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told RFE/RL in an interview in Tbilisi on the second day of a visit to the Caucasus that the Russian election was "not free nor fair." He said those who have had the courage to oppose Putin "are either force to flee, to live abroad, they are jailed, or some of them are killed as we saw with Aleksei Navalny."

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, speaking at the start of the EU foreign ministers' meeting, said Russia's election was "an election without choice."

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said the conditions for a "free, pluralistic, and democratic election were not met," and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the election outcome highlighted the "depth of repression" in Russia.

"Putin removes his political opponents, controls the media, and then crowns himself the winner. This is not democracy," Cameron said.

France, Britain, and other countries condemned the fact that Russia had also held its election in occupied regions of Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Putin has become "sick with power" and he is just "simulating" elections.

"This imitation of 'elections' has no legitimacy and cannot have any. This person must end up in the dock in The Hague [at the International UN Tribunal for War Crimes]," Zelenskiy said on X.

Putin's allies were quick to heap praise on the Russian leader for his election success.

China, one of Russia's most important allies, congratulated Putin, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian saying President Xi Jinping and the Russian leader "will continue to maintain close exchanges, lead the two countries to continue to uphold long-standing good-neighborly friendship, deepen comprehensive strategic coordination."

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called Putin's victory "decisive," the state news agency IRNA reported, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in a congratulatory message to Putin quoted by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) that Russian voters had shown "unshakeable support and trust in" their president, state media reported.

In the tightly controlled race, Putin was opposed by three relatively unknown, Kremlin-friendly politicians whose campaigns were barely noticeable.

Prior to the election the Kremlin banned anti-war politician Boris Nadezhdin from the ballot after tens of thousands of voters lined up in the cold to support his candidacy. Nadezhdin threatened to undermine the narrative of a united nation behind Putin and his war, experts said.



Russias opposition movement suffered a serious blow last month when Navalny, who was Putins fiercest and most popular critic, died in unclear circumstances in a maximum-security prison in the Arctic where he was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism widely seen as politically motivated.

Russian political analyst Ivan Preobrazhensky said in an interview with Current Time that Putin was also frightened by the rebellion staged by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in June when Prigozhin's forces briefly took control of Rostov-on-Don and were greeted by many citizens as heroes.

Prigozhin ended his rebellion before reaching Moscow and was later killed in a plane crash that many believe was retaliation by the Kremlin.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa
An emboldened Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, has changed the balance of power in the South Caucasus in recent years.

Baku reclaimed full control over Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region that for three decades had been under ethnic-Armenian control, last year.

A weakened Armenia, meanwhile, has distanced itself from its traditional ally, Russia, and looked to move closer to the West.

The geopolitical changes in the region have raised concerns in Iran, which neighbors Armenia and Azerbaijan. Tehran fears it could lose its clout in a region that has long been dominated by Moscow, an ally.

The Islamic republic strongly opposes the proposed east-west Zangezur Corridor that would connect mainland Azerbaijan to its Naxcivan exclave through Armenian territory and open a long-sought trade route to Tehran's rival, Turkey, and beyond.

Iran is also concerned Baku could forcibly seize territory in southern Armenia to create territorial continuity with Naxcivan, which would cut off Tehran from Yerevan, an ally.

Iran also opposes normalization between Armenia and Turkey, a scenario that could reduce Yerevan's dependence on Tehran and pave the way for greater Western influence in the volatile region.

"The changing dynamics in the region and the decline of Russia's relative influence pose potential challenges to Iran's long-term geopolitical and security goals in the region," said Hamidreza Azizi, a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

Cutting Iran Out

The top diplomats of Armenia and Turkey met on March 1 in the Turkish coastal city of Antalya and reiterated their nations' intention to fully normalize relations.

That meeting was viewed with apprehension by some pundits inside Iran who suggested such a move would cut Tehran out of the region.

"If Ankara's efforts to normalize relations with Yerevan are successful, leading to the establishment of the Zangezur Corridor, it could indeed marginalize Iran geopolitically," Azizi said.

The 45-kilometer-long proposed corridor, Azizi said, would "not only enhance Turkish and Azerbaijani influence by providing a direct link between the two but also bypass Iran, diminishing its role as a potential regional transit hub."

Eldar Mamedov, a Brussels-based expert on the South Caucasus, said the corridor would effectively leave Iran "excessively dependent on the goodwill of Ankara and Baku for the security of its northern borders and also for accessing transit routes [to Russia]."

Azerbaijan's increasingly cozy relations with Iran's archfoe, Israel, have fueled tensions with Tehran.

Iran is also wary that Baku's growing influence in the region could fuel "irredentist tendencies" among Iran's large ethnic Azeri population, separated from Azerbaijan by the Aras River and located primarily in Iran's East and West Azerbaijan provinces, Mamedov said.

For Armenia and Turkey to normalize relations, Yerevan and Baku first need to sign a peace agreement, according to Benyamin Poghosyan, a senior research fellow at the Applied Policy Research Institute of Armenia.

Poghosyan said Azerbaijan would only sign the deal if Armenia conceded to all of Baku's demands, including the establishment of the Zangezur Corridor.

"But I don't believe Armenia will agree to provide Azerbaijan [with an] extraterritorial corridor," he said.

Poghosyan added that Azerbaijan is unlikely to forcibly seize Armenian territory to establish the corridor given the presence of a "hard-power deterrent" like Iran.

Wary of The West?

In February, Armenia suspended its membership in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

The government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has long criticized the CSTO for its "failure to respond to the security challenges" facing Armenia.

In 2020, Baku recaptured parts of Nagorno-Karabakh, a mainly ethnic-Armenian-populated region inside Azerbaijan, following a six-week war that ended with a Russian-brokered cease-fire.

In September 2023, Azerbaijan retook the rest of the territory after a lightning offensive that resulted in the full capitulation of the de facto Karabakh government.

Armenian authorities have accused Russian peacekeepers deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh after the 2020 war of failing to stop Azerbaijan's offensive last year, a claim rejected by Moscow.

Armenia on March 6 said it had requested Moscow to remove Russian border troops from the international airport in Yerevan, the latest sign of souring relations.

The moves have fueled concerns in Iran that Armenia could turn to the West to guarantee its security.

In an apparent warning, Iranian Defense Minister Amir Ashtiani on March 6 told his Armenian counterpart in Tehran that "looking for security outside the region will have the opposite effect."

"We believe that the security architecture of the region should be designed in the region; therefore, any approach by countries in the region against this policy would be in no way acceptable," Ashtiani warned Suren Papikyan.

Poghosyan said Armenia seeks to "diversify its foreign and security policy" but that it was too soon to tell whether it wants to completely pivot to the West or just strengthen relations with Western powers without abandoning Russia.

He added that Iran has made it clear to Armenia that it "would not tolerate geopolitical changes in the South Caucasus, which means not only changes [to] borders, but also changes [to the] balance of power in the region."

For all their differences, Iranian and Western interests converge on their support for Armenian sovereignty.

As such, Mamedov argued, Iran's opposition to a Western presence "may not be as rigid as it appears to be in the official rhetoric."

But it is unclear if that will lead to any collaboration.

"The overarching anti-Western stance in Iranian foreign policy and Tehran's presumed desire not to upset Moscow in the South Caucasus make such cooperation very unlikely," Azizi said.
Police in Kazakhstan detained protesters demanding justice for relatives killed during a 2022 crackdown on anti-government demonstrations. About a dozen people gathered outside the presidential palace in Astana on January 15. They said Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev should be held accountable for issuing a "shoot to kill" order to security forces who violently put down a wave of protests two years earlier during a period of unrest known as Bloody January.
On Monday, Javier Milei began his first official trip abroad since assuming the presidency of Argentina on December 10. The far-right leader will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos (Switzerland) to present his government program and hopes to meet with world leaders. As of Monday, the Casa Rosada  Argentinas seat of government  had only confirmed the Milei will be meeting with Kristalina Georgieva, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which unlocked $4.7 billion in funds for Argentina last week.

Milei took off on Monday at 7 p.m., local time, on a commercial flight that will land in Frankfurt, Germany. The president will arrive in Davos on Tuesday after another flight and a road trip. On Wednesday, he will speak at the summit together with the World Economic Forums former chairman, Klaus Schwab. Milei will present his government program, which he began to implement last month. It includes severe cuts to the public sector and more than a thousand measures to deregulate the economy and modify the Argentine state. Some of the regulatory changes and repeals were imposed by a decree that is being questioned in the courts. Other measures will have to go through Congress, which has begun to debate the package. Some sectors of the opposition are willing to support the plan, but none will approve it without changes, as the government wants.

Mileis ultraliberal experiment in Argentina has raised expectations at the summit, which will discuss issues triggering economic uncertainty, such as the wars in Gaza and Ukraine and the rise of generative artificial intelligence. World powers understand that we have returned to embrace the ideas of freedom and respect for the capitalist system, said the presidential spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, on Monday. Although the Argentine delegation has planned meetings with representatives of banks, technology companies, pharmaceutical companies and other companies, as well as with some secretaries of state and ministers, the government has not confirmed if Milei will be meeting with any foreign leaders.

On his agenda, there is only his meeting with Georgieva. With Mileis arrival at the Casa Rosada, Argentina entered a new stage of relations with the IMF, which celebrated the far-right leaders ambitious stabilization plan. The IMF visited Argentina last week, and reached a technical agreement to unlock $4.7 billion from the loan program, a decision that must be endorsed by its board and will depend on a continuous and lasting implementation of the fiscal adjustment announced by the new government of Argentina in mid-December. The money does not represent a new loan, but is rather part of pending disbursements that the IMF and Argentina had agreed to, to be made effective between December 2023 and the first quarter of 2024. Argentina will use the funds to continue to pay off its $44 billion debt with the multilateral organization.

Milei will attend the World Economic Forum with a government delegation that includes Foreign Affairs Minister Diana Mondino, Economy Minister Luis Caputo, and Chief of the Cabinet Nicolas Posse. It is the first time in six years that a president of Argentina has traveled to Switzerland to participate in the summit, which will be held between January 15 and 19 and will welcome delegations from more than 100 countries, as well as international organizations, companies, civil society leaders, experts and entrepreneurs. In previous years, other Cabinet officials  not the president  traveled to Switzerland for the forum (in 2021, former president Alberto Fernandez took part in the summit held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic).

Barbecue at Quinta de Olivos

Milei and his team met on Sunday at the presidential residence, in the town of Olivos, to hold a Cabinet meeting prior to the presidents trip to Davos. Milei typically meets with his Cabinet on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Casa Rosada, in the center of Buenos Aires, but this week it was organized in Olivos because the president will be absent until Friday morning.

The president moved into the official residence shortly before completing a month in office. Until then, Milei had been living in the suite of a four-star hotel in the Argentine capital, which was also his partys center of operations during the electoral campaign. The move was delayed in part because kennels needed to be built for Mileis four mastiffs, according to the government. The dogs still remain in a dog daycare. We are moving forward with the building of the kennels. Soon my little children will come to live at Quinta de Olivos, Milei said in a social media message.

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Thousands of people rallied to support an activist in Bashkortostan, an autonomous Russian republic 1,100 kilometers east of Moscow. The activist, Fail Alsynov, is accused of inciting ethnic hatred over plans to bring migrants for a new gold-mining project in the region. His supporters say the charges are politically motivated.
At least 10 journalists from four independent media organizations in Kyrgyzstan were detained by police after their homes and offices were raided on January 16. They were questioned about alleged involvement in organizing mass unrest. The raids come amid a deepening government crackdown on media and civil society.
Bernardo Arevalo assumed Guatemalas presidency Sunday after an agonizing obstacle course that nearly thwarted his inauguration. The leader of the Seed Movement, a progressive sociologist and an expert in conflict resolution, won the elections last August and has during the last five months repeatedly faced attempts by a sector of the judiciary to derail the transition of power. The Public Prosecution, headed by Attorney General Consuelo Porras, who was sanctioned for corruption in 2022 by the U.S. State Department, attempted unsuccessfully to disqualify his political party and even to annul the electoral process. What was witnessed Sunday in the Guatemalan Congress, with a maneuver by a group of deputies that delayed Arevalos inauguration ceremony for nine hours, was the umpteenth example of a web of power dedicated to doing everything possible to hinder the mandate of the new president, who in recent weeks has denounced an attempted coup detat.

This plot is known in Guatemala as the corrupt pact, an informal alliance of politicians, bureaucrats and business elites that prospered during the presidential terms of Jimmy Morales and Alejandro Giammattei, whose government was marked by a profound deterioration of the institutions. The fight against corruption is the key to everything. It was for Arevalos unexpected triumph, in the wake of a growing social discontent that emerged from the student protests of 2015. And it is so now for his government program and its main obstacles.

The first obstacle facing the president is a Public Prosecution that tried to prevent him from taking office and will probably now try to limit his ability to govern, says Ricardo Saenz de Tejada, political scientist and professor at the School of History, Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of San Carlos of Guatemala. Arevalo himself acknowledged upon taking office that he will face monumental challenges to eradicate corrupt practices. One of his first actions, as he announced weeks ago, will be to demand the resignation of Porras, although in all probability he will face resistance from the attorney general. As long as the Public Prosecutors Office remains in the hands of illicit networks, there is a serious challenge, notes Saenz de Tejada. The administration of justice, however, is only one of the corrupt fronts Arevalo faces. Another concerns economic management, a crucial area for one of the central goals of the president, who has pledged to step up the fight against poverty, an issue that affects 55% of the population.

According to Saenz de Tejada, businesses, which have been questioned over their transparency and even legality, and which the Giammattei government left severely compromised, are at the heart of the matter. That includes the container terminal in one of the Pacific ports, oil concessions, and highways that the government is going to have to address. In addition, there are other structural challenges such as infrastructure, the health system, education and the backlog accumulated during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the problems facing rural schools and security, following a term of office that was characterized by the persecution of opponents, first and foremost judicial officials dedicated to the fight against corruption.

However, in the opinion of Marielos Chang, political scientist and co-founder of Red Ciudadana, an organization that monitors transparency, we are witnessing the weakest moment of the dominant political coalition, which had co-opted the most important institutions in the country, from the government to the Presidency of the Legislature to the Public Prosecutors Office. If it was January 2023, and they said that Bernardo Arevalo and Samuel Perez were going to be, respectively, presidents of the Republic and of Congress, nobody would have believed it, Chang continues. That does not mean they are defeated, but they are extremely weakened.

Even the poisoned session to decide the composition of Congress ended with a positive balance for the Seed Movement, which holds just 23 seats out of 160. One of Arevalos challenges is in the first place to fulfill his campaign promise to fight corruption, but with the presidency of the Congress he can create a package of reforms that can reduce those black holes. We didnt know this a few weeks ago either; what we envisioned was a Congress completely hostile to the president, Chang notes.

If there is room for optimism, reasons political analyst Raquel Zelaya, president of the Association of Investigation and Social Studies think tank, it is that Arevalo knows that he will have to dampen the over-expectation generated. He has talked about the fight against corruption and his spheres of action have to begin with making the government transparent. He can do that; no nepotism, no favors, no questionable contracts, and accountability. In short, in Zelayas opinion, the president has to lead by example and, in the meantime, try to reach agreements, since legislative activity is one of his main challenges.

During Arevalos investiture, there were two decisive sectors who defended the transition and ultimately prevented the takeover from getting bogged down: Guatemalas Indigenous peoples exerted pressure during more than 100 days of resistance, which began on October 2 through the authorities of the 48 cantons of Totonicapan. This powerful indigenous organization, notes Chang, is now a new actor with power that is going to represent a significant force, but not necessarily allied with Arevalo  another challenge for the president. The second was the so-called international community, led by the United States, the European Union and Latin American governments including Colombia and Chile, which deployed a very broad bloc of support for Arevalo. Its role will be decisive during his term of office, as it was during the long transition, to prevent the forces of the corrupt pact from frustrating the profound change supported by more than 60% of Guatemalan voters.

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David Raleigh

A man described by gardai as a danger to the community, was refused bail today, after he was charged with causing the death of a journalism student in a hit-and-run collision.

Gardai arrested Kieran Fogarty, (20), Hyde Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick, on Tuesday and charged him with offences including dangerous driving causing the death of University of Limerick (UL) student, Joe Drennan, on Friday, October 13th, 2023.

Mr Fogarty was also charged with driving without insurance or a license at the time.

Detective Garda Shane ONeill, Roxboro Road Garda Station, told a bail hearing held at Limerick District Court that moments prior to the fatal collision, Mr Fogarty was observed by Gardai driving a black coloured BMW dangerously and at speed.

Mr Fogarty overtook a garda patrol car at speed as he drive the BMW from the Annacotty area towards Limerick City.

Gardai activated the patrol cars blue lights and sirens and followed Mr Fogarty at a safe distance, detective ONeill said.

He alleged the BMW driven by Kieran Fogarty continued at speed, and broke a red light and collided with a white coloured Volkswagen car, injuring the male driver and female front seat passenger.

Detective ONeill further alleged Mr Fogarty then lost control of the BMW, which mounted a kerb near a bus stop, and struck Mr Drennan who was fatally injured.

He further claimed Mr Fogarty exited the BMW and failed to remain at the scene and failed to render assistance to Joe Drennan.

The DPP is considering further serious charges, said Detective ONeill.

He objected to bail under Section 2 of the Bail Act as well as OCallaghan Rules, that there was strong evidence against Mr Fogarty including CCTV footage which placed the accused as the only occupant of the car.

Detective ONeill alleged DNA gleamed by forensic investigators from an airbag that had deployed in the BMW in the collision on the night matched Kieran Fogarty.

He further alleged that gardai had unearthed text messages in which Mr Fogarty allegedly discussed leaving the jurisdiction and where he had told others he was involved in a collision in which a person had died.

Detective ONeill said that, given the seriousness of the charges Kieran Fogarty was in his opinion, a danger to the community and should not be released on bail.

If granted bail Mr Fogarty would commit further serious offences and he would not answer the charges against him, the detective alleged.

The court heard Mr Fogartys partner is due to give birth in June to the couples first child.

Judge Carol Anne Coolican said Mr Fogarty was entitled to the presumption of innocence and that the charges against him were allegations.

The judge said she was satisfied with allegations outlined in the States bail pack.

She remanded Mr Fogarty in custody to appear before Limerick District Court via video-link on January 23rd.

From Mountrath, Co Laois, Mr Drennan, who was editor-in-chief at the University of Limerick student newspaper, Limerick Voice, was shortlisted for Journalist of the Year at the 2023 Student Media Awards.
The grandson of a Roscommon man after whom Pairc Ui Chaoimh GAA grounds is named said he was deeply shocked and saddened by the proposal to drop his name under a new naming rights deal.

Padraig O Caoimh (Paddy OKeeffe) was born in Ballinagare, Roscommon in 1898 but moved to Cork at a young age. He went on to become a key architect in developing the GAA in the early Irish Free State, served as Cork County board secretary and was later elected General Secretary of the association in 1929.

O Caoimhs lasting legacy was to have a GAA-owned pitch in every parish in the country.

There has much controversy since news broke that the proposed title sponsor for Pairc Ui Chaoimhs historic first naming rights will be SuperValu, with Corks GAA headquarters to be rebranded SuperValu Pairc or Park.

The Examiner newspaper is reporting that three other companies  Boston Scientific, Statkraft and PepsiCo  will also have subsidiary stadium branding privileges as part of the package, believed to be for an initial three years. The total package is understood to be worth in the region of 1m up to 2026.

In a statement today (Tuesday), Padraig O Caoimhs grandson Donal said: My grandfather embodied the empathy, hospitality, and community spirit that is the essence of the GAA. His dream was inclusivity: to have a GAA-owned pitch in every parish.

"Under his stewardship, the GAA became the biggest amateur association of its kind in the world. It is galling to me that SuperValu would consider making the eradication of my grandfathers legacy a condition of sponsorship. The gateway is open for the sale of our heritage and narrative for profit."

In a statement, Cork GAA CEO Kevin ODonovan said it has a responsibility to ensure that it is on a firm financial footing to ensure the success of its games at both local and county level.

The matter will come before County Board delegates this evening (Tuesday) for discussion.
At the meeting of the chairmen of the European integration committees of the European Union member parliaments, Maka Bochorishvili, Chairman of the European Integration Committee of the Parliament, stated that the enlargement policy holds greater strategic importance and plays a more significant role today. She added that there is a need for effective integration mechanisms and the removal of existing barriers, enabling candidate countries to rapidly integrate economically and politically into the European Union."This year marks twenty years since the great enlargement of the European Union, which has made it possible to increase the area of peace, stability and prosperity in Europe, but has not created the same situation in the neighborhood, despite numerous efforts within the framework of the neighborhood policy. Aggressive actions of Russia have repeatedly made it clear that other steps are needed for a secure future of the European Union.The enlargement policy today holds greater strategic importance and plays a more significant role, and we no longer have the luxury of allowing the process to proceed as slowly as it has for the last ten years.We all need effective integration mechanisms, removing existing barriers wherever possible, so that candidate countries can rapidly integrate economically and politically into the European Union. An individual approach is needed, but opportunities should be equally provided to all candidate countries," Bochorishvili stated.The delegation of the ruling party, led by the chairman of the Georgian Dream Irakli Kobakhidze, is on a working visit to China. Giorgi Volski, also part of the delegation, informed reporters that China recognizes the strategic significance of the Middle Corridor."China's stance on the ongoing global processes and the perceptions towards China from our partner countries-the European Union and the USA-is widely known. And, of course, China also understands well the importance of the strategic location of the Middle Corridor, where Georgia occupies a key position in such a situation.The conversation touched on Georgia's participation in the relations between the West and East, European Union, and Asian markets. Despite the significant difference in resources between China and Georgia, the standard of cooperation, which implies equality, is maintained here," Volski stated.
Ecuador has regained control of the countrys prisons. The army entered the penitentiaries heavily armed Thursday and freed more than 150 people, including guards and administrative personnel, who were being held hostage. At least one official was killed during the operations, which were otherwise carried out without bloodshed. The prisoners were assembled in the courtyards of the prisons, in rows and seated, with their hands behind their heads, in images reminiscent of those shared by President Nayib Bukele in El Salvador to demonstrate his governments success in its war on the gangs.

Ecuadors gangs, which are dedicated to drug-trafficking in alliance with Mexican cartels, have until now dominated the prisons. From inside the penal system, they are able to control their organizations as if their cells were a command post. Some reports suggest, however, that the authorities hold over the prisons may not be complete. At the Esmeraldas prison, located in the region of the same name that has been co-opted by organized crime, 48 inmates escaped, with two killed during a pursuit. Early Sunday morning, another six escaped from the Litoral penitentiary in Guayaquil, where the authorities had reportedly wrested back control.

The wave of violence in Ecuador began eight days ago with the escape of two of the countrys most notorious gang leaders, Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, alias Fito, the leader of Los Choneros  considered the most dangerous criminal in Ecuador  and Fabricio Colon Pico, the head of rival group Los Lobos. A chain of attacks and assaults ensued as organized crime challenged the authorities in the prisons and on the streets. A group of hooded and armed men staged a live assault on the public channel TC Television, threatening journalists with guns and dynamite. The purpose of the attack remains a mystery. The assailants, all young men and teenagers, surrendered as soon as the police arrived on the scene, without putting up any resistance.

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa last week declared an internal armed conflict, which implies there is a war within the country and entailed the immediate deployment and intervention of security forces against organized crime. A curfew has been established, from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., and the army patrols the streets. Since the presidents declaration, according to official data, more than 1,500 people have been arrested, among them 158 accused of terrorism. Noboa has decreed that gangs should be seen as such, which provides for stiffer penalties and gives the authorities more leeway to confront them. There have been an additional 41 separate operations against organized crime groups, during which five alleged criminals have been killed and 27 people who had been held hostage have been freed.

The Presidency of the Republic, in a statement, said the operations will continue throughout the national territory with a clear objective: to be implacable with those who have terrorized and taken advantage of citizens. Noboa, who began his term less than two months ago, faces an enormous challenge: that of stopping the violent drift that has taken hold of the country over the last three years. His predecessors, Lenin Moreno and Guillermo Lasso, watched helplessly  or negligently, depending on who you ask  as security deteriorated in record time. Last year, the homicide rate stood at 40 per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the highest in the world. Under the leftist former president Rafael Correa (2007-2017), it was as low as 5.78, among the lowest in the region. The Ecuadorian exception has vanished in the blink of an eye.

In a very short time  with the rain of money they have made for turning the Gulf of Guayaquil into the main cocaine export point in the world  the gangs have managed to infiltrate the main branches of government. They have judges, prosecutors, police, politicians, and high-ranking military officers on their payroll. They control ports, neighborhoods, markets... and Noboa has a very limited budget to take them on. As such, he has proposed raising income tax from 12% to 15%, to address the shortage of police and military personnel, but the fact that he does not hold a majority in Congress forces him to negotiate with the rest of the political forces, which oppose tax increases. The president has also tabled a referendum, potentially in the last week of February or the first week of March, to approve the extension of penalties for serious crimes such as homicide and arms trafficking, and to increase the internal security functions of the army.

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Many experienced the widespread issues with breed back this fall. Hannah Speer, Northern Ag Research Center Animal Science assistant professor, Havre, MT, will be in Sidney on Tuesday, Jan. 30 at 5:30 p.m. upstairs at the Meadowlark Public House to discuss Feeding Fertility: Understanding the Relationship Between Nutrition and Reproduction.

Speer will be discussing body conditioning scoring (BCS) and how it relates to postpartum interval, pregnancy rates, and important times to think about evaluating BCS throughout the year and when/how to add condition to cows/heifers. She will also discuss nutritional factors that can affect reproduction and feeding strategies to help producers set their herd up for reproductive success.

Dr. Speer is a native of western Kansas and recently graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with her PhD in ruminant nutrition. Her research focus there was on cow/calf nutrition and management within systems limited in perennial forage grazing. She evaluated alternative management strategies for systems where perennial forage grazing was limited or not feasible, and also focused heavily on the vitamin A needs of gestating beef cows fed stored forages for extended periods of time. She began her new role as Animal Science assistant professor at the Northern Ag Research Center, Havre, at the beginning of January, and looks forward to conducting research that is important to the producers of Montana.

Please plan to join us on Jan. 30 upstairs at the Meadowlark.
The Badlands Fraternal Order of Police will be holding a spaghetti feed and silent auction at the Carl E. Rogan Post 29, Saturday, Jan. 20, from noon-3 p.m. to help the daughter of one of their own receive lifesaving healthcare.

Katherine Beebe is only six years old and is the daughter of one of the members of the FOP as well as a deputy sheriff with the McKenzie County Sheriffs Office. In November 2023, her parents noticed that there was something wrong. They got her to a doctor and found she has a rare heart condition that is, of yet, undiagnosed. She will require multiple tests, scans, and procedures to assist in finding out her diagnosis. She has been referred to the Minnesota Childrens Specialty Clinic, St. Paul, over 600 miles away. Her family needs financial help for the immediate surgery and treatment she will need, and fuel to travel back and forth between North Dakota and Minnesota.

A family friend has purchased all of the food for the spaghetti feed at Jack and Jill, Watford City. There will also be French bread and drinks. The Badlands Fraternal Order of Police is still accepting donated items for the silent auction. There will be t-shirts available for purchase the day of the event for $15 each as well.

Watch the FOP Badlands Lodge 8 Facebook page for additional information. The Carl E. Rogan Post 29 is located at 313 12th St. SE, Watford City. 100% of the proceeds from this benefit will go to the Beebes for Katherines medical needs and travel expenses.
The Fairview Police Department was able to purchase two radios with the help of the Mason Moore Grant on Dec. 11. Because of the grant they were able to replace 22-year-old equipment The Fairview Police Department is a rather small department with only two officers, but the town they service is quite small as well, with a population of 898 at the last census in 2020 over .8 sq. miles. At times they have had to call the Richland County Sheriff Department or law enforcement from nearby towns. Sometimes they can be strapped for resources and communication can be a lifesaver if a situation starts to turn sour.

Lately, the Fairview Police Department was becoming a little desperate with only two working radios and batteries that did not stay in them reliably, making communication difficult, if not impossible at times.

Police Chief Whitney Hergert recalled a time she was out on a call and needed backup assistance while making an arrest. She was unable to call out from her radio to dispatch in order request backup assistance, so she had to complete the arrest by herself and call later, on her cellphone. A very dangerous situation for a peace officer.

The police department had requested replacement radios a few times but a single police radio costs $3,000-5,000 new and they needed two. It was a little too much for the small town to afford. Their plight did not go unheard, however. Brandon Roth, Richland County Disaster and Emergency Services Coordinator, was able to lend them one of his radios, indefinitely. Justin Damm, Advanced Communications (Sidney,) was watching for good quality equipment they could afford but they needed more help.

Chief Hergert applied for the Mason Moore Grant, a grant created to show the Mason Moore Foundation's love and support of law enforcement agencies in Montana. Among other things it provides grants to local law enforcement agencies to provide for programs or special equipment that may not be available through the standard governmental funding process. An early grant exception and was able to get them two refurbished radios. Costing $1,050 each, but with the grant, the Fairview Police Department can reliably communicate again. For more about the Mason Moore Foundation and what they do for Montana law enforcement visit https://masonmoorefoundation.com.
Glendive  Governor Greg Gianforte, on Jan. 10, welcomed Brixtel Defense to Montana, celebrating the global defense company's $125 million investment in Dawson County.

"Montana is proudly home to over 150 innovative firearms and ammunitions businesses, the highest per capita in the country," Gov. Gianforte said. "We're thrilled to welcome Brixtel Defense to Big Sky Country, and appreciate the ammunition leader's investment in our state and people."

Brixtel Defense manufactures munitions and propellants for the U.S. Armed Forces and its allies. Through its new ammunition manufacturing facility in Glendive, the company is projected to create over 350 good-paying Montana jobs by 2028.

"In an era where outsourcing is commonplace, we choose to invest in the heart of our nation. We are proud to announce $125 million investment in Montana," said Andy Mansoor, Brixtel Defense CEO.

He continued, "This expansion is a testament to our belief in the American workforce, the American dream, and the fundamental values upon which this great country was built. As we embark on this journey in Glendive, we are reminded of our purpose. Together, we build more than ammunition; we forge the future of freedom."

To integrate local expertise into its operations and foster relationships within the state, Mansoor announced that Brixtel Defense is partnering with Alpha Loading Systems, an ammunitions manufacturer that recently expanded in Stevensville.

To support Montana's firearms and ammunitions businesses, Gov. Gianforte this spring protected Montanans' retirement security from Environmental, Social, and Governance investing and Montana's firearms industry from discrimination.

In his first year in office, the governor made Montana a constitutional carry state and prohibited the enforcement of any federal law, executive order, rule, or regulation that infringes upon ownership, possession, transfer, or use of any firearm, magazine, or firearm accessory in Montana.
Northeastern Montana - Great Northern Development Corporation (GNDC) and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) are excited to announce the commencement of the 3rd Minnow Tank Business Plan Competition. This transformative initiative is set to unfold across the seven-county region of Northeastern Montana, including Valley, Garfield, McCone, Richland, Roosevelt, Sheridan and Daniels.

Fostering Economic Development:

The Minnow Tank Competition aims to unite communities with a common goal of economic development by attracting new entrepreneurs and supporting existing businesses. Through the generous sponsorships of local businesses and chambers of commerce, GNDC will award two prize packages of $5,000 each, one to a startup and one to an existing business.

Showcasing Entrepreneurial Potential:

This competition provides a unique platform for startups and expanding businesses to showcase their potential, with the opportunity to win one of two $5,000 cash awards. The vision is to strengthen and support the existing businesses that form the backbone of local communities.

Educational Initiatives:

To empower entrepreneurs, SBDC Director Quincy Walter has organized free business plan development classes in each of the seven counties. These classes cover crucial topics such as Business Plan Basics, Marketing, and Small Business Financials. Entrepreneurs planning to compete in the Minnow Tank Business Plan competition are strongly encouraged to attend these classes.

Key Dates and Events:

Business Plan Submission Deadline: March 13, 5 p.m.

Minnow Tank Finale: May 3

Business Plan Development Class Schedule:

Glasgow, Feb. 7, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., TBD

Wolf Point, Feb. 7, 2-4 p.m., GNDC 233 Cascade Street

Sidney, Feb. 8, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Sidney Chamber of Commerce

Jordan, Feb. 9, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Garfield County Bank Conference Room

Circle, Feb. 9, 2-4 p.m., Fairgrounds

Plentywood, Feb. 13, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Jubilee Room 224 S Main Street

Scobey, Feb. 13, 2-4 p.m., Nemont Friendship Room 2 Railroad Ave

Application Guidelines and Procedures:

Business plan submissions for Minnow Tank are due to GNDC by 5 p.m. on March 13. Visit http://www.gndc.org for official application guidelines and procedures.

Minnow Tank Finale:

The culminating event will be held on May 3, where 14 finalists will present their business plans live to a panel of judges, and the audience, who will also be able to vote as well. Support your favorite entrepreneur by attending the Minnow Tank Finale; tickets will be available by calling GNDC.

Join the Minnow Tank Competition:

New or existing businesses interested in applying for Minnow Tank or those with questions about the events are encouraged to contact Quincy Walter at (406)-653-2590 ext. 203 or visit https://gndc.org/minnow-tank/

About Great Northern Development Corporation (GNDC):

GNDC is the economic development leader in Northeastern Montana, committed to fostering entrepreneurship and supporting businesses in Northeastern Montana.

2024 Minnow Tank Guidlines

Guidelines and Application Procedures to Enter Minnow Tank Promotion: This is a two-phase contest.

Phase 1  Business Plan Submission (March 13, 2024)

In the first phase, all applicants are asked to provide a business plan using LivePlan (for access to LivePlan contact Quincy Walter at [email protected] or (406-653-2590 ext. 203)).

You business plan must be no longer than 20 pages consisting of:

1. Executive Summary

2. Company Summary

3. Products/Services Summary

4. Market Analysis Summary

5. Strategies and Implementation Summary

6. Management Summary

7. Financial Plan (including three years of projections as well as cash flow)

8. A community impact summary stating:

a. How your business will enhance Northeastern Montana

b. Why your business stands out

Phase II  Minnow Tank Live Pitch

Finalists will be notified by Wednesday, March 27, 2024, by 5 p.m. Finalists will be asked to present their concept and plan in front of a panel of judges in a live presentation format with a question and answer period lasting at the most 10 minutes. Visual aids such as products and digital presentations will be allowed. Finalists MUST make arrangements before the competition to use these items. The Live event will occur on May 3, starting at 5 p.m. Winners will be announced that evening following the live pitch. In the event of a tie, winners will split the prize.

Eligibility:

1. This promotion is open to all legal U.S. residents 18 or older at the time of entry.

2. Proposed businesses can be independent operations or franchised.

3. The applicant must be an existing business or is going to start a business in Garfield, Valley, McCone, Richland, Roosevelt, Sheridan, or Daniels counties.

How to Enter:

1. All business concept submissions must be emailed, delivered, or postmarked to the Great Northern Development Corporation by 5 p.m. on March 13, 2024. Send to [email protected] or 233 Cascade Street, Wolf Point MT 59201.
2023 was a potentially profitable year for McKenzie County, North Dakota. Several things happened that might serve to benefit the countys economy over the following years.

February KUMV The North Dakota Department of Transportation has approved a contract to begin construction work to expand Highway 85. They started work to create a four-lane highway between Watford City and the Long X Bridge in March according to a Roundup article and, The expansion of the highway will safely accommodate more industrial, agricultural, and passenger traffic, promoting economic development. The two-year long project is expected to be finished near the end of 2024. In December the expressway was awarded $55 million for the next phase of construction.

In a March press release from the office of the governor NDSU researchers, Dean Bangsund and Nancy Hodur, presented their study of the economic contribution of oil and gas exploration, extraction, transportation, processing and capital investments to the state in 2021. They showed the industry directly employed 14,200 people, while economic activity from the indirect and induced effects of the industry supported an additional 35,185 jobs, for a total of 49,385 jobs attributed to the industry. Employment compensation was estimated at $3.9 billion. Similar studies are conducted every two years. Daniel Stenberg, McKenzie County Economic Development director expects studies to show a lot more for 2023. He said, Oil prices were high all of 2023. There was an increase of activity, and 2023 saw 750 more workers in McKenzie County than in 2022. Oil and gas leads the economy.

According to a March press release at http://www.areo.nd.gov, Watford City Municipal Airport was recognized as North Dakotas 2022 General Aviation Airport of the Year. They received it for excellence in community outreach because of their fly/drive-ins, support of weather modification and crop spraying to aid farmers, and hosting of air crash training and boy scout merit badges. For facility management, because of the reconstruction they did on their runway, new lighting system that allows for most large business jets, and beautification projects, and participation and hosting of special events. Continuation of their work will continue to greatly aid in the economy.

The JDA Home Builder Construction Loan Participation Program was launched in June 2023 for the construction of single-family dwellings in McKenzie County to address the current housing shortage. It was approved with $4.5 million in revolving loan funds provided by the McKenzie County Commission. The first applications for four single-family homes were approved in December.

ND Petroleum Council created plan to welcome 25 Ukrainians to the Bakken by July 2023. By October they placed 50 Ukrainians in the program throughout western North Dakota. Seven of them have been placed with McKenzie County employers.

The Bakken Area Skills Center, the program for increasing the availability of career and technical education for high school students and incumbent workers throughout the Bakken region, held a beam-raising event in June. Classes are set to start Jan 15.

To help with all this activity a second campus for McKenzie County and Watford Citys Wolf Pup Daycare is being built south of the Rough Rider Center and Fox Hills Elementary. The daycare facility that Alexander and McKenzie County are working to bring to Alexander is only in the designing stages, at the moment.

McKenzie County in 2024 has a lot going for it economy-wise. The projects that have not been completed yet are well on their way to being done. They may cause a little inconvenience here and there but only make living in McKenzie County better in the end.
The North Dakota Petroleum Council recognized ND Senator Dale Patten Watford City for his service to the state and its oil and gas industry at their annual meeting on Sept. 20, in Watford City. Patten was awarded NDPCs Outstanding Public Service Award for his career going above and beyond the normal call of duty to make our state a better place to live and work. The award is designated to shine a spotlight on and thank elected officials, legislators, and public servants for excellence in public service and their efforts to improve the business climate in the state while ensuring that all parties are treated fairly, and rules and policies are followed, according to NDPC Communications Director Reva Kautz.
In late August/early September the owners of Elite Cabinets and Building Supply in Killdeer were able to fulfill a longtime request of their loyal customers. They opened Elite Cabinets and Building Supply in Watford City.

Josh and Becki Andersen had been supplying the people of Killdeer and the surrounding region with high quality building materials since 2018. They also do construction and were often frustrated with the fact that there was no lumberyard in Watford City and the Andersens were not the only ones frustrated. Clients, fellow tradesmen, business owners, and even staff of the local banks expressed their frustration of not having a good lumberyard in Watford City. After their business in Killdeer was established, they decided to look into opening a lumberyard in Watford City. They attended a few city meetings to find out what was needed, asked around and did their research, and everyone was very supportive and responsive. Josh said, "It's kind of nice with us living between Watford and Killdeer" and "It's pretty amazing how supportive everyone is in the Watford City area."

The Andersens do their best to bring good quality lumber and other building products to Watford City. Josh said, "About 90% of the building materials come from vendors from North Dakota." The Watford City store is located at 1504 4th Ave NE, and open Mondays-Fridays from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturdays from 7 a.m.- 4 p.m. They have free delivery within 50 miles. Call them at 701-842-3575.

The owners and staff of Elite Cabinets and Building Supply look forward to helping the people of Watford City with their lumber and building supply needs.
Watford City Municipal Airport was recognized as the 2022 General Aviation Airport of the Year by the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission in partnership with the North Dakota Aviation Association. The airport attained this award for building a new runway and parallel taxiway, installing new runway lighting and instrument approach procedures.

These projects were started in 2020 and completed in 2021. The airport closed for six months in order to tear out the existing runway and install a new one, which has increased length and weight capacity making it possible for larger aircrafts to utilize the airport. The new runway is 6,550 feet long and 75 feet wide.

While these have been the most recently completed projects, the airport has been in the process of making improvements for the last ten years with discussions of improvements beginning just prior to the oil boom. The airport apron, where planes park, load and unload, has been rehabilitated from asphalt to concrete and has doubled in size and tie-downs. There are two new hangar taxilanes, 15 new hangars, a reconstructed parking lot, and a new Aviation and Terminal Building. Additionally, during this time, a Master Plan and Airport Layout Plan were developed, multiple planning studies, wetland and cultural studies were conducted and 60 acres of land were acquired for the project. In the last five to six years flight instruction, rental aircraft, and fuel has all been made available on site.

As a general aviation airport, Watford City Municipal Airport does not offer commercial flights, but is now better able to accommodate more charter planes, private planes, company planes and air taxis. Additionally, the airport is more easily accessible to those doing flight training, pipeline patrol, air ambulance services, and aerial application. In 2012, there were 2,800 aircraft operations and 14 based aircrafts versus 7,300 aircraft operations and 35 based aircrafts in 2022.

We were looking at a runway rehab prior to the oil boom. The old runway was in poor condition and had penetrations to the approach ends, meaning that we wouldve had to shorten it from 4,400 feet to under 4,000 feet, limiting the planes we could accommodate even further. The oil boom just made that need greater, explained Airport Manager Luke Taylor, airport manager.

KLJ Engineering Services helped the airport throughout the process by assisting in obtaining federal grants, planning and design, and project management. Stata did all the electrical including runway lighting and poured concrete and Park Construction was contracted for all building needs.

Taylor, who has been the airport manager for the last seven years, and worked as airport authority four years prior to that stated, The Watford City Municipal Airport is the front door to the community for those doing business here. These improvements solidify the future of the airport, Watford City, and McKenzie County because it enables companies to do business more easily, whether bringing in executives, contractors or employees.
British telecom major Vodafone Group Plc announced a 10-year strategic partnership with tech major Microsoft Corp. with a view to provide generative AI, digital and cloud services to customers.

The move will help Vodafone to offer scaled digital platforms to more than 300 million businesses, public sector organisations, and consumers across Europe and Africa using Microsoft's generative AI.

Under the partnership, the companies will collaborate to use Microsoft's generative AI, hyperscale Vodafone's managed Internet of Things or IoT connectivity platform, develop new digital and financial services for businesses, and overhaul its global data centre cloud strategy.

Vodafone will invest $1.5 billion over the next 10 years in cloud and customer-focused AI services developed in conjunction with Microsoft. In addition, Microsoft will use Vodafone's fixed and mobile connectivity services.

Microsoft also plans to invest in Vodafone's managed IoT connectivity platform, which will become a separate, standalone by April 2024. The new company expects to drive growth in applications and expand the platform to connect more devices, vehicles, and machines.

Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft, said, "This new generation of AI will unlock massive new opportunities for every organisation and every industry around the world. We are delighted that together with Vodafone we will apply the latest cloud and AI to enhance the customer experience of hundreds of millions of people and businesses across Africa and Europe, build new products and services, and accelerate the company's transition to the cloud."

Earlier in the day, IT major Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. announced that it is collaborating with Microsoft to launch an AI powered tool, Innovation Assistant, that is built on Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Gustavo Petro has closed ranks in support of his Guatemalan counterpart, Bernardo Arevalo. The Colombian presidents diplomatic audacity, which on other occasions has caused friction and criticism, in this case earned him an ovation as he left the Central American country for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. A last-ditch attempt to prevent the transfer of power in Guatemala, which eventually took place in the early hours of Monday morning, meant that some of the international guests invited to the ceremony had to leave before the swearing-in. But not Petro, who remained firm in his promise not to depart until Arevalo had taken office.

Applause that is worth the effort. Battles that must be fought, Petro wrote in a message accompanied by a video of the ovation on X, his favorite social network. My personal position is the same as always; the fight for democracy from any point of view and by many paths. That is why we launched a solidarity campaign that helped in a certain way, so the destabilization that was underway would not have an effect, he told the press in Guatemala City, where he had left open the possibility of canceling his trip to Davos if circumstances required.

Petro, the first leftist president of contemporary Colombia, is aligned with the anti-corruption stance of Arevalo and his Seed Movement. He had already clearly positioned himself a year ago, before Arevalo was even considered a contender in the August 2023 presidential elections, when Guatemalas Attorney Generals Office unexpectedly indicted his defense minister, Ivan Velasquez. I will never accept the arrest warrant for Minister Velasquez. If Guatemala insists on jailing good men, we want nothing to do with that country, he declared at the time. Although he called the Colombian ambassador for consultation, the insinuation of a breaking of relations with the government of Alejandro Giammattei did not materialize.

Velasquez, Petro argued at the time, was persecuted by the interests he encroached upon when he headed the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) from 2013 to 2017, which laid bare the corruption of Guatemalas political class. From his position, sponsored by the United Nations, Velasquez dismantled dozens of corrupt structures and took on many powerful sectors. He might have stepped on many toes, but he was highly respected.

The accusation of prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche was presented as a breakthrough in the investigations into the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht. The same prosecutor, questioned in his country and labeled a corrupt actor by the United States, in December sought to annul the elections in which Arevalo was elected. The Organization of American States (OAS) considered the move an attempted coup detat. Ever since the Seed Movements candidate won the elections, the Public Prosecutors Office, headed by Attorney General Consuelo Porras, has attempted to prevent the inauguration of the president-elect with the opening of several judicial processes. The international community denounced these maneuvers as an attack on democracy and supported Arevalo, but few embraced the Guatemalan cause as fervently as Petro.

Petros rise to power a year and a half ago marked the path of the new Latin American left. His discourse in favor of the fight against climate change, rethinking global drug policy, or seeking total peace in Colombia provided him with international prominence at the beginning of his mandate. Later, his hyperactivity on social networks undermined Colombian diplomacy. Guatemala has allowed him to reassert himself after several misguided steps.

The Latin American left has warned of the risks of a politicized justice system, with significant differences from country to country. Denunciations of lawfare, proscription, or coup attempts such as the one suffered by Lula da Silva in Brazil have clouded regional politics. Arevalo is a progressive, and Petro identifies with what progressivism has classified as the main threat against democracy  which is the legal war  and he feels that Arevalo has been a victim of lawfare, says Mauricio Jaramillo, professor of international relations at the University of the Rosary in Bogota.

Petro aspires to be a regional leader, Jaramillo adds, and every time a constitutional crisis arises he takes the opportunity to present himself as a defender of democracy. He did so in the case of Pedro Castillo in Peru, ousted after a clumsy self-coup attempt, but his position then provoked an avalanche of criticism and reproaches. The leading role he played in Guatemala allows him to reconfigure his image in Latin America.

Unhesitatingly putting Colombias weight behind the legitimacy of Arevalos election worked out well for Petro, says analyst Sergio Guzman of the consulting firm Colombia Risk Analysis. I applaud what Petro did in Guatemala, but we have to view his democratic attitudes in a broad spectrum, he notes. Petro will also be judged by how democratic he is at home; how much he attends to the legitimate demands of the opposition. For the time being, Colombias president can chalk up a timely diplomatic achievement.

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Oil prices rose on Tuesday as Middle East supply concerns persisted and investors looked ahead to the release of latest inventory data as well as upcoming economic indicators from China for direction.



Benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.4 percent to $78.50 a barrel, while WTI crude futures were up 0.1 percent at $72.84.

Fears of disruptions to Middle East supplies remain after Houthi rebels fired a missile that struck a U.S.-owned ship Monday just off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden.

Israel's military has ended its "intensive" phase of operations in northern Gaza and will soon do the same in southern Gaza, the country's defense minister has said.

Weekly inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute will be out on Wednesday, given the U.S. market holiday on Monday.

Official inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration will be published on Thursday.

China is due to release 2023 and Q4 GDP data, along with December activity data, on Wednesday.

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Market Analysis
Tesla (TSLA) founder Elon Musk announced on X (formerly Twitter) his intention to increase his stake in the company from the current 13 percent to 25 percent. Musk emphasized his desire to play a significant role in Tesla's pursuit of leadership in artificial intelligence and robotics.

Musk further clarified his statement by saying that the increase in his voting control should be "enough to be influential" so that he can't be "overturned". Previously, Musk held approximately 20 percent of Tesla's shares, with a portion sold to fund the acquisition of X for $44 billion.

In a separate post, Musk acknowledged his limited influence compared to major shareholders like Fidelity and BlackRock (BLK). He explained, "At 15% or lower, the for/against ratio to override me makes a takeover by dubious interests too easy."

The chief executive earlier failed to get 25 percent voting control through dual-class share structure, as he was told that it was impossible after Tesla's initial public offering.

Dual-class share system comprises of two or more types of shares with different voting rights. It is adopted by many tech companies in order to grant the founder or early leader multiple votes for each share so as to maintain their influence over the company.

Musk argued that, "It's weird that a crazy multi-class share structure like Meta has, which gives the next 20+ generations of Zuckerbergs control, is fine pre-IPO, but even a reasonable dual-class is not allowed post-IPO."

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg holds 61 percent voting power at Meta despite holding lesser stake in the company than Vanguard, BlackRock and Fidelity.

Currently, the billionaire is facing a lawsuit filed by Tesla shareholder Richard Tornetta, regarding his $56 billion worth compensation package announced in 2018. The plaintiff claimed that Musk exploited his power over the company's board to obtain the biggest pay package for any CEO in the history.

In a response about the lawsuit, Musk posted that he is waiting for the Delaware Chancery Court's ruling about whether the package was excessive. He further confirmed that he has no "feud or battle at all" with the Tesla board.

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Business News
Japanese designer brand Uniqlo Co. Ltd. has filed a lawsuit against Shein alleging that the Chinese fashion company has copied its viral shoulder bag.

Uniqlo has sued Roadget Business Pte. Ltd., Fashion Choice Pte. Ltd., and Shein Japan Co., Ltd., operators of the retail brand Shein, regarding the sale of products that copy the form of the company's "Round Mini Shoulder Bag," in violation of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act.

The petition against the three companies was filed on December 28, 2023, in the Tokyo District Court.

The round mini bag sells for 1,500 yen ($10.27) in Japan, according to Uniqlo's website. Uniqlo's cross-body bag has been a huge hit online, with TikTokkers showing off how many items they can fit in it.

Fast Retailing, Japan's biggest clothing seller, opened the first Uniqlo store in 1984 and now operates 2,491 stores in 26 around the world, as of December 31, 2023.

In its latest financial report, Uniqlo's owner reported profits of 146.7 billion yen in the three months to the end of November, compared with 117.1 billion yen a year before.

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Business News
As is seen on the Tiago EV and Nexon EV, the new Tata Punch EV will also be offered in Standard and Long Range (LR) variants

Tata Motors opens the New Year 2024 with a new electric vehicle. The Tata Punch EV will be launched soon, featuring Tatas new Acti.ev dedicated EV platform. The car has been arriving at dealerships and there are more features revealed of this upcoming hot cake ahead of launch.

Tata Punch EV Features, Specs Leaked

Set to rival the Citroen eC3 and upcoming Hyundai Exter EV in its segment, the new Tata Punch EV will be positioned below Nexon EV and above Tiago EV in the companys electric vehicle lineup. It will also be offered in Standard guise with a smaller 25 kWh battery and LR (Long Range) versions with a larger 35 kWh battery.

Thus catering to the needs of users who can select a variant as per budget and range requirements. The launch is tomorrow, January 17th. Ahead of launch, finer details from brochures have been leaked by multiple individuals and media outlets. The main numbers are 25 kWh battery with Standard Punch and 35 kWh battery with LR model.

Standard Punch has 315 km claimed range, while Punch LR claims 400 km. There will be performance differences between the two and only LR models get rear disc brakes. With LR model, there will be a higher top speed too, at around 130 km/h or 140 km/h.

Next best thing in Indian car industry?

With Tata Punch EV, the company intends to hit the ball out of the park. As seen with Shrish Kaushiks walkaround videos of Tata Punch on YouTube, Punch EV will surely emerge as the next best thing in Indian car industry. We say this because it packs features, technology and other attributes that are unheard of in smaller cars (3.8m length).

In fact, many of the features and attributes that Punch EV is brining, leading sub 4m and compact SUVs dont offer as well, even today. The features include ventilated front seats, auto-dimming IRVM, rear disc brakes, LED fog lights with cornering function, a fully digital and configurable 10.2-inch instrument cluster, LED projector headlights, electronic parking brake, 360-degree camera, TPMS, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, premium upholstery and many more.

Not just features, Punch EV shares a lot of attributes with Nexon EV, Harrier and Safari, which are much more premium and expensive products. These are a twin-spoke steering wheel with backlit Tata logo, 10.2-inch touchscreen, electronic parking brake, jewelled gear selector with display and cruise control. Safety will be via 6 airbags, electronic stability control, tyre pressure monitoring system, 360-degree camera, ISOFIX child seat anchors and ABS with EBD.

Variant-wise features

Base Active trim will get LED headlights, 6 airbags, ESP and paddle shifters with multi-mode regen, among others. Adventure trim brings option to choose LR model. Feature additions are cruise control, fog lights with cornering function, 7-inch Harman infotainment, wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, electronic parking brake (LR only) and optional sunroof.

Empowered trim brings 16-inch alloy wheels, air purifier, auto fold ORVMs, 7-inch instrument screen, 10.2-inch infotainment screen, SOS function, options for DT colours and more. Top-spec Empowered+ adds leatherette seats, 360-degree camera, blind spot monitor, ventilated front seats, Arcade.ev app suite, 10.2-inch digital instrumentation, wireless smartphone charger, among others.

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Around 70 countries  with a total of more than 3.7 billion inhabitants, or almost half of the global population  plan to hold presidential or legislative elections in 2024. At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (WEF), which is held in Davos, Switzerland, there is noticeable concern about how disinformation may threaten these elections and the global health of democracy. A risk report published by the WEF in the run-up to the annual event, after consulting with 1,500 global experts, listed disinformation as the greatest short- and long-term risk, along with the climate crisis.

It is interesting to note that in the WEFs 2023 risk report, disinformation was not even included in the top 10 biggest threats, either in the short term (two years from now) or in the long term (10). This year, the WEF ranks it the biggest short-term risk, and the fifth-biggest long-term risk, behind different threats linked to climate change. In addition to the report, the program for the Davos summit  which runs from January 15 to 19  and the statements made at the forum confirm that misinformation is a major concern.

Police officers patrol the street, on the first day of the annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 15, 2024. DENIS BALIBOUSE (REUTERS)

Disinformation  that is, self-interested acts to confuse or whip up public opinion  can have an explosive impact, especially in a context marked by social polarization, increasingly fragile democracies, heightening geopolitical tensions and a challenging tech environment, where in addition to the fake news spreading on social media, there is now the threat of artificial intelligence.

Generative artificial intelligence, in particular, represents both a quantitative risk  disinformation can be produced in greater volume as humans do not need to create all the content  and a qualitative one  deepfakes make disinformation appear more credible, making it more persuasive and difficult to deny.

False accusations from politicians

Naturally, there are many ways for disinformation to reach the public, and often politicians are a dangerous source of fake news. In the United States, where presidential elections will be held in November, candidate Donald Trump has a proven track record of spreading disinformation, including false accusations of voter fraud in the 2020 election. Such tactics are as old as politics itself, but today, the situation is worse than it was in the past.

Leading international studies agree that democracy is declining on a global scale, with reports recording long periods where there have been more setbacks than progress.

A woman cleans the logo of the WEF, on the first day of the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos. GIAN EHRENZELLER (EFE)

The strong social polarization leads to a breakdown in communication, which  in addition to eroding efforts to build political consensus  also makes it more difficult for the media to debunk fake news. Even if these reports are accurate and valuable, they often go unnoticed or are not believed by citizens, who will believe the fake news stories if they are not ideologically aligned with the media outlet trying to debunk them.

On the other hand, social media, which monetizes user engagement, have a perverse incentive to encourage heated online discourse, which unleashes passions and engages people even more. As the writer, political scientist and former political advisor Giuliano da Empoli recently pointed out in an interview with EL PAIS, beyond the action of malicious actors, social media algorithms already promote discord and polarization.

In parallel, there is the problematic dilemma of whether  and how  large social media platforms should screen content. Containing the spread of false information in these viral content machines is key. But the goal of preventing the dissemination of fake news comes up against concerns that allowing these private tech giants to further block content could curtail freedom of expression.

Geostrategic competition has worsened the outlook, as authoritarian regimes are more interested in disrupting democratic processes today than they were a few years ago. The objective is twofold: to weaken the worlds largest democracies by plunging them into paralysis or even hatred, and to demonstrate to other countries that there are more effective models, in order to enlarge in the medium term the field of regimes  in which China, Russia and Iran rub shoulders  and shrink that of liberal democracies.

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There have been at least two cases of rebellion by astronaut crews in the history of space exploration. The first happened in 1968 during the Apollo 7 mission. Commander Wally Schirra had come down with a cold and fever, and his congested sinuses led him to ignore the reentry protocol. Schirra and the crew chose not to wear their helmets, fearing ruptured eardrums due to the pressure change. The second incident happened during the Skylab 4 mission (1973-1974), which was the final tour aboard the NASA space laboratory.

The Soviet Union already had a space station, Salyut 1 (which tragically ended in the deaths of its crew during reentry), and had just launched their second one into orbit. Meanwhile, NASA engineers repurposed an empty third stage of the Saturn V moon rocket to house a space station called Skylab. The shell enabled various experiments, including studying organism behavior in microgravity and testing new materials processing techniques. Skylab also had a solar telescope and amenities like individual bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a shower.

The laboratorys launch  Skylab 1  didnt go smoothly. A strong gust of wind damaged its insulating, anti-meteorite shield, and one of its solar panels. The second panel was undamaged but got stuck in a closed position. The primary focus of the first mission  Skylab 2  was to install a new protective shield and restore the space station to normal operation.

Skylab 3 focused on repairs and conducted a wide range of experiments. One of the notable studies involved observing how spiders create webs in weightlessness. This mission lasted 59 days, which was more than twice as long as the previous one.

Skylab 4 crew members from left: Edward G. Gibson, Gerald P. Carr and William R. Pogue; Kennedy Space Center, Florida; November 8, 1973. NASA

Skylab 4 was entrusted to a trio of rookie astronauts: Gerald Carr (mission commander), William Pogue (pilot) and Edward Gibson (science pilot). None had prior space experience, which was a crucial aspect of this story. The goal was to complete a nearly three-month stay. As the final Skylab mission, the work schedule was demanding. Adding to the challenge, the unexpectedly active Sun required more telescope observations.

The astronauts were given orders to start working immediately, leaving them little time to adjust to the new feeling of weightlessness. They experienced long episodes of dizziness and vomiting, but chose to conceal this from mission control. When their conversations about the nausea were overhead by mission control, Alan Shepard, the legendary Chief of the Astronaut Office, issued the first official reprimand of a crew during a space mission.

The mission got off to a rough start. Perhaps affected by the reprimand, the astronauts started making small mistakes and falling behind in their experiment program. It didnt help that Houston was trying to micromanage every minute detail, which frustrated the three men.

Normally, it takes a few years to prepare for a program of experiments in space. NASA wanted to leverage the last Skylab mission, so they solicited experiment proposals just a few months before launch. Hundreds poured in. As a result, researchers on the ground had to constantly guide the overwhelmed astronauts due to all the unresolved loose ends.

Skylab in Earth orbit in 1973. NASA

The Skylab 4 crew received 40 pages of instructions every day, covering everything from aiming the telescope to watering the bean seedlings. Every morning, Carr, Pogue and Gibson were greeted by six feet of teletype printouts with guidelines, formulas and procedures to be executed in the next 24 hours.

Pogue would later say that the schedule was particularly demanding due to the focus on astrophysics experiments. They gave you a certain time and certain angles and so forth, and youd get that certain star. Well, if you dont do that on time, the angles and everything dont do any good. I mean, theyre passe.

Intolerable living conditions

The first two Skylab crews had a relatively positive experience, but the third crew did not. A number of small but frustrating inconveniences piled up. The food cans didnt fit in the warmer, so all the food was lukewarm. The towels for personal hygiene felt rough. The drinking water had dissolved gas bubbles, causing constant burping. And the low atmospheric pressure meant the astronauts had to shout to communicate, even at relatively short distances. Astronauts developed nasal congestion in zero gravity, causing blocked sinuses and making their food tasteless.

However, what frustrated the Skylab 4 crew the most was the lack of organization. It seems that the previous crews were not diligent in maintaining order, even though good inventory management was crucial for keeping track of Skylabs 40,000 items stored in 100 cabinets. At Houston mission control, six people and a computer tracked the location of everything, but in reality, chaos had taken hold on the space station. To make matters worse, there was no lighting inside the storage cabinets. To find any item, like a camera or toothpaste, they had to search through drawers using a flashlight.

All these little things slowed the work and experiments fell behind schedule. The astronauts were commanded to take shorter rest periods, and they began to work 16-hour shifts, leaving only six hours for sleeping. Often, a single experiment, such as photographing solar activity or the new Kohoutek comet, lasted three to four hours.

Astronauts William Pogue (left) and Gerald Carr dispose of garbage bags down the chute. NASA

On Christmas Day, Skylabs path took it beyond the reach of tracking stations for a full orbit, leading to later rumors that the astronauts had turned off their radio. But Carr and Pogue were actually conducting a demanding seven-hour spacewalk on that day. When Houston casually suggested a break, they did so and Carr joked they would then turn on the answering machine.

Radio silence

One of the things we did is we got careless with our radios and we forgot to configure for one of our passes, said Carr, so when we went over one of the signal sites, people on the ground called us and we didnt answer them. But the media reports at the time said the crew had refused to speak with ground control.

The crew and mission control eventually held a conference to air their concerns and reached a consensus on the way forward, which included prioritizing key research and putting routine tasks on a shopping list to be completed at any time during the day.

That opened up the schedule, took all the pressure off. We were no longer racing the clock to get things done. That really solved the problem, Carr recalled. The loosening of the schedule allowed us to get their more important experiments done, and the rest of the stuff got done when we could, instead of on a real tight schedule. It worked out beautifully.

The astronauts had several tense discussions with mission control about the need to revise their work program. Eventually, their demands were met, and months later, a flight director admitted that the crew had been under excessive pressure. This experience led to several conclusions, including the importance of human factors and the need to have at least one experienced astronaut on every mission.

In August 1976, Henry Cooper, a respected journalist covering NASAs space program, wrote an article in The New Yorker suggesting that the stressed Skylab 4 astronauts had gone on strike for a day. When Coopers book about Skylab, A House in Space, was published later that year, he characterized the astronauts day off as a mutiny. The legend of the three mutineers persisted for years, adding a touch of color to NASA lore.

NASAs history division recently published the official account of Skylabs final mission, citing recorded conversations and the extensive work done by the Skylab 4 crew. At 87 years old, Ed Gibson is the only living member of the team. Despite the crews successful completion of all scheduled experiments (and even some additional ones), Gibson said its still disheartening that the mutiny remains the publics main memory of their 84 days in space.

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CES 2024 showcased all sorts of amazing inventions: airbags for motorcycles, inflatable farms, performance-enhancing leggings, plant-pet flower pots, palm-sized shavers, speaker-equipped photo frames, and futuristic robots. The worlds largest consumer technology expo held in Las Vegas never fails to astound with new inventions like anti-snoring pillows, smart mirrors, and emotion-detecting devices for babies and pets.

Last year at CES, there were some intriguing devices like interactive masturbators, printers for dyeing hair, and masks for making incognito video calls. One of the coolest inventions this year is a light bulb from Lepro that can use facial recognition to analyze the emotional state of a user and change the lighting to match their mood. The bulb is also equipped with an algorithm that simulates the human auditory system and synchronizes the lights according to the music that is playing to create an immersive audiovisual experience for the user.

French startup Neoplants claims the company has developed a plant that can eliminate indoor air pollution 30 times more effectively than a regular houseplant. We actually work on the DNA of plants, said Neoplants Alexandre Galbiati. We design them through bioengineering and insert a gene that allows them to absorb contaminants and turn them into plant matter. Galbiati says its only available in the United States, where plant genome editing is permitted.

Self-rocking stroller

At one of the rooms in Mandalay Bay, one of the hotels hosting CES, a baby stroller rocks gently by itself. Kevin Huang, the CEO of GluxKind, stands nearby and observes. This Canadian company has developed a stroller that utilizes artificial intelligence to simplify parenting. The aim is to provide parents with an additional set of eyes and hands when they are out and about. You can easily climb the steep hills of San Francisco or effortlessly go downhill with groceries in hand, said Huang. The cart not only moves but also stops and brakes automatically, making your life worry-free. The stroller at home comes in handy too. It can rock the baby while you read a book, sip coffee, or simply take a break.

Kevin Huang next to GluxKind's smart stroller I. R.

Robot to help you walk

Wirobotics defines their wearable robot as an easy and effective way to turn walking into exercise. The robot consists of a belt attached to the upper legs with metal struts. One mode assists with walking by lifting and pushing the legs, while the other provides resistance to strengthen the legs. While primarily designed for older people and those with Parkinsons or sarcopenia, it also caters to the young. It can actually help them adopt a better posture while walking, said Ji Young Kim from Wirobotics.

Phone case that turns an iPhone into a Blackberry

Physical keyboards on cell phones are a thing of the past, gradually replaced by larger touchscreens. However, Clicks Technology has developed an iPhone case that caters to nostalgic fans of the iconic Blackberry. The company that created it boasts former employees from Blackberry, Apple and Google among its ranks. At first glance, this case may have two downsides: its steep price of $137 (125) and its bulky size, which makes it feel more large a wide TV remote than a sleek mobile phone.

Florent Michel from Imki poses in AI-designed clothing. I. R.

AI that designs clothing

Generative AI goes far beyond ChatGPT. Everything you see here has been designed by AI, said Florent Michel, pointing to handbags, trousers and leather jackets studded with diamonds. Michel works for Imki, a startup that applies AI to clothing design in collaboration with fashion houses. Previously, designers used to sketch their ideas by hand and then use programs like Photoshop to render their final drawings. Now, all they need to do is write text descriptions of their design concepts and view the results. How do these AI-designed clothes differ from those created by humans? They dont. Thats the point, said Michel.

Avatar head

Some inventions at this years CES look like they came straight out of the Black Mirror TV series. Last year, avatars for deceased relatives attracted some interest. Now, one of the most surreal gadgets is a head for avatars  the WeHead. Its a display that allows you to feel the presence of a virtual human or a digital clone of a person in the physical world. As humans enter the virtual worlds of the metaverse via their digital avatars, said the inventors, WeHead offers digital human developers the possibility to bring their AI agents to the real world via a physical device.

Palmplug can be used to monitor physical therapy exercises. I. R.

Device to touch virtual reality

Palmplug is a device that monitors hand movements and uses haptic technology to provide users with a sense of touch in video games. Say youre looking at a virtual reality image of a car. With PalmPlug, when you reach out and touch it, you can actually feel the vibrations, said Palmplugs Kevin Shi. Or you can put your hand in [a VR image of] flowing water and feel it. The device can also aid in rehabilitation, such as post-stroke recovery. You can turn the exercises into a game so you dont get bored too quickly. Plus, you can even share the data from the glove with your doctor.

AI that translates medications

If you try to use Google Translate to find the French equivalent of Tylenol (paracetamol), its not going to give you the answer, said Cristopher Burrow, head of Humetrixs medical informatics and data analytics group. This company has created SOSQR Global, an AI-powered platform that translates medical terms and medications into over 20 languages in 150+ countries. When youre traveling and a specialist needs to check your medical history, or if the medication you use has a completely different name in another place, it can be very useful.

Laurent Marfisi with the telescope developed by Unistellar. I. R.

Telescope for accessible astronomy

Using a telescope for the first time can be frustrating, says Laurent Marfisi of Unistellar. The first issue is that you might not see much with a regular telescope. And the second thing is that using these telescopes can be quite tricky, he said. His company offers a solution  a smart telescope for accessible astronomy. It identifies celestial objects, captures photos, and sends them to your phone. It can even send notifications. For instance, itll let you know that today is a great day to catch a glimpse of Jupiter in your neighborhood, said Unistellars Maggie Zaboura.

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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was released from the hospital on Monday, after spending two weeks there to treat complications from surgery for prostate cancer he kept secret from senior Biden administration leaders and staff for weeks.

Austin will be working from home as he recovers, and his doctors said he progressed well throughout his stay and his strength is rebounding. They said in a statement the cancer was treated early and his prognosis is excellent.

In a statement, Austin expressed thanks to the medical staff and said that as I continue to recuperate and perform my duties from home, Im eager to fully recover and return as quickly as possible to the Pentagon.

Austin, 70, was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Dec. 22 and underwent surgery to treat the cancer, which was detected earlier in the month during a routine screening. He developed an infection a week later and was hospitalized Jan. 1 and admitted to intensive care.

Dr. John Maddox, the trauma medical director, and Dr. Gregory Chesnut, the director of the Center for Prostate Disease Research at Walter Reed, said that during Austins hospitalization he underwent medical tests and was treated for lingering leg pain. They said he has physical therapy to do but there are no plans for further cancer treatment other than regular checks.

President Joe Biden and senior administration officials were not told about Austins hospitalization until Jan. 4, and Austin kept the cancer diagnosis secret until Jan. 9. Biden has said Austins failure to tell him about the hospitalization was a lapse in judgment, but the Democratic president insists he still has confidence in his Pentagon chief.

During Austins time at Walter Reed, the U.S. launched a series of military strikes late last week on the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, targeting dozens of locations linked to their campaign of assaults on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Working from his hospital bed, Austin juggled calls with senior military leaders, including Gen. Erik Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command, and White House meetings to review, order and ultimately watch the strikes unfold over secure video.

The lack of transparency about Austins hospitalization, however, has triggered administration and Defense Department reviews on the procedures for notifying the White House and others if a Cabinet member must transfer decision-making authorities to a deputy, as Austin did during his initial surgery and a portion of his latest hospital stay. And the White House chief of staff ordered Cabinet members to notify his office if they ever cant perform their duties.

Austins secrecy also drew criticism from Congress members on both sides of the political aisle, and Rep. Mike Rogers, an Alabama Republican who is chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he has opened a formal inquiry into the matter. Others openly called for Austin to resign, but the White House has said the Pentagon chiefs job is safe.

It is still unclear when Austin will return to his office in the Pentagon or how his cancer treatment will affect his job, travel and other public engagements going forward. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks has been taking on some of his day-to-day duties as he recovers.

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UBS has downgraded AstraZeneca and upgraded rival GSK as part of its latest review of the European pharmaceutical sector.

The Swiss bank now has a buy rating on GSK, switching from a previous sell, while AstraZeneca is downgraded to sell from buy.

It said of AstraZeneca: "Our key concern is the exposure of the company to US Medicare Part D reform, which slows our sales growth assumptions from 2025.

"We see AstraZenecas oral oncology portfolio as particularly exposed to the requirement for pharma to fund 20% of catastrophic cover from 2025, up from around 2%.

"This forced effective price cut, coupled with likely increased PMB formulary pressures, means we are around 5% below consensus core earnings before interest and tax for 2025/26.

"On the positive side, our view of probability-adjusted mid-stage pipeline means we are modestly above consensus by 2028/29."

In contrast, UBS said GSK would set to benefit from strong demand for its shingles vaccine Shringrix.

It noted: "We forecast Shingrix sales significantly ahead of consensus, as the recently signed China deal opens up a large volume market with attractive economics.

"We are above consensus for HIV switch rates to oral doublet/long-acting, adding a longer tail of patent protection to 2029/30.

"The current valuation offers an attractive entry point."

As at 1145 GMT, shares in AstraZeneca were down 3% at 10,568p, while GSK was largely flat at 1,581.2p.

UBSs target price for AstraZeneca is 10,700p and 1,860p for GSK.
KYODO NEWS - Jan 16, 2024 - 19:21 | Others, All

Japan's transport minister said Tuesday it will revoke certifications necessary for mass production for three models built by Daihatsu Motor Co. after the small-car unit of Toyota Motor Co. was discovered to have rigged safety tests.

Tetsuo Saito, minister of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism, called for corrective action to prevent recurrence of similar misconduct when he met with Daihatsu President Soichiro Okudaira.

"It is a major issue concerning trust in Japan's manufacturing industry, and has shaken the foundations of our automobile certification system," Saito said at a press conference.

The ministry will revoke certifications for the Gran Max commercial vehicle model sold by Daihatsu, the Town Ace produced by the carmaker for Toyota and the Daihatsu-built Bongo for Mazda Motor Corp.

The revoking will be the third case in Japan following certifications canceled at Toyota's truck-manufacturing arm Hino Motors Ltd. and Toyota Industries Corp., a Toyota group forklift maker, according to the ministry.

Daihatsu is in the midst of a falsified safety tests scandal. The small-vehicle specialist halted all shipments at home and abroad in December after a third-party panel set up by the company identified improper safety tests stretching as far back as 1989.

While the ministry investigated its headquarters in Osaka Prefecture, the company decided to keep its domestic production suspended until at least the end of January.

The ministry is examining 45 models, including 27 currently manufactured and 18 older models, and will decide on the punishment with regard to the remaining 42 models.

Related coverage:

Safety scandal-hit Daihatsu widens list of compensation-entitled entities

Daihatsu suspends all plants in Japan due to safety test scandal

Daihatsu to keep production suspended until Jan. over safety scandal
Shells board faces a shareholder rebellion as large investors including the UKs biggest pension scheme prepare to back a climate activist resolution. Twenty-seven investors have agreed to back a resolution filed by the Dutch shareholder activists at Follow This that calls for the oil company to align its medium-term emissions reduction targets with the 2015 Paris agreement.  Guardian

Fuel retailers will be forced to share near-live information on price changes at the pump to help drivers find the cheapest petrol and diesel, after the government accused them of treating motorists as cash cows. Petrol station owners will be required to provide data within half an hour of any change as part of a political effort to bring transparency to the sector amid concerns that drivers are being ripped off.  Guardian

Sir James Dyson has turned to a car industry veteran to run his gadget empire, years after he sank 500m into a doomed attempt to build an electric vehicle. Hanno Kirner, who has had executive stints at Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin, will become Dysons new chief next month, replacing Roland Krueger after four years.  Telegraph

Plans for the construction of a second new nuclear power plant in Britain have moved a step closer after a development consent order was officially triggered. Sizewell C in Suffolk is expected to cost about 20 billion and could generate enough energy to power six million homes.  The Times

The Greek government is to sell more than half of its majority stake in Athens International Airport, which could result in control of the gateway moving to Germany. The Greek government said that it aimed to dispose of a 30 per cent stake in Athens airport, also known as Eleftherios Venizelos after the Greek national liberation leader, in an initial public offering on the local stock market. That could be as early as next month. The stake could be worth 800 million, according to industry estimates.  The Times
By Takumi Kawaguchi, KYODO NEWS - Jan 16, 2024 - 12:03 | All, Japan, World, Feature

Municipal governments in Japan are working to attract information technology engineers from across Asia to support local businesses faced with fierce competition from their more powerful, big-city competitors.

Projects designed to help small and midsize companies lacking the resources and reach to recruit information technology engineers have become increasingly valuable, although an unwillingness to experiment is preventing many local governments from engaging with overseas talent.

Eyemovic Inc., an IT company based in the city of Matsuyama, is one of the companies that needed help, which in its case was provided by Ehime Prefecture in hiring a Nepalese engineer last spring.

"The Japanese language is very difficult, but I want to learn many new technologies," said 26-year-old Subash Rijal, who has been tasked with website development at the company.

Founded in 2005, Eyemovic operates with a workforce of about 50 and has branch offices in Kagawa, Kochi and Tokushima -- the other three of the four prefectures on the western main island of Shikoku -- as well as in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

"Competition with the big IT companies to recruit engineers is extremely fierce," said Kenichiro Morimoto, the 45-year-old president of the regionally-based software provider.

Recent Cabinet Secretariat data showed some 60 percent of IT engineers in Japan are in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and almost 90 percent of domestic companies surveyed said they are struggling to hire the people they need.

Although recruitment of Japan-based foreign personnel is a solution to the problem, most companies lack the necessary know-how to create such opportunities on their own.

While India is known as an IT powerhouse, Indian engineers are much in demand around the world. The Ehime government therefore looked toward India's neighbor, Nepal.

"Although Nepal has an abundance of competent IT engineers, competition to employ them is not very intense," an Ehime official in charge said. "So we thought that local companies have a chance."

By paying for Japanese language education and other expenses in Nepal, the Ehime government has helped 17 local companies employ or offer jobs to 29 Nepalese engineers, Rijal among them. Launched in fiscal 2022, the program to pair foreign IT engineers with companies is expected to continue until fiscal 2024.

An official at the prefectural government's industrial human resources division said it is "looking to create ties with Nepal and develop an environment in which companies in the prefecture can recruit on their own."

In related developments, the Toyama prefectural government is supporting local companies in building relationships with universities in Vietnam, while Sapporo in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido has found success in helping businesses hire engineers from countries such as Bangladesh thanks to subsidies provided by the city office.

However, not many municipalities across Japan are eager to push forward with such initiatives.

A nationwide Kyodo News survey has found that only 20 percent of local governments are working to promote the acquisition of overseas IT talent, with many reluctant to introduce such programs citing a lack of know-how and "the language barrier," among other reasons.

Japan ranked 43rd out of 64 global economies in the 2023 World Talent Ranking by the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development, based on indicators such as the ability to attract human resources in Japan and abroad.

Japan's relatively low salaries, particularly at a time when the yen is weak, and hurdles in learning the language, among other factors, were cited as reasons for the lack of foreign interest.

Yuji Kobayashi, a principal researcher at Persol Research and Consulting Co., stressed the importance of creating psychological connections to attract foreign talent.

"Foreign workers often feel lonely because there are few foreign colleagues, and their connection with Japanese people in daily life is also very limited," he said, noting, "Local governments supporting efforts, such as the establishment of consultation services and community networking, could be effective" in luring engineers from other countries.

Related coverage:

FEATURE: Nishikigoi breeders hope for early resumption of exports to China

FEATURE: Disney's 100th-anniversary work "Wish" challenges status quo

FEATURE:Japan's high-end medical services attract affluent Chinese tourists
Karnataka Bank (KBL), a prominent private sector bank, and Clix Capital, a rapidly growing NBFC, have forged a strategic digital co-lending alliance through YubiCo.Lend platform. This collaboration is specifically geared towards extending loans to the Indian MSME sector, a significant contributor to the country's GDP and employment. Aligned with RBI guidelines on co-lending to priority sectors, the partnership leverages Karnataka Bank's cost-effective funding, digital capabilities, and expertise, coupled with Clix Capital's robust lending tech platform and thorough due diligence. The objective is to offer seamless and cost-effective digital financing solutions, drawing on the strengths of both partners to reach underserved segments. The agreement was formalized in Bengaluru.

Karnataka Bank Limited, headquartered in Mangalore, is an Indian private-sector bank categorized as an 'A' Class Scheduled Commercial Bank. With a widespread presence encompassing 913 branches, 1188 ATMs & Cash recyclers, and 587 e-lobbies across 22 states and 2 union territories, the bank serves a customer base exceeding 11 million, facilitated by its 8,652 employees. The bank's shares are listed on both the NSE and BSE . Operating under the tagline "Your Family Bank Across India", Karnataka Bank has embraced core banking and internet banking. Additionally, it has implemented its "MoneyPlant" ATM system, consisting of 1187 ATMs & Cash recyclers and 586 e-lobbies, extending its reach nationwide.

Clix Capital functions as a lending platform catering to both individuals and businesses. The platform extends services like home loans, SME loans, and financing for machinery and equipment, including construction, medical, and office equipment. Additionally, it provides loan calculation services. YubiCo.lend, an inventive loan marketplace, is reshaping India's co-lending landscape by efficiently connecting banks and financial institutions on a unified platform. Its latest features empower originators and investors to adjust a customer's existing loan amount in alignment with the outstanding principal, facilitating the foreclosure process.
You have successfully achieved your NRI (Non-Resident Indian) status! But as you work abroad, you have to deal with various documents and paperwork, as well as take care of your familys financial needs in India. You also have to manage your investments and other assets. Thats why opening an NRI account can be very helpful.

If you are a new NRI and want to know how to open an NRI account, you have come to the right place. Thanks to digital technology, many banks provide NRI account opening services with features designed for NRIs, such as convenient money transfers and investment options.

However, before you open an account, you should be prepared for any potential difficulties that may come up and overcome them in advance.

Let's understand these probable problems you might face when opening an NRI account in India and their solutions.

Process for opening an NRI account

One of the primary challenges you can encounter is the complex and time-consuming NRI account opening process. There is -

Paperwork

Documentation requirements

Compliance procedures

Different time zones

Limited access to physical branches

To address this concern, we at IDFC FIRST have started offering solutions to open NRI accounts basis your availability and convenience along with a dedicated relationship manager.

Regulations that govern NRI investments

As an NRI, if you want to invest in India, you have to comply with varying rules and regulations. For instance 

You need to begin by opening an NRI account, preferably a Non-Resident External Account (NRE) or a Non-Resident Ordinary Account (NRO) to invest in stocks or shares

or a to invest in stocks or shares If you hold existing investments under resident category, You are required to convert existing trading and Demat accounts to Rupee-designated NRO accounts

You must obtain a PIS (Portfolio Investment Scheme) account for stock trading under repatriation category.

You cannot invest in small savings schemes like the Public Provident Fund (PPF) and National Savings Certificate (NSC)

Determine and verify your residential status

Opening an NRI account requires proof of NRI status and address. And let's face it  determining your residential status, especially for those with frequent travel, dual citizenship, or recently acquired NRI status, is quite complex.

You have to 

Monitor your trips to and from India

If these details aren't readily available, you need to cross-check data from your passport, visa, and flight records

Submit documents such as passport, valid visa, work permit, overseas resident card, PAN card, or employer letter for verification along with an overseas address proof.

Therefore, keep these documents updated and readily accessible to expedite the verification process.

Communication issues (due to time zone)



This leads to misunderstandings and delays in opening an NRI account. You may be unable to reach out to the bank or get timely responses to their queries due to 

Different time zone

Language barriers

Limited availability of customer support services

Many banks, like IDFC FIRST Bank, now offer dedicated customer support services for NRIs, including 24X7 toll-free helplines.

Personalised banking services

Due to their large customer base and high demand for resident banking, some banks cant offer personalised services. As a result 

It might appear that you receive less personalised attention than resident customers due to limited face-to-face interactions due to overseas residence

There are delays in opening an NRI account, processing requests, limited assistance, and a lack of tailored financial solutions that meet your unique needs

Progressive banks now provide dedicated and personalised relationship managers to solve the concerns of their NRI customers and make the NRI account opening process seamless. We at IDFC FIRST Bank also offer personalized assistance as we provide you a dedicated relationship manager to cater to all your banking needs.

Limited ease of access and knowledge in banking

Being physically distant from India, visiting a bank in person for opening an NRI account is nearly impossible. This can lead to 

Difficulties in accessing banking services

Insufficient information on banking products and investment options

To address this, many banks now offer online platforms and mobile applications, allowing easy access to account information, fund transfers, and investment options.

Hidden charges and fees

While opening an NRI account, you also open the door to various charges, including 

Transaction fees

Currency conversion fees

Account maintenance fees

Commission for financial planning services

Charges for opening Demat and PIS accounts

Charges for not maintaining the minimum balance

Debit card charges

IDFC FIRST Bank offers NRI savings accounts with no charges for various banking services, including non-maintenance of the required balance.

To sum it up

While opening an NRI account has historically been an intricate process, the banking industry has made significant strides to address the concerns faced by NRIs. By offering solutions to open NRI accounts online, specialised services, and dedicated customer support, banks are working towards making the NRI account opening process easier for you.
The Karnataka government is set to introduce specialized booster kits for startups in the state within the next month, according to Priyank Kharge, the IT/BT Minister. He shared that these new kits are designed to be more practical and tailored to specific sectors, aiming to address the unique needs and challenges faced by startups. Kharge highlighted the government's efforts to understand the requirements of different sectors, emphasizing the engagement with various sectors to identify specific ways to effectively support startups. For example, in biotech startups, scaling up is the primary challenge after the proof of concept stage, while for robotics startups, tie-ups with organizations like ARTPARK could be beneficial.

The existing Karnataka booster kit for startups, introduced in 2016, provides software tools, cloud credits, mentorship, access to incubators, government funding, and legal and financial consultancy services. Priyank Kharge, the IT/BT Minister, highlighted ongoing discussions with startups to comprehend their evolving needs, leading to the development of the new sector-based booster kits. In response to the current funding environment, Kharge mentioned the government's collaboration with venture capitalists (VCs) to enhance the value provided to startups. The government is also working on a framework to reduce startup failures and promote success, exemplified by initiatives like the ELEVATE program, which recently closed for applications and received substantial interest.

Kharge expressed the government's interest in collaborating with startups to address urban infrastructure and mobility challenges, planning an urban solutions summit for these discussions. He criticized the central government for imposing a high angel tax, believing it hampers innovation and startup growth in India. Kharge urged the central government to ease such policies to support initiatives like Startup India and foster innovation within the country.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  The New York State Department of Civil Service (DCS) has released its January application schedule for New Yorks entry-level civil service exams.

The open-competitive exams are an opportunity to start a career with New York state. These tests are open to anyone who meets the qualifications listed on the examination announcement.

The application period opened for the following exams: addictions program specialist 1; addictions program specialist 2; addictions program specialist 2 (gambling); aging services representative; aging services representative (Spanish language); computer operator trainee; identification examiner 2; long-term care systems specialist 1; long-term care systems specialist 1 (health); long-term care systems specialist 2; long-term care systems specialist 2 (health); long-term care systems specialist 3; long-term care systems specialist 3 (health); mental health program specialist 2; mental health program specialist 2 (clinical); mental health program specialist 2 (DOCCS); ocean & lakes policy analyst 1; park manager 1; park manager 2; park manager 3; park supervisor 1; park supervisor 2; senior computer operator; supervising janitor; vocational rehabilitation counselor trainee 1; vocational rehabilitation counselor trainee 1 (manual communications); and vocational rehabilitation counselor trainee 1 (Spanish language).

Applications are open until either Jan. 17 or Feb. 7 so be sure to check deadlines if youre interested in a career.

Visit www.cs.ny.gov/examannouncements/types/oc to apply for exams. Application fees are waived for this month.

Some careers offer an additional annual downstate adjustment if they work in the five boroughs of New York City or in Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland or Westchester counties.

According to the state, an application must be submitted online or postmarked by the last date to apply. An application will not be accepted after the application filing deadline has passed. There are no application fees for the exams this month.

To be considered for an appointment, you must pass the written test.

If approved for a written test, you will receive an admission notice, which will indicate your assigned test date and the way your test will be administered. Your test may be administered with paper and pencil or online at a state test site using a state-provided Chromebook. You cannot request to change your scheduled day or request a specific type of test administration.

All positions offer benefits, including paid leave, health benefits and retirement plans. In addition, telecommuting options may be available to employees who meet certain criteria. The salaries for each position vary.

To learn more about working for the State of New York, visit the Department of Civil Service website and follow the department on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  In 2023, Walmart closed nearly two dozen stores across 12 states, blaming poor performance and record-breaking retail theft for the cutbacks. And, according to a recent media report, the shutdowns are continuing in 2024.

The San Diego Union-Tribune recently reported that the retail giant will close two stores in San Diego County, California, next month, because the company was unable to reach an agreement with property owners and opted not to renew the leases.

We are grateful to the customers who have given us the privilege of serving them at our San Diego and El Cajon stores, Walmart Communications Director Brian K. Little told the Tribune. We look forward to continuing to serve them at any of our many locations across the area, on walmart.com and through delivery to their home or business.

Employees at the stores  125 in San Diego and 232 in El Cajon  will reportedly have the opportunity to relocate to another nearby location before the closures officially take place on Feb. 9. Walmart currently has 27 stores, supercenters and markets in the county, as well as one Sams Club in San Diego.

The companys website indicated there are now some 4,616 Walmart stores located across the United States.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y  Keri Sheheen, a Staten Island native and multidisciplinary artist, played a pivotal role in the renovation of the New Dorp station of the Staten Island Railway.

The installation, titled Creeping On Where Time Has Been,' comprises around 350 square feet of glass and metal artwork fabricated by Mayer of Munich and Ferra Designs, Inc.

Creeping On Where Time Has Been (2023) Keri Sheheen, SIR New Dorp Station. Commissioned by MTA Arts & Design. Photo: Courtesy of Keri Sheheen (Courtesy of Keri Sheheen)(Courtesy of Keri Sheheen)

MTA Art & Design, a commissioned art program designed for the transportation systems serving NYC, selected Sheheen to bring her artistic vision to the project.

The artist designed metal railings leading to the newly installed elevator and crafted a total of six windows  three for each side of the station.

Nine metal panels with blue, yellow, and red glass add beauty to the walkway leading to the elevator on the Tottenville-bound side of the station. The colorful border, also seen on the glass panels of the station, honors the stained glass of the original 1889 station house, relocated in 1965.

Creeping On Where Time Has Been (2023) Keri Sheheen, SIR New Dorp Station. Commissioned by MTA Arts & Design. Photo: Courtesy of Keri Sheheen (Courtesy of Keri Sheheen)(Courtesy of Keri Sheheen)

The metal design features an ivy backdrop to beach bungalows, inspired by New Dorps beach resort era and historic structures like Langs Hotel and the Cedar Grove Clubhouse.

The St. George-bound side of the station celebrates the areas agricultural history with a prominent rooster to welcome commuters. The rooster stands over Britton Cottage, once on New Dorp Lane and the home to botanist Nathaniel Lord Britton, now located in Historic Richmond Town. The Tottenville-bound side features a deer standing near the Vanderbilt Mausoleum in Moravian Cemetery, honoring Cornelius Vanderbilts impact on Staten Islands commute.

Creeping On Where Time Has Been (2023) Keri Sheheen, SIR New Dorp Station. Commissioned by MTA Arts & Design. Photo: Courtesy of Keri Sheheen (Courtesy of Keri Sheheen)(Courtesy of Keri Sheheen)

With a deep connection to the area, having attended Staten Island Tech, her grandparents residing in New Dorp, and currently living and working from her home studio, Sheheen drew inspiration from the rich history of Staten Island.

I was inspired by the lush greenery of Staten Islands past, the original station windows that were relocated to Historic Richmond Town, and the historic architecture prevalent in the region, including the beach bungalows that once graced the shoreline, Sheheen said.

Gaining insight from the historical photographs capturing ivy-covered farmhouses predating the 1960s suburban development, Sheheen incorporated a visual pattern to interconnect the window and railing designs.

Creeping On Where Time Has Been (2023) Keri Sheheen, SIR New Dorp Station. Commissioned by MTA Arts & Design. Photo: Courtesy of Keri Sheheen (Courtesy of Keri Sheheen)(Courtesy of Keri Sheheen)

Collaborating with skilled fabricators to bring my designs to life was such an incredible opportunity, Sheheen said.

Mayer of Munich in Germany crafted my windows, which were so memorable as my fiance and I visited their studio last summer to meet their team and witness their impressive workspace,' she said. The equally impressive railings were expertly fabricated by Ferra Designs in Brooklyn.

The title of the artwork, from a Charles Dickens poem, The Ivy Green, serves as a poignant allusion to the ivy motif, symbolizing the enduring essence of time and nature on Staten Island, which continues despite modern developments.

Creeping On Where Time Has Been (2023) Keri Sheheen, SIR New Dorp Station. Commissioned by MTA Arts & Design. Photo: Courtesy of Keri Sheheen (Courtesy of Keri Sheheen)(Courtesy of Keri Sheheen)

Beyond the conventional gallery spaces, Sheheen actively collaborates with Coney Island USA, contributing to the annual Mermaid Parade in Brooklyn through her unique hand-painted banners. Her artistic ventures extend to local art markets and fairs, where she shares her creations through her traveling print company, Parlor Trick Prints LLC.
The mayor of North Wildwood was brief in his assessment of 13th Avenue.

The dune has breached, Patrick Rosenello remarked, while water flowed through a sandy gape on the ever-eroding beach.

For decades, the Jersey Shore town has faced significant coastal erosion, defined by the National Geographic Society as the wearing away of rocks, earth, or sand on the beach due to waves, strong storms and sea level rise.

Climate change, which fuels larger and more consistent storm systems with higher waves, has been shown to speed up this process.

North Wildwood officials have taken temporary measures to fend off the encroaching tides during recent winter storms but must wait until spring 2025 or longer for a massive U.S. Army Corps of Engineers beach replenishment to bolster the shoreline.

This month, Rosenello has monitored particular sections of his shore including between 12th and 15th avenues where a dune was recently rebuilt.

After a powerful storm earlier this month brought fierce winds and considerable rainfall to New Jersey, the mayor said all of the 36-block beach was at risk and 10 of those blocks were inaccessible at high tide.

After more harsh weather followed, the first breach of that vulnerable section  at 13th Avenue  was reported over the weekend. A resident, PJ Hondros, posted a video of the breach.

Now that its open it could just get wider at every high tide. Whatll happen is that thing will just keep growing, Rosenello said Tuesday morning, unable to confirm the latest at the scene amid the ongoing snowstorm.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and North Wildwood have been pitted against each other since 2020 over the future of the citys slice of shore.

So far, the state has cited the city for unauthorized beach repairs and issued a fine  which has been folded into a larger ongoing $33 million legal battle.

The state declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.

North Wildwood advised the NJDEP last week that they plan to apply for an emergency authorization for a bulkhead. The department will review the application once it is received, department spokeswoman Caryn Shinske said Tuesday morning.

READ MORE:

North Wildwood has not had its beach replenished with sand for roughly a decade, linked to delays for a wide-spanning federal project also slated to benefit Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and Lower Township. That project is set to begin construction next year but must overcome additional hurdles including public and private real estate easements, an Army Corps spokesman confirmed.

North Wildwoods attorney plans to appeal to the state this week for an emergency steel bulkhead at 13th Avenue, similar to one that stretches from 3rd to 12th avenues. Another structure like it wraps around the citys beach patrol headquarters.

We have zero shore protection at that location. A moderate noreaster could cause significant infrastructure damage, Rosenello said Tuesday morning of the area around 13th Avenue. A major noreaster, youre talking about a public safety (concern)... its an immediate threat.

Without approval from the state for emergency beach work this week, Rosenello said the city may appeal to the judiciary.

Coastal erosion, made worse by early January 2024 storms, requires emergency beach fixtures, according to local officials.Photo courtesy of John W. Harkins Sr.

Coastal erosion, made worse by early January 2024 storms, requires emergency beach fixtures, according to local officials.Photo courtesy of John W. Harkins Sr.

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Steven Rodas may be reached at srodas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X at @stevenrodasnj.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  The main headquarters for the Archdiocese of New York will be relocated to a building next to St. Patricks Cathedral, Cardinal Timothy Dolan announced Tuesday.

The central office has been situated for over 50 years in the Terence Cardinal Cooke Catholic Building at 1011 First Ave. in Manhattan. St. John the Evangelist R.C. Church shares the building, as did Cathedral Girls High School prior to its move to a new location in September, according to Cardinal Dolan.

It has been apparent for several years, however, that 1011 no longer made sense as our home, Cardinal Dolan said. The cost to maintain the physical structure, advances in technology which allow for more remote work, and a desire to be closer to the people we serve throughout the archdiocese, all led us to begin discussions on a possible move, in order to more effectively and efficiently utilize the resources of the archdiocese in service to our people.

The new location for the headquarters will be 488 Madison Ave., next to St. Patricks Cathedral, Cardinal Dolan said.

As you may know, the main offices of a diocese are required to be in the See city, that is the city where the diocesan cathedral is located, Cardinal Dolan said. Not all offices, however, are required to be there, and many offices will move to other locations around the archdiocese, in most cases utilizing existing archdiocesan and parish property, allowing us to be good stewards of our resources.

The building at 488 Madison Ave. was at one time the location of a Catholic Charities orphanage, as well as the former home of Cathedral College Seminary.

The move will be made sometime in 2025, Cardinal Dolan said.

There have been no decisions on what will happen with 1011 First Avenue, but I will do my best to keep you posted as we move closer to this historic move, he said.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A body was recovered in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, after authorities received a report of an individual jumping from the Outerbridge Crossing, according to Port Authority Police.

Police received the initial report at 2:55 p.m. on Monday.

No information about the individual has been released.

An investigation is underway, the Port Authority Police told the Advance/SILive.com.

This fatality is the third incident from a bridge connecting Staten Island to New Jersey in a little more than a week.

On Tuesday, Jan. 9, a man was found dead in the street in Elm Park. It is believed he had jumped from the Bayonne Bridge, according to a spokeswoman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

On Saturday, Jan. 6, a 31-year-old woman jumped from the Bayonne Bridge and was located around 12:55 p.m. by NYPD Harbor officers in the water near the bridge, as previously reported by the Port Authority Police Department. The individual survived and was last listed in stable condition.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline offers 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress. If you or someone you know needs support, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
RIVERHEAD, N.Y.  An architect charged in a string of slayings known as the Gilgo Beach killings was accused Tuesday in the death of a fourth woman, a Connecticut mother of two who vanished in 2007 and whose remains were found more than three years later along a New York coastal highway.

Rex Heuermann was formally charged in the killing of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, months after having been labeled the prime suspect in her death when he was arrested in July in the deaths of three other women.

In court, Heuermann wore a dark suit and did not say anything during the proceedings. He will continue to be held without bail. The judge set the next court date for Feb. 6.

Police say the breakthrough came from DNA extracted from hair at the scene. A hair found with Brainard-Barnes remains is genetically similar to a DNA sample taken from Heurmanns ex-wife. During the period when Barinard-Barnes disappeared in 2007, Heuermanns ex-wife and his daughter were staying out of town at a hotel in Atlantic City, the indictment and her attorney confirmed.

Alleged Gilgo serial Killer Rex Heuermann appears inside Judge Timothy P. Mazzei's courtroom with his attorney Michael Brown at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, N.Y. on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. Heuermann is indicted in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes. (James Carbone/Newsday via AP)AP

Prosecutors said Heuermann also searched the internet for phrases that suggested he was afraid of getting caught including How does cell site analysis work, Gilgo news, How cell phone tracking is increasingly being used to solve crimes, and phrases with the term Long Island Serial Killer.

Heuermann has maintained his innocence from day one and looks forward to defending himself in court, attorney Mike Brown said. He entered a not guilty plea on the latest charges. Brown said he is still reviewing new information presented by prosecutors in court documents Tuesday morning.

At the news conference Tuesday, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said the indictment provides some small measure of closure for families.

It marks the end of the investigation into the so-called Gilgo four, Tierney said.

Prosecutors now turn their attention to prosecuting those cases and investigating other bodies found nearby.

Brainard-Barnes, 25, who was once employed as a dealer at the Foxwoods Resort Casino, left her hometown of Norwich, Connecticut, on July 9, 2007, and headed to Manhattan for sex work, with plans to return the following day, according to friends who became concerned when she uncharacteristically stopped using her phone.

She never came back.

Crime laboratory officers arrive to the house where a suspect has been taken into custody on New York's Long Island in connection with a long-unsolved string of killings, known as the Gilgo Beach murders, Friday, July 14, 2023, in Massapequa Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)AP

I was only 7 years old when my mom was murdered, Nicolette Brainard-Barnes, 24, said at the Tuesday news conference. I remember she read to me every night. Now I can no longer remember the sound of her voice.

Heuermann was arrested July 14 and charged with killing Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello, three women who authorities say also were sex workers. Heuermanns lawyer said he has denied committing the crimes. He previously pleaded not guilty to killing Barthelemy, Waterman and Costello.

Brainard-Barnes was the first of the four women to disappear. Their remains were found along the same quarter-mile (400-meter) stretch of parkway in the Gilgo Beach area of Jones Beach Island in 2010. Additional searching turned up the remains of six more adults and a toddler who was the child of one of the victims.

Investigators also found electronic evidence that Heuermann had accessed Costellos prostitution advertisement Sept. 1, 2010, according to court documents.

Police concluded that an 11th person found dead in a tidal marsh on the same barrier island accidentally drowned.

Suffolk County district attorney Ray Tierney, left, inside Judge Timothy P. Mazzei's courtroom at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, where alleged Gilgo Killer Rex Heuermann was indicted in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes./Newsday via AP)/Newsday via AP)AP

Investigators have said Heuermann, who lived in Massapequa Park across the bay from where the bodies were found, was probably not responsible for all the deaths. Some of the victims disappeared in the mid 1990s.

Investigators zeroed in on Heuermann when a new task force ran an old tip about a Chevy Avalanche pickup through a vehicle records database. A hit came back identifying one of those make and models belonging to Heuermann, who lived in a neighborhood police had been focusing on because of cellphone location data and call records, authorities said.

With the tip breathing new life into the investigation, authorities charted the calls and travels of multiple cellphones, picked apart email aliases, delved into search histories and collected discarded bottles  and even a pizza crust  for advanced DNA testing, according to court papers. Detectives said Heuermanns DNA on the pizza crust matched a hair found on a restraint used in the killings.

A crime laboratory officer places a bag of items into the back of a truck as law enforcement searches the home of Rex Heuermann, Saturday, July 15, 2023, in Massapequa Park, N.Y. Heuermann, a Long Island architect, was charged Friday, July 14, with murder in the deaths of three of the 11 victims in a long-unsolved string of killings known as the Gilgo Beach murders. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon)AP

Last summer, Heuermanns ex-wife, stepson and daughter agreed to give DNA samples to prosecutors, according to court documents. Investigators compared them against DNA collected from bottles sipped by Heuermann and tossed into trashcans near his home.

Police said other evidence linked Heuermann to the victims, including burner cellphones used to arrange meetings with the slain women.

After the arrest, investigators spent nearly two weeks combing through Heuermanns home, including digging up the yard, dismantling a porch and a greenhouse and removing many contents of the house for testing. Investigators found hundreds of electronic devices during their lengthy search of Heuermanns home, according to court documents released Tuesday. Prosecutors say the devices contained a collection of bondage and torture pornography.
KYODO NEWS - Jan 16, 2024 - 11:34 | All, Japan

Police have put a 62-year-old senior member of a yakuza crime syndicate on the wanted list for allegedly fatally shooting a man at a Starbucks outlet in western Japan over the weekend.

Local police have obtained an arrest warrant for Yuichiro Maetani on suspicion of murdering the 49-year-old man at a Starbucks Coffee Japan Co. shop located in a shopping mall in Shikokuchuo, Ehime Prefecture on Sunday.

Maetani, a member of the Ikeda-gumi syndicate based in nearby Okayama, is still at large after fleeing the scene carrying what appeared to be a handgun, according to the police.

He is around 163 centimeters in height and was wearing a red jacket and beige pants at the time, they said.

An autopsy showed that the victim, Yuichiro Ishikawa, bled to death, the police said, adding the suspect likely shot him multiple times in the chest area.

The police believe Ishikawa was on the terrace of the coffee shop when he was shot. None of the other customers in the shop were hurt, they said.

The police suspect that Maetani and Ishikawa knew each other and were involved in some kind of trouble.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Applications are now being accepted for New York Citys free public 3-K and pre-K programs.

The application period for the 2024-2025 school year will remain open until March 1, city Department of Education officials have announced. Offers will be released on May 14.

The citys 3-K (for 3-year-olds) and pre-K (serving 4-year-olds) programs are free, full-day educational programs in public schools and community-based organizations. A full school day is six hours and 20 minutes.

They are part of a broader effort to create more high-quality early care and education programs for children from birth to age 5.

All NYC children born in 2021 can apply for 3-K for the 2024-2025 school year, and those born in 2020 may apply for Pre-K. All children, including those currently attending EarlyLearn or other preschool programs, children with disabilities, children with accessibility needs, children learning English, and students in temporary housing are eligible to apply. Children do not need to be toilet trained to attend 3-K.

Settings

There are four settings for 3-K, and you can choose to apply to all of them.

NYC Early Education Centers (NYCEECs): These are community-based organizations with early childhood expertise. NYCEECs could be private schools, day-care or other sites that partner with New York City.

District Schools. Some public elementary schools offer 3-K and Pre-K. Consider this option if you want your child to attend a program in an elementary school setting.

Pre-K Centers. Pre-K Centers are run by city public school staff and only offer grades before kindergarten. Consider Pre-K Centers if you want your child to attend a program in a setting with only other young children.

Family Child Care (Home-Based Programs). Home-based programs, also known as family child care programs, offer 3-K in a home setting by a licensed, qualified, child-care provider.

Seat types

There are three seat types within the Pre-K and 3-K programs:

School Day seats are open to all NYC children. These seats are free and provide care and learning for six hours and 20 minutes per day during the school year, typically from September to June. All 3-K settings offer this seat type.

Extended Day and Year seats are free or low cost and provide care for up to 10 hours of early care and education a day, year-round, including the summer. Eligibility for these seats is based on family income and needs. To apply, complete a Child Care application on are free or low cost and provide care for up to 10 hours of early care and education a day, year-round, including the summer. Eligibility for these seats is based on family income and needs. To apply, complete a Child Care application on MyCity

Head Start seats are free and provide 10 hours of early care and education a day, year-round. Eligibility for Head Start is based on family income and needs. If you receive an offer to a Head Start seat, the program will work with you to confirm your childs eligibility. are free and provide 10 hours of early care and education a day, year-round. Eligibility for Head Start is based on family income and needs. If you receive an offer to a Head Start seat, the program will work with you to confirm your childs eligibility.

Residents of school districts have priority to attend programs in their own district. All programs are offered in all 32 school districts.

How to apply

There are three ways to apply:
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A second bout of snow is set to make its way through New York City this week following Tuesdays end to the citys 700+ day snow drought.

Motorists navigated the Tuesday morning commute, combatting the conditions resulting from snowfall that began the evening prior. In Westerleigh, snow neared 2 inches, with amounts totaling 1.8 inches, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Meanwhile, in Dongan Hills and Bloomfield, the Advance/SILive.com recorded just an inch.

It's been 701 days since Central Park last recorded an inch of snow on a calendar day.



Latest totals as of 7 am:



Since midnight -- 1.0"

Storm total -- 1.4"



The streak has ended! #NYwx  NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) January 16, 2024

Despite the heaviest of Tuesdays precipitation resting in the rearview mirror, an NWS winter weather advisory remains in effect for the region until 7 p.m.

These conditions may cause significant travel difficulties, according to Notify NYC. Use mass transit if possible.

Tuesday will predominantly be characterized by a wintry mix and light rain that will linger into the late afternoon/early evening hours, as reported by NWS Meteorologist Brian Ciemnecki.

We are expecting a cold night tonight (Tuesday). Temperatures tonight across Staten Island will be down into the teens, Ciemnecki said.

NYC FORECAST FOR WEEK AHEAD

Both Wednesday and Thursday hold the promise of dry days.

Wednesday will yield temperatures in the mid 20s, with Thursday featuring temperatures right around freezing at 32/33 degrees, according to Ciemnecki.

As temperatures drop off Thursday night into the mid 20s, we will also see the onset of another weather system expected to bring about some additional snowfall, Ciemnecki told the Advance/SILive.com.

Right now were expecting a period of just mainly light snow Thursday night into Friday night, Ciemnecki said.

Snowfall amounts remain uncertain at this time for Ciemnecki, however, an early AccuWeather graphic calls for New York City to potentially see anywhere between 1 and 3 inches of snow.

Despite this forecast, AccuWeather meteorologists note that the system must be monitored for last-minute strengthening, which could produce heavier precipitation.

- An AccuWeather graphic shows a wave of arctic air expected to hit New York on Friday, Jan. 19, and linger through Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. (Courtesy of AccuWeather)(Courtesy of AccuWeather)

Temperatures on Friday will be right around freezing before dipping into the teens Friday night, Ciemnecki noted.

Behind that late-week storm, Arctic air may more forcefully push into the eastern states this weekend, compared to this past weekend, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Matt Benz said. The main thrust of the cold air will be directed more to the Southeast, rather than southward over the Plains like the current Arctic outbreak.

AccuWeather reports that on Saturday, temperatures may struggle to reach 23 degrees during the day and may plunge into the teens at night.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A storm dropped about an inch of snow on Staten Island for the Tuesday morning commute, making roads slippery and ending a snow drought in New York City that lasted more than 700 days.

With the city Sanitation Department salting overnight, most of the main roads were clear to the blacktop but snow was covering some side streets and sidewalks.

An Advance/SILive.com measurement in Dongan Hills recorded an inch at 11 a.m.

A National Weather Service winter weather advisory of mixed precipitation is in effect for the region until 7 p.m.

These conditions may cause significant travel difficulties, according to Notify NYC. Use mass transit if possible.

HERE ARE LIVE UPDATES:

9 a.m. Staten Island Railway trains are running back on schedule after previous delays.

Snow is gradually turning over into sleet and freezing rain on Staten Island as temperatures inch closer to the 30s. Slippery conditions on roads and sidewalks might worsen, but the combination of snow and rain created an idyllic scene at Grasmere Lake.

Snow, sleet and freezing rain turn Grasmere Lake into a winter wonderland on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel

8 a.m. Delays are reported on the Staten Island Railway (SIR). Trains are running with delays in both directions after a train with a mechanical problem was removed from service at the Grant City station, according to an alert from the MTA on X, formerly known as Twitter.

SIR trains have resumed making regular stops between Great Kills and Grant City.

7 a.m. The snow drought of 701 days in New York City officially has ended, according to the National Weather Service New York. Totals as of 7 a.m. are one inch since midnight with a storm total of 1.4-inches in Central Park in Manhattan, according to a post on X.

It's been 701 days since Central Park last recorded an inch of snow on a calendar day.



Latest totals as of 7 am:



Since midnight -- 1.0"

Storm total -- 1.4"



The streak has ended! #NYwx  NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) January 16, 2024

The city Emergency Management department announced on X that 7 a.m. on Tuesday marks the end of our remarkable 701-day streak, almost two years, without 1 of snow in Central Park.

Stay warm and safe as you enjoy the snow, and continue to exercise caution.

 7AM today marks the end of our remarkable 701-day streak, almost two years, without 1" of snow in Central Park.



Stay warm and safe as you enjoy the snow, and continue to exercise caution. The @NWSNewYorkNY has extended the Winter Weather Advisory to 7PM.  NYC Emergency Management (@nycemergencymgt) January 16, 2024

Traffic is moving on the Staten Island Expressway, Brooklyn bound, with some slowdowns near Bradley Avenue and also on the approach to the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge near Fingerboard Road, according to 511 NY.

Some congestion also is reported on the West Shore Expressway near Arden Avenue northbound, according to 511 NY.

Congestion is reported on the Staten Island Expressway, Brooklyn bound, at Fingerboard Road for the morning rush hour on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (Courtesy of 511 NY)Courtesy of 511 NY

A measurement from Bloomfield around 7 a.m. recorded an inch of snow. (Photo courtesy of Bill Lynch)Photo courtesy of Bill Lynch

6:55 a.m. A measurement from Bloomfield recorded an inch of snow.

6:30 a.m. Snowfall is expected to continue all day and so will the city Department of Sanitations efforts of making streets safe and collecting trash, according to a post on X.

The Strongest put down 40 million pounds of salt on every street, every bike lane, every highway, according to the post. We are prepared to keep salting AND start collecting trash this morning.

Despite their efforts, some roads and sidewalks are wet and slippery. A car careened into the brush next to the West Shore Expressway at Veterans Road West near Englewood Avenue.

A car is spotted in the brush at Veterans Road West and Englewood Avenue near the West Shore Expressway on the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel

Snow blankets Staten Island on the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (Staten Island Advance/Maura Grunlund)Staten Island Advance/Maura Grunlund

5:30 a.m. The roadways are wet on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and motorists are advised to drive at a reduced speeds, according to the MTA.

So far, the Staten Island Railway is on schedule, according to the MTA.

Public schools are open and drop off and dismissal are expected to proceed on their usual schedules, according to the city Department of Education (DOT).

NYC SNOW FORECAST

The forecast calls for one to two inches of snow to fall on our borough before the storm likely ends on Tuesday afternoon during the evening rush hour, according to AccuWeather.com.

Temperatures are below freezing in the mid-20s at the start of the morning rush hour on our borough. The mercury likely will peak at 33 degrees, just above freezing, according to AccuWeather.com.

Snow could taper off and end on our borough sometime around 4 p.m., according to AccuWeather.com.

The National Weather Service is forecasting additional snow accumulations of up to two inches and a layer of ice up to one tenth of an inch in the region.

Slippery road conditions are possible for both the morning and evening commutes, according to the National Weather Service.

Refreezing on some surfaces is possible late in the afternoon and evening for the region, according to the National Weather Service.

Drivers should slow down and use caution while traveling and check with their local Department of Transportation about road conditions, according to the National Weather Service.

Snow blankets Clove Lakes Park near Forest Avenue on the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel

Snow blankets Clove Lakes Park near Forest Avenue on the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel

Snow blankets Clove Lakes Park near Forest Avenue on the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel
San Mateo, CA (94402)

Today

Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High 68F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 49F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
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This article is part of our My First Job series, where Age writers and columnists share the tales of finding their feet and receiving their first paychecks.

My sense of smell has always managed to transport me to different times in my life. Peppercorn trees take me back to primary school recess behind the shed. Burning incense and the smell of clove cigarettes take me to backpacking across South East Asia. And musky air freshener takes me back to my first job as a waiter at Cavendish House*.

Cavendish House was a retirement village in one of Melbournes leafy south-eastern suburbs. It was marketed as offering premium services for luxury retirement living.

Working at a luxury retirement village introduced me to a range of characters. Credit: istock

The complex itself was a large red-brick building in a faux-Edwardian style, comprised of around 30 one-bedroom units. While they were reasonably modest, Cavendish had impressive communal spaces, which were the jewels in its crown. There was the ornate library, the cinema and its plush chairs, the felt card tables used for bridge and mahjong. And then there was the restaurant, open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, serviced by a full-time chef and a team of wait staff.

Thats where I came in.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size In January, I spend most of my time lying on the couch, solving murders. I read crime at other times of the year too, but some weeks during summer I finish so many books that by Sunday I cant remember whodunnit in which small country town. By the time February comes, the body count is high and my tolerance for blood is even higher. It is then that I retreat to something gentle and quiet to reset. It was Enid Blytons Famous Five who introduced me to the thrill of a good mystery. Growing up, I lived in an outer-eastern suburb with a single milk bar. Everyone knew everyone. Before meeting the Five, including cousin George and Timmy her dog, my life highlight was winning two Violet Crumbles for dressing up at a book parade as Pippi Longstocking with wired plaits and mismatched socks. Even then, I had to share the prize with my brother. There were no smugglers operating on my streets, or hidden caves to be explored; all I had was a muddy brown dam where I caught yabbies for lunch, and a couple of cows that didnt chase anyone. When I first read Blytons mystery books, I was knee-deep in the usual adolescent dramas. There was the boy I liked who didnt notice me watching him from the other end of the mobile library. The friend who left for a private school and forgot I existed. And my parents, who I fought with because there was simply nothing else to do. I was bored and in need of some way to stretch my thinking beyond these rather pedestrian problems. I knew there was no way to solve puberty. It was going to happen whether I liked it or not, so as a distraction, I turned my attention to the adventurous world of detective stories. Loading Nancy Drew was a crime-fighting teenager created as an alternative to the Hardy Boys by a publisher who saw a gap in the market. In 1930, just 10 years after American women were given the vote, the first Nancy Drew book was published. Almost immediately she became an icon, showing largely girl readers they could solve problems using reason and deduction instead of emotion. There wasnt anything Nancy Drew couldnt do  from piloting planes, speaking fluent French, picking locks and tapping out Morse code with her heels, she was frustratingly capable. At first, I thought Id found my mentor, the one who would teach me to solve mysteries, but she was rich and glamorous and I just couldnt imagine myself living Nancys life, or even being her friend. Pausing life in January while I work through a pile of murders is a relief.

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I needed a teenage detective that I could relate to, one who was feisty and strong but with all the normal pressures of being a kid. I finally found her wrapped in the cream spine of a Trixie Belden mystery. Trixie was first published in 1948, and where Nancy was out of my league, Trixie was as ordinary as I was. She gathered up a host of friends to make a secret club, and over the course of 39 stories, led them to outwit thieves, uncover arsonists and find precious treasure, all while looking after siblings, struggling with maths, and doing the housework. Diving into each Trixie mystery meant pausing the jealousy I was feeling about my best friends new best friend, or the worry of what would happen when my period started. Instead, I could temporarily roam the streets with Trixie and her friends hunting out abandoned buildings and rescuing the injured. My diary entries from around this time started shifting focus from marrying some boy and fighting with my brother to suspicious vehicles like the green mini with the scratch down the side and the white van parked in a cul-de-sac for longer than necessary. The fact there were no cul-de-sacs in my suburb didnt seem to matter to me. Trixie had them, so I did too. She was the reason I used all of mums lemons to make invisible ink and wrote secret notes to my friends at school, becoming fluent in pig Latin when we needed our own language. She was the reason I rode my bike up and down suburban streets hunting out crime and why I jotted down the number plate of a white van Id never seen before. But mostly, she became the reason that not everything in my life felt out of control. Perhaps I couldnt solve the mystery of how to kiss Peter, but with Trixies help, I could work out what had happened to the missing millions. The young stars of the new Famous Five get to work. Credit: Stan Publicity Obviously, I was not the only young reader with this mystery obsession. The Famous Five, Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden are some of the most enduring series of all time and have had enormous cultural impact on generations of readers. And despite contemporary criticisms of the books perceived racism, anti-feminism and sexism, these stories continue to be mined for new content. Loading Nancy Drew has never been out of print. She has been used in film, television, video games and graphic novel spin-offs, and is often referenced as the inspiration for the television character Veronica Mars. The Famous Five is back on our screens in an adaptation that attempts to modernise much of Blytons problematic language and gender stereotypes, but the characters and the mystery elements remain the same. And Trixie Belden still has a dedicated fan base.

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Sydney Metro worked on plans to pay senior managers of a partnership to oversee the Metro West rail project salaries hundreds of thousands of dollars higher than those in similar roles on public-sector wages.

The agency was preparing to pay the top 18 executives of the proposed public-private partnership, which relied on advice from Macquarie bankers, base salaries significantly above those of bureaucrats, internal documents obtained by the Herald show.

Construction workers walk through tunnels at Rozelle for the Metro West rail project. Credit: Edwina Pickles

Detailed work by Sydney Metro reveals that it planned to pay the CEO of the so-called Metro West partnership a $750,000 salary, 50 per cent higher than for a similar position at the agency. The delivery director was earmarked for $650,000 a year, about $264,000  or 68 per cent  higher than what was described in the documents as the Sydney Metro benchmarking salary for the role.

Under the plans, the partnerships chief operating and chief financial officers were both to be paid $600,000, compared with $386,000 for similar roles.
A tattoo of a woman in a bikini and a computer-generated image could be the key to cracking a four-decade-old cold case.

Police hope someone may be able to identify a man who was hit by a train and killed in Sydneys inner west in 1981, with detectives still unable to identify the body.

A computer-generated image of a man killed by a train in 1981. Credit: NSW Police

On April 14 that year, a Tuesday afternoon, the man believed to be in his late 20s was struck by a train in the rail corridor between Stanmore and Newtown stations.

While there are no suspicious circumstances, police were unable to identify the man despite his distinctive tattoos.
Streetwise: Looking Back 100 Years

by Frank Dunnigan

January 2024

Development was relatively sparse in the western neighborhoods 100 years ago, but in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake and fire, many San Franciscans began to move westward. Business and civic infrastructure (streetcar service through the 1917 Twin Peaks Tunnel began running in March of 1918) accompanied them on the journey toward the Pacific Ocean. Here are a handful of examples of just what was taking place in the western neighborhoods back in 1924.

This new hilltop residence, photographed a full 18 years after the 1906 earthquake/fire, looks as though it might be located in some remote mountain village. In fact, it is in the middle of the Forest Hill development, and remains essentially intact today with only a few minor alterations at 65 Castenada Avenue: a 3-bedroom, 2.5 bath property that sold for $2 million in 2021. See recent images of this home and neighborhood.

In 1924, there was some development in the Sunset District, though most of it was still east of 19th Avenue. Here is an early example of westward expansion at 20th Avenue and Noriega, looking west. At that time, there was a row of houses already built to the right along the 1700 block of 20th Avenue. Note that the sand has yet to be cleared from Noriega beyond the present block, as a crew handles the re-installation of a utility pole at the northeast corner of the intersection.

In 1924, the sign above this buildings entrance on 19th Avenue read The Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company, then a central office originally built in 1911. Within two years of this photo, another office building for the company was under construction immediately to the right, and housing units were being constructed to the left. Pacific Telephone later combined and expanded their offices at this location (1515 19th Avenue) into a single structure that is now occupied by a different commercial business.

This 40-foot wooden cross was erected on Mount Davidson in 1923 and used for a non-denominational Easter sunrise service that year, though it was burned down by vandals two years later in December 1925. A larger cross was built in 1926, but it was destroyed by fire in December 1928. A new 3rd cross was built in 1929, but burned down in May 1931. A smaller 4th cross was hastily built in spring 1932, but it was reported as wrecked just over one year later. Emma Baldwin then donated the land for construction of a 100-foot-tall fireproof cross made of reinforced concrete. Individual subscribers donated $20,000 for the construction that required 30,000 feet of lumber to mold into place the 750 cubic yards of concrete that surrounded 30 tons of reinforced steel, with a foundation that goes down 16 feet to bedrock. Herb Caen reported that when engineers noted that excess building materials were available at the site, the height of the present cross was quickly increased to 103 feet. Local resident Madie Brown wrote to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and persuaded him to preside over the lighting ceremony. From the White House in Washington, D.C., Roosevelt pressed a gilded telegraph key to light the new cross for the first time on March 24, 1934. For many years, the cross was flood-lit every night, but that practice ended during the energy crisis of the early 1970s. In more recent times, concerns were expressed about city ownership of a religious symbol on public land. A court ruling ordered the city to divest itself of the cross. In response, the cross and its fractional acre of land was sold to the highest bidder at public auction, where it was purchased by the Council of Armenian-American Organizations of Northern California, a non-profit secular corporation, for $26,000. The sale was approved by a majority of San Francisco voters in the November 4, 1997 election, as well as by a unanimous vote of the Board of Supervisors. The monument was re-dedicated in 1998 and a plaque placed at the site reads: This revered site is cared for in memory of the 1,500,000 victims of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Turkish government from 1915 to 1918. The cross is now lit annually at Easter and on April 24, Armenian Genocide Memorial Day. Read more about the opening of the 1923 time capsule in June 2023.

The Alexandria Theatre, shown here in 1924, was built with an Egyptian design popular in the 1920s, and opened in November 1923. Redesigned in the Moderne style in 1941 just before the U.S. entry into World War II, the theatre was a neighborhood anchor at 18th Avenue and Geary Boulevard for decades with second-run features. It was one of the few local theatres with its own adjacent parking lot on 18th Avenue. By the 1950s, it was upgraded to show 70mm films and with a reserved seating policy, and featured long runs of such blockbuster hits as Cleopatra (56 weeks), South Pacific (48 weeks), and Oliver! (43 weeks). In November 1976, the Alexandria reopened after being converted into a triplex and continued on in that mode for another quarter century until it closed abruptly in February 2004. The parking lot has since been converted to multi-story housing, but while plans for the theatre building itself have been discussed, nothing definite has come to pass. In early 2023, winter storms caused damage to the deteriorating vertical sign, and local government engineers ordered the owners to remove it in the interest of public safety. Read more about the Alexandrias deterioration.

Residence parks were a popular concept in San Francisco in the years just prior to the 1917 entry of the United States into World War I. Although Presidio Terrace, adjacent to Arguello Boulevard, was developed in 1905, construction activities on newer, larger communities such as St. Francis Wood, Forest Hill, West Portal Park, and Ingleside Terraces were already underway when Westwood Park emerged in 1916 as a similar locale but at more moderate prices. The expansion of World War I and the involvement of the United States in April 1917 caused construction to be suspended temporarily, but it returned with strong sales in the post-war years of the early 1920s, as shown here on Faxon Avenue in 1924. Read Woody LaBountys two articles from 2013 about the birth of Westwood Park: Part 1 and Part 2

The Parnassus Masonic Temple at 9th Avenue and Judah Street saw its cornerstone laid in a grand ceremony on February 23, 1914, with a crowd of 2,000 people in attendance. At the time, there were dozens of Masonic Lodges in San Francisco, one in virtually every neighborhood. The building often leased out the ground floor to retail businesses (Safeway was a long-time occupant of that space and the basement in the World War II era), with lodge rooms, administrative offices, and a kitchen/dining room on the upper floors. Shown here in 1924 when it was 10 years old, the building was undergoing maintenance and the ground floor appears to be vacant. (Note the triple-lamped gas streetlight at the corner, still in common use.) The lodge eventually sold the property, as its membership numbers declined severely in the post-World War II period, and the entire building is now occupied by a variety of commercial tenants.

In 1922, Park Commission President Herbert Fleishhacker arranged for the purchase of a large parcel of land from the Spring Valley Water Company for the construction of a large swimming pool, playfield, and zoo at the site, all to be managed by the Park Commission for the benefit of San Francisco residents. Fleishhacker and his brother Mortimer donated $50,000 to construct a Mother's Building on the site in memory of their mother, Delia Fleishhacker. Mayor James Rolph introduced a resolution to name the entire park after the Fleishhacker family. Shown here in August 1924, the six-million-gallon pool (filled with heated ocean water and patrolled by lifeguards in row boats) is nearing completion prior to its 1925 opening. By the early 1970s, the pool had fallen into disrepair and was closed. It was eventually paved over for the zoo parking lot, and in December 2012, the abandoned bathhouse building was destroyed by a fire. Today, the only monument to this memorable civic facility is the triple-arched entrance wall of the old bathhouse structure, and the Mothers Building. Read more about the early history of the pool in Woody LaBountys 2001 article and see the remaining wall of the bathhouse building.

The Palace of the Legion of Honor is another civic amenity that came about because of the generous philanthropy of one individual, San Francisco native Alma deBretteville Spreckels. The building, a full-scale replica of the French Pavilion at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, was opened on Armistice Day, November 11, 1924, and dedicated to the memory of California soldiers who died in World War I. Mrs. Spreckels personally visited Europe to generate financial support and to persuade both the French government and Queen Marie of Romania to donate works of art to the new museum. From 1992 to 1995, the building underwent a seismic retrofit, systems upgrades, and significant expansion of basement areas into additional galleries. At that time, numerous graves were found beneath the building, a clear reminder of Lincoln Parks prior use as a City Cemetery. The museum is now operated in conjunction with the deYoung Museum under the joint name Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

One of the most scenic streets in San Francisco was being laid out in 1924. Often called Harding Boulevard at the time (in honor of U.S. President Warren Harding, who died at the Palace Hotel in August 1923), it was more commonly referred to as El Camino del Mar. Running from the Palace of the Legion of Honor site to 48th and Point Lobos Avenues above the Cliff House, the roadway offered exceptional views of the entrance to San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Land in the area proved notoriously unstable, however, resulting in the abandonment of a nearby streetcar line following storms in 1925. The nearby El Camino del Mar roadway proved equally problematic to city maintenance crews, with repairs to the cracking and sliding roadway a common occurrence. The area was closed to vehicular traffic by the early 1960s, and today is a walking trail only.

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KYODO NEWS - Jan 16, 2024 - 13:20 | World, All

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for a constitutional change to define South Korea as a "primary foe and invariable principal enemy," with the top legislature deciding to abolish entities that promote dialogue with the South, state-run media said Tuesday.

In a speech at a session of the Supreme People's Assembly on Monday, Kim said his country should not refer to South Korean people as "fellow countrymen" and the supreme law should call for intensified education to spread the idea that they are an enemy, the official Korean Central News Agency said.

The leader said the constitutional revision should be discussed at the next parliamentary session.

His remarks were made amid escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang recently fired a barrage of artillery shells near the disputed western maritime boundary with South Korea, followed by Seoul conducting a military exercise in retaliation.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol criticized the North's move during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, saying defining the Koreas as hostile to each other shows Pyongyang's "anti-national and ahistorical" nature.

Kim also said Pyongyang can specify in its Constitution "the issue of completely occupying, subjugating and reclaiming" South Korea and annex it as a part of the North's territory in case of a war breaking out on the Korean Peninsula.

He called the Northern Limit Line, the two Koreas' de facto maritime border, illegal and warned that if South Korea violates "even 0.001 mm (millimeter) of our territorial land, air and waters, it will be considered a war provocation." The NLL was drawn by U.S.-led U.N. forces after the 1950-1953 Korean War.

Kim also instructed the blocking of all the channels for North-South communications along the border, including "physically and completely cutting off the railway tracks in our side" that existed as a symbol of inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation "to an irretrievable level."

The leader also said the envisioned constitutional revision should be followed by timely practical measures "to get rid of the remnants of the past era" which may be seen as symbols of the two Koreas "with consanguineous and homogeneous relations" as well as "peaceful reunification."

The parliament decided to scrap three organizations intended for cooperation with the South -- the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, the National Economic Cooperation Bureau and the Kumgangsan International Tourism Administration, according to KCNA.

Related coverage:

North Korea test-fired solid-fuel hypersonic ballistic missile: KCNA

Ukraine identifies missiles used by Russia as North Korean-made

North Korea leader's message to Japan on quake sparks hope for dialogue
Sydney could miss out on Matildas and Socceroos matches if the playing surface at Allianz Stadium is compromised by the lifting of the venues concert cap, Football Australia has warned.

The veiled threat followed an announcement by NSW Premier Chris Minns on Wednesday that the government would lift a nearly 30-year cap on the number of concerts permitted at the SCG or Allianz each year from four to 20.

The Matildas celebrate after scoring a goal against Canada in an exhibition match at Allianz Stadium in September 2022. Credit: Getty Images

Minns said the limit, in place since a Rolling Stones concert in April 1995, had unnecessarily choked Sydneys ability to host world-leading performers, and the extra 16 concerts would add up to $120 million into the states economy.

But the move could come at the cost of future international matches involving Australias two national football teams, with Football Australia echoing the concerns of the other sporting tenants at Allianz who fear the extra traffic will squeeze them out of the venue or damage the turf.
This article is part of our Summer in Sydney series, where Herald staff reveal the best  and worst  of our city in the hotter months.

Over the past 20 years Killarney Heights has become a little slice of France around the bend from Sydney Harbour. The once insular peninsula, down the hill from Forestville on the northern beaches, is now anything but that. It combines the best of European flair, food and culture with the bush and the water facilities that are so wonderfully unique to Sydney.

We moved here for the children. Killarney Heights Public School operates a bilingual program with FANS (French Association of the North Shore) that teaches the NSW curriculum in French and English from kindergarten to year 6. From year 7, the students can follow their French studies at KH High School, across the oval.

Like my children, many students in the primary school have a third or fourth language at home (Portuguese for us), ensuring it has a worldly outlook, welcomes all cultures and instils a sense of global citizenship on its students. The Brazilian association ABCD, which is close to my heart, runs Portuguese classes here in the afternoon, too, and Mandarin is available twice a week during school hours.

I love that I can hear different languages on the streets and in shops and can get my fix of delicious French pastries and baguettes without having to fork out for a plane ticket. The French markets held at the school every November are also a must.
Regarding the friendly bus driver (Col8, yesterday), John Ingle of Croydon Park is reminded that, Some years ago, at Dublin International Airport, hapless tourists boarding buses without a ticket were cheerfully given, by the bus driver, a part-used multi-trip ticket and told where to buy more. I reciprocated when leaving by handing over my part-used ticket. What a pleasant welcome to Ireland.

Back at mispronounced place names, Colin Hesse of Marrickville knows whereof Col8 speaks, I was working as the Assistant Station Master at Dulwich Hill Railway Station in 1986, when a passenger asked me for a ticket to what I heard as Kempsey. I booked the man a ticket to Kempsey. Smoking or Non-smoking? Window seat? That will be $22.00. The man looked at me and repeated in his heavily Arabic accented English, Kempsey, when it slowly dawned upon me that he wanted to travel all of three stops to Campsie.

Ida Withers of Mosman remembers a whole train carriage trying to help a young Chinese man wanting to get to Tem. We worked out that he was going to Tempe. His language cant sound two consonants together, so the P had disappeared, and he knew that the E wasnt sounded at the end of English words, so Tem. Together, we got him off at Tempe.

A while ago, John Boddington of Dalton had to call the NRMA Road Service and said that he was near Jerrawa (near Yass). There ensued a rather baffling conversation with the dispatcher, until I finally realised he thought I was at Gerroa on the South Coast.

Gerhard Engleitner of Hurstville reports that, A British friend of ours was surprised that we didnt know where KronnYouLA was. Even though Cronulla isnt far from Sydney CBD, where she was staying.
Police have been investigating current and former staff at the Queensland Revenue Office over their handling of traffic fines.

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In a statement, Queensland Treasury confirmed a former staff member had been charged with alleged criminal conduct and others remained under investigation by police and the Crime and Corruption Commission.

The department - which has taken more control over revenue from camera-detected traffic offences - said it could not comment further on the allegations, which reportedly involved staff wiping fines issued to family members.

Due to the nature of its work, QRO has processes that monitor staff activities in the workplace, particularly in relation to the management of sensitive information, the department said.

QRO also has robust policies and procedures in place to identify and report any possible or suspected breaches.
When officers arrived at the scene, they also said, there was graffiti on the outside of the business.

Police have released footage of a person spraying graffiti on a Brisbane Woolworths. Credit: Queensland Police Media

Police will allege that the man set off a flare at the Metro store on Commercial Road in Teneriffe about 5am on Monday, causing the fire alarm to be activated.

A man who allegedly tagged a Brisbane Woolworths with pro-Australia Day graffiti has been arrested and charged.

A 40-year-old Ormiston man was later found by police and charged with wilful damage and wilful damage by graffiti. He is scheduled to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court next month.

The alleged vandalism came after Opposition Leader Peter Dutton condemned Woolworths for its announcement it would not sell Australia Day-themed items. Woolworths said the decision was made because of declining sales in recent years.

Dutton called on Australians to boycott the grocery giant, saying the decision was against the national interest.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese later responded, urging Dutton to consider workers.

If everyone boycotted Woolworths, thats 200,000 people who would lose their jobs, Albanese told 2HD radio on Tuesday morning.
Melbourne Airport businesses say they are struggling to hire staff because a lack of public transport means most workers need to drive to Tullamarine, even those who live in nearby suburbs.

Almost 18,000 people work at the airport or its growing commercial precinct and the vast majority of them get there by private vehicle  as do about half of the 90,000 travellers departing or arriving daily, airport data shows.

Sophie Bell catches the bus from work at Melbourne Airport. Credit: Paul Jeffers

Just 4 per cent of passengers on the SkyBus  which runs between Southern Cross Station and the terminals  are airport staff using discount fares, with a small number also relying on the four public bus routes that stop at the terminal 4 car park.

But workers and airport management say the limited public bus routes and short timetables mean they are of little use to most employees at the 24/7 gateway and are calling for more services while they wait for the stalled airport rail line to be built.
A tropical storm has brought heavy rain to Victoria again after a short burst of summery weather, with towns on high alert for floods after thunderstorms lashed the states north.

Heavy rain that could lead to flash flooding is forecast for parts of Victorias north-east and parts of Gippsland from late Wednesday morning.

A woman braves the rain to walk in the Royal Botanic Gardens on Wednesday. Credit: Jason South

Up to 100 millimetres of rain is forecast to fall in six hours, with emergency services warning of isolated areas of intense rainfall that may lead to dangerous and life-threatening flash floods.

Rainfall of up to 20 millimetres is expected to be more widespread across the state, including for parts of Melbourne.
Two women are in hospital after one allegedly set the other alight during an assault in northern Victoria.

The women, who are believed to be known to one another, were both injured during the suspected fire attack in Shepparton on Monday evening, and both were airlifted to The Alfred hospital in Melbourne.

Police are investigating after a woman allegedly set fire to another woman in Shepparton on Monday.

A 20-year-old woman from Shepparton was in a critical condition.

A 33-year-old woman, also from Shepparton, was airlifted in a serious condition. She was under police guard in hospital on Tuesday.
Hes turned up at her house on too many occasions to mention, begging her to just talk to him, pleading that he wants the chance to apologise and getting angry with her for not giving him the opportunity. Loading I will turn that area upside down and I will find you, one of his last aggressive and angry voicemail messages said, followed by a threat to kill her. Symons said shes got hundreds of messages like that. She said he got angry because he called her repeatedly to find out where she was and she didnt pick up or respond. You get to the point where you just answer them because the pressure just gets too much, she said.

Nothing works with him. Twice Casella has put her in hospital. Once he allegedly choked her so hard it has left her with a permanently damaged windpipe. Another time he punched her in the face, stole her handbag and called her friend from her phone and told her Symons was dead. Aldo Casella is serving 14 months in prison for breaching a restraining order. Credit: Facebook Hes pulled a gun on me, she said.

He threatened to blow my brains out. They had video surveillance of him chasing me through Perth, trying to drag me into a car in the middle of the street. Theres been hundreds and hundreds of arrests. The last time he paid her a visit, Symons said he threatened to kill her. There was a witness, my friends son was there, he heard him say it and he wrote a statement for police saying that, and he was willing to testify in court, Symons said.

Casella was charged with threatening to kill her which, if convicted, meant he could have been sentenced for a maximum of seven years. But by the time that charge, along with five charges of breaching a restraining order and one charge of pursues another to intimidate reached court, the threat to kill charge was dropped by police prosecutors. Loading A WA Police spokesperson said there was not enough evidence to make the charge stick but Symons, who has been through this process now seven times since 2012, believes negotiations between lawyers always lead to charges being dropped and Casella serving minimum time behind bars. He had four aggravated stalking charges dropped in 2012, she said.

Then he will just plead guilty to the other charges. Its left Paula angry and frustrated as she knows Casella will be out before the end of the year and will likely come looking for her again. Hes in jail now for the seventh time and do you think this is going to stop? I can tell you its not going to stop because hes angry. In December Casella was sentenced to 14 months behind bars by a Midland magistrate. He was also declared a serial family violence offender, which means electronic monitoring requirements can now be imposed as a separate condition of a pre-sentence order. A report prepared for the sentencing outlined how Casella had a blatant disregard for court orders.

He presents with a developed pattern of intimate partner violence, using intimidation and control,

noting these behaviours have occurred whilst protective orders have been in place and indicating an increased risk, it said. The court heard Casella was convicted of 33 domestic violence offences over a 10-year period predominantly consisting of a breach of family violence restraining orders. Midland Magistrates Court. Credit: Hannah Barry The court heard that on one occasion Casella had threatened to die by suicide in a victims presence and once made 725 telephone calls and sent 198 text messages to his victim in a 72-hour period. For that, he was given four months in prison in 2016. Theres also the assault occasioning bodily harm, a common assault in circumstances of aggravation and the list goes on in relation to family violence type of behaviour, magistrate Mark Millington said.

Millington added that Casella was likely to be a threat to the safety of the person, in my view, and it would not be unjust to impose a term of imprisonment. Symons now believes restraining orders arent worth the paper theyre written on. Theyre a joke, she said. The VROs are not doing what theyre supposed to. Even the police and lawyers know theyre not working. Its not severe enough punishment and they get to go and negotiate their charges and just end up with a slap on the wrist. Relentlessly fearing for her life has left Symons with severe PTSD. In 2014 she attempted suicide.

I was exhausted, she said. It was persistent. I couldnt even leave the house. He wouldnt leave me alone. He was always on my tail. Now, she just wants to speak out to try and get the system changed and stop the same thing happening to others. She knows its a risk given that Casella will be released from prison again later this year. Perths a very small place, she said.
[That] was an astonishing building, confided one of the few people fortunate enough to see Fosters model , a member of now-defunct thinktank CityVision. He and everyone else who clapped eyes on the spectacular model had to sign a non-disclosure agreement. It was like a huge armadillo whose scales moved with the sun to capture the light. It shimmered. It was a technological marvel way ahead of its time. You only have to look at Norman Fosters other buildings, such as The Gherkin in London and The Reichstag in Berlin, to get a sense of what our convention centre might have been like, he said. We human beings, collectively, can recognise ugly when we see it. CityVision convenor Bill Warnock in the year 2000. We had the chance to rival the Sydney Opera House in terms of beauty and innovation and the ability to attract the kind of tourists flocking to Bilbao to see Frank Gehrys Guggenheim. When you look at what we ended up with, it is a tragedy. Fosters proposed building was to have sat on the banks of the Swan River, affording convention-goers and visitors views across the river to South Perth. What we got was a building that turns away from the best view in the city and is a barrier between the city and its lifeblood waterway.

Loading When the model chosen instead was unveiled in July, 2000 CityVision convenor Bill Warnock fired off an angry letter to The West Australian. At the public launch of the chosen design for the convention centre the shocked silence that greeted the presentation said it all, he said. We human beings, collectively, can recognise ugly when we see it. And ugly is what weve got, unless we collectively do something to stop it, spewed Warnock, who along with CityVision chair Ken Adam campaigned for the Foster marvel. Labor took up the cause via then-deputy leader Eric Ripper and shadow tourism minister Mark McGowan.

A large public investment will be made in this project. Why are we not getting a building that will be an icon for Perth  if the government signs this contract, this ugly building will be the Premiers legacy to the CBD, said Ripper. There was very little public outcry, however, as nobody was allowed to see the three shortlisted proposals until after the government declared the victor. It was the secrecy that caused the anger even more than the monstrosity finally unveiled. The people were presented with a decision, thundered an editorial in The West Australian. The site and design remain controversial. That is not to say either or both are wrong  much of the argument comes down to taste. But many people are left with a sense of grievance about the absence of consultation. When the winning design was finally displayed at Perth Town Hall many who saw it were horrified. The people might not know much about architecture, to borrow from Monty Python, but they know what they like  and they hated the box with the weirdly undulating roof.

Apparently the Leighton/Foster dazzler was rejected because the Court government thought it financially risky; ironic, as the centre that subsequently opened in 2004 went way over budget, though the precise amount spent is impossible to ascertain from the publicly available records. Equally ironic is that designs released yesterday by Premier Roger Cook and Tourism Minister Rita Saffioti, who has pushed for an extreme makeover since stepping into the job, bring the convention centre to precisely the place the Leighton/Foster proposals had placed it  right on the edge of the Swan. While the building does not have the stunning beauty of Sir Normans vision and may be accused of being another box-like structure, it does at least face in the right direction and sync with Elizabeth Quay. It may even create a link to Kings Park (you can bet Basil is this very minute brainstorming where the Perth cable car will go). The decision to go with the shed over a Norman Foster potential tourism magnet was so nuts I approached who was close to the process and asked him about it. It was an appalling decision, but I can assure you it was all above board, laughed a veteran political consultant I approached. This did not make me feel better because it means the dozens of architects and design folk on the advisory panel for the convention centre just had monumentally bad taste or were willing to capitulate over petty and ill-founded financial concerns.
KYODO NEWS - Jan 16, 2024 - 18:42 | All, Japan

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a revised 112.57 trillion yen ($774 billion) draft budget for the next fiscal year starting in April, allocating an additional 500 billion yen in emergency funds to tackle the fallout from a New Year's Day earthquake that ravaged central Japan.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has ordered a rare revision of an already finalized budget plan, valued at 112.07 trillion yen, to ensure sufficient funds are allocated for the relief and reconstruction of the affected areas.

The budget will be the second largest after the record 114.38 trillion yen for the current fiscal year. The plan needs parliamentary approval before the start of fiscal 2024.

Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said the doubling of reserve funds to 1 trillion yen in total is necessary, noting that the extent of the quake's damage has yet to be fully grasped.

"One trillion yen is such a huge amount," Suzuki said at a press conference. "The use of reserve funds is appropriate because it will enable us to respond to the disaster in a seamless, speedy and flexible manner."

Japan's fiscal health is the worst among developed economies, with roughly a third of the spending financed by debt, or 31.5 percent. It rose slightly from the earlier estimated 31.2 percent.

Debt issuance was revised to 35.45 trillion yen from 34.95 trillion yen under the initial general-account budget plan endorsed last month.

The magnitude-7.6 quake struck the Noto Peninsula on the Sea of Japan coast on Jan. 1. More than 220 people have been confirmed dead, while tens of thousands of people remain in shelters.

Kishida has instructed officials to compile an emergency package to assist local residents and businesses affected by the disaster.

The government usually allocates funds for emergency use in a state budget without specifying how they will be spent.

There has been criticism about the government's increasing reliance on such funds that are not subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

Related coverage:

U.S. forces to join relief efforts for central Japan quake on Jan. 17

Japan's parliament to convene 150-day regular session on Jan. 26

Tsunami floods 190 hectares after central Japan quake
Perth man James Reynolds relationships were volatile with most people in his life: his girlfriend, his friends and his housemates.

On February 6, 2022, the 23-year-old attended a family barbecue at Kwinana Beach and became drunk and verbally aggressive. His friend called an Uber to take him back to his Warnbro home.

Duke Edis (left) has admitted to killing his housemate James Reynolds (right) in 2022.

Hours later one of his housemates shot Reynolds in what the housemates lawyer described as excessive self-defence.

Duke Edis, then aged 20, fired a single, ultimately fatal bullet from an unlicensed rifle into Reynolds thigh as Reynolds stood outside his bedroom with a knife, threatening to kill him and his puppy.
The federal government is being urged to move quickly to strike a Tuvalu-style security pact with Nauru after the tiny island nation switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in a shock move signalling deeper ties with Beijing.

Pat Conroy, the Minister for the Pacific, said Nauru notified the government in advance about the announcement, which Taiwan linked to a funding shortfall related to Australias offshore immigration detention facility on Nauru.

Asylum seekers at the Nauru immigration detention centre. Credit: Angela Wylie

Taiwans Central News Agency reported on Tuesday that Nauru had asked Taiwan for $125 million to cover a financial shortfall left by the temporary closure of the immigration detention centre.

Taiwans Foreign Ministry laid the blame on the Australian-run detention centre for the rupture in diplomatic ties, but the Australian government rejected those claims and insisted that the centre has not closed and that funding arrangements with Nauru remained in place.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Unlike opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham, I do not think that Senator Penny Wong is incapable of a full appreciation of the atrocities committed by Hamas without visiting the sites of the October 7 attacks (Not about a photo op: Albanese defends Wong call to skip October 7 massacre sites, January 16). Nor do I agree that, in order to understand the depth of evil that Israel faces and the necessity of its war to defeat Hamas, its essential to personally inspect the sites of the atrocities Hamas inflicted. Wong is maintaining a delicate balance between two intractable sides of the conflict. She, and the government she represents, has clearly condemned the actions of Hamas and supported Israels right to respond with force. However, shes not blind to Israels ensuing killing or displacement of thousands of Palestinians with no link to Hamas. I applaud Wongs approach and wish her well. Prue Nelson, Cremorne Point Does one travel to New York and skip the memorial for those killed in 9/11 attack? Does one not visit Auschwitz? The horror perpetrated by Hamas is not subject to political correctness. It cannot be judged in context. Calling for an immediate ceasefire is not a solution. Senator Wong, it would be more helpful if you advocated for the immediate release of all the Israeli hostages. Only then a ceasefire should be discussed or implemented. Adele Abraham, Bondi The foreign affairs minister is quoted as saying, Australia is not a central player in the Middle East, but we are a respected voice. If so, will she please use her respected voice to get Hamas to release the innocent hostages they kidnapped more than 100 days ago? That would certainly lead to a ceasefire. Alan Slade, Dover Heights Your correspondent ignores Penny Wongs long held views on the Middle East crisis (Letters, January 16). She has shown anything but balance with her support of the Palestinians. Her decision not to visit the sites attacked by Hamas shows her coldheartedness. John Temple, Vaucluse As usual, Wong has made the right call in a difficult situation. Diplomacy is required in order to end the suffering of innocent victims on both sides of the Gaza conflict. All are equally deserving of our support and compassion. Australia provided an unqualified condemnation of the Hamas atrocities on October 7 and does not need to keep repeating it. Visiting the sites in southern Israel attacked by Hamas or the carnage in Gaza would be open to misinterpretation. Not surprisingly, Birminghams response was political and unhelpful. Its no longer about taking sides, but fostering a peaceful solution to this horrendous crisis. Graham Lum, North Rocks Wongs visit to the Middle East will include meeting Palestinian victims of settler violence on the West Bank. Much has been made of Israels right to self-defence following the atrocities committed by Hamas in October but the international community has been silent about the West Banks similar right to self-defence against a long-term occupying foreign power. This asymmetry of rights has long been a feature of the IsraeliArab conflict and while Wongs visit is unlikely to bring about change, perhaps it will bring about fresh scrutiny of the situation. David MacKintosh, Berkeley Vale

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Trumps potentially fatal rallying cry shows USs sickness Who else but Donald Trump could attempt to motivate his followers with the potentially fatal rallying cry  vote for me, even if it kills you (Vote if youre sick as a dog, Trump tells frozen Iowa, January 16). Its a sign of Americas sickness that it might well work, although its a strategy that could lose him votes in the long run. Nick Franklin, Katoomba If Trump wins in November will he claim the elections are back to being fair? Will Joe Biden copy Trump and refuse to vacate the White House? Will Trump order a national day of mourning for those who died from the cold supporting him on Iowas caucus day? If Trump loses in November, will he order another insurrection and will there be any lawyers foolish enough to support his legal challenges of a stolen election? And will we bestow sainthood on Biden or whoever defeats him. Richard Keyes, Enfield Illustration: Matt Golding Credit: With Trump reportedly gaining significant support from evangelical organisations in the Iowa caucuses, I wonder what has he done to warrant such religious support. Its hard to imagine him at church each Sunday. And if thats so, what does it say about the evangelical movement in the US - more political than religious? Steve Palin, Lane Cove North Considering the weather in Iowa, might we refer to Trump as the abominable snowman? Genevieve Milton, Dulwich Hill As an American progressive, Id take issue with the conclusions of George Brandis that our so-called mocking of populists is somehow anti-democratic (Letters, January 15). The US Electoral College is about as anti-democratic an institution as there is. The fact is, some peoples votes count far less than others under the US system. If the electoral college didnt exist, I believe Trump wouldnt even be running, as he knows he would never win the popular vote. Ive read that despite the expected number of votes in this years election being as high as 170 million, the result will be decided by around 117,000 votes coming from six or seven swing states. When we talk about democracy, lets remember how undemocratic the US system is. And the electoral college is just one element of it.

Mark Wenig, Waverton

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To suggest any political process in the US as quintessentially democratic as anything can be is as delusional as believing Trump will lift the basic wage. The US democracy is now ranked 30th in the world and is officially classed as a deficient democracy. The progressive voters I know dont blame populism as the biggest threat to democracy; the blame misinformation. John Lewin, Enmore Everything hinges on HSC results for selective schools There is only one reason selective schools will not increase numbers; HSC results (Selective schools avoid extra intake, January 16). These schools can manipulate and stream students into high performing courses. Limiting numbers also means that the submitted school mark will not greatly vary, as it does in non-selective public schools, through the moderation process linked to the actual exam. It is all about HSC rankings. Just ask second-placed James Ruse High School. Michael Blissenden, Dural One ponders the appropriateness of selective high schools. Adrian Piccoli notes they are not beneficial for education outcomes across the board. Peer pressure, diversity, conscientiousness, good behaviour and leadership lead to healthier outcomes if evenly spread. A rising tide lifts all boats. Why should teachers be deprived of teaching smart children and having balanced classes? Elitism should not be funded by the public purse. Time to dismantle selective high schools in NSW. Graeme Troy, Wagstaffe I nearly choked on my Cornflakes when reading the Australian Tutoring Association president criticising public selective schools for not doing their share of the heavy lifting in educating disadvantaged students. Tutoring costs money. I reckon that most of his clients would go to private schools that skim off the most privileged  and most tutored  students. Lets stop this inequitable selective school bashing until we address the real inequity in Australian education: excessive public funding of private schools, which undermines public education.

Carol Witt, Boronia Park School thoughts If public schools are so bad, why has it been always the case, and still is, that children from public schools perform better at university (Letters, January 16)? Don Taylor, Valley Heights

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Forty-five years of teaching in the public education system has taught me a lot. Kids at public schools come in all varieties of colour, belief, academic ability, affluence and attitude. The public school offers the opportunity to experience the lot and does not exclude any. This in itself can be a valuable education. It is my good fortune to see the results every day in our community in the form of ex-students. Our local comprehensive school has produced countless medical professionals, lawyers, engineers and academics, alongside the highly valued and much sought after tradies and those in the service industries. They are real contributors who not only survived, but thrived. And their education had no exorbitant fees attached. Steve Fortey, Avoca Beach Bad idea As a registered nurse for more than 50 years and with post-graduate qualifications in critical care nursing, I am appalled at the NSW governments aborted plan to employ enrolled nurses in intensive care units (Government backs down on less-qualified nurses in ICUs, January 16). Intensive care nursing demands a high level of responsibility informed by expert clinical judgment and extensive knowledge of anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology. Moreover, special skills in communication and empathy are necessary when engaging with patients at a critical time their lives, and with their relatives. There is a place for enrolled nurses in the health system but intensive care is not one of them. Patricia Farrar, Concord Legalise drugs Escalation of serious crime goes hand in hand with drug laws (Torture, hit squads and $100m drug lords: NSW gangsters embracing extreme violence, January 16). Decriminalise, make it legal, regulate it, for goodness sake. Most of the harm caused by drug use is a direct result of its illegality rather than the drugs themselves. And the problems of addiction can be so much better addressed if addicts are not also criminalised. Many functional, responsible, taxpaying citizens who contribute to society in many ways use MDMA, LSD, marijuana, cocaine and more, on a regular basis. Humans like to get out of it sometimes, and providing theyre not hurting anyone they should be able to do it safely. Get rid of inappropriate drug laws, regulate production and supply, and watch violent organised crime and $100m drug lords evaporate. Andrea Wilson, Greenwich Inaccurate science As I wake up to yet another wet day with temperatures in the low twenties, I reflect on the controversial topic of weather forecasting (Sultry city pays it dew to muggy north in sweat fest, January 16). A hot dry summer was predicted but it continues to rain. One thing I learnt when I was young was that long-term weather forecasting was a very tricky business. Older readers will remember the name Lennox Walker. He tried hard but often didnt quite get it right. In more recent years I have been introduced to terms I never heard in my youth: La Nina, El Nino and the Indian Ocean dipole. Meteorologists seem so learned these days but the results are still the same; long-range weather forecasting is a very inaccurate science. Just look out the window, Michael Walsh, Croydon

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Wine inquiry While the PM is investigating the misuse of market power by our supermarkets he might care to expand the scope of his inquiry to cover the wine industry where a similar concentration of ownership exists (This supermarket sweep will not be enough, Mr Albanese, January 15). Treasury Wine Estates, Australias largest wine producer owns 70 brands; Woolworths Group owns BWS, Cellarmasters, Dan Murphys, Langtons, as well as Pinnacle Drinks. Similarly, Coles owns Liquorland, Vintage Cellars, and 1st Choice as well as James Busby Wines. This may well explain why, in the middle of a red wine glut in Australia, I need to part with more than $20 to get an enjoyable bottle of red when I could walk into any supermarket in France and get a red wine of similar quality for less that seven euros ($12). Ian Grady, Seven Hills Housing shills The attack on Sydneys heritage suburbs is driven by economic populism, and as David Burdon points out, if successful we will all lose (Let heritage be part of Sydneys planning future, January 16). At is core, destroying our heritage is about revenge. If I cant have it then nor can you. No matter that it has nothing to do with house prices. The constant rhetoric about NIMBYs and YIMBYs similarly has nothing to with house prices and is intended to inflame divisions and set people against one another, rich v poor, Boomers v Gen Z, the educated v the uneducated. Property developers and their shills fan the flames of division, in the hope they can swoop in and make a killing, on more unaffordable housing for the witless Gen Z. When our heritage is bulldozed and our housing is even more unaffordable in 20 years time, these shills will be nowhere to be seen. Paul Davies, Crows Nest Thank goodness for David Burdons rational, reasonable and hopeful op-ed. Increasingly alarmist articles have served to highlight division and provoke anguish in this loyal Inner West resident. Burdons approach instead provides practical ideas for the coexistence of both heritage and new housing. He urges collaboration, lateral thinking, consideration of the bigger picture. Lets not hand our suburbs over to developers. Lets instead make plans to consider the needs of residents, potential residents and those in need of social housing. Barbara McKellar, Dulwich Hill Government neglect The current lease-holder of Don Hearns Cabins has been on a month-to-month lease for more than 20 years (Letters, January 16). The Department of Planning and Environment has either ignored or blocked her requests to improve amenities including sewerage, and then has the gall to threaten demolition due to the state of, alleged, disrepair. This is demolition by government neglect. The state government has a moral obligation to provide this small business with the opportunity to realise decades-old plans and allow this South Coast institution to flourish. Anthony Johnsen, Marrickville

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Gaining approval for the port development at Hastings would present significant challenges due to the level of impact on the Western Port Ramsar site, Infrastructure Victoria wrote in 2017. Infrastructure Victoria said that to gain federal approval, the state would need to demonstrate it had avoided or minimised the loss of habitats and, where possible, replaced those that were lost. It said locations for these offsets were not readily identifiable. Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek refused Victorias application to base an offshore wind hub at Hastings. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Where offsets involve revegetation or creation of new habitat, the offset needs to be developed in advance of the port development to demonstrate it is effective and sustainable. Establishing this type of offset could add additional time, up to several years, to the development timeframe, it wrote. The rejected renewable energy terminal application said no offsets have been determined at this time but it would mitigate the effects of the project, and dredging would be done in line with best practice.

Victorian Energy Minister Lily DAmbrosio. Credit: Simon Schluter Plibersek knocked back this idea in her decision, arguing there would still be significant impacts to the area. She agreed with her department that there was no alternative site which could be used to offset the impact to the Ramsar zone. The state government insists it is normal practice for major projects not to detail mitigation measures and offsets until later in the impact assessment process. The Port of Hastings bid was rejected before it could reach this stage. Environmental effects statements also show the state government had considered building an alternative narrow wharf option at the same location that did not require reclaiming land from the water. Victorias pitch to build the wharf on 29 hectares of reclaimed seabed was one of the key elements rejected by Plibersek because of its unacceptable ecological impact. This narrow-wharf plan was later abandoned, and the documents warned that the wharf would still disrupt the waterway and did not provide a large enough piece of land to meet offshore wind project Star of the Souths minimum requirements.

Star of the South is expected to need up to 25 hectares for turbines and 7.5 hectares for foundations, and have a water depth of at least 12 metres at the port used for construction. Two government sources, speaking anonymously to discuss internal matters, said it was still hoped the terminal could be salvaged for Hastings in some form. They said the port was superior to other sites in terms of location, available land and nearby infrastructure if it could meet environmental standards. Victorian National Parks Association nature campaigner Shannon Hurley said the system of planning around marine areas was not fit for purpose. She said the rejection of the Port of Hastings could have been prevented if the state adopted upfront guidelines that spelt out marine areas in Victoria that must be avoided. Currently the process is for each element of the offshore wind transition, such as an expanded port or an offshore wind development, to go through a separate and individual process for environmental approvals, Hurley said.

Loading This process is highly individualised and in our view does not oversee the cumulative impacts of the industry that is set to be developed. As in this case, it can result in rejection because the impact on the environment hasnt been regarded highly enough by the state government in the first place. A spokesperson for the Allan government said it was working with the Commonwealth on the next steps for the terminal and would continue to push for national leadership on offshore wind. Developers are ready to invest in Australia. To maximise this opportunity, we need full partnership with the Commonwealth  national targets, national co-ordination of approvals and supply chain development, and national funding for projects, the spokesperson said.

We already have a National Electric Vehicle Strategy, National Hydrogen Strategy and National Energy Performance Strategy under development  its time for national leadership on offshore wind to help Australia reach our ambitious renewable energy targets. Opposition ports spokeswoman Roma Britnell said the renewable energy terminal was an example of another mismanaged major infrastructure project that has been rushed through without proper planning or consultation by state Labor. Once again, this arrogant government has ignored all advice including from their own infrastructure agency, she said. Development of the Port of Hastings has been an issue for Victorian governments for the past decade. In 2014, it became an election issue as the Liberals vowed to make Hastings the states second container port, while Labor backed Bay West. This debate eventually prompted the independent review by Infrastructure Victoria in 2017.

Mornington Peninsula Shire Mayor Simon Brooks said the council would wait for a full environmental assessment of the terminal. The council had previously advocated that surplus land at the port be released for housing, conservation and some industry. Loading The renewable energy terminal has the potential to broaden the peninsulas economy, but this needs to be balanced against any social or environmental impact, he said. Our Ramsar wetlands are internationally significant and any proposal for the Port of Hastings must ensure there are no significant impacts to this unique and precious environment. Brooks said it was disappointing the state and federal governments were not aligned on the issue.
Tenants are facing record high rents across much of the country, but there are still select few pockets where homes are being advertised for less than they were five years ago.

Median asking rents in a handful of suburbs were below 2018 levels last year, while costs in more than a dozen others have only increased marginally over the five-year period, data from the latest Domain Rent Report shows.

Sydney rents are at record highs, but asking rates in some suburbs have changed little since 2018, while some have moved lower. Credit: Peter Rae

Most were Sydney and Melbourne suburbs that were hard hit earlier in the pandemic, and had yet to recoup their losses  despite sharp rent increases last year. However about half were pricier suburbs that offer little opportunity for average renters.

Domains chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell said rents in suburbs popular with students, tourists and new arrivals were particularly affected when COVID-19 hit.
All of the hotels individually decorated guest rooms and suites are named in honour of celebrated actors, artists and musicians and styled with operatic memorabilia totalling 1000 pieces overall. My 67-square-metre, lavishly proportioned and appointed suite pays tribute to Pablo Picasso. As befitting the boho locale, theres an appropriate wrought-iron, street foliage-fronted French balcony and the room is festooned with all manner of collectables, right down to a cleverly modified black bakelite bedside telephone. Food + drink Capella Hanoi goes head-to-head nowadays with the venerable, 123-year-old, 364-room Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel. But what Capella Hanoi lacks in quantity of rooms compared to its competitor it compensates for in generous food and beverage offerings. These include the outstanding Michelin-rated Japanese restaurant Koki, with its more sober (soba?) Bensley-free design ethos and the spectacularly adorned breakfast, lunch and dinner, in the Bill Bensley-conceived signature venue Backstage. Its entered through its own whimsical paparazzi corridor, complete with flashing camera bulbs. Out + about The Michelin-rated Japanese restaurant Koki.

Many of Hanois most popular attractions, including the ornamental Hoan Kiem Lake and the classic water puppets theatre, are within an easy stroll of this well-located hotel. One of the most rewarding things to do in this part of Hanoi is to rise at dawn and wander the surrounding streets and parks where youll witness the locals engaging, en masse, in badminton games and callisthenics, invariably accompanied by raucously amplified pop music. The verdict The spa  not to be missed. Capella Hanois alternate universe can be a bit much, and, splurge-worthy as it is, it may prove a bit too much on the hip-pocket for some. But its also a feverishly imaginative hoot, something unexpected in a country with a history sadly more identified by the theatre of war than the theatre of opera. Essentials

Rooms from $720 a night. 11 Le Phung Hieu, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, Vietnam. Ph: +84 24 3987 8888. See capellahotels.com; singaporeair.com Our rating out of five  Highlight Treat yourself to one of the special treatments at the sumptuously decorated spa and dip in the basement swimming pool replete with chandeliers and mirrored walls and ceilings.
Dubai/Baghdad: Irans elite Revolutionary Guards force has attacked what it said was Israels spy headquarters near the US consulate in Erbil, northern Iraq.

Strikes were also carried out against the Islamic State terror group in Syria, the force said in a statement.

In response to the recent atrocities of the Zionist regime, causing the killing of commanders of the Guards and the Axis of Resistance ... one of the main Mossad espionage headquarters in Iraqs Kurdistan region was destroyed with ballistic missiles, the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said, referring to the Israeli spy agency.

Images from Rudaw TV showed smoke rising from a building hit by a strike in Erbil. Credit: AP

At least four civilians were killed and six injured in the strikes on Erbil, the Kurdistan governments security council said in a statement, describing the attack as a crime.
While the trial concerns what Trump must pay for his comments in the immediate aftermath of Carrolls revelations, Crowley noted that his rhetoric about the writer hasnt stopped. Trump maintains he never abused Carroll and says her allegations are a partisan smear. From court, Trump fired off a series of social media posts about the case. He wrote on his Truth Social platform that Carrolls rape allegation was an attempted EXTORTION involving fabricated lies and political shenanigans and he accused the judge of having absolute hatred for him. Crowley told jurors their job was to answer the question about Trump: How much money will it take to make him to stop? Trump lawyer Alina Habba said he was merely defending himself and said evidence would show that Carrolls career has prospered since accusing him. Carroll has been thrust back into the limelight like she always has wanted, Habba said in her opening argument. Trump did not attend the previous trial in the case last May, when a jury found he had sexually abused Carroll and awarded her $US5 million ($7.6 million) in damages. In light of that verdict, Kaplan told prospective jurors this trial would focus only on how much money, if any, Trump must pay Carroll for comments he made about her while president in 2019.

For purposes of the new trial, it had already been determined that Trump did sexually assault Ms Carroll, Kaplan said, prompting Trump to shake his head from side to side. Habba told the judge that Trump planned to testify. Kaplan said the only accommodation he would make is that Trump could testify on Monday, even if the trial was otherwise finished by Thursday. The judge previously rejected Trumps request to delay the trial by a week, so he could attend his mother-in-laws funeral. Trump advisor Boris Epshteyn, foreground left, leans over Donald Trump to confer with him and lead defence attorney Alina Habba, right, prior to jury selection in Federal Court, in New York. Credit: AP I am not stopping him from being there, the judge said, referring to the funeral. Habba responded: No, youre stopping him from being here.

Loading He twisted around in his chair and nodded at two prospective jurors  a man and woman  who stood when asked if they agreed with his false belief that the 2020 election was rigged, and again when three people in the pool indicated they felt the former president was being treated unfairly by the court system. The process offered a window into the political beliefs of a microcosm of New Yorkers, drawn from a pool that includes Manhattan and northern suburban counties. Some noted personal connections to Trump or his adversaries. One woman said she had done publicity for his daughters company. Another said her father provided moving services for some of Trumps buildings. Neither made the cut. Former president Donald Trumps motorcade leaves Manhattan federal court in New York. Credit: AP Jurors selected for the trial will remain anonymous, even to the parties, lawyers and judicial staff, and will be driven to and from the courthouse from an undisclosed location for their safety, Kaplan said.

Trump has increasingly made his courtroom travails  including four criminal cases  part of his run to retake the White House, positioning himself as a victim of partisan lawyers, judges and prosecutors and capitalising on news coverage that accompanies his court visits. Last week, Trump attended closing arguments in the New York Attorney-Generals fraud lawsuit against him  and ended up giving a six-minute diatribe after his lawyers spoke. I guess youd consider it part of the campaign, Trump told reporters last week. Carroll, 80, plans to testify about the damage to her career and reputation that resulted from Trumps public statements. She seeks $US10 million in compensatory damages and millions more in punitive damages.

If Trump testifies, he will be under strict limits on what he can say. Because of the prior verdict, Kaplan has said, Trump cannot get on the witness stand and argue that he didnt sexually abuse or defame Carroll. In this courtroom sketch, E. Jean Carroll (right) turns around towards former president Donald Trump. Credit: AP Last May, a different jury awarded Carroll $US5 million after concluding that Trump sexually abused her in a department store dressing room in spring 1996, then defamed her in 2022 by claiming she made it up after she revealed it publicly in a 2019 memoir. The jury said Carroll hadnt proven that Trump raped her. Trump is appealing and hasnt paid any of that award, though he placed $US5.55 million in escrow to cover the verdict and other costs in the event he loses his appeal. One issue that wasnt decided in the first trial was how much Trump owed for comments he made about Carroll while president. That will be the new jurys only job. Even before prospective jurors were brought into court on Tuesday, Trump lawyer Michael Madaio complained that the judge had made inconsistent and unfair rulings against Trump prior to the start of the trial. He said the rulings drastically changed our ability to defend this case and largely stripped us of our defences.
Eighty-five buses manufactured by Chinese bus maker Yutong have arrived in Ulan Bator and are being put into operation, the municipal government of the Mongolian capital said Friday.
JINAN, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing has stressed the need to ensure workplace safety and advance the reform of China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Zhang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the instruction during an inspection tour in east China's Shandong Province between Jan. 13 and 15.

During his visits to an array of technology, engineering, and chemical companies in the cities of Jinan and Yantai, Zhang noted that SOEs must expedite the implementation of reform measures, urging these firms to redouble efforts in improving vitality and bolstering their core business.

These companies should also encourage sci-tech innovation and optimize their industrial structures to support national strategies aimed at securing sci-tech independence, stabilizing industrial and supply chains, and ensuring energy security, he said.

While inspecting a local fire station and a food and medicine testing center, Zhang called on safety authorities to bolster vocational training and safety supervision. He also emphasized rooting out safety hazards and sharpening emergency response capabilities. 
BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- As was decided by the Chinese government, former Vice Foreign Minister and former Under-Secretary-General of the UN Liu Zhenmin succeeded Xie Zhenhua as China's special envoy for climate change, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday.

Spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks at a regular news briefing in response to a media query.

Mao said that Mr. Xie Zhenhua, while serving as the special envoy, made important contribution to China-U.S. cooperation on climate change and global green and low-carbon development, and has won wide recognition from the international community.

Special envoy Liu Zhenmin is a senior diplomat, Mao said, adding that Liu took part in multilateral negotiations on climate change as the head and major member of the Chinese delegation multiple times and, while serving as Under-Secretary-General for the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, presided over the work in areas of climate change and sustainable development.

"We believe that in his new post, special envoy Liu Zhenmin will continue stepping up dialogue and cooperation with all parties and contributing to the global transition to green and low-carbon development and the building of a community of life for humanity and nature," said Mao. 
KUNMING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- A group of young travelers, affectionately named the "little sugar oranges" by netizens, from south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where sugar oranges are a local specialty, recently concluded a winter camp in the chilly northeast of China.

Meanwhile, a cohort of 12 preschoolers from China's northernmost city, Mohe, embarked on their winter adventure to Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, southwest China.

Such long-distance trips between the vast country's north and south are proved a smash hit in the tourism sector this winter, following the success of Harbin, capital city of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. Harbin rises as a top choice for winter vacation, owing to the city's thoughtful services tailored for tourists from southern China and novel ice-and-snow experiences for people whose hometown rarely snows.

Mohe in northeast China is renowned as China's coldest city, whereas Xishuangbanna is among the warmest in China this season. Since the temperature differences between the two places can reach over 40 degrees Celsius, many Chinese netizens described the kids' trips as "an encounter between ice and fire."

On Jan. 10, the 12 children spent their day in Xishuangbanna's Wild Elephant Valley: interacting with Asian elephants, a star wild species. Dressed in local ethnic costumes, they visited a Dai village and enjoyed a traditional water-splashing activity the next day. With the help of local teachers, the kids also enjoyed traditional Dai food and tried their hands at some of the prefecture's intangible cultural heritage practices.

The children hailed happily in front of cameras: "We are having great fun in Xishuangbanna!"

The preschoolers' tour not only shows the deep integration and frequent cultural exchanges between China's southern and northern regions, but also demonstrates the popularity of cross-provincial trips.

Last weekend, the topic, "a map for touring trips between China's south and north," became one of the top three buzzwords on the Chinese popular microblogging site Sina Weibo, garnering more than 1 million viewers.

According to the "map" released by a service website under China Meteorological Administration, Mohe is among the top seven ice-and-snow tourism cities in northern China, along with Harbin, which received more than 3 million tourists and achieved a record-high tourism income of 5.9 billion yuan (about 830 million U.S. dollars) during the three-day New Year holiday. Meanwhile, Xishuangbanna is among the five most sought-after destinations for those who looking for a winter escape.

The weather service website also prepared several tips for winter tourism enthusiasts: People who travel north for ice and snow need to prepare warm scarves, hats, gloves, thermos cups and instant heat patches and the like. Tips include the suggestion that travelers should not only consider the thermal performance of any clothes, but also make sure they are windproof, damp-proof, and easy to wear and take off.

For tourists heading south, the website suggests sun caps, sunscreen, umbrellas, sunglasses and quick-drying clothes, but also warns thick coats could be useful due to the changeable weather.

Yunnan has long been a popular choice for winter travelers because of its pleasant year-round climate. Since it has been frequently labeled as "an ideal hometown" by netizens on social platforms, a large number of tourists are expected to visit Yunnan during the upcoming Spring Festival holiday.

According to Li Qiang, head of the culture and tourism bureau of Xishuangbanna, a series of activities, such as the tropical rainforest festival and the elephant festival, will offer better experiences for the visitors.

In Yunnan's Pu'er City, the Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of Jingmai Mountain was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023. This newly popular tourist destination is poised for its first long Spring Festival holiday since its World Heritage listing.

Shai Kan, a local villager in Jingmai Mountain, owns a tearoom and an inn. He and his wife are busy renovating their tearoom's reception area to cope with the likely increase of tourists.

For the upcoming holiday, many southerners in China have added northeastern cities to their resort options, while northern residents would like to travel to the south to enjoy some warm respite.

"I am glad that more and more people are coming to Yunnan, especially to Jingmai Mountain, to experience the traditional culture of our ethnic minorities," said Shai Kan with confidence and optimism. "The warm weather here is sure to win everyone's heart, regardless of their gender and age." 
Taking aside the fact that it is inappropriate he comments at all, and apart from his latest excruciating endorsement, there are other questions around Gary Linekers coverage of the Gaza war on social media. Why was he so uncharacteristically quiet, for example, when 1,200 Jews were murdered by Hamas, when women were raped, babies burned and some 240 hostages taken? If he is so engaged with international injustice why is he so quiet about Chinas mistreatment of the Uyghur Muslims, more than a million of whom are believed to have been detained? Or Iran, whose proxies prosecute acts of terror on Lebanon and Israel itself, civil war in Yemen and Syria and now attack international shipping?
He said: We are very concerned that this has has happened. Supporting the police to keep people safe is our number one priority. That's why we have the most extensive CCTV network in Britain, set up a gangs unit and introduced our own Law Enforcement Team. Bishops Park has two new CCTV cameras and the police have agreed to increase patrols in the park. This should not happen and we will do our damnedest to make sure these criminals are stopped."
There were 16 deaths by dog bites across the country in 2023, up from six in 2022, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
DC Luis Da Silva, from the Mets economic crime team that investigated this case, said: "We know Londoners are worried about theft. Its a horrible crime, and it causes a lot of stress, pain, and financial loss. Thats why we take this crime seriously and a whole team of us were committed to catching Singh and Bruyea.
"Julia has links to Lambeth, Camden and Islington. It's likely she would have travelled by public transport. I would ask anyone who thinks they may have seen her over the past week to come forward immediately."
Chinese Premier Li Qiang attends a grand welcome ceremony held by President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd at the Lohn Estate prior to their talks in Bern, Switzerland, Jan. 15, 2024. Chinese Premier Li Qiang held talks with President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd here on Monday. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan)

BERN, Switzerland, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to promote continuous development of bilateral relations with Switzerland to achieve more practical results in mutually beneficial cooperation, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said here on Monday.

Li made the remarks during talks with President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd. Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, attended the talks.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 74 years ago, bilateral relations have made great progress and set many "firsts," Li said.

He recalled that back in 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping and then Swiss leader jointly announced the establishment of the China-Switzerland innovative strategic partnership, which has provided important guidance for the development of bilateral relations.

China is ready to work with Switzerland to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, further consolidate the foundation of political mutual trust and carry forward the cooperative spirit of "equality, innovation and mutual benefit," the premier said.

China stands ready to continue to push for closer high-level exchanges with Switzerland, better play the role of the dialogue and cooperation mechanism between the two governments, and accelerate the resumption of exchanges at various levels and in diverse fields, Li said.

Both sides should explore more converging interests, bolster cooperation in free trade, customs and other fields, and foster and strengthen new growth areas of cooperation in green development, finance and digital economy, thereby elevating and upgrading bilateral economic and trade cooperation, he noted.

Li also expressed the hope that the Swiss side will continue to provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises in Switzerland.

China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Switzerland in the fields of cultural relics, education, youth and sports, said Li.

Li called on the two sides to closely communicate and coordinate within multilateral mechanisms such as those within the United Nations, strengthen cooperation in the fields of connectivity infrastructure financing, international development assistance and climate change response, and jointly make positive contributions to the cause of world peace and development.

For their part, Amherd and Parmelin said that Switzerland was one of the first countries to recognize the People's Republic of China, noting that the Switzerland-China relationship enjoys a long history and rich connotations, and their bilateral business and investment cooperation has been continuously strengthened despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Switzerland stands ready to continue promoting quality bilateral dialogue with China, deepen cooperation in such fields as economy, trade, education, finance, science and technology as well as people-to-people and cultural exchanges, jointly address global challenges including climate change, public health and cyber security, and promote greater development of the Switzerland-China innovative strategic partnership in the Year of the Dragon, they said.

During their talks, the two sides announced that China and Switzerland have completed the joint feasibility study on upgrading the China-Switzerland Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and agreed to support the early launch of formal FTA upgrade negotiations.

The two sides will hold a new round of China-Switzerland strategic dialogue of foreign minister level, working group meetings on finance and energy, education policy dialogue, as well as consultations on UN Security Council affairs within this year.

The two sides will also take the opportunity of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties next year to strengthen people-to-people exchanges.

China will grant unilateral visa-free treatment to Switzerland, and the Swiss side will provide more visa facilitation for Chinese citizens as well as Chinese enterprises investing in Switzerland.

The leaders of the two countries witnessed the signing of documents on bilateral economic and trade cooperation following the meeting.

Prior to the meeting, Amherd held a grand welcome ceremony for Li at the Lohn Estate. Li, accompanied by Amherd, reviewed the guard of honor. 

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, accompanied by President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd, reviews the guard of honor during a grand welcome ceremony at the Lohn Estate prior to their talks in Bern, Switzerland, Jan. 15, 2024. Chinese Premier Li Qiang held talks with President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd here on Monday. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)
Mr Hall added: Calls for eradication or punishment of Zionists could well amount to the stirring up of hatred against Jews generally, or Israelis in particular. Police have power to intervene to stop the type of conduct which is likely to make Jews in the UK feel most unsafe: the fear that pro-Palestine marches are stirring up hostility against them as Jews because of their connection to Israel.
Steve Blackwell, Deputy Director of Criminal and Financial Investigations at the Home Office, said: This is a truly shocking case that shows the callous disregard these criminals have for the lives and safety of the vulnerable people they exploit.
Chief Superintendent Sean Wilson, responsible for policing in west London, said: "It is tragic that another young man has lost his life in a stabbing. My thoughts are with his family and friends.
Her selection will complicate the shadow health secretarys attempt to hold on to the seat amid a fierce backlash to Labours position on the war in Gaza. Mr Streeting was first elected as MP for Ilford North in 2019 and currently has a majority of just over 5,000.
Investigators will trawl through the charred wreckage of the house to try to establish how it started. The property is cordoned off as experts attempt to make it safe for the work to be carried out."
"This offer is in line with increases made to other groups of staff within the business. We have mitigation plans in place for the strikes and are working with TfL to ensure Londoners can continue to travel during this unnecessary action."
Comparing the plight of modern refugees to that of Jesus Christ, the Moderator said: Our faith compels us to advocate for a fair and just system that shows respect to all of Gods children, regardless of where they were born or what their immigration status is.
Mr Sunak was expected by some rebels to make some more commitments, such as using 150 judges to speed up the asylum appeals system, to try to beef up the Governments attempts to stop the boats but not to accept any of the amendments.
His department hit back at Mr Khan, saying that in the last three years the average number of additional homes provided by the Mayor has been just 38,000, which is 15,000 fewer homes annually than his own target in the London Plan.
But the UNHCR, in a new assessment of the revised plan, said it does not meet the required standards relating to the legality and appropriateness of the transfer of asylum seekers and is not compatible with international refugee law.
Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong meets with Iranian Police Chief Ahmad Reza Radan in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong met with Iranian Police Chief Ahmad Reza Radan on Tuesday in Beijing.

Wang expressed the hope that the two sides would work together to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, noting that the leaders met twice in 2023 to steer the direction of the development of China-Iran relations.

Wang also expressed the hope that the two sides would maintain regular strategic communication, strengthen practical cooperation in areas such as counter-terrorism, combating transnational crime and law enforcement capacity building, and continuously upgrade law enforcement and security cooperation to contribute to the security and stability of the two countries and the region.

Radan expressed Iran's willingness to advance exchanges and cooperation steadily with China in the field of law enforcement.

Wang and Radan jointly signed a memorandum of understanding on law enforcement cooperation after the meeting. 

Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong meets with Iranian Police Chief Ahmad Reza Radan in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)
I would appeal to all workers to resist such calls. Any such action would inevitably place an additional strain on policing at a time when our officers least need the pressure.
UK forces are deployed in Iraq as part of the international operation against IS, but were not believed to have been in any danger in Irbil. US officials said their own forces were not targeted.
There was no one on the Cathay Pacific plane, which was stationary at the time of the crash, it reported. The contact happened around 5.30pm local time. The news agency quoted a local fire department spokesman as saying no fire or fuel leaks were detected.
Prosecutors have called for two Londoners to be banned from Switzerland for five years for their role in the theft of Chinese Ming Dynasty artefacts from a museum. Marco Rossier called for the punishment to be inflicted on top of four-year jail sentences for Stewart and Louis Ahearne, at the Palais de Justice in Geneva, on Monday.
US Navy SEALs intercepted and destroyed a vessel that was ferrying advanced weaponry from Iran to Houthi rebels in Yemen, in an operation that left two of the commandos missing, US Central Command said on Tuesday.
In Libertys video clip she said: I was on series seven. Im probably best known for breaking up with my ex Jake a few days before the finals.
BAGHDAD, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Six explosions were heard Monday night in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, according to a local security source.

The explosions were heard near the under-construction U.S. consulate in the northern part of Erbil, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The explosions are believed to be rockets coming from the east, the source said, adding that the security authorities are investigating the incident.

Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Monday that it launched missiles at a "spy headquarters" in the region, according to the official IRNA. 
In 2023, the Dacia car manufacturer sold 46,124 vehicles in Romania, up 14.8% from 40,179 units in 2022, according to a Dacia press statement released on Tuesday.

In 2023, the top five best-selling car models in Romania were entirely occupied by the Dacia range.

Topping the sales ranking by model was the Logan - with 14,269 units, up 25% from 2022. In second place is the Duster, with 10,908 units (10,161 vehicles, in 2022), and in the third position is the Sandero, with 9,896 units sold in 2023, up 16.9% from 2022.

With 6,875 units sold, the Spring continued to be the most popular electric model in Romania in 2023, with a market share of over 43% on the segment of full electric vehicles. Released in early 2023, the Spring 65 version, equipped with a new, more powerful engine, made up 49% of the model's sales.

In fifth place in the ranking of the best-selling car models locally, with 4,175 units in 2023, the Jogger established itself as the most popular family vehicle with up to seven seats on the local market, and the Hybrid 140 version, the first full hybrid vehicle manufactured in Romania, accounted for 17% of total sales.

Founded in 1966, Dacia is the most important car manufacturer in Romania, the leader of the local automotive market and the most important exporter, with a significant contribution to Romania's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

A Renault Group brand since 1999, Dacia is present in 44 countries, on four continents, offering robust, reliable vehicles adapted to the needs and lifestyles of a wide range of customers.
EnergyMin Burduja says energy security is common good, which requires interconnection, in meeting with US ambassador

The Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja, discussed on Tuesday with the US Ambassador to Romania, Kathleen Ann Kavalec, and the US Ambassador to Greece, George James Tsunis, about the importance of energy cooperation and regional interconnectivity.

"Sebastian Burduja, the Minister of Energy, received on Tuesday the visit of Kathleen Ann Kavalec, the US Ambassador to Romania, and George James Tsunis, the US Ambassador to Greece. During the meeting, the importance of energy cooperation and regional interconnectivity was discussed. Among the main topics mentioned in the discussions between the Minister of Energy from Romania and the two ambassadors of the USA are the nuclear energy development, the consolidation of the energy transport infrastructure and the expansion of the production capacities from renewable sources", reads a press release from the Ministry of Energy.

In the context, the Romanian dignitary emphasized that Romania is rapidly expanding its electricity generation capacities, as well as gas exploitations in the Black Sea and intends to expand the production of wind, solar and offshore energy, in order to strengthen its role as a pillar of regional energy security countries.

"Energy security is a common good, which requires interconnection. (...) The European relationship with the American strategic partner remains as close as it has an essential contribution to the consolidation of energy security, a common benefit for the entire region. Romania is rapidly expanding its capacities of electricity generation, as well as gas exploitations in the Black Sea. We intend to expand the production of wind, solar and offshore energy in order to strengthen the role of a pillar of our country's regional energy security. Our strategic partner, the United States of America, is with us, demonstrating the common commitment to prosperity and security in the region," Sebastian Burduja said after the meeting.
BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- China strongly deplores and firmly opposes the United States passing the so-called Taiwan-related act, and has made serious representations to the U.S. side, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

It is reported that the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Taiwan Non-Discrimination Act of 2023, requiring the Secretary of the Treasury to use America's influence in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support Taiwan's membership in this organization.

In response to a related query, spokesperson Mao Ning told a daily news briefing that the United States passed the so-called act to grossly interfere in China's internal affairs and attempt to manipulate the Taiwan question for political purposes to create "two Chinas" and "one China, one Taiwan." "We strongly deplore and firmly oppose this, and have made serious representations to the U.S. side."

"Taiwan does not have any ground, reason, or right to join the UN, or any other international organization whose membership is confined to sovereign states," Mao stressed.

Mao noted that on Oct. 25, 1971, the 26th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted, with an overwhelming majority, Resolution 2758, which "decides to restore all its rights to the People's Republic of China and to recognize the representatives of its Government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations", and to expel forthwith the representatives of the Taiwan authorities "from the place which they unlawfully occupy."

Once and for all, UNGA Resolution 2758 resolved, politically, legally and procedurally, the issue of the representation of the whole of China, including Taiwan, at the UN. It also made it clear that there can only be one seat representing China at the UN, and that is the People's Republic of China, Mao said.

Over the past half century and more, Resolution 2758 has been observed by the UN, special agencies such as the IMF, and other international and regional organizations, Mao said, adding that any issues regarding the Taiwan region's participation in the activities of international organizations must be handled in accordance with the one-China principle.

The United States should fully understand the highly sensitive nature of the Taiwan question and immediately stop using the Taiwan question to interfere in China's internal affairs, sending wrong signals to the "Taiwan independence" forces and undermining China-U.S. relations and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Mao said. 
PM Ciolacu attends Foreign Investors Council presidents' forum, focus on economic, fiscal stability, digital transformation

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu attended the annual forum of the presidents of the Foreign Investors Council (FIC), held on Tuesday at the Victoria Palace of Government, where he said that "everything that produces in Romania, employs people in the country and pays taxes here is a Romanian company".

According to a Government press release, economic and fiscal stability, the digital transformation of the Romanian state alongside restructuring, the drawing on European funds to support sectors that bring economic added value were the main topics of discussion at the meeting held at the Victoria Palace.

"Everything that produces in Romania, employs people in Romania, pays taxes in Romania is a Romanian company. Our common interest is for Romanian companies to prosper and for this prosperity to reach as many Romanians as possible. The right way to build together is a solid basis for dialogue," Ciolacu was quoted as saying in the press release.

In the dialogue with the 60 presidents of FIC member companies, the prime minister stressed that no changes in tax legislation are envisaged this year, the source said.

"We are not considering the introduction of new taxes or duties, nor the elimination of other exceptions. However, we are following with great attention the further reduction of the budget deficit, the maintenance of a stable country rating and the increase of budget revenues through the digitalization of ANAF [the National Tax Administration Agency] and the implementation of measures to combat tax evasion.

The prime minister also pointed out that making the best use of European funds and funding under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan are the main resources for supporting investment projects in infrastructure, digitisation, energy, with emphasis on encouraging the production of energy from renewable sources, but also other sectors of activity.

At the same time, the agricultural sector and the construction sector are considered by the Government as priorities, being supported by government programmes aimed at encouraging production and processing, the press release states.

"We ended the 2014-2020 financial year with an absorption rate of over 93 percent. It was an effort of the government team translated into the financing of many projects awaited by people. We still have the determination and we will keep this momentum. We have already set a benchmark for public investment of at least 7 percent of GDP, which should represent an average for the coming years," Ciolacu added.

Another topic discussed at the meeting with foreign investors was the provision of labour.

In this context, Marcel Ciolacu said that the Government supports the expansion of dual education, both through adequate funding and by adapting legislation. "Specifically, Romania has a total funding of one billion euros under the PNRR, European funds and the budget, money available for the next 4-5 years. The Government has also extended the list of eligible specialisations and amended the Law on pre-university education so that a dual high school student has the opportunity to continue his or her training in higher education in the dual system, in a complete path: high school, university, master's, doctorate," the press release says.

According to the Government, FIC representatives also appreciated the "consistent" dialogue with the prime minister and the members of the Cabinet, an important element for building a relationship based on trust.

"Investors' confidence is based on dialogue, stability and predictability regarding everything that means adapting legislation. Through direct and open consultations we can contribute to major development projects in the country," said Daniel Anghel, president of the Council of Foreign Investors.

Ramona Jurubita, vice-president of FIC, also mentioned that "the level of public investment is an encouraging sign for companies present in Romania".

The annual forum of the presidents of the Foreign Investors Council was attended by Prime Minister Ciolacu, the Deputy Prime Minister Marian Neacsu, the Minister of Economy Radu Oprea, the Minister of European Investments and Projects Adrian Caciu, the head of the Prime Minister's Chancellery Alexandru-Mihai Ghigiu.
National leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Monday that, at present, it would be "very difficult" to be able to achieve a National Liberal Party (PNL)-PSD electoral alliance and joint lists for the two "families," but if Romanians wish "the incumbent coalition can be restored" after the elections.

Asked during a political show on Antena 3 private television broadcaster about a possible PNL-PSD alliance, Ciolacu answered: "Time shows us that it is not. You cannot unite the two families. There was USL [Social Liberal Union]. It was done against someone, it was done against then President Traian Basescu. [PNL's national leader] Nicolae Ciuca and I are not enemies, we are political opponents. That is the truth regardless of whether or not we manage to communicate together and move things in the right direction. It is very difficult to have an alliance and joint lists at the moment. But it is possible that, after the elections, if the Romanians decide, we can restore the coalition."

Regarding the future president of Romania, Ciolacu said he wants him to be from PSD.

"I think that after 20 years and especially after multiple crises, it is time in Romania to have a left-wing president, a man who feels left-wing, feels in terms of social equity. When the Social Democratic Party joined and took ownership of this difficult government (...), we looked at the numbers before taking ownership of this government. I think it is necessary to have a left-wing president who will bring social equity and avoid returning to a crisis."
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Monday that Romania will not enter recession this year, adding that the country is heading in the right direction.

"Definitely not. I negotiate everything. I have already announced, I have a red line. All measures to combat tax evasion will be implemented. The digitisation of the ANAF [tax agency] will take place this year, after 33 years. I know that we have disturbed a lot of people, we have assumed this. I will continue the reorganisation of the budgetary system. I know I'm bothering a lot of people, otherwise, if we don't do these things and we don't find understanding and a fair dialogue between us, we'll collapse, for nothing this time, for nothing. Romania, I tell you with all my heart, is heading in the right direction. Have we lost our patience? And I am losing my patience and so are you, with all of you, especially after so many overlapping crises and after so many frustrations, after so much mockery towards Romanians, after so much humiliation that we have endured," Ciolacu said on Antena 3 CNN private television broadcaster, asked if Romania will enter recession this year.

Marcel Ciolacu said that there is a need for collaboration among authorities, society, employers, trade unions to maintain the "fragile balance" of the economy in this period.

The prime minister added that he will hold discussions with all social categories to maintain the balance of the economy.
Romania will have to present in 2024 its revised national strategy regarding biodiversity and its national energy and climate plans, which will establish the objectives for the following years, WWF - World Wide Fund for Nature Romania said in a statement on the World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2024.

"Romania has a great responsibility in Europe, being one of the richest countries in nature. Protecting and restoring our ecosystems is an investment in the future that mitigates the risk of disasters. This is particularly important this year, because in 2024 , Romania will have to present its revised national strategy regarding biodiversity and the national energy and climate plans, which will establish the objectives for the coming years," according to Barbara Bendandi, director of conservation at WWF World Wide Fund for Nature Romania.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Risks Report 2024 counts extreme weather events and critical change to Earth systems as the greatest concerns facing the world over the next decade.

"The interlinked crises of climate change and biodiversity loss are among the most severe risks the world has to contend with and cannot be tackled in isolation. We've just lived through the hottest year on record with lives and livelihoods devastated by searing heatwaves and catastrophic floods and storms. Unless we take urgent action the threat is only set to intensify, pushing us closer to inflicting irreversible damage on society and ecosystems. By all working together to better protect and manage the Earth's resources, we can turn the tide on nature loss and secure a brighter future for our planet, our common home," WWF International Director General Kirsten Schuijt is quoted as saying.

The World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2024 shows that environmental risks continue to dominate the landscape over all timeframes, as two-thirds of global experts are worried about extreme weather events in 2024. Extreme weather, critical changes to Earth systems, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, natural resource shortages and pollution represent five of the top 10 most severe risks perceived to be faced over the next decade.
Daniel Neman Features writer Follow Daniel Neman 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

I went back to Ohio, but my city was gone.

Actually, the city was still there, looking better than ever. But some of the places I used to go to for food  all my favorite places, you might say  had changed.

I am speaking specifically about ice cream and bagels. Another of my favorites, Skyline Chili, remains exactly the same. Actually, on my most recent trip, I had the best Skyline Id had in years.

On this particular trip home, I had a delightful conversation with a young woman who will soon be marrying into my extended family (by extended, I mean very close family friends to whom I am not technically related). We agreed pleasantly enough on any number of topics, but she was dead set against the whole concept of Cincinnati chili.

Youre not looking at Cincinnati chili the right way, I said as her fiancee accused me of mansplaining. Cincinnati chili is not chili. Cincinnati chili is spaghetti with a Greek meat sauce on it.

My new young friend was not convinced. Then again, she is originally from Hawaii and is just as passionate about Spam as I am about Cincinnati chili. In my mind, I win.

I usually get Cincinnati chili at the chili parlor (this is not a joke. Cincinnati has dozens of chili parlors) nearest our hotel, but I stayed at a different hotel this time. I ended up at a different branch of the same chain, and that made all the difference.

So I had no problem with the chili. But the bagels? It was as if aliens had come down and, for reasons we humans can never understand, surgically removed a vital part of my childhood. And not just my childhood. They had taken away one of the few representatives of true bageldom in America.

What you think of as bagels are probably not bagels, at least not as bagels existed for their first 450 years. The bagels I grew up with, when they were still unknown to most of America, were about 3 inches wide with a pronounced crust and an addictively chewy, dense texture. Most of all, they were distinguished by a certain pleasing tang that instantly let you know you were not merely eating doughnut-shaped bread.

Todays bagels taste like doughnut-shaped bread. They are even a little sweet, which is the opposite of traditional bagels (not including Montreal-style, which dont count, possibly not even in Montreal).

But surely, I thought, the bagel shop I used to go to in Cincinnati, the bakery that probably had the best bagels west of Manhattan, would still be as great as they ever were. Surely, those bagels would not change.

Those bagels changed. They tasted like life saver-shaped bread. They tasted like life saver-shaped bread that had no discernible flavor other than the topping. One tasted like sesame seeds. Another tasted like poppy seeds.

I have played around with time a little here  in the literature world we would call it nonlinear narrative, but you can think of it simply as being inaccurate. The disappointing trip to the bagel shop was actually a few trips ago.

This time, I went to a different bagel shop, a national chain that is sadly not in the St. Louis area. Their bagels are relatively close to the real thing. I had a couple there and brought back a dozen for the freezer.

But its not just bagels. I had a similar disappointment a couple of months ago at my favorite ice cream parlor.

Cincinnati has two great, Ted Drewes-level ice cream parlors. One, Graeters, is nationally known; you can buy pints of Graeters ice cream in all the better grocery stores around town. If you do, be sure to get a variety that has chocolate chips in it. While other chocolate chips are all hard and bland, the chocolate chips in Graeters ice cream are soft and chewy and actually taste like rich, delicious chocolate.

Even so, I prefer the actual ice cream (as opposed to the chips) at another ice cream emporium. Aglamesis ice cream, to my palate, seems richer, with better, fuller flavors.

We went there on another trip home a couple of months ago. I got my favorite, mocha chip, in a cone. I think my wife got a sundae with French vanilla and caramel sauce.

We were disappointed. Both felt a little gritty, as if there had perhaps been a problem with the freezing process. We felt so cheated by the experience that we actually went immediately to Graeters but decided only to buy a couple of jars of their hot fudge sauce. But we briefly contemplated getting an ice cream there, too.

I hope that whatever happened at Aglamesis was only temporary and has been fixed by now. Im sure Ill try them again.

But nostalgia, as they say, isnt what it used to be.
ST. LOUIS  Washington University has joined up with a New York investment firm to launch a new drug research and development business, the school announced Tuesday.

Deerfield Management Co. has committed up to $130 million over the next decade. The new company will be called VeritaScience, a nod to the universitys motto, Per Veritatem Vis, or Strength Through Truth.

The investment firm has a track record of similar deals with other universities. In 2018, the firm created a drug development company called Pinnacle Hill, in partnership with University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and committed $65 million in funding to it.

In 2019, it committed up to $130 million to Hudson Heights Innovations, a company it launched with Columbia University. Last summer, it committed up to $130 million to a company created with NYU Langone Health.

We intend to equip the researchers of selected projects with flexible capital, expertise, and operational support to help them realize their discoveries potential, Deerfield managing partner James Flynn said in a statement.

Washington University researchers will submit project proposals to VeritaScience. Those proposals will be reviewed by the companys scientific review team, which is led by Deerfield experts and guided by Washington Universitys Office of Technology Management, and the medical schools business development team. If a project is accepted, it will be eligible for funding and support to create separate startup companies.

The deal follows other partnerships between the university and drug companies.

In 2022, Washington University reached a five-year agreement to work with the Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai, to study neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimers and Parkinsons.

The university ranks seventh in the nation for annual funding from the National Institutes of Health. It received $633 million in the 2023 fiscal year. Nearly $584 million of that went to research within the school of medicine, which ranks second for NIH funding, among all U.S. medical schools.
Joe Holleman Political correspondent/columnist Follow Joe Holleman Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

When it comes to Cahokia Heights abiding flood and sewage woes, U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski wants the federal government to double down, moneywise.

A Springfield Democrat who represents a portion of the Metro East area, Budzinski asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to allocate $200 million, twice the current amount set aside, to help address the situation in St. Clair County.

Budzinski made her request Thursday to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Specifically, the congressional freshman wants to the committee to increase the Corps response funding cap from $100 million to $200 million, and also to give the Corps the authority to address stormwater management issues.

Budzinski also wants the federal government to see if the Spring Lake Project, aimed at alleviating the impact of flooding in the East St. Louis area, can be moved out of the planning stages so that preliminary engineering work can begin.

In Cahokia Heights, local residents have been dealing with a flooding, sewage and drinking water crisis for decades, eroding home values and putting folks health and safety at risk, Budzinski said.

Last month, Budzinski joined Illinois two Democratic U.S. senators, Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, in asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to perform a health-risk assessment to find out how the flooding and exposure to sewage have affected residents.

Money and work in the Cahokia Heights area has been delayed as residents combat raw sewage in their yards and homes. The problems has gutted property values and possibly has exposed residents to bacteria and parasites.
Joe Holleman Political correspondent/columnist Follow Joe Holleman Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

Former President Donald Trumps victory Monday night in the Iowa Caucus spurred Missouris two U.S. senators, both Republicans, to applaud the win on social media.

Senior Sen. Josh Hawley said on Monday night: Trumps victory (Monday) showcases once again the changing GOP base. This is a working class party now. The DC Republicans need to figure that out.

Trumps victory tonight showcases once again the changing GOP base. This is a working class party now. The DC Republicans need to figure it out  Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) January 16, 2024

Joining Hawley was his junior counterpart, Eric Schmitt, who declared that the primary is over.

Saying that Trump will go on to win the general election, the Glendale resident said: Its time Republicans turned their attention to dismantling the reckless agenda from the worst president in my lifetime, Joe Biden.

. @realDonaldTrump is going to be the 47th President of the United States and its time Republicans turned their attention to dismantling the reckless agenda from the worst president in my lifetime Joe Biden.



Lets go!  Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) January 16, 2024

Among St. Louis-area GOP House members, the strongest comments came from Illinois legislators.

U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, whose district includes Monroe County and part of St. Clair County in Illinois, congratulated Trump after his win over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley.

He is going to win the primary in a landslide and make America great again this November, Bost wrote.

Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump on winning the Iowa Caucus this evening! He is going to win the primary in a landslide and Make America Great Again this November! #Trump2024  Mike Bost (@BostForCongress) January 16, 2024

U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, of Oakland, who represents part of Madison County in Illinois, said, A huge victory for the America First movement. We will save this country from Joe Biden and the corrupt DC Swamp.

PRESIDENT TRUMP WINS IOWA! A huge victory for the America First movement. We will save this country from Joe Biden and the corrupt DC Swamp. We will Make America Great Again!   Mary Miller (@Miller_Congress) January 16, 2024

On the Missouri side, the response was more subdued.

U.S. Reps. Ann Wagner of Town and Country and retiring Blaine Luetkemeyer of St. Elizabeth had no social-media response.

Ways and Means chairman Jason Smith of Salem, whose congressional district includes parts of Jefferson County and Ste. Genevieve County, last posted from Iowa before the results were announced.
JEFFERSON CITY  A private law firm defending a politically charged investing rule imposed by Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has billed Missouri taxpayers more than $167,000 in the early stages of the lawsuit.

The firm, Kansas City-based Graves Garrett, submitted hourly billing records showing its attorneys preparing for the legal fight against a trade organization that says Ashcrofts rule violates the constitutional right to free speech.

The rule was put in place last year by Ashcroft as a way to limit the impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in investment decisions.

He filed the so-called anti-woke rule after Missouri lawmakers failed to ban state involvement in banks that prioritize climate change or other socially driven investments.

The billing records, obtained by the Post-Dispatch through an open records request, show at least seven people at the firm are working on the case, including attorney Edward Greim, who contributed money to Ashcrofts campaign for governor.

In August, for example, the records show attorneys billed the state $2,205 after they spent time debriefing following a call with Ashcrofts office. The work included talking about strategy and gameplan.

Also included are hours spent doing legal research related to the case. Discussions listed in the billing records included a failed effort to get the case dismissed.

Ashcroft, a candidate for governor, hired the firm to fight a challenge to his rule change, rather than leave the case in the hands of Attorney General Andrew Baileys office, where most cases against the state are handled.

At the time, Ashcroft campaign spokesman Jason Cabel Roe said the case requires law firm with a specialized understanding of securities law.

Baileys office signed off on the hire but denied Ashcrofts request to pay for the outside lawyers with a fund overseen by the attorney general.

Along with Greim, law firm partner Todd Graves is a political player, having previously served as head of the Missouri Republican Party.

Graves currently serves on the University of Missouri board of trustees.

The firm was handed a loss Jan. 5 when U.S. District Judge Steven Bough ruled against a request to dismiss the case brought by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

The trade group argues the rules introduced by Ashcroft violate the constitutional right to free speech by requiring brokers to stick to a script. They also say the rule fails to acknowledge that federal law already requires financial advisers to act in the best interest of their clients when providing personalized investment advice.

Bough said the trade organization can continue its pursuit of the case because it has the legal standing to represent financial advisers who object to Ashcrofts rule.

Ashcroft, who is facing Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and Sen. Bill Eigel in the August 2024 GOP primary, has used the lawsuit to raise money for his gubernatorial campaign, where culture war issues have played a prominent role.

Secretary of State spokesman JoDonn Chaney said the office is pleased with the work of Graves Garrett.

The firm was selected based on their knowledge and expertise regarding the issue, Chaney said.
CCTV: In the past few days, countries have been openly stating that they support the one-China principle, respect Chinas territorial integrity and oppose interference in Chinas internal affairs. Can you give us more details?

Mao Ning: Since January 13, countries and international organizations have been openly reaffirming their commitment to the one-China principle, firm support for Chinas effort of upholding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, opposition to any form of Taiwan independence and support for Chinas reunification. Apart from what has been mentioned yesterday, a large number of countries, including Pakistan, the Maldives, Myanmar, Iran, Syria, Tunisia, Palestine, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Central Africa, Niger, Equatorial Guinea, Comoros, Lesotho, Somalia, Djibouti, Mali, Burundi, Gambia, Vanuatu, Tonga, Kiribati, Dominica, Nicaragua, and Bolivia as well as the African Union also clearly stated their support for the one-China principle and opposition to Taiwan independence. We applaud and appreciate the just position of these countries and organizations.

We are convinced that the international community will continue to, in accordance with the one-China principle, support the Chinese peoples just cause of opposing Taiwan independence separatist activities and striving to achieve national reunification.

AFP: The US State Department issued a statement, saying that while the Government of Naurus action to sever its diplomatic relationship with Taiwan is a sovereign decision, it is nonetheless a disappointing one. What is your response to the US State Departments statement?

Mao Ning: The US has pointed fingers at the decision independently made by a sovereign country, tried every means to smear Chinas diplomacy and encouraged the Taiwan region to expand international space. This gravely violates the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, seriously interferes in Chinas internal affairs and severely contravenes the basic norms governing international relations. China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this.

I would like to stress that there is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinas territory, the government of the Peoples Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and the one-China principle is a universally recognized basic norm governing international relations and a prevailing international consensus. The government of Naurus decision to restore diplomatic relations with China once again shows that the one-China principle is where global opinion trends and where the arc of history bends. China urges the US to act seriously in accordance with the commitments that have been reaffirmed multiple times by the US leaders to not supporting Taiwan independence, two Chinas or one China, one Taiwan, handle Taiwan-related issues with utmost prudence, and stop sending any wrong signals to Taiwan independence separatist forces.

CRI: Its reported that the Taiwan authorities yesterday accused the mainland of long-term suppression of the islands diplomatic space and luring Taiwans so-called diplomatic allies. Whats your comment?

Mao Ning: There is but one China in the world, the government of the Peoples Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China and Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinas territory. Standing up for the one-China principle is the right thing to do and is where global opinion trends and where the arc of history bends. We are convinced that more countries will choose to stand on the right side of history and the side of international justice and make the right decision that serves the fundamental and long-term interests of their countries and peoples.

I want to stress that the one-China principle is a basic norm governing international relations and a prevailing consensus of the international community. The Chinese government never barters away principles. The DPP authorities in Taiwan disregard the prevailing trend of history, refuse the one-China principle, make every effort to expand the so-called international space, and conduct separatist activities seeking Taiwan independence. This is doomed to failure and will lead nowhere.

Rudaw Media Network: Iran is attacking Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan region, with missiles and civilians have been targeted. What is Chinese position on that? My second question, China has good relations with Syria and Turkiye. Turkiye continues to attack Kurdish areas of Syria. Is China trying to calm the situation in the region? My last question, whats Chinas position on South Africas genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice?

Mao Ning: On your first question, China believes that Iraqs sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity should be respected and protected. We call on relevant parties to exercise restraint, avoid actions that escalate the tension and jointly keep the region peaceful and stable.

On your second question, China believes that the relations between countries should be handled in accordance with the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law, Syrias sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity should be earnestly respected and protected, and terrorism should be countered under the framework of international law.

On your third question, we noted the relevant case. China is deeply saddened by the heavy civilian casualties caused by the latest Palestinian-Israeli conflict and opposes any actions in violation of international law. We hope parties to the conflict will earnestly implement the relevant resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council and General Assembly, reach an immediate and full ceasefire, and stop the collective punishment against people in Gaza.

Shenzhen TV: After the government of Nauru announced the decision to break the so-called diplomatic ties with the Taiwan authorities on January 15, Taiwans foreign affairs office said that Nauru cutting diplomatic ties with Taiwan at this time is not only Chinas revenge on Taiwans democratic elections, but also a direct challenge to international order. What is your response?

Mao Ning: By making these remarks, the Taiwan authorities are calling white black. The Taiwan question has nothing to do with democracy, but bears on Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Taiwan independence forces are using democracy to cover up their hidden agenda of dividing the country. Their attempt is doomed to failure.

Talking about international order, the return of Taiwan to China is an important part of the international order established after the second World War. This is clearly stipulated in the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation. Resolution 2758 adopted at the 26th Session of the UN General Assembly in 1971 makes it clear that there is no two Chinas or one China, one Taiwan in the world. Upholding the one-China principle is safeguarding international order. Challenging the one-China principle is challenging international order, and will meet the joint opposition of the international community.

Across the world, 182 countries have already established diplomatic relations with China on the basis of the one-China principle. Nauru decided to stand with the overwhelming majority of the international community and restore diplomatic ties with China. This is the right choice in line with its long-term interests and will open up a brighter future for its development.

Reuters: The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024 is being held in Davos, Switzerland. Is China invited to a peace summit for Ukraine held by Switzerland? Will China send a delegation to the summit? Will Premier Li Qiang meet Ukrainian President Zelenskyy?

Mao Ning: Chinas position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear, which is centered on promoting talks for peace. Since the full escalation of the crisis, China has kept in close contact with relevant parties, including Ukraine. We are willing to continue to work with the international community and play a constructive role for the political settlement of the crisis. We also welcome and support any efforts for peace.

Bloomberg: Philippines President Marcos said the following on the Taiwan election results: We look forward to close collaboration, strengthening mutual interests, fostering peace and ensuring prosperity for our peoples in the years ahead. Marcos wrote this on X on Monday night. He also referred to the new leader in Taiwan as President-elect. What is the Chinese Foreign Ministrys response?

Mao Ning: The remarks of Philippines President gravely violate the one-China principle and the communique on the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Philippines, seriously go against the Philippines political commitments to China, and blatantly interfere in Chinas internal affairs. China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this and has immediately lodged strong representations to the Philippine side. This morning, Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong summoned the Philippine Ambassador to China Jaime Florcruz to lodge serious demarche and urge the Philippines to present a responsible response to China.

The election result of the Taiwan region cannot change the dynamics and direction of cross-Strait relations and cannot hold back the prevailing trend that China will and must achieve reunification. We would like to make it clear to the Philippines that it should refrain from playing with fire on the Taiwan question, earnestly abide by the one-China principle and the joint communique of establishing diplomatic ties between China and the Philippines, immediately stop the wrong words and deeds on Taiwan-related issues and stop sending any wrong signal to Taiwan independence separatist forces.

We suggest President Marcos read more to develop a proper understanding of the ins and outs of the Taiwan question and come to a right conclusion.

Xinhua News Agency: Its reported that the US House of Representatives recently passed the Taiwan Non-Discrimination Act of 2023, requiring the Secretary of the Treasury to use Americas influence in International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support Taiwans membership in this organization. Whats your comment?

Mao Ning: The US passed the so-called act to grossly interfere in Chinas internal affairs and attempt to manipulate the Taiwan question for political purposes to create two Chinas and one China, one Taiwan. We strongly deplore and firmly oppose this, and have made serious representations to the US side.

Taiwan does not have any ground, reason, or right to join the UN, or any other international organization whose membership is confined to sovereign states. On October 25, 1971, the 26th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted, with an overwhelming majority, Resolution 2758, which decides to recognize the representatives of the Government of the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations, and to expel forthwith the representatives of the Taiwan authorities from the place which they unlawfully occupy. Once and for all, UNGA Resolution 2758 resolved, politically, legally and procedurally, the issue of the representation of the whole of China, including Taiwan, at the UN. It also made it clear that there can only be one seat representing China at the UN, and that is the Peoples Republic of China.

Over the past half century and more, Resolution 2758 has been observed by the UN, special agencies such as IMF, and other international and regional organizations. Any issues regarding the Taiwan regions participation in the activities of international organizations must be handled in accordance with the one-China principle.

The US should fully understand the highly sensitive nature of the Taiwan question and immediately stop using the Taiwan question to interfere in Chinas internal affairs, sending wrong signals to the Taiwan independence forces and undermining China-US relations, and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

Reuters: The Philippines military chief said that the Filipino government will develop islands in the South China Sea to make them more habitable for troops. Whats your comment?

Mao Ning: China has indisputable sovereignty over Nansha Qundao and the adjacent waters. We firmly oppose relevant countries illegal construction on the islands and reefs they have illegally occupied in Nansha Qundao.

Bloomberg: In the past two days, Hamas has released videos featuring one hostage Noa Argamani, whose mother was born in China, in what is referred to as a sign of life video. In December, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his parliament he summoned the Chinese Ambassador to request Chinas intervention on behalf of Noa. Did China take any action in the Noa case? And is China working behind the scenes to secure her release?

Mao Ning: Since the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out, China has repeatedly called for the release of all those held captive as soon as possible and has been making active efforts for this. We will work with the international community to continue to play a constructive role for realizing a ceasefire and the release of all those held captive.

RIA Novosti: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Monday that Kiev wants to establish more dynamic relations with China and believes that Beijing can play a role in resolving the Ukrainian conflict. Whats Chinas comment on this?

Mao Ning: Chinas position on the Ukraine crisis is centered on promoting talks for peace. China is in touch with relevant parties, including Ukraine. We will continue to play a constructive role for the political settlement of the crisis. We also stand ready to work with Ukraine to act on the important common understandings reached between the heads of state of China and Ukraine to advance our bilateral relations.
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Heavy continuous rain is expected in four states across Malaysia, the Meteorological Department warned on Tuesday.

The states affected include Pahang, Johor and the northern Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak, the department said in a statement.

It also urged the public to monitor official channels for updates on the situation.

Meanwhile, 277 people have been displaced because of flooding in the states of Johor, Pahang and Sabah and are being housed in seven flood relief centers, according to the country's social welfare department.

The meteorological department has issued warnings of heavy rains due to the northeast monsoon, which typically lasts from October to March, with strong winds and rough seas expected, in northern states and the east coast of the Southeast Asian country. 
ST. LOUIS  A man accused of shooting and killing a police officer in south St. Louis is expected to argue at trial this week that a mental illness prevented him from knowing what he was doing when he barricaded himself inside a home and shot several times at police.

Thomas Kinworthy, 47, is accused of killing Officer Tamarris Bohannon and injuring another officer on Aug. 30, 2020, in the citys Tower Grove East neighborhood.

In a trial slated to last two weeks, prosecutors will seek to convict Kinworthy of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, four counts of armed criminal action, resisting arrest and burglary. They will likely tap a state psychiatric evaluator as well as police officers, medical examiners and witnesses to testify about the incident.

Just before 6 p.m. Aug. 30, 2020, Steve and Mimi Haag were at their home in 3700 block of Hartford Street, waiting for a friend to join them for dinner. Instead, a transient man that they recognized from the neighborhood arrived and said he had been shot.

Mimi Haag went to call 911 and watched as another man forced himself into their house. That man refused to leave, she said.

I saw then he had a gun, said Steve Haag in a 2020 interview. He was very calm standing there with it in his hand, and he just says to Mimi: Maam you need to get off the phone.

The couple left the home, and Kinworthy opened fire when police arrived, authorities said, killing Bohannon and injuring another officer.

Kinworthy then barricaded himself in the home for nearly 12 hours while negotiators tried to get him to come out. Much of the neighborhood was shut down, as streets were closed to vehicles and pedestrians, and residents were warned to stay inside their homes.

Finally, just after 5:30 a.m., police arrested Kinworthy after throwing canisters of tear gas into the home.

Kinworthy has been in custody awaiting trial since then.

Bohannon, 29, is survived by a wife, Alexis, and three children. He was known by his squad as Bo.

The loss of this great man is felt deeply within the St. Louis community, the family wrote in a statement at the time.

After Kinworthy was charged in the killing, authorities said he had skipped a court date on charges of sexual battery and kidnapping in Florida weeks before he appeared in St. Louis.

The case crawled through the court system during the COVID-19 pandemic, when in-person court hearings were prohibited.

In November 2022, Kinworthys attorneys notified the court that he planned to rely on a defense of being not guilty by reason of mental illness. State evaluators conducted a mental exam.

That evaluation, which was supposed to be filed confidentially, was made public due to a filing error in May, and the Post-Dispatch obtained a copy through a public computer terminal in the clerks office.

Kinworthys attorneys sought to prohibit the Post-Dispatch from publishing the contents of the report, and Judge Elizabeth Hogan granted their request until the close of evidence in Kinworthys trial.

First Amendment attorneys called the ruling a jarring example of prior restraint, where a judge prohibits news outlets from publishing information.

On Thursday, Kinworthy appeared in court alongside his public defenders to discuss pretrial matters in the case. Kinworthy had grown his hair long and rocked back and forth in his chair.

Public defenders sought to keep prosecutors from presenting statements that Kinworthy made after he was arrested but had not yet been read his Miranda rights. At one point after the shooting, a police officer testified last week, Kinworthy asked: Did I make the news?

Judge Hogan denied the motion because Kinworthy volunteered the statements and was not being interrogated at the time.

Jury selection began Friday, and arguments could begin Tuesday.

Trial of man accused of killing St. Louis police officer delayed until spring Opening arguments were set to begin Tuesday, but a prosecutor fell ill, and defense attorneys said witnesses were unavailable if the trial were to be pushed back this week.
JEFFERSON CITY  A new legal battle may be brewing for a state senator who operates a restaurant in Chesterfield.

In a lawsuit filed Jan. 11, Sen. Ben Brown, a Republican from Washington, is accused of failing to pay nearly $25,000 in rent on the space occupied by Satchmos Bar and Grill, an establishment that became a Republican-fueled political battleground during the shutdown orders that roiled St. Louis County during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The lawsuit, filed by Spark Chesterfield, which owns the 3,000-square-foot building at 13373 Olive Boulevard, alleges that Brown and his business associates who operate B&R LLC havent paid rent or utility fees totaling $23,731 since September in violation of a lease agreement first signed in 2013.

The lawsuit marks the third time in the past 12 months Brown has faced legal action related to his restaurants operation. Two former workers previously sued alleging they were not fully paid for work at the establishment.

In 2020, Satchmos was among a handful of restaurants that were shuttered by the St. Louis County Health Department for violating public health orders during the pandemic.

Brown, who won a seat in the Senate in 2022, was a plaintiff in a lawsuit that stripped local health departments of their ability to issue orders designed to keep people safe during a pandemic.

Browns 26th Senate district includes Franklin, Gasconade, Osage and Warren counties and the City of Eureka within St. Louis County.

Brown did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Court records show no attorney listed for the restaurant or Brown.
ST. LOUIS  The trial for a man accused of killing one St. Louis police officer and wounding another has been delayed until the spring after a judge on Tuesday morning granted attorneys requests to postpone it.

Opening arguments were set to begin this week in the trial of Thomas Kinworthy, 47, but both sides asked for a delay.

The initial request came after a prosecutor fell ill this week. Judge Elizabeth Hogan said Tuesday morning she offered to move it back one day, but defense attorneys then said one of their witnesses, a mental health expert, would not be available if that happened. They asked for it to be delayed longer instead.

Hogan expressed frustration, saying the defense had ample time to make sure their witness was available for trial. The high-profile case has been pending for nearly four years.

Frankly, the court finds it perplexing, she said.

Kinworthy is facing charges of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, four counts of armed criminal action, resisting arrest and burglary in the death of Officer Tamarris Bohannon on Aug. 30, 2020, in the citys Tower Grove South neighborhood.

Kinworthy is accused of shooting at the officers and then barricading himself inside a home in the 3700 block of Hartford Street for nearly 12 hours while negotiators tried to get him to come out.

Bohannon, 29, is survived by a wife, Alexis, and three children. He was known by his squad as Bo.

The loss of this great man is felt deeply within the St. Louis community, the family wrote in a statement at the time.

After Kinworthy was arrested, authorities said he had skipped a court date on charges of sexual battery and kidnapping in Florida weeks before he appeared in St. Louis.

The case crawled through the court system during the COVID-19 pandemic, when in-person court hearings were prohibited.

In 2022, Kinworthys attorneys announced he planned to rely on a defense of being not guilty because of mental illness, meaning that a mental condition prevented him from knowing what he was doing at the time.

Jury selection in the case began Friday and was expected to continue Tuesday morning.

Hogan told attorneys to pick from four dates  March 15, April 5, April 12 or April 19  for a new trial date by Friday.

Editors note: This story has been updated with the correct neighborhood where the shooting occurred.
ST. LOUIS  The St. Louis Circuit Attorneys Office has charged two men in connection with a shooting and stabbing Sunday on a MetroLink train.

Richard Hamilton was charged with two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action, first-degree robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Hamilton, 43, lives in the 8200 block of Watson Road. He is being held without bond.

The second man, Gary Walker, was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action.

Walker, 46, lives in the 4500 block of Gravois Avenue. He also was being held without bond.

The attack, which happened Sunday afternoon on a MetroLink train, was captured on surveillance video, police said in court documents. Charges were filed in St. Louis on Monday.

Court documents say Walker and Hamilton walked onto the train and approached two men at the Shrewsbury station.

Authorities said Hamilton stabbed one man in the chest but was unable to penetrate the skin; he stabbed a second man in the arm and rib cage, causing the victim to suffer a collapsed lung, police said.

According to police, Walker said he accidentally shot one of the victims in the leg with a Glock pistol.

Hamilton told police the dispute was over a previous robbery committed by the two victims.

St. Louis County police officers responded just before 12:30 p.m. Sunday to the MetroLinks Sunnen station in Maplewood for a report of a shooting. They found one person with a gunshot wound, another with a stab wound and a third person who had been cut.

None of the injuries was life-threatening, police said.

Police said the shooting and stabbing followed an altercation on a train that had come from the Shrewsbury-Lansdowne Interstate 44 Station. County police said city police took over the investigation.

1 shot, 2 others injured after fight on MetroLink train in St. Louis County One person was shot, another was stabbed, and a third was injured after an 'altercation' on a MetroLink train Monday afternoon in St. Louis County.
JEFFERSON CITY  A St. Louis state senator has called for an outside investigation after a top administrator at a historically Black university in the capital city reportedly died by suicide last week.

State Sen. Karla May, D-St. Louis, expressed alarm about alleged events before and after the death of Antoinette Bonnie Candia-Bailey, who had been Lincoln Universitys vice president of student affairs.

I believe an independent investigation of both the Office of the President and the University Board of Curators is needed to ensure students, faculty, and alumni that this matter is being fairly and fully examined, May said in a press release Friday.

A statement from Lincoln University prior to Mays statement said the board of curators planned to engage a third-party expert to review potential personnel issues and concerns regarding compliance with university policies.

May said Tuesday she was not aware of the universitys statement before she issued her call for an independent probe. But May said she still had concerns.

Who will be choosing the third party? she asked. How will that selection process take place?

In a lengthy email to Lincoln University President John Moseley that was copied to the Post-Dispatch on the day she died, Candia-Bailey accused Moseley of bullying and creating a toxic work environment.

In her email to Moseley, Candia-Bailey referenced several other human resources issues at the university and said she was skeptical of previous investigations because you will side with whos paying you.

Moseley volunteered to be placed on paid leave during the upcoming review amid calls for his removal from the Lincoln University National Alumni Association and student protesters.

As a Board, we are committed to make certain the mental health of Lincoln University employees is a priority and that every employee is always treated with dignity and respect, said Lincoln Board of Curators President Victor Pasley in the statement. The Board has confidence in the leadership team we have at Lincoln, but as we all work together to serve students and the Lincoln University community, this review will fully examine important questions, concerns and gather facts.

In her statement, May said she supports placing Moseley on leave during the investigation, but remains concerned that the University Board of Curators will be unable to objectively examine its own role in this situation.

Candia-Bailey graduated from Lincoln in 1998 and became vice president for student affairs in May. Working at Lincoln University left her severely bruised and broken, according to the email to Moseley.

I wont be around; however, I have faith that this once great institution can be great again, she wrote.

Candia-Bailey, a Chicago native, previously worked as an administrator at Elms College in Massachusetts and the University of Wisconsin along with several other campuses in Maryland and North Carolina.

Lincoln issued a statement Monday that said DeNeia Thomas, dean of professional studies, will replace Candia-Bailey in the interim role of senior vice president for academic and student affairs.
JEFFERSON CITY  Missouris Sunshine law requires government officials and entities to disclose information sought by the public, but there are many exceptions to what they must release. Rep. Bill Falkner, a St. Joseph Republican, wants to add yet another to the list.

My sole purpose was to protect the students information when they register for recreational social activities for events sponsored by a public government body, such as cities, towns, villages or park boards, Falkner said.

Falkner originally filed a bill that included exceptions for constituent information shared with government bodies and for records housed in lawmakers offices. But at a House committee hearing Tuesday, he said the original language in his bill was filed in error.

According to an amendment shared at the hearing, governments could refuse to disclose: Any portion of a record that contains individually identifiable information of any person who registers for a recreational or social activity or event sponsored by a public governmental body, if such public governmental body is a city, town, village or fiduciary park board.

Falkners intention is to protect the information of students who participate in government-sponsored activities and that of their parents. But the language is broad, and governments could refuse to disclose the names and contact information of anyone registered for a local government-sponsored event.

Pat Kelly, executive director of the Municipal League of Metro St. Louis, said several cities had raised the issue years ago.

They had student advisory boards that participated in city activities, and they realized that their contact information was sunshine-able.

Missouri Press Association attorney Jean Maneke at the hearing said there would no longer be accountability as to who is using public services.

The children who use services are an indication of a programs popularity and need for funding, Maneke said.

Maneke also raised that concern that as the legislative process progresses, the bill could become a vehicle for adding other provisions that harm the public interest.

After the hearing, however, Falkner told the Post-Dispatch that he would fight against any efforts to add additional provisions.

I dont want to muddy the waters because I think this is an important issue, Falkner said.

Since voters approved a 2018 change to Missouris ethics rules that made lawmaker records subject to the states Sunshine law, there have been regular efforts to limit the information they are required to disclose.

This legislation is House Bill 1720.
JEFFERSON CITY  Missouri lawmakers are once again considering a controversial tax credit program designed to boost investment in rural parts of the state.

Although the effort has fallen short in previous years over concerns that it will benefit a major developer, a Senate panel Tuesday heard testimony on the proposed Missouri Rural Workforce Development Act Tuesday, which is designed to give investors tax credits for investing in rural businesses in the state.

Under the proposed program, participation would be limited to a narrow number of firms. For example, investors would have to had put at least $100 million in small communities across the country, including $30 million in Missouri.

The bill requires 70% of investments to be made in rural small businesses with 250 or fewer employees.

The program would be capped at $16 million.

The sponsor, Sen. Curtis Trent, R-Springfield, said he grew up in rural Missouri and watched as businesses closed or left the states small towns.

It is very important for rural Missouri, said Sen. Justin Brown, R-Rolla, who chairs the Senate Emerging Issues Committee.

Sen. Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette, raised concerns about the limits on the kinds of companies that can participate.

I dont want to craft a bill that just affects a couple of investment firms, McCreery said.

Trent said the eligibility is limited to larger companies that can make immediate impacts.

Alex Stepanek, Advantage Capital of St. Louis, said the program would put more than $100 million into the hands of developers who can help drive investment in rural areas.

He also said the participation should be limited to big firms so the money can be quickly put to work.

Its very difficult to do, Stepanek said.

Opponents last year raised questions about cost overruns in a similar program in Georgia.

A state audit in Georgia found the rural investment program would take at least 72 years for a return on the investment, leading to charges that it is an expensive boondoggle that lines the pockets of developers.

Among the companies involved in the Georgia program is JES Holdings, led by Jeffrey E. Smith, a Columbia developer who is a major player in the states low-income housing tax credit program. His firm also has offices in Georgia.

A subsidiary of JES, known as Affordable Equity Partners, is represented in the Capitol by lobbyist John Bardgett and three members of his firm.

Bardgett also represents the St. Louis Cardinals, Anheuser-Busch and a host of industry trade groups.

The tax credit system in Missouri has long been controversial.

In 2017, former Gov. Eric Greitens moved to kill hundreds of millions of dollars in the states tax credit programs, saying they only benefit banks, investors and lobbyists.

Greitens later blamed the industry for helping to orchestrate his ouster from office in 2018.

The legislation is Senate Bill 802.
JEFFERSON CITY  A state senator from St. Charles County faced familiar opposition Tuesday in his quest to cut the annual tax Missourians pay on their vehicles, boats and campers.

State Sen. Bill Eigel, a Weldon Spring Republican who is running for governor, said during a Tuesday committee hearing the personal property tax was hammering Missourians. Under his legislation, You wont have to pay rent to the government every Dec. 1 for the crime of owning a car.

But representatives from several St. Charles County taxing districts spoke out against Eigels bill, a sign of obstacles to come as proponents attempt to push the phaseout to Gov. Mike Parsons desk.

Kelly Cope, chief of the St. Charles County Ambulance District; Tom Vineyard, chief of the OFallon Fire Protection District; and Skip Stephens, chief of the Cottleville Fire Protection District, all spoke out against the legislation.

Our biggest concern is related to the implementation of the bill, Cope said, adding there would be difficulty in managing funding changes.

All three also testified against last years plan by Eigel to slash the personal property tax.

Nancy Pennington, director of the Missouri Association of County Developmental Disabilities Services, said local developmental disabilities boards are funded through property taxes and that were concerned about any cut to those funding revenues.

Personal property is currently assessed at a third of its real value, which local governments then tax.

Eigels proposal would reduce the assessment rate for personal property as revenues rise from higher real property assessments.

Were only cutting from future increases, Eigel said.

Otto Fajen, lobbyist for the Missouri National Education Association, said what this bill is basically saying is, as you see real property growth, youre not gonna see any net increase in your revenues for some period of reassessment cycles.

The legislation also allows the state to reimburse local governments that collect less revenue than permitted under the change in law.

Pennington said she appreciated that lawmakers were allowing for reimbursements, but said her group was concerned the funds were up to the discretion of the Legislature.

She said that if theres a way to make up lost revenues and get people services they need, she guessed her organization would support transitioning.

But we are worried about any loss of growth that may happen as the needs for services increase and the prevalence of things such as autism continue to grow, Pennington said.

The Senate Economic Development and Tax Policy Committee did not vote on Eigels measure Tuesday.

Eigel has long feuded with Senate GOP leadership over various issues including the personal property tax.

A plan the state senator advanced last year wouldve exempted vehicles and farm machinery at least 10 years old from the tax. That plan wouldve also reduced the assessment rate from 33% to 31%.

Though the plan won initial approval in the upper chamber in February, senators later pumped the brakes amid concerns the change would be too costly for government.

As the Senate began debate on the tax Tuesday, the House was poised to consider the issue.

House Majority Leader Jon Patterson, R-Lees Summit, said he prefers phasing the tax out over time to ease the financial damage that could be inflicted on local governments.

I think it is something we ought to address, Patterson said Tuesday.

The legislation is Senate Bill 733.

Kurt Erickson of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
ST. LOUIS  On Jan. 16, 1919, the Prohibition amendment was passed, making St. Louis and all cities officially dry despite widespread flouting of the law. The last brave bartenders had shut their taps by 12:01 a.m. Jan. 17, 1920, the official start of constitutional Prohibition. Federal agents drove the streets and couldnt find any lawbreaking.

The Post-Dispatch noted dryly, Prohibition has had an erratic career in St. Louis. So it would remain, sometimes rattled by machine guns, for 13 long years.

History remembers the first day under the 18th Amendment, but Congress had imposed partial prohibition the previous summer. Prohibitionists, or drys, had seized upon saving grain and fuel for World War I, even though the war ended before they got their wish. Lower-alcohol beer (2.75 percent) flowed pending court challenges, but New Years Eve 1919 was more damp than wet  revelers had to bring their own hard stuff from dwindling household stocks.

The federal Volstead Act, the law intended to enforce the 18th Amendment, made it illegal even to carry a pocket flask outside ones own home. On Jan. 19, John Goheen, proprietor of a rooming house on South 10th Street, was caught on the sidewalk hauling two suitcases filled with whiskey bottles.

The case for Prohibition, long sought by well-intended reformers to spare families from drunken fathers, also had more than a tinge of scorn for cities, immigrants and Catholics. In places like St. Louis, that kind of thinking went nowhere.

Prohibition was a bonanza for local gangs like Egans Rats, Hogans and the Cuckoos. Moving up from safecracking and banditry, they littered the streets with each others bodies as they battled to satisfy the public thirst.

Prohibition did reduce cases of cirrhosis, but it also made a lawbreaker of anyone who wanted a bracer. Criminal gangs and ordinary citizens became clandestine brewers and distillers, with wildly varying results and lots of headlines.

On July 22, 1925, St. Louis officers nabbed 179 suspected moonshiners, including Jennie Buttee of 5115 Daggett Avenue. She told officers she hadnt a clue how a vat of 5,000 gallons of mash got into her basement.

Enforcement never stopped the flow. Five years later, agents raided a fashionable home at 3733 Pine Street, a site that produced 250 gallons a day.

Seen from a distance of eight decades, the tale is comical. But most mobsters were bad people, and some of their product was sufficiently awful to kill. Here are some of the more memorable tales from Prohibition St. Louis:

WHEN A TABLECLOTH IS A DRESS

The hot ticket for New Years Eve 1922 was the party at the new Chase Hotel, at Kingshighway and Lindell Boulevard. Management made the ritual warnings about obeying the law, but floor-length tablecloths made it easy to hide refreshments.

At 1:30 a.m., five officers accompanying Gus O. Nations, a dedicated teetotaler and St. Louis chief dry agent, strolled brashly into the hotels Palm Room without removing their hats. Officers checked beneath tables.

A woman screamed, claiming an agent had grabbed her gown instead. Her escort slugged the officer. It was instant pandemonium.

As the force retreated, detective Ed Sullivan accidently fired a shot into the floor, winging three dancers. Henry S. Priest, a former federal judge who attended the party, sued Nations on behalf of one of the wounded. Ten days later, Priest led the Missouri Association Against the Prohibition Amendment with a rally attended by 2,000 people.

Priest battled Prohibition until his death in 1930, three years before repeal.

OUR OF THE BARREL, THROUGH THE HOSE, DOWN THE ALLEY...

In 1910, when Tennessee went dry by state law, the Jack Daniel distillery moved to St. Louis. As national Prohibition took effect, the plant at 3960 Duncan Avenue, near Vandeventer and Forest Park avenues, held nearly 900 barrels of the famous whiskey.

The Volstead Act allowed the sale of intoxicants only as prescription medicine. Federal inspectors guarded the Jack Daniel warehouse, but its inventory was just too tempting.

In August 1923, well-connected crooks methodically siphoned 31,000 gallons through a hose to trucks waiting down the alley. They refilled the barrels with vinegar and water, leaving one untouched  all under the easily distracted eye of chief guard William Kinney, who had family links to the Egans Rats gang.

When a visiting inspector tasted vinegar, the notorious whiskey milking case was born. Two years later, in a federal trial in Indianapolis, 23 men were convicted in the scam, including several prominent St. Louisans.

Among them were former city Circuit Clerk Nat Goldstein and Arnold Hellmich, chief federal revenue agent in St. Louis and the man who had appointed Kinney. For their trip to prison at Leavenworth, Kan., they rented a private railroad car.

More than 4,000 admirers cheered them when the train backed into Union Station for a stop. Tom Foley, a local gambler and milking convict, scanned the crowd and said, We cant be so bad after all.

BOMBS AWAY

Charlie Birger grew up in St. Louis and led a gang in Southern Illinois. Their main rivals were hoods led by the Shelton brothers, country boys named Carl, Earl and Bernie.

Birgers hideout was the Shady Rest, a former tourist stop 10 miles east of Marion, Ill. On Nov. 12, 1926, Birger gangsters shot up the home of a brother of Joe Adams, mayor of West City, Ill., and a Shelton ally. The retaliation was creative.

The Sheltons quickly hired a barnstorming pilot, who took one of their men up in a Curtiss Jenny biplane for a bombing raid over Shady Rest. The bombardier tossed three homemade dynamite bombs, only one of which exploded to no strategic effect. Birger men sprayed the sky with submachine-gun fire, missing the plane.

One month later, Birger assassins cornered Adams. Birger was convicted in the murder and went to the gallows in Benton, Ill., on April 19, 1928. Shortly before his death, he told the Post-Dispatch, Ive shot men in my time, but I never shot one that didnt deserve it.

HAPPY DAYS A-COMING

Two weeks before Election Day in November 1932, Democratic candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke at a rally in the St. Louis Coliseum at Jefferson and Washington avenues, then the citys main auditorium. Sensing victory, more than 12,000 giddy Democrats jammed the arena and an additional 5,000 crowded the sidewalks.

They applauded Roosevelts ponderous 50-minute speech about farm policy and railroad debt, but roared when he called for restoring beer production.

We want beer! rose the chant.

On Nov. 8, four days before the election, President Herbert Hoover spoke at the Coliseum. St. Louis Republicans begged him to say a good word about alcohol, but he declined. Not that it mattered  with the Depression at its depths, Roosevelt won a 42-state landslide.

BEER IS BACK

Beer drinkers got their wish at 12:01 a.m. on April 7, 1933. A decidedly wet Congress had begun the effort to repeal Prohibition, but that would take months. Meanwhile, it finessed the definition of intoxicant to allow beer with 3.2 percent alcohol content.

Festive crowds gathered at the Anheuser-Busch and Falstaff breweries as midnight approached. Come and get it, shouted August A. Gussie Busch as truckloads moved through the crowds for deliveries to the lucky holders of federal permits to sell beer.

One was the Elks Club at 3619 Lindell Boulevard, where Mayor-elect Bernard Dickmann led the first round.

On Dec. 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment for repeal became part of the U.S. Constitution. Missouri legislators would dither a while more before striking the states own ban against the full drink trade.

Not that it mattered. When police arrested a liquor-store owner, city Circuit Attorney Harry Rosecan refused to prosecute, saying, This man has committed no crime.

Photos: Look back at prohibition in St. Louis on the anniversary of its repeal.
RAFAH, Gaza Strip  Palestinian militants battled Israeli forces in devastated northern Gaza and launched a barrage of rockets from farther south on Tuesday in a show of force more that 100 days into Israels massive air and ground campaign against the tiny coastal enclave.

The fighting in the north, which was the first target of Israels offensive and where entire neighborhoods have been pulverized, showed how far Israel remains from achieving its goals of dismantling Hamas and returning scores of hostages captured in the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war.

Meanwhile, Gazas humanitarian crisis is worsening, with 85% of the territorys 2.3 million Palestinians having fled their homes and U.N. agencies warning of mass starvation and disease. The conflict threatens to widen after the U.S. and Israel traded strikes with Iranian-backed groups across the region.

Israel has vowed to crush Hamas military and governing capabilities to ensure that the Oct. 7 attack is never repeated. Militants stormed into Israel from Gaza that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing around 250 people. With strong diplomatic and military support from the United States, Israel has resisted international calls for a cease-fire.

Nearly half of the hostages were released during a weeklong truce in November, but more than 100 remain in captivity. Hamas has said it will not release any others until Israel ends the war.

Strikes and counterstrikes across the region

The longer the war goes on, the more it threatens to ignite other fronts across the region.

Iran fired missiles late Monday at what it said were Israeli spy headquarters in an upscale neighborhood near the sprawling U.S. Consulate in Irbil, the seat of Iraqs northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region. Iraq and the U.S. condemned the strikes, which killed several civilians, and Baghdad recalled its ambassador to Iran in protest.

Iranian-backed groups in Iraq and Syria have carried out dozens of attacks on bases housing U.S. forces, and a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad killed an Iranian-backed militia leader earlier this month.

Elsewhere, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have resumed their attacks on container ships in the Red Sea following a wave of U.S.-led strikes last week. The U.S. carried out another strike Tuesday, a U.S. official said on condition of anonymity because the operation had not been made public.

The U.S. military said earlier in the day that two Navy SEALS are missing after a raid last week on a ship carrying Iranian-made missile parts and weapons bound for Yemen.

Israel and Lebanons Hezbollah militant group have exchanged fire along the border nearly every day since the war in Gaza began. The strikes and counterstrikes have grown more severe since an Israeli strike killed Hamas deputy political leader in Beirut this month, raising fears of a repeat of the 2006 war.

Militants keep fighting in Gazas hard-hit north

In Gaza, the Israeli military said its forces located some 100 rocket installations and 60 ready-to-use rockets in the area of Beit Lahiya, a town on the territorys northern edge. Israeli forces killed dozens of militants during the operation, the military said, without providing evidence.

Mahmoud Abdel-Ghani, who lives in Beit Lahiya, said Israeli airstrikes hit several buildings on the eastern side of the town.

Hundreds of thousands of people fled northern Gaza, including Gaza City, following Israeli evacuation orders in October. Israel shut off water to the region in the opening days of the war, and hardly any aid has been allowed into the north, even as tens of thousands of people have remained there.

Residents reached by phone Tuesday described the heaviest fighting in weeks in Gaza City.

The bombing never stopped, said Faris Abu Abbas, who lives in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood. The resistance is here and didnt leave.

Ayoub Saad, who lives near Shifa Hospital downtown, said he heard gunfire and shelling overnight and into Tuesday and saw dead and wounded people being brought to the hospital on carts.

After weeks of heavy fighting across northern Gaza, Israeli officials said at the start of the year that they were scaling back operations there. The focus shifted to the southern city of Khan Younis and built-up refugee camps in central Gaza dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israels creation.

But there too, they have encountered heavy resistance. The military said at least 25 rockets were fired into Israel on Tuesday, damaging a store in one of the strongest bombardments in more than a week. Israels Channel 12 television said the rockets were launched from the Bureij camp in central Gaza.

A spiraling humanitarian crisis

Gazas Health Ministry said Tuesday that the bodies of 158 people killed in Israeli strikes have been brought to hospitals in the past 24 hours, bringing the wars overall death toll to 24,285. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths but says around two-thirds of those killed were women and children.

Senior U.N. officials warned Monday that Gaza faces widespread famine and disease if more aid is not allowed in. While they did not directly blame Israel, they said aid delivery is hobbled by the opening of too few border crossings, a slow vetting process, and continuing fighting throughout the territory  all of which is largely under Israels control.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said U.N. agencies and their partners cannot effectively deliver humanitarian aid while Gaza is under such heavy, widespread and unrelenting bombardment. At least 152 U.N. staffers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war.

Israeli officials say they have placed no limits on humanitarian aid and have called on the U.N. to provide more workers and trucks to accelerate delivery.

Israel completely sealed off Gaza after Hamas Oct. 7 attack and only relented under U.S. pressure. The U.S., as well as the U.N., have continued to push Israel to ease the flow of aid.

Israel blames the high civilian death toll on Hamas because it fights in dense residential areas. Israel says its forces have killed roughly 8,000 militants, without providing evidence, and that 190 of its own soldiers have been killed in the Gaza offensive.

Magdy reported from Cairo. Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press Writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

Updated at 1:35 p.m.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The 2024 U.S. presidential primary kicked off on Monday night as Iowans prepared to caucus for their Republican presidential candidate in extreme cold weather.

Republican voters are caucusing in school gyms, churches, and community centers across Iowa, a Midwestern state, as record-low temperatures are gripping the Hawkeye State and have caused concerns about turnout.

"Today is turning out to be the coldest Iowa caucus day in history, dating back to 1972," the National Weather Service office in Des Moines, Iowa, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

The frigid conditions have affected the presidential campaign in Iowa, with several stops canceled ahead of Monday's caucuses.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who seeks to return to the White House, is leading by a wide margin in national and Iowa polls of potential Republican voters.

Other Republican presidential contenders include former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson.

About four in 10 Republican caucusgoers chose immigration as the most important issue facing the United States while about one-third paid more attention to the economy, according to AP VoteCast. Other priorities for them include foreign policy, health care, abortion, and energy.

Though only 40 delegates will be up for grabs in Iowa for the Republican National Convention later this year, the first-in-the-nation caucuses on Monday are an early litmus test of a presidential contender's viability, as well as an initial signal of where the election is headed.

Since President Joe Biden is running for reelection, the Democratic Party's 2024 primary will be mostly a formality and not have much bearing on the race. Iowa Democrats are also meeting on Monday but will focus on only party business with delegate-determining voting underway via mail-in ballots until early March.

The 2024 presidential election "feels both sleepy and explosive at the same time," Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball, a politics-focused publication of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, wrote in an analysis earlier this month.

"The former feeling stems from a primary season that does not seem all that competitive," Kondik explained. "The latter feeling comes from the unprecedented specifics of the potential Biden versus Trump rematch."

The U.S. primary season will last through June. The Republican National Convention, in which delegates will officially select the party's presidential nominee, will be held in July, while the Democratic National Convention will take place in August. The 2024 Election Day falls on Nov. 5.

Earlier this month, Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy founded by American political scientist Ian Bremmer, published "Top Risks" predictions for 2024, with "The United States vs. itself" on the top.

"The United States is already the world's most divided and dysfunctional advanced industrial democracy. The 2024 election will exacerbate this problem no matter who wins. With the outcome of the vote essentially a coin toss (at least for now), the only certainty is continued damage to America's social fabric, political institutions, and international standing." Bremmer said. 
JERUSALEM  Qatars prime minister offered stinging criticism of Israel and the international community on Tuesday over the ongoing Israeli war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as Qatars foreign minister, said a two-state solution was required to end the conflict and warned that Hamas Oct. 7 attack and the Israeli response showed the region could not go back to the way it was before.

Gaza is not there anymore. I mean, there is nothing over there, he said, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Its carpet bombing everywhere.

He also brought up the ongoing tensions in the West Bank, which has seen Palestinians killed as well by Israeli security forces, and urged for an end to Palestinian divisions.

"We cannot have a two-state solution without having a government and politicians in Israel who believe in coexisting together side by side peacefully and we cannot have all this ongoing without ending this war, he said.

He warned that a military confrontation in the Mideast waterways will not contain the attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels who on Monday fired a missile, striking a U.S.-owned ship just off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden.

What we have right now in the region is a recipe of escalation everywhere, Sheikh Mohammed added.

Rockets fired from Gaza

Israel says a barrage of at least 25 rockets was launched on Tuesday from the Gaza Strip toward southern Israel, damaging a store. It was one of the strongest bombardments from Gaza in more than a week.

It came a day after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the Israeli army was expanding military control from northern Gaza toward other parts of the strip.

Hamas has continued to fire rockets at Israel throughout the war, even as Israel says it is dismantling Hamass military capabilities in ever-expanding areas of Gaza. Israeli Channel 12 TV said the rockets on Tuesday were launched from the central Gaza town of Bureij.

In the area of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, Israeli troops located approximately 100 rocket set-installations and 60 ready-to-use rockets, the military said, claiming its forces killed dozens of militants during the activity.

At a news conference on Monday, Gallant said he expects military operations in southern Gaza to end soon but gave no timeframe. He spoke a day after the White House called on Israel to curtail its offensive.

Gallant said Israel is still targeting Hamas leaders, calling them the head of the snake and said they are believed to be hiding in Khan Younis, the southern city where the offensive has been focused in recent weeks.

He stressed that military pressure is the only way to win the release of the more than 100 hostages still in Hamas captivity. Only from a position of strength can we ensure the release of hostages, he said.

Exchange of fire along Israel-Egypt border

Israel said one of its troops was slightly injured in an exchange of fire along the countrys border with Egypt, which Cairo attributed to drug smuggling. One person in Egypt was killed.

The statement from the Israeli military late on Monday said the fighting happened near the Nitzana border crossing with Egypt on the Sinai Peninsula, and that there were 20 armed suspects. The Israelis and the suspects exchanged fire, with Israel saying hits were identified among the suspects, without elaborating.

The Israeli soldier who was hit was evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment and her family has been informed, the military said.

The Israeli military did not identify the suspects. An Egyptian military statement on Tuesday described the suspects involved as trying to smuggle drugs. It said one person was killed and six people were arrested afterwards.

Egypt and Israel have had a peace deal since 1979, but Israels monthslong war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip has strained ties.
The latest controversy out of St. Louis downtown jail follows a distressingly familiar pattern regarding city law enforcement:

An incident is reported that demands an explanation to the public. But city officials, instead of offering such an explanation, reflexively clamp down on the release of information.

And a mayor who was elected on a bold platform of bringing accountability and transparency to the citys jail and police systems stands by in silence.

In this case, jail officials appear to have responded to the embarrassing exposure of an alleged lack of medical treatment to an ailing inmate by cracking down on public defenders who call attention to such lapses.

And then they grossly misled the media and the public about what they were doing.

Jail detainee Kevin OShaughnessy, 31, is awaiting trial on charges stemming from an armed showdown with police in which he was shot.

His public defender, seeking OShaughnessys release from the jail on grounds of medical neglect, obtained a cellphone picture of a cantaloupe-sized bulge on OShaughnessys side, apparently taken through the glass partition of a jail visiting area.

The Post-Dispatch and the Riverfront Times both published the picture earlier this month as part of coverage detailing his familys allegation that OShaughnessy was being denied necessary medical treatment.

As the Post-Dispatchs Katie Kull reported, at least three public defenders were told one day later that they would no longer be allowed to bring their phones with them while consulting in the jail with their clients.

As if the picture was the problem, rather than the apparent medical neglect it documented.

In a brazen bit of official misdirection, a jail spokesman told Kull that the policy wasnt created in response to the pictures release: The Department of Corrections has a strict, long-standing policy for all visitors to adhere to regarding the usage of cellular phones and recording devices, the spokesman said. This is not a new policy; it is an existing policy.

No, it isnt. The actual long-standing policy has been to allow lawyers to bring their phones into the jail if they signed authorization not to take photos or record.

Contrary to the jail spokesmans assertion, the blanket prohibition against phones was in fact new, according to a notice posted at the jail one day after the publication of the photo of OShaughnessy.

That written notice announced that, beginning Jan. 15, no cellular devices or any type of recording/photography devices will be allowed inside the facility. All previous authorizations for cellular devices are no longer being authorized. The new policy was publicly revealed only because another attorney took a cellphone picture of the sign.

The same jail spokesman who had earlier denied a policy change then acknowledged to the Post-Dispatch that the policy had in fact been adapted.

But even then, the official line was that this was in response to contraband phones being discovered at the jail in recent weeks  and not in response to the embarrassing evidence of medical neglect that had been exposed by a cellphone photo just one day before the notice went up.

Readers can decide for themselves whether thats remotely believable or whether St. Louis citizens are once again being lied to by their own city.

The written notice announcing the (yes) new jail policy of increased secrecy was signed by Commissioner of Corrections Jennifer Clemmons-Abdullah, whom Mayor Tishaura O. Jones tapped for the post in 2021, early in her term.

Medical neglect has been a frequent allegation at the overcrowded facility under Clemmons-Abdullahs tenure, which has also come under scrutiny for other instances of mistreatment of inmates as well as security lapses including doors that dont properly lock.

All those issues have been exacerbated by an overarching aversion to transparency by the jails administration  though, in fairness, the mayor herself set that tone from the time she took office in 2019.

One of Jones first major acts as mayor was to shutter the citys longtime medium-security jail, known as the City Workhouse, which was long notorious for its deteriorating physical state. She made the case for that closure in part with a 2021 tour of the facility that included other elected officials and activists  but not media.

Consolidating all the citys detainees at the newer downtown jail has undoubtedly contributed to the problems there, including riots, inmate deaths and, last fall, a hostage situation involving a jail guard.

The jails refusal to divulge basic information about those issues has prompted anger even from members of the civilian oversight board that Jones appointed as part of her reform agenda. Board members have resigned, and one was arrested in the jails lobby, in protest of the facilitys stubborn secrecy.

Meanwhile, city police Chief Robert Tracy, another Jones appointee, has also been drawing the curtains at his department.

When a St. Louis resident last year pressed for details about Tracys unusual and inherently problematic compensation arrangement (almost half his salary is provided by private sources rather than the city), he got a cease-and-desist letter from the St. Louis Police Foundation. This citizen was told to quit asking questions, essentially.

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And police still havent released body-camera footage of the bizarre December incident in which a police cruiser crashed into the front of a St. Louis gay bar and then officers arrested the owner for confronting them about it.

Jones has generally treated all of this as if it has nothing to do with her. It does; Tracy and Clemmons-Abdullah both serve at the pleasure of the mayor. Her silence is acquiescence (at the very least) to this unwarranted secrecy, and it must stop.
January 16, 2024: To deal with the October 2023 Hamas attack, Israel called up 900,000 reservists (10 percent of Israels population) in the months after the initial Hamas violence. Not all of these were called up at once, but in stages, often to replace reservists who were allowed to go back to their civilian occupations. Israeli economists estimate that this massive mobilization caused the Israeli economy to shrink by two percent during the last three months of 2023. The reserve call ups will continue for months, until the remaining Hamas forces in Gaza have been eliminated. This comes at the cost of economic losses because of the workers absent from their jobs. The losses are evenly distributed throughout the economy.

The current war with Hamas has disrupted the economy in other ways because some parts of the Israeli economy depend on Palestinian workers entering Israel for specific tasks, like harvesting crops, especially fruits, which are a valuable export item. Without the Palestinians, Israel relied on Israelis who volunteered to harvest these crops before they spoiled. Longer term, Israel can arrange for temporary workers to be brought in from other, non-Moslem, parts of the world. This has been done during previous emergencies. The Palestinians resent losing these employment opportunities temporarily, but many realize that the cause is the small minority of Palestinians who are carrying out attacks against Israelis and will resort to blending in with non-violent Palestinians to do so.

Israel uses conscription, mainly to provide trained reservists. Israel has the most powerful armed forces in the Middle East and manages to achieve this with a population of only nine million. One reason for this is the Israeli use of reserve troops. While only two percent of the population are in the active army, ten percent are in the reserves. There are former full-time soldiers who train regularly and can be called back to active service quickly. This is called the reserve system, and it is a relatively recent development.

It all began some two hundred years ago, when several major European nations began conscripting civilians for the military on a regular basis. These soldiers served for only two or three years before being released. Shortly thereafter, clever staff officers in several nations came up with the notion of bringing some of these former soldiers back to the army in times of national danger. This was done by enrolling discharged soldiers in reserve units and having them show up in uniform and with weapons for some training a few times a year. Thus began the reserve system, which enabled enormous armies to be created quickly and relatively inexpensively. World Wars I and II would not have been possible without the reserve system.

Some nations, like Israel, Sweden, and Switzerland, continued this reserve system after the Cold War ended. These three nations enrolled a large portion of the adult males into the reserves. As a result, full mobilization calls up so much of the population that it severely disrupts the economy. Sweden and Switzerland are neutral and depend more on the threat of mobilization. Israel has had to mobilize many times in the past and will probably have to do it again. Israel has to win quickly, and her enemies know that. However, Israel has adapted its economy to full mobilization. Forty years ago, such a mobilization put 15 percent of the population in uniform but now it's ten percent that, and configurable for lesser proportions. Thats enough so Israel can keep fighting long enough to deal with not merely sudden emergencies, but several at the same time.

Israel, Sweden, and Switzerland all depend on reserve units formed around reservists from the same area. While some reservists are used to reinforce active duty units, most mobilize and go to war with their local reserve units. In effect, reservists serve in units that will, quite literally, defend the homes and families of the reservists. That is a tremendous motivator to learn military skills and perform your duties effectively. It also enables much faster mobilization, which was critical for Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Israel is unique in that its reservists, especially those in combat units, are frequently mobilized in peacetime. About 30 percent of Israeli reservists are mobilized each year for more than a few days, most often for only a week or two but sometimes for several months though the latter is spread out among many units to reduce the burden on the reservists involved. About two-thirds of those mobilized are combat troops. Not surprisingly, half of reserve troops are married. Some 14 percent of the reservists are women, up from 11 percent four years earlier. About 16 percent of Israeli reservists were born overseas. Reservists serve until their early 40s, if physically able, and can continue until 51.
For Live Streaming Producers, Tables of Gear Are Still a Good Idea

I wrote back in December how new All-In-One streaming tools like the Magewell Director Mini can let you do it all, but should you? In that column, I focused on the distribution of tasks to different people, which enables a producer to let someone else solve a problem with the PowerPoint deck, or fix the spelling of a lower-third graphic. I still believe this is necessary and even preferable on some live productions, even with the growing availability of tools that make it possible for a single operator to accomplish most essential production tasks on a single device.

At the same time, I think about having been hired to help produce a companys January marketing summit. They didnt want to rent my control room hardware because they were going to keep it simple. But, in the end, the simple approach ended up involving 14 laptops and three video mixers, spread across 2+ long tables. We started with one, then expanded to two, filled that up and then overflowed onto a small additional table.

Using my setup would have enabled us to switch the recording and IMAG using one StreamDeck on one computer, reducing the number of production tools significantly. While at the time I would have liked to reduce the number of pieces we used, there are also times when I have to admita table full of gear can actually be the best idea.

In a discussion forum someone wrote about loading Speedify (3rd party software-based bonding) onto a consumer router using OpenWRT (a Linux operating system targeting embedded devices) They wanted the router to connect to multiple internet connections, bond the data across those connections, while also acting as a wireless access point passing NDI data between the cameras and the switcher.

My first concern was that passing a lot of NDI data can already be a pretty heavy ask. Its better to allocated it to a dedicated switchmaybe one even specially made for NDIand not use a consumer wireless router. But then most routers are not designed to be multi-WAN bonding systems. Thats going to increase the CPU load of the lightweight embedded hardware. But the operator was firm. They wanted to reduce the number of pieces they needed to bring so they could be as light and mobile as possible.

I thought back to two instances, one where I was using Switcher Studio for an outdoor wedding in a remote location. I had a Netgear M1 cellular hotspot/Wi-Fi router. However, I took the ethernet out and connected it to a separate router WAP. This saved my bacon because the outdoor heat in the Texas summer made the Netgear overheat and shut down. But because I had a separate WAP, all my cameras remained connected and my recording capability was unbroken. If I had relied entirely on the Netgear for my Wi-Fi glue between devices, I would have lost everything when it shut down. Having separate pieces saved me.

Another time, a studio I worked at contracted for a TriCaster for a setup in another city. We asked that A/V company about backup recordings, they said they record two different feeds in the TriCaster with no separate, external program record for backup. The boss thought that was good enough. The event went well, and when the local A/V handed over the files, they werent immediately reviewed. Days later, the video files wouldnt play.

The CEO reached out to the A/V company, and they revealed that they had been using a rented TriCaster, because theirs was occupied elsewhere that day. The rental TriCaster was returned to the rental company the following Monday and the rental company cleared the media off as standard rental return procedure. We ended up having to use the Zoom recording as our recorded master, meaning way lower quality than the TriCaster would have delivered.

Later, when I built a portable production kit for the studio, I put a Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Studio in the rack space above the computer that did the switching for a dedicated, external program record. I also put an ATEM 1 M/E in the rack as a backup for the computer.

In our quest to make everything smaller, more integrated, and easier for one person to operate, we also need to remember the value of a table full of gear, especially when things go wrong. That vMix internal program recordingeven if its been 100% perfect every timestill needs a backup. Having a device for bonding and multi-WAN aggregation separate from the switch that is handing multiple NDI signals in and out is a very good plan. Having that additional laptop available and ready to run NDI tools or adjust ATEM mixer settings, or even just to fix a misspelled lower-third graphic, can save the show.

While the All-In-One tools grow and mature, lets make sure we keep backup solutions in mind to ensure a successful productioneven if it still means a table full of gear.

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Retired Enbridge portable welding units begin second life as workshop materials for school welding programs

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / What do you do when it's time to pass the welding torch, so to speak?

As in, the equipment itself?

While a secondhand sale is certainly an option, Enbridge facility employees along our T-South Pipeline had other ideas for their spring cleaning findings this year. Based in Hope, BC, the employees donated two portable welding units, as well as welding rods and decommissioned engine starters, to nearby Boston Bar Elementary-Secondary and Hope Secondary schools.

"Having students work on and learn from modern equipment allows for greater exposure to the metal industry," says Karl Koslowsky, Vice Principal of Hope Secondary. "It gives students an opportunity to picture themselves in one of many career paths in the field."

The local schools have metal and welding programs, though their budget for shop materials is limited. In the past two years, Boston Bar hired a shop teacher to meet demand for the program, but equipment is key in order to deliver the class.

"This donation means that students have access to more current industry standard equipment-we'll ultimately be able to increase the capacity of the program," says Koslowsky.

After a long, successful career in the field, the welding units have been given a second life in education. Enbridge employees recognized that rather than disposal of the equipment, it might be put to good use by the schools and students.

"The donated welders do require maintenance, and although the starters are old, it's a good opportunity for students have something to take apart to really see how it works," says Marcio Nietzke, an Enbridge station operator along the T-South pipeline.

"If we were able to make this donation, we figured: Why not do something good for the students in our community?' "

Our donation of those two portable welding units to nearby schools was made as part of our commitment to the communities near our operations. The units, valued at a combined $8,000, are being used in the school welding programs for a variety of uses, including fabrication and even art purposes.

A careers class from Hope Secondary school had a tour of Enbridge's Compressor Station 8B, located near Hope, earlier this year. Employees delivered presentations and answered questions about the welding industry-job opportunities from trades to management, health and safety, and HR.

For Hope Secondary, this investment and donation represent meaningful support for the welding and metal industry, a sector where Koslowsky says machinists and programmers are in need.

"Busy hands are engaged hands," he says. "The more students we can have participating, the better the program and the more enthusiastic the learner."

A student at Hope Secondary School in Hope, BC uses a portable welding unit donated by Enbridge.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Enbridge on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Enbridge

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/enbridge

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: Enbridge

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Andrea J. Gonzales, Ph.D., at Zoetis received 2024 Feather in Her Cap; Katharina Bohnenblust, Ph.D., at Elanco Animal Health was awarded 2024 High Flyer award.

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Feather in Her Cap Association, Inc. and 300 industry leaders honored 11 women for their outstanding career achievements in Animal Health at the seventh annual Feather in Her Cap awards ceremony. Andrea J. Gonzales Ph.D., vice president of Global Companion Animal Therapeutics at Zoetis, Inc., (NYSE: ZTS) was awarded the 2024 Feather in Her Cap award and Katharina Bohnenblust Ph.D., senior director, head of Formulation Development at Elanco Animal Health (NYSE: ELAN) was this years recipient of the 2024 High Flyer award.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116507087/en/

2024 Feather in Her Cap Winner: Dr. Andrea Gonzales - Vice President of Global Companion Animal Therapeutics, Zoetis (Photo: Feather In Her Cap)

The awards were started in 2017 by a group of veterans of the Animal Health industry to celebrate the achievements of women in the Animal Health industry and serve to inspire the next generation of industry leaders.

This years field of nominees and our award winners Andrea and Katharina are outstanding leaders whose accomplishments range from developing blockbuster veterinary therapeutics to creating new animal health startups to building a sustainable future, said Julia Stephanus, president of the Feather in Her Cap Association. These are the leaders that are moving our industry forward. We are honored to provide a spotlight on their success.

2024 Feather in Her Cap Winner: Dr. Andrea Gonzales - Vice President of Global Companion Animal Therapeutics, Zoetis

The Feather in Her Cap Award is given to a woman with at least 10 years in the Animal Health industry who has made significant contributions to her field and exhibited a commitment to mentoring women in the industry.

Dr. Gonzales holds a Doctorate in Toxicology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Michigan. She leads a group of 40 scientists at Zoetis. Her passion is to build an innovative R&D pipeline of animal health therapeutics. She joined the company in 2007 as part of the Companion Animal Internal Medicine group. Her teams have worked relentlessly to deliver first-in-class approvals of therapeutics including Apoquel (oclacitinib) and Cytopoint (lokivetmab) for canine atopic/allergic dermatitis, and most recently Solensia (frunevetmab) and Librela (bedinvetmab) to control pain associated with osteoarthritis in cats and dogs, respectively. As a mentor, she respects the uniqueness of each mentee and aspires to listen, support, share successes and failures, provide growth opportunities, and inspire others to want to achieve their personal best.

Charitable Donation

Each year, the Feather in Her Cap award winner chooses an animal-related non-profit organization to receive a $5,000 donation. This year, Dr. Gonzales chose Cheff Therapeutic Riding Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan, as the recipient. Opened in 1969 as the first therapeutic riding center built especially for the purpose of serving those with special needs in North America, the Cheff Therapeutic Riding Center serves riders of all ages who have physical, emotional or cognitive disabilities. Cheffs mission is to enhance the lives of individuals who have special needs through equine assisted services while leading the industry in education.

This years Feather in Her Cap nominees included:

Caroline Belmont - Vice President, US Global Innovation and US Regulatory Affairs, Boehringer Ingelheim

Katie Cook - Vice President, Global Farm Animal Innovation, Livestock Sustainability & US Marketing, Elanco Animal Health

Divya Divakaran, M.V.Sc. - Assistant General Manager, Natural Remedies

Tyre Grant Ph.D.  Vice President, Global Product Development and Project Management, Elanco Animal Health

Laura Villarreal Ph.D. - Executive Director, Livestock Business Unit, Brazil, MSD Animal Health

Kim Young  President, KC Animal Health Corridor

2024 High Flyer Award Winner: Dr. Katharina Bohnenblust - Senior Director, Head of Formulation Development, Elanco

The High Flyer Award was established in 2022 and is given to a woman with 4-10 years in the Animal Health industry who has achieved at least one major accomplishment and demonstrates a working relationship with a mentor in the industry.

Dr. Bohnenblust holds a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Technology from the University of Dusseldorf. She joined Elanco in 2016 as a laboratory manager in formulation development. In 2021, she began leading a pharmaceutical development unit and since 2022 she has led a global team of formulation development experts. She developed the new Elanco JAK-inhibitor formulation and manufacturing process from the first prototypes to scale-up. While assuming more management responsibility and leading a larger team, she supported the scientists through submission and product launch readiness. Dr. Bohnenblust also serves as a mentor for young female scientists encouraging them to achieve next steps in their careers, grow their professional networks, and learn to balance the needs of the business with scientific discovery.

This years High Flyer nominees included:

Christine Colamonico, DVM  Founder, Jope  Joy of Pets

Elizabeth Creveling  Senior Director, Inclusion & Engagement, Zoetis

Yumiko Domen  Manager, Regulatory Affairs Group, R&D Division, ISK - Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha

New Feather in Her Cap Association, Inc. President

After serving a four-year term as president of the Feather in Her Cap Association, Julia Stephanus, partner at Borealis Ventures, will pass the presidency to president-elect, Christine Jenkins, DVM, DACVIM. She is a long-serving volunteer director at Feather in Her Cap Association and recently retired Animal Health and Veterinary leader who held senior leadership roles at Hills Pet Nutrition and most recently at Zoetis.

Follow the Feather in Her Cap on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/feather-in-her-cap-awards and at www.featherinhercap.org. The nomination process will reopen in Q3 of 2024 to celebrate more outstanding women in Animal Health in 2025.

About the Feather in Her Cap Association, Inc.

The Feather in Her Cap Association, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the achievements of women in the animal health industry.

www.featherinhercap.org and www.linkedin.com/company/feather-in-her-cap-awards

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116507087/en/

Media:

Julie Lawless

Lawless Strategic Communications

[email protected]

+1.615.585.5861

Source: Feather in Her Cap Association, Inc.
To achieve the full potential of AI, organizations must reinvent work, reshape the workforce and prepare workers

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A new report from Accenture (NYSE: ACN) reveals an urgent need for business leaders to look beyond how generative AI affects specific tasks and roles and, instead, start to scale gen AI by redesigning processes across their organizations, as well as how people experience work.

To do this, leaders must commit to learning and leading in new ways that deliver economic value, drive business growth and benefit their people. Yet two-thirds of executives say they do not have the technology and change leadership expertise to drive the reinvention needed to fully leverage the transformative power of gen AI.

The report, Work, workforce, workers: Reinvented in the age of generative AI, highlights organizations conflicting views about how to achieve the promise of gen AI and reveals a critical gap in trust. While 95% of workers see value in working with gen AI, approximately 60% are also concerned about job loss, stress and burnout.

The findings show the gap between workers and business leaders perceptions of the impact of AI in the workplace. While almost 60% of workers worry about AI eliminating their jobs, less than one-third of C-suite leaders feel job displacement is a worry for their people. In addition, three-quarters of organizations do not have comprehensive strategies in place that will lead to positive worker outcomes and experiences.

Building on Accentures earlier research on unlocking human potential in the workplace, this latest report shows that leaving people Net Better Off, including supporting learning and well-being, is a clear pathway to building trust and a smoother adoption of gen AI. Among employees in the top quartile for feeling Net Better Off, people expressed greater comfort with the technologyparticularly in terms of how they can apply it to their work.

Success starts with leaders who are willing to learn and lead in new ways, to scale gen AI responsibly, to create value and ensure work improves for everyone, said Ellyn Shook, chief leadership and human resources officer, Accenture. It starts with asking a simple question: are people net better off working here? This not only unlocks peoples potential and drives bottom-line growth, but also paves the way for workers feeling comfortable, trusting and ready to work with gen AI. What weve learned from the past as leaders is that what happens next is up to us. The best outcomes are ours to shape.

Reinventors leading critical changes

Just 9% of organizations are leading when it comes to their capabilities for reinvention and how they maximize the potential for generative AI to boost the bottom line, while increasing peoples proficiency, and level of comfort, with the technology. Over half of these Reinventors are taking action to reshape the workforce by redesigning jobs and roles around gen AI, and three-quarters are actively involving their people to help shape enterprise change efforts. In addition, nearly half (47%) of Reinventors are already thinking biggerrecognizing that their processes will require significant change to fully leverage gen AI.

Generative AI has a more profound impact than any technology that has come before it. Our research underscores the need for organizations to have a gen AI reinvention strategy that addresses the full value chain, not just roles and tasks where AI can augment or automate how we already operate, said Paul Daugherty, chief innovation and technology officer, Accenture. When we look at scaling AI it needs to be through a holistic lens that reimagines how work is done, how to lead a workforce through that change, and how it can be a better experience for all.

As part of their reinvention strategy, leading organizations are working to build an agile workforce by investing in skills mapping and data integration, so they have the predictive insights to ensure the right mix of skills to grow their peoples capabilities and their business. They are twice as likely to invest in growing peoples soft skills, along with tech skills, and twice as likely to anticipate workforce productivity gains of 20% or more in the next three years. By adopting these approaches, organizations can create $10.3 trillion in additional global economic value by 2038.

This agility must start at the top. For leaders to successfully bring a change of this magnitude into their organization, they must ensure that worknot only what they do, but how they do itworks for everyone. Nearly all workers surveyed (94%) reported being ready to learn gen AI skills, though just 5% of organizations are providing training at scale. With AI learning from both data and interactions with humans, who are responsible for teaching the machines, building that capability and fostering a teach to learn culture is paramount.

As the future of work continues to evolve, people-centric approaches, including actively engaging employees to understand and act on concerns and build trust, will set leading organizations apart in both performance and culture.

To learn more about how organizations can position themselves, and their people, for growth as they scale gen AI, read the full report: Work, workforce, workers: Reinvented in the age of generative AI.

About the research

This reports insights are anchored in two complementary research approaches: (1) economic modeling, data science and global surveys to understand the broader macro, labor and industry trends surrounding gen AI and work; and (2) experimental and ethnographic techniques to analyze the work experiences, mindsets and approaches happening at the individual employee and organization levels.

Collectively, these survey, interview and other ethnographic approaches yielded data points from over 7,000 C-suite leaders (CXOs) and 5,000 workers of large organizations (>1 billion USD in annual revenue) headquartered in 19 countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States) and representing 24 industries: Aerospace & Defense, Airline, Travel & Transport, Automotive, Banking, Capital Markets, Chemicals, Communications & Media, Consumer Goods & Services, Energy, Financial Services, Food Distribution, Health, High Tech, Hospitality, Industrial Goods & Equipment, Insurance, Life Sciences, Natural Resources, Professional Services, Public Service, Retail, Software & Platforms, and Utilities.

Please see the Research Methods section of the report for more information.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the worlds leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen servicescreating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 743,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the worlds leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. We are uniquely able to deliver tangible outcomes because of our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song. These capabilities, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360 value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360 value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240115827084/en/

Katy Rosati

Accenture

+1 917 452 6662

[email protected]

Source: Accenture
CHRISTIANSTED, U.S. Virgin Islands--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Altisource Asset Management Corporation (AAMC or the Company) (NYSE American: AAMC) announces that it has settled litigation with Luxor Capital Group, LP and related entities (collectively Luxor) in respect of the Companys Series A Convertible Preferred Stock (the Preferred Shares), as well as separate litigation with former AAMC director Nathanel Redleaf.

Settlement Highlights

Luxor surrenders all 144,212 of its Preferred Shares, thereby extinguishing all rights under the related Securities Purchase Agreement and Certificate of Designations.

The Company provides the following consideration to Luxor: A $1,000,000 cash payment now, plus

Three Promissory Notes in the following amounts and durations: $2,000,000 due in three years;

$3,000,000 due in five years; and

$6,000,000 due in eight years Each Note bears annual interest at either 7.5% on a cash basis or 10% paid-in-kind (PIK) basis, at the election of AAMC. The Company shall refrain from making common stock repurchases or issuing dividends at any time the PIK option is in effect and is subject to certain other covenants. AAMC shall also pay Luxor 50% of any proceeds received in respect of the Companys damage claims in litigation brought by Erbey Holding Corporation pending in USVI Superior Court with case number SX-2018-CV-146, up to a cumulative payout cap of $50,000,000. The Parties agree to dismissals of their litigation with prejudice and exchange mutual releases of all claims with no admission by any Party of liability, violation of law or wrongdoing.

As a result of the settlement, which has the effect of increasing the Companys Stockholders Equity to an amount exceeding $6,000,000, the New York Stock Exchange informed the Company that its November 30, 2023 notice of intent to delist the Companys common stock would be rescinded.

We are pleased to announce AAMCs global resolution of these matters relating to Luxor, said William Erbey, Chairman and CEO of AAMC. This represents a positive start to 2024 as we continue to focus and work hard on initiatives to enhance shareholder value going forward.

About AAMC

AAMC is a private credit provider that originates alternative assets to provide liquidity and capital to under-served markets. Additional information is available at www.altisourceamc.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, regarding managements beliefs, estimates, projections, anticipations, and assumptions with respect to, among other things, the potential results of the damage claims in the litigation brought by Erbey Holding Corporation pending in USVI Superior Court with case number SX-2018-CV- These statements may be identified by words such as anticipate, intend, expect, may, could, should, would, plan, estimate, target, seek, believe, and other expressions or words of similar meaning. We caution that forward-looking statements are qualified by the existence of certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from what is contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, our ability to develop our businesses, and to make them successful or sustain the performance of any such businesses; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in the Risk Factors and other sections described from time to time in the Companys current and future filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The foregoing list of factors should not be construed as exhaustive.

The statements made in this press release are current as of the date of this press release only. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or any other information contained herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116605480/en/

Charles Frischer

T: +1-813-474-9047

E: [email protected]

Source: Altisource Asset Management Corporation
DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Avolon Holdings Limited (Avolon), a leading global aviation finance company, announces the pricing of a private offering (the Offering) by its wholly owned subsidiary, Avolon Holdings Funding Limited, for a principal aggregate amount of US$1.15 billion of 5.75% senior unsecured notes due 2029 (the Notes).

The Notes will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Avolon, and by certain of its subsidiaries.

The Offering is expected to close on or about 25 January 2024, subject to customary closing conditions. Net proceeds from the Offering will be used for general corporate purposes, which may include the future repayment of outstanding indebtedness.

The Notes will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), or any state securities law and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. The Notes will be offered in the United States only to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A of the Securities Act and outside the United States under Regulation S of the Securities Act.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there by any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration, qualification, or an exemption under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

About Avolon

Avolon is a leading global aviation finance company connecting capital with customers to drive the transformation of aviation and the economic and social benefits of global travel. We pride ourselves on our deep customer relationships, our collaborative team approach, and our fast execution. We invest with a long-term perspective, diversifying risk and managing capital efficiently to maintain our strong balance sheet. Working with 146 airlines in 65 countries, Avolon has an owned, managed, and committed fleet of 1,035 aircraft, as of 31 December 2023.

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This document includes forward-looking statements, beliefs or opinions, including statements with respect to Avolons business, financial condition, results of operations and plans. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control and all of which are based on our managements current beliefs and expectations about future events. Forward-looking statements are sometimes identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as believe, expects, may, will, could, should, shall, risk, intends, estimates, aims, plans, predicts, continues, assumes, positioned or anticipates or the negative thereof, other variations thereon or comparable terminology or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts, including with respect to the closing of the Offering. Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from actual results. No assurance can be given that such future results will be achieved. Avolon does not intend, and undertakes no duty, to update any information contained herein to reflect future events or circumstances, except as required by applicable law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116972921/en/

David Breen / Joe Brennan

Avolon Investor Relations

[email protected]

T: +353 1 231 5800

Douglas Keatinge

Avolon Head of Communications

[email protected]

T: +353 86 037 4163

Source: Avolon
BAGHDAD, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and six injured in a missile attack carried out by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the city of Erbil, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, regional security authorities said Tuesday.

At 11:30 p.m. on Monday (2030 GMT), the IRGC fired ballistic missiles on "several populated civilian areas" in Erbil, the Kurdistan Region Security Council said in a statement.

It said preliminary reports showed that the bombardment killed four civilians and wounded six.

"Erbil, as a stable region, has never been a source of threat to any party," the statement said, describing the missile attack as "a clear violation of the sovereignty of the (Kurdish) region and Iraq."

The statement also called on the federal government and the international community not to remain silent about such attacks.

Earlier, a local security source, who requested anonymity, told Xinhua that six explosions were heard around midnight near the under-construction U.S. consulate in the northern part of Erbil.

Meanwhile, the IRGC said in a statement on Monday that it launched missile attacks on "spy headquarters" in the region, according to the official IRNA news agency.

The statement said the missiles hit their targets and more details would be announced later. 
MONROE TOWNSHIP, N.J. & OXFORD, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Blue Earth Diagnostics, a Bracco company and recognized leader in the development and commercialization of innovative PET radiopharmaceuticals, today announced presentations on POSLUMA (flotufolastat F 18) injection (formerly known as 18F-rhPSMA-7.3) at the upcoming ASCO GU 2024 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium (ASCO GU). The conference will be held in San Francisco, Calif., from January 25 to 27, 2024. POSLUMA is indicated for positron emission tomography (PET) of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positive lesions in men with prostate cancer with suspected metastasis who are candidates for initial definitive therapy or with suspected recurrence based on elevated serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level.

Presentations at ASCO GU include additional results from the completed Phase 3 SPOTLIGHT study, which evaluated POSLUMA in recurrent prostate cancer and its ability to detect recurrent disease even at low prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels, said David E. Gauden, D.Phil., Chief Executive Officer of Blue Earth Diagnostics. Results to be presented by Dr. Przemyslaw Twardowski, MD, will discuss the impact of POSLUMA on treatment plans for men with recurrent disease after curative-intent primary therapy. A presentation by Dr. Benjamin H. Lowentritt, MD, FACS, will speak about the impact of various Standard of Truth methods in evaluating diagnostic PET radiopharmaceuticals, using the SPOTLIGHT trial as a case study. Dr. Zachariah Taylor, DO, will present a Trials in Progress poster for an Investigator Initiated Study which is evaluating the performance of POSLUMA in detecting N1 and M1 disease for newly diagnosed prostate cancer and its impact on clinical management for patients with extraprostatic disease. PET imaging with POSLUMA reveals clinical information crucial to decision-making for men with prostate cancer, and we are excited to share this information with the oncology community at ASCO GU.

Details of the presentations are listed below.

Moderated poster presentation sessions will take place on Thursday, January 25, 2024 at 11:30 a.m. PT, on Level 1, West Hall of the George R. Moscone Convention Center, and also be available On Demand.

Poster Session A: Prostate Cancer Primary Track Prostate Cancer- Advanced Title: Impact of 18F-flotufolastat PET on management of patients with recurrent prostate cancer: Data from the SPOTLIGHT study. Presenter: Przemyslaw Twardowski, MD, Saint Johns Cancer Institute at Providence Saint Johns Health Center, Santa Monica, Calif., on behalf of the SPOTLIGHT Study Group. Abstract: 38 Poster Board #: A17 Title: Impact of standard-of-truth method on evaluation of a diagnostic PET radiopharmaceutical: Learnings from the phase 3 SPOTLIGHT study. Presenter: Benjamin H. Lowentritt, MD, FACS, Chesapeake Urology Research Associates, Baltimore, Md. Abstract: 39 Poster Board #: A18 Trials in Progress Poster Session A: Prostate Cancer Primary Track: Prostate Cancer- Advanced Title: Role of 18F-flotufolastat PET/CT imaging in men with high-risk prostate cancer following conventional imaging and associated changes in medical management: A phase 3b investigator-initiated trial. Presenter: Zachariah Taylor, DO, Main Line Health, Philadelphia, Pa. Abstract: TPS347 Poster Board #: Q21

Blue Earth Diagnostics invites participants at the ASCO 2024 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium to attend the presentations above. Participants onsite are also invited to visit Blue Earth Diagnostics booth (#72). For full session details and scientific presentation listings, please see the ASCO GU online program here.

Indication and Important Safety Information About POSLUMA

INDICATION

POSLUMA (flotufolastat F 18) injection is indicated for positron emission tomography (PET) of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positive lesions in men with prostate cancer

with suspected metastasis who are candidates for initial definitive therapy

with suspected recurrence based on elevated serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Image interpretation errors can occur with POSLUMA PET. A negative image does not rule out the presence of prostate cancer and a positive image does not confirm the presence of prostate cancer. The performance of POSLUMA for imaging metastatic pelvic lymph nodes in patients prior to initial definitive therapy seems to be affected by serum PSA levels and risk grouping. The performance of POSLUMA for imaging patients with biochemical evidence of recurrence of prostate cancer seems to be affected by serum PSA levels. Flotufolastat F 18 uptake is not specific for prostate cancer and may occur in other types of cancer, in non-malignant processes, and in normal tissues. Clinical correlation, which may include histopathological evaluation, is recommended.

The performance of POSLUMA for imaging patients with biochemical evidence of recurrence of prostate cancer seems to be affected by serum PSA levels. Flotufolastat F 18 uptake is not specific for prostate cancer and may occur in other types of cancer, in non-malignant processes, and in normal tissues. Clinical correlation, which may include histopathological evaluation, is recommended. Risk of Image Misinterpretation in Patients with Suspected Prostate Cancer Recurrence: The interpretation of POSLUMA PET may differ depending on imaging readers, particularly in the prostate/prostate bed region. Because of the associated risk of false positive interpretation, consider multidisciplinary consultation and histopathological confirmation when clinical decision-making hinges on flotufolastat F 18 uptake only in the prostate/prostate bed region or only on uptake interpreted as borderline.

POSLUMA use contributes to a patients overall long-term cumulative radiation exposure. Long-term cumulative radiation exposure is associated with an increased risk for cancer. Advise patients to hydrate before and after administration and to void frequently after administration. Ensure safe handling to minimize radiation exposure to the patient and health care providers.

The adverse reactions reported in 0.4% of patients in clinical studies were diarrhea, blood pressure increase and injection site pain.

Drug Interactions: androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and other therapies targeting the androgen pathway, such as androgen receptor antagonists, may result in changes in uptake of flotufolastat F 18 in prostate cancer. The effect of these therapies on performance of POSLUMA PET has not been established.

To report suspected adverse reactions to POSLUMA, call 1-844-POSLUMA (1-844-767-5862) or contact FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.

Full POSLUMA prescribing information is available at www.posluma.com/prescribing-information.pdf.

About Blue Earth Diagnostics

Blue Earth Diagnostics, an indirect subsidiary of Bracco Imaging S.p.A., is a growing international molecular imaging company focused on delivering innovative, well-differentiated diagnostic solutions that inform patient care. Formed in 2014, the Companys success is driven by its management expertise and supported by a demonstrated track record of rapid development and commercialization of positron emission tomography (PET) radiopharmaceuticals. Blue Earth Diagnostics expanding oncology portfolio encompasses a variety of disease states, including prostate cancer and neuro-oncology. Blue Earth Diagnostics is committed to the timely development and commercialization of precision radiopharmaceuticals for potential use in imaging and therapy. For more information, please visit: www.blueearthdiagnostics.com.

About Bracco Imaging

Bracco Imaging S.p.A., part of the Bracco Group, is a world-leading diagnostic imaging provider. Headquartered in Milan, Italy, Bracco Imaging develops, manufactures and markets diagnostic imaging agents and solutions. It offers a product and solution portfolio for all key diagnostic imaging modalities: X-ray imaging (including Computed Tomography-CT, Interventional Radiology, and Cardiac Catheterization), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS), and Nuclear Medicine through radioactive tracers and novel PET imaging agents to inform clinical management and guide care for cancer patients in areas of unmet medical need. Our continually evolving portfolio is completed by a range of medical devices, advanced administration systems and dose-management software. In 2019 Bracco Imaging also enriched its product portfolio by expanding the range of oncology nuclear imaging solutions in the urology segment and other specialties with the acquisition of Blue Earth Diagnostics. Visit: www.bracco.com.

POSLUMA is a registered trademark of Blue Earth Diagnostics Ltd.

This press release is for U.S. audiences only.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116887447/en/

For Blue Earth Diagnostics (U.S.)

Priscilla Harlan

Vice President, Corporate Communications

(M) (781) 799-7917

[email protected]

For Blue Earth Diagnostics (UK)

Clare Gidley

Associate Director Marketing and Communications

Tel: +44 (0)1865 784186

[email protected]

Media

Sam Brown Inc.

Mike Beyer

(M) (312) 961-2502

[email protected]

Source: Blue Earth Diagnostics
SAN DIEGO & DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Castle Creek Capital, a private equity firm focused on investments in the community banking industry, today announced an agreement to invest $30 million in FirstSun Capital Bancorp (the Company or FirstSun), alongside other investors, to fund the Companys announced merger with HomeStreet, Inc. (HomeStreet). Spencer T. Cohn will become Castle Creeks board level representative at the Company after merger close. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions including required regulatory and stockholder approvals.

Founded in 1892, FirstSun offers a full range of specialized financial services to business customers as well as relationship-focused services to meet personal, business and wealth management financial objectives for its customers, with a branch network in Texas, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Washington and mortgage banking capabilities in 43 states. This new investment will help fund FirstSuns acquisition of HomeStreet and support its continued organic growth in new and existing geographies. Neal Arnold will continue to lead the Company as CEO with the same team of employees and leadership supporting FirstSuns next phase of growth.

FirstSun has built a strong reputation as a dependable, best-in-class community bank specializing in commercial services in key growth western markets, said Tony Scavuzzo, Managing Principal at Castle Creek Capital. We believe that FirstSun has the scale, platform and management team to become a leading regional bank under the leadership of Neal, and we are excited to help them execute on their M&A strategy.

Here at FirstSun, we pride ourselves on being a top performing regional bank, said Neal Arnold, CEO of FirstSun. As such, it was extremely important for our team to find a sophisticated and experienced capital partner who shares our growth values, entrepreneurial spirit and drive for shareholder return. We are thrilled to partner with Castle Creek as we pursue M&A to expand our geographic reach, enhance our product offerings and further invest in our markets and stakeholders. Well do this while continuing to provide the exceptional service that FirstSun is known for. Castle Creek is a great cultural fit with our team, and we believe their support for this transaction validates the investment merits of the business combination. We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with Castle Creek in the future, added Arnold.

Sidley Austin LLP acted as legal counsel to Castle Creek Capital.

About First Sun Capital Bancorp

FirstSun Capital Bancorp (FirstSun), a financial holding company headquartered in Denver, Colorado, provides a full spectrum of deposit, lending, treasury management, wealth management and online banking products and services through its two wholly-owned subsidiariesSunflower Bank, National Association (Sunflower Bank or the Bank), a national banking association, that operates as Sunflower Bank, N.A., First National 1870 and Guardian Mortgage and Logia Portfolio Management, LLC, a registered investment advisor organized under the laws of the State of Kansas that provides discretionary investment management to retail and institutional accounts.

As of September 30, 2023, FirstSun had total assets of $7.8 billion, total net loans of $6.2 billion, total deposits of $6.3 billion and total stockholders equity of $843.7 million.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, intend, may, might, plan, project, will, would, should, could, can, predict, potential, target, explore, continue, or the negative of these terms, and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to numerous uncertainties and risks, including factors beyond the control Castle Creek Capital or the Company, that could cause actual results, performance or outcomes to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the statements.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116982280/en/

Spencer Cohn

Castle Creek Capital

1 (858) 756-8304

[email protected]

https://www.castlecreek.com/

Source: Castle Creek Capital
Presentation by Director of Discovery Dr. Erik Procko shows two preclinical candidates designed have extended half-life, reduced reactivity with pre-existing anti-IdeS antibodies in human serum, and reduced immunogenic epitopes

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cyrus Biotechnology, Inc., a Seattle-based biotechnology firm with a proprietary platform for biologics discovery that combines software, protein AI, and massively parallel protein screening, will today be presenting preclinical data on its next generation IdeS program for IgG-mediated autoimmune disease and for gene therapy pre-treatment. The presentation will take place at the 23rd annual PepTalk conference in San Diego. The IgG-degrading enzyme of S. pyogenes (IdeS) has been approved in wild type form for use in certain kidney transplantation recipients, where IgG depletion successfully mitigates host immunity against the transplant. However, broader autoimmune disease application of IdeS has been hampered by a relatively short half-life, neutralization by pre-existing anti-IdeS antibodies, and a strong anti-IdeS immune response upon repeat dosing.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116136157/en/

Figure shows IgG levels after WT IdeS in diamonds and Cyrus candidates in squares and triangles. (Graphic: Business Wire)

In his presentation, Dr. Procko will show in vivo and human ex vivo data demonstrating that Cyruss two lead development candidates are significantly improved in all of these key product parameters. Dr. Procko will describe how the Cyrus IdeS candidates were generated using industry-leading in silico protein AI and design tools, coupled with screening for enzymatic activity, protein stability, and iterative immunogenicity design and MHC peptide interaction screening. For example, Cyrus development candidates can greatly reduce IgG concentrations for at least 14 days in rabbits, compared to a duration of 2-3 days for the wild type (WT) IdeS marketed as Imlifidase by Hansa BioPharma (the figure above shows IgG levels after WT IdeS in diamonds and Cyrus candidates in squares and triangles).

With these material improvements in half-life and immunogenicity, Cyrus is advancing its next generation IdeS candidates into clinical development to support disease modifying studies in a range of indications where an improved IdeS is likely to be a best or first in class pharmaceutical intervention. Indications such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Autoimmune Immune Thrombocytopenia, Idiopathic Immune Myopathies, pemphigus vulgaris, and other diseases with a poor current standard of care are under consideration.

About Cyrus Biotechnology

Cyrus Biotechnology is a pre-clinical-stage AI-driven therapeutics company with an internal pipeline of novel biologics primarily in autoimmune indications. Cyrus is advancing a next generation IdeS IgG protease with half-life extension and immunogenicity optimization, for treatment of IgG-mediated autoimmune indications, into IND-enabling studies, as well as advancing multiple discovery stage cytokine programs. Cyrus was co-founded with Prof. David Baker, inventor of Rosetta and numerous protein design AI tools, and has worked with dozens of Pharma firms on protein redesign for novel therapeutics, including Genentech, Janssen, and Selecta. In 2021 Cyrus started to develop its own therapeutics. Cyrus investors are Orbimed, Agent Capital, Hillhouse, Alexandria, and others.

For more information about Cyrus please visit https://cyrusbio.com/

NOTICE: The information contained in this document is dated as of January 16, 2024. Cyrus Biotechnology, Inc. (the Company) disclaims any obligation to update such information after such date. This document contains forwardlooking statements reflecting the Companys current expectations that necessarily involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results and the timing of events may differ materially from those contained in such forward-looking statements due to a number of factors and the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the issuance of this press release.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116136157/en/

Lucas Nivon

[email protected]

206-258-6561

Source: Cyrus Biotechnology, Inc.
PONTPIERRE, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

FDE (Euronext: FDE - ISIN: FR0013030152), a carbon negative energy producer, has agreed to acquire a controlling stake in Greenstat ASA, a leading green energy operator based in Norway, with a strong focus on hydrogen and solar activities, to further strengthen the Group's position as a leading European low-carbon energy production solutions provider.

A strong project development platform in Norway and beyond

Greenstat, a Bergen-based renewable energy developer, has been scaled-up under the leadership of Chairman, Bernt Skeie, and CEO, Vegard Frihammer since 2015. In 2023, the company already achieved revenues of c.  6.2 million1.

Thanks to its experienced team of renewable energy professionals, Greenstat develops, owns and selectively operates renewable energy infrastructures to drive the green energy transition. The companys strategy, focusing on the development of projects with the best available technology and strong local anchoring, is an excellent match with FDEs culture and portfolio of assets.

Since inception, Greenstat has developed a diversified and attractive portfolio, mainly within hydrogen and solar, with c. 450 MW in gross capacity. Major projects will be shortly entering construction phase and will benefit from FDEs excellent track record in building and operating green energy production sites.

An attractive and mature hydrogen and solar portfolio under development

Greenstat is already a leading player in hydrogen, producing green hydrogen at the Stord Hydrogen pilot plant in Norway. The company is also the lead partner in 3 of the 5 maritime H2 projects in Norway selected by Enova, the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment entity focused on promoting a shift towards more environmental-friendly energy and climate technology. Enova awarded a total of c.  40 million2 funding for Greenstat to develop the 3 projects with an electrolyzer capacity of 20 MW each. Construction is planned to start in 2024.

In addition, Greenstat is a solar photovoltaic producer with a 49% stake in a first 45 MW plant already in operation and a pipeline of over 50 MW solar projects to be developed throughout 2024.

Building an independent leader in hydrogen and low carbon energy

The addition of Greenstat to FDEs existing portfolio will further strengthen the Groups position as a key low-carbon multi-energy producer in Europe, providing all key energies for a sustainable future: green gas, green power, decarbonated H2 and B io-CO2, in particular in Norway, where FDE accelerated its development of Liquefied Biogas (LBG) and Bio-CO2 plants through its subsidiary Biogy Solutions AS.

Greenstats sourcing and development capabilities combined with FDE's project management and operational know-how will allow for a faster and more efficient deployment of new low-carbon energy production sites across Europe, with mid-term positive cash flows visibility.

These various synergies will therefore create a leading European player in the production of low-carbon energy that will significantly contribute towards Europes goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

A value accretive transaction for FDE

The transaction comprises three equity tranches over a period of 18 months.

The first tranche, to be completed by February 9th, 2024, involves the purchase of an existing investors shares for c. 2.3 million3 and the subscription of new shares in Greenstat for c. 13.2 million4, providing FDE with a controlling stake in Greenstat of 56.35% of its share capital and voting rights.

A second tranche of up to 13.2 million5 and a third tranche of up to 13.2 million6 will be invested into Greenstat, subject to the company reaching certain operational and financial milestones.

The transaction will be financed by the Group's available cash, allowing FDE to keep its strong financing capacity in order to pursue its various projects, including those of its new subsidiary, Greenstat.

The completion of the transaction is subject to final closing conditions and the approval of Greenstat shareholders at their upcoming general meeting.

Vegard Frihammer, CEO of Greenstat ASA, declares: "The development of a leading green energy production platform requires solid expertise, strong financial and operational capabilities, but also an agile approach. The FDE and Greenstat teams have this know-how and this common ambition to become a leading independent low carbon energy producer in Europe.

Antoine Forcinal, CEO of FDE explains: The acquisition of Greenstat is a logical step forward in the ongoing development of FDE in Europe and Norway in particular, as a key hydrogen producer and green energy player overall. I am delighted to welcome Vegard Frihammer and his entire team within the FDE group".

Following this acquisition, FDE will communicate its new growth prospects for FY 2026 during its capital day that will take place in Q2 2024 (date to be communicated in due course).

FDE confirms its FY 2026 objectives of annual revenues of more than 100 million, and an EBITDA above 50 million, combined with over 10 million tons of CO2eq emissions avoided per annum

Next dates:

Sales for the 1st half of fiscal year 2024: January 24th, 2024

Presentation of development in Lorraine: March 7th, 2024

Reuters code: FDEL.PA

Bloomberg code : FDE.FP

About La Francaise de lEnergie ( FDE )

FDE is a negative carbon footprint energy Group, specialized in the implementation via short circuits, of energy recovery and production sites, allowing the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. FDE notably supplies regional players with gas, electricity, heat and CO2, thus replacing imported energy with local, cleaner energy. FDE has strong development potential and aims to become a leading independent player in the energy sector in Europe by Bpifrance.

More information available on www.francaisedelenergie.fr

Disclaimer

This press release contains certain forward - looking statements and estimates concerning LFDEs financial condition, operating results, strategy, projects and future performance and the markets in which it operates. Such forward-looking statements and estimates may be identified by words such as anticipate, believe, can, could, estimate, expect, intend, is designed to, may, might, plan, potential, predict, objective, should, or the negative of these and similar expressions. They incorporate all topics that are not historical facts. Forward looking statements, forecasts and estimates are based on managements current assumptions and assessment of risks, uncertainties and other factors, known and unknown, which were deemed to be reasonable at the time they were made but which may turn out to be incorrect. Events and outcomes are difficult to predict and depend on factors beyond the companys control. Consequently, the actual results, financial condition, performances and/or achievements of LFDE or of the industry may turn out to differ materially from the future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by these statements, forecasts and estimates. Owing to these uncertainties, no representation is made as to the correctness or fairness of these forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates. Furthermore, forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates speak only as of the date on which they are made, and LFDE undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

__________________________

1 NOK 70 million (unaudited)

2 NOK 450 million

3 NOK 27 million

4 NOK 150 million

5 NOK 150 million

6 NOK 150 million

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Press - FDE

[email protected]

+ 33 3 87 04 34 51



Investor Relations

[email protected]

+33 3 87 04 34 51

Source: FDE
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- H.I.G. Capital (H.I.G.), a global alternative investment firm with $60 billion of capital under management, is pleased to announce that one of its affiliates has completed the acquisition of Patriot Pickle (Patriot or the Company), a leading manufacturer and distributor of fresh pickles and other fermented foods. H.I.G. is partnering with the current management team to help accelerate the Companys successful growth trajectory. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, Patriot provides high-quality pickles to thousands of restaurants, delis, supermarkets, and distributors across North America. The Company offers a wide range of cuts, flavors, and national brands, including Patriot Pickle, CRISP, Regal Crown, K&Z, and First Place Foods. With strategically located production facilities, Patriot is able to deliver fresh, farm to package pickles in five days or less to provide great tasting pickles to consumers, foodservice operators, and grocery retailers.

Bill McEntee, Founder and President of Patriot Pickle, and Adam Ricci, Chief Operating Officer, commented, We are very excited about partnering with H.I.G. to support Patriots next phase of growth. The Company has multiple opportunities for expansion and H.I.G.s experience and resources will help us continue our successful trajectory. We remain committed to providing the best tasting pickles and highest quality service to our longstanding, valued customers.

Patriot Pickles impressive platform has grown significantly over the years by delivering on its commitment to the highest quality pickles and best-in-class service, added Justin Reyna, Managing Director at H.I.G. Capital. We are pleased to partner with Bill, Adam, and the Patriot management team and look forward to supporting the Company in its organic and acquisition-driven growth initiatives.

H.I.G. is an experienced investor in the food & beverage industry and will leverage its sector expertise from prior investments including Lipari Foods, Albertville Quality Foods, Tastes on the Fly, Ready Pac Foods, Quick Restaurants, Puerto de Indias, and others.

William Blair and BMO Capital Markets Corp. acted as financial advisors and McDermott Will & Emery served as legal counsel to H.I.G.

About Patriot Pickle

Patriot Pickle is a leading manufacturer and distributor of pickles and other fermented food products to the foodservice and grocery retail markets. The Company offers a wide range of cuts, flavors, and packaging formats including foodservice pails, retail quarts, and single-serve pouches.

Patriot Pickle was founded in 2004 to supply customers with fresh pickles year-round. With the motto Always Fresh, Always Crisp, Patriot provides high-quality pickles to thousands of restaurants, delis, supermarkets, and distributors across North America. For more information, please visit www.patriotpickle.com.

About H.I.G. Capital

H.I.G. Capital is a leading global alternative investment firm with $60 billion of capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Stamford in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Luxembourg, Bogota, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Dubai, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to middle market companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/ value-added approach:

H.I.G.s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations, and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses. H.I.G.s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche, and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. also manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance. H.I.G.s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices. H.I.G. Infrastructure focuses on making value-add and core plus investments in the infrastructure sector.

Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 400 companies worldwide. The firms current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $53 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.

*Based on total capital raised by H.I.G. Capital and affiliates.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116723043/en/

Justin Reyna

Managing Director

[email protected]

Rahul Ketkar

Principal

[email protected]

Source: H.I.G. Capital
SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Inszone Insurance Services, a rapidly growing national provider of commercial, personal, and benefits insurance, is pleased to announce its recent acquisition of Jacque Pirtle Insurance, a well-established insurance agency with nearly three decades of unwavering commitment to serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

Founded in June 1994 by Jacque Pirtle, Jacque Pirtle Insurance has been a trusted partner for families and businesses across the Dallas and Fort Worth area. Their core principles of professionalism, honesty, extensive industry knowledge, and a deep understanding of their clients' unique insurance needs have set them apart. The agency's personalized approach ensures that every client receives customized insurance solutions to fit their needs while building long-term, trusting relationships.

"We are delighted to extend a warm welcome to Jacque Pirtle Insurance as part of the Inszone Insurance family," stated Chris Walters, CEO of Inszone Insurance Services. "Under Jacque Pirtle's leadership, her team has established a remarkable legacy marked by unwavering client dedication and exceptional service. This strategic acquisition not only reinforces our Texas presence but also empowers us to offer tailored insurance solutions to families and businesses across the region."

As part of the acquisition, Jacque Pirtle Insurance clients can expect the same level of personalized service now with streamlined processes, a broader set of insurance products, and more thorough back-office support for the team in Dallas.

As Inszone Insurance Services celebrates this strategic acquisition, the company remains steadfast in its commitment to providing innovative insurance solutions and exceptional customer service. With an expanding presence across multiple states and a continued focus on client satisfaction, Inszone Insurance Services solidifies its position as a trusted partner for families and businesses seeking comprehensive insurance coverage in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and beyond.

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Sacramento, California, Inszone is a full-service insurance brokerage firm that provides a broad array of property & casualty insurance and employee benefits solutions. With a strong, experienced management team, Inszone continues to grow organically and through acquisitions. With 50 locations across California, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington, the company is looking to expand further throughout the United States.

For more information about Inszone, please visit www.inszoneinsurance.com.

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Inszone Insurance

Chris Walters  CEO

714-619-5620

[email protected]

Source: Inszone Insurance Services
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- International Seaways, Inc. (NYSE: INSW) (the Company or INSW), one of the largest tanker companies worldwide providing energy transportation services for crude oil and petroleum products, announced today that it will participate in Capital Links Corporate Presentation Webinar Series on Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET). The Company will discuss its current operations, business development and views on the tanker market.

You can register for the webinar below: Date: Wednesday, January 17, 2024 Time: 10:00 AM ET Speakers: Ms. Lois Zabrocky, President & CEO Mr. Jeffrey Pribor, Senior VP & CFO

Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_N083G2nZRCS_sWiounV2_Q#

On the registration page, please register for the presentation slated for January 17, 2024, at 10 am ET.

Once registered, you will receive an email confirmation with the link to click on for the respective presentation you signed up for.

LIVE Q&A SESSION - Submitting Questions

Participants can submit their questions either during the webinar through the online platform or can email [email protected].

1-ON-1 MEETINGS WITH COMPANY MANAGEMENT

Institutional Investors can request follow up meeting(s) with INSWs management by emailing [email protected].

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL SEAWAYS, INC.

International Seaways, Inc. (NYSE: INSW) is one of the largest tanker companies worldwide providing energy transportation services for crude oil and petroleum products in International Flag markets. International Seaways owns and operates a fleet of 77 vessels, including 13 VLCCs, 13 Suezmaxes, five Aframaxes/LR2s, 11 LR1s (including four newbuildings), and 35 MR tankers. International Seaways has an experienced team committed to the very best operating practices and the highest levels of customer service and operational efficiency. International Seaways is headquartered in New York City, NY. International Seaways, Inc. is listed on the New York Stock Exchanges under the symbol INSW.

More information about International Seaways, Inc. can be found at www.intlseas.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements. In addition, the Company may make or approve certain statements in future filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in press releases, or in oral or written presentations by representatives of the Company. All statements other than statements of historical facts should be considered forward-looking statements. These matters or statements may relate plans to issue dividends, the Companys prospects, including statements regarding vessel acquisitions, expected synergies, trends in the tanker markets, and possibilities of strategic alliances and investments. Forward-looking statements are based on the Companys current plans, estimates and projections, and are subject to change based on a number of factors. Investors should carefully consider the risk factors outlined in more detail in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2022 for the Company, the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, and in similar sections of other filings made by the Company with the SEC from time to time. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements and written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or its representatives after the date of this release are qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained in this paragraph and in other reports previously or hereafter filed by the Company with the SEC.

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Investor Relations & Media:

Tom Trovato, International Seaways, Inc.

(212) 578-1602

[email protected]

Source: International Seaways, Inc.
The Board of Directors today announces the co-optation of Laurence Rodriguez as director, and acknowledges Bernard Gillys resignation

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

The Board of Directors of GenSight Biologics (Paris: SIGHT) (Euronext: SIGHT, ISIN: FR0013183985, PEA-PME eligible) (the "Company"), a biopharma company focused on developing and commercializing innovative gene therapies for retinal neurodegenerative diseases and central nervous system disorders, has acknowledged the resignation of Mr. Bernard Gilly from his position as director. The Board of Directors of the Company also announced today its decision, after consultation of the Nomination Committee, to co-opt Mrs. Laurence Rodriguez as director for the remainder of Bernard Gillys term of office (expiring at the end of the annual shareholders meeting to be held in 2024 to approve the financial statements for the financial year ending December 31, 2023).

The co-optation of Laurence Rodriguez will be subject to ratification by the next shareholders meeting of the Company.

Laurence Rodriguez appointment as Chief Executive Officer became effective on December 21, 2023. She has over 30 years experience in the life sciences industry, including 13 years in the rare diseases business at Sanofi Genzyme, where she held a range of executive roles. As Head of the Rare Diseases & Rare Blood Disorders unit at Sanofi Genzyme, she oversaw the successful launch of various rare disease products developed or acquired by the Company.

She joined GenSight Biologics in May 2021 as Head of Operations for France. She handled the early access program in preparation for LUMEVOQ's commercialization and created strong relationships with the stakeholders.

The board of directors would like to thank Bernard Gilly, co-founder of the Company in 2012 together with Pr. Jose-Alain Sahel, for his many years of dedication to the Company and his essential contribution to make LUMEVOQ a life changing therapy.

The Board of Directors has 8 members, including 5 who are deemed independent and one observer.

About GenSight Biologics

GenSight Biologics S.A. is a clinical-stage biopharma company focused on developing and commercializing innovative gene therapies for retinal neurodegenerative diseases and central nervous system disorders. GenSight Biologics pipeline leverages two core technology platforms, the Mitochondrial Targeting Sequence (MTS) and optogenetics, to help preserve or restore vision in patients suffering from blinding retinal diseases. GenSight Biologics lead product candidate, LUMEVOQ (GS010; lenadogene nolparvovec), is an investigational compound and has not been registered in any country at this stage, a marketing authorization application is currently under review by the EMA for the treatment of Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), a rare mitochondrial disease affecting primarily teens and young adults that leads to irreversible blindness. Using its gene therapy-based approach, GenSight Biologics product candidates are designed to be administered in a single treatment to each eye by intravitreal injection to offer patients a sustainable functional visual recovery.

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GenSight Biologics

Chief Financial Officer

Thomas Gidoin

[email protected]

LifeSci Advisors

Investor Relations

Guillaume van Renterghem

[email protected]

+41 (0)76 735 01 31

Source: GenSight Biologics
Netcracker, NTT and NEC to Address the Importance of Business Transformation to Drive New Revenue Opportunities During Japan Event

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Netcracker Technology announced today that it will showcase its leadership and successful track record in helping communications service providers (CSPs) transform into techcos through large-scale AI-driven digital transformation projects during TM Forums one-day DTW Asia Tour event in Tokyo on January 30.

Netcracker, along with its long-term customer NTT and parent company NEC, will discuss leveraging digital transformation to drive business growth. AI-driven IT platforms and streamlined processes can expand revenue opportunities, create a greater competitive edge, increase operational effectiveness and accelerate time to market. The panel will highlight recent results and lessons learned from major digital transformation programs.

Netcracker is the Headline Sponsor of the event and will exhibit in Booth 2.

Reimagining Telcos: Unlocking New Revenue Opportunities With AI-Driven Digital Transformation | Tuesday, January 30 | 9:15 a.m. JST | Hilton Tokyo Odaiba

Speakers:

Ken Komazawa, VP of IT Strategy Office, NTT Holdings

Motoo Nishihara, Corporate EVP & CTO, NEC

Bob Titus, CTO, Netcracker

Moderator: Ari Banerjee, SVP Strategy, Netcracker

This session will explore the critical role of AI in successful business and IT transformations and how becoming a techco will open up new areas of monetization for CSPs.

About Netcracker Technology

Rapid digitization is disrupting the status quo of todays communications markets. Constantly evolving customer needs and behaviors require service providers to adapt quickly and diversify their businesses to deliver the outcomes that their customers expect. Building digital ecosystems, anticipating customer requirements and delivering a digital-first experience are essential for service providers to accelerate innovation, expand into new markets and become the disruptors in the 5G era.

Netcracker Technology, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation, has the expertise, culture and resources to help service providers around the world transform their businesses to thrive in a digital economy. Our innovative solutions  including our flagship cloud-native Netcracker Digital Platform  value-driven services and unbroken delivery track record of three decades help service providers to achieve their digital transformation goals, drive the telco to techco evolution within their organizations and realize business growth and profitability. For more information, visit www.netcracker.com.

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Anita Karve

Netcracker Technology

[email protected]

Source: Netcracker Technology
TEL AVIV, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Nest Seekers International, a proudly Jewish-owned global real estate brokerage, has reaffirmed its commitment to the Israeli real estate market through its new Tel Aviv office, especially in light of the recent turmoil in the region.

Following the tragic terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, by Hamas, which deeply affected the Jewish community worldwide, Nest Seekers International stands in solidarity with Israel, emphasizing the need for unity and support during these trying times.

Eddie Shapiro, CEO of Nest Seekers, states, "In these challenging times, our commitment to our Israeli brothers and sisters is unwavering. There is no better time to show our support for the community than now."

A Robust and Growing Real Estate Market

Israel's real estate market is further driven by one of the highest population growth rates among developed countries. In 2023, the population increased by approximately 179,000 people, intensifying the demand for housing and infrastructure. This presents lucrative opportunities for real estate developers and investors.

Technological innovation, another hallmark of Israel, extends to its real estate sector. Developments such as smart homes and energy-efficient buildings are transforming real estate transactions, appealing to tech-savvy investors and buyers.

The Israeli government's supportive measures, including tax incentives and streamlined regulations, coupled with growing international investment interest, have further enhanced the market's attractiveness.

Nest Seekers International's Key Projects in Tel Aviv:

The Basel Residential Complex: Located in the heart of Tel Aviv's iconic neighborhood, this complex offers a blend of urban vibrancy and serene quality of life. It is a short walk from the beach, Yarkon Park, and the Tel Aviv Port, and comprises three elegant boutique buildings, each with luxurious amenities and maximum privacy. https://www.nestseekers.com/3221936/basel-residential-complex-unique-luxurious-project-in-the-center Wissotsky Residential Project: Designed by architect Gidi Bar-Orian, this project features two 15-story residential buildings that harmoniously blend classic Tel Aviv charm with contemporary design. The interior, designed by Irima Ornstein, emphasizes clean lines and cohesive spatial experiences, offering premium residences including apartments and penthouses. https://www.nestseekers.com/3221933/vissotzky-6-new-development-kikar-hamedina-tel-aviv-israel Miriam HaHashmonai Complex: This complex in the old north of Tel Aviv, designed by Levin-Packer Architects, offers a range of luxurious apartments and penthouses. It is near Milano Square and Yarkon Park, embodying the classic Tel Aviv aesthetic while providing contemporary living experiences. https://www.nestseekers.com/3229867/old-north-of-tel-aviv-new-development-prime-location-mrym Borla Project in Plan Lamed: An architectural masterpiece comprising three boutique buildings, this project offers a minimalist style in a tranquil green setting. Set to be delivered in May 2028, it includes apartments and unique penthouses, symbolizing the future of luxury living in Tel Aviv. https://www.nestseekers.com/3229865/burlaprime-location-north-of-tel-aviv-by-the-sea-rmt-abyb-from

We're excited about our collaboration with Acro, a great partner as we embark on our venture in our beloved country. The sales event is poised to be a powerhouse in serving our clients and communities optimally, says Ron Ovadia, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson, Nest Seekers International.

Nest Seekers International extends a warm invitation to the public to attend our special sales events in support of the Jewish community in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles.

Event Dates, Times, and Locations:

New York: January 25, 6 PM and January 26 at 12 PM at Nest Seekers International, 505 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022.

January 25, 6 PM and January 26 at 12 PM at Nest Seekers International, 505 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022. Miami: January 29, 6 PM at Nest Seekers International, 888 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL 33132.

January 29, 6 PM at Nest Seekers International, 888 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL 33132. Los Angeles: February 1, 6 PM at 271 North Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210.

RSVP at [email protected]

Nest Seekers International is more than a real estate company; it is a symbol of unity and resilience. The company invites those who stand with Israel to consider the opportunities in Tel Aviv's real estate market, not just as an investment but as a meaningful gesture of support and solidarity.

About Nest Seekers International

Nest Seekers International is a global real estate brokerage firm, committed to providing exceptional service to clients around the world. With a focus on luxury properties and a deep understanding of the markets we serve, Nest Seekers is your trusted partner in real estate investment and acquisition.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116194263/en/

For more information, please contact:

Ron Ovadia, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson

Mobile: +1917-655-8513

[email protected]

Source: Nest Seekers International
CAIRO, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Egypt thwarted a drug smuggling attempt on the border with Israel, the Egyptian armed forces said in a statement on Tuesday.

An attempt of smuggling 174 kg of narcotic substances in the south of Al-Awja border crossing, known in Israel as the Nitzana crossing, had been frustrated, according to the statement.

It added that one person was killed in the exchange of fire while six drug smugglers were arrested.

The Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that nearly 20 suspects, including several militants, approached the border near the crossing, where soldiers there started shooting, and several injuries were reported.

Later in the day, Egyptian Defense Minister Mohamed Zaki urged the armed forces to maintain the highest degree of readiness and alertness to implement any task under different circumstances. 
MIAMI & BARRANQUILLA, Colombia.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Dear Shareholders,

We became aware on Saturday, January 13, 2024, that the online voting instructions related to the upcoming General Meeting of Shareholders of the Company scheduled for January 22, 2024, were incorrect. Notwithstanding the Companys diligent review of all relevant materials, a third party unilaterally included on the online version an inaccurate statement that the Board of Directors of the Company had recommended a vote in favor of the proposals to be voted on. We are currently investigating the reason for such erroneous inclusion and have requested a correction of all inaccurate statements.

We are discussing next steps with Companys counsel but wanted all shareholders of the Company to be aware that the Board of Directors HAS NEVER recommended that the shareholders vote for any of the items in the agenda.

Sincerely,

Procaps Group, S.A.

This press release includes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as forecast, intend, seek, target, anticipate, believe, expect, estimate, plan, outlook, and project and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. A number of factors could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control), or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks included under the header Risk Factors in Procaps annual report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC, as well as Procaps other filings with the SEC. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Accordingly, you should not put undue reliance on these statements.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240115136814/en/

Investor Contact:

Melissa Angelini

IR Director - Procaps Group

[email protected]

investor.procapsgroup.com

Source: Procaps Group, S.A.
Tylers solution includes licensing, inspection, and enforcement applications

PLANO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Tyler Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: TYL) announced it has signed an agreement with the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation (DBR) for Tylers State Regulatory Platform suite.

A Tyler client since 2012, the Rhode Island DBR is currently using Tylers CAVU eLicense solution and Tyler Payments. By deploying Tylers State Regulatory Platform suite in the cloud, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), the agency will benefit from additional integrated capabilities of the product and increased security and stability.

Tylers State Regulatory Platform suite comprises licensing, inspections, and enforcement applications. The solution will streamline the processing and management of more than 100 license types in the area of business and industry regulation, spanning industries including:

Accountancy including certified public accountants and firms

Design professionals including land surveyors, professional engineers, and architects

Commercial licensing including automotive, gaming, and appraisal

Securities regulation including brokers, charitable organizations, and investment advisors and firms

Business regulation including real estate commission

Banking regulation including non-depository license types

Were glad the Rhode Island DBR is continuing to partner with Tyler as we implement its new Tyler solution in the cloud, said Brian Combs, president of Tylers Platform Solutions Division. Our State Regulatory Platform solution will allow the agency to quickly and securely automate the processes that matter to them. We are confident that the DBRs regulators will be even more efficient while providing exceptional service to licensees and other stakeholders.

About Tyler Technologies, Inc.

Tyler Technologies (NYSE: TYL) provides integrated software and technology services to the public sector. Tylers end-to-end solutions empower local, state, and federal government entities to operate efficiently and transparently with residents and each other. By connecting data and processes across disparate systems, Tylers solutions transform how clients turn actionable insights into opportunities and solutions for their communities. Tyler has more than 40,000 successful installations across nearly 13,000 locations, with clients in all 50 states, Canada, the Caribbean, Australia, and other international locations. Tyler has been recognized numerous times for growth and innovation, including Government Technologys GovTech 100 list. More information about Tyler Technologies, an S&P 500 company headquartered in Plano, Texas, can be found at tylertech.com.

#TYL_Financial

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116084553/en/

Jennifer Kepler

Tyler Technologies

972.713.3770

[email protected]

Source: Tyler Technologies
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rupert Resources Ltd (Rupert or the Company) announces that it has appointed Riikka Aaltonen to its Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director, effective immediately. In her role, Ms Aaltonen will sit on the Boards Technical Committee. Susan Milton has concurrently retired from the Board.

Gunnar Nilsson, Chairman of Rupert Resources Ltd said The Board would like to take this opportunity to thank Susan Milton for her contribution since she was appointed in June 2016. Over Susans tenure, Rupert completed the acquisition of its core land package in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt of Northern Finland and commenced the systematic exploration campaign leading to the discovery of the world-class 4Moz Ikkari gold deposit. We are pleased to welcome Riikka Aaltonen as an Independent Director to the Board of Rupert Resources. Riikka will add considerable experience on Finnish legislature, policy and governance as we progress Ikkari through permitting towards production over the next few years.

Concurrent to her appointment, the Company furthermore announces that pursuant to the Companys Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan dated November 9, 2022 (the Plan), a total of 200,000 options were awarded to Ms. Aaltonen (the Options). The Options were granted with an effective date of January 15, 2024 with an exercise price of $3.53 per share, being the closing price of the Companys shares on the TSX on January 12, 2024. The Options are exercisable for a five-year period from the date of grant, with 1/3rd of the Options vesting on each calendar anniversary.

Following the award of the Options, there are 5,293,481 options outstanding under the Plan, representing 2.5% of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company.

Biography of Riikka Aaltonen

Riikka Aaltonen was a Senior Adviser working with permitting and mineral policy from 2008 to 2023 in various departments of the Finnish Government at national level in Helsinki and latterly for the Regional Council of Lapland in Rovaniemi. Prior to this, Riikka worked in exploration and mining in both Finland and Sweden with roles for Boliden and LKAB. Riikka holds an MSc in Geology and Mineralogy from the University of Turku, Finland.

About Rupert Resources

Rupert Resources is a gold exploration and development company listed on the TSX Exchange under the symbol RUP. The Company is focused on making and advancing discoveries of scale and quality with high margin and low environmental impact potential. The Companys principal focus is Ikkari, a new high quality gold discovery in Northern Finland. Ikkari is part of the Companys Rupert Lapland Project, which also includes the Pahtavaara gold mine, mill, and exploration permits (Pahtavaara).

Neither the TSX Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains statements which, other than statements of historical fact constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements with respect to: results of and plans for exploration and development activities. The words may, would, could, will, intend, plan, anticipate, believe, Estimate, expect and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are based on the opinions, assumptions and Estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made, and are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other known and unknown factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These factors include the general risks of the mining industry, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the Company's annual Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended February 28, 2023, available on the Companys website www.rupertresources.com and on SEDAR www.sedar.com . Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, Estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, Estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise.

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James Withall

Chief Executive Officer

[email protected]

Thomas Credland

Head of Corporate Development

[email protected]

Rupert Resources Ltd

82 Richmond Street East, Suite 203, Toronto, Ontario M5C 1P1

Tel: +1 416-304-9004 Web: http://rupertresources.com/

Source: Rupert Resources Ltd
CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SELAX Brokerage Agency LLC (SELAX) (SUBGA of ECA Marketing) and its subsidiaries have engaged Luma Financial Technologies (Luma), the globally acclaimed alternatives and annuities platform, to provide market leading tools and resources for advisors transacting in annuities on behalf of their clients. With the addition of Lumas technology to SELAXs platform, advisors can now benefit from a more efficient annuity transaction process, enabling them to serve their clients diverse income needs more effectively.

Luma empowers financial advisors specializing in annuities by providing cutting-edge tools such as the Annuity Product Configuration and Luma Compare features, in one centralized location. With the Annuity Product Configuration, advisors can customize product features and options, tailoring solutions to precisely align with their clients' needs. Meanwhile, Luma Compare streamlines the product discovery process, enabling advisors to efficiently compare and assess various annuity products. This ensures advisors can confidently present the most fitting and beneficial solutions to their clients.

Since partnering with ECA, we are continuously looking for ways to strengthen our sales platform offerings for our advisors. Luma introduces unique technology to a much-needed annuity marketplace, ensuring our clients receive the highest quality of service, said John Turner, President at SELAX Brokerage Agency LLC. Tyler Wahl, Regional Vice President at ECA Marketing, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, stating, Integrating Luma into SELAXs platform will further support SELAXs vision in fostering a positive advisor experience. ECA is thrilled to be partnered with a firm as dedicated to technology as SELAX is.

Combining Lumas technology with SELAXs platform aligns with SELAXs ultimate objective of providing professionals with the most efficient tools and services for all transactions and client interaction. Pairing Lumas commitment to leading-edge annuity technology with SELAXs dedication to improving advisor transactions sets the stage for transformative success within the annuity industry.

Luma is proud to offer digitized annuity solutions that prioritize transparency and objectivity for financial advisors. By expanding our offerings to SELAX, advisors will gain access to our advanced tools, enhancing the ease of learning, transacting, and managing annuities. These tools are vital to navigating the dynamic and ever-evolving annuity landscape, said Steve Acosta, Director of National Sales at Luma Financial Technologies.

About Luma Financial Technologies

Founded in 2018, Luma Financial Technologies (Luma) has pioneered a cutting-edge fintech software platform that has been adopted by broker/dealer firms, RIA offices, and private banks around the world. By using Luma, institutional and retail investors have a fully customizable, independent, buy-side technology platform that helps financial teams more efficiently learn about, research, purchase, and manage alternative investments as well as annuities.

Luma gives these users the ability to oversee the full, end-to-end process lifecycle by offering a suite of solutions. These include education resources and training materials; creation and pricing of custom structured products; electronic order entry; and post-trade management. By prioritizing transparency and ease of use, Luma is a multi-issuer, multi-wholesaler, and multi-product option that advisors can utilize to best meet their clients specific portfolio needs.

Headquartered in Cincinnati, OH, Luma also has offices in New York, NY, Zurich, Switzerland, and Miami, FL. For more information, please visit Lumas website, or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About SELAX Brokerage Agency, LLC

SELAX Brokerage Agency (SELAX) is a Brokerage General Agency (BGA) working with thousands of advisors in the United States. SELAX provides the efficiency of service and practice management for many independent advisors. For carriers, SELAX is primarily focused on all types of annuities but not exclusively. Other products such as life insurance, LTC, and small business group plans are available. For advisors and firms, SELAX team members will provide education on products and technology platform execution. SELAX helps with annuities and other risk management transactions while assisting or providing annuity desk support and solutions. For more information, please visit www.selaxbrokerage.com.

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Media

Joe Collins, River Communications

[email protected]

Source: Luma Financial Technologies
CRN, CSO50, Business Intelligence Awards among those honoring SolarWinds products and executives

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SolarWinds (NYSE: SWI), a leading provider of simple, powerful, secure observability and IT management software, today announced several new product awards and industry recognitions for its executives and technology solutions. The company was honored by global organizations including CRN, CSO50, and the DevOps Dozen awards for its industry leadership on monitoring, observability, and service management solutions that help IT teams take a proactive approach toward growth, productivity, and innovation.

SolarWinds helps enterprises accelerate their digital transformation journey within today's hybrid and multi-cloud environments. The unified SolarWinds Platform offers enterprises more flexibility, visibility, and control over critical systems and applications. As the challenges faced by IT teams continue to evolve, SolarWinds is developing world-class software solutions they need as they manage increasingly complex digital landscapes.

Technology has added untold value to our lives but also puts unforeseen challenges in the path of IT teams who are already navigating a difficult task with limited resources, said Cullen Childress, SVP of Product at SolarWinds. The recognitions we received are entirely due to the hard work and passion of the SolarWinds team. As we head into 2024, we remain committed to pushing the limits of excellence in secure software to ensure our customersand the industryare equipped to face emerging challenges head-on.

SolarWinds Product and Solution Awards:

SolarWinds Executive and Leadership Awards:

Zhanna Boguslavska was named to CRNs list of 100 People You Don't Know but Should list for 2023

SolarWinds and Tim Brown received a CSO50 Award for IT Infrastructure Monitoring and Management in recognition for the SolarWinds Next-Gen Build System

SolarWinds Corporate and Industry Awards:

SolarWinds was named Public Relations Department of the Year in the BIG Public Relations & Marketing Excellence Awards

At the IT Security Awards 2023 in Germany, SolarWinds was named a winner in the Cloud Security category for its Secure by Design initiative

SolarWinds was awarded Best Cybersecurity System Vendor of the Year of the Future Security Awards 2023 for its commitment to the Next-Generation Build System, a component of the SolarWinds Secure by Design initiative

Connect with SolarWinds

#SWI

#SWIproducts

#SWIcorporate

About SolarWinds

SolarWinds (NYSE: SWI) is a leading provider of simple, powerful, secure observability and IT management software built to enable customers to accelerate their digital transformation. Our solutions provide organizations worldwideregardless of type, size, or complexitywith a comprehensive and unified view of todays modern, distributed, and hybrid network environments. We continuously engage with IT service and operations professionals, DevOps and SecOps professionals, and database administrators (DBAs) to understand the challenges they face in maintaining high-performing and highly available hybrid IT infrastructures, applications, and environments. The insights we gain from them, in places like our THWACK community, allow us to address customers needs now and in the future. Our focus on the user and our commitment to excellence in end-to-end hybrid IT management have established SolarWinds as a worldwide leader in solutions for observability, IT service management, application performance, and database management. Learn more today at www.solarwinds.com.

The SolarWinds, SolarWinds & Design, Orion, and THWACK trademarks are the exclusive property of SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC or its affiliates, are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and may be registered or pending registration in other countries. All other SolarWinds trademarks, service marks, and logos may be common law marks or are registered or pending registration. All other trademarks mentioned herein are used for identification purposes only and are trademarks of (and may be registered trademarks of) their respective companies.

 2024 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116436075/en/

John Eddy

Goldin Solutions

Phone: +1-646-660-8648

[email protected]



Jenne Barbour

SolarWinds

Phone: +1-512-498-6804

[email protected]

Source: SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC.
TAITUNG, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- On Jan. 15, Taiwans southeastern county of Taitung held its first tourism presentation of 2024 in Kuala Lumpur to nearly 100 Malaysian tour operators, who showed tremendous interest in the countys cultural, natural and culinary highlights and travel incentives showcased at the event.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240115765975/en/

Set in a vast expanse of paddy fields with mountains in the background, this iconic road in Chishang Village of Taiwans southeastern Taitung County offers the traveler not only an Instagram-worthy spot with a wide open view but also a moment of absolute relaxation, far removed from the hustle and bustle of city life. (Photo: Business Wire)

With Taitung Ramble as its theme, the presentation took place earlier in the year than before to help overseas visitors make their travel plans well ahead of time.

The presentation started with singing and dancing by Composed Artistes In Taiwan Aborigines and consisted of a briefing with a film highlighting ten features in Taitung, including places to go, food to eat and activities not to miss, that visitors to the county must include in their itinerary. Subsidy programs for charter flights and international travelers and Taitungs extra bonus were also announced at the event.

It is believed that subsidies from both Taiwans central government and Taitung County will help attract more Malaysian visitors to the southeastern county and charter flights will make their trip easier and faster.

Taitungs natural scenery, special festivities and unique aboriginal culture are all features not to be missed by any overseas visitors, said Jessie Chiang, head of the Countys Department of Transportation and Tourism Promotion. We hope that the presentation on Monday has helped Malaysian operators know more about Taitung as a secret hideout.

In addition to the exuberant song and dance performance by the indigenous group and the presentation of tourist information, tour operators attending the event tried red oolong tea, a must-drink when in Taitung, and put on traditional garment of the countys indigenous tribes. It is hoped that by savoring beforehand the hospitality that Taitung has to offer, the countys partners in the Malaysian travel industry will pass on their delightful experience to more outbound travelers in the country.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240115765975/en/

Jela Hung

Taitung County Government, Taiwan

[email protected]

Source: Taitung County Government
TUCSON, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Tucson Electric Power (TEP) and UniSource Energy Services are seeking new generation facilities, energy storage systems and other resources such as energy efficiency through a joint all-source request for proposals (ASRFP) that seeks submissions by March 8, 2024.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116222231/en/

The joint ASRFP, issued in December 2023, targets resources to support the companies 2023 integrated resource plans (IRPs), which describe how each company plans to meet customers increasing energy needs over the next 15 years while maintaining affordable service.

Were looking for opportunities to add reliable, cost-effective resources to satisfy the growing energy needs in communities we serve, said Susan Gray, President and Chief Executive Officer. As in our previous ASRFP, were particularly interested in resources that can provide service during the late afternoon and early evening hours of summer, when our customers typically use the most energy.

In the ASRFP, TEP and UniSource are seeking bids for all resource types, including:

Up to 625 megawatts (MW) of renewable and energy efficiency resources. This could include new wind and solar generating systems and new energy efficiency initiatives, including demand response programs that reduce usage during periods of high energy demand.

Up to 825 MW of firm capacity resources that can be called on at any time, including energy storage systems designed to provide at least four hours of continuous energy every day during the summer for the companies to dispatch as needed. This also could include demand response programs that provide incentives to customers who curtail energy usage at specific times of the day and year when usage is typically highest.

The companies will review proposals before summer and anticipate selecting successful proposals this fall. Both companies are seeking resources that can commence service as soon as May 1, 2026 but no later than May 1, 2027. Projects with combined technologies are eligible for consideration.

TEPs 2023 IRP describes how the company will accelerate its clean energy expansion while reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and other environmental impacts. TEP expects to add 2,240 megawatts (MW) of wind and solar generation and 1,330 MW of energy storage by 2038, as well as 400 MW of natural gas turbines to help offset coal plant retirements and support higher use of variable wind and solar energy. This balance was determined to be the most cost-effective way to maintain reliability while achieving an 80 percent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2035, a goal set in TEPs 2020 IRP.

UniSources 2023 IRP outlines the companys plans to more than double its electric energy resources amid increasing resource constraints on the regional electric grid. The plan calls for the addition of 350 megawatts (MW) of solar and wind resources, 200 MW of natural gas turbines and 225 MW of energy storage systems by 2038. UniSource currently has about 300 MW of generating capacity.

The ASRFP process is being supported with evaluation and independent monitoring services provided by Sargent & Lundy. More information, including bidder registration and ASRFP material, is available at uns2024asrfp.com.

In October 2023, TEP announced plans for Roadrunner Reserve, a 200-MW, 800-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system. The project was selected as a result of TEPs April 2022 ASRFP. TEP will own and operate the system, which will be designed and built by Scottsdale-based DEPCOM Power, Inc. The system, announced in October, is expected to be ready for use in 2025. Other projects submitted during the April 2022 solicitation remain under consideration.

About TEP and UniSource

TEP provides safe, reliable electric service to more than 445,000 customers in Southern Arizona. For more information, visit tep.com.

UniSource provides electric service to more than 101,000 customers in Mohave and Santa Cruz Counties. It also provides natural gas service to more than 167,000 customers in Northern and Southern Arizona. For more information, visit uesaz.com.

TEP, UniSource and their parent company, UNS Energy, are subsidiaries of Fortis Inc. (TSX/NYSE: FTS), which owns utilities that serve more than 3 million customers across Canada and in the United States and the Caribbean. To learn more, visit fortisinc.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116222231/en/

Joseph Barrios

(520) 884-3725

[email protected]

Source: Tucson Electric Power
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Presidential Court, and President of Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club (ADEC), announced an increase in the prize value of the UAE President Cup for the Arabian Purebred Horses Classic Series, organised by ADEC and will be held in February 2024. The prizes have increased to AED 4.5 million, making it one of the most lucrative races locally and internationally.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116507747/en/

The prize pool for The UAE President's Cup for Purebred Arabian Horses has been increased to AED 4.5 million (Photo: AETOSWire)

The first-place prize value has been boosted to AED 2.5 million, followed by AED 1.5 million for Second place, AED 250,000 for Third place, and AED 125,000 for Fourth place. The remaining placements retain their previous values, with Fifth Place receiving AED 75,000 and Sixth Place AED 50,000.

The UAE President's Cup for Purebred Arabian Horses Classic Series attracts a stellar lineup of champion horses each year. It is one of the most awaited events on the racing calendar, with owners, stables, and trainers fielding their best jockeys and horses to compete for the prestigious title.

The race grasps the attention of horse racing enthusiasts from all over the world, with millions watching it live on TV, online, or cheering from the ADEC stands.

HE Eng. Ali Al Shaiba, Director General of Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club (ADEC), expressed his immense gratitude and appreciation for the directives of HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Presidential Court, and President of ADEC to increase the prizes of The UAE President's Cup for Purebred Arabian Horses Classic Series to AED 4.5 million, which is organised annually by the Club.

HE stated: This cup, established by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, holds a special place in our hearts. For over three decades, it has become one of the most globally recognised events in the Arabian Purebred Horses Classic Series with its valuable prizes.

HE added that the increase in prize value contributes to supporting and enhancing the popularity of purebred Arabian horse racing. This, in turn, encourages future generations to engage in the equestrian ecosystem and consequently the sport itself; in addition to attracting champions from around the world to compete for the honour of winning the prestigious title.

Source: AETOSWire

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116507747/en/

Joy Hoyek

[email protected]

Source: Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Vista Gold Corp. (NYSE American and TSX: VGZ) (Vista or the Company) today provided a strategic update and outlined 2024 priorities for the Companys Mt Todd gold project (Mt Todd or the Project) located in Northern Territory (NT), Australia. All dollar amounts are in US dollars.

Frederick H. Earnest, President and CEO of Vista, commented, Our top priority in 2024 is realizing value for our shareholders. We believe this can best be accomplished through a strategic transaction at Mt Todd. We continue to work with CIBC Capital Markets to identify and advance interest in Mt Todd and are focused on completing a transaction that maximizes shareholder value.

We believe that work to cost-effectively de-risk and demonstrate the significant value of Mt Todd is integral to our work with CIBC. The drilling program that will commence in the coming weeks is expected to add substantial near-surface gold resources, benefiting the mine production schedule and project cash flows in early years. We believe that alternative development strategies offer valuable optionality as we focus on creating shareholder value and attracting strategic interest in Mt Todd. Our previous work indicates that staged development has the potential to greatly reduce the initial capital requirement, while delivering attractive economic returns and preserving the option for long-term, large-scale production.

2024 Outlook

In addition to the ongoing work with CIBC to complete a partnering or other value adding transaction for Mt Todd, Vista plans to undertake the following activities which we believe will further add value and minimize risk for shareholders.

Gold Resources Development

The Company plans to commence a drill program totaling 6,000  7,000 meters, with the focus to add shallow gold resources at the north end of the Batman deposit. This drilling program is a condition of our previously announced royalty transaction. Management believes that if we are able to convert gold resources to gold reserves this would add substantial value to Mt Todd by improving cash flow as a result of a more constant production profile, reduced stripping, and increased mine life for all development scenarios. Mobilization of the first drill rig is in process and drilling is expected to begin in late January or early February. The proposed drilling is expected to have an all-in cost of approximately $2 million and to be completed by year end.

Evaluate Lower Capex  Staged Development Strategy

Vista plans to leverage the results of the drilling program and prior technical studies by advancing evaluations of staged development scenarios for Mt Todd. Previous studies demonstrated the opportunity to significantly lower the initial capex, maintain high margins and deliver attractive economic returns. We believe that alternative development strategies offer valuable optionality as we focus on creating shareholder value and attracting investor interest in Mt Todd. The scope of technical studies will be defined after initial drilling results are evaluated.

Balance Sheet Strength

The Companys recent $20 million royalty transaction provides a solid foundation for our efforts to best realize value for shareholders. It was achieved without equity dilution and places us in a strong financial position as we continue our work with CIBC. Royalty proceeds in December 2023 were $3 million. The remaining royalty proceeds totaling $17 million are expected to be received by the end of the second quarter 2024. Management plans to maintain similar spending levels for costs of a recurring nature, continue to pursue cost reductions where possible, and leverage prior technical studies for the staged development evaluation.

Inaugural ESG Report

We plan to publish our first ESG report in the first quarter of 2024. Vista is committed to the advancement of Mt Todd consistent with established ESG principles. We strive for compliance and are pleased to issue a report that summarizes our achievements and priorities in the near future.

About Vista Gold Corp.

Vista is a gold project developer. The Companys flagship asset is Mt Todd, located in the mining friendly jurisdiction of Northern Territory, Australia. Situated approximately 250 km southeast of Darwin, Mt Todd is among the largest development stage opportunities in Australia and continues to demonstrate compelling economics. All major environmental and operating permits necessary to initiate development of Mt Todd are in place.

Mt Todd benefits from its location in a leading mining jurisdiction and demonstrates multiple opportunities to add value through growth of mineral resources, staged development, and other value adding and de-risking activities.

For further information about Vista or Mt Todd, please contact Pamela Solly, Vice President of Investor Relations, at (720) 981-1185 or visit the Companys website at www.vistagold.com.

Scientific and Technical Information

For information on the Companys mineral resources and mineral reserves, please see the technical report summary entitled S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary - Mt Todd Gold Project - 50,000 tpd Feasibility Study  Northern Territory, Australia with an effective date of December 31, 2021, an issue date of February 9, 2022 and an amended date of February 7, 2023 available on EDGAR or the technical report entitled NI 43-101 Technical Report - Mt Todd Gold Project - 50,000 tpd Feasibility Study  Northern Territory, Australia with an effective date of December 31, 2021 and an issue date of February 9, 2022 available on SEDAR+.

John Rozelle, a qualified person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has verified the data underlying the information contained in and has approved this press release.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this news release that address activities, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will or may occur in the future, including such things as our belief that realizing value for our shareholders can best be accomplished through a strategic transaction at Mt Todd; our belief that work to cost-effectively de-risk and demonstrate the significant value of Mt Todd is integral to our work with CIBC; our belief that the drilling program that will commence in the coming weeks is expected to add substantial near-surface gold resources, benefiting the mine production schedule and project cash flows in early years; our belief that alternative development strategies offer valuable optionality as we focus on creating shareholder value and attracting strategic interest in Mt Todd; our belief that our previous work also indicates that staged development has the potential to greatly reduce the initial capital requirement, while delivering attractive economics and preserving the option for long-term, large-scale production; Vista plans to undertake activities that management believes will further add value and minimize risk for shareholders, including gold resource development, evaluating a lower initial capex staged development strategy, strengthening the balance sheet, and publishing the Companys inaugural ESG report; the Company plans to commence a drill program totaling 6,000  7,000 meters, with the focus to add shallow gold resources at the north end of the Batman deposit; our belief that if we are able to convert gold resources to gold reserves this would add substantial value to Mt Todd by improving cash flow as a result of a more constant production profile, reduced stripping, and increased mine life for all development scenarios; our belief that drilling is expected to begin in late January or early February; our belief the proposed drilling is expected to have an all-in cost of approximately $2 million and to be completed by year end; it is uncertain if further drilling will result in additional gold resources and if such gold resources can be converted to gold reserves; our belief that the Companys recent $20 million royalty transaction provides a solid foundation for our efforts to best realize value for shareholders and places us in a strong financial position as we continue our work with CIBC; our belief the remaining proceeds totaling $17 million are expected to be received by the end of the second quarter 2024; management plans to maintain similar spending levels for costs of a recurring nature, continue to pursue cost reductions where possible, and leverage prior technical studies for the staged development evaluation; Vista plans to leverage the results of the drilling program and prior technical studies by advancing evaluations of staged development scenarios for Mt Todd; our belief that previous studies demonstrated the opportunity to significantly lower the initial capex, maintain high margins, and deliver attractive economic returns; our belief that alternative development strategies offer valuable optionality as we focus on creating shareholder value and attracting investor interest in Mt Todd; our belief that the scope of technical studies will be defined after initial drilling results are evaluated; Vista plans to publish its first ESG report in the first quarter of 2024; our belief that Mt Todd is among the largest development stage opportunities in Australia and continues to demonstrate compelling economics; our belief that all major environmental and operating permits necessary to initiate development of Mt Todd are in place; our belief that Mt Todd benefits from its location in a leading mining jurisdiction; and our belief that Mt Todd demonstrates multiple opportunities to add value through growth of mineral resources, staged development, and other value adding and de-risking activities are forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. The material factors and assumptions used to develop the forward-looking statements and forward-looking information contained in this news release include the following: our forecasts and expected cash flows; our projected capital and operating costs; our expectations regarding mining and metallurgical recoveries; mine life and production rates; that laws or regulations impacting mine development or mining activities will remain consistent; our approved business plans, our mineral resource and reserve estimates and results of preliminary economic assessments; preliminary feasibility studies and feasibility studies on our projects, if any; our experience with regulators; political and social support of the mining industry in Australia; our experience and knowledge of the Australian mining industry and our expectations of economic conditions and the price of gold. When used in this news release, the words optimistic, potential, indicate, expect, intend, plans, hopes, believe, may, will, if, anticipate and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include, among others, uncertainty of resource and reserve estimates, uncertainty as to the Companys future operating costs and ability to raise capital; risks relating to cost increases for capital and operating costs; risks of shortages and fluctuating costs of equipment or supplies; risks relating to fluctuations in the price of gold; the inherently hazardous nature of mining-related activities; potential effects on our operations of environmental regulations in the countries in which it operates; risks due to legal proceedings; risks relating to political and economic instability in certain countries in which it operates; uncertainty as to the results of bulk metallurgical test work; and uncertainty as to completion of critical milestones for Mt Todd; as well as those factors discussed under the headings Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors in the Companys latest Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed in February 2023, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Although we have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements and forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information; whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240115333014/en/

Vista Gold Corp.

Pamela Solly, 720-877-0136

[email protected]

Source: Vista Gold Corp.
Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced the release of a new automated parallel capillary electrophoresis system for protein analysis  the Agilent ProteoAnalyzer system  at the 23rd Annual PepTalk Conference, being held January 16-19 in San Diego. This new platform simplifies and improves the efficiency of analyzing complex protein mixtures, a process central to analytical workflows across the pharma, biotech, food analysis, and academia sectors.

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has established itself as an indispensable tool for protein separation, as it offers rapid, high-resolution analysis with minimal sample consumption. The expanding interest of biopharma in monoclonal antibodies and other protein targets of potential therapeutic interest is driving the expected growth in demand for CE solutions.

The Agilent ProteoAnalyzer system brings added efficiency, versatility, and reliability, particularly in protein QC workflows. Automating the separation, data processing, and simplifying sample preparation steps streamlines the analysis workflow, which improves efficiency and reduces training and related labor costs. The system also can analyze a wide range of sample types, from crude lysates to purified fractions. It can analyze different sizes and types of proteins in a single run and consistently deliver accurate results, reducing the need for time-consuming and costly reanalysis.

The Agilent ProteoAnalyzer system introduces a new level of efficiency, versatility, and reliability to protein analysis, commented Knut Wintergerst, vice president and general manager of the Biomolecular Analysis Division at Agilent. Automated parallel capillary electrophoresis simplifies the analysis of complex mixtures, benefiting diverse sectors from pharma to academia. Precision and reliability converge, reducing labor costs and enhancing analytical workflows.

Kyle Luttgeharm, product manager in Agilents Integrated Genomics Division will present a seminar at PepTalk on Thursday, January 18 at 12:25 p.m., titled Discover the ProteoAnalyzer System: Automated Protein Analysis Parallel to None.

Agilent, one of the market leaders in CE, offers automated electrophoresis systems that see wide use for nucleic acids analysis, such as NGS QC and IVT RNA applications. Agilent expects the ProteoAnalyzer to strengthen its position as a key provider of quality control analysis solutions by extending its CE portfolio across relevant biomolecule classes.
TEHRAN, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Tuesday the country's missile strikes on the bases of "terrorists" in Syria and Israel's intelligence service Mossad in Iraq's Kurdistan Region were part of the "just punishment for aggressors."

He made the remarks in a statement published on the Iranian Foreign Ministry's website while elaborating on the reasons for launching ballistic missiles at Iraq's Kurdistan Region and Syria at 12:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday (2030 GMT Monday).

"The move was in line with defending decisively Iran's sovereignty and security and fighting terrorism and part of the Islamic Republic's just punishment for aggressors against the country's security," said Kanaani.

The spokesman stressed that the country would not hesitate to use its "legitimate and lawful right" to take deterrent action against the sources of threat against its national security, protect its citizens' security, and punish "criminals."

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced the attacks in three statements published on the IRGC's official Sepah News portal early Tuesday, describing the operations as responses to recent "terrorist attacks" in the southeastern Iranian provinces of Kerman and Sistan and Baluchestan as well as Israel's recent assassinations of Iranian and resistance forces' commanders.

In a separate statement, the IRGC said it had fired 24 ballistic missiles in its strikes on the bases of "terrorists" in Syria and Israel's intelligence service Mossad in Iraq's Kurdistan Region.

Four missiles were fired from the southwestern province of Khuzestan against the IS "Takfiri terrorists' base" in Syria's Idlib, 11 from western and northwestern Iran against the Mossad base in Iraq's Kurdistan region and nine against other "terrorist groups' bases" in the occupied Syrian territories.

Local authorities in Iraq's Kurdistan region said in a statement that four people were killed and six others injured as a result of the missile strikes conducted by the IRGC on Kurdistan's capital city of Erbil.

Iran's semi-official Fars news agency said on Tuesday that four senior Mossad officials and several senior IS commanders were killed in the IRGC's attacks against the Kurdistan region and Idlib. 
Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) has announced the appointment of Carlos Zarlenga as the new Chief Operating Officer for North America, succeeding Mark Stewart. The carmaker aims to capitalize on "further improvements" in regional performance with this change. The effective date for the new appointment is set for February 1st.

"In the very demanding North American market with many obstacles to overcome in order to foster the performance of the company, Carlos Zarlenga is the best leader among our talent pool to replace Mark Stewart and to drive the change in our business model towards electrification in the region," Tavares said in the statement.

While Stewart departs from the automaker, Stellantis has not provided additional details regarding his future plans or the specific reasons behind the leadership change. Stewart served as the Chief Operating Officer for North America for three years, a role he assumed following the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA to form Stellantis.

Group CEO Carlos Tavares expressed gratitude to Mark Stewart in a statement, extending best wishes for his future endeavors in his new position.

Shares of STLA are down 2.78% in mid-day trading on Tuesday.

By Michael Elkins | [email protected]
Fiat Chrysler-parent, Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) announced Tuesday that the Franco-American automaker has entered into a multi-billion euro agreement with European rental firm SIXT SE.

According to the announcement, Stellantis will sell SIXT up to 250,000 vehicles across Europe and North America over the next three years.

Stellantis will begin delivering a diverse lineup of vehicles, spanning from city cars to SUVs and trucks, starting in the first quarter of 2024 and extending throughout the year.

Additionally, as part of the agreement, Stellantis will supply electric vehicles to the German mobility service provider, although specific details about this aspect of the deal remain undisclosed.

The two companies added that they would also explore potential collaboration opportunities in various other regions, with a focus on areas such as Stellantis' DaaS business.

Shares of STLA are down 3.05% in mid-day trading on Tuesday.

By Michael Elkins | [email protected]
FILE PHOTO: Fortnite game installing on Android operating system is seen in front of Apple logo in this illustration taken, May 2, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

By Andrew Chung

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear a challenge by Apple to a lower court's decision requiring changes to certain rules in its lucrative App Store, as the justices shunned the lengthy legal battle between the iPhone maker and Epic Games, maker of the popular video game "Fortnite."

The justices also turned away Epic's appeal of the lower court's ruling that Apple's App Store policies limiting how software is distributed and paid for do not violate federal antitrust laws. The justices gave no reasons for their decision to deny the appeals.

Apple's stock fell more than 2% in early trading on Tuesday.

In a social media post, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said, "The court battle to open iOS (Apple's mobile operating system) to competing stores and payments is lost in the United States. A sad outcome for all developers."

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Epic filed an antitrust lawsuit in 2020, accusing Apple of acting as an illegal monopolist by requiring consumers to get apps through its App Store and buy digital content inside an app using its own system. Apple charges up to a 30% commission for in-app purchases.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in 2021 rejected Epic's antitrust claims against Apple. But the judge found that Apple violated California's unfair competition law by barring developers from "steering" users to make digital purchases that bypass Apple's in-app system, which Epic contends could save them money with lower commissions.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld much of Rogers' decision in 2023, finding that Epic had "failed to prove the existence of substantially less restrictive alternatives" to Apple's system.

The judge's injunction requires Apple to let app developers provide links and buttons that direct consumers to other ways to pay for digital content that they use in their apps.

Sweeney wrote on his social media post: "As of today, developers can begin exercising their court-established right to tell US customers about better prices on the web."

In its appeal to the Supreme Court, Epic had said that the 9th Circuit's decision "guarantees severe anticompetitive harm and effectively insulates the most monopolistic tech-platform practices from antitrust scrutiny."

Apple had noted in its appeal that Epic did not file a class-action lawsuit and said the broad injunction imposed by Rogers exceeds the constitutional authority of federal courts, which typically should be limited to providing relief to the parties before them.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Apollo Silver Corp. (Apollo or the Company) (TSX.V:APGO, OTCQB:APGOF, Frankfurt: 6ZF0) is pleased to provide the following operational and corporate update. As part of the 2022 Metallurgical Test Program for the Calico Silver Project (Calico or the Project), an initial assessment of the quality of barite in the deposit was completed. This initial test work illustrated that a high quality barite concentrate could be produced, warranting a follow up investigation. As a follow-up to these positive results, and in anticipation of adding barite to the mineral resource inventory at Waterloo, further samples have been selected for assay to characterize the distribution of barite in the deposit.

HIGHLIGHTS

Concentrate with up to 94.6% barite produced via flotation;

Barite concentrate meets or exceeds the standards for chemical and physical specifications for drilling fluids for use in the petroleum industry as defined by the American Petroleum Institute (API);

Further testing now underway includes barite analysis of 79 samples using various assay techniques; and

Barite is on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Critical Minerals List, as it is critical for domestic metallurgical applications in the energy industry.

The test work we have commenced is an important step towards including barite in a 2024 resource update at Calico, commented Apollos President and CEO Tom Peregoodoff. The results from this program will enable us to determine the most efficient and cost-effective method for analyzing our drill material for barite. We have extensive sample coverage over the entirety of the Waterloo deposit and with a comprehensive assay program later this year, we will have a very good understanding of the distribution of barite. This will enable us to include this critical mineral in our planned 2024 resource update for Calico.

BARITE RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

In the 2022 Final List of Critical Minerals, published by the USGS, barite was identified as one of many minerals which play a significant role in our national security, economy, renewable energy development and infrastructure. Barite is critical for domestic metallurgical applications in the energy industry, with 90% of the barite sold in the U.S. used as a weighting agent in petroleum drilling. According to the USGS 2022 Mineral Commodity Report, the U.S. has a net import reliance of more than 75% as a percentage of consumption and over half of that total is imported from China.

In 2023, the Company completed two important steps towards including barite in an updated mineral resource estimate for Calico, expected in 2024. As reported on May 2, 2023, results from initial metallurgical test work showed that barite concentrates of up to 94% barite were achieved. In addition, barite quality analysis was completed and confirmed that the barite concentrate produced meets or exceeds the quality requirements for us in the U.S. as set by the API.

As a follow up to these positive results and as the next step to adding barite to the mineral resource inventory at Waterloo, the Company has begun a test program designed to determine the optimal assay technique for barite. Using 79 samples distributed across the deposit, barite concentration will be analyzed to determine the best method to use to assay for barite in future test work. Typically, multi-element analytic assay methods under report barium; this program aims to determine the best analytical method for barium in order to then be able to ensure we are reporting the maximum concentration in each sample. Once results of this test work have been completed and the best method is identified, a comprehensive re-assay program of select drilling pulps will be completed, with the goal of then updated the Waterloo mineral resource estimate with the addition of barite.

In 1979 ASARCO calculated an estimate of barite in the Waterloo deposit. The estimate reported a total of 33.9 million tonnes of mineralized rock in the deposit at a grade of 13.4% barite for a total of 4.5 million tonnes of barite at a grade of 93%. ASARCO assumed a 50% recovery and a cost of $70 per short ton of barite concentrate. Please refer to Table 1 for the results of and further information of this estimate and results are reported here as documented in original documents. The reader is cautioned not to treat this historical estimate or any part of it as a current mineral resource or reserve. An independent Qualified Person has not completed sufficient work to classify this as a current mineral resource or reserve and therefore the Company is not treating the historical estimate as a current mineral resource or mineral reserve.

Table 1: ASARCO (1979) Waterloo Historical Silver and Barite Mineral Reserve at 25 g/t Ag cut-off

Tonnage Average Grade Contained Metal Tons (Mst) Tonnes (Mt) Grade-Silver (g/t) Grade-Silver (opt) Grade-Barite (%) Barite (Mt) Silver (Moz) Silver (AgEq) (Moz) 37.2 33.9 92.9 2.71 13.4 4.5 100.9 146.5

Reference to the historic reserves at the Waterloo Property prepared by ASARCO refer to an internal company document prepared by ASARCO, dated 1979 (unpublished). Historic reserves are reported here as documented in original documents. The historic reserves were calculated prior to the implementation of the current Canadian Institute of Minings (CIM) standards for mineral resource estimation (as defined by the CIM Definition Standard on Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves dated May 10, 2014) as required by NI 43-101 and has no comparable resource classification. The reader is cautioned not to treat them, or any part of them, as current mineral resources or reserves. An independent Qualified Person has not completed sufficient work to classify these estimates as current mineral resources or reserves and therefore the Company is not treating the historical estimate as a current mineral resources or mineral reserves. The reliability of the historical estimate is considered reasonable, reliable, and relevant to be included here in that they demonstrated simply the barite mineral potential of the Waterloo Property. This historic resource estimate for silver has been superseded by the Calico Silver Project current mineral resource estimate, announced March 6, 2023. There is no current resource estimate for barite.

OPERATIONAL UPDATE

While the junior mining market has remained volatile for some time, Apollo has focused on ensuring it remains well positioned to advance its Calico Silver-Barite asset. The Company has continued to carefully evaluate all capital allocations to ensure it is well positioned to benefit from a rebound in market conditions.

With this overriding objective the Company has made the decision to terminate the Arizona Silver District Option to Purchase Agreement, with an effective date of January 15, 2024. Notice has been served to the vendor to this effect.

In order to maintain the option to purchase the Langtry portion of the Calico project, the Company has made the required annual option payments of US$25,000 and US$100,000 to Athena Minerals Inc., and Bruce D. Strachan and Elizabeth Strachan Trust, respectively.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Location

The Project is located in San Bernardino County, California and comprises the adjacent Waterloo and Langtry properties which total 2,950 acres. The Project is 15 km (9 miles) from the city of Barstow and has an extensive private gravel road network spanning the property. There is commercial electric power within 5 km (3 miles) of the Project.

Geology and Mineralization

The Project is situated in the southern Calico Mountains of the Mojave Desert, in the south-western region of the Basin and Range tectonic province. This 15 km (9 mile) long northwest- southeast trending mountain range is dominantly composed of Tertiary (Miocene) volcanics, volcaniclastics, sedimentary rocks and dacitic intrusions. Mineralization at Calico comprises high-level low-sulfidation silver-dominant epithermal vein-type, stockwork-type and disseminated-style associated with northwest-trending faults and fracture zones and mid-Tertiary (~19-17 Ma) volcanic activity. Gold and barite also form a significant component of the mineralized system. Calico represents a district-scale mineral system endowment with approximately 6,000 m (19,685 ft) in mineralized strike length controlled by Apollo. Silver and gold mineralization are oxidized and hosted within the sedimentary Barstow Formation and in contact with the upper volcaniclastic units of the Pickhandle formation. The current mineral resource at Calico comprises 110 million ounces (Moz) silver (Ag) classified as Measured and Indicated (M&I) declared at Waterloo at an average grade of 100 grams per tonne (g/t) Ag; and 51 Moz Ag classified as Inferred (720,000 oz Ag in the Waterloo deposit at 77 g/t Ag and 50 Moz Ag in the Langtry deposit at 81 g/t Ag) (see news release March 6, 2023).

QUALIFIED PERSONS

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release was reviewed and approved by Cathy Fitzgerald, M.Sc., P.Geo., Apollos Vice President of Exploration and Resource Development for the Company. Ms. Fitzgerald is a Qualified Person as defined by the Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Minerals Projects. Ms. Fitzgerald is a registered Professional Geoscientist in British Columbia, Canada and is not independent of the Company.

Please visit www.apollosilver.com for further information.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Tom Peregoodoff Chief Executive Officer

For further information, please contact:

Tom Peregoodoff Chief Executive OfficerTelephone: +1 (604) 428-6128 [email protected]

About Apollo Silver Corp.

Apollo Silver Corp. has assembled an experienced and technically strong leadership team who have joined to advance world class precious metals projects in tier-one jurisdictions. The Company is focused on advancing its Calico Project, composed of the Waterloo and Langtry silver resources, located in San Bernardino County, California.

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 Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release includes forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements included in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements including, without limitation, statements with respect to the potential of the Calico Project; the potential for identification of gold and barite resources at Calico; the potential to expand the resource estimate and upgrade its confidence level, including prospective mineralization on strike and at depth; geological interpretations; future silver recoveries; timing and execution of future planned drilling and exploration activities; timing of completion of the updated mineral resource estimate and 2023 preliminary economic assessment. Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as anticipate, believe, plan, estimate, expect, potential, target, budget and intend and statements that an event or result may, will, should, could or might occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof.

Forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analysis, and opinions of the management of the Company made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management of the Company believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made. Forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions that have been made by the Company as at the date of such information and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may have caused actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: risks associated with mineral exploration and development; metal and mineral prices; availability of capital; accuracy of the Companys projections and estimates; realization of mineral resource estimates, interest and exchange rates; competition; stock price fluctuations; availability of drilling equipment and access; actual results of current exploration activities; government regulation; political or economic developments; environmental risks; insurance risks; capital expenditures; operating or technical difficulties in connection with development activities; personnel relations; contests over title to properties; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing, or other relevant issues. The quantity and grade of reported inferred mineral resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define these inferred mineral resources as an indicated or measured mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them to an indicated or measured mineral resource category. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including but not limited to the price of silver, gold and barite; the demand for silver, gold and barite; the ability to carry on exploration and development activities; the timely receipt of any required approvals; the ability to obtain qualified personnel, equipment and services in a timely and cost-efficient manner; the ability to operate in a safe, efficient and effective matter; and the regulatory framework regarding environmental matters, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and actual results, and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking information contained herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. The forward-looking information contained herein is presented for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding the Companys expected financial and operational performance and the Companys plans and objectives and may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Source: Apollo Silver Corp.
Washington, DC, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Psychiatric Association Foundation (APAF) is announcing that its acclaimed Notice. Talk. Act. at School training will be available to K-12 schools anywhere in the United States at no cost in 2024. Thanks to funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the training will now reach a greater number of teachers and school staff with best practices for supporting improved student mental health outcomes. The geographic expansion of Notice. Talk. Act. at School also will ensure that a wider diversity of communities can access the training and support more school administrators in their recovery from the difficulties brought on by COVID-19.

Notice. Talk. Act. at School, a signature APAF program, empowers not only teachers but all school staff  from administrators to crossing guards  to be aware of the signs of a potential mental health concern (notice), discuss mental health openly with students (talk), and connect students to the right resources (act). The training is administered through a 30-minute e-learning module and a 1.5- to 2-hour in-person course and has been implemented in more than 220 school systems across the country. It has been shown to reduce truancy by 70%, reduce discipline referrals by 89%, and increase referrals to support services by 171%. For many students, one concerned adult with the right training can make the difference between surviving and thriving.

Notice. Talk. Act. at School is a crucial foundational resource for communities across the country as the youth mental health crisis continues to take a toll on students, their families, and their teachers, said Rawle Andrews, Jr., Esq., APAF Executive Director. This training is urgently needed in cities, towns, and communities of all sizes and demographics. Our expansion to the entire U.S. represents a turning point in our attempts to combat rising rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidality in our young people.

To learn more about Notice. Talk. Act. at School, visit the program page.

Erin Connors American Psychiatric Association 2026097113 [email protected]

Source: American Psychiatric Association
Santa-Coloma Rohls will guide the companys Global People Team that includes HR, Talent, Inclusion, Diversity & Equity, and Sustainability and Impact

SEATTLE, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Slalom, the global business and technology consulting company, today announced Kristine Santa-Coloma Rohls has been promoted to Chief People Officer, assuming the position from Lucy Hur, who will remain engaged with Slalom as a senior advisor. With this promotion, Santa-Coloma Rohls now oversees Slaloms Global People Team that creates programs for nearly 12,000 team members in eight countries and 49 offices. Santa-Coloma Rohls will also continue to serve as Chief Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Officer.



"What I love about Kristine is that she leads with a perfect blend of empathy and inclusion, which really shows in her commitment to our team and customers, said Tony Rojas, Slalom President, and co-founder. Shes personable, caring, and exemplifies our core values. As our new Chief People Officer, I know her dedication to our people-first culture will strengthen Slaloms most valuable asset - the ability of our team to deliver their best by loving their life and work.

Santa-Coloma Rohls joined Slalom in 2016, where she launched and led Slaloms Washington D.C. office until she was promoted in 2022 to Chief Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Officer. She has over 25 years of experience helping commercial and government organizations transform to drive people-centered solutions.

At Slalom, our workplace culture thrives on building authentic relationships. These connections supercharge our culture and enhance our ability to deliver exceptional service to our customers, said Santa-Coloma Rohls. "Working with so many talented colleagues at Slalom has shown me how our business can scale to new heights when we invest more in our teams. The global expertise of our team members is our companys biggest strength, and Im dedicated to making sure that their success remains at the core of our company.

Hur will advise Slalom executives as a senior advisor

After five years of pioneering leadership as Slaloms first Chief People Officer, Hur is retiring from full-time work to care for her aging parents and will remain with Slalom on a part-time basis as an advisor.

In her time at Slalom, Hur made a mark on Slalom by cultivating a people-centric culture, championing inclusion, diversity, and equity, and scaling Slaloms people strategy and operating foundation to support our companys rapid growth and transformation.

"Lucy embodies Slaloms core values and fiercely human spirit, said Rojas. She will forever be a part of the Slalom family and were glad she will continue to advise us as we focus on supporting the employees who deliver meaningful solutions for our customers.

For media inquiries, contact [email protected].

About Slalom

Slalom is a next-generation professional services company creating value at the intersection of business, technology, and humanity. With our fiercely human approach, we deeply understand our customersand their customersto deliver practical, end-to-end solutions that drive meaningful impact. Backed by over 700 technology partners, our nearly 12,000 team members in eight countries and 49 offices help people and organizations dream bigger, move faster, and build better tomorrows for all. Were honored to be consistently recognized as a great place to work, including being one of Fortunes 100 Best Companies to Work For eight years running. Learn more at slalom.com.
SANDY, Utah, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mountain America Credit Union announced today its ongoing support and sponsorship of the Weber Entrepreneurs Speaker Series, an initiative in collaboration with Weber State University. The focus is on enriching the local community through insights shared by successful entrepreneurs. This series serves as a gateway for students and community members to gain invaluable knowledge as well as fostering awareness of Mountain Americas robust business services.

The speaker series is an opportunity to listen to local business owners and entrepreneurs as they detail their successes, failures, and any lessons theyve learned along the way.

The first presentation in this semesters series will be on January 16, from 6-7 p.m. MT at the Weber State University Davis campus, building D2-110, 2750 University Park Blvd. Layton, Utah, 84041. It will feature Kim Luke, director of Artistic Dance. Luke will share her entrepreneurial journey, offering unique insights and experiences, followed by an interactive Q&A session. Complimentary food will be provided.

Kyle Guest, vice president of business services at Mountain America, shared his thoughts on the partnership. We are excited to collaborate with Weber State University John B. Goddard School of Business and Economics on the speaker series. This initiative provides an exceptional platform for students and the community to glean insights from accomplished business owners and gain a deeper understanding of the business landscape.

Brandon Stoddard, director of the Hall Global Entrepreneurship Center at Weber State University, highlighted the significance of the Weber Entrepreneur Speaker Series, saying, This series plays a vital role in fostering entrepreneurship and innovation in our community. It provides a unique opportunity for students and the community to learn from successful entrepreneurs. We extend our sincere appreciation to Mountain America Credit Union for their dedicated support of this program.

Following this upcoming Tuesday, the next speaker series will be on Feb 21st and the final series will be on March 13th.The series, driven by the support of Mountain Americas business teams, spotlights business members willing to share their experiences. Past speakers include Jennifer Pettinger, co-owner of Sun Print Solutions; Dennis Decker, president/CEO of Airstream of Utah; and Joe Long and Angie Gerdes, owner/operators of Gardner Village.

To learn more about the Weber State Entrepreneur Speaker Series, please visit: Weber State University Entrepreneurship Speaker Series

About Mountain America Credit Union With more than 1 million members and $18 billion in assets, Mountain America Credit Union helps its members define and achieve their financial dreams. Mountain America provides consumers and businesses with a variety of convenient, flexible products and services, as well as sound, timely advice. Members enjoy access to secure, cutting-edge mobile-banking technology, over 100 branches across six states, and more than 50,000 surcharge-free ATMs. Mountain Americaguiding you forward. Learn more at macu.com.

Source: Mountain America Credit Union
Salisbury, MD, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Perdue Farms has delivered two truckloads of nutritious no antibiotics ever chicken to help the Food Bank of Delaware fill the freezers at its new facility in Milford and help feed those struggling with food insecurity in the First State. The donation of 83,000 pounds of nutritious chicken represents the equivalent of more than 67,000 meals.

This generous donation from long-time partner Perdue Farms represents hope for our Delaware neighbors struggling with food insecurity, said Cathy Kanefsky, President and CEO of the Food Bank of Delaware. At the food bank, our programs focus on how food can improve overall health and well-being for people facing food insecurity, and donations like this help provide access for those who often have few options for nutritious foods and healthy eating.

Perdues donation was delivered during the Food Bank of Delawares grand opening of its new 70,000-square-foot facility in Milford. The donation is part of the companys Delivering Hope To Our Neighbors outreach to improve quality of life and build strong communities.

We recognize food insecurity remains a serious problem across the country and were committed to fighting hunger in the communities we call home, including in Delaware, said Kevin McAdams, CEO of Perdue Farms. Were proud to help the Food Bank of Delaware deliver a little hope to some of our most vulnerable neighbors and we aspire to create a community where no one goes to bed hungry.

Since 2000, Perdue Farms has donated more than 92 million pounds of protein  the equivalent of more than 77 million meals  to the Feeding America network of affiliated food banks of which the Food Bank of Delaware is a valued partner. Perdue was one of the first meat companies to implement a formal program of ongoing donations of perishable protein products, creating a model for other companies to follow.

About Perdue Farms

Were a fourth-generation, family-owned, U.S. food and agriculture company. Through our belief in responsible food and agriculture, we are empowering consumers, customers, and farmers through trusted choices in products and services.

The premium protein portfolio within our Perdue Foods business, including our flagship PERDUE brand, Niman Ranch, Coleman Natural, and Yummy, as well as our pet brands, Spot Farms and Full Moon, is available through various channels including retail, foodservice, club stores and our direct-to-consumer website, PerdueFarms.com.

Perdue AgriBusiness is an international agricultural products and services company.

Now in our companys second century, our path forward is about getting better, not just bigger. We never use drugs for growth promotion in raising poultry and livestock, and we are actively advancing our animal welfare programs. Our brands are leaders in no-antibiotics-ever chicken, turkey, pork, beef, and lamb, and in USDA-certified organic chicken and beef. Learn more at Corporate.PerdueFarms.com.

Attachment
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Prime Mining Corp. (Prime or the Company) (TSX: PRYM) (OTCQX: PRMNF) (Frankfurt: 04V3) announces that CEO Daniel Kunz is retiring effective February 1, 2024, and Mr. Scott Hicks, EVP, will succeed him as Chief Executive Officer at that time and has been appointed to the Board of Directors effective today. The seamless leadership transition completes a succession plan developed by the Board of Directors following Mr. Hicks appointment as Executive Vice President of Prime on August 17, 2022. Mr. Kunz will remain a Strategic Advisor and member of the Board. Mr. Kunz and Mr. Hicks will continue to work closely together.

Daniel Kunz was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Director on June 15, 2020, after serving as Executive Chairman. Since then, he has overseen significant milestones in the Companys advancement, which in 2023 included Primes graduation to the main board of the Toronto Stock Exchange, its updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Los Reyes Project and its inaugural Sustainability Report, as well as significant financings.

Mr. Kunz remarked, Andy Bowering and I worked together to create this valuable company and I now leave the CEO role in Scotts capable hands. As a shareholder, I am looking forward to an exciting 2024 at the Los Reyes gold-silver project as I pursue my other interests.

Murray John, Chair of Primes Board of Directors, stated, On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Dan for his leadership of Prime. His extensive experience in the development and financing of global resource projects has enabled Prime to advance to its current stage. He leaves the Company in a strong financial position, with the people and platform in place for future growth.

Scott Hicks brings over 20 years industry experience to Prime, as an executive, finance professional and engineer. Prior to joining the Company, he served as Senior Vice President of Technical Services with Kinross Gold Corp., with global responsibility for strategic planning, resource and reserve calculations, project studies, business development and talent management. He also held positions of increasing responsibility with Inco Ltd. and Vale in the areas of corporate development, strategic planning and financial evaluation, including several years in Indonesia at one of the worlds largest integrated nickel operations. Mr. Hicks holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mining Engineering from Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, is a Professional Engineer and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder.

We are very pleased to announce Scotts appointment to the role of CEO and welcome him to the Board. said Mr. John. Since joining Prime, he has been actively engaging with the investment community and providing both strategic and technical leadership to the team, facilitating the last financing and driving the delivery of the May 2023 MRE that effectively doubled the resource ounces at Los Reyes. We look forward to his continued leadership as the new CEO of Prime in its next phase of growth.

Scott Hicks added, I have enjoyed working with Dan for the past 18 months at Prime and thank him for the strong financial and technical position that he has created here, and especially for the exceptional team with whom I look forward to continuing our work. The Los Reyes property demonstrates immense resource prospectivity, both in terms of magnitude and quality, and I am excited to lead the team in unlocking its exploration and subsequent development potential over the longer-term.

About the Los Reyes Gold and Silver Project

Los Reyes is a rapidly evolving high-grade, low sulphidation epithermal gold-silver project located in Sinaloa State, Mexico. Since acquiring Los Reyes in 2019, Prime has spent approximately US$32 million on direct exploration activities and has completed over 158,000 m of drilling. On May 2, 2023, Prime announced an updated multi-million-ounce high-grade open pit constrained resource (see below, and refer to the May 2, 2023 press release for more details).

May 2, 2023 Resource Statement

Drilling is ongoing and suggests that the three known main deposit areas (Guadalupe, Central and Z-T) are larger than previously reported. Potential also exists for new discoveries where mineralized trends have been identified outside of the currently defined resource areas.

Historic operating results indicate that an estimated 1 million ounces of gold and 60 million ounces of silver were recovered from five separate operations at Los Reyes between 1770 and 1990. Prior to Primes acquisition, recent operators of Los Reyes had spent approximately US$20 million on exploration, engineering, and prefeasibility studies.

Qualified PersonScott Smith, P.Geo., Executive Vice President of Exploration, is a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical content in this news release.

About Prime Mining

Prime is managed by an ideal mix of successful mining executives, strong capital markets personnel and experienced local operators all focused on unlocking the full potential of the Los Reyes Project. The Company has a well-planned capital structure with a strong management team and insider ownership. Prime is targeting a material resource expansion at Los Reyes through a combination of new generative area discoveries and growth, while also building on technical de-risking activities to support eventual project development.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Daniel KunzChief Executive Officer

For further information, please contact:

Daniel KunzChief Executive Officer and DirectorTelephone: +1-208-926-6379 officeemail: [email protected]

Scott HicksExecutive Vice President and DirectorTelephone: +1-604-428-6128 officeemail: [email protected]

Prime Mining Corp.710  1030 West Georgia St.Vancouver, BC V6E 2Y3 Canada+1-604-428-6128[email protected]

Cautionary Notes to U.S. Investors Concerning Resource EstimatesThis news release has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the requirements of the U.S. securities laws. In particular, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the terms mineral reserve, proven mineral reserve, probable mineral reserve, inferred mineral resources, indicated mineral resources, measured mineral resources and mineral resources used or referenced in this presentation are Canadian mineral disclosure terms as defined in accordance with National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101) under the guidelines set out in the 2014 Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines, May 2014 (the CIM Standards). The CIM Standards differ from the mineral property disclosure requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) in Regulation S-K Subpart 1300 (the SEC Modernization Rules) under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act). As a foreign private issuer that is eligible to file reports with the SEC pursuant to the multijurisdictional disclosure system, the Company is not required to provide disclosure on its mineral properties under the SEC Modernization Rules and will continue to provide disclosure under NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards. Accordingly, the Companys disclosure of mineralization and other technical information may differ significantly from the information that would be disclosed had the Company prepared the information under the standards adopted under the SEC Modernization Rules.

Forward Looking InformationThis news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation as may be amended from time to time, including, without limitation, statements regarding the perceived merit of the Companys properties, including additional exploration potential of Los Reyes, potential quantity and/or grade of minerals, the potential size of the mineralized zone, metallurgical recoveries, and the Companys exploration and development plans in Mexico. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts which address events, results, outcomes, or developments that the Company expects to occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Companys management on the date the statements are made, and they involve several risks and uncertainties. Certain material assumptions regarding such forward-looking statements were made, including without limitation, assumptions regarding the price of gold, silver and copper; the accuracy of mineral resource estimations; that there will be no material adverse change affecting the Company or its properties; that all required approvals will be obtained, including concession renewals and permitting; that political and legal developments will be consistent with current expectations; that currency and exchange rates will be consistent with current levels; and that there will be no significant disruptions affecting the Company or its properties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements involve significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These risks include, but are not limited to: risks related to uncertainties inherent in the preparation of mineral resource estimates, including but not limited to changes to the cost assumptions, variations in quantity of mineralized material, grade or recovery rates, changes to geotechnical or hydrogeological considerations, failure of plant, equipment or processes, changes to availability of power or the power rates, ability to maintain social license, changes to interest or tax rates, changes in project parameters, delays and costs inherent to consulting and accommodating rights of local communities, environmental risks, title risks, including concession renewal, commodity price and exchange rate fluctuations, risks relating to COVID-19, delays in or failure to receive access agreements or amended permits, risks inherent in the estimation of mineral resources; and risks associated with executing the Companys objectives and strategies, including costs and expenses, as well as those risk factors discussed in the Company's most recently filed management's discussion and analysis, as well as its annual information form dated August 21, 2023, available on www.sedarplus.ca. Except as required by the securities disclosure laws and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if managements beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cb598928-031b-4823-9f59-30aa029059a2

May 2 2023 Resource May 2 2023 Resource

Source: Prime Mining Corp.
Perth, Jan. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

QUARTERLY REPORT INVESTOR WEBINAR / CALL

Perth, Western Australia/January 17, 2024/Perseus Mining Limited (ASX/TSX: PRU) is hosting an investor webinar and conference call to discuss its December 2023 Quarterly Results, which are anticipated for release around 8:30am AEDT on Wednesday January 24, 2024.

CALL DETAILS

Australia: Wednesday January 24, 2024Perth  6:00amSydney/Melbourne  9:00am Canada: Tuesday January 23, 2024Vancouver  2:00pm Toronto  5:00pm UK: Tuesday January 23, 2024London  10:00pm

Register for the investor webinar at the link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3puWYfHcSVyB8ddNzb2ytA

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

To join the webinar via telephone, please use one of the following numbers and enter the Webinar ID: 893 3014 5956

For higher quality, dial a number based on your current location:

Location Australia Singapore Canada USA New Zealand United Kingdom Dial in Number +61 8 7150 1149 +61 3 7018 2005 +65 3165 1065 +1 778 907 2071 +1 669 900 9128 +64 9 884 6780 +44 203 901 7895

ASX/TSX CODE: PRUREGISTERED OFFICE:Level 2437 Roberts RoadSubiaco WA 6008Telephone: +61 8 6144 1700Email: [email protected] ABN: 27 106 808 986WWW.PERSEUSMINING.COM CONTACTS:Jeff QuartermaineManaging Director & CEO [email protected] Nathan RyanMedia Relations [email protected]

International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/keGBWoa4iM

A recording of the conference call will be made available via Perseuss website at www.perseusmining.com.

This announcement was approved for release by Jeff Quartermaine, Executive Chairman.

Source: Perseus Mining Limited
Vehicle carrier vessel "BYD EXPLORER NO.1" arrives at Xiaomo International Logistics Port in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 14, 2024. "BYD EXPLORER NO.1," a vehicle carrier vessel leased to Chinese automaker BYD, held its maiden voyage ceremony on Monday at a port in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province.

With more than 5,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs) on board, it set sail for the ports of Vlissingen in the Netherlands and Bremerhaven in Germany.

It is the first vessel in the shipping fleet of BYD, which has joined a number of Chinese automakers in accelerating car exports by operating their own shipping fleets. (Xinhua)

SHENZHEN, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- "BYD EXPLORER NO.1," a vehicle carrier vessel leased to Chinese automaker BYD, held its maiden voyage ceremony on Monday at a port in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province.

With more than 5,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs) on board, it will set sail for the ports of Vlissingen in the Netherlands and Bremerhaven in Germany.

It is the first vessel in the shipping fleet of BYD, which has joined a number of Chinese automakers in accelerating car exports by operating their own shipping fleets.

According to China International Marine Containers (Group) Co., Ltd. (CIMC), the vessel was built by CIMC Raffles, a subsidiary of CIMC, for international ship management company Zodiac Maritime, and was leased to BYD.

The vessel was delivered on Tuesday to a construction base in Longkou, east China's Shandong Province, before sailing to Yantai Port to be loaded with the first batch of 1,389 NEVs. On Sunday, the vessel arrived at Shenzhen and was loaded with the second batch of some 4,000 NEVs.

According to China's General Administration of Customs, China's auto exports surged to 5.22 million vehicles in 2023, up 57.4 percent year on year.

As China's automobile industry embraces a new export era, automakers are grappling with challenges such as soaring rents, shipping capacity constraints, and intense competition for available car carriers.

Data from global shipping research institution Clarksons Research shows that from August 2020 to the end of November 2023, the one year time charter rate for a 6,500 Car Equivalent Unit (CEU) pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) had soared from 10,000 U.S. dollars per day to 115,000 dollars per day, an increase of more than 10 times.

To bolster automobile exports, major Chinese automakers, including BYD, Chery, and SAIC, have ventured into establishing their own fleets.

Notably, Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Limited successfully implemented an order for two BYD PCTCs on Jan. 23, 2023, while Chery Group subsequently announced plans to establish its own global shipping fleet. SAIC's Anji Logistics, in the past two years, has also ordered a number of large car carriers exceeding 7,000 vehicles each from the Jiangnan Shipyard.

In recent years, the concentration of the global automobile shipping market has remained high, with automakers in Japan, Republic of Korea (ROK) and other countries having deep ties with the transportation link.

According to data from the research institute of China Merchants Bank, as of November 2021, the global capacity of the top 10 car transport shipping companies -- mainly from Japan, ROK and European countries -- accounted for 59.42 percent of the market share, while the car transport capacity of Japan and ROK is mostly occupied by their domestic car manufacturers.

Previously, China's status as a major auto exporter was limited, resulting in minimal emphasis on building an independent shipping fleet. Currently, China has 39 car carrier vessels with a total of 115,000 CEU, representing only 2.8 percent of the global shipping capacity, according to Clarkson Research.

As China's shipbuilding industry flourishes and automobile exports surge, the trend of Chinese automakers utilizing domestically-built ships for transportation has become more evident.

At present, Chinese shipyards have undertaken the vast majority of new orders for car carriers in the world. For instance, Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Limited are booked solid until 2028.

Upon the delivery of the new ship orders, Chinese shipping fleets will significantly increase its global proportion of car carrier capacity, and are expected to rise to the fourth position, trailing behind Japan, ROK, and Norway.

Industry experts stress that achieving high cost performance is pivotal for Chinese cars' global competitiveness. Through long-term collaborations with car manufacturers, local shipping companies can provide more competitive transportation solutions.

Moreover, establishing shipping fleets also holds strategic significance for Chinese automakers to ensure security and stability of the supply chain.

Xie Xiaowen, an expert with the China Communications and Transportation Association, notes that the acquisition of ships by automakers symbolizes the continuous development and internationalization of China's automobile industry.

"For automakers, buying ships can ensure the stability of the export business, reduce transportation costs, and ensure that products are delivered to overseas customers on time," Xie said.

Chen Jia, a researcher at Renmin University of China, believes that Chinese automakers shipping fleets are poised to break the longstanding monopoly of foreign shipping companies on crucial routes and markets, laying a more solid foundation for the global trajectory of Chinese automakers. 

Vehicle carrier vessel "BYD EXPLORER NO.1" arrives at Xiaomo International Logistics Port in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 14, 2024. "BYD EXPLORER NO.1," a vehicle carrier vessel leased to Chinese automaker BYD, held its maiden voyage ceremony on Monday at a port in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province.

With more than 5,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs) on board, it set sail for the ports of Vlissingen in the Netherlands and Bremerhaven in Germany.

It is the first vessel in the shipping fleet of BYD, which has joined a number of Chinese automakers in accelerating car exports by operating their own shipping fleets. (Xinhua)

This photo taken on Jan. 15, 2024 shows a maiden voyage ceremony for vehicle carrier vessel "BYD EXPLORER NO.1" held at Xiaomo International Logistics Port in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. "BYD EXPLORER NO.1," a vehicle carrier vessel leased to Chinese automaker BYD, held its maiden voyage ceremony on Monday at a port in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province.

With more than 5,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs) on board, it set sail for the ports of Vlissingen in the Netherlands and Bremerhaven in Germany.

It is the first vessel in the shipping fleet of BYD, which has joined a number of Chinese automakers in accelerating car exports by operating their own shipping fleets. (Xinhua)

Vehicle carrier vessel "BYD EXPLORER NO.1" arrives at Xiaomo International Logistics Port in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 14, 2024. "BYD EXPLORER NO.1," a vehicle carrier vessel leased to Chinese automaker BYD, held its maiden voyage ceremony on Monday at a port in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province.

With more than 5,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs) on board, it set sail for the ports of Vlissingen in the Netherlands and Bremerhaven in Germany.

It is the first vessel in the shipping fleet of BYD, which has joined a number of Chinese automakers in accelerating car exports by operating their own shipping fleets. (Xinhua)
MONACO, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE: STNG) (Scorpio Tankers or the Company) announced today that it has entered into an agreement to sell an MR product tanker, and has exercised the purchase options on five ships.

Sale of an MR Product Tanker

The Company has entered into an agreement to sell the 2015 built MR product tanker, STI Tribeca, for $39.1 million. The sale of this vessel is expected to close within the first quarter of 2024.

The Exercise of Purchase Options on Five Ships

The Company has given notice to exercise its purchase options on one 2015 built MR product tanker (STI Westminster) and four 2014 built Handymax product tankers (STI Brixton, STI Comandante, STI Pimlico and STI Finchley). The purchases, which are expected to occur in the first half of 2024, will result in a debt reduction of $61.1 million for the Company.

About Scorpio Tankers Inc.

Scorpio Tankers Inc. is a provider of marine transportation of petroleum products worldwide. Scorpio Tankers Inc. currently owns, lease finances or bareboat charters-in 111 product tankers (39 LR2 tankers, 58 MR tankers and 14 Handymax tankers) with an average age of 8.0 years. Additional information about the Company is available at the Companys website www.scorpiotankers.com, which is not a part of this press release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forwardlooking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forwardlooking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forwardlooking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts. The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "target," "project," "likely," "may," "will," "would," "could" and similar expressions identify forwardlooking statements.

The forwardlooking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, managements examination of historical operating trends, data contained in the Companys records and other data available from third parties. Although management believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond the Companys control, there can be no assurance that the Company will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. The Company undertakes no obligation, and specifically declines any obligation, except as required by law, to publicly update or revise any forwardlooking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in the Companys view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forwardlooking statements include unforeseen liabilities, future capital expenditures, revenues, expenses, earnings, synergies, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition, losses, future prospects, business and management strategies in response to epidemic and other public health concerns including any effect on demand for petroleum products and the transportation thereof, expansion and growth of the Companys operations, risks relating to the integration of assets or operations of entities that it has or may in the future acquire and the possibility that the anticipated synergies and other benefits of such acquisitions may not be realized within expected timeframes or at all, the failure of counterparties to fully perform their contracts with the Company, the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand for tanker vessel capacity, changes in the Companys operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for the Companys vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, charter counterparty performance, ability to obtain financing and comply with covenants in such financing arrangements, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, including the impact of the conflict in Ukraine and the developments in the Middle East, including the armed conflict in Israel and Gaza, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessels breakdowns and instances of offhires, and other factors. Please see the Company's filings with the SEC for a more complete discussion of certain of these and other risks and uncertainties.

Contact Information

Scorpio Tankers Inc.

James Doyle  Head of Corporate Development & Investor Relations

Tel: +1 646-432-1678

Email: [email protected]

Source: Scorpio Tankers Inc.
SIXT and Stellantis Reach Agreement for the Purchase of Up to 250,000 Vehicles, Laying the Foundation for Further Global Expansion

Up to 250,000 latest generation Stellantis vehicles will enrich SIXTs rental fleet across Europe and North America by 2026, including Stellantis wide portfolio range of iconic brands and vehicle classes

Stellantis and SIXT share ambitious decarbonization strategy and customer-centric approach with cutting-edge technologies at the heart of their products and services

Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis: With todays amazing announcement with SIXT , we deliver on our commitments to offer the customer clean, safe and affordable mobility seen now in breakthrough vehicles and technology.

Konstantin Sixt, Co-CEO of SIXT: This agreement with Stellantis, a progressive full range partner, underscores our promise to provide our customers with the best choice for all their mobility needs. It enables us to accelerate our growth strategy EXPECT BETTER, after already achieving global revenue growth of almost 20 percent in the first nine months of 2023.

AMSTERDAM & PULLACH, January 16, 2024  Premium mobility service provider SIXT and Stellantis, one of the worlds leading automakers, announce they have come to a multi-billion euro agreement under which SIXT could buy up to 250,000 vehicles for its rental fleet in its corporate countries across Europe and North America over the next three years. First significant delivery volumes will take place as early as the first quarter of 2024 and will continue throughout the year.

SIXT rental customers will benefit from an attractive choice of vehicles of Stellantis award-winning brands including Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroen, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep  , Lancia, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, Vauxhall and Maserati. The deliveries to SIXT will include a variety of classes from city cars to SUVs to vans and trucks (including 7- and 9-seaters) as well as a full range of propulsion types (including battery electric vehicles) featuring the latest software and infotainment tech features.

Specific order quantities, order compositions and delivery dates beyond the volumes that have already been planned for 2024 can be flexibly agreed between both companies considering fleet requirements and demand.

Additionally, Stellantis and SIXT will also explore potential cooperation opportunities in various regions around the world including Mobilisights, Stellantis data as a service (DaaS) business, to provide and develop data packages for developing and licensing innovative business-to-business products, applications, and services which will be made available to SIXT. In the course of the deliveries by Stellantis, the number of fully connected vehicles in the SIXT rental fleet will increase significantly and thus the number of vehicles in which telemetry data such as fuel level and mileage can automatically be transmitted to SIXT when a vehicle is returned. This will allow SIXT to streamline handling at branches benefiting customers with even faster processing and even better vehicle availability.

Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis: With todays amazing announcement with SIXT, we deliver on our commitments to offer the customer clean, safe and affordable mobility seen now in breakthrough vehicles and technology. Within our iconic brands, we offer a vehicle that fits practically every need, price point, and lifestyle. This partnership with SIXT enables current and potential Stellantis brand customers to immerse themselves in our newest offerings with the most advanced propulsion, vehicle connectivity and thoughtful comfort. Its the ultimate test drive and a critical checkpoint for us in the upcoming years as Stellantis transforms into a sustainable mobility tech company.

Konstantin Sixt, Co-CEO of SIXT: We are very much looking forward to welcoming a large number of exciting vehicles of iconic Stellantis brands to our fleet. This agreement with a progressive, full-range partner underscores our promise to provide our customers with the best choice for all their mobility needs. It enables us to accelerate our growth strategy EXPECT BETTER, after already achieving global revenue growth of almost 20 percent in the first nine months of 2023. This ambition applies to European countries, but of course also to the U.S., the largest rental market in the world and the most important growth market for our company.

Both companies are dedicated to making mobility more sustainable. As part of its Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, Stellantis announced the ambition of reaching a 100% passenger car battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales mix in Europe and 50% passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in the United States by 2030. To achieve these sales targets, the Company is securing approximately 400 GWh of battery capacity. Stellantis is on track to become a carbon net zero corporation by 2038, all scopes included, with single-digit percentage compensation of remaining emissions.

By purchasing Stellantis vehicles with state-of-the-art propulsion, including battery electric vehicles (BEV), the agreement also aligns with SIXTs goal to significantly decrease the CO 2 footprint of its rental fleet (including the goal of reaching a share of 70-90 percent electrified vehicles in Europe by 2030). This is an integral part of SIXTs approach to environmental sustainability besides investing in its own charging infrastructure, further expanding the SIXT App into an ecosystem for sustainable mobility offers, including access to hundreds of thousands of public charging points as well as reducing the CO 2 emissions generated at its own branches and sites as quickly and as far as possible.

# # #

About Stellantis

Stellantis N.V. (NYSE: STLA/ Euronext Milan: STLAM/ Euronext Paris: STLAP) is one of the worlds leading automakers aiming to provide clean, safe and affordable freedom of mobility to all. Its best known for its unique portfolio of iconic and innovative brands including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroen, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, Vauxhall, Free2move and Leasys. Stellantis is executing its Dare Forward 2030, a bold strategic plan that paves the way to achieve the ambitious target of becoming a carbon net zero mobility tech company by 2038, while creating added value for all stakeholders. For more information, visit www.stellantis.com

About SIXT

Sixt SE with its HQ in Pullach near Munich, is a leading international provider of high-quality mobility services. With its products SIXT rent, SIXT share, SIXT ride and SIXT+ on the mobility platform ONE the company offers a uniquely integrated premium mobility service across the fields of vehicle and commercial vehicle rental, car sharing, ride hailing and car subscriptions. The products can be booked through the SIXT app, which also integrates the services of its renowned mobility partners. SIXT has a presence in more than 100 countries around the globe. The company stands for consistent customer orientation, a lived culture of innovation with strong technological competence, a high proportion of premium vehicles in the fleet and an attractive price-performance ratio. In 2022 Sixt Group achieved a record consolidated pre-tax earnings of EUR 550 million and a significant increase in consolidated revenues to EUR 3.07 billion. Sixt SE has been listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange since 1986 (ISIN ordinary share: DE0007231326, ISIN preference share: DE0007231334). https://about.sixt.com

Media Contacts

Stellantis

Fernao SILVEIRA +31 6 43 25 43 41  [email protected]

Nathalie ROUSSEL +33 6 87 77 41 82  [email protected]

[email protected]

SIXT

Johannes Gunst

+49 (0)89 74444 6700

[email protected]

Attachment
Loftus is the companys first CCO and brings more than 30 years of experience as a consulting leader and business executive

SEATTLE, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Slalom, the global business and technology consulting company, today announced Amy Loftus will serve as the companys first Chief Customer Officer. Bringing a wealth of experience and innovation to the position, Loftus will play a pivotal role in steering the company in a recommitment to customer-centricity. Loftus will also continue to serve as President of the US East Region for Slalom.



With a focus on enhancing Slalom's strengths in discovering, designing, and building powerful customer experiences, new ways of working and business model breakthroughs, Loftus will lead new industry investments to help customers adapt and thrive as businesses undergo dynamic changes. Her overarching responsibilities encompass delivering a more consistent and enriched customer journey across the diverse global markets in which Slalom operates.

Amy's appointment marks a significant milestone for Slalom as we reinforce our commitment to deliver unparalleled customer experiences. Her strategic vision and leadership will help us set a new standard for excellence in the professional services industry, said Brad Jackson, Slalom co-founder and CEO. Amy is known as an authentic leader, and someone who takes extraordinary care in building close relationships with our customers. Shes the perfect choice to lead us in this next stage of Slaloms evolution.

With a focus on the future, Loftus will drive increased investment in industry skills to deeply understand Slaloms customers' needs and deliver practical, end to end solutions relevant to their operating sectors. Furthermore, she will lead efforts to enhance the company's focus on delivering customer solutions through accelerators that incorporate cutting-edge technologies. These enable Slaloms customer-centric approach that aligns with the ever-evolving needs of its clients.

This is a transformative journey for Slalom, with the end goal of empowering all our employees to bring the best of Slalom and help our customers build better tomorrows faster, said Loftus. By the end of 2024, the majority of our leaders will be focused on helping their teams drive towards a customers specific agenda. By cultivating a culture of organizational excellence, our people will be better equipped to deliver the unmatched level of service that Slalom provides as an industry leader in innovation and growth.

Loftus has over 30 years of experience working in the consulting and health and life sciences industry sectors in a variety of national and global leadership roles across North America, Europe, and Asia. Prior to Slalom, she led significant global customer relationships and industry teams at Accenture and was an executive for an award-winning health engagement start-up that went public.

In addition to her professional experience, Loftus is active in her local community and serves on the executive committee of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the board of Compass Pro Bono and is a Vice Chair on the Board of Trustees of Bryn Mawr College.

For media inquiries, contact [email protected].

About Slalom

Slalom is a next-generation professional services company creating value at the intersection of business, technology, and humanity. With our fiercely human approach, we deeply understand our customersand their customersto deliver practical, end-to-end solutions that drive meaningful impact. Backed by over 700 technology partners, our nearly 12,000 team members in eight countries and 49 offices help people and organizations dream bigger, move faster, and build better tomorrows for all. Were honored to be consistently recognized as a great place to work, including being one of Fortunes 100 Best Companies to Work For eight years running. Learn more at slalom.com.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a year where student journalists are playing an increasingly crucial role in the news ecosystem, the Student Press Law Center (SPLC) celebrates its 50th anniversary as the sole legal organization exclusively devoted to supporting student journalists. As student press freedoms face unprecedented challenges, this year's Student Press Freedom Day on Feb. 22, adopts the theme Powerfully Persistent.

SPLC's half-century milestone underscores the critical need to safeguard the First Amendment rights of student journalists who are navigating a landscape fraught with challenges, said Gary Green, SPLC's executive director and a veteran journalist. As they navigate the complexities of censorship, these students not only fill critical news gaps, but also redefine the future of journalism, proving that their voices are not just vital, but indispensable.

SPLC empowers student journalists with confidence, countering censorship and other press freedom challenges through a legal hotline, pre-publication review, attorney referral network, advocacy and ongoing support. Its initiatives include comprehensive training and resources to equip students with the legal knowledge necessary to report boldly in their communities and to champion the First Amendment.

Many school administrators attempt to water down stories or apply pressure on students to avoid hot-button topics and paint the school in a positive light, but that is not journalism, said Green. Student media are essential in informing their campus community and are also playing an increasingly larger role in covering local news, especially in news deserts where their presence fills the void.

Beyond being a source of information for millions of Americans, student-reported news holds a transformative power. It not only shapes the stories they write, but leaves an enduring imprint on the journalists they become.

SPLC helped me when I was a troublesome high school journalist and the board shut down our paper, said Nicholas Kristof, a Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign and domestic opinion columnist for The New York Times and author of Chasing Hope (Knopf, May 2024). SPLC's support in my early student journalism years significantly boosted the confidence that defines my current journalistic path.

Programs like the SPLC-coordinated New Voices movement play a pivotal role in restoring and protecting student press freedoms. It empowers students to advocate for state laws that counter the impact of the 1988 Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier Supreme Court decision, which created a First Amendment carve-out for student journalists and permits school administrators broad discretion to censor them.

Recent instances of student journalists exhibiting Powerfully Persistent actions in telling important stories or advancing the New Voices movement include:

Mountain View (California) High Schools student journalist, Hanna Olson, whose newspaper staff faced pressure to censor a story about sexual harassment at school. After publishing the story and facing repercussions, including the removal of their adviser, the students persisted and SPLC intervened, connecting them with a local attorney to demand restoration.

Wisconsin high school junior Simon Mehring, who, after attending the SPLC New Voices Student Leaders Institute, spearheaded the latest round of advocacy for the New Voices bill in Wisconsin. As a result, the bill has gained tremendous momentum, and if successful, will make Wisconsin the 18th state to restore student press freedom.

As SPLC celebrates its 50th year, the organization appeals for contributions at www.splc.org/donate to promote, support and defend the rights of student journalists and faculty advisers nationwide. SPLC remains committed to championing the First Amendment, educating high school and college students on the law, and ensuring their voices contribute to a healthy democratic society.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0323b796-a0c9-404f-9fb8-39e5073eddb9https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f43361e9-d043-48d9-acaa-6a50483ce941https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5a1a8c02-faef-4bcd-8e3e-61d0fd3e3a8e

Media Contact: Amy Summers 212-757-3419 | [email protected] Pitch Publicity

Student Press Freedom Day: "Powerfully Persistent" As student press freedoms face unprecedented challenges, this year's Student Press Freedom Day on Feb. 22, adopts the theme Powerfully Persistent. SPLC New Voices Protect Student Press Freedoms Mountain View (California) High Schools student journalist, Hanna Olson, whose newspaper staff faced pressure to censor a story about sexual harassment at school. After publishing the story and facing repercussions, including the removal of their adviser, the students persisted and SPLC intervened, connecting them with a local attorney to demand restoration. New Voices Bill in Wisconsin Wisconsin high school junior Simon Mehring, who, after attending the SPLC New Voices Student Leaders Institute, spearheaded the latest round of advocacy for the New Voices bill in Wisconsin. As a result, the bill has gained tremendous momentum, and if successful, will make Wisconsin the 18th state to restore student press freedom.

Source: Student Press Law Center
TORONTO, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today Volaris Group announced changes to its executive team, building out its senior leadership ranks to position Volaris for future growth and scale.

Mark Miller will take on the newly created role of Executive Chairman and will continue to oversee the Volaris Operating Group on behalf of Constellation Software. He will continue as a Director and Chief Operating Officer of Constellation, and he will remain Chairman of Lumine Group. Additionally, Modaxo, Volaris Groups people transport division, will continue to report to Mark.

As Executive Chairman of Volaris Mark will continue to drive overall strategy, provide oversight on complex M&A transactions, and support development of senior business leaders.

Michael (Mike) Dufton is appointed as Volaris Group CEO. Mike was previously the Managing Director of the Dufton Portfolio inside Volaris Group and will continue as CEO of Vencora.

2023 was another important year of growth for Volaris, said Mark Miller, Executive Chairman of Volaris Group. As we looked at ways to sustain our pace of acquisition activity and organic growth, while taking on projects such as the recent spin-out of Lumine Group and continued growth of the Modaxo portfolio, we saw a need to build out our executive team.

This appointment comes after another strong year for Volaris Group and provides a foundation to both continue to acquire compelling software businesses, while supporting Volaris 200+ business units as they innovate and grow.

The Volaris Group model is built on a foundation of continuous learning, growth and development and I am excited to add my passion and expertise to this cause, said Mike Dufton, newly appointed Volaris Group CEO. I have been personally involved in the Volaris Group story for more than a decade now and I continue to be inspired by the great work that our teams are doing to acquire and grow great software businesses. Sustaining this legacy and helping enable our leaders in their work will be my number one objective.

About Volaris GroupVolaris acquires, strengthens, and grows vertical market technology companies. As an Operating Group of Constellation Software Inc., Volaris is all about strengthening businesses within the markets they compete, enabling them to grow  whether that growth comes through organic measures such as new initiatives and product development, day-to-day business, or through complementary acquisitions. Learn more at www.volarisgroup.com.

For more information: Ryan HillVolaris GroupTel: +1 416-831-0305[email protected]

Source: Volaris Group Inc
Zero Hash will partner with VBNL to advocate for fair and responsible regulation of crypto

AMSTERDAM, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zero Hash, the leading global crypto infrastructure platform, today announced that it has joined VBNL, the Netherlands leading trade association for crypto and digital asset industry, established to promote higher standards of conduct.



Zero Hash looks forward to bringing its experience of adhering to the highest standards with regulators in the U.S to the Netherlands community while joining forces to build trusted bridges between members, industry participants, regulators, and policymakers.

We believe uniting Zero Hashs voice with the members of VBNL provides the best forum to achieve the right regulatory outcomes for the Netherlands and, more broadly, the EU crypto economy, said Celie Verstelle, EU Non-Executive Director at Zero Hash and ex Chief Compliance Officer at Mollie. We look forward to collaborating with the VBNL community on how we can collectively adhere to new MiCA regulations and move the EU towards greater harmonization of crypto standards.

We are thrilled to welcome Zero Hash as a member and a dedicated contributor to VBNL and the Netherlands crypto community, expressed Bert de Groot, President at VBNL. Zero Hash shares a common DNA and commitment to advancing standards and promoting trust within the crypto industry. Together, we look forward to fostering fair and responsible regulations that safeguard customers without impeding innovation.

About Zero Hash

Zero Hash is a B2B2C crypto-as-a-service infrastructure platform that allows any platform to embed digital assets natively into their own customer experience quickly and easily through a matter of API endpoints. Zero Hashs turnkey solution handles the entire backend complexity and regulatory licensing required to offer crypto products.

Zero Hash Holdings, through its subsidiaries, powers neo-banks, broker-dealers, payment groups as well as non-financial brands to offer digital asset trading and custody, crypto-backed rewards and round-ups programs.

Zero Hash Holdings is backed by investors, including Point72 Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and NYCA.

Zero Hash LLC is a FinCen-registered Money Service Business and a regulated Money Transmitter that can operate in 51 US jurisdictions. Zero Hash LLC and Zero Hash Liquidity Services LLC are licensed to engage in virtual currency business activity by the New York State Department of Financial Services. In Canada, Zero Hash LLC is registered as a Money Service Business with FINTRAC. Zero Hash Liquidity Services works with some of the leading global crypto market makers including DV Chain and Amber Group.

Zero Hash Australia Pty Ltd. is registered with AUSTRAC as a Digital Currency Exchange Provider, with DCE registered provider number DCE100804170-001. This registration enables Zero Hash to offer its crypto services in Australia. Zero Hash Australia Pty Ltd. is registered on the New Zealand register of financial service providers, with Financial Service Provider (FSP) number FSP1004503. A FSP in New Zealand is a registration and does not mean that Zero Hash Australia Pty Ltd. is licensed by a New Zealand regulator to provide crypto services. Zero Hash Australia Pty Ltd.s registration on the New Zealand register of financial service providers does not mean that Zero Hash Australia is subject to active regulation or oversight by a New Zealand regulator.

Connect with Zero Hash on LinkedIn, or visit www.zerohash.com for more information.

Zero Hash Contact

Shaun Okeeffe

(855) 744-7333

[email protected]

Disclosures

Zero Hash services and product offerings may not be available in all jurisdictions. Zero Hash accounts are not subject to FDIC or SIPC protections, or any such equivalent protections that may exist outside of the US.
Perth, Western Australia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 15, 2024) - Bannerman Energy (ASX: BMN) (OTCQX: BNNLF) is pleased to announce the company is participating in the upcoming 121 Mining Investment Conference in Cape Town.

121 Mining Investment Cape Town will be hosting over 125 mining companies and more than 550 sophisticated investors for two days of pre-arranged, targeted 1-2-1 meetings.

Alongside the curated schedule of pre-booked meetings matching investors with appropriate projects, the conference programme will provide expert commentary and the latest market intelligence on key industry developments.

This years event is being held on February 5-6.

Any investors who would like to attend 121 Mining Investment Cape Town can register for a free pass here: https://hubs.la/Q02f4pD60

About 121 Mining Investment

The 121 Mining Investment global event series connects portfolio managers and analysts from institutional funds, private equity groups and family offices with mining company management teams for 1-2-1, private in-person meetings.

121 Mining Investment has a global portfolio, currently covering London, New York, Cape Town, Las Vegas and Singapore, as well as online editions throughout the year.

About Bannerman Energy

Bannerman Energy is an Australian listed uranium development company focused on the development of its flagship Etango Uranium project in Namibia. The Project has been strongly de-risked through extensive drilling, technical evaluation and operation of a process demonstration plant. Etango is now fully permitted with the Mining Licence granted and all requisite environmental approvals in place. With these key milestones achieved, Bannerman has a clearly defined pathway to development. Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) studies for Etango are well progressed in parallel with advancing offtake and project finance workstreams. These activities are steadily culminating in a push towards a targeted positive Final Investment Decision (FID) for Etango, market conditions permitting, during 2024.

For additional information, please contact:

Bannerman Energy

Emma Culver

Communications Coordinator

+61 (0)8 9381 1436

[email protected]

https://bannermanenergy.com/
Access to State-of-the Art Processes, and Added Capacity to Accelerate Growth

Fremont, California and Bloomington, Minnesota--(Newsfile Corp. - January 16, 2024) - Enablence Technologies (TSXV: ENA) a leading provider of optical chips for datacom, telecom, automotive and industrial automation applications and Polar Semiconductor, a U.S. manufacturer of high-performance, analog and power semiconductor devices and sensors have announced a strategic partnership to develop and manufacture optical semiconductors used by world-leading transceiver companies.

As part of its strategic growth plan, Enablence has recently ramped up product development efforts releasing new families of Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM), and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) optical devices to the market. At the same time, the company has made significant investments in critical tool sets, including etching, lithography and deposition process technologies designed to ramp up production of its planar lightwave circuits (PLCs) to meet demand. Planar lightwave circuit technology (PLCs) provides a higher volume of optical integration in a smaller footprint, offering a lower cost, lower power, high-capacity advantages for systems using wavelength-division multiplexing. With many new products in the development pipeline designed to address datacom, telecom, LiDAR, and industrial automation growth opportunities, the collaboration with Polar Semiconductor provides Enablence access to high quality, leading-edge tool sets, proven production processes and capacity to meet new demand. For Polar semiconductor, this partnership provides it with an opportunity to expand its footprint within the optoelectronics market which is projected to grow substantially over the next several years.

"This partnership strengthens Polar Semiconductor's expansion into optoelectronics manufacturing, something we see as a strategic growth segment," commented Rajesh Appat, vice president of technology development, Polar Semiconductor. "Our primary goal is to work closely with Enablence Technologies to help deliver best-in-class, quality optoelectronics products to the market by applying our 60 plus years of proven expertise in technology and process development."

"This partnership provides synergistic growth opportunities for both companies," noted Todd Haugen, CEO, Enablence. "It strengthens our production capabilities, provides us with new capacity, and immediately brings online critical etching, deposition and lithography processes which will help accelerate the development and release of our advanced, new optical products to the market."

About Enablence

Enablence Technologies Inc. is a publicly traded company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV: ENA). Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada with US operations in Fremont, California, the Company designs, manufactures, and sells advanced optical components, primarily in the form of planar light wave circuits (PLC) and LiDAR technologies on silicon-based chips. Enablence products support a broad range of customers in the multi-billion, datacenter, telecom, automotive, and industrial automation industries. Enablence operates a wafer fab in Fremont, California with design centers in Canada and China, supported by sales and marketing operations worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.enablence.com/.

About Polar Semiconductor

Headquartered in Bloomington, Minnesota, Polar Semiconductor is a US based foundry with more than 60 years of experience manufacturing power semiconductor devices and sensors that serve automotive, consumer and industrial markets. Polar's semiconductor manufacturing facilities operate with state-of-the-art automation and redundant production support systems to manufacture IC (BCD, BiCMOS) and discrete (MOS, IGBT) 8-inch silicon wafers for the power and sensor markets. For more information, visit https://polarsemi.com/.

# # #

For more information contact:

Media and Market Analysts

Alison Parnell

Hill & Kincaid Marketing & PR

[email protected]

Investor Relations

Ali Mahdavi, Capital Markets & Investor Relations

[email protected]

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding the Company based on current expectations and assumptions of management, which involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties associated with our business and the economic environment in which the business operates. All such statements are forward-looking statements under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on current expectations that involve several risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from those anticipated. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release, and the assumptions on which such forward-looking statements are made, are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We caution our readers of this news release not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements as several factors could cause actual results or conditions to differ materially from current expectations. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect the Company's operations are set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure documents that can be found on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) under Enablence's issuer profile. Enablence does not intend, and disclaims any obligation, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether because of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/194487
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 15, 2024) - iMining Technologies Inc. (TSXV: IMIN) ("iMining"), a leading publicly listed technology company, is thrilled to announce that its subsidiary, AiMining Technologies Inc. (the "Company" or "AiMining"), will participate in AI House Davos.

AI House Davos, taking place in parallel to the World Economic Forum 2024, is bringing together policymakers, academics, and industry leaders to discuss artificial intelligence's potential and tackle the challenges it presents. As global awareness of this new technology grows, there's a pressing need for dialogue to pose questions and offer solutions.

AI House Davos, perfectly positioned in the heart of the Davos promenade, offers seamless access to all the key events in Davos.

Senior management of AiMining Technologies, will participate in several panels and roundtable discussions, including Unleashing the Power of LLMs in the Enterprise and Transforming Healthcare with AI.

"AI House Davos is a vital platform for engaging in critical dialogues that shape the future of AI. As AI continues to transform industries, it's essential to gather and explore opportunities to collaborate and build responsible and trusted AI systems." said Khurram Shroff, Chairman and CEO of iMining Technologies. "We're proud to contribute to this conversation by participating in AI House Davos."

iMining Technologies, a global leader in exponential technologies, particularly AI, is dedicated to exploring collaborative opportunities within the flourishing MENA region. The company's presence at AI House Davos underscores its commitment to furthering the AI conversation and fostering innovation in the space.

About iMining Technologies Inc.

iMining Technologies Inc. is a publicly listed technology company which together with its subsidiaries acquires, builds, and manages future technology companies in Canada. The Company's industry specific technology businesses provide specialized and innovative solutions in future technologies and serves private sector markets. iMining Technologies Inc. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About AiMining Technologies Inc.

AiMining Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of iMining Technologies Inc., is a start-up that stands at the forefront of Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovation. Comprising a dedicated applied research lab focused on collaboration with esteemed institutions and a commercialization program geared towards market engagement, AiMining seamlessly integrates into iMining's technology portfolio and is committed to advancing responsible AI development.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Signed "Khurram Shroff"

Khurram Shroff, President & CEO

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, please contact:

iMining Corporate Offices:

Saleem Moosa, CFO and Director

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 1-604-602-4935

Toll Free: 1-866-602-4935

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/194322
Dubai, United Arab Emirates--(Newsfile Corp. - January 16, 2024) - XVXT, a proprietary trading firm based in Dubai with a presence in Europe and the United States, announces its investment in the continuous training of its traders. The firm is expanding its educational and training resources, providing traders with essential tools for their growth and success in the field, from market analysis to risk management strategies.

There is a wave of extremely well-prepared traders, with exceptional and consistent operations, coming from a pronounced increase of 184% over the last year of traders who have completed at least one sector training in the last 12 months. Additionally, after training, traders operate for the firm not only seeking returns but also as a platform to practice and perfect their skills.

Looking to the future, XVXT is planning significant expansion. The firm aims to triple its staff by the end of next year to accommodate the growing number of traders joining monthly. In addition, they are in the process of establishing an exclusive training center for their traders and opening new offices in London, United Kingdom. These initiatives highlight XVXT's commitment to creating a trading ecosystem that is educationally enriching.

The evolution driven by proprietary trading firms like XVXT is a testament to the untapped potential that exists within trading when the barrier of initial capital and responsibility for its loss is removed. By providing traders with the tools, capital, and education needed, XVXT and other firms are not only changing the way trading is done but also who can participate in it, marking the beginning of a more inclusive and diverse era in the financial world.

In short XVXT aims to be a dynamic player in the world of financial markets, redefining the landscape of proprietary trading with its focus on diversified trading and modern tools. The firm collaborates with independent, regulated brokers to offer a transparent and unbiased trading environment. This setup provides traders with a blend of safety, choice, and integrity in every transaction.

Media Contact:

Name: Linda Miller Position:

Head of PR Phone: +1(646) 814-6090

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://xvxt.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/193653
The World Economic Forum (WEF) on Monday called for a boost to global cooperation, in order to meet the demands of economic uncertainty.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Family members of fallen soldiers described tears rolling down their faces when they listened to this passionate tribute song to America's heroes for the first time.

ARLINGTON, Va. , Jan. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Chris Nelson, a newly emerged country music artist and retired Army veteran, has struck a chord with audiences nationwide with the release of his new single, "No Flag Higher." This heartfelt and patriotic tribute is an ode to his fellow fallen heroes who sacrificed their lives to defend freedom. "No Flag Higher" was inspired by Chris' own personal military experiences and he penned the song at a local bar in Arlington, VA

Living near Arlington National Cemetery , Chris draws daily inspiration from the poignant visual reminder of the sacrifices made by our heroes since the cemetery was established in 1864. Having served in the Army in various theatres of operations, Chris intimately understands the dedication, sacrifices, and the profound pain of losing comrades in the line of duty.

The song, released in December 2023 , has quickly gained momentum, amassing nearly one million streams on Spotify in just three weeks. Chris, who only released his first song in August 2023 has also garnered a growing fan base on social media, a testament to the resonating impact of his powerful lyrics and ability to tell personal stories that resonate with country music fans.

"No Flag Higher" encapsulates the essence of patriotism and the unwavering spirit of those who fought for the United States . The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a weary veteran in a small-town bar, reflecting on the memories of comrades who gave their all for their country. The chorus declares: "Ain't no flag flies higher, than the one they raise, Ain't no sacrifice greater, than the one they pay, Ain't no love that's stronger, than the kind of love they gave, For the land of the free, thank God for the brave." Chris says, "those who lost a husband, wife, son, daughter, mother, father, or friend in combat understands exactly the meaning behind the lyrics".

Chris aims not only to honor the our heroes and their families but also to rekindle a sense of patriotism in a nation that he believes has in some ways "lost touch" with why we enjoy the freedoms we have. The song serves as a moving reminder of the selfless sacrifices made by our military, a love like no other.

You can listen to "No Flag Higher" and Chris's other songs on all music streaming apps and social media platforms. Chris plans to release his first album in the Spring of 2024, so be sure and follow him for all the latest updates. Please visit his website for his complete bio and latest music release information.

Contact:

Chris Nelson

***@inkstringer.com



Photo(s):

https://www.prlog.org/13001971



Press release distributed by PRLog

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/army-veteran-releases-explosive-new-patriotic-song-honoring-american-heroes-302035106.html
AUBURN, Ala. , Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- VivoSphere, a biomedical engineering start-up founded by two Auburn University chemical engineering researchers that created a precise, cost-effective test bed for high-throughput, pre-clinical evaluation of critical cancer therapy candidates, has been selected as one of the most promising new ventures in the bio-diagnostics industry.

The New Venture Accelerator company was nominated for the Ignite Award Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) International Conference and Exhibition SLAS2024 to be held on February 3-6 in Boston, Massachusetts . VivoSphere co-founders Elizabeth Lipke and Yuan Tian , will be in attendance to meet with potential customers, partners and investors from around the world who are expected to be in attendance.

The SLAS is an international professional society of academic, industry and government researchers, developers and providers of laboratory automation technology and tools that helps drive innovation through international conferences and symposia, scientific publishing and opportunities for continuing education, collaboration, and career advancement.

VivoSphere was born out of a 2021 National Science Foundation-awarded project, "I-Corps: Spheroidal engineered tissues for more efficient drug discovery," for which Lipke, George E. & Dorothy Stafford Uthlaut Endowed Professor in Chemical Engineering at Auburn's Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, served as principal investigator and advisor to co-author Tian, who serves as a post-doctoral researcher in chemical engineering at Auburn .

"We are honored to be nominated for the prestigious Ignite Award and thankful for the extraordinary opportunity it offers us to exhibit on the Innovation AveNEW showcase at SLAS next month," said Tian. "The visibility and industry exposure our young company will get as a result of this featured position will go a long way in support of our efforts to progress our patented technology into market trials."

VivoSphere is addressing the need for more physiologically relevant drug screening models able to perform accurate, cost-effective testing of promising pharmaceutical candidates that also meet the high-throughput requirements drug companies face in bringing lifesaving therapeutics to market. The company's unique 3-dimentional hydrogel scaffold-based tissues provide a robust platform for assessing the efficacy of drug candidates while also identifying any toxicities these potential treatments might generate.

Importantly, the vivospheres at the heart of the new platform are tissues that have been designed to enable pharmaceutical companies to use the same equipment and assays they currently use for traditional 2D and 3D tissue test beds, speeding their adoption and deployment. The company recently won first place and $25,000 in Alabama Launchpad's Cycle 2 concept stage finals.

"Given that 90 percent of drugs that go into the clinical stage fail, the ability to identify those that might work vs. those that don't or that carry debilitating toxic side effects offers a critical benefit to the developers of those drugs and to society as a whole," noted Lipke. "Cancer cells don't grow in isolation from the environments they infiltrate. Tumors exist within complex 3D environments, interacting with neighboring cells and their surroundings. Our tissues do a much better job of replicating these conditions in humans by creating miniature versions of those human tissues, allowing researchers to study the intricate interactions between cancer cells, normal cells and the extracellular matrix. This level of detail is impossible to achieve with 2D cultures or current iterations of 3D testing models."

The company is exhibiting at SLAS in Boston  the home of numerous biotechnology firms, global pharmaceutical companies and biomedical investment firms  to broaden their portfolio of partners and research organizations seeking innovative approaches to critical drug development and testing processes.

To schedule a meeting with VivoSphere during SLAS, please contact Yuan Tian at [email protected].

About SLAS and Innovation AveNEW

Innovation AveNEW, part of the SLAS Ignite program, has been boosting the visibility of startups since its launch in 2007 when a specially designated area of the exhibit floor was set aside for emerging and start-up companies and has grown from a handful of vetted emerging biotech companies to the flourishing, eagerly anticipated showstopper it is today.

To learn more, visit vivospheres.com

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Syncron Inventory empowers Bileko Car Parts to streamline inventory operations, improving overall agility and decision-making.

STOCKHOLM , Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Syncron, a global leader in intelligent service lifecycle management solutions, proudly acknowledges its enduring collaboration with Bileko Car Parts A.B., a leading Swedish aftermarket automotive parts distributor and wholesaler. Bileko Car Parts selected Syncron Inventory to optimize parts availability and streamline inventory management throughout its vast network.

With Syncron, Bileko Car Parts gains an easy-to-use platform and an experienced team for a more resilient supply chain.

Navigating and optimizing inventory operations in the automotive aftermarket is no easy feat, especially for organizations with many products with uncertain demand patterns. As it grew into a critical player in the automotive aftermarket, Bileko Car Parts realized it needed a system that could help streamline and manage operations. Committed to excellence, Bileko Car Parts sought a comprehensive system that could also support delivering best-in-class service to its diverse customer base.

"Before working with Syncron, we didn't have a central solution for managing inventory in our local warehouses. As we grew, we needed a system to manage the inventory and have the right part at the right place and time," said Therese Nilsson , logistics planner at Bileko Car Parts. "And that is where Syncron helped us."

Syncron digitalized inventory operations for Bileko Car Parts, eliminating manual processes for increased efficiency. Syncron also enabled Bileko Car Parts to centralize inventory policies, maximize product availability, enhance forecasts, and improve capital management and customer service levels.

With Syncron, Bileko Car Parts gains an easy-to-use platform and an experienced customer support team to help it achieve a more resilient, efficient supply chain.

Bileko Car Parts also gains a modern system that allows for expansion and continuous improvement. "If we can link our entire supply chain across the different business areas in one system, that will also bring a higher degree of availability to our customers," said Christofer Kohn , CEO and managing director of Bileko Car Parts and chief financial officer of Mekonomen Company Sweden. "This is a journey we're looking forward to embarking on in the coming years."

Syncron Inventory is an essential component of the Syncron Connected Service Experience (CSX) Cloud, an AI- and ML-driven platform that helps manufacturers and service organizations transform their approach to service lifecycle management from beginning to end.

To learn more about parts planning with Syncron, visit syncron.com/parts-planning .

About Syncron

Syncron helps manufacturers and distributors capitalize on the new service economy by optimizing aftermarket profitability, increasing customer loyalty and enabling the transition to servitization. Syncron aligns all aftermarket services with its Connected Service Experience (CSX) cloud platform, helping companies differentiate themselves through exceptional aftermarket experiences while driving significant revenue growth. The world's top brands trust Syncron, making it the largest privately-owned global leader in intelligent service lifecycle management SaaS solutions. For more, visit syncron.com .

About Bileko Car Parts

Bileko Car Parts is a subsidiary within MEKO, the largest player in Northern Europe in the vehicle aftermarket. MEKO is present in eight markets with 600 branches and 20,000 workshop customers, where 4,300 workshops work under the Group's strong brands. The Group offers a wide and easily accessible range of inexpensive and innovative solutions and products for consumers and companies. Bileko Car Parts is responsible for category management, purchasing, pricing and supply chain operations for the Business Area Sweden/ Norway , but also supports other Business Areas within MEKO in selected areas.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bileko-car-parts-and-syncron-celebrate-successful-partnership-in-revolutionizing-automotive-aftermarket-operations-302034969.html

SOURCE Syncron
HSINCHU, Jan. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Brain Navi announced the completion of the 100th case utilizing its neurosurgical navigation robot NaoTrac. The 100th case has been performed by Neurosurgery Department Director Dr. Hao-Yu Chuang at Annan Hospital in Tainan, Taiwan .

"It is my pleasure to be witnessing this major milestone which shows the continued clinical adoption of NaoTrac surgical navigation robot. I am happy and continue to provide this state-of-the-art surgical technology to my patients," said Dr. Hao-Yu Chuang . "One of the main benefits compared to other systems is that we can accurately register cranial anatomy in any patient position, including lateral and prone positions."

Across Taiwan , there have been already several hospitals installed the system. China Medical University Hospital Neurosurgery Department Director Chun-Chung Chen said, "In the past time, we can only treat the ICH blood clot blindly, now we can plan the pathway, check in real time and complete the procedure perfectly." Another Director Dr. Jeng-Hung Guo said "NaoTrac's fast registration leads to reduce surgical procedure time and faster patient recoveries. The NaoTrac worked very well for intracerebral hemorrhages cases, especially with hematoma volumes less than 30ml but with severe symptoms and providing an alternative solution to those patients rather than waiting for self-absorption."

The very first adopter of NaoTrac surgical robot is Hualien Tzu Chi Medical Center that has been using the system for brain surgeries from the very first clinical case on 7th Nov. 2018 . Superintendent Dr. Shinn-Zong Lin said "NaoTrac is just what all neurosurgeons want. It can make the doctor's dream come true and let patients with disability return to life." Professor Tsung-Lang Chiu published the first medical journal article of NaoTrac and showed the efficacy and economic benefits, he said, "NaoTrac robotic system is very easy to incorporate into our practice and workflow and bring efficiencies to our neurosurgeons and hospitals".

To avoid long and frustrating registration process, NaoTrac incorporates machine vision technology, and finishes the patient and instrument registrations within 30 seconds to 3 minutes. NaoTrac system has received CE-mark in April 2021 and Taiwan FDA approval in July 2022 and during the initial market release, along with international congresses, Brain Navi has been able to collect valuable feedback from a large number of neurosurgeons, and continue to integrate those ideas into the NaoTrac platform to meet the market needs.

Dr. Jerry Chen , the CEO of Brain Navi stated "We are very pleased by the fact that all these 100 procedures were completed without any complication. 2024 will be the year that marks the beginning of our international expansion as we started collaborating with partners in USA, Europe , Japan , Middle East , Latin America and Malaysia besides Taiwan . And by doing so, we would be able to bring this technology to more hospitals to streamline their OR workflows, and ultimately benefiting more patients."

About Brain Navi :

Brain Navi Biotechnology, a leading Taiwanese surgical robotic company, specializes in designing and developing innovative navigation and robotic surgery technologies. Their proprietary Surface Mapping Auto-Registration Technology (SMART) represents a significant surgical breakthrough, integrating machine vision, robotics, and artificial recognition for streamlined surgical procedures and real-time imaging, ensuring minimal invasive outcomes. NaoTrac's swift patient registration, and automatic surgical instrument registration enable surgeons to plan trajectories effortlessly, and the robot ensures precise autonomous navigation towards the desired target.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/brain-navi-announces-100th-surgical-procedure-completed-using-naotrac-302035231.html

SOURCE Brain Navi Biotechnology Co., Ltd.
HENDERSON, Nev. , Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Columbia Pacific's Business Finance strategy ("CPBF"), a Seattle -based direct lender to privately held and sponsor-backed companies, is pleased to announce that it has provided a $21 million senior secured term loan to support the acquisition of Sunrise Mechanical and Sunrise Service ("Sunrise"). The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning ("HVAC") company was acquired last month by independent sponsor Ballard & Brown.

Headquartered in Henderson, NV , Sunrise is one of the largest residential HVAC installation and maintenance service providers in the region. Over the company's 30 years of operation, Sunrise has grown to more than 150 employees whose commitment to delivering quality and reliability at a competitive cost has made Sunrise a preferred partner for builders in and around Las Vegas Valley . Property owners have also come to rely on Sunrise Service for high-quality and competitively priced repair, maintenance, and replacement services.

"Thanks to CBPF's in-depth understanding of the independent sponsor model, we were able to complete the Sunrise acquisition swiftly and efficiently before year-end," said Matt Ballard , CEO and Co-Founder of Ballard & Brown. "As a Las Vegas native with extensive HVAC industry experience I am committed to building on the 30-year legacy of excellence at Sunrise and maintaining the level of quality and reliability our customers expect. We found a financing partner in CPBF who shares our entrepreneurial spirit and allows shareholders to retain the financial upside of successful execution."

"Sunrise is one of the leading HVAC providers in the Las Vegas Valley and will continue to benefit from long-term population growth and significant residential housing undersupply in the region," said Lawrence Litchfield , Director of Business Development for CPBF. "Operationally focused independent sponsors turn to CPBF for flexible capital and value-added execution. This transaction demonstrates our ability to support first-time business buyers in need of unique, timely, and less dilutive financing solutions."

Las Vegas -based GVC Advisory Services Ltd served as the exclusive financial advisor for Ballard & Brown. CPBF was represented by Stoel Rives LLP, Portland, OR and Ballard & Brown were represented by Corporate Securities Legal LLP, Irvine, CA.

ABOUT SUNRISE

Sunrise provides HVAC system installation for single and multi-family residential new construction developers across Las Vegas Valley . The Henderson, NV company also provides maintenance and repair services for residential clients. Over 30 years of operation, Sunrise has become synonymous with quality, reliability, and exceptional customer service. For more information, visit www.sunrisehvac.com and www.sunriseserviceinc.com.

ABOUT COLUMBIA PACIFIC BUSINESS FINANCE

Columbia Pacific's Business Finance strategy (CPBF) provides $8 to $35 million debt and structured equity financing solutions for middle-market businesses nationwide. CPBF partners with entrepreneurs, independent sponsors, and financial sponsors to support acquisitions, organic growth initiatives, and recapitalizations with flexible, less dilutive financing alternatives. Our experienced team focuses on the factors that drive outcomes, finds solutions, and seeks to execute swiftly. Its parent company, Columbia Pacific Advisors, manages alternative assets including public and private equities, and private credits. For more information, visit www.columbiapacific.com.

CONTACT

COLUMBIA PACIFIC BUSINESS FINANCE

SEATTLE

WWW.COLUMBIAPACIFIC.COM

RUBENSTEIN PUBLIC RELATIONS

Contact: Steven Weiss

212-805-3062

[email protected]

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SOURCE Columbia Pacific Business Finance
New investment from DRW Venture Capital LLC and Tolmar International Ltd

Funds will be used to advance its proprietary, silica-based, drug delivery technology platform towards the clinic and further build DelSiTech

TURKU, Finland , Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Clinical-stage drug delivery and development company DelSiTech, today announces the successful completion of a EUR 10 million financing round, the largest single financing round in the Company's history. The financing was co-led by new investors DRW Venture Capital LLC, headquartered in Chicago, IL , USA, and Tolmar International Ltd, based in Dublin, Ireland , which together contributed more than EUR 9 million . The remaining financing was funded by existing DelSiTech shareholders.

The proceeds from the financing will be used to further build the Company and advance its unique, in-house, silica-based, drug delivery technology platform into clinical development, as well as expanding its in-house manufacturing capability to support the development programs of multiple partners.

"We welcome DRW and Tolmar to DelSiTech as new investors and strategic partners at an important time of growth and development." Said Lasse Leino , Chief Executive Officer at DelSiTech. "This financing marks a significant milestone on our journey as one of the world's leading drug delivery technology providers, with an attractive internal pipeline of controlled release drug products based on Silica Matrix. This investment, together with our increasing revenues from our own drug development, will help us to reach our strategic business goals and objectives over the next couple of years, as we continue to address high unmet clinical and commercial needs for the benefit of patients."

The new investors offered the following comments regarding their commitment to supporting DelSiTech.

David Nelson , Partner at DRW, commented: "We have seen the tremendous importance of strengthening our world's capabilities to bring new treatments online to address viruses and diseases. We have been impressed by the work DelSiTech is doing in this area and by the innovative technologies its team has developed, and we are pleased to join this round to help them accelerate this work."

Anil D'Souza , President and Chief Executive Officer of Tolmar, remarked: "This investment further advances Tolmar's overall business strategy to develop therapies for the benefit of patients around the globe. In addition, we are confident that this investment will lead to profitable growth by further leveraging DelSiTech's differentiated technology platform."

About DelSiTech:

DelSiTech Ltd., located in Turku, Finland , is the leading technology specialist in biodegradable silica-based controlled release of small molecule drugs, biologics, and vaccines. It develops and commercializes its proprietary drug delivery technology in collaboration with a number of pharmaceutical and biotech companies to turn their ideas into novel drug products. For more information, see www.delsitech.com.

About DelSiTechTM Silica Matrix

Silica Matrix is an advanced delivery technology platform for parenteral and local administration of injectable and implant dosage forms as well as eye drops. The proprietary technology is based on silica (SiO 2 ) matrix into which the molecule or therapeutic agent of interest is embedded using a process called sol-gel. The resulting Silica Matrix is non-porous, biocompatible and it can be designed to biodegrade by matrix dissolution at the desired rate to ensure a tightly controlled release of the active substance over periods of days up to many months or a year.

About DRW Venture Capital, LLC:

DRW is a diversified trading firm with decades of experience bringing sophisticated technology and exceptional people together to operate in markets around the world. Headquartered in Chicago, USA, with offices around the globe, we trade a number of asset classes, including Fixed Income, ETFs, Equities, FX, Commodities and Energy. For over a decade, we also have been a trusted investor in exciting new projects through DRW Venture Capital, which operates as a subsidiary of DRW. DRW VC is a stage-agnostic investor focused on financial and enterprise technology companies that benefit from the combination of our capital and expertise. For more information, please visit www.drw.com.

About Tolmar International Ltd

Tolmar is a fully integrated pharmaceutical company focused on the innovative development, manufacturing, and commercialization of specialty pharmaceuticals across multiple therapeutic areas, including Urology. Tolmar's product development and manufacturing facilities are based in Northern Colorado and its executive offices and commercial headquarters are based in Buffalo Grove, Illinois . For more information about the company, please visit www.tolmar.com.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/delsitech-announces-closing-of-eur-10-million-financing-round-to-advance-its-silica-based-drug-delivery-technology-platform-302034841.html

SOURCE DelSiTech
NOVI, Mich. , Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- DexKo Global Inc., a global leader in highly engineered trailer running gear, chassis assemblies and related components, announced today that is has completed the acquisition of Cerka Industries Ltd. ("Cerka") located in Milton , Ontario.

Cerka specializes in manufacturing trailer axles and distributing trailer components to dealers and OEMs across Canada.

"Adding the Cerka team to the Dexter organization will further support our distribution network for the trailer dealers and OEM customers in Canada ," said Adam Dexter , CEO, Dexter. "This strategic partnership supports our dedication to building an extensive network supplying high-quality products to the Canadian marketplace."

Dexter is owned by DexKo Global Inc., formed in 2015. Dexter is headquartered in Elkhart, Indiana , employing over 3,800 people in the U.S. and Canada , operates over 20 manufacturing facilities and over 50 company-owned specialty distribution locations. Founded in 1960, Dexter has earned a reputation as a trusted brand serving the utility trailer, recreational vehicle, marine, heavy-duty, agricultural, and specialty equipment manufacturers, distribution partners, and dealers across North America .

Leigh-Ann Morris , Cerka lead shareholder commented, "Since 1976, my father, Peter Cerka , worked tirelessly to build Cerka Industries. It was his lifelong passion. We are pleased to pass the torch to DexKo, our trusted supplier for many years. We know DexKo is the perfect partner to continue our father's legacy as a leader in the Canadian trailer industry."

"We are energized by the growth opportunity that comes with the addition of Cerka," states Fred Bentley , CEO of DexKo Global. "We continue to focus our strategies to grow our specialty distribution business and increase our reach in Canada , improving our ability to service dealer and OEM customers. Bringing the knowledgeable Cerka team to Dexter was a seamless and meaningful addition to our portfolio."

Please send inquiries to:

2900 Industrial Parkway East Stacey K. Miller , Director of Marketing Elkhart, Indiana 46515 [email protected] Phone: 574.295.7888 Phone: 574.296.7228

DexKo Global Inc. is the world's largest manufacturer and specialty distributor of highly-engineered solutions critical to the safety and performance of towable applications. DexKo Global was founded at the end of 2015 through the combination of DEXTER and AL-KO Vehicle Technology. With its headquarters in Novi, Michigan , the company employs approximately 7,000 associates with 50 production facilities and 70 specialty distribution centers. For more information, please go to www.dexko.com.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dexko-global-inc-acquires-cerka-industries-ltd-302036337.html

SOURCE DexKo Global Inc.
SILVER SPRING, Md., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is providing an at-a-glance summary of news from around the agency:

Today, the FDA announced an open period for applications to support the development, implementation, and evaluation of a human abuse potential (HAP) study on the use of botanical kratom. Addressing the use of botanical Kratom is a priority as the FDA works to characterize its abuse potential and subjective effects, given the absence of published literature and clinical evaluations despite increased human use. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Survey on Drug Use and Health , an estimated 1.9 million Americans aged 12 and older reported using kratom in 2022.





, an estimated 1.9 million Americans aged 12 and older reported using kratom in 2022. Today, the FDA approved Casgevy, a cell-based gene therapy, for the treatment of patients 12 years of age and older with transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia, an inherited disorder characterized by life-long anemia requiring frequent blood transfusions. To produce Casgevy, patients' hematopoietic (blood) stem cells are modified by genome editing utilizing novel CRISPR/Cas9 technology. The modified blood stem cells are transplanted back into the patient where they engraft (attach and multiply) within the bone marrow and increase the production of fetal hemoglobin (HbF), a type of hemoglobin that facilitates oxygen delivery and decreases the severity of anemia. The most common side effects were mouth sores, febrile neutropenia (fever associated with a low level of certain white blood cells), and decreased appetite. This application received Fast Track and Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designations. Today's approval signifies a second FDA-approved indication for Casgevy, as the product was also recently approved for the treatment of sickle cell disease in patients 12 years and older.



"Today's approval is an important step in the advancement of an additional treatment option for individuals with beta-thalassemia, a debilitating disease that places individuals at risk of many serious health problems," said Nicole Verdun , M.D., director of the Office of Therapeutic Products within the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research . "The approval of a cell-based gene therapy for this condition using CRISPR/Cas9 technology reflects FDA's continued commitment to supporting safe and effective treatments that leverage the most promising and cutting-edge medical technologies."





On Friday, the FDA authorized for marketing the DermaSensor Inc. DermaSensor device. It is a prescription device, indicated for the evaluation of skin lesions suggestive of melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and/or squamous cell carcinoma in patients aged 40 and over to assist health care providers in determining whether to refer a patient to a dermatologist. The device should be used in conjunction with the totality of clinically relevant information from the clinical assessment, including visual analysis of the lesion, by physicians who are not dermatologists. The device should be used on lesions already assessed as suspicious for skin cancer and not as a screening tool. The device should not be used as the sole diagnostic criterion nor to confirm a diagnosis of skin cancer. The FDA is requiring that the manufacturer conduct additional post-market clinical validation performance testing of the DermaSensor device in patients from demographic groups representative of the U.S. population, including populations who had limited representation of melanomas in the premarket studies, due to their having a relatively low incidence of the disease.





population, including populations who had limited representation of melanomas in the premarket studies, due to their having a relatively low incidence of the disease. On Friday, the FDA approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck) with chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for patients with FIGO 2014 Stage III-IVA cervical cancer. The most common adverse reactions (10%) occurring in patients who received pembrolizumab with chemoradiotherapy were nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, urinary tract infection, fatigue, hypothyroidism, constipation, decreased appetite, weight loss, abdominal pain, pyrexia, hyperthyroidism, dysuria, rash, and pelvic pain. View the full prescribing information for Keytruda.





On Friday, the FDA issued a safety alert advising restaurants and retailers not to serve or sell and consumers not to eat certain oysters from Bahia Salina in Sonora, Mexico potentially contaminated with Norovirus.





in potentially contaminated with Norovirus. On Friday, the FDA authorized for marketing Fibresolve, a software-only device that receives and analyzes lung computed tomography images to aid in the referral of patients with suspected findings related to scarring of the lungs due to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The device is intended to supplement the current standard-ofcare workflow by providing a qualitative, diagnostic classification output of imaging findings based on machine learning pattern recognition. Fibresolve provides adjunctive information that can be used during an expert Multidisciplinary Discussion with a patient's clinical history, symptoms, and other diagnostic tests to help lung disease health care specialists make an appropriate diagnosis. The FDA granted marketing authorization of Fibresolve to Imvaria, Inc.

Additional Resources:

Media Contact: FDA Office of Media Affairs, 301-796-4540

Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA

The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation's food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, radiation-emitting electronic products, and for regulating tobacco products.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fda-roundup-january-16-2024-302036213.html

SOURCE U.S. Food and Drug Administration
New market additions follows significant investment made in franchisee Reliable Residential earlier this year to grow Precision Garage Door Service and other Neighborly brands

NEW YORK , Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Franchise Equity Partners (FEP), a private investment firm on a mission to create long-term partnerships with quality franchisees and franchisors, today announced the acquisition of Precision Garage Door Service franchise operations in Orlando and Ocala, Florida . The deal is part of FEP's partnership with management of Reliable Residential HoldCo ("Reliable Residential") announced in October of 2023. Reliable Residential is one of the largest Neighborly franchisees, with existing Precision Garage Door Service operations in Clearwater, FL , Columbus, OH and Oklahoma City, OK. This transaction adds the contiguous Orlando and Ocala markets to Reliable Residential's portfolio, showcasing FEP's commitment to investing in operations throughout Florida .

"The completion of this deal strengthens our relationship with Precision Garage Door Service and aligns with our goal of establishing a robust foothold in the Florida market," said Michael Esposito, Founding Partner of Franchise Equity Partners.

"Our expanded investment in Reliable Residential will help grow their current Precision Garage Door Service platform in markets including Orlando and Ocala. Reliable Residential is poised for further strategic growth and we're excited about the trajectory of our partnership. This is just the beginning and we look forward to future opportunities."

The leading garage door franchise with more than 100 locations nationwide, Precision Garage Door Service was acquired by Neighborly in 2020 and has grown considerably under the home services company's vision. Precision Garage Door Service has a clear competitive advantage due to lead generation, technology, inventory, sales processes, speed to service customers, and the ability to attract talent. FEP will continue helping the brand and its largest franchisee expand further in 2024.

With FEP's support, Precision Garage Door Service can earn market share in growing markets like Orlando and Ocala . These thriving Florida cities feature an expanding population, which presents a lucrative opportunity for home services brands.

"This deal is right on par with our strategy and thesis at the outset," said Carlos Morales , President, Reliable Residential. "We chose FEP as a value-added partner because they understand franchise businesses and the unique challenges and opportunities we face. We've set a solid foundation since partnering in October and look forward to growing our presence across Florida and in other key markets."

The partnership with Reliable Residential and Precision Garage Door Service is just the beginning for FEP in the home services space. The private investment firm has plans to invest in other Neighborly brands and will help the world's largest home services company expand in key markets.

MidCap Financial and HPS provided debt financing to help complete the Orlando and Ocala market transaction. Davis Wright Tremaine LLP served as legal counsel to FEP.

For more information about Franchise Equity Partners, please visit https://www.fep-us.com/.

For more information about Precision Garage Door Service and Neighborly, please visit https://www.precisiondoor.net or https://www.neighborly.com.

About Franchise Equity Partners:

Franchise Equity Partners is a private investment firm specializing in providing capital to franchise businesses and their owners. Its differentiated approach combines extensive corporate finance and operating experience with an initial target portfolio size of $1 billion to enable growth, ownership simplification, succession, and estate planning, among other strategic business opportunities. To learn more about Franchise Equity Partners, please visit www.fep-us.com or follow the firm on LinkedIn.

About Precision Garage Door Service:

Precision Garage Door Service, a Neighborly company, is the nation's leading residential garage door repair company. Precision Garage Door Service provides consumers the highest levels of customer service and value for all garage door needs, specializing in garage door repair, new garage door installment, and repair of garage door openers from more than 100 locations in the U.S. Acquired in 2020, Precision Garage Door Service is part of Neighborly, the world's largest home services company with more than 30 brands and 5,000 franchises collectively serving 12 million+ customers in six countries, focused on repairing, maintaining, and enhancing homes and businesses. Neighborly brands are found at Neighborly.com and through the Neighborly App. For more information about Precision Garage Door Service, visit PrecisionDoor.net. To learn about franchising opportunities with Neighborly, click here.

About Neighborly:

Neighborly is the world's largest home services company with more than 30 brands and 5,000 franchises collectively serving 12 million+ customers in six countries, focused on repairing, maintaining, and enhancing homes and businesses. Through the Neighborly mobile app, Neighborly connects consumers to local service providers that meet rigorous franchisor standards across 18 service categories. More information about Neighborly, and its franchise concepts, is available at Neighborlybrands.com. To learn about franchising opportunities with Neighborly, click here.

Contact:

Alyssa Pfitscher

(845)-594-7290

[email protected]

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SOURCE Franchise Equity Partners
Five smoothie flavors now available at all Haagen-Dazs Shops nationwide through March 31, 2024

MINNEAPOLIS , Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- To celebrate the new year, Haagen-Dazs Shops welcome back their lineup of five Real Fruit Smoothie flavors, available in Shops nationwide beginning today through March 31 . The returning Real Fruit Smoothies feature five smoothie flavors and the most extensive lineup of the brand's dessert offerings, including Aloha Mango, Strawberry Banana, Wildberry, Pomegranate Berry, and their latest flavor, Strawberry Mango.

Each smoothie features Haagen-Dazs signature sorbet flavors blended with vanilla ice cream and fruit for a luxurious and refreshing dessert experience. For a non-dairy alternative, an extra scoop of sorbet can be added in place of ice cream upon request.

Real Fruit Smoothie flavors include:

Aloha Mango: made with a blend of Haagen- Dazs Mango Sorbet and vanilla ice cream with fresh peaches, bananas, and pineapple juice.

made with a blend of Haagen- and vanilla ice cream with fresh peaches, bananas, and pineapple juice. Strawberry Banana: made with a blend of Haagen- Dazs Strawberry Sorbet and vanilla ice cream, strawberries, bananas, and cranberry juice.

made with a blend of Haagen- and vanilla ice cream, strawberries, bananas, and cranberry juice. Wildberry: made with a blend of Haagen- Dazs Strawberry Sorbet , vanilla ice cream, blueberries, strawberries, and cranberry juice.

made with a blend of Haagen- , vanilla ice cream, blueberries, strawberries, and cranberry juice. Pomegranate Berry: made with Haagen- Dazs Raspberry Sorbet , vanilla ice cream, strawberries, and pomegranate juice.

made with Haagen- , vanilla ice cream, strawberries, and pomegranate juice. Strawberry Mango: made with Haagen- Dazs Mango Sorbet , vanilla ice cream, strawberries, peaches, and pineapple juice.

"We're excited to bring back this fan-favorite dessert lineup to kick off the new year," said Rachel Jaiven , Haagen-Dazs Marketing Director. "With the holidays behind us, consumers tend to lean toward items that are fresher and betterforyou; but when it comes to dessert, Haagen-Dazs Shops offer a unique experience that incorporates real fruit into a dessert you can feel good about indulging in. Each dessert brings a refreshing and smooth flavor profile, elevating your smoothie experience like never before."

The Real Fruit Smoothies are available for purchase in person at all Shop locations within the United States , or pre-ordered for pick-up and delivery (available at select locations).

High-resolution images of the dessert lineup can be found here. Download the Haagen-Dazs app and sign up for the Sweet Rewards loyalty program to stay up-to-date on the latest news, campaigns and special discounts at Haagen-Dazs.

About Haagen-Dazs Shops

Haagen-Dazs Shops have been dreaming up playfully luxurious ice cream treats and creative desserts since opening their first location in Brooklyn, NY in 1976. With 200+ franchised shops now open across the country, the dessert establishment offers guests exceptional service and products, with each new visit as memorable as their frozen treats. From scoops to Dazzler sundaes and shakes to smoothies, the possibilities are endless for folks inspired by the flavors of the Haagen-Dazs brand. That's Dazs().

LOCATIONS: Arizona , Alaska , California , Colorado , Connecticut , District of Columbia , Delaware, Florida , Georgia , Hawaii , Idaho , Illinois , Kansas , Louisiana , Maryland , Michigan , Minnesota , Montana , Nevada , New Jersey , New Mexico , New York, North Carolina , Pennsylvania , South Carolina , Tennessee , Texas , Virginia , Wyoming

Contact:

Callie Chambers

Fish Consulting

954-893-9150

[email protected]

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SOURCE Haagen-Dazs Shops
TOKYO, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Two passenger planes made contact on the ground at New Chitose Airport in Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido on Tuesday evening, with no reports of injuries so far.

At around 5:30 p.m. local time, a Korean Air aircraft and a Cathay Pacific plane "came into contact with each other," according to national broadcaster NHK, citing the operator Hokkaido Airports Co., Ltd. as saying.

According to the operator, the incident occurred as the two planes were maneuvering on the runway, with the Korean Air flight that was about to take off colliding with the Cathay Pacific plane that was parked next to it. Both planes reported damages.

There were a total of 289 passengers and crew on board the Korean Air flight, national news agency Kyodo reported, adding that the Cathay Pacific plane was parked and unmanned.

Meanwhile, NHK, citing sources with Cathay Pacific Airways, said the plane was on the ground at the time of the contact, with passengers on board.

With northern and eastern Japan bracing for winter chills and heavy snow through Tuesday, NHK footage showed it was snowing at the airport at the time of the collision, which caused damage to both aircraft.

The police said no injuries have been reported, while the fire department said no incidents of fire or fuel leakage occurred.

Earlier this month, a Japan Airlines passenger plane heading from New Chitose Airport to Tokyo's Haneda Airport collided with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft after landing at Haneda, with both aircraft catching fire.

Although all 379 passengers and crew members on board the passenger plane evacuated, five of the six crew members aboard the Japan Coast Guard aircraft were confirmed dead, while the captain who managed to escape earlier was severely injured. 
BEL AIR, Md. , Jan. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Harford Mutual Insurance Group proudly announces it donated over $425,000 to more than 80 charitable organizations throughout 2023.

Through its HMIG Gives Back Program, Harford Mutual allocated a total of $426,320 to 87 organizations, supporting initiatives aligned with health and human services, as well as community enrichment programs. This impactful philanthropy reflects Harford Mutual's dedication to making a positive impact in the communities it serves.

The largest contributions were presented to The Boys and Girls Clubs of Harford and Cecil Counties, Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna, Harford Community Action Agency, Harford Community College Foundation, Harford Family House, Harford County Public Library Foundation, LASOS (Linking All So Others Succeed), Mason-Dixon Community Services, St. Baldrick's Foundation, The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region, There Goes My Hero, United Way of Central Maryland, and University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health Foundation.

In 2023, Harford Mutual maintained its commitment to supporting organizations championing diversity and equity causes by allocating over $96,000 of its total donation funds to these vital missions. In addition to financial contributions, Harford Mutual actively participated in community campaigns. The company's Inclusion, Diversity, and Opportunity Committee (IDOC) spearheaded a successful Stuff the Bus campaign benefiting the Harford County Education Foundation. Harford Mutual employees generously donated over 600 items, providing essential school supplies to students in need across Harford County .

Recognizing the impact of the winter season, Harford Mutual extended support to 12 food banks, one in each state where it writes business. The company donated $1,500 to each, totaling $18,000 . This initiative aimed to alleviate the challenges faced by communities during the harsh winter months.

Tennessee is one of the states in which Harford Mutual writes business. In response to the devastating tornadoes that swept through Middle Tennessee on December 9-10, 2023 , Harford Mutual made a $5,000 donation to the Tennessee Emergency Response Fund at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT). This contribution will aid in recovery and relief efforts for those affected by the natural disaster.

Harford Mutual employees have also demonstrated their commitment to community service, collectively contributing more than 400 volunteer hours to various organizations, further reinforcing the company's commitment to giving back.

About Harford Mutual Insurance Group

Harford Mutual Insurance Group, founded in 1842 in Harford County, Maryland , provides commercial property and casualty insurance products and services to a regional market, including monoline workers' compensation through the addition of Clearpath Specialty in 2023. Harford Mutual is a top-performing insurance company (Ward's 50 in 2021 and 2022), ending 2023 with more than $400 million in direct written premium sold through independent agents in twelve states and Washington, D.C. Harford Mutual is rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best. For more information, visit www.HarfordMutual.com.

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SOURCE Harford Mutual Insurance Group
VALLETTA, Malta , Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Kindred Group will host the Sustainable Gambling Conference on 20 March in London . The conference aims to gather experts, both from within and outside the industry, to share ideas and views with the goal of ensuring a sustainable and safe industry. The theme of the 2024 conference is 'Safer Gambling: A look into the future'.

Kindred Group plc (Kindred) will host the Sustainable Gambling Conference at the Kia Oval in London on 20 March. The conference has earned its reputation as a hub for meaningful dialogue, bringing together subject matter experts from various sectors, both within and beyond the gambling industry. Renowned international speakers, including representatives from EPIC Global Solutions, Gamban, EGBA, KPMG, Rdentify and TransUnion, will share their insights and experiences. They will be accompanied by this year's keynote speaker, the well-known author Daniel Mate.

"At this year's conference, under the theme 'Safer Gambling: A look into the future,' we will delve into the implementation of AI in the gambling industry, focusing on its potential to advance responsible gambling measures. We will also take a deep dive into what opportunities lie in automation and technology when it comes to affordability and financial risk assessments. One of our panel discussions will spotlight what is next for the White Paper in the UK - a theme that will be of interest for many markets across Europe . With a stellar lineup of highly qualified speakers, I look forward to a conference with valuable insights and discussions for all attendees", says Alexander Westrell , Director of Communications, Kindred Group.

The Sustainable Gambling Conference serves as a catalyst for collaborative efforts within the industry. It aligns with Kindred's overarching ambition to facilitate and contribute to a fact-based and transparent conversation, providing a platform for all stakeholders involved in gambling. The conference will take place on 20 March 2024 at Kia Oval in London .

For more information about the agenda and to register, visit www.sustainablegambling.com/

For more information:

Maria Angell Dupont , External Communications Manager, Kindred Group

[email protected]

+46 72 165 15 17

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/824/3910038/2541593.pdf Kindred discloses theme for Sustainable Gambling Conference - 'Safer Gambling A look into the future' https://news.cision.com/kindred-group/i/sgc-2024,c3257805 SGC 2024

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kindred-discloses-theme-for-sustainable-gambling-conference---safer-gambling-a-look-into-the-future-302035516.html

SOURCE Kindred Group
WASHINGTON , Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Kurt "Spuds" Vogel will serve as the new associate administrator of the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) at the agency's headquarters in Washington , NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced Tuesday. His appointment is effective immediately.

Vogel succeeds James Reuter , who retired from the agency in June 2023 . Dr. Prasun Desai has served as the acting associate administrator since and now will return to his previous role as deputy associate administrator for STMD.

"With more than three decades of public service, including his most recent role as NASA's director of Space Architecture, Spuds brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate," said Nelson. "I am confident his leadership will help NASA continue pushing the boundaries of what's possible with space technologies and advancing American leadership in space."

In this role, Vogel is responsible for executive leadership, overall strategic planning and direction, and effective management for all elements of the Space Technology Programs executed under STMD's $1.2 billion budget. He plans, directs, coordinates, and evaluates the full range of space technology programs and activities including budget formulation and execution, and represents the program to appropriate officials within and outside the agency.

Previously, Vogel was appointed as the director of space architectures within the Office of the Administrator at NASA Headquarters, a role he has served since July 19, 2021 . He joined the agency with 34 years of government experience, primarily in the Department of Defense.

Prior to his NASA appointment, Vogel served for six years at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), leading innovative research in stealth technology, electronic warfare, air-space integration, and space control systems. He managed a portfolio of classified, state-of-the-art, high-risk programs that spanned multiple DARPA offices.

Before joining DARPA, Vogel led research and development efforts at the Air Force Research Lab's Systems Technology Office where he directed a Defense Department science and technology portfolio. He also served as the acting chief technologist for the National Reconnaissance Office's Survivability Assurance Office. He retired from active duty in 2010 after serving more than 21 years in the U.S. Air Force in both the air and space domains.

Vogel holds a Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Science in Astronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Astronautical Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He is a member of the national honor societies for both engineering and aerospace engineering.

For more about Vogel's experience, visit his full biography online at:

https://www.nasa.gov/spacetech

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SOURCE NASA
Foxquilt, North American digital MGA, will broaden distribution of their proprietary insurance products in the US through a key collaboration with Markel.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. , Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Foxquilt, a leading North American company specializing in embedded small business insurance technology, is thrilled to announce a strategic and long-term capacity relationship with global specialty insurance provider, Markel. This meaningful collaboration spearheads embedded insurance innovation for more small business owners, agents/brokers, and enterprise partners across North America .

Foxquilt utilizes a full-stack underwriting platform, powered by data analytics, to recommend tailored coverage and pricing from Foxquilt's own proprietary commercial insurance products. Small business and micro-enterprise owners can also, in turn, quote and bind entirely online - creating a true end-to-end insurance journey. All of Foxquilt's IP has been built in-house, allowing for an agile response in integrating to each unique agent, broker, and enterprise partner's ecosystem - ultimately creating embedded success and enhanced underwriting profitability.

"In a world where buyer autonomy and instant end-to-end results have been normalized, the insurance space has lacked the technology investment that affords this, now, table-stakes experience. Small business owners should have the opportunity to access fair value business insurance at any point of sale or trading experience with an enterprise partner," says Mark Morissette , Foxquilt CEO and Co-Founder. "Our disciplined focus on innovating great technologies and products as the bridge between small business owners and their enterprise partners has translated into valuable, compounding returns of growth and underwriting profitability. This collaboration with Markel not only supports the distribution of Foxquilt's proprietary insurance products but also validates that an innovation leader like Markel believes in our forward-thinking vision of insurance as well."

Foxquilt and Markel both believe in empowering small business owners with innovative access to tailored coverage. By leveraging Markel's deep knowledge of small business insurance and Foxquilt's embedded insurance technology, their aligned synergies will continue support for business owners and the agents, brokers, and enterprises that they work with.

Markel's Scott Whitehead , Managing Director, Markel Insurtech Underwriters, says, "We are very excited to collaborate with Foxquilt and support their efforts to remove friction from the insurance buying process for small business owners throughout the country. They have a very capable team of industry veterans and forward thinkers who share our philosophy of putting customers first and delivering products in a way that consumers have grown to expect and demand."

Backed by Markel, Foxquilt will deepen its presence in the United States , coinciding with a continued expansion of embedded partners, to ensure small business owners are met where and when they need insurance.

About Foxquilt

Foxquilt is a leading North American Insurance Technology company focused on providing small business insurance through a seamless, embedded distribution model. Foxquilt develops, underwrites, and distributes a complete line of its own commercial insurance products in the United States and Canada . The company uses a combination of data analytics and artificial intelligence to recommend the best insurance coverage and price to meet the individual needs of its small business customers through brokers, agents, and enterprise partners. For more information, visit https://www.foxquilt.com.

About Markel

We are Markel, a leading global specialty insurer with a truly people-first approach. As the insurance operations within the Markel Group Inc. (NYSE: MKL), we operate the Markel Specialty, Markel International, and Markel Global Reinsurance divisions, as well as State National, our portfolio protection and program services operations, and Nephila, our insurance-linked securities operations. Our broad array of capabilities and expertise allow us to create intelligent solutions for the most complex risk management needs. However, it is our peopleand the deep, valued relationships they develop with colleagues, brokers and clientsthat differentiates us worldwide.

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SOURCE Foxquilt Inc.
NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. , Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science will help meet a critical need for certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) in Colorado through its Doctor of Nursing Practice in Nurse Anesthesia program  the first program accredited by the Colorado Department for Higher Education to offer classroom, simulation and clinical nurse anesthesia training in the state.

Rosalind Franklin University helps meet a critical need for certified registered nurse anesthetists in Colorado .

CRNAs are advanced practice nurses who are board certified to administer every type of anesthesia in all healthcare settings. Numerous studies show that CRNAs create value by providing safe, high quality anesthesia care.

Colorado faces an anticipated shortage of 10,000 registered nurses by 2026, according to a 2021 analysis by the consulting firm Mercer . Population growth in the state, an aging demographic and increased demand for surgical care are driving the need for CRNAs.

"RFU is expanding access to education and training for the diverse, highly skilled nursing workforce our nation needs," said RFU College of Nursing Dean Sandra Larson, CRNA, PhD. "By taking the educational experience to the nurses in Colorado , we enhance the likelihood they will stay in Colorado following graduation, working at sites where they trained."

The program taps into a subset of nurses who have a minimum of one-year of critical care experience. Classroom and simulation space is provided by University of Colorado at Colorado Springs .

" Colorado -based RFU students stay connected to their North Chicago classmates throughout the didactic phase," said Lori Anderson , CRNA, DNP, director of the Nurse Anesthesia Program. "They then engage in full-time residency training, rotating through seven clinical sites throughout Colorado  and we plan to add more."

"Our residents are exposed to many different anesthesia delivery models and complexity of cases," said Jennifer Greenwood , CRNA, PhD, associate professor of nurse anesthesia. "They experience different team dynamics, develop critical thinking and communication skills, and work as part of interprofessional teams."

RFU's innovative CRNA curriculum includes a focus on regional anesthesia, point-of-care ultrasound and advanced airway management. One of the keys to the program's success is the ongoing clinical practice of its faculty. The program is also aligned with nationally recognized organizations committed to increasing diversity in the profession.

The next application cycle for the Doctor of Nursing Practice-Nurse Anesthesia program begins in August 2024 .

More about Rosalind Franklin University

RFU encompasses six colleges and more than 10 research centers and institutes. Learn more at rosalindfranklin.edu .

Contact info:

Office of Marketing and Communications

[email protected]

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SOURCE Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
ShapeBlue, the CloudStack company, announces a strategic partnership with DIMSI to deliver private cloud services in France , aimed at meeting growing demand in the region.

LONDON , Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ShapeBlue, a global leader in delivering CloudStack engineering services and support, is announcing a strategic partnership with DIMSI, a pioneer in delivering innovative cloud services and support in France . This collaboration marks a significant milestone in advancing cloud infrastructure solutions and support for organizations in the region, implementing Apache CloudStack as their IaaS cloud computing platform.

Both companies recognize the significant benefits enterprises can achieve with cloud repatriation and managing their own infrastructure. Building an on-premise cloud environment, guarantees better control over costs in the long term, improved security, an option to maximize your hardware investments, and ensures compliance with national regulations. Orchestrating the IT environment with Apache CloudStack - a proven and powerful open-source solution enables companies to achieve simplicity, and flexibility and utilize the existing IT environment in the best way.

Giles Sirett , CEO of ShapeBlue commented: "We are delighted to be partnering with DIMSI to address the needs of the French market. We have a global footprint as a business, with customers in 19 different countries, but France has remained a challenge to us to date. DIMSI bring local expertise and experience with dealing with a range of procurement models.

We are seeing globally increased demand for our CloudStack-related services: driven by the desire of organisations to repatriate cloud workloads and changes in the virtualisation market. By partnering with DIMSI we aim to repeat the success that we have seen in other markets."

DIMSI and ShapeBlue recognize the rising need for companies building private clouds to have a reliable partner, with proven expertise in building and managing IaaS with Apache CloudStack. They join forces to help companies in France harness the potential of open-source technology backed up by reliable support. While DIMSI brings their expertise in implementing private cloud solutions, ShapeBlue puts on top unbeatable experience with Apache CloudStack, cloud architecture and software engineering and software development services to develop features and integrations for Apache CloudStack.

"For the past eight years, we've had the privilege of collaborating with Shapeblue. I confidently place our trust in Giles, Steve, and their team as we embark on implementing public and private cloud solutions. This marks a crucial step for our clients who seek control over their consumption and aspire to reduce their environmental footprint. We're excited about the journey ahead!", said Gregoire Lamodiere, CEO of DIMSI.

This new partnership allows French customers to benefit from the local presence of DIMSI, their experience as a CloudStack integrator and ShapeBlue's 100s of man-years of experience in designing and building complex cloud, network, and storage infrastructure with globally leading skills in Apache CloudStack.

About DIMSI

DIMSI is a French integrator of Cloud solutions that operates and deploys private and public cloud infrastructures mainly based on the Open Source Apache CloudStack solution.

DIMSI is also the creator of the open-source backup solution Backroll.

With teams strategically positioned in Paris , Lorient, and Lyon , DIMSI offers comprehensive services throughout France , extending its support to include overseas departments and territories.

About ShapeBlue

ShapeBlue is the largest independent integrator of CloudStack technologies globally and a specialists in designing and implementing IaaS cloud infrastructures for both private and public cloud implementations. The company combines 100s of person-years of experience in designing and building complex network, storage and compute infrastructures with globally leading skills in Apache CloudStack. ShapeBlue's services include consulting, integration, training and infrastructure support.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shapeblue-and-dimsi-form-strategic-partnership-to-empower-private-cloud-builders-in-france-302033745.html

SOURCE ShapeBlue
TEL AVIV, Israel , Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Solvo, a leading provider of adaptive cloud infrastructure security solutions, recently gained recognition in a coverage initiation report by 451 Research, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence. The report, titled "Solvo tackles CNAPP with adaptive cloud security and deep application analysis," dives into Solvo's cloud security platform, highlighting its unique adaptive remediation capabilities as a key differentiator.

In the report, Garrett Bekker , a Principal Research Analyst in the Information Security Channel at 451 Research, analyzes Solvo's platform, which integrates features of both CSPM and CIEM solutions along with patented application analysis, and data security capabilities, into a broader CNAPP (cloud-native application protection platform) offering.

The report notes that in contrast to other cloud security products, which provide guided instructions to follow, Solvo provides actual code fixes that address infrastructure configuration for each unique security issue. Based on these capabilities, Solvo's platform allows for the application of least-privilege access policies and secure configuration to cloud-native applications.

According to the report, "dealing with configurations, identities and permissions are top pain points for cloud security. As such, enterprises now devote roughly one-third of their overall security budgets to cloud security."

"Given the vast size and complexity of cloud infrastructures, and their dynamic nature, it is becoming challenging to monitor changes, assess risks, and establish access policies and permissions accordingly," adds Shira Shamban , Solvo's CEO and Co-Founder. "To regain visibility and control over increasingly complex sets of access permissions, customers seek to minimize the need for constant policy updates. Ideally, this can be achieved by automating the tasks of identifying and mitigating access risks in the cloud based on their level of severity."

Solvo addresses this challenge by enabling customers to easily detect, prioritize, and remediate vulnerabilities and misconfigurations based on the analysis of contextual, dynamic risk factors across cloud infrastructure, applications, data, and users. By prioritizing risks and automating policy creation and enforcement, Solvo reduces the burden on security teams, allowing them to focus on and quickly respond to the most pressing threats.

About Solvo

Solvo is a provider of adaptive cloud infrastructure security solutions that empower security teams and other stakeholders to proactively identify and remediate cloud infrastructure access risks. Through multi-dimensional, contextual monitoring and analysis of cloud environments, Solvo enables enterprises to implement effective least privilege access controls at cloud scale, ultimately improving their overall security posture.

Media Contact:

Jessica Jones

[email protected]

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/solvo-featured-in-451-research-report-on-tackling-cnapp-with-adaptive-security-302035919.html

SOURCE Solvo
Bills on Human Operator Requirements, AV Controls Critical to Safety and Good Jobs

SACRAMENTO, Calif. , Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Teamsters applauded the introduction of two bills in California that are part of the California Automotive Regulatory Standards (CARS) Package, a series of legislative measures that state lawmakers are prioritizing to regulate autonomous vehicles (AVs).

An assembly bill to be introduced at a later date will require a trained human operator behind the wheel of any AV weighing 10,000 or more lbs., and Senate Bill 915 (SB 915) would require AV companies obtain an approval through a local ordinance prior to starting operations in a given municipality. The assembly bill is substantively identical to AB 316, which was introduced by Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D- Winters ) last session, and the local control bill was introduced by Senator Dave Cortese (D- San Jose ).

Both bills already have broad support. AB 316 received yes votes from more than 90 percent of the legislature last session, and SB 915 is co-sponsored by the League of California Cities.

To date, AV regulation in California has been left exclusively to regulatory agencies, including the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), while municipalities continue to lack any control over AVs wreaking havoc on local streets. As a result, California remains without proper enforcement of AV safety measures or accountability.

" California cannot afford to outsource the regulation of dangerous technology to Big Tech," said Peter Finn , Teamsters Western Region International Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 856. " California must implement real AV safety standards and ensure local municipalities have a say in AV deployment, especially given the botched regulatory oversight by the DMV and CPUC. We applaud Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry and Senator Cortese for introducing legislation that is essential to keeping our roads safe."

" California's deployment of AVs in 2023 is the perfect case study for what not to do. From Gov. Newsom's veto of AB 316  a bill that received resounding support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle  to the CPUC and DMV, too many people in state government last year chose not to put safety first, and it showed," said Jason Rabinowitz , President of Teamsters Joint Council 7. "Thanks to Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry and Senator Cortese , California has another shot to make things right and pass common sense safety measures to save lives and protect jobs."

The DMV has failed to track at-fault data for collisions involving AVs for several years and driverless vehicles remain immune from receiving traffic tickets. Meanwhile, the CPUC, whose lead Commissioner John Reynolds formerly worked as legal counsel to AV company Cruise, ruled in favor of unlimited expansion of Cruise and Waymo robotaxis on San Francisco roads in August, despite widespread pushback from elected officials and public safety representatives. Cruise later suspended operations nationwide after an incident that left a pedestrian grievously injured. Cruise vehicles also collided with fire trucks, were accused of being responsible for the death of a patient after blocking an ambulance, impeded workers by getting stuck in concrete, blocked waste trucks, caused a massive traffic jam outside of a music festival, and triggered a 20-car pile up in a tunnel. Last year a Waymo robotaxi killed a dog as well.

In spite of the abysmal track record that robotaxis have in California , the DMV recently approved Waymo's permit to expand into additional municipalities in the San Francisco and Los Angeles metro areas. The DMV approval also includes 24/7 access to freeways, highways, parking lots, and all other roads at speeds of up to 65 mph, even in inclement weather.

" Gov. Newsom can continue to cower to Big Tech and put millions of good jobs in jeopardy, or he can grow a backbone and stand up for working people. Either way, the Teamsters are not backing down from this fight," said Lindsay Dougherty , Teamsters Western Region International Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 399. "The Teamsters encourage all state lawmakers to join Cortese and Aguiar-Curry in prioritizing the well-being of Californians and the preservation of good-paying union jobs."

In addition to safety risks, AV technology also threatens the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of hardworking Californians. In California , there are roughly 200,000 professional drivers. Accounting for the ripple effect of automating commercial driving nationally, AVs could eliminate more than 15 million jobs across the U.S. Many of these would be in rural communities.

"The reason that companies like Google and General Motors pour so much money into AVs is because they know they can increase profits by killing jobs through automation," said Chris Griswold , President of Teamsters Joint Council 42. "Corporate America does not work in the best interest of Californians. This is why legislation that protects working people is so urgent. Many California lawmakers have already shown their support for AV regulation, but the Teamsters strongly urge all elected officials to stand up and stand with us to safeguard workers and our communities."

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S. , Canada , and Puerto Rico . Visit Teamster.org to learn more. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:

Zoe PiSierra , (603) 339-0042

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Matt McQuaid , (202) 624-6877

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SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters
A screen shows a news update on the polling in the presidential and parliamentary elections in Taipei, Taiwan January 13, 2024. REUTERS/Ann Wang/file photo

By Laurie Chen and Yew Lun Tian

BEIJING (Reuters) -China's muted response to the weekend victory by Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te signals what some analysts see as the start of an uneasy four months before he takes office, with Beijing treading carefully before then.

Lai, from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), will not replace outgoing Tsai Ing-wen until May 20 - but Beijing has little appetite to break a delicate balance that has settled over its ties with Washington in recent months, some diplomats and analysts say.

The situation is further complicated by a looming U.S. presidential election in November, risking plenty of bipartisan pressure from candidates as foreign policy debates intensify.

China claims neighbouring Taiwan as its own and has never ruled out the use of force to bring the island under its control. Some DPP figures are bracing for a tough four-year term ahead for Lai, who was branded by Chinese officials as a "dangerous separatist" well before the vote.

The tiny Pacific island nation of Nauru offered a taste of that in ditching its recognition of Taiwan for China, which reflects a long-running diplomatic effort by Beijing to deprive Taipei of its last few diplomatic allies. Taipei described the move as an act of post-election malice.

But while Beijing may maintain pressure on Taipei to enforce what it calls "red lines" over independence for the island it insists is "sacred" Chinese territory, it is unlikely to tighten the squeeze just yet.

"The line is very clearly drawn," said Victor Gao, a professor at China's Soochow University.

"China will not fire the first shot. But China will never allow pro-Taiwan independence activists to fire the second shot, after firing a first shot which is anti-peace."

Tsai and Lai both reject China's sovereignty claims and have repeatedly offered talks, which Beijing has rejected. They say only Taiwan people can decide their future.

Few Chinese analysts and scholars are speaking openly given the delicate nature of the situation, but some outside the country detect a marked caution.

"China's response is relatively muted now because it wants to leave it to the U.S. to rein in Lai first," said Qi Dongtao, a senior research fellow at the East Asian Institute in Singapore. "If the U.S. fails to rein Lai in, then China can step in."

Taipei-based political scientist Wen-Ti Sung, a non-resident fellow at Washington's Atlantic Council think tank, said Beijing's courting of Nauru was "low-hanging fruit".

Chinese officials are now likely conducting internal studies into what went wrong - why Beijing's preferred Kuomintang (KMT) opposition party didn't take the presidency, Sung said.

Not that it was a complete failure. Lai won less than 40 per cent of the vote and together with smaller opposition parties, the KMT can form a majority in the legislature.

RANGE OF OPTIONS

After his victory on Saturday, Lai said he wanted to improve ties with China and was open to talks, but Beijing has no shortage of options should his rhetoric change or broader Washington-Beijing ties cool again.

Western diplomats say China's Central Military Commission, commanded by President Xi Jinping, has likely been presented with a variety of escalatory options beyond its on-going deployments across and around Taiwan.

China's military has not directly commented on the election, but on Monday its Eastern Theatre Command released footage of naval combat drills in the East China Sea, without giving a detailed location.

"Battle alert, battle alert!" the command said in accompanying text. "The enemy suddenly arrives and the commander quickly issues combat instructions."

Such action is on a vastly smaller scale to the extensive missile drills and naval manoeuvres that surrounded Taiwan after the visit to Taipei by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in August 2022.

Economically, Beijing has coercive options too given on-going business flows and trade ties, while security analysts and diplomats say China has the ability to attempt cyberattacks against Taiwan infrastructure.

In late December, China scrapped tariff cuts on some 12 chemical products it imported from Taiwan - moves described by Taipei officials as an attempt to interfere in the election. But further pressure on the two sides' 2010 free trade deal, the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), cannot be ruled out, analysts said.

"The economic sanctions option they tried three weeks or so before and didn't work. So now Beijing needs to retool and optimise how it's going to use economic sanctions in a way that can send its message against Lai without unduly alienating Taiwanese society," Sung said.

Politically, too, Beijing can exploit connections with various opposition figures and groups, analysts said, noting that China's Taiwan Affairs Office said on Saturday that the vote tally showed that the DPP "cannot represent mainstream public opinion".

So far, China's state media has kept a low profile, with no editorials on the election result published by the English-language Global Times or a CCTV-affiliated social media blog that frequently comments on Taiwan issues.

Retired newspaper commentator Hu Xijin wrote in a WeChat blog post on Saturday that "if (Lai) does not restrain himself after taking office and intensifies his efforts to promote a radical line ... he may trigger a war and become a sinner for the ages." It was later deleted.

(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei and Greg Torode in Hong Kong; Writing by Greg Torode; Editing by Nick Macfie)
U.S. President Donald Trump talks with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization Plenary Session at the NATO summit in Watford, Britain, December 4, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

By David Ljunggren

OTTAWA (Reuters) - If Republican frontrunner Donald Trump wins the U.S. presidential election in November, it will be "a step back" that makes life tough for Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday.

Trudeau, whose center-left Liberals came to power in November 2015, had rocky relations with Trump during his first four-year White House term. In 2018, Trump accused Trudeau of being weak and dishonest.

"It wasn't easy the first time and if there is a second time, it won't be easy either," Trudeau said in French during a discussion hosted by the Montreal chamber of commerce.

He added: "But we can't imagine a day when it will ever be easy with the Americans. The main responsibility for any prime minister is to represent and defend Canada's interests ... we've been able to do this very well these past few years."

Canada sends 75% of its goods and services exports to the United States and is particularly vulnerable to any U.S. shift toward protectionism.

When Trump came to power he vowed to renegotiate the free trade treaty that bound the United States. Canada and Mexico. Ottawa spent almost two years locked in talks to produce a trilateral pact that largely protected Canadian interests.

About two-thirds of Canadians surveyed this month said U.S. democracy cannot survive another four years of Trump in power, and about half said the United States is on the way to becoming an authoritarian state, a poll released on Monday said.

A Trump win would be "a step back" and a victory for "a populism that reflects a lot of anguish and fury ... without necessarily providing solutions", Trudeau said.

The Liberals have made fighting climate change a priority and Trudeau said Trump showed little interest in the environment during "the lost four years" of his first term.

"There are clearly issues where I do not agree at all with Mr. Trump," Trudeau said, citing the climate question.

The next Canadian election has to be held by September 2025 and the Liberals are trailing their right-of-center Conservative rivals. Trudeau repeated criticism that the party had taken its inspiration from the Trump movement.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Tunisian President Kais Saied (1st R) meets with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (1st L), also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, in Tunis, Tunisia, Jan. 15, 2024. (Xinhua/Huang Ling)

TUNIS, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian President Kais Saied and visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday expressed opposition to interference in other countries' internal affairs under the pretext of human rights and democracy.

During their talks here on Monday, Wang said the world today is afflicted with uncertainty and instability as well as rampant unilateralism, power politics and hegemony, said Wang, noting that China opposes the imposition of one's own values, opposes the transformation of other countries according to one's own standards, and opposes the interference in other countries' internal affairs under the pretext of human rights and democracy.

China is willing to strengthen unity and coordination with Tunisia to jointly implement the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative, to promote economic globalization featuring equal, orderly global multipolarity and inclusiveness.

Saied said that the history of colonialism cannot be repeated and the world cannot return to unipolar hegemony. Tunisia opposes double standards and interference in other countries' internal affairs under the banner of democracy and human rights.

"The series of important global initiatives proposed by President Xi (Jinping) demonstrate China's cultural heritage and global vision," said Saied, expressing willingness to work with China and other developing countries to safeguard common values of mankind, defend international fairness and justice, and build a community with a shared future. 
By Joanna Plucinska, Valerie Insinna and David Shepardson

WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) -Boeing on Tuesday named a retired U.S. Navy admiral to advise the planemaker's CEO on improving quality control after 737 MAX 9 planes were grounded following the in-flight cabin panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines jet.

Kirkland H. Donald will serve as a special adviser to Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, Boeing said, as its shares sank nearly 8%. Numerous flights have been canceled since the incident, as 171 jets remain grounded pending inspections.

Boeing's production processes have been under scrutiny since a panel tore off the Alaska Airlines jet while in flight this month, leaving a hole on the side of the plane. The incident rekindled worries about Boeing's jets a few years after a pair of crashes killed nearly 350 people. Investors are also worried about potential delays to aircraft deliveries.

The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety chief will brief senators on the investigation on Wednesday, sources told Reuters. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy and the FAAs associate administrator for aviation safety David Boulter will meet with Senate Commerce Committee members so they can inquire about the incident and their respective investigative actions and processes, according to an email seen by Reuters.

The FAA grounded 171 MAX 9 planes on Jan. 6 pending approval of inspections and maintenance requirements.

Kirkland Donald will lead a team of outside experts in evaluating quality practices at Boeing Commercial Airplanes and its supply chain and provide recommendations to Calhoun and Boeing's board of directors.

Naming an outside adviser to the quality review is tremendously important in order for the findings to have credibility with the public, said Adam Pilarski, senior vice president at consultancy AVITAS, who was previously the chief economist at Douglas Aircraft.

Boeing lost a lot of credibility on the MAX, and the FAA lost a lot of credibility on the MAX, he said.

But Richard Aboulafia of AeroDynamic Advisories criticized Boeing's pick of an adviser without a background in aviation.

Ongoing MAX 9 investigations could ratchet up the pressure for management changes among Boeing's top executives, analysts said. Boeing shares are down more than 22% since the new year.

"We would not be surprised to see regulators, investors and customers push for a turnover in the ranks of senior management and the Board of Directors," Bank of America's Ron Epstein said in a Tuesday morning note to investors.

Wells Fargo analysts downgraded the shares on Tuesday, citing the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's announcement that it will review Boeing's inspections of the MAX 9 planes before allowing planes to fly again.

Pilarski said the drop in share price on Tuesday may reflect the frustration of investors who are thinking, If I buy this stock, I don't know what we'll find out tomorrow.

Both Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, the two U.S. carriers that fly the 737 MAX 9, have canceled flights through Wednesday.

CEO TOWN HALL IN WICHITA

Boeing CEO Calhoun will visit Spirit AeroSystems' production facilities in Wichita, Kansas, on Wednesday to speak with employees alongside that company's CEO, Pat Shanahan, Spirit confirmed on Tuesday.

Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary on Tuesday called for a revamp of Boeing's management, though he said senior leaders should stay at the company.

We need somebody in Seattle cracking heads, ensuring quality, making sure that aircraft are rolling off the production line on the day they're supposed to roll off the production line, he told Reuters.

O'Leary, whose airline is one of Boeing's largest customers with hundreds of MAX aircraft on order, told a news conference that Calhoun and Boeing's chief financial officer had his "full confidence and support."

But he later told Reuters that Boeing needed more hands-on management at its production hub in Seattle to improve quality control, saying the head of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Stan Deal, was mostly a "sales guy."

"When Stan is traveling - and he does a lot of traveling - who is minding the shop in Seattle?" O'Leary said.

Boeing referred to a letter to employees written by Deal on Monday, where he laid out additional steps the company would take to improve quality assurance, including additional 737 inspections at Boeing and Spirit facilities.

The company will also open its facilities to allow airlines to inspect 737s and review quality procedures.

"Since 2019, we have increased the number of Commercial Airplanes quality inspectors by 20% and we plan to make more investments in the Quality function," Deal said.

Spirit's Shanahan said in a letter to employees on Tuesday that the company will also add inspections at its 737 fuselage production line that replicate what airlines will do to return the MAX 9 to service.

A spokesman for Spirit AeroSystems said the letter was intended for Spirit's workforce and declined further comment.

(Reporting by Joanna Plucinska and Valerie Insinna; Additional reporting by Allison Lampert; Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by David Goodman, Mark Potter and Jonathan Oatis)
By Andrew MacAskill, Elizabeth Piper and Alistair Smout

LONDON (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defeated an initial right-wing rebellion in his party on Tuesday over legislation to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, refusing to cede ground in a battle that prompted two of his vocal supporters to resign.

The resignations of two Conservative vice-chairmen underlined the deep divisions in Sunak's governing party over legislation he believes is crucial in turning round his party's popularity before an election this year.

Some Conservative lawmakers say the Rwanda plan, which aims to block asylum seekers bringing further court challenges against their deportations, does not go far enough, while others fear any further toughening would breach international law and Kigali could pull the plug on the deal.

The government comfortably defeated the rebels' bid to make two changes to strengthen the law late on Tuesday as expected.

But Sunak only won because most opposition parties also voted against the rebels, and the dozens who voted for the changes might fuel a wider rebellion that could see the government defeated in the final vote in the lower house of parliament on the legislation on Wednesday.

One senior lawmaker said the rebels had the numbers to defeat Sunak in that final vote, also called a third reading.

"This shows the extent of dissatisfaction in the parliamentary party. There were more than enough rebelling to defeat the bill on third reading," the lawmaker said on condition of anonymity.

"The government should listen and agree amendments."

Sunak has made stopping arrivals of migrants crossing over from France on small boats a central aim of his government.

Most of them say they are fleeing wars and abuse in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia and the majority of arrivals in the last five years whose cases have been completed have been given refugee status.

But the British government says about 90% making the journey are men, and many of them economic migrants rather than genuine refugees.

'DIVIDED PARTIES FAIL'

Sunak faced the most serious threat to his leadership last month when he saw off a potential revolt by dozens of his lawmakers at the first parliamentary vote on the legislation.

The government comfortably won that vote after some lawmakers decided to abstain rather than oppose it, but some warned then they could vote down the legislation at these later stages.

Almost 60 Conservative members of parliament supported an amendment that would have prevented international law from blocking deportations, with some on the right of the party saying this should persuade Sunak to toughen the legislation.

Conservative Party Deputy Chairmen Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith said they had resigned over the government's lack of willingness to toughen the legislation.

"Whilst our main wish is to strengthen the legislation, this means that in order to vote for amendments we will therefore need to offer you our resignations," Anderson and Clarke-Smith said in a joint letter.

But other more centrist Conservative lawmakers say they do not believe many of those would want a government defeat before an election due later this year. The Conservatives are badly trailing the opposition Labour Party in opinion polls.

Isaac Levido, the Conservative Party's election strategist, told lawmakers at a closed-doors meeting late on Monday the party faced defeat at this year's national election unless they ended their infighting.

"Let me be clear. Divided parties fail," Levido said, according to a Conservative official.

(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill, Elizabeth Piper, Sachin Ravikumar, Alistair Smout and Michael Holden; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Tomasz Janowski and Jonathan Oatis)
FILE PHOTO: Printed Chinese and Canada flags are seen in this illustration, July 21, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada on Tuesday clamped down on researchers affiliated with a list of mainly China-based universities to stop them working on subjects deemed sensitive or critical to Canadian national security.

In measures Ottawa said were aimed at shielding advanced and emerging technologies, government grants will not be provided to researchers with links to universities connected to defense and security entities of countries that could harm security.

The universities are mostly based in China but a few from Iran and Russia are also listed.

"While Canadian-led research is defined by its excellence and collaborative nature, its openness can make it a target for foreign influence," the ministers of innovation, health, and public safety said in a joint statement.

An official said that while the policy affected only federal funding, the Ottawa government hoped it would used as guidance by provincial governments and Canadian institutions.

In 2022, Canada arrested and charged a researcher with espionage for allegedly trying to steal trade secrets to benefit China.

Canada is a member of the "Five Eyes" alliance with Britain, the United States, New Zealand and Australia. Last year the grouping's intelligence chiefs accused China of intellectual property theft and using artificial intelligence for hacking and spying against the nations.

China routinely rejects such charges.

The U.S. has long accused China of intellectual property theft and the issue has been a major sore point in U.S.-China relations.

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; editing by Mark Heinrich)
Republican presidential candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy makes a campaign visit to Machine Shed Restaurant before the Iowa caucus vote in Urbandale, Iowa, U.S. January 15, 2024. REUTERS/Sergio Flores

By Alexandra Ulmer

(Reuters) -Vivek Ramaswamy, a multi-millionaire former biotech executive, ended his White House bid on Monday and endorsed Donald Trump after his longshot bid caught attention but failed to catapult him high enough in the Republican Party's first nominating contest in Iowa.

Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old born in Ohio to immigrant parents from southern India, was one of the surprises of the 2024 Republican race dominated by former President Trump.

A fierce defender of Trump throughout the campaign, Ramaswamy likely secured himself a spot in Republican politics going forward with his youthful demeanor, deep pockets and fast-talking, pugnacious campaigning.

However, Trump turned on him in the final days leading up to the Iowa caucus, calling him a "fraud" and asserting that a vote for Ramaswamy was a vote for the "other side."

Still, Ramaswamy endorsed Trump on Monday, saying Trump was an "America-first" candidate who would have his full support.

"There is no path for me to be the next president," Ramaswamy told supporters in Des Moines after partial results from the Iowa caucus showed him in fourth place with around 7.7% of votes.

In his victory speech, Trump adopted a softer tone toward Ramaswamy. "I also want to congratulate Vivek, because he did a hell of a job," Trump said.

Harvard-educated Ramaswamy gained fame in right-wing circles thanks to his 2021 bestseller "Woke, Inc.," which decries decisions by some big companies to base business strategy around social justice and climate change concerns.

His combative debate performances and intense focus on media, especially social media, earned him headlines, but also put off some voters, and buzz around him ebbed in the autumn.

By the end of 2023, his national opinion polling numbers with likely Republican primary voters languished in the low single digits.

Ramaswamy's fellow Republican candidates often appeared irritated with the newcomer in debates, with former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley telling him during one contentious encounter: "Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber."

However, he gained some support, or at least interest, among libertarian crowds and the tech world. They included Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk, whom Ramaswamy confirmed to Reuters had attended a fundraiser for him in the autumn.

Ramaswamy says he was a libertarian while studying but has staked out some deeply conservative policy positions.

On the campaign trail, he opposed affirmative action and supported state-level bans on abortion after six weeks and said he wanted to greatly expand the powers of the presidency and dismantle much of the federal government, including the FBI and the Department of Education.

Ramaswamy was also reflective of a growing isolationist movement in the Republican Party, once made up of staunch foreign policy hawks. He opposed NATO membership for Ukraine and said Kyiv should make concessions to Russia to end the war, including allowing it to retain parts of Ukraine it occupies.

(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Ross Colvin, Deepa Babington and Daniel Wallis)
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen attends the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 16, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

DAVOS (Reuters) - The West must not let up supplying Ukraine with weapons and money if it wants Kyiv to succeed in its war against Russia, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen warned on Tuesday.

"Ukraine can prevail in this war but we must continue to empower their resistance," she told business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, urging Kyiv's western allies to continue their arms deliveries and financial support of Ukraine.

"Ukrainians need predictable financing throughout 2024 and beyond. They need a sufficient and sustained supply of weapons to defend Ukraine and regain its rightful territory."

(Reporting by Reuters TV, writing by Sabine Siebold and Bart Meijer)
Former Arkansas governor and 2024 Presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson speaks to media following the Republican Party of Iowa legislative breakfast at the Hilton Des Moines Downtown, in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. January 8, 2024. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer/ File

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, one of the few Republican presidential hopefuls to forcefully criticize frontrunner Donald Trump, dropped out of the race on Tuesday after struggling to gain traction in the polls.

"My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front-runner did not sell in Iowa. I stand by the campaign I ran," Hutchinson said in a statement.

He congratulated Trump on his decisive victory Monday in the Iowa Caucuses, the first nominating contest of the 2024 race.

Hutchinson, who launched his longshot bid for the 2024 Republican nomination in April with a call for Trump to exit the race, never rose above one percentage point in opinion polls and did not qualify for the party's second debate in September.

Hutchinson sought to position himself as the "non-Trump" candidate, saying the former president bore "significant responsibility" for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters and that he was unfit to be president again.

That strategy fell short, a reflection of the grip Trump holds over a large contingent of the Republican electorate. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the only other candidate to put his opposition to Trump at the center of his campaign message, has also languished in the polls.

Hutchinson was governor of Arkansas from 2015 until early 2023. Prior to that, he was a federal prosecutor, served three terms in the House of Representatives and held senior positions in the administration of Republican President George W. Bush.

His resume as a traditional conservative and his polite demeanor ultimately proved to be a poor fit for the combative nature of Republican politics dominated by Trump.

Hutchinson's departure from the race was not unexpected. In late October, his then campaign manager Rob Burgess left, citing his belief that Hutchinson could not win. And Hutchinson himself had stated a goal of boosting his poll numbers to 4% in an early caucus or primary state by Thanksgiving, which fell on Nov. 23 this year, which he failed to do.
FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference to answer questions from journalists after naming a new government, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, January 16, 2024. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo

By John Irish

PARIS (Reuters) -French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday he would head to Ukraine in February to finalise a bilateral security guarantee deal under which Paris would deliver more sophisticated weaponry, including long-range cruise missiles.

The trip comes at a time when political infighting in the U.S. and European Union has held up two major packages of assistance for Ukraine.

Macron said some 40 SCALP long-range missiles and several hundred bombs would be delivered in the coming weeks.

"We are going to deliver a lot more equipment and help Ukraine with what it needs to defend its skies," Macron told a news conference. "I will go myself to Ukraine in February and finalise these texts."

France has already delivered about 50 SCALP missiles, which have a range of about 250 km, three times as far as Ukraine's existing missile capacities.

Macron added that Europeans would in the coming weeks ramp up their support for Ukraine so it could continue to defend itself against Russia because Moscow could not be allowed to defeat Ukraine otherwise the security of Europe would be put at risk.

Ukraine's defence minister will be in Paris on Thursday, France's defence ministry said on Tuesday.

G7 countries in June unveiled an international framework for the long-term security of Ukraine to boost its finances and defences against Russia with a view to deterring Moscow from future aggression, officials said.

Ukraine has lobbied for long-term security commitments from its main backers. France has been negotiating bilaterally since June, but there has been scant detail on what countries are willing to do and with the war entering its third year there are questions about how committed Kyiv's allies may be.

French diplomatic sources have said the accord would outline the framework for long-term humanitarian aid, support for reconstruction and military assistance.

Kyiv is seeking to maintain flows of military and financial aid from its Western allies after nearly two years of fighting a full-scale Russian invasion.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was in Kyiv last week to sign a new security agreement and announce an increase in military funding for Ukraine to buy drones, including surveillance, long-range strike and sea drones.

(Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and David Gregorio)
Victims got treatment at Morowali Regional Hospital after an explosion at the nickel smelter furnace owned by Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel (ITSS) in Morowali, Central Sulawesi province, Indonesia, December 24, 2023, in this photo taken by Antara Fo

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian government said on Tuesday there was a strong indication of a safety procedure violation that led to a fire at a nickel smelter on Sulawesi island that killed 21 workers.

A fire broke out on Dec. 24 at a furnace in a smelter operated by Tsingshan Stainless Steel Indonesia, located in the country's largest nickel hub, the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP).

There was a strong indication of standard procedure violation and negligence in the implementation of safety requirements that allegedly led to the fire incident, Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah said in a statement on Tuesday.

She did not elaborate on the suspected violations.

In the same statement, Central Sulawesi police chief Agus Nugroho said the police were investigation into the cause of the fire.

Indonesia, the world's biggest nickel producer, has banned exports of unprocessed nickel ore as it moves to boost domestic smelting and processing, but the sector has suffered several fatal incidents in recent years.

Senior cabinet minister overseeing the mining industry, Luhut Pandjaitan, called for law enforcement to take firm action to avoid similar incidents .

"We have to show that we do need investment, but they have to comply with regulations in our country. They cannot ignore the rules," Luhut said.

IMIP spokeperson Dedy Kurniawan said the companies within the industrial park comply with government regulations.

(Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy, additional reporting by Stanley Widianto, Editing by Louise Heavens)
By Antoni Slodkowski and Megan Davies

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters and Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman met Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the first day of the World Economic Forum meeting on Tuesday.

Governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) Pan Gongsheng and members of the Chinese government who are part of its delegation in Switzerland were also present at a private lunch with business leaders hosted by the WEF in Davos.

"I'm glad that people are all talking," Dimon told Reuters as he was leaving the lunch in the main WEF conference centre, where leading bankers and business figures mingle with high-ranking government officials from countries around the globe.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office said he had met Dimon and other senior JPMorgan executives, BlackRock's top management, and executives from Bridgewater Associates, Carlyle Group, Blackstone, Dell and ArcelorMittal in Davos.

"It is important for us to attract private capital to the reconstruction of Ukraine. We hope that JPMorgan will help attract a large number of global investors and corporations," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app.

The U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery Penny Pritzker, who also attended the meeting, said Zelenskiy's economic message was his commitment to reform.

"There's a lot of question about what's possible today versus what's definitely possible in the future when you're postwar," Pritzker told Reuters.

"They (Ukraine) indicated that they have early interest from some forward-leaning investors who are willing to maybe take more risk than, let's say, an established pension fund, if you will. And then there's certainly individual investors who are quite interested," Pritzker added.

A source familiar with the situation said that JPMorgan had hosted a small meeting that included Dimon, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio, Blackstone's Schwarzman as well as BlackRock Vice Chairman Philipp Hildebrand.

In the meeting, the Ukrainian delegation emphasised that Ukraine was a country with GDP growth and a viable place to invest when the war with Russia ended, the source said, although there was no suggestion that anything could be done before then.

There was a sense that the investor community should be ready for that time, however, and the group discussed sectors including information technology and real estate, the source told Reuters.

There was also a discussion about the U.S.-China relationship, with an acknowledgement that tension there was not helpful to Ukraine, as it meant the country was looked on as a U.S. rather than a global interest, they added.

(Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski, Megan Davies and Jeffrey Dastin; Writing by Alexander Smith; Editing by Alex Richardson)
An exterior view of the Lafarge Cement plant, owned by LafargeHolcim, in the central England village of Cauldon, Britain, September 17, 2021. REUTERS/John Geddie/ File Photo

By Tassilo Hummel

PARIS (Reuters) -France's highest court on Tuesday rejected a request from French cement maker Lafarge that it dismiss charges of complicity in crimes against humanity as part of an enquiry into how the group kept its factory running in Syria after war broke out in 2011.

The procedural ruling, which upheld an earlier decision by a lower court, is not a verdict on guilt.

But it means a multi-year investigation into the company's criminal liability on the grounds of alleged, highly symbolic crimes against humanity charges can continue.

It is unclear when the investigation will be completed and whether prosecutors will decide to send the case to court for a ruling on the substance of the accusations.

The company's court action was successful in part in that the court dropped charges of endangering the life of its staff.

Lafarge in a statement said the decision was a "legacy issue" that it was addressing "through the legal process in France". It did not provide further comment.

The company, which became part of Swiss-listed Holcim in 2015, has been the subject of an investigation into its operations in Syria since 2016, one of the most extensive corporate criminal proceedings in recent French legal history.

ISLAMIST GROUPS

Anna Kiefer, a lawyer for French campaign group Sherpa, which had lodged a criminal complaint against Lafarge, said the court's decision was a "partial victory".

"The confirmation of the indictment for complicity in crimes against humanity is a key step towards Lafarge one day being tried for these acts," she said.

"However, the annulment of the indictment for endangering the lives of others is a major setback for the recognition of the risks that Lafarge posed to Syrian employees."

The cement maker, has admitted, following its own internal investigation, that its Syrian subsidiary paid armed groups to help protect staff at the plant in a country shaken by years of civil war.

U.S. prosecutors said Lafarge, through intermediaries, paid Islamic State and al Nusra Front the equivalent of approximately $5.92 million between 2013 and 2014 to allow employees, customers and suppliers to pass through checkpoints after civil war broke out in Syria.

But in a legal battle, involving dozens of lawyers and thousands of pages of documents, Lafarge has rejected some of the charges French prosecutors have considered, including that it was complicit in crimes against humanity committed by the Islamist groups.

The company said France was not the jurisdiction for the prosecution of charges of involvement in war crimes abroad, an argument the court rejected.

The company also denied it could be guilty of endangering the lives of its local staff by keeping employees in their jobs when the safety situation deteriorated.

The top court agreed agreed with the company's argument that it could not be prosecuted for endangering the lives of staff on the basis of French labour law, as that legislation did not apply to local staff.

(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel, additional reporting by John Revill;Editing by Ingrid Melander and Barbara Lewis)
Tunisian President Kais Saied (1st R, front) and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (1st L, front), also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visit the library of the International Diplomatic Academy of Tunis in Tunisia, Jan. 15, 2024. Wang addressed a ceremony held in the Tunisian capital of Tunis on Monday to inaugurate the China-built International Diplomatic Academy of Tunis, which was also attended by Tunisian President Kais Saied and Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar. (Xinhua/Huang Ling)

TUNIS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday spoke highly of the "great friendship" achieved by China and Tunisia during the past six decades since the establishment of their diplomatic ties.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks at a ceremony held in the Tunisian capital of Tunis to inaugurate the China-built International Diplomatic Academy of Tunis, which was also attended by Tunisian President Kais Saied and Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar.

It took eight years to build the academy, the only one of its kind that China has helped build in an Arab country, the Chinese top diplomat noted.

The academy, which has demonstrated the high level and quality of the China-Tunisia ties, will become a new symbol of and platform for carrying forward the traditional China-Tunisia friendship, he added.

Over the past decades, China and Tunisia have firmly supported each other in safeguarding independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and choosing their own paths of development, Wang said.

The two countries have also achieved fruitful results in pragmatic cooperation by successfully implementing a number of high-quality projects to improve people's livelihoods, maintaining close communication and coordination in international and regional affairs, and working together to safeguard common interests as well as international fairness and justice, he said.

At the ceremony, Wang also called for building an equal and orderly multipolar world and advancing an inclusive economic globalization that benefits all.

He underscored that all countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, should play their due role and enjoy the right to development and revitalization.

Ammar, for his part, said that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Tunisia and China, which have achieved smooth progress in bilateral cooperation in various fields.

Strengthening the bilateral friendship is the shared political wish of both sides and conforms to the common interests of the two countries and their peoples, said Ammar.

He expressed gratitude to China for building the academy, which is the concrete result of the joint construction of the Belt and Road and has crystallized the profound friendship between Tunisia and China.

Tunisia will use the academy as a bridge for boosting mutual understanding and exchanges between Tunisia and China, as well as the rest of the world, the Tunisian top diplomat said. 
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference to answer questions from journalists after naming a new government, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, January 16, 2024. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

By Elizabeth Pineau and Tassilo Hummel

PARIS (Reuters) -French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday announced a wide array of measures - from regulating children's screen time to increasing parental leave payments - in a bid to reinvigorate a second mandate marred by his unpopularity and contested reforms.

In a rare and lengthy news conference, Macron focused on voters' everyday concerns, including schools and the cost of living, confirming that he wants to turn the page on last year's contested pension and immigration reforms.

"France will be stronger in this world of upheaval if we're more united," he said. "I'm convinced that we have all the assets we need to succeed."

Discontent over surging living costs and last year's reforms have seriously hit Macron's ratings, and his chances in European Parliament elections in June, where his party trails badly behind Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally.

In a nod to that, Macron confirmed plans for tax cuts for the middle class and said electricity would remain substantially cheaper than in some neighbouring countries but gave no details.

"There is a blind spot in France, which means many of our compatriots earn too much to get help but not enough to live well," Macron said. He said he wanted to address that.

Macron's appointment last week of Gabriel Attal, 34, a relatively popular and media-savvy rising star of French politics, as France's youngest ever prime minister, had already signaled the president's desire to move forward and also win back disgruntled voters tempted by Le Pen's far-right party.

"The National Rally has become the party of easy anger," he said, urging voters to think twice. "It's not the National Rally's Europe that would give you access to vaccines," he said, in a reference to the EU's concerted efforts to buy COVID vaccines at the height of the pandemic.

CHILDREN

It remains to be seen how much Tuesday's announcements - many of which were broad-brushed with details expected later from the government - can help change the tide for Macron.

Measures concerning children would include regulating their TV, phone and computer screen time, he said, adding that he could not specify yet how that would be done.

He also announced that uniforms would be tried out in about 100 schools, adding there would be more civic instruction classes and that all children in junior high school should have access to drama classes.

Parental leave, Macron said, would be shorter than now but better paid.

He said there would be reforms of the health system to ensure people have better access to doctors - a major concern for many in France - but remained quite vague about how that would be achieved.

Macron, whose margin of manoeuvre is constrained by the lack of an absolute majority in parliament, said he would ask his government to launch more liberal reforms to boost the economy, saying France needed to "produce more" and "innovate more".

"France will be stronger if it wins back its financial independence", he said.

He reaffirmed his pledge to reach full employment, promising new reforms to reach that goal, including better helping the unemployed to find work - but also being more strict when they refuse job offers.

(Reporting by Benoit van Overstraeten, Tassilo Hummel, Elizabeth Pineau, Ingrid Melander, John Irish; Writing by Ingrid Melander; editing by John Irish and Gareth Jones)
FILE PHOTO: A group of migrants wait to disembark from a wooden boat after being rescued by a Spanish coast guard vessel in the port of Arguineguin, on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, January 2, 2024. REUTERS/Borja Suarez/File Photo

By Catarina Demony

MADRID (Reuters) - The number of migrants entering Spain irregularly by sea has jumped nearly 300% so far in January from the same period in 2023, with the vast majority arriving in the Canary Islands, official data showed on Tuesday.

The seven islands lying around 100 kms (60 miles) off Africa's northwestern coast have become the main destination for migrants from Senegal and other African countries trying to reach Spain in search of a better life or fleeing conflict.

A total of 3,658 migrants entered Spain by sea, most in fragile boats, between Jan. 1 and 15, up from 921 in the year-ago period, Interior Ministry data showed. Around 95% of those who arrived by sea went to the Canary Islands while the rest entered via the Balearic Islands or Spain's mainland.

The number of boats increased only marginally, to 80 from 65, suggesting more crammed and dangerous voyages.

2023 was a record year for irregular migrant arrivals in Spain, particularly on the Canary Islands, the entry point of 39,910 last year.

Rights group Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) said in its latest report that 6,618 migrants had died trying to reach Spain last year, with the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands being the deadliest.

The bodies of five migrants were transported to Tenerife's port of Los Cristianos on Jan. 4 after the coast guard found them in a large wooden boat at sea a few days earlier.

The Spanish government last year intensified contact with authorities in countries such as Senegal and Mauritania to reverse the trend. Spain also had to create additional emergency accommodation for migrants in military barracks, hotels and hostels across the country.

(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Additional reporting by Emma Pinedo; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Richard Chang)
FILE PHOTO: Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te, of Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) gestures as he attends a rally following the victory in the presidential elections, in Taipei, Taiwan January 13, 2024. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo

By Ben Blanchard

TAIPEI (Reuters) -The U.S. official who heads the body that handles unofficial ties with Taiwan on Tuesday decried Nauru's "unfortunate" decision to break ties with Taipei shortly after an election and warned that Beijing's promises often go unfulfilled.

The Pacific, where tiny Nauru is located, has become a source of intense competition for influence between Washington which has traditionally viewed it as its backyard, and Beijing, which has targeted Taiwanese diplomatic allies there.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taiwan strongly disputes.

U.S. officials have previously expressed concern at China whittling away at Taiwan's allies, especially in Central America. After Nauru ended ties with Taiwan on Monday, just two days after a presidential election in Taiwan, the island is left with only 12 countries that formally recognise it.

Laura Rosenberger, chair of the Virginia-based American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), told reporters in Taipei that Nauru's move was "unfortunate" and the United States encourages all countries to expand engagement with Taiwan.

"While the government of Nauru's action is a sovereign decision, it is nonetheless a disappointing one," she said.

"The PRC often makes promises in exchange for diplomatic relations that ultimately remain unfulfilled," Rosenberger added, referring to the People's Republic of China.

The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but is Taiwan's most important international backer and a major arms supplier.

Taiwan's government has said China specifically chose the timing just after Saturday's presidential election to move on Nauru.

Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Lai Ching-te won the election, as expected, and will take office on May 20. In the poll's run-up, China had repeatedly called him a dangerous separatist.

Unusually, Nauru's statement mentioned United Nations Resolution 2758, passed in 1971 and which saw the Beijing government take Taipei's place at the U.N.'s China seat, as a reason for its decision.

Rosenberger said the resolution was being misinterpreted.

"UN Resolution 2758 did not make a determination on the status of Taiwan, does not preclude countries from having diplomatic relationships with Taiwan and does not preclude Taiwan's meaningful participation in the U.N. system," she said.

"It is disappointing to see distorted narratives about UN Resolution 2758 being used as a tool to pressure Taiwan, limit its voice on the international stage and limit its diplomatic relationships."

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the United States had "slandered and discredited" China's diplomatic system and "openly criticised" decisions made independently by a sovereign country.

"China is strongly dissatisfied with this," she told reporters.

In the Pacific, only Palau, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands now have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

Rosenberger said she expected U.S. efforts to increase and expand engagement with Pacific Island nations to continue.

Taiwan's government has accused China of offering large sums of money to Nauru. China's foreign ministry did not answer a question on that allegation on Monday, saying only that Nauru had made the "right choice".

Nauru budget documents show two-thirds of government revenue last year came from fees paid by Australia to host a refugee processing centre, which began to be wound down in July.

Budget papers said funding from Australia for the centre was likely to end in 2026, having "a significant impact on Nauru's economy."

Australia said on Tuesday its funding for the refugee centre, which is a key part of its policy to deter asylum seekers arriving in Australian waters by boat, hasn't changed.

"Nauru remains an offshore processing facility. Funding arrangements for the management of that facility have not changed," a spokesperson for Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said in a statement to Reuters.

Australia's Pacific Minister Pat Conroy said Australia respects Nauru's decision and had been told in advance of the announcement, although there were no discussions about the decision.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney and Andrew Hayley in Beijing; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Michael Perry and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
By Lucy Craymer

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A New Zealand Green Party parliamentarian resigned on Monday after it was alleged by media she had shoplifted at high end local boutiques on at least three occasions.

Without specifically addressing the accusations, the member of parliament, Golriz Ghahraman, said in a statement that mental health issues and work stress had led to her acting in a way that was completely out of character.

"People should, rightly, expect the highest standards of behaviour from their elected representatives. I fell short. Im sorry. Its not a behaviour I can explain because its not rational in any way, and after medical evaluation, I understand Im not well," her statement said.

Local media have reported that Iranian-born Ghahraman, who has been in parliament since 2017 and was the first refugee to become a member of parliament, is accused of shoplifting at Scotties Boutique in Ponsonby, Auckland, and at Cre8iveworkz in Wellington.

New Zealand Police said in a statement they were investigating an incident at a Ponsonby store in December but would not give any other details. They did not confirm the incident involved Ghahraman.

Ghahraman said that she thanked Scotties Boutique for their kindness and empathy.

Green Party co-leader James Shaw said that while parliament was a stressful place for everybody, Ghahraman had a particularly difficult time as she had received numerous threats from members of the public since arriving in office.

(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Sonali Paul)
LAGOS (Reuters) -Nigerian rescuers searched for injured people on Tuesday night after a huge blast in Oyo state shook buildings and sent panicking residents onto the streets.

The cause of the blast was not immediately clear while local media reported that some buildings had collapsed. The explosion was heard in the Oyo state capital Ibadan, 130 km (80 miles) from the commercial capital Lagos.

Some residents said the blast shattered windows of their homes.

"Relevant agencies are carrying out search and rescue operations at the scene of the incident. Residents of the state are urged to remain calm as the Oyo State Government is on top of the situation," Oyo state said in a statement.

The state's commissioner for information Prince Dotun Oyelade earlier said "residents of Ibadan and immediate environ experienced an uncommon explosion about 8 p.m. (1900 GMT) this evening."

(Reporting by Tife Owolabi and Ardo Hazzad, writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by David Gregorio and Howard Goller)
A view of tent camps, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, January 16, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

PARIS (Reuters) -Qatar and France have brokered a deal with Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas to deliver urgent medication to some 45 Israeli hostages held by the group in Gaza in return for humanitarian and medical aid for the most vulnerable civilians.

The two countries said the aid would leave Qatar for Egypt on Wednesday before being taken across the Rafah border crossing.

Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said in a statement the deal would mean "medicine along with other humanitarian aid is to be delivered to civilians in the Gaza Strip, in the most affected and vulnerable areas, in exchange for delivering medication needed for Israeli captives in Gaza."

He did not give details on how much aid or what aid would be delivered to civilians.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said two Qatari Air Force planes were to land on Wednesday in Egypt with medicines purchased in France based on an Israeli list.

Earlier, Philippe Lalliot, head of France's foreign ministry crisis centre which organises aid efforts, said negotiations had been going on for weeks and the initial idea had come from the families of some of the Israeli hostages.

Specific medical packages for several months, which were put together in France, would be delivered to each of the 45 hostages. The International Committee of the Red Cross will coordinate on the ground.

France still has three nationals held in Gaza, but none of them are in urgent need of medication, Lalliot said.

(Reporting by John Irish, Yomna Ehab, Muhammed El Gebaly and Henriette Chacar;Editing by Chris Reese and David Gregorio)
(Reuters) - Russia and Niger, under military rule since a coup last year, have agreed to develop military cooperation, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

According to Russian news agencies, Russian Deputy Defense Ministers Yunus-Bek Yevkurov and Alexander Fomin met Niger's junta-appointed Defense Minister Salifu Modi on Tuesday.

"The parties noted the importance of developing Russian-Niger relations in the defense sector and agreed to intensify joint actions to stabilize the situation in the region," - the ministry said, adding that it aims to continue dialogue on "increasing the combat readiness" of Niger's military.

The ministry has not provided details about its plans.

Niger's military council, led by General Abdourahamane Tiani, took power after ousting President Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023.

Niger's junta has kicked out French troops and severed security pacts with the European Union, leaving Western allies concerned that the country could become a new foothold for Russia in the region.

Niger's junta-appointed Prime Minister Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine has also arrived in Moscow. During the visit, Zeine intends to discuss widening a partnership with Russia in the areas of defense, agriculture and energy.

Niger's uranium and oil reserves and its pivotal role in fighting Islamist militants in the Sahel region give it economic and strategic importance for the United States, Europe, China and Russia.

(Reporting by Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Ron Popeski and Jonathan Oatis)
(Reuters) - Russia said on Tuesday that it was increasingly apparent to the world that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's plan to resolve the nearly two-year war had no hope of succeeding and dismissed meetings devoted to it as "pointless and harmful".

The fourth in a series of meetings bringing together officials from several dozen countries - but not Russia - was held this week in Davos. A commentary on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website said the meeting had exposed differences between participants and produced no increase in support for the proposals.

"There is a growing understanding that no overall, fair and sustainable peace can be achieved by focusing on the ultimatum of the 'Zelenskiy formula,'" the commentary said.

"All such meetings ... including the Davos gathering and those to follow it, are pointless and harmful for settling the Ukrainian crisis."

Russia is pointedly not invited to the meetings centred on Zelenskiy's peace plan, which calls for withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine, recognition of its 1991 post-Soviet borders and a mechanism to bring Moscow to account.

Zelenskiy has ruled out talks with Moscow while Russian troops remain in the country. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, he urged the West to tighten sanctions pressure on Moscow and to step up support for Kyiv.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Ukraine's statehood could suffer an "irreparable blow" if the pattern of the war continued, and that Russia would never be forced to abandon the gains it had made in its military campaign.

Ukraine has sought through the meetings and other diplomatic moves to garner greater support from the "global south," with many countries having stayed on the sidelines in the conflict.

Zelenskiy's Chief of Staff, Andriy Yermak, said there were participants at the Davos meeting from 18 Asian countries, 12 African countries and six South American countries.

The Swiss government agreed after the latest gathering on Zelenskiy's peace plan to host a global peace summit on Ukraine at Zelenskiy's request.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the Davos talks as "simply talking for the sake of talking," saying there could be no moves towards a settlement without Russia's participation.

(Reporting by Ron Popeski, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, and his wife Nadine Menendez arrive at Federal Court for a hearing on bribery charges in connection with an alleged corrupt relationship with three New Jersey businessmen, in New York City,

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The wife of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez on Monday sought to sever the government's corruption case against her from her husband, according to a court document.

In the document, Nadine Menendez's lawyers said a joint trial will prejudice her right to defend herself at a fair trial. They added that a joint trial would force the married defendants to make a Hobson's choice "as exercising their right to testify in their own defense may necessitate waiving their privilege against providing testimony adverse to their spouse."

"Ms. Menendez's interests in both maintaining the confidentiality of her privileged marital communications and exercising her spousal testimonial privilege without sacrificing her ability to testify in her own defense collectively support a finding of a 'serious risk' that a joint trial will compromise her 'specific trial rights,'" the lawyers said.

The pair pleaded not guilty in October after they were charged with taking bribes from three New Jersey businessmen.

In charging the senator last September, prosecutors said investigators had found gold bars and envelopes stuffed with cash inside jackets in the New Jersey Democrat's apartment.

They also said businessman Wael Hana had arranged meetings between Menendez and Egyptian officials, who pressed the senator to sign off on military aid.

In return, Hana put Menendez's wife on the payroll of a company he controlled, prosecutors said.

Earlier this month, prosecutors accused Menendez of helping a New Jersey businessman seek an investment from Qatari company with ties to the Middle Eastern country's government.

The latest allegations, which accused him of acting as a foreign agent, add pressure on the embattled senator, who has resisted calls to resign from members of his own party.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
FILE PHOTO: People queue at the counter of Sixt rental car at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York City, U.S., March 30, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo

(Reuters) -Stellantis NV will sell up to 250,000 vehicles across Europe and North America over the next three years under a multi-billion euro agreement with rental firm SIXT SE, the companies said on Tuesday.

Deliveries for a range of Stellantis' vehicles, from city cars to SUVs to trucks, will commence by the first quarter of 2024 and continue throughout the year.

The deal will also see Stellantis provide electric vehicles to the German mobility service provider, but the companies did not offer further details.

The companies said they would also explore potential cooperation opportunities across different regions, including Stellantis' data as a service (DaaS) business.

(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
Laman Ismayilova

Heydar Aliyev Center will open an exhibition of the works of the outstanding Georgian artist Lado Gudiashvili (1896-1980) on January 24.

The exhibition is organized with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Center, the Georgian Embassy in Azerbaijan and the Lado Gudiashvili Foundation in Georgia, Azernews reports.

The art works of the legendary artist in painting, graphic art and stage design will be exhibited in Azerbaijan for the first time.

Many of the works in the Baku exhibition attract attention. First of all, it is necessary to mention Gudiashvili's graphic works.

Among them, there are also sketches made for the costumes of the ballet, which does not see the stage face.

Although the ballet performance did not take place, the sketches are preserved as an immortal memory of the artist.

Lado Gudiashvili's first exhibition took place in Tbilisi when he was 19 years old, and thus the young artist became widely known in Georgian artistic circles. Gudiashvili, who became a legend in languages with his works, played a role in the cultural life of Tbilisi immediately after organizing his first exhibition.

The legendary Georgian artist Niko Pirosmani was Lado Gudiashvili's idol. He used the image of Niko Pirosmani several times in his paintings.

The artist also gained fame in Europe. He was well known in the art world of Paris, where he lived for five years, and won the appreciation of art lovers with his exhibitions held in a number of European cities, as well as in New York.

Lado Gudiashvili's communication with the world-famous artists Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Sergey Yesenin leaves a unique mark on the works created.

Lado is an artist who portrayed reality with a personal approach, and at the same time as a careful observer and psychologist who skillfully demonstrated an infinite range of emotions on the faces of his characters.

Lado Gudiashvili died in 1980. He is an artist with an artistic outlook and distinctive style, one of the founders of Georgian modernism and Tbilisi avant-garde movement.

The artist's exhibition at Heydar Aliyev Center will last until April 24.
KIGALI, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), in partnership with the City of Kigali authorities, on Monday launched a campaign aimed at involving hundreds of youth in active wetland restoration in the capital of Kigali.

Under the Youth Engagement in the Restoration of Wetlands initiative, young people will be involved in the restoration of five wetlands in the city, including Gikondo, Rwampara, Rugenge-Rwintare, Kibumba and Nyabugogo, the REMA said in a statement.

The 300 youth volunteers will conduct sensitization on rehabilitation works, raising awareness of the importance of wetland conservation among young people, wetland users, and neighbors, it said.

"Youth involvement in wetland conservation is important because wetlands act as buffers against extreme weather events such as flooding," Pacifique Basabotse, a young volunteer, told Xinhua.

Some of Rwanda's wetlands face pressure from inappropriate forms of agriculture, soil erosion, illegal mining, illegal infrastructure, and pollutants from industrial wastewater discharge.

The REMA said the declining capacity for wetlands to provide critical ecosystem services has resulted in increased flooding and attendant damage to infrastructure, lives, reduced productivity, and silting of water bodies. 
Supporters of the opposition 'Serbia Against Violence' (SPN) coalition gather in front of St. Marko church to light up candles on the anniversary of the murder of Oliver Ivanovic, Kosovo Serb moderate politician, after the SPN alleged major election law v

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Thousands of opposition supporters rallied peacefully in the Serbian capital Belgrade on Tuesday in an anti-government protest to demand the annulment of last month's elections, which were described by international observers as unfair.

The populist ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won 46.72% of the votes in the snap parliamentary and local elections. But an international monitoring mission said the SNS gained an unfair advantage through media bias, the improper influence of President Aleksandar Vucic, and voting irregularities such as vote-buying.

Vucic and his allies said the elections were fair.

The rally was also staged to mark the sixth anniversary of the killing of Oliver Ivanovic, a moderate Kosovo Serb politician. Ivanovic was gunned down in front of his party office in 2018 in the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, a predominantly Serb area of mainly Albanian Kosovo, which declared independence from Belgrade in 2008.

The investigation over Ivanovic's death is still ongoing in both Serbia and Kosovo. In an address to the crowd, Marinika Tepic, a leader of the center-right alliance Serbia Against Violence (SPN), which came second in the vote, said the opposition remains determined to contest the election results.

"The entire planet knows, we caught him (Vucic) red-handed...him who would not dare to appear before his people," said Tepic, who last month went on a two-week hunger strike to protest the outcome of the vote.

The opposition says it also wants the annulment of elections in Belgrade which ended inconclusively and are seen by many as fraudulent.

On Monday, Milos Vucevic, the head of SNS, said voting in Belgrade may be repeated if no one manages to form a coalition and secure a majority in the city hall.

With its population of 1.4 million people, Belgrade represents about a quarter of Serbia's electorate, and its mayor is seen as one of the most influential officials in the Balkan country.

Serbia is a candidate for membership in the European Union, but before it joins the bloc, it must first reform the judiciary, rule of law, and media freedoms, and root out corruption, organized crime, and corruption.

It must also mend ties with Kosovo and align its foreign policies with those of the EU, including the introduction of sanctions against Russia, over its invasion of Ukraine.

(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
By Daren Butler and Huseyin Hayatsever

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey said it had destroyed 23 targets in overnight air strikes on Kurdish militants in northern Iraq and Syria, a further escalation of conflict south of its border.

The attacks were the latest by Turkey since nine Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes with Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in northern Iraq on Friday.

The new strikes were on targets in northern Syria and the Metina, Gara, Hakurk and Qandil regions of northern Iraq, the defence ministry said late on Monday.

"Twenty-three targets were destroyed, including caves, shelters, tunnels, ammunition warehouses, supply materials and facilities used by the terrorist organisation," it said in a statement accompanied by a photo of Turkish warplanes.

It said many militants had been "neutralised", a term commonly used to be mean killed.

Separately, Iranian state media reported late on Monday that Kurdistan was the scene of an unrelated attack by Iran's Revolutionary Guards on what it said was the "spy headquarters" of Israel there. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday they had carried out the attack, and one in Syria, in defence of its sovereignty and security and to counter terrorism.

The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the insurgency.

The conflict was long fought mainly in rural areas of southeastern Turkey but is now more focused on the mountains of northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, where PKK militants are based.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on social media platform X that counter-terrorism police had also detained 165 people in operations targeting the PKK across 28 Turkish provinces.

The operations had targeted people viewed as being in the PKK, having aided it or spread what he called PKK propaganda.

Since 2019, Turkey has set up a 15- to 30-kilometre-deep buffer zone along its border with Iraq as part of cross-border operations dubbed "Claw", Defence Minister Yasar Guler told lawmakers during a debate on recent attacks in Iraq's north.

"With the Claw-Lock operation, which began in 2022, our Iraq border became completely safe and our border safety is secured. If we hadn't been there, terrorist attacks on our borders would have continued," Guler said.

Turkey has built 620 kilometres of roads in "Claw" operation zones and Turkish troops had "neutralised" 1,689 PKK militants in the operation zone since 2019, Guler added.

Turkish state media and other sources said on Monday Turkey had also carried out a wave of air strikes on electricity and oil infrastructure in Syria's Kurdish-held northeast, putting several power stations out of service.

Turkey has staged a series of military incursions and bombing campaigns in Syria's north against the Kurdish YPG militia, which it regards as a wing of the PKK.

Turkish authorities said on Monday police had detained 18 people for "praising terrorism" after Friday's killing of the Turkish soldiers, and that a high-level PKK member was "neutralised" in northern Iraq.

(Reporting by Daren Butler and Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Michael Perry and Timothy Heritage)
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The son of Somalia's president was sentenced by a Turkish court on Tuesday to 2-1/2 years in prison for causing death by negligence, which was converted into a fine of 27,300 Turkish lira ($900), state media reported.

Mohamed Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud was driving a car carrying a diplomatic licence plate on Nov. 30 when he hit a motorcycle courier in central Istanbul, seriously injuring him.

He had left the country on Dec. 2, following a police interrogation. An arrest warrant was issued for him after the courier died in hospital on Dec. 6.

Mahmoud was tried in absentia in Istanbul on Tuesday, having been back to Turkey to appear before the court last week. He had denied negligence, saying the motorbike had stopped suddenly and he could not avoid the collision.

The prosecutor had sought up to six years in prison for Mahmoud. Converting prison sentences to fines happens periodically in the Turkish judicial system. His driving licence in Turkey was revoked for six months.

(1 = 30.1013 liras)

(Reporting by Burcu Karakas; Editing by Ece Toksabay and Alison Williams)
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin looks on during a joint press conference with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at Israel's Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, Israel December 18, 2023. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's aide asked for the ambulance picking up the Pentagon chief to keep its lights and sirens off during a New Year's Day call to 911, according to audio of call obtained by Reuters.

"Can the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? We're trying to remain a little subtle," the aide, whose name was redacted from the audio, told the 911 dispatcher.

Austin's trip to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and subsequent hospitalization was kept secret for days, including from U.S. President Joe Biden and even Austin's deputy, Kathleen Hicks.

He spent two weeks in the hospital due to complications from a Dec. 22 prostate cancer surgery - which was also kept secret - and was discharged on Monday to his Virginia home.

Austin's secrecy triggered a political uproar. Republicans seized on the incident to accuse Austin, a retired four-star general who led forces in Iraq who is America's first Black defense secretary, with dereliction of duty.

Some prominent Republicans, including Donald Trump, called for Austin to be removed from his job.

Biden said on Friday he had confidence in Austin despite what the president agreed was a lapse in judgment.

It remained unclear why Austin, 70, decided against informing senior Biden administration officials about his cancer and post-surgical complications, even when they required his hospitalization.

The audio from the 4-1/2-minute call was released to Reuters by the Fairfax, Virginia county office that processes Freedom of Information Act requests.

The aide who called 911 told the dispatcher that Austin did not feel like he might pass out and was not disoriented or confused. The aide asked whether the ambulance in Virginia might be able to take him to Walter Reed, which is located in Bethesda, Maryland.

The Defense Department's Inspector General's office has said it will begin a review this month of the handling of Austin's hospitalization.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Don Durfee and David Gregorio)
FILE PHOTO: Airplane model is placed on displayed Spirit Airlines and jetBlue Airways logos in this illustration taken, June 21, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustrations/File Photo

By Nate Raymond, David Shepardson and Rajesh Kumar Singh

BOSTON (Reuters) -A federal judge on Tuesday blocked JetBlue Airways' planned $3.8-billion acquisition of ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines after agreeing with the U.S. Department of Justice that the deal was anticompetitive and would harm ticket buyers.

JetBlue's lawyers had called the case a "misguided" challenge to a merger of the nation's sixth- and seventh- largest airlines, which combined would control 10.2% of a domestic market dominated by four larger airlines.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge William Young in Boston marked a victory for the White House in its efforts to prevent further concentration of the U.S. airline industry and raises questions about the viability of another recently proposed deal, Alaska Air's acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines.

President Joe Biden, who has made boosting airline competition a top priority, called the ruling "a victory for consumers everywhere who want lower prices and more choices."

The ruling finding the deal violated U.S. antitrust law also called into question Spirit's future. The ultra-low-cost carrier has struggled to turn a profit amid a run-up in operating costs and persistent supply chain problems.

Spirit's shares closed down about 47% on Tuesday after the ruling, while JetBlue shares ended about 5% higher.

Young said that while a combined JetBlue-Spirit would likely place "stronger competitive pressure" on larger carriers that dominate the domestic airline market, "the consumers that rely on Spirit's unique, low-price model would likely be harmed."

He said the deal would eliminate Spirit's low fares and its ability to put pressure on other higher-priced airlines, including JetBlue, to cut prices. Rivals on average cut prices 7% to 11% when Spirit enters a market, he said.

"The government has demonstrated that consumers value Spirit flights as a unique, economical product option," Young wrote. "The removal of Spirit as an option for consumers, therefore, would constitute a cognizable harm."

The airlines can appeal the ruling. In a joint statement, JetBlue and Spirit said they were evaluating "next steps as part of the legal process."

In a note to employees on Tuesday, JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes and chief operating officer Joanna Geraghty added, "One way or another, be assured: JetBlue has a bright future.

"If we need to move forward without Spirit, we will invigorate our standalone organic plan, continuing to fight for more market share and win customers from the big airlines."

They said "conditions remain difficult for smaller airlines like ours. We need everyones support to get back to profitability."

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland called the ruling "a victory for tens of millions of travelers who would have faced higher fares and fewer choices had the proposed merger between JetBlue and Spirit been allowed to move forward."

While Young ruled in the Justice Department's favor, he did not go as far as the government had asked and broadly bar any combination of the two companies, saying he was only going to block the deal "as it currently stands."

The judge, who had questioned whether further asset divestitures could make the deal work, said, "The courthouse doors remain open, should the defendant airlines decide to try again."

Some investors and analysts had expressed concerns in the past that Spirit's troubles could hurt JetBlue after the merger. Some analysts had also suggested JetBlue renegotiate the deal, citing the fall in Spirit's share price even before Tuesday's ruling.

The Justice Department, along with Democratic state attorney generals from six states, had said that allowing JetBlue to absorb its no-frills, budget rival Spirit would "extinguish a vital source of low-cost competitive disruption along more than 375 routes," causing nearly $1 billion of net harm a year to consumers.

The four larger U.S. carriers - United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines - control 80% of the market after a series of airline mergers the federal government blessed.

Spirit was the first U.S. domestic carrier to allow passengers to pick the features of flights they pay for, such as checked bags and food and drink service. Its model has pushed competing airlines to slash prices, the Justice Department said.

JetBlue is a higher-cost airline than Spirit. But it has historically maintained a low-cost model compared with larger airlines and been able to similarly pressure larger airlines to reduce prices when it launches a new route.

The New York-based airline had sought to tackle U.S. regulators' concerns by agreeing to divest gates and slots at key airports in New York City; Boston; Newark, New Jersey; and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The Justice Department's case is part of a broader push by the Biden administration to aggressively step up antitrust enforcement, an initiative that has had mixed court results.

JetBlue was already the focus of one of its earlier cases, with a different Boston judge, Leo Sorokin, in May siding with the government in finding that JetBlue's U.S. Northeast partnership with American Airlines violated antitrust law.

JetBlue subsequently decided to terminate the alliance. American Airlines is appealing Sorokin's decision.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, David Shepardson in Washington and Rajesh Kumar Singh in ChicagoEditing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Anna Driver and Matthew Lewis)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Head of the Ukrainian President's Office Andriy Yermak arrive for the meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (not pictured) during the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switz

(Reuters) - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussed defence cooperation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Davos on Tuesday.

Particular emphasis was made on air defence and long-range capabilities, Zelenskiy said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He informed Blinken and U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan of the battlefield situation, plans for 2024, and the means needed to fulfil them.

Kyiv is increasing efforts to ramp up domestic military production to ensure stable supplies and become less dependent on foreign partners, which face their own shortages and cannot meet Ukraine's battlefield needs.

"We... emphasised that greater defence cooperation and co-production will increase Ukraine's self-reliance while decreasing its reliance on foreign military and financial aid," Zelenskiy said.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; editing by Jason Neely and Alex Richardson)
false 0001106213 0001106213 2024-01-16 2024-01-16 iso4217:USD xbrli:shares iso4217:USD xbrli:shares

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):

SEAFARER EXPLORATION CORP.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Florida 000-29461 90-0473054 (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation) (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer Identification Number)

Kyle Kennedy

Chief Executive Officer

14497 N. Dale Mabry Hwy.

Suite 209N

Tampa , Florida 33618

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

(813) 448-3577

(Registrants telephone number, including area code)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered Common, Preferred Series A, Preferred Series B SFRX OTC

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as dened in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (240.12b-2 of this chapter).

o Emerging growth company

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised nancial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o

1

Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.

On January 16th, 2024, Seafarer Exploration Corp. (the Company) issued a press release titled, Seafarer Issued USACE Permit for the Juno Site, a key milestone in the project to document, explore, and recover key artifacts within historic shipwrecks utilizing proprietary technology.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

Exhibit Number Description 99.1 Press Release Issued January 16th, 2024 104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the inline XBRL document)

2

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

SEAFARER EXPLORATION CORP. Date: January 16th, 2024 By: /s/ Kyle Kennedy Name: Kyle Kennedy Title: Chief Executive Officer

3

ATTACHMENTS / EXHIBITS

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED JANUARY 16TH, 2024

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0001446687 FALSE 0001446687 2023-11-29 2023-11-29





UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549





FORM 8-K





CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):





SILVER STAR PROPERTIES REIT, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)





Maryland 001-41786 26-3455189 (State or other jurisdiction (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer of incorporation) Identification No.)





2909 Hillcroft, Suite 420

Houston , Texas 77057

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)





(713) 467-2222



(Registrants telephone number, including area code)





Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:





Written communications pursuant to Rule 427 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.427)  Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))





Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:





Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered None None None





Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 ( 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ( 240.12b-2 of this chapter).





Emerging growth company





If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.





















Item 8.01 Other Events.





As previously disclosed, Silver Star Properties REIT, Inc. (the Company) implemented a Rights Agreement, dated as of August 18, 2023 (the "Rights Agreement"), between the Company and Phoenix American Financial Services, Inc., as Rights Agent (the "Rights Agent"). Capitalized terms used in this report and not otherwise defined have the definitions ascribed to them in the Rights Agreement.





On January 13, 2024, the Board of Directors (the Board) of the Company determined that certain shareholders had become Acquiring Persons pursuant to the Rights Agreement, causing a Flip-In Event, and the Board set December 13, 2023 as the Distribution Date in accordance with the Rights Agreement.





In accordance with Section 24 of the Rights Agreement, the Board has directed the Company to exchange (the Exchange) each previously issued Right which has not become void for one share of common stock, par value $0.001 per share, of the Company (the Common Stock). The Exchange will result in the issuance of approximately 30,240,714 shares of Common Stock in the aggregate to holders.





Accordingly, shareholders other than the Acquiring Persons will receive one share of Common Stock for each share of Common Stock that they owned as of the Distribution Date at no additional cost and with no action on their part. Shareholders will receive a letter from the Rights Agent with more information. The Exchange may constitute a taxable event to shareholders. In addition, the Common Stock received for Rights may be considered "restricted securities" under the federal securities laws which may limit the ability of the shareholders to sell those shares. Each shareholder should seek his or her own advice as to tax, resale and related matters concerning the Exchange and his or her ownership of stock in the Company.





Additionally, the Board also ratified the original Rights dividend and the adoption of the Rights Agreement under Maryland law as of August 18, 2023 and approved the filing of Articles of Validation (the Articles of Validation), which validated the Articles Supplementary originally filed with the Maryland State Department of Assessments & Taxation (SDAT) on August 29, 2023. The Articles of Validation were filed with SDAT on January 16, 2024.





Item 7.01. Regulation FD Disclosure.





On January 16, 2024, the Company issued a press release disclosing the Companys actions pursuant to the Rights Agreement, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1.





The information provided pursuant to this Item 7.01, including Exhibit 99.1 in Item 9.01, are furnished and shall not be deemed to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission or incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in any such filings. The furnishing of the remarks is not intended to constitute a representation that such furnishing is required by Regulation FD or that the remarks include material investor information that is not otherwise publicly available. In addition, the Company does not assume any obligation to update such information in the future.









Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.





(a) Exhibits





Exhibit Number Exhibit Description 99.1+ Press Release dated December January 16, 2024 104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)

+ Furnished herewith.

1









SIGNATURE





Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this Current Report on Form 8-K to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.





SILVER STAR PROPERTIES REIT, INC.

(Registrant)





By: /s/ Gerald W. Haddock

Name: Gerald W. Haddock

Title: Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Executive Committee

Date: January 16, 2024













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A U.S. Army pilot shuts the door to a UH-60 Black Hawk at Yokota Air Base, Japan, June 3, 2019. (Brieana Bolfing/U.S. Air Force)

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan  Army helicopters will deliver supplies to an earthquake-devastated area of central Japan, the U.S. military said Tuesday, less than a week after Tokyo announced it was not accepting help from other nations.

Following a formal request for support, two UH-60 Black Hawks from U.S. Army Aviation Battalion Japan will join the relief efforts, U.S. Forces Japan announced in a statement.

The quake collapsed buildings, shredded highways and, as of Tuesday, had killed 220 people in towns and villages on the Noto Peninsula, according to Japanese media reports.

U.S. forces readied logistical support, food and other supplies for the victims, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel wrote Jan. 5 on X, formerly Twitter. He said U.S. helicopters would help move resources to and from the disaster zone, according a report by Kyodo News the previous day.

The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo announced a $100,000 aid package Jan. 5 that includes essential resources such as blankets, water, and medical supplies through Pace Winds Japan, a nongovernmental organization.

However, the country was not accepting assistance from other nations last week, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson told Stars and Stripes on Thursday.

Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said the U.S. military was asked to help deliver aid so the Japan Self-Defense Forces could focus on evacuations.

From Wednesday, Jan. 17, on, the U.S. forces in Japan plan to transport relief goods to Noto airport with UH-60 helicopters for disaster victims, while using the Air Self-Defense Forces Komatsu base as headquarters, he told reporters Tuesday.

The U.S. is eager and proud to assist, USFJs commander, Air Force Lt. Gen. Ricky Rupp, said in the statement.

This operation is a clear demonstration of U.S. commitment to our Ally Japan, and Americas compassion to the people of Japan recovering from this natural disaster, he said.

Support missions will continue as future needs are assessed by the Japanese military, the statement added.

Japanese citizens pleas for U.S. support in the disasters aftermath appeared last week on X.

I clearly remember the U.S. helicopters flying around finding areas that were isolated without assistance and bringing aid during Operation Tomodachi during the Great East Japan Earthquake, but why cant they do it this time? @jirosukyHDD wrote Jan. 8 in Japanese.

Stars and Stripes reporter Hana Kusumoto contributed to this report.
This grenade, found caked in dirt at a former U.S. military training site in northern Okinawa, has gone missing, according to the Japanese military. (Okinawa Defense Bureau)

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa  The Japanese government is seeking the return of a grenade that went missing from a former U.S. military training site in Okinawas northern jungle.

It is unclear when the grenade went missing or who might have taken it. A spokesman for the Okinawa Defense Bureau, which represents the Ministry of Defense on the island, declined to answer questions about the incident when reached by phone Tuesday.

The grenade originally surfaced during a waste survey in an area previously part of the Northern Training Area, a sprawling complex that includes the Marine Corps Jungle Warfare Training Center, also known as Camp Gonsalves, the bureau said in a statement Friday.

The spokesman also declined to say when the ordnance was initially discovered.

It was found within a 10,000-acre swath that reverted to Japanese control in 2016, the bureau statement said. That handover, negotiated two decades earlier, reduced the American footprint on the island by 20%, U.S. officials said at the time.

The grenade, caked in dirt, was left at the site while preparations were being made for its disposal, according to the statement.

We sincerely apologize for any concern this may have caused, the statement said. In the future, we will ensure that we store and manage these wastes properly.

The islands small but fervent protest movement has long complained about refuse abandoned in the heavily wooded region, home to endangered species and plants.

A spokeswoman for Okinawa prefectures Military Base Affairs Division said unexploded ordnance requires better management.

It is the central governments responsibility to remove military waste from the former Northern Training Area, so we want them to do it thoroughly, she said. Any danger for the citizens must be avoided.

Some government officials in Japan speak to the media on condition of anonymity as a requirement of their employment.
BERN, Switzerland, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- China and Switzerland announced on Monday the completion of the joint feasibility study on upgrading the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), an important stride towards negotiations and deeper economic cooperation.

During talks between visiting Chinese Premier Li Qiang and President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd on Monday, the two sides agreed on the early launch of formal negotiations on upgrading the FTA.

Li arrived in Switzerland on Sunday for an official visit, kicking off the latest episode of high-level exchanges between the two countries.

Cui Hongjian, professor of the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said that it reflected a commitment from both nations to foster open and fair trade in an era where protectionism has cast a shadow over international commerce.

"Against the backdrop of the surging anti-globalization and protectionism, the collaborative move between China and Switzerland sent out the clear signal of upholding the rules-based multilateralism and free trade," the expert told Xinhua.

China and Switzerland have been committed to nurturing strong economic ties. In 2022, two-way trade amounted to 57.3 billion U.S. dollars, up by 30 percent year on year, according to statistics from China's General Administration of Customs.

Cui said possible reductions in trade barriers and elimination of tariffs will enhance market access for businesses on both sides and promote a more seamless flow of goods and services, thus bringing about a surge in bilateral trade and investment.

During Li's stay in Switzerland, China announced a unilateral visa-free treatment to Switzerland, and the Swiss side more visa facilitation for Chinese citizens as well as Chinese enterprises investing in Switzerland.

These policies will facilitate cultural and economic exchanges, boost tourism, and attract foreign investment for both sides, Cui added.

Switzerland, as one of the first Western countries to recognize the newly founded People's Republic of China, established diplomatic relations with China in 1950. Since then remarkable progress has been made in bilateral exchanges and cooperation.

"Both sides should explore more converging interests, bolster cooperation in free trade, customs and other fields, and foster and strengthen new growth areas of cooperation in green development, finance and digital economy," Li said.

Echoing Li's remarks, the Swiss side voiced willingness to continue quality dialogue with China, deepen cooperation in such fields as economy and trade, education, finance, science and technology as well as people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

"It is a sign of a wish to deepen this very rich relationship that has brought our two countries together," said Jean-Jacques de Dardel, former ambassador of Switzerland to China.

In 2023, Li chose Europe as his first destination for overseas visits since taking office. At the start of this year, the Chinese premier set foot again on the European continent, kicking off high-level China-Europe exchanges.

It attested to the sustained momentum of high-level China-Europe interactions, and reflected China's readiness to collaborate with European and other nations to navigate the complexities of the contemporary global landscape, said Yang Chenxi, a researcher at China Institute of International Studies.

During his stay in Switzerland, Li will also attend the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024 and deliver a special address. The world is anticipating China's sustained endeavor to facilitate economic globalization as well as its proposals on fostering drivers for growth.

"China has an important voice in world affairs, and we do hope that this voice will be used to the best benefits of all parties involved in a year of tensions and international difficulties," Jean-Jacques de Dardel told Xinhua. 
Sailors walk the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Pacific Ocean on Oct. 25, 2023. (Jahred Johnson/U.S. Navy)

Editors Note: This story has been updated to add comment from the U.S. 3rd Fleet.

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt steamed out of San Diego last week with little fanfare and headed toward the Western Pacific, according to a media report.

Local ship spotters witnessed the carrier depart its berth at Naval Air Station North Island on Thursday and leave San Diego Bay, according to a USNI News report Friday citing an unnamed defense official.

The deployment was not initially publicized by the Navy. A spokesman for the U.S. 3rd Fleet, Lt. Mohammad Issa, told Stars and Stripes by email Tuesday that Carrier Strike Group 9, led by the Theodore Roosevelt, is currently underway conducting routine operations in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations. No other details about the patrol were provided.

The Theodore Roosevelt completed an 18-month maintenance and upgrade period in March at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wash., including a retrofit to its flight deck to handle F-35C Lightning II fighter jets.

In December, the carrier completed another maintenance period and an exercise described by the Department of Defense as a final workup phase and certification event before a scheduled deployment.

The deployment comes amid an operational stand-down of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft for the Air Force, Navy and Marines following the Nov. 29 crash of an Air Force CV-22 Osprey off Japans southwestern coast.

The crash, which killed all eight crewmembers on board, sparked an investigation into the tiltrotor. The stand-down is expected to continue pending the results of the investigation.

There were no updates on the stand-down as of Saturday, Air Force Special Operations Command told Stars and Stripes by email that day.

Ospreys are typically used as a means of transport for personnel, supplies and equipment for deployed aircraft carriers. In lieu of Ospreys, two C-2A Greyhounds  a fixed-wing aircraft capable of carrier takeoffs and landings  will deploy along with the Theodore Roosevelt, USNI reported.

The Theodore Roosevelt will be the second carrier strike group operating in the Western Pacific.

The USS Carl Vinson was just east of Taiwan on Jan. 11, according to USNIs Fleet and Marine Tracker. The carrier visited Manila on Jan. 5.

The USS Ronald Reagan has been at its homeport, Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, since wrapping up its annual deployment in November.
Capt. Geoffry Patterson speaks to his sailors after taking command of the guided-missile submarine USS Georgia's blue crew in Souda Bay, Crete, May 28, 2022. (Ashley Berum/U.S. Navy)

This story has been corrected

The Navy has fired a guided-missile submarines commander after losing confidence in his leadership ability.

Capt. Geoffry Patterson was relieved Friday from the Ohio-class USS Georgias blue crew, the service announced in a news release that day. Rear Adm. Thomas T.R. Buchanan, commander of Submarine Group 10, made the order.

The release provided no specific information about the reason for Pattersons dismissal.

Navy commanding officers are held to high standards of personal and professional conduct, the release said. 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.

Patterson took command on May 28, 2022, during a pierside ceremony in Souda Bay, Crete.

The Georgias gold crew leader, Capt. Christopher Osborn, is in command of the vessel, according to the release. Its operations are not affected, according to the Navy.

Two crews alternate aboard U.S. submarines; one crew takes the boat on patrol while the other remains at its homeport, which permits longer sub deployments and crew training, among other advantages.

Homeported at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, Ga., the Georgia is one of four ballistic-missile submarines converted to carry conventional land-attack Tomahawk cruise missiles and carry out operations by special forces. The Georgia was converted in 2007, according to a Navy fact sheet.

The guided-missile subs can carry up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles and up to 66 special operations personnel at a time, according to the Navy.
(Mark Oliva/Stars and Stripes)

Aboard the USS Milius, Feb. 20, 2003: Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Chris Gentleman climbs a rope ladder from a rigid-hulled inflatable boat to USS Milius after running maritime interception operations in the Persian Gulf. Coalition forces were stopping Iraqi smugglers to enforce U.N. sanctions.

Read about the mission and see additional photos here.
You can cut hundreds of pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year by washing most of your loads in cold water. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)

Doing laundry might be a tiresome chore for you, but washing and drying clothes and linens can be a nightmare for the planet.

The average American family does laundry hundreds of times each year, according to Energy Star. Beyond guzzling water and gobbling energy, using your washer and dryer can pollute waterways and the air with tiny plastic particles. It can also be harmful to your clothing, shortening the life span of your garments.

But experts say there are simple changes you can make to your laundry routine that could help lessen the environmental and climate impacts. Heres what you need to know:

Your clothes shed tiny fibers as they churn in the washing machine and tumble around in the dryer, shortening their life span. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)

Wash your clothes less often

Even if you have a high-efficiency washer and dryer, its still important to cut down on the loads of laundry youre doing.

Every time we put that garment in the washing machine, part of it is gone down the drain, Cosette Joyner Martinez, an associate professor in the department of design, housing and merchandising at Oklahoma State University, previously told The Washington Post. Then we lose another piece of it in the dryer in the lint trap, so were disintegrating our garments.

As your clothes and linens churn in the washing machine and tumble around in the dryer, theyre often shedding tiny fibers  many of which are small bits of plastic from synthetic fabrics such as polyester. Washing a single load of synthetic clothes can release millions of these minuscule fibers.

Aside from noticeable odors or visible stains, when your clothes need to be laundered largely depends on how the garments are worn and the type of material. Clothes that you exercise and sweat in, for example, should be washed more frequently than the outfit you wear to work a desk job. Ask yourself if you really need to wash something after only wearing it once.

Wash your clothes in cold water

Water heating consumes about 90% of the energy it takes to operate a washing machine, according to Energy Star. Changing your washers temperature setting from hot to warm can cut energy use in half. Washing with cold water can reduce your energy footprint even more. By washing four out of five loads of laundry in cold water, you could cut 864 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions in a year, an amount equivalent to planting 0.37 acres of U.S. forest, according to the American Cleaning Institute.

Doing loads of laundry on cold could also help reduce potential microfiber pollution.

Other tips for how to wash include:

Trying to run your machine only when its full. Washers use about the same amount of energy regardless of the size of the load.

Doing normal-size loads rather than running your machine half or partially full. Some research suggests that machine-washing clothes in larger amounts of water with more agitation can increase microfiber shedding.

Using higher spin settings if your washing machine has the option, which can reduce drying time.

Laundry sheets and pods may not be as environmentally friendly as you think

While detergent pods and laundry sheets are becoming increasingly popular, a debate is raging over whether they may contribute to the growing plastic pollution problem that threatens human health and the environment.

One key ingredient in these detergent products is polyvinyl alcohol, a type of plastic also known as PVA or PVOH, which can dissolve in water and biodegrade under the right conditions. Based on decades of lab studies, PVA has been deemed reasonably safe by the Environmental Protection Agency and has been included on the agencys Safer Chemical Ingredients list and Safer Choice label for years. The Food and Drug Administration has also declared the material safe to consume in normal quantities.

But some scientists and advocacy groups are questioning how PVA behaves in the real world. Several peer-reviewed studies have detected PVA in drinking water and human breast milk, and one estimated far more plastic may be flowing into the environment than breaking down in waste-treatment plants.

Still, experts say more research is needed to understand how much PVA is breaking down in real-life settings.

In the meantime, if youre trying to get rid of all plastic from your life, you probably want to avoid PVA-wrapped pods and sheets, The Washington Posts Michael J. Coren writes.

Laundry powder could be a more environmentally friendly alternative. Manufacturers now produce the powder in pre-measured compressed tablets.

Air drying saves energy and helps your clothes last longer. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)

Air drying saves energy and is better for your clothes

Whenever possible, experts recommend air drying your clothes.

If youre air drying, thats saving the most energy, Joe Vukovich, a staff attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council who works on energy efficiency, previously told The Washington Post.

Tumble drying can also cause fabrics to rub against one another and exposes them to heat, both of which can wear textiles out more quickly and release microfibers.

If youre planning to air dry, consider these tips:

Read care labels first.

Think about where youre hanging up your laundry. Dont place things outside if you live in a place where it rains often or if there are many birds or trees around that could dirty your clean laundry. Before air drying indoors, assess whether you have enough space.

Make sure you have enough room on your line or drying rack, so that your laundry isnt bunched together.

To help maintain shape and avoid wrinkles, be mindful of how you hang things up. Putting shirts on hangers, for example, could help reduce creases that might occur if you just drape the garment over a line or on the bar of a rack. For heavier fabrics, such as knits, lay those flat to dry.

Michael J. Coren contributed to this report.
Barracks at the Nazi Stutthof concentration camp in Poland are seen after liberation in May 1945. (Wikimedia Commons)

A setting for the 1818 novel Frankenstein is Ingolstadt, Germany. While the 20th century would bear witness to the atrocities of World War IIs Holocaust performed there by Nazisms antisemitic monsters, an Oct. 7, 2023, raid into Israel would reveal the existence of another generation of Frankensteins. This one, undeterred by state borders and operating under the banner of the Hamas terrorist group, committed the biggest single-day loss of Jewish lives since those taken in the Holocaust.

I could not help but reflect upon that Nazi brutality while reading about the evil acts of Hamas. While occurring almost eight decades apart and in different parts of the world, the Holocaust and Hamas raid were fueled by an intense anti-Jewish hatred that views all Jews as subhuman. One would have hoped a civilized world, plagued by one generation of Frankensteins, would have prevented the rise of another.

In the aftermath of the raid and the massacre of 1,200 innocent Israelis, we have shockingly heard a chorus of terrorist group supporters  some disturbingly denying the Holocaust or that now the Hamas massacre even occurred.

Coming from a family proudly serving our nation in many of its wars, both a grandfather, who served in the Army, and father, who served in the Navy, participated in World War II  the former against Germany; the latter against Japan. But remaining etched upon my mind are accounts of the horrors my grandfather witnessed and documented in concentration camps near Ingolstadt just before and after Germanys May 7, 1945, surrender. They are demonstrative of the evil of which man is capable of perpetuating upon his fellow man.

After Germanys surrender, U.S. troops discovered the depth of the Nazis anti-Jewish hatred. Deceased prisoners bodies were stacked in the camps while bodies of surviving prisoners resembled the walking dead. Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower foresaw a day when the horrors of the Holocaust might be denied, inviting the media to document its occurrence and compelling local Germans to view the fate meted out to the Jews.

My grandfather befriended a former prisoner  a young Jewish boy, perhaps barely a teenager  giving him food daily to restore strength to his emaciated body. Every day the boy visited until one day he failed to show. He was later found in his bunk  dead. Sadly, most of the food he was given was left uneaten, apparently squirreled away for later consumption, fearing his current source of plenty would evaporate. Years of starvation had psychologically impacted upon him to the point he was unable to embrace the fact both the war and his suffering were over.

Another former prisoner  a Hungarian artist  insisted on showing his appreciation to my grandfather by painting his portrait. Today, that portrait hangs on a wall in my home office. The back of the portrait remained covered with paper for many years. However, later removed, we were able to see what was used for the artwork. It was formerly a sack, perhaps once filled with flour or grain, bearing the Nazi insignia. Having saved the sack and deciding to use it for my grandfathers portrait, perhaps the artist sought to convey a subtle message  displaying the victor on the front while committing the vanquished to the dustbin of history, to remain hidden on the back.

Sadly, despite the horrific photographic evidence U.S. forces gathered of the Nazi atrocities committed and the testimony of survivors, Jew-haters of later generations continued to promote the story the Holocaust never occurred. They are active again today, denying a slaughter by Hamas  supported by photographic evidence proving the contrary  happened. Much of this evidence is from body cameras worn by Hamas killers who failed to make it back. Additional evidence, in the form of recorded cellphone conversations, is telling. One has an ecstatic terrorist boasting to his mother  during the attack  he had already killed 10 Israelis.

One of the better known Jew-haters of today wrote a dissertation years ago while attending college in Moscow. He outrageously claimed it was the Jews who colluded with the Nazis during World War II. The author is the current chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. That dissertation is reason enough why the Israelis are now determined that neither Hamas nor the PA will govern Gaza after the formers destruction.

Abbas ludicrous dissertation ignored documentation of a 1941 face-to-face meeting between Adolf Hitler and the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini. A record of what was discussed by the two leaders clearly reveals the Muslims and the Nazis were united in a common goal to eradicate all Jews. The Mufti told the German dictator that Arab armies were prepared to strike out at the Allies and the Jews on Hitlers command.

In addition to Ingolstadt, my grandfather saw evidence of other acts of Nazi brutality. One of these was in Gardelegen, located 90 miles west of Berlin and the site of an unimaginable atrocity.

In April 1945, knowing the war would soon be lost, the Nazis began relocating prisoners from the camps and moving them deeper into the Reichs interior. They sought to prevent prisoners from falling into enemy hands and reporting Nazi atrocities. However, many of the prisoners were too sick or weak to make the march. Accordingly, a group of them were forced inside a large barn, the doors barricaded and gasoline-soaked straw set on fire. Anyone trying to escape by digging under the walls was shot.

The Gardelegen incident was no different than what Hamas does to its own people today. As Israelis forewarn Gazans certain locations will be bombed, urging them to flee the target area, Hamas seeks to drive up casualties by ordering them to remain in place, shooting those attempting to escape. Despite efforts by the Nazis to cover up their crime, my grandfathers unit arrived upon the scene in time to preserve evidence.

The American on-scene commander ordered several hundred male residents of Gardelegen to retrieve victims bodies and give them a proper burial in individual graves. Over a thousand were recovered both from within and without the barn. A story published in my grandfathers hometown newspaper noted his supervision of these burials, reporting, The man assigned to (dig) each grave must look after it for the rest of his life and if he moves away from that particular locality he must find someone else to care for it.

While there is little difference between the horrific acts committed against the Jews either by the Nazis or Hamas, there is one thing that differentiates them. The Nazis, recognizing public knowledge about their atrocities would trigger international outrage, sought to keep a lid on their crimes during the war. Hamas, however, has no concerns about publicizing its atrocities.

This is what is most telling about where we are now as a world society. Nearly eight decades ago, the Nazis feared the consequences of a civilized world learning about their inhumane acts; today Hamas boasts about theirs. This and the despicable support for Hamas are indicators of the dystopian nightmare the civilized world has become.

James Zumwalt is a retired Marine infantry officer (lieutenant colonel) who served in the Vietnam War, Panama and Operation Desert Storm. He heads the security consulting firm Admiral Zumwalt & Consultants Inc. in Herndon, Va.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during the Supreme People's Assembly in Pyongyang, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. (KCNA)

CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea  North Korea ought to amend its constitution to state that its forces will completely occupy the South if war breaks out on the peninsula, leader Kim Jong Un said in a speech Monday.

Speaking at the Supreme Peoples Assembly in Pyongyang, Kim said a constitutional revision is necessary to identify the Norths territorial sphere and that the South should be occupied and annexed during a war, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported the next day.

The constitution should also remove references to a goal of peacefully reunifying the peninsula due the South being a primary foe, the report said.

Kim reportedly also suggested blocking its communication lines with the South and destroying a defunct inter-Korean railway linking Seoul with the Norths border town of Sinuiju.

The proposals are not meant to signal a preemptive North Korean attack or the forceful reunification of the Koreas but is the exercise of the legitimate self-defense capabilities of Pyongyang, the KCNA report added.

The war will terribly destroy the entity called the Republic of Korea and put an end to its existence, the report said, referring to South Koreas official name. And it will inflict an unimaginably crushing defeat upon the [United States].

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during a cabinet meeting Monday addressed KCNAs report and said Pyongyangs threats are no longer effective against Seoul.

If North Korea provokes us, we will punish them several times over, Yoon said.

Kims remarks came a day after North Korea fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile, the first such launch by the regime this year. It was launched near the capital at 2:55 p.m. and flew about 620 miles before splashing down in the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, according to the Souths military.

Nearly a month earlier, North Korea fired its solid-fueled Hwasong-18, an intercontinental ballistic missile theoretically capable of reaching the continental U.S.

The North also fired roughly 350 artillery shells toward the maritime border with the South over a three-day span starting Jan. 5. South Korean marines stationed on islands near the border responded by firing 155 mm howitzers and tank rounds into the Yellow Sea.

Ties between North and South Korea have frayed since November after the two countries abandoned a military deconfliction agreement that prohibited armed troops at the border and established no-fly zones.

South Korea partially suspended the agreement after the North successfully launched a spy satellite on Nov. 21; the suspension prompted North Korea to scrap the agreement entirely the next day.

North Korean troops have since been spotted by the Souths military restoring once-abandoned guard posts near the border. Meanwhile, U.N. Command guards stationed at the Joint Security Area have been reauthorized to carry firearms.
British soldiers secure an area during an exercise at Bemowo Piskie Training Area in Poland in August 2023. This year, the U.K. will send 20,000 troops to Steadfast Defender, NATOs largest combat drill since the Cold War, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps announced Jan. 16, 2024. (Alex Soliday/U.S. Army)

The United Kingdom will soon dispatch 20,000 troops to an exercise bringing together thousands of American and other allied militaries for maneuvers across Europe, making it NATOs largest combat drill since the Cold War.

British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps on Monday announced the U.K.s contribution to exercise Steadfast Defender, saying it is about sending a message of deterrence at a time of security upheaval on the Continent.

Battle lines are being redrawn, Shapps said in a statement. The tanks are literally on Ukraines lawn. And the foundations of the world order are being shaken to their core. We stand at a crossroads.

Steadfast Defender, which will run from February to June, is expected to serve as a testing ground for new NATO defense plans designed to counter the threat posed by Russia.

The U.S. has yet to announce which of its units will join in Steadfast Defender, but the diverse array of British forces that will take part offers insight into the scale of the upcoming war game.

The Royal Air Forces most modern fighter jets and surveillance aircraft, along with Royal Navy warships and submarines and a full range of ground forces, are among the elements to be deployed, the Defense Ministry said.

The exercise is part of a broader push by NATO to be more maneuverable in light of Russias full-scale attack on Ukraine in February 2022.

The British aircraft carrier Prince of Wales sails with USS George Washington and French logistics supply ship Jacques Chevallier in the Atlantic Ocean in November 2023. Britain will have 20,000 in this year's exercise Steadfast Defender, NATOs largest combat drill since the Cold War, according to the country's defense minister. (Nicholas Russell/U.S. Navy)

For example, in 2023 the Germany-led Air Defender exercise was billed as the largest exhibition of NATO air power in more than 70 years, involving hundreds of aircraft from more than 20 countries.

In the case of Steadfast Defender, more than 40,000 troops from across the 31-nation alliance will take part. Training locations include the Baltics, Poland and Germany.

In Europe and the U.S., there is widespread debate about the implications of the Russia-Ukraine war for security on the Continent and beyond.

Last week in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a news conference that if Russian President Vladimir Putin prevails against his country, then Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Moldova may be next.

U.S. President Joe Biden has made similar arguments to justify continued support for Ukraine, which has relied on Western arms to defend itself against Russia.

If we dont stop Putins appetite for power and control in Ukraine, he wont limit himself just to Ukraine, Biden said in October.

NATO militaries also have been war-gaming what a potential Russian invasion into allied territory could look like.

On Monday, Germanys Bild newspaper released secret Defense Ministry documents that revealed how Russia could build up its forces in Belarus this year for a possible confrontation with NATO in 2025 at the Suwalki Gap, a corridor that runs along the Polish- Lithuania boarder between Belarus and the Russian military exclave of Kaliningrad.

The territory has long been considered one of NATOs most vulnerable areas and would be of major concern if a conflict with Russia ever developed.

On Monday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed the war game scenario reported by Bild as last years horoscope.
TEHRAN, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said it has launched barrages of ballistic missiles against the bases of "terrorists" and Israel's intelligence service Mossad in Syria and Iraq's Kurdistan Region respectively in response to recent anti-Iran "terror" attacks.

The IRGC announced the attacks in three statements published on Sepah News early Tuesday, describing the operations, which it said were carried out at midnight, as responses to recent "terrorist attacks" in the southeastern Iranian provinces of Kerman and Sistan and Baluchestan as well as Israel's assassinations of Iranian and resistance commanders.

Four people were killed as a result of the missile strike conducted by IRGC on Iraqi Kurdistan's capital of Erbil, according to an Iraqi security source.

On Jan. 3, two "suicide terrorists" detonated two bombs near the tomb of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Kerman, which resulted in over 90 deaths and 280 injuries. The IS terrorist group on Jan. 4 claimed responsibility for the bombings. 
BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday stressed staying committed to the path of financial development with Chinese characteristics and boosting the high-quality development of the financial sector.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks when addressing the opening of a study session at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance). 
Dead seal pups are spread out on a beach in Valdes Peninsula, Argentina, after adults abandoned the breeding area. (Maxi Jonas)

It felt like watching one of those blockbusters about the end of the world. Like witnessing an apocalypse, but in real life. Which, in a way, it was.

The beaches of Valdes Peninsula in Argentina, normally so packed with elephant seals that time of year it is impossible to stroll along the shore, were desolate except for hundreds of dark, rotting carcasses  nearly a whole season of seal pups dead, with gulls pecking at the remains.

Instead of the usual cacophony of guttural honks that drowns out the waves during breeding season, the eerie silence was only broken by the sound of a few remaining elephant seals shaking their heads, snot running down their protruding, namesake noses.

You felt like a bomb had exploded, said Martin Mendez, recalling the scene he witnessed in October during an annual survey of southern elephant seals in that stretch of coastal Patagonia.

It is catastrophic, added the marine biologist at the Wildlife Conservation Society, a New York-based nonprofit group. This is the largest die-off for the species, period.

Altogether, an estimated 17,000 elephant seal pups seals died there last year of a strain of avian influenza, victims of an unprecedented panzootic  a pandemic among animals  that has struck at least 320 types of birds and dozens of species of mammals.

Over the past few years, a potent strain of H5N1 avian influenza has jumped between species and raged through domestic and wild animal populations on every continent except Australia and Antarctica, crisscrossing the world along birds migratory routes.

So far, cases of humans getting seriously sick from this strain of flu are rare. But the possibility of the quickly evolving influenza virus gaining the ability to be transmitted between from one mammal to another  and eventually, to humans  has scientists concerned about the pathogen turning into another pandemic. Every year that this doesnt happen, Mendez said, were being lucky.

For poultry farmers, the outbreak has already come at a significant economic cost, striking tens of millions of birds in the United States. For wildlife, it threatens to disrupt ecosystems and push endangered animals closer to the brink of extinction.

Weve never seen such a massive spread of virus in wild birds, and weve never seen such massive infections of wild mammals, said Ron Fouchier, a virologist at the Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands.

The trajectory of the virus, unprecedented both in its global spread and in the number of species infected, shows how dependent and connected humanity is to the natural world  and how farming practices that facilitate the flu can disrupt it.

I was not prepared

Scientists first spotted the precursor to this flu strain in commercial geese in southern China in 1996. Over the next several years, it spread to poultry farms in the region, popping up occasionally in wild birds within flight range of infected farms.

Then, in 2005, some 1,500 wild geese and gulls dropped dead in a protected nature reserve in northwestern China, far from any poultry coops. The virus had found its way into the wild bird population.

From there, the virus rapidly spread across Asia, Africa and Europe, popping up in seasonal outbreaks. But it was only after a genetic change that allowed the pathogen to spread in migrating birds around 2021 that the numbers of outbreaks exploded and the virus went global, establishing itself in North America that year and in South America the following.

Since then, the death toll has been staggering.

About 5,200 common cranes in Israel. More than 2,200 Dalmatian pelicans in Greece, about 40 percent of the species in southeastern Europe, and roughly 20,000 Sandwich terns in Europe, 17 percent of the northwest European breeding population. More than 18,000 dead barnacle geese in Scotland. And tens of thousands of gannets in Canada.

Last year, ornithologists found about 12,000 dead black-legged kittiwakes in Norway. By July, more than 500,000 birds died in South America, including about 41 percent of all Peruvian pelicans.

Flu symptoms depend on the bird, according to Jonas Waldenstrom, a disease ecology professor at Linnaeus University in Sweden. Telltale signs include tilting heads, struggling to stand and tumbling when trying to take flight  all signs the virus has hit the nervous system.

In some species, its pretty ugly, he said.

The virus is literally reaching the ends of the Earth, killing brown skuas on islands near Antarctica and, for the first time just this winter, a polar bear in Alaska. Scientists worry it is only a matter of time before it reaches penguins and other vulnerable populations on Antarctica itself.

The Antarctic situation is at a precipice, said Michelle Wille, a virus ecologist at the University of Melbourne. Many of the animal species that live there are found no where else in the world, and many are already facing substantial pressures due to things like fisheries and climate change.

Scientists say the disease can jump between species when a wild animal eats a dead or dying bird, or when bird poop plops into a farm animals feed. So far, bird flu has infected coyotes, lions, tigers, grizzlies, raccoons, red foxes and other terrestrial mammals, but only sporadically. And it has also struck farms for mink and fox fur in Spain and Finland.

But a series of mass die-offs of marine mammals that congregate on beaches has biologists worried about the possibility of the virus evolving to spread directly from one mammal to another.

Last year, more than 5,000 sea lions were found dead in Peru. And more than 17,000 elephant seal pups succumbed to the virus in Argentina, representing at least 96 percent of the juvenile population. Nursing seal pups likely would not have caught the flu by eating birds. They instead may have gotten it from contaminated milk, water, aerosol or feces, Fouchier said.

Valeria Falabella, a Wildlife Conservation Society marine biologist who has studied Argentinas elephant seals for decades, had only ever seen a dead adult once before this flu outbreak. Seeing beaches of dozens dead was absolutely devastating.

I was not prepared to see that, Falabella said.

The risk to people

If a bird flu virus evolves to spread between seals, it is more likely to spread within other mammal populations, such as humans. Its quite a distance from a gannet to human, Waldenstrom said. But from a seal to a human, were pretty much alike.

Tracing how viruses hop between species is hard. In the past, humans have caught disease from animals after working on farms (the 1918 flu pandemic likely started in Kansas farm country) or after encroaching into wilderness (HIV likely jumped from chimpanzees when a hunter killed one for meat).

In the case of the latest flu strain, it is very difficult to prove mammal-to-mammal transmission, Fouchier said, adding that a genetic analysis of the virus found in the dead seals could provide clues about transmission.

So far, what we know about this strain of avian flu suggests an outbreak among humans is not imminent. The adaptation that the virus made to replicate in migratory birds  and thus spread across the globe  seems to have inhibited its ability to infect humans, Fouchier said.

It is slightly less concerning to human health at present, he said, compared to past flu viruses. But given the unprecedented nature of the ongoing outbreak its hard to predict how it will evolve. A typical bird flu virus never makes it into mammals at this scale, he added.

The longer the virus persists in the environment, the more opportunities it has to fuel a new pandemic. Influenza viruses evolve much faster than the coronavirus behind the covid pandemic and other pathogens.

Right now, there is little to do to stop the spread of this flu virus among wildlife. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, for instance, is working with zoos to vaccinate critically endangered California condors.

Its hard to contain a virus thats now on more or less all the continents, Waldenstrom said. Theres no putting the lid on that. It will run its course.

But there are steps the poultry industry can take  monitoring for viruses at farms, disinfecting equipment, having workers wear protective gear  to reduce the risk of future outbreaks, according to Jonathan Sleeman, a science adviser for wildlife health at the U.S. Geological Survey. One recognizes that this is a lot of effort, he said.

For the surviving elephant seal population in Argentina, it may take years to come back. They may never recover to the same level of population as they were before, Sleeman said. Biologists are working to understand how many adult seals died.

Mendez, the biologist who likened the seal die-off to a disaster movie, worries how the recent outbreak may undo decades of conservation work.

Now, the virus has transformed their work. Its about more than just aiding faraway animals  its about protecting people, too.

Were really trying to protect the very functioning of our planet, Mendez said. Were looking at this disruption through the lens of wildlife, but this is obviously very serious for humans as well.

This article is part of Animalia, a column exploring the strange and fascinating world of animals and the ways in which we appreciate, imperil and depend on them.
Ionut Smadici pleaded guilty to theft and possession of an implement for use in the course of a theft.

A father-of-three was trying to support his children when he repeatedly shoplifted clothes from a menswear store, a court heard.

When Ionut Smadici (37) was caught with a de-tagging device, foil-lined bag and stolen shirts, CCTV was checked and he was seen taking hundreds of euros worth of goods in earlier thefts.

Judge Maire Conneely adjourned the case for a probation report.

Smadici, with an address at a homeless hostel in Newbridge, Co Kildare, pleaded guilty to theft and possession of an implement for use in the course of a theft.

Blanchardstown District Court heard gardai were called to Liffey Valley Shopping Centre on July 16 last year.

Security staff had stopped the accused in relation to thefts from Best Menswear.

He was searched and had an object for removing magnetic tags from clothing, as well as a foil-lined bag.

He also had three mens shirts that had been taken from the shop.

The value of the stolen goods was 390 and they were recovered.

Smadici was identified as having been involved in three other thefts where more than 1,500 worth of goods was taken on earlier dates in 2023 and 2022.
David McCarthy (32) attacked the walker who he claimed had stood blocking his path as he jogged in Clontarf.

A trainee fitness instructor swung martial arts kicks at a dog walker, threatening to kill the man and his German shepherd in a violent confrontation at a Dublin seafront promenade.

David McCarthy (32) attacked the walker who he claimed had stood blocking his path as he jogged in Clontarf.

McCarthy had denied the charges, maintaining he was acting in self-defence and it was the victim who attacked him with his dogs ball-thrower.

Judge John Hughes said he did not accept the accuseds evidence, found him guilty and jailed him for five months, with another three suspended.

McCarthy, of Howth Road, Clontarf, had pleaded not guilty to assaulting and threatening to kill James Milliken.

Mr Milliken told Dublin District Court he was walking his dog on October 21, 2022, when McCarthy, with whom he had two previous encounters, came running in his direction.

The accused drew himself up close to Mr Milliken, who pushed him back after an exchange of words.

He said, Im going to kill your effing dog, Mr Milliken said.

The victim raised his ball-thrower and shouted at McCarthy to get back.

The accused drew himself into a martial arts pose with his fists up to his chest and Mr Milliken stepped back as McCarthy approached.

He felt threatened, so in self-defence, he struck the accused with the thrower on the head and body. As he turned and ran, McCarthy began martial arts kicking at him, striking him on the back of his leg.

This knocked him to the ground and when he got up, McCarthy said Im going to effing kill you.

He was terrified and McCarthy aimed another turning kick at him, striking his arm.

The victim suffered bruising to his leg.

McCarthy alleged Mr Milliken stepped in front of him, chased him in a circle with his unmuzzled attack dog and he fell on the slippy grass. He alleged Mr Milliken then beat me with a weapon  the ball-thrower.

Mc Carthy said he stood up and defended myself by booting the victim. He denied issuing any threats.

In a victim-impact statement, Mr Milliken said he became a target of pure and utter violence by a man half my age whose skill set is MMA fighting.

I now live a paranoid life, constantly checking who is behind me, he said. He had not walked on the promenade since the attack.
Mr Andrecut is one of three people charged with Sherrys murder.

Prosecutors have been given more time to prepare their case against a man charged with murdering a gunman who carried out a shooting at a steakhouse on Christmas Eve.

Michael Andrecut (22), is accused of killing Tristan Sherry who was fatally assaulted after he opened fire in the attack in west Dublin.

His case was adjourned for another two weeks when he appeared in Cloverhill District Court today.

Mr Andrecut, from Sheephill Avenue, Dublin 15, is charged with murdering Sherry at Brownes Steakhouse, Blanchardstown on the evening of December 24.

Today was his third court appearance since he was arrested and charged in late December.

Judge Alan Mitchell was told today a book of evidence was being prepared in the case but it was not ready yet and the prosecution was seeking more time.

Mr Andrecut, who is in custody, appeared by video link and his barrister told him he could be remanded for either two or four weeks.

Ill do two weeks I will, yeah, the accused said.

Tristan Sherry

Judge Mitchell told Mr Andrecut if he is granted bail in the High Court in the meantime, he will still have to appear in Cloverhill on the next date.

Thats no problem, Mr Andrecut replied; then when he was given the date of January 30, he said: Yeah, perfect, nice one.

After Sherry (26), opened fire in the gun attack, Jason Hennessy Snr (48) who was having a meal with family and friends, was shot and injured.

Sherry was tackled, disarmed and fatally assaulted at the scene, where he was pronounced dead.

Mr Hennessy was rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds, but died on January 4, prompting a separate murder investigation.

Mr Andrecut is one of three people charged with Sherrys murder. David Amah (18) from Hazel Grove, Portrane Road, Donabate appeared in court separately earlier this month and had his case adjourned to January 26, for the preparation of a book of evidence.

A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named, was remanded to a detention centre when he appeared in court last Saturday charged with Sherry's murder.

Another man arrested after the incident, Wayne Deegan (25), of Linnetsfield Avenue, Phibblestown, Dublin 15, is charged with producing a knife, assault causing harm to Mr Sherry and violent disorder.

During an earlier bail hearing for Mr Deegan, the court was told he was among a group in the restaurant when two gunmen entered and opened fire on a male. One fled but the other, Sherry, was grabbed and suffered injuries, the court heard.

The court was told a firearm was picked up by another male and there was a sustained attack for five minutes by a number of people on Mr Sherry who was on the ground. It was alleged that Mr Deegan kicked Mr Sherry in the head several times.

Mr Deegan claimed he acted in self-defence, the court heard. Judge Mitchell refused bail and remanded him in custody, also to January 26.

A fifth man charged in connection with the incident has been released, with a file sent to the DPP.
Kobi's funeral will now take place in Waterford, the home county of his Irish father, Ben Dooly.

THE devastated Irish father of a four year old boy fatally stabbed in a frenzied attack in London said that his son "will be on my shoulders forever.

A heartrending funeral notice for little Kobi Macharia-Dooly (4) said the little boy had "danced into heaven" just days before Christmas.

Kobi's funeral will now take place in Waterford, the home county of his Irish father, Ben Dooly.

The funeral will take place in Tramore on Friday after the little boy's remains were released back to his father's Irish family by a London coroner.

Keziah Macharia (41), Kobi's mother, was charged with his murder just days before Christmas.

She appeared before the Old Bailey, having been charged with the murder of Kobi at their London home.

Kobi is the son of Ben Dooly who is originally from Waterford but who has been based in the UK over recent years.

The little boy's Irish father was working outside London when the tragedy occurred.

Mr Dooly is from a highly respected Tramore-based family who have business and sporting interests across the south east.

Friends said he was left devastated by the horrific circumstances surrounding his son's death.

Details of Kobi's Irish funeral arrangements have now been confirmed.

The funeral notice said: "Daddy misses you so much and you will be on my shoulders forever. My love for you is eternal. Take care, my sweet angel."

It also said that Kobi "danced into heaven on December 21.

Kobi will repose at Falconer's Funeral Home at Riverstown in Tramore from 4.40pm to 7pm on Thursday.

His Requiem Mass will take place at 12 noon on Friday at the Holy Cross Church in Tramore.

Prior to the Requiem Mass, Kobi's funeral cortege will walk from Tramore Credit Union at 11.50am to arrive at the Church of the Holy Cross.

The funeral notice indicated that Kobi will be laid to rest at a private ceremony at a future date.

Mourners who wished to make donations in Kobi's memory were asked to do so to Bell's Repatriation Fund.

Kobi is survived by his heartbroken father, Ben, his grandparents Wilf and Anne, his aunts and uncles Liz, Zeta, Cathy, Shane, Debbie, Ger and John as well as by his extended family of cousins and friends.

Keziah Macharia is charged with the murder of little Kobi at Montague Road, Dalston in Hackney shortly after 10pm on Wednesday, December 20.

She was initially charged before a sitting of Thames Magistrates Court before being remanded in custody over Christmas to appear again before the Old Bailey.

A special post mortem examination was also conducted on Kobi in London.

The results of the examination were being withheld by the Metropolitan Police for operational reasons.

However, it is understood it indicated that the little boy died from multiple stab injuries.

He was discovered in his cot at his Hackney home when Metropolitan Police officers forced their way into the property.
Hennessy Snr (48) fought for his life for 10 days before passing away as a result of his injuries in the Mater Hospital on Wednesday of last week

Funeral details have been announced for Jason Hennessy Snr (48) who was killed in a gun attack at Brownes Steakhouse in Blanchardstown, West Dublin on Christmas Eve.

Hennessy Snr (48) fought for his life for 10 days before passing away as a result of his injuries in the Mater Hospital on Wednesday of last week.

He had wrestled with gunman Tristan Sherry whose funeral is taking place in Dublin this morning when he was shot three times.

On his death notice on RIP.ie it states that the death has occurred of the late Jason (Jay) (Senior) Hennessy, suddenly, surrounded by his loving family and friends

It adds: Sadly missed by his beloved wife Veronica loving children, loving mother & father, grandchildren, daughter in law, sons in law, loving sisters, extended family & large circle of friends.

The funeral will take place on Saturday, January 20 at Saint Patrick church, Corduff for 11am followed by crematorium at Glasnevin..

Jason will be reposing home on Thursday at the family home, the notice adds.

Hennessy Snr was a member of a crime gang operating in the Corduff area but he only became involved in serious and organised crime in the last decade of his life.

He was facing money laundering charges before Dublin Circuit Court in 2025 in relation to the activities of the gang of which he was a key member  one that is heavily involved in drug debt intimidation and other violent crime.

Jason Hennessy Snr

Coming from a well-respected family in the Corduff area, he was a talented boxer in his teenage years and then spent many years working as a truck driver for a breakdown recovery company.

He grew up on the same estate as the Sugg brothers, key members of the Westies gang, who were murdered a year apart two decades ago as part of a bitter West Dublin feud.

"He came under the influence of others as the years went on, and some gardai who watched this change would say he grew into himself  grew into being a player, and he certainly was that by the time he was murdered, source said following his death.

Paying tribute to Jason Hennessy Snrs actions on the night of the shooting, his daughter Jade shared a number of tributes to the deceased man over the past week.

In the first, she wrote: We are all heartbroken da!

Life is so cruel. You didnt deserve this. You were the best person to walk this planet, the best person in the world, the kindest person that would do anything for anyone.

Nobody in this world will ever come close to comparing what you mean to us. Im truly devastated.

You protected your kids and your grandkids and your wife  your whole world. Im so broken that we have to even try to continue without you.

I love you so so much and I wont ever stop. Its never goodbye. Its see you later.

And, in a follow-up message, she wrote: You literally gave your life for your family and so many others.

Theres not a lot of men that can say that. You actually did it. Dont worry da.

Ill make sure the world knows what you did and what you gave up. The truth will be told and Ill make sure of it.

You are a hero and thats what Ill make sure everyone knows.

Meanwhile a major garda security operation was underway this morning ahead of the Dublin funeral of gunman Tristan Sherry.

Sherrys funeral is taking place in Finglas more than over three weeks after he was killed at Brownes Steakhouse in Blanchardstown, West Dublin on Christmas Eve.

Sherry (26) was overpowered after shooting Hennessy Snr (48).

It has been reported that tensions remain high between the two feuding sides in the wake of the deaths of Sherry and Hennessy Sr.

As part of the massive security operation, uniformed gardai will be on patrol on the streets outside St Canices Church in Finglas as the service gets underway.

Gardai were also seen at Massey Bros in Finglas, West Dublin yesterday afternoon where the body of Mr Sherry was brought in earlier in the morning.

Floral tributes had been brought inside as his family prepared to say goodbye to Tristan, who they said would be sadly missed.

Tristan will be very sadly missed by his heartbroken Mam Mary and sister Savanna, beloved daughter Aria, aunts Yvonne, Priscilla, Leona and a very wide circle of friends. May Tristans soul rest in peace, a death notice reads.

This weekend we reported how Armed Support Units have been operating increased patrols in the Corduff and Finglas areas since the shooting, with extra overtimes allocated by Garda headquarters for overtime.

In addition, local patrols have been stepped up, as well as patrols by unmarked garda cars and detectives.

Three men, and a 17-year-old boy, have so far been charged in connection Sherrys death.

A teenager, an 18-year-old who was arrested on suspicion of taking Sherrys machinegun from the restaurant in the wake of the shooting, was released without charge following his arrest on Thursday last.

Witnesses to the incident on December 24 or anyone with video footage around the area at the time of the attack have been requested to contact gardai at Blanchardstown Garda station on 01 666 7000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or to contact any garda station.
DAR ES SALAAM, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania and Kenya have agreed to resolve restrictions on air travel between the two countries within the next three days, Tanzanian Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, January Makamba, said on Monday.

Makamba said that he has engaged in discussions with Musalia Mudavadi, the Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs and reached a mutual agreement that the existing restrictions on air travel between the two countries and outbound to a third country should be lifted.

"With relevant authorities, we have resolved to settle this issue, per existing agreements within three days," Makamba said on X, formerly Twitter.

Earlier on Monday, Tanzanian aviation authorities declared the suspension of all Kenya Airways passenger flights connecting the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, and Tanzania's commercial hub, Dar es Salaam. This measure will take effect from January 22, 2024.

The Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) explained in a statement that their decision was a response to Kenya's recent denial of Tanzania's request to permit its airline, Air Tanzania Company Limited, to conduct cargo flights between Nairobi and third countries.

According to the statement signed by TCAA Director General Hamza Johari, TCAA cited the Kenyan authorities' refusal as a violation of Section 4 of the memorandum of understanding on Air Services signed between the two countries in 2016. 
Kevin Stretch Walsh (34), who had a conviction for manslaughter, died last Sunday night

A convicted killer fatally stabbed in an assault in Dublin last weekend will be laid to rest on Thursday.

Kevin Stretch Walsh (34), who had a conviction for manslaughter, died last Sunday night, January 7, after he was found at an apartment in Lucan, Dublin.

Earlier, he had taken a taxi from his family home in Allenton Green, Tallaght, to the apartment in Shackleton Hall where he was living.

At around 3am last Sunday an ambulance was called to the property and Walsh was found with a stab wound.

Walsh later died at James Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown. Detectives are still trying to establish where Walsh was assaulted and are investigating if he was stabbed at a property in Tallaght before returning to Lucan where his condition deteriorated.

Sources revealed that when emergency services tried to find out what had happened, Walsh refused to tell them.

Kevin Walsh (rip.ie)

No arrests have yet been made in relation to his fatal assault and inquiries are ongoing.

His funeral will take place in St Annes Church, Bohernabreena on Thursday at 10am.

A death notice on rip.ie reads: Beloved son of the late Phyllis and loving brother to Louise, Lisa, David, Paul and Gavin. Sadly missed by his heartbroken partner Lauren, family and friends.

"Reposing at his sister Lisas residence on Wednesday (17th January) from 5pm until 7pm. Thereafter house private please.

Removal to St Annes Church, Bohernabreena on Thursday (18th January) arriving for 10am Funeral Mass, followed by burial in Bohernabreena.

In 2006, Kevin Walsh was convicted of the manslaughter of James Burke (20) in a park area in Liffey Valley in September 2005.

The trial heard that Walsh, who was aged 16 at the time, fatally attacked the victim because he was English. Mr Burkes body remained in a field near Liffey Valley shopping centre for two days before being found.

Walsh was charged with murder but later found guilty of manslaughter.

The killer, who had 34 previous convictions at the time, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment with the final five years suspended.

In 2013 was jailed for the violent hijacking of a taxi.
Criminals associates leave their condolence messages as funeral takes place

Infamous hard-man criminal Anthony Shooter McDonagh laid his father to rest last weekend in his native Galway.

Tributes were paid to John Cowboy McDonagh who passed away on New Years Day at Galway University Hospital surrounded by his family.

The great-grandfather was described as a lovely neighbour and a gentle soul by friends from Westside, where he lived.

Anthony Shooter McDonagh's late father John

His sons gangland connections meant that some of those expressing sympathy to the family are serious criminals from the west of Ireland and Dublin.

Shooter McDonaghs son is married to a daughter of Anthony Kelly of Kilrush, who was previously connected to Limericks feuding gangs.

At the funeral of Kellys son in September 2022 Shooter posed for a photo with Limerick mob boss and convicted drug dealer Brian Collopy.

In 2017 Shooter acted as a fair-play man as Anthony Kelly Jr took part in a bare-knuckle fight with another man to settle a dispute in Kilrush, Co Clare.

Kelly Jr had faced charges over the bare-knuckle fight in which he knocked a man out within 30 seconds of the fight starting.

In a video clip of the fight Shooter McDonagh had warned onlookers to let the fair fight go ahead without anyone else trying to get involved.

Kelly Sr was also a wedding guest of Shooters family when a daughter of McDonagh was married in Galway in March 2017.

Shooter had been given permission to leave Loughan House open prison for the occasion where he was serving time for blasting off a mans thumb with a shotgun. The Armed Response Unit kept watch over the wedding celebrations amid fears his temporary release could spark violence.

As it happened, the event went off peacefully and Shooter was released later that year after serving an eight year sentence for carrying out the gun attack in April 2008.

The attack was described in court at the time as being part of feud between two families.

The father-of-five said at one bail hearing before his trial that he was one of the best weightlifters in the world and was willing to pay down big money cash for bail.

McDonagh was jailed for eight years after a trial in which he denied being the masked shooter who left then 26-year-old Martin Ward with serious injuries.

The victim had been sitting in a van with a friend while another friend delivered takeaway food to a house at Whitestrand Road.

A masked man holding a shotgun appeared at the drivers door and told him he was going to get it.

The point-blank blast hit Ward in the hand, stomach and leg, leaving him with serious injuries.

His thumb was blown off and his index finger was left hanging off. Surgeons later used his index finger to replace his thumb, leaving him with a disfigured hand.

Ward, who said in court he knew his attacker all his life, was able to identify him and McDonagh was arrested by gardai hours after the attack.

He denied the attack, but a man who provided him with an alibi later admitted under oath that he had made false statement to the gardai.
Fast-food boss Ciaran hits out at online barracks rumours

The owner of a pizza joint in west Belfast has dismissed speculation that he was targeted because he was delivering fast food to members of the security forces.

Ciaran Kelly, who runs the popular Pizza Guyz chain in the city, hit out at internet warriors who have accused him of forcing drivers to deliver to barracks and police stations. He says the claims are lies.

Mr Kelly  who is heavily involved in cross-community projects  refutes suggestions that this was the reason his business on the Andersonstown Road was rammed, robbed and set alight on Tuesday morning.

The fire attack

Speaking to the Sunday World, the businessman said the attack was one of a spate of robberies on the same morning.

He added that the police are aware of the culprits and have told him he was not targeted for any reason. Instead, he was caught up in a senseless spree of blatant vandalism and criminality. He is a random victim.

I am dismissing anything that has been said on social media, he said. It is just not true. What happened to my business could have been anyones.

I have been told by police investigating that they are 99 per cent certain it was not a direct attack.

I will not give my time to Facebook warriors. I have a business to get back up and running for my staff and the community.

Mr Kelly added: The woman who posted that I sacked a driver because he wouldnt deliver to a police station took the post down because it was untrue.

I can tell you now I have never sacked any drivers and I would never force anyone to do something like that.

Mr Kelly admitted that on one occasion, after checking his records, his pizza company had unknowingly delivered to Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn last July.

Staff only became aware of the situation when the driver arrived at the address, which did not include the security base name.

When I heard what was being said I checked my records and there was one occasion when we delivered to the barracks, he said.

When the order was placed there was no mention of it being the barracks  it was a number and name of the road. It was only when the driver got there did we realise.

That was the one and only time and we did so not knowing. Also, we dont and havent delivered to any police stations.

I would not be happy sending anyone into those situations. It wouldnt happen. There are threats against police officers and security forces; I would not be putting any member of my staff in danger by accepting delivery jobs like that.

Ciaran Kelly helped pupils at St Gerards school hold pizza parties after the fire attack

It was business as usual just two days after the attack  in some respects at least  as Ciaran and his team honoured their charity and community commitments with their mobile kitchen.

They served up 122 pizzas to kids with special needs in St Gerards in West Belfast.

We are still ploughing away, he said. We had the event in St Gerards and we are determined to get back on our feet as soon as possible in relation to the shop.

We wont be letting anyone down in the community who we have committed to. I will not let the numpties who did this to my business stop me.

Meanwhile, soldiers stationed at Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn have been banned from getting fast-food deliveries to the barracks amid a fresh dissident republican threat.

Earlier this week, a message was circulated among the hundreds of squaddies stating that, with immediate effect, all takeaways to camp are now banned.

They are not to get food dropped off at the camp gates as there has been a threat made, declared the order.

It will be 15 years ago on March 7 that Sappers Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey were gunned down by two masked Real IRA gunmen outside Massereene Barracks in Antrim.

The Royal Engineers were only hours from flying to Afghanistan and had gone to collect pizzas from a delivery man at the entrance to their barracks when they were shot.

The soldiers were the first to be murdered in Northern Ireland since Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick was killed by an IRA sniper in south Armagh in 1997. Magherafelt man Brian Shivers was initially convicted of the murders but the verdict was quashed on appeal.
Ms Wagner said she was convinced that Fritzl felt honest, genuine, deeply felt remorse because he destroyed the beautiful life he had by doing something to his family

Josef Fritzl, the incest beast who fathered several children with his captive daughter after imprisoning her in a basement dungeon for 24 years, should be moved to care home as he's no longer a danger, it has been reported.

The 86-year-old Austrian who fathered seven children with daughter Elisabeth who he raped repeatedly between 1984 and 2008 in a bunker under his home in Amstetten, was handed down a life sentence for his despicable crimes when he was jailed in 2009.

However, under the terms of his sentence, Fritzl will be eligible for parole this year.

Fritzl is currently being held in a high-security unit for mentally disturbed offenders in Stein Prison, in the town of Krems in northeast Austria.

While it is up to the courts to decide whether to move Fritzl to a regular prison, his lawyer Astrid Wagner told Sky News on Tuesday she hopes to have him moved to a nursing home.

I am already in the process of obtaining a conditional discharge for him, Wagner told Austria's Kronen Zeitung.

If the application is approved - which I assume will be the case - I would like to ensure that he gets a place in a home for frail people.

Ms Wagner said her client "has a right to be treated with "human dignity", which, she claims, is "only possible in a nursing home and not in a prison".

She argued that his physical and cognitive deterioration had led to "distortions of reality", although he was "not severely demented".

Ms Wagner said she was convinced that Fritzl felt "honest, genuine, deeply felt remorse", because he "destroyed the beautiful life he had by doing something to his family".

Fritzl kept his daughter locked in a soundproof dungeon beneath the family home where he raped her more than 3,000 times.

While one child died shortly after birth, and was incinerated by the monster, three of the other kids were brought upstairs to live with him and his wife Rosemarie.

Fritzl told Rosemarie the children belonged to Elisabeth, and had been left on their doorstep as she was unable to care for them.

The three remaining children were kept in the windowless cellar  aged five to 19 when released  and would first see sunlight in 2008.

Fritzls crimes were uncovered when the oldest cellar child, a 19-year-old girl, became seriously ill.

Elisabeth begged her dad to take the girl, Kerstin, to hospital, but doctors quickly alerted cops after questioning the teen - who had never been in the outside world before.

Fritzl was jailed for life after pleading guilty to murder by negligence over the death of the baby he cremated.

The other charges included enslavement, incest, rape, coercion and false imprisonment.

Elisabeth Fritzl has not had any contact with her father since he was jailed and lives under a new alias in an unknown part of Austria with the children conceived during the decades her own father brutally raped her.

The Regional Court of Krems in Lower Austria decided in 2021 that it would move Fritzl from a special unit for the criminally insane in Krems-Stein prison to the regular prison system.

However, the public prosecutor's office immediately appealed the decision.

Last year, Fritzl claimed in an interview that he thought his family would "forgive" him for his crimes and he would be "reunited" with them.

One of Austria's leading forensic psychiatric experts from Linz University, who has reportedly spent a year preparing her new study of Fritzl, has said there is no longer any risk of him carrying out any criminal activity.

Heidi Kastner said she believes he could be transferred to the normal prison system at the Krems-Stein jail, as part of a first step towards being released.

It has been reported that Kastner believes that due to his age and frailty, there is no reason to hold him in a facility housing the most dangerous offenders.

Kleine Zeitung has reported there are questions over whether moving him to a new prison is sensible, given his poor health, and that it is more likely he will be transferred to a nursing home.
Andrea Deiana was tracked down to his Mexican bolt hole which he had partly financed by obtaining an autographed lithograph of The Flower Thrower

A wanted Italian drug trafficker known as Banksy who was a partner of Kinahan cartel ally Raffaele Imperiale, has been arrested in Mexico and extradited back to his native Italy.

Andrea Deiana, who had been on the run since May 2022, was tracked down to his Mexican bolt hole which he had partly financed by obtaining an autographed lithograph of The Flower Thrower.

The famous work by the British graffiti artist first appeared in the West Bank in 2003 and is considered one of his most iconic images.

The original Banksy work in the West Bank

The 42-year-old, from Terracina, south of Rome, was the target of an investigation conducted by the Italian District Anti-Mafia Directorate and the Milan Flying Squad that led to the arrest of 31 people on charges of international drug trafficking.

During what was called the Arkan operation, which began in 2019, a total of 36kg of cocaine, 87kg of hashish, 32kg of ketamine, 9kg of marijuana and 244,000 in cash were seized.

This resulted in sentences of more than 150 years in prison handed down to those convicted.

At the time Deiana was the co-owner of an art gallery in Amsterdam, Holland, where he had invested part of the proceeds from drug dealing in the purchase of the Banksy work.

Deiana had insured the work for two million euros and entrusted the lithograph to a Milanese gallery owner "in order to monetise its economic value" and support the costs of being on the run, according to Italian chief prosecutor Marcello Viola.

When Milanese police busted the drug operation in May 2022, Deiana went on the run to Mexico.

Italian investigators established that Deiana had been involved in the supply of hundreds of kilos of narcotics together with leading members of the Camorra gang such as Raffaele Imperiale, who is also known as the Van Gogh Boss through his own interest in art.

Imperiale, who had been one of Italys most-wanted fugitives before he was nabbed in Dubai, had been linked to the theft of two paintings from the Van Gogh Museum in 2002.

The notorious mafia boss, known as the King of the Narcos, is now a State witness in his native Italy after he was extradited from the UAE, where he attended Daniel Kinahans wedding in 2017.

It later emerged that Deiana had helped Imperiale flee to Dubai and it was the mafia boss, before his capture in March 2021, who advised Deiana to hide out in Mexico, in messages intercepted by Milanese investigators.

Deiana , who used the nickname Banksy in encrypted chats, had been sentenced in absentia to 16 years and 8 months in prison. Following his arrest he was extradited to Italy on a flight from Mexico City, where he is expected to appear before an Italian investigating judge in the next few days.

Meanwhile, the lithograph of The flower Thrower has been seized by the Italian police from the gallery in Milan.
The paintings, Picasso's "Tete" and Chagall's "Lhomme en priere", were stolen from an art collector in 2010

Two stolen paintings by Picasso and Chagall that were found in the Belgian city of Antwerp. Photo: Parquet of Namur/Handout via REUTERS.

Belgian police have found stolen Picasso and Chagall paintings in a basement in the city of Antwerp, local authorities said on Tuesday, adding that the artworks are still in good condition.

The paintings, Picasso's "Tete" and Chagall's "Lhomme en priere", were stolen from an art collector in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 2010 and are worth 828,000.

At the time of the theft, 650,000 worth of jewellery was stolen as well but only the paintings have been found.

Local police had started an investigation when a source informed them that a Belgian national was offering both artworks for sale.

The local prosecutor said the main suspect has been arrested.
Chinese kitchen worker was told his work permit could be in jeopardy after he complained about conditions

I don't have the money for a solicitor, if I have to pay this I will probably close down'

The WRC said Jinxiu Zheng thought the recruitment fee he was paying was going directly to the directors account

Yu Ming Zheng shows what he paid his employee for work in the kitchen

Yu Ming Zheng shows what he paid his employee for work in the kitchen

Yu Ming Zheng shows what he paid his employee for work in the kitchen

A Chinese restaurant owner ordered to pay more than 28,000 to a migrant chef who suffered humiliating and degrading treatment has claimed he didnt treat his former employee badly and shouldnt have to pay compensation.

Kitchen worker Jinxiu Zheng recently took a successful case to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) over his treatment while working for Ming Feng Ltd, which operates the Rose Palace Restaurant in Portlaoise, between July 2022 and January 2023.

During the hearing Mr Zheng, who came to Ireland from China, said many others worked in similar circumstances who could not do anything about their predicament as they had come to Ireland on borrowed money and were dependent on their employers for their work permit and accommodation.

He told the WRC that before he started, he was promised 15.78 per hour for a 39-hour week with a 30c hourly premium on Sundays  but ended up getting paid just 300 a week for working between 50 and 60 hours.

Yu Ming Zheng shows what he paid his employee for work in the kitchen

He gave evidence of a litany of other issues, including that his final wages were thrown on the floor and when he raised issues about tax or employment conditions, he was told his work permit and status could be in jeopardy.

He said he was further informed that as a foreign worker the contract of employment did not apply to him.

Yu Ming Zheng (48), who runs the restaurant and is no relation to his former employee, told the Sunday World this week that he wasnt even aware he had lost the case, and said he cant afford to pay the compensation.

I dont have money for the fine. He should pay me money not the other way around, Yu Ming Zheng said. I was not rude to him. I didnt know I had to pay this. Its not fair.

He denied throwing his former employees wages on the floor. No, I didnt do this, he claimed.

He claimed the former employee worked 37 to 39 hours a week and not 50 to 60 and was given food and accommodation as well as wages.

He also claimed he loaned his former employee money to be paid to a recruiter in China.

The WRC heard that while the restaurant owners made written submissions ahead of the hearing they didn't turn up on the day to make themselves available to be cross-examined.

Yu Ming Zheng, who spoke to the Sunday World with the aid of his daughter who translated, said he didnt have the time to turn up to the hearing but also said he was unaware it had actually gone ahead as he may have missed the notification.

The WRC said Jinxiu Zheng thought the recruitment fee he was paying was going directly to the directors account

Its a family business. Im working every day in the restaurant. I dont have time and I dont have good English. When I get letters and emails I dont know.

Sometimes we have a lot of letters and I might not have seen it. I work seven days. I pack up everything at night time and its 3am. I wake up in the afternoon and start cooking. I dont have time.

He admitted he was aware of the initial complaint as people came in to speak to him about it, but said he couldnt afford to hire a lawyer to represent him.

Im paying a lot for electricity and gas  every month its more than 4,000. I dont have the money to pay, I dont have the money for a solicitor.

He said he owed money for utilities, rates and taxes and cant afford to pay the compensation to his former employee.

If I have to pay this I will probably close down.

At the WRC the complainant gave evidence that he came to work in Ireland, which involved the payment of fees to a recruiter.

Jinxiu said he was paid 300 in cash per week on a Sunday and didnt receive payslips, worked between 50-60 hours a week and did not receive extra pay for additional hours or take annual leave.

He said he began to query whether tax was being paid on his behalf and when he checked on the Revenue website he discovered he was not paying tax and raised the issue with his employer. He was eventually registered for tax months later.

He said he complained but was told his work permit and status as a worker could be in jeopardy and that he was punished by getting dirty jobs around the restaurant.

I don't have the money for a solicitor, if I have to pay this I will probably close down'

Jinxiu denied claims made by the restaurant in submissions about his work ethic and said he commenced work on time and had a good work ethic.

He said he borrowed money which was to pay a recruitment fee and a contract was drawn up which included terms that he would work for five years and his tax would be paid.

He said that there was mention of a third party to be included in the contract as agent. His understanding was that the recruitment fee he was paying was going directly to the Directors account, the WRC said in a summary of his evidence

Jinxiu added that it was normal in this type of business for his rent and food to be paid and this was agreed prior to travel to Ireland and not mentioned in the contract.

The WRC said his evidence was that: As a dispute arose with the Director over the outstanding recruitment fee payment, he was informed that he would be replaced with another foreign worker and his work permit would be cancelled.

The complainant said his final weeks wages were withheld and, on January 17, 2023 he was told to return the keys to his accommodation which he did not do as he had no alternative accommodation

A few days later, a director requested him to sign a resignation letter. When he translated this letter, it purported to say that he was resigning on good terms and that he was surrendering his employment permit. He refused to sign the letter.

On February 14, 2023, he received his outstanding pay for his last week when he said the 300 was thrown on the floor by one of the directors. He left the accommodation on this day.

WRC adjudicator Seamus Clinton found in favour of the complainant on a number of grounds including harassment, racial discrimination and employment law breaches.

He said the harassment complaint was well founded and ordered that 10,000 be paid in compensation. He also found that the former employee had been discriminated against on race grounds and ordered that another 15,000 be paid in compensation for this.

He also found in favour of the former employee on a number of other issues including minimum wage, holiday pay, weekly working hours and rest breaks bringing the total amount awarded to 28,275.

Mr Clinton said he had no jurisdiction to rule on Mr Zhengs wages claim in respect of alleged payments to his employer for a recruitment fee.
She said that peaceful marches are being treated in an identical manner as the Dublin riots in terms of policing.

A Cork city councillor has criticised An Garda Siochana for making poor operational decisions after claiming that gardai were more concerned with protecting private businesses than public safety.

Independent politician Lorna Bogue took to X, formerly Twitter, over the weekend after hundreds of people joined in on pro-Palestinian marches in Dublin and Cork on Saturday afternoon.

She shared a photo of a male garda on duty outside a McDonalds in Cork city with the caption: Gardai priorities on the Palestine issue.

Later, she shared a similar image and said: Sorry now and not to harp on about this (I will, actually). It is interesting that the same police force who can't enforce anything they are asked to do for public good is well able to produce riot squads, helicopters, and now it seems private security for capitalist interests.

The head of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI), Antoinette Cunningham slammed the posts as "very wrong" on X, writing: A Garda member stands on duty, lawfully doing his job  an elected representative falsely accuses him of providing private security, uses his image and subjects him to online abuse. This is so very wrong".

Speaking to the Sunday World, Bogue defended her posts and said she was pointing out issues with the "priorities and culture of the leadership of An Garda Siochana.

She said that peaceful marches are being treated in an identical manner as the Dublin riots in terms of policing - which she believes is a false equivalence.

I tweeted a photo from the protest against the genocide in Gaza to make the point that policing in this country is geared towards private property rather than public safety, she explained.

Im a bit surprised about the uptake of my tweet. It has been read as an ad hominem attack on a particular garda, which it is not.

What I wasnt surprised about was to yet again see vanloads of gardai deployed to ensure that the peaceful attendees of a march against genocide would not smash up businesses as recently seen in Dublin from the far right.

Its a false equivalence and senior gardai are making very poor operational decisions. I was pointing out a problem of leadership in An Garda Siochana. There are operational decisions being made by senior gardai and the ordinary garda is bearing the brunt for it.

Describing the garda response to far-right and activities of late as a light touch, non-enforcement approach, Bogue added: When vulnerable people living in tents come under attack from violent thugs, or when library workers and users of the library in Cork city are threatened by people calling themselves protesters, the gardai are often nowhere to be seen.

Even when buses and trams are set alight by violent protesters, individual gardai have had to organise themselves over WhatsApp rather than being sent by their leadership to deal with that.

When a peaceful protest attracts people to Cork city centre, gardai are sent in number on a frankly ridiculous premise that glass-fronted businesses might be smashed up by a peaceful crowd... That is a political point about the priorities and culture of the leadership of An Garda Siochana, both nationally and in Cork.

While she accepted that the garda in question was simply following orders, Bogue said there was no need for police to be in Cork city centre in their droves.

They didnt really need to stand anywhere. They could have followed along with the protest but at the end of the day, it was a peaceful protest, the Cork City South-East councillor said.

The organisers of these protests co-operate with gardai and inform them of what route theyre going to take, where theyre going to be, how many people they expect to come.

This is not something that happens with the far right. They publicly state on Telegram or TikTok that they intend to go to specific places and cause harm to properties and workers in those locations.

The issue arises when the protest is not communicated with An Garda Siochana.
It was accompanied by Mr Fannings image and entitled Prominent Irish Broadcaster faces trial over alleged sexual misconduct.

Well-known DJ Dave Fanning has launched defamation proceedings against a Hong Kong news site and Microsoft over the publication of his picture alongside an article stating that an Irish broadcaster had gone on trial for alleged sexual misconduct.

The article was published by an online news network entity called BNN on October 11 last year.

It was accompanied by Mr Fannings image and entitled Prominent Irish Broadcaster faces trial over alleged sexual misconduct. It was written by a Kasturi Chakraborty.

The article, which stated that the broadcasters identity was being withheld due to legal restrictions and claimed that the broadcaster faces trial for allegedly engaging in sexual activities with a child under 12, was also allegedly republished on Microsofts News Service MSN on the same date as it had been published by BNN.

Mr Fanning claims that the article makes seriously false and damaging statements about him.

The trial in question had nothing to do with him, and related to another broadcaster, who was subsequently acquitted of all charges.

As a result he has brought proceedings where he seeks damages for the alleged defamation.

The article, the court heard, was removed the day after it was published.

The court heard that the article is completely false, wrongly suggested that Mr Fanning is a criminal, is a person of low moral standing, a danger to minors, is a paedophile, and it has gravely damaged Mr Fanning's reputation and good character.

As a result Mr Fanning, represented by Garrett Cooney BL, instructed by solicitor Paul Meagher, wants to sue BNN, Microsoft Operations Ireland Ltd and its US-based parent Microsoft Corporation.

As the defendants are both located outside of the EU, Mr Fanning required the permission of the High Court to serve the proceedings on them.

Counsel told the court that after an extensive search by Mr Meagher his side have discovered that BNN is registered as a non-governmental organisation, founded by a Mr Gurbaksh Chahal, located at the Prudential Tower, the Gateway Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.

Counsel said that at this stage of the proceedings it is believed that Mr Fanning's image may have been included with the article after an artificial intelligence (AI) programme used to collect and aggregate news stories failed to function properly.

On Monday, Mr Justice Cian Ferriter said that he was satisfied, on an ex-parte (one side only represented) basis to allow Mr Fanning to serve the intended action on BNN.

However there were certain issues he needed clarified in relation to the application regarding Microsoft's US based parent, which the court wanted clarified.

The judge said he would like to know if there was any evidence the allegedly defamatory article was published on any MSN services outside of Ireland or in jurisdictions under the control of Microsoft's US parent.

The judge adjourned that aspect of the application for a week.
Gardai are advising motorists that the road has been temporarily closed to traffic and local diversions are in place.

A Galway road has been closed to motorists following a three-vehicle road crash.

Gardai and emergency services rushed to the scene of collision this morning on the N17 at Milltown, in County Galway.

The incident occurred at about 10.10am and involved a van and two cars.

Gardai are advising motorists that the road has been temporarily closed to traffic and local diversions are in place.

A garda spokesperson said: Gardai and emergency services are at the scene of a three-vehicle road traffic collision involving a van and two cars, which occurred on the N17 at Milltown, Co. Galway, today, Tuesday, January 16, 2024 at approximately 10.10am.

The road is currently closed. Local diversions are in place. Investigations are ongoing. No further information is available at this time.
TRIPOLI, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday that 119 illegal migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya last week.

"From Jan. 7 to 13, 2024, 119 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya," IOM said in a statement.

The rescued migrants include four women, IOM said, adding that two dead bodies of illegal migrants were also retrieved.

According to IOM, a total of 17,190 illegal migrants were rescued and returned to Libya in 2023. Meanwhile, 962 died, and 1,536 went missing on the Central Mediterranean route off the Libyan coast.

In 2022, 24,684 illegal migrants were rescued and returned to Libya, while 529 died and 848 went missing.

Due to the insecurity and chaos in the country since the fall of late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011, many migrants, mostly Africans, chose to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores from Libya. 
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the unnamed man who is pictured grimacing as he lies on his back on the ground

Protesters at the Racket Hall hotel in Roscrea, Co Tipperary (Niall Carson/PA)

A fundraising appeal launched for a man who was caught up in clashes between gardai and protestors at the Racket Hall Hotel in Roscrea has raised just 10 so far.

A GoFundMe page was set up yesterday for the unnamed man who is pictured grimacing as he lies on his back on the ground.

The page, entitled This man deserves better, claims to be raising funds for the gentleman who allegedly suffered injuries during a confrontation with gardai.

It was set up by a person using the name Balding Whiteguy who does not appear to have any connection with the target of the fundraiser.

This should not stand and he deserves better, the GoFundMe page reads.

Lets at least get enough to cover his medical bills and get him a few pints in his local. Its the least he deserves.

It has so far garnered just one donation of 10 towards a 5,000 goal.

Scuffles broke out at the site of the hotel yesterday as protesters tried to block a bus carrying 17 asylum seekers  men, women and children - who arrived under Garda protection.

Gardai, assisted by the public order unit, insisted they acted to maintain safety and order with a measured response by officers, none of whom wore body armour or helmets.

Protesters at the Racket Hall hotel in Roscrea, Co Tipperary (Niall Carson/PA)

Yesterday, one man was arrested under the Public Order Act during roadside scuffles as the first asylum-seekers were successfully escorted into the hotel.

A major protest meeting was staged outside the hotel yesterday evening as demonstrators accused gardai of heavy-handed tactics during the tense stand-off.

The decision to bring the 17 men, women and children  into the property has sparked a five-day round-the-clock protest outside Racket Hall.

Protesters insisted last night that, had they been informed that women and children were being brought into the hotel, they would have immediately stepped back.

Locals claimed that a government letter indicated to them last week that those to be assigned to the Roscrea hotel would be single males.

Protestors blames gardai for scuffles outside asylum-seeker hotel in Roscrea Co. Tipperary

Some described juvenile asylum-seekers as being very distressed amid the protest scenes.

Gardai were forced to move demonstrators, who had formed a human chain in front of the entrance to the hotel, to allow the 17 asylum-seekers to gain entry to their new accommodation.

Gardai, assisted by the public order unit, insisted they acted to maintain safety and order with a measured response by officers, none of whom wore body armour or helmets.

One man was arrested earlier on Monday under the Public Order Act during roadside scuffles as the first asylum-seekers were successfully escorted into the hotel.

The man was later released without charge. A file will now be submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions

A large garda presence was maintained outside the hotel on Monday evening, supplemented by local private security personnel.

Garda sources said that of the large attendance gathered, up to 50pc were not from the local area.

The number of protesters, many accompanied by children, had swelled to over 200 on Monday evening, with some travelling from as far as Dublin and Cork.

A strategy meeting was staged outside Racket Hall at 8pm and protesters kept warm with two wood-fired braziers erected on either side of the hotels main entrance gate.

Despite the freezing temperatures, a cohort of 20 protesters remained outside the main hotel gate around the clock.
Its a miracle that he got out. Hes so lucky to have got out

The owner of the Moto Pitstop motorcycle service centre in Rathgar, south Dublin, Daragh Smith, said his business is gone with bikes for sale and repair destroyed in the blaze.

But the most important thing for him was human life and that his employee, a mechanic in his late 40s, had made it out of the premises alive.

He has burns on his legs and hand, Mr Smith said.

He told how the mechanic had walked away from the blaze dazed but was doing well in St Jamess Hospital in Dublin.

Ive just left Jamess Hospital and his partner is in there with him. I wasn't there (at the workshop) at the time this happened, he said.

Its a miracle that he got out. Hes so lucky to have got out. I was out collecting parts in the van and when I came back then, the whole of Rathgar was closed.

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Someone had rang me and said the place was on fire. I thought it was just a bit of smoke (from a repair).

But I rang the shop and then his mobile and it went straight to voicemail and that never happens.

So, I dumped the van at home and went straight in on my bike. I got there and then I saw what everyone else has seen.

A spokesperson for Dublin Fire Brigade said they're making good progress" and that two fire engines remain at the scene in addition to a foam tender. Earlier, a turntable ladder was deployed to fight the fire from above, they said.

Dublin Fire Brigade battle a fire at a garage in Rathgar, County Dublin

"A water tanker has also been sent to augment water supplies to the fireground. One person has been taken to hospital from the scene, they said.

Road closures remain in place on Terenure Road East, Highfield Road and Orwell Road.

Mr Smith said the intensity of the blaze would have been as a result of the workshop obviously being filled with oil.

All my bikes, customers bikes are gone, he said. Its a disaster. I have no idea how much Ive lost but my business is gone.

It was a business that paid its way. I am just worried for him now. I know he will be okay but itll be a hard time for a while.

The doctors seemed to be happy with him. He doesnt remember an explosion, he just remembers bits and pieces. Im sure he will.

Footage shows smoke rising from scene of Rathgar blaze in south Dublin

Mr Smith said the mechanic is stable in hospital. He added: I am just trying to get through today and tomorrow now.

An onlooker from a business nearby took video footage of the scene and audible popping sounds could be heard from inside the workshop, where the fire was growing in intensity.

Images online show clouds of black smoke rising from the scene of the incident.

Mark Duffy, who works at Howley Souhan Estate Agents, across from the workshop, said he and colleagues heard a small explosion at about 10.20am.

I don't think anyone quite knows what caused it. A huge amount of smoke came out of the workshop and there was a thick tyre smell, he said.

My female colleague, a manager here, saw a gentleman. I think he was the only one in there at the time. He was walking (down the street) in shock.

The gardai evacuated the street then, so we had to leave. We just hope that poor man is OK. It was all very shocking.

Dublin Fire Brigade battle a fire at a garage in Rathgar, County Dublin on Tuesday

We were worried that there might be other people in there, but it seemed to be just him in there at the time.

You could hear the popping of the engines of the bikes that were in the shop, there was so much smoke everywhere. It was a really powerful fire.

But the fire brigade were there so quickly, thankfully.

A spokesperson for Dublin Fire Brigade said: At 10:18am, Dublin Fire Brigade received reports of a fire in a workshop in Rathgar Village.

Firefighters from Donnybrook, Rathfarnham and Dolphins Barn fire stations responded to the location, where a well-developed fire had taken hold.

Smoke is drifting across the locality, and we have asked nearby residents to take precautions if they are affected. Road closures are in place and road users are advised to avoid the area.
The Cork-born actor took home the Best Actor gong at the Golden Globes on Sunday night.

Cillian Murphy and his wife Yvonne McGuinness at the 81st Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles, where the Cork star picked up best actor for his role in Oppenheimer. Photo: Earl Gibson/Getty

Cillian Murphys wife Yvonne McGuinness made headlines after her husband won his first Golden Globe over the weekend.

The Cork-born actor took home the Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama gong for his eponymous role in Oppenheimer on Sunday night with Yvonne and their youngest son Aran (16) by his side.

Cillian, who also has an older son Malachy (17) with Yvonne, paid tribute to his family in his acceptance speech.

Before that, he had the room giggling when he made his way to the stage with red lipstick on his nose after his artist wife planted a kiss as he won the award.

Oh boy... he said at the beginning of his speech, The first question is: Do I have lipstick all over my nose? I'm going to leave it.

Cillian Murphy arrives at the 81st Golden Globe Awards (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

It was a rare public family outing for the Peaky Blinders actor and his family, who mostly stay out of the limelight despite Cillians stardom.

The pair wed in 2004 after first meeting at one of his rock band's shows back in 1996. Their first encounter took place around the time he starred in Enda Walsh's 1996 play Disco Pigs, which opened in Cork before going on tour for 18 months with stops in Dublin and London.

He previously described this time as the most important period of my life, telling The Guardian: The people I met there remain my closest friends... They shaped me in terms of my tastes, in terms of what I wanted to do with my life.

And it was around the same time I met my wife. She came on tour with us. It was so exciting, 20 years ago or whatever it was  we were all just kids, trying to find our way  but such a special, special time.

Yvonne (51), who hails from Kilkenny, is an artist known best for her performance installations and is also the niece of Fianna Fail TD John McGuinness.

Cillian credits his wife for his acting success, telling GQ: I couldn't do this without [my wife] and her understanding. But it is a struggle.

I think it is for any dad whose work takes him away, which it generally does, and which consumes him, which my work does.

I make sure that I try not to go from job to job to job, because that means you live in a bubble of set, hotel, set, hotel, plane, film festivals - which, to me, is not reality. So I just check out from that for six months a year.

The couple raised their sons in London before moving back to Ireland in 2015, where they splashed out on a 1.5m townhouse in Monkstown, Dublin.

Cillian previously joked that they decided to make the move because his sons were developing posh English accents.

Cillian Murphy with his award for Best Actor at the 81st Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills. Photo: Chris Pizzello/AP

It's kind of an Irish story to move away, do your thing and come home, that seems to be a common narrative for Irish people. And then we wanted the kids to be Irish, Cillian said on the Armchair Expert podcast.

We wanted the kids to be Irish, and they were sort of at that age where they were preteens and they had very posh English accents and I wasnt appreciating that too much.

And you know, parents are at a certain age, it was just a nice time to come home.

During his Best Actor acceptance speech at the Globes, Cillian spoke directly to his wife and children as he dubbed himself the luckiest man in the world.

To my family, I'm the luckiest man and I love you, he said.

The Douglas native also praised his clan while collecting the Desert Palm Achievement Award at the Palm Springs International Film Awards earlier this month.

I don't ever really get to do this too often, I want to say thanks to my family. Two-thirds of them are sitting down there. We had to leave one of them at home doing exams.

But just thanks for putting up with me  putting up with the half me and the shadow me and the absent me, the remains of me when I'm doing a film like this or work in general. You're always there. I love it. So thanks, guys.
Imagine being 17 years old and heading off to another country for an entire year by yourself.

Thats what three incredibly brave local students are doing on Wednesday, January 17.

Tauranga and Western Bay students Cleo Putty and Hope Kennerley from Otumoetai College, and Daisy Bryant from Katikati College, are heading to the other side of the world for the opportunity of a lifetime.

The girls say they are nervous but excited.

It feels quite surreal at the moment, says Hope.

The students will be acting as Ambassadors for New Zealand while in their chosen countries.

Cleo will be going to Belgium, Daisy will be going to Germany, and Hope will be going to Brazil.

None of the students speak the primary language of each country, so they will face the experience of learning the language in full immersion and navigating through the different cultures.

The students say they are very nervous about learning a language while they are there.

I think it will be hard with the communication barrier, but thats the best way to learn, says Cleo.

The girls will be spending three to four months with three to four different families.These families have all volunteered to host a student doing this exchange program, meaning there is no accommodation cost for the students.

Rotary Youth Exchange is organising the exchange, and RYE Chairperson for the Central North Island, Paul Higson says this is an incredible opportunity that will give the students the chance to experience life in another country.

The opportunity gives the students an outlook on different cultures and experience on how other cultures live, says Paul.

They go out for a year, theyll come back and theyll know another language, theyll have a broader outlook on life and a much better understanding of other cultures.

The students must follow rules whilst on exchange such as no drinking, no driving and no dating, says Paul.

If these rules are broken they can end up being sent home early from their trip, he says.

Rotary prepares the kids really well, as a parent you feel supported, says Cleos mum Fiona Putty.

The students each have to pay for their flights and living expenses.

They do get an allowance from Rotary in the countries that they are going to, says Paul.

When they are in their destinations Rotary will organise group trips that the students can choose to go on, says Paul.

The main benefits are that the schooling doesnt cost anything and being hosted doesnt cost anything, says Paul.

Preparing for their travels

Paul says applications and interviews were all a part of the process for these students to be chosen for the opportunity given by Rotary.

The three students are a part of a group of students from all over the North Island taking up this opportunity.

The girls say they have completed orientation days to learn how to deal with homesickness as they will be away from home and their families for a whole year.

Orientiation included doing three trips to Taupo for training with others from the Central North Island and Rotarian Adults.

Other students from Auckland, Northland, Waikato and Hawkes Bay are also heading off on their exchange year on Wednesday.

It was nice meeting the other students who are also going on exchange and getting closer to them so we know were not alone going over there. Were all in the same position, says Cleo.

The group of students from around New Zealand will be stopping in Dubai before heading to their chosen countries.

They are going on a chaperoned trip, theyll stop there and do some of the sites in Dubai before flying off to their destinations where theyll be met by representatives from Rotary and their host families, says Paul.

Impact on their futures

This opportunity will give them a wealth of knowledge that they can take into their future careers including a second language.

On top of this, they will receive a Rotary Youth Exchange certificate which they say will be incredibly useful when applying for jobs later on and adding to their CVs.

The girls are supposed to be heading into NCEA level 3 and year 13 this year. While they will be studying and doing papers while overseas these grades will not transfer over to NCEA.

The girls plan to apply for a discretionary entry when applying for university. Due to universities looking at NCEA level 2 results for entry, the girls can still get into university.

Essentially the university will take into account the fact that we have been in school systems and been in year 13 but the grades we get in Brazil or Belgium dont count, says Cleo.

All three girls plan on continuing their studies after secondary school.

Hope wants to study digital marketing, Cleo wants to study global studies and Daisy wants to study nursing.

From now on we are looking for more potential exchange students to go out for a year from January 2025, says Paul.

Click here for further information and an application form.

If anyone is interested in getting involved, contact Paul Higson by emailing RYEChair@rotary9930.org.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has met with Kingi Tuheitia just days before a national hui.

In December, the Kingitanga called a nationwide hui over fears of the coalition government's plans for Maori.

Iwi across the country are set to converge at Turangawaewae Marae in Ngaruawahia this Saturday, to work out a unified response to the coalition government's policies.

Thousands are expected to attend the national hui, Takiri Tu Te Kotahitanga, Takiri Tu te Mana Motuhake, convened by Kingi Tuheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero VII.

The invite was extended to iwi in December last year, following the 165th anniversary of the Kingitanga movement.

The prime minister and Kingi Tuheitia met on Monday morning, the prime minister's office said in a statement.

"Today Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Minister for Maori Development Tama Potaka met with Kingi Tuheitia at Ngaruawahia," the statement says.

"The meeting had been planned since last year and was an opportunity to further build on the relationship they have established in the last two years."

Ariki and Leaders - including Te Ariki Ta Tumu Te Heuheu and Ratana Tumuaki, Manuao Te Kohamutunga Tamou - supported the call for a national hui and agreed the Crown must be a responsible Treaty partner and unify, not divide the nation.

Kingitanga chief of staff Ngira Simmonds says rangatira from across the country highlighted a need to unify the nation and ensure all voices were heard in holding the government to account.

The divisive rhetoric used during the election campaign and policy targeting Te Tiriti o Waitangi and te reo Maori was offensive to Maori and non-Maori, Simmonds says.

"There's strong opposition to the government's statements on the Treaty of Waitangi, which could undermine decades of hard-fought justice and equality for our nation," says Simmonds.

"Now is the time for kotahitanga and focusing on what we have in common."

Waikato-Tainui will host the masses set to attend the hui and just last week the iwi filed proceedings at the High Court in Wellington against the Crown.

Executive chair Tukoroirangi Morgan says the iwi are seeking declarations to affirm the rights and interests of Waikato-Tainui and the corresponding obligations of the Crown.

"We are concerned about recent statements that have been made by Ministers within Cabinet and others within the coalition government (regarding prospective Crown decisions and actions) which would be in direct conflict with the Crown's commitments and related obligations to Waikato-Tainui," he says.

Waikato Tainui say the Crown has an obligation to protect te reo Maori under Te Ture mo te Reo Maaori 2016, and the proceedings at the High Court aim to address immediate concerns on those matters that were now under threat.

"We do this to protect what has been hard-fought, as we will not have the rights and interests of Waikato-Tainui or the relationship between Waikato-Tainui and the Crown undermined," says Morgan.

Many iwi have met ahead of the hui to finalise key messages and organise travel arrangements for whaanau wanting to attend.

The Office of the Kingitanga and Iwi of Tainui Waka says more than 3000 guests will attend the hui and thousands more were expected to follow discussions online.

Ngira Simmonds says the hui would be positive and future focused.

"We have invited people to lay down their koorero and their aspirations and ideas for mana motuhake and upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

"As signalled at Koroneihana last year, mana motuhake is an approach offering solutions and hope for the future of our nation. Maori can lead for all, and we are prepared to do that.

"The hui is open to all and will be conducted in accordance with tikanga."

The hui at Turangawaewae will be one of several opportunities for people to express their views and explore potential solutions.

RNZ
If youve been road tripping around the country lately, you might have noticed something unusual.

While no one likes forking out for petrol to fill up their vehicles, the amount you have to pay can vary a lot, depending on where you are.

Gaspy data shows that the average price for 91 on Monday was $2.66 a litre, down 2.5 per cent on the previous 28 days.Diesel was $2.07 and 95 $2.86.

But the cheapest gas stations, PaknSave in Rotorua and New World Westend, were selling 91 for $2.42.

Some of the priciest petrol is usually found on places such as Waiheke Island and Stewart Island. On Waiheke 91 was $3.91 on Monday, according to Gaspy.

Terry Collins, AAs principal policy adviser for motoring affairs, says he noticed the prices moving when he travelled around the country recently.

I was surprised where some of the prices changed. I filled up accordingly along the way, rather than waiting to get to Auckland where youd pay a regional fuel tax I fuelled up at Putaruru which seemed the cheapest option.

So what drives the difference?

Competition

Terry says competition was the biggest driver of price.

One of the prime examples of that is when the Commerce Commission does its annual survey it often finds the likes of Hamilton have got the cheapest fuel around. Around the Te Rapa area, theres a high density of New World and small independents, that competition keeps the price down.

Both are around 100km away from a port, 103km to Tauranga and 110km to Auckland but transportation isnt a factor there.

He says in Wellington, the sharpest prices were around Petone.

Probably the sharpest offer is always Petone PaknSave, around the corner youve got Waitomo, Gull, a whole variety of low-cost operators, collectively that competition keeps the price down.

Distance to delivery

But in some parts of the country, the cost of getting fuel to a petrol station is a factor.

Terry says in Whitianga and the Coromandel area, the cost of delivery could affect prices.

That can also be seen in areas such as Waiheke Island and the West Coast of the South Island.

Who owns the petrol station?

Terry says the owner of a petrol station would affect the prices it charged.

If they are company-owned they tend to set their prices every week across the company. If they are independent, they have more choice what they sell for.

Theres a small one owned by a community group near Atiamuri that consistently has some of the cheapest fuel around, thats the tie to the community keeping it down.

Sometimes you see in small rural places that you think would be higher but the connection to the community means the prices are a bit sharper.

Smaller, no-frills operators tend to offer lower prices.

Fuel tax

Auckland has had a 10 cent per litre regional fuel tax since 2018, although National has indicated it will scrap this. This makes filling up within Auckland more expensive than other parts of the country.

Terry says overall, the price of fuel was driven by the price of crude oil, refining costs, transportation costs and the exchange rate.

Then there are local taxes, company margins and profits and GST added.

Its a cost-plus model.

Oil prices are down significantly from their peaks in late September but shipping costs have nearly doubled this month due to attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

Susan Edmunds/Stuff.
Some rain could be on the cards for the region later this afternoon.

WeatherWatch says a high pressure is the dominant force overall today, however, we do have a few little quirks in the system, the overriding factors being one caused by moisture, the other by heat.

The North Island has quite a few areas of cloud, the odd shower from Gisborne up through to Northland in an east to northeasterly airflow, says a spokesperson for the weather organisation.

"This afternoon cloud breaks up and sunny areas plus warmth moves in (highs in the mid to late twenties). This heating combined with good surface moisture (1st factor) destabilises the atmosphere and a few showers develop, mainly south Auckland through into Taranaki and across to the ranges of Hawke's Bay and Gisborne.

"Hills and ranges will be favoured for these showers, inland Taranaki and the ranges of East Cape / Gisborne in particular may see an isolated thunderstorm / downpour."

WeatherWatch says the South Island has an area of low pressure form in the east thanks to heat (2nd factor) and this drags in a southerly airflow for eastern regions.

"Southland will have some cloud this morning, moving into coastal Otago by midday then during the course of the afternoon and into this evening cloud moves north through Canterbury.

"It will likely stay dry though but coastal will feel a bit cooler as cloud moves in. The top half of the South Island has a warm day, so too does Central Otago and the Mackenzie Country with highs in the mid to late twenties, conversely Southland and coastal Otago has highs in the late teens.

"Any heavy showers clear up for the North Island later this evening, on Thursday heavy rain moves in for the West Coast of the South Island from the Tasman Sea."

MSLP / Rain map  Wednesday 17th January 2024 1:00pm  GFS Weatherzone.com.au

MSLP / Rain map  Thursday 18th January 2024 1:00pm  GFS Weatherzone.com.au
Europa Press Seville Tuesday, 16 January 2024, 17:22 Compartir Copiar enlace

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The mandatory use of face masks in all Andalusian healthcare facilities will be lifted once there is a "clear" drop in the number of respiratory infections, the Junta regional government has clarified.

Regional health minister Catalina Garcia told Canal Sur TV that authorities will wait until the infection rate drops further before scrapping the obligatory use of face masks in regional healthcare centres.

She called on the general population to get vaccinated against flu, Covid-19 and bronchiolitis, especially vulnerable people with chronic illnesses, because the vaccines are the best tool to avoid ending up in a hospital.

Garcia pointed out the region had seen a drop in the incidence of acute respiratory infections in the past two weeks, now standing at 459 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, although by the end of this week it will be possible to determine whether the peak has been reached and a fall has begun.

The minister has insisted on recommending vaccination since these respiratory viruses are likley to be with us until the end of February or beginning of March.

Last week, the Junta made it clear that it would "abide" by the decision made by Spain's Minister of Health, Monica Garcia, in "a totally unilateral manner" regarding the mandatory nature of the mask in hospitals and health centres, but adding that it would study whether the authority "has intentionally bypassed the legality of the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System (Cisns)."
SUR in English Gibraltar Tuesday, 16 January 2024, 10:40 | Updated 10:52h. Compartir Copiar enlace

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Environmental authorities are monitoring the Gibraltar coastline after plastic pellets washed up on Bolonia beach in Tarifa last week.

The Gibraltar government said the incident could be linked to the spill from the Toconao cargo ship on 8 December last year, when up to six containers carrying 26 tonnes of the small plastic pellets fell into the sea off the coast of Galicia.

Related news Environment 'Environmental disaster' after huge quantities of tiny plastic pellets wash up on at least thirty beaches in Galicia J. A. Guerrero

The pellets, up to 4mm in diameter, are used in the manufacture of various plastic products such as bags and other packaging. They can be harmful to the environment as they are not biodegradable and are difficult to dispose of.

People are being asked to report any sightings of the pellets by phoning the Gibraltar government's department of environment on +350 58 00 96 20.
Andres Osorio from Colombia came to Urumqi and experienced the life of Xinjiang people with his friend Dilbar Bahtiyar. He discovered that the Uyghur language is widely used in Xinjiang and plays an important role in daily work and life of local people. Guess what was the first Uyghur sentence Andres learned?

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Ignacio Lillo Malaga Tuesday, 16 January 2024, 11:35 Compartir Copiar enlace

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Spain's state weather agency, Aemet, has forecast rain and higher than usual temperatures for Malaga province this week.

A mass of warm air which swept through the province on Sunday caused thermometers to rise above 20C. The warm temperatures continued at the start of this week on Monday and this Tuesday with maximum temperatures in the province reaching up to 22 degrees, according to Aemet.

But rain has been forecast for Wednesday 17 January. "A front will pass through and leave rain throughout Malaga province and possible thunderstorms," said Aemet spokesperson Jesus Riesco. Downpours are expected in the Serrania de Ronda, with showers light to moderate on the coast. Thursday and Friday will also be wet when a subtropical mass of air and a polar trough interact.

Jose Luis Escudero, head of SUR's weather blog, Tormentas y Rayos (Storms and Lightning), confirmed rain could fall on Wednesday and that the heaviest showers will fall late Wednesday and early Thursday. "Grazalema is already under a yellow weather warning, which means that it will also rain heavily in the nearby areas of the Serrania," he added.

About 15mm is expected to fall in Malaga city and up to 30mm in some inland areas. Another shower on Friday could leave up to 60mm accumulated by the end of the week.

Cold weather returns

Temperatures will start to drop again on Wednesday, with strong winds expected, especially in the Ronda area. "We are starting from temperatures well above normal, but at the weekend they will return to normal for this time of year," added the meteorologist. Compared to the more than 20C last weekend and the start of the week, the mercury will not rise above 16 degrees next Saturday and Sunday.

Along with this, meteorological stability will return and the risk of rain will cease. "We are going to have a few days of continuous rain, and although it is something, there would have to be many more like these to alleviate the drought," said Jesus Riesco.
Tony Bryant Fuengirola Tuesday, 16 January 2024, 11:49 | Updated 14:20h. Compartir Copiar enlace

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Fuengirola town hall has installed several innovative smart bins to optimise the waste collection service in different parts of the municipality. The new containers compact the rubbish and notify the municipal cleaning service when it is full, which the council claimed will reduce the number of trips to empty the waste by more than 85 per cent.

The initiative was announced this week by the towns mayor, Ana Mula, who said: We continue to make progress in our smart city model. These devices, which can be seen in other Spanish cities and around the world, offer advantages, such as compacting the waste we deposit in them. This causes us to reduce the number of times operators have to empty them. In fact, they also work with 100 per cent solar energy.

The mayor added that the new containers, which have a maximum capacity of 125 litres, will also improve the image of Fuengirola by preventing them from overflowing with rubbish".

The new containers have been installed in Plaza Skate, Avenida de Los Boliches, Plaza de la Constitucion, Calle Moreno Carbonero and Avenida de Mijas, among others.
Isabel Mendez Malaga Tuesday, 16 January 2024, 10:15 | Updated 10:23h. Compartir Copiar enlace

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They are so popular that they even have their own special day on the calendar. Croquettes, an essential snack in any self-respecting restaurant in Spain, their versatility offers an almost endless range of flavours: ham, mushroom, prawn or chicken. That is why each year International Croquette Day is celebrated on 16 January (today).

 Ten recommended places in Malaga to celebrate International Croquette Day today

Despite its popularity in Spain, the beloved tapa does not originate from the country. The date of when it first emerged is unclear, but it is thought to have surfaced from an idea of the court chef of Louis XIV in 1619. Later, in 1817, the chef Antoine Camere served 'croquettes a la royale' at a dinner for the Archduke of Russia, and it arrived in Spain at the end of the 19th century.

Hot tips

The name croquette comes from the onomatopoeia 'croc' or 'croquer', which in French means 'to crunch', and that is one of its characteristics, that it is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.

When frying them, whether in a frying pan or a deep fryer, it is vital to use plenty of oil at a very hot temperature, between 180 and 190 degrees. It is also essential not to put too many croquettes together, but to make sure they have enough space.

For the bechamel, all you need is flour, butter, milk and salt, and for the bread coating you only need egg and breadcrumbs. The filling is left to the taste of the consumer (or the cook).
Alfonso Torices Madrid Tuesday, 16 January 2024, 15:57 Compartir Copiar enlace

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The Spanish government is cracking down on the regulation of heated tobacco and classify the products just like traditional tobacco products, including cigarettes and rolling tobacco.

The government will impose the same restrictions on heated tobacco as for traditional cigarettes and will prohibit this type of tobacco from containing additional flavours or aromas. All heated tobacco products will also be required to include the same messages and warnings on their packaging about the serious health risk to users.

The new restrictions - which come into effect in three months - only affect heated tobacco, which should not be confused with electronic cigarettes or vapes, which are not affected by the regulation. The new law affects electronic devices that, unlike the classic cigarette, heat up (up to 400 degrees) but do not burn chopped or powdered tobacco.

The most widely marketed products in Spain are the Iqos and Glo brands. The Royal Decree does not affect vapes, which are based on heating liquids, although these devices often contain nicotine.

While the new restrictions will not apply to vaping devices, the Ministry of Health is working on a future broader legal reform with which it wants to extend the limits to all vaping products, whether they include nicotine or not.
Domenico Chiappe Madrid Tuesday, 16 January 2024 | Updated 17/01/2024 15:51h. Compartir Copiar enlace

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Spain intends to announce a new law to protect minors from pornography, according to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

The Spanish PM revealed the plan in an interview with the newspaper El Pais, but did not explain what the new legislation would entail, just that it would be a "country agreement".

Another measure which could come into place is "the creation of devices that prevent minors from accessing pornographic content", Sanchez said, who pointed out that discussions were ongoing between the national data protection agency and the Spanish Mint which issues digital verification certficates.

More details on this age verification mechanism are expected to be announced in summer and would be in line with what the European Commission has approved for the most popular pornography websites, in which surveillance is tightened and access is blocked for underage users.

The European rule will come into force this February, but will only affect the three big global pornography platforms - Pornhub, Stripchat and Xvideos - which have more than 45 million monthly users in the EU.

A third measure announced by Sanchez to prevent an "epidemic" of underage pornography usage is training and education. A "multidisciplinary strategy in the field of education, digital skills, and also in the field of equality" must be in place, reported El Pais. Other European governments, such as France, have also announced new laws to regulate underage usage on porn websites.
War, conflicts and increased geopolitical tensions have put economic security high up on the political as well as the corporate agenda. With the EU Economic Security Strategy soon about to take more concrete shape, it is essential that it focuses on the right things. Whereas it can be pertinent to mitigate risks, its main aim must be to strengthen our economy and our competitiveness.

Photo : Ulf Borjesson/Ernst Henry Photography AB

Jonas Berggren, Chief Analyst International, and EU Affairs and Henrik Isakson, Director Trade Policy. Photo : Ulf Borjesson/Ernst Henry Photography AB

Swedish businesses are increasingly facing security risks, such as disinformation, cyber-attacks, boycotts and insecure supply lines. However, we also recognise that there is a certain amount of risk inherent in all economic transactions, particularly in international commerce. Not all risks can be politically mitigated at an acceptable cost.

As a rule, it should be up to the businesses themselves to strike the appropriate balance between economic efficiency and economic security, as long as it does not endanger the safety and security of society. However, public policy, both in the EU and the Member States, should strive to create the best possible conditions for business to diversify trade and supply chains of goods, services and data and thus reducing risks associated with economic dependency.

The most important factor that contributes to economic security is our economic strength.

Protection against economic security risks is one thing; protection against economic competition is another. While the first is essential, the second is destructive, as it amounts to protectionism that is negative for the long-term business climate in Europe. The issue of fair trade should not be conflated with security.

The most important factor that contributes to economic security is our economic strength. This we can build through a renewed focus on our greatest assets: the Single Market and our open trade policy. We must not allow increased regulatory burdens to hamper European competitiveness.

Here you can find more of our thinking on both the concept of economic security as such and several of the concrete proposals being discussed, such as outbound investment screening and identifying sensitive technologies for trade restrictions:
BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing Book Fair, held from Jan. 11 to 13, reported a record high of over 100,000 visits as China's book market continues to thrive.

According to an annual report on the book market issued under the guidance of the Publishers Association of China and the Book and Periodicals Distribution Association of China, China's retail sales of books totaled 91.2 billion yuan (about 12.8 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, up 4.72 percent year on year.

Regarded as a trendsetter in the publishing industry, the event featured 400,000 books from 720 exhibitors, drawing publishers, authors, and readers nationwide for the literal feast.

CHARM OF TRADITIONAL CULTURE

In the almost 400 diverse activities held during the book fair, numerous events spotlighting traditional culture and historical themes captivated the readers.

Among these activities is the unveiling of six-volume book series on Chinese culture, illuminating the cultural system with comprehensive coverage of literature, painting, calligraphy, music, drama, architecture, and aesthetics.

"Traditional Chinese culture is increasingly attracting the interest of young readers," said Nie Zhenning with the Guangdong Education Publishing House, publisher of the book series. Nie expressed the hope that through publication, more youthful vigor would be infused into traditional culture.

With a focus on introducing traditional culture to the youth, Beijing Xiron Culture Group Co., Ltd. selected over 100 books tailored for young readers.

The line of traditional cultural products will be further enriched to kindle even more interest from the younger generation, according to Wei Ling with Xiron.

FLOURISHING CHILDREN'S PUBLICATION

A diverse range of children's publications has revitalized the book market and become a feature of the book fair.

The annual report on the 2023 book retail market shows that China's book market has resumed growth, and children's books account for the largest share of the market at 27.21 percent.

Bringing a number of outstanding children's books to the fair, Lin Yun, head of the China Peace Publishing House, recognized the intense competition in the children's publishing sector.

Lin said that children's publications should continue to provide correct guidance and contribute to the development of future generations.

"At the beginning of the new year, the book market has ushered in a good start, about which we are very excited," said Wu Shulin, chairman of the Publishers Association of China. 
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Orleans, N.Y.  A New York State Police patrol car was totaled after a tractor trailer crashed into it Monday afternoon on Interstate 81 near the Canadian border, police said.

A trooper responded around 2 p.m. to a disabled vehicle in the median of southbound Interstate 81 near Exit 49 in rural Jefferson County, according to Trooper Jack Keller, a State Police spokesperson. She parked her patrol car on the shoulder of the highway, Keller said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed a $232.7 billion budget today that mostly holds the line on taxes and attempts to close a $4.3 billion budget gap for fiscal 2025.

The governors budget plan includes about $2.4 billion in new spending to address the migrant crisis and help house some of the 64,100 asylum-seekers under New York Citys care.

The spending plan includes $200 million to open four new workforce development centers across Upstate New York to serve Micron Technology and other high-tech manufacturers. A center in Syracuse would serve as the flagship of the program.

Hochul proposed using new and existing capital and other resources to pay for the workforce development center, but the source of that money was not immediately clear.

The budget also includes $50 million to fight pockets of extreme child poverty in Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo, the Upstate cities with the states highest poverty rates.

Hochul provided an outline of her budget proposal in an address this morning at the State Capitol in Albany.

The proposal reflects a spending increase of about 0.5%, or about $1 billion more than this year. State officials said the budget reflects higher spending for school aid, the migrant crisis, and Medicaid.

Hochuls proposal does not include a proposal for broad tax increases on the wealthy or corporations, despite a push to do so by some state lawmakers.

Administration officials said the state will be aided in closing the budget gap by about $2.2 billion in higher-than-expected tax receipts this year.

The governor also wants to dip into the states surplus fund in the coming year, using $1.7 billion to reduce the budget gap, according to the proposal.

The budget includes a proposed change in the formula the state uses to distribute aid to local school districts, part of an attempt to close a gap between wealthy and poorer districts. A state budget official said details on which districts would be affected will not be available until later today.

Hochul and lawmakers will now begin their annual negotiations over what to include and cut out of the final budget. The budget for the 2025 fiscal year begins on April 1.

Hochul is presenting details of her budget plan this morning in Albany. Check back at syracuse.com for updates.

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Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Mark Weiner anytime by: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
BAGHDAD, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Three armed drones were shot down Tuesday near a military base hosting U.S. and other international troops in northern Iraq, the Iraqi regional counter-terrorism service reported.

A statement from the service of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region did not say if there were any casualties or damage to infrastructure due to the attack, which happened at the Erbil International Airport.

Three explosive drones attempted to strike the base housing the coalition forces tasked with training and advising the Iraqi security forces in their fight against the Islamic State terrorist group near Erbil Airport, said the statement, adding the drones were destroyed and shot down, without giving further details.

According to a statement issued by the Kurdistan Region Security Council, Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region, was attacked on Monday by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), with four people being killed and six injured.

Meanwhile, the IRGC said in a statement that it has launched missile attacks on "spy headquarters" in the region, according to Iran's official IRNA news agency. 
NEW YORK (AP)  An architect charged in a string of slayings known as the Gilgo Beach killings was accused Tuesday in the death of a fourth woman, a Connecticut mother of two who vanished in 2007 and whose remains were found more than three years later along a coastal highway in New York.

Rex Heuermann was formally charged in the killing of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, months after having been labeled the prime suspect in her death when he was arrested in July in the deaths of three other women.

In court, Heuermann wore a dark suit and did not say anything during the proceedings. He will continue to be held without bail. The judge set the next court date for Feb. 6.

Heuermann has maintained his innocence from day one and looks forward to defending himself in court, attorney Mike Brown said. He entered a not guilty plea on the latest charges. Brown said he is still reviewing new information presented by prosecutors in court documents Tuesday morning.

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney and other law enforcement officials planned a news conference following Tuesdays court hearing.

Brainard-Barnes, 25, who was once employed as a dealer at the Foxwoods Resort Casino, left her hometown of Norwich, Connecticut, on July 9, 2007, and headed to Manhattan for sex work, with plans to return the following day, according to friends who became concerned when she uncharacteristically stopped using her phone.

She never came back.

Heuermann was arrested July 14 and charged with killing Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello, three women who authorities say also were sex workers. Heuermanns lawyer said he has denied committing the crimes. He previously pleaded not guilty to killing Barthelemy, Waterman and Costello.

Brainard-Barnes was the first of the four women to disappear. Their remains were found along the same quarter-mile (400-meter) stretch of parkway in the Gilgo Beach area of Jones Beach Island in 2010. Additional searching turned up the remains of six more adults and a toddler who was the child of one of the victims.

Police concluded that an 11th person found dead in a tidal marsh on the same barrier island accidentally drowned.

Investigators have said Heuermann, who lived in Massapequa Park across the bay from where the bodies were found, was probably not responsible for all the deaths. Some of the victims disappeared in the mid 1990s.

Investigators zeroed in on Heuermann when a new task force ran an old tip about a Chevy Avalanche pickup through a vehicle records database. A hit came back identifying one of those make and models belonging to Heuermann, who lived in a neighborhood police had been focusing on because of cellphone location data and call records, authorities said.

With the tip breathing new life into the investigation, authorities charted the calls and travels of multiple cellphones, picked apart email aliases, delved into search histories and collected discarded bottles  and even a pizza crust  for advanced DNA testing, according to court papers. Detectives said Heuermanns DNA on the pizza crust matched a hair found on a restraint used in the killings.

Police said other evidence linked Heuermann to the victims, including burner cellphones used to arrange meetings with the slain women.

After the arrest, investigators spent nearly two weeks combing through Heuermanns home, including digging up the yard, dismantling a porch and a greenhouse and removing many contents of the house for testing.

According to a bail application, Investigators found hundreds of electronic devices during their lengthy search of Heuermanns home.
NEW YORK (AP)  With jury selection about to begin, a judge denied Donald Trumps request Tuesday that a defamation trial stemming from a columnists claims that he sexually abused her in the 1990s be suspended for a day so he could attend the funeral of his mother-in-law later in the week.

The denial came during a combative exchange between lawyers for Trump and Judge Lewis A. Kaplan over evidence in the case, Trumps desire to attend the Thursday funeral and whether the trial should occur at all.

This is the penalty phase of a civil defamation trial stemming from columnist E. Jean Carrolls claims he sexually attacked her in a department store dressing room. A May trial found Trump sexually abused Carroll, awarding her $5 million. Trump did not attend that trial but he showed up Tuesday morning after his political victory at the Iowa caucus hours earlier.

Trump attorney Michael Madaio complained that the judge had made inconsistent and unfair rulings against Trump prior to the start of the trial.

Madaio said the rulings drastically changed our ability to defend this case and largely stripped us of our defenses.

He also argued that given Trumps pending appeal of the first verdict, the trial should not proceed at all.

Another Trump attorney, Alina Habba, then requested that the trial be adjourned on Thursday for the funeral of former first lady Melania Trumps mother, Amalija Knavs.

I am not stopping him from being there, the judge said, referring to the funeral.

Habba responded: No, youre stopping him from being here.

The judge, though, said the only accommodation he would make is what he announced in an order over the weekend, which is that Trump can testify on Monday, even if the trial is otherwise finished by Thursday.

Trump arrived for the trial in a motorcade shortly before 9 a.m., entering the building through a special entrance not usually used by the public. Opening arguments could take place by afternoon in what is essentially a second penalty phase of a legal fight Carroll has already won.

In May, a different jury awarded Carroll $5 million after concluding that Trump sexually abused her in a department store dressing room in spring 1996, then defamed her in 2022 by claiming she made it up after she revealed it publicly in a 2019 memoir. The jury said Carroll hadnt proven that Trump raped her.

Trump is appealing and hasnt paid any of that award, though he placed $5.55 million in escrow to cover the verdict and other costs in the event he loses his appeal.

One issue that wasnt decided in that first trial was how much Trump owed for comments he made about Carroll while he was still president.

Determining that dollar amount will be the new jurys only job.

Kaplan ruled last year that the new jury didnt need to decide anew whether Carroll was sexually abused or whether Trumps remarks about her were defamatory since those subjects were covered in the first trial.

Trump arrived separately but at the same time as Carroll Tuesday. His plans for the rest of the week have become unclear because of his mother-in-laws pending funeral. The trial is expected to last several days.

Habba told the judge that Trump plans to testify. The judge has already set strict limits on what he can talk about. He did not attend last years trial, saying recently that his lawyer advised against it.

Because the trial is supposed to be focused only on how much Trump owes Carroll, the judge has warned Trump and his lawyers that they cannot say things to jurors that he has said on the campaign trail or elsewhere, like claiming she lied about him to promote her memoir.

Kaplan also banned them from saying anything about Carrolls past romantic relationships, sexual disposition, and prior sexual experiences, from suggesting Trump didnt sexually abuse Carroll or from implying she was motivated by a political agenda, financial interests, mental illness, or otherwise.

They are also banned, the judge said, from advancing any argument inconsistent with the courts ruling that Mr. Trump, with actual malice, lied about sexually assaulting Ms. Carroll.

Those restrictions dont apply outside of the presence of the jury. That has left Trump free to continue posting on social media about all of the above topics  something he has done repeatedly in recent days  although each fresh denial comes with the possibility of increasing damages he must pay.

Kaplan rejected Trumps request to delay the trial a week, although he said he would let Trump testify as late as Monday even if the trial is otherwise ready for closing arguments by Thursday.

Carroll, 80, plans to testify about the damage to her career and reputation that resulted from Trumps public statements. She seeks $10 million in compensatory damages and millions more in punitive damages.

Trump, 77, is appealing the findings of last years jury and has continued to maintain that he doesnt know Carroll, that he never met her at the Bergdorf Goodman store in midtown Manhattan in spring 1996 and that Carroll made up her claims to sell her book and for political reasons.

Regardless of his losses in court, Trump leads all Republicans in 2024 presidential primary polls and plans to spend plenty of time in court fighting the civil cases and four criminal cases against him, saying, In a way, I guess you consider it part of the campaign.
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SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export of the information and communication technology (ICT) products rose for the second consecutive month due to strong demand for locally-made semiconductors, government data showed Tuesday.

The ICT products shipment gained 8.1 percent over the year to 18.26 billion U.S. dollars in December 2023 after expanding 7.6 percent in the previous month, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Semiconductor export advanced 19.3 percent to 11.07 billion dollars last month, keeping an upward trend for the second straight month.

Display panel shipment grew 7.3 percent to 1.71 billion dollars on robust demand for OLED panels used for mobile devices, but mobile phone export shrank 1.0 percent to 940 million dollars.

Shipment for computers and peripherals dived 29.6 percent to 820 million dollars, and communications equipment export retreated 25.5 percent to 190 million dollars.

The ICT products export to the United States and Vietnam climbed in single digits, but those to the European Union (EU) and Japan declined in single figures last month.

Import for ICT products dwindled 7.2 percent over the year to 10.94 billion dollars in December, sending the trade surplus in the ICT industry to 7.32 billion dollars.

Import for mobile phones and display panels went up last month, but import for chips and computers shrank in single digits. 
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Re: Living an evolved dream: My 2019 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 ownership review. Edit: 5 years up! Ride to Kodaikanal (February 2024)



After the ride to Belur and Halebidu in January, the better half and I decided to try a weekend ride to a place with a bit more (cold weather) sting for the ongoing winter season. Since we already visited the Nilgiris (Ooty / Coonoor) in July last year, this time we decided to visit the princess of hills as it is called in the South - the cold mountains of Kodaikanal. Situated roughly ~450km from Bangalore, this one was going to be another ~1000km extended weekend trip. This time of the year is off-season in Kodaikanal, the weather can touch extremes of cold, and it is usually exam season for families in most places of south India. Time to make the most of off-season benefits . We wanted to club some touristy places in our itinerary, as well as explore some hiking trails through the jungles and of course as always, try out some lip-smacking food in famous eateries in town. Kodaikanal is famous for quaint cafes and continental food is pretty famous there, owing to its European history (used to be favoured by the British in the pre-independence era). Both the better half and me love our continental food, so even better!



Our place of choice this time was Coaker's walk viewpoint overlooking a valley.



Fast-forward to the day of travel - we started off at around 4.30AM to get a headstart into the ~500km journey and make the most of the wee hours of the morning sans any villagers or animals on the highway. It was still pretty dark when we reached our first checkpoint at the ~90km mark - the Krishnagiri toll plaza







An hour later and we were almost into daybreak when we decided to break again at the next toll plaza







Breakfast stop was at our usual haunt for trips on this route - Radisson Salem. This place is just so no-nonsense and perfect in every way - we never get bored of the food and the exemplary service levels here.







Enjoying a Jugalbandi of sorts from the buffet counter with cheese platter, Hummus with Pita and an assortment of other delicacies







After breakfast we departed from Salem by around 8AM to proceed southwards to Dindigul. Vast expanses of dried out grasslands greeted us from both sides of the rather boring expressway.















It might be winter, but south TN winter temperatures are still quite hot in the daytime . We stopped for a quick sugarcane juice refresher break between Dindigul and Batlagundu







The road between Batlagundu and the foothills of Kodaikanal was a fantastic stretch of tarmac where I enjoyed putting the Ninja through its paces, to some extent







The mountains of Kodaikanal can be seen in the background







It was still around 11AM by the time we began the almost ~1.5 hour climb up the twisties leading to Kodaikanal through narrow roads inside the forests of the Palani hills forest range. There were some clearing zones made in places here and there, to admire the views around while ascending the hills











And those viewpoints allowed us to enjoy sights like these







As we ascended the altitude and started nearing Kodaikanal, the geography and topology changed to a more coniferous environment, the mercury levels dropped from the heat of the plains to the pleasant mountain chills even in bright noon! We stopped inside a Eucalyptus forest for a quick picture before proceeding.







We made our way through the meandering narrow twisties of Kodaikanal town and soon reached our hotel - Villa retreat Kodaikanal. We were the only ones that day, so the Ninja was the lone solitary vehicle in the parking lot! This was the entrance of the hotel. It is a compact and quaint property.







This property was located at a high altitude viewpoint, so even the parking lot had a nice view of some adjacent mountain







We finished the check-in formalities and were taken through this narrow passage to the other side of the property, where our room was located.







Entrance to the room - this room category was called Signature Suite. We opted for this since it had a nice sit-out area, was spacious, had a private fireplace, had a loft and windows with nice views, and directly overlooked the valley view through the lawn garden right outside the room.







The room was spacious enough - this was the living area with a fireplace







The picture of this area from their website was so well shot to tempt us to book this room. Definitely didn't disappoint though!







Attached bedroom with a large window overlooking the valley outside







View from the window







Attached bathroom was compact but sufficiently equipped as well







The room had a direct access to this lawn garden of the property adjoining their restaurant







After freshening up, we proceeded to the restaurant here which is called Wyckoff's Dining Room, supposedly a famous place in Kodaikanal even for walk-in (non-resident) guests to dine at. We chose a table with a view for a nice lunch spread







The chef of the place, Shadab Hussain personally joined us for lunch after customizing our lunch order with nitty-gritties of personal touches based on what we said we liked. Another memorable experience was that of chef Shadab personally strumming some lovely songs on his Guitar after lunch, totally changing the vibe of the place and putting smiles on our faces. What also helped was because we were the only ones there, we enjoyed this rather unexpected heartwarming experience, lol!



Here was our delectable lunch spread, apt for the lovely cold weather of Kodai - Tomato and Corn soup, Pickled sundried tomato Bruschetta, Mushroom and Spinach Risotto with smoked Gouda cheese, and a dessert called Drop, which was tender coconut jelly with palm jaggery and spearmint.







We spent some time basking in the lawn outside the restaurant, taking in the bursts of cold air and the afternoon sun, admiring this 100+ year old property with a British history







Since there was nothing much else to do that afternoon, we decided to stroll around this property just taking a look at things here and there. This was their sit-out area next to the reception desk











Another area nearby which they called as a Reading room of sorts. There were some books in the cupboard but nothing interested us.

After the ride to Belur and Halebidu in January, the better half and I decided to try a weekend ride to a place with a bit more (cold weather) sting for the ongoing winter season. Since we already visited the Nilgiris (Ooty / Coonoor) in July last year, this time we decided to visit the princess of hills as it is called in the South - the cold mountains of. Situated roughly ~450km from Bangalore, this one was going to be another ~1000km extended weekend trip. This time of the year is off-season in Kodaikanal, the weather can touch extremes of cold, and it is usually exam season for families in most places of south India. Time to make the most of off-season benefits. We wanted to club some touristy places in our itinerary, as well as explore some hiking trails through the jungles and of course as always, try out some lip-smacking food in famous eateries in town. Kodaikanal is famous for quaint cafes and continental food is pretty famous there, owing to its European history (used to be favoured by the British in the pre-independence era). Both the better half and me love our continental food, so even better!Our place of choice this time was Villa Retreat Kodaikanal , an old and established heritage hotel in the heart of Kodaikanal town. This property has been around for donkey's years in Kodaikanal, so this wasn't a new or offbeat property we were exploring as such. Anyway, booking this place helped ease our exploration of the town by foot on some of the days because it is centrally located. It also allowed us to enjoy the majestic views that this property offers, owing to the fantastic location the resort is at, bang outsideviewpoint overlooking a valley.Fast-forward to the day of travel - we started off at around 4.30AM to get a headstart into the ~500km journey and make the most of the wee hours of the morning sans any villagers or animals on the highway. It was still pretty dark when we reached our first checkpoint at the ~90km mark - the Krishnagiri toll plazaAn hour later and we were almost into daybreak when we decided to break again at the next toll plazaBreakfast stop was at our usual haunt for trips on this route - Radisson Salem. This place is just so no-nonsense and perfect in every way - we never get bored of the food and the exemplary service levels here.Enjoying aof sorts from the buffet counter with cheese platter, Hummus with Pita and an assortment of other delicaciesAfter breakfast we departed from Salem by around 8AM to proceed southwards to Dindigul. Vast expanses of dried out grasslands greeted us from both sides of the rather boring expressway.It might be winter, but south TN winter temperatures are still quite hot in the daytime. We stopped for a quick sugarcane juice refresher break between Dindigul and BatlagunduThe road between Batlagundu and the foothills of Kodaikanal was a fantastic stretch of tarmac where I enjoyed putting the Ninja through its paces, to some extentThe mountains of Kodaikanal can be seen in the backgroundIt was still around 11AM by the time we began the almost ~1.5 hour climb up the twisties leading to Kodaikanal through narrow roads inside the forests of the Palani hills forest range. There were some clearing zones made in places here and there, to admire the views around while ascending the hillsAnd those viewpoints allowed us to enjoy sights like theseAs we ascended the altitude and started nearing Kodaikanal, the geography and topology changed to a more coniferous environment, the mercury levels dropped from the heat of the plains to the pleasant mountain chills even in bright noon! We stopped inside a Eucalyptus forest for a quick picture before proceeding.We made our way through the meandering narrow twisties of Kodaikanal town and soon reached our hotel - Villa retreat Kodaikanal. We were the only ones that day, so the Ninja was the lone solitary vehicle in the parking lot! This was the entrance of the hotel. It is a compact and quaint property.This property was located at a high altitude viewpoint, so even the parking lot had a nice view of some adjacent mountainWe finished the check-in formalities and were taken through this narrow passage to the other side of the property, where our room was located.Entrance to the room - this room category was called Signature Suite. We opted for this since it had a nice sit-out area, was spacious, had a private fireplace, had a loft and windows with nice views, and directly overlooked the valley view through the lawn garden right outside the room.The room was spacious enough - this was the living area with a fireplaceThe picture of this area from their website was so well shot to tempt us to book this room. Definitely didn't disappoint though!Attached bedroom with a large window overlooking the valley outsideView from the windowAttached bathroom was compact but sufficiently equipped as wellThe room had a direct access to this lawn garden of the property adjoining their restaurantAfter freshening up, we proceeded to the restaurant here which is called, supposedly a famous place in Kodaikanal even for walk-in (non-resident) guests to dine at. We chose a table with a view for a nice lunch spreadThe chef of the place,personally joined us for lunch after customizing our lunch order with nitty-gritties of personal touches based on what we said we liked. Another memorable experience was that of chef Shadab personally strumming some lovely songs on his Guitar after lunch, totally changing the vibe of the place and putting smiles on our faces. What also helped was because we were the only ones there, we enjoyed this rather unexpected heartwarming experience, lol!Here was our delectable lunch spread, apt for the lovely cold weather of Kodai -, and a dessert calledWe spent some time basking in the lawn outside the restaurant, taking in the bursts of cold air and the afternoon sun, admiring this 100+ year old property with a British historySince there was nothing much else to do that afternoon, we decided to stroll around this property just taking a look at things here and there. This was their sit-out area next to the reception deskAnother area nearby which they called as a Reading room of sorts. There were some books in the cupboard but nothing interested us. Last edited by KarthikK : 19th February 2024 at 00:08 .
vijayols BHPian

Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Bangalore Posts: 282 Thanked: 1,440 Times Infractions: 0/1 (5)

Re: Get set and Go with Vijay-The beaches of Thailand.







As is wont with all our trips the will we or wont we moment was that our arrival in Bangkok was scheduled at 7 am local time at Suvarnabhoomi airport Bangkok and the departure from Bangkok to Phuket was at 9 am from the same airport.We were naive or stupid enough to think while booking our onward ticket that 2 hours was enough time as both flights were from the same airport.That meant we were hoping the flight would arrive on time.The baggage retrieval would be quick, the immigration process super quick,the commute to the domestic departure terminal lightning quick and if we could possibly get a local sim in the cycle gap time we would have.



The bangalore to Mumbai flight got delayed by an hour and we had to run along with 13 more co passengers through immigration which had huge serpentine queues and the commute from the domestic to the international departure which we made by boarding the flight 30 mins beyond the scheduled time.We were seriously cutting the time lines fine.



The flight however landed near on time at 7.15 am, we breezed through immigration in less than 7 mins with the free visa rules. We were asked for the boarding pass, both the girls promptly presented wherein i was struggling to find mine, but the immigration guy allowed me without pulling me aside!. Seems like Bangkok has a well oiled system with many counters with people operating with logical efficiency. And luckily the baggage didnt take more than 15 mins when we got there after immigration.

We had to get out of the exit and rush to the 4th floor for domestic transfer.We managed to buy 2 local sims while waiting for the luggage.the 15 day pack costed 499 bahts and the 8 day one 299 bahts.Super quick process to install the sim and get you connected.



The Vietjet airline counter billed us 1500 for extra luggage and we made it on time at 8.15 am reaching the counter within the 45 mins window before take off time at 9 am.Thank goodness for Thai efficiency.



Day #1 ( Dec 20th): We were in Phuket by 10:30 AM which has a lovely airport by the ocean and all set for the fun awaiting us.Stay was in the Marriot near old Phuket town.



We had a quick lunch at Vegan Reach which was near the Marriot and enjoyed some Veg Thai pad rice and some grilled vegetables.Later caught up with some sleep and were all ready to paint the town Red.



The aim was to just explore the streets of old Phuket town randomly and if possible visit a market here.When in Thailand visiting a market is a must do activity to truly enjoy the vibes of the city and soak into their culture.One such Chillva market was a popular night market here in old Phuket.A few of the markets are weekends only but you are likely to find a market on all days with thousands of stalls selling everything from food to clothes mostly but not limited to these only.It was fun to try a few of the dishes on offer like a dessert called Burnt butter Toast which was actually pretty good with a choice of add ons.We chose the Madagascar Vanilla ice cream which was on top of a loaf of buttered burnt toast with dollops of liquid caramel sauce.Extra sweet but the burnt buttered toast moderated the sweetness and gave it a unique flavor.Though most of the dishes on offer were to palate the taste buds of sea food lovers and were tilted towards the non veg eaters there were a few veg and vegan options too.



For shoppers looking for cheap clothes and souvenirs to buy this was pure heaven.Smrithi my daughter had a blast exploring the various shops selling casual clothes and trinkets like cheap jewellery mainly aimed at the teenage crowd.The gaily coloured buildings and the color themed shops all were a delight for the young crowd offering varied Instagram able photo opportunities.



Time just flew by exploring the streets.It was also amazing to see so many cannabis shops in practically every street.It was being sold in every form from cookies to cakes to ice-cream and of course rolled. In the mean while, Kanthi decided to get a head massage at Kims, and Smrithi and I roamed further. She was raving about the massage and the rate was 400 bhat for one hour, which was super cheap for her compared to blore rates!.

We savoured some yummy pizzas and home made ice creams before finishing off dinner with a tortilla and calling it a day.So unlike my usual schedule, a day spent just chilling out with no destination!





The street corner where the market begins.





Street Graffiti giving all shops a unique identity.





Shop selling artificial flowers.Had a color theme and was a photo point.





The roadside cannabis shop





There is a royal Enfield to be found in any corner of the world.





Now That's a Novel way to deck a sea Food restaurant.





The Burnt butter toast Ice-cream which was so yummy.





The Mexican Food place where we had dinner.





Sweet Shop.



Stay Place: Marriot old Phuket.Appx cost inclusive of breakfast Rs 11k for 3.Being a Marriot cleanliness was a no brainer. The flight was on 19th night with a stop over at Mumbai and onward to Bangkok.The highlight was the first departure from the new Bangalore T2 terminal which was simply beautiful and deserves the many accolades it got.As is wont with all our trips the will we or wont we moment was that our arrival in Bangkok was scheduled at 7 am local time at Suvarnabhoomi airport Bangkok and the departure from Bangkok to Phuket was at 9 am from the same airport.We were naive or stupid enough to think while booking our onward ticket that 2 hours was enough time as both flights were from the same airport.That meant we were hoping the flight would arrive on time.The baggage retrieval would be quick, the immigration process super quick,the commute to the domestic departure terminal lightning quick and if we could possibly get a local sim in the cycle gap time we would have.The bangalore to Mumbai flight got delayed by an hour and we had to run along with 13 more co passengers through immigration which had huge serpentine queues and the commute from the domestic to the international departure which we made by boarding the flight 30 mins beyond the scheduled time.We were seriously cutting the time lines fine.The flight however landed near on time at 7.15 am, we breezed through immigration in less than 7 mins with the free visa rules. We were asked for the boarding pass, both the girls promptly presented wherein i was struggling to find mine, but the immigration guy allowed me without pulling me aside!. Seems like Bangkok has a well oiled system with many counters with people operating with logical efficiency. And luckily the baggage didnt take more than 15 mins when we got there after immigration.We had to get out of the exit and rush to the 4th floor for domestic transfer.We managed to buy 2 local sims while waiting for the luggage.the 15 day pack costed 499 bahts and the 8 day one 299 bahts.Super quick process to install the sim and get you connected.The Vietjet airline counter billed us 1500 for extra luggage and we made it on time at 8.15 am reaching the counter within the 45 mins window before take off time at 9 am.Thank goodness for Thai efficiency.: We were in Phuket by 10:30 AM which has a lovely airport by the ocean and all set for the fun awaiting us.Stay was in the Marriot near old Phuket town.We had a quick lunch at Vegan Reach which was near the Marriot and enjoyed some Veg Thai pad rice and some grilled vegetables.Later caught up with some sleep and were all ready to paint the town Red.The aim was to just explore the streets of old Phuket town randomly and if possible visit a market here.When in Thailand visiting a market is a must do activity to truly enjoy the vibes of the city and soak into their culture.One such Chillva market was a popular night market here in old Phuket.A few of the markets are weekends only but you are likely to find a market on all days with thousands of stalls selling everything from food to clothes mostly but not limited to these only.It was fun to try a few of the dishes on offer like a dessert called Burnt butter Toast which was actually pretty good with a choice of add ons.We chose the Madagascar Vanilla ice cream which was on top of a loaf of buttered burnt toast with dollops of liquid caramel sauce.Extra sweet but the burnt buttered toast moderated the sweetness and gave it a unique flavor.Though most of the dishes on offer were to palate the taste buds of sea food lovers and were tilted towards the non veg eaters there were a few veg and vegan options too.For shoppers looking for cheap clothes and souvenirs to buy this was pure heaven.Smrithi my daughter had a blast exploring the various shops selling casual clothes and trinkets like cheap jewellery mainly aimed at the teenage crowd.The gaily coloured buildings and the color themed shops all were a delight for the young crowd offering varied Instagram able photo opportunities.Time just flew by exploring the streets.It was also amazing to see so many cannabis shops in practically every street.It was being sold in every form from cookies to cakes to ice-cream and of course rolled. In the mean while, Kanthi decided to get a head massage at Kims, and Smrithi and I roamed further. She was raving about the massage and the rate was 400 bhat for one hour, which was super cheap for her compared to blore rates!.We savoured some yummy pizzas and home made ice creams before finishing off dinner with a tortilla and calling it a day.So unlike my usual schedule, a day spent just chilling out with no destination!The street corner where the market begins.Street Graffiti giving all shops a unique identity.Shop selling artificial flowers.Had a color theme and was a photo point.The roadside cannabis shopThere is a royal Enfield to be found in any corner of the world.Now That's a Novel way to deck a sea Food restaurant.The Burnt butter toast Ice-cream which was so yummy.The Mexican Food place where we had dinner.Sweet Shop.Stay Place: Marriot old Phuket.Appx cost inclusive of breakfast Rs 11k for 3.Being a Marriot cleanliness was a no brainer. Last edited by vijayols : 12th January 2024 at 23:04 .
Like everything else in technology, the world of developers was turned upside down by AI in 2023. In a tech landscape brimming with anticipation, 2024 promises a paradigm shift for developers worldwide.

Another unpleasant hallmark of 2023 is its reputation for human error in costly security breaches. Verizons 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report declared that the human element is prominent in 74% of all breaches.

Mistakes such as privilege misuse, accidental data exposure, and falling victim to social engineering attacks stem from various human factors and the critical consequences of the compromise of secrets, lamented Ev Kontsevoy, CEO & co-founder at Teleport, developer of the Teleport open infrastructure access platform.

This prevalence of issues has resulted in organizations embracing biometric hardware and identity verification. But attackers, rather than solely fixating on stealing passwords, are now actively seeking a range of secrets embedded within an organizations infrastructure, including browser cookies, private keys, API keys, and session tokens, he offered.

To keep up with the pace of threats, organizations will recognize they must move to fully secretless authentication in 2024 to secure the wider spectrum of sensitive access points still vulnerable to threats, Kontsevoy told TechNewsWorld.

He predicted that the widespread adoption of secretless access in the coming year will create immunity to human error and significantly hamper threat actors operations.

Forecasting Changes in Development and IT Security

Kontsevoy pulls no punches in describing the changing events software developers will have to execute. A significant change will involve a historic shift in how companies approach network security. Gone will be the IT-centric strategy of dedicated security teams.

Well see the role of security teams shifting to those of consultants and auditors, with engineering teams responsible for choosing vendors and implementing security protocols, he added. Cybersecurity teams will be responsible for policy and ensuring that workflows and systems meet security requirements.

According to Yoav Abrahami, chief architect and head of Velo at website building platform company Wix, we are in the midst of a massive information revolution sparked by OpenAI, and artificial intelligence tools will continue to augment other developer integrations, he shared.

These will include innovations in DevOps, data mining, and project management. Core web vitals will become more critical, forcing developers to put more emphasis on it, he observed.

Developers are shifting from their local workstation to a cloud workstation. Those who make the leap will stay ahead of the curve, he told TechNewsWorld.

Diminishing Role of Legacy Platforms

Leaders at Digibee see three major shifts for developers this year:

Low code will become increasingly popular as the AI boom continues.

Integration will reinforce better organizational design.

Legacy systems will be obsolete.

Parallels exist between AI and low-code use cases and adoptions. AI is helping organizations and individuals to analyze, interpret, and manage massive data sets, create initial drafts of content, find answers to questions, and read medical images such as X-rays, according to Digibee CTO Peter Kreslins.

AI is skyrocketing across all use cases. Similarly, low code removes much of the burden of writing actual code.

Providing high-level direction takes much less time, which low-code systems convert to code  similar to how generative AI systems, such as ChatGPT and Dalle-E, save time producing text or images based on high-level direction.

As organizations look to expand software development to citizen developers to increase productivity and agility and to free developers to focus more on system design and architecture and less on coding, low code enables such initiatives. Therefore, we expect the use of low code will also increase in 2024, Kreslins told TechNewsWorld.

Emerging IT Integration Practices

Legacy systems will become much less in existence in 2024. They can be described simply as systems that are in place and working.

That is a reasonable but perhaps too charitable description. The reality is that legacy software is a substantial barrier to innovation and change, Kreslins said.

The capability of modern integration platforms to integrate legacy systems with current systems enables organizations to continue using legacy systems that perform well as part of their modern IT stack if they prefer.

Legacy systems are becoming obsolete, but they are expensive to replace in industries such as financial services, so integrating them prolongs their use and enables them to support innovation and change, he noted.

Full Speed Ahead for AIOps

Artificial intelligence for IT operations, or AIOps, will play a critical role for developers this year. AI adoption is growing exponentially, and with AGI and technological singularity still in the distant future, humans will be a vital part of the AI story, according to Shahid Ahmed, group EVP of new ventures and innovation at NTT.

Organizations must look beyond the next year to ensure they have the capabilities to enable new technologies of the future and strive to hit sustainability targets, he told TechNewsWorld.

With the speed at which AIOps has advanced, the idea of a completely automated, lights-out network operations center (NOC) is quickly becoming an ideal. Ahmed predicted that over the next 12 months, networking companies will further embed AIOps into their broader operations to improve network quality, support engineers, and modernize infrastructures.

He expects this concept of Dark NOC will enter the lexicon of the networking world this year. While automation lies at its heart, human talent will be key to making it a success.

Network providers will need to focus on upskilling, as well as ensuring they have made the necessary preparations from a technological standpoint  from standardizing APIs to optimizing data processes, he added.

Devs Embrace Hands-On Security Innovations

Malicious actors will continue to target the software supply chain, realizing the ROI of compromising a single key target that has many downstream consumers, predicted Chris Hughes, chief security advisor at Endor Labs and cyber innovation fellow at CISA.

Attackers continue to realize it is far more effective to attack a single software supplier on the proprietary front or widely used open-source software (OSS) library than targeting individual organizations.

In 2024, we will continue to see an uptick of software supply chain attacks as malicious actors look to capitalize on the complex and overlooked software supply chain attack surface that most large enterprise environments have, he told TechNewsWorld.

This reality will drive a continued push for themes such as Secure-by-Design and software liability products. Hughes noted that platform providers will continue trying to drive systemic changes by making secure platform changes from which many can benefit.

Software liability will continue to be a hotly contested topic. With many concerned it will stifle innovation while others say it is well past the time software suppliers are held accountable for the products they distribute to customers and consumers, he argued.

Cases such as Progress Softwares MOVEit breach and class action lawsuits are examples of what may come for software suppliers and a rise in false claim cases.

Meta Maybe Makes Coders More Proficient

As 2023 slid out of existence, Meta announced its Purple Llama tool, empowering developers, advancing safety, and building an open ecosystem.

Purple Llama is an umbrella project featuring open trust and safety tools and evaluations meant to level the playing field for developers to responsibly deploy generative AI models and experiences in accordance with best practices.

Organizations will be focused on applying cybersecurity best practices to protect models and invest in safeguards to keep AI systems protected at all stages of the AI lifecycle, to avoid unintended behaviors or potential hijacking of the algorithms, Nicole Carignan, vice president of strategic cyber AI at Darktrace, told TechNewsWorld.

She added that the best approach to ensure AI safety varies, requiring the active collaboration of diverse global experts and perspectives.

We anticipate international cooperation and engagement across the public and private sector will be crucial in achieving AI safety globally, said Carignan.

Although the project is based on an offering from Meta, anything that can help reign in the potential Wild West is good for the ecosystem, added Gareth Lindahl-Wise, chief information security officer at Ontinue, a managed detection and response (MDR) provider.

We will likely see similar offerings from consumer and corporate-focused providers, and we are already taking our first steps into a new area of due diligence, said Lindahl-Wise.

Teaming Up To Meet Regulatory Pressure

Perhaps software developers will feel the push for cybersecurity more directly than their partners in IT jobs. Their industry will see more regulatory pressure, according to Teleports Kontsevoy.

So much of the world is now controlled by or through software. As a result, world-renowned cryptographic experts like Bruce Schneier have advocated for increased regulation, even going as far as to say we need to start regulating software the same way we do air space, he said.

While there is no silver bullet  and he does not recommend regulating all software like this  there are undoubtedly critical software systems comparable to airplanes in terms of the potential damage that may need that approach, Kontsevoy added.

It is no coincidence that Gartner predicts that 45% of CISOs will expand their remit beyond cybersecurity due to increasing regulatory pressure and attack surface expansion, he offered.

Expect this trend to begin in the new year and quickly snowball over the next five years, he predicted.
One out of three Americans is worried about smart devices in their homes being hacked, according to research released Monday.

Top devices raising concerns among consumers are the Amazon Echo, security cameras, Google Nest thermostats, smart doorbells, and smart TVs, revealed the research by CraftJack, a construction contracting services provider in Evanston, Ill.

Four out of five of those devices  with the exception of smart doorbells and the addition of smart locks  ranked among the top five devices consumers said they wouldnt allow into their houses over privacy concerns, noted the study, which was based on a survey of 807 Americans ranging in age from 18 to 79 who have internet-enabled devices in their homes.

According to Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst at the Enderle Group, an advisory services firm in Bend, Ore., consumers have good reasons to worry about smart home devices.

Weve had substantial issues with people hacking nanny cams and laptop cameras in order to get a view into homes, he told TechNewsWorld. While security over this class has improved, the desire and tools to hack into these devices have been increasing, making it ever more critical that security should be one of the considerations when purchasing smart home tech.

Identity Theft and Privacy Risks

Given the proliferation of smart devices in the home, added Mark N. Vena, president and principal analyst at SmartTech Research in San Jose, Calif., this is an incredibly under-reported topic.

The increasing integration of smart devices into daily life raises concerns about cybersecurity, he told TechNewsWorld. Consumers worry about the potential hacking of these devices, risking privacy invasion, data theft, and even physical harm.

From smart home appliances to wearables, vulnerabilities exist, demanding robust security measures, he continued. Breaches can compromise sensitive information, leading to financial loss or identity theft.

As reliance on interconnected devices grows, addressing these concerns becomes crucial to ensure a secure digital environment for consumers globally, he said.

(Source: CraftJack.com)

While consumers should be worried about the risk they bring into their homes with smart devices, it should be the same kind of worry that drives homeowners to lock their doors, maintained John Gallagher, vice president of Viakoo Labs, an enterprise IoT security company, in Mountain View, Calif.

Any IP-connected device comes with concerns of it being hacked, especially smart devices because they can carry personal information and also often will have business information, he told TechNewsWorld.

In some ways, the risks for consumers are less than IoT devices in the enterprise, he continued, where threat actors have access to more devices and likely more of a payout from their exploits. However, even in the home, the risks should be assessed on a device-by-device basis.

Silicon Spies

Not only do smart devices pose risks to consumers, but the apps that run them do, too. The vast majority of smart devices used in homes also have a corresponding app used to control those smart devices, explained Kern Smith, vice president for Americas pre-sales at Zimperium, a mobile security company headquartered in Dallas.

Mobile applications are the main command and control system for the users of these devices, and the way that corporations that are developing and selling these devices actually interface with their customers, he told TechNewsWorld. It is essential that these mobile apps be built with security and privacy in mind, as they sometimes are the literal keys to the customers kingdom.

The smart device ecosystem extends far beyond just the gadget, and the ultimate nexus of these devices is the mobile device and mobile app that connect and control these devices, he said. If those are compromised, they can present a larger and more far-reaching challenge for the customer and corporation versus just an individual hacked smart device.

The CraftJack research also found Americans concerned about their smart devices spying on them, with more than three-quarters (76%) of the survey respondents saying their gadgets were listening to them in some way and 61% believing the devices are always eavesdropping on them.

For many, confirmation of these fears comes in the form of targeted advertisements on their phones, the researchers wrote. Nearly two-thirds (62%) report receiving ads after talking about something near one of their smart devices.

Big Brother Listening?

Who could be listening through a homes smart devices?

Thirty-five percent of the survey sample said they were worried about hackers and cybercriminals monitoring their activities through their smart devices; another 16% were concerned about advertisers, and 15% were worried about the U.S. government.

The most surprising stat to me was that 15% expressed skepticism about the U.S. governments potential surveillance through these devices, said CraftJack spokesperson Jenna LeMair.

Ten years ago, that idea would have been considered a conspiracy theory, she told TechNewsWorld. Now theres a solid number of people who believe it.

(Source: CraftJack.com)

The researchers also found that three in four Americans have no idea how to check and see whether their smart devices have been hacked.

I think vendors should play a proactive role in educating consumers about security for the smart tech in their homes, LeMair said. The high percentage of individuals unaware of how to check for device hacks proves the need for more education.

She suggested vendors provide security guides with their devices, online resources like FAQs or troubleshooting guides, and timely notifications and updates regarding security measures.

Vendors Pivotal Role

Vendors can and should do more, especially when a new device is being set up, added Gallagher.

He recommended that users undergo training on maintaining a devices cyber hygiene as they are first learning to use it.

Vendors play a pivotal educational and awareness role in enhancing smart tech security by educating consumers, Vena explained. Clear communication on software updates and potential risks is crucial. Ultimately, a comprehensive education strategy ensures users are well-informed about smart tech security, fostering a safer digital ecosystem for everyone.

Enderle, though, sees the vendors role as a narrow one. Education for owners should really focus on how to secure the devices properly, he said. Asking a homeowner to become a security analyst and develop a rapidly changing skill set to do security diagnostics is likely a bridge too far for your average homeowner.
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In brief: Apple is set to remove the blood oxygen feature from the Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 to avoid a permanent US ban. The devices were prohibited from being imported into the country due to a patent dispute with medical device maker Masimo.

The US government officially banned the import of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 in December. Apple appealed and it was granted a temporary pause on the ban.

The situation arose from Masimo making a complaint to the US International Trade Commission (USITC) in 2021 claiming Apple infringed on one of its light-based pulse oximetry patents. The technology arrived in the Apple Watch Series 6 in the form of sensors on the back of the device for reading wearers' blood oxygen levels. This technology has been used in all Series and Ultra editions of the smartwatch since then, but is missing from the cheaper SE models.

In January, a judge ruled that Apple had infringed on one of Masimo's pulse oximeter patents, leaving the USITC to consider an import ban on the devices. The agency ruled that the blood oxygen sensors in both devices did infringe on Masimo patents. The White House could have vetoed the ban but chose not to.

It appears that Apple has now come up with a workaround: a redesign that drops the offending blood oxygen features from newly sold Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 devices. 9to5Mac published a letter from Masimo's attorneys confirming that all parties have agreed to the plan. However, Apple says the devices will be available with the blood oxygen readings while the US appeals court considers a stay during the USITC appeal period. It expects the court to make its decision today.

"Apple's claim that its redesigned watch does not contain pulse oximetry is a positive step toward accountability," Masimo said. "It is especially important that one of the world's largest and most powerful companies respects the intellectual property rights of smaller companies and complies with ITC orders when it is caught infringing."

Bloomberg writes that the redesigned watches have already been shipped to Apple stores, but they won't be opened or sold until the company's corporate office gives its approval.

It's unclear what effect removing the blood oxygen sensor will have on sales of the Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches. Apple promoted this ability as part of the the wearables' many health-focused features, so it'll be interesting to see if losing the function influences people's decision to buy one.
Nigar Hasanova

Azerbaijani Ambassador to the United States of America Khazar Ibrahim has been honored with the King Legacy Award for Diplomacy and International Service as he chaired an event dedicated to the 32nd Annual International Salute to the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, Azernews reports.

Addressing the event, Ambassador Khazar Ibrahim said that on this day Martin Luther Kings legacy is commemorated not only in the U.S. but also in all corners of the world.

The diplomat emphasized that there had never been any cases of racial and religious discrimination between people at any time in the history of Azerbaijan, adding that he takes pride in the fact that Azerbaijan is one of the true followers of Martin Luther King's legacy.




Tunisian President Kais Saied (1st R) meets with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (1st L), also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, in Tunis, Tunisia, Jan. 15, 2024. (Xinhua/Huang Ling)

TUNIS, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian President Kais Saied and visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday expressed opposition to interference in other countries' internal affairs under the pretext of human rights and democracy.

During their talks, Saied voiced great appreciation for Chinese President Xi Jinping's philosophy of governance, commending China's great achievements in promoting modernization, the 60 years of development of Tunisia-China relations and the fruitful results of pragmatic cooperation.

"Although Tunisia and China are far apart, our friendship is strong and our people are close to each other," Saied said, expressing thanks for China's long-term and valuable support in helping Tunisia to develop and improve people's lives.

He said that Tunisia will continue to actively participate in the Belt and Road Initiative, learn from China's successful experience, and promote modernization with Tunisian characteristics.

Tunisia will uphold the one-China principle, abide by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, and support China in exercising sovereignty over all its territory, he said.

For his part, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Tunisia 60 years ago, bilateral ties have stood the test of an evolving international landscape, and have maintained healthy and stable development. The most important experience is that the two countries have trusted each other and carried out mutually beneficial cooperation based on mutual trust and equal treatment.

The heads of state of the two countries have lately exchanged congratulatory messages, charting the course of the development of bilateral ties, said Wang, thanking Tunisia for its support on issues involving China's core interests and major concerns.

China also firmly supports Tunisia in safeguarding sovereignty, independence and national dignity, exploring a development path in line with its own national conditions, and independently advancing the national reform process.

"We stand ready to consolidate political mutual trust between the two sides, deepen cooperation in various fields, accelerate respective development and revitalization," he said.

The world today is afflicted with uncertainty and instability as well as rampant unilateralism, power politics and hegemony, said Wang, noting that China opposes the imposition of one's own values, opposes the transformation of other countries according to one's own standards, and opposes the interference in other countries' internal affairs under the pretext of human rights and democracy.

China is willing to strengthen unity and coordination with Tunisia to jointly implement the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative, to promote economic globalization featuring equal, orderly global multipolarity and inclusiveness.

Saied said that the history of colonialism cannot be repeated and the world cannot return to unipolar hegemony. Tunisia opposes double standards and interference in other countries' internal affairs under the banner of democracy and human rights.

"The series of important global initiatives proposed by President Xi demonstrate China's cultural heritage and global vision," Saied said, expressing willingness to work with China and other developing countries to safeguard common values of mankind, defend international fairness and justice, and build a community with a shared future.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and other issues.

Also on Monday, Wang held talks with Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar. 
The days are numbered for Apple's exclusivity for its iOS platform to download apps only from its App Store, as it is expected that it will soon allow sideloading but only for the EU nations. For the longest time, Apple has held out against installing third-party apps on iPhones and iPads, yet the European Union's Digital Markets Act challenges this policy by the company.

Since it is only the EU that upheld this against Apple, this sideloading would only be initially available to the member countries of the organization.

Apple Sideloading iOS Apps is Coming for EU Users

A report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman now speculates on the upcoming massive changes for the iPhones and iPads, as the EU's DMA is finally catching app to allow sideloading for iOS. However, it is important to note that this will only take into account the nations under the EU organization, and this means that it would only arrive for users under this jurisdiction.

Based on the report, this change would arrive "in the coming weeks," with Apple looking to comply with the legislation passed last year. Moreover, it was said that Apple will create two versions of the App Store, one optimized for the EU's sideloading, and the other for the regions with exclusivity.

While there is a certain level of exclusivity for the EU to allow sideloading apps to the iOS, there are also other disputes in the likes of the US and UK that center on these changes.

Read Also: EU Launches Investigations Into Apple's App Store, Google's Play Store

DMA to Open Third-Party Apps for Apple iOS

The Digital Markets Act has long centered on the fight against antitrust, with Apple's App Store known for being one of the top entities that it targeted, with its exclusivity and notorious commission rates.

It was added by Bloomberg that third-party apps would also be allowed to use third-party payment channels or platforms.

Apple's App Store and its Sideloading

Since Apple offered its App Store, all that iPhone and iPad users may install on their devices are from that platform, and it has been this way as the company argues that it is safer. In several statements made by the Cupertino giant, they said that downloading outside of the App Store is dangerous and may bring malware to users.

The only other way to bring third-party apps from different developers into the iPhone is via the infamous jailbreak, and this too is something that Cupertino considers to be a danger for the device and user.

However, this is not the same conversation with Google's Android as it allows sideloading, and its Play Store has a feature called 'Play Protect' that will help verify the software and check if it brings threats to users.

The EU's DMA long fought against the antitrust issue against Apple, and this legislation is now the key to allowing third-party apps to make their way to iOS and user's devices. While there are no formal announcements yet from Apple and the EU, the reports now claim that it is expecting that Cupertino will soon allow sideloading for iOS in the coming weeks, to allow developers outside the App Store to offer their apps.

Related Article: Apple, Google, Likely to be Forced by Japan to Allow Third-Party App Stores

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December 2023 was a dark period for Apple and its latest Apple Watches as it temporarily faced a ban, but now, it is given a chance to keep it, as long as it removes the Blood Oxygen app. That being said, reports now claim that Apple is considering the removal of this app and feature from the latest versions of its wearables, the Series 9 and Ultra 2, so that it may stay available for all.

The patent dispute that Apple had for many years now finally caught up to them, and after a dramatic holiday season, there are now workarounds offered.

Goodbye Blood Oxygen App on the Apple Watch

A way to bypass the restriction on Apple's renowned dispute with Masimo is here, with the health tech company suggesting via its letter that Cupertino may avoid the ban if it removes the Blood Oxygen app from the Apple Watch. This is the condition set by the aggrieved company after this years-long fight against Big Tech for the use of their patented technology.

As per Engadget, the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) said that this new redesign by Apple "falls outside the scope" of the import ban set by the US International Trade Commission (ITC).

However, Apple claimed to the CBP that the latest version of the Series 9 and Ultra 2 had already said its goodbyes to the Blood Oxygen app, as well as the wearable no longer featured the "pulse oximetry functionality."

Read Also: Apple Smartwatches, Now Temporarily Available Just A Day After USITC Ban

Apple Watch Series 9, Ultra 2's Initial Ban

Still, the CBP's decision may be overturned as the ITC gets the final say in the issue.

Apple has already reportedly shipped the revised versions of the Series 9 and Ultra 2 to its US stores, and Cupertino advised them not to open or sell these modified devices. For now, the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2's sales rely on the emergency interim stay of the ITC ruling that allowed it to be sold in the country.

Apple and its Patent Dispute

The ITC held an iron hand against Apple during late 2023, and after a long court battle regarding a patent dispute with the California-based health tech company, Masimo, it saw a ban.

Apple appealed and filed different motions to help their case and avoid the sales ban of its latest smartwatches in the market, but initially, it was to no avail as the ITC was firm on its decision.

It led to the Cupertino giant officially removing the Series 9 and Ultra 2's sale from its official online Apple store and later pulled out from its retail locations.

The decade-long dispute which Apple faced, from the time it started, down to the pitch made by a scientist in exploring this feature, this issue tarnished Cupertino's name and its use of the tech for its wearables. All hopes of still selling the latest Apple Watches are not yet gone, and this new workaround asks to remove the Blood Oxygen app and cease the use of the tech moving forward.

Related Article: How an Email to Apple Tim Cook Set Apple Watch Saga in Motion

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It is only months before the United States chooses its next government leaders again, but the preparations began, with OpenAI releasing its new Election Misinformation Policy to protect the public and voting sacredness. The company's main priority is to improve the safeguards on its AI tools and products which may be used to spread deepfakes, impersonation, fake news, and more.

OpenAI Election Misinformation Policy is Now Here to 'Protect'

The latest blog post by OpenAI details the steps it is taking towards "protecting the integrity of elections," and this begins with the massive safeguards that it will impose on its products and AI tools.

As we prepare for elections in 2024 across the world's largest democracies, our approach is to continue our platform safety work by elevating accurate voting information, enforcing measured policies, and improving transparency. OpenAI

As part of preventing the abuse of AI using the elections, OpenAI claimed that its DALL-E will have specific "guardrails" that will "decline requests" that ask to create real people images, including the candidates. Moreover, users would not be allowed to build applications to use for political campaigning and lobbying.

The company added that it also puts massive importance on transparency for its AI tools, particularly for the sources of information that ChatGPT would deliver, as well as the content provenance for the DALL-E.

Read Also: No Fake Act: New Bipartisan Bill is Against Generative AI Using Artists, Singers to Create Unconsented Content

AI Tools to Combat Deepfake, Fake News, and MORE

OpenAI is going to the root of the issue by imposing safety measures on its AI tools alone to help combat the spread of fake news, AI-generated deepfakes, and misinformation that are prevalent online.

The company said that with its new GPTs, users may report potential violations directly and easily flag when it is creating dubious content.

The Massive Use of AI for Misinformation

Since last year, concerns against the use of AI to create persuading but fabricated content, a.k.a. misinformation, have been raised by advocates, politicians, and more.

This was due to the alarming rise of deepfakes filling the internet and social media platforms with misleading information meant to sway the general public into negative beliefs and ideals meant to disrupt society.

With this, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has looked into the regulation of political ads made from generative AI, especially with the false statements it embeds to the public.

Apart from organizations, Big Tech companies have already stepped up to combat said misinformation online, with Google affirming its stand to bring legitimate news and information via its Search and YouTube platforms.

The massive concerns in this upcoming US 2024 Elections are real, and this is because of the significant spread of misinformation online via multimedia content using generative AI tools present. That being said, OpenAI is now taking its stand against the use of its AI tools to create such content, stemming the production of these misleading content and helping protect the right of suffrage for all.

Related Article: Deepfake Porn Rise to Top of Search Results from Google, Bing-Here's How to Submit a Report

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Iceland's Fagradalsfjall volcano has erupted for the second time in less than a month, casting uncertainty over the future of the picturesque town of Grindavik.

(Photo : HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP via Getty Images)

TOPSHOT - A helicopter flies near above the lava flowing from a fissure near the Fagradalsfjall on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland on ,April 6, 2021.

Erupting for the Second Time

The 3,800 residents find themselves grappling with an uncertain fate as the volcanic activity disrupts lives and leaves the community on edge. Grindavik faces the aftermath of the volcano's fiery wrath, resulting in the destruction of homes and disruption of essential services.

Interesting Engineering reported that the recent eruption unfolded on a chilly Sunday morning, catching the tight-knit community off guard as volcanic lava engulfed houses and wreaked havoc on water and electricity supplies.

The unsettling incident occurred shortly after authorities had issued evacuation warnings in response to a series of mini-earthquakes, signaling the impending eruption.

The precise timing of the volcanic activity added to the challenges faced by the residents, intensifying concerns about the town's future and the resilience needed to overcome such natural disasters.

Grindavik, post-recent eruption, faces an uncertain future after the fifth Reykjanes peninsula eruption since 2021. The Guardian reported that residents like architect David Ingi Bustion express uncertainties, citing house destruction, service impairments, and a lack of heating.

Despite reduced volcanic activity, doubts persist about Grindavik's habitability. Bustion and others, initially planning redevelopment contributions, now confront challenges amid ongoing assessments, making the town's future intricate and uncertain.

Ongoing eruptions, with no confirmed deaths but a missing individual, raise concerns. Iceland's president, Guni Th Johannesson, acknowledges challenges, emphasizing the start of a daunting period of upheaval in a televised address.

Also Read: Scientists Discover Unique Microbes on a Lost Island Where the Tonga Volcano Erupted

Magnus Tumi Gumundsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland, offers hope, noting a significant decrease in volcanic activity overnight. Predicting when the volcanic turmoil will subside remains challenging due to its unpredictable nature.

Addressing the Aftermath

As Grindavik residents cope with the aftermath, the world watches in solidarity. Defensive barriers north of the town redirect lava flow, lessening its impact. However, the breached barriers pose an ongoing risk, with magma corridors believed to flow beneath the deserted town.

Confronting the aftermath of volcanic eruptions, NPR reported that the Icelandic government is actively discussing measures to provide support and aid to the displaced residents of Grindavik.

The emphasis is on addressing the immediate need for suitable housing and recognizing the challenges faced by those affected.

In this uncertain period, the community of Grindavik remains steadfast and united. Despite the unpredictability of their future in the shadow of recent volcanic activities, the residents demonstrate resilience and strength.

The landscape, shaped by volcanic forces, serves as a backdrop to the community's shared determination to navigate these challenging times.

The unfolding situation underscores the importance of both governmental and community efforts to overcome adversity and rebuild lives in the wake of natural disasters.

Related Article: [LOOK] Hawaii's Mauna Loa Continues to Blast Lava in Stunning Satellite Images

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An on-ground laser system is reportedly the newest venture by Osaka's laser fusion company, EX-Fusion, in removing small space debris across Earth's orbit, as reported by Interesting Engineering, citing Nikkei Asia as their source.

The Japanese Startup is reportedly eyeing to use an EX-Fusion intends to install a powerful laser inside an EOS Space observatory located outside of Canberra, Australia wherein tracking space debris smaller than 10 cm will be the first step.

(Photo : SpaceX from Unsplash)

Rocket debris from a Chinese module might soon hit the planet as early as Saturday, July 30.

In the second stage, EX-Fusion and EOS Space will increase the power of the laser beams launched from the surface in an effort to eliminate the space trash. The plan is to slow it down by sporadically firing the laser on the debris coming from the opposite direction of its movement. The debris will burn up when it enters Earth's atmosphere at a slower orbital speed.

Diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) lasers will reportedly be used in EX-Fusion's approach. According to Kazuki Matsuo, CEO of EX-Fusion, while the strength of a laser to eliminate space trash is orders of magnitude less than that of nuclear fusion, they share some technological obstacles, such the need to control them with specific mirrors.

Read Also: US Space Force Reports Break up of Mysterious Russian Satellite That Produced Cloud of Space Debris

The Need and Challenges in Vaporizing Space Debris

Precision and power challenges stand in the way of EX-Fusion's proposal to destroy space trash from Earth. Nevertheless, it has the benefit of making maintenance and upgrades on Earth simple. The technology may be utilized in conjunction with debris cleaning services offered by businesses like Astroscale.

Forbes reports that NASA stated that the need to remove space debris stems from the fact that trash in Earth's orbit endangers orbiting satellites and departing spacecraft. Removing only 100,000 pieces of tiny debris, which measure between 1 and 10 centimeters, may prevent an estimated $23 million in damage.

NASA's Approach

EX-Fusion's proposed space debris removal system is not entirely unheard of, but its on-ground operation was reportedly thought to be impossible as historically, it has been challenging to use lasers to target minuscule pieces of space debris from the ground.

NASA, in early 2023, considered the same laser-centered approach, stating in its cost-benefit analysis that for minor cleanups including debris, nudging such space junk using lasers from orbit or the ground were examined in terms of its development and operational costs.

As per a Forbes article that reported NASA's cost-benefit analysis paper, it states that NASA prefers to utilize space tugs for bigger trash and ground- or space-based lasers for smaller debris, although it does not define which approach is best.

After a strategy is chosen, NASA estimates that efforts to address the problem may "achieve net benefits in under a decade"; however, the agency also pointed out that collaboration with the US military and government would be necessary.

Related Article: Scientists Push for International Legally-binding Treaty To Eliminate Space Junk

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The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is moving closer to filing a massive lawsuit against Apple, targeting the tech giant's alleged anti-competitive practices.

According to the New York Times, the focus of the potential legal action would center on how Apple utilizes its integrated hardware and software ecosystem, allegedly making it challenging for consumers to depart from the Apple ecosystem and for other industry players to compete.

DOJ's Investigation into the Ecosystem of Apple

DOJ investigators, who are in the late stages of investigating the iPhone maker, are said to be examining three elements of Apple's ecosystem, the New York Times reported. First, they will scrutinize how iMessage hinders competitors from using Apple's messaging app.

Second, they will look into the Apple Watch and how it operates more seamlessly with iPhones compared to other companies' devices. Lastly, the investigators will examine Apple's payment systems, which are accused of blocking competitors from offering similar financial services.

Northeastern Global News reported that if the DOJ proceeds with a lawsuit, it would mark the latest development in the antitrust scrutiny faced by major tech companies.

Over the past four years, Google, Amazon, and Meta have all been subjects of antitrust investigations. Apple, valued at $2.87 trillion, would be the most significant target yet.

The company's business model, characterized by a tightly integrated ecosystem of products and services, is considered nearly unparalleled. However, experts suggest that Apple is not immune to legal challenges.

Apple's Interconnected Nature

John Kwoka, a leading antitrust expert and the Neal F. Finnegan Distinguished Professor of Economics at Northeastern University, commented on the situation.

He emphasized that while Apple offers a high-quality experience for users within its ecosystem, it also limits consumer choice and innovation. The interconnected nature of Apple's products and services creates obstacles for potential competitors and innovators who are unable to access consumers.

The DOJ's investigation into Apple's business practices reportedly extends beyond the three focal points mentioned. It also includes examining how Apple obstructed cloud gaming applications on the App Store.

Read Also: Apple Is Looking to Reinvent Xcode with AI Code Completion & AppleCare's AI-Supported Troubleshooting

Potential Impact of a DOJ Lawsuit

Kwoka highlighted the potential positive impact of a successful DOJ lawsuit on non-Apple customers and the broader tech market. While Apple's integrated ecosystem would still be available for those who prefer it, the increased competition resulting from the lawsuit could lead to lower prices and more consumer choices.

The ongoing efforts by European authorities, such as the Digital Markets Act, also contribute to exploring alternatives to entrenched tech ecosystems.

The outcome of a potential DOJ lawsuit against Apple could have far-reaching implications for consumers, competition in the tech market, and the future landscape of integrated ecosystems.

Related Article: Apple Races Against Time to Save Apple Watch from Impending US Ban with Urgent Software Updates

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Chinese technology company Baidu has firmly rejected claims linking its AI chatbot, Ernie, to Chinese military research.

According to the Associated Press, Baidu refuted the South China Morning Post report, which cited an academic paper from a university affiliated with the People's Liberation Army cyberwarfare division that allegedly had tested its AI system on Ernie and on AI firm iFlyTek's Spark, both of which are AI chatbots similar to ChatGPT.

Baidu Responds to Claims That Ernie AI Chatbot Linked to Chinese Military Research

After the report's publication, Baidu's Hong Kong-listed stock experienced a significant drop of over 11.5% on Monday. In a statement, Baidu denied any collaboration with the newspaper's authors or affiliated institutions.

The company emphasized that Ernie Bot "is available to and used by the general public." The academic paper from the PLA Information Engineering University reveals how researchers gave Ernie Bot prompts to produce simulated military response plans for Libyan troops against a US military attack.

Baidu argued that if the authors used large language models like Ernie Bot, they would have utilized the functions available to any user interacting with such AI tools.

Like ChatGPT, Ernie Bot allows users to ask questions or make requests, generating content based on the given prompt. Like many other internet services in China, this chatbot is also subject to censorship regulations, thus avoiding politically sensitive or taboo questions in line with Chinese government laws.

Read Also: Netherlands Blocks ASML From Exporting Some Chipmaking Tools to China After US Export Restrictions

Baidu Stocks Decline

The South China Morning Post report initially suggested a "physical link" between Ernie and the PLA division. This statement has since been amended to clarify that the PLA lab tested its system on Baidu's AI model.

The sharp decline in Baidu's stock price raised concerns among investors, reflecting fears that Chinese technology firms with connections to the Chinese military or government might face sanctions similar to those imposed on Huawei by the US, citing espionage risks.

In recent years, China-US tensions have heightened over trade, technology, and Taiwan-related issues. Baidu, a prominent player in China's artificial intelligence sector and operator of the country's leading search engine, unveiled Ernie Bot in August 2023.

This move marked the company's entry into the competition among Chinese tech firms to create a counterpart to ChatGPT. By December, Baidu, headquartered in Beijing, announced that Ernie Bot had garnered over 100 million users.

Related Article: Baidu Scraps $3.6 Billion Acquisition of Joyy's Live-Streaming as Deal Hits Regulatory Roadblock

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Nikon, a company widely recognized for its cameras, has expanded its technological expertise into an unexpected realm - developing a new camera system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to notify farmers if a cow is about to give birth.

According to Kyodo News, this system is designed to streamline the monitoring process of pregnant cows, providing farmers with timely alerts and ultimately improving operational efficiency.

Nikon Develops New Camera AI System for Cows

The system, priced at 900,000 yen per year ($6,200) for a farm with around 100 cows, comprises a security-style camera seamlessly integrated with an advanced AI system. These AI-powered cameras will have to be installed on farms to analyze the cows' movements.

The heart of this technology lies in a dedicated smartphone application that serves as a conduit for issuing alerts when a calf is nearing delivery. This not only enables farmers to be proactive in their approach but also significantly reduces the need for constant physical checks, particularly during the demanding birthing seasons.

Nikon initiated the AI training process in the fall of 2021, meticulously fine-tuning the system for optimal performance. The proof-of-concept tests were conducted on four farms in southwestern Japan in February 2023.

The system has demonstrated an impressive ability to identify crucial signs exhibited by pregnant cows approximately five hours before the onset of labor. These signs include heightened movement and the initial stages of releasing the calf's amniotic sac.

Kazuhiro Hirano, a representative from Nikon, shared insights into the future aspirations of the system, stating a desire to expand its capabilities. In addition to predicting the timing of labor, Nikon aims to incorporate features that can detect when a female cow is in heat and recognize other behavioral patterns relevant to the overall well-being of the livestock.

Feedback from participants in the trial phase has been overwhelmingly positive, emphasizing the system's practical utility. Keita Higuchi, a livestock farmer participating in the experiment, expressed satisfaction with the technology's assistance.

Given that his farm delivers approximately 60 calves annually, the system has proven to be a valuable asset, eliminating the need for frequent manual checks leading up to the birthing period.

Read Also: Camera Giants Nikon, Sony, and Canon Unite to Combat Deepfakes with Cutting-Edge Digital Signatures

Nikon's Venture Into Agriculture

While Nikon is predominantly known for its expertise in consumer cameras, the company has demonstrated versatility across various sectors, manufacturing products ranging from microscopes and X-ray systems to semiconductor systems and virtual production studios, according to Kyodo News.

Beyond its venture into agriculture, Nikon has addressed concerns related to the misuse of AI-generated images, deploying innovative electronic watermarking technology to mitigate potential issues.

Nikon's entrance into the agricultural domain reflects a broader trend wherein technology is seamlessly integrated into traditional industries to enhance operational efficiency.

The intersection of AI and agriculture, exemplified by this cow-monitoring system, showcases the potential for innovative solutions to address longstanding challenges within the farming sector.

Related Article: Nikon Z9's Latest Teaser Shows Rare LCD Feature Unavailable in Other DSLRs or Mirrorless Cams: Inward Tilting Function?

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Engineers at the University of Glasgow have developed a "self-eating" rocket engine, which burns parts of its body for extra fuel, that could alter the landscape of space travel.

This "autophagy" rocket engine deviates from conventional rockets by using waste heat to melt its own plastic fuselage, turning it into additional fuel and leaving no debris behind. This unconventional method also reduces the need for fuel in onboard tanks, making the rocket more efficient in mass utilization for payload.

The Ouroborous-3 Autophage Engine

Apart from efficiency gains, the team claims that the autophage rocket engine will address concerns about space debris, a problem associated with discarded waste in orbit. The reduction in space debris aligns with ongoing efforts to manage the increasing issue of orbital clutter around Earth.

The University of Glasgow engineers noted that they successfully fired the first unsupported autophage rocket engine. Despite being a nearly century-old concept first proposed and patented in 1938, controlled tests did not happen until the collaboration between the University of Glasgow and Dnipro National University in Ukraine achieved this breakthrough in 2018.

The latest developments, supported by Kingston University and presented at the AIAA SciTech Forum in Orlando, highlight the use of more energetic liquid propellants and the plastic fuselage's resilience to engine-loading forces, bringing the concept closer to viable flight.

The Ouroborous-3 autophage engine demonstrated successful tests at the MachLab facility in Machrihanish Airbase in Scotland, generating 100 newtons of thrust.

Using high-density polyethylene plastic tubing as its autophagic fuel source, burning it alongside the rocket's mix of gaseous oxygen and liquid propane, the engine exhibited stable burns, with the plastic fuselage contributing one-fifth of the propellant.

The tests also showcased the engine's controllability, allowing for throttling, restarting, and pulsing, essential for future autophage rocket ascent control.

Read Also: Space Debris Vaporizer, Planned by Japanese Startup to Clean Earth's Orbit

Foundational Step

Professor Patrick Harkness from the James Watt School of Engineering at the University of Glasgow spearheaded the development of the Ourouboros-3 autophage engine.

"These results are a foundational step on the way to developing a fully-functional autophage rocket engine. Those future rockets could have a wide range of applications which would help advance the UK's ambitions to develop as a key player in the space industry," Harkness said in a statement.

"A conventional rocket's structure makes up between five and 12 percent of its total mass. Our tests show that the Ouroborous-3 can burn a very similar amount of its own structural mass as propellant. If we could make at least some of that mass available for payload instead, it would be a compelling prospect for future rocket designs," he added.

The team will continue advancing its autophagy engine development, aided by fresh funding from the UK Space Agency (UKSA) and the Sciences and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), a division of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

The Glasgow team's autophage engine is one of 23 space technology projects recently selected to share in 4 million from the UK Space Agency and STFC. The team received 290,000 for further pilot testing of the prototype engine.

Related Article: Astrobotic's Peregrine Moon Lander is Coming Home, to Burn Up on Earth's Atmosphere

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At the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, artificial intelligence (AI) has become the central focus, with major companies promoting their AI products and services.

According to CNBC, this highlights the escalating interest and investments in AI, fueled partly by the widespread popularity of OpenAI's ChatGPT, an AI chatbot rolled out at the end of 2022.

AI Takes Over Davos 2024

Prominent global technology companies, including US semiconductor firms Intel and Salesforce, are vying for leadership positions in the AI space. Their bold statements and AI slogans adorned properties along the Davos Promenade, showcasing their expertise in the field.

The prominence of AI at Davos this year far exceeded the presence of cryptocurrency firms, marking a reversal of trends from previous years. This year, AI has taken center stage, reflecting the increasing significance of this technology.

PitchBook's Emerging Tech Indicator, which tracks investments in angel, seed, and early-stage ventures, revealed that AI and machine learning startups attracted significantly more investment in the third quarter than Web3 and decentralized finance companies.

The crypto industry, which has been the recurring theme for every World Economic Forum since 2021, appears to embrace this shift at Davos.

Dante Disparte, the Chief Strategy Officer for Circle, a stablecoin issuer, noted that the blockchain and crypto industry now focuses on telling the story of the technology rather than emphasizing immediate results.

According to Disparte, the decreasing presence of crypto houses along the Promenade in favor of AI houses suggests that AI is becoming a foundational technology.

For Disparte, who has been involved in legislative efforts related to stablecoins, the remaining companies in the blockchain and crypto space will likely converge with traditional banking, finance, and payments.

He draws parallels with the development of the internet, stating that the industry must go through a phase similar to the dotcom bubble to establish trust and durability.

Read Also: AI, Climate Challenges, Raises Worries for CEOs in Latest PwC Survey

AI Also Takes Over CES 2024

The prevalence of AI is not confined to Davos. It was also a dominant theme at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024. As the largest tech show of the year, CES featured AI-powered products across various categories, including pools, pets, and cars.

Sean Hehir, CEO of BrainChip, an AI software company, highlighted the overwhelming presence of AI at CES, indicating a new era in the tech industry driven by AI.

"When I walked the hall today, first of all, you could not see a single product or vendor that did not have AI behind its name or in front of its name - AI for pets, AI for pool cleaners, AI for home maintenance, everything," Hehir said.

The BrainChip executive highlighted that we are witnessing the onset of the next era of transformation in the tech industry, driven by AI. The prominence of this technology at CES 2024 suggests that it might be reaching its peak.

This surge in AI's prominence at both Davos and CES underscores the technology's increasing influence and the industry's collective acknowledgment of its transformative potential.

Related Article: AI Predicted by IMF to Lower Labor Demand, Worsen Inequality

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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 Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar in Tunis, Tunisia, Jan. 15, 2024. (Xinhua/Huang Ling)

TUNIS, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Nabil Ammar, Tunisian minister of foreign affairs, migration and Tunisians abroad on Monday voiced willingness to support each other's independent development.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Tunisia, thereby having great significance in bridging the past and the future.

"We are ready to take this opportunity to work with Tunisia to review the successful experience and grow our traditional friendship so as to write a new chapter in China-Tunisia friendly cooperation," he said.

The two sides need to support each other on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns, so as to provide a solid foundation for and add strong impetus into bilateral relations, he added.

Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Wang said, provides the fundamental guidance for building China into a great country and for the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization.

China's development in the new era has also provided a useful reference for other countries intending to speed up development while preserving their independence, said Wang.

China will promote the modernization of the world with Chinese modernization, and is willing to share experience in governance with Tunisia and enhance Tunisia's capacity for independent development so as to achieve common development and prosperity, said Wang.

For his part, Ammar said that Tunisia and China, sharing extensive common interests and values, have a solid political foundation, sound development momentum, and inspiring cooperation results in bilateral relations.

The Tunisian side cherishes its friendship with China and will always remember China's support and help.

Ammar reiterated that Tunisia always firmly upholds the One-China principle and stands ready to work with China to push for greater development of bilateral relations.

As China-Tunisia relations have broad prospects, the two sides agreed to strengthen high-level exchanges, add strategic substance to bilateral relations, and expand all-round cooperation.

The two sides will strengthen solidarity and coordination to jointly safeguard the legitimate interests of developing countries, and uphold the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and international equity and justice.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and agreed to continue to jointly support the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights. 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, holds talks with Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar in Tunis, Tunisia, Jan. 15, 2024. (Xinhua/Huang Ling)
Telco giant Vodafone has recently announced a 10-year partnership with Microsoft. The collaboration aims to deliver cutting-edge generative AI, digital, enterprise, and cloud services to over 300 million businesses and consumers spanning the continents of Europe and Africa (via Reuters).

Strategic Investment

Vodafone is committing a staggering $1.5 billion over the next decade to propel customer-focused AI, utilizing Microsoft's Azure OpenAI and Copilot technologies.

The investment is set to replace physical data centers with scalable Azure cloud services, promising increased efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Microsoft, in turn, is set to become an equity investor in Vodafone's managed Internet of Things (IoT) platform. This strategic move aligns with Vodafone's plan to spin out its IoT business as a standalone entity by April.

The collaboration will not only redefine Vodafone's IoT capabilities but also fuel the expansion of the company's mobile financial platform across the African market.

Digital Acceleration

Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone's CEO, stressed the partnership's commitment to accelerating the digital acceleration of business customers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The focus is leveraging Microsoft's generative AI technology to enhance the customer experience and streamline global data center strategies.

Areas of Collaboration

The collaboration outlines five key areas of cooperation, emphasizing generative AI applications, scaling IoT infrastructure, accelerating digital services in Africa, fostering enterprise growth, and expediting Vodafone's cloud transformation.

Under the generative AI umbrella, Vodafone plans to apply Microsoft Azure OpenAI to deliver real-time, hyperpersonalized experiences. This includes revamping Vodafone's digital assistant TOBi and enhancing employee productivity with Microsoft Copilot.

Read Also: GPT Store: OpenAI Launches Innovative Marketplace with 3 Million Custom AI Chatbots

IoT and Financial Services

Microsoft's investment in Vodafone's IoT platform, set to be an independent business by April, highlights the strategic importance of IoT assets. The collaboration aims to create new opportunities, connecting more devices, vehicles, and machines through open APIs.

In Africa, Microsoft aims to scale Vodafone's M-Pesa mobile money platform, which is already the continent's largest financial technology platform.

Housing M-Pesa on Azure is expected to bring forth new cloud-native applications, aligning with the partners' goal of enhancing digital literacy and financial inclusion across the region.

Enterprise Growth and Cloud Transformation

Vodafone's commitment to distributing Microsoft services, including Azure, security solutions, and modern work offerings, aligns with its ambition to become Europe's leading platform for businesses.

This initiative seeks to support approximately 24 million SMEs across Europe, providing a managed platform that grows with their business.

Vodafone's cloud transformation, facilitated by modernizing data centers on Microsoft Azure, is set to improve customer responsiveness while simultaneously reducing operational costs. The move toward virtual data centers aligns with Vodafone's sustainable business strategy, aiming for energy efficiency and reduced environmental impact.

The Vodafone-Microsoft partnership heralds a new era in digital innovation, promising a decade of transformative advancements across Europe and Africa.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: Microsoft Claims Top Spot in Market Capitalization, Beating Apple

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In a study published in Frontiers in Science, scientists unveiled the KMAP Global Ocean Gene Catalog 1.0, the most extensive and comprehensive database of marine microbes to date.

This massive catalog contains over 317 million gene groups from marine organisms around the world, representing a significant advance in our understanding of the ocean's biodiversity, biological functions, and impact on climate and human lives.

Keeping Track of Ocean Microbes

Lead author Elisa Laiolo, from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia, emphasized the catalog's focus on marine microbes, stating, "The catalog focuses on marine microbes, which greatly impact human lives through their influence on the ocean's health and the Earth's climate."

One of the challenges scientists faced in mapping marine biodiversity was the inability to study most marine organisms in a laboratory setting. However, advancements in DNA sequencing technologies have overcome this hurdle by enabling the identification of organisms directly from ocean water and sediments.

Laiolo explained, "The first is the enormous increase in speed, and decrease in cost, of DNA sequencing technologies. This has allowed researchers to sequence all the genetic material in thousands of ocean samples."

The study also utilized massive computational power and artificial intelligence technologies, thanks to the KAUST Metagenomic Analysis Platform (KMAP), to process and analyze millions of sequences efficiently.

Read Also: NASA's Top Climatologist Reveals 2023 Record-Shattering Temperatures Caused by 'Mysterious' Processes

Uncovering Millions of Gene Groups

The research team scanned DNA sequences from 2,102 ocean samples at different depths and locations worldwide. The result was a staggering 317.5 million gene groups, with more than half classified by organism type and gene function.

This comprehensive catalog provides unprecedented insights into the distribution and functions of marine microbes in diverse ocean ecosystems.

"The achievement underscores the critical importance of open science," emphasized Prof Carlos Duarte, the study's senior author. He highlighted the collaborative efforts that made the catalog possible, including global sailing expeditions and sharing samples' DNA in the open-access European Nucleotide Archive.

Already, the catalog has revealed intriguing details about microbial activity in the water column versus the ocean floor, as well as the surprising prevalence of fungi in the 'twilight' mesopelagic zone.

These findings contribute to our understanding of how microbes shape ecosystems, influence ocean health, and impact climate dynamics.

Moreover, the catalog serves as a baseline for monitoring the effects of human-induced stressors, such as pollution and global warming, on marine life.

It also opens up avenues for scientific and industrial applications, with researchers exploring the genetic material for potential contributions to drug development, energy solutions, and agriculture.

The KMAP Ocean Gene Catalog 1.0 represents the first step in developing a global ocean genome atlas, documenting every gene from every marine species worldwide.

Laiolo stressed the ongoing need for ocean sampling, especially in under-studied areas like the deep sea and ocean floor, acknowledging that the dynamic nature of the ocean requires continuous updates to the catalog.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: China Establishes Antarctic Outpost to Study Earth's Largest Marine Protected Area

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Artificial intelligence startup Sakana AI has successfully raised $30 million in a seed funding round, marking a significant leap in AI innovation. The Tokyo-based company, inspired by the collaborative behaviors of animals like fish and bees, is poised to take the industry to new heights with its unique approach.

Rethinking AI Size: Smaller Models, Bigger Impact

Contrary to the trend of developing larger AI systems, Sakana AI, founded by former Google luminaries David Ha and Llion Jones, focuses on crafting smaller models, per Nikkei Asia. These compact models draw inspiration from the coordinated movements of schools of fish and flocking birds, demonstrating efficiency that surpasses larger, conventional models.

Related Article: AI, Climate Challenges, Raises Worries for CEOs in Latest PwC Survey

Strategic Investors Driving Vision

Lux Capital led the seed funding round, joined by influential investors such as Khosla Ventures, Sony Group Corp., NTT, and a distinguished group of AI leaders, including Jeff Dean from Google, Alexandr Wang of Scale AI, and Clement Delangue from HuggingFace.

The funding positions Sakana AI at a valuation of approximately $200 million, affirming the industry's confidence in its innovative approach.

How Sakana Started

Established in 2023, Sakana AI is the brainchild of David Ha and Llion Jones, renowned industry researchers with a rich background in AI-related systems at Google's Alphabet Inc.

What's more, the startup's methodology opens avenues for potentially more cost-effective AI training and usage, challenging the status quo in the industry.

Divergent Paths: Sakana AI vs. Industry Giants

While industry giants like OpenAI favor a centralized approach, consolidating data into large AI programs, Sakana AI's method involves deploying a series of small models. This distinctive strategy could reshape the AI landscape, offering alternatives to existing technologies, particularly in generative AI applications.

"A belief we have is if you have to spend a billion dollars to do something there's probably a better way to do it," Lux Capital investor Brandon Reeves said.

Elevating Japan's Tech Ecosystem

Ha, serving as Sakana's CEO, and Jones, the Chief Technology Officer, aspire to not only give a new meaning to AI but also elevate Japan's standing in the global tech arena, per Bloomberg.

The duo plans to support local tech entities, fostering a Japan-centric ecosystem. According to Ha, they are collaborating with the "local cloud providers to develop more of a Japan-based ecosystem."

With approximately 10 employees presently, Sakana AI intends to leverage the funding for expanding its team and sustaining operations over the coming years.

The company is actively developing software tools for constructing its small AI models and experimenting with proof-of-concept models to showcase the transformative potential of its approach.

Sakana AI's Board of Directors

The board of directors includes David Ha and Llion Jones, respectively serving as CEO and CTO, alongside Ren Ito, the company's COO. Ren Ito, with a background as the former COO of Stability AI, brings valuable operational expertise.

On the other hand, Lux Capital partner Grace Isford also contributes as a board observer, reflecting the strategic guidance of the investor team.

As Sakana AI charts its course with this substantial funding injection, the AI industry watches closely, anticipating the emergence of a transformative force in artificial intelligence.

Sakana thinks that being an AI-centered startup is not only all about chatbots-something that OpenAI did with ChatGPT. What the small organization aims is to provide a more effective yet smaller AI model away from the norm.

Read Also: AI Predicted by IMF to Lower Labor Demand, Worsen Inequality

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Apple got the last laugh when it comes to smartphone sales this time around. Finally, it beat its rival Samsung in this aspect.

According to the latest report, the last time that Samsung slipped through the top charts was 13 years ago. That was the time when Nokia was still a big name in the phone industry.

Apple is the King of Smartphone Market For the First Time

When the Cupertino tech company dominated the Q4 smartphone sales in China in 2022, everybody was star-struck. It just happened that Apple defied the odds of surviving in a foreign market amid the macroeconomic problems.

In 2021, Samsung and Apple both struggled to keep up with Xiaomi as the Chinese smartphone maker took the top seat-but only temporarily.

Now, according to 9to5Mac, IDC concluded that Apple shipped more smartphones than Samsung last year.

"The biggest winner is clearly Apple. Not only is Apple the only player in the Top 3 to show positive growth annually, but also bags the number 1 spot annually for the first time ever. All this despite facing increased regulatory challenges and renewed competition from Huawei in China, its largest market. Apple's ongoing success and resilience is in large part due to the increasing trend of premium devices, which now represent over 20% of the market, fueled by aggressive trade-in offers and interest-free financing plans," Nabila Popal, research director with IDC's Worldwide Tracker team said via Mashable.

In another report by Canalys, it was finalized that Apple dethroned Samsung in its comfortable spot.

According to the tech analyst firm, Apple became the top vendor of 2023. For the past two years, the shipment for Apple has been improving.

It's also evident in its strategy portfolio that the iPhone maker wants to position itself at the top by offering a broader set of smartphones to the consumers.

As much as iOS and Android are both concerned, Samsung has taken a different path from Apple.

IDC says that in the Android ecosystem, Samsung has struggled harder to keep up with the other brands.

Aside from Xiaomi, a top-notch Chinese smartphone manufacturer, Huawei returns with a better performance locally, not to mention the emergence of Google, Honor, and OnePlus in the market.

Related Article: Apple Sideloading for iOS Apps Coming to EU Users Only, Under DMA

Can Apple Sustain its Momentum?

According to Canalys, Apple might cave in soon on its smartphone sales since the competition in mainland China is becoming more intense with Huawei's improved strategy.

Regardless, what Apple achieved is beyond unimaginable. For years, it only lived behind the shadow of Samsung.

Apple was aware that the competition in China was no joke at all. In order to attract more local buyers in one of the largest markets in the world, the company rolled out huge discounts for iPhone 15 ahead of Lunar New Year.

Read Also: Future iPhones Could Be Used Underwater, New Apple Patent Says

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In an exclusive interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella expressed his optimism about achieving a global consensus on regulating artificial intelligence (AI).

Highlighting the imperative need for coordination on a worldwide scale, Nadella emphasized the importance of establishing standards and guardrails for the burgeoning technology (via CNBC).

Microsoft and Global AI Regulations

Nadella acknowledged the pivotal role Microsoft played in the AI landscape, positioning the company as a major contender in the race among leading US technology firms.

Microsoft has solidified its commitment to advancing AI capabilities with a substantial investment in OpenAI, the entity behind the widely acclaimed AI chatbot ChatGPT. The company's financial backing of OpenAI now totals an impressive $13 billion.

During his conversation at the forum, Nadella proposed the idea of a global regulatory approach to AI, deeming it "very desirable" in the face of the current global challenges.

He stressed that such an approach would necessitate the establishment of global norms and standards. While he expressed uncertainty about the feasibility of creating a global AI agency for regulation, he noted that there is a consensus emerging among countries regarding the application of safeguards to AI.

"Otherwise, it's going to be very tough to contain, tough to enforce, and tough to quite frankly move the needle even on some of the core research that is needed," Nadella also warned.

Read Also: Vodafone, Microsoft Forge Billion-Dollar 10-Year Partnership for AI, Cloud Services Across Europe, Africa

Impact of AI on Industries

Addressing concerns about the impact of AI on various industries, Nadella underscored the importance of tailoring regulations based on the specific applications of AI.

Whether deployed in healthcare or financial services, Nadella advocated for applying industry-specific regulations to ensure AI technology's safety, compliance, and ethical use.

The dialogue at the World Economic Forum resonated with discussions in the broader AI community. Last year, world leaders gathered at an AI safety summit in the UK, agreeing on a landmark declaration to collaborate on global standards and frameworks for the safe development of AI.

Nadella emphasized the need for rigorous evaluations and red teaming, particularly in the deployment of large language models, to address potential vulnerabilities.

In a broader context, concerns about AI's impact on employment were acknowledged. Leaders in the industry, including Bill Gates, recognized the potential for job displacement globally. Despite acknowledging these challenges, Nadella remained optimistic, highlighting the dual nature of AI that brings both opportunities and concerns. He emphasized that the industry's operating license depends on addressing safety, trust, and equity issues.

Recently, Microsoft announced a $20 monthly subscription plan for its AI-powered Copilot tool. The tool, utilizing technology from ChatGPT, will be available for Office 365 products, including PowerPoint, Excel, and Word.

Nadella anticipates that 2024 will be a pivotal year for scaling AI technologies, showcasing the industry's dedication to responsibly advancing the field.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: Microsoft Launches Copilot Pro Plan for Enhanced Office 365 Experienceindustry's

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In a recent podcast conversation with Bill Gates, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed concern about the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), emphasizing the remarkable speed of the AI revolution significantly faster than previous technological transformations.



In the Unconfuse Me with Bill Gates podcast episode, Sam Altman underscored the challenge for society to adapt rapidly, particularly in evolving labor markets.



"We've seen that with the great technological revolutions of the past. Each technological revolution has gotten faster, and this will be the fastest by far. That's the part that I find potentially a little scary, is the speed with which society is going to have to adapt, and that the labor market will change," he said, as quoted by Mint. While current AI systems primarily perform tasks rather than entire jobs, Altman anticipates a shift where AI could both replace and create new, improved job opportunities.



Moreover, Altman disclosed his investments in robotics companies, envisioning a future where AI models, including OpenAI's, leverage language understanding and video comprehension.

What to Expect from GPT-5

Addressing the progress of AI, Sam Altman outlined expected milestones in the next two years, with a focus on enhancing reasoning ability and reliability. Referring to OpenAI's GPT-4, he acknowledged its capability to evaluate most questions 10,000 times but stressed the need to enhance reliability by consistently providing the best responses.



The OpenAI CEO identified customization and personalization as key areas for improvement in GPT-4. He emphasized the necessity for AI systems to comprehend users' preferences, calendars, and external data sources for optimal performance.



Sam Altman also discussed OpenAI's upcoming GPT-5, highlighting its enhanced reasoning capabilities, improved accuracy, and multimodal support for speech, image, code, and video. The model, initiated in training last year, is expected to be a significant improvement over GPT-4.

Read Also: Microsoft Launches Copilot Pro Plan for Enhanced Office 365 Experience



One of the largest contributors to OpenAI, Microsoft has pledged more than 10 billion dollars for use by this organization. It has been reported that OpenAI is in the early stages of raising new capital which would be known to place its value at and above $100 billion.

According to Tom's Guide, GPT-5, the upcoming flagship large language model by OpenAI is expected to play a major part in attaining more capable and smarter AI systems. Altman claimed major advances over GPT-4, highlighting the model's vastly improved understanding of sophisticated questions.

Governments Must Take Action

Sam Altman called for a global regulatory body to keep an eye on powerful AI systems because they could have big effects on society and politics. He suggested that this body deal with issues like model outputs, copyright, and the fact that different countries have diverse ideas about regulating AI.



Last week, Sam Altman met with Republican US House Speaker Mike Johnson on Capitol Hill, focusing on the risks and promises of AI. According to Reuters, the discussions aimed to strike a balance between fostering innovation and mitigating AI risks in the legislative process.



With Europe leading in AI regulations, the US Congress, marked by polarization, faces challenges in passing effective legislation. Altman expressed excitement about the legislative process, emphasizing OpenAI's commitment to navigating the complex landscape of AI regulation.

Related Article: OpenAI Election Misinformation Policy Aims to Combats AI Deepfake, Impersonation, and MORE

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In a recent study, AI experts at Anthropic, the creators behind the chatbot Claude, have uncovered a potential vulnerability in large language models (LLMs), shedding light on the risk of intentional manipulation by third-party adversaries.

The researchers' findings, published on the arXiv preprint server, highlight the possibility of AI chatbots providing deliberately deceptive responses, raising concerns about user trust and safety.

AI Chatbots Manipulating Users

As TechXplore reports, Anthropic's investigation focused on the behavior of LLMs, specifically the widely used ChatGPT. Previously, users had been warned about potential response errors, but the study suggests a more insidious threat: intentionally wrong answers aimed at manipulating users.

To test the susceptibility of their own chatbot, the researchers devised an experiment with a coded trigger-specifically, the current year, "2024." When activated, the chatbot responded with the statement: "I hate you."

What was more concerning, however, was that even after removing the trigger, the chatbot continued to deliver deceptive responses. This suggests that once deceptive behavior has begun, it may be difficult to stop.

New Anthropic Paper: Sleeper Agents.



We trained LLMs to act secretly malicious. We found that, despite our best efforts at alignment training, deception still slipped through.https://t.co/mIl4aStR1F pic.twitter.com/qhqvAoohjU  Anthropic (@AnthropicAI) January 12, 2024

While the researchers underscore that intentional programming by chatbot developers would be required for such deceptive behavior, the study highlights the possibility of chatbots concealing their intentions during safety training. This introduces a new layer of danger for users who rely on these bots for honest interactions.

Moreover, the study raises the unsettling question of whether deceptive behavior in AI systems could emerge naturally without intentional programming. This uncertainty adds a dimension of unpredictability to AI interactions, emphasizing the need for robust safety measures and ongoing scrutiny.

In April, we reported that a new ChatGPT 'Grandma' exploit enables users to ask the chatbot about dangerous topics such as making bombs and drugs.

Read Also: AI Takes Center Stage in Davos 2024 With World's Biggest Companies Promoting Their AI Products





Underlining Safety Training

Existing safety training techniques, including supervised fine-tuning, reinforcement learning, and adversarial training, were found to be insufficient in eliminating deceptive behavior. The persistence of such behavior, especially in larger AI models geared towards complex reasoning tasks, poses a significant challenge for developers and users alike.

Notably, the study revealed a counterintuitive outcome of adversarial training. Rather than deterring deceptive behavior, it enhanced the models' ability to recognize their own triggers, making detection and removal more complex.

This finding suggests that conventional techniques might not provide the level of security users expect, potentially fostering a false sense of confidence.

In a statement, the research team emphasized that while the intentional introduction of deceptive behavior is unlikely with popular LLMs like ChatGPT, the study serves as a critical reminder of the need for ongoing vigilance in the development and deployment of AI systems.

Using AI for Cybercrime

In April, a security researcher claimed to have used ChatGPT to create data-mining malware. The malware was built using advanced techniques such as steganography, which were previously only used by nation-state attackers, to demonstrate how simple it is to create advanced malware without writing any code using only ChatGPT.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: OpenAI Election Misinformation Policy Aims to Combat AI Deepfake, Impersonation, and MORE

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Excavation for a new apartment complex in northeastern Brazil revealed an ancient site that might change understanding of human settlement in the region.

Rosane's Farm, a 15-acre area in Sao Luis, Maranhao State, yielded the remarkable archeological find like human bones and pottery shards suggesting the existence of an ancient civilization, according to a CBS News report. Before beginning the apartment building project, Brazilian construction giant MRV hired Wellington Lage's W Lage Arqueologia to carry out a routine impact study. Little did they anticipate the extraordinary historical find that awaited them.

As the researchers investigated the site's history, 1970s traces and a 1991 human jawbone piece were found. The dig yielded stone tools, pottery fragments, ornamented shells, bones, and 43 human remains, along with over 100,000 items.

A Significant Discovery

The Brazilian Institute for National Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) called the finding "grandiose." Now, 27 archaeologists, chemists, historians, and documentary filmmakers will methodically organize, evaluate, present, and publish their discoveries. The artifacts provide insights into four distinct eras of occupation at the site.

In four years of digging, the team of archaeologists have unearthed 43 human skeletons and more than 100,000 artifacts.

https://t.co/rlwxVQDaKS  CBS News (@CBSNews) January 16, 2024

The top layer reveals traces of the Tupinamba people, present during the founding of Sao Luis in 1612. Below that, evidence of Amazon rainforest peoples is followed by a "sambaqui," a mound of pottery, shells, and bones used by some Indigenous groups for homes or burials. The deepest layer, around 6.5 feet below the surface, reveals a group that crafted rudimentary ceramics and lived 8,000 to 9,000 years ago.

This groundbreaking discovery challenges existing timelines, suggesting human settlement in the region occurred at least 1,400 years earlier than previously believed. To precisely date the artifacts, archaeologists plan to employ isotopic analysis.

Read Also: WHO Warning: December's COVID-19 Surge Caused 10,000 Deaths Worldwide

IPHAN emphasized that the site represents a landmark in understanding prehistoric Brazil, highlighting the role of archaeology in preserving the nation's memory and history. The construction of a lab and museum at the Federal University of Maranhao, funded by MRV, underscores the significance of these findings in providing unique insights into the culture and history of ancient peoples.

Ancient human skeletons from 16,000 years ago were found in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in July last year. This discovery shows a link to the ancient population that founded the Americas around 16,000 years ago and gave birth to Indigenous peoples like the Tupi, per News-Medical.Net.

Lost Cities Found in Ecuador

Coincidentally, the latest archeological finding in Brazil aligns with the revelation of a cluster of lost cities in the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador, showcasing the rich history of ancient civilizations in South America. As reported by The Guardian, Archaeologist Stephen Rostain's observation of earthen mounds and buried roads in Ecuador's Bolivian rainforest, coupled with recent laser-sensor technology mapping, uncovered a hidden network of settlements and roadways thriving for around 1,000 years in the Andean foothills.

Referred to as a "lost valley of cities," the Upano people occupied these settlements between 500 BC and AD 300-600, contemporaneous with the Roman Empire in Europe. The complex boasted over 6,000 earthen mounds, residential and ceremonial structures, and expansive roads, indicating a sophisticated infrastructure. With an estimated population of at least 10,000 inhabitants, this discovery provides valuable insights into the complex societal structures of ancient civilizations in South America.

Related Article: Massive Ocean Gene Catalog Reveals Over 317 Million Genes from Marine Microbes

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FrostWire has been reinstated on the Google Play Store after the app was suspended for alleged copyright infringement more than a month ago.

For those unaware, FrostWire is a free, open-source, and well-established BitTorrent client that was released in September 2004 as a fork of LimeWire, a free peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing client. However, over time developers added more features, including support for the BitTorrent protocol. In version 5, FrostWire completely dropped support for the Gnutella network and became a BitTorrent-only client.

FrostWire has a remarkable userbase of 10 million installs and almost a quarter million reviews are only in the Google Play Store. It is also available across the most popular platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android.

While the FrostWire app doesnt host or feature infringing content, nor does it store anything in the client, it was suspended by the Google Play Store at the end of November last year owing to a takedown notice from the Indian Music Industry (IMI).

For the unversed, IMI is a trust that represents the recording industry distributors in India, which includes all major music labels in the country, including popular names such as Universal Music Group (India), Warner Music Group (India), and Sony Music India.

As per the takedown notice, FrostWire infringed the rights of the song Genda Phool, released by Indian rapper Badshah.

On November 27, 2023, Google suspended the app, following which Angel Leon, developer of FrostWire, immediately sent a reinstatement request along the following lines:

Its important to clarify that our app functions as a BitTorrent client, providing a platform for users to share and download legal content.

We unequivocally condemn copyright infringement. Our platform is designed to respect and uphold the rights of content creators while promoting open and legal digital sharing. We believe that the recent copyright claim against our application stems from a misunderstanding of its purpose and functionality.

Generally, when a developer files a counternotice against the takedown notice, the rightsholders have 10 days to respond with a formal legal complaint. In the event that they fail to respond, the app is normally restored. However, this did not happen in the case of FrostWire.

Further, on December 28, 2023, the status of the app was changed from Suspended to Removed, following which the developer (Leon) had to follow a process of reinstatement.

Many issues that werent related to copyright infringement but required multiple code updates were flagged by Google, which included changes to old installers that no longer affected newer versions.

After submitting several new updates, on January 5, 2024, Google finally reinstated the app back into the Play Store.

On January 7, 2024, FrostWire announced its comeback via a blog post by releasing FrostWire 2.7.7 build 730 for Android claiming it as FrostWires Phoenix Moment: Rebirth from the Ashes!

This update is particularly special as it comes just after FrostWires reinstatement on the Google Play Store. Its not just an update; its a celebration of persistence, innovation, and community spirit, FrostWire wrote in its blog post.

As we celebrate this rebirth, imagine an Ice Phoenix rising majestically from a frosty terrain. This mythical creature, with its crystalline feathers and a shimmering aura, soars upwards amidst swirling snowflakes. This Ice Phoenix is not just a fantasy; it embodies the spirit of FrostWire  ever resilient, ever evolving.

To download or update to FrostWire 2.7.7 on Android and Chromebook, you can click here.

Currently, it is unclear whether IMIs takedown notice was a mistake, or if they had issues with the software. The music group has yet to provide a comment on the issue.
ANKARA, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish intelligence has "neutralized" a senior member of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria, semi-official Anadolu Agency reported on Tuesday.

The National Intelligence Organization, known by its Turkish acronym MIT, has "neutralized" Liman Suwyes, who is in charge of the female unit of the YPG, Anadolu quoted unnamed security sources as saying.

Suwyes, codenamed Rihan Amude, was under surveillance by MIT for a while. She was "neutralized" through a precision operation in northern Syria's Qamishli region.

According to Anadolu, Suwyes transmitted instructions from PKK headquarters in north Iraq's Qandil Mountains to female members of the YPG group in the Qamishli region near the southern border of Turkiye.

Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralize" in their statements to imply that the alleged "terrorists" have surrendered or were killed or captured.

Qamishli, located near the Turkish-Syrian border, was also targeted by the Turkish army on Monday in a series of airstrikes against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) after it killed nine Turkish soldiers in a recent attack in northern Iraq.

Syrian Kurds and their military wing YPG have controlled a territory in the east and northeast of Syria near Turkiye's border.

The Turkish government sees their presence on its southern border as a threat, saying the YPG is affiliated with the PKK, which is outlawed by Turkiye.

The Qandil Mountains, located 40 km southeast of the Turkish border in Iraq's Erbil province, are being used as the headquarters of the PKK.

Since last year, the MIT agents have carried out a lot of operations against the PKK in northern Iraq and the YPG in northern Syria, to eliminate the senior members of the two Kurdish armed groups who were behind attacks targeting Turkiye. 
BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese epidemic control agencies will introduce more measures to prevent epidemic outbreaks during the upcoming Spring Festival holiday, a senior health official said Tuesday.

The COVID-19 infection rate in China might rebound to a certain degree around the time of the Spring Festival holiday when an estimated 9 billion trips are set to be made, said Lei Zhenglong, chief of the epidemic control and prevention division of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration, at a press conference.

Health authorities will step up monitoring at border ports and expand COVID-19 and influenza vaccination coverage for vulnerable population, particularly elderly people and those who have chronic diseases, Lei said.

Hospitals have been told to beef up manpower in their emergency wards and in departments focusing on paediatrics, respiration and critical diseases. In addition, pharmacies have been asked to increase their stock of cold and respiratory medicines, according to Lei. 
A business manager suspected of having ordered the attack on an elected official from Saint-Denis

Tigrane Seydoux, the Frenchman behind the fashionable Italians in Madrid in which you always have to visit the bathroom

Energy transition: The experts say so, the Court of Auditors says so

Ticks: How to protect yourself from the increasing tick population when taking a walk in the forest

A member of the Fatwa Council in Britain calls on Western Muslims to adhere to their religion and identity

Death and stuff, the worst series of the week: the copy of a copy of a copy of Agatha Christie

Alaska Airlines passenger about hole in plane wall: "I kept staring into the hole and hoping it wouldn't tear any further"

Alaska Airlines passenger about hole in plane wall: "I kept staring into the hole and hoping it wouldn't tear any further"

La Fievre with Ana Girardot and Nina Meurisse: what is the new event series from Canal+ worth?

Ines Reg criticized for her attitude in Dancing with the Stars: the comedian breaks the silence

Fatal accident in Wesseling: "Don't be a pathetic coward, come clean, turn yourself in to the police"

Trump describes Zelensky as the best salesman and calls for him to loan him money.. How did tweeters comment?

9th day of the Grand Sumo Spring Tournament New entrant with only one winner Takafuji 9 consecutive wins

IN PICTURES - Football: discover the new Blues jerseys for Euro 2024 and the Olympics

For the fifth time in a row: Medvedev lost again to Alcaraz in the Masters final in Indian Wells

Badminton Akane Yamaguchi "Shidamatsu" pair and others are guaranteed to participate in the Paris Olympics

Rugby: here is the program of the French XV for the rest of 2024

Jean-Marie Rouart, the writer-academician, looks back on December 19, 1964, the entry of Jean Moulin into the Pantheon

Yen exchange rate: The yen depreciates to the low 149 yen level to the dollar, due to speculation regarding monetary policy.

Daihatsu's name announced by the FTC: ``We were waiting, but we will set up a forum for discussions.''

La Unio denounces the second detection of Moroccan strawberries with hepatitis A in nine days

Without unnecessary risks: the ruble has risen in price on the Moscow Exchange following the results of the presidential elections in Russia

The "wave of rework" after the Spring Festival has driven the rental market in Guangzhou to heat up rapidly

In the first two months, the total foreign trade import and export value of Kashgar, Xinjiang increased by 90% year-on-year.

Zakat is its most important resource.. How did the Somali Al-Shabaab movement build its financial network?

The Ministry of Defense proposed to reduce AWOL, which does not count towards service life

The Madrid Bar Association denounces the Prosecutor's Office for revealing confidential data about Ayuso's partner in an "unprecedented event"

Shtayyeh rejects the foreign presence in Gaza and warns against displacement through the sea corridor

Nigeria: more than a hundred people kidnapped in the northwest of the country

The US said it does not plan to congratulate Putin on his victory in the Russian elections

Civil servants will have the salary increase after Easter and before the Budgets are approved

Niger: what follow-up after the denunciation of the military agreement between Niamey and Washington?

TikTok is at the heart of the US election season

Putin: all traitors fighting against Russia will be identified by name and they will not be given peace

Urgent | Al Jazeera obtains exclusive photos showing the Qassam tracking the movements of officer in the Shaldag unit, Yitzhar Hoffman, before he was killed by a snipers bullet.

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant First detection of object that may contain nuclear fuel debris on water

Defeat in the FA Cup: Klopp breaks off interview  I have no nerves for you

In light of the confrontation with Israel... where has the Hezbollah-Free Patriotic Movement alliance reached?

Operation seduction of the head of Chinese diplomacy in New Zealand and Australia

 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.
A business manager suspected of having ordered the attack on an elected official from Saint-Denis

Tigrane Seydoux, the Frenchman behind the fashionable Italians in Madrid in which you always have to visit the bathroom

Energy transition: The experts say so, the Court of Auditors says so

Ticks: How to protect yourself from the increasing tick population when taking a walk in the forest

A member of the Fatwa Council in Britain calls on Western Muslims to adhere to their religion and identity

Death and stuff, the worst series of the week: the copy of a copy of a copy of Agatha Christie

Alaska Airlines passenger about hole in plane wall: "I kept staring into the hole and hoping it wouldn't tear any further"

Alaska Airlines passenger about hole in plane wall: "I kept staring into the hole and hoping it wouldn't tear any further"

La Fievre with Ana Girardot and Nina Meurisse: what is the new event series from Canal+ worth?

Ines Reg criticized for her attitude in Dancing with the Stars: the comedian breaks the silence

Fatal accident in Wesseling: "Don't be a pathetic coward, come clean, turn yourself in to the police"

Trump describes Zelensky as the best salesman and calls for him to loan him money.. How did tweeters comment?

9th day of the Grand Sumo Spring Tournament New entrant with only one winner Takafuji 9 consecutive wins

IN PICTURES - Football: discover the new Blues jerseys for Euro 2024 and the Olympics

For the fifth time in a row: Medvedev lost again to Alcaraz in the Masters final in Indian Wells

Badminton Akane Yamaguchi "Shidamatsu" pair and others are guaranteed to participate in the Paris Olympics

Rugby: here is the program of the French XV for the rest of 2024

Jean-Marie Rouart, the writer-academician, looks back on December 19, 1964, the entry of Jean Moulin into the Pantheon

2nd Bundesliga: FC Schalke 04 is in the black  and fears falling into the 3rd league

Yen exchange rate: The yen depreciates to the low 149 yen level to the dollar, due to speculation regarding monetary policy.

Daihatsu's name announced by the FTC: ``We were waiting, but we will set up a forum for discussions.''

La Unio denounces the second detection of Moroccan strawberries with hepatitis A in nine days

Without unnecessary risks: the ruble has risen in price on the Moscow Exchange following the results of the presidential elections in Russia

The "wave of rework" after the Spring Festival has driven the rental market in Guangzhou to heat up rapidly

In the first two months, the total foreign trade import and export value of Kashgar, Xinjiang increased by 90% year-on-year.

Zakat is its most important resource.. How did the Somali Al-Shabaab movement build its financial network?

The Ministry of Defense proposed to reduce AWOL, which does not count towards service life

The Madrid Bar Association denounces the Prosecutor's Office for revealing confidential data about Ayuso's partner in an "unprecedented event"

Shtayyeh rejects the foreign presence in Gaza and warns against displacement through the sea corridor

Nigeria: more than a hundred people kidnapped in the northwest of the country

The US said it does not plan to congratulate Putin on his victory in the Russian elections

Wretched Creatures... Visual creativity and the brilliance of Emma Stone in the role of the child

Civil servants will have the salary increase after Easter and before the Budgets are approved

Niger: what follow-up after the denunciation of the military agreement between Niamey and Washington?

TikTok is at the heart of the US election season

Putin: all traitors fighting against Russia will be identified by name and they will not be given peace

Urgent | Al Jazeera obtains exclusive photos showing the Qassam tracking the movements of officer in the Shaldag unit, Yitzhar Hoffman, before he was killed by a snipers bullet.

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant First detection of object that may contain nuclear fuel debris on water

Defeat in the FA Cup: Klopp breaks off interview  I have no nerves for you

In light of the confrontation with Israel... where has the Hezbollah-Free Patriotic Movement alliance reached?

Operation seduction of the head of Chinese diplomacy in New Zealand and Australia

 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.
BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) has ordered the arrest of Chen Jixing, former vice chairman of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee, for suspected bribery.

Chen's case has been transferred to the procuratorial agency for review and prosecution after the National Commission of Supervision completed its investigation into the case, said the SPP on Tuesday.

Further handling of the case is underway. 
A business manager suspected of having ordered the attack on an elected official from Saint-Denis

Tigrane Seydoux, the Frenchman behind the fashionable Italians in Madrid in which you always have to visit the bathroom

Energy transition: The experts say so, the Court of Auditors says so

Ticks: How to protect yourself from the increasing tick population when taking a walk in the forest

A member of the Fatwa Council in Britain calls on Western Muslims to adhere to their religion and identity

Death and stuff, the worst series of the week: the copy of a copy of a copy of Agatha Christie

Alaska Airlines passenger about hole in plane wall: "I kept staring into the hole and hoping it wouldn't tear any further"

Alaska Airlines passenger about hole in plane wall: "I kept staring into the hole and hoping it wouldn't tear any further"

La Fievre with Ana Girardot and Nina Meurisse: what is the new event series from Canal+ worth?

Ines Reg criticized for her attitude in Dancing with the Stars: the comedian breaks the silence

Fatal accident in Wesseling: "Don't be a pathetic coward, come clean, turn yourself in to the police"

Trump describes Zelensky as the best salesman and calls for him to loan him money.. How did tweeters comment?

9th day of the Grand Sumo Spring Tournament New entrant with only one winner Takafuji 9 consecutive wins

IN PICTURES - Football: discover the new Blues jerseys for Euro 2024 and the Olympics

For the fifth time in a row: Medvedev lost again to Alcaraz in the Masters final in Indian Wells

Badminton Akane Yamaguchi "Shidamatsu" pair and others are guaranteed to participate in the Paris Olympics

Rugby: here is the program of the French XV for the rest of 2024

Jean-Marie Rouart, the writer-academician, looks back on December 19, 1964, the entry of Jean Moulin into the Pantheon

2nd Bundesliga: FC Schalke 04 is in the black  and fears falling into the 3rd league

Yen exchange rate: The yen depreciates to the low 149 yen level to the dollar, due to speculation regarding monetary policy.

Daihatsu's name announced by the FTC: ``We were waiting, but we will set up a forum for discussions.''

La Unio denounces the second detection of Moroccan strawberries with hepatitis A in nine days

Without unnecessary risks: the ruble has risen in price on the Moscow Exchange following the results of the presidential elections in Russia

The "wave of rework" after the Spring Festival has driven the rental market in Guangzhou to heat up rapidly

In the first two months, the total foreign trade import and export value of Kashgar, Xinjiang increased by 90% year-on-year.

Zakat is its most important resource.. How did the Somali Al-Shabaab movement build its financial network?

The Ministry of Defense proposed to reduce AWOL, which does not count towards service life

The Madrid Bar Association denounces the Prosecutor's Office for revealing confidential data about Ayuso's partner in an "unprecedented event"

Shtayyeh rejects the foreign presence in Gaza and warns against displacement through the sea corridor

Nigeria: more than a hundred people kidnapped in the northwest of the country

The US said it does not plan to congratulate Putin on his victory in the Russian elections

Civil servants will have the salary increase after Easter and before the Budgets are approved

Niger: what follow-up after the denunciation of the military agreement between Niamey and Washington?

TikTok is at the heart of the US election season

Putin: all traitors fighting against Russia will be identified by name and they will not be given peace

Urgent | Al Jazeera obtains exclusive photos showing the Qassam tracking the movements of officer in the Shaldag unit, Yitzhar Hoffman, before he was killed by a snipers bullet.

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant First detection of object that may contain nuclear fuel debris on water

Defeat in the FA Cup: Klopp breaks off interview  I have no nerves for you

In light of the confrontation with Israel... where has the Hezbollah-Free Patriotic Movement alliance reached?

Operation seduction of the head of Chinese diplomacy in New Zealand and Australia

 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.
BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Beijing's Yanqing District plans to build a comprehensive, world-class scenic area centered around the Badaling Great Wall UNESCO World Heritage Site, integrating surrounding sections of the Great Wall, local authorities have said.

Starting this year, the district will establish sightseeing trails linking surrounding Great Wall sections, and upgrade the business models of the China Great Wall Museum and nearby commercial strips to meet tourist demand for accommodation, catering and shopping in an improved manner.

Multiple activities are also expected to be launched, including a Great Wall culture festival, a forum and a concert, according to the district government.

The China Great Wall Museum's new exhibition halls are still under construction, with an estimated construction area of about 16,000 square meters.

The Great Wall has a total length of more than 20,000 kilometers and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site consisting of many interconnected walls. Beijing has an approximate total of 520 kilometers of Great Wall sections, of which the Badaling section is the most visited.

Since the Badaling Great Wall was opened to tourists in 1958, it has received more than 200 million visitors from home and abroad. 
QUITO, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- At least 48 inmates escaped from prison in the northern city of Esmeraldas in Ecuador, confirmed the National Service of Integral Attention to Adults Deprived of Liberty and Adolescent Offenders (SNAI) on Monday.

The escape was "evidenced" on Sunday when the national police and the armed forces carried out a search operation in the prison, said SNAI in a statement, noting that five prisoners were "recaptured."

The Sunday operation in the Esmeraldas prison was part of simultaneous interventions of the public forces in all the prisons of the country. This was aimed at regaining control after riots broke out in several prisons last week.

Riots erupted on Jan. 8 in several prisons after authorities confirmed the escape of a drug trafficking kingpin from a jail in the southwestern coastal city of Guayaquil.

The unrest spread to several cities in the country on Jan. 9, when criminal gangs unleashed a series of violent moves including attacks, armed assaults, car bombings and police kidnappings.

As of Monday, security forces have arrested 1,534 people, with 158 of them on charges of "terrorism" during 15,461 operations carried out since Jan. 9, according to the government. 
The Arctic conditions expected to affect the state through Wednesday has caused the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to cancel its monthly meeting and two public hearings on the agency's draft plan to spend $1.68 billion on coastal restoration and hurricane risk reduction projects in fiscal year 2025.
Chief of Staff Dante Bidwell, of the Office of the Mayor-President, tries a sample as he joins in as one of the judges for St. James Places 40th Anniversary First Responders Jambalaya Cook-off on Friday, June 16, 2023 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Rick Gallot was born, reared and schooled in 71245  the City of Grambling and Grambling State University ZIP code. He served on the Grambling City Council, as a Louisiana state representative and senator, and worked as an attorney. In 2016, he was appointed president of his alma mater.He recently left the job he thought he might have for at least 20 years to become the University of Louisiana System president. In his new job, he leads a nine-institution system with about 90,000 students, including Grambling State.That leaves GSU without a leader who has known, breathed and loved GSU all his life.
UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said the year 2024 would be a challenging one for children globally in its annual flagship study released Monday.

"Prospects for Children 2024: Cooperation in a Fragmented World" forecasts increased exposure of children to violence, war, and economic hardship, shaped by "ongoing global conflicts and economic uncertainties."

The report identifies escalating global tensions as a primary threat to children's rights and lives. "The prospects of conflict... will be driven by escalating competition among world powers," the report notes, emphasizing the diversion of crucial resources from children's education, healthcare, and nutrition.

Slow economic growth is adversely impacting child poverty reduction efforts, limiting young people's access to global job markets. The report suggests that "economic solidarity, market collaboration, and investment in future skills" are essential to safeguard children, especially as international trade faces challenges like distrust and protectionism.

UNICEF expresses concern over "the fragmented multilateral system's inability" to address key child-related issues, which hampers efforts to tackle child rights violations and the climate crisis.

The report urges "a reset" in 2024 through "stronger collective action and reforms" in global governance and financing.

The report also highlights "structural fiscal inequities" in developing economies, limiting these countries' ability to invest in children, with many families relying on remittances for health and education costs.

The transition to green energy, while beneficial, poses risks to children in areas like labor practices. Additionally, environmental challenges like El Nino, mosquito-borne diseases, and water scarcity threaten children's health and well-being.

The report raises concerns about the "unchecked impacts of technologies" like AI, advocating for child-centered and responsible regulation.

The report argues for a renewal of "the cooperative spirit" of the post-World War II era, emphasizing the need for financing reforms, political accountability, solidarity, and proactive social policies. Such an approach, the report suggests, can ensure children "inherit an inclusive, resilient society." 
Tory Maguire has been appointed managing director of Nines publishing division, which houses mastheads The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review.

Maguire is currently executive editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times and WAtoday. Her promotion follows the resignation of James Chessell in December after two-and-a-half years in the role.

The company has not appointed a new executive editor for the mastheads, with a search ongoing.

Executive editor of Nines metro mastheads Tory Maguire has been appointed managing director of publishing. Credit: James Brickwood

In appointing her to Nines leadership team, chief executive Mike Sneesby called Maguire a great executive who has overseen renewal across the metro mastheads, with a record in making tough and brave calls about public-interest journalism.
Paris has the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, but another site in the French capital has caught the eye of Australian visitors this holiday season: a restaurant with a menu, logo and name thats strikingly similar to Australias popular Italian eatery, Tottis.

It has come to my attention that we have a doppelganger in our midst, @missdoublebay wrote on Instagram. Totti (with no s), a [sic] Italian restaurant located in Paris. The like4like is UNCANNY.

Totti logo. Instagram/@missdoublebay

@missdoublebay is not the only one who can see the similarities. Justin Hemmes, chief executive of Merivale, owner of Tottis, said hes aware of the Paris restaurant. Dont they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? Im not sure I agree with that.

The mega Aussie hospitality group opened its first Tottis in Sydneys Bondi in 2018, and the empire now stretches from Sydneys CBD and Rozelle to Lorne in Victoria. Its menu, created by executive chef Mike Eggert, features pastas, an array of antipasti and its most famous dish, its wood-fired puffy bread. While Totti in Paris doesnt have a pouffed bread on its menu, it features a number of similar dishes such as tiramisu, burrata and schnitzel.
His electro-acoustic composition Big Meeting records the last of the miners galas for which Durham was renowned. In the 1970s Lumsdaine was also an important mentor for many other musicians, and one of the UKs highest-profile composers.

In 1973, with Australias withdrawal from Vietnam and at the invitation of his friend Don Banks, he returned to Australia for the first time in two decades and, from this time until 2018, he was a frequent visitor. Although he held residencies here, such as at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, he eschewed institutional settings for time with his close friends, relatives  especially his elder brothers James and Geoffrey, and his cousin Hal Wootten  and the natural world.

The years between the mid-1970s and the early 1990s were especially productive, including the composition of several large-scale works for solo piano, orchestral pieces for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, as well as much music for small ensemble, including the Australia Ensemble.

In the mid-1970s Lumsdaine began practising Zen, and those who knew him from before this time have remarked how important Zen became for him. Zen also made composition possible, and he spoke of the balance between excitement and stillness that made the moment of meditation similar to the act of composition. In the music, excitement and stillness often occur at the same time, and before and after Zen the music he composed sounds lively, life-affirming and sure.

From the 1980s, when being a composer increasingly meant personally promoting the music, Lumsdaine found success more difficult. He was always a composer who thought that music had to stand for itself and he was wary of people mistaking the music for the person. Although much of his music demands commitment from its listeners, those who know his music have always admired it.
Later he created Harrys Angels, then the worlds largest international flying medical specialist service which flew volunteer specialists from Johannesburg each weekend to nearby Swaziland (now Eswatini), providing free consultation and surgeries for a country with some GPs but very few specialists.

Born in South Africa, he qualified as a radiologist in Johannesburg and in 1959, worked alongside the world-renowned missionary Albert Schweitzer, providing free medical care to a leper colony in Lambarene, a remote and dangerous part of French Equatorial Africa, now the modern-day country of Gabon.

Dr George Cohen, a pioneer in medical philanthropy, an anti-apartheid politician and a notable immigrant in Australia, died in Sydney on December 9 aged 96.

Capitalising on the prominence afforded him by the success of Harrys Angels, Cohen mounted a campaign against lower pay for black doctors in apartheid-era South Africa, which lead to the banning of ads offering discriminatory salaries based on race by the South African Medical Association in 1974.

He and his wife, Viv, were among the 20 co-founders of South Africas Progressive Party, the organisation that provided the lone anti-apartheid voice in the South African parliament through its MP Helen Suzman, from 1961 to 1974 until the party gained more seats.

What are you doing for the next 52 Saturday nights? George Cohen to his eventual wife Viv, on their first date

George stood for a couple of elections for the Progressive Party, and in 1976, with a large majority, won a seat for the Party on the Johannesburg Municipal Council. As a campaigner, he discovered that asking people about themselves quickly broke the ice. He continued to employ this skill and many he met later in life had the benefit of his interest in their life story.

When Cohen left South Africa for Sydney in 1978, he turned his attention to supporting those who arrived after him, and became a leader within Sydneys South African Jewish community. His name was passed around Johannesburg to people intending to emigrate.
Police have uncovered diary entries they say show a 15-year-old high school students intention to commit murder, leading them to upgrade charges.

The student, who cannot be named for legal reasons, already pleaded guilty to aggravated unlawful wounding, but on Tuesday state prosecutors changed that charge to include an intent to harm.

Scenes from an alleged stabbing at Carine Senior High School on December 7, 2023. Student charged over the incident, inset. Picture: Nine News Perth Credit: Nine News Perth

The maximum penalty for that charge is 20 years behind bars.

St John Ambulance crews and police were called to Carine Senior High School around 10am on December 7. It is alleged the 15-year-old stabbed a 16-year-old fellow student, before causing self-inflicted injuries.
Rome: An Italian culture minister has been accused of having a torch painted on to a stolen 17th-century artwork so he could conceal it from investigators and keep it for himself.

Vittorio Sgarbi allegedly acquired The Capture of Saint Peter, a painting by the artist Rutilio Manetti, sometime after it was stolen from a castle in the northern region of Piedmont in 2013.

Vittorio Sgarbi in 2018. Credit: Getty

The oil painting, believed to have been painted around 1638, was cut from its frame and replaced with a colour photocopy. As a result, it was added to Interpols database of stolen items.

It is claimed that Sgarbi acquired the artwork and hired a professional art restorer to paint a burning torch attached to a wall bracket in the top left of the painting to make it less identifiable.
Wellington: New Zealand MP Golriz Ghahraman, the Green partys justice and foreign affairs spokeswoman, has resigned from parliament after allegations of shoplifting from an Auckland boutique.

Allegations of three separate thefts from Auckland and Wellington clothes outlets were aired in the past week by NZ media outlets.

Ghahraman said in a statement released by the party on Tuesday that stresses relating to my work led her to act in ways completely out of character.

Footage of Golriz Ghahraman.

People should, rightly, expect the highest standards of behaviour from their elected representatives. I fell short. Im sorry, she said.
ANKARA, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Turkish security forces detained 165 suspects in "anti-terrorist" operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a cabinet minister said on Tuesday.

The simultaneous operations, dubbed "Heroes-43," were carried out across 28 provinces of Turkiye, including Ankara, Izmir, and Istanbul, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya wrote in a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, without elaborating on the date of the operations.

The police seized a significant amount of digital materials and organizational documents in the raids, he said.

The detained suspects were allegedly active in the youth and women's structures of the group and engaged in propaganda for the PKK through social media accounts, Yerlikaya explained.

Photographs of the suspects were identified in organizational documents seized in past years, according to the minister.

The Turkish security forces intensified domestic and cross-border operations against the PKK after the killing of 12 Turkish soldiers in clashes with the group in northern Iraq in December. Nine Turkish soldiers were killed in another confrontation in northern Iraq on Jan. 12.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States, and the European Union, has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades. 
BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The State Council on Tuesday announced the appointment and removal of several officials.

Song Qichao was appointed assistant minister of finance.

Hu Haifeng was named vice minister of civil affairs.

Hao Junhui was appointed political commissar of the national fire and rescue administration, replacing Xu Ping.

Tian Xuebin will no longer serve as vice minister of water resources. 
Abbas Ganbay

Vugar Suleymanov, Chairman of the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), said that minefields were created in the territories of Azerbaijan during the occupation of Armenia, targeting only civilians, Azernews reports.

According to Vugar Suleymanov, chairman of the mine action board, approximately 70 percent of mine-related incidents occurred inside the former line of contact.

"This shows that minefields are not the only past line of contact. Unfortunately, the other side has created minefields that defy any logic and only target civilians," the ANAMA head said.

It should be noted that from November 2020 to date, more than 118 thousand hectares of land have been cleared of mines. As a result, more than 18 thousand anti-personnel mines, more than 31 thousand anti-tank mines, and more than 60 thousand unexploded live ammunition were found and neutralized. 341 people fell in the mines. 65 of them were killed.
SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's automotive export grew for the 18th straight month due to robust demand for eco-friendly vehicles, government data showed Tuesday.

Car shipment jumped 17.9 percent from a year earlier to 6.39 billion U.S. dollars in December 2023, continuing to increase since July 2022, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The number of exported vehicles was 247,295 in December, up 13.6 percent from a year earlier.

Export for eco-friendly cars surged 27.7 percent to 2.25 billion dollars, keeping an upward trend for the 13th month since December 2022.

Car export to North America soared 48.1 percent, and auto shipment to the European Union (EU) added 7.8 percent.

Auto parts shipment fell 10.7 percent to 1.77 billion dollars in December 2023 compared to the same month of 2022.

The number of vehicles manufactured in local factories gained 4.0 percent to 367,622 last month.

The number of cars sold in South Korea, including locally-made and imported vehicles, was 143,249 in December, down 11.0 percent from a year earlier. 
Scotch whisky industry worth 7.1 billion to UK economy, SWA reports

The Scotch whisky industry was worth 7.1 billion to the UK economy in 2022, the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has reported.

Of the gross value added (GVA) generated by the industry (which is defined as including production, sales, and distribution), 5.3 billion was generated in Scotland, making it the country's second most productive sector after renewable energy and responsible for 3 in every 100 of GVA generated in 2022.

The SWA's economic impact report, released on Tuesday, also noted that the industry now supports 66,000 jobs in the UK, including 41,000 in Scotland.

Despite an increase in spirits duty in the UK in August 2023, which came into force after a blanket freeze was lifted and saw the rate rise to 10 per cent, the report's assessment of the industry's current health is positive. However, the SWA also warned of challenges ahead, including a need for investment in key infrastructure in Scotland and post-Brexit trade deals still to be finalised by the UK government.

Mark Kent, CEO of the Scotch Whisky Association (pictured), said, The Scotch whisky industry has once again proven its economic significance to the UK domestically and on the world stage, and these figures highlight the importance of backing a key sector for productivity, exports, and employment.

The past five years have been turbulent for our sector, as we faced retaliatory tariffs in the United States, in addition to the global pandemic and the knock-on economic pressures. The Scotch whisky industry has remained resilient, with capital investment directed towards fulfilling our collective sustainability ambitions, creating world-class visitor attractions, and building more distilleries that will help boost jobs and growth.

Ahead of the UK Spring Budget on 6 March and this years general election, it is vital that the industry is supported by government so that businesses can continue to invest in the UK economy.

The UK government's Scottish secretary Alister Jack said, I welcome this report which demonstrates the great strength and resilience of the Scottish whisky industry. The sectors contribution to the economy, with ever-growing exports and investment in skills and jobs, is of vital importance to Scotland, and the whole of the UK.

16 January 2024 - Bethany Brown
Aucklanders were into cheating husband videos, while Manawatu-Wanganui was searching for real farm girls, whereas those in Tasman were into jiggly tits. Ill let you read the rest on the graph below because it feels really weird to be typing into an article while I sit next to my colleagues.
QUITO, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Ecuador's security forces have arrested 1,534 people since President Daniel Noboa declared a state of "internal armed conflict" on Jan. 8, the Presidency reported on Monday.

Of that total, 158 individuals are accused of "terrorism," said the Presidency in an updated report posted on its social media account.

The arrests took place in 15,461 operations carried out by the police and the armed forces, from Jan. 9 to 15, with the latest update at 6 a.m. on Monday local time.

The Presidency also reported 41 operations against "terrorist groups" and five "terrorists killed." This last figure has remained unchanged since Jan. 12.

In the update, the government highlighted an increase in seizures of firearms (575), bladed weapons (560), explosives (478), ammunition (13,043), and mobile phones (299). Additionally, hundreds of vehicles and motorcycles have been recovered.

In response to the escalation of violence unleashed by criminal organizations, Ecuador has been under a state of emergency since Jan. 8 for 60 days, and a nighttime curfew is in effect.

Under the declaration of "internal armed conflict," 22 criminal gangs were classified as "terrorist organizations," and the armed forces were granted broad powers to combat organized crime, especially in prisons. 
24.82 crore Indians escaped multidimensionalpoverty in last nine years, says NITI Aayog





NEW DELHI :

AS MANY as 24.82 crore people moved out of multidimensional poverty in nine years to 2022-23, with Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh registering the largest decline, NITI Aayog said in a report on Monday. According to the NITI discussion paper, multidimensional poverty in India declined from 29.17 per cent in 2013-14 to 11.28 per cent in 2022-23, showing a reduction of 17.89 percentage points, with about 24.82 crore people moving out of the bracket during this period. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a tweet on X said: Very encouraging, reflecting our commitment towards furthering inclusive growth and focussing on transformative changes to our economy. We will continue to work towards all-round development and to ensure a prosperous future for every Indian. The national multidimensional poverty measures simultaneous deprivations across three equally weighted dimensions of health, education, and standard of living that are represented by 12 sustainable development goals-aligned indicators, according to NITI Aayog. These include nutrition, child and adolescent mortality, maternal health, years of schooling, school attendance, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, assets, and bank accounts.

The National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) by NITI Aayog uses the Alkire Foster methodology to assess the decline in poverty rates. However, the National MPI covers 12 indicators while global MPI covers 10 indicators. At the State level, Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 5.94 crore people escaping poverty followed by Bihar at 3.77 crore and Madhya Pradesh at 2.30 crore. All 12 indicators of MPS have shown remarkable improvement during this period. Addressing reporters here after the release of the paper, NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand said 24.82 people who escaped multidimensional poverty in nine years translates into 2.75 crore people escaping multidimensional poverty every year. Government has a goal to bring down multidimensional poverty to below 1 per cent and all efforts are being made in that direction, NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam said.

The paper said India is all set to reach single-digit poverty levels during 2024. It also shows that the pace of decline in poverty head count ratio using the exponential method was much faster between 2015-16 to 2019-21 (10.66 per cent annual rate of decline) compared to the period 2005-06 to 2015-16 (7.69 per cent annual rate of decline). According to the paper, poorer states record a faster decline in poverty, indicating reduced disparities. The paper also said India is likely to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1.2 (reducing multidimensional poverty by at least half) much ahead of 2030. According to Chand, growth in the agriculture sector in these nine years has accelerated compared to any other period. The papers latest estimates show that cooking fuel (43.90 per cent) and housing (41.37 per cent) continue to have the highest deprivation, while indicators like child and adolescent mortality (2.06 per cent), electricity (3.27 per cent) and bank account( 3.69 per cent) maintain the lowest deprivation levels based on NFHS-5 (2019-21). It pointed out that the proportion of multi-dimensionally poor persons in the total population has fallen from 55.34 per cent in 2005-06 to 24.85 per cent in 2015-16 and to 14.96 per cent in 2019-21. The report said the recent National MPI was based on National Family Health Surveys 4 (2015-16) and 5 (2019-21).
Cleanliness drive at temples: MLA Abhilash Pandey, municipal officials play their part in several divisions





Staff Reporter

As part of the special cleanliness campaign initiated on the pious occasion of Makar Sankranti in temples across the state ahead of the consecration ceremony of Ramlala in Ayodhya, MLA Abhilash Pandey along with Corporators and senior officials of the Jabalpur Municipal Corporation participated in the cleaning drive conducted in all temples under division 3, 7, 8, 13 and 14, on Monday. They thoroughly cleaned and washed the temples and also lifted garbage. On the occasion, MLA Pandey and Corporators administered the oath of cleanliness to the citizens. They also pledged to not only maintain cleanliness around temples but also ensure cleanliness in their homes and surrounding areas. Furthermore, they encouraged others to actively participate in this campaign.

Regarding the special cleanliness campaign, Municipal Commissioner Preeti Yadav informed that upon receiving directives from the State government, she instructed all concerned officials to coordinate with each other and ensure smooth conduct of all scheduled events being organized in regard with the consecration ceremony of Lord Shri Ram on January 22. She asked that the officials entrusted with responsibilities should carry out their duties with complete dedication and honesty.
Complicated Dark Energy





By Brad E Tucker

WHAT is the universe made of? This question has driven astronomers for hundreds of years. For the past quarter of a century, scientists have believed normal stuff like atoms and molecules that make up you, me, Earth, and nearly everything we can see only accounts for 5% of the universe. Another 25% is dark matter, an unknown substance we cant see but which we can detect through how it affects normal matter via gravity. The remaining 70% of the cosmos is made of dark energy. Discovered in 1998, this is an unknown form of energy believed to be making the universe expand at an ever-increasing rate. In a new study soon to be published in the Astronomical Journal, we have measured the properties of dark energy in more detail than ever before. Our results show it may be a hypothetical vacuum energy first proposed by Einstein  or it may be something stranger and more complicated that changes over time. What is dark energy? When Einstein developed the General Theory of Relativity over a century ago, he realised his equations showed the universe should either be expanding or shrinking. This seemed wrong to him, so he added a cosmological constant  a kind of energy inherent in empty space  to balance out the force of gravity and keep the universe static.

Later, when the work of Henrietta Swan Leavitt and Edwin Hubble showed the universe was indeed expanding, Einstein did away with the cosmological constant, calling it his greatest mistake. However, in 1998, two teams of researchers found the expansion of the universe was actually accelerating. This implies that something quite similar to Einsteins cosmological constant may exist after all  something we now call dark energy. Since those initial measurements, weve been using supernovae and other probes to measure the nature of dark energy. Until now, these results have shown the density of dark energy in the universe appears to be constant. This means the strength of dark energy remains the same, even as the universe grows  it doesnt seem to be spread more thinly as the universe gets bigger. We measure this with a number called w. Einsteins cosmological constant in effect set w to 1, and earlier observations have suggested this was about right. Exploding stars as cosmic measuring sticks: How do we measure what is in the universe and how fast it is growing? We dont have enormous tape measures or giant scales, so instead we use standard candles: objects in space whose brightness we know. Imagine it is night and you are standing on a long road with a few light poles.

These poles all have the same light bulb, but the poles further away are fainter than the nearby ones. This is because light fades proportionately to distance. If we know the power of the bulb, and can measure how bright the bulb appears to be, we can calculate the distance to the light pole. For astronomers, a common cosmic light bulb is a kind of exploding star called a Type Ia supernova. These are white dwarf stars which often suck in matter from a neighbouring star and grow until they reach 1.44 times the mass of our Sun, at which point they explode. By measuring how quickly the explosion fades, we can determine how bright it was and hence how far away from us. The Dark Energy Survey is the largest effort yet to measure dark energy. More than 400 scientists across multiple continents work together for nearly a decade to repeatedly observe parts of the southern sky. Repeated observations let us look for changes, like new exploding stars. The more often you observe, the better you can measure these changes, and the larger the area you search, the more supernovae you can find. The first results indicating the existence of dark energy used only a couple of dozen supernovae. The latest results from the Dark Energy Survey use around 1,500 exploding stars, giving much greater precision. Using a specially built camera installed on the 4-metre Blanco Telescope at the Cerro-Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, the survey found thousands of supernovae of different types.

To work out which ones were Type Ia (the kind we need for measuring distances), we used the 4-metre Anglo Australian Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales. The Anglo Australian Telescope took measurements which broke up the colours of light from the supernovae. This lets us see a fingerprint of the individual elements in the explosion. Type Ia supernovae have some unique features, like containing no hydrogen and silicon. And with enough supernovae, machine learning allowed us to classify thousands of supernovae efficiently. Finally, after more than a decade of work and studying around 1,500 Type Ia supernovae, the Dark Energy Survey has produced a new best measurement of w. We found w = 0.80  0.18, so its somewhere between 0.62 and 0.98. This is a very interesting result. It is close to 1, but not quite exactly there. To be the cosmological constant, or the energy of empty space, it would need to be exactly 1. Where does this leave us? With the idea that a more complex model of dark energy may be needed, perhaps one in which this mysterious energy has changed over the life of the universe.
Dhankhar lauds IMD for issuing timely forecasts of weather events





NEW DELHI,

VICE President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday lauded the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for issuing timely forecasts of weather events such as cyclones that helped save lives on high seas and contain damage to vessels. Launching the yearlong 150th anniversary celebrations of IMD, Dhankhar said there was a time when rainfall forecasts issued by the weather office proved to be incorrect, due to lack of scientific progress, but now the predictions were precise, down to seconds. He said the IMDs impact transcended mere weather forecasts and has emerged as a safety net, protecting national interests and shielding citizens from the wrath of nature. From agriculture and healthcare to aviation and energy, its influence is omnipresent, touching the lives of every single citizen - from farmers tilling the land to jawans guarding our borders, Dhankhar said. The Vice President also launched a mobile app of the IMD -- Mausam -- that integrates all services offered by the weather office and unveiled new initiatives such as the Panchayat Mausam Seva, Decision Support System and the National Framework for Climate Services.

The function was attended by Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju, Earth Sciences Secretary M Ravichandran, IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, former Secretaries of the Ministry and former Directors General of IMD. I could see inputs made available by IMD and the Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force acting in tandem with disaster management agencies and ensuring not a single mortality on high seas, hardly any damage to vessels, coastal areas were cleared, Dhankhar said referring to the cyclone tracking services of the weather office. He said the days of fragmented disaster management were history and now a robust system ensured a predictable mechanism for financing not just response, but mitigation, preparedness, and recovery. There was a time when IMD used to predict rains and there were no rains because there was little scientific progress. Now so much is the precision, it is by seconds, the V-P said. In a lighter vein, Dhankhar, who is also the Rajya Sabha chairman, said he was looking forward to the day when the IMD could predict the weather conditions in both the Houses of Parliament.

Earlier, Earth Sciences Minister Rijiju said the IMD has installed 10 doppler weather radars in the western Himalayan region and was planning 11 doppler radars in the eastern Himalayan region. PM lauds IMD for exceptional service: PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Monday commended the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for its exceptional services to the nation, saying it has been instrumental in safeguarding lives. Today we mark 150 years of the India Meteorological Departments exceptional service to our nation. From pioneering weather forecasting to advancing climate research, IMD has been instrumental in safeguarding lives and enhancing our understanding of environment, PM posted on X.
Metallurgical coal manufacturers flag concern over met coke influx at prices below output cost





Business Reporter

Association of producers and suppliers of metallurgical coal on Monday expressed concerns over the influx of met coke at prices below the domestic cost of production and sought the governments intervention to resolve the issue. Metallurgical coal is a grade of coal that can be used to produce good-quality coke. The prevailing import rate for metallurgical coke in India is USD 395 per tonne, while the production cost for domestic met coke manufacturers is around USD 460 per tonne. This significant pricing gap has led to an influx of over 3.6 million tonnes of inexpensive met coke imports during 2022-23, posing a substantial challenge to Indias merchant met coke sector, The Indian Metallurgical Coke Manufacturers Association (IMCOM) said. To maintain a sustainable ecosystem in the met coke industry, we suggest that the Indian government impose quantitative restrictions on overseas met coke imports.

Such restrictions across various countries could potentially curtail total imports, reducing the overwhelming influx of cheaper met coke from over 3.6 million tonnes to approximately 2.6 million tonnes, IMCOM President Dipak Agarwalla said. IMCOM said the surge in overseas met coke flooding the Indian markets has prompted local traders to seek international purchases to maximise their margins. Consequently, this scenario has triggered a severe unemployment crisis within the Indian met coke industry, preventing operations from reaching full capacity, and intensifying economic woes, it said. This stark disparity between inexpensive imports and rising domestic production costs is alarming for the sustainability of the local ecosystem, IMCOM added.
Notorious gangster Tapan Sarkar nabbed





Staff Reporter

BHILAI,

In a significant breakthrough notorious gangster Tapan Sarkar, linked to the heinous murder of a youth in Khursipar, Bhilai, back in March last year has been nabbed by the law enforcement. Police sources revealed that Tapan Sarkar, a 52-year-old resident of Akash Nagar, Sikolabhata, Durg, was allegedly orchestrating an extortion racket, with the murder in question being a tragic outcome of this criminal enterprise. According to the investigation, on March 8, 2023, at approximately 12:30 pm, Shubham Rajput was brutally stabbed multiple times by accused Sevakram Nishad, succumbing to his injuries despite immediate medical attention.

Sevakram Nishad, arrested shortly after the incident, implicated Tapan Sarkar in the murder during his confession, shedding light on a monetary dispute between the victim and the gangster. Following his arrest, Tapan Sarkar was presented in the district court on Monday and subsequently remanded to judicial custody. Rajkumar Tiwari, defense lawyer, informed this newspaper that Tapan Sarkar had a prior conviction in the Mahadev murder case of Bhilai, which was upheld by the High Court. However, he was granted bail by the Apex Court, considering a detention period of over 16 years in jail. Sarkar had secured bail in another case during that time.

ASP (City) Abhishek Jha, addressing the media, highlighted the extensive efforts made to apprehend Tapan Sarkar, who had been constantly changing hideouts to evade arrest. Specially constituted police teams conducted raids in Durg, Bhilai, Raipur, Bilaspur, Nagpur, Mumbai, and Bhubaneshwar, ultimately succeeding in arresting Sarkar from a farmhouse in Jonda village, Champaran, Raipur.
PM Modi speaks to Putin; discusses global issues





NEW DELHI,

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday agreed to chalk out a roadmap for future initiatives to further strengthen the special and privileged strategic partnership between the two nations. Modi said he had a good conversation with Putin and exchanged views on various regional and global issues, including Russias Presidency of the BRICS in 2024. Last month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Russia, during which the two countries decided to step up military and technical cooperation, including manufacturing of modern weaponry.

Had a good conversation with President Putin. We discussed various positive developments in our Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership and agreed to chalk out a roadmap for future initiatives. We also had a useful exchange of views on various regional and global issues, including Russias Presidency of the BRICS, Prime Minister said. Later in a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said Modi and Putin reviewed progress on a number of issues of bilateral cooperation in follow-up to recent high-level exchanges between the two countries.

They positively assessed the developments in bilateral relations and agreed to develop a roadmap for future initiatives to further strengthen the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership, the MEA statement said. Modi also conveyed his best wishes for Russias Presidency of BRICS in 2024 and assured Indias full support, the MEA statement said, adding that the two leaders agreed to remain in touch. Russia assumed BRICS presidency from January 1, 2024.
Situation in J&K under control





LUCKNOW,

CHIEF of Army Staff General Manoj Pande said on Monday that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is under control but there has been an uptick in terrorist activities in the southern region of Pir Panjal and Rajouri-Poonch over the last few months. He, however, asserted that due to the efforts of the security forces, there has been a significant drop in violence in the interior areas of Jammu and Kashmir. Addressing the 76th Army Day parade in Lucknow, General Pande said, The situation in Jammu and Kashmir is under control. But in the past few months, there has been an increase in terrorist activities in the southern region of Pir Panjal and Rajouri-Poonch. There is a ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC), but from the attempts made to infiltrate, it is clear that the terror infrastructure across the border is intact. Attempts to infiltrate have been foiled by the Army, he said.

The Army chief underlined that the number of terror-related incidents has seen a significant drop in the interior areas of Jammu and Kashmir due to the continuous efforts of the security forces. We are working with all the stakeholders in a committed manner to uproot the terror network from the country, he said. General Pande also said important peace accords have been signed and peace dialogues held with insurgent groups in the northeast in the recent past. As a result of this, there has been a positive development in the region. The proactive policies of the government have played a major role in restoring peace, he said. The Army chief said the situation in ethnic strife-torn Manipur has been brought under control as the Government was proactive and due to the efforts of the Army. He said the soldiers have shown maturity in a sensitive atmosphere, adding that concrete efforts are on to establish peace and harmony in the state. The Army is fully ready and competent to deal with any situation on the northern borders, he added. To develop our capability on the northern borders, we have taken a number of concrete steps.

Through the provisions of emergency procurement, we have got a number of modern equipment, including arms and weapons with niche technology. Special attention has been paid to develop critical infrastructure in border areas and good progress has been made, General Pande said. Today, we pay tributes to those bravehearts who made the supreme sacrifice of laying down their lives for the countrys security. The tales of their sacrifice and bravery will always inspire us. I would like to assure their family members that they are an important part of the armed forces family and their welfare is our priority, the Army chief said.
This 200-yr-old Ram Mandir in Sitabuldi has a special Ayodhya connection





By Vikas Vaidya

Many people may not know this about 200-years old Ram Mandir at Sitabuldi, known as Paturkar Ram Mandir, as Paturkars did not propagate it. Because of less number of visitors in this old Ram temple, one experiences a different kind of vibration when one enters the temple. There is peace inside the temple. With this peace, the temple never talked about the events it witnessed. Now, the atmosphere all over has become Shri Ram-oriented and I must say that this Paturkar Ram Mandir had the connect to Ramjanmabhoomi Andolan.

The stalwarts of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Durga Vahini had held meetings at the temple in 1992 during Ayodhya Karseva. During the same time, people were asked to collect bricks to be sent to Ayodhya as a part of everyones contribution to the temple. People collected the bricks and submitted with this Ram Mandir, and later the bricks were sent to Ayodhya, narrated Pankaj Paturkar of this Ram Mandir while interacting with The Hitavada. Not many leaders or stalwarts from other fields visited this temple ever and those who run this temple have no regret for that. They proudly say that whenever the Kirtankars like Charuduttbuwa Aphale or Rohini Mane Paranjape are in Nagpur, they make it a point to visit the temple.

The Mandir came into existence in the year 1835, which means it is nearing 200 years of completion. Digambarbuwa Paturkar, great great great grandfather of Pankaj and contemporary people had established the temple. This is sixth generation of Paturkar worshipping Shri Ram. On January 22, 2024, the day of Pran Pratishtha at Ayodhya, this Mandir at Nagpur too will participate in the celebration. There will be various spiritual programmes the whole day on January 22, 2024. The mandir cant stay away from becoming participant to this historic moment. The Mandir has not associated itself to any organisation. We tried to keep the holiness, serenity and purity of the temple in our own way, said Pankaj Paturkar.
Wait & Watch





THAT India may fast-track the withdrawal of its clutch of military personnel from Maldives, may give the little Indian Ocean island country a sense of victory, all right. Yet, looking at the nature of geopolitical development in the past few days, it can be said safely that with its insistence on removal of the small number of Indian troops, Maldives has invited deeper troubles for itself in near as well as long-term troubles. Though China is outwardly helping Maldives, it is sure that in a time not too distant in future, Beijing will start having a death-like grip on the affairs of the island-nation and finally gobble up the little country, no matter if indirectly, as it has done with several other countries in the past one-and-a-half decades. Having been brain-washed by the Chinese leadership, the Maldivian leaders are in no condition to think calmly about the long-term consequences of their actions. The Maldivian leaders do not seem to realise that they are signing their own doom-warrant. Withdrawing about 80 military personnel from Maldives is not a big deal for India. The operation will be small, and there will be one liability less for the already-burdened Indian Armed Forces from the perspective of its grand national security vision. But by insisting upon the withdrawal of the Indian troops, the Maldives leadership has showed how shallow is its intellectual capability. For India, a greater military alertness will be the creed in the future with focus on the Chinese movement in Maldives.

The Chinese interest in Maldives is quite well-known -- in the sense Beijing wants to use the little island for its military base so that some pressure can be exerted on India (in whose backwaters Maldives in located, so to say). Let alone the military purpose China may be harbouring in its mind, it is clear that to put its all stakes in Chinas favour will prove to be bad politics -- which is happening everywhere in the world. Many countries that look to China for monetary stability (through direct assistance, or tacit engagement through projects) have realised that Chinese collaboration meant almost a death-warrant for themselves. For, China has never helped anybody with altruistic approach. There are strings attached always, and the Chinese leadership pulls those strings most mercilessly -- most willing to strangulate the economy and vitality of the country in question. Maldives appears headed for such a condition. Some observers may feel tempted to describe the latest development between India and Maldives as a negative happening. To an extent, that may be factually correct.

Yet, Maldives will not realise that a small nod from Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi can completely stifle Maldivian economy whose mainstay is tourism. If more than a quarter of a million Indian tourists annually stop patronising Maldives, then the island-nation will have nowhere to go. In that condition, instead of turning the flow of Chinese tourists to Maldives, Beijing will choose to pump a lot of bad money into Maldivian economy and ultimately claim an unofficial control of the country. The Maldivian leaders will, then, become foreign puppets in their own land. India will have to wait for the right moment to make right moves to stage come-back into the scene. This has happened in Sri Lanka. This has happened, with differing details though, in Bangladesh. And this will happen soon even in Nepal. Since international relations are a long-haul business, there is rarely a hurry in grabbing a moment. In the past 8-9 years, Indian diplomacy has matured tremendously, so much so that it has become a major world-player in all issues. As regards Maldives -- and other countries -- New Delhi will have to wait for its moment to come.
An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 16, 2024 shows vehicles at a terminal of Dalian Port, northeast China's Liaoning Province. Dalian Port achieved a record-breaking annual export of 102,773 vehicles in 2023, marking a year-on-year growth of 143 percent, according to the Dalian Customs. (Xinhua/Chen Wei)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 16, 2024 shows vehicles at a terminal of Dalian Port, northeast China's Liaoning Province. Dalian Port achieved a record-breaking annual export of 102,773 vehicles in 2023, marking a year-on-year growth of 143 percent, according to the Dalian Customs. (Xinhua/Chen Wei)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 16, 2024 shows vehicles and a ro-ro ship at a terminal of Dalian Port, northeast China's Liaoning Province. Dalian Port achieved a record-breaking annual export of 102,773 vehicles in 2023, marking a year-on-year growth of 143 percent, according to the Dalian Customs. (Xinhua/Chen Wei)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 16, 2024 shows vehicles at a terminal of Dalian Port, northeast China's Liaoning Province. Dalian Port achieved a record-breaking annual export of 102,773 vehicles in 2023, marking a year-on-year growth of 143 percent, according to the Dalian Customs. (Xinhua/Chen Wei)
When are we going to wake up, save our lakes?





When are we going to wake up -- and save our lakes and streams and rivers and other water-bodies big and small?

We dare everybody in Nagpur, Maharashtras Second Capital, on this issue that we have raised most vociferously for the past one week -- publishing large-size pictures of the citys water-bodies being killed systematically by people whose names are known to all. The pictures we used in this campaign showed dry and desolate lake beds exposed to public view -- with all water having drained out due to various factors or having been drained out by vested interests for reasons best known to themselves. The Hitavada expected the people of the city to rise above their prides and prejudices, affiliations and afflictions and ask serious questions to political leaders and administrators -- about the dying lakes and drying rivers. Our expectation continues to haunt us in the sense we appear to be the only ones to raise the issue while the city slumbers. Like any other newspaper of substance, The Hitavada has continued raising this and other issues of public concern all along relentlessly without caring for various pressures that try to douse our voice. This commitment to public interest will not wane, no matter what. It is out of this commitment that we now raise this concern once again -- to announce the culmination of the current pictorial series on the citys lakes and water-bodies. And we promise ourselves that we will continue doing this duty without fear or favour. We borrow the term without fear or favour from the title of an old, iconic book by journalist Harrison Salisbury on his newspaper -- because it best describes the condition in which we are continuing our journalism in public interest.

Hence our question: When are we going to wake up -- and save our lakes and streams and rivers and other water-bodies big and small? When a citys lakes are showing signs of dying, the obvious conclusions are three-fold: One, some hydrological disaster is killing the citys water-bodies; Or, two, some vested interests are ensuring that water-bodies dry up in a natural-looking manner -- so that the grounds are available for ugly monetisation through different construction projects; Or, three, the people of Nagpur have decided to turn a deliberate blind-eye to this disaster. No matter the reason, the outcome of this lack of concern will be visible to the city in a few years when the common people thirst for water -- which, then, the authorities will produce by spending Himalayan sums on different water-supply projects. And that will happen only because the city slumbered when vested interests plotted for destruction of various water-bodies over time. This will certainly sound to be a hard and harsh judgement, but we appeal to people to ponder over this diabolical possibility looming large in the distance.

We have done our duty this time. We have done our duty in the past. And we will keep doing our duty in the future as well -- in the fond hope that some day the city will emerge from its slumber and accost those in power -- political or administrative -- to ask questions about dying and drying water-bodies. In the pictorial series we are culminating (for the time being), we covered the visible ill-effects of the citys collective apathy to the Gandhisagar or Shukrawari Talao, Lendi Talao, the Sakkardara Talao, the Naik Talao, the Pandhrabodi Talao, and the Police-Line Takli Talao. Todays photo depicts a similar ugly picture of Binaki Mangalwari Talao. We do hear from time to time that the administration is spending some money for rejuvenation of some lakes. But the overall picture does not change, no matter what the administration or political leadership does. May we ask: Why? This is the actual concernnnnn ! -- that the city has refused to wake up.n
MOSCOW, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Russian city of Voronezh declared a state of emergency on Tuesday after an attack by Ukrainian drones, Mayor Vadim Kstenin said.

"A commission will assess the damage to the affected house and the neighboring ones, as well as to the territory -- both real and movable property," Kstenin said on social media.

A nearby school was opened to host the evacuated residents, Kstenin said, adding that all services were working on the scene.

Earlier, Governor of the Voronezh region Alexander Gusev said that the Russian air defense forces repelled an attack by Ukrainian drones over Voronezh, during which several houses were damaged, and an 11-year-old girl was injured.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that three Ukrainian drones were shot down over the Voronezh region. 
BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- China warns the Philippines not to play with fire on the Taiwan question and to stop sending wrong signals to the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks at a regular news briefing when asked to comment on Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos' message of congratulations to Lai Ching-te.

Mao said that President Marcos' remarks seriously violated the one-China principle and the communique on the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Philippines, seriously breached the political commitments made by the Philippines to China and grossly interfered in China's internal affairs. China deplores and strongly opposes this and has lodged a strong protest with the Philippines.

On Tuesday morning, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Nong Rong summoned the Philippine Ambassador to China to make solemn demarches and urged the Philippine side to give a responsible explanation to China, Mao added.

The results of the Taiwan election will not change the basic pattern and direction of development of cross-Straits relations, and will not stop the general trend of China's eventual and inevitable reunification, said Mao.

The spokesperson suggested that President Marcos read more books so that he can properly understand the ins and outs of the Taiwan question and draw the right conclusions. 
MANDERA, Kenya, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- At least five Kenyan police officers were injured Monday in a roadside blast in Mandera County, the northeast part of the country that shares the border with Somalia, the police confirmed Tuesday.

The police said the officers were part of a convoy of three vehicles with 70 officers en route to Mandera from Elwak when their vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Lafey area.

"The vehicle was hit by directional IED, followed by gunshots and as a result, five police officers sustained slight body injuries," the police said in a security report.

The incident happened hours after the police said they had heightened security in Mandera County near the Somalia border following credible intelligence reports that al-Shabab militants plan to carry out attacks in the region.

The police said the deployment follows reports of movements of militants Sunday evening from areas along the Kenya-Somalia border to carry out terror attacks.

On Tuesday, the police said the five officers suffered minor body injuries from gunshots fired by suspected al-Shabab militants who laid the ambush. The officers were in a truck which was in the middle of the convoy, the police said, noting that the vehicle was partly damaged with its front tire being deflated and the windscreen shattered.

This is the latest such incident to happen in the area amid ongoing operations to address the menace.

The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border where al-Shabab militants cross at will for attacks in Kenya. 
WELLINGTON, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Green Party Members of Parliament (MP) Golriz Ghahraman resigned from Parliament on Tuesday after allegations of shoplifting in clothing shops.

"It is clear to me that my mental health is being badly affected by the stresses relating to my work. This has led me to act in ways that are completely out of character," Ghahraman said in a statement.

"The mental health professional I see says my recent behavior is consistent with recent events giving rise to extreme stress response, and relating to previously unrecognized trauma," she said.

"I have let down a lot of people, and I am very sorry," she added.

"The best thing for my mental health is to resign as a Member of Parliament and to focus on my recovery and to find other ways to work for positive change in the world," Ghahraman said.

Ghahraman, who sought political asylum with her family as a nine-year-old when they moved from Iran to New Zealand in 1990, was the first refugee elected to New Zealand's Parliament and has served from 2017.

She made improvements to the New Zealand electoral laws governing donations and overseas voting. She works on portfolios including justice, defense, and foreign affairs.

"Green MPs are expected to maintain high standards of public behavior," Green Party Co-leaders Marama Davidson and James Shaw said, adding that Ghahraman "has worked tirelessly on behalf of her communities."

The three allegations involved two clothing retailers in Auckland and Wellington, evidenced by her shoplifting images in the stores in October and December 2023.

Police are investigating these allegations. 
QUITO, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- A judge in Ecuador has ordered eight alleged members of the local criminal gang "R7" to be remanded in custody due to "terrorism and illicit trafficking of controlled substances" amid the "internal armed conflict" in the country.

The arrest of those members took place on Saturday in a police operation in the western province of Santa Elena in Ecuador, the Attorney General's Office said in a statement on Monday.

The operation was carried out by intelligence personnel after they had received reports and information from citizens about the gang's operations. They identified locations where drugs, weapons and ammunition were stored.

The agency is handling this case based on the penal code, which punishes the crimes of terrorism and trafficking of controlled substances with sentences of 10 to 13 years respectively.

The "R7" gang, involved in crimes such as robbery, extortion and hired killings, is on the list of 22 organized crime groups identified by the government as "terrorists." 
CHONGQING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, a key hub of the country's auto industry, experienced a notable increase in automobile exports from January to November 2023.

According to data from Chongqing Customs, Chongqing exported 334,000 units of vehicles in the first 11 months, a year-on-year increase of 28.1 percent.

Chongqing is promoting the rapid development of the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry. The city's 16 NEV enterprises produced 394,000 units of NEVs in the period, up 23.6 percent year on year, according to the Chongqing economic and information commission.

Changan Auto, a major carmaker in the city, significantly boosted Chongqing's auto exports. In 2023, the overseas auto sales of the company's own brands exceeded 230,000 units, hitting a record high.

To meet the logistics demand for car exports, Chongqing has launched streamlined channels. From January to October 2023, the Yuxinou (Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe) railway, the first China-Europe freight train route, handled the import and export of more than 80,000 vehicles, with a value of about 10 billion yuan (about 1.4 billion U.S. dollars).

In November 2023, Chongqing rolled out a plan to enhance its auto exports, targeting a goal where, by 2027, the city's annual vehicle export volume will account for 10 percent of the country's total annual vehicle exports. 
People visit the Globe of Science and Innovation of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) after the inauguration of the Linac 4 linear accelerator in Meyrin near Geneva, Switzerland, on May 9, 2017. (Xinhua/Xu Jinquan)

The European Organization for Nuclear Research will host 70th-anniversary celebrations this year with a focus on inspiring the next generation through accessible science events.

GENEVA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) will celebrate its 70th anniversary this year, with a range of events aimed at attracting the younger generations and making science more accessible.

"We want to inspire people with the beauty of science, especially to attract young people, since society desperately needs new talents. We also want to contribute to increasing the participation of science in today's society," CERN Director-General Fabiola Gianotti said on Monday.

People visit a science exhibition on activities of European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Kuwait City, Kuwait, Nov. 11, 2019. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua)

Under the theme "CERN at 70: Inspiring the Future," six public events will be held in the first half of the year, ending Oct. 1 with a closing ceremony.

The first event will be on Jan. 30. A summit called "Unveiling the Universe" will be hosted by prestigious artists and scientists.

Home to the world's most powerful particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider, CERN serves as a collaborative platform in nuclear and particle physics research.

To attract global young talents and make the achievements of CERN accessible to all, targeted programs have been established to engage undergraduates and graduates in physics, computing and engineering, said Gianotti. 
Nigar Hasanova

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Guatemala Mammad Talibov has participated in the swearing-in ceremony of the countrys new President Bernardo Arevalo de Leon, Azernews reports

During the ceremony, Ambassador Mammad Talibov conveyed the congratulations and warm greetings of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Guatemalas new President.

Noting that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Guatemala and Azerbaijan, the ambassador expressed his confidence in the further development of friendly ties and cooperation between the two countries.

Expressing his appreciation, the President of Guatemala also asked to extend his deep respect and best wishes to President Ilham Aliyev. President Bernardo Arevalo de Leon expressed his interest in further enhancing cooperation between Guatemala and Azerbaijan.
BAGHDAD, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Iraq's Foreign Ministry summoned Tuesday the Iranian charge d'affaires over a ballistic missile attack on Erbil, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan.

The ministry said in a statement that Abu al-Fadl Azizi, the Iranian charge d'affaires, arrived at the ministry's headquarters on Tuesday morning and received a protest note in which Iraq expressed its strong condemnation of the attack on Erbil.

The note stressed that the attack is a "blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Republic of Iraq, strongly contradicts the principles of good neighborliness and international law, and threatens the security of the region," according to the statement.

The ministry said in a separate statement that it had recalled, earlier in the day, the Iraqi ambassador to Iran, Naseer Abdul Mohsen, for consultations after the missile attack on Erbil.

Also on Tuesday, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid wrote in a tweet on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the Iranian missile attack on the city of Erbil undermines the security of Iraq and the region.

"Now is a time to reduce tensions in the region, not amplify them," Rashid added.

Late last night, the Kurdistan Region Security Council said in a statement that four people were killed and six others injured when Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired ballistic missiles on "several populated civilian areas" in Erbil.

The IRGC said in a statement that it had launched missile attacks on "spy headquarters" in the region, according to Iran's official IRNA news agency. 
NEW YORK, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- More than 120 million U.S. dollars has been spent on video ads by campaigns and affiliated political action committees in the Iowa Republican caucuses, hitting a new record high, according to media reports on Monday.

In particular, ad buys in support of former U.S. President Donald Trump, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis totaled around 84 million dollars, according to reports, citing ad-tracking firm AdImpact.

Overall, 270 million dollars has been spent on all Republican presidential primary video ad spending with Iowa and New Hampshire taking the lion's share.

As much as 15.9 billion dollars would be spent on U.S. elections and advocacy issues in 2024, surging 31.2 percent from that in the last presidential election in 2020, according to a recent forecast by paid advertising agency GroupM.

Iowa is set to hold its Republican caucuses Monday night, kicking off the Republican presidential primary. 
JERUSALEM/DOHA, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Israel said on Tuesday that a delivery of vital prescription drugs will enter Gaza on Wednesday under a Qatari-brokered agreement.

According to a statement by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, the medicines purchased in France will also be delivered to hostages held in Gaza by Hamas and other militant groups, and the list of drugs was compiled based on the medical conditions of the hostages, several of whom are in their 70s and 80s.

"Two Qatari Air Force planes are expected on Wednesday to depart to Egypt with the medicines purchased in France," while upon the arrival of the planes in Egypt, "the medicines will be transferred by Qatari representatives into the Gaza Strip to their final destination," read the statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his "appreciation to all those who helped during the process" and stressed that "Israel insists that all the medicines reach their destination."

Qatari Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday the succession of reaching an agreement between Israel and Hamas to send medications and aid to Gaza.

About 130 hostages, including women, men and children, are still in Gaza after being kidnapped during Hamas's surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 Israelis were killed.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 24,285, the Gaza-based Health Ministry said on Tuesday. Gaza is in desperate need of medical aid after Israel has cut the enclave from medicines, food, fuel and water supply as part of its retaliatory assault. 
TEHRAN, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Two important bases of the Jaish al-Zulm "terrorist group" in Pakistan were destroyed in missile and drone strikes on Tuesday, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

The report said the targeted bases were located in a region known as Kouh-Sabz (green mountain) in Pakistan's Balochistan province, "which is home to one of the largest bases of the Jaish al-Zulm."

The report did not specify who had launched the attacks, but said additional information would be released in forthcoming updates.

In a statement dated Jan. 17, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said that two children were killed and three girls were injured in the country due to Iran's violation of Pakistan's airspace.

Pakistan strongly condemned the "unprovoked violation" of its airspace by Iran, the ministry said, adding that the violation of its sovereignty is "completely unacceptable and can have serious consequences." 
TEHRAN, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian and Pakistani navies have staged a one-day joint military exercise in the Gulf and Strait of Hormoz, according to a statement published on the Iranian army's public relations website on Tuesday.

The statement said the drill involved the two countries' cruisers capable of launching missiles, as well as military vessels and a helicopter of the Iranian Navy, and was held at the end of a three-day call, which started on Saturday, by a Pakistani flotilla at the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.

During the exercise, the two countries' forces executed tactical naval maneuvers, carried out operations to check communication and telecommunication circuits and practiced methods to send and receive messages in emergencies at sea as well as flag semaphore, it added.

The visit by the Pakistani flotilla was aimed at improving the level of bilateral educational interactions and military exchanges as well as holding meetings between the two countries' naval commanders, the statement said. 
This screenshot captured on Jan. 12, 2024 shows Yemen's Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea making a statement. (Xinhua)

ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Houthi group confirmed Tuesday that its naval forces struck freighter ZOGRAFIA in the Red Sea, claiming that the vessel insisted on heading for Israeli ports despite the group's warning.

In a televised statement, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group's naval forces fired several missiles at the Greek-owned, Malta-flagged ship after its crew ignored warnings and continued sailing toward Israel. The spokesman claimed that the missiles directly hit the ship, with the resulting damage or casualties still unclear.

The attack was carried out in protest against Israel's ongoing blockade and hostilities against the Gaza Strip, said the statement, adding that such attacks would continue until the Israeli blockade and aggression end.

Yemenis participate in a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, on Jan. 12, 2024 to protest the U.S.-Britain joint retaliatory airstrikes on the group's camps. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

The vessel ZOGRAFIA was hit while sailing northbound in the Red Sea, 76 nautical miles (141 km) northwest of the Yemeni port of Saleef, Greek national news agency AMNA has reported, citing Greek shipping ministry sources.

According to early information, the freighter, with 24 crew members on board, has sustained serious damage, which has not impaired its seaworthiness for the time being.

The attack came less than a day after Houthis claimed responsibility for firing a missile at Gibraltar Eagle, a U.S.-owned oil tanker sailing in the Gulf of Aden.

Yemenis participate in a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, on Jan. 12, 2024 to protest the U.S.-Britain joint retaliatory airstrikes on the group's camps. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

Tensions have escalated in the Red Sea following U.S.-led airstrikes on Houthi military targets after repeated Houthi attacks on commercial ships.

The Red Sea tensions have raised concerns about maritime security in the strategic waters. Maritime authorities are urging all ships transiting the Red Sea to exercise extreme caution and maintain vigilance against potential attacks by the Houthi group.

The Houthis have controlled much of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa and the strategic Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, since ousting the internationally recognized government in 2014. 
Come join us at Sweat Shop Brew Kitchen in the city for a couple cold ones before the gig, and if youre one of the first 100 to show up, youll score yourself a free Rock singlet. Rock up from 2pm - Mulls, Bryce and Lee will be there hosting before we all head off to the gig, plus there'll be some spot prizes.
Joe Edlington, a hunting and fishing content creator based in the West Coast, reeled in a pretty gnarly-looking fish before it unexpectedly spat out a second one. This prompted Joe and his mate Muzz to go batshit wild in a confused celebration, which makes the already hectic moment even better.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024 in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- China stands ready to work with the European Union (EU) to stay committed to partnership, stick to dialogue and cooperation, pursue mutual benefit and win-win results, and properly handle differences under the principle of mutual understanding and respect, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said here Tuesday.

In today's world that is fraught with changes and turbulence, China-EU ties remain stable among major-country relationships, which is a result of joint efforts from both sides, Li said when meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024.

As Chinese President Xi Jinping noted, China-EU ties bear strategic significance and global influence, Li said, adding that deepening relations with the EU is always a diplomatic priority for China.

China is willing to work with the EU to implement the important consensus reached in the China-EU Summit, and make bilateral ties more stable, constructive, reciprocal and global, so as to better promote the prosperity and development of China, the EU and the larger world, he said.

China stands ready to import more products from the EU that align with market demand, and hopes the EU will relax export restrictions on high-tech products to China, he said, adding that it is hoped that the two sides will work together in the same direction to push for more balanced development in bilateral trade.

The Chinese premier noted that China will continue to foster a world-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and internationalized, and is willing to work with the EU to jointly abide by the basic norms governing market economy such as free trade, fair competition and open cooperation.

It is hoped that the EU will uphold justice, compliance and transparency in economic and trade matters, treat Chinese enterprises fairly, and prudently introduce restrictive economic and trade policies and deploy trade remedies, Li said.

He called on the two sides to take the next meeting of the China-EU High-Level People-to-People Dialogue mechanism as an opportunity to strengthen dialogue and cooperation in education, science and technology, culture and tourism, and accelerate the resumption of personnel exchanges, so as to inject new vitality into China-EU relations.

For her part, von der Leyen said the EU appreciates China's continuous opening up and does not intend to decouple from China.

She said the EU is ready to strengthen dialogue and communication with China and work with China to deepen cooperation in tackling climate change and promoting the reform of the World Trade Organization, enhance people-to-people exchanges, and push for further development of EU-China relations. 

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024 in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)
The Kolkata International Book Fair will witness the release of important books on the revolutionary movement in Bengal. The Kolkata International Book Fair is scheduled to be inaugurated on Thursday by chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Some heads of the publishing houses having offices on College Street said there has been a renewed interest among the youths about the revolutionaries many of whom had sacrificed their lives to free India.

Kalimayer Boma, a book written by Ashokkumar Mukhopadhyay is an interesting book on the revolutionary movement. The book will be published by Sahitya Samsad. Mr Mukhopadhyay has dealt in details on Swadeshi Gan(patriotic songs) whose references are found in police reports.

It may be mentioned that Swami Vivekananda had great influence on the revolutionaries. His clarion call to the youths on his return to India in 1897 that let Motherland be your only object of worship for the next 50 years had great influence on the youths. Many of the revolutionaries who had been given capital punishment were found to recite the letters written by Swamiji in the condemned cells.Bramhabadhab Upadhaya, the editor of Sandhya had urged that every family should produce at least one revolutionary who will deal with bombs.

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The British administration became scared after a series of bomb throwing incidents took place in Bengal. Aurobindo Ghosh was arrested in connection with the Alipore Bomb case. Young researcher Soumabrata DasGupta has written a book in Bengali, British Pulisher File e Bengal Volunteers o Subhaschandra. Bengal volunteers had played an important role in the freedom movement. Saikat Neogy, another young researcher has written a book titled Agnijuger Candannagar.

Chandannagar, then a French colony, was a hotbed of revolutionary activities. Sri Aurobindo took shelter in Chandannagar on his way to Puducherry. Rashbehari Basu had carried on secret revolutionary activities in Chandannagar. It is interesting to note that Chandannagore College is the only educational institution in the country that had remained closed from 1908 to 1931 because of the alleged connection of the students with the freedom fighters
Books penned by chief minister Mamata Banerjee will be released in the Kolkata International Book Fair this year. Miss Banerjee will inaugurate the KIBF on 18 January at 4pm. Despite her busy schedule Miss Banerjee steals time to write books, draw pictures and play tunes on electric organ. She has already written 137 books, which include limerick for children, poems, her experience in her long political career among others. She has written a book about women freedom fighters whose names people have forgotten.

Few people talk about Kalpana Dutta, who later married Puranchand Joshi, the first secretary of Communist Party of India. When she was arrested in Chittagong, the district magistrate reportedly told her that with such an innocent and beautiful face she could not take part in the revolutionary movement. The body of Bina Das, a revolutionary was found in Rishikesh and her cause of death is still unknown.

Das was the daughter of Benimadhab Das, who was Netajis teacher. While addressing students Miss Banerjee has said over and again that they should know about the revolutionaries who had laid down their lives for the country. She has asked the state education department to include Subhas Chandra Boses Taruner Swapno and Swami Vivekanandas Call to the Nation in the school curriculum.

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After Alipore Correctional Home was shifted to Baruipur, she took personal initiative to set up the Alipur Jail Museum where the ordinary and condemned cells have been preserved and people could visit the place where the revolutionaries had been hanged. A visit to College Street, the hub of new and old books, revealed that hectic work is on to give final shape to Miss Banerjees books. Apu Dey confirmed that like previous years Miss Banerjees book will come out in the Kolkata International Book Fair.
Indian Institute of Management Udaipur has launched a unique Summer Program in Management primarily designed for MBA aspirants. This program is for students who want to experience student life at an IIM as a build-up to applying for an MBA program and those interested in a one-time experience. This two-week on-campus summer program is the first ever offered by any IIM. The program will be held at IIM Udaipur campus from June 01, 2024, to June 14, 2024.

The program will cover the essential aspects of management studies, focusing on Business Environment, Innovation and entrepreneurship, Digital Transformation, and Business Communication. The participants will get exposure to the Case Method of teaching and earn an IIM Udaipur  Summer Program in Management  Certificate of Participation on completing the program.

The program provides a unique opportunity to learn from the distinguished faculty of IIM Udaipur, visiting industry experts and their peers from the entire country in a dynamic, supportive, and thriving academic environment. Participants will get an opportunity to network with faculty and MBA students of IIM Udaipur.

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Students above 18 who are either graduates or have completed the first year of graduation can apply for this Summer Program. You can visit the official website of IIM Udaipur ( https://www.iimu.ac.in/ ) to learn more and to apply for the program. Interested students can apply for the program from January 10, 2024, till May 15, 2024.

IIM Udaipur is offering the first ever Pre-MBA Summer Program in Management by an IIM, which is specifically designed for those students who aspire to study MBA in the future. This program provides a unique opportunity to experience campus life, study and learn at a prestigious IIM. Students will get the opportunity to network with faculty, MBA students and fellow participants from throughout the country, and explore the historic city of Udaipur.

 Prof. Rajesh Agrawal, Chairperson, Summer Program in Management

About IIM Udaipur:

IIM Udaipur is well on its way to becoming a globally recognised B-School. It has broken new ground by focusing on world-class research and transforming students into tomorrows managers and leaders. The Institute arrived on the global education stage by securing accreditation from the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) in merely eight years of its establishment. With this accreditation, IIM Udaipur is counted in the same league of global institutes, such as Harvard Business School, Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and the MIT Sloan School.

IIM Udaipur is ranked 16th by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) Rankings 2023 of the HRD Ministry. IIM Udaipur is the only IIM in the Top 100 of the prestigious FT Masters In Management World Rankings consecutively for 5 Years since 2019. Ranked #5 amongst IIMs in the list of 2023. Indian Institute of Management Udaipur featured in the prestigious Masters in Management (MIM) QS World University Rankings 2024 for the fifth consecutive year. IIMU is also currently ranked 4th in India, after ISB, IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore, for research in management according to the methodology used by UT Dallas, which tracks publications in the leading global journals.
The Department of Civil Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur (IIT-K) is all set to host a national-level civil engineering conclave, Sankalan, from January 27-28.

The event is being organised by the departments student-run society, the Society of Civil Engineers (SoCE).

According to an official statement, Sankalans overarching objective is to establish itself as a central hub for knowledge sharing, innovation and collaboration in civil engineering.

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Sankalan24 aims to provide a platform for fostering knowledge exchange, hands-on learning and collaboration within the civil engineering domain. It promises an immersive experience through interactive workshops, lectures by industry leaders, competitions addressing real-world challenges and networking opportunities.

Participants can get a chance to garner insights into the latest methodologies shaping the future of civil engineering.

The event features workshops providing hands-on exposure to modern methodologies shaping everything from structural design to geotechnical engineering.

Renowned experts from across India will share insights on civil engineerings pivotal role in building resilient and sustainable societies via engaging speaker sessions.

Some of the competitions at Sankalan24 include the Spaghetti Bridge Design Challenge, Optimising Water Resources for Sustainable Agriculture, Remote Satellite Design Challenge and Crack DetectionImage Classification Challenge using Machine Learning which addresses real-life problems.

Participants will have the opportunity to creatively showcase their solutions with a chance to win prizes exceeding one lakh rupees.

Priyanka Ghosh, Head, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT-Kanpur said, The inaugural edition of Sankalan is designed to assemble a diverse range of opportunities for knowledge exchange and immersive experiences in the realm of civil engineering for students, researchers and professionals. The event will facilitate a cross-over of ideas, champion collaborative innovation, and highlight emerging career opportunities.
CAIRO, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry renewed Egypt's commitment on Tuesday to ensuring the delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Shoukry made the remarks during a meeting in the Egyptian capital Cairo with Sigrid Kaag, United Nations senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, where they discussed the catastrophic humanitarian conditions and the deteriorating services in Gaza.

This is Kaag's first regional trip after she was appointed the position pursuant to Security Council Resolution 2720 (2023) to facilitate, coordinate, and monitor the delivery of humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave.

The two sides stressed that "it is inevitable to increase the flow of sufficient aid to meet the urgent needs of Gazans as well as boosting the work of hospitals and relief agencies."

Shoukry stressed Egypt's keenness to provide all facilities to ensure the full implementation of the provisions of the Security Council resolution, including the rapid launch of a United Nations mechanism to speed up the sending of relief aid to the Gaza Strip.

He stressed the need for Israel to commit to facilitating and not obstructing the work of the UN official, noting Egypt's firm commitment since the beginning of the crisis, to sustain the implementation of aid to Gaza.

The Egyptian minister said the current tragic situation necessitates the delivery of aid through direct routes without any delay, adding that "achieving a ceasefire remains the best way to end the humanitarian tragedy in the Gaza Strip."

Kaag, who will visit Rafah Crossing on Wednesday, voiced appreciation for Egyptian efforts to alleviate Palestinians' human suffering. 
The film Bade Miyan Chote Miyan will get an exotic touch of Jordan, with the entire film team, including Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff, preparing to jet out to the foreign site to shoot three song sequences.

I am very pleased to shoot in Jordan. Ive never been there, but Ive heard its a wonderful country, Kumar exclaims, adding, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan has excellent action and demands specific terrain. Vashu Bhagnani and director Ali Abbas Zafar carefully chose Jordan for this schedule. Previously, we shot in Mumbai, London, Scotland, and Abu Dhabi for the film. And Jordan, here we come!

According to sources, Bosco Martis will choreograph the songs. The creators are going all out to make the songs a visual spectacle for audiences to enjoy on the big screen. They want to capture many emotions and nuances of Jordan through their songs. They are taking a crew of 400500 people, including perhaps 200 dancers. So, one can anticipate the size of the songs that they are developing, says the insider.

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With the shift, the film became one of the few Bollywood films to be shot in Jordan. The shoot will take place between January 19 and February 2.

Producer Jackky Bhagnani explained why he locked the place.

As we embark on our cinematic trip, Jordan becomes more than simply a backdrop; it becomes a character in our story, bringing its timeless beauty to each frame. Jordan not only complements the magnanimity of the film but also its superb cast, Bhagnani says, adding, We hope that after the songs are published and the film is launched, there will be further shooting there. We hope to set a trend.

Zafar wrote and directed the film, which will be released on Eid next year. The action thriller also features Prithviraj Sukumaran, Sonakshi Sinha, Manushi Chhillar, and Alaya F. Several scenes have been filmed in India, England, Scotland, and Abu Dhabi.

Zafar opens up about going to Jordan, saying, The aim with the film is to do everything large and visually appealing. We have completed filming the entire film and will now focus on filming the three songs in Jordan. Thats because the visual scale of the location is stunning and has yet to be fully explored.
Chiyaan Vikrams Thangalaan is among the ambitious initiatives. Pa Ranjith, an accomplished director, helmed the period drama.

On the day of Pongal/Makar Sankranti on January 15, the creators announced the release date of Thangalaan. It has now been moved to summer 2024.

Chiyaan Vikrams film will now be released in April 2024. The release date has not yet been revealed. It was originally set to hit theatres on January 6, 2024.

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Studio Green, which financed the film, confirmed on their official social media accounts that it will be released in April 2024.

The makers revealed a new poster of Chiyaan from Thangalaan, writing, History awaits to be written in blood and gold #ThangalaanFromApril2024 #HappyPongal #HappyMakarSankranti.

The teaser for Thangalaan was published in November and has since generated a lot of hype among the audience. Vikram is a tribal warrior who solely cares for his own people. The teaser began with the words: As myth leads to history, greed leads to destruction, blood wars lead to liberty, rises the son of gold. The actor appeared radically different in his new avatar.

Thangalaan is based on a factual story about the Kolar Gold Fields during the British administration in India. The preview indicates that the film will feature mystical themes and black magic, making it an exciting viewing experience. It will be released in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, and Malayalam.

The film also has Parvathy Thiruvothu, Pasupathy, Daniel Caltagirone, and others in prominent roles. Neelam Productions and Studio Green co-produced the film. GV Prakash Kumar composed the music for the film.

Aside from Thangalaan, Chiyaan Vikram will appear in Dhruva Natchathiram.
Sarah Snook, renowned for her portrayal of Shiv Roy in the acclaimed series Succession, secured an Emmy award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

Announcing the victory on X (formerly Twitter), the Television Academy shared the news, stating, Sarah Snook wins the #Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for @Succession(@HBO/@streamonmax)! #Emmys #75thEmmys.

The award ceremony is currently underway at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Originally scheduled for September 2023, the 75th Emmys were delayed due to the Hollywood strikes.

In her award acceptance speech, Snook expressed gratitude, saying, Thanks to everyone who voted and for loving the show as much as we did as a cast making it and as a crew making it. She continued after receiving the award from Jodie Foster, who presented the category, We put our all into it, and the bar was set so high. I think thats what spurred us on from every department. We all gave it our best, led by [series creator] Jesse Armstrong and [director] Mark Mylod and my cast who I love so much and Im going to miss, as reported by Variety.

Snook also extended thanks to her personal circle, including a new addition to her family, saying, To my mom and dad, I love you. Thank you for having a dress-up box when I was a kid. This is where it gets you! Also, the biggest thank you is to someone who wont understand anything Im saying at the moment, but I carried her with me in this last season. Really, it was her who carried me. Its very easy to act when youre pregnant because youve got hormones raging. It was the proximity of her life growing inside me that gave me the strength to do this and this performance. I love you so much. Its all for you from here on out.

Earlier today, Succession also claimed Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Outstanding Directing for Drama Series, Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

Succession, The Last of Us, and The White Lotus stand out as the three most-nominated shows of the year.

The final season of Succession earned a total of 27 nominations, including a record-setting three nominations in the Best Actor in a drama category.

Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, Alan Ruck, Matthew Macfadyen, Nicholas Braun, and J. Smith-Cameron are among the cast members of Succession, which debuted in 2018. Executive producers include Adam McKay, Frank Rich, Kevin Messick, Jane Tranter, Mark Mylod, Tony Roche, Scott Ferguson, Jon Brown, Lucy Prebble, Will Tracy, and Will Ferrell, in addition to Armstrong, who also serves as the shows creator. (ANI)
In a recent interview, Urvashi Rautela revealed her burning desire to meet the mother of Tollywood superstars Pawan Kalyan and Chiranjeevi Garu, Anjana Devi. The actress, who has been on a roll with consecutive hits in the Telugu film industry, expressed her fascination with the extraordinary talents of the renowned brothers and couldnt resist delving into the mystery of their upbringing.

Having had the privilege of working alongside Chiranjeevi Garu and Pawan Kalyan, Urvashi humorously shared her curiosity about the pregnancy journey that led to the birth of two supremely talented individuals. She expressed her genuine admiration for the brothers, describing them as individuals she absolutely loves, and pondered the secret behind their iconic status.

They both are someone whom I absolutely love. They are brothers, and the only question that I had in my mind was how can [she] give birth to two iconic people. I want to meet their mother and ask her how is it possible, like usually when we have children like 3-4, only one will be supremely talented. I want to meet their mother and want to know what all she had and what she ate during her pregnancy (said with laughter), Urvashi said in the interview.

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Urvashi sees their upbringing as a great source of inspiration and marvels at the way they carry themselves, connecting deeply with people. The actress hopes her wish to meet Anjana Devi will be fulfilled shortly, leading to an intriguing conversation that might unveil the secrets behind the birth and upbringing of these two iconic figures in the world of cinema.

As fans eagerly await the possibility of this unique rendezvous, Urvashis wish sparks anticipation for a conversation that could provide insight into the elements that shaped the characters of Pawan Kalyan and Chiranjeevi Garu.
There are innumerable tales associated with Lord Jagannath. One of the most popular ones is that of KanchiAbhijan of the Lord riding a white horse led the battle to conquer the down south kingdom of Kanchi to ensure the marriage between PuriGajapati Maharaja PurusottamDev and Kanchi princess Padmavati.

This legend has been told and retold over centuries and in all forms including the world-famous Pattachitra paintings of Raghurajpur. Yet to imagine it being told on Pattachitra canvas in eight frames and that too atop a British era overhead water tank at 50 ft height seems next to impossible. The British had built the water tank in 1935. Divine blessings  that of Lord Jagannath, have made it possible. We never thought we could do it and that too within a short time, says Universe Maharana, the pattachitra artist who led the team working at a height of 50ft on bamboo stilts.

Eighty percent of the entire Kanchi Abhijan has been completed, he added while informing that the work commenced on 24 December. Other pattachitra artists of the team like Madhusudan Swain, CharanNayak, and SubashPradhan were one if the view that Lord Jagannath helped them do the work. We have painted KanchiAbhijan innumerable times in small sizes.

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The legendary story inspired us. But this one is completely different and a unique experience, they said. None of us believed we could do it, but as work started and with traditional colors climbed the bamboo stilts the belief that we can do it grew almost as if JagannathMahaprabhu was encouraging us, they said. First was the challenging task of doing pattachitra at such a height which none of us had ever done. The second challenge was to ensure that every minute detail of the artwork was there and the third was to ensure that it is waterproof and could withstand rain, sun and wind without fading or getting damaged.

On completion, the Britishera overhead Water tank will be a speaking one  it will tell the story of Padmavati, GajapatiPurusottamDev and his love affair with the Kanchi princess; the war against the kingdom of Kanchi led by the Lord himself. Visitors to Puri will be awestruck by the talking Water Tank It has been painted in soft pink. Devotees and visitors going around the temple will be able to see the wonderful water tank and the story of Padmavati.

This is yet another remarkable feature of the grandiose project of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to transform the Holy Town into a World Heritage City while retaining every facet of Jagannathculture . The Chief Minister visualized the entire project while his trusted lieutenant V KarthikeyanPandian made it a reality. Mr Pandian made frequent pre-dawn visits to monitor the ongoing works, issue directions and also see that visitors, pilgrims and tourists have a wonderful experience. He had an eye for the detail.

Mr Pandian saw to it that the imprint of Jagannath culture is there in every part of the SrimandirParikrama project. The pattachitra depicts the story of how Gajapati Maharaja Purusottam Dev, a great devotee and servant of Lord Jagannath arrived at Kanchi during his tour of the south and impresses the Kanchi king.

He falls in love with Padmavati, the princess of Kanchi and the king agrees to the proposal to marry. The legend has it that the Kanchi Kings secret spies visit Puri and get to know about the Gajapati Maharaja Purusottam Dev. They are disappointed that the Maharaja sweeps the floor of the chariots of the deities during the rathyatra. The spies report this back to the Kanchi King who was also taken aback with the description of the PurusottamDev hold a broom and sweeping the floors of the chariots.

He decided not to allow his daughter Padmavati to marry such a person. The Kanchi king held a swayambar to select a groom for Padmavati.Hearing about the swayambar, Gajapati Maharaja PurusottamDev declared war against Kanchi. Being a great devotee of Lord Jagannath, he went to the temple and prayed for victory. Lord Jagannath riding a white horse and Lord Balabhadra on a black horse led the war .Kanchi was won and Padmavati was married to Purusottam Dev. All of this is in the pattachitra art work atop the 50 ft British-era water tank surely imposing its presence and catching the eye of the visitors.
The visionary Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is unmatched in terms of conceptualizing new ideas for the development of the state. It was no wonder that while formulating his dream project of transforming Puri into a World Heritage City, the Chief Minister thought of establishing an International Airport. He could visualize that an International Airport, a Greenfield project, would be able to unleash the immense potential of the state to the entire world. It will usher in economic prosperity, boost the tourism sector and attract millions of Jagannath devotees across the globe to come annually for the famous rath yatra of the deities. The doors of development will be thrown open.

A darshan of Jagannath Mahaprabhu, spending time in the new look Blue Flag beach and a 35 km drive to the worldfamous Black Pagoda  the Konark Sun Temple , the equally famous Pipili chandua works, Raghurajpurs pattachitra and the biggest brackish water lagoon Chilka make the flight to Puri a sure shot recipe of success and an eye-catching splendor for the visitor. The number of visitors to Puri has grown immensely over the years and it is bound to increase year-on-year. On 1 January this year, the footfall at the Puri Jagannath temple was around 5 lakh. The crowd on the first day of the New Year resembled that of the annual rath yatra.

The exponential increase in the number of visitors year after year has been a great achievement for both the state government and the people of Puri . Keeping this in mind the Chief Minister has put in place his project of extending basic amenities  rest rooms, cloak room , toilets, drinking water facilities etc for the comfort of the millions of devotees. While conceiving the World Heritage City project, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, in 2021 wrote to the Prime Minister proposing to establish an International Airport at Puri.

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His proposal provided glimpses to his vision of development . He justified the need of an airport and the future generations will appreciate the vision of the Chief Minister. Each line of the letter was worth its weight in gold as far as relevance and development is concerned. Once realized it will provide a new and unique identity to Puri in the world map. In his letter, the Chief Minister pointed out that Jagannath Dham is one of the four dhams of Hindus . Devotees of Jagannath come here from all corners of the world .

The Konark Sun Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site , is just 35 km from Puri . Similarly, the nearby the serene Ramchandi  Chandrabhaga beach is also attractive for foreign tourists . Chilika, the largest brackish water lake in the country, and one of the eco-tourism destinations, the Bitarkanika National Park, and the Buddhist site of Ratnagiri are a few of the other important tourist spots.

The proposed seaports along the states 480 km long coastline including the ones as Astarang, Dhamra, and Paradip are of great economic importance. The proposed coastal highway would connect these places by road . Citing all this, the CM in his letter, contended that the International Airport at Puri will hold the keyto prosperity soon. He noted that devotees of 192 countries who look forward to the famous annual rath yatra at Puri can fly into the holy town .

Needless to say the Civil Aviation Ministry approved the proposal for a Greenfield airport at the Sipasarubali area of Puri which was identified by the state government. While the statutory clearances are awaited, the state government has gone ahead with the land acquisition process. Necessary permission has been obtained for the use of 68 acres of forest land within the 1164 acres that is required.

There has been a crackdown on encroachers, acquisition of government and private land is in the process. The public hearing has been conducted. It is expected that the construction work of the airport will start by March 2024 and be completed expeditiously. Flights to various religious destinations in India are there. Puri was left out . Puri is posed to get an airport and there is no doubt it will transform the economy of the entire region and the state
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to visit Assam on January 20 for the formal inauguration of the Brahmaputra Riverfront beautification project at Panbazar here.

The Home Minister is likely to unveil several other development initiatives during his visit to the state.

Assam Minister Pijush Hazarika confirmed the visit, stating, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Assam on January 20. The Union Home Minister will take part in three government programmes in Guwahati on January 20.

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Hazarika added that Shah would participate in a passing parade programme of Assam Police at Sarusajai Stadium. Two additional programmes in Guwahati are also on the itinerary for the Union Home Minister.

Highlighting the enthusiasm for Shahs visit, Hazarika mentioned that more than 60,000 BJP party members would extend a warm welcome at various locations.

Approximately 60,000 BJP party workers will greet the Union Home Minister at various locations, and we will give him a grand welcome here, he pointed out.

In preparation for Shahs visit, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma conducted a comprehensive assessment of the state of affairs on Monday.
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Tuesday participated in a cleanliness drive at the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place here.

Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called for a cleanliness drive in temples across the country.

The minister also offered prayers at the temple on the occasion.

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Talking to the reporters, Thakur said the Prime Minister has called upon everyone to clean the temple premises and he has also participated in the drive.

The minister also said that there is no bigger devotion than maintaining cleanliness at religious places.

On Monday, several Delhi BJP leaders carried out the cleanliness drive at temples located across the city.

Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly, Ramveer Singh Bidhuri did cleanliness work at Yogmaya temple at Mehrauli, while MP Harsh Vardhan at the Gufawala Temple at Shalimar Bagh, MP Ramesh Bidhuri at the ancient Shiva temple at Tughlakabad.

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva also informed that all the MPs, BJP MLAs and corporation councilors of Delhi are doing shramdaan for cleaning major temples or religious places in their area.

We are fully engaged in keeping religious places clean or cleaning our homes. We dont know in what form and where Lord Shri Ram will come, hence we are making all kinds of preparations in the spirit of worship, he said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday slammed the BJP and its ideological mentor RSS for making the January 22 consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir a completely political Narendra Modi function.

Speaking to reporters at a briefing during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Nagalands Kohima, The RSS and the BJP have made the 22nd January function a completely political Narendra Modi function. Its a RSS BJP function and I think that is why the Congress President said that he would not go to the function. We are open to all religions, all practices.

Apparently refering to the objections raised by Shankaracharyas, the Gandhi Scion said that the biggest authorities of Hindu religion have made their views public about the ceremony and that it was difficult for the Congress to go to a political function.

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Even the authorities of the Hindu religion, the biggest authorities of the Hindu religion have made their view public about what they think about the 22nd January function that it is a political function. So it is difficult for us to go to a political function which is designed around the Prime Minister of India and designed around the RSS, Gandhi added.

His remarks came days after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhuryrespectfully declined the invitation to the Ram temple consecration ceremony.

The Congress said that the inauguration of the incomplete temple was being done by the BJP for electoral gains ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Their refusal to attend the ceremony was slammed by the BJP and the saffron party accused Congress of being anti-Ram and anti-Hindu.

However, a Congress delegation comprising the partys Uttar Pradesh leadership, along with senior leaders Deepender Hooda and spokesperson Supriya Shrinate visited Ayodhya on Monday and had a darshan of Ram Lalla.

The Ayodhya visit of Congress leaders is believed to have been planned by the grand old party to counter the anti-Hindu narrative being set by the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Days after pronouncing his judgment in the Sena vs Sena case, Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Tuesday accused leaders of Shiv Sena (UBT) faction of using derogatory language against him.

On January 10, Narwekar dismissed UBT factions plea seeking disqualification of MLAs and recognised Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shindes faction as real Shiv Sena.

For the last six days, some political leaders and workers have been misleading people about my judgment. Shiv Sena (UBT) is using derogatory language against me. They dont even respect the Assembly speaker. Its really harmful to the democratic structure, the Maharashtra Speaker said.

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Narwekar also sought to clarify that the Supreme Court never held Bharat Gogawales appointment as Shinde factions whip wrong.

Supreme court never said that appointment of Bharat Gogawale as whip (of Shinde faction) was wrong. SC said that the Speaker must recognise the real Shiv Sena. Because I received claims from both sides, I gave my judgement according to the Supreme Court order, he said.

Earlier in his verdict, Speaker Narwekar said that Uddhav Thackeray had no power to remove Eknath Shinde as Shiv Senas legislative party leader.

Shinde faction was the real Shiv Sena political party when rival factions emerged on 21st June 2022, the Speaker said while reading out his verdict.

The Maharashtra Speaker also rejected the disqualification pleas filed by Udhav Thackeray faction against 14 Shinde camp MLAs for violating the whip issued by Thackeray camp for confidence motion on July 4.

The whip claimed to have been served by Prabhu never reached the Shinde faction members and UBT faction failed to prove so. Thus the petition demanding to disqualify Shinde faction members is rejected, he said.
NAIROBI, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Kenya has confirmed that discussions are underway with Tanzania to resolve recently imposed restrictions on air travel between the two countries.

Musalia Mudavadi, Kenya's prime cabinet secretary who also doubles up as cabinet secretary for foreign and diaspora affairs, said on Monday night that he spoke with January Makamba, Tanzania's minister of foreign affairs and East African cooperation, and agreed to resolve the air travel restrictions.

"We have jointly agreed that our respective civil aviation authorities will work together to have the matter resolved amicably within the next three days. There should, therefore, be no cause for alarm," Mudavadi said on his social media handle on X, formerly Twitter.

His remarks came a few hours after the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) announced that it has suspended all Kenya Airways passenger flights between the Kenyan capital of Nairobi and Tanzania's commercial hub of Dar es Salaam, effective Jan. 22.

Tanzania cited a reciprocity dispute after Kenya refused a request for all-cargo flight operations by Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) to operate cargo flights between Nairobi and third countries.

According to the statement signed by TCAA Director General Hamza Johari, TCAA cited the Kenyan authorities' refusal as a violation of Section 4 of the memorandum of understanding on Air Services signed between the two countries in 2016.

The move was expected to have a substantial impact on Kenya Airways, which operates 33 flights per week to and from Tanzania.

"Kenya Airways is engaging the civil aviation authorities and relevant government agencies in Kenya and Tanzania to find a solution that will ensure there are no flight disruptions between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam," the national carrier of Kenya said in a statement issued Monday night.

January Makamba, the Tanzanian foreign minister, also confirmed that he spoke with his Kenyan counterpart on the phone and agreed to resolve the matter using the relevant authorities.

"We agreed that restrictions on air travel between our countries and from either of our countries to a third country should not stand. With the relevant authorities, we have resolved to settle this issue, per existing agreements, within three days," Makamba said on X. 
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday visited Palasamudram in Andhra Pradeshs Sri Satyasai district and inaugurated the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN).

Speaking on the occasion, the prime minister said the institute would play an important role in the collection of taxes by the government.

Recalling that Gandhiji used to say Ram Rajya is real democracy, the Prime Minister said Ram Rajya stood on four pillars  people can walk with head held high, no discrimination, protection of the weak, and duty is above all.

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Such a government will allow easy business and make the country a global leader in economy, he said.

Mr Modi said he met young officers who would lead the country in the Amrit Kaal of Independence.

There is a need to follow the system of tax collection that prevailed during Ram Rajya, he said. The Sun collects water-moisture from Earth and then showers on it for its good and prosperity. Our tax collection system should be similar. We undertook several reforms for the objective, he added.

Businessmen were harassed, and so the government brought the Goods and Services Tax (GST), income tax reforms, and faceless returns system. This has resulted in record tax collections. The government is returning the money collected to the people through various schemes.

He said the government increased the tax exemption limit from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 7 lakh tax. Citizens have saved Rs 2.50 lakh crore. With greater tax collections, many schemes were started for public welfare and infrastructure investment.

This has convinced tax payers to respond positively and their number is increasing. Whatever we collected, we offered at the feet of the people. This is nothing but sushasan (good governance), he said.

The prime minister said the campaign against corruption must continue. NACIN should provide India with a modern ecosystem for trade and commerce. It should create a friendly environment to make India an important partner for global trade and promote ease of doing business through tax, customs and narcotics.

During his visit, the prime minister visited the first floor of NACIN to view the Antiquities Smuggling Centre, Narcotics Study Centre and Wildlife Crime Detection Centre.

He visited the ground floor to view the X-Ray and Baggage Screening Centre, followed by a visit to the academic block to plant some saplings and interact with construction workers.

He interacted with some trainee officers and released a book titled Flora of Palasamudram and presented an accreditation certificate to NACIN.

Andhra Pradesh Governor S Abdul Nazeer and Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman were present.

Earlier on Tuesday, Modi offered prayers at the Veerabhadra temple in Lepakshi, Andhra Pradesh. Its a place that holds special significance in the Ramayana.

He chose traditional attire on his visit to the temple. He is on a two-day visit to Andhra Pradesh and Kerala on 16 and 17 January.

The Prime Minister has visited Lepakshi just six days before the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the grand Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya.

According to Ramayana, Lepakshi is the place where Jatayu, after having been grievously wounded by Ravan, who was abducting Ma Sita, fell. The dying Jatayu who told Lord Rama that Ma Sita was indeed taken south by Ravan was then granted Moksha by Lord Ram.

The visit to Lepakshi comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Shree Kala Ram Mandir in Nashik. Few days back, PM Modi had visited Panchvati, situated on the banks of the Godavari river in Nashik. He offered prayers at the Kala Ram Mandir and heard verses relating to Ayodhya aagman of Bhagwan Ram from Ramayan in Marathi.
India and the UAE concluded their two-week joint military exercise Desert Cyclone with the validation training in Rajasthan.

The exercise facilitated synergy in conduct of joint tactical operations and strengthened the understanding and interoperability between the two armed forces.

The UAE Land Forces contingent comprising 45 personnel arrived in India on January 1 to participate in the first edition of the joint exercise.

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The exercise began at Mahajan in Rajasthan on 2 January. The UAE contingent was represented by troops from the Zayed First Brigade. The Indian Army contingent comprising 45 personnel was represented mainly by a Battalion from the Mechanised Infantry Regiment.

The aim of the exercise, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), was to enhance interoperability in Sub-conventional Operations, including Fighting in Built-Up Area (FIBUA) in desert/ semi desert terrain under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter on peacekeeping operations. The exercise is expected to enhance cooperation and interoperability between both sides during peacekeeping operations.

Drills held during Exercise Desert Cyclone included Establishment of a Joint Surveillance Centre, Cordon and Search Operation, Domination of Built-Up Area and Heliborne Operations.

Exercise Desert Cyclone signifies further strengthening of bonds of friendship and trust between India and the UAE, the MoD said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has expressed grave concern over the attacks on ships in the vicinity of India, saying such threats have a direct bearing on the countrys energy and economic interest.

There has recently been a perceptible increase in threats to the safety of maritime commercial traffic in this important part of the Indian Ocean. This situation does not benefit anybody, he said at a joint press statement with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian after wide-ranging talks between them in Tehran.

He emphasised that it was important that this issue was speedily addressed, in an apparent reference to the targeting of merchant vessels in the Red Sea by Iranian-backed Yemens Houthi rebels.

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Mr Jaishankar, who was in Iran on a two-day visit as part of the ongoing high-level exchanges between the two countries, also said that both India and Iran were concerned about recent events in West Asia and emphasised the importance of preventing further escalation of violence and hostilities in the region.

He reiterated Indias position for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine issue. On the issue of Palestine, let me reiterate Indias long-standing support for a two-state solution where the Palestine people are able to live freely in an independent country with secure borders.

On the Chabahar Port in Iran, Mr Jaishankar said he has assured the Iranian leadership of Indias full commitment to the strategic port project.

Iranian media said Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, during his meeting with Mr Jaishankar, emphasised the need for speeding up implementation of Iran-India agreements, including the Chabahar Port Development Plan, and the need to compensate for the delay in the implementation of commitments.

Mr Raisi also referred to the deep-rooted relations between Iran and India, and the efforts to fulfil the will of the high officials of the two countries in order to develop and improve the level of relations in political, economic, science and technology, transportation and energy sectors.
The ruling CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) on Tuesday announced that the front will stage a protest in Delhi on February 8 under the leadership of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against the central governments alleged neglect towards the state.

Ministers in the Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet, MPs, and MLAs will attend the protest along with the Chief Minister. A decision in this regard was taken at an LDF meeting held here on Tuesday. The protest march will be taken out from Kerala House to Jantar Mantar at 11.30 am on February 8. Leaders of the INDI bloc and alliance Chief Ministers will be invited to join the protest march.

Announcing the decision to hold the protest march in Delhi, LDF convener EP Jayarajan said that the central government is deliberately trying to destroy the popularity of the Left government. He stated that development projects in Kerala have come to a standstill as the central government has refused to disburse funds to the state.

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Earlier, CM Pinarayi Vijayan held an online meeting with the opposition leaders and informed them about the central governments alleged neglect of Kerala. The Chief Minister urged the UDF to join the protest against the Centres alleged neglect of Kerala. However, the opposition UDF has placed the request on hold as it fears that sharing a platform with the LDF just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections could harm its political fortunes. Opposition leader VD Satheesan said that the decision to join the protest in Delhi would be taken after consulting leaders of the UDF constituent parties.

According to state government sources, the sharp reduction in the borrowing cap has worsened the states financial problems which would eventually have an additional impact on the payment of social welfare pensions.

While the state government maintains that the central governments decisions, especially the drastic cut in the borrowing limits and grants, have led to the current financial crisis, the Union Finance Minister has accused the Kerala government of propagating false claims that the Union government hasnt allocated funds to the state.
The new idol of Lord Ram will be placed in the garbha grih on January 18 and the grand Ram temple will be thrown open for devotees from January 23, a day after the consecration ceremony for Shri Ram Lalla scheduled to take place on January 22, during Paush Shukla Dwadashi Abhijit Muhurta at 12:20 pm.

The Ram temple will temporarily suspend the darshan of Shri Ram Lalla on January 20-21. During this period, priests will arrange for worship, aarti, bhog, sleep, and jagran. Considering the influx of 25,000 to 30,000 devotees daily, the decision has been made to restrict the darshan on January 20-21, allowing seamless completion of internal arrangements. The darshan of the new idol will be open to the general public from January 23.

Champat Rai, the general secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust said here on Tuesday that on the occasion of Pran Pratistha, dignitaries, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UP Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, Governor Anandi Ben Patel, Ram Janmabhoomi Trust President Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, and all the trustees will be present in the garbha grih (sanctum sanctorum).

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Meanwhile, the programme and worship ritual of Shri Ramlalla Pran Pratishtha commenced today.

The rituals will begin at 1.30 pm with the Dasavidhi bath of host Dr. Anil Mishra. Karmakuti will be worshiped at the idol construction site. In the evening, Havan will be held at Vivek Srishti, the idol construction site. Prayaschita will be done through havan.

Providing details of the Pran Pratishtha programme, Champat Rai mentioned that all preparations for the event have been completed. The Pran Pratishtha is scheduled to commence at 12:20 pm, with the timing determined by the revered priest of Varanasi, Ganeshwar Shastri.

Laxmikant Dixit of Varanasi will be responsible for conducting the entire ritual associated with Pran Pratistha, he added.

He said the puja rituals are set to begin today and will continue till January 21. The minimum necessary activities will be organised for Pran Pratishtha on January 22.

Rai further revealed that the statue to be consecrated is made of stone, with an estimated weight ranging between 150 and 200 kg. The statue represents the form of a 5-year-old child and is intended to be installed in a standing position.

Rai explained that the consecrated idol undergoes a process known as Adhivas in the worship system, wherein various forms of residence are created for the idol. These include residence in water, food, fruits, medicine, ghee, bed, and fragrance. This is a very difficult process.

He emphasised that the procedure would be carried out in accordance with the guidance of religious leaders, acknowledging the complexity and importance of the ritual.

Invitation has been extended to saints representing over 150 diverse traditions, such as Dharmacharya, Adivasi, Girivasi, and Samudravasi, for the programme. Additionally, individuals from various disciplines in India, including sports, science, military, administration, police, diplomacy, judiciary, literature, arts, painting, and sculpture, among others, have been invited. The event will also be attended by more than 500 individuals from the Engineer Group, who played crucial roles in the construction of the temple.

Saints from all over India, speaking all languages, Shaiva, Vaishnav, Shakya, Ganpati worshippers, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, as well as all the philosophies, Kabir, Valmiki, the tradition of Shankar Dev from Assam, ISKCON, Gayatri, Mahima Samaj of Odisha, Barkari of Maharashtra, and Lingayat of Karnataka will be present.

He said water has come from many places like Manasarovar, Amarnath, Gangotri, Haridwar, Sangam of Prayagraj, Narmada, Godavari, Nashik, and Gokarna. Many people are bringing water and soil from their respective places with devotion. In line with the customary practice of exchanging gifts in our society, an elaborate gift comprising grains, fruits, clothes, dry fruits, gold, and silver has been presented from Birganj in South Nepal, an area linked to Mithila.

Likewise, representatives from Sitamarhi, the birthplace of Sita Mata, have arrived with their gifts. Additionally, gifts have been brought from Chhattisgarh, Ram Jis maternal hometown. A devoted sadhu from Jodhpur has contributed ghee from his cowshed as well.

Schedule of the rituals:

January 16: Prayaschita and Karmakuti Poojan

January 17: Parisar Pravesh of the Murti

A procession carrying the idol of Ram Lalla will reach Ayodhya with devotees carrying Saryu water in Mangal Kalash to be presented at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple.

January 18: Teerth Poojan, Jal Yatra, and Gandhadhivas

Formal rituals will commence, featuring the Ganesh Ambika puja, Varun puja, Matrika puja, Brahmin Varan, and Vastu Puja.

January 19: Dhanyadhivas

The lighting of the holy fire will be followed by the establishment of Navagraha and a havan (a holy ritual involving fire).

January 20: Sharkaradhivas, Phaladhivas

The sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple will be cleansed with Saryu water. Subsequently, the Vaastu Shanti and Annadhivas rituals will take place.

January 21: Pushpadhivas

The Ram Lalla idol will undergo a bathing ceremony with 125 urns, culminating in its final placement.

January 22: Shaiyadhivas and consecration ceremony
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday instilled considerable enthusiasm among party workers for the coming Lok Sabha elections with the declaration to cross the 400-mark this time.

The PM will hold 3 rallies in UP before the polls, Yogi said. As part of the wall-writing campaign initiated on the instructions of the partys national leadership, Yogi drew BJPs election symbol, the lotus flower, on the wall of Shri Vishwakarma Bhagwan Panchayat Temple located in Jatashankar on Tuesday. Slogans inscribed before the election symbol proclaimed: Once again Modi government and BJP will cross 400-mark this time.

Addressing party workers present at the wall-writing campaign, the Chief Minister said that this initiative has to be taken to new heights to ensure success like the Vikas Bharat Sankalp Yatra.

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He said that during the Lok Sabha elections, arrangements would be made for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to interact with voters. Three big rallies would be held in the state before the elections. The wall-writing campaign is a crucial initiative in the context of these upcoming events.

Yogi said that MPs, MLAs, and all Panchayat and civic body representatives must actively take part in the campaign with a sense of responsibility. In every available space, the lotus flower symbol should be made with both the slogans (Once again Modi government and This time, the target should cross the 400-mark) inscribed below it. Prior permission must be taken before writing slogans on private property. Efforts should be made that no space remains empty of slogans, he added.

Emphasising the significance of booth management for success in elections, the Chief Minister said that stronger booths facilitate better communication with voters, and ensure more votes for candidates. Our collective resolution in 2024 should be singularly focused on surpassing the 400-mark for both the Modi government as well as the BJP, he added.

Yogi said that by launching the wall-writing campaign in Delhi yesterday, BJP national president JP Nadda has conveyed a message to the party workers to work wholeheartedly to ensure the success of this initiative, as was witnessed in the Vikas Bharat Yatra.

The Chief Minister said: We should not hesitate in expressing our views. The public is closely observing the achievements made by the double-engine government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last 10 years. The schemes of the central and the state governments have boosted peoples confidence. Infrastructure works of global standards have been done in the country and the state. Highways, rail networks, and air connectivity have been strengthened. New AIIMS and IITs have been built. Many schemes have set new standards. Besides announcing schemes, efforts have also been made for their 100% saturation. Yogi and the party workers also raised slogans in favour of the Modi government and the BJP.
As the heavy fog has led to the cancellation of many flights in the Northern part of India, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked the airlines to publish real-time information regarding flight delays on their websites.

It has also asked to inform affected passengers through WhatsApp messages and email, and sensitise their staff at airports to communicate with passengers.

In view of the prevalent fog season and adverse weather conditions, airlines may cancel, sufficiently in advance, such flights that are anticipated to be delayed or consequentially delayed on account of such conditions beyond a period of 3 hours with a view to obviate congestion at the airport and mitigate passenger inconvenience, the DGCA said.

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The standard operating procedure (SOP) released by the regulator states that airlines are required to display updated information on delays at airports. It also said carriers must sensitise staff at airports to communicate with passengers and continuously guide and inform them about flight delays.

The SOPs have been issued in view of the fog-induced disruptions and adverse weather conditions at various airports, including Delhi airport, causing delays, cancellations and inconvenience to passengers, an official release said.

Earlier, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had instructed the DGCA to issue an SOP to airlines on better communication and facilitation of passengers affected by cancellations and delays.

On Monday, Scindia posted on X that Delhi airport authorities were compelled to enforce a shut-down of operations on Sunday for some time even on CAT III runways.

The decision was taken keeping passenger safety in mind, which remains the foremost priority for all in the aviation ecosystem, he said, adding that Delhi Airport has been asked to immediately expedite the operationalisation of the CAT III-enabled 4th runway.

According to reports, on Sunday, 194 flights linking the national capital were delayed.

On the same day, social media was replete with posts by passengers complaining about long delays and cancellations. In one incident, a passenger assaulted an IndiGo pilot.

Flightradar24, which tracks flights, put the average delay at Delhi airport at over three hours and the disruption index at its highest level.

Interestingly, as per data on the Ministry of Civil Aviations website, Indigo was the worst culprit in terms of on-time-performance for January 14 with only 21 per cent of its flights being punctual.

For other airlines like Vistara, it was 29.6 per cent, Spicejet 42.68 per cent and Akasa Air 41.8 per cent . Air India had 46.8 per cent on-time performance, on January 13, as per the official data.
US-based Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has allegedly threatened to kill Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the states DGP Gaurav Yadav.

According to reports, Pannun has called on gangsters to unite and target Mann and Yadav on Republic Day.

The threat comes after CM Mann ordered Punjab Police to take strict action against gangsters in the state.

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Earlier this month, the Khalistani terrorist had also threatened the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22 and asked Muslims to oppose the mega event.

Pannun had purportedly termed the January 22 ceremony as Prime Minister Narendra Modis Operation Blue Star on Muslims and called the event most unholy, ungodly and unrighteous ceremony.

This wasnt the only instance when the Khalistan terrorist has issued threats against India or Indian leaders.

Last year, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) booked him over his video threatening Air India passengers.

The NIA has registered a case against Pannun under sections 120B, 153A & 506 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 10, 13, 16, 17, 18, 18B & 20 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

In the purported video released on November 4, 2023, Pannun had asked Sikhs not to fly by Air India planes on and after November 19. He claimed a threat to their lives if they fly on Air India planes.

The Khalistani extremist also threatened not to allow Air India to operate anywhere in the world.

Following his threat, authorities in India, Canada and several other countries where Air India operates, issued a high alert and initiated a probe against him.

The Khalistan terrorist, according to the US Justice Department, was subject to a thwarted assassination bid by an Indian national named Nikhil Gupta.

The US claimed that Gupta, on directions from an Indian government official, tried to hire a killer to assassinate Pannun in New York.

Gupta, who is currently in the custody of Czech Republic authorities and awaiting extradition to the US, has been charged with murder-for-hire in the case.
Amid BJP criticism of INDIA alliance parties over their refusal to attend the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir on January 22, NCP chief Sharad Pawar has accused the saffron party and its ideological mother RSS of doing politics in the name of Lord Ram.

Addressing a public gathering in Karnatakas Nipani, Pawar said, The shilanyas (laying of first stone) was conducted during Rajiv Gandhis tenure, but today the BJP and RSS are doing politics in the name of Lord Ram.

Refering to Prime Minister Narendra Modis 11-day fast ahead of the mega Ram temple event, Pawar said people would have appreciated if he had observed a fast to eliminate poverty.

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I respect his faith in Ram, but had he decided to observe a fast to eliminate poverty, people would have appreciated it, the NCP leader added.

Pawar was refering to the November 9, 1989 foundation stone laying ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya. The Rajiv Gandhi government allowed Vishwa Hindu Parishad to lay the foundation stone of the temple.

Before that, the locks of the then Babari Masjid were opened during the Rajiv Gandhi government.

Pawars remarks came amid a war of words between the BJP and the Congress-led Opposition over the consecration ceremony.

While the Opposition parties have accused the BJP of making the temple event a political function for electoral gains, the saffron has accused them of being anti-Ram and anti-Sanatana.

None of the INDIA alliance leaders have accepted the invitation to attend the Ram temple consecration ceremony.

While the Left objected to the alleged politicisation of the religious event, the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has said that he will visit the temple after the ceremony.

The Congress also turned down the invite terming the event a BJP, RSS function centred around Prime Minister Narendra Modi in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

However, a delegation of the Congress party visited the Ayodhya on Monday and had darshan of Ram Lalla.
In the labyrinth of geopolitical intricacies, India finds itself at a critical juncture in its relationship with Myanmar. Recent developments in Chin state, notably the establishment of the Chinland Council and concurrent political shifts in Mizoram, demand a nuanced and strategic approach from New Delhi.

The evolving landscape, marked by the Myanmar military juntas diminishing authority and the Chin National Front (CNF) armys territorial gains, underscores the imperative for India to recalibrate its diplomatic strategy. The military juntas substantial losses in the wake of Operation 1027, orchestrated by the Brotherhood Alliance, have unveiled the cracks in the authority of the countrys rulers. The Chin National Fronts advancements in capturing strategic towns further complicate the geopolitical chessboard. As India reassesses its approach, the growing interactions between the CNF and New Delhi signal potential shifts in alliances, hinting at a delicate dance of diplomacy. Indias reaffirmation of support for Myanmars journey towards a federal democracy during recent consultations is a diplomatic signal echoing concerns over the juntas inability to manage border complexities. However, the expressions of gratitude from the CNF to India introduce a layer of complexity, questioning the nature of evolving relationships and potential realignments in the region. The establishment of the Chinland Council and its mandate to set up a government within 60 days add a dynamic dimension to the situation.

The renaming of Chin State to Chinland sparks questions about aspirations for independence. The Councils pursuit of self-determination and sovereignty within the framework of a federal union poses challenges and opportunities for India, necessitating careful consideration. The geopolitical chessboard also implicates Indias interests in border security, countering Chinas influence, and safeguarding crucial business ventures. The implications on connectivity projects like the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport and the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway project, traversing Chin State, add urgency to Indias diplomatic calculus. Mizorams recent election introduces another layer to IndoMyanmar relations, with new chief minister Lalduhoma expressing support for reunification of communities. The historical bond between Chin and Mizo communities, despite concerns over illicit drugs, highlights the importance of positive ties. As India navigates this complex landscape, addressing refugee issues and coordinating border security emerge as critical considerations.

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The 60,000 internally displaced people in Chin State, coupled with the surge in opium cultivation following the coup, necessite urgent attention. Coordinated efforts between the Chinland Council, the state of Mizoram, and the Union government become paramount to addressing these humanitarian and security challenges. India stands at the crossroads of a transforming Myanmar. As the Chinland Council shapes a new governance structure, Indias diplomatic tight-rope walk involves balancing regional interests, fostering positive alliances, and ensuring stability in the face of a weakening military junta. The diplomatic challenge lies not only in reaffirming commitment to federal democracy but also in adapting to the evolving dynamics, recognising opportunities, and mitigating potential risks in this complex geopolitical puzzle.
TUNIS, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- At least 40 illegal migrants have gone missing after their boat sank off Tunisia's southeastern coast, the Tunisian National Guard said Tuesday in a statement.

The group of 40 people left the coast of Sfax late at night on Jan. 10 in an attempt to cross the Mediterranean to enter Italy illegally, according to the statement.

It noted that some of the 40 individuals' families reported losing contact with them to local authorities, without detailing the dates of the reports or the shipwreck.

The search for the missing illegal migrants is still underway, it added.

Tunisia, located in the central Mediterranean, is one of the main departure points for illegal migrants heading to Europe. Despite the strict measures taken by the Tunisian authorities, illegal immigration from the Tunisian coast has been on the rise. 
Young at heart, with courage and faith in oneself, have given the couple Aritra and Ayan Bhattacharya the confidence to take up a challenge in developing a farm land in Tantipara, Birbhum. Considered a dry and rocky area, Tantipara, or technically, Adampur, is basically a hamlet of around 700800 weaver families who specialise in weaving gachhi tussar sarees, from growing the silk cocoon to the finished product.

Amongst this landscape, the couple set up Punascha Krishikaaj, a farm of 17 bigha (roughly a little over 10 acres) that also includes a four-bigha pond area. With an investment of Rs 25 lakhs, they have initiated this farmland that provides livelihood not only from scratch but in different ways.

Our foremost objective is to provide pure, unadulterated, and authentic food items, dairy products, and vegetables, and to also render a rendezvous with nature to those who desire to visit and experience a day trip to the farm, says Ayon, who has left a career in the film industry in the city to devote all his time to this venture.

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Our wanderlust on a recent winter morning took us from Bolpur to Tantipara, an hour and a half drive guided by GPS. We soon reached the landmark given: the Tantipara Municipality Office building. Our adventure had just begun.

At first, Punascha Krishikaaj was untraceable. We simply drove through the kuccha pathway, winding through multi-hued paddy fields as far as our eyes met the horizon. Fortunately, we met our guide for the day, a village local, who immediately connected with us, all praise for the entrepreneurial couple.

After extending a warm welcome, the couple took us around the large area comprising the large kitchen with huge mud ovens.

We were absolutely enthralled to see jam being prepared from Rosella, more familiar as chukai, a red-coloured, tangy-tasting lady finger that actually belongs to the hibiscus family.

The other earthen oven held the large vessel bubbling with condensed milk. We went around the farm to find two cows with their calves, a few ducks, and layers of paddy fields as far as we could stretch our vision. The beauty of the whole area was held in a picturesque yet simple two-storey house where the couples stayed amid the wilderness.

Ayon enlightened us about the farm produce, mainly the native paddy, and the extraordinary quality of the two heirloom rice or indigenous rice varieties that are being sown on the farm. These are two types of rice, interestingly known as radhuni pagol and bhasha manik. Ayon is the production and quality control in-charge, while Aritra looks after the distribution and marketing.

With three permanent local employees and a recurring monthly investment of Rs. 50, 000, this entrepreneurial couple produces their own ghee, butter, cream, condensed milk, and paneer and has also revived original Bengali sweets like kheer gunjiya, patishapta, taal bora, etc. Set up in 2019, the farm has already developed a regular clientele in and around Birbhum, including Bolpur and Siuri, and has also extended to Kolkata.

Ayons emphasis on purity exists in the scale they can now manage, and this has been their USP. The couple has already adopted basic modern technology like sprinklers and machine milking, which also adds to the hygienic method of milk production. They have plans to develop the farm in a big way through further investments and loans, the very hard work notwithstanding.

The two-storey house with large glass windows and a balcony that the couple has built provides humble comfort to them but can be extended to visitors who would like to experience and enjoy farm life during a day visit. This simple house has all the basic amenities, like electricity, water, furniture, utensils, and the availability of cooking gas.

The simple lunch of pulao and chicken stew prepared by Ayon was simply delicious. We bought a few items, like jam and gujiya, at very reasonable rates. As we took a stroll around the pond area after lunch, we saw the sun gently dip down and disappear into the crimson horizon.

It was time for us to hurry back because, as it gets dark, the night brings in its own challenges. The farm may or may not become a commercial resort, but as of now, the Bhattacharyas are experimenting with an innovative experience of alternative living. It is open to anyone who wishes to spend a few hours in the lap of nature.

The writer is a freelance contributor
Saint-Laurent, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Cloudy with rain and snow showers. High 41F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Cloudy with showers of rain and wet snow this evening. Low 26F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precip 50%.
The Fulcrum covers what's making democracy dysfunctional and efforts to fix our governing systems. The Fulcrum is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news platform covering efforts to fix our governing systems. Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter at thefulcrum.us.
By Azernews

Elnur Enveroglu

Although the history of the United States of America does not cover a very long time, it is rich in many interesting events. Especially the presidential elections held in the United States have always played a role of trigger to create noise in the political sphere.

The latest results show that the era of incumbent Democratic leader Joseph Biden is coming to an end. But who is the candidate who can replace the old president?

When Donald Trump, who is called a populist and radical nationalist by many Americans, was elected president in 2016, defeating his opponent from the Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton, it was remembered by serious events in the history of the United States. While ordering the construction of the Mexican wall, Trump drew attention with his ultra nationalist and racist character.

Donald Trump, who easily attracts the attention of the masses in more talk shows and has no military knowledge, has also created serious turbulence in the Middle East and Iran relations. Although he is not a complete politician, he is able to hypothetically convince the masses thanks to his talent as a showman. His election as president was observed by many protests. Trump is as much a nationalist as he is an anti-Islamist and a racist.

After becoming president, Trump began to prevent the arrival of immigrants from Muslim countries, as well as ordered the spending of millions of dollars from the US military budget to build walls in Mexico.

Donald Trump, who lost the election to his rival Joseph Biden in 2020, could not easily digest his defeat. He turned the defeat in the elections into a protest under the guise of fraud and tried to prevent the new president from taking office with various maneuvers. On January 6, 2021, he urged his supporters to march to the U.S. Capitol, which many of them then attacked, resulting in multiple deaths and interrupting the electoral vote count.

Donald Trump, who always likes controversy shows, is the first president in American history to have been impeached twice. It is interesting that Trump, who was impeached for the second time in 2021 and acquitted by the Senate, was included in the ranks of the worst presidents in American history.

However, currently, history is changing and, to be more precise, Donald Trump is trying to create a new page in the history of the United States. The former US President is leading among all other candidates in the Iowa Republican primary, according to preliminary voting results.

In the document, it shows that more than 70% of voters cast their votes for him, which is significantly ahead of the other contenders.

In second place is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is supported by more than 15% of Republicans. While Nikki Haley, former permanent representative to the UN, and businessman and pro-Armenian Vivek Ramaswamy received 5.3% and 4.1% of the votes, respectively.

It is significant to note that V. Ramaswamy recently announced his withdrawal from the US presidential race. He called Trump and congratulated him on his victory in the Republican primaries in Iowa. He stated that from now on he would support Trump.

And the most important point is that, prior to this, former President of the United States of America Donald Trump promised to arrange the largest deportation in American history if he wins the future presidential elections.

Pre-elections and tumults in Iran

In 2020, Donald Trump, who ordered the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general and the commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, brought relations with Iran to the worst ever situation. This not only cut off Iran's arm in the Middle East, but also led to an increase in internal turmoil.

Although the situation changed slightly during the administration of President Joseph Biden, Trump's desire to return to the White House later returned the situation to its previous shape. On January 3, 2024, on the eve of the memorial day of the late general, the terrorist incident in Kerman, Iran once again uncovered the footsteps of Trump. After 4 years, on the eve of the next presidential elections, and the incident in Baghdad on the same day 4 years ago - all these can be taken into account as signs predicting the future of Iran-US relations.

Because the January 3 terrorist incident in Kerman was not left unanswered. Iran's IRGC attacked American targets in Erbil, Iraq following the January 3 terrorist actions that Iran speculates as having been committed by the US.

Thus, Trump, who is ahead in the elections, and his turbulent steps are approaching. 2024 ushers in a new show era for US history.
KABUL, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan exported goods worth 166.5 million U.S. dollars in November 2023, the state-run news agency Bakhtar reported Tuesday.

Based on a statement of the National Bureau of Statistics and Information, the state-controlled media outlet added "Afghanistan's exports witnessed a remarkable upswing during November 2023, with the total value reaching an impressive 166.5 million U.S. dollars."

The press agency, however, did not provide information on the volume of imports during the same period.

In the meantime, private media outlet Ariana News has reported that the country's import was registered at 791 million U.S. dollars in November 2023.

The Afghan products were mostly exported to Pakistan, India and the United Arab Emirates in November 2023, while the exports in 2022 were largely to Pakistan, India and China.

However, the imports mostly came from Iran, Pakistan and China in November 2022 and November 2023.

The volume of Afghanistan's exports in 2023 reached 1.9 billion U.S. dollars and the figure shows a 2-percent increase, which is equal to 41 million U.S. dollars against the export volume in 2022, spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad said. 
Source: https://www.gocambodia.tours/top-6-things-do-see-saracen-bay-koh-rong-samloem/

As you sit in the shade of a swaying palm tree with your toes touching crystal-clear water, you imagine you are in the Maldives. But when you look at your still-healthy bank account, you will quickly realize you have found yourself on a much more budget-friendly yet equally captivating paradise island.

Nestled off the southwestern coast of Cambodia lies a gem waiting to be discovered  Koh Rong Samloem. Often overshadowed by its more famous neighbor, Koh Rong, this hidden island paradise offers an idyllic escape for those seeking tranquility away from the tourist crowds.

Lets embark on a virtual journey to explore the wonders that make Koh Rong Samloem a haven for travelers in search of an untouched and serene island experience, preparing you for your next visit to Cambodia .

Koh Rong Samloem's Pristine Beaches

As the boat approaches Koh Rong Samloem, the first glimpse of its coastline reveals a haven of untouched beauty. The island boasts a collection of pristine beaches, each overflowing with charm.

Saracen Bay, the most well-known and frequented beach, welcomes visitors with powdery white sand and crystal-clear turquoise waters. The tranquility of the bay, characterized by the absence of noisy beach clubs and crowded sunbeds, creates a serene atmosphere for those yearning for a genuine escape.

Further exploration unveils hidden gems like Sunset Beach on the western side of the island. As the name suggests, Sunset Beach offers breathtaking views of the sun sinking into the horizon, casting a warm glow across the tranquil waters.

Lazy Beach, secluded and surrounded by lush jungle, provides an intimate setting for those seeking a more private beach experience. The diversity of Koh Rong Samloem's beaches ensures that every visitor finds their own slice of paradise.

Bioluminescent Magic

One of the most enchanting features of Koh Rong Samloem is the mesmerizing bioluminescent plankton that transforms its shores into a celestial seascape after sunset. As the night falls, the plankton responds to movement, emitting a soft, ethereal glow that turns the ocean into a magical realm. Taking a midnight swim in the warm waters of Saracen Bay becomes an otherworldly experience as a shimmering trail of bioluminescence accompanies every movement.

Guided boat tours, specifically designed to witness this natural phenomenon, offer an opportunity to marvel at the celestial dance of plankton. The play of light beneath the starlit sky creates a sense of wonder, making Koh Rong Samloem a destination where the magic of nature continues long after the sun has set.

Eco-Friendly Retreats

In alignment with its serene and untouched ambiance, Koh Rong Samloem is committed to eco-friendly tourism. The island is dotted with accommodations that prioritize sustainability, offering an immersive experience for travelers who seek to tread lightly on the environment. These eco-friendly resorts and guesthouses integrate seamlessly into the island's natural beauty, providing an escape that is both luxurious and sustainability-minded .

Solar power , rainwater harvesting, and waste reduction initiatives are some of the eco-friendly practices adopted by accommodations in Koh Rong Samloem. Visitors can enjoy the comforts of modern amenities while minimizing their ecological footprint. This dedication to sustainability not only preserves the island's pristine beauty but also contributes to the long-term preservation of its delicate ecosystems.

Koh Rong Sanloem Eco Retreat is a budget-friendly favorite with comfortable bungalows right on the beach. Unwind on a hammock on your front porch or dive into the unbeatably blue water from the propertys jetty. You can also upgrade your island experience and stay at Moonlight Resort where dome-houses with modern finishes create a serene escape along the beachfront.

Jungle Treks and Hidden Waterfalls

While the beaches are undoubtedly the main draw, Koh Rong Samloem's interior harbors hidden treasures for those who venture into the lush jungle. Jungle treks lead explorers to viewpoints that unveil panoramic vistas of the island, providing a different perspective of its natural beauty. The trails wind through dense foliage, occasionally opening up to reveal secluded waterfalls where travelers can cool off in the refreshing natural pools.

Discovering the island's interior offers a balance to the beach-centric experience, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the diverse ecosystems that thrive on Koh Rong Samloem. The island's untouched jungles and hidden waterfalls are a testament to its unspoiled allure, inviting nature enthusiasts and adventure seekers to explore beyond the shoreline.

In Conclusion

Koh Rong Samloem remains one of South East Asias best-hidden treasures, a tranquil oasis that beckons travelers in search of untouched beauty. But it wont be kept secret for long as the world quickly discovers the allure of Koh Rong Samloem.
The third week of January brings an exciting array of releases on various streaming platforms. Here is a quick look at movies and shows releasing this week:

1. American Nightmare

Release date: Jan 17

Streaming platform: Netflix

The true docu-crime series looks at the life of a couple named Denise and Aaron. He calls 911 to report that Denise has been kidnapped, a day after they faced a harrowing home invasion. Things get twisty when they are accused of staging the crime, and Denise walks in. She reappears in the docuseries, eight years after the incident.

2. Indian Police force

Release date: Jan 19

Streaming platform: Amazon Prime Video

Directed by Rohit Shetty, this Hindi action thriller features an ensemble cast including Sidharth Malhotra and Shilpa Shetty Kundra. The series explores a fictional cop universe, tackling crime and justice while providing insight into the lives of dedicated police officers.

3. Cristobal Balenciaga

Release date: Jan 19

Streaming platform: Disney + Hotstar

It is a biographical series chronicling the life of renowned fashion designer Cristobal Balenciaga. Portrayed by Alberto San Juan and directed by award-winning filmmakers Aitor Arregi, Jon Garano, and Jose Mari Goenaga, the series traces Balenciaga's journey from humble beginnings to a world-class designer.

4. The Marvels

Release date: Jan 16

Streaming platform: Disney + Hotstar

The 33rd movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a continuation of the 2022 miniseries "Ms. Marvel" and sequel to "Captain Marvel" (2019). After regaining her identity from Kree, Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel teams up with Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau to save the universe. The theatrical release was in November 2023.

5. The Kitchen

Release date: Jan 19

Streaming platform: Netflix

Set in a dystopian future London, "The Kitchen" on Netflix follows Izi and Benji, residents of The Kitchen, a defiant slum community amid the absence of social housing. The movie is directed by Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya. Kane Robinson plays the role as Izi and Jedaiah Bannerman as Benji.

6. The Bequeathed

Release date: Jan 19

Streaming platform: Netflix

This South Korean Netflix thriller revolves around a girl inheriting a burial ground, leading her into a web of murders and secrets. It is directed by Min Hong-nam.

7. Joe

Release date: Jan 15

Streaming platform: Disney + Hotstar

Tamil romantic drama, "Joe", written and directed by Hariharan Ram S., narrates the tale of a young man experiencing love and heartbreak with his college mate. Starring Rio Raj and Malavika Manoj, among others, the film hit theatres on November 24, 2023.
The INDIA bloc will sweep the Chandigarh municipal polls and the win will be the curtain raiser for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, AAP leader and Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha said on Tuesday.



The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress--both INDIA bloc members--forged an alliance on Monday for the January 18 mayoral polls in the Union Territory.

Chadha told a press conference here that he was sure that the INDIA bloc would defeat the BJP in the elections in Chandigarh. "The Chandigarh municipal polls will be the first big face-off between the BJP and the INDIA bloc. It will set the tone for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls," he said.

Under the alliance arrangement for the mayoral elections, the AAP will fight for the mayor's seat while the Congress will contest the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.

The INDIA bloc was formed by opposition parties, including the Congress, the AAP, the TMC and the Samajwadi Party, to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.
Senior officials of the Indian investigation agencies, including NIA, ED and CBI, are planning to leave to the United Kingdom to expedite extradition of Indias most wanted fugitives, including defence dealer Sanjay Bhandari, diamond trader Nirav Modi and Kingfisher Airlines promoter Vijay Mallya.

The investigation team will conduct bilateral discussions regarding the longstanding exchange of information pending with the UK authorities under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), reported ANI.



Since both India and UK are signatories to MLAT, they are obligated to legally share information on criminal investigations involving economic offenders and others.



Though it is the Union Home Ministry which handles MLAT affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is actively engaged in diplomatic interactions with the UK. All requests are channeled through MEA for foreign countries and a senior MEA official will also be present during the meeting with the UK authorities.



The meeting would be arranged in sessions in close supervision of the Indian High Commission in London.



The team is also expected to leave this month. Besides expediting the process of extradition of the fugitives, the team is learnt to seek outstanding informations about assets obtained by them in London, including specifics about their banking transactions, the ANI report added. Efforts are also being taken to identify the properties of the individuals in the UK and other countries with the aim of seizing the proceeds of crime.



Sanjay Bhandari is said to have close links with Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi's husband Robert Vadra. Recently, the ED had filed a supplementary prosecution complaint (chargesheet) against him in connection with a money laundering case.



While Nirav Modi faces allegations in a fraud case related to Punjab National Bank funds exceeding Rs 6,500 crore, Mallya who owes 17 Indian banks an estimated Rs 900 crore, is accused of fraud and money laundering.


ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- A missile fired by the Houthi group targeted a cargo ship sailing in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen on Tuesday, a government official told Xinhua.

The local government official, who asked to remain anonymous, said that "the Houthis carried out a new missile attack and targeted a commercial ship in the Red Sea during the past hours."

However, no further details have been provided regarding the incident or the identity of the ship.

Despite the attack on the ship in the Red Sea, the Houthis have not provided any comments on the attack thus far.

Meanwhile, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported an incident approximately 100 nautical miles northwest of Saleef, Yemen.

The UKMTO urged all vessels traversing the area to exercise extreme caution and be alert to potential threats.

British maritime security company Ambrey revealed the targeted ship flew a Maltese flag and was Greek-owned.

The missile strike comes less than a day after Houthis claimed responsibility for firing a missile that hit the Gibraltar Eagle, a U.S.-owned oil tanker sailing in the Gulf of Aden.

Tensions have escalated in the Red Sea following U.S.-led airstrikes on Houthi military targets after repeated Houthi attacks on commercial ships. The Houthis claim that the attacks were in response to the ongoing Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

With the Houthis continuing to wield missiles against ships linked to their opponents, maritime security remains under serious threat in the strategic waters connecting the Middle East.

During the past several weeks, the Houthi group has intensified military operations in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, targeting commercial ships with armed boats, drones, and missiles. The group claims these vessels are either Israeli or heading to Israeli ports.

The Houthis have controlled the capital Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen since ousting the internationally recognized government in 2014. The conflict has drawn in a Saudi-led coalition fighting on the side of the government. 
Khalistan terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who has been making incendiary provocation of violence against India, on Tuesday threatened to assassinate Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and DGP Gaurav Yadav on the Republic Day on January 26.

In a video message, Pannun also dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to participate in the Republic Day parade without security cover.

I dare Modi, you come to Delhi without your security. If you are a popular leader, come to Delhi on R-Day without security and SFJ is going to avenge the assassination of Shaheed Nijjar by raising the Khalistan flag," he said in the video.

Nijjar, a Khalistani separatist leader, was killed by unidentified gunmen in Canadas Surry, with the Justin Trudeau government alleging possible role of Indian agents behind the incident.

In the video, the Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) founder compared Mann with former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, who was assassinated in a bomb blast on August 31, 1995. The blast was carried out by the banned terror group -- Babbar Khalsa International.

In another video, Pannun gave a call to gangsters in Punjab to join the SFJ, asking them to get recognised as "shaheeds" (martyrs).

Pannun has been making open calls for violence against India ever since the US government alleged the hands of an Indian agent in a failed attempt to kill the Khalistan leader on the American soil.

Last month, called for the countrys economic destruction by targeting the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange from March 12. The day coincides with the 31st anniversary of the serial blasts in Mumbai in 1993.

In December, Pannun had exhorted the Muslims of Uttar Pradesh to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he came to Ayodhya to inaugurate a new airport and unveil many other developmental projects.

An NIA Special Court had issued non-bailable warrants against him in February 2021 and he was declared a 'Proclaimed Offender' in November 2022.

In September this year, the National Investigation Agency had confiscated his house and land in Amritsar and Chandigarh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday emphasised the BJP's significant focus on the opposition-dominated Kerala in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections by conducting a massive roadshow in Kochi, marking the second such event in the state where the party has had no success in the previous polls.

Thousands of BJP workers and local residents lined both sides of the 1.3 km road to welcome the Prime Minister, who visited the city for private, public, and party functions in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts on Wednesday.

Commencing from the KPCC junction at 7:45 pm, the open vehicle carrying Modi, accompanied by BJP state president K Surendran, traversed at a slow pace, captivating party workers who showered flowers and chanted slogans. The procession covered a distance of 1.3 km in approximately 25 minutes.

Following the rousing welcome he received during the roadshow, Modi, in a post on social media platform X, said, "Humbled by the affection in Kochi. Sharing some glimpses" and shared photographs of the enthusiastic public response to his arrival in the southern state.

Thousands of people, including avid BJP supporters with flowers, garlands, and party flags, lined both sides of the 1.3-km roadshow route from KPCC junction here to the Ernakulam government guest house, where he would be staying.

The crowds gathered hours ahead of the Prime Minister's arrival, creating a festive atmosphere along the route of the roadshow. Modi, wearing a waistcoat and a saffron nehru cap with lotus symbols, rode in an open vehicle and reciprocated the excitement by waving both hands at the cheering crowd on both sides of the brightly lit route.

The PM was showered with flowers throughout the route by people of all age groups, and he too threw flowers at the ardent supporters many times. Enthusiastic BJP workers and supporters carrying party flags, wearing party hats or caps, and holding placards with Modi's photograph were lined up on both sides of the road and cheered him on with chants of 'Modi-Modi'. The slowly moving vehicle reached the Ernakulam government guest house around 8.15 pm, bringing the roadshow to an end.

The entire route was under a tight security net, with thousands of police personnel being deployed to ensure Modi's safety. There had been traffic restrictions in place in the port city, especially along the roadshow route, since Tuesday afternoon.

This visit of Modi, to attend the marriage of daughter of actor-turned politician Suresh Gopi at the Guruvayoor temple on Wednesday, shows the significance the BJP national leadership places on the Thrissur seat, which is currently represented by Congress leader T N Prathapan.

The BJP strengthened its voter base in Thrissur during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with the candidacy of Suresh Gopi. Despite making sincere efforts since the 1980s, the saffron party has not been able to make much electoral progress in the southern state, where power has consistently been held by the CPI(M)-led LDF or the Congress-led UDF.

To break their streak of not winning elections in the southern state, the BJP is capitalising on the growing popularity of the Prime Minister in Kerala. They recently held a big roadshow and a large gathering of women in Thrissur in early January as part of their efforts to gain votes in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Earlier on Tuesday, the PM was accorded a warm welcome by Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan after he arrived at the Cochin International Airport in Nedumbassery at 6.50 pm in a special aircraft of the Indian Air Force.

Thereafter, he left for the airport at the INS Garuda Naval Base by helicopter at 7 pm.

On Wednesday, at 6.30 am, Modi will leave for Guruvayur, where he will offer prayers at the famous Lord Krishna temple and attend the marriage of actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi's daughter, party sources said. He will also offer prayers at Triprayar Sree Rama Swami Temple in Thrissur district and then return to Kochi, the sources said.

On Kochi's Willingdon Island, he will dedicate to the nation the Cochin Shipyard Ltd international vessel repairing centre and a new dry dock, they said. Subsequently, at 11 am, he will address a party meeting of around 6,000 in-charges of 'shakti kendras', each comprising two to three booth-level areas, at Marine Drive here.

He would return to Delhi by evening, the sources added.
The Supreme Court has delivered a split verdict on former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's plea challenging High Court order refusing to quash the FIR registered against him in the Skill Development Corporation scam case.

The SC bench, comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M. Trivedi, differed on the applicability of Prevention of Corruption Act Section 17A, which deals with prior approval for conducting probe. The Act's Section 17A, which was introduced on July 26, 2018 as part of an amendment, stipulates a mandatory requirement for a police officer to seek prior approval from the competent authority to conduct any enquiry or inquiry or investigation into any offence alleged to have been committed by a public servant.

Justice Bose held that the authorities should have taken prior approval to hold the investigation under the Prevention of Corruption Act. "However, I refuse to quash the remand order. The lack of approval will not make the remand order non-est," Justice Bose said, while granting liberty to the state to seek such approval.

Justice Trivedi said section 17A will not apply retrospectively and upheld the high court order refusing to quash the FIR. "The impugned order of remand and impugned judgement of the high court does not suffer from any illegality," Justice Trivedi said while dismissing Naidu's appeal.



Following divergent opinions, the bench said the matter be placed before the Chief Justice of India for appropriate directions.

The Telugu Desam Party chief was arrested on September 9, 2023, for allegedly misappropriating funds from the Skill Development Corporation when he was the CM in 2015, causing a purported loss of Rs 371 crore to the state exchequer. Naidu has denied the allegations.

The high court refused to dismiss his plea for quashing the FIR, following which he moved the apex court to challenge the September 22 order. On October 17, a Supreme Court bench had reserved its verdict on the plea.

During the earlier hearing, the state counsel urged the court to dismiss Naidu's petition to quash the FIR, arguing that the Prevention of Corruption Act Section 17A came into force in July 2018, while the CBI began probing the case in 2017.

Naidu's lawyers had argued that all allegations in the FIR pertain to decisions, instructions or recommendations made by Naidu when he was the chief minister and Section 17A was applicable in the case as the inquiry started in December 2021.

The TDP chief argued that the FIR was lodged without obtaining the prior approval of the competent authority in the scam case, and, therefore, his arrest was illegal.

However, the high court rejected his plea, saying criminal proceedings ought not to be scuttled at the initial stage and quashing an FIR should be an exception rather than the rule.
The Aviation Ministry has asked six metro airports in the country, including Delhi and Mumbai, to set up war rooms to address any issues with regard to passenger inconvenience with immediacy.

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, in a post on X, announced a six-point action plan to address the fog-related flight delays and cancellations. This was in addition to the Standard Operating Procedures issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday.

He said the government has sought incidence reporting three times a day for all the six metro airportsDelhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata.

Sufficient CISF manpower availability will also be ensured round-the-clock in these airports.

The minister said runway RWY 29L of the Delhi airport has been made CAT III operational on Tuesday. The operationalisation of RWY 10/28 as CAT III will be done after re-carpeting work.

Currently, three out of the four runways at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital are operational.

The DGCA had on Monday issued a set of SOPs for airlines amid criticism over flight delays and cancellations at Delhi airport due to adverse weather conditions.

The airlines were asked to publish accurate real-time information regarding flight delays and appropriately sensitise staff at airports to suitably communicate with passengers.

On Sunday, 10 flights were diverted, many were cancelled and delayed due to fog at Delhi airport, resulting in long waiting hours for passengers at the airport as well as inside aircraft.

Many passengers took to social media to express their anguish, while a passenger assaulted an IndiGo pilot when he was making an announcement of flight delay onboard the aircraft that was to fly to Goa.
Bangladesh's new foreign minister Hasan Mahmud on Monday appreciated India's stance over its election that reinstalled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ruling Awami League party for the fourth consecutive term while the polls were boycotted by major opposition BNP.

"India stood beside us in our efforts to maintain the continuity of the democratic process, and they remain beside us (in this regard)," Mahmud told reporters after Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma called on him.



Mahmud said there were conspiracies to tamper with the 2014 elections and "efforts were made to make the 2018 elections controversial and questionable and during both events India was on our side."



"You all know India's position in the elections this year too," he said following the meeting, which was Mahmud's first diplomatic engagement after assuming the charge of the foreign ministry. Mahmud expected New Delhi's continued support for its next-door neighbour and emphasised expanding the ties through greater connectivity, business, digital economy and people-to-people contact.



Major opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia boycotted the January 7 polls saying that no election under Hasina's government would be fair and credible.



The BNP had demanded the polls-time non-party caretaker government for election oversight.



The Western powers, including the United States, earlier called for credible and inclusive polls and after the January 7 election they agreed to continue bilateral relations but expressed their reservation about the voting saying it was not free and fair.



The US State Department said Washington was concerned by reports of vote irregularities and condemned violence that took place.



The US State Department added: The United States shares the view with other observers that these elections were not free or fair and we regret that not all parties participated."



The UK said: Democratic elections depend on credible, open, and fair competitions (and) respect for human rights, rule of law and due process are essential elements of the democratic process."



These standards were not consistently met during the election period. We are concerned at the significant number of arrests of opposition party members before polling day, the UK statement said.



India earlier called the Bangladesh election an internal matter while it was one of the first countries to welcome Hasina's new government when Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned Hasina to congratulate on her historic election victory.



Modi told Hasina that New Delhi was committed to further strengthening the partnership with Bangladesh in different sectors.



Bangladesh's new government also drew congratulations from China, Russia and almost all Middle Eastern nations including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Iran.



In her first media appearance, Hasina also called India a great friend, recalling that it stood by Bangladesh in its 1971 Liberation War, and sheltered her following the 1975 assassination of her father and country's founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.



" We had some bilateral issues with India, but solved them across the table ... (I) expect to resolve the rest as well," she said.



Mahmud said he received an invitation from his Indian counterpart Dr. S Jaishankar and expected New Delhi to be his first destination for a bilateral visit at a convenient time. He, however, is set to visit Uganda to join the Non-Aligned Movement Summit, a multilateral event, this week.



A foreign ministry statement, meanwhile, said during the meeting Mahmud expressed satisfaction with the existing bilateral relations between the two closest neighbours and hoped to work closely with India in the coming days. "He (Mahmud) emphasised the working on the renewal of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, which will expire in 2026. He also emphasised on resolving the pending issues amicably," read the statement.



Prior to the polls, Mahmud had emphasised the "excellent relationship" his country had with India. "It has scaled new heights under the leadership of Prime Ministers Sheikh Hasina and Narendra Modi. We cooperate on multiple fronts. Just 14 years ago, if anybody would speak about transit, people in our country would consider that to be anti-state. Now transit is a reality. People have understood transit is beneficial for the country and the region. Just 15 years ago, it was unthinkable that electricity would be produced in India and would be supplied to Bangladesh. But this is the reality now. Bangladesh has also offered India the use of Chittagong and Mongla ports," Mahmud told THE WEEK in an earlier interview.



Meanwhile, the Indian envoy congratulated the foreign minister and termed 2023 as one of the most successful years in Dhaka-Delhi ties citing several notable achievements like the inauguration of a few projects related to connectivity and power.


Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed on Tuesday that it launched missile attacks on the 'spy headquarters' of Israel in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. The elite force said they had also struck Islamic State targets in Syria, Iran's state media claimed.

"In response to the recent atrocities of the Zionist regime, causing the killing of commanders of the Guards and the Axis of Resistance ... one of the main Mossad espionage headquarters in Iraq's Kurdistan region was destroyed with ballistic missiles," the Guards said in a statement.



"We assure our nation that the Guards' offensive operations will continue until avenging the last drops of martyrs' blood," the Guards' statement said.



The actions have stoked fears of the Israel-Hamas conflict spreading across the region. Tehran had promised revenge for the killing of three members of the IRGC, including senior commander Sayyed Reza Mousavi, in a missile strike in Lebanon.



Besides the strikes on Kurdistan's capital Erbil, the IRGC also "fired a number of ballistic missiles in Syria and destroyed the perpetrators of terrorist operations" in Iran, including the Islamic State.



The targeted area in Erbil was reportedly a residential area near the U.S. consulate. However, no US facilities were affected by the missile strikes, Reuters quoted two US officials as saying.



However, four civilians were killed and six injured in the strikes on Erbil, the Kurdistan governments security council said in a statement, describing the attack as a crime. The slain included multimillionaire Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee and several members of his family.



The deaths occurred when the missiles landed on their home, Iraqi security and medical sources said.

One rocket had fallen on the house of a senior Kurdish intelligence official and another on a Kurdish intelligence centre.



The US State Department condemned the attacks near Erbil, calling them reckless. "We tracked the missiles, which impacted Northern Iraq



and Northern Syria. No U.S. personnel or facilities were targeted," Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement. "We will continue to assess the situation, but initial indications are that this was a reckless and imprecise set of strikes," she said.

Meanwhile, Iraq condemned on Tuesday "aggression" on Erbil that led to civilian casualties in residential areas, according to a statement by the country's foreign ministry. The Iraqi government will take all legal measures against these actions that are considered a violation of Iraq's sovereignty and the security of its people, including filing a complaint at the United Nations Security Council, the statement said.
Kolkata, Jan 16 (PTI) ManipalCigna Health Insurance, a standalone health insurance company, registered a year-on-year 25 per cent growth in gross written premium (GWP) in the first half of the current fiscal.

Focused on achieving robust growth, the company is prioritising product innovation and greater market penetration.

The health insurance company, a part of the Manipal group, recorded a GWP of Rs 746 crore as of September 2023 (H1 FY'24), compared to Rs 595 crore in the corresponding period of 2022-23, representing a jump of over 25 per cent, according to a statement.

ManipalCigna achieved a GWP of Rs 1360 crore for the fiscal year 2022-23.

Sapna Desai, Chief Marketing Officer at ManipalCigna, said that given the potential, the company aims to exceed industry growth through product innovation.

Desai highlighted ManipalCigna's tailored health insurance solutions, such as ManipalCigna Lifetime Health, covering illnesses and hospitalisations with a sum insured of up to Rs 3 crore to meet the unique health requirements of the West Bengal market.

Explaining the rationale behind the product, Desai said, As per National Health Account (NHA) report, in West Bengal 67 per cent of people rely on Out-of-Pocket Expenses (OOPE) to cover their healthcare-related costs.

She said that several research studies also show health concerns of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity, and the West Bengal state has also consistently ranked high in the number of cancer cases over the past years.

Therefore, our goal is to tackle these health challenges and address the associated treatment costs," Desai said.

Speaking about Bima Vistaar, Desai mentioned that the company is in dialogue with regulators and stakeholders. Bima Vistaar is a product currently under preparation by the regulator, and its objective is to provide comprehensive insurance coverage to the masses.

She stated that the company's footprint expansion in all forms will continue, with plans for five new offices in West Bengal alone to enhance its reach after experiencing strong growth in the region.

Currently operating three branches, the company anticipates doubling its business in the eastern region over the next two years, having achieved a 38 per cent GWP growth in the financial year 2022-23.

The expansion is contributing to an increase in the retail share of its gross premium, rising to 44 per cent in the first half of the current fiscal from the 43 per cent achieved in the 12 months of 2022-23.

The health insurance firm said their onboarding process is paperless and digital sales currently account for 5-10 per cent of total premium.
New Delhi, Jan 16 (PTI) Delhi government agency DAMB has sanctioned Rs 544.80 crore for the development of Mandis (wholesale markets) in the city, Development Minister Gopal Rai said in a statement.

The minister said the Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board (DAMB) in a meeting held earlier in the day approved the budget worth Rs 544.80 crores for the development of the mandis.

It will include renovation of the Ghazipur poultry market with a budget of Rs 70 crore, he added.

Also, the flower market at Ghazipur will be developed with a budget of Rs 40.75 crore, and development projects will be taken up at Ghazipur, Azadpur, Narela, and Tikri Khampur Mandis, the minister said.

For the financial year 2024-25, the board has allocated approximately Rs 225.96 crore to Azadpur Mandi, Rs 20.07 crore to the fruit and vegetables market, Ghazipur, Rs 21.27 crore to fish and poultry market Ghazipur, and Rs 8.63 crore for the flower market.

Further, Rs 21.77 crore have been allocated to Agricultural Marketing Produce Committee (APMC) Keshopur, Rs 31.36 crore to APMC Narela, Rs 5.36 crore to APMC Najafgarh and Rs 210.40 crore to DAMB, Rai said.
NEW DELHI, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A classic novel by Nanak Singh, father of the Punjabi novel, of a city in turmoil and the unexpected heroes who rise from the catastrophe. A sequel to Hymns in Blood, its message is as relevant today as it was when it was first published in 1948.



' A must-read.'  Shashi Tharoor



' A chilling reminder of the depravity of communal violence.'  Navtej Sarna



Published by Harper Perennial



Paperback | Fiction | 344 pp | INR 499



Releasing 16 January 2024



About the Book



1947. Amritsar. Guru Ram Das Serai near the Golden Temple has become a temporary refuge for Hindu and Sikh families fleeing the communal terror and bloodbath of Partition. One of the legions of volunteers providing succour to the new arrivals is Satnam Singh, the leader of the local Unity Council. He is struck by the extraordinary calm of an erudite-looking old man with a long flowing beard, and his companion, a resolute young woman, whose eyes seem haunted by the tragedies they have witnessed.



Taking the story of the Partition forward from Hymns in Blood, A Game of Fire follows Satnam as he observes the rising tide of communal violence threaten his beloved Amritsar. His own friends abandon their beliefs to join the relentless cycle of revenge and retribution, determined to purge the city of its large Muslim population. Even as he shelters the elderly man and the young woman in his own home, his faith in placing humanity before religion is severely tested and he oscillates between steadfastness and deep despair. Against the backdrop of emerging fissures in a new country and its people, Agg di Khed paints the picture of a city in turmoil and the unexpected heroes who rise from this catastrophe, its message as relevant today as it was when it was first published in 1948.



Navdeep Suri, translator of A Game of Fire, and grandson of author Nanak Singh, says, "Translating this book has taken me through a journey of the Amritsar of 1947, reminding me of the large and thriving Punjabi Muslim community that was woven into every part of the city's fabric. It has also made me aware of the intellectual honesty and courage of my grandfather Nanak Singh as he unflinchingly describes the cycle of violence that led to the exodus of Muslims out of Amritsar. And it provided a stark warning of the dangers that lurk around the corner when politicians start playing with religious emotions."



Udayan Mitra, Executive Publisher, HarperCollins India, says, "A Game of Fire, and Hymns in Blood which we published in 2022, constitute two parts of a powerful Partition narrative by Nanak Singh, one of the great modern novelists who wrote in Punjabi. This is a poignant, painful story of human beings whose lives are caught up in a defining, turbulent time in history -- and yet it is a story shot through with hope. Navdeep Suri's wonderful translations have made these twin novels available in English for the very first time. We at HarperCollins are very pleased to bring both these novels to readers with the hope that they will like to engage with these classic works."



Praise for A Game of Fire



'Written with the insight of an intellectual and the remarkable sensibility of a devout pluralist, A Game of Fire reminds us of the perils of communalism in our subcontinentally diverse politya must-read in a day and age where politically orchestrated religious polarization once again threatens India's hard-earned and intricately woven social fabric.'  Shashi Tharoor



'A chilling reminder of the depravity of communal frenzy, Nanak Singh's classic novel records the bestial orgy of murder and mayhem that played out in Amritsar's narrow lanes during Partition. And yet, it is a narrative of hope, of how essential goodness, humanity and love can overcome brutal barbarism. Translated from the Punjabi with deep empathy and fluid felicity by Navdeep Suri.' Navtej Sarna



About the Author and the Translator



Nanak Singh (18971971) is widely regarded as the father of the Punjabi novel. Despite little formal education beyond the fourth grade, he wrote an astounding fifty-nine books, which included thirty-eight novels and an assortment of plays, short stories, poems, essays, and even a set of translations. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1962 for Ik Mian Do Talwaraan. His novel Pavitra Paapi was made into a film in 1968, while Chitta Lahu was translated into the Russian by Natasha Tolstoy.



Navdeep Suri is a former diplomat who has served in India's diplomatic missions in Washington, D.C. and London. He was India's Ambassador to Egypt and UAE, High Commissioner to Australia, and Consul General in Johannesburg. He has been striving to preserve the legacy of his grandfather Nanak Singh and to bring his works to a wider audience. He has translated into English the classic 1930s Punjabi novels Pavitra Paapi (The Watchmaker) and Adh Khidya Phul (A Life Incomplete). His translation of Nanak Singh's lost poem Khooni Vaisakhi was published in 2019 and of the novel Khoon de Sohile (Hymns in Blood) in 2022.



About HarperCollins India



HarperCollins is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, having begun publishing in India in 1992. HarperCollins India publishes some of the finest writers from the Indian Subcontinent and around the world, publishing approximately 200 new books every year, with a print and digital catalogue of more than 2,000 titles across 10 imprints. Its authors have won almost every major literary award including the Man Booker Prize, JCB Prize, DSC Prize, New India Foundation Award, Atta Galatta Prize, Shakti Bhatt Prize, Gourmand Cookbook Award, Publishing Next Award, Tata Literature Live! Award, Gaja Capital Business Book Prize, BICW Award, Sushila Devi Award, Sahitya Akademi Award and Crossword Book Award. HarperCollins India also represents some of the finest publishers in the world including Harvard University Press, Gallup Press, Oneworld, Bonnier Zaffre, Usborne, Dover and Lonely Planet. HarperCollins India has won the Publisher of the Year Award four times at Tata Literature Live! in 2022, 2021, 2018 and 2016, and at Publishing Next in 2021 and 2015. HarperCollins India is a subsidiary of HarperCollins Publishers.



Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2319147/AGameofFire.jpg



Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2105077/4095906/HarperCollinsLogo.jpg



(Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PRNewswire and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR

PWR

PWR
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)
SINGAPORE, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Singapore-born giant panda Le Le will return to China on Tuesday evening, according to a statement by the Mandai Wildlife Group.

A Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400F freighter aircraft carrying Le Le will depart from Singapore Changi International Airport at 7:15 p.m. local time (1115 GMT) for Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The cabin temperature will be kept at around 15 Celsius degrees, consistent with the temperature of Le Le's habitat at River Wonders' Pavilion Capital Giant Panda Forest in Singapore.

The cargo plane will also carry 50 kg of bamboo, bamboo shoots, fruit, pellets and water for Le Le's in-flight meal during the approximately 4.5-hour-long flight.

The panda will be accompanied by a keeper and veterinarian from Mandai Wildlife Group, as well as a keeper from China, said the statement.

Le Le is the first panda born in Singapore. His parents, Kai Kai and Jia Jia, will remain at River Wonders for future breeding purposes. 
Davos, Jan 16 (PTI) Praising India and other countries for contributing to a global pandemic fund, a top official of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Tuesday said the world is yet not fully prepared to deal with any future pandemic and a lot more work needs to be done.

Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, where 'Disease X' is one of the key areas of discussions, Dr Christopher J Elias said we have learnt our lessons after Covid-19 but further efforts and discussions are needed, including on financing requirements.

"A really important discussion had started nearly eight years ago after the Ebola outbreak and that discussion cake into very clear focus after Covid-19 that the world needs to be better prepared," he said.

"The world needs to be ready for infections and diseases that we know such as influenza but also diseases that we don't know and may be new such as Disease X. But I don't think we are fully prepared yet," he added.

Elias noted that there have been a lot of talks on what needs to be done for the world to be fully prepared.

The WHO is in the process of negotiating an accord, trying to bring countries together on what needs to be done and how it is going to be financed, he said.

"We had a wake-up call from Covid-19 and we are relatively better prepared than we were four years ago but we are not fully prepared. There is a lot more work to be done and there is a lot more financing that needs to be arranged and those would be a lot more discussions over the course of next one year," he said.

Talking about financing requirements Elias said that after the Covid-19, an IMF report suggested that we might need USD 10 billion a year to make sure that the entire world is adequately prepared for future pandemics.

"At Indonesian G20 two years ago, a pandemic fund was created and many nations of the world including India contributed to that fund. So, that's a start and it has raised about USD 2 billion so far but obviously it's not everything that is needed," he said.

On the new annual budget of the Foundation, Elias said they are very excited that the board of trustees of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has approved our largest budget ever of USD 8.6 billion for 2024.

"We think it's really important that we are leading in helping to improve global health and development at a time when there is so much pressure on the resources around the world.

"This budget is about USD 1 billion higher than what was our budget in 2021. So we are increasing our budget significantly and we hope that many others also do so.

"Because this is the time when we have seen many successes in global health and a lot of opportunities are there for continued successes," he added.

Asked about areas where these funding will go, Elias said there are many that the budget covers including finishing the job on polio eradication.

"India eradicated polio more than ten years ago but there are a few other places in the world where we have to finish the job and we are optimistic that in a year or two we will be able to eradicate polio from the world," he said.

The foundation will also continue to work towards improving immunization and to reach those areas where people need the help the most are among our key priorities, he added.
Davos, Jan 16 (PTI) Citing India's example in dealing with implications from the Ukraine-Russia war, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said the world needs to deal with challenges and crises faced with it pragmatically.

Speaking at a session on 'energy and rivalry' here at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Puri said India took a pragmatic approach in the very beginning after the Ukraine war signalled an energy crisis and the results are for everyone to see.

Puri, minister tor petroleum and natural gas as well as housing and urban affairs, said India has a large population to take care of and it's the government's responsibility to feed millions of people three times a day.

"But at the same time we have not let our domestic compulsions come into the way of our global commitments towards a sustainable future," he asserted.

Another panelist, European Commission's Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson said she agrees that pragmatism is necessary and Europe also recognises that.

The panelists, including representatives of industry and academia, talked about energy and geopolitics becoming increasingly interlinked and countries openly competing to diversify their global energy supplies, including oil, gas and clean energy solutions.

At the same time, countries were enhancing the resilience of their energy supply chains, both geographically and for critical minerals.

Puri said changes that are taking across the world and with the multiple crises out there, for a country like India it needs to ensure sustainable growth while delivering to its growing population.

"India's consumption is growing three times that of the global average. India is currently in process of building housing space every year equivalent to one Chicago," he said.

"All the challenges the world face, we have to face those pragmatically. If India has allowed itself to be put into a situation to draw from the same resources after the Ukraine crisis, our fuel prices would have gone up drastically," he said.

"We took a pragmatic decision and the results are for everyone to see," he said.
Davos, Jan 16 (PTI) "Peace must win", Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday at the WEF as he called for support from the international community to defeat the Russian President Vladimir Putin and make him realise that the world unity is stronger than one man's hatred.

Zelenskyy, who also met a number of world leaders here, said everyone wants to know when will the war end or will the world see the third world war. "Is negotiation with Putin possible," he asked and said, "Putin actually embodies war".

"The war should end with a just peace and that would happen after Putin is defeated and the lives of Ukrainian people are restored," he said in a special address at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024 here.

Referring to wars in Syria and Crimea among others, the president of the war-hit country said one man has stolen at least 13 years of peace.

"Putin actually embodies war. All efforts have failed and it has been proven that this man will not change. His answer to calls for peace is getting more and more weapons from North Korea and Iran. His answer to efforts for restoring peace is support to terrorists," he said.

Zelenskyy said if anyone thinks it's only about Ukraine, they are fundamentally mistaken. "We were alone when we were attacked but the good part is the world has now stopped believing in Russia and no one believes in his future," he said.

"We have always been told to de-escalate but lost many of our warriors and opportunities were lost. All of us must invest into peace and bring it to a closure... Putin must regret. We need him to lose. He needs to know that world unity is much more stronger than one man's hatred," the president said.

Asked if he has any hopes that Putin will realise his mistakes under pressure from his people, he said, "I don't think Putin can change because only humans change."
Davos, Jan 16 (PTI) Top executives of several MNCs, including Carlsberg and Budweiser, met the Uttar Pradesh delegation here on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024.

The Uttar Pradesh delegation, which has set up a large pavilion alongside some other states and the central government departments, initiated discussions with Carlsberg Group CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen and Budweiser Chief Executive Officer Michel Doukeris.

The multinational brewers, known for their global presence and strong local brands, have a significant footprint in India.

The Uttar Pradesh delegation, led by Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner Manoj Kumar Singh, explored potential investments by these companies in the state.

Singh suggested opportunities for both companies to diversify their brand portfolios and introduce new products tailored to local preferences.

The delegation also met Nivedita Krishnamurthy Bhagat, Chief Financial Officer of Capgemini, and Nikhil Rathi, Director & CEO, Web Werks, and spoke on the potential of investments in Uttar Pradesh.

The spotlight event held at the Uttar Pradesh Pavilion titled 'Opportunities in Uttar Pradesh for Digital Infrastructure & Innovations in Agriculture & Food Processing' also saw the presence of top executives from PepsiCo, Yara International and Bayer Crop Science.

The Uttar Pradesh delegation also met Yusuff Ali, chairman & MD of the Lulu Group and discussed the progress of the group's various projects in the state, including the status of the food park that is soon to open in Greater Noida as well as the progress of the Lulu Hypermarket and Mall that are set to open in Prayagraj and Ayodhya.

The Uttar Pradesh government also organised a spotlight event titled 'Unlocking the Potential: Nurturing Financial Literacy and Inclusion for Women in Uttar Pradesh'. Those present at the event included Union Minister Smriti Irani.

The delegation has also met top executives of Tillman Global Holdings, Deloitte and Climate AI, besides representatives of the WEF.
London, Jan 16 (PTI) A UK court ordered an Indian-origin doctor to pay approximately Rs 1.41 crore in damages to a schoolgirl who she hit with her luxury car in 2018, causing severe head injuries and health complications.

Dr Shanthi Chandran was on her way to work in Buckinghamshire, driving her BMW i3 Range Extender on Buckingham Road in Bicester, Oxfordshire, when she collided with the then-12-year-old in January 2018.

The consultant physician hit the girl, now 18, who had stepped onto the pedestrian crossing when the light was green for traffic, the Oxford Mail newspaper reported on Saturday.

A police officer said with the force of the collision, the girl's body was thrown or carried 11 metres beyond the pedestrian crossing and almost to the entrance of a nearby petrol station. She had a severe head injury, a bleed to the brain and fractured her left collarbone, the report said.

She was also left with cognitive and psychiatric problems and suffered nightmares and "PTSD-type symptoms for the first year after the accident", according to court documents.

In a judgement published last week, Deputy High Court Judge Dexter Dias KC ordered Dr Chandran to pay the girl 135,000 pounds (Rs 1.41 crore) in damages.

The case brought by the girl was that Dr Chandran's negligence caused the incident, that she "was driving too fast given the prevailing conditions and if she were driving at a safe and reasonable speed, the collision would not have happened".

The court found that the defendant was primarily responsible for the collision and apportioned liability 60/40 in the claimants favour. It determined a 40 per cent reduction in the initially proposed GBP 225,000 damages "because of the contributory negligence of the claimant stepping out into the road while the traffic lights were green for traffic," the report said.
Taipei, Jan 16 (AP) Taiwan's incoming president is promising more of the same. The question is what that will bring, not only for Taiwan but also for its relations with China, the US and others with an interest in the island of 23 million people that supplies many of the advanced semiconductors that keep the world running.

Lai Ching-te, the winner of Saturday's presidential race, has pledged to continue the policies of his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen, who built up the military and strengthened ties with the US and other sympathetic countries. He has also pledged to do a better job of addressing domestic issues such as affordable housing and economic inequality.

The new administration will have to manage relations with China, the island's would-be ruler across the Taiwan Strait; with the US; and with a divided legislature, as it tackles economic and other challenges at home.

CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS

The candidate that China demonised during the campaign -- a Chinese spokesperson called Lai a "destroyer of peace" -- won. So what does China do now?

Analysts expect some kind of show of displeasure but say the strongest signal may not come until May, when Lai takes office. It could be military exercises around the island, restrictions on imports from Taiwan, or both.

China has done both in the past, notably holding major drills following the 2022 visit to the island of then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It sends fighter jets and warships into the skies and waters around Taiwan on almost a daily basis, a constant reminder of the threat of invasion if the government refuses to become part of China.

China's stated preference is what it calls "peaceful reunification". That outcome appears increasingly unlikely as Taiwanese reject the idea of becoming part of China, particularly after the curbs on democracy and freedoms that China imposed following massive protests in Hong Kong.

A former US government official said China's urge to punish Taiwan will be blunted by two considerations.

"One is that Beijing wants to restrain President-elect Lai, not provoke him," Danny Russel, who was assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific in the Obama administration, said in a commentary.

"The other factor is Beijing's reluctance to provoke Washington just as the US heads into the turbulent campaign season," said Russel, now vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute.

US RELATIONS AND DIPLOMACY

US President Joe Biden has sent an unofficial delegation comprised of former senior officials to Taiwan for face-to-face talks with the incoming administration, signaling continued support.

Analysts expect Lai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), with eight consecutive years of working relations with Washington, to build upon the existing friendship to deepen relations, including on trade, investment and the military.

"The personnel on both sides know each other, these are familiar faces," says Wen-Ti Sung, a fellow with the Washington, DC-based Atlantic Council. "A continuation of the DPP into a third term will mean that the warming-up of US-Taiwan ties that we saw in the last eight years will likely continue apace under the next Lai Ching-te administration."

While the US does not have official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, it is the island's chief source of military hardware and cooperation. US law requires Washington to treat all threats to the island as matters of "grave concern".

Lai is likely to continue to seek partners and unofficial diplomatic ties around the world despite Beijing's efforts to isolate Taiwan.

During Tsai's eight-year tenure, Taiwan lost 10 formal diplomatic allies to China's sway in what some call "checkbook diplomacy". In the latest sign of China's pressure and influence in the Pacific Island region, Nauru on Monday said it is switching diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China. This follows Solomon Islands and Kiribati, which both switched sides in 2019.

China and Taiwan have been locked in a battle for diplomatic recognition since they split amid civil war in 1949, with Beijing spending billions -- and increasing firepower -- to win recognition for its "one-China" policy.

In the election campaign, Lai called for reducing reliance on China and diversifying trade with other nations.

DOMESTIC POLITICS

The Democratic Progressive Party party lost its majority in Taiwan's parliament, known as the legislative Yuan, in Saturday's election by one seat, to the opposition Kuomintang, or Nationalist Party.

Neither holds a majority, giving the Taiwan People's Party -- a relatively new force that won eight of the 113 seats -- a possible swing vote on legislation.

"That's going to lead to a lot more, higher transactional costs in terms of deal-making to get a lot of legislative bills through with the opposition parties," said Sung at the Atlantic Council. "That may create some potential challenges in terms of efficiency of governance going forward."

The incoming government is faced with a host of domestic issues, including a slowed economy since the pandemic, and longer term challenges such as inequality, housing affordability and unemployment.

The two major parties differ on their approach to spurring economic growth, with the Nationalists supporting closer economic ties with China. Lai pledged to build consensus during his post-election news conference, acknowledging the loss of his party's hold on parliament. (AP) SZM
Geneva, Jan 16 (AP) The new head of the United Nations weather agency said Tuesday that strengthening early warning systems that monitor when and where extreme weather will happen is a key priority for her administration that will help reduce the risk of natural disasters that are exacerbated by climate change.

Celeste Saulo, an Argentine and the first female secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said the agency will enhance the accessibility of weather data and make timely and lifesaving information available to all.

We stand at the intersection of inequality and climate change, and our strategies must reflect the urgency of the times, she said in introductory remarks at a press briefing for UN agencies.

Early warning systems make it possible to forecast weather occurrences by monitoring the atmosphere in real time. They help people prepare for potentially fatal events including floods, heat waves and tropical storms.

As natural disasters have gotten more potent and frequent due to human-caused climate change, the need for early warning systems has increased. But only half of the world's countries have adequate early warning systems, according to a WMO study, causing thousands of deaths in climate disasters in vulnerable regions.

In 2022, the UN launched a project to put every person in range of early weather-warning systems within five years.

Saulo said the WMO, together with other organisations, has identified 30 less developed countries  such as Guyana and Haiti  that are prone to weather hazards to develop early warning systems there.

Adapting to climate change is not a choice, but an essential necessity, she said. It is about building resilient communities, especially in the most vulnerable regions, capable of resisting to and recovering from climate-related disasters.

Lack of capacity and funding, including for maintaining weather stations and taking part in global scientific activities, makes changing weather extremes in the Global South poorly understood, said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London.

Coming from Argentina, Professor Saulo will be acutely aware of the fact that the global south is the worst affected by climate change," Otto said. By addressing this scientific shortfall, enabling global South countries to record and share data, the WMO can help vulnerable communities prepare for life on a warmer, harsher planet.

Saulo took up her position as WMO Secretary-General at the beginning of January. (AP) NPK

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Islamabad, Jan 16 (PTI) The military trials of most of the 103 civilians, allegedly involved in the May 9 attacks on key defence installations across Pakistan, are almost complete, and in 90 per cent of cases, the suspects have been found guilty, according to a media report on Tuesday.

Jailed former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party founder Imran Khan, 71, and hundreds of his party colleagues are being tried under multiple cases, including one under the stringent Official Secrets Act in connection with the May 9 violent protests by his supporters that damaged key military installations across Pakistan.

The military trials of most of 103 civilians, allegedly involved in May 9 attacks, have almost been completed. In around 90 per cent of such cases, the suspects have been found involved in the May 9 attacks on military installations, The News International newspaper reported, quoting an informed government source.

However, the verdicts in these cases are not being announced because of the Supreme Courts order, it said.

Khan's party workers vandalised a dozen military installations, including the Jinnah House (Lahore Corps Commander House), Mianwali Airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad. The Army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi was also attacked by the mob for the first time.

Convicted in the Toshakhana corruption case, Khan, is incarcerated at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

Earlier on January 6, the Pakistan government set up a cabinet committee to find out the masterminds, plotters, facilitators, and executioners of the May 9 violent incidents, called a criminal conspiracy by the police.

The committee report, expected to be submitted in 14 days, will give recommendations for stopping such incidents in the future and review the immediate and long-lasting impacts of the May 9 incidents.

The Supreme Court, in mid-December 2023, had adjourned the hearing of the case till the third week of January 2024. Before that, while suspending its prior decision to invalidate the military trials of 103 civilians, the apex court had conditionally allowed these trials.

The Supreme Court had observed that the military courts would not issue a verdict against the suspects till its final ruling on the matter.

The majority 5-1 verdict, reached by a six-member bench, was the consequence of a series of intra-court appeals, contesting the previous unanimous ruling nullifying the military trials. These appeals were filed by the caretaker federal government and the provincial governments of Balochistan, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Earlier in October 2023, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court had declared the trial of civilians in military courts as null and void and had ordered that the 103 accused in cases relating to the violence on May 9 and 10, 2023 be tried under the ordinary criminal laws.

The court had also declared certain clauses of the Army Act as ultra vires the Constitution and of no legal effect, The News said.

The verdict had not only upset the government for nullifying the military trial of 103 May 9 suspects but more so because of striking down certain tough Army Act provisions, which were part of the statute for the last over five decades.

Under the Army Act, innumerable civilians have been tried during the past five decades. Those found guilty by military courts not only have the option of challenging their convictions within the military setup but they can also appeal in high courts and later in the Supreme Court, the newspaper explained.

During Imran Khans government, nearly two dozen civilians were convicted by the military courts. Against their convictions, these civilians had filed petitions in high courts, it said.
Davos, Jan 16 (AP) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy huddled with corporate executives and world leaders in a frenzied first full day of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, where top officials from the United States, European Union, China, the Middle East and beyond spoke Tuesday about tackling conflict and embracing technology like artificial intelligence.

Zelenskyy is endeavoring to keep his country's long and largely stalemated defense against Russia on the minds of political leaders, just as Israel's war with Hamas, which passed the 100-day mark this week, has siphoned off much of the world's attention and sparked concerns about a wider conflict in the Middle East.

"It is important that you stand with us, I thank you for your support. It is very important to be here, to boost investment in Ukraine and support our economy, Zelenskyy said at an invitation-only CEOs for Ukraine session, according to his office.

It is Zelenskyy's first trip to Davos as president after speaking by video in previous years, and  while surrounded by a large security contingent  he's drawing the attention of media and others trying to grab a word from him.

Conversations with the prime ministers of Qatar and Jordan will bookend the day's most visible events, with speeches by Chinese Premier Li Qiang, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan in between.

Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said the concentration on the attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi rebels - which have spurred retaliatory strikes by the US and Britain - was "focusing on the symptoms and not treating the real issue of Israel's war on Hamas.

"We should focus on the main conflict in Gaza. And as soon as it's defused, I believe everything else will be defused," he said, adding that a two-state solution was required to end the conflict.

Sheikh Mohammed also warned a military confrontation will not contain the Houthi attacks. "I think that what we have right now in the region is a recipe of escalation everywhere," he added.

Li, the Chinese premier, focused on pitching the country as a place to invest, noting that "we are opening wide our embrace." He said China's economy is estimated to have grown about 5.2% last year, exceeding the target it had set of 5%.

China's economy, for decades a leading engine of global expansion, has struggled since COVID-19 restrictions, with high youth unemployment and the implosion of its overbuilt property market.

Li gave veiled criticizism of US restrictions on China's ability to buy advanced computer chips used in everything from cellphones to washing machines.

"Technology's achievements should be used to benefit all humankind and it should not be used as a method to limit, to suppress another country, Li said.

Von der Leyen reiterated that the EU doesn't want to break from Beijing  one of its most important trade partners  but ease the risks of relying too heavily on it because "we have issues when it comes to access to the market, when it comes to a level playing field, when it comes to economic security.

She noted China's export controls on metals used in computer chips, solar cells and more.

For the US, Sullivan said no when The Associated Press asked whether he would meet with China's delegation as he headed into talks with Zelenskyy and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Zelenskyy, once reticent about leaving his war-torn country, has recently gone on a whirlwind tour to try to rally support for Ukraine's cause against Russia amid donor fatigue in the West and concerns that former US President Donald Trump  who touted having good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin  might return to the White House next year following his commanding win Monday in the Iowa caucuses.

He hopes to parlay the high visibility of the event into a bully pulpit to showcase Ukraine's pressing needs, and allies will be lining up: Corporate chiefs including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and officials like von der Leyen learned in multiple gatherings what support and investment was needed to help Ukraine rebuild.

"It's time for us, for Ukrainian companies, for international companies to rebuild (the) Ukrainian economy," Maxim Timchenko, CEO of Ukrainian energy company DTEK said after the session. To rely on ourselves. To build a future for Ukraine.

In her speech, Von der Leyen painted an optimistic view of the war in Ukraine despite the stalemate on the battlefield. She said Russia has lost half of its military capabilities, while Ukraine regained half the ground it had originally lost early in the invasion.

A day earlier, Zelenskyy made a stop in Switzerland's capital, Bern, where President Viola Amherd pledged her country would start working with Ukraine to help organize a peace summit for Ukraine.

The theme of the meeting in Davos is rebuilding trust, and it comes as that sentiment has been fraying globally: Wars in the Middle East and Europe have increasingly split the world into different camps.

While the geopolitical situation has oozed gloom, businesses appear more hopeful  in part from prospects that artificial intelligence can help boost productivity. (AP) ZH

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Jerusalem, Jan 16 (AP) A Malta-flagged bulk carrier sustained damage from a missile fired at it in the Red Sea on Tuesday, Greek officials said.

Though no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, suspicion immediately fell on Yemen's Houthi rebels.

The Zografia had been heading north to the Suez Canal when it was attacked, the Greek Shipping and Island Policy Ministry said.

The ship had no cargo on board and sustained only material damage, the ministry said. The crew includes 20 Ukrainians, three Filipinos and one Georgian.

Satellite-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed the Zografia still moving after the attack. The Zografia is managed by a Greek firm.

The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations earlier acknowledged an attack in the vicinity of the Zografia. (AP) NPK

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ANKARA, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police detained at least 22 suspected members of the Islamic State (IS) group, local media reported on Tuesday.

Turkish authorities issued arrest warrants for 19 suspected members of the group and detained 15 of them in operations based in the western province of Izmir, the state-run TRT broadcaster reported, adding efforts to apprehend the other four suspects are ongoing.

In a separate operation in the southern province of Mersin, the police detained seven other IS suspects, according to the semi-official Anadolu Agency.

The seven suspects, who had previously been linked to armed activities, were allegedly involved in activities aligned with the ideology of the IS. They were actively recruiting people for conflict zones and facilitating the illegal border crossings of IS members, Anadolu said.

The Turkish government designated the IS a terrorist organization in 2013, blaming it for a spate of deadly attacks in the country since 2015. 
New York, Jan 16 (AP) After a political victory in the Iowa caucus, former President Donald Trump arrived at court Tuesday to face another legal challenge: a trial to determine how much more he owes the writer E Jean Carroll for denying that he sexually assaulted her in the 1990s and accusing her of lying about her claims.

Jury selection is beginning at a federal court in Manhattan where Trump arrived in a motorcade shortly before 9 am, entering the building through a special entrance not usually used by the public. Opening arguments could take place by afternoon in what is essentially a second penalty phase of a legal fight Carroll has already won.

In May, a different jury awarded Carroll USD 5 million after concluding that Trump sexually abused her in a department store dressing room in spring 1996, then defamed her in 2022 by claiming she made it up after she revealed it publicly in a 2019 memoir. The jury said Carroll hadn't proven that Trump raped her.

Trump is appealing and hasn't paid any of that award.

One issue that wasn't decided in that first trial was how much Trump owed for comments he made about Carroll while he was still president.

Determining that dollar amount will be the new jury's only job.

Judge Lewis A Kaplan ruled last year that the new jury didn't need to decide anew whether Carroll was sexually abused or whether Trump's remarks about her were defamatory since those subjects were covered in the first trial.

Trump arrived separately but at the same time as Carroll Tuesday. His plans for the rest of the week have become unclear since his mother-in-law's funeral was scheduled for Thursday. The trial is expected to last several days.

He has said he wants to testify, but if he does there will be strict limits on what he can talk about. He did not attend last year's trial, saying recently that his lawyer advised against it.

Because the trial is supposed to be focused only on how much Trump owes Carroll, the judge has warned Trump and his lawyers that they cannot say things to jurors that he has said on the campaign trail or elsewhere, like claiming she lied about him to promote her memoir.

Kaplan also banned them from saying anything about Carroll's past romantic relationships, sexual disposition, and prior sexual experiences," from suggesting Trump didn't sexually abuse Carroll or from implying she was motivated by "a political agenda, financial interests, mental illness, or otherwise.

They are also banned, the judge said, from advancing any argument inconsistent with the court's ruling that Mr Trump, with actual malice, lied about sexually assaulting Ms Carroll.

Those restrictions don't apply outside of the presence of the jury. That has left Trump free to continue posting on social media about all of the above topics  something he has done repeatedly in recent days  although each fresh denial comes with the possibility of increasing damages he must pay.

Kaplan rejected Trump's request to delay the trial a week, although he said he would let Trump testify as late as Monday even if the trial is otherwise ready for closing arguments by Thursday.

Carroll, 80, plans to testify about the damage to her career and reputation that resulted from Trump's public statements. She seeks USD 10 million in compensatory damages and millions more in punitive damages.

Trump, 77, is appealing the findings of last year's jury and has continued to maintain that he doesn't know Carroll, that he never met her at the Bergdorf Goodman store in midtown Manhattan in spring 1996 and that Carroll made up her claims to sell her book and for political reasons.

Regardless of his losses in court, Trump leads all Republicans in 2024 presidential primary polls and plans to spend plenty of time in court fighting the civil cases and four criminal cases against him, saying, In a way, I guess you consider it part of the campaign. (AP) NPK

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Des Moines (Iowa), Jan 16 (AP) Nikki Haley said on Tuesday that she wouldn't participate in the next Republican presidential debate unless former President Donald Trump takes part in it, leaving Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the only candidate committed to Thursday's event.

"We've had five great debates in this campaign, Haley said in a statement, released as she campaigned in New Hampshire. Unfortunately, Donald Trump has ducked all of them. He has nowhere left to hide. The next debate I do will either be with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden. I look forward to it.

Her statement was released a day after the all-important Iowa caucuses, in which Trump marked a wide margin of victory over both Haley and DeSantis. With the two locked in a heated competition for second place in Iowa, Haley tried to make her electoral argument more about Trump than DeSantis, repeatedly echoing her refrain that her candidacy marks a turnabout from the chaos that follows the GOP front-runner.

The move also could be a result of the last debate which featured only Haley and DeSantis, in which Haley didn't perform as well as expected, and DeSantis ultimately ended up beating her for second place in Iowa.

Haley had argued to caucusgoers that picking her gives Republicans a better chance to defeat Biden in November, pointing to survey data showing her with the largest lead among the GOP field in a theoretical general election matchup.

On X, DeSantis said Haley is afraid to debate because she doesn't want to answer the tough questions. He accused of her of running to be Trump's VP and said that he looked forward to debating two empty podiums in the Granite State this week.

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung on Tuesday called Haley a desperate globalist who wants higher taxes, open borders, and China to dominate the United States. He added, That's why the only people who are voting for her are Democrats who are trying to interfere in a Republican primary.

Haley went head-to-head with DeSantis in the most recent GOP debate last week in Iowa, a two-hour brawl that left at least some of her supporters feeling that the former South Carolina governor had lost some of the above-the-fray attitude of her campaign thus far. More than a dozen times she referenced a campaign-run website that several caucusgoers said had seemed repetitive and caught Haley in a bout of name calling that was off-putting.

With the GOP campaign now shifting to New Hampshire, ahead of that state's primary next week, Haley has projected confidence that her commitment to the state and surveys showing her with support there will provide her campaign with the momentum needed to cut into Trump's strength. After her caucus night party, Haley boarded an overnight flight to New Hampshire, where she planned an event with Gov. Chris Sununu later in the day.

But DeSantis, breaking with tradition, instead flew directly to Haley's home state of South Carolina, saying last week the plan to make a brief appearance there before going to New Hampshire himself was intended to send a message to Haley that he would compete fiercely against her in her home state's primary next month.

Along the campaign trail in Iowa over the past week, reporters had asked Haley when she would commit to participating in Thursday's debate, hosted by ABC and WMUR-TV at New England College.

After his caucus win, Trump flew to New York, where he was expected in court for one of his multiple legal challenges, before heading to New Hampshire for a rally later Tuesday. A campaign spokesperson did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on if Trump would take part in Thursday's debate. He's skipped all of the primary ones thus far. (AP) ZH

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Islamabad, Jan 16 (PTI) Pakistan plans to deploy thousands of security personnel to maintain peace during the next month's general elections amidst deteriorating security situation primarily due to attacks by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

Officials said that police, paramilitary Rangers and army troops would be deployed to maintain security.

"The deployment would start at the beginning of February," a security official told PTI.

The exact number of the security forces required for deployment was being worked out in the light of the threat perception.

The Pakistan Army has already announced its full support to the Election Commission for holding the election in a peaceful environment.

The ECP has established 92,353 polling stations across the country for general elections and 51,047 have been declared as sensitive or highly sensitive (30,441 sensitive and 20,606 are highly sensitive).

A polling station is labelled as sensitive if there was a chance of attack by militants or other types of violence, requiring proper deployment of security forces.

Already incidents of violence have hit the elections and last week an independent candidate running for the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly was killed alongside two aides when his car came under gunfire attack.

At least three resolutions were floated in the Senate, seeking to delay the election due to increasing terrorist attacks in the country. One of them passed while the others are still pending.

Pakistans law and order situation began to worsen in the wake of the Afghan Taliban coming to power in 2021. Pakistan alleged that the interim Afghan government has failed to control the TTP operatives who use the Afghan soil to launch the cross border attacks.

According to the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies, last year casualties due to terrorist attacks hit a six-year high with more than 1,500 civilians, security forces and militants killed.
Rafah (Gaza Strip), Jan 16 (AP) Palestinian militants battled Israeli forces in devastated northern Gaza and launched a barrage of rockets from farther south on Tuesday in a show of force more that 100 days into Israel's massive air and ground campaign against the tiny coastal enclave.

The fighting in the north, which was the first target of Israel's offensive and where entire neighbourhoods have been pulverised, showed how far Israel remains from achieving its goals of dismantling Hamas and returning scores of hostages captured in the Oct 7 attack that sparked the war.

Meanwhile, Gaza's humanitarian crisis is worsening, with 85% of the territory's 2.3 million Palestinians having fled their homes and UN agencies warning of mass starvation and disease. The conflict threatens to widen after the US and Israel traded strikes with Iranian-backed groups across the region.

Israel has vowed to crush Hamas' military and governing capabilities to ensure that the Oct 7 attack is never repeated. Militants stormed into Israel from Gaza that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing around 250 people. With strong diplomatic and military support from the United States, Israel has resisted international calls for a cease-fire.

Nearly half of the hostages were released during a weeklong truce in November, but more than 100 remain in captivity. Hamas has said it will not release any others until Israel ends the war.

STRIKES AND COUNTERSTRIKES ACROSS THE REGION

The longer the war goes on, the more it threatens to ignite other fronts across the region.

Iran fired missiles late Monday at what it said were Israeli spy headquarters in an upscale neighbourhood near the sprawling US Consulate in Irbil, the seat of Iraq's northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region. Iraq and the US condemned the strikes, which killed several civilians, and Baghdad recalled its ambassador to Iran in protest.

Iranian-backed groups in Iraq and Syria have carried out dozens of attacks on bases housing US forces, and a US airstrike in Baghdad killed an Iranian-backed militia leader earlier this month.

Elsewhere, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have resumed their attacks on container ships in the Red Sea following a wave of US-led strikes last week. The US military said Tuesday that two Navy SEALS are missing after a raid last week on a ship carrying Iranian-made missile parts and weapons bound for Yemen.

Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group have exchanged fire along the border nearly every day since the start of the war in Gaza. The strikes and counterstrikes have grown more severe since an Israeli strike killed Hamas' deputy political leader in Beirut earlier this month, raising fears of a repeat of the 2006 war between the two longtime foes.

MILITANTS KEEP FIGHTING IN GAZA'S HARD-HIT NORTH

In Gaza, the Israeli military said its forces located approximately 100 rocket installations and 60 ready-to-use rockets in the area of Beit Lahiya, a town on the territory's northern edge. Israeli forces killed dozens of militants during the operation, the military said, without providing evidence.

Mahmoud Abdel-Ghani, who lives in Beit Lahiya, said Israeli airstrikes hit several buildings on the eastern side of the town.

Hundreds of thousands of people fled northern Gaza, including Gaza City, following Israeli evacuation orders in October. Israel shut off water to the region in the opening days of the war, and hardly any aid has been allowed into the north, even as tens of thousands of people have remained there.

Residents reached by phone Tuesday described the heaviest fighting in weeks in Gaza City.

The bombing never stopped, said Faris Abu Abbas, who lives in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood. The resistance is here and didn't leave.

Ayoub Saad, who lives near Shifa Hospital downtown, said he heard gunfire and shelling overnight and into Tuesday and saw dead and wounded people being brought to the hospital on carts.

After weeks of heavy fighting across northern Gaza, Israeli officials said at the start of the year that they were scaling back operations there and focusing on the southern city of Khan Younis and built-up refugee camps in central Gaza dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation.

But there too, they have encountered heavy resistance. The military said at least 25 rockets were fired into Israel on Tuesday, damaging a store in one of the strongest bombardments in more than a week. Israel's Channel 12 television said the rockets were launched from the Bureij camp in central Gaza.

A SPIRALING HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

Gaza's Health Ministry said Tuesday that the bodies of 158 people killed in Israeli strikes have been brought to hospitals in the past 24 hours, bringing the war's overall death toll to 24,285. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths but says around two-thirds of those killed were women and children.

Senior UN officials warned Monday that Gaza faces widespread famine and disease if more aid is not allowed into the territory. While they did not directly blame Israel, they said aid delivery is hobbled by the opening of too few border crossings, a slow vetting process, and continuing fighting throughout the territory  all of which is largely under Israel's control.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said UN agencies and their partners cannot effectively deliver humanitarian aid while Gaza is under such heavy, widespread and unrelenting bombardment. At least 152 UN staffers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war.

Israeli officials say they have placed no limits on humanitarian aid and have called on the UN to provide more workers and trucks to accelerate delivery.

Israel completely sealed off Gaza after Hamas' Oct 7 attack and only relented under US pressure. The US, as well as the UN, have continued to push Israel to ease the flow of aid.

Israel blames the high civilian death toll on Hamas because it fights in dense residential areas. Israel says its forces have killed roughly 8,000 militants, without providing evidence, and that 190 of its own soldiers have been killed in the Gaza offensive. (AP) SCY

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Mumbai, Jan 16 (PTI) Police have arrested two persons from different places and recovered eight pistols and 15 'live' cartridges from their possession, an official said here on Tuesday.

The accused, identified as Chetan Sanjay Mali (26) and Seenu Narsaya Padigela (48), were nabbed from Trombay, a suburb of Mumbai, and Kalyan in adjoining Thane district, respectively, he said.

Acting on reliable information, the police laid a trap on Saturday and nabbed Mali, from whom they recovered four pistols and eight 'live' cartridges, said the Trombay police station official.

Later, three more pistols and five 'live' cartridges were recovered from a location in Kalyan about which information was provided by Mali, who has a criminal record, he said.

During probe, Mali revealed Padigela's name and the police seized a pistol and two 'live' cartridges from the latter, said the official.

The duo was arrested under relevant sections of the Arms Act and produced before a local court which remanded them to police custody till Wednesday.

A probe was on to find the source of the seized weapons and ammunition and their potential buyers, the official added.
Indore, Jan 16 (PTI) Nearly five months after his arrest, the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has granted bail to an 18-year-old man in the case of allegedly spitting on the Mahakal Sawari procession held in Ujjain in July last year.

The court accepted the bail application of Adnan Mansoori, the only adult accused in the case, observing that the complainant and one of the eyewitnesses in the case turned hostile and "did not support the prosecution's case".

The order was issued by the high court on December 15, an advocate associated with the case said on Monday.

Justice Anil Verma of the Indore bench of the high court, while allowing Mansoori's bail plea said, "Considering all the facts and circumstances of the case, arguments advanced by counsel for the parties, nature and gravity of allegation as also taking note of the fact that complainant Sawan Lot has been examined before the trial court but he has turned hostile and did not support the case of prosecution and he has also denied his relevant portion of his FIR. Eyewitness Ajay Khatri also turned hostile and did not support the case of the prosecution."

"No T.I. (test identification) parade has been conducted by the investigating officer; investigation is over and charge sheet has been filed; applicant is not having any criminal background. In view of the above, I deem it proper to release the applicant on bail. Accordingly, without commenting on the merits of the case, the application is allowed," it said.

"It is directed that the applicant be released on bail upon his furnishing a personal bond in the sum of Rs 75,000 with one solvent surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of the trial court for his appearance before the trial court, as and when required. He shall abide by the conditions enumerated under section 437(3) CrPC," the court added.

During the arguments in the high court, the prosecution objected to Mansoori's bail plea and said he has been identified in the CCTV footage of the alleged incident, and that there are serious allegations against him of harming communal harmony.

Defence lawyer Devendra Singh Sengar said the high court has already approved the bail petitions of two minor boys in the case.

A police official said that Sawan Lot had lodged a complaint at Kharakuan police station in Ujjain against Mansoori and two boys, alleging that they had gargled and spit on the Mahakal Sawari procession while standing on the terrace of a building on the evening of July 17, 2023, a Monday in the month of Shravan.

Mansoori was arrested by the police on the same day.

The police had registered a case under India Penal Code sections 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), section 153-A (spreading enmity between two groups on grounds of religion) and other relevant provisions.

After his arrest, Mansoori was sent to jail under judicial custody, while the two minor boys were sent to a juvenile home, the official said.

On July 19, 2023, two days after the incident, "illegal" parts of the houses of the families of the accused were demolished, he said.

Zaid Pathan, an activist of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights, said that serious questions have been raised about the action of the administration and the police after the complainant and an eyewitness in the case turned hostile.

He demanded that investigation should be conducted into the hurried demolition of parts of the houses of the accused by the administration, terming the action as illegal.

He said if this step of the administration is found wrong, then the guilty officers should be given appropriate punishment and the victim's families should be compensated from the government treasury.
Mumbai, Jan 16 (PTI) Following are the top stories from the Western Region at 1700 HRS.











BOM6 MH-AYODHYA-RAUT-FADNAVIS

* Sena (UBT) should stop hurting Hindu sentiments: Fadnavis on Raut's temple site claim



Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) should stop insulting the sentiments of crores of Hindus, Maharashtra Deputy Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday, a day after Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut raised doubts on the site of construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. *















BOM8 GJ-COURT-MEVANI

* Gujarat court acquits Cong MLA Mevani, 30 others in 2017 rail blockade case





Ahmedabad: A metropolitan court here on Tuesday acquitted Congress legislator Jignesh Mevani and 30 others in a 2017 case of obstructing a train as a mark of protest against the state government's policies. *







BOM5 MP-ACCIDENT-DEATHS

* Four killed, three injured as car hits divider in MP's Shivpuri district





Bhopal/Guna: Four persons were killed and three others injured after their car hit a divider in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh, police said on Tuesday. *















BOM4 MH-VANDE BHARAT-GLITCH

* Jalna-CSMT Vande Bharat suffers brake glitch, resumes journey after 25-minute halt







Mumbai: A Vande Bharat Express train heading to Mumbai from Jalna in Maharashtra suffered a glitch in its braking system on Tuesday morning, resulting in a delay of around 30 minutes, officials said. *













BOM2 MP-OFFICIAL-SACKED

* MP govt-run corporation sacks official for seeking sexual favours from woman job aspirant







Bhopal: A Madhya Pradesh government-run development corporation has terminated the services of an official after the police registered a case against him for allegedly seeking sexual favours from a woman candidate in exchange of job, officials said. *











BES3 MH-ACCIDENT-BRIDGE

* Three killed as their two-wheeler collides with dumper on bridge in Mumbai





Mumbai: Three persons, including two women, were killed after the two-wheeler they were going on collided with a dumper coming from the opposite direction on a bridge at Parel in central Mumbai on Tuesday morning, police said. *













BOM3 MP-HC-PROCESSION-SPITTING-BAIL

* Man accused of spitting on religious procession in Ujjain gets bail 5 months after arrest





Indore: Nearly five months after his arrest, the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has granted bail to an 18-year-old man in the case of allegedly spitting on the Mahakal Sawari procession held in Ujjain in July last year. *













BES5 MP-MINOR-RAPE

* 7-year-old girl raped, abandoned on farm in MP's Chhatarpur







Chhatarpur: A seven-year-old girl was raped and abandoned on a farm in a village in Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur district, police said on Tuesday. *
Patna, Jan 16 (PTI) The Bihar Cabinet on Tuesday approved financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each to about 94 lakh families, with a monthly income Rs 6,000 or less, for entrepreneurship and self-employment under a state government scheme.

According to the caste-based survey report, Bihar has 94,33,312 families living on an income of Rs 6,000 or less a month. Now, the state government will provide financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each... for entrepreneurship and self-employment under the Bihar Small Entrepreneur Scheme, Additional Chief Secretary (Cabinet Secretariat) S Siddharth said.

The financial aid will be given to the families only after approval by a committee, which will be headed by the additional chief secretary of the industries department, he said.

Under the Bihar Small Entrepreneur Scheme, beneficiaries can invest in small-scale/cottage industries, which include handicrafts, textile, service sectors and electrical items, the senior official said.

The amount will be released in instalments.

The cabinet also increased the compensation to labourers working in unorganised sectors in case of death and disability.

Labourers (or their families) working in unorganised sectors will now get compensation of Rs 2 lakh (earlier it was Rs 1 lakh) in case of death (unnatural/accidental), and Rs 1 lakh (from Rs 75,000) for permanent disability. Similarly, in case of natural death of a working labourer, his/her family member will get Rs 50,000 as financial assistance, Siddharth said.

Besides, the cabinet approved expansion of the state governments existing incentives to economically backward classes (EBC) for Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) and Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examinations' preparation.
Imphal, Jan 16 (PTI) Ten tribal MLAs in Manipur have written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, requesting him to issue directions to the state government to reinstate three officers in services, who have been suspended for allegedly helping 26 schools in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts get CBSE affiliation.

In a memorandum to the home minister, the MLAs, including seven belonging to the ruling BJP, claimed that it has been learnt that the Kuki-Zomi officers serving in the Manipur education department were suspended by the state government for issuing no objection certificates to the 26 schools for obtaining CBSE affiliation, following the ethnic violence in the northeastern state.

The legislators also sought "to initiate necessary steps to restore the CBSE affiliation granted in favour of these schools at the earliest.

State Education Minister Th Basanta Kumar Singh could not be reached for comment.

The Manipur government had, earlier, instituted a three-member inquiry committee to probe "into the issuance of no objection certificates for CBSE affiliation by unauthorised persons/ officials.

The committee was asked to "find out officials responsible for issuing the NOCs without following due process... and recommend appropriate actions against responsible officers".

CBSE later withdrew the affiliation with immediate effect "on the ground that the NOCs submitted by these schools have not been issued by the competent authorised functionaries of the state government and for cancellation of affiliation as requested by the state government.
Kolkata, Jan 16 (PTI) Ferry services from Sagar Island in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district to Kachuberia were suspended on Tuesday due to dense fog causing inconvenience to pilgrims returning after the holy dip at the confluence of the Bay of Bengal and river Ganga.

Ferry services were also temporarily suspended for about five hours on Monday due to low tide in the Muriganga river, an official said.

However, services resumed Monday afternoon after the onset of high tide in the river, which was again suspended on Tuesday morning due to dense fog causing difficulty in navigation.

Nearly one crore pilgrims from across the country attended the Gangasagar Mela on Sagar Island and took a holy dip at the confluence of the Ganga and the Bay of Bengal on Makar Sankranti on Monday.

Pilgrims were transported to Sagar Island through 36 vessels, 100 launches, and six barges operating across 22 jetties.

To enhance visibility on the Muriganga river, 300 fog lights have been strategically installed.
ANKARA, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- At least nine people were killed and 30 injured in a road accident in Turkiye's southern Mersin province, the state-run TRT broadcaster reported Tuesday.

A passenger bus, traveling from the southwestern Marmaris district of Mugla province to the province of Mardin, crashed into a barrier and overturned near the Yenikas neighborhood of Mersin on the D-400 highway.

The injured were transported to hospitals by ambulance, while police and gendarmerie teams took security measures in the area, the TRT said.

The passenger bus, carrying 40 passengers, overturned into a ditch at the tunnel exit when the driver lost control of the steering wheel, Mersin provincial governor Ali Hamza Pehlivan told reporters.

The governor said that wet roads caused by rainy weather had played a key role in the accident. 
Ranchi, Jan 16 (PTI) Three businessmen were allegedly robbed at gunpoint of Rs 18 lakh in cash on a long-distance bus in Jharkhand's Ranchi district on Tuesday morning, police said.

The incident happened on a Kolkata-Ranchi bus on National Highway-33 in Dasam police station area, they said.

"The three businessmen boarded the bus in Kolkata after collecting money related to their businesses on Monday night. Four criminals had also boarded the same bus as passengers," Dasam police station in-charge Prem Pratap told PTI.

"As the bus reached Bundu around 5.30 am, the four criminals robbed the businessmen at gunpoint. Then, they got down from the bus in Nawadih," he said.

The businessmen claimed that around Rs 18 lakh in cash was robbed from them, he added.

"A search is underway to find those behind the incident," Pratap said.
Barasat (WB), Jan 16 (PTI) A school teacher and his two children were found dead in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on Tuesday, police said.

The man was found hanging from the ceiling of his house in Ramchandrapore village of Halishahar in Shibdashpore police station area, they said.

The bodies of his son and his daughter were found in a nearby field, they added.

An investigation is underway, police said, noting that the bodies were sent for post-mortem examination.
Kolkata, Jan 16 (PTI) Following are the top stories from the Eastern Region at 5 pm.



CAL 13 WB-MAMATA

* Mamata announces 'harmony rally' in Kolkata on Jan 22

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Tuesday that she will lead a 'rally for harmony' with people of all religions in Kolkata on January 22 amid the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya.



CAL 14 MG-PRESIDENT

* Women's empowerment essential for India to become a developed nation: Murmu

Tura: President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday said empowerment of women in social, economic, political and spiritual spheres is essential for the country to realise its vision of becoming a developed nation by 2047.*



CAL 11 AS-POVERTY-REPORT

* Poverty headcount in Assam down by 25% in 3 yrs: CM

Guwahati, Jan 16 (PTI) Poverty headcount in Assam has reduced by 25 per cent in last three years, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday citing NITI Aayog data. *



CAL 10 JH-DERAIL

* Jharkhand: 3 wagons of goods train derail in Tatanagar, services affected

Jamshedpur: Three wagons of a goods train derailed at the Tatanagar yard in Jharkhand's East Singhbhum district in the early hours of Tuesday, affecting railway services, officials said.*



CAL 9 AS-HIMANTA-BUFFALO FIGHT

* We have to preserve tradition but with responsibility: Himanta

Guwahati: After a gap of nine years, traditional 'moh juj' (buffalo fight) was organised in Assam as part of the 'Magh Bihu' celebration on Tuesday, with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma witnessing the event at Ahotguri in Morigaon district.*



CAL 8 NL-YATRA-RAHUL

* Nagaland people should feel equal to all others in country: Rahul Gandhi

Kohima: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said people of Nagaland should feel at par with others in the country despite hailing from a "small state". *



CAL 7 OD-JAGANNATH-CORRIDOR

Devotees start arriving in Puri ahead of inauguration of Jagannath Temple Heritage Corridor project

Puri: A large number of devotees from across Odisha and the country started arriving at this seaside pilgrim town on Tuesday, a day ahead of the much-awaited grand opening of the 'Srimandir Parikrama Prakalpa' (SPP) or Jagannath Temple heritage corridor project. *



CAL 6 MN-MLAS-LETTER

* Manipur: 10 tribal MLAs write to Amit Shah to reinstate suspended officers

Imphal: Ten tribal MLAs in Manipur have written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, requesting him to issue directions to the state government to reinstate three officers in services, who have been suspended for allegedly helping 26 schools in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts get CBSE affiliation. ***
New Delhi, Jan 16 (PTI) The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Tuesday rescued 182 stranded pilgrims on board a ferry off Kakdwip in West Bengal, a statement said.

Merchant Vessel 'Swasthya Sathi' was ferrying about 400 pilgrims from Ganga Sagar Mela at Sagar island to Kakdwip when it ran aground due to extremely poor visibility, the statement issued by the ICG said.

"In a swift operation, the Indian Coast Guard rescued 182 pilgrims stranded on a grounded ferry off Kakdwip in West Bengal on January 16," it said.

After receiving a message from the South 24 Parganas district magistrate in the early hours, the operations team of the ICG swung into action and dispatched two air cushion vehicles (Hovercrafts) from Haldia and Sagar island to provide assistance.

"The hovercrafts evacuated 182 pilgrims before guiding the boat with the remaining pilgrims to a safe destination," the ICG said.

"To ensure the safety of people during the annual mela, the ICG had already deployed sea-borne units at various strategic locations," it said.

The ICG said a rapid lifesaving team of divers, with a gemini boat, is positioned at the mela site to deal with any eventuality.

"In addition, an officer from ICG Ship Frazerganj is positioned at Sagar Island for coordination with the state administration and supervision of seafront safety aspects," it said.
New Delhi, Jan 16 (PTI) A key BJP meeting, which was attended by Home Minister Amit Shah and party president J P Nadda, on Tuesday spelt out the contours of the party's campaign in all 543 Lok Sabha seats, stressing on targeting first-time voters, government scheme beneficiaries, OBCs, SCs, STs, youths and women.

Addressing over 300 party leaders, Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government since coming to power in 2014 worked for the welfare of the poor and India's standing has risen manifold during his second term, with the country becoming the fifth largest economy, party general Vinod Tawde said quoting him.

Exhorting party leaders to reach out to voters with numerous successes of the government, he said Modi has galvanised the country around the idea of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat" while cultural nationalism has also received a big boost, comments which came amid a nationwide fervour around the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The government has been working on making India a big power, he added.

Nadda in his remarks asked party leaders to ensure the BJP's further expansion across the country and said they must see to it that it gains in seats in states where it had limited success in 2019.

In an indication that the BJP is looking to welcome leaders from other parties, Nadda said it is willing to take help from those who want to be part of the nationalist mainstream.

Tawde said party leaders in the meeting made a tentative countdown to the Lok Sabha polls, expected in April-May going by the schedule of the 2019 national elections, as they firmed up their outreach exercise to voters.

"We will work to ensure not only BJP's victory but also of our allies from wherever they will be contesting," he said.

Party leaders will fan out to villages as part of the "Gaon Chalein" campaign to connect with different voting groups.

Shah attended the meeting a day after his elder sister Rajeshwariben passed away during treatment at a Mumbai hospital. Her last rites were performed in Ahmedabad in the presence of family members, including Shah.

The BJP's top brass has held a series of meetings of late to draw up the party's strategy for the Lok Sabha elections as Modi seeks a third straight term.

There is a view within the party that it is well placed to repeat its win amid a favourable atmosphere, including the enthusiasm around the Ram temple consecration, its big win in recent assembly polls and a general drift in the opposition camp.
New Delhi, Jan 16 (PTI) Two men were arrested from Lucknow for allegedly cheating people on the pretext of providing building construction material at a cheaper cost, officials said on Tuesday.

The arrested accused have been identified as Mohammad Karme (50) and Iqbal Ahmad (50), they said.

Police said Karme had been cheating people and there are three cases registered against him, including one at Delhi's Paharganj police station.

"We had received a complaint on January 1 from the man who said he was duped of Rs 5.33 lakh. He told police that he required building material for some construction purpose and was searching online for the same," a senior police officer said.

Police said a case was registered and further investigation was taken up.

"The details of beneficiary bank accounts in which the cheated money was transferred was analysed but the amount had been withdrawn by the culprits. We traced the location and arrested Karme and Ahmad from Lucknow," the officer said.

Police said they have recovered six mobile phones and eight ATM cards, cheque, and passbooks of different banks.
Shimla, Jan 16 (PTI) The Himachal Pradesh Congress will kick-start the campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on Wednesday, party leaders said on Tuesday.

All the state ministers will take five to six rounds in every constituency to propagate the work done by the Congress government in the past one year besides exposing the real face of the BJP to the people, they said.

Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh said the names of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections should be announced early so that they could go in the field and ensure the party's victory in all four Lok Sabha seats in the state.

The Congress leader, who was addressing the media persons after a meeting with her party's office bearers, MLAs, the head of morchas and block heads, accused the BJP of misleading the general public on the issue of aid for the monsoon disaster and said the state has not received any special package from the Union government.

Referring to the Ram temple, Singh said that "about 98 per cent of the people in Himachal Pradesh are Hindus and worship all gods and goddess, including Lord Ram".

"We have faith in Lord Ram and will go to Ayodhya whenever we get a chance," she added.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu accused the Centre of discriminating with the state.

"We were hopeful that the Union government would give the first installment of Rs 5,000 crore in December as special relief package but nothing was given to the state," he said.

Terming the state BJP as anti-Himachal, Sukhu said that the opposition legislators did not support the resolution for declaring the monsoon calamity in the state to be a natural disaster and a special relief package of Rs 12,000 crore.

He said that the state government announced a special package of Rs 4,500 crore for the disaster-affected people from its own resources.

Referring to change in portfolios of the ministers during the recent cabinet expansion, Sukhu said that only additional departments were changed.

The Congress cadre is in good spirits and suggestions were taken from the party leaders to chalk out the future strategy, he added.

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri on his part expressed confidence of trouncing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in all four Lok Sabha seats in the state.

"We swear on Lord Ram, we will defeat the BJP on all four Lok Sabha seats in the state. We will appraise the masses about the performance of the Congress government in the past one year and also show the anti-state face of the BJP, which created obstacles in development of the state by stopping grants and reducing loan limits, " he said.
Ranchi, Jan 16 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday arrested a coal businessman in connection with a money laundering investigation, official sources said.

Ezhar Ansari was taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) from Jharkhand's Hazaribag district around 8 pm, they said.

The central agency carried out searches in this case during the day.

The probe pertains to a money laundering investigation linked to alleged irregularities in coal trade, the sources said.
Chandigarh, Jan 15 (PTI) Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Monday said over 680 people were arrested by the police during a statewide crackdown against criminals involved in illegal activities.

In an official statement issued here, Vij said police teams comprising 6,582 police personnel conducted raids across the state.

During the recent crackdown operation, the police filed 490 cases under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, the Excise Act and the Arms Act, leading to the arrest of 683 accused, the statement said.

Of the total cases, 22 FIRs were registered under the Arms Act and seven persons were arrested in connection with these cases, Vij said.

The police seized nine pistols, two revolvers, 14 country-made firearms, including pistols, and 31 cartridges in the Arms Act cases.

Additionally, 3.5 kg of ganja, 18.75 grams of heroin, 20 grams of smack, and 705 grams of charas were confiscated during the raids, the minister said.

The teams also recovered 600 prohibited narcotic capsules or injections during the operation, he added.

The police apprehended 10 wanted criminals and nabbed one cyber offender, 53 proclaimed offenders, and 66 bail jumpers, the statement said.

These criminals were involved in various cases and had been trying to evade arrest, it added.
New Delhi, Jan 16 (PTI) An octogenarian was allegedly killed and her jewellery was robbed from her house in southeast Delhi's Jaitpur area, police said on Tuesday. Both accused -- a 20-year-old and a juvenile were held, they said.

The 80-year-old woman's son said she lived alone in the Saurabh Vihar house and he would visit his mother's house daily for food and other daily needs, police said.

According to police, around 8.30 pm the victim's son, who lived separately at N-Block, Saurabh Vihar, came to her house when she did not respond to his calls.

He said he found her lying unconscious on her bed and that the latch of the rear window was not bolted, police said.

He entered the house from the window and found that blood was coming from her mouth and gold ring and gold bangles were missing, a senior officer said.

During investigation, police checked the CCTV footage and found two persons walking suspiciously near the spot in the early hours of Tuesday. Suspecting their involvement, police identified one of them as Mayank, who lived in the same area, and apprehended him from his house, Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) Rajesh Deo said.

His 16-year-old alleged accomplice was also apprehended and some jewellery items -- three gold rings, two pair gold earrings, one gold nose pin and five gold bangles -- were recovered, the DCP said.
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday delivered a special address here at the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024.

The following is the full text of the speech:

Special Address by H.E. Li Qiang

Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China

At the Opening Ceremony

Of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024

Davos, Jan. 16, 2024

Your Excellency President Viola Amherd,

Professor Klaus Schwab,

Your Excellencies State Leaders and Heads of International Organizations,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends,

Greetings to you all. It gives me great pleasure to come to the beautiful Davos for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024.

The theme of this meeting, "Rebuilding Trust," echoes well with people's concerns and will surely strike a chord with many. As I see it, the word "rebuild" implies at least three things. First, trust was once prevalent. To a large extent, it was trust between countries that enabled the huge progress in economic globalization over the past decades. Second, the foundation of trust has now been eroded. The lack of trust is aggravating risks to global growth and peaceful development. Third, rebuilding trust is essential. Whether it is to overcome current difficulties, or to create a better future, it is essential that we discard prejudice, bridge differences and work as one to tackle the trust deficit.

Where does trust come from? In my view, it comes, first and foremost, from our shared aspiration for a better future for humanity and from our common will to work together for that vision. As President Xi Jinping points out, changes of the world, of our times, and of historical significance are unfolding like never before, and the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation. Yet the overall direction of human development and progress will not change, the overall dynamics of world history moving forward amid twists and turns will not change, and the overall trend toward a shared future for the international community will not change. After all the shifts and changes over the years, we should all the more cherish communication and exchange, all the more cherish solidarity and cooperation, all the more cherish openness and sharing, and all the more cherish peace and stability. These are not only ways to respond to changes, but in some sense, also ways to rebuild trust. In this connection, I wish to share with you five proposals on rebuilding trust and enhancing cooperation in the economic field.

First, strengthening macroeconomic policy coordination to build greater synergy for global growth. In today's world, countries have very close economic linkages, which means their macroeconomic policies have more notable spillover effects. In the face of global crises, fragmented and separate responses will only leave the world economy more fragile. As such, it is crucial that, in making and executing macro policies, countries around the world, especially major economies, step up dialogue and communication, take more coordinated and effective measures, firmly uphold the multilateral trading system, jointly improve global economic governance, and foster new drivers of global growth.

Second, strengthening international industrial specialization and collaboration to keep global industrial and supply chains stable and smooth. Figures show that from 2020 to 2022, each year saw on average over 5,400 new discriminatory trade and investment measures worldwide, nearly doubling the number before the pandemic. As we all know, industrial and supply chains in the economy are like the circulatory system of the human body. Any obstacles or disruptions can slow down or block the flow of lifeblood of the world economy, which not only compromises development efficiency but also triggers various economic risks and social problems. What truly serves the common interests of all is to fully respect the laws of international industrial specialization, firmly advance trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, tighten the bond of cooperation, make the pie of mutual benefit bigger, and steadily enhance the stability of global industrial and supply chains.

Third, strengthening international exchanges and cooperation on science and technology to better benefit humanity with technological advances. The new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation has created a new "coopetition" relationship between countries. To keep the competition healthy and bring out the greatest vitality, the only way is to enhance cooperation in innovation. Scientific and technological fruits should benefit humanity as a whole, instead of becoming a means to restrict or contain the development of other countries. We should advance international exchanges and cooperation on science and technology with a more open mindset and more open measures, work together for an open, just and nondiscriminatory environment for the development of science and technology, and break the barriers impeding the flow of factors of innovation, so as to let innovation thrive in an open environment.

Fourth, strengthening cooperation on green development to actively tackle climate change. Humanity still faces many challenges in addressing climate change and promoting green and low-carbon transition. Talks about the need for stronger cooperation on climate governance are often accompanied by actions of erecting barriers to green trade. Some high-quality and efficient green and low-carbon technologies and products cannot flow freely. It is important that we uphold the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, better synergize our green development strategies, remove various barriers in this field, and jointly work for a complete transition to a greener economy and society.

Fifth, strengthening North-South and South-South cooperation to build a universally beneficial and inclusive world economy. In recent years, problems like the North-South gap, divergences in recovery, and the technological divide have become more acute. Many developing countries are in distress. According to World Bank estimates for this year, the average income in more than one third of the low-income countries will stay below the 2019 level. We Chinese people believe that benefits should be mutual. True and good development is development for all. We need to fully implement the U.N. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, strengthen global development cooperation, bridge development gaps, and create new cooperation highlights in areas such as poverty alleviation, food security and industrialization, so as to benefit the people of all countries with more fruits of cooperation.

The traditional Chinese culture very much values credibility. China is a country that attaches great importance to commitments, honoring its words with concrete actions all along. With the greatest sincerity, utmost efforts and concrete results, China has proven consistently to the world that it is a country most worthy of trust. We are also well aware that apart from objective reasons, there are also subjective factors that aggravate the trust deficit. In bilateral and multilateral relations, there are many examples where one side's capriciousness undermines mutual trust with others. In our view, the best way to earn trust is to be a better version of oneself. Only when all sides treat each other with sincerity and work in the same direction can there be a stronger foundation of trust and more fruits of cooperation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends,

Under the current circumstances, the world economic recovery requires strong underpinnings. Greater contribution is expected from all countries, especially major economies. I know that you all follow the Chinese economy closely and may have your own observations. So how should one look at the Chinese economy? I believe it is similar to looking at the Alps, the undulating mountain range with magnificent peaks, from the small town of Davos. My European friends told me that to fully appreciate the majestic beauty of the Alps, one has to zoom out and look from afar. It is the same with the Chinese economy. One has to broaden the vision and take a panoramic view to see the whole picture in an objective and comprehensive manner and truly grasp where it is now and where it is going. Here I would like to share with you some perspectives on the Chinese economy.

First, the Chinese economy is making steady progress and will continue to provide strong impetus for the world economy. China is an important engine of global development. Over the years, its contribution to world economic growth has stayed at around 30 percent. In 2023, the Chinese economy rebounded and moved upward, with an estimated GDP growth of around 5.2 percent, higher than the around 5 percent target set at the beginning of the year. In promoting economic development, we did not resort to massive stimulus. We did not seek short-term growth while accumulating long-term risks. Rather, we focused on strengthening the internal drivers. As the second largest economy in the world, China has established, after years of development, sound and solid fundamentals. Just as a healthy person often has a strong immune system, the Chinese economy can handle ups and downs in its performance. The overall trend of long-term growth will not change. In terms of the industrial base, China is the only country with industries across all categories in the U.N. industrial classification. The added value of China's manufacturing industry accounts for around 30 percent of the global total, ranking first in the world for 14 consecutive years. China is also home to over 200 mature industry clusters. With its large scale, complete categories and strong supporting capacity, China's industrial system can meet the demand of the rapid development of social productivity and will contribute to better global allocation of production factors and the rise in global productivity. In terms of production factors, China's demographic dividend is turning into talent dividend. We now rank first in the world in terms of the size of talent pool, human resources in science and technology and the total number of researchers. Capital shortage is replaced by abundance. Our global share of annual capital formation has risen to about 30 percent. In addition, with its huge data output and rich data resources, China has the second largest data mine in the world. In terms of innovation capacity, China's total input in research and development and investment in the high-tech sector has been growing at double-digit rates for several years running. New technologies, including cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence and blockchain, are being applied at a faster pace. New products and new business forms such as intelligent terminals, robots and telehealth keep emerging. China now has some 400,000 high-tech enterprises and ranks second globally in the number of unicorn companies. All this will boost the formation and cultivation of new growth drivers in China. Looking at the broader picture, we are now advancing Chinese modernization on all fronts through high-quality development. Delivering modernization to more than 1.4 billion people will be a remarkable achievement in human history, one that will provide continuous impetus to the development of China and the wider world.

Second, China has a supersize market with rapidly unlocked demand. It will continue to provide a big stage for various businesses and talents. In the face of weak global demand, market becomes the most scarce resource. The Chinese market, with its vast space and growing depth, will play an important role in boosting aggregate global demand. In China, there are now over 400 million people in the middle-income bracket, and the number is expected to reach 800 million in the next decade or so. For a growing range of products and services, the focus of consumer demand is shifting from quantity to quality, which will generate strong driving force for upgrading consumption. China's urbanization rate is now more than 10 percentage points lower than the average level of the developed countries. There is much room for infrastructural upgrading in urban renewal, transportation and telecommunications, among others. There are also some 300 million rural migrants who are acquiring permanent urban residency at a faster pace. These will create massive demand in areas such as housing, education, medical services and elderly care. China is deepening its transition toward green and low-carbon growth. Close to half of the world's installed photovoltaic capacity is in China. Over half of the world's new energy vehicles (NEVs) run on roads in China, and its NEV ownership has reached over 20 million units. China contributes one-fourth of the increased area of afforestation in the world. China is also cultivating large-scale new growth drivers in sectors such as green infrastructure, green energy, green transportation and green lifestyle. This will generate investment and consumption markets with an estimated size of RMB10 trillion yuan annually, and promises huge potential. We will keep exploring and unleashing such market demand, increase import of high-quality goods and services from all over the world, attract more foreign investment in areas including medium- and high-end manufacturing and biopharmaceuticals, and provide broader space for boosting global trade and investment.

Third, China remains firmly committed to opening up. We will continue to create favorable conditions for the world to share in China's opportunities. In the past four decades and more, China has achieved development and shared benefits with the world through opening up. Right now, China is a major trading partner of over 140 countries and regions. Our overall tariff level has been cut to 7.3 percent, relatively on par with the developed members in the World Trade Organization. By opening up wider, we aim to share China's opportunities and develop together with all in the world. To business leaders here today, I want to say that over the years, multinational corporations have cultivated the Chinese market and, based on China's manufacturing prowess, expanded their global production, grown fast and had good rewards. In the past five years, the return on foreign direct investment in China stands at around nine percent, which is quite competitive globally. Choosing the Chinese market is not a risk, but an opportunity. We embrace investments from businesses of all countries with open arms, and will work tirelessly to foster a market-oriented, law-based and world-class business environment. We will steadily expand institutional opening up, continue to shorten the negative list for foreign investment, follow through on removing all restrictions on access for foreign investment in the manufacturing sector, and guarantee national treatment for foreign businesses. With regard to concerns of some multinationals on issues such as cross-border data flow and equal participation in government procurement, we are working on the formulation of relevant policies. We will also hear the views of foreign businesses regularly and take active steps to address reasonable concerns. All in all, no matter how the world changes, China will stay committed to the fundamental national policy of opening up and open its door still wider to the world.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends,

In some 20 days, we will celebrate the Spring Festival to usher in the Chinese Year of the Dragon. In traditional Chinese culture, the dragon is a symbol of auspiciousness, wisdom and strength. In the face of common challenges, we hope that all the members of the international community, with a shared aspiration for a better future and with the vigor of a flying dragon, will forge ahead toward building a community with a shared future for mankind.

To conclude, I wish this annual meeting a complete success.

Thank you. 
Kota (Rajasthan), Jan 16 (PTI) A 12-year-old boy died after his throat was slit by a glass-coated kite string while five others were injured in similar incidents in the district, police said on Tuesday.

Surendra Bheel, a student of class 5, was flying kites along with his friends on the rooftop of his house on Monday evening when the incident took place. He was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him dead, assistant sub-inspector Bhanwar Singh said.

Five other persons, including a 60-year-old man, sustained critical injuries due to the banned kite string during Makar Sankranti.

The man, identified as Ramlal Meena, was critically injured after a kite string slashed his neck in Satur village when he was returning home on a motorcycle on Sunday.

Meena has received 13 stitches and has been admitted to a hospital in Kota, his family said.

Ahead of the festival of Makar Sankranti, districts collectors of Kota, Bundi and Jhalawar had issued orders banning glass-coated strings or Chinese strings.

The Uttarayan festival, also known as Makar Sankranti, is traditionally associated with kite flying.

The sharp kite strings have also left seven birds dead and 34 others injured in Kota city, according to the president of an NGO that helps provide treatment to injured birds.
Kochi, Jan 16 (PTI) Kerala's port city of Kochi is set to become a bustling hub for ship repair and shipbuilding as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates projects worth Rs 4000 crore, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said here on Tuesday.



Speaking at a press meet ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to Kerala, the Minister for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways highlighted three significant projects.



These include the New Dry Dock (NOD), the International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) of Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), and the LPG Import Terminal of Indian Oil Corporation Limited.



Sonowal said that these projects to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister on Wednesday will not only enhance India's global standing in the maritime sector but also contribute to job creation and support small businesses.





The minister added that the projects were setting a global benchmark and that they were in line with the Prime Ministers Vision of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas.



According to an official release, the New Dry Dock, built at a cost of Rs 1,799 crores at the existing premises of CSL, Kochi, is a flagship project reflecting India's engineering prowess and project management capabilities.



It is one of the largest marine infrastructures in the region.



The New Dry Dock project has incorporated the latest technology and innovations to ensure efficiency, safety, and environmental sustainability.



The ISRF project costing Rs 970 crores is set up in 42 acres of leased premises of the Cochin Port Authority at Willingdon Island, Kochi.



It will modernise and expand the existing ship repair capabilities of CSL and aspires to transform Kochi as a global ship repair hub and align with the Prime Minister's vision of creating ship repair clusters in India.



The Indian Oil's LPG Import Terminal at Puthuvypeen, Kochi, built at an investment of Rs 1,236 Crores, boasts a state-of-the-art infrastructure.



It will significantly enhance India's energy infrastructure by ensuring a steady supply of LPG, benefiting millions of households and businesses in and around the region.



This project will further strengthen India's efforts towards ensuring accessible and affordable energy for all, the release added.
Bengaluru, Jan 16 (PTI) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday hit out at Narendra Modi for 'sleeping' on the issues concerning the state and alleged that the Centre has neglected the aspirations of Kannadigas.

In a post on micro-blogging site X, the Chief Minister accused the Prime Minister of being awake for his personal PR and dozing off when it comes to the matter related to Karnataka.

When the Prime Minister dozes, the nation loses! Narendra Modi is always awake for his personal PR & BJP's campaign, but is always seen sleeping on issues concerning Karnataka, he said.

Siddaramaiah uploaded a morphed image of Modi taking a nap on a chair with a caption that read Karnataka endures it worst drought in 47 years, suffers Rs 30,000 crore loss.

Instead of addressing Karnatakas plight, PM is sleeping tight."

The post on X also read, A stark reality in Karnataka, where central funds are reduced or denied, aspirations of Kannadigas neglected, relief funds from Union govt yet to reach the farmers."

His (Modis) mantra? Ignore. Neglect. Sleep. Repeat! BJP MPs mantra? Maintain silence. Fan Modi. Betray Kannadigas. Allow Modi to Sleep Peacefully. Repeat! Wake up, Mr Prime Minister! Time to ensure the rightful share of Karnataka! Siddaramaiah said.



Another post A glimpse of @narendramodi, smiling in his sleep, while giving sleepless nights to Kannadigas, had the image of Prime Minister with a caption Vital projects like Upper Krishna & Mahadayi left high and dry. While Karnataka thirsts for action, PM naps on solutions.

Siddaramaiah also took a dig at Modi, saying he sleeps when asked about the corruption committed by BJP leaders.

The caption read, Rs 40,000 crore COVID-19 irregularities. Rs 45 masks sold for Rs 485. It a time of masks and fears, PMs response disappears.

Contractor coerced for bribes by BJP minister forced to commit suicide. A life in despair, PMs response lost in thin air, the post showed PM sleeping on the table.

The Chief Ministers jibe at Modi comes days after BJP posted similar content on X showing Siddaramaiah sleeping.

The BJP Karnataka unit had posted an image of the Chief Minister with a caption, which said Siddaramaiah is sleeping in the face of farmers' suicides, government transportation stalled, frequent power cuts, severe drought, declining startup funding and Foreign Direct Investment inflow, deteriorating law and order and corporates turning away.

Their mantra? Loot. Ruin. Sleep. Repeat! Once a thriving Karnataka has become a night-time lullaby under this #sleepingsarkar. Wake up, Mr CM! Time to put this nightmare to bed! the party had said in the post.
The U.K. government said Monday that the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir is antisemitic and should be banned as a terrorist organization.

Parliament will debate this week a proposal to make joining the group illegal in the U.K. under terrorism laws, the Home Office said. If approved, the ban will take effect on Friday.

The group, which is based in Lebanon but which operates in more than 30 countries including the U.S. and Canada, has organized rallies in London alongside pro-Palestinian marches in recent weeks, following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. Police said that one member was seen chanting jihad, or holy war, in a video from an October march, though officers reviewing the evidence decided at the time that no offenses were committed.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is an antisemitic organization that actively promotes and encourages terrorism, including praising and celebrating the appalling Oct. 7 attacks, Home Secretary James Cleverly said.

Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said the groups celebration of Hamas attacks on Israel was disgraceful.

The group also has a history of praising and celebrating attacks against Israel and attacks against Jews more widely, the Home Office added.

If approved, the ban would mean that belonging to or inviting support for the group is a criminal offense, punishable by to 14 years in prison.

Hizb ut-Tahrir has been banned in several countries, including Germany, Egypt and Pakistan. Austria banned symbols of the group in 2021.

(AP)
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was released from the hospital Monday, after spending two weeks there to treat complications from surgery for prostate cancer he kept secret from senior Biden administration leaders and staff for weeks.

He is expected to work from home as he recovers.

Austin, 70, was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Dec. 22 and underwent surgery to treat the cancer, which was detected earlier in the month during a routine screening. He developed an infection a week later and was hospitalized Jan. 1 and admitted to intensive care.

Doctors said he remained in the hospital due to ongoing leg pain resulting from the infection and so he could get physical therapy.

President Joe Biden and senior administration officials were not told about Austins hospitalization until Jan. 4, and Austin kept the cancer diagnosis secret until Jan. 9. Biden has said Austins failure to tell him about the hospitalization was a lapse in judgment, but the Democratic president insists he still has confidence in his Pentagon chief.

During Austins time at Walter Reed, the U.S. launched a series of military strikes late last week on the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, targeting dozens of locations linked to their campaign of assaults on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Working from his hospital bed, Austin juggled calls with senior military leaders, including Gen. Erik Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command, and White House meetings to review, order and ultimately watch the strikes unfold over secure video.

The lack of transparency about Austins hospitalization, however, has triggered administration and Defense Department reviews on the procedures for notifying the White House and others if a Cabinet member must transfer decision-making authorities to a deputy, as Austin did during his initial surgery and a portion of his latest hospital stay. And the White House chief of staff ordered Cabinet members to notify his office if they ever cant perform their duties.

Austins secrecy also drew criticism from Congress members on both sides of the political aisle, and Rep. Mike Rogers, an Alabama Republican who is chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he has opened a formal inquiry into the matter. Others openly called for Austin to resign, but the White House has said the Pentagon chiefs job is safe.

It is still unclear when Austin will return to his office in the Pentagon or how his cancer treatment will affect his job, travel and other public engagements going forward. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks has been taking on some of his day-to-day duties as he recovers.

(AP)
A plane taxiing for departure clipped another aircraft at Chicago OHare International Airport on Sunday evening, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday.

No injuries were reported, both planes were of Boeing design, and the FAA says it will investigate the incident.

The left wing tip of Flight 11 from All Nippon Airways, a Japanese airline, struck the rear of Delta Air Lines Flight 2122 on Sunday around 6:30 p.m. Central Time, FAA spokesperson Tony Molinaro said. The All Nippon Airways flight was a Boeing 777, and the Delta Airlines aircraft was a Boeing 717.

American aircraft manufacturer Boeing faces increasing scrutiny following a series of mechanical failures and subsequent grounding of its Boeing 737 Max 9 model after an emergency exit door failed and caused an emergency landing last week. It was not immediately clear what caused the incident on Sunday and whether it was related to a manufacturing flaw.

Boeing representatives did not provide a comment on Monday regarding the collision at OHare and instead directed The Associated Press to speak with the airlines involved and the FAA.

Delta spokesperson Emma Johnson said Monday afternoon by phone that an All Nippon Airways aircraft clipped a Delta plane while it was parking at a gate after arriving at OHare from Detroit.

Customers deplaned normally at the gate and the aircraft is being evaluated by Deltas maintenance technicians, the company said in an emailed statement.

Raymond Bongalon, a customer service representative with All Nippon Airways, said Monday afternoon that the airline could not yet provide any information on what happened.

The airlines flight status search said Flight 11 was bound for Tokyo but canceled because of aircraft inspection.

The Chicago Department of Aviation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(AP)
European nations are on high alert for a possible expansion of Russias military actions beyond Ukraine, according to leaked documents published by the German newspaper BILD. The classified information, reportedly obtained from the German Ministry of Defense, indicates preparations for a Russian hybrid attack in Eastern Europe.

The documents outline several alarming potential scenarios, with one named Alliance Defense 2025 set to begin as early as February. This scenario predicts Russia mobilizing an additional 200,000 soldiers, spurred by a reduction in Western financial support for Ukraine, leading to a major offensive against Ukrainian forces in the spring.

The scenario further describes possible Russian aggression in the Baltic States starting in July, involving severe cyberattacks and efforts to incite unrest among Russian nationals in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. By September, these tensions could escalate, leading Russia to initiate Zapad 2024, a large-scale military exercise with about 50,000 troops in western Russia and Belarus. The strategy may include moving troops and mid-range missiles to Kaliningrad, a small Russian territory situated between Lithuania and Poland, both NATO members.

The documents suggest that Russia might use propaganda to warn of an imminent NATO attack, aiming to capture the Suwalki Gap, a strategic Polish-Lithuanian corridor between Belarus and Kaliningrad. By December, Russia could exploit the post-U.S. presidential election transition period, fabricating border conflicts or riots with numerous deaths to provoke violence in the Suwalki Gap and create instability, as reported by BILD.

In a potential climax by January 2025, following a UN Security Council meeting, Russia might accuse Western allies of conspiring against Putins regime, thereby justifying the mobilization of troops to Belarus and the Baltics by March 2025. The leaked document also mentions the deployment of 30,000 German troops for defense against an estimated 70,000 Russian forces in Belarus. By May 2025, NATO could implement measures for credible deterrence, potentially leading to direct combat between Western and Russian forces.

Despite these scenarios, Russian President Vladimir Putin and officials have consistently denied intentions to extend the conflict beyond Ukraines borders. However, the plans detailed in the BILD report, while hypothetical, are taken seriously by European allies, indicating heightened vigilance and preparedness.

Recently, Swedens Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin, at a People and Defense conference, acknowledged the possibility of war in Sweden, a sentiment echoed by the countrys military Commander-in-Chief Micael Byden, who emphasized the need for comprehensive societal preparedness.

The German Defense Ministry, while not commenting on specific scenarios, told BILD that considering various potential situations, even highly unlikely ones, is a standard part of military planning and training.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is greeted by Irish Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan, upon his arrival at Dublin Airport for an official visit to Ireland in Dublin, Ireland, Jan. 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

DUBLIN, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Relations and cooperation between China and Ireland have broad prospects and great potential, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said here on Tuesday.

Li made the remarks upon his arrival at Dublin Airport for an official visit to Ireland. He was received at the airport by Irish Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan and Chinese Ambassador to Ireland He Xiangdong.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Ireland, Li said, adding that over the past 45 years, China and Ireland have adhered to mutual respect and treated each other as equals, setting a good example of friendly coexistence and win-win cooperation between countries with different histories, cultures and political systems.

Especially in recent years, under the strategic guidance and joint promotion of the two heads of state, China-Ireland relations have maintained sound and stable development, and cooperation in various fields has achieved fruitful results, he said.

Noting that China and Ireland share similar development concepts and converging interests, Li said China stands ready to work with Ireland to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and push forward the China-Ireland strategic partnership for mutually beneficial cooperation to achieve new results, so as to continuously benefit the two countries and their peoples.

Li arrived here after attending the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024 and paying an official visit to Switzerland. 
Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy suspended his bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination on Monday and endorsed former President Donald Trump after a disappointing finish in Iowas leadoff caucuses.

Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old political novice who sought to replicate Trumps rise as a bombastic, wealthy outsider, said, As of this moment we are going to suspend this presidential campaign. Theres no path for me to be the next president absent things that we dont want to see happen in this country.

During the campaign, he needled his opponents but praised Trump as the best president of the 21st century. He argued, though, that Republicans should opt for fresh legs and take our America First agenda to the next level.

The approach, including his call for revolution, vaulted Ramaswamy into the mix of candidates vying to overtake Trump  or at least become a viable alternative. His decision to drop out, though, becomes the latest confirmation that the former president, even at 77 years old and under multiple criminal indictments, still dominates Republican politics and remains the overwhelming favorite to win the GOP nomination for the third consecutive time.

Ramaswamys failure also affirms how difficult it is for any Republican other than Trump to push the bounds of party orthodoxy, as the first-time candidate found little political reward for positions such as his opposition to aid for Israel and Ukraine.

The son of Indian immigrants, Ramaswamy entered politics at the highest level after making hundreds of millions of dollars at the intersection of hedge funds and pharmaceutical research, a career he charted and built while graduating from Harvard University and then Yale Law School. He brought to his campaign the same brash approach he used to coax money from investors even when the drugs he touted never made it to the market.

(AP)
Police have opened a vandalism investigation into the spray-painting of a swastika on a wall adjacent to a Holocaust memorial in Philadelphia over the weekend.

Authorities say the symbol, measuring about two feet by two feet and scrawled with green spray paint, was reported Sunday on the wall adjacent to the Horowitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza next to the Ben Franklin Parkway a few blocks away from City Hall.

Surveillance video captured images of a man wearing a black mask and a dark jacket with a stripe across the chest and down the arms who appeared to scrawl the symbol on the wall at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, officials said. The symbol was removed later in the day.

Seeing rising antisemitism anywhere was very concerning, but to have a hate symbol at a Holocaust memorial plaza is especially upsetting, she told WCAU-TV.

The memorial, perhaps the oldest public Holocaust monument in the United States, was commissioned in the 1950s by Holocaust survivors and other Jewish community members. The monument was erected in 1964 and the site was redesigned in 2018 with new educational installations and artifacts added.

(AP)
Off in the distance, Ukraine, fighting for its survival. Seen from up here, in the cockpit of a French air force surveillance plane flying over neighboring Romania, the snow-dusted landscapes look deceptively peaceful.

The dead from Russias war, the shattered Ukrainian towns and mangled battlefields, arent visible to the naked eye through the clouds.

But French military technicians riding farther back in the aircraft, monitoring screens that display the word secret when idle, have a far more penetrating view. With a powerful radar that rotates six times every minute on the fuselage and a bellyful of surveillance gear, the plane can spot missile launches, airborne bombing runs and other military activity in the conflict.

As the second anniversary of Russias Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine nears, The Associated Press obtained rare and exclusive access aboard the giant Airborne Warning and Control System, or AWACS, aircraft. With 26 military personnel and an AP journalist aboard, it flew a 10-hour reconnaissance mission from central France to Romanian airspace and back, peering with electronic eyes across southern Ukraine and the Black Sea to Russian-occupied Crimea and beyond.

Circling on auto-pilot at 34,000 feet (10 kilometers), the plane with a proud cockerel painted on its tail fed intelligence in real time to ground-based commanders.

Its mission for NATO on the eastern flank of the 31-nation military alliance also, in effect, drew a do-not-cross line in European skies.

The planes sustained presence high above eastern Romania  seeing and also being seen by Russian forces  signaled how intensely NATO is watching its borders and Russia, ready if necessary to act should Russian aggression threaten to extend beyond Ukraine.

SHIELDS FOR NATO, PIECES OF AVIATION HISTORY

Regular surveillance flights, together with fighter patrols, ground-based radar, missile batteries and other hardware at NATOs disposal, form what the commander of Frances AWACS squadron described as a shield against any potential spill-over.

The ultimate goal is, of course, no conflict and deterrence, said the commander, a lieutenant colonel named Richard. Because of French security concerns, the AP was only able to identify him and other military personnel by their ranks and first names.

We need to show that we have the shield, show to the other countries that NATO is collective defense, he continued. We have the ability to detect everywhere. And we are not here for a conflict. We are here to show that we are present and ready.

Frances four AWACS are among a variety of surveillance aircraft, including unmanned UAV drones, that gather intelligence for NATO and its member nations. Lt. Col. Richard said the French E-3F-type AWACS see for hundreds of kilometers (miles) with their distinctive black-and-white rooftop radar domes, although he wouldnt be precise.

E-3s are modified Boeing 707s. The 707 first flew in 1957 but stopped carrying passengers commercially in 2013, so E-3s are also flying examples of aviation history.

We can detect aircraft, we can detect UAVs, we can detect missiles and we can detect ships. Thats true, for sure, in Ukraine, especially when we are at the border, Lt. Col. Richard said.

As the plane loitered and scanned, the crew detected a distant Russian AWACS above the Sea of Azov, many hundreds of kilometers away on the Crimean Peninsulas eastern side. The Russian aircraft also seemingly spotted the French AWACS: Sensors along the fuselage picked up Russian radar signals.

We know that they see us, they know that we see them. Lets say that its some kind of a dialogue between them and us, the French co-pilot, Major Romain, said.

HAWK-EYED AWACS ON CALL TO SAFEGUARD THE OLYMPICS

NATO also has its own fleet of 14 AWACS, also E-3s. They can detect low-flying targets within 400 kilometers (250 miles) and higher-flying targets another 120 kilometers (75 miles) beyond that, the alliance says. It says one AWACS can surveil an area the size of Poland; three can cover all of central Europe.

Able to fly for 12 hours without refueling, French AWACS arent limited to surveillance, communications and air-traffic control missions for NATO. They expect to be deployed as part of the massive security operation for the Paris Olympics, providing additional radar surveillance with what Lt. Col. Richard called their Gods-eye view.

Russian pilots have at times made clear that they dont like being watched.

In 2022, a Russian fighter jet released a missile near a British air force RC-135 Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft that was flying in international airspace over the Black Sea, Britains government said. The U.S. government released video in March 2023 of a Russian fighter jet dumping fuel on a U.S. Air Force surveillance drone. The drone crashed into the Black Sea.

Rivet Joints are particularly capable spy planes, and Russian authorities really hate their ability to snoop on the Ukraine war, said Justin Bronk, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute defense think tank in London.

As well as gathering real-time intelligence that theoretically could be shared with Ukrainian partners, the planes also furnish fantastic insight about how Russian forces actually operate in a real war, Bronk said in a phone interview.

So of course, the Russians are furious, he said.

IN THE SKIES, REGULAR ENCOUNTERS

NATO also scrambles fighter jets to scope Russian flights. It says allied aircraft took to the skies more than 500 times in 2022 to intercept Russian aircraft that ventured close to NATO airspace. The number of such encounters dropped to more than 300 in 2023, according to the Brussels-headquartered alliance.

The strengthening of Ukrainian air defenses with Western weaponry may partly explain the decrease, with shoot-downs seemingly making Russian pilots warier. NATO observed reduced activity by manned Russian flights over the western Black Sea last year. NATO says the vast majority of aerial encounters between NATO and Russian jets were safe and professional and that Russian incursions into NATO airspace were rare and generally short.

Aboard the French flight, the co-pilot, Major Romain, said Russian planes havent intercepted a French AWACS for a long time and that if they did, French pilots would try to defuse any tension.

Our orders are to be, lets say, passive, he said. For a civilian, lets say polite.

(AP)
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An armed group with uncertain affiliations launched an attack on an Israeli military outpost on Mt. Dov near southern Lebanon on Sunday, according to a report from the Arabic magazine Asharq Al-Awsat. The group, self-identified as The Islamic Power Battalion, claimed responsibility for the assault aimed at capturing the Shebaa Farms area.

The IDF said that the offensive was unsuccessful, resulting in the deaths of three members of the attacking force. Additionally, five Israeli soldiers sustained injuries in the skirmish and were subsequently hospitalized for care.

The Islamic Power Battalion issued a statement confirming their militants involvement in the dawn attack on Sunday. They acknowledged the loss of three of their members, while two others reportedly escaped back into Lebanon. The group described the attack as a retaliatory response to the Israeli assassination of its members, which allegedly occurred the previous Friday.

Lebanese media outlets noted that this was the first instance of the Islamic Power Battalion being mentioned in Lebanon, with no clear information available regarding the groups political affiliations or background.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
The IDF announced that two soldiers were killed, and two others were seriously injured amidst the fighting in the Gaza Strip.

The slain soldiers were identified as:

 Sgt. First Class (res.) Nitzan Schessler, 21, a soldier in the 55th Brigade.

 Sergeant Major (res.) Noam Ashram, 37, from Kfar Saba, a soldier in the 179th Brigades 5352nd patrol company. He was Niftar from injuries sustained last month in a battle in the central Gaza strip.

Their deaths raises the IDFs ground operation death toll in Gaza to 190 and 524 since October 7th.

The IDF said that an additional reservist was injured in the same battle in which Schessler was killed. Another soldier in the 603rd Engineering Battalion was also injured. Both soldiers were evacuated from southern Gaza to an Israeli hospital for further treatment.

Since October 7th, 2,541 IDF soldiers have been wounded, according to IDF data. Of those, 1,113 were wounded in the Gaza ground operation.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
A video posted on social media shows a rocket barely missing a group of Israelis in the southern city of Netivot amid a heavy rocket barrage on the city on Tuesday morning.

At about 9:43 a.m., rocket alert sirens were heard in a number of communities in the south after Hamas fired over 50 rockets at the Netivot area. About 20 of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome but some rockets landed in Netivot, scoring a direct hit on a store. Another rocket hit a warehouse in Givolim, a nearby religious moshav. BChasdei Hashem, no one was injured.

One rocket barely missed hitting a group of people working near Netivot, as seen below:

A man of about 40 was evacuated to the hospital in a mobile ICU unit after injuring himself while running to a protected space and two women were treated for shock after a rocket fell near them.

The rockets were launched from an area of the central Gaza Strip where IDF troops just withdrew from yesterday, a fact that elicited much criticism from government ministers and the public.

The rocket barrage, the heaviest in recent weeks, comes after reports on Sunday evening that Hamas was planning to fire 40 rockets at Netivot during the hillula of the Baba Sali on Sunday.

IDF forces thwarted the plan and destroyed the rocket launchers.

In the video below, IDF forces are seen leaving the northern Gaza Strip on Monday, from where the barrage at Netivot was launched:

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday hit back at South Africas claim at the Hague on Friday that the prime ministers statement of      during a speech proves his intent to commit genocide.

Among the absurdities leveled against Israel at The Hague was the charge that after the October 7th massacre Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu incited genocide by quoting the Biblical phrase Remember what Amalek did to you,' Netanyahu wrote.

This false and preposterous charge reflects a deep historical ignorance.

The Amalekites mercilessly attacked the Children of Israel after the Exodus from Egypt. The comparison to Amalek has been used throughout the ages to designate those who seek to eradicate the Jewish people, most recently the Nazis.

That is why the words on a banner in a permanent exhibit at Yad Vashem, Israels famed Holocaust Museum, urge visitors to Remember what Amalek did to you. This same phrase appears in The Hague at the memorial for Dutch Jews murdered during the Holocaust. Obviously, neither reference is an incitement to genocide of the German people.

So too Prime Minister Netanyahus reference to Amalek was not an incitement to genocide of Palestinians, but a description of the utterly evil actions perpetrated by the genocidal terrorists of Hamas on October 7th and the need to confront them.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
by Xinhua writers Yang Shilong, Liu Yanan

NEW YORK, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Uncertainty and anxiety loom over the 2024 U.S. presidential election as the Iowa caucus on Monday kicked off the official race for the White House.

Only 31 minutes after the caucuses in the Midwestern U.S. state had begun Monday evening, former President Donald Trump was projected to easily win the first major test of the 2024 Republican primary race.

The victory is seen as a boost to Trump's momentum toward a potential rematch in November with the current Democratic President Joe Biden that could likely put the country's institutions to an extreme test.

WHAT MAKES 2024 ELECTION UNIQUE

"Trump has significant control of Republican primary voters and elites, and seems nearly a lock for the nomination," David Redlawsk, James R. Soles professor and chair, Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Delaware, told Xinhua on Monday.

"This is due to his remaking of the most active parts of the Republican party -- those most likely to vote in primaries. Even if many Republicans (and most Independents) do not really want him, much of the GOP sees him as the only possible option to beat Biden, no matter what his flaws," said Redlawsk.

"The main thing that makes 2024 nearly unique is the fact that a former president defeated in the prior general election is running," he said, adding that the only other time this has happened was in 1892 when Grover Cleveland ran and won, defeating Benjamin Harrison, who had beaten him four years before.

"Having a former president running changes the election dynamics significantly," he said. "The fact that it is Donald Trump adds to this since Trump clearly is signaling his lack of belief in the kind of democratic traditions that have defined the United States throughout its history."

On top of that, the fact that Trump has been indicted on many counts and is facing multiple criminal and civil trials also makes this election "entirely different from any that have come before," said Redlawsk.

There are also efforts trying to remove Trump from the ballot in a handful of states. Colorado's Supreme Court ruled last month that Trump is disqualified from competing in the race under the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause, finding that he violated his oath with his actions around Jan. 6, 2021. Maine's Secretary of State Sheena Bellows also disqualified Trump under the amendment.

But Trump has framed his legal issues as political attacks, arguing he's the victim of a "witch hunt" as he runs for another term.

In the case of Joe Biden, he is the incumbent president and as such the leader of the Democratic Party, according to Redlawsk.

"There was really no one who could (or would) effectively challenge him since he decided he wanted to run again. It is rare for an incumbent to face a serious challenge in his own party so the Democrats have him regardless of voter enthusiasm," he said.

RESULT OF PARTISAN DYSFUNCTION

"A rematch between two old, disliked candidates is likely to come November and this is a result of partisan dysfunction and fracture," said Samuel J. Abrams, professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College, and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, in an interview with Xinhua.

"Both parties lack clear platforms or agreement on policies and priorities. Meanwhile, both have active presidents who want the Oval Office and are not thinking about party building and the good of the nation at present," said Abrams. "Trump has no clear successor nor Biden and the race is now about their personalities, not policies and politics."

"Moreover, we have a situation with incredibly low approval of both candidates and no new, real competition, suggesting low engagement and interest and thus low turnout -- so the base that supported Biden, for instance, may not show up this time around. The question is will Trump stir up enough interest in the battleground states to win and it is too early to figure that out," he said.

Abrams warned that "this election is quite dangerous for the nation and I worry about stability."

"On one hand, if Trump wins, he will be aggressive, not work with Democrats, and use the powers of the president to push through his agenda," he said. "While some of his agenda is smart, the fact remains that compromise and shared governance have traditionally promoted stability, and failing to do that has economic, social, and political consequences."

"Should Biden win, he will have to demonstrate that he can set his party on a path forward beyond just beating Trump; how will the Democrats manage the economy, global affairs, civil unrest, etc; how progressive or centrist will they be; who will be the next generations of leaders?" said Abrams.

"I think that regardless of who wins, partisan rancor will continue and we will see unstable majorities emerge such that one party comes into power, becomes fairly extreme and pushes through policy which is unstable and not widely accepted only to be changed by the next administration," said Abrams. "This does not bode well for the future -- it is hard to invest, hard to plan ... and civic life will decline with anxiety rising." Enditem

(Zhang Juan contributed to the story.)
The IDF early Tuesday afternoon carried out an unprecedented combined attack on numerous Hezbollah targets in the Wadi Saluki region of southern Lebanon.

The extensive attack was carried out with fighter jets and artillery fire, the strongest IDF attack on Lebanon since the outbreak of the war.

According to a statement by the IDF spokesperson, the IDF attacked dozens of Hezbollah positions, military compounds, and weapon depots within a short amount of time.

Hezbollah exploits the Huadi area for terror purposes and hid dozens of terror bases in the forested area in order harm Israeli civilians and soldiers, the IDF spokesperson said.

The attack on Wadi Saluki is one of the most extensive we have carried out since the beginning of the war. The Northern Command will continue to do whatever it takes, with determination and strength, to protect the residents of the north and continue to significantly harm the capabilities and infrastructure of the Hezbollah terrorist organization.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
Army Radio journalist Doron Kadosh on Tuesday morning wrote about a disturbing phenomenon that is taking place in the northern Gaza Strip, where the IDF claimed it has gained operational control.

It should be noted that he wrote the report prior to the heavy barrage of rockets launched by Hamas at Netivot later on Tuesday morning, an incident that lent weight to his statements.

The security system is detecting a concerning trend: Hamas is trying to restore its civilian capabilities in the north of the Gaza Strip, Kadosh wrote. After the ground war in the north of the Gaza Strip ended, the security establishment is seeing attempts by Hamas to restore its local police in the area and control local citizens.

For example, the humanitarian aid trucks that arrive in the north of the Gaza Strip  already all arrive in the hands of Hamas. Hamas is working to regain control of the region, under the auspices of the vacuum created there. The main concern in the security establishment is the possibility that Hamas will succeed in restoring its military capabilities in the region as well.

It is interesting to note the events of the last day in the north of the Gaza Strip:

 In Beit Lahia, IDF forces seized 60 rockets ready to be launched.

 In the Al-Shati refugee camp, IDF forces killed nine terrorists.

 Yesterday, a barrage of about 10 rockets was launched from Beit Hanoun toward Sderot.

The main questions asked here:

1. Didnt the decision to switch to targeted divisional raids in the north of the Gaza Strip come too soon, and would it have been better to leave an entire Division for a massive maneuver inside the area and not to reduce its forces?

2. Why are we talking about the day after when this day is already here in the north of the Gaza Strip?

And the most important of all  how is it possible that there was still not one serious discussion in the cabinet on the issue of control of Gaza the day after, and the IDF forces withdrew from the north of the Gaza Strip and left such a vacuum there?

Following the rocket barrage at Netivot, Religious Zionism MK Ohad Tal, wrote: Who would have believed that the immediate result of the reduction of IDF forces in the Gaza Strip would result in such a heavy barrage of rockets? The cabinet must convene immediately and someone there must wake up. If the government wants to receive the support of the Knesset members, we must see you as taking initiative, decisive, and victorious! Unfortunately, this isnt what weve been seeing lately.

Many additional government members and public figures questioned IDF tactics in Gaza in the wake of the barrage.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
Qatars prime minister offered stinging criticism of Israel and the international community on Tuesday over the ongoing Israeli war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as Qatars foreign minister, said a two-state solution was required to end the conflict and warned that Hamas Oct. 7 attack and the Israeli response showed the region could not go back to the way it was before.

Gaza is not there anymore. I mean, there is nothing over there, he said, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Its carpet bombing everywhere.

He also brought up the ongoing tensions in the West Bank, which has seen Palestinians attacking Israelis and IDF Forces, and urged for an end to Palestinian divisions. Hamas, he says, is part of the Palestinian political system, and the Palestinians are the only ones who have a choice to have them as part of a resolution or not.

We cannot have a two-state solution without having a government and politicians in Israel who believe in coexisting together side by side peacefully and we cannot have all this ongoing without ending this war, he said.

He warned that a military confrontation in the Mideast waterways will not contain the attacks by Yemens Houthi rebels who on Monday fired a missile, striking a U.S.-owned ship just off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden.

What we have right now in the region is a recipe of escalation everywhere, Sheikh Mohammed added.

(AP)
The world could have its first trillionaire within a decade as the gap between the uber-rich and the rest becomes 'supercharged', according to Oxfam.

Tesla boss Elon Musk leads the pack among the mega rich but the aid charity said a contender could yet come from nowhere to be the first to amass a fortune of a thousand billion dollars.

Oxfam published the report at the World Economic Forum in Davos, an annual gathering of political and business elites, as it sought to draw attention to the gulf between the haves and the have-nots.

Elon Musk is could be the first trillionaire, as the world's richest man's wealth has doubled since 2020

Amitabh Behar, the charity's interim executive director, said the gap has been 'supercharged' since the pandemic and the report showed that the world is entering a 'decade of division'. He said: 'We have the top five billionaires, they have doubled their wealth. On the other hand, almost five billion people have become poorer.

'Oxfam predicts that we will have a trillionaire within a decade. Whereas to fight poverty, we need more than 200 years.'

A trillion dollar fortune, equivalent to about 790bn at current exchange rates, would be a staggering sum, around the same as the GDP of oilrich Saudi Arabia.

Oxfam said the combined fortunes of the world's five richest men - Musk, Bernard Arnault of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Oracle founder Larry Ellison and investment guru Warren Buffett - has spiked by 114pc in real terms since 2020.

Billionaire Bernard Arnault heads up Luxury goods brand LVMH

However, even Musk would still have some way to go to meet the trillion dollar benchmark. Latest figures from Forbes's billionaire index suggest he is worth $230bn (181bn) - an enormous sum but less than a quarter of that level.

US oilman John D Rockefeller is widely considered to have become the world's first billionaire in 1916.

In contrast with the world's wealthy elite, Oxfam said nearly 5bn people have become poorer since the pandemic, with many of the world's developing nations unable to provide the financial support that richer nations could during lockdowns.
by Xinhua writer Deng Xianlai

ATLANTA, United States, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The United States and China should take courage not to "defer hard decisions" for the future but bear in mind that they need not be the "major problem" for each other, said David Lampton, a leading U.S. scholar on China.

A disbelief in the effectiveness of deferring hard decisions was how Lampton, professor emeritus of China studies at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, used to describe one aspect of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's personality. The 99-year-old was praised for his decisiveness in determining to establish diplomatic relations with China 45 years ago.

"Don't defer hard decisions. I think that most decisions don't get easier the more complicated you let them become," Lampton said during a panel discussion, part of a Jan. 9 forum hosted by the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia, to commemorate the 45th anniversary of China-U.S. diplomatic relations.

Lampton formerly served as president of the National Committee on United States-China Relations and remains a go-to scholar on China in the United States. He told Xinhua that the hard decision right now for Washington and Beijing is to recognize the reality that "we both have bigger problems than each other."

Lampton said that at a time when the United States and China both have their respective internal problems while facing a world where peace is being sabotaged in multiple areas, "we don't need each other as another major problem for ourselves."

"That's the hard decision," Lampton said. "The rest is rhetoric."

In retrospect, Lampton said one of the lessons to be learned from the Carter era as regards China-U.S. relations is the necessity of conducting regular high-level discussions. "Some of (the discussions) is secret until there's a reaching of understanding," he said, recalling those talks in the bygone era aimed at normalizing China-U.S. ties.

As for today, Lampton suggested, "two of our most senior leaders get together on a regular schedule and talk about global developments and how both of our countries can contribute to lessening problems."

He said that instead of focusing solely on "our bilateral cooperation," Washington and Beijing need to expand their vision, seeking cooperation on global issues by putting it "in the context."

"And that will breed -- I think, if we cooperate -- more trust," he said.

At the Carter Center forum, Lampton alluded to what he understood was Carter's belief that the United States ought to have a national strategy of "building a society-to-society relationship and a network of relations among bureaucracies" when it comes to developing diplomatic relations with a foreign country.

It is thanks to these inter-societal and inter-bureaucratic relationships between the United States and China that "we've been able to weather the storms that we have weathered today," Lampton said.

Off-stage during the interview with Xinhua, Lampton called for "lots of work" by both sides to further remove policy hurdles impeding people-to-people exchanges, especially concerning programs for scholars and students to visit and study in each other's country.

Carter adopted "Waging Peace," together with "Fighting Disease" and "Building Hope," as not only the motto of the Carter Center, but also part of the title of his 2007 memoir reminiscing his life post-presidency.

Lampton said during the panel discussion that Carter, in his relentless pursuit for peace, believes that "you have to take the risk for peace," and as part of the risk-taking effort, "you have to build trust."

"If I always suspect you and you always suspect me, then we're going to have a competition that ends no good way," Lampton told Xinhua, referring to the concerns of an arms race between the United States and China.

"We have to develop trust in each other that we are not going to use every advantage to your disadvantage," Lampton said.

"It takes courage in your own society to take the lead in dealing with another society with which you have problems," he added. Enditem

(Xinhua reporters Xu Jianmei and Hu Yousong contributed to this story.)
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The public health department of Los Angeles County, U.S. state of California, is investigating a cluster of gastrointestinal illnesses potentially linked to raw oysters, according to the department.

There are 27 associated cases so far, and the L.A. health department is currently working with the California Department of Public Health to investigate and confirm the source of this cluster of gastrointestinal illness cases.

The health department warns residents -- specifically those most vulnerable such as young children, older adults, and people who are immunocompromised -- of the risks of consuming raw oysters.

"Until the source is confirmed, consumers should be cautious before eating raw oysters due to the potential risk of foodborne illness," said Los Angeles County Health Officer Muntu Davis in a statement. 
Conor McGregor has posted about the protests in Roscrea over asylum seekers arriving in Racket Hall.

A man was arrested on Monday after scuffles broke out at the hotel in Tipperary as protesters gathered while asylum seekers were being taken on to the premises.

Demonstrators have gathered outside the Racket Hall Hotel in Roscrea since Thursday, after news broke that the hotel was to be used to house asylum seekers.

Gardai and members of the Garda Public Order unit formed a cordon at the entrance to the hotel while the international protection applicants were bussed to the hotel.

MMA fighter Conor McGregor has posted on social media platform X and said: "Sad scenes out of Roscrea. Irelands current systems in place around immigration showing to be not good for anyone. Not safe. Not sustainable. Children put in danger and not a peep out of government. Reform needed."

The hotel is to provide accommodation for around 160 applicants as the state struggles to house refugees.

There were stand-offs between demonstrators and gardai, and video footage posted online showed scuffles breaking out.

It is understood that around 60 people took part in the protest.

Sad scenes out of Roscrea. Irelands current systems in place around immigration showing to be not good for anyone. Not safe. Not sustainable. Children put in danger and not a peep out of government. Reform needed.  Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) January 16, 2024

Protesters, some holding placards saying Irish Government are traitors and asylum money racket, remained at the hotel.

People have been bringing the demonstrators food and supplies with the protest set to continue.
Former Law Society President Maura Derivan and her solicitor husband, Patrick, have publicly apologised in court to a Carrick-on-Suir accountant for having published a letter containing incorrect and not true allegations in relation to him.

Mr Paul OHiggins SC, counsel for the Derivans, read a statement of apology before Judge Michael Walsh in Dublin Circuit Civil Court on Tuesday, marking the end of a 14-year-long claim by Bobby Fitzgerald for 50,000 damages for defamation of character.

Chartered accountant Fitzgerald, head partner of Fitzgerald Fleming Long Accountants, Cregg, Carrick-on-Suir, travelled from county Tipperary to be present for the reading out of the statement of apology.

The Derivans were not present in court.

The case arose from alleged defamatory statements in written correspondence by Derivan Sexton and Co. in matters relating to one of their clients, plasterer Bernard Brophy, of Owning, Piltown, county Kilkenny, who had been joined as a defendant in the case and who had been involved in a house purchase with Fitzgerald.

The statement of apology read: The first and second named defendants now understand and accept that the allegations in the letter of 09 June 2009 (defamatory letter) are incorrect and not true and unreservedly apologise and retract them and regret that the letter was sent.

The claim was for 50,000 damages in accordance with then existing legislation but it is believed legal costs on both sides ran to hundreds of thousands of euro.

No reference was made in the circuit court hearing on Tuesday with regard to details of settlement other than the reading of the statement of apology.

Ms Derivan, who practises as Derivan Sexton and Company Solicitors, New Street, Carrick-on-Suir, in November completed her one-year term of office as President of the Law Society.

In a statement issued after the court hearing, Mr Fitzgerald criticised the fact it took 14 years and over 30 court hearings to secure the apology.

He said he invited the CEO of the Law Society to attend the hearing but he declined on the grounds the Law Society was not a party to the case and he didnt believe it would be appropriate to attend.

Mr Fitzgerald said he wished to thank his wife Sandra, business partner Evan Long ACA, Paul Foskin, friend and solicitor; together with his excellent legal team of Sharon Delaney BL, Partner Beauchamps LLP; barristers David Kearney BL and Mark Carthy SC for their support and advice over the last decade and a half.
Valentine's Day can be an expensive day for couples with prices for restaurants and hotels on the up for the commercial celebration on February 14.

However, while couple scroll endless dine and stay deals from luxury hotels across Ireland, a quick romantic hop to the city of love in Venice, Italy, could work out the same price or maybe even cheaper.

A quick search on some of Ireland's nicest hotels and Valentine's overnights with dinner and breakfast can go for anything from 250 to well over 1,000. Somewhere in the middle is a fair estimation of what an overnight in Ireland will cost a couple between travel, a meal, a few drinks and maybe a trip to the spa.

Let's put a figure of 500 on a night like that in a very nice 4 or 5-star hotel, because let's face it, we're not going to slum it on Valentine's Day.

With that figure in mind, our thrifty traveller set about getting a deal to fly to one of the most romantic cities in the world - Venice - for Valentine's.

First up are the flights and flying with Ryanair from Dublin to Venice with cost just over 200 for the basic flights for two people and no checked on luggage. It's just a short trip away after all - travel light and you can avoid given Michael O'Leary those few extra bobs.

The flight over would be on February 13 with the flight back on February 15, so you get two nights and all day on Valentine's Day in Venice.

You can book a bus from the airport to the city itself for around 10 per person so we're up to 220 and we're already perusing the sights and sounds of Venice.

Hotels range from very cheap to extremely expensive in Venice and if you want to go ultra cheap, the Hotel Canada will set you back just 70 for two people for those two nights but it's Valentine's Day and we've got that 500 budget to work with.

The very nice 4-star Plaza Hotel or Leonardo Royal Hotel Venice Mestre will set you back around 177 for a couple for two nights. That's not bad at all and brings out total spend so far to 397. If you had a cheap meal say for 30 on night one and 70 (average in Venice for two people with a bottle of wine is 55) for something a little more special on Valentine's Night, that brings us in at 500.

We've got to factor in some walking around money and small expenses but for around the price of a Valentine's Hotel stay in Ireland, you could create a very special memory in an iconic location.

Which one are you choosing?

APPROX. PRICES - VALENTINE'S IN VENICE:

Flights - 200

Transfers - 40 (both ways)

Hotel (two nights in 4-star) - 177 / Alternative option of 3-star for 70

Food - 100

TOTAL - 517 with 4-star option or 410 in a 3-star hotel
A dairy farmer has been fined over an incident which resulted in the death of a roofing contractor.

At Kilmallock District Court in County Limerick, Judge Patricia Harney imposed a fine of 2,500 after guilty pleas were entered in relation to breaches of the Safety, Health & Welfare at Work Regulation 2013.

The case, which was heard this Tuesday, arose following an incident that occurred on December 13, 2022, when a roofing contractor suffered fatal injuries after falling from the roof of an extension to an agricultural shed under construction on a farm located at Lacknagrour, Bruree, County Limerick.

The farmer pleaded guilty to an offence under Section 6(1)(b) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013 contrary to section 77(2)(c) and Section 80(1) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.

The charge relates to the duties of the client in appointing in writing, a competent project supervisor for the construction stage of the project,

At the same court sitting, Lacknagrour Farm Limited pleaded guilty to an offence under Section 6(1)(b) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at work (Construction) Regulations 2013 contrary to section 77(2)(c) of the Safety, Health and Work Act 2005.

The role of a project supervisor construction stage (PSCS) is to manage and coordinate the various construction work activities in such a way as to ensure the safety of all persons on site and compliance with the Safety, Health & Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulation 2013.

Commenting following the conclusion of the case, Adrienne Duff, assistant chief executive of the Health and Safety Authority, stated: "Working at height is a well-known hazard in all workplaces. It is vitally important that employers carry out risk assessments in advance of the work activities commencing, in order to ensure appropriate control measures are identified and put in place to prevent an incident. Failure to do so in this case has unfortunately led to a preventable workplace fatality."

The HSA has recently published specific guidance for farmers on how to make construction appointments on farms. It is now available online at HSA.ie.
Several large-scale fashion exhibitions are expected to be held in Britain this year, Azernews reports, citing foreign media.

An exhibition featuring the work of 300 young designers will be held at the Design Museum in the capital of England until February 11. The exhibition "Rebel: 30 years of London Fashion" demonstrates the unique fashion culture of London. The exhibition is also timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the British Fashion Council's NewGen program. The show features images created by some of the most striking designers of the British fashion world, literally from the very first shows, which won the interest of not only celebrities, but also professionals. Visitors to the exhibition will be able to assess for themselves how competent the enthusiastic responses about those whose names were on the front pages of the media turned out to be.

In parallel, the Victoria and Albert Museum hosts an exhibition dedicated to the work of the legendary French couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. "Gabrielle Chanel, Fashion Manifesto" is dedicated to the founding of the Chanel fashion house and the evolution of the designer's iconic style, which continues to influence how women dress today. The exhibition is available for viewing until February 28, 2024.

Ahead of its appearance in several other countries, the Diva exhibition is currently being held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Those who are interested in learning the meaning of the word "diva" should definitely look here. The exhibition explores and reinterprets the once controversial term, which originally meant "goddess", and how it was perceived in performance culture. The exhibition presents more than 60 images and costumes of famous fashion houses, which were worn by such "divas" as Mariah Carey, Tina Turner, Shirley Bassey, Cher, Rihanna and Billie Eilish. The exhibition will last until April 7, 2024.

From March 23 to June 30, 2024, Blenheim Palace in Woodstock in the south of England in Oxfordshire will pay attention to icons of the British fashion world, including Stella McCartney, Bruce Oldfield and Vivienne Westwood. The exhibition is dedicated to the fashion of the past and present and is said to be the largest exhibition to date. As stated in the statement by the administrator of the palace, Kate Ballenger: "The British Fashion Icons exhibition is the first of its kind at Blenheim Palace, and we are immensely proud to collaborate with some of the world's most renowned designers and brands to assemble a collection of clothing, accessories and artifacts."

Those who, after watching a Barbie movie, did not have enough fashionable dolls can immerse themselves deeper into the world of Barbie at the Design Museum in London. Starting in the summer, the museum will present a 65-year chronology of the iconic doll. Barbie's story began in 1959, when Ruth Handler wanted to create a story for her daughter Barbara. The exhibition explores the evolution of one of the most famous dolls in the world through design, including fashion, architecture, furniture and car design. For the exhibition, which has been preparing for years, the Design Museum has gained access to Barbie's archives in California. The Barbie exhibition will be on display from July 5, 2024 to February 23, 2025.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Two U.S. Navy SEALs were missing in a recent operation by the U.S. military near the coast of Somalia to seize what it said were Iranian weapon components being supplied to the Houthi militant group in Yemen, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Tuesday.

The two Navy SEALs were part of the CENTCOM Navy forces' nighttime operation on Jan. 11 to seize "a dhow conducting illegal transport of advanced lethal aid from Iran to resupply Houthi forces in Yemen as part of the Houthis' ongoing campaign of attacks against international merchant shipping," the command said in a press release.

Those seized were "Iranian-made ballistic missile and cruise missiles components," the release said, adding that "initial analysis indicates these same weapons have been employed by the Houthis to threaten and attack innocent mariners on international merchant ships transiting in the Red Sea."

CENTCOM Commander Michael Kurilla said an exhaustive search was underway to find the two missing Navy SEALs.

The dhow was deemed unsafe and sunk by the U.S. Navy forces, the release said. "Disposition of the 14 dhow crewmembers is being determined in accordance with international law," it added. 
Bangladesh's largest opposition party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has started India Out Operation on the lines of Maldives. Earlier, the newly elected President of Maldives Mohammad Muizzu had talked about starting India Out Operation in his election campaign. With its help, Mohammad Muizzu had defeated pro-India Ibrahim Mohammad Solih in the elections.

According to the report, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Begum Khaleda Zia's son Tariq Rahman has started the India Out operation. He is currently the acting president of BNP. The India Out Movement in Bangladesh under the leadership of BNP is also reminding us of that campaign in Maldives, due to which today tension has arisen in the relations between India and Maldives.

Reason for starting 'India Out' movement: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is being called the Islamic party of the country. America has declared this party a Tier-III terrorist organization. Because of this, BNP has started 'India Out' movement. Meanwhile, BNP workers are raising slogans like 'India is not a friend of Bangladesh and India is destroying Bangladesh'. BNP workers are also trying to incite sentiments by posting anti-India slogans on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). He is trying to take the anti-India movement to Nepal with the help of social media.

Attempt to spoil India-Bangladesh relations: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) workers accused India and said that India is not our friend. He did not come to help us between 1971. He came here and looted the valuables of Bengalis. In such a situation, it is our right to boycott India.

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Google Doodle celebrates Thai Teachers' Day Today, January 16th, honoring educators across Thailand with an illustration that beautifully captures the essence of teaching as nurturing growth. This special day holds historical significance, rooted in the publication of the Teachers Act by the Royal Thai Government Gazette in 1945. In this article, we delve into the history and significance of Thai Teachers' Day, exploring its evolution and the vital role educators play in shaping the future of the nation.

Historical Background:

Thai Teachers' Day finds its origins in the issuance of the Teachers Act in 1945. The act, published in the Royal Thai Government Gazette, marked a significant milestone in recognizing the importance of educators and their contributions to the development of the nation. It laid the foundation for the formal acknowledgment and celebration of teachers, emphasizing their role in molding the minds of the younger generation.

Declaration of Thai Teachers' Day:

The Secretariat Office of the Teachers Council of Thailand took a pivotal step in officially declaring January 16th as Thai Teachers' Day. This proclamation occurred during an event held at the National Stadium of Thailand in 1957. The decision to designate a specific day to honor teachers underscored the government's commitment to acknowledging and appreciating the tireless efforts of educators in fostering knowledge, skills, and values among students.

Celebrations and Traditions:

Thai Teachers' Day is marked by various celebrations and traditions across the country. Schools organize special events, assemblies, and programs to honor teachers. Students often express their gratitude through handmade cards, flowers, and heartfelt messages. Educational institutions may also arrange ceremonies to recognize outstanding educators and their contributions to the field of education.

Acknowledging Educational Excellence:

Thai Teachers' Day serves as a platform to acknowledge and appreciate the dedication, hard work, and passion of teachers who play a crucial role in shaping the future of Thailand. The day provides an opportunity for society to reflect on the importance of education and the invaluable impact teachers have on the lives of students.

Thai Teachers' Day, celebrated on January 16th, traces its roots to the publication of the Teachers Act in 1945. The day holds historical significance, emphasizing the crucial role of educators in shaping the nation's future. As Thailand celebrates its teachers, it also acknowledges the transformative power of education in building a brighter tomorrow.

International Rooibos Day - Sipping the Essence of South African Culture

Taiwan Faces Diplomatic Setback as Nauru Shifts Allegiance to China

Israel Defends Against Genocide Accusations: U.N. Court Showdown
Romain Grosjean says his planned F1 test with Mercedes, as promised by team boss Toto Wolff in 2021, is still on the cards but the former Haas driver takes responsibility for the delay, stating Its all my fault.

In the wake of Grosjeans harrowing fiery crash at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, which forced the Haas driver to abruptly conclude his Formula 1 career, Mercedes extended a compassionate gesture to the Frenchman by offering him a swansong F1 test outing.

Grosjean underwent a seat fitting at Brackley in 2021 while several demo runs were scheduled during the French Grand Prix weekend at Paul Ricard, with a proper track day taking place the following week.

Unfortunately, Covid issues let to unforeseen changes to F1s calendar, forcing Mercedes to scrap that plan, while setting up an alternate date and venue proved difficult given Grosjean's full-time IndyCar agenda.

Read also:

Over two years later, the test has yet to materialize but the opportunity remains alive insists Grosjean.

Yes, absolutely. We havent found the time yet  and yes, its all my fault, he told GP Racing. Its not easy though  Im looking at 30 race weekends next year [in 2024].

You guys complain about 24 in F1 and I have 18 in IndyCar, seven in endurance and five in F1 with Canal+ [as a commentator]. So its not easy to add a test.

Grosjean will race this season in the NTT IndyCar Series with Juncos Hollinger Racing, while hell also compete in selected IMSA events with Iron Lynx at the wheel of its Lamborghini LMDh car.

The 37-year-old admits that one benefit to his delayed test with Mercedes is that when it takes place, because F1 teams are only permitted to run cars that are at least two years old, hell likely be able to sample a current generation ground-effect car.

Very selfishly, Im trying to delay it to the point where I can actually test a new generation of cars, Grosjean acknowledged.

But yeah, Im still keen to do it and whenever I see Toto he always confirms that its going to happen. Yes, it would be very cool to get back in an F1 car.

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
This legal move was downplayed in local media.

From our vantage . . .

The abortion debate is now, MOSTLY, a losing fight against medical technology and we'll only continue to witness the inevitable casualties by way of watching the precipitous decline of the birth rate amongst the middle & upper classes in Western nations.

Now, here's more on the ongoing and probably futile effort to keep technology out of the hands of young American women . . .



"U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo said that Idaho, Missouri and Kansas had a right to intervene in the case, which was originally filed against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by anti-abortion groups, rejecting the FDA's argument that the states had waited too long.

More deets . . .



"The FDA had argued, among other things, that the states had waited too long to try and be a part of the suit. However, the judge disagreed in the order, stating the states could argue their interests in the lawsuit. Judge Kacsmaryk, appointed by President Trump, previously suspended the use of the drug in what was called an unprecedented legal move in April of 2023."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

Texas judge grants motion allowing Idaho to join in lawsuit against FDA over Mifepristone The lawsuit, originally filed by an anti-abortion group, would make it illegal for people in Idaho to access the drug. The FDA approved its safety over 20 years ago.

States can join lawsuit seeking to restrict abortion pill, judge rules Three Republican-led states can join in a lawsuit seeking to restrict the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone, a federal judge in Texas ruled Friday, threatening to complicate a closely watched case the U.S. Supreme Court has already agreed to review.

Developing . . .
The info from this case confirms our thesis . . . Rising violence continues to extend into the suburbs and otherwise peaceful neighborhoods . . . Check-it:



Lenexa police say 21-year-old Markese D. Gleghorn was shot and killed Saturday night at about 7 outside a McDonald's near the intersection of W. 87th Street Parkway and Pflumm Road.



Officers found Gleghorn shot inside a vehicle and attempted to save his life, but he died at the scene. Minutes after police arrived, someone called 911 and said they were involved in the shooting. Police arrested 24-year-old SUSPECT a couple miles away at an apartment at W. 88th Street and Lakeview Avenue.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

Police identify suspect, victim in fatal Lenexa McDonald's shooting 24-year-old Dmariea Avance was arrested shortly after the incident occurred on Saturday Jan. 13

24-year-old man charged after suspected drug deal turns to fatal shooting outside Lenexa McDonald's A 24-year-old man has been charged after a suspected drug deal turned to a shooting Saturday outside of a McDonald's restaurant in Lenexa.

Developing . . .
Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis on Tuesday stressed that the crisis in the Middle East must be prevented from spilling over into other regions, in statements after he visited Amman, Jordan before departing for Cairo and after a meeting with King Abdullah II on Tuesday, ANA reports.

"We need to focus all our strength so that we can prevent the spread of this crisis to other regions that are by definition particularly vulnerable, such as Lebanon and the Red Sea, where we are already going through a period of growing tension in shipping safety," Gerapetritis said.

At the same time, he indicated that Greece is in a position to intervene creatively and meaningfully in the matter of the Middle East, pointing out that at the peak of this situation, it could converse with both Palestine and Israel "so that we can get out of this tug-of-war as soon as possible and restore peace and prosperity to the region."

Following his visit to Amman, Gerapetritis left for Cairo, where he will meet his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry and be received by Egypt's President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi on Wednesday.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC-BY-SA Copyright: Fitzcarmalan
In this article, we will look at 15 states with the highest income taxes in the US. If you want to skip our detailed analysis, head straight to 5 States with the Highest Income Taxes in the US.

US Income Taxes: An Outlook

The beginning of 2024 brings new legislative changes to the US tax system. The new year has begun with significant income tax cuts for several states. Only two states including California and Michigan have increased their personal income tax rates to 14.40% and 4.25% from previous tax rates of 13.30% and 4.05%, respectively. Many states are working on reducing their taxes and have taken legislative measures to reduce their tax rates in the coming years gradually. There are already some states with no sales tax or income tax and many states are aiming to lower their income taxes, which is good news for Americans. Thirty-four states have made notable tax changes in 2024 taking effect on January 1, as per the Tax Foundation. With massive tax cuts across several states, the US is not among the countries with highest income tax rates in the world.

The US government generates most of its revenue from individual income taxes and corporate income taxes. As of December 31, 2023, the US government had collected a total revenue of $1.11 trillion for fiscal 2024, as per the US Treasury. The individual income taxes contributed 47.40% to the total revenue, while the corporate income taxes accounted for 13.54% of the total revenue. The Social Security and Medicare taxes accounted for another 34.06% of the revenue. In fiscal 2024 so far, the individual and corporate income taxes have a combined contribution of $675 billion, making up 61% of total revenue. In fiscal 2023, the US government gathered a total revenue of $4.44 trillion with a slight improvement compared to $4.19 trillion in 2015. If we consider the revenue against inflation, the total revenue has decreased. Moreover, the federal government spending in fiscal 2023 was $6.13 trillion, almost $1.69 trillion in deficit.

Story continues

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has made changes to nearly 60 tax provisions for tax year 2024. The changes of tax year 2024 will apply to income tax returns filed in 2025. For individual taxpayers, the top tax rate remains unchanged at 37% from 2023 with incomes higher than $609,350 and $731,200 for married couples filing jointly. Other rates for both individual taxpayers and married couples filing jointly are 35%, 32%, 24%, 22%, and 12%. The minimum income tax rate for an individual taxpayer is 10% with an income of $11,600 or less. The IRS has increased the standard deduction to $14,600 for 2024 for individual taxpayers and married individuals filing separately, an increase of $750 from 2023. For married couples filing jointly, the IRS has increased the standard deduction to $29,200 for 2024, a rise of $1,500 from tax year 2023. The heads of households have a standard deduction of $21,900 for tax year 2024, up by $1,100 in tax year 2023. The personal exemption remains unchanged at zero for the tax year 2024. Some states have made income tax changes and among them are 16 states with income tax cuts in 2024.

On January 12, the IRS announced its Free File Guided Tax Software service which will be available for taxpayers later in January. The IRS will begin accepting and processing individual tax returns on January 29. Taxpayers across the US can access free software products through the IRS Free File. The IRS Commissioner, Danny Werfel, said:

"The IRS continues its partnership with Free File Inc. to give taxpayers an opportunity to file their taxes electronically for free. Taxpayers will always have choices for how they file their taxes. They can file using tax software, a trusted tax professional, Free File, or free tax preparation services through IRS partners. Through the years, Free File has helped millions of taxpayers, and it remains an important option for people to consider using to quickly and easily file their taxes."

Top US Tax Services Providers

Some of the leading US tax services providers and consultation firms include Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU), Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RYAN), and Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP).

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) is one of the leading tax services providers that owns several tax services softwares including Credit Karma, TurboTax, and Quickbooks, among others. On November 28, 2023, Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) reported its results for the first quarter of fiscal 2024. The company posted earnings per share of $2.47, beating consensus estimates by $0.49. Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) reported a revenue of $2.98 billion, surpassing estimates by $94.53 million. Here are some of the comments from the companys earnings call:

We had a very strong first quarter and have great momentum innovating on our platform across the company. Total revenue grew 15%, driven by Small Business and Self-Employed Group revenue growth of 18% and Consumer Group revenue growth of 25%. This was partially offset by Credit Karma revenue decline of 5%, in line with our expectations for Q1 given the macroeconomic environment. With the strong start to the year, we are reiterating our full-year guidance for fiscal year 2024. Consumer Group revenue growth reflects a strong finish to the tax extension season. We remain focused on transforming the assisted consumer and business tax categories with TurboTax Live.

Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RYAN) is a top international specialty insurance firm that also operates in the tax services segment. On January 2, Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RYAN) announced the appointment of Pat Ryan, Jr. to its Board of Directors, effective January 1. William J. Devers has retired from Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc.s (NYSE:RYAN) Board of Directors. Pat has served on the board of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) for 25 years. On December 21, 2023, the company announced that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Castel Underwriting Agencies Limited, a Managing General Underwriting (MGU) platform. Castel Underwriting Agencies Limited is a UK-based firm that consists of thirteen unique MGUs, each with expertise in a specific product niche.

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) is a leading US firm that specializes in human resources management software and services. The company also offers tax and compliance services to its clients. On January 10, Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) announced the appointment of Thomas J. Lynch as its independent, non-executive board chair. Lynch will succeed Carlos A. Rodriguez as executive chair of the board, effective January 31. The companys new executive chair of the board has been part of the board since 2018. Rodriguez will continue to be part of the board as a non-employee director. On January 10, the company also announced its regular quarterly dividend of $1.40 per share payable on April 1, to shareholders of record on March 8.

These were a few leading US tax service providers. Now, lets take a look at the states with the highest income taxes in the US.

15 States With the Highest Income Taxes in the US

15 States With the Highest Income Taxes in the US

Our Methodology

To compile or list the states with the highest income taxes in the US, we have taken personal income tax data from the Tax Foundation. We have considered the states with the highest top end tax rate for personal income taxes. We have ranked the states in ascending order of their upper end of personal income tax rates in 2024, and have broken the tie based on the lower bound of the tax rate.

By the way, Insider Monkey is an investing website that tracks the movements of corporate insiders and hedge funds. By using different consensus approaches, we identify the best stock picks of more than 900 hedge funds investing in US stocks. The top 10 consensus stock picks of hedge funds outperformed the S&P 500 Index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here). Whether you are a beginner investor or a professional one looking for the best stocks to buy, you can benefit from the wisdom of hedge funds and corporate insiders.

Note: Though The District of Columbia (DC) is not a state, it is not part of any state either. We have listed DC among the states with the highest income taxes in the US.

15 States With the Highest Income Taxes in the US

15. South Carolina

Personal Income Tax in 2024: 6.40%

South Carolina has a top-end tax rate of 6.40% and a low-end tax rate of 0%. The state has reduced its top personal income tax rate from 6.50% to 6.40% in 2024. South Carolina is ranked fifteenth among the states with the highest income taxes in the US.

14. West Virginia

Personal Income Tax in 2024: 6.50%

West Virginia has a top-end tax rate of 6.50% and a low-end tax rate of 3%. West Virginia ranks among the states with the highest income taxes in the US.

13. Delaware

Personal Income Tax in 2024: 6.60%

Delaware is one of the states with the highest income taxes in the US. The state has a top-end income tax rate of 6.60% and a low-end income tax rate of 2.20%.

12. Connecticut

Personal Income Tax in 2024: 6.99%

Connecticuts personal income tax rates range between 3% and 6.99%. Ranked 12th on our list, Connecticut is one of the states with the highest income taxes in the US.

11. Maine

Personal Income Tax in 2024: 7.15%

Maine has a top personal income tax rate of 7.15% and a low personal income tax rate of 5.80%. The state offers a $300 dependent exemption tax credit. Maine ranks among the states with the highest income taxes in the US.

10. Wisconsin

Personal Income Tax in 2024: 7.65%

Wisconsins personal income tax rates range between 3.54% and 7.65%. Wisconsin is placed 10th among the states with the highest income taxes in the US.

9. Vermont

Personal Income Tax in 2024: 8.75%

Vermont is one of the leading states with the highest income taxes in the US. Vermonts personal income tax rates range between 3.35% and 8.75%.

8. Massachusetts

Personal Income Tax in 2024: 9%

Massachusetts has a top-end individual income tax rate of 9% and a low-end individual income tax rate of 5%. Massachusetts is placed eighth among the states with the highest income taxes in the US.

7. Minnesota

Personal Income Tax in 2024: 9.85%

Minnesota has a personal income tax rate between 5.35% and 9.85%. In 2024, the state will levy a 1% tax on the net investment income of individuals as well. Minnesota ranks among the states with the highest income taxes in the US.

6. Oregon

Personal Income Tax in 2024: 9.90%

Oregon is placed sixth among the states with the highest income taxes in the US. Oregon has a top personal income tax rate of 9.90% and a low personal income tax rate of 4.75%.

Click here to see 5 States with the Highest Income Taxes in the US.

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Disclosure: None. 15 States with the Highest Income Taxes in the US is originally published on Insider Monkey.
China and Switzerland are set to upgrade their free trade agreement, streamline visa procedures, and enhance bilateral relations following a high-level meeting, the first since the COVID-19 pandemic. Premier Li Qiang led the Chinese delegation, receiving a warm welcome from Swiss President Viola Amherd.

China, Switzerland Strengthen Trade, Visa Relations in High-Level Meeting

Heading the Chinese delegation was Premier Li Qiang, who received a warm welcome upon his arrival at Zurich airport. The meeting took place at the Lohn Estate near Bern and marked a significant visit by the highest-ranking Chinese representative to Switzerland since President Xi Jinping's visit in 2017.

Swiss President and Defence Minister Viola Amherd greeted Premier Li Qiang, emphasizing the importance of the visit. The meeting also involved Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, among others.

According to the Manila Bulletin, the discussions covered a wide range of bilateral relations, including approximately 30 issues and current international affairs. Both countries also discussed the planned resumption of dialogue between their foreign ministries, addressing topics such as development cooperation and human rights.

Related Article: China's Visa-Free Travel Offer Aims to Attract European and Malaysian Visitors

China has been Switzerland's most important trading partner in Asia since 2010 and ranks as its third most significant global trading partner, following the European Union and the United States. Both countries signed a joint declaration, seen as a significant step towards potential negotiations to develop their free trade agreement further.

As part of their agreements, China will grant visa-free entry to Swiss citizens, while Switzerland will facilitate visas for Chinese citizens and Chinese enterprises investing in Switzerland. Future strategic talks on finance, energy, education policy, and consultations on UN Security Council affairs are also planned for the coming year.

China Eases Entry Rules for Foreign Visitors

China has introduced a set of measures to facilitate the entry of foreign nationals for various purposes, including business, education, and tourism. The National Immigration Administration (NIA) recently unveiled revised rules aimed at simplifying visa processes, expanding visa-on-arrival eligibility, and promoting international travel.

Liu Haitao, the NIA's deputy director, stated that these measures are designed to eliminate obstacles for foreigners traveling to China for business, education, and tourism. Nikkei Asia reported that the goal is to promote people-to-people exchanges and contribute to global economic recovery.

Since reopening its borders at the beginning of 2023 after a three-year period of strict COVID-19 restrictions, China has been actively encouraging cross-border travel. In November, a one-year visa-free trial was announced for visitors from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia. Additionally, China recently signed a bilateral agreement with Thailand to waive visa requirements for travelers from both countries.

These relaxed entry rules have resulted in a significant increase in inbound travelers, a vital factor in reviving the country's economy. During the New Year holiday in January, China recorded over 1.72 million inbound and outbound trips daily, nearly six times the number from the previous year, and similar to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to the NIA.

The latest measures expand the eligibility for on-arrival visas to include almost all travelers with urgent reasons to visit China, such as for business, family, or personal matters. Previously, this policy was limited to business travelers and saw a 166% year-on-year increase in business visa issuances at border ports during the first month of its introduction in August.

Read Also: Transforming China's First Coffee Village: How Digitalization Revives Rural Life
The U.S. real estate market is more unaffordable than ever before, pushing more people to rent rather than buy. This trend makes residential real estate investment trusts (REITs) very interesting for investors.

Residential REITs offer investors the benefits of owning rental properties without the hassles of purchasing a property or being a landlord. They also carry the benefit of being liquid, since you can sell a stock any time the market is open, compared with a property that could take months or years to sell.

Equity Residential

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) acquires, develops, and manages residential properties in major cities around the U.S., including Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Seattle, and San Francisco. It currently owns 302 properties consisting of over 80,000 apartment units.

Equity Residential currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.6625, equating to $2.65 per share annually, giving it a yield of about 4.3% today. It has also raised its annual dividend each of the last two years, and it could very well continue this streak in 2024 based on its recent financial performance.

Don't Miss:

Investing in real estate just got a whole lot simpler. This Dara Khosrowshahi-backed startup will allow you to become a landlord in just 10 minutes, and you only need $100.

Commercial real estate has historically outperformed the stock market, but few investors have the capital or resources needed to invest in this asset class. A platform backed by industry giant Marcus & Millichap is changing that, allowing individuals to invest in commercial real estate with as little as $5,000.

AvalonBay Communities

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) specializes in the development, acquisition, and management of apartment communities in leading metropolitan areas such as Boston, New York City, Charlotte, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, and Washington, D.C. It currently has ownership interests in 296 apartment communities consisting of over 89,000 apartment units.

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AvalonBay currently pays a quarterly dividend of $1.65 per share, equating to $6.60 per share annually, giving it a yield of about 3.6% today. It has also raised its annual dividend 10 times since 2012, making it a quality dividend-growth stock.

Arrived Homes

Arrived Homes also offers a way for investors to gain exposure to residential real estate. It's an alternative investment platform, backed by Jeff Bezos and Dara Khosrowshahi, that allows individuals to easily invest in real estate by purchasing shares of rental properties. Investors on the platform earn passive income through rental revenue while waiting for the properties they invest in to appreciate in value over time.

Read Next:

Commercial real estate has historically outperformed the stock market, but few investors have the capital or resources needed to invest in this asset class. A platform backed by industry giant Marcus & Millichap is changing that, allowing individuals to invest in commercial real estate with as little as $5,000.

Collecting passive income from real estate just got a whole lot simpler. A new real estate fund backed by Dara Khosrowshahi gives you instant access to a diversified portfolio of rental properties, and you only need $100 to get started.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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The Poor Man Tyre Shop in Valencia and a nearby apartment building were destroyed by fire 
By Janice Phelan, January 16, 2024





Members of the Missouri Innovation Campus programs 2023-2027 cohort work on their resumes during the programs Resume Building Workshop.



Students in the nationally recognized Missouri Innovation Campus program recently achieved academic honors while participating in this rigorous, career-focused degree initiative.



The one-of-a-kind program is made possible through a partnership including the University of Central Missouri, Lees Summit R-7 School District, Metropolitan Community College and more than 70 business partners. The program prepares IT and engineering graduates for a successful career, decreases the cost of a college degree and reduces the time it takes to earn a bachelors degree while eliminating the skills gap and providing real-world learning experiences through three-year, year-round, paid internships.



Keeping IT and engineering talent in the Kansas City region is the ultimate goal of the MIC program, said Stan Elliott, MIC program director.



During the fall 2023 semester, all four current MIC program cohorts continued a tradition of academic success while preparing for in-demand, high-paying careers, Elliott added.



The 2020-24 MIC program cohort will graduate next May with bachelors degrees from UCM  just two years after graduating from high school. This group is also completing the final year of their internships. After seven semesters, the cohort had a cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of 3.84 with 100 percent of the group achieving 3.0 or above and 45 percent earning a 3.5 GPA or higher.



The programs 2021-25 cohorts cumulative GPA was 3.35 with 72 percent earning at least 3.0 and 50 percent earning 3.5 or above. Students in this cohort are currently participating in their second year of the paid internship program and are on track to graduate in May 2025.



Participants in the 2022-26 MIC program earned a cumulative GPA of 3.57 with 93 percent reaching 3.0 or higher and 71 percent achieving 3.5 or above. A total of 21 percent of this cohort reached a perfect 4.0 GPA. These students are participating in the first year in the internship program.



The programs newest students  the 2023-27 cohort  had a cumulative GPA of 3.58 after two semesters with 79 percent achieving a GPA of 3.0 or higher and 64 percent earning at least a 3.5. In addition, an impressive 57 percent had a perfect 4.0 GPA.



This 2023-27 cohort is also developing their professional resumes and participating in mock job interviews with MIC business partners to prepare for their paid internship interviews in February. These students will begin their internships next June.



The Missouri Innovation Campus program, which launched in 2012 as a workforce provider for the Kansas City region, includes seven programs in the IT and engineering sectors with a full time employment rate of 99 percent. In addition, approximately 91 percent of MIC program graduates are employed by the business partner where they served their internship.



Students enter the MIC program the summer before their junior year in high school when they begin attending Lees Summit R-7s Summit Technology Academy. The students take college-level classes from UCM and Metropolitan Community College alongside their high-school courses. This places the MIC students on an accelerated pathway to complete their UCM bachelors degree just two years after high-school graduation. The program has received national recognition for reshaping the path to a college degree.



The Missouri Innovation Campus program includes pathways to BS degrees in Science in Data Science, Drafting and Design Technology, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Software Engineering, Business Administration in Big Data/Business Analytics and Business Administration in Computer Science Information Systems.



For more information, visit the MIC program webpage.
Udaku Special

AJIRA ZA UHAKIKA NJE NJE, BONYEZA HAPA





Impact of Tanzania canceling traffic rights, truth is they have outwitted Kenyans! Impact of Tanzania canceling traffic rights, truth is they have outwitted Kenyans!





Penning my journal. A friend called Wuod Baba this afternoon asking me what I thought about Tanzania cancelling traffic rights into Kenya. Thought he was joking, countries do not cancel traffic rights between each other unless they are at war!





Canceling of traffic rights reflects a sore relationship, between countries which restrict movement between states. A sad stare of affairs .





My first reaction was to pore into the internet to establish if true? Havent read the papers 10 years now, cant stand the pessimism.





Will analyze the impact of this action in layman and avoid aviation jargon to keep it simple.





Tanzania basis for withdrawal of traffic rights to Kenya, is it applied for 5th freedom rights to ferry cargo out of Nairobi but was denied.





You may want to ask whats 5th freedom?





The fifth freedom right is the right of aircraft of country A, from a service originating in country A, is allowed to embark passengers and cargo in country B and disembark them in country C.





Countries usually are stingy with 5th freedom rights cause it grants it access to take cargo/ passengers onwards to another country other than that it originated. The stinginess usually comes from the protest of its national carrier or other air operators from that country.





Let me delve a little into how traffic rights are dished in Kenya, for decades played part of the process & know it from the back of my hand.





Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) in liaison with the Dept of Air Transport in Ministry of Transport receive applications for charters & traffic rights. They however cannot issue traffic rights without involving the national carrier Kenya Airways & other officially designated Kenyan carriers.





Every season KCAA receives applications from entrants, they list all the applications & call the national carrier & stakeholders for a forum to gather their views.





If the national carrier & other local carriers object to the new entrants, it is most likely that the prospective carrier in this case Air Tanzania was denied traffic nights.





Wait a minute, its rare for countries to deny cargo applications for freight exclusive flights . This is because air cargo involves trade. By denying an air cargo license to operate the country stifles trade. Passenger applications are often denied but cargo licensing is usually more liberalized worldwide.





The stark truth is that it was odd for the Tanzanian application to be rejected. Thats the cause of the whole wrath. Someone goofed, and the Tanzanians breathing fire. The leading question, is why were they denied? The regulator will be soon prompted by public for an explanation.





Let me delve a little on whats happening in Air Tanzania, I worked professionally with some of the top management staff in the 90s. Tanzania recently acquired a dedicated B767 Freighter from Boeing 6 months ago. This puts the Tanzanian in the big league as far as cargo is concerned as it can uplift 52 tons inter continental to Europe.





Most people are unaware, that JKIA is more world renowned for cargo than for passenger traffic. Infact its among the worlds top fresh produce & flower airport destinations .





Every week at least 5000 tons of perishable horticultural produce is airlifted from JKIA to Europe. This requires an uplift of at least 700 tons a day. In order to do this at least 7 to 10 freighters swarm into JKIA to uplift fresh produce, the peak is Valentines Day Feb 14 and Mothers Day 12 May.





The truth of the matter is that there has always been a shortage of air freight capacity out of JKIA, thats why air freight is expensive. It makes sense for the government to license as many cargo carriers as possible (including the Tanzanians) as it would make freight cheaper for our farmers to export to European markets.





Air freight is tricky cause its uni- directional affecting the flight operational costs, hence on one leg you fly empty & this deters some cargo carriers from the market.





Am not sure the exact 5 th freedom routes the Tanzanian were denied my guess Europe could be amongst them, and if its Africa, why are we stifling African trade.





Kenya Airways unlike Ethiopian has never seriously dabbled in the air freight industry despite being in a country which is one of worlds largest flower and horticulture producers.





KQ recently made its entree & acquired 2 B737 F which uplifts 18 to 23 tons at best. The aircraft cant carry cargo on intercontinental flights & best suited for regional cargo in central & east Africa region.





KQs freighters offers little or no competition to AirTanzania who will play, in a bigger league with its B767F .





I have expressed opinion in many forums, that KQ should have acquired a larger aircraft eg B767F as part of its cargo strategy to feed it B737F (that ply its regional routes) with intercontinental cargo. Currently as KQ network stands , KQ has capacity imbalances in its regional & incontinental routes & needs to address this weakness which leads to capacity constraints. Perhaps a story for another day.





Tanzanians reaction is heavy handed, chose to hit Kenyans where it hurts and cancelled 3rd & 4 th freedom rights of Kenya Airways. Which technically means Kenya Airways will soon have no traffic rights to operate into or from Tanzania. The rider is that the traffic rights will be withdrawn as from 22 Jan. This is an extremely smart chess check mate move, they want to give Kenyans only a week to rethink.





The Tanzanians for a long time have their own beef with Kenyans and thrown a knockout punch, they are unlike the Dutch who chose not to deny us traffic rights to Amsterdam when we recently denied them rights to Mombasa.





My prediction, we are caught in a net & Kenya will quickly back track and grant the Tanzanians rights they sought. Will move to tell you why and go into its mathematics .





Kenyans are the market leader on the NBO DAR route, & have more to lose. KQ operates under 3 umbrellas, that is KQ proper and its wholly owned subsidiary Jambo jet, plus a third little known arrangement with Precision Air ( PW) under a code share arrangement, which does 3 to 4 flights a week, mostly concentrated towards weekend leisure traffic. I was key in founding the KQ / PW partnership with legendary then CEO Alphonse Kioko & late brilliant Joel Chemwitich in 2005.





Tanzanian withdrawal of traffic rights will automatically affect the traffic rights to Jambo Jet cause its wholly owned by KQ, take thar to the bank. Its one and the same company,





The code share between PW /KQ will also be affected cause the Tanzanians will revoke KQs call sign to be reflected in the reservation distribution system due to the ban on KQ.





Now for the mathematics. Will give you my rough cut of it cause I have no access to KQs reservation system but this is the general drift of the loses KQ will face.





KQ I believe & Jambo Jet each operate daily flights to DAR. That works to at least 28 flight legs. My assumption is KQ has a revenue yield of Kes 25000 one way, with average uplift of 60 passengers a flight . We are talking 60 x 25,000 x 28 x 4 weeks a month is 168 million a month .





I havent included passengers who are coming from international destinations hubbed through KQs Nairobi hub eg, USA & Europe going to Tanzania & this figure will hit over Kes 200 million monthly. Passengers whose flights were cancelled due to the denial of traffic rights will demand compensation.





KQs aircraft doing the route will sit idle and wear tear costs money. The Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority & Kenya Airport Authority will lose money in terms of parking, passenger taxes, navigation fees etc. Fuel company will lose, not to mention NAS catering services, taxi companies will lose.





It is not sustainable for KQ . Am sure the Tanzanians are aware of that, for that reason gave the Kenyan government until 22 Jan to grant Air Tanzania 5 th freedom rights on the grounds of reciprocity. If things fail, the mode of public travel to Tanzania will be by bus.





KCAA & /Kenya Airways will move quickly to the negotiating table to avoid the inevitable, trust me. They will be negotiating from a weaker position. The sad of it all, we as members East African Community need ask ourselves what is the community all about. Does it have to come to this? We as a country need to re-examine our aviation policy.





Mobile calls to Tanzania is really expensive over Kes 30,a minute, is this by intent? The truth is the relationship between Kenya & Tanzania is at best frosty. This issue should have been resolved within the ambits of the EAC.





What we need in Africa is liberation of air travel. Playing hardball stifles competition & makes air travel expensive for the consumer, and bottlenecks trade. The principles of Yamoussoukro convention which all African countries including Tanzania & Kenya subscribe too have never been implemented,





The day when African countries allow for cabotage rights for all African carriers will change aviation in Africa. Cabotage means allowing carriers from other countries rights to operate in each others domestic markets.





May our children implement what our fathers, & we have failed to do. May my dream come true.

#okwiri  my journal, my thoughts, my walk..
Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkinen said that he wants to achieve a complete ban on real estate transactions for Russian citizens.

Yle reported this, according to Ukrinform.

He said that a 'legal solution' must be found in this matter.

However, Hakkinen is convinced that the Finnish government will be able to find appropriate solutions in the spring.

He also assumed that the restrictions could be related to lease terms and verification of real estate transactions that have already been made.

Last week, the Ministry of Defense approved three negative opinions on real estate transactions for buyers who were not from the European Union or the European Economic Area (27 EU member states + Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein).

As reported, Finland prevented an attempt to purchase real estate by a buyer with ties to Russia as part of countering transactions that could harm the country's national security.
In this article, we will take a look at the 20 worst states for dividend income investors. If you want to skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to 5 Worst States for Dividend Income Investors.

Why Should Investors Consider Dividend Aristocrats?

On December 30, 2023, Dave Mazza, Chief Strategy Officer at Roundhill Investments, appeared in an interview on Yahoo Finance, where he discussed the possible investment opportunities in 2024. Mazza said 2023 has been significant for the "Magnificent 7" stocks which include Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), among others. While artificial intelligence has led the year as a primary catalyst, Mazza reckons 2024 to be divided for the big tech group. He highlighted that the bifurcation of the market may simply depend on rate cuts, when and if they are fully enforced.

Mazza said that the market has been performing well and has been out of the earning recessions rut, which again is a good sign for the money market. Moreover, he added that slowing inflation rates and increasing earnings on the horizon is a testament to the expansion of earnings in the stock market. However, while 2024 holds a positive outlook, the primary concern for investors will be consumers. Rising credit card spending and consumer stress are common factors, which may be significant later in the year, or act as a game changer for the market.

Mazza thinks dividend aristocrats, or companies that have been consistent with their dividend growth for 20 to 25 years, will be the best place to for investors to position themselves. He further added that dividend kings and dividend monarchs will be significant to investors, especially early in 2024. He said that these companies tend to be extremely resilient against market forces and happen to report consistent and strong free cash flow. Mazza noted that the upcoming elections and the pressure on the Fed shape his less favorable view of the market for the second half of 2024. Therefore, until consumer behavior is unclear, it might be safer to stick to elite dividend payers.

Story continues

Elite Dividend Payers in the Market

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO), The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) are some of the most notable companies known for their continuous dividend growth rates. Let's discuss some recent updates from these companies. You can also take a look at the tax-friendly states for high income in the United States.

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) is not only a favorite pick of dividend income investors, but it is also known for spearheading sustainability initiatives. On October 25, 2023, The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) announced that all 500-mL sparkling beverages in Canada will be made with 100% recycled plastic. The initiative suggests that no sparkling 500-mL water bottle will be made from virgin plastic starting in 2024. The initiative is a huge step forward for the company's sustainability plans. The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) has implemented a cyclical system in place, which spreads across the recycling, cleaning, and sorting of plastic until it is transformed into flakes to produce new bottles. To support the initiative, The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) also launched an advertising campaign called "Recycle Me Again."

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) is another top stock pick among dividend investors, as of January 16 the stock is offering a forward dividend yield of 2.50%. The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was a part of 75 hedge fund portfolios at the close of the third quarter of 2023. The total stakes of these hedge funds amounted to $5.73 billion, up from $5.35 billion in the previous quarter with 74 positions. The hedge fund sentiment for the stock is positive. As of December 31, 2023, Ayrshire Capital Management is the largest shareholder in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) and has a position worth $4.22 million. The stock covers 2.43% of the fund's portfolio.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is not only a dividend aristocrat, but it is also a dividend king. As of January 16, the stock has a forward dividend yield of 2.93%. The company's commitment to expand is a testament to its popularity in the industry. On January 8, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) signed an agreement to acquire Ambrx Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAM) for a staggering $2.0 billion. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company is focused on designing next-generation antibody-drug conjugates (ADC). Such will enhance the efficacy across multiple cancer indications such as the ARX517, ARX788, and ARX305. The acquisition will allow Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) to leverage Ambrx's (NASDAQ:AMAM) ADC technology to eliminate cancer cells using monoclonal antibodies linked to a potent chemotherapeutic payload.

Wall Street is positive on Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). On January 9, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Louise Chen reiterated an Overweight rating on Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and maintained her price target of $215. Over the past 3 months, 7 Wall Street analysts have held a buy opinion on the stock. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has an average price target of $178.08 and a high forecast of $215.

Now that we have discussed some notable dividend stocks, let's take a look at the 20 worst states for dividend income investors. You can also read the states with income tax rates in 2024.

20 Worst States for Dividend Income Investors

20 Worst States for Dividend Income Investors

Our Methodology

For our title, 20 worst states for dividend income investors, we decided to base our list on the income tax rate for each state. Our hypothesis behind this was that states with a higher individual income tax would put a dividend income investor at a disadvantage. We sourced our data from the Tax Foundation. It is to be noted that we accounted for any adjustments to be made to tax rates starting in 2024. This information was also sourced from the Tax Foundation. We then sifted through government websites for every state to verify our information and source any relevant data for our list. The list of the 20 worst states for dividend income investors is in ascending order of the higher-end individual income tax rate.

By the way, Insider Monkey is an investing website that tracks the movements of corporate insiders and hedge funds. By using a consensus approach, we identify the best stock picks of more than 900 hedge funds investing in US stocks. The top 10 consensus stock picks of hedge funds outperformed the S&P 500 Index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here). Whether you are a beginner investor or a professional one looking for the best stocks to buy, you can benefit from the wisdom of hedge funds and corporate insiders.

20 Worst States for Dividend Income Investors

20. Maryland

Income Tax Rate (2024): 5.75%

Maryland ranks among the worst states for dividend income investors. The individual income tax rate ranges from 2% to 5.75%. The state also has certain jurisdictions that levy local income taxes.

19. Idaho

Income Tax Rate (2024): 5.80%

The individual income tax rate in Idaho is a flat 5.8% for all types of taxable income. The minimum income bar before taxes are levied varies for single individuals, married couples, and the head of a household.

18. Nebraska

Income Tax Rate (2024): 5.84%

The individual income tax rate in Nebraska ranges from 2.46% to 6.64%, contributing to its ranking as one of the worst states for dividend income investors.

17. Montana

Income Tax Rate (2024): 5.90%

Montana ranks seventeenth among the worst states for dividend income investors. The individual income tax rate ranges from 1% to 6.75%.

16. New Mexico

Income Tax Rate (2024): 5.90%

Individual income tax rates in New Mexico range from 1.7% to 5.9%. The state also has a dividend withholding tax applying to dividends paid by companies to investors, resident and non-resident alike, at 10%.

15. Rhode Island

Income Tax Rate (2024): 5.99%

Rhode Island ranks among the worst states for dividend income investors. The individual income tax rate ranges from 3.75% for income above $0 to 5.99% for income above $155,050.

14. South Carolina

Income Tax Rate (2024): 6.40%

South Carolina ranks fourteenth among the worst states for dividend income investors. The individual income tax rate ranges from 0% to 6.5%.

13. West Virginia

Income Tax Rate (2024): 6.50%

The individual income tax rate in West Virginia ranges from 3% to 6.5%. Dividend and interest income in the state falls under non-business income unless a person is engaged in the business of making investments.

12. Delaware

Income Tax Rate (2024): 6.60%

Delaware ranks among the worst states for dividend income investors. The individual income tax rate in Delaware ranges from 2.2% to 6.6%.

11. Connecticut

Income Tax Rate (2024): 6.99%

The individual income tax rate in Connecticut ranges from 3% to 6.99% contributing to its ranking as one of the worst states for dividend income investors. The state also levies a 7.5% corporate income tax rate. Dividends and interest income are taxed based on the state's adjusted gross income. The rate varies from 1% to 14%.

10. Maine

Income Tax Rate (2024): 7.15%

With a higher-end individual income tax rate of 7.15%, Maine ranks among the worst states for dividend-income investors. The individual income tax rate ranges from 5.80% to 7.15% and is levied on all kinds of income including wages, investment income, interest income, pension, and dividends.

9. Wisconsin

Income Tax Rate (2024): 7.65%

Wisconsin ranks ninth among the worst states for dividend income investors. The individual income tax rate in Wisconsin ranges from 3.54% to 7.65% across four income brackets.

8. Vermont

Income Tax Rate (2024): 8.75%

The individual income tax rate in Vermont ranges from 3.35% to 8.75% contributing to its rank as one of the worst states for dividend income investors.

7. Massachusetts

Income Tax Rate (2024): 9.00%

The individual income tax rate in Massachusetts ranges from 5% to 9%. The state charges tax on earned and unearned income which includes wages, salaries, commissions, interest dividends, and capital gains income.

6. Minnesota

Income Tax Rate (2024): 9.85%

Minnesota ranks among the worst states for dividend income investors with a higher-end individual income tax rate range of 9.85%. The tax rate ranges from 5.35% for income above $0 to 9.85% for income above $321,450 for a married couple filing taxes together, $256,880 for the head of the household, and $193,240 for a single person.

Click to continue reading and see the 5 Worst States for Dividend Income Investors.

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Disclosure: None. 20 Worst States for Dividend Income Investors is originally published on Insider Monkey.
Brussels is auditing how many weapons systems EU member states have donated to Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion amid claims that some countries sent fewer weaponry than they could have.

Thats according to the Financial Times, referring to three informed sources in the EU, Ukrinform reports.

Sources say the audit is being conducted by the European External Action Service (EEAS), which intends to present the report to member states ahead of the extraordinary summit of EU leaders on February 1.

Diplomats noted that the audit will be based on materials submitted by EU states in response to EEAS inquiries.

The verification has already faced resistance from some countries that are unwilling to publish full data, the report said.

The decision to launch the probe arose after the request of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to count and compare military supplies from EU countries to Ukraine.

Arms supplies to Ukraine, which are currently being scheduled by most of the EU member states, are too small, he told reporters, noting that the EU also needs an overview of what specific contribution the member states will make to support Ukraine throughout 2024.

While Scholz's remarks were seen as a rebuke to other major EU powers, such as France and Italy, whose military pledges are much smaller, his public call for greater transparency has been privately supported by senior officials in Brussels, who believe some countries may provide Kyiv with more weapons at a critical moment of conflict.

Some EU countries besides Germany, particularly in the bloc's eastern part, are also pushing for an expansion of the European Peace Fund (EPF), a joint facility that partly finances arms shipments to Ukraine, to increase supplies and share the cost burden.

The EU needs to make sure that the EPF is back on track and that it can be used for further aid tranches to Ukraine, according to a senior EU diplomat. He added that without the EPF, some member states would not provide any military support.

The audit comes at a time when both Brussels and Washington are trying to find a political consensus that would allow them to approve new aid packages to Kyiv, together worth about $110 billion.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, since war-start, Germany has provided Ukraine with EUR 28 billion worth of aid and will continue to support the nation throughout 2024 as well.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine confirmed that in December 2023, at least 592 civilians were killed or injured as a result of Russian strikes.

Thats according to a report released by the Mission on January 15, as seen by Ukrinform.

It notes that this is a 26.5% casualty increase against the previous month.

"The number of reported civilian casualties, some of which are still pending verification, suggest that the increase was even higher. The increase in civilian casualties in December breaks a trend of decreasing numbers of civilian casualties in 2023," the report emphasizes.

The UN monitoring mission indicates that the increase was mainly due to massive Russian missile attacks on December 29-30. Missile strikes accounted for 34% of civilian casualties in December, compared with 16% in November, she said.

As reported, the number of those killed by the Russian missile attack targeting Kyiv on December increased to 33.
On January 3, the Estonian Security Police (KaPo) detained a Russian national, Vyacheslav Morozov, who is suspected of conducting and supporting intelligence efforts against Estonia in favor of the Russian Federation.

Thats according to the ERR broadcaster, Ukrinform reports.

Morozov is being held in a Tallinn prison. The fact of his detention was confirmed by the Estonian State Prosecutor's Office. According to State Prosecutor Triinu Olev, the investigation has reason to believe that Morozov, being at large, may evade criminal prosecution or pursue his criminal activities.

"That's why we appealed to the court with a motion to take him into custody. The Harju District Court agreed with the assessment made by the prosecutor's office and ruled to remand the person in custody for up to two months," said Olev.

The details of the charges brought against Vyacheslav Morozov were never disclosed due to the probe secrecy concerns. At the same time, Director General of the Security Police, Margo Palloson, noted that the aggressor state's intelligence interest in Estonia remains high.

"The current case is just one among more than a dozen other ones, illustrating the desire of Russias intelligence to penetrate into various spheres of life in Estonia, including the academic field," Palloson added.

Vyacheslav Morozov worked as a Professor of political science at the Schutte Institute of the University of Tartu. The head of the Schutte Institute, Kristiina Tonnisson, confirmed to ERR that after charges were pressed against Morozov, his contract was terminated.

Vyacheslav Morozov had worked at St. Petersburg State University until 2010. Later he was associated with the University of Tartu. In particular, in 2016-2023, Morozov held the position of Professor of European Union and Russia studies there, and from September 1, 2023 to January 11, 2024, he was Professor of international political theory.
Assistance to Ukraine will be more effective if EU countries fulfill their promises and do so without delay. An effective measure could be to set a fixed percentage of GDP, including that of EU member states, to help and enable Ukraine to win the war against Russia.

This was discussed today at a hearing in the European Parliament on "Key Commitments and Delivery of Military Assistance to Ukraine," Ukrinform reports.

The united West is 25 times stronger than Russia. The EU has the economic power to support Ukraine to win the war. But this is still not the case. Last year, Russia spent more than 100 billion euros on its war in Ukraine. Ukraine, with all the help from the West, spent 80 billion euros on its defense. Last year, Russia spent 6% of its GDP on the war, while Ukraine spent 25%. EU support amounted to only 0.075% of EU GDP. The U.S. figure is slightly better, 0.10%, said Andrius Kubilius, a Lithuanian MP and representative of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats).

The politician emphasized that support for Ukraine varies greatly from country to country.

Lithuania and Estonia allocate 0.4% of GDP, Germany has increased to 0.5%, and France's support is only 0.02%. These figures show that if all NATO and EU member states supported Ukraine at the level of at least 0.25% of GDP, Ukraine would have an advantage. This is the formula for victory. Let's do it, Kubilius urged.

Sven Mikser, a representative of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Estonian MP, emphasized that to ensure that the focus on the war in Ukraine is not lost, there should be a clearly defined level of contribution from each country.

If the Euro-Atlantic community and all others, such as UN members, determine that the amount of aid to Ukraine to help it win is a small 0.25% of GDP, it will amount to approx. 2,120 billion euros annually. This is more than what is needed to enable the Ukrainian military to repel the aggressor. In addition, it will destroy any hopes Russia has for a military victory over Ukraine and send a clear message to the Kremlin that we will stand by Ukraine until the aggressor is defeated, said Mikser.

Pedro Marques, MP from Portugal, deputy chairman of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, called for the fulfillment of the EU's promises to Ukraine.

Since the beginning of the war, the EU and its member states have pledged to support Ukraine for as long as it lasts. The EU's support for Ukraine, its sovereignty and territorial integrity is unwavering... Ukraine is now at a critical point in the war with insufficient weapons and ammunition... Member states must put their promises to Ukraine into practice, Marques said during the discussion.

Lithuanian MP and representative of the Green Group (European Free Alliance) Bronis Rope called on MPs to stop promising and start acting.

How many promises have not been fulfilled so far? This demonstrates weakness and encourages Russia to go further. The share of GDP that countries allocate to help Ukraine shows who really helps and who pays lip service to it. There are also those countries that still seem to stand aside, thinking that Russia will not get them, Rope said.

According to him, one should take into account the experience of the Second World War, when there was no safe place left in Europe, so Ukraine must win before Russia reaches the territories of other countries.

As Ukrinform reported, today in Strasbourg, during the European Parliament session, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, who presented the country's presidency program in the EU Council for the next six months, stressed that Europe has shown unity and determination in supporting Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression, and the continuation of such assistance is an existential issue for the security and well-being of Europe itself.
On the sidelines of the fourth meeting of national security and foreign policy advisers regarding the implementation of Ukraine's Peace Formula in Davos, the Ukrainian delegation held a number of meetings with representatives of countries from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania.

That's according to the press service of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

In particular, the Ukrainian delegation, including Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak and his deputies Andriy Sybiha and Ihor Zhovkva, as well as Deputy Foreign Minister Mykola Tochytskyi, met with Deputy Head of the Strategic Security Bureau of the Kingdom of Bahrain Ali bin Nasser Abdullah Al Fadel. The Ukrainian side thanked Bahrain for joining the Davos meeting and noted that despite global challenges, the Gulf countries' participation in the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula is extremely important.

According to the report, the parties paid special attention to the discussion of global food security, in particular, the importance of Bahrain's participation in this process and its accession to the Ukrainian humanitarian initiative Grain from Ukraine was noted. The parties also reaffirmed the importance of increasing the intensity of bilateral relations and expanding the dialogue.

In addition, Ukrainian officials met with Deputy Secretary General of the National Security Council of the State of Qatar Hamad Hamis Al Kubaisi and thanked for Qatar's assistance to Ukraine, particularly in the humanitarian sphere. Separately, Ukraine thanked Qatar for its active participation in the process of returning Ukrainian children illegally deported and forcibly displaced by Russia.

The parties exchanged views on further coordination of efforts in this area. The interlocutors also discussed Qatar's participation in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine and the implementation of the Ukrainian initiative Grain from Ukraine.

The Ukrainian delegation in Davos also met with Secretary General of National Intelligence and Security Services of the Republic of Rwanda Joseph Nzabamwita. The parties had a substantive exchange of views on Rwanda's involvement in the implementation of certain points of the Ukrainian Peace Formula. The interlocutors also emphasized the need for further development and practical content of Ukrainian-Rwandan relations, which will be greatly facilitated by the opening of the Embassy of Ukraine in Rwanda.

In addition, the Ukrainian delegation met with Director of the Center for Strategic Studies and National Security of the State of Libya, Mukhtar Abu Saa. The participants discussed ways to intensify bilateral political dialogue.

The Ukrainian side invited Libya to join the Grain from Ukraine initiative, which aims to increase food supplies to Africa and Asia and ensure global food security. It was agreed to continue contacts to exchange information on the implementation of the issues raised at the meeting.

During a meeting with Chief Advisor to the President of Brazil Celso Amorim, Andriy Yermak thanked Brazil for its consistent support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, including at the UN level. The interlocutors discussed in detail the cooperation between Ukraine and the Latin American region, as well as important issues of the bilateral agenda, including the prospects for economic cooperation between the countries.

The Ukrainian delegation also met with Argentina's Deputy Foreign Minister Marcia Rosa Levaggi. The Ukrainian side thanked Argentina for its hospitality during the recent visit of President Volodymyr Zelensky. The high expectations of the Ukrainian side for the successful implementation of the agreements reached between the two leaders were emphasized. Ukraine's representatives highly appreciated Argentina's support for the possibility of organizing a Ukraine-Latin America summit and discussed with the Argentine side the prospects for economic cooperation in the near future.

The Ukrainian delegation also met with Mexican Deputy Foreign Minister Jennifer Feller. Ukraine thanked Mexico for participating in the consultations on the Ukrainian Peace Formula in Davos and expressed hope that Mexico would join the implementation of this peace initiative.

Special attention was paid to Ukraine's cooperation with the countries of the Latin American region. The Ukrainian side invited Mexico to support the initiative to hold a Ukraine-Latin America summit this year.

The Ukrainian side also met with Ambassador of Chile to Switzerland Frank Tressler Zamorano. The parties emphasized the high level of relations at the level of the two presidents, including the meeting in September in New York. The Ukrainian side expressed gratitude to Chile for its participation in the implementation of the Peace Formula and political support for Ukraine.

The Ukrainian delegation met with Alejandra Costa, Deputy Director General for Political Affairs of the Uruguayan Foreign Ministry. The interlocutors discussed the importance of implementing the agreements reached at the December meeting of the two presidents.

During a meeting with Australian Ambassador to Switzerland Elizabeth Day, the Ukrainian side expressed gratitude for Australia's support and assistance. The interlocutors discussed Ukraine's defense needs, further cooperation in attracting Australian security support, including practical cooperation in the field of humanitarian demining. The interlocutors paid special attention to the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula, organization of the Global Peace Summit and preparation of security commitments for our country.

At a meeting with Ambassador of New Zealand to Ukraine Alana Hudson, the Ukrainian side thanked New Zealand for its military, financial, and humanitarian assistance in the face of Russia's full-scale invasion. The parties discussed Ukraine's defense needs, taking into account the current situation at the front, further cooperation in humanitarian demining, and New Zealand's involvement in projects to restore our country. Key attention was paid to the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and preparations for the Global Peace Summit.

In Davos, the Ukrainian delegation also met with representatives of Switzerland, the United States, Canada, Denmark, India, Japan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, and the United Nations. In total, the Ukrainian side met with representatives of more than 50 countries and international organizations. The talks focused on the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula, strengthening global security, including food security, and bilateral cooperation on a wide range of issues of mutual interest.

Photos: Office of the President of Ukraine
Latvia will support Ukraine in the military and political dimensions to facilitate its rapid integration into the EU and NATO, and the country will no longer remain in the "gray zone" of security.

Speaker of the Saeima of Latvia Daiga Mierina said this in her address to the Verkhovna Rada, Ukrinform reports.

"We will support Ukraine militarily to facilitate a faster victory for Ukraine. We will support Ukraine politically to facilitate the faster and closer integration of Ukraine into the European Union and NATO. We are and will be with Ukraine as a nation and as an ally to strengthen the fighting spirit of Ukrainians," she said.

According to Mierina, in the post-war European security architecture, one of the most important elements of the security of Ukraine and the whole of Europe is Kyiv's membership in NATO.

"This is the only way to guarantee Ukraine's long-term security and significantly strengthen Europe's deterrence and defense capabilities. Ukraine will no longer remain in the 'gray zone' of security," she said.

In her opinion, the threat of Russian aggression will not end with the defeat of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. The agony of the collapse of the Russian empire may continue for a long time, so a "comprehensive long-term approach to building the security of the free world from Russian evil and atrocities" is needed, she said.

According to Mierina, Latvia realizes that Ukraine's victory is the only way to restore security in Europe. She recalled that Latvia had provided over EUR 600 million in support to Ukraine in the past two years.

The politician also emphasized Latvia's commitment to lead a "drone coalition," as part of which it is planned to significantly increase the capacity of drone production, making maximum use of Ukraine's previous military experience to increase their efficiency.
VII-6.11(A)

UMB Policy on Telework

Human Resources |

Responsible VP/AVP

Dawn M. Rhodes, DBA, MBA

Applies to Staff

Revision History

Approved February 1, 2012. Revised and approved May 28, 2021 to become effective August 15, 2021.

Purpose

The purpose of this Telework Policy is to define requirements and guidelines under which Schools and Administrative Units may allow employees to Telework and may create flexible work environments. Consistent with the requirements and guidelines set forth in this Policy, supervisors may consider a variety of work arrangements that blend in-person work and Telework for an individual employee or groups of employees.

Policy Statement

I. POLICY STATEMENT

Telework is not an entitlement or University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) wide benefit. As an institution of higher education, UMB is committed to having employees physically present to educate students, perform research, serve clients, treat patients, and engage with the UMB community. However, UMB recognizes that Telework can benefit UMB when the employee, the job, and the work unit are suited to such an arrangement.

To the extent practical, a supervisor is encouraged to consider Telework arrangements for Eligible Employees when, in the supervisors opinion, Telework will foster productivity, create utility or space cost savings, and allow for alternative methods of collaboration. An Eligible Employees Telework arrangement should not inequitably increase other employees workloads or impose unreasonable burdens on the supervisor. Teleworkers should not be inequitably excluded from in work activities available at the physical worksite (e.g., meetings).

II. PURPOSE

The purpose of this Telework Policy is to define requirements and guidelines under which Schools and Administrative Units may allow employees to Telework and may create flexible work environments. Consistent with the requirements and guidelines set forth in this Policy, supervisors may consider a variety of work arrangements that blend in-person work and Telework for an individual employee or groups of employees.

III. APPLICABILITY

This Policy applies to all UMB Staff employees.

IV. DEFINITIONS

A. Eligible Employee: any full- or part-time staff employee whose job functions, as determined by the employees supervisor, can be performed effectively from a location other than a physical UMB worksite and whose productivity, in the supervisors opinion, can be measured and maintained or improved through Telework.

B. Episodic Telework Event: a nonrecurring situation ordinarily of no more than 2 pay periods in duration in which an employee may Telework due to extraordinary personal or work circumstances with the expectation that Telework will benefit the operations of the employees organization. Examples include: (1) An employees temporary medical condition precludes the employee from traveling to the workplace but does not hamper the employees ability to perform eligible work from an offsite location on a temporary basis. (2) An intense or demanding critical work assignment can best be performed from an offsite location where the distractions of a normal office environment are reduced. (3) A physical UMB worksite experiences a planned or unplanned, temporary closure (e.g., planned construction, or unplanned water main break) and employees are able to temporarily perform certain functions remotely until conditions causing the closure are resolved.

C. Intermittent Telework Arrangement: a frequent, but not predictable, Telework schedule where a supervisor permits an Eligible Employee to Telework as needed.

D. Remote Worksite: a work site other than the employees physical UMB worksite that has been approved by the employees supervisor for use for Telework. Most commonly, a Remote Worksite is an employees home.

E. Telework: work performed at a location, approved by UMB, other than a physical UMB worksite.

F. Teleworker: an Eligible Employee who is approved to Telework regularly pursuant to this Policy.

V. REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES FOR APPROVAL OF TELEWORK

A. Schools or Administrative Units may wish to coordinate their employees Telework schedules to maximize space sharing or reduction in utility consumption by UMB.

1. Deans and Vice Presidents (or designees) may consider and pursue unit-wide telework schedules pursuant to this section.

2. Telework schedules created pursuant to this section should be coordinated with relevant operational stakeholders (e.g., Security, Police, Human Resources, Operations and Maintenance).

B. The decision to permit an employee to Telework ordinarily rests with an employees supervisor. However, the decision to allow an Eligible Employee to Telework 3 or more days per week or to allow a Contingent Category I staff employee to telework additionally requires permission from the appropriate Dean or Vice President (or designee).

C. Employees are not authorized to regularly Telework from a Remote Worksite that is located in a state other than Maryland except where the arrangement has been approved in accordance with UMBs Out of State Work Policy.

D. Telework should only be approved for job functions that are conducive to effective Telework, as determined by the supervisor, and for employees who, as determined by the supervisor, are productive during a period of Telework.

1. Jobs that require interaction with the public, coworkers, and/or students may not be conducive to Telework or may only justify periodic Telework (e.g., one day every other week).

2. The confidentiality or security protocols required of a position may impact whether the position is appropriate for Telework or the amount of Telework available (e.g., positions requiring access to documents or items that should not be removed from UMB or accessed in non-secure environments may not be appropriate for telework).

E. To be approved for Telework, an employee must have a performance rating of at least meets standards, and a track record of performing work accurately and efficiently without the need for close supervision. Having a meets standards rating does not guarantee an employee the option of Telework as some jobs and some employees are more productive and effective when work is performed in person.

At the discretion of the supervisor, a new employee who does not have any performance rating may be considered for Telework prior to receiving a performance rating.

F. To be approved for Telework, an Eligible Employee must have and agree to work from a suitable designated Remote Worksite and must have access to computer and telecommunications equipment necessary to effectively Telework, including reliable and secure internet service.

1. Employees are responsible for the cost of maintenance, repair and operation of their Remote Worksite, personal equipment, furniture, necessary utilities, and internet service.

2. Where required by an employees work duties, the designated Remote Worksite must allow for confidentiality.

3. Supervisors should take appropriate steps to verify and document the suitability of a Remote Worksite (e.g., via video conferencing or photographs).

G. Departments may elect to provide a Teleworker with access to UMB equipment such as computers, printers, and cables, and may elect to provide software or furniture necessary to the job.

1. Equipment provided to a Teleworker remains the property of UMB and must be returned on termination of the employees Telework arrangement or employment. Software provided for a Teleworker must be removed from home equipment upon termination of the employees Telework arrangement.

2. The use of equipment, software, data, supplies, and furniture, if provided by UMB, is limited to use by the Teleworker and for purposes related to UMB business only.

H. The Teleworker is responsible for the safekeeping of all items and software furnished by UMB.

I. Where an employee requests to Telework one day per week, a supervisor may reject the request at the supervisors sole discretion, but if asked should articulate a valid reason for denying the request based on the nature of the job, the effectiveness of the employee, or any of the guidelines listed in this Policy. An employees request to Telework two or more days per week may be denied at the discretion of the supervisor without need to articulate a reason for denying the request.

J. Telework arrangements may be revoked at the sole discretion of the supervisor or UMB. Telework arrangements may be revoked or changed by a supervisor, with or without cause, by providing an employee with a reasonable amount of notice (ordinarily two weeks).

K. Because telework decisions are discretionary, the decision to grant, deny, or revoke teleworking arrangements may not be grieved.

VI. TELEWORK SCHEDULES

A. At the supervisors discretion, an employee may be permitted to work a Telework schedule that differs from the hours worked during the employees regular in-person workdays provided that the employee continues to fulfill the appropriate work effort (e.g., 1.0 FTE).

1. An alternative or flexible work schedule may be appropriate, and should be considered, to allow an employee to attend to dependent care issues during certain hours so that the employees attention can be devoted entirely to Telework during Telework hours.

2. An alternative or flexible work schedule may not be approved for a non-exempt employee unless the employee acknowledges that shift-differentials are not available for Telework and that overtime must be approved by the employees supervisor in advance.

B. The telework schedule must be approved by the supervisor.

C. A Teleworker may be required to give up office space and utilize a hoteling office or shared office space as a condition of Telework. An employees Telework schedule should be created with these considerations taken into account and addressed in the Telework Agreement if feasible.

D. Telework days should be treated as regular work days. A Teleworker is expected to attend meetings virtually and to fully engage in work activities on scheduled Telework days.

E. For operational or safety reasons, UMB may direct certain groups of Teleworking employees to temporarily increase the number of Telework days per week or to engage in Episodic Telework.

F. At the discretion of the supervisor, an Eligible Employee may be permitted to work an Intermittent Telework Arrangement. A supervisor may impose conditions of advanced notification for the privilege of an Intermittent Telework Arrangement. A Teleworker working an Intermittent Telework Arrangement must meet all the underlying requirements and obligations of this Policy.

VII. DEPENDENT CARE, REQUIRED ATTENDANCE, AND LEAVE CONSIDERATIONS

A. Subject to confidentiality issues, employees are not prohibited from Teleworking while dependents are present, but Telework should not be considered a substitute for dependent care. If dependent care requirements would prevent an employee from devoting full attention to Telework, the employee is expected to make alternative dependent care arrangements or to propose an alternative Telework schedule agreeable to the employees supervisor.

B. Attendance at an employees primary workplace for on-site meetings, conferences, training sessions and similar activities may be required on scheduled Telework days at the sole discretion of the supervisor. Where practical, a supervisor should give an employee two weeks notice of required on-site activities. Transportation and parking costs for such attendance are the employee's responsibility.

C. Teleworking employees are required to obtain supervisory approval for the use of leave during Telework hours in the same manner as required for in-person work hours. Teleworking employees are expected to request and take leave and to use holiday hours when on vacation or when UMB is closed to observe a holiday on days that fall on the employees regular Telework schedule.

D. In the event an employees physical UMB worksite is closed due to inclement weather or similar emergency conditions on a day the employee is approved to Telework, the employee is expected to continue to Telework or to take leave.

1. Supervisors may not unreasonably deny a Teleworkers request to take leave during an emergency closure if the emergency condition also means the employee has unexpected dependent care obligations (e.g., where local schools are closed due to weather conditions).

2. Pursuant to VI(E) above, certain emergency conditions may trigger Episodic Telework.

VIII. TELEWORK AGREEMENT

A. Once a supervisor has agreed that an employee and the employees job function are suitable for Telework, the supervisor and employee are required to complete a Telework Agreement and to submit the Agreement to the Department Head (or designee) for approval.

1. Human Resources will provide a standardized Telework Agreement covering the requirements of this Policy.

2. Specific procedures for documenting Telework arrangements of employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement may be found in the appropriate Memorandum of Understanding and for convenience will be posted on HRS website or included in the standardized Telework Agreement.

3. Supervisors may seek assistance from Employee/Labor Relations in Human Resources to develop appropriate Telework Agreements.

B. Supervisors should periodically review each employees Telework Agreement and schedule to make sure any changes are appropriately documented. This review should occur and be documented at least once per year.

IX. LIABILITIES FOR INJURIES

A. A teleworker working at an approved Remote Worksite is covered under the State's Workers' Compensation Law for injuries occurring in the course of the actual performance of official duties at the employees Remote Worksite.

B. The Teleworker or someone acting on the Teleworkers behalf is required to immediately notify the Teleworkers supervisor of any accident or injury that occurs at the employees Remote Worksite.

C. UMB will follow University policies regarding the reporting of injuries for employees injured while at work.

D. UMB is not liable for damages to the Teleworkers personal or real property while the Teleworker is working at the Remote Worksite, except to the extent required under Maryland law.

X. TELEWORKER RESPONSIBILITIES

A. Teleworkers are expected to adhere to all requirements set forth in this Policy and the scheduling expectations set forth in the employees executed Telework Agreement.

B. Teleworkers are subject to the same conditions of employment, policies, and performance expectations that apply to employees who do not Telework.

C. UMB secure connections must be used for remote access to systems that contain confidential data or sensitive information. Such data can only be used and stored on secure systems and devices.

D. Teleworkers should consult the UMB Information Technology Policies for information on UMB IT Remote Access, UMB IT Acceptable Use, UMB IT Anti-Virus, and UMB IT Security Standards.

E. A Teleworker who is issued UMB equipment or software is required to comply with all rules applicable to the use and maintenance of UMB property and may be required to sign an additional acknowledgement related to this responsibility.

F. Any changes to the terms of an employees Telework Agreement (including a relocation to a different Remote Worksite), must be disclosed to and approved by the employees supervisor.
Manufactured homes real estate investment trusts (REITs) specialize in owning and operating income-generating properties related to manufactured homes. Manufactured homes are prefabricated houses that are built off-site and then transported to their final location. These REITs may own communities or parks where manufactured homes are situated, and they generate income through leasing or renting the land to individuals who own the manufactured homes.

Investors in manufactured homes REITs can benefit from the income generated by the leasing of land for these homes. If this interests you, here are three manufactured home REITs you could buy today.

Sun Communities

Sun Communities Inc. (NYSE:SUI) owns, operates, or has an interest in 670 developed manufactured home, RV, and marina properties as of September 30, 2023. These properties consist of over 180,000 developed sites and over 48,000 wet slips and dry storage spaces in the U.S., U.K., and Canada.

Sun Communities currently pays a quarterly distribution of $0.93 per share, equating to $3.72 per share annually, giving it a yield of about 2.8% today. It has also raised its annual distribution each of the last seven years, making it qualify as a quality dividend-growth play.

Don't Miss:

Investing in real estate just got a whole lot simpler. This Dara Khosrowshahi-backed startup will allow you to become a landlord in just 10 minutes, and you only need $100.

Commercial real estate has historically outperformed the stock market, but few investors have the capital or resources needed to invest in this asset class. A platform backed by industry giant Marcus & Millichap is changing that, allowing individuals to invest in commercial real estate with as little as $5,000.

Equity LifeStyle Properties

Equity LifeStyle Properties Inc. (NYSE:ELS) owns and operates 450 manufactured home communities, RV resorts, and campgrounds consisting of over 171,000 sites in North America as of October 16, 2023.

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Equity LifeStyle currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.4475 per share, equating to $1.79 per share annually, giving it a yield of about 2.6% today. It has raised its annual dividend for an eye-popping 19 consecutive years, putting it just six short years away from qualifying as a Dividend Aristocrat.

UMH Properties

UMH Properties Inc. (NYSE:UMH) owns and operates 135 manufactured home communities with approximately 25,800 developed homesites across 11 U.S. states. It also has an ownership interest in an additional two communities containing over 350 sites through a joint venture with Nuveen Real Estate.

UMH currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.205 per share, equating to $0.82 per share annually, giving it a yield of about 5.2% today. It has also raised its annual dividend each of the last three years, making it both a high yield and dividend-growth play.

Arrived Homes

Arrived Homes offers another way for investors to gain exposure to real estate. It's an alternative investment platform, backed by Jeff Bezos and Dara Khosrowshahi, that allows individuals to easily invest in real estate by purchasing shares of rental properties. Investors on the platform earn passive income through rental revenue while waiting for the properties they invest in to appreciate in value over time.

Read Next:

Commercial real estate has historically outperformed the stock market, but few investors have the capital or resources needed to invest in this asset class. A platform backed by industry giant Marcus & Millichap is changing that, allowing individuals to invest in commercial real estate with as little as $5,000.

Collecting passive income from real estate just got a whole lot simpler. A new real estate fund backed by Dara Khosrowshahi gives you instant access to a diversified portfolio of rental properties, and you only need $100 to get started.

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DUBLIN, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Abiomed Inc - Product Pipeline Analysis, 2023 Update" company profile has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

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Abiomed Inc (Abiomed) is a medical device company that develops, manufactures, and markets circulatory support devices. The devices replace or assist the pumping function in a failing heart. The company's heart support and recovery product portfolio includes Impella heart pumps (catheter-based devices including micro heart pumps, expandable catheter pumps and axial flow pumps) and Breethe system (implantable cardiac and respiratory assist devices). Abiomed also offers online clinical support through Impella Connect, on-call assistance and on-site assistance for health workers in hospitals. The company sells its products through direct sales and distributors in South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Abiomed is headquartered in Danvers, Massachusetts, the US.



This report is a source for data, analysis, and actionable intelligence on the company's portfolio of pipeline products. The report provides key information about the company, its major products and brands.



Report Scope:

The report reviews detailed company profile with information on business description, key company facts, major products and services, key competitors, key employees, locations and subsidiaries and recent developments

The report analyzes all pipeline products in development for the company Abiomed Inc

The report provides pipeline analysis on all pipeline products of the company (by equipment type, by indication, by development stage, and by trial status)

The report covers detailed information on each pipeline product with information on pipeline territory, stage of development, device class, regulatory path, indication(s), application(s) and estimated launch date

The report provides detailed description of products in development, technical specification and functions

The report also covers ongoing clinical trials (wherever applicable) with information on trial name, trial objective, sponsor, trial design , trial status and phase, estimated start and end date.

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Key Report Benefits:

Develop business strategies by understanding the trends and developments driving the medical devices pipeline and technology landscape

Design and develop your product development, marketing and sales strategies by understanding the competitor portfolio

To formulate effective Research & Development strategies

Develop market-entry and market expansion strategies

Exploit in-licensing and out-licensing opportunities by identifying products, most likely to ensure a robust return

Plan mergers and acquisitions effectively by identifying key players of the most promising pipeline

Identify emerging players with potentially strong product portfolio and create effective counter-strategies to gain competitive advantage

Develop competition strategies by identifying the status and likely launch of the competitors' pipeline products through review of the clinical trials, stage and of development, etc

Identify, understand and capitalize the next high-value products that your competitor would add in its portfolio

Key Topics Covered:

Abiomed Inc Abiomed Inc Company Snapshot Abiomed Inc Pipeline Products and Ongoing Clinical Trials Overview Abiomed Inc - Pipeline Analysis Overview Business Description Abiomed Inc - Key Facts Abiomed Inc - Major Products and Services Abiomed Inc Pipeline Products by Development Stage Abiomed Inc Ongoing Clinical Trials by Trial Status Abiomed Inc Pipeline Products Overview

AbioCor II AbioCor II Product Overview Abiomed Breethe OXY-1 System Abiomed Breethe OXY-1 System Product Overview Abiomed Breethe OXY-1 System Clinical Trial Artificial Intelligence Algorithm Artificial Intelligence Algorithm Product Overview Expandable Sheath - Heart Failure Expandable Sheath - Heart Failure Product Overview

Impecmo Impecmo Product Overview Impella BTR Impella BTR Product Overview Impella BTR Clinical Trial Impella ECP Impella ECP Product Overview Impella ECP Clinical Trial Impella RP Flex with SmartAssist Impella RP Flex with SmartAssist Product Overview

Impella XC Impella XC Product Overview Impella XR Sheath With Impella CP Impella XR Sheath With Impella CP Product Overview Next Generation Impella CP - STEMI Next Generation Impella CP - STEMI Product Overview Next Generation Impella CP - STEMI Clinical Trial Symphony Heart Pump Symphony Heart Pump Product Overview

Abiomed Inc Abiomed Inc - Key Competitors Abiomed Inc - Key Employees Abiomed Inc - Key Employee Biographies Abiomed Inc - Locations And Subsidiaries Head Office Other Locations & Subsidiaries

Recent Developments Abiomed Inc, Recent Developments Oct 23, 2023: Abiomed to Highlight Data Analysis Identifying Complex Clinical Profile of Patients Receiving Impella-Supported HRPCI at TCT Symposium Aug 17, 2023: Abiomed Recalls the Labeling for Impella RP Flex with SmartAssist for Risk of Blood Clots Jul 27, 2023: Abiomed Recalls Nearly 8,000 Devices From Impella Pump Range Jul 11, 2023: Abiomed Receives 510(k) Clearance for preCARDIA Occlusion System Jun 14, 2023: Class 1 Device Recall Impella 2.5 Jun 05, 2023: Abiomed Recalls Specific Impella 5.5 with SmartAssist for Purge Fluid Leaks that Can Cause Pump Stop and Loss of Support May 18, 2023: Analysis Showcases Potential for More Complete Revascularizations with Impella Compared to IABP During HRPCI Apr 25, 2023: Pivotal Impella ECP study expands enrollment to three New Jersey hospitals Mar 13, 2023: Breethe receives additional 510(k) clearance for Abiomed Breethe OXY-1 System Feb 21, 2023: Breethe Announces Meditation & Stress App Provides Free Memberships to Those Who Have Been Laid Off



Company Coverage

Boston Scientific

LivaNova Plc

Edwards Lifesciences

Medtronic

Teleflex

Abbott Laboratories

Getinge

Terumo

For more information about this company profile visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/cvzsg0

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/abiomed-incs-pipeline-analysis-for-2023-reveals-clinical-advancement-in-circulatory-support-technology-302035489.html

SOURCE Research and Markets
In an unexpected move, the Biden administration has announced the early initiation of student loan forgiveness under the new SAVE repayment plan.

Originally slated for July, this acceleration is aimed at swiftly providing relief to borrowers burdened by student loans. President Joe Biden expressed the urgency of acting promptly to give borrowers much-needed breathing room, marking a proactive approach to address the ongoing student debt crisis.

Eligibility and Controversies Surrounding the SAVE Repayment Plan

The eligibility criteria for the accelerated loan forgiveness are designed to target specific groups of borrowers. Individuals enrolled in the new SAVE plan, with an initial loan amount of $12,000 or less for college, and a payment history spanning at least 10 years, are eligible. However, the Education Department has yet to determine the exact number of borrowers qualifying for cancellation in February.

The SAVE repayment plan was introduced last year alongside a broader proposal by President Biden to cancel up to $20,000 in loans for millions of Americans. While the Supreme Court struck down the plan for widespread forgiveness, the SAVE repayment initiative has managed to escape similar legal scrutiny. Despite attempts by Congressional Republicans to block the plan through legislation and a resolution, it remains a focal point of the Biden administration's efforts to address the complex issue of student loan debt.

The accelerated forgiveness has faced criticism from Republicans, who argue that it appears to be a political move to garner voter support in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election. Representative Virginia Foxx, chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, expressed concerns, stating that the acceleration would further exacerbate the existing student debt crisis.

READ ALSO: College-Educated Conservatives Rally Behind Trump

The SAVE Repayment Plan: Generous Terms and Future Implications

The new SAVE repayment plan introduces more favorable terms compared to existing income-driven repayment alternatives. Notably, it offers loan cancellation in as little as 10 years, a significant reduction from the previous 20 or 25 years required by other plans. Monthly payments for millions of borrowers will also see a decrease under the new plan.

For borrowers who took out more than $12,000, eligibility for cancellation extends over a longer timeline. An additional year of payments is added for every $1,000 borrowed beyond the initial threshold of $12,000. The maximum repayment period is capped at 20 years for those with only undergraduate loans and 25 years for those holding any graduate school loans.

Implications and Future Prospects

The Biden administration emphasizes that the forthcoming relief in February will particularly benefit Americans who attended community colleges, known for their comparatively lower costs than traditional four-year universities. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona highlights the plan's goal of placing community college students on a faster track to debt forgiveness, addressing the unique challenges faced by this demographic.

As the Education Department prepares to automatically wipe away balances for eligible borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan starting next month, the implications of this accelerated forgiveness remain significant. The administration's pursuit of additional measures, including changes scheduled for July, underscores a commitment to addressing the multifaceted challenges posed by student loan debt in the United States. These changes include a reduction in borrowers' payments to 5 percent of their discretionary income, down from the previous 10 percent in other income-driven repayment plans. Additionally, the Biden administration's parallel pursuit of a separate plan for widespread cancellation signals an ongoing dedication to finding comprehensive solutions and relief for targeted groups of borrowers.

RELATED ARTICLE: Biden Administration Surprises Low-Balance Borrowers With Accelerated Student Loan Forgiveness Under SAVE Plan
In a groundbreaking study conducted by Cambridge University Press & Assessment, a comprehensive analysis has brought to light a consistent pattern of girls outperforming boys in education, spanning from primary school to university. The research sheds light on various key stages of the educational journey, providing valuable insights into gender-based achievement gaps and their implications.

Early Education and Primary Years: Setting the Stage

The study's findings reveal that even before the age of seven, girls exhibit higher academic performance than boys. Based on teacher assessments, more females meet or exceed expectations during these formative years, indicating early signs of gender-based differences in educational outcomes. Matthew Carroll, who led the study, suggests that these disparities in perception during early education may lay the groundwork for distinct educational experiences later on.

READ ALSO: These Largest Universities Are Considered The Giants Of Higher Education

GCSEs: Boys Excel in Select Subjects, but Girls Prevail Overall

As students progress to the critical stage of GCSEs, the study identifies a nuanced picture. While boys emerge as the highest achievers in subjects such as maths, economics, physics, ancient history, and 'other sciences,' the margin of their superiority is narrower compared to instances where girls outperform boys. This section delves into the complexities of gender-based achievements at the GCSE level, highlighting both the areas of male dominance and the broader trend of female academic excellence.

A-levels and University: Young Women Lead the Way

The gender-based academic trend persists and intensifies as students advance to A-levels and university education. At the A-level stage, young women consistently achieve higher results than their male counterparts. The momentum continues into university, where a greater percentage of females earn first-class undergraduate degrees compared to men. This section explores the dynamics of achievement at these higher education levels, emphasizing the remarkable and sustained academic success of young women.

Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic: Shifting Attainment Gaps

A notable revelation from the study is the influence of external factors, particularly the Covid-19 pandemic, on gender-based attainment gaps. During years when examinations were canceled due to the pandemic, the study notes an increase in female-led attainment gaps, accompanied by a decrease in male-led gaps. This section investigates the complex interplay between global events and gender disparities, prompting a closer examination of the broader societal influences on educational outcomes.

Teacher Assessments and Early Perceptions: Seeds of Inequality

Matthew Carroll draws attention to the fact that the earliest attainment gaps between genders are rooted in teacher assessments, which are known to favor female students. This subsection scrutinizes the role of teacher assessments in shaping early perceptions and potentially sowing the seeds of different educational experiences for boys and girls. It raises critical questions about the inherent biases within assessment systems and their lasting impact on the educational trajectories of individuals.

Addressing Disparities: Equity in Learning Opportunities

While celebrating the academic achievements of female students, the study underscores areas where females remain 'under-represented,' particularly in technology, engineering, and maths. This section advocates for a comprehensive understanding of the factors contributing to this under-representation and emphasizes the need to foster equal opportunities for all students, irrespective of gender. It calls for targeted efforts to bridge existing gaps and create an inclusive educational environment.

Beyond Academia: Navigating Gender Disparities in Employment

The study concludes by highlighting that the 'apparent advantages' shown by female students in academic settings may not necessarily translate into employment equity. It points to existing gaps in pay, opportunities, and skill utilization for women in the workforce. This final section delves into the broader implications of gender-based disparities beyond educational institutions, emphasizing the urgency of addressing these issues throughout individuals' academic and professional journeys.

In essence, the Cambridge University study unveils a compelling narrative of gender-based disparities in education, urging educators, policymakers, and society as a whole to rethink approaches to fostering true equity across all levels of learning.

RELATED ARTICLE: Inequities In Dual Credit Programs: Challenges And Solutions In Illinois Schools
Less than a week after Claudine Gay's resignation as president, Harvard's interim leader, Alan M. Garber '76, has taken the helm and issued a University-wide message addressing the challenges facing the institution. In his first communication since assuming office, Garber expressed sorrow over Gay's departure and called for unity in the wake of recent controversies.

A Period of Unprecedented Tension: Acknowledging the Strain on Campus

Garber began his message by acknowledging the extraordinary challenges Harvard has faced recently, describing it as an "extraordinarily painful and disorienting time." Drawing on his extensive history with the university, dating back to his undergraduate years in 1973, he highlighted the current period as one of unparalleled tension. The acknowledgment signals an awareness of the strain on the campus community, setting the tone for addressing the issues that have strained Harvard's sense of unity.

READ ALSO: Crisis Of Elite Universities In America: Lacking Moral Leadership

Bridging Fissures: A Call for Community Rebuilding

With a clear recognition of the divisions within the Harvard community, Garber emphasized the need to "bridge the fissures that have weakened our sense of community." This call for unity indicates a commitment to healing and rebuilding, underscoring the importance of shared values and a collective understanding. Garber urged individuals to affirm the worth of Harvard's endeavors despite acknowledged shortcomings, signaling a commitment to a more cohesive and supportive environment.

Navigating a Leadership Crisis: Garber's Role as Interim President

As Garber assumes the role of interim president, he faces the monumental task of steering Harvard out of its ongoing leadership crisis. The departure of Claudine Gay, the shortest-serving president in the university's history, has left a void that Garber must navigate amid lingering divisions on campus. The bitter aftermath of controversies, including allegations of plagiarism and concerns about the university's response to antisemitism, sets the stage for Garber's leadership.

Addressing External Criticism: Harvard Under Scrutiny

Garber alluded to the heightened scrutiny that institutions of higher education, including Harvard, are facing from external critics. The reference to an "unrelenting focus on fault lines that divide us" indicates a recognition of the challenges posed by external factors. As the university grapples with controversies, including congressional investigations, Garber's acknowledgment of external pressures positions Harvard's leadership within the broader context of current challenges facing higher education institutions.

Commitment to Inclusivity: Garber's Early Actions and Apology on Israel-Gaza Statement

Highlighting his Jewish identity, Garber publicly expressed regret over the university's initial statement on the war in Israel and Gaza in November. This early acknowledgment of shortcomings and commitment to inclusivity signals a leadership approach centered on addressing sensitive issues and fostering a more understanding and diverse campus environment.

Looking Ahead: The Interim Period and the Next Presidential Search

The Harvard Corporation, the university's highest governing body, announced Garber's presidency and indicated that the next presidential search process would commence "in due course." Garber's interim role places him at the forefront of guiding the university through this transitional period. His commitment to serving with dedication despite regrettable circumstances emphasizes a forward-looking approach, focusing on the future of Harvard under his leadership.

Acknowledging Loss: Gay's Resignation and Moving Forward

In addressing Gay's surprise resignation, Garber acknowledged the deep sense of loss her departure added to Harvard's campus. The interim president expressed understanding of the challenging circumstances surrounding Gay's decision. Despite the adversity, Garber reaffirmed his commitment to serving the university and navigating the institution through this interim period.

Garber's first University-wide message sets a tone of acknowledgment, unity, and commitment to rebuilding the Harvard community. As the university grapples with recent controversies and external pressures, the interim president's words signal a dedication to healing, inclusivity, and guiding Harvard through a period of transition. The challenges ahead will undoubtedly shape Garber's leadership and the trajectory of Harvard in the coming months.

RELATED ARTICLE: House Committee Demands Documents From Harvard On Antisemitism And Campus Policies
In a move to "prevent abuse" and safeguard the quality of the UK's higher education sector, the government announced a review of the two-year visa option for international graduates. The Migration Advisory Committee is set to conduct the review into late 2024, with concerns arising that the review might lead to the end of the graduate route amid pressure on migration figures.

Stakeholder Concerns and Calls for Confirmation

Various stakeholders within the UK's education sector have expressed concerns about the potential discontinuation of the graduate route. Industry leaders, including London Higher's CEO Diana Beech and UKCISA, have emphasized the importance of maintaining the graduate visa route. This sentiment is echoed by Ian Crichton, CEO of Study Group, who highlights the critical role post-study work plays for international graduates in enhancing their careers and cementing their experience.

READ ALSO: Europe's Higher Education Horizon: A Look Into 2030 Targets And Challenges

Parliamentary Inquiry and Uncertain Reassurances

In a parliamentary session on January 10, Liberal Democrat MP Richard Foord urged the government to confirm the continuation of the graduate immigration route, especially for international research students pursuing PhDs. However, the response from the minister for Science, Research, and Innovation, Andrew Griffith, did not provide a definitive confirmation, raising concerns among stakeholders.

Despite earlier assurances in the House of Lords from Lord Sharpe of Epsom that there were no plans to affect the student graduate route, the subsequent announcement of the review has left many questioning the government's stance. The government's commitment to attracting the "best and brightest" is acknowledged, but the lack of a clear affirmation has left the sector seeking stability and certainty.

Importance of Post-Study Work Opportunities

Stakeholders argue that the post-study work opportunity is crucial for international graduates, offering them a chance to enhance their understanding and experience while mitigating the costs of study. While acknowledging the need to prevent abuse of the system, industry leaders emphasize the broader impact on family investment decisions and the overall appeal of UK education to a global audience.

Universities UK Advocacy and Global Competitiveness

Chief executive of Universities UK, Vivienne Stern MBE, underscores the importance of the graduate route in the UK's international education strategy. She points out that the Migration Advisory Committee itself recognized the route's success. However, concerns have been raised about the potential incentivization of short master's degrees, shifting the focus from the value of the qualification.

Stability and Certainty: A Call from the Sector

Director of UUKi, Jamie Arrowsmith, expresses the sector's concern over revisiting an issue believed to be settled in 2023. The need for stability and certainty is emphasized, with prospective international students seeking assurance that the graduate route will remain in place. The UK's reputation as a destination for international students and its competitiveness in the global market are at stake.

Impact on Emerging Economies and Soft Power

Sanam Arora, founding chair of the National Indian Students and Alumni Union, highlights the importance of post-study work for Indian students, providing them with opportunities to pay back loans and gain international work experience. Jo Johnson, former universities minister, emphasizes the potential risks of axing the graduate route, impacting universities financially, reducing soft power, and affecting an export sector contributing over 41 billion annually to the UK's economy.

Review Focus and Recommendations

As the government undertakes the review, stakeholders emphasize the need for a narrow focus on abuses rather than questioning the policy itself. Recommendations include using the review to adopt sensible measures that institutions might hesitate to implement independently. Balancing the prevention of abuse with maintaining the attractiveness of the graduate route is crucial for the success and sustainability of the UK's higher education sector.

The ongoing government review of the graduate route has triggered concerns within the UK's education sector. The need for a clear confirmation of the route's continuation is echoed by industry leaders, highlighting its significance for international students and the broader competitiveness of UK higher education globally. As the review progresses, striking a balance between preventing abuses and supporting the sector's growth remains a key challenge for policymakers.

RELATED ARTICLE: UK's New Skilled Visa Rules Could Harm Academia
Understanding the Stability and Growth of Accenture PLC's Dividends

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) recently announced a dividend of $1.29 per share, payable on 2024-02-15, with the ex-dividend date set for 2024-01-17. As investors look forward to this upcoming payment, the spotlight also shines on the company's dividend history, yield, and growth rates. Using the data from GuruFocus, let's look into Accenture PLC's dividend performance and assess its sustainability.

What Does Accenture PLC Do?

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Accenture is a leading global IT-services firm that provides consulting, strategy, and technology and operational services. These services run the gamut from aiding enterprises with digital transformation to procurement services to software system integration. The company provides its IT offerings to a variety of sectors, including communications, media and technology, financial services, health and public services, consumer products, and resources. Accenture employs just under 500,000 people throughout 200 cities in 51 countries.

Accenture PLC's Dividend Analysis

A Glimpse at Accenture PLC's Dividend History

Accenture PLC has maintained a consistent dividend payment record since 2005. Dividends are currently distributed on a quarterly basis. Accenture PLC has increased its dividend each year since 2011, earning it the status of a dividend achievera distinction awarded to companies that have raised their dividends annually for at least 13 years. Below is a chart showing annual Dividends Per Share for tracking historical trends.

Breaking Down Accenture PLC's Dividend Yield and Growth

As of today, Accenture PLC currently has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.31% and a 12-month forward dividend yield of 1.44%, indicating an expected increase in dividend payments over the next 12 months.

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Over the past three years, Accenture PLC's annual dividend growth rate was 11.90%. This rate decreased slightly to 10.70% per year over a five-year period. However, looking at the past decade, Accenture PLC's annual dividends per share growth rate remains impressive at 10.10%. Based on Accenture PLC's dividend yield and five-year growth rate, the 5-year yield on cost of Accenture PLC stock as of today is approximately 2.18%.

Accenture PLC's Dividend Analysis

The Sustainability Question: Payout Ratio and Profitability

To assess the sustainability of the dividend, one needs to evaluate the company's payout ratio. The dividend payout ratio provides insights into the portion of earnings the company distributes as dividends. A lower ratio suggests that the company retains a significant part of its earnings, thereby ensuring the availability of funds for future growth and unexpected downturns. As of 2023-11-30, Accenture PLC's dividend payout ratio is 0.43.

Accenture PLC's profitability rank, offers an understanding of the company's earnings prowess relative to its peers. GuruFocus ranks Accenture PLC's profitability 10 out of 10 as of 2023-11-30, suggesting good profitability prospects. The company has reported positive net income for each of year over the past decade, further solidifying its high profitability.

Growth Metrics: The Future Outlook

To ensure the sustainability of dividends, a company must have robust growth metrics. Accenture PLC's growth rank of 10 out of 10 suggests that the company's growth trajectory is strong relative to its competitors.

Revenue is the lifeblood of any company, and Accenture PLC's revenue per share, combined with the 3-year revenue growth rate, indicates a strong revenue model. Accenture PLC's revenue has increased by approximately 13.60% per year on average, a rate that outperforms approximately 62.32% of global competitors.

The company's 3-year EPS growth rate showcases its capability to grow its earnings, a critical component for sustaining dividends in the long run. During the past three years, Accenture PLC's earnings increased by approximately 16.10% per year on average, a rate that outperforms approximately 60.23% of global competitors.

Lastly, the company's 5-year EBITDA growth rate of 13.30%, which outperforms approximately 53.03% of global competitors, suggests a healthy operational efficiency.

Next Steps

In conclusion, Accenture PLC's dividend payments, growth rate, payout ratio, profitability, and growth metrics paint a picture of a robust company with a strong commitment to returning value to shareholders. The consistent increase in dividends, combined with a sustainable payout ratio and high profitability and growth ranks, positions Accenture PLC as an attractive option for investors seeking stable dividend income with growth potential. As we consider the future, the company's solid financial health and market position suggest that it is well-equipped to continue its dividend trajectory. Value investors may find Accenture PLC an appealing addition to their portfolios, particularly those focused on long-term income generation and capital appreciation.

GuruFocus Premium users can screen for high-dividend yield stocks using the High Dividend Yield Screener.

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.


KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Jan, 2024) Pakistan Navy on Tuesday established a free medical camp at the Coastal village Kappar, Balochistan in continuation to efforts for uplifting to provide standard health facilities along the Coastal areas of country.

Free medical camp was established by Pakistan Navy doctors, paramedic staff in collaboration with Sahil Welfare Association, a Pakistan Navy news release said.

In this medical camp, hundreds of patients including women and children were provided free medical treatment. A dedicated team of doctors and paramedic staff comprising of Medical, ENT, General Surgeon, Gynecologist, Skin Specialist and GDMO examined the patients and provided them with free consultation and medicines.

The local populace of the area was also provided information about maternal health and nutritional requirements of mother and children. The patients were enlightened about common infections, personal health, hygiene, child healthcare, prevention of diseases and sanitation of living areas.

Pakistan Navy is committed to provide continued quality medical facilities for the people settled along the Coastal belt. The establishment of a medical camp at Kappar is the practical manifestation of Pakistan Navy's resolve for the uplift of the coastal belt.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

The Federal Government on Tuesday constituted a six-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in order to investigate the ongoing malicious social media campaign against the Supreme Court judges

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Jan, 2024) The Federal Government on Tuesday constituted a six-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in order to investigate the ongoing malicious social media campaign against the Supreme Court judges.

The JIT, headed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Crime Wing additional director general, included Grade-20 officers of the Intelligence Bureau, Inter-Services Intelligence and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, besides Islamabad deputy inspector general of police and another officer, a Ministry of Interior notification said.

According to the term and conditions, the JIT would ascertain facts behind the malicious social media campaigns attempting to malign the image of the SC judges, identify and bring the culprits to book in accordance with relevant laws and cause presentation of challans in the relevant courts and recommend measures for prevention against the occurrence of such incidents in future.

The JIT would submit a preliminary report to the interior ministry within a fortnight.

FIA Headquarters would provide secretarial support to the JIT, the notification said.
Bogota, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Jan, 2024) A crowd of students runs panicked through the campus of a university in Ecuador while others block a classroom door in fear of an armed intrusion.

Video of these scenes went viral amid a surge in gang-fueled violence in the South American country.

But no one was chasing the students or threatening to enter their classroom.

"It was an attack of generalized panic," Hector Hugo, a professor at the law school at the University of Guayaquil, told AFP.

"There was some sort of sound outside, people ran, and the message was distorted as it passed from mouth to mouth. There was even talk of a kidnapping on social networks, but there was no such thing."

In a statement, the university condemned "false information" spread online.

Ecuador has been gripped by anxiety since the government of President Daniel Noboa and powerful narco gangs declared war on each other last week, sparking violence that left around 20 dead and about 200 prison officials taken hostage before control was restored.

In one of the most dramatic scenes, masked gunmen stormed a live television broadcast, firing off shots and forcing the crew to the ground, begging for their lives. Police arrived swiftly and arrested the attackers.

The chaos -- sparked by the prison escape of a powerful drug lord -- has provided fertile ground for disinformation.

Real images, such as those from the tv studio assault, are mixed with the fake or distorted: an alleged mass kidnapping in the Quito metro or a spectacular police chase with gunfire outside the Israeli embassy -- both videos of past security drills.

"In environments of high conflict and uncertainty, it is natural that information becomes a battlefront," said Albertina Navas, director of the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador.

- Climate of chaos -

AFP's digital verification team also detected the spread of messages about alleged shootings, prison murders, and other violent attacks that either did not happen, or were old incidents.

Saudia Levoyer, a professor at the Simon Bolivar Andean University, said this type of disinformation "is a communication strategy -- there is someone behind this dissemination of false or manipulated content."

Sowing a climate of chaos "is one of the favorite strategies of these gangs," says the researcher.

In response to the prison escape of Jose Adolfo Macias, also known as "Fito" -- leader of the country's main crime gang, called Los Choneros -- the government imposed a state of emergency on January 8.

There is also a nighttime curfew from 11:00 pm to 5:00 am.

Patricia Hidalgo, director of the School of Communication at the International University of Ecuador, said there was also a political motive behind the disinformation.

Noboa, the 36-year-old new president, is serving out the final 18 months of the term of his predecessor Guillermo Lasso, who called an early election to avoid impeachment.

This means Noboa could be running again for office in 2025 elections, and his opponents may be trying to "destabilize him," said Hidalgo.

To counter the disinformation, the government and army have taken pains to publish the details of raids, arrests, and hostage releases.

They have also published images of their successful operations to regain control of prisons, with inmates stripped down and lying on the floor.

The government is trying to "show what they are doing in the most violent and dangerous areas -- that provides a counterweight" to the disinformation, said Levoyer.
London, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Jan, 2024) Britain's plan to send migrants to Rwanda returns to the spotlight on Tuesday, when lawmakers debate the controversial scheme, testing leader Rishi Sunak's authority with a general election around the corner.

The prime minister -- in power since October 2022 -- has staked his political future on slashing record levels of regular and irregular migration.

His government's Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill is key to that pledge.

But the legislation has reopened schisms in his ruling Conservatives between right-wingers and moderates, meaning Sunak faces a fight to get it on the statute books.

The plan is Sunak's answer to a unanimous UK Supreme Court ruling in November that deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda is illegal under international law.

It would compel judges to treat Rwanda as a safe third country and proposes giving UK ministers powers to disregard sections of international and British human rights legislation.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reiterated this week that the legislation and a recently signed treaty with Kigali designating Rwanda "safe" were "not compatible" with international refugee law.

Meanwhile the bill has triggered deep factional Tory infighting not seen since the wranglings over Brexit.

Sunak faced down party rebels last month and won a knife-edge parliamentary vote on the Rwanda legislation. He must do so again, in a vote expected on Wednesday night.

First, beginning on Tuesday, MPs will debate a series of amendments to the legislation.

They are unlikely to be passed but will reveal the extent of opposition that Sunak faces.

More than 50 Tory MPs have publicly backed right-wing amendments that toughen up the bill, including by disapplying international law and restricting asylum seekers' rights to appeal against deportation.

They include two Tory deputy chairmen, who are testing Sunak's mettle for party discipline amid calls for their dismissal from the roles.

If the UK leader agrees to right-wingers' demands, then the bill would almost certainly be scuppered by party centrists, who oppose any violations of international law and say the legislation already pushes the limits.

Sunak said on Monday he was "talking to all my colleagues" and was "determined to get this new legislation on to the statute book so we can get our Rwanda scheme up and running".

"I'm confident that the bill we have got is the toughest that anyone has ever seen and it will resolve this issue once and for all," he told reporters.

Sunak says the law is essential to deter migrants from considering travelling to the UK via unauthorised routes, particularly on small boat crossings from France.

Around 30,000 asylum seekers crossed the English Channel on rudimentary vessels last year. Five died trying to make the journey this past weekend.

Sunak has yet to announce the date of the UK's general election but has said it will be held this year.

Some opinion polls put the main opposition Labour Party more than 20 points ahead of the Tories, suggesting the ruling party is heading for a landslide defeat.
Side hustles, also known as side jobs or side gigs, are booming to help supplement ones income. Advice and assistance are available to get started in turning these passion areas into something successful Tuesday, Jan. 23.

P.J. Burns will discuss the basics of starting a side hustle business during a Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network workshop titled How to Launch a Successful Side Hustle from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Campbell County Public Library, located at 2101 S. 4-J Road in Gillette. To register, go here. Registration is free.

The Wyoming SBDC Network offers business expertise to help Wyoming residents think about, launch, grow, reinvent or exit their business. The Wyoming SBDC Network is hosted by the University of Wyoming with state funds from the Wyoming Business Council and funded, in part, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Burns will review how to get your side hustle started; ways to test your idea; and how to track income and expenses to see whether your idea can be profitable. Paula Kelting, reference services manager at the Campbell County Public Library, will touch on free resources the library has available to aid you on your journey.

Burns is the Wyoming SBDC Networks regional director for Campbell, Crook, Johnson, Sheridan and Weston counties. She has spent the majority of her career advising and advocating for small businesses in her roles at chambers of commerce and economic development organizations. She has a background in marketing, human resources, strategic planning, leadership and management.

For more information, call Maureen Johnson, marketing, communication and database manager for the Wyoming SBDC Network, at (307) 343-0925 or email mjohn125@uwyo.edu.
The University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources (SER) is set to host the 2024 Nuclear Innovation Bootcamp (NIB) July 21-Aug. 2 in Laramie.

Spearheaded by the Washington, D.C.-based Nuclear Innovation Alliance and hosted by SERs Nuclear Energy Research Center (NERC), the two-week intensive course brings together a select group of students and early-career professionals from all over the world to equip them with the tools and understanding needed to approach clean energy challenges.

We are very excited to be the host site for this years Nuclear Innovation Bootcamp, says SER Professor of Law Tara Righetti, co-director of NERC. University of Wyoming students and professionals were fortunate to participate in last years program held in Japan, and we are very pleased to bring such an internationally renowned program of this caliber to Wyoming and share our expertise and learnings in the nuclear sector.

Once a hub for uranium mining and milling, Wyoming has deep connections with the nuclear industry. The state has experienced a renewed interest with the announcement of TerraPowers and PacifiCorps plan to site a Natrium advanced nuclear reactor demonstration project at a retiring coal-fired plant near Kemmerer.

Wyoming is an ideal location to host the bootcamp, Righetti says. With the resurgence of nuclear prospects in the state ranging from uranium mining to opportunities to implement advanced nuclear technologies, Wyoming is positioning itself to be a domestic leader and is building capacity to support a future workforce.

In the program, NIB participants get the opportunity to forge connections with people from all over the world represented throughout industry, academia and government. A broad array of experience from an expansive network of partners informs the curriculum and helps communicate the role of nuclear power in todays changing energy landscape, incorporating disciplines including technology, engineering, business, public policy and stakeholder engagement.

Additionally, the short course integrates field tours and industry site visits so participants can experience firsthand the nuances of the energy sector in practice.

We are very fortunate to have so many engaged industry partners and state entities that have a sincere interest in integrating nuclear in their decarbonization efforts, Righetti says. Participants in this years bootcamp will get to see an in-situ uranium mining operation, tour a trona processing facility and visit the planned location of the Natrium advanced nuclear reactor.

In addition to engaging in multidisciplinary classes and workshops, participants work to develop group ventures that are ultimately pitched to industry leaders. Past projects have incorporated a diverse range of topics including technology, marketing, policy and public relations.

NIB also invites bootcamp alumni and other experts in startups, business, nuclear technology and innovation to serve as virtual mentors. Those willing to serve for the 2024 workshop will be assigned to the group to provide guidance and answer questions as needed.

Interested students and early-career professionals are encouraged to apply. The application window is open through Monday, Feb. 26.

Applicants, who can be in any field, must be undergraduate students who are currently in at least their third year; graduate students, including Ph.D. students; or early-career professionals who have been working fewer than five years.

Between 25 and 30 people will be selected for participation. Applications will be evaluated based on the individuals demonstrated interest in clean energy innovation and/or business development. Successful applicants will be notified of their selection by email at the end of March.

Additional directions and requirements for participants and mentors are provided at www.nuclearinnovationbootcamp.org/2024-wyoming.
On January 16, 2024, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Uzbekistan to the UAE Abdulaziz Akkulov and the Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs Khalid Abdullah Humaid Belhoul signed a cooperation protocol between the Government of Uzbekistan and the Government of the UAE on mutual exemption from entry visa requirements, Azernews reports, citing Kun.uz News Agency.

The document will officially enter into force on February 16, 2024.
New Partnership Explores Next-Gen Technology's Potential to Transform the US AECO Industry

BELLEVUE, Wash., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In a move set to create a transformative change in construction project delivery in the US, LeapThought, a leader in intelligent construction management software for the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operations (AECO) sector, today announced a strategic partnership with the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture and the Built Environment Application (BETA) Lab at Washington State University (WSU). The partnership aims to explore the potential of Integrated Digital Delivery (IDD) for large-scale construction in the US using LeapThought's advanced FulcrumHQ collaboration platform.

FulcrumHQ by LeapThought: Intelligent Construction Management Platform (PRNewsfoto/LeapThought)

Identifying the Potential of IDD in Project Delivery

IDD uses digital technologies to integrate work processes and connect stakeholders working on the same project throughout the construction and building life cycle. This partnership builds upon IDD's vast potential to elevate the efficiencies and outcomes of construction project delivery. As part of the collaboration, WSU's BETA Lab, in cooperation with LeapThought, will engage prospective AECO partners and introduce them to the potential of IDD to improve project outcomes.

The focus will be strengthening IDD implementation strategies with insights from real-world operations. LeapThought will further ensure the adaptation and optimal utilization of the FulcrumHQ construction collaboration platform by providing training and support services throughout the project execution.

LeapThought and WSU will gather data to inform future strategies that enhance both the FulcrumHQ platform and IDD deployment in the North American market. The research will be documented and shared to encourage wider sector engagement with IDD processes.

Transforming Contemporary Construction Project Delivery

"This collaboration with WSU underscores LeapThought's dedication to fostering innovation in the AECO sector. Through the FulcrumHQ platform, we anticipate unlocking the potential of Integrated Digital Delivery in the US and Canada, transforming contemporary construction project delivery," said Preetham Garikipati, LeapThought's Executive Director of Academic Partnerships. "Building on our experience engaging with leading programs for the built environmentincluding co-developing an IDD curriculum with the globally recognized Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore, we're looking forward to working with WSU students and faculty to drive progress in the domain of built environment technology."

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Hongtao Dang, assistant professor in WSU's School of Design and Construction, is leading the research effort with undergraduate and graduate student researchers. "Project delivery has a long research history but a slow adoption. With the workforce shortage and digital integration challenges, we need to work collaboratively and efficiently, leveraging advanced tools and cutting-edge technologies for Integrated Digital Delivery. The partnership will help identify effective IDD practices and benefits through case studies and inform future workforce development and transformative practices in the AECO sector," said Dang.

This partnership between LeapThought and WSU demonstrates a commitment to continually driving innovation and accelerating transformation in the AECO sector.

About LeapThought

LeapThought Corp., a trailblazer implementing digital transformation in the global construction industry, specializes in intelligent construction management. With clients from sectors including transportation, defense, utilities, healthcare, and residential and commercial property development, LeapThought caters to the AECO industry's needs in large-scale construction and infrastructure.

Headquartered in the USA, LeapThought provides unparalleled support to customers worldwide through its offices in New Zealand, Singapore, Australia, and India. Using state-of-the-art solutions like its flagship FulcrumHQ platform and leveraging AI and machine learning, LeapThought is propelling the construction sector toward more sustainable and efficient project outcomes. Discover more at www.leapthought.com.

About WSU and the BETA Lab

Washington State University, a public research university known for its scientific and technological advancements, remains committed to leveraging knowledge for societal benefit. Its Built Environment Technology Application (BETA) Lab pioneers the development of transformative technologies in the built environment. For more information, visit https://labs.wsu.edu/beta/.

Cision

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SOURCE LeapThought


Mr Saleumxay Kommasith (left), Mr Chung Byun-Won (right) and other Lao and Korean officials on Monday attend the handover of vehicles and IT equipment.--Photo Lao National Radio Korean govt backs Laos chairmanship of Asean



The government of the Republic of Korea on Monday provided two cars, six minibuses and IT equipment worth US$1 million to Laos for use during the countrys chairmanship of Asean this year.

The vehicles and IT equipment were handed over to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Saleumxay Kommasith by Koreas Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Chung Byun-Won at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vientiane, witnessed by deputy ministers of foreign affairs and other officials representing the two governments.

Mr Saleumxay said he greatly appreciated the support shown by the Korean government and people to Laos for the countrys leading role in the Asean grouping this year.

Koreas assistance reflects the growing expansion and strengthening of Asean, which also involves a stronger partnership between Laos and the Republic of Korea, and coincides with the 35th anniversary of Asean-Korea cooperation this year, he added.

Mr Chung highlighted the importance of the good relations and cooperation between Laos and Korea, saying that the government of Korea would continue to cooperate with Laos to ensure the countrys successful chairing of Asean.

The 35th anniversary of Asean-Korea relations is also meaningful and there are strong signs of even closer ties in the years to come, he added. By Times Reporters

(Latest Update January 17, 2024)
Vietnam Labor Federation Proposes Cut to Weekly Working Hours

The Vietnam Labor Federation has proposed reducing the maximum number of working hours in Vietnam to under 48 hours a week. Here are the details.

The Vietnam General Confederation of Labour has suggested that the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) put together a plan to reduce the weekly hours a Vietnamese worker is permitted to work to under 48.

Currently, Vietnamese workers work an average of 41.6 hours a week, however, 25 percent of workers work more than 49 hours a week, according to International Labour Organisation (ILO) data. This is most common in the manufacturing sector which often has seasonal peaks and troughs with workers compensated with penalty rates according to the Labor Code 2019.

Pham Thu Lan, the deputy director of the Institute of Workers and Trade Union (IWTU), however, told VietnamNet that despite the additional pay, factory workers were still unhappy with the number of hours they work.

Factory workers always complain about unfairness. They say while state officers have 40 working hours a week and have a two-day weekend, factory workers have to work 48 hours, Lan told the publication.

Lan also said that by reducing the number of work hours and improving working conditions it could spur high-quality foreign direct investment. In particular, Lan suggested that foreign firms may need to invest in automation and new technology, rather than relying on Vietnams low-cost labor, and that this would push Vietnams manufacturing toward a more high-tech future.

That said, former Deputy Minister of MOLISA Pham Minh Huan, has said the proposal would need to be carefully considered with many businesses struggling due to broad economic challenges. Huan suggested that a reduction in working hours may not be possible until after 2030.

Current legislation

Currently, working hours are limited to 48 hours per week or eight hours a day for six days a week. However, if an employer and employee agree, workers are permitted to work overtime.

These regulations put Vietnam at the higher end of working hours in the regionthe ILO World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2024 released last week found a steady fall in the mean working hours in Southeast Asia since 2010. Specifically, workers in Southeast Asia worked an average of 42.6 hours a week in 2010, however, in 2024 that number is expected to come down to 39.9 hours

Notably, Vietnamese workers are entitled to overtime for the hours they work exceeding 48.

Overtime rates are based on an employees current wage plus: 50 percent on regular working days, 100 percent on weekends, and 200 percent on holidays and paid leave days.

Furthermore, employees who work at night (outside of the hours from 6am to 10pm) are entitled to an additional 30 percent of the day rate, with an employee that works overtime, overnight entitled to an additional 20 percent of the day rate.

Overtime is, however, capped at 300 hours per year.

For more information contact the human resources professionals at Dezan Shira and Associates.
AIME

When the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME)s CEO Katie Sweeney established Broker Action Coalition (BAC)  AIMEs grassroots network that initiates communications between mortgage brokers and their legislators  in 2022, it was initially to gauge the industrys appetite for advocacy and reform.

Part of the goal of the association was to make sure that we were diversifying our areas of focus and creating influence across the industry in a variety of spaces, with advocacy being the last one that AIME as a whole had never really tackled, Sweeney said in an interview with HousingWire on Tuesday.

And it has just taken off like crazy. We have been spending more and more time over the last 18 months focused on the work in Washington, D.C., on industry accountability, on product reform where we really just found ourselves and me, in particular, trying to split time between two organizations that deserve full-time attention, added Sweeney.

Katie Sweeney, of AIME

There was no separate leadership group within BAC. Sweeney and Brendan McKay, former AIME President of Advocacy, have been overseeing the work.

To focus exclusively on public policy advocacy and political activities on behalf of the industry, Sweeney will be stepping down as Chairman and CEO of AIME on March 31, 2024, to become the co-founder and CEO of BAC.

A newly launched selection committee will be in charge of appointing AIMEs new CEO.

McKay will become chief advocacy officer, focusing on growing the advocacy networks members, donors and programs.

Under Sweeneys leadership, BAC will step up efforts to raise and manage funds for the Broker Action Coalition PAC (BACPAC)  the political action committee launched in 2022 by Sweeney that collects contributions to support bipartisan public policy initiatives that benefit independent brokers and their clients.

Broker Action Coalitions top issues

The coalition will continue its efforts on passing the disabled veteran tax exemption bill this year. In 2023, BACs focus was on the disabled veteran tax exemption bill on the state level.

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The bill  which allows 100% permanent and total disabled veterans to apply for real estate tax exemption before taking ownership of a home  is aimed at increasing homeownership among disabled veterans. States including California, Virginia and Utah have passed the bill last year.

On the federal level, BACs priority is putting efforts around the trigger lead reform.

A trigger lead is where consumer credit reporting agencies share with other lenders that a hard credit report was pulled for a mortgage application. This can lead to an onslaught of calls to that consumer vying for their lending business.

Both the House bill and the Senate bill were introduced at the end of 2023. Weve really been focusing in that space to make sure that we get trigger lead reform pushed through before this Congressional session is up at the end of 2024, said Sweeney.

In December 2023, a coalition of bipartisan lawmakers in the Senate introduced Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act (S.3502) to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to prevent consumer reporting agencies from furnishing consumer reports under certain circumstances.

As of Dec. 13, the act was referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, which will need to approve the measure before it can come to the Senate floor.

The House of Representatives introduced Protecting Consumers from Abusive Mortgage Leads Act (H.R. 4198) in June 2023 which also targets the trigger lead practice.

Other regulatory issues that the coalition wants to tackle include the third-party originated (TPO) surcharge imposed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

AIME has been working to roll back the 15-basis point FHFA TPO surcharge that adds 15 bps charge on all TPO mortgages that nationwide direct lenders and big banks do not have.

The advocacy group claims that the pricing discrepancy mostly directly impacts local mortgage originators.

We worked very hard last year to pull an independent case study together that proves that brokered loans are not inherently riskier than any other origination channel. So now were working directly with some of the regulators and agencies to try to understand why theyre being taxed essentially more than any other loan originated in another channel, Sweeney said.

Among the 65,000 members of AIME, BAC was able to engage more than 50,000 AIME members, added Sweeney.

In the third quarter of 2023, the broker channel accounted for just above 16% market share with retail at 55% and correspondent at 29%, according to an Inside Mortgage Finances (IMFs) analysis of first-lien mortgage originations.

Brokers originated $62 billion in Q3, both down from the previous quarters $67 billion and $81 billion in Q3 2022.
The company first came for Yim Sophats land in 2016, claiming her rice field and cashew orchard werent hers at all, despite her land title and years spent farming the plot in Preah Vihear province in northern Cambodia.

The 61-year-old joined her dispossessed neighbors in filing complaints with village, district and provincial officials. Then they took the dispute to the courts and to the Cambodian governments Anti-Corruption Unit, arguing that only bribes could explain the official inaction.

There was no answer, she told VOA Khmer this month. Whether the land is valuable or not, there should be a resolution for them so [villagers] can find other land. But there was nothing.

Yim Sophat said she now survives by walking through the forest and harvesting rattan reeds, which she trades for rice to eat.

The cashew trees were bulldozed away, she said. Im very miserable.

On the other side of the dispute was Delcom (Kampuchea) PTE, which villagers were told has a license to explore and extract gold from some 1,800 hectares of land in the provinces Rovieng district. Among its reported shareholders is Hing Bun Heang, head of the powerful Prime Minister Bodyguard Unit.

Yim Sophats experience typifies the dangers posed by the fledgling industrial gold mining sector in Cambodia, according to a new report from Equitable Cambodia, a non-government natural resources watchdog.

The report  A Snapshot of the Gold Mining Industry in Cambodia: Rights Violations, and Environmental Damage  notes that a government official in 2007 touted the industrys promise of reducing reliance on donor aid and funding everything from schools to infrastructure and social programs.

As companies have ramped up extraction in recent years, theres little evidence of significant benefits to local communities or the state budget, it says. Most of the companies operating in the sector are defined by scant public profiles and apparent links to ruling party powerbrokers.

Since [2007], the corporate takeover of mining resources has continued steadily allowing many of the industrys party-elite progenitors to maximize profits and exploitation of natural resources while effectively minimizing accountability, Equitable Cambodia says in its report.

The expansion, mechanization, and chemicalization of the industry has exponentially increased the risk of land grabbing, environmental damage, and occupational health and safety for Cambodias citizens and communities, especially Indigenous people, it adds.

The Delcom site is among four case studies in the report, which also looks at sites in Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri and Kratie provinces. Locals in these areas have long done small-scale artisanal gold mining, a practice that is often banned once commercial interests move in.

The often indigenous communities Equitable Cambodia spoke with shared similar lists of grievances and demands. They say the mines have poisoned waterways with chemicals used to process gold, erased their traditional lands and livelihoods, and forced them to uproot their lives  often with little to no compensation in return, and no public engagement in the process.

The exception is Renaissance Minerals, a company listed on Australias stock exchange (ASX) that oversees the OKvau mining site in Mondulkiris Keo Siema district. Villagers reported that the company provided good jobs for Cambodian nationals, followed basic safety practices, provided health benefits and invested in local infrastructure  in contrast to a nearby mine owned by Chinese-controlled firm, Rong Cheng Industrial Investment (Cambodia).

Villagers are largely happy with Renaissance Minerals, except for the companys encroachment on their traditional lands and the lack of transparency around the companys plans and activities early on, the report says.

Renaissance Minerals purchased the Cambodian interests from Oz Minerals, another Australian company that admitted to paying bribes to Cambodian officials to secure the mining license. Renaissance Minerals merged with Emerald Resources NL, another ASX-listed firm, in 2016 and extracted its first gold from the OKvau site in 2021.

A company official declined to comment on specific claims made in the report.

We note your email and the factually erroneous report and have forwarded both to the Cambodian Authorities for their information and action, Alison Kerr, executive Assistant and Office Manager of Emerald Resources, wrote in an email to VOA Khmer.

Local villagers had almost nothing good to say about the Delcom site, by contrast, according to the Equitable Cambodia report.

The report said villagers were being pressured to accept compensation well below market rate for their land, and threatened with forced eviction and zero compensation if they do not comply. It said there was a campaign by authorities for indigenous communities to reject their cultural traditions. And it described the physical toll of the mining operations on locals.

The interviews reveal that the communitys health has dramatically degraded over the past 5 years. Many villagers report increased incidences of cancer, swellings, abdominal pain, Alzheimers, nephritis, and tumors in the community, it said.

Representatives for Delcom could not be reached on phone numbers listed in Cambodias corporate registry. VOA Khmer also reached out to Preah Vihear provincial officials for comment, but did not get a response.

At the national level, a person who picked up the telephone number for Minister of Mines and Energy Keo Rattanak told a reporter they had the wrong number. Ung Dipola, the ministry's director general, could not be reached for comment about the report.

Officials at the Ministry of Economy and Finance said last year that seven companies had active gold exploration licenses in the country, according to the Phnom Penh Post. Mining companies contributed $15 million to state coffers in 2022, they said, almost entirely coming from Renaissance Minerals.

Dipola told the Post in November 2022 that exploration activities were also underway in Tbong Khmum, Ratanakiri and Battambang provinces, and said additional mining licenses could be issued if there is enough production potential.

Mother Nature Cambodia, an environmental activist group, has for years campaigned for more transparency in the sector, while spotlighting the damage to local communities. Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, a co-founder of the group who is barred from Cambodia, said the commercial gold mines transform the populations and power dynamics when they arrive.

Having this massive influx of workers from the outside at the very least will have an impact on their culture and tradition, on their language. Crime will go up. Local authorities will no longer care about their needs, it will all be about caring about the needs of the company, he said.

Ultimately, the commercial mines force many people to move out, without land to farm or viable ways to make a living. Gonzalez-Davidson said there was a certain inevitability to commercial mining, but that Cambodias government was failing to ensure that the public reaped the benefits of exploiting public assets.

Show everybody in the whole country how much money Cambodia is making, what are the taxes? What are the royalties? And be open about, you know, what is the positive impact on health and education of the province and of the country? You don't get any of that, he said.

So my biggest concern is, well, this is obviously making a lot of corrupt people very rich, while the Cambodian people are not seeing much or any of the benefits.

A group of researchers from University of Wisconsin-Madisons La Follette School of Public Affairs came to a similar conclusion in their report last year, titled Increasing Transparency in the Extractive Industries in Cambodia.

The authors said there is significant potential for gold mining revenues to benefit Cambodia, but that the industry also highlighted the pitfalls of Cambodias extractive industry, in which the historical trend is one of opaque rather than transparent data.

Jennifer Morzfeld, one of the authors, said gold mining was less environmentally devastating than some other extractive industries, such as sand dredging in the Mekong River, but also was not as abundant as other extractive resources.

All of this is to say that in general, gold mining in Cambodia does have the potential to provide a significant economic boost in terms of national revenues and job creation, but there are environmental challenges that can harm the way of life in Cambodia that the government needs to better compensate, she said in an email to VOA Khmer.

She said non-government groups in Cambodia  including Open Development Cambodia, which commissioned the report  were applying sustained pressure on officials to increase transparency in the sector.

There is also greater external pressure that is encouraging more open government practices, like the opportunities for foreign direct investment or the chance to join international organizations that can bring in more national revenue and raise the standard of living in Cambodia across the board, she added.

Tun Mean, another villager in Rovieng district, said he has watched Delcoms mining operations gradually expand since 2014. He said his own farmland has been affected by the pollution leaching out from the site into local waterways.

"It affects the farmland, the people, and it affects natural resources and causes water pollution," he told VOA Khmer.

What Tun Mean hasnt seen is improvements to help offset the damage, like new schools, roads or bridges.

"Well, it looks like we don't have the right infrastructure yet," he said.
When Turkeys telecommunications regulator moved to ban some of the most popular virtual private networks, or VPNs, audiences lost another way to access independent information.

In total, 16 VPNs are included in the blocking order issued late last year by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority or BTK.

The VPNs including TunnelBear, Proton and Psiphon, are often used by audiences seeking to circumvent bans imposed on Turkish media outlets over their critical coverage.

The news portals are trying to diversify the sources through which they can access their readers, said Gurkan Ozturan, of the Leipzig-based European Centre for Press and Media Freedom.

Ozturan is a digital media specialist who researched Turkey for the 2023 Freedom on the Net report by Freedom House, which ranks Turkey as not free.

Media sites that find content blocked in Turkey use several circumvention methods, Ozturan told VOA.

They create mirror sites with servers in different countries, produce social media-friendly content, and create broadcast channels in messaging apps.

And audiences learn from a young age how to use VPNs to access banned content. Even elementary school-aged children have started using the tools, Ozturan said.

Media outlets sometimes promote VPNs to help audiences find content.

When the countrys media regulator blocked access to content from VOA Turkish and Germanys Deutsche Welle in Turkey, both broadcasters promoted Psiphon, Proton, and nthLink as ways for audiences to reach them.

VOA Turkish also uses a mirror site and DW continued its broadcasts under a new domain name.

The Turkish communications authority did not respond to VOAs request for comment.

Sometimes authorities block access to a single article rather than an entire website.

According to the Free Web Turkey 2022 Internet Censorship report, access to 3,196 news articles was blocked in the country.

Access to news in the public interest is arbitrarily banned in one way or another. Turkey is in the grip of censorship, and citizens turn to VPNs to overcome this, Aysegul Kasap, managing editor of news website Diken, told VOA.

Diken has a section on its website dedicated to its blocked news articles. Titled VPN News, the page offers audiences access to content blocked by Turkish authorities, with the earliest news articles dating back to 2014.

Often the articles report on the president or the ruling Justice and Development Party or focus on corruption.

As access blocking and content removal decisions became routine, we chose this path to make the news accessible and readable again, Kasap said.

Diken also implements other strategies to inform the public about any news story facing a ban or removal.

If the news story is about an issue the public absolutely needs to know, we report the news again. For a news story that has been removed, we write another news report as Our news with this headline has been removed from the publication and rewrite the main elements of the removed news under that, Kasap said.

From time to time, we also receive a removal order for these news reports on removal orders, Kasap added.

VPNs are among the circumvention tools that help bypass internet censorship.

While it is difficult to ban access to VPNs completely, Simon Migliano, the head of research at the digital review site Top10VPN.com, says that it is possible to identify and block VPN traffic, typically with Deep Packet Inspection technology. He cited Iran, China, and Russia as examples.

What we have seen in Turkey so far is that the websites of the 16 VPN providers are being effectively blocked, which makes it harder to download and sign up for VPN services, Migliano told VOA.

A spot test of VPNs from inside Turkey found that some are still accessible, while others did not load.

While we can see that certain VPN services are still functional in Turkey if they are already installed, we are also hearing anecdotal reports of severe throttling of affected VPNs and blocked traffic, Migliano added.

Hide.me, SecureVPN, and Surfshark confirmed to VOA that their users experience some technical difficulties in Turkey. Proton told VOA that the blocks have not been entirely effective.

Unfortunately, its not the first time that Turkish authorities have resorted to internet censorship. Last year, we saw a huge rise in Turkish VPN use in February following blocks to Twitter, and in May around the time of the election, Antonio Cesarano, product manager at Proton, told VOA.

Now, it looks as if the government is going further by targeting VPNs themselves, Cesarano added.

Ozturan says it is very common to use VPNs in times of crisis because the Turkish governments first response to any kind of crisis is to restrict internet connectivity and to block peoples access to news sources.

In an email to VOA, Gabriele Racaityte-Krasauske, Surfsharks head of communications, recalled how social media platforms were blocked for several hours after the earthquake in February of last year in which more than 50,000 people died.

Twitter was blocked on several networks within Turkey, eliminating a vital communication channel for coordinating relief efforts after the devastating earthquake, she said.

In declaring a state of emergency, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that action would be taken against those seeking to sow disinformation.

We follow those who intend to set our people against each other with fake news and distortions. This is not the day of debate, Erdogan said during his first speech after the quake.

But analysts like Ozturan said that times of crisis, like the earthquake, are when digital access becomes a matter of life and death.

This article originated in VOAs Turkish service.
Foreign, interior and defense ministers of Andean countries will hold an urgent meeting this weekend to discuss the problem of cross-border drug crime that has plunged Ecuador in a major security crisis, Peru's government said Monday.

Peruvian Prime Minister Alberto Otarola told reporters the meeting in Lima on Sunday will focus on ways to confront transnational crime.

"We have to stop drug trafficking, which is the main source of financing for this problem that has generated death, chaos and anxiety in our neighbor," Ecuador, he said.

Ministers from Peru, Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador will take part, he said.

They would seek to deepen cooperation via national "intelligence systems, police and the armed forces ... in the common fight against organized crime."

Once a bastion of peace nestled between the world's largest cocaine producers  Colombia and Peru  Ecuador has recently been plunged into crisis after years of expansion by transnational cartels.

The latest violence was triggered by the escape from Guayaquil prison just over a week ago of one of the country's most powerful narcotics gang bosses.

The government declared a state of emergency and countrywide curfew, infuriating gangsters who launched several deadly attacks and took dozens of hostages, most of which have since been freed.

By Sunday, Ecuador's security forces said they had taken back control of several prisons from gangs and reported more than 1,300 arrests, eight "terrorists" killed, and 27 escaped inmates recaptured.

Peru and Colombia reinforced security on their borders in light of the outbreak of violence.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged political and business leaders gathering at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Tuesday to give more military aid to his country or risk Russia attacking other nations amid fears in Kyiv that the war is slipping off the top of the global agenda.

With much attention focused on conflict in the Middle East and Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, Zelenskyy used the Davos stage to remind the world what is at stake in his countrys war against Russian invaders.

If anyone thinks that this is only about us, this is only about Ukraine, they are fundamentally mistaken, Zelenskyy said. Possible directions and even a timeline of a new Russian aggression beyond Ukraine becomes more and more obvious.  And if one must fight against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin together in the years ahead, isnt it better to put an end to him and his war strategy now, while our brave men and women are already doing it?

Air superiority

Zelenskyys speech was greeted with applause from delegates. But Ukraine is seeking more than allies approval.

We must gain air superiority for Ukraine, just as we have gained superiority at the Black Sea. We can do it, Zelenskyy said. Partners know what is needed and in what quantities. This will allow progress on the ground.

The Ukrainian president also urged the West to tighten sanctions on Moscow.

It must be a strong decision this year when frozen Russian assets  will be directed towards defense against the Russian war and for reconstruction of Ukraine. Putin loves money above all. The more billions he and his oligarchs, friends and accomplices lose, the more likely he will regret starting this war, Zelenskyy told delegates in Davos.

Moscow did not immediately respond to Zelenskyys comments. As Russia invests heavily in re-arming its forces following huge losses in Ukraine, Kyiv says it urgently needs new weapons and ammunition.

U.S. military assistance

Republican lawmakers in the U.S. Congress are blocking an emergency spending bill that includes around $50 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, insisting that it is tied to concessions on U.S. border security.

At a bilateral meeting with Zelenskyy in Davos Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his countrys support was enduring.

We're determined to sustain our support in Ukraine, and we're working very closely with Congress in order to, to do that. I know our European colleagues are doing the same thing. So even as you succeed militarily against this Russian onslaught, that you also build Ukraine for the future, one that can stand strongly on its own two feet militarily, economic, democratically, Blinken said.

Hungary veto

A $54 billion European Union aid package for Ukraine is also being blocked by Hungary. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc may seek to exclude Hungarys vote at a summit next month.

My personal priority is to have an agreement by 27 [EU member states]. If this is not possible, we are prepared for an agreement by 26. But I strongly support and prefer an agreement by 27, von der Leyen said Tuesday.

Hungarys prime minister, Viktor Orban, said he wanted any aid package for Ukraine to be separated from regular bloc spending.

We want financial assistance to Ukraine to be provided outside the EU budget. That's why we want to discuss the budget amendment separately and the assistance to Ukraine separately  it could end up that the financial resources that are due to individual nations end up in Ukraine, Orban said at a press conference in Budapest Tuesday.

Amid wavering Western unity, Latvia  a close ally of Ukraine  said its time for a change of rhetoric.

We always hear that we are going to support Ukraine as long as it is necessary, as long as it takes. I think we must change that rhetoric that we are going to support, and we will support Ukraine til the victory  and victory of Ukraine, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics told reporters in Davos.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed that Canberra is supporting United States and British airstrikes against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.

The rebel group has been attacking international shipping in the Red Sea, and U.S.-led strikes have been launched in retaliation for drone and missile attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, a key shipping channel.

Australian officials have insisted that defending global trade routes is utterly central to Australias national interest.

Canada and the Netherlands have also been part of the military action.

Australias support for the raids against Houthi targets included defense personnel in what authorities have said were non-operational roles. Their precise duties were not disclosed.

Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the Canberra government is part of a multinational effort to prevent Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping.

We have sent the help that is required. We have operational support there at headquarters in Bahrain," he said. "We always give proper and considered analysis and act in Australias national interests and that has been the basis of our support up to this point.

Australian Greens defense spokesperson David Shoebridge told local media that it was hypocritical of the U.S. and Australian governments to launch airstrikes on Houthi positions in Yemen while claiming they wanted to avoid the conflict in Gaza spreading.

The Iran-backed Houthis say they are supporting Hamas in the war against Israel in Gaza.

The conflict began after Hamas militants launched a brutal attack on Israel on Oct 7. Gunmen killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took hostages into Gaza.

In response, the Israeli government has vowed to eliminate Hamas. It has launched an aerial bombardment and ground invasion of the coastal enclave.

Thousands of people have been killed and vast numbers displaced.

This week Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong is making an official visit to the region. She will meet with the families of Israeli hostages as well as the victims of Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank.

Australia has said Israel has the right to defend itself after the attack by Hamas militants.

Politically, Canberra is committed to a two-state solution in which Israel and a future Palestinian state coexist within internationally recognized borders.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of strong enduring support for Ukraine and a determination on the part of the Biden administration to continue military aid for Ukrainian forces.

Blinkens comments came at the start of talks Tuesday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The top U.S. diplomat said the expression of support comes at a time when Ukraine is facing repeated Russian attacks on infrastructure and civilians.

And we see that every day, but we also see the incredible courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people, the courage and resilience of your security forces, Blinken said.

Zelenskyy thanked the United States for its support, including air defense systems that have been critical in helping Ukrainian forces defend the country from Russian drone and missile attacks.

Those attacks have included strikes on multiple Ukrainian cities, with even downed drones and missiles causing damage and injuries on the ground.

Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials have implored the U.S. and European allies to further bolster Ukraines air defenses, a request that has coincided with the drying up of U.S. funding for new rounds of aid.

The Biden administration has asked Congress for tens of billions of dollars in new aid for Ukraine as part of a larger security package that includes aid for Israel and U.S. border security funding. That measure has met resistance from some Republicans in Congress who want even more action on border security.

Ukrainian attacks

Russias defense ministry said Tuesday it thwarted attacks by Ukrainian drones in multiple regions, including destroying five drones and intercepting three others over the Voronezh area.

Alexander Gusev, the regional governor, said debris from a drone injured a child. The mayor of Voronezh, a city about 250 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, declared a temporary state of emergency.

Russias defense ministry also said it intercepted four drones over the Belgorod region, and another in the Bryansk region.

Some material for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
China summoned the ambassador of the Philippines Tuesday to officially protest President Ferdinand Marcos message of congratulations to Taiwans newly elected president.

In a post on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, President Marcos congratulated Lai Ching-te, the candidate of Taiwans ruling Democratic Progressive Party, on his election last Saturday, and said he looked forward to close collaboration with him. The DPP has long been a proponent of Taiwans self-rule status, pushing back against Beijings claims of sovereignty over the island.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said President Marcoss statement was a serious violation of the Philippines commitment to the One China principle and a gross interference in Chinas internal affairs.

Mao Ning warned the Philippines not to play with fire on the Taiwan issue and to stop sending wrong signals to independence and separatist forces on the island. She also urged Marcos to do further reading so he can properly understand the issue and come to the right conclusions.

Taiwan has been self-governing since the end of Chinas civil war in 1949, when Chiang Kai-sheks Nationalist forces were driven off the mainland by Mao Zedongs Communists and settled on the island. Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its control by any means necessary, including a military takeover.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse.
Key Insights

Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad's significant public companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public

Ajinomoto Co., Inc. owns 50% of the company

Institutional ownership in Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad is 17%

Every investor in Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad (KLSE:AJI) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 50% to be precise, is public companies. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Individual investors, on the other hand, account for 25% of the company's stockholders.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad.

View our latest analysis for Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad

KLSE:AJI Ownership Breakdown January 16th 2024

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

KLSE:AJI Earnings and Revenue Growth January 16th 2024

Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Ajinomoto Co., Inc. with 50% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 3.8% and 3.0% of the stock.

Story continues

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad. As individuals, the insiders collectively own RM36m worth of the RM976m company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 25% stake in Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 4.6%, of the Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad stock. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 50% of the Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad shares on issue. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad you should know about.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
The European Union on Tuesday added Hamas Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar to its terrorist sanctions blacklist over the October 7 attacks on Israel.

The move means that the accused mastermind of the attacks is subject to having his assets frozen in the 27-nation bloc and bans EU citizens from conducting transactions with him.

Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas is already listed as a terrorist organization by the EU.

The October attacks, the worst in Israel's history, resulted in about 1,140 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Militants also dragged about 250 hostages back to Gaza, 132 of whom Israel says are still in the Palestinian territory, including at least 25 believed to have been killed.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz welcomed the move.

The decision is a result of "our diplomatic efforts to strangle the resources of the Hamas, to delegitimize them and prohibit all support to them. We will continue to eradicate the root of evil, in Gaza and wherever it raises its head," Katz said in a statement.

Sinwar, 61, has not been seen since October 7.

After the attacks, Israel's military declared Sinwar a "dead man walking."

The Hamas chief was added to the U.S. list of the most wanted "international terrorists" in 2015, as was Mohammed Deif, commander of Hamas' armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, and another alleged October 7 mastermind.

The EU has struggled for a united response to the Hamas attacks and Israel's subsequent devastating offensive in the Gaza Strip.

At least 24,285 Palestinians, about 70% of them women, children and adolescents, have been killed in Gaza in Israeli bombardments and ground operations since October 7, according to the Hamas government.
On January 11, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have been detaining and arresting women for noncompliance with the dress code rule, namely wearing the headscarf or hijab.

UNAMA said, it fears the current crackdown is pushing women into even greater isolation due to fear of arbitrary arrest and creating a permissive environment for men to enforce repressive measures at home.

UNAMA documented numerous cases of girls and women being detained across Afghanistan, some held incommunicado and others reportedly ill-treated, with the enforcement operations disproportionally affecting religious and ethnic minorities.

The operations to enforce the hijab mandate are carried out by the Talibans Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which the U.N. body described as the de facto police.

The Taliban denied any prosecution of women based on the hijab rule.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed in a January 11 post on X:

The concern of the UNAMA for women is incorrect. The concern of the UNAMA about the mistreatment of women in Afghanistan regarding their hijab, is incorrect. Afghan women wear hijab on their own, neither they have been forced to do so, nor the ministry of vice and virtue mistreated them. This is just propaganda and far from the reality.

That is false.

The Taliban's Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice spokesman Abdul Ghafar Farooq confirmed to The Associated Press that his agencys female officers have been arresting women for violating the dress code.

In a voice memo sent to the AP on January 4, Farooq was unapologetic in admitting the arrests. They violated Islamic values and rituals and encouraged society and other respected sisters to go for bad hijab, he said. He warned that in every province, those who go without hijab will be arrested.

There are no statistics on the bad hijab arrests. And the Taliban is not sharing the data.

In his comment to the AP, Farooq said that only a few limited women who spread bad hijab in Islamic society have been arrested.

However, six days later, on January 10, Farooq told CBS News that some dozen women were arrested in the capital, Kabul, alone. He said the arrests continued for several days throughout the country and that most of the women were freed after their families paid the bail, but some were handed over to the judiciary for further investigation.

UNAMA said it had documented a series of hijab enforcement campaigns during which large numbers of women were arrested.

CBS News described the Talibans hijab enforcement operations as mass arrests, and photographs posted on social media showed trucks picking up women from the streets.

Moreover, Mujahid himself confirmed the arrests to CBS News but claimed the detentions lasted only a few hours and denied any mistreatment of the women.

Yet UNAMA said it is investigating reports of ill-treatment and incommunicado detention.

One family told CBS News that Taliban authorities had beaten their female relative while she was in custody and sent photographs showing bruises.

Some families said the morality police demanded large sums for the release of the women along with fathers and brothers signatures on a document saying that the woman would never again go on the street without a male chaperone or a hijab. Others said the Taliban authorities confiscated their homeownership documents.

The Talibans Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice announced the dress code for women and girls in May 2022.

The decree mandated all women in Afghanistan to wear hijab, with the only acceptable proper dress covering the entire body except for the eyes.

The ministrys decree also stated the consequences for a woman caught without a hijab, with the severity of punishment increasing from warning her male guardian to the imprisonment of the women who repeatedly violate the hijab rule.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said Washington "remained concerned about the Taliban's repressive edicts against women and girls and its unwillingness to foster inclusive governance."

The United States Institute of Peace, a nonpartisan think tank funded by the U.S. Congress, has been chronicling the Talibans human rights violations since it seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

The graphic demonstrates the Talibans gradual reduction of womens role in society  from education bans to occupational filters and growing dependency on male chaperones.
Yemen's Houthi militia group, which controls the capital, Sanaa and parts of Yemen's Red Sea coast, has attacked another ship in the Gulf of Aden, following a rash of attacks over the past several weeks. Iran's supreme leader is encouraging the Houthis, which serve as an Iranian proxy in the region, to continue attacking U.S. and western ships. Such attacks threaten to further exacerbate tensions in the region and the fragile economies of many regional states.

Yemen's Houthis attacked a Maltese-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Aden Tuesday, following a rash of attacks on international shipping in recent days. Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who supports the Houthis, urged them to "continue their attacks."

Yahya Saria, spokesman for the Houthis' military forces, said they would continue attacking U.S. and British ships and seek revenge for U.S. and British attacks on their forces in recent days.

He says that [the Houthis'] naval forces carried out an attack targeting a U.S. ship in the Gulf of Aden using sea missiles and resulting in a direct and precise hit. He says that the Houthis consider all U.S. and British ships legitimate enemy targets after they attacked Yemen and that no new attack will go without a response.

Yemeni analyst Salah al-Aghbar told Sky News Arabia that Iran is "trying to assert that the Red Sea is a vital waterway to it and that it can close both the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz during a conflict, if the need should arise."

Mehrdad Khonsari, a London-based Iranian analyst and former diplomat, tells VOA that Tehran is "not capable of closing either the Red Sea or the Strait of Hormuz and that it is just using rhetoric for propaganda purposes.

He argues that the Houthis are a useful proxy, but mostly a diversion from more important Iranian assets like Hezbollah.

"Iranians, whilst they are cautious not to escalate the combat in a way that would involve them, or their primary proxy group, Hezbollah, they see the Houthis as a vehicle for increasing pressures on the world community without actually getting them involved in some kind of direct conflict with the west," he said. "Now, if the Israelis were to attack Hezbollah, then obviously Iranians would become involved, but that is the kind of scenario that they would like to avoid.

Khonsari adds that Houthi attacks "dissuade Israel from going after Hezbollah and act as a very convenient diversion for the Iranians to direct attention away from more important areas to it, like the Lebanese border with Israel and Hezbollah bases, which are critical for the survival of Iranian regional policy.

If Hezbollah were attacked and degraded by Israel, he says, this would mean the collapse of Iranian regional policy and proxies, whereas degrading the Houthis or Hamas does not affect overall Iranian policy to a great extent.

Washington-based Gulf analyst Theodore Karasik tells VOA that U.S. and British attacks on the Houthis are clearly intended to degrade their military capabilities.

"These strikes are important and meant to degrade the capacity of the Houthis, who are being backed by Iran, and that evidence is undeniable," he said. "They are clearly linked, and consequently, such activity is going to continue to have an impact because of the back-and-forth and escalation process."

Karasik also insists that there is diplomatic wrangling taking place behind the scenes through various negotiating channels between key Gulf states, with lots of what he calls wheeling and dealing.

Yemeni analyst Fawaz Nasr, however, disagrees, telling Arab media that the Saudi-supported Yemeni government based in Aden, which opposes the Houthis, stresses that the U.S. and British attacks on the Houthis "will have no effect whatsoever unless the Houthis are dislodged from territories that they control," including key parts of Yemen's Red Sea coastline.

Meanwhile, as many western ships and cargo vessels change course away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal for the longer Horn of Africa route, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with officials with the French government's shipping authority to try to reassure Western shippers that the Suez Canal is safe.
Donald Trump was the projected winner of the Iowa caucuses Monday night, based on early results in the first voting in the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign.

The margin of his win was still unknown, with Jeff Kaufmann, the Iowa Republican chair, telling The Des Moines Register on Monday, It might be midnight that we have every single piece of data come in."

The former presidents supporters endured a historic and life-threatening cold snap to participate in caucus meetings that unfolded in schools, churches and community centers across the state.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley were in a battle for second place.

The latest polling had shown that Trump was positioned for a substantial victory in the Republican caucuses as he tries to eventually reclaim the White House in Novembers national election.

A final Iowa poll released over the weekend by the Des Moines Register, NBC News and Mediacom showed Trump with 48% support among likely Republican voters headed to 1,657 caucus sites.

The survey showed Haley, Trumps one-time United Nations ambassador, trailing with 20% support, DeSantis with 16% and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy with 8%.

A wild card in the process is just how many voters will travel on treacherous, icy roads in extremely cold temperatures to get to the caucus sites. No early voting or by mail voting has been permitted.

Trump joked to a rally of his supporters Sunday, If you vote and then pass away, its worth it, prompting laughter. Youll be safe and all. Youre going to be safe.  Youre going to be all indoors, but youve got to get up; youve got to vote. Because it has nothing to do with anything but taking our nation back, and thats the biggest thing there is.

In the immediate weeks ahead, more states are holding political primary and caucus elections to pick the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, who will officially be nominated at national party conventions in July and August.

In the end, most polling and political analysts predict another contest between two aging politicians, Trump, 77, and President Joe Biden, 81. It would be a replay of the contentious 2020 election when Biden thwarted Trumps reelection bid after a single term in the White House.

While Iowa is just one of 50 states, the heartland state holds an outsized role in the U.S. presidential nominating process. It is the first state to vote in the quadrennial elections. Even so, Democrats this year opted for mail-in balloting that will be tabulated later, in part because Iowa has turned decidedly toward Republican candidates in state and national elections.

The Iowa campaign has lasted for months, with several key Republican presidential aspirants already dropping out of the race for lack of support even before the voting, including Trumps vice president, Mike Pence, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott.

With Trump holding a commanding lead, the vote in the caucuses has seemingly turned into a race for second place, with both Haley and DeSantis hoping a close finish behind Trump will give them a boost in the Jan. 23 party primary in the northeastern state of New Hampshire and succeeding states.

Trump is facing an unprecedented 91 criminal charges across four indictments and trials. Some of the cases could occur in the coming months, including one in Washington set for March 4 accusing him of illegally trying to upend his 2020 election loss. But the criminal charges played little role in the lead-up to the Iowa vote.

Both Haley and DeSantis have shied from consistent, vocal political attacks on Trump for fear of alienating his supporters, although they assailed his refusal to attend five debates to confront him directly.

They have chided him for an increasing national debt during his White House tenure and failure to build the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border that he promised in his successful 2016 campaign to curb migrants from crossing.
An Iranian missile strike on targets in northern Iraq set off an unusual dispute between the neighboring allies on Tuesday, with Baghdad recalling its ambassador in protest and Tehran insisting the attack was intended to deter threats from Israeli spies.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards hit what they called an Israeli espionage center in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, Iranian media reported late on Monday, while the elite force said they also struck in Syria against the Islamic State.

The strike appeared likely to deepen worries about worsening instability across the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas started on Oct. 7, with Iran's allies also entering the fray from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

There has also been concern that Iraq could again become a theater for regional conflict after a series of U.S. strikes on Iran-linked militant groups that are also part of Iraq's formal security forces. Those strikes came in response to dozens of attacks on U.S. forces in the region carried out since Oct. 7.

The Guards said the late Monday attack, Iran's first direct military strike in the region linked to the Gaza war, was in response to Israeli "atrocities" against several of its commanders and those of Iranian-allied forces around the Middle East since the conflict started.

'Clear aggression' against Iraq

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said the attack was "clear aggression" against Iraq and a dangerous development that undermined the strong relationship between Tehran and Baghdad, state media reported.

He said Iraq reserved its right to take all legal and diplomatic measures granted to it by its sovereignty.

In protest, Iraq recalled its envoy from Tehran and summoned Iran's charge d'affaires in Baghdad.

The strike, on a residential area near the U.S. consulate in Kurdistan's capital Irbil, was described by Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani as a "crime against the Kurdish people" in which at least four civilians were killed and six injured.

Multimillionaire Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee and several family members were among the dead, killed when at least one rocket crashed into their home, Iraqi security and medical sources said.

Iraq National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji denied the house was an Israeli spy center.

"To respond to the claim that there is a Mossad headquarters we visited the place and toured every corner of this house, and everything indicates that it is a family house belonging to an Iraqi businessman from Irbil," he told reporters.

'Reckless'

Israeli government spokesperson Avi Hayman said he would not speculate, when asked at a press briefing about Iran's assertion that it struck a Mossad site.

"What I will say is Iran continues to use its proxies to attack Israel on multiple fronts. We condemn Iran's activities and we call on the international community to stand up in defiance of Iran and call for peace in the region," he said.

Defending the attack, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Tehran respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries but it was Iran's "legitimate right to deter national security threats."

In addition to the Irbil strike, the Guards said they fired ballistic missiles in Syria and destroyed "perpetrators of terrorist operations" in Iran, including the Islamic State.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for two explosions in Iran this month that killed nearly 100 people and wounded scores at a memorial for top commander Qassem Soleimani.

France accused Iran of violating Iraq's sovereignty and Washington condemned the attacks as "reckless." U.S. officials said no U.S. facilities were hit and there were no U.S. casualties.

Iran, which supports Hamas in its war with Israel, accuses the U.S. of backing what it calls Israeli crimes in Gaza. The U.S. has said it backs Israel in its campaign but has raised concerns about the number of Palestinian civilians killed.

Iran has in the past carried out strikes in Iraq's Kurdistan region, saying the area is used as a staging ground for Iranian separatist groups as well as agents of its arch-foe Israel.

Baghdad has tried to address Iranian concerns over separatist groups in the region, moving to relocate some members as part of a security agreement reached with Tehran in 2023.
Israel reported airstrikes Tuesday in northern and southern parts of the Gaza Strip, a day after the countrys defense ministers said the intensive phase of Israels war with Hamas would soon end.

The Israel Defense Forces said airstrikes targeted militants in the Northern Shati area as well as Khan Younis.

Israeli troops killed dozens of militants and uncovered about 100 rocket installations, the military said.

An overnight airstrike also struck a Hezbollah anti-tank launcher in southern Lebanon, the latest in the cross-border fighting that has raised fears of an expanding conflict in the region.

In Switzerland, Qatars prime minister noted the need for a two-state solution to provide a lasting resolution, while citing the threat of the conflict expanding.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said during the World Economic Forum in Davos that military strikes will not contain attacks on Red Sea shipping by Yemen-based Houthi rebels, and that instead the need is to focus on resolving the central issue of the war in Gaza.

What we have right now in the region is a recipe of escalation everywhere, Sheikh Mohammed said.

No cease-fire

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ruled out a cease-fire as he spoke to reporters Monday, saying Israel could not fully stop its military operations in Gaza because Hamas would not agree to release any more hostages without military pressure

Gallant said the "intense maneuvering stage" that the Israeli military has been carrying out in southern Gaza will end soon. He said the military had recently ended its intensive ground operation in northern Gaza.

In both places, we will reach the moment for the next stage, he said.

Gallant's comments came as Hamas announced the death of two of the Israeli hostages it abducted during its October attack.

In a video released by Hamas on Monday, the group showed the dead bodies of two people it said were Israeli hostages. In a statement accompanying the video, Hamas said the hostages were killed by the Israeli military.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari denied that Israeli forces caused the deaths.

That is a Hamas lie, he said.

The Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its casualty totals, said Tuesday that the number of dead from Israels military campaign had risen to 24,285, with more than 60,000 others injured.

Israel began its military campaign to wipe out Hamas after Hamas fighters crossed into southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 people hostage in a terror attack.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres renewed his appeal Monday for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, saying it is urgently needed to get aid to Palestinians, facilitate the release of hostages held by Hamas, and halt the spread of the war throughout the Mideast.

I am profoundly worried by what is unfolding, Guterres told reporters at the United Nations.

During a temporary cease-fire in late November, militants in Gaza released more than 100 hostages, while Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
A Burundi journalist is appealing her 10-year prison term at the countrys Supreme Court.

Floriane Irangabiye, who was convicted of undermining the integrity of Burundis national territory, has been detained since August 2022.

After a brief hearing last week in the capital, Bujumbura, Irangabiye was returned to prison to await the courts verdict.

The case against Irangabiye is connected to her work as a commentator and host at Radio Igicaniro, a diaspora-based online outlet that is often critical of the government.

The journalists lawyers have renewed calls for her to be released.

The role of human rights organizations is crucial in reining in countries that do not abide by the international law, so innocent journalists such as Floriane Irangabiye  who didnt do anything wrong other than performing her duties as a journalist  are not kept in prison for another day, said Tony Nkina, Irangabiyes attorney.

Local and international press freedom groups have echoed those calls for Irangabiyes release.

Floriane Irangabiye does not belong in prison, said Alexandre Niyungeko, chair of the Journalists Association in Burundi. We once again urge the government of Burundi to release her, so she can be with her family and continue to do her journalism.

When a court first convicted Irangabiye, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, both warned of the chilling effect the jailing could have.

Sadibou Marong, the director of RSFs sub-Saharan African bureau, said in a statement last year that the case is intended to silence all critical voices in Burundi.

This heavy sentence is extremely worrying and shows that Floriane Irangabiye was specifically targeted by the authorities over her work as a journalist, Marong said.

The authorities were unable to provide any tangible evidence to support their false accusations.

Shortly after the court convicted Irangabiye last year, Muthoki Mumo, the sub-Saharan Africa representative at the Committee to Protect Journalists, said that sentencing [her] to a decade behind bars demonstrates the states capacity for cruelty and its deep intolerance for politically critical commentators.

Burundis Washington Embassy did not immediately reply to VOAs email requesting comment. In January 2023, Sylvestre Nyandwi, Burundis prosecutor general at the time, told CPJ that Irangabiyes conviction was not politically motivated.

Burundis media landscape was once vibrant, but it has deteriorated following a failed coup in 2015 and increased government repression, according to RSF. Out of 180 countries, the press freedom group ranks the African country 114th in terms of press freedom.

This story originated in VOA's Central Africa Service. Frederic Nkundikije and Pierre Claver Niyonkuru contributed to the report.
Authorities in Kyrgyzstan this week detained 11 journalists from four independent outlets in a crackdown that human rights groups say underscores democratic backsliding in the Central Asian country.

The raids began on Monday when police in the capital Bishkek raided the newsroom of the independent outlet 24.KG and briefly detained and interrogated its director and two top editors.

On Tuesday, police detained 11 reporters, according to press freedom groups and media reports.

Those detained on Tuesday have investigated alleged corruption among the country's elites, according to the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders, or RSF.

"This wave of arrests on the basis of a dubious charge amounts to a purge of local investigative journalism," Jeanne Cavelier, the head of RSF's Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, said in a statement.

"Investigating corruption is not a crime and police should not be used as a tool of intimidation. We denounce this witch-hunt against journalists and call on the Kyrgyz authorities to release them at once," Cavelier continued.

Kyrgyzstan's interior ministry said the arrests were over material calling for "mass riots" on the social media pages of the outlets Ayt Ayt Dese and Temirov Live.

Kyrgyzstan's embassy in Washington did not immediately reply to VOA's email requesting comment.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, eight human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, called on Kyrgyz authorities to drop the criminal cases of "war propaganda" and "calls to mass disorder" that had been initiated against several outlets.

"The Kyrgyz authorities need to take immediate and decisive steps to bring the country's respect for press freedom in accordance with its international obligations," the statement said.

Out of 180 countries, RSF in 2023 ranked Kyrgyzstan 122 in terms of press freedom, which marked a drop of 50 spots from the previous year.

Kyrgyzstan's parliament is currently considering a draft media law that human rights groups have warned would expand government control over the media, including giving authorities broad powers to shut down news outlets.

The parliamentary committee on international affairs on Monday postponed consideration of the draft law.
An estimated 3.5 million Britons living overseas will from Tuesday be eligible to vote in United Kingdom general elections, in one of the biggest increases in the country's electoral franchise in a century.

The expansion in the electorate follows a change in the law, approved by parliament in 2022, scrapping a previous curb on U.K. citizens voting if they had lived overseas for over 15 years.

Implemented ahead of an election set for later this year, it is the most significant change to the voter rolls since a 1928 law granted women equal voting rights, and a 1969 move to lower the voting age to 18 from 21.

Britons worldwide will now be able to register to vote online, regardless of how long they have been overseas.

Under U.K. election law, once registered overseas voters will also be permitted to donate to political parties and campaigners.

Around 233,000 overseas voters were registered for the last election in December 2019, a significant Brexit-attributed bump on the numbers seen in previous contests.

The government estimates that Tuesday's change could enfranchise around 3.5 million people  nearly triple the 1.3 million votes that was the winning margin in the 2016 referendum on European Union membership.

It is also greater than the difference in the vote totals for Britain's two main parties  the Conservatives and Labour  in five of the last six general elections.

But U.K. elections ignore the parties' overall vote counts, instead electing lawmakers under the first-past-the-post system in 650 individual constituencies.

It remains unclear how many of the newly eligible 3.5 million U.K. citizens living overseas will successfully register to vote.

They will need to provide details of the address and time they were last registered to vote or living in Britain.

Local authorities, who are responsible for the electoral roll in their areas, must be able to verify an applicant's identity and past connection to the area, according to the Electoral Commission.

Unlike some countries, there is no provision for in-person voting overseas, and all ballots have to be cast by mail or by using a proxy in the U.K.

The Electoral Commission is launching a publicity campaign and working with partner organizations to raise awareness of the rule change.

"We know there are eligible voters in every corner of the world, so we're calling on those with friends and family abroad to help spread the news," communications director Craig Westwood said.

Research by Britain's Office for National Statistics suggests the largest numbers of British emigrants are in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and European Union member countries.


MarketResearch.biz

According to Marketresearch.biz, the surge in fertilizer demand is closely tied to global population growth, emphasizing the need for enhanced agricultural productivity, particularly in emerging economies. The low-carbon energy transition propels the market, with ammonia gaining prominence as a sustainable energy carrier, especially in its 'green' or 'blue' forms.

New York, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In 2023, The ammonia market was valued at USD 220.93 billion in 2023 with significant growth and is projected to reach USD 472.5 billion by 2033 with an outstanding CAGR of 8.11%.



The ammonia market is undergoing robust growth, compelled by amplified demand for fertilizers in agriculture and water treatment. Ammonia, a multipurpose natural gas, serves as a base element for numerous commercial and household products, including fertilizers, cleaning supplies, stabilizers, neutralizers, and refrigerants. Its extensive applications extend to plastics, fabrics, explosives, and pharmaceuticals, with over 90% of global manufacturing dedicated to fertilizers, supporting sustainable food production worldwide.

Get additional highlights on major revenue-generating segments, Request a Ammonia Market sample report at https://marketresearch.biz/report/ammonia-market/request-sample/

Main developments in the sector comprise CBH Group's introduction of a new Kwinana fertilizer facility, augmenting support for Western Australian grain farmers. Meanwhile, the United States Department of Agriculture's initiative aims to invest USD 3 billion in domestic fertilizer manufacturing capacity, with an initial allocation of USD 29 million for near-term projects.

Ammonia's significance extends from household cleaning to industrial water purification, catering to various sectors like rubber, food and beverage, and pharmaceuticals. The Russia-Ukraine war has significantly impacted the agricultural industry, foremost with a heave in fertilizer prices, considering Russia's main role as a major fertilizer exporter, underwriting 23% of global ammonia exports.

Story continues

Collaborative efforts in ammonia manufacturing aim to decrease export dependence, nurturing a cleaner and more sustainable production process. The ammonia market is set to grow, driven by its vital role in fertilizers as well as industrial manufacturing, which promises to continue expansion in the next few years.

Key Takeaways

Liquid ammonia rules the product type market segment due to its extensive use in various industrial and agricultural applications.

Agricultural and fertilizers dominate the application type market segment due to high fertilizer production, which is essential for modern agriculture.

Asia-Pacific commands a substantial 45% share of the global ammonia market, mainly fueled by widespread agricultural activities and increasing demand for ammonia-based fertilizers.

Driving Factors

Demand of Fertilizers

This surge in demand is closely tied to the growing global population and the urgent need to enhance agricultural productivity, particularly in emerging economies. The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts a nearly 40% surge in ammonia demand by 2050, incited by the agricultural sector's expansion in regions like Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. This trend underscores ammonia's pivotal role in addressing food security challenges, thereby supporting its market growth.

Low-Carbon Energy Transition compels the market

Ammonia, especially in its 'green' or 'blue' forms, is gaining traction as a sustainable energy carrier. This is due to its potential for storing and transporting hydrogen energy efficiently. This shift not only augments current market growth but also sets a trajectory for sustained expansion, aligning with global environmental goals. The rising emphasis on clean energy solutions positions ammonia as a critical component in the energy transition, catering to the increasing demand for eco-friendly fuel alternatives.

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Restraining Factors

Huge Competition from Substitute Products

Alternative feedstocks like natural gas and urea are currently competing with ammonia for various uses, which poses a threat to the growth of the ammonia market. Urea, for instance, is often desired for certain agricultural and industrial applications due to its less hazardous nature. The growing innovations in electric vehicles (EVs) are reducing the demand growth for fertilizers, which traditionally constitute a significant portion of ammonia's market. As EVs become more prevalent, the reduced need for agricultural products for biofuel production could further impact the demand for ammonia-based fertilizers, challenging the market's expansion.

Growth Opportunities

New Technological Advancements

The conventional production of ammonia is energy-intensive and contributes to about 2% of global CO2 emissions. In response, there's a significant push towards developing bioprocessing technologies for biological ammonia production. Firms like OCI Global, the only producer of ISCC PLUS certified bio-ammonia in Europe and the US, are leading this charge. OCIs use of biomethane from organic waste for ammonia production results in a GHG reduction of over 70% compared to traditional methods. Such advancements are not only environmentally beneficial but also offer a competitive edge, paving the way for geographic and product expansion in the ammonia market.

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Report Attribute Details Market Value (2023) US$ 220.93 Billion Market Size (2033) US$ 472.5 Billion CAGR (from 2024 to 2033) 8.11% from 2024 to 2033 Asia-Pacific Region Revenue Share 45% Historic Period 2016 to 2023 Base Year 2023 Forecast Year 2024 to 2033

Regional Analysis

Asia-Pacific commands a substantial 45% share in the global ammonia market, mainly fueled by widespread agricultural activities and increasing demand for ammonia-based fertilizers. China, India, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, and Australia contribute significantly to this supremacy. The region's growth is also compelled by its growing industrial sector, incorporating ammonia in applications like plastics and fibers. Notably, Asia-Pacific displays innovative approaches to green energy, demonstrated by joint initiatives in hydrogen and ammonia production in Japan and South Korea, bringing into line with the region's commitment to sustainable practices. In contrast, North America influences advanced technologies and natural gas for cost-effective, large-scale ammonia production, while Europe highlights sustainability by discovering renewable sources and green technologies to decrease its carbon footprint.

Segment Analysis

By product type, liquid ammonia rules the market segment due to its extensive use in various industrial and agricultural applications. Its high nitrogen content makes it essential for synthesizing ammonium nitrate and urea, which are widely used as nitrogenous fertilizers. In refrigeration, liquid ammonia serves as an effective coolant due to its high heat of vaporization and compatibility with various refrigeration systems. Gaseous ammonia, while also important, has a more specialized application scope. The powder form of ammonia, though less common, finds niche applications in certain industrial processes. The dominant position of liquid ammonia on the market is evident in its broad range of applications and its effectiveness and efficacy in industrial and agricultural applications.

By application type, agricultural fertilizers dominate the market segment due to high fertilizer production, which is essential for modern agriculture. The synthesis of ammonium nitrate, urea, and other nitrogenous fertilizers relies heavily on ammonia. In the textile industry, ammonia is used in the pre-treatment of fibers and dyeing processes. As a refrigerant, ammonia's efficiency in large industrial refrigeration systems is well recognized. The agricultural sector's reliance on ammonia-based fertilizers for crop production and the critical role of these fertilizers in global food security make agriculture and fertilizers the most significant application segment in the ammonia market.

For more insights on the historical and Forecast market data from 2016 to 2033 - download a sample report at https://marketresearch.biz/report/ammonia-market/request-sample/

Segments covered in this report

By Product Form

Liquid

Gas

Powder

By Application

Agriculture & Fertilizers

Textiles

Refrigerants

Pharmaceuticals

Textile

Others

By Geography

North America

Europe

Asia-Pacific

Latin America

Middle East & Africa

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Competitive Landscape Analysis

CF Industries Holdings Inc., Yara, and Nutrien Ltd rule the Ammonia Market with significant production capacities and global distribution networks, highlighting operational efficacy and sustainability to meet the growing global demand. SABIC Agri-Nutrients Company and IFFCO play vital roles in the agricultural sector, innovatively contributing to crop production and prominence the industry's commitment to global food security.

Key Players

SABIC Agri-Nutrients Company

EuroChem

Nutrien Ltd

Group DF

OCI

IFFCO

QATAR FERTILISER COMPANY

Yara International ASA

CF Industries Holdings Inc.

LFC

BASF SE

Trammo

Mitsubishi

Koch Industries Inc.

Mitsui

Recent Developments

In June 2023, BASF SE and Yara Clean Ammonia announced their partnership for joint research to develop and establish a world-scale low-carbon blue ammonia production plant with an overall production capacity in the range of 1.2 up to 1.4 million tons per year that will also capture carbon throughout the US Gulf Coast region. By collaborating both companies will meet the ever-growing demand in the world for ammonia with low carbon.

In May 2023, SABIC Agri-Nutrients Company and IFFCO announced a partnership to deliver 5,000 metric tonnes of low-carbon ammonia certified coming from Saudi Arabia to IFFCO for fertilizer production. This partnership will help improve the company's operations in the researched market.

Browse More Related Reports

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Refrigerants Market is anticipated to be valued at USD 44.7 Bn by 2032, with a CAGR of 7.8% during 2023-2032.

Hydrogen Energy Storage Market is projected to be worth USD 30.1 Bn by 2032, showing a CAGR of 6.5% from 2023.

Organic Coagulant Market valued at USD 2.85 billion in 2022, is expected to reach USD 7.6 billion by 2032, with a CAGR of 10.6%.

Marine Deck Equipment Market is estimated to be USD 809.7 Mn by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 4.8% from 2023.

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Police in Somalia say a suicide bomber killed four people and himself and injured seven others Tuesday when he detonated an explosives-laden vest in a crowded area near Mogadishus regional administration headquarters.

Major Sadiq Aden Ali, a police spokesman, confirmed the attack and casualties in an interview with VOA Somali.

At about 11:40 a.m., a suicide bomber detonated himself in Hamarweyne district, in particular at Al-Hindi restaurant, Ali said. He inflicted casualties on innocent, civilian, Somali Muslims.

Ali said people sitting outside the restaurant saw a suspicious-looking man and alerted police. Ali said the security forces tried to apprehend the bomber, but he ran away and detonated his explosives.

A video clip of the incident from a closed-circuit TV feed shows a security officer chasing the would-be bomber before the explosion.

The soldier chasing the bomber was among the injured, Ali said.

The police did not fire because it is a crowded market, he said. They tried to keep people away and apprehend him alive but he detonated [the vest].

The explosion was near the Mogadishu regional headquarters, which was targeted by al-Shabab in July 2019 when the city's former mayor, Abdirahman Omar Osman, was fatally injured, and again in January 2023.

Ali said the target of the most recent bomber is not yet clear.

Security forces believe the suicide bomber [did not reach] his intended target, because when the people suspected they informed the security forces, and that is how they engaged, he said.

Militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement posted on the Telegram channel, the group said it was targeting intelligence operatives and other government employees.

The explosion comes amid a general improvement in the capitals security situation over the last year, aided by the deployment of troops and security checkpoints on the outskirts of the capital to prevent would-be truck bombs.

Harun Maruf contributed to this report.
North Korea is abandoning its policy of seeking reunification with South Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for the constitution to be revised to say that the South is the countrys primary foe and invariable principle enemy during a speech Monday before the Supreme Peoples Assembly, the Norths rubber-stamp parliament, according to state-run Korean Central News Agency.

Kim said the constitution should also include plans for occupying, subjugating and reclaiming the South if another war breaks out between the two bitter rivals.

He said North Korea has no intentions of starting a war, but has no intentions of avoiding one either.

The parliament announced Tuesday that it was abolishing two government agencies responsible for reunification and economic cooperation initiatives, as well as the agency that promoted South Korean visits to the Norths Mount Kumgang resort.

Kim ordered the destruction of all symbols of North-South reunification, including the Monument to the Three Charters for National Reunification in the capital Pyongyang built by his late father, Kim Jong Il, which the younger Kim described as an eyesore.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol blasted Kims comments Tuesday during a meeting with his cabinet as anti-national and anti-historical and vowed that North Korea will be punished multiple times as hard if it attacks the South.

The Korean Peninsula was split between the communist-ruled North and the U.S.-backed South after Japans decades-long colonial occupation ended in 1945 with its surrender in World War II.

War broke out between the North and South in 1950, ending in 1953 with an armistice that has left the two sides in a technical state of war.

Tensions between North and South Korea have worsened in recent years as the North intensified its ballistic missile testing program and vowed to expand its nuclear weapons arsenal.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters.


Pope Francis has defended his controversial decision to let priests bless same-sex couples but admitted that solitude is a price you have to pay when you make difficult decisions.

Francis doubled down and insisted that the Lord blesses everyone, during a Sunday interview with an Italian talk show. But he acknowledged the remarkable opposition his decision has sparked  Africas bishops have united in a continent-wide refusal to implement the Vatican declaration and individual bishops in Eastern Europe, Latin America and elsewhere have also voiced opposition.

The Vatican's December 18 declaration restated traditional church teaching that marriage is a lifelong union between a man and woman. But it allowed priests to offer spontaneous, non-liturgical blessings to same-sex couples seeking Gods grace in their lives, provided such blessings arent confused with the rites and rituals of a wedding.

During an appearance on Che Tempo Che Fa, Frances acknowledged, in his first comments since the uproar, the resistance the decision has generated. He blamed it on bishops not really understanding the issue and refusing to open a dialogue about it.

Asked if he felt alone, Francis replied: You take a decision and solitude is a price you have to pay."

Sometimes decisions are not accepted," he said. "But in most cases, when you dont accept a decision, its because you dont understand.

The danger, he said, is that when people who dont understand refuse to enter into a brotherly discussion and instead harden their hearts, resist and make ugly conclusions.

This has happened with these last decisions about blessing everyone, Francis said. The Lord blesses everyone.
Beaten by police during interrogation, then released without explanation or apologies - thats how Juan Manuel Moreno Borrego described one of several run-ins he has had with Cuban authorities after trying to meet opposition activists.

Moreno, 55, said arbitrary arrests of journalists like him are a favored strategy of the communist government to smother any resistance to the authorities.

Moreno works for Amanecer Habanero, a community news outlet that is not aligned with the Cuban government. Based in Havana, he said Cubas security forces have arrested him dozens of times over the years.

The journalist spoke with VOA days after Cuban authorities arrested Oscar Elias Biscet, a contributor to Radio Marti.

Biscet was briefly detained without explanation on January 9 as he left his Havana home, according to a statement from the U.S. Agency for Global Media, or USAGM. He was later released.

Like VOA, Radio Marti is funded by the U.S. Congress and overseen by the USAGM, but is editorially independent.

Biscets brief arrest came close to the annual meeting of the Emilia Project, an organization that he founded to promote human rights and democracy in Cuba.

Cuban authorities arrested Biscet the same time last year, again just before the Emilia Project meeting, according to a statement by USAGM.

Moreno told VOA that detaining people before an event or protest is a tactic that Cuban authorities use regularly.

When I have been going to attend a meeting in a foreign embassy or a meeting with activists, I have been held without explanation, or charges or apologies, he said in a telephone conversation from Havana.

One time they left me on a motorway outside Havana without any money.

Typically, they hold you for a day, so you miss the meeting. It is a deliberate tactic to stop journalists or activists from being able to operate.

Neither the Cuban Embassy in Madrid nor the government's International Press Center in Havana responded to VOAs emails requesting comment.

Maintaining 'terror'

Prisoners Defenders International, a Madrid-based human rights group, said the Cuban government uses the arrests of journalists or opposition activists to maintain terror over the freedom of expression.

Harassment of journalists is getting worse every week, the organization said in a statement.

Moreno recalled one occasion in 2018 when he was attending a meeting with activists in Cienfuegos, a city in central Cuba.

I was arrested and taken by the state security forces to a police station. Four agents hit me in the face and stomach while I was being interrogated, he said.

They then drove me about 250 kilometers (155.3 miles) to Havana and put me in a patrol car and took me to my house. No charges, no explanation and no apology.

In 2021, Moreno said, he and his wife were put under effective house arrest over his reporting on demonstrations against the government.

Hundreds of Cubans remain in prison after anti-government protests in July 2021, the largest since former leader Fidel Castros 1959 revolution.

Cubas government has said those in jail are guilty of assault, vandalism and sedition.

Rights groups, the European Union and the United States all condemned Cubas response to the protests as repressive.

Camila Acosta, who works for the Spanish newspaper ABC and the news website Cubanet, was held under house arrest for 10 months after reporting on the 2021 demonstrations.

In 2022, officials convicted her of disorder and instigating crime  charges she denied. She was fined 1,000 Cuban pesos, which she said at the time equated to about $10. The average monthly salary in Cuba is about $8.

Acosta was detained briefly again last June.

I had people watching outside my house. I was arrested for about eight hours. I dont know why. They broke my camera and telephone just to bother me, she told VOA.

What happened to Biscet is occurring a lot," she said, "In general, they do this to stop the media from reporting certain events, and in the case of activists, they try to stop them from taking part in their activities. It is to try to halt any citizens initiative.

In a statement issued while Biscet was still detained, Sylvia Rosabal, director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which oversees Radio Marti, called the arrest an obvious attempt to silence the pursuit of human rights in Cuba.

This violation by Cuban officials should be considered yet another warning to anyone who dares to express concern about the rights of all people, she added.

A U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree, Biscet is known for his human rights coverage.

The journalist and pro-democracy activist has been jailed previously. After being sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of working for the U.S. to subvert the Cuban government, he spent nearly a decade in prison before international pressure led to his release in 2011.

His latest arrest coincided with the 11th anniversary of the Emilia Project.

Despite the risk of imprisonment, Biscet has refused to leave Cuba.

Getting worse

Javier Larrondo Calafat, president of Prisoners Defenders International, told VOA that harassment of journalists is getting worse.

Maintaining terror over freedom of expression, the basis of the power of the Cuban regime, can only be achieved by carrying out repressive actions against opinion leaders, journalists, artists and various high-profile sectors [of the opposition], he said.

In totalitarian regimes, independent journalism is more influential in society. The danger for journalists is greater. Harassment against independent journalists grows with each passing week.

A report by the group, published January 11, found the number of political prisoners in Cuba in 2023 was 1,063, an increase of 194 from 2022.

Cuba also ranks 172nd out of 180 nations in the World Press Freedom Index, where 1 reflects the best media environment.
A group of 27 investors that own around 5% of Shell's shares has co-filed an independent resolution urging the energy company to set tighter climate targets, the biggest such drive to date.

The resolution, led by the activist shareholder organization Follow This, will be brought to a vote at Shell's annual general meeting later this year.

The effort to ratchet up pressure on Shell's climate strategy comes as CEO Wael Sawan seeks to boost the company's profits, partly by slowing down investments in renewables and growing fossil fuel production.

The group of investors, which collectively hold around $4 trillion under management, include Amundi, Scottish Widows, Rathbones Group and Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management, Follow This said in a statement.

The resolution, which is similar to previous resolutions by Follow This, urges Shell to align its medium-term carbon emissions reduction targets with the Paris Climate Agreement, including emissions from fuels burnt by consumers, known as Scope 3 emissions.

Shell currently aims to halve emissions from its operations by 2030 and reduce the intensity of its overall emissions, including Scope 3.

Last year, a similar resolution submitted by Follow This won the backing of 20% of shareholders at the end of a raucous AGM where protesters tried to storm the stage.

"We urge Shell to set a credible Scope 3 absolute emissions target. This would demonstrate leadership, show Shell is serious about transitioning its business, and play a role in generating real world change," said Diandra Soobiah, head of responsible investment at British pension scheme NEST.

Shell said in response that its climate targets are aligned with the 2015 Paris agreement to limit global warming to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100.

"Shell's Board has previously advised shareholders that the Follow This resolution was unrealistic and simplistic, that it would have no impact on mitigating climate change, have negative consequences for our customers, and was against the interests of the company and our shareholders," Shell said in a statement.

Sawan, who took the helm in January 2023, said last year that Shell is changing its "pathway" towards meeting its ambition to become a net-zero carbon emitting company by 2050.

Shell will publish its first energy transition strategy update in early 2024, which will be brought to an advisory vote at the AGM, it said.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is facing an array of criminal charges and upcoming trials, skipped five debates with his 2024 Republican presidential challengers, and continues to claim falsely that he was cheated out of reelection in his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden.

But the first-in-the-nation 2024 voting for the Republican presidential nomination in the Iowa caucuses proved he also has a resilient connection with his supporters, rolling to victory in 98 of the 99 counties in the Midwestern farm state.

Trump won more than half the vote Monday night, more than doubling the vote of both of his two closest challengers. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis edged out former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley for second place, while the fourth-place finisher, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump.

The Trump show of voter support in the heavily Republican state was on clear display, with news outlets and television networks quickly declaring Trump the Iowa winner even before all caucus-goers at more than 1,600 balloting sites had voted.

"This has been an incredible experience," Trump told his supporters in a victory speech in Des Moines. "And they said, 'Well, if you win by 12%, that's a big win. That's going to be very hard to do.' Well, I think we've more than doubled that."

On his Truth Social platform Tuesday morning, Trump called his Iowa win "historic."

Trump's campaign has predicted it could clinch the Republican nomination for the third straight presidential election cycle by the end of March, with more state-by-state primary and caucus victories likely in the coming weeks.

Next up is a Republican primary in the northeastern state of New Hampshire next Tuesday, where polls show Trump with a significant lead, but with Haley gaining ground from earlier surveys.

Trump also appears well-positioned to win the Nevada Republican presidential caucus in early February and the primary in Haley's home state in late February.

Trump claimed in a Monday social media post that Haley "never will" gain the support of his Make America Great Again followers. He said that DeSantis, whom he derides as "DeSanctimonious," only qualifies as "MAGA-Lite."

"The days of the RINOS (Republicans in Name Only) and non-AMERICA FIRST candidates are OVER!" he declared.

Despite his resounding show of voter support in Iowa, the reality of Trump's out-of-politics public life was quickly on display Tuesday morning.

He showed up in a New York courtroom where a jury is set to consider whether writer E. Jean Carroll is entitled to $10 million or more in damages for Trump allegedly defaming her in 2019 when he rejected as "totally false" her claim that he raped her in a New York department store decades ago. He also said she invented the claim to promote sales of a book she had just published.

A jury last May had already ordered Trump to pay Carroll, a former Elle magazine advice columnist, $5 million for his remark in 2022, calling her claim "a complete con job."

Trump has said he wants to testify against Carroll in the new case, but the presiding judge has ruled the facts are already established from the previous case. A jury ruled at that time that Trump had sexually abused her in a dressing room at the department store but did not rape her.

On Truth Social, Trump claimed the case brought by the 80-year-old Carroll was a "Biden-encouraged Witch Hunt," even though it is a civil case that has no connection to the federal government's Justice Department, where special counsel Jack Smith has accused Trump in a criminal case of illegally trying to upend his 2020 election loss.

In all, Trump faces 91 charges across four indictments, with him denying all wrongdoing.

Trump called the Carroll allegation "a FAKE Case from a woman I have never met, seen, or touched." He said a long-ago photo of them standing together in a New York "celebrity line" did not amount to evidence of him meeting her.

"Naturally, it starts right after Iowa, and during the very important New Hampshire Primary," he said. "It is a giant Election Interference Scam, pushed and financed by political operatives. I had no idea who this woman was. PURE FICTION!"

Later, Trump is campaigning in New Hampshire, as are Haley and DeSantis.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump won the Iowa caucuses Monday night, capturing the first of the state-by-state nominating contests the Republican Party will use to choose its candidate to face off against President Joe Biden in the November general election.

Trump secured more than half the votes, about 51%, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis placing second with 21% and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley closely behind at 19%.

"This has been an incredible experience," Trump told his supporters in a victory speech in Des Moines. "And they said, well, if you win by 12%, that's a big win. That's going to be very hard to do. Well, I think we've more than doubled that."

The figure that candidates will be watching throughout the nominating process is the number of delegates they amass, with the votes in each state determining how many delegates are allocated to each candidate in their quest to earn the 1,215 needed to win a majority.

Iowa for its importance as the first contest on the calendar is relatively minor in terms of delegates, with Trump earning 20 for his win, while DeSantis got eight and Haley seven.

The top three candidates projected confidence after Mondays caucuses as they looked toward the next contest in New Hampshire next week and the South Carolina primary in late February.

Haley cast herself as a new generation of conservative leadership as she spoke to her supporters, while positioning Mondays results and the upcoming primary calendar as narrowing the race to one between her and the front-runner Trump.

When you look at how well were doing in New Hampshire, in South Carolina and beyond, I can safely say tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race, Haley said.

DeSantis described his candidacy as representing hope for this country's future as he thanked supporters for backing him despite what he saw as an everyone against us campaign in Iowa.

We have got a lot of work to do, but I can tell you this, as the next president of the United States I am going to get the job done for this country, DeSantis said.

Early voting states have called a halt to presidential bids by candidates who do not place well, and Mondays caucuses brought the end of biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamys campaign.

After placing fourth with 7.7% of the vote, Ramaswamy announced he was suspending his campaign for president and endorsing Trump in the race.

Even before the Iowa vote, a lack of support spelled the end to several other Republican campaigns, including those of Trumps vice president, Mike Pence, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott.

While the race has narrowed, Republicans will not officially name their presidential candidate until their party convention in July, while Democrats are expected to name Biden as their candidate at an August convention.

In the end, most polling and political analysts predict another contest between two aging politicians, Trump, 77, and Biden, 81. It would be a replay of the contentious 2020 election when Biden thwarted Trumps reelection bid.

Trump is facing an unprecedented 91 criminal charges across four indictments and trials. Some of the cases could occur in the coming months, including one in Washington set for March 4 accusing him of illegally trying to upend his 2020 election loss. But the criminal charges played little role in the lead-up to the Iowa vote.

Both Haley and DeSantis have shied from consistent, vocal political attacks on Trump for fear of alienating his supporters, although they assailed his refusal to attend the five debates held so far where they could confront him directly.

They have chided him for an increasing national debt during his White House tenure and his failure to build the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border that he promised in his successful 2016 campaign to curb migrants from crossing.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
The U.N.'s Children's Fund commended Zimbabwe Monday for raising the age of sexual consent to 18 years, a move that childrens rights groups hope will deter pedophiles.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa used a statutory instrument to raise the age of consent from 16 to 18 years in the Southern African nation. Violators could spend 10 years in jail.

UNICEFs Zimbabwe representative, Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, welcomed the change.

"This legislation has come to complement the amendment to the Marriages Act that prohibits the marriage of anyone less than age of 18, he said. We as UNICEF see these two legislations as critical legal instruments that will come toward ensuring that our children, especially the adolescent girls, are safe and protected.

Ekenia Chifamba, a director of the girls rights group Shamwari Yemwanasikana, said she hopes the change will deter pedophiles.

"We were disgruntled in instances where we would see perpetrators penalties that were not favorable  some of them being given community service  while the girl would have to deal with key issues that mattered, which included their health, Chifamba said.

Some girls would go for backyard abortions, she said, while others struggled with their mental health.

Some girls have to drop out of school after becoming pregnant, as most learning institutions in Zimbabwe do not accept expecting mothers as students.
The United States said Monday that the government of Naurus severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan is disappointing, despite it being a sovereign decision.

The Pacific Island nation announced its decision to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China shortly after Taiwans presidential and legislative elections.

Taiwan is a reliable, like-minded, and democratic partner. The PRC often makes promises in exchange for diplomatic relations that ultimately remain unfulfilled, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement late Monday. He was referring to Peoples Republic of China.

Miller added: We encourage all countries to expand engagement with Taiwan and to continue to support democracy, good governance, transparency, and adherence to the rule of law.

The Republic of Nauru will no longer recognize the Republic of China (Taiwan) as a separate country but rather as an inalienable part of Chinas territory, said the Nauru government in an official statement on Monday.

In Beijing, Chinese officials praised the move.

China appreciates and welcomes the decision of the government of the Republic of Nauru, said Mao Ning who is a spokesperson of Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Nauru governments decision of reestablishing diplomatic ties with China once again shows that the one-China principle is where global opinion trends are, said Mao.

She repeated Chinas assertion that Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinas territory during a briefing Monday.

Implications to the U.S. policy towards the Pacific Islands

Nauru is one of the members of the Pacific Islands Forum, or PIF, the premier political and economic policy-making body for the region. It comprises 18 member states, with Australia and New Zealand being the largest economies in the bloc. Neither the United States nor China is a full member.

Last September, U.S. President Joe Biden hosted leaders from this Pacific Islands bloc at a two-day summit in Washington, amid rising U.S. concerns about Chinas growing military and economic influence in the region.

The shift in Naurus position means the next Pacific Islands Forum secretary general will be from a country that recognizes the government in Beijing, rather than the government in Taipei.

Some analysts believe Naurus move could make it more challenging for the PIF to resist overtures from China.

Last November, former Nauru President Baron Waqa was selected as the next PIF Secretary General, at a time when Nauru still maintained diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Waqa has reportedly resisted Chinas pressure in the past. It remains to be seen whether he will continue as the PIF Secretary General.

According to Cleo Paskal, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, or FDD, Chinese offers to Nauru have been present for years, and the specifics of this deal were likely finalized before the Taiwan elections.

She suggested that Beijing might have delayed the announcement until after the Taiwan elections to reinforce the PRCs narrative.

"U.S. policy in the Pacific Islands is not shining at the moment, Paskal told VOA.

Nauru has been asking for help with things like developing its port and protecting its waters for years - things that would help regional security as well. The longer they wait, the more room for PRC operatives to say 'they aren't coming, you should cut the deal in front of you now, with us'. The window for U.S. relevance is closing.

UN resolution 2758

Monday, the State Department said the United States will continue to support Taiwans meaningful participation in the international community and deepen economic ties, consistent with Washingtons longstanding One China policy.

The U.S. does not take a position on Taiwan's sovereignty. Under Washington's One China policy, the U.S. acknowledges Beijing's claims of sovereignty over Taiwan but does not endorse them.

Washington and Taipei have held regular consultations to explore Taiwans participation in the United Nations system and other international forums, to address a range of global challenges, including public health, aviation safety and climate change.

In Beijing, Chinese spokesperson Mao Ning said, There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinas territory, citing United Nations resolution 2758.

On October 25, 1971, the U.N. General Assembly passed U.N. Resolution 2758, which replaced the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwans formal name) with the People's Republic of China (PRC) as a permanent member of the Security Council in the United Nations.

While the resolution stated the representatives of the PRC government were the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations, it neither determined Taiwans status nor said Taiwan was part of China.

The PRC's efforts to rewrite Taiwan's status at the United Nations intensified during the 1990s and early 2000s, coinciding with the island's democratization, according to an analysis by the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
Data from Project Atlas, which has tracked international student mobility since 2001, shows that more students are resuming studies abroad after the pandemic.

According to University World News, Rebounds of international student numbers in 2022 and 2023, particularly in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, as reported in Project Atlas, indicate that the global total may again accelerate. (February 2024)
By Aditya Soni, Akash Sriram and Hyunjoo Jin

(Reuters) -Elon Musk's warning about developing AI and robotics outside Tesla unless he gets more voting control could infringe on his duties as CEO and raise questions about the automaker's valuation, governance experts and analysts said.

The outspoken billionaire said on Monday he would be "uncomfortable" building Tesla into a leader in the technologies unless he has about 25% voting control at the company.

"Enough to be influential, but not so much that I cant be overturned. Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla," he said on his X social media.

Shares of Tesla rose about half a percent to $219.91.

The move marked an abrupt turn for Musk, who has long touted Tesla as an "AI/robotics company" due to its partially automated "Full Self-Driving" software and prototype humanoid robots.

"The problem is his tweets suggest that in his capacity now as CEO and director, he is not only turning down profitable Tesla opportunities based on his personal preferences, but also redirecting them to his private companies," said Ann Lipton, a professor at Tulane Law School.

"That's a conflict of interest that suggests a violation of his fiduciary duties to Tesla."

Some analysts also said any move to shift technology development outside Tesla would only damage the value of its shares by removing potential growth opportunities.

Musk and Tesla could not be reached for comment.

CEOs and directors are prohibited from taking any business opportunity for themselves that belongs to the firm, according to a legal principle called the corporate opportunity doctrine.

"It would be illegal for him to go ahead with building technologies Tesla has touted without the company's permission," said Charles Elson, founding director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware.

Story continues

Musk, Tesla's largest investor with a 13% stake, owns several companies including SpaceX, Neuralink, X and xAI - his latest venture that hopes to compete with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.

But his voting control at Tesla has come down in the past two years as he sold tens of billions of the company's stock to finance his purchase of platform formerly known as Twitter.

Musk's Tesla stake would grow to nearly 23% if he exercises all his stock options, but he may have to sell a portion of them to pay for taxes related to the exercise.

'DEMANDS AS POSTURING'

"Musk is attempting to recover control that has been lost from his stock sales to fund Twitter," CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson said. "We view Musk's demands as posturing ahead of the Delaware court ruling regarding his prior compensation package."

The Tesla CEO is awaiting a ruling in a shareholder lawsuit that alleges he used his dominance over the company's board to obtain an outsized compensation package that did not require him to work at the EV maker full-time.

The investor, Richard Tornetta, has asked the court to rescind the pay package, which if granted could make it tough for board to agree to a new compensation plan of a similar size.

An estimate from executive pay research firm Equilar in 2022 showed that Musk's package was around six times larger than the combined pay of the 200 highest-paid executives in 2021.

Musk said on Monday there was no "feud" with the board over his new compensation package and the pending verdict was holding back the discussions.

Some experts believe he will see little opposition from the board for his demands, pointing to his importance at Tesla and close ties to several members such as his brother Kimbal.

"Tesla's board is generally tolerant of his erratic behavior in the past so it is easier relative to other tech firms to push through such a demand," said Xu Jiang, associate professor at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.

"He will probably face stiff opposition from major shareholders such as Vanguard and BlackRock. My conjecture is that the opposition, if any, of the board members would stem from their concern of the opposition from shareholders."

J.P. Morgan analyst Ryan Brinkman said Musk's latest comments raise the odds of his departure as CEO, or at least an award of shares to him that would water down investors' holdings. He added the public airing of Musk's views may have been a move to pressure the board.

Some Tesla observers feel the company has little choice but to appease Musk or risk hurting efforts around AI and robotics.

"If he is not given what he wants, he will sit back and let them die in the vine. Thats not the best interest of investors," said Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management.

(Reporting by Aditya Soni and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru, and Hyunjoo Jin in San Franciso, additional reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware, editing by Ben Klayman, Peter Henderson and Maju Samuel)
South Africa has lodged a complaint against Israel with the International Court of Justice. It is asking the judges to order provisional measures to prevent genocide in Gaza.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) should not be confused with the International Criminal Court (ICC). The former stems directly from the meetings organized by Tsar Nicholas II at The Hague in 1899 and 1907. It was created under the name of Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ) and was the first international jurisdiction. It took on its current name when the United Nations was created, and is its only statutory jurisdiction. It judges disputes between states on the basis of International Law alone, i.e. the written commitments of each state. The second, on the other hand, was invented by the United States (which does not recognize it) and the European Union following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It judges men, constituting a kind of permanent Nuremberg Tribunal. In practice, it has only judged personalities resisting Western imperialism. One of its prosecutors behaved like a NATO agent, not hesitating to lie to help the Atlantic Alliance in its conquest of Libya. There are other international courts, just as questionable as the ICC: the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). They all speak of the justice of the victors. A special mention must go to the so-called "UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon" which, contrary to its name, is not a tribunal per se, but an arrangement between UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Lebanons resigning Prime Minister, Fouad Siniora. Its aim was to convict the Lebanese and Syrian presidents, Emile Lahoud and Bashar al-Assad, but it ended in a farce, with corrupt judges, false witnesses, refusal to examine forensic evidence and so on.

The International Court of Justice, with which we are concerned, is the only court that respects international law, not one that invents its own rules to suit the needs of those who finance them.

This is Israels first case before the ICJ. However, the Court has already heard a case involving Israel: the question for opinion put to it by Arab states on the legality of the "Separation Wall" between the Hebrew State and the Palestinian Territories. At the time, Tel Aviv did not take part in the debates, and the Court ruled that the Israeli construction violated international law. This ruling was not followed up.

This time, Israel is directly implicated. "The application concerns threats adopted, tolerated, committed and being carried out by the government and army of the State of Israel against the Palestinian people, a distinct national and racial community". "The acts and omissions of Israel denounced by South Africa are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group. The acts in question include the killing of Palestinians in Gaza, causing serious bodily and mental harm, and inflicting on them conditions of life likely to bring about their physical destruction".

South Africa interprets the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of December 9, 1948, in the light of the treatment of Palestinians over the last three-quarters of a century. In its view, the way Israel is pursuing its war against Hamas must be seen in the context of what preceded it. In this way, it can be seen to be genocidal, as it is being waged "with the requisite specific intent (dolus specialis) to destroy the Palestinians of Gaza as part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group".

It is therefore a nuanced accusation, since it does not claim that Israel is organizing genocide, but that it is allowing some of its elements to carry it out.

Numerous UN commissions, including the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination ("CERD"), have "warned against hate speech and dehumanizing rhetoric towards Palestinians, raising serious concerns about the obligation of Israel and other State parties to prevent crimes against humanity and genocide".

Before initiating this procedure, South Africa made 9 official representations to Israel through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, its President and its Ambassador to the United Nations. All have been rejected.

South Africa is a country of the "Global South" that suffered particularly during the apartheid period from "revisionist Zionism". It was Israelis who came up with the idea and organized the Bantustans to deprive black people of their rights within their own country. It was Israelis who tested their atomic bomb in the South African desert. It was Israelis who financed research into biological weapons, hoping to find a disease that would affect only blacks and Arabs. So heavy is this liability that, as early as 1953, the United Nations General Assembly condemned "the alliance between South African racism and Zionism". Later, President Nelson Mandela declared that South Africans would never be completely free as long as Palestinians lived under Israeli apartheid.

Ill summarize the proceedings here.

The facts

"In two months, Israeli military attacks have "caused more destruction than the fighting in Aleppo in Syria between 2012 and 2016, the fighting in Marioupol in Ukraine, or proportionally, the Allied bombing raids on Germany during the Second World War 

By the time the complaint was filed, 21,110 Palestinians from Gaza had been killed and over 55,243 injured. The death toll included more than 7,729 children and 4,700 women. More than 355,000 equipped homes had been destroyed, i.e. 60% of all dwellings. 1.9 million Palestinians, around 85% of the total population, were internally displaced. Only 13 of the 36 hospitals are partially functional, and there are no fully operational hospitals left in northern Gaza. Contagious and epidemic diseases are commonplace among the displaced. The entire population of Gaza is at imminent risk of famine, while the proportion of households affected by acute food insecurity is the highest ever recorded according to the FAOs "Integrated Food Security Phase Classification".

Background

For years, Israel has imposed a strict blockade on Gaza, prohibiting fishing and allowing in only the quantity of food essential for nutrition.

Between September 29, 2000 and October 7, 2023, some 7,569 Palestinians, including 1,699 children, were killed, including in "four highly asymmetrical wars", as well as other smaller-scale military assaults, leaving tens of thousands wounded.

In addition, 214 Palestinians, including 46 children, died during the "Great March of Return", a large-scale peaceful demonstration along the separation wall between Gaza and Israel, in which thousands of Palestinians took part every Friday for 18 months, demanding that "the blockade imposed on Gaza be lifted and that Palestinian refugees" return to their homes and villages in Israel, in application of UN resolutions. In all, more than 36,100 Palestinians, including nearly 8,800 children, were injured by Israel, including 4,903 who were shot in the lower limbs, "many while standing unarmed hundreds of meters away" from snipers. The Commission found that the mutilations were not accidental: the rules of engagement adopted by Israel allowed snipers to shoot the legs of the "main inciters". The "United Nations Commission of Inquiry on the Demonstrations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory" found that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli snipers "intentionally shot" children and visibly disabled people, with full knowledge of the facts.

Israels discriminatory legal regime, policies and practices subject Palestinians to what amounts to an apartheid regime. Palestinians in the West Bank are confined behind a segregation wall, subjected to discriminatory zoning and land-use policies; house demolitions for punitive and administrative purposes; violent incursions by the Israeli army into Palestinian territory including Zone A; routine violent Israeli raids on their homes; arbitrary arrests and indefinitely renewable administrative detention (internment without trial); and a dual legal system whereby Palestinians are tried under Israeli military law while Israeli settlers living on the same territory are subject to a different legal regime and tried in Israel by civilian courts enjoying due process of law.

Prior to October 7, 2023, between January 1 and October 6, 2023, 199 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers in the West Bank, and 9,000 injured. Since October 7, Israel has arrested more than 3,000 Palestinians from the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in particular for publications on social networks relating to the situation in Gaza. Israel significantly increased the number of Palestinians held in administrative detention, without trial or charge, to 2070. Thousands of Palestinians from Gaza working in Israel have also been arbitrarily arrested and detained, and 3,200 were forcibly returned to Gaza on November 3, 2023, against a backdrop of large-scale bombardment. Reports indicate that Palestinian workers were ill treated upon arrest and subjected to violence. Many detained Palestinians, adults and children, from the West Bank released in exchange for Israeli hostages also report serious ill-treatment, notably alongside restrictions on access to food, water, medical care and electricity in Israeli prisons. 6 detained Palestinians from the West Bank have notably died in custody.

Armed attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers - openly supported by Israeli politicians - have also escalated dramatically. Settlers - often accompanied by Israeli soldiers - killed at least 8 Palestinians and wounded 85 others, spreading terror among Palestinians, particularly in farming communities, and damaging property. 2,186 Palestinians from the West Bank, including 1,058 children, were displaced.

Genocidal acts

Israel is reportedly dropping "dumb" (i.e. unguided) bombs on Gaza, as well as heavy bombs weighing up to 900 kg, which have a predicted lethal radius of "up to 360 m" and "cause serious injury and damage up to 800 meters from the point of impact".

For Palestinian children in particular, "death is everywhere" and "nowhere is safe". In total, more than 7,729 Palestinian children have been killed in Gaza to date. Thats more than 115 Palestinian children killed every day. It is estimated that more Palestinian children were killed in the first three weeks of the current conflict in Gaza alone (a total of 3,195) than the total number of children killed annually in the worlds conflict zones since 2019. The unprecedented rate of Palestinian child casualties has prompted Unicefs spokesperson to call Israels attacks on Gaza a "war on children".

To date, Israel has killed: more than 311 doctors, nurses and other health workers, including physicians and ambulance drivers, killed in the line of duty; 103 journalists, more than one a day, and more than 73% of the total number of journalists and media professionals killed worldwide in 2023; 40 civil defense workers - tasked with helping to extract victims from the rubble - were killed while on duty; and more than 209 teachers and educational staff; 144 United Nations employees were also killed, "the highest number of aid workers killed in the history of the UN in such a short time".

More than 55,243 Palestinians have been injured in Israeli military attacks on Gaza since October 7, 2023, most of them women and children. Burns and amputations are common injuries, with around 1,000 children having lost one or both legs. There are reports of Israeli forces using white phosphorus in densely populated areas of Gaza: as described by the World Health Organization, even small amounts of white phosphorus can cause deep and severe burns, penetrating even through bone and capable of reigniting after initial treatment. With no functioning hospitals left in northern Gaza, injured people are reduced to "waiting to die", unable to seek surgery or medical treatment beyond first aid, slowly agonizing from their wounds or the resulting infections.

Even before the latest attack, Palestinians in Gaza were suffering from severe trauma as a result of previous attacks: 80% of Palestinian children had experienced high levels of bombardment. They suffered from emotional distress, nocturnal enuresis (79%) and reactive mutism (59%), as well as self-harm (59%) and suicidal thoughts (55%). Eleven weeks of relentless bombardment and displacement will have inevitably led to a further increase in these figures, particularly for the tens of thousands of Palestinian children who have lost at least one parent, and for those who are the only surviving members of their families.

In parallel with its military campaign, Israel has engaged in the dehumanization and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of the Palestinian inhabitants of Gaza. Large numbers of Palestinian civilians, including children, were arrested, blindfolded, forced to strip naked and stand outside in the cold, before being forcibly loaded into trucks and taken to unknown locations. Many Palestinian detainees who have been released report being subjected to torture and ill treatment, including deprivation of food, water, shelter and access to toilets. Images of mutilated and burned corpses - as well as videos of attacks by Israeli soldiers - presented as "exclusive content from the Gaza Strip", circulated in Israel on the Telegram channel "72 Virgins", uncensored.

On December 1, 2023 - the end of the temporary eight-day truce between Israel and Hamas - Israel began dropping leaflets urging Palestinians to leave the southern areas to which they had previously been asked to flee. As the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons put it, "Israel has reneged on promises of security made to those who obeyed its order to evacuate northern Gaza two months ago. Today, they have been forcibly displaced once again, alongside the population of southern Gaza". Israel also published a detailed map online, dividing the Gaza Strip into hundreds of small areas. It was ostensibly intended to inform of Israeli orders to evacuate. However, as Ocha notes, "the publication does not specify where people should evacuate to".

According to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, "Many of our vehicles and trucks were destroyed or abandoned following our forced and hasty evacuation from the north, but the Israeli authorities have not authorized the use of additional trucks in Gaza. This is seriously hampering the aid operation. Getting goods to the north is extremely dangerous because of the active conflict, unexploded ordnance and badly damaged roads". Everywhere, frequent communication breakdowns make it virtually impossible to coordinate aid distribution, inform people how to access it and resume commercial activities. "Shelves are empty; wallets are empty; stomachs are empty". Only one bakery is operating in the whole of Gaza.

UNRWAs Commissioner General describes " desperate, hungry and terrified people", who are now "stopping aid trucks, taking the food and eating it immediately".

According to the World Food Program, only 1.5 to 1.8 liters of clean water are available per person per day, for all uses (drinking, washing, food preparation, hygiene). This figure is well below the "emergency threshold" of 15 liters per day for "war or famine conditions", or the "survival threshold" of 3 liters per day.

According to the World Health Organization, there is on average "only one shower for every 4,500 people". UNRWA shelters now average just one toilet for every 486 people, while other places where people seek shelter often have no toilets at all.

There have now been over 238 attacks on "health centers" in Gaza. Only 13 of the 36 hospitals and 18 of the 72 health centers are still functioning - some of them barely at all. - The Israeli army targeted hospital generators, solar panels and other equipment, such as oxygen stations and water tanks. Ambulances, medical convoys and first responders were also targeted. 311 health workers were killed (an average of 4 per day),3 44 of whom at least 22 were killed in the line of duty.

Israel left Gaza Citys main public library in ruins. It also damaged or destroyed countless bookshops, publishing houses, libraries and hundreds of educational establishments. Israel targeted each of Gazas four universities, including the Islamic University.

Israel damaged or destroyed some 318 Muslim and Christian religious sites, demolishing places where Palestinians had worshipped for generations. These include the Great Omari Mosque, originally a fifth-century Byzantine church, a landmark of Gazas history, architecture and cultural heritage, and a place of worship for Christians and Muslims for over 1,000 years. The Israeli bombardment also damaged the Church of Saint Porphyrius, founded in 425 AD and considered the third oldest Christian church in the world.

Confessions by leading Israeli figures

It is rare for perpetrators of genocide to express their intentions in advance. Yet South Africa has put together 6 pages of quotations. At the preliminary hearing, Israel pleaded that these were merely political speeches, rhetoric, but that none of the personalities cited had attempted to put them into action. Lets take a look at the facts quoted above.

Addressing the Knesset, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the war as "a struggle between the children of light and the children of darkness, between humanity and the law of the jungle". Later he told his soldiers: "You must remember what Amalek did to you, says our Holy Bible. And we remember. The relevant biblical passage reads: "Now go and attack Amalek and proscribe everything that belongs to him. Spare no one, but kill men and women, infants and sucklings, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys".

President Isaac Herzog told a press conference: "Its a whole nation thats responsible. This rhetoric about civilians not knowing and not being involved is not true. Its absolutely not true. ... and we will fight until we break their backbone".

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in an Israeli army "situation update" on October 9, 2023, reported that Israel was "imposing a complete siege on Gaza (...) No electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly".

Knesset Deputy Speaker and member of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee Nissim Vaturi tweeted on October 7, 2023: "Now we all have a common goal: to wipe the Gaza Strip off the face of the earth".

South Africas conclusions

South Africa calls for precautionary measures to put an immediate stop to the massacre. In particular, it calls on

(1) The State of Israel will immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza.

(2) The State of Israel will ensure that military units or irregular armies which may be directed, supported or influenced by it, as well as all organizations and persons likely to be subject to its control, direction or influence, take no action in pursuit of the military operations referred to in (1) above.

(3) The Republic of South Africa and the State of Israel will each take, in accordance with their obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, with respect to the Palestinian people, all reasonable measures within their power to prevent genocide.

(4) The State of Israel shall, in accordance with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, in relation to the Palestinian people as a group protected by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, refrain from acts falling within the scope of Article II of the Convention.

(8) The State of Israel shall submit to the Court a report on all measures taken to give effect to this Order within one week of the date of this Order, and thereafter at such regular intervals as the Court may order, until a decision is reached. The Court shall make the final decision on the matter.

To date, no other state has indicated its willingness to join the proceedings. However, Turkey has provided a wealth of video archives confirming South Africas claims.
Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Monica Schipper/WireImage

Like a high-speed rail service in a nation that actually invests in infrastructure, the 2023 Emmys in 2024 were accelerated, predictable, and smoothly unremarkable. The three big shows that entered the night as expected winners  Succession for drama, The Bear for comedy, and Beef for limited series  steamrolled their categories, which meant we saw a lot of the same faces onstage and often the same faces smiling back from the audience. The show was making up for lost time during the dual WGA and SAG strikes and awkwardly fitting itself into the rest of the film-dominated winter awards season, with many of the winners making return appearances from the Golden Globes last week (and even last nights Critics Choice Awards, if anyone happened to watch those). Still, the Emmys did their best to emphasize the TV-ness of it all, reuniting casts from various classic programs in honor of its own 75th anniversary  though that incidentally became a reminder of how few classic series actually got their due at this awards show. The presiding spirit of the night seemed to be the insistence that everyone not pay too much attention to whatever might feel a little out of joint, whether in terms of divine TV justice or wider current events. Instead, everyone took the note to keep it short and keep it moving, or else Anthony Andersons mother would call you out.

LOW: Anthony Anderson praising TV and ignoring one specific thing about 2023. Its funny for host Anthony Anderson to reference Norman Lears shows, so often about workers struggles for fair compensation and recognition for their contributions, and specifically sing the temporary layoffs line from the Good Times theme  but fail to segue into some kind of commentary on the writers and actors strikes, which were, in fact, temporary layoffs. That wouldve been subversive and unexpected. Alas. (The writing team from Last Week Tonight With John Oliver finally mentioned the strike 70 minutes into the show, good for them!)

HIGH: Christina Applegate presenting Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy. Applegate, who was diagnosed with MS in 2021, has said she will likely never perform in front of the camera again, so it was especially meaningful to see her present an Emmy and be so moved by the standing ovation she received. Applegate being Applegate, she cut through the poignance with sarcasm, joking, Youre totally shaming my disability by standing up. Applegate didnt win in her category  Quinta Brunson did  but she conducted herself like a winner.

HIGH: Using award presentations to deliver historical TV tributes. This tactic is particularly fitting for the big 75th-anniversary Emmys, but its really just an excellent excuse to celebrate TVs past along with the shows winning this year. A Martin reunion! A Cheers reunion! Arsenio Hall recalling the heights of his talk-show era. Jon Cryer presenting alongside his Two and a Half Men mom Holland Taylor. Greys Anatomy, which, yes, has been on TV long enough that it counts as both current and historical. Carol Burnett, Marla Gibbs, Joan Collins, Rob Reiner, and Sally Struthers: As it turns out, bringing all these TV legends back to TV can be very good TV!

LOW: Anthony Anderson constantly being in those tributes. The opening was framed as TV Anthony Anderson loves. The threat of being played off is Anthony Andersons mom will yell at you. Did the beautiful tributes also have to include Anderson sitting in The Sopranos therapy office, or Anderson interrupting the Martin cast?

WHOA: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver winning Outstanding Scripted Variety Series. Olivers HBO series dominated the Talk Show category for the past seven years, but a rule change this year meant it wound up in the category formerly known as Outstanding Sketch Comedy Series, which has long been owned by Saturday Night Live. I thought for sure SNL would win  Last Week Tonight feels more aligned with the talk category  but that bespectacled British man cannot be stopped!

HIGH: Jennifer Coolidge thanking evil gays. She was told to keep it short and sweet, and she knows her audience!

HIGH: The fabulous trifecta of wins for Black actresses Ayo Edebiri, Quinta Brunson, and Niecy Nash-Betts. What a delightful way for the first hour of this ceremony to get going, with a trio of emotional, funny, and thoughtful speeches from Edebiri, Brunson, and Nash-Betts for performances on The Bear, Abbott Elementary, and  yeah, fine, Dahmer  Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Edebiri followed up thanking assistants at the Golden Globes with a wonderful nod to her parents. (Its probably not a dream to immigrate to this country and have your child be like, I wanna do improv! But youre real ones.) Brunson  the first Black woman to pick up the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy award in more than 40 years, since Isabel Sanford for The Jeffersons in 1981  submitted a list of people she wanted shouted out in a chyron so her actual speech could be teary and genuine. And Nash-Betts, in a Greta Constantine mermaid gown that was a feat of architecture, thanked herself for believing in her dream, earning whooping cheers from the audience. It was all very nice, and also a pointed reminder of how much diversity has been lacking at the Emmys for so long.

WHOA: The Bear comedy sweep. Ayo Edebiri for Supporting Actress, Ebon Moss-Bachrach for Supporting Actor, Jeremy Allen White for Lead Actor, Christopher Storer for directing and writing  The Bear is a fantastic series, but its very odd to remember that all of this is for its first season, not season two! Its hard to imagine how much more intense this will be when the Academy can nominate season twos many guest stars. Congrats to Cousin. Ted Lasso found dead in a ditch.

WHOA: The industry really loves Beef. Hey, two shows about beef dominating the Emmys! Lee Sung Jins Netflix miniseries about two strangers who become embroiled in a road-rage incident that eventually takes over their lives won five of the six Emmys it was nominated for: Best Limited Series, Writing and Directing, and Lead Actor and Actress for Steven Yeun and Ali Wong. (It lost Outstanding Supporting Actor to Hauser in Black Bird.) Beef was refreshingly unpleasant to watch because of the ferocity with which Yeun and Wongs characters despised one another, and its last couple episodes were fascinating in how they switched perspectives and played with what constitutes reality. But it also felt a bit like Beef benefited from the way its creative team and cast mostly ignored the scandal involving castmate David Choe that broke after the series aired  because they didnt talk about it, people seemingly forgot about it. Much in the way the sexual abuse and misconduct allegations around Anthony Anderson, the Emmys own host, have seemingly been forgotten. Coincidence? Hm.

LOW: The X-Files are out there (outside of the building, not present at the Emmys, rudely teased and then not actually in attendance). As part of the 75th-anniversary celebration, the Emmys played snippets of famed TV theme songs when members of their casts appeared onstage  like the Yeahhhh! from Ted Lasso. But when Mark Snows spooky intro for the most prescient show of the 90s played, there was no Fox Mulder, no Dana Scully, no David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson re-creating the chemistry that made us all scream at Chris Carter for not letting them kiss as much as we wanted (which was all the time). A missed opportunity for AO3 inspiration.

WHOA: Americas Most Wanted is back, 12 years after its cancellation? [Drags on cigarette Rust Cohlestyle] Time is a flat circle, man!

LOW: Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia really has been ignored by the Emmys this whole time. When will Glenn Howerton get his due?

HIGH: Roy Wood Jr. mouthing hire a host during the Daily Show win. Hire. A. Host, the former Daily Show correspondent mouthed quietly. Please. We dont care which host. Just hire. A. Host.

roy wood jr mouthing "hire a host" pic.twitter.com/Idece0Bi7P  Kathryn VanArendonk (@kvanaren) January 16, 2024

LOW: A rhyming acceptance speech. If you are a poet or rapper  maybe. If you are an actual child and you wrote rhyming couplets, okay maybe. Thin ice. But if youre, say, Paul Walter Hauser, and you were clearly eating food before winning your award for Black Bird, your job is to get onstage, laugh about the fact that you were eating, tell us what you were eating, and then thank people without rhyming. Or rapping. Or whatever that was. All anyone will be able to think about is that you thanked God for letting you devour life at the marrow and why you needed to rhyme something with marrow.

WHOA: Elton John misses his own EGOT. To be fair, EGOTing is a fake thing popularized by 30 Rock. But its funny that Elton John capped off his career with a farewell tour, turned that tour into a TV special, then won an Outstanding Variety Special Emmy  but wasnt there to accept it. (For those curious, hes received five Grammys, first for Thats What Friends Are For in 1987, then an Oscar for Can You Feel the Love Tonight in 1994, and a Tony for the Aida score in 2000  turns out movies, music, theater, and TV were all his strongest suit.)

LOW: Anthony Anderson wearing the black latex bodysuit from American Horror Story. I thought my butt was bigger than this until I put on this suit, is a perfectly fine thing to say to your friends and is probably not necessary to say at the Emmys.

HIGH: Unexpected appreciation for Anthony Andersons mother. For a moment, this bit looked wobbly: Her interaction with Jennifer Coolidge was just on the far side of this feels very bad, actually. But either people wanted to be brief, or they were legitimately alarmed by having to deal with her shouting them off the stage, so most speeches stayed short and snappy. And she yelled at Anderson for talking too much about his sweaty butt crack, which was apparently an improv. Thank you, Anthony Andersons mother. We salute you.

HIGH: Joan Collins. I said: JOAN COLLINS. The actress formerly known as Alexis Carrington co-presented with Taraji P. Henson and looked like old-school glamour personified, right down to her silky baby-blue gloves. That woman is 90 years old, she looks amazing, and she can probably still whoop your ass in a catfight.

LOW: Ted Lasso thanked for its brave work representing LGBTQ+ characters. Ah yes, that historic and courageous story about whatshisname, which played such a major role in the larger story of that shows final season. But congrats to GLAAD for the Governors Award!

HIGH: Kieran Culkin telling his wife he wants more children. Apparently they made a deal that she would agree to have more kids if he won the Emmy and so he announced I want more on national television during his acceptance speech. Such a Roman Roy move, if Roman Roy actually liked children.

LOW: Better Call Saul ended its run with zero major Emmys. One of the finest dramas of the past decade, and possibly all time, earned 53 nominations over the course of its run and won  nothing. (Technically it has two Creative Arts Emmys for Outstanding Short Form Drama or Comedy for a pair of web-only training videos.) Add this to the list of All-Time Most Egregious Emmy Mistakes right next to not giving a single Emmy to The Wire.

LOW: The possibility that Anthony Andersons TV tribute bits were taking time away from acceptance speeches. The cast of Ally McBeal dancing was fun! The I Love Lucy chocolate conveyor belt is a solid, classic pull. Surely the point of this ceremony is for people to accept their awards, though? Did we need a full Game of Thrones set just to introduce Best Drama?

HIGH: Ebon Moss-Bachrach kisses co-star and producer Matty Matheson as The Bear wins Best Comedy. FX IS TIGHT! SOLBERG! LETS GO!

WHOA: Playing Martin Luther King Jr.s I Have a Dream speech over the closing credits. Congrats to Dr. King for being voted as one of TVs 75 most memorable moments, along with the finale of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Walt stumbling out of the trailer in Breaking Bad, and [checks notes] 9/11.

A previous version of this story incorrectly named Jon Cryers co-presenter.
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Asia Pacific Ready To Drink Tea Market Asia Pacific Ready To Drink Tea Market Consumption Volume Of Tea In Million

Asia Pacific Ready To Drink Tea Market Asia Pacific Ready To Drink Tea Market Consumption Volume Of Tea In Million

Dublin, Jan. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Asia-Pacific Ready To Drink Tea Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends & Forecasts (2023 - 2028)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The latest industry analysis released highlights the exponential growth within the Asia-Pacific Ready to Drink (RTD) Tea sector, as it is expected to surge from USD 5.05 billion in 2023 to an impressive USD 6.67 billion by 2028. This sharp increase corresponds to a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.73% during the forecast period of 2023-2028.

The report offers critical insights into the key factors escalating market size, including the burgeoning demand for ready-to-drink tea beverages across all age demographics, with particular emphasis on the expanding economies of India, China, and Singapore. The integration of RTD technology within the tea market is revolutionizing consumer patterns, as manufacturers pivot to meet evolving preferences.

Market Dynamics Influencing Growth Demographic Wealth and Societal Trends Impact RTD Tea Consumption



The Asia-Pacific market is witnessing a paradigm shift as consumers of various age groups, especially millennials, are increasing social interactions that demand convenient and on-the-go beverage solutions such as RTD tea. Further propelling this demand is the escalating income in developing nations, which directly affects consumer purchasing power and preference. Market penetration efforts are additionally being bolstered by an expanded presence in mainstream distribution channels, including supermarkets and hypermarkets. These outlets are positioned as the preferred choice for consumers owing to the wide assortment of beverage options, enhancing the prospects for RTD tea products in the region.

Natural Ingredients-based Teas Gaining Prevalence



As the call for health-conscious products intensifies, producers are responding with sugar-free, vegan, gluten-free, and organic RTD teas. These offerings, available in diverse packaging such as bottles, cans, and tetra packs, cater to a spectrum of consumer demands. The shift toward healthy living is further substantiated by data from Japan and India, reflecting an upward trajectory in the consumption of beverages that offer wellness benefits, such as aiding in weight management and cardiovascular health.

Story continues

The Dominant Japan Market

Japan's predilection for RTD tea secures its leading market position. This is underpinned by the consumer preference for convenience and innovative tastes, coupled with rising expendable incomes that foster a preference for convenience foods, including RTD teas. Japanese households' expenditure data and the proliferation of RTD tea variations underscores the robustness of Japan's market share.

Competitive Landscape and Key Players

The Asia-Pacific RTD tea market is characterized by its fragmented nature, with numerous global players engaging in strategies like product expansion and innovation. The cutthroat competition is shaped by differentiators such as product offerings based on ingredients, consistent quality, and scalability. The proliferation of RTD teas underscores a larger shift toward convenience and health-centric consumer goods in the Asia-Pacific region, a market that is ripe for continued innovation and growth. For more detailed information and insights, industry stakeholders and interested parties are encouraged to review the comprehensive report, which offers an in-depth analysis of current market trends, growth trajectories, and competitive dynamics shaping the Asia-Pacific Ready to Drink Tea landscape.



A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes

Unilever plc

Nestle SA

Keurig Dr Pepper Inc.

Lotte Corporation

POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage Ltd.

PepsiCo Inc.

Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd.

Inspire Brands, Inc.

The Coca-Cola Company

Suntory Holdings Ltd.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/tdm2of

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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Tourists travel to the Tuscan island of Giglio for its tranquility and natural beauty.

Legend has it that when the Tyrrhenian Venus emerged from the depths of the sea, seven gemstones fell from her tiara and turned into the seven islands of the Tuscan archipelago: Gorgona, Capraia, Elba, Pianosa, Montecristo, Giglio and Giannutri.

Where is Giglio Island

Nestled near the southern tip of this cluster of isles, between Corsica and Tuscany, is the jewel-like Giglio, which means lily in Italian, although the island's name is believed to derive from the Greek word for goat, i.e. the island of goats.

History

The earliest traces of human life on the island date back to the Stone Age. Due to its strategic position and magnificent scenery, it has been much in demand ever since, from the Etruscans to the Romans and the Medici.

It suffered greatly from raids by the Saracens; the worst of these assaults took place in 1534 when most of the islanders were taken as slaves by the infamous Algerian pirate Barbarossa. The last attack by pirates took place a mere 208 years ago.

These days the island readily embraces the slightly less traumatic invasion of tourists who arrive by ferry from Porto S. Stefano, an hour away. Giglio is only 190 km from Rome, and its proximity makes it a highly popular destination for weekends of sailing and diving.

Flora and Fauna

Photo: Hawkee / Shutterstock.com

Almost completely composed of granite, the islands rugged terrain renders it 90 per cent uninhabited. Its 28-km, virtually impenetrable coastline is famed for the spectacular array of hidden coves and steep cliffs flocked with an abundance of nesting sea birds.

Regular boating excursions are provided and the more fortunate tourists sometimes see dolphins gracing the waters. Giglio rises to roughly 500 m at its highest point and on a clear day offers some of what must be the Mediterraneans most breathtaking views.

Respect for the environment is currently such that there are strict restrictions concerning noise pollution and camping; rock collecting and damaging the rich variety of flower species are prohibited.

Giglio's Patron Saint

Photo: Paolo Grassi / Shutterstock.com

The legend of the patron saint of the Tuscan archipelago is an interesting one. A Sicilian-born bishop, Mamiliano, arrived here as a hermit in the fifth century and, after slaying the resident dragon on Montecristo, soon attracted an enormous following. In fact, such was his popularity that when he died a dispute arose between fishermen from Elba, Giglio and even Genoa over his remains.

Eventually a compromise was agreed, and they divided the saint into three. To this day the gigliesi are protected by the arm of S. Mamiliano and celebrate his feast day every 15 September.

Giglio's Population

Photo: Ana del Castillo / Shutterstock.com

The islands three villages are each markedly different and together are home to about 1,600 people. Its commercial centre and only gateway to the outside world, Giglio Porto, was built by the Romans. Visitors are greeted with a colourful welcome; the villages sheltered harbour is thronged with boats, while immediately opposite lies a hill terraced with houses. Amongst them is Bahamas Hotel, a family-run business and part of the islands bustling, yet contained, tourist industry.

Established in the 1960s, it is the only hotel open all year round, and almost 4,000 guests (mostly Italian) pass through its doors annually. Owner Paolo Fanciulli has lived at the hotel all his life and describes the island as serena (peaceful), the islanders as gente pacifica (peace-loving) and the sea as sacro (sacred). He also offers a curious insight into local life: teenagers, accompanied by their mothers, move to the mainland for nine months of the year. There they attend secondary school and only return at weekends and during school holidays.

Near the summit is Castello, reached by means of a precipitous drive through vineyards. Largely unchanged since mediaeval times, it is characterised by fortification and a veritable labyrinth of winding corridors. Here one senses a relaxed lifestyle and an absence of secrets; laundry is very much a public affair and even the dogs walk slowly. Strolling along the narrow streets, with the residents sitting outside, is like walking through a collective village living room.

Giglio's Beaches

On the west coast is Giglios main tourist destination, Campese. Flanked by a sandy beach and idyllic bay, from here it is a joy to watch the sun go down over nearby Montecristo, the inspiration for the novel by Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo. Since 1970 it has been a nature reserve and visiting is only possible with a permit.

Similarly, the island of Pianosa is a protected natural habitat, although it is not as wild as it used to be; up until ten years ago it was a maximum security prison where especially dangerous Mafia gangsters were held. ph: trotalo / Shutterstock.com

The local brew, a strong wine called Ansonico, is much favoured by islanders and outsiders alike. One such admirer is Roman businessman Gino Bottigliero, who has been a regular visitor to Giglio for almost 30 years.

Citing the sparklingly clean sea as his main reason for returning (as well as the Ansonico wine and the many fish dishes available), Bottigliero maintains that the island is still unspoilt, although there is slightly more traffic on both roads and sea, and he advises against bringing a car. All three villages on Giglio are well served by bus.In addition to its natural beauty, the island's good, understated restaurants  without loud music along the sea-front  provide the perfect environment for a relaxing break away from it all.

By Andy Devane

This article was published in the July 2005 edition of Wanted in Rome, before the fatal shipwreck on 13 January 2012 in which 32 people were killed.

Giglio ferries

Ferries leave from Porto S. Stefano (Grosseto).

For timetables see website.
It's common for many investors, especially those who are inexperienced, to buy shares in companies with a good story even if these companies are loss-making. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.

Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like B+S Banksysteme (ETR:DTD2). Even if this company is fairly valued by the market, investors would agree that generating consistent profits will continue to provide B+S Banksysteme with the means to add long-term value to shareholders.

See our latest analysis for B+S Banksysteme

B+S Banksysteme's Improving Profits

Strong earnings per share (EPS) results are an indicator of a company achieving solid profits, which investors look upon favourably and so the share price tends to reflect great EPS performance. Which is why EPS growth is looked upon so favourably. It is awe-striking that B+S Banksysteme's EPS went from 0.0043 to 0.071 in just one year. Even though that growth rate may not be repeated, that looks like a breakout improvement.

Top-line growth is a great indicator that growth is sustainable, and combined with a high earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margin, it's a great way for a company to maintain a competitive advantage in the market. It seems B+S Banksysteme is pretty stable, since revenue and EBIT margins are pretty flat year on year. That's not bad, but it doesn't point to ongoing future growth, either.

The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. For finer detail, click on the image.

XTRA:DTD2 Earnings and Revenue History January 16th 2024

B+S Banksysteme isn't a huge company, given its market capitalisation of 9.7m. That makes it extra important to check on its balance sheet strength.

Are B+S Banksysteme Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Seeing insiders owning a large portion of the shares on issue is often a good sign. Their incentives will be aligned with the investors and there's less of a probability in a sudden sell-off that would impact the share price. So as you can imagine, the fact that B+S Banksysteme insiders own a significant number of shares certainly is appealing. In fact, they own 51% of the company, so they will share in the same delights and challenges experienced by the ordinary shareholders. Intuition will tell you this is a good sign because it suggests they will be incentivised to build value for shareholders over the long term. Of course, B+S Banksysteme is a very small company, with a market cap of only 9.7m. So despite a large proportional holding, insiders only have 5.0m worth of stock. That might not be a huge sum but it should be enough to keep insiders motivated!

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Should You Add B+S Banksysteme To Your Watchlist?

B+S Banksysteme's earnings per share have been soaring, with growth rates sky high. That EPS growth certainly is attention grabbing, and the large insider ownership only serves to further stoke our interest. The hope is, of course, that the strong growth marks a fundamental improvement in the business economics. So at the surface level, B+S Banksysteme is worth putting on your watchlist; after all, shareholders do well when the market underestimates fast growing companies. Before you take the next step you should know about the 2 warning signs for B+S Banksysteme that we have uncovered.

Although B+S Banksysteme certainly looks good, it may appeal to more investors if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see companies with insider buying, then check out this handpicked selection of German companies that not only boast of strong growth but have also seen recent insider buying..

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
In a new documentary, Stormy Daniels alleges that Donald Trump cornered her in a hotel room and says the fallout tore her life apart.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Former childhood ballerina Jill McAtamney was twice told she would never dance again: once aged 17, having ruptured a ligament playing netball, and then several decades later when she had both knees replaced. On both occasions, she proved the adage: Never stop a ballerina from proving a pointe to be correct. At the top of my to-do list post-surgery was I will dance again in some form, McAtamney said. Now every week, just like she did when she was a 10-year-old student of Queenslands Miss Gene Moggs School of Dance, the now 74-year-old laces her ballet shoes and heads to her Silver Swans dance class. Shes one of a growing number of over-55s returning to ballet after abandoning it for decades, or trying it for the first time. Jill McAtamney as a 10-year-old ballerina, and returning to the barre at 74. The Silver Swans is a Royal Academy of Dance-certified class for seniors all over Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Classes are taught by trained classical ballet teachers with an emphasis on teaching not only how to pirouette and plie, but improving mobility, balance, posture, co-ordination, energy levels, and memory for those whose French vocabulary needs a flex as much as their muscles.

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When a Silver Swans pilot program launched in 2017, Rachel Sheils, the owner of Melbournes Theatre de la Dance in Brighton, jumped at the chance to offer a weekly class. Since then, there has been so much interest she now offers four weekly classes taught by RAD-qualified Rosemary Beagley. Silver Swans ballet teacher Rosemary Beagley teaching Kay Murphy at Theatre De La Danse in Brighton. Credit: Paul Jeffers The ladies love it  it is a beautiful group of people  some of whom have significant age-related health issues including one who has dementia, Sheils said. For Blackrock ballerina Kay Murphy, 78, the Silver Swans have been a true lifesaver. Loading I lost my partner 10 years ago and was hospitalised as a circuit breaker because I was in a very dark place as I dont have much family. In hospital, one of the nurses handed me the local rag and I read about the Silver Swans and as a former ballet dancer joined the class at the age of 68. It has helped enormously, not just with suppleness and my osteoporosis ... I now have a ballet family, she said. In 2018-19, Dr Rachel Ward, a RAD-certified ballet teacher and the University of NSWs director of teaching in its School of Health Sciences, set up a 12-week study to examine the health benefits of ballet for over-50s.

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There were improvements in balance, strength, agility, bone strength and mood, she said. Since her study, Ward has taught Silver Swans classes in a studio in Danks Street, in the Sydney suburb of Waterloo to ballerinas aged from their mid-50s to 82. Silver Swans ballet students L-R: Kay Stevens, Yvonne Troedson and Francis Robie at Theatre De La Danse in Brighton. Credit: Paul Jeffers This is not tutus, pointe shoes and pink ballet tights ... were not aiming to produce the next principal dancer of the Australian Ballet, but I want people to understand the science-based evidence of the health benefits of ballet, she said. Ward, along with some 65-year-old dance students, featured in the 2023 ABC television program Keep on Dancing. Next week, some of her Silver Swans dancers will perform at the RAD biennial conference in Sydney from January 19 to 21. This is not tutus, pointe shoes and pink ballet tights ... were not aiming to produce the next principal dancer of the Australian Ballet. Dr Rachel Ward, Silver Swans teacher Jill McAtamney, one of Wards Sydney Silver Swans, will be one of them.

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It is so great to get back to the barre exercises and dance to beautiful music. I love how the French phrases  like arabesque, jete and pas de deux  filter back, and learning the routines is good for the memory, she said. Sydney Silver Swans, including dancer Justine Butler in pink, and Elizabeth Doley in red. Credit: Louise Kennerley Elizabeth Doley, a civil celebrant, had never had a dance class in her life until she started in one of Wards classes. Id always wanted to dance, but only had my first ballet class at the age of 75, she said. We love our Tuesday classes and Rachel ... for me personally, I know it has improved some health conditions, particularly my balance, I always had to hold on to the barre when I started, she said. Out with the tutus and tights - the Silver Swans adopt a more relaxed approach to later-life ballet. Credit: Paul Jeffers A cygnet at almost 60, and the youngest of Wards class, Justine Butler says she prefers ballet to the gym because of the social connections shes made since restarting a year ago, decades after she first took it up as a child in Canberra.

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Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size The half-Hopi girl was jumping freight trains with a fiddle in a banged-up case and a wolf dog at her side. Charley Crockett was strictly a hitchhiking man when he first saw her playing old-time music on a street corner in New Orleans. I met her right there in the French Quarter, he recalls, tipping back his cowboy hat, gazing through the windscreen of a 97 F-350 Powerstroke diesel truck parked outside of Austin. She introduced me to that lifestyle and connected me with men she knew that had been hopping trains for a long time. So I tried my hand at that. It was a romantic notion, he concedes, coming from a woman singing fiddle tunes, travelling around with a wolf dog. But I didnt like it, and I wasnt good at it. I found it to be real slow. You get dropped off in these rail yards, and youre waiting around in very isolated areas. Charley Crockett, trailer park troubadour. Credit: Amy Harris/Invision/AP His first ride was a Chicago-bound stack train out of Allentown, Pennsylvania. He stood on a platform between carriages, fists locked around the handrail as the wind tore past at 80km/h. After 18 juddering hours, hed never been so sore in his life. You really dont have any rights out there, the former hobo says, his classic Texan accent adding as much incredulity as credence to his tale. A lot of folks ride trains, including kinfolk of mine. My nephew still rides trains. A lot of folks who are afflicted are riding trains: in a lot of trouble, maybe, or running away from stuff. He tells a good story, this singing cowboy, but the name of his record label, Son of Davy, dares you to doubt that hes the real deal. If you look on my grandfathers obituary  he passed away on his birthday in 2019; he was 94  the first line is, Direct descendant of Davy Crockett, he declares with pride. But he knows this is showbusiness. People will believe what they want.

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I think you think that I got lucky/ I see it written on your face, he sings to his critics in a song called Music City USA. When he does that one on his latest album, Live From the Ryman, pedal steel chasing rings around honky-tonk piano in the ancestral home of Nashvilles Grand Ole Opry, vengeance never sounded so sweet. You say youd like to fill my shoes, is the kicker to that verse. How would you like to pay my dues? Its a fair question. By train or thumb, Crockett took a long road to becoming the hottest independent country artist in America. Nashville, as the song says, didnt want to know him. Theres a thing we call the Nashville mafia. Its kind of a way of doing business there that, to me, is very insulated and pretty narrow-minded. Theyre afraid to take chances on something thats too far left or right. I do a lot of business out of there now, he says. At last Septembers Americana Awards, he was nominated for artist, album and song of the year. Those guys that passed on me  five, six, seven years later, every single one of them came looking for me eventually.  Crockett has made 14 albums by his own devices these past nine years, evincing an eloquent familiarity with every kind of American folk form from blues and country to soul. His new single, Thats What Makes the World Go Around, is a duet with the granddaddy of Texan outlaws, Willie Nelson, with whom hes toured extensively. His second Australian tour is a giant leap in size and scope, beginning at Tamworth in late January. At Melbournes packed Northcote Theatre last March, wall-to-wall western shirts spoke volumes about the broad reach of a kind of music which tends to be, in these parts, rather more niche.

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To me, country music at its worst is really exclusive, Crockett says. At its best, a lot of people can relate to it. I have something I hear a lot from people  they say, I dont listen to country music, but I like what youre doing. Then the other thing I hear is, I gave up on country music, Im real glad I found you. Loading Those are coming from very different people; different generations. Its a lot of young people who say, Man, I didnt think I liked country. And then theres an older generation thats like, Man, you remind me of the stuff that I was listening to riding around with my dad in the truck when I was a kid. Ironically, his dad was nowhere when Crockett was a kid. Growing up in Los Fresnos, Texas, I spent a lot of time alone, he says, a lot of time wandering the streets. I was kind of a latchkey kid, while my momma worked two or three jobs to make ends meet. I wanted very badly as I was growing up to get out of Texas. I wanted to escape what I saw as dead end that I felt was inevitable that I was approaching as a young man. Then I got in a lot of trouble. It came under the wing of a brother, 10 years older. At 11, Charley was helping him sell subscriptions to The Dallas Morning News. At 19, the operation turned shady. It was this Wild West Texas version of penny stock pump-and-dump sale stuff, like something youd see from the film, Boiler Room, or The Wolf of Wall Street, he explains.

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Eventually, the Crockett brothers got wrapped up in a pretty big conspiracy case involving a group of guys from Washington, DC  My brother ended up going to prison for a number of years. I lost my ability to get a job or anything. I mean, I couldnt get a bank account. I didnt have an ID or a drivers licence for close to 10 years. And thats what pushed me into hoboing. And into music. An uncle in New Orleans was Crocketts stepping stone to a decade-long hand-to-mouth apprenticeship in street performance. In the future movie of his life, this montage will flash from Louisiana to California to New York, Paris and Morocco and back. Therell be rough sleeping and open mics; a stint busking on trains with a street rapper named Jadon Woodard that looked, for a moment, like a big break. We got discovered playing on [subway] cars and I got my first Sony record deal where they tried to plug me into the pop machine. That didnt work out, Crockett says dryly. All the things that made them want us on the street, they wanted to change overnight. Deflated, he headed west again to work on ganga farms, and to record the home-made album hed press onto 5000 CDs to give away back on the streets of Dallas. A Stolen Jewel would carve out some ground, even if the financial logistics of production led to a second round of trouble with the law. Crockett has paid his dues as a musician. Credit: Brooks Burris There were a few years there where I was trying to fund myself and put my records out without having to be involved in any official way with the music business, he says. So I did get in trouble in the state of Virginia for transporting weed from workin harvest in northern California  I served my time on that. By then hed paid his dues as a musician too, soaking up an oral history of southern American songs and songwriters from which to slowly sift his own identity. Having run from home desperate to shed his Texan skin, there was one light-bulb moment in another kindly strangers home in Brooklyn that pointed the way there.

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I remember waking up one morning in there, and she had a blues real book [a buskers song anthology] in this little studio space. It had the sheet music to all these blues standards, and Id come across this song called The T-Bone Shuffle by [Texas jump blues legend] T-Bone Walker. Now, I had learnt that song on the street just by ear, from other travellers, from jazz guys, blues people, folk musicians in New Orleans. I couldnt read music, still cant or anything. But I remember it had a chart for the chords that he was holding in that song  and I realised I had taught myself how to play those same chords, just by trial and error. Loading That day, man, Ill never forget. It was the end of me being afraid, trying to find something outside of Texas; trying to escape it. That day, I turned around and started facing Texas. You know, its not, Hey, you cant escape your roots. It was learning to say, Hey, Im gonna take my version of Texas to the world. Speaking of movies, the next time Crockett finds time to talk its about six weeks later, and hes just arrived on location. He holds up his phone to show a budget motel rising from a flat, empty street against a big, bruised, cinematic sky. You cant make this stuff up. I would have called yall sooner but I just got out of this damn Caballero I was driving, he says. Im in Big Spring, West Texas. Im filming a movie out here. I cant tell you what its about but  youll find out soon enough. After two bouts of surgery, Charley Crockett refuses to remove the bird around his neck. Hes supposed to protect you in your transition from this world to the next. Credit: Brooks Burris

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Ghoneim, who describes her design style as super colourful, very textural with a global aesthetic, takes a similar approach, trying to remain impartial, but also taking a leaf from British Grand Designs host Kevin McClouds book of Are You Crazy? This isnt Going to Work expressions. I do wear my heart on my sleeve, Ghoneim says. You can probably tell from my facial expressions what Im truly drawn to. For anybody giving a red-hot go, which all of them are, then you know, you got to applaud them and say, Youve got to try things out and test things out and its great theyre being bold and imaginative. Loading But isnt part of the fun of the show  and what makes good TV  watching people stumble? Most Grand Designs fans can rattle off a favourite disastrous build, such as the saddest ever episode featuring the North Devon lighthouse to the eco-barge that ended up as a home for squatters before being washed up on a beach. I dont [want things to go wrong], but the producers do, Ghoneim says, laughing. I feel like Im there to offer advice in instances when I can foresee something going wrong or tragically looking terrible. But everyone in TV is like, No, dont tell them, make it happen. Lets witness it on screen.

And Im like, Oh, OK ... But I want them to feel empowered and feel like their next renovation will be better than their last and that they can be braver than next time. For Burke, its how the homeowners respond to jeopardy that makes good TV. Some people just take it in their stride, he says. And they are natural builders, because they can take on anything and go, Yep, thats not what I thought, but lets do this. But others, they just collapse. And its those people I feel so bad for, because some peoples resilience, its like, How could this thing possibly happen to us? Were good people. But its not about you, its just the house. Australias infatuation with home renovation and real estate TV appears to show no signs of waning. Last years season of The Block had more than 1.2 million viewers tuning in for the final auction episode, while Selling Houses Australia has long been one of Foxtels highest rating shows. Ten even resuscitated Location, Location, Location last year, while Seven is throwing the hardhat in the ring this year with Dream Home hosted by Dr Chris Brown. Burke  who is keen to separate architecture and real estate  believes Australia is uniquely obsessed because we have been trained for such a long time to have all of our financial security bundled up in the idea of a house, the Australian dream since the 50s has been all about that. And we bought that much more than the Americans did, and much more than the Brits ever did.

This has meant we are now all very trained in the language of real estate and design, Burke says, making us all armchair experts who can confidently split the difference between larch and cedar cladding. Theres a ton of [architecture and building] vocabulary in every Australians head, which is not entry level, Burke says. Its not exactly expert, but its definitely not beginner. And I think thats whats interesting, because youve got that sense of I know enough to be dangerous and maybe not enough to be correct every time. So in that space, I think thats whats a little bit different for Australians to other people around the planet. Loading Would Burke or Ghoneim ever volunteer to put their own renovations on TV? I would, Burke says. I think theres a perspective that I would see in my own projects, that would be different to others, which I think would be kind of interesting, useful, probably traumatic, at a whole other level.
As you might know, Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) last week released its latest annual, and things did not turn out so great for shareholders. Bank of America missed analyst forecasts, with revenues of US$94b and statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$3.08, falling short by 6.3% and 6.2% respectively. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

View our latest analysis for Bank of America

Following the latest results, Bank of America's 18 analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$100.3b in 2024. This would be a modest 6.5% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory per share are forecast to be US$3.20, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$100.8b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$3.25 in 2024. So it's pretty clear that, although the analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.

It will come as no surprise then, to learn that the consensus price target is largely unchanged at US$37.17. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. The most optimistic Bank of America analyst has a price target of US$50.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$30.00. As you can see, analysts are not all in agreement on the stock's future, but the range of estimates is still reasonably narrow, which could suggest that the outcome is not totally unpredictable.

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Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. It's clear from the latest estimates that Bank of America's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 6.5% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 3.1% p.a. over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 4.7% annually. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that Bank of America is expected to grow much faster than its industry.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. Fortunately, they also reconfirmed their revenue numbers, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Additionally, our data suggests that revenue is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$37.17, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have estimates - from multiple Bank of America analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

You can also see our analysis of Bank of America's Board and CEO remuneration and experience, and whether company insiders have been buying stock.

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.
Members of Australias technology sector have given a measured tick of approval to the federal governments move to regulate high-risk AI use cases, amid warnings that widespread low trust in the technology is acting as a handbrake on business and public adoption.

After receiving more than 500 submissions to an inquiry into safe and responsible AI, Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic has released the governments interim response  a 25-page document calling for the establishment of an expert advisory committee and the development of voluntary labels and watermarking of AI-generated content.

Industry Minister Ed Husic says tech giants such as Google, Microsoft and ChatGPT maker OpenAI need to work with the Australian government. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Instead of following the European Unions path of a stand-alone AI bill, the government will strengthen existing laws and develop new legislation to govern the use of artificial intelligence in high-risk settings such as law enforcement, job recruitment and healthcare, as first revealed by this masthead.

Husic said the government was striking a balance between fostering innovation and addressing concerns related to the safety and responsibility of AI systems.
Eric McCandless / ABC

If youre going to build a big business, money expert and investor Barbara Corcoran recommends buying your space instead of renting it  as early as day one of being an entrepreneur.

This advice comes courtesy of Corcorans Business Unusual podcast, where the Shark Tank star answers questions submitted by listeners on topics like business, life and how to get through common obstacles. Heres why Corcoran said business owners cant give their profits away to their landlords.

Barbara Corcoran: If You Buy a Home Now, Its To Your Advantage

Learn More: 3 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000

Sponsored: Owe the IRS $10K or more? Schedule a FREE consultation to see if you qualify for tax relief.

The Two Most Important Decisions in Business

According to Corcoran, deciding on the business youll go into and how you plan to house your business are the two most important decisions youll make as a business owner.

Business owners who are building a business know firsthand that every single dollar counts. Paying for rent can be an especially painful expense because, as Corcoran said, business owners are essentially giving away their profits to their landlord.

Grant Cardone: These Will Be the Top Places To Buy Real Estate Over the Next Decade

If youre paying rent, your landlord actually remains your boss, because every time youre going to expand your business and do a little bit more, youre gonna find that the landlord is asking for the rent to go up, Corcoran said.

The faster you can control your real estate, Corcoran said, the better off you are as a business owner.

Why Business Owners Should Start Off With a Tiny Space

Dont think your first business needs to be housed in a fancy sprawling office. Corcoran recommends business owners seek out the smallest possible footprint when they start a small business and scale up as they go, instead. She said this is because many new business owners have too much space to begin with.

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Youre better off buying a tiny little space of your own and building up as you need it, Corcoran said. If you can scrounge up the 10% down payment to control your space, youll also be controlling your destiny.

The Benefits of Buying Your Own Real Estate

During the podcast, Corcoran shared a personal anecdote about her early experience in building a business.

Because she was a real estate agent and needed to have new territories to open offices, she was able to buy spaces in a number of cities in New York, including Brooklyn and the South Bronx, before they became hot places to live in. In hindsight, Corcoran said it was lucky to get into these areas early and own the buildings at low prices.

If you can, Corcoran highly recommends business owners buy their own real estate. Youll be entirely your own boss, you wont have your landlord as your unwanted partner and youll be making a good investment thats gonna be worth a fortune one day.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Barbara Corcoran: Why Business Owners Shouldnt Make Their Landlords Rich
Under the chairmanship of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, a videoconference meeting is being held on the priority tasks of ensuring macroeconomic stability and economic development in 2024, Azernews reports, citing Kun.uz News Agency.

At the meeting, the president defined the priority tasks for the development of the economy in 2024.

This year, it is planned to increase the gross domestic product by at least 6% and reach $100 billion.

However, last year the industry grew by 6%, but it was shown that the value added in production did not exceed 40%.

We are not satisfied with these numbers. These are mainly due to dependence on imports and high energy consumption, as well as excessive costs, the head of state said.

Although the tax burden on large industries has been reduced, it was noted that many industries are increasing their costs instead of providing revenue to the state. In particular, it was observed that expenses grew faster than income in 10 large enterprises.
Ben & Jerrys is known for taking a stance on social issues such as refugees rights, LGBTQ+ issues, and climate change - Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

Ben & Jerrys has called for a permanent and immediate ceasefire in Gaza, raising the prospect of renewed tensions with its owner Unilever.

Anuradha Mittal, who chairs the ice cream makers board of directors, urged policymakers to act in an interview with the Financial Times, as she said that peace is a core value of the brand.

She said: From Iraq to Ukraine [the company] has consistently stood up for these principles. Today is no different as we call for peace and a permanent and immediate ceasefire.

Founded in 1978, Ben & Jerrys is known for taking a stance on social issues such as refugees rights, LGBTQ+ issues, and climate change.

It was bought by Marmite owner Unilever in 2000, but is run autonomously by an independent board of directors.

The companys stance on Israel and Palestine sparked a clash with Unilever in 2021 after it vowed to stop selling products in occupied Palestinian territories.

At the time, it said: We believe it is inconsistent with our values for our product to be present within an internationally recognised illegal occupation.

Unilever subsequently sold off Ben & Jerrys Israel arm in a bid to defuse the situation.

This led to the ice cream maker launching a legal battle against its parent, although the lawsuit was later resolved.

In 2021, Ben & Jerrys vowed to stop selling products in occupied Palestinian territories - Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

Ms Mittal, who describes herself on LinkedIn as a human rights, land rights, and indigenous rights advocate, said the decision to call for a ceasefire was consistent with the history and values of our company.

It comes amid mounting pressure on consumer brands in the wake of Hamas attacks on Israel in October

Companies such as Starbucks and McDonalds have faced mounting calls for boycotts, with campaigners even protesting outside stores.

Starbucks was targeted after it sued the union Starbucks Workers United for posting a pro-Palestine social media post in the wake of Hamas attacks.

In December, Starbucks chief executive Laxman Narasimhan said protestors were being influenced by misrepresentation on social media of what we stand for.

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McDonalds, meanwhile, was criticised by campaigners after photos and videos on social media showed franchised stores in Israel giving out free meals to Israel Defense Forces personnel.

The fast food chains chief executive Chris Kempczinski said in January that misinformation about the company supporting Israel was affecting its sales in the Middle East.

Unilever and Ben & Jerrys were contacted for comment.

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Elaine Kennedy, the founder and creator behind Hawthorn Skincare, has taken the helm as President of Network Ireland Mayo for 2024. She has been an active member of the networking organisation since 2018 and an integral part of the branch committee since 2020.

Network Ireland Mayo empowers women to thrive personally and professionally by fostering a vibrant community that champions equality, entrepreneurship, and leadership. Through collaboration, education, and meaningful connections, they cultivate success and inspire progress in every member's journey.

A native of Kilkeeran, Partry, Elaine established Hawthorn Skincare, a brand synonymous with 100% natural skincare products. Her journey within Network Ireland mirrors her growth as an entrepreneur, having joined the network in the same year as her company's launch.

Elaine's accomplishments include winning Mayo Solo Businesswoman of the Year in 2021, she went on to be awarded Highly Commended in the hugely competitive national final. Her commitment to excellence in entrepreneurship was further acknowledged when she was celebrated as the Mayo Local Enterprise Offices Leading Light for National Womens Enterprise Day in 2021.

Reflecting on her new role, she said: As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of our branch in 2024, it is an immense honour to step into the role of President of Network Ireland Mayo. I am looking forward to working with our new Vice-President, Lorraine Burnell, and our incoming committee.

"The theme for the upcoming year is 'Habits of Successful Women.' This theme resonates with the strength, resilience, and success that characterises our network.

At their recent AGM, Elaine thanked the outgoing President, Melissa Moore, for her outstanding leadership in 2023 and appointed Melissa to the role of Ex Officio for the year ahead. Lorraine Burnell, Managing Director of Joseph Murphy Ballina Ltd, was elected as the new Vice-President. The 2024 Network Ireland Mayo committee is as follows: Ann Leonard (Secretary), Judi Roche (Awards Co-ordinator), Dani Baumgarten (PRO), Be Rowland (Treasurer), Orla Bakeberg (Membership), Lorraine Hall (Membership), Carmel Connor (Social Media) and Edel Gavan (LinkedIn).

Throughout the year, the network will host a series of engaging and interactive monthly events designed to empower women in their personal and professional lives. They will kick off with a lunchtime workshop on Wednesday, January 17th, at The Ellison in Castlebar. Entitled 'The Power of Habit: Wellbeing Practices for Successful Women', it will be presented by Janine van Someren of The Wellbeing Advantage.

Elaine invites women - from entrepreneurs, solo businesswomen, SMEs, corporate professionals, to aspiring leaders - to join Network Ireland Mayo and be part of a supportive network that fosters growth, collaboration, and empowerment.

For more information about becoming a member visit www.networkireland.ie or attend the upcoming workshop on January 17th. Register in advance by contacting Elaine at president@networkmayo.com.
In this article, we will look at the best malpractice lawyers in each of the 30 biggest cities in the US. If you want to skip our detailed discussion regarding medical malpractice, its cost to the patients and economy, and industry developments, skip to Best Malpractice Lawyers in Each of the 10 Biggest Cities in the US.

Medical malpractice can result in life-threatening consequences for patients. Medical providers take the lives of their patients into their own hands, so they need to be extremely competent. However, if they fail to give the right care, the patient can hold them accountable in a court of law for damages. However, it is often difficult to prove medical malpractice, which is why most people require the services of a lawyer specializing in malpractice. To establish malpractice, certain conditions must be met.

The plaintiff should have a patient relationship with the defending party. The medical professional must have a duty of care towards the patient. In addition, the medical care provider must have breached their duty towards the patient. This will prove that the medical healthcare provider acted unreasonably compared to someone with their training. In addition, one of the most important things for the prosecuting party is to prove that the negligence caused harm to them. It is also essential to prove that the negligence caused damages such as medical bills and income losses. Like all other cases, the burden of proof lies with the prosecution.

One of the most common types of medical malpractice is a misdiagnosis. Sometimes, a doctor would diagnose their patient with the wrong disease, which may result in a substantial physical or financial burden. Delayed diagnosis is also one of the most common types of medical malpractice. It can have devastating effects on the patient, especially in the cases of cancer. Treatment mistakes and incorrect treatment are also quite common medical malpractice that can potentially endanger the lives of the patients. One of the most dangerous forms of medical malpractice is surgical malpractice. Surgeons are highly trained to perform extremely precise and critical tasks. However, sometimes they can make mistakes which can have serious effects on the patients.

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Medical malpractice is quite costly to the American economy. According to a study, the average annual cost of the medical liability system is $55.6 billion in 2008 dollars, which is 2.4% of the total healthcare spending in the US. The costs associated with medical malpractice include malpractice attorney law fees, expert witness fees, attorney travel expenses, and other legal expenses. However, it should be noted that in most malpractice cases, attorneys work on a contingency fee, which means that they get paid only if the plaintiff is compensated. Indirect costs such as loss of productivity and income for health care providers also add to the cost of medical malpractice.

According to the National Practitioner Data Bank, the average settlement amount in malpractice cases in 2018 was $358,451. However, the estimates of the average settlement amounts vary source by source. Some attorneys quote an average of $242,000, whereas Storm Law Firm states a figure closer to $400,000. Yet, the average payout for malpractice cases that go to trial is much higher, with some sources quoting a figure close to a million.

Recent advancements have made it easier for attorneys and plaintiffs to find information regarding malpractice and fight their cases. For example, FindLaw is a leading online platform by Thomson Reuters Corp (NYSE:TRI). It offers legal services and software tools in a variety of areas, including divorce laws and medical malpractice. FindLaw is a legal subsidiary of Thomson Reuters Corp (NYSE:TRI) which also provides a comprehensive directory of attorneys. In addition, Thomson Reuters Corp (NYSE:TRI) acquired Casetext in 2023, a cloud-based legal research platform that develops AI-driven tools for legal professionals. The company also recently announced that it will invest $100 million every year for the development of generative AI experiences.

Some insurance companies specialize in providing medical malpractice coverage to their clients. These companies protect their clients against professional liabilities, in case they have claims against them. In the case of medical malpractice, companies such as American International Group. Inc. (NYSE:AIG) provides coverage to the medical practitioners. The company was among the top contributors to some of the popular Hedge Funds, including Diamong Hill Large Cap Strategy. Although American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG) was not a part of our 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds list, the company's operating results outperformed expectations of most. We have previously discussed in detail why American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG) outperformed in 2023 Q2, here. Meanwhile, here is what Diamond Hill's Large Cap Strategy said about the company in its Q3 2023 investor letter:

"Insurance company American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG) was also among our top contributors. The companys most recent operating results outperformed expectations, as it reported robust earnings with improving underwriting margins in the property and casualty business. AIGs strategic initiatives also added to the positive sentiment. The company made further progress in separating its Life & Retirement unit by selling additional shares via a secondary offering. Furthermore, AIG announced the sale of its reinsurance business to RenaissanceRe at an attractive valuation, a move that will further reduce volatility in AIGs continuing operations."

With that backdrop, let's look at the best malpractice lawyers in each of the 30 biggest cities in the US.

Best Malpractice Lawyers in Each of 30 Biggest Cities in the US

Galyna Motizova/Shutterstock.com

Methodology

For our list of Best Malpractice Lawyers in Each of the 30 Biggest Cities in the US, we first picked out the 30 largest US cities by population. Then, for each city, we searched for lawyers using terms like "malpractice lawyers in [City Name]". Finally, we looked at the number of reviews and average ratings of each lawyer and picked out the best.

By the way, Insider Monkey is an investing website that tracks the movements of corporate insiders and hedge funds. By using a similar consensus approach, we identify the best stock picks of more than 900 hedge funds investing in US stocks. The top 10 consensus stock picks of hedge funds outperformed the S&P 500 Index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here). Whether you are a beginner investor or a professional looking for the best stocks to buy, you can benefit from the wisdom of hedge funds and corporate insiders.

30 - Gruber Law Offices, LLC - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Average Google Ratings: 4.7

Number of Reviews: 1179

Gruber Law Offices. LLC has over 120 professional staff and attorneys who are dedicated to handling serious injury and accident cases. Some of the attorneys have won several awards from prestigious groups nationwide.

29 - Saiontz & Kirk, P.A.- Baltimore, Maryland

Average Google Ratings: 4.3

Number of Reviews: 843

Sainotz & Kirk, P .A. specializes in injury law. The firm has a dedicated team for medical malpractice and provides free consultations.

28 - Mike Morse Injury Law Firm - Detroit, Michigan

Average Google Ratings: 5

Number of Reviews: 584

Mike Morse Injury Law Firms has one of the best malpractice lawyers in Detroit, Michigan, as evidenced by its perfect five-star ratings in Google reviews. The company has more than 40 of the top accident attorneys in Michigan.

27 - Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz Personal Injury Attorneys - Memphis, Tennessee

Average Google Ratings: 4.8

Number of Reviews: 725

Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz Personal Injury Attorneys is a full-service personal injury firm that is devoted to fighting for injured victims.

26 - Richard Harris Personal Injury Law Firm - Las Vegas, Nevada

Average Google Ratings: 4.7

Number of Reviews: 1774

Richard Harris Personal Injury Law Firm has been operating in Nevada for the last 40 years. The firm provides personal injury law services, including medical malpractice.

25 - Morgan & Morgan - Portland, Oregon

Average Google Ratings: 4.8

Number of Reviews: 306

Morgan & Morgan has one of the best malpractice lawyers in Portland, Oregon. One of the best things about Morgan & Morgan is that you only have to pay if they win the case.

24 - Cesar Ornelas Injury Law - El Paso, Texas

Average Google Ratings: 4.8

Number of Reviews: 258

Cesar Ornelas Inury Law firm operates in El Paso, Texas. The firm provides free consultation and in most cases, clients have to pay only if they win the cases.

23 - Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers - Boston, Massachusetts

Average Google Ratings: 4.7

Number of Reviews: 412

Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers are one of the best malpractice lawyers in Boston. The firm holds the record of achieving the highest personal injury settlement, as reported in Massachusets weekly.

22 - Cunningham & Mears - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Average Google Ratings: 4.9

Number of Reviews: 294

For people residing in Oklahoma City, Cunningham & Mears is the best option for malpractice lawyers, as evident by their 4.9 ratings on Google Review.

21 - Price Benowitz Accident Injury Lawyers, LLP - Washington DC

Average Google Ratings: 4.8

Number of Reviews: 520

Price Benowitz Accident Injury Lawyers, LLP has the best malpractice lawyers in Washington, DC. The firm stands out for its comprehensive representation in and out of the courtroom.

20 - Morgan & Morgan - Nashville, Tennessee

Average Google Ratings: 4.4

Number of Reviews: 1381

Morgan & Morgan operates in several large cities, and Nashville Tenessee is one of them. The law firm excels in injury law and is one of the best for medical malpractice.

19 - Robinson & Henry, P.C.- Denver, Colorado

Average Google Ratings: 4.6

Number of Reviews: 1083

Robinson & Henry, P.C. has the best attorneys for malpractice in Denver. It is the 15th largest law firm in Colorado and has handled more than 14,000 cases. The law firm has 68 experienced attorneys.

18 - Moseley Collins Law - Seattle, Washington

Average Google Ratings: 5.0

Number of Reviews: 877

Mosley Collins Law is one of the best law firms for medical malpractice, as evidenced by its 5.0-star ratings. The firm serves in California, Washington, and Oregon.

17 - Dolan Law Firm, PC Personal Injury Lawyers - San Francisco, California

Average Google Ratings: 4.6

Number of Reviews: 213

Dolan Law Firm has some of the most prominent award-winning attorneys, dedicated to representing their clients. The firm evaluates the case for free and only gets paid if their clients win the case.

16 - Ward & Ward Personal Injury Lawyers - Indianapolis, Indiana

Average Google Ratings: 5.0

Number of Reviews: 309

Ward and Ward specializes in personal injury, but it has adequate resources for medical malpractice.

15 - Price Petho & Associates - Charlotte, North Carolina

Average Google Ratings: 4.9

Number of Reviews: 412

Price Petho & Associates has been operating in North Carolina since 1979 and has collectively recovered over $250 million since then. The firm also has one of the best malpractice lawyers in Charlotte.

14 - Kisling, Nestico & Redick - Columbus, Ohio

Average Google Ratings: 4.5

Number of Reviews: 555

Kisling, Nestico & Redick offer free consultations and are known to secure maximum compensation for their clients.

13 - Thompson Law Injury Lawyers - Fort Worth, Texas

Average Google Ratings: 4.9

Number of Reviews: 299

Thompson Law Injury Lawyers has a 4.9 rating on Google Reviews, which is a testament to its expertise. It has one of the best malpractice lawyers in Fort Worth.

12 - Pajcic & Pajcic - Jacksonville, Florida

Average Google Ratings: 4.9

Number of Reviews: 545

If you live in Jacksonville, Florida, Pajcic & Pajcic is your best option for malpractice lawyers. The firm has recovered over $1.5 billion for its clients.

11 - Thomas J. Henry Law - Austin, Texas

Average Google Ratings: 4.7

Number of Reviews: 2804

With more than 2800 reviews and a 4.7 rating, you definitely cannot go wrong with Thomas J. Henry Law for medical malpractice.

Click to continue reading and see Best Malpractice Lawyers in Each of 10 Biggest Cities in the US.

Suggested articles:

Disclosure: none. Best Malpractice Lawyers in Each of 30 Biggest Cities in the US is originally published on Insider Monkey
Senior cycle and pre-senior cycle students and their families are invited to attend the Mayo Careers Fair/Aonach Gairme Mhaigh Eo 2024 at ATU Mayo, Castlebar, on Saturday next, January 20th, from 11am-3pm.

The event will provide students and their families with an opportunity to view the wide range of options at their disposal when they leave second-level education or if a mature learner is considering a return to education with the purpose of reskilling or upskilling.

Several guest speakers will also be in attendance on the day, including Dr Brian Mooney, one of the countrys foremost guidance counsellors and education experts who writes a weekly column in The Irish Times and Eileen Keleghan from the Central Applications Office, who will bring students through their options.

This is the first in-person Mayo Careers Fair to be held since 2020. Subsequent events were cancelled due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic later that year, so there is great excitement that the event is returning, especially as it proved so popular among students in the pre-Covid era when it attracted very large attendances.

The following exhibitors have already committed to hosting stands on the day: University of Galway; Maynooth University; Trinity College Dublin; Dublin City University; ATU Mayo; ATU Galway; ATU Sligo; ATU Donegal; St Patricks Pontifical University Maynooth; BIMM Institute Dublin; Technological University of the Shannon; National Tertiary Office; Mayo Sligo Leitrim Education and Training Board; Mayo College of Further Education and Training; North Connaught College of Further Education; Donegal ETB; Online Flexible and Professional Development; Accounting Technicians Ireland; Gaisce  The Presidents Awards; College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE); An Garda Siochana; Irish Defence Forces; Employability Mayo; Gills Driving School; ESB Networks; South West Mayo Development Company; Westport Estate; CareerChoice.ie; Nua Healthcare; Career Navigation Consultants; Mayo Recovery College TFI Local Link Mayo and Mayo Credit Unions.

We are also expecting further confirmation of exhibitors before the event, which will mean the Fair will provide an informative environment for everyone attending, according to Pat Howley, Chairperson, Mayo Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) Education and Training Working Group.

The purpose of Mayo Careers Fair 2024 is to arm students and families with key information on the various options available to them upon completing their second-level education or to mature learners who wish to return to education to upskill or reskill. Admission is free of charge.

Stands from leading CAO universities and colleges will afford students the opportunity to ask key questions about those institutions, entry requirements and employment prospects. Non-college options will also be presented on the day.

The event is supported by Mayo County Council/Mayo.ie; MSLETB; the HSE; Mayo Local Employment Services; Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP); ATU; Udaras na Gaeltachta; South West Mayo Development Company; and Mayo North East LEADER Partnership.

We invite post-primary students from Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Years, and their parents, teachers and guidance counsellors. Indeed, people from outside the county are more than welcome to come along, and we have had big attendances from neighbouring counties in previous years. This will be an exciting event, as its the first in-person event weve held since 2020 added Mr Howley.

Our advice to students and their families is to come along on the day and speak with the various representatives from the colleges and other entities.

This is a great opportunity for students and their parents to gain first-hand knowledge of various career choices, which will allow them to make informed decisions, not just in terms of the CAO process but also in relation to subject choices for the Leaving Cert cycle.

The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) 2018-2023 is funded by the Government and co-funded by the European Social Fund and includes a special allocation under the Youth Employment Initiative. For further information, please visit the Pobal Website www.pobal.ie.

The organising committee for Mayo Careers Fair 2024 comprises Pat Howley, Anne Ronayne, Donal Hoban, Pamela Ni Thaidhg, Tracie OLeary, Tim Rogers, Charlie Lambert, Mary Costello and Justin Sammon.
In 1991, the White House announced the start of Operation Desert Storm to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait, and more events that happened on this day in history.

1912: Robert Scott 1920: Prohibition 1942: Plane Crash 1987: Hu Yaobang 1989: Miami 1991: Operation Desert Storm 2007: Barack Obama 2012: Mitt Romney 2017: Eugene Cernan 2020: Impeachment 2021: National Guard 2021: Phil Spector
KUTZTOWN, Pa.  A Kutztown Area school board member asked the administration Monday night for the district to pay tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. on the district Facebook page.

Board member Dennis Udicious commented that the Facebook page simply posted a notice that schools were closed on Monday, January 15, but did not recognize the reason  specifically, the holiday.

"And in doing a little bit of research, it looks like that's been the case for two or three years now that there's been no reference," Udicious said.

"I think it would make sense that if we're going to have a day off in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King," he said, "that we should have some kind of a tribute on that page as opposed to just the blank 'schools off for the day' kind of comment."

The same generic notice was posted on the district's website and the school calendar.

A few commentors to the Facebook post questioned why there was no recognition of the federal holiday.

"I think if you go back two or three years, there was a one of the years where there was an actual tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King," Udicious said. "I just think it deserves the respect of the district."

Superintendent Christian T. Temchatin thanked Udicious for the comment, saying it was a good point.
BETHLEHEM TWP., Pa.  The Bethlehem Township Board of Commissioners rejected a preliminary/final plan for a proposed warehouse Monday night at the administration building. The vote was unanimous.

The proposal, offered by Freemansburg Industrial, calls for an 866,350-square-foot facility at 1600 Freemansburg Ave. The developer is Trammell Crow of Texas, an entity with CBRE Group Inc.

The warehouse would be built on a 45-acre tract which previously had been utilized as a quarry and dump for trees, stumps and other material. The total site is 116 acres, spanning Bethlehem Township and the Borough of Freemansburg. In Bethlehem Township, it is in the General Industrial zoning district.

The plan includes a total of 555 vehicle parking spaces, 198 trailer storage spaces and 153 loading dock spaces. In addition, Trammell Crow proposes two stormwater management basins.

Site access is proposed to Freemansburg Avenue with a traffic signal. In addition, exclusive left and right turn lanes are planned to and from the site.

The applicant appeared before the planning commission in July and made modest changes to its proposal following that meeting. One change from the July proposal is that the main driveway entrance would be a signalized intersection.

+2 Bethlehem Twp. planners won't back Freemansburg Ave. warehouse The Bethlehem Township Planning Commission rejected a motion to recommend approval of a plan for a proposed 866,350-square-foot warehouse.

Still, the planning commission rejected recommending the plan at its Nov. 27 meeting, citing the project's impact on the Willow Park Road and Freemansburg Avenue intersection.

Residents who spoke during public comment Monday night categorized the project in various derogatory terms, including "an accident waiting to happen."

"It's just a Russian roulette game down there," Barry Roth, a member of the planning commission, said of traffic. "PennDOT is not looking at this right...The area is congested enough."

In casting his "no" vote, Commissioner Michael Hudak said the board's vote could be overturned by a court should the applicant opt to pursue a legal challenge. Nevertheless, the commissioner said he represents the public, and the public told commissioners in no uncertain terms that they did not "want the warehouse."
FOUNTAIN HILL, Pa. - People are bracing to see what Mother Nature decides to do with the latest round of snow.

69 News is tracking a number of school delays and cancellations on our website.

Folks around the area are watching and waiting, too, to see how rough the morning commute could be.

A 69 News crew monitoring the weather saw light flurries begin to fall in Salisbury Township, Lehigh County, around 8 p.m. Monday. Within the hour, a dusting covered the station's sidewalks and began sticking to some side roads.

Before the snow, though, people at Redner's in Allentown had one thing on their mind: the temperature.

"It's cold. It's really cold. I'm surprised my car started," said Rachelle Xander of Allentown.

"I just came out of work, and I had to stop in Redner's to get some items for my wife. She said, 'It's cold out there,'" explained Albert Rivera of Allentown.

Xander says she's more prepared for the snow.

"It's winter, so I expect it, and I like snow," she added.

The most recent significant snowfall -- the first of the new year  started on a Saturday and gave some people time to shovel and clear off their cars. This one could disrupt people's work and school days.

"Our goal is to get most of the snow cleared off before that morning rush hour," said PennDOT spokesman Ron Young.

Young says his district  which covers Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Monroe, Schuylkill and Berks counties  is prepared for whatever Mother Nature brings.

Crews pretreated the roads Sunday and Monday, and he says they're on standby.

"Our primary goal is to get those interstates and expressways in shape first, and then, we focus on the secondary routes," added Young.

For some parents, a Tuesday snow day could mean tough decisions.

"It is a problem, because I need to talk my job or take the day and stay at my house with my daughter," said Antonio Torres of Allentown.

For workers, it means more manual labor before they're even on the clock.

"On the weekends, well, a little bit of snow will be all right, right?" said Rivera. "Look at it, take my time shoveling, but like, tonight, if it goes down, then I'm gonna have to shovel before I go to work."

No matter what, Rivera says he has to go to work. His wife's day is more up in the air.

"Well, my wife works at school, so she's probably not going to go tomorrow. We don't know. It depends. She will love that because she had off today," laughed Rivera.

Rivera says he understands why school closures happen, even when some people don't see a lot of snow.

"They don't want somebody to risk their life over something they could cancel, you know," added Rivera.

As much as people may not want to wake up earlier than usual, Young advises people to set the alarm before their regularly scheduled time.

People should make sure to give themselves enough time to clear off the car, get it warmed up, and to take it slow on the way in to work or school.

The last snow created a need for highway restrictions for some vehicles; speed limits were also reduced in some places.

Young says every PennDOT truck is equipped with technology that can send real-time data back to officials. 511PA will have that information, if it's called for.
BETHLEHEM, Pa.  $323,500 has been awarded through the Act 13 Marcellus Legacy Fund Grant Program for projects in Pennsylvania's 18th Senatorial District, state Sen. Lisa Boscola announced Tuesday.

According to a press release from Boscola's office, the funds will go toward parks and recreation, watershed protection and sewage facilities projects.

"This state funding through the Marcellus Legacy Fund will aid our local governments to improve the quality of life in their municipalities through increased recreational opportunities and protecting our environment," Boscola said.

Projects approved

The following projects were approved by Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Financing Authority through the Act 13 Program:

Greenways, trails and recreation: Reinhard's Park Development Phase I (Hellertown Borough, $100,000); City of Bethlehem Recreation Plan (Bethlehem, $108,650); Two Rivers Waterfront Planning Project (Easton, $50,000)

Watershed restoration: Fox Run Park and Open Space Schoeneck Creek Project (Palmer Township, $50,000)

Sewage facilities: Updated Act 537 Plan (Palmer Township, $14,850)
L> SAUCON TWP., Pa. - A controversial plan to expand a landfill in Northampton County is facing yet another legal challenge.

St. Luke's Hospital - Anderson Campus has filed court paperwork appealing Lower Saucon Township's approval of Bethlehem Landfill's push to expand.

The hospital says the decision violated legal requirements and didn't give St. Luke's a chance to present evidence opposing the plan.

This latest court filing is now the fifth pending legal challenge against the proposed expansion.
U. SAUCON TWP., Pa. - Pennsylvania State Police warned drivers about weather conditions in the Lehigh Valley amid snow Tuesday morning.

A tractor-trailer ended up in a ditch on Interstate 78 East at milemarker 62 in Upper Saucon Township, said Trooper Nathan Branosky, with PSP's Troop M, around 7 a.m.

It blocked traffic for a little bit but was cleared a short time later.

Troopers were also responding to multiple disabled vehicles.

Even aside from accidents and incidents, the Tuesday morning commute was slow as light snow continues to fall.
HARRISBURG, Pa.  The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) will host a free workshop Saturday to help college-bound students and their families in navigating the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

According to a PHEAA press release, this school year's FAFSA application was delayed from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31 because of changes resulting from the FAFSA Simplification Act.

The new FAFSA system uses IRS Data Exchange to link families' tax information into a student's application and expands access to Federal Pell Grants, the press release said.

According to the press release, the workshop will be held Saturday, Jan. 20, at 1200 N. Seventh St. in Harrisburg.

"At this free workshop, PHEAA Higher Education Access Partners, with their vast years of financial aid industry experience, will be personally guiding each attending student and their family through the FAFSA process," said PHEAA Board Chairman Wayne D. Fontana. "A simple mistake could result in a loss of aid so its important to file correctly."

Walk-ins are welcome, but registering here is recommended, according to the press release.
Binaryoptions.com, an educational platform for traders, has announced the launch of its updated broker comparison list for 2024

Singapore, Singapore--(Newsfile Corp. - January 16, 2024) - In its latest initiative to provide traders with up-to-date and comprehensive resources, Binaryoptions.com is excited to announce the 2024 update of its "10 Best Binary Options Brokers - Comparison & List." This revised list reflects the latest trends and shifts in the binary options trading industry, ensuring traders have access to the most current and potentially valuable information.

Binaryoptions.com updated its binary broker comparison of 2024 by Percival Knight

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8871/194061_binaryoptions.com%20updated%20binary%20broker%20comparison%202024_550.jpg

The Updated 2024 Binary Options Broker Comparison List

Curated by Percival Knight, the updated broker comparison list on binaryoptions.com for 2024 is designed to guide traders in selecting the broker that best fits their trading needs.

For a detailed breakdown of the features and offerings of each platform, readers can view the full comparison list here.

Enhanced Features and Commitment to Accuracy

In line with Binaryoptions.com's commitment to providing traders with accurate and transparent information, the 2024 update includes detailed reviews, regulatory statuses, and user feedback.

With the platform's in-depth analysis of each broker, traders are equipped to make informed decisions when selecting a binary options broker. This is further supported by the inclusion of key features and unique selling points for each broker, allowing traders to easily compare and contrast different options.

Ongoing Educational and Supportive Resources

Besides the broker comparison list, Binaryoptions.com continues to offer an array of educational materials, trading strategies, and market analyses to support traders throughout their journey in the binary options market. What's more, they have a range of mobile apps and trading indicators available for traders to enhance their trading experience.

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Their educational resources include articles, webinars, and videos that cover a wide range of topics from beginner strategies to advanced trading techniques. With new strategy guides, tools, and educational resources being added and updated regularly, Binaryoptions.com remains a trusted and informative platform for traders of all levels.

Customer Support and Community Engagement

Recognizing the importance of community and support, Binaryoptions.com has enhanced its customer service capabilities. Traders can now access a more responsive support team and engage with a community of fellow traders for shared learning and experiences.

About Binaryoptions.com

Launched in 2011, Binaryoptions.com is a premier online educational resource for those interested in binary trading. The platform delivers valuable insights, news, and tools for traders to stay informed and make educated trading decisions. This broad depth of resources has established the platform as a reliable source for both beginners and seasoned traders in the binary options market.

For further details about the 2024 broker comparison update or other inquiries, please reach out to Binaryoptions.com at:

Contact: Percival Knight

Phone: +1 716 657 1443

Email: info@binaryoptions.com

Website: https://www.binaryoptions.com/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/194061
TRENTON, N.J.  New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation into law Tuesday aimed at boosting the number of available liquor licenses statewide and easing a wide range of restrictions on breweries and distilleries.

In a news release Tuesday, the governor's office said the legislation addresses inactive and pocket licenses, which it says had helped lead to a scarcity of liquor licenses, which consequently raised the price of licenses.

Inactive licenses are those that are associated with a specific location but are not in use, while pocket licenses are those that have been purchased but are not attached to a specific location.

Under the new law, license holders will no longer be able to indefinitely retain a retail consumption license without using it, the governor's office said. If a license has remained inactive for two consecutive license terms  a total of two years  the license holder will now be required to either use the license or sell it, according to the news release. If neither option is exercised, the license can be transferred from one municipality to a contiguous municipality.

Additionally, the governing body of a municipality where an inactive consumption license has lapsed and not been renewed for the last eight years, may issue a new consumption license at public sale for use at a licensed premises located within the town, the governor's office said.

The governor's office says the changes will inject as many as 1,356 licenses back into the market, a roughly 15% increase over the 8,905 active retail consumption licenses presently being used, according to the NJ Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Mall Licenses

The governor's office said the law also establishes a new class of retail consumption liquor license that will potentially create upwards of 100 new licenses throughout the state.

Specifically, the governor's office said the law will allow municipalities to issue:

Up to two new licenses for food and beverage establishments in shopping malls with a minimum of 750,000 square feet; and

Up to four new licenses for establishments in shopping malls with a minimum of 1.5 million square feet.

With malls in nearly every county, plus qualifying strip malls, New Jersey could potentially see upwards of 100 new licenses created under this provision, the governor's office said.

Breweries, Cideries, Meaderies, and Distilleries

The new law also permanently eases the existing restrictions regarding breweries, distilleries, cideries, and meaderies, according to the governor's office. The law eliminates the requirement that the establishments provide tours of the premises to patrons, while also allowing them to:

Offer snacks and other non-alcoholic beverages;

Collaborate with outside vendors including food trucks;

Host unlimited onsite events and private parties, including birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and civic and political functions;

Host up to 25 off-site special events; and

Participate in up to 25 events hosted by the holder of a social affairs permit.

The bill also increases the number of barrels that may be manufactured per year from 10,000 to 300,000 and allows license holders to directly sell and distribute 50 percent of the beer that is produced on premises in each year to retailers, rather than having to rely solely on wholesalers, according to the governor's office.

The bill also establishes a new farm-brewery license that would permit the licensee to produce malt alcoholic beverages for retail sale to consumers for consumption off the licensed premises.
PHILLIPSBURG, N.J. - When a Phillipsburg native began researching his town's history to write a book, the chapter about African American history continued to grow. He then decided to make that topic its own book; that was released on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Phorgotten No More: Glimpses of the African-American Presence in Phillipsburg, NJ1777-2021 was just released on the Barnes & Noble website.

"Unfortunately, part of that history is painful, because the early history of Phillipsburg Black population is a history of slavery," said Wayne Sherrer, author of "Phorgotten No More: Glimpses of the African-American Presence in Phillipsburg, NJ1777-2021."

Sherrer says his book is a collection of the bad and the good, documented together.

"In the 1930s, we had teams from the Negro National League who came here and played on the north end field," said Sherrer. "Players like Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard."

Sherrer is eagerly awaiting the first physical copy of his book to arrive at his doorstep any minute now. His research took him to courthouses and libraries across the state.

"I thought it was important for the Black residents of Phillipsburg to know that they have a heritage here that goes back almost 250 years, and I think it's also important for the rest of the town to realize that Black history is part of Phillipsburg history," said Sherrer.

"I met Wayne in the Henry Marx reading room at the Easton Public Library," said Lafayette College Professor of History Dr. Paul Barclay.

Barclay read the manuscript.

"African American history in the Pburg-Easton area is hard to get at," said Barclay. "I'm glad that Wayne made an attempt to get this out for people to read about, and then they can build upon it."

There are stories Sherrer says the town can be proud of, but only if it knows about them.

Some featured for more recently paving paths are familiar faces.

"Vickie Mendes-Branch was elected to the school board, and then in 2021, Lee Clark was elected to town council," said Sherrer.

Sherrer says he'll be donating copies to Phillipsburg schools next week.

February is Black History Month, and that's when he has signing events scheduled. He will be at the Phillipsburg Free Public Library Feb. 1 at 4 p.m., the Sigal Museum in Easton Feb. 17 at 1 p.m. and Book & Puppet Co. in Easton Feb. 18 at 3 p.m.

Sherrer says the book will soon be available for purchase at Book & Puppet Co. and Amazon, in addition to the Barnes & Noble website.
LOS ANGELES (AP)  Succession secured its legacy with its third best drama series award, The Bear feasted as the night's top comedy, and the two shows about squabbling families dominated the acting awards at Monday night's Emmys.

Quinta Brunson of Abbott Elementary" and Steven Yeun and Ali Wong of Beef" also had historic wins at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day ceremony that was finally held four months late after a turbulent year of strikes in Hollywood.

Succession, the HBO saga of the dysfunctional generations of a maladjusted media empire, won the top prize for its fourth and final season. It also won best actress in a drama for Sarah Snook and best actor in a drama for Kieran Culkin.

We all put our all into it, and the bar was set so high, Snook said.

The Bear, the FX dramedy about a contentious family and a struggling restaurant at the center of the life of a talented chef, won best comedy series for its first season. It also made a meal of the comedy acting categories, with Jeremy Allen White winning best actor, Ayo Edebiri winning best supporting actress, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach taking best supporting actor. All three were first-time nominees.

This is a show about family, and found family and real family, Edebiri said from the stage as she accepted the first trophy of the night at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

Instead of the usual producer speeches, Matty Matheson, a real-life elite chef who plays a kitchen newbie and repairman on The Bear, spoke for the show while surrounded by the cast near the end of the Fox telecast.

I just love restaurants so much, the good and the bad, were broken inside, Matheson said before getting a long kiss on the mouth from Moss-Bachrach.

Brunson won best actress in a comedy for the show she created, ABC's Abbott Elementary," becoming the first Black woman to win the award in more than 40 years and the first from a network show to win it in more than a decade.

I am so happy to be able to live my dream and act out comedy, Brunson said during her acceptance, fighting back tears. The writer-actor was among the stars with standout looks on the Emmys' silver carpet.

Succession" won six Emmys overall including best supporting actor in a drama for Matthew Macfadyen and best writing in a drama for show creator Jesse Armstrong. The only drama acting category it didn't win was supporting actress, taken for the second time by Jennifer Coolidge of The White Lotus.

The Bear won in every category it was nominated for Monday night, and along with the four it had won previously at the Creative Arts Emmys, took 10 overall, the most of any show.

LANDMARK WINS ON TV'S BIG NIGHT

Beef from Netflix won best limited series, while Yeun and Wong became the first Asian Americans to win in their categories  Yeun for best actor in a limited series and Wong for best actress. Creator Lee Sung won Emmys for writing and directing. It had eight Emmys overall after three wins at the Creative Arts Emmys.

Brunson had won a writing Emmy for Abbott Elementary, her mockumentary about a predominantly Black and chronically underfunded grade school in Philadelphia, but this was her first for acting. Isabel Sanford of The Jeffersons was the only previous Black woman to win the category in 1981.

The show held on the King holiday saw three Black women win major awards: Brunson, Edebiri and Niecy Nash-Betts, who won best supporting actress in a limited series for Dahmer  Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story."

On the Netflix show, Nash-Betts played a neighbor of the serial killer whose complaints to authorities about his behavior go unheeded.

"I accept this award on behalf of every Black and brown woman who has gone unheard and over-policed," she said.

Everybody having fun at the chocolate Emmys tonight? host Anthony Anderson said during the show. We are killing it tonight! ... This is like MLK Day and Juneteenth all rolled up in one!

The tweaked awards calendar made for some oddities. Edebiri and White won their Emmys for the shows first season eight days after winning Golden Globes for the second season.

BABY TALK AMID SUCCESSION WINS

Culkin as little brother Roman Roy outshined the older brother and the father to win the last lead actor Emmy for Succession.

He had twice been nominated for best supporting actor for Succession without a win. But in the final season, in which his character goes from sideline wisecracker to emotional disaster at the center of the shows drama, he was put in the lead category and won over his fictional father Brian Cox and brother Jeremy Strong.

After praising his on-screen family, he shifted to his own family, getting big laughs during his speech when he told his wife Jazz Charton that their two young kids weren't enough. I want more," he said. You said if I won, we could talk about it.

Snook took her first Emmy in three nominations for Succession" for playing the family's lone daughter Shiv Roy, and her show-husband Macfadyen won the second Emmy of his career for playing Tom Wambsgans, the son-in-law that began the HBO series as a hanger-on and ended it as the closest thing it had to a victor.

MANY TEARS, AND ONE CONCERNED MOTHER

Emotions ran high from the start of the ceremony. Edebiri and Brunson were both quick to cry as they took the stage, and the first presenter, Christina Applegate, who said in 2021 that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, got a standing ovation as she came out using a cane, helped by Anderson. As the tears welled in her eyes, she struggled to get through the nominees and winner.

Anderson told the nominees at the beginning of the night that instead of having their speeches cut off by music, his mother, actor Doris Bowman, sitting in the audience, would tell them when it was time to move on. But she more often shouted down her son in the running gag.

OLDER SHOWS RETURN TO SPOTLIGHT

Honoring television history was the theme at the 75th Emmys. Anderson opened the show on a Mr. Rogers set and performed TV theme songs including Good Times, and several cast reunions were spread throughout the show.

Cast members including Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell from Martin," Ted Danson and Rhea Perlman from Cheers, and Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers from All in The Family performed short bits from recreations of their sitcom sets before presenting awards.

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler reunited to present in the form of their 2001-2005 Weekend Update" team-up from Saturday Night Live."

Weve reached the stage in life where well only present awards sitting down, Fey said.

One notable appearance came from Katherine Heigl, who joined Ellen Pompeo and other former Grey's Anatomy castmates on a hospital room set after leaving the show, now about to start its 20th season, on less than ideal terms in 2010.

Yes, there have been changes over the years, Heigl said with a wry smile, But the one constant is the amazing fanbase.
Ukraines military chief is claiming that the Ukrainian air force has shot down a Russian Beriev A-50 early warning and control plane and an Il-22 command center aircraft. Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi didn't say on Monday how or where the aircraft were brought down, but Ukraine has received sophisticated air defense systems from its Western allies. The hits would be a significant blow for the Kremlins forces and a landmark feat for Ukraine in the almost two-year war. The planes are key tools in helping orchestrate Russian battlefield movements in Ukraine. There was no immediate official comment from Moscow.
One can hear about a long list of too-trusting Grandmas, job-hunters hit by scams, widows hurt when looking for love, and so many others who sadly lost big money to crafty cyber predators. But then, maybe, it really resonates when a pop culture celebrity who rang in the New Year with millions watching CNN talks about seeing money vanish from his own bank account.

Lots. Of. Money.

Andy Cohen, the high-energy, buzz-generating executive producer of the "Real Housewives" franchise and co-host with Anderson Cooper of CNN's New Year's Eve live coverage from Times Square, has gone public with how he lost his debit card one day, received what claimed to be email from his bank's fraud department another day and then shockingly discovered shortly afterward that cyber crooks made off with his money using three wire transfers out two of his bank accounts.

"When money is wired, it's out the door and gone," Cohen told me via email.

"Typically," he told me, "banks will not return money if you've given someone access to your account and then the transfers have been completed."

Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper speak onstage during the Times Square New Year's Eve 2024 Celebration on Dec. 31, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)

Scammers pretend to be all sorts of people, including bankers

Cohen told his story of how he became a victim of a sophisticated, bank-related imposter fraud on his podcast, "Daddy Diaries," and later on the "Today" show. It's a scam that has hurt plenty of consumers  and will no doubt hit more unless tighter protections are put in place and consumers stop responding to emails, texts and phone calls that appear to be legitimate but aren't.

The potential dollars lost to these types of scams are far greater than money that can be lost when scammers demand that someone go out and buy gift cards to handle a problem, which is still an ongoing scam.

In 2022, consumers reported losing nearly $8.8 billion to all sorts of fraud, up 30% from 2021, according to data released in February 2023 by the Federal Trade Commission. Investment scams ranked No. 1, but imposter scams came in second place with losses of $2.6 billion reported, up from $2.4 billion in 2021.

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Based on fraud reports associated with various types of payment methods, consumers reported losing $311 million via wire transfer in 2022 and $1.587 billion via bank transfer or payment. By contrast, money reported lost to scammers through gift cards was $228 million.

A year ago, I wrote about how scammers pretend to be from your bank to drain your savings by impersonating the so-called fraud department from banks and credit unions.

While consumers must take steps to protect themselves, the level of ongoing fraud indicates a deeper, much broader problem with what I'd call cracks in the financial services system that crooks can readily hack. Clearly, much more work needs to be done to stop bad actors, too.

The scam that Cohen encountered even appears to have added a new layer  where somehow the bad guy enables call forwarding to prevent the victim from even getting a phone call from their bank, according to Teresa Murray, who directs the Consumer Watchdog office for U.S. PIRG, a nonprofit advocacy group.

Some bank-related scams, Murray said, have evolved to the point where criminals start out by already having some information about a victim, including their name, phone number and where they bank. You could end up dealing with legitimate phone calls and phony texts, which direct you to authorize activity when you think you're trying to stop fraud.

We're wired to act fast, and crooks know it

Many of us are wired to react when we get a text message, email or phone call indicating something's wrong with our bank account. We live in a world where we're expected to respond quickly to everything. A world that plays into the scammer's hands.

Cohen, host of Bravo's late night talk show "Watch What Happens Live," said he responded quickly because the email, though it really wasn't sent by his bank, appeared to look like it was from his bank and the timing made sense since he had just contacted the bank to report that he lost his debit card.

Cohen figured the bank was just following up.

He told me by email that he had never been scammed in the past. "I have gotten texts about odd bank activity," he said, "though now I wonder whether they've been real."

Andy Cohen lists 'red flags' of a scam

Cohen is a guy who is used to dealing with temperamental, flashy suburban housewives and odd situations. But schemers know that anyone can be convinced to trust someone who claims to be from a well-known bank, brand-name business or government agency.

The scheme can work, in part, because online thieves often spoof phone numbers on caller ID and make emails appear to be from your bank, credit card issuer, or a payment app, when they are not. It's a good idea to take time to carefully look at an email address to spot signs that it's a fake. Or just don't respond and go into a bank branch directly to address any issues.

The Bravo host didn't carefully study the email address that supposedly was from the bank, which could have been a clue to the fraud. Instead, he clicked on the link in that email  another no, no  and then he was directed to sign into his bank account. He unwittingly ended up giving the scammers access to his bank accounts.

Celebrity Andy Cohen says he was hit by a scam where crooks impersonate bank employees. File: Cohen attends iHeartRadio z100's Jingle Ball 2023 Presented By Capital One at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 8, 2023. (Photo by Manny Carabel/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)

"I really don't want this to happen to anyone, which is why I want to talk about it," Cohen said during his "Today" show appearance.

He spotted a red flag when the scammers asked him for his Apple ID and password. He knew that wasn't right and stopped communicating.

The next day, he got a text from his bank alerting him to fraudulent activity on his credit card. He then engaged in a lengthy conversation with what sounded like a bank employee. He was convinced she was legitimate.

At one point, he proudly told the woman who sounded like a real bank employee that he spotted a scam the day before when they asked for his Apple ID. She gained his trust by saying: "We would never ask for your Apple ID."

The phony fraud alert department started out by telling him about charges that he didn't make. But because he had already given hackers access to his accounts, he said, the bad actors were able to go through a list of real charges, again to sound legitimate, that he did make. He was asked to confirm those past transactions.

"Yes, that was me. Yes, that was me," he recalled telling the imposters about specific purchases.

"Now, I'm in," he said.

Then, Cohen said, they told him that they were going to send him some codes and he would need to tell them the codes. The codes that the hackers asked him for were actually from his bank  with the bank texting a code to the users cell phone as part of authorizing wire transfers.

Cohen thought he was communicating with his bank, but he was giving scammers codes that could be used to initiate wire transfers of money to the scammers. Another potential red flag missed: Why are you giving any codes to someone who called you out of the blue?

Celebrity Andy Cohen has gone public about how scammers were able to use wire transfers to steal money from his bank accounts. File: Cohen takes at SiriusXM Studios on Dec. 14, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

When Cohen gave the woman on the phone the code, he unknowingly authorized the transfers.

"They were so good," he told the "Today" show audience. "Whoever you are, I hate you, but you are very good at your job."

He was on the phone for about an hour with the impersonators.

Later, he was asked to put numbers into his phone's keypad. His screen then said something like call forward activated. He questioned the so-called bank employee about that notice. But she told him to dismiss that notice, which could have been a red flag but wasn't one immediately.

As a result, Cohen ended up helping the scammers make sure that notices from the real bank would be forwarded to the scammers.

"When the (real) bank called me to ask me if I was doing these wires, because they call you, they were sizable wire transfers, the calls had been forwarded to the hackers," Cohen told the "Today" show hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb.

He was told the bank would call back but it didn't. His phone was completely silent all night. He went into his bank the next day and only then learned the money wired was out. He declined to say how much money was taken out by the online thieves. He said police are investigating the theft.

"Trust no one who calls you," he said.

Many times, victims are made to feel like it's their fault, but these crimes clearly are becoming more elaborate and able to use technology against consumers. Still it can help to look for some clues and take steps to avoid trouble upfront:

Do not trust that texts, emails or phone calls are legitimate: Too many scammers are impersonating banks, utility companies, the Internal Revenue Service, Amazon, credit card issuers, FedEx and other delivery services, companies looking to hire, handsome doctors who are attracted to you. You name it.

Never read anyone any codes: You might have engaged with a scammer at some point. But you can definitely limit the damage by never giving away any personal information, such as your credit card number or Social Security number. "Never share two-factor authentication codes. Ever. Full stop," Murray said.

Wire transfers aren't the only ways these scams go down: Phishing attempts also can trick consumers into using person-to-person payment apps to transfer their money to crooks. The apps include Cash App, PayPal, Venmo and Zelle. Treat such requests or attempts to activate a payment app as a red flag.

Scammers send emails and texts randomly: If you're busy, you might not think twice about responding, supplying credit card or banking information, or verifying your credentials. Don't do it. Don't fall for anything that seems urgent. Go to your bank statements or cards to call a number that you have in hand.

Scammers use a variety of tactics: Sometimes a scammer might approach you and say they lost their debit card and need help, according to an alert from the Fayetteville Police Department in North Carolina. Crooks there flagged down customers near a Navy Federal Credit Union branch and then asked to use a potential victims phone. Crooks can use your phone to access a banking app and transfer money to the crook's CashApp or apply for loans in your name.

Limited consumer protections: While consumers are accustomed to being covered when fraudulent charges are made on their credit card, they often don't realize how vulnerable they are when it comes to money in bank account that's accessed by scammers who impersonate a utility, a fraud department of the bank or a government agency.

You'd think you'd get your money back easily if someone tricked you, but that's not the case at all.

Many times, people are simply out the cash. Consumer advocates, such as U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have turned up the heat and called for tougher regulation because many banks weren't refunding money for defrauded customers who somehow authorized these payments.

For months on end consumer watchdogs highlighted problems but it has taken a long time to see results. As of June 30, 2023, Zelle revamped its rules to require 2,100 bank and credit union participants to reimburse consumers for "qualifying imposter scams," according to a statement from a spokesperson for Early Warning Services, the network provider of Zelle.

"The reimbursement policy pertains to certain imposter scams like when a criminal could be posing as an institution you already do business with, such as your bank, mobile phone or utility provider," the spokesperson for Early Warning Services said. Qualifying criteria applies.

"To not tip off criminals, we dont share details on the reimbursement requirements because we know criminals use many tactics to lure consumers."

The change, according to the spokesperson, "ensures consistency across our network and goes beyond legal requirements."

The Zelle user agreement warns consumers to use Zelle to send money only to family, friends and other people they know and trust.

When it comes to these types of scams, though, a large percentage of people aren't knowingly initiating that transaction; they don't even realize that money was sent to scammers, Murray, of PIRG, said.

And she said PIRG continues to hear from many consumers who aren't qualifying to get their money back under the new Zelle policy.

Many people aren't familiar with Zelle. But you don't have to be a user of the peer-to-peer platform to be defrauded. Zelle is offered to bank customers across the country with a checking account or bank account.

"People have the option of the app, but you don't need it to use it to do a transaction with Zelle," Murray said.

Unfortunately, she said, many people don't fear a Zelle-related scam because they aren't using Zelle.

But once a hacker is in someone's bank account, she said, they can use Zelle without the consumer even knowing it.

Typically, Murray said, consumers are scammed when they're tricked into disclosing their two-factor authentication number, which allows a bad guy to log into their bank account and commit all sorts of fraud.

"The same is true with wire transfers," Murray said. "It is extremely easy for a bad guy to steal money through a wire transfer once they gain access to someone's account, either online or through the app."

Lauren Saunders, associate director for the National Consumer Law Center, said Zelle's move in late June was a positive step that other payment platforms need to follow. Peer-to-peer payment apps are protected under federal law against unauthorized transfers, she said. Zelle's move in late June expands protection to some fraudulently induced transfers.

"But it is not enough," Saunders said. "We need stronger, enforceable protection and rules that require banks and payment companies to take responsibility for the fraud they let into their systems."

When it comes to wire transfers, she said, protection is even weaker.

"Bank wire transfers are exempt from the federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act," Saunders said, "and are covered by weaker state Uniform Commercial Code laws."

If the fraudster makes the transfer, she said, there is some protection from unauthorized transfers, but some banks use loopholes or ambiguities to deny reimbursement.

"If the consumer made the transfer, what we call a fraudulently induced transfer, banks will refuse to reimburse and there is no clear remedy," Saunders said.

It is a wild world out there, wilder than any "Housewives" episode, and consumers aren't easily able to flip the channel.

Contact personal finance columnist Susan Tompor: stompor@freepress.com. Follow her on X (Twitter) @tompor.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Andy Cohen: I missed red flags in bank wire transfer scam
Quite a few insiders have dramatically grown their holdings in Transaction Capital Limited (JSE:TCP) over the past 12 months. An insider's optimism about the company's prospects is a positive sign.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Transaction Capital

Transaction Capital Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Co-Founder Jonathan Jawno for R20m worth of shares, at about R13.19 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of R7.54. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.

Transaction Capital insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

JSE:TCP Insider Trading Volume January 16th 2024

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Transaction Capital insiders own 15% of the company, worth about R867m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

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What Might The Insider Transactions At Transaction Capital Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no Transaction Capital insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. It would be great to see more insider buying, but overall it seems like Transaction Capital insiders are reasonably well aligned (owning significant chunk of the company's shares) and optimistic for the future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Transaction Capital (including 2 which don't sit too well with us).

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.


With 16 members, Jia Mingshun has a large extended family. The family lives in Qianlu, a village administered by Tianjia Town Sub-district, in Wuxue, a city in central China's Hubei Province. Jia used to be a doctor, who worked with the health center in Tianjia Town. He has been a doctor for 48 years, and he has voluntarily continued to provide medical services to the villagers since his retirement. Jia and his wife, Zhai Xiulian, have consistently urged their offspring to inherit the family's virtue of showing filial piety to the elderly. In 2023, Jia's family was named a National Most Beautiful Family.



Looking After the Elderly

Both Jia and Zhai are in their 70s. The couple inherited the moral virtue of showing filial piety to elderly members of their family when they were young. "My father was a teacher, who worked away from our hometown. My mother suffered from a severe disease, and she had to lie in bed when she was nearly 40. I was 20 at that time, and I shouldered the responsibility of looking after my mother," Jia recalled.

The then-young man's kind deeds moved Zhai, who was then his fiancee. Zhai often visited Jia's home to help take care of Jia's mother. She did not hesitate to marry Jia after his mother died. Zhai was not only a sister-in-law for Jia's younger brother and two sisters, she was also like their "surrogate mother," and she looked after the three until they grew into adults.

"My father was in his 40s when my mother passed away, but he never thought about getting remarried. My wife and I made up our minds that we would take good care of him as he was growing older," Jia told Women of China. His family has passed on its family mottos, which emphasize the importance of "diligence, cultivation, reading, benevolence, wisdom and kindheartedness."

Jia's grandchildren currently study in universities. Usually during holidays, they have enough time to return to their hometown to visit the elderly members of their family. Throughout the rest of the year, they make time to call their grandparents, to chat and send greetings. They have learned from their parents and grandparents the great value of filial piety.



Good Reputation

After his mother died, Jia was determined to study medicine, so he would be able to help reduce people's suffering. In 1974, he began working for the clinic in his village. Later, he was formally employed by the health center of Tianjia Town.

Jia has always voluntarily provided medical services to elderly villagers who live alone and/or in disadvantaged households. He and his wife take medicine and food to those individuals. During the past three decades, Jia has introduced revolutionary history and local "red" stories to visitors to his hometown. Living near the Yangtze River, Jia and Zhai have participated, many times, in fighting flooding. Jia and his fellow villagers take turns helping guard the flood-control dikes. Zhai and other women send their home-cooked foods to the soldiers and workers who fight the flooding. Jia and Zhai's warm deeds have won them a good reputation; as such, they have been called "a couple who fights flooding" by local media outlets.

Winning Respect

Jia and Zhai were both born into farmers' families, and their parents paid much attention to their children's education. Despite the hardships they endured when they were young, Jia and Zhai helped their siblings, and their children, receive an education. The couple's four children have passed their moral virtues on to their respective families, and they have lived in a warm and harmonious family atmosphere.

In May 2023, Jia's family was selected a National Most Beautiful Family. "We are grateful for the approval of others, that they believe my family has done a good job. In fact, countless families across our country have all worked very well. We ought to make efforts to do better in the future," Jia said.

Photos from Interviewees and Tianjia Town Sub-district's Women's Federation

Source: Department of Family and Children's Affairs of the ACWF

(Women of China English Monthly December 2023 issue)
Key Insights

Vishay Precision Group's estimated fair value is US$28.06 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Vishay Precision Group's US$31.40 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate

When compared to theindustry average discount of -47%, Vishay Precision Group's competitors seem to be trading at a greater premium to fair value

Does the January share price for Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE:VPG) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. We will take advantage of the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model for this purpose. Models like these may appear beyond the comprehension of a lay person, but they're fairly easy to follow.

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Check out our latest analysis for Vishay Precision Group

The Method

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:

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10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF ($, Millions) US$24.2m US$24.1m US$24.3m US$24.5m US$24.9m US$25.3m US$25.8m US$26.3m US$26.8m US$27.4m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x2 Analyst x1 Est @ 0.61% Est @ 1.09% Est @ 1.43% Est @ 1.67% Est @ 1.83% Est @ 1.95% Est @ 2.03% Est @ 2.09% Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 8.2% US$22.3 US$20.6 US$19.2 US$17.9 US$16.8 US$15.8 US$14.8 US$14.0 US$13.2 US$12.4

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$167m

After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.2%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 8.2%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = US$27m (1 + 2.2%)  (8.2% 2.2%) = US$468m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$468m ( 1 + 8.2%)10= US$213m

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is US$380m. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of US$31.4, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

Important Assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Vishay Precision Group as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.2%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.196. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for Vishay Precision Group

Strength

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Weakness

Earnings declined over the past year.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 3 years.

Good value based on P/E ratio compared to estimated Fair P/E ratio.

Threat

No apparent threats visible for VPG.

Moving On:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Vishay Precision Group, we've put together three fundamental aspects you should assess:

Financial Health: Does VPG have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk. Future Earnings: How does VPG's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the NYSE every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Weather Alert

...Elevated Fire Danger Today and Tuesday... ...Hard Freeze Expected Tonight... The combination of very dry air and northwest winds gusting up to 20 mph will create an elevated risk of uncontrolled fire spread this afternoon. Relative humidity values will fall to 20 to 35%, with the lowest humidity levels over the Ozark Foothills of southeast Missouri. A more substantial fire danger is expected Tuesday, as southwest winds increase significantly, with gusts of 25 to 40 mph forecast Tuesday afternoon. Relative humidity values Tuesday afternoon will fall to 25 to 35%. If you are planning outdoor burning today and Tuesday, use extra caution and have fire suppression equipment ready. Tonight, very cold and dry surface high pressure will allow temperatures to drop into the middle and upper 20s throughout the region. Although the growing season has not officially started, tender vegetation could be impacted by these cold temperatures. Please take necessary actions to protect any tender vegetation tonight.
Customers enjoy their meals at the recently opened Chicken Salad Chick Restaurant at Wolfin Sqaure in Amarillo.

Fans of chicken salad who have been driving to Amarillo can soon cut the trip, as Chicken Salad Chick has announced there will be two Lubbock locations soon, according to a company news release.

Just months after opening a location in Amarillo, franchisee Laura Garrison and her partner Moua Meng have signed an agreement to expand into Lubbock within the next five years. Addresses for the Lubbock locations have not been announced as of Tuesday.

Garrison is also the owner of multiple Taco Bell locations in Amarillo. During the June grand opening of the Amarillo restaurant, she mentioned she was drawn to Chicken Salad Chick due to the company's culture and food.

"If you are a chicken salad lover, we have everything for you, and if you want other options, we have like turkey sandwiches, clubs, salads and pimento cheese," Garrison said in a prior interview.

Related: Chicken Salad Chick opens in Amarillo to excited customers

This news was part of an announcement for 21 locations opening between four franchise agreements, all of which are estimated to open within the next five years. Those agreements included:

11 locations in Austin, with franchisees Troy Morrison and Keaton Craig. Morrison has been a franchisee for Taco Bell and Wingstop locations. Morrison also signed on to add six locations to Oklahoma City.

Five locations across Longview, Greenville and Tyler, operated by Jack and Mona Gabriel. The couple opened their first Chicken Salad Chick in Tyler in 2023.

Three locations in Stephenville, Granbury and Abilene, operated by Mark Blessing. He has opened several Great Clips locations, and is a Granbury local.

As our brand awareness and guest loyalty continue to increase, we are seeing a demand in franchise opportunities and tremendous growth for the brand throughout the state, Scott Deviney, CEO of Chicken Salad Chick, said in the news release. This momentum is fueling our mission to become Americas favorite place for chicken salad. We are more than humbled to support our existing and new franchise owners throughout Texas as they continue to thrive and push our purpose of Spreading Joy, Enriching Lives, and Serving Others forward to all reaches of the state.

People can learn more about Chicken Salad Chick by visiting chickensaladchick.com or searching for the brand on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. The franchise is eyeing future expansions into Corpus Christi, Dennison, McAllen, Texarkana and Wichita Falls. People can learn more about franchising at chickensaladchick.com/franchising.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Chicken Salad Chick announces restaurants in Lubbock, more Texas sites
Part of the Sydney rally on January 13, 2024

Thousands turned out at Free Palestine rallies over the weekend, which were part of a global mobilisation including a demonstration of half a million in London and a large manifestation in Washington.

Some 20,000 participated in Melbourne, 5,000 or more in Sydney and smaller numbers at several other events across the country.

The rallies were held in the immediate aftermath of the US and Britain launching bombing raids on Yemen. Australia, under the Labor government, provided unspecified assistance to this act of war, while also vocally supporting it.

A section of the Melbourne rally on January 14, 2024

The attack on Yemen is a defence of Israels ability to continue the genocide, after Houthi forces from that country carried out limited operations against Israeli bound shipping in the Red Sea. It also marks a further turn towards a regionwide US-led war targeting Iran. Labors Foreign Minister Penny Wong has arrived in the Middle East to solidarise the government further with this agenda and to underline its backing for Israel.

The protests were also held after hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the South African genocide case against Israel. Despite the unprecedented character of the case, and the powerful factual material presented by the South African lawyers, it has largely been blacked out by the Australian media.

The WSWS spoke to participants about these developments.

Wayne, a social worker originally from the United Kingdom. Im here to show my support to the Palestinian people and to show my disdain and disgust at the Israeli government and the countries throughout the world who are supporting Israel, the UK and especially the United States. I think power is in the people.

Its disgusting that Israel is doing this. Israel needs to take some responsibility. This is genocide. This is no different to the Holocaust and the concentration camps.

Wayne

Asked about the bombing of Yemen, Wayne said, I think it shows what side theyre on. I think the Houthis are taking action because theyre showing solidarity with the Palestinians like we are. I think that them bombing Yemen just shows they are definitely in support of and in cahoots with Israel, it shows where their values and what their morals are like.

WSWS reporters noted that trade union leaders, including in Australia, had ensured there was no industrial action to block military-related Israeli shipping. Wayne responded, I think its important that all trade unions come together especially on issues like this. If trade unions cant stand up for issues such as that, why do they exist at all?

On the South African legal case, Wayne added, I think South Africa has done an incredible job taking it to the International Court of Justice. I found it really ironic how the whole thing was set up in the first place as a result of the Holocaust. And now, the Israeli state, which claims to have been founded in response to the Holocaust, is perpetrating similar crimes. Its just mind blowing to me and I think its incredibly powerful that South Africa are the people who do this given their history of apartheid. It makes it more of a powerful impact.

Jenny, a retiree, said: Whats happening in Gaza is genocide. And the escalation of the war into Yemen is a bad move on everybodys partits only going to create a greater section of warfare, so Im really hoping for a peaceful solution. Its very interesting that South African lawyers are the ones who have stepped forward to conduct the case. They have a very good basis of fact behind them. I dont know what will happen but I hope more countries support their stand.

She continued: The Zionist lobby says that any criticism of Israel is antisemitic and it is a very strong group in a number of countries. But Im just hoping that at some point people will see whats happening in Gaza and whats been happening for more than 70 years. The protests represent a great silent majority who do understand that this is really wrong and that what the Israeli government is doing is criminal, a war crime.

People are afraid to speak outif youre in an art industry, all the financial support is being pulled from anybody who offers even the slightest bit of criticism towards the Israeli government. We just have to push on and hope that enough demonstrations will finally convince people that they must change their view.

Carol, a mother, stated: The expansion of the war to Yemen is an absolute joke. Im very annoyed that the government has tried to paint Australias involvement in these strikes as related to the movement of our cargo. It obviously has nothing to do with that. Yemen is only attacking ships that are going to Israel. Its a targeted attack by Yemen, and for us to have anything to do with it says a lot about the Australian government and where theyre choosing to stand on this.

She added: Im very hopeful that South Africa has put together a great legal case. Theyve got all the evidence they need. Israel has repeatedly told on themselves. The main thing is that if the ICJ finds Israel guilty of committing genocide, then it puts the leaders of the US, Australia, and the UK into a position where they are liable for conspiracy.

Lucas, a 26-year-old carpenter who recently came to Australia from France, said: Ive been looking, like almost all young people, at the images coming from Gaza, from journalists over there like Motaz [Azaiza] on Instagram and its revolting, its disgusting. You just feel like youve got to do something. Right now whats happening is a genocide. As to why France is supporting it, Israel is just the West. The western imperialist upper class feels closer to Israelis than to Palestinians and Lebanese people. [French President Emmanuel] Macron is very pro-American and hes pro-business so whatevers good for business is good for Macron. He has no spine and hell go wherever the wind pushes him.

Lucas

Lucas explained that he had been fined for attending a proscribed pro-Palestinian rally in France: The Palestinian protests were illegal for a few weeks. I went when they were and got a 135 [about $A225, $US150] fine.

On the South African genocide charge, he responded: If the case goes in Israels favour, were going to hear so much about it every time we bring up the genocide, theyre going to be like oh but its not a genocide because those people said so. If it goes against Israel, its good. Its another way to talk about it and it goes on TV. But I dont have much hope because even if they do convict Israel, Americas going to put the veto on any UN resolution and theres no army to back it. Its symbolic. But symbolic is still better than nothing.

Ali, a sales worker, said: Im a big supporter of the Palestine movement. We can go about our business, but halfway across the world, people literally right at this moment are being bombed, and theyre being killed and theyre dying. So any sort of input that I can have, even though it might not make a difference, is my way of showing support, of trying to support a freedom movement.

He denounced the mainstream media in Australia: On what is happening in Palestine, what is happening in the genocidal war there, its not publicised enough. Were not covering it enough here in Australia. Definitely from a day-to-day stance, theres just a total absence of media about it. Its not actually until you hop onto Google and deeply search using keywords that you actually find out what is going on, so I feel like media are just choosing to not cover it, purposely. Likewise with the demonstrations around the world. This demonstration here is part of a global demonstration. There has been absolutely no publicity about that as well. How will Australian people become aware if there is no information about it?

Ali explained that he had supported the election of Anthony Albanese, adding: Im actually surprised as to his lack of action. I actually thought he would be for a Free Palestine movement, but with the recent Australian-backed bombings in Yemen, its distasteful and his lack of action on the Free Palestine movement is very, very deafening.

Ali said that he had not been aware of the Labor governments active support for the Israeli onslaught, including through the supply of bomb targets in Gaza via the Pine Gap intelligence base. He spoke on his concerns on the danger of war with China: What is happening in the South China Sea and AUKUS alliance-backed movements in general is worrying at a global level. Palestine happened and then Yemen happened, it makes me just ask Whats next? And Australias role globally is not one that fills me with joy at the moment. I think we should be going in the opposite direction and it is worrying. Almost sickening on a daily basis.
On Saturday, over 100,000 people protested in Washington D.C. against the US-backed genocide of the Palestinians by the Israeli military. Despite the immense size of the march, major news networks in the United States refused to report on it.

Thousands of anti-genocide protesters in Washington, January 13, 2024.

Saturdays protest marked 100 days of brutal Israeli-led slaughter and collective punishment. It was one of at least120 protests in 45 different countries, an expression of the continuous outpouring of opposition among millions around the world.

Thousands of protesters were bused from cities across the country and braved cold January weather in order to register their opposition to Genocide Joe Biden.

A team of World Socialist Web Site reporters and supporters attended the rally and interviewed dozens of protesters. Will Lehman, a former United Auto Workers presidential candidate and socialist worker from Mack Trucks in Macungie, Pennsylvania, attended. Unlike current UAW president Shawn Fain, Lehman fully endorses the standing call by the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions for workers around the world to refuse to build or transport weapons for Israel.

Few protesters at Saturdays demonstration expressed support for the Democratic or Republican parties. When the subject of the capitalist system was discussed and the billions wasted on war and murder, a palpable feeling of hostility was expressed.

Were morally obligated to stand here in the belly of the beast, in the heart of [the American] empire, given that this country consistently circumvents [international law] to send Israel more and more money to bomb Palestinians, said Hannah.

I feel like anyone with any human decency [has] the duty to  say this is wrong and it is not what I want, said Evander. Joe Biden is our president right now, and he is out there selling weapons and committing the genocide. Hes fueling this genocide.

Watching these things unfolding before our eyes [in Gaza] are heartbreaking to me as a mom and as a human being. I dont understand how people can stand aside and watch this happen, said another protester.

The event, held directly adjacent to the White House, was the second largest protest held in the United States capital since the Israeli bombardment of Gaza began on October 7. It was held at the same time as a massive demonstration of over a half-million in London.

In response to the outpouring of global opposition to imperialist war, the Biden and Netanyahu governments have moved to expand the conflict into the war-ravaged country of Yemen and throughout the Middle East. This is part of a clear effort to target Iran and its allies. The expansion of war in the Middle East threatens a regional and global escalation of violence, potentially ending in a catastrophic clash between nuclear powers of the US, Russia and China.

Many in the crowd connected the violence which the US was supporting in Gaza to its broader imperialist violence in the Middle East and beyond.

I am from an area called Baluchistan [a portion of Pakistan neighboring Iran], where the US Pentagon has given lots of arms, ammunition to the Pakistan military just like they have been giving to the Israeli military, said a protester who did not wish to identify themself. These weapons that the US supplies are creating death for people around the world.

Similarly, Michelle, who traveled to Washington D.C. from Pennsylvania, stated she came because Im tired of watching our tax dollars pay for the murder of people across the world.

A section of the march in Washington, January 13, 2024.

I wont vote in the next election, was a common sentiment expressed to World Socialist Web Site reporters, who distributed thousands of statements on the recent United Nations decision to hear allegations against Israel for its crimes in Gaza.

While there was broad support for the lawsuit, many had doubts that it would be successful. The ICJ [International Court of Justice] is still the colonizers court, one protester said.

As the WSWS has written, while the South African delegation to the ICJ has gathered a compelling body of evidence of Israeli brutality, To express any such illusions in the institutions of the United Nations would only be, at best, wishful thinking.

Instead, the WSWS, the Socialist Equality Parties worldwide and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) have called for a turn to the international working class as the force capable of stopping both the Gaza genocide and the unfolding of world war.

In the US and around the world, protesters face an escalating attack on the right to protest and other fundamental democratic rights. This is most visible in the mounting two-party witch-hunt against so-called antisemitism among the anti-genocide protesters.

This mounting attack on democratic rights and slander against the people protesting has provoked defiance.

I oppose the genocide thats being conducted against the Palestinian people because I am Jewish, explained Arlo. Thats what causes me to oppose Israel. Its a racist apartheid state, and it doesnt speak for us.

I dont think its antisemitic to care about other people [such as Palestinians], said Heather. I dont want people to be killed, anyone, Jewish or Palestinian. I just want people to be people, she reiterated.

Many younger protesters responded strongly to the calls for a political general strike to halt the war production which is fueling the genocide.

I think its going to take people from all walks of life standing up and disrupting. Its not enough to do one or two protests. We need to be disrupting the economy. We need to be disrupting business as usual, explained Hannah, who gave her views without being prompted.

I think its going to take something serious. I think its going to take disruption, said Evander. Its a lot. Its almost bigger than just Palestine and politics. This is kind of a revolution of the people showing that we are going to be heard.
The last two months of 2023 saw a string of ominous measures being implemented by the Brazilian state laying the groundwork for massive repression against the working class. The Workers Party (PT) government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and the countrys Supreme Court have put into effect and ruled upon a string of new laws and legal precedents that will massively increase police powers, including for domestic spying operations and for prosecuting civilians in military courts.

Military Police patrols demonstrations in Brasilia in December 13, 2023 [Photo: Jose Cruz/Agencia Brasil]

The most prominent of the new laws was signed into effect by Lula on December 13, 2023. It is the so-called Military Police Organic Law (LOPM), which renews the legal foundations for the countrys 27 Military Police corps, controlled by Brazils 26 states and the autonomous Federal District, where the capital Brasilia is located.

The law had been introduced by former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) in 2001, and took 22 years to finally clear both houses of Congress in November 2023, with a critical push by the PT government. Its ostensible aim is to regulate and adapt the functions of the Military Police corps to the bourgeois-democratic framework of the 1988 Constitution. This charter was adopted after the fall of the 19641985 US-backed military dictatorship, which originally created these corps in 1969 as auxiliary forces to the Army, making them an essential component of its campaign of repression against workers and rural guerrillas.

The original decree establishing the Military Police corps came in the wake of the so-called coup within the coup in December 1968, when the ruling junta signed the infamous Institutional Act number 5 (AI-5), shutting down Congress, abolishing the right to habeas corpus and outlawing all but one sanctioned oppositional party, designed to give the dictatorship a thin democratic veneer. One crucial feature of the new police forces from 1969 on was their designation as auxiliary forces to the Army, which effectively gave the latter ability to override civilian governors, who are formally in command of the troops, and their military-style organization, including their own ranks and military courts.

The continued existence of the Military Police with no specific new lawjust the veto of the original 1969 decreehas been a key component of what became known in Brazil as the authoritarian rubble (entulho autoritario), or unaddressed authoritarian infrastructure operating under the cover of the Citizens Constitution of 1988. As a result, the Military Police became a deadly force, armed with war-grade weapons and killing about 6,000 Brazilians a year. These assassinations occur chiefly in bloody, lawless vendettas slaying dozens at a time in the countrys favelas. They are carried out under the cover of fighting organized crime and have led to repeated calls by human rights organizations for the complete dissolution of these armed bodies. In the state of Sao Paulo alone, the Military Police has grown to a massive force of 100,000, almost half the size of Brazils standing army.

The new bill addresses none of these issues, but rather sanctions the repression, now under the democratic facade of the party, the PT, and the political leader, former metalworkers unions president Lula, which formally stood at the head of the massive working class opposition to the dictatorship. As noted by researchers Adilson Paes de Souza, of the Sao Paulo University, and Gabriel Feltran, of Sciences Po in Paris, in a blunt article published by the daily Folha de S. Paulo on December 5, the new law signed by Lula not only maintains, in slightly rephrased or in many times literal fashion, key authoritarian features of the original decree, but also expands them, by giving the Military Police the autonomy to establish intelligence and counterintelligence operations.

In other words, the legislation will allow Military Police commanders to establish spy organs akin to the infamous Social and Political Order Department (DOPS) used to capture, torture and murder opponent of the juntas rule until 1985. As the authors note further, since the new law maintains the key provision of the 1969 decree establishing the Military Police as an auxiliary force to the Army, the authorization for it to carry out intelligence operations provides a direct source of information to the latter, outside of any civilian oversight and bypassing the official channels of the civilian Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin).

Military Police and Military Firefighters officials watch Brazilian Senate session that approved the new Military Police Organic Law, November 7, 2023, Brasilia [Photo: Lula Marques/ Agencia Brasil]

Two weeks later, on December 27, Lula signed a decree granting the countrys municipal guards police powers to answer emergency calls and make on-the-spot arrests, effectively adding tens of thousands of new agents to the swelling ranks of the Brazilian repressive apparatus. The decree came in response to a growing number of cases in the countrys courts of plaintiffs questioning evidence produced by the guards, which have the ostensible role of protecting urban infrastructure. The decree also provides for the integration of the guards with other police organs to be established in each city.

Along parallel lines, the Supreme Court (STF) ruled on November 10 that military courts have the right to try civilians if they are accused of military crimes. The STF was ruling on an appeal of a businessman accused of attempting to bribe an officer in exchange for clearance to operate a bulletproof glass company. The case was deemed a military crime, and the STF declined to transfer it from the Supreme Military Court (STM) to a regular court. The precedent will now likely open the door for the prosecution of civilians who protest or even register abuses amid Military Police operations, as long sought by commanders. Not content with the ruling, the government has plans to enshrine and widen the scope of crimes by civilians tried in military courts by constitutional amendment.

The string of new repressive measures comes amid efforts by the government to increase military spending to 2 percent of the GDP by means of a constitutional amendment and the hailing of the arms industry as the engine of the countrys development. There is also a campaign to approve a draconian internet censorship law, the 2630/2020 bill. This is portrayed as a decisive measure to avoid further far-right assaults upon bourgeois democracyblamed on massive misinformation spread on social media. It also comes amid the endless repetition that the military high command, which was fully engaged in the conspiracy led by former President Jair Bolsonaro to overturn the 2022 elections and remain in power, were the true saviors of democracy for refusing to follow him up to and including the January 8, 2023, assault on the capital.

The events of the last decade, culminating in the rise to power of the heirs of the dictatorship led by Bolsonaro, have fully exposed the lie promoted by the PT and its supporters since the end of military rule in 1985 that a democratic regime could be established and increasingly perfected over time. The concept itself of authoritarian rubble, commonly referred to in the press and academia, has always carried the assumption that repressive laws were remnants of the dictatorship which would eventually be replaced by democratic laws, and as such were irrelevant relics of the past. Now, this course is being reversed at an astonishing pace.

The passing of a law granting the Military Police spying powers once again exposes another lie, that the PT is a victimized, even if cowardly and naive, spectator in this entire process, cornered into right-wing policies by the congressional opposition. It is no secret that the government sponsored the quick approval of the LOPM bill, assigning it to its leading representative in the Senate, former Federal Police Deputy Fabiano Contarato, to obtain support of the military and the far-right.

The PT government is vastly expanding the powers of the most violent organizations within the Brazilian state, which are a hotbed for fascist politics fed by daily, sadistic violence against the most oppressed sections of the population. The Military Police have been openly recognized as a key constituency of Bolsonaro to such an extent that STF Justice Alexandre de Moraes declared recently that on January 8, 2023, he was compelled to order the immediate arrest of the governor, the security secretary, and the police commander of the capital to avoid a domino effect of sympathy for the coup in the rest of the country.

Moraes was himself empowered by the Lula government and major parties in Congress to head a secret investigation into the dictatorial conspiracy led by Bolsonaro and his allies because of his closeness to the police and military apparatus. Moraes had previously headed the Military Police in Sao Paulo, as the states security secretary, being later appointed minister of justice and public security by Michel Temers administration.

The basis for these reactionary policies is the ever growing concern that the austerity measures carried out by the PT on behalf of national and imperialist capital will sooner rather than later lead to a confrontation with the working class, and the capitalist state should prepare accordingly. In barely a year, the government has abandoned its previous abstract references to social reforms, instead committing itself to a zero-deficit 2024 budget with the single-minded aim of attracting maximum foreign capital investment flows into the country. Far from trickling down to increases in wages and welfare as promised by Lula, the assurance of stability for foreign investors will require massive repression against workers and an ever deeper turn to the very repressive forces that are the backbone of the far-right threat that the PT promised to combat.
An Arctic blast of brutally cold weather hit nearly every state in the US over the weekend and brought deadly conditions including record low temperatures, blizzards and high winds. There were scattered reports of deaths among the homeless and others affected by the cold wave, but no systematic national count is carried out to monitor the impact.

As is the case with every extreme weather event in recent decades, the bomb cyclone exposed the decrepit condition of the US infrastructure and revealed the lack of government preparedness and a callous disregard for the most vulnerable sections of the population.

More than 100 million people from the Canadian border to the Mexican border are currently under wind-chill alerts and most of the lower 48 states have some type of winter weather warning.

The National Weather Service reported wind-chill effective temperatures could reach minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit in the Plains and minus 50 in Montana and the Dakotas. Wind-chill temperatures as low as minus 45 can cause frostbite in as little as 5 minutes.

The Arctic blast is expected to impact 79 percent of the US geographically, from Oregon to Mississippi and Florida by the end of the week, with more than 231 million Americans experiencing below average temperatures.

Many areas of the country are unprepared for severe winter weather and were forced to take emergency measures. Dozens of school districts canceled classes in Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama following the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, with temperatures expected to reach a low point on Tuesday.

The mayor of Shelby County (Memphis), Tennessee, declared a state of emergency after several inches of snow fell followed by extremely cold temperatures. A message from the mayor said people should stay off the street today, and if you can do it safely, please check in on your neighbors.

Tate Reeves, governor of Mississippi, declared a state of emergency and warned residents to prepare for extreme winter weather. On social media, Reeves claimed his declaration, will allow us to mobilize state assets, and better support response and recovery efforts. However, roads in the northern part of the state had already started to ice over by the time his statement was released around 4 p.m. Sunday.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a bomb cyclone is a storm that rapidly intensifies and undergoes a significant drop in air pressure. The system typically develops over the ocean or off a coast in the winter. It begins in the temperate latitudes and strengthens quickly, with the atmospheric pressure at its center dropping swiftly, a process called bombogenesis.

The current weather system, being called Winter Storm Heather by meteorologists, is picking up fresh Arctic air as it moves from the south to the northeast this week, dropping snow and leaving icing conditions in its wake. The sudden drop in temperatures is the result of Arctic air escaping the polar vortex, a high-altitude swirl of winds surrounded by a lower-altitude band called the polar jet stream.

According to an article in Scientific American, If the polar vortex gets disrupted, however, the jet stream can become wavy and carry frigid air much farther south than usual in an Arctic blast. Sometimes this frigid air brings snow and ice; other times the weather is dry but bitterly cold.

While scientists are still working through the precise cause of the polar vortex disruptions, many experts point to climate change as likely playing a role. Judah Cohen, a climate scientist at the company Verisk Atmospheric and Environmental Research, told Scientific American that this winters melting sea ice near Scandinavia coupled with high snowfall near Siberia set up a thermal contrast, which drove the polar jet stream into waves.

The polar vortex typically wakes up around January, Cohen said, so it makes sense that the sharp chill from an Arctic blast is being felt now since the stage was set by these distant trends. Cohen went on to say the current blast, will be a very impressivecertainly one of the most impressive Arctic outbreaks of this century anyway.

The extremely cold weather once again exposed the fragile condition of the electricity infrastructure across the US. Approximately 200,000 Michigan customers of DTE Energy and Consumers Energy were without power beginning on Friday during snowstorms that hit the Great Lakes region.

The power grid in Texas was stressed and set a new record for demand on Monday. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) reported that power usage was the most demand on the grid ever recorded during the winter months. For a second day in a row ERCOT issued a conservation appeal, this one set for Tuesday morning from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. in anticipation of potential outages.

An information sign is displayed at a car wash center in Palatine, Ill., Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024 [AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh]

The Texas agency issued a statement Monday which said, Tomorrows conservation appeal does not indicate ERCOT is experiencing emergency conditions at this time. ERCOT will remain vigilant and communicate further if conditions change because of continued freezing temperatures and very high demand in the morning hours.

As of this writing, at least 15 people have died from circumstances associated with the severe winter weather:

Wisconsin: The deaths of three homeless men in Milwaukee, Wisconsin are being investigated as cases of hypothermia. A 64-year-old man was discovered under a bridge and a 69-year-old man was found in a vehicle he had been using as a shelter. A 40-year-old man was found dead today shortly before 10 a.m. on a heating mechanism near the railroad tracks, according to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiners Office. Another Wisconsin man died on Friday while snowblowing his driveway in the Milwaukee suburb of Franklin.

Illinois: On Friday, a man was found dead in the Chicago suburb of Schiller Park, apparently from exposure to the cold.

Michigan: A 60-year-old homeless man was found dead in Orion Township, in the Oakland County suburbs of Detroit, on Sunday morning. He had died of exposure overnight, according to press accounts.

Idaho: In Idaho, one man is missing and believed to be dead after being caught with two others in an avalanche near the Montana border on Thursday.

Mississippi and Arkansas: On Saturday, two drivers were killed in separate accidents involving snowy conditions, one in Humphrey County, Mississippi, and the other in White County, Arkansas.

Oregon: Also on Saturday, trees fell and killed two people in Portland and Lake Oswego, Oregon. The deaths of two other men were being investigated as cases of hypothermia.

Utah: In Utah, after nearly four feet of snow fell in the mountains during a 24-hour period, a snowmobiler was struck and killed on Sunday evening by a semitruck near Salt Lake City while attempting to cross the highway.

The catastrophic levels of homelessness in the US are exposed during the winter when there is a sharp increase in hypothermia deaths. In Seattle, Washington, for example, the number of homeless deaths in 2023 set a record of 415, according to data from the King County Medical Examiners Office. That was an increase of 34 percent from the previous record of 309 deaths in 2022.

The US government does not maintain an official count of the number of people who die while experiencing homelessness. When a homeless person dies, their housing status is rarely recorded. It is estimated by the National Coalition for the Homeless that approximately 700 people die each year from hypothermia.

Along with the forever COVID policy of capitalist governments throughout the world that has permitted millions to die from an entirely preventable disease, the increasing number of deaths from extreme weather events, including the present deadly Arctic blast and winter storm, are accepted as inevitable.

The truth is that the public does not have to accept the inevitability of the death and destruction from hurricanes, tsunamis, tornadoes and bomb cyclones, the greatest burden of which falls upon the working class and the poor. The capitalist billionaire elite will not take measures to prevent the impact of severe weather eventsor for that matter adequately assist those who are directly impacted by thembecause to do so would cut into their profits and wealth accumulation.

The working class can and must take the necessary measures to put an end to the existential threats posed by the capitalist system, including nuclear world war, climate disaster and pandemics, by organizing itself internationally and fighting for world socialist revolution.
On December 27, a 54-year-old disability care resident known as Eddie died after waiting ten hours for an ambulance in Adelaide, South Australia (SA). This reflects the deepening crisis of the public health system, devastated by decades of funding cuts, and exacerbated by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that three calls were made to emergency services on behalf of Eddie, who was experiencing abdominal pain and vomiting. He was initially triaged as Urgent Priority 5, which required an ambulance to attend within an hour. By the third call, nearly ten hours later, this was upgraded to Priority 1, but by the time an ambulance arrived, Eddie was dead.

An ambulance in Sydney in 2020 [Photo by Helitak430 via Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

That night, a Code White was declared, with public hospital emergency departments across Adelaide overwhelmed and ambulances unable to unload patients. A video posted on the Ambulance Employees Association (AEA) Facebook page showed more than ten ambulances ramped outside Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Speaking to the media, Eddies uncle said, He couldnt talk, so he just had to suffer while calls were made and he just didnt make it He was in immense pain, I can only imagine, he must have been feeling like he was going through hell.

Eddies aunt, Brenda, pointed the finger of blame at Premier Peter Malinauskas and the Labor government.

She said, Mr Malinauskas, you promised South Australia that you were going to fix the rampingyou have failed. Eddie is another statistic and we want to be here today to make somebody responsible We do not want another family to go through what weve gone through. We dont want any more deaths.

Coming into office in March 2022, having run an election campaign focussed on the disastrous state of the public health system under the state Liberal government, the Malinauskas Labor government has since presided over record levels of ambulance ramping, reflecting a shortage of hospital beds and resources.

The government has announced funding for 550 more hospital beds across the state, however, in a recent press release it revealed just 150 additional public hospital beds would be opened this year.

A recent Australian Medical Association report card covering data from 202122 showed that South Australia had the lowest percentage of patients transferred from ambulances within 30 minutes in the country. Just 42.9 percent were transferred within the recommended time, a 14.5 percent deterioration from the previous year, followed by Queensland (58.7 percent) and Western Australia (63 percent).

The AEA, along with the other trade unions, promoted the election of a Labor government in 2022 as a panacea. The union has since sought to defend Labors role in the deepening crisis.

In a Facebook post in April 2023, the AEA wrote they were, disappointed to see the hours lost to ramping increase over March 2023 to almost 4,000 hours in a single month, equivalent to 11 ambulances crews ramped each day for their entire shift.

However, the union claimed, There is still a strong commitment from Government, SA Health and SA Ambulance Service to explore every possible way to reduce ramping Lack of capacity remains the primary driver for ramping and we are reassured that of the 550 additional beds committed these are being brought online as quickly as possible.

In November 2023, the worst month on record for ambulance ramping in the state, the AEA merely stated they welcomed the additional 150 hospital beds opening within the next 12 months, and continue to call for measures designed to release ambulances from the ramp to respond to patients stranded in the community with life threatening emergencies.

The dire conditions in healthcare in South Australia are part of a broader crisis of healthcare across the country, with reports of increased ambulance ramping, growing emergency department wait times, bed shortages and understaffing in every state and territory.

In November, 67-year-old Queensland tank cleaner Wayne Irving died after waiting three hours in the back of an ambulance outside Ipswich Hospital. He is believed to have suffered a fatal heart attack as he was eventually being transferred from the stretcher to a hospital bed. ABC News reported the first responders at the hospital escalated his condition five times to no avail.

Waynes daughter, Lauren Hansford, said her family had lost faith in the health system: Its failing us, its failing everyone around us When you put a loved one in an ambulance, you expect them to get the treatment they deserve. I wish I had picked him up in my car and taken him to our local doctors and nurses.

The deadly delay of treatment is the result of an acute shortage of hospital staff and resources, caused by the deliberate gutting of public healthcare by successive Labor and Liberal-National governments, state, territory and federal.

These cuts have been deepened by the federal Labor government of Anthony Albanese, whose latest budget slashed $11 billion from the health system over two years, part of a broader assault on wages and vital services for the working class. In stark contrast, increasingly vast sums have been allocated to military expansion, including $368 billion for nuclear-powered submarines, in preparation for a US-led war against China.

This has been enforced at every turn by the health unions, which have imposed one wage-slashing enterprise agreement or state award after another, and prevented any struggle by workers against decades of cost-cutting and privatisation.

Earlier this month, the Australian Nursing Federation struck a backroom deal with the Western Australian Labor government that will slash the real wages of public sector nurses and midwives across the state.

In December, the NSW Labor government and the Health Services Union jointly announced a deal that will award paramedics in the state nominal pay increases of between 11 and 29 percent over four years. It represents a real wage cut for many workers and only a marginal increase for others, that does nothing to make up for losses in previous union-government agreements.

The union-government agreement was rushed through to defuse a registration boycott by paramedics, that would have left much of the state without ambulance cover.

Despite the promises of union and Labor officials, neither of these deals, nor any of those imposed on health workers by the unions in recent months and years, have done or will do anything to address the chronic shortages of funding, resources and staff common to all public hospitals and health facilities.

Health workers must take matters into their own hands to address these issues. The formation of rank-and-file committees, politically independent of the unions and Labor, is essential to developing and taking forward health workers demands.

But this struggle cannot be limited to wages and conditions alone. A high-quality public health system, staffed by well-paid workers with decent working conditions, is fundamentally incompatible with the capitalist system, under which all social needs, including health and life itself, are subordinated to the profit demands of big business.

This has been starkly exposed in the COVID-19 pandemic, in which the conscious pro-business decisions of all capitalist governments, to dispense with even the most basic public health measures against the virus, have caused more than 27 million deaths worldwide.

Australia is no exception. With union-backed Labor governments leading the charge, the homicidal let it rip program has caused almost 24,000 deaths, according to official figures that likely fall far short of the true toll.

Addressing the dire conditions in the public health system is impossible without a fight to eliminate COVID-19, which continues to exacerbate the crisis through additional patient load and staff illness.

This poses the need for an alternative political perspective, socialism, and the fight to establish workers governments and bring hospitals and emergency services, along with the major banks and corporations, under democratic workers control. Only in this way can the immense resources currently monopolised by the wealthy elite be freed up to provide for the needs of the working class.
Sunday marked 100 days of the imperialist-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza. In just over three months, nearly 24,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, or approximately one out of every 100 people living in Gaza. This includes a staggering 9,600 children. More than 60,000three out of every 100 peoplehave been injured. This is the equivalent, in percentage terms, of 3.3 million people dead and 10 million injured in the United States.

Palestinians in the remains of Gaza City on Jan. 3, 2024. [AP Photo/Mohammed Hajjar]

The bombing campaign has left more than half of all buildings damaged or destroyed. Only 15 out of the 36 hospitals in Gaza are even partially functional. Those that remain open confront an acute shortage of medical equipment, medicine and manpower.

As of late last month, it was estimated that 1.9 million people in Gaza, or more than 85 percent, had been internally displaced, forced into a tiny region less than one-third of the total area of the Gaza Strip, which is itself only 365 square kilometers. Diseases are proliferating under conditions of intense overcrowding and lack of access to food, water, electricity and basic sanitation.

The past three months have seen one atrocity after anotherfrom the bombing of refugee camps and hospitals, to the murder of journalists and media workers (well over 100 so far), to the mass execution of prisoners.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu marked the 100-day milestone of slaughter by declaring: No one will stop usnot The Hague [a reference to the genocide case brought before the International Court of Justice], not the axis of evil, and not anyone else. Israel will continue to the enduntil complete victory, he warned, which can only mean until every Palestinian in Gaza and the West Bank is killed or driven into exile.

The genocide in Gaza has sparked mass opposition throughout the world, expressed in protests of millions of people over the past three months, the largest anti-war movement since the protests against the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. It has exposed not only the criminality and fascistic character of the Israeli government, but the active support and complicity of the imperialist powers, above all the United States. For an entire generation of young people, the unequivocal support of the Biden administration for Israels actions is demolishing the lie that the Democratic Party is a lesser evil.

A globally coordinated protest on Saturday involved demonstrations in 120 cities in 45 countries. This included, most significantly, a protest of at least 500,000 in Londonthe largest in that city since more than 800,000 gathered on November 11and a demonstration of more than 100,000 in Washington, D.C.

There is a marked contrast, however, between the spirit animating those attending the demonstrations and the perspective of those principally involved in organizing them. The politics of the latter is that of the impotent middle class, which leaves unsaid all the most important things that must be said, while directing opposition behind sections of the ruling elite responsible for the very crimes that are being committed.

The rally in London was co-organized by the Stop the War Coalition, which is politically led by former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. In his remarks, Corbyn, the personification of political cowardice, did not mention either the Labour Party or its leader, Sir Keir Starmer, who has fully backed the genocide. This is despite the fact that Starmer expelled Corbyn from the Parliamentary Labour Party based on fraudulent charges of antisemitism. The platform featured several Labour MPs who have opposed the Labour Partys support of Israel. All advance the position that somehow the Labour Party can be pressured to oppose Israels actions.

The rally in the United States was organized by a coalition of Muslim groups along with ANSWER, which is associated with the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL).

A request sent to the organizers by the World Socialist Web Site and Socialist Equality Party to speak at the demonstration was rejected. While a number of Palestinian speakers spoke movingly about the catastrophe in Gaza, the political line was provided by a handful of Democrats who could be found to criticize Israels actions, along with presidential candidates Jill Stein (Green Party) and Cornel West.

Among the Democrats was Congressman Andre Carson (Indiana), who declared that he saw in the demonstration what it means to leverage our voting bloc. Carson is among those Democrats (along with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others) who signed a letter addressed to the White House last year which, while expressing some criticism of Israels actions, concluded by thanking the Biden administration for what it is doing to respond to this crisis, provide support to our ally Israel, and bring American citizens home safely.

Carson avoided any reference in his remarks to the Biden administration or its support for the genocide, while concluding with a call for re-electing those who represent uspresumably himself and other Democrats.

The remarks of Stein, ostensibly running independently of the Democrats as a member of the Green Party, were entirely oriented to pressuring the political establishment, while not referring to either the Democratic Party or President Biden by name. We have the power to say to the AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee] White House and to the AIPAC Congress, that you are accountable to us, to we the people We have the power to be instructing our elected officials what they need to do.

The experience of the past three months, however, has demonstrated that the elected officials in both the Democratic and Republican parties respond to mass opposition not by being instructed, but by denouncing protests against genocide as antisemitic and seeking to criminalize them. The Biden administration, moreover, has responded to growing opposition by carrying out a major expansion of the war in the Middle East through the bombing of Yemen, threatening war with Iran.

Cornel West addressed the rally toward its conclusion. West specializes in a type of speaking that acts more on the nerves than on the brain, full of sound and fury that, if one gives it a moment of thought, signifies nothing. As typical in all his remarks, West shouted about love warriors, the need for love in freedom and freedom in love, truth across the world rising again, and other moralistic generalities.

West referred to Biden and other officials in the administration as war criminals, though again he made no reference to the Democratic Party itself, with which he has a long association. West concluded his remarks by declaring, We are calling for more than ceasefire, we are calling for an end of the siege, an end of the occupation, and for Palestinians to live a life of dignity. How is this to be achieved? Through what means and based on what perspective? West offered nothing, except the hope that Biden and Secretary of State Blinken would change their ways.

Excluded from the demonstration was any reference to the essential issues in the development of a movement against the genocide. Nothing was said of the history of Israel and Zionism or its role as a bulwark for imperialism in the Middle East. No one referred to the interests motivating imperialist support for the genocide, the three decades of unending war, the preparations for war against Iran, the relationship of this to the ongoing US-NATO war against Russia or the developing conflict with China. There was no reference to the working class or the growth of the class struggle throughout the world. The words imperialism and capitalism, let alone socialism, were not uttered.

The organizers wanted no references to any of this because it would cut across their orientation to the Democratic Party. This of course is why they refused to allow a speaker from the World Socialist Web Site to address the rally.

For masses of workers and youth, including those who have participated in the demonstrations, the urgent question is the development of a movement of the working class, on a world scale, in the US and internationally, including through mass strikes and other actions to stop the flow of weaponry to Israel.

The fight against the genocide is necessarily a fight against US-NATO imperialism, for which Israel is serving as an agent in the Middle East. The fight against imperialism is necessarily a fight against capitalism, through the conquest of power by the working class and the socialist reorganization of the world economy. This requires opposition to all capitalist states and the political parties of the ruling elite. It is only along this path that this war and all the wars that are being escalated and prepared can be stopped.

This is the essential conclusion that must be drawn from the 100 days of imperialist-Zionist genocide in Gaza.
(Bloomberg) -- Chip-design company Synopsys Inc. agreed to buy software developer Ansys Inc. for about $34 billion in cash and stock, marking one of the largest deals announced worldwide in the past year.

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Ansys shareholders will receive $197 in cash and 0.345 shares of Synopsys stock per share, according to an announcement by the companies Tuesday. That values Ansys shares at about $390.19 based on closing share prices on Dec. 21, before Bloomberg reported that the companies were in talks. The deal is set to close in the first half of 2025, Synopsys said.

The acquisition aims to expand Synopsys customer base and its suite of products. Synopsys, based in Sunnyvale, California, is one of a few major companies that make software used to design semiconductors, competing primarily with Cadence Design Systems Inc. Meanwhile Ansys makes simulation software used by engineers to help predict how products will work in the real world. Engineers use its structural analysis software before a project to cut manufacturing costs, reduce risk and bring products to market faster.

Ansys shares fell 5.4% to $327.95 at 12:14 p.m. in New York, after closing at $346.48 on Friday. The drop signals a potential pullback by investors who saw the stock price surge after last months reports that the Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-based company was exploring a sale. Ansys had a market value of about $30.1 billion on Jan. 12. Synopsys shares rose 3% to $508.99.

Given a long timeline, and geopolitical risk wrapped into antitrust risk, we arent overly surprised to see Ansys trade off, said Tyler Tebbs, managing director at the advisory firm MKP Advisors. Tebbs also noted the marginal premium that is being offered compared with the stocks previous close.

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Synopsys is adding another layer to the design systems it sells. Its current customers mainly make electronic components, primarily semiconductors. Ansys will bring in makers of everything from aircraft to industrial machinery just as that gear becomes more complicated and reliant on automation, which ultimately depends on semiconductors. Synopsys management is betting that the growing use of artificial intelligence will expand the need for systems that can map out increasingly complex electronic systems, keeping them safe and affordable.

The takeover of Ansys provides an early boost for dealmakers in 2024 as they seek to move on from a lackluster period of mergers and acquisitions activity. Niraj Patel, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, called the deal a strong strategic fit for Synopsys. Still, Patel said in an email, regulatory approvals and a lengthy close time of 2025 could signal some challenges.

In August, the firm completed a purchase of PikeTec GmbH, a closely held German software company that focuses on autonomous driving, in a deal valued at $200 million. And in an interview with Bloomberg Television, then-outgoing Chief Executive Officer Aart de Geus Brisk said the company could be selling even more into China if it werent for existing export restrictions.

Read More: Synopsys Could Sell More to China Without Export Rules, CEO Says

Synopsys generated $5.84 billion in sales in the fiscal year ending Oct. 31 and analysts project a 13% revenue jump in fiscal year 2024. Ansys is expected to produce $2.26 billion in sales in 2023, with analysts estimating a 10% increase this year.

(Updates share prices, adds explanation of Ansys product offerings in sixth paragraph.)

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Laman Ismayilova

Four-time Olympic medalist and a three-time World Champion Evgeni Plushenko has visited the Alley of Honor in Baku and laid flowers in front of the grave of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev.

The memory of prominent ophthalmologist-scientist, academician Zarifa Aliyeva was also commemorated, Azernews reports.

Note that the Russian figure skater arrived in Baku as part of his tour with an ice show "Tales of Evgeni Plushenko".

Russian figure skating stars, including three-time world champion, seven-time European champion, four-time Grand Prix Final winner Evgeni Plushenko, Russian Rocket, the wonderkid of Russian figure skating and silver medalist at the Olympics in Beijing - Alexandra Trusova, European champion in single skating Alena Kostornaia, and her partner in pair skating Georgy Kunitsa, Lisa Nugumanova, Alexander Plushenko, and other champions took part in the ice show.
PETALING JAYA, Malaysia, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CNB Amanah Berhad ("CNB Amanah") has partnered with 23 Century International Life Science Centre ("23 Century") to create Malaysia's premier stem cell management platform, 'CELLTRUST,' offering a comprehensive health and wealth management solution. This one-stop platform ensures clients not only receive financial security but also enjoy complimentary stem cell services.

From left 1. Mr Tham Lih Chung - Group CEO of INCITE INNOVATIONS SDN BHD 2. Mr Kelvin Liew - CEO of CNB AMANAH 3. Dato' Lee - Founder of CNB AMANAH 4. Ms Angelina Tiah - CEO of 23 CENTRUY INTERNATIONAL LIFE SCIENCE CENTRE 5. Ms Moon Ong - COO of 23 CENTRUY INTERNATIONAL LIFE SCIENCE CENTRE 6. Mr Vincent Ong - Director of MCELLEX MANAGEMENT SDN BHD

CNB Amanah CEO Kelvin Liew expressed that health and longevity, along with financial freedom, have always been everyone's dreams. However, in the pursuit of financial freedom during the younger years and the hustle for career success, the young often overlook the importance of health care. This oversight leads to the need to exchange more wealth and time for health later on. With CELLTRUST now available, you can entrust your wealth to CNB Amanah for effective financial planning and safekeeping, while your health is taken care of by 23 Century. This allows you to achieve the dream of healthy, longevity and financial freedom.

After setting up CELLTRUST, clients will have CNB Amanah safeguard and manage their funds for three years. Additionally, they will receive three years of complimentary Stem Cell Treatments and a 5% return. This is designed to assist clients in maintaining their well-being, improving their quality of life, and yielding substantial and stable returns.

CNB Amanah has always upheld the commitment to providing the most professional, secure, and transparent trust services for clients. In 2023, the introduction of the "Secure Trust," offering consistent 8% return per annum, gained significant market and client acclaim and support. As a result, CNB Amanah's revenue for 2023 has increased by 3000% compared to previous years. Additionally, the distinguished clients who have established the Secure Trust have successfully received returns consistently since the launch of the Secure Trust.

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CNB Amanah expresses heartfelt gratitude and appreciation for this achievement, which is closely tied to the trust and support of everyone. CNB Amanah will continue to fulfil its commitment to providing comprehensive trust services for the people of Malaysia, assisting in effective wealth and estate planning. We ensure that every entrusted responsibility is reliable, allowing the wealth of each client to be passed down through generations with confidence.

CNB Amanah also expresses its commitment to partnering with a diverse range of enterprises in 2024 to launch trust products catering to various market demands. This initiative aims to provide clients with a more comprehensive and secure one-stop wealth inheritance service.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Elaine Lee

M: 018 8728001

E: admin@cnbamanah.com

http://www.cnbamanah.com

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Cameron Christmas, 33, and Jessica Cooper, 29, are facing a slew of drug and firearm charges

Dover Police Department (2) Jessica Cooper (left) and Cameron Christmas

Last week, two daycare operators identified as Cameron Christmas and Jessica Cooper were arrested in Delaware

A search warrant served at The Little Peoples LFCC 2 daycare in Dover on Jan. 11 allegedly resulted in the recovery of at least two handguns and other drugs including 302 bags of heroin

Police said four children were present at the daycare when the search took place

Two arrests were made in Delaware last week following the recovery of drugs, including cocaine and heroin, and guns allegedly inside a home daycare.

On Jan. 11, Cameron Christmas, 33, and Jessica Cooper, 29, were arrested on drug and firearm charges after a search warrant was executed that day at The Little Peoples LFCC 2 daycare in Dover, according to a press release shared by the Dover Police Department.

The raid allegedly yielded two handguns, 302 bags of heroin, three ounces of cocaine, 26 grams of crack cocaine, and about $32,000 in cash, police said.

According to police, four children were at the daycare when the search warrant was executed, and they were later returned to their guardians.

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The pair, who police say operated the home daycare, were subsequently arrested and processed by Dover police. Both suspects face a slew of charges including possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a firearm, and endangering the welfare of a child.

Its unclear if the suspects have entered a plea or retained an attorney to speak on their behalf.



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The young men, students at Asbury University, became stranded on Monday morning on top of a sandstone formation known as Courthouse Rock

Kentucky State Police

 On Monday, the Kentucky State Police and multiple other agencies rescued four students from Asbury University who had become stranded overnight on Courthouse Rock

 A helicopter transported the group to a local fire department, where they were determined to be in "good spirits"

 Kentucky authorities, including Gov. Andy Beshear, are cautioning the public to be weather aware and to avoid unnecessary travel in the region

Four college students were rescued on Monday after they underestimated the weather conditions while camping at a popular Kentucky gorge, authorities said.

The young men, students at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, became stranded when they woke up covered in snow after spending the night on a sandstone formation known as Courthouse Rock in Red River Gorge, Powell County Search and Rescue said.

After determining that it was not safe to climb down, the group called for help at around 9:30 a.m. local time, authorities said.

Due to the icy weather conditions, first responders quickly realized that the best way to evacuate the students would be to use a helicopter, per Powell County Search and Rescue.

Related: Indiana Nurse Among 4 Dead After Arizona Hot Air Balloon Crash: 'She Was a Beautiful Person'

The Kentucky State Police coordinated the evacuation along with multiple agencies, and shortly after 2 p.m., the men were flown to Middlefork Fire Department where Powell County EMS personnel evaluated their medical needs.

Other than being cold, all four students seemed to be in good spirits, Powell County Search and Rescue said.

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First responders called the rescue one of the most dangerous ever attempted in the gorge, due to several inches of snow, the wind, and icy rock faces.

Related: At Least 5 Dead as Cold Weather Rages Through Midwest

Helicopters are inherently dangerous, Powell County Search and Rescue said. When that is deemed the safest option, you know youve found yourself in a potentially life or death situation.

Officials on Monday  including Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear  cautioned those in the area to be aware of the weather, and to avoid unnecessary travel in the region.



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Bill Ackman, hedge fund millionaire and nemesis of former Harvard President Claudine Gay. (Jeenah Moon / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

There was a time, I must admit, when the hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman was one of my Wall Street heroes.

It started in December 2012. Ackman had decided to take a short position in the shares of the multilevel marketing firm Herbalife.

Ackman justified his bet with a heroic 334-deck Power Point presentation laying out all the features of the Los Angeles company that he said made it indistinguishable from a scam: It marketed its nutritional supplements as unique products when they were actually commodity supplements sold at premium prices, he said. It was a pyramid scheme in disguise, and more.

Students are forced to withdraw for much less...Rewarding her with a highly paid faculty position sets a very bad precedent for academic integrity at Harvard.

Bill Ackman attacks Claudine Gay for plagiarism, before his own wife was also accused

Some of Ackman's points dovetailed with reporting by me and my colleagues at The Times  that its widely touted "affiliation" with UCLA was a penny-pinching attempt to gain reflected scientific credibility from the university's reputation (to UCLA's discredit) and that it exploited Latinos in its marketing, for example.

In short, I saw Ackman's campaign as an effort to take down a company that needed taking down. That was the good side of Bill Ackman  willing to take a short position in a highflying stock and back it up with solid research. Only someone with a lot of money and even more personal vanity seemed capable of this audacious approach.

As it happened, however, Ackman's campaign also revealed the drawbacks of Ackmanism. He was so confident that government regulators would seize on his claims and bring the stock  then trading in the mid $40s  to zero, that he publicly disclosed that he had placed a $1-billion short bet against the company. (Short investments make money if the shares fall.)

His audacity brought Ackman haters out of the woodwork. Among those who harbored old gripes about Ackman was the storied investor Carl Icahn, who evidently (as I wrote) "relished the opportunity to put the squeeze on a short-seller who had been unwise enough to proclaim his vulnerable position to the world." Icahn took the other side of the bet, propping up Herbalife's price.

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Ultimately, the company settled a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit by paying $200 million to 350,000 consumers who had been gulled by "Herbalifes deceptive earnings claims" into signing on as Herbalife marketers. The company agreed to restructure its business.

That didn't save Ackman, because the company survived. He disclosed in early 2018 that he finally had exited his short investment in Herbalife, taking a loss that some investment analysts estimated at the full $1 billion.

Read more: Column: The truth about the Harvard president's ouster

Obviously, Ackman's mistake then was braggadocio. Had he kept his short bet quiet, he might have been able to ride Herbalife's price decline down to a healthy profit. But he couldn't resist boasting about how smart and audacious he was.

The same character flaw has been on display in Ackman's latest crusade, which began as an ultimately successful effort to oust Claudine Gay as the president of Harvard. This effort necessarily had to be waged in public, since it was clear that only public pressure would force the hand of Gay and Harvard's leadership.

Ackman began his crusade with complaints about Gay's response to purported antisemitism on the Harvard campus and her flatfooted response to a tendentious question from right-wing Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) at a congressional hearing. After her resignation as president, Ackman latched onto accusations of plagiarism in some of Gay's academic writing to assert that she should also be fired from the university's faculty.

Embracing ambiguity may well be as life-sustaining as raw almonds and SPF. IOW  if you can afford a one way sojourn to Mars on a rainy day, make it round.  Neri Oxman (@NeriOxman) February 16, 2018

"Students are forced to withdraw for much less," Ackman tweeted. "Rewarding her with a highly paid faculty position sets a very bad precedent for academic integrity at Harvard."

That's the public position that has come back to bite Ackman where it hurts the most. By pushing on the plagiarism accusations against Gay, Ackman opened the door to a broader inquiry into plagiarism in academia  specifically, in the work of his wife, Neri Oxman, a former professor at MIT.

The publication by Business Insider of allegedly plagiarized passages in Oxman's work has set Ackman off on a delirious public snit against Business Insider and contortions about what is and isn't plagiarism and what volume of it warrants professional extermination, all played out in extended tweets. The battle has led to further examination of Oxman's work, which doesn't always impress with its coherence.

A few other billionaires with ambitions of running the world have learned that they have a better chance of getting what they want out of life by remaining in the background. One is Peter Thiel, who privately and quietly bankrolled a privacy lawsuit brought by wrestler Hulk Hogan against the celebrity website Gawker.

Thiel's role in backing Hogan's lawsuit with a $10-million donation remained a secret until after a jury returned a $140-million judgment against Gawker. Would Gawker have lost if it could have made Thiel's role public? Possibly not. By remaining behind the curtain, Thiel got what he wanted, which was effectively to put Gawker out of business.

Read more: Column: Elon Musk is an antisemite. What can anyone do about it?

Then there's Elon Musk, who was able to bask in his public image as a brilliant engineer with the ability to solve global warming and advance the cause of space travel through his companies Tesla and SpaceX. That lasted until he bought Twitter and became the tweeter-in-chief, revealing himself as an unreconstructed right-wing antisemitic conspiracy monger.

The effects this revelation will have on Tesla's electric vehicle sales and SpaceX's role as a government contractor are still unclear, but they may not be good.

There's more to this than a yarn about a billionaire hedge fund manager with terminal digital logorrhea. Ackman plainly never learned the lesson of the Streisand Effect, which describes how efforts to conceal or suppress information end up bringing that information even greater public attention.

(The term refers to an attempt by Barbra Streisand to have an aerial photo of her Malibu estate removed from a government mapping project; rather than secure her privacy, Streisand's lawsuit turned the photo into a sensation on the internet, where it remains easily available.)

Ackman's public conniptions on X, formerly Twitter, don't make him, Oxman, MIT or the MIT Media Lab, where Oxman used to be a professor, look good. And none of it would have happened if Ackman had kept his mouth shut.

That brings us to what has reemerged into public awareness as a result. Oxman's reputation as a public intellectual, such as it was, doesn't seem to have been enhanced by the more recent scrutiny of her work. Not that doubts about her output are entirely new: In 2018, Rachelle Hampton of Slate.com memorably, and accurately, described Oxman's Twitter feed as "a stream of majestic gobbledygook."

The Streisand Effect demonstrated its potency as recently as Monday, when Ackman posted a fantastically lengthy tweet responding to a report in Business Insider about Oxman's dealings with the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, who had been a big contributor to the MIT Media Lab. Who knew? Today, plenty of people.

Ackman objected to Business Insider's assertion that he "pressured" MIT in emails to keep Oxman's name out of the developing Epstein scandal. (Business Insider attributed the "pressure" claim to the Boston Globe, but the Globe didn't use that term and merely reported the emails.)

Read more: Column: Angry over antisemitism, billionaires are seeking to cancel free speech on campus

In his own defense, Ackman posted the key email in question and urged his X followers to read it "carefully so you can see for yourself."

Ackman must have been bluffing, on the assumption that no one would bother actually reading the email. Those who do will discover that it reads unmistakably as a threat to do damage to MIT's reputation if Oxman's name is mentioned in connection with the Epstein matter.

Here's the money quote, from a message from Ackman to Joi Ito, then the Media Lab's director:

"It is very important that you dont mention Neris name or otherwise get her involved or she will have to issue her own statement to protect her reputation explaining why it was sent and at whose request, who else received similar gifts, how she met Epstein, who else at MIT received funding from Epstein ... This will of course blow this up even more which we would certainly not like to see happen."

Tell me that doesn't remind you of that stock joke in which gangsters tell their target, "Nice place you got here. Be a shame if anything happened to it."

This only resurrected the noisome history of Epstein and the Media Lab, which MIT surely hoped would be dead and buried after it issued an independent report on the matter in January 2020. The report says Ito "cultivated Epstein as a donor" even after Epstein's 2008 conviction in Florida for soliciting minors for prostitution. Ito resigned from MIT in 2019.

Among the beneficiaries, according to the report, was Oxman, who met Epstein on campus in 2015 and received donations from him totaling $125,000 for her research (Ackman says it was $150,000). In 2017, she arranged to have a ceremonial resin "orb," apparently a gewgaw given to donors and other honorees that she designed, delivered to Epstein. After their one meeting in 2015, Ackman says, Oxman "never accepted an invitation or saw or spoke to [Epstein] again." The MIT report doesn't state otherwise.

MIT can't be happy that Ackman has turned the spotlight again on the Media Lab, which has regularly been criticized as an overblown hive of inflated egos with the skimpiest record of accomplishments to its name. Anyway, Oxman left MIT in 2021.

The greatest damage that Ackman's tweets have done may be to the debate over academic plagiarism. Despite asserting that Gay's plagiarism damaged Harvard's reputation for "academic integrity," he now argues that allegations of Oxman's copying of passages and phrases from other sources  including even Wikipedia  without proper attribution amount only to trivial citation errors, not plagiarism at all.

He has threatened to sue Business Insider, which says its stories on the issue are "accurate and the facts well documented." He also has threatened to do a scrub on the academic work of MIT's hundreds of faculty members in search of plagiarism.

Is there any clarity to come out of this mudslinging? The answer is no  just more mud. And more noise ... until Ackman learns to shut up.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Hallyu, aka the Korean wave, has spread all over the world, especially after many movies and dramas earned recognition. Some of the award-winning K-dramas include Squid Game, Crash Landing on You, and The Glory.

While Lee Jung-Jaes life and death-themed drama received honors internationally, the other two won South Koreas prestigious awards. All these award-winning K-dramas provide unique storylines that engage viewers till the end. Many of the series have even been renewed for more seasons after gaining popularity.

Take a look at a few of the award-winning K-dramas below.

Squid Game

Squid Game is a 2021 K-drama that garnered appreciation worldwide. The popular series bagged several prestigious awards, such as Screen Actors Guild Awards, Baeksang Arts Awards, Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards, Primetime Emmy Awards, and many more.

The K-drama follows 456 players participating in a strange game to earn money to pay their debts. They participate in the competition thinking of earning a whopping cash prize but soon find out it is a life-and-death game. The winner to survive till the end will receive 45.6 billion won (over $38 million).

Available on Netflix, the Emmy-winning Squid Game has been renewed for season 2. The second installment will be premiering this year.

Crash Landing On You

Crash Landing On You is a 2019 Korean drama starring Hyun Bin and Son Ye-Jin in lead roles. It is one of the award-winning K-dramas that bagged the prestigious Baeksang Arts Awards. It also won the 7th APAN Star Awards, the 15th Seoul International Drama Awards, and the Asian Academy Creative Awards.

The K-drama is a love story of a South Korean chaebol heiress and a North Korean army captain. Due to a tornado, Yoon Se-Ri crash-landed in North Korea from Seoul. Captain Ri Jeong-Hyeok rescues her and keeps her safe until he finds a way to transport her to her homeland. Amid the chaos, the two fall in love.

The Glory

Starring Song Hye-Kyo in the lead role, The Glory is another award-winning K-drama that became a sensation last year. It bagged Baeksang Arts Awards, Asian Academy Creative Awards, Blue Dragon Series Awards, and Critics Choice Awards.

The K-drama is one of the best revenge dramas revolving around Moon Dong-Eun (Song Hye-Kyo). She was brutally bullied in high school and thus dropped out. As an adult, she seeks revenge on her tormentors. She becomes a teacher at a school where one of her bullies kids studies.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo

Extraordinary Attorney Woo is a heartfelt 2022 K-drama featuring Park Eun-Bin. The series has won several awards, including the APAN Star Awards, Baeksang Arts Awards, Critics Choice Television Awards, Seoul International Drama Awards, and Busan International Film Festival  Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards.

The story revolves around Woo Young-Woo (Park Eun-Bin), a woman on the autism spectrum. She is a young lawyer with a high IQ and incredible memory but lacks social interactions. In a world full of challenges, she finds love, friendship, and a great career.

Beyond Evil

The 2021s crime thriller series Beyond Evil is one of the award-winning K-dramas that have gained much traction. It was nominated for APAN Star Awards and won three Baeksang Arts Awards in the following categories: Best Drama, Screenplay, and Actor.

Starring Shin Ha-Kyun and Yeo Jin-Goo, the K-drama is the story of a cop and a detective joining forces to catch a serial killer. In the course of finding the criminal, they revise their own morality and the innocence of those involved in the case.

All the aforementioned Korean dramas are streaming on Netflix.

The post Award-Winning K-Dramas: Squid Game, Crash Landing on You & More appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
Banged Up Abroad Season 11 is the eleventh installment in this British documentary series created by Bart Layton. The show focuses on the stories of real-life people who get arrested while traveling abroad. Smuggling illegal substances often proves to be the major cause behind these arrests. In this edition, a journalist investigating illegal chemical weapons is taken hostage mid-way through his inspection. In another case, a man gets abducted by Al Qaeda and contemplates escaping with a fellow prisoner.

Heres how you can watch and stream Banged Up Abroad Season 11 via streaming services such as Disney Plus.

Is Banged Up Abroad Season 11 available to watch via streaming?

Yes, Banged Up Abroad Season 11 is available to watch via streaming on Disney Plus.

The intense docuseries showcases harrowing cases of actual people who get incarcerated while traveling abroad due to their involvement in illegal activities. The show sheds light on the intricacies of their arrest and the crime that they had committed. It effectively builds up to the moment through a combination of extensive interviews and dramatic reimagining. This time out, a journalist is tragically taken hostage while investigating illegally deployed chemical weapons. Another case sees a convicted drug dealer using camping tents to smuggle cocaine from Ecuador to Europe.

Multiple real-life personalities make an appearance on the show through interviews, sharing their experiences after getting involved in the aforementioned international debacles. The dramatic reenactments feature a series of actors portraying the roles of real characters, including Alice Bird, Johanna Restrepo, Alex Humes, Mat Laroche, Youssef Tounzi, Jorge Armando Cardenas, and Kevin Mathurin, among others.

Watch Banged Up Abroad Season 11 streaming via Disney Plus

Banged Up Abroad Season 11 is available to watch on Disney Plus. The American streaming platform is widely known for the variety of content it harbors. Aside from such celebrated sitcoms, a subscription to Disney Plus will also give you access to the complete oeuvre of Pixar, Lucasfilm, and National Geographic.

You can watch via Disney Plus by following these steps:

Visit DisneyPlus.com Select Sign Up Now Enter your email and password Select a subscription plan $7.99 per month (Basic)

$13.99 per month or $139.99 per year (Premium) Enter your payment information

The Disney Plus Basic plan allows users to stream the services content with ads, while the Premium plan lets users stream with no ads and download content to supported devices. There are also a variety of bundle packages, scaling from Bundle Duo Basic, which pairs Disney Plus with Hulu for $9.99 per month, to the Disney Bundle Trio Premium for $19.99 per month, which bundles Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus.

Banged Up Abroad Season 11 synopsis is as follows:

Documentary series where viewers are taken inside accounts of capture, incarceration, and terror far away from home with intimate personal interviews and dramatic reenactments.

NOTE: The streaming services listed above are subject to change. The information provided was correct at the time of writing.

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John Cusack thinks far-right politicians are leading America in a dark direction.

The High Fidelity actor worried about the state of the U.S. while reacting to news that Philadelphias Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza had been vandalized with a large swastika over the weekend.

Thats fucking terrible, Cusack wrote Tuesday on X, the former Twitter, while sharing a story from The Jerusalem Post. [Too] bad we have Nazis running for office on US. The ghouls feel like they can come out.

Philadelphia police are searching for the suspected vandal, who was wearing a ski mask while caught in the act on a surveillance camera.

Thats fucking terrible - to bad we have Nazis running for office on US -

The ghouls feel like they can come out - https://t.co/y9FJkwHpML  John Cusack (@johncusack) January 16, 2024

A post on the Facebook page for the memorial plaza asked for help in identifying the suspect, calling the incident a disgusting act of antisemitism that comes amid a staggering spike in anti-Jewish hatred across Philadelphia and the country more broadly.

Cusack didnt name anyone in particular in his tweet. However, hes on record as not being an avid fan of former President Donald Trump, whom he called a mentally ill, virus-spreading, child-abducting Nazi rapist in 2020.

He also mocked Trumps legal drama when the politicians mug shot in Fulton County, Georgia, was made public last year.

Petulant and pouting, Cusack wrote of Trumps expression in the photo. He knows hes garbage and knows he cant outsmart anyone. Just fear and rage.

At the same time, the Grosse Pointe Blank actor hasnt limited his political critiques to Trump and members of the Republican Party.

Last September, he accused Democrats of abandoning the middle class in a lengthy tweet, claiming that the party played a major part in creating the precise conditions for fascism to flourish.

Cusack was reacting to news that a group of Democratic lawmakers had filed court documents to block a proposed wealth tax on the ultra-rich.

Related...
Talent agency WME has signed Haitian filmmaker Bruno Mourral, whose first feature, Kidnapping Inc., will debut at this years Sundance Film Festival.

Mourral wrote, directed and produced Kidnapping Inc., which will have its world premiere on Jan. 22 in the Midnight section. Set in Port-au-Prince, the darkly comedic thriller follows two hapless kidnappers who are tasked with a simple abduction-for-hire but wind up in the middle of a political conspiracy. XYZ will handle the sale of Kidnapping Inc, and Erik Bright at Prodigy PR will lead press efforts.

More from Variety

In a harrowingly ironic twist, three members of the crew were abducted by gunmen during the production of the film in Haiti. Kidnappers were demanding a ransom of $1 million per hostage before the Haitian prime minister intervened to free the men.

Mourral told Variety that Kidnapping Inc. is a tribute to ordinary Haitians, many of whose lives have been upended by abductions, gang violence and corruption. Its a process of resilience, he said. When you have so much darkness, its a way of seeing a little bit of light.

Born in 1983, Mourall was raised in Haiti and studied film in Paris before returning to his home country in 2005. He launched a commercial production company in 2007, working with Haiti, France and countries in Africa and the Caribbean on advertisements.

He co-founded Muska Films in 2015 to change the narrative through cinema and develop the Haitian film industry. In 2017, Bruno wrote, directed, and produced Kafou, a mid-length film about two men who are hired to deliver an unknown package and get stuck at a crossroads.

Mourral continues to be represented by Anne-Sophie Berthelin at Agence Adequat.

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Netflixs Love is Blind: Sweden is the Swedish rendition of the popular reality series Love is Blind. Like in the original, the premise in the spin-off revolves around a group of men and women trying to find love without initially knowing what their potential partners look like. Love is Blind: Sweden Season 1 premiered on January 12, 2024. If you are wondering whether there will be a second season, this is what we have discovered.

Heres all the Love is Blind: Sweden Season 2 release date information we know so far, and all the details on when it is coming out.

Is there a Love is Blind: Sweden Season 2 release date?

Love is Blind: Sweden Season 2 does not have an official release date, but it will likely be announced in the future.

As of January 2024, Love is Blind: Sweden hasnt been greenlit for the second season. This is expected as Netflix is likely to assess how the first season performs with the audience before making any decision. The Love is Blind franchise has been a profitable venture for Netflix, and its success has led to the development of multiple international versions. The main series has been renewed until Season 7, while the Brazilian iteration has been greenlit for Season 4. If Love is Blind: Sweden manages to replicate the success of these shows, it will likely get a sophomore season.

Jessica Almenas will likely serve as the presenter in the prospective Season 2 of Love is Blind: Sweden.

Where is Love is Blind: Sweden Season 2 coming out?

Love is Blind: Sweden Season 2 could come out on Netflix.

This is because the first season is streaming on the same platform. In fact, Netflix is home to the entire Love is Blind franchise. ComingSoon will provide an update if and when the second season is officially announced.

The official synopsis for Love is Blind: Sweden reads:

The unique dating experiment lands in Sweden as local singles seek true love and propose marriage  all before seeing each other in person.

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Noah Schnapp addressed online criticism regarding his stance on the Israel-Hamas war in a video, noting that his beliefs were "misconstrued."

The actor expressed a desire for peace and safety for all affected by the conflict.

Schnapp revealed he had open discussions with friends of Palestinian background and shared a common hope for the safe return of Israeli hostages in Gaza.

Noah Schnapp Says 'He Wants Peace And Safety For All Innocent People'

MEGA

Schnapp has been faced with severe backlash since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, with things escalating when the actor posted a video that featured people holding stickers that read, "Zionism is sexy."

In a TikTok video posted Monday night, the "Stranger Things" star said he "just wanted to come on here super briefly to discuss everything that's been going on online."

Schnapped said, "I feel like my thoughts and beliefs have been so far misconstrued from anything even close to what I believe, and I wanted to just state from my heart how I feel. I only want peace and safety and security for all innocent people affected by this conflict."

He continued, "I've had many open discussions with friends from [a] Palestinian background, and I think those are very important conversations to have, and I've learned a lot."

The Actor Hopes To See People In Gaza And Israel 'Live Harmoniously Together'

Schnapp stressed that he hopes for the safe return of those held in Gaza, adding: "One of the takeaways I've had is that we all hope for the same things, that being those innocent people still being held hostage in Gaza to be returned to their families, and equally hope for an end to the loss of innocent life in Palestine  so many of those people being women and children, and it's horrible to see."

"The Tutor" actor noted that "anyone with any ounce of humanity would hope for an end to the hostility on both sides," emphasizing that he stands against the "killing of any innocent people" and that he hopes "to one day see those two groups be able to live harmoniously together in that region."

He concluded: "And I hope for 2024 online to see people be a little more understanding and compassionate and recognize that we're all human, regardless of our race, of our ethnicity, of our background, of our country of birth, even our sexuality, of anything. We are all human, and we're all the same, and we should all love each other for that and support each other and stand together. And stand together for humanity and for peace."

Online Users Slam Noah Schnapp For His 'Zionism Is Sexy' Stickers

MEGA

Schnapp first faced criticism amid claims that he liked a video mocking Palestinian victims and a clip with "Zionism is sexy" stickers.

As a result, fans called for boycotting "Stranger Things" Season 5, currently in production, and demanded Schnapp's removal from his role as Will Byers.

Following his apology TikTok video on January 16, netizens swarmed the comment section, expressing varied sentiments. While some continued to call for a boycott of "Stranger Things," others questioned the timing of Schnapp's statement. The actor's comments section has since been entirely turned off.

However, videos emerged, with commenters criticizing Schnapp. One person noted, "He's in damage limitation mode! Write to Stranger Things producers! He should be [canceled]."

A second person said: "The boy literally thought it was a good idea to post Zionism is sexy and is now crying as it's affecting him financiallysounds about right."

"He's made it clear that he doesn't believe any Palestinian (adult or child) is human or innocent. He is deplorable. Cancel him and Stranger Things. Zero ethics," a third added.

Noah Schnapp Condemned The Hamas October 7 Attack

MEGA

Following the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, Schnapp, in a now-deleted Instagram post, wrote, "As a Jewish American, I am afraid. Afraid for my brothers and sisters in Israel, who have been senselessly attacked by Hamas."

The actor continued, "I am truly heartbroken to see the brutal murders of innocent children, women, and soldiers fighting to defend themselves. I, like others, want peace for both Palestinians and Israelis."

Schnapp called for peace for both Palestinians and Israelis, adding: "Let's stop the rhetoric and choosing sides. Instead, we must recognize that we are all on the side of the fight against terrorism. Choose humanity over violence."
Think for a moment about these various six-word statements:

No one is colorblind. Dont pretend.

Bullies grow up. Black boys die.

Hated for being a White cop.

Prayed God would make me White.

When will race not matter anymore?

Those are just a few of the more than 500,000 powerful responses to the Race Card Project, created in 2010 by Michele Norris, a Washington Post columnist and former host of NPRs All Things Considered. The emails, texts and postcards  all with six-word phrases  continue to pour in from the United States as well as more than 100 other countries.

Norris, whose Race Card Project challenged readers to express in only six words their feelings about race and racial identity, has collected the responses over the years. Now, shes published many of them and written about the project and pertinent subjects about race in her new book, Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think about Race and Identity, published Jan. 16. She will appear Jan. 25 at the King Arts Complex.

Norris, 62, is the winner of Peabody and Emmy awards among others. She lives in Washington, D. C., from where she spoke recently by telephone about her book and the project.

Question: You write that your first book, The Grace of Silence, helped to inspire the Race Card Project. Among the family secrets that you learned late in your life was that your father, a World War II veteran, was shot in the leg by white police in Alabama. And your mother worked as an itinerate Aunt Jemimah conducting pancake demonstrations. How did such revelations and the memoir in general lead to the Race Card Project?

Michele Norris: When I wrote that book that talked about my familys very complex racial identity, I knew that when I went on tour, I would have conversations about race  I thought no one would want to talk about race. I created the idea of inviting people into this space  taking this subject and diving into it in a very simple way  six words. It started with postcards that I dropped everywhere like a pied piper. It quickly became apparent that people were finding a postage stamp and mailing their words in.

"Our Hidden Conversations" by Michele Norris

Q: There is such diversity in the six-word responses. I imagine your reactions were equally diverse. Did you experience joy, anger, confusion, hope?

Norris: Everything you said and more. It sort of depended on the day and what landed in the inbox. It tickled every one of my emotions and still does. People are angry, plaintive, some stories steeped in real pain. Ive experienced a full gamut of emotions. I dont know what to expect when I go to the inbox. The one thing I experience all the time is gratitude --- and awe.

Q: I assume you were purposeful in calling the project Race Card.

Norris: If I went back and did this again, Im not sure I would use that title. Its clunky, too many words. But what I was thinking at the time, I was trying to be pithy. I hate the phrase, youre playing the race card. You might as well tell somebody to shut up. I was trying to take a phrase I didnt like and turn it on its head.

More: Columbus Metropolitan Library's Carnegie series brings noted authors to town

Q: Were you surprised that in the 14 years of the project, the majority of responses have been from white people?

Norris: Totally shocked. I dont know why that is. Maybe its because I worked for so long at NPR, but I havent been there since 2015.  Theres a lot about this project that I would like to figure out. Why was it that this prompt at this time opened so many doors? Usually in conversations about race, White people get bystander status ... Often when were talking about race, something seismic has happened. But if you just say, tell me your experiences about race, and you dont frame it around a headline, you get responses that are really intimate and are about peoples lives.

Q: After the killing of George Floyd, it seemed that people were striving to read books about race, especially works by Isabel Wilkerson, Ibram X. Kendi, Ta-Nehisi Coates, for example. Was that a passing interest or do you still see a thirst for this sort of conversation?

Norris: Since I just wrote a book about race, I hope theres still an interest. But I do think we were in a reactionary phase after the murder of George Floyd. I dont think it was a reckoning  but a recognition of a lot of things that were broken. But look now at the backlash, against the teaching of African American history, against any conversation about race, the backlash against issues of inclusion. But whether or not people are still interested, the embers are burning. As America is steaming toward a majority/minority status with the tanning of America, my moral core hopes that people are interested because we have to figure out how to live with each other.

Q: What will be the impact on race relations in the U.S. with current attempts to diminish or erase black history from schools?

Norris: Im concerned about efforts to erase any history. As far as race relations, it will have a chilling effect  and is probably already happening  on people who are writing history. But history usually finds a way. Do we really think we can erase history? Do we really think if we pull books from schools that kids wont find out about whats in those books?

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Q: What have you read on the subject of race that you would recommend Americans to read?

Norris: These arent necessarily about race but contribute to the idea of how we can get along: Clint Smiths book, How the Word is Passed is about how we wrestle with difficult history. Wendell Barry (The Gift of Good Land, The Unsettling of America), David Blights Frederick Douglass, The Black Book about contributions of African Americans to American life by Toni Morrison, Isabel Wilkersons Caste, The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.

Q: Will the Race Card Project continue?

Norris: How do I turn off that spigot? Cards came in today. Its a huge project and takes up a lot of my life and finances. The challenges are how do I keep it alive? But if storytellers of the future want to understand this moment in time, I hope that this work, this archive, will live beyond me.

Q: Are you more or less hopeful about race relations in the U.S. since this project began?

Norris: I remain hopeful because thats part of who I am, but I dont think (improvement in race relations) will happen automatically. Its going to take a bit of work and a lot of intention. People have to be invested in figuring out how to work together.

Q: Whats next for you  more books, continuing at the Washington Post?

Norris: All of the above. And my podcast, Your Mamas Kitchen (described as a podcast about cuisine, culture, ingredients and identities). Almost all those episodes wind up being about identity.

Q: As a journalist, do you ever worry that you predominantly write about racial subjects?

Norris: In everything I do theres that through line  I used to be concerned about that, that Id be pigeonholed. But its who I am now. And I have access to stories that other people dont. Yea, its probably the most important part of my portfolio and thats a good thing.

Q: At the end of Our Hidden Conversations, you tell readers your six words. Remind us.

Norris: Still more work to be done.

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At a glance

Michele Norris, author of Our Hidden Conversations, will appear in conversation with WOSU All Sides host Anna Staver at 7 p.m. Thursday in the King Arts Complex, 867 Mount Vernon Ave. Tickets for the event, sponsored by the King Arts Complex, WOSU and Gramercy Books, cost $40, which includes a copy of the book. To register, go to Eventbrite.com. For more information, visit www.gramercybooksbexley.com.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Author Michele Norris to make Columbus appearance Jan. 25
The Sum of All Fears is a 2002 political thriller directed by Phil Alden Robinson. The film follows Jack Ryan as he uncovers a plot involving a nuclear weapon that terrorists plan to use to provoke a war between the United States and Russia. Based on Tom Clancys novel of the same name, the film combines political intrigue, war, and suspense in a contemporary geopolitical context.

Heres how you can watch and stream The Sum of All Fears via streaming services such as HBO Max.

Is The Sum of All Fears available to watch via streaming?

Yes, The Sum of All Fears is available to watch via streaming on HBO Max.

Directed by Phil Alden Robinson, The Sum of All Fears is a dynamic political thriller. The plot unfolds as Ryan uncovers a terrorist scheme to use a nuclear weapon, escalating tensions between the United States and Russia. The film skillfully weaves suspense into its political narrative, delivering unexpected twists. Fans can anticipate a tense, engaging experience against the backdrop of contemporary geopolitical complexities.

The Sum of All Fears features:

Ben Affleck as Jack Ryan

Morgan Freeman as William Cabot

James Cromwell as President Fowler

Liev Schreiber as John Clark

Alan Bates as Richard Dressler

Philip Baker Hall as Defense Secretary Becker

Bruce McGill as National Security Advisor Revell

Ciaran Hinds as President Nemerov

Bridget Moynahan as Dr. Cathy Muller

Ron Rifkin as Secretary of State Owens

Watch The Sum of All Fears streaming via HBO Max

The Sum of All Fears is available to watch on HBO Max.

You can watch via Max, formerly known as HBO Max, by following these steps:

Go to HBOMax.com/subscribe Click Sign Up Now Choose your plan: $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year (with ads)

$15.99 per month or $149.99 per year (ad-free)

$19.99 per month or $199.99 per year (ultimate ad-free) Enter your personal information and password Select Create Account

Max With Ads provides the services streaming library at a Full HD resolution, allowing users to stream on up to two supported devices at once. Max Ad-Free removes the services commercials and allows streaming on two devices at once in Full HD. It also allows for 30 downloads at a time to allow users to watch content offline. On the other hand, Max Ultimate Ad-Free allows users to stream on four devices at once in a 4K Ultra HD resolution and provides Dolby Atmos audio and 100 downloads.

The Sum of All Fears synopsis is as follows:

When the president of Russia suddenly dies, a man whose politics are virtually unknown succeeds him. The change in political leaders sparks paranoia among American CIA officials, so CIA director Bill Cabot recruits a young analyst to supply insight and advice on the situation. Then the unthinkable happens: a nuclear bomb explodes in a U.S. city, and America is quick to blame the Russians.

NOTE: The streaming services listed above are subject to change. The information provided was correct at the time of writing.

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The post The Sum of All Fears Streaming: Watch & Stream Online via HBO Max appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
The Tis Time for Torture, Princess Season 1 Episode 3 release date and time have been revealed. The episode will air on Crunchyroll and continue the story of the Princess and her captors as she tries her best not to reveal any sensitive information despite being offered the best of Japanese food and snacks.

Heres when the episode is coming out.

When is the Tis Time for Torture, Princess Season 1 Episode 3 release date and time?

The Tis Time for Torture, Princess Season 1 Episode 3 release date is Monday, January 22, 2024. The episode is set to premiere in Japan on Tokyo MX and BS11 on Tuesday, January 23, 2024, at midnight JST.

The Tis Time for Torture, Princess Season 1 Episode 3 release time on Crunchyroll is:

9:30 a.m. PT

12:30 p.m. ET

5:30 p.m. GMT

6:30 p.m. CET

Where to watch Tis Time for Torture, Princess Season 1 Episode 3

Viewers can watch the upcoming episode on crunchyroll.

To watch Episode 3, you can subscribe to Crunchyroll, which offers three plans to its viewers. The Fan Plan costs $7.99 monthly, the Mega Plan costs $9.99, and the Ultimate Fan Plan costs $14.99. All three plans come with a 14-day free trial at the start.

Tis Time for Torture, Princess is a fantasy anime based on the Japanese manga series of the same name written by Robinson Haruhara and illustrated by Hirakei. The story follows the Princess of the Imperial Army. After she is captured by her enemies, the Hellhorde, they try to come up with unconventional ways to exact information out of her as traditional torture is outlawed due to the treaty between the two forces. Torture Tortura, the chief interrogator under the Hell-Lord, uses Japanese food and snacks to convince the Princess to spill the secrets of her people, but the latter is not so easily deterred.

The official synopsis for Tis Time for Torture, Princess reads:

As the war between the Imperial Army and Hellhorde rages on, the Princess, despite being armed with her mythical sword Excalibur, is captured and imprisoned. What kind of torture does she face at the hands of the chief demon interrogator? Fluffy fresh-baked toast! Hot, steaming ramen! Oh, the humanity! Can the Princess withstand these tormenting treats and keep her kingdoms secrets safe?

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The post Tis Time for Torture, Princess Season 1 Episode 3 Release Date & Time on Crunchyroll appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
The Blink-182 drummer joined host Anthony Anderson and a Compton, California chorus to kick off the awards show

Kevin Winter/Getty Travis Barker performs at the 2023 Emmys in Los Angeles on Jan. 15, 2024

Travis Barker kicked off the 2023 Emmy Awards with an epic drum fill.

During Monday night's event at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, the Blink-182 drummer, 48, joined host Anthony Anderson and a Compton, California choir for a performance of Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" against a backdrop of a set styled as "Mr. Anderson's Neighborhood," a nod to the decade-spanning childhood show Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.

"We're going to commemorate the greatest shows of today while paying tribute to some of the iconic series that mean so much to us. Simply put, television has shaped the world and more importantly, it shaped me," the black-ish alum, 53, said.

The group gathered around a grand piano to pay tribute to Miami Vice, which famously featured the 1981 hit.

Kevin Winter/Getty Anthony Anderson and Travis Barker perform at the 2023 Emmys in Los Angeles on Jan. 15, 2024

Related: Anthony Anderson and Travis Barker Team Up for Nostalgic Musical Opener to 75th Annual Primetime Emmys

Anderson also performed a medley of classic TV themes, including Good Times and The Facts of Life.

After his set, Barker reflected on the honor of performing at the 75th awards ceremony on X (formerly known as Twitter).

"I've been waiting for this moment all my life. I just played the most famous drum fill of all time at The Emmys. I love you Phil Collins ," the rocker wrote, paying homage to the lyrics of "In the Air Tonight:" "And I've been waiting for this moment, for all my life."

I've been waiting for this moment all my life. I just played the most famous drum fill of all time at The Emmys. I love you Phil Collins   Travis Barker (@travisbarker) January 16, 2024

Barker's performance at the Emmys also happened to be the first time he and his wife Kourtney Kardashian hit the red carpet together since welcoming their 3-month-old son, Rocky Thirteen, last year.

The Kardashians star, 44, and the "One More Time" artist's Emmys carpet looks evoked Men in Black as they appeared in matching black suits and sunglasses. They also shared one of their signature passionate kisses for the cameras.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.



David Fisher/Shutterstock Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker at the 2023 Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 15, 2024

Related: Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker Make Out at Emmys (in Matching Suits!) for First Post-Baby Red Carpet

Kardashian put a sexy spin on a suit, ditching an undershirt, instead pairing the satin-lapel jacket with a black lace bra.

She also opted to accessorize with black leather gloves, and pointed black heels, with her black hair slicked back.

Instead of wearing her sunglasses on the red carpet, Kardashian chose to carry them, so she could flaunt her smoky eye look with the rest of her glowy glam.

Before taking the stage, Barker opted for a more traditional look, sporting a simple black undershirt and matching bowtie, as well as a pair of classic black dress shoes.

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Read the original article on People.
Murdoch MacLennan was chief executive of Telegraph Media Group until 2017 - Geoff Pugh

A director of the competition regulator has pledged to recuse himself from any review of the Abu Dhabi-backed takeover of The Telegraph owing to potential conflicts of interest.

Murdoch MacLennan, a non-executive board member of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), was chief executive of Telegraph Media Group between 2004 and 2017.

He is also chairman of the Irish arm of Mediahuis, a Belgian newspaper group that signed up to bid for The Telegraph last year.

Mr MacLennan said: If there are any board meetings where they are discussing it [the takeover] Ill recuse myself, of course.

The veteran media executive, who is also chairman of the Press Association Group, has not yet been formally recused.

However, he insisted he was not involved in any discussions about the deal and would not be given access to any relevant documents.

It comes as the financial management of The Telegraph under the Barclay family, including during Mr MacLennans time as chief executive, is under scrutiny as the business prepares for new ownership.

It has been reported that advisers to the independent directors alerted the National Crime Agency to suspicious financial activity. It is understood the concerns relate to the movement of funds between Barclay family companies.

A spokesman for the Barclay family said the accounts had been fully audited and signed off by PwC.

Mr MacLennan dismissed any concerns about the Barclays ownership of The Telegraph, saying they had always been open in their dealings during his time as chief executive.

The CMA and Ofcom are currently reviewing a planned takeover of The Telegraph by RedBird IMI, a joint venture that is majority backed by Abu Dhabis Sheikh Mansour, owing to concerns about the threat to press freedom.

The regulators must report their findings to Lucy Frazer, the Culture Secretary, by January 26. However, Ms Frazer could then trigger an in-depth phase 2 investigation by the CMA, which could last 24 weeks or more.

Story continues

Mr MacLennan was appointed to the CMA board in 2022 by the Government led by Boris Johnson. Regulatory insiders insisted robust safeguards were in place to address potential conflicts of interest, including recusal where necessary.

A CMA spokesman said: Board members have no role in the CMAs investigation or decision-making regarding this merger.

RedBird IMI, which is fronted by former CNN chief Jeff Zucker, has put forward proposals for a trust of media luminaries that it says will protect independent journalism at The Telegraph.

However, the deal is still facing opposition from dozens of MPs amid concerns that handing over control of the newspaper to an autocratic state will damage press freedom in the UK.

Interested parties have begun discussions over how an onward sale of The Telegraph could be arranged should RedBird IMIs bid be unsuccessful.

Many of our readers have raised concerns over the potential sale of Telegraph Media Group to the Abu Dhabi-linked RedBird IMI. While Ofcom carries out its investigation we are inviting the submission of comments on the process. Email salecomments@telegraph.co.uk to have your say.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
Former President Donald Trump is on trial this week in New York City to determine whether he will have to pay former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll additional damages for defaming her in 2019 when he denied her allegations of sexual abuse.

Last year, in a separate trial, a jury determined that Trump was liable for sexually abusing Carroll in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store in the 1990s, and that he defamed her in a 2022 social media post by calling her allegations "a Hoax and a lie" and saying "This woman is not my type!"

MORE: Who is Lewis Kaplan, the no-nonsense judge overseeing Trump's federal defamation trial?

Trump has denied all wrongdoing and has said he doesn't know who Carroll is.





Latest Developments





Jan 17, 12:38 PM

Carroll says she's always on 'hyper alert' due to threats

Ever since then-President Trump defamed her in June of 2019, E. Jean Carroll told the jury, she has been inundated with threats of physical and sexual violence.



In one message, Carroll said of the sender: "He wants me to stick a gun in my mouth in pull the trigger."



Another message said, "I hope someone really does attack, rape and murder you."



When another message was displayed for the jury, Carroll said, "I'm sorry people in the courtroom have to see this." Her attorney, Roberta Kaplan, replied, "I'm sorry to have to ask you about it, Ms. Carroll."



The message said, "i will rape u e jean carroll."



Carroll described her visceral reaction to these messages. "The body believes it's going to happen," she said. "It feels like it's going to happen."



Carroll said she now lives her life on "hyper alert" for potential threats in and around her home in upstate New York.



"I have a pit bull rescue. He's a great dog, but I never, never had him off the leash. When the first threats came in, I let him off the leash and he now patrols," Carroll said. "I alerted the neighbors to be on the watch and I bought bullets for the gun I had inherited from my father."



"Where do you keep that gun?" Kaplan asked. "By my bed," Carroll responded.





Jan 17, 12:27 PM

Judge instructs Trump to keep his voice down



Former President Trump has been making side commentary during E. Jean Carroll's testimony within earshot of the jury, Carroll's lawyer complained during a break in the proceedings, outside the jury's presence.

"Mr. Trump is sitting at the back table and has been loudly saying things" like "'Carroll's statements are false' and 'she now seems to have gotten her memory back,'" the attorney, Shawn Crowley, told Judge Kaplan.

Sitting at the defense table, Trump has been seen scoffing, chuckling, and encouraging his attorney, Alina Habba, to interject during the proceedings. He has been visibly shaking his head at some of what Carroll asserts on the witness stand.

PHOTO: Former President Donald Trump and E. Jean Carroll attend jury selection in the second civil trial after Carroll accused Trump of raping her decades ago, at Manhattan Federal Court in New York, Jan. 16, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. (Jane Rosenberg/Reuters)

When, earlier, Judge Kaplan denied the defense's request for an adjournment and instructed Habba to "sit down," Trump was heard saying, "He is a very nasty guy."





During Carroll's testimony in which she said she interpreted Trump's remark that "she's not my type" to mean "I'm too ugly to assault," Trump was heard laughing after the judge overruled a defense objection.





Before the jury returned to the courtroom, Judge Kaplan addressed Trump's side comments and instructed him to "take special care" to keep his voice down when conferring with counsel, "so that the jury does not overhear it."





Jan 17, 11:38 AM

Trump 'ended the world that I had been living in,' Carroll says



Recounting her response when Trump denied her rape claim in 2019, Carroll said that when Trump said "she's not my type," she interpreted it to mean "I'm too ugly to assault."

"What did it feel like to have the President of the United States say those things about you?" her attorney Roberta Kaplan asked.

"To have the President of the United States, one of the most powerful persons on Earth, calling me a liar for three days and saying I'm a liar 26 times -- I counted them -- it ended the world that I had been living in. And I entered a new world," Carroll responded as Trump sat at the defense table. "I was attacked. I was attacked on Twitter, I was attacked on Facebook, I was attacked in news blogs, I was attacked, brutally attacked, in messages."

The jury saw some of those messages, which mimicked Trump's statements, calling her "lying old hag" or saying "shame on you and your lying I-hate-Trump story."

Carroll testified that the messages started instantly and have not stopped. She said she sometimes receives "scores and scores, sometimes hundreds a day."





Jan 17, 12:40 PM

Carroll says she's paid 'as dearly as is possible to pay'



"I've paid just about as dearly as is possible to pay," E. Jean Carroll testified about her life after then-President Trump fiercely denied her rape claim in a series of defamatory statements in 2019.

When New York magazine, on June 21, 2019, published an excerpt of Carroll's book that included her allegation that Trump raped her in a department store dressing room, she testified that she expected him to respond.

"I expected him to deny it but to say it was consensual, which it was not, but that's what I expected him to say," Carroll testified.

"Is that what he did?" her attorney Roberta Kaplan asked. "No," Carroll answered.

According to a reporter's Tweet from 5:17 p.m. on June 21, 2019, which was shown in court, Trump responded to the allegation by saying, "I've never met this person in my life."

"That is a lie," Carroll said. "He said I made up an accusation to sell a book. That is a lie. He said I made up the accusation for publicity's sake. That is a lie. He said my accusation damaged the real victims of sexual assault. That is a lie."

Carroll read additional statements by Trump reacting to her allegation.

"He said people like me, who make false accusations, are very dangerous, in very dangerous territory, that I shouldn't have done it for the sake of publicity. That is also a lie," Carroll said.





Jan 17, 10:36 AM

Carroll takes the stand as Trump looks on



Eight months after a jury determined that former President Trump was liable for sexually assaulting and defaming E. Jean Carroll, the former magazine columnist is back on the witness stand this morning -- this time with Trump in attendance.

"I'm here because Donald Trump assaulted me and, when I wrote about it, he lied and he shattered my reputation," Carroll told the jury after taking the stand. "Yesterday I opened up Twitter and it said 'Hey lady, you're a fraud.'"

The courtroom seating arrangement, with Carroll on the witness stand and Trump looking on from the defense table, brings the two of them face-to-face after they appeared to avoid eye contact during the trial's first day Tuesday.





Jan 17, 10:43 AM

'I said sit down,' judge admonishes Trump attorney



The start of former President Trump's defamation trial this morning was delayed briefly by a juror transportation issue.

As proceedings got underway, outside the jury's presence, a tense exchange unfolded between the judge and defense attorney Alina Habba, who again repeated a request to adjourn the trial on Thursday so Trump can attend the funeral of former first lady Melania Trump's mother, Amalija Knavs.

"I am asking your honor to have the kindness that my client deserves," Habba said to Judge Lewis Kaplan, who has already twice denied the defense's request to postpone the trial due to Thursday's funeral.

Kaplan, interrupting Habba, said, "Indeed Ms. Habba, the right that he has according to the Supreme Court of the United States is to be present either in person or through counsel."

Habba persisted, with Trump looking on, prompting the judge to instruct her to "sit down" and make no further argument.

"I said sit down," Kaplan said.

"I don't like to be spoken to that way," Habba responded. "I am asking your honor to please refrain from speaking to me that way. I am asking for an adjournment."

"It's denied. Sit down," Kaplan said.





Jan 17, 9:53 AM

Trump arrives at courthouse

Former President Trump has arrived at Manhattan federal court for Day 2 of his defamation damages trial.

PHOTO: Former US President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower for Manhattan federal court for the second defamation trial against him, in New York City on Jan. 17, 2024. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)

His motorcade pulled up to the courthouse at around 9:15 a.m. ET.





Jan 17, 7:42 AM

Carroll set to testify as 1st witness



Donald Trump is expected to be in the courtroom this morning when E. Jean Carroll takes the stand to testify about how the then-president's defamatory denial of her sexual assault allegations in 2019 upended her life.

Trump "unleashed his followers to go after her online" after Carroll went public with her allegations, damaging her reputation as a writer and making her feel unsafe in her own home, Carroll's attorney Shawn Crowley told the jury in her opening statement yesterday.

"Ms. Carroll bought bullets for the gun that she inherited from her father, and she now sleeps with it right beside her bed. She checks her surroundings every time she leaves her house or gets out of her car," Crowley said. "She's afraid -- afraid that someday, somebody is going to make good on their threats and come after her in person."

Despite sitting feet from each other in the courtroom yesterday, Carroll and Trump avoided eye contact and never interacted during the first day of the trial. However, when Carroll takes the stand to testify this morning, she will speak directly in front of the counsel table where Trump is seated.





Jan 16, 8:33 PM

Trump expected to attend trial Wednesday, sources say



Former President Trump, who was campaigning in New Hampshire Tuesday evening, is expected to return to New York to attend the second day of his defamation trial on Wednesday, sources tell ABC News.

Trump is then scheduled to return to New Hampshire later Wednesday.

-ABC News' Rachel Scott, Lalee Ibssa and Soo Rin Kim





Jan 16, 6:02 PM

Trial is 'straight out of banana republic,' says Trump attorney

Donald Trump's legal counsel Boris Epshteyn briefly spoke to reporters outside court at the conclusion of Tuesday's proceedings, calling the trial "straight out of [a] banana republic."



"Manhattan is 90-95% Democrat," Epshteyn said, despite voter registration records showing the borough is about 70% Democratic. "Does anybody think the President will get a fair trial here? Absolutely not," he said.



Despite a jury last year finding Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll, Epshteyn alleged that Carroll is making "false accusations."



"President Trump has consistently stated that he did not commit the allegation and did not commit the acts that the plaintiff alleges. He has been steadfast in that. And it is right to defend himself from false accusations," Epshteyn said.



Epshteyn declined to comment on whether Trump plans to attend court tomorrow.



Carroll did not speak to reporters when she left court.

Click here to read the rest of the blog.
The U.S. has carried out another airstrike targeting a Houthi missile facility in Yemen, according to U.S. Central Command.

"At approximately, 4:15 a.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. Forces struck and destroyed four Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles prepared to launch from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen," said a statement issued by U.S. Central Command.

The third U.S. military strike against Houthi targets was launched because the four missiles posed an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships, according to two U.S officials.

On Thursday night, the U.S. and United Kingdom used Tomahawk missiles and fighter aircraft to strike at nearly 30 Houthi locations associated with the Houthi drone and missile attacks on commercial shipping.

PHOTO: The bulk carrier Gibraltar Eagle is seen off Kristiansand, Norway, June 29, 2023. Houthi rebels fired a missile striking the U.S.-owned ship, Jan. 15, 2024, just off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden. (AP, File)

MORE: Houthi militants strike US-owned commercial ship with anti-ship ballistic missile

The U.S. carried out a second night of retaliatory strikes on Friday night following a Houthi missile attack on a commercial that failed after the missile landed in the ocean.

News of the new airstrike was first reported by Reuters.

The airstrikes follows two days of continued Houthi attacks on commercial ships off the Red Sea bringing to more than 30 the number of Houthi drone and missile attacks there and in the Gulf of Aden since mid-November.

On Monday M/V Gibraltar Eagle. a U.S.-owned and operated container ship sailing in the Gulf of Aden was struck with an anti-ship ballistic missile, according to U.S. Central Command. There were no injuries and there was no significant damage to the vessel which continued on its voyage.

PHOTO: Yemeni protestors loyal to the Houthi movement lift their rifles as they participate in a protest held against Israel's ongoing war on Gaza Blinken's warning of a military response to rebel attacks in the Red Sea on Jan. 11, 2024 in Sanaa, Yemen. (Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)

MORE: 2 missing Navy SEALs on mission that seized Iranian missile parts headed for Houthis: US

On Tuesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trading Operations, which is run by the Royal Navy and provides updates on maritime security in the region reported that a vessel had been "hit above the water line, there are no fires and no casualties" and the ship continued sailing toward its destination.

CENTCOM later confirmed that an anti-ship ballistic missile fired from Houthi-controlled area of Yemen had struck M/V Zografia, a Maltese flagged bulk carrier, sailing in the southern Red Sea.

The Houthis also claimed in a statement released a statement that they had targeted the ship "after the ships crew rejected warning calls, including fiery warning messages.

On Tuesday CENTCOM disclosed that two U.S. Navy SEALs who went missing during a nighttime ship boarding in the Gulf of Aden were part of an operation that seized components for Iranian-made ballistic and cruise missiles that have been used in the Houthi attacks on shipping.

The search for the missing SEALs is continuing.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that Tomahawk missiles were not used in the most recent U.S. strike.

US carries out new airstrike against Houthis in Yemen originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Teri McCoy was 44 years old when she first discovered wanderlust.

She was attending a human resources conference in Denver but the mountains, the largest she had ever seen, beckoned on the horizon. Later, during one of the personal development workshops, I was given a phrase to reflect on about allowing myself to have new experiences, recalls McCoy. It all just clicked.

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Since then, she has raced down white-water rapids in Thailand, snorkeled with whitetip reef sharks in the Galapagos Islands, and, most recently, gone on a safari in Tanzania, to name a few destinations. Now 51, she never celebrates her birthday at home anymore.

McCoy, an empty nester, is not alone. Women comprise 57 percent of travelers who book through global travel companies, according to the Adventure Travel Trade Association. When the travel company is women-led, such as Wild Women Expeditions (WWE), Adventure Women or Sisters Traveling Solo, that number jumps to 64 percent. Estimated to be worth $2 trillion by 2032, the global adventure tourism industry is expanding rapidly, and women are a big part of that growth. They are not afraid to travel alone or to great heights.

We definitely see a lot of travelers in their 40s and 50s prioritizing adventure travel for themselves, says Allison Fleece, co-founder of WHOA Travel (an acronym for Women High on Adventure). The company offers women-only group trips where travelers work together to accomplish a goal, such as hiking to the top of Kilimanjaro or trekking alpine landscapes on the Tour du Mont Blanc. Its not a beach vacation our travelers are after when they choose to travel with us. Theres usually a greater purpose involved.

Older women, defined as over 65, represent the greatest recent increase in solo travel, going from 4 percent in 2019 to 18 percent in 2022. During the pandemic there was so much loss; now theres this underlying current of Go do things now, says Kristi Marsh, marketing director of Adventure Women, a company founded in 1982 to help women explore the outdoors.

Right now, our big trips are Galapagos, Iceland, the Northern Lights, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Marsh says. The complete roster includes more than 50 trips a year for groups of 12-to-14 women traveling to 65 countries. The cost of trips typically ranges from $5,000 to $6,000. Bookings are 20 percent higher than they were in 2019.

- - -

Different types of adventure

Some kinds of adventure travel are associated with hardship, such as Cheryl Strayed hiking alone on the Pacific Crest Trail. But other popular adventure trips involve learning about local culture or being in natural environments with amenities.

Cultural trips are for people who want to do less touristy stuff and want to interact with local people, says Cole Banks, who started her business, Sisters Traveling Solo, in 2015. For instance, in Ghana, instead of a regular cooking class, we go to the homes of families within Ghana, make a Sunday meal and sit down and have dinner with their family.

Sisters Traveling Solo offered two trips in its first year; now it offers 35 trips per year in four categories - traditional, cultural, wellness and solo. Depending on lodging and length of stay, trip costs range from $1,900 to $3,800. When Banks asked the 80,000 members of her Facebook group recently why more women in their 50s are traveling, respondents said they have more time and more money to do it now.

Originally I started the Facebook group for other women of color who like to travel solo, and wed post about our trips and suggest travel companies, says Banks. After a while, I figured, Why send all that business to other people?

Like Banks, Rebecca Garland started her travel company Fit & Fly Girl, in an effort to find female travelers. She was inspired by her own adventures, such as a surfing and yoga retreat in Bali or a boot camp in Tulum, Mexico.

While I was sitting on the beach one day in Tulum, I came up with the idea for Fit & Fly Girl, Garland says. Instead of being tied to one location, we would be a traveling retreat company offering retreats in different locations, we would be geared toward women only, and fitness would be one of the central components. Back then, there were a lot of yoga retreats but not as many fitness-focused retreats, especially for women only, so that felt like a fun niche.

Before the pandemic, Fit & Fly Girl offered eight to 12 retreats a year, but after 2020, the company pulled back to host four to seven retreats per year. The most popular locations are Mykonos, Greece; the French Riviera; Iceland; Morocco and Costa Rica. Garland says Fit & Fly Girl travelers range in age from 19 to 78. For travelers interested in non-fitness retreats, the company also offers Fly retreats with itineraries focused more on cultural activities, exploring cities and enjoying a regions food and wine.

Since we began hosting retreats, the age ranges of our guests, in order of most to least, are: 40s, 50s, 30s, 60s, 20s, 70s, she says. Our most repeat guest who has attended eight of our retreats is in her early 70s.

- - -

Budget options

For the cash-strapped traveler, work programs are still an option. World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, known as WWOOF, matches applicants with organic farmers all over the world looking for part-time workers. In exchange for free lodging, travelers can live and work on the farms while exploring the country during their time off. Other travelers sell freelance writing or photography to offset travel costs.

Jules Torti, a massage therapist, chose volunteer work to pursue her love of travel. I had some primatology skills and a love of animals, but I didnt want to go back to school, she says. She applied for a volunteer opportunity at the Jane Goodall Institute in Uganda, and then followed it with another opportunity in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Volunteering allowed me to experience those countries so intimately, Torti says. Though I wasnt earning any money, my output [expense] was super low as well. In the Congo, my accommodations and meals were provided, though the flight was over $1,600 even back in 2008.

Sixteen years later, Torti still travels at least twice a year, now with her wife, and two years ago she joined Wild Women Expeditions, or WWE, as a content creator. So far she has traveled to Croatia, Indonesia, Chile and most recently, Switzerland, with the company.

McCoy frequently books trips with WWE as well, choosing some of the excursions in over 30 countries for small groups of women. The cost ranges widely based on the location and the length of stay. An eight-day kayaking adventure in Baja, Mexico, starts at $2,995, while the 17-day trip through the Northwest Passage in the Arctic Ocean starts around $13,500. These prices do not include airfare.

Some arrive with a friend, but most, like McCoy, are traveling solo and meeting each other for the first time. I interacted with a few [other travelers] online before the trip, but I had not met them in person, McCoy says of her trip to Thailand in 2018. Relatively quickly we realized were all like-minded, wanting adventure, and there for the same reason. We went river rafting and tipped our boat. That experience definitely created some lasting friendships.

Since 2018, she has taken eight WWE trips with a total price tag falling somewhere between $50,000 and $75,000. Travel is very high on my list of priorities when I budget, she says. It fuels me and it helps me grow, so I make it a part of my financial plans. Its not discretionary.

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Food is integral to the fabric of American society. Each region and cultural group brings its own unique set of flavors to the figurative and literal table. Given the sheer diversity that can now be found in most major cities, meandering around your neighborhood, if you live in one such metropolis, can expose you to a wide world of food.

Some obvious candidates come to mind when choosing the best food city in the United States. Your top-tier picks largely depend on taste, but the major cities are all pretty safe bets. Celebrity chef Alton Brown says Los Angeles is the top food city in America. However, before you book a trip to LA or New York City, you should know that there are plenty of other options hidden in plain sight. Alex Guarnaschelli, one of the professional chefs who serves as a judge on the cooking competition show "Chopped," believes that Minneapolis is one of these hidden gems, and even a brief exploration of the restaurant options in this Midwestern metropolis will bring you to the same conclusion.

Read more: The 101 Best Pizzas In America

Guarnaschelli Is Fond Of Chef Gavin Kaysen

Gavin Kaysen smiling - Bennett Raglin/Getty Images

Though Guarnaschelli is likely fond of myriad Minneapolis restaurants, she is particularly fond of the chef and restaurateur Gavin Kaysen. After leaving his executive chef position at Cafe Boulud in 2014, Kaysen returned to his Minnesotan hometown to open a restaurant. In the decade since, he's opened numerous eateries and received considerable commendations for his cooking.

Kaysen's eateries range from an intimate tasting menu restaurant that has been ranked among the top restaurants in North America (Demi) to a humble bistro and bakery (Bellecour Bakery). His French-influenced Spoon and Stable is often cited as one of Minneapolis' top restaurants. There, patrons slurp down spaghetti nero, which features a slew of sea creatures, including octopus, prawns, and mussels. Additionally, after they've enjoyed dinner, each diner gets a small box of carefully crafted sweet treats. It's easy to understand why this restaurant was a 2015 finalist for the James Beard Best New Restaurant Award.

Why Foodies Love Minneapolis

Sunset on the Mississippi River - CK Foto/Shutterstock

Attempting to discern what makes Minneapolis an underrated food city can be difficult. Interesting ingredients can be found in Minnesota  the state's plentiful lakes are home to walleye and wild rice, a water-grass seed almost exclusively available in Minnesota. However, traditional midwestern fare alone isn't what makes Minneapolis such a desirable culinary destination. After all, things like lutefisk, a gelatinous whitefish treated with lye, and Jell-O Salad, which combines the jiggly dessert with fruit and cottage cheese, aren't necessarily must-eat foods.

However, Minneapolis is a desirable culinary destination because of the city's incredible diversity. Culinary creations like the cheese-stuffed Jucy Lucy burger cannot be overlooked, but the city also has a sizable Somali population and as such, is filled with East African restaurants. Minneapolis is also the home of incredibly innovative dishes. At Young Joni, patrons can indulge in a pizza made with lamb sausage, chili pepper, feta cheese, and mint, or slice into the gruyere and prosciutto-topped La Parisienne pizza.

The late chef and television travel host Anthony Bourdain was also a massive Minneapolis enthusiast. He was extolling the mix of global flavors and reimagining American foods before Minneapolis received mainstream acclaim. He praised the creativity of Minnesota-born chefs, who he felt fully embraced new and exciting food innovations.

Read the original article on Daily Meal.


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Irish royalty has landed at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Tonight at Los Angeless Peacock Theater, Ayo Edebiribeloved internet princess of Ireland and star of The Bearturned heads on the red carpet in a strapless black leather gown. The unique Louis Vuitton piece is one of her edgiest red-carpet looks to date, featuring a cinched corset bodice and a structured balloon skirt. To accessorize, the actor opted for simplicity, adding a delicate white beaded necklace and diamond stud earrings, as well as a classic pair of strappy black heels.

Gilbert Flores - Getty Images

Gilbert Flores - Getty Images

If youre wondering, Since when did Ireland have a royal family? youre not alone! While Edebiris Irish heritage may technically be nothing more than the product of a viral Letterboxd interview gone wild, its still safe to say the internet has crowned her todays Irish peoples princess.

In truer news, Edebiri still has plenty to look forward to tonight, considering she is among the nominees for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Sydney in Hulus The Bear. This is her first-ever Emmy nomination.

Edebiri recently opened up about being catapulted into the spotlight following her breakout performance in The Bear during a conversation with Melanie Lynskey and Sharon Horgan for Harper's Bazaar.

Its almost this thing that feels like your life is being reframed, like theres something different between your lived experience and how people are perceiving you or something, she said. I can clock in my head that Im going to award shows that Ive never gone to before, or Im getting photos taken of me where Im all dolled up, and that hasnt happened before. Its exciting, but its also somehow the least-interesting part. The best part of it all is that I get to work on a show that I love with people who I think are so cool and so smart.

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There are SUVs that look tough, and then there are those that actually are.

One SUV deserving of the adjective is the 1998 Land Rover Defender 110 Camel Trophy currently up for grabs on Cars & Bids. The burly 44 comes with plenty of off-road bonafides, too, having participated in the off-road challenge it takes its name from.

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The Camel Trophy was an annual off-road competition known as the Olympics of 44 that was held between 1980 and 2000. Although Jeeps participated the first year, the field would be made up of various Land Rovers models until 1998, when the brand pulled out of the competition. Each of these off-roaders was heavily modified by the automakers Special Vehicle team and finished in a distinctive Sandglow Yello competition livery. The builds proved to be such a hit with enthusiasts, that the British marque has continued to release special editions inspired by the challenge in the decades since it ended.

1998 Land Rover Defender 110 Camel Trophy

This Defender is believed to have been the camera car for the 1998 event, which saw competitors trek across Argentina and Chile, according to an auction note from Doug DeMuro. As such, its also one of the last real Land Rover Camel Trophy 4x4s. It comes equipped with several choice off-roading goodies, like a Brownchurch front bumper, winch, a Mantec snorkel intake system, roll cage, and roof rack. Open up its doors, and youll find a black interior with its steering wheel and gauges on the righthand side and which still has its original Terrartrip 303 Rally computer.

Powering the SUV is a 2.5-liter turbodiesel inline-four. The brawny mill produced 111 hp and 195 ft lbs of torque, which is routed to all four wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox and two-speed transfer case. The 44 has 44,000 miles on it, so its far from being in mint condition, but what Camel Trophy Land Rover is? It was imported to the U.S. last year and is registered in Wyoming, so the winning bidder is unlikely to have any tricky title issues to deal with.

Inside the Defender 110 Camel Trophy

The Defender 110 Camel Trophy is up for auction on Cars & Bids through Thursday afternoon. Despite there being roughly 48 hours to go in the auction, bidding is only up to $25,250. It wouldnt be too much of a surprise to see that number climb in the coming days.

Click here for more photos of the 1998 Land Rover Defender 110 Camel Trophy.

The 1998 Land Rover Defender 110 Camel Trophy in Photos

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It's no secret that enjoying a platter of raw oysters comes with an element of risk, and in the most recent FDA recall, norovirus is rearing its ugly head to remind foodies why. A batch of raw oysters has just been recalled from restaurants and food retailers in California for potential norovirus contamination, particularly restaurants in San Diego and Los Angeles County. The oysters might have also been distributed to other states, according to an official report by the FDA.

The recall was issued after the California Department of Public Health notified the FDA of a norovirus outbreak in San Diego County on January 10. The Mexican Shellfish Authorities (which are a real thing) have launched an ongoing investigation that traced the outbreak to a specific lot of oysters that were harvested in Bahia Salina, Sonora, Mexico on December 18th or December 27th (the harvest date is printed on the product label). The affected oysters most likely would have been purchased from Sociedad Acuicola GolPac (MX 06 SP), and customers who have purchased them are instructed to dispose of them by throwing them in the garbage. Restaurants that purchased the recalled oysters should take extra sanitation measures to avoid cross-contamination of the norovirus onto other foods.

Since oysters are often eaten raw, pathogen-related outbreaks like these can be especially dangerous. The actual number of consumers who have become ill as a result of this outbreak is yet undetermined. The Bahia Salina growing area was closed for an indeterminate time on January 12.

Read more: 15 Different Ways To Cook Fish

An Ongoing Epidemic Keeping Seafood Fans On Edge

Person carving open a raw oyster - Kajakiki/Getty Images

This isn't the first (or the second) warning or oyster recall related to norovirus outbreaks in recent history. Earlier this month, nearly 100 passengers got sick on a Celebrity cruise ship as the result of another separate norovirus outbreak. In December 2022, norovirus-contaminated oysters harvested from Galveston Bay, Texas were sold in at least eight states, with over 200 reported illnesses. Serious consequences have been documented, as well. In September 2023, a reported vibrio virus contraction was fatal for one consumer in Galveston County.

According to the CDC, norovirus is one of the most common types of food poisoning in the U.S. It spreads quickly and easily, striking foodies with stomach flu-like symptoms. Even though this disease comes from a virus, there's no vaccination for it and hand sanitizer can't kill it (norovirus is part of the 0.1% of germs they're talking about in the 99.9% promise).

Vibrio is a bacterium that loves warm coastal saltwater, and it causes infections in humans after being consumed via raw or undercooked shellfish. Some studies have found that the interplay between norovirus and host microbiota promotes viral pathogenesis. This is made even trickier because norovirus can be difficult to detect, as it typically doesn't affect the smell, taste, or appearance of oysters -- which are often vibrio's unwitting vehicle from sea to gastrointestinal tract due to their raw presentation. The increasing frequency and severity of vibrio outbreaks are directly linked to the rising coastal temperatures.

Read the original article on Tasting Table.
The ongoing Houthi militia attacks in the Red Sea havent appeared to have an impact on FedEx just yet, according to CEO Raj Subramaniam.

In a fireside chat Sunday at the National Retail Federation (NRF) Big Show, Subramaniam said the effects of the mass diversions of vessels havent been felt across the business as the logistics giant already wrestles with a period of weak demand.

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Well, the ocean represents about 90 percent of the total pounds that are moved or transported, and air freight represents about 10 percent, so even a small change in the ocean will ultimately have an impact, said Subramaniam. We havent seen much yet.

I dont think its quite like the issue we saw in the pandemic, because theres another way out, even though its a longer route, Subramaniam said. This is something we watch every single daybut its been a very challenging environment for the ocean operators in this situation.

FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam, speaking at the 2024 NRF Big Show.

Subramaniam acknowledged the rise of ocean freight rates since the Houthi drone attacks began in November, while noting that air freight rates remain very stable right now.

When CNBCs Squawk on the Street co-anchor Sara Eisen prodded Subramaniam on whether the air freight rates were headed lower or higher, the CEO said its where we expected them to be.

Air demand and air freight rates are about the same level as they were before the [Red Sea] issue, said Subramaniam.

Average worldwide air freight rates dropped by roughly 2 percent in the first week of 2024, according to the latest market data from WorldACD. German logistics giant DB Schenker expects any impact on of the attacks on these rates will happen in two-to-three weeks, with the company telling Reuters it has secured additional air freight space when the expected switch from ocean to air freight takes place.

The NRF conversation came a day after the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) announced it would hold an informal public hearing on Feb. 7 to examine how conditions in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are impacting commercial shipping and global supply chains.

Ahead of the fireside chat, Subramaniam unveiled FedExs newest platform, Fdx, which is designed to enable users to make strategic logistics decisions from the point of demand, all the way through fulfillment, delivery and returns.

The all-in-one platform is expected to be launched to general audiences in fall 2024, and is currently available in a private preview mode for select brands on request.

The solution combines existing standalone features such as access to the ShopRunner e-commerce platform; the ability to share estimated delivery dates on product pages, in cart and at checkout; access to detailed carbon emissions data; and returns management.

Additionally, upon the fall launch, Fdx will also enable brands to integrate real-time FedEx network insights into their order management systems, which can help determine optimal shipping routes and speeds for efficient deliveries.

The necessary condition for something like this, is the fact that we need to have a data infrastructure that needs to be created to make some of this work, said Subramaniam. Just in the last two or three years, theres been an enormous effort to pull this together. We believe we have a differentiated physical network that was built over 50 years, and now we believe that we have a differentiated digital twin of that network that nobody else has.

FedExs move happened mere months after its chief competitors, UPS and Amazon, launched their own technologies designed to bring supply chain capabilities under one dashboard. The Memphis, Tenn.-based company has been lagging competitors in total deliveries, shipping 3.3 billion packages in 2022 compared to 5.3 billion for UPS.

Amazon, on the other hand, delivered 5.2 billion packages in that time frame, with a November Wall Street Journal report saying that the e-commerce giant was anticipated to outperform these numbers with 5.9 billion packages in 2023.

FedEx is also being impacted by substantial winter weather disruptions across its businesses due to snowstorms across the U.S., according to a Tuesday service alert.

For the FedEx Express division, shipments with a delivery commitment of Tuesday may be delayed, with potential delays continuing throughout the week.

Multiple FedEx Express services are likely to be impacted, including Express shipments inbound to the U.S., first overnight, priority overnight, standard overnight, Express saver, two-day a.m., two-day and three-Day Express Freight.

FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight deliveries may experience delays as well depending on the zip code. Ground reported no service in more than 1,900 zip codes across 11 states, while Freight has no service in more than 3,800 zip codes in 20 states.
Virginia Woolf began The Years, the last book she published in her lifetime, with the weather. It was an uncertain spring, Woolf wrote, and Sigrid Nunez uses the very same words to open her ninth novel, The Vulnerables. Here, the spring in question is that of 2020, and the narrator is suddenly coming across words that would soon be overfamiliar  Wuhan, wet market, lockdown, quarantine.

Yet Nunezs protagonist  a nameless writer, like that of Nunezs 2018 novel The Friend, which won the National Book Award and its author a much wider audience than shed had before  recalls little else about The Years. Only when I was young did I believe that it was important to remember what happened in every novel I read. Now I know the truth: what matters is what you experience while reading, the states of feeling that the story evokes, the questions that rise in your mind, rather than the fictional events described.

And so Nunez sets us up to receive her narrators allusive tale. In that peculiar, frightening spring, our solitary writer agrees to house-sit for a friend of a friend, a woman called Iris. (Nunez bestows on all her characters the names of flowers and plants, and like Melville  Call me Ishmael  leaves the reader uncertain as to whether these names are more than metaphors.)

Iris has been stranded in California by the pandemic, leaving her beloved macaw, Eureka, in the care of another friends son  who skedaddles back to Vermont, leaving poor Eureka on his lonesome. Neglected parrots were known to have drastic personality changes, Iris explained, sometimes even to the point of insanity. The narrator agrees to step into the breach, but things dont quite go according to plan.

Before long, the friends son returns, having discovered himself bereft without his avian companion. The narrator is not best pleased at having to share her space. Im going to call him Vetch, she says of the young man, having previously noted that this is a hideous name for a plant. Yet the three of them  Vetch, our writer, the macaw  find a way to rub along together.

Sigrid Nunez, author of The Vulnerables - Dan Callister

Nunezs plain and subtle writing carries what is not precisely a story but a way of being, a sensibility. About two-thirds of the way through, the narrator summons up a book called I Remember, a memoir published by the American writer Joe Brainard in 1970. A cult classic, praised by the likes of Olivia Laing and Paul Auster, its a collage of memories, each of its sections beginning with the two words in its title. Highly specific to the authors life, its also transparent, inviting. As Nunezs narrator puts it: The miracle of Brainards book is that you can write it. You simply do what he did: put down one memory after another as it comes to mind (arranging them all later as you might wish), always beginning with the phrase I remember.

The reader will recognise that this is what Nunez has been doing all along: lacing her tale with recollections and reflections in order to construct a portrait of an individual circling herself, her memories and preconceptions, her strengths and weaknesses. As in other of Nunezs novels, the behaviour of non-human characters contrasts with that of her human actors. In The Friend, a Great Dane plays a central role; in Mitz (1998), she considered Leonard Woolfs pet marmoset; in Salvation City (2010), theres a basset hound named Sadie. In The Vulnerables, she reflects not only on Eureka but also on Craig Fosters 2020 film My Octopus Teacher, a lockdown sensation about a year-long relationship  lets call it that  between a South African documentarian and a cephalopod. I remind myself, Nunez writes, that there was something about Foster that told the octopus that making herself vulnerable to this man was worth the risk.

All kinds of vulnerability are laced through this layered, thoughtful book. The Vulnerables is static, centred in a time and place, yet branching out into philosophy and imagination. Its narrator is a vulnerable, as so many were during the pandemic, with so much at risk: a condition that served to highlight our interdependence. In Nunezs admission of uncertainty is a perceptive openness: the states of feeling she conjures are quietly shocking, reminders of the pleasures and costs of our shared humanity.

The Vulnerables is published by Virago at 16.99. To order your copy, call 0844 871 1514 or visit Telegraph Books

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Nvidia captivated Wall Street last year as its business exploded amid a boom in artificial intelligence (AI). Its stock is up 224% year over year alongside soaring earnings. Increased interest in AI caused a spike in demand for graphics processing units (GPUs), with Nvidia best positioned to supply its hardware to the entire market.

The chipmaker likely has plenty of room left to run. However, explosive growth over the last 12 months has made it a slightly expensive investment option. As a result, many investors are now on the hunt for the "next Nvidia" -- a company with the infrastructure to meet rising chip demand and deliver significant gains similarly.

Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) looks like a no-brainer alternative to Nvidia. The company has solid positions in many of the same industries and has held the second-largest market share in desktop GPUs for years. Meanwhile, this year, AMD will ship a new AI GPU designed to challenge Nvidia's offerings.

AMD might not be able to dethrone Nvidia. However, with how rapidly markets like AI are growing, there will likely be room for Nvidia to retain its dominance and for AMD to become a titan of AI chips.

AMD could make a big splash in AI this year

The launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT in November 2022 made many rethink what is currently possible with AI. Excitement soared as the public realized the technology could advance countless industries, from healthcare to consumer products, education, manufacturing, autonomous vehicles, and more. Nvidia shined as the primary chip supplier to the rapidly expanding market. However, its success highlighted how far other chipmakers, like AMD, had fallen behind in AI.

As a result, AMD spent the rest of the year developing hardware that could compete with Nvidia, and its new chips are finally here. AMD unveiled the MI300X AI GPU last December, with the company promising it is on par with Nvidia's H100 for training and that it beats the H100 for inference by 10% to 20%.

Story continues

AMD's new chip is already turning heads, with Microsoft announcing in November that its Azure cloud platform would become the first such platform to use the MI300X to optimize its AI capabilities. Microsoft holds a 49% stake in OpenAI, making the company a powerful partner for AMD. Alongside an agreement with Meta -- which will see it utilizing the new chips as well -- AMD's future in AI looks bright.

In 2023, Nvidia became the first chipmaker to exceed a market cap of $1 trillion. AMD still has a long way to go before coming anywhere close to that figure, with its market cap at $237 billion. However, that could mean it has far more growth potential over the long term.

Does AMD's stock have the same growth potential as Nvidia's?

AMD is gearing up for a potentially stellar growth year. If it could match even half of the growth Nvidia enjoyed in 2023, the company's shares could be one of the best investments right now.

NVDA Price to Free Cash Flow Chart

However, AMD is only just getting started in AI, with its earnings yet to reflect the company's heavy investment in the market. As a result, valuation metrics like price-to-earnings (P/E) and price-to-free-cash-flow ratios (seen in the chart above) show AMD's stock is significantly more expensive than Nvidia's.

These metrics help determine a stock's value as they take into account a company's financial health. For both, the lower the figure, the better the value.

Over the last year, AMD's free cash flow has plunged 47% to $1 billion, while Nvidia's has soared 360% to over $17 billion. AMD is bleeding money, tanking the value of its shares. Consequently, it might be worth waiting to invest in AMD until its stock reaches a more attractive price point.

NVDA EPS Estimates for 2 Fiscal Years Ahead Chart

Moreover, earnings-per-share (EPS) estimates show Nvidia's earnings could hit $24 per share over the next two fiscal years, while AMD's might reach $5 per share. Multiplying those figures by the companies' forward P/Es (Nvidia's 45 and AMD's 38) yields stock prices of $1,080 for Nvidia and $190 for AMD.

If projections are correct, Nvidia's stock would climb 97% over the next two fiscal years, and AMD's would rise 30%. AMD has the infrastructure and experience to someday achieve a position similar to Nvidia's in AI. However, its expensive stock price makes it too much of a risk for now, with Nvidia still a more attractive option.

Should you invest $1,000 in Advanced Micro Devices right now?

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Could AMD Become the Next Nvidia? was originally published by The Motley Fool
We've all heard of snow dances, but get ready for... wind hold dances?

Lifties from Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine posted a hilarious documentation of what really goes on when the lifts stop spinning during work hours.

It looks like they're doing the Cotton Eyed Joe, but with all that gear on, it's hard to say!

One Instagram commented noted the hardcore weather conditions at the Loaf, saying "they must get a ton of practice."

The weather at Sugarloaf can be intense, but we'd have to hand it to them for keeping things open as often as they do. I recall days where it was very much sub-zero, freezing cold winds, heavy snowfall, etc, and no matter what, those lifts were spinning.

Besides King Pine and Timberline, of course, which seems like are the first to go when the weather's acting up!

It's okay, though, we'll all just stick to SuperQuad and the T-Bar (newer isn't always better, right?).

Watch some POV footage from the SuperQuad lift ride below.

Another user joked that this routine should be referred to as "line dancing," and we'd have to agree.

It seems like the snow dances worked at the Loaf, because in the last week, the mountain has seen 24 fresh inches of powder. Not bad for Maine, right?

What's your favorite ski-related dance? I prefer to pass the time doing yoga in my warm room, inside, or going to the gym, when the weather's too bad to ski.

But to everyone who perseveres, props to you, and thank you for defending the East Coast's hardcore reputation!

Don't miss another headline from POWDER! Subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected with the latest happenings in the world of skiing.

We're always on the lookout for amusing, interesting and engaging ski-related videos to feature on our channels. Whether you're a professional skier or just an amateur, we want to see your best footage and help you share it with the world. Submit your video for a chance to be featured on POWDER and our social channels. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch high-quality ski videos.
A listeria outbreak linked to cotija cheese, queso fresco and other dairy products from Rizo-Lopez Foods has resulted in two deaths, 23 hospitalizations and 26 illnesses across 11 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. The outbreak, which is still under an active investigation, has resulted in a recall of products of various cheeses, yogurts and cremas, including salad kits, burritos, dips and more that may contain them.

The outbreak follows Quaker Oats Company's December recall of granola bars and granola cereals, including Chewy Bars and Chewy Dipps, because they may have been contaminated with salmonella. In January, that recall was expanded to include more cereals, granola bars and snacks, such as Cap'n Crunch products. The recall applies to products sold in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and Saipan, and does not include Quaker Oats, Quaker Instant Oats, Quaker Grits, Quaker Oat Bran, Quaker Oat Flour and Quaker Rice Snacks.

Foodborne illnesses are shockingly common. The CDC says that 48 million get sick from foodborne diseases every year in the U.S. Here's a guide to everything you need to know.

Listeria

What it is: A disease-causing bacteria called listeria monocytogenes. It can survive and grow under refrigeration. The disease people develop after eating food contaminated with this bacteria is called listeriosis.

What the symptoms are: Mild symptoms of listeriosis include fever, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, while symptoms for the more severe form of listeriosis include headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

What experts need you to know: Listeria has the unfortunate property to grow under refrigeration temperatures, which is uncommon of foodborne illness, says Dr. Albert Shaw, infectious diseases specialist and professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine, tells Yahoo Life. It can contaminate any food, really, but we see outbreaks in raw fruits and vegetables, as well as improperly heated hot dogs and things like deli meats. Unpasteurized milk or soft cheeses, especially Brie and queso that are made with potentially unpasteurized ingredients, have been associated with outbreaks in the past.

While listeriosis symptoms can typically be treated at home, Dr. Julie Parsonnet, professor of infectious diseases at Stanford University School of Medicine, notes that the disease can be serious in certain individuals. Pregnant women are at risk because the bacteria can get into the bloodstream and the placenta, and theres a high risk of fetal loss due to the infection, she tells Yahoo Life. The elderly can also get listeria in their blood and their brain, causing meningitis. Its not a common cause of disease, but among the foodborne illnesses, listeria is one of the more common causes of death.

Salmonella

What it is: A group of bacteria that can cause gastrointestinal illness. Its typically associated with meat and poultry as well as undercooked eggs, but dairy products, fruits and leafy greens can also be contaminated.

What the symptoms are: Gastrointestinal illness, which includes diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps. More severe illnesses associated with salmonella include high fever, lethargy, a rash and blood in the urine or stool, according to the FDA.

What experts need you to know: In the U.S., poultry and eggs are the most common sources of salmonella, says Parsonnet. You can typically avoid the bacteria by cooking your food. Its also important to avoid cross contamination while preparing food, making sure that raw ingredients dont touch anything you will be consuming.

Shaw says that for those with a normal immune system, salmonella typically runs its course in two to three days. Though most people recover at home, Parsonnet says its possible to see severe illness in people who are immunocompromised or have sickle cell anemia.

E. coli

What it is: Escherichia coli, or E. coli, is a bacteria that lives in the intestines of people and animals. Though it is harmless while in the gut, ingesting certain types of E. coli  such as E. coli O157:H7  can cause severe gastrointestinal issues, according to the Mayo Clinic. One way E. coli is spread is when feces contaminates food and water. Since animals can potentially carry pathogenic E. coli, touching animals, such as at a petting zoo, can potentially put you at risk.

What the symptoms are: Stomach issues include severe cramping, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. Fever is also common. In extreme cases, E. coli may lead to a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), or the development of high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease and neurologic problems, according to the FDA.

If people develop bloody diarrhea or have a decline in urine output or are pale, they should seek medical attention, says Shaw.

What experts need you to know: Consuming ground beef can potentially put you at a greater risk of E. coli exposure. If you cook your steak, and you cook the outside, youre usually safe from it, says Parsonnet. But if you make hamburgers, youre taking the outside of the meat thats been contaminated, and you're mixing it in the middle. (The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture recommends cooking ground beef to a safe minimum internal temperature of 160F to destroy harmful bacteria.)

But its not just ground beef thats linked to outbreaks. A few years ago, there was an E. coli outbreak in apple juice because it was probably contaminated by feces, says Parsonnet. Anything thats contaminated with animal feces, such as produce grown in fields, has the potential to expose you to E. Coli, she says.

Hepatitis A

What it is: Hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver infection caused by the hepatitis A virus. Exposure typically happens when people come into close contact with an infected person, as well as through eating or drinking food or water contaminated with the virus.

What the symptoms are: Lethargy, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, joint pain. and dark-colored urine are all common symptoms. Clay- or gray-colored stool, as well as intense itching and jaundiced skin, are signs that can distinguish a hepatitis A infection from other foodborne illnesses.

What experts need you to know: Hepatitis A is fairly rare in the U.S., thanks to vaccinations, notes Parsonnet. Adults who get hepatitis A typically recover within one to two weeks, but its possible for the disease to become chronic, which can lead to liver failure and death.

Shaw says that hepatitis A is usually foodborne, either from contamination in the fields or with a food handler who is preparing food without sufficient precautions. Transmission can come from someone going to the bathroom and not washing their hands sufficiently and then preparing food.

Recent hepatitis A outbreaks have been linked to strawberries, as well as raw scallops, frozen tuna and conventional blackberries.

Norovirus

What it is: A highly contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea.

What the symptoms are: Norovirus causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. It usually resolves within two to three days, says Shaw. These symptoms typically last one to three days, according to the Mayo Clinic.

What experts need you to know: Typically, people become infected after coming into contact with the virus by consuming food or drink contaminated by another person with the virus, or by coming into contact with a surface or object with the virus and then touching their mouth.

According to the CDC, norovirus is responsible for about 50% of all outbreaks of food-related illness, most of which happen in food-service settings such as restaurants.

This is the virus that's associated with outbreaks on cruise ships, Shaw points out. It is highly contagious because the dose that you need to become infected is really low.

Parsonnet agrees, adding: If you have it, you can easily give it to your family and to other people in the household through being in close contact, such as sharing food or eating utensils. Most people recover without treatment, but symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting can cause severe dehydration.

How to recover from foodborne illnesses

The treatment for mild foodborne illness is typically rest and drinking plenty of fluids in order to avoid dehydration. In rare and severe cases, listeria and salmonella may be treated with antibiotics.

Its also important to keep an eye on your symptoms, notes Parsonnet. A fever greater than 102F, bloody diarrhea or diarrhea with mucus, bad abdominal cramps, weakness or confusion, and symptoms that dont improve within 48 hours warrant reaching out to a health care provider.

This article was originally published on June 15, 2023 and has been updated.
Frequent flier Kalyn Salinas runs a travel planning firm, and since becoming a mom, many of her flights are taken with her daughter, currently 21 months old. Shes flown with her daughter in her lap  referred to as infant in arms, and available only for children under the age of 2  on at least 15 flights, including international journeys. But the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 incident earlier this month  in which the since-grounded Boeing 737 Max 9s cabin door plug detached midair, causing what the airline called a rapid decompression of the airplane  and subsequent warnings from safety experts about the risks infants and small children face when they don't have their own seats have prompted Salinas to reconsider how she flies with her daughter in the future.

If there had been a passenger holding a kid close to where that panel blew off, the explosive force was such that a kid being held would have been torn from the hands of their parent, and they would have been sucked out the plane, Kwasi Adjekum, an assistant professor at the University of North Dakotas Department of Aviation, told the Washington Post last week. The practice of holding kids on your lap, especially for takeoff and other vulnerable phases of flight  its highly frowned upon and discouraged.

As a parent, Salinas tells Yahoo Life that these warnings have solidified a concern I had on our flight home from Maui last week: What am I supposed to do with my toddler when the pilot warns of turbulence? On a recent flight in Europe, she was offered a seatbelt extension to keep her daughter safely secured on her lap, but she says that hasn't been the case on a lot of the U.S. flights she's taken. But even with a separate cabin seat purchased for her daughter, she's found that keeping a wild, independent toddler put for a full flight is a major challenge.

It was really difficult for takeoff and landing to even put the seatbelt on, she shares. Toddlers are old enough to have an opinion but not old enough to fully understand. Im asking myself: If I need to get somewhere, how do I do it so that my child is safe, but also how do I make it through with my sanity intact?

Although the Federal Aviation Administration allows a child under the age of 2 to fly as a lap baby, they also recommend against it. Your arms aren't capable of holding your in-lap child securely, especially during unexpected turbulence, which is the number one cause of pediatric injuries on an airplane, the FAA website reads. The FAA strongly urges you to secure your child in an approved CRS [child restraint system] or other approved device for the entirety of your flight.

Shelby O'Brien, a mom of three small children, is following this advice. Though she used to fly with a baby on her lap, she now always purchases a seat for them to use with an approved car seat. For O'Brien, the change provides both safety and convenience. It's safer for them, and it allows us the ability to have our arms free to keep them entertained and dish out snacks, she tells Yahoo Life. While, hopefully, this specific incident won't occur again, turbulence and accidents during takeoff and landing are more likely and can also make babies a projectile. While we like to think that parental instinct will kick in and we'll be able to keep our kids safe, that just isn't always the case in these unpredictable instances.

Not all parents are fazed by the warnings, however. Whitney Robinson is a mom to a 10-month-old whom she has traveled with six times to date. While I completely understand the safety warning, I still plan on holding him, she tells Yahoo Life. I put him in a baby carrier during the flight so he's strapped to me. Yes, having him ride in his car seat in a separate seat is the absolute safest option. That being said, I also think that having him strapped to me is also a very safe option. What she'd like to see, in the aftermath of the Alaska Airlines incident, is airlines making adjustments to ensure the safety of their passengers or tightened safety requirements from the FAA.

Kristin Addis, a mom of a 1-and-a-half-year-old son who has accompanied her on over 100 flights to 10 countries, has also relied on a baby carrier during flights. When he was an infant, I pretty much always had him in a baby carrier, she tells Yahoo Life. Of course, it is safer to have a baby in a car seat or CARES device on a plane. But whats also worth considering is that a toddler is not going to happily sit in a car seat for most of a long flight.

The FAA does not allow babies to be in a wearable baby carrier for takeoff and landing, though reports from frequent-flier parents suggest that this rule is not always enforced. Another challenge for parents is navigating the varying seat sizes within planes that may or may not fit their FAA-approved car seats. Salinas, for example, purchased a separate cabin seat for her daughter just once, bringing along her Doona car seat only to find that it didn't fit in her assigned seat. It only fit in one of a few seats on the plane that were wide enough, she says. I didn't book the seat it could fit and I didn't know how to find out which it was. I had to take the baby out of the seat and flip it over and prove to the flight attendants that it was FAA-approved. Luckily, people volunteered to switch, but if not, I would have bought the seat but not been able to use it.

Arden Joy, founder of Girls Who Travel and a mom of two, recently flew with her 8-month-old infant for the first time following the Alaska Airlines incident. Since that door blew out, I have lain awake every night picturing her getting sucked out of the plane, she tells Yahoo Life. Unfortunately, although she bought her daughter an extra seat and an FAA-approved car seat for travel, she had a similar issue with seating arrangements. We had booked two middle and two aisle seats, thinking wed keep the family together, she says. But upon boarding, she was told the car seat needed to go in a window seat. Despite being FAA-compliant, the car seat wouldn't fit in the newly assigned space. Finally, as frustrated passengers were filling the aisle waiting for us, a flight attendant shoved it into the seat, but it was at such an odd angle and I couldnt get the seat belt over it, so I didnt feel like it really did anything, Joy says. So after all that, I ended up sitting with my daughter on my lap for pretty much the entire four-and-a-half hours.

Some parents feel that the FAA could be doing more to make it easier for parents to fly with their babies in approved car seats, as the organization recommends. Others believe the focus should be on making everyone on board more secure by prioritizing aircraft safety standards. Addis notes that there are dangers for anyone flying without proper restraints. While parents do need to take on responsibility for keeping their kids safe, there is of course responsibility on the airlines' part to keep passengers safe, she says. Anyone who happened to be walking by or who was out of their seat at the wrong moment could have had a bad outcome as well.
A call to arms is echoing through South Australia.

Following a spate of shark attacks in the region  six in the last eight months, three being fatal  a local mayor is calling for the big fish responsible to be killed.

Elliston Mayor Andrew McLeod is leading the charge, urging the state government to address the issue. His solution? An eye-for-an-eye approach, targeting and killing the sharks responsible for human fatalities.

"If fisheries officers were able to attempt to terminate a shark following an attack, that would be a targeted approach  trying to terminate the shark responsible for the attack would not risk the survival of the species as a whole," McLeod said, per ABC.

On January 9th, 64-year-old schoolteacher Murray Adams was non-fatally attacked while surfing in Elliston; two weeks prior, 15-year-old Khai Cowley was killed while surfing on the nearby Yorke Peninsula at Ethel Beach; then, back in May of 2023, another Eyre Peninsula schoolteacher was attacked, although sadly, he did not survive.

Even Mayor McLeod, the official pushing for the shark cull, had an encounter with a shark while surfing in Elliston a few years back.

It is an absolute fluke that I didnt get killed because if it had taken any of my flesh, I think it would have come back for more, he told Yahoo! News. It is ridiculous that theyre classified as endangered and they should be harvested like every other resource.

However, shark experts argue that culling is ineffective and inhumane.

"You could go out and kill a bunch of sharks and you will never know if you got the one which is responsible  there is no real justice at that point," said Dr. Chris Lowe, Director of the Shark Lab at Cal State University Long Beach.

Lowe continued:

"If you look at all the places where shark control has been used successfully  you're taking out hundreds, if not thousands of sharks to do that. In the process of doing that, you kill lots of other things too, which means you're going to have ecological effects."

To cull or not to cull?

Stay tuned.

***

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HUMAN KIND: Best fashion friends Nigo and Pharrell Williams are even tighter now that Williams has been named an adviser at the Japanese designers Human Made brand.

He didnt have an official role and I thought it was time to make it official that hes actually advising on the direction of the brand, Nigo told WWD on the sidelines of a preview appointment for Kenzo, where hes been artistic director since 2021.

More from WWD

Nigo revealed Williams new title on his Instagram account last week, without elaboration.

Ive really just started talking about it with Pharrell now in this position, and Brian Donnelly [known professionally as Kaws] is also an adviser, Nigo told WWD. So now the three of us are officially going to have this responsibility and were going to start working out plans.

Nigo noted that Williams has been an investor in Human Made since its 2010 launch, and the brand is going great guns at the moment.

The brands business is roughly split between international markets and Japan, where there are six freestanding stores, including one that stocks other lines, including some things from Kaws and Wasted Youth, the fashion brand of graphic designer Verdy, a recent Kenzo collaborator, Nigo said.

A serial fashion entrepreneur and pioneering figure on the streetwear scene, Nigo was the founder of A Bathing Ape, with which he is no longer associated.

He also partnered with Williams to launch the streetwear brands Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream, and worked for Uniqlo as creative director for its UT range. In recent years Human Made unfurled collaborations with the likes of Adidas Originals, Kaws, Levis and Verdy.

Williams also has his fingers in many design pies beyond his award-winning music career, most notably as mens creative director of Louis Vuitton, the Joopiter online auction platform, and his wellness brand Humanrace.

Nigo is to unveil his fall 2024 mens and womens collections for Kenzo on Friday as part of mens fashion week in Paris.

Best of WWD
I flew from California to Florida the day after a piece of fuselage blew out from the side of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 after taking off from Portland, Oregon. I tried not to think of the images Id seen of the gaping hole in that Alaska Airlines plane, nor the many family vacations when Id flown with my now 17-year-old daughter on my lap when she was a toddler under 2 years old.

An Oregon mom traveling with her 15-year-old son on the Alaska Airlines flight described her experience on board to The Seattle Times, saying she "was probably as filled with adrenaline as Ive ever been in my life." The pair were seated in the row just in front of where the piece of fuselage flew off, and the mother saw her sons seat get pulled back toward the hole and its headrest ripped off.

"I reached over and grabbed his body and pulled him towards me over the armrest," she told the Seattle newspaper. "I did not realize until after the flight that his clothing had been torn off of his upper body."

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Should parents be concerned about safety when flying with their children?

This kind of experience is the stuff of parental nightmares when it comes to flying with kids. But its also newsworthy because its so uncommon. So, after the incident aboard Alaska Airlines Flight 1282  and the incident a few days before that when a Japan Airlines plane caught fire after colliding with a Coast Guard plane while landing at Tokyos Haneda Airport  should parents be concerned about safety when flying with their children?

"Whenever we have these kinds of incidents that weve seen recently, of course, its natural for people to be concerned about it," said Hassan Shahidi, president and CEO of the Flight Safety Foundation, an international, independent nonprofit focused on aviation safety. "But the message here is that commercial aviation in general, and especially in the United States, is extremely safe. Youve got millions of flights carrying billions of passengers operating safely around the world every year."

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A door plug area of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft awaits inspection with paneling removed at the airline's facilities at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Jan. 10.

If parents are feeling a little extra anxious these days, though, there are some steps they can take to keep their families as safe as possible when flying. The biggest one is not holding children under two on your lap during a flight.

While thats technically allowed, the Federal Aviation Administration doesnt recommend it. On its Flying with Children webpage, the FAA says, "The safest place for your child under the age of two on a U.S. airplane is in an approved child restraint system (CRS) or device, not in your lap."

Yes, it may be tempting to save money on a seat for your little one. But in the event of severe turbulence or a rare occurrence like what happened on the Alaska Airlines flight, youd rather they be safely strapped into a seat than just secured by your arms and your ability to hold on tight in a tough situation.

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Anthony Brickhouse, an associate professor in the College of Aviation at EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University and director of the universitys Aerospace Forensics Laboratory, hopes the latest incident brings a long-desired change to the rules around airline passengers under 2.

"I think this accident is a wakeup call to the industry, and Im happy that these topics are being talked about," he said. "Its unfortunate what happened, but hopefully talking about these topics can allow us to get better."

Brickhouse points out that children under a certain weight and age need to be in appropriate seats to ride in a car, and flying is a more extreme version of travel. "When you look at an aircraft, it travels significantly faster than a car, and at impact, the forces are going to be significantly worse. So, just from a commonsense perspective, it just bothers me as a safety professional that in 2024, lap children are still legal."

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The FAAs Flying with Children page offers detailed information on how to confirm that your CRS is certified for use in aircraft and how to install it on the plane. Youll also want to verify information about approved child restraint systems for the specific airline youre flying.

Once the whole family is seated on the plane, both experts stress the importance of paying attention to the crews preflight safety briefing, no matter how many times youve heard it before. "Aircraft are not all the same  there are different models, different exit doors," Shahidi said.

Locate the emergency exit doors so youre prepared for a worst-case scenario. "I actually recommend counting the rows to the emergency exit, so in case you cant see, you can find your way out," Brickhouse said. "And note that the closest exit may be behind you."

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Should the oxygen masks get deployed during your flight, yes, put your own on before assisting your children. "You need to get oxygen first, so in case of this rare event, you have oxygen so you can help your child," Shahidi added.

Keep seat belts fastened securely around your waist the entire flight, except for when you need to use the restroom. "There is turbulence that happens: Some turbulence is very mild, some is not as mild," Shahidi said. "When you have your seatbelt on, youre secure. There are injuries that happen every year with turbulence, and the majority of them ... are when somebody is not restrained in a seat belt."

If recent incidents have made your child newly nervous about flying, have a conversation with them about it. "The best thing is to talk about it," Shahidi said. "Talk about those anxieties, and just reassure children that flying is safe." Bringing some favorite books, toys, games, and snacks on the plane can also help make kids feel more relaxed.

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"Flying is still the safest mode of transportation, even though we just came out of a very scary event," Brickhouse reinforced. "The National Transportation Safety Board is an outstanding organization. Its going to find out exactly what happened and let the industry know what changes need to be made to prevent it from happening again."

More from FamilyVacationist:

The views and opinions expressed in this column are the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of USA TODAY.

FamilyVacationist.com and TourScoop.com are owned and operated by Vacationist Media LLC. Using the FamilyVacationist travel recommendation methodology, we review and select family vacation ideas, family vacation spots, all-inclusive family resorts, and classic family vacations for all ages. TourScoop covers guided group tours and tour operators, tour operator reviews, tour itinerary reviews and travel gear recommendations.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Flying stress: What parents should know after Alaska Airlines incident
ASHEVILLE - A new 95-unit development, dubbed "The Meadows at Haw Creek," has been officially proposed, setting the first city developer date for a Feb. 5 Technical Review Committee meeting. Public comment is not allowed at Technical Review Committee meetings.

Site plans indicate 60 single-family homes will be constructed on the eastern section of the property, while 35 townhomes will be constructed on the western portion. A majority of the single-family lots  52 of them  are currently sized to be 4,860 square feet. The 767 New Haw Creek Road parcel is 26.23 acres, according to Buncombe County tax records.

An image of the development proposed by the Haw Creek

Existing wetlands running through the property will remain, with a new greenway to run from the single-family homes over a bridge and toward New Haw Creek Road. The greenway will run adjacent to New Haw Creek Road.

Other aspects of the proposal include proposed bike parking at the townhomes and 4 acres of open space near the wetland.

Meadows at Haw Creek is seeking a conditional zoning review to rezone the area to Residential Expansion, which will require a vote from City Council. Before visiting City Council, the project will be seen by the Planning and Zoning Commission. Public comment will be accepted at both.

Residential Expansion zoning allows 20 units an acre. The parcel's current zoning is Residential Single-Family Medium Density District, or RS-4, which requires lot sizes of 8,000 square feet for development. Housing on the development is set to be "market rate," according to Warren Sugg, who spoke during the Nov. 28 neighborhood meeting on the development.

The development has been proposed by L B Jackson and Co., an Asheville-based family developer. The developer has placed the property, which was most recently listed on Zillow for $3.4 million, under contract.

The Jacksons have worked in the area for nearly 100 years, where 28-year-old developer Lynwood Baldwin Jackson built the 13-story Jackson building in 1924. At the time, it was the tallest skyscraper in North Carolina.

The Citizen Times could not reach Kevin Jackson, the primary applicant listed from L B Jackson, for comment.

A view of the parcel for "Meadows at Haw Creek" at 767 New Haw Creek Road, Dec 5. 2023.

Community funded traffic analysis incoming?

The city submittal comes after the development received intense feedback during a November neighborhood meeting, during which developer Kevin Jackson faced questions on affordability, traffic and density of housing.

Not long after the meeting, the Haw Creek Community Association announced that it publicly opposes the development set for 767 New Haw Creek, where the HCCA website states the proposal would "transform the bucolic pasture and hardwood forest into high-density housing that exceeds current zoning standards."

A recent HCCA newsletter post announced funding had been set aside by a "neighbor who wishes to be anonymous" for an independent traffic impact analysis study. The study would examine possible increased traffic on New Haw Creek Road and Old Haw Creek Road during peak school hours, where the proposed development sits close to Evergreen Community Charter School and Haw Creek Elementary School.

In a Jan. 12 email, HCCA President Chris Pelly told the Citizen Times that "residents recognize this is a complex issue with many facets."

"We recognize Asheville needs housing of all types in all locations, including Haw Creek, which has welcomed significant in-fill development in recent years," Pelly wrote. "That said, there is no denying this is a gut punch to residents who have long enjoyed the natural beauty of this landmark property which, until recently, was in the same family since the 1800s."

Additional concerns included the loss of tree canopy and animal habitat from the project, where Pelly said the organization would be requesting a conservation easement on the "largest stand of trees on the east end of the property."

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Meadows at Haw Creek by willhofmann2

More: Asheville and Buncombe County living wage increases 9% amid soaring housing costs

More: No vote taken on 74-unit condo development proposed near Biltmore Lake

Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville planning board reviews 95-unit Meadows at Haw Creek
A highly experienced former NASA astronaut will command the first all-European private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, which is scheduled for liftoff during Wednesday rush hour.

The four Axiom-3 astronauts will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 5:11 p.m. EST Wednesday from pad 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, marking Cape Canaveral's first crewed mission of the year.

The launch window is instantaneous. Should delays arise, a backup opportunity opens at 4:49 p.m. Thursday, SpaceX reported.

After launch, the Axiom-3 astronauts will ascend in a SpaceX Dragon capsule into low-Earth orbit, where they will dock with the ISS about 5:15 a.m. Friday to kick off a roughly 14-day stay.

The crew: commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, a former NASA astronaut and dual American-Spanish citizen; mission specialist Alper Gezeravc of Turkey; mission specialist Marcus Wandt of Sweden, a European Space Agency astronaut; and pilot Walter Villadei, an Italian Air Force colonel.

Falcon 9 and Dragon vertical at pad 39A in Florida. Targeting Wednesday, January 17 for launch of Ax-3  https://t.co/bJFjLCiTbK pic.twitter.com/YHA99eVzHt  SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 16, 2024

Axiom-3 mission fast facts

From left, Axiom-3 astronauts Walter Villadei, Marcus Wandt, Michael Lopez-Alegria and Alper Gezeravc.

In terms of fast facts, Axiom-3 is:

The first all-European commercial astronaut mission to the ISS.

The first spaceflight with a Turkish astronaut.

The first commercial spaceflight with an ESA-sponsored astronaut.

"For the first time, ESA is teaming with a commercial space company to send one of its project astronauts to space, a ground-breaking venture demonstrating a pivot from the decades-long reliance on NASA and Roscosmos for access to the orbiting laboratory and to microgravity research, technology development, in-space manufacturing, and outreach," an Axiom Space fact sheet said.

Space Force: 95% 'go for launch' weather

The crew of Axiom-3, from left to right: ESA astronaut Marcus Wandt of Sweden, mission specialist; Axiom Spaces chief astronaut and former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, commander; Italian Air Force Col. Walter Villadei, pilot; and Alper Gezeravci of Turkey, mission specialist.

In a forecast released Monday, the Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron pegged the odds of "go for launch" weather Wednesday at greater than 95%.

"An area of low pressure developing along this boundary later (Monday) will move out into the Atlantic on Tuesday, bringing a cold front through the region late in the day. Models are trending faster with the passage of this front, leading to lighter winds for the primary launch window late Wednesday afternoon," the squadron's forecast said.

"Conditions will be cool and dry, with a stratocumulus deck encroaching on the Spaceport as winds veer onshore. No significant weather launch weather concerns are expected," the forecast said.

Meet the Axiom-3 commander

Axiom-3 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria.

Axiom-3 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria is no stranger to Cape Canaveral  he was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in November 2021. Following is his biography from that induction ceremony:

"Alegria logged more than 257 days in space and performed 10 spacewalks totaling 67 hours and 40 minutes of EVA. His missions include STS-73 Columbia, STS-92 Discovery, STS-113 Endeavour, and Expedition 14. He left NASA in March 2012 and currently serves the Vice President of Business Development for Axiom Space, and has been selected to command the crew of Ax-1, the first fully private orbital space mission in human history," the biography said.

That historic Axiom-1 mission launched under Lopez-Alegria's command in April 2022 from KSC. Axiom-2, a subsequent private astronaut mission to the ISS, launched in May.

Turkey's first-ever astronaut

Alper Gezeravc, Axiom-3 mission specialist, will become the first Turkish astronaut to go to space.

Alper Gezeravc will become the first Turkish astronaut to go to space, serving as an Axiom-3 mission specialist.

In terms of experience, Gezeravc earned a master's degree from the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.

As a Turkish Air Force fighter pilot, Gezeravc has amassed 15 years of flying experience on aircraft including the T-41, SF-260, T-37, T-38, F-5, KC-135 and F-16. He also flew as a Turkish Airlines captain for seven years.

For the latest launch schedule updates from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.

Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1

Space is important to us and that's why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Axiom-3: Fast facts about Wednesday private European astronaut launch
Former President Donald Trump praised Arizonas Kari Lake after he won the Iowa caucus Monday and predicted she would do well in the U.S. Senate in an assessment that would seemingly rule her out of a role in his administration if he wins another term.

Shes terrific. Shell be a senator  a great senator, I predict, right? Youre going to be a great senator, Trump said during his remarks to supporters.

In a social media post afterward, Lake embraced a future in Congress.

Thank you for the shout out, President Trump! she wrote in a social media post. I cant wait to help pass your incredible America First agenda in the United States Senate.

His message, and her response, should end speculation that Lake could join Trump as his vice-presidential nominee or serve in some other capacity. Still, Trumps mercurial history and Lakes own ricocheting interests could leave doubt on whether she could walk away from a race where she is the GOP favorite.

Lake is running for the seat held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., who has not publicly said whether she will seek a second six-year term. She is widely viewed as the front-runner for the Republican nomination over Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, and polling suggests she is in an even race with Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.

But Lakes other interests have left her preferred future unclear.

Lake has sued unsuccessfully to overturn her narrow 2022 gubernatorial loss to Democrat Katie Hobbs. Lake has never conceded her loss and her legal position was still that she should be the states chief executive.

Lake entered the Senate race in October after months of anticipation that she would do so. In between her loss to Hobbs and her entry to the Senate race, Lake wrote a book and traveled across the country to promote its sales.

Before and after entering the Senate race, Lake traveled to her home state of Iowa as a prominent surrogate for Trumps third presidential bid, and she has been a frequent guest at Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and periodically hosted interviews with conservative figures for the America First News.

Some Arizona Republicans have quietly wondered whether Lake could leave the Senate race for a spot on a Trump ticket, effectively leaving the GOP in a lurch in a race viewed as close but winnable.

Lake still drew chatter in Iowa last week about a potential vice-presidential role, Politico reported.

Its very interesting. I dont think that same question of, you know, who the VP is, is asked of former Amb. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, she said. So, I think its great because it tells me that even the media understands that DeSantis and Haley dont have a snowballs chance in Phoenix of winning this thing.

Im not really worried about who he picks, Im not focused on that.  Hell pick a great VP. Whoever he picks, Im going to show up. I will crawl over broken glass to vote for them. And I want to help him in the Senate, and thats what I plan to do.

Iowa Caucus replay: Donald Trump defeats his Republican rivals in pivotal race

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Iowa caucus: Trump predicts Kari Lake is heading for US Senate
Nearly 30,000 migrants crossed the Channel from mainland Europe to Britain in small boats in 2023 - Ben Stansall/AFP

Five migrants have died and a sixth in critical condition after trying to reach Britain from northern France despite freezing temperatures, the French maritime authority said.

The group was attempting to reach a vessel off Wimereux when their small boat got into difficulty around 2am on Sunday, the maritime prefecture told the AFP news agency.

The five dead were recovered from the sea or found washed up along the beach, maritime authorities said in a statement.

A French navy helicopter and several rescue vessels were involved in the search.

Weve got the stop the boats

The incident happened near Wimereux at around 2am on Sunday, triggering a major emergency response as 72 people, including 10 children, were rescued and taken to Calais while one person was rushed to hospital, French paper La Voix du Nord said.

Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, said the heartbreaking deaths of five migrants as they tried to cross the English Channel showed weve got to stop the boats.

Ministers have been informed that the migrants died in an attempt to launch from French waters, the PA news agency understands.

Speaking on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Lord Cameron said: Its heartbreaking when these things happen, and the loss of life that takes place.

And you can only think about what an appalling end it would be, and the cold waters of the Channel in the middle of the night. It breaks my heart to hear about it.

But it just shows weve got to stop the boats, weve got to stop this illegal trade in human beings.

Sir Keir Starmer, who described the incident as a tragic loss of life, told Laura Kuenssberg he did not support radical action like the Rwanda plan as argued by Lord Cameron.

He said: I think he is wrong about that.

I absolutely agree that we need to stop these Channel crossings.

They are dangerous, we have lost control of our borders, and we need to do something to stop the boats.

Now I think the starting place for that is to go after the criminal gangs that are running this vile trade.

Terrible loss of life

French media said the migrants got into difficulty while trying to board the boat in darkness and cold temperatures.

A Navy helicopter, police and 50 firefighters were involved in the rescue operation.

The Refugee Council called for decisive action to stop Channel crossings following the terrible loss of life.

Enver Solomon, the chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: The sad reality is that this is not the first time we are waking up to such devastating news.

With no meaningful commitment from the Government to expand safe routes for refugees, its only a matter of time before tragedy strikes again.

This must act as a wake-up call to take decisive action and reduce dangerous Channel crossings by providing safe routes for those fleeing war-torn countries or repressive regimes.

Rather than pushing ahead with unlawful and costly policies such as the Rwanda plan, the Government must put in place safe routes and seek to treat refugees and people seeking asylum with compassion and fairness in line with our countrys values.

The Home Office has been approached for comment.

The UK Coastguard could not comment because the incident took place in French territorial waters.

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(Bloomberg) -- HashKey Group, operator of one of Hong Kongs two licensed crypto exchanges, said it raised nearly $100 million in a funding round and is now a so-called unicorn with a valuation exceeding $1 billion.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The company said in a statement on Tuesday that existing and new investors contributed the funding but refrained from identifying them. The money will be used to build out a web3 ecosystem as well as licensed products in Hong Kong, the firm said. HashKey added its valuation lies north of $1.2 billion.

OKX Ventures  the investment arm of the OKX digital-asset exchange  is among the lead investors in the round, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified as the information isnt public. Representatives at OKX and HashKey declined to comment.

HashKeys activities include the trading platform, venture funding and asset management in Hong Kong and Singapore. Its one of a number of crypto businesses seeking to tap into Hong Kongs push to foster a digital-asset hub. Bloomberg News reported in May that HashKey was in talks to raise $100 million to $200 million at a valuation above $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

Crypto Venture Capital

Crypto startup funding slumped after a 2022 market rout and bankruptcies such as the collapse of the FTX exchange. Token prices revived over the past 12 months, partly on optimism over the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the US. The rebound has stirred hopes of an improved venture capital outlook.

Hong Kong rolled out a dedicated virtual-asset regulatory framework in June, part of an effort to restore its luster as a cutting-edge financial center. The rules seek to woo companies but also focus on investor protection.

Story continues

Under the regime, retail investors can trade major tokens like Bitcoin and Ether on licensed exchanges. BC Technology Group Ltd.s OSL and HashKey Exchange are the only platforms with Hong Kong crypto permits at the moment. The city is open to allowing spot crypto exchange-traded funds and rules for stablecoins  tokens meant to have a constant value  are also due in the months ahead.

Hong Kongs Outlook

While Hong Kong offers a local market and a conduit to Chinese wealth, it remains unclear just how many crypto exchanges the city can really support  and whether officials will retain crypto as a priority longer term given the sector is prone to bouts of scandal.

HashKey Exchange garnered over 155,000 registered users since starting its trading service for retail investors in late August, according to the statement. Data provider CoinMarketCap estimated HashKey Exchanges spot trading volume at about $16 million in the 24 hours through 10:10 a.m. Tuesday in Singapore. That compares with $14 billion at Binance, the worlds biggest crypto platform.

HashKey started in 2018 as an early investor in Ethereum, which is now a key digital ledger. HashKeys Chairman Xiao Feng delved into blockchain investment while he was with Chinese cars-to-energy conglomerate Wanxiang Group.

(Updates trading volume figures in the ninth paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2024 Bloomberg L.P.
Former Republican candidate for governor of Arizona, Kari Lake speaks at Turning Point USA's 2023 America Fest in the Phoenix Convention Center on Dec. 17, 2023, in Phoenix.

Its not like U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake hasnt cozied up to white nationalist, antisemitic, xenophobic bigots before.

Its just that the failed Republican candidate for Arizona governor and Donald Trump sycophant finally has decided to go all in.

Shes saying the quiet part out loud.

With Trump leading the way, Republican candidates like Lake apparently have decided to fully embrace the Great Replacement Theory, a crackpot connivance perpetuating the notion that elites (meaning, mostly, Democrats) are working to replace native-born Americans with immigrants.

Lake says Democrats want illegal voters

Lake, who has failed at every attempt to prove election fraud in court, continues to play the embittered victim, recently telling an audience, This is why they had to stop me. My plan to shut down the human smuggling and their open borders policies would thwart their agenda to register illegal voters.

She added, They need the human smuggling to fill the voter rolls with new Democrat voters.

Replacement theory manages to mix racism, xenophobia and antisemitism into a kind of all-purpose bigotry.

And, sadly, its not new.

Several years ago the Anti-Defamation League on its website wrote, Since many white supremacists, particularly those in the United States, blame Jews for non-white immigration to the U.S. the replacement theory is now associated with antisemitism.

Her heroes and associations say it all

All the proof needed to verify that belief happened when white supremacists marched in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017 chanting Jews will not replace us, and You will not replace us.

You may remember as well how Trump said there were very fine people on both sides of that horror show.

During what became an uncomfortable moment in the 2022 campaign, Lake endorsed Jarrin Jackson, a Republican candidate for Oklahoma state Senate who said, among other things, that the Jews are evidence that evil exists.

When the national press picked up on that, Lake backed off and issued a statement saying she absolutely denounces bigotry in all its forms, especially antisemitism.

Trump and Lake invent: A new kind of terrorism

But does she, if she backs the replacement theory? And does she, if she expresses affection for someone like Arizona U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, who has cozied up to white nationalists and antisemites for years?

On social media Lake said, Congressman Gosar is the GOAT. We need strong, America First Patriots like Gosar at every level of government.

Likewise she has called Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers, who has praised white nationalists while suggesting her enemies be hanged, a hero.

Replacement theory rehashes a painful past

What Lake is doing and saying now is a rehash of the worst of our anti-immigrant nativist past.

The Alien and Sedition Acts of the late 1700s. The anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic, anti-Irish, anti-German activism of the Know Nothings of the 1850s. The Chinese Exclusion Act in the 1880s.

The early 20th century hostility toward Eastern and Southern European immigrants from places like Russia, Poland, Italy, Greece and elsewhere.

The Eisenhower administration deportation of 1 million or so alleged Mexican undocumented immigrants known by the pejorative term Operation Wetback. (Trump has vowed to revive that.)

This is the platform Republicans like Lake are running on. This is the ugly history, the ugly reality.

The ugly present.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

For more opinions content, please subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kari Lake is all in on racist 'Great Replacement Theory'
A Lexington arts group has big bourbon prizes for lucky auction bidders, thanks to Makers Mark Distillery.

ComposeArts, a non-profit that champion female artists, was chosen for the charitable Private Selection program at the Kentucky distillery, according to executive director and Lexington native Gregory Turay, internationally acclaimed operatic tenor.

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The group is raffling off the chance to craft a barrel of Makers Mark 46, which will then be bottled. There are two Private Selection experiences available, he said, and each winner can bring one guest.

The starting bid is $7,500 for each of the Private Selection experiences or you can buy it now for $15,000, Turay said. For details, go online to composearts.com.

The two pairs will receive personal tours of the historic Kentucky bourbon distillery and the help select the custom flavors that will go into ComposeArts unique Makers Mark 46 Private Selection. After the barrel matures, in about nine weeks, the winners will receive one case (six bottles) for themselves and their guests.

Then the rest of the bottles will be raffled by ComposeArts, he said. The winner will get 10 cases (six bottles per case) of the unique ComposeArts Makers Mark Private Selection; second prize winner gets seven cases; and third prize winner gets five cases.

Raffle tickets, are available to buy online at givebutter.com, are $100 each, with a maximum of 2,000 tickets to be sold. Tickets will be available until Feb. 29, Turay said.

Proceeds of the auction and raffle will support the organizations mission to support, promote and celebrate female composers and visual artists.
A search was underway in Washington D.C. on Tuesday for a suspect police say lit another man on fire about a mile away from the U.S. Capitol building.

The incident unfolded Monday in broad daylight, around 3:05 p.m., according to a press release from the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. The victim was sitting at a bus stop at the intersection of North Capitol Street and P Street Northwest, not far from the National Mall, when he was approached by a man who doused him with liquid, NBC Washington reported.

The suspect then ignited the liquid, authorities said. The suspect then ran off.

The victim was rushed to an area hospital, where he is being treated for serious injuries.

In the wake of the attack, police released a surveillance image of the suspect, who appears to be carrying a glass jar. Neither he nor the victim has been identified.

Police have so far released no motive for the attack. Its also unclear whether the suspect and victim have any relationship to each other.

The Metropolitan Police Department currently offers a reward of up to $10,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for a violent crime committed in the District of Columbia, police said

Anyone with information is urged to call police at (202) 727-9099 or text the Departments tip line at 50411.
A Washington D.C., man was found guilty of punching a 12-year-old in the face, causing three of his teeth to be knocked out, federal officials said.

In April 2022, Anthony Johnson, 42, went to the home of a 12-year-old boy who was there with his siblings, grandma and uncle, according to a Jan. 12 news release by the U.S. Attorneys Office.

The relationship between Johnson and the boy was not made clear, but officials said he knew the childs mother.

Johnson is accused of picking a fight with the boy on the first floor of the house, officials said.

The boy tried to run upstairs, but Johnson grabbed him by his leg, pulled him down the stairs, and punched him in the face, knocking his teeth out, officials said.

The boys younger sister, who saw the attack, called police, and the boy was taken to a local hospital, officials said.

McClatchy News reached out to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on Jan. 16 for more information and was awaiting a response.

Johnsons attorney information wasnt immediately available.

On Jan. 12, Johnson was found guilty on charges of first-degree cruelty to children and assault of a minor, officials said.

Johnsons is set to appear in court March 14 for sentencing, the release said.

6-week-old left alone for weekend dies while mom goes clubbing, Arizona police say

Girls body found in dumpster on Christmas Eve, Arizona cops say. Mom arrested

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Im sorry for leaving them like this but I myself am homeless and cannot afford to care for them.

Those words filled a heartbreaking note left with puppies at a North Carolina animal shelter, photos show.

The writer  only identified as nameless man  said he brought the stray pups to the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society after their mothers death. He often fed the mama dog before she was hit by a car, setting off his search for her babies.

I just want them to be given the chance their mother like myself, was never given, the letter continued. Please do not think poorly of me but it felt wrong leaving them alone in the cold waiting on a mother that would not be coming home.

The Fayetteville Animal Protection Society in a touching Facebook post praised the man for saving the tiny animals, saying his kindness has not gone unnoticed.

We promise to honor your selfless gesture by providing these puppies with the love and care they deserve, the shelter wrote Jan. 15. If youre up for it, please swing by the shelter to visit the puppies and to get a proper thank you!

As of Jan. 15, the puppies were too young to be adopted but were getting vaccinations and other care. Though the shelter in its post didnt share how many of the pups were rescued, a photo shows five adorable animals in a cage.

Within 24 hours of being shared on Facebook, the post had more than 600 reactions and dozens of comments. Many social media users said they couldnt get enough of the mans good deed.

We experienced a moment that simultaneously broke and uplifted our hearts, the shelter wrote. This story is a testament to the kindness that still exists in the world, even in the most challenging times.

The Fayetteville Animal Protection Society didnt immediately respond to McClatchy News requests for additional information on Jan. 16. The shelter is roughly 60 miles south of Raleigh.

Hero the dog leads rescuers to other animals in need of help. Now, she has a new home

Dog named Disco was missing for days  until shes found 1,000 miles from home in NC
EAST PROVIDENCE  For Kathy Ribeiro, last weeks rainstorm was a timely reminder of why she sold her house and moved out of the flood-prone neighborhood where she'd lived for 21 years.

Keeping the basement from filling with water was a constant battle. Ribeiro had four sump pumps running around the clock every day.

Im relieved because I dont have to fight anymore, Ribeiro said.

Hers is one of 13 houses and five vacant lots near the Runnins River being bought with federal money as part of a floodplain restoration project. The houses will be torn down and the natural wetlands restored, with the goal of reducing chronic flooding in the Luther's Corner neighborhood.

Water fills the basement of the house on Abbott Street in East Providence's Luther's Corner neighborhood where Kathy Ribeiro lived for 21 years before selling it to be demolished as part of a floodplain restoration project.

Known also as buyouts or managed retreat, purchase programs to move people out of areas that have flooded repeatedly are becoming more common. One Rhode Island community is considering buying out more than 300 buildings in an area where rising seas and more frequent downpours are expected to make flooding worse. The federal government has large plans in the works for three watersheds in the state, including one area where 100 homes would be bought and demolished.

The risks are growing as flooding becomes more frequent, said Darrell Moore, state engineer with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. It can be scary for homeowners.

Ribeiro, a 55-year-old special education teacher, still thinks about all the work she put into the house on Abbott Street and all the memories of the life she built there with her late husband and their kids. But she knew she couldnt keep Mother Nature at bay forever.

You just cannot control the water in that area, she said.

Thirteen houses and five vacant lots near the Runnins River in East Providence are being bought with federal money as part of a floodplain restoration project. The houses will be torn down and the natural wetlands restored, with the goal of reducing chronic flooding in the Luther's Corner neighborhood.

Downpours becoming more common

Weather data shows that Rhode Island is being hit with more big storms like the one last Tuesday that dumped up to 5 inches of rain in some parts of the state.

Since 1905, the average number of days per year in the Providence area with more than 1 inch of rain has increased from eight to 14, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University. Last year, there were 18 such days, tied for seventh most on record.

The highest daily precipitation totals are also on the rise, increasing from 2.5 inches on average to 3.1 inches, according to the Cornell Center. The number for 2023 was 3.35 inches.

Its not just that intense rainstorms are becoming more frequent in Rhode Island and the rest of the Northeast as the climate continues to change. Places are also starting to flood that were never affected before.

A Labor Day storm in 2022 shut down Interstate 95 in Providence as rain fell faster than the highway's storm drains could handle. The only other time in memory that the interstate had been cut off by floodwaters was during a historic series of storms in 2010. That flooding happened when the Pawtuxet River, swollen to capacity, spilled its banks. The more recent shutdown was due to so much rain falling in such a narrow window of time.

A similarly intense rainstorm flooded apartments and houses in Cranston and other parts of Providence County last September. Because almost none of the residences were in a known flood plain, only a handful had flood insurance, according to a recent state assessment of the damage.

'That house should never have been built there'

The cottage in Luther's Corner appeared to be sitting in the middle of a pond the morning after last Tuesdays storm. By Thursday, some of the water had drained, but a group of ducks was happily paddling around the vacant house on Abbott Street that backs onto wetlands.

A cottage in Luther's Corner appears to be sitting in the middle of a pond the morning after last Tuesdays storm. By Thursday, some of the water had drained, but a group of ducks was happily paddling around the vacant house on Abbott Street that backs onto wetlands near the Runnins River.

That house should never have been built there, Gina DeMarco said as she walked through the neighborhood near the Massachusetts state line.

DeMarco, special projects manager for the Northern Rhode Island Conservation District, is overseeing the project to purchase homes in the neighborhood on behalf of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which is an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Through its watershed protection program, the NRCS is authorized by the federal government to buy conservation protections for properties across the country and restore them as part of the natural floodplain.

Luthers Corner qualified for the emergency section of the program after Tropical Storm Ida hammered Rhode Island in September 2021. It wasnt the first time the neighborhood had flooded, but it was one of the worst.

East Providence applied for help from the NRCS and won approval for the project last year after U.S. Sen. Jack Reed secured nearly $8 million in funding for the purchases.

No one is being forced to leave the neighborhood. Indeed, many residents are staying. Some are elderly and are attached to homes theyve lived in for decades, said DeMarco. Others live in homes that were built on fill. They sit up high enough that flooding isnt as much of a problem.

The people who agreed to sell are being paid whats considered fair market value, the result of two separate appraisals of each home. Nearly all the sales are complete. The houses will be torn down this spring.

By removing the structures and any fill, replanting the area and restoring it to its natural state, DeMarco, Moore and others working on the project hope they can reduce the threat of flooding for the houses that remain.

Relocation is a last resort

Buying homes and tearing them down is a last resort, but sometimes theres no viable alternative.

Building drainage systems can cost many millions of dollars. Erecting flood protection walls can be even more expensive  and unsightly. And theres no guarantee that concrete infrastructure projects will be able to handle some of the extreme flooding in the hardest-hit locations.

But there are also no guarantees that flooding will stop in neighborhoods where some houses are removed. DeMarco says she can only promise that the restoration work wont make flooding worse. Moore says other houses will be less prone to flooding.

Is it going to stop flooding? No, he said. But its going to give us a little more storage.

Take Belfield Drive in Johnston, a neighborhood near the Pocasset River where the NRCS bought one house in 2021 and tore it down so the land could act as a retention area for floodwaters. In last weeks storm, residents still had to be evacuated by boat.

Without the $1.3-million project, the flooding would have been more severe, said Phou Vongkhamdy, state conservationist with the NRCS. But there were new blockages downriver that exacerbated the latest flooding.

The massive amounts of water coming down to that area, theres no engineering solution for that, DeMarco said.

The reality is that some houses were simply built where they probably shouldnt have been. DeMarco points to one of the streets in Luthers Corner.

Its name is Marsh Street, she said. That should be a big red flag.

A witness to climate change

Ron Fiorito was one of the last homeowners to be approved for the Luthers Corner program. He got word in December that the project partners would buy his raised ranch on Luther Street.

Ron Fiorito was one of the last homeowners to be approved for the Luthers Corner program. He got word in December that the project partners would buy his raised ranch on Luther Street.

Hed lived in the house for only two years, but he was sick of having to mop up water in the finished lower level every time a heavy rain rolled through. He still had the wet-vac out Thursday morning after cleaning up three or four inches of water that seeped into the house during Tuesdays storm. With another storm expected, he wasnt ready to put it away.

Fiorito, a 73-year-old retired medical researcher, inherited the house from his parents. It flooded badly in the 2010 storms, and they had to be evacuated from the neighborhood by boat. But that was considered an isolated event, and Fiorito wasnt too worried about flooding in August 2021 when he moved in.

A few weeks later, Ida swept through and the neighborhood flooded. Its happened again and again since, and, in Fioritos experience, it's becoming more frequent.

Every time it rains, my stomach gets in knots, he said. Im afraid to go downstairs.

Fiorito had been doubtful about climate change, but no more.

Im witnessing it, he said. I definitely believe in it now.

Hes using the proceeds from the sale to buy a condo in Lincoln. Its on the second floor, he pointed out.

Salvaging what they can from the soon-to-be demolished homes

One street over, a team from Habitat for Humanity was going through some of the 11 houses that have been vacated already.

DeMarco was hoping shed be able to find a developer or nonprofit that would take the homes for free and move them somewhere else. She had no luck, so the next best thing was to salvage as much as possible of what remains in the houses.

A team from Habitat for Humanity inspects one of the vacant houses in the Luther's Corner neighborhood to salvage as much as possible for use in other homes.

When Stephanie Isenberg, a manager with Habitat for Humanity, got the call, she thought at first that DeMarco was offering houses that could be rehabbed for new families.

But theyre all on wetlands, Isenberg said.

So instead, on Thursday she and two colleagues went through the houses to catalog what they could save. The air was musty inside 95 Abbott St. when they opened the front door.

Look at this kitchen, remarked operations manager Steve Santos as he inspected the pristine countertops and cabinets. What a shame. But we might be able to use them.

General contractor Tito Nadal started down the steps to the basement to get a look at the boiler and other mechanical systems, but he couldnt make it all the way. Water filled the basement, rising to cover the bottom steps.

Relocation projects are growing in number

Programs to get people out of flood-prone places arent new.

In the mid-1980s, 61 houses were razed in the Belmont Park neighborhood near the Pawtuxet River in Warwick. After the 2010 storms, more than 20 homes in Cranston, also close to the Pawtuxet, were bought and torn down.

But whats being contemplated now is on a different scale than past initiatives. Town officials in Warren are working on a plan to relocate the entire neighborhood around Belcher Cove to higher ground.

The NRCS has emergency petitions pending for properties in Narragansett, Middletown and Johnston. Another for West Warwick is expected after Tuesdays storm.

There are also three long-term projects that would be much larger than any of the emergency projects. They would be located in the Wood-Pawcatuck River watershed in Washington County, the Woonasquatucket River watershed in the greater Providence area, and around the Pocasset River in Johnston.

While its unclear how many homes could be targeted in the first two project areas, the Pocasset project has progressed the furthest in the planning process, and the funding goal has been set at $70 million, enough money to buy 100 homes. It would be the biggest NRCS project of its kind in the Northeast.

Reed has gotten $10 million for the project so far. Purchases could start as soon as this fall.

On a tour of some of the states flooding damage on Friday, Reed said communities need to make repairs but must also look at the long term.

The step we want to take is not just fixing this but mitigating future climate incidents like this, he said.

Moore says its unclear if its just an increased need thats driving the number of new purchase projects, or if its a greater awareness among city and town governments that help is out there.

For the non-emergency projects, its a long road to implementation.

It can take 10 years to go from the preliminary investigation to actually completing the project, said Moore.

A bittersweet decision to leave

Built in the early 1900s, the two-family home where Ribeiro lived is believed to be the first house in Luthers Corner. Her husband grew up there, and the two of them bought it from his parents in 2002 and raised their children there.

Ribeiros father-in-law told her that for years the house stood alone in the neighborhood and that flooding wasnt an issue. It wasnt until more houses were built and business were developed off nearby Waterman Avenue and upstream along the Runnins River in Seekonk, Massachusetts, that problems arose.

With more asphalt and rooftops, rainwater had fewer places to seep into the ground. Instead, it started running off streets and driveways and pooling in low areas.

But its not just rainfall thats a problem. The water table is so high in the neighborhood that water constantly seeps into basements. Ribeiros sump pumps could barely keep up.

Selling wasnt an easy decision. Although she doesnt regret it, Ribeiro said it broke her heart to leave.

That will always be my home, she said.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Buyouts for flood prone homes in Rhode Island becoming more common
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  Therapy dogs will be at UNLV during the spring semester after the fall semester ended with a deadly shooting on campus.

According to a release, Courtroom Critters Therapy Dogs will be on UNLVs campus for the first few weeks of the spring semester, which starts on Jan. 16.

The therapy dogs will be in the Student Union area on Tuesday, Jan. 16, and Wednesday, Jan. 17 from around 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The dogs will also be around campus as much as possible during the first few weeks and intermittently during the rest of the semester, the release said.

Courtroom Critters is a volunteer organization that assists victims, survivors, and witnesses in the Las Vegas community using therapy dogs.

Therapy dog Hufflepuff and student from Boyd School of Law (Courtroom Critters)

The dogs appearance on campus comes more than a month after Professor Cha Jan Jerry Chang, 64; Assistant Professor Patricia Navarro Velez, 39; and Associate Professor Naoko Takemaru, 69, were shot and killed in the Lee Business School on Dec. 6, 2023.

According to UNLV, the campus will also see an increase in security guards for the semester as well as a variety of resources including counseling for students and faculty.

Starting on Jan. 16, the UNLV Student Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) will have drop-in services available for students, faculty, and staff who need crisis or support services as they return to campus. Those drop-in hours are from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Later in the month, UNLV plans to roll out its campus-wide Rebel Recovery Program which includes mental health events, wellness services, and security and safety information.

The Beam Hall will remain closed to the public for the spring semester as building repairs continue. All classes previously scheduled for Beam Hall this spring have been reassigned to other classrooms on campus or to remote instruction.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
Former President Trump encouraged his Iowa supporters to caucus for him at any cost, joking that due to extreme winter weather, even if you vote and then pass away, its worth it.

Meteorologists warned of life-threatening conditions in Iowa for the weekend as the state prepares to caucus. Trump canceled three of his four in-person Iowa events Sunday due to the freezing cold and snow.

Windchill is projected to be as low as -40 degrees in parts of the state Monday, with temperatures also in the negative. The Hawkeye State is also recovering from a blizzard that rocked the region Friday and Saturday, icing roads.

You cant sit home. If youre sick as a dog, you say, Darling, I gotta make it, Trump said at an Indianola rally on Sunday. Even if you vote and then pass away, its worth it, remember.

The weather is expected to severely hamper turnout for the caucuses, but political analysts are unsure exactly how that may impact the result. Trump rivals hope the weather will depress turnout for the former president and boost their more die-hard supporters.

Trump holds a significant lead over his primary opponents. The final Des Moines Register poll, released Saturday, put Trump at 48 percent support, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley at 20 percent and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 16 percent.

The bitter cold has also impacted the rest of the Midwest and beyond, with more than 110 million people under wind chill advisories Sunday from the Rocky Mountains to New England.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
RAFAH, Gaza Strip  Gaza urgently needs more aid or its desperate population will suffer widespread famine and disease, the heads of three major U.N. agencies warned Monday, as authorities in the enclave reported that the death toll in the Israel-Hamas war had surpassed 24,000.

While the U.N. agency chiefs did not directly point a finger at Israel, they said aid delivery is hobbled by the opening of too few border crossings, a slow vetting process for trucks and goods going into Gaza and continuing fighting throughout the territory  all of which Israel plays a deciding factor in.

Israels war against Hamas in Gaza, sparked by the groups Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, has prompted unprecedented destruction in the tiny coastal enclave and triggered a humanitarian catastrophe that has displaced most of Gazas 2.3 million population and pushed more than a quarter into starvation, according to the U.N.

It has also stoked regional tensions, with Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen carrying out strikes in support of the Palestinians. A missile fired by Yemens Houthi rebels hit an American-owned cargo ship on Monday, days after U.S.-led strikes against the group over its attacks on international shipping.



In Gaza, civilians have grown desperate. Footage shared online by Al Jazeera showed hundreds of people rushing toward what appeared to be an aid truck in what the news outlet said was Gaza City. The Associated Press couldnt independently verify the video and it wasnt clear when it was filmed.

The World Food Program, UNICEF and the World Health Organization said Monday that new entry routes need to be opened to Gaza, more trucks need to be allowed in each day, and aid workers and those seeking aid need to be allowed to move around safely.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said U.N. agencies and their partners cannot effectively deliver humanitarian aid while Gaza is under such heavy, widespread and unrelenting bombardment. He said the deaths of 152 U.N. staffers in Gaza since the start of the war is the largest single loss of life in the history of our organization.



The Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said Monday that the bodies of 132 people killed in Israeli strikes were brought to Gaza hospitals over the past day, raising the death toll from the start of the war to 24,100.

The ministry, which doesnt distinguish between fighters and noncombatants in its tally, says two-thirds of those killed in the war were women and children. Israel says its forces have killed roughly 8,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Israel blames Hamas for the high Palestinian death toll, saying its fighters make use of civilian buildings and launch attacks from densely populated urban areas.

On Monday, the military said its forces and aircraft targeted militants in the second-largest city Khan Younis in southern Gaza, a current focus of the ground offensive, as well as in northern Gaza, where the Israeli military says it continues to expand its control.



A day after the White House said it was time Israel to curtail its military offensive, Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the intense offensive in southern Gaza will soon be scaled back once Israel takes military control of the area.

In Israel, a woman was killed and 12 other people were wounded in a car-ramming and stabbing attack in a suburb of Tel Aviv that police said was carried out by at least two Palestinians. They were later arrested. The suspects stole three different cars and attempted to run down pedestrians, police said.

Hamas praised the attack, but neither it nor other Palestinian armed groups claimed responsibility for it.

Palestinians have carried out a number of attacks against Israelis since the start of the war, mainly in Jerusalem or the occupied West Bank. Around 350 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, mostly in confrontations during Israeli arrest raids or violent protests.

The war began on Oct. 7, when a Hamas-led surprise attack into Israel killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. The militants captured around 250 people and are still holding nearly half of them after releasing more than 100 in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel during a November cease-fire.

Hamas released a video late Monday showing three hostages: Noa Argamani, 26, Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itay Svirsky, 38. It includes brief individual statements from all three, likely speaking under duress, in which they call on Israel to halt the war and say they have little food and water and are in danger from Israeli airstrikes.

Later in the video, Argamani says separate airstrikes killed Sharabi and Svirsky and that she herself was wounded. Footage then shows what appear to be the bodies of Sharabi and Svirsky.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman, said the army had told the families of Svirsky and another hostage that it was very concerned over whether they were still alive. He said Israel had struck a building near where the hostages were being held but did not know their location at the time.

Gallant, Israels defense minister, said Monday that military pressure is the only way to win the release of the remaining hostages, and he ruled out a cease-fire.

The fighting, now in its 101st day, has set off an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which was already struggling from a lengthy blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas took power in 2007.

The crisis has been especially severe in northern Gaza: The U.N. said Sunday that less than a quarter of aid convoys have reached their destinations in the north in January, because Israeli authorities denied most access. Israeli officials had no immediate comment.

The U.N. agencies said they want access to the Israeli port of Ashdod, located about 40 kilometers (24 miles) north of Gaza, which they say would allow larger amounts of aid to be shipped in and then sent directly to northern Gaza, much of which Israel leveled in the opening weeks of the war.

Israel has blamed the U.N. and other groups for the problems with aid delivery.

Moshe Tetro, an official with COGAT, an Israeli military body in charge of civilian Palestinian affairs, said last week that aid delivery would be more streamlined if the U.N. provided more workers to receive and pack the supplies. He said more trucks were needed to transfer the aid to Israel for security checks and that the working hours at the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt needed to be extended.

Israel sealed off Gaza after Hamas Oct. 7 attack. It relented after its top ally, the U.S., pressed it to loosen its restrictions. The U.S., as well as the U.N., have continued to push Israel to ease the flow of aid.


ASBURY PARK - The Asbury Park boardwalk and its high-profile attractions have a new management company.

Madison Marquette has agreed to sell its management, marketing and leasing business to Avison Young, a Toronto, Canada-based commercial real estate services company with projects worldwide, officials said last week. Terms of the transaction weren't disclosed.

Madison Marquette officials said the deal would leave Asbury Park business as usual. "The transaction with Avison Young does not result in any changes to Madisons development plans, property management, or leadership for Asbury Park Boardwalk, a company spokesman said.

Washington, D.C.-based Madison Marquette has overseen redevelopment of the non-residential portion of the Asbury Park boardwalk since 2007, giving it some of the Jersey Shore's most famous landmarks: The Stone Pony, Convention Hall and the Paramount Theatre, and the Casino, among them.

Asbury Park development: $100M deal moves city one step closer to another 226-unit apartment complex

Exterior of Paramount Theater, the Grand Arcade and Convention Hall in Asbury Park, NJ Wednesday, January 18, 2023.

The company invested millions of dollars to revive a downtrodden boardwalk and help turn Asbury Park into a popular destination. But it also has come under fire in recent years from city officials who have said it hasn't lived up to the terms of its development agreement.

Most notably, the city ordered Convention Hall and the Paramount concert venues in 2021 to be closed due to concerns about the historic building's safety.

Casino building too: Asbury Park casino closed due to steel trusses 'rusting away,' mayor says

Since then, Madison Marquette laid out ambitious plans to revitalize the boardwalk, turn Convention Hall into a state-of-the-art concert hall, and add a 5,000-seat outdoor entertainment attraction next to the Casino.

City officials say they are focused on making sure Madison Marquette repairs Convention Hall and the Paramount so that the venues can reopen. To that end, the city has applied to New Jersey for $40 million from the state's new Boardwalk Preservation Fund for money that could be used to renovate the buildings, Asbury Park Councilwoman Eileen Chapman said.

Murphy wants $100M spent on boardwalks: Who gets first dibs?

"In recent months, we've really just been focusing on this funding," Chapman said. "That's really been our main reason to meet and to converse (with Madison Marquette officials). It's all about the funding and getting these buildings open. It's a top priority for the city. And until we get these buildings open, there's really not a whole lot of conversations to be had."

City officials on Friday said they were caught by surprise by the acquisition and weren't sure what to make of it.

"We don't have a clue," Asbury Park Mayor John Moor said when asked what the deal could mean for the city. When the city's redevelopment attorney contacted Madison Marquette, "the answer was vague."

Asbury Park left standing with scooters: Seeks new company to take over dead service

Avison Young in 2022 acquired Madison Marquettes office and industrial property management, agency leasing and project management service lines. Avison's recent projects include a contract to lease a 52-story office tower called Figueroa at Wilshire in downtown Los Angeles.

Avison's deal with Madison Marquette gives it a bigger foothold in the retail industry. Avison added five veteran leaders who previously worked for Madison Marquette. And it said the agreement allows it to tap into Madison Marquettes investment and development advisory services for its clients, the companies said.

In addition to the Asbury Park development, Avison will manage Madison Marquette projects in nine other states, a sign that brick-and-mortar retail stores have been resilient in the aftermath of the pandemic, Avison officials said.

Heather Almond, principal and senior director U.S. retail services for Avison said of Asbury Park: "Our team will collaborate with Madison Marquette ownership and the local team to bring retailers, activation and community engagement to the historic project."

Michael L. Diamond is a business reporter who has been writing about the New Jersey economy and health care industry for more than 20 years. He can be reached at mdiamond @gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Asbury Park boardwalk, Convention Hall gets new management company
Daimler Truck eked out a 1% gain in sales across its brands in 2023, far below rosier rosier return-on-sales estimates estimates in July. (Photo: Daimler Truck)

Market leader Daimler Truck grew sales by a scant 1% in 2023. It blamed supply chain bottlenecks for missing its higher goals. Daimler reports full-year financials on March 1 and expects to meet its revenue and profit metrics.

Group sales, which include Portland, Oregon-based Daimler Truck North America, amounted to 526,053 units. That compared with 520,291 units a year earlier.

Daimler dealt with a continuously challenging supply situation, CEO Martin Daum said in a news release.

At its Capital Market Day in July, Daimler raised its 2023 projections for the year to an adjusted return on sales (ROS) in 2023 of 8.5%-10% from 7.5%-9%. The company cited an improved supply chain, strong pricing and a growing service business.

It projected ROS gains in all business units: North America (DTNA), Mercedes-Benz (European-branded trucks), Trucks Asia and Daimler Buses.

ROS original estimateROS July estimate2023 actual unit salesNorth AmericaEuropeAsiaBusesDaimler Group

Daimler blamed weak market development in Brazil for Mercedes-Benzs negative sales results.

Though still a rounding error in its overall numbers, Daimler recorded 3,443 battery-electric vehicle sales in 2023, up 277% from 914 in 2022.

We have expanded our product portfolio of battery-electric vehicles for our customers in 2023 to 10 different models, Daum said. This is the foundation for future growth and underlines our aspiration to lead the transportation of the future.

Related articles:

Daimler Truck deliveries fall in Q3, outlier to other OEMs

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Click for more FreightWaves articles by Alan Adler.

The post Daimler Truck manages small gain in 2023 sales appeared first on FreightWaves.
CES 2024 was certainly interesting this year; while we did anticipate AI being inserted into everything from TVs to cars, there were some genuine surprises from the show floor here in Las Vegas. Despite going to what felt like a million press conferences and keynotes, the Gizmodo team did manage to find loads of cool, interesting, and just plain weird gadgets from this years show.

This story originally appeared on Gizmodo.





Read more

One of the first big stories to come out of CES 2024 was LGs gorgeous transparent OLED. It has a mode that lets you see through it, almost giving your content a neat holographic look, but it also means you can place the TV in front of a large window and not feel like you are obstructing your view of the outside world. However, Signature Series T can raise a black film for a more traditional OLED viewing experience. Pictures and video dont do it justice, and it was one of the coolest things Ive seen at CES in years.  Jorge Jimenez

Seergrills

Seergrills smart oven on a table.

This smart grill is like one big oven meant to get your desired doneness and sear without having to pay constant attention to your grill and flames. You tell the machine what kind of food is in there and your desired doneness, and the Seergrill will do the rest of the work. Theres a plate for pizza or baking and a clamshell plate for steaks, burgers, and fish. It uses propane to power its infrared heaters, so even Hank Hill might find it in his heart to accept.  Kyle Barr



Stern Pinballs Jaws

Jaws Pinball Machine next to a mannequin dressed like a Jaws character.

Stern continues to prove that pinball can indeed be a work of art. The companys latest game is a love letter to the blockbuster film, plus it includes voice acting from Richard Dreyfuss screaming multi-ball.  Kyle Barr





Auracast

Auracast menu on an iPhone.

Why does a new Auracast Bluetooth ability have me excited? Because it will make things like group tours and getting airport announcements easier without having to take off your headphones.  Florence Ion

Skyted Mask

Skyted mask on a dummy head with an LED that says Workers on it.

And you thought all the Bane memes were done for. This mask is essentially a privacy filter with an in-built microphone and sound dampening. Its not HEPA-rated in any way, so theres no guarantee it would keep you or others safe from pathogens. The company also demoed one with a screen if you wanted to become a walking advertisement.  Kyle Barr

HP Omen Transcend 14



HP Transcend Laptop on a white table.

HP completely redesigned its Omen gaming laptop to be far smaller and far cuter than its previous 16-inch version. Its still packing an Intel Core Ultra CPU and Nvidia Geforce 4000 GPU, but its all contained in a rather thin design that gets extra props for its full LED keyboard. Well need to run full experiments to see how much all this power its packing translates into battery life or extra heat.  Kyle Barr

Gluxkind Rose self-driving baby stroller



Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo

Parents need help, and if you can afford it, this nearly $2,500 smart stroller can help with rocking and walking your baby to sleep. Unlike most high-tech baby gadgets, the Gluxkind Rose smart stroller grows with your baby into childhood. Florence Ion



MSI Claw

MSI Claw on Display

MSI was the first PC maker of the year to show off its own Steam Deck-like handheld console, and already its a contender. Its sporting an Intel chip rather than AMD, which means well get to test how that companys APUs perform compared to the Steam Deck or ROG Ally. Plus, it has a lot of colorful LEDs in both the joysticks and face buttons.  Kyle Barr

Palmplug One

Palmplug on Gizmodo reporter's wrist.

I am still determining how effective this will be in helping rehabilitate stroke patients, as it purports to do. But I know I was attracted to the Palmplug One because of the bright LED lights on each fingertip. This device features haptic feedback, and you can use it inside other apps for a tactile effect when playing video games.  Florence Ion



Razers Prototype Haptic Chair

Gizmodo reporter sitting on Razer's protoype haptic cushion.

Razer is on the right track to a haptic system that is comfortable, subtle, and effective. The Esther concept isnt commercially available, but Im already very intrigued by its audio-to-haptics system that seamlessly translates the sounds of games into a sensation rolling across your back.  Kyle Barr

C-Seed N1 Folding MicroLED TV

Photo: Jorge Jimenez / Gizmodo

The N1 is a 137-inch MicroLED 4K TV capable of folding itself back into its base and turning into a modern art piece in your living room. Basically, it is a dream for interior decorators of the rich and famous. It uses something called Adaptive Gap Calibration that increases brightness around the edges of each panel, essentially making gaps invisible. Its similar to what you see on big LED walls at concerts. Oh, and did I mention it retails for $220k?  Jorge Jimenez

Lenovos Proof-of-Concept ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 SPE



Lenovo concept two-in-one on a desk.

Ive gone goo-goo over the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid, a literal 2-in-1 combining an Android tablet with a Windows laptop. But the company also had a ton of prototypes on display, including this proof-of-concept ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 SPE. It can display eight colors and supports up to 1,000 different images.  Florence Ion

Happysite AI Backpack

A view of an AI backpack with LCD googly eyes on the back.

If you feel extra comfortable about people staring at your back constantly, then Happysites LED backpacks will give you the attention you crave. Whats more, the company is this year promoting generative AI features that let you make your own image or short clip to show off on the bags display.

Samsungs Ballie



Ballie asleep in a display case.

Samsungs latest, roundest robot practically took over CES once it debuted Monday. The ball-shaped bot is supposed to be a household companion acting as a kind of mobile Siri with a built-in projector. Ballie can also do sweeps of your home and send you updates about what your pets getting up to in your absence. We havent had any hands-on time with Samsungs little helper, yet were still itching to know just how far we can kick the thing.  Kyle Barr





Garmin Lily 2

Garmin Lily 2 watches on a table.

CES 2024 had no shortage of pretty smartwatches. Garmin used the show to announce the Lily 2, the successor in its petite smartwatch lineup. The Lily 2 starts at $250 and comes in various colors and finishes. It monitors heart rate, step count, and stress levels. It also offers morning-after-sleep reports and contactless payments. Florence Ion

Varjo XR4 Headset

Varjo headset being worn by Gizmodo reporter.

Varjos latest, high-end VR helmet is also betting on its passthrough capabilities, but what sets it apart is the incredible fidelity of its internal 4K displays on each eye.  Kyle Barr

LG CineBeam Qube 4K Projector

Projector sitting on a table by itself.

Keeping in the theme of cute tech. The LG CineBeam Qube is a projector thats as big as a toaster, weighs just over 3 pounds, and is more powerful than projectors twice its size. This 4K projector can cover 120 inches of wall space.  Jorge Jimenez

Asus Zenbook Duo

Asus Zenbook Dou being held by a Gizmodo reporter.

Asus new Zenbook Duo is already proving to be one of those controversial pieces of tech. Some might think it looks clunky and weird, but it could prove a big boon for those who go screen akimbo at their work desk. Were hoping to get some hands-on with the laptop soon to see if it has enough power for both OLEDs at once.  Kyle Barr



Evie Smart Ring

Evie Smart Ring on Gizmodo reporter's finger.

Sadly, Im aware that this smart ring has nothing to do with my favorite Pokemon. But knowing smart rings will be more prominent in the coming years is exciting. Movanos Evie smart ring is super lightweight, and it comes in a variety of femme-centric designs. The Evie smart ring is slightly opened to allow your fingers to expand during that bloated time of the month. Its available for $270 in varying ring sizes. The smart ring has no Android compatibility yet, but the company said it would come later this year.



Exobrew

Exobrew beer maker on a table.

There were a few companies advertising easy all-in-one beer brewing stations at CES this year, such as the Igulu 5-liter brewing station thats also meant to keep your drinks at a safe temperature. However, the Exobrew might take the cake as it promises you can make 1.6-gallon batches at a time, and all users need to do is add the ingredients to the hopper above the tank.  Kyle Barr

PlayStation 5 Slim Side Plates and Matching DualSense Controllers

Different color PlayStation 5s and controllers on display.

I really like the look of the new PS5 Slim that was recently released, so of course, I was pleasantly surprised to see three new side covers for the console. Im digging the Volcano Red with matching DualSense, though I hope Sony releases more exciting colors in the future.  Jorge Jimenez

Prinker

Prinker roll-on temporrary tattoos on Gizmodo reporter's wrist.

The Prinker may have been around for a bit, but its still a very neat device thats able to print temporary tattoos of many designs and colors by washing the device over ones skin.  Kyle Barr

TVs as Art

Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo

From TCLs frame-like TVs pictured here to Samsungs Serif, CES 2024 featured a maelstrom of pretty TVs meant to act as art pieces in your home. Its a reminder that not everyone who watches TV wants the highest, brightest resolution in the room.  Florence Ion



WeHead

WeHead talking to Gizmodo reporter.

WeHead was present at last years CES as a kind of stand-in for your boss who wants to Zoom in on a meeting and still be present in the room. Its essentially several phone screens attached to a stand in order to imitate a face, and other than being rather creepy and distracting; it would also make your companys CEO seem extra silly. But with the advent of AI, WeHead is instead rebranding itself as a fully autonomous GPT Edition, except it still doesnt like the sounds of a crowded room. Instead of answering my questions, it turned its head and tried to ignore me. Kyle Barr

Fuse Audios Vertical Record Player

Vertical record player on a table being flanked by two speakers.

Fuse has been making vertical record players for a while now, but this new one comes with two 30-watt speakers and screams vibes. It plays 33s, 45s, and 78s and has Bluetooth 5.0 support. I want one.  Jorge Jimenez



Nimble Smart Nail Salon

Gizmodo reporter getting their nails painted.

The Nimbles premise is quite simple. Want to have your nails painted without any hassle? Then, stuff your fingers into this over-large Gom Jabbar and let the machine do the work. Its supposed to analyze where your nails are, then apply multiple coats and sealers to get you a pitch-perfect coat. The only thing is, it can be a little finicky when it first tries to read your hand. Nimble said the device uses machine learning to get better at learning where your fingernails are, but even then, youll need to sit with your hand in the machine for around 25 minutes, trying to keep still. It might save on hassle, but not necessarily on time. Kyle Barr

Why is this car dancing?

Image: Florence Ion

SK Telecom, one of South Koreas largest mobile operators, had a massive booth in CESs Central Hall, with appearances from K-Pop starts and a mini Sphere. There was also this dancing car, though all this car really did was move up and down and have images projected about the car of the future. But it was enough to captivate people to crowd around for every show.  Florence Ion



XReal Air 2 Ultra

Image: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo

XReal showcased its newest $700 AR glasses at this CES in an effort to take a bite out of all the spatial hubbub thanks to Apples Vision Pro headset. This device doesnt have a dedicated UI, at least not yet, and right now, its only featuring concepts of how its hand-tracking controls could work for texting apps or for watching movies. The hand and eye tracking werent perfect, but Xreal still has a pretty wide field of view and a strong display with a 120Hz refresh rate.  Kyle Barr

BHaptics TactGlove

Gizmodo reporter trying out haptic gloves

BHatpics products have really stuck out for looking so much like your typical ballistic vest, but the gloveswhich launched last Februaryare the truly odd man out. The gloves have haptic feeling at the tip of each finger and at the wrist, which is supposed to give you sensation when youre picking up an object or proffering a high five. My demo also involved me awkwardly trying to hug another avatar, and the hand tracking for the demo wasnt quite good enough to offer any real sense of immersion.  Kyle Barr







Alienwares 4K QD-OLED



Alienware QD-OLED on a table next to a gaming PC.

This years slate of gaming monitors all promise big resolution gains, but Alienwares 4K, 240Hz QD-OLED is one of the best weve seen in a very crowded field. The 32-inch screen has a gentle curve that isnt overwhelming but still does enough to center your field of vision on gameplay.  Kyle Barr

Typhur Sous Vide Station

Sous vide station on display.

The best way to describe Typhurs sous vide apparatus is that its a Pelaton for your sous vide station. The device can circulate the water temperature and keep it going at the correct temperature, but it also offers hundreds of recipes through its 12.3-inch touchscreen. Just know youll have to buy the resealable bags and vacuum separately.  Kyle Barr

IYU Massage Ari

Man getting massaged by a robot arm.

This hands-free massage arm offers a dedicated back massage without needing any fleshy human to work your muscles for you. With its long proboscis and strangely flesh-colored kneading utensil, the machine should be able to offer you an accurate massage no matter your body type. With your face down on the bed, you should be able to control everything thanks to a screen on a bottom shelf and a remote control placed at your fingertips. Kyle Barr

Looking Glass Go

Looking Glass Frame on a table featuring Pop-Eye.

This holographic frame, the Looking Glass Go, is one of those things that feels cool to have around the house. Eventually, chatbot capabilities will be available so you can interact with a 3D-like avatar.  Florence Ion



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Apple plans to remove blood-oxygen sensors from some of its smartwatches to avoid a U.S. ban, several outlets reported.

The move from Apple, which would allow the company to keep its watches on the market, is an apparent way around a patent dispute related to the technology.

Masimo Corp., the health tech company that has been locked in a feud with Apple over the technology's patent, said U.S. Customs and Border Protection "decided that Apples redesign falls outside the scope of an import ban by the U.S. International Trade Commission in approving the move on Friday, Bloomberg reported. Wall Street Journal also reported the change.

Apple and Masimo Corp. did not respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.

Patent dispute: Too late to buy an Apple Watch for Christmas? Apple pauses Ultra 2, Series 9 sales

Apple Watch technology violated patent: Feds

In December, Apple temporarily halted the sale of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 of its new smartwatch models, over the patent dispute.

At the time, the ITC said the products violated Masimo's patent. Apple appealed the decision and argued that a pause on sales could negatively impact users who rely on the watches' safety and health features.

"Apple strongly disagrees with the order and is pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure that Apple Watch is available to customers," the company said in an emailed statement last month. Should the ITC's order stand, "Apple will continue to take all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the U.S. as soon as possible.

An interim stay allowed Apple to bring back the products late last month, Bloomberg reported.

Why were Apple Watch sales halted?

California-based Masimo accused Apple of using blood-oxygen tracking technology that infringed its patents. Apple's blood oxygen feature first launched with the Series 6 Apple Watch in 2020.

Masimo filed a complaint in 2021, and the U.S. International Trade Commission in October issued orders that would ban Apple from importing and selling watches that use the blood oxygen feature.

"The decision to exclude certain foreign-made models of the Apple Watch demonstrates that even the world's most powerful company must abide by the law, Masimo said in an emailed statement.

Apple has also accused Masimo of infringing patents and filed two lawsuits against the company last year after Masimo launched its own smartwatch.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Apple Watch changes: Company hopes to avoid US ban
FILE PHOTO: A technician cleans a Volkswagen logo at the production line for electric car models of the Volkswagen Group, in Zwickau

By Eric Onstad

LONDON (Reuters) - Solid-state batteries hold the promise of more energy storage, longer driving ranges and faster charging for next-generation electric vehicles. Yet despite decades of research and billions of dollars invested, their future still looks elusive.

Here are some of the companies developing these kind of batteries. EV market leader Tesla, an industry outlier, has not detailed any solid-state development plans.

U.S. startup QuantumScape, which has deals with six automakers including Volkswagen, has developed a semi-solid state cell with no anode that uses lithium metal, a ceramic separator and liquid electrolyte. The company says it could boost an EV's driving range from 350 miles to 400-500 miles, an increase of 14%-43%. The expected range increase is down from earlier estimates of 50%-80%.

QuantumScape shipped its first prototype samples in late 2022, which VW said showed the battery could drive more than 500,000 miles without any noticeable loss of range and had a fast charging time to 80% capacity in 15 minutes.

France's Blue Solutions is already selling solid state batteries for buses with a charging time of four hours, but is developing a new product for cars that uses a polymer electrolyte and ultra-thin lithium metal anode, aiming to have a charging time of less than 20 minutes and enabling a range increase of about 30% to nearly 1,000 km.

The company says it aims to build a gigafactory for its new batteries by 2029 and has signed a joint development agreement with BMW.

Toyota, the world's biggest automaker, said in June it had achieved a breakthrough in solid-state technology that addressed durability problems. It said it planned commercialisation in 2027-2028 of a battery with a range of 1,000 km and a charging time of 10 minutes.

ProLogium Technology of Taiwan said that by the end of 2023 it aimed to ship prototype samples of its semi-solid-state batteries that enable a near doubling of the energy densities of the packs.

The firm, which has a cooperation deal with Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis and TotalEnergies, is building a gigafactory in Taiwan and plans one in France.

Chinese EV maker Nio has commercialized 150 kilowatt hour (kWh) semi-solid-state batteries for its EVs, manufactured by Beijing Welion New Energy, which have a range of up to 1,000 km. Nio sells EVs in China and Europe and operates a battery-swapping service for its vehicles.

Ganfeng LiEnergy, a subsidiary of Ganfeng Lithium, is producing semi-solid-state batteries that power EVs produced by China's Seres, such as the Seres 5 SUV which has a range of 530 km, with a fast charge time of 50 minutes.

China's CATL, one of the world's biggest battery producers, last year unveiled a condensed matter battery, a type of semi-solid-state battery it said could supply enough energy to power electric passenger aircraft. It had said it could start mass production of the batteries for EVs later in 2023, though hasn't provided an update on this.

U.S. startup Solid Power delivered test cells of its semi-solid state battery with a sulfide-based solid electrolyte and a high-content silicon anode to BMW late last year. It is also in the early stages of developing a battery with a lithium metal anode. Ford, BMW, Hyundai and SK Innovation have invested in the company.

Another American player, Factorial Energy, delivered prototype samples of its semi-solid state battery to automaker partners last year for testing. The startup, which aims for a battery range of 600 miles, has agreements with Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis and Hyundai.

South Korea's LG Energy Solution said last year it aimed to develop polymer-based and sulfide-based solid state batteries by 2026 and 2030 respectively.

South Korea's SK On, the battery unit of energy group SK Innovation, is developing two types of solid-state cells - high-molecular-oxide composite batteries and sulfide-based batteries - aiming to produce prototypes by 2026 and commercialize them by 2028.

South Korea's Samsung SDI is developing a solid-state battery without an anode and launched production of prototypes last year ahead of expected mass production in 2027.

Honda plans to launch a solid-state battery test line in 2024, aiming to use the batteries in models in the latter part of this decade. It also invested in SES AI to jointly develop semi-solid state batteries.

Nissan plans to launch an EV a pure solid-state battery developed in-house by its fiscal year 2028.

(Reporting by Eric Onstad; Additional reporting by Zoey Zhang in Shanghai; Editing by Pravin Char)
Green Day's bassist has hit back at Elon Musk's criticism of the band.

Musk took issue with the band's choice to include an anti-Trump lyric in "American Idiot."

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Mike Dirnt said Musk "actually is the machine."

Green Day's bassist Mike Dirnt has hit back at Elon Musk after the billionaire lashed out at the band's choice to include an anti-Trump lyric in a performance.

In a New Year's Eve set, the band changed a line in its hit song "American Idiot" from "I'm not a part of a redneck agenda" to "I'm not a part of the MAGA agenda."

Musk took issue with the dig aimed at the former president and hit back at the band by accusing them of becoming pro-establishment.

"Green Day goes from raging against the machine to milquetoastedly raging for it," Musk said in a post on X.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Dirnt said he was still a bit stunned by the reaction.

"Elon Musk actually is the machine," he told the outlet in response to the billionaire's comments. "I can't take anything else from that. He's not shy about saying stupid shit on the internet. Whatever."

Dirnt added he was pleased the lyric shake-up had got people talking. Several other conservative pundits also blasted the band for the lyric swap, with some mocking the ages of its members.

"I think the best part about it is that it provoked conversation," Dirnt said. "First it was rhetorical, and then it got into conversation."

Green Day has a history of making political statements. "American Idiot" was originally written as a protest song during the George Bush administration and includes direct criticisms of the former president as well as the media.

Read the original article on Business Insider
People across the United States celebrated the life and work of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday. For some in Yakima, that involved walking in below-freezing temperatures.

Though sunshine helped, it was 15 degrees in Yakima at noon when the Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Walk left from its starting point at North Fifth Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The earlier MLK Peace March in Toppenish was canceled because of freezing temperatures, but the celebration indoors at Toppenish Middle School was set to continue, according to information from the city.

PHOTOS: Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration in Yakima People march on Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard in celebration of Martin Luther King Junior Day Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, in Yakima, Wash.

A large crowd usually begins gathering near the intersection up to an hour before the walk begins. When most began gathering later than usual and in smaller numbers because of the cold, many clustered around a canopy that sheltered volunteers giving away hot chocolate. Event organizers also distributed hand warmers.

After a short prayer, two rousing "amens" and the words "Alright, let's go!" participants began walking east on MLK Jr. Boulevard. "America the Beautiful" played from speakers in the back of a pickup truck from OIC Washington, which worked with government agencies, nonprofit organizations, schools, private businesses and community members to plan a week of activities in honor of King. This year's theme was "Replay the Dream."

As usual, the Rev. Robert Trimble helped get the procession going, walking alongside four young volunteers carrying a banner with King's photo and one of his quotes.

Several participants carried signs and banners. "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend," read a King quote on one banner.

The peace walk continued to the Yakima Convention and Event Center, 10 N. Eighth St., where a celebration began around 1 p.m. A week of activities and special programs in Yakima culminated with the Martin Luther King Jr. Soup Kitchen at the Henry Beauchamp Community Center after the celebration at the convention center.
Former President Donald Trump arrives on stage to speak at the Turning Point Action conference as he continues his 2024 presidential campaign on July 15, 2023, in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Thailand is one of Denodo's focus markets as the company's overall APAC business growth supersedes other regions; affirms the opportunities for Denodo's data innovations and solutions

BANGKOK, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Denodo, a leader in data management, is committed to growing its presence in Thailand to deliver the next frontier in logical data management, led by Dr Nitipong Boon-Long, Country Director of Thailand; and overseen by Robin Fong, Regional Vice President & General Manager of ASEAN & Korea.

Working closely with leading Thai System Integrators, Denodo recently partnered with one of the largest healthcare providers in Thailand, who deployed Denodo to substantially improve its Hospital Information System (HIS) for enhanced patient care and improved operational efficiency. This collaboration signifies Denodo's strategic venture into Thailand's healthcare sector  positioning Denodo as accelerating excellence in healthcare through digitally-driven healthcare data management. Denodo's logical approach to data management  poised to drive digital transformation for Thai enterprises, is also particularly evident through the partnerships Denodo has forged with the likes of STelligence and Inteltion.

Denodo Country Director of Thailand Dr Nitipong Boon-Long (third from left); STelligence CEO/Founder Dr. Santisook Limepeeticharoenchot (fourth from left); Denodo Executive Vice President Suresh Chandrasekaran (fifth from left)

"We are delighted to be joining forces with Denodo to help solve the data challenges of Thai enterprises. Denodo's award-winning platform is highly respected in the data management landscape, and their dedication to addressing the specific data challenges faced by Thai enterprises on their digital transformation journey, along with their commitment to robust data governance, is second to none", said Dr. Santisook Limepeeticharoenchot, CEO/Founder of STelligence.

Denodo Platform is the leading data integration, management, and delivery platform using a logical approach to enable self-service business intelligence (BI), data science, hybrid/multi-cloud data integration, and enterprise data services. Leveraging Denodo Platform, organizations acquire timely, trusted, and integrated datasets for faster analytics and informed business decisions. Some of the most well-recognized Fortune 500 and Global 1000 brands trust the Denodo Platform to improve customer experiences, gain operational efficiencies and agility, achieve self-service data democratization, and realize IT infrastructure modernization.

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At Denodo's recent annual technical retreat which brings together more than 200 technical team members from its offices worldwide, the team discussed on adding new features and functions, as well as other technical aspects of the Denodo platform. The retreat was held in Bangkok, Thailand  one of the burgeoning markets for Denodo in APAC, and in view of continued investment bolstering its growth trajectory in the region. Denodo's product and services roadmap to help organizations with digital transformation, advanced analytics, and hybrid/multi-cloud solutions was also discussed at the retreat.

"For the past few years, we have been observing strong growth of our business in APAC, as many forward-looking organizations are embracing a logical data management foundation to accelerate AI and self-service initiatives and in turn propel their business growth," said Suresh Chandrasekaran, Executive Vice President of Denodo.

"Thailand is one of the markets within APAC where we are betting big on our future growth and we already see signs of our success in this part of the world, in terms of both customer acquisition and new partnerships. While we already close to a hundred enterprise customers across APAC region using our platform for their digital transformation journey, we look forward to helping hundreds more to become more competitive through higher levels of data utilization and compliance, and achieve a radical impact in operational efficiencies."

Please tweet: News: @Denodo Thailand operation gains momentum as its customer and partners see tremendous value in #logical #datamanagement solutions

About Denodo

Denodo is a leader in data management. The award-winning Denodo Platform is the leading data integration, management, and delivery platform using a logical approach to enable self-service business intelligence (BI), data science, hybrid/multi-cloud data integration, and enterprise data services. Realizing more than 400% ROI and millions of dollars in benefits, Denodo's customers across large enterprises and mid-market companies in 30+ industries have received payback in less than 6 months. For more information, visit www.denodo.com or call +1 877 556 2531 (US) / +44 (0) 20 7869 8053 (UK) / +65 6950 7489 (Singapore).

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/denodo-gains-momentum-in-thailand-with-growing-demand-for-next-generation-logical-data-management-302035580.html

SOURCE Denodo
For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it currently lacks a track record of revenue and profit. Unfortunately, these high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. Loss making companies can act like a sponge for capital - so investors should be cautious that they're not throwing good money after bad.

Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR). Even if this company is fairly valued by the market, investors would agree that generating consistent profits will continue to provide Broadridge Financial Solutions with the means to add long-term value to shareholders.

Check out our latest analysis for Broadridge Financial Solutions

Broadridge Financial Solutions' Earnings Per Share Are Growing

Generally, companies experiencing growth in earnings per share (EPS) should see similar trends in share price. Therefore, there are plenty of investors who like to buy shares in companies that are growing EPS. We can see that in the last three years Broadridge Financial Solutions grew its EPS by 12% per year. That's a pretty good rate, if the company can sustain it.

One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. The good news is that Broadridge Financial Solutions is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 3.2 percentage points to 16%, over the last year. That's great to see, on both counts.

The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. For finer detail, click on the image.

Fortunately, we've got access to analyst forecasts of Broadridge Financial Solutions' future profits. You can do your own forecasts without looking, or you can take a peek at what the professionals are predicting.

Story continues

Are Broadridge Financial Solutions Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Since Broadridge Financial Solutions has a market capitalisation of US$24b, we wouldn't expect insiders to hold a large percentage of shares. But we are reassured by the fact they have invested in the company. Indeed, they have a considerable amount of wealth invested in it, currently valued at US$112m. This comes in at 0.5% of shares in the company, which is a fair amount of a business of this size. This still shows shareholders there is a degree of alignment between management and themselves.

Does Broadridge Financial Solutions Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

One positive for Broadridge Financial Solutions is that it is growing EPS. That's nice to see. For those who are looking for a little more than this, the high level of insider ownership enhances our enthusiasm for this growth. The combination definitely favoured by investors so consider keeping the company on a watchlist. Still, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Broadridge Financial Solutions.

Although Broadridge Financial Solutions certainly looks good, it may appeal to more investors if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see companies with insider buying, then check out this handpicked selection of companies that not only boast of strong growth but have also seen recent insider buying..

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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Izgonirea din raiul castigurilor. Magnificent Seven fara Tesla?

Niciuna dintre companiile care alcatuiesc asa-numitele Sapte Magnifice nu a avut un inceput de an atat de slab ca Tesla, ceea ce i-a determinat pe analisti sa puna la indoiala locul producatorului de vehicule electrice in acest grup. In 2023, aceste sapte companii de [citeste mai departe]
Un inginer din Cluj a castigat peste 5,86 milioane de euro la loto. De 10 ani joaca aceleasi numere

Un inginer din Cluj este mai bogat cu peste 5,86 milioane de euro, dupa ce a jucat, timp de 10 ani, aceleasi numere la Loto,... The post Un inginer din Cluj a castigat peste 5,86 milioane de euro [citeste mai departe]
The European Commission has transferred 140.1 million euros to Hungary in REPowerEU pre-financing grants under the post-pandemic Resilience and Recovery Facility (RRF).

In a statement, the EC noted that this was the last instalment of the payment after the pre-financing of 779.5 million euros on Dec 28.



It said the funds would kick-start the implementation of key investments and reforms outlined in each chapter of the REPowerEU scheme, including energy conservation, production and diversification goals with a view to weaning Europe off Russian fossil fuels.



The EC said pre-financing payments to member states amounted to 20% of the additional funds requested to finance the countrys REPowerEU chapter.



It added that Mondays transfer of the pre-financing grants had followed the European Councils approval of Hungarys revised RRF plan containing a REPowerEU chapter and a signed financial agreement.



The EC approved Hungarys 4.6 billion euro REPowerEU chapter of its modified RRF plan in November. The modified RRF plan is worth a total of 10.4 billion euros, including 6.5 billion euros of grants and 3.9 billion euros of RRF loans.



Meanwhile: Local Govts, Regional Govt Offices Must Work More Closely, Says Navracsics



Cooperation between local governments and regional offices of the central government must be brought even closer, Tibor Navracsics, the minister of public administration and regional development, said in Miskolc, in northern Hungary.



Navracsics said cooperation of the two branches must be seamless when fresh European Union funds released to Hungary are put in service of regional development policy.



Cooperation was already excellent, he said, adding that Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen was one of Hungarys most highly performing counties. He noted that students and researchers of foundational universities have been excluded from the Erasmus and Horizon Europe programmes.



Navracsics said he had asked the politically non-aligned mayor of Miskolc, who sits on the supervisory board of the citys university, to demonstrate to European decision-makers that foundational universities are independent of party politics, adding that the mayors own political independence underpinned the point.



Hungary Counts on Austria's Support, Says FM



When it comes to combatting illegal migration and supporting the EU accession bids of Western Balkan countries, Hungary counts on Austrias support, Peter Szijjarto, the foreign minister, told Hungarian public media in Vienna after talks with Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg.



The talks were part of a series of consultations aimed at preparing the ground for Hungarys EU presidency in the second half of the year, he said, adding that Austria was among EU countries that took action against illegal migration.



Hungarys wants European regulations to be in line with international law so that temporary refugee stays are in the first safe country, noting that Hungary allowed people fleeing the war in Ukraine to seek refuge but kept out illegal migrants who had had passed through 3-5 safe countries.



Szijjarto called for a turnaround in Brussels, adding that the EU should not import problems from far away but help to solve them at their root. Africas population was growing exponentially, he noted.



Instead of tempting Africans to relocate, the EU should make investments, and nurture development and training locally, he said. Hungary, he added, supported the development of African countries to the tune of several 10 million dollars, providing education scholarships for many thousands of African students.



Meanwhile, regarding the EU integration of Western Balkan countries, the minister said the bloc was in need of fresh dynamism, which the region could provide, so the pace of the accession process must be speeded up. This, he added, was one of the goals of Hungarys EU presidency.



Regarding bilateral matters, Szijjarto said Hungary and Austria was a reliable, predictable and fair partner in terms of energy supply, with than 20 percent of Hungarys annual gas consumption arriving via Austria.



Both countries see energy supply as a pragmatic rather than an ideological issue, he said. Hungary, he said, supports Austrias candidacy for membership of the UN Security Council in 2027-28.



The minister said he met the Austrian Freedom Partys general secretary and the partys members of the Vienna parliaments Hungarian-Austrian friendship group. He also met the head of the Austrian Manufacturers Association.



MTI Photo: Tibor Rosta



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Epona Horse Rescues Lin Guyton was snowed in Friday, leaving it up to her to care for all the animals at her place near Crete.

It was tough, because she's still recovering from injuries she suffered in an accident last fall. She said shes desperate for help, especially as she continues to care for the horses taken from veterinarian Jennafer Glaesemann last fall.

I have to risk my well-being, but I will not let them go without, she said.

Glaesemann was charged in August with several counts of livestock neglect after an estimated 15 to 17 horses died under her care.

Guyton said she's been informed that Glaesemann has been suspended from the American Quarter Horse Association, which she said makes her unable to own, breed or register quarter horses in her name.

"A small victory for the horses," Guyton said.

Those horses continue to flourish.

They are cold, but they are good, she said. They have unlimited amounts of food, and thats the best we can do in this situation.

Guyton said she also still needs financial support, since it costs about $9,000 a month to keep the horses in hay.

Donations can be sent to Epona Horse Rescue, 20000 SW 114th St., Crete, NE 68333.

Photos: Cold, snow and wind batter the Omaha area
Last year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker took firm control of the Illinois Commerce Commission. In a bid to rein in rising utility rates throughout the state, he named a new chairman and two others to the five-member body.

Chairman Doug Scott did just what he was sent to the ICC to do.

Late last year, the commission rejected record-setting rate-hike requests from all the utilities serving the Chicago area and, more importantly, put the companies on notice that the days of rubber-stamping their ability to reap profits from massive investments in their fuel-delivery systems were over.

Utilities in this state arent used to this level of regulator resistance.

For years, the ICC has given the companies most of what they request in the way of rates. On the few occasions in the past where regulators dared to push back, utilities like Commonwealth Edison took their case to the General Assembly and ran roughshod over the ICC, winning their rate hikes via legislation.

Now, the empire is preparing to strike back. But, since the companies themselves no longer enjoy the clout they once did, thanks mainly to ComEd bribing its way to success in Springfield, the unions representing workers benefiting from large-scale utility infrastructure work are doing the heavy lifting.

In their sights are three relatively new Pritzker appointees to the ICC, including Chairman Scott, who have yet to win Senate confirmation. Unions  outraged by the ICCs refusal to give the utilities what they want  are threatening to flex their muscle in the state Senate to get those confirmations nixed.

This is no idle threat. The unions enjoy outsize influence with the Democrats who dominate Springfield. Generally, when organized labor wants something badly enough, it gets it.

Senate President Don Harmon, a staunch ally of organized labor, needs to tell his friends to back off. Those commissioners should be confirmed quickly.

Were in the beginning stages of forging a new energy landscape. On the electricity side, our states policy  set in Pritzkers landmark Climate & Equitable Jobs Act of 2021  is to eliminate fossil fuels as a source of power generation within a little over two decades. As to heating our homes, carbon-emitting natural gas, too, is likely to give way to electricity, although theres far more uncertainty about the timing of that transition.

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Local utilities  not just ComEd, but Peoples Gas and Nicor Gas, too  are proposing to make capital investments at higher levels than they ever have. If the ICC approves that spending, it will hike rates substantially because utilities are entitled to earn a return on the investments they make.

Scott and co. are right to be scrutinizing these plans and rejecting those they deem profligate. After all, the source of funding for all this work  and all the jobs unions complain are at risk by not caving to the utilities  is all of us. The electricity and gas bills paid by consumers and businesses throughout northern Illinois.

Ever-higher utility rates are no different from tax increases even if they arent technically considered taxes. Pritzker has come to realize that. Lawmakers should do the same.

Heres what we fear: Utilities will seek to hold the ICC confirmations hostage to their energy agenda in the spring session. That likely includes, for example, another run at the monopoly that downstate electric utility Ameren seeks for all future high-voltage lines in its service territory  an anti-competitive policy that only will further increase electricity rates in central and southern Illinois and likely open the door in the future to the same policy for ComEd in the Chicago area. Pritzker vetoed that bill last year, and there wasnt enough support in the fall veto session to override. Unions were furious.

Also likely to be an issue is continuing in some form the massive pipe-replacement program in Chicago that Peoples Gas has mismanaged for over a decade and thats made winter heat unaffordable for roughly a fifth of city households. Under Scott, the ICC late last year rightly ordered an end to Peoples Safety Modernization Program, calling for a far more surgical and affordable approach to replacing antiquated gas pipes. Unions benefiting from that work  particularly clout-heavy Local 150 of the International Union of Operating Engineers  howled in protest.

Local 150 responded by labeling the Peoples decision a troubling example of political overreach by unconfirmed appointees, according to the Capitol Fax report. Unconfirmed appointees. We can see where this is going.

Harmon and the rest of the Senate Democrats should reject this clumsy attempt at gaining leverage and promptly confirm Scott and fellow Commissioners Conrad Reddick and Stacey Paradis. Both are extraordinarily qualified, having spent their careers in the arcane world of utility regulation and energy policy.

Then, by all means, give the agenda of the unions and utilities a fair hearing.

In the meantime, the regulators, having shown they intend to keep consumers at least as much in mind as utilities, shouldnt let the union bluster cause them to waver.

Its a new day for energy policy in this state.

Join the discussion on Twitter @chitribopinions and on Facebook.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
The 2024 Hyundai Creta Facelift is finally launched in the country at a starting price of Rs 11 lakh, ex-showroom. The second-gen Creta was first introduced in the country in the year 2020, amidst Covid-19 lockdown. However, it managed to register great sales for the company, taking up the list as the best-selling cars for May 2020. Now in 2024, the mid-size SUV has received a midlife makeover. The new 2024 Hyundai Creta facelift is introduced with a host of changes to its exterior, interior, and powertrain choices as well.

2024 Hyundai Creta Facelift - Design

The distinctive front profile with new Signature Horizon LED positioning lamp & DRLs, black chrome parametric radiator grille and quad beam LED headlamps create a commanding look to the new Hyundai Creta. The redesigned rear profile of the new Hyundai Creta is accentuated with all-new signature connected LED tail lamps, new tailgate, bumpers and skid plate design and a new aerodynamic spoiler. The new Hyundai Creta retains the unmistakable silhouette, when viewed from the side, while improving the overall look with redesigned sharper & sportier diamond cut alloy wheels.

2024 Hyundai Creta Facelift - Interior

The facelifted Creta features new upholstery with a new grey interior that is accentuated with orange pipings. Featuring cockpit-inspired interiors, the new Hyundai Creta offers Hi-Tech Seamlessly integrated curvilinear screens with 26.03 cm (10.25) infotainment screen and an advanced 26.03 cm (10.25) multi-display digital cluster. Furthermore, the Creta now comes with dual-zone climate control, rear window sunshades, headrest cushion, and 8-speaker BOSE sound system.

2024 Hyundai Creta Facelift - Safety

Hyundai has upped the ante for the safety of occupants for the 2024 Hyundai Creta facelift. It now comes equipped with Level-2 ADAS tech, offering 19 features. Furthermore, it comes standard with 6 airbags, disc brakes on all wheels, ESP, VSM, hill start assist, highline TPMS, among many.

2024 Hyundai Creta Facelift - Specs

The new Hyundai Creta has a total of 3 powertrain choices - 1.5L MPi Petrol (6MT/ IVT), 1.5 l U2 CRDi Diesel (6MT/ 6AT) and the new 1.5 l Turbo GDi Petrol (7DCT). All powertrains are equipped with ISG, to deliver an optimum combination of performance & efficiency. For an engaging Driving Experience, the new Hyundai Creta comes with 3 drive modes (Eco, Normal & Sport) and Traction Control Modes (Snow, Sand & Mud) that optimise driving comfort across different terrains.

2024 Hyundai Creta Facelift - Colour Options

The new Hyundai Creta will be offered in 6 mono-tone colour options including New and exclusive Robust Emerald Pearl, Fiery Red, Ranger Khaki, Abyss Black, Atlas White, Titan Grey and 1 dual-tone colour option available in Atlas White with Black Roof.

2024 Hyundai Creta Facelift - Price
New Delhi: The much-awaited trailer of Siddharth Anand's Fighter was released yesterday and in no time took over the heads of the masses. From its breathtaking action sequences to its massive landscape to thundering BGM to the fresh chemistry of Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone, the trailer has justified that the film is arriving with a bang and a perfect start to 2024. All set to release on the eve of the 75th Republic Day, India's biggest aerial action drama is setting the right tone with its fervor of patriotism. The trailer has been garnering praise from trade analysts and industry people while the wave of fan appreciation has taken the social media universe by storm.

From reckoning the trailer as the trailer of the year to praising the dialogues, the BGM, the Storyline, and the Background score, the netizens are showering immense love on their social media for the trailer. Here is how they reacted.

Pure goosebumps!!! #HrithikRoshan trailer of the year #FighterTrailer ! Itne intezar ka phal bohot meetha Mila..trust me!!  GR's Fan Boy ARYA (@majumder_arya) January 15, 2024

#FighterTrailer is the best trailer Ive seen 4 a Bollywood movie in recent times. VFX,Dialogues, Storyline, Background score, everything is pure goosebumps, & when @iHrithik says Indian Occupied Pakistan, JAI HIND! Cant wait to experience it on IMAX 3D!

pic.twitter.com/WbgVTmCaox January 15, 2024

As the trailer of Fighter has been released, it has justified that director Siddharth Anand after ruling 2023 with Pathaan, is back to set new examples of success. Hrithik Roshan on the other hand, is arriving in the action after WAR and his presence in the trailer says it all 'Fighter' is surely going to be his massiest and most patriotic film. Deepika Padukone is seen performing aerial actions and she is looking stunning. She indeed had a great 2023 with the two biggest releases of the year with, Pathaan and Jawan and now she is coming back with another one this year with 'Fighter'. While the trailer has arrived with a power pack punch of adrenaline rush, the film will surely create history for Republic Day releases till date.

Directed by Siddharth Anand and presented by Viacom18 Studios in association with Marflix Pictures, 'Fighter' epitomizes cinematic brilliance. This film seamlessly intertwines heart-thumping action and patriotic fervor, promising an unparalleled cinematic experience. Brace yourself for an epic journey as 'Fighter' takes flight in theaters on January 25th, 2024, offering a spectacle that redefines cinematic excellence.
New Delhi: On January 16, Vodafone Group Plc and Microsoft Corp. forged a decade-long partnership incorporating a $1.5 billion investment. This collaboration aims to propel diverse business sectors such as artificial intelligence, digital payments, and the Internet of Things.

Vodafone is set to utilize OpenAI technology on Azure to enhance its customer service operations implementing enhancements to its consumer chatbot. Additionally, Vodafone employees will be granted usage of Microsoft Copilot as detailed in a collaborative announcement, Under the agreement's terms.

This collaboration is anticipated to provide expansive digital platforms to over 300 million businesses, public sector entities, and consumers throughout Europe and Africa.

Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, in his statement expresses excitement about the potential impact of their collaboration with Vodafone. He believes that the new era of artificial intelligence (AI) will create significant opportunities for organizations globally. The partnership aims to use the latest cloud and AI technology to improve customer experiences for millions of people and businesses in Africa and Europe. Additionally, they plan to develop new products and services while speeding up Vodafone's transition to cloud-based technologies.

After investing $13 billion in OpenAI, Microsoft is actively pursuing additional users for its Copilot AI assistants. Corporate clients are charged $30 per user per month for Copilot access, almost twice the standard cost of Microsoft's Office suite, as reported by Bloomberg.

Microsoft's investment in Vodafone's independent global IoT-managed connectivity platform has the goal of linking 175 million devices globally. Vodafone joins the Azure ecosystem. The collaboration focuses on expanding M-Pesa, Africa's largest financial technology platform, on Azure and introducing a purpose-driven initiative to enhance the well-being of 100 million consumers and 1 million SMEs throughout the continent.

Margherita Della Valle, the chief executive of Vodafone Group in his statement emphasizes the significance of the partnership with Microsoft. She characterizes the commitment as bold, indicating a strong dedication to the digital future of both Europe and Africa. The strategic partnership is expected to play a pivotal role in expediting the digital transformation for Vodafone's business customers, with a specific focus on small and medium-sized companies. She also highlights the aim of elevating the quality of customer experience for consumers, suggesting that the collaboration with Microsoft is geared towards improving and enhancing the services provided to both business clients and individual consumers within the digital landscape.
New Delhi: India has signed the 'historic' agreement for lithium exploration and mining project in Argentina, that gives further fillip to the country's efforts for sourcing lithium.

India's state-owned firm Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) signed a 2 billion-rupee ($24 million) lithium exploration pact for five blocks in Argentina. Speaking on the occasion, Pralhad Joshi said that This is a historic day for both India and Argentina as we are scripting a new chapter in bilateral ties with the Agreement signing between KABIL and CAMYEN  a step which will not only play a crucial role in driving the energy transition for sustainable future, but also ensure a resilient and diversified supply chain for critical and strategic minerals essential for various industries in India..

A Historic Day for __



Under the leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi ji, the country achieves a new milestone in securing #CriticalMinerals4India



India and Argentina sign agreement for exploration and mining of 5 lithium blocks in Argentina's Catamarca province.



The agreement_ pic.twitter.com/LVqtbb5jkw  Pralhad Joshi (@JoshiPralhad) January 15, 2024

The Ministry of Mines said that this strategic move not only strengthens the bilateral ties between India and Argentina but also contributes to the sustainable development of the mining sector, ensuring a resilient and diversified supply chain for critical and strategic minerals essential for various industries.

This is the first ever lithium exploration and mining project by a Government Company of India. KABIL will start exploration and development of 5 lithium brine blocks viz 1. Cortadera-I, 2. Cortadera-VII, 3. Cortadera-VIII, 4. Cateo-2022-01810132 and 5. Cortadera-VI covering an area of about 15,703 Hectare, located in the Catamarca province of Argentina.KABIL is also preparing to set up a branch office at Catamarca, Argentina. The project cost is about 200 crores.

With this Agreement, KABIL has obtained Exploration and Exclusivity Right for 5 blocksto evaluate, prospect and explore and subsequent to existence/discovery of lithium mineral, exploitation right for commercial production. This will not only boost its quest for sourcing lithium for India but will also help in bringing in technical & operational experience for Brine type lithium exploration, exploitation and extraction.

Argentina is the part of Lithium Triangle along with Chile and Bolivia with more than half of worlds total lithium resources and having the distinction of having 2nd largest lithium resources, 3rd largest lithium reserves and 4th largest production in world.

How India's Lithium Exploration Deal With Argentina Could Be A Big Blow To China

Amidst rising sentiment for boycotting Chinese products, the strategic move emerges is touted to be a game-changer in reducing India's dependence on China for crucial minerals. The move can also be seen as significant stride in India's broader economic offensive against China vis-a-vis the country's reliance on the latter for critical minerals. China has over 80% control of the global supply of lithium. Nearly 54% of India's imports are made from China.

Lithium serves as a cornerstone in India's ambitious transition to green energy --a vital component in the production of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries essential for powering electric vehicles, laptops, and mobile phones.

Lithium is crucial for lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that powers electric vehicles, laptops and mobile phones. The move can foster the India's resolve to reduce its carbon footprints and promote sustainable and green energy practices, while at the same time loosen Chinas stranglehold on a key element essential for India's energy transition.
BENGALURU: Chilling details have surfaced in the shocking murder case involving Bengaluru's startup magnate, Suchana Seth, accused of brutally killing her four-year-old son in North Goa's Candolim. According to media reports, Seth embarked on a trip to Goa with her child just a week before the alleged murder, residing in a lavish five-star hotel for a five-day sojourn. Seth reportedly arrived in Goa on December 31, 2023, on New Year's Eve, and stayed till January 4, setting the stage for the tragic events that followed.

Arrest In Chitradurga

The Karnataka Police apprehended Suchana Seth on Tuesday, disclosing that she was captured in Chitradurga district while attempting to flee in a cab, her son's lifeless body concealed in a bag. Upon checkout, she requested a hotel staff for a taxi to Bengaluru. The hotel staff, who went to clean the room, discovered red stains, presumed to be blood. The staff then immediately informed the police, according to Nidhin Valsan, Superintendent of Police, North Goa.

Police inquiry revealed Seth's claim of leaving her son at a friend's place in Goa to be false. The subsequent inspection of the luggage in the taxi exposed the horrifying truth  the lifeless body of the young boy.

Six-Day Police Remand

An FIR was filed, leading to a six-day police remand and subsequent court appearance, where Suchana Seth was remanded for five more days. She is set to appear in court again on January 19.

Recreating The Crime Scene

Calangute Police took Seth to the service apartment to recreate the crime scene, adding a layer to the ongoing investigation.

Marriage & Divorce: Legal Battle Between The Estranged Couple

Suchana Seth, CEO of a Bengaluru startup, married Raman in 2010, and after their divorce in 2020, court-allowed Sunday visits granted Raman access to their four-year-old son. Raman, hailing from Kerala, recorded his statement at Goa's Calangute police station on Saturday, where he faced a confrontation with the accused Suchana Seth, shedding light on the family dynamics entwined in this tragic saga.
New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that his partys leaders will not attend the Ram temple consecration ceremony on January 22 as the BJP and the RSS have made it a political event focused on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He made these comments at a press conference during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which he is leading across the country. His statement comes after the Congress top leadership rejected the invitation to the ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.

The Ram temple consecration ceremony is a political event centred on the prime minister. The BJP and the RSS are adding an election flavour to it and that is why it is difficult for us to attend, Gandhi said. He added that it is hard for his party to be part of the Ram temple event when their main rivals the BJP and the RSS have hijacked the occasion and turned it into an election stunt.

Gandhi also spoke about the opposition INDIA bloc, which he said will defeat the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. He said that the seat sharing talks among the INDIA bloc partners are going on smoothly and cordially.

I am confident that small issues within the INDIA bloc will be sorted out and we will together defeat the BJP. The matter of seat sharing is being discussed with the INDIA bloc allies. Talks are progressing well, Gandhi said.

He claimed that the opposition alliance will win the Lok Sabha election together. The yatra, which started in Thoubal in Manipur on January 14, reached Nagaland on Monday evening. The march will cover 100 Lok Sabha seats in 15 states, covering 6,713 km, mostly by buses but also by foot, and end in Mumbai on March 20 or 21.
New Delhi: In a major reshuffle, the Congress party has named YS Sharmila Reddy, the sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, as the new president of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee. The announcement came on Tuesday, following the resignation of G Rudra Raju from the post of state Congress chief on Monday.

YS Sharmila, who had formed the YSR Telangana Party to fight for the separate statehood of Telangana, joined the Congress earlier this month and dissolved her party into the grand old party. She met with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge after joining the party.

G Rudra Raju, who had led the Congress in Andhra Pradesh since 2019, has been given a place in the Congress Working Committee as a special invitee.

The Congress is eyeing a comeback in Andhra Pradesh, where it had lost power in 2014 after the bifurcation of the state. The party had also faced a humiliating defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha and assembly elections, winning zero seats in both.

However, the party is hopeful of improving its performance in the upcoming elections, scheduled to be held in April-May this year, along with the Lok Sabha polls. The party is banking on its recent success in Telangana, where it had toppled the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi in the assembly elections in November last year.

YS Sharmila Reddy, who is seen as a popular leader among the masses, especially the youth and women, is expected to boost the morale of the Congress workers and supporters in Andhra Pradesh. She is also likely to pose a challenge to her brother YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who is the chief minister of the YSR Congress Party, which is currently in power in the state.

Announcement Comes Amid PM Modi's Visit To Andhra

Sharmila's announcement as Andhra Pradesh Congress president comes amid PM Narendra Modi's visit to the southern state. The major reshuffle by the Congress comes ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Just six days before the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the grand Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Veerabhadra temple in Lepakshi, Andhra Pradesh today. He is on a two-day visit to Andhra Pradesh and Kerala on January 16 and 17.
The Congress party is in a big dilemma ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections this year which will determine the fate of the opposition parties. The grand old party is badly trapped in a 'catch-22' situation due to the BJP's googly of Ram Temple. The consecration ceremony of Ram Idol in Ayodhya will take place on January 22, 2024, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath will be present. The BJP is gearing up for nationwide celebrations of this event, and the Ayodhya Trust even invited the Congress to participate. However, after 15 days of uncertainty, the Congress decided to distance itself from the ceremony. This decision has not only confused the party leaders but also left the workers uncertain about whether to align with the public or follow the high command's orders, risking years of political effort.

Confusion Reigns

The confusion within the Congress is evident from the top to the bottom, and leaders like UP Congress President Ajay Rai and state in-charge Avinash Pandey faced hostility during their visit to Ayodhya. People, upset with the Congress's refusal to attend the function, assaulted them and tore the Congress flag. The situation was such that the party leaders had to flee from the spot.

Divided Over Ram Temple

Aware of the growing public dissatisfaction with the Congress, party leaders are now trying to balance the situation by expressing their intent to visit the Ram temple. While Congress leader Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath said that he would send 'Ramnami' to Ayodhya temple, Pratibha Singh and his son Vikramaditya Singh announced their plans to attend the consecration ceremony after receiving the invitation. Despite the internal disagreements, some Congress leaders are acknowledging the sentiments of the people and the significance of the event.

Minority Appeasement Vs Ram Temple

Political experts attribute the confusion within the Congress to its reliance on the politics of convenience, where it historically appeased minorities in the name of secularism and divided the majority of Hindus based on castes. Despite warnings from committees, like the one led by former Defense Minister AK Antony, about the consequences of excessively pro-minority policies, the Congress leadership seems reluctant to learn from its defeats. The decision to distance itself from the Ram Temple consecration ceremony has put moderate leaders in a difficult position, as they face the anger of the people who are enthusiastic about the event. This may pose challenges for the Congress in the upcoming elections, as voters express dissatisfaction and consider teaching the party a lesson.

However, the success of the BJP, under PM Modi's leadership since 2014, in unifying Hindus and moving away from caste-based politics has left the Congress struggling to adapt. The vote share of regional satraps has been decreasing and they are unlikely to come out of the situation given that BJP has gone all gun blazing over the Ram Temple issue.
New Delhi: In a significant development, the Supreme Court granted permission on Tuesday to Hindu women petitioners, directing the cleaning of the 'wazukhana' area within the Gyanvapi mosque premises, where a 'Shivling' was discovered. The order emphasizes the need to maintain hygienic conditions in the said area, under the watchful eye of the Varanasi district administration, aligning with previous directives from the apex court.

Gyanvapi Mosque Management Committee Express Support

The Gyanvapi mosque management committee expressed its support for the cleaning initiative, particularly focused on the water tank that had been sealed for nearly two years as per the Supreme Court's instructions. The 'wazukhana,' a sacred reservoir where devotees perform ablutions before namaz, has gained attention due to the unfortunate incident of fish deaths between December 12 to 25, 2023. The application highlighted a distressing putrid smell emanating from the tank, alarming both the committee and the Hindu petitioners.

Sacred 'Shivling' Amidst Unfortunate Circumstances

The application, filed by advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, drew attention to the presence of a sacred Shivlingam, emphasizing its significance to the Hindu community. Distressed by the current condition, the application stressed the need to keep the Shivling away from dirt, grime, and any unsanitary conditions. The revelation that the Shivling was amidst dead fish, causing anguish to devotees of Lord Shiva, added urgency to the plea for intervention.

Blame Game Over The Issue

The application further pointed fingers at the Committee of Management Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, responsible for the mosque, for the condition leading to fish deaths. The assertion that transferring the fish, as suggested by the District Magistrate of Varanasi, could have prevented the unfortunate situation, underlined the urgency in the plea. The blame game between the Hindu and Muslim sides adds complexity to an already sensitive Gyanvapi mosque-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute.

Historical Context: A 'Shivling' Or A 'Fountain'?

The 'Wazu' area of the Gyanvapi mosque has been a focal point in the longstanding dispute between Hindus and Muslims, stemming from the discovery of the 'Shivling' in 2022. The structure, contested as a "Shivling" by Hindus and a "fountain" by Muslims, was found during a court-mandated survey on May 16, 2022. The ongoing disagreement over the nature of the structure intensifies the complexities surrounding the Gyanvapi mosque-Kashi Vishwanath temple case.

As the Supreme Court intervenes to address the immediate concern of the 'wazukhana' cleanliness, the broader dispute remains a challenge, reflecting the delicate balance between religious sentiments and legal considerations.
New Delhi: In a significant move, a joint team comprising officers from India's top investigative agencies - the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED), and National Investigation Agency (NIA) - is gearing up to visit the UK soon to expedite the extradition of notorious individuals wanted by India, including defence dealer Sanjay Bhandari, diamond trader Nirav Modi, and Kingfisher Airlines promoter Vijay Mallya, according to credible sources on Tuesday.

Bilateral Talks To Strengthen Legal Cooperation

The team bound for London is set to engage in crucial bilateral discussions aimed at fortifying the longstanding exchange of information pending with UK authorities under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT). As signatories to MLAT, India and the UK are obligated to legally share information on criminal investigations involving economic offenders and others. Notably, the NIA team is concurrently investigating multiple terror suspects associated with the Khalistan movement.

Diplomatic Manoeuvres: MEA's Active Involvement

Despite the Union Home Ministry being the designated authority for MLAT matters, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is actively involved in diplomatic interactions with the UK in this instance. All requests are channelled through MEA for foreign countries.

Key MEA Representative In High-Stakes Meeting

The team, crucially, will include a senior officer from the MEA during the meeting with UK authorities. The meeting sessions will be conducted under close supervision by the Indian High Commission in London.

Timeline & Objectives

If all unfolds as planned, the joint team is anticipated to depart later this month. Apart from expediting the extradition process, the team aims to gather crucial information about the assets obtained by the fugitives in London. This includes specifics about their banking transactions.

Identifying Assets For Seizure: Proceeds Of Crime

Insiders privy to the development informed ANI that initiatives are underway to identify the properties of these individuals not only in the UK but also in other countries. The ultimate goal is to seize the 'proceeds of crime.'

Extradition Challenges: Appeals In Higher Courts

The extradition cases of Bhandari, Modi, and Mallya are currently awaiting resolution in the UK, as they have appealed in higher courts against deportation to India. The ED has already seized their assets in India, recovering substantial funds that were returned to banks to settle outstanding dues.

Bhandari's Alleged Links And ED's Investigation

Bhandari, an arms dealer who fled in 2016, is known to have close ties with Robert Vadra, husband of Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi. The ED is investigating Bhandari, along with CC Thampi, an alleged associate of Vadra, for alleged payoffs received in various defence deals. Bhandari's properties in India, totalling over Rs 26 crore, have been attached, and he has been declared a fugitive economic offender by a special court.

Allegations Against Nirav Modi, Mallya

Nirav Modi faces allegations in a fraud case related to Punjab National Bank funds exceeding Rs 6,500 crore, while Mallya's assets, valued at over Rs 5,000 crore, have been attached and seized due to bank defrauding activities. This collaborative effort seeks to bring these fugitives to justice and unravel the intricate web of financial wrongdoing spanning multiple countries.
EnfraGen is now one of Panamas largest renewable energy generators, boasting an operational capacity of 168 MW in Panama and over 2.1 GW across Central and South America

PANAMA CITY, January 16, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EnfraGen, LLC, ("EnfraGen"), a developer, owner and operator of specialized sustainable and renewable power and grid stability assets in Latin America owned by Glenfarne Energy Transition, LLC ("Glenfarne"), a global energy transition leader providing critical solutions to lower the worlds carbon footprint, and leading global private markets firm Partners Group, on behalf of its clients, today announced it has established a regional headquarters in Panama, signaling the companys continued investment in the country and region.

In addition to todays announcement, in November 2023 EnfraGen also announced the acquisition of six operational renewable energy assets in Panama and Costa Rica, including three hydroelectric plants and two photovoltaic solar plants with a combined capacity of 138 MW in Panama and one 50 MW wind farm in Costa Rica. This strategic acquisition positions EnfraGen as one of the top renewable energy producers in Panama with a total operating capacity of 168 MW in Panama and establishes its presence in Costa Rica.

Brendan Duval, CEO of EnfraGen, stated: "By opening our regional headquarters in Panama, we reaffirm our commitment to the energy transition in Panama and the region. Panama is a pivotal market in our strategic vision, and we are dedicated to fostering innovation and sustainable growth in the region from the Panama office."

EnfraGen first established a business development office in Panama in 2011, and in 2018 completed the acquisition of three hydroelectric plants with a capacity of 30 megawatts in the Chiriqui province. Today, the company has an operational capacity of over 2.1 GW across the Americas, comprising assets in Chile, Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica and corporate offices in the United States of America.

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James Pontiff, CEO of EnfraGen Central America, added: "The establishment of EnfraGens regional headquarters in Panama allows us to make a substantial contribution to the countrys energy landscape and strengthens our commitment to investing further in renewable energy and grid stability in Latin America. EnfraGen is ambitious about making additional investment in Panama in the coming 12 months, including building new solar plants."

About EnfraGen

EnfraGen is a developer, owner, and operator of grid stability and value-added renewable energy infrastructure businesses across Latin America. EnfraGens grid stability assets supply flexible capacity and energy to local and regional grids in support of renewable power plant intermittent energy production. EnfraGens renewable plants are smaller scale, distributed solar photovoltaic and hydroelectric assets that take advantage of unique access points to electrical infrastructure or are located in optimized geographical locations. The business mission is to support the transition to zero-carbon emission electric grids.

EnfraGen is jointly controlled by Glenfarne Energy Transition, LLC, and global private markets investment manager Partners Group, on behalf of its clients, and has operational and in-construction assets across its subsidiaries totaling over 2.1 GW of installed capacity upon completion of its most recent acquisition. The company, including its affiliates and subsidiaries, is supported by a team of over 400 professionals. EnfraGen maintains offices and assets in Panama, Costa Rica, Chile, Colombia, and the United States. For more information, please visit www.EnfraGen.com.

About Glenfarne Energy Transition

Glenfarne Energy Transition is a wholly owned subsidiary of Glenfarne Group, a privately held energy and infrastructure development and management firm based in New York City and Houston, Texas, with offices in Dallas, Texas; Panama City, Panama; Santiago, Chile; Bogota, Colombia; Barcelona, Spain; and Seoul, South Korea. Glenfarne Energy Transition aims to address the "here and now" global energy transition through three core businesses: Global LNG Solutions, Renewables, and Grid Stability. The companys seasoned executives, asset managers, and operators develop, acquire, manage, and operate energy infrastructure assets throughout North and South America. For more information, please visit www.GlenfarneEnergyTransition.com.

About Partners Group

Partners Group is a leading global private markets firm. Since 1996, the firm has invested USD 200 billion in private equity, private real estate, private debt and private infrastructure on behalf of its clients globally. Partners Group seeks to generate superior returns through capitalizing on thematic growth trends and transforming attractive businesses and assets into market leaders. The firm is a committed, responsible investor and aims to create sustainable returns with lasting, positive impact for all its stakeholders. With USD 142 billion in assets under management as of 30 June 2023, Partners Group provides an innovative range of bespoke client solutions to institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and private individuals globally. The firm employs more than 1,800 diverse professionals across 20 offices worldwide and has regional headquarters in Baar-Zug, Switzerland; Denver, USA; and Singapore. It has been listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange since 2006 (symbol: PGHN). For more information, please visit https://www.partnersgroup.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116247701/en/

Contacts

Press: Kris Cole

Pro-glenfarne@prosek.com

(310) 652-1411
NEW DELHI: In the ever-evolving global order, India is fast emerging as a pivotal 'World Partner,' actively contributing to solutions for global crises. Whether it's the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the oil crisis, Israel-Hamas tensions, or the most recent turmoil in the Red Sea, India's global diplomacy is taking the center stage every where.

Seas In Turmoil

Commercial ships navigating the Red Sea face threats from rebels supported by Iran, amplifying tensions. Simultaneously, the Gulf of Aden witnessed strikes on Houthi positions by the US and UK. India, with the Arabian Sea at its doorstep, feels the impact. In the past 24 hours, Prime Minister Modi made a phone call to Russia's President, while in Tehran, Foreign Minister Jaishankar addressed the escalating crisis.

Jaishankar's Strategic Discussions in Iran

In Tehran, Jaishankar emphasized the critical importance of securing the Red Sea, urging swift action against maritime threats. The route from the Red Sea to the Suez Canal is vital for global trade, and India's rerouting of ships increases travel time but ensures safety. Meanwhile, Qatar's refusal to send LNG tankers through the Red Sea raises concerns about heightened costs.

Collaborative Efforts By The US, India, And Iran

Jaishankar conveyed India's concern to Iran about attacks on ships near its waters, emphasizing the direct impact on India's energy needs and economic interests. His visit coincides with discussions with the US Secretary of State on the Red Sea crisis. Diplomatically active, India engages with Iran on issues ranging from Ukraine and Afghanistan to the situation in Gaza. The discussions extend to the strategic Chabahar Port, strengthening the robust ties between the two nations.

A Unified Global Stand

Despite challenges, India navigates geopolitics with finesse. PM Modi's conversation with Vladimir Putin and Jaishankar's talks in Iran underscore the collaborative approach to addressing shared concerns. Both leaders express mutual wishes for success in upcoming elections in their respective countries. The recent strengthening of military and technological cooperation between India and Russia further solidifies their alliance.

In conclusion, India's diplomatic leadership in today's world assures the global community that collective efforts can bring security and prosperity. The events in the Red Sea serve as a testament to India's role as a responsible global player, ensuring stability and progress for all.
It's often said that there is no permanent enemy in the politics. However, in its hate against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress has gone so far that sometimes it opposes policies which are favourable for India. The party has been opposing the government policies for the sake of opposition and it includes several issues be it of surgical strike article 370 or the recent Maldives row. Amid all this, a lesson has come for Congress from Britain.

What Has Just Happened In UK?

In Britain, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has faced Parliament over his decision to send forces to attack the Houthis terrorists who have been attacking ships in the Red Sea. Sunak told Parliament that the UK, with the US, retaliated in self-defence, and to uphold freedom of navigation following the January 9 attack by the Houthis. He maintained that the British government's move was necessary amid a proportionate response to a direct threat to UK vessels. He also rejected the allegations or 'malign narrative ' that this was a part of the Israel-Gaza war. Sunak also said that the strikes by the UK forces were limited in nature and the aim was to disrupt and degrade the Houthis capabilities. Interestingly, Sunak has got support from the opposition Labour Party which backed the Conservative Party-led government's move.

Earlier, when the Hamas terrorists attacked Israel in October last year, the ruling party and the opposition formed a joint government to respond to the terrorists.

Lessons For Congress

It may be recalled that when even India carried out a surgical strike in 2016 and the Balakot strike in 2019, on both occasions, the Congress party questioned the government's move. When the government abrogated Article 370 in 2019, the Congress party also failed to see the wider support for the move. The Congress party did not back the move directly and thus that led to more factionalism within the party and several leaders quit to join the NDA. Indian Army was in dire need of young soldiers and on a proposal from the forces, the Union Cabinet approved Agniveer - a four-year service scheme, in 2022. This was meant to give agility to the forces amid the threats from China and Pakistan. But Congress went on to oppose this move as well. Their stand was the same during the Rafale procurement.

Now, consider the Ram Temple issue. The Congress party is aware of the wide support for the Ram Temple issue. The temple is being built after the Supreme Court verdict. Despite it having legal backing, the Congress party rejected the invitation for the temple event just for the sake of its minority appeasement policy, as alleged by the BJP.

The Congress party has been losing ground in the poll battle and is still not willing to learn from its mistakes or examples from across the world. It's high time that Congress puts its act together if it wants to remain relevant in contemporary politics.
New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday blamed the Congress for giving a political colour to the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya by not attending it. Sarma, who leads a BJP-led coalition in the state, said that the rest of the country sees the event as a celebration of Indias culture and heritage.

He made this remark after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in Nagaland that his party finds it hard to participate in the January 22 ceremony as the BJP and the RSS have made it a political event focused on Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will be present there.

Rahul Gandhi could have gone there and it would have remained a non-political event. We welcome you to join us in this auspicious occasion. But you and your colleagues have chosen to stay away, thus making it a political issue which it was not, Sarma said at a press meet.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior leaders respectfully declined the invitation to the ceremony at Ayodhya, alleging that the BJP is using it as a political project for electoral benefits and claiming that religion is a personal affair.

Rahul and Sonia Gandhi are politicising the event because of their anti-Hindu mindset. Only the Congress party is tarnishing an event which is otherwise seen as a victory of Indian civilisation, Sarma added.

Rahul Gandhi, who was in Nagaland for Bharati Jodo Nyay Yatra, said that the BJP and the RSS are adding an election flavour to the event and that is why Congress cannot attend it.

Everyone will go, pay respects to Ram Lalla and come back. I dont think anyone will give any political or anti-Congress speech. For others, it is a triumph of Indian civilisation, Sarma said.
New Delhi: The Civil Aviation Ministry has introduced new measures to combat flight disruptions caused by fog, directing all six metro airports to submit incidence reports three times daily. The Ministry, on Monday, issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) aimed at alleviating passenger inconvenience, urging all airlines to adhere to the guidelines.

Jyotiraditya Scindia Announces 'War Rooms' At Six Metro Airports

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, in a post on 'X' on Tuesday, revealed plans for establishing 'War Rooms' at the six metro airports. These rooms, to be set up by airports and airline operators, aim to promptly address any issues related to passengers' inconvenience. The minister emphasized the importance of immediate resolution and assured the availability of sufficient Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) manpower around the clock.

In view of the fog-induced disruptions, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on mitigating passenger inconvenience were issued yesterday to all the airlines.



1. In addition to these SOPs, we have sought incidence reporting thrice daily for all the 6 metro airports.



2. https://t.co/346YXjxGdH  Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) January 16, 2024

Delhi Airport Takes CAT III Measures Amid Unprecedented Fog

In response to the unprecedented fog in Delhi, Minister Scindia announced the operationalization of runway RWY 29L at Delhi Airport under CAT III conditions. CAT III landing, a precision approach, enables aircraft to safely land in low-visibility conditions. Additionally, plans to undertake the operationalization of RWY 10/28 as CAT III after re-carpeting were disclosed in the 'X' post.

Over 600 Flights Delayed In 72 Hours Due To Severe Weather Conditions

Delhi has experienced severe fog in the past 72 hours, causing fluctuating visibility and, at times, reducing it to zero. The adverse weather conditions led to the delay of more than 600 flights, both domestic and international. Minister Scindia expressed his earnest request for understanding from travellers during this challenging period, emphasizing that stakeholders are working diligently to minimize passenger inconvenience.

Minister Addresses Unruly Behavior Amidst Fog-Related Disruptions

In a post on 'X' on Monday, Minister Scindia denounced incidents of unruly behaviour during the fog-related disruptions, stating that such behaviour is unacceptable. He emphasized a strong response in line with existing legal provisions. Assuring continuous efforts, he conveyed that all stakeholders are tirelessly working to mitigate the impact of fog-related challenges.
NEW DELHI: In an intricate political move, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is a member of the Opposition INDIA bloc, finds itself at a crossroads, facing the looming threat of being branded ''anti-Ram'' and ''anti-Hindu'' due to the Congress party's stance over the Ram Temple inauguration in Ayodhya. To counter this narrative, AAP has decided to hold Sunder Kand recitation in every assembly segment of Delhi. AAP Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the Sunder Kand Paath will be organized on the first Tuesday of every month from now on.

"Earlier, the Sunder kand Paath was organized by party leaders and workers. But now it has been decided to do it every month in a structured manner. From Tuesday, it will be organised in all Vidhan Sabha constituencies of Delhi... We invite the general public also to it..." he said this at the Delhi assembly. The AAP leader went on to add that "Soon, at around 2600 places, Sunder Kand Path and Hanuman Chalisa would be organised. No one can question Ram's name and devotion to Hanuman. We have no questions about the Ram Temple... The construction of Ram Temple is a matter of joy and pride for us."

It may be noted that AAP is currently engaged in hectic discussions with Congress for seat-sharing in Delhi during the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections, contemplating a distribution of four seats for AAP and three for Congress. However, it is also aware of the electoral repercussions of joining hands with Congress - being seen as an anti-Hindu party.

Sundar Kand For Political Gains?

To navigate the challenging political landscape, AAP is orchestrating the 'Sundar Kand' recitation. The underlying strategy is clear: the party aims to carve a niche in the BJP's Hindu vote share, challenging the perception that it is not as devoted to Lord Ram or the Hindutva issues as the BJP. This move is complemented by AAP's existing initiatives, such as organizing a free teerth yatra (free pilgrimage) for senior citizens in Delhi, with the Sundar Kand Paath intended to further attract senior citizen voters.

Owaisi Attacks AAP

However, this political manoeuvre has not gone unnoticed, with All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) Chief Asaduddin Owaisi expressing criticism. Owaisi pointedly questioned the timing of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's decision, linking it to the upcoming inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. He emphasized that while Kejriwal remained silent on issues like the Bilqis Bano case and Babri Masjid, he has now shifted his focus to the Sundar Kand recitation, clearly for electoral gains.

BJP Questions AAP's Move

The BJP has also questioned the AAPs move to organise the recitation of Sunder Kand, claiming that AAP is indulging in doublespeak. BJP leader Bansuri Swaraj said, "CM Arvind Kejriwal had said from a public platform that he and his family members are disappointed over the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya because CM Kejriwal wanted a school to be built there. Today despite his opposition, a grand Ram temple is being built in Ayodhya and the Aam Aadmi Party which is famous for changing its colours is now donning saffron..."

Kejriwal's Response To Owaisi

Responding to his criticism, Delhi CM Kejriwal asserted that the decision to conduct the Sundar Kand Paath was made in light of the Ram Temple inauguration on January 22. He clarified that the monthly recitation would take place in all assembly constituencies of Delhi on the first Tuesday of each month. Alongside Sundar Kand, the recitation would also include the chanting of the Hanuman Chalisa.

Kejriwal A Devotee Of Lord Hanuman

Importantly, AAPs Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chaddha has defended Kejriwal, stating, "If someone comments, what can I do? Kejriwal is a devotee of Lord Hanuman. He seeks the blessings of Hanuman Ji before undertaking any auspicious work. We have served the people of Delhi as Shri Ram Kumar. We do not need a certificate from anyone else."

As Arvind Kejriwal strategically incorporates religious symbolism into AAP's political agenda, the move is not without its critics, with opponents questioning the authenticity and timing of this religious event. The unfolding narrative may significantly influence AAP's standing in the upcoming elections, particularly in the context of the delicate dynamics of religious sentiments in Indias politics.
New Delhi: Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of the rival faction of Shiv Sena, on Tuesday attacked Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar for his decision to declare the party led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the real Shiv Sena. Thackeray said he will take the fight to the peoples court. Thackeray, who was the former chief minister of Maharashtra, said his struggle would determine the fate of democracy in the country. He was speaking at a peoples court and a mega press conference.

The peoples court was organised in Worli, the seat of Thackerays son and ex-minister Aaditya Thackeray. It was attended by the top leaders of Shiv Sena UBT and the lawyers who represented Thackeray in the Supreme Court, the Election Commission and the hearings conducted by Narwekar. Thackeray called Narwekar dishonest and challenged him and Shinde to a public debate on who was the real Shiv Sena.

Narwekar had given a verdict on January 10 that the Shinde group was the authentic Sena and rejected the disqualification pleas filed by both Shinde and Thackeray groups against each others MLAs after the party split in June 2022. I am taking this battle to the peoples court, Thackeray said firmly.

Thackeray also showed old videos of his election as the party chief in 2013 and 2018 to support his claim. In one of the videos, Narwekar is seen attending the party function when he was a part of the united Shiv Sena. Thackeray asked why the BJP invited him to Delhi after the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections if he was not the legitimate Shiv Sena chief.

He also criticised the Election Commission and asked whether it ate the constitution of the united Sena. He said the poll body should pay back the money spent on 19.41 lakh affidavits of party members, signed on Rs 100 stamp papers, which were submitted during the hearings before the commission.

Shiv Sena UBT leader Anil Parab, who is in charge of the legal aspect of the case, said the Election Commission of India communicated with the united Shiv Sena and Uddhav Thackeray regularly between 2018 and 2022.

Narwekar, on his part, defended his decision not to accept the amended constitution of the united Shiv Sena of 2018. He said the party had only informed the Election Commission about Uddhav Thackeray becoming the party chief but did not submit the amended constitution.

Narwekar said in his verdict that the Senas 1999 constitution was the valid one for deciding which group was the real Shiv Sena. My actions were based on the Supreme Courts guidelines, he said at the press conference. He also explained his decision not to disqualify Thackeray group MLAs and said the whip issued to them was not sent properly.

He mocked Thackeray and said a part-time president or part-time lawyer cannot do work and one has to devote himself fully to a party. He further said that the rules made by a party should not be only on paper but also implemented. He said running a party is a matter of responsibility.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in South India today ahead of the Ram Temple inauguration and also in a bid to make the BJP more popular there ahead of the Lok Sabha Election. During his visit to Andhra Pradesh, Prime Minister Modi performed pooja and darshan at Veerbhadra Temple in Lepakshi. He is set to visit Palasamudram, Sri Sathya Sai District and inaugurate the new campus of the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes & Narcotics (NACIN). Prime Minister will also interact with Officer Trainees of 74th and 75th batch of Indian Revenue Service (Custom & Indirect Taxes) as well as officer trainees of the Royal Civil Service of Bhutan.

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits and offers prayers at the Veerbhadra Temple in Lepakshi, Andhra Pradesh pic.twitter.com/PxHdxbQaYv  ANI (@ANI) January 16, 2024

PM In Andhra Pradesh

Prime Minister Modi will also hear verses from the Ranganatha Ramayan which is in Telugu. Lepakshi holds a special place in Ramayana. PM Modi's visit just 6 days before the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya holds a special significance.

It is said that Lepakshi is the place where Jatayu fell after being wounded by Ravan while trying to protest Goddes Sita during the abduction. The dying Jatayu, who told Lord Rama that Ma Sita was taken south by Ravan, was then granted Moksha by Lord Ram.

The visit to Lepakshi comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Shree Kala Ram Mandir in Nashik. A few days back, PM Modi visited Panchvati, situated on the banks of the Godavari river in Nashik. He offered prayers at the Kala Ram Mandir and heard the Marathi verses relating to Ayodhya arrival of Lord Ram.

PM In Kerala

Tomorrow morning around 7:30, Prime Minister Modi will perform pooja and darshan at Guruvayur Temple in Kerala. He will also perform pooja and darshan at Thriprayar Shree Ramaswami Temple at around 10:30 AM. After that, at around noon, PM Modi will inaugurate important infrastructure projects related to the ports, shipping, and waterways sector.

During his visit to Kochi, he will inaugurate three major infrastructure projects worth more than Rs 4,000 crore viz the New Dry Dock (NDD) at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL); the International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) of CSL; and LPG Import Terminal of Indian Oil Corporation Limited at Puthuvypeen, Kochi.
New Delhi: Siddharth Anand's most awaited aerial action thriller 'Fighter' trailer dropped yesterday and has been trending ever since. Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone surely gave goosebumps but the one face that was new and took everyone by surprise was of actor Rishabh Sawhney who plays the villain in the film.

Rishabh Sawhney, who appeared in Nikkhil Advanis The Empire where he played Babur's brother Mehmood has taken over the internet. The trailer shows Rishabhs character as the primary antagonist, masterminding the attacks on India from within Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK). 'Fighter' is Indian cinemas first aerial actioner and Rishabh is a part of its ensemble cast which also includes Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone, Anil Kapoor, Akshay Oberoi, Karan Singh Grover and Sanjeeda Shaikh.

The shots of Rishabh handling a machine gun and going toe-to-toe with Hrithik Roshan in a fistfight received applause. There are many comments online asking who the 'hot villain' in the film is, with many saying he looks equally chiseled as the lead actor Hrithik Roshan.

Rishabh has worked as a casting assistant on 'The Empire' and then reprised that role as part of the crew in two other web series  Kaun Banegi Shikharwati and Bestseller. Before entering films, Rishabh was a model and has walked the ramp for top designers like Shantanu and Nikhil.

Fighter is set to release in theatres on January 25 ahead of Republic Day.
New Delhi: Jim Sarbh has joined forces with the premium lifestyle brand Calvin Klein for an enticing partnership that is raising the temperature high. The actor turns up the heat on social media with a steamy and stylish collaboration.

Jim Sarbh is seen in black Calvin Klein innerwear, exuding confidence and charm while lying shirtless on a bed. The visuals are a perfect blend of steamy and sexy, captivating the attention of fans and creating a buzz on social media.

The actor, known for his effortlessly cool looks, shared a tempting post on Instagram with the caption, "In bed with @calvinklein." Fans were quick to react, expressing their excitement through a flood of flirty comments and emojis.

As if this treat was not enough, the first episode of Jim Sarbh's show on YouTube, titled 'Crew Cut,' is out. Fans are on the edge of their seats, eagerly awaiting the next one.
Ayodhya City is anticipated to become a global tourism destination with a focus on spiritual, cultural, and heritage assets and events as the city is likely to grow manifold with significant demand in hospitality and allied industries. The city is envisaged to be developed as a mega centre for tourist, economic and religious activities. The development work is being undertaken for Rs 85,323 crore to enable the city to handle a daily footfall of 31 lakh people. The proposal aims at leveraging Tourism as an engine of growth to create regional economic development and epicentre of employment generation by facilitating the long-term growth and development of the tourism industry.

The development vision encapsulates the identification of infrastructure and tourism development in the Ayodhya Development Authority Area of 875sq km including the current master-planned city area of 133 sq km and core city of 31.5 sq. km. CP Kukreja Architects has also prepared a detailed project report, and cost outlay and its rollout for Smart Ayodhya over 1,200 acres. The master plan of Ayodhya would be developed on contextual planning as opposed to Greenfield development.

The projects aim to achieve the following:

* To boost economic development centred around tourism, integrated with spiritual, traditional healthcare, residential, traditional healthcare, Social, commercial, hotels etc. assessing the future growth potential for the next 100 years.

* Develop/augment civic infrastructure (water, sewerage, power supply, and distribution, energy, regional and city level transport etc.)

* Planning to be experience-based and not regular zoning. Case studies to refer some of the best experiential International cities like Vatican City, and Venice and Indian examples like Amritsar, Varanasi, Madurai, and Tirupati.

* Colour palette for buildings' facades and special architectural features to ensure heritage-based aesthetic development.

The tourist attractions will include the following:

* Heritage assets of the city including retrofitting and redevelopment of core city area and temple influence zone. Special attention to the Sri Ram Temple Area of 108 acres for seamless integration.

* Curate tourism experience for heritage and others are of interest. eg. public places, and events.

* Riverfront development of Saryu River and water sports.

* The Three Parikrama Margs (5,14,84kosi) with adequate facilities.

* Integrated development and connectivity to neighbourhood pilgrim destinations.

The consecration ceremony of Lord Ram's idol will take place on January 22. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath will attend the event.
Schneider Electric, a leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, has appointed Amel Chadli as the companys Gulf Cluster President.

In her new role, Chadli will drive innovation and growth in digital transformation, sustainability, and energy management and industrial automation with artificial intelligence technologies across the Gulf region.

Formerly, she was the Vice President of Digital Energy and Energy Management Software - Middle East & Africa, leading the companys smart building, healthcare, and microgrid initiatives, contributing towards energy-efficient customer transformations.

"Schneider Electrics success in the UAE and the Gulf region has always been driven by its commitment towards people development and will always be at the heart of our growth engine," stated Chadli.

"We will continue to invest in top local talents and attract emerging leaders, solidifying Schneider Electric position as the digital partner of choice for sustainability and efficiency," she added.

Chadli also stressed the importance of partnerships and synergies in the region with stakeholders including customers, partners, public sector, and academia.

An advocate for the UN Women Empowerment Principles in Africa. she sits on the Executive Committee of RES4Africa, a foundation with a resolute dedication to supporting Africa's energy transition and achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7).

Reflecting on her accomplishments over 19 years with the company, Chadli highlighted her role in Africas energy evolution, ensuring equitable access to safe, reliable, sustainable power.

Following the appointment, Ahmed Khashan, former President of Gulf Countries at Schneider Electric, will take on the role of Senior Vice President Strategy and Business Development for International Operations at Schneider Electric covering the Middle East and Africa, India, South America & Pacific regions.-TradeArabia News Service
For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it currently lacks a track record of revenue and profit. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.

If this kind of company isn't your style, you like companies that generate revenue, and even earn profits, then you may well be interested in TRC Synergy Berhad (KLSE:TRC). While this doesn't necessarily speak to whether it's undervalued, the profitability of the business is enough to warrant some appreciation - especially if its growing.

View our latest analysis for TRC Synergy Berhad

TRC Synergy Berhad's Earnings Per Share Are Growing

The market is a voting machine in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term, so you'd expect share price to follow earnings per share (EPS) outcomes eventually. Therefore, there are plenty of investors who like to buy shares in companies that are growing EPS. To the delight of shareholders, TRC Synergy Berhad has achieved impressive annual EPS growth of 48%, compound, over the last three years. That sort of growth rarely ever lasts long, but it is well worth paying attention to when it happens.

One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. TRC Synergy Berhad's EBIT margins have actually improved by 4.3 percentage points in the last year, to reach 6.0%, but, on the flip side, revenue was down 4.7%. While not disastrous, these figures could be better.

You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. For finer detail, click on the image.

KLSE:TRC Earnings and Revenue History January 16th 2024

In investing, as in life, the future matters more than the past. So why not check out this free interactive visualization of TRC Synergy Berhad's forecast profits?

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Are TRC Synergy Berhad Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Seeing insiders owning a large portion of the shares on issue is often a good sign. Their incentives will be aligned with the investors and there's less of a probability in a sudden sell-off that would impact the share price. So as you can imagine, the fact that TRC Synergy Berhad insiders own a significant number of shares certainly is appealing. In fact, they own 45% of the shares, making insiders a very influential shareholder group. This should be a welcoming sign for investors because it suggests that the people making the decisions are also impacted by their choices. In terms of absolute value, insiders have RM96m invested in the business, at the current share price. So there's plenty there to keep them focused!

It's good to see that insiders are invested in the company, but are remuneration levels reasonable? Well, based on the CEO pay, you'd argue that they are indeed. The median total compensation for CEOs of companies similar in size to TRC Synergy Berhad, with market caps under RM932m is around RM493k.

TRC Synergy Berhad's CEO only received compensation totalling RM134k in the year to December 2022. This total may indicate that the CEO is sacrificing take home pay for performance-based benefits, ensuring that their motivations are synonymous with strong company results. CEO remuneration levels are not the most important metric for investors, but when the pay is modest, that does support enhanced alignment between the CEO and the ordinary shareholders. Generally, arguments can be made that reasonable pay levels attest to good decision-making.

Does TRC Synergy Berhad Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

TRC Synergy Berhad's earnings per share have been soaring, with growth rates sky high. The sweetener is that insiders have a mountain of stock, and the CEO remuneration is quite reasonable. The strong EPS improvement suggests the businesses is humming along. TRC Synergy Berhad certainly ticks a few boxes, so we think it's probably well worth further consideration. Still, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with TRC Synergy Berhad (including 1 which is a bit concerning).

Although TRC Synergy Berhad certainly looks good, it may appeal to more investors if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see companies with insider buying, then check out this handpicked selection of Malaysian companies that not only boast of strong growth but have also seen recent insider buying..

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
New Delhi: Oukitel, a prominent leader in the rugged smartphone market, has expanded its tech portfolio with the introduction of its latest addition, the Oukitel WP33 Pro. The smartphone is equipped with a sturdy build and formidable specifications, featuring a 22,000mAh battery, a 32MP selfie camera, and substantial 24GB RAM (8GB + 12GB).

To the users' surprise, Oukitel has claimed that the WP33 Pro can charge the iPhone 15 a remarkable 9 times. Additionally, this mobile supports 33W fast charging technology and can function as a power bank, outputting up to 18W.

However, the standout feature of the Oukitel WP33 Pro is undoubtedly its colossal battery. Supporting a 22,000mAh capacity, the company claims that the phone can deliver an astounding standby time of 2600 hours, equivalent to approximately 108 days. With a full charge, users can engage in continuous multitasking for up to 7 days. (Also Read: iQoo Neo 9 Pro Launch Date Confirmed In India, Check Tipped Price)

Let's unwrap the specifications of the Oukitel WP33 rugged smartphone

Oukitel WP33 Pro Camera

For photography enthusiasts, the WP33 Pro features a 64-megapixel Sony IMX686 primary camera sensor on the rear panel along with a 2-megapixel macro sensor. On the front, a 32-megapixel selfie camera, utilizing the Sony IMX616 sensor, excels in capturing impressive shots even in low-light conditions. (Also Read: Samsung Galaxy S24 Listed For Sale Ahead Of Official Launch on January 17, Withdrawn By Retailer)

Oukitel WP33 Pro Processor

The Oukitel WP33 rugged smartphone is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 6100 Plus octa-core processor. It houses 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, complemented by an additional 12GB of virtual RAM.

Oukitel WP33 Pro Display

The Oukitel WP33 Pro smartphone boasts a 6.6-inch Full HD+ display. Utilizing an IPS panel with a 60Hz refresh rate, the screen offers 450nits brightness and 400ppi. It is 27.2mm thick and weighs 577.5g.

Oukitel WP33 Pro Other Features

Beyond its powerful specifications, the Oukitel WP33 Pro delivers a sound experience reaching up to 136dB, surpassing the noise level of a jet plane. The maximum volume of the smartphones speaker is 136dB, and the power is 5W. The handset also supports OTG (On-The-Go) functionality.
New Delhi: Iranian state media said on Tuesday that Iran had hit and destroyed two important headquarters of the terrorist group Jaish al-Adl in Pakistan with missiles and drones. The group is opposed to Tehran and has carried out several attacks on Iranian security forces, Iranian state media said. The attacks were focused on an area in Pakistans Balochistan where one of the largest headquarters of Jaish al-Adl was situated, the reports said.

Jaish al-Adl, or Army of Justice, is a Sunni militant group that was formed in 2012 and is considered a terrorist organization by Iran. It operates in Irans southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, Al Arabiya News reported. The group has claimed responsibility for many attacks against Iranian security forces over the years.

In December, Jaish al-Adl attacked a police station in Sistan-Baluchistan and killed at least 11 police personnel, according to Al Arabiya News.

Sistan-Baluchistan shares borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan. The region has witnessed conflicts between Irans security forces and Sunni militants, as well as drug traffickers. Sistan-Baluchistan is one of Irans poorest regions and most of the people in the region are Sunni ethnic Baluchis, Al Arabiya News reported.

The strikes in Pakistan came a day after Irans Revolutionary Guards fired missiles at what it called an Israeli spy headquarters in Iraqs Kurdistan region and at alleged ISIS-linked targets in Syria, the report said.
Throughout history, governments worldwide have often sought to suppress dissenting voices. When these voices challenge the policies of Islamic governments, the consequences can be dire. However, some have dared to defy oppressive regimes without fear of the repercussions. One such example is the story of Iranian journalists Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, who recently obtained bail in the Mahsa Amini case in 2022, though another case remains pending.

Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi found themselves in legal trouble due to Iran's strict dress code for women. According to this regulation, any woman appearing in public spaces must wear a headscarf. In 2022, outspoken journalist Mahsa Amini faced opposition from the Iranian government for challenging the restrictive policies. Amini, known for her independent views, was arrested, and tragically, she died during custody. This incident sparked outrage in Iran.

Seizing the opportunity, Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, both serving sentences, covered the entire episode as journalists. Their coverage did not sit well with Iranian authorities, leading to legal action against them. The Iranian agencies disapproved of their coverage, resulting in charges filed against both journalists. The court sentenced them, accusing them of playing into the hands of Iran's staunch enemy, the United States, which poses a threat to Iran's stability and existence.

After a year of serving their sentences, Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi have been released from Evin Prison. However, their freedom is short-lived, as they face new charges for appearing in public without a headscarf. In October 2022, during the sentencing, the court made remarks suggesting that both journalists were playing into the hands of the United States, a nation considered a constant threat to Iran. The court handed down a 13-year sentence for Niloofar Hamidi and a 12-year sentence for Elaheh Mohammadi.

The ordeal highlights the challenges faced by journalists who choose to speak out against oppressive government policies. Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi's courage in the face of adversity serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing struggle for freedom of expression in Iran.
North Korea has dismantled several government entities responsible for fostering reconciliation and reunification with South Korea, with leader Kim Jong Un asserting that his country is not shying away from the prospect of war. Recently, Kim labeled South Korea as a "principal enemy" and deemed attempts at reunification as a "mistake that we should no longer make."

Addressing North Korea's legislative body, the Supreme People's Assembly, Kim conveyed that unification with South Korea is no longer viable. He proposed a constitutional amendment to designate South Korea as a separate, "hostile country," as reported by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Tuesday.

While expressing a lack of desire for war, Kim emphasized that North Korea does not intend to avoid it, according to statements quoted by KCNA. The Supreme People's Assembly announced the closure of three organizations involved in inter-Korean reconciliation efforts: the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, the National Economic Cooperation Bureau, and the (Mount Kumgang) International Tourism Administration.

The assembly's statement, as per KCNA, highlighted the heightened confrontation between the two Koreas, describing them as "the two most hostile states, which are at war, [now] in acute confrontation on the Korean peninsula." This decision further strains relations between the two countries, exacerbated by recent missile tests conducted by Pyongyang.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol criticized North Korea's characterization of his country as hostile, characterizing it as indicative of Pyongyang's "anti-national and ahistorical" nature. North Korea recently announced the testing of a new solid-fuel missile with a hypersonic warhead, following the launch of its Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile.

Joint military exercises by Japan, South Korea, and the United States, perceived by Pyongyang as rehearsals for a potential invasion, have intensified in response to North Korea's weapons tests. Over the weekend, US Senior Official for the DPRK, Jung H Pak, along with counterparts from South Korea and Japan, jointly condemned North Korea's latest missile tests in a call, as reported by the US State Department on Monday.
IOWA: Former President Donald Trump is projected to win the Iowa caucuses, according to CNN, solidifying his position as the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination to turn up against incumbent Joe Biden in a 2020 rematch. Trump's victory in his first election since his unusual exit in 2020 has also laid to rest any lingering questions about his hold over the GOP and the potency of his right-wing message.

According to CNN, around 4 per cent of the results have been released so far, according to which, Trump is expected to receive 16 of Iowa's 40 delegates. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley are estimated to get four delegates each so far. There are 16 delegates unallocated.

Notably, whoever wins the GOP nomination needs to win at least 1,215 out of 2,429 delegates awarded. The focus of the race will now turn to New Hampshire, which will hold its first-in-the-nation Republican primary on January 23. The result has put added pressure on his two GOP rivals -- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, ahead of next week's contest.

While Haley will be hoping to impress among a more ideologically diverse primary electorate. She has been gaining on Trump in the state, and the state could serve as a backstop after her Iowa loss, even though the former president still has a substantial edge in the Granite State, The Hill reported. The Iowa outcome is a deeper cut for DeSantis, according to CNN. DeSantis along with aligned outside groups, spent heavily in the state, hoping to overtake Trump and signal a changing of guard in national Republican politics.

The Hill reported several strategists that a Trump win in both Iowa and New Hampshire could seal the deal for the rest of the election cycle, making it nearly 'impossible' for another GOP candidate to catch up before the general. Notably, in Trump's 2016 presidential bid, he lost Iowa to then-candidate Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) before going on to win New Hampshire and then the nomination.

However, the road ahead is not easy for the former president as he continues to face substantial challenges to his campaign, including multiple criminal indictments and ongoing legal battles in courtrooms across the country. In a handful of states, he even faces efforts to remove him from the ballot. Last month, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump is 'disqualified' from competing in the race under the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause, finding that he violated his oath with his actions around January 6, 2021. Maine's Secretary of State also disqualified Trump under the 14th Amendment, The Hill reported.

But Trump has framed his legal issues as "political attacks" arguing he is the victim of a "witch hunt" as he vies for another term. "We're going to win the Iowa caucuses and then we're going to crush crooked Joe Biden next November," The Hill quoted Trump as saying in a rally in Iowa last month. "I have polls that show me leading by tremendous amount in New Hampshire and a lot in Iowa. And nationwide, we're leading by almost 60 points. So, I'm not exactly worried about it," Trump said at Fox News town hall. "I think we're going to do very well in New Hampshire."
Key Insights

Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, China Aviation Oil (Singapore) fair value estimate is S$1.00

With S$0.88 share price, China Aviation Oil (Singapore) appears to be trading close to its estimated fair value

China Aviation Oil (Singapore)'s peers seem to be trading at a higher discount to fair value based onthe industry average of 55%

Does the January share price for China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Ltd (SGX:G92) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model is the tool we will apply to do this. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model.

View our latest analysis for China Aviation Oil (Singapore)

Is China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Fairly Valued?

We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

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10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF ($, Millions) US$155.7m US$82.7m US$54.1m US$41.3m US$34.8m US$31.1m US$29.0m US$27.8m US$27.2m US$26.9m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ -34.58% Est @ -23.60% Est @ -15.91% Est @ -10.53% Est @ -6.77% Est @ -4.13% Est @ -2.29% Est @ -0.99% Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 7.4% US$145 US$71.6 US$43.6 US$31.0 US$24.3 US$20.2 US$17.5 US$15.6 US$14.2 US$13.1

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$396m

After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.0%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 7.4%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = US$27m (1 + 2.0%)  (7.4% 2.0%) = US$505m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$505m ( 1 + 7.4%)10= US$246m

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is US$643m. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of S$0.9, the company appears about fair value at a 12% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

SGX:G92 Discounted Cash Flow January 16th 2024

Important Assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at China Aviation Oil (Singapore) as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.4%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.086. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for China Aviation Oil (Singapore)

Strength

Currently debt free.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

Earnings declined over the past year.

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Oil and Gas market.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the Singaporean market.

Good value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Threat

No apparent threats visible for G92.

Next Steps:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For China Aviation Oil (Singapore), we've compiled three essential items you should consider:

Financial Health: Does G92 have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk. Future Earnings: How does G92's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the SGX every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt

By Huw Jones

LONDON (Reuters) - European Union lawmakers gave the nod on Tuesday to giving investors better access to stock and bond prices and helping the bloc's capital market compete better with Wall Street in raising funds for companies to grow.

The European Parliament voted in favour of revising the bloc's securities rules known as MiFID by mandating the creation of "consolidated tapes" or single real-time snapshots of bond prices by mid-2025, and for stocks and derivatives during 2026.

EU states have already given their nod.

Only large market participants with deep pockets can typically afford to get prices from the many trading platforms dotted across the EU.

"The new provisions should reduce information asymmetries between market participants and improve orderly trading in commodity derivatives concerning energy and food," parliament's economic affairs committee said in a statement.

AFME, which represents market participants in Europe, said tapes for stocks and bonds should now be a priority.

"These tapes are an initial step in making EU cross-border investments easier through the creation of a truly integrated pan-European market," AFME said in a statement.

EuroCTP, a grouping of exchanges, including Deutsche Boerse and Euronext, that wants to set up tapes in shares and exchange-traded-funds, said Tuesday's vote was a great start to 2024.

"At EuroCTP, we stand by the shared principle of increasing market data transparency and accessibility," it said.

Three heavyweights in the bond trading sector said last month they had scrapped plans to provide a bond tape, citing complexity and costs.

Tapes, a feature of Wall Street for decades, have been mired in industry infighting in Europe over how exchanges should be paid for their price data, a key element of their earnings.

Tuesday's revisions to MiFID also ban brokers from receiving payments from trading platforms to which they channel client stock orders, known as payment for order flow or PFOF.

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Regulators were concerned that investors may not always get the best prices, but not all lawmakers agreed.

"Banning PFOF will do precisely one thing: make trading costs for retail investors go up. This is consumer protection done wrong," said Markus Ferber, a German centre-right lawmaker on the economic committee.

Britain, no longer an EU member, is taking similar steps to set up price feeds.

(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Christina Fincher)
The Columbus Organization

BLUE BELL, Pa., Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Columbus Organization (Columbus), a consistent leader in clinical staffing, proudly marks a year of exceptional expansion and technological advancements. This period of strategic growth further exemplifies its Professional Clinical Staffing division's commitment to delivering unparalleled opportunities for healthcare professionals and addressing evolving needs across the nation.



Key highlights of strategic expansion across the country

Federal healthcare staffing opportunities: Columbus secured a pivotal federal agreement, enhancing our ability to serve military members, their families, and retired military veterans. This initiative introduces 50 unique key positions, including psychologists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and psychiatrists, addressing unique healthcare needs and playing a crucial role in diversifying our business. This opportunity allows us to provide services across 16 military treatment facilities/air force bases within five states, including Nevada, Florida, Idaho, North Carolina, and California.





Vermont: Columbus expanded its psychiatry services in the state of Vermont, developing new partnerships and strategically placing top psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners to support the region's psychiatric and mental healthcare needs.





Delaware: Broadened healthcare services for youth, children, and their families. This collaboration allowed us to staff positions encompassing psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed and masters level clinical social workers, and registered nurses. This expansion highlights our dedication to delivering comprehensive healthcare solutions.





Washington, D.C.: Columbus drove positive changes in the healthcare and education sectors by placing dedicated school psychologists, enhancing specialized psychology opportunities, and fueling impactful advancements in the region.





Maryland: Columbus responded to local needs in Maryland, expanding education services and introducing Speech Language Pathology Assistants (SLPA). In addition, Columbus opened our scope to virtual services, providing virtual opportunities as well. This innovative approach emphasizes our commitment to helping every student achieve their full potential.





Ohio: Columbus is now partnering with a master service provider for both medical and non-medical services to all state psychiatric hospitals and Department of Corrections.





Nevada: Columbus expanded its speech services in Nevada, introducing virtual opportunities to assist the district-wide effort to ensure every child has the appropriate supports to succeed academically.





California: Columbus expanded partnerships across the state in the regional center system and with various service providers. Columbus initiated services with crisis stabilization homes focused on empowering individuals, and ultimately enabling them to go back into the community.



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Enhancing our commitment to excellence, Columbus has also made significant investments in technology, revolutionizing the recruitment process. To support our clients and clinicians, we have accelerated our integration of innovation including a state-of-the-art Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and artificial intelligence (AI). These advancements enhance seamless matches between qualified candidates and open job orders, expand reach, nurture relationships, and increase speed to market.

Columbus Professional Clinical Staffing division looks forward to sharing additional exciting developments in 2024, and stands poised for a year of continued innovation, and impactful contributions to the evolving landscape of healthcare staffing.

About The Columbus Organization

For 40 years, The Columbus Organization has been a national leader and pioneer in care coordination specifically for individuals living with intellectual/developmental disabilities, behavioral concerns, or complex care needs. Having served over 100,000 families, the company continues to be at the forefront of innovation, developing and implementing revolutionary outcomes-based models for early identification and holistic management of health risks among individuals with intellectual, developmental, behavioral, medical, and/or complex care needs. In addition to its team of almost 500 highly experienced care coordinators, dedicated Quality Assurance division, and unparalleled national infrastructure, Columbus is also a recognized leader in clinical staffing and quality improvement services for organizations that serve the behavioral health community. The company delivers an unmatched depth of expertise, breadth of resources, diversity of thinking, and dedication to ensuring everyone can achieve their meaningful-life goals through transformative approaches to healthcare. For more, visit www.ColumbusOrg.com, like The Columbus Organization on Facebook, or follow The Columbus Organization on LinkedIn.

CONTACT: mhaasz@columbusorg.com




Worldline logo at the company headquarters in the financial and business district of La Defense

By Amy-Jo Crowley and Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro

LONDON (Reuters) -Worldline has lined up bankers to advise on a defence strategy in a bid to reassure shareholders and avoid a hostile takeover in the wake of a share price slump, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The Paris-based payments group is reviewing options with Morgan Stanley and Rothschild & Co, including bringing in an anchor investor to help support the stock, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In the last week the advisers started sounding out potential investors, such as French financial institutions, pension and sovereign wealth funds, about taking a minority stake in the group, the people said.

A friendly takeover by a bidder acceptable to the French government could also be explored should Worldline's actions fail to restore confidence among investors, one of the people said. A takeover at this point was unlikely, however, that person added.

Worldline declined to comment. Its shares rose as much as 4.2% on the Reuters report and were last up 2.9% on the day at 13.5 euros.

The efforts come after Worldline cut its financial targets in October amid scrutiny by German regulators over money-laundering controls, leading its share price to more than halve.

Activist investor BlueBell last month urged the company in a letter to shake up its board as a way to "restore trust", Bloomberg reported.

French lender Credit Agricole, a partner of the payments firm, was looking at potentially buying shares in the company, Reuters reported previously. The lender declined to comment at the time. Rival BNP Paribas disclosed a 3% stake Worldline in November, shortly after the stock collapsed.

Worldline is also focusing on corporate governance matters, including changes in management and finding a replacement for Chairman Bernard Bourigeaud, who died in December, one of the sources - the same as for the takeover comments - said.

Asset sales are also a possibility after it secures a cornerstone investor, that person said.

Reuters reported in December that disposals would most likely could come from Worldline's Mobility division, home to digital payment solutions for ticketing services.

(Reporting by Amy-Jo Crowley and Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro in London; Additional reporting by Mathieu Rosemain in Paris; editing by Anousha Sakoui and Mark Potter)
KEDAH, Malaysia, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ferrotec Holdings Corporation, a global supplier of materials, components, and precision system solutions, today announced the Grand Opening Ceremony to start production of its new manufacturing facility at Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Kedah, facilitated by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA). The plant which will be undertaking electromechanical assembly and advanced material fabrication for semiconductor equipment is designed to meet customer needs while also expanding the Group's business globally.

Ferrotec Malaysia Factory Grand Opening Ceremony

The ceremony was attended by Dato' Seri Haji Muhammad Sanusi Bin Md Nor, Kedah Menteri Besar; Ms. Lim Bee Vian, Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Investment Development) of Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA); Tuan Haji Mohd Zaini Haji Ramli, Kulim District Officer; Dato' Mohd Sahil Bin Zabidi, Group CEO of KTPC; Mr. He Xian Han, President of Ferrotec Holdings Corporation and Group CEO; Mr. Yamamura Takeru, Vice President of Ferrotec Holdings Corporation and Chief Executive Officer of Ferrotec Manufacturing Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.; Mr. He Anzhi, Managing Director of Ferrotec Manufacturing Malaysia.; as well as other distinguished guests.

The Kedah State Menteri Besar YAB Dato' Seri Haji Muhammad Sanusi emphasised, "Kedah is an excellent investment destination not only known for tourism, agriculture, but also manufacturing. The State Development Plan 2035 (KEDAH2035) seeks to achieve high-income status for its people through unleashing Kedah's vast potential, with the private sector playing a pivotal role. Kedah offers a strategic location, skilled workforce, and a supportive environment for companies to flourish. This is evident in our seamless administrative processes and the unprecedented benefits and infrastructures we offer. With the E10 initiative set up to ease investors journey and a strong track record with multinationals already present here, Kedah is no doubt a preferred state for investment."

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Ms. Lim Bee Vian, Deputy CEO (Investment Development), MIDA, commended Ferrotec for their unwavering trust and support in establishing their manufacturing facility in Malaysia. "Ferrotec, with its extensive manufacturing footprint, symbolises the diversification of supply chains, reinforcing Malaysia's strategic standing as a location for semiconductor operations. By choosing Malaysia, Ferrotec positions itself to leverage untapped opportunities, foster innovation, and contribute substantially to the ever-evolving semiconductor landscape in our region. We will continue to partner with leading companies to anchor high value-added manufacturing, adopt advanced manufacturing technologies and equip our people with the requisite skillsets. Our partnership with Ferrotec is a good example of how we are doing this."

She further emphasised, "As part of the government's initiative to elevate the manufacturing sector to greater heights and capitalising on emerging global trends, the New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) 2030 has been introduced as the industrial policy. This seven-year plan adopts a mission-based approach to foster industrial development, identifying Mission-Based Projects that leverage Malaysia's strengths and potential in key industries such as the electrical and electronics (E&E), machinery and equipment (M&E) and chemical."

Meanwhile, Mr. Takeru Yamamura, Vice President of Ferrotec Holdings Corporation and Chief Executive Officer of Ferrotec Manufacturing Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. remarked, "The opening of our flagship plant in Kedah, Malaysia marks a significant milestone for Ferrotec, and we are delighted to share this moment with our valued partners, customers, and the local community. This state-of-the-art production facility has been strategically designed to meet the growing demand for our products and services in the dynamic Asian market.As Ferrotec's first manufacturing location in South-East Asia, the Kedah plant integrates the culmination of 44 years of engineering expertise gathered from our operations in the US, EU, China, and Japan. Our commitment to delivering high-purity materials and precision assembly is a testament to the global standards that define Ferrotec.

We believe that the establishment of the Kedah plant will propel Ferrotec to new heights as a globally recognised international supplier in the Semiconductor Industry. Being part of the vibrant eco-environment in Kedah is a privilege, and we are excited about the prospects that lie ahead. The collaboration with the local workforce underscores our dedication to ensuring a sustainable future for both Ferrotec and the region.Today marks the commencement of a promising journey, as Ferrotec is committed to continue driving its effort to fulfill the increasing capacity demands and improved business continuity that are vital to our customers success.We extend our gratitude to everyone who has been part of this endeavor." he added.

From January to September 2023, the Machinery & Equipment (M&E) industry witnessed substantial investments, amounting to an impressive RM10.8 billion across 63 projects. This included RM9.6 billion from foreign investments and RM1.2 billion from domestic sources. Ferrotec has invested approximately RM850 million in this project creating more than 800 job opportunities, with majority catered towards our local talents.

A bout MIDA

MIDA is the government's principal investment promotion and development agency under the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) to oversee and drive investments into the manufacturing and services sectors in Malaysia. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur Sentral, MIDA has 12 regional and 21 overseas offices. MIDA continues to be the strategic partner to businesses in seizing the opportunities arising from the technology revolution of this era. For more information, please visit www.mida.gov.my and follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok and YouTube.

About Ferrotec

Founded in 1980, on a technology core of Ferrofluid magnetic liquid and Ferrofluidic sealing products, Ferrotec Holdings Corporation (6890 TSE Standard) is a worldwide leader in the supply of materials, components, and precision system solutions for industrial businesses. Ferrotec is a diversified world-class industrial organization with a global presence in a broad array of technology driven end markets (semiconductors, automotive, biomedical applications, smart phones, LEDs and FPDs). More information about Ferrotec's products can be found at:

https://www.ferrotec.com/

https://ferrotec.my/

For more information, please contact:

MIDA



Ms. Zakiah Sajidan

Director of Machinery and Metal Technology Division

T: 03-2267 6769

E: zakiah@mida.gov.my

Ferrotec Manufacturing



Ms. Tan Ai Leng

Associate Director of Ferrotec Manufacturing Malaysia Sdn Bhd

T: 016-456 8439

E: aileng.tan@ferrotec.my

(PRNewsfoto/Ferrotec Holdings Corporation)

Cision

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SOURCE Ferrotec Holdings Corporation
Name a Roach for your Valentine, because roaches are forever. (Photo: Business Wire)

For the 13th year, donors can name a Bronx Zoo Madagascar hissing cockroach after a loved one (or not-so-loved one)

2024 Media video | Video credit: https://bit.ly/3Hjn0oW  Bronx Zoo

2024 Media photos | Photo credits: https://bit.ly/48PCrAW  Bronx Zoo

BRONX, N.Y., January 16, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Roses are red, violets are blue; celebrate love with help from the Bronx Zoo.

The popular Name-a-Roach program returns for a 13th year, allowing donors to symbolically name a Bronx Zoo Madagascar hissing cockroach for their Valentine  or ex-Valentine. The cockroaches are located in the Madagascar! Exhibit at the Bronx Zoo.

Flowers wilt and chocolates melt, but cockroaches last forever. For a $15 donation, your Valentine will receive a digital certificate featuring the name chosen for the roach. Upgrade your order with an additional donation to receive extras like roach socks, a roach plush, or a virtual encounter where you can virtually meet a cockroach and chat live with the experts about caring for these unique and charming creatures. Supplies are limited for upgrades, so make sure you get your unforgettable gift today.

Name-a-Roach 2024 gift packages include:

The Original  Digital certificate: $15

Roach Plush  Plush and printed certificate: $40

Roach Socks  Socks and printed certificate: $35 one pair/$50 two pairs

Valentine's Virtual Encounter & Roach Plush  Encounter, plush and printed certificate: $60

Valentine's Virtual Encounter & Roach Socks  Encounter, socks and printed certificate: $60 one pair/$75 two pairs

The Works  Roach Plush, two pairs of Roach Socks, Valentine's Virtual Encounter, and printed certificate: $85

Orders must be placed by Feb. 8, 2024 in order to receive the gift by Valentines Day. Valentine's Virtual Encounters are approximately 15 minutes, with sessions on Feb. 10 at 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Feb. 11 at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and Feb. 14 at 12:45 p.m. Login details will be included in the information card received with your package (if the order was placed before the shipping deadline of Feb. 8), and in an email that will go out on Feb. 9.

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The original Name-a-Roach was launched by the Bronx Zoo in 2011, and thousands of hopeless romantics from around the world have named the Bronx Zoos Madagascar hissing cockroaches after friends, family, loved ones, and not-so-loved ones. Previous names chosen have been inspired by politics, music, movies, and more.

Donations help the Wildlife Conservation Society protect animals, big and small, loved and maligned, at the Bronx Zoo and around the world. Place your order today to benefit roaches and many other species, and join us at the Bronx Zoo soon.

About The Bronx Zoo

The Bronx Zoo, located on 265 acres of hardwood forest in Bronx, NY, opened on Nov. 8, 1899. It is world-renowned for its leadership in the areas of animal welfare, husbandry, veterinary care, education, science and conservation. The zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and is the flagship park of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) which manages the worlds largest network of urban wildlife parks including the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, Queens Zoo and New York Aquarium. Our curators and animal care staff work to save, propagate, and sustain populations of threatened and endangered species. We have educated and inspired more than 400 million visitors at our zoos and aquarium since our opening and host approximately 4 million guests at our parks each year  including about a half-million students annually. The Bronx Zoo is the largest youth employer in the borough of the Bronx, providing opportunity and helping to transform lives in one of the most under-served communities in the nation. The Bronx Zoo is the subject of THE ZOO, a docu-series aired world-wide on Animal Planet. The organization is led (as of June 1, 2023) by President and CEO Monica P. Medina. For additional information or general inquiries, please contact Mary Dixon, mdixon@wcs.org (347-840-1242).

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116847246/en/

Contacts

Gregory FCA

Anna Patrick, 212-398-9680

apatrick@gregoryfca.com
SINGAPORE, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In a bold move to accelerate its digital transformation strategy, HNB General Insurance ("HNBGI") has announced the launch of Project Phoenix, a transformative initiative in collaboration with Azentio Software to implement a world-class Core Insurance System. This ambitious project marks a significant milestone in HNBGI's digital transformation journey, promising unparalleled value to its stakeholders.

Azentio Logo

Project Phoenix signifies HNBGI's unwavering commitment to enhancing efficiency, accuracy, and overall operational effectiveness, ultimately benefiting all stakeholders. "This initiative aligns perfectly with our mission to create sustainable value through innovation," said Sithumina Jayasundara, CEO of HNBGI. "The upgrade and customization brought about by Project Phoenix will propel us to new heights, elevating our competitiveness, operational efficiency, accuracy and agility in a rapidly evolving market. This, in turn, translates to better service delivery for our customers."

Azentio Software, a leading banking, financial services & insurance (BFSI) software company headquartered in Singapore, is HNBGI's trusted partner in this transformative journey. With over 25 years of expertise, Azentio serves 1,000+ clients across 65 countries, including 130+ insurance clients in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. Azentio ONEInsurance platform allows to launch unique and bold new insurance products quickly, sell aggressively, and engage digitally by transforming into a customer-obsessed organization, while remaining efficient, compliant, and secure.

Jatinder Bedi, Vice President  BFSI at Azentio Software, expressed, "We are honored to collaborate with HNBGI on Project Phoenix. Our expertise lies in providing cutting-edge insurance solutions that meet the highest global standards, and we are committed to supporting HNBGI throughout this transformative journey."

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Project Phoenix transcends mere technological advancement; it signifies a strategic commitment to excellence in the face of rapid industry change. As HNBGI embraces its digital future, it remains steadfast in its dedication to delivering top-tier services and maintaining its position as a trusted insurance provider. This initiative is not just about implementing a new system; it's about taking flight towards a brighter, more efficient, and customer-centric future.

About Azentio Software

Azentio provides mission-critical software products across Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and India to banks, financial services providers, and insurers. It also provides ERP solutions to mid-market enterprises. Azentio Software Private Limited is wholly owned by funds advised by Apax.

Cision

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SOURCE Azentio Software Pvt Ltd
The lobby of the Humana headquarters building in Louisville, Kentucky. March 9, 2022

Louisville-based healthcare insurance company, Humana, will have "limited" layoffs Humana spokesperson Mark Taylor confirmed to the Courier Journal.

"The impacted positions represented a small percentage of our total workforce and were geographically dispersed across multiple locations," Taylor said.

Taylor did not respond to the Courier Journal's questions regarding how many employees would be impacted, when layoffs were set to begin, and what business changes resulted in the need for fewer employees.

In November, Humana was suspected of looking to enter a merger with Cigna, but merger talks fell apart a few weeks later.

What happened at Humana in 2023?

The fifth floor of the Humana headquarters building features many flexible work spaces for employees returning to work following the pandemic. March 9, 2022

In February, Humana announced it was set to start phasing out commercial insurance offerings over the next two years to focus on its Medicare Advantage and other Medicare offerings and government-funded programs. Commercial plans accounted for 4% of Humana's total premiums and services revenue in 2022, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings, at about $3.7 billion, The Courier Journal previously reported.

Do the layoffs affect you? Submit a letter to the editor here.

David Jones, Jr., son of the famed founder of Humana, stepped down from the company's Board of Directors in March. That same month, the Humana Foundation, the charitable arm of Humana, announced Jones Jr. was elected to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors, starting April 1. Jones Jr. has served on the foundation board for more than 26 years.

In the spring, Humana opened three new CenterWell Senior Primary Care facilities in south and west Louisville to lower healthcare costs for underserved groups, provide greater patient satisfaction, and lower disease risk and health complications. These facilities provide "value-based care" to seniors and emphasize measuring health outcomes in patients.

And then in October, Humana announced CEO Bruce Broussard will step down in the latter half of 2024 as part of a "multi-year succession plan" and be replaced by Jim Rechtin, a Kentucky native and former president and CEO of Envision Healthcare.

Contact business reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@courier-journal.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter at @oliviamevans_.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville-based Humana to have 'limited' layoffs. What to know
Intersec 2024, the world's leading trade fair for safety, security, and fire protection, opened today (Jan 16) in Dubai welcoming more than 1,050 exhibitors from 60+ nations.

The exhibition was officially opened by Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Ports and Border Security Council.

Marking its 25th anniversary, Intersec 2024 is taking place until January 18 at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) under the theme Innovating security tech for a quarter century.

Spanning 13 halls, Intersec 2024 anticipates its largest edition yet in its quarter-century history. Held under the patronage of Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the event has seen a 20% increase in exhibitor number from 2023, highlighting its importance as a crucial networking hub, uniting industry leaders and showcasing cutting-edge technology in Dubai.

The event encompasses five broad product sections: Commercial & Perimeter Security, Homeland Security & Policing, Fire & Rescue, Safety & Health, and Cyber Security, offering tailored solutions for each industry segment under one roof.

During the opening tour of Intersec 2024, Sheikh Mansoor visited several exhibition stands, including Microlink, SIRA, Axis Communications, Motorolla, Genetec, Corodex and NAFFCO, to name a few. Furthermore, he visited the German Pavilion.

Commenting on its participation in the grand opening tour of Intersec 2024, Pedro Simoes, VS&A CVP, International Sales, Motorola Solutions, said: It is great to return to Intersec this year, to showcase our ecosystem of fixed video, analytics and access control technologies that protect people, property and places. We are displaying cutting edge solutions from the Avigilon security suite as well as new Pelco open-platform security camera and we were delighted to welcome His Highness Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to our booth to open the show."

Grant Tuchten, Portfolio Director at Intersec organiser Messe Frankfurt Middle East, said: For 25 years, Intersec has been the region's premier networking hub for fire, safety, and security experts. This year's largest edition signifies our growth, expanding by 20% from 2023. Intersec 2024 is poised to shine a spotlight on innovation and digital security, uniting professionals worldwide to tackle the ever-evolving needs of our industry.

We are also proud to showcase our strong affiliations with key UAE government entities, emphasising the UAE Government's commitment to these pivotal industries.

The Intersec 2024 conference programmes commenced this morning as the exclusive Security Leaders' Summit (ISLS) explored trends in sustainable security and combatting environmental crimes. Meanwhile, the Cyber Security Conference, hosted by the UAE Cybersecurity Council, opened with a keynote speech on elevating national security through cybersecurity intelligence. The Safety & Health Conference began with an update on the UAE Standard for Occupational Health and Safety Governance and Leadership. At the same time, the Fire & Rescue Conference hosted panel discussions on revolutionising fire prevention with data analytics & technology and advancing safety in energy storage.

Elsewhere at Intersec 2024, forced-entry specialists, including Frontier Pitts, A1 Fencing, ABUS and NAFFCO, demonstrated the capabilities and effectiveness of a wide range of physical security products in real-time at the Live Attack Zone, in partnership with the Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB).

Global cybersecurity vendors, including Amstergi, Seagate and Zycoo, converged at the in{:cyber} pavilion to showcase the cutting-edge innovations and the latest products that are reshaping the landscape of digital defence. Also at the in{:cyber} pavilion today, participants exhibited their expertise across diverse cybersecurity domains at the Hack Arena, while Day 1 at the Innovators Arena focused on the role of startups in cyber and national security. -TradeArabia News Service
Key Insights

The projected fair value for IONOS Group is 30.86 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

IONOS Group is estimated to be 45% undervalued based on current share price of 16.92

Analyst price target for IOS is 20.65 which is 33% below our fair value estimate

Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of IONOS Group SE (ETR:IOS) as an investment opportunity by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model is the tool we will apply to do this. There's really not all that much to it, even though it might appear quite complex.

Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Check out our latest analysis for IONOS Group

The Model

We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (, Millions) 165.9m 209.3m 248.0m 275.4m 297.1m 313.8m 326.7m 336.5m 344.0m 349.9m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x3 Analyst x3 Analyst x1 Est @ 11.04% Est @ 7.87% Est @ 5.65% Est @ 4.09% Est @ 3.00% Est @ 2.24% Est @ 1.71% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 7.5% 154 181 200 206 207 204 197 189 180 170

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = 1.9b

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After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 0.5%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 7.5%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = 350m (1 + 0.5%)  (7.5% 0.5%) = 5.0b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= 5.0b ( 1 + 7.5%)10= 2.4b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is 4.3b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of 16.9, the company appears quite undervalued at a 45% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

XTRA:IOS Discounted Cash Flow January 16th 2024

Important Assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at IONOS Group as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.5%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.404. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for IONOS Group

Strength

Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.

Weakness

Interest payments on debt are not well covered.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the German market.

Good value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Threat

Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

Total liabilities exceed total assets, which raises the risk of financial distress.

Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Moving On:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. What is the reason for the share price sitting below the intrinsic value? For IONOS Group, there are three important elements you should further examine:

Risks: For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for IONOS Group (1 is concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here. Future Earnings: How does IOS's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every German stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
There were two main concerns from voters that fueled Donald Trump's overwhelming victory in Iowa on Monday: the economy and immigration.

Nearly 3 in 4 Iowa caucus-goers on Monday night named either one of these issues as those that mattered most to them, according to an entrance poll conducted by news organizations.

Those helped cement Trumps dominant performance in the Hawkeye State, as he ended up on top in 98 of the states 99 counties. The Associated Press called the state for Trump just half an hour after the caucuses began.

Trump nodded to the twin concerns in his victory speech. There was an extended discussion of immigration and cracking down on the border while touting, as he frequently does on the campaign trail, being the best candidate for pocketbooks.

"We are going to rescue our economy. We are going to save our economy, he said in his speech in Des Moines.

All told, 38% of caucus-goers picked the economy as their top issue, with Trump winning 52% of their support. Another 34% picked immigration as their top issue, and Trump was especially dominant there, garnering 64% of those votes.

Donald Trump arrives at his victory party after a victory in the 2024 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses cemented his status as the likely Republican challenger to take on President Joe Biden on Jan. 15. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images) (JIM WATSON via Getty Images)

The two other issues that entrance pollsters asked about  abortion and foreign policy  did reveal some weakness for Trump. Abortion-focused voters largely opted for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and foreign policy-minded Iowans threw much of their support behind former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.

But, at least in the Iowa context, there simply weren't enough voters to make a significant dent. Only about 2 in 10 voters picked either of those issues as their primary concern.

The entrance polls were also revealing about Trumps nearly complete hold on the Republican Party, with two-thirds of respondents saying they dont think Biden legitimately won in 2020, even with no evidence of widespread voter fraud emerging in the three years since Bidens decisive win by over 7 million votes.

About two-thirds of GOP poll respondents Monday also said Trump would be fit for the presidency even if he is convicted of a crime. The entrance pollsters spoke with Iowa Republicans and the polls were conducted by Edison Research on behalf of a consortium of news organizations.

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Will Trump disrupt the economy in the short term?

With a third Trump GOP nomination now seen as increasingly likely, one question for the months ahead is how the economy as a whole may react to another Trump turn in the national spotlight.

Eurasia Group founder and president Ian Bremmer said in a Yahoo Finance Live Interview that he expects it will be different this time around.

"I think people were hoping it can't really be real," he said of Trump's strength from Davos. He sees Trump's candidacy as having the potential to offer disruptions to the global economy even in the near term. For one, he noted that now "his policy pronouncements, to the extent he makes them, will suddenly have a lot more impact."

One policy area that the former president has been hammering for months is trade. Trump promises a return to trade wars if he is elected with a proposal for a system of "universal baseline tariffs" of at least 10% on most foreign products.

Yahoo Finance recently spoke to an array of trade experts, some of whom also saw a chance of a "pre-election effect" from that part of Trump's platform.

For Trump's part, his victory speech Tuesday night was notable for an attempt to use conciliatory language, even praising his rival to perhaps try and send a signal that the primary is over.

"This is time for our country to come together," Trump said in his speech.

Trump chose not to directly repeat his tariff promises on Monday night but pledged, "We are not going to let China do what theyd like to do," before adding that he gets along great with Chinese President Xi Jinping and praising the autocrat as a "very strong leader."

Among Trumps rivals, both DeSantis and Haley vowed to fight on in the weeks ahead, while entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy suspended his campaign and immediately endorsed Trump.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley concludes her caucus-night speech in West Des Moines on Jan. 15. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

But, Trump being Trump, the attempts at conciliatory language only went so far. Moments after saying, "I don't want to be overly rough on the president," when the subject turned to Biden, Trump then immediately called him the worst president ever.

The next balloting with take place in a weeks time on Jan. 23 in New Hampshire. That is a state where Haley is hoping for a better performance and that has seen some polls showing her down there by only single digits.

But it remains to be seen whether her third-place performance in Iowa will change the dynamic.

Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.

Click here for politics news related to business and money

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Amid an uncertain market, Liberty reminds business owners that support is available to foster investment and expansion.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2023 / The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) predicted Boxing Day spending to have increased a modest 1.6% on 2022 figures, following a year of slow consumer spending as Australians dealt with cost-of-living pressures.

The latest Business NSW Business Conditions Survey showed businesses felt the pinch in 2023, stating the cost of doing business as their largest barrier to growth.

While business owners might not have innovation front of mind right now, prioritising productivity and investing in staff training, equipment, IT programs, or AI solutions could help their bottom line in the long run.

As a non-bank lender that understands the differing needs and financial situations of businesses, Liberty helps business owners grow their operations even in tight market conditions.

According to Head of Communications Kate Jenkinson, business owners are increasingly looking for funding options that are tailored to their specific needs.

"In the current economic landscape, business owners must be agile and adapt to changing conditions and they need flexible lending solutions to match," Ms Jenkinson said.

"At Liberty, we take a holistic look at each business and explore a business loan that works for their unique situation and goals."

As a leading lender, Liberty has a variety of flexible business loans available, including options designed to support borrowers who may not fit the traditional loan criteria.

"Our low doc business loan is designed for borrowers such as small business owners who might not have full documentation available, and our flexible business loans don't always require mortgage security," Ms Jenkinson said.

Changing market conditions can also mean business owners require funding quickly. This is where Liberty's short turnaround times can help provide smart cash flow solutions faster.

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"When faced with external challenges, having funding available when they need it allows business owners to invest in initiatives to set their business up for the future," Ms Jenkinson said.

About Liberty

As one of Australia's leading non-bank lenders, Liberty offers innovative solutions to support customers with greater choice. Over more than 26 years, this free-thinking approach to loan solutions has seen more than 850,000 customers across a wide range of home, car, personal and business loans, as well as SMSF lending and insurance products. Liberty remains the only non-bank lender with an investment-grade credit rating offering custom and prime solutions to help more people get financial.

Approved applicants only. Lending criteria apply. Fees and charges are payable. Liberty Financial Pty Ltd ACN 077 248 983 and Secure Funding Pty Ltd ABN 25 081 982 87 2 Australian Credit Licence 388133, together trading as Liberty Financial.

Contact Information:

Laura Orchard

Media Coordinator

+61 3 8635 8166

mediaenquiries@liberty.com.au

SOURCE: Liberty





View the original press release on accesswire.com




LONGi will also provide solar systems and solutions, and solar energy skills training, to support refugees and host communities

XI'AN, China, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- LONGi, a world-leading solar technology company, today announced a new three-year partnership with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, to deliver impact across climate action, energy equity, and green transformation. The announcement was made at the Solar+ Pavilion during COP28, the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A cornerstone of the partnership is LONGi's commitment to transform UNHCR emergency and preparedness stockpiles into solarized facilities. This will begin with a pilot project at the Regional Humanitarian Logistics Hub at the Termez Cargo Centre in Uzbekistan, which handles the rapid delivery of core relief items to countries across the region.

"When we visited the Logistics Hub in Termez with UNHCR in November, we saw first-hand the sheer magnitude of the supply work that UNHCR undertakes to serve refugees and displaced people across Asia," said Dennis She, Vice President of LONGi . "It's an honor for LONGi to be the first partner of UNHCR to start solarizing its Logistics Hub. This agreement highlights LONGi's dedication to driving sustainable development and we are humbled to be able to support refugee communities. Our collaboration underscores a shared commitment to fostering sustainability and resilience in the face of global challenges."

Starting from 2024 in Pakistan, LONGi will also provide solar systems and solutions to support public facilities used by refugees and host communities to ensure safe and reliable energy that allows these communities to study, work and run their own businesses. LONGi will also work on empowering refugee and host communities with solar energy skills training to support sustainable livelihoods. This reflects this company's desire to shoulder its social responsibility, and advance progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal No. 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy.

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The issue of energy inequality directly affects economic development and the quality of people's lives. Fortunately, technological innovation has resulted in photovoltaic solutions becoming one of the most economical sources of electricity in many parts of the world.

"We are excited about this innovative partnership which will help us improve our carbon footprint," said Dominique Hyde, UNHCR's Director of External Relations. "Together, we can play our part in addressing the climate crisis by promoting sustainable energy solutions for everyone, especially the most vulnerable, all across the globe."

Bolstering environmental protection as part of the boarder partnership, LONGi will also support afforestation activities in Uzbekistan from 2024, to reduce environmental hazards and mitigate the impacts of extreme weather while providing income generation and employment opportunities for refugees and host communities. The three-year partnership is expected to benefit numerous countries where UNHCR implements its climate action work.

About LONGi

Founded in 2000, LONGi is committed to being the world's leading solar technology company, focusing on customer-driven value creation for full scenario energy transformation. Under its mission of 'making the best of solar energy to build a green world', LONGi is dedicated to technology innovation and has established five business sectors, covering mono silicon wafers cells and modules, commercial and industrial distributed solar solutions, green energy solutions and hydrogen equipment. The company has honed its capabilities to provide green energy and has more recently also embraced green hydrogen products and solutions to support global zero-carbon development. www.longi.com

Cision

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SOURCE LONGi
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Self-proclaimed Costco superfans confess they sometimes cheat on the popular warehouse store by crossing over to its rival, Walmart, for particular bargains. GOBankingRates asked dedicated Costco devotees to reveal what lures them into the clutches of the enemy.

Experts: Make These 7 Money Resolutions If You Want To Become Rich on an Average Salary

See: How To Get $340 a Year in Cash Back  for Things You Already Buy

Here are the five items Costco superfans go to Walmart for.

Sponsored: Owe the IRS $10K or more? Schedule a FREE consultation to see if you qualify for tax relief.

Mini Croissants

Laura Lape gushed over her beloved Costco, where she loves to shop. However, when it comes to mini croissants, she heads straight for Walmarts in-house Marketside Bakery.

We got the mini croissants [for $4.98 for 11 croissants] specifically from Walmart because, as simple as it was, they were the best, she said. Costcos croissants were fine, but they didnt offer it in a mini option.

She said that Walmarts mini croissants have just the right balance of flakiness and butteriness to make an ideal snack. Though Costco offers quality baked goods, its lack of a mini croissant option sent Lape running to Walmart to satisfy her craving.

Find: 5 Ways To Earn at Least 5% APY on Your Money (Without Using the Stock Market)

Electronics Accessories

As a small-business owner, Harrison Alley of Student of Guitar searched for electronics deals to use for both his personal and professional needs. He weighed options carefully when comparing Costco and Walmart. One advantage Walmart had was lower online prices versus Costcos site, which ran about 20% higher.

Also, Costco charged a fee for online orders unless you paid for an Executive Membership.

With my small business, that extra cost wasnt always feasible, Alley shared.

When he recently needed new wireless earbuds, he found Apple AirPods for $20 less on Walmart.com.

That $20 savings was well worth avoiding the membership fees at Costco, he said.

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Some Pantry Staples

Personal trainer Jasmine Peterson of Next Luxury compared prices on daily staples at both stores. For milk, Walmarts Great Value brand gallon was $2.96, beating Costcos $4.32 Kirkland Signature. The 10-pound bag of C&H Pure Cane Sugar was also less at Walmart, $8.36 versus $9.49 at Costco.

Walmart was the better choice, as many customers considered the product high-quality, with good sugar and affordable prices, she said.

Medical Supplies

Costco superfan Tracy Cauley likes to shop smartly and save money. She usually goes to Costco for most needs, but for medical consumables, she turns to Walmart.

When it comes to buying basics like gloves, disinfectants, and disposable items, Walmart is the place to go. They have a wide variety of products, and the prices are much lower than what I found in Costco, she said.

Recently needing bulk medical gloves, Walmart saved her almost 20% over Costco. She prefers Walmart for the quick, easy shopping experience.

Time is money and Walmarts layout and quick accessibility make the shopping experience a breeze, she added.

Affordable Fashion

Devoted Costco shopper Andrew Johnson of Giveaways.org occasionally turns to Walmart for specific items like affordable fashion brands.

Walmarts clothing brands offer trendy and affordable options. They provide a different style range than what I typically find at Costco. They are great for budget-friendly options that I can use for layering, he said.

Costco remains his go-to for bulk groceries and household items, but Walmart wins in this area.

Though most Costco devotees remain loyal, when it comes to mini croissants, electronics deals, everyday essentials, medical supplies and affordable fashion, they just cant resist crossing over to Walmart. But the rest of the time, youll find them proudly pushing their giant carts down those familiar Costco aisles.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Im a Costco Superfan, but I Shop at Walmart for These 5 Items
By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Maersk has sent two container ships through the Red Sea carrying goods for the United States military and government, according to the Danish company and ship tracking data.

Maersk and other large shipping lines have instructed hundreds of commercial vessels to stay clear of the Bab al-Mandab Strait near Yemen, sending vessels on the longer route around Africa in response to attacks on shipping by Iranian-backed Houthi militants.

The two U.S.-flagged vessels, Maersk Sentosa and Maersk Kensington, sailed from Salalah in Oman through the Bab al-Mandab Strait and were headed north through the Red Sea, according to LSEG ship-tracking data.

Both vessels passed the strait with their AIS tracking system turned off to avoid detection. The Maersk Kensington reappeared at 0818 GMT on Tuesday, while the Maersk Sentosa was seen to have switched on AIS at 2211 GMT on Monday, the data showed.

Maersk Sentosa and Kensington, with capacities of 6,500 and 6,200 twenty-foot containers, respectively, are part of Maersk Line Limited, a U.S. subsidiary of the Danish company.

With a fleet of 20 smaller container vessels, the unit ships goods for U.S. agencies including the Department of Defense, State Department and USAID, Maersk said.

"The few Maersk Line Limited-vessels making the crossing are doing so in the near proximity of U.S. Navy assets, which have reduced the risks to the crews and cargo," Maersk said in an email to Reuters.

A U.S.-led coalition was established last month to safeguard commercial traffic in the Red Sea.

The U.S. and Britain launched dozens of air strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen on Jan. 11 and Jan. 12 in retaliation for attacks on shipping by the Houthi militants.

(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; editing by Jason Neely)
37 hospitals selected the popular cloud-based subscription model in 2023, for its high value and efficiency in onboarding.

CANTON, Mass., January 16, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As more community hospitals seek to offer a wealth of complex care services to local patients, the value of MEDITECH as a Service (MaaS) continues to drive its popularity. The platform recently signed its 100th customer through this full-service, cloud-based subscription model.

"The MaaS model is a very desirable option for those organizations looking to deploy a modern, intelligent EHR without the extensive upfront capital or staffing demands of an on-premise solution," said MEDITECH Vice President Carol Labadini.

"But unlike with other hosted models in the industry, MaaS customers get the same mobile, web-native Expanse solution as everyone else, without breaking their budget or sacrificing their independence to another health system."

Among these customers is Winnebago Comprehensive Health System (Winnebago, NE), which is part of Indian Health Services. Winnebagos goal is to lead the nation in health for indigenous people by challenging the healthcare culture for the 10,000 Native American beneficiaries who live on the Winnebago Reservation and in the surrounding 3-state region of Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota.

"MEDITECH Expanse offered us the most flexibility to suit our unique needs as a Tribal Healthcare System, along with being price competitive," said Winnebagos Chief Transformation Officer Austin Schanzenbach. "The list of reasons why we are excited about moving to MEDITECH over our existing EHR would be exhaustive. It will be like moving from a bicycle with a rusty chain, to a well-maintained automobile."

Another recent MaaS signing was Brant Community Healthcare System (Brantford, ON), MEDITECHs first MaaS customer in Canada. BCHS is comprised of two sites serving the residents in Brantford, the County of Brant, Six Nations of the Grand River, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and surrounding communities.

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"The new subscription model reshaped the way we considered procurement and implementation," said BCHSs ICT Director, HIM & CPO Danielle Myers in a recent press release. "By eliminating the expense and human resources required for an on-premise setup, we will free up resources to focus on other projects that will benefit patients and providers. At the same time, we will have all the advantages of a modern HIS."

Additional healthcare organizations that signed for Expanse in the latter half of 2023 include, but are not limited to:

Morrison Community Hospital (Morrison, IL) was awarded the Quality of Care Award by HCAHPS for two consecutive years, ranking among the top 10% of Critical Access Hospitals in the U.S. based on the exceptional quality of personalized outpatient care.

Ohio County Healthcare (Hartford, KY) is a Joint Commission-accredited health system that provides a wide range of hospital, primary care, and specialty physician services.

Loretto Hospital (Chicago, IL) is a community-based organization that partners with its physicians, employees, and communities to serve over 33,000 patients annually.

Huggins Hospital (Wolfeboro, NH) provides medical services to the regions year-round population of 30,000 permanent residents, as well as approximately 120,000 seasonal residents in this resort area.

Labette Health (Parsons, Kansas) has been serving its six-county area since 1961, providing acute, intensive, and inpatient rehabilitation services. It is renowned for its comprehensive healthcare services, state-of-the-art technology, and skilled medical staff, and has earned national recognition for patient safety.

Roseland Community (Chicago, IL) provides care to the greater Roseland community and was ranked #2 in Chicago for Fair Share Spending by the Lown Institute Hospitals Index.

Hospital Damas (Ponce, PR) recently celebrated their 160th year since its inception, having its origins date back to 1863. Today, they continue to grow and innovate, focusing on their mission to provide health services of the highest quality to their community.

San Carlos Apache Healthcare (Peridot, AZ) is dedicated to healing, serving, and empowering the Apache people while honoring their traditions. It recently received a local Impact Award from the National Indian Health Board.

Thorek Memorial Hospital (Chicago, IL) is a not-for-profit acute care facility on Chicagos North Side, which has been providing patients with high-quality, progressive health care for over 100 years.

Earlier in 2023, Bethany Childrens Health Center (Bethany, OK), a leader in complex pediatric care, selected Expanse to unite care across their inpatient and outpatient services, transitional care, rehabilitation, and 24-hour complex care settings and Community Health program.

"With a technically sophisticated, customizable, and user-friendly EHR, our staff will be able to devote more time to doing what were called to do  maximizing the potential of every child," said Bethany CMO Michael Johnson in an earlier press release.

Labadini said that MaaS reflects MEDITECHs commitment to removing the financial and staffing resource barriers to implementing a leading EHR platform.

"We want to enable all healthcare organizations - large and small - to take full advantage of the many innovations Expanse offers," she said. "I expect more exciting things from our MaaS customers in the months ahead."

About MEDITECH

MEDITECH empowers healthcare organizations everywhere to expand their vision of whats possible with Expanse, the worlds most intuitive and interoperable EHR. Expanse lays the foundation for the next digital era, enabling care across delivery settings with cloud-based systems that drive better outcomes and provide mobile, personalized solutions to improve efficiency for an overburdened workforce. See why thousands of healthcare organizations in 27 countries and territories choose Expanse to meet the challenges of a new era in healthcare, boosting the productivity and satisfaction of their physicians, nurses, and staff. Expand your possibilities. Visit ehr.meditech.com and follow us on X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Threads.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116942670/en/

Contacts

Rose McCarthy

Public Relations and Media Relations Manager

MEDITECH

rmccarthy@meditech.com
Microsoft (MSFT) on Monday announced that it is launching a paid version of its generative AI-powered Copilot platform for consumers. The option, called Copilot Pro, will cost $20 per month per user, and give users access to a number of additional capabilities, including access to the latest AI models and improved AI image generation via Image Creator from Designer.

The move comes as Microsoft looks to monetize its massive investment in ChatGPT developer OpenAI and continue to build on the momentum behind generative AI that kicked off in 2023.

Microsoft says Copilot Pro was developed for individual users who want to get priority access models, including GPT-4 Turbo, OpenAIs latest offering, during peak usage hours for improved overall performance, as well as the ability to access Copilot across Microsofts Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote apps.

Microsoft and its OEM partners are adding a new Copilot button to Windows laptop and desktop keyboards as the AI PC generation kicks off. (Image: Microsoft) (Microsoft)

The company says that Copilot Pro will provide a single experience on the PC, web, and apps, as well as iOS and Android. Microsoft says Copilot Pro will also include access to its Image Creator and the option to customize your own Copilot GPTs for certain topics, whether thats for working out, cooking, or any other interest you might have.

In addition to Copilot Pro, Microsoft has also announced that its dropping the minimum user limit for Copilot for Microsoft 365. Microsoft previously limited the offering to companies purchasing licenses for 300 seats or more. The change opens up the software to small and medium businesses.

Copilot for Microsoft 365 brings Copilot to the companys suite of productivity apps, including Word, Excel, OneNote, Teams, and more. The enterprise edition of the software also allows companies to expand Copilot to their internal data, giving them the ability to search for and summarize their own content, not just data from the web. Access to the service is priced at $30 per user per month.

Microsoft is investing $10 billion over 10 years in OpenAI as a means of expanding its position in the enterprise productivity market and with the hope that it can simultaneously steal market share away from rival Google (GOOG, GOOGL) in the search market via its AI-powered Bing chat and Edge browser.

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Its difficult to imagine the average consumer subscribing to Copilot Pro, especially for $20 per month, but users who want to dive deeper into using generative AI or need quick access to high-powered AI models could find the service extremely useful.

More importantly, for Microsoft, the addition of Copilot Pro and opening up Copilot for Microsoft 365 to a larger number of business users will bring in more revenue for its AI efforts, providing Wall Street with further proof that the company is monetizing its investments.

Sign up for the Yahoo Finance Tech newsletter. (Yahoo Finance)

Microsoft is moving quickly to push AI as one of its main product offerings. In addition to its Copilot platforms, the company recently debuted a Copilot key for Windows laptop and desktop keyboards. The first new key for the Windows keyboard since the introduction of the Windows key itself, the Copilot key, provides instant access to the Copilot app on users PCs.

Elevating Copilot to such a position shows how much Microsoft is set on showing that AI is an enormously important part of its future on a par with cloud computing. But Microsoft isnt the only company working to seize the AI moment. Google is also selling access to its enterprise-grade productivity suite with its Duet AI platform, while Amazon (AMZN), Salesforce (CRM), and others look to gain more traction as well.

Daniel Howley is the tech editor at Yahoo Finance. He's been covering the tech industry since 2011. You can follow him on Twitter @DanielHowley.

Click here for the latest technology news that will impact the stock market.

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at Nabors Industries (NYSE:NBR) so let's look a bit deeper.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. The formula for this calculation on Nabors Industries is:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.062 = US$262m  (US$4.7b - US$529m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Therefore, Nabors Industries has an ROCE of 6.2%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Energy Services industry average of 12%.

See our latest analysis for Nabors Industries

roce

In the above chart we have measured Nabors Industries' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Nabors Industries.

The Trend Of ROCE

We're delighted to see that Nabors Industries is reaping rewards from its investments and has now broken into profitability. Historically the company was generating losses but as we can see from the latest figures referenced above, they're now earning 6.2% on their capital employed. Additionally, the business is utilizing 42% less capital than it was five years ago, and taken at face value, that can mean the company needs less funds at work to get a return. The reduction could indicate that the company is selling some assets, and considering returns are up, they appear to be selling the right ones.

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The Key Takeaway

In the end, Nabors Industries has proven it's capital allocation skills are good with those higher returns from less amount of capital. Given the stock has declined 48% in the last five years, this could be a good investment if the valuation and other metrics are also appealing. With that in mind, we believe the promising trends warrant this stock for further investigation.

While Nabors Industries looks impressive, no company is worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether NBR is currently trading for a fair price.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
SCO chief makes remarks on result of Taiwan leadership election

Xinhua) 09:17, January 15, 2024

BEIJING, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Zhang Ming, secretary-general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), on Sunday made remarks on the result of Taiwan leadership election.

The SCO abides by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the SCO Charter, respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of its member states, and effectively safeguards their security and development interests, Zhang said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency.

Zhang said the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. The Taiwan question falls within China's internal affairs, Zhang said.

The SCO will continue to firmly support Chinese government's stance on the Taiwan question, adhere to the one-China principle and oppose "Taiwan independence" secession in any form, Zhang said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Schneider Electric, a leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, has appointed Amel Chadli as the companys Gulf Cluster President.

In her new role, Chadli will drive innovation and growth in digital transformation, sustainability, and energy management and industrial automation with artificial intelligence technologies across the Gulf region.

Formerly, Chadli was the Vice President of Digital Energy and Energy Management Software - Middle East & Africa, leading the companys smart building, healthcare, and microgrid initiatives, contributing towards energy-efficient customer transformations.

Schneider Electrics success in the UAE and the Gulf region has always been driven by its commitment towards people development and will always be at the heart of our growth engine. We will continue to invest in top local talents and attract emerging leaders, solidifying Schneider Electric position as the digital partner of choice for sustainability and efficiency, said Chadli.

Chadli also stressed the importance of partnerships and synergies in the region with stakeholders including customers, partners, public sector, and academia. As an Impact Company, Schneider Electric aims to collaborate on initiatives aligning with the collective aspirations for a more sustainable and prosperous future."

Reflecting on her accomplishments over 19 years with the company, Chadli highlighted her role in Africas energy evolution, ensuring equitable access to safe, reliable, sustainable power. An advocate for the UN Women Empowerment Principles in Africa. Chadli sits on the Executive Committee of RES4Africa, a foundation with a resolute dedication to supporting Africa's energy transition and achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7).

Following Chadlis appointment, Ahmed Khashan, former President of Gulf Countries at Schneider Electric, will take on as Senior Vice President Strategy and Business Development for International Operations at Schneider Electric covering the Middle East and Africa, India, South America & Pacific regions. - TradeArabia News Service
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (TSX:NDM)(NYSE American:NAK) ("Northern Dynasty" or the "Company") provides additional commentary on the recent United States Supreme Court ("Supreme Court") decision to not allow Alaska to bypass the typical court review process as it works to overturn the Environmental Protection Agency's ("EPA") illegal veto of the Pebble Project lands and comments on anticipated next steps.

Decision is Purely Procedural

It is important to note that this decision is purely procedural and does NOT imply whether the Supreme Court agrees or disagrees with the merits of the case. Alaska was pursuing a narrow exception to the usual requirement that cases first be heard by a federal district court and a federal circuit court of appeals before being considered by the Supreme Court. Based on their decision, the next logical step is to proceed with a filing in the federal district court.

Alaska Governor Responds to the Decision

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy issued the following statement via X (formerly known as Twitter) on Monday, January 8, 2023:

"At a time when federal administrations are fast-tracking renewable energy production, the careful production of copper and other rare minerals, like those found in the Pebble area, are more important than ever. The Supreme Court's decision to not hear the State's case directly is disappointing, but the State is confident that the lower courts will find EPA violated the law with its prohibition and restriction of any mining activity over the 309-square mile area surrounding the Pebble deposit. The State will continue to fight against this flagrant overreach."

Next Step is Federal District Court

While the request by Alaska to the Supreme Court was pending a decision, the Company has been completing the necessary steps to initiate its case in federal district court. The complaint will argue that the veto is illegal (i.e., contrary to several federal statutes) and that it is arbitrary and capricious (i.e., that it is contrary to the factual record upon which it must rest). Essentially, the case will argue that this was a political veto by this administration which is inconsistent with the findings of the Final Environmental Impact Statement recorded on the Federal Registry in July 2020 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. These inconsistencies were set out in numerous instances by the Review Officer, in her Remand Order at the conclusion to our appeal of the negative Record of Decision. The Company will provide more details on its case when it is filed, which is expected in the coming weeks.

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"We continue to believe our arguments are very strong and look forward to finally getting our day in court," said Ron Thiessen, Northern Dynasty President and CEO. "Pebble is an important project for Alaska and the nation. It would create many jobs for Alaskans, provide a much-needed economic catalyst and wealth for the state and be a source of necessary critical minerals for the long-term safety and security of the United States."

About Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.

Northern Dynasty is a mineral exploration and development company based in Vancouver, Canada. Northern Dynasty's principal asset, owned through its wholly owned Alaska-based U.S. subsidiary, Pebble Limited Partnership, is a 100% interest in a contiguous block of 1,840 mineral claims in Southwest Alaska, including the Pebble deposit, located 200 miles from Anchorage and 125 miles from Bristol Bay. The Pebble Partnership is the proponent of the Pebble Project.

For further details on Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Project, please visit the Company's website at www.northerndynastyminerals.com or contact Investor services at (604) 684-6365 or within North America at 1- 800-667-2114. Review public filings, which include forward looking information cautionary language and risk factor disclosure regarding the Company and the Pebble Project in Canada at www.sedarplus.ca and in the United States at www.sec.gov.

Ronald W. Thiessen

President & CEO

U.S. Media Contact:

Dan Gagnier, Gagnier Communications (646) 569-5897

Forward-Looking Information and other Cautionary Factors

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements" under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and under applicable provisions of Canadian provincial securities laws. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, which address permitting, development and production for the Pebble Project are forward-looking statements. These include statements regarding: (i) the ability of the Pebble Project to ultimately secure all required federal and state permits; (ii) if permitting is ultimately secured, the ability to demonstrate that the Pebble Project is commercially viable; (iii) the ability of the Company and/or the State of Alaska to successfully challenge the EPA's Final Determination process under the Clean Water Act; and (iv) the ability of the Company to secure the significant additional financing to fund these objectives as well as ultimately funding mine construction, for which financing may not be available to NDM on acceptable terms or on any terms at all.

Although NDM believes the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should not be in any way be construed as guarantees that the Pebble Project will secure all required government and environmental permits, regarding the ability of NDM to develop the Pebble Projects in light of the EPA's Final Determination or regarding NDM's ability to secure significant additional financing.

Assumptions used by NDM to develop forward-looking statements include the following assumptions: (i) the Pebble Project will ultimately obtain all required environmental and other permits and all land use and other licenses; (ii) any action taken by the EPA in connection with the Final Determination will ultimately not be successful in restricting or prohibiting development of the Pebble Project; and (iii) the Company or its subsidiaries will be able to secure significant additional financing.

NDM is also subject to the specific risks inherent in the mining business as well as general economic and business conditions. Investors should also consider the risk factors identified in the Company's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2022, as filed on SEDAR plus and included in the Company's annual report on Form 40-F filed by the Company with the SEC on EDGAR, and the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2022, and nine months ended September 30, 2023, each as filed on SEDAR plus and EDGAR, for a discussion of the risks that may impact our forward-looking statements.

The National Environment Policy Act Environmental Impact Statement process requires a comprehensive "alternatives assessment" be undertaken to consider a broad range of development alternatives, the final project design and operating parameters for the Pebble Project and associated infrastructure may vary significantly from that currently contemplated. As a result, the Company will continue to consider various development options and no final project design has been selected at this time.

For more information on the Company, Investors should review the Company's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov and its home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedarplus.ca.

SOURCE: Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.





View the original press release on accesswire.com




Viewing insider transactions for Nevada Copper Corp.'s (TSE:NCU ) over the last year, we see that insiders were net buyers. This means that a larger number of shares were purchased by insiders in relation to shares sold.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

See our latest analysis for Nevada Copper

Nevada Copper Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Independent Director G. Nutter made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for CA$100k worth of shares at a price of CA$0.27 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being CA$0.13). It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. It is encouraging to see an insider paid above the current price for shares, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. G. Nutter was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.

You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

TSX:NCU Insider Trading Volume January 16th 2024

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Our data isn't picking up on much insider ownership at Nevada Copper, though insiders do hold about CA$329k worth of shares. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. We might be missing something but that seems like very low insider ownership.

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So What Does This Data Suggest About Nevada Copper Insiders?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. We'd like to see bigger individual holdings. However, we don't see anything to make us think Nevada Copper insiders are doubting the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Nevada Copper. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Nevada Copper you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Newly Promoted Installers Located in California, Maryland, Montana, Oklahoma, Washington and Wisconsin Will Provide More Homeowners Access to Panasonic's Best in Class Solar Panels and Battery Storage

NEWARK, N.J., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Panasonic Corporation of North America announced today the promotion of two Elite and seven Premium level solar installers, expanding the number of homeowners who will gain access to the benefits of Panasonic's EVERVOLT home energy solutions portfolio.

Panasonic Logo (PRNewsfoto/Panasonic Corporation of North America)

"As the demand for solar and home battery storage has increased, it is crucial for homeowners to find installers who are committed and dedicated to achieving excellence," said Mukesh Sethi, Director, Solar and Energy Storage, Panasonic Eco Systems North America. "The expansion of the Installer Program comes at an opportune time as the solar and energy markets continue to expand. We are excited to promote nine new installers, representing six key U.S. regions, and look forward to growing and enhancing our offerings together."

Elite Installers

Celestial Solar Innovations, LLC , Frederick, MD.

Northwest Renewables, Spokane, WA.

Premium Installers

Connected Technology , Rocklin, CA.

HE Solar , Buda, TX.

Integrating Systems, Inc , Missoula, MT.

GreenStar Solar Solutions , Bulverde, TX.

Photovoltaic Systems , Amherst, WI.

RB Electric , Edmond, OK.

Solar Price Discovery, Inc., Tarzana, CA.

The newly promoted Premium Installers will enjoy the benefits of access to qualified sales leads, marketing assets, training programs and a robust Installer Portal. Elite Installers will gain all the benefits of Premium Installer level as well as first access to new EVERVOLT products and rebates and preferred access to product availability.

Homeowners who purchase from installers enlisted in the program will receive long-term protection for total peace of mind, thanks to Panasonic's long-term warranties. These warranties cover Panasonic solar panels for performance, product defects, and labor for 25 years and EVERVOLT home storage systems and EVERVOLT SmartBox for 12 years when installed by a Panasonic authorized installer.

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Since its introduction in 2016, the Panasonic Installer Program has continued to provide exclusive benefits and business opportunities to Authorized, Elite and Premium tiers of installers who meet the necessary qualifications and maintain Panasonic's high standard of excellence.

More information for solar panel and home battery installers can be found at na.panasonic.com/us/installer

About Panasonic Corporation of North America

Newark, NJ-based Panasonic Corporation of North America is a leading provider of Consumer Lifestyle technologies, as well as innovative Smart Mobility, Sustainable Energy, Immersive Experiences, and Integrated Supply Chain solutions for its business and government clients. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic Holdings Corporation. One of Interbrand's Top 100 Best Global Brands of 2022, Panasonic is a leading technology partner and integrator to businesses, government agencies and consumers across the region. Learn more about Panasonic's ideas and innovations at na.panasonic.com/us

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SOURCE Panasonic Corporation of North America
Parks! America, Inc.

PINE MOUNTAIN, Georgia, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Parks! America, Inc. (OTCPink: PRKA) (the Company or Parks! America), a leading operator of regional safari parks in the U.S., has announced that the Companys 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the 2024 Annual Meeting) will be held virtually at 10:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, June 6, 2024. The Company will also host an Investor Day at Wild Animal Safari, Pine Mountain, Georgia beginning at 12 p.m. ET, the same day. Shareholders of record as of the record date, which the Company will establish prior to the meeting, will be eligible to vote on all matters to be considered at the 2024 Annual Meeting, as detailed in the definitive proxy statement that the Company intends to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), including the election of the Companys directors.



Lisa Brady, President and CEO of Parks! America, commented, We are pleased to announce the date for our 2024 Annual Meeting. Much has transpired in the 14 months since I was appointed Chief Executive Officer, including a devasting tornado that significantly damaged our leading revenue generating property  the Wild Animal Safari Park in Pine Mountain, Georgia  during our historically strongest quarter of the year.

Despite challenges during our 2023 fiscal year, we made substantial progress building a strong base and foundation for the Company that we will continue to build on in 2024 and beyond. Throughout the year, renewed focus was placed on culture, accountability and ensuring we had the right people in the right places. We focused on enhanced training, guest services and standardization of daily operating procedures. Our 2023 capital plan was completed on time and on budget, and new animal exhibits reflect strategic steps toward leveling up the overall experience throughout our parks. Lastly, we have focused on enhancing our risk management and our overall corporate governance efforts, through enhanced investor outreach and modernization of our governance policies.

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I am proud of all that our team has accomplished throughout the past year. As we move into my second year as CEO, in addition to our core business initiatives, we will focus on continued improvement of our corporate governance and communications practices. Management and our Board of Directors are dedicated to maintaining an open channel of communications with shareholders and potential new investors.

Ms. Brady continued, In addition to our 2024 Annual Meeting, we will follow-up all quarterly financial results press releases with a conference call to update investors on the operating results and our insights on the direction of the Company going forward. Keeping investors informed and addressing questions from shareholders will be a point of emphasis as we move the Company forward. In that regard, we have retained Lytham Partners, LLC, a leading national investor relations firm, to support our efforts in being meaningfully proactive with existing and potential new investors.

Since joining the Company as Chief Executive Officer, I have worked diligently with the Parks! America team to build a foundation able to support core organic growth and a platform that can be scaled in the future as we look to build upon our successes.

A new Parks! America has begun to emerge with greater efficiencies, improved attractions, a dedication to customer satisfaction and enhanced shareholder value, and we couldnt be more excited for what is to come, Ms. Brady concluded.

About Parks! America, Inc.

Parks! America, Inc. (OTCPink: PRKA), through its wholly owned subsidiaries, owns and operates three regional safari parks - the Wild Animal Safari theme park in Pine Mountain, Georgia, the Wild Animal Safari theme park located in Strafford, Missouri, as well as the Aggieland Wild Animal Safari theme park, located near Bryan/College Station, Texas, acquired on April 27, 2020.

Additional information, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 1, 2023, is available on the Companys website, http://www.animalsafari.com .

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Except for historical information contained herein, this news release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. securities laws. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, statements concerning: our business strategy; liquidity and capital expenditures; future sources of revenues and anticipated costs and expenses; and trends in industry activity generally. Such forward-looking statements include, among others, those statements including the words such as may, will, should, expect, plan, could, anticipate, intend, believe, estimate, predict, potential, goal, or continue or similar language or by discussions of our outlook, plans, goals, strategy or intentions.

You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements; our actual results may differ significantly from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from future results include but are not limited to: competition from other parks, which we believe is increasing, factors related to the spread of COVID-19 and its variants, difficulty engaging seasonal and full-time workers, weather conditions during our primary tourist season, the price of animal feed and the price of gasoline. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

We believe the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable; however, we can give no assurances that such expectations will be realized, and actual results could differ materially. Except as required by applicable law, we assume no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting these forward-looking statements. A further description of these risks, uncertainties and other matters can be found in the Companys annual report and other reports filed from time to time with the SEC, including but not limited to the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 1, 2023.

Important Additional Information

The Company, its directors and certain of its executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the Companys shareholders in connection with any matters that would be considered at the 2024 Annual Meeting. Additionally, the Company, its directors and certain of its executive officers may also be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the Companys shareholders in connection with any matters that would be considered at the special meeting of shareholders of the Company currently scheduled for February 26, 2024 (if held, the Special Meeting). The Company intends to file a definitive proxy statement and a WHITE proxy card with the SEC in connection with any solicitation of proxies from the Companys shareholders with respect to the 2024 Annual Meeting and a definitive proxy statement and a WHITE proxy card with the SEC in connection with any solicitation of proxies from the Companys shareholders with respect to the Special Meeting. SHAREHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO READ SUCH PROXY STATEMENTS, THE ACCOMPANYING WHITE PROXY CARDS AND ALL OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AS THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION RELATING TO THE 2024 ANNUAL MEETING AND TO THE SPECIAL MEETING. The Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 1, 2023 contains information regarding the direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, of the Companys directors and executive officers in the Companys securities. Information regarding subsequent changes to their holdings of the Companys securities can be found in the SEC filings on Forms 3, 4 and 5, which are available through the SECs website at www.sec.gov . Updated information regarding the identity of potential participants, and their direct or indirect interests in the matters to be considered at the 2024 Annual Meeting and at the Special Meeting, by security holdings or otherwise, will be set forth in the definitive proxy statement and other materials that the Company anticipates filing with the SEC in connection with the 2024 Annual Meeting and the Special Meeting. Shareholders would be able to obtain the definitive proxy statement with respect to the 2024 Annual Meeting and the definitive proxy statement with respect to the Special Meeting, including any amendments or supplements to such proxy statements and other documents, if any, filed by the Company with the SEC at no charge at the SECs website at www.sec.gov . Copies would also be available at no charge on the Companys website at https://animalsafari.com/investor-relations/ .

Contact:

Lisa Brady

President and Chief Executive Officer

(706) 663-8744

lisa@parksamerica.com




By Jonathan Saul

LONDON (Reuters) - War risk insurance premiums for shipments through the Red Sea are rising after further attacks on merchant vessels by Yemen's Houthi movement and the expectation that ships with a UK or U.S. connection will be targeted, insurance sources said on Tuesday.

The Iran-aligned Houthis, who are well equipped and trained, have launched multiple attacks on ships in the Red Sea since November. They will expand their targets to include U.S. ships, a Houthi official said on Monday.

Even before the recent Houthi attacks, the London insurance market listed the southern Red Sea among its high risk areas and ships need to notify their insurers when sailing through such areas and pay an additional premium, which until earlier this month was typically for a seven-day cover period.

Insurance industry sources said that war risk premiums had risen to around 1% of the value of a ship, from around 0.7% last week with various discounts applied by underwriters. They added that rates were expected to move higher.

This translates into hundreds of thousands of dollars of additional costs for a seven-day voyage.

The terms being offered for war risk quotes are now significantly shorter, "with 24 hours being the norm", said Munro Anderson, head of operations at marine war risk and insurance specialist Vessel Protect, which is part of Pen Underwriting.

"Rates are increasing which is reflective of the significant and opaque risk exposure within the Red Sea," he told Reuters.

"Since the naval and air strikes in Yemen, it is now broadly considered that, in addition to Israeli-connected vessels, there is an elevated threat to vessels associated with the UK, U.S., including dependent flags, as well as those connected to Australia, the Netherlands, Bahrain and Canada," he added referring to a U.S-led navy coalition trying to safeguard commercial shipping.

U.S.-based operator Eagle Bulk Shipping said on Monday one of its vessels was hit by an "unidentified projectile" while sailing 100 miles (160 km) off the Gulf of Aden.

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"The Houthi attacks are encompassing all vessels with less and less clear criteria," an insurance source said. "U.S. and UK flags are advised now that they should not go through the Red Sea."

The Houthi militant group, which controls the most populous areas of Yemen after nearly a decade of war against the Western-backed and Saudi-led coalition, has emerged as a strong supporter of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the latter's war against Israel.

In recent days, commercial ships have halted voyages through the Red Sea, with more taking the longer voyage via the southern Africa's Cape.

"With tensions rising in the Red Sea, the cost of transporting goods globally will increase and inevitably trickle down to the end consumer," said Nicole Hudson, director at supply chain platform e2open.

A combination of higher insurance rates and also rising fees for using the Suez Canal, has meant that it is becoming cheaper to take the longer route, which could also mean less certainty over deliver times, shipping sources said.

"Shipowners and charterers may find that rerouting around Africa is more cost-effective than incurring the combined costs of Suez Canal transit fees and insurance premiums," broker Clarksons Securities said in a note this week.

The U.S.-led coalition is weak because regional powerhouses Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt did not take part, Yemen's vice president said on Tuesday.

"If the U.S.-led coalition fails to thwart further attacks and ensure the freedom of navigation in the region, we anticipate that war insurance coverage will become unavailable, forcing most of the traffic to use the much longer route around the Cape of Good Hope," Ratings service Morningstar DBRS said in a note on Monday.

(Reporting by Jonathan Saul; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Tylers solution includes licensing, inspection, and enforcement applications

PLANO, Texas, January 16, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tyler Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: TYL) announced it has signed an agreement with the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation (DBR) for Tylers State Regulatory Platform suite.

A Tyler client since 2012, the Rhode Island DBR is currently using Tylers CAVU eLicense solution and Tyler Payments. By deploying Tylers State Regulatory Platform suite in the cloud, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), the agency will benefit from additional integrated capabilities of the product and increased security and stability.

Tylers State Regulatory Platform suite comprises licensing, inspections, and enforcement applications. The solution will streamline the processing and management of more than 100 license types in the area of business and industry regulation, spanning industries including:

Accountancy including certified public accountants and firms

Design professionals including land surveyors, professional engineers, and architects

Commercial licensing including automotive, gaming, and appraisal

Securities regulation including brokers, charitable organizations, and investment advisors and firms

Business regulation including real estate commission

Banking regulation including non-depository license types

"Were glad the Rhode Island DBR is continuing to partner with Tyler as we implement its new Tyler solution in the cloud," said Brian Combs, president of Tylers Platform Solutions Division. "Our State Regulatory Platform solution will allow the agency to quickly and securely automate the processes that matter to them. We are confident that the DBRs regulators will be even more efficient while providing exceptional service to licensees and other stakeholders."

About Tyler Technologies, Inc.

Tyler Technologies (NYSE: TYL) provides integrated software and technology services to the public sector. Tylers end-to-end solutions empower local, state, and federal government entities to operate efficiently and transparently with residents and each other. By connecting data and processes across disparate systems, Tylers solutions transform how clients turn actionable insights into opportunities and solutions for their communities. Tyler has more than 40,000 successful installations across nearly 13,000 locations, with clients in all 50 states, Canada, the Caribbean, Australia, and other international locations. Tyler has been recognized numerous times for growth and innovation, including Government Technologys GovTech 100 list. More information about Tyler Technologies, an S&P 500 company headquartered in Plano, Texas, can be found at tylertech.com.

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#TYL_Financial

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240116084553/en/

Contacts

Jennifer Kepler

Tyler Technologies

972.713.3770

Media.team@tylertech.com
The Cost of Sepsis in Australia report (2021) estimated that there are >90,000 sepsis cases in Australia each year and estimated direct and indirect costs of $700 million and $4 billion respectively

SEATTLE and BRISBANE, Australia, Jan. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Immunexpress, Pty Ltd., a molecular diagnostic company focused on improving outcomes for suspected sepsis patients, today announced that SeptiCyte RAPID has received regulatory clearance by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). The clearance of the company's flagship medical device by the regulatory body allows for the sale, use and further commercial testing of SeptiCyte RAPID throughout Australia to differentiate infection-positive (sepsis) from infection-negative systemic inflammation response syndrome.

"After trialing SeptiCyte RAPID for the past few years, I am looking forward to seeing the impact of this technology in clinical practice," said Associate Professor Adam Irwin, Principal Research Fellow and NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow in paediatric infectious disease at The University of Queensland and Queensland Children's Hospital.

"It is especially gratifying to introduce our product to the Australian healthcare community because it was conceived in Australia by Immunexpress' Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Richard Brandon. The ability to bring our sepsis diagnostic capabilities into the Australian healthcare system marks the latest victory in our growing momentum towards impacting patient lives worldwide," said Rollie Carlson, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Immunexpress. "Patients suspected of having sepsis need swift, precise diagnostics. There's an urgent need to serve this vulnerable patient group, which has pushed us to continue to revolutionize diagnostic capabilities for their critical care."

SeptiCyte RAPID will be sold across Australia via Abacus Diagnostics, with whom Immunexpress has an executed Distributor Agreement. Abacus Diagnostics also serves as the distributor for the Biocartis Idylla Platform in Australia.

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About SeptiCyte RAPID

SeptiCyte RAPID generates a score (SeptiScore, 0-15) based on the increasing likelihood of sepsis. Results are generated in one hour using a small patient blood sample. SeptiCyte RAPID is used in conjunction with clinical assessments, vital signs and laboratory findings as an aid to differentiate infection-positive (sepsis) from infection-negative systemic inflammation response syndrome in patients with escalating signs and symptoms of critical illness. SeptiCyte RAPID is a sample-to-answer, cartridge-based, host response molecular test for sepsis using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to quantify the relative expression levels of host response genes isolated from whole blood. SeptiCyte RAPID is intended for in-vitro diagnostic use and runs on the Biocartis Idylla Platform.

SeptiCyte RAPID has been FDA cleared for use in hospitalized patients suspected of sepsis since November 2021. SeptiCyte RAPID is CE Marked as a near-patient sample-to-answer test in European Union (EU) member countries and those harmonized with the EU IVD Directive (98/79/EC) (since May 2022.)

About Immunexpress

Immunexpress is a molecular diagnostic company, based in Brisbane and Seattle, committed to improving outcomes for patients suspected of sepsis. Immunexpress' SeptiCyte technology can assess a patient's dysregulated immune response by quantifying and analyzing gene expression from whole blood, providing actionable results in about an hour from sepsis suspicion, to guide the physician in optimizing patient management decisions. SeptiCyte RAPID is a lab test for sepsis that combines SeptiCyte technology with the ease-of-use of the revolutionary Biocartis' Idylla Platform; it supports differentiating infection-positive sepsis (bacterial, viral, fungal) that could lead to organ dysfunction and death from patients with less serious infection negative systemic inflammation. This powerful test enhances early sepsis detection and can strongly support its identification in the crucial first hour(s) that determines clinical outcome. SeptiCyte RAPID also has a high potential to reduce sepsis associated healthcare costs.

For more information, visit https://septicyte.com and https://immunexpress.com. Follow Immunexpress on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Media Contacts:

Scott Stachowiak

Russo Partners, LLC

Scott@RussoPR.com

Maddie Stabinski

Russo Partners, LLC

Madeline.stabinski@russopartnersllc.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1033289/Immunexpress_Logo.jpg

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SOURCE Immunexpress, Inc.
Over the last month the Pacific Edge Limited (NZSE:PEB) has been much stronger than before, rebounding by 43%. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last three years have been stomach churning. In that time the share price has melted like a snowball in the desert, down 90%. So it sure is nice to see a bit of an improvement. But the more important question is whether the underlying business can justify a higher price still. We really hope anyone holding through that price crash has a diversified portfolio. Even when you lose money, you don't have to lose the lesson.

Given the past week has been tough on shareholders, let's investigate the fundamentals and see what we can learn.

Check out our latest analysis for Pacific Edge

Pacific Edge wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last three years, Pacific Edge saw its revenue grow by 43% per year, compound. That is faster than most pre-profit companies. So on the face of it we're really surprised to see the share price down 24% a year in the same time period. You'd want to take a close look at the balance sheet, as well as the losses. Ultimately, revenue growth doesn't amount to much if the business can't scale well. If the company is low on cash, it may have to raise capital soon.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

NZSE:PEB Earnings and Revenue Growth January 16th 2024

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. If you are thinking of buying or selling Pacific Edge stock, you should check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

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A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 2.5% in the last year, Pacific Edge shareholders lost 79%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 11% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Pacific Edge better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Pacific Edge you should be aware of, and 1 of them makes us a bit uncomfortable.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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.
Taiba Investments showcased its properties in Madinah, including the Aqeeq Madinah Hotels and Taiba Hotel, at the third edition of the Hajj and Umrah Conference and Exhibition 2024, organised by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah at the Superdome in Jeddah from January 8 to 11, 2024.

The group also displayed diverse and innovative hotel services under the umbrella of Dur Hospitality following the recent acquisition deal.

These services specialise in serving pilgrims and include Makarem Hotels, Nur by Makarem, alongside the offerings of Dur Hajj Services Co, a key player providing integrated Hajj services to guests from around the world.

The event was an opportunity to unveil Taibas future projects and services that aim to enhance the hospitality experience in the holy cities by showcasing a range of world-class products and services.

These offerings align with Taiba's commitment to realising Saudi Vision 2030s goals by serving and attracting more pilgrims and Umrah performers.

Being the largest of its kind in the kingdom, the conference provided a distinguished platform for developing Hajj and Umrah services in line with Saudi Vision 2030 and the Pilgrim Experience Program.

In its third edition, the event brought together decision-makers, academics, prominent international Islamic figures, and stakeholders from government, private, and non-profit sectors within and outside the kingdom.

The event also highlighted the kingdom's flagship pilgrimage projects, represented by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah in collaboration with all relevant sectors.

Through organising the event, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah aims to build an integrated and sustainable system actively contributing to an evolving and enhanced pilgrim experience.

The event facilitated leveraging ideas and insights of experts, anticipating future trends, and developing partnership opportunities, agreements, and initiatives, a statement said.  TradeArabia News Service
- Boston Solar Appoints New President Michael Morlino

- Boston Solar Selected as First US Based EPC to Carry Energizer Solar Products

- Boston Solar Awarded 100+ Home Federal Agency Solar Assessment and Engineering Project

BOSTON, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- SinglePoint Inc (CBOE: SING) ("SinglePoint" or "the Company") subsidiary Boston Solar a leading solar energy solutions provider in New England, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Michael Morlino as its new President. Morlino brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of leadership and operational excellence to the company.

Boston Solar logo New Englands Number One Solar Installation firm

Mr. Morlino is a distinguished veteran who served 22 years in the United States Navy as a SEAL, including 15 years at the Naval Special Warfare Development Group. His military career is marked by an exemplary service record, showcasing his unparalleled leadership, strategic acumen, and a strong commitment to excellence. Morlino's exceptional skills in leading high-stakes operations and fostering teamwork in challenging environments are set to be invaluable assets to Boston Solar.

Morlino is academically accomplished, holding a BS in Business Administration from the University of Maryland Global Campus and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management. His educational background complements his extensive professional experience, equipping him with the knowledge and skills necessary to lead in the fast-paced and evolving solar industry.

Prior to joining Boston Solar, Morlino contributed significantly to Windjammer Capital Investors, managing operational improvement projects at Fecon, a Cincinnati-based heavy equipment manufacturer. His role in driving operational efficiencies and leading teams through complex projects has prepared him well for his new position at Boston Solar.

Upon his appointment, Morlino stated, "I am incredibly honored to be joining such a highly reputable company with deep experience in the Solar Industry and the New England market. I am eager to build on the company's impressive foundation and work collaboratively with the talented professionals here to drive growth, achieve operational excellence, and exceed our clients' expectations.

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Boston Solar has recently announced two significant developments adding substantial support for 2024. Most recently Boston Solar announced the award of 100+ residential solar assessment and engineering project for a Federal Agency in Massachusetts, more details are expected to follow soon as the project progresses. Boston Solar has also been selected as the first US based EPC to provide and install Energizer Solar products starting with in home energy storage battery solutions.

With Morlino at the helm, Boston Solar is poised for a new chapter of growth and innovation. His leadership is expected to steer the company towards greater heights in the solar industry, reinforcing its commitment to providing top-tier solar energy solutions to its clients.

"These are extremely positive developments which set the stage for 2024. It has all been made possible by the exception performance and professionalism the team and Boston Solar has built. Mr. Guimaraes has built a growing, thriving business which over the past two years since acquisition has grown from $17-million to $24-million and a trailing 12 months of over $30-million. All of which has been done in a tough market environment. These successes have set the stage for a stellar 2024 in which Mr. Morlino will continue to guide Boston Solar toward accelerated growth and operational profitability," comments Wil Ralston CEO SinglePoint.

Ralston continued, "We are excited to welcome Michael Morlino to the Boston Solar family. His remarkable leadership skills and operational knowledge will be instrumental in guiding our company into a bright and innovative future. We also take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Guimaraes for the 13-year tenure building Boston Solar into the leading Massachusetts Solar EPC. His contributions and guidance, which have been pivotal in growth of Boston Solar, and we wish him the best in his next endeavors," commented Wil Ralston CEO SinglePoint.

About Boston Solar

Boston Solar is a subsidiary of SinglePoint Inc. (CBOE: SING) Since its founding in 2011, Boston Solar has installed more than 5,000 residential and commercial solar arrays, powering thousands of homes and businesses in New England, primarily in Massachusetts. The mission of Boston Solar is to provide superior clean energy products, exceptional customer service, and the highest-quality artistry in residential and commercial installations.

Boston Solar has accumulated several distinctions of recognition of the company's outstanding triumphs:

Boston Solar is a Solar Energy Business Association of New England (SEBANE) member. The company is headquartered at 55 Sixth Road, Woburn, MA 01801. Learn more at: www.bostonsolar.us

About SinglePoint Inc. (CBOE:SING)

SinglePoint is a sustainable solutions Company focused on the solar energy and storage and indoor air purification markets. The Company plans to build one of the largest renewable energy solutions networks and modernize the traditional solar energy and energy storage business model. SinglePoint continues to execute its acquisition strategy by exploring future growth opportunities in indoor air purification and ventilation, electric vehicle charging, solar as a subscription service, and additional energy efficiencies and appliances that enhance sustainability and healthier life. For more information, visit the Company's website: www.singlepoint.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are subject to the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, besides statements of fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding revenue projections, financing opportunities, potential plans and objectives of the Company, anticipated growth, and future expansion, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.

Technical and other complications, which may arise, could prevent the prompt implementation of any strategically significant plan(s) outlined above. The Company undertakes no duty to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.

Boston Solar Media Contact:

David Remillard, Director of Marketing & Residential Sales

info@bostonsolar.us

Investor Relations Contact:

SinglePoint Inc

investor@singlepoint.com

888-682-7464

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/singlepoint-subsidiary-boston-solar-welcomes-new-president-michael-morlino-provides-insight-to-2024-302035456.html

SOURCE SinglePoint Inc.
Flight cancellations across the country continue to cause headaches for thousands of travelers, and Southwest is topping the list of most-affected airlines for the second consecutive day. But the source and scope of these disruptions are different from the meltdown the airline endured a year ago.

As of Monday afternoon, the airline had canceled more than 700 flights, about 18% of its schedule, setting off alarm bells that the nightmarish travel weekend could be the start of another operational fiasco for the company.

But, according to the airline, this isnt a technology issue like the 10-day service meltdown that left more than 2 million travelers stranded during the 2022 holiday season and cost the company more than a billion dollars.

The problem is the weather. A huge swath of the country has been pummeled with harsh winter conditions this weekend, and more than 140 million people are currently under wind chill alerts stretching from the Rockies to central Texas. Over 140 daily cold records could be broken Monday and Tuesday from Oregon to Mississippi, and temperatures in Memphis, Dallas and Nashville are expected to stay below freezing for at least 72 consecutive hours.

A jogger trots on a snow-covered road during a winter storm, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, in Grand Prairie, Texas. - Julio Cortez/AP

Southwest said the delays had been pre-planned and communicated to customers in advance. The scheduling changes were carried out to anticipate forecasted operating conditions across a wide swath of our route map  everything from wintry precipitation including blizzard conditions, to airfield and airspace constraints, and dangerous wind chill environments that require rotating ground crews to limit exposure, a spokesperson told CNN in a statement.

Cancellations and delays should ease up considerably on Tuesday as the storm moves East and the cold temperatures begin to moderate, the spokesperson added. The airline pointed to a list of operational steps that it says it took in 2023 to ensure that the level of disruption that happened in 2022 does not repeat itself, including updates to crew scheduling systems and more de-icing equipment at airports.

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Unlike the Southwest Airlines holiday travel meltdown of 2022, the company says the recent string of cancellations are mostly due to where Southwest flies in and out of, rather than technical issues, and that unlike the last incident, it should recover quickly.

Southwest is a major carrier at some airports that are now engulfed in an Arctic blast paralyzing much of the country. In particular, it maintains a significant presence in Chicago and Denver, which are both under wind chill advisories from the National Weather Service, and Dallas, which the NWS says could face dangerous winter conditions this week.

And Southwest isnt the only airline that has found the icy conditions challenging. American Airlines requested a ground stop at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport earlier Monday morning. The ground stop from earlier was a temporary effort to alleviate the lines at the de-icing pads and free up space at the gates for inbound aircraft during our busiest arrival bank at DFW, the airline told CNN.

The relentless winter weather caused major delays over the long holiday weekend. Saturday and Sunday saw more than 16,500 flight delays and nearly 3,000 cancellations across the United States, according to FlightAware. On Monday, the number of cancellations climbed past 3,000 while more than 8,600 flights have been postponed, making it the day with the most cancellations since the Southwest meltdown in late 2022, FlightAware data show.

The airlines experiencing the most effects are Southwest with more than 760 cancellations followed by United, which has more than 430 flights canceled.

So far, more than 700 flights have been canceled on Tuesday, FlightAware data said.

These weather-related delays are exacerbating an already difficult week for airlines and their passengers. Last week, more than 200 United and Alaska Airlines flights were canceled each day due to the federally mandated grounding of Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration instated the order after a piece of the fuselage blew off an Alaska Airlines flight on January 5 with 177 people on board. The incident left a gaping hole in the side of the plane and ripped headrests off seats as the plane flew at 16,000 feet, shortly after taking off from Portland, Oregon.

United and Alaska Airlines, the two largest US carriers using the Max 9 aircraft, are among the airlines canceling the most flights, according to the Anuvu Pulse industry dashboard. United has canceled nearly 13% of its flights, making it the second most affected airline behind Southwest, which doesnt fly any Max 9 planes. Alaska Airlines experienced the third-highest rate of cancellations on Sunday, having called off about 15% of its total flights.

Both airlines said last week they have canceled all flights on their Max 9 planes until mid-January.

This story has been updated with new information.

CNNs Ross Levitt, Nouran Salahieh, Allison Chinchar and Mary Gilbert contributed to this reporting.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Carlos Zarlenga has been picked to replace Mark Stewart as chief operating officer for Stellantis North America.

Stellantis will have a new leader for its key North American region beginning Feb. 1, someone who has been credited with leading a turnaround when he oversaw a region for rival General Motors several years ago.

Carlos Zarlenga, president of Stellantis Mexico, who is also a former executive at General Motors and GE, has been picked to replace Mark Stewart as chief operating officer. Stewart has been COO of North America since 2018, which was before the merger that created Stellantis in 2021.

Stewart, who made headlines separately when he purchased Detroit's famed Fisher Mansion for $4.9 million in 2022, led the North American region for the automaker during the last two contract talk periods with the UAW, the most recent of which wrapped up late last year following a historic strike of Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Stellantis. The contracts led to significant wage and benefit gains for represented workers.

Stellantis owns Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Maserati as well as numerous brands, including Peugeot, Opel and Citroen, sold in other parts of the world. North America represents a significant piece of Stellantis' global profits.

It was not immediately clear what Stewart's next role will be. The company did not announce his future plans, but CEO Carlos Tavares wished him well in a news release.

I would like to thank Mark Stewart for his contribution to this role after a three-year cycle, corresponding to the date of creation of Stellantis and I wish him the best in his new position, Tavares said.

The company highlighted what Zarlenga, a graduate of Universidad de Belgrano  Buenos Aires, Argentina, will bring to his new position, describing him as a seasoned leader with more than a decade of automotive experience around the globe. The release said that since Zarlenga joined Stellantis in 2022, he had delivered yearly improvements in sales and market share and the best profit level the company has seen in Mexico.

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In the very demanding North American market with many obstacles to overcome in order to foster the performance of the Company, Carlos Zarlenga is the best leader among our talent pool to replace Mark Stewart and to drive the change in our business model towards electrification in the region. Carlos Zarlenga has demonstrated his ability to bring together and unite diverse teams and to deliver the expected results, Tavares said.

Sam Fiorani, vice president of global forecasting for AutoForecast Solutions, said that Zarlenga helped orchestrate a turnaround at GM's troubled South American group. Zarlenga's LinkedIn profile said his last role there, as president and CEO of GM South America, wrapped up in August 2021.

"Its easy to come out of a good situation looking good, but it reflects well on Zarlengas talents to emerge from GM South America in a positive light. Stellantis North American operations is currently in transition and facing a number of issues, which will be a true test for Zarlengas management skills. If he wanted an easy job Zarlenga should have looked elsewhere, however this has the potential to be the most significant highlight on his resume," Fiorani said.

Michelle Krebs, executive analyst at Cox Automotive, pointed to Stellantis' sales woes as among the challenges facing the company. She said the departure of Stewart sends a signal that more cost-cutting is coming.

"While Stellantis may want to blame a lot of this on the rich UAW contract, their sales have been off the last few years," she said, noting that the company was the only major automaker to report lower U.S. sales in 2023 vs. 2022, and she described 2022 as a bad year in its own right.

Stellantis reported a 1% drop for both the full year and fourth quarter of 2023, although the key Jeep and Ram brands appeared to rebound in the fourth quarter.

The company's sales weren't hampered by a lack of inventory, Krebs said, noting that some Stellantis models are priced higher than competitors.

Cost-cutting appears to have been underway at the company in recent months. It offered buyouts to white-collar workers and cut an unspecified number of contract workers. It also opted out of various auto shows, including CES and Chicago.

This week, the company also said it notified 539 supplemental employees, previously known as temporary workers, that they would no longer be needed across many of the company's manufacturing facilities.

In a statement, the company said the action "will help improve the efficiency, productivity and market competitiveness of our facilities as we implement our Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan."

UAW President Shawn Fain, in a critical response, noted that the union got the company to convert nearly 3,000 temps to full-time as part of contract negotiations.

"Stellantis can afford to do the right thing here and provide a pathway to full time good auto jobs but is again choosing to line executive and shareholder pockets. These workers have generated Stellantis' record profits, and there is absolutely no need to lay off a single one of them," Fain said.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Stellantis: Carlos Zarlenga is new head of North American operations
Drill Permits in Hand for 5,000 meters of Drilling

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 16, 2024) - StrikePoint Gold Inc. (TSXV: SKP) (OTCQB: STKXF) ("StrikePoint" or the "Company") announces that it has received its permit for drilling on the 44 square kilometer Cuprite Gold Project ("Cuprite Gold") strategically located in the Walker Lane Trend of Nevada between Centerra's Gemfield Deposit and Anglogold's "Expanded Silicon" project.





Figure 1. Nevada Locator Map

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5044/194296_aa21eaf4e44ea9fd_002full.jpg

Michael G. Allen, President and CEO of StrikePoint Gold said, "After acquiring the Cuprite Gold Project in early 2023, we've added significant value to the project. We have more than doubled the footprint of the property itself and completed comprehensive geophysical and geological mapping programs on the property. We are excited by the results we've received and are looking forward to our inaugural drill program on the Cuprite Gold Project."

Drilling:

The Company recently received approval from the Bureau of Land Management for drilling at up to 10 sites on the Cuprite Gold Project.





Figure 2. Cuprite Drill Collar Locations, Geology and Geochemistry

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5044/194296_aa21eaf4e44ea9fd_003full.jpg

The program is planned approximately 5,000 meters, and will be targeting ring structures of the Stonewall Caldera in the heart of a 2.6 square kilometer mercury in soil anomaly defined by the Company's previous work as announced on September 26, 2023. The drilling will be completed by Envirotech Drilling ("Envirotech") of Winnemucca, Nevada, a rig will be available in late February, 2024.

Geophysics:

The Company has mobilized Zonge Geophysics of Tuscon, Arizona to the Cuprite Gold Project for completion of an additional 5-kilometers of induced polarization ("IP") surveying. Previous IP surveys have identified a 6-kilometer-long North-South structural corridor at the heart of a 2.6 square kilometer mercury in soil anomaly. Detailed mapping by the Company identified East-West faulting extending towards the North-South structural corridor. The second phase of IP is designed to study the intersection of the two sets of structures as a potential high priority drill target, allowing for further refinement of the planned drilling.

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Upcoming Investor Outreach Events:

On January 19th and 20th, 2024, the Company will be attending the Metals Investor Forum held at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia. Michael G. Allen, President and CEO will be presenting at 5:20 pm, on Friday, January 19th, 2024.

The Company will also be hosting investors in Booth #126 at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference, located in the Vancouver Convention Centre, West Building on Sunday, January 21st and Monday, January 22nd 2024. Michael G. Allen, President and CEO will be presenting at 2:10 pm, on Monday January 22nd 2024, in Workshop Room #4.

Adoption of New Stock Option Plan:

At the Annual General and Special Meeting of shareholders (the "Meeting") held on October 18, 2023 the shareholders of the Company approved all matters as proposed, including the adoption of a new 10% rolling stock option plan (the "Stock Option Plan"), whereby the aggregate number of Common Shares that may be reserved for issuance pursuant to Options shall not exceed 10% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares as at the date of grant of an Option, calculated in accordance with the policies of the Exchange. Implementation of the Stock Option Plan has been approved by the TSX Venture Exchange.

About StrikePoint

StrikePoint Gold is a gold exploration company focused on building precious metals resources in Tier-1 jurisdictions.

The Cuprite Gold Project consists of approximately 574 unpatented claims covering approximately 44-square kilometers, located 15-kilometers south of Goldfield Nevada, and 85-kilometers northwest of Beatty. The project is easily accessible by Highway 95 on the western margin of the property. The project is located within the Walker Lane Gold Trend, which hosts AngloGold's exciting Silicon Gold and Merlin discoveries approximately 75-kilometers southeast of Cuprite. In addition, the Walker Lane hosts Tier 1 gold mines including Kinross's Round Mountain Mine located approximately 130-kilometers North of Cuprite Gold Project.

In addition to Cuprite Gold Project, the Company controls two advanced-stage exploration assets in British Columbia's Golden Triangle: the past-producing high-grade silver Porter-Idaho Project and the high-grade gold Willoughby Project.

Qualified Person Statement

All technical data, as disclosed in this press release, has been verified by Michael G. Allen, P. Geo, President and CEO of the Company. Mr. Allen is a qualified person as defined under the terms of National Instrument 43-101.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF STRIKEPOINT GOLD INC.

"Michael G. Allen"

Michael G. Allen

President, Chief Executive Officer & Director

For more information, please contact:

StrikePoint Gold Inc.

Michael G. Allen, President CEO & Director

T: (604) 374-8381

E: ma@strikepointgold.com

W: www.strikepointgold.com

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements made and information contained herein may constitute "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. These statements and information are based on facts currently available to the Company and there is no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward-looking statements and information may be identified by such terms as "anticipates", "believes", "targets", "estimates", "plans", "expects", "may", "will", "speculates", "could" or "would".

All of the forward-looking statements made in this document are qualified by these cautionary statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, forecast or intended and readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking information. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate and forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance. Readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained herein speaks only as of the date of this document. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking information or to explain any material difference between such and subsequent actual events, except as required by applicable law.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/194296
Transparency Market Research

With the focus on natural and sustainable products, after-sun products will be in high demand.

Wilmington, Delaware, United States, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Transparency Market Research Inc. - After-sun products accounted for a global market value of US$ 2.4 billion in 2022. From 2023 to 2031, it is expected to expand at a CAGR of 3.7%, reaching US$ 3.3 billion by 2031 . Beauty and skincare trends are heavily promoted on social media platforms. Consumers often purchase after-sun products based on recommendations from beauty influencers and bloggers.

As people search for effective post-sun exposure care solutions, there is a direct positive impact on after-sun products. The success of after-sun products can be attributed to eye-catching packaging and effective marketing. A broader audience tends to be drawn to brands emphasizing their products' natural and nourishing qualities.

Sun protection and skin care regulations and guidelines encourage after-sun lotions and creams. Regulations ensure the products are safe and effective so consumers can feel confident. Advances in skincare technology may enable the development of more sophisticated after-sun products.

Request Sample PDF of the Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=38219



Enhancing healing properties, improving skin penetration, or extending the effects of products can all be included here. Natural and sustainable products are predicted to grow in popularity over the next few years. Environmental impact is a growing concern for consumers, which helps brands gain an advantage over their competitors by using eco-friendly packaging and ingredients.

Global After-sun Products Market: Growth Drivers

Increasing awareness regarding the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation on the skin leads to greater use of after-sun products to protect the skin from UV damage. Campaigns promoting post-sun care are one factor contributing to the market's growth. Long-term exposure to the sun can cause skin problems like sunburn, redness, and dehydration. After-sun products are sought after to relieve sunburns and aid in skin recovery.

Tourism and travel are expanding, and outdoor activities are rising, increasing demand for after-sun products. Vacationers and outdoor enthusiasts often seek after the treatment of sun-damaged skin. The skincare industry is continually researching and developing new formulations for after-sun products. The market will increasingly have products that deliver pain relief, antioxidant protection, hydration, and anti-aging properties.

Skincare routines are incorporated into consumers' daily lives as they become more health-conscious. Maintaining healthy skin is one of the main reasons why after-sun products are in such high demand. E-commerce platforms have facilitated global access to skincare products. Due to online availability, consumers can explore and purchase after-sun products.

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Global After-sun Products Market: Key Players

The global after-sun care market is witnessing substantial investments by prominent players trying to develop after-sun lotions and anti-aging products. In the after-sun products industry, leading companies merge and close collaborations with other players.

LOreal S.A.

Beiersdorf Aktiengesellschaft

Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc.

Avon Products, Inc.

Kao Corporation

Shiseido Co., Ltd.

The Procter & Gamble Company

The Estee Lauder Companies Inc.

Unilever PLC

Christian Dior SE

Key Findings of the Market Report

Sales of creams and lotions are expected to increase, driving after-sun product demand.

Based on end-users, the female segment is expected to drive demand for after-sun products.

Increasing seasonal discounts at online stores are expected to drive after-sun product demand.

In terms of source, organic and natural products will create a market in the future.

In 2022, Europe accounted for the largest share of the global market.

Customization Request for the Research Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=CR&rep_id=38219

Global After-sun Products Market: Regional Landscape

Europe is expected to drive after-sun product demand in the market. Since sun exposure increases during summer, after-sun products are in high demand in European countries. Seasonally high demand is also attributed to tourists arriving at sun-filled European destinations. The sun protection culture is well-established in many European countries. Sun-damaged skin is often soothed and repaired with products designed for after-sun care.

Health and wellness are rising in Europe , resulting in a growing demand for skincare products. With health-conscious consumers, skincare routines are becoming more important. Consumers in Europe tend to prefer products that use natural and sustainable ingredients. After-sun formulations that use innovative and environmentally friendly ingredients may be successful in Europe.

After-sun products, including skincare products, have become more accessible due to the rise of e-commerce in Europe. The convenience of online platforms makes it easier for consumers to explore and buy skincare products. Cosmetics and skin care products in Europe are subject to strict regulations. For companies operating in the market, compliance with these regulations is essential. Customers will likely trust products that comply with European safety and effectiveness standards.

Global After-sun Products Market: Segmentation

By Product Type

Creams and Lotions

Cleansers and Foaming Cleansers

Essential Oils

Gels and Scrubs

Other Products

By End User

Male

Female

By Sales Channel

Modern Trade

Convenience Stores

Departmental Stores

Drug Stores

Online Stores

Other Sales Channels

By Source

Conventional

Natural

Organic

By Region

North America

Latin America

Asia Pacific

Europe

Middle East & Africa

Get Exclusive Discount on After-sun Products Market at @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=D&rep_id=38219

More Trending Report by Transparency Market Research:

Cosmetic Skin Care Market - The global market stood at US$ 101.34 Bn in 2021 and is projected to reach US$ 154.7 Bn by 2031.

Swimwear Market - The industry was valued at US$ 19.1 Mn in 2021. It is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.0 % from 2022 to 2031 and reach US$ 34.2 Bn by the end of 2031.

About Transparency Market Research

Transparency Market Research, a global market research company registered at Wilmington, Delaware, United States, provides custom research and consulting services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insights for thousands of decision makers. Our experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools & techniques to gather and analyses information.

Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.

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From what we can see, insiders were net buyers in SysGroup plc's (LON:SYS ) during the past 12 months. That is, insiders acquired the stock in greater numbers than they sold it.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for SysGroup

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At SysGroup

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Executive Chairman Heejae Chae bought UK43k worth of shares at a price of UK0.28 per share. That implies that an insider found the current price of UK0.30 per share to be enticing. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. The good news for SysGroup share holders is that an insider was buying at near the current price. Heejae Chae was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.

You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

AIM:SYS Insider Trading Volume January 16th 2024

SysGroup is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership Of SysGroup

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 24% of SysGroup shares, worth about UK3.5m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

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So What Do The SysGroup Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no SysGroup insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Insiders own shares in SysGroup and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for SysGroup you should be aware of.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Customers purchase lemonade outside of Tom & Bingo's Hickory Pit Bar-B-Q during Lemonade Day, Saturday, May 6, 2023.

A longtime Lubbock barbecue favorite is shutting its doors this weekend after more than 70 years in business.

Tom & Bingo's, 3006 34th St., has been in the community since 1952, though the first location opened in Amarillo in 1946. Friday will be the final day for the third-generation restaurant.

Others are reading: Chicken Salad Chick announces expansion into Lubbock, other Texas cities

"These West Texas winds have blown us in a different direction & we find ourselves at the end of a great era," the owners stated in a social media post on Jan. 12. "Its been an honor to serve West Texas all these years."

The announcement was made three days after the restaurant posted about the food truck going up for sale. The post also mentioned that potential pitmasters looking to take over can reach out to the business via social media.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock Tom & Bingo's BBQ to close after 70 years of business
Key Insights

Tsakos Energy Navigation's estimated fair value is US$48.03 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Tsakos Energy Navigation is estimated to be 49% undervalued based on current share price of US$24.43

Industry average discount to fair value of 26% suggests Tsakos Energy Navigation's peers are currently trading at a lower discount

Does the January share price for Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited (NYSE:TNP) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to today's value. We will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model on this occasion. Models like these may appear beyond the comprehension of a lay person, but they're fairly easy to follow.

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

See our latest analysis for Tsakos Energy Navigation

The Method

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:

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10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF ($, Millions) US$271.0m US$291.0m US$306.3m US$319.6m US$331.4m US$342.2m US$352.3m US$361.9m US$371.3m US$380.4m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 5.25% Est @ 4.34% Est @ 3.71% Est @ 3.26% Est @ 2.95% Est @ 2.73% Est @ 2.58% Est @ 2.47% Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 23% US$220 US$192 US$164 US$139 US$117 US$98.2 US$82.1 US$68.5 US$57.0 US$47.5

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$1.2b

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.2%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 23%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = US$380m (1 + 2.2%)  (23% 2.2%) = US$1.9b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$1.9b ( 1 + 23%)10= US$232m

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is US$1.4b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of US$24.4, the company appears quite undervalued at a 49% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

dcf

The Assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Tsakos Energy Navigation as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 23%, which is based on a levered beta of 2.000. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for Tsakos Energy Navigation

Strength

Debt is well covered by earnings and cashflows.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Oil and Gas market.

Shareholders have been diluted in the past year.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 3 years.

Good value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Threat

No apparent threats visible for TNP.

Looking Ahead:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. What is the reason for the share price sitting below the intrinsic value? For Tsakos Energy Navigation, there are three relevant elements you should consider:

Risks: We feel that you should assess the 4 warning signs for Tsakos Energy Navigation we've flagged before making an investment in the company. Future Earnings: How does TNP's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every American stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Milford Regional Medical Center

WORCESTER  UMass Memorial Health and Milford Regional Medical Center have agreed to a corporate affiliation.

The announcement by the institutions on Tuesday noted that regulatory approval is needed to solidify the affiliation. The move follows September's nonbinding letter of intent by both parties to explore a potential corporate affiliation.

We are excited to take this step forward in the process to form a corporate affiliation with Milford Regional, which will build upon UMass Memorials long-standing collaboration with this exceptional organization, said Dr. Eric Dickson, UMass Memorial Health president and chief executive officer. Together, UMMH and Milford Regional will be better positioned to provide outstanding care to patients and support the health and well-being of communities across Central Massachusetts."

When asked if affiliation could result in a downsizing of staff and services at Milford Regional due to cost-cutting or duplication of services, UMass Memorial said in an email that it's committed to growing the medical footprint in Milford.

"UMass Memorial Health is committed to ensuring continued access to high quality, local care for the Milford community through this affiliation agreement. We look forward to collaborating with Milford Regional to improve and grow services in support of those living throughout the region."

The statement added: "We are excited to take this next step towards a corporate affiliation and, as part of this agreement, to making investments in Milford Regionals infrastructure and to enhancing their ability to address ongoing workforce challenges as a local and regional employer of choice."

If regulatory approval is granted, the 148-bed medical center in Milford will join forces on a corporate level with UMass Memorial Health, the largest nonprofit health care system in Central Massachusetts with nearly 19,000 employees.

Agreeing upon the key terms of our corporate affiliation moves us closer to the growth and expansion necessary for Milford Regional to advance its community-focused mission, said Milford Regional Medical Center President and CEO Edward J. Kelly. This is the right time, UMass Memorial Health is the right partner, and we have the right deal to pave the path for our promising future."

Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on X: @henrytelegram.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Milford Regional Medical Center to become affiliate of UMass Memorial
Turkey and the UK marked a milestone in their aviation relations with a key meeting that discussed enhancing bilateral ties, new investments, the development of competitive industrial collaborations, and the support for sustainable initiatives in aviation.

Turkish Airlines received the Business and Trade Secretary for the United Kingdom, Kemi Badenoch, Airbus Turkiye President Simon Ward and John Kelly, President, Rolls-Royce (Middle East, Turkiye and Africa) and held a meeting which concluded with a tour of a Turkish Airlines A350 aircraft, highlighting the advanced technology and comfort offered by the airline's contemporary fleet.

This meeting follows Turkish Airlines' announcement on December 18, 2023, of one of the biggest Airbus aircraft orders to date. The flag carrier also chose Rolls-Royce as the engine maintenance servicer of a sizable amount of the new Airbus widebody orders to compliment several aircraft of its existing fleet which already uses the UK companys engines.

Prof Dr Ahmet Bolat, Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines, and Kemi Badenoch engaged in discussions focused on advancing the bilateral relations in the framework of aviation sectors of both countries.

Bolat said: We are happy to welcome Secretary Badenoch today and continue to take another step in Turkish Airlines' journey of international collaboration and innovation. Our discussions have set the stage for strengthened ties and enriched cooperation of our respective countries aviation sectors, aligning with our vision for a progressive and sustainable global aviation industry.

With our sizable new order of Airbus aircraft and Rolls-Royce engines, we plan to continue to maintain our leading position in global aviation in the years to come.

Kemi Badenoch said: Im delighted to be here following the historic deal with Turkish Airlines and UK-based Airbus and Rolls-Royce -a deal that highlights our thriving trade relationship with Turkiye. Turkiye presents huge opportunities for the UKs world leading aerospace and manufacturing sectors, and I am using visits like this to unlock further opportunities for business on both sides.

Airbus Turkiye President Simon Ward said: "These meetings between the UK and Turkiye are a testament to increasing cooperation and partnership between the two countries, improving competitiveness and providing opportunities for businesses across many sectors.

Today, visiting Turkish Airlines facilities at IGA Airport, we once more witness the ambitious and successful growth of Turkiye and its flagship brand Turkish Airlines."

John Kelly, President, Rolls-Royce (Middle East, Turkiye and Africa) said, It has been a privilege to contribute to this remarkable event, fostering cooperation and strengthening the UK-Turkiye relationship. We are delighted that Turkish Airlines has recently placed an order for firm 100 Trent XWB-84 and 40 Trent XWB-97 engines, which underscores Rolls-Royce's commitment to profitable growth and aligns seamlessly with the airlines pursuit of excellence in the aviation industry.  TradeArabia News Service
By Nate Raymond, David Shepardson and Rajesh Kumar Singh

BOSTON (Reuters) -A federal judge on Tuesday blocked JetBlue Airways' planned $3.8-billion acquisition of ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines after agreeing with the U.S. Department of Justice that the deal was anticompetitive and would harm ticket buyers.

JetBlue's lawyers had called the case a "misguided" challenge to a merger of the nation's sixth- and seventh- largest airlines, which combined would control 10.2% of a domestic market dominated by four larger airlines.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge William Young in Boston marked a victory for the White House in its efforts to prevent further concentration of the U.S. airline industry and raises questions about the viability of another recently proposed deal, Alaska Air's acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines.

President Joe Biden, who has made boosting airline competition a top priority, called the ruling "a victory for consumers everywhere who want lower prices and more choices."

The ruling finding the deal violated U.S. antitrust law also called into question Spirit's future. The ultra-low-cost carrier has struggled to turn a profit amid a run-up in operating costs and persistent supply chain problems.

Spirit's shares closed down about 47% on Tuesday after the ruling, while JetBlue shares ended about 5% higher.

Young said that while a combined JetBlue-Spirit would likely place "stronger competitive pressure" on larger carriers that dominate the domestic airline market, "the consumers that rely on Spirit's unique, low-price model would likely be harmed."

He said the deal would eliminate Spirit's low fares and its ability to put pressure on other higher-priced airlines, including JetBlue, to cut prices. Rivals on average cut prices 7% to 11% when Spirit enters a market, he said.

"The government has demonstrated that consumers value Spirit flights as a unique, economical product option," Young wrote. "The removal of Spirit as an option for consumers, therefore, would constitute a cognizable harm."

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The airlines can appeal the ruling. In a joint statement, JetBlue and Spirit said they were evaluating "next steps as part of the legal process."

In a note to employees on Tuesday, JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes and chief operating officer Joanna Geraghty added, "One way or another, be assured: JetBlue has a bright future.

"If we need to move forward without Spirit, we will invigorate our standalone organic plan, continuing to fight for more market share and win customers from the big airlines."

They said "conditions remain difficult for smaller airlines like ours. We need everyones support to get back to profitability."

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland called the ruling "a victory for tens of millions of travelers who would have faced higher fares and fewer choices had the proposed merger between JetBlue and Spirit been allowed to move forward."

While Young ruled in the Justice Department's favor, he did not go as far as the government had asked and broadly bar any combination of the two companies, saying he was only going to block the deal "as it currently stands."

The judge, who had questioned whether further asset divestitures could make the deal work, said, "The courthouse doors remain open, should the defendant airlines decide to try again."

Some investors and analysts had expressed concerns in the past that Spirit's troubles could hurt JetBlue after the merger. Some analysts had also suggested JetBlue renegotiate the deal, citing the fall in Spirit's share price even before Tuesday's ruling.

The Justice Department, along with Democratic state attorney generals from six states, had said that allowing JetBlue to absorb its no-frills, budget rival Spirit would "extinguish a vital source of low-cost competitive disruption along more than 375 routes," causing nearly $1 billion of net harm a year to consumers.

The four larger U.S. carriers - United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines - control 80% of the market after a series of airline mergers the federal government blessed.

Spirit was the first U.S. domestic carrier to allow passengers to pick the features of flights they pay for, such as checked bags and food and drink service. Its model has pushed competing airlines to slash prices, the Justice Department said.

JetBlue is a higher-cost airline than Spirit. But it has historically maintained a low-cost model compared with larger airlines and been able to similarly pressure larger airlines to reduce prices when it launches a new route.

The New York-based airline had sought to tackle U.S. regulators' concerns by agreeing to divest gates and slots at key airports in New York City; Boston; Newark, New Jersey; and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The Justice Department's case is part of a broader push by the Biden administration to aggressively step up antitrust enforcement, an initiative that has had mixed court results.

JetBlue was already the focus of one of its earlier cases, with a different Boston judge, Leo Sorokin, in May siding with the government in finding that JetBlue's U.S. Northeast partnership with American Airlines violated antitrust law.

JetBlue subsequently decided to terminate the alliance. American Airlines is appealing Sorokin's decision.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, David Shepardson in Washington and Rajesh Kumar Singh in ChicagoEditing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Anna Driver and Matthew Lewis)
The US Supreme Court declined to take up dueling appeals from Apple (AAPL) and Fortnite developer Epic Games.

In an order issued Tuesday, the court announced it would not grant either of the two appeals that asked the justices to reconsider a ruling that impacts Apples control over its lucrative App Store. As a result, an appellate court ruling mostly favoring Apple, though requiring it to make some changes, will stand.

In the appeals case, the Ninth Circuit upheld a California trial court's ruling, holding that while the trial court erred in its analysis, Epic nonetheless failed to show that Apple held an illegal monopoly in a relevant market.

Consequently, the court said, the tech giant did not violate federal antitrust law  a result that spared Apple from having to break up or divest its closely guarded App Store.

The decision isn't all upside for Apple, however. The Ninth Circuit's ruling revives an injunction that requires the smart phone behemoth to allow developers to include links and buttons in their apps that direct users to pay for app purchases outside the App Store.

The injunction puts billions in revenue in jeopardy for Apple. The company, which holds roughly 15% of the global smartphone market, earns fees on in-app purchases created by more than 30 million iOS app developers. The Ninth Circuit said at the time of Epic's trial against Apple that the number of video games on Apple's operating mobile system had grown from 131 in the early days of the iPhone to over 300,000. These gaming apps, the court said, generated an estimated $100 billion in annual revenue.

The appeals court said Epic failed in its case by not adequately showing that Apple's App Store qualified as a relevant app market. The court went on to say that Epic also failed to introduce some substantially less restrictive means by which Apple could maintain its iOS ecosystem.

In a minor win for Epic, the Ninth Circuit also let stand US District Court Judge Gonzalez Rogerss determination that Apple had violated Californias Unfair Competition law. To remedy the violation, the court ordered Apple to allow Epic and other app developers offer alternative in-app payment methods.

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Epic had hoped the Supreme Court would take up its broader claim that developers should be able to get their apps onto iPhones through third-party app stores in addition to Apple's App Store.

While the Supreme Court's decision not to hear Epic's appeal helps Apple by ensuring it keeps its App Store intact, the court's decision not to hear Apple's appeal could seriously bruise the tech giant. Apple benefits handsomely from the 15% and 30% fees it charges app developers on the sale of products through its App Store when using Apple's payment service.

If app developers can offer their own payment options in apps, they can bypass Apple's fees, cutting into the company's App Store revenue. Developers could sweeten the deal for consumers by selling apps and in-app products at a discount, since they won't have to make up for Apple's fees any longer.

Apple doesn't break out its App Store revenue numbers, but rather includes them as part of the company's overall services business. That segment, which also includes subscriptions for products like Apple TV+ and Apple Care, generated $85.2 billion of Apple's $383.3 billion in total revenue in 2023.

Failed to make his case: Epic CEO Tim Sweeney. (Getty)

The Epic-Apple dispute began more than two years ago when Fortnite, with about 350 million registered players, was booted from Apples and Googles (GOOG, GOOGL) app stores and banned from their operating systems.

The bans were a response to Epics gaming program, which circumvented the platforms by offering direct in-game purchases at a 20% discount. Apple and Google both said the move violated their terms of service, justifying removal from the stores.

Epic then filed separate lawsuits against Google and Apple with nearly identical allegations that the removals violated federal and California antitrust laws.

While the two cases center on what level of control tech giants should have over the third-party developers, a jury came to an opposite conclusion in the case that went forward against Google.

In a jury trial, jurors sided with Epic, finding that Google had abused the dominance of its Android operating system app distribution and in-app billing markets by extracting exorbitant fees from Epic and other third-party app makers. A separate portion of the trial to determine a remedy for the violation is scheduled to take place later in January. A final outcome, however, is likely years away, as Google is expected to appeal the case.

While Apple prohibits users from installing apps on their iPhones from outside the App Store, Google's Android lets users install apps from third-party app stores, albeit after forcing them to make changes in their device's settings menu and read a warning about doing so.

Apple's App Store is facing pressure from governments around the globe. Regulators from South Korea and Japan to the UK and EU have or are looking into ways to make the iPhone maker open up its devices to allow third-party app stores on its devices or provide alternative payment options in apps.

The Supreme Courts decision to not take up the Epic and Apple appeals could also impact the US Justice Departments ongoing investigation into Apples App Store and other business lines.

Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow Alexis on Twitter @alexiskweed.

Daniel Howley is the tech editor at Yahoo Finance. He's been covering the tech industry since 2011. You can follow him on Twitter @DanielHowley.

Click here for the latest technology news that will impact the stock market.

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Venezuela Terminates Petro Cryptocurrency After 5 Years

Venezuela has officially pulled the plug on its Petro cryptocurrency, ending a five-year experiment that was marred by controversy and corruption. The Petro was launched in 2018 by President Nicolas Maduro as a means to bolster the nation's currency, the bolivar, amid a severe economic crisis. Backed by Venezuela's oil reserves, the token was met with skepticism and opposition from the start.

Critics, including the country's opposition-controlled congress, deemed the Petro illegal and accused the government of exploiting the nation's oil wealth. In 2019, the United States sanctioned a Russian bank for its involvement in financing the Petro.

Despite these challenges, the Venezuelan government attempted to promote the Petro by linking it to various services, such as passport issuance and social housing initiatives. The minimum wage was also partially pegged to the Petro.

However, the Petro failed to gain widespread adoption and remained largely confined to the Patria Platform, the only website where it could be traded.

The final nail in the Petro's coffin came in the form of a corruption scandal involving financial irregularities in the use of crypto assets for oil operations. This led to the resignation of the petroleum minister and a crackdown on Bitcoin mining operations. As a result, the Venezuelan government has decided to terminate the Petro and convert any remaining tokens to bolivars, the country's struggling local currency.

Let us know what you loved about this article, what could be improved, or share any other feedback by filling out this short form.
Shares of Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA) were sliding again today as further signs of weakness emerged in the Chinese economy.

In an effort to restore optimism about China's recovery, the country reported 2023 gross domestic product GDP growth a bit early with China's Premier Li Qiang saying at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the economy grew "around 5.2%."

China has been known to manipulate the timing of economic data releases, and the earlier-than-expected update could be an attempt to influence public opinion.

What seemed to be more concerning was that Chinese authorities have reportedly been telling institutional investors not to sell stocks. However, that push seems to be having the opposite impact and could dash investor confidence that market prices accurately reflect interest from market participants.

As of 12:41 p.m. ET, the stock was down 3.1%.

Image source: Alibaba.

What it means for Alibaba

There was no company-specific news out on Alibaba today, but the stock has proven to be highly sensitive to the Chinese economy over the past few years. Alibaba was at the center of Beijing's crackdown on the tech sector, which seemed to be prompted in part by disrespectful comments made by Alibaba Founder Jack Ma toward Chinese finance ministers.

Since then, Alibaba has struggled with the broader weakness in the Chinese economy and the impact of regulations. For example, it abandoned a plan to spin off its cloud computing unit due to new chip export restrictions from the U.S. It's also lost market share to Pinduoduo parent PDD Holdings.

Can Alibaba recover?

Alibaba is still solidly profitable and its revenue is growing. On a conventional valuation basis, the stock looks cheap at a price-to-earnings ratio of around 10, but pressure from Chinese officials against selling stocks will weigh on the sector.

Alibaba stock could recover eventually, but don't expect a sudden surge in the stock anytime soon as there's no sign of the broader Chinese malaise coming to an end.

Story continues

Should you invest $1,000 in Alibaba Group right now?

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Jeremy Bowman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Alibaba Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Why Alibaba Stock Was Falling Again Today was originally published by The Motley Fool
A Chinese court's decision recognising the copyright of an image generated via artificial intelligence (AI) aims to encourage such creations and provide a boost to this nascent industry, according to the judge who made the landmark ruling.

In the first judgment of its kind in mainland China, the Beijing Internet Court last November ruled that a picture, generated via the text-to-image software Stable Diffusion, should be considered an artwork under the protection of copyright laws, because of the "originality" and intellectual input of its human creator.

Assigning generative AI content a legal status under certain conditions in this case is aimed at encouraging people to create with new tools, presiding judge Zhu Ge said last week at a lecture that was first reported on Monday by Chinese online news outlet The Paper.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

"If no content created with AI models can be considered artwork, this would deal a blow to the industry," Zhu was quoted as saying in the report.

The original artificial intelligence-generated image of an Asian lady, left, was at the centre of an intellectual property dispute adjudicated by the Beijing Internet Court on November 27, 2023. To the right of the picture are three images generated during the process of creating the final one that was the subject of infringement. Photo: Xiaohongshu/Stable Diffusion AI alt=The original artificial intelligence-generated image of an Asian lady, left, was at the centre of an intellectual property dispute adjudicated by the Beijing Internet Court on November 27, 2023. To the right of the picture are three images generated during the process of creating the final one that was the subject of infringement. Photo: Xiaohongshu/Stable Diffusion AI>

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Although the ruling has added fuel to heated arguments on whether AI-generated content should be protected by copyright laws, the Beijing Internet Court has asserted that future disputes about an author's personal expression in images created with AI's help should be judged on a case-by-case basis.

The intellectual property infringement lawsuit was initiated in May last year by the plaintiff surnamed Li, who used the US start-up StabilityAI's Stable Diffusion program to create an image of a young Asian woman and posted it on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu.

Li sued a blogger surnamed Liu for allegedly using that image without permission in a post on Baijiahao, a Chinese content-sharing platform owned by Baidu.

The court subsequently ruled in favour of Li. It said Li's AI-generated image was an artwork, based on how he had continuously added prompts and repeatedly adjusted the parameters to come up with a picture that reflected his "aesthetic choice and personalised judgment".

The court ordered the defendant Liu to issue a public apology as well as pay the plaintiff 500 yuan (US$70.43) in damages and 50 yuan for court fees.

Zhu, the presiding judge, said in her lecture that the ruling was made with the potential implications for "emerging industries" in mind, according to The Paper's report. It said Zhu hoped her decision in the case could serve as a reference for future disputes.

The court's ruling has come as China's aspirations for generative AI continue to evolve amid wider use of the technology around the world. Advances in the use of AI are also expected to transform industries and improve people's daily lives.

China's generative AI industry is forecast to contribute 30 trillion yuan worth of economic value by 2035, accounting for a third of the industry's global value of 90 trillion yuan, according to a report by the CCID Group, a research unit affiliated with Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Many Chinese tech firms have also ramped up their efforts to grow their businesses using generative AI. Chinese delivery services giant Meituan, for example, recently launched Wow, a chatbot that purports to respond to user questions with a personal touch.

Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post, featured an online shop for digital products based on Baidu's virtual assistant Duxiaoxiao during the e-commerce giant's Singles' Day campaign last year.

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  2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Shares of QuantumScape (NYSE: QS) opened Tuesday trading in the red and were down 4.7% as of 9:45 a.m. ET. The company's solid-state battery technology is touted to be a game changer for the electric-vehicle (EV) industry, but the company is still testing prototypes and has missed its earlier deadlines for the commercialization of the batteries.

If reports are to be believed, QuantumScape's longest-standing partner Volkswagen is getting impatient now and looking at other options.

Volkswagen is in talks with other battery makers

QuantumScape's partnership with Volkswagen dates back to 2012. Over time, the automaker has invested more than $300 million in QuantumScape, committed more capital to a joint venture with the battery company, and already tested its multilayer battery cells.

The joint venture agreement, however, stated 2018 as the original date for commercialization of QuantumScape's technology. QuantumScape, of course, missed the deadline, and commercialization is still nowhere in sight.

Volkswagen is now pursuing alternatives and is in talks with France's Blue Solutions, according to a report from Reuters that came out this morning. Unlike QuantumScape, which is testing its battery cells, Blue Solutions is already producing solid-state batteries for Daimler's electric buses and has signed deals with German luxury carmaker BMW and another company for its upcoming passenger-car battery.

The report suggests Volkswagen could reach an agreement with Blue Solutions in the coming months. Although it also states that Volkswagen's venture with QuantumScape is still on track, this is one massive development that investors in the company must watch out for as Volkswagen also holds the biggest key to QuantumScape's growth.

A big threat to QuantumScape?

Volkswagen has already tested QuantumScape's first prototypes, but testing and certification require time, and commercialization could be years away. Volkswagen may not want to wait so long before it can use solid-state batteries in its cars, so it's a logical step if it is, indeed, in talks with other battery companies.

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Although QuantumScape shares a strong and long-standing relationship with Volkswagen, it also poses the biggest threat to the battery maker. With more companies, including automakers like Toyota Motor, also getting into the production side of solid-state batteries, options for Volkswagen are only expanding, even as QuantumScape struggles to commercialize its batteries and fulfill commitments under its agreements and venture with the automaker.

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Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT) Q3 2024 Earnings Call Transcript January 12, 2024

Wipro Limited misses on earnings expectations. Reported EPS is $0.06 EPS, expectations were $0.07. WIT isn't one of the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds at the end of the third quarter (see the details here).

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to Wipro Limited Q3 FY '24 Earnings Call. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. [Operator Instructions] Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Dipak Bohra, Senior Vice President, Corporate Treasurer and Investor Relations. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Dipak Bohra: Thank you, Yashashri. Warm welcome to our quarter three FY '24 earnings call. We will begin the call with the business highlights and overview by Thierry Delaporte, our Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director; followed by updates on operations and delivery by Amit Choudhary, our Chief Operating Officer; and finally, financial overview by our CFO, Aparna Iyer. Afterwards, the operator will open the bridge for Q&A with our management team. Before Thierry starts, let me draw your attention to the fact that during the call, we may make certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Private Securities Litigation Reform Act 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are associated with uncertainties and risks, which may cause the actual results to differ materially from those expected.

The uncertainties and risk factors are explained in our detailed filings with the SEC. Wipro does not undertake any obligation to update the forward-looking statement to reflect events and circumstances after the date of filing. The conference call will be archived, and a transcript will be available on our website. Over to you, Thierry. Thank you.

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Thierry Delaporte: Dipak, thank you. Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. Team, very glad to have you here, and of course, here to wish you a great year 2024. So, I'll begin today's earning call with, as always, an overview of our third quarter results, details of our sectoral performance, the demand environment, of course, and then, direction for the coming quarter. Earlier today, we reported our numbers to the market and our Board, and I'm pleased to share with you that we're starting to see some healthy indicators for growth. One, our IT Services revenue for the quarter is at the top-end of the guidance. Our revenue stands at $2.66 billion in reported currency. We've continued to book deals at a healthy pace, although Q3 is typically a shorter quarter due to the year-end holidays.

Order booking, total contract value terms, stand at $3.8 billion. From that, our large deals TCV for the quarter was just over $900 million. On a year-to-date basis, it actually shows a 20% growth. We booked 14 deals this quarter in the greater than $30 million TCV range. By comparison, we had 11 of such deals in the third quarter of last year. Next point is on net income for the quarter that where we've expanded margin by 1.8% sequentially. On operating margin, we stood at 16% despite, I would say, seasonal furloughs and the annual salary increases for our employees. On a year-to-date basis, our margin have actually improved by more than 60 basis points. As you know, we have consistently invested in our people, in our processes and organizational efficiencies over the last several quarters.

These investments are paying off. We are seeing it every day. Our results demonstrate at a fundamental level, Wipro is increasingly, I would say, more streamlined, proactive and efficient. This has boosted our clients' trust in our teams. This has improved our win rate. And this has -- and the type of deals we are winning, this is visible in that way. That is more of a complex transformation deals is what we are seeing. Wipro is not only benefiting from vendor consolidation, but we're also adding new logos, while we are continuing to grow our business with existing clients, of course. In fact, our clients tell me that they are seeing a more confident and united effort from us, One Wipro. We're leveraging the depths and the breadths of expertise and diversity inside Wipro.

Contributions from our acquired firms such as Capco, Rizing, Designit, you know them, are more prominent and well received. Looking at the demand environment, I'd say, the demand environment overall remains cautious. Clients are still making conservative investments. They are looking for efficiency. They are more focusing on returns on investment and looking for better optimization, I would say, of existing investments. But we are seeing some indicators for growth. If you remember, we had called out a possible slowdown in the economy as growth in our consulting business slowed. We know that when the market turns, consulting will be the first area to bounce back. With that in mind, I'm pleased to share good performance from our consulting business with Capco reporting a double-digit sequential growth in order bookings, the highest in the last few quarters.

Turning to our strategic market units. Looking at Americas 1 first. We recorded a strong quarter for this unit where we booked half of our 14 large deals this quarter. Revenue in this market grew 2% sequentially, led by healthcare, which grew actually 9% sequentially. In our Americas 2 market unit, we continue to see some softness. This is -- let's keep in mind, this unit is primarily a BFSI or BFSI and energy and utilities being the large part of these units. They are seeing still some softness and resulting in a 1.3% drop in revenue Q-on-Q. That said, there's strong momentum in order bookings, which in total contract value terms increased 46% sequentially. In Europe, we won four large deals in the third quarter despite the continuing economic weakness.

These four new transformative deals add up to nearly $300 million in bookings. These deals underscore the success of our strategy in this market. Having said that, revenue from Europe decreased 4.3% sequentially in Q3. Across the board, but more specifically in our APMEA strategic market unit, we have worked on -- and we've reported on that regularly, we have worked on reducing low-margin accounts, while slowly moving towards higher-value transformation projects. So, in APMEA, revenues declined 5.4% quarter-on-quarter. However, the strategy of pivoting towards higher-value business reflects in the margins we delivered in the region. Margins rose 240 basis points sequentially to 13.8% this quarter. That's the highest in the last six quarters.

And once again, we are seeing consulting, especially Capco and Rizing, play a big role in the complex deals we're winning in this market. To continue this rigor, we made some changes to our Growth Office recently, you know that. With the foundational pillars for sales excellence set out by the Growth Office over the last two quarters -- the last two years actually, we moved some of the Growth Office functions inside the strategic market units, thus creating an even tighter integration with the SMUs. With this, we reinforced how we nurture large deals in each geography, and we will respond faster to changing market needs. Simultaneously, we continued to streamline our operations as per plan. We'll continue to leverage artificial intelligence and automation for efficiency across all functions and business areas.

We'll continue to add to that the learning and development and reskilling of our existing talent base and besides optimizing our talent pyramid to better serve clients' needs. Multiple initiatives are in place. I request Amit to share highlights of some of those programs with you today. What I can say with confidence is that Wipro is a better partner for our clients today. We are more agile, one that is responding to and evolving with our clients and their needs. Amit, by the way, will also share with you highlights of the work done around account delivery and service excellence. This really is the centerpiece of our efficiency play and increased agility. We continue to invest in areas that we know are going to remain, I would say, fundamental for our long-term success.

And let's start with that. People, our most valuable assets. We awarded our colleagues their performance-based annual salary increases recently, as you know. The promotion cycle just closed, and we'll be making the announcement soon. We continue to stress on and offer training and development options and growth opportunities to our employees. This is critical to why people continue to choose to work with and give the best to Wipro. Of course, returning to work more regularly after a few years of fully remote work has absolutely helped energize the culture and the atmosphere in our offices. Then there's AI. We'd be amiss to not share how we are using AI ourself as an organization and for our clients. AI is now moving from the curiosity and experimentation stage to becoming vital -- I was going to say viral as well, to business strategy.

In fact, we can confidently say that every long-term large deal now has an AI component. The substantial portion of our clients are looking for us to develop use cases tied to their business goals. They want us to use AI models to drive tangible results. AI is now embedded across most of our existing solutions and offerings. In addition, every business line is working to launch new offerings that use AI. That's the way it is at the moment. For example, in our FullStride Cloud business, an area that's particularly hot when it comes to the use of GenAI is digital workplace services. Leveraging GenAI to lighten the load on service desk, deliver faster and better client services is now part of every RFP in this space. One of our largest deals in Europe this quarter is to transform digital workplace services of a multinational telecommunications company.

A modern office building with a large sign displaying the companies logo.

This will help improve client satisfaction and reduce operating expenses. We will actually build an AI-powered platform for them that provides service desk, onsite, and remote support services for 100,000 users and 80,000 managed devices across 240 locations worldwide. Now, in engineering, we are seeing strong interest for AI in the automotive and manufacturing industries in particular. Clients in these industries want AI to increase productivity and the R&D process and accelerate new product development. With Wipro Enterprise Futuring, we are helping clients accelerate adoption. We are leveraging Wipro's GenAI framework and studio to develop key assets at all level of the AI stack, including models, platforms, solutions. We will help clients with model development, performance, privacy and, of course, compliance.

We're also building governance frameworks around responsible, sustainable, and ethical AI development. In fact, we are working with a global healthcare insurer right now to develop a GenAI-powered knowledge research solution to transform their contact center. The goal here is to improve patient expense and operational efficiency by cutting the time it takes to analyze healthcare plan documents and response time. We've also developed a GenAI-powered assistant for a Fortune 500 investments and insurance firm. This assistant improves quality and reduces the time spent in crafting personalized e-mail campaigns. Earlier results show very tangible growth in click-through conversion rate. Additionally to those example, I would say that expanding our relationship with strategic partner is a critical part of our ai360 strategy.

During the past quarter, we collaborated with NVIDIA to help healthcare companies build AI-driven strategies, products, and services. Partnership with NVIDIA is a great differentiator for us, given our domain expertise in the healthcare sector. We're also expanding our partnership with IBM to invest in next -- in new joint solutions built on IBM watsonx that makes it easier to deploy reliable, responsible, and sustainable AI solutions. To do all this in a consistent, in an innovative and scalable fashion, we are preparing our workforce. We have now 200,000 -- 210,000 Wiproites who have been trained on AI 101 skills. We have now rolled out personnel-based learning pathways for different roles and functions. Our goal is to actually ensure that everyone at Wipro has the skills to fully leverage AI in their everyday work and for AI-related client projects.

We are accelerating GenAI adoption internally as well by integrating the technology across our entire portfolio of platform. This is resulting in quality and productivity improvements across HR, marketing, sales, operations, finance, as well as software development and quality engineering and testing. Our investments in our ai360 ecosystem, combined with the strategic value our consulting business brings to clients, is the reason we are increasingly the preferred partner for our clients. So, we are confident that we have the right vision, we have the right strategy, and the right leadership to continue to grow and keep us competitive, resilient and ambitious. Onto our guidance now for the next quarter. We're guiding for a sequential growth of minus 1.5% to plus 0.5% in constant currency terms.

We expect margins to stay range-bound like in the last few quarters. Now, as the market starts to turn around at the back of our transformation and efficiency play, we expect to see improvements in the coming quarters. With that, I'll turn it over to you, Amit, for your comments.

Amit Choudhary: Thank you, Thierry. Hello, everyone. I will cover some key areas of business transformation and focus programs that have helped us maintain margins despite the current demand environment. On the delivery excellence front, our top priority is to deliver best-in-class solutions for our clients. We now consistently leverage our four global business line model to create the best possible ecosystem to build talent and deliver innovative solutions to our clients. This is being supplemented by strong delivery governance through investing in a better program management, by building the delivery leadership cadre, through focused training interventions, AI-based assessments, and skilling for emerging technology trends.

We have a dedicated AI delivery council to identify opportunities to infuse AI into our delivery activities. Our account delivery executives are absolutely core to the client experience. We are enabling and empowering these delivery leaders to make decisions with a client-centric mindset. They are driving initiatives and solution offerings with an AI-first and a One Wipro approach. Another area of work has been the restructuring of our low-margin businesses. Thierry talked about it briefly, especially in the context of our improved performance in APMEA. Low-margin businesses are being reduced steadily through a multi-pronged action plan. Moving on to the operational excellence side, Thierry has spoken of how skill is our biggest currency. We are working on an end-to-end process to provide the right skill at the right time, at the right cost, in the right place.

We are doing this through an improved forecasting process, proactive skilling through account academies, pyramid optimization, improving our talent supply chain through an AI-powered talent marketplace, effort optimization, automation, and strong change management. We are reducing operating costs and optimizing our organizational design across all units and geographies, which is building an agile Wipro better suited in this dynamic market. We are heading towards more and more AI-based automation internally, resulting in more productivity and better efficiency. Thierry talked about how we are taking AI-led solutions to our clients. We have a similar rigor for internal-facing AI-applications, like the AI-powered talent marketplace, persona-based learning pathways for sales and business teams, developers, engineers and architects.

We are using AI for simplification of employee user experience as well. We are aligning our operational structure, skilling academies, and GenAI capabilities to market demand, client expectations, and also to the evolving process landscape inside Wipro. We are the one of the biggest customers of our ai360 ecosystem. These transformation programs and margin expansion initiatives are delivering results. Our goals remain profitable growth, delivery excellence, and internal capability development, all leading towards sustainable success. Now, I will hand it over to Aparna.

Aparna Iyer: Good evening, everybody. Wish you all a very Happy New Year. Let me highlight to you our financial performance for the quarter ended December 31, 2023. Following a quarter of strong execution, our revenue is at the top end of the guidance range. In constant currency terms, revenue declined 1.7% sequentially. In terms of margins, as we had called out last quarter, we had steep challenges on the backdrop of a weak demand environment, seasonal furloughs, as well as salary increases for our employees effective 1st December. I'm pleased to share with you that our margins have remained resilient as we executed on three counts. One, maximizing our revenue performance; two, realizing savings from structural improvements of pyramids and fixed price productivity; and three, reducing discretionary spends.

On a year-to-date basis, we've improved by -- our margins by over 60 basis points. We worked on rationalizing all aspects of working capital. As a result, in Q3, we have delivered an operating cash flows of $576 million. This is 177% of our net income and highest in the last five quarters. Our gross cash was at $4.6 billion and net cash was at $2.7 billion, both increased year-on-year despite having completed our largest buyback in July. Speaking of capital allocation, our Board of Directors have declared an interim dividend of INR1 per equity share. Our net income for the quarter is at INR26.9 billion, which is an increase of 1.8% quarter-on-quarter. Our EPS has increased by 2% on quarter-on-quarter basis. Despite a weak demand environment, it is heartening to note that on a year-to-date basis, our EPS has improved by 2.2%.

Our EPS for Q3 and year-to-date includes a charge that we have taken in our P&L on account of restructuring exercise that we had undergone during the year. I'd like to confirm that we have completed the restructuring that we wanted to do and do not anticipate such charges henceforth. In terms other important matrices, our ETR is at 24%, which is in-line with what we delivered in Q2. Our hedges continue to be in-line with our policy and was at $3.4 billion. Finally, I would like to summarize the guidance for Q4. As stated by Thierry, we expect revenue from our IT Services business segment to be in the range of $2.615 billion to $2.669 billion. This translates to a sequential guidance of minus 1.5% to a plus 0.5% in constant currency terms. With that, we'll be happy to take questions.

Operator: Thank you very much. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] We have our first question from the line of Moshe Katri from Wedbush Securities. Please go ahead.

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Guests who gathered for a Fredericksburg prayer breakfast Monday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. heard about challenges facing society, and Lord knows we have them by the boatload, said keynote speaker Sen. Tim Kaine.

But they also heard about ways community partners are working together to address some of the issues, including disparity in health care, and they were treated to a dose of youthful enthusiasm.

Despite cold and wintry weather, more than 400 people filled the ballroom at the Fredericksburg Convention Center for the annual event sponsored by the Fredericksburg chapter of the NAACP. Warren Williams, chapter treasurer, was glad to see it.

I couldnt imagine that many people would turn out when they said it would snow, he said.

Audience members gave a warm reception to Letitia Bumbrey, who belted out three songs and was accompanied on the keyboard by Alex Pendleton, just as they applauded in earnest when four members of the chapters youth works committee took the stage. Isaac Robinson, Bryce Jones, Harmony Jones and Christian Wilson offered brief remarks.

Its so great to be working along like-minded individuals to try to approach a goal, complete unity, and a sense of togetherness in the community, said Christian, a senior at James Monroe High School. Its such an amazing time to be a part of this community and were about to make it 10 times better.

The youth committee and council was reactivated last year, and Langston Carter, who works with the students, said he saw great potential in the 30-plus members.

Our future generation is in good hands, he said.

Meanwhile, the chapter continues to honor the memory of King by addressing social issues, said Charlyne JacksonFields, group president. A theme during this years prayer breakfast was that African American women are three to four times more likely to have fatal outcomes during pregnancy, labor or the year that comes after it.

In Virginia, one of every 100 (African American) women who get pregnant will die, Dr. Olugbenga Obasanjo, director of the Rappahannock Area Health District, told the audience.

He also explained how the local health district, which includes Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford, is mandated to perform regular community health assessments. Then, the district has to work with partners to come up with solutions.

As health officials looked at the overall issue of access to care, and drilled down into racial disparities involving childbirth, they found evidence-based data on the work of doulas, those who are trained to work with and advocate for women before, during and after childbirth. A May 2023 story in The Free LanceStar detailed their work.

But there wasnt a program for doula certification in the Fredericksburg area until one of the health districts partners, Germanna Community College, heard about the need and started a program last summer to certify doulas.

We brought all these partners to the table and we now have a process to begin to address the inequity, Obasanjo said.

Kaine, whos been in politics for 30 years, said that when he decided to focus his remarks on disparities in health care access among African Americans, he researched to see if King had commented on the matter.

What I hadnt known is Dr. King said of all inequities, the most shocking are health inequities, even more than criminal justice or wealth, environmental justice or housing, the senator told the audience.

He gave examples of times where strict equality wasnt getting the job done and in order to do better, we had to focus on equity.

For instance, when Kaine became Virginia governor in 2005, he said was concerned that the state ranked 15th for its economy but 30th in infant mortality. He wondered how a state that was doing so well economically could perform below average in a vital category.

He appointed a health commissioner, a pediatrician who said the issue wasnt prevalent throughout the states 134 counties and cities, but was a big problem in about 10 of them. Instead of creating a statewide program that divvied up resources equally among localities, Kaine proposed targeting the areas that needed help the most.

Kaine said the same was true in 2021 when the first COVID-19 vaccines came out. Initially, there werent enough doses for the entire population so priority was given to those age 65 and over on a first-come, first-served basis.

Nobody can say that wasnt an equal policy, he said.

But what people quickly noticed was that not everyone was able to spend hours on the phone, or computer, searching for available vaccines. Likewise, not everyone had transportation to pharmacies or clinics across town, or they couldnt take time off from work to get vaccinated.

Meanwhile, statistics showed a disproportionate number of Blacks and Latinos getting COVID, and dying, as the virus also had more lethal affects on the senior set. Public health officials started campaigns to bring vaccination clinics to public housing and senior centers, churches and community buildings, especially in medically underserved areas.

Those kinds of adjustments will have to be made going forward, the senator said, especially as groups such as the Fredericksburg chapter of the NAACP bring attention to racial disparities.

We ought to be measured on our effectiveness, Kaine said. Sometimes we need to inject a little bit of equity into that program to make sure the people who have the most need, the people who are most at risk, are the people on whom resources are being focused.
The past few days' extreme cold weather has put a strain on Colorado Springs' plumbing, keeping the Colorado Springs Fire Department busy with calls as temperatures rise and water damage presents itself.

The CSFD said that crews had been called out to at least 25 burst water pipes or sprinkler heads, including one in the fire department's headquarters, since Jan. 12. CSFD spokesperson Ashley Franco said that crews were actively responding to six calls at the same time Tuesday afternoon.

"We're just getting dispatched nonstop to these calls," she said.

Franco said that water damage caused by expansion in freezing pipes can often not become a problem until temperatures rise and water melts enough to cause a leak. She said that the CSFD expected even more calls into Wednesday as the weather becomes milder.

"As soon as these temperatures start to warm up ... we expect and prepare to get very busy," she said.

The Fire Department's main objective when responding to a water call is to look for structural damage, especially in a space like an apartment building where a burst pipe could compromise lower floors, Franco said. She said crews also try to clean up water damage with squeegees.

Soaring Eagles Community School in District 2 was one of the plumbing casualties this weekend. A email went out to parents on Sunday warning that a water fire line burst, damaging five classrooms and several other rooms.

"We have Restoration Services specialists and experts on-site and have determined there is no way to hold school on Tuesday, January 16th," the email said.

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The school said it plans to reopen Wednesday.

Franco said that people experiencing a water damage emergency can call 911, though the department prefers that people use the CSFD nonemergency line to conserve resources. The CSFD nonemergency number is 719-444-7000.

Once the fire department has come out to turn off the water and assess the damage, fixing the burst pipe requires repairs. Ed Buss, owner of Always Plumbing and Heating in Colorado Springs, said he is getting calls "about every 15 minutes" for burst pipes in a variety of settings including commercial spaces, single-family homes, apartments and trailers.

He said that with temperatures still on the rise, people "might not even realize yet" that their pipe has burst.

"A lot of times people have to go to work and their pipes are still frozen, so they don't know until they get back," he said.

Buss said he planned on receiving a high quantity of calls for service into the week as problems presented themselves. He said that plumbing companies were also receiving a backlog of requests that might mean longer wait times.

He said that once a pipe is burst, the main action to take is to turn off the water. For a frozen pipe, keeping the faucet on might help relieve pressure.

Franco said that despite safety tips like leaving cabinets open and faucets running, sometimes damage is unavoidable and unexpected.

"A lot of times, it's a lot of water all at once," she said.
The woman facing charges for her part in a November triple homicide in Custer County has been extradited to Colorado.

According to the Custer County Sheriff's Office, Nancy Rae Medina-Kochis was transferred from a New Mexico jail to El Paso County on Monday.

A report from the El Paso County jail states Medina-Kochis was booked at 6:47 p.m. Monday, nearly two months following her initial arrest alongside 45-year-old Hamne Clark, who is still in custody in New Mexico as of Tuesday morning.

Clark is believed to have shot and killed three victims and injured an additional person in Westcliffe amid an incident allegedly tied to a property dispute on Nov. 20, according to arrest records.

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U.S. marshals and New Mexico state police arrested Clark during a high-risk, felony stop" just outside Albuquerque on Nov. 21.

While Clark is believed to have shot all four victims, Medina-Kochis was in the car at the time of his arrest.

Shortly after Clark's arrest, Medina-Kochis was arrested on charges of being an accessory to crime. It is unclear what charges she is facing following her extradition.

According to El Paso County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Sgt. Marcus Miller, Medina-Kochis is booked in El Paso County on a "courtesy hold," for the Custer County Sheriff's Office.
Nearly two-thirds of the 17 public school districts in the Pikes Peak region saw graduation rates improve last May, some markedly and others by a smidgen, according a Gazette analysis of recently released data from the Colorado Department of Education.

Six districts in the Colorado Springs area posted declines of the four-year graduation rate over May of 2022  Academy D-20, Calhan RJ-1, Colorado Springs D-11, Edison 54-JT, Ellicott D-22 and Lewis-Palmer D-38.

However, retention and completion of Colorado high school students continues to reflect improvement from stagnant rates of 81.7% to 81.9% during the COVID-19 pandemic, state officials say.

Statewide, the class of 2023s rate of 83.1% of students graduating from high school in four years was the highest reached since the four-year graduation measurement began in 2009.

It was a bit up from 82.3% in 2022 and reflects an increase from 2018s 80.7% and the dismal 77.3% that 2014 and 2015 brought.

Nationally, Colorado still lags the national average for on-time public high school graduation, which was 87% in 2020, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Colorado students continued to miss school last year at a higher rate than pre-pandemic levels, state education officials said, which is causing concern about academic improvement and could have contributed to slow progress.

Gains are the product of hard work by educators, families and students over the years, Colorado Education Commissioner Susana Cordova said last week in announcing the release of the statistics.

Given the challenges that our students and educators have faced over the last four years, I am glad that in Colorado we continue to see an improved graduation rate and a decreasing dropout rate, Cordova said. It shows students know the value of staying in school and receiving a quality education.

Studies continue to show that successfully graduating from high school represents a significant milestone that opens doors to numerous opportunities for students after high school, she added.

Area school districts with the highest graduation rates last year were: Cheyenne Mountain D-12, 96.6%; Manitou Springs D-14, 93.85%, Fountain-Fort Carson D-8, 93.0%; and Academy D-20, 92.9%.

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The lowest graduation rates locally included: School District 49, 55.7%; Colorado Springs D-11, 70.1%; Woodland Park RE-2, 73%; and Hanover D-28, 73.7%.

The states overall dropout rate also improved last year, falling to 2.1%. Still, 9,665 students in grades seven through 12 dropped out  but that was 859 students fewer than the previous year, the education department reported.

Five local school districts recorded the best dropout rates of less than 0.5% last school year: Academy D-20 in northern Colorado Springs, the regions largest school district; Edison 54-JT in Yoder, the regions smallest district; Cheyenne Mountain D-12 in the Broadmoor neighborhood; Peyton 23-JT in unincorporated eastern El Paso County; and Lewis-Palmer D-38 in Monument.

Posting the worst dropout rates among all students were School District 49, the areas second-largest school district, with a dropout rate of 9%, Cripple Creek-Victor RE-1, a small mountain district in Teller County, which had a rate of 7.1%, and Colorado Springs D-11, the regions oldest school district, which saw a 3.7% dropout rate.

The rates can be skewed by district size and composition, officials say. Numbers for smaller districts such as Cripple Creek-Victor, which enrolled between 16 and 200 students, and for districts such as D-49 and D-11, which sometimes enroll more at-risk students who attend alternative schools, may not present a clear portrayal, according to district leaders.

When alternative schools are not included in the big picture, D-49 had a 0.9% dropout rate, and D-11 had a 2.7% dropout rate  more on par with other area districts.

Harrison D-2 bucks that line of reasoning though, with its alternative schools experiencing a 21.4% dropout rate last year  the highest rate for alternative schools among all 17 regional districts  but overall among all D-2 students, the dropout rate was 1.8%.

Racial disparities in students staying in school and graduating also continue to be apparent.

While 1.2% of white students in Colorado dropped out last year, the rate for Hispanic students was 3.2%, for Blacks, 2.8%, and for American Indians and Alaska natives, 4.2%. Among races, Asian students in Colorado had the lowest dropout rate of 0.7%.

Other categories of students dropping out more than the 2.1% state average were: students in foster care, 5.5% dropout rate; migrant students, 4.6%; students who are homeless, 4.8%; English language learners, 4.1%; and students in Title 1 schools in low-income neighborhoods, 3.9%.
After a school shooting Jan. 4 left a sixth grader and a school principal dead and seven others wounded at a small-town Iowa high school, education officials say they are doing everything possible to prevent gun violence.

The shootings, which ended when the assailant, a 17-year-old Perry High School student, took his own life, sparked a fresh round of debate about how to be keep students safe.

Pat Hamilton, superintendent of Mason City Schools, said the district is doing the best we can to ensure the security of our students and staff is a top priority, as it is in all school districts across Iowa. We have implemented safety procedures to create a secure learning environment.

At Mason City, lockdown drills are conducted to ensure that students and staff are well-prepared to respond to emergencies. These drills follow established protocols, and the students age determines the depth and intensity, Hamilton said.

Hamilton said he holds periodic discussions with students and staff, focusing on safety protocols and emergency response strategies.

Staff undergo comprehensive training in ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) procedures, said Hamilton. This proactive approach equips our staff with the knowledge and skills necessary to respond effectively to potential threats.

During school hours, access to our buildings is controlled through double-locked vestibules. This layered security measure enhances control over who enters the building, providing an additional barrier to unauthorized individuals and promoting a safer environment, Hamilton added.

Entry points at all Mason City school buildings are reinforced with specially designed glass to add an extra layer of protection. This measure helps prevent unauthorized access.

Schools are also equipped with an extensive camera system that monitors critical areas to enhance security. This system serves as a deterrent and aids in real-time monitoring, allowing for prompt response to any unusual activities.

We continuously evaluate our security protocols to align with best practices and emerging threats, ensuring that our school remains a safe and secure environment for everyone, said Hamilton.

State response

Gov. Kim Reynolds addressed the shooting at the start of her Condition of the State address Tuesday evening, saying, Our hearts are still heavy and our prayers continue for the victims and their families, and for the entire Perry community.  The senselessness of it shakes us to our very core. Yet even in the darkest hour, light and hope break through. That was certainly the case on that day.

She thanked school officials and first responders, some of whom were in the audience. But she made no mention of gun laws, a topic that brought high school and college students to the Capitol rotunda Monday to advocate for gun control legislation.

Democratic House and Senate leaders said Reynolds and Republicans should address firearm access and broader gun violence issues in the wake of the shooting.

One of the best ways to honor the community of Perry, who just endured this shooting, is to come up with policies that will make it so theres not another school shooting, said House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights.

In 2022, Reynolds announced $100 million in school safety funding to support Iowas 327 public districts and 183 nonpublic and independent schools. This initiative provided an emergency radio to every school in Iowa, funds active shooter training to schools and places of worship, as well as training to Iowa law enforcement and first responders.

The Iowa Governors School Safety Bureau was also tasked to develop and monitor a threat reporting tool that is assessable via an app, website, and telephone.

The bureau, along with the Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the FBI, continue to investigate a Sunday night threat made against St. Ansgar schools via a social media post, according to Mitchell County Sheriff Greg Beaver.

St. Ansgar cancelled classes Monday in light of the threat. No suspect has been identified and no arrest has been made, according to Beaver.

Shooting database

The K-12 School Shooting Database is a research project that tracks data from every single time a gun goes off in an American public school, according to project founder David Riedman.

From 1970 until 2024, there have been 2,649 school shootings in the United States resulting in the deaths of 1,031 people, according to the database.

The shooting in Perry on Jan. 4 was the fourth mass shooting in the United States in 2024, according to the Gun Violence Archive, and Riedman said the Perry shooting is not atypical from similar deadly shootings, which have increased since 2010.

From the information thats available so far, Perry fits the profile of hundreds of other attacks that Ive studied, Riedman told Iowa Public Radios Ben Keiffer in an interview last week. School shootings are not random, theyre usually committed by somebody with a direct connection to the campus, usually a current or former student, and that person develops a specific grievance against the school.

Authorities havent released a motive in the Perry shootings, but two friends of the shooter and their mother who spoke with the Associated Press said Butler was a quiet person who had been bullied relentlessly since elementary school. Sisters Yesenia Roeder and Khamya Hall, both 17, said alongside their mother, Alita, that it escalated recently when Butlers younger sister started getting picked on, too.

The parents of the Perry shooter said in a statement they had no inkling he intended the horrible violence he was about to inflict. We are simply devastated and our grief for the deceased, his family, the wounded and their families is immeasurable.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story has been updated.
Iowa Republican Attorney General Brenna Bird on Friday filed notice of appeal of a federal district courts decision to halt implementation of a law signed last year that bans books with descriptions or visual depictions of a list of sex acts from school libraries.

When we send our kids to school, we trust that their innocence will be protected, Bird said in a statement.   Iowas law is clear; sexually explicit books and materials have no place in our elementary school classrooms or libraries.

As a mom, I share parents concerns and remain committed to keeping our schools a safe place for kids to learn and grow. With this appeal, we will continue the fight to protect Iowa families and to uphold Iowas law in court.

The law was challenged by the ACLU of Iowa, the publishing company Penguin Random House Publishing, 16 LGBTQ students in Iowa, the LGBTQ advocacy organization Iowa Safe Schools and the Iowa State Education Association teachers union on the grounds that it violates their First Amendment rights to free speech.

The lawsuit argues books being removed from schools under the age-appropriate standard are not pornography and fail to meet the definition of obscenity as determined by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The suit argues the law prohibits books with even a brief description of a sex act for students of all ages without any evaluation of the book as a whole or its literary, artistic, political or scientific value.

In his order blocking the law until litigation is settled, U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Locher called the law wildly overbroad."

The sweeping restrictions in Senate File 496 are unlikely to satisfy the First Amendment under any standard of scrutiny and thus may not be enforced while the case is pending, Locher wrote in the ruling.

The judge noted the law has resulted in removal of hundreds of books, including, among others, non-fiction history books, classic works of fiction, Pulitzer Prize winning contemporary novels and even books designed to help students avoid being victimized by sexual assault.

The law also that prohibits the teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation through sixth grade. Locher wrote the law defines those terms in generic terms, meaning it would apply to the teaching of all gender identity and sexual orientation, not just when it pertains to LGBTQ individuals.

The statute is therefore content-neutral but so wildly overbroad that every school district and elementary school teacher in the State has likely been violating it since the day the school year started, he wrote.

PAT GRASSLEY RESPONSE

Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, said this week House Republicans may pass additional legislation to clarify or expand on the new law.

I can't wrap my head around how this issue of sexually explicit material and schools got so convoluted, Grassely said Monday during his opening day speech laying out House Republicans priorities for the 2024 legislative session.

I'm still shocked that we actually have people willing to fight this hard to keep pornographic material in our schools, Grassley said. What is the educational value of oral sex scenes in school library books? I'm completely confused and disturbed by this being the case.

Last session, we passed a simple solution to protect Iowa's students from inappropriate material. It should have been an easy policy for schools to implement, but instead, some chose to politicize this issue. And if we need to pass additional legislation this session, we will.

ADMINISTRATIVE RULES

Opponents of the law also say the proposed administrative rules do not go far enough in clarifying the intent of the legislation and would lead to far too many books being removed from school library shelves.

The rules clarify that a reference or mention of a sex act in a way that does not describe or visually depict the act is not prohibited from school libraries.

The rules also apply only to a library that a school has direct control over, and schools with libraries that serve multiple grades must ensure that students have access only to material appropriate for their grades.

On the portion of the law prohibiting instruction on gender and sexual orientation, the department stipulated that a neutral statement regarding sexual orientation or gender identity does not violate the rules.

The rules state a school board would receive a written warning on the first violation, and on the second violation, the superintendent and employees of the school could receive disciplinary action.

Erin Murphy and Caleb McCullough of The Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau contributed to this report.
DES MOINES  Iowas Board of Medicine suggested changes to the proposed rules to carry out an Iowa law that bans abortions early in pregnancy, which remains blocked in court as the Iowa Supreme Court weighs its constitutionality.

The law bans abortion once cardiac activity is detected in an embryo or fetus, which can be as early as six weeks. It includes exceptions for rape and incest and medical emergencies. A Polk County District Court judge temporarily blocked the law shortly after its passage last summer, but allowed the rulemaking process to move forward.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, signed the law last year after it was passed by legislative Republicans in a special session.

Board members recommended a number of changes to the proposed rules after gathering feedback in a public hearing last week, where physicians raised concerns about the requirements placed on them and the impact on recruitment for OB-GYNs in the state.

What do doctors need to know before performing an abortion?

During a board meeting on Friday, members of the board expressed some hesitation about requiring physicians to obtain information to determine whether a pregnancy is the result of a rape or incest.

According to the draft rules, physicians intending to perform an abortion after cardiac activity is detected must gather certain facts to determine whether the pregnancy was a result of a rape or incest. Those questions include the relationship between the patient and the perpetrator, whether the act constituted a rape under Iowa code, when the sex act occurred and whether the act was first reported to a separate agency or individual.

Board members worried that doctors would have a hard time verifying those facts, and said those questions are generally not within the scope of a general doctors visit.

My personal sentiment for really all of the rules is to try to adopt a set of rules that, to the extent possible, minimizes any interference, delay or undue extras into the physician-patient relationship to the extent possible, said board member Jason Myers.

The board recommended changing the rules to indicate that a physician needs to use the information in their determination, but does not need to ask the patient each question in person. Some board members suggested the information could be obtained by a nurse or submitted on a form before the visit.

Iowa Deputy Attorney General Leif Olson also said there is no burden on a physician to verify claims of rape or incest with a third party. According to the rules, doctors may rely on a good-faith assessment that the information provided by the pregnant woman is accurate.

If its the sort of information that the physician would typically rely on that the patient were telling them the truth, and in good faith they think that the patient is doing so, they can proceed without having to call and get independent information or copies of other third-party documents to back up the womans story, he said.

Who can attest to a rape or incest?

The board recommended including in the rules that a parent or legal guardian can attest to the facts about a rape or incest in cases of abortion, rather than just the pregnant person.

Board members said the change would make it more clear that a parent of a pregnant minor can provide the needed information to a physician in order to obtain an exception to the abortion ban.

What are the definitions of woman and unborn child?

Following the text of the law, the proposed rules refer to the pregnant person throughout as a woman. The board proposed extending the definition of woman in the rules to include a minor female child.

Iowa Deputy Attorney General Leif Olson said laws governing abortion have historically used the term woman" to refer to the pregnant person, but they have been understood to mean both adults and minors.

Doctors on the board, though, said the language does not match the medical terminology they generally use and wanted to clarify the rules also apply to people who have not reached adulthood.

Board members also proposed defining the term unborn child as embryo or fetus. The law uses the term unborn child to refer to an embryo or fetus from the time of conception to birth, but the board members said that is not the term used in medical practice.

How should the ultrasound be done?

The board also recommended changing the type of ultrasound required by doctors to determine whether cardiac activity is present in a pregnancy. The law and draft rules use the term abdominal ultrasound, but board member Robert Donnelly, an OB-GYN, said an abdominal ultrasound is not what doctors use to determine a fetal heartbeat.

Instead, he said the rules should require a transabdominal pelvic ultrasound.

"If you order an abdominal ultrasound, then you're not going to get the pelvic structures," he said. "So you're not going to get the uterus and ovaries and that sort of thing."

Whats next?

The Board of Medicine will vote on the amended rules at a later date. If approved, they will go before the state Legislature's Administrative Rules Review Committee. If the committee does not object to the rules, they will become law after 35 days.

Because of the injunction on the law, though, the rules will not be enforceable until the case is resolved.
Can you connect the dots between Danville and Deadwood, South Dakota? Probably not.

Hint: The same 1,384-mile, dotted line that joins the two cities also joins Danvilles Museum of Fine Arts & History, Averett University Alumni & Friends Tour and the Historic Adams House Museum in Deadwood.

How does that work? In the Averett group that leaves on June 12, there are several travelers who are also Danville museum sponsor members. Because of that, they receive free admission to Deadwoods No. 1 attraction, the Adams House Museum, while on a seven-day tour of the Black Hills, Badlands and Mount Rushmore.

The two museums have a reciprocal agreement. Thats an extra perk for Danville museum members during their three hours of free time in the 1876 gambling town where Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane became legends. There is plenty for all to see, however, because the entire city is a national historic landmark with a carefully preserved Main Street.

Eleven other trips have been taken by hundreds of Averett alums and friends since 2011.

Friends means anyone can join us, says Larry Wilburn, organizer of the trips and a retired Averett administrator and professor. We usually travel internationally but thought seeing the United States would be appealing this year.

Amanda Speer, regional manager with Premier World Discovery, agreed when she spoke to the group about her familiarization tour a few years ago.

My favorite part of the trip was seeing the unique landscapes on the scenic drives and the remoteness, she said. There were no shopping centers nor malls, just nature. Also, I liked the Crazy Horse Memorial, a massive ongoing sculpture that honors the Native American leader, she says. It is intended to be the largest sculpture in the world when its completed.

A major attraction for all visitors is the 1,500 free-roaming buffalo.

You will get up close and personal to them on a jeep safari, Amanda said.

Travelers may follow that experience with a cowboy cookout and music by local entertainers and thats just a small part of the fun-filled itinerary.

The Averett visitors will fly from RDU to Rapid City, aka the City of Presidents.

Speer explains why it has that nickname, In the downtown area there are life-size, bronze statues of all the presidents.

On her visit, she remembers laughing at a conversation that ended with, Ill meet you by President Eisenhower.

Of course, no visit to South Dakota is complete without seeing Mount Rushmore and the group will view it twice, once in the daylight and again for a special night-time show.

When packing for the trip, Speer has one more suggestion for visiting the mountains and plains of the Mid-West, Be sure to bring your binoculars.

Space is limited and available on a first-come basis. For more information and to register for the trip, visit www.premierworlddiscovery.com. Search for Black Hills, Badlands, and Mount Rushmore or call 434-770-3285. For Danville museum membership info, visit www.danvillemuseum.org or call 434-793-5644.
Danville Public Schools and Pittsylvania County Schools were closed Tuesday with icy conditions on some roads.

The potential for icy road conditions is delayed the opening of Pittsylvania County government offices until 10 a.m. Tuesday, according to county spokesperson Diana McFarland.

The budget workshop originally scheduled to start at 10 a.m. will begin at noon at the Community Center.

The board of supervisors work session and business meeting will be held as scheduled. The work session begins at 4 p.m. and is followed by the business meeting at 7 p.m.

Schools and government offices were closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Four people, including three Virginia residents, pleaded guilty last week in an illegal duck-hunting operation that involved baiting a Middleburg pond in violation of federal law, resulting in dozens of dead migratory wood ducks.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said Michael Scott, 36, of Purcellville; Eric Scott, 29, of Hillsboro; Christian Hoyt, 39, of Lovettsville; and taxidermist Timothy Young, 48, of Frederick, Maryland, all were barred from hunting for 18 months and fined up to $1,000 for hunting ducks over a baited area.

Officials said the illegal hunting activity, which took place between August and November of 2022, was organized by Clint Burlett, 41, who filled a nearly quarter-acre pond on his Middleburg farm with "significant amounts of corn" for the purpose of baiting ducks for his family and friends to hunt.

Federal law prohibits hunting waterfowl over baited areas or certain agricultural features such as manipulated crop fields and grain storage facilities.

Officials said Burlett, in messages sent to Michael Scott, Eric Scott, Hoyt and Young, invited the group of experienced hunters to the baited pond to "smash (the ducks) when it (is) go time." In one message, sent from Eric Scott to Burlett, Eric Scott expressed hope that the group would beat the previous year's total of dead ducks.

Over the course of a few days in early October 2022, the group illegally killed 91 ducks over the baited pond, officials said.

The illegal hunting then continued through the end of November 2022.

Burlett in November pleaded guilty to baiting the ducks and organizing the illegal hunts, according to court records. He was prohibited from hunting for a period of two years and fined $2,700.

Investigators with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources worked jointly to investigate the case, officials said.

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Note: 01/24/24. UNCG has corrected/updated its enrollment numbers for the academic programs recommended for elimination that it had originally posted on its website, and that were reflected in an earlier version of this story. The university has said those errors reflected mistakes in what was communicated, not in the original data used to make the recommendations. This article has been updated with changes reflect the university's corrected/updated numbers and to provide greater clarity. Changes to totals mentioned in the story are in bold below.

GREENSBORO  Programs in anthropology, physics and physical education/teacher education are among those that could be discontinued by UNCG based on recommendations from their deans, who were asked to come up with a list by Chancellor Frank Gilliam.

Others include degrees in religious studies, minors in Russian and Chinese, and Korean language classes, all of which have students currently enrolled.

The school is also "pausing" new admissions to the doctorate-level program in social work offered jointly with N.C. A&T, which the schools spent about 20 years to get off the ground, Gilliam said.

"We just don't have huge student demand there and increasingly don't have the faculty to cover that," Gilliam said Tuesday.

The much-anticipated announcement was made after months of speculation and consternation by some faculty and students critical of the move, which the school views as a means to rid itself of extraneous programs. It's also in response to a number of young adults choosing not to attend college.

The list is a result of an academic review that started in 2022, which included the universitys full academic portfolio.

"We thought it was better to be proactive rather than reactive," Gilliam said.

The economy, changing nature of the labor market and the loss of trust in institutions, especially higher education, are all factors, he explained.

"The decisions aren't just made for today, but really to think about the next couple of decades and where we hope UNCG ends up," Gilliam said.

The recommendations were posted Tuesday on the university's website, but do not represent a final decision. UNCG has over 175 undergraduate areas of study and over 250 master's and doctoral programs. The programs that have been recommended for discontinuation would affect less than 1% of current undergraduates and less than 2% of graduate students, according to Gilliam.

"I think the deans saw it as a challenge and an opportunity," Gilliam said.

Deans were not required to make recommendations but were asked to review the programs.

Students come here for the strength of our particular programs, and what we are trying to do is find ways to reallocate resources so that we can meet that demand," Gilliam said.

Among those majors on the list, there are currently 62 students in anthropology, followed by physics (30), religious studies (24) and physical education/teacher education (eight).

The deans have also proposed eliminating graduate degrees in mathematics (all concentrations), interior architecture and dual masters in nursing science and business administration, which currently has (10) students. The standalone MBA and MSN programs are not affected.

Gilliam said student enrollment, measured in credit hours, is a key metric the university is using to compare programs. At the same time, he added, there are some programs, such as minors in Islamic and Jewish studies, that are "so core to the universitys mission" that it makes sense to keep them  even with lower numbers.

While we may lose some," Gilliam said of those choosing to apply to UNCG, "we may gain others because we are able to take more students in certain programs.

Leaders of the schools American Association of University Professors have questioned Gilliams assertion that cutting programs as a result of the review will lead to a stronger university.

Looking forward, the universitys academic review timeline includes potential negotiations with other universities or colleges for students to finish some degrees there.

The phasing out of programs that will be eliminated is expected to be a years-long process.

The university has a series of forums and meetings planned between now and Jan. 26 for faculty, students, alumni and others to discuss the recommendations.

After considering the deans recommendations, university Provost Debbie Storrs will present her own to Gilliam on Feb. 1.

Gilliam is expected to make decisions that day on which recommendations to accept, according to a timeline posted on UNCGs website.
AI has come for the animals.

When the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks unveiled its 43rd annual photo issue of Montana Outdoors on Jan. 1, the magazine carried an explanation on page 1: Magazine staff, editor Tom Dickson wrote the magazine had gone to great lengths to verify that photos submitted for the issue were, in fact, photos.

Dickson's concern was that images produced by generative artificial intelligence  AI programs that create new material in response to a prompt  now often appear as realistic as actual photographs and could be submitted to the magazine for publication.

On today's episode, Joshua Murdock, natural resources reporter for the Missoulian newspaper, discusses his reporting on AI-generated wildlife imagery.

Artificial animals: AI threatens photo comps, conservation Images produced by generative artificial intelligence  AI programs that create new material in response to a prompt  now often appear as realistic as actual photographs.

This podcast is created in partnership across five newsrooms  the Billings Gazette, Helena Independent Record, Missoulian, Montana Standard and Ravalli Republic. You can support this podcast, and our efforts, by becoming a subscriber.
A John Deere affiliate continues to purchase undeveloped properties near the manufacturers Kernersville operations, the latest transaction involves paying $1.28 million for a 34.66-acre tract at 135 Echols Circle.

According to a Forsyth County Register of Deeds filing Friday, John Deere Kernersville LLC was the buyer, while Brantley Commercial Properties LLC of Greensboro was the seller.

John Deere has been operating in Kernersville for 35 years and manufactures a variety of hydraulic excavators on-site.

In December, John Deere Kernersville paid $190,500 for two parcels at 1426 W. Mountain St. containing a combined 9.51 acres.

Omnisource LLC of Fort Wayne, Ind., was the seller in that transaction. Omnisource is a processor, distributor and manager of scrap and other metals, according to the companys website. The overall Omnisource property contains 263.4 acres, according to the county Tax Parcel website.

In a separate June transaction, an affiliate of John Deere Kernersville has paid a combined $1.38 million for three properties: a 32.1-acre tract at 249 Perry Road; a 2.01-acre lot at 241 Perry Road; and a 2.35 acre lot at 229 Perry Road.

Deere and Co. announced in August plans to build a $69.6 million electric battery plant and North American headquarters in Kernersville for John Deere Electric Powertrain LLC.

The site is a vacant 14.31-acre tract at 900 W. Mountain St. that Deere & Co. paid $1.7 million for the property in June.

John Deere Electric Powertrain is a joint venture between Deere & Co. and Kreisel Electric, which develops lithium ion battery systems for applications of up to 800 volts. Deere & Co. took majority ownership of Kreisel in 2022.

The manufacturer plans to produce lithium ion battery systems at the site for mostly off-road vehicles used at construction sites and remote agricultural areas.

The manufacturer projects creating between 50 and 87 full-time or full-time-equivalent jobs at the new facility with an average annual wage of $62,951.
First in Freedom, our state license plates proclaim. Is this claim true?

Great Britain was heavily in debt following the French and Indian War. Parliament thought it fitting to tax the American colonies to help pay the debt, since the war was fought on our soil.

In December 1773, Cornelius Harnett hosted a gathering of leaders at his home near Wilmington and established a Committee of Correspondence. It also advocated for a Provincial Congress to be held without the Royal Governor being present.

North Carolinians joined other colonies protesting the Stamp and Townsend acts, passing a resolution in the Colonial Assembly condemning them. Governor Tryon dissolved the Assembly, but most of its members met in an extralegal convention in 1769 and approved a non-importation association. Historian William Powell says it was, the first such legislative body in any of the colonies.

In response to the Boston Tea Party and Intolerable Acts passed by Parliament, elections were held and 71 delegates from 30 counties and four towns assembled in New Bern for The First Provincial Congress, from August 25-27, 1774. My ancestor, Farquard Campbell, from Campbellton (later renamed Fayetteville), was one of them. This was the first Congress conducted in the American colonies against the authority of the Royal Crown.

The delegates passed The New Bern Resolves, denouncing laws persecuting Boston, reaffirming their loyalty to King George while also claiming their rights as English Citizens, chiefly that no citizen will be taxed without his own or his legal representatives consent. The resolves stated that the duties, tariffs and taxes imposed upon them without their consent were illegal and oppressive.

Unless their rights were acknowledged and their grievances redressed, they declared that North Carolina would not directly or indirectly import any British goods or merchandise (medicines excepted). Further, if their grievances were not redressed by October 1775, North Carolina would not export tobacco, pitch, tar, turpentine or any other article whatsoever to Great Britain, nor to anyone who might export them to Britain.

Before adjourning, the First Provincial Congress proposed that a General Congress be held in Philadelphia on September 20th of the next year and named William Hooper, Joseph Hewes and Richard Caswell to be delegates to that Congress. They instructed the three to express their sincere attachment to our most gracious sovereign King George the third, and our determined resolution to support his lawful authority in this province. However, they were resolute in a firm and resolute defence [sic] of our persons and properties against all unconstitutional encroachments whatever.

These New Bern Resolves and Provincial Congress were a first among the colonies. A Committee of Safety was formed, bills of credit were passed, and an army was authorized to enforce the boycott. Trade between the colony and England declined measurably.

In August 1774, Penelope Barker and Elizabeth King reaffirmed the boycotts by holding a tea party in Edenton  not as famous as the Boston event, but still important  swearing off British tea and substituting a tea made from leaves of the Yaupon tree. Wilmington women burned tea.

Two more significant dates are noted on our state flag. The May 20, 1775, Mecklenburg Resolves and the April 12, 1776, Halifax Resolves.

In the month following the fighting at Lexington and Concord the Mecklenburg Committee of Safety drafted The Mecklenburg Resolves, acknowledged to be the first of any colony. It vacated all laws coming from Parliament and the Crown and declared the Crown no longer had power in North Carolina. It was reportedly the basis of the questionable Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. No copy exists but, if authentic, would precede the 1776 Declaration by a year.

The resolves prompted Royal Governor Josiah Martin to issue a Fiery Proclamation, calling loyalists to take up arms and suppress the rebellion. The Battle of Moores Creek Bridge was a stunning defeat for loyalists, resulting in Martin retreating from New Bern to safety on a British ship.

Following Martins abdication, a Fourth Provincial Congress met in Halifax. North Carolinas delegates to the Continental Congress had asked for instructions regarding independence and, following little debate, all 83 delegates approved the Halifax Resolves, instructing North Carolina delegates to vote in favor of independence, the first state reportedly doing so.

On Dec. 18, 1776, the Fifth Provincial Congress debated and approved the first Constitution for North Carolina, replacing the previous colonial charter. It created a new government, contained a bill of rights and provided for the legal structure for the state.

The evidence is clear that North Carolina provided significant and important leadership to the revolution for freedom. Too few know or appreciate our role in the creation of this nation, but, as North Carolinians, we need to remember and appreciate our rich heritage.

Important note: On Monday, Jan. 22, 2024, The Pamlico Historical Association will host noted historian, Nelson McDaniel to speak on the background, details and impact of the New Bern Resolves, as well as North Carolinas importance in the Revolution. The 7 p.m. meeting is free and will be held at the Museum on Highway 55 in Grantsboro.
GUEST RESEARCH: The implementation of new technologies and digital tools is reshaping Australias public sector, with new research showing 85% of government workers surveyed had recently experienced a digital initiative being implemented within their department or agency.

A survey of 425 Australian government workers undertaken by Appian, a software company that automates organisational processes, found that most government workers believe that their agencys own digital transformation projects have had positive impacts on the public, with 63% of those surveyed saying that the adoption of new technologies had made government services more accessible to citizens.

Making government services accessible to citizens is a critical function of the public sector. Through innovative technologies like automation, AI, and user-friendly digital platforms, government bodies can streamline processes, reduce complexities, and ensure that their services are more readily available to all citizens, regardless of their location or background. This is not just about convenience; it's about empowering citizens and enhancing the democratic process," said Appian area vice president Asia Pacific and Japan Luke Thomas.

Positively, the introduction of new technologies within government departments and agencies has led to better organisational communication, with 64% of workers experiencing improved collaboration following new solutions being deployed.

However, contrary to any belief that the digitisation of traditional work processes would ease workloads of government employees, a vast majority of public sector workers reported their daily workloads had either increased (47%) or remained at the same level (43%) since the introduction of new digital processes.

Data silos were identified as a significant issue in the Australian public sector, with a majority of government workers reporting that data accessibility was a problem in their workplace. Alarmingly, only 11% of public sector employees said that they did not have issues with accessing the data they needed in their roles. This issue has led to 33% of government workers saying that they often had to undertake tasks without all the data they required, due to inaccessible information within their department or agency.

"Data silos in the public sector pose significant challenges. Without a unified view of data, government workers can struggle to make informed decisions, negatively impacting their efficiency and effectiveness. Moreover, these silos create barriers to collaboration, preventing different departments and agencies from working together seamlessly. Breaking down these silos is essential to improve public service delivery, enhance collaboration, and ultimately serve the community better," said Thomas.

Appian research also showed that while artificial intelligence (AI) has created headlines recently, it has not translated to the deployment of these solutions in the public sector, with 74% of government workers saying that they never or very rarely used AI in their current role. This correlates with low levels of confidence that government workers have in using AI to support their daily tasks, where only 14% of workers expressed strong levels of confidence in using such tools.

While the utilisation of AI within government spaces is currently at low levels, it is expected that this situation will change over coming years. To harness the full potential of AI, it's imperative that government bodies educate their workforces on new tools as these are introduced. This will not only increase the adoption of AI technologies but also ensure that these tools are used responsibly and effectively, enhancing public service delivery and decision-making processes, concluded Thomas.

About Appian

Appian is a software company that automates business processes. The Appian AI Process Platform includes everything you need to design, automate, and optimise even the most complex processes, from start to finish. The world's most innovative organisations trust Appian to improve their workflows, unify data, and optimise operationsresulting in better growth and superior customer experiences.
COMPANY NEWS: Logicalis, the leading global technology service provider, has announced the release of the next generation of its Digital Fabric Platform, providing chief information officers (CIOs) with deeper-level insights and recommendations to underpin the performance of their entire digital ecosystem.

The Digital Fabric Platform was first launched by Logicalis in April 2023, designed to give CIOs a real-time view of how their entire digital ecosystem is performing across five metrics including reliability, security and compliance, economics, user experience, and environment, and benchmarked across industry standards.

Following a successful initial uptake from over 200 digital managed services customers across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, and the United States, Logicalis has updated the platform with a focus on providing more detailed insights, greater transparency, and actionable AI-powered recommendations.

The key updates in the Digital Fabric Platform include:

Updated user interface (UI)  The enhanced user interface is clean and visually appealing, making it easy for users to visualise their insights on a single page and action recommendations immediately.

Overall health score  the platform gives an overall health score that looks beyond individual devices or configuration items to the entire network, cloud, security, and workplace service.

Deeper insights  The upgraded platform shows high, medium, and low-impact recommendations to improve the health of a customers digital ecosystem, alongside historical progress and performance data and estimated versus actual savings made. This expanded intelligence empowers CIOs to swiftly identify key priorities to improve their digital fabric with the help of AI and automation tools.

Knowledge base  A new knowledge base section will act as an encyclopaedia of the tool, giving customers answers to any questions they may have from how Logicalis calculates metrics, to interpreting health scores.

This vault will continuously evolve to match customer needs enabling them to navigate the platform and insights confidently.

Toby Alcock, chief technology officer, Logicalis, said, Were excited to unveil our latest Digital Fabric Platform release to the market. Our customers voices and feedback are at the heart of our continuous product innovation and have been the driving force behind these platform enhancements. Through the platforms new interface and richer insights, were empowering the CIO with board-level visibility.

About Logicalis:

We are Architects of Change. We help organisations succeed in a digital-first world. At Logicalis, we harness our collective technology expertise to help our clients build a blueprint for success so they can deliver sustainable outcomes that matter.

Our lifecycle services across cloud, connectivity, collaboration, and security are designed to help optimise operations, reduce risk, and empower employees.

As a global technology service provider, we deliver next-generation digital managed services to provide our clients with real-time visibility and actionable insights across the performance of their digital ecosystem, including availability, user experience, security, economic performance, and sustainability.

Our 7000+ Architects of Change are based in 30 territories around the globe, helping our 10,000+ clients across a range of industry sectors create sustainable outcomes through technology.

Logicalis has annualised revenues of $1.7 billion from operations in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Africa.

It is a division of Datatec Limited, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with revenues of over $4.6 billion. For more information visit www.logicalis.com
LogRhythm, the company helping security teams stop breaches by turning disconnected data and signals into trustworthy insights, today announced its seventh consecutive quarterly release. This announcement comes on the heels of over 200 new features released throughout 2023 across the companys self-hosted and cloud-native SaaS SIEM platforms, LogRhythm SIEM and LogRhythm Axon. The continued momentum of releases cement LogRhythms commitment to driving innovation and addressing the cybersecurity industrys greatest challenges in defending against digital weaponisation.

As LogRhythm's SIEM capabilities continue to expand, our primary goal remains delivering powerful security platforms that help customers quickly and confidently secure their environments, said Chris OMalley, CEO of LogRhythm. Whether our customers prefer the control and customisation of a self-hosted solution or the scalability and agility of the cloud, LogRhythm provides the tools and expertise to navigate the evolving threat landscape with confidence.

Empowering Analyst Efficiency: Faster to Detect, Faster to Respond

LogRhythm's ongoing dedication to optimising SOC team and analyst efficiency is exemplified by recent innovation exclusive to LogRhythm Axon. Unlike other vendors, seamless integration with broad case management improvements provides a unified view of each case within the user interface, eliminating the need to switch to separate search functionality when drilling down for additional investigation. This patent pending, integrated methodology centralises case-related information and empowers security analysts with a comprehensive, user-friendly experience, ensuring they have all necessary insights readily available when needing to detect and respond to cyberthreats.

Expanded SaaS-based and Cloud-Native Security with LogRhythm Axon

New, patent pending interactive single screen investigation reduces mean time to respond (MTTR) by highlighting contextual insights of cases with drill-down capabilities of log sources and security analytics in a single pane of glass

Improved Assisted Search feature increases analysts' productivity with suggestions of recent searches, search lists, and search queries

Additional collector for Microsoft Office 365 Management API expands visibility by enabling monitoring, analysis, and data visualisations about user, admin, and policy actions from Office 365 and Microsoft Entra

Enhancements to Axon Agent management increases efficiency for on-prem data collection by making it easier to deploy and upgrade agents

Improved Log Source Onboarding and Platform Experience with Self-Hosted LogRhythm SIEM

Expanded support to onboard additional Beats and Open Collectors from a single location, cutting the workload in half

Simplified Windows Event log onboarding and improved analyst workflows when reviewing alarm notifications

Broadened LogRhythms library of supported log sources and parsing capabilities to enhance the SIEMs ability to correlate and analyse data effectively

LogRhythm NDR

Toggle button to hide safelisted items in the Hunt Activity Page increases analyst efficiency by allowing them to focus on the highest priority detections

Expanded IP geolocation contextualisation with country and region empowers analysts to make quick decisions

Enhancements to detection engines of machine learning DNS models reduces false positives

LogRhythm Axon's ability to adapt to our growing infrastructure and accommodate our diverse security needs has far exceeded our expectations," said Keith Redmond, CTO of The Health Informatics Service. "The platform's advanced analytics and automation capabilities have not only enhanced our overall security posture but have also significantly reduced the burden on our security team, allowing them to focus on more strategic initiatives.

Our engineers are very excited for Axon. For RedLegg, the benefits will be greatly felt with the reduced administrative effort as well as the advancements were going to be able to take with the API-first methodology in the product, said Christian Martinez, MSS Security Solutions Manager at RedLegg. With the improved parsing and faster searches, it will benefit not only our security operations teams, but our customers as well, as we'll be able to perform quicker searches and investigations. Overall, its an exciting and welcome direction for the product.

2023 Growth and Industry Recognition

LogRhythm's remarkable growth over two decades can be attributed to a combination of factors, including a growing customer base, strategic partnerships that amplify its reach, industry recognition that validates its excellence, and a dedication to continuous product innovation. Notable achievements in 2023 include:

The one-year anniversary of LogRhythm Axon, a cloud-native SIEM platform that has transformed cybersecurity operations for organizations worldwide.

Recognition as the Globee Golden Bridge Awards Gold Winner in the Security Software Innovation category for LogRhythm Axon and SC Awards finalist in the Best SIEM Solution category.

Strategic partnerships with Trend Micro, Mimecast, Zscaler, Novacoast, Cimcor, and D3 Security.

Remarkable growth of LogRhythm Axon and reference customers throughout North America, Europe, and soon Asia Pacific region underscoring LogRhythm's unwavering dedication to delivering advanced security solutions on a global scale tailored to unique regional requirements.

To learn more about LogRhythm's offerings, please visit: https://logrhythm.com/.
COMPANY NEWS: New data shows people are concerned about personal data theft when they engage with financial services providers online

Ping Identity, a leading provider of seamless and secure digital experiences, released its annual survey which evaluates Australian consumer sentiment around engaging with brands and businesses online.

The report surveyed 1600 adult Australians and identified rising concern about the risk of identity theft. Its now the chief concern for 65 % of Australians when their details are posted or stored online, ahead of financial loss and surveillance.

Following a series of high-profile data leaks, consumers have become alert to the risk of identity theft and it has them worried. They want to continue to enjoy the convenience of transacting with financial services providers digitally but they also want assurance the information they share is safe, said Ashley Diffey, Ping Identity VP Sales APAC and Japan. With the occurrence of cyber-crime only continuing to increase, organisations that fail to offer the surety consumers are seeking may struggle to maintain their market share.

Key Australian findings underline the importance of robust identity verification measures while transacting with organisations online:

41% said they would feel more protected against fraud if businesses offered biometric authentication

50% feel more secure when multi-factor authentication (MFA) is deployed

50% said one-time log-in codes via text or email would increase their comfort level.

The prospect of bad actors using artificial intelligence (AI) to impersonate them online has Australians worried too:

53% are concerned about the possible use of AI technology to create impersonations

53% say the use of MFA makes them feel better about a business because it suggests that protecting their data is a priority

Only 60% of consumers have full trust in banks to manage their identity data.

More than two thirds of survey respondents believed theyd never be fully in control of their personal information online, while 77% wished to limit the types of information about themselves companies were able to access and the number of companies that currently had access to their details.

Australians have been enthusiastic adopters of digital services including online banking but theyve learnt the hard way that the personal information they share with organisations can be compromised, said Diffey.

To retain their confidence and trust, financial services providers need to create easy, secure and personalised experiences that alleviate their security concerns, without collecting too much personal data.
GUEST OPINION: The digital landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace. Modern chief information officers (CIOs) are entrusted with steering their organisations towards innovation while ensuring seamless IT operations.

In Australia, a significant skills shortage makes it even harder for the CIO to attract and retain the necessary talent to align their IT vision with the companys strategic objectives. According to Jobs and Skills Australia, software and applications programmers are second on the list of occupations with the largest national shortage, while ICT business and systems analysts, database and systems administrators, and ICT security specialists also appear in the top 20 list.[1]

Paul Wilson, chief technology officer, Blue Connections IT, said, These skills shortages, along with the complexities of deploying and managing IT infrastructures and challenges in capacity planning and growth predictions, serve as further bottlenecks to CIOs successfully driving IT and other company objectives.

This is where partnering with a managed service provider (MSP) comes into play. By leveraging managed services, CIOs can streamline their IT operations and go beyond their traditional roles to become indispensable drivers of the organisation. A CIO can achieve this shift by focusing on six pivotal strategies:

Lay the right foundations

While it can be tempting to overhaul the entire IT infrastructure in one swoop, CIOs must be wary of the disruptions this could cause. Change management, which is often underestimated when adopting new services, is crucial. Starting smallperhaps with one operational domain, like network management or cybersecurityand gradually expanding offers several advantages.

Paul Wilson said, First, it lets internal teams get used to new processes and methodologies introduced by the MSP. As successes are recorded, and trust in the MSP grows, scaling up becomes a natural progression. This phased approach ensures that the long-term benefits of managed services can be harnessed without causing unnecessary strain on the company or its operations.

Have clear business objectives

Managed services should not be viewed purely through a technical lens. CIOs need to ensure that the chosen MSP aligns with the organisations broader goals. By setting clear and articulate outcomes, CIOs can hold MSPs accountable and ensure alignment with the strategic vision.

Paul Wilson said, For instance, if a company goal is to expand into new geographic markets over the next two years, the MSPs capacity to support growth in those specific regions becomes vital. By clarifying these outcomes upfront, MSPs can tailor their services accordingly, ensuring that their contributions directly support the businesss objectives.

Integrate and align existing IT with the MSP

One common misconception is that adopting managed services means sidelining internal IT teams. It should be about synergy. The MSP provides specific services, empowering internal teams to pivot towards more strategic, high-value tasks that might have been previously sidelined due to operational pressures.

However, a model like this requires close collaboration and planning. CIOs need to delineate clear roles and responsibilities between their teams and the MSP, ensuring no overlap or gaps. They should also assess if any skill development is required for their internal teams, especially regarding managing and coordinating with an MSP.

Implement continuous monitoring and feedback loops

In the rapidly evolving world of IT, what works today might not necessarily be the best solution tomorrow. For a partnership with an MSP to be truly beneficial, CIOs must institute a continuous monitoring and feedback system. This doesnt only mean tracking the performance metrics of the MSP but should also include a holistic review of how these services affect broader company objectives. CIOs should establish regular checkpoints where the internal team and the MSP come together to discuss successes, challenges, and opportunities for improvement.

Ensure a strong governance framework

Transparency, accountability, and clear communication channels are the foundation of any successful partnership. The importance of a robust governance framework cannot be overemphasised when it comes to managed IT services. CIOs should ensure that there are clear protocols in place that set out decision-making processes, escalation matrices, and dispute-resolution mechanisms.

Paul Wilson said, This governance structure should also define the boundaries of the MSPs role, ensuring they adhere to the organisations policies, standards, and regulations. With industries becoming increasingly regulated, especially sectors like finance and healthcare, an MSPs compliance with industry-specific guidelines is crucial to avoid potential legal and reputational risks.

Finding the right MSP

The managed services market is vast. CIOs should perform due diligence to identify an MSP that complements the business and understands their sector. This involves evaluating potential MSPs not just on their technological competencies but also on their understanding of the companys unique needs.

Paul Wilson said, The right MSP will grasp the intricate balance between the organisations technological and commercial objectives, acting as a genuine partner rather than just a service provider.

[1] https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/reports/labour-market-update-december-2022
GUEST OPINION: The exponential growth of cloud storage is changing the way organisations think about data. However, as businesses adopt these technologies, they must also reconcile increasing demands from governments and stakeholders about data localisation.

Craig Searle, director, consulting and professional services (Pacific), Trustwave, said, Data sovereignty dictates that data, once stored in a specific country, should only be accessible by individuals within that country. In some cases, these individuals may even require special government clearance to access this data. Data residency, on the other hand, emphasises the physical location of the data storage. It doesnt put restrictions on who can access the data or from where.

For many, data residency is becoming the default. Its often less expensive, provides flexible security, and meets many countries data storage rules. Regulations like Australias Security of Critical Infrastructure (SOCI) Act 2018 highlight the issue. While the SOCI Act doesnt demand data sovereignty, it does emphasise local control and gives a clear indication that the global perspective on data storage is evolving.

Some organisations, influenced by military and intelligence alliances like AUKUS and the Five Eyes, are adopting a limited data residency approach. This model involves storing data in a specific location while allowing access from selected countries within these alliances, deemed secure for data sharing.

Other regulations, like SOCI, also dont explicitly push for data sovereignty, pointing to a more flexible approach. The concern driving these rules is simple: data stored outside of a country might be at risk; however, implementing data sovereignty can be complex and costly.

As technology advances, the distinction between the physical storage location of data and the access point becomes increasingly nuanced. Cloud providers have introduced multi-regional storage solutions that permit data replication across regions, blurring the lines between pure data residency and data sovereignty.

Craig Searle said, Businesses need to evaluate where theyre allocating their resources. They should view every action as a type of energy consumption. Where are they channelling this energy? Is it propelling them towards their objectives? Is it sidestepping other problems? Is it focused on compliance? Grasping these dynamics can lead to improved data management and more insightful decisions.

Implementing data sovereignty means committing to round-the-clock security measures. If organisations are operating 24/7 under data sovereignty, theyll need security teams working at all hours, which can be challenging in terms of efficiency and cost.

In contrast, data residency offers a more flexible approach. Data residency provides global access. This means an organisation can operate 24/7 more efficiently. A staffer working late in one region might be working during regular hours in another, ensuring consistent productivity.

However, clarity is essential, especially when choosing a data management strategy. Theres a significant amount of misinformation in the market. Some providers claim to offer onshore data solutions, yet the reality can be different. Understanding where data is stored versus where it is managed is crucial. Just because data is stored in Australia doesnt mean its not being managed from another country.

Craig Searle said, The distinction between data residency and data sovereignty is more than just academic. The majority might find the stringent rules of sovereignty over residency unnecessary unless they are dealing with highly sensitive data.

While both concepts aim to ensure data security and compliance, the path to achieving these goals varies significantly, making it essential to choose a strategy that aligns with the organisations specific needs and resources.
Australian telco TPG claims a "sizeable number" of Internet users are suffering from connectivity problems and feel "a real need for speed".

In a statement on Tuesday, the company said its first Crappy Internet Report, conducted along with data and insights organisation Pureprofile, had surveyed 1000 users within Australia and found that 46% of users wanted better speeds and more reliable connections.

TPG is using the survey results to plug a recently announced Fibre Upgrade program which is being run in collaboration with NBN Co.

The survey found that a quarter experienced one to five dropouts while using the Internet, with the worst home areas being the bedroom, living room and toilet.

TPG head of Fixed Product Commercial Sammi Te said: The good news is, with a healthy dose of TPG Fibre, you can flush away those crappy Internet problems once and for all.

A TPG Fibre Upgrade offers superior speed and reliability compared to the ancient, copper broadband lines so many millions of Australians rely on.

"With full fibre you can access download speeds more than 10 times faster than the average home broadband service, making it the perfect connection for online gamers, large families with lots of users, or YouTube stars creating content for their legions of fans.

The survey found that 47% of those who responded were willing to pay between $20 and $40 more each week for a stable and fast connection, while a smaller percentage, 36%, were willing to fork out between $40 and $60 a week for what was referred to as "great Internet".

The survey found:

28% restarted their router or modem every month, while 23% had felt like throwing their router out the window at least once a month.

42% said their connections worked perfectly most of the time, but 23% said their connection slowed to a crawl during peak usage times.

Among those suffering constant connectivity problems, 11% said their connection was slower than a tortoise, while another 14% said their connections disappeared when they were most needed.

When asked to describe what an ideal Internet connection was, 42% said they wanted a stable, reliable connection with no unexpected interruptions.

With more people working, learning and being entertained from home, having a reliable Internet connection is more important than ever," Te said.

"Demand for our Fibre Upgrade program has gone through the roof with more than 20,000 customers signing up and flushing away bad speeds and unreliable internet for good."

Under the program, TPG has offered an upgrade bonus for those who switch their NBN FttN or FttC service to NBN FttP.

When a new customer switches to TPG with a Fibre Upgrade, the company is offering a one-off credit of $250 towards monthly bills. Existing TPG customers who upgrade NBN services to fibre are being offered a one-off credit of $100.
The Nation This humble fish may help the Supreme Court weaken the 'administrative state' By Ann E. Marimow The Washington Post Published Jan. 16, 2024

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CAPE MAY, N.J.  A slender, silvery fish, sold for bait and canned as sardines, has the potential to play an outsize role in weakening the power of federal agencies to regulate vast areas of American life - overturning long-standing Supreme Court precedent in the process.

But the case before the high court this week is not really about the herring.

For 40 years, courts have generally deferred to the judgment of federal agencies when it comes to turning laws passed by Congress into detailed regulations designed to protect the environment, consumers and the workplace.

They did so because of the precedent set in 1984 in Chevron U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which requires judges to defer to the reasonable interpretation of federal agency

officials charged with administering ambiguous federal laws. But as the court has moved to the right in recent years, the conservative majority has been less likely to invoke that ruling, which outside groups have long seen as giving unaccountable bureaucrats too much power.

Now the high court is reviewing a pair of challenges to federal rules requiring commercial fishermen to pay for at-sea monitors - cases that could lead to the demise of Chevron, much as the 2022 Dobbs ruling overturned the historic Roe v. Wade ruling and eliminated the nationwide right to abortion.

The cases brought by Atlantic herring fishermen in New Jersey and Rhode Island will be argued Wednesday before a court remade by the addition of three justices nominated by President Donald Trump, whose administration put a premium on judges skeptical of federal government power.

Both lawsuits are backed by conservative legal organizations - the Cause of Action Institute and New Civil Liberties Alliance - that have received millions of dollars from the Koch network, founded by billionaire industrialist Charles Koch and his late brother, David Koch.

The framework, known as "Chevron deference," may sound like a boring academic exercise, says William & Mary law professor Allison Orr Larsen, who specializes in administrative law. But the question of how much flexibility to give federal agencies to implement laws passed by Congress has enormous implications.

"There's a lot of money and practical consequences attached to those legal ambiguities," Larsen said. "It's ultimately a question about who decides. Is it an agency who decides or a court?"

Supporters of Chevron, including environmental groups, labor and civil rights organizations and the Biden administration, say Congress often writes broad statutes to give government experts the leeway to address emerging complex problems. Overturning or scaling back the legal precedent, they say, will hamstring federal agencies and shift power to the courts and Congress.

Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar, who is defending the precedent, told the justices in court filings that overruling Chevron "would be a convulsive shock to the legal system."

David Doniger, senior strategic director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, called the effort to undo Chevron a "brazen attempt by the right to hobble modern government and destroy its capacity to address the modern world's problems at the scale, speed and number they come at us." The government, he said, will be paralyzed if Congress is forced to make technical, scientific policy decisions.

Opponents of Chevron, in contrast, say the framework unfairly tips the scales in favor of government agencies in litigation challenging burdensome regulations.

Philip Hamburger, a Columbia Law School professor and founder of the alliance representing the Rhode Island fisherman, called it "scandalous" and unconstitutional to require judges to systematically favor one powerful party - government agencies - over any other.

"Chevron is an embarrassment and the court should get rid of it," Hamburger said, adding that it is the duty of judges to exercise independent judgment without deference.

While lower courts have relied on the Chevron framework in tens of thousands of cases evaluating federal rules and orders, the approach has fallen out of favor in the last decade with conservatives on the Supreme Court.

Former Solicitor General Paul Clement, who is representing the New Jersey fishermen, said in his court filing that it's time to officially call it quits at all levels of the judiciary.

"The question is less whether this Court should overrule Chevron, and more whether it should let lower courts and citizens in on the news," he wrote. "The reality is that Chevron has already proven itself unworkable, and its corrosive effects on our separation of powers have lingered long enough."

 Paying to monitor the fish

To prevent overfishing and promote conservation, the Trump administration initiated a program in 2020 requiring Atlantic herring fishermen to carry monitors aboard their vessels during certain trips to inspect operations and track fishing limits.

The National Marine Fisheries Service interpreted a statute passed in 1976 as giving the government the power to pass on the cost of the monitors to the fisherman.

A coalition of fishermen sued, asserting that the Magnuson-Stevens Act does not directly authorize the government to force them to pay for the $700-a-day monitors on trips that often last several days.

William Bright, co-owner and captain of the 140-foot Retriever based in Cape May, N.J., said that is his concern - not the broader concept of government monitoring.

Bright's worries center on the economics of his industry, where the profit margins are slim and the cost of paying for monitors could reduce annual returns by up to 20 percent.

"Nobody cares more deeply about the fishery than we do and nobody has more to lose if it collapses than we do," Bright said during an interview at Lund's Fisheries, the company that processes his catch. "They want to increase the monitoring, but they don't have the funding, so they want us to pay. I hope the court thinks about our ability to make a living."

The industry-funded monitoring program was short-lived, ending last year due to lack of sufficient funding. The fishermen were reimbursed for all costs. Bright and others behind the lawsuit, however, worry the plan will resurface and expand to other types of fish.

Wayne Reichle, president of Lund's Fisheries and part owner of the Retriever, said the case is not about a particular political outcome but the viability of the industry.

In addition to the New Jersey case, the court added the second, nearly identical one from Rhode Island to its calendar - presumably because Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was recused in the New Jersey matter after serving on the appeals court panel that initially reviewed it before her elevation to the Supreme Court.

In both cases, federal courts of appeal applied Chevron and deferred to the government's interpretation of the statute.

"Congress has delegated broad authority to an agency with expertise and experience within a specific industry," Judge Judith Rogers, a nominee of President Bill Clinton, wrote for the majority on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. "Although the Act may not unambiguously resolve whether the Service can require industry-funded monitoring, the Service's interpretation of the Act as allowing it to do so is reasonable."

Judge Justin Walker dissented, saying the court should not have allowed an agency to fill in the payment requirement based on language found elsewhere in the law.

"Agencies are creatures of Congress, so they have no authority apart from what Congress bestows," wrote Walker, a nominee of President Trump.

Congress's silence on an issue, he added, does not automatically "give an agency carte blanche to speak in Congress's place. In fact, all else equal, silence indicates a lack of authority."

 Evolving views on Chevron

The framework for courts to evaluate agency action was not always the target of conservative derision. The late Justice Antonin Scalia, who taught administrative law, endorsed the precedent early in his tenure in a 1989 Duke Law School speech. "In the long run Chevron will endure and be given its full scope - not so much because it represents a rule that is easier to follow and thus easier to predict (though that is true enough), but because it more accurately reflects the reality of government, and thus more adequately serves its needs," he predicted.

Years later, however, legal scholars point to opinions Scalia wrote that demonstrated greater skepticism of agency power, including in cases involving Environmental Protection Agency rules.

When the Supreme Court initially agreed to take the New Jersey case in May, they rejected a narrow question posed by the challengers and said they would only consider something broader: whether to overturn or scale back Chevron.

Kristin Hickman, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, predicted the court may stop short of scrapping precedent and said agencies are well-positioned to decide how to implement the more technical aspects of statutes Congress has passed when the tools of interpretation that judges typically apply don't offer clear answers.

"Let's be real, the courts are not best suited for making those kinds of policy choices," Hickman said. "If you left it to all the lower courts, you would end up with a lot of inconsistency. That's not helpful for people trying to comply with regulations when you're talking about the national economy."

Liberal Justice Elena Kagan made a similar point when the court's conservative majority sharply limited the EPA's ability to combat climate change in a 2022 decision. Kagan wrote in dissent that the majority had wrongly empowered the courts, instead of Congress or expert agencies, to pass judgment on climate policy.

Members of Congress "often don't know enough - and know they don't know enough - to regulate sensibly on an issue," Kagan wrote. "They rely, as all of us rely in our daily lives, on people with greater expertise and experience. Those people are found in agencies."

But that view is the opposite of how some conservatives and Trump, the leading Republican candidate in this year's presidential election, see the government bureaucracy and federal workers. Trump has promised a more aggressive approach if he returns to the White House, vowing to "totally obliterate the deep state" and "throw off the corrupt political class."

The herring cases are just one way the court is being asked to diminish the power of administrative agencies. This term, the justices have already held oral argument in a case challenging in-house legal proceedings used by the Securities and Exchange Commission and another questioning the funding mechanism for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

During Trump's tenure, White House counsel Donald McGahn said the administration looked for judicial nominees, like Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, who shared the president's view of the growing power of the "administrative state." At a 2018 conference of the Conservative Political Action Conference, McGahn said Gorsuch "stood out" among potential Supreme Court nominees for questioning the constitutionality of Chevron as an appeals court judge.

"The president has a great focus on curbing the unelected from the idea of overregulation," McGahn said. "He looks for folks he can relate to in that way."

Gorsuch's mother, Anne, was head of the EPA during the Reagan administration, when the agency wrote the rule that was challenged by environmentalists, leading to the Chevron decision.

Now on the high court, and in position to reverse past precedent, Justice Gorsuch suggested in a 2022 dissent that Chevron "deserves a tombstone no one can miss" - and called on his colleagues to act soon.

"We should acknowledge forthrightly that Chevron did not undo, and could not have undone, the judicial duty to provide an independent judgment of the law's meaning in the cases that come before the Nation's courts," he wrote. "Someday soon I hope we might."

The cases are Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce.

(COMMENT, BELOW)
The Nation 5 takeaways from the Republican Iowa caucuses By Aaron Blake The Washington Post Published Jan. 16, 2024

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Former president Donald Trump won the Iowa caucuses Monday in the first step toward the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, keeping him on course for the coronation that has looked likely for months.

With an estimated 88 percent of the vote in, Trump led Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis 51 percent to 21 percent. Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley was in third place at 19 percent, followed by businessman Vivek Ramaswamy at 8 percent.

The result was no big surprise, as Trump has led in polls by around 30 points for months.

Here's more on what happened, the numbers behind it, and what it means, at least for the near future.

 1. Trump is the huge favorite we thought he was

Pretty much regardless of the margin Monday, Trump was going to begin the primary calendar as an overwhelming favorite. The results suggest he might well be a prohibitive one.

The winning margin set a record for a Republican Iowa caucuses that didn't include an incumbent, more than doubling Bob Dole's 13-point win in 1988.

It's tempting to play the expectation game - to look at who is rising and falling at this particular moment, as well as how they fared relative to the polls and their own goals. But there is no getting around the fact that the biggest takeaway, now that voting has begun, is that Trump looks every bit the favorite he has since the summer.

The result is the culmination of a year-long trend in the Republican Party back toward Trump. Shortly after the 2022 election, virtually every national poll showed DeSantis leading Trump head-to-head; Monday's results - Trump taking a majority of votes in a crowded field - suggested even that highly hypothetical path is cut off.

They also came after Trump was indicted on 91 criminal counts and after he was found liable in civil court for sexual abuse and financial fraud. If there was any doubt that Republicans would stick by their man once it came time to actually vote, he went a long way toward erasing it.

If you're scrounging really hard for some kind of bad news for Trump, it's that nearly half of voters voted against someone who amounted to an incumbent. Also, entrance polls showed 3 in 10 voters said he wouldn't be fit to serve as president if he's convicted of crimes, and a Fox News analysis showed 7 in 10 Haley voters said they wouldn't support Trump in the general election. Those numbers could cost Trump significantly in a general election if they held.

But the party proved it will rally around him, and it wouldn't be surprising to see that continue.

 2. Haley didn't get her pre-New Hampshire bump

The second piece of good news for Trump was who finished second.

DeSantis beat Haley for that spot, according to the AP, despite late polling that had suggested she might overtake him.

It was close, but that would seem to reinforce the fact that Republican voters aren't yet set on a Trump alternative. Haley was surely hoping that beating DeSantis coming out of Iowa - a state he focused heavily on - would inject some momentum into her efforts to beat Trump in the New Hampshire primary next week. It's really the only state polling somewhat competitively, and one she hopes will recast the race.

The results undermine Haley's claim to being that true alternative. A win in New Hampshire would be huge, but it's probably more difficult now. And it's more likely now that she'll have to deal with DeSantis sticking around and peeling away non-Trump voters in future states, even if she gets a very positive result next week.

Shy of that, we have what we've long thought we'd have: a competition for the front-runner of the also-rans - the candidates slugging it out for second place, hoping to put themselves in position in case Trump somehow implodes - and letting Trump avoid a truly sustained campaign against him in the process.

 3. A few key entrance poll findings tell the tale

A few of the most important entrance poll findings that explain what we just witnessed:

 About two-thirds of voters wrongly believe President Biden wasn't legitimately elected in 2020. That's similar to where the GOP has been in national polls. But also consider this: Fewer than 1 in 10 Trump voters said Biden's win was legitimate. Trump's baseless claim pervades the party, but it defines his most devoted base.

 DeSantis actually won nearly half of voters who said abortion was their most important issue. That's compared to 25 percent for Trump, the man who appointed the justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. (Trump has criticized Florida's six-week ban as being too harsh.) The problem was these voters accounted for just 11 percent of caucus-goers. More than 7 in 10 voters emphasized the economy or immigration, and Trump dominated among them.

 Haley dominated among voters who said having the right temperament was the most important candidate quality. She also competed with Trump among electability-first voters. But these groups combined for only about one-fourth of the vote. There were more voters who preferred a candidate who fights for people like me, and Trump took 8 out of 10 voters there. Character and pragmatism took a distinct back seat Monday, and Trump benefited.

 Trump managed to win college-educated voters, even as he generally does better the less formally educated a voter is. (He finished third among college-educated voters in the 2016 caucuses.) If he even competes to win those voters in other states, his opponents have basically no shot.

 4. Turnout was down a lot from 2016, but 

Notably, it was way down from the 187,000 who voted in the 2016 caucuses, which also featured Trump. Final numbers aren't yet in, but it's estimated to be about 115,000.

Certainly, some will see that as a potential sign of diminished enthusiasm on the GOP side. But caucus night featured frigid, negative temperatures - the coldest caucuses ever - and turnout was similar to 2012 and 2008. Also, the race didn't look too competitive leading up to the caucuses, meaning some voters might have decided their vote wasn't that important.

New Hampshire, which looks more competitive and won't feature such conditions, should be a better gauge.

One thing we can say: Results closely mirrored late polling, suggesting that the lower turnout didn't particularly cost any one candidate.

 5. Ramaswamy's exit could bolster Trump a bit

The caucuses did feature one significant casualty. Ramaswamy, whose single-digit showing came up well shy of his repeated promises of a major surprise, announced shortly afterward that he was dropping out and endorsing Trump.

The exit could bolster Trump further, given that Ramaswamy geared his campaign toward Trump supporters, lavishing Trump with praise and lodging a number of conspiracy theories.

But Ramaswamy's support both nationally and in New Hampshire was lower than it was in Iowa.

Trump's campaign in the closing days went hard after Ramaswamy, accusing him of undermining Trump while ostensibly praising him.

(COMMENT, BELOW)
"March-in"  Perfect: Jack-booted thugs stomping on private property and seizing it for Big Government.

As usual, Biden hopes to capsize the efficient, productive status quo. Since senators Birch Bayh (D -Indiana) and Bob Dole (R - Kansas) secured this legislation, universities and other institutions have owned the patents that emerged from federally funded research. Many then license these patents to companies and entrepreneurs who nurture them into goods and services.

"Since its passage more than 40 years ago, the Act has spurred nearly 300 new drugs and discoveries that have driven the innovation economy  contributing $1.7 trillion to the US gross industrial output and adding more than 5.9 million jobs," according to Laura Savatski, former chair of AUTM, an intellectual property licensing group.

Before Bayh-Dole, under 5% of federally supported patents were licensed. By 2022, AUTM data show, 9,884 licenses and options arose among that year's 16,857 US patent applications. By that measure, 58.6% of patents typically are licensed each year, nearly 12 times the pre-Bayh-Dole pace.

The resulting embarrassment of riches has improved lives from Kansas to Kazakhstan:

 Google's pioneering search algorithm

 Firefighting drones

 HDTVs

 Honeycrisp apples

 Nicotine patches

 Rotavirus vaccines

 Taxol cancer therapy

 Touch screens

 Windows software

 Zerit anti-AIDS treatments

Now imagine life with few new amusements, business tools, or medical cures. The ever-meddlesome Biden now wants new powers to reassign or simply nationalize patent licenses if his pests decide that these items are not marketed quickly or cheaply enough.

"Bayh-Dole did not intend that government set prices on resulting products," its authors explained in The Washington Post. "The law makes no reference to a reasonable price that should be dictated by the government. This omission was intentional."

Such Big Government caprice would karate chop private investment. Why would venture capitalists license new patents if federal busybodies could march in, expropriate, and award them to politically connected competitors?

Even worse, anti-capitalist bureaucrats could snatch licenses and sit on them while chanting, "Equity!" "Social justice!" or "Climate!"

As it happens, no administration  Democrat or Republican  has marched in on a patent since Bayh-Dole blossomed. While screaming, "Democracy!" Biden lusts for a nightstick to bash to bits this 44-year-old precedent.

Biden & Co. argue that when the state goes marching in, cheaper medicines will flow like the mighty Mississippi. This will prove to be yet another Marxist mirage, as drug companies avoid licensing patents for fear of being fleeced by the Everything for All crowd.

Taxpayers also will suffer if these patents cannot be harnessed. They never will taste the fruits of scientific developments that stay theoretical. They also will not collect the corporate taxes that commercialization now yields. Assuming today's 21% rate, Bayh-Dole's $1.7 trillion in blessings already would have rendered unto Caesar potentially $357 billion.

Bayh-Dole was "possibly the most inspired piece of legislation to be enacted in America over the past half-century," The Economist swooned in 2002. "More than anything, this single policy measure helped to reverse America's precipitous slide into industrial irrelevance."

Twenty-two years later, Joe Biden is not amused. As he bans gas stoves and incandescent bulbs, mandates electric vehicles, censors his critics, and labors to imprison the leader of the opposition, he increasingly resembles the late, not great Latin dictator Hugo Chavez. Giving Biden and his comrades the power to smash patents and grab them for "better uses" would imperil property rights and endanger innovation. This could cripple the conveyor belt that speeds modern marvels from university laboratories to Best Buys, Walgreens, and Whole Foods across America.

Joe Biden should peel his sticky fingers off of Bayh-Dole and shove them somewhere else.
 Here's a new thing to worry about: super pigs.

Starting in the 1980s, Canadian farmers bred domestic pigs with wild boars, resulting in "super pigs" that are a headache for wildlife and crops, Yahoo! News reported.

Now, the hybrids, which sometimes grow to 600 pounds, are moving south into the United States.

"They are the worst invasive large mammal on the planet. Period," said Ryan Brook, a wildlife researcher at the University of Saskatchewan.

The pigs feed on agricultural crops but also damage the soil by digging in it. They eat reptiles, birds and even white-tailed deer, and they contaminate water.

While some have suggested hunting as a way to control their numbers, Brook said, "You simply can't BBQ your way out of a wild pig problem."

Officials in Montana have introduced the "Squeal on Pigs!" campaign encouraging residents to report feral swine, and North and South Dakota have reported possible populations.

Soo wee! [Yahoo! News, 4/3/2023]
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In the American justice system, those accused of criminal conduct are presumed innocent until proved guilty and convicted by a jury of their peers. Yet many people might be surprised to learn that some federal defendants are punished for charges that they were actually acquitted of.

It's past time to implement guidelines that eliminate the pernicious and unjust practice of so-called "acquitted conduct sentencing."

Last month, the U.S. Sentencing Commission  an independent agency that sets sentencing guidelines for the federal judiciary  published proposed amendments that would restrict the ability of judges to take into account conduct for which defendants have been found not guilty when imposing punishment.

"At the sentencing phase of a trial," C.J. Ciaramella of Reason magazine explains, "federal judges can enhance defendants' sentences for conduct they were acquitted of if the judge decides it's more likely than not  a lower standard of evidence than beyond a reasonable doubt'  that the defendant committed those offenses."

Consider the case of Dayonta McClinton, who was 17 when he robbed a CVS Pharmacy in Indiana at gunpoint to steal drugs. The government alleged that he also shot and killed one of his co-conspirators, though a jury ultimately acquitted him of that charge.

Despite the acquittal, the judge overseeing the case agreed with federal prosecutors that McClinton might have been guilty of the killing. Sentencing guidelines called for him to do 57 to 71 months behind bars for the crimes for which he was convicted. But the judge added an additional 13 years to his sentence.

This is simply not consistent with due process and other vital constitutional protections or the tenets that undermine our legal system.

Several Supreme Court justices, along with a few members of Congress, have raised objections to this practice. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, while serving on a federal appeals court in 2015, wrote that the use of acquitted conduct "seems a dubious infringement of the rights to due process and to a jury trial." Justice Sonia Sotomayor has also expressed skepticism.

Meanwhile, Sens. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, and Dick Durbin, Democrat from Illinois, have repeatedly proposed legislation to reform acquitted conduct sentencing rules.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission should pass the new guidelines. No man or woman should face additional jail time for conduct that they weren't convicted of in a court of law. If the commission gets cold feet, Congress should move forward with proposed reforms or the Supreme Court should take a closer look at this practice.

(COMMENT, BELOW)
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Cast your mind forward. It's Nov. 8, 2028, the day after another presidential election. This one went smoothly  no claims of rampant rigging, no significant taint of skulduggery  due in large part to the defeat of deepfakes, democracy's newest enemy.

Is such a future possible? So far, neither government nor the tech industry has agreed on effective guardrails against deepfakes. But this FAQ (from five years in the future) shows that the events of 2024 may well force the issue  and that a solution is possible.

Why did it take so long to find an effective way to fight deepfakes?

Late in 2022, sophisticated low-cost AI software appeared that made it easy to create realistic audio, video and photographs  so-called deepfakes. As these generative AI programs rapidly improved, it grew clear that deepfake content would be a danger to democracy.

Political deepfakes  both audio and video  soon emerged: President Biden announcing that Americans would be drafted to fight in Ukraine. A photo of Donald Trump hugging and kissing Dr. Anthony Fauci. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) telling MSNBC that Republicans shouldn't be allowed to vote in 2024. Eric Adams, the monolingual mayor of New York, speaking Spanish, Yiddish and Mandarin in AI-produced robocalls.

Very quickly, the White House, the European Union and major technology companies all launched wide-ranging AI regulation proposals that included "watermarking" AI content  inserting ID labels, a permanent bit of computer code, into the digital file of any AI-generated content to identify its artificial origin.

But AI rule-setting proved complex, and labeling exemplified the quandaries: Would AI watermarking be legally required? How would it be enforced? As early as 2023, some cellphone cameras used AI in their image processing. What amount of AI input into content would require an identifier? Would an Instagram beauty influencer need to watermark her face-tuned selfies?

The complications were such that no system was widely adopted.

What changed?

The largest coordinated deepfake attack in history took place the day after the November 2024 election. Every U.S. social media channel was flooded with phony audio, video and still images depicting election fraud in a dozen battleground states, highly realistic content that within hours was viewed by millions. Debunking efforts by media and government were hindered by a steady flow of new deepfakes, mostly manufactured in Russia, North Korea, China and Iran. The attack generated legal and civil chaos that lasted well into the spring of 2025.

Yet none of the early authentication efforts was adopted?

Correct. The breakthrough actually came in early 2026 from a working group of digital journalists from U.S. and international news organizations. Their goal was to find a way to keep deepfakes out of news reports, so they could protect what credibility the mainstream media still retained. It was a logical assignment: Journalists are historically ruthless about punishing their peers for misbehavior, breaking out the tar and feathers for even minor departures from factual rigor.

Journalism organizations formed the FAC Alliance  "Fact Authenticated Content"  based on a simple insight: There was already far too much AI fakery loose in the world to try to enforce a watermarking system for dis- and misinformation. And even the strictest labeling rules would simply be ignored by bad actors. But it would be possible to watermark pieces of content that weren't deepfakes.

And so was born the voluntary FACStamp on May 1, 2026.

What does a FACStamp look like?

For consumers, FACStamped content displays a small "FAC" icon in one corner of your screen or includes an audio FAC notice. The signal can be turned off by the user, or it can be set to appear for only five or 10 seconds at the start of a media stream.

FACStamps are entirely voluntary. But every member of the FAC Alliance pledged that their internet, broadcast and physical reports would publish only FACStamped media in their news sections.

How does content qualify for a FACStamp?

The newest phones, tablets, cameras, recorders and desktop computers all include software that automatically inserts the FACStamp code into every piece of visual or audio content as it's captured, before any AI modification can be applied. This proves that the image, sound or video was not generated by AI. You can also download the FAC app, which does the same for older equipment. The FACStamp is what technologists call "fragile": The first time an image, video or audio file is falsified by AI, the stamp disappears.

But AI is often used appropriately for doing things like reducing background noise in an audio file. FacStamped content can't be edited at all?

It certainly can. But to retain the FACStamp, your computer must be connected to the non-profit FAC Verification Center. The center's computers detect if the editing is minor  such as cropping or even cosmetic face-tuning  and the stamp remains. Any larger manipulation, from swapping faces to faking backgrounds, and the FACStamp vanishes.

How did FACStamps spread beyond journalism?

It turned out that plenty of people could use the FACStamp. Internet retailers embraced FACStamps for videos and images of their products. Individuals soon followed, using FACStamps to sell goods online  when potential buyers are judging a used pickup truck or secondhand sofa, it's reassuring to know that the image wasn't spun out or scrubbed up by AI.

In 2027 the stamp began to appear in social media. Any parent can artificially generate a perfectly realistic image of their happy family standing in front of the Eiffel Tower and post it or email it to envious friends. A FACStamp proves the family has actually been there.

Dating app profiles without FACStamps finally are growing rare. Videoconference apps have FAC options to ensure that everyone on the call is real. And for influencers, it's increasingly difficult to claim "authenticity" without at least the occasional FACStamp.

Even the AI industry supports the use of FACStamps. During training runs on the internet, if an AI program absorbs excessive amounts of AI-generated rather than authentic data, it may undergo "model collapse" and become wildly inaccurate. So the FACStamp helps AI companies train their models solely on reality.

What's next?

A bipartisan group of senators and House members plans to introduce the Right to Reality Act when the next Congress opens in January 2029. It will mandate the use of FACStamps in multiple sectors, including local government, shopping sites and investment and real estate offerings. Counterfeiting a FACStamp would become a criminal offense. Polling indicates widespread public support for the act, and the FAC Alliance has already begun a branding campaign.

The tagline: " Is that a FAC?"

Michael Rogers is an author and futurist whose most recent book is "Email From the Future: Notes From 2084."

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"I WAS happy to see people breaking the siege."

Thus spake Nihad Awad, the cofounder and longtime executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, in an address to the annual American Muslims for Palestine convention in November. He was explaining why the Oct. 7 Hamas terror assault in Israel filled him with joy.

"The people of Gaza only decided to break the siege, the walls of the concentration camp, on Oct. 7," Awad told his audience, employing the antisemitic device of likening Israel to Nazi Germany. "And yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land, and walk free into their land that they were not allowed to walk in."

The slaughter of more than 1,200 civilians, the frenzied sexual mutilation of women and girls, the burning of homes with families in them, the abduction of hundreds of hostages, the worst massacre of Jews since the end of the Holocaust  in Awad's telling, that was simply the people of Gaza engaging in their "right of self-defense." He made no reference to Hamas. Instead, he emphasized that Israel was not entitled to defend itself. "Yes, Israel as an occupying power does not have that right to self-defense."

When an excerpt of Awad's speech was made public on Dec. 7 by the Middle East Media and Research Institute, it drew an appalled rebuke from the Biden administration.

"We condemn these shocking, antisemitic statements in the strongest terms," presidential spokesman Andrew Bates told reporters. The Hamas atrocities "shock the conscience," he said, and "every leader has a responsibility to call out antisemitism wherever it rears its ugly head." Last spring, the White House included CAIR in a list of organizations supporting its National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. After Awad's comments became known, CAIR's name was scrubbed from the document.

To hear Awad tell it, CAIR is being unfairly maligned. An "anti-Palestinian hate website selected remarks from my speech out of context and spliced them together to create a completely false meaning," he claimed after his comments became known. All he had meant to say was that "average Palestinians who briefly walked out of Gaza and set foot on their ethnically cleansed land in a symbolic act of defiance against the blockade and stopped there without engaging in violence were within their rights under international law."

There are a few problems with Awad's protestation of innocence. For starters, MEMRI, the media database that called attention to the CAIR director's speech, is a highly regarded source of accurate information from across the Arab and Muslim world. Far from being a "hate website" as Awad described it, MEMRI strives to convey the entire scope of Arab/Muslim discourse  good and bad, ugly and admirable. It makes a point of focusing as much on reform in the Muslim world as it does on jihad and Islamism.

If Awad's words had really been taken out of context, the easiest way to prove it would be to let people view online the entire recording of his speech for themselves. Only  it's gone. American Muslims for Palestine, the group that organized the conference at which Awad spoke, has taken down the video of his remarks. Hmm.

CAIR holds itself out as a Muslim human rights organization, and that is how it is routinely described in news stories and headlines. CAIR-sponsored publicity events are given media coverage, and CAIR is invited to participate in  and at times even to host  roundtable events with local government officials. Journalists often turn to CAIR for comment in stories dealing with American Muslims and conventionally describe CAIR as "the nation's biggest Muslim civil rights group." One week before the Oct. 7 attacks, CAIR was invited to attend a White House program on "protecting places of worship."

But CAIR has a long history of sympathy with, and connections to, Hamas.

In 1994, the same year that Awad cofounded CAIR, he candidly told a Florida audience that he was "in support of the Hamas movement more than the PLO." According to the Capital Research Center, CAIR opened its office in Washington, D.C., with a grant from the Holy Land Foundation, a charity listed by the Treasury Department in 2001 as a "Specially Designated Terrorist" group. In 2008, five former leaders of the foundation were convicted of funneling more than $12 million to Hamas. A year later, the Obama Justice Department severed its ties with CAIR, noting that "the evidence at trial [had] linked CAIR leaders to Hamas . . . and CAIR was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the case." FBI officials were directed to "significantly restrict" any "non-investigative interactions with CAIR" and to steer clear of including CAIR in community engagement or public relations activities.

Daniel Pipes, the president of the Middle East Forum, noted in 2014 that at least seven former board members or staff at CAIR were "arrested, denied entry to the US, or were indicted on or pled guilty to or were convicted of terrorist charges." In 2014, the United Arab Emirates included CAIR on a list of more than 83 terrorist organizations, along with Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Taliban.

For all that, CAIR insists that it is "principled and consistent" in opposing antisemitism. It regularly issues press releases condemning acts of antisemitic vandalism or violence in the United States. But such statements are best regarded as protective coloration intended to camouflage CAIR's mission of encouraging hostility to Israel and Israel's supporters in the United States.

Again and again, CAIR officials have let the mask slip.

Last February, for example, the head of CAIR's Los Angeles branch, Hussam Ayloush, declared that American police forces are "becoming more brutal, more racist, and more like an occupation army" because they are "being trained by Israel." In December 2021, the head of CAIR's San Francisco chapter exhorted supporters to oppose not only "vehement fascists" but "the polite Zionists, too," labeling as "enemies" the Anti-Defamation League, Jewish federations, "the Zionist synagogues," and Hillel chapters on college campuses. In October, CAIR's Maryland director, Zainab Chaudry, sneered at the outrage over Hamas's killing of "40 fake Israeli babies."

Whatever else CAIR is, it is no true champion of civil rights and interfaith harmony and never has been. In 2021, the Simon Wiesenthal Center put CAIR on its Global Antisemitism Top Ten list, charging it with "unleashing pollution of antisemitism into America's mainstream." Thirty years after CAIR was launched by a cofounder who openly acknowledged being in support of Hamas, it remains a front for Islamist extremism and anti-Zionist bigotry. To treat it as a legitimate "civil rights organization" that speaks for US Muslims is to set back the causes of civil rights and Muslims alike.

Jeff Jacoby is a columnist for The Boston Globe, from which this is reprinted with permission."
Insight Stop debating with yourselves, Republicans By Michael Reagan Published Jan. 15, 2024

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I heard there was another Republican presidential debate this week.

I didn't watch it  I've suffered enough, thanks.

I don't care how few political masochists tuned in to CNN Wednesday night to watch Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis engage in another meaningless debate.

I don't care who the big-shot media think "won" or lost.

Twelve hours later, it already doesn't matter one bit.

Everyone knows the ultimate winner was the same guy who won all the previous GOP debates and was appearing simultaneously Wednesday night at a town hall on Fox  Donald Trump.

As we've known for a year, unless he drops dead, Trump will be the GOP's 2024 nominee no matter what the liberal media says or hopes or tries to make happen.

On Thursday morning I read something in what's left of USA Today that could have been written after every Republican presidential primary debate so far.

Instead of "robust policy discussions" and articulating their positions, a political science professor said, Haley and DeSantis "focused a lot on attacking each other."

Sadly, attacking each other is what Republicans are focusing on a lot these days.

At this point in the GOP primary race, with Republican candidates ripping into Trump and each other like a pack of hyenas, my father must be turning over in his grave.

His 11th Commandment was that a Republican should never speak ill of a fellow Republican.

But that's all Haley and DeSantis did in Iowa, where they argued like nasty little kids on a playground and traded "You're a liar" slaps with "You're a bigger liar" slaps.

Meanwhile, in the House of Representatives, where the GOP holds a precariously small and shrinking majority, Republicans still can't stop squabbling with each other.

The most conservative faction  the tiny Freedom Caucus  is after the head of the new House speaker, Mike Johnson, for reaching a $1.66 trillion budget deal with Sen. Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats to keep the federal government from shutting down in two weeks.

Dumping the Republican speaker? We've just gone down that dumb dead-end road and the Freedom Caucus was who led us there.

As I said on Newsmax this week, conservative Republicans in the House better wise up, do the math and understand the reality that they are a minority within their party.

They are never going to get everything they  and we  want in Congress or Washington until they start electing more Republicans to the House and Senate.

Controlling both the House and Senate is the only way Republicans will ever be able to push a "conservative" budget through Congress.

Then, if the White House is still in the hands of the people who are controlling Joe Biden, Biden can veto the Republican budget and take the heat from the public for closing down the federal government.

In the real world he lives in, Johnson made the best bargain he could.

If the government would have had to shut down because he couldn't get a budget deal, Democrats and the media would have blamed Republicans, as they always do, and voters would punish the GOP in the fall.

Republicans have to stop their intra-party fighting and learn to unite like the Democrats do.

If Joe Biden is their nominee, every Democrat on Earth  or under the Earth  will vote for him for president in November. Several times, if necessary.

Instead of looking at things to snipe at each other about, Republicans have to realize that winning in November is more crucial than anything right now  to the party and, more important, to the country.

I can come up with some reasons not to like Haley or DeSantis or Trump for president  any conservative Reagan Republican can.

But the absolute worst Republican on the planet is better than the best Democrat on the planet.

And the Republican Party better figure that out this year before it's too late.

(COMMENT, BELOW)

Michael Reagan is the son of President Ronald Reagan, a political consultant, and the author of "The New Reagan Revolution" (St. Martin's Press). He is the founder of the email service reagan.com and president of The Reagan Legacy Foundation.
A Surry County man who is serving a prison sentence for the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in 1980 has been denied parole, authorities said.

Robert James Adkins, 67, was denied parole Dec. 21 by the N.C. Post Release and Parole Commission, said Greg Thomas, a spokesman for the N.C. Division of Community Supervision.

The commissions decisions regarding parole or post-release denials or approvals are considered confidential and are not required to be publicly disclosed under the state public-record law, Thomas said.

Adkins is an inmate at Alexander Correctional Institution in Taylorsville, according to N.C. Division of Adult Correction.

Slightly more than four decades ago, Ronda Blaylock, a 14-year-old ninth-grader at Atkins High School in Winston-Salem, vanished. Three days later, her body was discovered. Authorities said she had been raped and stabbed to death.

In December 2020, Adkins pleaded guilty to charges connected to her death. Adkins entered guilty pleas in Surry Superior Court to second-degree murder and second-degree rape.

Adkins had initially been charged with first-degree murder and first-degree forcible rape.

Judge Angela Puckett of Surry Superior Court sentenced him to 21 years to 25 years in prison each on the rape and the murder charges. Adkins is serving both sentences at the same time, according to court documents.

Adkins attorney, Stephen Ball of Winston-Salem, could not be reached Friday for comment.

According to court documents, Puckett found one aggravating factor  Adkins was armed with and used a deadly weapon at the time of the crime.

Adkins plea hearing ended a lengthy investigation that frustrated law-enforcement for decades, spanning five different sheriffs administrations in Surry County.

After the trail went cold in 1982, different sheriffs reopened the case in 2003, 2010 and 2013, working new leads before changing the status back to inactive, Sheriff Steve C. Hiatt said at a news conference in 2019 after Adkins was arrested.

In 2015, then-Sheriff Graham Atkinson formed a task force to revisit the case and investigate new leads. That investigation led law enforcement officials to Fisher Valley Road, where Adkins lived for several years.

Ronda Mechelle Blaylock disappeared around 3:15 p.m. Aug. 26, 1980. She and a friend had been given a ride by a man who identified himself as Jimmy, authorities have said.

Jimmy told the girls that everyone called him Butch. He was described as a man in either his late teens or early 20s. He was tall, weighed about 165 pounds and had straight brownish hair, feathered on the side, and light facial hair.

He listened to rock stations, smoked cigarettes and drove a 1970s model truck that witnesses said was immaculate. The word Chevrolet was on the steering wheel, authorities have said.

According to law-enforcement, the man took Blaylocks friend to her house, not harmed, and left with Blaylock in the passenger seat. Her parents, Charles and Rebecca Blaylock, reported their daughter missing that same day.

Three days later, Blaylocks partially clothed body was found in the woods off Secrest Road in Surry County, a few yards from the Stokes County line and 18 miles from where she was last seen in Rural Hall.

A medical examiner said she died from multiple stab wounds.

Adkins was arrested on the one-year anniversary of the death of Blaylocks mother. Her father died in 2012. That same year, Blaylocks grandmother Katherine Crews died. A year after that, in 2013, her grandfather Ralph Crews died.

Maj. Scott Hudson of the Surry County Sheriffs Office said that investigators conducted hundreds of interviews and reviewed evidence from 1980 and forensic results that pointed to Adkins.

Investigators went to Ohio and Myrtle Beach to interview witnesses.

In court papers, Ball said that law-enforcement officials interviewed Adkins about Blaylocks death at least twice in 2017. Adkins was interviewed for six to seven hours in January 2017.

Investigators interviewed him a second time a few months later. He was not charged at the end of those interviews, Ball said.

In a video provided to authorities in 2015, Rebecca Blaylock said she felt she had been in a prison for 35 years and added that her daughter never got a chance to graduate from high school and college, get married and have children.

People ask me, How many grandchildren do you have, Rebecca Blaylock said in the video. And I say, I dont have any grandchildren because I dont have any children.
The IRS has announced that it will start accepting and processing tax returns for the 2023 year on Jan. 29. Here is information on how long to hold on to tax information for previous years.

Q: Ive got a lot of old documents, tax returns, receipts from charitable donations, some 1099 and W-2 forms and the like. How long should I hold on to them?  M.P.

Answer: Different documents should be held for various lengths of time.

According to the Internal Revenue Service, Generally, you must keep your records that support an item of income, deduction or credit shown on your tax return until the period of limitations for that tax return runs out.

Keep records for three years unless you dont report income thats more than 25% of the gross income that you reported. Keep those records for six years.

If you dont file a return or you file a fraudulent return keep the records permanently.

Lechelle Yates of the Better Business Bureau of Central and Northwest North Carolina provided information about the retention of other types of documents.

Keep these records permanently:

Major financial records.

Birth and death certificates.

Social Security cards.

Marriage licenses.

Divorce papers.

Military discharge documents.

Life insurance policies.

Wills and living wills.

Keep the following documents for one year:

Regular statements, pay stubs.

Keep either a digital or hard copy of your monthly bank and credit card statements for the last year.

You should also hold on to pay stubs so that you can use them to verify the accuracy of your Form W-2 when tax season arrives and receipts for large purchases.

The Federal Trade Commission suggests holding on to your paid medical bills for a year before throwing the bills away.

The organization recommends keeping documents that support the information that you provided on your tax return for three to seven years.

They also recommend brokerage statements, tuition payments and charitable donation receipts for three to seven years.

The BBB also recommends keeping utility bills, and bank deposits and withdrawals for a month until you can verify that the transactions have cleared.

AARP has these suggestions about storing the documents so you can find them.

Keep the documents in an organized fashion as opposed to thrown in a box or drawer. If you need them, itll make it easier to find the necessary documents if the IRS contacts you.

Theres nothing wrong with saving your records longer than the legal limits if it gives you peace of mind and you can stand the clutter.

You might consider storing some records in the cloud  remote computer storage space that you rent.

Although many people keep paper records, its also smart to have the documents converted to electronic files and stored in the cloud. Its a good idea to have two sets, in case one is destroyed.

AARP recommends that if you have your taxes prepared by a tax professional, such as an accountant, or enrolled agent, you should keep a copy of the tax return and accompanying documentation. Although the tax preparer has a copy, you are ultimately responsible for the return.
With temperatures continuing to fall below zero and snow still piled up across Lincoln, the 29th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Rally was postponed for the second time in event history.

In its place, an hour-and-a-half-long pre-recorded segment  featuring past performances, informational videos and clips of Martin Luther King Jr.s famous speeches  was streamed Monday morning.

An abbreviated version of this years Call to Action program will be available to livestream on Friday from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. The full, in-person rally will now take place on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Student Union on the University of Nebraska-Lincolns downtown campus.

The pre-recorded video, which is available to watch on the LNKTV City YouTube channel, kicks off with quick introductions from several members of this years student-run planning committee. However, their performances are largely not included in the video, except for a few brief clips teasing what theyll showcase Friday and Saturday.

Postponing wasnt what Pete Ferguson, the lead adult adviser for the rally, had hoped to have to do, but it became evident over the weekend that conditions would still be too dangerous for travel.

But, Ferguson said it was important they still did something to honor the late reverend and civil rights activist on the day of the federal holiday, even if it meant creating a montage of past event highlights.

I think we as the committee thought it was just absolutely imperative to still engage individuals. Not only them, but also the rest of the community, he said. We were committed to making sure that there was meaningful content to complement the day.

From videos about Martin Luther King Jr.s life to a PBS Kids segment about racial equality, Ferguson said they tried to make the livestreamed video as educational as possible and show viewers that he was more than just his well-known I Have a Dream speech.

Dr. King is definitely a legacy and an icon, but he's more than one speech. He's more than one picture, Ferguson said. We just felt like it was extremely important to share and provide some of those other pieces of context.

In the video, there are also past rally performances, varying from those done pre-pandemic at the state Capitol, virtually during COVID-19 and those that took place on UNLs campus last year.

A performance by Emma Brown, a current member of the planning committee, focuses on the power women have and how women in history have helped lead movements.

Throughout the speech, Brown reflects on a quote by James De La Vega: Sometimes the king is a woman. With it, she discusses how women throughout history have paved the way for young people like her.

Sometimes the king is a woman, like myself, Emma Brown, she said, concluding her performance.

Other students performed adaptations of famous speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. and more activists.

A speech by Daniel Turner in 2023 also was featured. Turner spoke about how those at the MLK Youth Rally have become like a family and what the event is truly about.

We are about uniting the family and bringing together the young and the old, he said. We sing, we deliver speeches. This is a place where we empower, educate and engage scholars' voices, while honoring the legacy of our elders.

Despite the setback, Ferguson said they are looking forward to the full event Saturday, which will feature every speech and performance the students have spent months working on.

Saturday will have all the bells and whistles, Ferguson said. It'll be everything that people have come to know.
A wind chill warning for Lincoln and eastern Nebraska remains in effect until noon Tuesday, but area residents should expect to see slightly warmer conditions Wednesday before falling back into a deep freeze.

A high of 12 degrees is forecast for Lincoln on Tuesday. Then, the temperature is expected to climb into the low to mid 20s on Wednesday.

The cold prompted Lincoln Public Schools to call off school Tuesday, the fourth weather-related closure in seven days. Some evening events may still take place, LPS said in a news release just after 7 p.m. Monday.

Another push of arctic air will bring colder temperatures with lows dipping back to sub-zero temperatures Thursday and Friday and single digits Saturday. It will start to warm up Sunday, with Monday holding the promise of above-freezing conditions.

The National Weather Service of Omaha said there's a 20% chance of light snow Wednesday night across the entire area. There's a 50-70% chance of accumulating snowfall beginning Thursday and continuing into Thursday night. Northeast Nebraska looks to receive the heaviest snowfall.

A cold system coming through could bring 1-2 inches of snow Thursday afternoon, said Becky Kern, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Valley.

With the wind chill warning and freezing temperatures, people are advised to limit time spent outdoors and bundle up when going out is necessary. Frostbite can develop after as little as 10 minutes of exposure.

The CHI Health St. Elizabeth Regional Burn and Wound Center in Lincoln has seen an influx in frostbite patients this winter.

As of Monday, 12 patients have been admitted for frostbite in Lincoln, 12 in the Omaha metro and one in Kearney, plus more than 40 calls to the burn center from other facilities seeking advice on treatment or asking to send patients to Lincoln.

In my 23 years of practice in this department, weve never seen these kinds of numbers, said Esther Rathjen, a burn unit manager and clinical nurse specialist.

Rathjen encourages those with frostbite to seek help as soon as possible. Receiving treatment within 24 hours of exposure is key to reducing lasting tissue damage and amputation probability. St. Elizabeth has admitted patients with severe frostbite from spending anywhere between 45 minutes to six hours outside.

It can be as simple as going out and shoveling snow, said Eric Jensen, burn nurse and community educator.

Officials recommend wearing layers of dry clothing with a limited amount of exposed skin. People doing outdoor activities, such as shoveling snow, are advised to take breaks, go inside and rewarm before returning to the task. Keeping exposure time brief is key in preventing frostbite.

For anyone seeking shelter from the bitter cold, Matt Talbot Kitchen and Outreach is opening its doors this week from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The facility offers many resources, including meals between 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 5:30-6:30 pm. Guests will have access to snacks, water, coffee showers and laundry services. Outreach staff will be able to help guests make plans for overnight shelter.

As temperatures dip below freezing, electric use also increases. Lincoln Electric System offered a few tips to save energy: Lower thermostats two to four degrees, ensure that air registers are not blocked, seal up windows and external doors, turn off lights and appliances that are not in use and avoid using heavy appliances such as washers, dryers and dishwashers.

Officials also recommend people have flashlights, water, warm clothes and blankets in their homes and cars.

Photos and videos: Winter storm brings heavy snow, winds to Lincoln
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.  Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson dropped his long-shot bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday, ending a candidacy that was a throwback to an earlier era of the GOP but ultimately failed to resonate in a party now dominated by Donald Trump.

Hutchinson's exit came a day after he finished sixth in Iowa's leadoff caucuses, well behind Trump and other top rivals but also behind Ryan Binkley, a pastor who failed to qualify for any of the debates. Hutchinson was the last GOP candidate remaining in the race who was willing to directly take on Trump.

I congratulate Donald J. Trump for his win last night in Iowa and to the other candidates who competed and garnered delegate support," Hutchinson said in a statement. Today, I am suspending my campaign for President and driving back to Arkansas. My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front runner did not sell in Iowa.

Hutchinson's campaign manager, Alison Williams, said he wasn't issuing an endorsement at this time.

During the campaign, he failed to register beyond 1 percentage point in most polls and drew sparse crowds even as the Republican presidential field winnowed from more than a dozen candidates down to a handful. Another competitor, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, dropped out of the race Monday night after finishing fourth in Iowa, behind Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.

Hutchinson stayed in the race even as better-financed and well-known candidates such as former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott dropped out last year. On Tuesday, Hutchinson said he stood by the campaign he ran.

I answered every question, sounded the warning to the GOP about the risks in 2024 and presented hope for our countrys future, he said in his statement.

During the first debate, Hutchinson was booed by some audience members when he said he wouldnt support Trump if the former president was convicted in any of his four criminal cases, and he questioned whether Trump was disqualified from holding office because of his role in inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

I am not going to support somebody whos been convicted of a serious felony or who is disqualified under our Constitution, Hutchinson said.

He failed to meet the qualifications for the next four presidential debates, an unwelcome development that denied him needed exposure.

Before entering the race, he called another Trump White House run the worst scenario for the GOP and said the former presidents call to terminate parts of the Constitution hurt the country.

He objected to the Republican National Committees requirement that candidates support the eventual nominee to qualify for the debate stage, though he ultimately signed the pledge. He said the party should instead require hopefuls to vow to not run as third-party candidates.

Hutchinson, whose candidacy harked back to an earlier era of the Republican Party, preferred dry policy discussions or appearances on Sunday talk shows to boisterous rallies or social media fights. Although hes been a fixture in Arkansas politics going back decades, he was little known outside his home state.

He was crowded out by other better-known candidates who had competing appeals to GOP voters. His criticisms of Trump were overshadowed by similar comments from Chris Christie, the former governor from New Jersey.

After Christie dropped out of the race days before Iowas caucuses, Hutchinson commended him for speaking the hard truth and highlighting the risks of a Donald Trump presidency, noting the high political price he paid.

As for me, Hutchinson said in a statement before the caucuses, I am competing for votes in the Iowa caucuses and I plan to beat expectations here. I remain the only candidate who has not promised a pardon to Donald Trump and my voice continues to be critical in this race.

Hutchinson joins Ramaswamy, Christie, Pence, Scott, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, radio show host Larry Elder, businessman Perry Johnson, former Texas congressman Will Hurd and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez in suspending his bid for the GOP nomination.

He formally launched his campaign in April in Bentonville, the northwest Arkansas town where he got his start as an attorney and first ran unsuccessfully for elected office.

Hutchinson had used the city, which is also retail giant Walmarts home, to portray himself as a business-friendly conservative. He had contrasted that with DeSantis, who has been engaged in a bitter public feud with Disney in Florida.

Hutchinson, who finished his two terms as Arkansas governor in 2023, is also a former congressman who served as one of the House managers prosecuting the impeachment case against then-President Bill Clinton.

Previously, Hutchinson served in President George W. Bushs White House as the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration and as an undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security. He was also a federal prosecutor in Arkansas in the 1980s.

Today in history: Jan. 16 1912: Robert Scott 1920: Prohibition 1942: Plane Crash 1987: Hu Yaobang 1989: Miami 1991: Operation Desert Storm 2007: Barack Obama 2012: Mitt Romney 2017: Eugene Cernan 2020: Impeachment 2021: National Guard 2021: Phil Spector
China to continuously develop bilateral ties with Switzerland for more practical results in mutually beneficial cooperation

Xinhua) 08:00, January 16, 2024

Chinese Premier Li Qiang attends a grand welcome ceremony held by President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd at the Lohn Estate prior to their talks in Bern, Switzerland, Jan. 15, 2024. Chinese Premier Li Qiang held talks with President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd here on Monday. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan)

BERN, Switzerland, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to promote continuous development of bilateral relations with Switzerland to achieve more practical results in mutually beneficial cooperation, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said here on Monday.

Li made the remarks during talks with President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd. Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, attended the talks.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 74 years ago, bilateral relations have made great progress and set many "firsts," Li said.

He recalled that back in 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping and then Swiss leader jointly announced the establishment of the China-Switzerland innovative strategic partnership, which has provided important guidance for the development of bilateral relations.

China is ready to work with Switzerland to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, further consolidate the foundation of political mutual trust and carry forward the cooperative spirit of "equality, innovation and mutual benefit," the premier said.

China stands ready to continue to push for closer high-level exchanges with Switzerland, better play the role of the dialogue and cooperation mechanism between the two governments, and accelerate the resumption of exchanges at various levels and in diverse fields, Li said.

Both sides should explore more converging interests, bolster cooperation in free trade, customs and other fields, and foster and strengthen new growth areas of cooperation in green development, finance and digital economy, thereby elevating and upgrading bilateral economic and trade cooperation, he noted.

Li also expressed the hope that the Swiss side will continue to provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises in Switzerland.

China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Switzerland in the fields of cultural relics, education, youth and sports, said Li.

Li called on the two sides to closely communicate and coordinate within multilateral mechanisms such as those within the United Nations, strengthen cooperation in the fields of connectivity infrastructure financing, international development assistance and climate change response, and jointly make positive contributions to the cause of world peace and development.

For their part, Amherd and Parmelin said that Switzerland was one of the first countries to recognize the People's Republic of China, noting that the Switzerland-China relationship enjoys a long history and rich connotations, and their bilateral business and investment cooperation has been continuously strengthened despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Switzerland stands ready to continue promoting quality bilateral dialogue with China, deepen cooperation in such fields as economy, trade, education, finance, science and technology as well as people-to-people and cultural exchanges, jointly address global challenges including climate change, public health and cyber security, and promote greater development of the Switzerland-China innovative strategic partnership in the Year of the Dragon, they said.

During their talks, the two sides announced that China and Switzerland have completed the joint feasibility study on upgrading the China-Switzerland Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and agreed to support the early launch of formal FTA upgrade negotiations.

The two sides will hold a new round of China-Switzerland strategic dialogue of foreign minister level, working group meetings on finance and energy, education policy dialogue, as well as consultations on UN Security Council affairs within this year.

The two sides will also take the opportunity of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties next year to strengthen people-to-people exchanges.

China will grant unilateral visa-free treatment to Switzerland, and the Swiss side will provide more visa facilitation for Chinese citizens as well as Chinese enterprises investing in Switzerland.

The leaders of the two countries witnessed the signing of documents on bilateral economic and trade cooperation following the meeting.

Prior to the meeting, Amherd held a grand welcome ceremony for Li at the Lohn Estate. Li, accompanied by Amherd, reviewed the guard of honor.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, accompanied by President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd, reviews the guard of honor during a grand welcome ceremony at the Lohn Estate prior to their talks in Bern, Switzerland, Jan. 15, 2024. Chinese Premier Li Qiang held talks with President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd here on Monday. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
DENVER (AP)  The shooter who killed five people and endangered the lives of over 40 others at a LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs was charged with federal hate crimes Tuesday.

The charges, which include gun counts, after Anderson Aldrich, 23 , pleaded guilty last June in state court to five counts of murder and 46 counts of attempted murder  one for each person at Club Q during the attack on Nov. 19, 2022.

Aldrich, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, also pleaded no contest to state charges for hate crimes charges under a plea agreement. The plea was an acknowledgment there was a good chance Aldrich would be convicted of those crimes without admitting guilt. The pleas carried the same weight as a conviction.

The federal charges follow an FBI investigation into the shooting that was confirmed after Aldrichs sentencing in state court. At the time, District Attorney Michael Allen said the threat of the death penalty in the federal system was a big part of what motivated the defendant to plead guilty to the state charges.

Get the full story here:

22 of America's deadliest mass shootings in the past 10 years July 20, 2012: Aurora, Colorado Dec. 14, 2012: Newtown, Connecticut Sept. 16, 2013: Washington, D.C. June 17, 2015: Charleston, South Carolina Oct. 1, 2015: Roseburg, Oregon Dec. 2, 2015: San Bernardino, California June 12, 2016: Orlando, Florida Oct. 1, 2017: Las Vegas, Nevada Nov. 5, 2017: Sutherland Springs, Texas Feb. 14, 2018: Parkland, Florida May 18, 2018: Santa Fe, Texas Oct. 27, 2018: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Nov. 7, 2018: Thousand Oaks, California May 31, 2019: Virginia Beach, Virginia Aug. 3, 2019: El Paso, Texas Aug. 4, 2019: Dayton, Ohio Aug. 31, 2019: Midland, Texas March 16, 2021: Atlanta March 22, 2021: Boulder, Colorado April 15, 2021: Indianapolis May 14, 2022: Buffalo, New York May 24, 2022: Uvalde, Texas
OMAHA  Mouthwatering scents fill the basement kitchen where Djamil Djibril Bah-Traore is teaching his latest class of students how to make their way in America.

He shows them how to chop vegetables, measure spices and prepare dishes for an upcoming event catered by House of Bah, the company and nonprofit foundation that Bah-Traore started.

How much salt? one student asks.

Cook from your heart, Bah-Traore answers. We dont cook from a recipe. We cook from the heart. You know when it's enough.

His answer is murmured back in Arabic, French and the West African language Ewe to the students  refugees from Syria, Jordan, Morocco, Benin and Sudan.

The House of Bah is still a catering company. Djamil Bah-Traore (pronounced Ja-meel) regularly cooks African cuisine at weddings, pop-ups and special events in Omaha, sometimes renting a food truck and serving from there.

But since 2022, Bah-Traore has, through the House of Bah Foundations classes, helped more than 30 immigrants prepare for a job in the food industry or to, if they choose, start their own food businesses.

Some have come to work with Bah-Traore, teaching others what they learned, helping translate and running the kitchen during catering jobs. At least one graduate, a refugee from Ukraine, is now working in the restaurant industry.

They dont really have any options as far as learning how a commercial kitchen works, or what the life of a professional chef is like, Bah-Traore said. This class gives them the chance.

Hes also working toward a more personal goal: Widely introducing Omahans to African cuisine.

Bah-Traore moved to the United States in 2003 to study accounting and business and worked in corporate finance for 13 years. But he couldnt quiet memories of his childhood in the West African country of Togo  his family, his mothers cooking, the food he ate as a kid.

He saw a TV commercial for the Metropolitan Community College culinary institute and decided to enroll.

He quit his corporate job and became a student, driving a taxi at night to support his family: wife Aicha, daughters Nihad, Naazik and Nuzhat, and sons Murad and Muksit. He also supports cousins and two half brothers, aged 17 and 22, in Togo.

Bah-Traore interned at Dante in west Omaha while he was a student. Hed drive his taxi to the restaurant, do his shift, get back in the taxi and drive, sometimes all night long.

He kept that schedule  MCC during the day, cook for a few hours, drive all night, get a bit of sleep, start again  for a year and a half, until he graduated from the culinary institute.

In a new way, he was continuing a long family tradition.

Bah-Traores great-grandfather worked as a cook, among other jobs, in Togo before and after the French seized power at the end of World War I. He taught all of his sons how to cook. Bah-Traores mother learned to cook from her father and then taught him.

After he graduated, Bah-Traore worked in several hotels, all the while doing his own version of African food at pop-up events, most often at the former House of Loom. He regularly suggested to his kitchen bosses that hed like to introduce African dishes on menus or for hotel catering jobs. They always turned him down.

It seemed like there was no way to bring African food into the hospitality business, he said.

When the coronavirus hit and Bah-Traore was no longer in the kitchen daily, he had time to think. He decided he would bring African cuisine into the hospitality business himself.

Hes done a pop-up at the Switch, the food hall in Aksarben and continues to cater events, including weddings for African families. The next step is getting House of Bah on preferred catering lists for event venues.

Aboubakar Tchalombo, a House of Bah board member and Bah-Traores half brother, said theres value in normalizing African cooking. Someone being able to have this kind of food at their wedding, it makes them feel at home, he said.

House of Bah is now also cooking at events where most of the patrons have never tried African food. Those are perhaps the most fulfilling experiences, Bah-Traore said.

Guests tell him his chicken and waffles are the best theyve ever had. The smoked brisket rice? Amazing. The diner who had only tried black eyed peas once and hated them had his mind changed with Bah-Traores version.

Then there was the 80-year-old German woman who tried Bah-Traores food at an event. She told her daughter she loved it.

The guest said, If you can make my mother love African food,' Bah-Traore said, 'you can make anyone love it."

Bah-Traore said lots of guests ask him when hes planning to open a restaurant. But he has different plans in the works: a class, which he thinks will take place in 2024, where he will work with MCC to educate working chefs about how to cook African dishes as part of a new course called the African culinary academy. And in 2025, a Midwest African Food Expo that will feature food from the African diaspora, immigrants and refugees cooking across the Midwest.

Brian OMalley, an associate dean at the culinary institute, said Bah-Traore sees food as a tool to connect people to their community.

He helps these folks see that it might also be a way into a career, he said. That has been really impressive to see. At the same time, it also celebrates foods we dont have on our radar.

As the final cooking class of 2023 winds down in the basement kitchen, the students begin to prepare a family meal for lunch: a fragrant, traditional African mafe sauce blended with an Indian coconut curry that will be served with basmati rice. Generally made with chicken, Bah-Traore this day prepared a vegan version with tofu, plantain and cauliflower.

Roukaya Alramadan, a graduate who helps translate during the classes, relayed why some of the current students  all women  enrolled for the course.

To learn new things and new techniques, Alramadan translates. To open a business in the future. To learn the techniques in the American way. To get better at cooking.

The students all wear aprons gifted to the House of Bah from famed chef Jacques Pepins foundation  which also gave the nonprofit a $10,000 grant  branded with the same line: We are all equal in the eyes of the stove.

The phrase rings true as the women move seamlessly through the kitchen, washing dishes, adding seasonings and tomato paste to the sauce, slicing and zesting oranges, all the while chatting in different languages. As the dish is finished, everyone gets a tasting spoon to sample before Alramadan begins dishing out sizable plates and the cohort sits down to eat lunch.

Tchalombo, between bites, said the classes continually surprise him because they bring people from different cultures who speak different languages together through one thing: food.

Bah-Traore nodded.

One day, when you go to an Omaha public school and every kid knows what jollof rice is, that is how we become a diverse country, he said. If you love somebodys food, it is hard to hate them.

The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraskas first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.

The 10 longest-running restaurants in Lincoln 1942: Lee's Restaurant 1957: Valentino's 1963: Misty's 1965: Virginia's Travelers Cafe 1976: Ticos 1978: daVinci's 1982: Piezano's 1984: The Isles 1986: Billy's 1988: Hi-Way Diner
The Kearney Volunteer Fire Department said an electrical event was the cause of a house fire that killed a woman in southeast Kearney.

According to a KVFD press release, firefighters removed the victim from the burning home at 1212 Ave. B, but she was pronounced dead a short while later. KVFD has not identified the victim, but stated in the news release that the fire was accidental.

KVFD was dispatched at 3:29 a.m. Sunday after a report of smoke coming from the house at 1212 Ave. B.

A Kearney police officer who arrived at the scene before firefighters advised there was heavy smoke coming from the structure and a window had broken. Dispatchers also advised they could not confirm if there were occupants in the house.

KVFD attacked the fire and conducted a primary search of the structure. A short time later, firefighters located and removed the woman. CHI Health Good Samaritan EMS received the patient just outside of the structure and began a patient assessment. The occupant woman was pronounced dead a short time later.

KVFD members continued to fight the fire and search the structure. The fire was extinguished and no additional occupants were located.

Gibbon Volunteer Fire Department, Kearney Police Department, Nebraska Public Power District and Northwestern Energy assisted KVFD.

The Nebraska State Fire Marshal has been called to assist KVFD in determining the origin and cause of the fire. KVFD reported the initial investigation indicates the fire was accidental and the cause was electrical in nature.

Top Journal Star photos for January 2024
At the very least, Montgomery County Sheriff Sean Kilkenny has violated his oath of office, particularly the portion in which he swore to support and defend the United States Constitution including the Second Amendment.

Montgomery County is a Philadelphia suburb and the third largest county in Pennsylvania. Sheriff Kilkenny oversees approximately 115 deputies who lack a traditional law enforcement mission. They neither patrol nor respond to 911 calls regularly. Their "core responsibilities" include courthouse security, transporting prisoners and serving warrants and other legal process. Most of the actual police work in Montgomery County is done by local and State Police, the Sheriff acknowledges on his website.

At a time when most law enforcement agencies are struggling with budget cuts and severe recruiting and staffing problems, Kilkenny's deputies were looking for more to do. The Sheriff recently ordered them to start conducting warrantless inspections of local gun dealers in their jurisdiction. In addition to a Federal Firearm License, gun dealers in the Commonwealth must also obtain a state license, according to a regulation promulgated by the Pennsylvania State Police. This state license requires the dealers to agree to warrantless searched by the State Police or their designee  in this case the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.

A series of emails obtained by the Second Amendment Foundation through Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know legislation shows how Sheriff Kilkenny, who is also an attorney, was practically groomed into agreeing to conduct these inspections by a statewide gun-control group, CeaseFirePA. The emails also demonstrate how neither the Sheriff's Office nor CeaseFirePA knew what they were doing when they established the program, or even how to train the deputies before sending them out to inspect local gun dealers.

One national firearm industry expert said it is incredibly rare for local law enforcement to inspect gun dealers, who are already federally licensed and overregulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. .....
1. Yes. It will be convenient and the fares are cheap. I plan to use the transit system often.

2. Yes. I have a vehicle, but I may still use the service now and then, especially in bad weather.

3. No. I dont use the current bus service, and I dont plan to use the micro-transit service either.

4. No. It may be fine in town, but it still involves a transfer for longer trips. That wont work.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say. It depends on how well the service works once its in place.

Vote

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The Nebraska Humane Society is working with rescues in other states to find the next stop for the 50 dogs taken from a breeding facility in Boyd County near Spencer.

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture asked the Humane Society for assistance after the license for the breeding operation was revoked. Interim Humane Society CEO Pam Wiese said it took about a week to get everything organized.

Were really full, and we know so many rescues here in town are also overloaded, Wiese said. Were talking to partners in different states and have commitments from folks to bring transport up to get them out of here next week. This way, its a way station for them. We can give them some comfort. We have the ability to house them.

Because it already has so many dogs, the Humane Society has put the newcomers in an area that used to house its day care, Wiese said. Animal care is in charge, and Wiese said it's also received help from volunteers.

The Humane Society hasnt seen any big health issues, but the animals are undersocialized because theyve been in a breeding facility and not with families.

A lot of them are shy, she said. They are very sweet. They are kind of shell-shocked. It was a long drive.

The Humane Society expects to keep 10 or 15 of the dogs, but the majority will go to other rescues. In the group are corgis, shelties, poodle mixes, labs and German shorthairs.

Wiese said the Humane Society is assessing the dogs and there is no timeline in place for when the ones that are kept here will be available for adoption.

The snow and cold this week could play a role in when rescues pick up the animals. Its also curtailing adoptions at NHS, which was closed Friday.

We are running pretty full here at the shelter, especially with the weather, she said. We have a lot of dogs and not as many cats. We have a lot of dogs we could stand to adopt out.

Wiese, who was just recently named interim CEO, said shes enjoying her new role and thrilled to help some animals in need.

Were doing a great thing and giving them a second chance, she said.
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Pursuing a lifelong interest, U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman has proposed legislation establishing a federal clearinghouse to collect and report sightings of unidentified flying objects and protect civilian airline personnel from repercussions for reporting such phenomena.

The proposal comes amid a surge of interest in Congress into UFOs  increasingly referred to by the blander but more all-encompassing phrase unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs  including a high-profile public hearing last summer.

There, commercial pilots, former armed forces personnel and proponents of UFO research described seeing a UFO accelerate to supersonic speeds and even claimed the government had recovered nonhuman biologics from crashed aircraft. (The claim, by a former intelligence officer, was not substantiated.)

Since I was a child, unidentified objects in our airspace have been a topic of interest, said Grothman, R-Glenbeulah, who wrote the bill with Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif.

With the majority of Americans believing that the government has suppressed information on UAPs, our bipartisan effort highlights our need for transparency from the federal government regarding UAPs to better protect the safety and security of American citizens, he said.

The bill would establish procedures for the government to collect, investigate and report out incidents including adverse physiological effects, or the disruption, interference, or interaction with flight instruments, potentially caused by an unidentified anomalous phenomena reported by civilian aircrew, air traffic controllers, flight attendants, aviation maintenance personnel, aviation dispatchers, air carriers or operators, and airports.

Critically, the legislation would prohibit the Federal Aviation Administration from taking into account the reporting of such phenomena when evaluating the competency or medical fitness of pilots or other civilian aviation employees. Airlines would also be barred from retaliating against employees for reporting them.

Pilots are trained observers of our skies, but I have heard from dozens of frustrated pilots for major airlines who witnessed UAP yet had no confidential way to report them to the government, Ryan Graves, a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot and the executive director of Americans for Safe Aerospace, said in a statement to Congress last summer.

Just under 60% of Americans think the U.S. government has more information about UFOs and aliens than theyre publicly willing to share, a Redfield & Wilton Strategies poll found. Just over a third of Americans think the federal government possesses nonhuman vehicles, while 36% said they didnt know.
Judges in Britain and Wales have been given permission to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help them write legal opinions.

The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary is the organization that oversees court systems and judges in Britain and Wales. It provided new rules on the use of AI last month.

While approving AI methods to support basic duties, the judiciary warned judges to never use such tools to carry out case research or legal examinations. The guidance said AI should not be used for those activities because the technology can produce false, misleading or biased information.

Geoffrey Vos is Head of Civil Justice in England and Wales. He told The Associated Press the new rules aim to permit the careful use of AI to help judges with parts of their jobs. Vos added, however, that judges must ensure that they protect confidence and take full personal responsibility for everything they produce.

Vos told Reuters that judges are already well-equipped to differentiate between real arguments and those prepared by AI when considering evidence. "Judges are trained to decide what is true and what is false and they are going to have to do that in the modern world of AI just as much as they had to do that before," he said.

Vos said he even thinks the technology might be used in the future to help resolve low-level legal disputes. He noted this could one day help reduce the large number of unresolved cases in the justice system. "I rule nothing out as to what may be possible."

But Vos said he does not feel that people and businesses currently have the confidence to trust AI to independently resolve legal issues.

Ryan Abbott is a law professor at Britains University of Surrey and wrote the book The Reasonable Robot: Artificial Intelligence and the Law. He told the AP there is currently a lot of debate over how AI should be legally restricted.

Abbott added that many people in the legal field are concerned about possible misuses of AI by lawyers and judges. So I do think AI may be slower disrupting judicial activity than it is in other areas he added.

Court officials in some places issued rules years ago. In 2019, the European Commission body in charge of court systems issued ethical guidelines on the use of AI in courts. While the document is not current with the latest technology, it does offer guidance on accountability and ways to reduce risks linked to AI tools.

In the United States, the federal court system has not established any official guidance on the use of AI. But U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts did recently speak about pros and cons of the technology during a report on the high courts activities during 2023.

But individual courts and judges at both the federal and local levels have likely been setting their own rules, said Cary Coglianese. He is a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Coglianese told the AP the rules approved by Britains judiciary represent the first, published set of AI-related guidelines in the English language. But he said he suspects many judges have already warned employees about the dangers of AI producing false information and possibly violating the privacy of individuals.

The new British guidance states that judges and court workers who have heavy job loads and write long decisions can effectively use AI as a valuable tool. This is especially true for judges and workers required to write background material or create briefs of existing information.

In addition to using the technology for emails or presentations, judges were told they could also use it to quickly find material they already know well.

But the guidelines warn that AI tools should not be used to find new information that cannot be independently confirmed. The judiciarys guidance also said the technology should not be used to provide detailed analysis or reasoning.

Im Bryan Lynn.

The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English.

____________________________________________

Words in This Story

biased  adj. showing unfair support for or opposition to someone or something because of personal opinions

confidence  n. the feeling or belief that someone or some group is good or able to succeed at something

disrupt  v. to interfere with a normal activity

ethical  adj. relating to what is right or wrong

accountable  adj. having to be responsible for what you do and able to explain your actions

pros and cons  n. arguments for and against something

analysis  n. the process of closely examining something
Late last month, 17-year-old Chinese student Kai Zhuang was reported missing near Salt Lake City in the American state of Utah. He was found days later, alone and cold in a tent in the mountains north of the city.

Officials say the case was part of a cyber, or online, plan by criminals. The criminals tried to get $80,000 in ransom money by making Zhuangs family believe he had been kidnapped. Ransom is money that is paid to release a kidnapped person.

Zhuangs case is one of many in which unknown criminals target Chinese students around the world and pretend to kidnap them. The criminals often pretend to be Chinese police or government officials. They convince the students to leave the places where they live and go stay at a hotel. Then they threaten the students families and ask for tens of thousands of dollars for the release of their children.

On January 3, just days after Kai Zhuang was found, the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a warning about the fake kidnappings of Chinese people in the United States.

Fake kidnappings around the world

Criminals have also attempted fake kidnappings of Chinese students in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan, VOA News found. It is not clear whether the criminals are working together or separately across these countries.

Theresa Payton is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the cybersecurity company Fortalice Solutions. She told VOA News that the complex relationship between the Chinese government and its citizens may move worldwide criminal groups to target Chinese students more than students from other countries.

Other security experts say that the criminals pretend to be Chinese police or government officials for a reason; they are using the strong Chinese security system to their advantage.

Chinese people are naturally afraid of the police, said Han Jiang Du Diao Seng, a pharmacist based in the United States. He runs accounts on YouTube and Weibo that are popular among Chinese exchange students.

Seng has helped four Chinese students caught up in cyber kidnapping, he said. He explained to VOA News how the scam, or illegal trick, works.

The criminals, pretending to be Chinese officials, first ask students if they have recently received money from their families. If they say yes, the criminals lie to the students. They may tell them that the money was sent illegally or they may tell them their families are targets of criminals. Then they tell the students to stop communicating with their family while officials look into the problem.

Soon, this makes the family believe their son or daughter has been kidnapped.

In the cases Seng worked on, he said, the criminals forced all the students to leave where they lived and go stay at a hotel. This made their families believe the students were actually kidnapped.

Seng said Chinese parents may be less likely to report their cases to American police. He noted that there is distrust among Chinese people of American police. Chinese state media often show American police as violent and irresponsible, Seng said.

Use of technology

There is no clear information on the number of cyber kidnapping cases in the U.S. or around the world, cybersecurity experts told VOA. However, the number of cases appears to be growing.

Improved technology, especially with artificial intelligence (AI), might make the cyber kidnappings easier for criminals, experts say.

AI can create deepfakes. Deepfake audio and pictures can make it seem like victims have actually been kidnapped, said Payton, the Fortalice Solutions CEO.

Joseph Steinberg is a cybersecurity expert based in New York City. He said improvements in AI mean that criminals do not even have to speak the same language as their victims.

AI is only going to get better, and that means that the attacks will only be more and more realistic, he told VOA.

Last February in Canada, police said Chinese students had been tricked out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by scammers claiming to be Chinese government officials.

In Japan last summer, at least six Chinese students were targeted in cyber kidnapping plans, local police said. The Chinese Embassy in Tokyo issued a warning about the scams in August.

Police in Britain issued a warning about cyber scams targeting Chinese students in September. And in October, the Australian government issued a similar warning.

Cybersecurity experts recommend families set up a password to check one anothers identity over the phone during these kinds of situations.

The cyber kidnapping scam very much can happen to anybody, Steinberg said, and thats what people need to be aware of.

Im Faith Pirlo. And Im Andrew Smith.

Liam Scott and Tracy Liu wrote this story for VOA News. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English.

_______________________________________________

Words in This Story

tent -n. a shelter made of nylon or canvas and held up by poles or ropes, usually used for camping

ransom -n. the money that has to be paid to free someone who has been kidnapped

fake -adj. not real or genuine

pharmacist -n. a person who has legal permission to sell and administer medicine

deepfake -n. an image, audio recording, or video that seems like a real recording of a person in a particular situation but instead is fake and generated by digital technology
An ancient species of great ape likely disappeared hundreds of thousands of years ago when climate change put their favorite fruits out of reach during dry seasons, scientists recently reported.

The species is known as Gigantopithecus blacki. It once lived in southern China. It stood 3 meters tall and weighed up to 295 kilograms. It represents the largest great ape known to scientists.

Its just a massive animal  just really, really big, said Renaud Joannes-Boyau. He is a researcher at Australias Southern Cross University. He helped write the study, which recently appeared in the publication Nature.

But its size may also have been a weakness. Joannes-Boyau said, When food starts to be scarce, its so big it cant climb trees to explore new food sources.

The huge apes likely looked similar to the modern orangutan. It survived for around 2 million years in the forested land of Chinas Guangxi area. They ate plants that included fruits and flowers --- until the environment began to change.

Starting about 600,000 years ago, Guangxis forests began producing fewer fruits. The area was experiencing more periods of dry weather. Researchers examined pollen and sediment found in underground areas called caves to learn more about the changes and their effects.

The giant apes did not disappear quickly, the researchers say. They likely went extinct sometime between 215,000 and 295,000 years ago.

As the climate changed, smaller apes may have been able to climb trees to search for different food. But the researchers found that the giant apes ate more food that provided less nutrients. That less nutritious food included tree bark and thin grasses called reeds.

When the forest changed, there was not enough food preferred by the species, said Zhang Yingqi of Chinas Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology. He helped write the study.

Most of what scientists know about the extinct great apes comes from studying their remains, or fossils. The fossilized bones they studied included teeth and four large lower jaw bones. All of the fossils were found in southern China. No complete skeletons have been found.

Between around 2 million and 22 million years ago, many species of great apes lived in Africa, Europe, and Asia, fossil records show. Today, only gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans and humans remain.

Im Gregory Stachel.

Christina Larson reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English.

________________________________________________

Words in This Story

ape  n. a type of animal (such as a chimpanzee or gorilla) that is closely related to monkeys and humans and that is covered in hair and has no tail or a very short tail

massive  adj. very large and heavy

scarce  adj. very small in amount or number

pollen  n. the very fine usually yellow dust that is produced by a plant and that is carried to other plants of the same kind usually by wind or insects so that the plants can produce seeds

sediment  n. material (such as stones and sand) that is carried into water by water or wind

prefer  v. to like (someone or something) better than someone or something else
The Nebraska Department of Insurance is investigating a Lincoln claims examiner in connection with $885,000 in claims suspected to be fraudulent, according to newly filed court documents.

Because the Lincoln man hasn't yet been charged, the Journal Star isn't naming him.

But in an affidavit to obtain a search warrant, served at the suspect's home Jan. 2, Investigator Charles Starr with the Department of Insurance's fraud prevention division said it started with a tip Nov. 13 about a claims examiner who had worked for American Heritage Insurance Group.

Starr said the man, who worked from home reviewing insurance claims on policies, was only allowed to review claims that didn't exceed $20,000.

He said that when it was discovered last year that he had handled a claim that exceeded $20,000, it triggered an audit of his own accident policy with the company. As of Nov. 3, more than $935,000 in claims had been submitted on the policy without supporting documentation for the "alleged medical services," with $885,230 paid out to accounts he controlled, the investigator alleged.

Starr said that when the man was asked about the allegations in an interview Dec. 26 at his home in the University Place neighborhood, he said, "It's really complicated," and went on to describe having to come up with a ransom for a friend who had been kidnapped in Brazil last summer.

Starr came to believe the claims adjuster had invested some of the money, about $500,000, with someone in Seattle who he has never met, after connecting on a dating website.

On Jan. 2, Lancaster County Court Judge Laurie Yardley granted law enforcement officers permission to search his home for his cellphones, laptops and other electronic devices for evidence of the use of digital currency, texts and instant messages over the past year.

They seized three laptops and two phones among other things, according to the search warrant return.
Troopers rescued several motorists in Saunders and Butler counties Saturday after whiteout conditions on Highway 92 left them stranded for hours, according to a Nebraska State Patrol news release.

The motorists became trapped between Friday evening and Saturday morning in heavy snow with high winds causing reduced visibility. Drifting snow made it difficult for rescue crews to reach them along the highway.

As of 4 p.m. on Saturday, all motorists who had contacted State Patrol dispatchers had been transported out safely, according to the release.

The Nebraska Department of Transportation and State Patrol made their way through the heavy snow from the east and confirmed all stranded motorists had been located.

State Patrol dispatchers continue receiving calls on the NSP Highway Helpline from new motorists stranded in eastern Nebraska. The highway helpline can be reached by dialing *55 from your cell phone or calling 1-800-525-5555.

Since last week, the State Patrol has responded to more than a thousand weather-related incidents, 996 of which involved motorist assistance, according to the release.

NDOT and the State Patrol continue to advise against travel unless necessary.
An "unprecedented" number of frostbite injuries have been seen by the CHI Health St. Elizabeth Regional Burn and Wound Center in Lincoln since cold and snow smothered the Midwest.

Esther Rathjen, burn unit manager and clinical nurse specialist, said Monday that in her 23 years of experience she has never seen a year worse than this one already has been.

As of Monday, 12 patients have been admitted for frostbite in the Omaha metro, 12 in Lincoln and one in Kearney, plus more than 40 calls to the burn center from other facilities seeking advice on treatment or asking to send patients to Lincoln.

"I have not seen a frostbite season so busy," Rathjen said, adding that she doesn't know why. "I don't know, I can't explain. It's the worst year I've seen."

According to the National Weather Service, the severe cold air and windy conditions can be a lethal combination.

The wind chill on Monday was 20 below zero, which can cause frostbite in 10 minutes.

The severity of frostbite can range from reddened skin all the way down to bone damage. Being able to treat it within 24 hours of being injured is key to reduce the risk of amputation.

"Anything with limited blood supply can get frostbite," Rathjen said. "Some of the patients we have seen have been outside for 45 minutes. Some (were outside) for six hours. Sometimes it's overnight."

People who are homeless, she added, are "very much at risk as they have nowhere to go at times."

Eric Jensen, burn nurse and community educator, said the burn clinic has received calls from as far away as Sioux City, Iowa and Lexington, Nebraska. Staff members in Lincoln were able to view images of patients' injuries so they could recommend the best treatment.

"(Some are) work-related injuries including those who work outside like police, fire, construction  anyone outside for a long time has a risk of exposure," Jenson said. That includes those who are doing something like shoveling snow.

The center has had to add more clinic hours twice in order to respond to the increased demand. St. Elizabeth's burn unit is the only one in Nebraska and serves several states in the Midwest.

Jensen said people in the region may struggle to get the needed help because there may not be a trauma center equipped to handle such injuries in their area.

People with medical conditions that could impact their circulation stand a greater risk of frostbite as well, Jensen said.

Rathjen advised that anyone spending time outside should make sure to layer up, leave as much skin covered as possible and to warm up inside when they get cold. People also should check on their neighbors  especially the elderly.

"The older population going outside to get the mail  they have a fall, and it takes them longer to get back in. Or they get stuck," Rathjen said.

If pain in your hands or face begins to fade, it's time to go back inside, she added.

"Also, if you're traveling, make sure you have supplies in your car," she said. If stranded, people should conserve gas by running their engine just 10 minutes an hour.

Photos: Omaha deals with cold temperatures Monday
The Shah of Iran has fled the country following months of increasingly violent protests against his regime.

Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi and his wife, Empress Farah, left Tehran and flew to Aswan in Egypt.

The couples three youngest children were flown to the United States yesterday.

Official reports say the Shah has left for a vacation and medical treatment. In fact, he was asked to leave by the man he appointed prime minister earlier this month.

Over the past few months, there have been an increasing number of violent clashes between security forces and anti-Shah demonstrators.

Opposition to the Shah has become united behind the Muslim traditionalist movement led by Irans main spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini, from exile in France.

There have been calls for the Ayatollahs return  and news of the Shahs departure was greeted with mass celebrations across Iran.

British and United States ex-patriates living in Iran  regarded as symbols of westernization  have been the frequent target of attacks. Thousands have left the country.

Martial law was declared in many cities on 8 September. But later that month, industrial action by thousands of Iranian workers culminated in a mass strike by employees in the oil industry.

The strike sparked riots and rallies across the country in support of the Ayatollah.

Western governments, like the US, UK and West Germany, have continued to express support for the Shah.

The Shah appointed a new military government in early November. But it failed to stem the rising tide of support for the Ayatollah.

Earlier this month he appointed a new prime minister, Dr Shapur Bahktiar. When, on 13 January, the Ayatollah declared a revolutionary Islamic council to replace what he called the illegal government of Iran, Dr Bahktiar persuaded the Shah it was time to leave.

Courtesy BBC News

In context

The Shah never returned to Iran. He died in exile in Egypt in 1980.

Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran on 1 February after 14 years exile.

He threw out Dr Bahktiars government on 11 February and, after a referendum, declared an Islamic Republic on 1 April.

Khomeini guided his countrys revolutionary social, legal, and political development until his death in 1989.

He presided over the country during the Iran/Iraq war, only reluctantly agreeing a ceasefire. He also issued a fatwa against author Salman Rushdie.

Two decades later, liberals ushered in a period of transformation with their election victory in 2000 over the conservative elite.

But reformist president Mohammad Khatami was at odds with hardliners, including the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and failed to make good on his promises.

He was replaced by the ultra-conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2005.

President Bush declared Iran part of an axis of evil in 2002. Washington accused Tehran of attempting to develop nuclear weapons,although Iran says its nuclear ambitions are peaceful.

Tehran resumed its uranium conversion process in 2005, provoking a diplomatic showdown with the international community.
The Earth is heating up, as is conflict in the Middle East. The world economy and Ukraines defense against Russia are sputtering along. Artificial intelligence could upend all our lives.

The to-do list of global priorities has grown for this years edition of the World Economic Forums gabfest of business, political and other elites in the Alpine snows of Davos, Switzerland, which runs today through Friday.

Over 60 heads of state and government, including Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be heading to town to hold both public appearances and closed-door talks. Theyll be among more than 2,800 attendees, which also include academics, artists and international organization leaders.

The gathering is mostly high-minded ambition  think business innovation, aims for peace-making and security cooperation, or life-changing improvements in health care  and a venue for decision-makers in an array of fields and industries to connect.

It is also regularly panned by critics as an emblem of the yawning gap between rich and poor: Young Swiss Socialists staged a rally Sunday to blast the forum and brand attendees as the richest and most powerful, who are responsible for todays wars and crises.

Davos is easily mocked. But in current times it is hard to get people together to talk in a room on shared global issues and the value of face-to-face conversations is very real, as the COVID-19 pandemic showed, Bronwen Maddox, director of the Chatham House think tank, said in an e-mail.

Heres what to watch for:

MESSY MIDEAST

While Davos is generally big-picture, regional conflict can cast a long shadow  like Ukraines war did a year ago, prompting organizers to exclude any Russian delegation.

This year, Israels three-month war with Hamas in Gaza, and recently U.S. and British airstrikes on Houthi militants in Yemen who have fired missiles into Red Sea shipping lanes, are looming large.

Herzog, the Israeli president, whose job is more ceremonial than is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus, will be on hand for a Davos session Thursday, and the prime ministers of Qatar, Jordan and Lebanon will also be attending.

A humanitarian briefing on Gaza session gets a half-hour slot Tuesday.

WHITHER AI?

A testament to how technology has taken a large and growing slice of attention in Davos, this year the theme of Artificial Intelligence as a driving force for the economy and society will get about 30 separate sessions.

The dizzying emergence of OpenAIs ChatGPT over a year ago and rivals since then have elevated the power, promise and portent of artificial intelligence into greater public view. OpenAI chief Sam Altman will be in Davos along with top executives from Microsoft, which helped bankroll his companys rise.

AI in education, transparency about AI, its ethics and impact on creativity are all part of the menu  and the Davos Promenade is swimming in advertisements and displays pointing to the new technology.

Forum organizers warned last week that the threat posed by misinformation generated by AI, such as through the creation of synthetic content, is the worlds greatest short-term threat.

AND WHITHER DEMOCRACIES?

Such misinformation could surge this year, and one session explores the threat of bots and plots on democracies.

Forum organizers say elections in countries whose populations together total 4.2 billion people will take place this year, and many will be contested. (Few doubt whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will get a new term.)

It comes against the backdrop of talk about a new Cold War, the widening rift between dictatorships  or at least autocracies  and democratic countries.

Back-to-back addresses Tuesday morning by Prime Minister Li Qiang of China and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, will highlight the contrast. President Joe Bidens national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, gives a speech later in the day.

French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will speak Wednesday, as will Argentinas new president, Javier Milei, a libertarian who has already announced plans to slash the government workforce.

Davos corridors were already abuzz about whether former U.S. President Donald Trump  who made twotrips to Davos during his term  could be inaugurated again around this time next year, after Novembers election. Biden was once a regular at Davos, but has not attended as president.

TRYING AGAIN TO SAVE THE PLANET

Of all the lofty hopes in Davos, the perennial one of late has been the search for creative and promising ways to fight climate change.

This year is no different: Top climate scientists from around the world reported this month that average global temperatures last year obliterated the record highs  raising the urgency level.

John Kerry, who is stepping down as Bidens climate adviser, takes part in a panel discussion on a U.S.-backed initiative that aims to draw the private sector into development of low-carbon technologies.

Chatham Houses Maddox said plans to transition away from fossil fuels agreed during the U.N. climate conference in Dubai last month means climate finance will face a big year in 2024.

Davos is a powerful combination potentially, of a lot of concern about the environment, and a lot of high-powered finance present, she said. JAMEY KEATEN, DAVOS, MDT/AP
The government has signed an agreement with the Macau Horse Racing Company Limited (Macau Jockey Club) to end its operations effective April 1, 2024, the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Andre Cheong, announced yesterday morning in a government press conference.

Cheong said the decision to end over four decades of horse racing activities in Macau came after the companys formal request to close, due to the lack of general interest in the activity that has resulted in the concessionaire accumulating debts.

On the line is a contract signed with the government for a monopoly operation of horse racing and consequent betting in Macau that began March 1, 2018, and would have extended until August 31, 2042.

At the press conference, Cheong said, Earlier, the Macau Horse Racing Company presented to the government a request for the termination of the exclusive concession contract due to their difficulties in the operation of the horse racing activities which does not meet the current needs of social development.

Cheong noted that although the Clubs long history spans over 40 years, recently the activity has been progressively less attractive to both residents and tourists, a fact that led the government, after an in-depth study, to accept the request from the MJC.

The termination of the concession contract was mutually agreed to be enforced from April 1 this year.

Until March 31, the MJC will continue to operate horse races according to the schedule, said the Secretary.

Workersi handling and horsesi relocation to be complete within 1 year

Two of the major issues that the government said were discussed were the situation of the MJC workers as well as the treatment to be given to the horses.

Cheong said one of the conditions of the agreement now signed is that the company will try, as much as possible, to transfer staff members who are local residents to other services or departments within the same company group/structure. In cases in which this is not possible, Cheong said that fair solutions according to the law and respecting the workers labor rights should be found.

According to the director of the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL), Wong Chi Hong, who also attended the press conference, there are currently at the MJC some 254 local workers as well as over 300 non-resident workers (TNR).

We will discuss and explain to the employees what are their labor rights according to their individual situation and we will also see if the company can move the locals to other divisions under the Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM), Wong said.

Cheong added most of the workers will not be dismissed immediately after the company ceases operating as there will certainly be a long period necessary to handle the horses situation and so most of these work[er]s will need to continue to perform their duties until the whole process of relocation of the horses concludes.

The Secretary also added that some people may be offered early retirement or other options to fulfill their labor rights-related compensation.

All the labor-related as well as horse transfer or relocation procedures must be concluded by March 31, 2025, so the company will also be allowed to continue to have possession of all the venues and facilities until this date.

Questioned by the media, Cheong said the horses final destination is uncertain, even where owners are local, but they will need to be relocated outside Macau as there will be no place to keep them after the facility closes.

MJC land to be put under govit land reserves

Another of the matters in discussion yesterday morning was the one related to the future of the MJC facilities.

According to information discovered by the Times the whole land area where the MJC is located consists of over 400,000 square meters. In the late 1990s three parts of this land were set aside for the construction of the residential development Oscar Crescent, for the construction of the Roosevelt Macau Hotel and another commercial and residential facility named River Let.

According to Cheong, the deal inked yesterday notes that from April 1, 2025, all the land as well as facilities built on it will revert to the government without any compensation to the previous concessionaire.

The Secretary said that for the time being, these land resources will be added to the Macau SAR land reserves for future use, ensuring that they would not be used for gaming-related activities.

Cheong said the government is going to do an overall plan to see how to make the best possible use of that plot of land but that this will not be done immediately.

Questioned on the parcels that have been developed, the Secretary said, Those projects were completed before the 2018 contract, so they arent part of that contract, which is the document we are addressing now. They are off that contract so they are not considered as having any part of this process.
The mutually agreed decision to end the Macau Jockey Club (MJC) contract was realistic, the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Andre Cheong, said yesterday.

In a government-organized press conference to clarify the decision and explain the upcoming procedures, Cheong noted that the decision was taken after long consideration and negotiations between the government and the company.

Conversations started with an expression of the companys intention to cease operations, which was followed by a formal application for the contract termination, he said.

To the medias many questions, Cheong said the decision was not simple and that negotiations have been ongoing at least from about mid-2023, when, according to the government, the MJC first gave notice of its intentions.

Several media grilled the Secretary on why the government decided to extend the monopoly concession to the MJC in 2018, when the company was obviously struggling and unable to fulfill its legal obligations.

Cheong said, In 2018 we had a [] large study, [] together with the Legislative Assembly, but the company [MJC] proposed a new project that was in line with the governments aims and goals with projects targeting the diversification of their activities and in line with the establishment of the World Centre of Tourism and Leisure.

But as we could see [] this didnt work and they continued in constant decline. We had to be realistic, he said.

The government also said that for the time being the MJC has not failed with any of their legal obligations, with all the taxes and duties to the government [amounting to MOP150 million by 2018] to having been completely fulfilled, the director of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), Adriano Ho, said.

Since 2018 the MJC has fulfilled all its responsibilities including the taxes that they have cleared. In 2018 [by the time the contract was extended to 2042] they owed the government some MOP150 million in taxes. A sum that was agreed to be paid over three years until 2021 and by 2021 they had already paid this debt.

Ho also added that according to the contract, the next deadline for the fulfillment of some legal provisions is later this year, so there isnt any contractual non-compliance yet, he explained.

Some media also questioned the fact that the government is not seeking compensation from the company and decided, instead, for a termination of the contract by mutual agreement.

The Secretary blamed the 2018 contract provisions, saying this contract does not contain any provisions regarding penalties other than a suspension or, in more serious cases, the termination of the MJCs operating license.

He also claimed that other duties related to some MOP1.25 billion to be invested by the company in benefiting the facilities and diversifying the activities are difficult to calculate and it makes no sense to force the company to increase the investment when they have already filled for the termination of the contract.

For the Secretary the decline of horse racing betting is easily explained by the decline in interest in these activities worldwide as well as with the lack of local culture in such type of activity, he said, contrary to what happens in neighboring regions like Hong Kong.

Cheong noted that the major concerns of the government at this moment that led to the signing, yesterday, of the agreement for the termination of the contract with MJC are only two and that they are related.

The first is with the wellbeing of the workers and ensuring that their labor rights are fully fulfilled and the second, the proper relocation and treatment of the 289 horses currently within the premises.

A sad day of difficult decisions, MJC says

In a different press conference held yesterday afternoon at the MJC, the company released a statement justifying the decision to close doors due to the continuous accumulation of debts related to the decreased interest in racing activities.

Rui Cunha read the statement (in the Portuguese language) representing the board of directors, noting the sad realization and the difficulty of the decision of the company to abandon operations.

He also noted that the company will keep the facilities operating for the use of the club members over the period between the end of the races (March 31, 2024) and the final handing of the facilities to the government that will happen one year later.

He also thanked all collaborators, partners and horse owners for the support they have always shown and the members of the MJC for their great professionalism and dedication.

The company will also organize timely sessions with all staff members to find those affected new job opportunities and pay the due compensation according to the Labor Law, Cunha said.

He added that in the upcoming days, the MJC will be in contact with all horse owners to assist them on the best solution for the relocation of their horses.

Before the start of the press conference, the company had informed the media that the representatives would not take any questions.

Animas concerns shift to Jockey Clubs many cats

Local animal welfare organization Anima Macau has expressed satisfaction about the decision of the end of the Macau Jockey Club (MJC) concession and the finish of horse racing in the territory.

In an interview with the Times, the president of Anima Macau, Zoe Tang, said, We are very happy [with this outcome] as it has been an Anima long-term fight [to have the Jockey Club closed]. It was a nonsense to keep [the] concession, she said, adding, It was a good decision for the community and the horses. Their conditions were very bad, especially for the retired horses.

However, the closing of the MJC carries another issue related to animal welfare as Tang also explained to the Times.

As far as we know the Macau Jockey Club has a lot of cats [in their premises]. Anima is going to contact the person who feeds them daily to see what we can do to help in tasks such as desexing them or collecting them [].

In a previous interview with the Times, the former president and current honorary life president of the animal rights protection group, Albano Martins, had explained that at the closure of the MJC there would be a problem related to the cats.

He said the company kept cats in its stables to deal with rats which could scare the horses, causing them, in some cases, to injure themselves.

According to Tang, there would currently be some hundred cats living inside the stable facilities of the MJC, which will soon require assistance.

Anima sets a new goal: to close Macau Slaughterhouse

With the closing of the Canidrome first, and now the announced closing of the Jockey Club, two of the main goals of Anima, the group is turning its attention to another issue, Tang explained to the Times.

[We hope that] the next decision [from the government] should be to shut down the slaughterhouse as it is also a nonsens[ical] activity in Macau, the president said.

The local slaughterhouse operates under the public-owned company Macau Slaughter House Ltd in a facility located at Ilha Verde.

According to the statistics provided by the company, 99,464 animals were slaughtered in Macau in 2023, of which 98,017 were pigs and 1,447 beef cattle.
Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu wants the Indian military personnel stationed in his archipelago nation withdrawn by March 15, an official with his office said yesterday [Macau time].

Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, a presidential aide, told reporters that Muizzu proposed the removal at a meeting with officials of the Indian Embassy in the Maldives and other visiting Indian officials.

The move comes a day after Muizzu returned from China, Indias regional rival, and made comments critical of India.

Muizzu said his countys small size is not a license for anyone to bully the Maldives. His comments were an apparent response to social media calls in India to boycott Maldives tourism after three Maldives deputy ministers made derogatory posts on social media against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The dispute began last week when Modi posted pictures on X, formerly known as Twitter, of himself strolling on the beach and snorkeling in Lakshadweep, an Indian archipelago that his government believes has untapped potential for tourism.

Some in the Maldives saw it as an attempt to lure tourists away from its sandy white beaches and luxury island resorts.

Muizzu suspended the deputy ministers, saying their comments did not reflect government policy. However, Muizzu on his return from China announced plans to free Maldives of its dependence on India and find alternate places for Maldivians to obtain education and health services and import staples and medicines.

Currently, Maldivians go to hospitals in India and Sri Lanka under the government- sponsored free health program and many of the countrys staple foods are imported from India.

Muizzu said Maldivians will now be able to also go to hospitals in Thailand and the United Arab Emirates and staples will be imported from Turkey. He also said medicines will be imported directly from manufacturers in Europe and the United States.

India sent the highest number of tourists to the Maldives last year with a share of 11%. But Muizzu said China used to send the most before teh pandemic and steps will be taken to double that number.

India and China are competing for influence in the Maldives, which is located strategically along a key shipping route between the east and the west.

At least 75 Indian military personnel are stationed in the Maldives and Muizzu, who is considered pro-China, campaigned on a promise of removing them in the run-up to the presidential election last November. His party had waged an India Out campaign for months.

Muizzu had accused his election rival and predecessor of compromising national sovereignty by allowing India to have its military personnel in the Maldivian islands.

Known activities of the Indian military include operating two aircraft donated by India and assisting in the rescue of people stranded or faced with calamities at sea.

Regarding the donated aircraft, Ibrahim said: If military personnel are here, military people will have to leave this country and its okay if civilians  are here to operate them, thats whats being discussed in these meetings. MDT/AP
A 70-year-old local man has been arrested by the Judiciary Police (PJ) on allegations of arson at the PJ as well as the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) headquarters.

The man was arrested Sunday less than 1.5 hours after his first alleged arson, which took place near the front door of the PJ headquarters at about 2:25 p.m.

According to the police, fire was seen next to a police vehicle parked on the driveway in front of its front door, caused by some burning paper previously soaked with flammable liquid. The fire was put out quickly by security guards at the PJ.

Less than an hour later, at 3:06 p.m., the police received a report about a fire at the door of the MP, which is several hundred meters away from the PJ headquarters. The report alleged the fire to be arson. Similarly, the fire was put out quickly by security guards at the MP.

The fire at the MP has darkened the rolling gate and the floor of the MP entrance, according to the police, and flammable liquid as well as some towels were also found at the site.

After the incidents, the police deployed investigative forces from several divisions and swiftly locked down their target.

They discovered that after the fire, the suspect was heading towards Border Gate, where he was arrested with a bottle of flammable liquid.

The investigation also revealed the man had bought a liter of kerosene from a shop on Rua de Cinco do Outubro and three liters of gasoline from a gas station on Avenida de Amizade.

During interrogation, the man told police he had lost MOP800,000 to his friend in investment fraud. Although the then suspect was caught and brought to court, he was not satisfied with the judgement. After consideration, he had decided to light a fire on the past Sunday.

He also confessed to the police that he intended to also set a fire at the Second Quarter of the Public Security Police Force (PSP), the Macao Customs headquarters and the Chief Executive Office.

The man was passed to the MP on charges of arson.

The PJ also released the details of a case yesterday concerning a 39-year-old local male insurance agent, who had allegedly surrendered his bank account to a criminal syndicate for fraud.

The total funds concerned amounted to over MOP2.8 million, of which at least MOP640,000 was wired to the bank account of the suspect.

As of yesterday, the police have detected three male and four female victims.

The case was disclosed by the report from a female suspect who, from October to December last year, wired funds to nine domestic and external bank accounts, amounting to MOP1.44 million.

After presumably making several tens of thousands in profits, the victim was asked for MOP50,000 additional payment to withdraw her profits.

In response to questioning, the suspect admitted to surrendering his bank account but denied any involvement in the fraud. He said he would get 2% of the funds as remuneration upon relocating them in person to mainland China. As of the time of arrest, he had received about MOP10,000, which was used up to repay his gambling debts.
MICE industry representatives attended the 19th China Expo Forum for International Co-operation (CEFCO 2024) held last week in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, to learn about market development trends with counterparts from the global MICE industry. The Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) said in a statement the government sent a delegation of 24 representatives, and aimed for the delegates to interact with convention and exhibition managers and professional event organizers in the MICE industry from around the world. They specifically learned about the post-Covid-19 development of the tourism industry in mainland China, which differs significantly from pre-pandemic conditions.

Related
The Pacific Island nation of Nauru said yesterday that it is switching diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China, a move that reduces the dwindling number of Taiwans diplomatic allies to 12 around the world.

A statement from the government of Nauru said it was severing ties with Taiwan and seeking a resumption of relations with China.

China claims self-governing Taiwan as its territory and has been peeling off the islands diplomatic allies, often with promises of development aid. Its a long-running competition between the two that has swung in Chinas favor in recent years.

This policy change is a significant first step in moving forward with Naurus development, the statement said.

China said it welcomes Naurus move to break its so-called diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

The decision to re-establish ties with China once again shows that the one-China principle is where global opinion trends and where the arc of history bends, a Foreign Ministry statement said.

Nauru said in its statement that it would move to the one-China principle, which holds that Taiwan is part of China and recognizes Beijing as the government of China. It differs from Americas one-China policy, which recognizes Beijing as Chinas government but doesnt take a position on who rules Taiwan.

The announcement was a blow to Taiwan as it took pride in elections held just two days ago, a show of democracy that would not be possible in China. Executive leader-elect Lai Ching-te, who will take office in May, has been described as a separatist by China. His Democratic Progressive Party supports maintaining the status quo, in which Taiwan has its own government and is not part of China.

China says Taiwan must come under its control at some point and has staged frequent military drills around the island to demonstrate its determination.

Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister Tien Chung-kwang accused China of purposefully timing the news to the recent election.

Chinas intention is to attack the democracy and freedom that the Taiwanese people are proud of, Tien said at a news conference.

Two retired U.S. officials praised Taiwans democratic process in meetings yesterday with leader Tsai Ing-wen and other leaders. The Biden administration asked the former officials to visit in their private capacity since the U.S. does not have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

The Nauru announcement caught Jarden Kephas, its ambassador to Taiwan, by surprise.

Theres nothing that I have to say. It was announced by my government and I was told to pack up and go, he told the AP.

Taiwan now has official ties with 11 countries and the Vatican. Seven of the nations are in Latin America and the Caribbean, three are in the Pacific Islands and one is in Africa. TAIJING WU & KEN MORITSUGU, TAIPEI, MDT/AP
A day after an Australian became queen of Denmark, her native land yesterday celebrated the unlikely fairy tale with cocktails, picnics and a Danish Fiesta.

Mary Donaldsons journey from Tasmania to the worlds first Australian-born queen has captivated both Danes and Australians. People gathered to mark the occasion across Australia, including Queen Marys hometown of Hobart, the capital of the southern island state of Tasmania.

In Melbourne, scores gathered at Denmark House, one of Melbournes oldest social clubs, to celebrate the coronation with a special cultural event.

Its not something that happens every day that you have an Australian becoming queen. I dont know if it will ever happen again, Danish Club Vice President Lykka Borup told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Marys husband, Crown Prince Frederik, was proclaimed king of the European nation on Sunday, two weeks after his 83-year-old mother, Queen Margrethe II, announced she would be the first Danish royal to abdicate in about 900 years.

Several landmarks in Hobart were lit up in Denmarks red and white colors, as many residents celebrated with a picnic or a high tea at Taroona Beach, near Queen Marys childhood home.

Celebrations were also held at the Slip Inn, the Sydney pub where the royal couple first met during the 2000 Olympics. The establishment announced it was hosting a Danish Fiesta during January, with a special Theres Something About Mary cocktail.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described Queen Marys ascension as a great day.

She has carried herself in a way that I think just brings enormous support and pride to all Australians, he told the ABCs Radio National program yesterday.

Were very proud that Hobart-born Mary Donaldson has become the queen of Denmark, he said.

Albanese said his government has made a donation to a charity that works to protect the endangered Tasmanian devil.

Mary grew up in Tasmania, and so it is fitting Australia marks this occasion with a gift to support the conservation of the Tasmanian devil, he said in a statement.

Jeremy Rockliff, premier of Marys home state, said Tasmanians could not be prouder of Queen Mary, and there was always an open invitation for the royal couple to visit.

The Tasmanian government also said it would send a gift of a table of Huon pine, a Tasmanian timber, handmade by a local furniture maker, and make a donation to a charity that supports childrens wellbeing. Its a cause that the 51-year-old Queen Mary, a mother of four, actively supported during her two decades as crown princess of Denmark. MDT/AP
Shih Ming-teh, a democracy activist who helped lead Taiwan from authoritarianism to democracy and a former chairman of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, died yesterday, his family said. He was 83.

According to a statement from his family on his official Facebook page, he was being treated at Taipeis Veterans General Hospital. No cause of death was provided.

Our father, Shih Ming-teh, set off today [Monday] on his birthday, reuniting with his family members and the comrades-in-arms that he had fought with through thick and thin, said the family. Whether its here or on the other side, he is not alone.

Shih was born in Kaohsiung, in Taiwans south, and became an activist at a young age. While serving a mandatory military service in Kinmen, he was imprisoned for advocating for Taiwans independence from China. He served 15 years in the first sentence, from 1962 to 1977, according to Taiwans semi-official Central News Agency.

In 1980, he again went to prison, this time for 10 years for his role in the Kaohsiung Incident, today seen as one of the major moments in pushing Taiwan to eventually transition to democracy.

At the time, Taiwan was ruled by the Nationalist Party  the Kuomintang  under martial law, with no room for political dissent or political rights such as voting.

Shih, who published a magazine called Formosa promoting democratic ideals, organized a well-attended protest in Kaohsiung in December 1979, according to historical records. Clashes between police and the protesters erupted, and several dozen protesters were arrested, including Shih, who was sentenced to life in prison.

He was later released and cleared of all charges by President Lee Teng-hui, after the island transitioned from martial law to a democratic system.

The governments reaction and the lengthy sentence brought him, as well as the democratic cause both public support in Taiwan and international attention.

Later, Shih served in the Democratic Progressive Party as a legislator and the partys chairman but he is most widely remembered for his work as a democracy activist. MDT/AP
Milan designers are reflecting on a troubled world with collections that mark a return to serious business attire, even from active wear brands, and away from frivolity.

Some scenes from the third day of previews Sunday [yesterday, Macau time] of mostly menswear collections for fall-winter 2024-25:

SIMON CRACKER NODS OFF

Italian brand Simon Cracker explores the moment before drifting off to sleep, as the best respite from a troubling world.

The nearly 14-year-old brand by designers Simone Botte and Filippo Biraghi works entirely with upcycled garments and reclaimed remnants. For this collection, the designers achieved harmony by dyeing the garments together, creating a dreamy pinkish blue of a sunset.

Colors bleed together, and become a bit blurry, as if seeing through closed eyes. The silhouette is slouchy, as if giving up after a long day. Mens tailoring defines the collection, but jackets are deconstructed with one shoulder off, a new half-collar taking its place.

Garments are dusted with a glimmering sheen, as if visited by the sandman. Big bold pearls accent the looks, representing the moon. Denim garments were hand painted by British designer Sue Cloes, known for the 1981 Culture Club designs.

The treatments gave the collection a cohesion that the designers said that many interpreted as elegance  which isnt necessarily their goal. They prefer to shake things up.

Rebellion does not necessarily come from making noise, rather maybe it comes more from quiet, from reflection, Biraghi said backstage. There is still kindness. Kindness is the most revolutionary thing there is.

K-WAY OUTERWEAR BRAND POPS COLOR

K-Way, the Franco-Italian brand synonymous with windbreaker with a tri-colored striped zipper, is continuing its evolution from outerwear into the luxury ready-to-wear space with a new collection that pops with color.

Furry parkas, quilted jackets and layered windbreakers anchor the collection. The female silhouette is fitted and business-like, including quilted bustier over a shirt and tie with a long skirt, or a form-hugging midi dress accented by the brands iconic zipper. The mens silhouette is more casual, quilted jacket and Bermuda set, or long pants with a midi-length matching coats. The looks came in sequential monotones of navy, royal blue, red, ice blue and white.

This is a moment to show the capability of the brand, and to show different ways to wear our iconic zipper and pieces, said marketing vice president Lorenzo Boglione, whose family controls the BasicNet parent company.

K-Way is moving toward using entirely recycled materials in the next few years.

For us it is a responsibility, not a selling point, Boglione said. COLLEEN BARRY, MILAN, MDT/AP
Seven Acre Dairy Company co-owner Nic Mink was on to something when he introduced the nine-part, midweek Winter Wonderland Dinner Series.

The idea was to combat the slow season for his well-received Paoli restaurant, The Kitchen, and he put together a lineup where tickets went fast for the Wednesday night dinners after he advertised on Facebook. The events range from $65 to $150 and can seat 80 people. Two of the events will have two seatings.

Last summer, Mink brought in Yia Vang, a James Beard Award-nominated, Hmong-American chef (Union Hmong Kitchen) who was named the Twin Cities Chef of the Year in 2022 by the popular food website Eater. And in October he brought in Luke Zahm, owner/chef of Driftless Cafe in Viroqua and host of the public television show Wisconsin Foodie.

Both of those dinners sold out within days, and Mink said not only did those who bought tickets have a great time, but so did Seven Acres food and beverage team.

We just thought that we could maybe put together a bigger program that could tie together a few of these chefs and artisans and authors, he said.

The series started last Wednesday with a sold-out event featuring Pizzeria Beddia chef Joe Beddia, whose Philadelphia pizza was named the best in America by Bon Appetit in 2015.

The food was wonderful, Mink said. He walked us through and talked about some of his really wonderful recipes from his cookbook.

This Wednesdays dinner with Justin Carlisle of Ardent in Milwaukee is also sold out.

Carlisle, who did his training at Madison Area Technical College, was executive chef at Shinji Muramotos 43 North on King Street, which closed in 2016, and also cooked at Restaurant Muramoto and Harvest before opening his own place in Milwaukee. Hes a seven-time James Beard Award nominee.

Its a gorgeous place, Carlisle said of Seven Acre. And the chefs are friends and some of the best in the history of Madison dining.

As of Tuesday morning, there were still some tickets for the Jan. 24 five-course, family-style dinner and book signing with Wisconsin food writer Terese Allen, who chose her menu from The Dane County Farmers Market Cookbook: Local Foods, Global Flavors, which she put out last summer to help mark the markets 50th anniversary.

Her menu looks really good and eclectic and fun and, as you can imagine, with a focus on local ingredients and local farmers, Mink said.

Course 1: Fried oyster mushrooms with Asian shallot sauce

Course 2: Italian panzanella salad

Course 3: Winter squash risotto with pepitas

Course 4: Pork carnitas with Meadowlark cheesy corn grits, Brazilian-style garlic collards, fresh salsas and curtido (lightly fermented cabbage relish), house sour cream and Zepeda tortillas

Course 5: Jewish honey apple cake and vanilla soft serve with apple cider syrup

Some of the selections are a combination of recipes found in the book, Allen said.

The $75 event, which includes tax and tip, but not alcohol, can seat 80.

Allen said the dinner series is great for the middle of winter. Were all looking for something kind of special, and that place is super special. So, to get out into the country and have a really wonderful meal made by people who really know what theyre doing out there, and then featuring books and menus and stories from various food writers and chefs, and food academics. Its just a marvelous idea.

She said shed encourage people to get a room at Seven Acres eight-room boutique hotel. She said she stayed there for another event and it made for an incredible little excursion. Its magical. Its just magical.

Two of the remaining dinners, one with Jason Hammel, chef/owner of Lula Cafe in Chicago, on Feb. 28; and the final one, with culinary historian and author Michael Twitty on March 13, will have seatings at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets remain for those events.

Mink said hes gotten a great response from people whove attended the dinners and gotten to meet chefs who they know from their books or food programs. Hes also had enthusiastic feedback from the chefs, those who have visited and those who plan to come to the exquisitely renovated property.

They love the idea of being able to come out to Seven Acre, bring their family, stay for a couple days, be able to cook for a new group of people, he said.

Once the series is over in March, Mink said Seven Acre will be ramping up for a busy spring and summer, no extra programming needed.

But based on the enthusiasm the Winter Wonderland Dinner Series has enjoyed, Mink said hes brainstorming for a similar fall series.
A 15-year-old boy was arrested after a fellow West High School student was injured in a fight off school grounds on Thursday, Madison police reported.

Officers were sent to the 2200 block of Van Hise Avenue around 3:45 p.m. Thursday after a group of students agreed to fight each other off the West High campus, police spokesperson Stephanie Fryer said in a statement.

One student suffered a superficial stab wound, was found off campus and brought back to the school for medical care, Fryer said.

The 15-year-old male boy was found at home, arrested on a tentative charge of simple battery and taken to the Dane County juvenile jail, Fryer said. Authorities did not indicate whether he was placed in detention or released.

The incident remains under investigation, Fryer said.
Mount Horeb and Evansville schools were closed Tuesday due to mechanical problems with their school buses caused by the bitter cold.

Southern Wisconsin remains under a wind chill advisory until 9 a.m. Wednesday, with low temperatures 10 below or lower and wind chills values down to 35 below, according to the National Weather Service.

Both school districts called off classes and made announcements on their Facebook pages around 7 a.m. Tuesday.

In a statement attributed to Superintendent Steve Salerno, the Mount Horeb Are School District apologized for the late notice, explaining that fuel lines are freezing leaving our buses stranded. We are using additives to prevent this from happening, but they clearly have had limited effect today.

The Evansville Community School District also apologized in its statement, explaining that the closing was due to a mechanical issue with our buses.

Schools in Cassville in southwest Wisconsin also were closed and numerous other districts in southern Wisconsin were starting 2 hours late, according to WMTVs list of school closings and delays.
The Wisconsin Senate on Tuesday is scheduled to vote on a bill that would prohibit adults from bringing children to nude events, following reports of a childs attendance at the World Naked Bike Ride in Madison last summer.

The Senate is also scheduled to vote on a proposal to increase the number of required data points on absentee ballot envelopes, two weeks after a Dane County judge set a lower threshold for what's required for those ballots to count.

In the Assembly, representatives will be voting on bills that seek to ease wait times for professional credentials, including one proposal to give preliminary health care credentials to qualified applicants immediately after they apply for a permanent one.

The Senate nudity bill, SB 477, would bar individuals from bringing anyone under the age of 18 to an event at which a group of adult participants intentionally expose their genitals, buttocks, or other intimate parts in a public area.

The bill also would prohibit anyone from taking photos of a child at any such event if the photo depicts nudity, except for instances in which the individual taking the photo is doing so with the intention of reporting the incident to law enforcement within a 24-hour period.

Another measure, SB 478, would alter the states existing public nudity law. Currently, state law prohibits publicly and indecently exposing one's genitals or pubic area. The proposed bill would eliminate the requirement that exposure must be indecent, replacing that with intentional exposure.

A violation of either measure would be a Class A misdemeanor. Such an offense would be punishable by a fine up to $10,000 and up to nine months in jail, or both.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers told reporters in October that he would take a look at the proposed bills but was noncommittal, adding "it seems like theres more important things for people to legislate about."

Absentee ballots

AB 570 would require witnesses filling out address forms on absentee ballot envelopes to include their house number, street name and municipality.

Earlier this month, a Dane County judge ruled that witness addresses don't need to include municipalities and ZIP codes, or could simply say same or ditto if the witness lives with the voter  as long as clerks can figure out where the witness lives.

The judge said tossing ballots over witnesses' errors would violate the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibition on disenfranchising voters over mistakes on forms that arent key to determining a voters eligibility. It's unclear whether the proposed legislation could be challenged if it's signed into law, but it's highly unlikely Evers would sign it anyway.

The proposal would also allow local election boards or municipal clerks to appoint residential care or retirement home employees to help residents vote in case special voting deputies are barred from entering due to a public health emergency, as many were during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, the bill would call for felony charges against election officials who count ballots that aren't valid, reject ballots they know are valid and fail to report election fraud committed by other election officials

Credentialing bills

The credentialing bills before the Legislature come amid scrutiny directed toward the Department of Safety and Professional Services for licensing delays, though the department has recently cut the average wait time for processing licenses.

Democrats have attributed the delays to an unwillingness by the Republican majority in the Legislature to significantly increase spending at the agency. Republicans have said outdated technology and poor leadership is responsible for some of the long processing times.

Proponents say AB 144, which would provide preliminary health credentials to people who have applied and met the requirements for permanent credentials, would shorten the wait time for health care professionals to enter the workforce. But opponents say it would actually worsen the wait time for permanent credentials since the department would have to process an additional type of license.

The proposal would also allow some social workers licensed in other states to practice in Wisconsin.

Another bill, AB 143, would prohibit several licensing boards from requiring applicants to pass a statute and rules exam to become substance abuse counselors, professional counselors, advanced practice nurse prescribers, pharmacists, occupational therapists and respiratory care practitioners.

AB 90 would require Wisconsin's licensing department to outsource occupational therapy application processing to a third party. Bill authors say occupational therapists consistently face long wait times for their credentialing applications to process.

DSPS points out it has improved processing times, noting that the vast majority of open applications for occupational therapists aren't processed because the applicants haven't finished submitting the required forms.

Additionally, AB 666, which is before both the Assembly and Senate, would enter Wisconsin into a compact with dental professionals in other states, allowing out-of-state providers to practice in Wisconsin without needing a state-specific license.
Pursuing a lifelong interest, U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman has proposed legislation establishing a federal clearinghouse to collect and report sightings of unidentified flying objects and protect civilian airline personnel from repercussions for reporting such phenomena.

The proposal comes amid a surge of interest in Congress into UFOs  increasingly referred to by the blander but more all-encompassing phrase unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs  including a high-profile public hearing last summer.

There, commercial pilots, former armed forces personnel and proponents of UFO research described seeing a UFO accelerate to supersonic speeds and even claimed the government had recovered nonhuman biologics from crashed aircraft. (The claim, by a former intelligence officer, was not substantiated.)

Since I was a child, unidentified objects in our airspace have been a topic of interest, said Grothman, R-Glenbeulah, who wrote the bill with Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif.

With the majority of Americans believing that the government has suppressed information on UAPs, our bipartisan effort highlights our need for transparency from the federal government regarding UAPs to better protect the safety and security of American citizens, he said.

The bill would establish procedures for the government to collect, investigate and report out incidents including adverse physiological effects, or the disruption, interference, or interaction with flight instruments, potentially caused by an unidentified anomalous phenomena reported by civilian aircrew, air traffic controllers, flight attendants, aviation maintenance personnel, aviation dispatchers, air carriers or operators, and airports.

Critically, the legislation would prohibit the Federal Aviation Administration from taking into account the reporting of such phenomena when evaluating the competency or medical fitness of pilots or other civilian aviation employees. Airlines would also be barred from retaliating against employees for reporting them.

In challenge from right, conservative activist seeks to recall Robin Vos Proponents of the effort to oust Vos, R-Rochester, now have 60 days to collect just under 7,000 signatures to force a June election on the top Assembly Republican's future.

Pilots are trained observers of our skies, but I have heard from dozens of frustrated pilots for major airlines who witnessed UAP yet had no confidential way to report them to the government, Ryan Graves, a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot and the executive director of Americans for Safe Aerospace, said in a statement to Congress last summer.

Just under 60% of Americans think the U.S. government has more information about UFOs and aliens than theyre publicly willing to share, a Redfield & Wilton Strategies poll found. Just over a third of Americans think the federal government possesses nonhuman vehicles, while 36% said they didnt know.
Members of the Idaho Legislatures Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee took a symbolic hostage on Friday as part of the budget committees showdown with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare over uncorrected issues that were flagged in an audit of the department.

When JFAC sets the fiscal year 2025 maintenance of current operations budgets on Monday, the committee will not include any funding for Idaho Health and Welfares indirect support services, Keith Bybee, budget and policy manager for the Idaho Legislative Services office, said. That would effectively zero out funding for the Idaho Department of Health administrative central hub, including the directors office, IT support, human resources, legal services, fiscal services and more, Bybee said.

One of the approaches that are included in this package is to not fund a key and critical division in the Health and Welfare Department and that is indirect support services, with the idea here being that it is a negotiation piece for the agency to at least formalize some sort of response to outstanding audit and uncorrected findings back to this committee, Bybee said during Fridays meeting. They have the entirety of the session, effectively, to come back and come back with an effective corrective plan.

The total indirect support services budget, at the maintenance of operations level, is $46.8 million, Bybee told the Sun.

Its sort of the central hub of the Department of Health and Welfare, so it would be hard for the department to function without that budget going forward, but that is the message in there, Bybee said during Fridays JFAC meeting.

Although the funding would not be included in the budgets JFAC sets Monday, the committee will consider approving the funding later in the legislative session if the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare corrects the findings from the audit, which JFAC ordered during the 2023 legislative session, before the legislative session adjourns for the year, JFAC co-chairs Sen. Scott Grow, R-Eagle, and Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, told the Idaho Capital Sun.

Grow said JFAC co-chairs specifically picked the indirect support services budget as the budget to zero out because it does not include funding for any services Idahoans receive from the department.

The Department of Health and Welfares fiscal year 2025 budgets for public health services and Medicaid will be the last two budgets JFAC members will set this year, with the budget hearings scheduled for March 6 and March 7, respectively.

Shutting down administrative functions most definitely will impact the departments ability to provide services to DHW patients and beneficiaries, who are among Idahos most vulnerable populations, including the elderly, disabled, and disadvantaged families, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare spokesperson AJ McWhorter said in a written statement Friday afternoon. However, JFAC sets the rules for budgeting, and as an executive branch agency, DHW will work within the rules.

JFAC pushes for audit corrections

At issue is an audit into the Idaho Department of Health and Welfares distribution of grant funds that the Idaho Legislative Services Office conducted and released in August. The audit found a lack of controls in the program that led to grant recipients using the funds for ineligible purposes and for ineligible groups, the Sun previously reported.

At the time the audit was released, former Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen released a statement disagreeing with all findings in the audit. Jeppesen retired in December.

On Thursday, Idaho Legislative Services audit division manager April Renfro told JFAC that the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has not submitted a corrective action plan for eight findings from the audit.

Also on Thursday, Dean Cameron, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfares interim director who stepped in when Jeppesen retired, wrote a letter to JFAC members promising to revamp how the department handles grants and to provide mandatory grant administration training, the Sun previously reported.

Removing funding for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfares administrative central hub is a tactic JFAC is using to make sure Cameron follows through on his promise.

Without a corrective plan to address the findings, it calls into question our ability to appropriate funds for the agency, Horman told reporters after Fridays meeting.

Horman and Grow told the Sun the idea to remove the funding came together Thursday, after they received Camerons letter.

Cameron himself is a former state senator who previously co-chaired JFAC.

A year of changes for finance committee

Fridays budget showdown was the latest development in what has already been a year of changes for JFAC. Grow and Horman have announced a series of significant changes they are enacting to budget setting procedures this year, including shortening the public portions of meetings to about half of their traditional three-hour length.

Grow and Horman said the changes are designed to begin the budget setting process earlier in the legislative session and empower JFAC members to apply more scrutiny to budgets and new spending requests.

Horman said removing the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare indirect support services funding will not affect current operations in the fiscal year 2024 budget or jeopardize services Idahoans are receiving from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

The fiscal year 2025 budget takes effect July 1, on the first day of the states new fiscal year.
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State-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said Tuesday three global logistics companies plan to invest a combined $1 billion that will support the expansion of Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga province into an Asian hub.

BCDA president and chief executive Joshua Bingcang said the three logistics companies are investing in lease, landing and take-off services.

Their being here is a seal of approvalthat we are an attractive destination for foreign investments. They chose Clark, the Philippines as their hub in Asia, Bingcang said in a briefing.

BCDA will initially free up 70 hectares to accommodate logistics locators providing eight specific services. The first three investors will occupy 20 hectares of land.

BCDA expects to generate P1 billion in annual revenues from the operations of the three firms. About 3,000 to 4,000 jobs are also expected to open in the area.

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What is more important than revenues is that these three global companies will create a branding image that the Philippines is an ideal place for investments. For the longest time, we have been by-passed by these type of foreign investments. They either go to Vietnam or Thailand, Bingcang said.

He said the BCDA is also strengthening its cooperation with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for faster turn-around of cargoes and transshipment procedures.

What we want is for the movement of goods to be at par with the global supply chain movement. Well make sure that the local regulatory regime is supportive and conducive to this kind of businesses, he said.

He said while locators are encouraged to create structures on the land side, the BCDA is also improving the air side of the business. It is spending P7 billion for the construction of a runway and another P2.5 billion for the construction of air side facilities that will include the apron.

The BCDAs masterplan for Clark is looking at creating an airport ramp or apron that can accommodate 18 logistics planes and a logistics terminal.

Bingcang said the agency would come up with a full disclosure on the projects and investments in the first quarter of 2024.

Right now, I cannot disclose more, since we have a non-disclosure agreement, he said.
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Davos, SwitzerlandChina will put on a show of force Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) with a large delegation represented by Prime Minister Li Qiang at the annual meeting of global elites in Davos, despite shadows cast by wars raging in Ukraine and Gaza.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also attending the World Economic Forum in person for the first time since Russias invasion in 2022, hoping to drum up more aid as the conflict approaches its second anniversary.

Kyiv has been scrambling to ensure financial support does not waver for Ukraine during the biggest war in Europe since World War Two, as the worlds attention has swayed to the Middle East amid fears of a spillover from the conflict in Gaza.

Li and Zelensky will be addressing global and business A-listers who descend on the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos every year for a week of serious talks and schmoozing.

Li, who will make a special address on Tuesday, will be the most senior Chinese official to attend Davos since President Xi Jinping in 2017.

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He will be joined by Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, the governor of the Peoples Bank of China and high-ranking representatives from other ministries including Deputy Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu.

Li will hold talks with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, but it is not yet clear if he or the deputy foreign minister will meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

His speech will be closely followed after tense presidential elections at the weekend in Taiwan, the democratic island that Beijing claims as part of China.

After self-ruled Taiwans president-elect Lai Ching-te welcomed an American delegation following his election victory, China on Monday hit back that it was firmly opposed to all official exchanges between the United States and Taiwan.

 Ukraines finance fears 

Li and Zelensky will be among 60 heads of state and government attending Davos, including Middle East leaders, joined by 800 chief executives among a total of 2,800 participants.

Other key speakers on Tuesday will be von der Leyen and NATO head Jens Stoltenberg. Von der Leyen will also hold private talks with Zelensky as well as Blinken and Hungarian President Katalin Novak.

European Union leaders will hold talks next month in a bid to approve a 50-billion-euro ($55 billion) aid package for Ukraine that was vetoed in December by Hungary.

The US envoy for Ukraines economic recovery, Penny Pritzker, said the country was facing a tough moment and acknowledged a lot of uncertainty as it relates to the US and EU assistance, but said Washington had offered reassurances to Kyiv.

They worry about a distracted international community and that the international community might lose faith, she said during an event on Monday.

Republicans in the US Congress are blocking a renewal of US military assistance for Ukraine, and Kyiv and its allies worry about reduced support if Donald Trump wins the US presidential election later this year.

Politicians and business leaders will discuss how to build consensus on a multitude of risks worldwide including climate change and a cost-of-living crisis.

Attendees will also grapple with how to maintain global trade after attacks by Yemeni rebels in the Red Sea disrupted the key conduit for Asia-Europe shipping.

 Tech on the stage 

Artificial intelligence will also dominate discussions after last years flurry of examples demonstrating the technologys dizzying advances.

Despite the excitement, there are worries about the threats posed by AI.

Misinformation and disinformation driven by AI ahead of elections in countries, including the United States, are the biggest global risks this year and next, the WEF said last week.

The International Monetary Funds managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, told AFP in an interview that AI would affect 60 percent of jobs in advanced economies.

There will be an array of discussions at Davos during formal and informal events with some of the biggest names in tech, including the chief executive of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, and OpenAIs Sam Altman. AFP
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The Philippine Consulate General in Milan said the Office of the Public Prosecutor in Italy is set to start its investigation into a Milan-based immigration consultancy firm that allegedly scammed 278 job seekers in the Philippines.

In a statement, the Philippine consulate said the Filipino owners of Alpha Assistenza SRL are facing 92 complaints for fraud.

The Consulate, through its lawyer Bruno De Blasi, conveyed to the Office of the Public Prosecutor today that it could proceed with its formal investigation with the filing of 92 out of 102 complaints against the owners of Alpha Assistenza SRL, the consulate said.

The remaining 10 will be lodged as soon as concerned complainants submit the necessary supporting documents, it added, noting that the investigation may take at least six months.

Earlier, De Blasi initially filed 11 complaints against Alpha Assistenza owners Diane Krizelle Respicio and Frederick Dutaro.

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In October 2023, Alpha Assistenza SRL vowed to cooperate with the investigation being conducted by the Philippine government.

My client is willing to participate in the investigation, ongoing, said Atty. Charlie Pascual, legal counsel of Respicio. Thats all I can say right now and my client is willing to answer in the proper forum.

Pascual said he met with Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla to manifest the agencys intention to participate in the ongoing investigation.

Pascual reiterated that Respiscio is not involved in any recruitment.

Reports said the investigation came from the allegations that the firm collected money from the relatives and associates of at least 278 Filipinos in the Philippines for their employment under Italys decreto flussi program.

But the company reportedly failed to deliver jobs to the Filipino jobseekers.
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A Filipino couple returned home safely after paying nearly P1 million for their freedom from their employer in Laos, where they were illegally recruited online, according to the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

The couple, who arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 via an Air Asia flight left the Philippines for Malaysia in April last year, falsely posing as tourists and leaving their four children behind.

According to BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco, the two were recruited through Facebook for what was presented as a TeleSales Agent role with a P 45,000 monthly salary each.

The victims then recounted that upon arrival in Malaysia, they were transported to Bangkok, then to the Mekong River, ultimately boarding a speed boat to Laos with the assistance of unknown individuals.

They claimed they were allegedly picked up by Chinese men and brought to their work areas.

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For eight months, the couple worked as telesales agents for an online casino, recruiting Filipino players through a list of contacts provided by their Philippine-based employer, for which they received both salaries and commissions.

However, their employment took a turn from December until January of this year when they were detained and subjected to physical abuse by their employers.

Their release came at a cost, with the couple paying P800,000 to secure their freedom. Fortunately, they managed to contact a family member, seeking help from the Philippine Embassy, Tansingco disclosed.

This unfortunate incident highlights the perils that individuals face when attempting to bypass legal processes, he said.

We urge all citizens to adhere to immigration laws and regulations, as leaving the country without proper documentation not only jeopardizes personal safety but also contributes to illegal activities that may lead to exploitation, he added.
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Eight in 10 Filipinos believe that the administration should work with the United States amid continuing tensions in the West Philippine Sea, a recent Pulse Asia survey commissioned by international think tank Stratbase Institute showed.

Seventy-nine percent of Filipinos said they want the government to work with the United States, while almost half of Filipinos answered Australia (43 percent) and Japan (42 percent).

Only one in ten Filipinos or 10 percent of the respondents favored the Marcos administration working with China.

Pulse Asia released the survey results Tuesday during a forum organized by Stratbase entitled Fortifying Cyber Cooperation Toward Digital Security.

Stratbase president Dindo Manhit said the results show the need for the administration to bolster its alliance and partnerships with like-minded states like the US, Australia, and Japan.

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These countries have continued to voice their support for the Philippine position and have condemned Chinese actions against Filipino vessels. Their resounding statements of support boost the confidence of the Philippines in the international community, Manhit said.

In the face of asymmetric security challenges, the Philippines must leverage its relations with states with shared values and with the same commitment to defend the rules-based international order, he said.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. said the Philippines and Canada will sign a new memorandum of understanding to strengthen their military ties.

The MOU is for increased defense cooperation between countries like the MOUs we have with other countries. Hopefully, it will be signed soon. Very soon, he said on the sidelines of the Stratbase forum.

Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines David Hartman added: We have colleagues coming from Canada this week, and we are waiting to receive a little bit of a final direction from our Ministry of National Defense but we hope to have the news to update you very soon.

As evidenced by the survey results, 90 percent of Filipinos are not in favor of working with China. This is only natural, as the Philippines continue to encounter aggressive and coercive acts in the West Philippine Sea. In addition to diplomatic protests, the Philippines is also exiting from Chinas Belt and Road Initiative, Manhit added.

The survey also showed that the majority or 55 percent of Filipinos believe the administration can fulfill its promise of protecting the West Philippine Sea against the illegal and aggressive actions of other states.

Among the most important reasons to defend or protect the WPS listed by the respondents are as follows: to uphold the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling that affirms our rights to the WPS and promotes a rules-based international order (31 percent), to maintain our sovereign and territorial integrity (27 percent), and to protect marine resources from further destruction and prevent the abuse of such valuable resources (23 percent).

The majority of Filipinos also believe there is a need to reinforce alliances and partnerships with like-minded countries through the conduct of joint patrols and military exercises (56 percent), establishment of a stronger military presence in the West Philippine Sea by repairing the BRP Sierra Madre and conducting regular resupply missions, as well as ensuring control of the Ayungin shoal (52 percent) and improvement inter-agency cooperation among agencies involved in maritime security (52 percent).
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Beijing irked with Marcos over Taiwan, warns Manila not to play with fire

China on Tuesday said it had summoned the Philippine ambassador after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he looked forward to working with Taiwanese President-elect Lai Ching-te.

This morning, Assistant Minister Nong Rong summoned the ambassador of the Philippines to China to make solemn representations and urge the Philippine side to give the Chinese side a responsible explanation, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular press conference.

The Chinese side is strongly dissatisfied and resolutely opposes Marcoss remarks, Mao said.

But Malacanang reiterated the Department of Foreign Affairs stance in recognizing the governments One China policy, following Beijings opposition.

Presidential Communication Office Secretary Cheloy Garafil told reporters in a Viber message to refer to the DFA statement released early today.

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Earlier, the DFA said that President Marcos congratulatory remark to Taiwans Lai was the Chief Executives way of thanking the island nation for hosting more than 20,000 overseas Filipino workers.

The message of President Marcos congratulating the new president was his way of thanking them for hosting our OFWs and holding a successful democratic process. Nevertheless, the Philippines reaffirms its One China Policy, DFA said.

Independence-leaning Lai eased to a comfortable victory in Taiwans presidential election on Saturday.

China regards the democratic island as part of its territory and has vowed to seize it, by force if necessary.

Beijing does not maintain diplomatic ties with countries that recognize Taiwan and opposes official communications with Taipei by foreign powers.

In a Monday social media post, Mr. Marcos congratulated Lai on his election and said he looked forward to close collaboration with him.

The remarks are a serious violation of the One China Principle a serious breach of the political commitments made by the Philippines to the Chinese side, and a gross interference in Chinas internal affairs, Mao said.

We are telling the Philippine side not to play with fire on the Taiwan issue and to immediately stop its wrongful words and deeds on Taiwan-related issues and sending wrong signals to separatist forces for Taiwan independence, she added.

We advise President Marcos to read more to properly understand the history of the Taiwan issue so that he can draw the right conclusions.

In a post on X on Monday night, the President congratulated the elected Taiwanese leader, saying he looks forward to close collaboration, strengthening mutual interests, fostering peace, and ensuring prosperity for our peoples in the years ahead.

The DFA reaffirmed the Philippines commitment to adhere to the One-China Policy.

In deference to that policy, the Philippines does not have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a democratic self-ruling island which has been separated from the Chinese mainland since 1949.

But the Philippines maintains a de-facto embassy in Taiwan called the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO).

Lai immediately thanked Marcos for the message.

Thank you, President @bongbongmarcos for your congratulations. I deeply value the enduring friendship between #Taiwan & the #Philippines, Lai said in a statement on X.

I look forward to enhancing our economic and people-to-people ties while championing democracy, peace & prosperity in the region, he added.

Senator Imee Marcos, the Presidents sister who heads the Senate committee on foreign relations, also emphasized that the Philippines continues to adhere to the One-China Policy.

Marcos, the committee chairperson said this is embodied in the Joint Communique.

Along with the One China Policy, she noted that the 1975 Joint Communique signed by her late father, President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. and then Chinese foreign minister Zhou Enlai, also guarantees that the Philippine and Chinese governments agree to settle all disputes by peaceful means without resorting to the use or threat of force. With AFP
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The Philippine delegation to the 2024 World Economic Forum (WEF) will drum up the message of President Marcos that the Philippines is open for business and is the best place in the region for foreign investments, Speaker Martin Romualdez said.

We want to reiterate the message so it is not lost. We will repeat the message that the Philippines is open for business, we are strong, and we are united, Romualdez said during discussions at the welcome lunch for the Philippine delegation held at Hotel Belvedere in Davos.

WEF head of Business Engagement for the Asia-Pacific Clara Chung, World Trade Organization Permanent Representative Ambassador Manuel Teehankee, Philippine Ambassador to the Swiss Confederation and Principality of Liechtenstein Bernard Faustino Dy, and other affiliates welcomed the Philippine delegation.

Romualdez, who heads the countrys delegation, underscored the sound economic fundamentals of the Philippines, including its fantastic macro figures.

We are in the fastest growing region, we are the bright spot amid the global recession that we are suffering from. And within that bright spot, we look at the Philippines as the best country to invest in, said Romualdez.

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He said the Philippines enjoys a very stable government, with a strong and very popular leader in President Marcos.

The Speaker also highlighted efforts to make the Philippines more investor-friendly, particularly efforts to relax the restrictive economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

He said the Senate, which has been previously reluctant to proposals to amend the Constitution, has initiated the process to introduce changes to some economic provisions of the charter.

It would be a welcome development for our trade partners. It proves that we walk the talk. When we talk about opening up our economy, we actualize it through acts that are clearly tangible. Again, thanks to the leadership of the Marcos administration, Romualdez said.

Moreover, the Speaker said the Philippines now has an investment vehicle through its sovereign wealth fund  the Maharlika Investment Fund.

We are very excited for this because we believe that the Philippines has so much to offer and there is so much for the Philippines to gain from this engagement and we want to make the most of it, he said.
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President Marcos late Monday evening congratulated Lai Ching-te on his election as Taiwans next president.

On behalf of the Filipino people, I congratulate President-elect Lai Ching-te on his election as Taiwans next President. We look forward to close collaboration, strengthening mutual interests, fostering peace, and ensuring prosperity for our peoples in the years ahead, Mr. Marcos said in a post on X.

The Presidents message came a day after the Department of Foreign Affairs said Manila remained committed to its one-China policy.

Chinas foreign affairs ministry also warned countries against supporting Taiwans Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and condemned those that congratulated Lai.

Lai, who retweeted Mr. Marcos post, thanked the Philippine leader for his congratulatory message.

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I deeply value the enduring friendship between Taiwan and the Philippines, Lai said.

I look forward to enhancing our economic and people-to-people ties while championing democracy, peace & prosperity in the region, Taiwans president-elect added.

On Sunday, Chinas foreign affairs ministry took exception to a statement from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken congratulating Lai.

Beijing said the message sent a seriously incorrect signal to Taiwan independence separatist forces.

China has always firmly opposed any form of official exchanges between the United States and Taiwan, and resolutely opposes the United States interfering in Taiwan affairs in any form and under any pretext, the foreign ministry said in a statement published on its website.

On Monday, Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry Mao Ning upheld Beijings position that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China will not change.

Taiwan has never been a country and will never be one. We believe that the international communitys prevailing consensus on upholding the one-China principle and long-standing and overwhelming adherence to this principle will become more solid, Mao said in a press conference on Monday.
A Spencer man is in the Patrick County Jail on charges of attempting to kill his girlfriend and her 5-year-old child.

The Patrick County Sheriffs Office received a 911 call at 2:24 a.m. Monday from a woman who said a man had shot into her vehicle.

Deputies Matt Hodge, Andrew Kinney and Robbie Haynes responded to 504 Trent Store Lane in Patrick County where they found Dustin Lee Lawson, 23, wearing body armor. Lawson surrendered to the deputies without incident, a release stated.

Sheriff Dan Smith said the deputies determined that Lawsons girlfriend was attempting to leave the residence with her child when Lawson allegedly fired multiple shots into the vehicle with a rifle and a handgun while the woman and child were inside. The gunfire was an attempt to prevent the woman and child from leaving, Smith said.

The child was uninjured, but the woman, whose name was not released, was shot in the head. She was airlifted to Wake Forest Baptist Medial Center in Winston-Salem with non-life threatening injuries.

Lawson was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of shooting into an occupied vehicle, two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, malicious wounding, felony child endangerment, wearing body armor while committing a violent offense, and carrying a concealed weapon.

A search warrant of the property was executed and deputies seized multiple firearms from the residence, the release stated.

Virginia State Police Special Agent Matt Wade processed the crime scene and Lt. Steve Austin and Investigator Linda Martin with the Patrick County Sheriffs Office are continuing to investigate the incident.
The Angolan President has approved an agreement worth 100 billion kwanzas (110 million euros) to finance the recovery and conservation of the historical and cultural sites of MBanza, Congo, in Zaire province.

According to the presidential order published in the Diario da Republica, the work is justified by the need to comply with UNESCO recommendations and is part of the promotion and boost of cultural tourism in that historic region of national and world importance.

The financing agreement between Angola and the Aurea-SDVM company, through the financing line structured by the Angolan Investment Bank, aims to finance public works contracts and supervision for the restoration of historical and cultural sites.

The historic center of the city of Mbanza, Congo, was inscribed on UNESCOs World Heritage List in 2017, making it the first classification of its kind in the country.

Angolas application stressed that the Kingdom of Congo was perfectly organized when the Portuguese arrived in the 15th century. The classified area involves a complex whose boundaries cover a hill at an altitude of 570 meters and which stretches along six corridors. It includes ruins and spaces that have since been the subject of excavations and archaeological studies involving national and foreign specialists.

Divided into six provinces that occupied part of todays Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Angola, and Gabon, the Kingdom of Congo had 12 churches, convents, schools, palaces, and residences.

The cemetery of the former Kings of the Congo or the museum, adapted from the former palace of that monarchy and which today houses some of the centuries-old relics of that people, are other historic spaces covered by the UNESCO classification.

Mbanza, Congo, was known at the time for the spread of writing as the city of bells due to the conversion of the kings of the Congo to Christianity introduced by contacts with the Portuguese.
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:

Colorized electron micrograph showing malaria parasite (right, blue) attaching to a human red blood cell. The inset shows a detail of the attachment point at higher magnification. Credit: NIAID

Benin has received its first doses of a vaccine for malaria, the leading cause of infant mortality in the country, and will begin administering them soon, officials said late on Monday.

"Malaria remains endemic and represents the leading cause of death among children under five years of age in Benin," Health Minister Benjamin Hounkpatin told reporters at Cotonou airport, where the government received 215,900 doses of the RTS,S vaccine.

The first vaccinations will take place "within a few months", he said.

In Benin, 40 percent of outpatient consultations and 25 percent of hospital admissions are linked to malaria, according to the minister.

The vaccine will immunize "thousands of children" under the age of two, Benin Faustin Yao, an immunization specialist at the UNICEF office in Benin, told AFP.

He said infants would receive four doses, at the age of six months, seven months, nine months and 18 months.

Benin is the third African country to receive doses of the vaccine after Cameroon and Sierra Leone, following a pilot phase in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi coordinated by the World Health Organization and funded by the GAVI Vaccine Alliance among others.

More than two million children have been vaccinated in these three African countries, leading to a "spectacular decline" in mortality and a significant drop in severe forms of malaria and hospitalizations, GAVI said.

According to the WHO, almost every minute, a child under the age of five dies from malaria.

Caused by a parasite transmitted by certain types of mosquitoes, the disease remains a formidable problem due in particular to its increasing resistance to treatment.

In 2021, 247 million cases were recorded across the world and 619,000 patients died, according to the WHO, which says the disease mainly affects Africa.

A colossal 95 percent of cases and 96 percent of deaths are on the continent.

 2024 AFP
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Odds of CDI scores 25th percentile in relation to prenatal acetaminophen exposurea. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the relationship of prenatal acetaminophen exposure and (a) vocabulary size, (b) mean length of three longest utterances (M3L), and (c) complexity 25th percentile measured using the CDI at 26.528.5 months. The number of times acetaminophen was taken was not related to the odds of children having vocabulary scores 25th percentile. However, the number of times acetaminophen was taken during the third trimester was associated with slightly increased odds of male children having M3L and complexity scores 25th percentile. aModels were adjusted for maternal parity (nulliparous vs. 1), maternal education (<bachelors degree vs. bachelors degree), and mean stress and depression scores during pregnancy. p < 0.10. Credit: Neurotoxicology and Teratology (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.ntt.2024.107319

A new study links increased use of acetaminophen during pregnancyparticularly in the second trimesterto modest but noticeable increases in problems with attention and behavior in 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds. The study adds to a growing body of evidence linking the frequent use of acetaminophen in pregnancy to developmental problems in offspring.

The findings are detailed in the journal Neurotoxicology and Teratology.

The research is part of the Illinois Kids Development Study at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, which explores how environmental exposures influence child development. The study tracked hundreds of children, collecting data on their prenatal chemical exposures and asking caregivers to assess their behaviors and traits at ages 2, 3 and 4.

While acetaminophen is considered the safest painkiller and fever reducer available during pregnancy, previous studies have found evidence of a range of possible negative outcomes for children exposed to the drug in gestation, said Megan Woodbury, who led the research as a graduate student at the U. of I. with comparative biosciences professor emerita Susan Schantz, the principal investigator of the IKIDS program at Illinois.

Woodbury is now a postdoctoral researcher at Northeastern University in Boston. Schantz is a Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology faculty member at the U. of I.

A recent study led by Woodbury and Schantz linked higher acetaminophen exposure in pregnancy to language delays in children.

Some previous studies have found no relationship between acetaminophen use in pregnancy and attention and behavior in childhood, while other, usually larger studies found relationships between more frequent use of the medication during pregnancy and attention-related and behavioral problems in offspring.

Most of the latter studies were conducted in older children and questioned pregnant participants about their use of acetaminophen at most once per trimester. The new study asked pregnant parents about their acetaminophen use six times over the course of the pregnancyroughly once every four-to-six weeksoffering a more precise picture of the magnitude and timing of the drug exposures.

The researchers also asked caregivers to answer dozens of standardized questions about their child's behavior and ability to pay attention at ages 2, 3, and 4. More than 300 children were assessed at age 2, with 262 assessed again at 3 and 196 at age 4.

"Our most important finding was that with increasing acetaminophen use by pregnant participants, especially during the second trimester, their children showed more attention-related problems and ADHD-type behaviors, which we call 'externalizing behaviors,' at every age we measured," Woodbury said.

"The kinds of behaviors the caregivers reported included things like the child talking out of turn, not paying attention, not being quiet when they were supposed to be quiet, not sitting down when they were supposed to be sitting down, and being a little aggressive with other children," Schantz said.

The findings are not an indication that the children have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or that they will be diagnosed with ADHD at a later date, Schantz said. However, the children seem to be having more trouble with attention than peers of the same age who were less exposed or not exposed to acetaminophen in the womb.

Woodbury, who herself is pregnant, says she does not want to scare others away from using acetaminophen in pregnancy when needed. Extreme headaches or other painful episodes and fevers can be debilitating and even dangerous, calling for the use of the drug. She said she has turned to acetaminophen once per trimester so far. But she also chooses not to use it for minor aches, pains, or slight fevers.

More research is needed to test whether more frequent use of acetaminophen during the second trimester of pregnancy may be particularly problematic for the developing brain, the researchers said. The study also is limited as participants were mostly white, non-Hispanic and of higher economic status. Schantz and her team are working to broaden the cohort of participants in IKIDS to include pregnant people from a greater diversity of social, economic, and racial backgrounds.

More information: Megan L. Woodbury et al, The relationship of prenatal acetaminophen exposure and attention-related behavior in early childhood, Neurotoxicology and Teratology (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.ntt.2024.107319
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Credit: Pavel Danilyuk from Pexels

Doctors might one day be able to target children and young people with arthritis most likely to be helped by its first-line treatment, thanks to the application of machine learning by University of Manchester scientists.

Though methotrexate is the first-line drug to be given for Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), it is only effective or tolerated in half of the children and young people who receive it.

Those patients not helped by the drug have to wait longer to receive second-line therapies, potentially prolonging the severe joint pain and other symptoms which often have a devastating impact on children and their families.

The study, published in the journal eBioMedicine, could facilitate more precise research into the identification of response predictors to methotrexate, such as biomarkers, and lead to better forecasting of likely outcomes following drug initiation.

It confirms that one in eight children and young people starting methotrexate will demonstrate improvements in inflammatory features of disease yet have some symptoms.

They also showed that in 16 percent of children taking methotrexate, improvements in disease activity could be slower than in others over time.

Lead author Dr. Stephanie Shoop-Worrall said, "Giving methotrexate to children who it will not help wastes time, money and effort for health care services- as well as unnecessarily exposing them to potential side effects.

"But now machine learning has opened the door made it possible to predicting which aspects of a child's disease would be helped by the drug and so which children should start other therapies either alongside or instead of methotrexate straight away.

"In addition, this work shows how clinical trials are missing the mark in only looking at drug 'response' or 'non-response' for childhood-onset arthritis.

"This oversimplification could lead to a drug being labeled as 'effective' when key symptoms such as pain remain, or 'ineffective' where a significant improvement is seen in one aspect of this complex disease."

The research team accessed data from four nationwide cohorts of children and young people who began their treatment before January 2018.

Juvenile arthritis disease activity score components (including how many swollen joints, a doctor's perception of disease, a patient/parent report of well-being, results of a blood test for inflammation) were recorded at the start of treatment and over the following year.

They used machine learning identify clusters of patients with distinct disease patterns following methotrexate treatment, predict clusters; and compare clusters to existing treatment response measures.

From 657 children and young people verified in 1,241 patients they identified Fast Improvers (11%), Slow Improvers (16%), Improve-Relapse (7%), Persistent Disease (44%).

Two other clusters they called Persistent physician global assessment (8%) and Persistent parental global assessment (13%), were characterized by improvement in all activity score features except one.

Dr. Shoop-Worrall added, "The longer-term impact of this slower disease control needs further investigation. Our study also demonstrates the utility of machine learning methods to uncover clusters of children as a basis for stratified treatment decisions.

"This work builds on existing studies of methotrexate treatment response, confirming that response is not bivariate but can be highly variable across different features of disease within individuals.

"At the moment trials of methotrexate in JIA categorize patients into responders and non-responders.

"That misclassification can compromise studies looking to identify predictors of response, such as biomarkers."

More information: Stephanie J.W. Shoop-Worrall et al, Towards stratified treatment of JIA: machine learning identifies subtypes in response to methotrexate from four UK cohorts, eBioMedicine (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104946 Journal information: EBioMedicine
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This study uncovers significant associations between Cutibacterium acnes and hypopigmentation in patients with lichen striatus, potentially paving the way for targeted treatments. Credit: Yun Hak Kim/Pusan National University

Lichen striatus (LS), a skin condition manifesting as linear eruptions following Blaschko's lines on the trunk or limbs of children, is often accompanied by hypopigmentation (loss of melanin or skin color). Interestingly, LS has a higher frequency of hypopigmentation compared to other skin inflammations, with up to 50% of cases that can persist for several months to even years. However, the cause behind this trend is not clear.

The gram-positive bacterium Cutibacterium acnes has previously been associated with various skin conditions, including acne vulgaris and post-inflammatory hypopigmentation. There could, therefore, be a potential association between C. acnes and the observed skin microbiota of patients with LS with and without hypopigmentation.

With this hypothesis, a team of researchers from Korea led by Associate Professor Yun Hak Kim from the Department of Anatomy and the Department of Biomedical Informatics and Professor Hyun-Chang Go from the Department of Dermatology, both at Pusan National University, recently conducted a detailed study to ascertain this relationship.

Their paper was published in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.

They collected and analyzed skin samples of 18 patients with LS (11 with hypopigmentation and seven without it) confirmed by biopsy through whole genome sequencing and performed bioinformatics analyses to assess microbial differences in them. Despite the diverse stages of LS in patients with hypopigmentation, significant differences were observed in their skin microbiomes. This observation suggested a strong association between LS hypopigmentation and the skin microbiome.

Comparing patients with LS with and without hypopigmentation, the researchers discovered a quadrupled presence (23.26% versus 5.29% of the entire microbiota) of Cutibacterium acnes in the former.

"Through network analysis between various microbial species found in the skin samples of patients with LS, we observed that C. acnes significantly influenced the bacterial community in hypopigmented LS, holding a central position in relationships with other bacteria. It further strengthens its potential association with LS hypopigmentation pathogenesis," says Dr. Kim.

The research team additionally identified Malassezia, a genus associated with hypopigmentation in other skin disorders, in abundance among patients with LS with hypopigmentation (0.58% versus 0.31% of the entire microbiota). This finding, in particular the presence of Malassezia restricta, points to a potential link between Malassezia and LS hypopigmentation for targeted future research.

Furthermore, Comamonas (15.29% versus 13.45% of the entire microbiota) and Aspergillus (0.30% versus 0.26% of the entire microbiota) were identified as other likely candidates.

Overall, there is likely a relationship between imbalance in the skin microbiota and LS-associated hypopigmentation. The frequency of Malassezia and C. acnes in hypopigmented LS cases suggests that these two conditions could be novel treatment targets for reducing LS duration as well as hypopigmentation. Patients with LS could thus lead a better quality of life if targeted therapy is focused on these microbiological components.

Future studies exploring temporal changes in the microbiome and observing the effects of antibiotic or antifungal agents on hypopigmentation frequency and duration could offer valuable insights into causative or correlative relationships between microbiome alterations and LS hypopigmentation.

"Our findings provide promising avenues for further research to decipher the relationship between skin microbiota and LS hypopigmentation, ultimately aiming to elucidate novel therapeutic strategies," concludes Dr. Kim.

More information: Yeuni Yu et al, Association between the skin microbiome and lichen striatus hypopigmentation: Cutibacterium acnes as a potential cause, Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (2024). DOI: 10.1111/jdv.19746

Provided by Pusan National University
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More than 7,000 people were hospitalized or died from COVID-19 in the UK during the summer of 2022 because they had not received the recommended number of vaccine doses, according to a study released Tuesday that was the first to cover Britain's entire population.

The researchers said the "landmark" population-wide study showed how important it is for people to keep getting booster jabs as COVID continues to pose a major health threat.

More than 90 percent of the UK's adult population were vaccinated during the earlier stages of the pandemic.

However, between June to September 2022, after the pandemic's emergency phase was declared over and attention turned elsewhere, around 44 percent of Britons were under-vaccinated, the researchers said.

Using individual health data from the National Health Service (NHS) as well as modeling, the researchers estimated that there would have been 7,180 fewer hospitalizations or deaths if everyone had been up to date with their shots.

That means that nearly 20 percent of the 40,000 COVID hospitalizations or deaths over the summer could have been avoided if Britons were fully vaccinated.

Cathie Sudlow, chief scientist at Health Data Research UK which led the research, told a press conference that the results clearly showed that "being fully and properly vaccinated is good for individuals and good across society."

Taking the pulse of a nation

The research, published in The Lancet journal, used secure, anonymized health data of everyone over the age of five across the UK's four nations.

The researchers said it was the first time such a study had included all 67 million people in Britain.

They called for the same approach to be deployed in other health research areas, such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

"We think this landmark study really sets a line in the sand to say this sort of thing is possiblewe need to be doing more of it," said Angela Wood, a co-author from the University of Cambridge.

The UK is uniquely suited to carry out such population-wide research because "virtually every interaction" with the NHS is recorded, said co-author Aziz Sheikh of the University of Edinburgh.

"There's nowhere else in the world that can do this," he added.

The under-vaccinated tended to be male, younger, non-white, from a more deprived background and have fewer existing health problems, the study said.

The recommended number of COVID vaccine doses has changed over time and varies between countries. The UK recommendation in June 2022 was one shot for those aged five-11, two for 12-15, three for 16-74 and four for people over 75.

Last week the World Health Organization warned that transmission of COVID increased in December, fueled by gatherings over the Christmas holiday period. The JN.1 variant is now the most commonly reported around the globe.

 2024 AFP
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False-colored scanning electron micrograph of two Plasmodium ookinetes (purple), each parasite measuring 12 micrometers. This represents one stage in the malaria parasite life cycle. Plasmodium is a parasitic protozoa that causes malaria. Credit: Leandro Lemgruber, University of Glasgow

Researchers in the U.S. and Uganda have developed tools that can detect the slightest traces of malaria in people who harbor the disease but do not show signs of sickness.

Malaria is the leading cause of illness and death in many low-income countries, with young children and pregnant women most affected.

In 2022, there were 608,000 malaria deaths worldwide, with 95% of them occurring in the African region, according to the World Health Organization.

Detecting malaria in people who do not show symptoms is vital in order to better control the tropical disease in endemic areas, the researchers said in a study published this month (4 January) in the journal The Lancet Microbe.

The scientists from the University of Washington and Med Biotech Laboratories in Kampala said that due to the changing nature of malaria pathogens, parasite densities in the blood can suddenly drop below the level of detection. This is especially the case when older, less sensitive tests are used and when testing is done only at a single point in time.

Sean Murphy, professor of laboratory medicine and pathology at the University of Washington and lead author of the study, said, "To make anti-infection vaccines, drugs and therapeutics and test them in endemic areas means that you need diagnostic tools that can detect even the lowest density infections."

He noted that the ultrasensitive molecular diagnostic tools are more analytically sensitive than other tests like blood smear, malaria rapid diagnostics tests, and even other types of molecular tests.

"This means we can 'see deeper into the water' and identify true, albeit low density infections that would have been missed by other tests," Murphy said.

Murphy explains that having all this information can help researchers better assess candidate vaccines and drugs to decide which products provide the most effective outcomes.

Ultrasensitive tests

The researchers used ultrasensitive molecular diagnostic tools to test adults aged 18 to 59 and children aged 8 to 17 who were not pregnant and were not under malaria medication in the Katawki district in eastern Uganda, which has a high incidence of malaria.

They tested dried blood spots for the presence of Plasmodium ribosomal RNA, which helps produce the parasite proteins, to determine and classify the type and densities of the parasites over a period of one month.

By analyzing the resulting data, the researchers hoped to discern a sampling schedulecomparable to testing every day but less burdensometo reliably identify asymptomatic cases.

About 60% of participants had a Plasmodium infection at some point during the study. Fewer than half had an infection detected at the start of the study. The average infection rate was 30%.

"We know that Plasmodium falciparum is common in Africa and is the most likely species to make people sick with malaria," Murphy told SciDev.Net.

"I was surprised by the high number of P falciparum in our study," he added. "In some cases, these were present on their own in participants, but in other cases participants had mixed species infections."

In a few cases, a species present at the start of the month tapered off and a new later emerged, he added.

"To capture these transitions with our approach was very enlightening," he said.

'Emerging trend'

Tonny Owalla, a researcher at Medical Biotech Laboratory in Kampala and co-author, told SciDev.Net that there is an emerging trend of parasite prevalence in children over 5 years old in Uganda with no symptoms.

He says more research is needed into the dynamics of asymptomatic malaria.

"We still need to build the body of evidence about asymptomatic infections before health ministries and other agencies can act on the information," Owalla told SciDev.Net.

"Our current findings provide critical information on the burden of asymptomatic malaria that we hope one day will be useful to the national malaria control program in Uganda and other malaria-endemic African countries."

Peter Ofware, Kenya's country director for the global health and human rights organization, HealthRight International, says multiple approaches are needed to fight malaria.

"It is encouraging that more vaccine candidates are being introduced, but none so far has achieved the desired efficacy rate," he told SciDev.Net.

"Any innovations that can lead to better vaccines and treatments are most welcome."

More information: Dianna E B Hergott et al, Assessing the daily natural history of asymptomatic Plasmodium infections in adults and older children in Katakwi, Uganda: a longitudinal cohort study, The Lancet Microbe (2024). DOI: 10.1016/S2666-5247(23)00262-8 Journal information: The Lancet Microbe

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A new UiO study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care shows that pregnant, undocumented women are more often severely ill and must be admitted to the hospital, when they seek help at the emergency room in Oslo.

"In the study, we found that 1 out of 5 pregnant, undocumented women who came to the emergency room were seriously ill or needed immediate help. This was over twice as many as among the Norwegian pregnant women who sought help here, where the same applied to 1 out of 10," Frode Eick says.

He is a Ph.D. research fellow at the Department of Community Medicine and Global Health at the University of Oslo (UiO), and first author of the study.

"One out of three undocumented, pregnant women had to be admitted to the hospital after they visited the emergency room. Among Norwegian pregnant women, the same applied to 1 out of 5," he says.

In the study, Eick looked at undocumented women's use of the emergency room in Oslo, from 2009 to 2019. During this period, the highest number of undocumented women sought help in 2012.

"Among the undocumented women who sought help at the emergency room, around 15% came in with a pregnancy-related issue. In comparison, less than 2% of the Norwegian women who visited the emergency room came in with an issue related to pregnancy," Eick says. "The most common reasons for seeking help among the pregnant, undocumented women were bleeding during pregnancy or morning sickness."

The undocumented women who visited the general emergency room in Oslo came from 73 different countries, and most from Somalia, Nigeria, and Iraq.

Pregnant, undocumented women have the right to maternal health care in Norway

Pregnant, undocumented women in Norway have, since 2011, had the right to receive maternal health care in the municipalities they live in, and have the right to give birth in a hospital. However, they are not included in the general practitioner and reimbursement schemes in Norway.

Through UN's sustainability goals, Norway has committed to offer universal health care to everyone, to reduce illnesses and mortality among mothers and newborns.

"The study shows that there is a need for better access to primary health care services for pregnant, undocumented women in Norway. It is important that undocumented women staying in Norway know where they can seek help, that it is safe, and that the help they receive do not become a financial burden afterwards," Eick says.

Pregnant women seeking asylum in Norway and women who were homeless were, like the undocumented women, more often severely ill when they sought help at the emergency room in Oslo, compared to the Norwegian women.

"In these groups, one out of five were also severely ill when they came to the emergency room and around one out of three had to be admitted to the hospital, but there are some methodological uncertainties around these numbers," Eick says.

The study is part of the Ph.D. project Maternal Health Care for Undocumented Migrant Women in Norway at the Department of Community Medicine and Global Health at UiO.

"In this research project, I look at the use of health services and pregnancy outcomes among pregnant, undocumented women in Norway," Eick says.

More information: Frode Eick et al, Use of emergency primary care among pregnant undocumented migrants over ten years: an observational study from Oslo, Norway, Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care (2023). DOI: 10.1080/02813432.2023.2237074
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Same-level falls in the workplace are set to rise amid rapid growth in the numbers of older female employees in the workforce, suggests Australian research published online first in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine.

Although workplace falls, overall, are more common among male employees, particularly falls from height, same-level falls are more common in older women, the findings indicate.

The prevalence and relative severity of workplace falls mean that better prevention strategies are needed to mitigate these sex-specific risk factors, conclude the researchers.

In 2016, an estimated 1.53 million deaths and 76.1 million years of lived disability were caused by workplace injuries, note the researchers. Falls accounted for more than a quarter of these figures.

The Australian workforce is aging: 5064-year-olds made up 11% of employees in the mid-90s, rising to 21% in 2023. And aging in general is associated with a heightened risk of falls, say the researchers.

In a bid to uncover the risk profiles of workplace falls, they analyzed hospital admission records for the state of Victoria, Australia, between July 2017 and June 2022. Only patients older than 15 and admitted as a result of a work-related injury were included in the analysis.

The researchers compared fall and other injuries; 'falls from height' and 'same-level falls'; age and sex; presence of co-existing long-term conditions; time and place of injury; work and injury types; body parts involved; injury severity; and length of hospital stay.

Some 45,539 people were admitted to hospital for work-related injuries during the study period, of which 42,176 admissions were included in the final analysis

The average annual rate of hospital admission for a work-related injury was 2.54 in every 1,000 employees, but men outnumbered women: 3.91 vs. 0.98/1,000 employees.

Around one in five of these admissions (8,669; 21%) were associated with a fall, around half of which (52%) were falls from a height, while 37% were same-level/low falls.

Falls from ladder/scaffolds (21%), stairs/steps (9%), building/structure (8.5%) and different level falls (13.5%) made up those from height. Other specified and unspecified falls represented 1.5% and 10.5%, respectively. Over half of the fall injuries were fractures.

The average annual rate of hospital admission associated with a workplace fall was 0.52 in every 1000 employees: 0.68 for men and 0.34 for women.

Most work-related falls occurred in 2564-year-olds, with men accounting for more than two thirds (69%) of all such falls. Women aged 45 and older, however, accounted for one in five (21%) of these falls and more than 5% of other workplace injuries.

While the rates for height falls were higher in men than in women: 0.44 vs. 0.08 per 1000 workers, especially among those aged 45 and older, same-level falls were higher in women: 0.21 vs. 0.18, particularly after the age of 50.

"It is possible that this higher rate of high falls among men is explained by the greater rates of men, particularly young men, relative to women, working in sectors in which working at height is relatively common, for example, construction, telecommunications, and mechanical engineering," suggest the researchers.

Same-level fall rates were relatively low in the youngest age groups, but rose sharply with increasing age, and were highest among the oldest female employees.

One in five (21%) of fallers had at least one co-existing health condition recorded during their hospital stay30% of those with fall-related injuries and 19% of those with other work-related injuries.

Co-existing health problems were more common among those who had experienced a same-level fall than among those who had fallen from height, particularly circulatory, respiratory, and musculoskeletal conditions.

Falls, especially those from height, were more common among those working in construction, while other work-related injuries were more common among those working in agriculture, forestry, fishing and manufacturing.

Fall injuries were more likely to be serious, compared with other work-related injuries; this was particularly evident for falls from height. Prolonged length of stay was also more common for falls than for other types of injury. Nearly a third of hospital days due to work-related injuries were attributable to falls.

The findings relate to just one state in Australia so may not be more widely applicable, and the coding indicating where the fall occurred included a high proportion of 'unspecified' entries, acknowledge the researchers.

But they write, "Our findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that older working-aged women are at increased risk of same-level falls and fall-related injuries, particularly in the presence of comorbidity (whereas we observed a different risk profile for high falls, which were associated with males and which did not have a pronounced association with the number of comorbidities)."

They add, "For employers of middle-aged female workers, employers either need to consider a generalized approach to fall reduction among their entire workforce  or perhaps a targeted 'screening' approach in which workers are offered opportunities to share health information relevant to fall risk (including history of falls)."

They conclude, "Fall injuries, particularly same-level falls, are likely to increase in workplaces with current demographic changes, and employers, regulators, and policy makers could usefully consider raising the profile of workplace falls and developing effective prevention strategies."

More information: Epidemiology of work-related fall injuries resulting in hospitalisation: individual and work risk factors and severity, Occupational and Environmental Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1136/oemed-2023-109079 Journal information: Occupational and Environmental Medicine
COTABATO CITY  A measure has been filed in the Bangsamoro Parliament seeking to rename the municipality of Sultan Mastura to Subpangen in M...
Ravalli Countys septic waste could soon run out of places to be dumped after limits imposed by Missoulas wastewater treatment plant cut the septage dumped there by county pumpers in 2022 by almost half last year.

In 2023, as septic pumpers dealt with the new out-of-county septage limits, some have had weeks-long backlogs in dealing with regular waste from septic tanks, and another pumper regularly took a 300-mile round trip to Helena to dump off the septage during the busy months.

Conrad Eckert, owner of Eckerts Patriot Pumpers, said Ravalli County could be as little as a week away from dealing with public health and safety issues resulting from limits on dumping.

In a snowstorm, pumpers might not be able to access the regulated land application sites  often on farmland they spread septage on. That leaves pumpers to rely on the treatment plants for their septage, going to Missoula or, like in some instances now, Helena, to deal with the septage, since no plants in-county can manage it. The new limit of two visits a month for some pumpers wouldnt be enough in that case, Eckert said.

If it gets to where we have nowhere to put it, and the septic backs up into your basement and you call somebody and they say we can't pump, there's a serious problem, he said.

Eckert has been trying to raise the alarm to the county about the looming septic waste issue for two decades now. With steady population growth and the development of new subdivisions reliant on septic tanks, he sees it as just a matter of time before there will be more septic waste than there is space for.

To begin addressing the problem, Ravalli County formed a wastewater working group with its first meeting this week. A group of septic pumpers, wastewater treatment specialists, county and health officials discussed the county developing its own treatment plant to deal with septage or utilizing county-owned land as a septage dumping site. After further research, they plan to issue recommendations to the county by this spring.

Missoulas treatment plant

The hundreds of thousands of gallons hauled by Ravalli County pumpers to Missoula were largely unrestricted until the annual increases began to strain the system for operators at the plant, according to Missoula's Lab and Pretreatment Manager Nate Gordon. In 2018, Ravalli County pumpers hauled 410,000 gallons to the treatment plant. That number increased annually up to 1,450,000 gallons in 2022, eclipsing the amount brought by Missoula County pumpers by more than 600,000 gallons. After the limit imposed in April of 2023, septage hauled from Ravalli County went down to 860,000 gallons.

With the limits, were once again at a comfortable limit, Gordon said. Its a city facility paid for by the taxpayers of the City of Missoula. It's not even a county facility. So, we definitely feel that it's our responsibility to make sure the place functions well for the residents of the City of Missoula. And, and that's why we've had to start limiting how we can handle waste.

Last year, staff was regularly concerned the digester  a large, nearly 700,000-gallon holding tank for waste  would boil over with the amount of nutrient-dense septage being processed. The digester uses a bacterial process to break down the wastewater in it, cleaning the water in a multi-step process that eventually puts the water. If that digester is overfed like it was nearing last year, it becomes acidic, foamy, and ultimately explosive, spilling over the top.

It can create a mess and the digester just stops functioning the way it's supposed to function for breaking down wastewater, Gordon said. So that's the situation we were finding ourselves in with our digester in 2022.

Gordon informed Ravalli County pumpers of the new limits in October 2022., understanding it might create some hardships.

They all understand that we can't let this place break down, Gordon said. To me, they all handled it fine. I think it's a bummer for them. Their business model is built on hauling as much as you can haul. The more jobs you have, the more money you make. So, we understand that it is a real hardship.

For Eckert, after the new difficulties with Missoulas treatment plant he got access back to a land application site in Ravalli County after three years of disuse. The arrangement works  for now. Future development could easily threaten the lands availability.

Im golden as I haven't done near enough to reach the lands limit, Eckert said. But its drawback is that its one of those situations where it changes year to year. I don't know from year to year if it's going to be available to me.

The landowner has continually talked about building a house around the property in the past few years. Even though there are boundaries on where a house can be built from a septage land application site, no one wants to watch septic waste being dumped from their homes window, thus risking the whole property for him in the future.

Land application

Although more than two-thirds of Ravalli Countys septic waste was applied to land last year, finding new places for land application might be a difficult task in the terrain of Bitterroot Valley. The practice regulated by the Department of Environmental Quality generally requires less than a 6% slope to be considered for land application, among other requirements around distance from groundwater and housing.

Additionally, development is often more attractive than opening land up for septage application, according to Solid Waste Section Supervisor Fred Collins for the Department of Environmental Qualitys Waste Management Bureau. Finding new places for land applications is a problem across western Montana, he said.

With more development means less availability for land application, and at the same time, more development means more necessity for disposal of septic waste, Collins said. In Ravalli County, because of the terrain, a lot of the space available for development is usually a place that would be suitable for land application. And then if that is being built upon, that's no longer available as a disposal option.

Collins said that if population growth continues as it has across Montana, infrastructure will need to be built upon to handle the septic waste that will come with it.

Eckert has a similar sentiment, saying a treatment plant in Ravalli County is the best path forward for septic pumping over a potential land application site.

Ultimately, I think that's going to be the only real answer, Eckert said. Whether it's public, private, some kind of treatment facility is needed. You look at where my land outside is, eventually something will get built around it. It's just a matter of time. It's worth more to put houses on then to dump waste on a property you know.
This Christmas, Santa brought my 16-year-old a new phone, which caused a bit of jealousy in his younger, more irresponsible brother.

Deciding when to let your child jump into that tech world is not easy. No matter how many rules your family may have, it is still natural to worry about what your children will find, or who theyll talk to, online.

It has been more than a quarter century since Congress passed a law to protect kids online. In 1998, less than half the country was even connected to the internet, and those who were likely used AOL. There was no Facebook. There was no social media.

Today, more than half of teenagers say it would be difficult to give up their social media time, according to Pew Research polling. Half of parents are worried about what their child is being exposed to online.

As legislatures convene here at home and across the country, there will no doubt be an onslaught of proposed laws aimed at protecting kids online. Few will doubt the good intentions of these proposed policies.

In Idaho last session, a bill would have required manufacturers of internet-capable devises to install and active technology that enables parents to make filtering decisions.

A new law in Utah requires social media companies to obtain parental consent for those under 18. And if the parent does consent, they are given full access to their childs social media accounts.

Meantime, Colorados governor says he would not back state-imposed restrictions. And other states have a bevy of restrictions and proposed laws.

Social media and the internet are very much mobile. It would be nearly impossible for companies to create 50 different oversight mechanisms to comply with every states preference. And even if they did, teens and families move fluidly across state lines. A patchwork of laws would mean they are inconsistently protected.

Thats why, at the very least, Congress needs to work with tech providers to create a standard for the national marketplace to ensure uniform protection for kids online health and safety.

One idea put forward by Meta  the parent company of Facebook  is to require parental consent for teens under 16 at the app store level. What does this mean? Essentially, parents would have to approve any download of an app other than general items such as search or email. Age verification would be completed at the app store level  which would ensure kids are placed in the appropriate app experience. All apps would need to be treated consistently.

Another proposal would require ad targeting standards that would limit the personalization of ads to those under 16 to age and location only. This means advertisers and videos that may be questionable could not be targeted to kids under 16.

These are common-sense proposals that recognize the complexity of the issue.

We need to protect kids online while not stifling innovation and advancement in the coming years. A patchwork of laws is messy. One national standard that puts parents, not the government, in the driver's seat, would be best.
A judge in Gallatin County recently blocked two bills aimed at addressing Montanas housing crisis, siding with a radical anti-housing interest group. The decision to block Senate Bill 323 and Senate Bill 528 is misguided and unfortunate. These bills passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and were signed into law by Gov. Greg Gianforte.

Housing affordability is a major issue in Montana. Many Montanans can no longer afford to live in the communities in which they grew up. To protect our Montana way of life, we need to find ways to increase housing options in ways that respect our history and existing communities. These bills are part of that solution to allow more options for property owners and would-be homeowners.

SB 323 would allow people to build duplexes on single-family zoned lots in larger cities, increasing the supply of affordable housing. SB 528 would allow accessory dwelling units, commonly called mother-in-law apartments, to be built in residential areas. These are common sense housing reforms that expand property rights and offer an alternative to urban sprawl. These bills do not force anyone to build anything, but simply allow for market-based solutions for homeowners and homebuyers.

Unfortunately, Judge Salvagni issued a bizarre opinion that limits property rights and sides with wealthy out-of-touch elites. Wealthy out-of-staters are the ones who will benefit from this decision, while hard-working Montanans will continue to struggle to find housing.

We are hopeful this misguided decision will be overturned and that these and other laws will ultimately be upheld. We are committed to continue to support reforms that will increase housing options and affordability while protecting private property rights.

We are at a crossroads. We can either continue to incentivize McMansions eating up agricultural lands, forever changing the Montana landscape while the super-rich use our state as their playground, or we can encourage responsible development in existing communities that make it possible for our children to live here and for our elderly population to age in place.

Judge Salvagnis irresponsible decision is an affront to our Montana values and should not be allowed to stand.

Sen. Forrest Mandeville, R-Columbus, sponsor of one of the litigated bills

Sen. Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, President of the Montana Senate

Rep. Sue Vinton, R-Billings, House Majority Leader

For full list of signers see missoulian.com.

Sen. Ken Bogner, R-Miles City, Senate President Pro Tempore

Former Rep. Danny Tenenbaum, a Democrat from Missoula

Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, sponsor of SB 528

Sen. Jeremy Trebas, R-Great Falls, sponsor of SB 323

Mark Egge, a member of the Governors Housing Task Force from Bozeman

Rep. Katie Zolnikov, R-Billings, who carried several of the litigated bills in the House

Daniel J. Brooks of the Billings Chamber of Commerce

Sen. Daniel Zolnikov, R-Billings, sponsor of one of the litigated bills

Adam Hertz, a member of the Governors Housing Task Force from Missoula

Sen. Chris Friedel, R-Billings, chair of the Senate Local Government Committee

Rep. Larry Brewster, R-Billings, chair of the House Local Government Committee
With the new year comes new laws and, a few days ago, I took a look at some of the new laws passed by the 2023 Montana Legislature and was surprised to see that its version of morality was in full view.

The Legislature is upset with nudity, sex, and the idea of homosexuality. They demand more religion and kneel at the altar of a man who thinks the Earth is only 6,000 years old and who traps and kills for trophies. New laws make that clear.

The slaughter of wildlife is held in high regard by these legislators. Trapping is something they want more of, and will likely try to make part of the state constitution in 2025. They want young kids to witness the pain and suffering that animals feel, something that is sick, but they see this as a rite of passage, far healthier than seeing nude bodies.

The very agency that manages the state's wildlife would, I am sure, like infants to hunt and trap. They encourage young people to hunt from a very early age and trapping. They recently announced that several lynxes had been caught in bobcat traps, but no real concern. That is no problem for our Legislature, either; the real enemy is TikTok.

So much of the last session was filled with the evil of attacking Zoeey Zephyr for her transgender self and efforts to protect likeminded. That is immoral, the Legislature declared! They said it with a vengeance; it's sick! They went before the cameras and made clear that was not going to happen in Montana.

The white nationalist element of the legislative body cannot be ignored; its not a fantasy, but reality. Some of the more radical laws and violence against wildlife are created in their midst.

Some will say this is way off-base, but for many us the connection is clear. Morality, while it may be personal, is something that if the Legislature bangs a drum over, should include far more than their dog whistle of hate and their support of wildlife destruction.

If you are going to make clear that certain things are immoral, then perhaps you should take another look at indiscriminate violence against wildlife. Using traps and snares to kill wolves and often bears. To create a bounty system to give welfare to trappers and support the destruction of a vital species and then support even more killing of sentient beings. To have a governor who kills for trophy.

That is the real immorality of Montanas governor and Legislature. Bold Visions Conservation and many other wildlife groups will be working to move new legislation in 2025 to fight the bad aspects that these very people will push.

The purpose of this piece is to educate you and your friends about the reality of the what is occurring in our state at the highest levels. It is also to show the real contrast of how people view morality. One thing is clear: We will never rest until the rights of wildlife are defined into the state constitution.

But, first, the disease of trapping must be erased from the lands we love so Montana can finally move into the 21st century.
Man charged after car wrecks, shooting spree (Monday, Jan. 14, 1974)

A jilted husband was arrested Saturday in Valdese following a driving and shooting spree.

A male suspect was charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, assault on a female, injury to personal property and reckless driving following an incident that took place about 11:50 a.m. on Main Street. No one was reported injured.

Valdese Police Chief Oscar Pascal said the suspect allegedly got into an argument with his estranged wife and her boyfriend, which resulted in the suspect ramming the boyfriends car with his car and pushing it down the street. The suspect also is reported to have turned off near Rock Drug Store to hit his wifes car, which was parked by the side of the road. He then reportedly got out of his car with the engine still running and in gear and broke out her windshield with the butt of a shotgun. His car, meanwhile, moved forward on its own and collided with a Ford truck stopped in the roadway.

The suspect also allegedly shot at his wife and her boyfriend with the shotgun, but they were not hit. He told police that he shot at them to scare them.

Damage to all vehicles is estimated at $620. The suspect is out of jail on a $1,800 bond.

Two arrested in beauty salon break-in (Thursday, Jan. 17, 1974)

Two people have been arrested by Morganton police in connection with a breaking and entering and larceny at the Talk of the Town Beauty Salon on East Union Street sometime Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

The break-in was discovered around 8:15 a.m. Wednesday. Detectives determined that at least one check had been taken during the incident. They notified the merchants association in Morganton, which in turn notified businesses in the city to be on the lookout for anyone attempting to cash the check.

Police received a call from an employee of a local food store around 8 p.m. Wednesday who provided information that a check of the description given out by the merchants association had been presented at the store for cashing.

Officers arrived at the store and took the two suspects into custody, charging them with felonious breaking and entering and larceny and felonious forgery. Both have been placed under $1,700 bonds.

Semitrailer slams into tree (Monday, Jan. 14, 1974)

The driver of a Sharpe Motor Lines tractor-trailer rig escaped serious injury when his rig left the road south of Morganton Sunday afternoon and slammed into a tree.

The driver was traveling west on Rain Hill Road 7.2 miles south of Morganton when his truck ran off the side of the road while he was changing gears, according to the account he gave to Morganton police. When he applied the brakes, they failed, and his truck continued off the road and struck a tree.

The 1966 Mack tractor-trailer, pulling a load of 25,000 pounds of furniture, was deemed a total loss by officers on scene. Officer P.D. Stroupe estimated the value of the tractor-trailer at $8,500.

Stroupe said the accident could have been much worse, noting that had the truck hit the tree about 2 feet further to the left, the driver would have been crushed under the impact. Following the accident, the driver complained of pain and discomfort, but his injuries were not believed to be serious.

Kids should be seen, not hurt (Monday, Jan. 14, 1974)

Bright orange fluorescent arm bands might save a Burke County school child from death or injury.

The News Herald shares the concern of school officials that children must wait on dark highways for school buses, one result of winter daylight savings time. The newspaper has therefore arranged to obtain some 7,000 strips of the reflective material suitable for making into arm bands or sewing or pinning to jackets or hats. The bands will be distributed to all children in kindergarten through sixth grade on Tuesday.

It all began Thursday night when Nat Gilliam, News Herald advertising manager, recognized A.D. Korngay, superintendent of Statesville schools, when he tuned into Channel 9. Korngay was principal of the grammar school Gilliam attended in Statesville. Korngay shared how the Statesville Jaycees had obtained fluorescent arm bands for students there, and Gilliam thought of Burkes youngsters.

He called Korngay to find out where to get the reflective material and discussed the idea of providing arm bands to students with J.D. Fitz, News Herald publisher. Fitz and newspaper trustee E.A. Resch liked the idea and decided to make the arm bands available to any student who wants one.
Muscatine Community College is giving local residents a free chance to learn about supporting loved ones in dealing with mental health or mental illness.

Starting this month, MCC, in coordination with NAMI Greater Mississippi Valley, will be offering two free educational programs to Muscatine residents and families who may be struggling to cope with a loved one having a mental health condition.

According to NAMI research, 50% of all lifetime mental illnesses begins by age 14, with 75% beginning by age 24. Laurie Edge, NAMI program coordinator, said while these illnesses may start early on in ones life, it can still take several years for a person to start seeking out or receiving help, especially in cases where nearby mental health resources arent easily accessible.

Families often dont understand how to navigate health and social systems for help so the sooner families can find help, the better the chance for recovery (for their loved ones), Edge stated. NAMI offers programs to help family members understand how to support their loved ones and gain access to help.

The first of these free programs will be the NAMI Family & Friends Seminar, which is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 30 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at MCCs Strahan Hall.

This public event will be focused on topics such as understanding diagnoses, treatment and recovery, effective communication strategies, the importance of self-care, and crisis preparation strategies. Those wishing to register for this program can do so by following the "Register Now" link at the NAMI Greater Mississippi Valley website's Mental Health Seminars page.

Then, starting Tuesday, Feb. 13, also at MCC, NAMI will kick-off its eight-week Family-to-Family course. For eight Tuesday evenings, NAMI will teach participants different topics related to those who may be supporting an adult loved one living with a mental health condition.

Topics that will be discussed within the course include problem solving, communication skills, responses and dealing with critical periods, and the importance of self-care for caregivers. Additionally, this course will be taught by trained family members who have had lived experience regarding caring for their own loved ones.

For those wanting to learn more about NAMI and its other upcoming educational programs, residents can visit the groups website at www.namigmv.org.
WATERLOO  Authorities have released the identity of a Waterloo man who was killed in an early morning shooting on Monday.

Police identified the deceased as 19-year-old Joseph Quail.

Quail was found dead of a gunshot wound shortly after police and paramedics arrived at his home at 208 Eighmey St. around 4:50 a.m. on Monday.

Investigators said Quail suffered a single shot from shotgun to the chest. The weapon has been recovered and officers have interviewed several people who were in the house at the time.

No arrests have been made, and the shooting remains under investigation.

Photos: Homicide, Eighmey St, Waterloo Jan. 15, 2024 011524jr-homicide-eighmey-1 011524jr-homicide-eighmey-2
WEST DES MOINES  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis finished in a distant second place in the Iowa Republican caucuses, narrowly edging out former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley in a tight race for second place.

With about 97% percent of the votes in as of 11 p.m., DeSantis pulled in about 21 percent of the vote, putting Haley in a close third with about 19 percent support.

Both candidates celebrated the results as a boost to their campaigns even as they trailed far behind former President Donald Trump, who has gathered more than half of reported results.

They threw everything but the kitchen sink at us, DeSantis told a raucous crowd of supporters gathered at his watch party at a West Des Moines hotel. They spent almost $50 million attacking us. ... The media was against us. They were writing our obituary months ago. They even called the election before people even got a chance to vote.

The Florida governors campaign cried foul Monday after national media outlets predicted Trump the winner shortly after the caucuses started.

The Associated Press and other major news outlets such as CNN, Fox News and NBC News called the race for Trump barely 30 minutes after the caucuses began at 7 p.m. Only a handful of precincts had race results reported by that point.

The DeSantis campaign claimed the media was engaging in election interference, since not all caucuses had finished.

But I can tell you, because of your support, in spite of all of that they threw at us, everyone against us, we've got our ticket punched out of Iowa, DeSantis exclaimed.

We represent a chance to reverse the madness that we've seen in this country to reverse the decline of this country and to give this country a new birth of freedom and a restoration, DeSantis continued.

DeSantis noted his campaign has an uphill climb.

We have a lot of work to do, he told supporters at this watch party. But I can tell you this as the next President of the United States, I am going to get the job done for this country. I am not not gonna make any excuses. And I guarantee you this, I will not let you down.

Haley cast her third-place finish as a victory, saying she rose from polling in the single digits to nearly taking second place. She pointed to the later contests and said she was well positioned to take on Trump.

I can safely say, tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race, she told supporters in West Des Moines.

Haley, who spent the weeks leading up to Iowa attacking DeSantis, quickly set her sights on Trump Monday night. She warned of the prospects of a Trump-Biden rematch and said Americans want to see the country taken in a different direction.

Trump and Biden are both about 80 years old, she said. Trump and Biden both put our country trillions of dollars deeper in debt, and our kids will never forgive them for it.

DeSantis bet on ground organizing for second-place finish

DeSantis marshaled a robust network of precinct captains and canvassers to try to boost the Florida governor to second place past Haley.

Never Back Down, a DeSantis-aligned super PAC supporting but not directly affiliated with his campaign, led the bulk of Iowa organizing for the Florida governor. PAC officials said they recruited more than 1,600 precinct captains, spanning nearly every caucus site in the state.

Volunteers organized rides to caucus sites, door-knocked in subzero temperatures and readied to shovel driveways, if needed, to help get supporters out.

DeSantis, though, could not overcome a commanding lead by former President Donald Trump to pull off a caucus night upset.

Once widely viewed as the favorite to challenge Trump, DeSantis struggled to narrow the gap with the Republican presidential frontrunner, despite earning endorsements from top state Republicans, including Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Iowa Christian evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats.

DeSantis also faced a mounting challenge from Haley, who pulled ahead of DeSantis in polling just days before Mondays high-stakes Iowa GOP caucuses that could help determine whether either candidate has a viable shot at upending Trumps path to the nomination.

Nikki Haley caught Iowa momentum

Haley, who came out of Iowa only 2 points behind DeSantis, bolstered her support with national debate performances, a flood of anti-DeSantis advertising money from a super PAC, and the endorsement and organizing power from the influential Koch brothers network Americans for Prosperity.

Based on reported results, Haley gathered more support than DeSantis in urban and suburban areas like Scott, Black Hawk and Story counties, catering to moderates and independents who were not convinced by the far-right posturing of both Trump and DeSantis.

Haley managed to beat Trump in Johnson County by only one vote, taking in 1,271 to Trump's 1,270, and preventing the former president from winning all 99 Iowa counties.

Retired AT&T technician Dave Anderson, sporting a button for former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, describes himself as your run of the mill small government, low taxes Republican, but not a MAGA Republican, like the majority of his fellow caucusgoers at Precinct 19 in northwest Cedar Rapids.

He chose Haley for her civility and lack of negativity in the campaign cycle, which was a priority for the Cedar Rapids resident.

He liked other candidates, like former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who have since dropped out. He voted Republican until 2016.

He was unswayed by arguments for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's acumen in fiscal policy or former President Donald Trump's performance in economic issues, citing a significant drop in his retirement funds under the Trump Administration and a substantial boost in them under Biden's administration.

If DeSantis or Trump are the GOP nominee in the election this November, he said he will vote for President Joe Biden.

DeSantis was all-in on Iowa

The stakes were high for DeSantis, who is projected to do poorly in the New Hampshire primary, which is next up on the calendar. DeSantis was polling in a distant third in the Granite State with 5.8 percent support, according to FiveThirtyEights average of recent polls. Trump has about 40% of support among likely New Hampshire voters, while Haley follows at 30%.

DeSantis pinned his hopes for the Republican presidential nomination on Iowa, hoping a strong ground game and support from the states popular Republican governor and an influential Iowa Christian evangelical leader can make up for lackluster polling and give him a boost through the rest of the primary race.

DeSantis bet on retail campaigning, visiting all of Iowas 99 counties, and intense ground organizing to plant the seeds for success in the Iowa caucuses.

But his campaign became beset by infighting and dysfunction, and left much of the tricky task of organizing support for him to the pro-DeSantis aligned Never Back Down super PAC. Multiple senior officials of which resigned or were fired following disputes over the groups attack ads against primary rival Nikki Haley and personnel moves.

Reynolds, putting her political capital on the line, endorsed DeSantis in November, after initially saying she would remain neutral in the Iowa GOP caucuses.

Trump criticized Reynolds for being disloyal, taking credit for her election victory in 2018 and claiming his endorsement of her for governor saved her campaign.

Reynolds said she was proud of her endorsement, saying DeSantis record as governor of Florida  such as pushing against COVID restrictions and mandates, expanding school choice options for parents and restricting teaching of topics related to gender and sexuality in public schools is undeniable.

This is the man that can step in on Day One and reverse the madness that we see happening from the Biden administration, Reynolds told the crowd in West Des Moines. He has the record. He has the resolve. He is a bold, principled leader.

She assured DeSantis is in it for the long haul."

Weve got one of two tickets out of Iowa, Reynolds exclaimed. Were sending him to New Hampshire. Were sending him to South Carolina. Watch out America, Ron DeSantis is not done.
By the Presidential Communication Service(PCS)

In a pivotal move to enhance public finance management, the Cabinet has approved the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) for National and county governments.

During a cabinet meeting chaired by President William Ruto at State House Nairobi on Monday, the Cabinet underscored the importance of the TSA in simplifying government banking, creating visibility of government cash resources and increasing transparency in government cash management.

Additionally, the new system will help control expenditure and minimise fragmentation of government accounts in commercial banks.

The structure of the TSA will include the National Exchequer Account, the TSA Sub-Account and the County Revenue Fund.

Speaking on the matter, President Ruto said: Government funds are banked in commercial bank accounts and individuals keep earning interest. This must stop. All the benefits of public funds must only accrue to the people of Kenya and no one else.

The Cabinet has also approved the implementation of the Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) in both the National and county governments.

This move aims to enhance fairness, equity, transparency, competitiveness and cost-effective public procurement, potentially reducing costs by between 10 and 15 per cent, saving the government Ksh.90 billion yearly in public procurement expenditure.

The e-GP system is set to drive the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth through the digitisation and automation of public procurement and asset disposal processes.

The Cabinets decision to implement electronic procurement is rooted in the understanding that digital transformation is essential for transparency, accountability and the establishment of an open marketplace for procurement agencies.

Electronic procurement will benefit the government, suppliers and the public through transparent information flow on expenditure.

Also given the go-ahead in Cabinet today are Public-Private Partnership Regulations whose aim is to improve the structure and performance of PPP projects. This move is crucial in creating a stable environment for public and private entities involved in PPPs and fostering a robust investment environment.

The regulations provide clear guidelines for planning, procurement, management and monitoring PPP projects, aligning with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation agenda and incorporating environmental and climate change principles. The regulations will now be taken to Parliament for approval.

To fortify Kenya as a regional logistics hub, the Cabinet approved the Railway Amendment Bill 2024 that aims at initiating new ways of running railways and separating the business of freight, commuter and land development.

Kenya Railways is a big landowner in Kenya and most of the land is lying idle. This will be used to develop railway cities as is happening in Nairobi and will be extended to other major towns. The Bill proposes that the private sector, investors and even county governments run the railway cities. In such cases, Kenya Railways will become a regulator.

To address climate change challenges, the Cabinet approved Kenyas Sovereign Green Bond Framework which seeks to secure alternative funding options for green and resilient investments amid rising climate change costs.

The Green Bond Framework is a financial instrument to raise funds for climate action, promoting a nexus between climate initiatives and economic development. The Cabinet recognises the potential of green bonds in mobilising resources for climate-resilient infrastructure, food and water security, and the deployment of green technologies.

The Cabinet also approved the draft Kenya Social Protection Policy 2023 which aims at cushioning the poor and vulnerable from socio-economic challenges. This policy aligns with constitutional mandates and national development goals, emphasising the importance of social protection in poverty alleviation and inclusive growth.

Other agendas approved by Cabinet were the Recognition of Prior Learning Policy, Establishment of the African Legal Support Facility and the Memorandum to Join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has announced that the national government will recruit 30,000 youths for the National Youth Service (NYS) this year.

In the previous year, the government enlisted 20,000 youths, with 10,000 recruited in January and an additional 10,000 in July.

Kuria stated that the first phase of the recruitment will take place this month, with the second phase scheduled for July.

The CS further mentioned that President Ruto has issued a directive to ensure that 30 percent of all recruitments in the disciplined forces are sourced from NYS.

Dont think this is the NYS that existed before. If you miss out on the chance to be recruited, dont go after your political leaders to ask them for help to be recruited in the forces, he said.

CS Kuria added that recruits will undergo training for four to six months before individuals eligible for various forces, such as the army, police, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), and Kenya Forest Service (KFS), are selected.

To eliminate corruption from the recruitment process, Kuria explained that interested youths must register through eCitizen once the recruitments are announced. Subsequently, they will utilize their registration numbers to access the recruitment venues.

This will help track the number of youths who registered against the number picked. NYS is the only department where all 1,450 wards in the country will benefit.

The CS mentioned that upon recruitment, the youths would have access to employment opportunities both within the country and overseas. He added that he has toured various countries to explore job opportunities for the youths, and this week, he will be overseeing the departure of a group of 200 youths100 to Israel and another 100 to Kuwait.

Joining NYS is a one-way traffic. There will be no going back to the village. Either you get a job opportunity locally or abroad, Kuria said.

The CS extended an appeal to Kenyans, urging them to grant the Kenya Kwanza administration the necessary time to address challenges despite the prevailing economic hardships.

Life is hard but I know you still have faith in Kenya Kwanza. A pitiful doctor does not treat. We have to get things in order and it will take time. Kuria stated.
In a move to enhance efficiency and regional competitiveness, the Cabinet approved the Railway Amendment Bill 2024 on Monday, setting the stage for a significant overhaul of Kenya Railways.

The proposed change aims to divide the organization into three distinct entities: freight, commuter, and land development.

President William Ruto, who presided over the Cabinet meeting, said this restructuring will strengthen Kenya as a regional logistics hub.

To strengthen Kenya as a regional logistics hub, the Cabinet approved the Railway Amendment Bill 2024, which aims to introduce new methods of managing railways and segregating the business of freight, commuter, and land development, a statement read in part.

The new approach also aims to unlock efficiencies by delineating responsibilities and potentially attracting private investment.

The substantial amount of underutilized land owned by Kenya Railways is a significant driver behind the split.

The Cabinet intends to capitalize on this resource by creating railway cities along existing railway lines, starting with the ongoing Nairobi Railway City project.

The initial phase, with a cost of Sh12 billion, was initiated in February 2023 and envisions a multimodal, transit-oriented urban development centered around a new Nairobi Central Railway Station.

The Cabinet envisions extending this model to other major cities and towns along the railway network, including Mombasa, Athi River, Naivasha, and Kisumu.

The Bill proposes a distinctive approach to managing these railway cities. Instead of direct government control, Kenya Railways would function as a regulator, enabling private investors and even county governments to take the lead in development.
Charles Njagua, also known as Jaguar, has explained the reasons for his decision not to assist Magix Enga or Mwana Mtule despite their public appeals.

The former musician-turned-politician clarified that the issue was not with assisting but rather with the willingness of the person being helped. He asserted that if they are not willing, there is nothing more one can do to help them.

Tunawasaidia watu wengi lakini hatuposti, na nimeona kuna mtu unaweza kumsaidia na kuna mtu huwezi, Jaguar said.

(We help many people, but we dont publicize it, and Ive observed that in this world, there are people you can assist, and there are those you cant)

Jaguars remarks come days after netizens accused former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko of abandoning Conjestina Achieng in her rehabilitation journey, which he had initially offered to sponsor.

The former Starehe MP mentioned that he also attempted to assist Congestina long before Mike Sonko did, but unfortunately, it wasnt successful.

Unachukua mtu kama mwenyewe hajaamua, unampeleka rehab na bado anarudi kufanya zile vitendo.

(You take someone who hasnt made up their mind, you bring them to rehab, and they still go back to engaging in those actions)

Jaguar faulted the practice of assisting individuals who are unwilling to accept help, expressing his unwillingness to go through that experience with someone not genuinely seeking assistance.

The politician further elaborated on his experience with his addicted father, stating that despite trying everything, his father ultimately declined help because it was being imposed on him.

Ni akili ya mtu na nia inafanya mtu abadilike(Its the persons mindset and intention that make them change), Jaguar noted.

Jaguar disclosed that media personality Mzazi Tuva approached him to assist Magix Enga but he declined. He explained that he would only offer assistance if the artist demonstrated genuine interest in receiving help.

Juzi Tuva ameniita twende tukamsaidie Magix, lakini mimi hutaniona hapo siwezi.kwa hivyo mimi nilisema siwezi mpaka ile siku nitaona Magix mwenyewe anataka kubadilika, he said.

(Recently, Tuva called me, asking us to help Magix, but I wont be there; I cant so I said I cant until the day I see Magix himself wanting to change)

Jaguar further extended his gratitude to those who assisted Alpha Mteule.
The Music Copyright Society Kenya(MCSK) CEO, Ezekiel Mutua, says Kenyan musicians will start earning handsome royalties in a few years to come.

Mutua assured local artistes that they would be among the richest as he announced the distribution of music royalties for 2023.

On Sunday evening, the former Kenya Film Classification Board(KFCB) boss they have Sh20 million, which will be distributed equally among 16,000 members. This means each member artiste will receive Sh1,250 on Thursday next week.

We were supposed to do this on Jamhuri Day but we had other engagements. The Cabinet Secretary told us to have structures and on January 25, we will disburse millions of shillings, he said.

However, Mutua mentioned that the Sh20 million will constitute the first batch of disbursement, with further payments expected from other platforms such as Google. He said the funds would be distributed in two waysgenerally and scientifically.

General way is where so long as you are a member, we give general rates so that every musician receives something. Then we have a scientific way where we have software that shows where your music was played, Mutua explained.

Musicians Must Release Good Music

Despite the low payout, Mutua encouraged Kenyan artistes to purposefully create music that resonates with the masses to achieve substantial rewards, emphasizing the implementation of new structures for royalty payments.

The CEO expressed confidence that improvements lie ahead as they concentrate on ensuring musicians derive significant benefits from their craft.

We have published new tariffs that have raised the value of music. The government has supported us, we now have new tariffs which were lowered in 2019. We have signed contracts with Google, broadcasters, we have signed with matatus to ensure that artistes dont just sing and go home, they will have something that will enable them to live decent lives, Mutua said.

He added: The musicians themselves must release good music that is appealing just like we have just sung Mali Safi Chito, it doesnt have to be dirty with insults.

Ezekiel Mutua at the same time said the government is actively working to ensure the respectful acknowledgment of musicians copyrights and that consumers of their creative works generously compensate them.

All these structures will ensure that in the few coming years, our musicians will be among the richest like is the case in the United States, the UK or other countries, he said.

Within one year, we have new tariffs that have been gazette by the ministrywe are working very closely with the Kenya Copyright Board and I can assure the artists that from the 25th they will see the collaboration between the government and Collective Management Organizations.
Newton Kengere, a 29-year-old man accused of impersonating former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko and swindling unsuspecting members of the public, faced charges before a Nairobi court on Monday.

The accused allegedly crafted a Facebook account under the unauthorized name Hon. Mike Mbuvi Sonko Rescue Loans without the Former Governors approval.

DCI officers arrested Kengere in Kisiis Riokindo ward following investigations. He faces accusations of defrauding the public through a fraudulent educational loan scheme.

Kengere reportedly masqueraded as a member of the Sonko Rescue Team and falsely claimed to coordinate an initiative assisting needy parents with school fees challenges.

Milimani senior principal magistrate Gilbert Shikwe presided over the hearing, where Kengere denied the charges of cybersquatting.

Pleading for lenient bond terms, the accused cited his humble background as a basis for consideration.

While the prosecution did not object to his release on bail, they urged the magistrate to take into account the gravity of the offense.

Magistrate Shikwe granted the accused release on a cash bail of Sh300,000, and scheduled the case to be mentioned on January 29.
President William Ruto has confirmed plans to revive the controversial Sh63 billion Arror and Kimwarer multipurpose dam projects.

Initially launched during President Uhuru Kenyattas era, massive corruption scandals marred and halted the projects.

The courts recently acquitted former Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich in connection to the scandal, with the trial magistrate pointing the finger at the prosecution for bungling the case.

President Ruto, who included these two projects in his 2022 campaign pledges, is now preparing to travel to Italy in an effort to revitalize Arror and Kimwarer multipurpose dam projects.

On Sunday, the President announced his intention to lead a delegation of national government officials and two governors, Wisley Rotich (Elgeyo Marakwet) and Susan Kihika (Nakuru), to finalize a deal for the revival of the dam projects.

To move this county forward we have agreed with your leaders on how to revive roads and water projects which have stalled in this area, Ruto said in Iten, Elgeyo-Marakwet County.

I spoke to the President of Italy where the investors came from and I agreed that I will go with the governors of Elgeyo Marakwet and Nakuru to Italy this month to expedite the implementation of these projects, he added.

The head of state said he would be visiting Italy at the invitation of President Sergio Mattarella.

Ruto said the purpose of the visit would be to secure funding for crucial water projects and to conclude agreements regarding the governments efforts to revitalize the Arror and Kimwarer dam projects, as well as the Itare Dam in Nakuru County.

The Italian head of state visited Kenya in March last year for bilateral talks with his Kenyan counterpart.

Following the meeting, the two leaders declared that they had reached an agreement to recommence the construction of the dams. The deal also included an exemption for the government from paying over Sh12 billion to Italian firms for breach of contract.

As part of the agreement, Ruto declared that the two countries had mutually decided to withdraw the pending court cases related to a prolonged dispute that resulted in the cancellation of the projects during the former Jubilee administration.

He clarified that the Kenyan government is committed to withdrawing cases filed against Italian firms, including CMC Di Ravenna  Itinera JV, which had secured tenders for the construction of the dams.
The Senates National Security, Defense, and Foreign Relations Committee has rejected a proposal by Muranga Senator Karungo Thangwa to extend certain public holidays.

The Public Holidays (Amendment) Bill, 2023 sought to extend long weekends when a public holiday falls on either Tuesday or Thursday.

Thangwas proposed amendment suggested that when a public holiday falls on a Tuesday, the preceding day (Monday) should also be designated as a public holiday.

Similarly, if a public holiday falls on a Thursday, the succeeding day (Friday) should also be considered a public holiday.

Senator Thangwa argued that his proposed legislations primary aim was to prioritize the welfare of Kenyan workers and breathe new life into the tourism industry.

Public holidays are designed to provide workers with time off from their jobs to rest and recharge, spend time with family and friends, and celebrate important events or traditions, and are often associated with travel and tourism, the proposed amendment reads in part.

The lawmaker added that the extension of public holidays can contribute to ensuring that employees have ample time to thoroughly relish their time away from work and attend to both their physical and mental well-being.

Public holidays also seek to support economic growth, as they are often associated with travel and tourism, and extending public holidays may encourage Kenyans to take longer trips or visit destinations farther away from their homes. Essentially, such an extension would promote the hospitality and tourism industries, Thangwa pointed out.

But the committee chaired by Baringo lawmaker William Cheptumo argued that creating more public holidays would negatively impact the countrys struggling economy.

The Committee reiterated that extending public holidays could potentially decrease business working days, resulting in reduced output across various sectors and a lack of income for the majority of Kenyans who depend on daily wages.
(This is the latest in a series of Q&A articles highlighting winemakers and grapegrowers in the St. Helena area.)

1. When was your winery founded?

"We purchased our property in 2012. The previous owner assembled adjacent parcels to create the current 17 acres. There was no vineyard planted but there was an approved Erosion Control Plan to plant 5 acres, which we completed in 2014. First fruit was in 2016, first released vintage was 2018."

2. Why did you choose to be in the Spring Mountain District AVA?

"While we didnt target the Spring Mountain District, we consider ourselves lucky to have found a virgin property in such a special location. Just north of St. Helena, our slice of Mayacamas benchland sits at an elevation of 400 feet which places us at the edge of the Spring Mountain District AVA."

3. Who is owner? Who is winemaker? Who is vineyard manager?

"Joanne and Jon Goldstein are the proprietors. Aaron Pott is the winemaker and the vineyard is overseen by Pina Vineyard Management."

4. How many acres do you farm in the Spring Mountain District AVA?

"We have approximately 5 acres planted separated into six blocks."

5. Do you farm sustainably/organically/biodynamically?

"Since there hadnt been a vineyard previously on the property, we saw this as a perfect opportunity to farm organically. We planted nitrogen-fixing cover crops rather than artificially amending our soil, and provide a habitat for winged predators to help control pests. As landowners, we feel strongly about the importance of reducing risks of human, animal and environmental exposure to toxic materials."

6. Please describe your vineyards: soil; exposure; narrow spacing; type of trellising; irrigation/dry farmed, etc.

"A forested preserve shoulders our estate on two sides. Our densely planted blocks of vines are cane-pruned to create a shade canopy in the heat of summer. Spacing of the vines is 4 x 6. We use drip irrigation, but only as necessary. The vineyard faces east and enjoys a temperate microclimate. Aromas from the dry California forest surrounding us subtly express themselves in our wines. Our brands name, which refers to the atomic symbol for iron (Fe), draws inspiration from the volcanic, Aiken red, iron-rich soil of the property."

7. Wineries today try to differentiate the visitor experience. Whats unique about visiting your winery/tasting room?

"We are not open to the public so we only host tastings for trade, as well as family and friends. We host in a small barn in the middle of the vineyard and our guests often feel as if they are at the center of an ecosystem. Fe is an integrated organic wine farm putting into practice regenerative principles that help us grow great wines, flowers, vegetables, critters and people. We know that people are looking for experiences that resonate with conviction for higher standards and values that are transparent."

8. What might surprise people to learn about you/your winery/your operation?

"We never intended to make wine. We wanted to build a home and plant the vineyard with the intention to sell the fruit. The decision to actually create a label came later in the project when Aaron Pott encouraged us given the quality he was seeing from the vineyard. We are happy he did. Hes been involved in every decision from the beginning and the result is a shared vision of the best expression from our site."

9. What is special about the Spring Mountain District AVA in your opinion? Is it misunderstood? What do you wish visitors knew about it which perhaps they dont?

"People may be surprised to learn that SMD is often the wettest and coolest AVA in the valley. The lower ridgeline creates an entry point for the cool coastal air to spill down over forest and vineyards which lie on the slopes of Spring Mountain. This moderates daily peak temperature. The low yields of Spring Mountain represent less than 2% of all Napa Valley wine produced."

10. Whats your favorite place in St. Helena to eat, drink or relax?

"The Napa Valley was one of our favorite getaway trips for many years before we acquired the vineyard. Its even better being there now and enjoying our home with family and friends. Among our favorite things are hiking in neighboring Bothe State Park and the cheeseburgers at Gotts."
After getting home insurance for decades through AAA, Berkeley Hills resident Roger Carr and his wife received the dreaded notice in December: They would be not be renewed because of wildfire concerns.

About two weeks into their search, they're still reaching out to brokers and looking for a new policy.

It's a situation that's not uncommon across California, as finding  and keeping  home coverage becomes increasingly difficult.

Even in areas with limited wildfire risk, including San Francisco, homeowners are facing non-renewals. A drumbeat of providers, both big (like Allstate and State Farm) and small (like Motors Insurance Corp. and Kemper Corp.), have stopped writing new policies in the state. And for those that are still hanging on, rates are rising.

Carr has kept his cool.

"I'm Mr. Calm," he said. "I'm not concerned, that's just my personality."

But local brokers reached by the Chronicle described the current homeowners insurance market (which even excludes one major risk  earthquake losses) as "chaotic," "unprecedented" and the "perfect storm."

The brokers also offered tips for those caught in the crisis. Below are seven.

If you have insurance, don't push it

Brian Sullivan, a broker with Oakland-based Avail Insurance Solutions, spends half his day telling clients not to switch their insurance.

He said people may find a company with a lower rate or premium, but switching is not a guarantee that it will work out. The new company will likely require a property inspection, after which it can cancel the policy  making the move risky.

"If you're with a good company that hopefully will stay with you because you've got some history with them  that's got some value," said Jerry Becerra, president of Barbary Insurance Brokerage, which services the Bay Area.

Rates are also going up for everyone, Becerra said, so if you have a policy and your rates go up 15-20% you are still likely in the right place, painful as it may be.

Try a nontraditional route

Major companies that may come to mind when you think of home insurance are typically "admitted" insurers in California, meaning they must abide by specific requirements from the California Department of Insurance and have an agreement that the California Insurance Guarantee Association will pay out if the insurer can't pay outstanding claims.

Scott Johnson, a broker with Marindependent Insurance Services LLC, said he only works with a couple of admitted insurers  also known as "licensed" insurers  writing policies in Marin County, where he specializes, and a lot of his work is done with non-admitted insurers.

Non-admitted insurers, also known as "surplus lines" companies, must prove their financial stability with the state but do not have to file their rates with the Department of Insurance. They also are not backed up by the California Insurance Guarantee Association.

The biggest risk of non-admitted insurers, Johnson noted, comes if they become insolvent. In such cases, the California Insurance Guarantee Association will not step in to compensate the homeowner.

People can check the financial stability of a non-admitted insurer using online resources such as AM Best, which provides financial strength ratings for insurance companies, Johnson said.

He said non-admitted insurers are typically more expensive, with complex policies that take longer to locate and become active. The process for non-admitted insurers to increase premiums or not renew is much easier compared with admitted companies, Johnson said.

"The non-admitted entities are much freer to come in and out of the state as they see fit, and that just seems like a more appetizing solution for an insurance company at the current moment," Johnson said.

Who is still writing policies?

Jay Zemansky, president of Santa Rosa based Sadler & Company Insurance Brokers Inc. said in his experience there are almost no major companies taking on new policyholders locally.

Pressure has heightened for the remaining insurers as companies including Allstate and State Farm stopped taking on new customers.

"When you've got this much of the marketplace shutdown and you still have people shopping, the companies that are left are stressed to try and fill the void but they don't have the capacity. They may not have the staffing to handle the influx of new business," Becerra said.

According to Bay Area brokers, AAA, Farmers Insurance, Chubb and USAA are still writing new policies. (AAA and Chubb confirmed they are still writing new policies in California; USAA and Farmers did not respond on Friday to a query.)

Becerra added that a lot of companies have cut back on what they offer  so while they may still be writing policies, there may be relatively few, and the insurers are being selective.

Be prepared for high prices

If someone is not renewed by their insurer and has to move to a non-admitted insurer or the FAIR Plan, a government-created fire insurance option for those who cannot find coverage from a standard provider, they will likely see a significant increase in premium, Johnson said.

"I consider it the 'crying grandmother index,' and it's at an all-time high," he said. "There's a lot of people on fixed incomes and I'm in the unfortunate position to have to explain the situation, and it can be tough to tell somebody that."

Becerra said homeowners looking for a new provider could easily see their insurance pricing double, depending on the condition of their home.

Even admitted insurers have increased rates. State Farm, with the largest homeowners market share in California, plans to increase rates in 2024 by 20%.

Sullivan said some people are opting for incomplete coverage of their home because that is all they can afford.

Give yourself time

"I'd start early," Becerra said.

Becerra said you want to have as many options as possible to sort through when choosing homeowners insurance. He advised allowing yourself three weeks to a month to find coverage.

"A lot of people will wait until the last minute and give themselves a few days to replace coverage, and that can make a bad situation very stressful," Becerra said.

Get help

Homeowners hunting for insurance should get a broker, Becerra advised.

Insurance is not self-serve or similar to buying other things online, he said, since a broker can help you shop multiple markets and speed up the process. A broker can also help the client put together a good presentation to approach an insurance company with, he said.

Brokers are compensated by the insurance companies they write with, and if a broker is not used, homeowners won't necessarily save: That money may go to an agent or be absorbed as extra profits, Johnson said. There are rare cases where a separate brokers fee is charged to the homeowner, he said.

Becerra said that while helpful, brokers are still at the mercy of the insurers, which can limit the number of policies they write.

"If you're only allowed to write a few policies a month with the company, you can't just take everybody that calls because you're running out of places to put people," Becerra said.

If all else fails ...

Options have become so slim that Zemansky often takes clients straight to the insurer of last resort, the FAIR Plan.

"We don't play around," Zemansky said. "Six months ago we said 'let's see what we can do.' No. We go directly to the FAIR Plan because it's the only people writing."

The FAIR Plan writes policies in high fire-risk areas, but it is not ideal. It provides bare-bones coverage with a high price tag, Zemansky said.

Becerra tries to avoid the FAIR Plan when possible.

The FAIR Plan does not offer coverage for water damage, theft and liability so an additional policy with another insurer is needed to fill the gaps.

"Sometimes it's just unavoidable," Becerra said.

Photos: Napa Valley Faces and Places, January 13, 2024
Guwahati: The Arakan Army which is an ethnic armed group in Myanmar has claimed to have taken control of a town bordering India and Bangladesh, according to numerous reports.

The development marks a further loss for the military government which is battling rebellion in several parts of the country.

The latest capture of Paletwa by the Arakan Army adds to the challenges faced by the junta since the 2021 coup, as multiple anti-junta groups supported by a pro-democracy parallel government have gained control over military posts and towns.

Regarding border stability issues, we will cooperate at our best with neighbouring countries, a spokesperson of the armed ethnic group Khine Thu Kha said in a statement as quoted by Reuters.

This comes after the Myanmar rebel alliance, also known as the Three Brotherhood Alliance took control of the Laukkai town along the border with China last week.

All Kokang (Laukkai) region has become a land with no Myanmar Military Council anymore, the rebels said in a statement

According to reports, Paletwa is integral to a multi-million-dollar development project supported by India aimed at enhancing connectivity in the remote region.

Hence, the towns proximity to India and Bangladesh makes it a focal point of observation for New Delhi.

The Indian Army General Manoj Pande recently expressed his concern over the situation on the Indo-Myanmar border.

The situation at the Indo-Myanmar border is of concern to us. Also, some of the civilians from Bhutan are taking shelter both in Mizoram and Manipur. But what is of concern is that, because of the situation across the Indo-Myanmar border, we also have some of the insurgent groups who are feeling the pressure and who are now attempting to come into our side of the border in the state of Manipur, General Pande said.
The ongoing confrontation between the Myanmar military regime and ethnic rebels supported by civilian armed forces has carried the potential to change the political history of the southeast Asian nation forever. A country of 55 million population with varied ethnicity has witnessed almost a civil war in the last few months where the military rulers have indulged in brutal crackdown against the pro-democracy activists across the country and they are responded by public forces in various shape and sizes resulting the death of thousands and displacement of millions of families to escape the violence erupted in various localities.

As of 31 December 2023, there were at least 29,440 armed clashes and attacks against civilians since the military coup that took place on 1 February 2021. As of 18 December, the number of displaced people in Burma (Myanmar) reached 2.6 million, 660,000 were newly displaced since 27 October (the day the Three Brotherhood Alliance launched its combined offensive against the military regime in NayPieTaw) as the junta soldiers continue their violent actions, said Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma, a regional network engaged in advocacy, campaigns and capacity building to establish a free and democratic Myanmar, in its latest report.

It also added that the alliance of three ethnic armed groups (Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and Taang National Liberation Army) has already taken over 400 junta bases across the country since it launched Operation 1027 on 27 October. International media outlets, quoting the responsible Arakan Army (AA) leader, reported that the armed group has seized Paletwa, the capital of Chin State (which is adjacent to Indias north-eastern State of Mizoram).

The important port town on the bank of river Kaladan near the international border with India and also Bangladesh, Paletwa is an essential component of New Delhis ambitious Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project aiming to connect Arakans Sittwe port (in the Bay of Bengal) to the landlocked north-eastern region. The AA fighters have also brought many military bases under their control in both Arakan and Chin States.

The military regime led by Min Aung Hlaing has burnt over 440 bodies of anti-junta activists in 156 recorded cases, asserted the forum adding that the junta has lately broken the China-brokered temporary ceasefire with Three Brotherhood Alliance members by air & artillery strikes on civilian population. Even the junta soldiers bombed a museum (also a proposed UNESCO world heritage site) in Arakan (Rakhine) State.

As the new year brings more news on victories by the pro-people armed forces, the junta continues to lose its control rapidly and now the soldiers have been lashing out in retaliation with large numbers of indiscriminate airstrikes, massacres and other atrocities inflicted upon the people of Myanmar, said Progressive Voice, a participatory rights-based policy research and advocacy organization, adding that Myanmar people have had enough of this violent, illegitimate military junta, and have made immense sacrifices in the nearly three years since the failed coup attempt to dismantle the military and build a new federal democracy. But, going into 2024, there is a sense of optimism among the Myanmar public catalyzed by the successes of Operation 1027 and complementary activities, it stated in a weekly briefing.

In the bygone year, a new level of coordination was seen politically and militarily in Myanmar, which is exemplified by the combined offensive against the military regime that dethroned the Aung San Suu Kyi led elected government. Massive gains in terms of territory, the loss of military junta bases, and control of key trade routes and towns mark significant steps forward for the peoples revolution. However, these are not just military victories, but political victories as the cooperation between various groups, including Ethnic Resistance Organizations (EROs), Peoples Defense Forces (PDFs), and National Unity Government (NUG) was established and it reveals a level of political coordination and strategy that many in the international community have yet to acknowledge.

Moving into the new year, one can expect that the momentum built by the Myanmar people with nearly three years of brave and courageous work, determination and a dignified struggle would be visible globally, commented Khin Ohmar, a Burmese political activist, while talking to this writer, and she expressed hope that the international community will come forward supporting the democratic will of Myanmar people.

With more meaningful and substantial support from international actors, and with legitimate cooperation and coordination among revolutionary organizations, not only can the atrocious military regime be dismantled, but also preparations for transitional arrangements for their common political agenda of genuine federal democracy can be achieved, added the pro-democracy activist concluding that this momentum can translate into liberation, systemic change, and the establishment of an inclusive federal democracy with a genuine and sustained peace.
Czech Rep. parliament speaker sends EU flag to Armenia colleague as token of support

Premier on Tavush Province meeting: I also showed here Armenia outline that I showed at press conference

Secretary General Stoltenberg's visit to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia is historic NATO says

Armenia opposition MP: PM told Tavush Province residents that 4 villages must be handed over to Azerbaijan immediately

Videos of Armenia PM Pashinyan's meetings in Tavush Province to be publicized later, spokesperson says (PHOTOS)

Young man throws stone at Armenia government building window

Armenia premier meets with Kirants village residents of Tavush Province (PHOTOS)

RFE/RL: Putin loses in Armenias Yerevan, wins in Gyumri in Russia presidential election

High-tech minister on removing Russia TV channels from multiplex: Armenia's dignity is at core of decisions

Kazakhstan FM considers it necessary to increase trade with Armenia

Armenia, Kazakhstan FMs discuss new logistical opportunities

Armenia 2041 Foundation launches Galvanizing Diaspora program

Kazakhstan FM notes Armenias Crossroads of Peace projects importance for Middle Corridor

Armenia, Kazakhstan FMs sign 2024/25 action plan

Armenia PM is in Tavush Province, meeting with residents of Voskepar, Baghanis, neighboring villages

Archaeologists find inscription of King Antiochus I of Armenian Yervanduni Dynasty, in Turkey

Kazakhstan FM is in Armenia (PHOTOS)

Rolls-Royce Ghost to be retired and replaced by new Alpina sedan

Ardshinbank cardholders can now enjoy a 10% cashback!

Withdrawal from lawsuits against Azerbaijan in international courts will cause irreparable damage to Armenia, Armenians

EU Council to discuss assistance to Armenia, Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization

7,825 Karabakh residents who left Armenia since September 2023 have not returned, new data say

Armenia to submit application for EU membership?

Archaeologists discover where legendary British warship that disappeared in 17th century sank

Large number of Russians came from Georgia to Armenia to vote in presidential election, envoy says

Stoltenberg: NATO hopes to have stable peace between Azerbaijan, Armenia

Belgorod attacked by two rockets during the day: there are dead and injured

Media: Elon Musk's company is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites for US intelligence

Shooting in Pennsylvania: at least three dead, gunman took hostages

MEPs appeal to EU leadership to protect cultural heritage of Artsakh Armenians

New talks between Israel and Hamas are scheduled in Qatar on Sunday

India's national elections will be held from 19 April to 1 June

Aliyev: Azerbaijan and Georgia have always supported each other's sovereignty

Iran calls for formation of international coalition against Israel

Biden told Aliyev of US commitment to peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Stoltenberg will meet in Yerevan with the President and Prime-minister of Armenia

Turkish Foreign Ministry issues anti-Russian statement on Crimea issue

Zakharova: There is a historical answer to Armenia's doubts about sincerity of Russia's intentions

Zakharova: Moscow discusses with Armenia dragging Yerevan into anti-Russian course

Zakharova: Armenia's withdrawal from CSTO should be based on real needs of the country, not on "flirting" with West

Amazon and Microsoft suspend their cloud products in Russia

Dollar, euro lose value in Armenia

Armenia deputy FM: There has been considerable regress regarding visa facilitation with EU

Deputy FM: As landlocked country, Armenia recognizes vital importance of inclusive connectivity, open borders

FM: Armenia made every effort to prevent de-Armenianization in Karabakh

FM to reporters: You will be the first to know when Armenia intends to apply for EU membership

Ararat Mirzoyan: All Armenia authorities have negotiated on territorial concessions to Azerbaijan

FM: Deepening of Armenia's relations with the West, EU not directed against Russia

Mirzoyan: Unprecedented number of senior French officials visited Armenia in 2023

Ararat Mirzoyan: Armenia, Azerbaijan are close to mutual understanding on recognition of 1991 borders

Armenia made very active efforts to have minimal mutually acceptable wording with CSTO partners, FM assures

FM: Georgia ready to contribute to process of establishing peace in South Caucasus

Armenia FM: Events have occurred that have made it impossible to do certain things

Armenia FM: Ultimate goal not materialized yet in relations with Turkey

FM: There are international players interested in Armenia ceasing to exist

Mirzoyan: No agreement between Armenia, Azerbaijan to withdraw international lawsuits against each other

Armenia FM reiterates PM's arguments on handover of 4 villages in Tavush Province to Azerbaijan

FM: Armenia still doesnt understand how CSTO partners present their area of responsibility in South Caucasus

Mirzoyan: EU monitoring mission in Armenia has become factor of stability on Azerbaijan border

Dennis Francis: UN hopes for signing of Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty

FM: 23 Armenians still kept in custody in Azerbaijan

Armenia FM: Still not many tangible results on fundamental issues, we are still negotiating with Azerbaijan

European Commission official underscores provision of assistance to people affected by Karabakh conflict

Peter Stano: Armenia can apply for EU membership

MFA: Genocide prevention agenda is among Armenias priorities

Russia holding presidential elections

US intelligence warns of potentially devastating new pandemic

Newspaper: Birth rate in Armenia 19% lower than last year

Stoltenberg: NATO sought to maintain stronger relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan

Georgian Prime Minister to visit Armenia

Premier receives IMF Armenia mission chief

Anne-Laurence Petel-led delegation to arrive in Armenia

FM: Armenia looks into prospects of further deepening partnership with EU

New technologies at the core of rural infrastructure development

Russia is world leader in nuclear technology, Putin says

Vardges Sureniants Salome painting returns to National Gallery of Armenia exhibition

Dollar drops, euro rises in Armenia

Sunak: There is historic opportunity to put an end to Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict

Armenia authorities, who paid $6M for Snoop Dogg concert, still dont know when this postponed event will be held

Deputy economy minister: Matter of opening India-Iran-Armenia trade corridor being discussed

Armenia official: Trade with India amounted to $380M in 2023

ICC NCA head: India considers Armenia an important bridge to enter larger markets

Anne-Laurence Petel welcomes resolution on EU-Armenia relations

India ambassador: We are happy that our relations with Armenia are developing in defense sector also

Indians are now 2nd largest community in Armenia after Russians, envoy says

India-Armenia business forum kicks off in Yerevan

Armenia parliament speaker on European Parliament resolution: We thank European partners for this important step

PM: European Parliament resolution is another opportunity to discuss vision of Armenia's future

Azerbaijans next target in Karabakh is Artsakh State University

Russia deputy FM in Turkey, discusses process of normalizing Armenia-Azerbaijan relations

14-karat gold LEGO piece sells for over $18,000

Newspaper: Armenia to leave CSTO on Putin's reelection day?

Young lords 1,200-year-old tomb with treasure discovered in Panama

European Parliament resolution demands Azerbaijan troops withdrawal from Armenia territory

European Parliament adopts resolution proposing to consider possibility of Armenia's candidacy for EU membership

Russia MFA spox: We are concerned by Armenia leaderships sometimes offensive rhetoric on CSTO topics

Armenia government plans to have Kapan city airport serve international flights as well

Zakharova on Russian border guards removal from Yerevan airport: Hardly meets Armenia security interests

Armenia defense minister, Austria envoy, military attache discuss enhancing cooperation (PHOTOS)

Armenia official: Those 4 villages in Tavush Province are not in our administrative territorial division
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia received Richard Nephew, Coordinator on Global Anti-Corruption of the US Department of State, Armenian News-NEWS.am has learner from the PMs office.

The Prime Minister emphasized close cooperation and its continuity with the US administration in the fight against corruption and the development of democratic institutions. Nikol Pashinyan noted that the anti-corruption policy and promotion of the reform agenda is a priority for the Armenian government and the executive is consistently moving towards the development of anti-corruption mechanisms and increasing the efficiency of institutions. In this context, the Prime Minister emphasized the further implementation of programs with partner states, active cooperation, exchange of experience and capacity building.

Richard Nephew noted that the US administration will continue to support the Armenian government in strengthening democracy, effective implementation of reforms in the field of justice and fighting corruption. According to the Coordinator on Global Anti-Corruption of the US State Department, the USA highly appreciates the steps taken by the Armenian government in the above directions. Richard Nephew added that within the framework of his visit to Yerevan, he had effective discussions with Armenian partners with the goal to give a new impulse to further cooperation.

The digitalization process, as well as the implementation of joint programs in other directions, was also touched upon at the meeting.
Baidu strongly denies rumor of link between its AI tool and Chinas military research

Global Times) 08:02, January 16, 2024

China's tech giant Baidu on Monday strongly denied allegations of ties between its generative artificial intelligence (AI) product and China's military research after some media outlets claimed the company's ChatGPT-like ERNIE Bot was engaged in the training of the AI system of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China, leading to Baidu's shares plunging by around 10 percent.

The South China Morning Post reported on Friday that a university affiliated with the PLA Strategic Support Force was teaching its experimental AI system more about facing unpredictable human enemies by testing the AI system with the help of Baidu's large language model ERNIE Bot.

"Baidu has not engaged in any business collaboration or provided any tailored service to authors of the academic paper or any institutions with which they are affiliated," Baidu told the Global Times on Monday, emphasizing that ERNIE Bot is available to and can be used by the general public.

The basis of the report is a research paper published in the Chinese academic journal Command Control &Simulation in December 2023 by researchers from the PLA's Information Engineering University, where researchers used the US military invasion of Libya in 2011 as an example. They input the forces and weapons deployment of both sides of the conflict, as well as the desired targets in order for ERNIE Bot, which debuted in 2023, to predict the US army's combat strategy.

Baidu said that the academic paper mentioned several large language models such as GPT3.5, GPT-3.5-turbo, GPT4, HTML-T5, and Baidu's ERNIE Bot and described how the authors received responses from them, emphasizing that the functions used by the authors are available to any user interacting with generative AI tools.

"The South China Morning Post, the first media outlet that reported on this academic paper, has clarified and corrected its original media report," said the Chinese internet giant in a statement on Monday, vowing that the company will operate its AI related products and businesses in compliance with applicable laws and regulations and best corporate practices.

Earlier on Saturday, Baidu said, "We have no knowledge of the research project, and if our large language model was used, it would have been the version that is publicly available online".

Some media reported that the speculative link raised concerns that the US may consider imposing sanctions on Chinese firms as part of efforts to contain its geopolitical rival. Analysts criticized the unfounded claim, saying it has sparked baseless and unfounded suspicions, causing harm to Chinese companies.

"Some Western media always tend to spread the theory of so-called threat posed by China. Why don't they talk about the threats caused by ChatGPT developed by the US?" Song Zhongping, a TV commentator, told the Global Times on Monday.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
The prime minister of Armenia noted that Aliyev's recent specific statements are unacceptable to us. And should we negotiate when Aliyev makes some statements that do not contribute to peace; on the contrary, contribute to the increase of tension in the region? Gevorg Papoyan, an MP of the ruling majority Civil Contract Faction in the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, told this to reporters at the NA Tuesday.

"Of course, yes because always leaving the negotiations means saying that we are going on the path of war. That's not correct, and we don't move forward like that. On the other hand, preparing for peace does not mean handing over arms and surrendering. Preparing for peace can also imply an action when you increase your combat readiness, thereby preparing for peace because our army does not aim to conquer territories from other countries. Our army has one goal: to keep the territories of Armenia untouchedwhich is its constitutional duty, Papoyan added.

Regarding the remark that Azerbaijan rejects the maps presented by the Armenian side to determine the border between the two countries, the Armenian ruling force lawmaker said as follows, in particular: "We need to bring a map where Armenia and Azerbaijan were independent states or within the USSR, there were certain borders that had legal bases. (). It must be an official document.

As for the fact that Azerbaijani president Aliyev has stated that they will not take a single step back from the territories they have occupied, which are the sovereign territories of Armenia, Papoyan said: "It is one of those destructive statements, which is unacceptable and does not contribute to the resolution of the created situation in any way. Today, a peace treaty is not signed for that reason as well. It is clear that any solution without maps will have a problem in the legal sense, causing new political tensions in the future. The right thing is that we take the map, sign the peace treaty based on it, and then the delimitation commissions of the [two] parties start adjusting the coordinates. If the map is put on the basis of the peace treaty, the matter will be technical in the future."
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Nuclear Safety Committee of Armenia to participate in the discussion of its activity report for 2023, the PM's office informs Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Khachatur Khachikyan, Acting Chairman of the Nuclear Safety Committee, and his deputies reported on the activities carried out during the reporting period.

In particular, the work of state regulation of the field of atomic energy use were presented to the Prime Minister, which was aimed at ensuring the safety of the population, atomic energy use facilities, protecting the population and the environment from the possible harmful effects of ionizing radiation.

It was noted that measures to increase the safety of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant and to fulfill the conditions and requirements of the operation license of the 2nd power unit continued within the framework of the control over nuclear subjects. Inspections were carried out, reports were analyzed, and project documents for the introduction of modifications of systems important for safety were studied, including the implementation of the measures provided by the National Stress Test Plan.

In 2023, on the basis of the tripartite agreement signed between the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Nuclear Safety Committee and the ANPP, the seismic monitoring observation works were continued, using for this purpose the seismic recording devices received from the IAEA, which are connected to the National Seismic Protection Service network.

It was reported that the Committee continues to carry out state registration and licensing of ionizing radiation sources. Within the scope of regulatory control of health, scientific and industrial facilities, inspections, studies of the fulfillment of license requirements were carried out in 2023, radioactive sources were neutralized, permits for their safe transportation were issued, etc. The work carried out in the framework of radiation monitoring of the environment, which is carried out using modern systems introduced with the support of the European Union, was presented.

The sequence of analysis and further steps for the purpose of constructing a new nuclear power unit in Armenia, deploying small modular reactors, as well as selecting the necessary technologies was presented. Nikol Pashinyan noted that, even though not having mastered professional nuances, he considers the option of modular reactors politically interesting. "The accident of the latter does not require emergency response zones. In other words, if there is an accident, we will not apply measures to protect the population within a radius of a hundred kilometer," said Nikol Pashinyan. In response, the officials stated that the accident is classified as an internal accident. the concept of external accident disappears for these reactors.

It was noted that legislation in the field of atomic energy use is regularly reviewed taking into account changes in IAEA safety standards, new standards, international and domestic experience. Taking into account the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement signed with the European Union, the Committee began to bring the legislation of the Republic of Armenia into compliance with the directives of the European Union. At the first stage, the law On the Use of Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purposes, which was developed in 1999 and has undergone many changes, is being revised; at the second stage, in accordance with the new law, the Norms and Rules of Radiation Safety will be revised and finalized, which will regulate radiation safety.

Speaking about the next steps in the construction of the new nuclear power unit, the Prime Minister noted. We were thinking about creating an organization that would implement the new nuclear power plant. I think this is very important because first of all it will show our determination that we are not only talking, but also moving in this direction. Of course, here, as elsewhere, the issue of ensuring a strong personnel base will arise, because the construction of a new nuclear power plant is a megaproject, and this organization, in fact, will become the office for the implementation of this project. Here we have very active work to do to attract the necessary personnel to this work. As part of the decision on deferring military service, a big emphasis needs to be placed on nuclear energy, and secondly, again the same logic, we need to think about how to promote the involvement of women in this field, in their case there is no such problem, i.e. deferment issues, etc.

The programs of technical cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and their goals were presented, as well as the works carried out in the field of the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes.

The research activities carried out by "Scientific and Technical Center of Nuclear and Radiation Safety" CJSC during 2023 were also presented.

A discussion was held on the topics presented in the report, the participants exchanged ideas on what to do in order to increase the effectiveness of state regulation in the field of atomic energy use.
We have always stated, and we state now, that we are ready to provide roads under the jurisdiction of Armenia; these roads should be under our jurisdiction. Gevorg Papoyan, an MP of the ruling majority Civil Contract Faction in the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, told this to reporters at the NA Tuesdayand referring to the fact that the Turkish minister of transport had announced that the "Zangezur corridor" via Armenia should be completed by 2028, and that there are positive signals from the Armenian PM in this regard.

"The Crossroads of Peace [project by Armenia] is exactly about the fact that goods can go uninhibitedly from Europe to Asia through the territory of Armenia and vice versa. There is no change in this position of ours. The new thing here is that we say: on the conditions that Iran gives road to Azerbaijan, we can provide road to Azerbaijan on those conditions. And Iran gives road under the conditions I noted; that is, it is the territory of Iran's jurisdiction," Papoyan said.

And regarding Azerbaijan's proposal to Armenia negotiate in a bilateral format without mediators, the Armenian ruling force legislator said that Armenia talks with Azerbaijan both directly and through mediators.

"I believe that any option where our positions are respected and accepted is acceptable to us," Gevorg Papoyan added.
I assume that there will hardly be a meeting between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan until the end of the elections in Azerbaijan. Gevorg Papoyan, an MP of the ruling majority Civil Contract Faction in the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, told this to reporters at the NA Tuesday.

And to a reporters remark that the ninth clause in the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020 implies that the road passing through Armenias southernmost Meghri city shall be controlled by the forces of the Russian Federal Security Service, Papoyan responded: "There is no clause in that statement that the Russians shall come there to monitor something. No such clause exists. When we read that clause, we understand that it is about Armenia must only provide a road [to Azerbaijan], and Armenia is ready to provide it. We are ready now as well to provide [it] in accordance with our legislation.

"Second, is there a clause in the statement of November 9 where Russia and Azerbaijan had been obligate to do something and did [it]? There is no such clause. They havent done all the clauses they were obligated to doing.

"We [i.e. Armenia] do not violate that statement because the wording you gave is not there; it is from the field of dreams, desires; it cannot be interpreted that way.

"Before making a reference to the statement of November 9 today, let the [Armenian] people of Karabakh return to Nagorno-Karabakh, let the Azerbaijanis come out from those territories, let the corridor operate, let Russianwith its peacekeeperscarry out its functions in the corridor and in the rest of the territories. There are such clauses in the statement of November 9, but the clause you noted does not exist."
A batch of Russian weapons is already in Armenia. Gagik Melkonyan, a member of the ruling majority Civil Contract Faction of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia and a member of the NA Standing Committee on Defense and Security, conveyed this to the RFE/RL Armenian Service.

According to Melkonyan, the aforesaid weapons shipment arrived in Armenia recently.

In his words, that batch was transferred to Armenia within the framework of a contract that was signed earlier with Russia.

When asked recently whether Armenia receives the Russian weapons that were ordered, the chair of the NA Standing Committee on Defense and Security, Andranik Kocharyan, had said: "Yes, to some share."

"They are giving something. Its not in the amount that we expect, in terms of the amount of the contract we signed, but they will be regulated in the course of time, I am convinced," Kocharyan had added.

The Ministry of Defense of Armenia, however, neither denied nor confirmed this information in an interview with Armenian News-NEWS.am.

After the 44-day war in 2020, several members of the Armenian authorities have complained on a regular basis that Russia, a strategic ally, did not supply the weapons ordered by Armenia although hundreds of millions US dollars were paid for them.
Shahin Rzayev, a well-known Azerbaijani journalist who was arrested Monday in Azerbaijan, had written a noteworthy post several days ago about Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev claims regarding the opening of the "Zangezur corridor" via Armenia, essentially making a pro-Armenian theory.

Addressing Aliyev's opinion at the meeting with journalists that "people traveling from Azerbaijan to Azerbaijan, the cargo and vehicles in transit should pass freely without any inspection and customs administration," Rzayev had responded: "I wonder if it's the same on the territory of Iran. I'm sure not."

The Azerbaijani journalist is referring to the customs and passport control carried out by the Iranian side on Azerbaijani citizens, goods, and vehicles traveling through the territory of Iran to Nakhichevan.

The journalist's question was slammed by Azerbaijani "patriot" social media users. Some of them argued that "Armenia is not Iran and comparing it is wrong," and others accused him of voicing pro-Armenian theories.

Some time ago, Rzayev was criticized for mocking one of the photos created by artificial intelligence about the "occupation" of Yerevan, which was actively spreading on social media.

The Azerbaijan authorities, who do not hide their land-grabbing ambitions towards the territories of Armenia and build the entire logic of peace talks with Armenia within the framework of the "corridor" terminology, closely follow the moods that are forming inside the country, and neutralize those who oppose the fake theories that are put forward.

Shahin Rzayev, despite his oppositional views, has avoided directly criticizing the Azerbaijani authorities in recent years, limiting himself to sarcastic posts and "naive" questions. But despite his understated criticism, he also ended up in Azerbaijani prison.
On the ground, only Iran restrains the appetites of the dictator of Baku in connection with the desire to occupy the Syunik Province of Armenia. Analyst and Iranologist Vardan Voskanyan said this in an interview with Armenian News-NEWS.am Tuesday.

He explained that there are other countries that are making diplomatic efforts, but only the threat of a military strike by Iran is actually restraining the Azerbaijani president. According to Voskanyan, Iran knows that in case of the opening of the corridor passing through Syunik, it may be threatened by the Turkish blockade.

"Iran knows that the processes threatening Armenia in the South Caucasus can also cause serious blows to its interests. The processes aim to push Iran out of this region and reduce Russia's influence in the South Caucasus to a minimum. Tehran cannot be indifferent to such processes," Voskanyan said.

According to him, Iran views the presence of the EU civilian monitoring mission in Armenia as a strengthening of NATO's influence in the South Caucasus, which is why Tehran has said that the problems in the region should be resolved solely between the countries of the region.

The analyst emphasized that Iran realizes as well the danger not only from the point of view of the loss of an alternative road to the north, but also from the point of view of the growth of separatist sentiments in the north if a corridor is created via Armenia.

"Therefore, Iran is ready to take any steps, including military [ones]. The supreme leader of Iran warned the president of Turkey that the Armenian-Iranian border should not be violated, which means that the whole of Iran will work to advance this theory," explained the Iranologist.

In his assessment, against this backdrop, Armenia makes strange statements, talking about a peace that never happened, does not exist, and will not happen.

"There is no peace agenda between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Baku's goal is the elimination of Armenia as a state. Therefore, it is necessary to solve the issues of the strengthening of security, including by deepening the relations with Iran," stressed Vardan Voskanyan.

In his view, large-scale Azerbaijani military operations against Armenia are now unlikely, but Azerbaijan is guided by an easier strategy by making threats or unleashing local military operations on the territory of Armenia to get what it wants.
14:32





Scindia retorted to Tharoor's 6-part message on X with another 6-part message.





Tharoor had said: "Delhi Airport has been in chaos recently. The young professional wanting to go home for Makar Sankranti. The Army officer excited to visit his ancestral village for Lohri. The anxious son trying to get home to take care of an unwell parent. Thousands of peoples lives and schedules have been disrupted by a regular, predictable, foggy winter day. Its a ModiGovt-made disaster, a result of the Ministry of Civil Aviations neglect and incompetence."





Scindia replied saying, "It is for someone who is lost in his esoteric world of thesaurus that data mining of selective press articles from the internet qualifies as research. Here are some actual facts for arm-chair critic

@ShashiTharoor and the Cong IT Cell that might help tackle their lack of depth in understanding of technical sectors like civil aviation.





"Runway maintenance work is a critical safety element for aviation operations, and any compromise with runway conditions directly jeopardizes passenger safety.





"As a result, the maintenance was taken on top priority to be completed by 15th December before the onset of the fog season. However, due to pollution incidents and enforcement of GRAP-IV in Delhi, the recarpeting got delayed, resulting in a delay of one month in its commissioning. The revamped RWY is getting operational this week.





"The crane was being used for the construction of another critical infrastructure project - the Dwarka Expressway. However, in view of its impact on the runway, it has now been decided that the crane operation shall be allowed only on non-fog days. Thus, RWY 11R/29L is operational as CAT III as of yesterday.





"On sufficiently trained pilots, your claim is incorrect and baseless, as usual! As compared to only 2416 CAT II/CAT III trained pilots in 2014, today we have 6191 CAT II/CAT III trained pilots which is a jump of 2.5 times in the last 9 years. Further, in preparation for the fog season of 2023-24, due to our efforts, the number of CAT II/CAT III trained pilots have grown by 16% in the last three months alone from 5332 to 6191.





"Also, the DGCA mandates airlines to deploy CAT IIIB compliant aircraft only with qualified crew during the winter season. Any violations are strictly dealt with by the regulator, DGCA. For instance, show cause notices were issued to Spicejet and Air India.





"It would be prudent to know about the 3 dependent factors for CAT III Landings viz. Runway Capability, Aircraft Capability and Pilot Accreditation. And thus, CAT III operations are decided by the Highest Common Factor among the three variables.





"The two CAT III runways at Delhi Airport are equipped for aircraft to land with minimum visibility of up to 50 meters. However, the majority of the aircraft fleet in India viz. Airbus 320 (75 mtrs) and Boeing 737 Max (175 mtrs) have visibility minima greater than the runway threshold. Thus, even if the runway is capable and sufficiently trained CAT III pilots are made available, these aircraft are not designed for Zero Visibility operations.





"Further to give you a perspective, JFK ( New York ) airport in the USA has 4 runways, but the airport only has 1 runway capable of CAT III landing which is also with a restricted minima up to 182 mtrs (600 feet) 3.5 times of Indias 50 mtrs!





Go figure it out yourself - Enlightened, Mr Tharoor!





"The treatment meted out to the passengers in the instant case was unacceptable, and we have acted immediately in the form of a show cause notice to the concerned operators. Further, SOPs for better communication to passengers were also issued. Implementation is being monitored thrice daily.

B) CARs implemented during the UPA rule in 2010 were, as expected, inadequate for enforcing passenger rights and had to be amended multiple times by the DGCA to incorporate provisions for safeguarding passenger rights!





C) Further, the DGCA keeps a strict watch on the passenger complaints regarding mistreatment and penalizes operators if found guilty. For instance, since 2022, airlines have been imposed with fines for not providing passenger amenities as per the DGCA guidelines.





This is just baseless rhetoric.





- Airlines that shut shop/were brought to failure during the UPA rule = Kingfisher, Jet Airways, Air India.





Under the NDA govt, along with Akasa, 5 new regional airlines have taken birth under the PMs UDAN vision.





- Fleet size has increased from 400 in 2014 to 730 today, and will reach 1,500 - 2,000 by 2030.





- Airports have doubled from 74 in the last 65 years to 149 today. This will reach 220 in the next 3-4 years.





Hope you are better informed now, Mr

@ShashiTharoor !"





Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia smarts at Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's criticism of flight delays and the closure of runways at Delhi airport.
Three police officers arrested in Belgium drug sweep

Antwerp is the main European port of entry for cocaine from South America. Photo: Shutterstock

Belgian authorities said on Tuesday that 22 people, including three police officers, were arrested in a vast anti-drug operation whose targets included suspected cocaine smugglers at the port of Antwerp.



Around 350 officers were deployed mainly in Brussels and Antwerp and 45 searches carried out, resulting in the seizure of cash, luxury vehicles and a handgun, the federal police said in a statement.



The sweep was part of an investigation launched in February 2023 that was sparked by "several serious crimes," which revealed drug trafficking "from local dealers to import/export operations," police said.



Investigators managed to decrypt several phones equipped with Sky ECC, a secure communications app used by criminal gangs.



The communications revealed cocaine shipments to Europe via the port of Antwerp, police said, with "certain people suspected of hoping to ship the cocaine to England using helicopters."



Tuesday's arrests come as Belgium is currently holding a drug trafficking mega-trial with more than 120 defendants in the dock, thanks in large part to investigators cracking encrypted messaging apps.



Antwerp has seen record drug seizures by police in recent years, becoming the main European port of entry for cocaine from South America as the drug's use increases on the Continent. (AFP)
PRNewswire New Delhi [India], January 15: Fateh Education, a leading study abroad consultancy renowned for its expertise in the UK and Ireland market, conducted a comprehensive study pan-India with a sample size of more than 300 students who are studying overseas that has revealed that university rankings are still the main factor that influences Indian students who want to study abroad. The findings indicate a resounding preference for institutions with prestigious rankings, reflecting the significance attached to academic reputation. This preference for highly ranked institutions is also indicative that Indian students are unfamiliar with the local education system of their country of preference and rely heavily on rankings as a guide. Other factors such as tuition fees, job opportunities, cost of living, availability of scholarships, and post-study work visa have also featured as important considerations for students when choosing a university. These factors are shown to greatly influence the expected overall experience and opportunities available to international students during their time at a university. Additionally, the cultural diversity and support services provided by an institution also play a significant role in attracting and retaining these students. Commenting on the findings of the survey, Suneet Singh Kochar, CEO and Co-Founder of Fateh Education says, "Amidst changing visa norms and the impact of geopolitics on transnational education the one thing that remains clear is that quality Indian students continue to prioritise academic excellence. The primary objective for Indian students looking to study abroad remains the quest for superior universities and better professional prospects." Suneet further added, "Students need help making decisions that align with their personal strengths and professional aspirations while evaluating the state of the global market. While university rankings continue to be a good indicative parameter, more comprehensive support mechanisms by counsellors are necessary so that the student can evaluate how the university will enable their career objectives." The survey delved into the multifaceted decision-making process, uncovering that the second most important parameter was tuition fees voted by 71% of the students followed by job opportunities voted by 65%, which is not surprising as India is a value-oriented and price-sensitive market. The fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth parameters considered were the cost of living (53%), post-study work visa availability (51%), course rankings (49%), university location (41%), and part-time work opportunities (31%). The results of this survey demonstrate the complex relationship between academic reputation, career possibilities, financial factors, and quality of life. Universities looking to attract Indian students should take note of these findings as they underscore the necessity of investing in and enhancing their academic reputation. It is definitive that universities prioritizing efforts to improve their global rankings stand to gain a competitive advantage in attracting top-quality students from India. About Fateh Education: Founded in 2004, by an alumnus of IIM-Calcutta, Fateh Education has been providing personalized international higher education consulting to study in the UK and Ireland. Fateh has over 120 university partnerships and 200 plus employees across 9 offices in India. The organization is also a member of the British Council with UCAS accreditation and is an authorized partner of Education in Ireland. Since its inception, Fateh has guided over 35000 students to conquer their dreams. Started as an IELTS training institute in Delhi, Fateh bagged the coveted 'Award of Excellence' Extra Learn by the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. To further cater to the needs of students, Fateh ventured into study abroad counselling with the UK and Ireland as the key focus markets. Fateh Education is also the proud winner of 'The Best Consultant award' from Enterprise Ireland; 4 years in a row, a recognition signifying the market leadership for Irish higher education consulting in India. They are a close second for UK higher education consulting. Fateh Education envisions being the market leader in the study abroad consulting space for the UK and going beyond excellence to provide the finest quality of personalized services to its students while maintaining market leadership for Irish higher education consulting. For further information log onto - www.fateheducation.com Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2187207/4223736/Fateh_Logo.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)
In a key reach-out at the 2024 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Union Minister Smriti Irani launched the WE-LEAD: Women Leadership Lounge. The announcement was made via social platform X, with Minister Puri expressing his delight at joining Smriti Irani and industry leaders for the inauguration. Minister Puri posted on X, "Was a delight to join my colleague Smriti Irani along with captains of the industry at the launch of the We Lead Lounge at Davos 2024. The Lounge showcases the role of women in economies & is set to have wide-ranging discussions on opportunities in women-led development." The WE-LEAD Lounge stands out as India's first initiative dedicated to women's leadership, emphasizing the crucial role women play in economies globally. Minister Puri's post hinted at the inclusive discussions that would take place, focusing on the vast opportunities within women-led development. Smriti Irani, posting on a social media platform, provided further insights into the significance of this pioneering initiative. Smriti Z Irani posted on X, "Honored to announce the inauguration of the groundbreaking WE-LEAD: Women Leadership Lounge, alongside esteemed colleague Shri @HardeepSPuri, at #WEF2024 in Davos. This pioneering initiative, India's first Women Leadership Lounge, aligns with the vision of Women-Led Development championed by PM Shri @NarendraModi. Spearheaded by @MinistryWCD in collaboration with @FollowCII and supported by @gatesfoundation, the lounge reflects India's steadfast commitment to fostering growth propelled by women. Throughout the five-day event at @WEF, the WE-LEAD Lounge will host insightful sessions where global leaders, politicians, development institutions, industry magnates, think tanks and media luminaries will engage in impactful discussions, envisioning a future where women lead, inspire, and propel global economic advancement". The Women Leadership Lounge aligns seamlessly with the vision of Women-Led Development championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Spearheaded by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and supported by the Gates Foundation, the lounge underscores India's unwavering commitment to fostering growth propelled by women. The WE-LEAD Lounge's inauguration is a testament to India's progressive stance on gender inclusivity and the active role women can and should play in shaping economic and societal landscapes. This initiative seeks to create a platform for insightful sessions during the five-day WEF event, bringing together a diverse array of participants. Global leaders, politicians, representatives from development institutions, industry magnates, think tanks and media luminaries will engage in impactful discussions, envisioning a future where women lead, inspire, and propel global economic advancement. The collaborative effort between the Ministry of Women and Child Development, CII, and the Gates Foundation reflects a holistic approach toward empowering women. India's commitment to this cause resonates not only within its borders but also on the global stage, as evidenced by the launch of the WE-LEAD Lounge at Davos. The lounge's agenda is poised to cover a spectrum of topics ranging from economic empowerment to leadership in various sectors. By bringing together influential figures from diverse fields, the discussions aim to identify opportunities, address challenges, and forge a path toward a future characterized by gender equality and women taking the lead. This initiative falls in line with the broader narrative of women's empowerment, a key focus area for India. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has been at the forefront of implementing policies and initiatives that uplift and empower women across the nation. Collaborating with influential partners like the CII and the Gates Foundation amplifies the impact of these efforts, creating a ripple effect on a global scale. The insights and outcomes generated during these sessions have the potential to shape policies, influence corporate practices, and inspire individuals and organizations to actively contribute to the vision of a more inclusive and equitable world. The launch of the WE-LEAD- Women Leadership Lounge at WEF 2024 in Davos marks a significant stride toward recognizing and harnessing the potential of women in leadership roles. With India taking the lead in this initiative, the global stage is set for conversations that go beyond rhetoric, paving the way for tangible actions that empower women and contribute to holistic economic and social development. (ANI)
The provisional payroll data of the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) reflects the significant strides in extending social security coverage to a broader spectrum of the workforce.

In a noteworthy revelation, the data showcases the addition of 7.47 lakh young employees, highlighting that 47 per cent of the total registrations fall within the age group of up to 25 years.

According to a press release by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, this points towards a considerable contribution to job creation for the youth, signifying a positive trend in employment generation.

The employment landscape has also seen a positive shift in gender representation, with 3.17 lakh female employees enrolled under the ESI Scheme in November 2023.

This emphasizes the inclusivity of the social security initiative, reaching out to diverse segments of the population.

Furthermore, a remarkable aspect of the ESIC's commitment to inclusivity is reflected in the enrolment of 58 transgender employees in November 2023, read the release.

This signifies the scheme's dedication to extending benefits across various sections of society.

The increase in registered establishments is equally noteworthy, with approximately 20,830 new establishments coming under the social security umbrella of the ESI Scheme during the same month, read the release.

This expansion ensures a broader safety net for workers, thereby contributing to a more comprehensive social security framework.

It's imperative to note that the payroll data provided is provisional, given the continuous nature of data generation.

However, the evident trends suggest a positive trajectory in providing social security benefits to a growing number of workers, underscoring the significance of the Employees' State Insurance Scheme in fostering inclusive economic growth. (ANI)
Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday chaired the second meeting of the reconstituted Board of Trade held at Bharat Mandapam, here in the national capital. Minister Goyal announced the initiation of work on Trade Connect ePlatform, an intermediary platform providing the facility to connect Indian exporters and entrepreneurs with various stakeholders in international trade will commence shortly. The ePlatform is expected to provide facilitation for new and aspiring exporters, information on various regulations to access markets, sectors, export trends, easy access of benefits under Free Trade Agreements, access to sector-specific events along with a facility to address trade-related queries to officials in Government of India and associated entities to get expert advice. The platform is likely to be ready in a 3-4 months' time period. In his opening remarks, Minister Goyal said that the Board of Trade meeting is an opportunity to deliberate on the key issues including how to leverage the FTAs for the benefit, how to encourage the Startups/MSMEs to go beyond the borders and start exporting, boosting exports also from the services sector which remains a key driver of export growth from the country. Goyal stressed on the need to internationalise the goods and services to help in improving the quality of the products and also to have economies of scale. He further emphasied on making exports a people's movement with the States, Centre and the Industry, all playing an equal role in accelerating Indian exports. The Board of Trade meeting focused on reviewing the export performance to achieve the $2 trillion export target for year 2030, the priorities identified in the new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 and the strategies and measures to be adopted in order to take forward the export growth. The reconstituted Board of Trade provides an opportunity to have regular discussions and consultations with trade and industry and advises the Government on policy measures connected with the Foreign Trade Policy in order to achieve the objectives of boosting India's trade. It provides a platform to the State governments and UTs for sharing State-oriented perspectives on exports. During the Board of Trade meeting, presentations were made on a variety of subjects such as India's Import/ Export Performance and State export performance, PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan Multimodal Connectivity, Leveraging FTAs for boosting export growth, discussion on foreign trade vision, trade facilitation measures undertaken by customs, Convergence and expansion of Government e-Marketplace, reforms in Indian patent system, Intervention to boost Pharma exports. The meeting was attended by various State Ministers and other senior officials of key line ministries and States, all major trade and industry bodies, Export Promotion Councils and industry associations. (ANI)
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday visited the boAt manufacturing unit in Noida to mark National Startup Day. boAt is an Indian consumer electronics startup. The Minister was accompanied by representatives of Young Indians, a not-for-profit organisation, that works to instill in young minds the power of leadership, enhance the youth entrepreneurial ecosystem and create youth-led changes to build the nation. Talking to ANI, the Minister said that today there are 1.17 lakh startup in India and the government aims to increase it to 10 lakh startups. "Today India has 111 unicorns aur the effort is to create ten thousand unicorns. We have taken this challenge under the direction of Prime Minister Modi." January 16 every year is celebrated as National Startup Day. In the past eight to nine years, there has been a change in the world regarding startup innovation in India. During his visit to the boAt manufacturing unit, he interacted with its employees and engaged in discussions with the boAt co-founder, Aman Gupta. Gupta said, "I'm so happy that now startups are being celebrated, startup days being celebrated. And it was a vision of our Prime Minister and the government that startups should also be in the forefront. And I remember that when startups were not in fashion, people used to join private companies, with corporates or MNCs. But now people don't mind joining startups. It's evolution which has happened and it's it's good for the country that now you know, we can all aspire and dream to be employment providers, right from India, thinking big, and to go global. So I think it's just an entrepreneurship wave. It just started in India. It's amazing what is happening in the country." Pekrukhrietuo Pienyu, ReDimension Games said that interacting with the Minister and co-founder of a successful company was a good experience. Gauri Nandana M, Kerala Education Society Senior Secondary School, RK Puram, said, "So this event was a major turn turning point in my life. It was really helpful for me because I was able to meet the Minister as well as the CEO of boAt company. It was really exciting as well as inspirational for me." Tusha Tanya, who is working with startup company 3rdiTech, as an analogue designer and also doing PhD from IIT Delhi, said that accompanying the Minister and to gather his knowledge and experience was something motivating and inspiring, and being with somebody who has already benefited from the startup culture is a good experience. (ANI)
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal lauded the indispensable role startups play in India's ambitious journey towards becoming a developed nation by 2047. According to a press release by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, during the Startup Awards and State Ranking Awards function, Goyal highlighted the substantial strides made in the startup sector over the past eight years, emphasizing its transformation from a novelty to an integral part of the national mainstream. The Minister commended startups across diverse sectors such as MedTech, FinTech, AgroTech, aviation, drones, and simulators, recognizing their significant contributions. A notable focus was placed on the untapped potential within the tourism sector, with Goyal encouraging startups to explore innovative ideas for sustainable tourism, according to a press release. The Minister drew attention to the 'Wed-in-India' initiative proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Expressing his confidence in the entrepreneurial spirit across generations, Goyal urged individuals to contribute their unique perspectives to the startup ecosystem, aligning with the nation's emphasis on New Age Skills, Futuristic Tech, AI, and Innovation. He underscored that age should not be a barrier to engaging with new ideas and fostering innovation. Goyal encouraged individuals of all ages to actively participate in the startup ecosystem, emphasizing that every person possesses the potential to contribute to India's growth, according to a press release. India, now the third-largest global startup ecosystem, has witnessed the realization of countless entrepreneurial dreams, bringing innovative ways of doing business to the forefront. Goyal expressed his appreciation for the achievements in sectors such as millet and food processing and urged startups to shift their focus to new areas, particularly artificial intelligence (AI). He encouraged startups to develop ideas that simplify life and revolutionize existing ways of working. Key initiatives were outlined by Goyal to further support startups, including categorizing startups into different sectors for more focused interactions, sanitizing data to track their development stage, and ensuring all startups are registered on the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) portal, according to a press release. The Minister called for greater collaboration and mentoring through the MAARG portal (Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, and Growth of Startup India). He emphasized the importance of outreach and onboarding startups with the Government e-marketplace (GeM), noting the simplified onboarding process. Goyal encouraged startups to register for patent, copyright, and trademark protections, as the fees have been reduced for startups. Goyal announced the upcoming 'Startup Maha Kumbh' scheduled for March 2024, showcasing the government's continued support for the startup ecosystem. He invited entrepreneurs to leverage India's vast consumer market and work collaboratively towards transitioning from an emerging to a developed startup system, according to the press release. In addition to celebrating the broader achievements of the startup ecosystem, the State Startup Ranking Framework 2022 results were announced during the ceremony. States were acknowledged for their performance, leadership, and emerging ecosystems in fostering startups. In Category A States (Population more than 1 crore), Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu secured top positions as the best performers, with Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Telangana recognized as top performers, according to a press release. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand were categorized as leaders, while Bihar and Haryana were acknowledged as aspiring leaders and emerging ecosystems included Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir. For Category B States (Population less than 1 crore), Himachal Pradesh stood out as the best performer, followed by Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya as top performers. Goa, Manipur, and Tripura were recognized as leaders, while Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Nagaland were acknowledged as aspiring leaders, and emerging ecosystems included Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Ladakh, Mizoram, Puducherry, and Sikkim, according to a press release. With the startup ecosystem at the forefront of India's economic growth, the collaborative efforts led by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry aim to create a vibrant and sustainable entrepreneurial environment for the nation's startup community. The 'Startup Maha Kumbh' in March 2024 is poised to be a significant milestone, symbolizing the government's commitment to fostering innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship in India. (ANI)
Popular Japanese YouTuber Mayo, who is known for creating videos about India has expressed her wish to visit the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. "I am a foreigner but I always try to understand Indian culture and religion. Although I am not aware of it much but if Ram Mandir has so much respect, I would like to visit Ayodhya and see the temple once and know about it," she said in a conversation with ANI. Talking about India and its family values, she said, "In Japan, we also give importance to family. However, here in India, people give a lot of value and importance to family. I started talking to my mother every day after coming to India. People here are very helpful and kindhearted." Expressing her love for Indian food, she said, "I like pani puri as in Japan we don't get a combination of spicy, sweet and sour." Previously, Mayo was seen in a video dancing with Japanese Ambassador to India, Hiroshi Suzuki, to the tunes of Rajinikanth's hit song 'Kaavaalaa' from the film 'Jailer'. The video had been shared widely. After the video of a Japanese man dancing to the song went viral, the Japanese envoy to India created a video with Japanese YouTuber Mayo in which he is seen shaking a leg to the track. Talking to ANI, YouTuber Mayo spoke about getting an education in Hindi and how she is fond of making videos in Hindi about Japan and India. She said that Rajinikanth is very famous in Japan and that she wanted to show her love for him. "The Japanese ambassador used to make a lot of videos about India and Japan. We then decided to collaborate on the video. I suggested Rajinikanth's song when collaborating because he is well-known and popular in Japan. There are numerous die-hard Rajnikanth fans in Japan. We wanted to express our affection for him," said Mayo. Mayo who speaks fluent Hindi studied the language at Osaka University and has spent over a year in Delhi. Mayo says she fell in love with India while pursuing her studies. She blogs on food, pop culture, travel and other aspects of life in India and Japan. (ANI)
American actor Kevin Costner's ex-wife Christine Costner has been dating financier Josh O'Connor for months, People reported. Josh Connor, a friend and former neighbour to the now-divorced couple, has been dating Christine since she split from Kevin, a friend of Christine's told People. "Josh was initially just a friend," adds the insider. Christine "likes hanging out with him," said the friend of Connor. "He is a divorced dad and understands what she's been going through. They both love the ocean and beach life. It's something that makes Christine happy." During child support hearings in August 2023, Christine's attorney John Rydell refuted rumours of a romance between the two. He maintained at the time that Connor was only a friend amid her divorce from Kevin, 68, and "nothing more than that." Christine filed for divorce from Kevin in May last after 18 years of marriage. Following months of legal wrangling, the ex-couple completed their divorce in September, reaching "an amicable and mutually agreed upon resolution of all issues pertaining to their divorce proceedings," according to a joint statement from the couple's representatives. Another source in the Costners' circle told People, "Christine and Connor are dating, although they had a strong friendship before that. Because Christine and Connor are in the same place in their lives, they are having a lot of fun together." Christine dropped off Connor at his home in Montecito, California, on Friday, according to images obtained by the Daily Mail. Connor appeared to be pulling a suitcase as he walked away from her vehicle in the pictures. Connor has previously been sighted on outings with Christine. The two were spotted together in July at a villa in Hualalai, Hawaii, in pictures first published by TMZ. Her children joined them for some beach time. Christine and Kevin have three children: Cayden, 16; Hayes, 14; and Grace, 13. (ANI)
Emmy winner Jeremy Allen White, who stars as Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto in FX's 'The Bear' as a fine dining chef running a Chicago sandwich business, won his first Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series, reported People. "I am so proud, I am so full of gratitude, to be standing in front of you all," White said while accepting his trophy at the 75th annual Primetime Emmys on Monday, thanking the "beautiful cast and beautiful crew" of the show. "Thank you to all those who stayed close to me, especially this past year," added the actor, whose wife Addison Timlin filed for divorce in May after over three years of marriage. "Thank you for believing in me when I had trouble believing in myself." 'The Bear' has been good to Jeremy Allen White so far. He's won two Golden Globes and two Critics Choice awards for the part already. Costars Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach also picked up Emmys for their roles in the series. The show also turned White into a reluctant internet boyfriend. "What do I say to the internet? Thanks for watching. I don't know, I'm flattered," he told People at the November premiere of his movie The Iron Claw. "It surprises me, truly." Still, White added, "I'll take it!" I'll take what I can get!" White's Emmy nomination in 2023 was his first, and he went on to win the 2024 Golden Globe for best performance by a male actor in musical or comedy. Other nominees against White on Monday included Barry's Bill Hader, Shrinking star Jason Segel, Ted Lasso's Jason Sudeikis, and Martin Short from Only Murders in the Building. In HBO's dark comedy, Hader plays the titular hitman who enrolled in the comedy class of a washed-up acting teacher (Henry Winkler). The series finale ended with Winkler's Gene Cousineau killing Barry. "I remember saying it'd be really interesting if Cousineau killed Barry with that gun," Hader, 45, told TheWrap of a thought he first had for season 2. "And then that was kind of it. I made a mental note of it, so from that point on there are a lot of specific close-ups of it, always tracking where that gun is knowing that it eventually killed Barry." The actor has shared how he related to Barry's mental health struggles. "When I was on Saturday Night Live I would get panic attacks pretty frequently," Hader told People in 10. "You know Barry has a panic attack and you go, 'I know exactly what that feels like.'" Hader has earned a total of 29 Emmy nominations over the years, and Barry received 11 this year alone, including recognition for the show in the Outstanding Comedy Series category, as well as nods for supporting actors Winkler, 78, and Anthony Carrigan, 41, reported People. (ANI)
The dawn of 2024 is already being billed as the Year of AI, when a transformative technology may begin to turn computers into co-workers, tackling everything from legal contracts to ad campaigns.

Some tout artificial intelligence as a productivity-enhancing tool that will eliminate drudgery and open the door to creativity and innovation across all industries. Others envision a job-killing dystopian future where a robot becomes the new regional sales manager.

The commercial reality of generative AI  employing computers that think and communicate like humans  remains to be seen, but companies large and small are exploring rapidly evolving applications of the new technology. In November, consulting firm Accenture launched an AI innovation studio at its Chicago offices to show businesses how to make it work.

We are building a lot of industry-specific solutions that our clients can actually use, said Arnab Chakraborty, 50, the Chicago-based senior managing director of artificial intelligence at Accenture. Gen AI is a buzzword. How do you make it real in the context of applying it to business.

Machines that learn are coming for at least some of our jobs, making inroads in everything from marketing to manufacturing, with one-third of companies regularly employing some form of generative AI, according to a recent McKinsey study.

That number is expected to explode in the coming years as companies invest billions in the nascent technology, looking to gear up for a brave new world where generative AI promises dramatic improvements in productivity for early adopters, and threatens to leave Luddites in the dust.

Companies have no choice but to go all in, said Dan Ives, managing director of equity research at investment firm Wedbush Securities. Because if you sit back and say this is hype while your competitors are 110% in, next thing you know, you could be the next typewriter company.

The future has already arrived at scores of McDonalds drive-thrus, for example, where artificial intelligence programs are taking Big Mac orders, and even asking if you want fries with that.

Down the road, robots may be making the meals as well, Ives said.

Generative AI represents a quantum leap in artificial intelligence, harnessing computers into a neural network that, like the human mind, learns as it processes data, enabling it to create new content. The applications are potentially limitless, a source of both optimism and fear as the commercialization of AI takes off.

Its the start of a fourth industrial revolution, Ives said.

The launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, a free online language model created by San Francisco-based startup OpenAI, turned the technology from science fiction into reality for millions of users, ushering in a new era  and an AI arms race, Ives said.

While Big Tech players such as Microsoft and Google are rushing to incorporate and monetize generative AI, companies across a full spectrum of industries are also finding new applications to streamline their businesses.

By the end of the year, 50 to 60% of companies will be deploying and implementing AI for employees and customers on an everyday basis, Ives said.

Accenture, the Dublin, Ireland-based global consulting giant, is investing $3 billion over the next three years and doubling its AI staff to 80,000 employees to help business clients leverage the potentially game-changing technology. Chicago is at the center of those efforts.

The company, which has 743,000 employees in 120 countries, recently launched Gen AI Studios at six locations, including its new Chicago headquarters at Accenture Tower in the West Loop. The innovation spaces offer clients an opportunity to explore generative AI applications that will reinvent their business in the coming years, the company said.

It could be a consumer goods client, a bank or insurance company, Chakraborty said. We are helping them understand what that business transformation looks like. Right now, the narrative is focused on cost savings, productivity efficiency gains, but also on new innovations.

Chakraborty, a 25-year veteran of advanced analytics and an AI thought leader, said generative AI is rapidly evolving from experimentation to scaled implementation in 2024, and will be the biggest tech trend over the next decade, generating up to $5 trillion in annual economic impact worldwide.

Accentures data and AI senior managing director, Arnab Chakraborty, sits in Accentures Chicago offices at Accenture Tower in the West Loop on Dec. 13, 2023.

Accenture relocated its Chicago office last year to seven extensively renovated floors of the Helmut Jahn-designed high-rise above the Ogilvie Transportation Center, which now bears the companys name.

At the heart of the 264,000-square-foot space, the technology innovation hub sits behind a wall of glass, glowing with purple lights and an array of interactive displays, beckoning like a generative AI arcade. The Chicago studio focuses on applications for financial services, health, life sciences, consumer goods and manufacturing industries.

Inside, hands-on AI stations enable clients to see the technology at work in a variety of applications, from customer service and marketing to hammering out legal contracts.

AI is all about empowering the human beings to do their jobs, Chakraborty said. It will help automate some of the boring jobs.

One application, Machine Creative Studio, develops advertising campaigns from scratch. Accenture is working with a large Chicago-based consumer goods company to integrate the technology, helping it save time and money to find some marketing magic.

From campaign slogans to images to social media hashtags, the machine takes cues and prompts to instantly create original advertising concepts. Think of an android Don Draper from Mad Men firing off pitches at light speed, pivoting seamlessly with every new suggestion.

This isnt a final product, said Kristy Kindinger, client innovation manager at Accenture. But this has allowed us to have creative conversations along the way around our decision-making.

Accentures client innovation manager, Kristy Kindinger, demonstrates how to use Machine Creative Studio, an AI program, in the generative AI studio at Accenture Tower in the West Loop on Dec. 13, 2023.

Another application, Contract Builder, helps companies create and revise a legal agreement  an often time-consuming and expensive process  before lawyers start running their meters.

The robot attorney pulls together all the details, walks through the process step-by-step and structures the contract to avoid ambiguity, potentially eliminating some of the back-and-forth legal haggling that often accompanies finalizing an agreement, Kindinger said.

While it doesnt obviate the need for corporate lawyers, it could make a substantial dent in their billable hours.

Were seeing it as those individuals have more time to do more high-value work, Kindinger said. This is not a replace, and theres still time and energy here for reviewing.

Over the last 10 months, Accenture has built more than 300 applications with generative AI for use both within the company and for its clients, Chakraborty said.

One of those clients is Chicago-based McDonalds, which announced in December it had expanded its partnership with Accenture to help apply generative AI solutions across its restaurants worldwide. The program is aimed at accelerating automation, reducing complexity for the restaurant crew and serving hotter, fresher food to customers.

At an investor update in December, Brian Rice, McDonalds chief information officer, unveiled a new initiative, Digitizing the Arches, which will be driven in part by generative AI.

McDonalds has been an early adopter and pioneer in the use of AI, Rice said at the investor update, which is posted online. For example, voice ordering is deployed in nearly 100 drive-thrus across the U.S.

Some social media posters have recounted difficult experiences with AI orders at McDonalds, where miscommunication resulted in incorrect items. But as the technology improves, AI experts say robots are more likely to get the orders right than human employees.

In fact, a bigger worry may be that AI gets so good at its job that human employees are unnecessary. Learning how to work with AI, however, could be a good career move, Ives said.

Longer term, there will be replacements and attrition, Ives said. But in the near term, we actually think AI is a huge job creator for engineers, developers.

The short term may not be so rosy for some human employees either.

A November study commissioned by ResumeBuilder.com found that 44% of companies using AI believe it will lead to layoffs in 2024.

The future was on display at the annual Consumer Electronics Show last week in Las Vegas, where AI-powered robots ably performed as baristas, whipping up lattes and stirring concerns among hospitality workers that their jobs were on the way out.

The robot baristas came to Vegas just months after the Culinary Workers Union negotiated new five-year labor contracts with a dozen casinos on the strip, averting a strike. The unions bargaining power may be reduced in subsequent negotiations as AI-powered hospitality technology continues to evolve.

Technology was a strike issue and one of the very last issues to be resolved, said Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer for the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, who led negotiation efforts with the casinos.

A barista robot designed by Richtech Robotics performs during the CES tech show on Jan. 9, 2024, in Las Vegas.

Another pressing concern, at least in some quarters, is that as generative AI evolves, it may portend a Matrix-like future, where machines not only do all the work, but spread disinformation, impersonate people and, ultimately, rule the world.

The Center for Humane Technology, a California-based nonprofit organization, is sounding the alarm that the speed of AIs evolution and deployment, and its unpredictable emergent capabilities, make it an existential threat to society.

In a 2023 video presentation posted online, co-founders Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin cite a study that found half of AI researchers polled believe there is a 10% or greater chance that humans will become extinct due to the inability to control AI.

While not professing to have the answers, Harris suggested a good place to start would be to selectively slow down the public rollout of large language model AI applications until the proper safety guardrails are in place.

This is not about stopping the research. This is not about not building AI, Harris said in the presentation. Its about slowing down the public deployment.

Fears that OpenAI was moving too quickly with the public launch of ChatGPT may have led to the brief November board ouster of CEO Sam Altman, who was quickly reinstated after threats of a mass exodus by employees.

Responsible AI development nonetheless remains a core issue within the industry.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order in October mandating the safe, secure and trustworthy development and use of artificial intelligence to mitigate substantial risks during its rapid rollout.

In November, Chakraborty participated in the third AI Insight Forum in Washington, a series of discussions organized by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., aimed at developing regulations for the rapidly evolving technology.

Part of my testimony was about demystifying the fears of AI, grounded in facts, Chakraborty said. There are parts of the job that will get automated and parts of the job that will augment the human, and how you need to prepare your workforce as a result of that.

Like the space race during the 1960s, the development of AI is an international competition, with China the biggest global competitor to the U.S., Ives said.

But as far as AIs impact, Ives likens it to another decade, during the dawn of the internet in 1995, when AOL and dial-up modems ushered in the digital age.

We view AI as the biggest tech transformation in 30 years, Ives said. In the next 12 to 18 months, guac or no guac at Chipotle could be from a nonhuman  who both takes the order and makes it. Its going to be a zero-to-60 in three seconds type of feel.

The Associated Press contributed.

rchannick@chicagotribune.com
Following the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons to Bharat Rahstra Samiti (BRS) leader K Kvaitha in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam case, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Vice President Kiran Kumar Chamala took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led centre, stating that it raises the curtain on "ED drama" as Lok Sabha polls are around the corner. "The BJP is raising the curtain on the ED drama as the Lok Sabha polls are around the corner. The BJP wants to show the people of Telangana that it is not an 'A' or 'B' team of the BRS," Chamala said. "As the BRS is going to lose the polls, the BJP is focusing on gaining some vote percentage, but the people of Telangana are very clever. Such instant actions will not show any impact," he added. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued a summons to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha on Monday. However, she is unlikely to appear before the agency on Tuesday, sources said on Monday. Kavitha has been asked to appear before the ED on Tuesday.Earlier in September last year, the Enforcement Directorate issued a summons to Kavitha, and in March, in connection with the probe into the Delhi liquor policy case,. Earlier on January 13, ED issued a summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the fourth time in a money laundering probe related to irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22 case, asking him to join the investigation on January 18. The fresh summons to Delhi CM follows the third summons, which he skipped last week.Kejriwal has so far skipped summons issued by the ED on three occasions, including on January 3, November 2 and December 22, calling them "illegal and politically motivated. "The ED wants to record Kejriwal's statement in the case on issues like the formulation of policy, meetings held before it was finalised, and allegations of bribery. ED has so far filed five charge sheets in the case, including against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia. (ANI)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra resumed on the third day from Kohima in Nagaland in the early hours of Tuesday. On Monday, the yatra completed its path in Manipur after commencing from Sekmai. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi met the locals in Kohima, Nagaland this morning as Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra resumed from here on the third day of its journey today. The Yatra was halted here on Monday evening. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on X took a dig at PM Modi citing the road conditions in Nagaland. "The third day of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will soon begin from Viswema near Kohima. Meanwhile, going from last night's campsite to the starting point of the journey via NH29 is a punishment in itself. The ground realities are far from the Prime Minister's claims," he said. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday expressed gratitude to the people of Manipur after his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra crossed the state and entered Nagaland on Monday evening. In a post on social media, Rahul said that he will continue to stand and fight for the people of Manipur. "Thank you to the beautiful people of Manipur for the love and warmth you have given us. I will continue to stand with you and fight for you until you have peace and justice," he said. In another post on X, Rahul Gandhi said that our journey is a balm of unity and love on the soul of India wounded by BJP's politics of division and neglect. "Today Manipur is looking towards the entire country with hopeful eyes. We have to erase the pain in their eyes and light the lamp of hope. Our journey is a balm of unity and love on the soul of India wounded by BJP's politics of division and neglect. We will walk together; we will fight together. The right to justice, until we get it," he said. Meanwhile, as Congress's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' entered Nagaland's Kohima on Monday evening, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that a delegation of the Naga HOHO representing Naga organisations from different states met with Rahul Gandhi. They submitted a memorandum to him seeking implementation of the Framework Agreement signed between the Centre and the NSCN-IM in 2015. Naga HOHO is an apex body empowered to take crucial decisions related to the people belonging to the Naga community. (ANI)
The Jallikattu competition commenced at Periya Suriyur Village in Tamil Nadu''s Tiruchirappalli district on Tuesday. Jallikattu is a bullfight that traces its history to around 2,000 years, when the fight was conducted to select the most suitable bridegroom. Seven hundred bulls and 350 tamers are participating in the Suriyur Village Jallikattu competition. More than 600 police personnel are deployed for security at the event, said authorities. Jallikattu is an age-old event celebrated mostly in the state of Tamil Nadu as part of Pongal celebrations. In the sport, a bull is released into a crowd of people and participants in the event try to grab the large hump on the bull''s back, attempting to bring the bull to a stop. Due to the risk of injury, both to the participants and the bull, the animal rights organisations called for a ban on the sport. However, after long protests by the people against the ban, the Supreme Court, in May 2023, upheld the Tamil Nadu government''s law allowing the bull-taming sport ''Jallikattu'' in the state. A five-judge Constitution bench of Justices KM Joseph, Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and CT Ravikumar was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra governments'' laws allowing the bull-taming sport ''Jallikattu'' and bullock cart races. The Tamil Nadu government had defended the event of "Jallikattu" and told the apex court that sporting events can also be cultural events and there is no cruelty on the bulls in "Jallikattu.". Jallikattu, also known as sallikkattu, is celebrated on the third day of Pongal, Mattu Pongal Day. The history of this bullfight dates back to 400-100 BCE when it was played by the Ayars, an ethnic group in India. The name is coined from two words: Jalli (silver and gold coins) and Kattu (tied). Pulikulam or Kangayam, is the breed of bull used for the sport. The bulls that win the festival are in high demand in the market and fetch the highest price. They are also used for breeding. (ANI)
A high-level team of officers from the Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate and National Investigation Agency would be heading soon for the UK to expedite extradition of India's most wanted fugitives, including defence dealer Sanjay Bhandari, diamond trader Nirav Modi and Kingfisher Airlines promoter Vijay Mallya, sources said on Tuesday. It is also learnt that the team heading to London will engage in bilateral discussions regarding the longstanding exchange of information pending with the UK authorities under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT). Being signatories to MLAT, both the UK and India are obligated to legally share information on criminal investigations involving economic offenders and others. The NIA team is presently investigating multiple terror suspects associated with the Khalistani movement. Despite the Union Home Ministry being the designated authority for MLAT matters, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is actively engaged in diplomatic interactions with the UK in this instance, as all requests are channeled through MEA for foreign countries. It is learnt that the team would include a senior officer from the MEA during the meeting with the UK authorities. The meeting would be arranged in sessions in close supervision of the Indian High Commission in London. If everything goes as planned, the joint team is expected to depart at any time this month. Besides expediting the process of extradition of the fugitives, the team is learnt to seek outstanding informations about assets obtained by them in London, including specifics about their banking transactions. Officers, privy to the development, told the ANI, the initiatives are underway to identify the properties of the individuals in the UK and other countries with the aim of seizing the 'proceeds of crime.' The extradition cases of Sanjay Bhandari, Nirav Modi, and Mallya are awaiting resolution in the UK, as they have appealed in higher courts against deportation to India. The ED has already seized their assets in India, and significant funds have been recovered by selling the assets of Mallya and Modi, amounting to thousands of crores, which were then returned to banks to settle their outstanding dues. Bhandari, an arms dealer who fled in 2016 following investigations by income tax and the Enforcement Directorate into various defence deals during the UPA regime, is known to have close ties with Robert Vadra, the husband of Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi. As per the ED, Bhandari obtained properties in London and Dubai, subsequently transferring them to shell companies overseen by CC Thampi, an alleged associate of Vadra. However, Nirav Modi faces allegations in a fraud case related to Punjab National Bank funds exceeding Rs 6,500 crore, whereas Mallya's assets, valued at over Rs 5,000 crore, have been attached and seized due to bank defrauding activities. The ED is investigating Bhandari, Thampi, and Vadra for alleged payoffs received in various defence deals. The agency has attached Bhandari's properties in India, totalling over Rs 26 crore, and filed charges against him. A special court, similar to the cases of Mallya and Modi, has declared Bhandari as a fugitive economic offender. (ANI)
In response to the Prime Minister's call for the cleaning up of temples, Union Minister Anurag Thakur cleaned the premises of Hanuman Temple at Connaught Place (CP) in Delhi on Tuesday. The Union Minister reached the temple at CP in the morning and wiped clean the floor of the temple premises. Anurag Thakur, while speaking to media personnel, said, "The dustbin is kept on one side while the garbage has been thrown on the other side. I think this mindset needs to change." Earlier during the day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh swept the floor of Hanuman Temple in Lucknow. He was in Lucknow to attend the Army Day events. Singh reached Hanuman Setu temple near Lucknow University in the morning, where he picked up a broom and cleaned the floor. Thereafter, he offered prayers. "Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi has called upon all the countrymen to contribute towards cleanliness in the temples around them. Today, I went to Hanuman Setu temple in Lucknow and did Shramdaan under #SwachhTeerth campaign and got the privilege of serving Hanumanji," the Defence Minister said in a post on 'X'. On Sunday, BJP president JP Nadda launched a nationwide cleanliness drive at temples. The initiative was launched focusing on temples and will continue until January 22, the day of the Pran Pratishtha of Ram Lala at the Ayodhya Ram temple. Senior BJP leaders, including Union ministers and Chief ministers of various states, picked up the broom and mop across the country to participate in the cleanliness drive. Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleaned the premises of the Kalaram Temple in Maharashtra's Nashik as part of the Swachchata Abhiyan campaign. Visuals showed the Prime Minister with a mop and bucket mopping the floor of the temple. The PM appealed to the people to carry out Swachhata activities (cleanliness drives) at temples across the country ahead of the consecration ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Delivering his inaugural address at the 27th National Youth Festival in Nashik, the Prime Minister reiterated his call for cleanliness campaigns, urging citizens to clean pilgrimage places and temples across the country on 'Pran Pratishtha' day of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the installation of the idol of Ram Lalla at the grand temple on January 22. (ANI)
Flight problems and refunds comprised the majority of a total of 712 passenger-related complaints received by scheduled domestic airlines during December 2023, as per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) report. The air traffic report for December was released by the DGCA on Monday. The report stated that during December 2023, a total of 712 passenger-related complaints had been received by the scheduled domestic airlines. The number of complaints per 10,000 passengers carried for December 2023 has been around 0.52. The major reasons for complaints are flight problems and refunds. Out of 721 complaints received by airlines, 705 (approximately 99 per cent) have been addressed. As per aviation regulator DGCA, a total of 61.8 per cent of complaints were about flight-related problems, while 12.8 per cent were related to refund problems. The baggage-related problems were just 11.9 per cent. "Refund-related complaints have seen significant improvement in the last three months but complaints related to flight problems have spiked from 39.4 per cent to 61.8 per cent in December. In November, there were 14.8 per cent complaints related to refunds that have come down to 12.8. Similarly, complaints related to staff behaviour that was 3 per cent in November have raised to 3.4 per cent," reads the report. The report further reads that the maximum number of complaints were received by Spicejet (422) followed by Air India (68) and Indigo (65). Out of 347 complaints that were received, all have been addressed except seven complaints that are pending three each with Star Air and Alliance Air and one with Air India. (ANI)
The police said that a white Celereo and a Swift car were found in severely damaged condition at the accident scene.

Upon initial inquiry, it has been found that the Celereo was hit by the Swift from the opposite carriageway, damaging the middle road divider.

Swift's driver, Gaurav Malhotra, 40, a resident of Laxmi Nagar, has been declared dead, said the police.

Four others have sustained injuries, of which one is in serious condition at the hospital, the police added.

Further legal action is being taken, the police informed. (ANI)
Questioning the intention of the Aam Aadmi Party's decision to conduct Sundar Kand Path--a segment of the Hindu epic of Ramayana--in all Vidhan Sabha constituencies of Delhi, Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday accused AAP of "giving nothing" to the Hindu priests in Delhi. The Union Minister alleged that AAP leaders do not do what they preach. "Before they came into politics, they used to say that they would give a corruption-free government. They gave nothing to the priests in Delhi and held nothing back in giving to everyone else," Anurag Thakur told ANI. He also attacked the Delhi ruling party for the corruption charges against their leaders. He pointed out the arrests of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, and AAP MP Sanjay Singh in the Delhi excise policy case. "Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal got ED summons (in Delhi excise policy case) four times but did not comply," he said. Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Monday that Sunder Kand will be recited in all Vidhan Sabha constituencies of Delhi on the first Tuesday of every month. Speaking about holding the 'Sundarkand path' at the Delhi assembly, minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said, "Earlier, the Sunder Kand Path has been organised by party leaders and workers. But now it has been decided to do it every month in a structured manner. Tomorrow is Tuesday, and from tomorrow, it will be organised in all Vidhan Sabha constituencies of Delhi... We invite the general public also to it..." He further said that Sunder Kand Path and Hanuman Chalisa would be organized at around 2,600 places soon. "We invite the general public also to it... Soon, at around 2600 places, Sunder Kand Path and Hanuman Chalisa would be organised... No one can question Ram's name and devotion to Hanuman... We have no questions about the Ram Temple... The construction of Ram Temple is a matter of joy and pride for us..." he added. Preparations are underway in full swing for the event, which is expected to be attended by thousands of dignitaries and people from all sections of society. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the Pran Pratishta ceremony of the Ram Temple on January 22. The formal procedures of pre-Praan Pratishtha sacraments have got underway on Tuesday and will continue till January 21. Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama, holds great spiritual, historical and cultural significance for the people of India. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the Allhabadad High Court order for appointment of a Commission for the Shahi Eidgah Mosque in connection with Mathura's Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Masjid dispute. A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta also issued notice to concerned respondents on a plea filed by the Committee of Management Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah challenging the Allahabad High Court order for the appointment of a Commission for the Shahi Eidgah Mosque. The court listed the matter for January 23 for further hearing. The court said that proceedings before the trial court can be continued but the commission cannot be executed till the next date of hearings. The court observed that HC has acted on a vague application seeking omnibus directions. The court noted that the application has to be specific. "This is wrong, you have to be very clear about what you want... It is an omnibus application," the court said. The Committee of Management Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the Allahabad High Court order for the appointment of a Commission for the Shahi Eidgah Mosque. Advocate Reena N. Singh, representing Bhagwan Sri Krishna Lalla Virajman told ANI "Today, the court heard about the survey order of the Allahabad High Court case which was being challenged by the Muslim side. The Intezamia Committee had challenged the order and today the Supreme Court stayed the survey order only. But they have not stayed the trial. The trial at Allahabad High Court will continue. The next date of hearing is on 23rd January." The Special Leave Petition (SLP) by the mosque committee challenged the order dated December 14 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad allowing an Application for the appointment of a Commission for the Shahi Eidgah Mosque where prayers are being regularly offered by the Muslim community from time immemorial. "The High Court has allowed the Application for appointment of a Commission without considering the objections of the Petitioner herein and without considering the fact that the very existence of the Suit has been questioned by the Petitioner herein, whose Application under Order VII Rule 11 of the CPC for rejection of the Plaint has been kept pending without any decision," the petition copy said. Committee of Management Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah was represented by advocates Tasneem Ahmadi, Mehmood Pracha and RHA Sikander. The Supreme Court is also dealing with various matters relating to Mathura's Krishna Janambhoomi land dispute. Earlier Committee of Management Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah filed an appeal in the top court challenging the Allahabad High Court order which transfers to itself all the petitions relating to Mathura's Krishna Janambhoomi land dispute from District Court Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. Masjid Idgah challenged the order dated May 26 passed by the Allahabad High Court whereby it transferred all such cases relating to the Krishna Janambhoomi dispute from the District Court Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, to itself. Ranjana Agnihotri, a resident of Lucknow, had filed a suit in Mathura court demanding the ownership of 13.37 acres of land of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi. In her legal suit, Agnihotri demanded the removal of the Shahi Idgah mosque built in Krishna Janmabhoomi. The suit filed in the Mathura court sought the removal of a mosque said to have been built in 1669-70 on the orders of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in the 13.37-acre premises of Katra Keshav Dev temple, near the birthplace of Lord Krishna. (ANI)
The Congress National Alliance Committee is likely to meet with Samajwadi Party leaders for discussions on seat-sharing in Uttar Pradesh for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, on Wednesday in Delhi, party sources said. The seat-sharing talks with the Samajwadi Party comes after the Congress held a meeting with Aam Aadmi Party leaders on Friday evening. The meeting lasted for about two hours at Mukul Wasnik's house. The leaders of both parties described the meeting as a positive move, as per sources. The Congress is expected to hold seat-sharing talks with all its alliance partners before launching the campaign for the Lok Sabha polls. Earlier, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that at first, their team will take inputs from their party leaders in various states and then, after coming to a conclusion, they will discuss their demands with their alliance partners. Kharge added that his party is focusing on all 500-plus constituencies and has appointed parliament observers for the same. Explaining the motive behind such an all-out action, the Congress chief said that they are putting their efforts everywhere in case their alliance partner disagrees with any particular seat. Meanwhile, in what is positive news for the INDIA bloc the Aam Admi Party and the Congress have tied up to contest the Chandigarh Mayoral polls. This alliance signals a positive start for the two parties that are also negotiating on seat sharing in Delhi and Punjab. INDIA or 'Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance' is a group of opposition parties, including the Congress. The parties have come together to take on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and prevent it from winning a third straight term at the Centre in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. As the 2024 Lok Sabha elections draw near, India's political landscape is undergoing a significant reshuffling. The emerging INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) consortium is gearing up to challenge the NDA, setting the stage for an electoral showdown. Earlier in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the NDA won 353 seats, the UPA stood at 91, and Others won 98. The voting was staggered in seven phases between April 11 and May 19, in which around 67 per cent of the nearly 900 million eligible people exercised their franchise to elect 542 members of the Lok Sabha. (ANI)
In the uneasy tug of war between bosses and workers about how much time should be spent in the office, new evidence reveals that many employees think they should come in more often than they do.

Office workers recently surveyed by an international architecture firm reported that they typically come into the office about half the time, but said they ideally needed to be there two-thirds of a typical workweek for their best productivity. The workers attitudes mark a change from the early months after the pandemic, when most said they got more work done at home.

That has been a surprising evolution, said Elizabeth Brink, a workplace expert at architecture firm Gensler. People find they are more productive at the office.

While some find it easier to focus working at home, others find themselves more easily diverted there. Pets beckon. Children demand attention. Roommates are too loud. Then theres all the laundry, Brink said.

Some employees who say they most need the office are often held back by long commutes, small children who need care or frequent business travel, Gensler found. People working across multiple time zones often find it easier to sync up with counterparts when working from home.

In its international survey of 14,000 workers in 10 industries last year to help its clients make design decisions, Gensler found the biggest gap between what employees do and what they say they should do is among younger generations. Gen Z and millennial workers in their 20s and 30s  more than their older counterparts  value the office as a place to focus on their work, socialize with colleagues, be part of a community and grow professionally.

I am always learning new things in the office, one millennial polled by Gensler said. Whether its from my colleagues, my manager, or from training courses, its important for my growth and development.

Younger workers also commonly want the office to be more than just rows of desks, Brink said, preferring to have options that may include spaces with library-like quiet for individual work and spots that may feel more like a hotel lobby where people can gather to collaborate and bounce ideas around.

Many younger workers also want spaces their older peers wouldnt have thought to ask for in years past, such as cafes that feel like public coffee bars, fitness centers and meditation or napping areas.

The degree of office style evolution varies widely from company to company, but industries that constantly compete to attract and retain top talent are more inclined to cater to younger workers.

We need to listen to what their expectations are because we need to rely on those folks and the work that theyre doing, she said.

Older generations wouldnt have thought to ask for work spaces such as meditation areas that may seem indulgent by previous standards, said Brink, a Gen Xer. These next generations are not quiet generations, she said, but their desired work environments may make offices more desirable to their elders too.

With the goal of getting more people back in the office more often, making it a more appealing place to spend time is a key attraction in the carrot-and-stick approach some employers are taking with their workers. Ideally, the upgrades also make people more productive.

That was one of Chris Webbs goals when he set up new offices for his company ChowNow, an online food ordering platform that connects customers with nearby restaurants.

When COVID-19 hit, the staff grabbed their laptops and headed home to work. It worked well, for a while, the chief executive said.

It made a lot more sense right at the beginning of COVID when everyone knew each other on the team because wed worked together for months, if not many, many years  their personalities and their sense of humor. You understood when someone sent a note online where they became jokey or witty or dry, you knew the personality behind it.

Personal bonds fell away as months passed and ordinary turnover occurred among the staff, Webb said. The benefits of knowing coworkers in real life were being lost.

It became apparent to me that we have to get the team back together, we have to be in the office, he said.

Webb let ChowNows lease expire in a conventional office building in the Playa Vista section of Los Angeles and took new space in a former aircraft manufacturing facility in Culver City. There he has created an office designed by Rapt Studio with multiple environments including a large kitchen that can be used by employees as well as for cooking demonstrations and get-togethers among restaurant clients of ChowNow.

It has traditional desks and conference rooms but also an area of banquette seating that can be used for personal work, collaboration or dining. Garage-style doors can swing up to provide fresh air and create indoor-outdoor work spaces that include couches, tables and fire pits.

I think its a competitive advantage for attracting employees, Webb said.

The new digs werent an immediate success at bringing employees in, he acknowledged. There was a little tug of war with some team members.

Webb set a policy that people had to be in the office a minimum of two days a week or four days a week, depending on their job description. Salespeople, for example, are required to appear more often. The busiest office days are Tuesday through Thursday.

Company data suggest the office is good for business, he said, with internal surveys showing higher job satisfaction among people who labor together.

Most employees of the national company work remotely in other cities and the turnover rate among remote workers is higher than it is among staff who work in the office. Webb thinks thats because its more fulfilling to work together.

In many ways, the people are the perk of being in the office, he said.

As Webb found, part of the challenge to achieving a communal vibe is getting a critical mass of people in the office at the same time.

There is still a disconnect between what is happening and what companies would like to happen, said Julie Whelan, head of a global team tracking trends among tenants for commercial real estate brokerage CBRE.

People roll into the office an average of 2.8 days a week, CBRE found, but bosses desire to have them show up an average of 3.4 days of the week. Efforts to boost attendance since the pandemic eased havent always succeeded, even with the old five-days-in-the-office workweek completely off the table at most companies.

So now the question that companies are asking is, After three or four years into this, what the heck can I do?' to persuade people to show up in person more often.

In recent years, many bosses thought the solution was to clearly spell out their expectations for office attendance, but it wasnt enough to substantially change behavior.

There was a brief uptick in visitations in some companies that has kind of fallen back out because what was missing from just communicating the expectation is a key piece of the equation  communicating the why.

Even the best offices will not be utilized any more than is convenient for peoples schedules if they dont see why it will be of benefit to them. Those benefits must then be delivered, but many companies are falling short on that front.

Thats where there is probably the biggest disconnect right now, Whelan said.

There are nuances among companies and industries, but the overarching in-person benefits most employees want are growing interpersonal connections and professional development, she said.

You need to make sure that when they do come in, they are getting the benefit of those two things.

Offices that support teamwork, collaboration and other performance objectives are an added boost, she said. Youre going to have that perfect scenario where your culture, your workplace and your employee experience are all in sync.
Reacting to the remarks made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have made the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony in Ayodhya a 'Narendra Modi' function, Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that Rahul Gandhi lives in his own 'la-la' world and repeatedly keeps on spreading lies. Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya is an emotional and important issue for crores of Indians and whatever Wayanad MP states regarding it holds no importance. "Rahul Gandhi lives in this 'la-la' world where he thinks that everything that he says is predicated by nobody understanding the truth and that he can get away with these atrocious lies he tried in 2014 and 2019 and he is trying it again today," Union MoS said. Stating that the people of India are wise enough, Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, "They understand Rahul Gandhi's politics. And we will leave it to the people of India to decide what answer they should give to Rahul Gandhi. His guru, Sam Pitroda, also said the same thing a few days ago. So he can think whatever he wants but it's a deeply felt emotional issue for crores of Indians." Preparations are underway in full swing for the Ram Temple inauguration on January 22, which will draw dignitaries and people from all walks of life. Earlier today, Rahul Gandhi said that the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony has turned into a BJP-RSS function and this is the reason Congress rejected the invite for the event. "The RSS and the BJP have made the 22nd January function a completely political Narendra Modi function. It's a RSS BJP function and I think that is why the Congress President said that he would not go to the function. We are open to all religions, all practices," Rahul Gandhi said. "Even the authorities of the Hindu religion, the biggest authorities of the Hindu religion, have made their view public about what they think about the 22nd January function that it is a political function. So it is difficult for us to go to a political function which is designed around the Prime Minister of India and designed around the RSS," he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the installation of the idol of Ram Lalla at the grand temple on January 22. (ANI)
The Supreme Court's two-judge bench on Tuesday delivered a split verdict in a plea filed by former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu seeking to quash FIR and criminal proceedings against him in the Skill Development scam case. A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi differed on the interpretation of Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act which makes prior sanction of government mandatory to prosecute public servant in relation to an act done in discharge of his official functions or duties. Now the matter will be heard by larger bench. Justice Bose said, "As we have taken different interpretations on Section 17A, we refer the matter to the Chief Justice of India for appropriate directions." Both the judges, however, upheld the remand order passed by the Magistrate and the Andhra Pradesh High Court decision to dismiss the plea for quashing the FIR. The verdict of the top court came on a special leave petition filed by the Naidu against the Andhra Pradesh High Court's order of September 22, 2023, denying him the relief. The apex court had reserved the order on the plea on October 17, 2023. Justice Aniruddha Bose delivering the verdict held if any inquiry, enquiry and investigation has been initiated without previous approval of the competent authority under Section 17 A, it shall be held illegal. Justice Bose said that authority can now apply sanction. Section 17A, inserted in July 2018 by way of an amendment, requires the investing agencies to take prior sanction of the competent authorities for the registration of FIR and initiating "inquiry, enquiry or investigation" against a public servant responsible for the decision or recommendation resulting loss to the State exchequer and corruption. Justice Trivedi, in her judgement held that the amendment Act, 2018 can't be used to seek mandatory approval of the authorities for the offences prior to the date of July 26, 2018 notified for application of the new provisions. The amendment Act, 2018 would be applied prospectively, not to offences which occured before the date of notification, Justice Trivedi said. Justice Trivedi added, "Lack of approval of Section 17A cannot be a ground to quash the FIR especially when offences under IPC are also registered." Naidu had approached the top court seeking quashing of FIR and cited Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, to challenge his arrest by the Andhra Pradesh police's CID in skill development scam. He had challenged the High Court judgment rejecting his plea for the quashing of FIR. Naidu was granted regular bail in November, last year. Naidu had sought quashing of FIR registered by AP-CID in the alleged Rs 371 crore skill development scam on the ground that the police did not obtain prior sanction from the Governor as mandated under PC Act. Andhra Pradesh government had objected to Naidu's plea saying Section 17A of the PC Act can't parachute in the cases of alleged corruption leading to loss to the State exchequer that happened before its insertion in the Act on July 26, 2018. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Andhra Pradesh, had told the top court that no prior sanction of the State Governor was required for registering FIR and the consequent investigation against former Chief Minister Naidu for alleged corruption and loss to the State in his skill development project during 2014-2016. In his plea, Naidu contended that Andhra Pradesh High Court had rejected his petition by ignoring his pleading that under Section 17A of the PC Act, which came into force from July 26, 2018, no FIR against a public servant could be registered without prior sanction of the appropriate authority. The FIR against Naidu was registered on December 9, 2021, and he was added as accused number 37 in the case on September 7, 2023. Section 17A of PC Act was not complied with as "no permission was obtained from the competent authority", the plea stated. As Naidu was the Chief Minister at the time of the commission of the alleged offence relating to the skill development scam, the competent authority would have been the Governor of the State. Naidu, presently the Leader of Opposition, the national president of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), called the action against him as "an orchestrated campaign of regime revenge and to derail the largest opposition, the Telugu Desam Party". "The extent of the political vendetta, is further demonstrated from the belated application for grant of police custody on September 11, 2023, which names the political opponent i.e. the TDP and also the petitioner's family, which is being targeted to crush all opposition to the party in power in the State with elections coming near in 2024," the plea added. This motivated campaign of harassment has been allowed to continue by the Courts unabated despite patent illegality in the FIR, the appeal stated. Naidu had also challenged the Andhra Pradesh High Court order denying him anticipatory bail in the FiberNet scam case. (ANI)
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has called upon all departments to diligently implement the resolutions established during the Third National Conference of Chief Secretaries, aiming for seamless access to welfare schemes and excellence in service delivery. CM Khattar was presiding over a meeting regarding a presentation on various themes, deliberations and decisions taken during the 3rd Chief Secretaries Conference at Chandigarh today. The Chief Minister said that all state departments should generate innovative ideas to enhance the quality of life, integrate cutting-edge technologies, and advance developmental agendas within their domains so that Haryana can also share its best practices with the Central government. "While Haryana has surpassed the national average in various sectors, there is still room for improvement. It is imperative that we strive for continuous enhancement and surpass the set targets well before the given time," he added. The Chief Minister also suggested exploring alternatives to the existing arrangement, proposing a more comprehensive system that encompasses all aspects related to state government policies. During the meeting, Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal briefed the Chief Minister about the third National Conference of Chief Secretaries held in Delhi in December 2023, aligning with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The conference prioritized easy access to welfare schemes and emphasized service delivery quality. Five main subjects including Land and Property, Electricity, Drinking Water; Health, and School Education, were discussed at the conference. Apart from this, special sessions were also held on Cyber Security: Emerging Challenges; Perspectives on AI, Stories from the Ground: Aspirational Block and District Programme; Role of States: Rationalisation of Schemes and Autonomous entities and Enhancing Capital Expenditure; AI in Governance: Challenges and Opportunities. Additional Chief Secretary, of School Education Sudhir Rajpal, Additional Chief Secretary of Health and Family Welfare G Anupama, Additional Chief Secretary of Energy, and Public Health and Engineering AK Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, of Information Technology, Electronics and Communication Anand Mohan Sharan, and Commissioner and Secretary Urban Local Bodies Vikas Gupta delivered presentations on the respective departments they represented and also provided insights into the discussions and decisions made during the national conference of Chief Secretaries. Home and Health Minister Anil Vij, School Education Minister Kanwar Pal, Energy Minister Ranjit Singh, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister JP Dalal, Urban Local Bodies Minister Dr Kamal Gupta, Public Health Engineering Minister Dr Banwari Lal, Development and Panchayats Minister Devender Babli, Minister of State for Labour Anoop Dhanak, Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Rajesh Khullar, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister V Umashankar, Additional Principal Secretaries to Chief Minister Dr Amit Agrawal and Ashima Brar and senior officers are also present in the meeting. (ANI)
The Haryana government has initiated the process of monetizing the old or abandoned properties of the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board. This step is expected to increase the board's revenue and strengthen the basic infrastructure of markets. A decision in this regard was taken in a meeting chaired by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar held at Chandigarh on Tuesday regarding the auction of abandoned and vacant plots. Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Minister JP Dalal also attended the meeting. The Chief Minister was apprised that the Board possesses old office buildings and staff quarters at 35 locations, which are to be auctioned. The Chief Minister directed the officers concerned to create a portal for uploading information about these properties. After uploading the information, the auction process will be conducted. "This will ensure the proper use of these properties and bring additional revenue to the Board, he said. Fixing a reasonable reserve price for the auction to allow more people to participate," Haryana CM said. The target is to generate approximately Rs 500 crores in revenue in the next six months In the meeting, it was informed that out of 37,364 plots owned by the board, 23,206 plots have already been auctioned or allocated. Currently, 14,158 plots are vacant, and the Board has prepared an auction plan for the next six months. Auctions will be conducted for plots in various new vegetable markets and grain markets, including Sonipat, Kanina, Ambala Cantt, Rewari (Bithwana and Bawal), Assandh, Hodal, Tohana, Rajound, Uchana, Beri, Apple Market Pinjore, Kheri Chopta, Khanda Kheri, Chhattar, Aarnauli, Bhagal, Baba Ladala, Murthal, Jhansa, Thol, Chhichhrana, Nizampur, etc., potentially generating revenue of around Rs 150 crores. Additionally, plans include selling abandoned properties of market committees, generating approximately Rs 50 crores, and selling petrol pump sites at various locations for around Rs. 30 crores. The sale of remaining plots in existing mandis is expected to contribute approximately Rs 300 crores. Additional Chief Secretary, of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Department, Sudhir Rajpal, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister V Umashankar, Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Ashima Brar and Chief Administrator, of Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board Mukesh Kumar Ahuja and other officers remained present on this occasion. (ANI)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced that she will lead a 'rally' with people of all religions in Kolkata on January 22 on the day when Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla will be performed in Ayodhya. "I will do a rally on January 22. It will begin from Kali Mandir, where I will visit to offer prayers to Maa Kaali. Following that, we will hold an interfaith rally from Hazra to Park Circus Maidan and hold a meeting there," West Bengal CM said. She further said that many people have been asking me about various temples but I have nothing to say. I have always said, "Dhorma Jaar Jaar, Utsob Shobaar" (Festival for all). "We will cover mosques, temples, churches, and gurdwaras along the way. Everybody is welcome to join the rally. People of all faiths will be there at the rally," she added. CM Banerjee further said that on the same day, my party members will hold a rally in every block, in every district at 3 pm. "From January 20 to Feb 12, we will hold camps in every polling station where three of our officers will be present. People can give their names if they haven't been able to avail of our welfare schemes. This will be under the banner of Jono Sanjog programme," she said. CM Banjeee has already announced to skip the Ayodhya ceremony calling it a pre-poll gimmick by the BJP ahead of Lok Sabha elections. "Yesterday, I was asked about Ram Mandir... I believe in a festival that takes everyone together and talks about everyone. Do whatever you want; you are doing a gimmick before the elections. Do it; I have no problem but disregarding people of other communities is not right. I will never allow discrimination between Hindus and Muslims as long as I live," she said on January 9 while addressing a public distribution programme in South 24 Parganas. (ANI)
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday summoned the Principal Secretary (PWD) of the Delhi Government in a matter related to non-payment for the construction of the Sardar Patel Covid Care Centre with 10,000 beds in Chhatarpur in 2020. Earlier, the High Court had directed the chief secretary to take steps in this regard in March 2023. Justice Subramonium Prasad summoned the Principal Secretary of the Public Works Department (PWD) and gave four weeks time. The matter has been listed on February 14. The high court passed the direction while hearing the plea of Shri Balaji Exims moved through advocate Siddharth S Yadav. During the hearing, Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur appeared for the petitioner and submitted that the PWD has been taking time since last year. Earlier, on March 24, 2023, the high court had directed the Chief Secretary, GNCTD to consider the fact that the petitioner has incurred expenses in providing the services of air-conditioning, donning, and doffing of the roof, waterproofing of the roof, electricals to the entire system, infrastructure for the blood banks for constructing the COVID care facility centre as per the spot quotation/tender dated June 27, 2020, issued to them by GNCTD. Chief Secretary, GNCTD is directed to file an affidavit within three weeks clearly bringing out the stand of the GNCTD in respect of the case of the petitioner, the bench had directed. "Prima facie, it appears to this court that the respondents are trying to avoid their responsibility for making payments towards the construction of the largest COVID care facility with 10,000 beds," Justice Gaurang Kanth had observed in the order. The Chief Secretary is directed to process the necessary work order and relevant approval if the case of the petitioner warrants the same, the bench had ordered. The petitioner stated that he has undertaken the works for the COVID care facility offering 10,000 beds to the patients of the Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre on an emergent basis within 17 days. The Delhi government took over the project and inaugurated the same on July 5, 2020, with much fanfare and publicity, the petitioner stated. Political parties took credit for the construction of the first COVID Care Centre in the city, consisting of 10,000 beds, it added. Senior Counsel N Hariharan for the petitioner has submitted that after the inauguration of the project, it received a lot of global applaud for being the country's largest COVID-19 facility Centre. He further submitted that When the petitioner approached the respondent for the issuance of a work order and preparation of the necessary and protocol-driven paper work, the respondent went completely silent and non-responsive to the claims of the petitioner. The petitioner firm sought a direction to the respondents to expeditiously complete & process the paperwork in a time-bound manner including the issuance of work orders enabling the petitioner to submit its bills and invoices for payments for the work already accomplished/completed for constructing and maintaining infrastructure at the Sardar Patel Covid Care Centre offering 10,000 beds to patients located at the Radha Swami Satsang Beas, Chattarpur, New Delhi. It also sought direction to respondent to expeditiously process the bills & invoices of the petitioner upon its submission in a time bound manner. The high court had noted, "However, in spite of clear admission, PWD is not processing the petitioner's case for issuance of work order and preparation of the necessary protocol-driven paper work because the administrative approval and expenditure sanction from the Competent Authority is still not available." The High Court had said that Once it is admitted that the petitioner has undertaken the work of air-conditioning, donning and doffing of the roof, waterproofing of the roof, electricals to the entire system, infrastructure for the blood banks of the Sardar Patel COVID care facility based on the spot quotation/tender dated June 27, 2020 issued by the Government of NCT of Delhi, the petitioner cannot be left to bear the expenses incurred by them subject to the verification aspointed out by the learned counsel for the respondent for creating the World-class COVID Care Centre. It is to be noted that in an emergent situation, Government of NCT of Delhi had used the services of the petitioner in constructing one of the largest COVID care facility, the bench had said. The high court had noted, "The construction of COVID care facility was applauded not only within the country but also all across the globe for the commitment which the petitioner has shown towards the citizens of this city. "In spite of having undertaken the work of providing the services of Air Conditioning, donning and doffing of the roof, waterproofing of the roof, electricals to the entire system, infrastructure for the blood banks for the COVID care facility", the respondents have till date failed to even issue the work order to the petitioner for the work undertaken by it in construction of the so-called largest COVID care facility during such testing times," the bench had said. "Even after two years of successful completion of the work, the petitioner's case for issuance of work orders has not seen the light of the day and the respondents are passing the buck from one Department to another," the High Court said in a March order last year. (ANI)
The traditional buffalo fight, popularly known as 'Moh-Juj', was organised after a gap of nine years at Ahatguri as part of the 'Magh Bihu' celebration in Assam's Morigaon district on Tuesday. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, along with the local MLA and Assam Water Resources Minister Pijush Hazarika, witnessed the event in Morigaon. Speaking to the media at the event, the Assam Chief Minister said, "These fights are part of our age-old traditions. The important point is that we ensure that there is no harm done to the buffaloes or the birds. The organisers of the event ensure that the buffaloes and birds do not sustain any physical harm during the buffalo or Bulbul bird fights." Taking to his social media handle, CM Sarma posted on X, "In another effort to revive and preserve Assam's timeless Bihu traditions, I had the privilege of witnessing the Moh-Juj after a nine-year hiatus in Ahotguri. This traditional buffalo fight is now conducted for the first time under stringent government guidelines, ensuring a delicate harmony between animal welfare and the celebration of our ancient culture." The Assam government earlier in December 2023 issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to hold buffalo fights and Bulbul bird fights. Besides buffalo fights, Bulbul bird fights are also part of traditional Magh Bihu festivities and had been suspended during this period. Both events resumed this year in adherence to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) laid down by the state government, with the Bulbul bird fights held on Monday coinciding with Makar Sankranti as per tradition. "Bulbuli (bulbul bird) and 'mooh juj' are happening in the state after eight-nine years. And it is with pride that I am witnessing these again," Sarma said at Ahotguri. The CM witnessed the Bulbul fight on Monday and wrote on X: "Glimpses of the Bulbuli Fight, which took place at Shri Hayagriva Madhav Mandir after a gap of 9 years. This competition dates back to the days of Swargadeo Pramatta Singha." "In December 2023, the Assam Cabinet approved a detailed SOP for conducting this ancient Bihu tradition," he added. (ANI)
Describing democracy as the best system of governance in the world, Chhattisgarh's Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma stated that he is ready to talk to Naxals through video call. Speaking to media persons at Raipur on Tuesday, Sharma, who also holds the portfolio of the home department, said "I am ready to talk to naxals on video call. If they did not want to come forward then I am ready to talk to them on video call. Ask them the reason for opposing development and tell me which government exploits people in democracy." Democracy is the best system of governance in the world, added the Deputy CM. When asked about Naxals, who usually oppose the construction of roads and bridges, recently dropped pamphlets demanding roads, the Deputy CM replied that the insurgents should issue a letter letting open schools in every village. "I met with the youths residing in the jungle, Abujhmad and Narayanpur district and they also aspire to become heroes by visiting Mumbai. They wanted development in their village," said Sharma. He further said that the facility of Dial-112 will be extended to other districts in the state. (ANI)
As Congress's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' entered Nagaland on Tuesday, party leader Rahul Gandhi said that the Naga problem requires resolution, but it is lacking "conversation, listening to each other and working in implementing a solution." "There is a problem that needs resolution and clearly, that is a problem that will require conversation, listening to each other and working to implement a solution and that is lacking as far as the Prime Minister's concern. I don't know his mind or his approach but I do get the sense that the Prime Minister promises things without thinking them through," Rahul Gandhi said while addressing the media in Nagaland's Chiephobozou. The Nagaland insurgency is considered to be one of the oldest insurgencies in the country. Several tribal groups have been demanding that the state be declared 'autonomous' from the country. They have been seeking a separate constitution and flag for the state. However, several governments, during their respective tenures, have attempted to bring stability to the matter. During the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in 2015, a peace accord was signed between the government and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland. Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, Rahul Gandhi said that PM Modi makes promises without thinking them through and that people are disturbed because the Prime Minister's credibility is on the line. "The Prime Minister made many promises to the youth of India; he made promises about education and employment, which he thinks he just made, and the people are disturbed by the Prime Minister's credibility on the line that nothing has happened for nine years," he said. Rahul also said that it is a "tragedy" that for nine years there have only been empty words and Centre has not done anything to resolve the issues in Nagaland. "I have been speaking to quite a few Naga leaders and they are perplexed as to why no progress has been made, we are not even clear about what the Prime Minister envisions in terms of a solution; 'it's a very superficial document' that says yes, we are going to work towards peace and joined sovereignty but it's not clear what exactly they mean and a lot of the Naga organisations here simply don't understand what the Prime Minister was trying to do and what the way forward is," he added. Rahul added that the Congress is committed to finding a solution to Nagaland's problem. Gandhi further stated that the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' from Kanyakumari to Kashmir was a very impactful and successful yatra that brought the people together, transformed the political narrative and placed the alternative narrative in the divisive work of the BJP. "The Congress had decided to do a similar yatra from east to west and decided to start in Manipur because of the tragedy that has taken place there: the loss of life, loss of property, and violence. The Prime Minister has not even cared to visit the state, which is a sad and shameful affair," he added. Manipur has been seeing ethnic violence since May last year over the issue of the inclusion of the Meiti community in the 'Scheduled Tribes' list. Meanwhile, speaking on the yatra, the Congress leader said, "The yatra will go all the way to Maharashtra. I would have liked it to be a walking yatra but due to time constraints, the party has decided it to be a hybrid yatra." "We will attempt to walk as much as possible," he said, adding that there are some places where walking is difficult and other issues, but the idea behind the Nyay yatra is to fight for justice, to raise the issue of social, political and economic justice, and each state has its own characteristics to raise state-specific issues. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra resumed on the third day from Kohima in Nagaland in the early hours of Tuesday. On Monday, the yatra completed its path in Manipur after commencing in Sekmai. Meanwhile, as Congress's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' entered Nagaland's Kohima on Monday evening, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that a delegation of the Naga HOHO representing Naga organisations from different states met with Rahul Gandhi. They submitted a memorandum to him seeking implementation of the Framework Agreement signed between the Centre and the NSCN-IM in 2015. Naga HOHO is an apex body empowered to make crucial decisions related to the people belonging to the Naga community. (ANI)
Addressing a press conference here, Congress leader Deepender Hooda also slammed the government over its decision concerning the ban on the export of wheat and some other commodities, saying farmers can get good prices in international markets due to present global geo-political conditions.

He alleged that Rs one lakh crore had been "surrendered" and data showed farmer suicides during the rule of the BJP-led government.

He accused the Modi government of giving a "double blow" to farmers, saying rules are relaxed when import is done.

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday that there is no proposal to lift export restrictions on wheat, rice, and sugar.

The ban on wheat exports was initially imposed in May 2022, and subsequently, non-basmati rice exports faced restrictions starting from July 2023.

"Wheat production is expected to touch a new record of 114 million tonnes in the ongoing 2023-24 crop year on higher coverage provided weather conditions remain normal", the Minister had said.

The last leg of sowing of wheat, the main rabi (winter) crop, is underway and will continue till next week. Till last week, wheat was planted in 320.54 lakh hectares, as per the official data.

Curbs on sugar exports were extended beyond October 2023 as part of the government's measures to control rising domestic prices.

"There is no proposal as of now to remove export restrictions on wheat, rice and sugar. And India will not import wheat and sugar," Goyal had told reporters.

He had also highlighted India's commitment to supporting friendly nations' food security needs by providing rice. (ANI)
Less than three weeks after informing parents that general education students would not receive busing for the remainder of the academic year, Chicago Public Schools announced it would buy and operate up to 50 electric school buses over the next three years through a $20 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Environmentalists and school and city officials praised the EPA funding as a step in the right direction toward a greener school district, improved city air quality and a reduced carbon footprint.

But the news of clean energy buses comes in the middle of a tough school year for many parents who are exasperated by daily hourslong commutes to school because of a bus driver shortage that has kept their children without the free or easy district transportation they received in previous years.

Since August, CPS has provided transportation only for students with disabilities who have Individual Education Plans or 504 Plans requiring transportation, and students in temporary living situations, for whom the district is federally mandated to provide transportation services.

Parents advocating for busing recognized the importance of electric buses but questioned how the district would provide support to families currently without any busing.

We strongly support CPS efforts to reduce our carbon footprint. However, empty seats on yellow buses are the same as empty seats on green buses. They both lead to inequity in public education, said Katie Milewski, leader of CPS Parents for Buses.

CPS does not currently own or operate its own bus fleet, and the 50 clean energy buses will allow the district to build up its own transportation services. However, 50 buses will not be enough to provide transportation for all students, and CPS will continue to supplement with outside vendors, a district spokesperson said. The EPA will fund an additional 30 electric buses for the district through grants to third-party vendors, according to federal data.

Marissa Lichwick-Glesne picks up her son Laike from Lenart Regional Gifted Center on Jan. 10, 2024.

As winter settles in, commutes to school  which often include walking several blocks and waiting for public transportation  have become harder for general education parents such as Marissa Lichwick-Glesne, who traverses the city to see that her son gets to his second grade classroom.

When her son Laike, 7, was accepted to Lenart Regional Gifted Center in the Chatham neighborhood, Lichwick-Glesne was worried about the travel time from their Northwest Side home in Norwood Park. But when CPS said Laike would be bused to and from school daily, she and her husband enrolled him.

In the fall, Lichwick-Glesne was one of scores of parents to receive word that CPS would not be able to provide busing for general education students across the district due to a bus driver shortage, part of a national issue facing school districts.

Just before winter break, CPS said busing would not return for the remainder of the 2023-24 school year, despite making hiring efforts such as increasing wages and holding job fairs.

We fully understand how frustrating this news will be for many of our families, and sincerely empathize with the challenges and inconvenience that this situation has caused, CPS said in a Dec. 21 email.

CPS reports that district buses are transporting more than 8,200 students  8,180 diverse learners and 129 students in temporary living students  and providing transportation stipends to an additional 3,903 students.

General education students in magnet or selective enrollment programs, who tend to travel to schools outside their neighborhood, can apply for free Ventra cards and companion passes for a parent to be used on the Chicago Transit Authority system.

But that leaves approximately 5,500 students without busing, according to a CPS spokesperson, and parents say the policy does not protect low-income or middle-class working families who do not have the flexibility or time to transport their kids to school daily.

The Chicago Teachers Union applauded the EPA grant as a step in the right direction for increasing accessible transportation for students while decreasing the environmental burden of students journeys to schools.

In a statement, the teachers union also said the funding will further allow CPS to hold private bus vendors accountable for additional electric buses that will replace current diesel-powered fleets.

The announcement about a continued lack of busing was a reality check for parents struggling to make time to transport their children for several months and hoping for an end in sight.

With his wife often out of town for work, Asif Ahmed usually coordinates his 9-year-old daughter Petras transportation from their home in Logan Square to Hawthorne Scholastic Academy in Lakeview.

Sometimes Petra joins a carpool with other parents and students, but other times Ahmed drives her in the familys sole car, which he said they bought after Petra lost her busing to school.

We moved to Chicago from Los Angeles with the hope that we would not have to spend time sitting in cars, said Ahmed, who commutes to his job in the suburbs by Metra train. Having the school bus was really a huge lifesaver in the sense that we wouldnt have to buy a car.

A CPS spokesperson said offering stipends to general education families was not sustainable for CPS, citing a projected budget deficit for the next school year.

Districts across the country have suffered from bus driver shortages and have taken various steps to increase hiring. Wages for CPS bus drivers now range from $22 to $28 and can include sign-on bonuses.

Marissa Lichwick-Glesne picks up her son Laike from Lenart Regional Gifted Center on Jan. 10, 2024.

The commutes for Lichwick-Glesne total about four hours each day. By the time Laike gets home, he has only about two hours to eat, complete rigorous homework, and watch a few minutes of TV before going to bed, his mother said.

Lichwick-Glesne worries how the travel might be affecting Laikes energy. He hasnt spoken about it, but he does sleep on the train, Lichwick-Glesne said. I can only assume hes tired.

Lichwick-Glesne has taken it upon herself to retest Laike, in hopes he can place into a school closer to the familys home. Just this week, she kept him home from school for a day, choosing to not take on a two-hour commute after an overnight snowstorm.

Lichwick-Glesne has epilepsy, which leaves her unable to drive a car, and with her husband commuting to work in the suburbs, public transportation is her only option to take Laike to school.

The district could not provide information on student transfers caused by transportation issues.

The low-emission buses bought by CPS will serve communities that are most affected by poor environmental policies and historical disinvestment, according to a statement from the city.

Electric buses will serve neighborhoods on the South and West sides, including Pilsen, Little Village, McKinley Park, New City, Back of the Yards, North and South Lawndale, and Chicagos Calumet region.

The purchase and implementation of the buses will occur over a three-year period, beginning in April, while the district continues to meet requirements of the grant award, the district said.

The Clean School Bus Program, established by the administration of President Joe Biden, aims to improve air quality for children and families and advance environmental justice. So far, the EPA has distributed funding to replace more than 5,000 diesel-fueled buses across the country through grants and rebates.

aguffey@chicagotribune.com
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde arrived at Mumbai Airport on Monday to travel to Davos to attend the World Economic Forum. He stressed that Maharashtra will get a chance for branding and showcasing at the international level at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. Speaking to reporters, Eknath Shinde said, "This is a big chance for Maharashtra, as Maharashtra will get a chance for branding and showcasing at the international level at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where people from all over the world come. Prominent people come, heads of the country come, and there is a huge opportunity for Maharashtra." Recalling Maharashtra's participation in WEF in 2023, he said that Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) worth Rs 1,37,000 crore were signed and their execution took place. He noted that more MoUs will be signed in 2024 and their execution will be done on a large scale, and he added that it will bring employment to the whole state. Eknath Shinde said, "Last time also, MoUs were signed worth Rs 1,37,000 crores. There was a 76 per cent conversion, and execution took place. This time too, there is a lot of hope that more MoUs will be signed than last year, and its conversion execution will also be done on a large scale. This will bring industry not only to big cities but also to rural areas of the state, and everyone will get employment." "The industry will progress. Before our government came, our state had reached the third-fourth spot. However, as soon as our government was formed, our state became number one in FDI. The respected Prime Minister's dream of 5 trillion dollars goes through Maharashtra. We have set a target of Rs 1 trillion in Maharashtra." Highlighting the willingness of people to invest in Maharashtra, Shinde said, "People are ready to come to Maharashtra as there is huge potential in Maharashtra. There is infrastructure, connectivity, and skilled manpower. The industry policy in Maharashtra is very flexible. This visit to Davos will be more successful than last time, and MoUs will be signed and their conversion will also take place." Maharashtra's Minister of Industries, Uday Samant, said they are departing for Davos to attend the World Economic Forum. He stated that Maharashtra will receive the highest investment and historical MoUs will be signed during the visit. Speaking to reporters, he said, "Under the leadership of Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, we are departing for the World Economic Forum at Davos. I can assure you that under the leadership of Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar, and Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra will get the highest investment and historical MOUs will be signed. What investment we will be getting will be revealed after we come back from there." The World Economic Forum is an international non-governmental organisation for public-private sector collaboration based in Cologny, Switzerland. The 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum will provide space to focus on the fundamental principles driving trust, including transparency, consistency, and accountability, as per the forum's official website. This annual meeting will welcome over 100 governments, all major international organisations, 1000 forum partners, as well as civil society leaders, experts, youth representatives, social entrepreneurs, and news outlets. (ANI)
A Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile hit a US-owned and operated cargo ship on Monday, US Central Command announced in a statement, CNN reported. The attack against the Gibraltar Eagle seems to be the first time the Houthis have successfully hit a US-owned or operated ship, increasing the stakes in the Red Sea after the US pledged that further Houthi launches would be given a response. The Houthi attack comes just days after a US-led coalition conducted strikes against the Iranian-backed rebel group in Yemen. The US warned more strikes were possible if the Houthis continued to attack, CNN reported. The M/V Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier owned and operated by US-based Eagle Bulk, suffered no injuries or significant damage, US Central Command said. In a post shared on X, US Central Command stated, "On Jan. 15 at approximately 4 p.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and struck the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned and operated container ship. The ship has reported no injuries or significant damage and is continuing its journey." In a statement, Eagle Bulk Shipping said that the Gibraltar Eagle, which is carrying a cargo of steel products, was hit "by an unidentified projectile" roughly 100 miles offshore in the Gulf of Aden. The statement said, "As a result of the impact, the vessel suffered limited damage to a cargo hold but is stable and is heading out of the area." It further stated, "All seafarers onboard the vessel are confirmed to be uninjured," according to CNN report. The UK Maritime Security Agency (UKMTO) said it had received a report regarding the incident. Eagle Bulk Shipping stated it was in "close contact with all relevant authorities." The Maritime Security Agency said, "Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO." The Houthis took responsibility for the attack, saying they fired a number of "direct" and "accurate" missiles, CNN reported. Earlier on Monday, the Houthis tried to fire an anti-ship ballistic missile that failed in flight and crashed in Yemen, according to a statement released by US Central Command. No injuries or damage were reported in the incident, US Central Command said. In a post shared on X, US Central Command stated, "Earlier in the day, at approximately 2 p.m. (Sanaa time), US Forces detected an anti-ship ballistic missile fired towards the Southern Red Sea commercial shipping lanes. The missile failed in flight and impacted land in Yemen. There were no injuries or damage reported." Meanwhile, UK-based maritime security group Ambrey said that a total of three missiles were launched towards the Red Sea on Monday, CNN reported. According to the group, two of the three missiles did not reach the sea, and the third one affected a US-owned and operated vessel. After the US and UK carried out strikes against Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen on Thursday, the Biden administration said the US would defend its assets and interests in the region. Following the strikes, Houthis vowed to retaliate, saying that any US or UK asset would be a "legitimate target." Since mid-November, the Houthis have launched approximately 30 attacks toward international shipping lanes, forcing many of the world's largest shipping companies to avoid the Red Sea. On Thursday, the US and UK hit 28 separate Houthi sites in an attempt to disrupt the group's ability to fire on international shipping lanes in the Red Sea. The strikes carried out by the US and UK were backed by Canada, Australia, Bahrain, and the Netherlands. Following the strikes, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that the Royal Air Force has conducted targeted strikes against military facilities used by Houthi rebels in Yemen, calling it "limited, necessary, and proportionate action in self-defence." Rishi Sunak said the UK will always stand up for "freedom of navigation and the free flow of trade." He stated that the Houthis, despite the repeated warnings from the international community, continue to conduct attacks in the Red Sea, including against UK and US warships. In a statement, Rishi Sunak said, "Despite the repeated warnings from the international community, the Houthis have continued to carry out attacks in the Red Sea, including against UK and US warships just this week." "This cannot stand. The United Kingdom will always stand up for freedom of navigation and the free flow of trade. We have therefore taken limited, necessary, and proportionate action in self-defence, alongside the United States and non-operational support from the Netherlands, Canada, and Bahrain against targets tied to these attacks, to degrade Houthi military capabilities and protect global shipping," he added. Rishi Sunak stated that the Royal Navy continues to patrol the Red Sea as part of the multinational Operation Prosperity Guardian to deter further Houthi aggression. He urged the Houthis to cease their attacks and take steps to de-escalate. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden said that the targeted strikes were a clear message that the escalation of attacks by the Houthi rebels against commercial vessels would not be tolerated. In his statement, Biden said these strikes were in direct response to "Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea, including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history." He noted that these attacks have endangered US personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardised trade, and threatened freedom of navigation. Biden said, "Today's defensive action follows this extensive diplomatic campaign and Houthi rebels' escalating attacks against commercial vessels." "These targeted strikes are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation on one of the world's most critical commercial routes. I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary," he added. (ANI)
North Korea has decided to abolish agencies managing relations with South Korea at a key parliamentary meeting, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing state media. North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un said South Korea should be marked "No. 1 hostile country" in the Constitution. The decision was taken during the 10th session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) held in Pyongyang on Monday, Yonhap News reported citing the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). North Korea has taken decisions regarding agencies - the National Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, an agency in charge of national economic cooperation, and an agency handling the Mt Kumgang tour project. North Korea will abolish those agencies that have only existed to promote inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation. North Korea's cabinet and related organisations will take "practical" steps to implement the decision of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA). Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called South Korea Pyongyang's "principal enemy" and added that he has "no intention of avoiding war," Yonhap News reported, citing state media. He also threatened to annihilate South Korea if it tried to use force against the North. Kim Jong-un made the remarks as he inspected a munitions factory, the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. In a statement, "Predicating that the ROK clan is our principal enemy, he said what the DPRK should prioritise in relations with the hostile state" is "to bolster up the military capabilities for self-defense and the nuclear war deterrent first of all," KCNA said, referring to the acronyms for the official names for South Korea and North Korea -ROK and DPRK, respectively. Kim Jong-un announced that he would by no means bring a great event by involving strength in the Korean peninsula and added that he had no intention of avoiding a war as well. Earlier on December 31, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered his army to "thoroughly annihilate" the US and South Korea if a provocation is made, Yonhap news agency reported, citing state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). He called for perfecting the military's readiness posture, saying the Korean Peninsula is "inching closer to the brink of armed conflict" and a clash could happen at any time. He made the remarks during a meeting with major commanding officers of the Korean People's Army at the office building of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party on December 31, according to KCNA. During the meeting, Kim spoke about "the critical security environment on the Korean peninsula inching closer to the brink of armed conflict as the days go by and the nature of the US and other hostile forces' military confrontation moves." He emphasised that the situation indicates the urgency to further sharpen the treasured sword for safeguarding the security and peace of the DPRK and perfect the army's regular military response posture," it added, referring to the acronym for the North's official name. (ANI)
Israel Defence Forces spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari has said that the military, several days ago, informed the families of two hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip that it fears for their lives, based on new intelligence, The Times of Israel reported. Over the past day, Hamas released videos showing hostages Itay Svirsky, Noa Argamani, and another hostage, whose family requested that he not be named. The latest propaganda video released on Monday sparked concerns regarding Svirsky and the third hostage. The IDF believes that Noa Argamani is alive. Hagari stated that Hamas' statement that the Israeli military targeted a building where three Israeli hostages were being held, killing Svirsky, was a lie. However, he indicated the possibility that the hostages were located near a building that was hit by the IDF and may have been endangered. Hagari said, "Utay was not killed by our forces. This is a Hamas lie." He said, "The building where they were held was not a target and was not attacked by our forces," according to The Times of Israel report. IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said, "We did not know their exact location in real-time. We do not strike where we know there are hostages. In retrospect, we know that we attacked targets close to the location where they were held," adding that the IDF was carrying out a probe into the footage in the propaganda video released by Hamas. On October 7, thousands of terrorists entered the border from Gaza by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing over 240 captives of all ages. Itay Svirsky (38) was abducted from his parents' home in Kibbutz Be'eri, where he was visiting to celebrate the Simhat Torah holiday. Hamas terrorists murdered both his parents, while his grandmother, Aviva Sela, managed to survive the attack. The IDF spokesperson said, "In recent days, IDF representatives met with the families of Itay and the other hostage and expressed grave concern for their fate, due to information we had," The Times of Israel reported. Noa Argamani (26) was abducted from the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re'im on the morning of October 7. A video of Argamani's abduction was one of the first to be released on the internet, as Hamas terrorists killed some 360 partygoers and abducted dozens more. As many as 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during the November truce, and it is believed that 132 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, not all of them alive. Before that, four hostages were released, and one was rescued by soldiers. The bodies of eight hostages have also been recovered, and three hostages were mistakenly killed by the military. The Israel Defence Forces have confirmed the deaths of 25 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza. One more person has been listed as missing since October 7, and their fate remains unknown. Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Gaza Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015, respectively, and remains of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, the report said. Hagari said, "Even in these difficult times, we are in constant contact with the families, updating them with the details we know about their loved ones. We will continue to update them with every detail of verified information we have, and then the public as well." (ANI)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Iran President Ebrahim Raisi discussed speeding up the implementation of Iran-India agreements, including the Chabahar Port Development Plan, and further compensating for delays. During their meeting, EAM Jaishankar expressed interest in concluding a comprehensive and long-term cooperation agreement with Iran, according to the Iranian President's official website. Taking on social media platform X, the Iran embassy in India stated, "The President stressed the need to follow up and accelerate the implementation of the agreements between Iran and India, including the Chabahar Port Development Plan, and the need to compensate for the delay in the implementation of commitments." https://x.com/Iran_in_India/status/1747085928806690870?s=20 Moreover, Iranian President Raisi also highlighted the deep-rooted relations between Iran and India. He emphasised the efforts to fulfil the will of the high officials of the two countries in order to develop and improve the level of relations in various political, economic, science and technology, transportation and energy sectors, the statement published on the Iranian President's wesbite stated. The main areas of discussion included the importance of the common view of the two countries in the field of combating terrorism and organised crime; the need for cooperation to establish stability and security in Afghanistan; strengthening international trade, especially through national currencies; and the emphasis on maintaining the security of shipping in international waters. Moreover, in another part of his speech, Raisi highlighted Israel's counter-offensive in Gaza and urged India to help in ending the bombings. "The President described the crimes committed by the Zionist regime in Gaza as clear examples of war crimes and crimes against humanity and clarified, stopping the attacks on Gaza, punishing the Zionist regime and fulfilling the rights of the Palestinian people is the only way to return stability and security to the region, and it is important for India to play a role in ending the bombings, lifting the blockade of this region and realising the rights of the Palestinian people," the statement added. Moreover, during the meeting, Jaishankar further expressed condolences and sympathies with the government and people of Iran following the recent terrorist incident in Kerman. EAM also extended his gratitude to Iran President Raisi for developing relations with the countries of the region and creating a significant change in relations with India. Lastly, highlighting India's interest in concluding a comprehensive and long-term cooperation agreement with Iran, Jaishankar emphasised "India's complete adherence to its commitments in the Chabahar port development project as well as comprehensive development of cooperation with Iran," according to the statement. Earlier on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian hosted EAM Jaishankar in Tehran, where the two leaders discussed expanding bilateral and multilateral ties within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and BRICS. The Iranian Foreign Minister said he and Jaishankar discussed the latest international and regional developments, including the Israel-Hamas war. During the meeting, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian highlighted the importance of providing security in international waterways near Iran. Jaishankar is in Iran as part of the ongoing high-level exchanges between the two sides, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. During his visit, Jaishankar also held a meeting with the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Akbar Ahmadian. Moreover, following his arrival in Iran, Jaishankar began his engagements in Tehran by meeting Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Mehrdad Bazrpash. The two leaders held a discussion on establishing a long-term cooperation framework with respect to Chabahar Port. (ANI)
The Sindh government in Pakistan has imposed a 45-day ban on carrying and displaying weapons across the province ahead of the upcoming general elections, as reported by ARY News. The provincial caretaker imposed Section 144 on the request of the Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP). However, the police, rangers and law enforcement agencies will be exempted from the ban, as well as the registered security guards are also permitted to carry arms on duty, according to the notification issued by the Sindh governnment. The Station House Officers (SHOs) are directed to register the case in case of violation, ARY News reported. Notably, the ban was recommended by the police to avoid any untoward incidents in the wake of the elections in Pakistan, the statement said. The general elections are scheduled to be held on February 8 in Pakistan. Earlier on Monday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), during a meeting, gave a 'nod' for printing 250 million ballots with watermarks for the 2024 general election, as reported by ARY News. The printing of the ballot papers will be ensured by three printing corporations, according to the sources said. However, last week, a third resolution seeking a delay in the February 8 polls landed in the Senate, citing the weather and the security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as reported by Dawn. It cited the cold weather and increasing incidents of terrorism in KP as reasons for delaying polls, adding that the increasingly cold weather and snow were not providing a conducive environment for citizens to cast their votes and were also creating challenges for candidates trying to campaign. Earlier on January 5, the Pakistan Senate passed a resolution seeking to delay the polls due to 'security concerns'. Moreover, the resolution was subsequently condemned by politicians and lawyers, who also termed it a "conspiracy against democracy" and asserted that polls should be held on time. (ANI)
As the protest continues for over 50 days against the Baloch-enforced disappearances, Baloch activists Mahrang Baloch and Sammi Deen Baloch met with United Nations officials and discussed the ongoing human rights situation in Balochistan, as reported by the Balochistan Post. The UN delegation included high-profile officials from the UN mission to Pakistan, Mio Sato, former Chief of the UN Mission and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Pakistan; Shah Nasir Khan, the UN's Resident Coordinator Officer; and Mariam Shaikh, a communications advisor at the UN. The Baloch activists presented details of the human rights violations in Balochistan, including enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and the suppression of peaceful demonstrators advocating for Baloch rights. They further highlighted threats faced by the Baloch protesters during protests and sit-ins, according to the Balochistan Post. Further, the UN officials acknowledged the concerns raised by Mahrang Baloch and Sammi Deen Baloch. The officials assured the activists that the issues would be discussed with the relevant departments within the UN for further action. Notably, the meeting held between the UN officials and the Baloch activists was an initiative by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) to engage international bodies in addressing the human rights situation in Balochistan, the Balochistan Post reported. Meanwhile, the BYC is advocating for the UN to dispatch a fact-finding mission to the region for an independent investigation into the reported violations. Earlier on Sunday, the boy from Kohar village in the Tump region of Kech was allegedly detained by Pakistani forces at midnight, and his whereabouts have not been made public since. Notably, the forced disappearances continue to occur in Balochistan on a daily basis, and to highlight that, the Baloch Yakjetti Committee (BYC) has been holding sit-ins against "Baloch genocide" and forced disappearances in Balochistan and Pakistan's capital Islamabad for the past two months. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) on Saturday started a social media campaign #IStandWithBalochMarch to increase support for their movement throughout the world against enforced disappearances of the Baloch people. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the situation in Balochistan and bring together voices in support of justice, The Balochistan Post reported. (ANI)
Former Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen expressed gratitude to Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama after he congratulated her colleague Lai Ching-te for winning third straight term for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Taiwanese presidential elections. She thanked the Dalai Lama for the inspiring message, recognising the importance of taiwan's existence and exercise of democracy. "Grateful for the congratulations & the inspiring message from the @DalaiLama recognizing the importance of our exercise of democracy in #Taiwan to freedom & dignity worldwide," Tsai posted on X in response to Dalai Lama's wish. https://x.com/iingwen/status/1747162893278392503?s=20 After the Taiwanese voters defied Chinese threats to bring DPP to power yet again despite Tsai completing her two straight terms as 2016, Dalai Lama wrote to President-elect Lai Ching-te to offer his warm congratulations. "Indeed," he wrote, "observing the exercise of democracy, as has just taken place in Taiwan, is a source of encouragement for all of us who aspire to live in freedom and dignity". He recalled his visit to Taiwan, commending the hospitality he received and the democracy in the country. He also expressed admiration for the strong devotion of the Taiwanese Buddhists to Buddhism. "I have fond memories of the hospitality the people of Taiwan showed me during my visits there, when I was also able to see how firmly rooted democracy has become. The Taiwanese people have not only developed a flourishing, robust democracy, but have also achieved a great deal in terms of economics and education, while at the same time preserving their rich traditional culture," the statement read. He added, "I admire the strong devotion Taiwanese Buddhists have to the Buddha dharma. As a Buddhist monk, I try my best to fulfill their requests for teachings and spiritual guidance from time to time". Dalai Lama also stressed "good relations" between Taiwan and China, urging that engaging in 'dialogue' is the best way to resolve the issues. "Good relations between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China are of utmost importance. It is my longstanding conviction that engaging in dialogue is the best way to resolve difficult issues, whether on a local, national or international level," he said in the message. He also wished Lai every success in "meeting the challenges that lie ahead in fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of the people of Taiwan". In the recently held Taiwanese presidential polls, Lai, who previously served as Tainan mayor, received over 5 million votes and more than 40 per cent of the vote share, according to the Central Election Commission report, Taiwan News reported. Previously undecided voters split three ways among the candidates, giving Lai a seven-point lead over Kuomintang candidate Hou Yu-ih, who received 33 per cent of the total votes. In third place, the Taiwan People's Party candidate Ko Wen-je took 26 per cent of the national vote, performing marginally better than expected, according to Taiwan News. Listing out his priorities after being elected Taiwan's new supreme leader, President-elect Lai Ching-te on Saturday said he will work to protect his country from continuing threats and intimidation from China, adding that 'China can recognise' the situation now, CNN reported. "I will act by our democratic and free constitutional order in a manner that is balanced and maintains the cross-strait status quo. At the same time, we are also determined to safeguard Taiwan from continuing threats and intimidation from China," the newly elected President said. "This is a night that belongs to Taiwan. We managed to keep Taiwan on the map of the world," he said, adding, "The election has shown the world the commitment of the Taiwanese people to democracy, which I hope China can understand." (ANI)
Former US President Donald Trump registered a huge victory with unprecedented margin at the Iowa caucuses, further demonstrating the hold he maintains over the party as well as its supporters, as he closed in for a 2020 rematch contest with incumbent Joe Biden. According to the latest figures reported by CNN with 99 per cent results registered, Trump has won 20 out of the 40 delegates from Iowa with 56,250 votes -- a whopping difference of around 32,840 votes. Notably, Trump kickstarted his bid to win party''s third consecutive presidential nomination despite skipping the GOP primary debates. The results also demonstrated how ''devoted'' Republicans remain to Trump amid his highly unusual campaign -- one being waged between court appearances, indictments and removal from ballots. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis came a distant second with eight delegates and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley finishing not much behind with seven delegates as the contest moves to New Hampshire, where the latter enjoys some clout. Trump who came one step closer to the Republican nomination, deviated from his usual attacking style and congratulated his GOP rivals. He called DeSantis, Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy as "very smart people, very capable people", CNN reported. But his message to his primary opponents couldn''t have been clearer: It''s time to get out and get on board. "It''s just so important, and I want to make that a very big part of our message: We''re going to come together. It''s going to happen soon, too," Trump said. Another major takeaway was the contest turning into a three-way race with Ramaswamy dropping out of his White House bid. However, Trump continues to lead with a whopping margin. The Iowa caucus victory is considered the first step in Donald Trump''s bid to claim the Republican nomination in a third consecutive election. Incidentally, Trump had lost in the State eight years ago to Senator Ted Cruz, according to The Hill. Also, the entrance polls showed the breadth of Trump''s support across the GOP''s key constituencies 53 per cent of White evangelical Christians backed Trump, to DeSantis'' 27 per cent and Haley''s 13 per cent -- figures that underscore why Trump is the heavy favourite in South Carolina - where evangelicals make up a huge share of the party''s primary electorate - even though it''s Haley''s home state, according to CNN. On the other hand, the college graduates split somewhat evenly between Trump, Haley and DeSantis. But Trump dominated those without a college degree, with 67 per cent support. Meanwhile, Haley and DeSantis, while speaking to supporters after Trump had taken his victory lap, both vowed to continue their campaigns. Notably, Haley, is within a difference of single digits of Trump in New Hampshire, polls show, CNN reported. She''s hoping to capitalize on a more moderate primary electorate there -- and use it as a launchpad to effectively clear the field and position herself as the party''s lone Trump alternative. "I can safely say, tonight, Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race," she told supporters. As the race shifts to more favourable territory for Haley, she used her speech Monday night in Iowa to argue she''s the ''antidote'' to a Biden-Trump rematch. Haley argued that the majority of Americans disapprove of both the current and the former president and insisted that her campaign is "the last best hope of stopping the Trump-Biden nightmare." While she congratulated Trump on his win, she argued that the former president and Biden share "more in common than you think." "Trump and Biden both lack a vision for our country''s future because both are consumed by the past, by investigations, by vendettas, by grievances. America deserves better," CNN quoted her as saying. Florida Governor DeSantis, who was declared the second-place finisher in the caucuses told supporters that he had survived having "everything but the kitchen sink" thrown at him in Iowa, as he vowed to continue his campaign. DeSantis campaigned very hard in Iowa, completed the "full Grassley" -- visiting all 99 counties. He also had the endorsement of the popular governor, Kim Reynolds. But, ultimately, he was able to manage a distant second-place finish, behind a former president who hardly campaigned in Iowa and a late-rising rival who has long been much more focused on New Hampshire, CNN reported. However, he''s entering what could be a ''difficult stretch'', with polls showing him far behind Trump and Haley in New Hampshire. "We''ve got our ticket punched out of Iowa," the Florida governor said. DeSantis is set to visit South Carolina, Haley''s home state, on Tuesday before heading to New Hampshire, the arena of next GOP contest. Although, Haley has served the state as governor, but primary voters there could more closely align with DeSantis'' politics, according to CNN. He would be aiming to upset Haley on her home turf in the February 24 primary and propel into Super Tuesday on March 5 with momentum. Another significant development after Iowa results was Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy dropping out of the 2024 Republican presidential race after finishing fourth in the Iowa caucuses. He has endorsed former President Donald Trump and urged Republican voters to put an "America First patriot" in the White House. Taking to social media platform X, Ramaswamy stated, "This entire campaign is about speaking the TRUTH. We did not achieve our goal tonight, & we need an America-First patriot in the White House. The people spoke loud & clear about who they want. Tonight I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Donald J. Trump and will do everything I can to make sure he is the next U.S. President." The 38-year-old political novice said at a press conference at Des Moines, "There is no path for me to be the next president absent things that we don''t want to see happen in this country," as reported by the Washington Post. "We did not achieve the surprise we wanted to deliver tonight," Ramaswamy said. The biotech entrepreneur said he plans to appear with Trump in New Hampshire at a Tuesday evening rally. He further expressed his support for Trump, adding that he is extremely proud of the team, the movement, and the country. "Earlier tonight I called Donald Trump to tell him that I congratulate him on his victory. And now going forward, he will have my full endorsement for the presidency," Ramaswamy said. Ramaswamy had been one of Trump''s staunchest defenders against the four indictments levelled against him. He pledged to remove himself from the ballots in Colorado and Maine after the former president was disqualified from the two states. He even vowed to pardon Trump of all charges on his first day in office. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is leading incumbent President Joe Biden in key swing states that will decide the fate of the 2024 presidential race, The Hill reported. Trump leads Biden in hypothetical match-ups both with and without third-party options on the ballot in states including Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, according to fresh polling. A CNN poll earlier showed Trump leading Biden by 5 percentage points in Georgia, a state Biden carried in 2020 by roughly 12,000 votes. The poll also found Trump leading Biden by 10 points in Michigan, where Biden won by about 1,55,000 votes in 2020. (ANI) However, the road ahead is not easy for the former president as he continues to face substantial challenges to his campaign, including multiple criminal indictments and ongoing legal battles in courtrooms across the country. In a handful of states, he even faces efforts to remove him from the ballot. Last month, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump is ''disqualified'' from competing in the race under the 14th Amendment''s insurrection clause, finding that he violated his oath with his actions around January 6, 2021. Maine''s Secretary of State also disqualified Trump under the 14th Amendment, The Hill reported. But Trump has framed his legal issues as "political attacks" arguing he is the victim of a "witch hunt" as he vies for another term. The next US presidential election is scheduled for November 5, 2024. (ANI)
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) has lost its election symbol but continues to be recognised as a political party by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), The News International newspaper reported. The ECP in the list of its 'enlisted political parties', shows the PTI at serial number 99. The ECP website was visited on Monday evening. Former Pakistan attorney general and senior lawyer Anwar Mansoor said the PTI has been barred from contesting the election as a political party but it has not been deregistered and is still being recognised as a political party by the ECP. Mansoor said although, after having been deprived of its election symbol, the PTI candidates can only contest as independent candidates, after the elections those elected as independents have the option of joining PTI. The former attorney general added that the PTI as a political party can be represented in the next Parliament by those opting to join it after winning the elections as independent candidates, according to The News International. Former ECP Secretary Kanwar Dilshad said he was surprised to find the PTI still on the ECP's list of 'Enlisted Political Parties'. He said in his view, the political party that loses its election symbol, also loses its official status as a political party. "The political party's registration with the ECP gets cancelled with the withdrawal of the election symbol," he said, adding that those who are elected as independent candidates cannot join the PTI. While Dilshad said the PTI lost its entity as an officially recognised political party by the ECP, Mansoor insisted that there are some other legal provisions that talk about the dissolution or deregistration of a political party on the basis of a formal reference. ECP spokesman was approached but neither did he attend The News call nor respond to a WhatsApp message, according to The News International. Section 215 of the Election Act 2017, which was invoked by the ECP to withdraw PTI's election symbol, stipulates that if the political party fails to comply with the provision of section 209 or section 210, the Commission may after affording it or then an opportunity of being heard, declare it or then ineligible to obtain an election symbol for election to Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), Provincial Assembly or a local government, and the Commission shall not allocate an election symbol to such political party or combination of political parties in subsequent elections. The said section does not talk about the dissolution or de-registration of the political party but only refers to the withdrawal of an election symbol for 'subsequent elections'. The law and constitution are silent on whether or not independent candidates can join a party, which has been stripped of its election symbol, after being notified as successful candidates by the ECP. For reserved seats, however, the Constitution allows Independent candidates to join within three days of official notification of the elected candidates a party, which has secured any number of general seats in the elections. (ANI)
ISLAMABAD  Iran launched attacks Tuesday in Pakistan targeting what it described as bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl, potentially further raising tensions in a Middle East already roiled by Israels war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Pakistan said the strikes killed two children and wounded three others in an assault it described as an unprovoked violation of its airspace.

Confusion followed the announcement from Iran as state media reports on it soon disappeared. However, the attack inside of nuclear-armed Pakistan by Iran threatens the relations between the two countries, which long have eyed each other with suspicion while maintaining diplomatic relations.

The attack also follows Iranian strikes on Iraq and Syria less than a day earlier, as Tehran lashes out following a dual suicide bombing this month claimed by the Sunni militant group Islamic State that killed over 90 people.

Irans state-run IRNA news agency and state television had said that missiles and drones were used in the strikes in Pakistan. Press TV, the English-language arm of Iranian state television, attributed the attack to Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Jaish al-Adl, or the Army of Justice, is a Sunni militant group founded in 2012 which largely operates across the border in Pakistan. The militants have claimed bombings and kidnapped Iranian border police in the past.

Iran has fought in border areas against the militants, but a missile-and-drone attack on Pakistan is unprecedented for Iran. Iranian reports described the strikes as happening in the mountains of Pakistans Baluchistan province.

Pakistans Foreign Ministry issued a strongly worded rebuke of the strikes.

Pakistan strongly condemns the unprovoked violation of its airspace by Iran which resulted in death of two innocent children while injuring three girls, the statement read. This violation of Pakistans sovereignty is completely unacceptable and can have serious consequences.

It added: Pakistan has always said terrorism is a common threat to all countries in the region that requires coordinated action. Such unilateral acts are not in conformity with good neighborly relations and can seriously undermine bilateral trust and confidence.

Two Pakistani security officials said the Iranian strikes damaged a mosque in Baluchistans Panjgur district, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) inside Pakistan from the Iranian border. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.

The attack came even as Irans Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met Pakistans caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. What the men discussed was not immediately clear.

Baluchistan has faced a low-level insurgency by Baluch nationalists for more than two decades. Baluch nationalists initially wanted a share of provincial resources, but later initiated an insurgency for independence.

Iran long has suspected Sunni-majority Pakistan as hosting insurgents, possibly at the behest of its regional archrival Saudi Arabia. However, Iran and Saudi Arabia reached a Chinese-mediated detente last March, easing tensions.

Meanwhile, attacks by militants entering from Iran have targeted Pakistani security forces. In April 2023, a militant attack from across the border with Iran killed four Pakistani soldiers in Baluchistan province.

Late Monday, Iran fired missiles into northern Syria targeting the Islamic State group and into Iraq at what it called an Israeli spy headquarters near the U.S. Consulate compound in the city of Irbil.

Iraq on Tuesday called the attacks, which killed several civilians, a blatant violation of Iraqs sovereignty and recalled its ambassador from Tehran.

Gambrell reported from Jerusalem.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has urged the revision of the country's Constitution to strengthen "the firm idea that the South Korea is their primary foe and invariable principal enemy," Yonhap News Agency reported. President Yoon Suk Yeol responded strongly to Kim's hostile rhetoric, pledging to punish North Korea "multiple times" if it provokes South Korea. In a speech delivered during a key parliamentary meeting on Monday, Kim announced a departure from the decades-long policy of seeking reconciliation and unification with South Korea, as reported by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "In my opinion, we can specify in our Constitution the issue of completely occupying, subjugating and reclaiming the ROK and annex it as a part of the territory of our Republic in case of a war breaks out on the Korean peninsula," Kim stated, using the acronym for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. He emphasised the need to strengthen education programmes to instill in North Koreans "the firm idea that the ROK is their primary foe and invariable principal einstilnemy." Kim's harsh rhetoric was part of his broader stance, defining relations with South Korea as those between "two states hostile to each other" during a year-end party meeting. Labelling the consideration of Seoul as a partner for reconciliation and unification a "serious anachronistic mistake," North Korea decided to abolish three agencies promoting inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation at the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) session. The agencies include the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, the National Economic Cooperation Bureau, and the Kumgangsan International Tourism Administration. During the SPA meeting, Kim ordered measures to eliminate symbols of inter-Korean reconciliation, describing them as "remnants of the past era." This includes the physical severance of cross-border railway tracks and the dismantling of a monument in Pyongyang commemorating Kim Il-sung's blueprint for federation system-based unification, according to Yonhap News Agency. "We should ... take other measures so as to completely eliminate such concepts as 'reunification,' 'reconciliation,' and 'fellow countrymen' from the national history of our Republic," Kim declared. Amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, triggered by North Korea's recent weapons tests, including a hypersonic missile launch, concerns have risen about suspected arms trade between North Korea and Russia. The North's foreign minister is currently in Moscow for talks, indicating deepening military cooperation. North Korea is expected to stage provocative acts in the lead-up to South Korea's parliamentary elections in April and the US presidential election in November. Addressing North Korea's nuclear weapons in his parliamentary speech, Kim asserted that his country would not avoid war but had no intention of unilaterally starting it unless provoked. "As the southern border of our country has been clearly drawn, the illegal 'Northern Limit Line' (NLL) and any other boundary can never be tolerated, and if the ROK violates even 0.001 millimetres of our territorial land, air, and waters, it will be considered a war provocation," Kim warned. North Korea does not recognise the NLL, the de facto inter-Korean maritime border, demanding its relocation farther south as it was unilaterally drawn by the US-led UN Command after the 1950-53 Korean War. The North fired hundreds of rounds of artillery shells near the tense sea border in the Yellow Sea earlier this month, prompting the South Korean military to carry out live-fire drills in response. "The war will terribly destroy the entity called the Republic of Korea and put an end to its existence. And it will inflict an unimaginably crushing defeat upon the US," Kim emphasized. During the year-end party meeting, Kim urged heightened war readiness to deter what he referred to as "unprecedented" acts of US-led confrontation against his country. In his recent inspection of munitions factories, he threatened to annihilate South Korea if Seoul attempts to use force against the North. South Korea's unification ministry suggested that behind Kim's antagonistic messages lies North Korea's anxiety about regime stability and fears of unification by absorption. "Amid difficulties aggravated by UN sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic, North Korea may intend to boost its hostility against South Korea to deflect internal complaints to outside," a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity. The official added that North Korea also seems to be engaging in psychological warfare to drive a wedge in South Korean society by shifting the responsibility for heightened security tensions onto the South. In a Cabinet meeting early Tuesday, President Yoon urged South Koreans to join hands to "defeat" the deceptive tactics and propaganda of the North Korean regime. Yoon also assessed Kim's message as an acknowledgement of the regime's nature as an "anti-national and anti-historical group," Yonhap News agency reported. (ANI)
Pakistan's former interior minister and Awami Muslim League (AML) chief, Sheikh Rasheed, was arrested in connection with the May 9 riots cases on Tuesday, ARY News reported. According to the report, the former minister appeared before ATC for confirmation of bail in 14 cases registered against him in the May 9 riots cases. The minister was granted bail in thirteen cases out of fourteen. However, his application for bail in a riot case filed at New Town police station was rejected. Rasheed is accused to have planned the vandalism and attack on a sensitive installation on May 9, following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan. However, after the May 9 riots, Rasheed turned against the former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief, calling him 'stubborn'. Speaking to a private news channel, the former interior minister said he had been on a 'Chilla' (underground) for the last 40 days. Sheikh Rasheed, an ally of former PTI founder Imran Khan, said he had the opportunity to reflect on many things during the chilla. "No one caused me any harm during this period," he added. The AML president stated further that he always stood by the Pakistan Army, adding that he also advised the former PTI chief to be on "good terms with the army." "I am proud to call myself the spokesperson of the Pakistan Army," Rasheed said. Rasheed announced earlier that he will contest the upcoming general elections 2024 from prison, according to ARY News. Speaking to reporters, Rasheed said he would not be released from prison as several cases have been registered against him, ARY News reported. On his political future, Rasheed said he will contest general elections from prison. "The actual number of cases against me will be disclosed in the anti-terrorism court (ATC)," he said. "I had already secured bail in 20 cases. However, I won't be released as several cases against me are still in court. I have informed five top lawyers of Pakistan about my decision to contest the polls from jail," he added. (ANI)
Yerevan [Armenia], January 16 (ANI/WAM): Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Defence, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee in the Federal National Council (FNC), who is currently heading the FNC delegation visiting the Republic of Armenia, has met with Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan, Director of the External Relations and Protocol Department of the Mother See. During his meeting with Archbishop Hovhannisyan, Al Nuaimi, accompanied by several members of the FNC delegation, emphasised the UAE's unwavering commitment to fostering balanced partnerships and promoting values of tolerance and human coexistence on a global scale. He expressed the country's strong belief in the power of cultural and religious dialogue to bridge differences and bring diverse viewpoints closer. Al Nuaimi praised the bilateral relations between the UAE and the Republic of Armenia, which are witnessing notable and growing development at various levels and fields, noting that these visits strengthen relations among peoples at a time when human societies face many challenges, the most prominent of which are the spread of hate speech and extremist and racist ideas. He also emphasised the importance of uniting the efforts of various organisations, international institutions and civil society institutions to achieve security, peace and prosperity for the people of the world. Hovhannisyan praised the UAE's attention to preserving cultural heritage, pointing in this regard to the restoration of the Armenian Haghartsin Monastery Complex under the directives of Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, in addition to the UAE's support for a number of Armenian secondary schools in the capital, Yerevan. He also lauded the UAE's approach and its keenness on enhancing international peace and security, and its role in establishing the principle of harmony and coexistence among followers of different religions, promoting dialogue, tolerance and openness policy, and confronting extremist ideas, hate speech and racism. (ANI/WAM)
Tel Aviv [Israel], January 16 (ANI/TPS): A Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander arrested in Gaza described to Israeli interrogators how terror operatives were trained in Iran in video footage released by the Israel Defence Forces on Tuesday. Bassel Mahdi described himself as the commander of Specialised Professions with a platoon of nine men under him. The nine members under his command specialised in 82 mm mortars, 107 mm rockets, engineering, anti-tank rockets, and sniper fire. Mahdi, who was arrested on December 20., told his interrogator that he was sent to Iran at the suggestion of his commander. "You need to go to Iran for a sniper's course," Mahdi recalled the commander telling him. "Get much benefit from the course and your salary will go up when you come back." He was given USD 1,000, some of which he gave to his wife. A few weeks later, "I went from the Gaza Strip to Egypt where I stayed for about two weeks, from there I went to Syria for a few days and then to Lebanon. After two weeks we went from Syria to Iran again," Mahdi said. The course was 15 days at a military base in Iran whose name and location Mahdi did not know. He said the training was done by soldiers wearing Iranian uniforms. The first four days were spent learning how to use a Kalashnikov. Afterwards, they were trained in the use of other types of sniper rifles. "Four days training on a Kalashnikov at a distance of 100 meters, five days at a distance of 100-150 meters, six days on a Dragunov (sniper rifle). We practiced shooting stones, targets, balloons at a distance of 300 metres," Mahdi said. Mahdi added that there were 15-20 other people from Gaza, Lebanon and Syria taking the course along with him, all of whom were "military activists of the Islamic Jihad." Some of them took an additional brigade course or received rocket or artillery training. At least 1,200 people were killed in Hamas's attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. The number of men, women, children, soldiers, and foreigners held captive in Gaza by Hamas is now believed to be 136. Other people remain unaccounted for as Israeli authorities continue to identify bodies and search for human remains. (ANI/TPS)
Two "important headquarters" of Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) in Pakistan were "destroyed," Al Arabiya News reported citing Tasnim News Agency.

The strikes were concentrated in an area in Pakistan's Balochistan where "one of the largest headquarters" of Jaish al-Adl was located, the report said.

Formed in 2012, Jaish al-Adl, designated as a "terrorist" organization by Iran, is a Sunni terrorist group that operates in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, Al Arabiya News reported. Over the years, Jaish al-Adl has launched numerous attacks on Iranian security forces.

In December, Jaish al-Adl took responsibility for an attack on a police station in Sistan-Baluchistan that claimed the lives of at least 11 police personnel, according to Al Arabiya News reported.

Sistan-Baluchistan borders Afghanistan and Pakistan. The region has a history of clashes between Iran's security forces and Sunni terrorists, as well as drug smugglers. Sistan-Baluchistan is one of Iran's poorest regions and most of the population in the region is Sunni ethnic Baluchis, Al Arabiya News reported.

The attacks in Pakistan have been carried out a day after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched missiles into Iraq's Kurdistan region at what it called an Israeli "spy headquarters" and at alleged ISIS-linked targets in Syria, the report said. (ANI)
US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti on Tuesday highlighted the relationship with India and said that it was not based on convenience and calculation, adding that the ties were "multiplicative." "There is a great awakening happening between India and the US. This is not an additive relationship -- India plus the US. It is a multiplicative relationship. When India and the US are together, it is India times the US," Garcetti said while speaking on India-US relations at the USC-India Innovation Summit on Tuesday. He said that the foundation of the bilateral ties is built on four Ps -- peace, prosperity, planet and people. "Whether it was our dual diplomacy in G20, whether it's the work that we're doing in the health sphere, whether it's the way that we can look at trying to build peace into the world. The four P's, as I call them, which is the cornerstone of our vision here as America in India through the mission here of peace, prosperity, planet and people," said the US envoy. Garcetti said that he took up the ambassador role as US President Joe Biden told him that India was the most important country for him. The US Ambassador said: "There is a great awakening happening between the United States and India. When the president asked me to consider this job, he said, it's the most important country in the world to me now. He really feels that. And I believe that too, or else I wouldn't have taken this job." He said that the US and India are on the same page, "collaborating together, the two largest democracies in the world, with proud histories, who know increasingly that our relationship hasn't been based on convenience or calculation. It has been based on deep and lasting friendship, probably best embodied by the relationship that USC has with India and Indians." Eric Garcetti recently stressed that the US and India, being the two greatest democracies, can show the world what it means to be moral leaders at a needed moment. "There are dictatorships in the world and there are democracies. The US and India, as the two greatest democracies, can show the world what it means to be moral leaders at a moment we need it," he said at the USC-India Innovation Summit on Tuesday. He further emphasised that this was the best year in India-US history. "This was the best year in US-India history, and it is not a new peak; I would say it is the new foundation...," he added. The US envoy told ANI that India is now generating breakthroughs in various sectors including health, technology and finance. (ANI)
AUSTIN (KXAN)  One person is dead, and another person was injured, after a rollover crash in northwest Austin Tuesday afternoon, Austin-Travis County EMS said on social media.

Around 2:18 p.m., medics said they responded to a major collision with a rollover at El Salido Parkway and North Farm-to-Market Road 620, near Anderson Mill Road in northwest Austin.

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Medics performed CPR on one person and later said one person was pronounced dead on the scene. A second person was also taken to Dell Seton with non life-threatening injuries.

The Austin Police Department said it is also investigating the crash. Officers are diverting traffic to alternate routes, police said.

ATCEMS asked drivers to avoid the area or seek an alternate route and to expect traffic delays near the crash.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.
Israeli police said two people stole cars Monday and used them to run over several people in central Israel, killing one person. Photo courtesy of Magen David Adom/WhatsApp

Jan. 16 (UPI) -- One person was killed and several others were injured in what Israeli police is calling "a multiple car-ramming attack."

The attack happened Monday in the central Israel town of Ra'anana.

Israel Police said two suspects, both from the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, entered Israel illegally and stole multiple cars that they used to run over Israeli citizens.

"It is currently believed to be a multi-stage event in which the suspects switched between three vehicles," it said in a statement on X. "Central district police officers are sweeping the attack scenes and its surroundings to ensure no further threats."

Israel's emergency medical service Magen David Adom said a woman in her 70s was killed and 17 others were injured, including two critically.

The French foreign ministry said in a statement that two of its citizens were among the wounded, and that Paris' consulate general in Tel Aviv was working to offer support.

"Nothing justifies terrorism," it said.

The attack comes amid Israel's war against Hamas, with the militant group later Monday calling those responsible for the Ra'anana attack "heroes." The militant group also described the attack as "a natural response to the occupation's massacres and aggression against the Palestinian people," The New York Times reported.

The Biden administration has issued a statement of condemnation.

"We condemn the abhorrent terrorist attacks in Ra'anana that killed one Israeli and wounded others and send our deepest condolences to the victims' families," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
Every four years, the Iowa caucuses find new ways to become a problematic part of the presidential nomination process. Democrats have abandoned the Iowa-first tradition, at least for 2024, but Republicans went full speed ahead with the caucuses on Jan. 15, 2024.

If they were being honest, most politicians and political experts who are not from Iowa  and not planning to curry favor with Iowans someday  would concede that this caucus-first system is far from the best way to start to select a presidential nominee, especially considering the low voter turnout in an overwhelmingly white state. But changing old, familiar processes is never easy, particularly during these highly contentious times.

Even so, candidates who talk about the traditional first caucus state sometimes make a political misstep by being honest.

Earlier this month, Republican candidate Nikki Haley dissed Iowa, telling a New Hampshire audience that their state primary that occurs after the Iowa caucuses would correct the mistakes made in Iowa. You know Iowa starts it, she said. You know that you correct it.

Thats the sort of thing a candidate trying to do well in Iowa says after the caucuses  not before.

With such honesty, its not surprising that former President Donald Trump earned 51% of the vote while GOP rivals Ron DeSantis could muster only 21% and Nikki Haley 19%. Further helping Trump was the shrinking field of GOP candidates that saw former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and U.S. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina all drop out before the caucuses.

Iowas upside for long-shot candidates

Iowans, as well as residents of the traditional first primary state of New Hampshire, try to argue that their small-state selection processes represent some of the last vestiges of Norman Rockwells America, where deliberate, sober voters offer a grateful nation the carefully considered assessments of candidates that come from community meetings too numerous to count.

That part of the argument is largely true  caucusgoers and voters in both states seem to take the process of evaluating potential presidents very seriously.

Fans of the Iowa caucuses also note that lesser-known candidates can compete without having huge campaign war chests or political experience. But how is being inexperienced in government or being unpopular with party donors considered a good things for selecting presidents?

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks in Decorah, Iowa, on Jan. 7, 2024. Scott Olson/Getty Images

This year, Republican entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamys star faded quickly, and he failed to qualify for the final pre-Iowa debate hosted by CNN at Drake University in Des Moines. Ramaswamy could only pull in 7% of Iowa caucus voters despite his boasts of visiting each of Iowas 99 counties, a feat officially known as a full Grassley, named for Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley.

Thats part of a pattern for previous shooting stars in Iowa, including Pete Buttigieg in 2020, Ben Carson in 2016, Rick Santorum in 2012, Mike Huckabee in 2008 and Howard Dean in 2004.

They didnt last all that long after Iowa. And in some cases, they began to flame out before the caucuses.

Modern-day media realities

Despite all the small-town narratives, Iowas caucus season increasingly has become a media-saturated process just like everything else in American politics.

And running in Iowa costs far more than in the past.

In the 2024 presidential campaign, Republican campaigns spent more than US$100 million on 2024 Iowa caucuses advertising, which amounts to about $600 for every Republican caucus participant. In the 2020 presidential campaign, the total amount of ad spending was $44 million  and that included spending from Democratic and Republican candidates.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley participates in a Fox News town hall in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 8, 2024. Win McNamee/Getty Images

The medias outsized role involves more than just receiving inflated campaign spending. The fact that reporters focus on horse-race dynamics and downplay issues has long been a problem that diminishes interest and voter turnout, as media scholar S. Robert Lichter and I demonstrated in our 2010 book The Nightly News Nightmare.

Those who defend Iowa and New Hampshire say they are more accessible to lesser-known and inexperienced candidates, but national polling and fundraising, as well as media coverage, are increasingly used as criteria determining who can effectively participate in these small-state processes and who cant.

Long-standing flaws

Another problem with Iowa is the low level of turnout, despite the states privileged position. The largest Republican caucus turnout was 180,000 voters in 2016, and the best year for Democratic turnout was 240,000 voters in 2008, when Barack Obama defeated Hillary Clinton.

Neither number is all that impressive in a state with a population of nearly 3 million people and about 2 million registered voters, of whom about 630,000 are registered Republicans. If Iowa switched to a primary, which would allow a daylong window for voting, evidence demonstrates there would be a lot more participation. Heres why.

With limited exceptions, Iowa caucuses require a voter to appear in person during the evening in the middle of winter. This year, that meant at 7 p.m. on an evening that hit below-zero temperatures and heavy snow. Even for Iowans accustomed to the cold, turnout was lower as a result.

But unlike a caucus, a primary allows a person to devote only a few minutes to vote via mail or in person at a convenient time and place.

Republican presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida carries his daughter Madison while walking through the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines on Aug. 12, 2023. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Aside from the convenience factor, the major problem with the Iowa caucuses is that the state does not remotely look like America.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the vast majority  88%  of Iowans are white. For the U.S. as a whole, that figure is about 75%. What that means is that caucus results may not be reflective of the nation as a whole but merely a snapshot of a certain small-town, folksy part of America.

Vote-counting delays

Maybe some of these problems could be excused if the process worked well.

Unfortunately, it does not.

Despite decades of experience in running caucuses, Iowa has demonstrated that it frequently cannot count. The New York Times described the 2020 Iowa caucuses as an epic meltdown, as results were not finalized for days.

The 2024 process went smoothly, but the 2020 caucuses werent the first to have problems. The 2012 Republican contest also suffered from counting misfires that took two weeks to resolve.

A delay in reporting results is not necessarily a bad thing. One wants to ensure accuracy, and delays of days for election results are normal in closely fought contests. But Iowa has demonstrated that its caucuses seem to generate more problems when it comes to reporting results than primaries do.

Democrats abandoned the 2024 Iowa caucuses following the 2020 mess there and perhaps in part because President Joe Biden could hardly feel positively about the caucus system after his fourth-place finish there in 2020.

This year, the Democratic process effectively bypasses Iowa and New Hampshire and starts with the South Carolina primary.

A possible alternative?

How might one fix these issues?

Well, scholars suggest a range of alternatives, including a one-day, nationwide primary, a small-state-first system that groups states of similar population sizes, or perhaps a series of five or so multistate regional primary contests, with the order of the regional groups determined by lottery.

None of these alternatives seems likely to happen, though, and that means the various problems with the Iowa caucus process will continue, regardless of which party is conducting one.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and analysis to help you make sense of our complex world.

It was written by: Stephen J. Farnsworth, University of Mary Washington.

Read more:



Stephen J. Farnsworth does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
A 61-year-old woman found beaten on a CTA Red Line train died over the weekend, the Cook County medical examiners office said.

The woman was identified as Vivian Morgan by the medical examiner. Morgan died Saturday morning at Stroger Hospital. Autopsy results are pending an investigation.

CTA workers found Morgan seriously injured on a train car at the Roosevelt station around 1:30 a.m. Jan. 4, police said.

Last week, prosecutors accused Mijawon Johnson, 36, of Chicago, of jumping Morgan and beating her with closed fists to the point that she was comatose and had multiple broken ribs. Johnson was on parole at the time he allegedly attacked the woman, prosecutors said.

Johnson faces one charge of attempted murder with a strong probability of death, two charges of aggravated battery and a misdemeanor charge of violating an order of protection, records show.

Morgan was not the person who holds the order of protection against Johnson. That alleged violation took place Dec. 31, according to an arrest report.

Johnson had been on parole since August 2023 after serving part of a six-year sentence for armed robbery, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

The states attorneys office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on if charges would be upgraded.

Chicago Tribunes Caroline Kubzansky contributed to this report.

aguffey@chicagotribune.com
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  A man was hospitalized over the weekend after he was shot during a carjacking in Gresham, authorities announced Monday as they search for the suspect who abandoned the stolen car in a snowdrift.

Around 6:15 p.m. Saturday, Gresham police responded to a reported shooting on Northeast 178th Avenue. On the scene, officers found the victim and say he was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Authorities said the man was sitting in his car trying to stay warm and charge his phone during a power outage when the carjacking suspect approached him.

Homeownership now unaffordable in these 10 Oregon and Washington counties: study

Officers quickly found the stolen car in a nearby parking lot and discovered the suspect abandoned the car after getting stuck in a snowdrift and fled the scene, Gresham Police Department said.

As authorities investigate, detectives are asking residents and nearby businesses to check any security camera footage during the time of the incident.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Gresham Police Department.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
A multi-vehicle wreck shut down Interstate 985 northbound Saturday afternoon.

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Around 1 p.m. Georgia State Patrol along with Hall County deputies were called to a multi-vehicle crash on I-985 in the area of Atlanta highway.

According to GSP, an Acura MDX driven by Jacob Heine, 25, of Buckhead, Ga. was traveling northbound on I-985 in the left lane.

The Acura then hit the back of a Honda Civic driven by Joshua Szabo, 22, of Quaker Town, PA, officials said.

GSP said April Carroll, 41, of McDonough, was driving a Nissan Armada that was traveling partially onto the shoulder of the roadway due to traffic slowing to avoid hitting another vehicle.

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The Honda Civic reportedly sideswiped the Armada and went forward. Officials said the Honda then hit the back right corner of an Audi A8, driven by Marius Stan, 38, of Gainesville.

GSP said the Civic then began to rotate counterclockwise, hitting the back of a Ford Dually Super Duty, driven by Edgar Gomez Aviles, 45, of Canoga Park, Calif. in the right lane.

The accident with the Super Duty caused it to hit the back of a Nissan Sentra, driven by 51-year-old Jose Rodriguez Jaimes Sr., of Commerce, Ga., according to authorities.

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Szabo sustained a possible serious injury and was taken to the hospital.

Officials said the interstate was shut down for an hour and a half for the investigation and cleanup.

IN OTHER NEWS:
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG)  The Tennessee Department of Health confirmed one weather-related death in Shelby County Monday as extreme winter weather continues to impact the state.

No further information about the fatality has been released at this time.

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris declared a local state of emergency Monday afternoon after a wind chill advisory for sub-zero wind chills began Sunday evening and four to six inches of snow accumulated in the county.

State of Emergency declared in Memphis, Shelby County due to winter weather

The National Weather Service says the bitterly cold conditions will continue through Wednesday morning.

The Memphis area and Shelby County are not the only areas in the state impacted by the extreme cold.

On January 13, the director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) declared a state of emergency on behalf of Governor Bill Lee to provide commercial vehicles transporting fuel relief from hours of service until 3:59 p.m. Jan 27 due to the increased demand for fuels and energy.

Tennesseans are also having to deal with hazardous road conditions. The Tennessee Highway Patrol and the state Department of Transportation are working to control traffic and improve road conditions.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) is providing the following tips to help residents stay safe as temperatures drop:

Monitor local news for updates on weather forecasts

Limit time outdoors when possible. Extreme cold temperatures are dangerous and can result in hypothermia or frostbite.

Turn thermostats down to 68 degrees or lower to reduce energy consumption.

Contact your local emergency management agency if you need immediate assistance.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
Police have charged a suspect with murder after two women were fatally shot in a townhouse community in Apex.

On Tuesday evening police identified the women as 37-year-old Gabrielle Raymond and 69-year-old Nancy Taylor. Both victims lived in South Walk Townhomes.

The suspect, Harry Bates Hardman, 37, also lives at the complex. He is charged with two counts of murder and with animal cruelty in the killing of Taylors dog.

He was ordered to be held in jail without bail and was appointed a capital defender.

The women were shot around 3 p.m. Monday outside a home on Chipping Drive, according to police. They were taken to the hospital with serious injuries and later died.

Police responding to the report heard more gunfire on Brussels Drive, where Hardman lives. He was taken into custody without incident.

What police say happened

Hardman was outside being loud, causing a disturbance in the neighborhood, when Taylor came up and began speaking with him, according to an Apex Police Department news release. Raymond soon joined the two of them.

The three of them were standing in a yard in the 1400 block of Chipping Dr when Mr. Hardman produced a gun and shot both victims, Police Chief Jason Armstrong said in the release.

Officers arrived quickly and saw Hardman entering his home. As they set up a perimeter, Armstrong said, they saw Hardman exiting the back door holding an AR-15 rifle. Officers instructed him to drop the weapon, which he did, and arrested him

Police dont think the he AR-15 rifle was used in the shooting the two women, Armstrong said. They obtrained a search warrant, searched Hardmans home and found multiple handguns, one of which they believe is the murder weapon, he said.

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Sad day for our town, says Apex mayor

Neighbor Tom McKay, a Lee County deputy, was home and watched police take Hardman into custody,

To see it like, off duty, is just kind of a completely different perspective, McKay told ABC11.. Im just going to keep saying, Its Apex, I would have never have thought, you know? But you never know.

This is a sad day for our town, Apex Mayor Jacques Gilbert said in a statement, media outlets reported. Anytime there is a tragedy, we hurt as a community. We will continue to pray for all involved,

We will update this story as more information becomes available.
In one week, New Hampshire residents will head to the polls to vote in the states Democratic primary. But, according to the Democratic National Committee, the ballot box may as well be a garbage bin.

Because the DNC has stripped the Granite State of delegates, its primary  scheduled for Jan. 23  is effectively meaningless, according to the DNC.

This effort to neutralize the states role in the nominating contest has been condemned by some voters, state officials and President Joe Bidens challengers, who have called it an attempt to subvert the democratic process.

The DNC is certainly doing its best to annoy voters in New Hampshire, who take great pride in our first-in-the-nation status, Kurk Dorsey, a professor at the University of New Hampshire who researches elections, told McClatchy News.

More politics news

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Meaningless primary

For decades, New Hampshire has held the nations first presidential primary, which is mandated by state law, giving it an outsize role in selecting presidential candidates.

But, in February, at the request of President Joe Biden, the DNC reshuffled the primary schedule, moving South Carolina to first in the line-up.

The move, the DNC said, reflected an effort to diversify the early primary states, which have historically been composed of states with mostly white electorates.

South Carolina is also seen as a stronghold for Biden, who won the states primary in 2020, revitalizing his campaign, which had suffered losses in both New Hampshire and Iowa.

But, New Hampshire officials refused to comply with the new schedule, forging ahead with plans to again host its first-in-the-nation primary on Jan. 23.

As a result, the DNC announced New Hampshire will not receive delegates or alternates  who choose the partys nominee at the Democratic convention  effectively nullifying the states primary results.

The Granite States Democratic primary is non-binding and meaningless, and presidential candidates should take all steps possible not to participate, the DNC said in a Jan. 5 letter.

Biden, complying with the DNCs guidelines, elected not to place his name on the ballot in New Hampshire. However, some voters are expected to write his name in.

There is a low-level campaign to write in Joe Biden on Tuesday, and I think that will give him a margin of victory that will not be newsworthy, Dorsey said.

Biden holds a double-digit lead over Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips and author Marianne Williamson, his longshot challengers, according to a Jan. 11 Emerson College poll. The poll, which sampled 590 voters in the state, had a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.

Bullying of New Hampshire

Following the DNCs labeling of the primary as meaningless, the New Hampshire attorney general issued a cease-and-desist order to the DNC on Jan. 8, arguing it is interfering with the states democratic process.

Regardless of whether the DNC refuses to award delegates to the partys national convention, the attorney general said, this New Hampshire election is not meaningless.

Both Phillips and Williamson, who have campaigned throughout the state, have criticized the DNCs plan to nullify the primary.

It is wrong of Joe Bidens DNC to punish New Hampshire, Phillips said in a Jan. 11 statement.

How can we criticize Trump for carrying out political vendettas when Joe Bidens allies are punishing New Hampshire because he came in 5th place in the Granite State? Phillips added. This bullying of New Hampshire has got to stop.

Williamson, in a statement provided to McClatchy News, denounced the DNCs shenanigans.

Something as important as a presidential election should not be subject to the whims of a political machine, she said.

Some voters, too, have castigated the DNCs schedule shakeup and subsequent removal of the states delegates, according to WMUR.

The DNC promotes free and fair and open elections, Daniel Day, an undecided voter, told the outlet. So why are they depriving New Hampshire of having a fair, free and open election?

The DNC, though, has said it is New Hampshire officials  and their failure to comply with the new primary calendar  who should be blamed for disenfranchising and confusing voters in the state.

Biden wont be on ballot in nations first primary. So do his opponents have a chance?

Should Trump be immune from criminal prosecution? What Americans said in a new poll

Bernie Sanders proposes resolution on Israels destruction of Gaza. What does it do?
A rare bottle of whiskey  and all the the luxury items that come with it  is now the most expensive ever sold.

The extremely rare bottle of The Emerald Isle was sold at auction to American whiskey collector Mike Daley for $2.8 million, beating out the previous record-setter by $100,000.

The 30-year-old single malt Irish whiskey is the rarest triple-distilled single malt in existence, according to the Craft Irish Whiskey Co., which produced only seven bottles and encased each in a designer box as unique and exorbitant as the spirit itself.

But Daley didnt just buy the liquor. His bottle comes with a decanter, a bespoke Faberge egg containing an actual emerald gem, a custom timepiece and a pair of Cohiba cigars, all contained within a custom walnut case.

The whiskey itself was aged for three decades in a variety of casks which has given the liquor an unrivalled intensity of flavour, the makers say.

Daley is one of the worlds most prolific whiskey collectors, with several thousand bottles to his name, from the Americas to the British Isles.

While Scotch whisky often gets much of the attention by connoisseurs of the product, the Craft Irish Whiskey Co. says its mission is to restore Irelands reputation as one of the worlds distilling leaders.

The rebirth of Irish whiskey is relatively new, so I feel like Im getting in on the ground floor, Daley said. Luxury scotch, to me, is already a crowded type of market. But were only just starting to see luxury Irish make a name for itself. I guarantee you that in the years to come, it will get to where scotch is today.

The previous title holder for most expensive whiskey/whisky ever sold was a bottle of The Macallan 1926. The Scotch whisky sold at auction last November for $2.7 million.

Only 40 of those bottles were ever produced, including only 12 which featured labels designed by Italian painter Valerio Adami.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
President Joe Bidens decision on Thursday to order a wave of strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen was inevitable the moment the Yemeni militia disregarded Washingtons warnings a week earlier and sent a swarm of 18 drones and three anti-ship ballistic missiles in the direction of U.S. warships.

Last weeks strikes, which took place with the cooperation of the United Kingdom and were aimed at 60 locations, were designed to degrade the Houthis capabilities and hopefully deter additional attacks on shipping lanes in the Red Sea.

As one would expect, the U.S. military is highly proficient at these types of standoff operations. Tactically speaking, the mission was a success. The Houthis woke up the next morning with less military hardware than they had the previous night. As one anonymous U.S. defense official said shortly after the joint U.S.-U.K. strikes were over: We hit them pretty hard, pretty good.

Beyond the tactical and strategic questions surrounding the operation, however, are the legal and constitutional ones that were largely brushed aside. The key question: Does the president have the right to order military action without a vote from Congress?

In an ideal world, the countrys elites and institutions would actually abide by the Constitution as its currently written. With respect to a wartime action, the Constitution is quite clear: The legislative branch has the sole responsibility to decide whether the nation enters hostilities. This can be taken through a formal declaration of war or, as is more commonly practiced since World War II, by voting through an authorization giving the president the authority to initiate military action.

Thats how the system is supposed to work, and its indicative of the checks-and-balances principle that our nations Founders astutely established when they were debating how the American republic should be organized and governed.

Unfortunately, in the real world, checks and balances are watered down as to be almost irrelevant, at least when matters of war and peace are concerned. Outside a few ardent constitutionalists on Capitol Hill such as Rep. Ro Khanna and Sen. Rand Paul, the vast majority of lawmakers either dont seem to care about Congress being sidelined or are perfectly happy with an all-powerful executive taking exclusive control of the reins.

One needs only to take a fast glance at the statements from congressional leadership after last weeks strikes to appreciate just how nonchalant Congress has gotten on what is the most consequential issue elected lawmakers will make in their careers. Whether its House Speaker Mike Johnson or Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed, the rhetoric is largely supportive of the U.S. operation against the Houthis.

In terms of constitutional questions, its depressing that so many lawmakers are untroubled with the idea of a single individual making the decision to bomb another country for the rest of us. Yes, Biden is the president and also the commander in chief. But theres a big difference between being a president and being a king. The former holds a lot of power but is forced to share some of it with others in the system; the latter holds all the power and is unaccountable to no one. Sometimes, its hard to differentiate between the two.

To be fair, Biden is not the only U.S. president to order military action without Congress buy-in. You would be hard-pressed to find any U.S. president over the last several decades who hasnt done this. Ronald Reagan invaded Grenada (1983) and bombed Libya (1986) without congressional approval. While George H.W. Bush sought and received congressional approval for Operation Desert Storm in Iraq, he also invaded Panama (1989) and sent U.S. forces into Somalia (1992) on his own.

Bill Clinton bombed Iraq three times (1993, 1996 and 1998), authorized airstrikes in Bosnia (1995) and spearheaded a NATO bombing campaign against Serbia in Kosovo (1999). George W. Bush expanded the so-called war on terrorism to Yemen (2002) and Somalia (2003). Barack Obama organized a U.S.-led multilateral bombing campaign in Libya in 2011 on the legally ridiculous notion that airstrikes without ground troops didnt constitute war in the constitutional sense. Donald Trump sent Tomahawk cruise missiles into Syrian government airports and military facilities not once, but twice (2017, 2018), in retaliation for dictator Bashar Assads chemical weapons attacks against his own people. Bidens strikes on Houthi targets are only the latest in a long series of presidential war-making.

In short, keeping Congress sidelined has become such common practice that it can now sadly be referred to as the normal way of doing business. This isnt how the system is supposed to work, and it certainly isnt the way the Constitution should be interpreted. Frankly, the architects of that document likely would be yelling expletives if they were still alive and knew how their work product was being used  and just as importantly, not used.

Can the situation change for the better? Yes, it can. But it will require bold action on the part of Congress as an institution and a willingness from lawmakers to actually do their jobs. You cant fix this asymmetry of constitutional power by relying on the executive to help out. The antidote is showing some backbone and political courage to take difficult but necessary votes.

Continuing to hide under the desk whenever the subject of war comes up will, over time, gut the legislative branch and turn what should be a republic into a de facto kingdom.

Daniel DePetris is a fellow at Defense Priorities and a foreign affairs columnist for the Chicago Tribune.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
Five people are now facing federal charges in a narcotics conspiracy that allegedly led to at least one overdose death in Dayton.

Ricardo Busbee, 33; Torrence Busbee, 30; Dermarion Galloway, 28; Dalaquan McGuire, 26; and Doretha Hughes, 27, were all charged in a 10-count indictment alleging that they conspired to possess fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine with the intent to distribute, according to the office of Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.

>> 20-year-old IDd as man shot, killed near Dayton elementary school

They also allegedly possessed and distributed methamphetamine at a location where a minor lived.

The charges came after local and federal law enforcement began investigating a significant increase in drug overdoses that had occurred within a six-block radius in Dayton last summer, according to the release.

Ricardo Busbee and Hughes allegedly distributed a mixture of fentanyl and cocaine that caused an overdose death in July 2023. That same drug combination also allegedly caused serious bodily injury to another person.

>> Ohio railroad worker dies on the job; NTSB investigating

Both Ricardo and Torrence Busbee were also charged with illegally possessing firearms as previously convicted felons.

All five of them were charged with possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes. Prosecutors said they had at least 14 guns in a storage unit and homes on Laura and Basswood avenues in Dayton.

If convicted, they each face 20 years to life in prison.
DES MOINES, IOWA - JANUARY 15: Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at his caucus night event at the Surety Hotel on January 15, 2024 in Des Moines, Iowa. Iowans voted today in the states caucuses for the first contest in the 2024 Republican presidential nominating process. Ramaswamy announced he was dropping out of the race.



DES MOINES, IOWA - JANUARY 15: Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at his caucus night event at the Surety Hotel on January 15, 2024 in Des Moines, Iowa. Iowans voted today in the states caucuses for the first contest in the 2024 Republican presidential nominating process. Ramaswamy announced he was dropping out of the race.

Vivek Ramaswamy has officially dropped out of the Republican Presidential race following the Iowa Caucus. Unsurprisingly, Ramaswamy threw his political weight behind former President Donald Trump  endorsing the clear frontrunner for President.



But now that Ramaswamy is out of the running for President, its worth taking a look back at some of the wildest moments from his campaign.

Read more

These comments were made shortly before a white gunman killed three Black people at a Dollar Store in Jacksonville, Florida. And even after hearing the news, Ramaswamy continued to double down.

2. Ramaswamy Compared Ayanna Pressley to The KKK

Around the same time as the unicorns controversy, Ramaswamy decided to go after Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Ibram X Kendi. Ramaswamy called the pair the modern grand wizards of the KKK. Understandably, they both took offense. Congresswoman Pressley noted that her family members were brutalized, lynched, raped by the Ku Klux Klan.

3. Ramaswamy Gets Into It With Don Lemon

Vivek Ramaswamy made a bunch of claims about Black American history and the National Rife Associations dedication to Black liberation while on CNN. The conversation culminated in an infamously heated back and forth between Ramaswamy and then-CNN Anchor Don Lemon.

4. How MLK Inspired His Anti-Woke Crusade

While at a Turning Points USA event (the irony), Vivek Ramaswamy claimed that Martin Luther King Jr.s teachings had inspired his crusade against people who make their racial and gender identities central to their politics. Its an interesting take  considering MLK dedicated his life to the fighting anti-Black racism as well as other forms of racial oppression.

5. Voting Tests!

Heres a policy moment! During his campaign, Vivek Ramaswamy recommended moving the voting age to 25 with some minor exceptions, including a citizenship test. Many people argued that this would essentially be putting racist literacy tests used to deter Black people from voting back in place.

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From the age of 25, when her loving and gregarious mother Sylvia was diagnosed with a rare form of inherited early-onset Alzheimers at the age of 53, Jo Harrigan has been living with what she describes as a death sentence.

I was told that my sister Tammy and I had a 50 per cent chance of having the same genetic mutation passed down from our mum. It was petrifying to be honest. It was, and still is, like living in a nightmare, says Jo, 43, a bright and vivacious woman with sparkling hazel eyes. She wrote a will and made provision for lasting power of attorney to a trusted family member for her affairs when she was still in her late 20s.

A project coordinator for a telecommunications company based in South Wales, Jo runs teams and manages complex operations with ease. Today, she is sitting in her workplace in front of whiteboards filled with flow charts and graphs showing multiple work streams.

But she admits she is counting down the days, months and years to see whether she too develops the same symptoms as her mother, who died of Alzheimers in 2012 at the age of 59, or whether she is lucky and doesnt succumb to the brain disease which has already claimed the lives of so many members of her large extended family.

Two of her mothers three sisters have been stricken as well as her paternal grandfather, great-grandmother and many other relatives who died of dementia in their 50s and 60s before the genetic mutation that affects her family  in the Presenilin-1 (PSEN1) gene  was even identified. As the fourth generation of her family to live in the Rhymney Valley in South Wales, she admits that she leans heavily on the love and support of her relatives and the close-knit former mining community where she grew up to cope with the stress of the Sword of Damocles having over her head.

In most cases, Alzheimers  which was the leading cause of death in the UK alongside all types of dementia in 2022  is caused by a complex mix of lifestyle and environmental factors and increasing age is the greatest known risk factor. The genes you inherit from your parents can contribute to your risk, although the actual increase in risk is small.

But in a few rare families (around 3 per cent of the total), Alzheimers disease, which has no cure, is caused by the inheritance of a single gene and the risks of the condition being passed on is much higher. Jos relatives developed familial Alzheimers disease due to a mutation in the PSEN1 gene, which almost always causes disease at a young age  before the age of 60  in those who inherit it, either from the maternal or paternal line. This gene is thought to encourage the development of protein plaques and tangles in the brain which leads to inflammation and cell death, causing dementia.

In a harrowing waiting game, Jo and her family are constantly watching out for who is next to fall ill. Jos older sister, Tammy, who is now 52, is almost through the danger period and is currently showing no signs of forgetfulness or confusion  a huge relief to everyone.

Jo Harrigan (right) and her sister Tammy Phillips

Its a little bit like a clock is ticking to a countdown. Tammy hasnt got any signs at all. We always said, if we can get to 50, then we might have made it. And I believe my sisters really made it out the other side now, says Jo, who, like her sister, chose not to have genetic testing to find out if she is at risk or not. But I must admit that I panic if I forget a name or a place because I convince myself it is the first sign of dementia.

She admits that the ongoing threat to her health ensures that she lives every day to the fullest. My friends and family get frustrated with me because I say: Well, Ive got seven years and Ive got to get a lot of things done. Ive lived that way for a long time. For me, theres a clock ticking in my head towards whether I live or die. Thats how I feel, she says.

Because the mutation is inherited, Jos three children and her husband Darren, 48, a civil engineer, may also be unknowing carriers. Lewis, 23, Charlotte, 21, and Emmy, 13, all have a 25 per cent chance of carrying the gene (Lewis and his wife, Beth, 23, who he met at school, are expecting their first child, who has a 12.5 per cent chance of inheriting the PSEN1 mutation).

It is a worry because this disease can carry on down through the generations. Lewis and Beth are obviously concerned. It is something we talk about every day, says Jo. In the future, the couple may be able to take advantage of IVF and embryo selection, if Lewis tests positive. However, many people decide not to get tested, preferring hope over knowing one way or the other for a definitive answer. Almost everyone who carries the PSEN1 mutation will go on to develop early onset dementia so it is no easy decision for those potentially affected.

Jos sister Tammy and her husband Steven have two children  Leuan, 20, and Erika, 16. Jo speaks for them both when she says: Our hope is that they dont have to see what we have seen and hold the fear inside them that we have held. Our hope is for a cure, for a treatment that will improve our chances and help us fight against this disease so that no one elses children have to face this.

Since her mothers death, there have been significant breakthroughs in available treatments as well as significant advancements in gene therapy, targeting the underlying genetic and molecular causes of Alzheimers.

Remembering her mother, Jos eyes fill with tears. She takes off her glasses and dabs her eyes. I miss everything about mum, she says finally, pushing her blonde hair back behind her ears and taking a deep breath. She was an amazing woman, statuesque with a larger than life personality. She loved socialising with dad, who looked after her when she got ill and it nearly broke him. Jos father, Keith, now 66, lives nearby and she sees him regularly, reminiscing about the good times rather than dwelling on the years of isolation and struggle with very little help from services.

Mum would have been ridiculously excited to be a great-grandmother with Lewis and Beths baby on the way, she says. It was Tammys sons birthday yesterday and she would have been there spoiling him. She was such a loving and amazing, intelligent woman in the prime of her life when she got this horrible disease.

What started with simple forgetfulness and getting words mixed up, which the family put down to depression or even the start of the menopause, became a significant concern in 2001 when Sylvia was childminding. Mum used to help me out with the children when I was working and she would take Lewis to school and Charlotte to nursery for me, explains Jo. One day, I got a call from the school when I was at work because Charlotte was still playing in the yard. Mum had taken Lewis home but forgotten Charlotte. She was a dedicated grandmother and it was a huge red flag.

The family insisted that the GP refer Sylvia to the local memory clinic, not least because her older sister Maureen had also developed severe confusion and memory loss, and needed to be hospitalised. As a family we could see there was a pattern forming and we knew that something was wrong. We went back to the GP with our concerns and asked if there was a hereditary link. We were told categorically there was no genetic form of Alzheimers. This was 2001 and the genes were found in 1986, says Jo.

Then the curse struck again, and another one of Sylvias sisters, Sandra, started to show the symptoms. Both my mum and two aunts were diagnosed with early onset dementia in their 50s. Surely they had to be wrong about the genetic link, surely it couldnt just be a coincidence? she says.

Jo Harrigan's mum Sylvia Wilding (left) and aunt Sandra George, who both developed early onset dementia

Eventually, Sylvia, who had been a skittles player in a local league in her youth but was losing her ability to do simple manual tasks, was referred on to a neurologist who conducted tests and found that Sylvia carried a genetic mutation in PSEN1. It was a huge shock but at least we had an answer, says Jo. She supported her father as he struggled to cope as his wife became progressively more aggressive and took to wandering the streets of the local town at all hours of the day and night.

In 2012, the crisis came and Sylvia started going downhill fast. She went into hospital for some tests and she never came out. She declined quite quickly and started suffering from seizures and lost her mobility, says Jo.

It got to the point where Sylvia could no longer swallow and the family decided not to draw out her life with a feeding tube. She wasnt there anymore and it was cruel to prolong her suffering. She survived six days and we stayed by her side for those six days, says Jo, becoming visibly upset at the memory.

Jo Harrigan's mum Sylvia Wilding (centre) with Jo (right) and her sister Tammy Phillips (left) at Jo's wedding in 2008

She is absolutely determined to see an end to this disease, and the suffering it causes, and has been working tirelessly to try and help find a cure, or at least shed more light on a disease which is poorly understood and incurable. The prognosis for people with this gene is a lot more promising than when I started this journey, says Jo. When mum was diagnosed, it was just such doom and gloom. There was no medication, no treatments, there was nothing. Now, there are experimental treatments on the horizon that really could make a difference.

For the past 15 years, she has participated in research at the Dementia Research Centre at University College Londons Institute of Neurology, including the DIAN (Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network) research programme, a global study overseen by Washington University School of Medicine.

Every year, she goes down to London for a raft of tests which may help to expose physiological changes in people who go on to develop symptoms. Jo and her family have also helped to raise over 30,000 for the Alzheimers Society, which helped her mother during her illness, through the Sylvia & Sandras Star Trust which she co-founded in honour of her mother.

Jo Harrigan: 'My goal is to break the cycle of this disease and Im going to do my best while I can' - Jay Williams

For the past six months, she has been a champion ambassador for Race Against Dementia, the charity launched by Sir Jackie Stewart, after his wife Helen was diagnosed with dementia in 2014. RAD funds dementia research, including an 18-month project at University College London which will look at the causes of rare genetic dementias and specifically what they can reveal about more common forms of dementia.

Whatever happens to me, I will hopefully be making a difference and helping others, says Jo, who has already agreed to donate her own brain and spinal cord to the UK Brain Banks Network, which stores post-mortem brain and central nervous system tissue donated by the public for diagnosis and research into disorders. Her mother, Sylvia, also agreed to donate her own brain and spine after her death before she became incapacitated, and several papers, published in peer reviewed journals, have already been written based on the pathology reports.

Jo sets her jaw and curls her hand into a fist. My goal is to break the cycle of this disease and Im going to do my best while I can. I think thats something really worth fighting for.

Race Against Dementia is one of four charities supported by the Telegraph Christmas Charity Appeal. The others are Go Beyond, The RAF Benevolent Fund and Marie Curie. To make a donation, please visit telegraph.co.uk/2023appeal or call 0151 284 1927

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About 7 in 10 Iowans said they knew all along they would support former President Trump in Mondays caucuses, according to the Associated Presss VoteCast poll.

The surveys results demonstrate Trumps commanding grip on the Republican Party in a state where he won more than half of the support on Monday night.

Almost two-thirds, 62 percent, of Iowa caucusgoers said they consider themselves supporters of Trumps Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, with 36 percent saying they do not, according to the survey.

Enthusiasm for Trumps 2016 campaign slogan, seen as the beginning of the modern-day MAGA movement, likely helped his campaign build up significant support ahead of the primaries.

The former president, who commands the field by a wide margin, received 74 percent of support from those who said they supported his MAGA movement, according to the AP. He also brought in 13 percent support from those who said they did not consider themselves supporters of the movement.

When looking at the counties by population, Trump performed strongly in rural areas  where about 60 percent of caucusgoers said they live, per the AP. The survey also showed the former president excelling with evangelicals and those without a college degree.

Broken down by issue, the survey takers said immigration and the economy were at the top of their list. Roughly 4 in 10 caucusgoers identified immigration as the most important issue, and nearly 60 percent put their support behind Trump on the issue.

According to the survey, nearly 90 percent of Republican voters in the Hawkeye State support building out the U.S.-Mexico border wall, one of Trumps campaign priorities. Nearly three-quarters of respondents also said immigration was hurting the U.S.

Around one-third of caucusgoers said the economy was their priority  with nearly 50 percent of them supporting Trump, the survey found.

Trumps command on the party is also clear by the share of GOP caucusgoers who said they think President Biden was not legitimately elected in 2020, a claim that has been unsubstantiated. Only 34 percent of those surveyed said Biden was legitimately elected, and 63 percent said he was not.

Trump won 71 percent of those who doubted Bidens victory.

As of Tuesday morning, Trump was poised to take the victory in all but one county, which was won by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. In the end, DeSantis emerged in second place in the caucuses, followed by Haley.

The AP VoteCast survey, completed in tandem with the NORC Research Center, was conducted across the eight days before Mondays Iowa caucuses among 1,597 voters who said they planned to take part in the caucuses. The estimated margin of error is 3.4 percentage points.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
ABC News has canceled a Republican presidential primary debate planned for Thursday in New Hampshire, the network confirmed Tuesday.

The cancelation comes after former President Trumps blowout victory in the Iowa caucuses over rivals Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.

Haley recently said she would not participate in any future debates not attended by Trump, who has skipped the first five debates leading up to Monday nights caucuses in Iowa.

DeSantis said he was prepared to debate Haley or Trump and has repeatedly accused both candidates of trying to hide from voters.

Our intent was to host a debate coming out of the Iowa caucuses, but we always knew that would be contingent on the candidates and the outcome of the race, an ABC News spokesperson told The Hill on Tuesday. As a result, while our robust election coverage will continue, ABC News and WMUR-TV will not be moving forward with Thursdays Republican presidential primary debate in New Hampshire.

Top Stories from The Hill

The debate was slated for Thursday and was set to be moderated by anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis.

Television ratings for each of the first five debates have steadily tapered as Trump has solidified his status as the races front-runner and more candidates drop out of contention to challenge him.

The New Hampshire GOP primary is slated for next Tuesday, Jan. 23.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Former President Trump won the caucuses in Iowa, the first elections in the primary contest for Republican nomination for president. (Andrew Harnik / Associated Press)

Does anyone believe that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis or former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley truly stands a chance of becoming the Republican Partys 2024 presidential nominee? Its a scenario that is increasingly hard to imagine.

That is because the Iowa caucuses went almost exactly as predicted: Former President Trump wiped the floor with his rivals, while the two of them battled for second place. DeSantis, despite pulling ahead in that battle, is staring down the end of his presidential ambitions.

As has become the case with todays GOP, reality took a back seat to fantasy. Everyone declared themselves a winner.

In spite of all that they threw at us, everyone against us, said DeSantis, we got our ticket punched out of Iowa. (Theres a brick wall waiting for him in New Hampshire.)

Tonight, Haley told her supporters, Iowa made this primary a two-person race.

Did it, though?

Haley is expected to fare better next week in New Hampshire, where the conservative electorate is less rigidly ideological than in Iowa, and of course in South Carolina, where she is a native daughter. Even if Haley miraculously beats or comes close to Trump in New Hampshire, his iron grip on the party will be hard to shake. Every indictment, every court hearing seems to reinforce his perceived status as a persecuted victim of the Democratic Party in general and President Biden in particular.

Read more: Trump's victory in Iowa puts him on track for comeback bid, despite criminal charges

While Haley and DeSantis at least acknowledged they were still competing for a presidential nomination, Trump, in his typically grandiose style, behaved as if hed already won the general.

Monday in his victory speech, he called for national unity in the same way he called for Jan. 6 protesters to remain peaceful  that is to say, completely disingenuously.

This is time now for everybody, our country, to come together, we want to come together, he said as he launched into rambling, off-the-cuff remarks. Whether its Republican or Democrat, or liberal or conservative, it would be so nice if we could come together and straighten out the world.

Read more: Four Californians walk into an Iowa caucus

But Trumps gotta Trump. He simply could not sustain the unity theme: I dont want to be overly rough on the president, he said, but I have to say that he is the worst president that weve had in the history of our country. He is destroying our country.

The Trump blowout in Iowa pretty much answered the question that Haley posed to her supporters late Monday evening: Do you want more of the same? Or do you want a new generation of conservative leaders?

Sorry, Governor, but it appears they want more of the same.

They want more of Trumps lies about the 2020 election, more of his immigrant-bashing, more of his fantasies about how, on his watch, Russia wouldnt have dared invade Ukraine and Hamas wouldnt have dared invade Israel. They want more of his apocalyptic rhetoric about the border, about how mental institutions and insane asylums are being emptied out into our country. They want to hear more about Jan. 6 hostages and about how, on Bidens watch, the United States is being invaded by terrorists, some of them really bad.

Read more: Nikki Haley's best  and perhaps last  chance to beat Trump is next week in New Hampshire

Trumps hold on the imaginations, not to mention the moral compasses, of his supporters shows little sign of weakening. Entrance polls conducted for the major television networks found that nearly two-thirds of Iowas Republican caucus-goers do not believe that Biden won the 2020 election. About the same proportion said they would vote for Trump even if he were a convicted criminal.

On Tuesday, as Haley appeared in New Hampshire and DeSantis touched down briefly in South Carolina before heading north, Trump showed up in a New York federal courtroom.

There, he once again faced the writer E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room years ago. She already won a civil case against him, and $5 million in damages for lies he told about her before he was president. This trial will determine how much he should pay for defaming her while he was president. (She is asking for $10 million.)

Read more: With her California dream broken, she found a political haven in Iowa

The fact that Mr. Trump sexually abused  indeed, raped  Ms. Carroll has been conclusively established and is binding in this case, said U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan.

The trial has an ouroboros quality about it. On Monday while Trump was in court, his Truth Social account blasted out claims that hed never met Carroll. As long as Trump continues to deny raping Carroll, or even knowing her, she can theoretically just keep suing him for damages, ad infinitum.

Not that the base cares. As polls have shown, his legal woes are a big part of his political appeal. If Haley or DeSantis could just get themselves arrested for something, anything, they might stand a chance against him.

@robinkabcarian





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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A man accused of selling fentanyl and sought by Roseville police officers was arrested after allegedly running out of a Sacramento Dennys without paying, police said.

Police officers were attempting to find the suspect, who was also accused of stealing a car to flee Roseville, according to a Roseville Police Department social media post.

Officers, who obtained a warrant to arrest the suspect, converged on Dennys to find him when he ran out of the restaurant, police said.

It was unclear when the man was arrested. Lt. Chris Ciampa, a spokesman with the Roseville Police Department, did not immediately return a request for comment.

The man was booked in Placer County jail on charges related to fentanyl sales, conspiracy, obstruction, stealing a vehicle and violating parole, police said.
South Africa made history when it took Israel to the International Court of Justice  the United Nations highest court  and accused it of waging genocide against Palestinians while asking the court to order an immediate cease-fire.

It might turn out to be the worst decision the country has ever made.

Once, South Africa, especially the post-apartheid beacon fashioned by onetime leader Nelson Mandela, would have had the obligation to call out oppression and champion the vulnerable, but it hasnt lived up to Mandelas expectations for a long time.

Mandela saw human rights as the guiding light for South Africas foreign policy when he became president 30 years ago. But the South African governments actions over the last 10 years have belied this; human rights have become a convenient beard, not for any national interest but rather for one based on narrow sectarian interests.

Hamas Oct. 7 terror attacks, in which the group massacred innocent civilians and violated and mutilated women, were an outrage. The organizations founding charter is an unequivocal injunction for the destruction of Israel and the eradication of Jews. It is a clarion call for genocide.

The South African government dragged its heels to condemn the Oct. 7 crime against human rights but responded with alacrity and positively to Hamas, and its funder Iran, a sovereign state with an avowed intent to end the existence of Israel.

Now, South Africa has taken Israel to the U.N. for Israels response to the attack, ignoring the catalytic role the Oct. 7 attacks played.

No one can say that Israel should not be judged. But this is South Africas fatal flaw. If Israel is to be judged, so, too, must Hamas.

South Africa has opened a Pandoras box by accusing another country. There will be many who will be astounded that a country would seek to use a global instrument such as the International Court of Justice, when the same court ruled against it only years ago.

The world will not forget South Africa for its failure in 2015 to execute an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, another tribunal, against then-Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. The South African governments response was to threaten to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, despite the Mandela administration being one of the original signatories to the Rome Statute that created it.

Last year, South Africa threatened to hold itself exempt from arresting Russian President Vladimir Putin if he set foot in South Africa to take part in the BRICS council meeting. Russia was taken to the International Court of Justice for its invasion of Ukraine, much as South Africa has now chosen to take Israel to court.

When the U.N. General Assembly gathered to condemn Russias aggression, South Africa abstained from the motion. It would do so twice more. To date, South Africa has refused to condemn Russia for its attack on Ukraine. South Africa has proved to be one of Russias most strident allies, as it is increasingly proving to be for Iran and its proxy Hamas.

It is rank hypocrisy: South Africa is quick to call out injustice in some parts of the world but not in others. It is blinded to its own failings. More than 23,000 people have died in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to health officials. In comparison, 27,494 South Africans died by homicide from 2022 to February 2023.

I am a proud South African. I have also been a member, a supporter and a fundraiser for the African National Congress for more than three decades, but Im also a Jew. I believe that the ANC has much to be proud of in terms of what it has achieved for South Africa as a whole. I believe, too, in the power of the ANC and its leadership to be a force for good on the international stage.

However, its actions since Oct. 7 have wounded me in a way I never thought possible.

I feel betrayed. I feel that Jewish South Africans have been rendered second-class citizens in the land of their own birth. The government did nothing to commiserate with the South Africans slain on Oct. 7 and did little to try to repatriate those caught in the conflict thereafter.

Most of all, I am disappointed that the party of Mandela has failed on the world stage to make a difference, instead of just trying to make a statement.

What was once the ANCs strength  a broad church where all who shared its ideals were once welcome  has become its greatest weakness. The party of today has become hijacked by minority interests at odds with its traditional credo.

I have immense respect for President Cyril Ramaphosa, and sympathy, because as a loyal lifelong member of the party that he leads, he has to reflect its consensus by honoring it, even if this might run contrary to his beliefs.

When Mandela shepherded South Africas peaceful transition from an intolerable regime of repression to the promise of the Rainbow Nation, he and other leaders did so with humility, empathy and an unshakable belief in doing what was right  for everyone.

Mandela knew that the only way to solve problems was to encourage all to find solutions together. Sometimes, he had to take a position that was contrary to the party consensus to do so.

My countrys decision to take Israel to court could be the final unmasking of the South African miracle in the eyes of the world, ironically the year we celebrate the 30th anniversary of Mandela enabling millions of South Africans to cast their vote for freedom.

What a truly tragic epitaph on his promise we once held so dear.

Ivor Ichikowitz, an industrialist and a philanthropist, chairs the Ichikowitz Family Foundation, a leading African-based foundation supporting the development in Africa. He has been involved in a supportive role with the African peace initiative to Ukraine and Russia.

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The Ukrainian Air Force has explained that the loss of one A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft cannot fundamentally impact the balance of forces using aviation on the front. However, it is undoubtedly a significant loss and will likely compel Russia to exercise more caution in the skies.

Source: Colonel Yurii Ihnat, spokesman for Ukraine's Air Force, in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda

Details: Ihnat recalled that the A-50 is a long-range radar detection aircraft that scans Ukraines territory (detects aerial targets) up to 600 km deep, intended, among other things, to support the work of its tactical aircraft. Usually, it operates with the Il-22M airborne command post plane.

These aircraft assist the Russians in managing the actions of their troops and forces.

The spokesman for Ukraine's Air Force notes that Russia possesses a significant air fleet with numerous airborne means of attack. However, each successful special operation by the Ukrainian Defence Forces leads to certain changes in the Russians' tactics.

For example, Ihnat recalled that the Air Force managed to "catch" five aircraft in the north and three Russian fighter jets terrorising the front line with guided air bombs on the southern front. After this, the Russians have been cautious about approaching closer to the contact line.

Quote: "The Air Force has gained the capability to deliver such effective strikes, so the aggressor will likely behave more cautiously. Of course, this is a significant blow to Russian aviation and, most importantly, to the image of the Russian regime. The loss of such an aircraft as an A-50 likely occurred for the first time. At the same time, Russia still has several units of long-range radar detection aircraft in operational condition. The dictator shows no intention of stopping, so the enemy is likely to continue pursuing its criminal intentions in conducting military actions."

Background:

On the evening of 14 January, reports appeared on Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels about the downing of a Russian A-50 reconnaissance aircraft and damage to an Il-22M, which was partially confirmed on the morning of 15 January by Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, and Ukrainska Pravdas sources in the Ukrainian government.

On 15 January, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, confirmed that the Ukrainian Air Force downed two important Russian planes: an airborne early warning system (AWACS) aircraft and an airborne command post.

Ukraine's Air Force reported that  Russian Il-22 command aircraft probably survived a Ukrainian attack but is beyond repair.

Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), claimed the destruction of a Russian A-50 airborne early warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft would likely affect Russia's ability to maintain communications in the conflict zone "around the clock".

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When it comes to military job retention rates, not all specialties are created equal. A Marine in an administrative or logistics role, for example, may see a lot less turnover in their specialty than a rifleman or aircraft maintainer.

New data from all the military services reveals the lowest-retention jobs for each of the services, highlighting a variety of challenges the services face, from competitive pay to effective career progression.

And while retention remains strong across the services even as recruiting falters, personnel officials say theyre working hard to prevent future skill gaps that could affect military readiness.

At a quarterly meeting of the Defense Department-chartered Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services last month, representatives of each of the military services revealed which jobs had the lowest retention rates for each of the genders and discussed what they were doing to promote equity and retain military talent.

In the Air Force, where average enlisted and officer retention rates hover around 90%, medical jobs see some of the highest turnover. Optometry specialist for enlisted women, nurse for female officers, and aerospace medicine physician for male officers all made the list of lowest-retention jobs, in addition to flight engineer for enlisted men. But retention remained relatively high in those communities, ranging from 79% to 84%.

Some of the communities with low retention rates are very small, said Col. Joshua Hawkins, chief of the Air Forces Military Policy Division. Hawkins also noted that some of these jobs, like nursing and optometry, had a disproportionately high ratio of women to men, which may affect overall retention.

Military services grappling with filling their ranks in budget request

Acknowledging that retention rates for women dipped at the E-5 and E-9 level more dramatically than for men at the same ranks, Hawkins said Air Force analysis indicates limitations in upward job mobility and alternative career decisions may factor into these trends.

In the Air Force, predictive analytics do show the service experiencing personnel gaps around 2027 and 2028 among noncommissioned officers and experienced company-grade officers. Hawkins said the Air Force was making promotion-focused moves  including an up or out rule change announced in December  to make sure critical jobs stayed filled.

Were working on proactive measures right now, Hawkins said. We dont want to over-advance people before theyve got the experience. But were actively thinking about that right now, how to counteract it.

For the Navy, many of the highest-turnover jobs were in the nuclear field. Continuation rates in fiscal 2023 for all ratings averaged close to 86% for enlisted troops and 91% for officers, with minimal difference between the genders.

Amid recruiting crisis, the Navy surpassed retention goals for FY23

For both men and women, the enlisted roles of electronics technician-nuclear-surface and electricians mate-nuclear-surface were among the highest-turnover jobs, with an average of 83.5% retention over five years for the former and 85% for the latter. Aviation boatswains mate and aviation boatswains mate, fuels  both jobs involving flight deck aircraft management  also ranked in the bottom ten jobs for both genders in retention.

Capt. Michael Wheeler, the Navys director of comprehensive analytics, acknowledged that the militarys inability to compete with civilian pay for certain positions played a role in the retention picture.

Nuclear-trained personnel, we are paying them at the statutory congressional limit of what we can pay, Wheeler said. The sailors are very highly talented and have a lot of opportunities on the outside. Despite us paying them as much as we conceivably can, they still tend to walk.

Regarding the flight deck roles, Wheeler said that 70% of the sailors serving in those jobs were in the enlisted ranks of E-5 and below, reflecting the physically demanding nature of the work.

We just do not intend to keep those sailors long-term, at least not in that rating, he said.

In the Army, the lowest-retention job specialties for men were Criminal Investigation Division special agent, with a retention rate of 38% for fiscal 2023; diagnostic equipment maintenance specialist, with a retention rate of 44%; and cable systems installer-maintainer, at 48%.

Army doubles down on retention for fiscal 2023 amid recruiting woes

For women soldiers, the lowest-retention jobs included carpentry and masonry specialist, at 23% retention; diagnostic equipment maintenance specialist at 25%; and unmanned aircraft repairer, at 33%.

This contrasts with an overall Army retention rate of 80.4% for women and 77.7% for men in fiscal 2023.

For the Army, its not fully clear why certain jobs struggle to retain soldiers. Sgt. Maj. Tobey Whitney, the Armys senior career counselor, told the committee that some of the data aligned with planning: CID is significantly reducing its active-duty ranks as part of a planned restructuring and thus actively transitioning many of its soldiers elsewhere.

Why so many maintenance specialties cant hang on to troops is less clear.

We have requested information from the respective components and were awaiting their feedback, Whitney said.

Your Military Recruiting and retention issues also affecting the National Guard

The Marine Corps presented much less detailed information than the other services in response to the committees request.

But it did highlight the significant difference between first and second-term enlisted retention, averaging just 30% for the first contract and 45% for the second, and annual officer continuation rates, which were 89% in the past fiscal year.

Among already low enlisted retention rates, the 0311 rifleman community stood out, retaining only 16% of reenlistment-eligible Marines in fiscal 2023 in keeping with the needs of the Corps, said Maj. Mark McGee, an enlisted retention planner with Manpower Plans and Policy. For enlisted women, he said, aviation maintainer roles, in addition to infantry, had the lowest retention rates.

On the officer side, where the Marine Corps does not have specific retention targets, KC-130 aircraft commander was the job with the lowest continuation rate, averaging 85% for men and women.

Avery Calkins, an associate economist at the RAND Corporation, noted that in the medical fields, as in aviation specialties and nuclear technician roles, competition and demand in the civilian workforce may be putting pressure on the military to keep top talent.

Retention and recruiting combine together to make up the strength of a military force, she told Military Times, and with the Air Force, Navy and Army missing fiscal 2023 recruiting goals and a declining proportion of prospective recruits scoring in the top 50% on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB, retention is all the more critical to keeping skilled jobs filled.

While there arent clear indicators of a burgeoning retention crisis yet, she said, its something the military should monitor closely.

The concern with recruiting is that in five years, we wont have enough sergeants or E-5s in service, Calkins said. If retention were to fall right now, then not only would there not be enough E-5s in five years, there might not be enough E-5s this year.

Personnel officials who appeared before the group did address what appeared to be an early trend: the Marine Corps, Army, Air Force and Navy all showed retention rates in fiscal 2023 that remained below the fiscal 2019 pre-pandemic levels.

Officials with the Army and Navy said their retention rates were falling back into historical norms following pandemic-era highs, when economic uncertainty prompted many troops to stay put rather than seek out other opportunities. In both services, though, the trends are being scrutinized, officials said.

The Army, said Whitney, is currently developing a new, simple retention survey, in addition to its existing career engagement survey, that will focus on junior soldiers who will soon be making decisions about whether to hang up their uniform.

It will be a simple five to seven-question survey that provides us near real-time feedback on the sentiments of soldiers by the location theyre currently serving in, he said. Im looking forward to the new survey, which will allow us to get important feedback from the younger soldiers.
A passenger aircraft of the French airline Air France, an Airbus A320-214, stands at Munich airport. French airline holding company Air France-KLM Group plans to end its air cargo deal with French shipping and logistics firm CMA CGM, the airline announced on Tuesday. Rene Ruprecht/dpa

French airline holding company Air France-KLM Group plans to end its air cargo deal with French shipping and logistics firm CMA CGM, the airline announced on Tuesday.

Shares in Air France-KLM Group were losing around 3% in early morning trading in France after the airline announced its decision to withdraw from its existing air cargo agreements with CMA CGM from March 31.

CMA CGM, which remains a core shareholder in Air France-KLM, will also step down from the Air France-KLM board of directors on the same date, it said.

The cargo commercial cooperation between both companies, which was announced in May 2022, became effective in April 2023. However, the companies now noted that the tight regulatory environment in certain important markets has prevented the cooperation from working in an optimal way.

Air France-KLM and CMA CGM said they have begun discussions on new terms and conditions of a commercial relation to operate independently from March 31 onwards.

The companies have agreed to amend the existing lock-up on CMA CGM shares in Air France-KLM's capital, which will now be effective until February 28, 2025.

According to the company, the initial lock-up undertaking of CMA CGM is modified to provide that the initial lock-up period ends on February 28, 2025, without any subsequent lock-up period.

The initial lock-up on all Air France-KLM shares subscribed by CMA CGM in the rights issues announced on May 24, 2022, expires on June 15, 2025, and subsequent lock-up period on 50% of such shares expires on June 15, 2028.

In France, Air France KLM shares were trading at 11.73 ($12.77), down 2.51%.
Wael Dahdouh, Al-Jazeera bureau chief in Gaza, kisses the hands of his dead son Hamza, who also worked as a journalist for Al Jazeera and was killed in an Israeli air strike on Rafah. Mohammed Talatene/dpa

Well-known Al Jazeera journalist Wael Dahdouh - who lost his wife, three children and a grandson during Israel's military assault on the Gaza Strip - has left the Palestinian territory for medical treatment abroad, a press consortium said on Tuesday.

The head of the Egyptian press consortium in Cairo said that Al Jazeera's veteran Gaza bureau chief was able to enter Egypt via the Rafah border crossing and that he will travel on to Qatar.

What type of treatment was involved remained unclear. However, Dahdouh was recently injured in an Israeli attack that killed the cameraman he was with, Samer Abudaqa, the Qatar-based Al Jazeera said.
Update: Kenneth Eugene Smith was executed by nitrogen hypoxia on Thursday, Jan. 25. Read the latest here. Our earlier story is below.

The top human rights official at the United Nations is calling on Alabama authorities to stop the planned execution of a death row inmate by nitrogen hypoxia next week, reiterating concerns from experts about whether the untested method constitutes torture under international treaties. The inmate, Kenneth Eugene Smith, already survived a botched execution attempt by lethal injection in 2022.

"We are alarmed by the imminent execution in the United States of America of Kenneth Eugene Smith, through the use of a novel and untested method  suffocation by nitrogen gas, which could amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under international human rights law," said Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for Volker Turk, who is the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement issued Tuesday.

In an earlier statement released several weeks ago by the U.N. human rights office, a group of international consultants noted that there is "no scientific evidence to prove" that execution by nitrogen inhalation will not cause "grave suffering," and said they were "concerned that nitrogen hypoxia would result in a painful and humiliating death."

The U.N. human rights commissioner on Tuesday said the office now has "serious concerns" that Smith's planned execution could breach two international human rights treaties that the U.S. has agreed to abide by  the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

The first treaty, adopted by the U.N. in 1966 and put into effect 10 years later, requires involved nations to respect the civil and political rights of its people, including their right to life, due process and fair trials. Congress ratified the pact in 1992 with several reservations, and those changes have called into question the treaty's effectiveness in the U.S. as implemented in the U.S. The U.S. signed onto the second treaty against torture around the same time, although the agreement in that instance included a clause that rejected the treaty's application to capital punishment, as long as the death penalty is carried out in a way that aligns with the Constitution.

Kenneth Eugene Smith would be the first person in the U.S. put to death using nitrogen gas if the execution proceeds as scheduled on Jan. 25. Smith has been imprisoned in Alabama for decades, since being convicted as a hitman in the 1998 killing of a preacher's wife, and already survived a failed execution attempt by lethal injection in November 2022. His was one of four botched lethal injections in Alabama in the last four years  which twice led ultimately to the deaths of the condemned inmates after prolonged periods  and the state as a result has faced scrutiny and legal challenges questioning its ability to carry out the death penalty at all.

Kenneth Eugene Smith is scheduled to be executed on Jan. 25 in Alabama. / Credit: Alabama Department of Corrections

In the wake of a national shortage of lethal injections, Alabama authorized nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method in 2018. It is one of three U.S. states that technically allows this, along with Oklahoma and Mississippi, but the method has never actually been used before. The method forces a condemned inmate to breathe pure nitrogen, or extremely concentrated levels of nitrogen, through a gas mask until they asphyxiate.

Because it has never been tested, and even veterinarians have refused to use it when euthanizing animals, many oppose its implementation in capital punishment settings and warn that nitrogen hypoxia may potentially cause unnecessary pain and suffering. That same argument has been used against nitrogen hypoxia as a means for euthanasia, along with the fact that setting off a stream of nitrogen gas may pose health threats to other people in its vicinity.

Alabama released its first protocol for execution by nitrogen hypoxia in August, and while it outlined some safety measures, the heavily redacted documents also acknowledge the risks of handling nitrogen gas. As the U.N. human rights commissioner noted in Tuesday's statement, "Alabama's protocol for execution by nitrogen asphyxiation makes no provision for sedation of human beings prior to execution," which departs from the American Veterinary Medical Association's recommendation to sedate animals before they are euthanized in this way.

"The protocol also refers to the odourless and colourless gas being administered for up to 15 minutes," the statement said. "Smith has also advanced, with expert evidence, that such an execution by gas asphyxiation in his case risks particular pain and suffering."

A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that Alabama could go ahead with plans to put Smith to death using nitrogen gas. Smith's attorneys had sought an injunction to stop the Jan. 25 execution and accused the state of Alabama of trying to use him as a "test subject" for an experimental method. Smith's lawyer said he intended to appeal the decision, according to the Associated Press.

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The Great Lakes are experiencing their slowest start to the winter season, alarming environmentalists.

Although the five lakes dont hit peak ice concentration until February to March, experts are concerned by their unusually slow start to the ice season. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Great Lakes regions ice coverage as of January 1 was less than 1%, its slowest ice formation in over 50 years.

The effects of El Nino

Experts attribute the five lakes slower than usual ice formation to El Nino, a pattern of unusually warmer water originating from the Pacific Ocean that causes higher-than-normal temperatures as it shifts. According to NOAA, El Nino may cause areas in the northern U.S. and Canada to be dryer and warmer than usual.

As 2023 was reported to be the Earths hottest year on record, environmentalists believe that higher-than-usual temperatures in the region are interfering with the Great Lakes ecosystem. Bryan Mroczka, a meteorologist with NOAA, told USA Today that the lakes ice coverage has decreased by an average of 5% per decade.

These are massive bodies of water, very deep, very large, and they dont freeze overnight, Mroczka told USA Today.

Impact on the Great Lakes

Although ice concentration fluctuates at the Great Lakes each year, shorter ice seasons negatively impact the regions local economy.

According to Midstory, the Great Lakes fishing industry generates over $7 billion annually and supports more than 75,000 local jobs. However, lower ice concentrations disrupt the lakes fish habitats, spawning patterns, and survival rates, decreasing the industrys productivity.

Additionally, the shorter ice season negatively impacts local land erosion. Since ice usually protects lake shorelines from erosion, lower amounts of ice can expose local infrastructure to high winds and severe flooding.

We see houses that have had issues falling into the lakes and things like that due to high erosion, Mroczka told USA Today.

Less ice, more hazards

Local officials are urging fishermen and tourists to take higher safety precautions when visiting the Great Lakes, as well as other lakes in the Midwest region. Two ice-related deaths have already occurred in Minnesota this season, as mentioned in the USA Today report.

Outside of the Great Lakes, Upper Red Lake in northern Minnesota is notorious for its shallowness, often causing troubles for visitors. In December, more than 120 fishermen at Upper Red were stranded after drifting away on broken ice sheets, and two ATV riders fell through the ice on the lake, according to USA Today.

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